South Africa: OHS compliance key to decent workplaces
Employment and Labour Deputy Minister, Boitumelo Moloi, says organisations must develop mandatory systems of health and safety compliance in order to create decent workplaces post COVID-19.
Moloi was delivering the keynote address on Monday during the opening of the three-day Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) conference at Lagoon Beach Hotel in Cape Town.
The OHS Conference, which continues today, is held under the theme: Decent work post the pandemic.
Moloi told delegates that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced employers and workers to adapt quickly to new ways of working.
Interestingly, many of these changes have brought unexpected benefits, such as improved productivity or working conditions. However, it is important that we not only focus on returning to work, but also take the lessons learned from the pandemic to re-strategize and prepare for future emergencies.
We should not allow compliance to happen by accident. If you think compliance is exorbitant, try non-compliance, Moloi said.
She said priority in the workplace should focus on the welfare of workers. Work delivery systems must also be designed to focus on outputs rather than activities.
While the pandemic had presented us with difficult and challenging times, it has also brought some unexpected benefits, such as improvements in productivity or working conditions. In some ways, this has also improved the social aspects of workers and to enjoy a better work-life balance.
In some cases, employers have also been able to reduce costs by adopting remote work arrangements or by introducing other new working practices, Moloi said.
The Deputy Minister said one of the challenges brought about by the pandemic and work-from-home at policy level was the development of mechanisms to deal with an inadequate policy environment. She said the department is ill-equipped to enforce OHS in private households.
In the same breath, Moloi said the pandemic has also had a negative impact on the world of work, and it has disproportionately affected certain groups of workers in non-standard forms of employment such as those in low-paid, precarious or informal jobs.
She said during COVID-19, the department had to intervene and developed a COVID-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) to provide financial relief to workers who had been affected by the pandemic.
Overall, the post-COVID-19 labour market in South Africa remains challenging, with businesses and workers still facing a certain level of uncertainty and disruption. In the post-pandemic period, health and safety inspectors will likely play an important role in enforcing health and safety regulations and guidelines to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the workplace.
In addition to monitoring and enforcing health and safety regulations, health and safety inspectors can also contribute to the development of new regulations and guidelines that reflect the changing nature of work post-pandemic, Moloi said. SAnews.gov.za
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: Fight against corruption, crime receives financial boost
Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana says at least R14 billion is to be allocated to the fight against crime and corruption.
The Minister was delivering the 2023 Budget Speech in the Cape Town City Hall on Wednesday.
The South African Police Service is allocated R7.8 billion to appoint 5000 police trainees per year. The National Prosecuting Authority receives R1.3 billion to support the implementation of the recommendations of the State Capture Commission and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The Financial Intelligence Centre is allocated an additional R265.3 million to tackle organised and financial crime. The Special Investigating Unit is allocated R100 million to initiate civil litigation in the special tribunal, flowing from proclamations linked to the recommendations of the State Capture Commission.
The Department of Defence is allocated an additional R3.1 billion to enhance security on South Africas borders, Godongwana said.
On the FATF and South Africas possible greylisting by the international body, Godongwana said the country has made substantial progress in vulnerabilities in the countrys anti-money laundering system.
Two laws have been enacted to address the technical deficiencies in the legislative framework, namely the General Laws Amendment Act of 2022, and the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Amendment Act.
The laws address 15 of the 20 legislative deficiencies identified by FATF. The remaining five deficiencies will be addressed through regulations and practices that do not require legislation.
We recognise the need to be more effective in implementing our laws, particularly in fighting organised and sophisticated crimes, he said.
An announcement on whether or not the country has done enough to avoid the potentially damaging grey listing is expected this week.
Addressing the FATF issues is part of the broader fight against corruption, crime, state capture and the deliberate weakening of the institutions of law and order in our country.
The FATF Plenary will make its decision later this week on whether or not to put South Africa under increased monitoring, otherwise known as greylisting. We should be prepared for that possibility, Godongwana said.
Economic development initiatives
National Treasury budget documents indicate that government spending on economic development programmes and functions is expected to reach at least R774 million over the next three years.
In 2023/24 spending will be some R237.6 billion, rising to R259.3 billion in 2024/25 and an increase to R277.1 billion in 2025/26.
According to National Treasury, the economic development function allocates funding to departments and entities focused on promoting sustained and inclusive economic growth to address unemployment, poverty and inequality with the bulk of the allocation going to goods and services and capital expenditure.
Road infrastructure will receive the lions share of the functions budget.
The additional allocations of R7.1 billion and R5.3 billion for the rehabilitation of provincial roads, and to reduce the road rehabilitation and strengthening backlog on national roads, will result in spending on roads increasing from R61.8 billion in 2022/23 to R85.5 billion in 2025/26.
The South African National Roads Agency Limited will increase the length of the network in active maintenance from 1200 kilometres in 2022/23 to 2400 kilometres in 2025/26, and the length of the network in active strengthening to 600 kilometres by 2025/26, the department said.
Some economic development programmes earmarked by government for allocations include:
Some R2.8 billion will be allocated to the Department of Small Business Development as part of the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Fund to support 120 000 township and rural enterprises
The Land Restitution Programme is allocated R12.5 billion to allow government to finalise outstanding restitution claims and support resettled farmers to sustain productivity, create jobs and reduce poverty over the next three years
Over the medium term, at least R7.8 billion to the Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Department to continue managing bio-security, increase agricultural production and manage natural resources
In a bid to unlock some R83 billion in private sector investment, government is allocating R18.9 billion to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition for incentive programmes to stimulate business investment in machinery and equipment with R728.8 million allocated to support new energy vehicle initiatives
Furthermore, R8.7 billion will go to the Science and Innovation department over the medium term for postgraduate bursaries and scholarships, internships and support for emerging and established researchers, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is allocated R1.4 billion for the Waste Bureau to implement the national waste management strategy and some R180 million will go to the Tourism Department to support the pilot of the Tourism Equity Fund introduced in 2021.
Government will also inject some R3 billion to the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies to implement the SA Connect broadband project, which aims to connect 5.8 million sites to high-speed internet by 2025/26. SAnews.gov.za
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate, has announced pilot Maha Al Balushi as the first female Omani Captain, marking a landmark in Omans aviation industry.
Al Balushi officially received her new rank during a ceremony recently held at the Oman Airs headquarters in Muscat, the latest in a string of firsts she has achieved over her decade-long career with the airline.
Al Balushi said: My dream has always been to become a Captain. It hasnt been easy but thanks to the support I have around me, from my family to my training team and the airline, I have accomplished what I set out to do. It is an honour to hold this role and I hope that I will inspire other Omani women to choose such a rewarding career in the skies.
Captain Moosa Al Shidhani, Senior Vice President Flight Operations at Oman Air, added: "We are thrilled to have Ms. Al Balushi as our first female Omani Captain, and we believe this is just the beginning of great things to come. This is not just a milestone for our airline but for Omans aviation industry, and we are honoured to play a leading role in its progress by continuing to nurture Omani talent in all areas of our operations."
Maha Al Balushi has been with Oman Air since 2010, after graduating from the cadet programme at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia, the only woman who was enrolled in the programme at the time. Ms. Al Balushi also made waves when she became Omans first female First Officer in 2013.
Oman Air continues to pursue a proactive policy of recognising talented and qualified women and supporting them to excel within their chosen careers. Today, over 1,230 Omani female employees contribute to the airlines strength and represent a range of levels and roles including cabin crew, flight operations, engineering, airport services, marketing, customer services, sales and communications.
Meanwhile, having achieved an Omanisation rate of 94% (excluding female cabin crew), the airline provides rich and varied career development opportunities, as well as internships and graduate training programmes that expand horizons for young Omanis. TradeArabia News Service
India does not want the G20 group to discuss additional sanctions against Russia during New Delhi's year-long presidency of the bloc, six senior Indian government officials told Reuters.
On the sidelines of a key G20 meeting in India, G7 (G7) financial leaders will meet Feb. 23 to discuss measures against Russia, Japan's finance minister said Tuesday.
Sources directly involved in this week's meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors said the macroeconomic impact of the war will be discussed, but India does not want to discuss additional measures against Russia.
India is not seeking to discuss or support any additional sanctions against Russia during the G20, one source said adding that the existing sanctions against Russia have had a negative impact on the world.
Another source noted that sanctions are not a G20 issue. The G20 is an economic forum to discuss growth, he said.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar previously said the war had disproportionately affected poorer countries by raising fuel and food prices.
U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Wally Adeyemo said Tuesday that Washington and its allies plan to impose new sanctions and export controls in the coming days that will target Russia's purchase of dual-use goods, such as refrigerators and microwave ovens, to obtain semiconductors needed for its military. The sanctions would also be aimed at curbing the transshipment of oil and other restricted goods through border countries.
In addition, Adeyemo said officials from a coalition of more than 30 countries will warn companies, financial institutions and individuals who still do business with Russia that they will face sanctions if they continue to do so.
The Danish ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry: Ankara has made a demand
Bloomberg: New pandemic possible in coming decade
44-year-old man found hanging from a tree
Yerevan Metro Police detain armed young man
Poland receives Bayraktar from Turkey
4.2 magnitude earthquake in Turkish Adana
Ukraine preparing a counteroffensive
Azerbaijani Armed Forces open fire at Sotk Gold Mine
Sudanese army blocks presidential palace entrances in Khartoum
No safety threat to Azerbaijani athletes nor could there ever be
Dozens of Tegh families in difficult social situation
12 patients transported from Artsakh to Armenia, 8 back in Artsakh
Azerbaijan and Iran FMs announce possible continuation of negotiations
Tigran Abrahamyan: Citizens of Artsakh remain alone in their worries
Azerbaijani athletes to leave EWF Championships
Suspect of Wakayama incident arrested
Macron signs pension reform bill
Aram Nikolyan: My only desire is to ensure that Azerbaijan's flag doesn't fly in Yerevan
IMF and World Bank unable to reach agreement on communique
Biden demands stricter protection of secret information
Moodys reaffirms "Export Insurance Agency of Armenia"s rating
The newly appointed Human Rights Defender conducted fact-finding activities in Tegh village
Armenia ambassador to Canada, newly elected mayor of Ottawa discuss cooperation
Investigative Committee: Criminal proceeding launched into wounded soldiers case
Woman who threw umbrella at Armenia premier is charged
Zakharova responds to Armenia parliament majority faction secretary: They probably mistranslated it to him
shamshyan.com: Man found dead, car found on train tracks in Yerevan
Matviyenko: Russia hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed soon as possible
Armenia, Russia FMs discuss matter of Yerevan-Baku relations normalization
Smart solution from AraratBank: electric car loans at an interest rate starting at 9%
Armenian legislature speaker: We call on international community to clearly condemn Azerbaijan aggressive actions
Ameriabank CEO Artak Hanesyan sums up Triple Best campaign: We believe in potential of our team, Armenia
Armenia MOD: Soldier wounded by own weapon
Karabakh NSS deputy director, head of presidential Central Information Department are dismissed
Armenia official: I wouldn't call this a vector change, I would call it a search for certain security guarantees
Armenia parliament speaker expresses concern to Ashimbayev regarding Kazakhstan collaboration with Azerbaijan
Armenia, Russia FMs meet in Uzbekistan
GeoProMining Gold develops social cooperation with Ararat region
Armenia Security Council chief briefs OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair on Azerbaijan provocation near Tegh village
CIS FMs next meeting slated for October in Kyrgyzstan
Armenia Security Council secretary: International presence needed to resolve many security issues in Karabakh
Armenia ruling force lawmaker: PMs orders are mandatory for execution
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
The 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?
Azerbaijan must respect the ties of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said this at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan.
"At a meeting with Ararat Mirzoyan, I better understood the conflict and its consequences. Lachin blockade and gas and electricity outages. Luxembourg and its European partners called on Azerbaijan to allow free movement through the Lachin corridor in accordance with the statement of November 9, 2020. I see no reason to close the doors, the corridor for people, residents of Nagorno-Karabakh to move around. It is a connection with Armenia, it must be respected. Azerbaijan must respect it in order to find a solution," the Foreign Minister said.
According to the minister's assessment, the talks that began in 2021 with Pashinyan, Michel and Aliyev seemed to have stopped. "They had a good development. Luxembourg promotes the resumption of trilateral negotiations to achieve a lasting peace. We are also facilitating the EU mission, which will last two years. At first it will be 100 observers. It will also strengthen RA-EU relations, bring Armenia closer to the EU. The mission can play a positive role, reduce risks and incidents. And it can be an important stimulus for the normalization of relations. Luxembourg also has a representative in the mission. It's a very experienced policeman who is ready to help," Asselborn said.
As it was previously reported, the EU civil mission started on February 20. It includes German police officers and French gendarmes.
During the Munich Security Conference held on February 18, 2023 the president of Azerbaijan made some statements that were intended to veil the criminal policy conducted against the people of Artsakh and to distort the essence of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict by breaking the cause-and-effect links. This is said in a statement of the MFA of the Republic of Artsakh.
"In particular, the President of Azerbaijan once again tried to deny the obvious fact of the blockade of Artsakh, the existence of which, except for Azerbaijan itself, is recognized by the international community. As the so-called proof the data about the travel of 2500 vehicles of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the International Committee of the Red Cross during the whole period of the blockade and the evacuation of 100 patients to the hospitals in Armenia by means of the ICRC were cited. However, these data prove the exact opposite of what Baku claims. During the 73 days of the blockade, fewer vehicles drove through the Lachin corridor than during the three normal days in the pre-blockade period. All vehicles passing through the Lachin corridor belonged to either the Russian peacekeeping contingent or ICRC. Other vehicles belonging to citizens, governmental structures of the Republic of Artsakh or carrying out commercial transportation are not allowed to pass through the Lachin corridor," the statement reads.
As Artsakh Foreign Ministry underlines, seriously ill patients can be evacuated to Yerevan only through the ICRC, which once again points to the lack of free passage through the Lachin corridor. Moreover, at the beginning of the blockade, at least one seriously ill patient died because it was impossible to transport him urgently to Yerevan for further treatment. The fact that many citizens of the Republic are unable to return to Artsakh and that hundreds of separated families have no possibility of reunification is further evidence of the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan.
It is noteworthy that, during discussions with Azerbaijani journalists following a trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the Azerbaijani President announced Baku's proposal to set up a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor. It becomes evident from his words that Baku had been hatching these plans long before the blockade was imposed.
All the aforementioned facts clearly prove that, apart from creating unbearable living conditions for the people of Artsakh, the blockade is also aimed at revising the provisions of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020. Azerbaijan clearly seeks to legitimize its intention to revise the provisions of the trilateral statement. These attempts must be most resolutely opposed by all actors involved in the normalization of relations in the region. The full functioning of the Lachin corridor must be restored in accordance with the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 and without any preconditions.
"The Azerbaijani attempts to interfere in the inner political life of Artsakh, as well as its vision of the dialogue between Stepanakert and Baku are also categorically unacceptable for the official Stepanakert. In this regard, we reiterate that a comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict should be achieved through negotiations which ensure equal rights for the parties and do not contain conditions that prejudge the outcome of the negotiation process. In this context, we consider it necessary to restore the international mediation format as an additional guarantee of the irreversibility of the peace process. We reiterate that the outcome of the unlawful use or threat of force by Azerbaijan cannot serve as a starting point on the path to peace, stability and security," Artsakh Foreign Ministry statement reads.
Yerevan hopes that Azerbaijan will not cease the dialogue with Stepanakert. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said this at a joint press conference with Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.
According to him, when Armenia initiated the process with Azerbaijan, there were two main directions - on the one hand the normalization of relations and a peace treaty, and on the other hand the format and the discussion platform on the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.
As the Minister noted, Azerbaijan has evaded such discussions for a long time. However, in Munich, both at a meeting with Blinken and during panel discussions, there were assurances from the Azerbaijani side that an internationally visible dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert should take place.
"On the other hand, in recent years we have seen that agreements are reached, then Baku retreats, including on the known signed documents. I hope that this time the same thing will not happen and there will be no rejection," Mirzoyan noted.
Armenia finds unacceptable the revision of agreements under the threat of force. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this at a joint press conference with Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, responding to the Azerbaijani President's demand to set checkpoints in the Lachin corridor and on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in the place of the Zangezur corridor demanded by Baku.
The minister recalled that Armenia's reaction followed almost immediately after blocking the Lachin corridor, with the regulations related to the Lachin corridor reached and reflected in the trilateral statement of the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan of November 9, 2020.
"Revising these regulations, with the use or threat of force, is unacceptable for us and cannot be an acceptable solution," Mirzoyan said.
According to him, Baku's goals are obvious and are to try to get a commensurate Lachin corridor route. This is not a new narrative for the Armenian side, and Yerevan's position on the issue is also well-known. "We have the Lachin corridor, which, by the way, before the last war, stood out as an exclusive humanitarian route throughout the negotiation process to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Given the fact that the Armenians of Artsakh are surrounded on all sides by Azerbaijan, the Lachin corridor was the only route linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the outside world, this corridor was initially given importance. And the Azerbaijani side has also taken this fact," the FM noted.
At the same time he underscored that the agreements on unblocking regional communications are also reflected in the statement of November 9, 2020, as well as in subsequent documents.
"Our position is unchanged and very constructive. We have expressed a commitment to the speedy unblocking of regional communications, including railroads, in accordance with the sovereignty and law of those states through which the routes pass. I think this is a very reasonable, constructive and transparent approach," he said, adding that this approach was confirmed at the meetings in Munich. At the same time, he stressed the unacceptability of the threat of the use of force and aggressive policies aimed at revising existing agreements.
Days after the Feb. 6 earthquake that killed more than 42,000 people in Turkey, an official said it created serious difficulties for holding elections on time. Now sources close to the Turkish president say the government has rejected the idea of postponing the elections, Reuters writes.
It is very likely that an agreement will be reached to hold elections on June 18, a government spokesman said, adding that Erdogan and his nationalist ally Devlet Bahceli will meet to make a final decision.
The source also said that the idea of postponing the elections has been cast a shadow, as there is a perception that the government is avoiding the elections, due to the opposition's negative reaction to the proposal and legal issues related to the constitution.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party have not commented on the timing of the upcoming elections.
Before the earthquake, Erdogan's popularity was undermined by the rising cost of living and the falling value of the lira. Since then, he has faced a wave of criticism over his government's response to the deadliest earthquake in the country's modern history.
On Wednesday, Turkey launched a temporary wage support scheme and banned layoffs in 10 cities to protect workers and businesses from the financial impact of the quake.
A government source told the agency that if elections were held in May, as Erdogan had previously planned, there would be little time for election authorities to prepare and logistical arrangements for voting by those affected in the quake zone, which is home to about 13 million people.
He also noted that the view that the elections should take place on June 18 has gained weight.
Another senior Turkish source said the idea of postponing the elections has been postponed.
A 16-year-old student stabbed his teacher at a Roman Catholic high school in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz in southwestern France on Wednesday.
The students scattered in panic after the stabbing, local newspaper Sud Ouest reported. The Spanish teacher, a woman, was 50 years old, Sud Ouest said.
Police arrested a student who told another teacher he was possessed and heard voices telling him to attack the teacher, local media reported.
Education Minister Pap Ndiaye expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the victim.
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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted Joe Biden's trip to Kyiv during a briefing, Moskovsky Komsomolets reports.
"Amid thundering relays that they are in full control of the situation, about to win somewhere now, Biden did not dare to go to Kiev without warning Russia and without asking the Russian side to respect his safety," she said.
Washington's support for Kyiv turned out to be "not good," the diplomatic spokeswoman said. Announcements of the new military aid package turned out to be more than modest.
"Information appeared in the Ukrainian media that Jake Sullivan demanded that the head of President Zelenskiy Yermak's office conduct a successful counteroffensive in the south and reach the borders of Crimea in the next six months," announced the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.
The Danish ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry: Ankara has made a demand
Bloomberg: New pandemic possible in coming decade
44-year-old man found hanging from a tree
Yerevan Metro Police detain armed young man
Poland receives Bayraktar from Turkey
4.2 magnitude earthquake in Turkish Adana
Ukraine preparing a counteroffensive
Azerbaijani Armed Forces open fire at Sotk Gold Mine
Sudanese army blocks presidential palace entrances in Khartoum
No safety threat to Azerbaijani athletes nor could there ever be
Dozens of Tegh families in difficult social situation
12 patients transported from Artsakh to Armenia, 8 back in Artsakh
Azerbaijan and Iran FMs announce possible continuation of negotiations
Tigran Abrahamyan: Citizens of Artsakh remain alone in their worries
Azerbaijani athletes to leave EWF Championships
Suspect of Wakayama incident arrested
Macron signs pension reform bill
Aram Nikolyan: My only desire is to ensure that Azerbaijan's flag doesn't fly in Yerevan
IMF and World Bank unable to reach agreement on communique
Biden demands stricter protection of secret information
Moodys reaffirms "Export Insurance Agency of Armenia"s rating
The newly appointed Human Rights Defender conducted fact-finding activities in Tegh village
Armenia ambassador to Canada, newly elected mayor of Ottawa discuss cooperation
Investigative Committee: Criminal proceeding launched into wounded soldiers case
Woman who threw umbrella at Armenia premier is charged
Zakharova responds to Armenia parliament majority faction secretary: They probably mistranslated it to him
shamshyan.com: Man found dead, car found on train tracks in Yerevan
Matviyenko: Russia hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed soon as possible
Armenia, Russia FMs discuss matter of Yerevan-Baku relations normalization
Smart solution from AraratBank: electric car loans at an interest rate starting at 9%
Armenian legislature speaker: We call on international community to clearly condemn Azerbaijan aggressive actions
Ameriabank CEO Artak Hanesyan sums up Triple Best campaign: We believe in potential of our team, Armenia
Armenia MOD: Soldier wounded by own weapon
Karabakh NSS deputy director, head of presidential Central Information Department are dismissed
Armenia official: I wouldn't call this a vector change, I would call it a search for certain security guarantees
Armenia parliament speaker expresses concern to Ashimbayev regarding Kazakhstan collaboration with Azerbaijan
Armenia, Russia FMs meet in Uzbekistan
GeoProMining Gold develops social cooperation with Ararat region
Armenia Security Council chief briefs OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair on Azerbaijan provocation near Tegh village
CIS FMs next meeting slated for October in Kyrgyzstan
Armenia Security Council secretary: International presence needed to resolve many security issues in Karabakh
Armenia ruling force lawmaker: PMs orders are mandatory for execution
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
The 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
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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
Armenia will persistently follow up Azerbaijan's compliance with the Court's decisions and will notify the Court of any violations arising in the course of the Armenia v. Azerbaijan litigation, Armenia's representative for international affairs reported.
On February 22, 2023, the International Court of Justice issued its decisions on the application of interim measures to the appeals submitted by Armenia and Azerbaijan under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Regarding Armenia's appeal, the Court found that since December 12, 2022 communication between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia through the Lachin corridor was disrupted.
The court noted that this situation had caused a number of consequences, and that the impact remains to this day. The Court noted that the information before it showed that the disruption of movement through the Lachin corridor prevented the transfer of persons of Armenian nationality hospitalized in Nagorno-Karabakh to medical facilities in Armenia for emergency medical care. The Court also noted that the evidence showed that there were obstacles to the entry of essential goods into Nagorno-Karabakh, which resulted in a lack of food, medicine and other medical necessities for life.
The court did not find Azerbaijan's assurances that Azerbaijan continued to ensure the safe movement of people, vehicles and goods through the Lachin corridor satisfactory and granted Armenia's request for an interim measure and obliged Azerbaijan
- Pending a final decision in the Armenia v. Azerbaijan case, to take all measures to ensure the unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and goods in both directions through the Lachin corridor,
- With regard to Azerbaijan's claims of alleged Armenian mines, the Court rejected those claims in their entirety,
Armenia will be consistent in the implementation of the court decisions by Azerbaijan and will notify the court of any violations arising throughout the duration of the Armenia v. Azerbaijan case, the statement reads.
Carla S. Freeman, interim dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences, has been named the next director of Emorys Bill and Carol Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry. Freeman will continue to serve in her current role until the next College dean begins later this year, after which she will assume leadership of the Fox Center.
Since it was established in 2001, the Fox Center has advanced research and teaching across the humanities and fostered intellectual community amongst scholars at all stages of their careers. Through its fellowship programs and other initiatives, the center has greatly increased opportunities for humanistic research and engagement by undergraduates, graduate students and faculty at Emory, as well as post-docs recruited from around the country.
Carla is dedicated to interdisciplinarity, public scholarship, and expanding the impact of the humanities and humanistic scholarship at Emory and beyond, says Ravi V. Bellamkonda, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, who announced her appointment Feb. 21. She is well-positioned to lead the next chapter of the Fox Center with her excellent record of leadership, her commitment to scholarly innovation, rigor, collaboration and application beyond the academy, and her passion for community engagement and building a culture of inclusivity among faculty and students.
Freeman will serve as the third director of the Fox Center, which was founded in 2001 and named in 2006 after longtime Emory administrator Bill Fox, PhD (79G) and his wife, Carol.
Freeman will succeed Martine Tina Brownley, the centers inaugural director and Goodrich C. White Professor of English, and Walter S. Melion, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Art History and Fox Center director since 2017. Melion will be the Samuel H. Kress Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, for the 2023-2024 academic year.
I am thrilled to take on this new role and build on the important legacy of Walter and Tina, who have firmly established the Fox Center as a locus of intellectual life at Emory and a vital space for collaboration, deep thought, and intellectual camaraderie, says Freeman. I look forward to working with colleagues across the university to continue to expand the centers reach and impact, and to promote humanistic inquiry as a vital part of our collective pursuit of knowledge and social transformation. We also have many faculty forging important collaborations in Atlanta area institutions and working with graduate and undergraduate students across the humanities to identify professional pathways and meaningful trajectories.
Freeman says she will work to build more partnerships within and beyond Emory, including new collaborations and avenues for intellectual engagement for our students, faculty and alumni. The expansion of resources for digital research and publishing and securing more foundation and grant support for public humanities and humanistic scholarship will be a focal point, as well as continuing the centers strong tradition of research support and manuscript development for faculty across ranks and disciplines.
The Fox Center is an important part of our ongoing commitment to nurture and invest in outstanding scholarship in the humanities, including through a university-wide arts and humanistic inquiry faculty hiring initiative launching this spring, says Bellamkonda. I am excited to see how Carla will build upon the success of the Fox Center and expand its reach, collaborative engagement, impact and visibility as an exciting intellectual hub for scholars and students.
Freeman, a cultural anthropologist, joined Emory in 1995 early in her career, during which she has undertaken extensive ethnographic fieldwork in the Caribbean, melding traditional and new digital methods in her work. As the Goodrich C. White Professor of Womens, Gender and Sexuality Studies, she works at the crossroads of cultural studies and political economy, where she examines the entanglements of labor and economy, gender, race, kinship and class, love and self-making through the lenses of feminist, post-colonial and affect theory.
During her time at Emory, Freeman has held numerous leadership roles in Emory College and across the university, including serving in the College administration since 2014 as senior associate dean of faculty, executive associate dean and her current position as interim dean.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded Emory College of Arts and Sciences junior Hasset Nurelegne its prestigious undergraduate scholarship for 2022-23.
Nurelegne, a Silver Springs, Maryland, native who is pursuing a double major in English and neuroscience and behavioral biology (NBB), is one of just 12 recipients of the highly competitive award, which she has the option to renew next year.
The scholarship comes with up to $20,000 in annual tuition and education assistance as well as two paid summer internships at NIH laboratories. Nurelegne also will work full-time in NIH labs after graduation for two years, one for each year of scholarship support she receives.
The scholarship, and support from Emory and the QuestBridge Scholars program, will allow her to graduate debt-free. Nurelegne plans to pursue an MD/PhD after her NIH experience.
I have a general love of science and research, so I am excited to be fully immersed in research, Nurelegne says. Im very grateful.
Forging her own way
She is also breaking ground. When NIH officials reached out to Nurelegnes mentor Anita Corbett to ensure a smooth transition to their labs, they also asked about more potential Emory applicants.
I give Hasset a lot of credit, says Corbett, Samuel C. Dobbs Professor of Biology and the Colleges senior associate dean for research.
She is really forging her own way, and shes doing it in a way that supports other students, Corbett adds. She has sought out ways to engage from day one and has been committed to every opportunity.
Nurelegne has been interested in science since high school, when AP courses in biology and psychology sparked her interest in neuroscience. An internship with the NIHs HiSTEP program during her final summer of high school drew her focus to research.
She credits her parents for her interest in science and determination to succeed. They moved from Ethiopia five years before she and her sister joined them in the U.S., building a foundation for a new life.
Her mother, Chaltu Woldemariam, would come home from her housekeeping job at the NIH, amazed at the scientific work happening there. She continued volunteering at the agency after becoming a certified phlebotomist, talking with Nurelegne about the NIHs role in projects such as Ebola treatments.
They poured their whole life into me and my three siblings, and as the oldest, Im the first one to show their sacrifice was worth it, Nurelegne says of her mother and father, Temesgen Tsegaye. Theyve always supported me and are so amazed at how important science is to the world.
Within weeks on campus, Nurelegne joined Emorys Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD), an NIH-funded research and mentoring effort to help students underrepresented in the sciences prepare for top-flight doctoral biomedical and behavioral science programs.
Together with her experience with IMSD, Nurelegne began working on Team Oncohistone in Corbetts lab that spring, staying active even as research shifted online due to the pandemic.
Working on this collaborative project with Jennifer Spangle, an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the Emory School of Medicine, Nurelegne has focused on trying to understand how mutations in histone genes convert these critical proteins into oncohistones that drive cancer phenotypes.
She is a co-author of a 2022 paper on the research, using yeast models to identify the biological pathways that are altered in cells with oncohistones. She presented the findings at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists last fall.
While working on that project, Nurelegne completed a virtual College Summer Opportunities to Advance Research (CSOAR) internship with the NIH, working on a project to investigate GABA presence and function in the human ear.
She also spent a semester securing her second major and focusing on her critical analysis writing at Queen Mary University of London last spring.
Neuroscience and English do connect, because of the critical thinking required for both and because of the need to clearly help people understand science, Nurelegne says.
Research thats close to home
Nurelegne has played a role in that work as a youth advisory board member for the Wellness: Ethiopian/Eritrean Youth Exploring Resilience and Awareness (Weyera) research study at the Rollins School of Public Health.
She had initially signed up to participate in the research into what young Ethiopians think about mental health and were experiencing in their lives. She joined the youth advisory board as the project expanded in the hopes of developing a pilot program for mental health support.
Hasset takes initiative and is a delight to work with, says Tsedenia Tewodros, the senior public health associate on the project, which is led by Dr. Sophia Hussen at Rollins School of Public Health. This is a topic and community that is very close to her heart.
For Nurelegne, who has been active in the Ethiopian-Eritrean Student Union and Black and Latinx in STEM (BLIS), that project and her interest in neuroscience are especially personal.
An aunt she lived with as a child in Ethiopia experienced behavioral changes from a still-unidentified health condition. It left her with first-hand experience of the suffering that stigma around mental illness and general unawareness of neurological disorders can create.
She is doing better, but I still like learning about how the brain can affect so much of who we are, Nurelegne says. I am interested in filling in that research gap, doing foundational research and working with patients, so I hope it becomes more clear how to do best do that (work) as I research at the NIH.
'Cold War competitiveness shouldn't exist in Apac'
Qin Gang says countries in the Asia-Pacific region should not be forced to take sides. File photo: AP
Beijing believes that Indonesia and Asean countries will make independent judgements and choices in the fundamental interests of stability, development and prosperity in the region, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said.
Speaking at a press briefing with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi on Wednesday, Qin said new Cold War competitiveness of great powers should not appear in the Asia-Pacific, and countries in the region should not be forced to take sides.
On the topic of Myanmar, Retno said she appreciates Beijing's support for Asean's five-point peace consensus agreed to bring about an end to hostilities in the military-ruled country.
"As Asean chair, Indonesia will embark on engagements with all stakeholders in Myanmar, with the one goal of opening up a possibility of an inclusive national dialogue in Myanmar," she added.
Retno also said negotiations on creating a code of conduct on the South China Sea, which has been two decades in the making, will be intensified.
"Indonesia and Asean would like to produce an effective, substantive and actionable [code of conduct]," she said.
Qin, who is visiting Jakarta until Thursday, added that Beijing and Jakarta will jointly safeguard the peace and stability of the waterway. (Reuters)
Two dead, more than 50 missing in China mine collapse
A video appears to show loose rocks cascading down a slope. Image: Weibo
At least two people were killed and more than 50 are missing, state media reported, after an apparent collapse at a coal mine in the northern Inner Mongolia region on Wednesday.
Broadcaster CCTV said a collapse occurred at a mine in the western part of the Alxa League region at around 1pm. Other outlets and government agencies described it as a "landslide".
"Currently, the incident has caused the deaths of two people and injured six, with 53 missing," CCTV said in a social media post.
A social media video, purportedly posted by a coal truck driver, appeared to show loose rocks cascading down a slope, kicking up clouds of brown dust that engulfed several vehicles.
"The whole slope has collapsed ... How many people must be dead from that?" a male voice can be heard saying in the background.
"If I'd lined up over there today, I'd have died in there, too," he said.
CCTV reported earlier on Wednesday that the incident had affected a "wide area" of an open-pit mine operated by the Xinjing Coal Mining Company.
"A number of working staff and vehicles have been buried," the broadcaster said at the time, adding that rescue personnel have been sent to the scene.
President Xi Jinping has instructed authorities to "do everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people", CCTV reported.
Officials must "use all their strength to rescue and treat the injured, protect the security of people's lives and property as well as overall social stability", Xi said, according to the broadcaster.
Eight rescue teams comprising more than 330 personnel have been sent to the site in the Luanjingtan ecological zone, along with more than 100 pieces of rescue equipment, the government of Alxa League said in a statement. (AFP)
New Delhi [India], February 22 (ANI/NewsVoir): Women empowerment dominated Day 2 of ELECRAMA 2023, the world's largest electrical show of Indian Electrical & Electronic Manufacturers' Association (IEEMA), as the second edition of 'Women in Power' - a special initiative aimed at celebrating women in the power segment - got off to a spectacular start at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida on 19th February. This year's Women in Power featured a series of engrossing and inspiring conversations from the leading ladies of the power sector across various domains including the likes of Lakshmi Singh, Police Commissioner, Gauam Budh Nagar, Charu Mathur, Director General, IEEMA, Aarya Satyanarayan Director of Venson Electric Private Limited and Chairperson Women in Power Committee of IEEMA, Renuka Gera Director (Industrial Systems and Products) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL and several other dignitaries. Lakshmi Singh, Commissioner of Police, Gautam Budh Nagar, said, "In the modern world, gender inequality is recognized as a major constraint to economic growth. Thus, we're witnessing accelerated efforts to promote women's participation in leadership roles. When it comes to the power sector, the participation of women - especially in realizing the goals of a sustainable economy - remains pivotal. Since India is rapidly establishing itself as the new hub for sustainability, harnessing the power of women across roles in the energy sector is integral to realizing the country's vision. Having participated in such a thought-provoking session at ELECRAMA 2023, I hope our 'Women in Power' pavilion promotes gender equality which, in turn, can boost innovation in the energy industry." Rohit Pathak, President of IEEMA, said, "Power and energy sector remain a major contributor to the economic growth and development of our country. With India being the world's third-largest producer of electricity, the participation of women in the power sector needs to increase. As the energy sector moves towards innovative clean energy solutions to pave the way for a sustainable future, the industry can leverage the untapped talent pool of the highly-skilled women workforce by increasing employment opportunities for them. Our Women in Power initiative was conceived to fulfil that and more. This year's edition will continue to bring forth the voices of global women leaders pertaining to their industrial experiences and journeys, inspiring others and increasing participation in the sector." Charu Mathur, Director General, IEEMA, said, "The last edition of ELECRAMA saw the introduction of the 'Women in Power' pavilion which was the much-needed stepping stone for the formation of 'Women in Power' chapter in IEEMA. We're now well-equipped and more structured to connect career-oriented women in Power and Energy with like-minded individuals to discuss and overcome challenges in the ever-changing work culture. This year's edition of Women in Power will continue to deliver on its promise of bringing women leaders under one roof and giving them a platform to discuss workplace challenges for a better future. With this special initiative, we're looking to inspire more women to choose the electricals and electronics industry as an attractive career choice in India." Aarya Satyanarayan Director of Venson Electric Private Limited and Chairperson, IEEMA WIP- said, "Today, gender equality remains an unfinished business in every country in the world, which is why companies should be more focused on employing more women starting with hiring more female students so that the talent stays in the industry. Along with this, I think creating a healthy and safe environment is also an important aspect of any company which will help maintain a work-life balance for women and foster an inclusive work culture. I am happy to see that ELECRAMA 2023 is focusing on such significant issues that India is facing today regarding women empowerment and I hope we all get to see the change soon." Renuka Gera Director (Industrial Systems and Products) Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), said, "I believe in today's world, strength and power are not identified by gender. That's why there is a greater emphasis being laid on gender equality with the promotion of women in leadership roles becoming the need of the hour. Recent studies also suggest that the Indian economy will grow by 25 per cent with an increase in the participation of women. Additionally, 43 per cent of women are contributing globally to the development. These are valid indicators of the influence highly-skilled women can have on contributing towards a sustainable economy." ELECRAMA 2023, with 'Reimagine Energy - For Sustainable Future' as this year's theme, will have the largest public showcase yet of industry innovations by over 1000 exhibitors from India and abroad occupying 1,10,000 sqm of exhibition space over the course of next five days. The much-anticipated event is expected to witness 3,50,000 footfalls and over 15,000 pre-scheduled meetings between buyers and sellers. The mega event will also see national and international industry experts and policymakers deliberate upon industry challenges, innovations, and business models through a series of leadership summits and meetings. Apart from 'Women in Power', the five-day congregation will also enthrall delegates with multiple concurrent events. It will also host the world's largest confluence of power transmission and distribution communities at the 5th Reverse Buyers Sellers Meet (RBSM) and Domestic Buyers Sellers Meet (DBSM). The mega event will also be seen focusing on building stronger electrical systems for homes, offices, and industries, and discuss the way forward for the complete electrification of railways. Digital technologies, IoT and AI-powered electrical systems, and other smart-tech solutions are being showcased at the event. ELECRAMA is the flagship showcase of the Indian Electrical and Electronics Industry and the largest congregation of the power sector ecosystem in the geography. ELECRAMA brings together the complete spectrum of solutions that powers the planet from source to socket and everything in between. Featuring not just equipment & technology, but peerless thought leadership platforms for everything electric - from technical conclaves to industry summits. Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA) is the apex association of manufacturers of electrical, industrial electronics and allied equipment in India. Founded in 1948, IEEMA members contribute to more than 95 per cent of the power equipment installed in India. The Indian electrical equipment industry size is USD 50 billion with exports of USD 8.5 billion and the power equipment share in the capital goods industry is about 50 per cent. IEEMA plays a crucial policy advocacy role with the government and its agencies. IEEMA evolves and operates equitable and uniform PVC Clause and due to its unbiased approach, IEEMA PVCs have gained recognition and credibility over the last 3 decades. IEEMA holds product-specific conferences, seminars and large exhibitions like ELECRAMA, distribuELEC and E3. This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Minister for commerce and industry made the remarks while addressing the valedictory session of the India Digital Summit in the national capital on Tuesday.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had always focussed on staying ahead of the technology curve, inspired by the strong belief that technology would be the factor that would drive growth and prosperity.
The minister pointed out that India's services export, largely driven by IT, had grown by 20 per cent between 2021 and 2022.
"It is a manifestation of India's strength in the digital arena," he said, adding that the IT industry would eventually overtake merchandise export with a convergence of the two happening by 2030 with the achievement of USD 1 trillion worth of merchandise and services export.
Further, Goyal exhorted the Indian industry to take advantage of significant changes that are happening in the fields of technology, supply chain and energy. (ANI)
Tencent Holdings is in talks to sell Facebook parent Meta Platforms's popular virtual-reality headset in China, home to the world's biggest pool of internet users, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Tencent, China's biggest videogame company, has proposed to Meta that it become the exclusive seller of Meta's Quest 2 headsets in China, people familiar with the discussion said. Tencent has also sought to publish Chinese versions of existing videogames for the device, they said. The discussions, which began in recent months, are still at an early stage and a deal might not be reached, some of the people said. Among issues that would need to be addressed are how user data would be handled, whether global macroeconomic conditions would be right for a partnership, and whether any deal between two of the biggest tech companies in the US and China could draw scrutiny from Washington and Beijing, people said. The two companies would also face China's tight regulations on videogames, according to WSJ report. Currently, the headset and its apps aren't officially available in China. People there can buy devices from parallel importers on e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba Group Holding's Taobao and JD.com, and set up the headsets and download apps with a virtual private network to bypass China's internet firewall. Tencent and Meta didn't respond to requests for comment, WSJ said. Chinese tech-focused media outlet 36Kr earlier reported the talks. The deal, should it come through, would be a significant step for Meta to connect with Chinese consumers again after it struggled to make headway in the market following Beijing's blocking of Facebook in China since 2009, WSJ said. Meta has remained active in China even after Facebook was blocked, largely focusing on wooing Chinese advertisers who target consumers outside the country, WSJ said, adding that Meta runs an office in Shanghai and is actively hiring engineers for its VR business. Global interest in the metaverse, a more immersive version of the internet experienced largely through VR devices, has swelled in the past two years. Meta is the dominant player globally in VR headsets, while its smaller rival Pico, owned by TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd, is working on catching up. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday presented its annual Budget for financial year 2023-24. State Finance minister Suresh Khanna, in his speech, pegged the total Budget size at Rs 6.90 lakh crore. In 2022-23, the state's Budget estimate was at Rs 6.15 lakh crore. Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in the country with a population estimated at 24 crore. The state is also the country's largest consumer and labour market, with its contribution to the country's GDP estimated at more than eight per cent. For the financial year 2023-24, the nominal rate of increase in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated at 19 percent, said Khanna, adding that the state's growth rate is encouraging in an era of likely global recession. Among major budgetary allocations, the state allocated Rs 25,350 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission, hoping that all households will be covered with tap drinking water. Last year's allocation was Rs Rs 19,500 crore. "By the year 2023-2024, a target has been set to provide pure and pure drinking water under Jal Jeevan Mission by providing functional household tap connections to all 2.26 crore households in the state," the Finance minister said. Further, for Kanpur Metro, the first 9m- odd section of which is already operational, a further Rs 585 crore budgetary allocation has been made for the year 2023-24. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2021 inaugurated the completed section of Kanpur Metro Rail Project. This 9-km long section of the Kanpur Metro links IIT Kanpur to Moti Jheel. The entire length of the Metro Rail Project in is 32 Km, with 2 corridors of which 13 kms will be underground. For the Agra Metro project, Rs 465 crore has also been made available in the Budget. Invoking the recent Global Investors Summit, which was attended by over 25,000 investors from across the globe, minister Khanna said, "I am happy to inform you that more than 19,000 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) worth about Rs 33.50 lakh crore were signed during the summit." The investors' summit which came to a close on February 12 was the flagship investment summit of the Yogi Adityanath-led government. The mega event was aimed at bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, academia, think tanks, and leaders from across the world to collectively explore business opportunities and forge partnerships. In the run-up to the summit, the state government held roadshows and meetings with investors in various countries and states to promote the state as a go-to destination for businesses and investments. (ANI)
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 22 (ANI/NewsVoir): The Andhra Pradesh government is hosting an investment drive on February 24th, 2023, at Hyderabad as part of its ongoing efforts to attract businesses and investors to the upcoming Andhra Pradesh Global Investment Summit (GIS) 2023. This is the 5th domestic investor drive held in the run-up to the summit, with successful events previously held in other major cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Mumbai. The investment drive in Hyderabad is designed to give businesses and investors a glimpse of the opportunities available in Andhra Pradesh. The Global InvestorsSummit, set to take place in Visakhapatnam on March 3-4, 2023, will showcase the state's strong industrial base, robust presence of MSMEs and start-ups, and investor-friendly atmosphere under the theme of "Advantage Andhra Pradesh - Where Abundance Meets Prosperity." Andhra Pradesh is widely regarded as a key player in the Indian economy, owing to its sizable manufacturing base, impressive infrastructure, business-friendly policies, and skilled and talented young population. The GIS will provide an in-depth analysis of critical industries such as IT, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, tourism, and energy. The conference will give attendees the opportunity to network and engage with key investors, influential industry leaders, and government officials, as well as explore the diverse range of investment opportunities available throughout the state. The Hyderabad investment drive promises to be an excellent opportunity for businesses and investors looking to explore investment opportunities in Andhra Pradesh. The investment drive in Hyderabad is being spearheaded by the esteemed Gudivada Amarnath, Minister for Industries & Commerce, Infrastructure & Investment, Information Technology, Government of Andhra Pradesh; Buggana Rajendranath, the Minister for Finance & Planning in the Government of Andhra Pradesh, and Audimulapu Suresh, Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development along with the secretaries to the energy, tourism and IT industries. Andhra Pradesh is well-known for its large manufacturing base, excellent infrastructure, business-friendly environment, and pool of talented, skilled young people. The state has consistently ranked first in Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) for the last three years, which is significant given that this survey is based on stakeholder feedback. According to the numbers released thus far, it has the highest double-digit GSDP growth rate in the country in 2021-22, at 11.43 per cent. It also has maritime infrastructure, as it is India's gateway to the southeast, with 974 km of coastline, the second longest in the country, 6 existing ports, and 4 upcoming ports. It has a favourable business environment and industry-focused policies, as well as a proactive government guiding the state. Three of the country's eleven industrial corridors are being built in Andhra Pradesh alone. To name a few, the state has received the LEADS award for logistics 2022, the Inertia Award for Energy 2022, the ET award for port led, and the Infrastructure Project 2022. This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
State finance minister Suresh Khanna, in his speech, pegged the total Budget size at Rs 6.90 lakh crore. In 2022-23, the state's Budget estimate was at Rs 6.15 lakh crore.
For the financial year 2023-24, the nominal rate of increase in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated at 19 per cent, said Khanna, adding that the state's growth rate is encouraging in an era of likely global recession.
Among major budgetary allocations, the state allocated Rs 25,350 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission, hoping that all households will be covered with tap drinking water. Last year's allocation was Rs 19,500 crore. "By the year 2023-2024, a target has been set to provide pure drinking water under Jal Jeevan Mission by providing functional household tap connections to all 2.26 crore households in the state," the Finance minister said.
Further, under UP Tourism Policy 2022, the state sets an investment target of Rs 10 lakh crore, aiming to create 20,000 jobs in the next five years. (ANI)
New Delhi [India], February 22 (ANI/PNN): The Social Lions, a leading digital marketing agency in Mumbai, has taken a bold step towards promoting gender equity in the workplace by introducing a menstrual leave policy for its female employees. This move is a reflection of the company's commitment to creating a supportive and inclusive work environment where all employees feel valued and respected starting in 2023. Under this new policy, female employees at this digital marketing agency in Mumbai will be allowed to take up to 2 days of menstrual leave per cycle. This policy is in addition to their regular sick leave and vacation days and will enable female employees to take the time they need to rest, recover, and prioritize their health and well-being. 'The Social Lions' team, which recently turned 4, has success stories in their portfolio of bigshots like Artium Academy, Digital Ocean, Fittr, Dr Marwah's Clinics, Aatmnirbhar- Scooter Driving School for Women. They have garnered quite a niche for themselves by working with various clients from different industries. Driven by a team that is dedicated, creative and result-oriented, they have a workforce driven with high respect and regards to their female colleagues. Insiyah Burmawala, Social Media Manager at the agency said- "Both our founders understand that menstrual symptoms can vary widely and that some women may experience more severe symptoms than others. Therefore, the company has provided a framework to enable female employees to customize their menstrual leave to their unique needs. This framework includes a discussion with their manager and HR to find a flexible and workable solution." By introducing this menstrual leave policy, this marketing agency is not only supporting its female employees' health and well-being but also promoting gender equity in the workplace. It is important to note that providing menstrual leave is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes good business sense. This policy will help attract and retain talented female employees and will ultimately lead to a more productive, engaged and motivated workforce. While this shows a rather inclusive approach towards building a successful and neutral workspace, it was equity that the leader of the agency - 'Archit Chawla' placed above everything else. He said- "Very few or close to no agency has ever deployed such a policy in the past and we are happy to do this for our team members." In conclusion, The Social Lions is proud to be among the first companies in the digital marketing industry to offer menstrual leave to its female employees. By introducing this policy, the company is leading the way towards a more supportive and inclusive workplace, where all employees feel valued, respected, and supported. We hope that other companies will follow suit and recognize the unique needs of female employees by offering menstrual leave as part of their employee benefits package as a gift this coming Women's Day 2023. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
Leading home textiles firm Welspun India has unveiled a modern manufacturing facility for advanced textiles in Chandanvelly, Telangana. The facility has been launched under its subsidiary Welspun Advanced Material India (WAMIL) and was inaugurated by Telangana Minister for Industries & Commerce, Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA&UD), Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (IT E&C) KT Rama Rao. With an investment of Rs 500 crore, this facility is Welspun's second investment in the same area after setting up a flooring facility valued at Rs 1,500 crore two years ago. Welspun was one of the first investors in Chandanvelly. The new plant will also support the Group's new vision of 'Har Ghar Se Har Dil Tak Welspun' according to which, the Welspun Group wants to touch lives of end consumers through the businesses in their portfolio. The Chairman of Welspun Group, Balkrishan Goenka, said, "We have already invested around Rs 2,000 crore here. The new facility will not only strengthen the growing portfolio of Welspun, but also create over 12,000 direct and indirect jobs that will benefit the surrounding communities of Chandanvelly." Adressing the gathering, Telangana Minister KTR said, "There was no industry in Chandanvelly around five years back. After Welspun came as an anchor, other companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Kitex and others came here. Chandanvelly and Sitarampur is going to become the biggest industry society in Telangana. There is a lot of effort that goes into bringing each industry. Welspun has set up a Welspun city here." In 2017-18, he said, "They decided to set up a new plant in Gujarat and even ordered the relevant machinery. However, based on our request, they have shifted their plant here. Already two plants with around Rs 2,000-crore investment have been set up here." Goenka has also promised to put here around Rs 3,000 to 5,000 crore in the next 3-5 years, he said, adding, "However, people in Rangareddy keep telling that they want IT industries here. I am glad that Balkrishan Goenka has promised to train around 1000-1200 students and put up a IT shared services centre here in Chandanvelly." The minister said, "I take the responsibility to lay a good road from Shamshabad to here as a lot of industries are being set up here. An electric vehicle hub is also being set up in Sitarampur which is becoming a node in the Telangana mobility valley. Electric buses, electric two wheelers and others will be manufactured there." He added, "You (Balkrishan Goenka) have complemented the quality of long staple cotton from Telangana. Earlier, the South India Mills Association has also said that the cotton produced in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is of good quality than Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and others and we just have to brand it, package it and use it effectively." The Minister said, "We will certainly discuss this with our handlooms and textiles department to make sure that our farmers are onboard. On your partnership with IKEA, the local administration here can work with you to ensure that the local women in large numbers can participate with Welspun and get gainful employment and livelihood opportunities and thus you can supply to IKEA and even more." He also said, "I request the local administration to set up a skill development centre for women, youth, IT and IT-enabled services and others. It will also lead to more employment opportunities here." He further said, "We have built the world's largest lift irrigation project in four years, the Kaleswaram project. I promise you, standing on the soil of Rangareddy that we will bring water from River Krishna and irrigate this area of Rangareddy under Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme." He added, "Setting up an industry can change the face of any place. In the last 5 years, Shabad, Chandanvelly, Sitarampur has changed a lot and will continue to change further. All this will surely benefit our future generations." (ANI)
Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI's) Executive Director VS Sundaresan on Wednesday praised the role that retail and domestic institutional investors were playing in limiting the volatility in the market. Speaking at an event in Mumbai on Wednesday, he said, "Ten years back, the market was completely driven by foreign portfolio investment (FPI). But now, no one sees that whether FPI is putting money or not and this is not affecting the market." He said due to that, the market is growing. The executive director said this is a good sign and this is the process of capital formation. "This proves that savings of Indians were being channelised into the market, which is becoming resilient in many ways." The executive director said retail participation is increasing but investors have to be made aware. "Now, as nine out of 10 investors are losing money because of less margins, it means there is a lot of scope for investors' education," he said, adding that a different type of complaint was coming. He said, "We need to improve standard of governance. This will increase the market size." The executive director also asked Indian companies to evolve beyond the "litigation mindset", citing the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case involving telecommunication firms to drive home the point. "Why do we have this kind of litigation mindset? Isn't there a better way of resolving disputes? The time we are wasting in litigation can be diverted towards a productive purpose," Sundaresan said. (ANI)
Ahead of his upcoming family entertainer film 'Selfiee', Akshay Kumar broke the Guinness World Record for Most Selfies taken in three minutes at a meet and greet fans during the film promotions in Mumbai. Taking to Instagram, Akshay dropped a series of videos and pictures from the promotion. He penned the gratitude note, "Everything I have achieved and where I am in life is due to the unconditional love of my fans. This is my special tribute to them, acknowledging how they have stood by me throughout my career." https://www.instagram.com/p/Co9nZfMNeqG/ He added, "With the help of my fans, we have broken the Guinness World Record for Most Selfies in 3 minutes) Thank you everyone. This was very special and I'll remember this forever. Ab selfies hi selfies hongi. See you all in cinemas on Friday." Khiladi of Bollywood who is known for his disruptive stunts and distinctive records is now the Guinness World record title holder for this special feat with 184 selfies. Previously, Akshay has broken the world record of 168 self-portrait photographs (selfies) taken in three minutes by James Smith (USA) aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship on January 22, 2018. Earlier to this, in 2015 global icon and Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson held this record with 105 self-portrait photographs (selfies) in three minutes at the premiere of San Andreas in London. Speaking on breaking this unique record Akshay said, "I am ecstatic at breaking this unique World Record and sharing this moment with my fans! Everything that I have achieved so far and where I am at this moment of my life, is due to the unconditional love and support of my fans everywhere. This was my way of paying a special tribute to them, of acknowledging how they have stood by me and my work in my entire career." The film is an official Hindi remake of the Malayalam film 'Driving License', which starred Prithviraj and Suraj Venjaramoodu in the lead roles. Helmed by Raj Mehta, the film stars Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi, Nushrratt Bharuccha, and Diana Penty in the lead roles. It is all set to hit the theatres on February 24, 2023. (ANI)
A video of the wrap-up party has now surfaced online, in which Ranbir is seen performing all the popular dance steps from the songs.
It shows Ranbir in a white t-shirt paired with black trousers a black hat.
The actor really seemed to be enjoying himself as he danced to the tracks and mouthed the lyrics.
On the work front, Ranbir is currently promoting his upcoming film 'Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar' directed by Luv Ranjan. It stars Shraddha Kapoor as the female lead along with Dimple Kapadia, Boney Kapoor, Anubhav Singh Bassi and Rajesh Jais.
--IANS dc/arm
( 143 Words)
2023-02-22-19:04:02 (IANS)
Actor Rakhi Sawant alleged on Wednesday that her husband Adil Khan Durranis family told her that she is a Hindu and hence they cant accept her into the family. Speaking to reporters outside a court in Mysuru, Rakhi Sawant broke down and said, "He (Adil) is married to me. I want justice. Today morning I spoke to his father. He told me that they can't accept me because I am a Hindu. After I told him that I have now accepted Islam and that his son is married to me, he stopped taking my calls. Adil is always threatening me with 'talaq'." She added, "I don't want to give him divorce. I am his wife. His father spoke very rudely to me. I don't know anyone in Mysuru, but I want justice. I have accepted Islam. I have all the documents of my marriage. Where should I go now? What should I do?" "I met Adil in Mysuru one year ago, and eight months back we got married. I accepted Islam and we did 'Nikah'. Our marriage was registered in Mumbai. He had promised me that we will have babies and do a lot of things together," Sawant said. Sawant also claimed that she spent Rs 1.60 crore on Adil. "I even sold my jewellery but he took everything from me. He also started torturing me. He was having an affair with an Iranian girl in Mysuru for five years, who later accused him of rape. I got messages from the Iranian girl in which Adil claimed that he is just using me for money and promised her a house in Dubai. He also told her that I will be cheated by him," she added. The Karnataka police have taken Adil into custody from the Mumbai police in connection with a rape complaint lodged against him by an Iranian student in Mysuru. He was produced before the court on Wednesday which remanded him to seven-day police custody. --IANS mka/arm ( 346 Words) 2023-02-22-21:18:03 (IANS)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to take a policy decision on filling up vacant seats, reserved for persons with disabilities (PwD), in medical colleges by taking in candidates who have lesser degree of disability than the prescribed benchmark. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma also asked the Centre to respond, within three weeks, to a petition filed by an MBBS aspirant, who suffered from a locomotor disability and sought admission in a medical college against an unfilled seat reserved for persons with disabilities. The bench listed the case for the next hearing on April 13. The MBBS aspirant had appeared in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2022 for undergraduate admission to medical colleges and scored 96.06 percentile and attained the 42nd Rank under the Unreserved Persons with Disabilities (UR-PwD) Category. However, she was found to be short of the 40 per cent threshold prescribed as benchmark under Section 2(r) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, for availing the PwD seat. The petitioner, whom the AIIMS medical board only considered the deformity in her middle, ring fingers and metacarpals and left out the index finger and disability to be 30 per cent, urged that she be allocated one of the vacant seats under the PwD category in the ongoing NEET-UG 2022 cycle. Lawyer Rahul Bajaj, representing the petitioner, said that a representation was submitted by the petitioner to the Centre government in which it was urged to allocate seats reserved for PwD category to the aspirant who may have a less percentage of disability than what has been prescribed as the benchmark. Terming a genuine concerned raised by the petitioner, the court ordered the Central government to take a policy decision in the matter and the reply shall include the decision on the representation. Appreciating the efforts of Bajaj, who is visually challenged, the court also asked its registry to provide documents to the lawyer in a format accessible to him. --IANS spr/vd ( 351 Words) 2023-02-21-22:56:04 (IANS)
According to a global study, most babies born to mothers with COVID-19 were separated after birth resulting in low breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact rates during the height of the pandemic. The international research, led by Murdoch Children's Research Institute in collaboration with the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care (ESPNIC), found that transmission of COVID-19 from mother to baby was rare and generally mild when it occurred. But despite this, almost half of all babies did not receive any breast milk, with only a quarter being breastfed and the majority of mothers and babies having no skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth. Murdoch Children's Professor David Tingay said the study, the largest on global family-centred care during COVID-19, highlighted how ensuring good infection control measures had significantly impacted neonatal practice over the past few years. "Almost half of all newborns in the trial were denied early and close contact with their mother, demonstrating how hard it was to balance infection control measures with mother-baby bonding recommendations, especially in the first year of the pandemic," he said. Encouragingly, clinicians did gradually adapt to allow more family-centred care as the pandemic progressed, particularly the use of breastmilk." The study, published in The Lancet's e clinical medicine, involved 692 babies born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 in 13 neonatal intensive care units across 10 countries, including Brazil, France, Italy and the US, who participated in the EPICENTRE trial. It found 54 per cent of newborns were separated from their mothers and only 7 per cent had physical contact before separation. Maternal breastmilk feeding rates were low at 53 per cent, with just 24 per cent exclusively fed with their mother's breastmilk. But contact and breastfeeding increased over time from 23 per cent in Spring 2020 to 70 per cent in Winter 2020/21 (northern hemisphere seasons). Additionally, 73 per cent of those separated from their mother were admitted into a neonatal intensive care unit or special care nursery without any symptomatic or underlying condition to account for admission. Only 5 per cent of babies born to infected mothers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and most cases were mild. Murdoch Children's Dr Georgie Dowse said the benefits of family-centred care in the perinatal period for both mothers and babies were well-established. "Family-centred care practices such as breastfeeding, co-habitation and skin-to-skin contact are critical to the well-being of mothers and neonates, even those needing intensive care," she said. "Breastmilk provides a baby with nutrition and supports growth and development. Breastfeeding can help protect baby and mother against certain illnesses and diseases spanning asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes and sudden infant death syndrome. Skin-to-skin contact helps babies adjust to life outside the womb and supports mothers to initiate breastfeeding and develop close, loving relationships with their baby." Professor Tingay said the impact of COVID-19 on family-centred care should be considered when updating infection control guidelines. "The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for healthcare services, including the delivery of family-centred care," he said. Guidelines for the management of neonates born to infected mothers were initially formulated in the context of many unknowns and often varied and based on expert consensus rather than evidence. "An encouraging finding was the increased provision of family-centred care practices as the pandemic progressed, even when the mother was very sick herself. We are hopeful doctors and nurses will use the experiences from the pandemic to better family-centred care whenever a mother or baby is unwell. "We strongly encourage health services to continue implementing family-centred care practices during the future stages of this pandemic to ensure neonates and mothers receive the best possible health benefits." (ANI)
The first year Post Graduate (MD) student in the department of Anaesthesia of the Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) in Warangal took the extreme step at the MGM Hospital while she was on duty on Wednesday.
She was found unconscious around 6.30 a.m. and was admitted to the emergency ward where CPR was administered. As her condition deteriorated, she was shifted to Hyderabad.
The student was admitted to Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) and her condition is stated to be critical.
Her father Narendra broke down while talking to media persons at NIMS. He also slammed the management of the college for not taking any action on her complaint.
He said a senior student had been harassing his daughter since November last year and though the issue was brought to the notice of higher officials of KMC, no action was taken.
Narendra, who works as Assistant Sub-Inspector in Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Warangal, claimed that her daughter sought the support of her fellow students but they backed out, saying they have to study another two years in the same college.
The girl's father demanded that the college management take strong action against the student who was harassing her.
--IANS ms/vd
( 236 Words)
2023-02-22-21:54:06 (IANS)
A YouTuber with around 14.5 million subscribers has been booked for allegedly posting on the Internet a video in which photos and videos of a couple's wedding were used without their consent, and presenting facts related to the marriage in an objectionable manner. The complainant, an advocate, told the police that he got married in September 2022. After the wedding pictures and videos were posted on February 13, he and his wife started receiving messages from their acquaintances on February 14. "We came to know that photos and videos of our wedding were used in a video posted on a YouTube channel by one Arvind Arora. In the video, it was mentioned that I (the groom) disappeared from the house on the day of the wedding," he said. That the family members searched for the groom throughout the night and he was found hiding in the neighbour's house, was a baseless story to defame him, the complainant told the police. There are about 1.5 crore subscribers on this YouTube channel and more than 3 lakh people have watched this video. The video which was posted on February 13 using photos and videos of the couple's wedding without their permission has 44,000 likes and more than 600 comments, the complainant alleged. The advocate told the police he tried to contact the channel concerned but failed to get any response, and later, the matter was reported to the police. "A case under relevant sections of the IPC including the IT act has been registered against Arvind Arora at cyber crime police station (west). A case was registered against Arora under Sections 469 (forgery), 500 (defamation) of the IPC and Sections 66C and 67 of the IT act at cyber crime west police station," SHO Amit Kumar said, adding that a notice has also been served to the channel for further probe. --IANS str/pgh ( 327 Words) 2023-02-21-22:24:02 (IANS)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Magunta and Joshi in the second week of February under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The same week, both were sent to 10-day custody of the central agency.
Special Judge M.K. Nagpal sent the two accused to judicial custody on Tuesday.
The ED has alleged that Magunta was involved in various activities of possession, use, and transfer of the proceeds of crime worth at least Rs 180 crore.
It is alleged that Joshi participated in transmission of kickback of around Rs 30 crore received through hawala channels to deliver it to co-accused Vijay Nair, the ED said.
According to the ED's chargesheet, a part of the alleged Rs 100 crore kickback generated in the crime was used in the campaign for the Goa Assembly elections by the Aam Aadmi Party.
Based on the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) FIR, the ED had initiated the money laundering case.
--IANS spr/arm
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2023-02-21-22:46:04 (IANS)
Justice Jasmeet Singh issued the notice to NIA and directed the agency to file a reply within four weeks.
The matter has been listed for next hearing on July 11.
The lawyer representing Salam stated that as there is a mandatory requirement of permission from the Central government, the NIA can only investigate scheduled offences, including offences under Section 6(5) of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, in the present case.
The lawyer added that the NIA may directly investigate the case but the agency cannot register the offence that is in contradiction to Section 6(8), as per section 6(5) regardless of sub-sections 1 to 4.
In September last year, the NIA and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had carried out nationwide raids against terror-funding suspects. PFI Chairman Salam and 100 other PFI activists were arrested during the raids.
The other arrested persons included PFI co-founder P. Koya, also an erstwhile member of the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), and former PFI chairman E. Abubacker.
--IANS spr/arm
( 245 Words)
2023-02-21-22:56:03 (IANS)
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said on Tuesday that in a pan-India operation, the agency has busted a gold smuggling syndicate run by Sudanese nationals operating through Nepal border with the arrest of 10 persons, including seven Sudanese and three Indian nationals. A DRI official said that as of now, the agency has seized a total of 101.7 kg of smuggled gold worth Rs 51 crore and cash to the tune of Rs 1 crore in different operations carried out in Patna, Pune and Mumbai. The seized gold was mostly in paste form which was brought to India through the Indo-Nepal border and then transported via train or by air to different parts of the country, primarily to Mumbai. "The DRI officials intercepted three Sudanese nationals on February 19 when they were boarding a train for Mumbai from Patna. A total of 37.126 kg gold paste in 40 packets was recovered from them. They had ingeniously concealed the gold in specially made cavity of the sleeveless jackets worn by them," said the official. In the second operation, two Sudanese women were intercepted on February 20 in Pune while travelling from Hyderabad to Mumbai by bus. The DRI recovered 5.615 kg of smuggled gold in assorted form from their possession. The third set of two Sudanese nationals travelling to Mumbai from Patna was intercepted at the Mumbai railway station on February 20. Gold paste weighing 38.76 kg in 40 packets was recovered from them. "Acting swiftly on the leads provided by the smugglers/carriers, the DRI officers recovered about 20.2 kg smuggled gold in assorted forms along with Rs 74 lakh worth foreign currency and Rs 63 lakh in Indian currency from different premises in Mumbai, which were being used for extraction of smuggled gold. Three persons were apprehended in this follow-up action," the DRI official said. --IANS atk/arm ( 321 Words) 2023-02-21-23:26:03 (IANS)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai on Tuesday, met Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi seeking his intervention into the alleged law and order lapses in the state. Annamalai met Governor RN Ravi along with the veterans of the Indian armed forces and BJP Tamil Nadu leaders. "Along with veterans of Indian armed forces & leaders of @BJP4TamilNadu, we met the Hon Governor of Tamil Nadu Thiru RN Ravi avargal and submitted a memorandum on the recent lapses of Law & order in the State and seeked his kind intervention in this regard," Annamalai later said in the tweet. Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai participated in a one-day hunger strike and silent rally on Tuesday against the DMK Government over the killing of an Army jawan in Krishnagiri. Tamil Nadu BJP conducts the program in Chennai Sivananda Salai with several ex-defence personnel along with BJP Ex-Service Men wing cadres. Earlier today, attacking DMK and CM MK Stalin, TN BJP VP Narayanan Thirupathy said, "Over a week has passed but there is no statement from DMK or CM MK Stalin. An Army man was killed by a DMK counsellor. DMK has been trying to threaten the opposition. They are trying to provoke their party men to attack others who are against the govt" "DMK has been saying that we are in power, we can do whatever we want. So we are having a hunger strike today and in the evening we are having a candle march. We will go to the war memorial in memory of the deceased," added Thirupathy. Tamil Nadu Police had arrested the main accused DMK Councillor Chinnasamy and nine others including his son Rajapandi in the jawan's death case in Krishnagiri. According to the police, the DMK Councillor had an argument with the 33-year-old Armyman Prabhu over washing clothes at a water tank near the victim's house on February 8. Prabhu who was undergoing treatment in a private hospital at Hossur succumbed to his injuries on February 14th night. (ANI)
As many as 62 recruits in the fresh batch of Agniveers left for their training centre from the Army Recruitment Office, Rohtak earlier on Tuesday. The youths before leaving said, whether it is 4 years or 15 years, they are high spirited to serve the country and will work hard to take the permanent commission in the Army. The officials at the Rohtak-based recruitment office, also guided the shortlisted Agniveers with all the essential formalities before they depart for their training centre. Naveen, one among the 62 Agniveers joining the Indian Army, while speaking with ANI said, "When this scheme came, there was some disappointment. But the spirit to serve the country remained highly intact and I continued to prepare myself for it." Another one Mohit said, "Having the Indian Army's batch on the shoulders is a completely different feeling altogether." He further added that he is determined to take permanent commission by following the directives given by the recruitment officials. The shortlisted batch of recruits will undergo 6 months of training at the Army centre in Odisha's Gopalpur. They will be sent for their respective specialized training later. Training for the first batch of 112 Agniveers began in January this year at the Guards Regimental Centre for the Brigade of the Guards in Kamptee, Nagpur. (ANI)
A clash broke out between YSR Congress Party and TDP workers in Gannavaram in Gannavaram town on Monday.
According to officials, unidentified people vandalised the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) office in Gannavaram and set the party's General Secretary Koneru Sandeep's car on fire.
Following the incident, TDP spokesman Kommareddy Pattabhiram and other leaders were taken into custody by police and were produced in court on Tuesday. Gannavaram court later sent TDP spokesman Pattabhiram on a 14-day remand.
TDP leaders alleged third-degree torture to Pattabhiram by police during remand and claimed that he was later taken to a government hospital because of injuries on his hands.
"We suspect police did third-degree torture with him. We will approach session court and see bail is granted to him," TDP MLC Ashok Babu told reporters.
Further details are awaited in the case. (ANI)
Sanjay Raut alleged a threat to his life in the letter addressed to Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Mumbai CP and Thane CP.
In his letter, Sanjay Raut said, "I have received information that a notorious goon Raja Thakur of Thane has been given a contract by Shrikant Shinde to kill me."
He alleged that his security was withdrawn after the change in government in the state.
"After the change of government in Maharashtra, my security was withdrawn. I don't have any complaints about it. Such political decisions keep happening. Looking at the current situation in Maharashtra, this issue needs to be brought to your attention," Sanjay Raut further said in the letter.
Talking to the media, after citing a threat to his life, Sanjay Raut said that he doesn't need any security from the government.
"I have written a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, I have also told Mumbai CP Vivek Phansalkar and Thane CP. I also called Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding it," he said.
Sanjay Raut added saying, "I don't want any security, I have told this only because it is my duty as a people's representative".
Further attacking the Maharashtra government, Sanjay Raut said, "What is happening in your state, your MP and MLAs are giving contracts for killing people. The contract is being given to a gangster who has currently got bail."
"I don't want any security, because I'm alone a lion," he added. (ANI)
Ludhiana Police Commissioner, Mandeep Singh Sidhu told the media that a fake pistol and Rs 1.5 lakh has also been recovered from the accused.
As per the police, the accused were using international number to threaten the victim for extortion.
"Two men were arrested for trying to extort Rs 5 lakhs by making calls to a victim named Sunil Kumar and threatening him using an international number. Rs 1.5 lakh and a fake pistol have been recovered from them," he said.
Further investigation is underway in the case. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Annamalai along with ex-servicemen met Governor RN Ravi at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday over the murder of an army man allegedly by a DMK ward councillor in Krishnagiri. "The ex-servicemen conveyed their grievances to the Governor and expressed they are unsafe in Tamil Nadu. Governor listened to ex-servicemen and he has taken it very strictly," Annamalai told ANI. He further said that the Governor is also "pained" by the incident. "Governor also informed us that he is pained by whatever has happened. He promised that he would look into it and get back to them," the BJP chief said. Annamalai said that the Governor was also requested to act and give a government job and compensation to the family of the deceased. He further hit out at the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, and said, "CM not saying anything in remorse shows his moral failure. Army men have taken care of us for years now it's CM's duty to take care of them." TN BJP VP Narayanan Thirupathy also slammed the state government, saying, "Over a week has passed but there is no statement from DMK or CM MK Stalin. An Army man was killed by a DMK counsellor. DMK has been trying to threaten the opposition. They are trying to provoke their party men to attack others who are against the government." Annamalai participates in a one-day hunger strike and silent rally on Tuesday against the DMK Government over the incident. Tamil Nadu BJP also conducted the program in Chennai Sivananda Salai with several ex-defence personnel along with BJP Ex-Service Men wing cadres. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Police arrested the main accused DMK Councillor Chinnasamy and nine others including his son Rajapandi in the jawan's death case in Krishnagiri. According to the police, the DMK Councillor had an argument with the 33-year-old Armyman Prabhu over washing clothes at a water tank near the victim's house on February 8. The brawl escalated to an extent that the DMK Councillor along with nine persons allegedly attacked the victim Prabhu, and his brother, Prabhakaran later that day. Prabhu who was undergoing treatment in a private hospital at Hossur and later succumbed to his injuries. (ANI)
The former Congress president's rally will be held at Malki Ground in Shillong. It will be Rahul Gandhi's first public appearance after Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Pertinent to mention, the Wayanad MP was missing in the campaign for the party in Tripura where polling was held on February 16.
So far, the top Congress leadership has been absent from the campaign scene in the three northeastern poll-bound states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland barring party president Mallikarjun Kharge addressing an election rally in Nagaland only on Tuesday.
However, Kharge was also missing from the campaigning in Tripura.
Addressing a gathering in Nagaland's Chumoukedima, Congress president Kharge on Tuesday launched a series of attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that the party and its allies looted the state.
"For the last 20 years, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and BJP looted Nagaland. It's high time that the people get justice and a govt that works for the people," Kharge said. "The BJP's politics is aimed at destroying the indigenous and unique culture of the Nagas. The people of Nagaland must stand against this attack on the culture of Nagaland and the politics of polarization and hatred," Kharge said.
Polling will be held in both the states of Meghalaya and Nagaland on February 27 while the counting is scheduled on March 2. (ANI)
The Air India flight AI 106 was carrying around 300 passengers. There was panic among passengers after the cockpit crew announced that the flight was being diverted to an airport in Sweden due to a technical glitch. All the passengers are safe.
"Air India flight AI 106 from Newark to Delhi developed a technical snag and diverted to Sweden, (Stockholm) airport safely," an Air India official told ANI.
After reporting a technical snag, the flight was diverted to Stockholm. Several fire tenders rushed towards the aircraft on arrival at Stockholm airport.
"Fear gripped the nearly 300 passengers on board as a large number of fire engines rushed to Stockholm airport," a source told ANI.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the Air India flight reported an oil leak from the engine.
"Air India flight Newark to Delhi flight diverted to Sweden's Stockholm due to oil leak from aircraft engine," DGCA said.
Air India has deployed Boeing B-777 aircraft for long routes, especially for the United States.
Air India's statement on the above diversion is awaited.
Earlier on Monday, an Air India flight from New York to Delhi (AI 102) was diverted to London due to a medical emergency onboard. After landing at Heathrow airport, the passenger was rushed to a hospital in London.
"Air India ground staff at Heathrow have been made to evacuate the individual concerned to hospital," an Air India official told ANI. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna on Wednesday offered prayers at a temple in Lucknow ahead of presenting the state Budget for the financial year 2023-24 in the Vidhan Sabha. He will table the second budget of the Yogi Adityanath government in its second term today. This is the seventh overall budget of the Yogi government since 2017. While talking to reporters here he said that the goal is to achieve USD 1 trillion economy. "Organised crime has been eradicated from UP in the last few years. The state has only moved towards development. Today, our second Budget will be presented. Our focus is on the infrastructure sector and our goal is to achieve USD 1 trillion economy," he said. The budget session in Uttar Pradesh started on Monday. Earlier, addressing both houses of the UP Legislature on the first day of the Budget session, the Governor said that the government was sensitive towards the issues of youth, women, farmers and businessmen and was leaving no stone unturned to address them effectively. Patel termed the Global Investor Summit 23 which was recently held in Lucknow as the 'Mahakumbh of Investment' and said that it bears testimony to the fact that the state is also the best in the eyes of investors. "In the 'Mahakumbh of Investment', UP received investment proposals not only from the country but also from the world. This will provide employment to about 94 lakh youths", she said. During the Global Investors Summit, a total of 19,058 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) for investment intents, worth Rs 33.50 lakh crore, were signed, the government had said earlier. Earlier in January, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath assured the State people that the upcoming state budget will be according to the aspirations of 25 crore people and that the resolutions of Lokalyan Sankalp Patra will be fulfilled. (ANI)
Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, the national media-in-charge of the Kisan Morcha, Manoj Yadav said, "Under the leadership of the Kisan Morcha's national president and MP Rajkumar Chahar, the Morcha will celebrate 'Namo Kisan Samman Divas' on February 24. This Samman Diwas will be celebrated in all districts across the country."
He informed further that on this day, the BJP leaders and workers will reach out to the beneficiaries of the scheme and interact with them all across the country.
"BJP will also express a special gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for conceiving and implementing a scheme for the welfare and well-being of our Annadata (farmers)," he said.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana was launched by PM Modi on February 24, 2019 from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.
As part of this scheme, a total of Rs 6,000 each are sent directly to the bank accounts of an estimated 11 crore farmers in the country every year -- in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each. (ANI)
A 35-year-old man was gunned down in Gurugram's Saraswati Enclave by three masked miscreants on Tuesday. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang operatives have claimed responsibility for the murder. The deceased has been identified as Rahul Solanki who hails from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh and used to work as a taxi driver. Meanwhile, Rahul's sister alleged that her husband killed her brother. According to Rahul's sister, "The incident took place on Tuesday around 10.15 pm in Saraswati Enclave of Sector 10 area. Rahul who used to work as a taxi driver came to his house at around 10 pm and as soon as he parked his taxi and started going towards the house, three masked riders came and fired bullets at Rahul in the street. He has been shot about 13 times. On the other hand, the sister of the deceased has accused her husband of killing her brother." On the basis of family members' allegations considering the brother-in-law of the deceased as the accused, the police started the investigation but on Wednesday night, henchman of Lawrence Bishnoi's gang Boxer Hrithik took responsibility for the murder. The henchman of Bishnoi's gang Hrithik in the Facebook post also claimed that gangster Kaushal, gangster Bawana and gangster Bambiha's associates would be killed similarly, police said. After this Facebook post came to the fore, the Gurugram police are also probing the matter from the gang war angle. Earlier in 2012, the deceased Rahul had killed an ambulance owner inside Gurugram. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and was on bail. All the accused are absconding and the police have registered a case of murder against all absconding accused. Further investigation is underway. Earlier on Tuesday, National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at the premises of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's close aide Kailash Manju in Jodhpur and Kulwinder in Gandhidham. According to sources, Kailash and Kulwinder have been long-time associates of Bishnoi. On the basis of call records, the NIA teams conducted searches in rural and urban areas of Jodhpur as Bishnoi's network has been active in these areas, sources said. The role of Bishnoi's henchmen has come to the fore in several cases of extortion, firing and murder, they said. Meanwhile, NIA sources revealed Kulwinder is also connected to international drug syndicates. In a major crackdown against gangster syndicates, the NIA launched searches at over 70 locations across several states on Tuesday. The searches were conducted in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The ongoing raids are in connection with a probe into a case registered by NIA against gangster and their criminal syndicates. This is the fourth round of NIA raids on the gangster network. The raids were being conducted at over 30 locations in Punjab. In Haryana, NIA carried out raids in Yamuna Nagar's Munda Majra area. In Azad Nagar, the local police force was also present with the NIA team. (ANI)
In 2019, a huge amount of cash was recovered from one of his subordinates. Later, the ED took over the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
On Tuesday, ED launched raids at 24 locations across several states.
The raids were being conducted in Jharkhand, Bihar, Delhi and Haryana.
Further details are awaited. (ANI)
Bombay High Court has dismissed a PIL against Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the Supreme Court. While rejecting the PIL filed by the Bombay Lawyers Association, Bombay HC observed, "The learned Additional Solicitor General has referred to some of the statements made by Respondent Nos 1 and 2, wherein it has been said that the Government has never undermined the authority of the judiciary and its independence will always remain untouched and promoted and they respect the ideals of the Constitution." The court further said, "Respondent No 1 has also made a statement that he has the highest respect for the judiciary and is committed to the Constitution of India. The constitutional authorities cannot be removed in the manner as suggested by the Petitioner. Fair criticism of the judgment is permissible. It is no doubt, the fundamental duty of every citizen to abide by the Constitution. Majesty of law has to be respected." The HC said the credibility of the Supreme Court of India is sky-high. It cannot be eroded or impinged by the statements of individuals. The Constitution of India is supreme and sacrosanct. Every citizen of India is bound by the Constitution and is expected to abide by the constitutional values, the HC Bench said. The constitutional institutions, the court said are to be respected by all, including constitutional authorities and persons holding constitutional posts. (ANI)
The Ayanavaram Police on Wednesday said that the main attacker of sub-inspector Shankar has been arrested. The main accused have been identified as Gautham who was driving a two-wheeler, and the other two Surya and Ajith were riding pillion. Earlier on February 20, SI Shankar who was engaged in vehicle inspection was attacked by a mysterious gang of three people who came on a two-wheeler assaulted him with an iron rod and fled from there, local police said. A further investigation was carried out by the police based on the footage recorded in the CCTV cameras installed at the place of the incident took place. Earlier, Head Constable Amanuddin, Constables Saravanan and Thirunavukarasu led by Ayanavara Police Assistant Inspector Meena arrested both Gautham and Ajith and an intensive investigation was carried out by police to arrest Surya, police said. Meanwhile, the absconding attacker Bendu Surya was hiding in the house of his sister Pushpa in Tiruvallur district, and to arrest him assistant inspector Meena led a 4-member special police force of Thiruvalluvar district and rushed to that place, police said. Police further said, "Accused tried to escape the police and attacked the policemen with a knife but later he was shot by Inspector Meena in the knee." In the attack Ayanavaram Head Constable Amanuddin and Chief Secretariat Colony Police Station Constable Saravanan were seriously injured, police said. Moreover, the arrested Surya has been admitted to Kilpakkam Government Hospital where he is undergoing treatment. Apart from that, the two constables who were injured in the attack incident have also been admitted to Kilpakkam Government Hospital and undergoing treatment, police said. Further investigation conducted by the police revealed that 14 cases are pending against accused Surya in various police stations including Pulianthoppu police station, including the incident of attempted murder, and theft of a cell phone and gold chain. The Ayanavaram police registered a case under Section 3, including an attempt to murder. Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
The Election Commission of India has deployed 119 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in Meghalaya to smoothly conduct the assembly polls in the state which will be held on February 27. "In terms of law and order, we have 119 companies here," FR Kharkongor, Chief Electoral Officer, Meghalaya told ANI. "We had 40 companies who had been deployed earlier and another 79 companies have been inducted after the Tripura polls. In terms of law and order, it is very smooth. Of course unfortunately one candidate of the Sohiong constituency passed away in the hospital. We have already sent the information and recommendation for adjustment of the poll to the election commission. So in all likelihood, the election will be held in 59 out of 60 constituencies," the CEO of Meghalaya added. Kharkongor further said that there are 60 assembly constituencies in Meghalaya and have two regions - 36 constituencies in Khasi, Jaintia Hills region and 24 constituencies in Garo Hills region. "In terms of the polling stations, we have 3,482 polling stations. All preparations are on track and all the 12 districts' election teams have prepared all the actions and all preparations are in full swing. We have some very minor issues in Garo hills where there was a group clash between two parties at Phulbari in the West Garo hills district, but that was sorted out. We have already arrested 31 people. A few incidents happened in Shillong and the situation is also under control. By and large, election preparedness is going on smoothly," he said. He informed that the polling has already started because of Form 12D introduced by the Election Commission of India. "...we have home voting for differently-abled people, for senior citizens age above 80. So this process will on till February 25. Our teams have gone and trek to very remote areas of the state," Kharkongor said. The Chief Electoral Officer, Meghalaya said that in respect of the counting arrangements also, all arrangements are in place. "We have 13 counting centres here in our state, 12 counting centres in the district headquarters and one in Sohra civil sub-division," he said. The official detailed the arrangements for the polling and the steps taken to boost voter participation in the upcoming Assembly polls. "We have some unique polling stations, two are riverine polling stations. There are some interesting polling stations in Meghalaya. We have launched Mission 300 where five polling stations in each constituency have been identified, where the voter turnout is less than the state average. Last time in 2018, the state average was 86.90 per cent," he said. The CEO hoped that the voting percentage will be as high as 90 per cent or above. "We are also using music in campaigns, awareness programmes to aware the voters, because the people of Meghalaya love music and music is a part of the DNA of people here," he said. He said that there are about 81,000 first-time voters in the state. "We plan to give them some medals to come to vote, we will recognise them with the voter medal," he said. "As a measure to encourage early voting, we have five early voters medals and will give to early five voters in every polling station. We have 240 special polling stations - 120 will be all managed women polling stations, 60 will be model polling stations and 60 will be the PWD polling stations," the CEO added. The total number of voters in the state is 21,75,236 and out of them 10.99 lakh voters are female voters and 10.68 lakh voters are male voters. "In Meghalaya, the female voters are much more than male voters. The female participation is quite high and we hope that the voter turnout will also be high and the election will hold peacefully, smoothly," F. R. Kharkongor said. The Meghalaya Assembly polls will be held on February 27 and the counting will be done on March 2 along with Tripura and Nagaland. (ANI)
By Belinda Ferrari, Professor of Microbiology, UNSW Sydney
Shutterstock
Robotic rovers are currently exploring the surface of Mars. Part of a rovers mission is to survey the planet for signs of life. There might be nothing to find but what if there is, and the rovers just cant see it?
New research published today in Nature Communications suggests the rovers current equipment might not actually be up to the task of finding evidence of life.
As an extreme environment microbiologist, the challenges of searching for life where it seems near-impossible are familiar to me.
In astrobiology, we study the diversity of life in sites on Earth with environmental or physical features that resemble regions already described on Mars. We call these terrestrial environments Mars analogue sites.
Limits of detection
The new research, led by Armando Azua-Bustos at the Center for Astrobiology in Madrid, tested the sophisticated instruments currently in use by NASAs Curiosity and Perseverance rovers as well as some newer lab equipment planned for future analysis in the Mars analogue of the Atacama Desert.
https://images.theconversation.com/files/511268/original/file-20230221-2... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511268/original/file-20230221-2... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511268/original/file-20230221-2... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511268/original/file-20230221-2... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511268/original/file-20230221-2... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
Armando Azua-Bustos/Centro de Astrobiologia, CC BY
Azua-Bustos and colleagues found the rovers testbed equipment tools for analysing samples in the field had limited ability to detect the traces of life we might expect to find on the red planet. They were able to detect the mineral components of the samples, but were not always able to detect organic molecules.
In my teams case, our Mars analogue sites are the cold and hyper-arid deserts of the Dry Valleys and Windmill Islands in Antarctica.
In both of these sites, life exists despite extreme pressures. Finding evidence of life is challenging, given the harsh conditions and the scarcity of microbial life present.
First, we must define the biological and physical boundaries of life existing (and being detected) in analogue extreme environments. Then we need to develop tools to identify the biosignatures for life. These include organic molecules like lipids, nucleic acids and proteins. Finally, we determine how sensitive tools need to be to detect those biosignatures, on Earth and also Mars. This tells us the limits of our detection.
Read more:
Perseverance: the Mars rover searching for ancient life, and the Aussie scientists who helped build it
The search for a dark microbiome
In my field of extreme microbiology, microbial dark matter is when the majority of microscopic organisms in a sample have not been isolated and/or characterised. To identify them, we require next-generation sequencing need to define. Azua-Bustoss team go one step further, proposing a dark microbiome which contains potentially relic, extinct Earth species.
Azua-Bustoss team found sophisticated laboratory techniques could detect a dark microbiome in the Atacama Deserts Martian-like hyper-arid soil samples. However, the rovers current equipment wouldnt be able to detect it on Mars.
In samples with such scarce biomass, we use highly sensitive laboratory methods to detect microbial life, including gene sequencing and visualising cells using microscopic analysis. Prototypes for genome sequencing in the field are being developed, but they do not have the sensitivity needed for low biomass samples yet.
https://images.theconversation.com/files/511372/original/file-20230221-2... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511372/original/file-20230221-2... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511372/original/file-20230221-2... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511372/original/file-20230221-2... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511372/original/file-20230221-2... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
Dr Eden Zhang, Author provided
Read more:
There is water on Mars, but what does this mean for life?
Different planet, different rules
The search for life on other planets also relies on our understanding of what life would need to exist, with the simplest list being energy, carbon and liquid water.
On Earth, most organisms use photosynthesis to harness energy from sunlight. This process requires water, which is almost totally unavailable in dry desert environments like Antarctica and the Atacama Desert and, most likely, Mars. We think a process we dubbed atmospheric chemosynthesis could be filling this gap.
My team first discovered atmospheric chemosynthesis in the cold desert soils of Antarctica. In this overlooked metabolic process, bacteria literally live on thin air by consuming trace levels of hydrogen and carbon monoxide gas from the atmosphere.
https://images.theconversation.com/files/511374/original/file-20230221-2... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511374/original/file-20230221-2... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511374/original/file-20230221-2... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511374/original/file-20230221-2... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511374/original/file-20230221-2... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
Dr Belinda Ferrari, Author provided
We think dry desert microbiomes may rely on this process for energy as well as water, which is a byproduct of the process. Ecosystems like the ones weve found in Antarctica now offer one of the most promising ecological models in the search for Martian life.
We now believe there is potential for life in the ice-cemented subsurface of Mars. My team alongside collaborators at NASA and the University of Pretoria plan to investigate this in Antarcticas University Valley, by defining the environmental limits to energy, metabolic water and carbon production via trace gas consumption.
https://images.theconversation.com/files/511563/original/file-20230222-2... 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511563/original/file-20230222-2... 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511563/original/file-20230222-2... 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511563/original/file-20230222-2... 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511563/original/file-20230222-2... 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
Jackie Goordial/McGill University, CC BY
Read more:
Discovery of microbe-rich groundwater in Antarctica guides search for life in space
We wont find what we cant define
Our new knowledge of target biosignatures and the level of sensitivity needed to detect them will be critical when designing or optimising future instrumentation to be deployed on missions aimed at finding life.
The goal of future missions to Mars, including the Icebreaker Life mission planned for 2026, is to search for evidence of life. The Icebreaker Life will sample ice-cemented ground, similar to Antarctic dry permafrost, and if it detects signs of life, a Mars Sample Return mission would be a high priority.
Returning samples to Earth for laboratory analysis is risky. As we found with our Antarctic soil samples, challenges can include contamination, preservation of cold temperatures during transport, and the need for specialist quarantine laboratories, to analyse samples without destroying them.
But as Asua-Bustos suggests, bringing samples to Earth for detailed lab analyses may be the only sure way to detect or rule out the presence (or past presence) of life.
Belinda Ferrari receives funding from the Australian Research Council. While not directly related to this article her previous funding has led to new research questions on the habitability of Mars.
Originally published in The Conversation.
"I hope UP CM and Finance minister will take steps to make UP a USD 1 Trillion economy. In the last six budgets of this government, no steps were taken for the welfare of farmers and youth and unemployment also remained unaddressed," Yadav said while talking to the reporters ahead of the budget presentation.
Ahead of presenting the state Budget for the financial year 2023-24 in the Vidhan Sabha, Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna on Wednesday offered prayers at a temple in Lucknow.
He will table the second budget of the Yogi Adityanath government in its second term today.
This is the seventh overall budget of the Yogi government since 2017.
While talking to reporters here he said that the goal is to achieve USD 1 trillion in economies.
"Organised crime has been eradicated from UP in the last few years. The state has only moved towards development. Today, our second Budget will be presented. Our focus is on the infrastructure sector and our goal is to achieve USD 1 trillion economy," he said.
The budget session in Uttar Pradesh started on Monday.
Veteran SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav also took a jibe at the present government saying, "Once again this budget will be a complete hoax." (ANI)
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a bail plea moved by Benoy Babu in connection with the Delhi Excise case probed by Enforcement Directorate. Binoy worked as a general manager with a liquor company M/S Pernod Ricard and was arrested by ED in November, last year. The Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma on Wednesday sought a response/status report from Investigation Agency and listed the matter for March 16, 2023. The Trial Court on February 16, had dismissed the bail plea of Vijay Nair, Abhishek Bonipally, Sameer Mahendru, Sarath P Reddy and Benoy Babu who were arrested in the money laundering probe emerging out of the Delhi government's now scrapped New Excise Policy. The Trial Coury while denied bail to Benoy Babu along with others stated that none of the applicants/accused deserves to be released on bail in this case at this stage of proceedings as the allegations made against them are quite serious and relate to the commission of an economic offence of money-laundering defined by Section 3 and made punishable by Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Senior Lawyer Mukul Rohatagi appeared for Benoy on Wednesday and submitted that he has been falsely implicated in this case by the ED, though he played no role in the formulation of the excise policy and further despite the fact that he was made a witness by the CBI in above scheduled offences case. Senior Lawyer Siddharth Lawyer also appeared for Benoy Babu and stated that the only role played by the applicant in relation to the said excise policy was that he had submitted recommendations on behalf of M/S Pernod Ricard in respect to the said policy to the Expert Committee with M/S Pernod Ricard was a stakeholder in the liquor business and its recommendations or views were required to be given in connection with the formulation of the policy. ED while opposing the bail plea of Benoy Babu stated that he was a key member of the above cartel as without him it would not have been possible for the conspirators of the above criminal conspiracy to achieve the objective of cartelization and monopoly. It was also submitted that the idea of furnishing corporate guarantees by M/S Pernod Ricard was the brainchild of this applicant and it was done to ensure that the retail vend entities keep at least 35 per cent stock of the liquor brands manufactured by the above-said company and also with a motive to control about 30 per cent of the Delhi liquor market. ED also submitted that sufficient oral evidence in the form of statements of witnesses U/S 50 of the PMLA is there to this effect. Again, he is also alleged to be the person who had signed the requisite document for the grant of wholesale license of liquor by M/S Pernod Ricard in the name of M/S Indo Spirits owned by the co-accused Sameer Mahandru at the instance of co-accused Vijay Nair and specific evidence to this effect is stated to have been collected by the ED during the course of the investigation and it clearly shows that it was done as per the objectives of above criminal conspiracy and as a device for recouping or repayment of the advance kickbacks paid by the South group. According to the ED, an investigation conducted in the case so far has revealed that advance kickbacks of around Rs 100 crores were paid to the public servants involved in this conspiracy and as a result of the nexus created because of this conspiracy between the political persons, Government officers/officials and the other accused persons involved in the liquor trade, a total loss of around Rs 2873 crores has been caused to the exchequer of GNCTD. It has also been specifically alleged that an investigation conducted by the ED has further revealed that all the five accused had played key roles in the commission of the offence of money laundering as they all were actively involved, directly or indirectly, in the process or activities relating to the above proceeds of crime or its concealment, possession, acquisition, use and projection or claiming it to be untainted property etc. (ANI)
Justice A Badharudeen allowed the revision petition filed by the State Government against the order of the Magistrate Court and remanded the matter for fresh consideration.
Mohanlal's plea contended that "The only ground relied upon by the Magistrate was that the validity of the certificate of ownership issued by the Government as per declaration made under Section 40(4) of the Wildlife Protection Act is still pending before the Kerala High Court in a PIL."
After the Income Tax department recovered illegal ivory during a raid at the actor's residence, a case was registered by the Forest Department in 2012.
Earlier in June 2022, the lower court had dismissed the State Government's plea to withdraw the prosecution proceedings against Mohanlal. (ANI)
Aizawl Battalion of 23 Sector Assam Rifles has recovered 51.550 gm of Heroin worth over Rs 25 lakh in the general area of Kulikawn, Aizwal, Mizoram on 20 February and apprehended two individuals, one of whom is a Myanmar national. The operation was carried out by a combined team of Assam Rifles and Special Narcotics Police CID (SB), Aizawl. "On 20 Feb 2023 at about 04.00 pm, during the course of search of vehicle fourb soap case (51.550 gm) of suspected Heroin No. 4 with approx cost of Rs 25,77,500 was recovered by the joint team. The joint team apprehended two individuals and seized the consignment which was taken into custody for further legal proceedings," an official statement said. The seized consignment and apprehended individuals were handed over to Special Narcotics Police Station CID (Crime), Aizawl on February 20 for further legal proceedings. Earlier on February 16, the Mizoram Police said that they have recovered arms and ammunition from the Zawngling area of the state's Saiha district in a joint operation with Assam Rifles. In an Official statement from the Headquarters Inspector General of Assam Rifles (East) [HQ IGAR], the police said that the Lunglei Battalion of 23 Sector Assam Rifles recovered war-like stores, Country-made Weapons in the General area Zawngling, Saiha district on Tuesday (February 14). The officials said that the forces have recovered two bore guns, one Chinese Pistol, and one .22 rifle from an uninhabited small temporary hut in Zawngling. These weapons were later handed over to the Tuipang Police Station on Wednesday for legal proceedings. "Ongoing smuggling of the war-like store is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram, especially along the Indo-Myanmar border. Assam Rifles, rightly Christened as the 'Sentinels of Northeast' have continued their efforts against the smuggling activities in Mizoram," it added. (ANI)
A lawyer on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to give an urgent hearing to an application seeking to allow girl students to appear in examinations in colleges in Karnataka wearing headscarf. Advocate Shadan Farasat apprised a bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud about the split verdict on the Hijab issue and therefore Muslim girls are not allowed to enter colleges wearing headscarf. Advocate Shadan Farasat said that he has moved an intervening application whereby the prayer is only to let the girl student to take part in the exam wearing headscarf. He submitted that students have lost a year. He also informed the court that exams are beginning on March 9. CJI DY Chandrachud sought to know why are the students to appear in exams. The lawyer replied that they are not allowing entry with hijabs and he wants that the intervening application gets listed. CJI DY Chandrachud said that he will take a call on this. The top court has earlier given a verdict on various petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court order which upheld a ban on Hijab in educational institutes. Justice Hemant Gupta dismissed the appeal while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed it. The matter was thereafter referred to the Chief Justice of India for appropriate direction due to divergent opinions. The judgement was given by a two-judge of justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia. The court was hearing various pleas against Karnataka HC's judgement upholding the Karnataka Govt decision to direct educational institutes to prescribe uniforms in educational institutes. Various petitioners have approached the apex court challenging the Karnataka HC order upholding the Karnataka government's order which directs strict enforcement of schools and colleges' uniform rules. Karnataka High Court last year held that the prescription of uniform is a reasonable restriction that students could not object to and dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions saying they are without merit. The Hijab row had erupted in January last year when the Government PU College in Udupi allegedly barred six girls wearing the hijab from entering. Following this, the girls sat in protest outside the college over being denied entry. After this, boys of several colleges in Udupi started attending classes wearing saffron scarves. This protest spread to other parts of the state as well leading to protests and agitations in several places in Karnataka. As a result, the Karnataka government said that all students must adhere to the uniform and banned both hijab and saffron scarves till an expert committee decided on the issue. On February 5 2022, the pre-University education board released a circular stating that the students could only wear the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious attire would be allowed in colleges. (ANI)
The Investiture Ceremony 2023 of Kolkata-based Eastern Command was conducted on Wednesday by 41 Sub Area under the aegis of 101 Area at Assam's Jorhat. General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command Rana Pratap Kalita presided over the solemn ceremony and presented the gallantry and distinguished services awards. "During the conduct of the Eastern Command Investiture Ceremony, twelve officers, one Junior Commissioned Officer and twelve Other Ranks were felicitated with one Yudh Seva Medal and 19 Sena Medals (Gallantry - 18, Distinguished - One), five Vishisht Seva Medals," the Defence official said. In addition to individuals, thirty Army units and battalions which have performed outstandingly in various fields were felicitated with the Chief of Army Staff and Eastern Army Commander Unit Appreciations. The indomitable spirit and indefatigable courage of each valiant soldier when read out during the ceremony, made the hearts of all present swell with pride and gratitude. The Army Commander later interacted with the award winners and their families wherein he acknowledged their invaluable contribution to upholding the highest standards of professionalism of the Indian Army. The ceremony commenced with the inspection of a ceremonial Guard of Honour by the Army Commander. A large number of military commanders, civilian dignitaries as well as school and college students and the proud families of the award winners attended the solemn ceremony. "The Nation in general, and the Indian Army in particular never fail to honour and care for its brave soldiers and this concept was aptly showcased in the right spirit through the events conducted as a part of this ceremony," an official statement said. (ANI)
With an aim to enhance the country's role in global civil aviation matters, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the ratification of three protocols relating to amendments in the Convention on International Civil Aviation The ratification was approved on Article 3 bis and Article 50 (a) and Article 56 relating to amendments in the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), 1944. The articles of the Chicago Convention establish the privileges and obligations of all contracting states and promote international ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) adoption that regulate international air transport. During the past 78 years, the Chicago Convention has undergone a few amendments and India has been ratifying such amendments from time to time. According to the Union Cabinet, the ratification has been approved in the following three protocols relating to amendments in the Convention on International Civil Aviation "Chicago Convention", 1944: Protocol to insert Article 3 bis in the Chicago Convention, 1944 to refrain member States from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight (Protocol signed in May, 1984); Protocol to amend Article 50 (a) of the Chicago Convention, 1944 for raising the strength of the ICAO Council from 36 to 40 (Protocol signed in October, 2016); and Protocol to amend Article 56 of the Chicago Convention, 1944 for raising the strength of the Air Navigation Commission from 18 to 21 (Protocol signed in October, 2016). The ratification would affirm India's commitment to the principles enshrined in the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The ratification would provide better chances and opportunities for India to become more instrumental in matters pertaining to international civil aviation, said the Cabinet statement. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court Wednesday refused to pass an interim order on the plea of the Delhi Waqf Board. However, the High Court asked the Board to file a separate petition to challenge the central government's decision to delist the 123 Waqf properties. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri on Wednesday refused to pass an interim order on the application. The Court asked Delhi Waqf Board to file a separate plea. The court has listed the earlier petition filed on August 4 for further hearing. Delhi Waqf Board had recently moved an application through advocate Wajeeh Safiq in an ongoing matter challenging the Centre's decision. Delhi Waqf Board chairman Amanatullah Khan said 123 properties have been with the Waqf Board for a long and the Centre was bypassing the law and courts in trying to "occupy it forcibly". The plea moved by the Board sought a direction, thereby directing the central government to supply the petitioner's report of May 15, 2017 of the One Man Committee setup on May 19, 2016. It also sought a direction quashing all the decisions and actions taken by the central government and all its other departments in respect of the report of the One Man Committee. The petitioner sought a direction directing the centre to take fresh decision on the report submitted by One Man Committee after affording reasonable opportunity to the petitioner to make submissions in respect of the aforesaid report. It also sought a direction quashing the alienation/disposal/allotment of the Waqf graveyard known as Qadimi Qabristan, South Inderpat, Mathura Road comprised in Khasra no 484, village Inderpat, Mathura Road, Delhi or any portion thereof by the Union of India in favour of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) or anyone. The petitioner stated that the Centre appointed Two Members Committee in violation of the principles of natural justice, inasmuch as, neither the report of the previously appointed One Member Committee has been shared with the Delhi Waqf Board nor the reason and the process undertaken for rejecting the report of the One Member Committee has been shared with the Delhi Waqf Board. It is also contended that between the appointment of One Member Committee and the subsequent Two Members Committee, the Centre has allotted one of these 123 Waqf Properties on a permanent basis to ITBP, thereby meddling with the subject matter of the present Two Member Committee. (ANI)
Uttarakhand government in its latest decision has asked every pilgrim coming from other states or abroad to undergo a compulsory registration process. It stated that and no one would be allowed to travel without registration. In this regard, the Uttarakhand government has sent letters to the chief secretaries of all the states. Chief Secretary SS Sandhu Uttarakhand Government stated that this time it is estimated that more pilgrims will come for Chardham Yatra than last time, so many new arrangements have been made. He further stated that all the pilgrims who will come this time will have to compulsorily register, and letters have been sent to the Chief Secretaries of all states in this regard. Uttarakhand Government is also planning to spread information related to this development through pan-India newspaper advertising across all languages in every state. On this Sandhu said, "The tourism department will give advertisements in the newspapers in the language of every state so that people can know what rules have been made for the yatra this time. The Government has made this arrangement so that the crowd does not gather in the four dhams and the stampede-like situation does not arise and the pilgrims can have a good darshan." This time yatra to Chardham has also taken a different shape with the recent land subsidence in Joshimath town of Uttarakhand which is also considered to be the last stop to reach the holy Badrinath Dam. In a review meeting taken on February 21, 2023, some stringent decisions have been taken. All department officials have been ordered to stay on alert and complete pre-yatra preparations beforehand. For the smooth conduct of the Shri Badrinath Yatra, a team of the Border Road Organisation will regularly stay in Joshimath. It has to be noted that the construction of the all-weather Char Dham yatra road has already been halted. While taking note of the importance of the issue of Pilgrim's safety Chief Minister Dhami said "Char Dhams of Uttarakhand are major centres of religious faith for the devotees. It is the responsibility of all of us that the journey of all the devotees should be safe and smooth." Chardham Yatra is scheduled to begin in the month of April 2023. (ANI)
Reacting to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) leader Sanjay Raut that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son has hired a contract killer to eliminate him, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule on Wednesday said the state Home minister should have the matter probed. Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, the NCP leader, who also happens to be the daughter of the party patriarch Sharad Pawar, said, "This (Raut's claim) is worrying. The state Home minister should order an inquiry into it." Earlier, on Tuesday, Raut, who reptesents the Uddhav faction in the Rajya Sabha, alleged that CM Shinde's son, Shrikant Shinde, had given a contract to a goon to kill him. In a letter to the commissioners of Mumbai and Thane police, Raut said, "I have received information that notorious goon Raja Thakur of Thane has been given a contract by Shrikant Shinde (CM's son) to kill me." He alleged that his security was withdrawn after the fall of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state. "After the change of government in Maharashtra, my security was withdrawn. I don't have any complaints about it. Such political decisions keep happening. Looking at the current situation in Maharashtra, this issue needs to be brought to your attention," Raut stated further in his letter. Speaking to the media after claiming a threat to his life, Raut said he doesn't need any security from the government. "I have written to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and have also told Mumbai CP Vivek Phansalkar and Thane CP (that he doesn't need security escorts). I also called Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the matter," he said. Lashing out at CM Shinde, Raut said, "What is happening in your state? Your MP and MLAs are giving contracts for killing rival leaders. The contract has been given to a gangster who is currently on bail." "I don't want any security," he added. (ANI)
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Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the state government will investigate the allegations of Uddhav Thackeray faction leader Sanjay Raut against CM Shinde's son Shrikant of giving a contract for killing him. Shinde stressed that it would be also probed whether is a political stunt by Raut. Chief Minister said, "We will investigate this matter completely and it will also be investigated whether it is done purposely for a stunt. It is the government's responsibility to provide security to the people. The committee is to decide on the security. This committee is formed by the court and it will decide whether the security is to be increased or not irrespective of parties." Citing a threat to his life, Sanjay Raut on Tuesday, alleged that Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde had given a contract to a goon for killing him. Raut alleged a threat to his life in the letter addressed to Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Mumbai Police Commissioner and Thane Police Commissioner. In his letter, Sanjay Raut said, "I have received information that a notorious goon Raja Thakur of Thane has been given a contract by Shrikant Shinde to kill me." He alleged that his security was withdrawn after the change in government in the state. "After the change of government in Maharashtra, my security was withdrawn. I don't have any complaints about it. Such political decisions keep happening. Looking at the current situation in Maharashtra, this issue needs to be brought to your attention," Sanjay Raut further said in the letter. Talking to the media, after citing a threat to his life, Sanjay Raut said that he doesn't need any security from the government. "I have written a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, I have also told Mumbai CP Vivek Phansalkar and Thane CP. I also called Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding it," he said. Further attacking the Maharashtra government, Sanjay Raut said, "What is happening in your state, your MP and MLAs are giving contracts for killing people. The contract is being given to a gangster who has currently got bail." "I don't want any security, because I'm alone a lion," he added. (ANI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the government would investigate the threat to Uddhav faction leader Sanjay Raut while also adding that a probe will also be done if this is a "stunt". "We will investigate the threat call to Sanjay Raut. We will also investigate if this is a stunt, the state police will take care of security," Shinde said. This comes after Raut on Tuesday alleged that Eknath Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde has given a contract to a goon to kill him. "I have received information that a notorious goon Raja Thakur of Thane has been given a contract by Shrikant Shinde to kill me," he said in a letter to Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Mumbai CP and Thane CP. He alleged that his security was withdrawn after the change in government in the state. "After the change of government in Maharashtra, my security was withdrawn. I don't have any complaints about it. Such political decisions keep happening. Looking at the current situation in Maharashtra, this issue needs to be brought to your attention," Sanjay Raut further said in the letter. Talking to the media, after citing a threat to his life, Sanjay Raut said that he doesn't need any security from the government. "I have written a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, I have also told Mumbai CP Vivek Phansalkar and Thane CP. I also called Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding it," he said. Sanjay Raut added saying, "I don't want any security, I have told this only because it is my duty as a people's representative". Further attacking the Maharashtra government, Sanjay Raut said, "What is happening in your state, your MP and MLAs are giving contracts for killing people. The contract is being given to a gangster who has currently got bail." "I don't want any security, because I'm alone a lion," he added. (ANI)
A case has been registered against 30-40 unidentified officials of the Rajasthan Police for allegedly assaulting Srikant's (the accused in Bhiwani deaths case) pregnant wife. In the case registered, sections related to miscarriage have been invoked. The family of Srikant, who was arrested in connection with the Bhiwani deaths case in which two charred skeletons were found inside a burnt car in Haryana, on Sunday alleged that their full-term pregnant daughter-in-law lost her child after she was assaulted by the Rajasthan Police during a raid on their house. Srikant's mother Dulari had demanded action in this matter and registered a complaint at Nagina Police Station on Saturday. Complainant Dulari said that at 3 am on the night of February 16, around 30-40 people from Rajasthan Police came and forcibly entered her house. "When I told them that my son Shrikant was not at home, they started abusing and thrashing us. They also entered my pregnant daughter-in-law Kamlesh's room and pushed and assaulted her. When Srikant was not found, the Rajasthan Police forcibly took away both my younger sons Vishnu and Rahul," she claimed. "The cops also kicked the pregnant wife of Shri Kant in her stomach and she started having stomach pain. Because of the critical condition, she was referred to the Medical College in Nalhar where her child was born dead," she added. She said that her daughter-in-law is still hospitalised in critical condition. "There is no contact with both the sons Vishnu and Rahul. There is a demand from the Nuh Police administration that strict action should be taken against the Rajasthan policemen," she said. The pregnant wife of accused Srikant said, "Some people came and they started fighting with my in-laws. They came to my door and pushed it, during which I got hurt in my stomach and my child died." "I don't know who pushed the door, or who hit me but they came at night to investigate. Why did they come at night? They came to find my husband Srikant. They started breaking the furniture and other things in the house," added the wife of the accused in the Bhiwani incident. Earlier on Thursday, two skeletons were found inside a charred SUV in the Loharu area of the Bhiwani district. Later, investigations revealed that the skeletons were of two Muslim men-- Junaid and Nasir-- from Rajasthan's Bharatpur, who were allegedly abducted. Rajasthan Police have made one arrest in the case. Rajasthan Police on Friday said special teams had been formed to arrest suspects based on an FIR filed by a family in Rajasthan alleging that the deceased had been kidnapped from the state's Bharatpur district. (ANI)
The democracy of the country is being pushed towards the gallows and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections would be the last if the entire opposition does not come together, 'Saamana', the official mouthpiece of the Uddhav Thackeray's faction said on Wednesday. The Marathi publication, while referring to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's call on the Opposition to get united against BJP, stated, "The appeal made by Kumar to the Congress to take initiative for the unity of the opposition, is significant. Nitish Kumar has expressed confidence that if the Opposition is united properly, the BJP would be all out at 100 in the upcoming general elections." The editorial further suggested that now is the time for the Opposition to unite instead of thinking about the next Prime Ministerial candidate. It further said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and his questions on Adani row in Parliament "disrobed" the PM. "Who will be the prime ministerial candidate for the year 2024 can be decided later. Rahul Gandhi's leadership has grown stronger and matured through the 'Bharat Jodo' journey. First his yatra and then his attack on the Modi-Adani friendship issue in Parliament session," Saamana said. It further slammed the Union government, accusing it of "misusing" the central agencies. "Such a policy is being adopted to 'break, destroy and rule' and openly misuse the investigation agencies be it the Election Commission or the courts. They broke the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra first and 'sold' the bow and arrow symbol to the rebel group by declaring it as the real 'Shiv Sena'. In case of infighting within the party, the symbol is either frozen or allowed to remain with the original party. It is clearly visible here that the rebels have bought it," it argued. Former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray received a major blow after the Election Commission of India on Friday allotted the "Shiv Sena" name and its symbol "bow and arrow" to the ruling faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. While the Uddhav faction has moved the Supreme Court challenging the EC's decision on the fate of the original Sena name and symbol, the ruling faction has already filed a caveat in the apex court. Both the factions have been at loggerheads over the 'bow and arrow' symbol since Shinde revolted against Thackeray along with a band of loyalist MLAs, MPs and leaders last year. The revolt eventually led to the demise of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government after it was reduced to a minority following the desertion of sitting MLAs to the Shinde camp. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will travel to three states, including Bihar, over the next three days as part of the Bharatiya Janta Party's preparations in run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Shah will be in poll-bound Karnataka on Thursday while on Friday he will be in Madhya Pradesh which is also slated to go for polls at the year-end, and on Saturday Shah will be in Bihar. The key highlight is Shah's visit to Bihar. The recent developments in the state have seen a renewed push by the BJP. After breaking of the alliance with JDU, the BJP wants to approach the state wirh a dual focus- on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the state polls due in 2025. A big public rally will be held on Saturday in West Champaran which is the home constituency of state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal. Jaiswal's term as state president has ended close to 6 months ago, however, no changes have been indicated so far by the party. West Champaran, which is part of the BJP focus area through the Lok Sabha Pravas yojana has been a happy hunting ground for the saffron party with it winning in both 2014 and 2019 by a good margin. "We are hoping to see a crowd of anywhere between 75,000 to 1,00000 for the janasabha of the Home Minister. Preparations have been in full swing, "Jaiswal tells ANI. With the constant political remarks made by Nitish Kumar, the saffron party wants to see how to exploit the political uncertainty. Shah even if now is the Union Home Minister still is a very strong organisational resource for the BJP. It was under his tenure as the party president that BJP got major electoral successes. Speculation is also rife that Upendra Kushwaha may also meet Shah during his visit. Though, no confirmation has been made by both sides so far. Kushwaha very recently had a "courtesy" meeting with Jaiswal. Kushwaha was a minister in the Modi government after his party won three Lok Sabha seats in 2014. He has recently floated his own party. Shah's core group meeting with the state leaders, even if not part of his released schedule will be a vital thing to watch out for. He is likely to seek feedback from the state leaders about the ground situation and the programmes undertaken so far. Under the NDA fold Nitish Kumar's JDU and BJP formed an alliance government in Bihar in 2020. However, in August 2022, kumar pulled out of the NDA government and formed a government with the Tejaswi Yadav-led RJD. Nitish continues to be the Chief Minister even under the new alliance. Kumar has also called like-minded opposition parties to unite in 2024 in a bid to defeat the BJP-led NDA alliance. (ANI)
The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday announced that the state will soon have over 20 operationalised airports including five international airports. State finance minister Suresh Khanna, in his speech, said, "During the tenure of the Yogi government, unprecedented work has been done in the field of civil aviation. Presently nine airports are functional in the state and air service is available for 80 destinations." He further said that three international airports are functional in the state and international airports are under construction at Jewar and Ayodhya. "International airports are under construction in Jewar and Ayodhya and soon five international airports will become functional in the state. State Government has decided to increase the number of runways in Jewar Airport from two to five," Khanna said. During the tenure of the Yogi government, the construction work of four airports has been completed so far and the construction work of six airports (Aligarh, Azamgarh, Moradabad, Shravasti, Chitrakoot and Sonbhadra) is nearing completion, the minister added. "In the coming years, five international and 16 domestic airports in the state, in this way a total of 21 airports will become functional. We believe that air travel should be made accessible to the people of the state," he added. The Yogi government's annual budget for the financial year 2023-24 also gives special attention to enhanced rail and ropeway connectivity in the state. Priority is also given to India's first ropeway project for public transportation in Varanasi in the Yogi government's budget 2023-24, which includes a provision of more than 2500 crores for the development of metro rail service in the four metropolitan cities of UP. In the Yogi government's budget 2023-24, emphasis has also been laid on the development of infrastructure facilities in all the development authorities of the state, including Lucknow and urban areas. Under this, a provision of Rs 150 crore is proposed to develop ropeway service in Varanasi and other cities. In the financial year 2023-24, a budget provision of Rs 585 crore has been made for the Kanpur Metro Rail Project. In addition, Rs 465 crore will be invested in the Agra Metro Rail Project. On the other hand, an arrangement of Rs 100 crore has been made for the metro rail project in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, and other cities. The Yogi government has proposed Rs 1306 crore for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor Regional Rapid Transit System project in the financial year 2023-24. Similarly, the Chief Minister's Urban Expansion and New City Promotion Scheme has been allocated Rs 3000 crore in this budget. In addition, a provision of Rs 650.10 crore has been made in the budget for land acquisition for the project related to the renovation and interception, diversion, and treatment of Goddhoiya Nala and Ramgarh Tal located in Gorakhpur city. (ANI)
The second budget of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath government's second term, which was presented by State Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna in the state assembly on Wednesday, has "much to offer to the farmers", with the budget giving "top priority to farmers' interests, agricultural education and research". With a focus on farmers and agriculture, the budget provides a roadmap for the progress of an agriculture-oriented Uttar Pradesh," Finance Minister Khanna said. The budget focuses on the promotion of agricultural education, research, and development to increase farmers' income and has earmarked Rs 50 crore for the establishment of Mahatma Buddha Agriculture and Technology University in Kushinagar, Mahatma Buddha's final resting place. Apart from that, the government's agricultural, agricultural education and research, sugarcane development, and sugar industry schemes are as follows. Under the agriculture sector, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said that it is proposed to organize 17,000 Kisan Pathshalas in the year 2023-24 for 'The Million Farmers School.' A provision of Rs 631.93 crore has been made for the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture scheme. Under the National Mission on Natural Farming scheme, a provision of Rs 113 crore 52 lakh is proposed for the scheme. A provision of Rs 1950 crore has been made for the supply of electricity to private tube wells at subsidized rates for the farmers, Finance minister Khanna said. A provision of Rs 984.54 crore is proposed for the National Agriculture Development Scheme.The government has arranged Rs 753. 70 crore for the National Crop Insurance Scheme.An allocation of Rs 55.60 crore has also been made for the implementation of the UP Millets revival programme. Besides, Rs.102.88 crore has been allocated for Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kisan Samriddhi Yojana in the budget. A provision of Rs 100 crore has been made in the Self-reliant Farmers Integrated Scheme budget. The government has arranged Rs 15 crore each to distribute pulses, and oilseed seed mini kits. A provision of Rs 2 crore is proposed for the Agri-Stack scheme for the digital database of farmers in the budget. Since 2017, approximately 46.22 lakh sugarcane farmers in Uttar Pradesh have received a record sugarcane price of more than Rs 1.96 lakh crore, ranging from Rs 95,125 crore to Rs 86, 728 crores. Sugarcane productivity increased by 1,00,875 tonnes per hectare, increasing farmers' income to Rs 34,656 per hectare at an average rate of Rs 349 per quintal. The minimum support price for wheat in the Rabi marketing year 2022-2023 was set at Rs 2015 per quintal. Purchasing 3.36 lakh metric tonnes of wheat from 87,991 farmers through PFMS in farmer accounts during the marketing year. The portal has received 675 crore in payments.Under the Kharif marketing year 2022-23, the Government of India has fixed Rs.2040 for the common category and Rs.2060 per quintal for Grade-A. While purchasing 62.66 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, Rs 12,000 crore has been paid directly into the bank accounts of 10.30 lakh farmers through the PFMS portal, State Finance Minister Suresh Khanna informed. Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, in the year 2022-2023, more than Rs 51,639.68 crore has been transferred directly to the bank accounts of the farmers through DBT. The Finance Minister informed that damaged transformers of private tube wells of farmers are being replaced on time. "Lifting the ban on providing private tubewell connections to farmers in the state's dark zone has benefited 1 lakh farmers," State Finance Minister Suresh Khanna said. State Finance Minister emphasized on agricultural education, research and development to increase the income of farmers with an arrangement of Rs 20 crore being made for an Agritech startup scheme in 4 agricultural universities of the state. The Finance Minister said that a provision of Rs 50 crore has been made for the establishment of the Agriculture and Industrial University at Kushinagar. In the budget, a provision of about Rs 35 crore has been made for the infrastructure works in Agriculture University, Kanpur, Ayodhya, Banda and Meerut. Under Acharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya, the work of teaching and learning has started in Agriculture College (Campus), Azamgarh. The construction work for the establishment of Agriculture College (Campus) in Gonda is in progress, Khanna informed. The Finance Minister said that the sugar industry is an important agro-based industry of Uttar Pradesh, providing a living for approximately 46 lakh sugarcane farmer families. In the crushing season 2021-22, sugarcane was cultivated in 27.60 lakh hectares in the state and 120 sugar mills produced 101.98 lakh tonnes of sugar by crushing 1016 lakh tonnes of sugarcane. In the current crushing season 2022-23, 117 sugar mills have been operated, and the sugarcane area of the state is 28.53 lakh hectares in this season, due to which the production of sugar is estimated to be more than 105 lakh tonnes, Khanna said. The State Finance Minister said the current government established an escrow account mechanism in 2017 to ensure timely payment of sugarcane prices to farmers. The sugar mills have been completely barred from diverting the amount of sugarcane price items. The Finance Minister said that in the last five years, 27,531 hectares of sugarcane have been planted in the last five years. (ANI)
The body of an 11-year-old girl who went missing on February 9 was found on Tuesday in the Mundka area, informed police officials. The Delhi Police have nabbed a 21 yrs old Rohit alias Vinod for murdering the 11 yrs girl child. According to Delhi Police, a complaint was registered by the deceased's mother that her daughter had gone to school on February 9 and did not return that day. "A case under section 363 of the India Penal Code (IPC) was registered on February 10. After the registration of the case investigation was taken up. One suspected mobile number was figured out and raids were conducted in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh through electronic surveillance," as per Delhi Police officials. The accused was apprehended on February 21 and disclosed that he met the girl on February 9 and befriended her. "He killed the girl at a secluded place in the Ghewra area and abandoned her. He took the police team to the spot where the decomposed body of the girl was found," said police officials. As per police officials, the Crime team and FSL team were called and the body was sent to the mortuary. "The accused has been produced in court and has been taken on police remand for further investigation. The motive of the killing is being ascertained. A post-mortem report will confirm any sexual assault," said officials. Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
In order to have an overview of the theme 'Responsible AI', especially in the context of India, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu hosted a seminar today at the CAG office in New Delhi inviting eminent personalities to speak and share their expertise on the subject. Addressing the seminar CAG said, "I am delighted that the G20 Secretariat and our other sister G20 engagement groups Women20, Science20, Think20, Environment and Sustainability, Tourism, and Digital Economy are also represented here." CAG said that this forum has provided an opportunity for the Supreme Audit Institutions to engage in meaningful consultations for enhancing transparency, accountability and good governance. During our chairmanship SAI India has chosen two themes Responsible Artificial Intelligence and Blue Economy for such deliberations under the G20 framework. CAG said, "In this era of express technological advancement, digital transformation and AI are rapidly becoming the centre of attention for the public sector enterprises. Health, Education, Taxation - there are many examples, where Digital Transformation and AI-driven tech platforms are replacing repetitive manual processes and bringing in efficiency." Murmu said that however, not all nations are on the same pedestal of research and implementation of cutting-edge technologies like AI. With the increased push by Governments, developing nations are catching up fast. He said that at the G20 Forum, India has already made the pitch that digital transformation should not be confined to a small part of the "human race"; and its greater benefits will be realised only when digital access becomes "truly inclusive". "This underlines the priority of the Indian Government in pursuing efficiency in public service delivery through Digital transformation," he said. Murmu emphasised that in India, the Government has launched the Digital India initiative which seeks to transform India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy. For example, the Government's programme for JAM trinity - Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile numbers has been a major milestone in utilizing the advantages of IT applications for Public Service Delivery. "It enabled the government to directly transfer the subsidies and other benefits to the target beneficiaries. The Government has also set ambitious targets -for instance, NITI Aayog has prepared a National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence - AI for all," he said. He added that emerging technologies have arrived and more and more adoption is occurring in governments/organisations. However, the key word in today's discussion is "Responsible" AI. AI has been discussed in various forums in the last decade with completely divergent viewpoints. "For example, Stephen Hawking predicted a doomsday scenario where AI will end up enslaving humankind. But I would like to point out that humans have always been fearful of new and drastic changes as was evident when the steam engine replaced the horse cart leading to widespread panic. However, we now take automobiles to be an indispensable part of our daily lives," he said. AI technologies while exciting also bring a certain degree of risk with them. The most significant risk associated with AI implementation in the public sector is the potential for bias.AI algorithms learn and improve themselves through identifying patterns in training data. Similarly, even though AI-driven cyber security solutions are increasingly being used to detect malicious cyber activities, identify potential threats and respond to them in real-time; cybercriminals are also leveraging the same AI systems to create more advanced attacks, such as automated threats, against the security infrastructure and solutions. He further added that the issue of AI-generated Deep Fakes is making it increasingly difficult to curtail the propagation of false information. That is why AI is always to be hyphenated with "responsible" i.e. it should work for the overall betterment of society, the environment and not just for humankind but for the entire planet. "This poses a big challenge for organisations and we; auditors are not an exception to this. We discussed the challenges of Emerging IT technologies like Cyber Security and Artificial Intelligence in the recently held 6th Summit of SCO countries. Even though the different nations are at different stages of digitisation, there was a common theme in the challenges faced by all the nations," said Murmu. The CAG said one of the outputs of this SCO meeting was the lack of standardisation in government IT applications. This is a major challenge for audit due to the extreme diversification of the platforms, applications and infrastructure used by different government entities. "Often it is seen that different departments through working towards a common objective have systems which are incapable of either communicating with each other, or data linkages cannot be made to gain meaningful and actionable information," the CAG said. "In this scenario, disaggregated use of AI may lead to conflicting or worse incorrect inputs for audit conclusions.For example, the Enterprise Resource Planning software used by each State Owned Enterprise (SOE) may have been procured from different software vendors," he said. "This would result in a situation where although each SOE prepares financial statements as per the standard format prescribed by the accounting standards, each line item is computed from the underlying data in a non-standard manner," he added. The CAG mentioned that if auditors attempt to execute Big Data Analytics or try to apply Artificial Intelligence techniques by obtaining the underlying data sets/formats from different SOEs for comparative analysis, there would be a significant investment of human effort required. The CAG further said that this is because a detailed mapping of data definitions data structures data storage data references and how individual line items in the financial statements are computed from different data fields across tables will be necessary, for further analysis by computer algorithms. "Therefore, there is the significant emphasis being placed on the adoption of Audit Data Standards. For example, Technical Committee 295 of the International Standards Organization is working on standards for Audit Data Services. This will significantly aid Auditors as the extraction of relevant data as per a standardized data export format from the underlying database will be enabled," he said. He mentioned another point to ponder is whether there is a requirement of government-mandated uniform compatible data maintenance and reporting standards and a seamless interface of data captured through different software operating platforms. "In short, I am wondering whether the government can come out with certain standards and formats on which data information maintained by different departments and agencies can be seamlessly organised for better analysis. This will help not only policy-makers and executives, but the auditors to carry out digital audits," he said. The use of GIS technologies, face recognition, and natural language processing are some examples. Moreover, nowadays, we are witnessing a shift in approach to designing and implementing government schemes. For example, the implementation framework for new schemes like Gati Shakti entails intensive coordination across multiple implementation ministries and departments. As a result, the Auditors also have to change their approach to assessing such schemes. In such a scenario, the dichotomy of multi-disciplinary coordination along with specialisation is a key pillar. Technologies like AI are the only enablers in this process. Moreover, with the use of AI, the auditing step of ground verification has to be integrated with Data-driven audits. (ANI)
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has described the state government's budget 2023-24 as a manifestation of the spirit of self-reliant Uttar Pradesh, said a press release on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference following the presentation of the budget in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said that the state has been following the 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas' mantra of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the last six years and working towards speedy, inclusive and overall development of Uttar Pradesh, in which this budget is a significant step, aimed at building a self-reliant Uttar Pradesh on the lines of 'self-reliant India', added the press release. Referring to the budget provisions in sequence, he said," Before the assembly elections, we had made 130 promises in the manifesto, out of which 110 promises have been included in today's budget. It shows our commitment to deliver on our promises." "In the year 2017-18, our total exports in the state were only between Rs 86000-Rs 88,000 crores, today it is going to increase to around Rs 1.60 lakh crore", he added. Sharing happiness over the presentation of the biggest budget of Rs 6.90lakh crores in the history of Uttar Pradesh, CM Yogi said that the government worked on stopping tax evasion and financial management. "This budget is double as compared to the budget of 3.40 lakh crores of 2016-17. During this, no new tax was imposed on the public, while tax exemption was given on petrol and diesel in the state and today petrol and diesel are cheaper in Uttar Pradesh as compared to other states. Despite this, not only has the revenue collection of the state increased, but fiscal discipline was also taken full care of and the income of the government has also increased. Referring to the strong financial position of the State, the Chief Minister said that earlier around 8 per cent of the budget used to go towards arrears of old loans, but today it has come down to 6 per cent due to efficient financial management. The unemployment rate of UP which was 17-18 per cent in 2016-17 has come down to 4 per cent today. There has been a massive improvement in the CD ratio and today it stands at 55 per cent. He said that the state tax revenue in 2016-17 was Rs 86,000 crores, which is estimated to increase to Rs 2.22 lakh crore in 2022-23. Sales tax/VAT collection was Rs 51883 crores in the year 2016-17, today it is going to be up to 1.24 lakh crores. Similarly, Rs 14277 crore was received as state excise in 2016-17, which is estimated to be more than 49,000 crores in this financial year. He said that in the year 2022-23, according to the FRBM Act, the government has been successful in keeping it up to 3.96 per cent against the prescribed limit of a 4 per cent fiscal deficit. In the year 2016-17 own state tax was 33 per cent of the total revenue receipt, while today in the year 2022-23 the budget has doubled, yet this ratio is estimated to be up to 44 per cent. The Chief Minister said that 20 per cent of the budget for the year 2016-17 was financed by loans, while today the percentage of loans in the budget for the year 2023-24 has come down to 16 per cent. Similarly, about 8 per cent of the budget was spent on the interest on loans and the year 2022-23 budget has been reduced to 6.5 per cent. The Chief Minister said that the size of the budget is according to the needs of the state. This goal is achieved by creating financial discipline. "We have always presented a budget representing Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, and Sabka Prayas. The state government made a systematic effort with regard to one theme in each of its budgets. The present government dedicated its first budget to the farmers in the year 2017-18. The budget for the year 2018-19 was for industrial development and basic infrastructure facilities. The budget for the year 2019-20 was dedicated to women's empowerment. The budget for the year 2020-21 was dedicated to youth and infrastructure development. The budget of the year 2021-22 was dedicated to empowerment through self-reliance and the budget of 2022-23 was dedicated to the concept of self-reliant Uttar Pradesh and 'Antyodaya'." "Similarly, the basic spirit of the budget of 2023-24 is self-reliant Uttar Pradesh. The increase in the size of the budget of the state by more than 02 times in 06 years shows the commitment to expand the economy of the state", the CM pointed out. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the budget of the state has more than doubled in the last 6 years. During this period the per capita income of the state has more than doubled too. He said that in the announcements made in today's budget, mainly a large part is for capital expenditure in the state. This means that amount will be spent on the development of infrastructure in the state, which will play a major role in employment generation in the state. The Chief Minister said that in this biggest budget in the history of the state, special care has been taken for basic infrastructure development, education, health and farmers, women and youth. (ANI)
The passenger has been identified as Muhammad Safuan (37).
According to the officials, Safuan boarded an IndiGo flight from Dubai wearing pants and a shirt smeared with gold. Safuan's dress weighs 2.205kg, out of which around 1,750 kg of gold is expected to be extracted.
Malappuram District Police Chief S Sujit Das took the accused into custody after he came out from the customs inspection.
Previously on February 19, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs department seized 900.25 grams of gold worth Rs 43 lakhs at Kochi airport.
On the basis of profiling done by the officers of the customs, a passenger coming from Sharjah was intercepted at the green channel. During the checking, four capsules of gold in a compound form weighing 900.25 grams concealed inside his body were recovered and seized. (ANI)
Leaders of various Muslim organisations praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for taking several steps for the welfare of minorities including the abolishment of triple talaq. At the "All India Minority Conclave - Role of Minorities in Amrit Kaal" event organized by the NID Foundation, Ahsan Ghouri, Director External Affairs, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community said, "PM Modi has taken many steps for the country and especially for the minorities and it should be appreciated. Good things should be appreciated and we appreciate them." Tariq Ahmad, President, Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association India said that abolishment of triple talaq is a step towards women's empowerment. "Islam also does not accept the practice of triple talaq. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community does not entertain this from the beginning. So this step of PM Modi's government is a good step. This is a good step towards women's empowerment. A very good step has been taken to give status to the women who used to be deprived. We respect this initiative," said Ahmad. Dr Faiyaz Ahmad Fyzie, who is an author, columnist, media panelist and Pasmanda social activist, said Narendra Modi is the first secular Prime Minister of India. "He talked about justice in the Muslim society, the Pasmanda issue, about our suffering, he talked about our uplift considering as citizens of the country and not as Muslims. So I understand that ever since the process of making a new India is going on, I definitely understand that till now he is the first Prime Minister who has talked about our sorrow and pain," said Fyzie. Mansoor Khan, National President, Sufi Islamic Board, "World recognises PM Modi as a great leader. He is a global leader today. It is our good fortune that we have got such a great leader who has made our country a world leader." Maulana Kaukab Mujtaba, National President, Ulama Foundation Chairman Jamia Alia Jafria said PM Modi has taken decisions which were not taken since 1947. "Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi ji has taken those decisions not only for Muslims but for Indians which no one else has taken in 70-75 years since 1947. The thing which were once looked upon with hopelessness in India, but today he has raised India's head in front of the whole world by working with success at every turn. By ending the issue of triple talaq, it has been proved that PM Modi ji cares a lot not only for Muslims but also for women so no woman should face any problem," he said. Sufi Md. Kausar Siddiqui, National President, Sufi Khanqah Association, "India is a democratic country in which there is a rule of democracy and the constitution was being violated for the last many years, women were being harassed, especially Muslim women. The decision taken by Modi ji in the interest of Muslim women was definitely not only welcome but also commendable and was a good step taken from the point of view of providing justice."
Stating that he was in "no hurry to become the chief minister," Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday said their "ultimate goal is to eliminate the BJP by 2024." He also claimed that the Mahagathbandhan government is running smoothly under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. "I am not in a hurry to become CM, currently, Nitish Kumar is the Bihar CM and he is leading the Mahagadhbandan. Our ultimate goal is to eliminate BJP by 2024," said Yadav. When asked about former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi considering his son for the Chief Minister's post, Yadav said "There is nothing wrong with it as every father wants his son to be successful. Don't you want your son to be more successful than you?" Earlier, Tejashwi Yadav had also dismissed reports about Nitish Kumar's desire to become Prime Minister and said that the veteran leader is focused on getting the opposition together for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. "He (CM Nitish Kumar) is the CM and we are working under his guidance. The only agenda he has right now is bringing all opposition together. He has no desire to become the Prime Minister," said Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav. (ANI)
The budget for 2023-24 pays special attention to enhanced rail and ropeway connectivity in the state.
Special priority has also been given to India's first ropeway project for public transportation in Varanasi and over Rs 2500 crore have been earmarked for the development of metro rail service in the four metropolitan cities of UP.
The Yogi government's budget lays emphasis on infrastructure facilities in all development authorities of the state, including Lucknow and urban areas.
Under this, a provision of Rs 150 crore is proposed to develop a ropeway service in Varanasi and other cities.
A budget provision of Rs 585 crore has been made for the Kanpur Metro Rail Project in 2023-24.
In addition, Rs 465 crore will be invested in the Agra Metro Rail Project.
A provision of Rs 100 crore has been made for the metro rail project in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, and other cities.
The Yogi government has proposed Rs 1306 crore for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project in 2023-24.
The Chief Minister's Urban Expansion and New City Promotion Scheme has been allocated Rs 3000 crore in the budget.
In addition, a provision of Rs 650.10 crore has been made in the budget for land acquisition for the project related to the renovation and interception, diversion, and treatment of Goddhoiya Nala and Ramgarh Tal located in Gorakhpur city.
The budget was presented by Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, (ANI)
They defrauded a company by illegally selling eight office units of its Kaledonia building in the Andheri area.
Mumbai's NM Joshi Marg Police Station registered the case and transferred the case to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and now the case is being investigated by the EOW of the Mumbai Police.
"We have booked HDIL promoters Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan in a fresh case of Rs 88.47 crore fraud. They defrauded a company by illegally selling eight office units of its Kaledonia building in the Andheri area," said Mumbai Police.
The police officer said that such a deal was done despite the Wadhawans not having the right to sell any part of the Kaledonia building.
The police have registered a case under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 423 (fraudulent execution of the deed of transfer), 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan in a new bank fraud case involving an amount of Rs 140 crore pertaining to their subsidiary Guruashish Construction.
The Wadhawans were booked by CBI in October 2020 in connection with a Rs 200 crore alleged loan fraud from Yes Bank and have been facing investigation by multiple agencies. (ANI)
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday celebrated its 'Founding Day' showcasing the Kingdom's long journey that began 300 years ago through various events describing the country's heritage and culture, and its historical treasures. The founding of the country by Imam Mohammed bin Saud is celebrated on February 22, and its unification by King Abdulaziz on September 23 which is known as National Day. Among celebrations included the "Al Majlis Event For The Founding Day", which aimed to provide visitors with an insight into the depth of Saudi Arabia's heritage and culture through numerous lectures, discussions, and workshops highlighting the state's historical ' treasures. Further activities included paintings from Saudi Arabian artists, melodies from the country, calligraphy arts, and history. In collaboration with local painters, the Al Majlis exhibition showcased paintings that come to life in the spirit of the Saudi state, its culture, and its history. Musical tunes at the "Melodies From My Country" zone attracted visitors. Arabic calligraphy was uniquely embodied through the symbols of the 'Founding Day' logo in an artistic and cultural manner. The track reviews speeches delivered by the King of Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince on the Founding Day along with historical photographs also connected to the country's rich culture and civilization. Lectures, dialogue meetings and workshops that include various topics of the history, heritage and culture of Saudi Arabia were among the engagements. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, issued a Royal Decree to commemorate the founding day annually on February 22, which represents the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's deep historical, civilizational, and cultural roots when Imam Muhammad bin Saud established the first Saudi state in 1139 AH / 1727 CE. It is a national occasion to commemorate the founding of the Saudi State by Imam Muhammad bin Saud started three centuries ago, as the Imam established a political entity that achieved unity, stability, and prosperity. On that day, Diriyah became the capital of the first Saudi State. The founding day commemorates the three centuries of the existence of the Saudi State, highlighting its historical and civilizational depth, celebrating its diverse cultural heritage, and expressing devotion to the imams, kings, and citizens who serve the nation. The 'Founding Day' celebration included engagements of other events organised here that comprises the two-day 2nd edition of the Saudi Media Forum, and the 3rd edition of Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum (RIHF). Saudi Media Forum, which began in the capital Riyadh on Monday and concluded on Tuesday, also witnessed the participation of over 1,500 media professionals and industry leaders from Arab and foreign countries joining to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the media industry. Started under the patronage of King Salman bin Abulaziz, the two-day Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum (RIHF) specifically focussed on global data collection, associative realization and analysis for humanitarian action and sustainable development also concluded on Tuesday. The RIHF focussed on the role of research in achieving the goals of humanitarian action and sustainable development and achieving the goals of sustainable development through associative realization. (ANI)
The Delhi High Court has taken a serious view of a midnight operation allegedly done by the Uttar Pradesh police in which they took a young couple to Ghaziabad last week without informing the Delhi police. The High court has called for CCTV footage in order to identify the police personnel who the part of the police team at that moment. This incident pertains to the night of February 16 in the Anand Parbat area of the national capital and the High court has granted protection to the couple. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani on February 18 directed a sub-inspector of Delhi police to collect the CCTV footage in and around the premises of the couple and directed to produce the footage in the court. The matter has been listed for hearing on February 23. "Let the footage collected be placed on record, " justice Bhambhani directed as a young couple approached the high court seeking protection from the girl's family based in Modinagar. The couple-- a girl aged 19 and a boy aged 21 years-- had solemnised thier marriage in an Arya Samaj Temple on February 13 in Delhi. While hearing their plea on February 16, the high court directed the SHO of police Station Anand Parbat to ensure the safety and security of the couple. He was directed to provide his and the concerned beat Constable's contact number. However, on the same night, the couple was detained and was allegedly taken to a police station in Modinagar against their wishes. The boy was forced to spend a whole night in the lock-up. The next day the girl was taken to court where the police recorded her statement. Following this, the couple was allowed to leave and they joined proceedings. They alleged that they had called the SHO the incident night as well but it went unanswered. However, the Delhi police filed a status report in the matter stating that no information was received at the police station about the arrival and departure of the UP police on February 16 night. The High court directed the couple to remain present in the court during its Thursday hearing. (ANI)
In a major success, the Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested four people including the leader of an organised gang for selling fake sex-enhancing drugs to people by using fake certificates. The accused had accumulated a lot of money through these illegal means. The four were arrested from the Purani Para Police Chowki area under the Para Police station in Lucknow on Tuesday. Several documents and fake certificates and a mobile phone were also recovered from them. The four accused have been identified as Dharam Singh, Dhyan Singh, Vir Singh and Lal Singh alias Gulab Singh. While Dharam Singh, Dhyan Singh and Vir Singh are the residents of Moradabad district, Lal Singh is a resident of Sambhal. According to Police, the information about the gang was being collected for the last few months and action was taken by the cyber department of the STF under the direction of Vishal Vikram Singh, the SSP, STF. Acting on tip off, police arrested the four from the front of the old Para Chowki at around 6 pm on Tuesday while they were waiting for a car. During interrogation, it was revealed that they are a well-organised gang and they had forged certificates of Amar Jeevan Ayurvedic Company, Saharanpur from a cyber cafe for cheating people. Using this certificate, the gang used to call up people and trap them into buying their medicines by terming them as ayurvedic. Large amount of money was collected by the gang from the people through the sale of these fake medicines. The miscreants also used to give the customers fake receipts. A case has been registered under sections 419, 420, 467 and 468 of the IPC against the accused in Para Police Station and legal action is being taken against the accused. (ANI)
As many as three persons were arrested in connection with a cow slaughter case in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal and remains of a cow were also recovered from the spot, a police official said on Wednesday. The incident has been reported from Paras Nagar sub locality (Basti) under Gandhi Nagar police station limits in the city. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone 4, Vijay Khatri told ANI, "We received information that the work of cow slaughter was going on at an under construction house in Paras Nagar Basti. Acting on the information, when our police team reached there, they arrested three accused and recovered remains of a cow from the spot." Strict action is being taken against the accused. A case is being registered against the accused under various sections which include IPC section 295A, disturbing communal harmony, relevant sections of Madhya Pradesh Govansh Vadh Pratishedh Adhiniyam and National Security Act (NSA), he said. Khatri added that it was a street cow and it was grazing a nearby area. The accused caught and killed it. So far three accused were arrested and they would be interrogated. If the names of more people came to light in the investigation, then they would also be accused in the matter. Further probe into the matter is underway, he added. On the other hand, the right wing organisation Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad staged a protest against the act and they got the shops of the local market closed. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Rameshwar Sharma also reacted over the cow slaughter incident. He said that it was an unfortunate and condemnable incident. "The police have taken action against all three accused involved in the case of cow slaughter, under the Animal Cruelty Act and NSA has also been imposed. The accused aim is not only to eat meat, their aim may also be to spread communal tension. It may also be that there is a bigger gang behind this. We asked the police to do a thorough inquiry into the matter," Sharma added. (ANI)
Delhi Police was told at around 9.30 am that Satish Kumar Bharadwaj (75) was allegedly murdered inside his residence in the A1 block of Freedom Fighter colony in the Sainik Farms area.
As per police, on reaching home they found that he was dead and all the articles were scattered.
Prima facie, the reason behind the murder seems to be robbery, police added.
Investigation into this matter is underway. Further information is awaited. (ANI)
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday exuded confidence that there was 'no chance of BJP' in the state and said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is scared of the Congress. "BJP is perturbed and scared of Congress. Bharat Jodo Yatra was a success. The public has given a terrific response to the comments made about Rahul Gandhi. BJP, especially its team that trolled, had gone on a back foot during the yatra," Chhattisgarh CM Baghel said while talking to ANI about the raids of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Congress leaders here. He further said that the 85th Congress general convention, which is being held in Raipur, will prove to be a milestone in the future. "ED raid is right on time to foil this convention. If they are talking about the coal scam, when did it occur? It has been 8 months. What did you unearth? You should have had concrete evidence by now. But you didn't find anything. ED has not released any press releases," he said underscoring that the raids were solely intended to scare the party workers. He said that the party's national president will arrive in Raipur on Thursday along with all the general secretaries and members of the steering committee. He said that Rahul Gandhi is expected to arrive on Friday and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday. Ahead of the party's Raipur convention, CM Baghel said that they had talked about youth participation in the Udaipur Chintan Shivir last year and it will be seen here. "Bharat Jodo Yatra came out of brainstorming at that Shivir and Rahul Gandhi completed it. It is true that no political leader has done this recently and it can't be said when will such a record be broken in future. So, it will definitely have an impact," he added. "Congress leaders from across the country will come here. A road map will be built here for the 2023 Vidhan Sabha elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections," Baghel said. Lauding the Congress' chief Mallikarjun Kharge's initiative for a united Opposition, the Chhattisgarh CM asserted that the Opposition unity would not hold any meaning without Congress. "The party is there in every state, city and village. Any alliance without Congress would be meaningless. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's initiative is welcome," he added. When asked about his opinion on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark in the Parliament earlier this month that the ED has united the Opposition, CM Baghel said, "It means that the PM himself is accepting that such actions are taken only against the Opposition and not the ones in the ruling party. Anyway, people involved in ED, CBI, I-T related cases get cleansed as soon as they go to BJP and vice versa. Whatever PM has said is right, he is accepting that ED raids are conducted on Opposition only." Talking further, he alleged Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for trying to weaken Congress. Baghel said, "TMC and AAP go to only those places wherever Congress is strong. It means they want to weaken Congress. But eventually, people have now understood this. They are not going to be lured...Experience says that they [TMC and AAP] are helping the Bharatiya Janata Party." He said that he does not believe that the BJP would return in Madhya Pradesh and asserted that the party has "no chance" in Chhattisgarh. "They stole democracy. There is no chance (for BJP)in Chhattisgarh. When all else fails, they resort to religion or central agencies, but won't succeed here," he added. (ANI)
The police said that they have arrested the accused who has been identified as Rohit alias Vinod (21), a resident of Paschim Vihar.
According to the police, a case of kidnapping was registered on February 10 based on the statement of a woman, a resident of Rajdhani Park in Nangloi, who said that her 11-year-old daughter did not return home from school on February 9.
"Based on electronic surveillance and a suspected telephone number, the police conducted raids in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. The accused Rohit was apprehended on Tuesday," said Harendra K. Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer Delhi).
On interrogation, the accused disclosed that he had met the girl on February 9 and befriended her.
"Rohit abducted the girl and killed her at a secluded place in Ghevra area. He took a police team to the spot where the decomposed body of the girl was found," the DCP said.
The autopsy was conducted on Wednesday after which the body was handed over to the family for last rites.
"The court has sent Rohit to police custody for further investigation. The motive behind the crime is being ascertained," Singh said.
"The post-mortem report will confirm if there was any sexual assault," the DCP added.
--IANS ssh/arm
( 249 Words)
2023-02-22-19:18:03 (IANS)
The Delhi High Court has pulled up police for invoking Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against an accused in an alleged rape case, presuming that the victim must be a minor as she was in Class 12 at the time of the incident. As a bench of Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar was dealing with the plea seeking quashing of the rape case on the basis of a compromise between parties, he asked the prosecutor's counsel that how the provision was invoked here. Counsel submitted that since the victim was in Class 12 at the time of the incident, it was presumed that she must be a minor. At this, Judge Bhatnagar said: "The submissions made by leaned APP for the state are highly preposterous. Without any document on record, how can one presuppose that victim is a minor, even a major girl can be in 12th Standard." Counsel for police then sought time to file a status report. The court also issued a notice to the DCP to appear on the next date of hearing to explain why the investigating officer was not present in the court on Wednesday, and listed the matter for the next hearing on March 7. Section 6 of the POCSO Act states that "whoever commits aggravated penetrative sexual assault shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of natural life of that person and shall also be liable to fine, or with death". --IANS spr/vd ( 289 Words) 2023-02-22-19:20:03 (IANS)
Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta administered the oath of office to the new Governor.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his Cabinet colleagues and senior civil and security officials were present in the swearing-in ceremony.
Kataria, who replaced Jagdish Mukhi, hails from Udaipur in Rajasthan. A former Home Minister of Rajasthan, Kataria was the leader of opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly prior to his appointment as the Governor of Assam.
Before taking charge as the Governor of Assam, Kataria along with his wife Anita Kataria visited the Kamakhya temple where they offered prayers for the welfare of all sections of people of the state.
--IANS sc/arm
( 145 Words)
2023-02-22-19:52:03 (IANS)
"Undersigned is glad to announce that institutional collaborations are being planned by AIIMS with institutions like IIT's, IMs, ISB (India School of Business), etc. for making inter-sectoral learning more accessible, and with corporations like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, etc. to provide students with some exposure to the world of management, something outside the routine medical education, patient care and research," the statement read.
The statement further added that 'Start-Up policy' for students is also intended to be drafted.
"Some active measures are also being planned to promote entrepreneurship in AIIMS actively. The 'Start-Up policy' for students is also intended to be drafted," it stated.
The statement further added, "To facilitate the conversation on this, a meeting is scheduled with the undersigned on Sunday, February 26, 2023, at 8 AM in the committee room. Interested students and residents are requested to attend the meeting with the undersigned." (ANI)
Aiming to increase synergy and enhance research between AIIMS, ICMR, DHR, DBT and DST, a meeting has been planned on monthly basis, AIIMS Director Dr M Srinivas informed on Wednesday. "AIIMS, New Delhi is running a multitude of research projects funded by ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research)/ DHR (Department of Health Research)/ DBT (Department of Biotechnology)/ DST (Department of Science & Technology)including many Centers of Excellence. Faculty from AIIMS have been at the forefront of many research objectives linked to National research priorities which is also the primary focus of apex biomedical research institutes of the country," the statement read. The statement also mentioned in the memorandum that the purpose of organising meetings every month is to initiate research projects and address roadblocks. "The purpose of this interaction will be to brainstorm next-generation research initiatives, research proposals synchronous with national thrust areas, facilitate existing research projects, and address roadblocks which come in the implementation of research projects and funding issues," the statement read. The statement further added, "With an aim of increasing synergy between AIlMS and organizations like ICMR, DST, DBT etc. for mutual collaboration, it is proposed that starting from March 2023, every second Saturday there will be an open house at AlIMS, which will be attended by the undersigned and representatives from ICMR, DST and DBT." All faculty, scientists, research scholars, residents and students at AIlMS are invited to attend this Open House. This meeting will be scheduled at 2 PM every second Saturday of the month in Board room/Auditorium at AlIMS, New Delhi, the statement added. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the Election Commission's decision to give the party name "Shiv Sena" and the symbol "Bow and Arrow" to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with the rival factions gearing up for the legal battle ahead. The court listed the matter after two weeks and issued notice to the Shinde camp. While Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the Supreme Court had not accepted the demand of status quo, Thackeray faction leader Anil Desai said that the court had taken up the plea and had asked them to take remedies if any action is outside the decision of the poll panel. NCP leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar attacked the Centre over Election Commission decision, saying it is an example of "how an institution can be misused". A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud which comprised Justices PS Narsimha and JB Pardiwala issued notice to the Shinde camp and Election Commission on the plea and listed the matter after two weeks. Referring to the EC order, the court said, "We cannot stay an order at this stage". The court clarified that Uddhav Thackeray camp can pursue other remedies of law if any action is taken which is not based on EC order. Senior Advocate NK Kaul, appearing for the respondent, assured SC that they will not issue a whip and not precipitate the disqualification proceeding. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Uddhav Thackeray, sought interim relief and said that the rival faction was taking office after office. He sought a status quo order. Senior Advocate NK Kaul, appearing for the respondent, raised preliminary objections on the maintainability of the plea filed by Uddhav Thackeray. Sibal said the EC passed the order on the test of the majority in the legislative wing. He apprised the court that their camp has a majority in Rajya Sabha, but a rival faction got the symbol due to the majority in the legislative wing. Kaul said for recognition of political party, number of votes, percentage of votes etc have to be seen and added that ECI examines the entire structure of the party. The court was hearing the plea by Uddhav Thackeray challenging the Election Commission's move to allot the party name "Shiv Sena" and the symbol "Bow and Arrow" to the faction led by Eknath Shinde. Uddhav, in his plea filed on Monday, said that ECI failed to consider that his faction enjoys the majority in the Legislative Council and Rajya Sabha. Uddhav Thackeray in the plea, also submitted that the legislative majority alone, in this case, could not be the basis for passing of the order by EC. Challenging the EC decision, Uddhav Thackeray said the poll panel was erroneous in its decision. "The entire edifice of the impugned order (EC's decision) is based upon the purported legislative majority of the Respondent (Shinde) which is an issue to be determined by the top court in the Constitution Bench. "The ECI has failed to consider that the Petitioner enjoys a majority in the Legislative Council (12 out of 12) and Rajya Sabha (3 out of 3). It is submitted that in a case of this kind where there is a conflict even in the legislative majority i.e., Lok Sabha on the one hand and Rajya Sabha on the other as well as Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, more particularly, having regard to the fact that there is a possibility of the alleged members losing their right of membership, the legislative majority alone is not a safe guide to determine as to who holds the majority for the purposes of adjudicating a petition of the Symbols Order," the plea said. "In these circumstances, it is respectfully submitted that the legislative majority test cannot be the test which can be applied for the purposes of determination of the present dispute," it added. Shinde said Supreme Court would take a decision on the Shiv Sena symbol row in further hearing. "The rival (Thackeray faction) had demanded a status quo on the order of the Election Commission. But Supreme Court refused to stay Election Commission's order. A further hearing will be done and a decision will be taken. SC has rejected their plea," he said. Mahesh Jethmalani, BJP MP and lawyer of Shinde faction, expressed confidence about their case. "Today, SC has rejected the plea by Uddhav Thackeray faction over EC order on Shiv Sena symbol. There would be final hearing.... We're very confident about our case," he said later. Pawar slammed Election Commission's decision to recognize Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction as the real Shiv Sena and allotting them the 'bow and arrow' poll symbol. "Election Commission gave a decision a few days ago. This is an example of how an institution can be misused. We have never seen such a decision by EC. Balasaheb Thackeray in his last days said that Shiv Sena's responsibility would be given to Uddhav Thackeray after him," said NCP chief. "But someone complained to the Election Commission and the Election Commission gave a verdict and allotted the Shiv Sena and its symbol to someone else from those who formed this party. This is a big attack on political parties. Today, the organization which is working in the country under Modi's leadership thinks they will keep the power in their hand," Pawar added. Following EC decision, Uddhav Thackeray had hit out at Shinde faction. "Everything has been stolen from me. The name and symbol of our party have been stolen but the name 'Thackeray' cannot be stolen. We have moved the Supreme Court against the decision given by the Election Commission," he had said. (ANI)
TDP President and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday gave a call to the people to join the fight to save the state from the "atrocities" and "destructive rule" of the YSRCP. In an open letter to the people of the state, he said that the "atrocities" of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) are increasing by the day and "the dictatorial attitude" of Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, is causing a major setback to the democracy. "The state government is resorting to violent activities, filing false cases and indecent attacks on the leaders of opposition for questioning the anti-democratic tendencies of the ruling dispensation," he said. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief said that the destruction at Gannavaram is the latest and classic example of this. He alleged that the TDP leaders were subjected to severe torture at Gannavaram and their properties were completely destroyed. The affected TDP leaders are projected as the prime accused and were sent to jail, he said and stated that he is writing this open letter only to bring the facts to the notice of the public. Expressing great concern that there is no security for the properties of the common man in this dictatorial rule, Chandrababu Naidu said that the properties of the poor which they have acquired after struggling for the whole life are now being illegally occupied by the ruling party leaders. Atrocities against women are on the rise and the state has now become a platform for harassment of the downtrodden and backward classes, he alleged, adding that a doctor who asked for masks during the Covid time was done to death while a Dalit youth who raised certain questions on the liquor policy of the state was mercilessly killed. He felt that the Gannavaram violence is only aimed at suppressing the voice of the downtrodden sections who are questioning the failures of the state government. The local YSRCP leaders with the cooperation from some police officials created total destruction on February 20 and attacked the TDP office. This is a well-planned and perfectly pre-designed scheme as the YSRCP activists attacked the TDP leaders under the direct supervision of the local police officials, he observed. False cases were registered against at least 40 TDP leaders and some of them were subjected to torture in the police station, he said in the open letter. Even some women activists too were subjected to various kinds of torture in the custody. The TDP leaders were sent to jail by registering cases under various Acts, including attempt to murder and Atrocities Act, he said. The TDP supremo said that the fight is now between democracy and dictatorship and called upon the people to join him to save the State from this destruction. "It is ultimately the people who will be the victims if they do not come forward to save the state and the future generations," Chandrababu Naidu concluded. --IANS ms/vd ( 502 Words) 2023-02-22-20:08:03 (IANS)
Rajasthan police have released pictures of eight out of nine accused reportedly involved in the killing of two men from Rajasthan whose charred bodies were found inside a burnt vehicle in Haryana's Bhiwani district on February 16. The police so far have arrested one accused Rinku Saini, while eight accused are still absconding. The Mahindra Scorpio vehicle used in the incident has also been recovered from a cow shelter in Haryana's Jind. The police said that Saini was arrested under the case registered at Gopalgarh police station of Rajasthan's Bharatpur district. Saini, during interrogation, gave certain clues on the basis of which, eight accused have been identified and raids were conducted in many districts of Haryana to nab the absconding accused. According to the police, accused Anil and Shrikant are residents of Nuh, while Kalu Kaithal, Monu Rana, Vikas Jind, Shashikant Karnal and Gogi are from Bhiwani. The raids are being conducted by three teams of Rajasthan police in collaboration with the Haryana police. Several important clues have come out of the interrogation of accused Saini, officials asserted, adding that the police conducted raids in Haryana's Jind on the basis of these clues and recovered the vehicle from a cow shed. This was reportedly the same vehicle in which victims - Junaid (35) and Nasir (28) - were taken to Bhiwani after being beaten up. According to the police, traces of blood have also been found on the seat of the vehicle. Officials said that samples of both the skeletons found in the Bolero vehicle and blood traces on the recovered Scorpio vehicle have been collected. Further actions will be taken once the report from the collected samples comes. Interestingly, the name of Monu Manesar, about whom there has been maximum uproar since last one week, has not emerged in the initial investigation by Rajasthan Police. Even, the eight pictures released by the Rajasthan police do not comprise the picture of Monu Manesar. The deceased Junaid and Nasir were residents of Ghatmika village of Rajasthan's Bharpur district. The village is near the Haryana border. Junaid's cousin Ismail had lodged a case of kidnapping and assault of both at Gopalgarh police station (Bharatpur) on February 15. On the next day, the charred bodies of both Junaid and Nasir were found in a Bolero vehicle in Loharu town of Bhiwani district in Haryana. --IANS arc/sha ( 404 Words) 2023-02-22-20:28:02 (IANS)
The war of words over the Sanjivani Cooperative Society scam between BJP MP from Jodhpur Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot turned bitter on Wednesday after Gehlot levelled serious allegations against Shekhawat, claiming that the Union minister's family members are also involved in the scam. "Gajendra Singh's father, mother, wife, five brothers-in-law are involved in the scam. His mother has passed away, but his whole family is involved. There are around 50 accused in this case," Gehlot said. The Chief Minister also said that the Prime Minister has made such a person a minister against whom there are serious allegations. "Let the Prime Minister examine them," Gehlot told mediapersons at the state secretariat after chairing a meeting on state budget. Stating that 80 per cent of the victims in the Sanjeevani scam are Rajputs, Gehlot said, "I have spoken to Bhagwan Singh Rollsabsar, who is Gajendra Singh Shekhawat's mentor. I urged him to convince Shekhawat to return people's money. I don't know in how many countries Shekhawat has parked the scam proceeds. The Union minister should clear the sir. Why is he not getting ED to investigate the matter?" On handing over the investigation into the scam to the CBI, Gehlot said the central probe agency is in the pocket of Shekhawat. Gehlot also said that Shekhawat should go to the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan police and ask them to arrest him. "Earlier, attempts were made to topple our government in which Shekhawat played the main role," Gehlot said, referring to the phone tapping matter for which the BJP MP is under the scanner of police. Two days back, Shekhawat had accused Gehlot of character assassination for committing 'political murder'. Gehlot had then hit back at Shekhawat, claiming that like the rest of the culprits in the Sanjeevani scam, the crime committed by the BJP leader has also been proved. Taking a dig at Shekhawat, Gehlot had said, "The Union minister is trying to mislead the public in the Sanjeevani Cooperative Society scam, in which thousands of investors allegedly lost about Rs 900 crore." --IANS arc/arm ( 364 Words) 2023-02-22-21:06:03 (IANS)
South Africa: Government to accelerate infrastructure spend
Government spending on infrastructure is expected to reach some R903 billion over the next three years with state owned companies contributing the lions share to this investment.
This was announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana when he delivered the Budget Speech at the Cape Town City Hall on Wednesday.
The Minister said at least R448 billion of this will be spent by state owned companies and entities through public partnerships.
Infrastructure investments lay the foundation for inclusive and sustainable growth; they address supply-side constraints; and expand access to basic services.
Overall, the public sector is projected to spend R903 billion on infrastructure over the medium term. The largest portion of this, around R448 billion, will be spent by state owned companies, public entities and through public-private partnerships, he said.
The Minister said spending will mainly be focused on strategic projects in transport and logistics at some RR351.1 billion and water and sanitation coming in at R132.5 billion.
Some projects that are already in the pipeline include:
The 488 bed Limpopo Central Hospital which is expected to begin construction in March.
Phase 2 of the Welisizwe Rural Bridges Programme will break ground in April.
The repair of aspects of the Riverton Water Supply Scheme.
Construction of enabling bulk infrastructure, such as roads and water components for the Lufhereng Mixed-Use Development in Gauteng, begins in June 2023.
Our focus is not only on building new infrastructure, but also on maintaining existing infrastructure. We do this to ensure that it lasts long and performs to the required standard, he said.
The Minister added that simultaneously, government is looking at initiatives to leverage private sector resources in public infrastructure delivery in order to strengthen state capacity to expand infrastructure delivery and to catalyse private finance.
These initiatives include:
Funding the development of a continuous, investible and transparent pipeline of projects and programmes.
Fast tracking the implementation of the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) regulatory review framework recommendations.
Pilot the implementation of conditional grant pledging that we enabled during the MTBPS. Its aim is to ensure the rollout of infrastructure is not constrained by the availability of funds in a particular year, if there is capacity to deliver more.
Godongwana emphasised that the interventions to support growth are critical to the health and sustainability of the economy.
The interventions need to be complemented by a policy environment that promotes the performance of productive sectors in an integrated way. This will require difficult but necessary trade-offs to ensure that the appropriate support is properly targeted at the correct products and value chains, he said. SAnews.gov.za
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against former Allahabad High Court judge, Justice S.N. Shukla and his wife, alleging that the had allegedly amassed assets worth Rs 2.45 crore disproportionate to their known source of income. Shukla was directing others to make payments and was buying land in the name of his known persons which he later sold at high prices, the CBI has alleged, adding that the assets were acquired by the couple between 2015 and 2019 when Shukla was a serving judge. "During the investigation of the case, sources had informed that Shukla, being a Judge of the High Court of Allahabad at Lucknow, had intentionally enriched himself illicitly and acquired assets by corrupt and illegal means in the name of Suchita Tiwari with whom Shukla is residing (his second wife, as stated by Tiwari in the court application filed in the CBI court at New Delhi regarding release of articles) and Saideen Tiwari (brother of Kesh Kumari, his first wife) and others. "Source information related to acquiring of properties by Shukla in the name of Suchita Tiwari and Saideen Tiwari were verified. It is revealed that Tiwari came in contact with Shukla in 2014 and prior to that she was not having any immovable assets. During searches, documents from the house of Tiwari were recovered including FDRs of Rs l8 lakh in the joint name of Shukla and hers," the FIR read. The CBI has further alleged that Shukla got transferred funds for various purpose from the account of Shiv Shakti Dham Trust, Amethi, UP. The mobile phone data of Shukla revealed proximity of Shukla and Tiwari in acquiring of properties in the name of Saideen Tiwari. It said that the land sale transaction details pertaining to land acquired in the name of Saideen Tiwari is highly suspicious as one plot was bought by him in 2012 for Rs 3.67 lakh was sold in 2014 for Rs 30 lakh. Similarly, another plot bought for Rs 3.15 lakh in 2013 was later on sold for Rs 70 lakh in 2017. The CBI said that both plots were sold to Shine City Infra Project Private Ltd, Lucknow. "We learnt that Shukla was behind the deals. Shukla sent message to Himanshu Kumar who worked with Shine City with regard to making of payments. The details of total payments of Rs 80 lakh sent by Himanshu to Shukla in the name of Shiv Shakti Dham trust, Dr Raj Narayan Mishra and Amit Shukla was also found in the seized mobile data of Shukla," a CBI official said. The official said that there were details of a number of deals which were made by Shukla in the name of various persons. After collecting the evidence, now the CBI has finally lodged a case. In 2019, a case was lodged against Shukla and retired judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court, I.M. Quddusi for getting bribe for a court order which was in favour of a medical college in Lucknow. In 2019, then Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra had recommended impeachment of Shukla after a Supreme Court's in-house probe came against Shukla. However, Shukla wasn't impeached at that time. Next Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi also favoured the impeachment of Shukla. Now, the CBI has lodged a fresh disproportionate assets case against Shukla and his wife, and in the coming days, can issue summons to him to join the investigation. --IANS atk/vd ( 590 Words) 2023-02-22-22:12:02 (IANS)
Insider Gaming verified the legitimacy of an alleged Activision data breach from Twitter user @vxunderground.
The Twitter user posted key Call of Duty details and the data contained plans for Modern Warfare 2's upcoming DLCs, Call of Duty 2023 (Codenamed Jupiter), and Call of Duty 2024 (Codenamed Cerberus), as well as sensitive employee information.
Employee information obtained includes full names, emails, phone numbers, salaries, places of work, and more, according to the report.
In a tweet, vx-underground wrote that Activision was breached on December 4.
"@Activision was breached December 4th, 2022. The Threat Actors successfully phished a privileged user on the network. They exfiltrated sensitive workplace documents as well as scheduled to be released content dating to November 17th, 2023," the user posted.
"Also worth noting that the Threat Actor(s) did attempt to phish other employees," vx-underground tweeted.
An Activision spokesperson said that the security of our data is paramount, and "we have comprehensive information security protocols in place to ensure its confidentiality".
"On December 4, 2022, our information security team swiftly addressed an SMS phishing attempt and quickly resolved it. Following a thorough investigation, we determined that no sensitive employee data, game code, or player data was accessed," the company said.
In January, video game developer Riot Games said that the source codes for its popular video games 'League of Legends' and 'Teamfight Tactics', or TFT, were stolen in a cyber attack, alongside the code for one of its anti-cheat platforms.
--IANS na/vd
( 280 Words)
2023-02-21-22:20:03 (IANS)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar inaugurated Jammu and Kashmir's first international education fair, a collaborative effort of SKUAST-Kashmir and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, on Tuesday, according to an official statement. While appreciating the SKUSAT-Kashmir for the International Education Fair initiative, Jaishankar said that three years ago, the process of change started in J-K which was intended to ensure that full benefits of the development and progress that the rest of India had seen for many many years are also now completely available to the people, especially to the youth of J-K. "In that sense, people of J-K being in the national mainstream was extremely important. It was also by doing so, they would connect up with the rest of India and the International mainstream. For me it is not just an education event, it is a very integral part of ensuring that a very important region of India is connected to what is happening in the world," Jaishankar said. He also observed that Indian universities should focus on inviting more foreign students to their campuses. "Today, India has projects that are done or under-delivery in 78 countries of the world. So, if our relationships are so extensive, investments are so deep & networking is so good, we need to see that translated into a greater flow of international students to India," Jaishankar said. "In a globalised world, it's absolutely essential that young people of India are fully aware of what's happening in the world and there is no better way to do that than having international students among you," Jaishankar added. Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan congratulated the Jammu-Kashmir government for showcasing the strength and vibrancy of India's higher education landscape as well as the knowledge legacy of the state, the statement read. "J-K is witnessing a new dawn of development under the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister. With the implementation of the National Education Policy, we are internationalising our education sector. The Education Ministry will support, encourage and facilitate the globalisation of SKUAST-Kashmir," Pradhan said. He also encouraged all the universities to join efforts to establish India as a global study destination.Union MoS, Jitendra Singh said the National Education Policy brought by Prime Minister holds the promise to open career and Start-up opportunities driven by aptitude, skill and flexible options at capacity building. "Jammu Kashmir has a rich legacy of unexplored agricultural avenues, Aroma Mission and Purple Revolution, which imparts it the potential of being the torchbearer of Agri StartUp movement in India, Jitendra Singh said. Lieutenant Governor of J-K, Manoj Sinha expressed his gratitude to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji for accelerating the development of J-K and transforming it into a favourite destination for students, travellers and entrepreneurs. The Lt Governor said with this initiative J&K has launched a dedicated programme for foreign students. "Our aim is to invite international students to J&K for short-term and long-term courses in various disciplines & strengthen the international connect. Over the past three years, we have focused on strengthening the education sector, and developing knowledge workers for sectors like industries, agriculture & health care. Sincere efforts have been made to convert the knowledge dividends into wealth for the process of innovation & growth," the Lt Governor said. The Lt Governor also observed that the initiative of SKUAST-Kashmir will also set an example for other universities in the country. "Apart from campuses nestled in nature's paradise, professional faculties, high standard of living, J&K is also offering various courses starting from Artificial Intelligence, Robotics to Agri science, Yoga, Sanskrit & interface with the industries for research & innovation," the Lt Governor further said. The Lt Governor said with more than 150 higher education institutions, two central universities, seven state universities, two AIIMS, IIM, IIT, NIT, NIFT, IIMC and two Agriculture Science and Technology universities, Jammu Kashmir has emerged as a favourite destination for students in India. He also said that the paradigm shifts towards the virtues of life which humanity is witnessing are also an opportunity for enhancing the quality of life by exchanging programs between the countries and learning from each other and enabling each other to achieve greater heights in our journey. "The whole world is looking at India with admiration and hope. There never was a better time to be in India to witness and comprehend the glorious chapters of ancient civilization and immortal organic composite culture. The foreign student's residential and exchange programmes, people-to-people contacts and institutional interactions with different institutions of Jammu Kashmir will enrich and strengthen global cultural synergies," the Lt Governor added. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) assured the cooperation and support of ICCR to J-K in organizing the exchange programs of artisans and fairs whereby the message of changing new aspirational J-K goes loud and clear to other countries, the statement read. Distinguished Ambassadors, High Commissioners and members of ICAR, ICCR, UGC, and SKUAST-K were present. (ANI)
Bangladesh can claim to consider Bangla as the United Nation's official language, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Mustafizur Rahman said on Tuesday. While talking with ANI, Rahman said, "21st February is a historic day for Bangladesh and since 1999, it's been recognised as international mother language day. It tells about our independence." Well, if we consider the number of people speaking Bangla, I think it would be one of the top six, or seven languages spoken in the world. So We can claim that Bangla is also considered as the UN's official language but there are complexities involved and it is a lengthy process, but you are determined to push it forward," Bangladesh High Commissioner to India said. As per UNESCO, the idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh. It was approved at the 1999 UNESCO General Conference and has been observed throughout the world since 2000. UNESCO believes in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies. It is within its mandate for peace that it works to preserve the differences in cultures and languages that foster tolerance and respect for others. Multilingual and multicultural societies exist through their languages which transmit and preserve traditional knowledge and cultures in a sustainable way. Globally 40 per cent of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. Nevertheless, progress is being made in multilingual education with a growing understanding of its importance, particularly in early schooling, and more commitment to its development in public life. In the statement, UNESCO said that the 24th edition of International Mother Language Day will focus on the theme 'multilingual education - a necessity to transform education'. Multilingual education based on mother tongue facilitates access to and inclusion in learning for population groups that speak non-dominant languages, languages of minority groups and indigenous languages, as per the statement. (ANI)
Pakistan Senator Waqar Mehdi, the General Secretary of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in his speech in the House criticised former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, saying that terrorists were supported and encouraged by the PTI government, Pakistan-based Dawn newspaper reported. He said that terrorists cannot be good in any form, as a terrorist is a terrorist. According to him, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) named Khan a member of its negotiating team for peace talks with the government in 2014. Senator Mehdi said that after the recent terrorist incident in Peshawar, the government had decided to summon a multi-party conference, but Khan refused to participate in it. This clearly shows that he preferred his political interests over issues linked with national security, Dawn reported. As per the PPP senator, National Action Plan (NAP) chalked out to fight terrorism and extremism was not implemented in its true spirit by the previous government. Mehdi also condemned the terrorist attack on the Karachi Police Office and paid tribute to those killed. Shahzad Waseem, Opposition Leader in the Senate, criticised the government for its irresponsible attitude amid pressing issues and serious crises due to resurgence of terrorism and economic meltdown. According to a recent Policy Research Group (POREG) report, terrorism in Pakistan is a self-inflicted wound. Pakistan has been nurturing terrorists in its backyard as a part of its security and foreign policies. The country now has to pay the price for this misadventure. According to POREG, the problem is the powers that matter in Pakistan have made terrorism a time bomb, initially appeasing the terrorist elements, in the name of preserving Islam and afterwards unleashing a reign of counter-attacks against them. The challenge before the country's leadership is two-fold. It must crush militancy in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border belt, and bring a sense of security and peace to the region. Simultaneously, Pakistani forces must check the re-grouping and growth of various Islamist militant factions within mainland Pakistan. Thousands of locals protested in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on February 5 under the slogan of Ulasi Pasoon (public uprising) against the suicide attack on Peshawar Police Lines Mosque and the increasing lawlessness in the region. Unrest has also been witnessed in the districts of Lakki Marwat, Mohmand and Malakand over the return of terrorist menace. The law and order situation in the country has worsened in the past five months. People are unable to step out of their homes after nightfall, particularly in Lakki Marwat. According to POREG, the cry for peace is becoming louder by the day. Most youngsters are at the forefront of the peace marches. Holding white flags, placards and banners, they are demanding the government to eliminate militancy and ensure sustainable peace. (ANI)
Bhutan's Royal Highness The Gyalsey (Prince) Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, became the country's first digital citizen by onboarding with the Bhutan National Digital Identity (NDI) mobile wallet, The Bhutan Live reported. According to The Bhutan Live, Bhutan NDI uses cutting-edge technology to provide citizens with secure and verifiable identity credentials, ensuring the privacy and protection of their personal information. The system uses the "self-sovereign identity" model based on Decentralised Identity (DID) technology, which gives people more control over their personal information and who can access it. Jigme Tenzing, acting secretary for GovTech Bhutan, was quoted by The Bhutan Live as saying, "We are honoured and privileged to have His Royal Highness as the first digital citizen of Bhutan. The launch of Bhutan's National Digital Identity based on the Self-Sovereign Identity model, is a major step forward in transforming the way services are delivered in both the public and private sectors. This flagship initiative of GovTech will provide secure and verifiable digital identities to citizens, laying a strong foundation for our digital future. We are delighted to have worked closely with the excellent team at DHI on developing the technologies for Bhutan NDI. We hope this example of using technology to transform lives while safeguarding privacy will inspire and motivate others to follow suit." Ujjwal D. Dahal, director, of Bhutan-based DHI InnoTech, said, "We are proud to work with GovTech Bhutan as a development partner on this important project which will help transform the way citizens and all visitors to Bhutan will interact with government and private sector organisations in the future. Bhutan NDI will ensure that the citizens and residents can access the services they need in a secure and efficient manner. We aspire to be pioneers in this technology space in solving problems within and beyond our boundaries." The relations between India, and Bhutan are on course to scaling new heights as New Delhi has been consistently supporting its neighbour in its efforts to establish a digital infrastructure, the Bhutan Live recently reported. The Union government had recently announced that it was going to help Bhutan build its third international internet gateway. According to the Indian Embassy in Bhutan, the government will facilitate a concessional rate to reduce the cost of the gateway's operation. This new initiative is part of the expanding India-Bhutan digital collaboration. India is collaborating with Bhutan on various technology initiatives. An optical fibre backbone has been provided at the village level across all 20 districts of Bhutan under Bhutan's flagship programme 'Digital Drukul', The Bhutan Live reported. (ANI)
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, National Security Advisor to the Indian Prime Minister Ajit Kumar Doval on Monday discussed the Ukrainian Peace Plan, a ten-point Peace Formula that provides comprehensive answers to the question of what needs to be done to end the war in a sustainable and just manner. According to Yermak, Ukraine continues to fight on the battlefield, but at the same time has proposed a peace plan. The draft resolution on support for the principles of the UN Charter, which form the basis of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, will be considered by the UN General Assembly on February 23, according to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy's official website. The peace document is based on such fundamental principles as the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of states within internationally recognized borders. "Cooperation with India is very important to us. We believe that you will support our resolution, as it contains very correct wording on the inviolability of borders and territorial integrity. Our goals are transparent and clear: we do not claim a single centimetre of Russian territory, we just want to get ours back," Yermak said during a telephonic conversation with Ajit Kumar Doval. Yermak informed his interlocutor about the current situation at the front, in particular about the extremely difficult defence of the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. "We know that Russia is preparing certain offensive actions, and we are preparing to respond. The Russian army is very unmotivated, while Ukrainian warriors are showing extraordinary bravery and resilience. We will not stop until we liberate all our territories. We only need weapons," the Head of the Presidential Office said. Andriy Yermak said that Ukraine is interested in the broadest possible support for its peace resolution, in particular from the countries of the Global South. The Head of the President's Office emphasized about the need of forming a new effective security system in the world to replace the ineffective one that existed until February 24, 2022. "This resolution is fundamental for us because it restores respect for international law and the UN Charter in the world. It is very important to protect the territorial integrity of any state in the world in order to prevent any attempts by one country to appropriate the territory of another one in the future," emphasized Andriy Yermak, according to the President of Ukraine's official website. Andriy Yermak believes these principles are shared by India and the majority of countries of the world. According to Yermak, Ukraine welcomes any initiatives that give a chance to end the war and restore the territorial integrity of our country, but these should not be partial temporary solutions such as a ceasefire, but a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. Otherwise, peace will be unstable, and this is unacceptable for Ukraine. "We are absolutely convinced that the war can and should be ended this year, so that the anniversary of the beginning of the full-scale invasion will be the first and last in our history," emphasized Andriy Yermak. The parties agreed to maintain close contact on the eve of the UN General Assembly vote. (ANI)
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the signing of the Air Services Agreement between the Indian government and the government of Co-operative Republic of Guyana. The agreement will enable a framework for provision of air services between the two countries. The new Air Services Agreement between India, and Guyana will provide an enabling environment for enhanced and seamless connectivity while providing commercial opportunities to the carriers of both sides, according to a press release. The agreement will come into force after the exchange of diplomatic notes between the parties confirming that each party has completed the necessary internal procedure for entry into force of this agreement. There is a sizeable presence of Indians in Guyana. They are the country's largest ethnic group comprising about 40 per cent of the population as per the 2012 census. Air services agreement has been signed with many countries for paving way for International air connectivity. The agreement provides the legal framework for air operations between two countries which is based on the principles of sovereignty of nations, nationality of carriers and reciprocity in terms of commercial opportunities for the designated airlines of each side. There is at present, no Air Services Agreement (ASA) between the Indian and Guyanese governments. Further, according to the release, India and Guyana are signatories to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention). The delegations representing the two governments met in Nassau, Bahamas on December 6, 2016, during the ICAO Air Services Negotiations event where both countries had initialled the text of an ASA for scheduled air services between the two countries in terms of the Memorandum of Understanding dated 06 December 2016 between India and Guyana. Guyanese Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Monday arrived in India to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries. "Warm welcome to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana on his arrival in India. The visit will further strengthen India-Guyana bilateral cooperation and people-to-people linkages," tweeted the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali was the chief guest of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on January 10. The Convention is the flagship event of the Union government that provides an important platform to engage and connect with overseas Indians and enable the diaspora to interact with each other. (ANI)
The quake occurred around Bichhiya of Bajura district at 13:45 (local time), the National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center (NEMRC), Nepal, said in a tweet.
"An Earthquake of ML 5.2 occurred around Bichhiya of Bajura district at 13:45 NEMRC/SC," NEMRC tweeted.
Recently, at least three houses collapsed after a magnitude 5.8 quake hit Nepal.
The epicentre of the earthquake was the border area of the Himali Village Council of Bajura and Humla's Tajakot Village Council.
Rescuers and local officials said they were finding it hard to get information on the ground due to the inclement weather condition and lack of communication means, as per information.
"A few more houses collapsed in the area after the earthquake. We have got the information that 3 more houses have collapsed in the district," said DSP Surya Thapa.
"Due to the inclement weather condition and snowfall in the area, we are not able to establish contact with other localities. The telephone is not working," Chief of Himali Village Council Govinda Bahadur Malla told ANI over the phone. (ANI)
Amid an unprecedented economic crisis in the country, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cut the number of foreign missions as part of austerity measures, reported Geo News. "The prime minister is pleased to direct that a well-considered proposal/ plan in this respect may please be submitted to this office within two weeks positively," a directive issued by the PM Office reads. According to the news report, Shehbaz has issued instructions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to slash down a number of foreign missions abroad and reduce their offices, staff, and other measures to cut down expenditures by 15 per cent. The official communication titled "Rationalisation of Foreign Mission Abroad" states that in view of the ongoing economic constraints and the consequent need for fiscal consolidation and control of external deficit, the prime minister was pleased to constitute a National Austerity Committee (NAC). Pakistani media suggested that there has been increasing frustration amid the political-cum-technocratic members of the cabinet over the government's reluctance to implement the measures issued by the NAC. The media reported that while the government is taking measures such as hiking electricity and gas tariffs, it is not cutting down wasteful expenditures, reported Geo News. Although Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar in his mini-budget speeches reiterated the government's commitment to undertaking austerity steps by the PM within weeks, there was a perception that the government undertook all tough measures by hiking electricity, and gas tariffs and imposing Rs 170 billion additional tax burden but was in no hurry to cut down wasteful expenditures. The committee has recommended that the expenditure on Pakistani missions abroad may be reduced by 15 per cent. "This may be achieved by curtailing the number of Foreign Missions, reduction in the number of officers and staff posted there and other suitable measures," it further stated. Another minister has written a letter to return a vehicle to the government and also made the letter public, reported Geo News. Notably, every federal minister takes 1,000 litres of petrol on monthly basis as each one possess a luxurious vehicle and three other official cars. There is another practice in the Federal Secretariat as hiring was being done in name of specialists, experts, and young fellows without consideration of actual requirements and well-defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), reported Geo News. The majority of bureaucrats are taking the monetisation of vehicles but are also using official cars and petrol through different heads. (ANI)
During the meeting, Sherpas reiterated their commitment to the I2U2 partnership and reviewed progress in all the existing and prospective I2U2 projects.
"Secretary ER Dammu Ravi attended the India-Israel-UAE-USA #I2U2 Sherpas meeting held in Abu Dhabi today. Sherpas reiterated their commitment to I2U2 partnership and reviewed progress in all the existing and prospective I2U2 projects," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
India also joined the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate, a joint initiative of the US and UAE.
"India also joined the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate. A joint initiative of US & UAE, it aims to increase investment in agricultural innovation for climate-smart agriculture and food systems," tweeted Bagchi.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines, the first I2U2 Business Forum was organised.
"On sidelines, the first #I2U2 Business Forum was organised. The forum brought together private and public sectors' representatives from I2U2 countries, who discussed opportunities of cooperation between the business communities," added Bagchi.
I2U2 Grouping was conceptualized during the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the four countries held on 18 October 2021.
Each country also has Sherpa-level interactions regularly to discuss the possible areas of cooperation.
It is also referred to as the 'West Asian Quad' and was referred to as the 'International Forum for Economic Cooperation' back in 2021.
I2U2 is aimed to encourage joint investments in six mutually identified areas - Water, Energy, Transportation, Space, Health and Food security.
It intends to mobilize private sector capital and expertise to help modernize the infrastructure, and low-carbon development pathways for our industries, improve public health and promote the development of critical emerging and green technologies.
Technology is a prominent area in all the partner countries.
Israel and India are having widening start-up ecosystems in their respective countries.
UAE is also looking to divert from an oil-based economy to a technology-based economy.
Food security is an area where these countries can work together to reduce the consequences of food shortage issues.
Security and defence cooperation is also of prime importance to the grouping.
India and the US are already members of the QUAD and India has individual bilateral defence cooperation with each country.
The I2U2 can give a boost to trade and connectivity among the partners.
The platform is significant for attracting West Asian businesses and investors to India's massive consumer market.
This grouping will also help India strengthen its position in West Asian geopolitics both strategically and economically.
The Indian diaspora in West Asian nations will significantly impact the remittances, and the I2U2 will help enhance the cooperation further. (ANI)
The 26th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held on 22 February 2023 in Beijing, marking the first in-person meeting since July 2019. The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs, while the Chinese delegation was led by Director General of the Boundary & Oceanic Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas and discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining areas. The discussions were conducted in an open and constructive manner with the objective of restoring peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the Western Sector and creating conditions for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations. In accordance with existing bilateral agreements and protocols, the two sides agreed to hold the next (18th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date. They also agreed to continue discussions through military and diplomatic channels to achieve their objective. The WMCC was established in 2012 to provide a platform for consultations and coordination between India and China on border affairs. The 26th meeting was significant as it took place amid ongoing tensions between the two countries, particularly in the wake of the 2020 clashes in the Galwan Valley. (ANI)
"The US Embassy is back to normal business operations. Local authorities investigated and cleared a suspicious package outside the Embassy," tweeted US Embassy in London.
The US Embassy thanked London's Metropolitan Police Service for its "swift action."
"Thanks to @metpoliceuk for your swift action, and thanks to all visitors for your cooperation and patience at this time," it added.
Earlier, the US embassy in London was briefly put into a state of lockdown with those inside the building told to move away from windows.
One person who was inside said he was told to "clear the area".
Director and Producer Aro Korol posted videos and pictures of the situation inside the embassy.
"Alarm at the US Embassy in London. They told us to move far from the windows. The situation is ongoing," tweeted Korol.
Another social media user called Roshan Kar wrote, "Situation ongoing at US Embassy London. Told us to stay away from the windows..."
Police dogs were pictured patrolling the building and armed police carrying automatic assault rifles were inside talking with G4S security guards. (ANI)
The representatives were from Barbados, Gambia, Kazakhstan, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, St Lucia and Tonga.
"A good interaction with Permanent Representatives from the Global South representing Barbados, Gambia, Kazakhstan, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, St Lucia and Tonga at United Nations," tweeted Jaishankar.
He appreciated their comments on India's leadership at the UN and for Vaccine Maitri and wished them an enriching Incredible India experience!
"Appreciate their comments on India's leadership at the UN and for Vaccine Maitri. Wishing them an enriching Incredible India experience!" he tweeted.
Vaccine Maitri is a humanitarian drive embarked on by the Indian administration to furnish COVID-19 antiviral injections to nations around the globe. Indian administration has commenced delivering injections since January 20, 2021.
The term 'Global South' began by loosely referring to those countries that were left out of the industrialisation era and had a conflict of ideology with the capitalist and communist countries, accentuated by the Cold War.
It includes countries that are mostly in Asia, Africa and South America.
'Global South' is significant because of its large population, rich cultures, and abundant natural resources.
Understanding the Global South is important for addressing global issues such as poverty, inequality, and climate change.
Many countries in the Global South still struggle with poverty and economic inequality, which can make it difficult to implement development initiatives.
In the recently held Voice of the Global South 2023 Summit - "Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose" - India attempted to add another note to the chorus of the global order.
The virtual forum has provided valuable inputs from the Global South that could facilitate India's ambition to steer the G20 2023 summit in Delhi successfully.
The forum is also about India reconnecting with a global group of nations that had fallen off the Indian foreign policy radar since the end of the Cold War.
Over the last three decades, Indian diplomacy's focus has been on reordering its great power relations, bringing stability to the neighbourhood and developing regional institutions in the extended neighbourhood. (ANI)
After recovering three bodies from a well in the Barkhan area of Balochistan, Pakistani police raided the houses of Provincial Minister for Construction and Communications Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran in connection with the case, Geo News reported. The discovery of three bodies late on Monday night is said to be the wife and two sons of one Khan Muhammad Marri. As per the police, the police searched all parts of the house including the guest room. The police spokesperson also said that the roads leading to Khetran's house in Quetta's Patel Bagh had been sealed, adding that the raid was carried out to recover Khan Muhammad Marri's five children. "These are the bodies of my wife and two sons who were kept in a private jail in Haji Kot for the last four years," Marri said, identifying them as his 40-year-old wife Granaz, and sons Muhammad Anwar (22) and Abdul Qadir (15). Marri, who was once employed as a security guard with a provincial minister, alleged that his wife and sons were being held in the private jail of Sardar Khetran, adding that five more of his children, including his 13-year-old daughter, are still languishing there, Dawn reported. Meanwhile, the relatives of the deceased and Marri tribesmen held a sit-in in the provincial capital against the murders, saying that the minister should be arrested and a judicial inquiry should be conducted into the matter. Rallies were also carried out in different areas of the province to protest the murder, reported Geo News. On the other hand, Balochistan Bar Council boycotted court proceedings today as a protest against the murders. A member of the bar council, Rahib Buledi, said that the lawyers will not appear in the courts today. Moreover, a tribal council has been convened to discuss the Barkhan incident today at 5 pm by Senator Prince Agha Umar Ahmedzai at the Aiwan-e-Qalat in Quetta. A spokesperson of the Aiwan-e-Qalat said that the heads of Baloch and Pashtun tribes would participate in the council, according to Geo News. (ANI)
Childrens apps are not sticking to the data collection rules (Alamy/PA)
As many as one in four apps aimed at children on the Google Play app store do not comply with the Information Commissioners Office age-appropriate design code, according to new research.
Consumer group Comparitech said its study of more than 400 childrens apps available on the store found that nearly 25% violated the ICOs guidelines in some way the vast majority by collecting personal data of some kind.
The age-appropriate design code or Childrens Code sets out standards to which online services must adhere in order to comply with UK data protection law when it comes to children and protecting their personal information online.
In its study, Comparitech said the offending apps violated the ICOs code in a number of ways, but many did so by collecting personal data without having a comprehensive, child-specific privacy policy in place.
The group said it had carried out its study by selecting 50 apps from each of the individual app categories within the Google Play Store tab for children.
According to the research, the majority of the apps found to be violating the code were collecting a users IP address, but in some instances other data such as a users name, address, online contact information, telephone number, or geolocation was found to be collected.
The consumer said that all of the apps it found to violate code were graded as expert approved by Google.
Comparitech head of data research, Rebecca Moody, said: Almost 25% of the apps we reviewed were found to be in violation of the ICOs guidelines in some way.
The vast majority collected some kind of personal data without a clear and comprehensive section on childrens data protection within their privacy policy.
Perhaps even more concerning was that 5.5% of the apps we reviewed claimed not to be targeted toward children, despite being featured within the child-specific section on Google Play and sometimes featuring the word kids in the app name.
A spokesperson for the ICO said: The childrens code makes clear that children are not like adults online, and their data needs greater protections.
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All online services likely to be accessed by children must conform with the childrens code in order to be compliant with data protection legislation
ICO spokesperson
We want children to be online, learning, playing and experiencing the world, but with the right protections in place to do so that reflects their best interests.
All online services likely to be accessed by children must conform with the childrens code in order to be compliant with data protection legislation.
It applies to all companies who will process data on UK children. We will investigate when evidence suggests that online services are not complying with their responsibilities to protect children outlined by the code or wider data protection law.
In response to the research, Google said it was looking into the findings of the report and its methodology.
A Google spokesperson said: Google Play takes the protection of children on its platform seriously.
Play has policies and processes in place to help protect children on our platform and has invested significant resources into related features.
Apps that target children must comply with our Google Play families policy, which requires developers to adhere to all relevant laws and all of Plays developer programme policies, plus imposes additional privacy, monetisation and content restrictions like prohibiting access to precise location data.
Developers are responsible for ensuring their apps are compliant with all relevant laws and appropriate for their target audiences, including children.
(CNN) -- Ash Wednesday is today, so you know what that means.
Carnival celebrations for 2023 are in full force around the world. It's a time when people -- particularly those in areas with strong Roman Catholic traditions -- indulge their wild side before the solemn, introspective days of Lent commence.
With so many participants (more than a million in some cities) and so many different celebration spots (from the Americas to Asia), there's bound to be a lot of fascinating tidbits to uncover surrounding Carnival.
To go with the party vibe, here are some wild Carnival facts, figures and customs:
A $1 billion party -- well, almost
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
PHOTO BY CELSO PUPO/SHUTTERSTOCK
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The world's biggest annual Carnival, held in Rio de Janeiro, naturally generates a lot of economic activity for Brazil. But the expected amount for 2023 is positively eye-popping, according to a report from Reuters.
"We believe the economy will generate five billion reais ($971.55 million) during Carnival alone, a record," Ronnie Aguiar, the president of the Rio Tourism Company (Riotur), recently told the news agency.
That's what the power of roughly 5 million people freely spending after pandemic restrictions will do for you.
After a two-year hiatus, around 80,000 tourists from abroad are expected to show up for 2023, according to the International Air Transport Association.
The comeback kid
Venice canal
PHOTO BY SILVIA BIANCHINI/ISTOCKPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
Venice canal
The Venice Carnival began in 1162 as a military celebration. From there, it morphed into good ol' party time -- until 1797.
That's when dour Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor, put the kibosh on the revelries (Austrians had just started calling the shots in Venice at the time). He also banned Venetians from wearing masks. Talk about a party pooper.
During the 19th century, Venetians tried to jump-start a big public gathering, but they were able to muster only small, private fetes.
Then in the height of the Disco Era, the Italian government came to the party-time rescue. It helped Venice relaunch Carnival in 1979. It's now grown into one of the world's most renowned, complete with grand masked balls and flotillas in the canals.
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No hiding the cost of a high-end mask
Venice masks
PHOTO BY PITRS/ADOBE STOCK
Venice masks
Speaking of masks, the Venice Carnival is famous for its mysterious and fancy face coverings. And the nicer ones can cost you quite a few euros.
Some high-end Venice masks go for 400 (about $425) or even more. That's a lot to pay to be stylishly incognito, but they provide a classic keepsake.
Bombarded by beads
Beads of New Orleans
PHOTO BY JOEL CARILLET/ISTOCKPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
Beads of New Orleans
What masks are to Venice, beads are to New Orleans.
The throwing of beads and other trinkets to the crowds during Mardi Gras was started in the early 1870s. In fact, they're called throws.
How many are tossed out? Tons of them. Literally.
A few years back, cleaning crews removed a whopping 93,000 pounds on a five-block stretch of St. Charles Avenue downtown from clogged storm drains. That works out to 46.5 tons.
New Orleans has since installed "gutter buddies" to prevent beads from entering the drains.
Egging people on
Masked marcher at Sydney Mardi Gras
PHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
Masked marcher at Sydney Mardi Gras
In the small Spanish Mediterranean port city of Aguilas, they're also into throwing stuff. Here, it's eggs -- but they're not filled with yolks.
Months before Carnival, locals collect eggshells, then paint them or cover them in striking colors and fill them with confetti. In Spanish, it's called cascarones de confeti.
They're used in a battle in which Don Carnal, who represents the Roman god Janus, is at war with Dona Cuaresma (Mrs. Lent). Don Carnal always loses.
Flour power
Flour puffs
PHOTO BY AERIAL-DRONE/ADOBE STOCK
Flour puffs
Geez -- there really is something about Carnival and throwing things.
In the little Greek harbor town of Galaxidi, what they toss is a whole lot softer than beads and less elaborate than confetti-filled eggs.
Each year, the town and the townspeople get covered in colored flour, which is thrown on locals and tourists alike. You might want to bring some protective eyewear if you attend. Check out the madness in this YouTube video.
Gotta go to Goa
Tiwi Island Sistagirls march in Sydney Mardi Gras
PHOTO BY DONALD PADGETT
Tiwi Island Sistagirls march in Sydney Mardi Gras
India definitely knows how to throw a celebration -- Diwali and Holi anyone?
While exporting those to the world, Indians are also making their unique contribution to Carnival in Goa, which was a Portuguese -- and therefore Catholic -- colony for centuries.
The Goa Carnival is full of the usual parades, colorful costumes and elaborate floats, but the Carnival here mixes with local Goan culture and Hindu traditions.
In one old Goa Carnival tradition, people throw their old utensils out of their kitchen windows when the parade passes. Another is when people get into playful fights throwing colorful powders at each other, similar to the Holi Festival.
YouTuber Heena Bhatia captured parade scenes from the 2022 Carnival on her channel.
With a little help from your friends
Carnival paraders in Rio de Janeiro
Carnival participants in Rio de Janeiro
Back in Rio, they're definitely enjoying all things samba, but they also shake it up, baby.
Turns out Brazilian-beat Beatles songs are the rage at one of the many Rio street parties known as blocos. There are more than 500 blocos, according to Carnivaland.net.
At Aterro do Flamengo (Flamingo Park), the Sargento Pimento party is dedicated to playing Beatles music.
Catch a very fitting "Here Comes the Sun" from 2013 on YouTube.
Puppet show
Puppets of Carnival in Olinda, Brazil
PHOTO BY SILVIA BIANCHINI/ISTOCKPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
Puppets of Carnival in Olinda, Brazil
Rio ain't the only game in Brazil when it comes to Carnival. A favorite among Brazilians is the Recife & Olinda Carnival. Fewer tourists show up, so if you're looking for true local flavor, the mutual party thrown by these two northeastern coastal cities could be for you.
And don't miss the bonecos, giant papier-mache puppets, in Olinda. They are up to 3 meters (9.8 feet) tall and are paraded through the streets.
Olinda concentrates on daytime events, while the nighttime is the right time for Recife.
And the band played on
No shrimps on these barbies at the Sydney Mardi Gras down under
PHOTO BY FIMINA ANNA/SHUTTERSTOCK
No shrimps on these barbies at the Sydney Mardi Gras down under
In the Caribbean's Trinidad and Tobago, you can sit back and watch and listen. Or you can join in. It's called playing mas, according to online experts Carnivaland.net.
To play mas, you have to join a masquerade band, but you just can't show up. You must first pick out a mas band you'd like to be a part of and don their costumes (some are sexy, some are more conservative).
Joining a mas band isn't free, but some are all inclusive, providing your costume, food and drinks, bathroom areas and more.
The-CNN-Wire
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A 100-year-old California man died in a hit-and run earlier this week, and authorities are seeking the publics help locating the vehicle in the fatal incident.
Tzu-Ta Ko, a 100-year-old resident of Oakland, California, died following the Sunday collision that occurred just after 7:00 a.m., the Oakland Police Department said. He suffered severe head trauma, and emergency personnel provided aid to him after arriving at the scene of the incident near downtown Oakland.
The department shared photos on Facebook of a vehicle wanted in connection with the collision, sharing that if people have information about the vehicle or the case, they should contact authorities. The department and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
The vehicle was identified as a tan or white Mini Cooper.
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Shirley Ko, Kos daughter, told KTVU in California that were really, really close, so this is really a shock for me.
She said her father enjoyed walks and that he walked almost every day. He turned 100 in November, and his wife died in January, according to the outlet.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Oakland Police Department for additional information.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 100-year-old Oakland, California man killed in hit-and-run collision
Mariupol destroyed by invaders
Mariupol. Explosions are heard, the city council said in its post.
So far, 11 explosions are recorded in the Russia-occupied city. There is preliminary information about two hits in the area of AS-2 (Central district) and Stan-3000 (Kalmius district). Probably in places where enemy forces are concentrated.
Later reports updated the number of explosions to 12.
Mariupol is beyond the range of Ukraines HIMARS system, and there was speculation in Russian and Ukrainian social media that a new type of long range weapon had been used by Ukrainian forces.
Read also: Strong explosion, fire reported at prosecutor's office in center of Ukraines Russian-occupied Donetsk
City Hall reported that the first explosion in Mariupol occurred at 10:33 p.m. It said that after the explosions, there were problems with power and communications in the Central and Left Bank districts of the city.
Later, mayors advisor Petro Andriushchenko reported that a Russian ammunition warehouse in the vicinity of the citys airport and a Russian military base in the Illich Iron and Steel works had been hit. There were reports of secondary explosions, while some of the other explosions may have been the operation of Russian air defenses.
Andriushchenko reported another explosion in the city on the morning of Feb. 22, with locals saying on social media that the blast set off car alarms and shook the curtains.
Mariupol lies more than 70 kilometers from the front line, at the very limit of the range of Ukraines HIMARS rockets. There was speculation on Russian and Ukrainian social media that the weapon used may have been the Ground-launched Small Diameter Bomb or GLSDB.
Read also: Huge explosion rocks occupied Irmino in Luhansk Oblast
The United States earlier said it would provide GLSDBs to Ukraine, but it was not expected they would be available for use by Ukraine until June. The weapons have arange more than double that of HIMARS, at about 150 kilometers.
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Other Russian sources later said that the weapon used may have been Ukraines Vilkha-M heavy multiple launch rocket system (based on the Soviet Smerch system)which is reported to have a range of 130 kilometers.
Like HIMARS, Vilkha fires guided rockets, but guidance is independent of the GPS satellite navigation system.
The Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the reported attacks on Mariupol.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Check out these books if you liked
Check out these books if you liked "A Court of Thorns and Roses."
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas dominates the fantasy romance book genre and quickly rose to The New York Times bestsellers list after it was published in 2015. Maas books are published in 37 languages, have sold more than 13 million copies and include the authors young adult series, Throne of Glass, and the more contemporary fantasy Crescent City series.
In March 2021, Hulu announced an upcoming adaptation of A Court of Thorns and Roses with Ronald D. Moore of Outlander, fame tapped as producer and ever since, the fae-centric fever has been heating up.
Its been two years, and theres no word yet on when the ACOTAR television series will be released, but that hasnt stopped fans from building fake casting lists on TikTok and debating whether or not Hulu will do the series justice.
Personally, I think it will, given the streamers success with adapting Margaret Atwoods Handmaids Tale and Sally Rooneys Normal People. The delightful and irreverently funny series The Great was adapted from a play, and creative people within Hulu are also involved in the upcoming ACOTAR series.
If youve read ACOTAR, then you definitely should read Maas two other series, Crescent City and Throne of Glass; they may be more connected than you think. In the meantime, for readers who have finished Maas canon of books, heres a list of similar fandom favorites, indie-publisher twins and a few promising ones yet to be released.
Seven Faceless Saints By M.K. Lobb
Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb
Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb
The market tagline for this new young adult debut is Theres a holiness in revenge, which is enough to pique my interest. Seven Faceless Saints, the debut from M.K. Lobb, is quickly capturing fans of the dark fantasy genre and is being touted as a similar read to bestselling authors Leigh Bardugo and Kerri Maniscalco. It opens in the city of Ombrazia, where saints and their devoted disciples rule with ruthless power, doting on their favorite citizens and leaving the rest to barely survive. Rossana Lacertosa is a citizen of the city, but after her fathers brutal murder by the Ombrazian military, shes pushed into exposing and destroying the powers that be. She finds herself growing into her powers as a disciple of Patience, joins a rebellion and is forced to face the boy who obliterated her trust and heart, Damian Venturi, the now-youngest guard of the Palazzo military. All the while, a murderer stalks citizens of Ombrazia, and the Palazzo military seems keen to ignore the climbing body counts, except when a prized disciple of Death becomes a victim.
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The Myths Of Airren Series By Jenny Hickman
The Myths of Airren series by Jenny Hickman
The Myths of Airren series by Jenny Hickman
The latest book in the Myths of Airren series by Jenny Hickman, Prince of Deception, is told from the point of view of the wicked half-fae Prince Rian. Hickman is perhaps better known for another series, The Pan Trilogy, but if you were to prize one series on this list, this would be the one Id stake my heart on. Prince Rian has a penchant for swearing, debauchery, fine clothes and strawberry tarts. Hes also got a dungeon. Favorites aside, the characters in Hickmans latest series are a motley crew of dysfunctional, hilarious and at times terrifying companions. The Gancanagh, an Irish folk legend with a lethal kiss, is Rians half-brother and is more than happy to use his special talents to assist his brother in a Midsummer Nights Dream-meets-Romeo and Juliet scheme to achieve multiple ends. Rian is the epitome of the morally gray love interest: a self-confessed murderer with an entire castle worth of emotional issues. Hes also funny as feck, and his devotion, which completely baffles and irks him, for his human Aveen might just be the death of him.
The Blood Trials By N.E. Davenport
"The Blood Trials" by N.E. Davenport
Readers who loved Maas earlier series, Throne of Glass, will enjoy N.E. Davenports The Blood Trials. A blend of action, fantasy and science fiction, Davenports duology is a gritty and enthralling debut, leaning more new adult than young adult in genre. Fans of ACOTAR may find a kinship between Davenports main character, Ikenna, and Maass Celaena Sardothien. Ikenna is the granddaughter of the Legatus of the Mareenian Empire, and after the death of a close family member, she is out for revenge. She enrolls in a military academy hoping to earn a coveted place among elite Praetorian warriors, an initiation not everyone will survive. She faces brutal and physically demanding tests while enduring racism and hiding a potentially deadly secret Ikenna possesses forbidden blood magic. Ikennas strength and loyalty are tested, but she will do whatever it takes to avenge her family and leave a blazing trail of vengeance in her wake. Kindred Stories is an independent bookstore in Houston that provided this fantastic recommendation.
The Autumn Of The Grimoire From The Sisters Solstice Series By J.L. Vampa
"Autumn of the Grimoire" by J.L. Vampa
J.L. Vampas series is gothic, mysterious and filled with a well-rounded cast of characters. A perfect read for fans craving the enemies to lover trope, spell-binding love scenes and strong female main characters. During a gathering among sisters who happen to be witches, the Grimoire (ancient book of spells) commands Agatha (the witch of Autumn) to go back in time and marry a self-absorbed, albeit incredibly good-looking, prince to save a kingdom of people. This is the very same prince who, upon first meeting Agatha, she could barely stomach. Shes willing to do anything to help the people around her, but having to team up with the pompous prince might be too much for the witch.
The Wolf And The Wildflower By Ella Fields
"The Wolf and the Wildflower" by Ella Fields
Ella Fields The Wolf and The Wildflower is a deeply emotional and dramatic book filled with unrequited love, jilted lovers, fated mates and a Court of Silver Flames level of heat. Imagine if the initial couple in Maass ACOTAR had married, and then ultimately broke their bonds through affairs unforeseeable but destined to happen? In a sea of poorly written fantasy romance being churned out for the ravenous masses right now, Fields is a cut above, writing believable dialogue and gut-punching emotional plots. The spice level is high and passionate from the beginning, keeping you completely enthralled by the relationship of the main couple.Scythe, an alpha-male shifter, and Aster, a fae, meet in a rowdy bar one evening, their differences as immediately obvious as their inexplicable attraction. They fall deeply for one another, despite being from warring territories, with Aster clearly running from her past and Scythe providing the security and space she needs. For fans of alpha males, fae queens, twists and spice, Fields standalone The Wolf and the Wildflower will captivate you.
The Last Tale Of The Flower Bride By Roshani Chokshi
"The Last Tale of the Flower Bride" by Roshani Chokshi
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is Roshani Chokshis adult debut and readslike a gothic fever dream. With Sapphic undertones, secrets and the unraveling of a marriage in an atmosphere that is sumptuous and a little frightening, you will be bewitched by this dark fairy tale world. Chokshi weaves a labyrinth of past and present narratives, making for a sumptuous and chilling story reminiscent of some of the more macabre fairy tales of the past, like Bluebeard. The fairy tale aspects will appeal to fans of ACOTAR, along with the many twists, so its best to keep the details short. The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a dark and bittersweet coming-of-age tale. Chokshis young adult series The Gilded Wolves is also incredible for fans of decadent escapism and mystery.
The Serpent And The Wings Of Night From The Crowns Of Nyaxia Series By Carissa Broadbent
"The Serpent and the Wings of Night" from the "Crowns of Nyaxia" series by Carissa Broadbent
Think Hunger Games-meets-ACOTAR in Carissa Broadbents latest series about a human raised among vampires. Fans of Maass work usually encounter suggestions for Broadbents earlier books, but her Crowns of Nyxaia series has had a recent slow-burn effect on book circles. In the first book, a cast of mythical creatures and powerful vampires are broken into a rigid class system of three vampire houses, with humans at the bottom. The female main character, Oraya, is the adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king and is keenly aware the world around her is dangerous. Her only chance to become immortal (and unbreakable in her vampire-dominated world, like her adopted father) is by entering the Kejari: a tournament held by the goddess of death. Oraya must compete among nefarious warriors from all three vampire houses. Shes forced into an alliance with the ruthless Raihn, a winged and roguishly handsome opponent.The trials bring the two closer, and Broadbent leaves readers on a cliff-hanger with a final twist. The second book in the series, The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King, will be available in March 2023.
The Witch Collector From The Witch Walker Series By Charissa Weaks
"The Witch Collector" by Charissa Weaks
Charissa Weaks Witch Walkerseries is a sexy, spell-binding fantasy romance. The main protagonist, Raina Bloodgood, is a beautiful magical being who is unable to speak, so she communicates using a form of sign language and weaves spells with her hands. Shes beloved by her family and even has a romantic tie to the young local blacksmith but Raina is focused on revenge. Shes determined to kill the Witch Collector for kidnapping her sister and the Frost King, who the witches are sent to after being collected. Enter Alexus tall, dark and devastatingly handsome who also happens to be the Witch Collector, riding into Rainas town not to collect any witch, but specifically her. Before Alexus can collect Raina, her village is brutally attacked. Plans go horribly wrong for them both, and after the carnage of the attack, Raina is forced to realize that much of what she once believed isnt true. Shes forced to ally with Alexus, at least temporarily, with the goal of reuniting with her sister. But through their travels, a closeness begins to form between the pair. Theres something very haunting about book one, and the next in the series amplifies the romance and action.
The Winter Knight By Jes Battis
"The Winter Knight" by Jes Battis
Similar to Maas, author Jes Battis has a knack for reinventing fairy tales and lore in modernized worlds. The Winter Knight is a fantasy/sci-fi/LGBTQIA+ novel closer in tone to Crescent City and features Arthurian legends reborn into an upbeat queer urban fantasy and mystery. King Arthurs knights of the roundtable are living in a modern Vancouver, but when a knight ends up suspiciously dead, a murder investigation begins. Hildie, a Valkyrie (the famous women warriors, who also have a place of pride in Maass A Court of Silver Flames) is assigned to the case. On the prime suspect list is Wayne, an autistic college student and the reincarnation of Sir Gawain. Wayne is suddenly dragged deeper into his medieval family history because of the murder, all while attempting to form a new relationship with the deans charming assistant, Burt who also happens to be a murder suspect in Hildies investigation. Wayne and Hildie decide to team up and follow a path of clues left by fallen knights, tricky runesmiths, the Wyrd Sisters of Gastown and more, including a beast straight from Waynes nightmares. The Winter Knight is a fast-paced, urban fairy tale and mystery with queer and trans heroes, forcing the reader to wonder, who gets to become a fairy tale legend? And why cant we rewrite antiquated ones?
The Winter Knight debuts April 4.
Queen Of Myth And Monsters From The Adrian X Isolde Series By Scarlett St. Clair
"Queen of Myth and Monsters" by Scarlett St. Clair
The USA Today bestselling writer Scarlett St. Clair, author of Hades X Persephone Saga and King of Battle and Blood, is well-known for her dramatic retellings and world-building, intense fantasy romance. Her most recent in the Adrian and Isolde series, Queen of Myth and Monsters, begins with all of the vengeance, spice and amplified drama of the first installment. Princess Isolde, recently orphaned and now the newly crowned queen, finds herself finally accepting, or at the very least believing, truths about her past. She is fiercely devoted to her king and husband, the vampire Adrian, while they are forced to play deadly court politics, endure two opposing goddesses and fight off a crimson mist destroying everything in its path. While threats increase and threaten all of Cordova, Isoldes trust in Adrian is deeply tested as she learns more about his brutal and complicated past. St. Clair has yet again created a scorching and highly binge-able series for fans of fantasy romance.
The Legendborn Series By Tracy Deonn
The
The "Legendborn" series by Tracy Deonn
New York Times bestseller Tracy Deonns young adult contemporary fantasy Legendborn series is full of twists and magic. For fans of Maas Crescent City hoping for something less adult, Legendborn is a wonderful duology filled with mystery, a contemporary setting and an intense magic system. At only 16, Bree Matthews mother dies in an accident, causing her to emotionally detach from everyone around her. She decides to join a residential program at UNC-Chapel Hill for bright young students, but on the very first night of the program, she witnesses a terrifying attack by a flying demon succubus. A secret society named the Legendborn, which hunts magical sinister creatures, arrives to stop the demon. Noticing Bree, a member of the society attempts to erase Brees memory of the event except it backfires. The attempted mental wipe-out instead unlocks memories of her own magical abilities and past. Bree then finds herself tied to the group and teams up with former Legendborn member Nick to discover secrets about the society and Brees past. Expect plenty of ties to King Arthurs court and a brewing magical war between demons and the order. In book two, Bloodmarked, the action ramps up, as does a love triangle especially once Selwyn, the dark, curly-haired mage with complicated ties to Nick, spends more time with Bree.
The Poppy War By R.F. Kuang
"The Poppy War" by R.F. Kuang.
R.F. Kuangs entire work is more than well worth diving into Babel, her bestselling high-fantasy new release, will haunt you, but the authors first series, The Poppy War, is a fantastic series for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses. Itis a brilliantly imaginative and epic historical military fantasy inspired by Chinese history.When the orphan Rin aces the Keju, an Empire-wide contest to find the most talented youth to join the Academies, it shocks everyone. Rin, after all, is an orphan from Rooster Province whose guardians had planned on marrying her off for their own insidious gains. After winning, Rin is relieved to finally be free of their plans and to attend Sinegard, the most elite military school in Nikan. But Rins new life wont be without new hardships because being a dark-skinned peasant girl at Sinegard means she is an immediate outsider. Subjected to racism, sexism and jealousy, Rin finds strength within herself, tapping into a lethal, unearthly power an aptitude for the nearly mythical art of shamanism. She dives deeper into her gifts with the help of a possibly insane teacher and with the use of psychoactive substances, which help to reveal that the gods she believed long dead are very much alive. Military action begins to increase in the Nikara Empire, with the Federation of Mugan just across the sea beginning to ignite the Third Poppy War. And Rins new powers might play a pivotal role in the upcoming bloodshed.
A Crown Of Ivy And Glass From The Middlemist Trilogy By Claire LeGrand
"A Crown of Ivy and Glass" by Claire LeGrand
Popular fantasy author Claire Legrand ventures out of the young adult world with her latest adult fantasy, A Crown of Ivy and Glass. This bewitchingly dark fantasy-romance combines the pomp and high society of Bridgerton with the action and fantastical setting of A Court of Thorns and Roses.In A Crown of Ivy and Glass, three noble Ashbourne sisters battle to protect their land from an invasion of creatures from the realm of the gods and the birthplace of magic before the boundary dividing the two worlds disappears forever.The first book in the trilogy follows Lady Gemmas Ashbournes story; shes beautiful, wealthy and hails from a family blessed by the gods. But underneath her perfect existence is a darker reality of sadness and regret. The Ashbourne family isnt as happy as they seem. Theyve lost one daughter to battle along the boundary lines; theyre in a blood feud with the Bask family, and Gemma appears to be without magical abilities her body reacts to magic like its poison. In a world where magic is frequently encountered, Gemma is chronically ill and desperate to feel in control of her life. Then she meets the handsome and disgraced Talan dAstier, who is on a quest to redeem his familys honor. The pair strike a bargain: Talan will help Gemma slay a demon responsible for the Bask blood feud, and shell help Talan navigate high society. All the while, attacks on her world increase and only pull her closer to Talan. Early readers have compared the Ashbourne sisters to Maas Acheron sisters from A Court of Thorns and Roses, but LeGrands story is decidedly its own.
A Crown of Ivy and Glass debuts May 9.
The Shadow In The Ember From The Flesh And Fire Series By Jennifer Armentrout
"The Shadow in the Ember" by Jennifer Armentrout
Jennifer Armentrouts From Blood and Ash is on many ACOTAR fans reading lists, and for good reason epic world-building, sexy main characters who throw dart-like jabs, twists, broken loyalties and terrifying creatures abound. And the prequel spinoff series, Flesh and Fire, is just as engrossing. The series begins with the female main character, Seraphena a princess offered up as a bride to the Primal of Death. The Primal seemingly rejects the marriage (despite the years-in-the-making marriage treaty between Seras family and the Primal), leaving Sera shunned by her own family, who believed the marriage would provide an opportunity for her to assassinate him. Yes, Sera is more than just an offered-up, pretty bride shes been trained her whole life in the deadlier of arts. There is a plague destroying Seras country, and her family believes the Primal of Death is the cause of it, but when he rejects her, she becomes little more than her familys court assassin slinking in and out to do their bidding against various enemies. Sera isnt the woe-is-me virginal woman in distress; shes lethal, headstrong, and after a night of witnessing a multiple-victim homicide, shes suddenly in very close proximity to what she thinks might be a god she cant seem to shake. The second book, A Light in Flame, ended on a cliffhanger, and the next book in the series will not be published until Dec. 12.
Gild From The 'Plated Prisoner Series By Raven Kennedy
"Gild" by Raven Kennedy
Like Maas A Court of Thorns and Roses, Kennedys bestselling Plated Prisoner series will also be adapted into a TV show. Mandalay Television has optioned the five books the series, with executive Vanessa Johnston leading the development, according to Deadline. This series is routinely and emphatically brought up in fantasy romance groups across social media as a must-read after completing Maas work. The Plated Prisoner books Gild, Glint, Gleam, Glow and Gold are a reimagining of the myth of King Midas and center on Auren, who was almost entirely turned to gold at Midas touch. The king keeps her in a gilded cage within the frozen mountain castle of Highbell, where everything is made of gold. Midas touched Auren as a sign of his favor and to demonstrate his power, and he keeps her there like a prized trophy until violence and turmoil threaten his kingdom of Orea. A truth is revealed, and Auren no longer trusts all shes been led to believe. The final book in the series, Gold, will be published on June 8.
Emily Wildes Encyclopaedia Of Faeries By Heather Fawcett
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Heather Fawcetts new fantasy series about a curmudgeonly professor, Emily Wilde, is rich and enchanting, with a good amount of humor. Cambridge professor Emily, along with her large dog, Shadow, journey to a remote northern town of Hrafnsvik to study faerie folklore, and while there, ultimately discover dark fae magic, friendship and even love. Emily is the foremost expert on the study of faeries, genius and meticulous with her work; shes determined to write the worlds first encyclopedia of faerie lore. As talented as she is with her studies, shes better at books than people and prefers the company of her dog, her work and faeries. She keeps her distance from the village townsfolk, or hopes to, and certainly does not want to interact with her academic rival, Wendell Bambleby, who unexpectedly is also in Hrafnsvik. Wendell is dashing and handsome and effortlessly charms everyone around him, except for Emily. While Wendell attempts to meddle in Emilys work, she only gets closer to uncovering the secrets of the most elusive fae of all, the Hidden Ones. But theres something else Emily begins to wonder: Who is Wendell, really, and why is she inexplicably drawn to him?
The Veil by Ivy Brannon
"The Veil" by Ivy Brannon
The Veil is an intense debut fantasy romance from Ivy Brannon, full of similar tropes and characters that fans of Maas will enjoy. The beginning of the book is brutal and violent, and trigger warnings should be heeded (attempted sexual assault and violence, to name the first few), but Brannons initial foray into the fantasy genre is filled with strong characters, a fast-moving plot and a morally gray love interest that make The Veil utterly binge-worthy. Legend says the veil meant to separate the human world from the dangerous world of the fae is lifted once a year on the holiday of Samhain. And on that night, anyone or anything can pass between the two realms. Its a legend Lina thought to be nothing more than a myth, until the night her brother is stolen.Linas crossing into the fae lands lead to her required stay for a year, but shes focused on finding her brother despite the terrors around her. In this new territory, Lina allies with the powerful and distractingly handsome fae king, all while monsters threaten her life and war threatens all creatures. Readers of Brannons debut can expect a fated enemies to lovers plot, multiple love interests, action and violence, and entertaining banter between characters.
Shadows of the Lost by Maxym M. Martineau
"Shadows of the Lost" by Maxym M. Martineau
Shadows of the Lost is Martineaus latest fantasy romance. This book is an LGBTQIA+ epic romance with an intense plot and a bit of spice, along with some heavy angst. Paranormal elements intertwine with the magical when Gaige, who is a Charmer, dies and is brought back into something much darker by his close friend Kost. Fighting with the turmoil of his past life and what hes become, Gaige is suddenly lost to the shadow realm, and Kost is the only one who can bring him back. But bringing Gaige back will take more than what either has bargained for, they have to learn to trust and perhaps even love one another again for a happily ever after.
Shadows of the Lost debuts June 6.
Its easy to get caught up in awards season excitement as the Oscars approach the glitz and glamour of the red carpet generating global talking points, memes and pub chatter for weeks on end.
But when its really broken down, the Oscars are essentially just a microcosm of Hollywood. Its a depressing fact that films directed by previous winners have more chance of being nominated than those directed by newcomers.
Because of this, the best film in any given year almost never wins the evenings most coveted prize in fact, its sometimes not even nominated in the first place. The ceremony in 2021, which saw Parasite take home the top prize, was a rare exception.
Over the decades, there have been countless glaring omissions films that were nominated but were beaten by far inferior films and classic films that failed to secure a single nomination.
As the 2023 Oscars approach, weve run through 19 brilliant films that would have been deserving Best Picture winners.
Holiday (1938)
Looking over the 10 nominees at the 11th Academy Awards, Jean Renoirs Grande Illusion would have made the most impressive winner, but the award ultimately wne to Frank Capras You Cant Take it With You. However, Holiday, George Cukors charming Cary Grant-Katharine Hepburn comedy, has endured as one of that years best films that not only failed to win Best Picture, but received just one nomiantion for Art Direction.
The Searchers (1956)
The Searchers may be considered John Fords greatest film, but it was not treated as such back in the 1950s. In fact, the JohnWayne-starring western failed to earn a single nomination. Around the World in 80 Days turned out to be more the Academys cup of tea.
Throne of Blood (1957)
Picking a favourite Akira Kurosawa film is an impossible task pretty much any of them would have been worthy Best Picture winners. But Throne of Blood particularly deserves it for being the greatest screen adaptation of Macbeth there is. That years winner was The Bridge on the River Kwai.
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Akira Kurosawas Throne of Blood (Criterion)
The Graduate (1967)
The Graduate was one of the films that kickstarted the New Hollywood Cinema era. While acclaim for the film seems to have waned over the years, its stil an admirable achievement, featuring memorable performances from Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, and introducing the world to Simon & Garfunkels wonderful soundtrack. It won director Mike Nichols an Oscar, but ultimately lost Best Picture to Norman Jewisons In the Heat of the Night.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubricks sci-fi classic remains one of the most influential pieces of cinema, but the Academy didnt agree. While nominated Kubrick for Best Director, and awarding the films visual effects, it failed to name 2001 as a nominee for Best Picture. That years winner was Oliver!, the musical by Carol Reed.
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Francis Ford Coppolas ambitious Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now received a grand total of eight nominations, but only went home with two prizes (for cinematography and sound) losing out to drama Kramer vs. Kramer.
Broadcast News (1987)
The Last Emperor was the big winner at the Oscars that saw Broadcast News in contention for Best Picture. While Bernardo Bertoluccis epic has some positives, its James L Brooks near-perfect romantic comedy drama, led by Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks and William Hurt, that would have been the better winner. It stands up as one of the decades best films.
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Spike Lees Do the Right Thing failing to win Best Picture at the 1990 Oscars is one thing losing out to Driving Miss Daisy is another thing altogether.
Goodfellas (1990)
Having awarded both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II Best Picture in 1972 and 1974 respectively, the Academy seemed destined to appreciate Martin Scorseses gangster movie almost two decades later. But no Kevin Costners directorial debut Dances with Wolves was the most appealing choice for voters.
'Goodfellas' (Warner Bros)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Its not all that surprising that, despite 1994 being such a standout year for cinema, the Oscars decided to honour Forrest Gump with the Best Picture prize after all, its one of the most awards-friendly films of the decade. But Frank Darabonts adaptation of Stephen Kings prison-set novella, The Shawshank Redemption, got caught in the crossfire, which is unfortunate. Theres not getting around the fact its a faultless film that would have no doubt endured as a terrific Best Picture winner.
Heat (1995)
If Heat was released today, theres no way it wouldnt be a Best Picture frontrunner. That it was completely ignored in favour of Braveheart is one of the biggest Oscars travesties of all time.
Fargo (1996)
You may think it was remiss of the Academy to shun Fargo, but it did come pretty close to winning; its chances were bolstered somewhat by seven nominations and two wins (Actress for Frances McDormand and Original Screenplay for the Coen Brothers). It lost out to The English Patient.
Saving Private Ryan (1999)
Having won Best Director five years previous for Schindlers List, Steven Spielberg was strongly expected to take home the top prize for his Second World War epic. Cue Shakespeare In Love upsetting everybody.
Monsters, Inc (2001)
An animated film has never won Best Picture and while Pixar has had its fair share of nominations, Monsters Inc would have been a great one to award. Toy Story and its sequels (excluding four) might seem like the obvious choices, but Monsters Inc remains a breathtaking, hilarious Marvel featuring some of the studios greatest voice work of all time. Chicago danced its way to the top prize that year.
Sulley and Boo in Monsters, Inc' (Pixar)
Winters Bone (2010)
Truthfiully, Winters Bone never stood a chance after all, this was the year of the Kings Speech-Social Network battle, that the fomer won but, in many ways, it deserved to win. Debra Graniks slice-of-life, introducing future superstar Jennifer Lawrence, is a note-perfect character study, transporting the viewers into the heart of MIssouris rural Ozarks.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Inside Llewyn Davis only managing to score two Oscar nominations (in the cinematography and sound mixing categories) is ridiculous. In the ensuing years, the film has been hailed as one of the greatest of the 2010s, meaning that its no-show at the Oscars will go down as one of the Academys biggest omissions. Still, it would have had a hard time winning over 12 Years a Slave.
American Honey (2016)
If theres any justice, Andrea Arnold will one day become an Oscar winner, but in a perfect world, she would have already won for American Honey. If ever there was a drama deserving of Best Picture, its this. That years winner (Moonlight) is also brillitant, though, so its hard to be too angry.
Get Out (2017)
Horror rarely gets recognised at the Oscars, but Get Out is the closest the genre had come in years. Jordan Peele may have taken home the Best Original Screenplay award, but the stars aligned for Guillermo del Toros fantasy The Shape of Water instead. History is being kinder to Get Out, though, which found its way into Sight & Sounds once-a-decade top 250 films of all time poll, finishing in 95th.
Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out (Universal Pictures)
Roma (2018)
Roma was strongly expected to become the first ever international film to win Best Picture. It had everything going for it, including a standout festival run and universal acclaim. But then Green Book snatched its trophy away in a late stage awards season twist that still seems too ridiculous to be true.
The Oscars take place on 12 March.
Two correction officers in Florida have been arrested and charged for allegedly throwing hot water from a water dispenser onto inmates, resulting in burns, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced on Wednesday.
In a series of tweets, Marceno said two corrections officers with the Lee County Sheriff's Office Casey Howell and Enzo Finamore were fired after injuries were discovered on an inmate during routine checks.
Deputies notified their supervisor about the injuries, which lead to an investigation that found three inmates had first and second degree burns.
Sheriff Carmine Marceno demands accountability & professionalism. LCSO does not tolerate the disgusting & cruel actions of these correction officers. Remedies have already been taken, & LCSO remains dedicated to changing policies. Carmine Marceno - Floridas Law and Order Sheriff (@SheriffLeeFL) February 22, 2023
Finamore has been charged with felony official misconduct and misdemeanor battery and Howell has received each of those charges in addition to felony battery.
"Sheriff Carmine Marceno demands accountability & professionalism," the sheriff said in a tweet. "LCSO does not tolerate the disgusting & cruel actions of these correction officers. Remedies have already been taken, & LCSO remains dedicated to changing policies."
CBS News has reached out to the sheriff's office for more information and is awaiting response.
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Sherrod Brown says hes "fine" running for reelection with Joe Biden on the ballot in Ohio. Joe Manchin predicts Biden will get beat so bad in West Virginia that hed have to run separately anyway.
And Jon Tester was distinguishing himself from the president even before the Montana Democrat announced Wednesday that he's seeking a fourth term in his ruby-red state.
This election is hopefully going to be about me. Theyre going to try to make it about somebody else thats not me, Tester said in a recent interview as he pointed out his Senate workwear, capped by a clashing Montana tie pin. Its hard to make me into a banker or anybody. Even when I look like this who the fuck puts that kind of a tie tack on their tie?
Brown, Manchin and Tester all survived their party's difficult 2018 cycle after then-President Donald Trump pushed their states further rightward. Before that, they won reelection in 2012 while sharing the ballot with then-President Barack Obama. Now, the trio of Democrats is staring down their toughest political challenge yet: pulling a Susan Collins.
The moderate GOP Mainer successfully persuaded her state's voters to split their tickets in a presidential year; Collins won reelection by 8 points in 2020 even as Biden defeated Trump by 9 points in her state. For Democrats to hang onto their 51-seat majority, they need Collins-style performances from at least two of their three red-state incumbents in an era of declining split-ticket voters.
While Brown and Tester are all in, Manchin hasnt decided whether to run again, and Biden hasnt made it official yet either. That makes Testers reelection decision all the more critical to the party he's probably the only Montana Democrat with a shot. At the moment, Democrats' hopes of holding the Senate largely ride on Tester and Brown defying their states' political leanings.
A decade ago, ticket-splitting was a far more common political phenomenon: Democrats won Senate races everywhere from Missouri to Indiana to North Dakota in 2012, even as Obama lost those states. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the party's campaign chair, acknowledged that in the current environment it's a little bit harder to differentiate yourself but if anyone can do it, its his incumbents.
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Just look at how these folks got elected. Jon Tester ran well above the presidential race. Manchin has done that, Peters said in an interview. The candidates who are running have already demonstrated that they have a unique plan, a very individualized brand. And that brand will prevail in the end.
Peters GOP counterpart on 2024 campaigns, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, predicted voters would see something simpler from red-state Democrats running alongside Biden: They run scared. And they run away. In 2020, Daines trounced a strong Democratic nominee, Steve Bullock, even as the former governor significantly overperformed Biden in Montana.
Among the three red-state Democrats, Manchin is most akin to Collins in terms of keeping their distance from their parties' presidential nominees. Manchin didn't support Obama in 2012, nearly pulled his backing from Hillary Clinton in 2016, and though he supported Biden in 2020 he seems unlikely to be vocal either way in 2024.
In West Virginia, you know, it doesnt make a difference," Manchin said. "Joe Bidens going to get beat so bad no matter what in my state. Its just me. Im not going to be campaigning for or against anybody else.
Divided government will test Manchins sway. He's championing an energy permitting overhaul that fell short last year and pushing the Biden administration on rolling out the energy, tax and health care bill he helped write last year. But each of the party's three red-state senators has a prominent perch to generate more accomplishments before they'd face voters: Brown chairs the Banking Committee, Manchin chairs the Energy Committee and Tester chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee.
Meanwhile, Republicans will look to limit the three senators' successes and drive a wedge between Biden and Senate Democrats. The chamber's Republicans are plotting disapproval votes on federal regulations regarding sustainable investments, trucking emissions, water regulations and Pentagon environmental performance.
Biden will certainly veto those GOP efforts if they prevail, but their political intention is clear: Squeeze Democrats. Simultaneously, those votes offer an opportunity for Senate Democrats to separate themselves from the president.
There are obviously [Democratic incumbents] who are paying attention to politics back home, said Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.).
As challenging as 2024's map is for Senate Democrats, it's not as rough as 2018, when they had to defend 10 seats Trump had just won. Bidens presidential win shored up Democrats brand in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, and if they can win those states at the presidential level again, its good news for their Senate hopefuls.
That puts a more intense focus on Ohio, West Virginia and Montana as the states that will decide the majority. And Republicans are looking at the basic math: In 2020, Trump won West Virginia by 39 points, Montana by 16 points and Ohio by 8 points.
The rest of next year's battleground Senate races are in states Biden won, albeit in some cases quite narrowly: Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Arizona. Democrats in those states are far more likely to run with Biden than as a check on him though the Copper State could see a three-way race if independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema seeks a second term.
Summing up her reelection theme in an interview, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) cited Bidens recent State of the Union: Between the House, the Senate and this president, there has been exceptional accomplishment. But we haven't finished the job.
Even in Ohio, Brown said hed assume hell campaign with Biden even if the president is unlikely to consider his state a must-win.
I run my own race, and my own brand. So, Im not going to run from Biden, Brown said. Hes also delivered more than any president in recent history.
Even Manchin sounds much like Brown or Baldwin when discussing what Democrats accomplished during the previous Congress. But because Biden is unpopular in West Virginia, it's up to him to convince voters what they got out of it.
There's more coming for the state of West Virginia because of what we've done. Now, they're not going to give that credit to a Democratic president, Manchin said.
Manchin endorsed Collins in 2020, when the Mainer did not support Trump and largely ran on her lengthy record. Her reelection race initially flared with liberal outrage over her vote for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and culminated in one of the most expensive Senate races in the country.
Through it all, Collins trailed in the polls as then-Minority Leader Chuck Schumer mounted an aggressive bid to flip her seat. Yet in the end, Democrats fell short trying to nationalize the race in a state with few transient voters.
Offering some advice from that experience to Manchin, Brown and Tester all of them similarly well-known back home, just like her Collins put it this way: People know me personally. And when Chuck Schumer was running vicious ads, people just didnt believe it.
A driver couldnt stop sneezing and wound up crashing into the back of a school bus, injuring three children on board, according to Georgia State Patrol.
The wreck occurred around 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, as the bus was letting off a student in Chickamauga in Walker County, troopers said.
The 18-year-old driver of a Jeep Liberty began sneezing uncontrollably and rear-ended the stopped school bus, troopers wrote in a crash report. Police also said multiple children on the bus saw the woman holding a cell phone at the time of the crash.
The Jeeps speedometer was stuck at approximately 38 mph, the report states.
Three kids complained of injuries and were treated by EMS at the scene before being released, WTVC reported, citing troopers. One parent said the wreck landed her daughter in a hospital emergency room.
Its unclear if the Jeep driver will face charges. Troopers said the crash is under investigation.
Chickamauga is about 15 miles southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne/The Wasp and Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
It's only a matter of time until some actors appear in a Marvel or DC film.
Now, it's increasingly more likely for actors to hop from one studio to the next and sometimes back.
From Michelle Pfeiffer to Christian Bale, here are actors who have appeared in both universes.
J.K. Simmons was known for years as the man asking Peter Parker for photos of Spider-Man. He then appeared as James Gordon in the DCEU before reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson.
On the left: J.K. Simmons in "Spider-Man." On the right: Simmons in "Justice League." Marvel Studios/Sony Pictures; Warner Bros.
J.K. Simmons played J. Jonah Jameson in the Tobey Maguire "Spider-Man" franchise for years before appearing as Jim Gordon in "Justice League."
To the surprise of fans, he reprised his role as Jameson in "Spider-Man: Far From Home." Simmons returned for 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
Jameson isn't leaving DC either. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Simmons is in talks to return as Gordon in an upcoming Batgirl movie.
Ben Affleck was Daredevil before he put on the cape and cowl to play Batman in a few DC movies.
On the left: Ben Affleck in "Daredevil." On the right: Affleck as Batman. 20th Century Fox; Warner Bros.
Affleck famously played lawyer Matt Murdock in 2003's "Daredevil," where he starred alongside Jennifer Garner.
Over a decade later, Affleck starred as a new version of Batman in 2016's "Batman v Superman" and 2017's "Justice League."
He appeared as the Dark Knight again in "Zack Snyder's Justice League" and will reportedly reprise the role of Batman at least once more in the upcoming "Flash" movie.
Zoe Kravitz was Angel in "X-Men: First Class" before playing Selina Kyle in "The Batman."
Left: Zoe Kravitz in "X-Men: First Class." Right: Kravitz in "The Batman." 20th Century Fox, Marvel, DC Comics
Kravitz was a mutant who could fly and spit fireballs in the 2011 movie.
Kravitz also voiced Catwoman in "The Lego Batman Movie" and Mary Jane in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."
Now, she's playing an early version of Catwoman in Matt Reeves' "The Batman."
Michelle Pfeiffer appeared in "Ant-Man and the Wasp" years after bringing the role of Catwoman to the big screen for DC.
Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne/The Wasp and Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
Michelle Pfeiffer almost didn't play Selina Kyle in 1992's "Batman Returns." Annette Bening was set to star as the famous Batman villain before dropping out after becoming pregnant.
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It was a surprise to see Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, the first Wasp, in 2018's "Ant-Man and the Wasp."
In "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," Pfeiffer has a very large role, acting as a second protagonist in the sequel.
Halle Berry made Storm an iconic X-Men character before trying her hand at a different version of Catwoman in a solo movie.
On the left: Halle Berry in "X2." On the right: Berry in "Catwoman." 20th Century Fox; Warner Bros.
Berry starred as Ororo Munroe/Storm in four "X-Men" movies released between 2000 and 2014.
"Catwoman" was critically panned and, originally, Ashley Judd was reportedly cast to play the titular character.
Before Tom Hardy became Venom, he was unrecognizable behind a mask in "The Dark Knight Rises" as Bane.
On the left: Tom Hardy in "Venom." On the right: Hardy in "The Dark Knight Rises." Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros.
Tom Hardy was unrecognizable as Batman villain Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises."
He's been playing Eddie Brock and the anti-hero Venom in Sony's movies since 2018. Hardy is reprising his role in a sequel this fall.
Michael Keaton plays Vulture in the Spider-Man franchise now, but first, he played one of the greatest incarnations of Batman.
On the left: Michael Keaton in "Spider-Man: Homecoming." On the right: Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Sony Pictures/Marvel; Warner Bros.
Michael Keaton played the Caped Crusader in 1989's "Batman" and 1992's "Batman Returns."
Keaton later took to the skies in Sony and Marvel's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" where he played Adrian Toomes aka the Vulture. He reprised the role for the end-credits scenes of Marvel and Sony's "Morbius," starring Jared Leto as the titular antihero.
He'll put on the cape and cowl again for DC in "The Flash" movie.
Before David Harbour was Alexei Shostakov/the Red Guardian in "Black Widow," he appeared in 2016's "Suicide Squad."
On the left: David Harbour in "Black Widow." On the right: Harbour in "Suicide Squad." Marvel Studios/Disney+; Warner Bros.
He portrayed a national security advisor who supported the formation of Task Force X in "Suicide Squad."
In "Black Widow," Harbour starred as the Soviet Union's first super-soldier, who was convinced that he could have been more famous than Captain America.
David Dastmalchian has appeared in multiple Marvel and DC projects from "Ant-Man" to "The Dark Knight." He played a leading man in "The Suicide Squad."
From left: David Dastmalchian in "Ant-Man and the Wasp," "The Dark Knight," "The Suicide Squad," and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." Marvel Studios, Warner Bros., Marvel Studios
If you don't recognize Dastmalchian's name, you'll definitely recognize him from his work as one of the Joker's goons in "The Dark Knight" to his turn as Kurt in Marvel's "Ant-Man" franchise.
In 2019, director James Gunn called up Dastmalchian to gather his interest in playing Abner Krill, aka the Polka-Dot Man, in "The Suicide Squad."
Dastmalchian played double duty with DC in 2022 as he also voiced another Batman villain, Calendar Man, in the animated feature, "Batman: The Long Halloween." You can read more of our conversation with Dastmalchian here.
Dastmalchian appears in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" as a new character, Veb, who Scott and Cassie meet in the Quantum Realm.
While you probably remember James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops in the "X-Men" films, he also appeared in "Superman Returns."
On the left: James Marsden in "X2." On the right: Marsden in "Superman Returns." 20th Century Fox; Warner Bros.
Marsden told Vanity Fair that he didn't know much about his X-Men character until he asked his comic-book-obsessed friends to give him the rundown prior to his audition. He landed the role after several auditions and appeared in four "X-Men" movies.
Between "X-Men" films, Marsden portrayed Lois Lane's fiance in the 2006 film "Superman Returns."
Idris Elba went from playing Heimdall in the MCU to being a leader of the Suicide Squad in James Gunn's film.
On the left: Idris Elba as Heimdall in the MCU. On the right: Elba plays Robert DuBois in "The Suicide Squad." Marvel Studios, Warner Bros.
Elba was the man in charge of the rainbow bridge guarding entry to Asgard in the "Thor" movies, "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Endgame." Now, he's leading a group of DC villains as Robert DuBois, aka Bloodsport, in James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad."
As a bonus, Elba was also in two other Marvel and DC movies. He was Moreau in "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" and Roque in "The Losers."
Before Ryan Reynolds played the delightful miscreant Deadpool, he starred as Green Lantern in one of the worst comic-book adaptations.
On the left: Ryan Reynolds in "Deadpool 2." On the right: Reynolds in "Green Lantern." 20th Century Fox; Warner Bros.
Reynolds made his debut as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," but it would be years before fans saw his Marvel return.
"Deadpool" actually took 11 years to make and Reynolds described that period to the Los Angeles Times as "the worst relationship I've ever been in: on-again, off-again, occasionally sleeping together, which just causes more pain."
"Green Lantern" might have been slammed by critics and Reynolds himself, but the film introduced the star to now-wife Blake Lively.
"Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi voiced Korg in the MCU after he appeared in "Green Lantern" years prior.
From left: Korg in "Thor: Ragnarok,"Taika Waititi in "Green Lantern," Waititi in "The Suicide Squad." Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.; Warner Bros.
Waititi will return to direct and star in the upcoming fourth "Thor" film, too.
In "Green Lantern," he starred as an aviation technician and friend of Hal's named Tom Kalmaku. Waititi and Reynolds have both joked about not remembering their work in the movie.
Waititi returned to the DCEU in "The Suicide Squad," portraying the original Ratcatcher who passed on his unique skill to his daughter.
Willem Dafoe played one of the most iconic Spider-Man villains before being a mentor to Aquaman.
On the left: Willem Dafoe in "Spider-Man." On the right: Dafoe in "Aquaman." Sony Pictures; Warner Bros.
In Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" film, Dafoe's Norman Osborn/Green Goblin famously told Peter Parker that he considered himself to be "something of a scientist" as well a quote that's since become a meme.
The actor played a much less menacing character in 2018's "Aquaman," as he taught the titular character how to swim and fight.
Dafoe also told CinemaBlend that his experience working on the DC film in comparison to "Spider-Man" was "very different."
"They're working with different materials, they're working with different intentions," he said. "But that's OK! I like to mix it up because that way you don't get stuck."
Dafoe returned as Osborn in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," proving why he's one of the all-time great comic-book movie actors.
Joe Manganiello was Spider-Man's high-school bully before appearing as Deathstroke in the DC universe for Zack Snyder.
On the left: Joe Manganiello in "Spider-Man." On the right: Manganiello in "Zack Snyder's Justice League." Sony Pictures; Warner Bros.
Manganiello starred as Flash Thompson in "Spider-Man" and returned for "Spider-Man 3."
He made his DCEU debut as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke in the end-credits scene of 2017's "Justice League" and also appeared in Zack Snyder's 2021 version of the ensemble film.
Fans will recall that at one point, Manganiello's character was supposed to play the antagonist in a standalone "Batman" film starring and directed by Affleck, which didn't come to fruition. There were also talks of a movie centered on Deathstroke's origin story, but that was scrapped too.
Before Michael Fassbender played the perfect young Magneto, he appeared in "Jonah Hex."
On the left: Michael Fassbender in "X-Men: Apocalypse." On the right: Fassbender in "Jonah Hex." 20th Century Fox; Warner Bros.
Fassbender starred as a villain named Burke in "Jonah Hex."
But comic-book fans are probably more familiar with his role as the menacing mutant with a tragic backstory named Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto in the "X-Men" franchise.
Josh Brolin has run the gamut. Though you may remember him as Thanos or Cable in Marvel movies, he first played Jonah Hex for DC.
From left: Josh Brolin in "Avengers: Endgame," "Deadpool 2," "Jonah Hex." Marvel Studios/Disney; 20th Century Fox;
After playing the titular bounty hunter in 2010's "Jonah Hex," Brolin took on roles as villains in Marvel movies.
He portrayed the Mad Titan named Thanos as part of the MCU's Infinity Saga for several films and also played Nathan Summers/Cable in "Deadpool 2."
After playing badass Domino in "Deadpool 2," Zazie Beetz caught Joker's eye in WB's Oscar-winning film.
On the left: Zazie Beetz in "Deadpool 2." On the right: Beetz in "Joker." 20th Century Fox; Warner Bros.
She starred as an extremely lucky character named Domino in "Deadpool 2" and portrayed an acquaintance of Arthur Fleck named Sophie Dumond in "Joker."
Beetz spoke about the differences between the two projects during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, calling them "inherently completely different in terms of production and how everything came together."
"It's genre-bending and not prescribing the idea of a comic book story to be one thing," she said. "They traditionally do span a great spectrum. There's a lot of adult comics; there's also very neutral comics."
Bryan Tyree Henry has shown up in pivotal roles in both "Into the Spider-Verse" and "Joker." He'll next appear in Marvel's "Eternals."
From left: Jefferson Davis, voiced by Brian Tyree Henry, in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," Henry in "Eternals," and Henry in "Joker." Sony Pictures Entertainment; Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
He voiced Miles Morales' father Jefferson Davis in the critically praised animated movie "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."
In "Eternals," he'll play an immortal named Phastos, who's fast and can fly.
In DC's "Joker," Henry played an Arkham Asylum clerk named Carl.
Angela Bassett joined the MCU as royalty after playing a version of Amanda Waller in DC's "Green Lantern."
On the left: Angela Bassett in "Black Panther." On the right: Bassett in "Green Lantern." Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
Angela Bassett has starred as Queen Ramonda in "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Endgame." She'll return for the upcoming Marvel sequel, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."
Back in 2015, Bassett reflected on her role in "Green Lantern" and told IGN that she "enjoyed" working on the film despite the poor reception.
"Of course you wish it had been bigger and more successful," she said. "But you just don't know. I know we put a lot of work in and I thought it was well done."
You may not have realized Chris Pine voiced Peter Parker in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" in between his time as Steve Trevor in the "Wonder Woman" franchise.
On the left: Peter Parker, voiced by Chris Pine, in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." On the right: Chris Pine in "Wonder Woman 1984." Sony Pictures Entertainment; Warner Bros.
Pine brought Wonder Woman's love interest to life in the DC Universe. What you may not have realized is that in between the two films, Pine voiced Peter Parker in the Oscar-winning animated feature "Into the Spider-Verse."
Pine told Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest when he first saw the visuals for the movie he had "never seen anything like it before."
Though he's known for dishing out card tricks in the MCU, Randall Park was also Dr. Stephen Shin in "Aquaman."
On the left: Randall Park in "Ant-Man and the Wasp." On the right: Park in "Aquaman." Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
Randall Park first appeared in the MCU as Scott Lang's parole officer named Jimmy Woo in 2018's "Ant-Man and the Wasp." In 2021, he reprised his role for "WandaVision" on Disney+, much to the delight of fans.
The same year that the "Ant-Man" sequel was released, Park popped up in "Aquaman" as a marine biologist.
When asked by Insider's Jason Guerrasio if he'll return for the upcoming "Aquaman" sequel, Park coyly said: "I don't know if I can talk about that."
Jon Favreau was one of Bruce Wayne's assistants before he was Tony Stark's assistant and friend Happy Hogan in the MCU.
On the left: Jon Favreau as Bruce Wayne's assistant in "Batman Forever." On the right: Favreau in "Spider-Man: Far From Home." DC Comics/Marvel Studios
Favreau appears briefly in 1995's "Batman Forever" as one of Bruce Wayne's assistants. You can spot him when they visit Edward Nygma early in the film.
Favreau also portrayed Foggy Nelson in the "Daredevil" film that starred Ben Affleck.
Tilda Swinton played a gender-swapped Ancient One in "Doctor Strange" after her role in "Constantine."
On the left: Tilda Swinton in "Avengers: Endgame." On the right: Swinton in "Constantine." Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
Swinton's casting as the Ancient One in the MCU was controversial and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has since said that he regretted whitewashing the character.
Years prior to playing the Ancient One, the Scottish actress portrayed an androgynous half-breed angel named Gabriel in "Constantine." The film starred Keanu Reeves as the titular supernatural detective.
Rachel Weisz also jumped to the MCU years after appearing in "Constantine."
On the left: Rachel Weisz in "Black Widow." On the right: Weisz in "Constantine." Jay Maidment/Marvel Studios; Warner Bros.
She portrayed a spy and scientist named Melina in "Black Widow."
Years before her Marvel role, Weisz starred as twins named Angela and Isabel Dodson in "Constantine."
We know Ben Mendelsohn as the friendly Skrull Talos now, but before that, he appeared in "The Dark Knight Rises."
On the left: Ben Mendelsohn in "Captain Marvel." On the right: Mendelsohn in "The Dark Knight Rises." Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
After playing a greedy businessman named Daggett in "The Dark Knight Rises," Mendelsohn jumped over to the MCU.
He first portrayed the shape-shifting Skrull named Talos in "Captain Marvel" and reprised the role for "Spider-Man: Far From Home." He's set to star alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Emilia Clarke in Marvel's upcoming Disney+ show "Secret Invasion."
Zachary Levi was one of Thor's friends before becoming the leading man of DC's "Shazam!"
On the left: Zachary Levi in "Thor: The Dark World." On the right: Levi in "Shazam." Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
Fandral was introduced to the MCU in the first "Thor" movie as part of the Warriors Three with Volstagg and Hogun but the character was played by "Once Upon a Time" star Josh Dallas.
The role was recast for the "Thor" sequels due to Dallas' scheduling conflicts, which led to Levi joining the franchise.
Fandral was killed off quickly by Cate Blanchett's Hela in "Thor: Ragnarok," and Levi has since spoken about feeling underused in the movies.
"I knew that the Warriors Three could be really fun characters if they ever developed them. They just didn't," he told Screen Rant.
Levi has far more screentime in the DCEU thanks to his part as Shazam, and will return as the character for a sequel called "Shazam! Fury of the Gods."
Jared Leto's now a Marvel vampire after playing DC's most iconic Batman villain.
On the left: Jared Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius in "Morbius." On the right: Leto as the Joker in "Suicide Squad." Sony Pictures; Warner Bros.
Jared Leto stars as the biochemist, Dr. Michael Morbius, who transforms into a vampire in order to survive in Sony's "Morbius."
Previously, Leto famously played a very different incarnation of the Joker in 2016's "Suicide Squad."
Zack Snyder convinced Leto to reprise his role as the Joker briefly for a scene between the Clown Prince of Crime and Ben Affleck's Batman in his cut of "Justice League" for HBO Max.
Christian Bale is playing an MCU villain after starring in "The Dark Knight" trilogy.
Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher and Bruce Wayne/Batman. Marvel Studios, Warner Bros.
Nearly a decade after playing the Caped Crusader in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy, Christian Bale has made his way to the MCU.
Bale is phenomenally menacing as Gorr the God Butcher in "Thor: Love and Thunder."
Sean Gunn pulls double duty in both the MCU and DC universe.
Gunn is the brother of director James Gunn. On the left: Sean Gunn has played the stand-in for Rocket Raccoon. In the middle: Gunn also plays the Ravager, Kraglin. On the right: Now, Gunn plays Weasel in "The Suicide Squad." Marvel Studios, Warner Bros.
Not only does Gunn play Kraglin in "Guardians of the Galaxy," but he's also the stand-in on set for Rocket Raccoon.
In "The Suicide Squad," you may not catch that Gunn is playing dual roles again. This time around he plays a giant, goofy, child-killing weasel (named Weasel) and a mean, tattooed Calendar Man who taunts Polka-Dot Man.
Gunn reprises his role as Kraglin in Marvel's "What If...?"
Michael Rooker also appears in both the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise and "The Suicide Squad."
On the left: Michael Rooker plays Yondu in the "Guardians" franchise. On the right: Rooker gets implanted with a chip as Savant in "The Suicide Squad." Marvel Studios, Warner Bros.
Rooker plays the Ravager with a soft spot, Yondu, who became a fan-favorite after "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."
He then joined his longtime friend and collaborator James Gunn to play Savant in "The Suicide Squad." Rooker reprises his role as Yondu in Marvel's "What If...?" animated series on Disney+.
Director James Gunn also brought Sylvester Stallone into both his Marvel and DC films.
On the left: Sylvester Stallone plays a leader of the Ravagers. On the right: Stallone voices King Shark in "The Suicide Squad." Marvel Studios, Warner Bros.
Stallone is one of the many surprise appearances in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" as Stakar Ogord, a leader of the Ravagers.
Gunn told CinemaBlend that he asked Stallone to voice King Shark in "The Suicide Squad" after writing the role for him and hiring three other people who just weren't working in the role.
You may miss Pom Klementieff's small cameo in "The Suicide Squad."
On the left: Pom Klementieff in "Avengers: Infinity War." On the right: Klementieff in "The Suicide Squad." Marvel Studios, DC/Warner Bros.
Klementieff plays Mantis in James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" and "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame."
Gunn included Klementieff in his DC-directed movie as a dancer who appears briefly in a bar. He told Variety he was surprised press didn't ask about it.
"Not a single person has brought it up, and I'm like, "What is going on?" She's in a close up," Gunn said. "It's not subtle!"
If you didn't catch Klementieff's cameo, she appears an hour into "The Suicide Squad."
Before Laurence Fishburne was doing experiments in the MCU, he was Lois Lane's editor in the DCEU.
On the left: Fishburne is seen in "Ant-Man and the Wasp." On the right: We see Fishburne at the Daily Planet as Perry White. Marvel Studios, Warner Bros.
Fishburne went from playing Perry White at The Daily Planet in "Man of Steel" and the DCEU to playing scientist Bill Foster in "Ant-Man and the Wasp," who, at one time, could grow large to become the character Goliath.
If you're a big Marvel fan, you may also recognize Fishburne as the voice of the Silver Surfer in "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer."
In addition to playing Korath in the MCU, Djimon Hounsou has also portrayed three different DC characters.
From left: Djimon Hounsou as Korath in "Guardians of the Galaxy," Midnite in "Constantine," King Ricou in "Aquaman," and the Wizard in "Shazam." Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.; Warner Bros.; Warner Bros
He played Kree operative Korath in "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Captain Marvel."
Hounsou also played nightclub owner Midnite in "Constantine," voiced an Atlantean named King Ricou in "Aquaman," and starred as the Wizard in "Shazam."
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has looked unrecognizable in his Marvel and DC roles.
On the left: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in "Thor: The Dark World." On the right: Akinnuoye-Agbaje in "Suicide Squad." Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
In 2013, he portrayed a dark elf named Algrim, who sacrificed his body to become Kursed. Akinnuoye-Agbaje told Collider that his transformation into Algrim took about two and a half to three hours, while the Kurse disguise took about an hour and a half.
Three years later, Akinnuoye-Agbaje landed a role as DC comics character Killer Croc in "Suicide Squad." His full-body makeover, which involved prosthetics and paint, took over five hours.
Tommy Lee Jones appeared as a colonel in "Captain America: The First Avenger." But more than a decade earlier, he played one of Batman's most notorious foes.
On the left: Tommy Lee Jones as in "Captain America: The First Avenger." On the right: Jones in "Batman Forever." Marvel Studios/Disney; Warner Bros.
Jones played Harvey Dent/Two-Face in the 1995 movie "Batman Forever," which starred Val Kilmer as the Caped Crusader.
Then, he portrayed Colonel Chester Phillips in the MCU's first "Captain America" movie that was released in 2011.
Barry Keoghan played Druig in "Eternals" and is the newest Joker in "The Batman."
On the left: Barry Keoghan as Druig in "Eternals." On the right: Keoghan as the Joker in a deleted scene from "The Batman." Marvel Studios; Warner Bros.
Keoghan is briefly seen at the end of "The Batman" as "unseen Arkham prisoner."
But the character's unmistakable laugh, curly green hair, and mention of the word "clown" make it pretty obvious that Keoghan is playing a new iteration of the Clown Prince of Crime.
"He's who you think he is," Reeves told a small group of press, including Insider, last month during a Q&A for the film. You can read more about the cameo here.
Following the release of "The Batman," Reeves released a deleted scene from the film that showed Keoghan's frightening version of the Joker speaking with Batman from his prison cell in Arkham.
Read the original article on Insider
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) A top city official said Tuesday that a fourth Memphis Fire Department employee is being investigated as part of the probe into the violent arrest and death of Tyre Nichols.
Memphis Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Sink told reporters the city hasn't made a final decision on what consequences the employee may face, according to The Commercial Appeal. She did not disclose the employee's name or rank.
Sink said that the person came to the scene much later than others and provided medical care and transported Mr. Nichols to the hospital.
A Fire Department spokesperson didn't immediately respond to an email seeking further information Tuesday night.
Three other fire employees who were present at the site of the arrest have been fired.
Five former police officers pleaded not guilty on Friday to second-degree murder and other charges. They were fired after a police investigation into the Jan. 7 arrest of Nichols, who died in a hospital three days later. His beating was caught on video.
One other officer who was involved in the initial traffic stop has also been fired, and an additional officer who has not been identified has been suspended.
Two Shelby County sheriffs deputies have been suspended without pay.
Kate Middleton is photographed at Westminster Abbey in March 2022, and Meghan Markle is photographed in The Hague, Netherlands, in April 2022. Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images, Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty Images
Kate Middleton is the future queen of the UK, while Meghan is no longer a working royal.
There are many rules and protocols that Kate must follow which Meghan never had to.
Kate isn't allowed to vote in general elections and she must wear hats to formal events.
As a senior working member of the royal family, there are many rules and protocols that Kate Middleton is required to follow that Meghan Markle isn't.
Kate Middleton whispers to Meghan Markle at Wimbledon in 2018. Karwai Tang/WireImag
Kate Middleton became a full-time working member of the royal family after marrying Prince William in 2011. As William is the eldest son of King Charles III, he and Kate are likely to become the next king and queen of the UK.
Meghan Markle was a full-time working royal for just under two years. She moved to London and became the Duchess of Sussex upon her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018; by January 2020, the couple had announced their step back from royal duties and relocated to North America.
Due to her more senior position within the family, Kate was always held to a higher standard when it came to royal rules. For example, Kate wasn't allowed to attend Christmas Day celebrations with the royal family until she was married, but Meghan was allowed to attend before she wed Harry. Kate has also been expected to adhere to more royal-style rules, even when Meghan was a senior royal.
But since Meghan quit royal duties, there are even more rules and protocols that she is allowed to break here are just a few.
Kate Middleton wasn't allowed to go to the family's Christmas Day celebrations until she was a royal, but Meghan was.
Kate Middleton, Prince Philip, and Meghan Markle at the Royal Family's traditional Christmas Day church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, on December 25, 2017. ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
It's tradition for the royal family to gather for church on Christmas Day in Sandringham, followed by a walkabout where they meet members of the public. All members of the royal family are usually invited, including those who don't have titles.
However, the royal family's partners are usually not invited unless they're married.
Kate joined for the first time in 2011 after marrying Prince William earlier that year. An exception was seemingly made for Meghan, as she was invited to join the church service after her engagement to Prince Harry in November 2017. They married in May 2018.
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Kate isn't allowed to vote in a general election, but Meghan voted in the US election in 2020.
Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton attend the Royal Foundation Forum on February 28, 2018, in London. CHRIS JACKSON/AFP via Getty Images
Members of the royal family are supposed to remain politically neutral, according to the royal family website, and it's thought to be against protocol for royals to openly discuss politics in public.
Kate likely voted in UK general elections before marrying William, but this would have stopped when she became a member of the royal family as it's thought that royals aren't supposed to vote. Prince Harry appeared to confirm this rule during a televised broadcast unveiling of the 2020 TIME 100 in September 2021, saying he hadn't been able to vote in the UK for his entire life.
Meghan, who was born in the US, became the first member of the British royal family to vote in a US election in 2020, Insider previously reported. In November 2020, Meghan and Harry's charitable foundation Archewell shared a photo of Meghan wearing an "I voted" sticker.
Kate had to follow royal baby protocol, but Meghan and Harry did things their own way.
Kate Middleton, Prince Louis, Meghan Markle, and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in 2019. Samir Hussein/WireImage
Kate and William have three children: Prince George (born in 2013), Princess Charlotte (born in 2015), and Prince Louis (born in 2018). The couple followed a number of royal baby rules, including taking part in a photo call on the hospital steps after all three births, and a royal christening, for which the babies wore a christening gown that had been handed down for generations of royal babies.
Meghan and Harry broke some of these rules when their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was born in 2019. They didn't have a photo call at the hospital, but instead invited a few select photographers to Windsor Castle two days after the birth.
By the time their second child, Lilibet Diana, was born in 2021, the couple had already left royal life and the birth was kept completely private. There was no royal photo call, and no public christening. Lilibet's godfather, Tyler Perry, said in the couple's Netflix docuseries that he wouldn't have wanted to be part of a royal christening in the UK.
"I called them back and go, 'Uh, hold on a second does this mean we gotta go over there and do all of that in church with them and figure all that out? I don't wanna do that,'" he said in the final episode of the series, which revealed he was Lilibet's godfather. "'Maybe we can do a little private ceremony here and let that be that, and if you have to do it there, then that's OK.'"
Meghan doesn't have to follow the same royal style rules as Kate.
Kate Middleton at a royal engagement with the Queen in 2012, left, and Meghan Markle with the Queen in 2018, right. Anthony Devlin - WPA Pool/Getty Images, Peter Byrne - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Meghan has always had a more casual sense of style. Speaking in her Netflix docuseries last year, the duchess said she was in ripped jeans and barefoot when welcoming Kate and William to her home for dinner for the first time in 2017.
But being part of the royal family requires dressing in a more formal manner. Royal ladies are expected to wear hats to formal events during the day, and tiaras to formal evening events, such as state banquets. Meghan was criticized for not wearing a hat to her first royal engagement with the Queen in 2018, with royal correspondent Katie Nicholl telling Glamour that the fashion choice raised eyebrows and was a mistake.
Now that Meghan doesn't attend as many royal events, she is no longer held to the same royal style standards as Kate, who regularly attends engagements across the UK and abroad. For example, Meghan recently said in the docuseries that she would wear neutral colors in the UK because she couldn't wear the same color as the monarch or senior royals. Since leaving the royal family, she has worn more bold colors and more casual outfits.
Royals aren't supposed to take selfies with fans, and both Meghan and Kate have broken this rule.
Kate Middleton takes a selfie with a man in Leeds, England, in January 2023. Cameron Walker/Twitter
Meghan Markle declined a fan who asked to take a selfie with her during her first royal walkabout in Nottingham with Prince Harry in December 2017, telling them: "We're not allowed to do selfies," according to royal author Victoria Murphy, who wrote about the exchange on Twitter at the time.
Meghan has broken this rule since quitting royal duties. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, she took a selfie with members of the public during a visit to Germany while attending an Invictus Games event in September 2022.
However, it's worth noting that Kate has also broken this rule. During a royal engagement in Leeds, England, in January 2023, Kate took a selfie with a nervous fan, and she reassured him by saying: "Please don't worry, it's okay. We all get nervous," as shown in a video posted to Twitter by GB News' royal reporter Cameron Walker.
Read the original article on Insider
Tara Furiani's twin daughters. Tara Furiani
Preparing for the arrival of two babies at once is nothing short of a challenge.
Making the right purchases and building support systems are just two aspects of preparation.
Four mothers share how they prepared and how they wish they'd prepared for their twins.
Danielle Gilbert, mother to 11-year-old twin daughters Mariah and Makenzie, remembers anticipating the challenge of raising twins.
"It was a bit overwhelming," she told Insider, "but I was determined to do everything I could to prepare for their arrival." And she was glad she did. "Caring for two newborns was no easy feat," she said.
Gilbert, along with three other mothers of twins, spoke to Insider about how other parents can be as prepared as possible.
Stock up on essentials, including twin-specific products
"I made sure to have plenty of diapers, wipes, formula just in case clothes, blankets, and burp cloths on hand," said Gilbert.
In addition to the supplies any parent-to-be might need, there are countless highly rated twin-specific baby products on the market.
"I invested in a lightweight, compact twin stroller that would make our outings easier," Gilbert said.
Some of the mothers recommended that other products, while not necessarily twin-specific, should be purchased in multiples of two to make life easier, such as placing two changing tables in different parts of your home.
Tara Furiani, who also has twin girls, suggested having two comfortable places to sit in your nursery so that the babies can be held, rocked, or fed simultaneously. "One chair isn't enough," she said.
Furiani also recommended thinking about items that can help when you need to put one of the babies down.
"Have multiple options of places to set the babies down," she said, such as a bassinet, swing, or the Twin Z Pillow. "You only have one set of arms, so it's essential to have lots of safe spots to set one down if the other one needs you," she said.
Anticipate that your babies might be smaller
According to Baby Center, the average single baby weighs 7 lbs at birth, whereas the average twin baby weighs 5.5 lbs at birth. Kelsey Nelson, the mother of 3-year-old fraternal twins, noted that, in her experience, clothes for newborns are generally adjusted for the size of single babies.
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"Have preemie clothes on hand," she said. "I carried the twins to 38 weeks so I thought newborn clothes would work, but my daughter was only 5 lbs 5 oz and needed preemies for about a month."
Be aware of your feeding options
Woman holding a breast pump. JGI/Jamie Grill/Getty Images
"Really figure out all of your feeding options before you give birth," said Nelson. "I foolishly thought I could catch on to breastfeeding, but the fact is it's really complicated with two and I wish I would have known about the details of all of my options before getting thrown into it."
There are multiple ways parents can breastfeed twins together or separately, and there are also multiple options for bottle-feeding two babies, whether formula or expressed milk.
Although there are many benefits to breastfeeding, a parent struggling to do so successfully should know there are perfectly reliable alternatives out there.
"If breastfeeding is a source of anxiety and depression for [a parent], that risk is not worth the benefit of breastfeeding," Evelyn Mitchell, an OB-GYN, told Insider in 2020.
Accept help
A grandfather plays with twin grandchildren. supersizer/Getty Images
"Twins are an all-hands-on-deck situation, especially for the first few months," said Kelly Reed, another mother of twin girls.
"Take people up on their offers to help, whether it's bringing by meals or just stopping by to help hold a baby while you or your partner take a break."
She added that she wishes she'd hired a night nurse to help. Night nurses provide care to infants throughout the night to allow the babies' parents to get a full night's sleep.
"If you can afford it, or your insurance covers it, I would strongly recommend a night nurse for at least a few days at the very beginning," she said. "The sleep deprivation when you have to feed them every two hours around the clock is so hard."
In addition to receiving help from friends and family, Danielle Gilbert found support beyond her inner circles.
"I found a local twin-parent group and an online forum where I could connect with other parents of twins and get support and advice," she said.
Utilize online resources
For some parents, technology can help.
"One of the things that made a big difference for me was using technology to stay organized," Furiani said. "I found a pregnancy app that helped me keep track of my progress, and a baby-registry app that made it easy to keep track of all the items I needed. Having all the information I needed in one place was a huge relief and made me feel more in control."
In addition to apps, there are online forums that can provide support to people expecting twins.
"The Multiples of America organization has groups all over the US you can join on Facebook to find support from other parents of multiples," Reed said.
"My local group has been a godsend for giving and receiving gear and clothes too. Twins are expensive and they grow so fast so it's great to have a network to share hand-me-downs," she added.
Read the original article on Insider
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Superdry's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
31% of Superdry is held by insiders
A look at the shareholders of Superdry plc (LON:SDRY) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 53% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Superdry.
See our latest analysis for Superdry
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Superdry?
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
We can see that Superdry does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Superdry's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
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Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Superdry. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Julian Dunkerton with 25% of shares outstanding. With 6.0% and 5.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, James Holder and Canaccord Genuity Asset Management Limited, Asset Management Arm are the second and third largest shareholders.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 9 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Superdry
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Superdry plc. Insiders own UK29m worth of shares in the UK92m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Next Steps:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Superdry (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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Cheese lovers should be required to try Chicago deep-dish pizza. Supitcha McAdam/Shutterstock
Every corner of the world is packed with famous eateries and must-try foods.
Some come from Michelin-star restaurants, while others can be found in open-air markets.
From Maine lobster rolls to New York bagels, these famous foods should be on everyone's bucket list.
Every food lover should experience a classic Spanish tapas meal, a combination of small plates like roasted peppers, anchovies, and other local dishes.
A traditional tapas meal. David Silverman/Getty Images
The Market of San Miguel is one of the most famous food spots in Madrid, Spain, and has rows of vendors offering tapas galore.
You might need more than one person to help you finish paella, another traditional Spanish dish of rice, seafood, and vegetables all cooked and served in a giant skillet.
Seafood paella. Federico Meneghetti/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Paella is believed to have originated in Valencia, Spain. Now, the traditional rice and seafood dish has become synonymous with Spanish culture.
Try colorful marzipan sweets from Barcelona's iconic food market, La Boqueria.
La Boqueria in Barcelona. Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
La Boqueria is a food market in Barcelona home to whimsically shaped sweets all made out of marzipan.
For dessert, enjoy a Spanish favorite crispy churros dipped in warm chocolate sauce.
Churros with chocolate. Natasha Breen/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Chocolateria San Gines is a famous spot for churros in Madrid, but most cafes offer the famous combination of crispy churros with the iconic hot-chocolate sauce, and it's hard to go wrong.
When in London, try fish and chips, one of England's most iconic dishes.
Fish and chips, a British tradition. Yudai/Shutterstock
Locals douse their crispy fish and chips with malt vinegar.
And don't miss out on trying a full English breakfast, a traditional take on the first meal of the day.
The full English breakfast. Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images
The full English breakfast has a little sampling of everything from potato hash, baked beans, cooked tomatoes and mushrooms, sausage, and eggs. Terry's Cafe in South East London serves up a famous take on the classic meal.
Take a bite into a picture-perfect macaron, a meringue dessert commonly found in France.
Macarons are a sweet meringue dessert. Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images
The meringue cookies originated in Italy, but food scholars believe they made their way to France in the 16th century, according to The Atlantic. The first French macaron shop was Laudree, which opened in 1892 and now has locations around the world.
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Adventurous eaters should try escargot, the traditional French snail dish.
Escargot is a French delicacy. Shutterstock
Taste the gourmet dish at L'Escargot Montorgueil in Paris.
Another must-try is Greek spanakopita, a pie made of flaky filo dough, feta, and spinach.
Greek spanakopita. Bartosz Luczak/Shutterstock
Dig into spanakopita and other Greek favorites at Varoulko Seaside, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Athens, Greece.
Everyone should bite into a traditional Italian pizza in their lifetime.
Pizza in Naples, Italy. Shutterstock
Naples, Italy, is home to L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, one of the world's most renowned pizzerias. The Naples pizza shop was featured in "Eat Pray Love," and it has also opened locations in Los Angeles and New York City.
Dine at Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, which has consistently been named one of the top-rated restaurants in the world.
Osteria Francescana. David Silverman/Getty Images
Osteria Francescana was named the best restaurant in the world in 2018 by the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, which is determined by more than 1,000 chefs, food writers, and restaurant experts. Though the list isn't the be-all-end-all of the restaurant world, Osteria Francescana is a once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience.
Eat Italian caprese salad with tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese.
Caprese salad is all about the mozzarella. Max Cavallari/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Caseificio La Fattoria, a restaurant in Italy's Campania region, makes fresh mozzarella in giant spheres that can weigh up to 88 pounds.
Dig into spaghetti tossed inside a cheese wheel.
Pasta in a cheese wheel. Suzi Pratt/Shutterstock
Have your pasta and cheese and eat them, too, at restaurants including Sapore Di Mare in Miami and Cacio e Pepe in New York City.
The cannolis at Mike's Pastry in Boston are a serious foodie bucket-list item.
Cannolis in Boston. John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The historic bakeshop, which has been serving sweets in Boston since the 1940s, is known for its picture-perfect cannolis.
Taste a slice of baklava, a Middle-Eastern pastry made with flaky filo dough, chopped nuts, and honey.
Baklava can be messy but delicious. Mehmet Akif Parlak/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Shatila Bakery in Dearborn, Michigan, is renowned for its authentic baklava.
Try chocolate rugelach, a flaky pastry from one of the most popular bakeshops in Jerusalem, Marzipan Bakery.
Chocolate rugelach. Bob Silverman CDN/Shutterstock
The perfectly golden-brown, sticky pastries, which have chocolate or fruit fillings, will not disappoint. Beyond its Jerusalem location, fans can find Marzipan Bakery goods at shops in the US.
Dip a piece of warm, fluffy pita into hummus, the Middle-Eastern dip made of chickpeas, oils, and tahini.
Hummus is a must-eat dip. JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images
The exact origins of hummus are contested, but communities across the Middle East, from Israel to Lebanon, offer their own take on the chickpea dip.
Shakshuka is a popular tomato-based dish served in the Middle East.
Shakshuka can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. DebashisK/Shuttershock
Shakshuka is a stew of eggs poached in a spicy sauce of tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions flavored with cumin that likely originated in North Africa. However, from Israel to Morocco, people from many countries across the Middle East also enjoy shakshuka.
Dr Shakshuka in Tel Aviv is famous for its version of the dish.
Chicken shawarma is a slow-roasted meat popular in the Mediterranean.
Chicken shawarma roasts on a turning spit. Shebeko/Shutterstock
Chicken shawarma can be served with hummus and Greek salad, or included in a wrap or gyro. Patatos and Bambi Cafe have both been named two of the best places to get shawarma in Istanbul, Turkey, the region where the dish originated from.
For another comforting dish, try sausage rolls, a popular snack in Australia.
Sausage rolls are similar to pigs in a blanket. Erika Cross/Shutterstock
Think of these Aussie favorites like the larger, heartier, and more sophisticated version of pigs-in-a-blanket. Sydney's Bourke Street Bakery was once voted the best place to get them.
Or try dim sum, a Cantonese-Chinese meal of small dumpling dishes.
Dim sum is just as delicious as it is aesthetically pleasing. Kia Nakriz/Shutterstock
The translation of "dim sum" means "with a touch of heart." Conde Nast Traveler calls Koi Palace in San Francisco's Chinatown some of the best dim sum in California's Bay Area.
Warm up with a steaming bowl of noodles from Ichiran, a Japanese restaurant famous for its ramen.
A steaming bowl of ramen. Jheng Yao/Shutterstock
Ichiran is known for being a ramen destination, according to Forbes. The restaurant's specialty is a ramen with pork-based broth, called tonkotsu ramen, with homemade noodles.
Sushi is enjoyed worldwide but is a must-try when visiting Japan.
Sushi at Uobei Sushi in Tokyo, Japan. INSIDER
Japan is known as the sushi capital of the world, but the dish itself may originate from a Chinese dish called narezushi. Regardless, visiting a city like Tokyo wouldn't be complete without sampling some local sushi.
Michelin-star restaurant Omakase is famous for its sushi, while conveyor-belt sushi restaurants like Uobei Sushi are known as "kaiten-zushi," or "rotating sushi," and offer rolls for as little as $1.
Seafood fanatics can also taste fresh oysters at restaurants along Maine's iconic Oyster Trail.
Oysters in Maine. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Maine's Oyster Trail is home to some of the region's most iconic oyster destinations, including restaurants and farms.
Try a fresh seafood meal at Fisherman's Wharf, a historic waterfront in San Francisco.
A cooked crab over ice. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
From outdoor dining to activities for the whole family, Fisherman's Wharf has something for foodies of all ages.
Cool off with ceviche, a seafood salsa-inspired dish with origins in Latin America.
Ceviche is a must-try summer dish. 1000Photography/Shutterstock
Ceviche is a cold salsa with raw seafood and citrus flavors, and Peru is one country famous for its take on the dish. Other countries in South America and Latin America offer a take on ceviche, according to the Food Network. For example, Chilean ceviche often includes salmon, and in Mexico, ceviche may be made with tuna.
Lobster rolls are a classic in Maine and Connecticut.
Lobster rolls with coleslaw and french fries. Nevin Martell/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
From Massachusetts to Maine, lobster rolls are a favorite in the Northeast region.
Don't miss out on crab cakes at Old Ebbitt Grill, one of Washington, DC's oldest restaurants.
Crab cakes at Old Ebbitt Grill. Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post via Getty Images
One of Washington, DC's oldest and most historic restaurants is Old Ebbitt Grill, and its seafood is its claim to fame.
A major New Orleans staple is shrimp gumbo, a flavorful, thick seafood stew served over a bed of fluffy rice.
Shrimp gumbo. Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock
A popular New Orleans establishment known for its Creole cuisine is Brennan's Restaurant in the French Quarter.
New Orleans is also known for beignets, a delectable, doughnut-like pastry topped with powdered sugar.
Beignets from Cafe Du Monde. Ryan Theriot/Getty Images
Cafe Du Monde is a famous spot for beignets in New Orleans, although locals have other suggestions too.
Bite into one of the most famous dishes of America's South, the fried green tomato.
Fried green tomatoes are a Southern staple. MShev/Shutterstock
South City Kitchen in Atlanta is Foursquare's top-rated Georgia spot for fried green tomatoes.
For another deep-fried Southern favorite, try hush puppies.
Hush puppies are a favorite in the South. Scott Suchman/For the Washington Post via Getty Images
These balls of cornmeal are deep-fried and delicious. Though it's unclear the exact origins of the classic dish, hush puppies are a staple in the South.
Chicago's cheesy, doughy deep-dish pizza is another must-eat.
The cheese pulls on a deep-dish pizza are breathtaking. Shutterstock
Eater Chicago calls Lou Malnati's Pizzeria "one of the original inventors of the Chicago deep dish."
Chow down on a burger and fries from In-N-Out Burger, a West Coast classic and celebrity-favorite fast-food joint.
In-N-Out is an iconic fast-food chain in America's West Coast. Melia Robinson/Business Insider
In-N-Out is known for its "animal-style" burger, which is grilled in mustard and topped with an extra dose of the restaurant's special Thousand Island sauce, pickles, and grilled onions. The "animal-style" fries are topped with melted American cheese and grilled onions, then smothered in the world-renowned In-N-Out sauce.
On the topic of fries, everyone should try poutine, Canada's national dish of french fries doused in gravy and cheese curds.
Canada's poutine dish. DAVID BOILY/AFP/Getty Images
Conde Nast Traveler calls Montreal, Canada, the "undisputed poutine capital of the world" and lists Greenspot in Montreal's St.-Henri neighborhood as a top recommendation.
Cheese-enthusiasts should try the Midwest's take on chili at Skyline, a restaurant chain that originated in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Skyline Chili. LWYang/Yelp
People in the Midwest swear by this cheese-topped chili.
Take a bite into a Cuban sandwich, which typically includes ham, Swiss cheese, pork, mustard, and pickles warmed up between two crispy pieces of bread.
Cuban sandwich. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Miami is a popular city for the Cuban sandwich, and Eater Miami recommends 925 Nuevo's Cubano's, Enriqueta's Sandwich Shop, and Havana 1957 Cuban Cuisine Espanola Way, among numerous other local spots.
A pastrami sandwich with a pickle on the side is a combination from Katz's Deli in New York City that everyone should try at least once.
A classic combination at Katz's Deli. Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Katz's Deli was one of renowned food connoisseur Anthony Bourdain's many iconic restaurant recommendations and is home to New York's most famous sandwich: pastrami on rye bread.
"The sandwich came with a slathering of deli mustard on each piece of bread," Insider's Erin McDowell wrote after a visit in 2022. "The pastrami was juicy, unbelievably tender, and fell apart with each bite."
It might go without saying, but trying a New York bagel should also be a bucket-list item.
Decisions, decisions. STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images
Top New York City bagel contenders include Russ & Daughters, Ess-a-bagel, Tompkins Square Bagels, and Absolute Bagels.
For the ultimate indulgence, dive into a milkshake from Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer in New York City, an eatery known for its extravagant, candy-loaded shakes.
These milkshakes are seriously over-the-top. Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer
Foodies looking to try a candy-clad Black Tap milkshake should prepare to wait in a long line, according to Yelp reviews.
For another sweet treat, enjoy a light, fluffy Belgian waffle topped with berries, powdered sugar, or chocolate sauce.
A Belgian waffle. Nataliia Ianchuk/Shutterstock
In Belgium, waffles are served as street food and are typically eaten two ways: without layers of toppings, or with strawberries and whipped cream.
Taste Portugal's iconic dessert, egg-custard tarts.
Portuguese egg custard tarts. Beto Chagas/Shutterstock
Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon is one of the most well-known spots in Portugal to try these famous tarts.
Enjoy truffles, candies, and other cocoa confections at Teuscher in Zurich, Switzerland, one of the most famous chocolatiers in the world.
A hot chocolate and truffles from Teuscher. SF11/Shutterstock
Teuscher is a famous Swiss chocolatier known for its decadent truffles.
Taste the melty, chocolate-y goodness of a cookie from Levain Bakery in New York City.
Cookies from Levain Bakery. Sarah Schmalbruch / INSIDER
Another fan-favorite dessert establishment is Levain Bakery in New York City, which boasts its version of the "world's greatest chocolate chip cookie."
Bite into a pierogi, the Polish potato dumpling that can hold a savory or sweet filling.
The ultimate comfort food. Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The pierogi is a traditional Polish dish believed to have originated in the 17th century.
Enjoy chorizo, a flavor-packed dish of ground pork sausage common in Mexican and Spanish cuisine.
Chorizo at La Puerta Verde photographed in Washington, DC. Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post via Getty Images
In Mexican cuisine, chorizo is made of fresh, uncooked pork, and in Spanish cooking, chorizo is made with ground pork sausage. Taste Atlas names San Telmo in Melbourne, Australia, as one of the best places outside of Mexico or Spain to try a chorizo dish, while Sensi in Barcelona also specializes in the dish.
No trip to Mexico would be complete without trying birria tacos, which are crispy tacos usually dipped into consome.
Birria tacos dipped in consome. Justin Gmoser
Birria tacos are traditionally made with goat meat, but can also use chicken or beef. The tacos are then dipped in consome, a type of stew made with beef stock, onions, garlic, and more.
While the dish originates in Mexico, it has also become popular in cities like Los Angeles and New York City, where the Birria-Landia taco truck often has lines down the street.
Chilaquiles is a delicious dish from Mexico.
Chilaquiles. La Contenta/Yelp
Chilaquiles which translates to "in a sauce of chiles" from Nahuatl is a dish consisting of heaps of crisp tortilla triangles tossed in a pan with salsa, and then piled with crumbled cheese and crema. Even better, chilaquiles are often enjoyed for breakfast.
Bite into a golden-brown, crispy empanada, Chile's national dish and the region's take on a sweet- or savory-filled doughy confection.
Empanadas can be savory or sweet. Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images
At Tomas Moro, a bakery in Chile's Las Condes suburb, people line up for hours to buy empanadas by the dozens, according to BBC Travel.
Mofongo is a plantain dish served in Puerto Rico.
Mofongo comes with rice and stew. Rachel Moon/Shutterstock
Mofongo, a ball-shaped dish of pickled, fried, and then smashed plantains that are flavored with garlic, salt, and oil in a wooden pilon, is a Puerto Rican staple usually served alongside a hearty stew or broth.
Eater names El Campeon in Old San Juan as one of the best places in Puerto Rico to try mofongo.
Taste Korean bibimbap, a colorful, flavorful rice bowl topped with a fried egg and served in a sizzling-hot stone bowl.
A bowl of bibimbap. Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Try bibimbap at Jungsik, a restaurant with two Michelin stars. There are locations in Seoul, South Korea, and New York City.
Try kimchi, a traditional Korean dish of cabbage and vegetables fermented in a flavorful paste.
Kimchi, a traditional Korean food. Ramin Talaie/Corbis via Getty Images
At Mokbar in New York City, chefs make 200 pounds of kimchi every two weeks.
Dive into a warm bowl of pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup with tons of flavor.
Pho is a must-try. John Patriquin/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Dong Thap Noodles in Seattle offers a massive bowl of pho that weighs about 13 pounds.
Banh mi is a popular type of sandwich in Vietnam.
Banh mi. Shutterstock
The inexpensive staple is usually made with pate, bright, crunchy vegetable slaw, fish sauce, and sliced jalapeno pepper or fresh cilantro. Banh Mi Huynh Hoa is recognized as one of the most famous spots to try the sandwich in Ho Chi Minh City.
Peking Duck is a crispy duck dish with roots in Beijing, China.
Peking Duck. Nora Tam/South China Morning Post via Getty Images
For meat-eaters, the Peking Duck is a must-try. A restaurant in Beijing, Liqun Roast Duck Restaurant, is so popular that people have to call in advance to order one of the crispy ducks.
Kare-kare is comfort food in the Philippines.
Kare-kare is a type of stew. RAGMA IMAGES/Shutterstock
Kare-kare is a nutty and sweet Philippine stew. Its signature flavor derives from a thick and savory peanut sauce. One place to grab a bowl is Serye Restaurant & Cafe in Manila.
Dip naan bread into butter chicken, a classic Indian meal with spices and a creamy tomato sauce.
Butter chicken is a must-try food in India. Bartosz Luczak/Shutterstock
Similar to the British-Indian dish chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is a type of curry made with chicken in a creamy tomato and butter sauce. Butter chicken originated in New Delhi, India, and Have More is rated as one of the best spots in the city to try it.
Biryani is a popular dish in Northern India and Iran.
Biryani comes with rice and meat. PI/Shutterstock
Biryani can be made with a variety of meats, from lamb to chicken and beef, and is accompanied by rice and spices. Kolkata, India, is one city famous for its biryani dishes and Aminia is consistently ranked as one of the best restaurants in the world to try this famous dish.
Chow down on pad thai made fresh from one of Thailand's diverse street or floating markets.
Pad thai is one of Thailand's most well-known foods. KoBoZaa/Shutterstock
Try one of the most popular noodle dishes in Thai cuisine from an authentic floating market or one of Bangkok's vibrant street food stalls.
Peri-peri chicken has roots in Portugal, but the South African restaurant chain Nando's has brought it to foodies worldwide.
Peri-peri chicken. Q77photo/Shutterstock
Peri-peri chicken was originally brought over to South Africa by Portuguese settlers and has since become synonymous with one of the most famous chains from the region.
Nando's has locations all over the world, but you'll need to head to Calisto's in Johannesburg, South Africa, to try a traditional version of the dish.
Read the original article on Insider
An 8-year-old boy from Vancouver, Washington, has been found safe after a monthslong search, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Breadson John was located over 2,000 miles away in Jasper County, Missouri on Feb. 17.
He was first reported missing last June after detectives with the Vancouver Police Department conducted a welfare check at the childs home and were unable to locate him.
In the months since then, detectives attempted to contact Johns family members, but they would not provide information about his whereabouts.
After the FBI issued a Missing Person Poster last month, agents were able to determine that John had been taken to Missouri in August 2022.
Last week, in response to a lead from the FBIs Seattle office, FBI Kansas City and Jasper County Sheriff deputies safely located John and placed him into Missouris Department of Social Services custody.
Breadsons recovery would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Vancouver Police Department, FBI Kansas City, and the Jasper County Sheriffs Office, said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Seattle field office. We are relieved at this outcome and how quickly we were able to resolve it.
Washington Child Protective Services agents are now traveling to Kansas City to bring John back to Washington state.
Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin
He added that civilian property destruction is the most common type of crime that the Russians have committed. Between October 2022 and February 2023, 77% of enemy strikes targeted critical infrastructure facilities.
Read also: Russian shelling of Kharkiv Oblast results in wounded and destruction
Obviously this is a deliberate tactic of the enemy, Kostins message reads.
Read also: Russia shells 16 settlements in Zaporizhzhya Oblast in 24 hours, causing destruction
The environment also suffers. Experts estimate the damage (done) at more than $46 billion, and Europe will be experiencing the consequences for decades.
Read also: EU plans special prosecutors office to investigate Russian crimes
Ukraines Accounting Chamber, citing data from the Operational Headquarters for recording the Russian environmental crimes, previously reported that Russian troops had caused damage to the environment to the tune of UAH 1.35 trillion ($35 billion).
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Desiree Robinson owns and is the pitmaster of the well-known Cozy Corner barbecue restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee. She made history in 2020, becoming the first Black woman initiated into the Barbecue Hall of Fame.
The post This 82-Year-Old Memphis Restaurant Owner Was The First Black Woman Inducted Into The Barbecue Hall of Fame appeared first on Blavity.
Her establishment has served the North Memphis community and tourists some of the citys best-smoked meat for 45 years. In Aug. 1977, she and her late husband, Raymond Robinson, joined forces as business partners. She took over the business to continue the legacy they created when her husband passed in 2001. In 2020, 19 years later, full of blood, sweat and tears, she received one of barbecues highest honors when she became one of three inductees to the Barbecue Hall of Fame. Three Black men were inducted, although they werent alive to accept the award, making Robinson the first living Black honoree.
My husband was an awesome cook, and Im good, but not nearly as good as he was. Im telling you it blew my mind. It started with him. He built it for us, the 82-year-old recently told FOX 13 Memphis in an interview.
He never met a person that didnt fall in love with him, Robinson said. He was the most likable person I have ever met in my life. And, he had the personality. Oh my goodness, everybody loved him. People just liked him and he liked people.
Since the award-winning restaurant opened 45 years ago, the talented cook claims her family has been a critical factor in helping customers feel love when they arrive.
I want them to know that they are at home. I want them to know that they are welcomed and I want them to know that I want them to come back. So theyre going to eat good and theyre going to be treated right, the entrepreneur said.
Our kids dont stay home for nap time when theyre coming up, little kids. They go to the Cozy Corner every day and go to the back and have their nap, come out and socialize with the customers, she said. And when theyre old enough, theyll wipe down tables, wait, whatever is age appropriate. But, everybody greets. If you work there, you better greet whoever walks through that door.
Im blessed. Ive got a wonderful family, I really do, she added. Four generations of family. We work together in harmony and I just thank God for that.
Flowers and American flags seen on top of the names of 9/11 victims. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
The families of 9/11 victims are blocked from seizing $3.5B in frozen Afghan central bank funds.
A federal judge ruled that seizing the funds would mean recognizing the Taliban as legitimate rulers.
It is up to President Joe Biden, not the courts, to make that decision, the judge ruled.
Efforts by the victims of 9/11 to seize $3.5 billion in frozen assets belonging to the Afghan Central Bank have failed because President Joe Biden's administration doesn't recognize the Taliban as the country's legitimate government.
A federal judge in New York ruled on Tuesday that seizure of the assets to pay off judgment debts would be blocked because federal courts lack the legal jurisdiction to approve the turnover of funds.
Doing so would amount to recognizing the Taliban as the nation's legitimate government, Judge George Daniels said in his 30-page ruling, published by The New York Times, something only the government is able to do.
The US does not recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate rulers.
The group were removed from power by a US-led military coalition in 2001, but seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021 after Western troops withdrew.
A group of families of 9/11 victims had previously sued the Taliban for their losses, winning a default judgment when the militant group did not turn up to court.
Daniels said that he was "constitutionally restrained" from providing access to the funds, even though judgment creditors are entitled to collect.
Last February, Biden cleared a legal path for relatives to pursue the $3.5 billion held in Afghanistan's central bank to pay off the judgment debts. An executive order moved to freeze $7 billion of the central bank's assets, earmarking half to go toward helping Afghan people, and the other half to the 9/11 families.
But because of the new ruling, which cites federal and constitutional law, the Taliban cannot be said to control the money in the central bank without being officially recognized as representing Afghanistan.
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"The Taliban, not the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan or the Afghan people, must pay for the Taliban's liability in the 9/11 attacks," Daniels said.
He added that neither the Taliban nor judgment creditors are "entitled to raid the coffers of the state of Afghanistan to pay the Taliban's debts."
The ruling is a disappointment for the families, said Lee Wolosky, a lawyer who argued for the victims' compensation, according to BBC News.
"This decision deprives over 10,000 members of the 9/11 community of their right to collect compensation from the Taliban," he said. "We believe it is wrongly decided and will appeal."
Read the original article on Business Insider
Relatives of victims visit the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum in New York City on the 21st anniversary of the terror attack.
Relatives of victims visit the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum in New York City on the 21st anniversary of the terror attack.
A U.S. judge ruled Tuesday against the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, who had moved to collect $3.5 billion in frozen assets belonging to Afghanistans central bank in order to fulfill a compensation ruling they had won in court against the Taliban.
Manhattan District Judge George Daniels ruledthat it is unconstitutional to allow victims to claim those assets because doing so would amount to recognizing the Taliban as Afghanistans legitimate government, which is outside the courts power.
The judgment creditors are entitled to collect on their default judgments and be made whole for the worst terrorist attack in our nations history, but they cannot do so with the funds of the central bank of Afghanistan, Daniels wrote in his 30-page decision.
Since the Afghan Central Bank, known as Da Afghanistan Bank, or DAB, is a foreign government entity, Daniels argued he lacked jurisdiction under federal law to act against the bank, according to Reuters.
Neither the Afghan people nor the previous administration, according to Daniels, are liable to compensate for the attack only the Taliban are.
The ruling also upheld the findings of U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn, who concluded in August that the victims did not have a right to the assets.
There was about $7 billion in Afghan central bank funds deposited at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York when the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban seized control of Kabul in August 2021. The U.S. Treasury Department immediately blocked the assets to prevent the Taliban from accessing them.
When President Joe Biden signed an executive order freeing up some of the assets last February, he allocated half of them to go toward helping Afghan people during the humanitarian crisis caused by the collapse of the countrys economy. The other $3.5 billion was set aside for victims of the 9/11 attacks who had obtained default judgments after defendants, including the Taliban, failed to show up in court. The victims then moved to claim the money.
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This decision deprives over 10,000 members of the 9/11 community of their right to collect compensation from the Taliban, said Lee Wolosky, a lawyer representing some of the plaintiffs.
We believe it is wrongly decided and will appeal. Wolosky said.
A separate Tuesday court filing indicates that the other creditor groups are also planning an appeal.
On Sep. 11, 2001, terrorists associated with al-Qaeda who were at the time harbored in Afghanistan by the Taliban, flew four hijacked aircrafts into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in northern Virginia, and a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people.
Related...
By Keith Coffman
DENVER (Reuters) - The individual accused of fatally shooting five people inside a Colorado LGBTQ nightclub last year was due in court on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing in which a judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to try the suspect for murder.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, has been held without bond at the El Paso County jail since being arrested and has been charged with 323 criminal counts stemming from the Nov. 19 rampage at Club Q in Colorado Springs.
The shooting spree left five bar patrons dead and nearly two dozen others wounded by gunfire or otherwise injured.
Among the charges the defendant faces are first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault and bias-motivated crimes.
Clad in body armor and armed with a handgun and an AR-15-style assault rifle, Aldrich opened fire indiscriminately on club patrons, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Two men inside the bar with military training subdued Aldrich and held the suspect until police arrived, the affidavit said.
One of the men pistol-whipped Aldrich as others pummeled the accused assailant, leaving the suspect with multiple injuries that required hospitalization.
Prosecutors have not publicly revealed whether they have determined a motive for the shootings.
Aldrich's lawyers have asserted in court filings that their client identifies as "non-binary" in gender and prefers them/they pronouns.
At a previous court hearing, a defense lawyer intimated that Aldrich may have been in the club previously, including on the night of the massacre.
Even if Aldrich identifies as a member of a protected class, the defendant could still be found guilty of the hate crimes that have been charged in the case, District Attorney Michael Allen told reporters following an earlier hearing.
"We're not going to tolerate actions against community members based on their sexual identity," Allen said. "Members of that community have been harassed, intimidated and abused for too long."
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El Paso County District Judge Michael McHenry was assigned to preside over the preliminary hearing, which was scheduled to run for three days, according to the court docket.
The hearing's purpose is for prosecutors to outline their case with the intention of persuading the judge there is enough evidence to establish probable cause for the charges and proceed to trial.
The Q nightclub shooting is not the defendant's first brush with the law. Aldrich was arrested in June 2021 after threatening to detonate a bomb and harm a family member, prosecutors said. That case was dismissed after the relatives who were the alleged victims declined to testify for the prosecution.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Aldrich faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Colorado no longer has capital punishment on its books, but Aldrich could face the death penalty if federal prosecutors decide to try him on federal charges that still carry a death sentence.
(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Editing by Steve Gorman and Bradley Perrett)
Photo: Anton Vierietin (Shutterstock)
This week, the Supreme Court is hearing two cases that could upend the way weve come to understand freedom of speech on the internet. Both Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh ask the court to reconsider how the law interprets Section 230, a regulation that protects companies from legal liability for user-generated content. Gizmodo will be running a series of pieces about the past, present, and future of online speech.
Tumblr had a problem. Its called the pro-ana community, ana being short for anorexia, said Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg in a recent interview. People were using the social media site to encourage eating disorders and giving out tips on how to avoid food. Its not illegal, Mullenweg said, but as a tech platform it is your responsibility to control the distribution of that, to tamp it down if people are posting it, and to try to provide them pointers to resources. Thats exactly what Tumblrs content moderation team did: censorship.
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The pro-ana issue is an easy example of censorship most people can agree on, but our desire to suppress content goes much further. In fact, you can argue that effective censorship is the whole reason social media and tech platforms are successful. As The Verges Nilay Patel has argued, content moderation is the product that social media companies make. They filter out things you dont want to see, and surface content youll like. This isnt limited to the web. Burying some material and limiting others is essential to a functioning society.
The truth is you love censorship, and so does everyone else. The only question is whether youre ready to admit it.
Everybody complains about being censored, Marjorie Heins, a First Amendment lawyer and founder of the Free Expression Policy Project, told Gizmodo. But at the same time, almost everybody wants to silence things that they find to be really offensive or violating their morality.
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Today content moderation is controversial, especially on the right, in large part because of Google, Meta, and Twitters bumbling, too-little-too-late response to misinformation about COVID-19 and the 2020 election. But many of the loudest complaints about big tech censorship come from people who are thrilled to silence ideas they dont like in other contexts.
Tucker Carlson often rails at Silicon Valley for controlling what youre now allowed to think and say in America. At the same time, he spent the last year howling about politically-correct changes to M&Ms advertising mascots. The green M&M, you will notice, is no longer wearing sexy boots, Carlson said in one breathless tirade, accusing the Mars corporation of caving to the left by introducing spokes-candies he doesnt want to sleep with. Carlson pledged to launch a deeper investigation into the candy mongers woke agenda, but M&Ms dropped their mascots, which the TV host celebrated as a personal victory.
Our response to the end of the obese and lesbian M&M spokescandies pic.twitter.com/HuSfAryyQi Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 24, 2023
Elon Musk is another example. For a moment, Musk was hailed as a champion of the worlds free speech absolutists, a term he regularly (and inaccurately) uses to describe his views. But right off the bat, Musk started banning critical journalists and adjusted the apps algorithm to promote Twitter Blue subscribers while demoting posts from anyone who isnt paying the $8 a month protection fee.
Lets address an obvious counterargument. I am not saying that censorship, in general, is good. For one, social media companies have been accused of suppressing the accounts of activists and oppressed minorities. Thats bad! What Im saying is censorship is a bad word for a neutral thing. Some censorship is good, and some censorship is bad, but its something we rely on and enjoy.
Recently, the Free Speech Debate has coalesced around inherently political issues, like elections or the pandemic response, but you also find people trying to protect or censor speech in areas that feel more personal. Back in the 90s, video games, TV, and hip hop raised questions about violence and pornography in the media, and the debate didnt split along party lines. Out-of-control political correctness was a hot topic in conservative media, while left-wing members of the feminist movement argued that all pornography should be banned.
The issues even made their way to the courts. The way First Amendment law has broken down is that violent content is almost always protected, unless it rises to the level of an actual threat or incitement. Whereas sexual content has long been censored on these very vague standards of obscenity, Heins said.
Weve landed on a system that is largely flexiblethough it is often unsatisfying even to people making the policies. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer once complained that the modern interpretation of the First Amendment would only ban a violent video game depicting a tortured woman if she was also topless. But while we can all disagree about the actual rules, few people believe that there shouldnt be any restrictions on pornography or violence in the media.
Censoring certain kinds of content actually promotes free expression. Lets say the hate speech problem on Twitter got even more out of control than it already is. People of color would probably feel less and less comfortable voicing their opinions out of fear of being attacked. They would self-censor. If you choose to censor hate speech, youre making a decision to silence some voices to boost others.
Anyone who doesnt like that can say too bad, not my problem, but Twitter sets out to create an environment where everyone can join in on the dialogue. And more importantly, thats what people want Twitter to be.
We often hear about the utopian vision of the marketplace of ideas, a world where everyone is allowed to voice their opinions and the best ideas rise to the top thanks to the wonders of reason and capitalism. Sounds great, but that is not what 99% of people actually look for in a tech platform.
Theres lots of material that is protected by the First Amendment that people dont want to see on social media platforms in most cases, said Stephen Bates, a professor who researches First Amendment law and censorship at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Their purpose is to keep people happy and engaged. As long as corporations want to maximize profits, theres going to be censorship beyond what the First Amendment commands.
4Chan and Gab are great illustrations. There is essentially no content moderation on those platforms. What do people do with that freedom? They post pornography thats legally questionable if not obviously unpermitted, set up organized harassment campaigns, and say the N-word a lot. 4chan, at least, does churn out some good memes from time to time, but these sites sit far outside the mainstream. This may come as a shock, but most people dont like being on websites full of racial slurs and upsetting content. These arent the kind of spaces most people want to inhabit on a regular basis.
Guess where people do want to hang out: TikTok, Instagram, and YouTubeheavily moderated lily-white platforms with feeds operated by algorithms that work hard to figure out what you do and dont want to see.
Broadly, I think people want stuff censored and theyre happy that it is, said David Brody, managing attorney of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The problem is there are a lot of things that cut close to our political and social cleavages. Thats where it gets complicated.
The only question really is where we should draw the line. At the extremes, most people are on the same page. I dont know anyone who thinks you should be able to recruit terrorists on Facebook or publish sexually explicit material in the kids section of YouTube. On the other end of the spectrum, Im sure we can all agree that you should be able to say whatever you want about taxes on Reddit, political or otherwise.
In the middle things get a lot more complicated. Should you be allowed to post lies about the COVID-19 vaccine on social media? A lot of people say yes, and a lot of people say no. One thing is for sure, thats a decision that people like Mark Zuckerberg wish they didnt have to make. In 2019, Zuckerberg said, I believe people should decide what is credible, not tech companies. One good reason for him to believe that is that being an arbiter of truth isnt great for his business.
Meta, Google, and Twitter are big multinational corporations. If theres one thing big corporations hate, its controversy about their business practices. These giant tech platforms would much rather that every person in America was a happy, engaged member of their communities. The tech industry really does not want to be making decisions that are going to infuriate millions of people.
Yet all of the big technology platforms engage in some form of censorship. Why? Because thats what their users and their advertisers want. Its what a profit-based model demands.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was dragged kicking and screaming into heavier content moderation on his platform. After years of arguments about how free speech is the most important ideal to uphold on Twitter, Dorsey was forced to abandon the mostly hands-off approach as harassment, misinformation, and hate speech on the platform boiled over. Twitter took steps to banish the Nazis and lead-poisoned QAnon supporters that flourished on the app, and it was ultimately the first to ban Donald Trump for his support of the insurrection on January 6th. Recently, Dorsey said that hes changed his mind again, arguing that his content moderation efforts were a well-intentioned mistake.
All the sleepless nights that Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and now Elon Musk spent worrying about these issues show you just how difficult the problem is. But one thing is clear: no reasonable person actually believes there should be no censorship, and most of us gleefully call for it on one occasion or another.
There are lots and lots of exceptions to the First Amendment, but in general, it gives you the freedom to say what you want about almost anything, without interference from the government. Thats how Americans seem to like it. But on the internet, those rules dont apply, and thats the way it should be. If you start spouting off hate speech in the comments of this article, were going to block you. Dont like it? Go start your own website, because thats how everybody wants it here.
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Feb. 21, 2023; Columbus, OH, U.S.; Two wild turkeys walk in a parking lot adjacent to businesses on Leap Road in Hilliard. The "Hilliard Turkey Gang" has a Facebook page with hundreds of fans but the city has concerns about the birds who stop traffic crossing Cemetery Road to roost in the evenings. A third turkey was injured is currently being cared for at the Ohio Wildlife Center. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch
For almost two years, wild turkeys have captivated the hearts of many up and down Cemetery Road. Brash and often petulant, the animals have pecked at police cruisers, peered in business windows, chased snow plows and snarled traffic. At night, they roost high up in suburban treetops, only to return energized each day.
After amassing more than 5,000 followers on the Hilliard Turkey Gang Facebook page, loyalists are sad that this avian odyssey may be ending. Others who prefer their birds on a plate with mashed potatoes and gravy are relieved.
After Hilliard Police told The Dispatch this week that there were no plans to install warning signs at the bird's most frequent road crossings, a city official acknowledged that there were imminent plans to relocate them instead.
Read more about Hilliard's wild turkeysHilliard Turkey Gang
"We will not be putting up any signs," said Sgt. Suzanne Muraco. "It would be like any other animal crossing ... a goose, a dog or a deer."
ODNR officials agree to relocate the turkeys
But on Tuesday, David Ball, director of community relations, said that wildlife officers with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources had agreed to catch, relocate and release the animals at an undisclosed area. He said he had not been given a date or time.
Earlier this year, one of three male birds was injured either in a mishap with a car or assault by a resident, depending on whom you ask. He is recovering from a leg injury at the Ohio Wildlife Center in Northwest Columbus.
Feb. 21, 2023; Columbus, OH, U.S.; Mechanic Tucker "Tuck" Topping offers peanuts to two wild turkeys walk in the Goodyear Boyd's Hilliard Tire & Service parking lot next to Leap Road in Hilliard. The "Hilliard Turkey Gang" has a Facebook page with hundreds of fans but the city has concerns about the birds who stop traffic crossing Cemetery Road to roost in the evenings. A third turkey was injured is currently being cared for at the Ohio Wildlife Center. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch
The animals, named after the city's three high schools: Davidson, Darby and Bradley, have been featured in numerous news reports replete with puns like having a leg up, being fowl intruders, gobbledygook or pecking order. But they've also taught motorists much about patience and kindness.
"We as a community need to treat the turkeys as if it was your pet, and watch for it if its in the streets. Would you want somebody to hit your animal?" asked Tonya Moore, a frequent Facebook poster.
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"We could all benefit by practicing more patience," replied another Facebook follower.
And another: "People around here just need to slow down and appreciate that we get to coexist with native species even though we have destroyed their habitat!"
Related article:Wild turkeys have been disappearing from Ohio. State officials blame the weather
At daybreak they meander down busy streets, staring back at gawkers, chasing motorists who honk and exploring back alleys and shops.
A Facebook video purported to show an attempted abduction in the nearby Kroger parking lot. Witnesses said the assailants saw the birds as dinner.
But even hunters have grown fond of the remaining pair.
Feb. 21, 2023; Columbus, OH, U.S.; A wild turkey looks in the shop bay windows of Goodyear Boyd's Hilliard Tire & Service on Leap Road in Hilliard. The "Hilliard Turkey Gang" has a Facebook page with hundreds of fans but the city has concerns about the birds who stop traffic crossing Cemetery Road to roost in the evenings. A third turkey was injured is currently being cared for at the Ohio Wildlife Center. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch
The turkeys have friends in Hilliard
"Once you get used to seeing an animal regularly, they become more like a pet," said John Brown, who is engaged to Tonya Moore. The pair visit the area near Cemetery and Leap roads nightly.
"They've got friends at Taco Bell," Brown said of the remaining pair. "They give them the stale taco chips."
How and why the birds relocated at such a busy area is somewhat of a mystery.
A short walk north on Leap Road at the Mulberry Apartments finds there are 15 fully stocked bird feeders, some with suet. Some say that's a natural draw.
Others say that the bird-Samaritans who feed the animals bread, nuts and leftover sandwiches are responsible.
Hilliard officials in January said that relocating the birds was "not an option," according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources because methods to capture them in remote areas "are often impractical or ineffective in suburban areas due to safety or disturbance."
A Hilliard Facebook post ended with "remember that Hilliard is their home too."
Feb. 21, 2023; Columbus, OH, U.S.; A wild turkeys is silhouetted in front of a sign at Grismer Tire & Auto Service on Leap Road offering a discount for customers who take a selfie with the birds. The "Hilliard Turkey Gang" has a Facebook page with hundreds of fans but the city has concerns about the birds who stop traffic crossing Cemetery Road to roost in the evenings. A third turkey was injured is currently being cared for at the Ohio Wildlife Center. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch
But on Tuesday and employee of Grismer Tire & Auto Service, whose sign offers 10 dollars off if you present a selfie with the turkeys, said that an ODNR wildlife officer asked him to lead the turkey pair into his lobby where it would be easier to capture.
That didn't happen. Mark Schuler, the assistant manager, said the officer said he'd return with backups and a new plan.
Schuler has seen the birds peer in his front windows, parting only for customers. Same at the busy post office next door.
"The good thing is that they chase the geese away," Schuler said. "We haven't had that problem for a long time."
Once gone, many say there will be a void in the return to normal with only keepsake glasses and T-shirts with the "Turkey Gang" logo left as keepsakes.
"It's very divisive," said Libby Gierach, head of the Hilliard Chamber of Commerce whose mantra is "Choose Hilliard," apparently not lost on the turkeys.
More:Efforts underway to increase Ohio's game birds populations
"I see them almost every day," said Phil Hinkelman, who owns a paper products company and mails packages frequently, sometimes bringing his young daughter.
"People are very defensive about them, People will be upset," Hinkelman said. "When people try to shoo them out of the street, others stop them and say 'How dare you.'"
"It'll ruffle some feathers," said Aaron Rhoades, who lives a half-mile west along Cemetery Road where the birds often roost in his towering maple.
How does he know they're there? "They start talking to you," he said.
Turkey loyalist Tonya Brown said when they're gone "I'll cry for a couple of days. But I'll be glad they're somewhere safe."
dnarciso@gannett.com
@DeanNarciso
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Adopted by Hilliard, ODNR to capture wild turkeys, relocate them
Pinterest CEO Bill Ready discussed the dangers of AI with George Stephanopoulos. ABC News Good Morning America
Pinterest CEO Bill Ready warned that emerging AI tech could accelerate the negative impact of social media on mental health.
During an interview with "Good Morning America," the CEO said that AI amplifies the "darkest aspects of human nature."
Ready is one of many executives to sound the alarm on AI bots like ChatGPT.
Pinterest CEO Bill Ready warned that the next generation of artificial intelligence could worsen the negative impact of social media on mental health an issue he said has already begun to "tear at the fabric of our society."
As AI bots like ChatGPT have begun to surge in popularity, Ready says the technology could intensify the negative impacts of social media and compared the industry to Big Tobacco. The Pinterest CEO made the comments during a recent interview with "Good Morning America."
"Interestingly, the discussion has been that this is just human nature the social media platforms are just reflecting human nature but in reality AI has been amplifying the darkest aspects of human nature," he said.
The Pinterest CEO, who stepped into the role last year, said he thinks executives in the AI and social media spaces need to think long and hard about how they plan to use the technology.
"Is it being asked to maximize your view time?" Ready said. "In which case, it may continue to serve things that are more divisive, more salacious, just for the sake of getting you engaged."
The executive said Pinterest intends to use AI to "inspire" its users. He issued a call to action to other social media companies, saying they should use AI to lead to positive outcomes, like showing content designed to motivate or inspire users, instead of simply using it to maintain users' attention. He added that more guardrails should be put up to protect against instances whe the AI appears to act maliciously.
His comments came in response to interviewer George Stephanopoulos pointing to a recent report of Microsoft's new Bing search engine, which is powered by OpenAI technology, allegedly telling a user to leave his wife.
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Insider previously reported that people have taken to social media to share shocking responses from the new Bing search engine from instances when the AI bot professed its love to users to moments when it expressed anger.
Ready is far from the first executive to sound the alarm on emerging AI technology. Elon Musk, who helped found OpenAI, warned earlier this month that unregulated AI could come with "great danger," and even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said he's worried about the "accidental misuse" of the technology.
"I think it's like impossible to overstate the importance of AI safety and alignment work," Altman said during a recent interview with StrictlyVC's Connie Loizos. "I would like to see much, much more happening."
Since the launch of OpenAI's latest version of ChatGPT, AI appears to have taken off, and companies like Microsoft and Buzzfeed have begun to integrate the technology into their customer-facing platforms. Most recently, Reuters reported that ChatGPT had launched a boom in AI-written e-books on Amazon.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Alphabet chairman John Hennessy told Reuters that a search on Google's AI chatbot will cost the company 10 times more than a typical search. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Alphabet chairman John Hennessy said an AI chatbot search costs 10 times more than a regular one, per Reuters.
Analysts expect Google to incur billions in extra AI costs over the next several years.
That's because a chatbot query requires more computing power and electricity than a typical search.
Talking to Google's chatbot Bard may cost the company more than just a faulty reveal.
John Hennessy, the chairman of Google's parent company Alphabet, said that a search on AI, like its chatbot Bard, can cost the company 10 times more than a normal keyword search, according to an interview with Reuters. That's because a search through an AI-language model requires more computing power specifically chips and electricity than a typical search.
Analysts say the extra costs can amount to billions of dollars over the span of years, Reuters reported.
The projected costs of AI search varies. Some analysts say Google would incur an extra $6 billion dollars by 2024 if it responded to half of its search queries with 50-word answers from an AI chatbot, per Reuters. Other analysts expect Google to rack up an additional $3 billion dollars by integrating the chatbot into its search engine, Reuters reported.
Google did not respond to Insider's immediate request for comment before publication.
These potential expenses would come head-to-head with Google's plans to reduce costs amid challenging economic conditions.
Just weeks after Google laid off 12,000 employees earlier this year, Alphabet's CFO Ruth Porat said in the firm's latest earnings call that the company will spend $500 million to reduce office space and up to $2.3 billion in severance packages. Lavish office perks will also be eliminated.
To reduce its AI-related costs, Google said it will run its chatbot with a "smaller version" of its LaMDA AI model, per Reuters. Inference costs the expenses associated with how a chatbot generates responses must also drop, Hennessy said, calling it "a couple year problem at worst"
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Still, it's not clear how companies intend to lower AI's costs without losing accuracy, Naveen Rao, a former exec at Intel who oversaw its AI products division, told Reuters.
"How you cull (parameters away) most effectively, that's still an open question," Rao said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON (AP) The Air Force's review of cancers among its nuclear missile corps will include all personnel who worked on, guarded, supported or operated the nations ground-based warheads, Air Force Global Strike Command announced Wednesday.
Nine officers who had worked as missileers the airmen who launch the warheads from underground silos and control centers at Montanas Malmstrom Air Force Base were diagnosed with with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, Lt. Col. Daniel Sebeck of U.S. Space Force reported last month in a briefing obtained by The Associated Press.
Since that briefing, more missileers and missile support crew have come forward to the AP and other media outlets to report they, too, have been diagnosed with either non-Hodgkin lymphoma or other types of cancers.
The Air Force review will extend beyond Malmstrom to include F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Together the three bases operate 450 silos that house the nations arsenal of ground-based nuclear warheads carried by Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Malmstrom was one of the sensitive military locations over which a suspected Chinese spy balloon loitered as it transited the United States earlier this month.
The Missile Community Cancer Study, to be conducted by the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, will look at all ICBM wings and all Air Force personnel who support the ICBM mission. It will review environmental factors at the missile bases and silos, and examine the possibility of clusters of non-Hodgkins lymphoma among missileers and those who maintained, guarded and supported the bases, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, Gen. Thomas Bussiere, said in a statement.
The review will look at active-duty medical data and the Department of Veterans Affairs' cancer registry data, mortality data and public cancer registries. Col. Lee Williams, the command's surgeon general, said there was not yet a timeline for the study.
The Air Force has also established a website to address the missileer community concerns.
On the morning of 22 February, radio announcements of an air-raid warning and a missile strike threat were made in 10 Russian cities, and later the Russian Emergencies Ministry said that it was a hacker attack.
Source: Russian online media outlet Baza; Ostorozno, Novosti; Russian independent news website Meduza; Russian state-owned news outlet RIA Novosti.
Details: "Attention, an air-raid warning is being announced. Go to the shelter immediately. Attention, Attention, threat of a missile strike" was broadcast on the radio stations Relax FM, Avtoradio, Yumor FM and Comedy radio.
It was heard by residents of the cities of Pyatigorsk, Tyumen, Voronezh, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Magnitogorsk, Belgorod, Stary Oskol, Ufa, and Novouralsk.
Subsequently, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said that this appeared on radio stations because of a hacker attack. "As a result of a hacker attack on the servers of some commercial radio stations in some regions of the country, information was broadcast about an alleged announcement of an air-raid warning and a threat of a missile strike," the report says.
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(Reuters) -Airlines canceled more than 1,300 flights in the United States on Wednesday as a strong winter storm makes its way through the western and central states.
A total of 1,327 flights within, into and out of the United States were canceled by 12:30 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware, which also showed 2,030 flights were delayed.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a tweet on Tuesday the severe weather could cause flight delays or cancellations this week in Minnesota and other states in the Great Lakes and southern plains.
Snow falling at a rate of two inches an hour and gusty winds will make travel conditions treacherous and perhaps impossible in parts of the Northern Plains and the Upper Midwest, the National Weather Service said in its forecast on Tuesday.
Regional carrier SkyWest Inc led the cancellations with 312 flights, followed by low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Co's 248 and Delta Air Lines' 246 flight cancellations.
Southwest and Delta said they are monitoring the storm, while SkyWest did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Pratyush Thakur; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Shinjini Ganguli)
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Ten people were killed in an attack in Somalia's capital claimed by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, which said it was targeting military officials and militia fighters involved in an offensive against it.
The Tuesday attack began with a car bomb blast followed by a gun fight that went on for hours at a house in Mogadishu where several lawmakers were believed to be staying, a witness told Reuters.
Somalia's information ministry said late on Tuesday that 10 civilians were killed, but did not say who was targeted. Security forces killed the four militant gunmen involved in the assault, it said.
Al Shabaab has stepped up attacks in a show of resurgence since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's government launched an offensive against the group in August.
A suicide bomber first detonated a car outside the house and then al Shabaab militants stormed in while firing guns, said witness Farah Aden.
The fighting between the al Shabaab fighters and security forces lasted for about eight hours, according to al Shabaab, the information ministry and witnesses.
"Other militants went in and killed 10 civilians inside the house. The security forces shot dead the four militants who stormed the building," the information ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Four soldiers and three civilians were wounded before the fighting ended, it added.
Al Shabaab said in a statement it had killed 70 people in the attack, which targeted the house because it offered accommodation to military officials and wounded militia members from the central Hiraan region recovering from fighting against the group there.
The government and al Shabaab, which has in the past launched attacks on hotels, military bases and government establishments, often give differing casualty figures.
Government forces and allied clan militias known as macawisley, pushed al Shabaab out of Hiraan last year.
(Reporting by Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Nellie Peyton, Robert Birsel)
Alabama Republican Congressman Barry Moore has put forward a bill making the AR-15 assault rifle the national gun of the US.
Mr Moore visited a gun shop in Troy in the southern part of the state on Tuesday, revealing the legislation.
The anti-Second Amendment group wont stop until they take away all your firearms, he claimed in a statement after announcing the proposed law at Family Firearms, according to AL.com. One rule to remember: any government that would take away one right would take away them all.
The Second Amendment is as American a right as freedom of speech, religion, and the press, he added. Second Amendment rights are worth protecting and must not be infringed, and we must send a message that we will meet every attack on any of our constitutional rights.
Congressional records show that the full text of the bill hasnt been provided, but the law would declare an AR-15 style rifle chambered in a .223 Remington round or a 5.56x45mm NATO round to be the National Gun of the United States.
Family Firearms owner Sonny Parker said in a statement that every day we are battling those in Washington trying to take away our Second Amendment rights.
Rep Barry Moore visits Family Firearms in Troy, Alabama (Twitter / Rep Barry Moore)
Rep Barry Moore visits Family Firearms in Troy, Alabama (Twitter / Rep Barry Moore)
Were extremely thankful for men like Congressman Barry Moore who are willing to go to war for us, stand up for our Second Amendment rights and battle those who continue to take those away from us, he added.
Following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, CBSs 60 Minutes named the AR-15 the weapon of choice of the worst mass murderers.
Variations of the AR-15, in addition to other firearms, were used in scores of mass shootings over the past decade and beyond, according to USA Today and 60 Minutes.
The Independent has reached out to the office of Mr Moore for comment.
The weapon used in the Pulse nightclub shooting that killed 49 people in Orlando, Florida on 12 June 2016 is very similar to an AR-15, but according to Slate, it is technically not a variant of it.
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The guts of the Sig MCX are different from those of the standard AR-15 platform, the outlet noted.
The AR in AR-15 stands for Armalite rifle after the firm that created the weapon, according to The Washington Post. It was initially used in the Vietnam War as an alternative to the M-14, which The Post describes as heavy, difficult to control and outmatched by the AK-47.
The AR-15 is semiautomatic, meaning that the user has to pull the trigger once for each bullet fired. Its military counterpart is the M-16 which replaced the M-14.
Cynthia Bir of the University of Southern California spoke to 60 Minutes last year about the difference between an AR-15 and a handgun.
Theres going to be a lot more damage to the tissues, both bones, organs, whatever gets kind of even near this bullet path. The bones arent going to just break, theyre going to shatter. Organs arent just going to tear or have bruises on them ... parts of them are going to be destroyed, she said at the time.
The Federal Assault Weapons Ban stopped the sale of the AR-15 between 1994 and 2004 but when the measure expired without being renewed, it went back on sale and has been a great boon to the firearms industry ever since, Slate noted.
Some Republican members of Congress, including Representatives Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and George Santos of New York, were seen earlier this month wearing lapel pins in the shape of assault rifles, prompting criticism from Democrats.
Anna Paulina Luna wore an assault weapon pin at todays Oversight hearing less than 48 hours after her state experienced a mass shooting, Democratic Representative Jimmy Gomez of California tweeted on 1 February. You cant make this s*** up. This isnt the flex you think it is.
Earlier that same week, 11 people were injured in a shooting in Lakeland, Florida.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) consolidated certain operations in its local consumer services segment to cope with increased competition.
Alibaba looked to merge its Koubei restaurant review feature into the Amap app, which provides a mobile digital map, navigation, real-time traffic information, and a ride-hailing aggregator, SCMP reports.
Koubei head Zhang Liang will report directly to Amap CEO Liu Zhenfei instead of local consumer services group head Yu Yongfu.
Alibaba's local consumer services business segment includes food delivery unit Ele.me, online-to-offline integration service solution provider Taoxianda, Amap, and online travel platform Fliggy.
The reorganization marked Alibaba's attempt to stay relevant in the country's on-demand local services industry, dominated by Meituan (OTC: MPNGF) (OTC: MPNGY) and ByteDance Ltd -owned Douyin.
China's on-demand local services sector will likely be worth more than 35 trillion yuan ($5.1 trillion) by 2025. Besides food and grocery deliveries, on-demand local services enable online consumers to connect with offline merchants from various fields.
In 2022, Alibaba's local consumer services revenue increased by 21% in the September quarter to 13.07 billion yuan, driven by strong order growth at its Amap business.
Alibaba's local consumer services segment also narrowed its losses in Q3 to 3.49 billion yuan, from 6.53 billion yuan the previous year, on the back of improving business operations at Ele.me.
Price Action: BABA shares closed lower by 4.91% at $95.10 on Tuesday.
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This article Alibaba Restructures Local Consumer Business To Combat Meituan And Douyin Rivalry originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to attend the July NATO summit in Vilnius in person, Petro Beshta, the ambassador to Lithuania, told BNS.
However, an official invitation must be extended, he said, since Ukraine is not an official NATO member state.
Zelensky has spent most of his time in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, but he recently made diplomatic trips to Washington D.C., London, Paris, and Brussels.
According to Beshta, Ukrainian officials hope attendees at the summit will agree "very clearly that as soon as the war is over, Ukraine becomes a member of NATO."
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Feb. 21 that Ukraine, the European Union, and NATO are joining forces to increase the production of weapons and ammunition for the needs of the Ukrainian army and to replenish the allies' stocks.
He met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and European Union chief diplomat Josep Borrell in Brussels to discuss strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities.
"We have a common goal to restore peace and stability in Europe. For this, the victory of Ukraine is important, as well as providing our military with everything necessary as soon as possible," Kuleba said during the first-ever trilateral meeting between Ukraine, EU, and NATO.
Americans are nearly evenly split on whether Russia or Ukraine will eventually win the conflict between them as the war reaches its first anniversary, according to a new survey.
The Economist-YouGov poll found 26 percent of respondents think Russia, which invaded its neighbor without provocation last Feb. 24, will emerge victorious, while 27 percent think Ukraine will fend off its aggressor and secure an eventual win.
The researchers note that the new figures are a change from the past few months, when Ukraine was more significantly favored to win. In September of last year, 32 percent of Americans polled expected Kyiv to win, compared to 22 percent who thought the same of Moscow.
More than a third, or 34 percent, arent sure which nation will prevail, and 13 percent think both are equally likely to succeed.
When it comes to who is currently winning the conflict, a plurality of Americans, or 32 percent, think neither Russia nor Ukraine is currently ahead.
Twenty-four percent think Ukraine is winning, and 22 percent think Russia is up. Another 22 percent arent sure.
Americans still overwhelmingly favor Ukraine, with 69 percent sympathizing with Kyiv and just 6 percent sympathizing with Moscow. More than half, or 56 percent, see Russia as an enemy.
As the wars first anniversary on Friday approaches, nearly a third of Americans, or 27 percent, think the war will end more than a year from now, a pessimistic change from just 10 percent who saw it lasting more than a year back in March.
Now 7 percent say they think the war will never end, and 35 percent arent sure.
President Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv this week before heading to Poland, stressing in remarks in both countries his administrations continued support for Ukraine. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said earlier this week that the U.S. will back Kyiv for as long as it takes.
The Economist-YouGov poll, conducted Feb. 20-21, surveyed 1,500 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
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(Bloomberg) -- A Norwegian emerging-market asset manager is finding a risky new trade is paying off: buying sanctioned Chinese stocks from Americans forced to dump them.
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Fredrik Bjelland, head of private Skagen ASs emerging-market equity fund in Stavenger, Norway, says almost a third of his nearly $1.5 billion portfolio is in Chinese stocks. Before joining Skagen in 2017, Bjelland was the Shanghai-based head of China for Norways sovereign wealth fund, the worlds biggest single owner of equities.
Some of his favorite shares, such as top holding China National Offshore Oil Corp. (Cnooc), Chinas main deepwater explorer, and state-owned China Mobile Ltd., are mispriced in a big way because of US sanctions that forced owners to unload them, the 44-year-old fund manager told Bloomberg in an interview in London.
You had a wave of passive and price-indiscriminate sellers, Bjelland said. One thing that we like, as contrarian investors, is buying from people who have to sell at an any price. That gave us a very, very good price.
Cnoocs dominant position in offshore Chinese oil production as well as projects in Brazil and Guyana are reasons he expects the company to perform well in the future. He says he sees a more than 40% upside in the share based on the discounted cash flow model, an estimation of current value based on future cash flows.
The companys net income in 2022 roughly doubled due to rising oil prices, and its stock rose 24% last year in dollar terms. That helped Skagen post a 1.5% gain in China compared with a 24% loss on the MSCI China benchmark. Overall, Skagens Kon-Tiki Emerging Markets fund has returned in local currency terms nearly 12% so far this year, compared to 9.7% for MSCI Inc.s emerging-market daily total return gauge, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Last year, the overall fund lost about 8% as the MSCI fell 11%.
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Cnooc was blacklisted by the Trump administration alongside dozens of other Chinese companies in 2021, restricting US investment and forcing its removal from US exchanges and global benchmark indexes. Former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement then that Cnooc acts as a bully for the Peoples Liberation Army to intimidate Chinas neighbors.
Portfolio Risk
Such warnings can set off a hunt for bargains by self-described contrarian investors like Bjellen.
The US executive order applies to US investors and required them to divest from named Chinese companies by Nov. 11, 2021. While the European Union has introduced some sanctions on China for human rights violations, it has refrained from US-style sanctions prohibiting its citizens from doing business with certain Chinese companies.
Norway is part of the EUs single market but is not an EU member. Bjelland buys the sanctioned companies shares in Hong Kong.
There is a risk, but we are not seeking to eliminate risk in our portfolio, Bjelland said. As an active manager, in order for us to outperform, we have to take calculated risk and we try and take risk when we are more than adequately compensated for it.
Skagen started buying Cnooc in May 2021 and since then its returned 73% in dollar terms. But Bjelland says it remains significantly undervalued. He expects the company to boost returns through production growth, cost management, and capital-allocation strategies including dividends, share buybacks and investments aligned with the energy transition.
The Cnooc trade helped Skagens emerging-market fund beat the China index and compensate for losses in Russia, Bjelland said. Bloomberg rankings show his fund has outperformed nine out of 10 peers so far this year, and it beat 81% of peers last year.
More Exposure
The funds performance over the past five years, which includes the period before it started snapping up the blacklisted Chinese stocks, was in line with the average for emerging-market equity funds with more than $1 billion in assets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
We have never had more China exposure in the fund than we did in December, said Bjelland. We were net buyers of Chinese equities in 2021 and 2022 as they got progressively cheaper from a very high level of valuation at the end of 2020.
Other Picks
Among his other top picks in emerging markets are renewable energy in Brazil, and conglomerates and banks in Korea. Bjelland says Skagen is mostly avoiding India, which along with the US was one of the worlds few markets that look expensive relative to their own history.
Blacklisted companies arent the only stocks Bjelland likes in China, either, where he says the lifting of Covid restrictions is expected to help earnings. Another company he likes is Ping An Insurance Group, which he said is positioned to capture growth because penetration for life insurance and long-term protection is still very low in the worlds most populous country.
Ping Ans shares in Hong Kong are up about 8% this year. The company lost about 65% of its value after the outbreak of Covid in January of 2020, before the stock began rallying last November.
Our strategy is to find things where theyre unpopular, they are cheap and that means that they tend to have fallen, Bjelland said. For things to fall rapidly, there needs to be someone who is giving up.
--With assistance from Jeanny Yu and Sydney Maki.
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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The remains of 28 human bodies buried at least four hundred years ago in Mexico indicate the comingling of pre-Hispanic and Catholic cultures that Spanish colonizers introduced, local researchers told Reuters.
The discovery took place during the construction of a scenic pavilion in Mexico City's Chapultepec park in February, when researchers stumbled across a cemetery from the early viceregal period of 1521 to 1620 AD.
Maria de Lourdes Lopez Camacho, the head of archeological salvage and National History Museum, said what is most striking is that, although the bodies originate from distinct populations, they were buried in the same period.
"Two burial systems are coexisting, the Christian burial and the burial in dorsal decubitus: the fetal position, on the side, with pre-Hispanic ceramic or obsidian, precisely from this Mexica or Tepaneca period," Lopez Camacho said, referring to the early viceregal period.
She added that it is possible the individuals had died from same cause.
"(The fact that) we have three levels of graves and there are a few centimeters that differentiate one level from another... tells us that there could have been one death or many deaths in a short period of time, which could tell us about an epidemic," she said.
The burials also suggest that a nearby pre-Hispanic population could have been used as a labor force for the nearby mills, the first industries the Spanish set up, the archeologist added.
Studies conducted by Mexico's Directorate of Archaeological Salvage (DSA) indicate the bodies belong to two different groups and that they had suffered from infections and diseases related to nutritional deficiency. More studies are scheduled.
Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) led the study.
(Reporting by Carlos Carillo; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Josie Kao)
Angela Davis
Angela Davis was shocked to learn that her ancestors came to America on the Mayflower, making her descendants of people who helped found the country.
The civil rights activist learned about this news during the Feb. 21 episode of PBSs Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates shows her a manifest of names, eventually revealing that the document had the names of the Mayflower passengers.
The post Angela Davis Learns She Had Ancestors On The Mayflower In Recent Finding Your Roots Episode appeared first on Blavity.
No, I cant believe this, she said, laughing through her surprise. My ancestors did not come here on the Mayflower.
When asked how she felt about the news, Davis said, Thats a little bit too much to deal with right now.
Watch the clip below. The full episode is available for streaming on PBS.
Do you know what youre looking at? That is a list of the passengers on the Mayflower. Our researchers discovered #AngelaDaviss ancestors traveled to the US on the Mayflower and here is her reaction. #FindingYourRoots pic.twitter.com/G2HhA9BSrT Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) February 22, 2023
Finding Your Roots stars Gates as he reveals to Americas icons historical stories about their family lineage. According to the description of the series, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has explored the ancestry of dozens of influential people from diverse backgrounds, taking millions of viewers deep into the past to reveal the connections that bind us all.
Past shocking stories have included Joe Manganiello finding out he actually has Black ancestry, not Italian ancestry, Don Lemon learning more about his enslaved ancestors, and Lee Daniels learning more about his uppity Black ancestors.
Finding Your Roots airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on PBS.
A professional angler and blogger says he was spying on great white sharks off the Australia coast when he realized one of the predators was intently staring back at him.
Trapman Bermagui caught the moment on his camera, and it shows the large shark was alongside his boat with its nose out and mouth open in anticipation.
A big great white spying on me ... while I was spying on him, Bermagui posted on Facebook. A little too close with the camera. ... Check out them choppers.
Bermagui also known as Jason Moyce told McClatchy News the shark paused to watch him while it was in the midst of eating a small hammerhead shark beside the boat.
The encounter took place off New South Wales in southeast Australia, where great white sharks gather in numbers to feast on squid, fish, sea birds and other sharks, according to the Australian Museum. The species can top 13 feet and live more than 40 years.
Bermagui has a history of fighting off sharks while reeling in fish, frequently sharing photos of catches that were bitten in half before he could get them in the boat.
Great whites are known to have about 50 serrated teeth in their mouth, some nearly 7 inches long, according to Oceana.
His closeup of the sharks mouth has gotten 1,000 reactions and comments since being shared Feb. 20, including some who joked the shark was waiting for his deck to get slippery. Others called the image nightmare material.
Mouth full of razor blades, Peter Windle said.
The last thing most fish see just before dinner time, Mark Davies posted.
This is awesome ... and makes me a little nervous at the same time, Shane Price wrote on Facebook.
Man catches 3 half-eaten sharks off Australia, realizes something bigger lurks below
Video shows explosive moment dolphins attacked massive school of salmon off Australia
Grotesque fish caught off Australia ignites debate. Put it back in its space ship
One study found PFAS in Florida's manatees. James R.D. Scott/Getty Images
Animals, birds, and fish across the planet are contaminated with forever chemicals, a new report found.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose health risks to humans, and could also harm animals.
A map of 125 peer-reviewed studies reveals the widespread contamination of wildlife on Earth.
Animals are contaminated with hazardous forever chemicals on every continent except Antarctica, according to a new report.
Creatures ranging from tigers and polar bears, to red pandas and voles, to plankton in the sea, are likely accumulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by eating fish, drinking water, or simply breathing air, and it could put them at risk.
PFAS can be found in tons of manufactured goods, from food packaging and clothing, to firefighting foam and (formerly) Teflon pans.
Though they're useful for resisting water, heat, and stains, PFAS do not break down in the environment, earning them the "forever chemicals" nickname.
Rainfall and soil across the planet may contain unsafe levels of the substances.
A red panda cub photographed in Seattle, Washington. In China, these animals have been found to contain PFAS. Elaine Thompson/AP
That has led to widespread contamination of living creatures, according to a report published Wednesday by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit specializing in research and advocacy on household chemicals.
Researchers there gathered 125 peer-reviewed studies that tested wildlife for PFAS over the last five years. Not a single study in the assessment failed to detect PFAS in the animals, birds, or fish tested, according to David Andrews, a senior scientist at EWG.
Locations where PFAS-contaminated wildlife have been documented. Copyright Environmental Working Group, www.ewg.org. Reproduced with permission.
Many of the studies were testing near a known PFAS site, such as a firefighting base or industrial facility.
But often, Andrews said, those studies couldn't find an uncontaminated animal population to serve as a control group a baseline far from the site for comparison.
"This is really a global contamination issue, and it's likely impacting wildlife everywhere," he told Insider.
Wildlife worldwide struggle against habitat loss, climate change, and sometimes poaching. The new report suggests that contamination from forever chemicals may pose yet another threat to many species' survival.
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PFAS could pose a threat to animals' health
Polar bears in the Arctic also had PFAS in a study. Mathieu Belanger/Reuters
The impacts of PFAS on animals' health are not well-studied, but for humans, research has linked exposure to the chemicals with some cancers, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, developmental delays, liver damage, high cholesterol, and reduced immune responses.
As a result, the US Environmental Protection Agency has deemed the two most notorious PFAS as "hazardous substances" and is working on rules for reducing their presence in drinking water.
Andrews fears animals across the globe could face similar health risks to PFAS-drinking humans.
Some research hints at this. One study in North Carolina found alligators with high blood levels of PFAS showed signs of weakened immune systems.
An alligator swallows a catfish, which could be full of PFAS. Getty Images
More research is needed to understand the stakes.
Just as studies in rats can't predict human health outcomes, studies in alligators can't predict polar bear health outcomes.
"There's definitely some uncertainty and likely some variation between species in terms of how these chemicals are causing harm," Andrews said. "That is also a unique aspect of these chemicals: how many different parts of the body and our biology they can impact and cause harm to."
Phasing out forever chemicals is a slow process so far
US Environmental Protection Agency officials listen to members of the public comment during a PFAS Community Stakeholder Meeting, in Horsham, Pennsylvania. AP Photo/Matt Rourke
US manufacturers have already phased out a few PFAS, but many of the thousands of varieties are still in use. Andrews called for replacing them with alternative substances.
At the same time, industrial facilities are burping PFAS into the air and leaking them into waterways. Cleaning up these emission sites is key to stopping more forever chemicals from building in the environment.
Last month the European Union released a proposal to ban the production, sale, and use of 10,000 PFAS. The proposal is currently under assessment.
In the US, the EPA expects to publish a national drinking-water regulation for PFAS by the end of 2023, including an enforceable maximum contamination limit.
"It will take regulatory action to move the entire market and country away from dependence on these chemicals," Andrews said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Editors Note: This article was commissioned by Voxeurop and republished by the Kyiv Independent with permission. The original published article may be found on Voxeurop's website. 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.
Just two weeks before the most dramatic escalation of Russia's war against Ukraine in February 2022, colleagues from the Slovak think tank GLOBSEC asked me and other experts in the field to provide a short commentary on possible scenarios of the Russian aggression.
Readers will recall that, at that time, American and British leaders informed by the intelligence provided by their agencies were actively engaged in raising awareness among allies of Russian preparations for a massive attack against Ukraine, and, simultaneously, in attempts to dissuade the Russian leadership from implementing their malign intentions.
As Russia was amassing dozens of thousands of troops on the borders with Ukraine, I, like many other Europeans, hoped that Moscows sabre-rattling was not serious, and believed that although we could not dismiss the possibility of further Russian invasion of Ukraine, such a development was still the least likely scenario.
Those hopes and beliefs were underpinned by a rationalism that insisted that the Kremlins fear of crippling Western sanctions would convince the Russian leadership to think twice before making further incursions into Ukraines territory after several years of a low-intensity conflict in Russian-occupied parts of eastern Ukraine.
The same rationalism also maintained that Moscow would find it difficult to pay the incredibly high human cost of the escalation.
Moscow's 'moral concerns'
But that rationalism was in conflict with yet another, equally legitimate rationalism that renounced the well-minded considerations about Moscows presumed economic sobriety and moral concerns, and persisted that everything we knew about the Putin regime pointed at the inevitability of the Russian military escalation in Ukraine.
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Why would anyone doubt that rationalism inquired the worst intentions of Moscow after it unlawfully and in violation of all international norms annexed Ukraines Crimea in 2014?
Why would anyone believe Russias assurances that it was not going to invade Ukraine after it lied about pretty much everything it had been doing in Ukraine since 2014?
The failure of practical rationalism to foresee the bloodiest war in Europe since the Second World War and the triumph of empirical rationalism but, perhaps most importantly, the sheer scale of the tragedy of the Russian invasion opened up a way of looking at socio-political developments in Russia before Feb. 24, 2022, through the perspective of what happened afterward.
When the Russian authorities impoverished distant Russian regions, driving people living there to destitution, were they not building a pool of socially desperate volunteers for the war against Ukraine?
When they encouraged producing films, books, and shows that derided the Ukrainian nation as a devious and treacherous people, and vilified Ukrainians proud of their national identity as backward fascists, were they not striving to facilitate future Russian war crimes in Ukraine through their dehumanizing efforts?
When they methodically eliminated through intimidation, imprisonment, and murder independent media, civil society, and political opposition, were they not preemptively destroying any sizable anti-war movement in Russia?
When they turned Russian prisons and colonies into a monstrous behemoth of torture, degradation and inhumanity, were not they creating the future cadre for cannon fodder to be used by the Wagner Group mercenaries and other Russian state-affiliated terrorist organizations?
When they fostered distrust among their citizens through sexism, hate, and normalization of domestic violence, were not they getting the Russian population ready to be turned into an obedient, alienated, and hopeless mass of people who would continue serving the civilian engines of the Russian war machine?
Black history class photos
Emmitt Glynn (background) teaches AP African American studies to a group of Baton Rouge Magnet High School students on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023 in Baton Rouge, La. Credit - Stephen SmithAP
When it came time for Emmitt Glynn to teach the lesson on the Black Panthers in his AP African American Studies class, he says he was overcome with fear walking into his classroom at Baton Rouge Magnet High School on Feb. 17fear that what happened in that class would be misconstrued by the outside world.
The school has been fielding so many media requests about Glynns class that administrators set up a day for the press to come see the curriculum in action.
Baton Rouge Magnet High is one of 60 pilot schools testing out the College Boards newest Advanced Placement course, which is designed to offer college-level instruction to high school students. Glynn was worried about the reaction to one element of the AP African American Studies classs lesson on civil rights history: having students read the Black Panthers Ten-Point Program. Required reading for the course, the 1966 document demanded equal opportunities for housing, the end of police brutality, and the release of Black people from jails because they didnt get fair and impartial trials.
The lesson came about a month after the Florida Department of Education rejected the AP African American Studies class and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called it indoctrination. Shortly after, it was revealed that the agency asked the College Board last fall, Does the course promote Black Panther thinking? The Black Panthers have been long smeared as violent and communist.
I really struggled, Glynn says, describing what was going through his head prior to the class. Ive never experienced something like that in my teaching in 29 years, having to feel I had to take careful steps with a subject because it might make people upset.
The class also happened to fall on the same day that local reporters, including TV news crews, came to interview Glynn and some of his students about the class. Reporters didnt see that part of the lesson, but instead saw Glynn teach about Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter From Birmingham Jail. The subsequent coverage resulted in no local scandal in Louisianas capital city and no national controversy.
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Glynns press conference is perhaps an extreme example of how AP African American Studies teachers say theyre working hard to prevent the controversy over the class from disrupting their students education. Teachers from Texas to New England tell TIME that they cant ignore the news around AP African American Studies.
Many say, though, that DeSantiss objections to the course have only made their students more engaged. Austin Sparks, who is teaching the class in the Cleveland area, turned the controversy into a teachable moment. He and his students discussed parallels between Floridas decision to ban the course, and lessons they had already covered, including material they previously covered, like Jim Crow laws, which legalized racial discrimination. Students were throwing up their hands left and right, making connections to what weve learned so far about the fight for equal educational opportunities for Black Americans, Sparks says.
Two schools in Florida stopped the pilot mid-year after DeSantis spoke out against the class in mid-January. The course is more than a decade in the making, but launched in the fall of 2021 in large part as a response to the murder of George Floyd, so that high school students wouldnt have to wait until college to learn about police brutality and other issues affecting the Black community in historical context. In the second phase of the pilot program, slated for next year, students will have the opportunity to earn college credit for the course if they pass the Advanced Placement test.
Read more: What Its Really Like Inside One of Floridas AP African American Studies Classes
However, academics have questioned why the final course framework, released Feb. 1, does not include Black scholars who were listed as required reading in previous draftsfigures like Kimberle Crenshaw, a godmother of the concept of intersectionality, the way of looking at discrimination based on how racial and gender identities overlap. But some teachers say its hard enough to get through the immense amount of required course content as is. As another Baton Rouge-area pilot teacher Malcolm Reed put it, The whole story of the African-American experience cant be taught in a school year.
The College Board says it should have clarified that the final framework is only an outline, and it will allow the high school teachers to incorporate many different scholarly voices. The New York-based education nonprofit, which also runs the SAT college entrance exam, apologized in a Feb. 11 statement for not immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Educations slander that AP African American Studies lacks educational value and not making it clear that it had been in contact with Florida Department of Education officials over the last year regarding the course approval process.
Read more: African-American History Finally Gets Its Own AP Class
Thirty civil rights groups signed a letter calling on the College Board CEO David Coleman to step down. Ena Thulin, who is teaching the class in Marthas Vineyard, Mass., says, I do think the timing was bad in terms of the College Boards decision to publish the final framework right after Florida sent the course back for revisions. Shes glad that the College Board publicly acknowledged that they probably should have pushed back harder against what was happening in Florida.
Nelva Williamson, who is teaching the class in Houston, Texasone of the 18 states with laws designed to restrict how the history of racism is taught in K-12 schoolspredicts that even if a state tries to ban AP African American Studies, theres so much publicity around it now that the resources will just be made available to students in another way. In that case, the class just goes underground, meaning that the class is still taught, its taught by another title, and select students are involved in the course, she argues. Educators might say, OK, I only want to teach Black kids because theyre not gonna tell on me. And that would be unfortunate because I think this history is for everyone to know.
Read more: The Real Reason Florida Wants to Ban AP African-American Studies, According to an Architect of the Course
Yet, questions persist among the nations first AP African American Studies students about what the Florida controversy means for them. Lamont Simmons, a teacher in New Orleans, says he recently had to reassure his students that they dont have to worry about the class getting canceled. My students were like, Is our class in jeopardy? I told them no. He believes there are real-world consequences to not being able to offer this kind of in-depth Black history class. We have a lot of crime going on, a lot of poverty, and that disconnection from history is part of the reason, he argues. He found student participation was highest during the lessons about African kingdoms. As he put it, if Black high school students dont learn about Black history before slavery, your perception of yourself is limited.
Despite his nerves, Glynn in Baton Rouge is going to keep his doors to his AP African American Studies class open. Hes invited parents to come and observe anytime, and a local pastor approached him about designing a similar course for his churchgoers. Im not gonna be intimidated, he says.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Free agent outfielder Ben Gamel has agreed to a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the team had not announced the agreement, which was pending completion of a physical.
The deal was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, which said the contract was being finalized.
Gamel, who turns 31 on May 17, will be given a chance to compete for a spot on the major league roster in spring training. He hit .232 with nine home runs and 46 RBIs in 115 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2022.
The one-time Yankees prospect is a .253 career hitter with 40 homers and 198 RBIs over portions of seven seasons with New York, Seattle, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The left-handed hitters most productive year was 2017, when he batted .275 with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs in 134 games with the Mariners.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
U.S. President Joe Biden, joined by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Former Rep. George Miller, one of the architects of the HEROES Act of 2003, wrote an opinion piece supporting Biden's student-debt relief.
He argued that it "could hardly be clearer" that the HEROES Act permits broad loan forgiveness.
He pushed back on the former GOP lawmakers who opposed the debt relief's legality.
One of the architects of the law President Joe Biden is using to cancel student debt once again wants you to know that he thinks loan forgiveness is legal.
Former Democratic Rep. George Miller helped construct the HEROES Act of 2003, which gives the Education Secretary the ability to waive or modify student-loan balances in connection with a national emergency. Miller wrote in a Wednesday opinion piece in The Washington Post that Biden's loan forgiveness falls exactly within what the law permits.
In November, Miller wrote an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court explaining his position as to why Biden's debt relief is legal, and while former Republican lawmakers also wrote a brief on why they oppose Biden's usage of the HEROES Act, Miller said that "they certainly don't speak for every member of Congress who voted for the law undergirding Biden's plan."
"That language could hardly be clearer," Miller wrote.
"'Statutory or regulatory provision[s]' regarding federal student-loan programs include the rules or regulations that would ordinarily require borrowers to pay their loan balances," he continued. "By giving officials the authority to 'waive' those requirements in connection with a national emergency, Congress empowered officials to say that those requirements no longer apply that borrowers no longer need to pay off the debt they owe."
Republican lawmakers and the conservative groups who have filed briefs opposing Biden's relief argued that the president cannot continue relying on COVID-19 to enact relief, and that any broad loan forgiveness should require Congressional approval. But even after Biden declared that the national emergency declaration will be ending in May, a White House official previously told Insider that the HEROES Act can still be used for student-debt cancellation because the relief is intended to help borrowers continue to recover from the financial impacts of the pandemic, which can be long-lasting.
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Miller said that while experts might disagree on what relief is needed to recover from a national emergency, "it's the exact type of assessment that the Heroes Act empowers the education secretary to make."
"Sure, Congress could have gone farther by requiring the Education Department to relieve student debt," Miller said.
"But instead, we gave education officials the flexibility to decide what waivers or modifications would best protect borrowers who were affected by national emergencies," he added. "Instead of constraining the education secretary's options, as my former colleagues argue, we deliberately kept those options open."
Miller is among the many advocates, legal experts, and Democratic lawmakers who have voiced support for the administration's use of the HEROES Act. Still, conservative groups flooded the Supreme Court docket to oppose the relief, and some Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation over the past few weeks to block Biden from canceling any student debt in connection with a national emergency.
The former GOP lawmakers Miller referenced wrote in their brief, for example, that "Congress did not, and surely could not, have ever expected the Act to be misused and distorted by the Department in the policy now before this Court."
Biden's administration has continued to express confidence in its authority and now it's up to the Supreme Court to weigh the question of legality during oral arguments for the two cases that have blocked Biden's relief on February 28.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said last month that "student loan borrowers from all walks of life suffered profound financial harms during the pandemic and their continued recovery and successful repayment hinges on the Biden Administration's student debt relief plan. We will continue to defend our legal authority to provide the debt relief working and middle-class families clearly need and deserve."
Read the original article on Business Insider
Five environmental workers on their way to help following a metal plant explosion in Ohio were killed as a small plane crashed near the Clinton National Airport in Arkansas, say officials.
The Little Rock Police Department say that a twin-engine plane went down in an area between the citys airport and the 3M Little Rock plant on Wednesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that the plane was a twin-engine BE20 departing the airport for John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio.
The FAA stated that the plane had five people on board, and deputies at the scene said there were no survivors found, reported KARK.
All five people killed in the accident worked for consulting firm CTEH, which provides response services, including environmental data collection, and management, GIS, safety, incident management, industrial hygiene, toxicology and human health consulting for the public and private sectors.
We are incredibly saddened to report the loss of our Little Rock colleagues, said Dr Paul Nony, senior vice president of CTEH.
We ask everyone to keep the families of those lost and the entire CTEH team in their thoughts and prayers.
The employees had been on their way to help deal with the fatal metal plant explosion that took place earlier this week in Bedford, Ohio.
A company spokesperson confirmed to KARK that the team was travelling to the Schumann and Company Metals Plant where one person was killed on Monday.
The area near the airport saw strong wind gusts around the time of the crash, according to Arkansas Storm Team meteorologist Pat Walker, who said there were winds of up to 46mph.
The FAA and NTSB will investigate the crash and determine what caused it.
Key Points
Pilot and passengers all worked for same consulting company
Bill & Hillary Clinton National Airport comments on crash
Arkansas plane crash
Wednesday 22 February 2023 22:26 , Graeme Massie
Good afternoon, this is a live blog covering a plane crash in Little Rock, Arkansas, that officials say killed five people.
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Bill & Hillary Clinton National Airport comments on crash
00:31 , Graeme Massie
Shane Carter, the Director of Public Affairs & Government Relations for the Bill & Hillary Clinton National Airport, released a statement on the crash on Wednesday afternoon.
Clinton National Airport expresses our condolences to the families of those who died in todays plane crash south of the airport. The Pulaski County Sheriffs Office is the lead agency coordinating with the National Transportation Safety Board and will be providing updates.
Five people killed as small plane crashes near Arkansass Clinton National Airport, say officials
03:01 , Graeme Massie
Five people killed as small plane crashes near Arkansass Clinton National Airport
Pilot and passengers all worked for same consulting company
05:01 , Graeme Massie
All five people killed in the accident worked for consulting firm CTEH, which provides response services, including environmental data collection, and management, GIS, safety, incident management, industrial hygiene, toxicology and human health consulting for the public and private sectors.
We are incredibly saddened to report the loss of our Little Rock colleagues, said Dr Paul Nony, senior vice president of CTEH.
We ask everyone to keep the families of those lost and the entire CTEH team in their thoughts and prayers.
Little Rock Police say plane was twin-engined one
07:01 , Graeme Massie
Here is the incident CTEH employees were on their way to help with
09:01 , Graeme Massie
Huge explosion at Ohio metal factory kills one and injures at least 13
Arkansas weatherman says significant wind near airport at time of crash
11:02 , Graeme Massie
Arkansas Storm Team meteorologist Pat Walker said on Twitter that there was a gust of 46mph around the time of the accident.
If you've ever traveled overseas, you might have experienced the unique dilemma of finding your favorite product in store.
But what about the reverse, ever been on the search for a favorite product found overseas only to find traditional United States grocery chains lacking?
Maybe you have friends or family from another country that mentioned or brought with them a treat or snack and you want to find it again, or perhaps you're planning to host an international guest and want to make them feel more at home. You might be surprised to learn there are more than two dozen international markets in the Oklahoma City metro.
Some of these markets, like Super Cao Nguyen, are well-known throughout the community and have been around for decades. Others, like Afghan Halal Food Market, the city's newest international store and its first Afghan market, opened to fill a specific need.
Owner Sayed Muhammad also has a store in Texas and said that as refugees began arriving in Oklahoma from Afghanistan, they were driving to that location to find the goods they were looking for. It quickly became clear there was a need for another store.
Afghan Halal Food Market is one of the city's newest international grocery suppliers, at 2903 NW 36th Street in Oklahoma City.
More:Afghan refugees adjust to Oklahoma, overcoming hurdles, finding freedom
"They just moved to a new country which 95% of everything is different than what they had back home," Muhammad said. "Culture, traditions, other stuff, the meals, how they are living, how they are working when they see the store we have here, they really feel like they are back home."
While traditional Afghan clothes, sandals, food, housewares and more can be found in other places throughout the United States, they are hard to come by in Oklahoma. Muhammad said opening his store also removed a language barrier for those who are struggling with learning English after abruptly uprooting their lives.
"First, they cannot find what they're looking for. Second thing, even if they need something, it's very hard for them to have to ask the cashiers or have to ask customer service to help out with it because they can't speak English at all," he said.
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Sweis Pita Bakery and International Market offers a selection of goods from the Middle East and Mediterranean regions as well as some European products at 2115 N May Ave. in Oklahoma City.
More:Language, cultural differences remain big adjustments for Afghans, sponsors say
Muhammad said as important as it is for Afghan people to have access to a market like his, the experience is also important for Americans.
"For American people, if they are trying to try different foods, different stuff from any other foreign countries, they can get it from here," he said. "That way they can experience what they have and they can compare it with the American meals and stuff."
Looking for a specific item or just want to check out some of the international flavor offerings of the Oklahoma City metro area? Try visiting any of the markets below, grouped by global region, and as an added bonus, many of these markets include small restaurants or eateries inside.
1. South Asian and Middle Eastern markets (including halal)
India Bazaar is a grocery store and halal market at 3607 N Portland Ave in Oklahoma City.
One of the major aspects of south Asian and Middle Eastern markets is the observance of halal practices, particularly regarding the slaughtering of meat. Halal is an Arabic word which translates to "lawful or permitted," according to the American Halal Foundation. Meat must be prepared according to these standards in order to be consumed by those who practice Islam and only halal food should be used to prepare meals for Muslim guests.
Afghan Halal Food Market , 2903 NW 36th St., 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily.
India Bazaar , 3607 N Portland Ave., 10:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily.
Farah Mart , 3700 N Portland Ave., 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. Monday - Saturday; 8 a.m. -10 p.m. Sunday
Halal Mart , 3718 NW 50th St., 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday - Saturday; Noon - 7 p.m. Sunday
Spices of India , 3810 NW 39th St., 10:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Monday - Saturday; 10:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday
Halal Market: Med Mart (Mediterranean Mart) , 3925 N MacArthur Blvd., Warr Acres, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday - Thursday; 10 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 10:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday
Sabri Foods Grocery & Halal Restaurant, 13 E Fourth St., Edmond, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. daily.
Can food cure high medical bills?Pilot 'food as medicine' programs aim to prove just that.
2. Latin and Hispanic markets
The Supermercados Morelos at 621 N Moore Ave. in Moore, Okla. is one of the Oklahoma-based chains five metro locations.
It is estimated that roughly 20% of Oklahoma City's population identified as Hispanic, according to census data, and Oklahoma City Public Schools lists it's students population as 54% Hispanic. With the city's Hispanic population expected to continue to thrive, it's no surprise that the number of Latin and Hispanic markets also continue to grow. These markets carry many of the same products you might find in U.S. supermarkets but also have the added bonus of aisles stocked with spices, chiles, canned and baked goods, produce, drinks and meat you might find in the countries of Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and beyond. Meats are often sold pre-seasoned or marinated in spice blends for tacos and other preparations.
Supermercados Morelos , five metro locations, including Moore, 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily.
La Michoacana , multiple metro locations, 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily.
Carniceria Jalisco , 4300 S May Ave., 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily.
Feria Latina Supermarket , two locations - 4909 SW 23rd St., 6 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. daily.; and 1645 SW 47th St., 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily.
El Patron Super Market , 2121 W Hefner Road, The Village, 7 a.m. - 8:50 p.m. daily.
Mi Pequeno Mexican Market, 3142 Waterloo Circle, Edmond, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday - Friday; 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
More:Once an oasis in a food desert, prices are driving away customers Homeland sought to serve
3. Eastern and Southeastern Asian markets
These markets carry a wide variety of Asian foods, including ingredients commonly used in Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and other cuisines from the east and southeast Asian diaspora. Things you may find in these markets include fruits and vegetables native to various Asian countries dried, preserved and fresh a plethora of spices, noodles and rice, and other culturally specific meals and foods. Live and freshly butchered fish are common in east and southeast Asian markets.
OK KO-Mart is an Asian market with a number of items commonly found in southeast and east Asian cuisine at 6000 SE 15th Street in Midwest City, Okla.
Super Cao Nguyen , 2668 N Military Ave., 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. daily.
Chinatown Supermarket , 1228 NW 27th St., 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday - Thursday; 9 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
OK KO-Mart Oriental Foods, 6000 SE 15th St., Midwest City, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday - Saturday; 12:30 - 6 p.m. Sunday.
4. African markets
Grace International Store is an African market at 1036 N Flood Ave. in Norman, Okla.
The metro's African markets offer a variety of goods for those looking to channel the flavors of predominantly sub-Saharan African countries. These markets may feature foods seen in both eastern and western African countries, including staples of Nigerian, Ethiopian, Ghanaian, Kenyan cuisine and more.
Mama Zs African Market , 4534 NW 16th St., 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday - Saturday; 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Sunday.
Aseda International Grocery , 8960 S Western Ave., 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday; 1 - 7 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday.
Grace International Store , 1036 N Flood Ave., Norman, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday - Saturday; closed Sunday.
Makola Market , 2425 N Classen Blvd., 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday - Saturday; closed Sunday.
Star Super Market, 6712 NW 23rd St., Bethany, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday - Saturday; 1 - 7 p.m. Sunday.
5. Other markets
European Store Oklahoma offers foods from Germany, Ukraine, Poland and more at 3604 N May Ave. in Oklahoma City.
In addition to the markets above, there are some markets in the Oklahoma City metro area that simply need a category of their own. They range from a huge grocery store on Penn Avenue that began by selling Asian items and now terms itself "international" because it carries a variety from across the globe to a few smaller stores on May Avenue that sell goods from multiple countries, one simply calling itself European. In these stores, you'll find a variety of goods from places ranging from Britain to Russia and Iceland to Israel.
Mediterranean Imports & Deli offers a variety of global goods at 5620 N May Ave. in Oklahoma City.
European Store Oklahoma , 3604 N May Ave., 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday; 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday.
Sweis Pita Bakery & International Market , 2115 N May Ave., 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday - Saturday; closed Sunday.
Mediterranean Imports Deli & Gastro Goods, 5620 N May Ave., 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday - Saturday; closed Sunday.
World Fresh International Market, 10700 S Pennsylvania Ave., 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Find Mexican, African, Asian grocery stores and more in OKC
Feb. 21Attorneys for the man accused of killing 10 people at a King Soopers in south Boulder two years ago have filed an objection to the forensic neuropsychological evaluation requested by prosecutors.
Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 23, is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, 47 counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, 10 counts of felony possession of a prohibited large capacity magazine, and 47 crime of violence sentence enhancers.
Alissa was declared incompetent to proceed in December 2021, and has been undergoing treatment ever since at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo. At a hearing on Jan. 27, doctors again said Alissa was not competent to proceed but maintained he could be restored with further treatment.
But in a motion filed by prosecutors on Feb. 2, the Boulder County District Attorney asked for a examination by a forensic neuropsychological evaluation due to concerns that the symptoms doctors cited as evidence Alissa was not competent to assist in his own defense were not due to a mental illness but to an unwillingness to participate in the court and treatment process.
Defense attorneys for Alissa filed an objection to the request on Thursday, noting that four psychologists have all found Alissa incompetent to proceed, with no mental health professional ever issuing a differing opinion.
The objection notes that all four psychologists have also diagnosed Alissa with schizophrenia.
"While the prosecution's motion does seek a court order regarding 'additional information,' the prosecution requests much more than information," the motion read. "Rather, it seeks unprecedented direct access to Mr. Alissa to create information through its hand-selected agents."
Defense attorneys stated there is no case law that supports compelling Alissa to undergo such an exam, and said that a restoration hearing was not an opportunity for the attorneys to question doctors about why Alissa was not being restored within "the prosecution's preferred timeline."
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"There is no constitutional or statutory support for conducting a restoration hearing when the accused is in restoration therapy, and doctors believe there is a substantial probability that the accused will be restored to competency within the reasonably foreseeable future," the motion read.
Defense attorneys also argued that a forensic neuropsychological evaluation was not designed to evaluate a person with a thought disorder such as schizophrenia, or to provide information as to competency.
They also noted that Alissa's condition makes it unlikely he could even go through with such an examination.
"A neuropsychological battery of tests takes seven to eight hours of attentive effort on testing. The patient has to focus and perform tasks and put forth optimal cognitive effort in order for the testing results to be valid," the motion read. "Mr. Alissa cannot engage in conversation that lasts more than a few minutes and there is no way he will be able to get through a neuropsychological examination and obtain valid results because he remains so profoundly sick."
Boulder Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke has yet to rule on the examination. Alissa's next scheduled hearing is April 28.
According to an arrest affidavit, police were called to the King Soopers at 3600 Table Mesa Drive at 2:40 p.m. March 22, 2021, for a report of an armed man who had shot a person in a vehicle in the store's parking lot and was inside the store.
Eric Talley, a 51-year-old Boulder police officer, was the first to arrive on scene and was shot and killed. Police said Alissa fired at other responding officers before one of the responding officers shot Alissa in the leg.
Alissa later surrendered to police. Police found weapons and tactical body armor at the scene, according to the affidavit.
In addition to Talley, Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Teri Leiker, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65, were killed in the shooting.
By Karen Lema
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines and Australia on Wednesday discussed pursuing joint patrols in the South China Sea, days after the Southeast Asian country held similar talks with the United States on the need to counter China's assertiveness in the strategic waterway.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles met with Philippine counterpart Carlito Galvez in Manila, something they said they plan to do yearly to deepen their security ties.
"We did talk today about the possibility of exploring joint patrols and we will continue that work and we hope that comes to fruition soon," Marles said at a joint news conference.
"As countries which are committed to the global rules-based order, it is natural that we should think about ways in which we can cooperate in this respect."
With some overlapping maritime claims, the Philippines is ramping up its attempts to counter what it describes as China's "aggressive activities" in the South China Sea, which has also become a flashpoint for Chinese and U.S. tensions around naval operation.
On Tuesday, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) aircraft flew over the South China Sea, as part of efforts to boost its presence in contested waters and protect what it says is its maritime territory.
In a statement, the PCG said it saw a Chinese coast guard vessel and dozens of what it suspected were boats manned by Chinese militia around the Second Thomas and Sabina Shoals, both of which are inside the Philippines' 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
The PCG ordered the suspected militia to leave, telling them "they were not authorised to loiter nor swarm these shoals."
China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The possibility of the Philippines and Australia holding joint patrols comes on the heels of similar discussions between Manila and Washington about conducting joint coast guard patrols, including in the South China Sea.
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Military ties between Australia and the Philippines date back to 1922 and the two nations have an agreement on visiting forces that provides a legal and operational framework for defence activities.
Galvez on Tuesday had a call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin where they discussed resumption of combined maritime activities in the South China Sea, according to a Pentagon statement.
They talked about "concerning developments" including a Feb. 6 incident in which China's coast guard directed a military-grade laser at the crew of a Philippine coast guard vessel around Second Thomas Shoal.
China has said the Philippines' account did not reflect the truth and that its actions were legal.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Ed Davies, Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin Petty)
CANBERRA (Reuters) - China issued threats and trade restrictions against 19 countries between 2020 and 2022, with Australia the top target of such "coercive diplomacy", a report by an Australian security think tank said on Wednesday.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute report said China's tactic had "mixed success" in changing the policies of target governments and was not successful against Australia, instead highlighting the nation's resilience.
"Most governments have stood firm, but some have acquiesced. Undeniably, the tactics are harming certain businesses, challenging sovereign decision-making and weakening economic security," the report said.
The institute's report examined what it said were 73 "coercive PRC actions" recorded between 2020 and 2022, of which 21 were taken against Australia, 11 actions against Lithuania, and eight against Taiwan. Forty per cent of these actions were trade restrictions.
Europe was the most targeted by region, it said, with 35 actions taken or 47% of cases.
"The dominance of these tactics reflects the PRC's abuse of its global trading power and its exploitation of state-controlled media and 'wolf-warrior diplomacy'," it said.
China's embassy in Australia did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the ASPI report.
The Albanese government, elected in May, has sought to stabilise relations with Beijing and said it wants to resume exports to China that were hit by "trade blockages" imposed by Beijing during a years-long diplomatic dispute.
Australia has, however, not changed its policy on China.
On Tuesday the former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the nation's foreign interference laws introduced in 2018 were designed to expose China's activities, but were not working.
Australia's spy chief said in a speech the nation was experiencing unprecedented levels of foreign interference.
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The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's (ASIO) director general of security, Mike Burgess, criticised business people, academics and bureaucrats in Australia who he said had urged the intelligence agency to "ease up" to "avoid upsetting foreign regimes".
Albanese said on Wednesday that ASIO had his government's support "in all of their actions".
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Sonali Paul)
A Ukrainian soldier fires toward Russian positions outside Bakhmut, Ukraine, on November 8. Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images
The average life expectancy of a front-line soldier in eastern Ukraine is four hours, a Marine said.
He said fighting was especially deadly in the war-torn city of Bakhmut, dubbed "the meat grinder."
Ukraine has resisted Russian advances on the city ahead of the war's anniversary.
The average life expectancy of a front-line soldier in eastern Ukraine is just four hours, a retired US Marine fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region told ABC News.
"It's been pretty bad on the ground, a lot of casualties. The life expectancy is around four hours on the front line," Troy Offenbecker, the American fighter, said.
Eastern Ukraine's war-torn city of Bakhmut has been the site of some of the bloodiest fighting since Russia's invasion of its neighbor began almost one year ago. The battle for the city, which had a prewar population of about 73,000 people, is the longest-running of the war.
Fighting in Bakhmut is so bad, Offenbecker said, that it's been dubbed "the meat grinder." In early January, a senior US military official described combat in and around this town, which appears to have limited strategic significance to both Russia and Ukraine, as "really severe and savage."
"You're talking about thousands upon thousands of artillery rounds that have been delivered between both sides," the official said at the time. "In many cases, you know, you're looking at, you know, several thousand artillery rounds in a day that are being exchanged."
Bakhmut has been a major target for Russian offensive forces, which include both its regular military and the notorious Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked mercenary organization. Russia has been under "increasing political pressure" to claim some victories ahead of the anniversary of the invasion, according to a Monday intelligence update from Britain's Defense Ministry.
"It is likely that Russia will claim that Bakhmut has been captured to align with the anniversary, regardless of the reality on the ground," the update said.
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Bakhmut, which is in Ukraine's occupied Donetsk region, has been besieged by Russian forces throughout much of the war. Late last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it had been reduced to "burned ruins."
Despite a months-long attempt by Russian forces to encircle the city, Ukrainian troops have provided a stiff defense that has prevented the Russians from capturing it. Meanwhile, Western intelligence estimates that Russia may have suffered as many as 200,000 casualties while fighting in Ukraine, including up to 60,000 troops killed.
"They have, in some categories, lost more than half of their military equipment in this war, and more than a million of the brightest and best Russians have left the country," Victoria Nuland, the US undersecretary of state for political affairs, said earlier this week. "So what is this war bringing the average Russian? Nothing."
Read the original article on Business Insider
Oleh Mudrak, commander of the 1st Battalion of the Azov Regiment, who was brought back from Russian captivity in September 2022, has died.
Source: Oleh Mudrak's nephew Danylo on his Instagram and in a comment for Suspilne national broadcaster
Details: Danylo Mudrak did not disclose the cause of his uncles death.
Oleh Mudrak had spent six months in Russian captivity and survived the Russian terrorist attack in the Olenivka prisoners of war (PoW) camp.
He was the commander of the 1st Battalion of the Azov Regiment. Mudrak defended Mariupol back in 2014 and Azovstal steelworks after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started.
Oleh Mudrak was taken prisoner of war by Russia after Ukrainian forces had left Azovstal. In September, he was brought back to Ukraine as a part of PoW exchange.
Suspilne posted a video message that Oleh Mudrak recorded to his nephew after the start of the full-scale invasion.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Amid the devastation caused by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, one story has offered a glimmer of hope: A baby girl was rescued after being born beneath the rubble of her family's building.
The story of the infant has touched numerous hearts, with many offering to adopt her and now, she has a new home with the uncle who helped save her life.
The baby was born in Jinderis, Syria, sometime after a disastrous 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the region on Feb. 6. Her entire immediate family including her mother, father, four siblings and an aunt died, according to AFP.
It was only when rescuers were looking to identify the bodies of her family that they heard her cry. Among those searching through the rubble was the baby's uncle Khalil al-Sawadi, who told the Associated Press that he had rushed over after the quake and was digging through the rubble when they heard the infant.
Khalil al-Sawadi holds Afraa, a baby girl who was born under the rubble caused by an earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey, in the town of Jinderis, Aleppo province, Syria. / Credit: Ghaith Alsayed / AP
When they found her, she was still attached to her mother, prompting al-Sawadi to grab a razor he had in his pocket and use it to cut the umbilical cord, he told the AP. After attempting to take her to two hospitals that said they were too full for more patients, they finally got her the care she needed at a children's hospital.
Hani Marouf, the pediatrician who was helping care for the baby at the hospital, said that when she initially arrived, she was "in such a bad state."
"She had bumps, bruises, she was cold and barely breathing," Marouf told the AP. "Had the girl been left for an hour more, she would have died."
It was there that officials gave the baby a name, Aya, which is Arabic for "a sign from God," according to the AP. Her story soon made headlines, and it wasn't long before offers to adopt the infant started pouring in. The manager of the hospital where the baby was being treated told the BBC that he had gotten many calls from people seeing if they could take her in.
CBS News shared the baby's story on TikTok, where one person said, "I would love to adopt that baby since she has no family left." Another said, "If she has no family I will take her. She melts my heart."
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Al-Sawadi renamed her Afraa, the same name that was held by her birth mother who died in the earthquake. Al-Sawadi, his wife and their six children are staying with family in Jinderis as their own home was also destroyed in the earthquake, the AP said, but they are eager to bring her in. One of their children was born just days after Afraa.
"She is one of my children now. I will not differentiate between her and my children," Al-Sawadi told the outlet. "She will be dearer than my children because she will keep the memory alive of her father, mother and siblings. ... I will raise her in a way that she will not feel in need for anything."
Afraa's family are among thousands who have died in the earthquake and its aftermath. Their Jinderis home was one of dozens of buildings that were destroyed, the AP said. The death toll is nearing 45,000 people, making the disaster one of the deadliest earthquake incidents of the 21st century and the deadliest in more than a decade.
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Britney Spears attends the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)
Britney Spears is once again asking fans not to contact the police based on her social media presence or lack thereof.
On Tuesday, the pop musician shared an Instagram video showing off some new dresses that just arrived and speaking in a fake accent. It's unclear whether Spears was doing an impression of a European accent or using an effect to alter her voice.
Spears posted the clip less than a month after she scolded fans for sending police to her house because she deactivated her Instagram account something she does relatively frequently.
"If I shut down my Instagram, do not call the cops," the "Hold Me Closer" hitmaker says in the middle of the video.
In the caption, Spears wrote, "Stay humble out there, yall ... Hi mommy and daddy, I am a star ... now have you heard ??? Carry on peeps "
Spears' latest Instagram post echoes her previous statement declaring that her "privacy was invaded" when fans dialed 911 on her behalf last month. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office confirmed to The Times in January that it received some calls from concerned fans simply because [Spears] had deleted her social media account ... responded to her home for a check ... and determined she was safe and in no danger."
I love and adore my fans, but this time things went a little too far, Spears said at the time.
The police never entered my home and when they came to my gate they quickly realized there was no issue and left immediately. This felt like I was being gaslit and bullied once the incident made it to the news ... I truly hope the public and my fans who I care so much about can respect my privacy moving forward."
After returning to Instagram late last month, Spears shut down rumors that she "almost died" and said she would "probably ... stop posting" on the platform if people continue to spread lies about her personal life. Amid reports that her loved ones attempted to stage an "intervention" to save her life, the Grammy winner assured fans that she is alive and well more than a year after her controversial conservatorship was terminated.
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"The conservatorship has been over ... No folks, its not 2007 its 2023 and Im making my first homemade lasagna at home !!!" she wrote in an Instagram post.
"I finally got my fireplace to work in my living room !!! As my hubby says it best: dont believe everything you read !!!"
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Eduardo Baptista
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Baidu Inc will use its ChatGPT-like app Ernie Bot to create a "revolutionary" version of its popular search engine, the company's CEO said on Wednesday.
Baidu, which has invested heavily in artificial intelligence in recent years, is regarded as at the forefront of efforts to create a Chinese rival to the AI platform developed by OpenAI and backed by Microsoft Corp.
Ahead of Ernie Bots launch in March, Baidu CEO Robin Li told reporters on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results that users would be more dependent on the Baidu search engine once it was embedded with the chatbot. That is because the generative AI powering it would enhance user experience and engagement.
"Ernie Bot will ... enhance the user experience and users will be much more dependent on us for all kinds of tasks and needs, therefore, significantly expand the market size of search (engines)," Li said.
He added that online advertising, the company's main source of revenue, would also be boosted by the integration of Ernie Bot into the search engine. Baidu plans eventually to build an AI ecosystem around Ernie Bot, he said.
The details of Li's vision for the chatbot come amid a gradual decline in the dominance Baidu once enjoyed as the Chinese answer to Alphabet Inc's Google, which pulled its search engine out of the Chinese market in 2010.
Tencent's all-in-one messaging app, WeChat, and Bytedance's Douyin are among the competitors that have chipped away at Baidu's market share in recent years.
The company has created new revenue streams by expanding its core business to include AI, cloud services and autonomous driving, as well as pouring money into research and development.
Li said on Wednesday that the generative AI technology underpinning Ernie Bot would be a productivity boon to other businesses and entrepreneurs looking to build their own apps.
Since early February, more than 400 companies have signed up to join the Ernie Bot community as early users of the app, Baidu has said.
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Dozens of Chinese tech companies, including e-commerce giants Alibaba Group and JD.Com Inc, have announced plans to develop their own ChatGPT-style tools.
Li said Baidu has an advantage as the "first mover" in China's market. He said the company has spent years developing large language models that were trained on the billions of daily search requests inputted by its search engine's users.
He also said Ernie Bot was "state of the art" among large AI-driven language models in terms of understanding China's language and culture.
While OpenAI and ChatGPT are not blocked by Chinese authorities, OpenAI does not allow users in mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran, Russia and parts of Africa to sign up.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Brenda Goh and Matthew Lewis)
PHRI also warned others to be mindful of contents they are releasing as it may affect the tourism industry of Bali. (Photo via Getty Images)
The Bali chapter of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) wants to assure travellers that they do not have to worry about being prosecuted over their private activities. This comes after a video of a prank that went viral on TikTok, causing concern among tourists.
The TikTok video featured a couple being "raided" by the staff of a Nusa Dua hotel in Bali who demanded to see their marriage certificate. The stunt was apparently a prank of a domestic tourist for his wifes birthday.
The viral video capitalised on travellers concerns about Indonesias new law by insinuating that authorities are carrying out morality checks in Bali and that non-local tourists may also be jailed for engaging in sex outside of marriage.
Tourists urged to be mindful of content they create
First, we guarantee our guests that we will not ask for a marriage certificate. Second, we guarantee that there would be no sweeping of the hotel. And third, we will keep our guests personal data private, said I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, PHRI Balis Vice Chairman, on Saturday (18 February).
He also warned others, especially tourists, to be mindful of contents they are releasing as it may affect the tourism industry of Bali.
If you want to do a prank, you have to be careful and think about the impact. Dont just make content for your own benefit while it is detrimental to us, Suryawijaya added.
As a precaution, the Bali Tourism Agency said that they will reinforce the need to protect their tourisms reputation by issuing a notice to hotels, restaurants, and other tourist areas on the island to avoid damaging Balis reputation as a tourism-dependent island.
The hotel management where the prank happened has likewise clarified the video at the Bali Provincial Tourism Office, saying that the incomplete video was the one that went viral and not the prank part.
Last December, Indonesias parliament passed a controversial law prohibiting cohabitation between unmarried couples, with the measure being widely regarded as a stepping back in time. Violators of the law could be sent to jail for one year.
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Marvin Joseph Ang is a news and lifestyle writer who focuses on politics, the economy, and pop culture. Follow him on Twitter at @marvs30ang for latest news and updates.
Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.
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On Nov. 27, 2021, bartender Cala Richardson served eight double vodka cocktails to Dylan Molina in less than three hours at Fuzzys Taco Shop in Lake Worth, according to police.
Richardson, 26, of Sansom Park, ignored signs that Molina was intoxicated and she didnt keep him from leaving and driving away, police said a newly released video shows.
Molina later crashed his vehicle into the car of Euless police Detective Alex Cervantes, killing him and severely injuring his wife and two children, according to an arrest warrant affidavit released this week by Lake Worth police.
Richardson surrendered to authorities in Parker County earlier this month after a warrant was issued for her in the 2021 case.
She is charged with one count of sale to certain persons, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail including a $4,000 fine if convicted.
Molina was indicted in February 2022 and pleaded guilty in January to intoxication manslaughter and three counts of intoxication assault.. He was sentenced to 15 years on the manslaughter charge and 10 years each on assaults. The sentences will be served concurrently.
The security video from inside Fuzzys first shows Molina walk through a door behind the bar from an area that was supposed to be restricted to only employees. Richardson spots Molina behind the bar and gestures for him to go back to his seat.
Molina stumbles, and Richardson helps him to his feet, the surveillance video shows. He then goes back to the customer side of the bar while Richardson walks through the door behind the bar.
Seconds later, Molina leaves his drink on the bar and walks to the parking lot. Minutes later, he crashed his car into the Cervantes familys vehicle at the intersection of Boat Club Road and Rocky Point Trail.
The video shows Richardson came back to the bar area and saw Molina was gone. She looked into the parking lot and then removed his last drink from the bar.
The warrant written by Lake Worth Detective R. Urbanek provided these details:
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Molina arrived at Fuzzys at 10:37 a.m. on Nov. 27, 2021, and stayed there about two hours and 50 minutes.
Heres the breakdown on the beverages he drink which were vodka/Redbull mixed drinks served in pint-sized glassware:
10:40 a.m., first drink, 16 minutes
10:56 a.m., second drink, 20 minutes
11:16 a.m., third drink, 23 minutes
11:39 a.m., fourth drink, 24 minutes
12:03 p.m., fifth drink, 29 minutes
12:32 p.m., sixth drink, 22 minutes
12:54 p.m., seventh drink, 18 minutes
1:12 p.m., eighth drink
Molina started his 2021 Jeep Wrangler at 1:30 p.m. and left the taco shop, 6010 Azle Ave. in Lake Worth.
Molina ran a red light and hit a 2013 Chevrolet Impala, killing the Euless detective and injuring his family.
He ran away from the scene, but he was caught by witnesses.
Police used a search warrant to obtain the digital video recording device and paperwork from Molinas purchases at Fuzzys.
Detectives determined that Molina approached individuals at the bar with loose, belligerent body posture, and hugged or touched a customer who he did not appear to be acquainted with.
Richardson along with her attorney, Robert Wilson, met with Lake Worth police on Jan. 18, 2022, according to the warrant.
She recalled what drinks Molina had that day and initially said he had had six drinks, but she later admitted it was eight, according to the warrant. The bartender, however, did not know if Molina had consumed his seventh drink and she said she poured out his eighth, partially consumed drink.
Richardson told police she did not notice any indicators that Molina was intoxicated until he walked through an employees only area and that he left the restaurant shortly after that.
He couldnt stand up, he was behind the bar, he was in places he shouldnt have been, Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian told WFAA-TV. The signs that he displayed should have been an indicator that he was not safe to walk away from that building. This is a stark reminder of what can happen when we ignore those signs.
A Beaufort man faces a felony charge of domestic violence after allegedly putting a pistol to his partners head and threatening to kill her, according to officials from the Beaufort Police Department.
Garryson Huggins, 24, was charged early Sunday morning with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, jail records show.
The alleged assault took place around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, when Huggins showed up to his partners home on Beauforts Water Street, despite being kicked out from the residence due to ongoing issues between the two. Huggins girlfriend said he put a pistol to her head and threatened to kill her, according to Lt. Charles Raley, a spokesperson for the Beaufort Police Department.
Huggins had a different story, telling police he acted in self-defense after his partners friend pulled out a taser. But Raley said the witnesss interview corroborated the womans original statement, leading to the charges against Huggins.
Police were able to recover Huggins pistol from the home, Raley added. The victim was not injured.
Under South Carolina law, domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature is considered the highest form of domestic violence, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Huggins was released Tuesday from the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $10,000 surety bond, court records show.
If you or someone you know has been affected by domestic violence, help can be found by calling Hopeful Horizons 24-hour Support Line at 843-770-1070.
When we publish mugshots
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette publishes police booking photos, or mugshots, in the following instances:
In situations where a public figure or someone in a position of public trust is arrested
In cases where there is an immediate and widespread threat to public safety
In cases where the arrested person is accused of a crime reporters have evidence to believe involved numerous, unknown victims
Reporters will avoid using mugshots as lead images for online articles in order to limit their circulation on social media, except in cases where the public is served by the immediate identification of the accused. Reporters and editors may use discretion in situations that dont meet the criteria outlined in this policy but still present a compelling reason to publish a mugshot.
Bella Ramsey, currently starring on "The Last of Us," previously played Lyanna Mormont on "Game of Thrones." Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic; Helen Sloan/HBO
Bella Ramsey said that "The Last of Us" co-creator Craig Mazin often references her "Game of Thrones" role.
Ramsey said Mazin frequently quotes one of her lines as Lyanna Mormont on the show.
Ramsey was chosen to play the fiery young Lady Mormont when she was 12.
Bella Ramsey said that "The Last of Us" co-creator Craig Mazin repeatedly quotes one of her most iconic lines from "Game of Thrones" at her.
Ramsey sat down with her costar Pedro Pascal on HBO Max's YouTube channel to guess whether certain lines were from "The Last of Us" or other shows. Among the lines were some from each actor's turn on "Game of Thrones" Ramsey as Lyanna Mormont, and Pascal as Oberyn Martell.
Ramsey successfully clocked one of those lines "We're not a large house, but we're a proud one" as her own. And according to the actor, she's not the only one who'd be able to do so.
"You know who would know that also? Craig Mazin," Ramsey said, referring to the co-creator of "The Last of Us" television show. "He says that line to me far too often."
Ramsey's role as 10-year-old Lady Mormont on the series sparked plenty of chatter during the show's tenure, with people praising the young actor's work. Director Miguel Sapochnik told Insider in 2016 that the then-12-year-old Ramsey was "kind of amazing" in the role, delivering one of her character's speeches "over a hundred times" but maintaining the same level of energy throughout.
Mazin previously told The Hollywood Reporter that he was immediately into Ramsey's tape for Ellie, her starring role on "The Last of Us." For good measure, he reached out to "Game of Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who said Ramsey was "an absolute joy on set."
Pascal, for his part, also immediately identified his own "Game of Thrones" line from his time as Oberyn Martell in the show's fourth season.
Pascal's line was: "'Tis a great and beautiful world. Most of us live and die in the same corner where we were born and never get to see any of it. I don't want to be most of us," from season two, episode six.
"I remember having so many favorite lines from my character in that show," Pascal said. "It's a great line."
Read the original article on Insider
Ben Platts long-awaited return to Broadway got off to a troubling start this week as incoming theatergoers were accosted by members of a far-right, neo-Nazi hate group.
A video posted to Twitter by journalist Jake Wasserman of the Forward shows a masked man representing the National Socialist Movement distributing antisemitic flyers outside of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in New York, where Platt began preview performances in the musical Parade Tuesday.
The National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi hate group, is protesting outside of the Broadway revival of Parade, stating that Leo Frank, the subject of the musical, was a pedophile. pic.twitter.com/wbGMjRubZL Jake Wasserman (@jacobhwasserman) February 22, 2023
Youre paying $300 to go fucking worship a pedophile, the unidentified man says in the video. In the background, another person shouts: Romanticizing pedophiles, wow, Leo Frank.
According to Playbill, the man was joined by a small but vocal group of demonstrators carrying handwritten signs with hateful, antisemitic rhetoric.
Written by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown, Parade is based on the life of Leo Frank (played by Platt), a Jewish man who in 1913 was wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering a 13-year-old factory worker, Mary Phagan. Two years into his life sentence, Frank was abducted from a Georgia prison and hanged by a lynch mob. He was posthumously pardoned in 1986.
Platt, who rocketed to fame in 2016 for his Tony-winning performance in Dear Evan Hansen, addressed the protest in a short video posted to his Instagram page.
Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt in
Micaela Diamond and Ben Platt in "Parade."
For those who dont know, there were a few neo-Nazi protesters from a really disgusting group outside of the theater, bothering some of our patrons on their way in and saying antisemitic things about Leo Frank, who the show is about, he said in the clip. It was definitely very ugly and scary, but a wonderful reminder of why were telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and, particularly, theater can be. And just made me feel extra grateful to be the one who gets to tell this particular story and to carry on this legacy of Leo.
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After assuring fans who came to see Parade that they would be super safe and secure, the actor went on to note, Now is really the moment for this particular piece.
On Wednesday, the shows production team echoed Platts sentiments in a statement denouncing the vileness on displayoutside the theater the previous night.
A statement from the producers of Parade in response to the display of Neo Nazi members protesting outside of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre prior to last nights first preview performance on Broadway. pic.twitter.com/ijIOLI1AXb Parade on Broadway (@paradebway) February 22, 2023
Parade premiered on Broadway in 1998, winning two Tony Awards. The current production opened to rave reviews at the New York City Center in November of last year before its Broadway transfer was confirmed in January.
According to Deadline, the Telecharge ticketing site briefly crashed due to high demand for tickets. The musical will officially open March 16.
Related...
Ben Platt at the premiere of "West Side Story" on Dec. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press Photo)
The cast and creatives of the Broadway musical "Parade" are speaking out against antisemitism after protesters heckled audience members Tuesday.
After wrapping the show's first preview performance, star Ben Platt denounced "neo-Nazi protesters" in an Instagram post shared Tuesday evening.
"For those who don't know, there were a few neo-Nazi protesters from a really disgusting group outside of the theater, bothering some of our patrons on their way in and saying antisemitic things about Leo Frank, who the show is about, and just spreading antisemitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place," the Tony winner said in his video.
"Parade" is a musical adaptation of the story of Frank, a Jewish man who was falsely accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl named Mary Phagan in Atlanta. Frank, portrayed by Platt in the musical, was convicted and lynched.
As "Parade" audience members lined up at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York on Monday, members of the National Socialist Movement claimed patrons were paying to "worship a pedophile" and that the play was "romanticizing" pedophilia. Protesters also displayed signs bearing similar messages.
In his video, Platt said he learned about the protests when he went on social media after the show.
"It was definitely very ugly and scary but a wonderful reminder of why we're telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and, particularly, theater can be," he continued.
Platt's fellow "Parade" stars Douglas Lyons and Micaela Diamond also shared similar sentiments on their social media profiles.
Lyons addressed the protesters, writing "fear don't work here baby.
Ben Platt, at the 74th Tony Awards, in New York, stars as Leo Frank in the Broadway musical "Parade." (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press)
"We gon tell the story and we gon tell it with conviction," he said in his Instagram post.
In her Instagram story, Diamond shared a screenshot of a news article about the protesters outside the theater.
"We learned of this at half hour and in the same breath went on to celebrate our beautiful members making broadway debuts," she wrote. "Somehow, our company was able to hold both. Massive celebration and raging disappointment. What a reminder of how important this story is. I can't wait to tell it again and again."
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On Wednesday, "Parade" producers shared a statement on social media also condemning the "display of Neo Nazi members protesting outside" the theater.
"If there is any remaining doubt out there about the urgency of telling this story in this moment in history, the vileness on display in front of our theater last night should put it to rest," the statement said. "We stand by the valiant Broadway cast that brings this vital story to life each night."
A statement from the producers of Parade in response to the display of Neo Nazi members protesting outside of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre prior to last nights first preview performance on Broadway. pic.twitter.com/ijIOLI1AXb Parade on Broadway (@paradebway) February 22, 2023
"Parade" stars and creatives weren't the only ones speaking out against the antisemitic protesters. On Wednesday, the Anti-Defamation League Chief Executive Jonathan Greenblatt condemned the "vile antisemitism" in a statement.
"The irony should not be lost on anyone that these antisemitic extremists decided to protest a play that details the true story of the lynching of an innocent Jewish man by an antisemitic mob, and used it as an opportunity to spread conspiracy theories and hate," Greenblatt said. "ADL locks arms in solidarity with the entire cast and wants to especially thank the producers of the play and Ben Platt for their poignant statements speaking out in the face of hate.
"Despite the presence of a half-dozen neo-Nazis, New York City will continue to remain no place for hate.
"Antisemitism, vile hate speech, and censorship have no place on Broadway or in American culture or society," Laura Penn, the co-chair of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds, said in a statement shared Wednesday afternoon.
"COBUG calls on all members of the theatrical community, all people of conscience, and Mayor Eric Adams to safeguard inclusive environments for everyone who participates in or attends theatrical events in New York."
Toward the end of his Instagram video Tuesday, Platt shifted his attention from the "ugly actions" of people "spreading evil" to the "gorgeous work" of the entire "Parade" team. He spotlighted his castmates, the show's crew and the team that kept players and audiences safe amid the protests.
"Now is really the moment for this particular piece," he said.
Times staff writer Ashley Lee contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Benjamin Netanyahu - AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo
Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing for a possible attack on Irans nuclear installations in a series of secret high-level meetings with senior defence officials, according to a leaked report.
Mr Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has held five meetings with his defence chiefs, intelligence officials and the head of Mossad to discuss a potential strike on Irans nuclear programme, Channel 12 reported on Tuesday.
While Israel does not typically announce strikes in advance, it has consistently messaged its concerns over Irans nuclear programme, suggesting the leak could be a deliberate signal from the Israeli government to compel Western allies to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons.
Israel is believed to have carried out regular attacks on Irans nuclear facilities and staff, but never admits responsibility.
Israel has reportedly shared its secret plans with the United States and France, warning them it will act alone if the international community will not provide support.
Details of the meetings emerged a day after Mr Netanyahu said on Tuesday: The only thing that has ever stopped rogue nations from developing nuclear weapons is a credible military threat or a credible military action.
A necessary condition and often a sufficient condition is credible military action. The longer you wait, the harder that becomes. Weve waited very long.
Mr Netanyahu has long claimed that Irans nuclear programme poses an existential threat to Israel, although Tehran maintains that it does not seek atomic weapons and that its research is for peaceful purposes.
nuclear iran - Vahid Salemi/AP Photo
Israel opposes world powers renewing a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran from which former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018.
Since then, Iran has steadily reduced its compliance with the agreement and talks have stalled over reviving the deal between Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.
While the Iran nuclear deal limited the purity to which Tehran could enrich uranium to 3.67 per cent, by April 2021 it was enriching to 60 per cent.
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Last week, Bloomberg news reported that the UN nuclear watchdog had detected uranium enriched to 84 per cent purity at an Iranian nuclear facility close to weapons grade.
On Monday, a spokesman for Irans Atomic Energy Organisation described the presence of any enriched material above 60 percent as an anomaly.
So far, we have not made any attempt to enrich above 60 per cent, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, in remarks published by state news agency IRNA. The presence of particles above 60 per cent enrichment does not mean production with an enrichment above 60 per cent.
Ambiguities
On Wednesday, Mohammed Eslami, Irans nuclear chief, said inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog were in Tehran resolving any ambiguities.
Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency are in Tehran and have been starting negotiations, visits and checks. Ambiguities created by an inspector are being resolved, Mr Eslami said, according to Irans semi-official Tasnim news agency.
However, these claims were contradicted by Hossein Amirabdollahian, the Iranian foreign minister, who said officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency would visit Tehran in the coming days.
We hope that IAEA Director Grossi will reach an agreement with Irans Atomic Energy Organisation from a non-political and technical standpoint, Mr Amirabdollahian said. The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought to acquire an atomic bomb.
RIVER EDGE The Bergen County Historical Society kicked off a $3 million fundraising campaign on Wednesday, Washington's Birthday, to build a permanent museum at Historic New Bridge Landing to display a collective history of New Jersey.
The group wants to complete the 3,850-square-foot, barnlike building in time for its semiquincentennial on Nov. 20, 2026.
"We do plan on having the construction completed by the 250th anniversary," said the historical society's Martha Morley.
Zabriskie-Steuben House at New Bridge Landing in River Edge.
What will the museum look like?
The society has the required state Department of Environmental Protection approvals, and the museum will match the other historic buildings on the 13-acre site along the Hackensack River.
What part did NJ play in American Revolution?
The bridge itself figures large in the history of the American Revolution. The year 1776 was rough for the American fight for independence. On Nov. 20, 1776, British forces crossed the Hudson River to invade New Jersey from New York. They landed at Lower Closter Landing, forcing the American troops to flee Fort Lee and begin their retreat across New Jersey, passing Van Horne's Grist Mill in Leonia and then crossing the New Bridge over the Hackensack River.
The retreat route took a portion of Gen. George Washington's Army across the New Bridge Landing site as the general led his troops across the state. They set up camp in today's Bucks County, Pennsylvania, before regrouping and attacking German mercenaries in Trenton.
More:Bergen County tops list of historic places in NJ with 273 on national register
For the next several years, New Jersey and the New Bridge were on the front lines of the war, with numerous skirmishes and battles occurring throughout the region, a number of them emanating from the landing.
In September 1780, Washington used the Zabriskie-Steuben House on Kinderkamack Road for the 14,000-man-strong Continental Army headquarters. The new museum will serve to remind all why New Jersey is considered the crossroads of the American Revolution.
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More:Want to check out NJ Revolutionary War sites this July 4th? Find historic sites near you
What will the museum house?
It will house more than 4,000 original objects.
It will serve to educate the public on the important role our area played as a Native American and Colonial settlement and also as a fort, encampment ground and military headquarters during the American Revolutionary War, said Deborah Powell, museum chair and past president of the Bergen County Historical Society.
Historic New Bridge Landing had more than 100,000 visitors last year.
Construction is expected to start this fall. To donate, visit bergencountyhistory.org/donate .
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County group kicks off drive to raise $3M for new museum
The Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment, as locals question "wheres Pete" and East Palestines mayor calls the presidents Ukraine visit a "slap in the face."
Norfolk Southern was forced to vent and burn the trains load of vinyl chloride, a hazardous material used in the manufacturing of certain plastics, leaving East Palestine residents worried about their health and the longterm effects it might have on their small community.
Since the 3 February derailment there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was slow to move to address the disaster.
What exactly have Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg done since the train derailment, and are the criticisms warranted?
Pete Buttigieg
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has taken the brunt of the criticism since the accident.
Right-wing lawmakers and media, including Congressman Jim Jordan and Senator Ted Cruz, have taken aim at the agency head, claiming hes been too busy playing politics to address the East Palestine disaster.
"Secretary Buttigieg laughing about Chinese spy balloons, while ignoring the Ohio train derailment, shows you how out of touch Democrats are," Mr Jordan tweeted on 14 February.
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Mr Cruz offered similar criticisms, saying Secretary Buttigieg in my view instead of engaging in politics should be focused on the job he has now and addressing the very serious transportation crises were seeing playing out across the country, according to The Washington Post.
Mr Buttigieg even took a hit from Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who called on him to directly intervene in the ongoing situation in East Palestine.
"East Palestine railroad derailment will have a significant negative impact on the health and wellbeing of the residents for decades and there is almost zero national media attention," she wrote on Twitter. "We need Congressional inquiry and direct action from @PeteButtigieg to address this tragedy."
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Glad to see newfound bipartisan agreement here. We could start by discussing immediate steps Congress could take to address rail safety & reduce constraints on USDOT in this area. Give us a call, we can do some good work. https://t.co/aqepKENjZz Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 15, 2023
Mr Cruz said he "fully agreed" with Ms Omar.
Mr Buttigieg responded to the "newfound bipartisan agreement" between the two lawmakers by pointing out that it is Congresss job to pass laws giving federal agencies the teeth to effectively regulate industries.
"We could start by discussing immediate steps Congress could take to address rail safety & reduce constraints on USDOT in this area. Give us a call, we can do some good work," he replied.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
He also called out Senator Marco Rubio, who claimed Mr Buttigieg was "MIA on the derailment," by pointing out the lawmaker previously supported a letter softening visual rail track inspection regulations.
"The facts dont lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists. It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections," he wrote. "Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not?"
Mr Rubio denied that his involvement with the 2021 letter was an effort to deregulate the rail industry.
Mr Buttigieg, who said he planned to visit East Palestine, has maintained that USDOT agency officials have been on the ground in East Palestine since "day one," and noted that the National Transportation Safety Board must be given time to carry out its investigation without the interference of lawmakers. He said that the lack of federal visitation to the village was to allow the NTSB to work without pressure or bias from lawmakers.
On Tuesday, Mr Buttigieg suggested that Congress should raise the cap on fines rail companies can be given as a result of accidents.
"Congress can help strengthen our hand by raising the cap on fines for egregious safety violations. The current maximum of $225,455 is not enough for a multibillion-dollar railroad company," he wrote.
In addition to pressuring Congress to raise the fine cap, he also said the USDOT would push for rail companies to be forced to notify residents when hazardous materials are being transported through their communities, and for regulations requiring better safety conditions for crews manning trains, including more robust safety inspections.
Joe Biden
Mr Biden, and the federal government at large, has been the subject of right-wing criticism for taking a trip to Ukraine rather than visiting East Palestine and distributing money to the residents.
During an appearance on Fox News, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said he was angered when he learned of Mr Bidens visit.
Joe Biden in Ukraine. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
"Absolutely. That was the biggest slap in the face," Mr Conaway said. "That tells you right now he doesnt care about us."
The mayor said Tuesday that he stands by those comments, but that he would welcome the president if he chooses to visit the village.
Its difficult to argue that Mr Biden has not been personally quiet concerning the ongoing situation in East Palestine; while his administration has responded with the deployment of federal agencies to the village and offerings of ongoing support, he only recently made a public statement addressing the disaster.
Since 3 February, the day the train derailed, Mr Biden has tweeted extensively about the war in Ukraine, met with Brazils president, boasted of accomplishments in employment, manufacturing, and infrastructure, given a State of the Union address, memorialised the University of Michigan mass shooting, offered condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, and congratulated the Kansas City Chiefs on their Super Bowl victory. He finally addressed the East Palestine situation on 21 February.
After my speech today, I spoke with @EPAMichaelRegan, @SenSherrodBrown, @RepBillJohnson, @GovernorShapiro and @GovMikeDeWine about our ongoing efforts in East Palestine, OH.
I reaffirmed my commitment to making sure they have everything they need.
Let me give you the latest. pic.twitter.com/nr3ZzBraeD President Biden (@POTUS) February 21, 2023
While Mr Biden has not visited the site, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that federal agencies have been active in the response since the day the train derailed, according to The Washington Post.
Hours after the derailment, the EPA team was on the ground, she told reporters during a press conference. I just want to make sure that the American people understand that we did take action and folks were on the ground.
She assured reporters that the administration is committed to making sure that the community gets what it needs, and well be there on the ground for as long as it takes.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine told reporters last week that Mr Biden had spoke to him after the derailment and offered federal assistance.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine meets with reporters after touring the Norfolk Southern train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 6, 2023 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
On 16 February, Mr DeWine requested further federal aid in response to the crash, which the White House provided in the form of an inter-agency mobilisation to the village.
"Today, in response to Governor DeWines and the Ohio congressional delegations request on February 16 for additional federal public health support, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced they are deploying a team of medical personnel and toxicologists to conduct public health testing and assessments," the White House said in a statement. "The team will support Federal, state, and local officials already on the ground to evaluate individuals who were exposed or potentially exposed to chemicals and help ensure timely communications to the public."
On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced that the agency was taking over the clean-up operation in East Palestine, and would use a binding order to ensure that Norfolk Southern continues to rectify the accident under penalty of fine.
Prior to that order Norfolk Southern was voluntarily responding to the crash. Under the new directive, the company will work under EPA supervision and will be bound to meet the EPAs guidelines as it continues its response in the village. If Norfolk Southern fails to meet those standards, Mr Regan said the agency will step in and conduct the work while fining Norfolk Southern triple the cost of the work.
There is no word on whether or not Mr Biden plans to visit the village in the coming days or weeks. His predecessor, former President Donald Trump, has planned a visit for Wednesday, and has already erroneously taken credit for the increased federal response to the disaster.
Despite the criticism, the train derailment doe not appear to have affected Mr Bidens apporoval ratings.
According to a Rasmussen Reports daily analysis of the presidents approval rating, Mr Bidens approval has been consistent since the disaster, even gaining a point from 43 to 44 per cent approval between 3 February and 20 February.
Continuing his diplomatic standoff with Vladimir Putin, President Joe Biden said Russia is making a ''big mistake'' by suspending a key nuclear arms treaty.
Biden made the brief comment to reporters as he entered the presidential palace in Warsaw, Poland, where he is meeting with leaders from nations on the eastern edge of the NATO alliance. It is the latest in a series of verbal jockeying between Russia and the U.S. as Biden wraps up a three-day visit to the region.
Putin announced Tuesday he is suspending Moscows participation in New START, a strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms reduction deal between the U.S. and Russia. It limits each side to 1,550 long-range nuclear warheads.
Biden is ending his trip to Ukraine and Poland Wednesday with a final emphasis on the strength of the NATO alliance, which has stood up to Putin.
Youre the front lines of our collective defense," Biden told the leaders of Poland, Romania, Slovakia and several other eastern flank nations. "And you know better than anyone whats at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.
President Joe Biden attends a summit of the NATO Bucharest Nine at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday.
What is the nuclear arms treaty?
The New START treaty was signed in 2010 and extended for five years in 2021. It limits the number of long-range nuclear warheads Russia and the U.S. can have, including those that can reach the U.S. in about 30 minutes.
When it was extended in 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the treaty guaranteed a necessary level of predictability and transparency for the worlds two largest nuclear powers while strictly maintaining a balance of interests.
The latest
Trip overview: After making a surprise visit to war-torn Ukraine Monday, Biden traveled to Poland where he praised the strength of Ukraine and the international coalition backing the resistance.
Bucharest Nine : Biden met Wednesday with leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The countries are known as the Bucharest Nine, a group of eastern NATO allies formed in 2015 in response to Russias annexation of Crimea.
The agenda: The nations have advocated for an increased NATO presence and deterrence measures in the region. Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova said the nations need to ensure there are no gray zones in our defense.
NATO anniversary: Biden announced Tuesday the U.S. will host a NATO summit next year to mark the 75th anniversary of what he called the "strongest defensive alliance in the history of the world."
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President Joe Biden speaks with children after delivering a speech at the Royal Castle Arcades on Tuesday in Warsaw, Poland.
Why it matters
Russia has tried to keep NATO from its borders. In the lead-up to its invasion of Ukraine, Putin demanded that Ukraine never be allowed to join the alliance. He also wanted to keep NATO missiles from being in striking distance and stop the alliance from deploying forces in former Soviet bloc countries that joined NATO after 1997.
Instead, the alliance has grown stronger. Finland and Sweden are in the process of joining. NATO has bolstered its troop presence in Europe. And NATO countries have provided military and other support to Ukraine.
"NATO will not be divided, and we will not tire," Biden said during his speech at Warsaw's Royal Castle Tuesday.
But the administration and its allies have also tried to keep the fight against Russia from spilling into a NATO country to avoid triggering the mutual defense pact.
President Joe Biden (L) and Polish President Andrzej Duda attend a summit of the NATO Bucharest Nine (B9) at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Feb. 22, 2023
Looking ahead
While praising allies for standing together, Biden is emphasizing that the fight is far from over. There will be "hard and very bitter days, victories and tragedies," he said Tuesday.
Biden also encouraged other nations to look beyond the immediate challenge of the war in Ukraine and also work together in "lifting up the lives of people everywhere."
"The democracies of the world have to deliver it for our people," he said.
How many times has Article 5 been invoked?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 as a system of collective defense against the Soviet Union.
Its basic principle of mutual defense is the Article 5 provision that requires member states to come to the aid of their allies in the event of an attack.
The article has been invoked only once, when the U.S. called on the alliance after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Want to know more? Here's what you missed
'Kyiv stands strong: Biden declares Putin was wrong, marking one year of Russias war in Ukraine
Biden's surprise: How President Biden pulled off a secret trip to Ukraine one year into Russia's war
More: Putin suspends nuclear arms treaty as US-Russia tensions build amid Ukraine war anniversary
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Putin suspends nuclear arms treaty; Biden calls it a 'big mistake'
President Biden marked Ash Wednesday during his visit to Warsaw, attending a private Catholic Mass in a hotel room with a Polish priest.
Biden, the second Catholic president in U.S. history, was seen with a cross of ashes on his forehead in photographs on Wednesday afternoon ahead of a summit of the Bucharest Nine, the countries that make up NATOs Eastern flank. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent for many Christians, including Roman Catholics.
Father Wieslaw Dawidowski, an Augustinian priest, wrote on Facebook that he gave Biden ashes, sharing photographs of the private mass. He said that the two prayed together for peace, just days after the president visited Ukraine to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.
Even the most powerful in this world take ashes if they belong to the Catholic tradition. I had the honor today of placing ashes on the forehead of the US President Mr. Joe Biden. Everything took place in great secrecy, but now I can speak: in an improvised chapel, next to the Presidents apartment. We prayed for peace, the conversion of Russia and the light of the Holy Spirit for Mr. President, Dawidowski said.
Biden celebrated Ash Wednesday in a private ceremony last year as well. He was in Washington and received ashes from Cardinal Wilton Gregory, during which they prayed together for the people of Ukraine.
Last year, Biden said he gave up sweets for Lent. The president, who is a well-known ice cream lover, has not publicly said this year what he is giving up.
Bidens Catholic faith came up on Wednesday during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, when the two discussed Pope John Paul II, who was Polish.
Duda first brought up John Paul II, and Biden then told a story about when he was a senator on the Foreign Relations Committee and got a call from the late pope.
I came back from Europe, and I wrote a report saying that Poland would be free within a matter of a year. And my chief of staff then said, Please dont write that because youre going to look foolish, Biden recalled.
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And I got a phone call from John Paul, asking whether Id meet with him. And as a practicing Catholic, I joked with him that he was more conservative than my views were. And I went to see him, and we finished the conversation, and it was all about Poland. He never once mentioned anything about Catholicism, he added.
Bidens Catholic faith has been in the spotlight since the start of his presidency, with conservative leaders of the church trying to deny him communion over his stance on abortion rights. He also butted heads with Catholic bishops in December over same-sex marriage protections.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) adopted a document on communion in November 2021 without mentioning whether Biden or other politicians should be denied the rite based on their stance on abortion, signaling an end to the debate on the issue.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Joe Biden is set to meet with allies from the eastern flank of NATO and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Wednesday to shore up Western support for Ukraine, nearly a year since the Russian invasion.
The Supreme Court continues its turn to thorny issues Wednesday, as the court debates whether Twitter, Google and Facebook can be held liable under a 2016 law for aiding and abetting the Islamic State group. The justices will hear arguments in a case stemming from a 2017 terrorist attack at a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey.
Here's what else is happening in politics:
Polish President Andrzej Duda (right) welcomes President Joe Biden at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. Biden is visiting Poland a day after an unannounced visit to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that comes days before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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Ahead of Trump visit to East Palestine, White House fires back
The White House is firing back at Republicans following the toxic East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, blaming the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress for undoing Obama-era rail safety measures designed to avert such disasters.
The aggressive rebuttal comes as former President Donald Trump is set to visit East Palestine on Wednesday. Republicans have attacked the Biden administration, especially Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, for its response to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that unleased toxic chemicals.
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Buttigieg plans to visit East Palestine on Thursday, making his first trip there since the derailment, to meet with community members and receive an update on the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The board's initial findings are expected Thursday. Federal agencies have maintained that the air and water following the train derailment are safe.
- Joey Garrison
Rail rift: White House blames Trump administration and Republicans over East Palestine, Ohio spill
Democrats funnel millions to New York to flip House seats in 2024
The House Majority PAC, a political action committee that focuses on electing Democrats to the House, has launched a $45 million New York Fund program in an effort to regain control of the U.S. House in 2024.
Democrats held off the predicted "red wave" in the 2022 midterms, winning more seats in key districts than anticipated. But candidates in New York didn't fare as well. Eighteen Republicans including six in New York currently represent districts President Joe Biden won in the 2020 presidential election. The committee plans to direct funds to Democratic campaign efforts to flip House seats in New York.
- Rachel Looker
Unexpected outcome: 'Not a repudiation': Joe Biden holds off red wave, gets unexpected boost from midterm election
Supreme Court skeptical of claim Twitter aided terrorism
The Supreme Court appeared skeptical Wednesday of a lawsuit accusing Twitter, Facebook and Google of aiding terrorism by hosting and recommending content created by the Islamic State group the second case in as many days dealing with whether Big Tech can be held liable for such content.
The lawsuit was filed by the relatives of Nawras Alassaf, a Jordanian citizen killed in an attack on a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for that attack, in which 39 people were killed.
Go back to 1997, CNN did an interview of Osama bin Laden -- a very famous interview of himand that interview became famous, (a) tool for recruiting, notoriety. Could, under your theory, CNN have been sued for aiding and abetting the September 11 attacks? Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked the attorney for the family at one point.
The attorney, Eric Schnapper, responded that the First Amendment would solve that problem.
- John Fritze
Internet provider protections: Supreme Court eager to steer clear of sweeping changes to internet in Section 230 dispute
Supreme Court sides with death row inmate in Arizona
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a death row inmate in Arizona should be granted a resentencing because he wasnt allowed to tell the jury that a life sentence in the state meant he would never be eligible for parole.
The 5-4 opinion, written by Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, means that John Montenegro Cruz should receive a new penalty phase in which he can make clear that he would not walk free if sentenced to life in prison.
The courts decision could affect other death row inmates in Arizona. Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote a dissent asserting that the Supreme Court should have left the issue to state courts.
Cruz was convicted in 2005 of murdering a Tucson police officer, Patrick Hardesty.
John Fritze
More: U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument of Arizona man on death row
A new record of women will serve in Congress
State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, celebrates at her election party after winning the seat for Virginia's 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Richmond, Va.
A historic number of women will serve in the 118th Congress once congresswoman-elect Jennifer McClellan, D-Va., is sworn in to office.
A total of 150 women will serve in Congress, surpassing the previous record set at the swearing-in of the 118th Congress last month, according to Rutgers Universitys Center for American Women and Politics. Additionally, 125 women, 92 Democratic women and 28 Black women will serve in the House new records for each category.
McClellans special election victory Tuesday also made her Virginias first Black female member of Congress.
Mabinty Quarshie
McClellan wins: First Black woman from Virginia in Congress
Biden checked in on Ohio train derailment from Poland
Facing criticism for his administrations handling of a trail derailment in Ohio, President Joe Biden called state and federal officials from Poland Tuesday and reaffirmed my commitment to making sure they have everything they need.
Biden tweeted details of how the government has responded. But the mayor of East Palestine, Ohio, has criticized Biden for going to Ukraine and Poland this week instead of to Ohio.
Former President Donald Trump planned to visit East Palestine Wednesday and donate water and cleaning supplies.
Maureen Groppe
Pence: Social Security, Medicare should be on the table long-term
If congressional Republicans dont want to talk about entitlement reform amid the debt ceiling talks, former Vice President Mike Pence certainly does.
"While I respect the speaker's commitment to take Social Security and Medicare off the table for the debt ceiling negotiations, we've got to put them on the table in the long term, Pence said Wednesday morning on CNBC.
The White House has been eager to goad GOP lawmakers namely Sen. Rick Scott for past comments on changes to entitlements.
Pence, a potential 2024 GOP presidential contender, showcased his CNBC appearance on his Twitter page and was blunt that fiscal discipline is a top priority in his travels across the country.
Phillip M. Bailey
Wisconsin Supreme Court headed for high-stakes general election
Wisconsin voters decided on two judges to advance to a high-stakes general election for the highest state court after a four-way primary on Tuesday.
Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly won out in what was a nonpartisan-in-name-only primary between two liberal and two conservative judges.
The court currently has a 4-3 conservative majority, but conservative Justice Patience Roggensack announced her retirement. With a Democratic governor and Republican-controlled state legislature, control of the state's Supreme Court could decide the future of many policies in the battleground state. The general election is set for April 4.
Ken Tran
More: Wisconsin Supreme Court heads to April general election
Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican anti-woke activist, announces 2024 presidential bid
Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican activist who made a name for himself criticizing woke culture in the corporate world, announced he will run for president in 2024 on Tuesday.
Weve celebrated our diversity so much that we forgot all the ways were really the same as Americans, bound by ideals that united a divided, headstrong group of people 250 years ago, Ramaswamy wrote in a tweet, adding hes running for the nations top office to revive those ideals.
Ramaswamy emerged on the national stage after publishing his book "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam," which criticizes political correctness and identity politics. He joins the GOP field that includes former President Donald Trump and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley.
Ella Lee
Nikki Haley campaign: Nikki Haley begins Iowa courtship for 2024, tells those considering Trump to 'look forward'
House Judiciary Committee will hold hearing on fentanyl crisis
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next month on a surge of illicitly manufactured fentanyl being trafficked into the United States.
The hearing, which says in its title that inaction is no longer an option, is set for March 1 at 9 a.m. ET. The committees website has not yet added the hearing to its calendar.
In February, National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul Gupta called the surge the worst drug crisis" the country's ever faced. More than 56,000 people died from overdoses involving synthetic opioids in 2020, including fentanyl an increase of more than 56% in overdose death rates from 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ella Lee, Sarah Elbeshbishi
How is fentanyl smuggled in the US?: Lawmakers are asking tough questions to stem the flow
Biden calls Putins suspension of nuclear arms treaty a 'big mistake
Russias suspension of a nuclear arms treaty is a big mistake, President Joe Biden said Wednesday.
Biden made the brief comment to reporters as he entered the presidential palace in Warsaw where he is meeting with leaders from nations on the eastern edge of the NATO alliance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday he is suspending Moscows participation in New START, a strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms reduction deal between the U.S. and Russia. It limits each side to 1,550 long-range nuclear warheads.
Maureen Groppe
Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester to run for reelection
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., will run for reelection in 2024 a win for Democrats, whose hopes of keeping control of the Senate in 2024 could come down to a few key races.
Its official. Im running for reelection, Tester tweeted Wednesday. Montanans need a fighter that will hold our government accountable and demand Washington stand up for veterans and lower costs for families."
Described to the Daily Beast as the only Democrat who can win in Montana, Testers commitment to run again next year is a boon to the partys efforts to stay in power in the upper chamber. Democrats need to defend 23 Senate seats in 2024, compared to 11 for the GOP.
Ella Lee
Virginia elects first Black woman to Congress in special race
Democrat Jennifer McClellan will become states first Black woman in Congress after she coasted to victory in Virginias special election Tuesday.
McClellan, a state senator and corporate lawyer, defeated Republican Leon Benjamin, a pastor,. She will succeed Democrat Rep. Donald McEachin, who died last November, and represent a district anchored by Richmond that stretches south to the North Carolina border.
Once McClellan is sworn in, there will be a record 28 Black women in Congress. Her victory does not change the GOP margin in the House as Republicans still will be able to lose four GOP votes on bills and pass legislation.
Phillip M. Bailey
Here's what Black women say they need from Democrats to win elections
More Black women are running for Congress, governor, and higher statewide offices than in the past; and overall, it has made political representation more diverse.
Yet Black women activists, strategists and experts tell USA TODAY they aren't accepted as the partys face.
From the continued handwringing about Vice President Kamala Harris' electability to the electoral losses last year, Black women are demanding Democrats step up their political support with increased financial backing, endorsements, candidate pipeline building and mentoring in the coming months or risk deflating its most loyal bloc.
Phillip M. Bailey, Mabinty Quarshie
Biden emphasizing NATO alliance on final day of trip to Poland, Ukraine
President Joe Biden ends his three-day trip to Ukraine and Poland Wednesday with a final emphasis on the strength of the NATO alliance, which has stood up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Biden plans to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and with allies on NATOs eastern flank before returning to Washington.
Addressing the world in a speech at Warsaw Royal Palace Tuesday, Biden said the U.S. commitment to the alliance and its mutual defense pact is "rock solid."
And every member of NATO knows it. And Russia knows it as well, Biden said. "It's a sacred oath, a scared oath to defend every inch of NATO territory.
Maureen Groppe
Supreme Court turns next to Twitter, terrorism and student loans
The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 10, 2023.
The Supreme Court turns Wednesday to a lawsuit accusing Twitter, Facebook and Google of aiding terrorism by hosting and recommending content created by the Islamic State group a follow-up to the court's arguments Tuesday dealing with Section 230.
The lawsuit was filed by the relatives of Nawras Alassaf, a Jordanian citizen killed in an attack on a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for that attack, in which 39 people were killed.
Next week, the high court will hear arguments about President Joe Biden's $400 billion student loan relief program. Six conservative states and two individuals assert the Biden administration overstepped its authority with that effort.
John Fritze
More: Fate of Biden's student loan plan tops packed Supreme Court calendar
Sen. Tim Scott heads to Iowa, amid presidential run speculation
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., delivers remarks at the Charleston County Republican Partys Black History Month Banquet February 16, 2023 in Charleston, South Carolina.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., heads to Iowa Wednesday as he continues his Faith in America listening tour.
Scott will deliver remarks at an event at Drake University and then at the Republican Party of Polk County Lincoln dinner.
The events come as Scott mulls launching a presidential bid in 2024 and as fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley headed to Iowa this week. Haley launched her presidential campaign last week, becoming the first major Republican to challenge former President Donald Trump.
Mabinty Quarshie
More: In 2024 run, Nikki Haley touts role as first woman of color governor. She shares the title.
Jill Biden travels to Africa
First lady Jill Biden will travel to Namibia and Kenya Wednesday through Sunday, part of the Biden administration's effort to strengthen ties in sub-Saharan Africa and regain trust amid growing influence from China in the region.
The trip will be Bidens sixth to Africa throughout her time in public service. She will be the first top official to visit sub-Saharan Africa since the start of the Biden administration.
Maureen Groppe
Putin suspends nuclear arms treaty
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address, in Moscow on Feb. 21, 2023.
President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia will pull back from a key nuclear treaty, ratcheting up tensions with the United States, as President Joe Biden visited the region with a fresh pledge of support for Ukraine. Putin's speech came on the heels of a surprise and historic visit by Biden to Kyiv.
In his nearly two-hour speech to both houses of the Russian Parliament, Putin said he was suspending Moscow's participation in New START a strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty between the U.S. and Russia.
Kim Hjelmgaard
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women in Congress set record; Tim Scott in Iowa: Recap
Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images
Democrats and immigration advocates harshly criticized Joe Biden over a new proposal that could stop migrants claiming asylum when they arrive at the US-Mexico border. One advocate said the move would cause unnecessary human suffering.
Related: Biden unveils Trump-style plan to deter asylum seekers at Mexico border
The pushback came after the Biden administration unveiled a proposal that would deny asylum to migrants who arrive without first seeking it in one of the countries they passed through.
There are exceptions for children, people with medical emergencies and those facing imminent threats but if enacted the new proposal could stop tens of thousands of people claiming asylum in the US.
The move prompted comparisons to Donald Trumps attempts to limit asylum for migrants traveling through other countries, attempts repeatedly struck down by federal courts. As a presidential candidate, Biden pledged to reverse those policies.
The proposal represents a blatant embrace of hateful and illegal anti-asylum policies, which will lead to unnecessary human suffering, said Marisa Limon Garza, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.
Time after time, President Biden has broken his campaign promises to end restrictions on asylum seekers traveling through other countries, Limon Garza said in a statement.
These are mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles and thousands of children who are simply looking for a fair chance for their case to be heard. We urge the Biden administration to abandon policy initiatives that further the inhumane and ineffective agenda of the Trump administration.
The proposed rule was posted in the Federal Register this week, with 30 days for public comment.
Mary Meg McCarthy, executive director of the National Justice Immigration Center, said the brief comment period suggests that the president already knows that this policy is a betrayal of his campaign promises.
The Biden administrations proposed rule violates US obligations under international and US human rights law which ensures access to protection for people fleeing persecution, she said.
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United States federal law specifically states that the right to seek asylum is not contingent on a persons status or the way they come to the United States. Yet with this rule, the Biden administration is creating new requirements that will result in harm and death to people who need protection and must flee their homes quickly.
Sergio Gonzales, executive director of Immigration Hub, said the proposal flies in the face of Americas moral leadership on the protection of refugees and President Bidens campaign promise to rebuild a fair, humane and orderly immigration system. Instead, the proposal brings back a Trump-era ban that was declared unlawful by federal courts.
The Biden administration faces the loss of a pandemic-era rule that has been used to expel migrants. That rule, Title 42, will likely go away in May when the national Covid-19 emergency is set to end.
Officials from the justice department have warned that unauthorized border crossing could increase to somewhere between 11,000 and 13,000 per day, up from 8,600 daily in mid-December, if no action is taken.
Republicans have hammered Biden over his handling of the border and some have pushed for impeaching Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security.
Biden has also drawn criticism from fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill, who urged him to abandon the idea.
In a joint statement, the Democratic senators Robert Menendez, Cory Booker, Ben Ray Lujan and Alex Padilla said: Last month, when the Biden administration announced it would soon be issuing a proposed rule, which in effect would function as a transit ban on asylum seekers who dont first apply for asylum in a transit country, we urged the administration to abandon this idea.
We are deeply disappointed that the administration has chosen to move forward with publishing this proposed rule, which only perpetuates the harmful myth that asylum seekers are a threat to this nation. In reality, they are pursuing a legal pathway in the United States.
Jerry Nadler, the ranking Democrat on the House judiciary committee, also criticized the proposal.
We are deeply disappointed in the Biden administrations proposal to limit access to asylum, he said in a joint statement with Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat and leading congressional progressive.
The ability to seek asylum is a bedrock principle protected by federal law and should never be violated. We should not be restricting legal pathways to enter the United States, we should be expanding them.
Lee Gelernt, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who challenged similar asylum restrictions under the Trump administration, said his organization would sue the Biden administration if the rule was adopted.
We successfully sued to block the Trump transit ban and will sue again if the Biden administration goes through with its plan, he said.
By Pavel Polityuk and Yiming Woo
KYIV/NEAR BAKHMUT (Reuters) -Ukraine said its forces had repelled Russian assaults along the length of the front line on Thursday on the eve of the war's anniversary, as President Vladimir Putin, empty-handed after a bloody winter offensive, talked up Russia's nuclear arsenal.
After a series of strident speeches in the runup to the anniversary of his invasion, Putin announced plans on Thursday to deploy new Sarmat multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. Earlier this week he suspended Russia's participation in the START nuclear arms control treaty.
Russia would "pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad," Putin said in remarks released by the Kremlin, referring to nuclear missiles based on land, sea and in the air.
Ukraine and its Western allies have brushed off the nuclear talk as a diversion from a failing Russian military campaign on the ground, a year after Putin launched the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two.
The last weeks have seen Russia mount infantry assaults across frozen ground in battles described by both sides as the bloodiest of the war.
At a Ukrainian tank park near Bakhmut, the small eastern city that has become Russia's main target, constant explosions could be heard echoing in the distance.
"If we give up Bakhmut, everything else will get even more complicated. We can't give it up, under no circumstance. We will hold through," Junior Sergeant Oleh Slavin, a tank operator, told Reuters. "We are in place for now and trying to get all the territory back."
The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine issued an alert to Americans in the country about "an ongoing heightened threat of missile attacks" across Ukraine including Kyiv and the Kyiv region.
Western officials said Russia had planned an offensive to capture new territory ahead of the anniversary, using hundreds of thousands of reservists conscripted in recent months to give Putin a victory to announce.
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Moscow's forces have made progress trying to encircle Bakhmut, but have failed to break through Ukrainian lines to the north near Kremmina and to the south at Vuhledar, where they have taken heavy losses assaulting across open ground.
Ukrainian forces repelled 90 Russian attacks in the northeast and east over the past 24 hours, the military said early on Thursday. Ukrainian military spokesperson Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov said Moscow was trying to use its advantage in troop numbers to exhaust Kyiv's forces.
"The enemy, despite significant losses, does not abandon attempts to surround Bakhmut," he said.
Three ambulance workers trying to evacuate people from their homes in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine were killed by Ukrainian shelling on Thursday, a Russian-installed official in the region said.
Reuters could not verify the fatalities. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities.
Russia's defence ministry said in a morning bulletin that its forces fired artillery at Ukraine military units in areas including Vuhledar in the south of the Donetsk region. The bulletin made no mention of Bakhmut.
Ukraine has shut some schools for the war's anniversary in anticipation that Moscow might launch long-range missile attacks to mark the date. But Kyiv officials said they believe Moscow no longer has the capability for a dramatic show of force.
"Nothing unusual will happen. Usual (Russian) effort... A small missile strike is planned," military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told the Ukrainska Pravda news website. "Believe me, we have experienced this more than 20 times."
'BRUTAL FACTS'
Western powers have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons since Russia invaded. The United States and NATO have accused China of considering supplying arms to Russia, a strategic partner of Beijing. China dismissed the accusation.
In New York, China's deputy U.N. Ambassador Dai Bing told the U.N. General Assembly that one year into the war "brutal facts offer an ample proof that sending weapons will not bring peace."
Adding that "nuclear weapons cannot be used, nuclear war cannot be fought," Dai said China was ready to help bring peace.
With no major battlefield victories to report in time for the anniversary, Putin has instead turned to nuclear rhetoric, announcing in a major speech on Tuesday that Russia would suspend participation in the New START arms control treaty.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who upstaged Putin this week by journeying unannounced to Kyiv and addressing a crowd in Warsaw, called the suspension of START a "big mistake" but said on Wednesday: "I don't read into that that he's thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that."
The RS-28 Sarmat missiles, dubbed "Satan 2", whose deployment Putin announced on Thursday, were first unveiled in 2018 and were already supposed to have been deployed last year.
Putin also promised to produce more hypersonic missiles, which fly too fast to be shot down.
Echoing similar statements by Putin, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu accused the West of using Ukraine to try to break up Russia, the world's largest country by territory, but he said any such attempt would fail.
Russia still holds nearly a fifth of Ukraine, despite losing territory in major battlefield setbacks after failing to capture Kyiv at the outset of its "special military operation".
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and troops on both sides are believed to have died in the war. Russian forces have destroyed Ukrainian cities and set millions of refugees to flight.
The U.N. General Assembly is expected to mark the eve of the invasion's anniversary by passing a resolution demanding a halt to the conflict. Ukraine hopes to deepen Russia's diplomatic isolation by securing yes votes from nearly three-quarters of countries. Moscow, which says the invasion was justified by threats to its security, calls the text biased.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday denounced the invasion as a violation of the U.N. Charter.
"We have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable," Guterres said. "It is high time to step back from the brink."
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Peter Graff and William Maclean; Editing by Nick Macfie, Andrew Heavens and Daniel Wallis)
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a "big mistake" by suspending his countrys participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty.
Source: AP
Biden spoke to journalists after arriving at the presidential palace in Warsaw for the Bucharest Nine summit.
"Its a big mistake," Biden said briefly, commenting on Moscows decision.
It was Biden's first comment since Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is "suspending" its participation in the treaty because of US support for Ukraine and accused the United States and its NATO allies of openly working to destroy Russia.
Background:
At a meeting on 22 February, Russias Federation Council voted for a law terminating the Russian Federation's participation in the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty.
The day before, Putin announced that Russia would end its participation in the SORT Treaty, but would not withdraw from the treaty.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia to reconsider its decision to suspend its participation in the SORT treaty.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Biden reaffirms support for Ukraine in Poland
President Joe Biden reaffirmed support for Ukraine in Poland on Tuesday. Plus, USA TODAY National Correspondent Rick Jervis looks at the challenges facing displaced Ukrainian children, the Biden administration proposes new asylum access limits at the border, a winter storm stretches from coast to coast, and USA TODAY Money and Personal Finance Reporter Medora Lee explains how the wealthy save on taxes.
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 Wednesday, the 22nd of February 2023. Today, Biden reaffirmed support for Ukraine in Poland, plus the challenges facing millions of displaced Ukrainian children and how wealthy Americans save on their taxes.
President Joe Biden spoke in Poland yesterday as he marked this week's one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He said US support for Ukraine isn't going anywhere.
Joe Biden:
One year into this war, Putin no longer doubts the strength of our coalition, but he still doubts our conviction. He doubts our staying power. He doubts our continued support for Ukraine. He doubts whether NATO can remain unified. But there should be no doubt, our support for Ukraine will not waiver. NATO will not be divided and we will not tire.
Taylor Wilson:
Ahead of the speech, Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, gave his own address and announced that Russia is leaving a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the US and Russia. He blamed the decision on the US and NATO, but would not add specifics. Biden's visit to Poland comes after he made an unannounced stop in Kyiv, where he said nearly half a billion dollars in additional security assistance is headed to Ukraine.
Story continues
As we approach one year of war in Ukraine, millions of children remain displaced. And as USA TODAY National Correspondent Rick Jervis told me, that has a serious effect on their mental health. Rick, thanks for coming on the podcast.
Rick Jervis:
It's my pleasure.
Taylor Wilson:
So Rick, let's just start with the basics here off the top. How many children are displaced in Ukraine and where have they gone throughout this war?
Rick Jervis:
So a total of 5 million children have been displaced throughout this war. Some of them have actually gone to different countries abroad. A lot of them have wound up in Poland and other countries throughout Europe. Some of them have actually come to the US as well. But a chunk of them have also stayed in Ukraine. They're in different cities, but they're displaced from their hometowns.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah, that is a huge number. So obviously one of the big issues here, Rick, is schooling and learning in a time of war. What are some of the challenges that Ukrainian children face when trying to go to school during all of this?
Rick Jervis:
We basically wrote about this study which just actually came out from the Ukrainian Children's Action Project. It's a New York-based non-profit. They basically went around Ukraine talking to mothers, and grandmothers, and guardians of a lot of these children right now inside Ukraine. Even in places that are relatively safe, and relatively being a very strong term there - places like Kyiv or Lviv - they're still under constant threat of airstrikes, there's constant air sirens going off, there are explosions at times, there's blackouts. A lot of these things basically compound themselves and make a difficult environment for children to actually learn in.
Taylor Wilson:
This past year has to be brutal on the mental health of some of these children. I found it really powerful, Rick, in your story when you talked about this idea of resentment that many of these children must be feeling. Can you talk about that a little bit?
Rick Jervis:
Yeah, that was an interesting point, too. The leader of this study, Irwin Redlener and his wife Karen, they basically went around Poland and Ukraine talking to some of these families. And he had a really interesting, sort of telling anecdote. He was in Warsaw visiting with some high schoolers there, and he basically asked them whether they could ever forgive Russia for invading Ukraine. And the answer was either "generations from now," or a very strong "never." What he took away from that was that there's a lot of resentment brewing there among these school-aged children. Redlener has actually made past studies about how traumatic events impact children, from Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. But the difference there is that those children there didn't have anything to point to to resent. And he's finding that a lot of the children back in Ukraine are actually fostering a lot of resentment, and that, he says, fosters into anger, and into PTSD, and into other things later.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. USA TODAY National Correspondent Rick Jervis. Great info on all of this. Thanks so much for your time.
Rick Jervis:
Great, thank you.
Taylor Wilson:
The Biden administration proposed a new policy yesterday that would limit access to asylum for migrants who cross into the United States at the southern border illegally if they fail to apply for protections in another country. The administration did not give a specific date for the new policy, but they said they aim to time it with the end of Title 42. That pandemic era policy allows for the rapid expulsion of migrants and is said to expire on May 11th. If this new policy is approved, migrants will be ineligible for asylum if they have not used existing lawful processes like a humanitarian parole program, or scheduled a time and place of arrival at a port of entry, or been denied asylum in a third country that they've traveled through.
A major winter storm is stretching 2,600 miles coast to coast today. Residents in western states and the Plains have already faced severe winter weather for the past few days, and blizzard conditions are expected today from Wyoming across the Midwest. There are also ice storm warnings in several midwestern states this morning. And further east, a winter weather advisory is in effect starting at 4:00 PM today for parts of New York State and New England. You can find more about what's happening in your neck of the woods with a link in today's show notes.
Wealthy Americans avoid paying huge amounts in taxes. They use a number of strategies and some might even be available to average Americans. USA TODAY Money and Personal Finance Reporter Medora Lee explains. Medora, welcome back to 5 Things.
Medora Lee:
Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
First off, how much do rich people avoid in taxes?
Medora Lee:
They are really good at it. They avoid about, the Treasury estimates, $163 billion a year.
Taylor Wilson:
Geez, that is a huge number. So you outlined a bunch of different strategies that the uber-wealthy use to do this. I want to start with foundations and gifting. What do we know about this?
Medora Lee:
So foundations, I never realized this, because you always hear about the Clinton Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "Oh gosh, they're so charitable." Well, they actually get a lot of deductions off of that. Immediately, as soon as you start up a foundation, you can take an income tax deduction of up to 30% of your adjusted gross income for your contribution. You only have to distribute 5% of your foundation every year. And in the first year you don't even have to, because they base it on the 5% of your previous year. So there was no previous year the first year you started. And then you can invest all that money, or stocks if you donated stock, or whatever, and avoid capital gains tax. Foundations only have to pay an excise tax of 1.39% on their gains.
Taylor Wilson:
So when I say the words family office, some people maybe think of a shared desk in their house that the whole family uses. I take it that's not what we're talking about with the uber-rich, correct?
Medora Lee:
Right. I know, this one's a good one, right? Apparently all the really super wealthy people like the Bezoses, they all have these family offices. You turn your managing of your investments, and your accounting, and even sometimes some concierge services, and you manage it like an office. You have to structure it properly, there are a lot of rules on how you have to structure that. But by doing that, you can expense all of those fees and services.
Taylor Wilson:
So what are some other strategies that the super wealthy use to avoid taxes?
Medora Lee:
Thanks to a 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the lifetime gift tax exclusion is now $12.92 million this year. They basically doubled it. Back in 2016, it was only $5 million or so, but that's only until 2025, and then it reverts back. So a lot of wealthy people are probably taking advantage of that. And then on top of that, every year you can give away, this year it'll be $17,000, to people tax-free.
Taylor Wilson:
Are there plans, or is there any legislation in the works, to potentially close some of these loopholes for the super rich?
Medora Lee:
Biden had talked about taxing the rich when he came into office, and having a big national tax, the rich tax, and that never went anywhere. So now some of the states are taking it into their own hands. And every state has their own approach, but typically they include trying to tax the assets of rich people, and then also lowering the threshold where they can pass on money and have to pay estate taxes on.
Taylor Wilson:
What are some tactics that actual average Americans can potentially use, Medora, to try to reduce their taxes?
Medora Lee:
One is the Roth IRA. That's a great one. Peter Thiel used it to parlay something like $2,000 into $5 billion. We might not be so lucky. He had some private investments of PayPal stock and things like that. But we can use the Roth IRA. Even though there are a lot of income limits to using it, there are ways to use it, called a Backdoor Roth IRA, which is really common. Basically what you do to get around the income limits is you contribute money to traditional IRA and you can take the deduction, but you pretty closely immediately convert it into Roth IRA. And so you can contribute even though your income is too high.
And then the other way is, after last year the market got crushed. You could have sold some of your investments at a loss and you could use that to offset any gains you have, or any kind of income you have on your federal income tax. And whatever you don't use, because your losses were over $3,000, you can just save those losses and put them towards gains in future years, indefinitely. And then if you're lucky enough to have your own business, this is actually one that the wealthy use a lot too, you can hire your kids. And by doing that you can pay them a big salary, and the salaries will be deducted as a business expense, and then you're passing money on to your kids.
Taylor Wilson:
Medora Lee, you always bring us great info from the world of money. Thanks for your time.
Medora Lee:
Thank you. Have a good day.
Taylor Wilson:
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every day of the week right here, wherever you get your audio. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden backs Ukraine in Poland, huge winter storm: 5 Things podcast
MEXICO-US-MIGRATION - Credit: Herika Martinez/ AFP/Getty Images
The Biden administration announced Tuesday a new proposal that could block tens of thousands of people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border from claiming asylum.
The 153-page proposed regulation is the most restrictive policy yet by the presidents administration to bar unauthorized crossings and echoes Trump-era immigration policies. Although there are some exceptions, the proposed rule presumes that migrants are ineligible for asylum if they entered the U.S. unlawfully. Among the new rules being considered is the introduction of a fast-track deportation process known as expedited removal. Migrants who do not schedule an appointment at a U.S. border port of entry or request protection from another country while traveling to the United States would be at risk for this rapid deportation.
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The measure has been opened for 30 days of public comment before being reviewed for final publication. The policy would take effect May 11 in anticipation of a potential surge of migration at the southwest border following the expiration of Title 42, the rule implemented during the Trump administration that used the pandemic as justification to deport asylum seekers without a hearing. The new policy would then remain for two years.
Although President Joe Biden campaigned on promises to erase the imprint Donald Trump left on the U.S. immigration system, many say that they have yet to see any real change.
Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the ACLU, which sued the Trump administration over Title 42, was hopeful that, when the new administration came in, the ACLU might be able to drop their lawsuit against the government. We expected the Biden administration to get rid of the worst of the Trump-era asylum practices, the most extreme of which was the Title 42 policy, Gelernt told Rolling Stone the year Biden was sworn in. But after six months of negotiations with the Biden administration, it became clear they werent getting anywhere. And in 2021, when a federal court told the government it must suspend the Trump-era policy, Biden administration lawyers vowed to appeal the decision.
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The Biden administration s proposed rule would send asylum seekers back to danger, separate families, and cost lives, as human rights advocates have been asserting for weeks, Jane Bentrott, counsel at Justice Action Center, an immigrant rights nonprofit, told the New York Times.
It is in direct contravention of President Bidens campaign promises to reverse Trumps racist, xenophobic immigration policies, and give all folks seeking safety a fair shot at asylum, she added.
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Washington President Biden said Wednesday that it is a "big mistake" for Russia to suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms control pact, the last remaining nuclear treaty between the U.S. and the Kremlin.
Mr. Biden, who was in Warsaw, Poland, to meet with Eastern European NATO allies, was asked for his reaction to the decision announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and told reporters such such a step was a "big mistake."
Putin announced Russia would be pausing its participation in the nuclear arms control treaty during his state of the nation address Tuesday, raising tensions between the U.S. and Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Russian leader also said the country should be prepared to resume nuclear weapons tests if the U.S. did so first.
Mr. Biden elaborated on that response in an interview with ABC News' David Muir Thursday.
"It's a big mistake, to do that. Not very responsible. ... But I don't read into that that he's thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that."
Hours after Putin's speech, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country would still comply with the limits on offensive weapons imposed by the treaty and continue to exchange information with the U.S. about ballistic missile tests, in order to "maintain the necessary level of predictability and stability in the nuclear missile area."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Putin's decision to step back from the pact, calling it "deeply unfortunate and irresponsible."
President Biden poses during a group photo with the Polish President Andrzej Duda and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Feb. 22, 2023. / Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
The New START treaty was signed in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The treaty limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and heavy bombers. It also includes a number of verification measures, including 18 on-site inspections annually for U.S. and Russian teams.
The pact was set to expire in February 2021, but the U.S. and Russia struck a deal to extend it through February 2026.
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The announcement from the Russian leader came a day after Mr. Biden made a secret, hourslong visit to Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The trip, taking place nearly one year since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was a significant show of support for the country in its continued efforts to combat Russia's aggression.
Mr. Biden reiterated that the U.S. would continue to offer steadfast support of Ukraine, including through another batch of weapons and emergency assistance.
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While President Biden projected that the U.S. is united in backing Ukraine during a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday and in Poland on Tuesday, the Republican response to his trip exposed division in the party on Ukraine support as the war fighting off Russian invasion hits the one-year mark this week.
That forecasts tricky political dynamics for Republicans when getting any future aid for Ukraine through a divided Congress and GOP majority, as some polls show public support for major U.S. involvement in the war ticking down.
Were seeing kind of a rethinking of foreign policy in the Republican Party, in particular, where were still trying to sort out what the kind of the new paradigm for Republican foreign policy is going to be, said John Byrnes, deputy director of Concerned Veterans for America, which has been more skeptical of increased funding and weaponry to Ukraine.
On one end of the spectrum, firebrand Republicans criticized Biden for visiting Ukraine and called for an end to Ukraine funding.
They need to be encouraging diplomatic solutions, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said of the Biden administration on Fox Business on Tuesday. Theyre going to ratchet it up Youre going to see more and more people die through violent means.
Bidens visit to Ukraine inspired Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to call for a national divorce, tweeting that, We dont pay taxes to fund foreign countrys wars who arent even NATO allys.
On the other end, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) echoed Biden in projecting support for Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference last week, declaring that reports about the death of Republican support for strong American leadership in the world have been greatly exaggerated.
GOP leaders on top committees have also been pressing Biden to provide heavier weapons to Ukraine and emphasizing the strong bipartisan backing for the country.
We need to throw everything we can into this fight so that they can win, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Mike McCaul (R-Texas) said Sunday on CNN in a joint appearance with House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio), adding that momentum is building for this to happen.
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A portion of Republicans did not directly criticize U.S. support for Ukraine, but chastised Biden for focusing on the war rather than domestic issues like the East Palestine, Ohio, chemical spill or policies surrounding U.S. border security.
I and many Americans are thinking to ourselves, OK, hes very concerned about those borders halfway around the world. Hes not done anything to secure our own borders here at home, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Tuesday on Fox News. We have a lot of problems accumulating here.
Despite that, Biden asserted Tuesday during a speech in Warsaw, Poland, that Americans are lined up behind Ukraine.
The American people are united in our resolve as well, Biden said. All across my country, in big cities and small towns, Ukrainian flags fly from American homes. Over the past year, Democrats and Republicans in our United States Congress have come together to stand for freedom. Thats who Americans are, and thats what Americans do.
Byrnes said public polling doesnt scream to me overwhelming support for long-term continued intervention.
A January Associated Press poll found just 41 percent of Republicans supported sending government funds directly to Ukraine, down from 48 percent in May 2022.
Overall, 17 percent of U.S. adults said the U.S. should have a major role in the Russia-Ukraine war and 53 percent saying the U.S. should have a minor role, with 23 percent saying no role. That is a decrease in support from May 2022, when 32 percent were in favor of the U.S. having a major role, 49 percent in favor of a minor role, and 19 percent said no role.
Wed like a realistic conversation about how this war ends, Byrnes said. We would love to see the Ukrainian government acknowledge the fact that it has to negotiate its way out of this at some point and see some terms on the table of what they would be willing to accept, just to begin the conversation.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said last year that there will be no blank check to Ukraine, and McCaul echoed that statement when supporting a resolution from Greene last year to audit Ukraine funding. But fractures remain on the issue of sending heavier military equipment to Ukraine or economic and military aid to the country, in general.
Any issue of more aid to Ukraine will likely not be an immediate problem for Republican congressional leaders. Congress approved around $45 billion in aid to Ukraine in December, bringing the total authorized to more than $100 billion.
For the opposition party to not have a common picture of a foreign policy goal on a major question of the day definitely leaves a lot of uncertainty, Byrnes said.
But others say that they expect a largely united front, even if there are some GOP squabbles.
The House is always rough & tumble, but new members are in an educational period now and well see how that shakes out. Now that the administration has to brief House Republicans after ignoring them for the first year of the war, lets see how the GOP votes, Peter Rough, senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute, told The Hill in an email.
While McCarthy would likely strive to get enough GOP support in a slim majority to push through any measure related to Ukraine support without the need for Democratic votes, Democratic support for Ukraine means that he does not have to be completely reliant on his own party to make that happen.
There will not be a unified Republican view on foreign policy until the party retakes the White House, at which point the new president will set out the next period of Republican foreign policy thought Id also caution that some percentage of Republican hesitation on Ukraine will reflect domestic politics more than skepticism of Ukraine, Rough said.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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A Minnesota man has died after being attacked by dogs he was watching for a family member, police said. Officers secured a garage door and began rendering aid to the victim, who "had most of his clothing ripped off and had extensive bites on most of his body," the Brooklyn Center Police Department said in a statement. The victim did not own the dogs -- identified by police as American pit bull terriers -- but had been taking care of them at his home for a family member, police said.
Biden and Zelensky in Kyiv Presidency of Ukraine/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
President Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday, promising $500 million in new aid to help the country resist Russia's invasion, which started a year ago this week. Biden promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. would support Ukraine "as long as it takes." The secret trip, which Biden made ahead of a publicly scheduled visit to nearby Poland, came as Ukraine braces for a long-anticipated renewed Russian offensive.
The war has been at a stalemate for months. An unexpectedly strong Ukrainian counteroffensive has reclaimed parts of the south and east that Russia has occupied since early in the war, but Russia has sent wave after wave of missile and drone strikes deep into Ukrainian controlled territory, targeting civilian infrastructure and leaving Ukrainians to endure winter freezes with sporadic electricity and heat. Hours after Biden's stop in Kyiv, Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual state-of-the-nation address to blame the U.S. and its Western allies for the war, saying Russia was fighting to reclaim its "historic lands." With Russia digging in, will Biden's visit do anything to help Ukraine get the upper hand?
The trip was a 'gut punch' to Putin
Biden's "hazardous trip to Kyiv" was "a strategic move of cardinal importance," said Eliot Cohen in The Atlantic. The U.S. notified Moscow of Biden's travel plans at the last minute, and, in a "gut punch" to Putin, the Russian leader was powerless to keep him away. "Other heads of government preceded him, earning deserved credit," but it is a much more powerful statement when "the leader of the Free World" shows up as air-raid sirens blare.
"Symbols matter: a Kennedy or a Reagan at the Berlin Wall." Biden's decision to take this risky trip a rare visit to an active war zone that U.S. forces don't control "matters just as much" as the weapons, gear, training, and intelligence allies are providing to Ukrainian forces. His words, promising America's "unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine's democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," sent an unprecedented message of comfort to besieged Ukrainians, and a stern warning to Moscow.
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What Ukraine really needs are weapons
Despite "all the good feeling created" by the trip, wrote David E. Sanger and Anton Troianovski in The New York Times, a big test from Zelensky's point of view is whether Biden follows his show of support with approval of the F-16 fighters and long-range missiles Zelensky has demanded. Biden has so far withheld the weapons due to concerns that sending them "could provoke a wider, more direct conflict with Russia."
It's true that "Russian media wasted no time casting Mr. Biden's visit to Kyiv as proving Mr. Putin's contention that America is behind the fighting." But with "objections on the far left and far right" of the American political landscape, it's the reaction in the U.S., not Russia, that represents the greatest threat to Biden's commitments to helping Ukraine.
Moscow will get the wrong idea
Biden's secret trip will have "zero" effect on the conflict in Ukraine, or on Putin's war plans, Rebekah Koffler, president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting, former DIA intelligence officer, and author of Putin's Playbook: Russia's Secret Plan to Defeat America, told Fox News.
If anything, Koffler said, Putin is likely to think Biden used the visit to "urge Zelensky to negotiate with Russia," which will only make Moscow more likely to keep up the intense military pressure to increase its leverage. So now Ukrainians are left behind to brace for what they expect will be "massive barrage of missiles that Russia may launch on Friday, Feb. 24, the one-year anniversary of Putin's invasion."
It's time for Biden to get real
Biden was right to show America's support for Ukraine, said Gerard Baker in The Wall Street Journal. But he also owes Kyiv some "hard-headed realism" primarily, that Washington won't be able to keep spending billions to support Ukraine indefinitely. "Reports that China may start arming Russia's military only reinforce the risk that Ukraine's heroic battle becomes a protracted stalemate, and it is time to start prodding Kyiv toward a plausible endgame."
Nobody wants to talk about the prospect of making "territorial concessions" to get Russia to make peace. But the reality is that "Russia isn't going to surrender Crimea or, it seems, most of the Donbas, where historically pro-Russian populations lend a patina of legitimacy to some of Moscow's claims." Territorial concessions, "or at least a truce along acceptable front lines, will be needed. It's a messy solution that falls short of Mr. Zelensky's aims but is better than years of war" that would require a blank check from the U.S. to have any chance of succeeding.
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Supreme Court justices whipped out their dictionaries and a deep bucket of metaphors Wednesday in a cumbersome attempt to understand whether or not social media companies can be held legally liable for promoting ISIS videos under anti-terrorism laws. Stolen jewelry, banks, imaginary burglars, and a young Osama bin Laden were all invoked in a testy two-hour oral argument.
The historic hearing came just one day after justices heard arguments for and against removing liability protections for recommendation algorithms currently covered under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields tech companies from legal liability for what their users post. Combined, the court ruling on the two cases could fundamentally alter the way social media platforms host content on the internet, and thus change the everyday experience of millions of people online.
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What did the justices say about ISIS, Twitter, and content moderation?
The arguments kicked off with Seth Waxman, Twitters lawyer, struggling to coherently respond to a hypothetical scenario posed by Justice Clarence Thomas related to the definition of aiding and abetting. If a friend loans a a gun to a known burglar and murderer who is otherwise a good guy, and that gun is then used in a crime, did the guns original owner aid in the crime?
That question set the tone for the justices line of questioning, during which Waxman repeatedly said Twitter should not be held liable for hosting terrorist content because it does not necessarily specifically know whether or not an alleged terrorist on the platform will actually end up carrying out an attack. Many alleged terrorists or users sympathetic to alleged terrorist groups also use Twitter for what its best at: shitposting and doomscrolling.
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Justices were skeptical of Waxmans answers, though, and alleged the mere presence of alleged ISIS members on the service could be akin to a ticking time bomb.
If you know ISIS is using it, you know ISIS is going to be doing bad things, you know ISIS is going to be committing acts of terrorism, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said during her questioning. Justice Elena Kagan reiterated that statement in her questioning.
Youre helping by providing your service to those people, with the explicit knowledge that those people are using it to advance terrorism, Kagan said. Waxman, in response, tried to carve out a distinction between Twitter actively helping terrorists commit crime and terrorists inadvertently being aided by Twitters failure to remove all related content.
In a rebuttal towards the end of the hearing, Waxman revisited the burglar with a gun scenario and said Twitter, in this case, was more like Walmart which sells guns in stores throughout the country all while knowing someone, somewhere may end up using one to commit a felony.
Nobody will say they [Walmart] are aiding and abetting particular crimes, Waxman said.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)
Whats at stake in this terrorism case against Twitter?
Twitter v. Taamneh stems from a lawsuit filed by the relatives of Nawras Alassaf, a 23-year-old who was killed in a 2017 ISIS attack on an Istanbul nightclub that left 39 people dead. Alassafs relatives sued Twitter, claiming they aid and abet terrorist activity by allowing some ISIS related content to persist on its platform. Twitter maintains it does not knowingly provide assistance to terrorist groups even if they use their platform for promotion.
Unlike Google v. Gonzalez on Tuesday, which grappled with the scope of techs liability protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the Twitter case focuses squarely on whether claims like these can be bought under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The two are connected though, and a ruling weakening Section 230 immunity on services like recommendation algorithms could potentially open them up to liability under terrorism laws.
Though the case specially involves Twitter, its implications could affect any company that hosts user generated content. As a result, Google and Meta filed briefs in Twitters support. The Biden administration also filed a brief backing Twitter where it said the plaintiffs has failed to show Twitter knowingly provided assistance to terrorists. Other Twitter supporters, like The Knight First Amendment Institute fear an overall expansive interpretation of aiding and abetting liability could lead platforms to overcorrect and censor constitutionally protected, and potentially valuable, speech. In practice, that means social media companies could choose to only allow some user generated content on their site following human review, which would be next to impossible for Twitter given its scale. On the other hand, tech companies could also decide its safer to simply avoid posts with any mentions of terrorism altogether to steer clear of lawsuits. Both scenarios, critics say, are bad for free expression.
Neither speech about terrorism nor speech by someone associated with a terrorist group is categorically unprotected, and the government cant directly or indirectly suppress these broad swaths of political speech, the Knight Institute wrote in a brief supporting Twitter. The First Amendment is meant to protect against exactly this type of government intrusion.
Bin Laden goes to the bank, and other weird hypotheticals
During her line of questioning Wednesday, Justice Kagan asked U.S. Solicitor General Edwin Kneedle if he believed banks should be held liable for aiding terrorist activity if they offered monetary services to Osama bin Laden. Kneedle, who supports Twitters position, stammered before eventually admitting he believed banks would be liable in that scenario. That admission led Kagan to press Kneedle on why that same logic wouldnt apply to Twitter.
Kneedle went on to note his concerns about the courts ruling arent limited to Twitter. Responding to questions from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Kneedle said he feared an expanded interpretation of Anti-Terrorism Act liability could impede on commonplace business practices by many non-tech related businesses, banks included.
We are concerned about not extending it [Anti-Terrorism Act] so far that legitimate business activities could be inhibited, Kneedle said. That is a concern that should enter into the analysis.
Bin Laden made another appearance later during questioning from Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In that case, Kavanaugh asked the lawyer representing the plaintiffs if he believed CNN should be held liable for aiding and abetting terrorist activity when it aired an early interview with Bin Laden where he declared war on the U.S. The plaintiffs attorney eventually responded, I think the First Amendment would solve that problem.
Jose Hernandez and Beatriz Gonzalez, stepfather and mother of Nohemi Gonzalez, who died in a terrorist attack in Paris in 2015, arrive to speak to the press outside of the U.S. Supreme Court following oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google February 21, 2023
Justices seem sympathetic to Big Techs concerns
The Supreme Court began its two-day inspection of tech and Section 230 on Tuesday with oral arguments in the Gonzalez v Google case. The case, brought by the parents of a college student killed during a 2015 ISIS attack in Paris, alleges YouTube, a Google subsidiary, aided and abetted terrorism by boosting terrorist content in its recommendation algorithm. That argument rests on the assumption that Section 230 immunity does not extend to recommendation algorithms. Tech companies and supporters of wide liability protections reject that premise and fear limiting its scope could open platforms up to a potentially devastating waves of lawsuits.
Without Section 230, the major platforms would likely survive, but existence of innovators and smaller online sites would be put at great risk, said John Morris, a principal at the Internet Society.
Schnapper, who also represented plaintiffs in that case, repeatedly brought up YouTube thumbnails, which he confusingly equated to a person sending an email. Schnapper said YouTubes generation of URLs and images mean thumbnails were no longer mere third-party content covered by Section 230, but rather entirely new content partially created by YouTube.
Our contention is [that] the use of thumbnails is the same thing under the statute as sending someone an email and saying, You might like to look at this new video now, Schnapper said.
Justices werent convinced by that argument, with justices Alito and Jackson both saying they were confused by Schnappers logic, or lack thereof. Part of that confusion may stem from an incorrect understanding of how social media algorithms work, perhaps on the part of the justices. Justice Kagan made that point explicitly telling the courtroom that the justices really arent expert authorities on technology.
Were a court, Kagan said. We really dont know about these things. These are not like the nine greatest experts on the internet. Kagan and Kavanaugh both expressed apprehensions about the courts ability to properly adjust legal protections for tech firms and suggested Congress may be better equipped to settle the issue.
Several of the justices worried a lifting of legal immunity for online recommendation could welcome in a wave of lawsuits against firms that could threaten to hobble parts of the internet. Though some expressed sympathy around lifting immunity in extreme cases, the justices couched that by noting the difficulty of figuring out where to draw the line on cases. Schnapper, responding to a question from Justice Amy Coney Barrett, said its possible a users retweets or likes could be considered new content outside the scope of Section 230 immunity practices. That means, in theory, a troubling retweet could lead to a lawsuit if the court sides with Gonzalez.
Even though multiple justices raised doubts over whether or not Section 230, written in 1996, could have predicted recommendation algorithms, many legal experts seemed to believe it was unlikely the court would step in to make a change, in part due to the plaintiffs lawyers lackluster performance.
I dont know if Ive ever seen lawyers do so much damage to their own cases, said Tim Wu, a Columbia Law Professor and former special assistant in the Biden administration. Schnapper for petitioner was way out of his league and threw away every lifeline threw to him. Painful to watch such a nationally important issue be so badly argued.
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Multimillionaire biotech company founder and investor Vivek Ramaswamy said on Tuesday that he was entering the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race.
The 37-year-old entrepreneur and author officially entered the Republican presidential race with an appearance on Tucker Carlsons show on Fox News. He also posted a video on social media announcing his White House bid.
He said: Were in the middle of a national identity crisis. Faith, patriotism and hard work have disappeared, only to be replaced by new secular religions like Covidism, climatism and gender ideology.
We hunger to be part of something bigger than ourselves, yet we can not even answer the question of what it means to be an American.
He continued: Today, the woke left preys on that vacuum and tells Americans that their race, gender and sexual orientation govern who you are, what you can achieve and what you are allowed to think.
Mr Ramaswamy is the author of Woke, Inc: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam. He is co-founder of Strive Asset Management, which was launched last year with backing from billionaire investor Peter Thiel and calls on companies to focus on excellence over politics.
He told Fox News: Im all for putting America first, but in order to put America first, we have to first rediscover what America is. And to me, those are these basic rules of the road that set this nation into motion from meritocracy to free speech, to self-governance over aristocracy.
Americas strength is not our diversity but the ideals that unify us across our differences. Merit. Free speech. Truth. Accountability. I believe deep in my bones these ideals still exist, and I am running for President to revive them.https://t.co/LcDB04ihNQ pic.twitter.com/ijVRyawQPZ Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) February 22, 2023
In an interview with the New York Times, Mr Ramaswamy, who was born and raised in southwest Ohio, said what distinguished him from the other Republicans who are running or are likely to run, was a vision of national identity that dilutes these other agendas to irrelevance.
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Over the next few months, Republicans are guaranteed to take exceedingly extreme positions on everything from banning abortion to cutting Social Security and Medicare, Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement after Mr Ramaswamys announcement.
The threat of being labeled a racist has created a new culture of fear in our country - fear of losing your job, fear of your kids getting a bad grade, fear of becoming a pariah.
Fear is infectious. But courage can be contagious too. pic.twitter.com/RL1IHH7PvD Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) February 15, 2023
We look forward to continuing to ensure every American knows just how extreme the MAGA agenda is.
Mr Ramaswamy has a degree in biology from Harvard University and a law degree from Yale. According to his personal website, he founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and led biotech initial public offerings in 2015 and 2016, as well as helping to start other healthcare and technology companies.
South Africa: Minister aims to conclude allocation of commercial fishing rights appeals process
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, has instructed her department to ensure that she is able to conclude the Fishing Rights Allocation Process (FRAP 2021/2022) appeals process later this year.
The allocation of commercial fishing rights is central to job creation, food security, and the livelihoods of many fishers and fishing communities. Moreover, finality on the allocations of fishing rights is essential for a stable fishing industry that attracts and secures investment, said Creecy on Wednesday.
The Directorate: Appeals and Legal Review, within the department, should ensure the appeals process is concluded by no later than October 2023.
It [the allocation of commercial fishing rights] is also essential to managing the development and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources; to maximising the economic potential of the sheries sector; and to protecting the integrity and quality of the country's marine and coastal ecosystems, the Minister said.
The department received 2 473 applications for the allocation of commercial fishing rights across 9 fishing sectors, namely, Hake Deep Sea Trawl; Hake Longline; South Coast Rock Lobster; Small Pelagic (Sardine and Anchovy); Kwa Zulu Natal Crustacean Trawl; Demersal Shark; Squid; Tuna Pole-Line and Traditional Line fish.
The departments decisions in relation to the FRAP 2021/2022 were finalised during February 2022.
The Directorate: Appeals and Legal Review (Cape Town) (Appeals Directorate), within the department, who are responsible for the administration and processing of the FRAP 2021/2022 appeals, received a total of 1 213 appeals against the decisions of the delegated authorities across the aforementioned nine fishing sectors.
For the sake of efficiency, expedience and to ensure a fair and proper process and outcome, the Appeals Directorate is administering these 1213 appeals on a sector-by-sector basis, in phases, with due regard to the commencement of the fishing season for each sector, the department said.
The phases and anticipated finalisation dates for each phase is as follows:
Phase one of the appeals process, which was completed on 2 December 2022, dealt with the appeals in the Demersal Shark sector, the KwaZulu-Natal Crustacean Trawl sector and with Miscellaneous and non-compliant appeals.
Phase two of the appeals process is presently under consideration and deals with the appeals in the South Coast Rock Lobster sector and the Traditional Line fish sector. These appeals are due to be finalised by 28 February 2023. The Department is committed to meet this timeline.
Phase three of the appeals process deals with the Tuna Pole Line and Squid Sectors. These appeals are currently under consideration by the Ministers Appeals Advisory Team for their recommendations to Minister. The proposed date for finalisation of these appeals is 30 April 2023.
Phase four of the appeals process deals with the appeals in Hake Deep Sea Trawl and Hake Longline sectors. Considering the volume (120 Hake Deep Sea Trawl and 280 Hake Longline) and complexity of appeals in this sector, the proposed date for finalisation of these appeals is 30 July 2023.
Phase five of the appeals process deals with the appeals in the Small Pelagic: Sardine (169 appeals) and Anchovy (230 appeals) sectors. The Department is endeavouring to complete phase five of the appeal process by 30 October 2023.
These timeframes are subject to review, but the department is endeavouring to complete each phase of the appeal process within the proposed timeframes.
The department will also, on an ongoing basis, publish its progress in relation to each phase of the appeals process on its website. SAnews.gov.za
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The PETREL S vessel leaving the port of Chornomorsk with a cargo of Ukrainian food
Read also: Russia blocks operation of grain corridor and transports military cargo on merchant ships, says Ukraine
When the current grain agreement expires on March 20, we expect that a consensus decision will be made with partners to extend it, said First Deputy Minister Taras Vysotsky. Negotiations are ongoing.
He noted that Ukraine is doing everything possible to prolong the agreement and is negotiating with partners the UN and Turkey.
According to Vysotsky, Ukraine exported more than 30 million tons of grain in the 2022-2023 season, with about the same amount of grain still being stored in the country.
The ministry noted there is currently a certain decrease in prices for agricultural products due to the difficulty of forecasting shipments from Ukrainian ports after March 20.
Read also: 10th package of EU sanctions, Russians blocking grain corridor, Budanov profile
Usually, all grain and oilseeds markets correlate with each other, Vysotsky said.
So, a similar downward trend in prices is also observed for wheat, barley and partially oilseeds. This situation was also observed in autumn, when the issue of extending the preliminary grain agreement was raised. We hope that after a clear signal that it will continue to work, there will be a clear layout of sea shipments and the price will stabilize.
Read also: Traffic suspended as Ukrainian grain cargo ship runs aground in Bosphorus Strait
He added that is still a line of grain ships at the Bosporus due to intentional sabotage by Russian inspectors. On average, 2.5 ships pass per day. These delays impose additional costs for Ukrainian agro-industrial complex.
On Nov. 17, 2022, Ukraine, the UN, and Turkey agreed to extend the Initiative for the Safe Transportation of Agricultural Products across the Black Sea for another 120 days.
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Getty Images)
Alia Bhatt has called out two photographers for attempting to click paparazzi photos while she was in the privacy of her home.
On Tuesday (21 February), the 29-year-old Bollywood actor re-posted a screenshot of the photographs allegedly purchased by Times of India, which showed her sitting in her living room, unaware that she is being photographed from a nearby building.
Bhatt tagged the Mumbai Police in her post and asked them to take action against the concerned media house as it crossed all boundaries.
Are you kidding me? Bhatt wrote on Instagram. I was at my house having a perfectly normal afternoon sitting in my living room when I felt something watching me.
I looked up and saw two men on the terrace of my neighbouring building with a camera right at me! she added. In what world is this ok and allowed? This is a gross invasion of someones privacy. Theres a line you just cannot cross and its safe to say all lines were crossed today.
Bhatt has received support from fans and friends on the matter.
Absolutely shameless, Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor wrote on Instagram. This is crossing all limits if a woman isnt feeling safe in her own home, forget if shes a public figure or not for a second.
Any sane person who takes photographs of public figures for a living needs to know that this pathetic conduct, and these are people in the media we have trusted and shown implicit faith in believing they are here to do a job, not to make women feel unsafe or invade ones privacy.
This is nothing short of stalking, @mumbaipolice.
Actor Anushka Sharma added: This is not the first time [TOI] is doing this.
About two years ago we called them out for the same reason. Youd think it would have made them more respectful of peoples space and privacy.
Sharma added that the accused outlet was also the only guys posting photos of her and Virat Kohlis daughter despite repeated requests.
(Getty Images)
Bollywood star Janhvi Kapoor also shared how she faced a similar situation.
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She wrote on her Instagram stories: This is disgustingly intrusive. This publication has repeatedly done things like this. Including, despite my continuous requests, photographed me unaware; inside the gym I go to while working out through the glass door.
In a space that is supposed to be private, where one does not anticipate to get photographed.
I understand showing up to places, and in plain sight doing your job. Where there is a mutual understanding of the job of the photographers, and the job and requirements of being a public figure. This stealthiness, zooming into someones private space without their consent or even awareness and calling it exclusive as if its a journalistic accomplishment is far from it [sic].
In India, the protection of a celebritys interests is possible under trademark and copyright legislations.
The Trademarks Act of 1999 and the Copyright Act of 1957 both contain provisions relating to the right to publicity, and India now recognises the right to privacy as a fundamental right.
In the UK, under the Act 8 everyone has the right to respect for their private and family life, home and correspondence. Celebrities and private individuals are protected from being photographed without their permission in a location where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
After Vladimir Putin's speech at a concert in Luzhniki Stadium, the bots [fake social media accounts] of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner Group private military company, flooded social media with comments demanding that the mercenaries be given shells.
Source: BBC News Russian on Telegram
Quote from the article: "If Vladimir Putin decides to check the comments or likes under his not the longest or most meaningful speech at the Luzhniki rally-concert in the evening, he will be surprised to find a crowd of bots demanding Give Wagner shells".
Details:
The article says that in recent days, Prigozhin and his mercenaries have been trying to reach the Supreme Commander in Chief in a variety of ways to influence the General Staff, which has left the PMC without ammunition. They recorded videos, Prigozhin released full statements, and the leaders of Chechnya's Ramzan Kadyrov and Russia-occupied Crimea's Sergei Aksyonov spoke in support of him.
The chief of Wagner even posted a photo with the bodies of dozens of mercenaries killed in one day, and his fighters resorted to theatrical performances, sometimes shooting the paper chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, and sometimes defecating on him.
The agency concluded that by the spring of 2023, Prigozhin had apparently either lost access to Putin or the Defence Ministry had cut off his channels of rapid communication with the president, so in an attempt to solve the problem, he had to use bots in the comments section of the rally broadcast.
Background:
Recently, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group, has complained that his mercenaries were not receiving 80% of their ammunition and that the Russian Defence Ministry was lying to the public by saying that Wagner's men had all the necessary ammunition.
It has also become known that Chechnyas leader Ramzan Kadyrov reportedly declined Prigozhin's invitation to join an information campaign against the Russian Defense Ministry.
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SAO SEBASTIAO, Brazil (AP) Hundreds of residents of a rain-battered region in Brazils Sao Paulo state were scrambling to find water and daily supplies Wednesday after floods and mudslides cut off their communities and left at least 48 people dead.
Government and private aid groups were trying to provide necessities, but the logistics of reaching the isolated towns was creating difficulties. Authorities said they have reopened some damaged roadways into the region, but that recovery will take time.
Rescue operations continue and firefighters, police and volunteers still hope to find people alive in the rubble of houses slammed by the landslides. Some 1,730 people have been displaced and 1,810 left homeless, according to the Sao Paulo state government.
The homeless are being sheltered in schools, kindergartens and churches in Sao Sebastiao. Around 7.5 tons of aid items including food, water and hygiene kits have already been distributed to the victims, according to the state government of Sao Paulo.
But not all aid has reached its intended destination, with criminals taking advantage of the chaos and looting trucks carrying donations, Sao Paulo states Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas told the G1 news outlet.
Brazils Environment Minister Marina Silva visited Barra do Sahy on Wednesday. Resident Reuri Nascimento, 33, told Silva he removed 22 bodies using his quadbike. He complained that victims of the floods and landslides had been abandoned and said supplies were not reaching them.
Why arent the police here to help us? Theres food trafficking, we dont know where the food is going, he said.
Silva said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas government was working to improve the situation. Were going to have to work to adapt the city, focusing on the poorest who are those who live near the hillside, Silva said.
Dozens are still missing, among which are Antonio Munizs 22-year-old daughter and son-in-law. Recently married, Munizs daughter was living in a rented house in Barra do Sahy, a district of the hardest-hit mountainous coastal municipality of Sao Sebastiao.
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Muniz was digging through the mud on Wednesday where his daughters house, hit by a mudslide, used to be.
Were asking God for help, to at least find her body, he said.
The municipality of Sao Sebastiao said 26 bodies have been identified, of which seven are children.
Famous for beach resorts and flanked by mountains, the affected area is a frequent Carnival destination for rich city-dwellers who prefer to stay away from the massive street parties in their hometowns.
With supplies running low, tensions have emerged between wealthy tourists and poorer permanent residents.
Cida Fonseca, a 47-year-old woman who sells salty pastries on the beach in Barra do Sahy, said that when her daughter went to the shop to buy eggs, she found only water.
They are buying everything. Instead of taking, they should leave, she said.
Fonseca has lost friends and neighbors, while her house was flooded but not destroyed. For drinking water, she is relying on a small institution that is organizing donations and serving as a base for homeless people.
Lula visited the region on Monday and called for people living in the hillside areas to be relocated to safer regions. But some residents who left their homes later discovered that they had been vandalized, Gov. de Freitas said. As a result, some have returned to their houses, located in at risk areas, and are refusing to leave, he added.
On Wednesday a local court granted Sao Paulo state and the municipality of Sao Sebastiao permission to force residents from at-risk areas who refuse to move as a last resort, the Sao Paulo state government said.
An Associated Press reporter was told that opportunists from outside have poured into the area with boats, charging stranded tourists up to 300 reais (nearly $60) to make the short trip between Barra do Sahy and neighboring Juquehy.
But fisherman Edmilson Germano has been making the same trip for free. He made 30 trips on Tuesday, taking people away from Barra da Sahy to Juquehy and returning with food.
We do what we can to help people, the 49-year-old said.
(Bloomberg) -- Critics of Rishi Sunak said he had failed to resolve one of the key sticking points in the Brexit negotiations over Northern Ireland, a fresh setback as he tries to convince his own party to back plans to end a long-running dispute with the European Union.
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Jeffrey Donaldson, who leads Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party, a key caucus Sunak is trying to win over, said the UK prime ministers proposals would still see Northern Irish businesses having to make goods in line with EU regulations even if they dont leave Northern Ireland.
Thats not acceptable, Donaldson said, after meeting with a hard-line grouping of pro-Brexit Tory MPs, known as the European Research Group, in Westminster on Tuesday evening. Especially when theyre not selling them to the EU.
The views of the DUP are important to Sunak because many of his Tory MPs will take their cue on whether to support his EU negotiation based on the DUPs position. Sunak is currently trying to win over skeptical MPs and prevent the DUP from rejecting his plan outright.
The DUP-ERG meeting was the latest sign of the political obstacles Sunak must overcome if he is to resolve the standoff over Northern Ireland, one of the biggest headaches of his premiership. The UK and EU are close to an agreement that would ease some of the trade frictions in Northern Ireland created by the post-Brexit settlement, but Sunak wants to get his party on board before finalizing the deal.
Earlier, Sunak hosted a cabinet meeting and then met with Conservative backbenchers in a push to resolve the standoff. Sunak told his cabinet that intensive negotiations with the EU continue on resolving the issues caused by the existing agreement, according to an emailed readout.
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Why Northern Ireland Keeps the UK and Europe at Odds: QuickTake
After long negotiations with the EU, Sunak hasnt yet shown MPs the final text of any deal, which is a source of frustration for some Conservative backbenchers.
You cant ask for the degree of support or otherwise for a deal unless you can actually read what the deal is, said Tory MP Mark Francois, a member of the ERG, speaking after Tuesdays meeting. When weve had a chance to do that, we can give you an opinion.
Also present at Tuesdays meeting were former Brexit negotiator David Frost and former cabinet ministers Simon Clarke, Jacob Rees-Mogg and John Redwood. Francois said there were 50 people at the meeting, of which about 40 were MPs. If that many Conservative MPs rebelled against Sunak over his deal, hed need the help of the opposition Labour Party to get it through Parliament - a symbol of weakness he wants to avoid.
The proposed solution in the UK-EU negotiations centers around green and red customs lanes for goods flowing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and Europe respectively, which would end onerous checks and paperwork on goods traveling within the UK. However, the role of the European Court of Justice remains a key concern for pro-unionist politicians in Belfast and London, plus the ongoing reach of EU regulations in Northern Ireland.
Even as Sunak wrangles with his own party in London, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly spoke with European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic on Tuesday the pairs third conversation in five days. They will speak again in the coming days.
Old Wounds
Sunak is trying to draw a line under a dispute with the EU that has poisoned relations since Britain left the bloc three years ago, amid complaints that the existing Brexit deal hampers trade between the region and Great Britain. The issue is reviving arguments that fatally undermined former Prime Minister Theresa May.
One pro-Brexit Conservative backbencher told Bloomberg they were concerned with the outline of a potential deal shared with them by Downing Street. They will only make a final decision once a final text is available, they said, but needed further reassurances over a consent mechanism in respect of the role of the ECJ in Northern Ireland. The government should not proceed without the support of the DUP, they added.
Rees-Mogg echoed those concerns on a Conservative Home podcast Tuesday, adding: I dont know why so much political capital has been spent on something without getting the DUP and the ERG onside first.
Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said skeptics should not derail any deal. If we dont accept this deal, we will retain the status quo and not allow the veil to be lifted on the bright future Northern Ireland has ahead of it, he said in an interview.
Given the ongoing issue of EU regulations applying in Northern Ireland that Sunak is yet to resolve, Clarke said the preferable outcome would be for Sunak to push ahead with legislation currently frozen in Parliament, which would give ministers the power to unilaterally override parts of the Brexit agreement concerning the region.
The ERG is not the political force it was at the height of the Brexit wars in Parliament in 2019, with some members now in government and its organizing power diminished, according to people familiar with the governments thinking.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar suggested no solution was imminent. At a Dublin briefing with reporters, Varadkar said he cant say whether or not well have a protocol agreement this week, but that a huge amount of progress has been made.
Wooing Unionists
Sunak is also trying to persuade the DUP to back his approach in a bid to end its opposition to forming a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, which has been suspended for more than a year.
Sunaks spokesman Max Blain told reporters in London on Tuesday that talks with the EU still include unresolved issues, and that the government would continue to engage with parties in Northern Ireland.
A person familiar with the governments strategy suggested not all of the DUP needed to be brought onside for the premier to press ahead with his plans.
Downing Street had been cheered at the end of last week by Donaldsons apparent optimism, while other members of the unionist party such as Sammy Wilson have since spoken out broadly against the prospect of a deal.
Even so, the party leader Tuesday still sounded a conciliatory note. I want to commend the prime minister for the work hes done, Donaldson said. Progress has been made. But theres still some way to go.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also a factor. A person close to Johnson said at the weekend that he opposes any move to drop legislation allowing ministers to unilaterally rewrite much of the protocol. Thats a view taken up in recent days by several pro-Brexit MPs.
--With assistance from Peter O'Dwyer and Alex Wickham.
(Updates with details from DUP-ERG meeting from first paragraph.)
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Joan Marcus
The break room in a workplace is a place of partial, momentary escape from the grind. The relaxation, eating, bitching, gossiping time is all-too-brief, your workplace is just beyond the door, and the presence of managementon noticeboards, or the hovering human clock-watchers in chargeis all around.
The break room at a Hobby Lobby store in Boise, Idaho, is the setting for Samuel D. Hunters Obie Award-winning 2010 play A Bright New Boise, and is no such refuge. In the revival currently playing at New Yorks Signature Theatre, to March 12, the at-first-unassuming Will (Peter Mark Kendall) is trying to both escape and find somethingif he doesnt break himself in the process, that is. Initially he seems folded in on himself with shame.
If You Want to Understand White Evangelicals, Tour a Hobby Lobby Store
Within Wilson Chins well-imagined, numbly plain set, the thing Will is trying to forget in this banal place is a terrible scandal at an evangelical church he was a member of. The thing he wants to reclaim is a relationship with his son Alex (Igancio Diaz-Silverio, drily surly and spiky) who he gave up for adoption 17 years previously. Alex nervously contemplates his overtures, both personal and religious.
Also suspicious of his beliefs and motives, with good reason, is Leroy (Angus OBrien), Alexs brother, who wears T-shirts with confrontational slogans. Anna (Anna Baryshnikov) is a quiet co-worker, who forms a bond with Will as a fellow employee who hides away at the end of the working day to spend quiet time after lights outand the store has been locked upin the break room.
Store manager Pauline (Eva Kaminsky) is in charge of this group of people; Kaminsky is the standout performer of the play, supplying a constant, very funny, scene-dominating comedy of exasperation as things and people fall apart, and she just wishes her underlings would get on with their jobs in service of the productive small-scale model of capitalism she is proud to have constructed and oversee. Will and his destabilizing presencehe is both recessive and combativethreaten to destroy all her best-laid plans.
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That Kaminsky emerges as such a forceful presence is one of the curios of this solid, if static-feeling play, directed by Oliver Butler. It is beached between comedy and drama, with the comedy a relief amid the plays darker interrogations of the soul and motivation.
Peter Mark Kendall and Ignacio Diaz-Silverio in A Bright New Boise. Joan Marcus
Will is a strange character to observe, and presumably to play. One moment we see the absentee dad trying to do the right thing, and get to know and help his clearly vulnerableboth physically and mentallyteenage son. The next he is a fulminating religious maniac, banging on about the Rapture and apocalypse.
In a 2017 PBS interview, Hunter explained: I went to a fundamentalist Christian high school in Idaho, so that makes my relationship to that worldview complex in some ways. I have so many objections to it, but Im also fascinated by religious extremism and religious people. Its an issue that begs us to understand it in a more profound way than we do right now As secular humanists in this country, our initial reaction is just to say that fundamentalists believe because they are either dumb or crazy. A Bright New Boise is trying to bring some humanity and empathy to these people who I think we have this knee jerk reaction to.
Yet, whatever the play intends, Will doesnt invite understanding. You want to move away from him, as you do any crazy-seeming person, not listen to any of his strident, disturbed rambling. Even Anna, a gentle, live-and-let-live Lutheran, who clearly likes Will, runs from his bug-eyed lunacy eventually, after he scorns what he perceives as her minor-key, non-committal Christian faith.
In Will, we get no sense of a person faltering between impulses; just the sporadic, inexplicable expressions of what he might be feeling in the moment. He is such a gross, intolerant zealot that whatever cries of confusion and pain he voices ring hollow. Even when we find out where some of this pain is rooted, it changes nought; he just seems unpleasant and damaged and possibly psychotic and a danger to others. The play doesnt seem to know what to do with him, and neither do his fellow characters, or we, the audience too.
The notion of a destructive, crazy religious sect is a familiar one, and an even more familiar and present one when Hunter originally wrote the play. This was also a time when the Hobby Lobby was a Christian-owned craft store, whose name did not more immediately summon up the social controversies and culture wars that became the hallmark of the brand from 2012 onwards.
While its central protagonist is such a weird, unknowable thorn, this is a fluent, well-acted production, with a striking lighting design by Jen Schriever that enlivens not just the charged airlessness of the break room, but also transports us outside to a busy highway. There, the damaged and damaging Will faces his destiny, and the key question of whether he will do right by his son, or remain in service to the reason-defying extremities of the faith he has thus far so zealously embraced. In that final respect, the title of the play is darkly ironic.
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NEW BEDFORD Thirty-five years after Azorean immigrant Clotilde Claudette Arruda Tremblay seemingly vanished without a trace from Fall River, state and local law enforcement are continuing to investigate her disappearance and are seeking the publics help in providing any information related to her.
To date, efforts by the police to locate Clotilde have been unsuccessful and her disappearance is considered suspicious, according to a news release issued by the Bristol County District Attorneys Office, which is investigating her disappearance along with the Massachusetts Unresolved Unit and the Fall River Police Department.
Tremblay, who was 33 at the time of her disappearance in 1988, was living with her husband Robert Tremblay and their 8-year-old daughter at 128 Pearce St. in Fall River. She was employed as a machine operator at F&F Braid Company, located on Pearce Street near her home.
Her husband, Robert Tremblay, has claimed that Clotilde left him in 1988 for another man, although there is no evidence that he ever reported her disappearance to law enforcement authorities, states the press release. Despite his claim, there has been no trace of Clotilde since that time.
According to the Bristol County District Attorneys Office, her family rejects the idea that she voluntarily ran off with another man.
Her family described Clotilde as being extremely close to her daughter and the suggestion that she voluntarily disappeared leaving her daughter behind is not possible, reads the press release.
A neighbor also expressed disbelief with the husbands explanation, according to the Bristol County District Attorneys Office.
The neighbor described Clotilde as a loving mother who was inseparable from her daughter, says the release. For this reason and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, both Clotildes family members and her neighbor believe that something happened to Clotilde at that time.
Authorities are hoping tips from the public can help solve this mystery.
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Clotilde Tremblay was born in Sao Miguel, Azores. After coming to the United States, she settled in Fall River, where many of her family members also lived.
In 1980, she married Robert Tremblay and the couple had a child together.
Anyone with information that may assist law enforcement is urged to call Lt. AnnMarie Robertson of the Massachusetts State Police at 508-961-1918 or Lt. John MacDonald of the Fall River Police Department at 508-324-2796 ext. 253.
Callers who only speak Portuguese are urged to call Detective Luis Vertentes of the Fall River Police Department at 508-324-2796, ext. 260.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Bristol County District Attorney seeking public help in solving mystery of Portuguese woman disappearance
By Michael Holden
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's police force is under unprecedented pressure to reform after the conviction of officers for murder and rape, alongside evidence of widespread sexism and misogyny in its ranks.
London's Metropolitan Police has been hardest hit: After years of saying serious misconduct cases were isolated incidents, it now says it must change its culture.
In the last year, an officer was convicted of murdering and raping a woman he abducted using his police badge, another was jailed for more than 30 years for 24 rapes and two officers were sacked for sharing photos of two murdered sisters.
The crimes turned a focus onto the broader work culture, with a separate investigation into officers at a central London police station finding a culture of bullying, racial discrimination, misogyny and sexual harassment.
"We have failed and I'm sorry," Mark Rowley, the Met's new chief and Britain's most senior officer, said in January.
Rowley took over from Cressida Dick who was pushed out in February 2022 after London's Mayor, Sadiq Khan, said he did not believe she would root out the racism and sexism in the force.
The task he faces is significant. A team has been set up to review the force's handling of previously closed complaints made against nearly 1,100 officers and staff over the last decade, complaints that range from the use of inappropriate language to allegations of sexual assault.
Rowley has said that the process to rid the force of corrupt officers will not be rapid as it takes time for cases to go to court, and that more "painful" stories are likely to emerge.
Police figures show a record number of allegations of sexual offences were made against police in 2021, with 190 of the 251 total coming internally from colleagues or staff.
Diana Johnson, an opposition Labour lawmaker who chairs parliament's Home Affairs Committee, said in January that the police were guilty of institutional sexism.
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'BOOTY PATROL'
For those trying to address the issue, like Detective Superintendent Miles Ockwell who has championed diversity throughout his 20-year career and instigated British police's involvement with the United Nations HeForShe gender equality programme in 2017, the situation is desperate.
He wants the police to be angry about the revelations. "But to channel that anger in a positive way ... to say this is unacceptable," Ockwell told Reuters.
Those police officers who are dismayed by the current situation have a lot to be angry about.
Among the most shocking revelations regarding the culture of the police came from an investigation that showed officers exchanging offensive messages in which they discussed sexually assaulting their female colleagues and beating women.
"I would happily rape you", one officer wrote to a colleague, while they referred to another male constable as "mcrapey raperson" due to a rumour he liked to bring women back to the police station for sex, the investigation found.
According to an official report, officers had passed off the conversations as 'banter'. Two officers were sacked last year.
A police watchdog report last November cited a survey of 11,000 officers and staff as showing "an alarming number" faced "appalling behaviour by male colleagues".
Among its findings were male officers stopping cars driven by women they regarded as pretty in a practice they called "booty patrol", senior officers pestering junior ranked women for sex and officers watching pornography at work.
"We concluded that far too many women had, at some stage in their career, experienced unwanted sexual behaviour towards them," the report said, finding major problems in the vetting of officers and how complaints of misogyny were dealt with.
England and Wales now has more than 50,000 female police officers, almost 35% of the total, and there are more women in senior leadership roles. But some are having second thoughts.
Detective Inspector Frankie Westoby, chair of the Women's Network for Hertfordshire Police, north of London, wrote in October that two to three women went to her every week looking for support, over an array of issues: "If things don't change, policing will lose more women."
Britain's interior minister Suella Braverman has told police chiefs that those ill-suited need to be "weeded out, and quickly".
College of Policing figures show 257 officers were dismissed in the year to March 2021, broadly in keeping with recent years, but up from the 70 sacked in 2017-18.
RISING CRIME
Some officers officers think the government needs to look at itself. In 2010, the Conservative-led government announced a 20% real terms cut to police funding leading to a fall of some 20,000 officers.
In 2019, with violent crime rising, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to rapidly hire an extra 20,000 officers. The police watchdog said in November the speed risked unsuitable people slipping through.
Officer Ockwell said the drive for reform had also not been helped by politicians themselves, who have openly criticised a push for equality and diversity training in many organisations. Braverman was reported last year as having told police chiefs to prioritise "common-sense policing" over diversity efforts and virtue-signalling "woke" messaging.
"It's completely undermining," he said of the general trend, adding officers hear that message and repeat it.
Meanwhile, the Police Federation, the organisation that represents the almost 140,000 lower ranked officers, said a record number, 8,117, had quit in the year to March 2022.
Its annual survey of morale in January found nearly all unhappy at their treatment by the government and one in five officers planned to quit in the next two years, with pay for doing a dangerous job, which many do unarmed unlike nearly all their global counterparts, a major issue.
Rowley has vowed to win back the public's trust but there is likely to be more bad news first with the publication soon of a major report into the culture at London's Metropolitan Police.
A figure with knowledge of the process said it could be more damning than a 1999 inquiry into the murder of Black teenager Stephen Lawrence which identified institutional racism within the force, over its response to the killing.
Ockwell said in order for the police to regain trust it needed to tackle the broader unprofessional behaviour down to those who pestered new female recruits for dates.
"If we can't recognise the link between those two things, then we won't achieve that positive change," he said.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Emilio Madrid
Broadway star Ben Platt condemned really disgusting neo-Nazi protesters spreading evil who heckled theatergoers on Tuesday evening in line to see the first preview performance of the musical, Parade.
The show, a Broadway transfer from the Encores! concert series, is based on the true story of a Jewish factory superintendent, Leo Frank, who was falsely convicted of killing 13-year-old employee Mary Phagan in 1913, and who was kidnapped from prison and lynched two years later. Platt, who won Tony, Emmy, and Grammy awards for playing the title role in Dear Evan Hansen, plays Frank in Parade.
Theater Camp Is a Comedy Gift From God (and Ben Platt) to Musical Geeks
In one video, posted by Forward journalist Jacob Wasserman, a masked activist from the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi hate group, tried to leaflet theater-goers outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre so they could find out the truth about the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), as well as Parade. Youre paying 300 bucks to go fucking worship a pedophile, you might as well know what youre talking about, the masked person said.
In an Instagram post after the show, Platt condemned the really disgusting groupsaying antisemitic things about Leo Frank and just spreading antisemitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place.
The incident, Platt said, was definitely very ugly and scary, but a wonderful reminder of why were telling this particular story, and how special and powerful artand particularly theatercan be.
Platt thanked the theater for keeping the cast and crew super-safe and secure, and implored audiences to support the show. Now is really the moment for this particular piece.
Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond in 'Parade.' Emilio Madrid
Platt said he wanted to celebrate the work of his colleagues to mount the first preview performance, not the really ugly actions of a few people who are spreading evil.
Given the shows focus on antisemitic hate, the shows producers said in a statement: If there is any remaining doubt out there about the urgency of telling this story in this moment in history, the vileness on display last night should put it to rest. We stand by the valiant Broadway cast that brings this vital story to life each night.
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By Jorge Otaola
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, mayor of Argentine capital Buenos Aires, is set to announce his 2023 presidential election bid, a spokesman for the conservative opposition politician said on Wednesday, as a fragmented field of runners starts to emerge.
Larreta, a 57-year-old economist who has led the city since 2015, will seek to represent the main Together for Change opposition coalition, where he faces likely internal competition from former Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich.
Argentina, a major grains exporter and Latin America's third-largest economy, is headed for crunch elections in October, with the ruling center-left Peronist coalition battling to avoid a heavy defeat as high inflation hammers its support with voters.
The conservatives are hoping to wrest power away from the Peronists, the country's dominant political force for decades, pledging more economic and fiscal responsibility to tame inflation and head off further debt and currency crises.
"It is the confirmation of his candidacy," Larreta's spokesman told Reuters, referring to a scheduled announcement on social networks later on Wednesday, adding that on Thursday there would be a video confirming him as a pre-candidate.
According to local law, primary elections would be held in August while the general election is expected to be held at the end of October, though the exact date has not been fixed by the Electoral Chamber.
The conservative coalition internal race will likely see Larreta take on Bullrich who has long signaled she will be a candidate, as well as former Buenos Aires provincial governor Maria Eugenia Vidal and politician Elisa Carrio.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez has said he wants to seek re-election, while powerful former president and current Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner ruled out being a candidate late last year, though could pull off a surprise.
(Reporting by Jorge Otaola; Writing by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden called several officials during his trip to Poland on Tuesday for an update on an Ohio train crash that released toxic chemicals after his administrations response to the derailment has come under fire from both parties.
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Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, called for US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a Democrat, to be fired. Some on the left have also publicly raised concerns. That included David Sirota, a former speechwriter for Senator Bernie Sanders, who urged people to keep pressuring Buttigieg to deliver on his promises.
The administration defended Buttigieg late last week, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying the president had absolute confidence in him. Buttigieg has pushed back against some critics, including Rubio, in alleging they had sided with the railroad industrys attempt to block safety measures.
The White House on Tuesday evening said Biden had made five calls for an update on the derailment of the Norfolk Southern Corp. train and how the Environmental Protection Agency was holding Northern Southern accountable.
On his list were EPA Administrator Michael Regan; Ohios governor, Mike DeWine; Senator Sherrod Brown and Representative Bill Johnson, both of Ohio; and Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
The criticism of Buttigieg, from the right and left of the American political spectrum, underscores the fact that he is in an unusual position for the head of the Department of Transportation, which is usually an obscure post. Hes now at the center of a firestorm over the derailment at the same time much of Washington assumes the former presidential candidate will again seek higher political office.
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Theres never been a secretary of transportation with surefire national ticket ambitions, said Jeff Davis, senior fellow for the independent Eno Center for Transportation, a think tank in Washington. That has Republicans trying to damage him and progressives wanting to ding him up as insufficiently anti-business before a possible Democratic primary.
Earlier this year, Buttigieg also faced political attacks from both sides for his agencys handling of an air travel meltdown around Christmas involving Southwest Airlines Co.
Now the issue is the crash involving the Norfolk Southern train that derailed while carrying hazardous materials on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, setting off a fire with smoke across town and worries from the community. The Biden administration has come under increasing pressure amid reports that residents have been dealing with headaches, lingering odors and deaths of animals.
Shifting blame and avoiding responsibility a Buttigieg special, Representative Brian Babin, a Texas Republican, tweeted Tuesday. Under his supervision, our transportation industry is in complete disarray. I will be holding him accountable.
Rubio took it a step further, saying in a tweet that Buttigieg is incompetent and should be dismissed.
In a reply to Rubios tweet, Buttigieg essentially called him a shill for the railroad industry and asked him to toughen safety rules and fines. He declined to comment further, the DOT said.
Former supporters of Sanderss presidential campaigns who see Buttigieg as potential candidate likely to run in the mold of Biden have also called out the transportation secretary, even as he announced plans on Tuesday to call on railroads to protect workers who report safety issues and expedite their introduction of safer tanker cars.
After two weeks of scrutiny, hes gone from silence, to Im constrained to Im a fighter!, Sirota tweeted Tuesday. Seems the pressure is working. Keep it up itll be necessary to force him to actually deliver on this rhetoric.
Buttigieg also called on Congress to boost the maximum fines the department can impose on rail companies for violating safety regulations and to increase spending to expand hazardous materials training for first responders.
He has rejected suggestions that he is aiming for a future political run, including recently swatting away speculation about himself running for a US Senate seat in Michigan that is expected to be open in 2024 with the planned retirement of Senator Debbie Stabenow. He dismissed some of the latest criticism he has received about the Ohio derailment as just politics.
I cant help but notice that some of the people who hastened to be on TV talking about this have sided with industry when industry was trying to block or weaken rail safety standards, Buttigieg told reporters on a call Monday.
He added there is an opportunity in the wake of the Ohio derailment leaving aside the politics for anyone on either side of the aisle to join us in raising the standard of accountability and safety.
If folks are serious about this, Republican, Democrat or Independent, I will work with them to raise the bar and the rest is just politics, he said, noting he has plans to visit plans to East Palestine soon.
--With assistance from Lillianna Byington and Justin Sink.
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is set to travel to East Palestine, Ohio, on Thursday in the wake of the hazardous train derailment earlier this month.
The secretary will meet with community members affected by the derailment, receive an update on the National Transportation Safety Boards (NTSB) investigation and hear from investigators on the ground, according to the Transportation Department.
The NTSB is expected to issue its initial findings from the investigation into the derailment on Thursday.
The secretarys trip comes after the Biden administration faced criticism for not heading to East Palestine sooner.
Frustration builds over response to Ohio train derailment as officials urge patience
The Transportation Department defended the timing of the trip, saying in a statement on Wednesday that Buttigieg wanted to go when it is appropriate and wouldnt detract from the emergency response efforts.
A spokesperson for the department added that Buttigieg is going now since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving out of the emergency response phase and transitioning to the long-term remediation phase and noted that the visit aligns with the NTSB issuing its findings of the investigation.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said on Monday that President Bidens trip to Ukraine was the biggest slap in the face, that it showed the president doesnt care about us and that he was furious Biden was supporting Ukraine and not his town.
Former President Trump, who has suggested that the town was abandoned by the Biden administration, is slated to visit East Palestine on Wednesday. Biden was in Poland until Wednesday afternoon and is heading back to Washington.
Biden speaks with Ohio, Pennsylvania officials on East Palestine train derailment
A Transportation Department spokesperson said on Wednesday that the EPA is leading the federal response to hold Norfolk Southern accountable, but that the Transportation Department will help get to the bottom of what caused the derailment and implementing rail safety measures.
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Buttigieg said on Tuesday in an interview with ABC that he plans to visit East Palestine, saying when I go, the focus is going to be on action.
Others on the trip with Buttigieg will include Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Amit Bose and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown.
Buttigieg on Tuesday unveiled a series of proposal rail reforms. He also called on Norfolk Southern and other rail companies to improve safeguards and called on Congress to increase the fines that the Transportation Department can issue against rail companies for safety violations, which currently stand at $225,455 for the maximum fine.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit East Palestine, Ohio, on Thursday to view the site of the recent train derailment that led to a spill of toxic chemicals into the community.
Buttigieg plans to meet with community members, get an update from the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation and hear from Transportation Department investigators who were on the ground in the hours after the Feb. 3 derailment, the department said.
A spokesperson said a statement Wednesday that Buttigieg had said he would visit the area when it was appropriate to do so and when it would not detract from emergency response efforts.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during The National Association of Counties (NACo) 2023 Legislative Conference on Feb. 13, 2023. (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The visit will coincide with the NTSB's release of a preliminary report Thursday about its investigation into the derailment.
"The secretary is going now that the EPA has said it is moving out of the emergency response phase and transitioning to the long-term remediation phase," the spokesperson said. "His visit also coincides with the NTSB issuing its factual findings of the investigation into the cause of the derailment and will allow the secretary to hear from USDOT investigators who were on the ground within hours of the derailment to support the NTSBs investigation."
The Transportation Department "will continue to do its part by helping get to the bottom of what caused the derailment and implementing rail safety measures, and we hope this sudden bipartisan support for rail safety will result in meaningful changes in Congress," the statement added.
Former President Donald Trump visited the area Wednesday.
Republicans have called on Buttigieg to resign, claiming he has been slow to react to the disaster. Buttigieg, however, tweeted last week that his department's ability to regulate the rail system is constrained by law because of a braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration.
The White House sought Wednesday to blame the spill on Trump and other Republicans.
Congressional Republicans and former Trump Administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.
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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Buttigieg last week when she was asked about the criticisms from Republicans as well as Democrats.
"We do have absolute confidence" in Buttigieg, Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing.
On Tuesday, Michael Regan, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced a sweeping enforcement action to compel Norfolk Southern, the rail company involved in the accident, to conduct and pay for cleanup actions associated with the derailment of the 150-car train, which carried toxic chemicals.
The order requires the company to identify and clean up contaminated soil and water; pay any EPA costs, including reimbursing it for cleaning services it will offer residents and businesses; and participate in public meetings at the EPAs request and post information online.
In a statement, Norfolk Southern said: We recognize that we have a responsibility, and we have committed to doing whats right for the residents of East Palestine. We have been paying for the cleanup activities to date and will continue to do so.
East Palestine is near the Pennsylvania border, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday that his office had made a criminal referral in response to the derailment. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signaled his state attorney general is also preparing to take legal action.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
This latest venture brings to eight the total number of these shows that Allen Media Group will be producing and distributing.
Byron Allens Allen Media Group (AMG) has announced a new court series with Judge Greg Mathis that will launch in Fall 2023.
Mathis Court With Judge Mathis will be a daily, one-hour show that AMG will produce and distribute for broadcast on television stations, as well as cable and digital distribution platforms, according to a news release. AMG owns theGrio.
(l-R) Judge Greg Mathis and Byron Allen. (Getty)
We at Allen Media Group are proud to add MATHIS COURT WITH JUDGE MATHIS to our amazing portfolio of court shows, said Allen, AMGs founder, chairman and CEO, in a joint statement with Mathis.
Continued Allen, Judge Greg Mathis is an outstanding, charismatic, and iconic television host, and we are extremely confident that our eighth and newest court series with Judge Mathis will be very successful for years to come as he joins our outstanding roster of talent, including Judge Kevin Ross, Judge Mablean Ephriam, Judge Christina Perez, Judge Karen Mills-Francis, Judge Glenda Hatchett, Judge Lauren Lake, and Judge Eboni K. Williams.
Warner Bros./Telepictures produced and distributed Judge Mathis for 24 consecutive seasons, making it the second longest-running court show behind Judge Judy, which ran for 25 seasons. Mathis presided over 13,000 cases and won the Daytime Emmy in 2018 for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program, as well as an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding News, Talk or Information Series in 2004.
Mathis, a former judge of Michigans 36th District Court, expressed excitement about joining AMG. For years Ive proudly watched Byron Allen build a first-class global media empire, he said. After 24 years on the air, I cant think of a better company to work with to create my next great chapter. Byron and I are both from Detroit and its exciting to see him build the Motown of court programming by bringing together all of my fellow judges from his eight court shows who are the best of the best.
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With the addition of Mathis Court With Judge Mathis, AMG will be producing and distributing eight daily, one-hour court series, which are carried in more than 90% of U.S. broadcast television markets and on network and digital platforms globally. The others are: Americas Court With Judge Ross, Justice For All With Judge Cristina Perez, Justice With Judge Mablean, Supreme Justice With Judge Karen, The Verdict With Judge Hatchett, We The People With Judge Lauren Lake, and Equal Justice With Judge Eboni K. Williams, which is also set to debut in Fall 2023.
The court shows are accessible on AMGs television network JUSTICECENTRAL.TV, which is available in more than 50 million U.S. homes and is carried on Comcast, DirecTV, ATT U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, DISH, Altice, Charter/Spectrum, YouTube TV, Hulu and other major cable carriers nationwide and globally.
TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!
The post Byron Allen to launch new Judge Greg Mathis court series in Fall 2023 appeared first on TheGrio.
Five months after Gov. Gavin Newsom said California needed to address a historic surge in gas prices with a sense of urgency, lawmakers are finally set to begin weighing his proposal to levy new penalties on oil companies.
The Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee will hold an informational hearing Wednesday titled Petroleum Windfall Profits Penalty: Will Californians Get Relief at the Gas Pump? It will mark the first legislative discussion of Newsoms proposal to penalize oil companies that earn profits over a certain threshold. Money from the fines would be refunded to residents.
The hearing is also the start of what will likely be a months-long debate over where blame for the spikes in gas prices rests: with oil companies as Newsom contends or the states rigorous environmental policies, as the industry asserts.
At the height of the surge last fall, California gas prices soared beyond $6 per gallon. That was nearly $2.60 above the national average an unprecedented rise even for a state with a high gas excise tax and strict regulations. Since then, the disparity has dropped, but some worry the state could be hit with another surge in the near future.
On Tuesday, Californias average price per gallon was $4.74, well above the national average of $3.40 per gallon, according to AAA.
Slow-moving special session
The governor called for a price gouging penalty, which he originally dubbed a windfall profits tax, in late September. He followed that with an October announcement that he would call a special legislative session in December to address high gas prices.
Newsom proclaimed the special session a date with destiny for oil companies. Even so, little has happened since legislative leaders gaveled in on Dec. 5.
Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, in December introduced a bill containing Newsoms price gouging penalty. But it still provides no details on where or how a profit cap would be set and who would be eligible for rebates.
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Newsom has remained mum on the specifics. Asked about Skinners bill and the special session, he told reporters after a Feb. 16 school tour in Sacramento that he was going to fight like hell to make sure oil companies cant game the system and are transparent about their earnings.
Once we figure that out and were in the process of doing that then were going to be able to fill in those blanks on what apparently everybody wants to see, including me, which is what those details are, he said about the bill. ... Im going to keep at it.
Moderate Democrats and oil policy
Passing a price-gouging penalty will require convincing some of the states moderate Democrats, many of whom benefited from oil industry contributions and independent expenditure campaigns.
Ahead of the November election, an oil-backed political action committee with a lengthy name the Coalition to Restore Californias Middle Class, Including Energy Companies Who Produce Gas, Oil, Jobs And Pay Taxes spent millions on television ads backing moderate candidates, including Energy Committee member Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento.
Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, made clear where she stood last week when she introduced a bill that would require refineries to boost the amount of in-state oil they buy and process. Bains represents Kern County, which produced 70% of the states oil in 2021.
California produced about 29% of its own crude in 2021, while the remaining 71% came from Alaska and foreign countries, according to data from the California Energy Commission.
Bains bill would require that 50% of all oil refined in California to come from inside the state by 2035 a level not seen since 1997.
Sacramento too often embraces pie-in-the-sky policies that dont solve real problems, Bains said in a statement. Pushing the oil industry out of state may please some political activists, but it ignores the realities of the global market.
Of particular concern for Bains and Republican representatives from Kern County is the notion that Californias climate policies are driving the state to seek crude from countries in the Middle East and South America, where human rights violations regularly occur and oil drilling is contributing to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
Half of all crude exported from the Amazon gets imported to California, according to a recent report from Amazon Watch and Stand.earth.
Republicans urge gas tax cuts
Legislative Republicans on Tuesday called on Newsom to take a series of actions to avoid the anticipated surge in gas prices none of which involved the governors proposed price-gouging penalty.
Instead, the Republican leaders urged the governor to pause a scheduled raise to the states gas excise tax, extend a partial diesel sales tax exemption and temporarily delay the transition to summer-blend gasoline.
Those measures, they argue, would result in increased production and lower gas prices.
California drivers are struggling with high gas prices, and if the summer-blend mandate moves forward as planned, things will only get worse, said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City in a statement. We need greater flexibility to prevent gas prices from spiking this simple step will provide that while reducing the burden on cash-strapped Californians.
Other Republican lawmakers have proposed suspending the states gas excise tax altogether. But the state is already eyeing a projected $22.5 billion budget deficit, meaning there is unlikely to be much support for legislation that would block the state from collecting transportation and infrastructure funding.
By Isla Binnie and Simon Jessop
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major U.S. pension fund CalPERS is seeking a meeting with rail operator Norfolk Southern at which it plans to ask about the derailment of a train loaded with toxic chemicals earlier this month, a spokeswoman for the fund said on Tuesday.
The U.S. government has ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up contaminated soil and water at the site in East Palestine, Ohio, where the train wreck sent clouds of smoke over the town on Feb. 3 and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.
CalPERS, which stands for the California Public Employees' Retirement System, held $200.6 million worth of Norfolk Southern debt and equity as of the end of 2022, a CalPERS spokeswoman said.
"We are in the process of requesting a meeting with Norfolk Southern," she said. "We'll be asking about the recent derailment."
Talks between the fund and companies are usually confidential, but CalPERS will update its membership "if anything pertinent comes from this discussion," the spokeswoman added.
Norfolk Southern did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has said it is responsible for paying for the clean-up and plans to learn from the accident and improve rail safety.
CalPERS has a total market value of around $454.25 billion.
(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Richard Chang)
By Ismail Shakil
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Foreign interference in elections is a very serious issue and Canada must be on guard against it, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, following a media report saying that China sought to influence the outcome of the 2021 election.
Already tense Sino-Canadian relations have become more strained since the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over North American airspace earlier this month and a recent Canadian media report about what it said were Beijing's attempts to influence the last vote.
Last week, the Globe and Mail newspaper cited secret and top-secret Canadian spy-agency documents saying that Chinese diplomats and their proxies worked to defeat Conservative politicians considered more hostile to Beijing.
The Globe also said the documents showed China favored a Trudeau re-election, albeit with a parliamentary minority, which was in fact the outcome.
"This is an extraordinarily serious issue... we are seeing systematic attempts at interference by countries like China and Russia and others who want to destabilize democracies," Trudeau told reporters in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
"Everyone should be worried about the fact that countries like China and Russia and others are continually trying to spread misinformation and disinformation, trying to interfere in our elections unsuccessfully, so far," he said, but cautioned against falling into "partisan traps."
The leader of Canada's main opposition party, Conservative Pierre Poilievre, last week accused Trudeau of ignoring the Chinese interference and benefiting from it.
"Amplifying and giving reasons to mistrust the outcome of an election... is not a good path to go down for society or for democracy," Trudeau said.
Trudeau raised "serious concerns" directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping late last year over Beijing's suspected meddling in the 2019 election, which had been reported by a domestic broadcaster.
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The relationship between China and Canada has been tense since the detention of China's Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 and Beijing's subsequent arrest of two Canadians on spying charges. All three were later released but relations remain sour.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ottawa confirmed it was aware of other air and maritime surveillance attempts by China that were thwarted by the Canadian military, after the Globe reported Chinese floating devices were found in the Arctic in autumn.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Over the weekend, China's top diplomat Wang Yi said the U.S. handling of the balloon incident had been "unimaginable" and "hysterical," an "absurd" act that had violated international norms.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa, additional reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Chris Reese, William Maclean)
A Carlsbad man was sentenced in federal court to 14 years in prison after he exchanged sexually explicit text messages and photos with a nine-year-old Florida girl.
Billy George West, 79, pleaded guilty Jan. 10 to a charge of enticement of a minor in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, and was sentenced for the crime on Feb. 21.
In addition to this prison sentence, West was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.
More:Police search unsuccessfully for jet skier reported missing at Brantley Lake
On April 30, 2021, West sent a photo of his genitals to the girl and received one of her genitals after investigators said he knowingly convinced her to, records show.
West also admitted in court that he knew the girl was a minor, records show.
Court records show that West was initially accused of the crimes during the investigation originating in Palm Beach, Florida.
Police said detectives with the Carlsbad Police Department were contacted by investigators with the New Mexico Attorney Generals Office to review the case.
More:Wanted Carlsbad man shot after wielding sledgehammer during police standoff at home
Detectives in Florida originally spoke with the girls mother. She alleged her daughter had received messages from West who was using the alias Piper.
The Piper account was linked to cellphone within Carlsbad city limits, records show, and Carlsbad police matched it to West.
Screenshots of the exchange showed nude images of the girl and West, and sexually explicit text messages, read a criminal complaint, on the Discord online platform.
West also solicited the girl to get her cellphone number, police said.
He was arrested in June 2021, and initially charged with three felonies before reaching a plea deal in U.S. District Court. Upon his arrest, West was charged in Carlsbad Magistrate Court with criminal sexual communication with a child, child solicitation by electronic communication device (under 13) and causing or permitting a child to engage in sexual exploitation (child under 13).
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Carlsbad man gets 14 years for sexual texting with 9-year-old
Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell (right) is revered after a special mass at the Los Angeles Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels on June 24, 2018. Damian Dovarganes / AP
A man has been charged with murder in the killing of a prominent Los Angeles bishop, authorities announced Wednesday.
Carlos Medina, 61, of Torrance, is facing one count of murder with a special circumstance that he personally used a firearm to allegedly kill Auxiliary Bishop David G. O'Connell on Feb. 18, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said. If convicted, Medina faces 35 years to life in prison.
Gascon described the Feb. 18 killing as "a brutal act of violence," saying that O'Connell, 69, who served as a priest and bishop in the region for nearly 50 years, dedicated his life to serving the community "with love and compassion."
"His loss is one that I think will be felt deeply for years to come," the district attorney said during a news conference.
A motive has not yet been determined. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna previously said that Medina, the husband of a woman who worked as a housekeeper for O'Connell, claimed the bishop owed him money. But Lt. Michael Modica said on Wednesday that investigators don't believe there's any validity to that claim.
"When he was interviewed, ... he said several different reasons," Modica told reporters, "and none of them made any sense."
Mourners pay their respects to Bishop David O'Connell outside his home in Hacienda Heights, California, on Feb. 19, 2023. Damian Dovarganes / AP
O'Connell was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in a home owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles in Hacienda Heights. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Gascon said there was no evidence of a forced entry into the house, so investigators believe Medina was able to gain access to the residence with a key or through another mechanism. He noted that Medina had also "done some work" at the house in the past.
Medina was arrested after sheriff's detectives connected him to the scene using a surveillance video that showed a vehicle at the Hacienda Heights home around the time of the killing, the Los Angeles Times reported. Authorities are conducting ballistics tests on weapons that were recovered from Medina's home.
"As Catholics around Los Angeles and the nation start the holy season of Lent let us reflect on Bishop OConnells life of service and dedication to those in greatest need of our care," Gascon said. "Charging Mr. Medina will never repair the tremendous harm that was caused by this callous act, but it does take us one step closer to accountability."
Mandatory Credit: Photo by GIAN EHRENZELLER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (13723712c)Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, reacts during the 53rd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, 19 January 2023. The meeting brings together entrepreneurs, scientists, corporate and political leaders in Davos under the topic 'Cooperation in a Fragmented World' from 16 to 20 January.53rd annual meeting of World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland - 19 Jan 2023 - GIAN EHRENZELLER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Britain should build a sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) bot to fix problems in the NHS and Whitehall or risk being dependent on overseas tech giants, ministers have been told.
The Government is being urged by scientific advisors to develop a taxpayer-funded system to rival the likes of ChatGPT, amid predictions from experts that AI will play an increasingly important role in modern life.
The Alan Turing Institute, Britains national AI agency, has been lobbying for state funding to develop a sovereign system that could be used in the NHS, in Whitehall and by intelligence services.
Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair and members of the Governments Artificial Intelligence Council also backed the push for a British system, warning that the UK risked being left behind without action.
Leading actors in the private sector are spending billions of dollars developing such systems so there may only be a few months for policy that will enable domestic firms and our public sector to catch up, a report by the Tony Blair Institute said.
The calls come amid surging interest in AI after the runaway success of ChatGPT, a large language model made by Californias OpenAI that can answer complex questions.
The technology can process large, complex sets of data and has transformative potential for the way large organisations are run. Microsoft has invested $10bn in OpenAI in the wake of its product's success.
AI could eventually underpin broad swathes of public-service delivery, the Tony Blair Institute said, predicting it could be used by policy advisors as writing assistants and to act as virtual tutors to schoolchildren.
The Government should take on a greater role in [AI's] direct development to ensure the UK has sovereign capabilities in this field, it urged.
A failure to invest in British technology would be a risk to our national security and economic competitiveness and leave Britain entirely dependent on external providers.
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Adrian Joseph, BTs chief data and AI officer, and a member of the Governments Artificial Intelligence Council, told MPs on the Science and Technology Committee: There is a risk the UK loses out to the large tech companies, and possibly China, and gets left behind.
"I do worry about sovereignty particularly.
Mr Joseph said he had written to the Government in his capacity as a member of the Artificial Intelligence Council calling for the creation of a national AI.
The Alan Turing Institute, the UK's national body for science and artificial intelligence, has approached Aria, the Governments high-tech research agency, to lobby for funding the development of a UK system. A spokesman for the Institute said it had been been making a case for sovereign AI capability for some time.
Professor Mike Wooldridge, an Oxford academic who leads the institutes AI efforts, said: We have pitched a national organisation, led by the Turing, with universities and trusted businesses.
This would include building an AI system, backed by taxpayer funding, as well as investing in massive amounts of domestic computer power for future research.
Dame Wendy Hall, a web pioneer who also sits on the Governments Artificial Intelligence Council, said told the Science Committee: We absolutely need to develop a sovereign large language model capability. The UK government needs to get behind this.
What we see with ChatGPT is that it is based on searching the whole internet... applying it to NHS data, that is going to be incredibly powerful. Do we really want to be reliant on technology from outside the UK?
BT said it backed plans to build a sovereign AI. A spokesman said: BT is aligned with the AI Council views and believes the UK should consider investment in large language models as part of the national AI strategy, or else risk being left behind.
Government departments and major companies including JPMorgan have restricted their staffs' use of ChatGPT in recent weeks over data protection fears.
OpenAI is made up of of several former Google employees. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai is pictured on the left, while Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, is on the right. Ramin Talaie/Getty Images and Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch
OpenAI's staff includes dozens of ex-Google and Meta employees, according to new data.
Last year, the company hired several Google staff to do "instrumental" work on ChatGPT.
Google is set to go head-to-head against OpenAI and Microsoft in the AI race.
OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, has snatched up dozens of former Google and Meta employees in its efforts to create an AI chatbot.
Data from LeadGenius and Punks & Pinstripes shows that a number of the company's 200-plus employees came from Alphabet, the parent company of Google and AI research lab DeepMind. OpenAI currently employs about 59 ex-Google employees and about 34 former Meta staff, according to the data.
The company also employs several former Apple and Amazon workers, the data shows.
Data from Lead Genius and Punks & Pinstripes shows ex-Google staff make up a large portion of the company's staff. Courtesy of Punks & Pinstripes
Greg Larkin, CEO of Punks & Pinstripes, a network of Fortune 500 executives, told Insider that the data should serve as a "wakeup call" for big tech companies.
"If nothing else, OpenAI is a sign that Big Tech, especially Google, isn't optimizing its investments in its employees," Larkin said. "A lot of AI talent has been working on secondary products in innovation labs like Alphabet X. For many this means that they rarely see their work have a meaningful impact on the company's core products or earnings."
OpenAI's leadership team is predominantly made up of former Big Tech workers, including several ex-Google, Meta, and Apple employees all companies with competing AI departments. The company also recently hired Tesla's former head of Autopilot Andrej Karpathy.
Data from Lead Genius and Punks & Pinstripes breaks down OpenAI's executive team. Courtesy of Punks & Pinstripes
Rick Kreifeldt, a Punks & Pinstripes member and CTO of Sorenson Communications, told Insider that OpenAI is a prime example of how startups are evolving.
"The team is largely composed of people who spent a lot of time in large tech companies who have now left," he said. "This is a stark difference from when Mark Zuckerberg was building Facebook from his Harvard dorm room."
OpenAI was originally founded in 2015 as a nonprofit. Several of tech's industry leaders, including former LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel, pledged $1 billion to the initiative that was designed to develop artificial intelligence "in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole."
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The Information previously reported that OpenAI hired several Google employees to do "instrumental" work on ChatGPT in the months leading up to its November launch. Since then, ChatGPT has garnered millions of users for its ability to do anything from write essays to code.
More recently, several engineers have taken to Twitter to announce that they are leaving Google for OpenAI.
"Excited to share that I joined @OpenAI after 3 incredible years at Google Brain!" AI research engineer Hyung Won Chung tweeted last week. "Can't wait to work on #ChatGPT and help drive the future of AI."
Another ex-Google Brain engineer said last week on Twitter that he "can't wait to see the impact of AI on society" after leaving Google in favor of OpenAI. Google Brain is an AI research team at the tech giant.
Google and OpenAI, which is partnered with Microsoft, are currently locked in an AI war. Earlier this month, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman took a subtle dig at Google, which he called a "lethargic search monopoly." Microsoft has already incorporated OpenAI's technology into its "new Bing" search engine, which could challenge the dominance of Google. Meanwhile, Google is racing to release its own AI competitor, Bard.
Do you work for OpenAI or Google? Reach out to the reporter from a non-work email at gkay@insider.com
Read the original article on Business Insider
The Cheltenham Festival returns in March (PA)
The Cheltenham Festival returns in 2023 with another packed four day schedule.
One of the most anticipated annual events on the calendar, the racing world is set to again descend on the Cotswolds course to contest the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and a number of other Grade 1 races.
Irish trainers claimed a decisive victory in the chase for the Prestbury Cup last year, claiming 18 wins to just ten by British-trained runners.
Willie Mullins led the way, training a record ten winners, aided by Paul Townend, named top jockey after securing five wins.
Heres everything you need to know ahead of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.
When is the 2023 Cheltenham Festival?
The 2023 Cheltenham Festival starts on Tuesday 14 March and runs until Friday 17 March. There are seven races each day, beginning from 1.30pm GMT and concluding at 5.30pm.
Cheltenham Festival race schedule
Four days, 28 races and action aplenty - heres the full schedule for Cheltenham in 2023 (All times GMT)
Champion Day Tuesday, March 14
Supreme Novices Hurdle - 1.30pm
Arkle Challenge Trophy - 2.10pm
Handicap Steeple Chase - 2.50pm
Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy - 3.30pm
Mares Hurdle - 4.10pm
Juvenile Handicap Hurdle - 4.50pm
National Hunt Steeple Chase Challenge Cup - 5.30pm
Ladies Day Wednesday, March 15
Ballymore Novices Hurdle - 1.30pm
Brown Advisory Novices Steeple Chase - 2.10pm
Coral Cup Hurdle - 2.50pm
Queen Mother Champion Chase - 3.30pm
Cross-Country Steeple Chase - 4.10pm
Grand Annual Handicap Chase - 4.50pm
Champion Bumper - 5.30pm
St Patricks Thursday Thursday, March 16
Turners Novices Chase - 1.30pm
Pertemps Network Final Hurdle - 2.10pm
Ryanair Chase - 2.50pm
Stayers Hurdle - 3.30pm
County Plate Chase - 4.10pm
Mares Novices Hurdle - 4.50pm
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup - 5.30pm
Gold Cup Day Friday, March 17
Triumph Hurdle Jump - 1.30pm
Country Handicap Hurdle - 2.10pm
Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle - 2.50pm
Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase - 3.30pm
Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters Chase - 4.10pm
Mares Chase - 4.50pm
Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle - 5.30pm
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How to watch the 2023 Cheltenham Festival?
Viewers in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the best action on ITV, with live coverage on the channel on each of the four days. Registered users can watch online via ITVX.
What are the odds for the Gold Cup (3.30pm, Friday 17 March)?
Galopin Des Champs 13/8
Noble Yeats 15/2
A Plus Tard 8/1
Bravemansgame 8/1
Stattler 8/1
Ahoy Senor 12/1
Conflated 12/1
Protektorat 16/1
Hewick 20/1
Minella Indo 20/1
Shishkin 20/1
Sounds Russian 25/1
All others 33/1 or higher
What are the odds for the Champion Hurdle (Tuesday 14 March, 3.30pm)?
Constitution Hill 4/11
State Man 3/1
Vauban 10/1
I Like to Move It 25/1
Echoes in Rain 33/1
Epatante 33/1
Honeysuckle 40/1
Love Envoi 50/1
All others 66/1 or higher
What are the odds for the Queen Mother Champion Chase (Wednesday 15 March, 3.30pm)?
Energumene 13/8
Edwardstone 15/8
Editeur Du Gite 6/1
Gentleman de Mee 10/1
Blue Lord 14/1
Nube Negra 25/1
Greaneteen 33/1
Funambule Sivola 40/1
Captain Guiness 50/1
Chacun Pour Soi 50/1
Coeur Sublime 66/1
What are the odds for the Ryanair Chase (Thursday 15 March, 2.50pm)?
Shishkin 11/8
Blue Lord 5/1
Fury Road 6/1
Janidil 7/1
Envoi Allen 12/1
French Dynamite 14/1
Conflated 16/1
Fakir Doudairies 16/1
Pic Dorhy 16/1
Ga Law 20/1
Haut En Couleurs 20/1
Hitman 22/1
Funambule Sivola 25/1
All others 40/1 or higher
What are the odds for the Stayers Hurdle (Thursday 15 March, 3.30pm)?
Blazing Khal 11/4
Teahupoo 7/2
Home By The Lee 6/1
Flooring Porter 7/1
Maries Rock 7/1
Gold Tweet 9/1
Ashdale Bob 14/1
Klassical Dream 14/1
Paisley Park 16/1
Asterion Forlonge 20/1
Buzz 20/1
Haut En Couleurs 20/1
Dashel Drasher 25/1
Sir Gerhard 25/1
All others 33/1 or higher
(Photo: Cherokee Nation)
The enrollment of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has surpassed 450,000 enrolled tribal citizens for the first time in its history, Native News Online has learned.
The record enrollment numbers follow a surge in new members following the COVID-19 pandemic and confirms Cherokee Nation as the country's largest federally recognized tribe in terms of enrollment.
I really commend our Registration Department for meeting the needs of our citizens, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement to Native News Online. COVID-19 taught all of us that there is a great need out there in terms of broadband, food insecurities and vital services that our people need. We are the largest tribe in the United States and for our citizens to engage and connect with us is a sign that our Cherokee Nation government is strong and focused where it should beserving our people.
In order to meet higher demand in citizenship applications, its registration department added significant staff and expanded work shifts to 7 p.m. during the weekdays and worked on Saturdays, according to the Tribe.
Our tribal citizens were longing to reconnect, access our services, especially during the pandemic and families are coming in to get their children registered for citizenship at an earlier age, Cherokee Nation Tribal Registrar Derrick Vann in a statement to Native News Online. During the height of the COVID-19 we were wading through as many as 3,000 to 5,000 applications per month and weve now processed those, and are back to working on current applications.
Cherokee Nation citizens live throughout the United States and its territories, with approximately 140,000 living on the tribes reservation in northeast Oklahoma. The states with the largest tribal enrollment numbers are Oklahoma (279,227), Texas (27,894), California (27,049), Arkansas (19,044), and Kansas (15516). The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma also has enrolled citizens in the American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and in the U.S. Military according to the Cherokee Nations tribal registration.
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Enrollment in federally recognized tribes began after the reservation era, and criteria to become enrolled varies among tribes. The requirements for Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma tribal citizenship are that an applicant must submit official documentation that connects an applicant to a person who was enrolled on the Dawes Roll Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedman of the Five Civilized TribesCherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole Nations.
You must trace directly back to at least one original enrollee on Dawes to be eligible for tribal citizenship, says the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma on its website.
The Final Rolls of the Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory determined the citizenry of each tribe, including the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and were accepted from 1898 through 1914 by the Dawes Commission, according to the National Archives.
The commission was named after the Commissions chairman, Henry L. Dawes, and was appointed by President Grover Cleveland in 1893 to negotiate land with the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Nations.
The Cherokee Nation, also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. The other two federally recognized Cherokee tribes are the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee (UKB) in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee (EBCI) in North Carolina. The Keetoowah and Eastern Bands require its citizens to be at least one-quarter (1/4) Cherokee to be enrolled as a citizen in their tribes. Blood quantum is not a factor in Cherokee Nation tribal citizenship eligibility.
The second largest tribe in the United States is the Navajo Nation, with official enrollment of 399,494 according to the Navajo Office of Vital Records and Identification in 2021. Native News Online could not confirm updated enrollment numbers of the Navajo Nation, which has the largest Indian reservation in the country in terms of area with more than 27,000 square miles.
About the Author: "Darren Thompson (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe) is a staff reporter for Native News Online who is based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Thompson has reported on political unrest, tribal sovereignty, and Indigenous issues for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Indian Country Today, Native News Online, Powwows.com and Unicorn Riot. He has contributed to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Voice of America on various Indigenous issues in international conversation. He has a bachelor\u2019s degree in Criminology & Law Studies from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "
Contact: dthompson@nativenewsonline.net
A Chick-fil-A in North Carolina is accused of writing a racial slur on an order slip. jetcityimage/iStock
A Chick-fil-A customer in North Carolina said her daughter's order slip contained a racial slur.
Chick-fil-A said the incident resulted from a misspelling on the drive-thru order receipt.
A Facebook post regarding the incident has gone viral, with more than 660 comments.
A Charlotte, North Carolina, mother's Facebook post went viral this month after she shared a photo of her daughter's Chick-fil-A order with a racial slur on the order slip.
April Jackson told WSOC-TV that her daughter gave her name, "Nyiashia," when placing her drive-thru order. The meal, she said, was returned with a racial slur on the order slip attached to the cup and the takeout bag. The slur was an incorrect spelling of the N-word.
"This is really bothering me my daughter just left from Chick-fil-A off brookshire, and this what the employee put for her name, and it's black history month," Jackson wrote on February 13 on her Facebook page.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the post had nearly 1,000 shares and 661 comments. The response to Jackson's post was met with mixed opinions.
Some supported Jackson and her daughter and accused Chick-fil-A of supporting a culture of bigotry. "Shows what type of culture Chick-fil-A fosters smh. Can't say I'm surprised knowing how they treat LGBTQ," one person wrote.
Over the years, Chick-fil-A has faced backlash for its history of donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations. The company has since stopped making these types of donations.
Still, other comments on Jackson's Facebook page suggested the slur resulted from user error or a hoax.
"Hoax. The stickers are for pick-up orders placed through apps. The customer enters the name. Nice try at getting attention and free food," one person said.
A Chick-fil-A representative said they believed the incident resulted from a misspelling.
"The Operator/Owner of Chick-fil-A Mountain Island has thoroughly investigated and tried to connect with the customer to better understand her experience and apologize for the situation," the company said in a statement. "Though we understand this to be a misspelling of the customer's name, that does not negate the impact or experience had by our guests. The Operator has started additional training at his restaurant to ensure this doesn't happen again. We sincerely apologize for the harm caused by this incident."
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The Chick-fil-A representative said all customers are expected to be "treated with honor, dignity, and respect" at its owner-operated restaurants.
Jackson could not be reached for comment. She told WCNC, a local news channel, that the restaurant's general manager apologized for the incident.
This isn't the first time a worker at Chick-fil-A, a chain known for its strict customer service rules, has been accused of insulting a guest. In 2019, an Arizona customer's clothing was mocked by a worker who identified him as "ugly sweater" on his order slip. Last year, a Chick-fil-A worker's TikTok post went viral after he criticized a customer's one-star review.
Workers at other fast-food chains, such as Starbucks and Taco Bell, have also been accused of insulting guests on receipts or cups.
In December, a Black woman said a barista at a Maryland Starbucks wrote "monkey"on her cup. At the time, a representative for the licensed Starbucks location called the incident a mistake. In 2018, Taco Bell reportedly fired a cashier who was accused of writing a racial slur on a customer's receipt in Pennsylvania.
Are you a Chick-fil-A insider with insight to share? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at nluna@insider.com.
Read the original article on Business Insider
(Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin said hes waiting for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to visit Russia as he hailed deepening ties with Beijing at talks with Chinas top diplomat.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Cooperation between Russia and China is very important for stabilizing the international situation, Putin told Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi at talks in Moscow on Wednesday, asking him to pass on greetings to my friend Xi. Russia and China are reaching new milestones including in trade, which may grow to $200 billion sooner than their goal of 2024, Putin said.
The current international situation is indeed critical and complex but the relationship between China and Russia is solid as a mountain and can stand the test of international risks, Wang replied, adding that the strategic ties between Moscow and Beijing wont be subject to pressure from any third parties.
Wangs visit to Moscow roughly a year after Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine shows that China has little intention of abandoning its staunch diplomatic partner despite Beijings efforts to limit the damage caused by the war. China has said it will soon release details of a plan to bring peace in Ukraine, a proposal met with skepticism in the US and Europe.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wang at weekend talks in Munich against China providing lethal aid to Putins war, even as Beijing moves to portray itself as a neutral actor that can broker peace in Ukraine.
Were monitoring, very vigilantly, for potential violations, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday. The US doesnt believe China has ruled out such support, he added.
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Wang and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev affirmed at talks on Tuesday that their nations are aligned in pushing back against the US and its allies, pledging to jointly practice true multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateral bullying, and promote democracy in international relations and a multi-polar world.
Patrushev was present with Putin at the Kremlin meeting along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whod held separate talks with Wang earlier Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Xi was preparing to visit Moscow in the coming months to push for multiparty peace talks and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used. A potential visit has been floated for months, with Putin telling Xi during a December video call that he looked forward to welcoming the Chinese leader to Russia in the spring.
Putin said this week that Russia will suspend its participation in the New START treaty with the US, dealing a blow to the last accord limiting their nuclear arsenals. Biden called the decision a big mistake, though added he does not believe it signals the Russian leader will use nuclear weapons.
Xi has yet to talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy since the invasion despite speaking with Putin some four times in that span. Beijing has also repeatedly defended some of Russias reasons for going to war most prominently to resist the expansion of NATO while insisting it doesnt support the invasion itself.
While Beijing remains close to Russia, the costs of their partnership have become more apparent of late. Beyond the near-term damage to the global economy, China is also increasingly seen in the US and Europe as a strategic competitor that must be deterred from its own ambitions to take control of Taiwan a prospect that makes Beijing more vulnerable to multilateral export controls, investment restrictions and other measures that could thwart its long-term growth prospects.
In a phone call with Lavrov in early January, new Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said ties were based on Three Nos: no alliance, no confrontation and no targeting of any third party. Chinese participants at a security conference in Germany last weekend also sought to downplay the significance of a no-limits partnership that Xi and Putin agreed to last year just weeks before the Russian leader invaded Ukraine.
Japan, a key US ally in Asia, expressed concern about Chinas joint military exercises with Russia around its shores in the first security dialog between officials from Tokyo and Beijing since 2019, according to a statement issued by Japans Ministry of Defense. China and Russia conducted joint drills in waters off Japan several times last year.
For their part, the Chinese officials said they were extremely worried about what they saw as negative Japanese actions regarding Taiwan in collusion with forces outside the region, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The two Asian neighbors did agree to continue to work toward bringing a military hotline into operation in the spring, the ministry said.
In a security dialog between Japanese and Chinese diplomats and defense officials Wednesday, China said it expressed its stern position and serious concern with the negative movements of Japan on issues including Taiwan and the South China Sea.
--With assistance from Isabel Reynolds, Foster Wong and Zibang Xiao.
(Updates with details throughout.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
2023 Bloomberg L.P.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied its intention to provide "lethal support" to Russia for the war against Ukraine.
Source: CNN, citing a statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Details: Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that China is not considering providing "lethal support" [weapons ed.] to Russia for the war against Ukraine, accusing the US and NATO of spreading falsehoods about China's role in the war.
He called on NATO to "stop smearing China with unfounded speculations on Ukraine, abandon the old Cold War mentality of zero-sum game and bloc confrontation, and stop fomenting confrontation."
At the same time, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Moscow that Beijing will "firmly pursue an independent and autonomous foreign policy," and the relationship between Russia and China "continues to operate at a high level."
According to Wang Yi, China is "willing to maintain the good development of new type of major-power relations with Russia," no matter how the international climate changes.
Background:
China declares its impartial position on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but refuses to condemn Russia and retranslates the Kremlin's talking points, accusing NATO of provoking the war.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday he was concerned that Beijing was considering strengthening its partnership with Moscow by providing "lethal support" to the Russian military. According to some reports, Blinken raised this issue during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the UN said on Sunday that China would cross a "red line" if it decided to provide lethal military assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine.
On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the United States "has no right to lecture" on arms supplies, amid concerns that China may transfer weapons to Russia.
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China on Wednesday ripped a visit to Taiwan from a senior Pentagon official, reaffirming that Beijing resolutely opposes any official interaction and military collaboration between the United States and the self-governing island.
Zhu Fenglian, the spokesperson for Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office, told reporters that the efforts from Taiwans government to establish its independence from China with help from other countries will fail.
The comments come after Michael Chase, the deputy assistant Defense secretary for China, reportedly visited the democratic island.
A Pentagon spokesperson did not directly address Chases visit, saying that the U.S. commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and that it helps to maintain peace and stability in the region.
Taiwans Foreign Affairs Ministry, meanwhile, has said it does not have any information to share about the visit.
China considers Taiwan to be a part of Chinese territory awaiting reunification, while the U.S. considers Taiwans status to be unsettled.
U.S. policy recognizes Beijing as the one true China and pursues a policy of strategic ambiguity. Under federal law, the U.S. is committed to providing Taiwan with weapons to defend itself but not necessarily defend the island in the event of a Chinese invasion.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Taiwanese officials trying to seek independence with help from the U.S. has heightened tensions in the region.
We urge the U.S. to stop any form of official U.S.-Taiwan contacts, stop meddling in the Taiwan issue and stop creating new factors of tension in the Taiwan Strait, Wang said.
Chinas denunciation of the visit comes as tensions have risen significantly between Washington and Beijing, after the Biden administration shot down a Chinese balloon that the U.S. said was designed for surveillance earlier this month.
China has claimed ownership of the balloon but said it was meant for meteorological research and was blown off course by wind.
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U.S. officials have also warned that China might be sending nonlethal aid to Russia for its war against Ukraine and was considering also sending lethal aid. China has officially declared neutrality in the conflict.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Reuters) -Concerns about data security have prompted Chinese authorities to ask state-owned firms to stop using the four biggest global accounting firms as Beijing seeks to curb the influence of Western auditors, Bloomberg News reported.
China's Ministry of Finance is among government entities that gave informal guidance to some state-owned enterprises as recently as last month, urging them to let contracts with PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte expire, the report said, quoting people familiar with the matter.
While offshore subsidiaries can use the global auditors, their parent firms were urged to hire local Chinese or Hong Kong accountants when contracts come up for renewal, one of the people told Bloomberg.
The Ministry of Finance did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) declined to comment and the other leading audit firms did not immediately respond.
Data policy is one of several areas over which China has tightened its scrutiny to try to ensure practices do not threaten the country's national and economic interests.
At the same time, geopolitical tensions are running high, with some business leaders voicing concerns about the decoupling of China, the world's second-largest economy, from the United States, the largest.
China implemented its Data Security Law in September 2021, broadly requiring Chinese companies and localities to categorise data based on its relevance to national security and the economy.
The leading accounting firms in the world by revenue are Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young (EY), and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG), or the Big Four.
They collectively received revenue of 20.6 billion yuan ($2.99 billion) from all Chinese clients in 2021, Bloomberg said, quoting finance ministry data.
China has been reluctant to permit offshore authorities to access U.S.-listed Chinese companies audit papers without its approval, citing national security concerns.
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The two sides reached a deal last year to allow U.S. securities regulators to inspect the documents in Hong Kong. The U.S. accounting watchdog in December said it has full access to inspect and investigate firms in China for the first time.
Erica Williams, chair of the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, said on Wednesday there would be "no loopholes" for accounting firms in China that are registered with her agency.
"Should PRC authorities obstruct or otherwise fail to facilitate the PCAOB's complete access at any point in any way, the board will act immediately," she said.
($1 = 6.8951 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina and Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru, Selena Li in Hong Kong and Douglas Gillison in Washington; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Sonali Paul, Kim Coghill, Barbara Lewis and Sharon Singleton)
By Guy Faulconbridge and Simon Lewis
MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is concerned by greater alignment between China and Russia, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed "new frontiers" in ties with Beijing and signalled China's Xi Jinping would visit his country.
Word of Xi's visit comes as Washington has said China is considering providing weapons for Russia's war in Ukraine, a move that would threaten to escalate the conflict into a confrontation between Russia and China on the one side and Ukraine and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance on the other.
Putin welcomed China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, to the Kremlin on Wednesday, telling him bilateral trade was better than expected and could soon reach $200 billion a year, up from $185 billion in 2022.
"We await a visit of the President of the People's Republic of China to Russia, we have agreed on this," Putin told Wang, referring to Xi.
"Everything is progressing, developing. We are reaching new frontiers," Putin said.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Wang's visit to Russia on the eve of the war's one-year anniversary was further evidence of Beijing's alignment with Moscow.
"We are concerned because these two countries share a vision," Price told a press briefing. "It is a vision ... of an era in which big countries could bully small countries, borders could be redrawn by force, an era in which might could make right," he said.
"We have not yet seen the PRC provide Russia with lethal aid, but we don't believe they've taken it off the table either," Price added.
Russia's Tass news agency cited Wang - who held a separate meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - as saying China would "firmly adhere to an objective and impartial position and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis" in Ukraine.
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The Russian foreign ministry said it welcomed China taking a more active role in resolving the conflict and said it valued China's "balanced approach". But in a separate statement, the ministry said Lavrov and Wang had not discussed a reported Chinese peace plan.
For Putin, China's big-power support amid the biggest confrontation with the West since the height of the Cold War allows him to cast Russia's isolation in the West as a tilt towards Asia.
Wang told Putin that relations between the two countries had withstood a volatile international situation.
The relationship between China and Russia, Wang said through an interpreter, was not directed against any third party but equally would "not succumb to pressure from third parties" - a clear jab at the United States.
"Together we support multi-polarity and democratisation in international relations," Wang told Putin.
When Xi met Putin face to face just before Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, they sealed a "no limits" partnership that triggered anxiety in the West.
XI AND PUTIN
Russia is now more dependent on Beijing than ever and is a junior partner to a resurgent China, which already leads in many 21st century technologies.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday warned Wang of consequences should China provide lethal support for Russia's invasion, something Beijing has denied doing.
After Blinken's warnings, which he gave without evidence, China said the United States was in no position to make demands.
Xi has stood by Putin during the conflict in Ukraine, resisting Western pressure to isolate Moscow. Chinese-Russian trade has soared since the invasion, and China is Russia's largest buyer of oil, one of the key sources of revenues for Moscow's state coffers.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Gareth Jones, Michael Martina, David Ljunggren and Josie Kao)
By Eduardo Baptista
BEIJING (Reuters) -President Xi Jinping said China must resolve issues in key technological fields from the bottom up, state media reported, as the country deals with a growing number of mainly U.S. export controls on advanced technology.
Xi said on Tuesday during a study session of the 24-person Politburo, one of the top decision-making bodies of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, that China needed to strengthen basic research in science and technology if it is to achieve self-reliance and become a global tech power, state news agency Xinhua reported.
"To cope with international science and technology competition, achieve a high level of self-reliance and self-improvement ... we urgently need to strengthen basic research and solve key technology problems from the source," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
The call comes as China faces growing headwind in its years-long effort to close the gap with the United States and its allies in advanced semiconductor technology.
In January, Japan and the Netherlands agreed to comply with export restrictions against China's chip sector that the U.S. government had announced in October 2022, media reported.
Initial U.S. sanctions took aim at Chinese purchases of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) computing chips, as well as equipment that chip factories could use to produce leading-edge computing chips.
Xi also on Tuesday said it was necessary to grow China's pool of top-notch tech talent, Xinhua reported, echoing a speech in 2021 where he said that by 2035 China "should rank among the leading countries in the world with respect to our strategic and technological strength and our army of high-quality talent".
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Robert Birsel and Christopher Cushing)
Bellocqimages/Bauer-Griffin / Contributor/Getty Images
Chrissy Teigen gave birth to her and John Legend's daughter Esti in January.
Teigen recently shared her post-baby morning skincare routine on Instagram.
Her regimen includes vitamin C serum, retinol, moisturizer, toning mist, and a lip mask.
Chrissy Teigen recently shared her new morning skincare routine after giving birth to her daughter Esti in January.
In the video, set to Mariah Carey's "It's a Trap," Teigen emerges from the shower and flashes the five main skincare products she uses.
"My skin is still finding its way so I keep it easy peasy with a few of my favorites that I use every single morning," Teigen captioned the post, tagging brands IS Clinical, Shani Darden, LOVED1, and Laneige.
It took some sleuthing (pausing the video quickly enough to read the labels on the serums), but here's the breakdown of what Teigen applies to her face in the morning:
She starts by patting on a vitamin C serum that includes other vitamins
IS Clinical
IS Clinical Pro-Heal Serum Advance, $158
Vitamin C can do everything from brightening your complexion to reducing fine lines and dark spots, thanks to its collagen-boosting properties.
"I recommend vitamin C application in the morning since vitamin C functions as an antioxidant," said Dr. Ivy Lee, a board-certified dermatologist practicing in Los Angeles. Antioxidants have anti-aging properties and can help counteract cell damage.
The main thing to keep in mind is vitamin C can be a lot for sensitive skin and should always be worn with sunscreen, Lee said.
Vitamin C also "has a low acidic pH so it can potentially sting or cause irritation depending on the formula," Dr. Naissan O. Wesley, a board-certified dermatologist, previously told Insider.
The serum Teigen uses is infused with soothing ingredients like olive leaf extract and vitamins E and A that aim to increase protection against irritation while still providing the benefits of vitamin C.
Next, she layers on a gentle retinol serum
Shani Darden
Shani Darden Retinol Reform Serum, $88
With a formula that involves encapsulated retinol (for slower release), lactic acid (for brightening effects), and fruit extract to counteract sun damage, the brand's creator, Shani Darden, claims it gives users the same benefits of retinol without any irritation or flakiness.
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The product instructions warn not to use it if you're pregnant or nursing, which is common for retinol products.
Though Teigen incorporates this in her morning routine, this product is advertised for nighttime use.
"I do not recommend retinoid application during the day," said Lee. "The stability of retinoids is compromised by heat and light, so daytime application can result in reduced effectiveness." She suggested splitting up the first two steps in Teigen's routine using the vitamin C serum in the morning and retinoid at night for maximum effectiveness.
Like most retinol products, if you start using this, you should begin by alternating days you apply it to help your skin slowly adjust. This helps skin "build tolerance and prevent over-drying," Dr. Annie Chiu, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of The Derm Institute, previously told Insider.
Lee also noted that retinol can make skin more sensitive to the sun, so pairing it with sunscreen is crucial if you do decide to wear retinol during the day.
Teigen tops off her skin with an extra hydrating moisturizer
IS Clinical
IS Clinical Reparative Moisture Emulsion, $105
Teigen is a longtime IS Clinical fan, so it's no surprise that two of the brand's products make her morning lineup.
This moisturizer includes hyaluronic acid, a key ingredient that dermatologists recommend for keeping skin hydrated.
She sprays on a $10 toning mist from her husband's brand
LOVED1
LOVED1 Toning Mist, $10
Of all the products she applies in the video, Teigen looks the happiest when she spritzes this one on.
The lowest-cost item in her lineup, this toning mist is from John Legend's brand LOVED1, which creates products for "melanin-rich" skin. It's alcohol-free, vegan, and slightly acidic, aiming to minimize pores while soothing the skin with ingredients like aloe vera, chamomile, and lavender.
To finish, she applies a popular lip mask
Laneige
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, $24
Laneige's famed lip mask is beloved by celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Zoe Saldana, Gemma Chan, and now, Chrissy Teigen. Available in five flavors including Pumpkin Spice and Gummy Bear, it uses a mix of shea butter, coconut oil, and vitamin C to hydrate even the most chapped lips.
This is another product in Teigen's roster that is advertised for overnight use, but wearing it throughout the day can also help keep lips smooth and nourished.
One notable absence is sunscreen
Considering this is Teigen's routine a month after giving birth, it makes sense that she might not be out and about all day. Still, sunscreen of at least SPF 30 is considered a crucial part of everyday skincare by most dermatologists, even if you're sitting inside.
"The UVA rays that penetrate glass actually reach a deeper layer of skin and still cause sun damage, discoloration, and wrinkles," R. Sonia Batra, MD, a dermatologist in Santa Monica, California, previously told Insider.
Plus, Teigen applied both vitamin C and retinol two ingredients that can exacerbate sun damage if not paired with sunscreen.
If you're adopting a skincare routine like Teigen's, Lee recommended using an SPF 50 moisturizing mineral sunscreen like La Roche Posay's Anthelios Mineral Sunscreen.
Read the original article on Insider
PROVIDENCE The imminent opening of one of Rhode Island's two congressional seats with news of Rep. David Cicilline stepping down sent shockwaves of excitement and ambition through the ranks of the state's past, present and future political wannabes with silence so far from some of the state's political giants.
Cicilline "will be leaving elected office effective June 1, 2023," his office announced.
The unexpected move will trigger a special election in Rhode Islands First Congressional District, which covers the eastern portion of the state.
Rep. David N. Cicilline announced he will be stepping down from his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 1.
Who might run to replace David Cicilline?
Helena Foulkes 'seriously considering' running
Perhaps the best-known name so far to confirm she is "seriously considering" a run for the seat is Helena Foulkes, the former CVS executive who ran a close second in the primary contest for the Democratic nomination for governor last year. A political newcomer, she spent $4.6 million on her aggressive campaign for governor.
"Helena appreciates all the calls she's received today from Rhode [Islanders] encouraging her to run for Congress. She is seriously considering it,'' her former campaign spokeswoman Audrey Lucas told The Journal.
Asked whether Foulkes would move in the 1st Congressional District from her South County home, Lucas said the mlve is already underway:
Helena and Bill decided they wanted to move back to Providence last year and have been house hunting for several months. They signed a purchase and sale agreement for a house on the East Side last week and expect to close in May.
More on Cicilline:Cicilline resigning from Congress, will lead Rhode Island Foundation. What we know.
Helena Foulkes comes out triumphant despite her loss at the Aloft Hotel on election night.
Nellie Gorbea, Liz Perik don't comment, House Speaker Shekarchi noncommittal
No word so far from former Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea a runner-up in the Democratic contest for governor, or Democratic National Committeewoman Liz Beretta Perik, a champion Democratic Party donor and fundraiser.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi does not live in "CD1," but that did not prove an obstacle to Rhode Island's new 2nd District Congressman Seth Magaziner when he jumped in. On Thursday, a Shekarchi spokesman said: "He is still exploring his options."
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Shekarchi's noncommittal statement: Today is not the day for political speculation. I want to thank Congressman Cicilline for his many years of outstanding public service to the people of Rhode Island."
And there's time. Cicilline served notice he would resign May 31, before starting his new job at the helm of the philanthropic think tank, the Rhode Island Foundation.
Nellie Gorbea, Democratic candidate for governor, visits The Bomes Theater on Broad Street in Providence.
Several are thinking about a run for this U.S. House seat
But others quickly threw their names into the mix yesterday or in the language of politics announced they are "exploring" or "did not rule out" a run for the First Congressional District seat.
They include: the lieutenant governor; the mayors of Pawtucket and Central Falls; the former state senator who waged and lost a far-left bid for lieutenant governor; at least three current day state senators, including one with a lead role years back in the successful same-sex marriage campaign and another at the center of State House talks on affordable housing and public transit.
More specifically, the list includes:
Lieutenant Gov. Sabina Matos did not rule out a run on Tuesday, but said it's a "great opportunity" to diversify Rhode Island's congressional delegation, which is currently all white males. On Wednesday, her spokesman David Folcarelli provided this update: "The lieutenant governor is discussing the opportunity with her family and loved ones and will sincerely consider how she can best serve Rhode Island."
Mayors Don Grebien of Pawtucket and Maria Rivera of Central Falls listed themselves as maybe(s).
Grebien's statement: "While I am extremely flattered that I have been approached multiple times about running for this congressional seat, I have not made any decisions. Right now, I need to reflect and have conversations with my wife and family. I am keeping my options open however."
Rivera's statement: "Over the coming days, I will be speaking with my friends, family and colleagues about my future and the need for Rhode Island to continue to have a strong, bold, Democratic voice in DC.
Former Atty. Gen. Patrick Lynch told The Journal: ""As a native of Pawtucket, a resident of Barrington and one who believes deeply in the value of public service, I recognize the opportunity presented today and will speak with my wife and children about it further. However...in discussing the 1st Congressional District, today shouldnt be about anyone but David Cicilline."
State Senators Sandra Cano, Dawn Euer and Meghan Kallman. Cano, the economic development director in Pawtucket, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, said: "Rep Cicillines departure has led to an overwhelming outreach from my friends and colleagues as to my own intentions. I intend to be a candidate for the office. Our community needs someone who knows what it is like to face the challenges that so many of our neighbors face on a daily basis; someone with the life experience and Democratic values to fight for working families across our state." Kallman, also of Pawtucket, Tweeted: "Im exploring a run for Congress!" Sen. Dawn Euer, the new chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told The Journal she too is considering a run for the seat.
Rep. Nathan Biah says he has "been humbled by the voters, activists, and other elected officials who have suggested I enter the race. Over the next few days, I will be talking with my friends and supporters to explore a potential campaign ... If I enter the race, it will be for the same reason that I became an educator and a state representative to give back to the community that accepted me as a refugee from the Liberian Civil War."
Former Sen. Cynthia Mendes who ran for lieutenant governor on a team ticket with Matt Brown announced she's exploring a run: "I know the sacrifice running for office takes. I also know the sacrifices that will come to everyday people if we do not have someone in DC fighting for us aggressively," Mendes wrote. "We need someone in Congress who will stand up to the billionaires who run things and fight for living wages, quality public education, universal healthcare, and environmental justice."
Former Raimondo aide Gabe Amo is among the frequently mentioned potential candidates who is not saying yes or no to a run. Amo, who grew up in Pawtucket and now works at the White House as a special assistant to the president and deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, declined comment.
Current Providence Councilman John Goncalves and former Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune have both let it be known they are "exploring" a run for the seat.
Only one Republican has thrown his hat in the ring as a potential candidate: Aaron Guckian, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor last year, via a Tweet. He lives outside the Congressional district in East Greenwich. He acknowledges it would be a long-shot bid, but figures he'd have a chance if a "real progressive candidate" wins the Democratic primary.
Allen Waters - who mustered 36% of the vote running as a Republican against Cicilline in 2022, and 33% as Sen. Jack Reed's GOP challenger in 2020 - is now a registered Democrat in Providence, Tweeting about his intent to run as a "moderate Democrat."
Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos poses with supporters on election night on Nov. 8, 2020.
Who is not running for David Cicilline's seat?
Asked if he will run for the soon-to-open Congresssional seat, Republican state Rep. Brian Newberry said: I'd prefer not to be bankrupt and divorced, intriguing as the idea is.
Former state police Supt. Brendan Doherty who ran against Cicilline as a Republican, then disaffiliated from the GOP says he will not be in the running. Another one-time Cicilline challenger, former GOP Rep. John Loughlin, thanked The Journal for the inquiry, but had nothing more to say.
Former Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Robert Flanders a past GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate said: "Right now I am not running for anything."
Former state Health Director Nicole Alexander-Scott also removed her name from speculation, telling The Journal: "Although my heart will always be with the great people I know in Rhode Island, I have relocated to Georgia to be closer to extended family for now. The window will always remain open for me, but I am in a different season than running for Congress at this time."
For the record: Republican Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung the wife of former Cranston mayor and 2022 GOP candidate for R.I.'s other congressional seat does not live in CD1. But she owned property in Newport, according to her last financial disclosure filing with the state Ethics Commission.
With reports from staff writer Patrick Anderson.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: David Cicilline stepping down - who in Rhode Island could run for CD1?
The murder of a Vermont teacher more than half a century ago was solved after authorities linked a discarded cigarette butt to a suspect who became a Buddhist monk after the killing, authorities said Tuesday.
The suspect, William DeRoos, died in San Francisco 15 years after Rita Curran, 24, was strangled in 1971, said Jon Murad, the acting chief of the Burlington Police Department.
A combination of genetic genealogy, DNA testing and a recent interview with DeRoos' former wife allowed authorities to identify him as the suspect, Murad told reporters.
The random violence of her murder left a stain on our community, and it devastated her family, Murad said. For 50 years they have waited for justice.
Rita Curran. (Burlington Police via Twitter)
Curran's roommates found her dead in their apartment on July 19, 1971, said Jim Trieb, the commander of the police department's detective services bureau.
DeRoos lived with his wife two floors above Curran, but he was never considered a suspect at the time, Trieb said. In an interview with authorities the day after the killing, DeRoos and his wife, Michelle, provided an alibi, saying they'd been home the night of the killing and didn't hear or see anything, Trieb said.
The case went cold, but authorities who investigated the case in 1971 collected a piece of evidence a cigarette butt that became key to the resolution, Trieb said.
The item was discovered by Curran's right arm and submitted for DNA processing in 2014, Trieb said. A male DNA profile was found, but a search of the country's law enforcement repository for genetic material returned no matches, Trieb said.
The department worked with Parabon NanoLabs, a genetic genealogy firm that combines historical research with genetic analysis, to search publicly for clues about the killer's identity, Trieb said.
CeCe Moore, the company's chief genetic genealogist, told reporters Tuesday that, working from a publicly available database, she was able to narrow the list of potential suspects to DeRoos within a few hours.
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After the discovery, detectives interviewed DeRoos' then-wife again, and she told them that on the night of July 19, 1971, she and DeRoos had actually gotten into a fight and he'd left, Trieb said. He returned after she'd gone to sleep and later told her to tell authorities they'd been home all night, Trieb said.
One of the detectives who interviewed her, Thomas Chenette, said Tuesday he didnt believe Michelle who had married DeRoos two weeks before Currans death and now goes by a different last name knew about the murder.
I think she lied at the time because she was young, naive, newly married and she was in love, Chenette said, adding: She didnt want him to get him to get into trouble for a crime she didnt think he committed.
After the killing, DeRoos left his wife and moved to Thailand to become a Buddhist monk, Trieb said. By 1974, he'd returned to the U.S. and was living in San Francisco, where another woman he married recently told authorities she knew him as a guru named Dutch, Trieb said.
The woman said he could be violent, once choking her and stabbing a friend with a knife in what Trieb described as an unprovoked assault. Trieb said DeRoos was arrested in the stabbing, but it wasn't clear whether he faced charges in the second incident.
The woman left DeRoos, who died of a drug overdose in a San Francisco hotel in 1989, officials said.
Additional DNA testing found a sample strongly associated with DeRoos' DNA on a jacket Curran had been wearing the day of the killing, Trieb said.
Murad said that while no charges will be filed, the local state's attorney said the investigation found probable cause that DeRoos committed the murder.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, a brother of Curran's said he didn't "think so much about the guy who did this to Rita as I do about Rita and my parents what they went through," adding, "I pray to my parents, and I pray to Rita."
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Rita Curran, a 24-year-old teacher, was sexually assaulted and strangled to death in her Burlington, Vermont, apartment in the summer of 1971.
After an initial investigation, the case went cold, and closure and justice eluded police and Currans family for decades.
Growing up in Chittenden County, I remember hearing this story, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said at a Feb. 21 press conference. The random violence of her murder left a stain on our community and it devastated her family.
Now more than a half-century later a novel investigative approach and a small piece of overlooked evidence have led police to identify her suspected killer.
Currans body was discovered by her roommates on the morning of July 20, 1971, according to a police report. She was found lying naked on the floor of her bedroom.
An autopsy later revealed that she had died of asphyxiation and had been beaten and sexually assaulted, police said.
Currans roommates, who had been out drinking the night of her death, were interviewed by police and nearby residents were canvassed, but no leads ever led to prosecution, police said.
In 2019, detectives with the Burlington Police Department decided to take a fresh look at the case, electing to take a different approach than the norm.
Instead of assigning a single detective to work the case in their spare time, an entire team pored over old evidence as if the crime had just been committed.
A large amount of material had been collected from the crime scene, but little had been subject to DNA testing, police said.
One piece of evidence was of particular importance: a cigarette butt found near Currans elbow.
The cigarette was unique in the sense that it was not crushed, smooshed or butted out, police said.
The half-century old butt, which had previously been ignored, was sent to a lab for DNA testing and a profile was created for an individual labeled UNKNOWN#1.
While sifting through old evidence, detectives also found paperwork mentioning a man named William DeRoos who had lived in the same three-story building as Curran. His wife had said he was home the night of Currans killing, and he was never treated as a suspect or person of interest until the investigation was reopened.
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Because of his proximity to this crime, he was added to our suspect pool, along with many others, as a person to compare DNA to, police said.
When the lab analysis was completed, it revealed that the DNA profile of UNKNOWN#1 was linked to DeRoos. DNA from his half-brother was then used to verify the finding.
It was also revealed during the reopened investigation that DeRoos had in fact not been home on the night of Currans killing, and that he pressured his wife into backing up his alibi, police said.
A few months after Currans death, DeRoos had moved to Thailand to become a Buddhist monk, police said. His wife never saw him again.
Based on their findings, detectives were unanimously certain that DeRoos killed Curran, police said. The case has been closed as it was learned that DeRoos died of a drug overdose in 1986.
I dont think so much about the guy who did this as I do about Rita and my parents, what they went through, Tom Curran, Ritas brother, said at the Feb. 21 press conference. My wife Nancy tells me we will get through this. We are Curran strong.
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Mark Zuckerberg (left) and Elon Musk. Kevin Dietsch/Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images
Mark Zuckerberg said Meta is adding a verification subscription service to Facebook and Instagram.
Meta's new product mirrors Twitter's verification subscription business launched under Elon Musk.
Wall Street analyst Mark Schilsky says idolatry is at play.
Elon Musk's ownership of social media giant Twitter may be changing his relationship with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Sunday that he was rolling out Meta Verified, the company's new verification subscription service for Facebook and Instagram just months after Twitter relaunched its verification-based subscription business, Twitter Blue, under new owner and CEO Elon Musk.
Meta Verified "sounds awfully like Twitter Blue," Bernstein sector specialist Mark Schilsky said in a note to clients this week. "I think it's clear that Mark Zuckerberg idolizes Elon Musk."
Schilsky also thinks it's a smart move, expecting that Meta could generate $360 million in revenue annually from the new subscription service. Other analysts on Wall Street more optimistically believe that Meta Verified could add $2 billion per year in revenue, as Insider recently reported.
Schilsky's comment is especially interesting, however, given the history between the two tech billionaires. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have been publicly criticizing each other for years at least since a SpaceX rocket exploded on the launchpad in 2016, destroying a Facebook satellite.
Elon and Zuck have a long history of rivalry
The pair have frequently criticized each other's views on artificial intelligence. In 2018, Musk, Tesla, and SpaceX's profiles were removed from Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica scandal emerged. The Tesla CEO also took to Twitter to say "#DeleteFacebook It's lame."
The disparagement didn't stop there. When a group of violent protestors stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Musk tweeted a meme that showed a domino effect with the sentence "a website to rate women on campus," a throwback to Facebook's early days, next to the first domino piece and journalist Mark Leibovich's tweet "The Capitol seems to be under the control of a man in a viking hat" as the last domino piece set to fall.
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Schilsky may have a point, though. Musk gutted Twitter in the first week of November, shortly after seizing full ownership in October. Meta's own announced days later a mass layoff the first in the company's history. While there had been smaller layoffs across tech over the summer, the Twitter and Meta layoffs marked the beginning of what we now know as a brutal season of layoffs across the sector.
And now, with the launch of Meta Verified, Zuckerberg appears to be taking a page from Elon Musk's so-far underwhelming drive to generate more subscription revenue from its users.
Musk, for his part, is still new to running a social-media empire like Twitter, and has expressed a plan to pass the reins to a still-unnamed successor. It remains to be seen how much Musk will learn from Zuckerberg. So far, the Twitter owner has met with civil rights groups and ad execs to discuss concerns around Twitter's platform, something Zuckerberg and other social media execs have had to do to restore faith and trust in their platforms, too.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Clear Vision Has Deployed Over $40 Million Of Its Inaugural $145 Million Fund
New York --News Direct-- Siebert Williams Shank
Since its final closing in March 2022, the Clear Vision Impact Fund (Clear Vision or CVIF) has provided loans to minority-owned businesses across the U.S. It has originated loans to seven portfolio companies, including two new investments that closed last month.
"The Clear Vision team embraces the opportunity to provide liquidity and growth capital to small and mid-sized businesses that serve communities in a manner that is consistent with our impact mission," said Christopher J. Williams, principal of Clear Visions general partner and Chairman of Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC. "We are energized that our portfolio companies, which span a range of industries, strive to save jobs and increase job training among underserved communities."
"The CVIF loan played a critical role in P&THE Manufacturing Acquisitions first acquisition of Ross Aluminum. We had to work expeditiously in closing the deal, condensing a timeline that would normally take four to five months down to six to eight weeks at the behest of the previous owner, said Pancho Hall, CEO and Chairman of P&THE Manufacturing. Thanks to the professionalism, accuracy, and pure determination of all responsible parties, we were able to finalize the loan and close on this amazing opportunity, which positions us to capitalize on our strategy to gain a collection of world-class enterprises that serve global communities as their minority-business enterprise of choice."
The asset management business needs a big funnel to find innovative solutions that impact the broader society, said Dabo Horsfall, Founder and CEO of Tensile Investments. CVIF has been a true growth partner; their approach to investing is fair, their feedback is constructive, and their approach to partnership is genuine. CVIF has supported Tensiles mission to provide clean mobility solutions that improve the lives of ALL people while developing electric vehicle charging infrastructure in a profitable manner.
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Valeo Networks teamed with the Clear Vision Impact Fund in October 2021 for the purpose of growth through acquisition. As our financing partner, Clear Vision has fueled our acquisition growth, allowing us to double in size by funding three acquisitions in our first year of partnership, making Valeo Networks one of the 50 largest Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) in the United States, said Travis Mack, CEO and Chairman of Valeo Networks. Clear Vision has been very flexible and worked closely with Valeo to gain a detailed understanding of our business model and acquisition strategy, which helps us to be nimble and efficient during acquisition. We look forward to continuing to work with Clear Vision and continuing our growth to more than $50 million annual revenue over the next 2-4 years to become one of the 10 largest MSSPs nationwide.
The Clear Vision Impact Fund partnered with Medi-Fare in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it is collaborating on enhancing our business through new client targets, crafting impact strategies to increase local hiring, or producing marketing materials, the Clear Vision team has never viewed a task as too small. We look forward to its continued support in 2023 as Medi-Fare scales its production capacity, said Artis Terrell Jr., CEO of Medi-Fare Drug Pharmaceutical Compounding.
At CVIF, we have been fortunate in continuing to source unique opportunities to support diverse entrepreneurs and investors that not only share our passion for positively impacting underserved communities, but also demonstrate that impact and financial performance are not mutually exclusive, said Kyle C. Sligar, Chief Credit Officer and Portfolio Manager of the Clear Vision Impact Fund. We look forward to deploying more customized debt solutions for both existing portfolio companies and new prospects as they execute on their growth initiatives.
In addition to providing financing, Clear Vision aims to support portfolio companies by working with them to define and execute on their impact goals, evaluating proposed operational improvements and strategic initiatives, and introducing them to prospective customers and partners, among other things. To date, Clear Vision has provided loans to seven African American-owned businesses, several of which are detailed below.
P&THE Manufacturing, headquartered in metro Detroit, is a minority-owned holding company comprised of businesses that provide manufacturing solutions. It differentiates itself in the marketplace as a true owner operator who has experience working in and managing businesses at the senior level ranging from the lower middle market to Fortune 100 companies. Learn more at www.rossal.com.
Tensile Investments is an impact driven holding company that provides clean mobility options in transit deserts. It develops smart mobility hubs and funds clean first-last mile transportation. Tensile Investments partners with municipalities and private property owners to create smart mobility hubs by modernizing parking lots and garages to provide electric vehicle (EV) fleet parking and charging, electric micro-transit services, clean distributed energy services, public EV charging, and electric micro-mobility services. Learn more at www.tensileinvestments.com.
Medi-Fare Drug Pharmaceutical Compounding is a minority-owned 503B pharmaceutical compounding facility registered with the Federal Drug Administration as an Outsourcing Facility. Medi-Fare serves as a partner to hospitals and other healthcare providers to supply much needed medications to help improve positive outcomes for their patients and fulfill the need for the ever-growing number of medicines in shortage or backorder situations. Headquartered in Blacksburg, South Carolina, it serves a range of medical facilities and acts as a health care partner for hospital systems, surgery centers, clinics, and doctors offices. Learn more at www.medifaredrug.com.
Valeo Networks is a full-service, award-winning Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) that serves state, county, and municipal markets; small-to-medium businesses; and non-profit organizations. Firmly seated in the top 5% of revenue generating MSSPs nationwidemaking it one of the largest MSSPs nationallyValeo Networks provides solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, compliance, cloud, network infrastructure, and managed IT services. With over 20 years of industry experience, Valeo Networks is headquartered in Rockledge, FL, with additional locations nationwide. Learn more at www.valeonetworks.com.
A-1 is an established and fast-growing disaster-response company which provides on-demand resources, services, and logistics during catastrophes. Services include large-loss restoration services, commercial construction, staffing, restoration equipment rental & monitoring, as well as time and material documenting and preparation during natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and freezing and flooding events that cause property damage. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, A-1s extensive experience and seasoned personnel have allowed it to create a first-of-its-kind national network and partnership program that brings together service providers, supplies, equipment, and labor. Learn more at www.a1disasterresources.com.
About the Fund SponsorClear Visions sponsor is an affiliate of Siebert Williams Shank, a leading non-bank financial services firm serving clients across industries and asset classes. It is both a minority-owned and women-owned enterprise. SWS Capital Management, an investment adviser affiliated with Siebert Williams Shank, serves as Clear Visions investment manager.To learn more about Clear Visions closings or investment portfolio, please visit www.clearvisionimpact.com.
This press release (Press Release) is being published for informational purposes only regarding Clear Vision Impact Fund (Clear Vision or CVIF). One should not assume an investment in any of the described companies was or will be profitable. The companies listed in this Press Release do not represent all CVIFs investments. All opinions, estimates and forecasts are based on information as of the date of this Press Release and are subject to change. Certain information contained in this Press Release constitutes forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as may, will, should, expect, anticipate, target, project, estimate, intend, continue or believe, or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events or results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. CVIF has not vetted the companies websites and CVIFs provision of the companies website links should not be considered an endorsement of the information presented there.
Contact Details
Tom Butler
+1 646-213-1802
TButler@ButlerPR.com
Christian Agredo
+1 646-213-0286
CAgredo@ButlerPR.com
Company Website
https://www.clearvisionimpact.com/
View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/clear-vision-impact-fund-announces-latest-round-of-investments-332863759
NEW YORK (AP) CNN anchor Don Lemon tweeted an apology to viewers for his remarks about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley shortly before returning to work on Wednesday, then stuck to the news.
He made no mention of his comments last week that Haley was not in her prime, during CNN This Morning, instead reporting on stories like President Joe Biden's trip to Ukraine, the Ohio train derailment and winter weather.
Lemon, within the hour before he went on the air, tweeted that he appreciated the opportunity to return to work. He was absent for three days.
To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience I'm sorry, he tweeted. I've heard you, I'm learning from you, and I'm committed to doing better.
His tweet made no mention of Haley, who called Lemon's comments sexist and has been referring to them in fundraising appeals.
On last Thursday's show, Lemon and fellow hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins had been discussing Haley's suggestion that politicians over 75 should be subject to mandatory mental competency tests.
Nikki Haley isnt in her prime, sorry, Lemon said. He said a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s. Haley is 51.
He doubled down on his message even after being challenged by his female colleagues. I think we need to qualify, Harlow said at one point. Are you talking about prime for childbearing or are you talking about prime for being president?
After video of his comments spread quickly online, Lemon tweeted regret for his inartful and irrelevant comments. He was scolded the next day by CNN chief executive Chris Licht during an internal staff meeting, and appeared on the call to apologize.
Late Sunday, Licht told staff members in a memo that Lemon would return to work and undergo unspecified training. Licht said in the memo, obtained by The Associated Press, that it was important that the network balance accountability with fostering a culture in which people can own, learn and grow from their mistakes.
Lemon was switched from his own prime-time show when a revamped CNN This Morning was launched in November, one of Licht's biggest swings since taking control of the network last year.
Between poor ratings and awkwardness between the new anchor team, it hasn't gone well.
As people brace for incoming cold temperatures this week, with lows in the 20s and 30s, organizations are opening cold weather shelters across Western Washington.
Pierce County
Information provided by Pierce Transit; Tacoma-Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness.
Pierce Transit is offering free rides to warming centers. Riders just have to tell the driver that theyre traveling to or from a warming center or shelter. The service will be running from Tuesday to Friday.
Overnight shelters
Adams Street Shelter
253-592-6401
https://www.trm.org/emergency-services/
This shelter does not accept walk-ups; call the shelter to get on the waitlist. Open for households with minors.
Bethlehem Baptist Family Shelter, 4818 E Portland Ave, Tacoma, WA 98404
253-475-4173
https://www.bethlehembaptisttacoma.org/
Serves families with kids under 18 and parents between 18 and 60; Email BBCShelter@outlook.com or phone 253-475-4173 to access the site.
Holy Rosary Temporary Shelter, 504 S 30th St, Tacoma, WA 98402
253-383-4493, x1107
https://www.trm.org/
Single adult men - meet at dinnertime at the TRM Downtown Campus at 425 South Tacoma Way
LIHI Village at 6th and Orchard, 602 N Orchard St, Tacoma, WA 98406
206-496-2749
https://lihi.org/
Serving families (single women with children, couples with children), single women, and couples without children.
Nativity House Shelter, 702 S 14th St, Tacoma, WA 98405
253-502-2780
https://ccsww.org/get-help/housing/permanent-housing/nativity-house-apartments/nativity-house-day-shelter/
Serves adults 18 and over. This shelter nearly always has a waitlist for both the men and women sides - come to the shelter around 4:30 pm to get on the waitlist.
Roosevelt Barracks Crisis Residential Center, 1301 Orting Kapowsin Hwy E, Orting, WA 98360
253-263-0735
https://www.dva.wa.gov/
Serves homeless veterans, please call for eligibility. For admission to the site, contact Delena Josephsen (delena.josephsen@dva.wa.gov - 253-263-0735) or Melissa Frink (melissa.frink@dva.wa.gov).
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Tacoma Rescue Mission Mens Shelter, 425 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA 98402
253-383-4493
http://www.trm.org/
Adult men. There is typically a waitlist for the dorm, but if guests havent stayed at the shelter before (or in the last 6 months), they will always provide a mat to sleep on.
Tacoma Rescue Mission Womens Shelter, 425 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA 98402
253-383-4493
http://www.trm.org/
Adult women. There is typically a waitlist for the dorm, but if guests havent stayed at the shelter before (or in the last 6 months), they will always provide a mat to sleep on.
The Loft, 1424 Tacoma Ave S, Tacoma, WA 98402
253-328-6127
https://thecoffeeoasis.com/
Youths aged 13 to 17
FOB Hopes Veterans Village, 82nd and Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA
253-732-2652
https://www.fobhope.org/
Adult singles and couples with a priority for veterans, but serves all adults.
Forging Paths Community - Mitigation Site, 3561 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA
Give Me a Chance (GMAC) Family Shelter - Altheimer Memorial Church, 1121 S Altheimer St, Tacoma, WA 98405
Phone (253) 754-1049 or email altheimerc@comcast.net to get into the site.
Harbor Hope Center, 3781 Rosedale St NW, Gig Harbor WA 98335
1-844-841-1954
http://www.harborhopecenter.org/
Single young adults between 18 and 24.
Helping Hand House Emergency Shelter
Local Motel/Puyallup area
253-307-2274
https://helpinghandhouse.org/
Referral only from OHM, limited to families with children under 18
LIHI Aspen Court, 8620 S. Hosmer Street, Tacoma, WA 98444
253-302-4587
https://lihi.org/
This site does not take walk-ups. Referred through Urban League, Next Chapter, City of Tacoma Hot Team, Catholic Community Services, and other agencies.
LIHI S 69th and Proctor, S 69th and Proctor
425-295-5421
https://lihi.org/
This shelter does not accept walk-ups; Contact 425-295-5421 to get on the waitlist. Open to single adults and couples. No sex offenders. Harm reduction model.
Next Chapter Pregnant and Single Mothers Shelter, 7031 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98408
253-475-5516
https://www.nextchapterwa.org/
Pregnant women and single mothers.
Open Hearth
Local Motel/Puyallup area
253-307-2274
https://helpinghandhouse.org/
Immediate emergency shelter for families with children ONLY that are homeless
Puyallup Tribe Tiny House Village, 2027 E Wright Ave, Tacoma, WA 98404
https://lihi.org/puyallup-tribe-village/
Puyallup tribal members experiencing homelessness, including individuals, couples, veterans, seniors, students, and people with pets. All residents will be adults aged 18 and over.
Safe Parking
253-346-6482
https://pchomeless.org/Home/SafeParking3
Serves all people living in their cars. Contact (253) 346-6482 or email m.sanchez.newhope@gmail.com for access to safe parking sites.
Shiloh Emergency Shelter, 1211 S I St, Tacoma, WA 98405
Stability Site, 1423 Puyallup Ave, Tacoma, WA
Tacoma Salvation Army - Family Shelter, 1501 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA 98405
253-572-8452
https://tacoma.salvationarmy.org/
Families referred through the CCS Family Day Center.
Tacoma Salvation Army - Single Adults, 1501 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA 98405
253-572-8452
https://tacoma.salvationarmy.org/
Single adult referrals from the Puyallup Police Department
The Beacon Center Young Adult Shelter, 415 S 13th St, Tacoma, WA 98402
http://lifeenrichmentgroup.org/
A drop-in overnight shelter for young adults aged 18 to 24. This shelter typically has room available.
King County
Information provided by the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.
On Tuesday, the King County Regional Homeless Authority activated its Severe Weather Response protocols, in response to the cold weather and potential for snow.
Seattle Overnight & Daytime Shelters
Exhibition Hall at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison Street (bottom floor)
Open overnight 7 p.m. to 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21 through the morning of Mar. 1
100 130 bed capacity
All genders, adults 18 and older; Pets allowed
Meals served
Seattle Indian Center (Roy Street Shelter), 157 Roy Street, Seattle
Open 24/7
15 beds
Males only, 18+
3 meals a day
Seattle Regularly Operating Daytime Warming Centers for Single Adults
The Salvation Army Jefferson Day Center (4th & Jefferson), Daily, 7:00am 5:00pm
Seattle Indian Center Day Center (624 S. Dearborn Street), Monday Friday, 8:30am 5:30pm
Compass Day Center (77 S Washington St.), Monday Friday, 9:00am 4:00pm
Immanuel Community Services (1215 Thomas St.), Monday Friday, 8:00am 2:00pm
Urban Rest Stop
Ballard (2014-B NW 57th St), Monday Sunday, 8:30 am 4:00pm
Downtown (1924 Ninth Avenue), Monday Friday from 8:30 am 4:00 pm and Saturday Sunday from 8:00 am 3:00 pm
Chief Seattle Club Day Center (410 2nd Ave. Ext S.), Monday Friday, 7am 2pm (Native / Indigenous only)
Bread of Life Mission (97 South Main St.), Monday Friday, 9:30am 3pm
Gods Little Acre (12521 33rd Ave NE), Monday-Friday 9am-12pm & 1pm-4pm
Seattle Center Armory (305 Harrison St), Open Daily, 7am 8pm
Seattle Regularly Operating Daytime Warming Centers for Single Adults
Elizabeth Gregory Home (1604 NE 50th St.), Sunday Friday, 9:00am 4:30pm, women only
Marys Place Day Center (1830 Ninth Ave), Monday Friday from 7:00am 3:30pm; women or women with children only
YouthCare
Orion Center (1828 Yale Ave), Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 9am 8:00pm and Saturday from 10:00am 2:00pm; youth only (ages 12 to 24)
UDYC (4516 15th Ave. NE) Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 8am-4pm / Wednesday 8am-1pm / Sunday 9am-1pm youth only (ages 12 to 24)
S. Seattle 24 hours (except Wednesday CLOSED from 12:45pm-3pm) youth only (ages 12 to 24) overnight 18 only
Street Youth Ministries (4540 15th Ave NE), Wednesday Friday, 11am 1pm
New Horizons Ministries (2709 3rd Ave), Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 3:00pm 8:30pm Wednesday 2pm-8:30pm (clinic is onsite on Wed, from 2p-3:30pm)
North Seattle/Shoreline
Overnight:
St. Dunstans Church, 722 N 145th St (North Seattle / Shoreline, off Aurora)
Opening announced daily, 8:30pm 7:30am
Single adults and couples, 15-bed capacity
Hotline: 206-801-2797
Daytime:
Aurora Commons (8914 Aurora Ave N.),
Open M-TH 10 am-1 pm
East King County Overnight & Daytime Shelters
Overnight Shelters with Drop-in:
Congregations for the Homeless (515B 116th Ave NE, Bellevue), for adult men, closest bus route is the 271, 425-496-4885
The Sophia Way, two locations, Helens Place (8045 120th Ave NE, Suite 200, Kirkland) and Sophias Place (3030 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue), for adult women, closest bus routes are the 239 and 250, 425-896-7385
New Bethlehem Place (8045 120th Ave NE, Suite 100, Kirkland), for families with children, 425-679-0354
Friends of Youth (16101 NE 87th ST Suite 110, Redmond) for young adults 18-24 years, 206-236-5437
Daytime:
Congregations for the Homeless Day Center (Male-identifying) Lincoln Center 515B 116th Ave NE Suite 174 Bellevue, WA 98004, 5AM 10PM 425-496-4885
Catholic Community Services New Bethlehem Day Center (Families with Children) 11920 NE 80th St Suite 100, Kirkland, WA 98033, 9AM 4PM 425-679-0354
The Sophia Way Sophias Place Day Center (Women-identifying) 3032 Bellevue Way NE Bellevue, WA 98004, 8AM 3PM 425-896-7385
Friends of Youth 16101 NE 87th ST Suite 110, Redmond, (youth and young adults) , 206-236-5437
South King County Overnight & Daytime Shelters
Auburn:
Ray of Hope Year-Round Emergency Shelter, Day Center, AND Temporary Warming Center, 2806 Auburn Way N. Auburn, WA 98002
50 Emergency Shelter beds in Sundown Shelter. 16 Safe Parking spots, must check in inside first.
Temporary Overnight Warming Center (at the same location, 2806 Auburn Way N)
Dates: Tuesday, 2/21 through Friday night, 2/24
Check-In Time: 9:00 p.m., Check-Out: 7:00 a.m.
Phone: 253-334-4860
Food, snacks, coffee and drinks served throughout the night.
YMCA Arcadia Youth Shelter Year-Round Emergency Shelter, 932 Auburn Way S, Auburn, WA 98002
Operating hours: Drop-In: 2:30-6 pm; Overnight Shelter: 9 pm-8 am.
Burien
Highline United Methodist Church Severe Weather Shelter, 13015 1st Ave. S., Burien
(206) 241-5520
Open 7 pm 9 am, Wednesday (2/22) night through Friday (2/24) night
Adults only
Marys Place Year-Round Emergency Shelter,12845 Ambaum Blvd SW, Burien, WA 98146
Open at normal capacity, families with children only.
Call Family Shelter Intake Line: 206-245-1026
Federal Way
Multi Service Center (MSC) Year-Round Emergency Shelter
Open overnight; Open at normal capacity, families with children only.
Call Family Shelter Intake Line: 206-245-1026
Catholic Community Services Federal Way Day Center (Year-Round), 33505 13th Pl S Ste D, Federal Way, WA 98003.
Open M-F 9 am-4 pm. Closed observed holidays.
Kent
Overnight:
UGM KentHOPE Year-Round Emergency Shelter
Located in Kent Walk-in not available, please call to begin the intake process
Women and Children Only. Call (206) 501-HELP (4357) between 8 am and 4 pm to begin the intake process or check for bed availability
Kent Overnight Severe Weather Shelter, Holy Spirit Church, 310 3rd Ave S., Kent
Open overnight 9 pm 7 am Wednesday (2/22) and Thursday (2/23) nights
Water and snacks provided
Open to Adults and Families (separate room for families)
Daytime:
Catholic Community Services Kent Community Engagement Center (Year-Round), 1229 W Smith St, Kent, WA 98032
Open M-F 9 am-4pm. Closed observed holidays
Maple Valley
Vine Maple Place Year-Round Emergency Shelter, 21730 Dorre Don Way SE. Maple Valley, WA 98038
Open overnight at normal capacity, families with children only.
Call 424-432-2119
Tukwila
Riverton Park United Methodist Church: 3118 S. 140th Street
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) The 22-year-old accused of carrying out the deadly mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs in November ran a neo-Nazi website and used gay and racial slurs while gaming online, a police detective testified Wednesday.
Anderson Lee Aldrich also posted an image of a rifle scope trained on a gay pride parade and used a bigoted slur when referring to someone who was gay, Detective Rebecca Joines said.
Her testimony came at the start of a hearing that will determine if theres enough evidence to warrant that Aldrich face hate crime charges, in addition to other charges including murder and attempted murder.
Aldrich, who identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns they and them, administered the obscure website that included what Joines described as a neo-Nazi white supremacist shooting training video glorifying mass shootings.
The video, which she said was not created by Aldrich and has been posted online by many others, featured attacks on synagogues and mosques in Europe and the 2019 shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Joines said she believes Aldrich was trying to emulate those attacks in the Colorado Springs shooting.
Investigators also heard from an acquaintance that Aldrich said their mother, Laura Voepel, is nonbinary and forced them to go to LGBTQ clubs, Joines testified during the hearing, which is expected to conclude Thursday.
Hate crime charges require prosecutors to present evidence of a motive that Aldrich was driven by bias, either wholly or in part.
The defense countered that Aldrich was not anti-LGBTQ, but was high on multiple drugs, was sleep deprived and came from an abusive family.
Joines discussed police calls to the apartment that Aldrich and Voepel shared for Voepels suicide attempt and overdose. During one call, Aldrich indicated feeling unsafe in the apartment, Joines acknowledged.
Joines said that while identification scanning technology showed Aldrich had been to the club at least six times before the shooting, there were no fights or disturbances during those visits, which each lasted just a few minutes. The defense showed a photo that appeared to be a selfie of Aldrich and Voepel smiling at Club Q in August 2021.
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On the night of the shooting, according to authorities, Aldrich went to the club, left and then returned. Surveillance video showed Aldrich entering the club wearing a red T-shirt and tan ballistic vest while holding an AR-style rifle, with six magazines for the weapon and a pistol visible, police Detective Jason Gasper said. Soon after entering, Aldrich allegedly opened fire indiscriminately.
The shooting was stopped when Navy information systems technician Thomas James grabbed the barrel of Aldrichs rifle, burning his hand it was so hot, Detective Ashton Gardner said in the most detailed account provided yet.
As panicked patrons fled from the dance floor, James and Aldrich tumbled off a landing and struggled over a handgun. Aldrich fired at least once, shooting James in the ribs, Gardner said.
After being shot, it is clear from the video that James was tiring, but he continues to do what he can to subdue the suspect until police arrive, Gardner testified, noting that James later gave up his spot in an ambulance to someone else who was injured.
Army veteran Richard Fierro rushed over to help, grabbing the rifle and throwing it, Gardner said. Fierro then used the handgun to beat Aldrich, telling officers later that he kept hitting the suspect until they arrived.
Aldrich, who wore an orange jumpsuit, shook during the testimony about the people shot and cried while being led out of court for the lunch break.
James, who issued a statement days after the attack saying he simply wanted to save the family that I found," did not appear to be in the main courtroom where testimony was presented. Fierro, who sustained scrapes and bruises, sat in the back row. His daughters boyfriend was killed in the attack.
Joines, the detective, said evidence also indicates that Aldrich was considering livestreaming the attack. A hat found in Aldrichs vehicle had a phone taped to it, and Aldrich recorded four videos using a livestreaming app starting over an approximately two-hour period before the shooting, she said.
After the gunfire ended and police arrived, Aldrich tried to blame the shooting on one of the patrons who subdued them while also claiming that the shooter was hiding, Officer Connor Wallick testified. Officers didnt believe it and shortly afterward confirmed that Aldrich was the shooter, he said.
Police found several high-capacity magazines at the scene, including a drum-style one that holds 60 rounds and was empty, and others that hold 40 rounds, Gasper said. A state law passed after the 2012 Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting bans magazines of more than 15 rounds.
Although Aldrich identifies as nonbinary, someone who is a member of a protected group such as the LGBTQ community can still be charged with a hate crime for targeting peers. Hate crime laws are focused on the victims, not the perpetrator.
At Aldrichs apartment, investigators found gun-making materials, receipts for weapons and a drawing of the club. In Aldrichs mothers room, they found round gun range targets with holes in them, Gasper said. Voepel had taken Aldrich to the range.
It was also revealed that the rifle and the handgun used in the attack appeared to be ghost guns, or firearms without serial numbers that are homemade and do not require an owner to pass a background check. One part of the handgun did have a serial number, but the overall weapon was likely not purchased whole and appeared to be privately made, Joines said.
Defense attorney Joseph Archambault pointed out that it is not illegal to make a gun.
Questions remain about how the suspect got the guns, but experts say that doesnt have to be discussed in order to persuade the judge to rule that theres enough evidence for a trial.
Questions were raised early on about whether authorities should have sought a red flag order to stop Aldrich from buying guns after Aldrich was arrested in 2021, when they threatened their grandparents and vowed to become the next mass killer, according to law enforcement documents.
Authorities said two guns seized from Aldrich in that case a ghost gun pistol and an MM 15 rifle werent returned. That case was dropped, in part because prosecutors couldnt track down Aldrichs grandparents and mother to testify, so Aldrich had no legal restrictions on buying guns.
Defense attorneys also brought up Aldrichs mental health for the first time at the hearing, showing photographs of pill bottles for drugs that Aldrich had been prescribed to treat mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and PTSD. But the defense didnt say if Aldrich had been formally diagnosed with any of those mental illnesses.
___
This story was updated to correct the spelling of Richard Fierros last name, which was misspelled Fiorro in one instance.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has appointed Captain Yurii Lutsenko as the platoon commander of attack unmanned aerial vehicles on 20 February.
Source: Larysa Sarhan, Lutsenkos spokeswoman, on social media
Quote: "By order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine dated 20 February 2023, Captain Yurii Vitaliyovych Lutsenko was appointed platoon commander of attack unmanned aerial vehicles of a company of strike unmanned aerial vehicles of military unit No of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
Details: It is known that Lutsenko is currently serving in Bakhmut.
According to his wife Iryna, Yurii Lutsenko was initially in the Territorial Defence Forces of Kyiv, later in Mykolaiv and on the Kherson front. He has been serving in Bakhmut and Soledar for more than three months.
Not so long ago, Lutsenko was promoted to the rank of captain.
Background: Lutsenko served as the Prosecutor General of Ukraine from 2016 to 2019.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Ian Bullock, 39, was jailed for 16 months at Birmingham crown court - British Transport Police
A man who said he identified as a woman in an attempt to justify a sexual assault in a lavatory at a railway station has been jailed.
Ian Bullock attacked the woman at Birmingham New Street station at around 7am on March 21 last year as she washed her hands after he entered the female lavatories while wearing a high-visibility vest.
After his victim left a cubicle, Bullock, 39, moved towards her and bent down before sexually assaulting her, British Transport Police (BTP) said on Tuesday.
The woman challenged Bullock and he left in silence before attempting to disguise himself by taking off the hi-vis vest and putting on a beanie hat. BTP officers were called and arrested him at the scene.
During a police interview, Bullock claimed the reason he was in the toilets was that he identified as female.
On Dec 12, Bullock, of Stratford Road, Birmingham, was convicted of one count of sexual assault at Birmingham Magistrates Court.
On Feb 7 at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Heidi Kubik KC jailed him for 16 months.
Detective Inspector Ian Wright said: Bullock is a dangerous individual who deliberately changed his clothing that morning in order to loiter in the female toilets undetected and launch this vile, pre-meditated assault on the victim in a space she had every right to feel safe in.
I would like to commend the bravery of the victim who, faced with an unimaginably awful situation, immediately challenged Bullock and reported what had happened to station staff, meaning officers were able to arrive quickly and arrest him at the scene.
We are absolutely determined to root out sexual offending from the railway network, and in this case Bullock deserves every day of the prison sentence hes been handed.
Bullock was also made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and made to sign on to the sex offenders register for the same period.
As part of the conditions of the order, he is barred from entering or loitering outside female lavatories and wearing any type of high-visibility jacket other than for a lawful employment purpose or when required on transport.
Conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president in 2024 in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
Ramaswamy, 37, who founded a health care company called Roivant in 2014, told Tucker Carlson that people in the country have forgotten the ways were really just the same as Americans, bound by a common set of ideals.
Thats why Im proud to say tonight that Im running for United States president to revive those ideals in this country, those basic rules of the road, he said.
Ramaswamy said in a video posted on his Twitter profile as he announced his candidacy in the Fox interview that the country is in the midst of an identity crisis.
In his interview and the campaign launch video, Ramaswamy criticized a focus on diversity from the woke left and denounced policies that left-leaning politicians have taken to address situations like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
He claimed faith, patriotism and hard work have been replaced by secular religions like COVIDism, climateism and gender ideology.
He said people in the country cannot answer what being an American means and the left preys on that vacuum.
They tell you that your race, your gender and your sexual orientation govern who you are, what you can achieve and what youre allowed to think, Ramaswamy said.
He told Fox that the United States needs a total decoupling from China, which he said is a more significant threat than the Soviet Union was during the Cold War. He said an economic separation from China will not be easy, but some sacrifice of short-term conveniences are necessary to accomplish long-term goals.
Ramaswamy also wants to work to limit Big Tech companies ability to moderate content on their platforms as part of restoring free speech. Other plans include dismantling affirmative action in every sphere of American life and what he called a new climate religion.
Ramaswamy was nicknamed the CEO of Anti-Woke, Inc. in a profile on him from The New Yorker in December. The name is a reference to his 2021 book, Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam, which slams a woke-industrial complex for mixing morality with consumerism.
Ramaswamy, who is launching what is likely a long-shot bid for the GOP nomination, is joining a Republican field that includes former President Trump and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. A few other less prominent Republican candidates like former Cranston, R.I., Mayor Steve Laffey and former Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton have also announced bids.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Costco front-end workers should "greet every member with a smile and present yourself in a professional, friendly manner," the employee handbook says. John Gress/Reuters
The Costco employee handbook says front end workers must "greet every member with a smile."
The company says it takes significant pride in putting members' needs first, outlining a high standard for workers.
Costco boasts the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any major general merchandise retailer surveyed by the ASCI.
First-time visitors to one of retail giant Costco's wholesale warehouses may notice something special when a red-vested associate walks up: they're just so nice.
As it turns out, that's by design.
The company considers great service to be its "most critical commodity," saying that without it, all other efforts by the business would be "fruitless," according to a copy of the 2022 Employee Agreement reviewed by Insider.
Front-end workers should "greet every member with a smile and present yourself in a professional, friendly manner," the handbook says. It also says a smile is one of the easiest ways to demonstrate good customer service, and that they should "give each member your sincere gratitude."
Of course, Costco is by no means the only company with a smile policy.
Earlier this year, gas station and convenience store chain Sheetz came under scrutiny for its requirement that customers be greeted with a smile, and later dropped its requirement that employees have no visible dental problems after Insider's reporting on the issue.
For Costco's part, employees are simply expected to practice good grooming and hygiene habits, with additional safety requirements for workers in food service.
Chick-fil-A also has a pattern of politeness, topping the list of restaurant chains with employees who were most likely to say "please" and "thank you" during a customer interaction.
Costco employees told Insider that the smile requirement does not really stand out from the myriad other items they must keep in mind throughout the day, and that it's not specifically enforced anyway.
If any issues did arise regarding customer interactions, they would likely be handled in small-group meetings, one manager said.
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"One thing we are repeatedly told and is also enforced is to greet a member if you come within five feet of them and ask them if they need any help," a forklift operator in Chicago said. "Most employees genuinely enjoy helping out members. Even with stockers and forklift drivers member service is considered our number one job."
For other workers Insider spoke with, it appears the company gives several reasons to smile, from above-average wages, to a substantial benefits package, and a generally supportive workplace culture.
The attention to detail translates to real results for the company.
The latest shopper survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index ranked Costco best among general merchandise retailers, beating out wholesale rivals Sam's Club and BJ's by one and two points, respectively.
Not bad for a company that requires a $60 membership to shop there.
Are you a current or former Costco employee? Get in touch with Dominick via email here.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Anti-marijuana
Oklahoma voters will decide the fate of legal marijuana on March 7. There are at least five good reasons to vote no.
More:Point: As a grandma, I think recreational marijuana is good for Oklahoma
First, states that have legalized marijuana have seen significant increases in traffic accidents, including fatalities, caused by stoned drivers. Colorados marijuana-linked fatality rate doubled after that state legalized weed. Washington and California have reported similar ominous trends. Recently the Oklahoma Highway Patrol noted that drugs have now surpassed alcohol as a causative factor in serious wrecks.
A 'yes' vote on March 7 will endanger you and your family each time you leave home.
Second, legal weed will not eliminate illegal drug trafficking as proponents often claim. Law enforcement in post-legalization California reported that 80% of marijuana transactions were still of the black market variety. In weed-legal Colorado, arrests for illegal weed soared 380%. This is not surprising since buyers will inevitably seek out the cheaper, untaxed alternative.
Third, legal weed will damage young brains. Science is clear on this: The human brain is not fully formed until our mid- to late-20s. Multiple studies have shown that exposure to the active ingredient in weed, THC, can cause permanent loss of cognitive abilities and, in one New Zealand study, a decline in IQ scores of as much as eight points.
Why would we vote to inflict brain damage on our children?
Fourth, Oklahoma is already a national laughingstock as the No. 1 source of illegal weed, thanks to the explosion in cultivation and smuggling that followed medical marijuana legalization. Weve seen ghost operators that included Chinese crime syndicates and Mexican cartels, massive smuggling operations and even multiple homicides surrounding the medical weed trade. This is hardly surprising; we have issued 32 times as many grower licenses (8,600) as all other states combined and that with only medical marijuana.
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Thanks to our central location and existing illegal weed infrastructure, fully legalizing marijuana could open the floodgates to an organized crime takeover of our state.
Fifth, legal weed would mean more addiction and the social pathologies that accompany that condition.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, roughly 10% of the population has the genetic tendency to become addicted to any mood altering substance, including marijuana. Marijuana consumption also conditions some brains to crave more dangerous drugs like methamphetamines and opioids. Weed is not harmless, as advocates claim; it has the potential to seriously damage tens of thousands of lives.
More:What kind of marijuana policy will Oklahoma's legislature consider? Here are a few theories
Finally, does anyone really believe that having a substantial portion of the population lounging around in a stupor is good for our society? Marijuana legalization is simply lousy social policy. Oklahoma is better than this and should cast a resounding no vote on March 7.
Mike Brake
Don Newsom
Mike Brake is a retired journalist who specialized in crime reporting. Don Newsom is a former Oklahoma City police officer who retired from the Secret Service after a career guarding presidents.
For some more takes on the SQ 820 vote ...
More:Guest: March 7 vote isn't between more weed or less weed. It's about limiting government control
More:Guests: Oklahomans should consider latest marijuana research ahead of SQ 820
More:Guest: SQ 820 is 'like a Ponzi scheme' that will leave Oklahoma families to pick up pieces
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Counterpoint on SQ 820: Legalized marijuana will endanger you
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Fox News, CNN and other major news outlets didn't defame former coal executive Don Blankenship when they referred to him as a felon after he served a year in prison on a misdemeanor charge in connection with the worst U.S. mine disaster in decades, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
Fourth Circuit Court Chief Judge Roger Gregory affirmed a district court's determination that 16 outlets sued by Blankenship did not act with actual malice" amid coverage of his unsuccessful 2018 U.S. Senate campaign, even if they failed to meet journalistic standards.
"Failure to fact-check is not enough to manufacture a genuine issue of actual malice here, Gregory wrote.
The chief judge said Blankenship's arguments are mostly speculative and do not come close to the quantum of evidence needed to create a jury question.
Blankenship couldn't be immediately reached for comment. His attorney didnt return email and phone messages, and an email sent to an account listed for Blankenship could not be delivered. He did not respond to a direct message sent to him on Twitter.
The former CEO of Massey Energy, which owned West Virginias Upper Big Branch Mine where a 2010 explosion killed 29 workers, was indicted on several federal charges in the wake of the disaster, including multiple felony counts.
A jury ultimately acquitted him of the felony charges, but Blankenship was sentenced to one year in federal prison the statutory maximum on a misdemeanor charge for conspiring to violate federal mine safety laws. He was also fined $250,000.
Blankenship was released from prison in 2017. While still on supervised release in January 2018, Blankenship announced his plans to run as a Republican for U.S. Senate in West Virginia.
During Blankenships Senate campaign, numerous media organizations and journalists broadcast or published statements that referred to him as a felon or convicted felon, even though Blankenships conviction was classified as a misdemeanor.
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The appeal before the Fourth Circuit court involved 16 of those organizations: Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, the Washington Post, ABC, News & Guts, Eli Lehrer, Mediaite, Tamar Auber, Griffin Connolly, FiscalNote, HD Media, NBCUniversal, CNBC, 35th PAC and the Boston Globe.
The court determined that journalists were confused about the meaning of the term felon, which by definition refers to someone convicted of a felony. Although Blankenship was not a felon, he was sentenced to serve a one-year sentence in federal prison a rarity for a misdemeanor offense.
Blankenships prison sentence placed him as close to felony status as possible, Gregory said, adding that for non-lawyers describing Blankenship as a felon was not inherently improbable, and there were not obvious reasons to doubt the veracity of such a statement.
Some of the statements may have been the product of carelessness and substandard journalistic methods, the chief judge wrote. But at the end of the day, the record does not contain evidence that the commentators and journalists responsible for the statements were anything more than confused about how to describe a person who served a year in prison for a federal offense.
The Richmond-based court also upheld the lower court's decision to side with the news organizations against Blankenships false light invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy claims, again saying he lacked sufficient evidence.
The Supreme Court of Georgia on Tuesday upheld the murder conviction and life prison sentence for an Augusta mother who killed her 2-year-old daughter on May 2, 2013.
Marina Mae Middlebrooks, 38, of Augusta, is serving a life sentence plus 20 years for the murder of her daughter, Sky Lyric Allen.
Middlebrooks had entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, according to previous reporting. She was found in her wrecked vehicle on Ray Owens Road in Appling on May 2, 2013 wearing only a hoodie inside the blood-soaked front seat.
A paramedic found Sky naked on the front seat floorboard with a stab wound to the neck, according to the article. Middlebrooks, who also had a knife wound to the neck, said she believed the only way she and her daughter could get into heaven was by suicide, and that they had to be naked in order to do so.
Middlebrooks was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic in 2011, according to previous reporting.
Previous story:Augusta woman convicted of killing 2-year-old daughter
Psychologist testifies:Psychologist testifies about mother's suicidal talk, paranoia
Two other Augustans' convictions upheld
Two other Richmond County convictions were upheld Tuesday by the state Supreme Court.
Jonathan Tavarus Evans, 28, was convicted of murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in March 2020.
Jeremy Gene Taylor, 42, of Swainsboro, was convicted of murder in December 2013 in connection to the fatal beating of 48-year-old Earl Alphonzo Bolar, of Waynesboro, in a Richmond County jail holding cell.
Before the trial began, Taylor was offered a plea negotiation for a life sentence with the possibility of parole but rejected it repeatedly, according to previous reporting.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Conviction upheld for Augusta mother accused of killing 2-year-old
Oleksiy Danilov
Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are Ukrainian sovereign territory that is not exchanged or sold, the online newspaper quoted Danilov as saying.
There is no draw in this war. Ukraine must win, and Russia must lose. Compromise and concessions are the path to defeat and loss of statehood.
He said that internal destabilization in Ukraine would be the only way the aggressor would be ble to save itself from military defeat and the collapse of Putin's regime.
Read also: Russia wont use nuclear weapons even if Crimea is liberated, Dutch PM says
For this, the Kremlin needs to implant a poisonous virus into our circulatory system the idea of the possibility of a compromise, Danilov said.
All that is needed is Ukraines consent to give up the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk oblasts and Crimea in exchange for ending the war.
Danilov said that work on this scenario is being carried out on a large scale and in different directions. In particular, the Kremlin regime in its plans is counting on the fatigue of Ukrainians, the exhaustion of its allies and partners, the elections in the United States and Europe, economic crisis and the need for Russian energy imports.
Old ... and new agents are rising on the domestic Ukrainian (sphere), he said.
Various speakers and experts will be cautious at first, and then more and more loudly saying how we need peace, that yes, we need concessions, that the West is betraying us, and the authorities are not listening to you! Danilov said.
Why do we need these Donbas, Luhansk and other lands and people, because there are only separs and vatniks (separatists and pro-Russian citizens), brainwashed, with a destroyed economy and devastated cities. These are weights on your feet on the way to Europe!
He added that if Ukraine fell into the trap of choosing between concessions and war, the only result would be that Ukraine would get war again.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Harmony of the Seas cruise ship as it sails from the STX Saint-Nazaire shipyard, western France, out to sea.
"Safety in Travel is a six-part series focusing on the travel safety tools available in different industries, how they can affect the overall experience, and how travelers can make use of them. If you'd like to contribute to our future reporting and share your experience as a source, you can click here to fill out this quick form.
Sherry Boleen got up early to watch the sunrise with her family during a cruise to Mexico over Thanksgiving. But when she arrived at her siblings' cabin on Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Valor ship around 6 a.m., her stepsister said their brother, James Michael Grimes, never came back to the room.
The family was sailing with roughly 20 relatives, so Boleen thought maybe he'd slept in one of their rooms. "He's notorious for just falling asleep anywhere, anytime," Boleen, who is 31 and lives at Fort Benning in Georgia, told USA TODAY. "And so I was like, 'Or he's just asleep on a lawn chair somewhere or whatever.' "
Sherry Boleen with her brother, James Michael Grimes.
After looking for him around the ship to no avail, she said, she notified the cruise line, which began an hourslong search that ended with the U.S. Coast Guard rescuing 29-year-old Grimes from the water later that day around 8:30 p.m. after he had gone overboard.
James Michael Grimes spent approximately 20 hours stranded at sea.
Grimes, who was found about 20 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, told PEOPLE magazine in December that he remembered having some drinks and winning an air-guitar competition before waking up in the water. He did not respond to interview requests from USA TODAY.
While the incident ended with his safe return to shore, it raised questions about cruise ship overboard detection systems a new technology that aims to cut down on response time and notify the crew as soon as someone goes overboard.
Carnival spokesperson Matt Lupoli told USA TODAY in an email that as soon as the line was notified, "Carnival Valors crew immediately searched the ship, retraced the ship's route, and coordinated with U.S. Coast Guard officials."
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"During the search, another mariner spotted Mr. Grimes in the ocean and contacted the USCG, and the rescue was made," he said. "We remain greatly appreciative of all the efforts that brought Mr. Grimes to safety."
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What are cruise ship overboard detection systems?
The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 requires passenger vessels operating in the United States to "integrate technology that can be used for capturing images of passengers or detecting passengers who have fallen overboard, to the extent that such technology is available."
Cruise lines were given an option because when the law was passed, there were no available products that could reliably detect passengers going overboard, according to Brian Salerno, senior vice president of global maritime policy at Cruise Lines International Association, the industry's leading trade group.
"The problem was tuning the technology just right so that you wouldn't be getting false alarms every time a seagull flew by the ship," he said. "It's just human nature, if you have alarms going off constantly, they become less and less important."
Carnival Valor
In the years since, multiple companies have worked to develop more dependable technology, and CLIA and its member lines worked with the International Organization for Standardization to develop a standard for them.
The standard was finalized around the time the COVID-19 pandemic began, Salerno said, which delayed the process, but some ships have adopted the detection systems.
Boleen said security on board told her that while the Carnival Valor had camera footage from the bar where her brother was last seen, it did not have cameras everywhere because it was an older vessel.
Lupoli said cameras "may not have 100% visibility" in certain places on ships. "We do know that he left a bar on Deck 3, and we later found his clothes and wallet on Deck 6," he said.
In addition to security cameras, Lupoli said, all ships have "safety barriers that are regulated by U.S. Coast Guard standards and prevent a guest from falling off."
Cruise ships have railings to help prevent passengers from going overboard.
How do overboard detection systems work?
Technology company MARSS' MOBtronic system is among those that developed the system for cruises.
The product, which uses thermal cameras and micro radars to detect when someone has gone overboard and can alert crew members, along with other features, is installed on "quite a few" vessels, including one cruise line's entire fleet, according to CEO Johannes Pinl, though he could not name specific lines.
MARSS' MOBtronic system is among those designed to detect when people go overboard.
He said he expects the system to receive certification in accordance with the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standard within the first half of 2023.
Salerno said that certification will give cruise lines greater confidence in spending money on overboard detection technology. For its part, MOBtronic starts at around $200,000, Pinl said. Typically, between four and 12 sensor stations are mounted on the ship's exterior, depending on its size and design.
"Overall, considering how much a cruise ship costs ... these investments are minor," he said.
How many cruise ships have overboard detection systems?
Salerno declined to name specific lines but said a number of ships have installed the detection technology. "I think we'll start seeing more and more of the detection equipment once the certification process is complete," he said.
He said he expects that at least one manufacturer will receive certification in accordance with the ISO standard this year.
Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line and MSC Cruises did not answer USA TODAY's questions about whether or not they have the systems installed on their ships and referred inquiries to CLIA.
Royal Caribbean International and Princess Cruises did not respond to USA TODAY's questions about whether or not they had installed the technology.
A spokesperson for Disney Cruise Line confirmed the technology is available on its ships, but was unable to share more details.
How many people go overboard on cruise ships?
Between 2009 and 2019, there were 212 overboard incidents globally involving passengers and crew, according to statistics compiled for CLIA by consulting firm G.P. Wild (International) Limited. Only 48 people were rescued.
"I'll stress that people don't just fall over the side," said Salerno. "There are railings and they're pretty high. It's almost always the result of an intentional act."
The CVSSA requires passenger vessels to have rails that are "located not less than 42 inches above the cabin deck." Many cruise ships complied with that even before the law was enacted, according to Cmdr. Jason Kling, Detachment Chief at the U.S. Coast Guard's Cruise Ship National Center of Expertise, which conducts compliance inspections of cruise ships embarking passengers in U.S. ports or embarking U.S. passengers.
Why do people go overboard on cruises?
Alcohol can play a role in overboard incidents, said Michael Winkleman, a maritime attorney with Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A., who has represented travelers in overboard cases. "Usually, it's just people not making smart decisions because they're dramatically overserved and they end up going over," he said.
He noted that cruise lines have procedures in place to prevent overserving passengers, but in instances when a passenger believes the cruise line contributed to their going overboard, Winkleman said, they could bring a lawsuit. Most suits of that kind are resolved with confidential settlements.
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"My advice, which I think applies across the board with cruising, is don't leave your common sense at the port," he said.
Regardless of the cause, Salerno said overboard detection systems are aimed at improving the likelihood of a positive outcome. "The sooner the search can begin, obviously, the better the chance of recovery," he said.
In the search for Boleen's brother, she said she believes the crew could have benefitted from an overboard detection system. "I feel like it just would have saved so much time," she said.
Have you or someone you know had an emergency during a cruise sailing?
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cruise ship overboard detection systems: What are they?
The crypto and tech labor markets are in a strange place right nowbut not in the same way.
If you listen to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, youd think the labor market was thriving across the board. In an interview at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. earlier this month, he said, The labor market is extraordinarily strong.
At a glance, U.S. federal data appears to back that up. The Department of Labor said that total payroll employment, not including agricultural workers, is up by 517,000 in January. Overall, unemployment rates remained steady at 3.4%, continuing their slow decline since October of 2022. Hospitality, government employment, healthcare, and construction are among the industries seeing job growth.
But the numbers and headlines from the crypto and tech industries paint a very different picture. In January alone, crypto layoffs already affected 2,806 employees, according to CoinGecko data. Thats a big number considering that 6,820 crypto workers lost their jobs in all of 2022. Put another way, in just one month, crypto layoffs in 2023 reached 41% of the total layoffs in 2022.
Huobi, Crypto.com, Coinbase, Gemini, Genesis, and Wyre are among the crypto companies that made big cuts last month, with Magic Eden, Polygon, Chainalysis, and Bittrex laying off staff in February.
Quiet Layoffs Trending
But Denise Carlin, Head of People at Web3 startup MPCH Labs, told Decrypt in an interview that there are also some quiet layoffs happening right now.
People are trying to quietly lay off, Carlin said of crypto firms, explaining that she has knowledge of two firms that laid off substantial percentages of staffone saying goodbye to over 20% of its employeeswithout much press.
Dan Eskow, Founder and Talent Partner at Web3 recruiting firm Up Top Talent, said hes also seen incidents of crypto firms making quiet layoffs.
YesGSR immediately comes to mind, Eskow told Decrypt, referring to the DeFi firm GSR Markets.
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Layoff Trigger Events
Many crypto layoffs over the past year have occurred directly following unique, industry-shaking events, such as the Terra LUNA crash of May 2022 and the FTX bankruptcy filing of November 2022.
But Januarys layoffs dont exactly have a clear, singular causal event. So what gives?
Image: Coingecko
The continued labor market tightening in the crypto space is the result of unrelenting industry concerns, including Genesiss bankruptcy, Gemini shuttering its Earn program amid its battle with DCG, Kraken ending its staking offering, and increased regulatory pressure in the U.S. Crypto is also affected by the same macroeconomic conditions threatening big tech companies.
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While Googles Web3 team was notably not impacted by CEO Sundar Pichais January decision to lay off 12,000 workers, entire software engineering teams and Googles startup incubator team at Area 120 were among those laid off by the tech giant.
According to a layoff tracker compiled by Airtable Software Engineer Steven Zhang and ex-Airtable engineer Chris Talley, much of Googles layoffs of software engineers affected mid-level staff. Interestingly, thats the experience level crypto often hires for.
In crypto, we definitely tend to skew toward mid level, Carlin said, explaining that this is often because junior talent takes too long to train, and senior talent are rarely on the market.
Image: warntracker.com
Crypto vs. Big Tech
As the crypto and traditional tech industries cope with ongoing waves of layoffs, is Web2 talent trying to make the jump to Web3?
We see plenty of engineers coming from the FAANG layoffs that are definitely interested in these roles, Eskow said, referring to laid-off Meta, Amazon, and Google staff applying for crypto jobs. But the reality is, its not a good time to make a pivot from web2 to web3. The crypto-native devs are going to take priority.
Because crypto requires specialized skills and coding languages not practiced in trad tech roles, Eskow believes that developers who already have crypto industry experience will take precedenceespecially if they also have connections in Web3.
Comparing hiring in crypto to hiring in trad tech is not apples to apples, Eskow said, adding that the crypto labor market is a very small community where ones network carries immense weight.
Crypto Exchanges Made up 84% of Job Cuts Last Month: CoinGecko
Eskow speculated that the reason some laid-off trad tech workers are looking to explore crypto is in part because many crypto firms are smaller.
I think after experiencing layoffs at big tech companies, they are apprehensive about joining another large corporation, so [they] look to the crypto startups for a change of environment, Eskow told Decrypt, who confirmed that he has received referrals and outreach from recent ex-Google veterans eager to get into crypto.
But Carlin believes its a great time to move from Web2 to Web3. She argues that talent has a chance to get hired despite the competition because the Web3 talent pool is comparatively very junior.
The Web3 labor market differs from the larger tech space in the fact that the talent pool is very junior. More people are moving into the Web3 space every year, Carlin said, adding that its difficult to poach the most experienced talent.
Thats where headhunters come in. Web3 recruiting has relied on the practice of headhunting during boom times.
Theres a much larger dependency on headhunting in Web3 versus traditional big tech that would just be flooded with experienced applicants as with all these layoffs, Carlin said.
Impacts of Artificial Intelligence
But now that the crypto market has cooled off, hungry venture capitalists in search of the next big thing in tech may be looking elsewheretoward artificial intelligence (AI).
Clarence Thomas, founder of crypto recruiting firm FinBlock Staffing, told Decrypt that hes seen candidates lose out on job offers because venture capital that was initially pledged to a crypto firm went to an AI firm instead.
We very recently had a client we were working withthey were actually pledged about 5 million in funding for a crypto wallet. They needed a product manager. And we actually found them a unicorn for what they needed, Thomas explained. In the end, they did not get the funding that they were pledged. That funding actually went to the AI space.
Weve been seeing a lot of artificial intelligence has been taking the investment capital from crypto and blockchain, and thats very much driving the hiring right now, Thomas said.
Whos FiringAnd Still HiringDuring the Bitcoin Bear Market
Who is Hiring
Eskow has seen ongoing demand for Web3 talent in the DeFi space. Other recruitment specialists like Thomas have had to partly pivot away from crypto hiring as hes seen demand lessen in the bear market. In an effort to diversify, FinBlock has branched out into recruitment for the 5G communications industry.
But Thomas said crypto-curious hedge funds are still hiring throughout the downturn.
Weve seen a tremendous uptick recently for them hiring particularly sales roles, Thomas said. Since the new year in particular, in January and now February, thats where weve seen the highest demand.
The Future of Crypto Labor
The crypto labor market remains uncertain for 2023.
It's still being viewed as very volatile and high risk for new talent, Carlin told Decrypt. She believes crypto company headcounts have returned to what they were two to three years agobut now the industry also has to grapple with massive public trust issues.
The boom is over, Georgetown Associate Professor Jim Angel, who teaches undergrad and MBA courses on market structure, global financial regulation, and fintech, told Decrypt via email. Firms that overexpanded will continue to shed workers.
Professor Angel sees a tale of two crypto labor markets. One consists of traditional tech and financial firmslike a Google or a Mastercardwhich seek to always remain in compliance with regulators while dipping their toes in crypto waters. The others are what Angel calls wildcat firms, which are less concerned with regulation and are instead pushing forward with crypto tech and innovation no matter the cost.
There are lots of similarities to tradfi and tech firms, but [crypto companies] tend to be looser and more fluid given the dynamic state of the industry, Angel said. In this way they are similar to startups where you have people willing to work for low wages in the hopes of hitting it big as the firm prospers. If the firm runs into difficulties, they jump to the next promising venture.
Second Layoff Round at Crypto.com Worse than June Cuts: Sources
Jeffrey Pfeffer is a professor of organizational behavior at Stanfords Graduate School of Business (GSB), the university where two of the schools most prominent law professors have stopped teaching and are now supporting and housing their son, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who remains under house arrest until his trial in October.
Pfeffer believes that some of the tech industrys layoffs may be due to copycat behavior.
The tech industry layoffs are basically an instance of social contagion, in which companies imitate what others are doing. If you look for reasons for why companies do layoffs, the reason is that everybody else is doing it, Pfeffer said in a GSB news post in December. The professor acknowledged that some companies may have overhired, but argues that isnt the real reason layoffs are happening because big companies like Meta are still generating revenue.
But Pfeffer has a different view when it comes to crypto.
Crypto has a different problemit is an industry based on vapor, hope, and B.S. for the most part, Pfeffer told Decrypt via email. Therefore, it is hard to know if it will actually survive.
In contrast, Angel has a more optimistic outlook.
The crypto labor market will follow cryptos in general, Angel told Decrypt. The flaky stuff that adds no value will fade away along with those jobs. The productive sides will grow and mature with a steady need for crypto-savvy employees with skills in tech, HR, accounting, marketing, customer service, and compliance just like other financial firms.
Johannes P. Christo/Reuters
The 7-year-old daughter of Heather Mack, the 27-year-old American heiress convicted in 2014 in Indonesia and waiting trial in the U.S. for the murder of her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack, has finally been given a guardian.
Estelle Stella Schaeffer will live with Macks maternal cousin Lisa Hellmann in Colorado, a court has decided. The child was born in Kerobokan Female Prison after her then 18-year-old mother and 21-year-old father Tommy Schaeffer were convicted of killing Heathers 62-year-old mother, stuffing her in a suitcase, and leaving the luggage in the trunk of a taxi outside a fancy hotel in Bali.
Mack was released in 2021 after serving seven years of her 1o-year sentence, but was arrested on arrival at Chicago OHare airport on U.S. charges tied to the murder in what her lawyers said at the time was highly expected.
The child spent the first two years of her life in her mothers prison cell and then with a foster family in Bali. She has been living with Macks lawyer since her mother was arrested upon her return to the U.S.
Schaeffer, who authorities say admitted to the killing, is still serving his 18 year sentence in a squalid prison in Indonesia. Schaeffer said he killed his then-girlfriends 62-year-old mother because she tried to abuse Mack, even strangling her.
Schaeffers mother, Kia Walker, tried unsuccessfully to petition the court for custody of her granddaughter and even showed up at OHare airport in anticipation of Macks arrest. The lawyers dont need custody, Walker said at the time. Stella has family here. She has me. I want my granddaughter. I want this craziness to stop.
Cook County judge Stephanie Miller did indeed remove the child from the lawyers care, and instead awarded custody to Macks cousin under the condition the child would not be used as a pawn or exploited in any fashion, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
Mackalong with Schaefferface felony charges for conspiring to kill Wiese-Mack while they were in the U.S. Prosecutors said the couple referred to themselves as Bonnie and Clyde in messages as they planned to off the middle-aged woman, apparently to tap into Macks $1.5 million inheritance. Macks father was acclaimed jazz composer James Mack, who died in 2006.
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The couple also allegedly employed Shaeffers cousin, Robert Ryan Bibbs, who acted as a consultant for the murder in exchange for $50,0000. Bibbs confessed to his role, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Bibbs pleaded guilty in 2016 to a murder conspiracy charge, stating in a plea agreement that he was aware of the couples plot to carry out von Wiese-Macks murder and that he counseled Schaeffer on how to get away with it.
Macks trial is set for July 31.
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Cyclone Freddy slammed into Madagascar late Tuesday with intense bands of rain and powerful winds as it moved over land for the first time in its lengthy lifespan. Multiple deaths have been attributed to the storm in Madagascar, and as recovery operations get underway there, AccuWeather meteorologists say the storm made a second landfall in Mozambique on Friday.
Freddy churned over the Indian Ocean for more than two weeks before it barrelled into Madagascar. The cyclone's origins date back to Feb. 6 when it formed off the southern coast of Indonesia. Freddy's first direct encounter with land occurred 15 days later near Mananjary, a city on Madagascar's eastern coastline, around 7:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, Feb. 21.
Meteo France La Reunion, the government agency responsible for tracking storms in this part of the world, estimated Freddy's maximum sustained winds to be equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (96-110 mph or 154-177 km/h) at the time of landfall.
This satellite loop shows Freddy just prior to landfall in Madagascar on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AccuWeather)
"This makes Freddy the strongest storm to strike Madagascar since Cyclone Batsirai ripped through the region in early February 2022," AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls said.
No other tropical cyclones observed in this part of the world have taken such a path across the Indian Ocean in the past two decades. Freddy closely mirrored the track of Cyclone Leone, also known as Eline, in 2000, which holds the record for the longest-lived cyclone in the Indian Ocean, traveling nearly 7,000 miles (11,265 km) over 29 days. Only two other cyclones in history, Hudah in 2000 and Litanne in 1994, survived the lengthy east-to-west route over the Indian Ocean.
Cyclone Freddy's week-long journey across the Indian Ocean, eventually making landfall in Madagascar. pic.twitter.com/StqUrxWTmX CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) February 22, 2023
Freddy passed near Mauritius and Reunion (the Mascarene Islands), which lie to the east of Madagascar, Monday night into Tuesday morning, local time. Rainfall amounts neared 2 inches (50 mm) in the town of Vacoas, Mauritius, as wind gusts approached 60 mph (100 km/h). However, the islands were spared the worst of the cyclone's impacts as the storm remained to the north of the islands, providing a glancing blow rather than a direct strike.
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AccuWeather meteorologists were warning more than a week in advance that Madagascar was unlikely to be spared from a direct blow from Freddy.
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A clearer picture of the extent of the damage across the country was revealed on Wednesday as the cyclone lost wind intensity on its westward path over land. Strong wind gusts flattened rice fields and fruit trees and tore some roofs off buildings, AFP reported. More than 6,700 homes were damaged.
At least seven deaths have been attributed to the cyclone, according to Reuters, including one man who drowned amid rising seas prior to landfall.
Travel was shut down along Freddy's path Tuesday night into Wednesday, local time, and school was suspended in at least 10 regions, according to Reuters.
People work on a damaged building, in Mananjary district, Madagascar, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, after Cyclone Freddy reached Madagascar. (AP Photo/Solofo Rasolofomanana)
The city of Mananjary, home to around 25,000 people and near where Freddy moved ashore, received nearly 5 inches of rain (130 mm) of rain, with sustained winds of 92 mph (150 km/h) at landfall, according to Nicholls. This part of the country is still vulnerable following the strike by powerful Batsirai just one year ago.
At least 16,000 people have been displaced around Mananjary, The Associated Press reported.
"Bananas and breadfruit trees fell because of the winds," Gabriel Ravelomanantsoa, a resident of Antsenavolo, located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Mananjary told the AP. "This is what people eat daily and everything is now destroyed."
Ravelomanantsoa added that homes "were not affected that much" because people in the surrounding area had their properties reinforced due to the advanced knowledge of the storm.
Just one month ago, Tropical Cyclone Cheneso unleashed days of flooding rain and damaging winds to western and northern portions of the island nation. Many of these same areas were being affected by Freddy at midweek before the center of the storm moved over the Mozambique Channel.
Freddy made landfall in Mozambique on Friday. (AccuWeather)
After the cyclone stayed away from any landmass for more than two weeks, AccuWeather meteorologists say it made a second landfall in a matter of days - this time over southern Africa.
As AccuWeather forecasters predicted, Freddy regained some wind intensity as it traveled over the Mozambique Channel on Thursday. It then made landfall immediately south of Vilanculos, Mozambique, at 4:00 p.m. local time (7:00 am Eastern time) Friday as a moderate tropical storm, packing maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph (about 80 km/h). This recent landfall occurred nearly three weeks after the storm's initial formation.
Heavy rain and flooding will remain the biggest concern as Freddy moves inland and loses wind intensity into the weekend. As of early Friday evening, local time, nearly 3 inches (about 75 mm) of rain had already fallen in Vilanculos. Due to the elevated risk for flooding, officials had declared a "red alert," and said up to 1.75 million people could be impacted.
After soaking Africa, Freddy's leftover energy could then reemerge off the coast. "It is possible that the ghost of Freddy returns to the Mozambique Channel early next week and strengthens some before impacting southern Madagascar from the west later next week," Nicholls said.
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.
WARSAW (Reuters) - The Czech Republic has supplied hundreds of pieces of heavy military equipment to Ukraine over the past year, including 89 tanks, and will continue supporting efforts to aid Kyiv, the country's prime minister said on Wednesday.
Petr Fiala was speaking after a meeting in Warsaw of countries on NATO's eastern flank with U.S. President Joe Biden, who pledged to "defend every inch of NATO" to reassure allies nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The Czech Republic has been one of Kyiv's earliest and strongest backers.
Detailing for the first time the extent of Czech supplies, coming under cooperation of the state and the private sector, Fiala said the country had shipped 226 fighting and armoured infantry vehicles, 38 howitzers, 33 multiple rocket launchers, six air defence systems and four helicopters.
"Thanks to Czech efforts, hundreds of heavy military vehicles have been delivered to Ukraine to date, and more than a million rockets, anti-tank grenades, large-calibre munitions, with a total value of around 40 billion crowns ($1.8 billion)," Fiala told a televised briefing from Warsaw.
He said a quarter of the aid was direct from the state and army stores, while the other aid was the result of licenses issued to manufacturers.
The government said supplies worth tens of billions of crowns would flow to Ukraine in the coming months.
"We can do that not only due to our own resolve but also thanks to allies giving financial support, financial resources for modernising the army," Fiala said.
The U.S. embassy in Prague last week said the United States would provide $200 million to the Czech Republic for military upgrades and replacement of equipment sent to Ukraine.
The Czechs are also receiving Leopard 2A4 battle tanks from Germany as part of an international swap program to allow the flow of weapons to Ukraine.
The Czech Republic has also agreed to repair Ukraine's armoured vehicles as part of it help to the country.
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The countries on NATO's eastern flank meeting on Wednesday - known together as the Bucharest Nine and nations that during the Cold War were either aligned with Moscow or part of the former Soviet Union - reiterated support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia.
"We will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to this end, as long as necessary," the countries' statement said.
($1 = 22.2760 Czech crowns)
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet; Editing by Chris Reese)
An argument between a boyfriend and girlfriend ended with the womans father opening fire inside a Houston home, Texas police told news outlets.
A group of friends, men in their 40s and 50s, had spent much of the night out drinking, celebrating a birthday, before going to a house on Houstons south side after midnight on Feb. 22, police told KPRC.
A short time later, the girlfriend of one of the men arrived at the house, according to the station. She is also the daughter of another man in the group.
Its not clear what caused it, but an argument broke out between the woman and boyfriend, police told KHOU. He began hurling insults at her in front of her dad, who pulled out a gun and shot the man to death.
The father was upset about the name-calling and shot our victim who is dead on the scene, Houston Police Lt. Willkens told the station. We know possibly somewhere around nine shots were fired.
Gunfire also struck two other men, one in the knee and the other in the foot, KTRK reported, adding that they were taken to a hospital. Investigators believe they were shot accidentally.
The father and daughter ran from the home and police are searching for them, the station reported.
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LAS VEGAS (AP) Charges are mounting against a Dances With Wolves actor who is accused of sexually abusing and trafficking Indigenous women and girls in the U.S. and Canada for decades.
A grand jury in Nevada indicted Nathan Chasing Horse on Wednesday on 19 counts, expanding on previous charges of sexual assault, trafficking and child abuse to include kidnapping, lewdness and drug trafficking. Chasing Horse, 46, now faces charges in four jurisdictions, with the newest case brought by prosecutors on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.
Police in Las Vegas have described Chasing Horse as a cult leader who used his position as a self-proclaimed medicine man to gain access to Indigenous girls and women, who he physically and sexually assaulted and took as underage wives. Prosecutors also accused him of grooming young girls to replace his older wives. His followers in the cult known as The Circle believed he had healing powers and could communicate with higher beings.
Chasing Horse's public defender, Kristy Holston, told The Associated Press that she was looking forward to revealing holes in the state's case during a preliminary hearing that was canceled Wednesday morning ahead of the indictment. She declined to elaborate.
Since the public is so interested in this case and because only select details of the accusations have been released, we think it would be most appropriate for the State to present their evidence in a public hearing where the defense can reveal the weaknesses of the States case on the record in court," she said in an email.
Holston didnt immediately respond Wednesday afternoon for comment on the additional charges filed against her client. An arraignment is scheduled March 1 in Clark County District Court.
Chasing Horse has declined multiple requests from the AP for an interview from the Las Vegas jail where he's being held on a $300,000 bond.
Born on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Chasing Horse is widely known for his role as Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner's 1990 Oscar-winning film, Dances With Wolves. He was arrested Jan. 31 near the North Las Vegas home he shared with his five wives.
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Authorities searched the home and found firearms, psilocybin mushrooms, 41 pounds of marijuana and two cellphones containing videos and photos of underage girls being sexually assaulted, according to an arrest report.
The footage of the assaults led to federal child pornography charges in U.S. District Court in Nevada.
Chasing Horse's arrest in Nevada was the culmination of a monthslong investigation by Las Vegas police. According to court documents, police uncovered a pattern of sexual abuse and alleged crimes dating back to the 2000s across multiple states, including Montana and South Dakota, as well as Canada, where he's been charged with a 2018 rape in British Columbia.
Earlier this month, prosecutors with the Fort Peck Tribes in Montana charged Chasing Horse with one count of aggravated sexual assault in connection with a 2005 rape, according to a warrant obtained by the AP.
Ken Trottier, a tribal court criminal investigator, said Wednesday that two teenage girls at the time had accused Chasing Horse of rape. The investigation was closed, Trottier said, because the girls' statements couldn't be corroborated.
That changed after Chasing Horse was arrested in Nevada, Trottier said, with more evidence that allowed Fort Peck to pursue a criminal case.
It's unlikely, though, that Chasing Horse will ever appear in tribal court, Trottier said. Tribal leaders banished him from the reservation nearly a decade ago amid allegations of human trafficking.
We don't ever expect him to return here," Trottier told the AP. If he ever steps foot on our reservation, he will be hunted.
Trottier said Wednesday that he hopes federal prosecutors in Montana will step in, allowing for stiffer penalties if Chasing Horse is charged and convicted of any crime on the reservation where federal authorities have concurrent jurisdiction when the victim and suspect are both Native American.
I will probably never have the satisfaction of being able to put handcuffs on him," Trottier said, "but at least were able to help the Las Vegas case and other investigations.
David Fincher has confirmed that a third season of Mindhunter is not in the works at Netflix.
Following on from its first season in 2017, the acclaimed thriller series released season two in August 2019. Since then, fans have been vocal about their wishes for a third instalment.
Mindhunter follows two FBI agents (played by Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany) and a psychologist (Anna Torv) who launch a research project to profile serial killers in order to understand them better.
In an interview with French outlet Le Journal du Dimanche, director David Fincher reflected on his series and gave fans a disappointing update on season three.
Im very proud of the first two seasons. But its a very expensive show and, in the eyes of Netflix, we didnt attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment [for season three], Fincher said.
The Twin Peaks filmmaker made it clear that he does not blame the streaming giant.
They took risks to get the show off the ground, gave me the means to do Mank the way I wanted to do it, and they allowed me to venture down new paths with The Killer [his next feature], he said.
Its a blessing to be able to work with people who are capable of boldness.
Albert Jones and Jonathan Groff in Mindhunter' (Courtesy of Netflix)
The news comes as little surprise after an early 2020 announcement said that the show had been on indefinite hold with lead actors Groff, McCallany, and Torv released from their contracts.
In a previous interview with Vulture, Fincher called the production gruelling and time-consuming and added that the show was probably done.
When I got done [with season two], I was pretty exhausted, and I said, I dont know if I have it in me right now to break season three, he explained.
In the same interview, a spokesperson for Netflix said that while a third instalment was not currently in the works, it could happen maybe in five years.
David Hockney, a man never without his favourite Camel cigarettes, set off the fire alarms during the launch of his immersive new art exhibition on Tuesday night (21 February).
The much-loved British artists new show, Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away), was the first exhibition to open the Lightroom venue in Kings Cross and aims to allow attendees to see the world through Hockneys eyes.
It uses virtual reality with immersive audio and visual techniques to guide visitors into Hockneys world, featuring some of the Bradford-born artists most recognisable paintings alongside rarely seen pieces and some newly created work.
In the show, Hockney, 85, reveals his artistic processes using a cycle of six themed chapters, with a specially composed score by American composer Nico Muhly and a commentary by the painter himself.
The Independent understands that the fire alarm at the new venue was set off after Hockney, who is a passionate smoking advocate, puffed away on his cigarettes before making his speech.
Collaboration means compromise, he joked in his address to attendees. But I think its a work of art itself and mostly, its me.
Hockney, wearing his trademark checked suit and flat cap, was met with applause and laughter in the room.
In a recent interview with The Independents editor-in-chief Geordie Greig, throughout which Hockney smoked, the artist discussed continuing to paint into his eighties, and said that he believes that making pictures is a better high than sex and drugs.
In a five-star review, critic Mark Hudson praised Hockneys foray into the world of technology as a breathtaking triumph.
Read his review of the utterly beguiling exhibition here.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CONFLICT-POLITICS
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address at the Gostiny Dvor conference center in central Moscow on Feb. 21, 2023. Credit - Dmitry AstakhovSputnik/APF via Getty Images
For years, nuclear arms control treaties helped keep the world safe. But the era of treaties may be coming to an end after Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia suspended its participation in New STARTthe last remaining one between the U.S. and Russiaand China remains reluctant to engage in dialogue about arms control.
The Russian Presidents comments came during his long-delayed annual state of the nation, during which he railed against the West and defended the war in Ukraine. They want to inflict a strategic defeat on us and claim our nuclear facilities In this regard, I am forced to state that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty, Putin said.
But experts tell TIME that Russia has simply formalized its longstanding noncompliance with New START, which was ratified in 2010. Putins announcement is merely an official stamp of approval on what theyve already been doing, says John Erath, senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
The New START treaty imposes multiple limits on the amount of nuclear weapons, capping each country at 1,550 deployed long-range nuclear warheads, 700 deployed long-range nuclear delivery vehicles, and 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers and delivery vehicles.
A key element of New START is mutual inspections; up to 18 site visits are allowed a year but Russia and the U.S. suspended them during the COVID-19 pandemic and last fall Moscow refused to resume them. Without verification, there is no confidence that the other side is not cheating, Erath says. If that component is absent, it means nothing.
Before inspections, the U.S. and Russia largely relied on satellites to stay informed about each others nuclear weapons programsa method they need to rely more heavily on again.
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There are no longer any guard rails
The decision to suspend New START is part of a longer term dismantlement of the long-standing U.S.-Russian arms control architecture, says William Potter, director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. These agreements, he says, were built on the basis of common interest in terms of reducing the economic costs and military risks associated with a nuclear arms race. Absent New START, there are no longer any guard rails in place.
Yet experts are keen to point out that the issue of nuclear arms control goes much further than New START. In 2019, for example, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which for decades had eliminated a range of nuclear weapons that threatened Europe in the 1980s, collapsed after Russia violated its terms. (The agreement had required both countries to get rid of ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles that could travel between 300 and 3,400 miles.) In 2020, the U.S. withdrew from the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, citing Russian noncompliance. The treaty had required all imagery collected from overflights to be shared with each other.
The premise of Mutually Assured Destruction also means that both the U.S. and Russia already have large arsenals that have long worried experts and nonproliferation activists. Erath says that despite Putins announcement on Tuesday, there is no evidence that Russia is building more nukes. They dont need to; they have plenty to deter a nuclear war, he says.
Experts also say that the focus on the U.S. and Russia ignores China, a growing nuclear power. What would stability be like in a trilateral relationship? asks David Holloway, a professor at Stanford University whose research focuses on the history of nuclear weapons.
Still, experts say that the formal suspension of New START is not insignificant and could accelerate the nuclear arms control eras demise.
I would not be surprised to see Russia resume nuclear testing in the not-too-distant future, says Potter of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. It will likely make the case that it no longer makes sense for it to subscribe to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) when the United States [and China] have yet to ratify the Treaty.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted the CTBT in 1996 but it never entered into force.
(Bloomberg) -- Tucker Carlsons access to unpublicized footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is an egregious security breach by Republicans, the Houses top Democrat says.
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Democrats will hold a virtual conference call on Wednesday to discuss the details of the thousands of hours of security footage that, Axios first reported Monday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy provided to the Fox News host.
At present, we are working to confirm the precise nature of the video transfer, particularly as it relates to the events connected to the violent insurrection on January 6, 2021, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a letter to colleagues.
A McCarthy spokesman would not comment Tuesday on whether the speakers office had given Carlson the videos. The Capitol Police wouldnt comment on the details of the transfer of the video.
When congressional leadership or congressional oversight committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them, Chief Tom Manger said in a statement.
Carlson, who has promoted conspiracy theories surrounding the insurrection by a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump, said his team is reviewing about 44,000 hours of footage.
Our producers, some of our smartest producers, have been looking at this stuff and trying to figure out what it means and how it contradicts or not the story weve been told for more than two years, Carlson said on his program Monday night.
There was no immediate response to requests Tuesday for more comment from Fox News.
McCarthy had warned in November that Republicans would begin their own inquiry into the events of Jan. 6. He sent a letter to Representative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and chairman of the now-defunct special House committee that investigated the Capitol assault, demanding that the panels records be preserved.
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Thompson said in a statement on Tuesday that its hard to overstate the potential security risks if this material were to be used irresponsibly.
When his panel obtained access to Capitol Police video, Thompson said, the security of lawmakers, staff and the Capitol complex were all taken into consideration. The panel, he said, consulted with Capitol Police before releasing images.
If Speaker McCarthy has indeed granted Tucker Carlson a Fox host who routinely spreads misinformation and Putins poisonous propaganda and his producers access to this sensitive footage, he owes the American people an explanation of why he has done so and what steps he has taken to address the significant security concerns at stake, Thompson said.
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The Democratic Party is increasingly being forced to play defense on education, a dangerous position heading into the 2024 election cycle as Republicans ramp up their rhetoric on the issue.
Democrats have long been vocal advocates of the public education system, defending school budgets and counting on reliable support from teachers unions.
But since the beginning of the pandemic, Republicans have sought to brand Democrats as the party that doesnt care about parental involvement in education, using mask mandates and school closures as a wedge while also leaning into topics such how LGBTQ identity and Black history are taught.
Glenn Youngkin flipped the Virginia governors mansion from blue to red in 2021 with a campaign that made school choice and parental rights its signature issue. Since then, both declared and potential GOP White House hopefuls have regularly gone on the attack on the subject.
Giving the official Republican response to President Bidens State of the Union address this month, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that, under Democrats, our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race, but not to love one another or our great country.
Here in Arkansas and across America, Republicans are working to end the policy of trapping kids in failing schools and sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty, Sanders said. We will educate, not indoctrinate, our kids and put students on a path to success.
Democrats say their platform on education is strong and still reaches voters, but they need to work on messaging to ensure Republican misinformation doesnt define their platform.
I think thats the wedge where Republicans have done a better job. They created this narrative that parents no longer have any say in their childrens education, which is not true. But there hasnt really been anything to counter that, said Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist.
I think this is more about Democrats being firm about what they stand for and defending their positions. I think its about shouting down and correcting misinformation that the Republicans are putting out regarding our stances on education, Mollineau added.
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The overarching accusation Republicans have made against Democrats on education since the pandemic began is that they dont respect parents rights.
The idea became so popular that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) introduced a parental bill of rights in the House when he was minority leader in 2021.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has aggressively leaned into education issues ahead of a potential presidential bid, was able to pass a statewide parental rights in education bill, known by opponents as Dont Say Gay, last year.
During the first House Education and Workforce Committee hearing this year, multiple Democrats sought to counter the narrative by directly addressing parental involvement in education.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) recently spoke about her own involvement in her childrens education and schools. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) spent most of her time during the hearing highlighting that there are no laws demanding or anyone advocating for parents not to be involved in their childrens education.
I just hope that we put this argument that is not based on the actual facts taking place in our communities to rest, Omar said.
But Republicans, sensing an advantage, are already trumpeting their education policies ahead of 2024.
Former President Trump, who in November became the first major declared White House candidate in either party, has already put out a video for his education platform almost a year out from the primaries.
In an indication of what could be a race to the right on schools, Trump is making the unusual move of calling for parents to even elect school principals.
More than anyone else, parents know what their children need, Trump said in a campaign video late last month. If any principal is not getting the job done, the parents should be able to vote to fire them and select someone who will. This will be the ultimate form of local control.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who joined Trump in the GOP race last week, dinged DeSantis, saying the already highly controversial Dont Say Gay bill in fact doesnt go far enough.
I think Rons been a good governor. I just think that third grades too young, Haley said after a New Hampshire event on Thursday. We should not be talking to kids in elementary school about gender, period.
And if you are going to talk to kids about it, you need to get the parents permission to do that, she continued. That is something between a parent and a child. That is not something that schools need to be teaching.
Glenn Youngkin was the first Republican to win the Virginia governorship in more than a decade. (AP Photo/Mike Caudill)
Should they also enter the race, DeSantis and Youngkin would no doubt put their education moves front-and-center, but some Democrats say their policies have not improved schools and could be easy to combat.
Liam Watson, the spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Virginia, said there are no recent substantial advances Youngkin has made that he can tout.
I would challenge anyone to point me towards even a single policy that Republicans have implemented that have actually improved learning outcomes in K-12 schools, where they have improved the experience of teachers and students in public schools. I would challenge anyone to come up with even a single solitary example of a time thats happened, Watson said.
Democrats have shown for decades now that we are the party of parents and students and teachers, he added. When it comes time to fund schools, it is Democrats that are out front doing that work. When it comes time to ensure that teachers have what they need in their classrooms, to make sure that student learning outcomes are protected, its Democrats that are doing that work.
At least some voters appear to agree. A poll released earlier this month by the National Parents Union reported that 46 percent of parents say they trust Democrats with primary education policy, compared to 38 percent who favored Republicans.
The average American family is getting squeezed, were watching a mental health crisis unfold before our eyes, and significant barriers to a high-quality education, especially for underserved communities, remain in place. Parent voters have run out of patience for politicians that allow poisonous politics to interfere with delivering on their promise of solutions, National Parents Union President Keri Rodrigues said of the survey.
The recent Republican energy toward education has particularly gained momentum at the local level, where they have increasingly made school board elections into partisan fights. Last year, DeSantis got directly involved and endorsed numerous school board candidates in his state.
Im proud to release my full slate of pro-parent, student-first school board candidate endorsements. Our school board members are on the frontlines of defending our students and standing up for parental rights, DeSantis said in a statement when he announced his school board endorsements. These 29 candidates are committed to advancing a bold education agenda in Florida. Parents can rest easy knowing that these candidates will fully support their right as parents to ensure their children reach their full potential in Floridas K-12 education system.
In order to push back against some of the Republican education gains, Democrats will also have to look toward local mobilization.
Thats where the opportunities for Democrats are. Thats why Democrats need to seize on the opportunity and make sure that they are hyper-local. I dont know that they need to address the issue through specific education and curriculum alternatives. They need to be able to effectively push back on what is being promoted at the local level, said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist.
While some Democratic strategists acknowledge that pandemic frustration was a boost to Republicans in education, many believe culture war issues conservatives have clung to such as critical race theory (CRT) in the classrooms could be their downfall now.
DeSantis has become the prime example of the Republican culture wars in schools as his administration has banned CRT, as well as certain books and the teaching of LGBTQ issues for younger children.
Although these actions are highly popular among Republicans, it remains to be seen if they will be on a national level.
What Democrats believe is parents should have a voice in the classroom and have a role in their childrens education, which weve always believed in, but its the idea that its going to be the likes of politicians who are going to decide what is acceptable and whats not acceptable for children to learn. I think there will be a significant backlash to that with independent voters as we move forward into a Republican primary and the general election in 2024, one Democratic strategist told The Hill.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Speaker Kevin McCarthys (R-Calif.) recent decision to release thousands of hours of Jan. 6, 2021, security footage to Fox News host Tucker Carlson is setting off alarm bells among Democrats, who see inherent security risks in sharing the raw video with a figure who has downplayed the Capitol attack and a network entangled in a legal battle over false election claims.
Democratic leaders, joined by former members of the House select committee that investigated the riot, are warning that granting Carlson such access could ultimately reveal methods used by law enforcers to defend the Capitol complex details the investigators say they took pains to obscure.
The apparent transfer of video footage represents an egregious security breach that endangers the hardworking women and men of the United States Capitol Police, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote Tuesday in a letter to the members of his caucus.
The office of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was a target of the Jan. 6 rioters and launched the subsequent investigation, also weighed in harshly on Tuesday, characterizing Carlson as the preeminent Jan. 6 truther and McCarthys decision as deeply dangerous and irresponsible.
If he has handed over sensitive security information, McCarthy is endangering Members, staff, institutional workers and Capitol Police heroes. He is also opening the floodgates for more disinformation about the deadly attack on our Democracy, Pelosi spokesman Aaron Bennett said in an email.
This move is the latest concession by McCarthy to appease the far-right in his conference, many of whom cheered on the insurrection, Bennett added. There is a serious question as to whether Speaker McCarthy has the singular authority to release this footage.
The 41,000 hours of footage shared with Carlson was not released by the select committee as part of its 18-month examination of the Capitol rampage on Jan. 6.
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McCarthy who refused to participate in the investigation, characterizing it as a partisan witch hunt against former President Trump has said the public has a right to learn the full story of the events of that day.
We watched the politicization of this, he told reporters last month. I think the American public should actually see all what happened instead of a report thats written for a political basis.
Yet his choice of Carlson to access the trove of unreleased data has raised plenty of eyebrows, empowering the popular Fox pundit with access to information that even many members of the congressional committees with jurisdiction havent seen.
Some observers said McCarthy, who has been criticized by Carlson and faced a revolt from conservatives during his Speakership bid, is now trying to curry favor as he seeks to unify a restive GOP conference heading into the 2024 elections.
I think the reason McCarthy did it, obviously, is the same reason that has motivated a lot of his decisionmaking: Trying to solidify himself among the right, a former GOP aide said Tuesday.
McCarthys office did not respond to a request for comment.
Some conservative pundits are also criticizing McCarthys move, wondering why they werent also granted access to the surveillance footage. The answer could be as simple as numbers: Carlson hosts the most-watched show on cable news, and exclusive access all but ensures that millions of viewers will see the findings through Carlsons lens.
The Fox News personality has been a vocal defender of those who stormed into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, suggesting the worst of their crimes was vandalism and accusing the investigative committee of lying to the public about what took place.
His 2021 documentary series, Patriot Purge, portrayed the rioters as loyal Americans wronged by a corrupt government, while floating the notion that the rampage was a false flag operation orchestrated by Trumps adversaries.
Democrats are now highlighting that track record as Carlson and his producers sift through the many hours of surveillance footage, with designs to air their findings in the coming weeks.
Look, all of this is not in search of the truth with Kevin McCarthy or with Tucker Carlson. Its in search of a conspiracy theory, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of the Jan. 6 select committee, told MSNBC on Tuesday. We know that from his three-part miniseries that he put together, Patriot Purge, which asserted it was a false flag operation run by antifa and the FBI. We found no evidence of that.
Republicans, defending Trump, blasted the select committee from the start, noting that all nine members, including the two Republicans, were hand-picked by Pelosi a dynamic that empowered the panel to steer the narrative to its choosing. But Jan. 6 investigators maintain that any information they withheld was done so for security reasons, not political advantage.
Theres thousands of hours of footage that are out there already, but the reason all of it wasnt released is precisely because it lays out floor design, it lays out evacuation routes, it lays out where the vice president went, it lays out where the senior members of Congress were evacuated and so on, Raskin said. So I hope that Kevin McCarthy at least has planned for that.
One source familiar with the Jan. 6 committees operations echoed that message, emphasizing that the panel never fully revealed then-Vice President Mike Pences evacuation route.
We worked with Capitol Police ahead of time to make sure that we werent showing the VPs exit route, the exit route for the Speaker, for the members, the source said, noting the footage can also reveal the location of security cameras.
We dont want to let everyone know the schematics of the Capitol. This is a thing that is very important for the future security at the Capitol.
The Capitol Police, for its part, said it is obligated to provide information requested by the Speaker.
When congressional leadership or congressional oversight committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them, Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said.
Carlson, meanwhile, said on his show Monday that the U.S. Congress has held thousands, tens of thousands of hours of closed-circuit camera footage from the public.
He said the shows producers are looking at this stuff and trying to figure out what it means and how it contradicts, or not, the story that weve been told for more than two years. We think already that in some ways it does contradict that story.
The Hill reached out to Fox News for further comment.
The news that McCarthy has granted Carlson access to the surveillance footage, first reported Monday by Axios, came four days after the release of new legal filings in the defamation lawsuit brought against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems, which has accused the network of knowingly promoting false theories that Dominions balloting machines were faulty.
The filings revealed the networks top stars including Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham all had strong doubts about Trumps claims of a stolen election, but nonetheless brought on members of Trumps legal team to promote the fraud allegations.
The filings also revealed that Carlson was furious when Fox News correctly called Arizona for President Biden. And he wanted to fire a Fox News reporter, Jacqui Heinrich, for fact-checking a Trump tweet that amplified his claims of fraud by citing two Fox News hosts. Carlson worried that that reporting would hurt Foxs credibility with pro-Trump viewers and harm the networks ratings.
Please get her fired, Carlson texted Hannity, according to the Dominion filing. It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. Its measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.
The behind-the-scenes revelations were remarkable enough that Bill OReilly, the ultra-conservative former Fox News host whose slot Carlson filled, weighed in Monday to blast his former employer for lying to its viewers for the sake of ratings.
I would never have done what Fox did on the election fraud, he said in an interview with NewsNation. I would rather be fired. I would rather leave the job.
I am not going to sell out for ratings.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is one signature away from defusing a $1.2 billion tax bomb he himself activated a year ago when he rammed through legislation aimed at punishing the Walt Disney Co. for criticizing his Dont say gay law a month earlier.
A new bill passed the Florida Legislature on Feb. 10 that renames the taxing district that governs Disneys expansive Central Florida parcel and gives the Republican governor the power to name its board while largely leaving the districts financial structure untouched.
More important to local property owners and DeSantis likely 2024 presidential run is that it repeals last years hastily passed law that would transfer Reedy Creek Improvement Districts accumulated $1.2 billion in bond debt onto Orange and Osceola counties were it to take effect on schedule on June 1. The 700,000 or so homeowners and businesses would have seen their property tax bills increase by thousands of dollars each through 2038, when Disneys bonds would finally be repaid.
The Disney cock-up while potentially disastrous for the taxpayers of Central Florida, was not illegal, which is why he had to maintain the special governance structure of the Disney domains, claiming victory even as he retreated at high speed, said Mac Stipanovich, once the chief of staff to former Republican Gov. Bob Martinez.
The new legislation, meanwhile, targets only Reedy Creek but not other tax districts created for the benefit of specific landowners, such as one for the Villages development near Ocala or the one in Daytona Beach for the NASCAR track there. It also allows Disney to continue operating essentially as it has been by permitting hefty tax assessments on itself to pay for infrastructure improvements at its theme parks. Both elements belie DeSantis claims about the legislation.
Which shows once again it was not about the governance of Reedy Creek. It was about punishing a corporation that spoke out, said Nikki Fried, a Democrat who served a term as the states agriculture commissioner before an unsuccessful run for governor last year.
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DeSantis staff did not respond to HuffPost queries, including one asking when he intends to sign the new bill.
In public statements, though, both he and his staff have portrayed the bill as a political victory.
Theres a new sheriff in town, he boasted at a news conference on Feb. 8. Thats just the way its going to be.
Disney did not respond to a HuffPost query. In previous statements, the company has said it can work with the new framework.
Courting the Mouse
The episode began within days of the Republican-dominated Florida Legislatures passage of the Parental Rights in Education Act on March 8, 2022, which prohibited teachers in the early grades from discussing sexuality or gender. Critics dubbed it the Dont say gay bill and argued it would prevent teachers in same-sex marriages, for example, from mentioning their spouses.
Disney had remained silent on the bill as it moved through the legislature, but then-CEO Bob Chapek sent a letter to all Disney employees on March 11 that criticized it and said it would suspend its political donations in Florida, which had heavily favored Republicans for years, reflecting the partys dominance in the state.
That public defiance enraged DeSantis, and he responded the following month, during a special session called for the purpose of passing a congressional map for the coming elections. On April 19, a DeSantis ally introduced a bill abolishing all special taxing districts created before the approval of the 1968 Constitution and which had not been subsequently reauthorized. The bill affected five obscure districts in various counties plus Reedy Creek, which was established in 1967 when the state was encouraging Disney to build a massive new theme park just south of Orlando.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised to gain power over a special taxing district that covers Disney World, south of Orlando, in a bungled bid to punish Walt Disney Co. for criticizing his anti-LGBTQ initiatives.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised to gain power over a special taxing district that covers Disney World, south of Orlando, in a bungled bid to punish Walt Disney Co. for criticizing his anti-LGBTQ initiatives.
That legislation gave Disney taxing power over the 25,000 acres it had bought up so it could build roads, power plants, and water and sewage systems, using money it collected from itself through property taxes within the district boundaries. Disney was also given the authority, which it never exercised, to build a nuclear power plant and an airport. The Reedy Creek board would be elected by landowners within the district, with each acre owned allowing one vote.
The bill abolishing Reedy Creek passed just two days later, and DeSantis signed it the day after that, on April 22, 2022.
A separate state law, though, states if an independent district is ever dissolved, its outstanding bond debt would be picked up by counties within the districts boundaries Orange and Osceola, in the case of Disney and Reedy Creek.
Punishing the Woke Mouse
Its unclear whether DeSantis and his aides, in the heat of his verbal battle last spring with Disney, understood the consequences that abolishing Reedy Creek would have on area property taxes. I cant imagine he realized, said Kevin Cate, a Democratic political consultant. They shoot for Fox News first and aim later.
Within days of the abolishment bill becoming law, DeSantis was already promising additional legislative action to work out the details suggesting that, by that point, at least, he understood that failing to take further action would be politically catastrophic.
That action came earlier this month in yet another special session, in new legislation that dealt only with Reedy Creek, renaming it the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and revising its board so that the governor chooses its members rather than the landowners within its boundaries.
The name is misleading. It does not deal with Central Florida tourism generally, which would include both other theme parks, such as Universal Studios and SeaWorld, as well as garish strips like International Drive. It only deals with the 24,969 acres within the Reedy Creek boundaries, a great many of which were purchased to give Disney resorts a significant buffer from the surrounding areas and which now serve as water recharge zones for the aquifer.
Though the new law does eliminate Disneys ability to build a nuclear power plant and an airport, the few actual tax breaks Disney does enjoy over competing theme parks in the area appear to remain untouched in the new legislation, which continues to grant the renamed district tax-exempt status. When Disneys taxing district builds a parking garage for Disney guests, for example, it does not have to collect sales tax, but its competitors do.
Disney property will continue to pay some of the highest property taxes in Florida. The company pays all the county and school taxes due on its land and then pays additional mills dedicated to building and maintaining roads and public utilities on its property.
The irony was that Disney wanted to and does pay higher taxes than would be the case if there was no special taxing district, provided they could determine how it was spent to maintain their high maintenance and safety standards, Stipanovich said. They had and have a special deal to be sure, but it was not to their financial advantage, which was the central premise in DeSantis assault. It was a charade from the outset.
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WASHINGTON Jakub Vrana was welcomed back, Dylan Larkin was tossed, and the Detroit Red Wings edged a little closer to the playoff picture.
An eventful first period Tuesday at Capital One Arena saw the Wings gain a lead but lose their captain. Ultimately they celebrated a 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals, moving within two points of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Wings have won six of their last seven games and eight of their last 11.
Vrana showed hustle in his first game in four months, and Pius Suter showed his hot hand, scoring twice to reach six goals his last five games. Defenseman Robert Hagg scored the first goal, shortly after the Wings' bench was shortened with Larkin's departure.
Red Wings left wing Jakub Vrana handles the puck against the Capitals during the second period on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Washington.
Eyeing the playoffs:Detroit Red Wings have fought for years to play big games
The Wings (27-21-8) are in an ultra tight race with the Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders for the two wild-card spots. The Wings have games in hand on the Capitals, Islanders and Panthers.
Vrana welcomed
During a timeout in the first period, the Capitals played a nearly two-minute video tribute on the Jumbotron welcoming back Vrana, who played in Washington for the first time since the 2021 trade-deadline deal. It was doubly appropriate, given it was also Vrana's first game with the Wings since Oct. 15, after a stay in the NHL and NHLPA players assistance program, being waived, and spending six weeks in the minors. Vrana started out playing on a line with Robby Fabbri and Joe Veleno, but with Larkin gone, the lines had a variety of looks to offset being down to 11 forwards.
More:Why Jakub Vrana's return to Detroit Red Wings lineup bumped Filip Zadina
Larkin tossed
Larkin hadn't been assessed a penalty since Jan. 17, but there was no escaping punishment after a high hit on Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. Upon review, officials assessed Larkin a five-minute major for cross-checking, triggering a game misconduct. That ended Larkin's night 12:43 into the first period, after playing just under three minutes, and put a halt to his seven-game point streak (seven goals, six assists). Suter bought the Wings a little breathing room when he got the puck inside his own blue line and skated up ice and scored on Darcy Kuemper to make it 2-0. Tom Wilson got one back while the Wings were still shorthanded because of the Larkin penalty, redirecting Marcus Johansson's shot past Husso, at 15:57 of the first period.
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Mantha leaves, too
Former Wings forward Anthony Mantha, who went to Washington in the Vrana trade, left in the second period with what the Capitals said was an upper-body injury. As little as the Wings have seen of Vrana (Tuesday was only his third game this season), Mantha hasn't been much of a factor for the Capitals. He has nine goals, 15 assists and minus-7 rating in 53 games; he has been a healthy scratch five times, and, after going without a point in about nine minutes of play Tuesday, has no points in eight consecutive games. His last goal came New Year's Eve.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings lose Dylan Larkin, but beat Capitals, 3-1
The actress and singer stars in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur on Disney+, which premiered this month and has already been renewed for season two.
Diamond White says its a beautiful experience to be playing the first Black teen superheroine on a popular DIsney+ Marvel cartoon.
The former X Factor contestant and Bold and the Beautiful actress currently stars in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur on Disney+, a show based on the Marvel comic book Moon Girl that debuted Feb. 10 during Black History Month. On it, White, 24, stars as Lunella Lafayette, the title character, also known as Moon Girl, according to People.
Its really cool, White said, the magazine reported. I think that you have to show representation to younger kids.
Diamond White attends the red carpet premiere event for the Disney+ and Marvel show Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur at Walt Disney Studios on Feb 4, 2023, in Burbank, California. White stars in it as Moon Girl. (Photo: Steven Simione/Getty Images)
Lunella is reportedly one of the Marvel universes most brilliant characters. She uses her pure intellect superskills, the STEM fields practical power plus her wits, determination and confidence to defend her beloved Lower East Side neighborhood from danger.
White noted that the series which has already been renewed for season two teaches viewers a lot about science, but aside from that, it depicts a 13-year-old Black girl growing up. She hopes the animated character shows young Black girls they can be beautiful and intelligent.
If Moon Girl had been around when White was a child, the actress shared that she might have been a little wiser, and her personal life might have been easier. She specifically mentioned the perm episode, saying that she would have liked to see a Black character get her first perm because that is what she experienced as a child.
White said if the episode did exist, it might have deterred her from getting her first relaxer.
Thats one of the main storylines in that episode, White said, according to People. Dont get perms, they ruin your hair, and youve got to take care of your crown.
While she tries not to place too much pressure on herself, White hopes Moon Girl watchers will feel inspired and empowered as they tag along for her characters adventures across New York City. Its crucial to understand that, despite how extraordinary she is, she emphasized that her character is still a young Black girl.
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Its cool to be smart, White said of the Lunella character, People reported. Its cool just to see all the different flavors of the show. Its really an all-inclusive show. Its really beautiful.
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Did a deputy with the Platte County Sheriffs Office assault a Northland father at a Park Hill preschool last week, as the father claims? We watched more than 20 minutes of video footage the man recorded of the encounter. As best we could tell, a physical altercation may have occurred as the sheriffs deputy attempted to ticket the man for illegally parking in a reserved space but the video raises its own questions.
Yes, the fathers behavior was profane and obnoxious. He throws F-bombs and many other expletives and personal insults on the video he recorded in a school parking lot. But he wasnt violent, nor did he pose a threat.
The father accused the deputy of assaulting him. On video, we cant see the alleged roughhousing. We see one of the three deputies on the scene move decisively toward the father. We hear another deputy speaking calmly and professionally to help calm the situation.
But we have only the video the father recorded. Platte County sheriffs deputies dont wear body cameras. If they did, wed have the other side of the story.
In the video, the deputy approaches the man as he opens his car door, and then demands his drivers license. The lawman reaches toward the man, the video shows. After that, the picture goes dark, but the camera keeps recording muffled audio, presumably from inside the automobile. The man is heard asking, Youre going to assault me? The deputy replies, No. Let me see your drivers license.
Seconds later, the man says, Sir, you cant just grab me like that. The deputy replies: I sure can. Let me see your drivers license. Then the man says: Thats crazy. You assaulted me over a drivers license? The sheriffs deputy replies: Yep.
Im glad I got that on the recording, the man says on the video, adding that hes going to sue the deputy for assault.
Because the father was not charged with a crime, we wont identify him for now. He is 38 and lives in Platte County. He plans to seek legal counsel, he told us.
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Was the interaction unlawful or excessive? An internal investigation will determine the facts of the case, a spokesperson for the Platte County Sheriffs Office said. Until that inquiry is complete, we wont know whether the deputys dashboard camera captured audio or video of the altercation at Park Hills Gerner Family Early Education Center in Platte County.
What we can say for certain is this: We live in a society well documented by smartphone-wielding civilians. In todays digital age, all law enforcement agencies should equip their officers with body-worn camera technology. Its a powerful tool to refute claims of excessive force or other misconduct.
Instead of relying on state grants and American Rescue Act funds, the Platte County Commission must make outfitting deputies with body cameras a funding priority.
Profane man banned from Gerner school grounds
Interactions between peace officers and the public can sometimes go awry. In this instance, if the sheriff deputys actions were lawful, body cam footage could give us a clearer picture of what happened.
On Feb. 16, at the precipice of that mornings winter storm, the father went to the school to get a better understanding of how administrators planned to settle a dispute between his child and another student. During the visit, the man was rude and condescending to administrators and authorities, he admits. He used language that was inappropriate at best wed call it highly offensive. As a result, he was banned from Park Hill School District grounds, district officials told us.
But did he, as alleged, deserved to be roughed up and illegally frisked by a sheriffs deputy? Absolutely not. If proven true, the sheriffs deputy must face the consequences of his action. No matter how disrespectful a persons actions may be, a law enforcement officer using unnecessary force is unacceptable behavior. The father says he filed a formal complaint against the deputy the next day.
I didnt know assault was the punishment for free speech, he said. It isnt.
As the man was being escorted from Gerner, the contentious situation worsened. I didnt say the nicest, kindest words, the man said. He sure didnt.
Lets keep in mind, the deputy said he was going to cite this unruly parent for parking in a spot for disabled drivers without a placard. The man was not arrested or suspected of committing a crime. At this stage of the investigation, we cant say whether the deputy violated his oath, sheriffs office policy or the law. We have concerns, though.
After watching the video of the incident, we conclude that the father was out of line. But being a jerk to educators and law enforcement officers is not against the law. Not to absolve this parent of his responsibility he should know better than to belittle others. But in this country, he has the right to pop off to law enforcement officials.
Other agencies around the metropolitan area equip their officers and deputies with body-worn cameras. To serve its community, and to prove when its officers are in the right, the Platte County sheriffs office should, too.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address
The sight of Vladimir Putin standing alone on a vast stage in Moscow seemed like a metaphor for the Russian presidents isolation. Even a tyrant like Stalin and subsequent Soviet leaders tended to make speeches surrounded by high-ranking colleagues.
President Putin seems happy to take full personal ownership of his ill-judged invasion of Ukraine and will, therefore, stand or fall by its fate. Nearly a year after the first tank rolled across the border, only for Russias vaunted military might to be found wanting, he is showing no sign of backing down or going away.
Indeed, it would be a mistake to imagine he is alone in his delusional justification for the war. The bizarre narrative he has cultivated one of containing an illegitimate neo-Nazi state propped up by Nato aggressors intent on destroying the motherland is shared by a large number of Russians.
In his address yesterday, he invoked the Russian spirit of defiance in the face of an invader, of a people fighting for their existence as a nation. They would never give in. Sadly, he may be right in this assessment, which means the Ukrainians face years of attritional conflict with no obvious end because they will not give up either and Nato cannot let them be defeated.
As he spoke, Joe Biden was arriving in Warsaw, where he repeated Americas determination to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. That may change if there is a Republican president in two years time and Americans grow weary of the cost of sustaining another lengthy war.
It is possible, also, that the Russians will make advances in the counter-offensive now under way and then sue for a negotiated settlement although it is unlikely Kyiv would agree to that. Once again Mr Putin sought to play the nuclear card, suspending a landmark arms control treaty with the US, announcing that new strategic systems had been put on combat duty, and warning that Moscow could resume nuclear tests. This bluster merely underscores his weakness.
What was most bizarre about President Putins speech was that it was a state of the union address that looked forward to a golden economic future, with investment in new technologies and expanding higher education. The reality is that this war has ruined Russia. The audience applauding him in Moscow yesterday must surely know this by now and who is responsible.
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) A discarded cigarette found near the body of a 24-year-old Vermont school teacher in her apartment nearly 52 years ago helped lead investigators to an upstairs neighbor who they say strangled her after having a fight with his wife, police said Tuesday.
Burlington Police DNA evidence collected from the cigarette butt and dogged investigative work led authorities to the man they say killed Rita Curran within a 70-minute window on a July night in 1971.
The suspect, identified as William DeRoos, who was 31 at the time, had left his apartment that night for a cool down walk. After he returned he told his wife of two weeks not to say that he had been out.
Since the investigation was renewed in 2019, detectives re-interviewed DeRoos' former wife, and she told them he had left their apartment for a brief period within a window of time when Curran's roommates were out of her Burlington apartment.
Were all confident that William DeRoos is responsible for the aggravated murder of Rita Curran, but because he died in a hotel room of a drug overdose he will not be held accountable for his actions, but this case will be closed, Burlington Police Detective Lt. James Trieb, the commander of the Detective Services Bureau, said during a Tuesday morning news conference.
After Curran's death DeRoos, who was known to some as a guru, moved to Thailand and became a monk, but he later returned to the United States. In 1986 DeRoos died of a drug overdose in San Francisco, police said.
Curran's parents died without learning who had killed their daughter, but the victim's brother and sister attended the event held at Burlington police headquarters.
I don't think so much about the guy who did this as I do about Rita, my parents and what they went through," Curran's brother Tom said during the event. I pray to Rita and I pray to my parents."
In the early morning hours of July 20, 1971 Burlington police were called to the Brooks Avenue apartment after Curran's roommate arrived home to find her body in their shared bedroom.
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Police say Curran resisted fiercely, but she was strangled. The murder shook Burlington.
The case remained open and investigators never let it go, but in 2019, Trieb and a team of detectives, officers, technicians and others began working the case as though it had just happened.
A key piece of evidence was a cigarette butt that had been found near Curran's body. In 2014, previous investigators had sent the butt and other evidence off for DNA analysis. The test did compile a DNA profile of whoever had smoked the cigarette, but it did not match any samples in DNA databases compiled by law enforcement.
The detectives who picked up the case in 2019 contracted with a DNA testing company and the samples were compared with genetic material submitted to commercial DNA testing companies by members of the public. Last August, Burlington detectives were told the sample, which had been traced through relatives on both sides of DeRoos's family, was pointing at DeRoos, even though he had no DNA profile on record.
Detectives then determined DeRoos and his wife Michelle had been living upstairs at the time of Curran's death. They had spoken with investigators after Curran's death, but at the time they said they had not seen or heard anything.
DeRoos and his wife, who no longer uses the name DeRoos, left Vermont shortly after Curran's death. Their marriage ended after DeRoos went to Thailand. DeRoos married again after moving back to the United States.
In a recent interview, DeRoos's ex-wife, who lived with him in Burlington and now lives in Eugene, Oregon, told investigators she had lied about her husband leaving their apartment that night. Burlington detectives later interviewed a subsequent wife who told them DeRoos had a penchant for sudden outbursts of violence.
Detective Thomas Chennette, who interviewed DeRoos's first ex-wife, said Tuesday he didn't believe she knew he had killed Curran, but was protecting him because he had a criminal record.
I think she lied at the time because she was young. She was naive. She was newly married. She was in love," Chennette said.
Now-retired U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, who was the Chittenden County State's Attorney when Curran was killed and went to the crime scene that night, attended the Tuesday event. Asked if he felt the case would ever be solved, he said that he had hoped it would.
I must admit after 20 and 30, 40 years I figured it never would. ... It was a terrible thing," he said.
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This story was first published on February 21, 2023. It was updated on February 22, 2023 to correct the first name of the victim. It was Rita Curran, not Rira Curran.
A cigarette butt, left, and Rita Curran's brother Tom, right, in a composite image. Getty Images; Wilson Ring/AP Photo
For 52 years, the murder of Vermont school teacher Rita Curran remained unsolved.
The case was reopened in 2019. Forensic testing of a cigarette butt led detectives to the answer.
Investigators used a genealogy firm to trace a DNA sample to a man who lived in the apartment block.
For more than half a century, the mystery of who killed a 24-year-old Vermont school teacher remained unsolved.
But the discovery of a discarded cigarette butt, found near the victim's body, has now led investigators to the man they say killed Rita Curran 52 years ago.
In the early hours of July 20, 1971, police were called to an apartment in Burlington, Virginia, after Curran's roommate found the school teacher's body, ABC News reported. Police said Curran was sexually assaulted and strangled.
Hundreds of tips were investigated at the time, but to no avail, and the case went cold. However, in 2019 the Burlington Police Department reactivated it.
Several items that had been kept in storage, including a cigarette butt that had been found on the floor next to Curran's body, were sent to a forensic lab in New York for testing, the Burlington Free Press reported.
A man's DNA was found on the butt, but it didn't match anyone in the national database of felons' DNA, or any of the main suspects, according to local media.
The detectives then sent the genetic material to a company that holds data submitted by the public for commercial DNA testing, the Free Press reported.
Within hours, CeCe Moore, a scientist and genealogy expert at Parabon Nanolabs, was able to match the DNA to William DeRoos, she told the Free Press.
"The DNA evidence ended up being so incredibly key and they couldn't have possibly imagined the power that we would have at this time to actually use that to narrow it down to one person," Moore said.
DeRoos, who died of a drug overdose in 1974, was 31 at the time of the murder and lived above Curran in an apartment. Shortly after the murder he left his then-wife and moved to Thailand to become a monk, according to the Free Press.
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DNA testing of Curran's coat confirmed that DeRoos had committed the murder, the outlet said.
At the time of the murder, detectives had spoken to DeRoos and his then-wife Michelle, but they said they had not seen or heard anything.
In a recent police interview, the ex-wife said she had lied about her husband leaving the apartment that night, per ABC News.
Detective Thomas Chennette, who interviewed Michelle, said he thinks she lied because she was "naive" and "in love."
During a press conference on Tuesday, Jim Trieb, who heads up Burlington's Detective Services Bureau, said he was confident that DeRoos was responsible for the murder.
"Because he died in a hotel room of a drug overdose he will not be held accountable for his actions, but this case will be closed," Trieb said, according to ABC News.
Curran's brother, Tom, also speaking at the press conference, said: "I don't think so much about the guy who did this as I do about Rita, my parents, and what they went through. I pray to Rita and I pray to my parents."
Read the original article on Insider
A buzz title at Berlinale Series and one of Disney+s early big plays in Southern Europe, U.K.-Italian mafia series The Good Mothers walked off on Wednesday night with the Berlin Festivals inaugural Berlinale Series Award.
A large virtue of the series is to come in at the mafia from a novel angle: a real story of women who dare to defy the Italian mob.
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The title forms part of the first European slate by new Disney+ international streaming service Star. It tells how bosses at the the Calabrian mob were targeted by a female prosecutor thanks to the collaboration of three women inside the Ndrangheta organized crime clan.
The Good Mothers brings large production pedigree to the table both from the U.K. and Italy, being produced by Juliette Howell, Tessa Ross and Harriet Spencer for Londons House Productions, which originated the project, and by Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Gangarossa for Romes Wildside, a Fremantle company.
Wildsides credits include My Brilliant Friend, Paolo Sorrentinos The New Pope and Luca Guadagninos We Are Who We Are.
Based on a book by U.K.-based journalist Alex Perry and adapted for the screen by Stephen Butchard (Bagdad Central, The Last Kingdom), the series is lead-directed by the U.K.s Julian Jarrold (The Crown) and by emerging Italian director Elisa Amoruso (Chiara Ferragni: Unposted).
Former Yes Studios boss Danna Stern, Moonlight star Andre Holland and Danish writer Mette Heeno, behind DR smash hit Carmen Curlers comprised the Awards jury.
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The Good Mothers captured us with its multilayered characters that have been treated with care and allowed to evolve before our very eyes. We were moved, anxious and at times, breathless, said Stern.
This project has been so special to us. These women existed, some of them are still with us, some unfortunately are not. This award will give them a voice, because they have been so brave. Probably it will help us to fight this local mafia too, one that doesnt just exist in Italy, said Amoruso.
Also scoring on Wednesday night, Kerren Lumer-Klabbers The Architect, a Viaplay title from Nordisk Film Production, took a special mention for its story of an Oslo architect, Julie, who comes up with the idea of convert underground car parks into residential buildings.
By placing The Architect in the future, we have the freedom to enhance and enlarge trends in our society today, Lumer-Klabbers told Variety.
The jury praised the show as being innovative, distinct, efficient.
Launched by the Berlin Festival and backed by Deadline Hollywood, the first Berlinale Series Award was seen, like the section itself at one of the biggest festivals in the world, as a further step towards artistic recognition for drama series.
It feels like we have arrived, Dana Stern noted. I speak for the television industry at large. To be given the opportunity to showcase your work on such a prestigious stage, an international festival at this level, is phenomenal and really groundbreaking. I hope its just the start.
The jurors said they were blown away by the depth and diversity of the inaugural competition. For real: When I say it wasnt easy, it wasnt easy. The conversation was robust, it was dynamic. Its a testament to the work you did, laughed Holland.
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A 58-year-old mother had one of her daughters dogs on a leash as she was going out their homes back door.
But as the mom did so, the dog named Amina pulled her down and began to attack, as seen in video footage obtained by an Ohio police department.
It is believed Bonnie Varnes was fatally attacked between 5:54 p.m. and 5:59 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, according to a report from the Toledo Police Department.
It wasnt until 6:23 p.m. when authorities were called to check on Varnes, who was home alone, police said.
One of her neighbors had been smoking a cigarette near his second-story window when he saw her body in the yard as a dog ran around her, according to the incident report. He called Varnes friend and daughter to see if anyone was home, then he called 911 and went over to Varnes home.
Arriving officers found Varnes face down in her homes backyard, which she shares with her daughter, authorities said. The woman was rushed to The University of Toledo Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m.
Officers said they spoke with Varnes daughter, who reported arriving back home after getting a call from her neighbor. She said she owns two pit bulls Poochie and Amina who live at the home with them.
The daughter reported arriving home to find her mom covered in blood in their yard, according to the report. She said Amina was also covered in blood.
She locked Amina in the garage, and she put Poochie in a bedroom, police said. The daughter described Amina as vicious at times.
The last time Varnes and her daughter saw each other was at 8:30 a.m. the day of the attack, police said.
Varnes had most recently been with a friend at a bar before arriving home a few hours before she was pulled down and attacked, police said.
Varnes had worked as a bus driver with Washington Local Schools, WTVG reported.
Bonnie worked for WLS for over 30 years and was a deeply loved, valued member of our transportation team, the district said in a statement to the TV station. We are (devastated) by this loss.
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A Lucas County dog warden has taken Amina into custody, police said.
Obviously the family can choose to euthanize the dog. Or, if they dont, we would deem the dog dangerous more than likely thats usually what happens and then its up to the courts to decide the outcome, Cassie Bloomfield with the Lucas County Canine Care and Control told WTVG.
The incident is being investigated as a non-criminal death, police said in the report.
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The Justice Department on Wednesday charged eight people with blocking access to an abortion clinic.
Defendants Calvin Zastrow, Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Caroline Davis, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips, Eva Edl and Eva Zastrow were also indicted in a civil rights conspiracy connected to a protest they held outside an abortion facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan in August 2020, a DOJ press release said.
The group did willfully combine, conspire, and agree with one another, and with persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to oppress and intimidate patients and employees of the NFPC in the free exercise and enjoyment of the rights and privileges secured to them by the laws of the United States, namely, the rights to obtain reproductive health services, according to the indictment.
The blockade, which was live streamed by Gallagher and Curry, was allegedly planned in advance and promoted online, the Daily Signal first reported. Another uncharged co-conspirator filmed the incident and said the group was going over to stand in front of the door of the clinic and interpose.
All eight of the accused allegedly violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act by using physical obstruction to intimidate and interfere with the Sterling Heights clinics employees and patients because they believed abortions would be performed there.
Almost a year later in April 2021, the indictment says, Idoni and Edl again allegedly tried to prevent patients and employees from entering an abortion clinic in Saginaw, Mich. The pair was charged in connection with that episode.
The FBI Detroit Field Office and Bay City Resident Agency investigated the case and the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Michigan are prosecuting the case, the DOJ said.
A number of the pro-life demonstrators, such as Zastrow and Davis, had already been charged by the DOJ in October for a separate March 2021 incident in the Nashville area. Gallagher, the indictment alleges, recruited participants and coordinated travel and logistics on Facebook for a blockade in front of the Carafem Health Center Clinic, in Mount Juliet, Tenn. In a social media post, Gallagher referred to the blockade as a rescue. That protest was also broadcast by a co-conspirator, Coleman Boyd, who the DOJ did not cite in the Michigan incident.
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The DOJ has stated that the escalation of enforcement of the FACE Act has partially been motivated by the Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade. The Biden administration has made it a matter of urgency to find creative ways to circumvent and undermine the ruling via aggressive executive action against pro-life activists.
On January 30, Mark Houck, a pro-lifer and Catholic father of seven, was acquitted in federal court of charges of violating the FACE Act in connection with two incidents on October 12, 2021 at a Philadelphia abortion clinic. Houck had allegedly pushed an abortion clinic employee during a verbal skirmish. A team of 15 FBI agents made Houcks arrest in September 2022 by showing up to the familys home and loudly banging on the door, Houcks wife told Catholic News Agency at the time.
Houck told podcast host Steve Bannon last month that he plans to consult his lawyers on potentially pressing charges against the FBI agents and state troopers who stormed his house.
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Pavlo Kyrylenko, Head of the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration, has said that Russian invaders killed one civilian in the oblast during the day.
Source: Kyrylenko on Telegram
Quote from Kyrylenko: "On 21 February, Russian invaders killed one resident of Donetsk Oblast, in [the settlement of] Ivanivske. Another person in the oblast was injured."
Details: According to Kyrylenko, it is currently impossible to determine the exact number of victims in Mariupol and Volnovakha.
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Regina Feldpausch of Petersburg talked about quilts at the Book Nook Saturday. Feldpausch made this quilt, which shows some of the patterns made by enslaved people that may have given others information about the Underground Railroad. The block second from the top is called bear paw and is one of Feldpausch's favorite from the era.
Lindsay Young just finished reading a book on Harriet Tubman.
So, on Saturday, the 10-year-old from Newport and her mom came to downtown Monroe for the Discover the Underground Railroad series.
Earlier report:10 events left in 'Discover the Underground Railroad' series
I was reading a book about Harriet Tubman, said Lindsay, a student at St. Charles School and the daughter of Micah and Lynda Young.
Lindsay and Lynda were among the attendees at the Lighting the Way to Liberty program, offered at the Dorsch Memorial Branch of the Monroe County Library System. Several of the Discover the Underground Railroad series 11 offerings took place Saturday. Another was held at the nearby Book Nook. The local series continues through March 6.
Retired professor William McCloskey reads the childrens book Harriet Tubman" to Lindsay Young, 10, Saturday at Dorsch.
The Dorsch Memorial Branch is widely believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad, a network of people who worked together to help runaway, enslaved people find freedom in northern states and Canada from 1850-60.
For an hour Saturday, Dorsch attendees could visit three activity stations inspired by the Underground Railroad.
At one stop, William McCloskey, retired Monroe County Community College professor, read the childrens book Harriet Tubman.
At another, Karen Sweat, youth service technician at Dorsch, helped attendees make a paper liberty lantern, based on the metal one used by Underground Railroad conductor Tubman.
Jennifer Wilson of Monroe made a blue liberty lantern Saturday at Dorsch.
Using empty Pringles cans and construction paper, the attendees, most of whom were children, customized their lanterns.
Lindsay made a red lantern. Jennifer Wilson of Monroe, formerly of Detroit, enjoys creative projects and came to Dorsch to make a blue lantern. Others taking part in the activity included the children of Monroes Cristoval and Amanda Mendoza: Nathaniel, 10, Caleb, 6, and Ella, 3.
At Dorschs third station, attendees watched a video on the history of the Dorsch Memorial Branch Library, the former home of German-native Dr. Eduard Dorsch. Dorsch was a known abolitionist who is said to have taken in enslaved people en route to freedom. His home was built in the 1850s.
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Barbra Krueger, community outreach coordinator at the Monroe County Library System, told attendees at the video station about a space in Dorschs basement that is believed to be the entrance to an underground tunnel that connected the library to the adjacent First Presbyterian Church.
Cristoval Mendoza of Monroe watches as his daughter, Ella, 3, makes a liberty lantern Saturday at the Dorsch Memorial Branch Library.
But, because helping enslaved people escape their bondage was illegal in the mid-1850s, there is little written documentation about any of the Underground Railroad stops.
They didnt record something that was illegal. There is not a lot of written documentation, not for any of the stops, Krueger said.
Four members of First Presbyterian were at the program. They said theyve been told the tunnel ran along the north side of the building. In 2020, the church members looked into the churchs history for the congregations 200th anniversary. The members said no one could find written records on the Underground Railroad.
At one time, Dorsch allowed visitors to view the tunnel entrance in the basement.
We used to tour small groups and show the entrance to the tunnel. The basement is not in a condition to be viewed in person, Krueger said.
She said a cistern and the well in front of the building also were part of the Underground Railroad. A cistern is a receptacle for catching rainwater.
The cistern has a trap door that opened, and (enslaved people) hid in there and they covered up the top, she said.
The brief video also covered other topics related to the Dorsch building, including the Little Brown Bear statue in the front of the library that commemorates the childrens books written by Monroe author Elizabeth (Aunt Bett) Upham McWebb. The video also touched on the Ginkgo tree, which was given to Dr. Dorsch by the ambassador to China. It was presented at the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln.
Its a living fossil. It can live for thousands of years. One survived the bombing of Hiroshima, Sweat said.
Near the Dorsch Memorial Branch Library, Janet Berns, owner of the now-closed Book Nook, reopened her store for the day for the Discover the Underground Railroad series.
Berns hosted Regina Feldpausch of Petersburg, who offered the program Point the Way: Codes of the Freedom Quilt.
Feldpausch spoke to attendees about quilts made by enslaved people. Some believe the quilt block patterns created by enslaved people contained clues to help others escape their bondage. On Saturday, Feldpausch showed examples of some of the "message" blocks on a quilt that she made.
Feldpausch has been an avid quilter for 45 years. About 20 years ago, she became interested in the quilts of the mid-1800s.
Im fascinated with this time period and with the fabric of the period, Feldpausch said.
To learn more, she visited several plantations, from Florida to Maine. She did most of her research at the MCLS. Among her favorite reference books is Stitched from the Soul by Gladys-Marie Fry.
We have a great library system, she said.
Like the Underground Railroad itself, not much was recorded about messages hidden in quilts. Some say quilts with messages were displayed on flagpoles and clotheslines to lead enslaved people to freedom. Others say thats just folklore.
Either way, Feldpausch says these blocks offer a glimpse of the enslaved peoples journey to freedom.
Most heard (of the Underground Railroad) by word-of-mouth and stories. Quilts represented the road to freedom and what the (enslaved people) had to do, Feldpausch said.
The log cabin quilt block, for example, may have given enslaved people directions to the next safe hours. A black square marked a safe location. A block that resembles puzzle pieces told the enslaved people to vary in their travel paths. A bowtie quilt pattern showed the importance of disguise.
It was important to not look like an (enslaved person). Look liked a freed Black instead, dress differently, Feldpausch explained. Harriet Tubman wore a disguise.
One of Feldpauschs favorite period blocks is the bear paw, which looks like animal tracks.
Go to mountains, forge a path, like the animals, she said.
Feldpausch also talked about utilitarian quilts made by enslaved people, both for the plantation owners and for their own use.
Im amazed at the quality of quilts they made. The traditions they brought from Africa carried through to the quilts that they did, she said.
Feldpausch learned the enslaved people held quilting parties.
Men and women both quilted. The men would tie and thread needles, Feldpausch said.
A history major, Feldpausch had been a teacher for Summerfield Schools and in other states. Her last classroom before retiring 20 years ago was inside Fords former Monroe Stamping Plant.
She and her husband, Larry, have three children and six grandchildren.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Dorsch library, Book Nook host Underground Railroad programs
A Seattle man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison for crimes related to selling fentanyl pills in downtown Seattle and armed shoplifting in Bellevue, U.S. Attorney Nick Brown announced.
Kendall Alston, 31, was arrested on March 23, 2022, after Seattle police saw him making drug sales in the area of Third Avenue between Pike and Pine streets. Officers were surveilling the area as part of an emphasis patrol called Operation New Day, aimed at increasing public safety in the Pike/Pine corridor.
According to court records and trial testimony, an officer located at an observation point above the street saw a person in distinctive clothing making what appeared to be a drug deal. When the officer went down to street level, they saw the same person, later identified to be Alston, making another drug deal.
Officers moved in and took Alston into custody. He was carrying 244 blue pills that were later tested and found to contain fentanyl, along with a loaded gun in his backpack.
After a three-day trial in August 2022, a jury found Alston guilty of knowingly distributing fentanyl, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Alston also pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Those counts are related to the March 2022 arrest in downtown Seattle and a January 2022 arrest for shoplifting in Bellevue, where Alston was found to have a different gun.
Mr. Alston was armed with a loaded handgun while dealing potentially deadly fentanyl pills in downtown Seattle, said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Drugs and guns are a deadly combination and getting both off the street is a priority for the community.
Alston is prohibited from owning firearms due to two felony convictions a 2018 residential burglary conviction in Pierce County, and a 2013 residential burglary conviction in King County.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
30 civil rights groups demanded the College Board stand up to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The letter asked for new leadership to "advocate for students and academic freedom."
The College Board is facing criticism over the rollout of the AP African American studies course.
Thirty civil rights, education equity, and gender equality groups penned a letter demanding the College Board stand up to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after the botched rollout of the company's AP African American Studies course.
The letter, signed by groups including the National Black Justice Coalition, the Human Rights Campaign, and the National Center for Transgender Equality, called for the current president of the College Board to resign so that new leadership could "advocate for students and academic freedom" and stand "against the DeSantis regime's book banning, censorship, and surveillance agenda."
"The public rollout of the College Board's long-awaited Advanced Placement Black Studies Course has been a public relations and brand disaster for your institution causing pain, division, and turmoil for the community it sought to celebrate," the letter, published on the National Black Justice Coalition's website on Tuesday, said.
It added: "Several lies and a belated campaign to tell the truth from your President, David Coleman, regarding the pilot and revision process of the curriculum played a role in the growing mistrust the public, students, and educators have for your institution and the content of the class."
DeSantis initially rejected the AP African American Studies course in January. At the time, the governor said the course imposed "a political agenda." The Florida Department of Education's director of communications later said in a statement to Insider that the course featured "Critical Race Theory, Black queer studies, intersectionality, and other topics that violate our laws."
College Board then announced a new framework for the course on February 1 that reportedly removed many of the original course's topics, while making subjects like Black Lives Matter and reparations optional for students.
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The company said the changes were not made because of political pressure and called out "the Florida Department of Education's slander, magnified by the DeSantis administration's subsequent comments."
But according to reporting from The New York Times, the College Board had repeated contact with DeSantis' administration to discuss the AP African American Studies' course curriculum.
A letter from a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education, first reported by The Daily Caller and subsequently to the Times, showed the College Board had been back and forth with Florida about the course's material and what Florida would approve and disapprove of.
The civil rights groups who issued an open letter on Tuesday criticized the reported correspondence and said, "New leadership is required if the College Board lacks the courage and character to advocate for students and academic freedom."
"Without the courageous leadership needed for this moment in history, the College Board will continue to be a pawn in the political games of governors and other elected officials advancing a white nationalist, anti-democratic agenda," the letter said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Do you know the muffin man? A Georgia man learned the hard way that maybe the gig is tougher than it looks after he attempted to deliver a muffin to a friend via drone earlier this month.
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Just before 6:30 p.m. on Feb 5., Oconee County deputies were called to Colham Ferry Road in reference to a man flying his drone over another neighbors house.
Deputies said the man sent his friend across the street with a muffin attached to his drone. The man told police the string holding the muffin became stuck on the drone, causing it to crash into another neighbors yard across the street.
The man allegedly went across the street to get his drone when the neighbors reportedly came outside and threatened him.
The neighbor reportedly told the man that he wasnt going to give him his drone back.
Oconee County officials said the neighbor thought the man was using the drone to look through other peoples windows.
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At one point during the argument, according to the police report, the neighbors thought the drone operator was about to pull a gun out of his pocket and the man grabbed his shotgun. The drone operator was actually pulling out his phone to call police.
Later, officials were able to retrieve the mans drone and he was cited with prohibited entry. Officers told him that he wasnt allowed to fly his drone over his neighbors house for two years. The neighbor was given the option to press charges.
I then went over to the house where he stated he flew a muffin two and confirmed that he did in fact give a muffin via drone to one of the residents of the home, the responding officer wrote in the report. My body camera was on during this encounter.
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Its unclear if the drone operator will face criminal charges.
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On 22 February, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, stated the Russian occupiers were fighting on "historic frontiers" and are "fighting heroically", but he did not specify where exactly this took place.
Source: Putin giving a speech at a rally-concert in Luzhniki on the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day and on the eve of the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Putin Quote: "Dear friends, good afternoon. We are meeting with you on the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day [23 February ed.]. There is something powerful, formidable in this phrase, I would even say mystical and holy. It is not for nothing that one of the most famous prayers begins with the words "Our Father". Padre, father. And there is something dear to every person in it. After all, we also say homeland-mother [reference to the word father in the Russian word for "homeland", otechestvo]. It is about family, something formidable, powerful and dear to the heart of every person. This is homeland and family.
And there are people, who are standing here, who make a decision for themselves to protect the most sacred and dearest thing that we have family and homeland.
And today as part of the Special Military Operation [this is how Russia calls the war against Ukraine ed.], we are here with you, gathering for an essentially celebratory event but I know, I just listened to the top military leadership about the fact that just now the battle for our historical borders and our people is ongoing. It is led by fighters as brave as those standing here. They fight heroically, courageously, bravely. We are proud of them."
Details: Putin proposed shouting "three cheers" in honour of the invaders.
He also stated that the whole country allegedly supports the occupiers and all Russians, from those who make shells to children who write letters to Russian soldiers, are defenders of the homeland.
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After the anthem of the Russian Federation, Putin offered to shout cheers "for the unity of the Russian people". From the way the Russian dictator waved the microphone, it was clear that he was waiting for three cheers, but the stadium screamed only once. Then Putin suggested to shout the word "Russia" and left with these shouts thundering in the background.
Background:
An anti-aircraft system has been spotted across from the Luzhniki Stadium in Russia, where thousands of people with Russian flags gathered for a concert on 22 February, waiting for Putin.
Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, has said that Russias expected big offensive is already ongoing, but it is of very poor quality.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador's attorney general on Wednesday said she will ask for charges against former President Lenin Moreno and three dozen others for alleged corruption surrounding the construction of the country's largest hydroelectric plant between 2009 and 2018.
The investigation into the case, which began in March 2019, now has the necessary documentation to ask the National Court of Justice to hold a hearing on bribery charges against Moreno and 36 other suspects, said Attorney General Diana Salazar.
The investigation "reveals a structure of corruption around the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric project," the prosecutor said in a message posted on social media.
Moreno denied the allegations in an afternoon statement and said the developments were a political distraction from the issues facing Ecuador.
Moreno has previously said he supports an expansion of the Coca Codo investigation because it would reveal lies against him, accusations he says were orchestrated by former President Rafael Correa, his erstwhile mentor and later enemy.
Moreno was Ecuador's president between 2017 and 2021 and vice president between 2007 and 2013.
Other individuals named by the prosecutor's office could not immediately be reached.
Moreno's wife, one of their daughters, two of his brothers and two sisters-in-law are also among those allegedly connected to the case, Salazar said.
Former managers at Coca Codo and former legal representatives of China's Sinohydro, which was in charge of building the plant, were also allegedly involved with corruption, Salazar said.
"The alleged bribery would amount to about $76 million, which would correspond to approximately 4% of the contract, which initially was worth almost $1.979 billion," Salazar explained.
The final cost of the work exceeded $2.2 billion, the prosecutor said, adding the alleged bribes would have been delivered by Sinohydro and channeled through third parties.
China has not responded to a request for assistance in the case, Salazar said.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia, Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Marguerita Choy)
Elon Musk (pictured right) and Gov. Gavin Newsom (pictured left) haven't always seen eye-to-eye. Musk threatened to pull Tesla's entire operations out of California in 2020. Associated Press
Elon Musk announced on Wednesday that Tesla plans to expand its engineering headquarters in California.
The company is taking over Hewlett Packard's office space in Palo Alto.
Tesla moved the company's headquarters to Texas in 2021, but still employs thousands of workers in California.
Elon Musk announced during a press briefing with California Gov. Gavin Newsom that the electric-car maker plans to expand its engineering headquarters in California.
The Tesla CEO said the company is moving into office space in Palo Alto that was previously occupied by Hewlett Packard. He said the move will allow the company to work more on its plans for autonomous driving and robotics. CNBC reported that the site has been dubbed "HQ2," citing sources familiar with the plans.
Musk called the move a "poetic transition from the company that founded Silicon Valley to Tesla." The electric-car maker originally signed a lease for about half of HP's former office space in 2021, according to a report from Reuters at the time.
"I couldn't be more proud of California's committement to supporting Tesla," Newsom said, adding that he's worked with Musk for decades and even bought one of the carmaker's first Roadsters.
The announcement comes less than two years after Musk moved Tesla's headquarters to Austin, Texas. At the time, the billionaire said he'd moved Tesla's main headquarters because it has grown difficult for employees to afford houses in the Bay Area, though he said Tesla planned to continue to expand its presence in California.
Musk and Newsom have been at odds in the past. In 2020, the billionaire threatened to pull all of Tesla's operations out of California because he disagreed with the state's response to the pandemic, including its shelter-in-place orders.
The state has also launched a series of regulatory probes regarding Tesla's treatment of its workers, as well as its marketing of its self-driving technology. Last year, a California regulator sued Tesla, alleging racial discrimination at the Fremont Factory based on "hundreds of complaints from workers." More recently, the California Department of Motor Vehicles accused the company of intentionally misleading customers in the advertising for its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features.
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Despite the move to Texas, the carmaker continued to produce many of its cars at the Factory in Fremont, California and it still maintains its previous company headquarters in Palo Alto. As of January, Tesla employs about 47,000 workers in California.
Spokespeople for Musk and Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Twitter owner Elon Musk hinted on Wednesday that the company is preparing to open source the microblogging platforms algorithm as soon as next week.
In response to a tweet urging the Twitter chief to open source the platform, Mr Musk said: Prepare to be disappointed at first when our algorithm is made open source next week, adding that it will improve rapidly.
Making Twitters algorithm open source would allow its software to be publicly accessible to users across the world.
The Tesla chiefs remarks are in line with his previous statements that he supported the idea of making Twitters algorithm open source a move that could bring greater transparency to the platform.
He said last year that making Twitters algorithm open source is the way to go to solve both trust and efficacy.
Im worried about de facto bias in the Twitter algorithm having a major effect on public discourse. How do we know whats really happening? The algorithm needs to be open source, the Tesla boss said.
Social media experts previously said making Twitters algorithm open source can help researchers gain access to the platforms software and help them decode how hate speech spreads on the platform and suggest ways to counter it.
Twitters co-founder and former chief Jack Dorsey had also previously said his biggest regret was that Twitter became a company, adding that he envisioned the platform as an open source protocol.
A transparent system, both in policy and operations, is the right way to earn trust. Whether its owned by a company or an open protocol doesnt matter as much as deliberately deciding to be open about every decision and why it was made, Mr Dorsey tweeted last year.
It is however unclear if Mr Musk is serious about his latest tweet on making Twitters algorithm open source by next week.
Twitter has faced competition from other open source social media platforms, including Mastodon, that saw a surge in use following the Tesla chiefs takeover of Twitter in October.
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Mr Musks latest tweet on open sourcing Twitters algorithm also comes at a time when the US Supreme Court is hearing arguments on the role of YouTubes algorithm in recommending ISIS videos to its users.
The Twitter owner himself came under heavy criticism earlier this month for allegedly ordering the companys remaining engineers to make changes to the platforms algorithm to ensure his tweets got better engagement.
Twitters engineers pulled an all-nighter to ensure the Tesla chief had his tweets artificially boosted over other users by a factor of 1,000, Platformer reported.
In a fresh round of layoffs, the company has also reportedly fired employees from its ad sales team. This came days after the company shut down its two main offices in India and instructed its staff to work from home, reportedly as part of its ongoing efforts to cut costs and boost revenue.
Elon Musk laid off more staff in February, according to a report from The Verge. Getty Images
Elon Musk laid of dozens of staff across engineering and sales departments last week, The Verge reported.
The publication said Musk also gave workers a one-week deadline to change Twitter's ad business.
Since taking over the company, Musk has laid off over half of Twitter's workforce.
Elon Musk laid off dozens of Twitter staffers last week including those who worked on ad products right after giving them a one-week deadline to turn around the company's ad business, according to a recent report from The Verge.
The publication said that Musk laid off employees in sales and engineering, marking the third round of major lay offs since Musk took over at the company in November.
Right before the lay offs, Musk told staff who work on Twitter's ad product to change how advertisements target users on their individual feeds, giving them a week to revamp it, The Verge reported. It's unclear whether the terminated employees were laid off as a result of missing the deadline.
The report comes after Musk has said Twitter has "the worst ad relevance on Earth" and apologized on social media for showing users "so many irrelevant and annoying ads."
"We're taking the (obvious) corrective action of tying ads to keywords & topics in tweets, like Google does with search," he said on Friday in a tweet. "This will improve contextual relevance dramatically."
Since taking Twitter private, Musk has laid off over half of the company's workforce. The billionaire is known for pushing for tight deadlines both at Twitter and at his other companies.
Marcin Kadluczka, one of the workers that was laid off in the company's latest round of termination, reported directly to Musk and oversaw the engineering behind Twitter's ads business, according to The Verge. After he left the company, Kadluczka tweeted about his termination and appeared to reference Musk's one-week deadline.
"I believe Twitter can really improve ads in 2-3 months (no necessarily in a week though)," he tweeted on Saturday. "Wish I could be actually fired not just deactivated."
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A spokesperson for Twitter did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.
Ultimately, Musk's plan for Twitter's ad business appears to imitate ad-targeting methods used by Google, which shows users ads tied to keywords they've searched for on the platform.
Read The Verge's full report on its website.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Alec Baldwin on the set of "Rust" after the October 21, 2021 fatal shooting. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office
A New Mexico prosecutor admitted in a private email it was wrong to hit Alec Baldwin with a weapons charge in the "Rust" shooting.
Prosecutors have since dropped a gun enhancement charge filed against Baldwin in the shooting.
Baldwin's defense attorneys had argued in the motion that the charge was "unconstitutional."
A New Mexico prosecutor admitted that it was "100 percent" wrong to hit Alec Baldwin with a gun enhancement charge that carried a five-year potential prison sentence in the "Rust" movie set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, emails show.
Baldwin's defense attorneys on Tuesday withdrew their motion challenging the firearm enhancement as "unconstitutional" after it was officially dropped by New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies.
The court filing contains emails from the special prosecutor appointed by the DA to the case, Andrea Reeb.
In a February 12 email to Baldwin's lawyers, Reeb wrote: "We are a tad confused on your motion on the firearm enhancement," according to the court documents.
Roughly 20 minutes later, Reeb sent over another email saying: "And alsolet me look at the specific numbers and sections and make sure we have it correct," the court papers show.
About an hour-and-a-half after that Reeb sent an additional email explaining that she had taken the morning "to look at your firearm enhancement issue."
"I 100 percent agree with your assessment on the issue," Reeb wrote in the email, according to the court documents. "I will have our documents drafted to amend the criminal information to take off the firearm enhancement and file something withdrawing the firearm enhancement. We missed it by 3 months."
Reeb added, "So, hopefully, once these documents are filed, you will withdraw those motions as they are moot."
Baldwin's defense team filed its motion on February 10 arguing that prosecutors made an "unconstitutional and elementary legal error" with the application of the gun enhancement because the statue did not exist at the time of the October 2021 shooting.
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A spokesperson for the DA's office downplayed that motion in a statement to Insider on the day it was filed.
"Another day, another motion from Alec Baldwin and his attorneys in an attempt to distract from the gross negligence and complete disregard for safety on the 'Rust' film set that led to Halyna Hutchins' death," spokesperson Heather Brewer said as she explained that the DA's office would review the motion.
Brewer went on to say that the DA and the special prosecutor's "focus will always remain on ensuring that justice is served and that everyone even celebrities with fancy attorneys is held accountable under the law."
The DA's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider on Wednesday.
Baldwin scored a legal win after prosecutors dropped the gun enhancement charge filed against him in connection to the accidental shooting of 42-year-old Hutchins on the Santa Fe, New Mexico film set.
He was charged earlier this month with two counts of involuntary manslaughter one of which carried the more serious firearm enhancement.
Baldwin was facing a maximum sentence of 6-and-a-half years in prison, but now due to the removal of the enhancement charge, the TV star faces a maximum of 18 months behind bars if convicted.
"Members of the prosecution team had amplified the error in the Original Information by repeatedly giving interviews on national television in which they erroneously claimed that the enhancement was not only applicable to Mr. Baldwin, but mandatory, and that Mr. Baldwin was facing an additional five years in prison as a result," Baldwin's lawyers wrote in the Tuesday court documents.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer in charge of weapons on the "Rust" set, faced with the same charges as Baldwin; the firearm enhancement was also dropped for her.
Read the original article on Insider
Emirates Boeing 777X and Boeing 787 rendering. Boeing
Ever wonder how your in-flight meals are prepared?
Emirates Flight Catering makes all the food served to passengers aboard the airline.
The facility, which is located in Dubai, makes more than 200,000 meals a day.
Emirates Flight Catering makes approximately 225,000 meals daily.
A meal setting in a first class seat aboard an Emirates Airlines A380 on August 1, 2008. STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images
It serves as the world's largest flight catering facility located at Dubai International airport. It operates 24-7, cooking every snack, dessert, and main dish eaten by its millions of passengers annually.
"Emirates Flight Catering provides in-flight catering and support services to over 100 airlines across the globe from its catering units at Dubai International Airport," an Emirates spokesperson told Insider. "Additionally, the team provides over 10,000 meals per day for 19 airline hospitality lounges."
The facility's crew is made up of thousands of employees.
The facility's employees are from around the world. Insider/Youtube/Screenshot
The crew works around the clock and comprises more than 6,000 people a melting pot of individuals from around the globe. This includes their chefs who have experience in a variety of culinary cuisine.
Before cooking, employees remove and clean trolleys, trays, plates, and other tableware from the incoming flight.
Emirates catering staff works around the clock to make the meals. Insider/Youtube/Screenshot
Emirates handles approximately 3 million pieces of tableware on a daily basis.
They are taken to the ground level where dishes are separated and put through industrial-sized ware washing machines for proper cleaning.
The trolleys pushed by the flight attendants are loaded onto the facility's miles-long monorail to be taken upstairs. It has pickup and drop-off points at multiple locations on every building floor.
Staff in the cold kitchen, located on the upstairs level, preps and plates the appetizers and sandwiches.
The sandwiches go through a wrapping machine to keep them fresh. Screenshot/Insider/Youtube
Due to each cabin on the plane having different menu options, the food for first and business class and prepared on a different side of the kitchen than the economy cabin.
The sandwiches are then fed through the flow-wrapping machine to keep the bread fresh until it's unwrapped aboard the plane.
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In the main kitchen, where hot food is prepared, chefs prepare food according to four regions; Middle Eastern, European, Asian, and Sub-Continent.
The international chefs tailor each menu based on the region of the arrival destination. Insider/Youtube/Screenshot
The meals made are congruent and inspired by the region of the flight's arrival destination.
Therefore, nearly 2,000 international chefs cover the culinary gamut of every destination Emirates flies to. For instance, if you're traveling to France, you'll most likely get a croissant for breakfast.
"All chefs learn about regional cuisines, local seasonal ingredients and techniques to give passengers a taste of the destination before they land," the Emirates spokesperson said. "Customers can savor a traditional Arabic mezze when flying from Dubai, tuck into a Mauritian chicken curry on the way to Mauritius, or feast on a traditional moqueca from Brazil. "
Emirates told Insider that although onboard specialties change each season some notable dishes include spiced bean curd and peppers and Batata Wa Bayd Mfarakeh or potatoes and eggs, Bzar chicken and pan-fried beef tenderloin, among other dishes.
The food prepared in the last kitchen is for those with a sweet tooth.
The baked goods are made fresh and in-house. Insider/Youtube/Screenshot
The sweets for example, pastries, cakes, and cookies are all made in-house. The facility, which notably specializes in Arabic sweets, has a hydro processor, a high-powered water laser that cuts precise pieces of cake.
For example, a sample menu for a long flight shows desserts like orange frangipane and chocolate mango tarts.
In the assembly room, each meal gets a day code. It prevents the airline from serving spoiled dishes. Fruit and salads are prepared here too.
Once the trays are loaded into the trolleys, it is placed on the monorail and transported to the flight two hours before departure. Insider/Youtube/Screenshot
Additionally, this is where tableware and utensils are prepped.
The meals are placed on trays and then onto the trolleys which are eventually transported to the aircraft and served to the passengers aboard.
Meals are put back into the trolleys and sent to the departing aircraft. Insider/Youtube/Screenshot
See more on Emirates Flight Catering:
Read the original article on Insider
The NLRB ruled that employers can not require employees to sign non-disparagement clauses as part of a severance agreement. Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Companies can't require employees to waive their rights as part of a severance agreement.
In a ruling on Tuesday, the National Labor Relations Board said such requirements are "unlawful."
Workers can't be forced to "choose between receiving benefits and exercising their rights," NLRB's Lauren McFerran said.
Companies that make former workers promise not to disparage their former employers in exchange for a severance payment are breaking the law, the National Labor Relations Board ruled Tuesday, restoring what it said was an "important principle and longstanding precedent" that employees cannot be coerced into waiving their rights.
The decision concerned a Michigan hospital that, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, terminated 11 union employees and asked them in exchange for a payout to sign severance agreements barring them from making public comments "which could disparage or harm" the company.
In 2020, the NLRB, at the time operating with a Republican majority, twice ruled that such limits on speech were legal, arguing in one of its decisions that severance agreements with nondisparagement clauses are "entirely voluntary."
But those earlier rulings were flawed, the NLRB's new Democratic majority said Tuesday, asserting that employees cannot waive their rights under federal labor law and that asking them to could affect the rights of those still on the job.
"We therefore overrule both decisions and return to the prior, well-established principle that a severance agreement is unlawful if its terms have a reasonable tendency to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights," the board said, referring to the right under federal law to engage in collective action, such as union organizing, to improve workplace conditions.
Nondisparagement clauses, it reasoned, could prevent former workers from being able to assist investigations into ongoing labor law violations.
The NLRB is a five-person organization whose members are nominated by the president. It's current chairperson, Lauren McFerran, is a Democrat who has served since January 2021. The lone dissenter on Thursday's ruling, Marvin Kaplan, was appointed in 2017.
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In a statement, McFerran said Thursday's ruling reflected an understanding that "employers cannot ask individual employees to choose between receiving benefits and exercising their rights under the National Labor Relations Act."
Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com
Read the original article on Business Insider
EnPro Industries (NYSE:NPO) Full Year 2022 Results
Key Financial Results
Revenue: US$1.10b (down 3.7% from FY 2021).
Net income: US$6.70m (down 96% from FY 2021).
Profit margin: 0.6% (down from 16% in FY 2021).
EPS: US$0.32 (down from US$8.60 in FY 2021).
All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period
EnPro Industries Revenues and Earnings Beat Expectations
Revenue exceeded analyst estimates by 1.5%. Earnings per share (EPS) also surpassed analyst estimates by 128%.
Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 3.6% p.a. on average during the next 2 years, compared to a 4.9% growth forecast for the Machinery industry in the US.
Performance of the American Machinery industry.
The company's shares are down 7.2% from a week ago.
Risk Analysis
Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for EnPro Industries that you should be aware of.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan said officials will not second-guess the symptoms that the people of East Palestine, Ohio, are experiencing following the train derailment earlier this month.
Regan said in an interview on CNN This Morning on Wednesday that the tests that have been conducted on the water and the air in the local community have shown that they should not be causing adverse health effects.
And so we can provide the data but if people are experiencing things, were not going to second-guess anyones experience, Regan said.
He said anyone experiencing symptoms of illness should seek medical attention from their primary doctor.
Regans comments come just a few days after the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent toxicologists and medical staff members to the Ohio town to conduct further testing related to the derailment of the Norfolk Southern train.
State officials had said that tests showed the air and water in the local community were safe, but residents have continued to report various symptoms such as rashes and shortness of breath. Some have also said they are still smelling noxious odors from the crash.
The train was carrying hazardous materials when it derailed, allowing them to leak into the air. One of the chemicals was vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing substance that was allowed to escape as part of a controlled release of chemicals to avoid a potential explosion.
Regan said he trusts the data that he is seeing, as officials have conducted testing underground, in the air and on the ground. He said a van is conducting testing in the communities affected, stationary air monitors have been strategically placed and high-tech airplanes are analyzing the air.
He explained that officials have tested the air quality in more than 550 homes.
Nothing is coming back that shows adverse health impacts. And we are testing for everything that was on that train, Regan added.
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He also noted that the state has rigorous testing models, but individuals who receive water from private wells need to have their well specifically tested to ensure it is safe. State officials have told these people to continue to drink from bottled water until their well is tested and declared safe to drink from.
The EPA officially ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up contaminated water and soil and pay for cleanup costs on Tuesday. The company will also be required to attend public meetings as the agency requests.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
As part of Tuesdays order, the EPA said it is leading a coordinated cleanup effort with state and local officials in addition to Norfolk Southern. The EPA also ordered Norfolk Southern to reimburse the EPA for cleaning services that will be offered to residents and businesses. These cleaning services will be conducted by the EPA and government contractors. Norfolk Southern will also be ordered to attend public meetings and provide updates online. This comes after Norfolk Southern leaders skipped a public meeting last week, citing safety concerns. The EPA said if Norfolk Southern refuses the order, it will require the company to pay triple the costs.
An EPA agent helps clean up in East Palestine, Ohio. Michael Swensen/Getty Images
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it would be taking control of the cleanup of an East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. The agency additionally ordered rail operator Norfolk Southern to pay for all associated costs.
In a press release, the EPA said it had issued a legally binding order requiring Norfolk Southern to "identify and clean up contaminated soil and water resources," and would also have to reimburse the agency "for cleaning services to be offered to residents and businesses to provide an additional layer of reassurance, which will be conducted by EPA staff and contractors."
The environmental hazard stems from the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train. The train was carrying numerous hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride. "This particularly dangerous and increasingly common" chemical, The New York Times reports, is toxic, highly flammable, and is "known to cause liver cancer in highly exposed industrial workers."
As the cleanup began, residents of East Palestine were forced to evacuate the town. While most have since returned, CNN reports that numerous health problems are being seen, "from rashes to nausea to trouble breathing."
Norfolk Southern had previously committed to paying for the cost of the cleanup, even as the Biden administration said it was considering civil penalties for the accident. In a statement sent to Bloomberg, the company said it was "committed to thoroughly and safely cleaning the site," while "reimbursing residents for the disruption this has caused in their lives."
However, it seems officials did not buy Norfolk Southern's promise. At a press conference Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) whose state's border is located just a mile from East Palestine stood with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), along with EPA officials, and pledged to continue holding the company accountable.
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Equipment maintenance workers at Ascension St. Vincent Indianapolis voted against forming a union Friday, the latest failed effort for unions to break into the increasingly consolidated health care industry in Indianapolis.
Ascension St Vincent said it's grateful for the decision.
"We respect the rights of our associates to make an informed decision regarding if they want to be represented by a union," said spokesperson Emily Garrett in a statement. "In this instance, our associates chose to stay in direct dialogue with their leaders rather than choosing to be represented by (the International Union of Operating Engineers)."
More:'This is perfect:' Wholesale roaster Blue Mind Coffee to open shop on 38th Street
The equipment maintenance crew works for Medxcel, a subsidiary of Ascension St. Vincent.
The union drive began when managers changed an eight-hour shift into a 12-hour shift, upending some employee's home lives, said one employee who declined to be named due to fear of retaliation. Some of the workers were also frustrated with the rising cost of the company health care plan that cut into cost of living raises.
"They wanted respect in the workplace," said Zach Perry, an organizer with Operating Engineers Local 399. "They wanted pay, that was a big thing. They wanted pension and health care."
The vote against unionizing, in part, was a result of managers holding anti-union meetings to intimidate employees, organizers think. The crew includes 32 workers.
Perry said the company had one-on-one meetings with individual employees and brought in outside consultants to fight against the union.
They also sent out multiple anti-union information sheets, Perry said.
"Misconception #1: "the union will get me better pay and benefits," one flyer read.
"Fact: The Collective bargaining is potentially hazardous for employees and that as a result of such negotiations employees might possibly wind up with less benefits after unionizing than before."
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More:2 underage teens employed in dangerous meat processing jobs in Indiana
Unions have struggled to organize in health care in Central Indiana. Last year, a drive to organize an Indianapolis branch of a primary health chain, Oak Street Health, lost by one vote. Back in 2015, a high-profile effort to unionize 3,900 nurses at Indiana University Health hospital never succeeded.
"It's been tough," said Brett Voorhies, the president of Indiana State AFL-CIO, an association of unions. "We're a conservative state. The laws aren't for us. The environment isn't for us."
Do you have a story to tell about working in health care? Contact Binghui Huang at 317-385-1595 or Bhuang@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Maintenance crew votes against unionizing at Ascension St. Vincent
Ernie Hudson reflects on the challenges of making Ghostbusters. (Photo: Reuters)
Ernie Hudson is beloved by fans as Winston from Ghostbusters, but it took the actor a decade to embrace the film. In a new interview, the veteran star opened up about the "psychological" effect making the movie had on him as, initially, he felt "pushed aside."
"It wasn't an easy road," Hudson told SiriusXM's Gary Dell'Abate and Rahsaan Rogers on The Howard Stern Wrap Up Show.
The topic was brought up when Hudson was asked if Ghostbusters meant a lot to him as "the biggest role" of his life.
"No," Hudson replied, explaining he "was the guy who was brought in" alongside big stars like Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. "So finding my place in the middle of that and they were all welcoming and inclusive, the studio wasn't. And the studio continued not to be."
Hudson continued, "So it made it very, very difficult because I was a part of it but then I very selectively was pushed aside. When the posters came out, I'm not on the poster. It took a long time. I went to the 30th anniversary release of the movie and all the posters are three guys. Now I know the fans see it differently, and I'm so thankful for the fans because the fans basically identified with Winston, especially young, I don't want to say minority kids, but a lot of kids."
The 77-year-old star was told early on that "if you get in a major movie from a major studio" and the film does well "it will change your career."
"Well, Ghostbusters didn't do any of that for me," he revealed. "I was working pretty nonstop, I did Ghostbusters, and it was two and a half years before I got another movie."
Hudson noted that "he's so thankful to be part" of the Ghostbusters franchise at one point, he called director Ivan Reitman "a brilliant man" whom " I have just so much love and appreciation for" but "it wasn't an easy road."
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"Ghostbusters I would say, it was probably the most difficult movie I ever did just from the psychological perspective," he added.
In the original script, Hudson said his character Winston was introduced in the "very beginning" of the movie.
"By the time we got ready to shoot the movie, Winston came in halfway through the movie. All those things it definitely felt deliberate. And I'm still not trying to take it personally," he continued. "Anything bad, if you're African American in this country, anything bad happens to you, you can always blame it on 'because I'm Black.' ... You don't want to go there."
Hudson concluded, "I got nothing bad to say about anybody, but it was hard. And it was hard for a long time. It took me probably... 10 years to finally get sort of past that and just embrace the movie and enjoy the movie. It was very. Ghostbusters was really hard to make peace with."
Key Insights
Using the Dividend Discount Model, GERRY WEBER International fair value estimate is 6.89
Current share price of 7.10 suggests GERRY WEBER International is potentially trading close to its fair value
Peers of GERRY WEBER International are currently trading on average at a 28% discount
Does the February share price for GERRY WEBER International AG (ETR:GWI2) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!
Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.
View our latest analysis for GERRY WEBER International
Step By Step Through The Calculation
As GERRY WEBER International operates in the luxury sector, we need to calculate the intrinsic value slightly differently. In this approach dividends per share (DPS) are used, as free cash flow is difficult to estimate and often not reported by analysts. This often underestimates the value of a stock, but it can still be good as a comparison to competitors. The 'Gordon Growth Model' is used, which simply assumes that dividend payments will continue to increase at a sustainable growth rate forever. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a company's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In this case we used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.2%). The expected dividend per share is then discounted to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.4%. Relative to the current share price of 7.1, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.
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Value Per Share = Expected Dividend Per Share / (Discount Rate - Perpetual Growth Rate)
= 0.5 / (7.4% 0.2%)
= 6.9
dcf
The Assumptions
Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at GERRY WEBER International as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.222. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
SWOT Analysis for GERRY WEBER International
Strength
Debt is well covered by cash flow.
Weakness
Interest payments on debt are not well covered.
Opportunity
Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the German market.
Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio.
Threat
No apparent threats visible for GWI2.
Moving On:
Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For GERRY WEBER International, we've put together three pertinent items you should look at:
Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for GERRY WEBER International that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does GWI2's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!
PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the XTRA every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have set a March 28 deadline for their decision on Alphabet unit Google's acquisition of Croatian maths app Photomath, according to a European Commission filing on Wednesday.
The EU competition enforcer can clear the deal with or without remedies after its preliminary review or it can open a four month long investigation if it has serious concerns.
"We can confirm that we entered into an agreement to acquire Photomath in May 2022, subject to regulatory review," a Google spokesperson said.
"Photomath's technology will help Google to enhance its ability to provide better math learning experiences to students, helping to build out Google's homework help offerings for users."
Photomath's app uses a smartphone's camera or scientific calculator to recognize and explain symbolic math problems. Menlo Ventures, LearnCapital, Goodwater Capital, GSV Ventures and Cherubic are investors in the company.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
By Gabriela Baczynska
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union countries did not reach agreement on Wednesday about new sanctions against Russia, and planned more talks to have the package ready for the one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on Friday, diplomats said.
The proposed package includes trade curbs worth more than 10 billion euros, according to the bloc's chief executive, including a ban on EU imports of Russian rubber. It would also bar more EU exports to Russia of tech equipment and spare parts Moscow might use on the battlefield.
The Brussels-based executive also wants the 27 EU countries to better track Russian assets on their soil as the bloc seeks ways to use them to help rebuild Ukraine from the war. Some countries, however, pushed back against the spectre of facing fines for failing to report, according to the sources.
"There are several issues outstanding, including on rubber and reporting obligations," said one of the sources, who all spoke under condition of anonymity due to the confidentiality of the negotiations between EU countries.
More talks among Brussels representatives of EU members were due on Thursday afternoon, said the sources.
"We remain confident that an agreement will be reached quickly tomorrow," said another EU diplomat, adding it would then be formally finalised on Friday.
NO NUCLEAR, DIAMONDS
Taken all together, the sanctions against Russia would be the toughest the bloc has ever imposed.
The looming 10th package of penalties since Moscow invaded is designed to make financing the war more difficult, including by cutting more banks including the private Alfa-Bank and the online bank Tinkoff off from SWIFT.
They would also blacklist individuals linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards over production of drones used against Ukraine.
Ukraine has called on the EU to go further, but opposition from countries including Hungary, Bulgaria, France and Belgium means the bloc would not for now restrict cooperation with Russia's nuclear industry or stop importing diamonds.
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"We need to strengthen sanction policy, because the war is still lasting," Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told journalists before attending the closed-door talks in Brussels on Wednesday.
"It's very important for us. So that's why we hope that we will see these sanctions in the tenth package, otherwise, maybe in the next packages."
(Additional reporting by Kate Abnett, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Nick Macfie and David Gregorio)
U.K.-based Amadeus Capital Partners and Austria's Apex Ventures are pooling their collective venture capital (VC) resources for a new fund specifically targeted at early-stage deep tech startups.
The duo have raised an initial 28 million ($30 million) for the Amadeus Apex Technology Fund, with plans to close it out at 80 million ($85 million). The fund has already made its first investment, too, participating in a hitherto undisclosed second-closing of German space startup Okapi-Orbits's seed funding round to the tune of $1 million.
The funds core investment team includes Amadeus co-founders Anne Glover and Hermann Hauser, who are joined by Apex partners Andreas Riegler and Wolfgang Neubert.
Amadeus Apex Technology Fund: Anne Glover (Amadeus), Andreas Riegler (APEX), Wolfgang Neubert (APEX), Hermann Hauser (Amadeus). Image Credits: Amadeus Apex Technology Fund
Early-stage
The goal of the Amadeus Apex Technology Fund is to invest between 1-1.5 million in seed and Series A-stage startups with "unique and defendable technology," and will include AI, quantum computing, mobility and outer space, robotics and other areas of the deep tech sphere. Moreover, the fund's core focus will be on the so-called DACH region, incorporating Germany, Austria and Switzerland, though there is scope to meander into nearby markets -- though this won't include the U.K.
"The partnership also allows for early-stage investments in other European markets outside the U.K., such as Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands, which are on our radar for everything from quantum tech to photonics and AI," Riegler explained to TechCrunch. "We've focused on this region because we recognize it as a perfect breeding ground for early-stage deep tech innovation, with top universities and a large developer pool. At the same time, deep tech funding is still low, which presents a huge opportunity for growth."
Founded in 1997, Cambridge, U.K.-based Amadeus Capital Partners has made more than 260 investments over the past 25 years, with exits to its name including network security company Forescout, which was snapped up by a duo of private equity firms for $1.9 billion in 2020, and self-driving startup FiveAI, which was acquired by Bosch last year. Apex Ventures, meanwhile, has made some 40 investments since its formation in Vienna six years ago, most recently joining a 2.7 million funding round into German biophotonics startup Refined Laser Systems.
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So while both VC firms have different histories, they have each been investing into the deep tech realm off their volition just fine until now -- so why partner up on this new fund?
"We have collaborated with [Amadeus Capital's] Hermann Hauser for many years -- he was an investor in our [Apex's] first fund and an advisory board member of the firm, and we have multiple joint investments," Riegler said. "This subsequently led to a close relationship with the Amadeus Capital Partners team. The Amadeus team wanted to expand their early-stage footprint in Europe and turned to Apex Ventures for our local expertise, deal flow and syndication experience."
And for Apex, a relative newcomer to the VC scene compared to Amadeus, it taps a quarter-century of investment experience.
"We greatly benefit from access to over 25 years of experience and a network in deep tech," Riegler said.
Former Indianapolis Colts player Joe Staysniak faces three misdemeanor charges. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Former Indianapolis Colts lineman Joseph "Joe" Staysniak was arrested Tuesday and charged with two misdemeanor counts of battery causing physical injury and one of strangulation, according to a public statement from his lawyer. According to a probable cause affidavit outlining his arrest, he is accused of assaulting his son and choking his son's boyfriend.
Hendricks County Jail records show that Staysniak, 6-foot-5, was booked into jail at 1:43 a.m. Tuesday on the charges his lawyer confirmed. He was released the same day.
Police responded to a report of a disturbance at Staysniak's home in Brownsburg, Indiana, around midnight Monday night. On arrival, Staysniak's son told authorities he was sitting in a car in front of the property with his boyfriend when a neighbor saw them.
Staysniak allegedly approached the vehicle, opened the rear passenger door, and grabbed [the boyfriend's] hood and was choking him, the affidavit said.
The son told officers that his father proceeded to punch him, causing his lip to bleed. He also allegedly punched the boyfriend. According to the the affidavit, the officer was able to observe blood and cuts on his lower lip.
The boyfriend in the vehicle said Staysniak flashed a gun and had it against the side of his face at one point during the incident," the affidavit continued. The son told officers that with the firearm displayed, Staysniak called them "lucky" that he saw who they were.
Staysniak told the sheriffs office that he had received a call from a neighbor advising him there was a suspicious car in their front yard and he went to investigate. When he approached, he saw who was inside and told the boyfriend he could never return to his property, the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, Staysniak told officers that he did not hit his son or point his firearm at anyone, but shoved him backward with an "open hand" as he charged. He said that the shove caused his son's mouth to bleed, and they "got into it" after he "tried to attack him." Staysniak and his wife then had to restrain their son, the affidavit said.
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"The details of what happened will come out in the courtroom, but we are completely confident that Joe's actions will be conclusively determined to be legal and justified under the circumstance," the statement from Staysniak's lawyer said.
Staysniak spent half of his six-year NFL career playing offensive tackle for the Colts from 1992-95 and retired with the Arizona Cardinals in 1996. Before that, he played briefly for the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs after being drafted in the seventh round in 1990. In his retirement, he worked as a radio personality. Starting at WIBC in Indianapolis, he eventually co-hosted The Fan Morning Show, also in Indy, before his departure in 2021. In June 2020, he was suspended for a week without pay after saying on air that Black people need to stop being victims. He also reportedly called kneeling in front of the American flag treasonous and argued the Confederate flag is not racist, adding that he found it hard to believe Black people are targeted by police.
Those comments came during a discussion about protests in Indianapolis, as the country responded to the highly visible killing of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Raymond Chan, left, a former Los Angeles deputy mayor, and his attorney Harland Braun, center, leave a federal courthouse downtown on Jan. 20. Jeremy Chan, the defendant's son, is at right. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
A federal prosecutor told a jury Tuesday that former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan was a central player in a sprawling extortion racket that corrupted downtown development projects for years.
In an opening statement at Chan's criminal trial, Assistant U.S. Atty. Susan Har accused him of playing multiple roles in a shakedown scheme led by Jose Huizar when Huizar served on the City Council.
Chan accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes, Har said, while also serving as a go-between who facilitated payoffs by Chinese developers to the councilman.
"They needed one another for the pay-to-play scheme to work," the prosecutor told the jury.
Huizar used Chan, a Chinese immigrant, to extort the developers, Har said, while Chan got the powerful councilman to shepherd their projects through the city's byzantine approval process.
Chan's attorney, Harland Braun, told jurors his client was innocent and urged them to keep an open mind until Chan takes the stand and testifies after prosecutors rest their case.
"You'll find out that the story the government just gave you is not true," Braun said.
Defying an order by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, Braun cast the prosecution as motivated by anti-Chinese bias, an allegation the government denies and Walter has ruled off limits.
"Chinese this, Chinese that," Braun said, adding a moment later, "Stop using race."
Walter sustained Har's objection to Braun's line of attack. Braun persisted. "It's not a crime to speak a foreign language," he told jurors.
Chan, who had been general manager of the city's buildings department for three years when Mayor Eric Garcetti promoted him to deputy mayor in 2016, is charged with racketeering, bribery, wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI. Chan left his city job in July 2017 and became a consultant to developers.
A challenge for Chan will be to refute the testimony of three witnesses who have pleaded guilty to felonies and admitted their roles in bribe schemes: Chan's former business partner George Chiang, real estate consultant Morrie Goldman and Huizar's former aide George Esparza.
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Huizar, who has admitted taking more than $1.5 million in bribes, implicated Chan when he pleaded guilty last month to racketeering and tax evasion, but the former councilman is not expected to testify.
Prosecutors plan to play recordings of wiretapped phone calls and other covertly taped conversations between Chan and witnesses who were working with the FBI.
Braun tried to undermine their credibility, telling jurors they "can't rely on a witness who's a convicted felon." Braun singled out Chiang, an admitted bagman, as especially untrustworthy. Chiang says he passed along more than $100,000 in developer bribes to Chan.
"If he'd been a little more with it," Braun said of his client, "he'd have seen that George Chiang was a crook."
Braun tried to distinguish Chan from others ensnared in the case, noting that unlike Huizar and Esparza, Chan never accepted casino gambling chips, private jet flights, luxury hotel stays and other favors on more than a dozen lavish Las Vegas holidays funded by a Chinese skyscraper developer.
Braun questioned the strength of prosecution evidence that Chan helped arrange that developer's $600,000 loan to Huizar to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit that threatened his 2015 run for reelection. When the developer, Shen Zhen New World I, was convicted of bribery and wire fraud in November, the jury found the loan was an illegal payoff.
Har told the jury the case against Chan boils down to a conspiracy "to get money, keep power and avoid the feds." Chan, she said, took advantage of an influx in Chinese developers pursuing projects during a downtown L.A. real estate boom.
"The defendant saw an opportunity to make himself the indispensable person in the middle," Har said.
As deputy mayor, Chan became a secret business partner with Chiang, who was hired by an arm of Chinese developer Shenzhen Hazens as a consultant on its proposed Luxe City Center Hotel project near what was then called Staples Center, according to Har.
Prosecutors say Chan solicited more than $100,000 in bribes on the project, which was never built, in return for city approvals. Har told the jury that Chan was careful not to accept the money from Chiang until after he left his job as deputy mayor.
Jia Yuan USA Co., the local subsidiary of Shenzhen Hazens, reached an agreement with prosecutors to pay the government a $1,050,000 penalty to resolve the government's investigation of the matter. The deal required the developer to fire Chiang as its consultant and improve its compliance program.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
EXETER A former public works employee's lawsuit, claiming that he suffered "severe emotional distress" after he was allegedly forced out of his job and made the "scapegoat" for the old Town Hall bathroom project going over budget, could soon be heading to trial.
However, claims made in that same lawsuit that he was wrongfully terminated from the position or that officials conspired against him will not be tried unless a Rockingham Superior Court judge reconsiders his decision.
Judge Daniel St. Hilaire granted the town's motion for summary judgment this month on three of the five counts in David Smart's lawsuit against the town. Summary judgment is a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party without a full trial.
The old Exeter Town Hall in downtown Exeter. A former DPW worker has filed a lawsuit against the town claiming he was made a "scapegoat" for cost overages in a 2017 project to install an ADA-compliant bathroom.
Smart filed the lawsuit in 2020 claiming that he was wrongfully terminated from his position of 19 years as the town's maintenance superintendent after a project he was overseeing in February of 2017 to construct an ADA-compliant public bathroom at the old Exeter Town Hall went over budget. While the project was estimated to cost $22,980, it ended up costing around $64,000 due to unforeseen expenses including structural issues discovered during demolition in the 165-year-old building and the need to hire an outside contractor.
The cost overruns came to the Select Board's attention in July 2017 with one board member calling it "outrageous, a blatant disregard for taxpayer money." The board demanded answers as to when the project went over budget, who authorized the expenditures, and why they were not informed about it.
At the Aug. 28, 2017, Select Board meeting, then-Select Board member Dan Chartrand specifically asked Town Manager Russ Dean if Smart's failure to inform then-DPW Director Jennifer Perry of the project cost overruns was the reason why the board was not informed earlier.
Dean replied, "yes, I believe a discussion should have taken place."
According to the suit, Smart claims that he notified Perry of the cost overages, who signed off on all purchase orders over $500 with the town's finance department. Smart stated despite that approval, Dean never told the Select Board that he followed proper town procedure.
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Smart claims he was used as a "scapegoat" and was essentially told by Dean to either resign or be terminated on Sept. 1, 2017. Smart opted to "involuntarily" resign but sent a letter five days later demanding reinstatement expressing his belief that he did nothing wrong.
Wrongful termination, breach of contract claims tossed
Judge St. Hilaire rejected Smart's arguments that he was wrongfully terminated or that the town breached his contract as he was an at-will employee and agreed to resign.
The judge also rejected civil conspiracy claims that Dean and Perry used their positions as department heads and conspired to falsely accuse Smart of wrongdoing in order to deceive the Select Board citing there was no factual basis for the claim.
The town contends, according to court documents, that Smart was asked to resign for failing to accurately track expenses in relation to the overall budget and for failing to clearly communicate to Dean and Perry.
Exeter not off the hook on two claims
However, the judge rejected the town's request for summary judgment regarding Smart's claim that the termination of employment caused severe emotional distress.
The judge noted that a "reasonable fact-finder" could conclude that Smart "properly sought and received permission to increase the bathroom project, thus doing everything expected of him." Smart spoke with Perry and received permission for $18,000 for outside contract labor and again for over $5,000 for unforeseen structural issues. It was up to Perry, the judge noted, to report this to Dean.
"A reasonable fact finder could conclude that Dean treated (Smart) as a scapegoat where Dean wrongly blamed (Smart) and not Perry for the cost overrun and the lapses in communication, and ultimately terminated (Smart).
Smart's claim that Dean interfered with his economic relationship with the town also survived summary judgment.
"A reasonable fact finder could conclude Dean's conduct was 'improper,'" the judge wrote.
Exeter Town Manager Russ Dean
The facts of this case, the judge noted, could support an "inference that Dean's motive was to place all the blame on (Smart), while shielding Perry from similar public scrutiny.
"The nature of Dean's conduct was an arguably dishonest response to a public inquiry, the judge wrote. "Despite multiple direct inquiries as to who 'authorized' the expenditures, Dean never directly stated the fact that Perry authorized them (a fact of which Dean was aware as early as July 2017) A reasonable fact-finder could further infer that Dean sought to protect himself from scrutiny based on his responsibility to oversee both Perry and (Smart)."
However, the court rejected Smarts same claims against Perry, noting that she was not involved in the decision to end Smart's employment and that Dean did not discuss the decision with Perry prior to making it.
Smart's attorney requests reconsideration
Attorneys for Smart have filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider his decision in ruling in the town's favor against his claims for wrongful termination.
Smart is requesting a jury trial on the remaining counts. He is seeking lost wages, lost earning capacity, compensation for emotional distress and humiliation, and enhanced compensatory damages.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ex-Exeter NH DPW worker's 'emotional distress' lawsuit moves forward
(Bloomberg) -- Genaro Garcia Luna, once in charge of Mexicos battle to root out illegal narcotics and vanquish drug kingpins, was convicted for secretly providing years of protection to El Chapo and the Sinaloa cartel.
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Garcia Luna, accused of helping cartel members import and distribute massive quantities of drugs into the US, was found guilty on Tuesday by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, after a four-week trial that uncovered how narco-traffickers worked with the very Mexican government official appointed to go after them.
The jury of six women and six men convicted Garcia Luna, 54, of all five counts against him, including multiple conspiracy counts for distributing and importing cocaine and the most serious charge, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. Under that charge, which carries a mandatory 20-year prison term and a maximum of life behind bars, the jury concluded that he had helped the cartel import tens of thousands of kilos of cocaine between 2002 and 2008.
He is the highest-ranking current or former Mexican official ever to be tried in the US.
Read More: Narco Violence Flares as Mexico Nabs Kingpin Before Biden Visit
Garcia Luna is scheduled to be sentenced June 27. His lawyer, Cesar de Castro, told US District Judge Brian Cogan that his client would appeal the verdict. Cogan gave him until April 7 to file the papers. De Castro had no immediate comment on the outcome.
Closely Watched Trial
The trial was followed closely on both sides of the border. An acquittal would have been another setback for US efforts to crack down on drug-related corruption in Mexico, after former Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos was arrested in the US on charges of taking bribes in exchange for protecting cartel leaders. That case provoked a firestorm in Mexico, and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn eventually dropped the charges at the request of then Attorney General William Barr in 2020. Mexico later exonerated Cienfuegos.
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Garcia Luna led Mexicos Federal Investigation Agency before heading up public security as a cabinet minister from 2006 to 2012 for then Mexican president Felipe Calderon. Responsible for overseeing the nations efforts to combat the illicit narcotics trade, he was arrested in 2019. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a political rival of Calderon, has repeatedly referred to the case in his daily press conference to bash his predecessors for corruption.
The crimes against our people will never be forgotten, his spokesman Jesus Ramirez wrote in a tweet after the verdict.
Read More: Narco Riots Target Civilians and Companies in Post-Chapo Mexico
On Tuesday, as Garcia Luna entered the courtroom to hear the verdict, he turned to his wife and daughter, blew them a kiss and put his hand on his heart. After the jurors filed in, he sat with his hands clasped and stared straight ahead at the judge, who read the verdict out to the court.
Breon Peace, the US attorney in Brooklyn, called Garcia Luna a traitor who took money that was stained by the blood of cartel wars and drug-related battles in the streets of the United States and Mexico.
Garcia Luna once stood at the pinnacle of law enforcement in Mexico and will now live the rest of his days having been revealed as a traitor to his country and to the honest members of law enforcement who risked their lives to take down the cartels, Peace said in a statement.
Cartel as Cop
During the trial, the US called to the stand nine former cartel members as cooperating witnesses. They described how Garcia Luna secretly placed Sinaloa members on the Mexican federal police rolls, while providing them with official vehicles, uniforms and badges. The phony officers, and sometimes real federal police working for Garcia Luna, helped cartel workers unload drugs on airport tarmacs and tipped the drug lords to imminent raids by US authorities.
They even got the satisfaction of having the police arrest rival traffickers and sometimes got to keep the seized drugs.
In exchange for his help, the cartel rewarded Garcia Luna with a fortune, the jury heard.
He used his official position to make millions of dollars for himself from the people he was supposed to prosecute, Assistant US Attorney Saritha Komatireddy told the jurors in her closing argument.
SUV Stuffed With Cash
Jesus El Rey Zambada, who ran Sinaloas operations at Mexico Citys airport, testified that in late 2006 he stuffed bags with at least $5 million and spirited them to an intermediary for delivery to Garcia Luna at a posh restaurant in the capital.
In turn, Zambada said, Garcia Luna agreed to shield his brother, a cartel boss, and others from law enforcement.
One former Mexican federal police officer who went to work for the cartel, Sergio Villarreal Barragan, testified that Garcia Luna was paid as much as $1.5 million a month for his services. After he was promoted to Mexicos security chief, he and his associates were paid about $230 million more for the additional protection they were able to give the cartel, allowing it to expand across Mexico, Barragan told the jury.
Read More: Mexico Flies Troops to Busiest US Border City After Gang Attacks
Garcia Luna once helped the notorious drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman intercept a rival gangs two-ton cocaine shipment, arriving at a warehouse with other drug bosses and agreeing to divide the drug profits evenly, Barragan testified. Mexicos former top cop was paid $14 million to $16 million from cash crammed in cardboard boxes, he said.
There were so many boxes they didnt fit in their SUV, Barragan told the jurors. So the traffickers lent Garcia Luna a car to help him lug away his take, Barragan said.
Best Market: New York
All told, the cartel sent an estimated 100 tons of cocaine a month into the US, worth $2.8 billion to $3 billion a year in pure profit, Zambada testified.
The market that pays the best is here in New York, he told the panel.
Jurors heard how the drugs were transported to the US on cargo planes, private jets, submarines and even in specially built freight trains disguised as oil transports but containing secret compartments of coke.
The cartels trains ran from Mexico directly to New York City, witnesses said. As a result, one narco trafficker testified, the enhanced security that corrupt officials like Garcia Luna provided helped him bring $700 million to $1 billion of cocaine into the US, Komatireddy told the jurors.
The Defense: Revenge
Defense lawyer De Castro tried to persuade the jury that the the cartel members and former officials testifying against Garcia Luna just wanted payback for his tough stance on drugs.
What better revenge against your common enemy but to bury the man who led the war against the cartel? he said in his opening statement.
In his closing, De Castro told the jury that prosecutors made a deal with the devil by giving admitted traffickers who had killed and tortured their victims a free pass, offering them leniency at sentencing in exchange for their testimony against Garcia Luna.
The case is US v. Garcia Luna, 19-cr-576, US District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).
--With assistance from Maya Averbuch.
(Adds details, quotes and context throughout, starting in third paragraph.)
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John Apter Police Federation sexual assault accused criminal charge dropped - Steve Parsons/PA Wire
The former head of the Police Federation will not face criminal charges over allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman at the police Bravery Awards.
John Apter, who served with Hampshire Constabulary, was placed under criminal investigation after being accused of inappropriately touching a woman at the high-profile event in Dec 2021.
At the time, Mr Apter was the chairman of the Police Federation, which represents 130,000 rank-and-file officers in England and Wales.
It was alleged he had behaved inappropriately on four separate occasions, including at the Bravery Awards, an annual event that recognises extraordinary acts of courage by police officers. He was suspended and subsequently retired from policing.
But following a lengthy criminal investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has concluded that the case does not meet the threshold for a prosecution.
However, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which carried out the investigation, said there is a case of potential gross misconduct and has asked the Hampshire force to arrange a formal disciplinary hearing.
Police watchdog recommends hearing
An IOPC spokesman said: We completed our investigation in June 2022 into allegations relating to the conduct of a, now retired, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary police officer.
We referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider two counts of sexual assault contrary to section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
We were notified this week that the CPS, having reviewed the evidence, has decided it did not meet the threshold for prosecution. We have notified the parties involved.
They continued: We also found an indication of gross misconduct for potential breaches of the police professional standards of behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy; equality and diversity; and conduct.
We will now liaise with the force as it arranges a misconduct hearing.
Just weeks before the allegations arose, Mr Apter announced he would not seek re-election as head of the Police Federation and planned to step down in April 2022.
But following the allegations, he stepped down immediately and was eventually replaced by Steve Hartshorn following an election.
There are still signs of the gunfire attacks nearly three months ago that knocked West End and Carthage substations offline, leaving Moore County in the dark.
The substations were attacked on Dec. 3, causing a days-long power outage that affected tens of thousands of people. No arrested have been made.
Details about the criminal investigation have been slim, but Channel 9s Madison Carter has uncovered new information about how the case is being handled by law enforcement.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Security upgrades
Last month, a Duke Energy spokesperson told Channel 9 it had made security upgrades around the Moore County substations. At first, when Channel 9 went back out to the sites of the attacks, it appeared the stations were unsecured. But upon closer inspection, we spotted new cameras watching from above.
Now, Carter has discovered Duke Energy may have forgotten to tell law enforcement investigators about the work they were doing after the attacks.
She obtained emails showing a new camera caused confusion in the days after the attacks.
We learned in that correspondence a Moore County investigator allocated resources for a forensic analysis to determine who that camera belonged to -- only to learn it had been placed by Dukes security team.
Similar attacks across the country
Attacks like those in Moore County have happened all across the country.
Jon Wellinghoff was the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) during an attack on the Metcalf transmission substation in California in 2013. It was the largest gunfire attack on an electric substation in the country.
There were cameras at Metcalf and all you can see is muzzle flash from the gunfire, he said.
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No one was ever arrested.
That level of sophistication, if its replicated by Moore County and by any of these other attacks, its going to be extremely difficult to catch these people, Wellinghoff said.
And more recently, a similar incident happened in Seattle. ABC affiliate KIRO reported thousands were plunged into the darkness over Christmas after four substations there were attacked.
FBI agents in the Seattle area arrested two suspects within days.
Moore County investigation
Court records reveal Seattle investigators looked at cell phone pings in four different locations at the time of the attacks.
Carter obtained records that show the FBI in North Carolina tried to do that too after the Moore County attacks. The emails, which federal investigators later said they shouldnt have provided to us, show what was in federal warrants we reported on back in December.
According to the emails, the FBI asked Google for its controversial geofencing data, which identifies known cell phone users within a certain area during a specific window of time. Warrants also went to T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon.
In the course of the investigation, Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields asked a data analyst to pull names and addresses of everyone living within a mile of the two substations.
MORE PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Documents also show the FBI also asked Duke Energy for GPS tracking data of employees who had been to either of the substation locations in the month prior. They also wanted employee records of anyone who Duke terminated three months prior to the attack.
Absolutely, the person that done this, or the person knew exactly what they were doing. Absolutely, Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said in December.
The FBI wouldnt comment on any of their tactics, after learning Carter had seen some of their emails about the investigation.
Investigators collected nearly two dozen shell casings from what they called high-powered rifles. But after looking through the emails she obtained, Carter also found there was a lack of coordination between investigating agencies.
Instead, an FBI spokesperson sent a statement saying, FBI agents and Moore County Sheriffs Office deputies continue to follow tips and develop investigative leads to determine who is responsible for shooting two substations on December 3, 2022. We are using every available investigative tool and technique to hold the offender(s) accountable for the devastation caused by this act.
Carter made several attempts to speak with the Moore County sheriff, who last updated residents on the case on Dec. 28. She was told by the departments public relations officer, Sheriff Fields is grateful for the offer but must respectfully decline your interviewing him at this time as he focuses all efforts toward the investigation.
Channel 9 asked for his emails and his calendar to determine how much time was being dedicated to this investigation. We found a long holiday break and several other social engagements unrelated to the substation attacks.
But Fields emails did yield one other tidbit of information: A lack of coordination regarding nearly two dozen shell casings found at the substations.
Evidence in the case
Investigators collected nearly two dozen shell casings from what they called high-powered rifles. But after looking through the emails she obtained, Carter also found there was a lack of coordination between investigating agencies.
In one email, a Moore County investigator reached out to the FBI to ask about the status of the evidence in the case. An FBI investigator replied, I just checked on [the shell casings] and they are still at our lab. Im not sure why. I just had our evidence tech request they send everything back ASAP.
Investigators collected nearly two dozen shell casings from what they called high-powered rifles. But after looking through the emails she obtained, Carter also found there was a lack of coordination between investigating agencies.
The casings were supposed to be moved from the FBI lab to the North Carolina crime lab. The FBI was the agency responsible for making sure that happened, but as of Jan. 4 -- nearly a month after the attack -- those shell casings hadnt made it to the NC crime lab.
But even when the casings do make it to the state crime lab for analysis, investigators still might not be able to answer who shot up the substations. Jon Wellinghoff said investigators had casings from the California attack a decade ago, too, but those didnt help solve the case.
The FBI recovered all of the brass that was shot, but there was no fingerprints on any of the brass, Wellinghoff said. So obviously it was wiped, or they put it in with gloves or whatever.
Channel 9 learned the Moore County Sheriffs Office also put up its own motion-activated cameras at the two substations. Deputies were given clear instructions: If something suspicious is seen, they want to get personnel to these sites as fast as possible, an email reads. But while Channel 9 crews were at the Carthage substation earlier this month, a deputy drove right by them and never asked what they were doing.
Investigators collected nearly two dozen shell casings from what they called high-powered rifles. But after looking through the emails she obtained, Carter also found there was a lack of coordination between investigating agencies.
Channel 9 visited more than just the two substations that were attacked in December in order to see how secure the power grid is across our entire area.
>> On Thursday, well share our findings, what Duke Energy had to say about it, and how it could be on Duke customers to bankroll security upgrades.
(PREVIOUS: Duke Energy steps up security after Moore County power grid attack)
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration will unveil on Thursday a long-awaited overhaul of arms export policy with increased emphasis on human rights, three State Department officials familiar with the new Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) policy told Reuters.
The CAT policy covers review of security assistance, government-to-government weapons transfers and licensed commercial sales of U.S.-origin military equipment and services overseen by the State Department as well as the Defense Department and Department of Commerce, including firearms commonly available in the United States.
Defense companies and activists scrutinize such policies for insight into the administration's posture as it balances commercial interests of exporters like Lockheed Martin Co and Raytheon Technologies against the country's stated commitment to human rights.
One change is how the CAT policy addresses the possibility that arms from the United States could be used for major human rights violations, the officials said.
Under the new policy, a weapons transfer will not be approved if the State Department assesses the arms "more likely than not" will be used to commit or facilitate genocide, crimes against humanity, breaches of the Geneva conventions, or serious violations of international law.
Previous CAT policy had said such transfers would not be authorized only when Washington had "actual knowledge" that the arms would be used in such actions.
"We are looking at a policy of prevention when there is a risk of violation of human rights," one of the officials said.
The officials declined to specify countries that the new policy might affect.
Advocates in the past have questioned weapons sales to countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the civilian toll of the war in Yemen.
The change could also affect exports of smaller weapons such as assault rifles and surveillance equipment that police or paramilitary forces could use against domestic populations. Some of this is under the aegis of the Commerce Department.
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Reuters reported in 2021 that the Biden administration was considering such a shift. The formal unveiling was delayed by factors including the tumultuous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the war in Ukraine, which began a year ago.
It also is tied to the National Security Strategy that the Biden administration rolled out in October.
The United States is by far the world's biggest arms merchant, selling over $100 billion in weapons, services and training a year.
Members of Congress often raise rights concerns when opposing weapons transfers. For example, Senator Bob Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opposes the sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft to Turkey for reasons including disregard for human rights.
In 2016, Washington stopped the planned sale of some 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippines' national police force after Senator Ben Cardin, then the top Democrat on the foreign relations panel, said he would oppose it given his concerns about human rights violations during the government of the country's then-president, Rodrigo Duterte.
The new policy is a departure from that adopted in 2018 by the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump, who viewed weapons deals as a way to generate U.S. jobs and controversially cast aside the precedent for congressional review of major arms deals to push through a massive sale of smart bombs and other weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Mike Stone; editing by Chris Sanders and David Gregorio)
By Pavel Polityuk
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine has not violated any agreements by deepening the Bystre Canal on the Danube to increase food exports from its river ports, and is ready to show Romania the work it has carried out, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.
Romania said this week it was concerned by signs that neighbouring Ukraine was dredging the canal that slices through a shared, ecologically sensitive coastal region, and asked if it could check the site.
Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia a year ago, said last week the draught of ships passing through the Bystre Canal had deepened to 6.5 metres from 3.9 metres.
Romania has said it is concerned that any works on the waterway through the shared Danube Delta area could threaten wildlife in the UNESCO World Heritage Site and break international environmental protection treaties.
"We officially notified the Romanian side back in August 2022 that we would carry out operational dredging, i.e. sediment clearance, and received no comments," Yuriy Vaskov, Ukraine's deputy minister for restoration, told Reuters in an interview.
The canal was 6.5 metres deep in the mid-1990s, but Ukraine has not done any dredging in recent years, resulting in an accumulation of silt.
"We see no problem - this is not new construction but operational deepening," Vaskov stated, adding that the dredging work was aimed at ensuring the canal was deep enough to allow ships of up to 6.5 metres draught.
Ukraine has been transporting grain on the Bystre Canal as it develops alternative routes for its exports while access to its Black Sea ports has been limited since Russia's invasion.
"Previously there was no need to increase the depth (of the canal). Now there is such a need," Vaskov said.
EVEN DEEPER CANAL
He said that heavy congestion of the Danube ports and long queues at the Romanian Sulina canal were the main reasons for the move.
Ukraine, which has vastly increased exports via its Danube ports to 1.5 million tonnes per month since Russia's invasion, hopes that a deeper canal would allow an additional 500,000 tonnes to be exported monthly.
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Ukraine had previously developed a plan to deepen the canal to 8.2-8.3 metres, which it says could be implemented in the future.
"There has been such a project for many years, but at the moment it is not being implemented. This is where Romania has not agreed to implement this project," Vaskov said.
"This is in the economic interest of Ukraine, and necessary in the medium term, but discussions on this are ongoing," he said, adding than any action could be done when agreed with Romania.
Romania is an important economic partner for Ukraine, and exporters shipped 8.6 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain through Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta last year.
Despite a decrease in the 2022 grain harvest to about 54 million tonnes from a record 86 million in 2021, at least 30 million tonnes of grain are still in silos and could be exported, according to the agriculture ministry.
A major global grain grower and exporter, Ukraine's grain exports were down 28.7% at 30.3 million tonnes in the 2022/23 season as of Feb. 20, hit by a smaller harvest and logistical difficulties caused by the Russian invasion.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by William Maclean)
(Reuters) - Russian prosecutors on Wednesday said they were proceeding with a case against exiled science fiction writer Dmitry Glukhovsky, accused of publishing "false information" about Russian atrocities in the Ukraine war.
Russia has targeted opposition figures and journalists with a law providing for jail terms up to 15 years for those convicted of spreading "fake" news about the military.
Glukhovsky left Russia last year after the invasion and then called for a halt to the campaign.
The prosecutor general's website said an investigation determined that Glukhovsky had published "deliberately false information" accusing the Russian military of intentionally shelling and bombing homes, schools and hospitals, of mass killings and of raping underage Ukrainian school girls.
It said the case against Glukhovsky would be conducted in his absence. He is best known for a series of novels depicting life in the Moscow metro after a nuclear war.
Glukhovsky told Reuters from an undisclosed location earlier this year that his books, along with spin-off video games, were selling well. As he has been declared a "foreign agent", the books must feature a disclaimer label and minors are barred from buying them.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski, Editing by David Ljunggren and Alistair Bell)
JEFFERSON CITY A week after he was released from prison after 28 years for a murder he didn't commit, Lamar Johnson sat in front of Missouri lawmakers and urged them to expand programs that would compensate those wrongly convicted by the state.
"While I have regained my freedom, I have come out with nothing but the clothes purchased for me by my friends and attorneys," said Johnson, who was released from prison six days ago in St. Louis. "I return home free, but with no ID, no drivers license, no credit history, no work history, no rental history. I have no car, no furniture, no place to call home."
Johnson, alongside several other people exonerated after being wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to either life in prison or death row, spoke in favor of two proposals that would expand the state's restitution law granting annual payments to those wrongfully convicted.
Lamar Johnson (center) testifies to a Missouri Senate committee in support of legislation that would expand the state's restitution program for those wrongfully convicted by the state. Johnson was released from prison after 28 years last week for a murder he was wrongfully convicted for.
Missouri legislature:Springfield lawmaker pitches plan to let workers with disabilities avoid health care loss
Under current Missouri law, only cases of innocence proven through specific types of DNA testing are eligible for restitution. Such was not the case for Johnson, whose case was re-considered after a key eyewitness recanted their testimony, as well as Kevin Strickland, who was freed in December 2021 after more than four decades in prison.
Both of their cases received national attention, but because of the law, neither man was entitled to restitution from the state under law. Instead, their attorneys set up GoFundMe pages, attracting thousands of donations from the public.
Ricky Kidd, a Kansas City man wrongly convicted of murder and exonerated in 2019 after 23 years in prison, said he hadn't "gotten a penny from the state," despite a sentence that "took away decades of my prime earning years" to support his family.
"I hope that you will pass this legislation so I can finally get justice, as well as closure," Kidd said.
Missouri legislature:Bills on trans athletes, health care advance amid GOP push on LGBTQ+ issues
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Two bills from Sens. Brian Williams and Steve Roberts, both St. Louis Democrats, would allow exonerees to file a claim within two years of being freed, with the possibility of being paid $179 for each day they were imprisoned (with a maximum of $65,000 per year). Similar legislation has been proposed in the House by Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat.
"I cannot imagine anyone believing that they could or should not be compensated by the state that wrongfully convicted them in prison," Roberts said.
Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com or on Twitter @galenbacharier.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri exonerees urge lawmakers to expand state restitution program
Supreme Court justices seemed to indicate Tuesday that they will proceed with caution in the first of two cases theyre hearing this week that will help determine how internet companies will deal with speech and content moderation.
On Tuesday the justices heard oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, a lawsuit filed by the family of an American woman, Nohemi Gonzalez, who was killed in a 2015 Islamic State group attack in Paris. The family alleges that Google, which owns YouTube, is liable in her death because its algorithms promoted extremist content to people likely to be susceptible to it.
The case looks at whether Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides protection for an internet platforms automated recommendations. Google argues that it has immunity under this statute because ISIS, not YouTube, was the creator of the video content.
Section 230 is the foundational law of the modern internet. It was devised in 1996 to encourage the development of internet platforms that would facilitate speech, Anupam Chander, a Georgetown University law professor, told Yahoo News. The 1996 statute text at the heart of Tuesdays hearing doesnt specifically address content based on algorithms, because their use was not widespread at the time the law was enacted.
Everybody is trying their best to figure out how ... a pre-algorithm statute applies in a post-algorithm world, Justice Elena Kagan said during Tuesdays hearing. You know, these are not like the nine greatest experts on the internet, she later quipped, referring to the high court justices.
For nearly three hours, the justices asked attorneys representing the Gonzalez family, Google and the Department of Justice about how the court could draw a line without setting unintended consequences into motion on how users experience the modern internet.
I think the justices are very much aware that this ruling will have huge implications, and so they are approaching it with great seriousness, Chander said.
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Yahoo News spoke with Chander following Tuesdays hearing for his perspective on the proceedings. Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Yahoo News: What were some of the key arguments made Tuesday by the plaintiffs attorney, Eric Schnapper?
Chander: The plaintiff is arguing that the anti-terrorism statute allows for aiding and abetting liability thats very broad. And YouTubes actions in permitting, accidentally, material that might support terrorism should mean that theyre liable under that statute for the horrible terrorism that the plaintiffs faced.
The plaintiffs claim that Section 230 doesnt protect Google.
Did the justices seem receptive to that argument?
I think there was real confusion about what the plaintiff was actually arguing. The plaintiff said when YouTube makes thumbnails of videos on the right side of the screen, that is content that Google makes, therefore, it is liable for those thumbnails, which did not persuade the justices in the least.
Justices Kagan and [Brett] Kavanaugh both mentioned that narrowing down Section 230 should be left up to Congress, but cant the court also do that?
The Supreme Court certainly can decide they are not in a position to rewrite Section 230 in a way that they would prefer. They may think that Section 230 is bad policy. But thats not their job. Their job is to interpret the statute and leave to Congress what the internet policy should be with respect to that particular statute, at least. So I think its easily possible that the court says, This is what Section 230 says, we may not be happy about it in all instances, but we arent here to rewrite the statute in the way that we would have written it had we been senators of Congress.
At one point, Justice [Amy Coney] Barrett questioned the lawyer for the plaintiff about his interpretation that Section 230 extends beyond internet companies to regular users. What do you think her reading of that issue was?
That argument comes from my brief, so I was pleased to see that she read it. As she pointed out, if you say Section 230 doesnt cover recommendations, then its hard to make sense of what it means to immunize users, because users dont host the material, they only recommend other peoples content. So she was trying to figure out what user immunity would look like from the plaintiffs view. And she did not get an answer to that question.
U.S. Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart also presented arguments on behalf of the Justice Department. What is the governments argument in this case and were there any notable highlights?
They immediately distanced themselves from the plaintiffs thumbnail argument. Their central argument revolves around an algorithm that promotes discrimination in employment. If you have an algorithm that is doing discriminatory things for example, sending some jobs to one race and not to another race this shouldnt immunize that behavior.
Theyre trying to say that Section 230 has some room for plaintiffs to make arguments about the platforms behavior, and I think theres room for argument about exactly what a platforms behavior is within the scope of Section 230 and what is outside of its scope.
What were some of the key arguments made by Googles attorney, Lisa Blatt?
Everything on the internet depends on these algorithms, because theres so much material on the internet, and you couldnt expect the search engine to produce random results; we expect the world of the internet to serve us information. If its liable for its own conduct, the act of recommending something, then Section 230 immunity, it becomes really almost meaningless because all these platforms rely upon some kind of automated filter system.
Craigslist filed an amicus brief on Googles side saying, Were an online marketplace and we are constantly in the business of organizing what people sell to each other, how we display that, so were going to be held liable for how thats organized.
And so Lisa Blatt is saying that this is a central core part of how the internet operates today, and narrowing Section 230 immunity would have serious ramifications for the internet.
How did the justices respond to Googles argument?
Justice [Ketanji Brown] Jackson asked some important questions about the broad immunity in Section 230, asking whether or not it was really intended to be that broad. I think she offered some important critiques of Googles provision in the case.
I think all the justices asked hard questions of all the subjects. This was a case where there was serious engagement with issues among all the justices. And it will be a very interesting opinion. Ultimately, I think in this case, Google will win. But the question is, how it wins. The question is what standard the court uses to decide that victory.
The Supreme Court will hear a related case, Twitter v. Taamneh, on Wednesday. Relatives of Nawras Alassaf, who was killed in a 2017 ISIS-related attack in Turkey, allege that ISIS used Twitter, Google and Facebook to recruit members and that the tech companies didnt do enough to curb their extremist users and should be held legally responsible. How do you think oral arguments from todays hearing will affect that case?
I think that Twitter was probably reasonably happy with this argument, because on the substantive support for terrorism claim, the justices seemed skeptical that there was liability here, and on a very similar set of facts. But its a different statute, and the justices, whenever there was discussion of aiding and abetting under the common law, said its a pretty high standard for aiding and abetting, but they also noted that it is the common law, and therefore subject to change a determination made by each of the 50 states.
So that variability is a risk for these companies. But for the Twitter case, theres only one statute thats at issue, which is the Anti-Terrorism Act, which has a very broad approach on support for terrorism too broad in my view. I think its going to be an interesting argument, its just that the connection between what Twitter or YouTube did in these cases, and the actual terrorism that was grievously inflicted, is relatively attenuated.
Michael F. Gorman is a professor of business analytics and operations management at the University of Dayton. He is editor-in-chief of "INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics."
Less than two weeks after train cars filled with hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine and caught fire, a truck carrying nitric acid crashed on a major highway outside Tucson, Ariz., killing the driver and releasing toxic chemicals into the air.
The Arizona hazmat disaster shut down Interstate 10, a major cross-country highway, and forced evacuations in surrounding neighborhoods.
More:Officials identify man who died in crash that spilled nitric acid, closed I-10 in Tucson
But the highway crash didnt draw national attention the way the train derailment did, or trigger a flood of calls for more trucking regulation like the U.S. is seeing for train regulation. Truck crashes tend to be local and less dramatic than a pile of derailed train cars on fire, even if theyre deadlier.
Michael F. Gorman is a professor of business analytics and operations management at the University of Dayton. He is editor-in-chief of "INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics."
In fact, federal data shows that rail has had far fewer incidents, deaths and damage when moving hazardous materials in the U.S. than trucks.
Far more hazardous materials are transported by trucks
A truck hauling liquid form nitric acid crashed near Tucson, Ariz.
At one time, rail and water were the only options for transporting chemicals and other potentially dangerous materials. The emergence of the automobile and subsequent construction of the interstate highway system changed that, and hazardous materials shipments by road steadily increased.
Today, trucks carry the largest percentage of hazardous materials shipped in the U.S. about twice as much as trains when measured in ton-miles, according to the Department of Transportations Bureau of Transportation Statistics latest data, for 2017. A ton-mile is one ton shipped for one mile.
Experts: Toxins don't play politics. East Palestine deserves answers, payment not games
While truck incidents involving hazardous materials dont look as dramatic as train derailments and are not as widely covered by news media, federal data shows they represent more fatalities and property damage, and there are thousands more of them every year.
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Truck-related hazardous materials incidents caused over 16 times more fatalities from 1975 to 2021 380 for truck, compared with 23 for rail, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
US hazmat incidents by shipping method: Trucks carry about twice as much hazardous materials as trains, but the number of reported incidents, including spills, injuries and evacuations, is far higher.
The difference is more pronounced in the last decade, when U.S. rail transportation of hazardous materials caused zero fatalities and truck incidents were responsible for 83.
Trucks have also caused nearly three times as much property damage as rail incidents since 2000.
Road vs rail: Deaths during US hazmat transportation The number of deaths from hazardous materials transportation in the U.S. has fallen in recent years, but accidents on the road are still well above rail, which in most years are zero.
That might seem surprising since derailments can involve several cars with hazardous materials. But most rail events take place in remote areas, limiting their human impact, while trucks travel on highways with other drivers around and often in busy urban areas.
Wildlife VP: East Palestine mustn't join 'inexcusable list.' Biden, DeWine must investigate
What should be next?
A Feb. 4 drone photo shows portions of a Norfolk Southern Railroad freight train that derailed the previous night in East Palestine, Ohio.
I study rail systems and regulation, and I have followed the increasing costs to the industry to comply with tightening regulatory rules.
Shipping hazardous materials in the U.S. has been regulated for over 150 years.
A deadly explosion in San Francisco in 1866 involving a just-arrived cargo of nitroglycerin, used for blasting rock, led to the first federal laws regulating shipping explosives and flammable materials.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks spurred a vast expansion of regulation over movement of hazardous materials. Many cities now have hazardous materials routes for trucks that circumvent city centers to reduce the potential risk to high-population areas.
With the East Palestine train derailment now making national news, lawmakers are focusing on regulations specifically for rail.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants rail companies to be required to notify states of all hazardous shipments.
This knee-jerk reaction to a major event would appear to be a responsible demand with relatively low costs, but it would have no impact whatsoever on prevention of hazmat events.
Feb 21, 2023; East Palestine, Ohio, USA; EPA administrator Michael Regan and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine watch as EPA on-scene coordinator James Justice tests the air in the home of East Palestine resident Carolyn Brown, 79. First Lady Fran DeWine also made the visit. Work continues to clean up the vinyl chloride chemical spill from the Norfolk Southern train derailment on Feb. 3. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
Activists are calling for more expensive investments, including requirements for heat sensors on train bearings, which appeared to have been involved in the Ohio derailment, and the restoration of a rule requiring advanced braking systems for trains carrying hazardous materials.
Both would raise the cost of rail shipping and could wind up putting more hazardous materials shipments on U.S. roads. The Trump administration repealed the braking system requirement in 2017, arguing that the costs outweighed the benefits.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, speaking with reporters, discussed looking into new rules for advanced braking systems, higher fines and encouraging rail companies to speed up their phase-in of more puncture-resistant tank cars.
Rail is still more economical and better for the environment than trucks for longer distances, but with ever-increasing regulations, rail transport can be economically and logistically discouraged, chasing more traffic to far more dangerous roadways.
If the concern is the publics exposure to hazardous materials, regulation on road-based hazardous materials transportation should expand as well.
Michael F. Gorman is a professor of business analytics and operations management at the University of Dayton. He is editor-in-chief of "INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics." This guest column first appeared on TheConversation.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: East Palestine derailment draws attention to bigger worry: chemicals on trucks
By Brad Brooks
(Reuters) - Ahead of U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's visit on Thursday to the site of a toxic train derailment in Ohio, here is what we know about the scope of the incident:
HOW MUCH TOXIC MATERIAL WAS RELEASED?
Neither the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nor Norfolk Southern, the company that operated the train that derailed in the Feb. 3 spill in East Palestine, Ohio, has said how much toxic material was in the train cars.
The EPA has identified the type of rail cars involved and the chemicals they carried. Norfolk Southern did not reply to specific inquiries about how much each car was carrying.
Federal rules specify how much of any toxic chemical can be carried in a particular rail car, and based on experts saying the cars were likely to be full to be cost effective, Reuters calculated that up to 1.1 million pounds of vinyl chloride was likely aboard.
The same figure was cited in a federal class action lawsuit filed in federal court last week by Morgan & Morgan law firm against Norfolk Southern Railway and parent company Norfolk Southern Corp.
Such an amount would be more than twice the amount emitted across the entire United States by companies in 2021, the latest year of available data in the EPA's "toxic release inventory" database.
The EPA said in an email that most of the vinyl chloride was purposefully set afire to avoid a catastrophic explosion while cars burned for days.
Vinyl chloride is a highly flammable, carcinogenic gas used in making plastic products that can cause dizziness, headaches and drowsiness when inhaled in the short term and a rare form of liver cancer after chronic exposure, the EPA has said.
The agency said it did not know how much of other hazardous materials was leaked and did not confirm how much was aboard, but said "response efforts assumed all the contents of the rail cars leaked to ensure the most protective action."
Norfolk Southern declined to comment in response to requests for details on the amounts of chemicals involved. The company CFO said on Wednesday the company will take responsibility for cleaning up after the derailment.
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The National Transportation Safety Board plans to release a preliminary report on Thursday on its initial findings into the crash. Former President Donald Trump visited the site on Wednesday.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS TO THE PUBLIC?
The EPA has said repeatedly that its tests of drinking water and air inside homes near the wreck site have not shown any contamination.
But that, experts say, does not answer the question of what exposure residents suffered in the hours immediately after the wreck, before monitoring was in place.
Ila Cote, a toxicologist who worked at the EPA for nearly three decades carrying out disaster risk assessments on public health and is now a private consultant, said the long-term health damage, such as increased likelihood of cancer, from the short-term initial exposure to the toxic chemicals is extremely complicated to determine.
"The data on cancer risk from a single high exposure is not good," Cote said. "But it would certainly be safe to say that if people had been highly exposed to vinyl chloride, they would incur increased risk of cancer."
WHAT ARE OTHER CONCERNS?
Three days after the crash, state and local officials said concerns about a massive explosion as pressure built in rail cars carrying the toxic chemicals forced them to drain five cars of vinyl chloride into a makeshift ditch and purposefully set it ablaze.
That controlled burn created new carcinogenic byproducts known as dioxins, said Murray McBride, a Cornell University emeritus professor with expertise in environmental toxicology.
He said those pollutants were carried away in a giant plume of smoke and likely came back to earth on soot, potentially contaminating several miles of land downwind where it could enter the food supply and upend the agricultural industry in the area.
It is crucial, McBride said, to learn how much of the chemicals may have combusted during the "controlled burn" versus how much seeped into groundwater, where it can persist for decades and remain a deadly risk.
Cote, the former EPA toxicologist, said that such controlled burns are often times the best decision emergency responders can make in such situations.
"I'm generally in favor of these types of controlled burns, If you get these chemicals leaking out, it's hard to deal with them quickly, you can't just scoop them up," Cote said.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Donna Bryson and Howard Goller)
Toronto, Ontario --News Direct-- Noble Mineral Exploration Inc.
Toronto, Ontario TheNewswire February 22, 2023 Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. (Noble or the Company) (TSXV:NOB), (FRANKFURT:NB7), (OTC:NLPXF) is pleased to report on progress for a number of its active projects.
Drill program commenced on Cere Villebon Property in Quebec;
IP Survey near completion on Kidd/Carnegie project in advance of proposed drill program
Cere Villebon Property, Quebec
A 2,500 meter drill program has commenced on the Companys Cere Villebon property which consists of 15 claims (483 hectares). The property is road and power accessible, located only 4 kilometers east of Highway 117, the highway that connects Montreal to Val dOr.
The Cere Villebon property consists of pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite mineralization in fracture fillings hosted by ultramafic rocks in the metamorphic halo of the Freville Batholith. The copper, nickel and platinum group mineralization is located in two zones, the North and the South Zone.
Drilling and resource estimates done by the Groupe La Fosse Platinum Inc., in 1987, evaluated a historical resource of 421,840 tonnes grading 0.52% copper, 0.72 % nickel and 1.08 g/t combined platinum-palladium (Groupe La Fosse Platinum Inc., 1987 Annual Report). This estimate is historical in nature, non-compliant with the standards under NI 43-101-Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and therefore should not be relied upon. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, and the Company is not treating this historical estimate as current mineral resources. These estimates should only be considered as an indication of the mineral potential of this property.
Diamond Drill Hole FV-87-1 drilled by LaFosse Platinum in 1987 into the North Zone intersected 27.38* meters of 0.70% nickel, 0.68% copper, 0.23 g/t platinum, 0.64 g/t palladium and 0.08 g/t gold including 7.65* meters of 0.94% nickel, 1.02% copper. (* Exact width not known at this time). As reported in the December 10, 2009 NI 43-101 Report prepared for St-Georges Minerals Inc and Lightwave Corp by Jean Sebastien Lavallee B.Sc., P.Geo. and Marc-Andre Cloutier, M. Sc. A., Geol. Eng.
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Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 9: Cere Villebon North Zone showing location of DDH FV-87-1.
Historical exploration results disclosed in this news release are non-compliant with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101.
Kidd Creek Project
Line cutting has been completed on the Kidd Creek project with the IP survey near completion on 4 primary targets in Carnegie Twp in advance of a proposed 2000 meter drill program.
The Kidd Creek Project consists of a group of patents and claims including 50% held with 11530313 Canada Inc acquired from Explor Resources Inc in the vicinity of the Kidd Creek Mine, 24 km north of Timmins Ontario. The Kidd deposit is one of the largest volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits in the world, and one of the worlds largest base metal deposits and lies within the Abitibi greenstone belt and is presently owned by Glencore.
Exploration of this area in the past was hindered by so many companies with small land packages. Over the years, Noble has been successful in assembling one of the largest land inventories in the vicinity of the Kidd Creek Mine.
Noble Minerals is finishing up strategic Induced Polarization surveys within 2 km of the Kidd Creek open pit on the Fly Creek Rhyolite. The target of the program is rhyolite intercalated with ultramafic rocks on an anticlinal structure. It is postulated that these rhyolites are the same age as the Kidd Creek mineralized rhyolites. Bleeker (1999)* proposed that faults that slice through the Kidd Creek mine fold have displaced the northern limb of the Kidd Creek Mine fold up to 2 km to the north and are interpreted to be time-stratigraphic equivalent. (See Figures 1 and 2).
In addition, the Fly Creek Rhyolite may be the faulted extension of the Chance Rhyolite where Texas Gulf previously intersected several drill holes containing lead, zinc and silver mineralization.
To the west Noble will be investigating, a property with Induced Polarization that lies within 600 meters and on the same stratigraphic horizon as the Chance mineralization and the Kidd Creek Mine.
* Bleeker, W., 1999. Structure, Stratigraphy, and Primary Setting of the Kidd Creek Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposit: A Semiquantitative Reconstruction. Economic Geology Monograph 10, p. 71-121
Click Image To View Full Size
Figure 1: Exploration Model for the Kidd Creek Mine. Adapted from Morgan, L.A., and Schulz, K.J., (2012)*
* Morgan, L.A., and Schulz, K.J., 2012, Physical volcanology of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in volcanogenicmassive sulfide occurrence model: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 20105070 C, chap. 6, 8 p
Figure 2: Geological Map of the Kidd Creek Area showing Relation of Area Rhyolites to the Kidd Creek Rhyolite
Michael Newbury PEng (ON), a qualified person as such term is defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the data disclosed in this news release, and has otherwise reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release on behalf of Noble.
About Noble Mineral Exploration Inc.:
Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. is a Canadian-based junior exploration company which, in addition to its shareholdings in Canada Nickel Company Inc., Spruce Ridge Resources Ltd., Go Metals Corp. and MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd., and its interest in the Holdsworth gold exploration property in the area of Wawa, Ontario, will continue to hold ~25,000 hectares of mineral rights in the Timmins-Cochrane areas of Northern Ontario known as Project 81, as well as an additional ~11,000 hectares in the Timmins area and ~14,400 hectares of mining claims in Central Newfoundland. Project 81 hosts diversified drill-ready gold, nickel-cobalt and base metal exploration targets at various stages of exploration. It will also hold its ~14,600 hectares in the Nagagami Carbonatite Complex and its ~4,600 hectares in the Boulder Project both near Hearst, Ontario, as well as ~3,700 hectares in the Buckingham Graphite Property, ~10,152 hectares in the Havre St Pierre Nickel, Copper, PGM property, ~518 hectares in the Laverlochere Nickel, Copper, PGM property and ~482 hectares in the Cere-Villebon Nickel, Copper, PGM property, all of which are in the province of Quebec. More detailed information is available on the website at www.noblemineralexploration.com.
Nobles common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol NOB.
Cautionary Statement:
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
The foregoing information may contain forward-looking statements relating to the future performance of Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. Forward-looking statements, specifically those concerning future performance, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the Companys plans and expectations. These plans, expectations, risks and uncertainties are detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with the TSX Venture Exchange and securities regulators. Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts:
H. Vance White, President
Phone: 416-214-2250
Fax: 416-367-1954
Email: info@noblemineralexploration.com
Investor Relations: ir@noblemineralexploration.com
View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/exploration-update-work-programs-in-progress-on-projects-in-ontario-and-quebec-977052558
Facebook And Instagram Verification Checkmarks Photo Illustrations
Credit - Jakub PorzyckiNurPhoto/Getty Images
Social media platforms have battled bots, spam, hacks and impersonation for many years. Now, Meta and Twitter have come up with a new approach to tackling the problem: passing the cost of better security on to users.
Meta announced on Feb. 19 it would be launching Meta Verified, a subscription service that offers additional verification, security and customer service features, for the price of $11.99 a month on the web and $14.99 on iOS. It is currently being tested in Australia and New Zealand. The process: users can sign up for the service, provide their government ID for screening and then if approved, they will get a blue badge and Meta will proactively monitor against fake accounts and provide direct customer support.
This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services, wrote Meta CEO Mark Zuckerbeg in an announcement on his Facebook page. Its quite similar to Elon Musks Twitter Blue service that recently relaunched, which offers perks like a blue verified check mark (a once free feature reserved for the notable and famous) and the ability to edit your tweets, for $11 a month. Its not just a blue check mark that users are paying for, but also a security feature that has become standard for various online accounts: from late March, non-Blue users will no longer have access to Twitters two-factor authentication via text message system. (If you dont disable the feature, you may be logged out of your account after March 20).
These services seem to be targeting content creators, with a growing following, who may want the extra security. But the average user is still vulnerable to hacking and impersonation. Nearly one-fifth of U.S. teens and adults experienced their social media accounts getting hacked within the first three months of 2022, according to a survey conducted by Deloitte. Half of the respondents said they were concerned about online security breaches.
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Cybersecurity experts are concerned that these paid features will create a two-tiered system of social media users. Its like offering an optional lock at the front door of a new house for security, says Peter Tran, chief information security officer at cybersecurity firm InferSight, Theyre creating a modulate view of security to potentially have an upsell affect in their business model, which is very dangerous, because then it becomes the haves and have-nots of security. Pay-to-play schemes, Tran says, are among the most egregious security decisions hes seen.
Many users are just as dissatisfied with the decision to charge for the service. Facebook user Jason Waterfalls tweeted, Making users pay for account verification and security services is like a car manufacturer charging extra for seatbelts and airbags. Twitter, instagram [and] Facebook gotta do better. A Twitter user, Ramon Rivas II, tweeted, So do I want to pay $15 a month for security on Twitter? No. So will I? No. Im probably just going to get hacked and send everyone a virus at some point.
Making users pay for account verification and security services is like a car manufacturer charging extra for seatbelts and airbags. Twitter, instagram/Facebook gotta do better. Jason Waterfalls (@JaxxDynamite) February 19, 2023
So do I want to pay $15 a month for security on Twitter + $15 a month for security on Instagram + $15 a month for Facebook? No. So will I? No. Im prob just gon get hacked and send everyone a virus at some point. Ramon Rivas II (@BlazerRamon) February 20, 2023
Metas Zuckerberg claims providing security to the nearly 4 billion users of Facebook and Instagram comes at a high cost.He responded to a user criticizing the choice to charge for the service with a comment saying, Verifying government IDs and providing direct access to customer support for millions or billions of people costs a significant amount of money. Subscription fees will cover this and will also pace how many people sign up so well be able to ensure quality as we scale.
The Meta CEO also says the company already provides some level of protection and support to all users. Meta says it has over 35,000 global employees that work on identifying and deleting the more than 5 billion fake and cloned profiles that exist on the site annually.
Twitter Help Center currently asks that impersonator accounts be reported via its help center. If the report is deemed valid, the impersonated account can be suspended from the platform. If a user is hacked and cannot log into their account, Twitter asks the user to request a password reset or to contact their support team.
Yet, security on these platforms remains a concern. Meta has had a long history of bot accounts, as well as data privacy and security concerns, including using users personal data for extensive advertisement targeting. Many users have reportedly had their accounts compromised and gone through laborious processes to get their access restored.
If you can imagine from the hacker or cyber criminal perspective, this is absolutely fertile ground to start to plan attacks, says Tran.
Tran isnt convinced that only needing a government ID for verification is secure enough. The process is flawed in that it takes the government ID at face value, he says. Tran questioned how Meta would authenticate and store ID information, highlighting these as further areas of security concern.
Theres no guarantee that these programs will be popular, as users think twice when it comes to spending their money. Since Twitter Blues first launch in November, it has gained just 180,000 U.S. subscribers, which only accounts for 0.2% of all Twitter users. Tran believes the changes will ultimately lead to non-subscribed users engaging with these platforms less altogether.
How to protect your account without paying
If youve decided you dont want to pay for either Meta Verified, or Twitter Blue, you can try protecting yourself more by having strong security hygiene, according to Tran. Simple steps you can take to limit platforms access to your information include disabling the applications access to your camera, microphone and geo-locations. To prevent hacking, you should create more complex passwords and Tran suggests rotating them every 90 days. However, some cybersecurity experts now advise against this practice. Tran encourages users to be judicious about communications over direct messages and to be careful when clicking on links from users they dont know. And if your account has been compromised, be sure to report it to the platform to document the experience. Lastly, consider diversifying your social media interactions, to avoid sharing an endless amount of information to just one platform.
Ultimately, Tran doesnt believe users should have to take these measures for a safe experience on Facebook and Twitter. The onus and responsibility of security and a trusted secure space should fall under these platforms.
The claim: Artificial flavors contain aborted fetal cells
A Jan. 5 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a man talking in front of a background that includes pictures of popular snack foods and soft drinks.
Everything we eat from coca cola to Nestle Tea has aborted babies in it, the man in the video says. Thats right. All of the companies have a common ingredient, which is Senomyx. If you look it up, Senomyx is a flavor enhancer made from aborted fetal cells.
The video was liked more than 900 times in 26 days.
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Our rating: False
The Food and Drug Administration says fetal tissue is not allowed in any form in food. A flavoring company uses a cell line derived from fetal kidney cells to test and identify artificial flavors for further development, but those cells do not end up in the food consumers eat.
Cells derived from fetal tissue don't go in food
An FDA official said fetal tissue would never be allowed in food.
There are no conditions under which the FDA would consider human fetal tissue to be safe or legal for human or animal consumption, the official said. The FDA is not aware of any company ever putting fetal cells into food products and has therefore not taken any enforcement action against any company for putting fetal cells into food products.
This claim echoes misleading claims that aborted fetal cells were used in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines. Research in medicine and food alike uses cell lines, which are cloned copies of cells that have been grown continually in labs from original cells that may date back decades.
At the core of this claim is a cell line known as HEK293 Human Embryonic Kidney 293 which Dr. Frank Graham, now professor emeritus at McMaster University in Canada, created 50 years ago.
Fact check: COVID-19 vaccine 'morally acceptable,' Vatican says, but some claims missing context
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HEK293 was created from fetal kidney tissue, although Graham stressed to USA TODAY that it is far removed from that source after decades of growing new cells for research purposes.
Because the 293 cell line can be cultured forever in unlimited amounts, the cells to a large extent eliminate the need to use (fetal) tissue for most biological research and for manufacture of a vast array of medical products, Graham said in an email.
The social media claim contends the cells came from aborted fetuses, but Graham has never said that they did. He has previously said he did not know if the origin was related to an elective abortion or a spontaneous miscarriage. Alexander van der Eb, who provided the original cultured kidney cells that would become HEK293, expressed the same uncertainty at an FDA meeting in 2001.
Graham said HEK293 is particularly attractive to researchers because the cells have an unlimited life span and therefore can divide forever. The cells can also take up DNA very efficiently, for reasons Graham said are not fully understood.
Firmenich, an international fragrance and flavor company, acquired the taste platform that uses HEK293 in its 2018 acquisition of Senomyx. Firmenich does not say on its website that HEK293 is part of the flavor testing process, but a patent granted to Senomyx in 2008 spells out how the cell line can be used to test flavors.
A Senomyx executive previously described the platform as a robotic tasting system that uses isolated human taste receptors in the form of proteins. Flavorings are added to the proteins and researchers note which samples get a positive reaction from the proteins. Those showing promise are then moved along to other forms of testing that do not use the proteins.
Firmenich did not respond to a request for comment. Andrea Duarte, a spokesperson for Firmenich, told Reuters, Neither Firmenich products nor Senomyx products have ever contained any human cell or material.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user making the claim for comment.
The Associated Press and Reuters also debunked versions of this claim.
Our fact-check sources:
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim aborted fetus tissue in food, drinks
The family of a man who was fatally shot last year at a middle school while students were being picked has sued, alleging unlawful use of force by Colorado deputies.
Richard Ward, 32, was with his mother, Kristy Ward Stamp, and her boyfriend on Feb. 22, 2022, to pick up his younger brother from Liberty Point International Middle School, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for Colorado. Pueblo County sheriff's deputies approached Ward after they received a report that he had been opening doors of nearby vehicles in the pickup waiting area, officials have said.
Ward stepped out of his mother's SUV for a "brief walk," mistook another white SUV for hers and got in the wrong vehicle, the lawsuit says. He apologized to the woman who was driving after he realized his mistake and returned to his mother's vehicle, the suit says.
A photo of Richard Ward next to his ashes. (via KUSA)
Minutes later, according to the suit, Deputy Charles McWhorter approached the vehicle to speak with Ward. Video from McWhorter's body-worn camera shows him approaching the SUV and greeting Ward, who opens his door to talk to the deputy.
"Wow, calling the cops on me? Just looking for my little brother," Ward says upon seeing McWhorter.
McWhorter asks for the brother's name, and Ward stumbles providing it, according to the video. When Ward was asked whether he had forgotten who his brother was, his mother interjected that the man has two brothers. Ward said he was just "messing" with the deputy and then asked McWhorter why he was touching his arm.
'Why are you acting like this?'
The lawsuit says McWhorter put his hand on Ward's elbow. The angle of the video makes it unclear where McWhorter's hand is. Ward pulls his arm away, and a hand can be seen moving in the edge of the frame.
"Why are you acting like this?" McWhorter asks, according to the video.
"I'm a little nervous because I don't like cops," Ward says, adding that he has had previous experience with officers who used force.
Ward and McWhorter then discuss the incident with the other vehicle, according to the video, and Ward explains that he believed the other vehicle was his mother's.
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"I was like, lady, I'm sorry. ... That's that," Ward said. "That was what happened."
McWhorter asks whether Ward is under the influence, and Ward says no. He asks Ward for identification, and Ward starts to pat his pants and reaches into his pocket, the video showed.
McWhorter asked Ward for identification, and Ward started to pat his pants and reached into his pocket, the video showed. (Pueblo County Colorado)
Asked whether he has a weapon, Ward responds that he does not think so but might have a pocketknife, according to video from McWhorter's body camera. Ward did not have his pocketknife at the time, the lawsuit says.
"What did you just stick in your mouth?" McWhorter asks before he reaches into the back seat and pulls Ward out of the SUV onto the ground.
"It was a pill. Let me go," Ward says, according to the video.
Ward's upper body is not in the frame in McWhorter's bodycam video. Video from a second deputy showed Ward putting a hand to his face, but it is unclear what was inside his hand.
The lawsuit says Ward took prescribed anti-anxiety medication he had in his pocket during the encounter.
A struggle with deputies
Video from both McWhorter's and the second deputys cameras show a struggle between Ward and the officers. McWhorter's camera appears to be knocked off. Audio can be heard of Ward screaming and deputies telling him to stop.
The second deputy's camera appears to show Ward and McWhorter wrestling on the ground, but only their legs can be seen. Within 20 seconds, three muffled shots can be heard.
McWhorter then backs away with a firearm in his hand, and a deputy says, "Shots fired." Ward moves from his side onto his back.
"Is my son shot?" asks Ward's mother, who is in the front passenger seat. Her boyfriend, who is in the driver's seat, repeatedly asks whether Ward has been shot and whether the deputies called 911.
The second deputy informs the couple that more people are on the way. According to the video, McWhorter puts on his gloves and lifts Ward's shirt. Ward received medical aid after paramedics arrived about five minutes after he was shot.
Speaking to other law enforcement officers after the shooting, McWhorter identifies himself as the officer who fired, the video showed. He recounts what happened to other sheriff's staff members and says Ward got on top of him at one point.
"So I'm trying to roll to hold my gun down, and he head-butts me in the nose," McWhorter says. "He says something; I couldn't understand what he said. So I'm trying to pull. I finally get it out and fire two rounds into him and then push it off of him."
Ward was shot three times and pronounced dead at the scene, the lawsuit says. His mother was not informed about Ward's death until hours later, after she and her boyfriend had been taken into custody and interrogated, the lawsuit alleges.
Deputies cleared in sheriff's investigation
An investigation by the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office found that the deputies' actions "comported with and were pursuant to Pueblo County Sheriffs Office training, policies, customs and practices," the lawsuit says.
The Pueblo County District Attorney's Office said in an October letter that the deputies had reasonable ground to believe their safety was in danger, NBC affiliate KUSA reported. The letter also said McWhorter told authorities he would have felt vulnerable getting down to assist.
Representatives district attorneys and the sheriff's offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment. McWhorter was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
My heart is broken. I have no words to explain this to Richards little brother, Ward's mother said in a statement Tuesday. Our family has been ripped apart.
The lawsuit alleges Ward's rights were violated under both the federal and the state constitutions through excessive use of force. Ward's family is demanding a jury trial.
We consider this an extraordinarily compelling case of unjustified police brutality, leading to the death of a young man with devastating consequences for his mother and family, said Darold Killmer, an attorney representing Wards family. The family has asked us to secure justice for Richard, and we intend to do so.
Killmer said the deputies had no basis to believe Ward had committed a crime.
We consider this an extraordinarily compelling case of unjustified police brutality, leading to the death of a young man with devastating consequences for his mother and family, Killmer said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in 2001's The Fast And The Furious. (Universal/Getty Images)
After more than two decades, the Fast and Furious saga is finally making its final turn as the thrilling climax of the Toretto familys story comes into view in Fast X.
From the initial, mid-budget racing thriller directed by Rob Cohen, the films have exploded into an ambitious, globe-trotting action spectaculars that take their place as one of the most successful franchises of all time.
Read more: Everything we know about Fast X
With Fast X on the horizon, heres our breakdown of the saga as it stands.
The Fast and the Furious | 2001
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in 2001's The Fast And The Furious. (Universal/Getty Images)
Based on a 1998 magazine article about street racing, 2001s The Fast and The Furious starred the late Paul Walker as Brian OConner, a police officer who goes undercover in the world of illegal street racing to investigate a spate of truck hijackings.
He befriends racer Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), and is welcomed in by his family, including sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and Doms partner Letty (Michelle Rodriguez). However, after becoming close to Dom, and falling in love with Mia, Brian turns his back on his profession and helps Dom evade the authorities.
2 Fast 2 Furious | 2003
Tyrese Gibson, Paul Walker and Devon Aoki in 2 Fast 2 Furious. (Alamy)
Vin Diesel's Dom didn't return for 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), which had Brian and Tej Parker (Ludacris) being coerced into working with the FBI to take down drug lord Carter Verone. Brian recruits childhood friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) into helping them.
They succeed and have their criminal records cleared, using a cut of Verone's cash to set up a garage in Miami.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift | 2006
Lucas Black in 2006's The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. (Alamy)
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) was a separate story following a young American racer (Lucas Black) entering the Tokyo underground racing scene.
Diesel made a cameo as Dom in the latter films closing moments.
Fast & Furious | 2009
Paul Walker and Vin Diesel in 2009's Fast & Furious. (Alamy)
Toward the end of the decade, Fast & Furious (2009) brought the crew back together as Brian (now an FBI agent) reluctantly teams up with Dom in order to take down a heroin importer who is connected to the death of Letty.
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The pair are successful, although Doms involvement leads to him being arrested. Brian (now resigned from the FBI) and the remaining crew break him free.
Fast & Furious 5 (Fast Five) | 2011
Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in 2011's Fast Five. (Alamy)
From here, the movies moved from the racing to heist genre, moving around the world on elaborate missions.
Read more: How The Rock and Vin Diesel's feud began
Fast & Furious 5 (2011) saw Brian, Dom, and Mia put together a team comprised of characters from previous films to steal $100 million from a corrupt Brazilian politician (Joaquim de Almeida), while being pursued by relentless DSS Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson).
Fast & Furious 6 | 2013
Sung Kang as Han; Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as Tej; Gal Gadot as Gisele; Vin Diesel as Dom; Paul Walker as Brian; Tyrese Gibson as Roman in Fast & Furious 6. (Universal Pictures)
The huge success of Fast Five was continued by Fast & Furious 6 (2013), where Hobbs recruits Dom and co to capture mercenary Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), who leads a crime syndicate that includes Letty, who is alive and suffering from amnesia.
Fast & Furious 7 (Furious 7) | 2015
Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner in Fast and Furious 7. (Universal Pictures)
2015s Fast & Furious 7 was of course overshadowed by the tragic death of Paul Walker, and so as well as Dom and the crew going up against Owen Shaws vengeful brother Deckard (Jason Statham), it gave Brian a happy ending where he retired from a life of crime to be with Mia and their child.
Fast & Furious 8 (The Fate of the Furious) | 2017
Charlize Theron as Cipher and Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto in Fast & Furious 8. (Universal Pictures)
In the following film, 2017s Fast and Furious 8. Dom is seemingly the bad guy as he leaves his life of domesticity to work for cyber terrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron).
Read more: Franchises that continued without their stars
It emerges that he is doing so in order to protect his son, whom he had with another woman when he thought Letty was dead, and was unaware of. The rest of the team band together to defeat Cipher, and while the mother of his child doesnt survive, Dom saves his son.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw | 2019
Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson in Hobbs & Shaw. (Universal)
Outside of the main franchise, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) saw Johnson and Statham share the screen as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw are reluctantly partnered alongside Shaws sister (Vanessa Kirby) to take down a cybernetically enhanced terrorist named Brixton Lore (Idris Elba).
Fast & Furious 9 (F9) | 2021
Vin Diesel and John Cena in a still from Fast & Furious 9. (Universal Pictures)
Faces from the past continues to haunt Dom in Fast and Furious 9 (2021), which saw the arrival of Doms brother Jakob (John Cena). The younger sibling is estranged from Dom and Mia, working for the government before turning to a life of crime.
Read more: How The Rock and Vin Diesel's feud began
The two brothers fight to find a hacking device wanted by Jakobs associate Cipher, but family ties prove stronger as the pair reconcile.
Fast X | 2023
Vin Diesel and Daniela Melchior in Fast X, directed by Louis Leterrier. (Universal Pictures)
Fast X sees Dominic Dom Toretto once again antagonised by Cipher, who has joined forces with a face from Doms past. Jason Momoa plays Dante, the son of Fast Five villain Hernan Reyes.
Twisted by twelve years of grief, his plot for revenge will see the crew race across the world to prevent disaster, but Dom faces his toughest task yet when it emerges that Dantes target is his son.
Fast X will be part one of a two part finale to the franchise. The eleventh film (currently in development) will be the last in the main franchise. While this will be the end of the main franchise, cast and creatives involved with the films have expressed interest in telling new stories inside the same universe.
The correct order to watch the Fast & Furious films
The Fast and Furious movies are in chronological order, with the exception of the third film Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). Scenes in later films confirm that Tokyo Drifts story takes place in between Fast and Furious 6 and 7.
So, including the spin off movies, the order should be as follows:
The Fast and the Furious (2001), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast & Furious 5 (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast & Furious 7 (2015), Fast and Furious 8 (2017), Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019), and Fast and Furious 9 (2021).
Read more: Jason Momoa's Fast X villain is 'a peacock'
For the completists among you, there are also two short films: Turbo-Charged Prelude, a short film that comes before 2 Fast 2 Furious and shows Brians journey between the first and second films, as well as Los Bandoleros, a prelude that comes before Fast and Furious (2009) concerning Doms journey between movies.
Fast X will be released in UK cinemas on Friday, 19 May, 2023. Watch a teaser below.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a nonprofit entity that it controlled have been fined $5 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission over accusations that the religious institution failed to properly disclose its investment holdings.
In an order released Tuesday, the SEC alleged that the church illicitly hid its investments and their management behind multiple shell companies from 1997 to 2019. In doing so, it failed to disclose the size of the churchs equity portfolio to the SEC and the public.
The church was concerned that disclosure of the assets in the name of the nonprofit entity, called Ensign Peak Advisors, which manages the churchs investments, would lead to negative consequences in light of the size of the churchs portfolio, the SEC said.
The allegations of the illicit shell company structure first emerged in 2018, when a group formerly called MormonLeaks now known as the Truth and Transparency Foundation claimed that year the extent of the churchs investments had reached $32 billion.
The following year, a whistleblower filed a complaint to the Internal Revenue Service, according to a 2020 Wall Street Journal report; that year, the newspaper said the churchs holdings had grown to $100 billion.
For more than half a century, the Mormon Church quietly built one of the worlds largest investment funds, the Journal said. Almost no one outside the church knew about it.
The SEC accused the church Tuesday of going to great lengths to avoid disclosing its investments and, in doing so, depriving the commission and the investing public of accurate market information.
The requirement to file timely and accurate information on Forms 13F applies to all institutional investment managers, including non-profit and charitable organizations, said Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SECs Division of Enforcement, in a statement.
In a statement, the church said that, starting in 2000, its Ensign Peak investment management group received and relied upon legal counsel regarding how to comply with its reporting obligations while attempting to maintain the privacy of the portfolio.
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As a result, it said, Ensign Peak established separate companies that each filed required disclosure forms, instead of a single aggregated filing.
Ensign Peak and the Church believe that all securities required to be reported were included in the filings by the separate companies, the church said in its statement.
After the SEC expressed concern about Ensign Peaks reporting approach in June 2019, the church said, Ensign Peak adjusted its approach and began filing a single aggregated report.
Since that time, the church said, it had filed 13 quarterly reports in accordance with SEC requirements.
This settlement relates to how the forms were filed previously, the church said. Ensign Peak and the Church have cooperated with the government over a period of time as we sought resolution. We affirm our commitment to comply with the law, regret mistakes made, and now consider this matter closed.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
The sky is the limit for founders Adrian Allen and Arturo Lorde!
The post Film Producers Launch The First Minority-Owned Drone Show Technology Company In South Florida appeared first on AfroTech.
LunaLite Drone Show Technologies
The pair have officially launched LunaLite Drone Show Technologies, the first minority-owned drone show technology company based in South Florida.
According to a press release provided to AfroTech, the company uses advanced technology to put on a spectacle for events, including music festivals, sporting venues, corporate engagements, and public celebrations of all sizes.
In addition, the companys website mentions their performance drones are powered with ultra-bright LEDs, which can be viewed from miles away.
We are thrilled to bring our unique blend of creativity and technical expertise to the world of drone shows, said Allen in a news release. At LunaLite, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible with this exciting technology and we cant wait to share our vision with audiences around the globe.
Allen and Lorde have been using the skies as a canvas for storytelling for decades as film producers. They will be expanding their efforts alongside a crew of seasoned pilots and technicians who will help to put on unforgettable aerial light shows.
Our extensive experience in using drone technology combined with our deep passion for storytelling made this project a perfect evolution of our craft, said Lorde in a news release. It is not just visually striking and beautiful, it provides a great alternative for event producers who seek to deliver something new, exciting and environmentally sustainable to their audiences.
The company says it will launch nearly 400 drone fleets and six employees as it positions itself as a leader within the space.
Whats more, the founders will carry over established partnerships through their work with venues and events across the globe.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. A fire at a Y-12 National Security Complex uranium processing facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee has been contained, officials from the National Nuclear Security Administration said.
The fire at the Y-12 complex started in a uranium processing area in building 9212 on Wednesday at 9:14 a.m., Y-12 communications manager Taz Painter said in an email to Knox News.
Several hundred employees from building 9212 and others were evacuated. A 12:30 p.m. update from Y-12 stated all evacuated workers were accounted for and no injuries or contaminations were found.
Air monitors did not go off, which means there was no release of radioactive material, officials said. Officials said they did not yet know what caused the fire.
Steven Wyatt, National Nuclear Safety Administration spokesman, and Tony Boser of Consolidated Nuclear Security update members of the media about the fire at a Y-12 uranium processing facility on Feb. 22, 2023.
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"This is an ongoing investigation," said Y-12 spokesman Gene Patterson. "We are still in the process of figuring out exactly what that timeline is on what happened this morning."
There are no worries for community members and there was no contamination because of the fire, officials stressed. Other parts of Y-12 are back to normal operations, officials said.
What is the Y-12 nuclear complex?
The Y-12 National Security Complex manufactures parts for America's nuclear weapons, stores nuclear materials and provides enriched uranium to the U.S. Navy.
Y-12 was the Knoxville area's fourth-largest employer in 2022, with 7,800 employees total.
An incident has occurred @y12nsc. Y-12 emergency response personnel are at the scene of the incident. Appropriate precautionary actions have been initiated for Y-12 employees. There is no off-site impact to the public as a result of the incident. Y-12 NSC (@y12nsc) February 22, 2023
The security complex has been in Oak Ridge since 1943, when the 811-acre Y-12 was built as part of the Manhattan Project. Consolidated Nuclear Security has operated Y-12 since previous contractor B&W was fired after antinuclear protestors broke into the facility in 2012.
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In October 2022, it was announced that the National Nuclear Security Administration would extend its contract with Consolidated Nuclear Security to operate Y-12 after terminating its contract with a different company.
Less than a month ago, officials celebrated the construction of a new fire station and Emergency Operations Center at the complex. They replaced buildings that had been built back in the 1940s.
What happens in building 9212?
According to an August 2020 handout describing the facilities, building 9212 was completed in November 1945 to recycle uranium. It was the location of the first production of uranium metal at Y-12 and the earliest nuclear weapons production facility at Y-12. It continues to serve as one of the primary chemical processing and enriched uranium production facilities at Y-12.
A new uranium processing facility slated for completion by the end of 2025 would allow the National Nuclear Security Administration to stop certain operations in building 9212, which a U.S. Government Accountability report in 2020 called "the oldest building with the highest nuclear safety risk at the Y-12 National Security Complex," noting the buildings design predates modern nuclear safety codes.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Fire contained at Tennessee uranium processing facility, officials say
A former Georgia police officer has been charged with felony murder and kidnapping in the death of 16-year-old Susana Morales after authorities revealed Wednesday that a gun he had reported missing was found near her skeletal remains.
The officer, Miles Bryant, 22, was previously charged with concealing a death and falsely reporting a crime in connection with the disappearance of Susana, whose skeletal remains were found Feb. 6, Gwinnett County police said. He was a police officer in the Atlanta suburb of Doraville and was fired in light of the charges.
Gwinnett County Police Chief J.D. McClure announced Wednesday that Bryant's charges had been upgraded to felony murder and kidnapping.
Susana Morales (via WXIA)
Authorities homed in on Bryant after they found "a critical piece of evidence" a handgun "in close proximity" to where Susana's body was found during a grid search of woods near Highway 316 between Drowning Creek and the Barrow County line.
It was determined that Bryant had reported the personal gun missing the morning of July 27, which made him a person of interest in the case.
McClure provided a timeline of Susanas disappearance.
She was last seen July 26 and reported missing the next morning by her family.
The night she disappeared, Susana had left her home in Norcross at 6 p.m. and walked a short distance to the Sterling Glen Apartments, where she met with a friend for about four hours. She headed home at about 10 p.m.
We know that between 10 and 10:30 p.m. Susana had an interaction with an individual, who McClure said was Bryant, and ultimately was not seen or heard from again.
Police said they believe Susana died in some time from when she had the interaction with Bryant up to 2 a.m. the next day, July 27.
McClure said that its not known whether Susana and Bryant knew each other or were familiar with each other but that he did live in the Sterling Glen Apartments complex she had visited that day and served as a courtesy officer there.
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He said it's not "definitively" known how Susana died, noting there's "no indication" that she was shot. He said it's possible she was raped.
"We dont definitively know" how she died. "Were still investigating. What we do know is she died at the hands of Miles Bryant," he said.
McClure said police are "still investigating" motive.
He said its entirely possible that Bryant had been watching Susana before her death.
While police have no evidence linking Bryant to harming another person "in a similar fashion," McClure said there have been previous reports about him.
In 2018, he was accused of trying to enter a neighbor's house through a window. Police were called, and Bryant countered the allegation. Ultimately, the homeowner did not wish to prosecute, and the case was resolved.
In December, Bryant visited the home of an acquaintance, and "he may have tried to enter" the residence, McClure said. The case is under investigation, and "we do believe that warrants are forthcoming," he added.
Those two cases were not in the Sterling Glen Apartments complex, McClure said.
McClure said Susanas death was "an unspeakable tragedy."
"This type of crime at the hands of a law enforcement officer evokes anger, even within the ranks of this agency," McClure said. "Police officers should always be pillars of trust.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
First lady Jill Biden arrived in Namibia on Wednesday, the first stop on a trip meant to show the administration's commitment to Africa, according to a White House official.
She was accompanied by her granddaughter Naomi and was greeted at the airport by Monica Geingos, the first lady of the Republic of Namibia, as well as by dancers and drummers.
PHOTO: Namibia's First Lady Monica Geingos(C-R) welcomes US First Lady Jill Biden (C-L) upon her arrival at the Hosea Kutako International Airport, Feb. 22, 2023, in Windhoek, Namibia. (Tara Mette/AFP via Getty Images)
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A White House official said, while in Namibia, Biden plans to focus on how the youth can contribute to the country's democracy and health.
Biden and Geingos visited the "Heroes' Acre" -- a war memorial -- for a wreath laying.
The women then traveled to the state house, where Namibian President Hage Geingob greeted them.
PHOTO: Namibian President Hage Geingob and U.S. First Lady Jill Biden meet during the first leg of her African visit, at the State House, Feb. 22, 2023, in Windhoek, Namibia. (Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters)
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Jill Biden's second stop is in Kenya, where she will talk about food insecurity in the Horn of Africa.
Kenya has faced multiple droughts over the last 15 years, causing major food supply and public health issues.
The White House official said women's equality and gender based violence are also on the agenda.
"In both countries, she will also do women's and youth empowerment related engagements," the official said.
PHOTO: Namibian President Hage Geingob and his wife Monica Geingos embrace as U.S. First Lady Jill Biden looks on, during the first leg of her African visit, Feb. 22, 2023, at the State House in Windhoek, Namibia. (Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters)
The trip comes around the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion into Ukraine, which will play into Biden's agenda.
"The purpose of Dr. Biden's engagement will be to better understand and appreciate some of the very direct impacts of climate change compounded by the blocking of food exports from Russia's invasion of Ukraine," the same official said.
President Joe Biden is expected to visit the continent at some point, after telling leaders at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December he was "eager" to visit the continent.
ABC News' Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
First lady Jill Biden in Africa to show administration's commitment, White House says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
A Flagler County high school student was arrested after violently attacking a paraprofessional school employee at Matanzas High School, according to the Flagler County Sheriffs Office.
Deputies said they were called to Matanzas High School on Tuesday after reports that a school employee had been attacked on campus.
According to a news release, when deputies arrived at the school, they found a woman on the ground with severe injuries.
Deputies said she was the victim of an unprovoked attack by a male student.
READ: Brush fire in Clay County now under control
The 17-year-old student was escorted from the area and later placed in custody, deputies said.
Deputies said the student stated that he was upset because the school employee took his Nintendo Switch away from him during class.
Officials said video footage from within the school shows the student, who is approximately 6 feet 6 inches and weighs 270 pounds, is shown walking fast toward the victim and pushing, knocking her to the school floor, which knocked her unconscious.
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The student is then shown kicking and punching the unconscious victim several times in the back and head, officials said.
Deputies said others rushed in to help the woman who was unconscious during the entire assault and unable to protect herself.
The victim was transported to a hospital for treatment of her injuries.
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The actions of this student are absolutely horrendous and completely uncalled for, said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. We hope the victim will be able to recover, both mentally and physically, from this incident. Thankfully, students and staff members came to the victims aid before the SRDs could arrive. Our schools should be a safe place for both employees and students.
FCSO shared the following update about the students ESE status on its Facebook page:
Regarding debates about the students ESE status: Flagler Schools is legally unable to comment on a students status due to FERPA. As such, FCSO is unable to address questions regarding this subject.
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Students on college campuses across the state of Florida are planning a walkout on Thursday to protest Gov Ron DeSantis policies targeting LGBTQ+ and students of color.
The walkout, which is being organised by the Florida College Democrats and Dream Defenders, is scheduled from noon to 1pm on Thursday, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The students will call on the state to restore funding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming following Mr DeSantis announcement earlier this month that he plans to cut funding for them at the states public colleges and universities.
Mr DeSantis also vowed to block critical race theory at the states public colleges, an advanced legal theory that conservatives have turned into a catch-all term for teaching about the racial history of the United States.
The early February announcement about the future of DEI programming is only the latest of Mr DeSantis attacks on academic freedom in the state.
The second-term governor, who is widely expected to announce his candidacy for president later this year, also recently blocked a new advanced placement course on African American Studies from being taught in the states high schools. Last year, he signed one bill restricting public school teachers ability to teach about gender and sexuality and another restricting what university professors can teach about.
Earlier this year, the states flagship public university, the University of Florida, appointed former Republican Sen Ben Sasse of Nebraska as its new president over the protestations of its students.
The Florida College Democrats have chapters at universities across the state, while Dream Defenders is a progressive organisation with a diverse, young membership founded in the wake of the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. The Florida chapter of the voting rights organisation Voters of Tomorrow is also supporting the protest.
Students at Florida State University are planning to march to the nearby governors mansion during their walkout on Thursday, while Students the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida have also signaled their intent to participate in the protest as well, reports the Tallahassee Democrat. All participants in the walkout asked asked to wear all black clothing and to carry political posters and pride flags.
Another student protest is scheduled for February 28 at New College of Florida, a notably progressive, public liberal arts school located in Sarasota.
Mr DeSantis crackdown on free speech in Florida schools is part of a broader political strategy that has also seen the governor sign legislation targeting Disney for opposing the Dont Say Gay law that allows parents to sue their school districts if teachers mention gender or sexual orientation in the classroom.
The Palm Beach art dealer Daniel Elie Bouaziz pleaded guilty yesterday to selling a counterfeit artwork by Andy Warhol, according to recent court filings.
In the spring of 2022, special agent Marc A. Gervasi, of the FBIs Art Crime Team, submitted a complaint to the Southern Florida District Court outlining the findings of his investigation into the dealings of Bouaziz. Gervasi suspected Bouaziz of selling faked works by artists such as Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring and Banksy out of his two Palm Beach galleries, Danieli Fine Art and Galerie Danieli, to at least six people.
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During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officials went undercover and bought a fake work from Bouaziz for $25,000, a Superman print. During the deal, Bouaziz allegedly told the undercover agent, This is very rare . . . He like a hundred of Superman, a hundred of them. This is, this is one of [sic] to me, this is one of the good ones. You know, thats a beauty. Its a small number. Its really good.
The back of the print had a stamp from the Carnegie Museum of Art; Bouaziz allegedly put it there to make the work look more authentic. Gervasi said he checked with the Andy Warhol Foundation and Carnegie Museum and found that the museum was not authorized to produce and distribute Superman edition prints and had apparently not done so.
Gervasi and undercover agents continued to buy works from Bouaziz. Each time, Bouaziz allegedly provided proof of their authenticity and promised the undercover agents were getting good prices. Bouaziz often claimed to have sourced work from a German millionaire living in Peru or from reputable galleries and auction houses.
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Each time, Gervasi and the undercover agents would document the pieces and their attendant provenance documents and find that they were faked. In their final sting, in late 2021, the Art Crime team agreed to purchase a collection of works by Basquiat, Haring, Banksy and Georgia OKeeffe for $22 million. The team gave Bouaziz a downpayment in Bitcoin. Included in this collection was a work by Basquiat that Bouaziz was selling for $12 million. Gervasi found that Bouaziz had sourced that exact work from an auction website for $495.
The FBI did not observe a single transaction in those accounts in which Bouaziz or his galleries purchased high-value artwork commensurate with the artwork Bouaziz sold to victims as original pieces, wrote Gervasi in his complaint. Bouaziz purchased low-cost reproductions from online auction sites that he then resold to unsuspecting victims, as originals, at drastically increased prices.
Further complicating matters is the fact that Bouaziz is in America on a B-2 visa, or a tourist visa, which means he is not allowed to operate a business in the US.
Yesterday, Bouaziz pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, referencing a sale of counterfeit Warhol works to an unnamed victim. Bouaziz received a down payment of $200,000, which he then wired to other accounts.
The court agreed to drop 16 other counts. Bouaziz will be sentenced on May 30.
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Under a newly proposed bill in Florida, companies that offer coverage for gender-transition treatments would be held liable for the cost of any eventual detransition care.
The Reverse Woke Act, which was introduced by Republican state Senator Blaise Ingoglia on Monday, would make an employer responsible for the cost of detransition care, even if an individual is no longer employed by the company.
The measure would also hold employers that fund out-of-state travel for gender-transition treatments liable for the cost of detransition care. Employers who fail to pay for the total costs of treatments to reverse gender dysphoria treatment could face lawsuits from current and former employees under the proposed measure.
Ingoglia said the bill is meant to protect Floridians from being used as political pawns to advance a leftist agenda for the Governor of California. A new California law aims to make the state a refuge for minors receiving gender-transition treatment and their families. The measure protects families with transgender minors from being criminally prosecuted if they travel to the Golden State for gender-transition care.
Woke businesses need to be held accountable when offering to pay for gender affirming surgeries in other states, such as California, because they are nothing more than political decisions masquerading as healthcare and human resource decisions, Ingoglia said.
Nearly 30 companies have offered to pay for travel and gender-transition surgeries for Floridians in other states, according to Ingoglia.
The proposal comes months after the Florida Board of Medicine and state Board of Osteopathic Medicine voted to ban puberty blockers and sex-reassignment surgery as treatments for transgender minors in the state. Florida is also one of at least nine states that prohibits Medicaid coverage of gender-transition services.
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YouTube: Escambia County School District
A Florida school district voted this week to ban a book on penguinsyes, penguinsfrom its libraries, claiming the books sexual innuendo was inappropriate for elementary students.
In a 3-2 vote on Monday, the Escambia County School Board, near Pensacola, deemed And Tango Makes Three unsuitable for students, overriding the recommendation of a district-mandated review committee made up of administrators, teachers, parents, and community members.
The fascination is still on that its two male penguins raising a chick, board member David Williams said ahead of the vote. So, Ill be voting to remove the book from our libraries.
Two other LGBTQ+ related books were also banned by the boardAll Boys Arent Blue by George M. Johnson and When Aidan Became A Brother by Kyle Lukoff.
Via Google Books
Those books, along with more than 100 others, were initially challenged by Vicki Baggett, a Northview High School English teacher who has previously been accused of holding racist and homophobic views.
I started profusely reading books. I actually went into a dark place and it was because I had been exposed to pornography, to put it bluntly, Baggett said last year, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
However, Tango co-author Justin Richardson, a psychiatry director at Columbia University with an interest in sexual development and parenting, told The Daily Beast that sexual innuendo claims are clearly a screen for something else.
They're targeting books that are depicting acceptance and warmth towards a homosexual family, he said. They're simply not saying that because, I believe, they're aware that it's a violation of the First Amendment to remove a book from a public school library because you disagree with a message.
Baggett did not immediately return The Daily Beasts request for comment Wednesday.
Most-Banned Author in America Calls BS on Parents Concern
In the picture book, Richardson and Peter Parnell tell the true story of two male penguins at New York Citys Central Park zoo adopting an orphan female chick, demonstrating a nontraditional family dynamic. And Tango Makes Three was published in 2005 and has won, and been nominated for, a slew of childrens book awards.
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The districts Instructional Materials Review Committee reviewed the book and found that it didnt violate Floridas statute, as Baggett had argued, and was not only harmless for students but was even beneficial because having same-sex parents is not abnormal in our society.
Richardson said attempts to remove the book were bullying behavior and involved violent language that's destructive tokids.
It's very difficult for [children of same-sex parents] to find a book that represents their family, Richardson said. But then to get the message that a book that does represent their familythat they very likely have on [their] own bookshelves at homehas to be taken out of the library because it's inappropriate is sending a clear message to these kids, that theres something wrong with their family and that they and their families are unwanted in the community.
DeSantis Now Says Teachers Are Shelving Books to Make Him Look Bad
Before the five members of the board cast their vote Monday, many members of the public voiced their support of the books content.
This is a true story. It's something that actually naturally occurs in nature with 1300 species of penguins, parent Nora Trotman said. To say that it advances some sort of agenda is factually incorrect because it is science, a scientific fact.
Former middle school and high school teacher Alma Woods implied the district should be more concerned about students abysmal reading scores instead.
I don't see a problem with this book, she said. The complainant says, Indoctrination, LGBTQ agenda. So, if a kid reads a book, he's indoctrinated into the subject?
By that logic, she argued, Goldilocks and the Three Bears could be detrimental to kids because Goldilocks has the ability to indoctrinate a child to be a criminal.
Books provide a safe way for children and all of us to experience situations and other points of view in safe ways, said childrens author Michelle Nelson Schmidt. Books create an understanding that life is not the same for all of us. Books transfer us into anothers shoes so that we canultimately understand and connect with others not like us.
Rev. Dr. Rick Branch of First United Methodist Church in Pensacola called out the alleged hypocrisy of hardcore Christians, saying Jesus offended a lot of religious people and did not just surround himself with the so-called righteous.
Instead, he went with tax collectors, ministered prostitutes, and made a Samaritan a hero of the story about what it means to love your neighbor, he said. If Jesuswas born 30 years ago in Pensacola and began his ministry now, he would not dine with me or any of the other religious people in this room.
Florida School Board Axes LGBTQ Month at Fiery, Proud Boy-Filled Meeting
One Christian mother who said she was conflicted over the idea of gay marriage still spoke in support of And Tango Makes Three because she said it helped her understand her LGBTQ+ son.
This entire effort, it seems to me, is pretty darn quickly designed to put LGBT people back in the closet and keep us there, said community member Alice Harris.
The districts ultra-conservative board nonetheless banned the book in 32 school libraries.
A few speakers quoted Biblical scripture as a reason to remove it.
I think we can all agree that the reason the person is telling the story is to normalize a redefinition of the institution of marriage, said Joshua Luther. When we mess with his institution of marriage, we are fighting against God.
The Daily Beast reviewed And Tango Makes Three, which does not include any reference to sexual behavior. However, Luther made it a point to ask the board whether or not they believed sodomy was a sin.
There has to be some other manufactured explanation as to why the books should be removed, such as, Its age inappropriate, Richardson said. There's absolutely nothing age inappropriate about this book.
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TALLAHASSEE Citing the Supreme Court case that reversed Roe v. Wade, Floridas attorney general on Wednesday filed a motion to reinstate part of a 2016 law that would have blocked state funds from going to Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform abortions.
In 2016, then-Gov. Rick Scott signed House Bill 1411 that in part prohibited state and local dollars from going to any institution that also provided abortions. While state and local money already was prohibited from being used for abortions, some state money did go to services provided by the clinics, like sexually transmitted disease screenings and family planning for low-income individuals.
Federal Judge Robert Hinkle struck down the defunding portion of the law, saying it unconstitutionally discouraged clinics from providing abortions.
In her filing seeking to vacate the courts previous injunction, Attorney General Ashley Moody said the courts sole reason for blocking the provision was the U.S. Supreme Courts legal rulings that abortion was a constitutional right. The filing says that with Roe overturned because of a June Supreme Court case, the legal basis for this Courts injunction no longer exists.
Moody argued that the federal judge tossed out the provision because he ruled the state was indirectly prohibiting abortion.
Dobbs, however, makes clear that there is no constitutional right to abortion and that Supreme Court cases holding otherwise were egregiously wrong from the start, Moodys filing said.
In fiscal year 2014-2015, the Department of Health spent about $139,000 on non-abortion services with Planned Parenthood, and projected spending about $163,000 in 2015-2016, according to a 2016 bill analysis.
In its 2016 challenge of the law, Planned Parenthood said it stood to lose $500,000, including Medicaid funding for services like HIV screenings and cancer screenings.
Its not clear how much Planned Parenthood and other organizations that also provide abortions receive in state and local taxpayer dollars.
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When asked, the Florida Department of Health said that it has no affiliation with Planned Parenthood. Communications director Nikki Whiting added that the department does work with partners and through county health departments to provide womens health services, like pelvic exams, pregnancy support, newborn screenings and more.
Stephanie Fraim, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, said in a statement that the state is jeopardizing Floridians health by blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving funding. She said her organization would work to continue to provide affordable care.
This is just the latest attack on the health of the communities that rely on our providers, especially Black and Latino people, young people, and people who are LGBTQ+, Fraim said. It is unconscionable that those in power are further restricting Floridians ability to lead healthy and fulfilled lives.
Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, worked for Planned Parenthood when the bill was passed back in 2016.
She said the cancer and disease screenings Planned Parenthood provides create a healthier community and actually reduce the rate of abortion. She said it was incredibly gross to see the DeSantis administration try to remove funding to clinics when Florida is suffering from high rates of people infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
A federal court in New York on Tuesday convicted Mexicos former head of internal security, who was accused of engaging in a criminal enterprise, making false statements, and conspiring to distribute 58 tons of cocaine.
Former Public Security Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna led Mexican law enforcement, including the now-defunct Federal Police, from 2006 to 2012, and had previously been in charge of the countrys also-defunct criminal investigation agency.
U.S. law enforcement officials who investigated and prosecuted Garcia Luna took a victory lap Tuesday, painting the conviction as a major win against narcotrafficking and corruption.
Garcia Luna, who once stood at the pinnacle of law enforcement in Mexico, will now live the rest of his days having been revealed as a traitor to his country and to the honest members of law enforcement who risked their lives to dismantle drug cartels, United States Attorney Breon Peace said.
Todays verdict is a shining light for the rule of law, right over wrong, and justice over injustice for all those who have suffered as a result of the defendants deplorable crimes, he added.
Representatives for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also flaunted the most politically significant conviction of a high Mexican official in a U.S. court.
It should send a clear message to all political leaders around the world that trade on positions of influence to further transnational organized crime that DEA will relentlessly pursue drug trafficking organizations that threaten the safety and health of the American people, said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
Yet the prosecutions case raised eyebrows in Mexico, as it relied largely on the testimony of convicted cartel operatives, some of whom were well-known bosses.
Im not asking you like them, Prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy told the jury, according to the New York Times.
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These people have done horrible things. Theyre criminals. But it takes one to know one.
If the jury had any doubt about the witnesses, they did not show it in their verdict, finding Garcia Luna guilty of all charges leveled against him, including participating in the distribution of 58 tons of cocaine.
Garcia Luna was also accused of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for protection from the Federal Police, as well as for leaking government information to the narcos.
Garcia Lunas conviction is a boon for current Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has often blamed his predecessors for the countrys ills, and has shown particular resentment against former President Felipe Calderon, Garcia Lunas former boss.
Its also a disturbing sign for Calderon, who was briefly mentioned in a negative light by a witness in Garcia Lunas trial, although that witnesses account of Calderons involvement in the incident in question was based entirely on hearsay.
Calderon immediately denied the allegations made on the witness stand by Edgar El Diablo Veytia, a former Nayarit state prosecutor who was convicted of drug trafficking by the same court in 2019.
But the entire trial was seen as a broader indictment of the Mexican criminal justice system, which at one time was led by Garcia Luna, and its collaboration with U.S. authorities.
Corrupt officials like Garcia Luna create a dangerous work environment for U.S. law enforcement who often share sensitive information with the Mexican government to stem the flow of dangerous narcotics into the United States, said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo.
HSI, along with our law enforcement partners, will aggressively pursue individuals and organizations that negatively impact the national security of the United States and the safety of its citizens.
The verdict comes at a time when relations between the United States and Mexico are somewhat strained amid growing concerns in Washington over illicit fentanyl smuggled across the border.
Lopez Obrador has largely shopped out Mexican policing to the armed forces, all the while focusing his attention on a series of pet projects, like a refinery and a tourist train in the countrys southeast.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) last week in a hearing on fentanyl trafficking called on the Biden administration to harden its approach towards Lopez Obrador.
We work with our Mexican friends with kid gloves on this issue and I just its just fundamentally wrong, Menendez said.
I dont know how many more lives have to be lost for Mexico to get engaged. If this was in the reverse, theyd be all over us. President Lopez Obrador would be all over us in this regard.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
New life is being breathed into a building and block some say have been ignored for too long.
Community members reached out to Channel 9 to find out why nothing was happening with Agape Assembly Baptist Church, a building considered unsafe and a magnet for crime that sits on Hiawassee Road south of Silver Star Road.
Another church wants the property, but they had to overcome some roadblocks first. But on Tuesday, those roadblocks were removed.
READ: Death investigation underway at Lake Griffin
The city approved an agreement for the liens and fines of the past so the property and Pine Hills community can move into the future.
The sale is expected in a few days.
READ: Police kill man armed with rifle, handgun in backyard of Palm Bay home
See the full story in the video above.
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When the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Servet Dag's homeland two weeks ago, all the Fort Collins resident from Turkey could do was pray and wait for word about his family.
His parents live in Adiyaman near the Syrian border, and his younger sister lives in Malatya, both of which saw catastrophic damage and loss of life.
His sister, Sultan, had given birth by emergency caesarean section five days earlier and his mother, Fatma, had traveled to Malatya be with her. When the earthquake struck at 4 a.m., the new parents, grandma and newborn fled their fourth-floor apartment out into the street along with tens of thousands of other across the region.
The death toll from the Feb. 6 quake is estimated to be more than 43,000 people, including several thousand who died in Syria. Tens of thousands more were injured and hundreds of thousands were left homeless, including Servet's sister and family.
Aftershocks continue to rattle Turkey, injuring or trapping more people inside already damaged buildings.
His brother-in-law's barbershop was destroyed and their apartment rendered unlivable. For the immediate hours following the quake, the family worked to come up with a plan. "They had to find a new place," Servet said. Around midnight they took shelter at a refugee camp where they stayed for two nights and were able to get food.
Sultan, still recovering from her C-section, and her baby, Yusuf Ali, hadn't eaten. Food was scarce. "They had to scrounge for it," Servet said. Their temporary shelter wasn't going to be a long-term fix, so they decided to try to get to Istanbul, 18 hours away, where another sister and her family lived. "I was worried about my sister; how was she going to feed her baby," Servet said.
His father tried to make the two-hour trip from Adiyaman to Malatya to retrieve his family and get them to Istanbul, but the roads were impassable.
Fatma Dag, mother of Fort Collins resident Servet Dag, sits in a shelter following the Feb. 6 Turkish earthquake that damaged her daughter's home in Malatya, Turkey.
With tens of thousands of people trying to make their way out of the city, buses were full but Sultan's husband was able to get two tickets for her, the baby and her mother. Sultan's husband stayed behind to try to rebuild his barbershop.
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Before they could leave, Servet asked his sister to see medical staff at the shelter to make sure she was strong enough to travel. "They said she was OK to make the trip," he said.
Still, travel was arduous. Sultan still had stitches from the C-section, food was scarce, hygiene minimal and they were sleeping in their seats, Servet said. "I can't imagine what she was going through. I was worried about infection" and her ability to produce enough breast milk to feed the baby, he said.
Today, the family is safe in Istanbul, living with her sister's family in a two-bedroom house. It's tight but everyone is safe and healthy, Servet said. His brother-in-law is working on fixing the barbershop so he can start working again. If he isn't working, he can't support his family, said Servet, who is helping financially as best he can.
Sultan Akboga cradles her newborn, Yusuf Ali, while staying at a shelter for refugees following the Turkish earthquake on Feb. 6
Being 6,000 miles away during the crisis "has been difficult," he said. "Family is very important. I am trying to help as much as I can." Recovery "will be a long process ... it will take years to heal the region."
He feels fortunate that his family is alive and safe while so many others are mourning the dead. A childhood friend and the friend's child were trapped under the rubble of their home. His friend's wife and another child were able to get out. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reported about 1.6 million people are being housed in temporary shelters.
"Every single one of the 43,000 dead was a body who is unable to be with their family; so many children orphaned," said Servet, who has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for earthquake victims, including his family.
A fundraiser held by Fort Collins' small Turkish community last weekend helped raise money, although the amount is still being tallied, Servet said. More fundraisers will be coming.
Damage at Sultan Akboga's apartment in Malatya, Turkey, following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
How to help victims of the earthquakes in Turkey
On Facebook, check the Turkey Strong group.
Turkish Red Crescent (Red Cross affiliate)
Red Crescent organizations in both Turkey and Syria said their teams were helping with recovery and aid efforts. Both organizations are members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, an international network of disaster relief agencies.
The American Red Cross said Turkish Red Crescent workers and volunteers were distributing food and medical aid.
The White Helmets
The White Helmets, also known as Syria Civil Defense, are a humanitarian aid organization that operates in rebel-controlled areas of Syria. The volunteer group has experience providing emergency services to the victims of the countrys civil war.
The White Helmets said it had mobilized 3,000 volunteers to help search for earthquake victims.
It asked for donations to support its efforts.
Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders is another humanitarian medical aid group.
The nonprofit said its staff was providing medical supplies and support to 23 hospitals treating earthquake victims in Idlib and Aleppo in Syria. It started a donation page for its earthquake recovery efforts.
International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation
The International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation has offices in Gaziantep, Turkey, near the epicenter of the quake, and has been providing aid to victims since the first quake struck on Feb. 6. The foundation set up a relief fund.
Charity Navigator tips
Charity Navigator, which rates charities, gives the following tips on giving to disaster relief.
Donate to reputable, registered charities.
Monetary donations are the most effective.
Consider giving monthly donations for long-term recovery efforts as many disaster relief groups see donations taper off after just a few weeks.
Charity Navigator has also published its own list of organizations aiding in Syria and Turkey.
USA Today contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins resident raises funds for family following Turkish quake
[Source]
A fourth man has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of 43-year-old Jin Shin, a Korean American business owner and community leader in Dallas.
Keeton Sheppard, 34, was taken into custody on Tuesday for his alleged role in the crime, which took place on South University Drive at around 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2022.
The incident reportedly started after Shins Jeep hit the rear of a sedan, resulting in a minor collision. Later, several vehicles pulled up at the scene, including a Chrysler that had Markynn Dmorous West Shins alleged shooter as a passenger.
Eight people surrounded Shin in the ensuing confrontation punching, chasing and preventing him from returning to his car. His keys were also stolen from him.
More from NextShark: Family of Filipino worker brutally murdered in Kuwait rejects employers blood money
At some point, Shin managed to retrieve a handgun from his vehicle. According to police, however, he kept it pointed down and never used it during the incident.
West then allegedly took his own gun, pursued Shin and fired multiple shots at him. The latter was found dead at a median away from the scene.
West was the first suspect arrested in the case. He was taken into custody on Sept. 7, 2022, followed by Kameron Taylor on Dec. 9, 2022, Quamon Deshun White on New Years Day and Sheppard this week.
More from NextShark: Man accused of throwing liquid on 2 Asian women on NYC subway charged with hate crimes
Taylor, White and Sheppards exact roles in the incident are unclear. But similar to West, they all face murder charges.
Shin, who is survived by a 14-year-old daughter, has been described by friends as a pillar of Dallas' Asian community. Born in South Korea, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1983, lived in three states Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas joined the U.S. Marine Corps and obtained his business degree from Western Governors University.
Shin ran a family karaoke and co-owned a Korean restaurant. A few months before his death, he reportedly started a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe to help victims of the May 11 Hair World Salon shooting.
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More from NextShark: Deported Cambodian refugee returns home to Southern California after 11 years
He has served his country and community in many ways, a GoFundMe page organized by friends states. He made an impact on many people with his genuine sincerity.
As of this writing, the fundraiser has collected $100,534. Proceeds will be used for his funeral and legal fees, while amounts in excess will be given to his daughter.
More from NextShark: Enough is enough: Oakland Chinatown leader calls on Newsom to declare state of emergency over string of violent crimes
PARIS (AP) A high school student has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a teacher to death in front of other students Wednesday in a classroom in southwestern France, officials and media reports said.
An investigation has been opened for suspected premeditated murder into the incident at a private Catholic school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Bayonne prosecutor Jerome Bourrier said. Investigators were able to interview the suspect on Wednesday afternoon, he added.
The student was not previously known to police and justice services, Bourrier noted. He declined to provide more details amid the ongoing investigation.
Education Minister Pap Ndiaye, who travelled to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, said a minute of silence will be held in all French schools on Thursday at 3pm.
He said about 90 students, including those who witnessed the attack, as well as some teachers, are being taken care of by a psychology unit.
A top government official, speaking anonymously because he was not allowed to discuss the issue publicly, said first elements communicated by police suggest the attacker has severe mental health issues.
French media reported that the student, born in 2007, said he heard voices telling him to kill the 53-year-old Spanish language teacher.
French government spokesman Olivier Veran, speaking after a weekly Cabinet meeting, expressed the government's support for the education community and said the event represents a trauma for the nation.
In 2020, teacher Samuel Paty was killed outside his school in suburban Paris by an 18-year-old refugee of Chechen origin. The attacker was angry at the teacher showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class after the images were re-published by a satirical newspaper targeted in a 2015 attack.
A Fresno man who is accused of using a hammer to kill his mother will face a jury trial, a Fresno County judge ruled Tuesday.
Judge Brian Alvarez found there was enough evidence for Gilberto Tiznado, 43, to be tried for murdering his 56-year-old mother, Guadalupe Rivera Guzman, on Oct. 19, 2019 inside her central Fresno home.
If convicted, Tiznado faces 26-years-to-life in prison.
Prosecutor David Olmos alleges Tiznado killed his mother after getting into an argument with her over seeking treatment for his addiction to methamphetamine and taking greater responsibility for his children.
In a videotaped interview with detectives, shown during his preliminary hearing, Tiznado admits to killing his mother.
But, the defendant says during the interview, it was voices in his head that were telling him to do it.
I knew it was wrong, and I didnt want to do it, Tiznado told detectives Daniel Laband and Bart Ledbetter. But the voices kept telling me.
Tiznado says during the interview that he took a large hammer from inside the home, walked into the kitchen where his mother had just cooked him breakfast and struck her several times in the head until she collapsed on the floor.
I kept striking her and striking her, and then I ran back to my room crying my head off, Tiznado tells detectives.
He went back a short time later to see if she was breathing and she was. He hit her a few more times until she was dead, he says during the interview.
Tiznado says he then grabbed some towels and bleach to clean up the blood on the kitchen floor. He also used a blanket from his mothers bedroom and a black plastic bag to cover the body.
As he was thinking about what to do next, his brother Miguel Guererro came home from working out of state and confronted his brother about what he had done.
Tiznado, in the taped interview, says he considered killing his brother, as well.
I was going to whack him, he tells detectives. I had the hammer right there and I was going to whack him.
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Guererro testified that he was shocked to find his mother wrapped in a black plastic bag and a blanket. He called 911 and tried CPR to revive her but it was too late.
Guererro, who has had his own battles with addiction to methamphetamine, appeared reluctant to implicate his brother.
Under questioning by prosecutor David Olmos, Guererro said he doesnt know what happened to their mother and wants his brother to be free.
I love my brother and I want him out, Guererro said.
Defense attorney Greg Gross raised a doubt about Tiznados mental competency on Oct. 17, 2022 and the judge ordered the defendant be evaluated by Dr. Luis H. Velosa, a psychiatrist from Visalia.
Velosa found Tiznado is competent to stand trial and Judge Gabriel Brickey allowed the case to move forward.
Tiznados next court appearance is March 8 in Department 30.
Some of the same genetic mutations can lead to FTD, ALS or symptoms of both. antoniokhr/iStock via Getty Images Plus
Around 55 million people worldwide suffer from dementia such as Alzheimers disease. Recently, the actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, a rare type of dementia that typically affects people ages 45 to 64. In contrast to Alzheimers, in which the major initial symptom is memory loss, FTD typically involves changes in behavior.
The initial symptoms of FTD may include changes in personality, behavior and language production. For instance, some FTD patients exhibit inappropriate social behavior, impulsivity and loss of empathy. Others struggle to find words and to express themselves. This insidious disease can be especially hard for families and loved ones to deal with. There is no cure for FTD, and there are no effective treatments.
Up to 40% of FTD cases have some family history, which means a genetic cause may run in the family. Since researchers identified the first genetic mutations that cause FTD in 1998, more than a dozen genes have been linked to the disease. These discoveries provide an entry point to determine the mechanisms that underlie the dysfunction of neurons and neural circuits in the brain and to use that knowledge to explore potential approaches to treatment.
I am a researcher who studies the development of FTD and related disorders, including the motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrigs disease, results in progressive muscle weakness and death. Uncovering the similarities in pathology and genetics between FTD and ALS could lead to new ways to treat both diseases.
Genetic causes of FTD
Genes contain the instructions cells use to make the proteins that carry out functions essential to life. Mutated genes can result in mutated proteins that lose their normal function or become toxic.
How mutated proteins contribute to FTD has been under intense investigation for decades. For instance, one of the key proteins in FTD, called tau, helps stabilize certain structures in neurons and can form clumps in diseased brains. Another key protein, progranulin, regulates cell growth and a part of the cell called the lysosome that breaks down cellular waste products.
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Remarkably, the most common genetic mutation in FTD in a gene called C9orf72 also causes ALS. In fact, apart from the mutations in genes that encode for tau and progranulin, most genetic mutations that cause FTD also cause ALS. Another protein, TDP-43, forms clumps in the brains of over 95% of ALS cases and almost half of FTD cases. Thus, these disorders share close links in genetics and pathology.
Modifier genes
The same genetic mutation can cause FTD in one patient, ALS in another or symptoms of both FTD and ALS at the same time. Remarkably, some people who carry these genetic mutations may have no obvious symptoms for decades.
One reason the same mutation can cause both FTD and ALS is that, in addition to lifestyle and environmental factors, other genes may also influence whether mutated genes lead to disease. Identifying these modifier genes in FTD, ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases could lead to new treatment approaches by boosting the activity of those that protect against disease or suppressing the activity of those that promote disease.
Modifier genes have long been a focus of research in my laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. When my laboratory was still in San Francisco, we collaborated with neurologist Bruce Miller and generated the first stem cell lines from FTD patients with mutations in progranulin and C9orf72. These stem cells can be turned into neurons for researchers to study in a petri dish. My team also uses fruit flies to identify modifier genes and then test how they influence disease in neurons from patients with FTD or ALS.
For instance, in close collaboration with cell biologist J. Paul Taylor, my laboratory was among the first to discover a small subset of modifier genes that help transport molecules into or out of the nucleus of a neuron. We also discovered modifier genes that encode for some proteins that help repair damaged DNA. Targeting these modifier genes using gene-silencing techniques developed by Nobel laureate Craig Mello and other researchers at UMass Chan could offer potential treatments.
Treating behavioral changes in FTD
Because the brain is an extremely complex organ, it can be very difficult to understand what causes personality and behavioral changes in FTD patients.
Over the years, my team has used mice to study the causes of these changes. For instance, we found that the reduced social interaction we observed in mice engineered to have FTD is linked to two different disease proteins in the same part of the brain, suggesting that this symptom may be caused by defects in the same neural circuit. These deficits could be reversed by injecting a molecule called microRNA-124 into the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls social behaviors.
Moreover, with my longtime collaborator neuroscientist Wei-Dong Yao, our labs found that mice with FTD have defects at the synapses in this part of the brain. Synapses are areas where neurons are in contact with each other and play an important role in transporting information in the nervous system. Recently, he found that lack of empathy in another mouse model of FTD could be reversed by increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex.
Further research to understand the molecular mechanisms and brain circuitry behind FTD offer hope that its devastating symptoms, including behavioral and personality changes, will be treatable in the future.
This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
It was written by: Fen-Biao Gao, UMass Chan Medical School.
Read more:
Fen-Biao Gao receives and has previously received funding from the NIH, The Muscular Dystrophy Association, The Association for FTD, Target ALS Foundation, The ALS Association, The Tau Consortium, The Consortium for Frontotemporal Dementia Research, The Ricico Fund, The Cellucci Fund, Merck, and Stealth BioTherapeutics. He works for the NIH as a member of its CMND study section, for The Muscular Dystrophy Association as a member of its Research Advisory Council and for The Association for FTD as a member of its Scientific Review Panel.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy travels to the U.S.-Mexico border south of Sierra Vista on Feb. 16, 2023.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited the Arizona-Mexico border for his first time since his election to that position. With him were other GOP House members, including a new lawmaker from Arizona, Rep. Juan Ciscomani.
This stop was seen as an indicator of how Republicans plan to handle border security and immigration issues. They now hold a House majority in a split Congress.
This week on The Gaggle, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by Arizona Republic reporter Rafael Carranza. He was in Cochise County during the visit.
Listen to the episode
The best way to listen is to subscribe to The Gaggle on your favorite podcast app, but you also can stream the full episode below.
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Questions welcome
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Reach the reporter at aluberto@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandaluberto.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gaggle podcast: Border security issues take center stage in Arizona
The foreperson of Georgias special grand jury investigating the attempt by Donald Trump and his associates to overturn the 2020 election results in the state laughed when told that the former president claims to have been exonerated.
Emily Kohrs, 30, a resident of north Fulton, was asked to respond to Mr Trumps claim of total exoneration on Tuesday.
She rolled her eyes and burst out laughing. Did he really say that? she asked. Oh, thats fantastic. Thats phenomenal. I love it.
The former president had earlier posted on social media: Thank you to the special grand jury in the great state of Georgia for your patriotism and courage. Total exoneration.
When she was asked if she had any response, the grand jury foreperson said: I invoke my Fifth Amendment right. Thats what I have to say to that.
The special grand jury has recommended indictments against more than a dozen individuals on multiple charges in its report, only parts of which have been released.
It is not a short list, Ms Kohrs, the grand jurys foreperson, said. She said the jury appended eight pages of legal code that we cited at various points in the report.
Grand Jury Foreperson in Georgia says I don't think that there are any giant plot twists coming pic.twitter.com/tj6YU2Watp Acyn (@Acyn) February 21, 2023
Ms Kohrs served as the leader of the 23-person special grand jury, which met behind closed doors from May last year until January and heard testimony from 75 witnesses.
Her identity was unveiled early Tuesday.
Really hope someone is advising Emily Kohrs on safety & security precautions for her own well-being. Also really hoping that her decision to go public as a Georgia Grand Jury foreperson, about one of the most significant cases for our country, doesnt hurt the outcome in the end. Olivia of Troye (@OliviaTroye) February 22, 2023
In the interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ms Kohrs said the gravity of the special grand jurys work wasnt lost on her. I told my boyfriend at one point during the proceeding, during all this, I came home and I told him - Do you know that if I was in a room with Donald Trump and Joseph Biden and they knew who I was, they would both want to speak to me.
She also described the experience of being on the special grand jury as really cool.
ATLANTA The Georgia grand jury that investigated possible interference in the 2020 election by Donald Trump and his allies recommended indicting over a dozen people, the jury foreperson said Tuesday a list she said "might" include the former president.
"There are certainly names that you will recognize, yes. There are names also you might not recognize," Emily Kohrs said in an interview that aired on NBC News Nightly News.
She said the list of recommended indictments is "not a short list."
"There are definitely some names you expect," she said, declining to name any specific names in accordance with the instructions of the judge who presided over the grand jury.
In her first television interview, Emily Kohrs, foreperson for the Georgia grand jury that investigated former Pres. Donald Trump, explains that they recommended indictments for more than a dozen people. (NBC News)
"I dont think that there are any giant plot twists coming. I dont think there's any giant thats not the way I expected this to go at all moments," she said. I would not expect you to be shocked."
Asked whether the list could include Trump, Kohrs said, "Potentially. It might."
The panel was convened in May and officially dissolved last month after it submitted its recommendations to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' office.
Parts of the grand jury report made public last week revealed the panel had interviewed 75 witnesses and recommended perjury charges against "one or more witnesses" who testified before it. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered those names be kept under wraps for time being as the DA decides whether to seek charges.
Kohrs said the panel thought one or possibly two witnesses might have misled the grand jury.
I remember at least one and probably more than one moment where an answer made me pause, because it did not match something that either I had heard previously or something that I had seen, she said.
A witness who did strike her as honest was Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who'd fought his subpoena for testimony in the courts.
Willis wanted him questioned about a post-election phone call he made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in November 2020. Raffensperger has said Graham pressed him about whether he had the power to reject certain absentee ballots, which Raffensperger interpreted as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes.
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Kohrs said Graham was "fantastic," adding: "He was personable. He was forthcoming. He was very willing to just have a conversation."
She said she was also impressed by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who'd also challenged his subpoena. "He may have fought it tooth and nail, but when he got to the door, it was like he respected the fact that the battle had been decided," Kohrs said.
While he did at some points claim attorney-client privilege and assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, "he would think about it before he asserted privilege," she said.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, meanwhile, "shared very little" during his roughly 90 minutes of testimony, she said.
Another witness whom Kohrs did not identify was offered immunity on the witness stand after not having been responsive to questions, she said. In all, about a dozen witnesses had some form of immunity, Kohrs said, and they were not generally well-known names.
The special purpose grand jury is different from a typical grand jury it has the ability to issue subpoenas, and rather than issue indictments, it submits its findings to the district attorney, who then decides whether to present evidence to another grand jury for criminal charges.
Kohrs said one of the first pieces of evidence the panel reviewed was the widely reported audio of the Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump urged Raffensperger, the states top election official, to overturn Joe Bidens win. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state, Trump said on the call.
Kohrs said that she was busy with work at the time news of the phone call broke and that the first time she heard it was when she was sitting on the grand jury. She said it was one of the first pieces of evidence the panel heard.
"It's an interesting piece of the puzzle, a strange piece of the puzzle," Kohrs said.
Trump, who has defended the call as "perfect," called Willis's investigation a "witch hunt.
Kohrs said she did not vote in either the 2016 or 2020 elections but volunteered to be foreperson because "this is really cool, and because this is important."
"I think we discovered a lot about a very, very complex situation," she said. "I think we found a lot of answers."
Blayne Alexander reported from Atlanta and Dareh Gregorian from New York.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
(Bloomberg) -- Germany ordered two Iranian diplomats to leave the country in short order after a German-Iranian man was sentenced to death on Tuesday over accusations of organizing a bomb attack in 2008 and collaborating with the US and Israel.
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Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she summoned the charge daffaires of the Iranian embassy in Berlin and informed them that Germany doesnt accept the massive violation of the rights of a German citizen. In an emailed statement, she also urged Iran to allow the condemned man, Jamshid Sharmahd, a fair and constitutional appeal process.
Sharmahd led a California-based, pro-monarchy group called the Kingdom Assembly of Iran and campaigned for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and its regime.
He was arrested by Iranian intelligence in July 2020 in what they described as a complex operation, according to state media reports at the time. Sharmahds family told the Associated Press that he was visiting Dubai when he was abducted by Iranian agents and forcibly taken to Iran.
The Iranian regime is battling its own people in every imaginable way and is disregarding human rights, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Twitter, calling the death sentence unacceptable.
We condemn it in the strongest terms and call on the Iranian regime to overturn the ruling, he added.
(Updates with comments from Scholz in last two paragraphs.)
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At a recent press conference, Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled a plan for distributing $205.7 million of legal settlement money received from opiod manufacturers and distributors.
Describing the opiod crises as a serious issue thats not just affecting Florida, but every corner of the United States, the Governor outlined how he will fill the gaps in services and ensure individuals have access to care 24/7.
More people are dying from drug overdoses than car crashes every year in our country, he said.
Distributing the money between state and local programs, more than $10 million dollars will be used to establish the Office of Opioid Recovery within Floridas Department of Children and Families to oversee the preventative care, treatment and recovery of residents battling mental illness or addiction. Researchers and epidemiologists within the office are expected to identify issues and counsel Floridians during recovery.
The largest chunk, over $92 million, will be used for treatment programs including up to five on-demand mobile units. Services include on-site assessments, recovery support services, and specific medications for substance abuse.
More than $39 million dollars will be used to prevent addiction through education. Awareness campaigns will target middle and high school students outlining the dangers of substance abuse. This includes $14 million dollars for Naloxone Saturation, a medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.
Building upon its recently established Coordinated Opioid Recovery (CORE) network, DeSantis says he will use $26.8 million to add 17 additional counties to the states already existing twelve to combat the spread of the illicit use of opioids. According to DeSantis, CORE which was established last August, disrupts the revolving door of addiction through a cohesive coordinated system of care for substance abuse disorder. "
Twelve million dollars will go towards recovery housing with peer support and $11.3 million dollars will be used to develop an integrated statewide database. DeSantis said that from the database, partners will be able to securely share and analyze data as it relates to substance abuse, addiction, treatment, health, opiod crime and serious adverse events related to overdose.
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We want to stop illicit drugs from entering our state, hold dealers accountable, educate Floridians on the dangers and provide treatment that breaks the addiction cycle, Governor DeSantis said.
Grammy-nominated producer Tay Keith has been behind some of todays biggest records. The producer is known for Travis Scotts and Drakes Sicko Mode, Beyonces Before I Let Go rendition, and Moneybagg Yo and Lil Babys U Played, to name a few.
Tay Keiths success in creating for top artists led him to launch a studio to support people making their own music. However, its location raised questions for outsiders.
The post Grammy-Nominated Producer Tay Keith Has The First Black-Owned Hip-Hop Studio Coming To Nashville appeared first on AfroTech.
In an interview with Earn Your Leisure, Tay Keith explains why he opened the first Black-owned Hip-Hop studio in Nashville, TN, instead of his hometown of Memphis.
Nashville is known as music city. Whys it known as music city? Because its the home capital for country music and pop, Tay Keith tells Earn Your Leisure. The thing is you have all of these big pop records and big country artists blowing up out of Nashville, Tennessee. Why cant it be a first Black-owned Hip-Hop studio in the middle of the two? So I was like, its a big fish, small pond.
Although the producer has worked with artists across genres like country and pop, he wanted to maximize his Hip-Hop influence in Music City.
As far as Hip-Hop, thats my niche. Im a Black Hip-Hop studio owner in Nashville, Tennessee, he emphasizes.
Whats more, Tay Keith notes that purchasing the building for the studio, thanks to the help of his realtor, was his first commercial property. Along with putting 15 percent down, he says he put an extra $50,000 into renovating it.
I feel like you spend $100,000 on jewelry, he says while on the episode. You spend 200 racks on cars. You could go buy property. You could go commercial. You aint gotta just go buy cribsthe least you can do is rent them out.
While the studio is not yet open, the producer says construction is ongoing with one room complete, as of this writing.
CNN
The forewoman in the Georgia grand jury impaneled to investigate Donald Trumps 2020 election meddling in that state said in a CNN interview Tuesday that she would be sad and frustrated if no charges were brought as a result of the time-intensive process.
Emily Kohrs, who had told reporters earlier in the day that the grand jurys recommendation of multiple indictments didnt include some giant plot twist, appeared on CNNs Outfront to follow up.
I will be sad if nothing happens. Thats about my only request there is for something to happen. I dont necessarily know what it is. Im not the legal expert. Im not the judge. Im not the lawyers. But I will be frustrated if nothing happens, Kohrs told host Kate Bolduan.
This was too much too much information, too much of my time, too much of everyones time, too much of their time, too much argument in court about getting people to appear before us, she added of the work undertaken by the grand jury, which convened last May. There was just too much for this to just be, Oh, OK, were good. Bye!
Kohrs added that if Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis were to only bring perjury charges, she would be satisfied, reiterating, I will be happy as long as something happens.
During the interview, Kohrs was also asked about how Trump, in a Truth Social post, claimed that the release of a portion of the grand jurys report last week amounted to a total exoneration.
I did see that today, which was fascinating. Im not positive he read the right document, Kohrs reacted.
But I will say that if what he is talking about was our statement where we indicated that there was no evidence of widespread vote fraud in the Georgia 2020 election, that mightve been what he meant? Other than that, Im not positive what he meant by that. Id be interested to know.
And as to whether or not Kohrs, the only grand jury member whose identity is publicly known, is worried about her safety, she said that she is not, though she is cautious.
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Im aware of my safety, but Im not worried, Kohrs said. I dont think I did or any of the jury members did anything that says we believe one way or the other about politics [or] about any of these issues. I think we were impaneled to find facts, and I think we did our best to find those facts and share those facts with the district attorney and her office. And I feel like thats where it ends.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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A 22-year-old former University of Kentucky student accused of hurling racial slurs at a Black student desk clerk has been criminally indicted on all charges by a Fayette County Grand Jury.
The grand jury indicted Sophia Rosing Tuesday on all six counts that she was initially charged with: third-degree assault of a police officer, two counts of fourth-degree assault, second-degree disorderly conduct and alcohol intoxication.
The incident took place at Boyd Residence Hall where Rosing, a white student, entered and began taunting, using racial slurs and making derogatory comments toward Kylah Spring, a Black student, according to videos of the incident and court records. After police arrived, Rosing continued using slurs, resisted arrest and bit a police officer, according to the arrest report.
Videos of the incident went viral on social media.
In November, Rosing was permanently banned from campus and is not eligible to re-enroll, according to an email from President Eli Capilouto. She was also fired from jobs as a student influencer, and another job at Dillards.
The indictment alleges she kicked a UK police officer and bit and hit three other victims, including Spring.
Rosing is scheduled to be arraigned in circuit court on March 17 at 10:30 a.m. with Fayette Circuit Judge Lucy VanMeter.
A grandmother has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing her 7-year-old granddaughter multiple times with a kitchen knife.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning when police were called to a home in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City regarding a 7-year-old girl who had allegedly been stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife by her own grandmother, according to ABC News New York City station WABC.
MORE: Grandmother charged with murder in beating death of her 8-year-old granddaughter
Police found the young girl lying on the bed of her apartment and was immediately taken to Lincoln Hospital where she was listed in critical condition, according to WABC.
"[The police officer] came out running from where he was at with the little girl. The property that they have is a couple of houses away. So we just seen that he came out running, witness Ana Martinez told WABC in an interview following the incident. The cop car was right in front of my property. So he just put her right in the cop car. He didn't wait for the ambulance."
PHOTO: The grandmother of a 7-year-old girl, who was found stabbed multiple times in an apartment in the Bronx on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, was arrested and charged with attempted murder. (ABC News / WABC)
The girl's grandmother, 65-year-old Mariza Yauger, was immediately taken into police custody as a person of interest and was later arrested and charged with attempted murder, attempted manslaughter, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child, according to WABC.
MORE: Ohio grandmother charged with murder of 5-year-old grandson after allegedly beating him to death
Im a grandmother myself, neighbor China Aponte told WABC. I just dont even have words for it. My heart is broken. It is sad. Very sad.
The girl's uncle told WABC that she has since undergone surgery and is recovering in the hospital. There is currently no known motive for the attack.
Grandmother charged with attempted murder after 7-year-old stabbed multiple times with kitchen knife originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Anthony Blinken
During a dinner in honor of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinkens visit to Athens late on Feb. 20, Mitsotakis said that it would be impossible for Greece to allow there to be a gap in its defense system without making prompt replacement arrangements.
Read also: Germany and Greece discuss supplying weapons to Ukraine
As reported by the news website, Athens wants to work with the United States to decommission its Russian-made weapons.
Also, both sides are preparing for a program to widely replace the Russian weapons with U.S. weapons.
Read also: Greece donates armored vehicles and ammunition to Ukraine
Earlier the media reported that Greece was ready to transfer its Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine only if the United States deploys its Patriot anti-missile systems in the southern Greek island of Crete instead.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A Connecticut woman is recovering in the hospital after being stabbed at her home by a man who police say had been actively stalking her.
Police said 35-year-old Damion Davis frequented the Sams Food Store where the 23-year-old clerk worked. Davis had allegedly stalked the clerk for some time before showing up to her home on Feb. 15, according to a news release from the Manchester Police Department.
Surveillance footage showed Davis outside the clerks basement doors, waiting for her to come home, according to an arrest warrant obtained by WFSB.
When the clerk came home, Davis went inside after her and stabbed her in the kitchen, WFSB reported. Davis, who was wearing a black ski mask, ran from the house after stabbing her, according to authorities.
Police said that three of the clerks family members were home at the time and that the clerk was conscious when emergency services arrived. She was taken to a hospital, where she underwent surgery for her stab wounds and she is in stable condition.
An arrest warrant for Davis said he had spent 40 minutes before the stabbing at a smoke shop, where he told others that he was dating the clerk, as reported by WFSB.
Police arrested Davis on Feb. 16. He told police where he left the knife after stabbing the clerk, and police used the information to find the weapon.
Davis is charged with assault, home invasion, carrying a dangerous weapon, burglary and stalking.
Manchester is about 10 miles east of Hartford.
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A group of local citizens says the Shasta County Board of Supervisors intent to adopt a Second Amendment resolution at its meeting this evening violates Californias open meeting law.
In a news release, Susanne Baremore, of Shasta County Citizens for Stable Government, said the boards consideration of the resolution is a violation of the Brown Act because it does not clearly state the intent of the resolution in the agenda description.
Susanne Baremore
Baremore said the group, which she characterizes as a cross-section of the community, submitted a cease-and-desist letter to supervisors on Tuesday morning.
According to the Brown Act, agendas for public meetings of governing boards much accurately describe an issue and the actions to be taken, the news release states.
Baremore said the group wants supervisors to follow the law and believes the resolution, as written, is unconstitutional, and is at odds with open meeting laws.
Labeled under Board Matters as agenda item R4, the item reads, Adopt a resolution in support of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.
District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones, who is chairman of the board, put the resolution on the agenda. Jones also helps manage his familys gun store, Jones Fort, in Redding.
Shasta County Supervisor Patrick Jones stands behind a counter at Jones' Fort, the family gun store he manages on East Cypress Avenue in Redding in 2021.
I believe it reenforces the Second Amendment that people have the right to keep and bear arms, Jones has said of the resolution.
A key part of the resolution states that supervisors and all county officers, officials and employees have the right to not enforce any past, present, and future state or federal laws, regulations, orders, treaties, or rules that violate the Second Amendment as determined by precedential decisions made by courts of competent jurisdictions.
Dig deeper:Deja vu: Shasta supervisor wants to allow county employees to carry guns to work
Jones has said any county official or elected leader who violates this could be reprimanded.
The resolution supervisors will consider was initially drafted by the California Rifle and Pistol Association in collaboration with the groups local chapter. County Counsel Rubin Cruse Jr. reviewed the resolution and submitted a heavily red-line-edited version to supervisors.
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While the proposed resolution has been heavily edited by Shasta County Counsel, the group expects the board majority will ignore most, if not all, the changes recommended to ensure the document is legally compliant, the group says in the news release.
Whats more, the resolutions call for a loyalty oath from county employees runs contrary to the California Constitution, Baremores group says.
She said her group has not yet obtain legal representation.
"Several of us have tried to obtain legal counsel on both this issue and the issue of the Dominion voting machines. We are having a difficult time finding an attorney locally who doesn't have a conflict of interest or room in their case load," Baremore said.
Shasta Citizens for Stable Government is asking supervisors to remove the Second Amendment Resolution from the agenda and reintroduced it at a later meeting with an accurate description which specifies the policies, procedures, and other administrative protocols which will be drafted or amended as directed by the proposed resolution.
The group also believes that Jones holds a conflict of interest because his family owns a local gun store, which it says would benefit from the resolution.
Meanwhile, Cheryl McKinley, a local Democratic party activist, is asking residents to come to Board of Supervisors Chambers this evening and sign a petition asking supervisors to not approve the Second Amendment resolution. She also wants supporters to bring signs that protest the resolution.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Group: Shasta Supervisors' Second Amendment resolution violates law
A growing group of New Jersey politicians have called for an offshore wind activity moratorium, despite multiple scientists saying whale deaths off the Northeast coast this winter aren't elevated compared to previous years and show no link to offshore wind.
The latest salvo came Tuesday. A group of New Jersey mayors sent a letter to the state's congressional delegation seeking an immediate moratorium on all offshore wind activities until an investigation is held by federal and state agencies that confidently determine these activities are not a contributing factor in the whale deaths.
Twenty-two large whales have died along the U.S. Atlantic coast since Dec. 1, including 16 humpback whales between North Carolina and New York. Experts say that's not unusual because large whale deaths have been high in the region for years, with a dozen each in New Jersey and New York in 2019, and 22 total in the two states in 2020.
However, the latest deaths have become a Republican cause celebre for the first time. Individuals and organizations with ties to the fossil fuel industry have denounced the clean energy expansion efforts of President Joe Biden and New Jerseys governor, Democrat Phil Murphy.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green and FOX News commentator Tomi Lahren have commented about the whale deaths and FOX commentator Tucker Carlson aired a series of segments on the deaths.
Whale deaths exploited: A 'cynical disinformation' campaign against offshore wind power, advocates say
Groups that have advocated for whale protection for decades say the whale deaths are being exploited to advance a political agenda.
What do scientists say about the whale deaths?
The number of whales that have stranded this winter is in no way unusual, said Andy Read, a whale scientist and professor at Duke Universitys Marine Laboratory. Its getting a lot more attention.
There's absolutely no evidence linking the deaths to offshore wind projects, Read said.
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The Marine Mammal Commission, an independent federal agency, reiterated Tuesday that the deaths are among a series of unusual mortality events for whales that began in 2016 and 2017.
"Although these strandings have generated media interest and public scrutiny, this is not an unusually large number of whales to strand during winter," the commission stated.
Federal scientists with both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management also have stated theres no evidence the wind activities authorized so far could be fatal to whales.
Though whale deaths in the region are consistent with deaths in recent years, they're also a reflection of conservation successes.
Whale deaths: Feds research whale mystery after more than a dozen dead whales wash up along East Coast
More whales found dead: 2 more whales found dead along Atlantic coast. NOAA says they were likely hit by boats.
More humpback whales, more vessel collisions
The humpback population is growing in the Gulf of Maine and Northwest Atlantic. When animal populations recover and grow, deaths also increase, from human and natural causes, Read said.
As humpbacks have increased in number, studies show younger whales arent migrating with other humpbacks to the Caribbean in the winter, and instead remain along the mid-Atlantic and New England, making them more vulnerable to ship strikes.
The region includes some of the nations busiest shipping channels. New York Harbor is the nations second busiest, and the St. Lawrence Seaway is among the worlds top 10 busiest.
See vessels offshore: MarineTraffic.com's live map
In cases where a cause of death can be determined, Read said, about 40% of humpback deaths show traumatic, blunt force injuries from vessel collisions.
New Jersey politicians seek moratorium
The mayors are concerned about acoustic surveys taking place offshore, according to a news release distributed by the Warwick Group Consultants. The surveys were permitted by NOAA and BOEM.
"While we are not opposed to clean energy, we are concerned about the impacts these projects may already be having on our environment," the letter stated.
READ MORE: Read the mayors' letter
In total, 30 mayors signed the letter, 12 of whom had also sent a letter earlier in February. All but six are Republican.
Tuesday's news release also claimed the U.S. Coast Guard at Barnegat Light had reported additional dead whales floating at sea. However, Coast Guard representatives at Barnegat Light and at the Coast Guard Delaware Bay sector office said Tuesday they have no reports of any whales floating offshore.
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READ MORE: Latest climate change news from USA TODAY
At least one member of New Jersey's congressional delegation, Rep. Chris Smith, is also concerned. Smith, a Republican who has been supportive of wind in the past, introduced a bill Friday that would require the Governmental Accounting Office within 60 days to undertake a far-reaching study of the federal environmental review processes for offshore wind projects.
In a response to Smith's proposal on Tuesday, American Clean Power spokesman Jason Ryan said the offshore wind industry conducts extensive impact studies to protect marine life, working "hand in hand" with federal officials.
Have the whale deaths set a record?
Five humpback deaths have been reported in New Jersey since Jan. 1, matching the five humpback deaths reported in the state for all of 2019. However, over the past eight years, humpback deaths in New Jersey and New York fluctuated up and down from year to year with one state or the other seeing more whale deaths.
In 2020, the two states saw 22 dead whales, with 14 of those humpbacks.
Large whale deaths along the Atlantic coast since 2007, have averaged 52 a year since 2007. The 43 deaths last year, including the December deaths, were the lowest since 2015.
Anyone who sees a dead or injured whale is asked to call the NOAA Fisheries hotline at 866-755-6622.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Whale deaths and windmills: More New Jersey mayors contradict experts
Drive into Plains, Georgia, from nearby Americus, and there is no doubt whose hometown you are entering.
"Welcome to historic Plains Georgia, home of Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States," reads the roadside sign. Plains and the Carter family are interwoven. The town, where Carter grew up and still resides, shaped the future president, but the president has also shaped the town.
With the recent announcement that Carter entered hospice care at his home, a short stroll from the intersection that marks downtown, national attention is once more focused on Plains. But the town is accustomed to welcoming out-of-towners. While the population proper is about 700 people, as many as 80,000 tourists annually visit the farming community in south Georgia.
Carter in hospice:Former President Jimmy Carter enters hospice care at 98, charity says
"I think it's the ... phenomenon of a small town boy ... actually becoming the president of the United States" that brings people in, said Millard Simmons, a lifelong resident who has served on several boards to oversee and develop Plains. "President Carter's very unique. President Carter could have lived anywhere in the world he wanted to live, but he wanted to come back to a place that I think he loves; I know he loves."
Four sites across the town are national parks, including Carter's boyhood home, the former high school, the Depot that served as Carter's campaign headquarters, and the current Carter family home, which is managed by the National Park Service and will eventually become open to the public. Other historical sites associated with the family are marked by plaques and walking tour signs.
"When President Carter was elected governor back in the seventies, tourists started coming to Plains," said Jill Stuckey, the superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. "And ever since, you know there's been ebbs and flows. But Plains today, we cater to tourists. We love seeing the tourists come to town."
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The Carters leave a legacy
The Carters were one of the original families in Plains, Simmons said. Besides the farm, Carter's family owned some of the warehouses for Plain's other major source of revenue, peanuts an industry that is still going strong in the town.
"We try to buy from the farms, about 7,500 tons a year. That's kind of been our goal," said Jeff Clements, part owner and partner with the Buffalo Peanut Company.
Most of these farms are very local. Clements said one field they buy from is in the city limits of Plains. Besides buying and holding commercial peanuts, the company also stores, processes and annually returns about 12,000 tons of seed peanuts to farmers across the region.
Atlanta: At Jimmy Carter library in Atlanta, visitors pay homage to 'a people's president'
"Our daddies handled peanuts and our granddaddies were the ones that put in some of these facilities," Clements said. "So that's the reason why we're still growing peanuts in this area to this day. The dirt, the people and a lot of hardheadedness."
The Buffalo Peanut Company bought warehouses owned by a local family, the Williams, which were interspersed on the same parcel of land with the Carter family warehouses, one of which still has a sign with the Carter family name on it. Now for the first time they are all owned by the same company.
"You had the Carters, and then you had the Williams; good family friends," Clements said. "I guess you could say competitors, but, you know, real cordial."
After his presidency, though, Clements said Carter turned to humanitarian work and got out of farming for the most part.
A sign for Carter's Warehouse can still be seen at the top of one of the warehouse buildings now owned by the Buffalo Peanut Company in Plains, Georgia on Tuesday February 21, 2023.
"He really got involved very heavily in Habitat for Humanity, and so that's primarily where his focus was," Clements said.
It's not just the Carter name or former Carter businesses that mark the town, though. The former president himself and his family have been an active presence in the town.
"I've been here ... going on 78 years," said Curtis Evans, a local resident. "I know everybody around here, know ... President Jimmy Carter, his family and everything."
Evans had fond memories of meeting Carter and Carter's mother.
"I had quite a few meals at her house on Saturday evenings when I used to deliver groceries," he said. "I can't say nothing bad about them."
Embracing the 39th President
The number of tourists is only expected to increase, perhaps even double once Jimmy Carter dies, Simmons said. But the town has been intentional about the way it grew and made use of the Carter presidency, preparing for the broad interest. When he was elected, a delegation of residents visited the Lyndon Johnson ranch in Texas to see what the future might look like.
"The stores had to change once President Carter was elected president, simply because there was a grocery store downtown, but people couldn't get down there because the town was packed with tourists, and therefore there was no place for them to park," he said.
Busts of Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter sit on top of a homemade cabinet at the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site on Tuesday February 21, 2023 in Plains, Georgia.
Since then, though, Simmons said that the town has filled in downtown with new businesses. Twenty years ago, residents formed the Better Hometown Board to purchase decaying properties and put in new businesses. In recent years, the Better Hometown Board turned the properties over to Friends of Jimmy Carter, which now owns a portion of downtown.
"They're using it in order to better the lives of not only tourists but particularly for the people that live here in Plains," he said.
For Evans, the town has managed to be a home. It was sometimes difficult growing up, he said, and he left for a time through the military and working for a railroad company. But Plains was where he settled.
"To me, I can't find a better place," he said. "If I had to do it all over again, I'd do the same thing."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jimmy Carter's legacy shaped Plains, Georgia, his hometown
Authorities Wednesday announced the arrest of a gun trafficking ring that illegally sold dozens of guns in Bucks and Montgomery counties and beyond, including ones that have been tracked to violent crimes around the state.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a news conference that investigators the counties and the Attorney General's Office tracked down eight people that illegally sold 94 firearms through the region.
Steele said the ring was run by Larry Williams, 40, of Philadelphia. The group conducted "straw purchases," and began operating in 2018, according to officials. Williams and seven others, all from Philadelphia, have been charged.
Man charged in gun operation:DA: Philly man bought guns in Bucks, then illegally sold them in the region
Bensalem woman charged:Former corrections officer from Bensalem charged with gun trafficking in Montgomery County
What is straw purchasing?
Straw purchasing is when someone who is legally allowed to purchase a firearm, sells one to someone who is not legally allowed possess it. Those who cannot legally possess a firearm are convicted felons, those convicted of domestic violence, and people with diagnosed mental illness, according to the Montgomery County DA's office.
Straw purchasing and gun trafficking rings have been a focus of many Montgomery County investigations. Many people have been arrested in several county cases, many of which involved people or shops from Bucks County.
In many of these cases, investigators said the guns that were illegally purchased were used to commit crimes elsewhere.
We are taking this very, very seriously," Steele said Wednesday.
Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said before he won reelection in 2021, that his office would have a renewed focus on gun trafficking and straw-purchasing crimes.
To put it bluntly, we are awash in a sea of illegal guns that are too easy to acquire," he said.
Police allege nearly 100 guns were illegally sold
Steele said this gun trafficking ring, which operated in southeastern Pennsylvania, sold 94 guns illegally.
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Abington police allegedly came across the ring last year while conducting an unrelated investigation, which Steele declined to share details of. Detectives used surveillance, interviews, call detail records, cellphone downloads, social media analysis, cash transfers and inspection of purchasing forms to track down the organization, according to the DA's office.
In addition to gun shops, police allege the group also purchased guns at various gun shows in the state.
Williams, who was not legally allowed to possess a weapon, would direct the purchases through text messages with other members of the group, according to the DA's office. After the guns were purchased, Williams was able to quickly sell them, officials said.
Were the firearms recovered?
About 30 of the firearms have since been recovered by law enforcement while investigating other criminal activity. Investigators are still trying to track down the others.
The DA's office said that one was recently recovered in Pittsburgh, nearly two years after it was purchased.
Weapons sold illegally by the organization were found in an armed robbery in Connecticut in October 2021, and two shootings in Philadelphia in 2022, according to police.
What's next in the case?
Robert Cooper III, 23, Ziair Stenson, 26, Malik Rowell-Jernigan, 24, Kevin Lester Logan, 24, Daynell Jones, 40, Zakayla Deshields, 22 and Shadiid Smalley, 23, have all been charged along with Williams.
Their charges include felonies of corrupt organizations, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, criminal use of communications facilities and related offenses.
Everyone but Logan and Deshields have been arrested and jailed on bail.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for March 7.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Nearly 100 guns trafficked in Bucks, Montgomery County region
Kristina Provencio kneels Monday next to a street memorial near the home where Bishop David G. O'Connell was killed in Hacienda Heights. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A 61-year-old man who prosecutors said has admitted that he killed Bishop David G. O'Connell was charged Wednesday with one count of murder in the shooting death of the much lauded religious leader.
Carlos Medina, a handyman whose wife worked as a housekeeper for the bishop , also faces a special allegation of using a firearm during the crime, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascon announced during a news conference Wednesday. If convicted, he could face 35 years to life in prison.
In detailing the charges, Gascon said Medina admitted to the killing to investigators.
"I know this has been a shock for our community," Gascon said. "This was a brutal act of violence against a person who dedicated his life to making our neighborhoods safer, healthier and always served with love."
Medina is accused of killing the 69-year-old priest Saturday in his Hacienda Heights home, where he lived alone.
"His loss is one that I really feel will be felt for years to come," Gascon said. "Charging Mr. Medina will never repair the tremendous harm that was caused by this callous act."
O'Connell was found dead Saturday in his bedroom with multiple gunshot wounds, Gascon said.
In an interview, Gascon said O'Connell was likely asleep when the shooting occurred.
"By all counts, Bishop O'Connell was a saint for Los Angeles," he said.
Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said the firearm involved was a small-caliber weapon and that O'Connell's wounds weren't clearly visible to the deacon who first discovered the bishop's body.
According to the sources, the bishop was shot five times.
Neighbors said they heard no gunshots or unusual noise coming from the home until deputies and paramedics descended on the quiet neighborhood just before 1 p.m. Saturday.
Medina was taken into custody at his Torrance home Monday, after he barricaded himself for some time. Inside, investigators recovered two firearms, including a .38 caliber handgun that detectives suspect he used to kill O'Connell, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
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Investigators were led there two days after the slaying, aided by a tipster who told officials that Medina had been acting strangely since the killing, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday after announcing the arrest.
Surveillance video also showed a "dark, compact SUV" believed to belong to Medina at O'Connell's home at about the same time the killing took place, Luna said.
Medina appeared briefly in court Wednesday afternoon, where Judge Armenui Amy Ashvanian set bail at $2.3 million.
A Spanish language interpreter relayed the court proceedings to Medina, but he did not speak during the short court appearance.
His arraignment was scheduled for March 22.
Officials have yet to disclose what may have motivated the killing. After announcing Medina's arrest, Luna said the tipster who pointed law enforcement to the suspect said Medina had claimed that the bishop owed him money related to his work as a handyman.
Sheriff's Lt. Michael Modica said that when Medina was interviewed, he provided several reasons for the killing, but "none of them made sense to the investigators."
"We don't believe there's any validity to the owing of money," he said, referring to the motive suggested by the tipster.
Los Angeles County Public Defender Ricardo Garcia said in a statement to The Times that Medina "is presumed innocent and entitled to a vigorous defense."
"We are sensitive to the impact this case has had on our community but at the same time caution against any rush to judgment, either by the public or the media, until all the facts are established in court," the statement said.
Deputy Public Defender Pedro Cortes, who was assigned to represent Medina in court, did not respond to a request for comment.
Medina has a lengthy history of personal drug use arrests and convictions from 2005 to 2017, and detectives are investigating whether he had been using narcotics at the time of the killing, according to law enforcement sources.
Medina has narcotics arrests in 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2017, according to law enforcement officials not authorized to discuss his criminal history. At least two of the convictions were for drug possession, but the handyman did not have a history of violent arrests.
In the unincorporated Torrance neighborhood where Medina and his wife rented a two-bedroom yellow stucco home, neighbors said the couple led quiet, ordinary lives and were friendly with their neighbors.
"He never said anything offensive," said Francisco Medina Lopez, 74, a neighbor who said he was friendly with Medina. "It's so strange."
Medina, who walked with a limp, was often seen tinkering on his cars or working on his yard, neighbors said. His wife was a fixture in the neighborhood who was frequently observed walking a large white dog that residents said belonged to the bishop.
The two neighbors would occasionally drink beers or share meals together, making small talk while listening to ranchera music.
Although Medina's wife worked for the bishop, Medina Lopez said the couple didn't seem particularly religious and didn't bring it up in conversations or decorate their home with Catholic objects and images.
But Medina Lopez said he always thought well of his neighbor, who would sometimes give him a ride to the swap meet or nearby stores.
"He was your average older man, always talkative and in a good mood," said Luis Lopez, who lived in a home behind the Medinas' home. "He was a regular common man."
After news of the bishop's death spread, about a dozen people stood with candles and prayed the rosary Saturday beside police tape near his home.
O'Connell, who earned the title of bishop in 2015, was a "peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant," Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles said in a statement Sunday.
"He had a passion for building community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected," the statement by Gomez read. "He was also a good friend, and I will miss him greatly. I know we all will."
Born in County Cork, Ireland, O'Connell studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained in 1979, according to the archdiocese.
He served as associate pastor at several parishes in Los Angeles, including at St. Frances X. Cabrini in South Los Angeles for 14 years. He then became pastor of Ascension, where he oversaw a congregation of about 4,000 families and two schools with about 500 students.
In the neighborhoods he served, he was known as a calming intermediary, especially after the 1992 riots. The Catholic News Agency reported at the time that O'Connell, not yet a bishop, worked at trying to rebuild trust between police and the South L.A. community.
He also served as founder and chairman of the interdiocesan SoCal Immigration Task Force, which helped children who had entered the United States without adult companions.
"He was the help of the helpless and the hope of the hopeless," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn Monday during an emotional news conference.
Gomez fought back tears and his voice cracked Monday as he called O'Connell "a good friend of Los Angeles." He recalled the bishop's fluent Spanish, tinted with a Irish accent.
"Every day he wanted to show compassion to the poor, to the homeless, to the immigrant and to all those living on society's margins," Gomez said. "He was a good priest, and a good bishop and a man of peace."
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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The scandals and deaths surrounding the powerful, old-money Murdaugh family in South Carolinas Lowcountry have attracted a surge in notoriety as of late. If youve tuned into any piece of the familys storyfrom Alex Murdaugh's ongoing murder trial to Netflixs new docuseries Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandalyou likely want to know more about where the murders took place and the state of the home now. Ahead, take a look at everything we know about the familys infamous property.
Courtesy of Netflix
Who is the Murdaugh family and what's their legal background?
Alex Murdaugh (sometimes referred to as "Alec") is a former lawyer whose family built a legal dynasty in South Carolina. To give you a sense of just how far back their power goes, Alex's great-great-grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh Sr. founded a law firm and was elected solicitor for the 14th Judicial Circuit (which includes a staggering five counties) in 1920. Subsequent generations have served as solicitors and joined the family firm ever since.
Fast forwarding many years later to June 7, 2021, Alex called 911 to report the shooting of his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul. These killings became known as the Murdaugh murders and aside from being horrific, they likely gained even more media attention due to Paul Murdaugh's own ongoing trial, in which he was charged with a wrongful death suit for a fatal boat crash that occurred while he was boating under the influence. Paul was also charged with three felony counts of boating under the influence.
Courtesy of Netflix
The family of Mallory Beach, the young woman killed in the boat crash filed the wrongful death suit against the estate of Maggie Murdaugh, who allegedly knew Paul was drunk when he went boating, and Buster Murdaugh, Pauls older brother whose ID he reportedly used to buy the alcohol, in connection to the crash. The surviving passengers are also included in the settlement.
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The Murdaugh family is also allegedly connected to other controversial and tragic cases, including the 2015 death of Stephen Smith and the 2018 death of Gloria Satterfield. The latter also occurred at the family's Moselle estate. Then in September 2021, Alex was caught in an assisted suicide insurance fraud scheme.
What happened in the Murdaugh murders and where did they take place?
In regards to the double murder, no arrests were made until more than a year later in July 2022 when Alex was indicted for the murders of his wife and son. Alex Murdaughs wife and son were found deceased at the familys hunting lodge in Islandton, South Carolina. They were both shot multiple times with different weapons at the dog kennels on the property sometime after they all had dinner together at the main house.
In addition to cellphone data, one of the strongest pieces of evidence against Alex (more on the trial ahead!) was a Snapchat video captured by Paul that put his father at the kennelsthe scene of the crime minutes prior to the murders. He had previously claimed to be napping at the main home on the property during that time frame, revealing his duplicity. When on the stand, Alex admitted to lying about this, referencing an 1808 quote from Sir Walter Scott, "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."
Prior to his death, Paul was living in a log cabin on the Moselle property, and Maggie was said to have been spending more time at the family's beach house about an hour's drive away in Edisto due to marital issues.
What happened in the double murder trial?
On March 2, 2023, at the end of the six-week trial, Alex Murdaugh received a guilty verdict for the double murder. The jury only deliberated for three hours prior to delivering the verdict. The defense lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, did not address the media nor the court in the sentencing hearing on March 3, 2023. Instead, they said: "The defendant would like to address the court." Alex Murdaugh then rose and remarked: "I am innocent. I would never hurt my wife Maggie, and I would never hurt my son Paw-Paw."
Courtesy of Netflix
Judge Clifton Newman then spoke to the court. He reflected on the unique horrors, stating: "We have a lawyer whose family has controlled the court of justice for years...Whose grandfathers portrait hangs at the back of the courthouse, that I had to have ordered removed in order to ensure that a fair trial was had by both the state and the defense." He expressed how difficult it has been to see the defendant evolve from a grieving father to the person indicted and convicted of killing them. He then continued, saying, "Certainly, you have no obligation to say anything other than saying 'not guilty.' And obviously, appeals are probably or absolutely expected. I wouldnt expect a confession of any kind."
Judge Clifton Newman also mentioned that this case qualifies under the state's death penalty, specifically: "You and your family have been prosecuting people for years and have pursued the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct." Murdaugh then repeated his statement of innocence, with Newman responding, "It might not have been you. It might have been the monster youve become. Maybe you become another person when you take 40, 50, or 60 opioid pills. The person standing before me didnt commit the crime, though its the same individual. Well leave that at that. Finally, he sentenced Alex Murdaugh to two consecutive sentences for the murders of his wife and son for the term of the rest of his natural life (Translation: life in prison without parole).
Alex also faces a plethora of other charges99 to be exactrelated to money laundering, embezzlement, tax evasion, and beyond that were not part of the murder trial (though some related information was allowed to be entered into evidence). There are more than 100 total indictments and charges against him.
What's happening to the Murdaugh home, 4147 Moselle Road, now?
Google Maps
Known as Moselle Farm, the property is located at 4147 Moselle Road in Islandton, South Carolina. The 1,770-acre property was listed for sale in February 2022. The sprawling estate features a farm, two miles of river frontage for freshwater fishing and kayaking, dog kennels, plenty of turkey and deer for on-site hunting, and a custom-built home newly constructed in 2011. It's surrounded by woods.
According to The Crosby Land Company the land brokerage and consulting firm that lists the farm on its websitethe $3.9 million property is currently under contract, meaning an offer has been accepted on it, despite the stigmatizing events that occurred there. Proceeds from the sale will reportedly go toward a settlement between the Murdaugh estate and the Beach family.
Jurors in the double murder trial also visited Moselle during the trial. This has happened in other high-profile cases, like the case where Michael Peterson allegedly murdered his wife Kathleen Peterson at their North Carolina home.
To hear about more properties with infamous backstories, subscribe to our haunted house podcast, Dark House, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, or anywhere you listen.
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ON A UKRAINIAN POSITION ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF BAKHMUT The Ukrainian military commander pointed to a small, cellar-door-like opening tucked into the snow-covered hillside and said, "If I say to you run, you run into the forest and hide in there."
In there was a shelter in the event of a Russian attack, a normal occurrence here.
The lieutenant colonel is a bearded, barrel-chested and battle-hardened 39-year-old artillery commander. His first name is Oleksandr, but Fury is his call sign or nickname for sensitive military communications. Like all military personnel spoken to for this story, he did not want last name or the units he commands to be identified.
Fury paused, then added, "You'll have less than a minute."
Friday marks a grim milestone: one year since Russia invaded Ukraine.
During this time, the U.S. pledged about $113 billion in assistance to Kyiv, more than half in the form of military aid, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Infantry arms and equipment, air defense systems, missiles, helicopters, drones, armored vehicles, radar and communications antennas, satellite imagery, trucks, trailers, coastal patrol boats, the list goes on. The first batch of U.S. Abrams tanks destined for Ukraine are expected to arrive as early as this year. American-made F-16 fighter jets have been on Ukraine's wish list since the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion. As of now, the U.S. has not agreed to give them to them.
Amid domestic struggles ranging from spiraling living costs to rising refugee arrivals, polls show Americans are growing less enamored with providing arms to Ukraine.
In show of support to Ukraine:Joe Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine ahead of Russian invasion anniversary, walks streets of Kyiv
Yet Ukrainian military officials say U.S. weapons are making all the difference. To show how, a senior Ukrainian military intelligence officer and several special forces soldiers guided USA TODAY in mid-February to a secret location on a ridge a few miles outside the frontline town of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's mineral-rich eastern Donbas region.
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"This weapon changed the trajectory of the war for us," said Fury as he stood on frozen ground near what he regards as one of the Ukrainian military's most prized possessions: an American-made M777 howitzer, a powerful, towable and easily hidden long-range artillery weapon his unit had named Sofiyka. Made of steel and titanium, its hydraulic hoses and pumps enable its artillery turret to slide in and out with relative ease.
Sofiyka was backed against a thicket of trees, its cannon aimed toward Bakhmut.
A few hours earlier, a howitzer Furys unit named Krishna, located on an adjacent ridge, had been fired on by a Russian shell.
It had not sustained any damages. Its a day spent in vain here if you havent been fired at, said Fury, chuckling to himself. As he spoke, there was a deep thud as Krishna sent an explosive payload sailing toward Russian targets in Bakhmut.
U.S. has spent billions on Ukraine war aid. Is that money landing in corrupt pockets?
A side view of an American-made M777 howitzer artillery weapon, minutes before it fired on Russian positions in Bakhmut, a Ukrainian city in the Donbas region. Photo date: Feb. 11, 2023.
How long can Ukraine and Russia keep fighting?
Russian military manpower and equipment reserves are significantly depleted and it's unclear if Moscow has enough power to launch a major, sustained new offensive, either timed to the anniversary or in the coming months, according to military analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, D.C., think tank.
An offensive that would, for example, enable Russia to capture and hold new territory, as Ukraine did when it reclaimed dozens of its settlements in Kherson and Kharkiv, in the south and northeast, this past fall, forcing a hasty Russian retreat.
"Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian advances, protected its territorial integrity, effectively used newly acquired weapons' systems provided by NATO and maintained, maybe even improved, national morale," said Jeffrey Levine, a former U.S. ambassador to Estonia, a former Soviet republic that shares a border with Russia.
But Ukraines military is still preparing for one.
In fact, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that a predicted Russian spring offensive has likely already begun. He has ruled out any peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that would sacrifice Ukrainian territory, saying recently that it would make us weaker as a state and Russia would keep coming back.
Since the war's start, Ukrainian civilians have endured innumerable forms of tragedy. Millions have fled abroad or been internally displaced. Russian missile strikes have damaged or destroyed Ukraine's railways, apartment buildings, hospitals, schools.
Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II: They counted the days until they could return to Ukraine. Now, they're not sure they'll go back
War crimes in Ukraine may be unprecedented: So is country's push for swift justice
In every corner of the country, Ukrainian engineers are engaged in a Sisyphean battle to repair missile-hit energy infrastructure. The United Nations has verified a total of 7,155 civilian deaths during the invasion. More than 50,000 war crimes allegations have been reported to Ukraine's chief prosecutor's office, from brutal rapes to inexplicable murders.
But it is in Bakhmut and other places along the 600-mile frontline that Ukraines military has endured some of the wars fiercest and most intense battles. And American weapons have been integral to the fight, according to Biker, the call sign of a senior Ukrainian special forces commander whose unit has been using American-made Switchblade 300 drones to attack Russian troops here.
If you ask me what we need, we need more Switchblades, he said.
Bikers call sign is a reference to his fondness for motorcycles.
He has been in the military for most of his life. But immediately before the war, he worked as a close protection bodyguard for wealthy Ukrainian businessmen.
He did not want his first name, age or even rank identified because he commands a unit that he said the Russians are hunting for.
One evening northwest of Furys position, in an industrial plant that Ukraines military is using as a base for elite units to sleep in, Biker explained how the Switchblade 300, which can be carried in a backpack, works.
It launches from a tube. Its small wings and an electric propeller then unfold. It flies to a target monitored via a tablet and special software. Then it dive-bombs kamikaze-like to its prey and detonates an explosive warhead.
A laptop shows a video clip of a Russian soldier targeted by an American-made Switchblade 300 drone, in eastern Ukraine. The video clip is not dated. Photo was taken Feb. 11, 2023.
Its one of the most stable and precise weapons we have, Biker said of the Switchblade, which has been dubbed a suicide drone.
Ukraine has been using them since the summer.
But we dont have enough of them, he added, swiveling his head in the direction of a cylindrical container that housed one of the killer drones.
So we reserve them for special occasions.
In May, the U.S. Department of Defense committed to sending 700 Switchblade 300 drones to Ukraine. Biker said for his current mission he had been allotted five.
That morning his unit was doing reconnaissance about a mile away from the point of contact between Ukrainian and Russian troops in Bakmut.
In fact, one of his teams regular tasks was to provide target coordinates to the American M777 howitzers firing on the town from the ridge.
At the base, Biker played some video clips of his units work using the Switchblade 300 to take out Russian targets. In one, the grainy color footage showed the drone plummeting from sky height before crashing into the chest of Russian soldier in a trench. The Russian soldier appeared to be operating a mortar, a light-weight artillery weapon. The screen saver on Bikers laptop was emblazoned with the official seal and emblem of the U.S. Department of the Army.
'Its like fighting from World War I'
Ukrainian soldiers describe the death and destruction in Bakhmut as hell, a place where Russias military is using convicts as cannon fodder for incremental gains.
If theres a sustainable strategy by Moscow, military analysts have been unable to detect it. Britains Ministry of Defence has described a Russian capture of Bakhmut as having limited operational value and primarily a political objective.
However, Bakhmut is an important symbol of Ukrainian resistance, and holding onto it for Ukraine could prevent a Russian advance to the larger eastern cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, British intelligence assessments have concluded.
The city lies in ruins.
Blasts ring out day and night. What trees remain are shredded. Craters from exploded artillery dot the roads. There is no power or water. Bakhmuts prewar population of 70,000 has shrunk to a few thousand mostly elderly civilians who refuse to leave, though some families with children have stayed behind.
A local resident walks along a street in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.
In early February, a Russian missile slammed into a van in Bakhmut carrying humanitarian volunteers, unleashing a massive fireball, and killing Peter Reed, an experienced paramedic and former U.S. Marine.
The Russian attack in Bakhmut has been relentless.
Some guys in our military are having mental health problems because the Russians have been coming at us every half hour and we just mow them down again and again with machine guns. Its like fighting from World War I, said the senior Ukrainian military intelligence officer who accompanied USA TODAY to the hillside position outside Bakhmut occupied by units under Furys command.
The officer asked not to be named for security reasons.
Ukraine, too, has suffered heavy losses.
"It's hard, but they're holding on, Zelenskyy said of the situation in Bakhmut and Vuhledar, another frontline town, in the southern part of Donbas, on Feb. 15.
In recent days, Zelenskyy has insisted that the Russian Goliath will fall this year, comments echoed by Ukraine's top military intelligence in an exclusive interview.
"Russia has wasted huge amounts of human resources, armaments and materials this past year," Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, of Ukraines defense intelligence, said in Kyiv. "Its economy and production are not able to cover these losses. It's changed its military chain of command. If its military fails in its aims this spring, it will be out of military tools."
Meanwhile, Ukraine is lobbying U.S. and European allies for more heavy weapons. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned the war is increasingly becoming a battle of logistics and has said the military alliance should step up its supply of ammunitions to help Ukraine.
In a surprise visit to Kyiv on Feb. 20, U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated a pledge to support Ukraine for "as long as it takes." Standing alongside Zelenskyy, Biden said "Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. I dont think hes thinking that right now." Biden said he would send more military aid to Ukraine, including more American howitzers. Yet other prominent voices in the West, such as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, have cautioned that the world risks sleepwalking into a wider war with Russia.
'The Russians hate it. They cant hear it coming.'
Still, getting an accurate picture of what is happening on the frontlines is difficult. Information is often incomplete. Or classified. Things can change quickly.
Or seem not to at all.
In mid-February, Russian forces appeared to control the main roads to the north, east and south of Bakhmut. The approach to Furys ridge position was from the west, down a slender lane that snaked through muddy fields, sparse woodland, down-at-heel villages.
In one village, a young girl, perhaps 10 or 11, in a bright pink jacket and with a big smile beaming across her face, rode her bike down one side of a road she shared with several military vehicles. Her dark hair billowed behind her. Nothing on the girls face suggested concern about her proximity to the broken city a short distance away.
A U.S Humvee tactical vehicle produced for the U.S. Army is seen near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, in the Donbas region, on Feb. 11, 2023.
Farther away from Bakhmut, to the west and south, Ukraines rear lines were a hive of activity: supply trucks, fuel tankers, old Soviet-style tanks, personnel carriers, armored vehicles of various kinds donated from Australia or the Czech Republic.
Stopped by the side of one road, a sand-colored American Humvee, indicating prior use in Iraq or Afghanistan, was being towed for repair. Many of these vehicles bore the hallmarks of battle. They were shot-up or caked in thick, dried dust and mud.
Scores of exhausted-looking, but good humored, soldiers in full combat gear loitered at gas stations to pick up cigarettes and snacks and make phone calls.
Earlier that day, members of a Ukrainian special forces unit named Signum demonstrated how they use an MK-19, a lightweight American-made automatic grenade launcher first developed for use during the Cold War. It can hit targets over a mile away and burn through lightly armored vehicles. It is far quieter than its Russian counterpart.
Special forces soldiers from Ukraine's "Signum" unit demonstrate the use of an American-made MK-19 grenade launcher in Ukraine's Donbas region on Feb. 11, 2023.
The Russians hate it. They cant hear it coming, said one of its operators.
His call sign was Guard.
We just love it.
'Ears! Cannon!'
Back on the ridge above Bakhmut, Fury is in charge of six of the 142 M777 howitzers that the U.S. Department of Defense has committed to sending to Ukraine.
A number of other countries including the U.K., Denmark, France and Germany have also transferred their own versions of this artillery weapon to Kyiv.
Soviet-era howitzers used by both sides are also firing thousands of shells each day at Ukrainian and Russian positions along the frontline.
After his security briefing in which he instructed a reporter to quickly scramble to the shelter if he deemed it necessary, Fury stood to one side and watched several soldiers as they built a second shelter, aimed at guarding Sofiyka against Russias own kamikaze drones, called Lancet.
The shelter appeared to be made of wood and a simple camouflage net.
Fury said that as much as he wanted to oblige a visitor by shooting some artillery toward the enemy, that was unlikely to happen unless he received new coordinates for a target.
He asked a subordinate to make coffee.
Several soldiers kept their eyes trained toward the sky.
They were watching for Russian drones.
If they appeared, they would probably look like bright white spots.
Difficult to see in a winter-palette setting of light blue sky and snow.
In the near-distance, a loud metallic thud erupted.
Krishna, Fury said, with confidence.
GPS-guided shells used by an American-made M777 howitzer are seen on the ground near the artillery weapon near a frontline position held by Ukraine's military on Feb. 11, 2023.
It is not uncommon for the M777 to fire 200 shells in one day.
Furys unit was the second one in Ukraine to receive the American howitzers, in May, and his six howitzers have collectively fired about 60,000 projectiles, he said.
Its shells are GPS-directed and they have a maximum firing range of about 26 miles.
By midday, Sofiyka had unleashed about 60.
Discarded behind the weapon were several wooden pallet boxes, for shells or other components, stamped with serial numbers and a location: Wausau, Wisconsin.
The next day, Fury planned to send one of his close aides on a 20-hour roundtrip drive to Kyiv to meet volunteers who might have some much-needed spare parts for maintenance. As much as Ukraine needs more foreign weapons, it also needs back-up parts to keep the ones it has in its arsenal going.
Often this means a little creative improvisation.
All of a sudden there was a burst of radio activity coming from the hillside shelter.
The coordinates of a new target in Bakhmut had been called in.
Ears! (cover them). Cannon! (stand back) a member of Sofiykas gun crew shouted.
The weapons hulking frame momentarily convulsed.
This time the metallic sound was deep and sharp, and followed by smoke.
Over the next few minutes more shells were fired.
Each time: Ears! Cannon!
Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022.
Down in the shelter, Furys deputy, Viktor, call sign Forsage a reference, he said, to a military fighter jets maximum speed, achieved through jet-engine thrust; an afterburner. He was hunched over a laptop watching in real-time where the shells had landed.
Impact, said Forsage.
He pointed to what looked like Russian soldiers scrambling for cover as a plume of rubble and smoke projected upwards from a dense cluster of houses.
We hit a building where there is direct-fire contact between their guys and our guys, he said. Theres so many more of them than us were trying to suppress their infantry fire.
Forsage gave another order through the radio to Sofiykas gun crew: One more.
The interior of the shelter was somewhat incongruous to the scene outside.
Woody scents of bark and earth wafted from the beams that spanned the ceiling. Persian-style rugs and blankets covered a few bunks. In the far corner, a wood burning stove had a small sign affixed to it that said it was donated from someone in Sweden named Lisa J. The stove emanated a smoky enveloping heat.
It was an inviting space.
But it didnt seem like it would offer much protection if hit directly.
Better than nothing, a solider chimed in.
Another burst of radio activity.
Ukrainian air defenses had shot down a Russian drone that was hovering along the position between Krishna and Sofiyka. It was not clear if it was an armed one.
But the M777s may have been spotted.
A retaliation could be on the way.
Its best if you stay put in the shelter for the next 5-10 minutes, Forsage said.
Then Fury gave a new command.
No, its better if you getting moving away from here right now.
Contributing: John Bacon
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How U.S. weapons sent to Ukraine in war with Russia shift battlefield
Feb. 22Social justice organizations in Harford and Cecil counties called for action and change during a Tyre Nichols memorial rally in Aberdeen on Saturday.
The event was designed to commemorate Nichols' life and denounce police brutality, according to the Harford NAACP, which organized the event along with Harco for Social Justice and Cecil Solidarity.
Nichols died three days after being stopped and beaten by several officers from the Memphis Police Department near this mother's home. Five officers face murder and other charges in the January incident. Similar rallies and memorials in Nichols' memory have been held around the country.
Civil rights attorney Malcolm Ruff of Murphy, Falcon, Murphy in Baltimore was the keynote speaker. Ruff led the small crowd that gathered at Festival Park in a chant of "No justice, no peace, no racist police," before delivering his speech.
Ruff said his family has owned a small farm in Harford County for a century, where he spent his summers growing up. "So, I am one with you all and I stand with you," he said.
Ruff spoke the names of African Americans who have died nationally after encounters with police, from Sandra Bland to Nichols. Bland was found hanged in a jail cell in Texas in 2015, three days after she was arrested during a traffic stop.
"I fully and utterly appreciate the spirit of why we are here today, and why you all are showing up and standing up for the life of Tyre Nichols but also for the other people ... the spirit and the power of the people who had to die at the hands of the police just for us to stand up and for people to realize how insidious police violence is," Ruff said.
Then he read a list of names of Black Marylanders who have died at the hands of police, including Korryn Gaines, who was fatally shot in 2016 after a standoff with Baltimore County police, and William Green, who was shot and killed by a Prince George's County police officer while he sat handcuffed in a patrol car in 2020. Ruff's law firm has represented some of the families he mentioned.
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"The thin blue line is no respecter of race," Ruff said. "It never has, and it never will be. [The police system] was founded in the spirit of white supremacy. We must tear it down."
Ruff suggested that police agencies should clean house, similar to what the city of Camden, New Jersey, did when it disbanded its police force in 2012 and created a new police department in partnership with Camden County.
"Fire the entire force and bring back the people that actually have the ability and the mindset to police our streets with the care, love and respect that everybody in our communities deserve," Ruff said.
Harris-Stowe State University has created a new college to diversify the STEM sector in Missouri.
The post HBCU HarrisStowe State University Creates College Of STEM To Meet Demand For The Fastest Growing Degree Field On Campus appeared first on AfroTech.
The new addition to the college campus will help with demand as it is the fastest growing degree field at the HBCU, according to the schools website.
Leading the new College of STEM is Dr. Harvey R. Fields, Jr. who previously worked at Washington University as the Associate Dean.
Dr. Fields responsibilities as Dean will be to oversee the creation and implementation of the College of STEM, uphold the standards of each academic department and existing programs, and create new programs.
Harris-Stowe has an exemplary track record of generating positive impact, strong outcomes and enhanced possibilities for underrepresented and under-resourced students, Dr. Fields said in a statement released on the schools website. Furthermore, HSSU contributes to the improving status, standing and attractiveness of the Greater St. Louis region as a preferred location for individuals, families and businesses. I fully identify with and embrace the Harris-Stowe mission. I am proud to join president LaTonia Collins Smiths stellar leadership team, as the founding Dean of the College of STEM.
We are excited to welcome Dr. Fields as the inaugural Dean of the College of STEM, HSSU president, Dr. LaTonia Collins Smith said in a statement. His experience, knowledge and passion are extraordinary and will serve as a strong foundation for the development of this new College and will serve our students exceedingly well. He is a visionary who has demonstrated his ability to positively impact scholars. His unwavering dedication to helping under-resourced students achieve success syncs perfectly with HSSUs core values.
Dr. Fields has a bachelors degree in chemistry from Morehouse College and is still active in his St. Louis community through the Missouri Baptist Medical Center Board of Trustees and as chair of the St. Louis Chapter of the Morehouse College Alumni Association.
Just because a business does not make any money, does not mean that the stock will go down. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you'd have done very well indeed. But the harsh reality is that very many loss making companies burn through all their cash and go bankrupt.
Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether Oxford Nanopore Technologies (LON:ONT) shareholders should be worried about its cash burn. For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. Let's start with an examination of the business' cash, relative to its cash burn.
Check out our latest analysis for Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Does Oxford Nanopore Technologies Have A Long Cash Runway?
You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. As at June 2022, Oxford Nanopore Technologies had cash of UK472m and no debt. In the last year, its cash burn was UK70m. So it had a cash runway of about 6.7 years from June 2022. Notably, however, analysts think that Oxford Nanopore Technologies will break even (at a free cash flow level) before then. In that case, it may never reach the end of its cash runway. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.
How Well Is Oxford Nanopore Technologies Growing?
On balance, we think it's mildly positive that Oxford Nanopore Technologies trimmed its cash burn by 19% over the last twelve months. And arguably the operating revenue growth of 58% was even more impressive. It seems to be growing nicely. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.
Can Oxford Nanopore Technologies Raise More Cash Easily?
There's no doubt Oxford Nanopore Technologies seems to be in a fairly good position, when it comes to managing its cash burn, but even if it's only hypothetical, it's always worth asking how easily it could raise more money to fund growth. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash and drive growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.
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Oxford Nanopore Technologies has a market capitalisation of UK1.8b and burnt through UK70m last year, which is 3.8% of the company's market value. Given that is a rather small percentage, it would probably be really easy for the company to fund another year's growth by issuing some new shares to investors, or even by taking out a loan.
So, Should We Worry About Oxford Nanopore Technologies' Cash Burn?
It may already be apparent to you that we're relatively comfortable with the way Oxford Nanopore Technologies is burning through its cash. For example, we think its revenue growth suggests that the company is on a good path. On this analysis its cash burn reduction was its weakest feature, but we are not concerned about it. Shareholders can take heart from the fact that analysts are forecasting it will reach breakeven. After considering a range of factors in this article, we're pretty relaxed about its cash burn, since the company seems to be in a good position to continue to fund its growth. Readers need to have a sound understanding of business risks before investing in a stock, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Oxford Nanopore Technologies that potential shareholders should take into account before putting money into a stock.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies insiders are buying, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department has released 900 pages of records to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, according to an HHS official, as the Republican-led panel launches its review of the Biden administration's handling of the pandemic crisis.
Committee chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup, Republican of Ohio, had requested records from the agency, including from National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins, former White House COVID adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccera. The panel, which was previously controlled by Democrats, said it is probing whether COVID-19 originated from a lab in Wuhan, China and the Chinese Communist Party covered it up, as well as whether U.S. taxpayer dollars were being sent to the lab.
The committee requested phone records, calendars and dozens of sets of internal records from top federal health officials. Though HHS did not specify what records it shared with the panel Tuesday evening, an agency spokesperson told CBS News, "The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is committed to working in good faith to address the Select Subcommittee's oversight requests."
Wenstrup told CBS News he will consider subpoenas against Fauci, Becerra and other key officials, if full responses and answers are not provided to the panel's questions about COVID-19's origins and the federal agencies' response to the outbreak.
"I think there will be subpoenas for some," Wenstrup said. "Just being honest with you I would hope that we don't have to do it very often."
The theory of a Wuhan "lab leak" has been previously argued by Senate Republicans and has been a particular focus of GOP congressional investigators and some cable news talk segments.
Though Fauci has answered a series of questions about the theory, including in Senate hearings, Wenstrup said Fauci has not done so to the same extent before a House panel.
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"We have concerns about (Wuhan), and the type of research and studies that were taking place there," Wenstrup said. "So, we do want to dig in to that."
The panel's top ranking Democrat, Raul Ruiz, of California, said the committee must avoid allowing the investigation to fuel conspiracy theories about COVID. Ruiz told CBS News, "I want to make sure that we avoid or they avoid the extreme partisan rhetoric or a witch hunt that will villainize their targets."
Ruiz said, "I don't disagree that there is value in identifying the mechanism of identifying a virus quickly and our ability to quickly contain them. The question here is the method of the investigation." He added, "We're not interested in extreme partisan rhetoric that only fuels conspiratorial accusations, (which) villainizes individuals from the administration. We're interested in taking a scientific approach in order to save American lives."
The subcommittee on the pandemic is beginning its work under Republican control as the U.S. reaches the three-year mark of the pandemic. Wenstrup told CBS News the panel's initial set of investigations will also probe the impact of school closures and stay-at-home orders.
"I would hope that we do it so that we can bring some clarity and transparency to the American people," Wenstrup said. "The American people have a lot of distrust right now because they felt like they were told different things at different times."
Ruiz argues the panel should also explore the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of Americans. The subcommittee, he said, should "ensure the pandemic response is done with equity, making sure that those most vulnerable receive the attention and resources to help save as many lives as we possibly can, to really understand the experience of isolation."
Some Democrats have sharply criticized the inclusion on the panel of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, who has been accused of espousing conspiracy theories. Wenstrup said, "She has told me that she's concerned about her children and the effects on businesses, which is part of what we want to take a look at." He said, "I think those are reasonable things for us to look into."
Greene did not immediately return requests for comment.
Wenstrup and Ruiz both pledged efforts for bipartisan work in interviews with CBS News, but both acknowledged the pandemic responses by state and federal governments have aroused fiercely partisan reactions. Wenstrup said he hopes that he and Ruiz "can change that narrative a little bit and we can move forward in a professional way and have America see the way that we're trying to conduct this and get the answers for America so that we're a better country and more prepared in the future."
Ruiz said, "When you have individuals who are claiming false conspiracy for partisan reasons, you're creating doubt in the scientific process of vaccines that we know has saved countless of lives already in the millions."
"I don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat or independent," Ruiz said. "I care about saving lives as a physician."
UPS driver stops to fix family's tangled American flag
Biden wraps up Poland trip by meeting with Eastern European NATO allies
Newborn found orphaned beneath Syria earthquake rubble adopted by uncle who helped save her
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) - An oil rig supervisor who earned more than $200,000 a year working for Houston-based Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc is entitled to overtime pay, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a decision with costly implications for the oil and gas industry.
The court in a 6-3 decision authored by liberal Justice Elena Kagan decided that because the rig supervisor, Michael Hewitt, was paid a daily rate of $963 and not a salary, an overtime pay exemption in federal wage law for highly paid workers did not apply to him.
The justices affirmed a 2021 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Helix must face Hewitt's 2017 lawsuit seeking overtime pay. That lawsuit now goes back to a federal judge in Houston.
A 1940 regulation holds that highly compensated workers - currently defined as those earning $107,000 a year or more - would not receive overtime pay if they have supervisory duties and are paid at least $455 per week in the form of a salary.
Kagan said the text of the regulation made clear that it did not apply to employees who are paid based on how many days they work and are not guaranteed minimum weekly wages.
Ed Sullivan, a lawyer for Hewitt, said that "my client and team are appreciative that the Supreme Court applied the plain text of the law to his case."
Helix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Helix was backed in the case by oil and gas trade groups including the American Petroleum Institute, which said in briefs to the justices that supervisors in the industry are routinely paid daily rates and work long hours. A ruling favoring Hewitt would require companies to pay overtime premiums and invite a flood of lawsuits from highly paid workers, the groups added.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts joined the court's three liberal members in the ruling.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a dissent joined by fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito, wrote that because Hewitt earned a set daily rate, he knew he would be paid at least that much for any week in which he worked. That coupled with his management duties made him exempt from overtime pay, Kavanaugh said.
Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch in a separate dissent said Helix's appeal should have been dismissed for procedural reasons.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Alexia Garamfalvi)
A shuttle bus that was hijacked after a gunfight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was found in Miami-Dade County this weekend, Broward officials say. But deputies still havent tracked down the suspect, Leandro Fernandez Sanchez, 33.
On Friday morning, deputies were surveilling a suspected car thief in a parking garage at the Fort Lauderdale airport, according to a Broward Sheriffs Office update released Tuesday evening. The man fled when deputies approached him. He was quickly found nearby.
Thats when, the BSO update said, the man, who was driving a stolen car, rammed his car into a deputys vehicle near the area of the 1400 block of Perimeter Road.
READ MORE: Broward sheriffs detectives looking for hijacked bus after gunfight near the airport
At least one deputy fired a gun at the car, according to the BSO update. On Friday, Miami Herald news partner CBS Miami took an aerial image of a Mercedes-Benz sedan riddled with bullet holes on the drivers-side windshield.
The suspect, again, fled but managed to hijack the Broward County Paratransit TOPS shuttle bus that was later located in Miami-Dade, the BSO update said. No passengers were on the bus at the time.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the deputy-involved shooting.
Its currently unknown if Fernandez Sanchez was hit by gunfire, and deputies advise anyone who spots him to avoid approaching him and instead alert authorities. Anyone with information should call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online at browardcrimestoppers.org.
Two hikers were rescued from a California mountain after their equipment failed and they lost their footing, causing them to slide down icy terrain, authorities said.
The pair hiked Cucamonga Peak Trail and were about 7,600 feet high on Mount Baldy on Monday, Feb. 20, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said in a Feb. 21 news release.
Though the two were not hurt after their fall, they decided to call 911, as they were exhausted and feared they would fall down the steep mountainside if they continued, the sheriffs department said.
Deputies used a helicopter to respond to the area and found the two hikers using coordinates from one of their cellphones, the sheriffs office said.
Due to the steep terrain, the crew requested an air rescue to hoist the pair off the mountain, the sheriffs office said.
A rescuer was dropped down to the hikers and used a rope system to help the hikers reach an area where they were safely hoisted from the area, the sheriffs office said.
Mt. Baldy is the highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, about 45 miles northeast of Los Angeles, according to Conde Nast Traveler.
The sheriffs department warned of dangerous conditions on the mountain in mid-January after actor Julian Sands went missing, McClatchy News reported.
He has yet to be found, despite air and ground searches, McClatchy News reported.
Since his disappearance, a number of hikers have been rescued from the area, including a 75-year-old Los Angeles man who got separated from his group on Jan. 22 and was found two days later, McClatchy News reported.
Most recently, the body of a hiker who went missing more than a month prior was found 300 feet from the mountains summit, McClatchy News reported.
Missing hikers body found on snowy peak month after vanishing, California officials say
Search for missing actor Julian Sands continues by air, California sheriff says
Actor Julian Sands missing as officials warn of dangerous conditions on CA mountain
By Brendan Pierson
(Reuters) - Generic drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc has sued Amarin Pharma Inc, accusing it of using illegal tactics to delay generic competition for its heart drug Vascepa.
In a complaint filed Tuesday in Trenton, New Jersey federal court, Hikma claimed that Amarin "deliberately and meticulously locked up the supply" of the key ingredient needed to make generic Vascepa in order to maintain a monopoly.
London-based Hikma eventually launched the first generic version of Vascepa in November 2020, but it said that Amarin's tactics delayed the launch by months, and initially prevented Hikma from supplying enough of its generic to compete meaningfully with the branded version.
New Jersey-based Amarin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company was already facing a similar lawsuit filed in 2021 in the same court by Indian generic drugmaker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, which remains pending.
Vascepa, derived from fish oil, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to lower so-called "bad" cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease generally. It is Amarin's only product.
The drug brought Amarin $598 million in 2020, but sales have since fallen as generics have entered the market, forcing the company to cut its workforce last year. The company said in a 2020 statement to investors that Vascepa had been prescribed more than 8 million times since its 2013 U.S. launch.
Amarin initially sought to block competitors by suing Hikma and Dr. Reddy's for patent infringement after they sought FDA approval to sell generic versions of the drug, but lost after a Nevada judge ruled its patents obvious. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2021 rejected Amarin's bid to revive the patents.
Hikma said that even after losing the patent case, Amarin held on to its monopoly by entering into exclusive agreements with suppliers of the active ingredient, icosapent ethyl, that prevented the suppliers from selling to any other companies.
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Hikma called the agreements an "illegal anticompetitive strategy to prevent, delay, and frustrate generic competition and maintain its monopoly power and prices for Vascepa" and said it ran afoul of the federal Sherman Act and New Jersey antitrust law.
The case is Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc v. Amarin Pharma Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, No. 3:23-cv-01016.
For Hikma: Charles Klein of Winston & Strawn and others
For Amarin: not available
Read more:
U.S. Supreme Court denies Amarins bid to revive Vascepa drug patents
Amarin to slash jobs as generic rivals dull U.S. prospects of heart drug
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; editing by Alexia Garamfalvi)
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Honduran government extended its state of emergency for a second time on Tuesday, while also expanding it to cover a growing portion of the Central American country, as part of leftist President Xiomara Castro's crackdown on gangs.
The measure, in place since Dec. 6 and first extended in January, suspends some constitutional rights and allows security forces to detain people who they consider associated with or have committed crimes. It will be in place for another 45 days.
The state of emergency, initially covering the country's two largest cities, now covers 123 municipalities.
"The suspension of rights was extended to municipalities where, according to our analysis, criminal groups have migrated to evade the actions of the police and the state," police chief Gustavo Sanchez said at a news conference.
Between Dec. 6 and Feb. 20, there have been 356 fewer homicides than in the same period last year, Sanchez said.
"The success of the operation is measured by the number of lives saved, not by the number of arrests, weapons seized or drugs seized," Sanchez added.
Hondurans face regular extortion in what the notorious MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs called a "war tax" levied on residents, merchants, buses, truck, and taxis.
The state of emergency allows authorities to restrict freedom of movement and assembly, as well as to search homes and make arrests without a warrant.
The government approved the measure after pressure from business and transportations groups and non-governmental organizations, which claim extortion has increased.
Honduras' crackdown follows a nearly year-old state of emergency in neighboring El Salvador, which has widespread public support but has swelled the prison population and drawn allegations of human rights abuses.
(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia)
The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center said below-normal rainfall is expected in the rainy season over the next three months.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) Trends in a historic Horn of Africa drought are now worse than they were during the 2011 drought in which at least a quarter-million people died, a climate center said Wednesday.
The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center said below-normal rainfall is expected in the rainy season over the next three months.
This could be the sixth failed consecutive rainfall season in the region that includes Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, the center said.
The drought, the longest on record in Somalia, has lasted almost three years, and tens of thousands of people are said to have died. More than 1 million people have been displaced in Somalia alone, according to the United Nations.
A Maasai man joins others on Feb. 14, 2023 at a national day of prayer event held at Nyayo stadium in the capital Nairobi, Kenya. With the prospect of a sixth consecutive failed rainy season in the east and Horn of Africa, Kenyan president William Ruto is hoping the heavens will finally open with the help of a national day of mass prayer. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Last month, the U.N. resident coordinator in Somalia warned that excess deaths in Somalia will almost certainly surpass those of the famine declared in the country in 2011.
Close to 23 million people are thought to be highly food insecure in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, according to a food security working group chaired by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
Already, 11 million livestock that are essential to many families health and wealth have died, Wednesdays statement said. Many people affected across the region are pastoralists or farmers who have watched crops wither and water sources run dry.
The war in Ukraine has affected the humanitarian response as traditional donors in Europe divert funding to the crisis closer to home. The head of IGAD, Workneh Gebeyehu, urged governments and partners to act before its too late.
The IGAD climate center is a designated regional climate center by the World Meteorological Organization.
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The post Horn of Africa drought trends said worse than in 2011 famine appeared first on TheGrio.
A Central Florida cold case that has gone unsolved for eight years may have been a crime of passion.
No one has still been charged in the murder of Shelly Arnold. Last week, Arnolds mother made a new plea for someone to help solve her daughters murder.
The only DNA found at the scene was from Arnolds boyfriend who had apparently broken up with in the days before she was killed.
Since he would have been around her, it wasnt enough to prove he had anything to do with the murder.
READ: Charges reduced against woman, 76, accused of killing terminally ill husband
A memorial for Arnold sits in an empty lot in Eustis.
Last week her mother, Brenda Hill, spoke out, wanting people to come forward with information.
On Wednesday, Channel 9 got a look at the case file, including crime scene photos, and spoke with Eustis police Capt. David Carney.
READ: Woman in her 20s found shot to death in Orange County neighborhood
This is a horrific incident, he said. Its one of the worst Ive seen in my 28 years of law enforcement.
Investigators said they believe Arnold was strangled and killed somewhere else, then moved.
At the scene, investigators believe her body had been tied to a tree by a red cloth, then put on the ground. She was found naked, but one of her black boots was found, as well as a sock, her pants and a jacket. But there was no blood.
READ: Flagler County student accused of attacking school worker after she confiscated his Nintendo Switch
Arnolds face had been removed and a tattoo was cut from her body.
Eustis police spoke to many witnesses who had seen Arnold and been with her in the days before her murder, but no one has come forward to say what happened to her.
Were doing everything we can, Carney said. And somebody out there has information for us that can lead us to the person thats responsible for this.
READ: Deputies: Armed man forces customer at east Orange County gas station to drive him to victims house
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Many of the people police interviewed who said they knew Arnold stayed in the area. Her boyfriend has since moved away.
The last tip they received was in February 2021.
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.
Time to break out your piggy bank because A24, the entertainment company behind the hit film "Everything Everywhere All At Once" starring Michelle Yeoh, is going to auction off items from the movie starting Thursday, Feb. 23.
A24 announced the good news on Twitter when they shared some photos of a few items that will be up for sale, including Raccacoonie himself.
Raccacoonie in
They noted that 100% of the proceeds will go to charity to benefit the Laundry Workers Center, the Asian Mental Health Project and the Transgender Law Center.
As fans recall, Raccacoonie is a beloved character in Everything Everywhere All At Once." Once Evelyn (Yeoh) learns that her co-worker Chad (Harry Shum Jr.) is only good at cooking because he hides a raccoon under his hat like in "Ratatouille," she discloses his secret in front of everyone, which leads to animal control taking away Raccacoonie.
But as the film progresses, Evelyn soon learns that she's wrong for what she did, so she helps Chad get his friend back, and in return, she also learns how to get the love of her daughter back at the end of the film.
However, Raccacoonie isn't the only item that's up for sale. Fans of the movie can also purchase Chad's chef uniform, Jobu (Stephanie Hsu)'s Elvis costume, her grandma outfit, Evelyn's kung fu warrior costume and more.
Michelle Yeoh's kung fu warrior costume in
These are just a few outfits that are in the Oscar-nominated film. Since the movie explores different realities where Evelyn, a struggling laundromat owner, has to save the universe by connecting with different versions of herself in other dimensions, there are a ton of outfits that she and the rest of the cast wear in the film.
There are also a few additional mementos that A24 is auctioning off, such as the hot dog hands that Evelyn wears when she's sent to a different universe, her and Waymond Wang (Ke Huy Quan)'s divorce papers, their giant pile of receipts and the laundry delivery van they ride in on set.
Evelyn's hot dog hands in
After fans learned that these items were being auctioned off, they expressed their excitement on Twitter.
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One person said, "Ill take everything!" while sharing a photo of a burglar's mask.
And another said, "This is going to be all my money but YES."
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee continued its efforts to investigate Biden family business dealings on Tuesday, sending a letter to a former Serbian minister of foreign affairs requesting documents related to Hunter Biden and asking for an interview with staff.
The five-page letter obtained by NBC News was sent to Vuk Jeremic, who after serving as Serbias foreign minister was president of the United Nations General Assembly from 2012-13. The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., called Jeremic a a key witness in our investigation.
Mr. Jeremics previous testimony regarding business relationships with officials who participated in international bribery schemes raises red flags that there may be evidence showing the Biden family and associates peddled influence and attempted to sell access, including to individuals connected to the Chinese Communist Party, Comer said in a statement. If President Biden is compromised by deals with foreign adversaries, this is a clear threat to national security. The Oversight Committee is committed to bringing transparency and accountability to the waste, fraud, and abuse that has taken place at the highest levels of government. Mr. Jeremics documents are crucial to this investigation.
The letter refers to the case of Patrick Ho, a former head of a Chinese energy company who was convicted of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in 2018. Jeremic testified during Hos trial and said he was paid by the energy company as a consultant and attempted to introduce individuals to Hunter Biden, though it is not clear a meeting took place.
The White House declined to comment, as did a representative for Hunter Biden. Jeremic did not respond to a request for comment.
The Washington Post reported in 2022 that the potential energy projects Hunter Biden discussed with Hos company never came to fruition. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2020 that corporate records reviewed by the Wall Street Journal show no role for Joe Biden.
Jeremic said in an email to the Post that he knew both Hunter Biden and Ye Jianming, an associate of Ho who is chairman of China's CEFC energy company, but that he was not involved in introducing them.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) said in an interview that Russias ongoing war with Ukraine has been a wake-up call for Taiwan to stockpile weapons as tensions with China continue to grow.
In an interview with the Washington Post published Wednesday, Gallagher said that many Taiwanese officials he met during his trip told him about their concerns with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Almost every Taiwanese official I met with mentioned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a wake-up call, Gallagher told the Post, noting that he met with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and members of her administration during his four-day visit in the sovereign country.
Gallagher referred to concerns from Taiwanese leaders over a $19 billion arms backlog. In the case of some weapons, like anti-ship missiles, one congressional aide said they arent likely to begin arriving in real numbers until 2027 at the earliest, according to The Washington Post.
That was the biggest thing we heard from every major Taiwanese leader concerns over delays, Gallagher added. Thats troubling the Taiwanese, and I think thats unacceptable.
Gallagher, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer and chairman of the House select committee on China, also said it is urgent for the U.S. to send weapons to Taiwan in an effort to prevent China from invading the country and the possibility of a third World War from happening.
We need to be moving heaven and earth to arm Taiwan to the teeth to avoid a war, Gallagher told the Post. Nobody knows if and when Xi Jinping wakes up and decides to do this but all the more reason to put in place a denial posture as quickly as possible.
Gallaghers remarks come as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance is increasingly concerned that China may provide Russia with weapons for its ongoing war with neighboring Ukraine.
We are also increasingly concerned that China may be planning to provide lethal support for Russias war, Stoltenberg said at a joint news conference. Putin must not win. That would show that aggression works and force is rewarded. It would be dangerous for our own security, and for the whole world.
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Stoltenberg also said last month that China is closely watching Russias war with Ukraine and learning lessons from it.
Western powers have shared their concern about about China possibly invading neighboring Taiwan, with a U.S. general saying in a memo 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.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
STRAUSBERG, Germany (Reuters) - German military instructors teaching some 1,000 Ukrainian troops how to use Western tanks and other arms will soon be reinforced by several hundred specialists from other countries, the head of the Special Training Command said on Wednesday.
"We are talking about some 30-50 troops from Norway and several hundred from the Netherlands," Lieutenant-General Andreas Marlow told Reuters in an interview at his headquarters in the town of Strausberg near Berlin, adding he was aiming for further contributions from other nations.
"I hope we will be able to convince more partners to support us," he said, noting the first additional trainers are expected to arrive by the end of March.
Marlow's Special Training Command (STC) is part of a European Union military mission set up in November to train up to 30,000 Ukrainian troops in various skills to help Kyiv fight off Russia's year-old invasion.
Courses in various European countries range from basic training to the operation of modern battle tanks such as the Leopard 2, air defence systems, rocket launchers and howitzers.
So far, some 1,500 mainly German soldiers have been handling the training in Germany, with the goal of completing courses for some 9,000 or more Ukrainians by the end of 2023, Marlow said.
Poland is another major training hub while Spain, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Italy are also running courses. Beyond the EU mission, U.S. and British troops are training Ukrainian troops in Europe as well.
While public discussions over the past few months have focused on whether or not the West would supply tanks to Ukraine, the instructors in Germany stress the importance of all weapons acting in concert.
Such warfare, described by the military as combined arms operations, is seen as a strength of NATO forces in contrast with Russia's military that experts say bets on strength from sheer numbers of troops and weapons.
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"We see tanks and infantry fighting vehicles as inseparable twins that go into battle together, with the support of others such as artillery, engineers or air defence systems," said Marlow.
"Only this mix creates the synergies that give us an advantage over someone who is using their troops without this kind of orchestration," he added, noting that a tank operating alone was vulnerable to attacks by infantry with anti-tank weapons approaching the vehicle from a dead angle.
Marlow said he was impressed by the quick wits, skills and commitment of the Ukrainian troops.
"That gets to you, when you see these young people training on a tank, on an infantry fighting vehicle that will head directly into battle - not like the artillery that fires at a distance," he said.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Alexander Ratz, editing by Mark Heinrich)
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's parliament will start debating the ratification of Finland and Sweden's NATO membership next Wednesday, the agenda of next week's parliamentary session showed this Wednesday.
Finland and Sweden sought membership after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year and have said they want to join "hand in hand", but while most member states have given the green light, NATO requires unanimous consent and Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify them.
Ankara says Stockholm has harboured what Ankara calls members of terrorist groups. Turkey recently indicated it would approve only Finland for NATO membership, while Hungary says it has been delayed by a flurry of legislation required to unlock European Union funds.
During a trip to Warsaw on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to "defend every inch of NATO" to reassure allies on Europe's eastern flank and described Russia's suspension of a landmark nuclear arms control treaty as a "big mistake".
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock last week called on Turkey and Hungary to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO, stating she expects all NATO members to ratify their bids to join the defence alliance "without further delay".
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in November that his nationalist government had already decided to support Finland and Sweden's NATO accession.
The Hungarian government submitted the relevant legislation in July, but parliament, in which Orban's ruling Fidesz party has a two-thirds majority, has not debated and approved the two bills.
Hungary has sought to salvage energy ties to Russia amid the Ukraine war. Orban, re-elected in 2022 for a fourth consecutive term, reiterated on Saturday that being a NATO member was "vital" for Hungary, but said his government would not send arms to Ukraine or sever its economic relations with Moscow.
(Reporting by Gergely Szakacs, Editing by Franklin Paul and Josie Kao)
Like many of his other films, Joao Gonzalezs Ice Merchants began with an image from his subconscious. He imagined a tiny house attached to a cliff, and the ensuing animation and story excited his producer Bruno Caetano. The short follows a father and son living in a house attached to the side of a mountain. The pair freezes ice at their home and parachutes down to the valley below to sell their wares. While animated digitally, the artistic style emulates a hand-drawn pencil on paper look with bold shadows and a limited color palette that contrasts the warm colors of humanity with the cold, harsh colors of the outside world.
DEADLINE: Where did the idea for Ice Merchants originate?
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JOAO GONZALEZ: Like my other films, I started with an image that comes from my subconscious. In this case, it was an image of a tiny house attached to a cliff. And when I have one of those images that resonate with me in preproduction, I start to write a lot about that reality. I start to draw a lot regarding the house, and I try to figure out the rules of the world building Im creating. So, I know roughly what the theme of the film is gonna be about. In this case, I knew it was gonna be a film about loss, but all the tiny details of the narrative are about finding joy.
DEADLINE: Bruno, how did you get involved?
BRUNO CAETANO: So, theres actually a person here missing, which is Ala Nunu. Shes the third person responsible for this film and animated half of the film. We were both in a festival in Portugal and she called me up and said, Oh, you guys need to get in touch. You guys are gonna like each other. So, that was the excuse to come together and hit it off. And from then on, Joao was invited to be a part of the cooperative, COLA Animation. Were not a regular production company, were a cooperative of art directors and animators that come together and try to help each other out. And Joao came on board and weve been doing stuff together ever since.
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DEADLINE: How did you achieve this style of animation?
GONZALEZ: Its a digital animation, but it does try to emulate that more organic filling of paper and pencil. Initially, I was planning to make this film only on paper, but the animation team is very small. It was just me and Ala Nunu, and she was living in France and I was living in Portugal. So logistically speaking, we would have to ship the papers back and forth and it would be a production nightmare. So, instead I focused my energy on trying to find a way digitally to emulate the same style that I initially started drawing for the film. It all started with sketchbooks on my graphic diary, and that was the main reference for it. But the animation itself is traditional frame by frame animation that we draw directly on our graphic table.
DEADLINE: Can you talk about your color choices? Its a very small palette.
GONZALEZ: I have three things that I always incorporate in my illustration style use of perspective, which comes from my love of architecture, very strong dark shadows and limited color palettes. For me, one of my biggest concerns as a director is to find a way of combining things that I like aesthetically, but also making them important conceptually. In this case, the limited color palette was really important to contrast the warmer colors of the human side of the characters with the cold, harsh colors of the outside. I started the film with three or four colors, but I was always adjusting slightly until I hit the right spot that I felt would both please me aesthetically and enhance the story of the film.
CAETANO: There were actually little tweaks you were doing as we went along. It was very interesting, just refining everything a little bit better until we got to the end result.
DEADLINE: One thing that stuck in my mind as I watched the short was, Why do they keep buying these hats? Where did the idea for the hat flying off every time come from?
GONZALEZ: Thats a funny story actually, because I actually designed the characters wearing hats before I knew that hats were gonna be important for the film. I started doing animation relatively recently, and when I started this film two or three years ago I was still not very comfortable drawing hair on characters. So, all of my characters, both from this film and my film before Nestor, had a hat or a beanie mainly for aesthetic purposes. But it all changes in that pre-production phase when Im constructing the world and when Im imagining how those characters would live every day. And when Im constructing it, Im thinking that maybe they parachute every time to sell their ice. And the more I thought about it, the wind would make them lose their hats. Initially it was just a funny, surrealistic thing, like those silly rituals that we have with our close ones at home. They lose all their hats, but then they buy it the next day like a running joke. But the more that I thought about it, maybe the hats will pile up eventually and maybe theyll make a good solution for the ending.
CAETANO: This is a good representation of why Joaos work is very different from other directors that we work with. The fact that he starts going back and forth between the drawing boards, the piano and his subconscious starts building the story in a very, very weird but natural organic way. Its a process thats not very common. He doesnt write a script, he starts drawing ideas. But its always funny to see how Joao manages to convey to us his ideas. Even when he starts speaking in terms of music when we are in the process, we immediately understand what he wants to say. Its one of the nicest things about this weird process, discovering things as we go along.
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Law enforcement officials are calling reports of safety threats at Idaho schools a regional hoax after several high schools were placed on lockdown Wednesday morning.
Columbia High School in Nampa and Caldwell High School were placed on lockdown Wednesday after law enforcement received calls alleging threats there. The Twin Falls Times-News reported that Canyon Ridge High School was shut down Wednesday after police received reports proved to be false of an active shooter.
Canyon County spokesperson Joe Decker said in a news release that there were several spoof calls to schools throughout the state Wednesday morning alleging that attacks took place.
There was an immediate and robust response by law enforcement in each of these areas, and several schools have gone into lockdown as a precaution, Decker said. At this time, it appears that this is a hoax and no verified attacks or injuries have been discovered.
The fake threats appear to be part of a nationwide trend, including in Colorado on Wednesday. Decker said schools in Oregon, California, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada received similar calls.
Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said in a news release Wednesday that she is thankful for the quick action from school administrators and law enforcement.
I am aware that several schools were impacted today by threats of violence, and that the threats do not appear to be valid, Critchfield said. State Department of Education staff have been in touch with districts and will continue to stay apprised of the situation.
Canyon County schools placed on lockdown
According to a tweet from the Nampa School District, the Nampa Police Department initially requested that Columbia High be placed in hall check, requiring students to stay in the classroom behind locked doors, after receiving a call reporting an emergency incident at the school. Instruction continues while students are placed in hall check, Decker said.
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At 10 a.m., police then requested the school be placed on lockdown. Students riding the bus to school were taken back to their homes, the district said in a tweet.
Nampa Police Department Dispatch received a call today, Feb. 22, with a threat to CHS. Although the threat was not deemed credible, Columbia High School was initially placed on hall check and under the recommendation from the Nampa Police Department. NampaSchoolDistrict (@Nampa131schools) February 22, 2023
At about 11:45 a.m., Nampa police cleared the school and students were taken out of lockdown. Police said they did not locate a threat and called the incident a regional hoax.
The Caldwell Police Department said on Facebook that Caldwell High was placed on lockdown, with other local schools put in hall check.
We take all threats extremely seriously, and investigate to the fullest extent, Caldwell police said on Facebook. We realize how disruptive and traumatic this can be, especially for our children, and we are working on clearing the schools as soon as possible and ensuring all student and staff safety.
This was the Caldwell School Districts second false report of a threat recently. Caldwell Middle School was placed in hall check last Friday because of a bomb threat.
The Boise Police Department is aware of threats being made to schools across the state and region. We take all threats of violence seriously and are monitoring the situation. At this time there is no indication of any credible threats targeting schools in Boise. (1/2) Boise PD (@BoisePD) February 22, 2023
Law enforcement agencies in Ada County also received bogus reports of a school shooting, the Ada County Sheriffs Office said in a tweet Wednesday.
The calls have been checked and none of the reports have been valid, the office said. Investigators are working to track the source of the calls.
Iggy Azalea joined OnlyFans in January. Gary Gershoff / Getty Images
Iggy Azalea explained her decision to join OnlyFans on an episode of Emily Ratajkowski's podcast.
Azalea joined the platform in January, despite previously tweeting that she would never do so.
"I've made a lot of people so much money off my body," Azalea said.
In Monday's episode of Emily Ratajkowski's podcast, "High Low," Iggy Azalea talked about why she joined OnlyFans back in January almost two years after saying she would never sign up for the platform.
"I've made a lot of people so much money off my body, and I got the smallest cut off my own fucking body," the rapper said on the episode. "And my own work, and my own ideas."
She then talked to Ratajkowski about how she feels has been treated like a commodity in the past.
"It's been commodified and I wasn't even the main fucking benefactor of it," Azalea said, speaking of her body. "So, fuck this."
Her announcement about joining the platform might have come as a surprise to fans as Azalea once publicly said she would never sign up for the site.
In a since-deleted April 2021 tweet, the rapper said: "I think onlyfans can be really empowering for people, But I WILL NEVER, EVVVER join. I don't want to make that type of content & it only fucks up the bag for ppl on there who really bout that life. Shoutout to the baddies tho!!!!"
In January, Azalea explained why she changed her tune.
"Admittedly, I never knew OnlyFans was a place where I could be creative, so I didn't expect to be collaborating with them on my biggest project to date!" the rapper said in a statement to Variety. "Once I looked beyond the surface-level chatter about what it means to have an OnlyFans, I realized it was the perfect platform to launch a multimedia concept on."
The project she was referring to is called "Hotter Than Hell," which she said will include photos, videos, merch, and more.
Also in the podcast, the Australian rapper addressed the plastic surgery she has gotten, which is a topic she has not shied away from in the past.
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"I like my body. I liked my body before. I liked my face before and I like it now. I like myself. I never didn't. I never hated myself," Azalea told Ratajkowski.
As of Tuesday, Azalea charges $25 a month to subscribe to her page.
Read the original article on Insider
The state has cited the assisted living facility Aspen Creek of Troy and fined it $4,000 after a resident with dementia wandered outside into below-freezing temperatures and died last month.
Kathleen Kitty Kinkel, 77, was found dead in a field near the back of the facility six hours after she left the building on Jan. 31.
Aspen Creek specializes in caring for people who have dementia.
Following an investigation, the Illinois Department of Public Health accused Aspen Creek employees of failing to supervise Kinkel and follow facility policy when she triggered the door alarm.
The case remains under investigation by the Troy Police Department and the Madison County Coroners office. Troy Police Chief Brent Shownes said Tuesday they are still waiting on a final cause of death report, pending the results of toxicological and microscopic tests.
Aspen Creek officials could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
Illinois Department of Public Health inspectors reviewed video and documents at Aspen Creek and interviewed staff members during its investigation of Kinkels death. The Belleville News-Democrat obtained their investigative report and notice of fines through a public records request this week.
State investigation finds violations
Video showed that Kinkel put on her coat and went outside at 2:14 a.m., according to state inspectors. They estimated she walked 54 steps from the back door of the facility.
Aspen Creeks exits are designed to remain locked unless someone applies continued pressure to the door for 15 seconds, known as delayed egress, after which an alarm will sound. Staff members use keypads to enter and exit.
Two resident assistants on duty responded to the door Kinkel exited within minutes of the sounding alarm but reported they did not see any person or footprints in the snow, according to the states review of video and employee statements. One of the resident assistants looked in Kinkels room twice without going inside and reported it looked like she was lying in bed.
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The resident assistants first noticed Kinkel was missing from her room around 5:30 a.m. They thought she might have been in a friends room but did not check because they got busy, according to the state investigation.
An employee who worked the morning shift at 6 a.m. that day told a state inspector that the resident assistants said all residents were accounted for.
The morning shift staff realized Kinkel was missing around 8 a.m. and saw her purple jacket in the field from a window, employees told the state. They ran to the field, found Kinkel without a pulse and not breathing and called 911.
Kinkel was admitted to the facility about a month before her death. She had worked as a real estate sales associate for 26 years and was a member of the St. Jerome Catholic Church in Troy, according to her obituary. Kinkel is survived by her husband, three children and two grandchildren.
Policy review, training follow resident death
Aspen Creek has since reviewed its wandering and missing resident policy and procedures with all staff members and retrained them on how to respond to door alarms, according to a statement to the state about how it planned to address the issues identified by the investigation. Facilities are required to submit these plans under federal and state law.
The facility also wrote in the statement that it plans to install floodlights with a motion sensor outside each fire exit.
The state cited Aspen Creek for Type 1 violations, which are the most severe because they are related to severe harm or the death of a resident, and levied the highest fine allowed by state law.
India to chair the G20 in 2023
Reuters notes that India has so far refused to explicitly accuse Russia of aggression against Ukraine and has increased purchases of Russian oil over 2022.
Read also: Center for Investigation of Crime of Aggression against Ukraine will begin work in July
Meanwhile, G7 finance ministers and central bankers are planning to have a meeting during the upcoming G20 event in Bangalore, where they are expected to discuss the macroeconomic consequences of the war. At the same time, according to Reuters sources, India doesnt want to consider additional sanctions against Russia.
"India is not keen to discuss or support any additional sanctions against Russia during the G20," said one of the sources among Indian officials.
Read also: After meeting with G7 ministers, Kuleba says there will be rapid arms supplies
According to Reuters, India had proposed calling Russias full-scale war against Ukraine a "crisis" or a "challenge" during the Feb. 22 meetings to prepare a communique, but the talks ended without a decision and should continue on Feb 23. The Indian government didnt respond to the agency's inquiries.
In December 2022, Bloomberg reported that Indian PM Narendra Modi decided to cancel the annual face-to-face summit with Russian dictator Putin, over his nuclear threats to Ukraine.
Read also: Indian PM Modi calls on Putin to end war through negotiations
Modi called on Putin to recognize "dialogue and diplomacy" as the only way to end the war.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
By Stanley Widianto and Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Negotiations on a code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea will be intensified this year, Indonesian and Chinese officials said on Wednesday, as the region frets over China's assertiveness in the strategic waterway.
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met with Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Jakarta, ahead of a round of negotiations on the code starting in March.
"Indonesia and ASEAN would like to produce an effective, substantive and actionable (code of conduct)," Retno said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional bloc that Indonesia chairs this year.
Qin added that China and ASEAN will jointly safeguard peace and stability in the strategic trade corridor, through which about $3.4 trillion of goods pass each year.
China would work with ASEAN countries to accelerate consultations on the code, he said.
Beijing claims much of the South China Sea and has built islands from which it is capable of deploying advanced weaponry. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei also have some overlapping claims.
China and ASEAN countries agreed in 2002 to work towards creating a code of conduct and it was 15 years before moves were underway to create a framework for negotiations.
Some experts have accused China of intentionally holding up a process to create a binding set of rules, noting its use of grey-zone tactics and strategic ambiguity to press its territorial claims. China says it is committed to seeing the process through.
The code would advance a 2002 commitment by all parties to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight and "(refrain) from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays, and other features".
The latest talks would take place against a backdrop of increased diplomatic protests against China from the Philippines, which has increased overtures to Western powers like the United States and Australia to counter what it calls China's "aggressiveness".
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Qin on Wednesday said Southeast Asian nations "should not be forced to take sides".
"New cold war and competitiveness of great powers shouldn't appear in the Asia-Pacific region. We believe that Indonesia and ASEAN will make their judgment and choice independently and autonomously in the fundamental interest of the stability, development and prosperity of the region," he said.
They also discussed the crisis in military-ruled Myanmar, where ASEAN has struggled to get the generals to implement an agreed 'five-point consensus' for peace after the 2021 coup.
"As ASEAN chair, Indonesia will embark on engagements with all stakeholders in Myanmar, with the one goal of opening up a possibility of an inclusive national dialogue," Retno said, adding Indonesia appreciates China's support for the process.
(Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Martin Petty)
null TikTok;@haleyybaylee
Influencer Haley Kalil recreated Doja Cat's crimson rhinestone look for New York Fashion Week.
Kalil shared a TikTok of the "painful" removal process.
She said she was still "removing crystals from inside my ears" the next day.
Influencer Haley Kalil told viewers she sat in a makeup chair for 9 hours in order to have 30,000 individual rhinestones placed on her face and body to recreate Doja Cat's iconic Paris Fashion Week look. To her dismay, it didn't prove much easier to remove.
In a video filmed from beneath the crimson sheen of those "30,000 individual stones" which Kalil described as "so itchy" she told viewers she'd worn the homage during New York Fashion Week and, in the harsh lighting of a bathroom, now found herself uncertain on how to "undo" it.
"They're on there pretty good," she said, scratching at her face for emphasis. The February 16 TikTok has since been viewed more than 10.2 million times.
"A little nervous the paint underneath is going to stay," she said, adding, "this is why we don't make manic decisions, Haley," jokingly.
Adopting the lingo of any good TikTok GRWM, Kalil began by "diving right in" with micellar water that appeared to have minimal impact.
"Oh my god, it hurts," she said. Comments like "Why did I put them so close to my eyes?" and "if this looks painful, it's because it is," punctuated the footage of Kalil pulling at sticky ropes of skin-like material and scraping it off with makeup wipes and towels.
"I hope my dermatologist doesn't have TikTok," Kalil said.
After opting for a shower, Kalil showed viewers the patches where the excess still remained, like a cotton swab stained with red. "That's probably not good for you," Kalil said.
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Despite the fact that it hurt to remove, Kalil told viewers the look, applied by NYC makeup artist Samantha Jaymes, is still her "favorite thing that I've ever worn," even though it hurt to remove.
"Stepping out at the Vogue Magazine NYFW party in this look was invigorating!!" Kalil wrote in a February 16 Instagram post. "Everyone should wear something this crazy at least once in their life!!"
The next day, she updated viewers to say her apartment was covered in glitter and she was still "removing crystals from inside my ears."
"You're going to be finding those around your house until next year," a user told Kalil on Instagram.
And, after intensive scrubbing, she told viewers her skin "has never been softer."
Doja Cat's look, which the musician wore to Schiaparelli's Paris Fashion Week show, also required 30,000 hand-applied crystals and took the Pat McGrath team nearly five hours to complete.
Read the original article on Insider
NASCAR Drive For Diversity Driver, Rajah Caruth competes in the eTruck Series Night in America. (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. proved he could drive fast in the front seat of his daddys stock car on short tracks throughout the Carolinas. Jeff Gordon was trading paint in quarter midgets in Northern California 11 years before he was old enough to have a drivers license.
Most NASCAR drivers got started in similar ways.
Not Rajah Caruth. He learned how to handle a race car by playing video games and he says there are a lot of Generation Z drivers getting ready to follow him.
I feel like its just the wave of the future, said Caruth, 20, who is scheduled to race in the second-tier Xfinity Series on Saturday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Its big, right? Because thats the only way I was able to get my start.
Caruth always had a need for speed. A 400-meter runner in high school, he was 13 when he attended his first NASCAR event and quickly fell in love with the sport. But unlike Earnhardt, who was born into a family of drivers, it wasnt likely that Caruth, born in Atlanta to parents from the Caribbean, was going to walk out to the garage one day and find a race car.
The family did have a computer and WiFi though, so Caruth had access to eNASCARs Ignite Series, a virtual esports competition that uses ultra-realistic software to mimic real-life racing without having to put on a fire suit.
Caruth, then 16, didnt win a race in the Ignite Series first season in 2018 but performed well enough to draw the attention of executives with NASCARs Drive for Diversity program. They put him in a real car at the Bojangles Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway a year later and Caruth won two heat races, finishing 10th overall.
Although there were some bumps in the road during the move from virtual reality to well, real reality Caruth says the transition from steering on a computer screen to taking the wheel of a 3,400-pound race car was smoother than he expected.
His first stop was the ARCA Series, in which he drove for Rev Racing, finishing in the top 10 in 18 of his 25 races in 2020-21. He stepped up to the Craftsman Truck Series last year, finishing 11th in his debut. Last weekend at Daytona, in his first race of the new season, he failed to finish after causing a seven-truck crash on the 58th lap of the 250-mile race. His best finish in seven Xfinity races in 2022 was 12th.
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NASCAR legend Richard Petty and Rajah Caruth ride on NASCAR's float in the 134th Rose Parade on Jan. 2. (Michael Owen Baker / Associated Press)
Racing online, I learned how to get information through my eyes, my hands and my ears. So that was limited, Caruth said in a phone call earlier this month. When you get in the real-life car, youre used to having all your senses from the get-go and using them to feel vibrations and sensations provided by the vehicle.
At first, I didnt really figure out how to kind of marry the two. But now, being a little bit in, they really work hand in hand where I almost feel like I have a leg up. I'm only used to having so many, I guess ports would be the word, kind of like how you have like USB stuff on a laptop, right? I have way more than I'm used to when I get in the real-life car and that gives me a leg up sometimes.
Mike Beam says hell have to take Caruths word on that. The president of GMS Racing, Caruths truck team, Beam admits he couldnt tell a USB from a UFO. Im 67 years old and I barely can turn on my computer, he said. My grandkids turn it on.
But Beam sees the value of simulated racing, which grew in popularity during the COVID-19 shutdown when drivers couldnt get to tracks to practice. Instead, they used multimillion-dollar race simulators such as the one General Motors keeps at its test center in Statesville, N.C.
The program is so realistic you can feel the bumps. You feel everything and you get a real sense of the race car, Beam said.
Whether those hours in front of a computer will translate into continued success in a real race car for Caruth remains to be seen but Beam a former crew chief for racing legends Richard Petty, Michael Waltrip, Bill Elliott and Sterling Marlin says the rookie is pretty special.
The one thing that he has going for him is an amazing work ethic. And he's got a really good system down, said Beam, who will run Caruth full time in the No. 24 Chevrolet truck this year and allow him to drive eight Xfinity Series races, including Fontana, for Alpha Prime Racing.
Whether he'll make it, I'll be surprised if he doesn't. He's a good, clean racer. He brought the car home in one piece, got everything out of the car he possibly could. That means a lot. The thing I always tell young drivers is you will get out of this what you put in. Rajah, he believes that. He is not going to miss out on this opportunity.
Just in case, Caruth is taking a full load of classes at Winston-Salem State, where hes majoring in motorsports management.
Rajah Caruth waits for the start of an ARCA Series race at Dover International Speedway in May 2021. (Chris Szagola / Associated Press)
Being a Black man its important to give myself options and my education is something that nobody can take away from me, said Caruth, who said it takes a village to help him juggle a high-stress job with his academic responsibilities.
Well, Ive got a nice therapist, he said jokingly. I've got a cool dad and mom and sister and lenient teachers and a good support system and a great race team. So really the circle I've had the chance to create over this last little bit has allowed me to pursue both of these endeavors.
Pursuits that began with Caruth logging on to his computer just to play a video game.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
It looks like Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is about to go ex-dividend in the next four days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. This means that investors who purchase Union Pacific's shares on or after the 27th of February will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 31st of March.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$1.30 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$5.20 per share. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Union Pacific has a trailing yield of 2.7% on the current stock price of $193.75. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Union Pacific's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.
See our latest analysis for Union Pacific
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. That's why it's good to see Union Pacific paying out a modest 45% of its earnings. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. It paid out more than half (55%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.
It's positive to see that Union Pacific's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
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Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That's why it's not ideal to see Union Pacific's earnings per share have been shrinking at 3.1% a year over the previous five years.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Union Pacific has delivered an average of 16% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments.
The Bottom Line
From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Union Pacific? Its earnings per share have been declining meaningfully, although it is paying out less than half its income and more than half its cash flow as dividends. Neither payout ratio appears an immediate concern, but we're concerned about the earnings. Overall we're not hugely bearish on the stock, but there are likely better dividend investments out there.
With that being said, if dividends aren't your biggest concern with Union Pacific, you should know about the other risks facing this business. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Union Pacific you should be aware of.
If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking our selection of top dividend stocks.
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BRUSSELS (AP) The International Federation of Journalists has suspended with immediate effect the Russian Union of Journalists over its action since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its role in annexed Ukrainian territories.
The IFJ, which represents more than 600,000 media workers across the world, said the Russian union's membership was suspended following an investigation then a vote by its global executive committee on Wednesday.
The vote was held after the union refused to reconsider its decision to set up branches in four regions annexed by Russia, the federation said.
The Russian Union of Journalists actions in establishing four branches in the annexed Ukrainian territories have clearly shattered ... solidarity and sown divisions among sister unions," said IFJ President Dominique Pradalie.
The Kremlin in September illegally annexed the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, where it claims its rule is welcomed. Pro-Moscow separatists have controlled part of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk province since 2014.
The IFJ said it will continue to support independent journalists inside and outside Russia while providing aid to its Ukrainian affiliates.
According to the federation, Ukraine was the deadliest country for journalists in 2022, with 12 media workers killed while doing their work.
Welcome to Investigative Stories from Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent's newsletter that walks you through the most prominent investigations of the past week.
If you are fond of in-depth journalism that exposes war crimes, corruption and abuse of power across state organizations in Ukraine and beyond, subscribe to our investigative newsletter.
To support our journalism, please become a patron of the Kyiv Independent. Pledges start from just $5 a month.
The Kyiv Independents exclusive
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Leaked document reveals alleged Kremlin plan to take over Belarus by 2030
A group of U.S. and European media outlets, including the Kyiv Independent, has obtained a 17-page document allegedly detailing Russias plans to subjugate Belarus and dismantle its independence.
The document details Russia's future steps to take full control of Belarusian political, economic, and military spheres by the end of the decade.
According to the document, by 2030, Belarus should have a single currency and tax system with Russia, and its media space must be under Russian control. The Belarusian army must comply with Russian regulations, while all key military production must be transferred from Belarus to Russia.
According to representatives of one Western intelligence service, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the two-part document is the joint effort of several agencies: Russia's domestic, foreign, and military intelligence services worked on the draft strategy presented in the leaked files.
The source alleges that the document was created in 2021 by the Kremlin's Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation. According to the leaked document, Russias end goal is to finalize the merger of Russia and Belarus into a Moscow-run Union State by 2030.
Read the full story in English here.
Other investigative stories
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Media: Russian branch of French retailer Auchan supplies aid to Russian troops
The Russian branch of French retailer Auchan has been providing Russian forces with supplies under the guise of humanitarian aid, according to a joint investigation by Le Monde, Bellingcat, and Insider.
Story continues
Under international law, humanitarian aid can only be supplied to civilians.
The goods, including men's socks, cigarettes, lighters, and razors, were collected from Auchan warehouses and volunteer-setup drop-off points in Auchan stores across Russia.
Auchan executives in Russia reportedly coordinated with military enlistment officers to conscript employees of 230 chain stores in Russia.
The story is based on leaked emails, photos and videos from social media, and eyewitness accounts.
Aiding the Russian military puts the company at risk of sanctions. Russia's market makes up 10% of Auchan's annual turnover and is worth around 3.2 billion euros.
Auchan CEO Yves Claude said in March 2022 that the chain wouldn't withdraw from Russia following the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine like other companies did. Later, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on people to boycott Auchan and all companies which continued to do business in Russia despite its aggression against Ukraine.
Watch the investigation in English here.
Bellingcat identifies Wagner fighters killed in Ukraine as Russian crime bosses
Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative media outlet, identified three Wagner Group mercenaries killed in Russias war against Ukraine as leaders of organized crime groups from the 1990s.
All three were recruited in Russian prisons by the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-backed mercenary company. They were Sergei Maksimenko, 59, Andrey Berezhnykh, 55, and Igor Kusk, 55.
According to the report, the three inmates joined Russias war effort against Ukraine in a bid to get pardoned something that Wagners leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has been reportedly promising inmates in exchange for fighting.
In 2013, Berezhnykh, then-leader of a small gang operating in Russias Saratov region, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder and other crimes. Berezhnykh and his gang reportedly killed several people, including local business owners.
Maksimenko was also serving a 25-year sentence when Wagner recruited him. His crime group was reportedly involved in pimping, extortion, and murders. In the early 2000s, the group committed several murders, mainly of local business owners and leaders of rival criminal organizations.
Kusk, a former Russian soldier, has been serving a 23-year prison sentence since 2015. He led a criminal group named after him, together with some Soviet-Afghan War veterans, in Russias Tatarstan region. As of the late 1990s, the gang was engaged in low-profile crimes and contract killings. The group was responsible for the murder of two general directors of the local construction company, according to Bellingcat.
Read the full story in English here.
Ukrainska Pravda: Top official's brother buys real estate he couldn't afford
Ihor Smirnov, the brother of a deputy head of Ukraine's President's Office, Andrii Smirnov, went on a spending spree in 2022 that didn't appear to correlate with his income, an investigation by Ukrainska Pravda found.
Ihor Smirnov earns a living as a used car broker, according to his brother. Since 2021, he has also been a security advisor at Ukraine's Agricultural Fund, a state agency. It's not clear how he qualified for the position.
In 2022, Ihor Smirnov bought a luxurious apartment in Lviv and a land plot in the Carpathian Mountains. In both cases, he paid a suspiciously low price: four times below the market for the apartment and ten times below the market for the land.
Smirnov bought a 100-square-meter apartment worth $164,000 for roughly $32,000. A land plot in the Carpathian Mountains cost him just $290. The market price for a land plot of that size would be around $30,000, according to the investigation.
The low prices could be put in the contracts to lower the taxes, while the remainder of the sum exchanged hands under the table, according to the investigation.
The story alleges that Andrii Smirnov could have bought the real estate for himself under his brother's name, so it goes unnoticed, or received it as a bribe.
Both Andrii and Ihor Smirnovs denied any wrongdoing but were unable to coherently explain where the money for these purchases came from. The official said he lent some money to his brother.
Watch the full story in the Ukrainian language here.
Nashi Groshi: City council buys generators at inflated prices
In early February, the emergency department of the Mykolaiv city council bought 67 generators at an inflated price, bypassing a public tender, according to Nashi Groshi, a procurement watchdog.
The city ended up spending $322,000 on the generators that can be bought online over 60% cheaper than their contract price.
Read the full story in Ukrainian via the link.
Impact
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Mykolaiv Mayor orders internal audit following media report revealing overpriced generators purchase
The Mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, said he had ordered an internal audit following a journalist investigation that revealed the city buying overpriced generators without public bidding.
Sienkevych suspended the head of the emergency department of the city council that placed the order for the time of the investigation.
SAPO probes lawmaker for alleged illicit enrichment following journalist investigation
The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) opened a probe into the alleged illicit enrichment of a lawmaker Pavlo Khalimon, ex-deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People party faction.
SAPO started looking into Khalimon following a story by Ukrainska Pravda.
According to the publication, Khalimon bought a house for Hr 10 million ($270,000) in June 2022, five to six times cheaper than the asking prices for similar houses nearby. He allegedly registered it under the name of his girlfriend in an attempt to conceal the purchase.
"We expect that this case will be quickly investigated, and the property confiscated to benefit the citizens of Ukraine," Oleksandr Novikov, head of SAPO, told Ukrainska Pravda.
In early February, National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAPC) found that in 2020, Khalimon had also failed to declare real estate used by his family members, including an apartment and two houses.
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DUBAI (Reuters) -International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials will visit Tehran in the coming days, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Wednesday.
"In the framework of concluding negotiations, IAEA officials will travel to Tehran in the coming days," the minister said during a press briefing with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad.
"We hope that IAEA Director Grossi will reach an agreement with Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation from a non-political and technical standpoint," Amirabdollahian added.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency had earlier reported the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation Mohammad Eslami as saying that IAEA inspectors had been in Tehran since Tuesday and had started negotiations, visits and checks to resolve "ambiguities created by an inspector".
Last week, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said it was discussing the results of recent verification activities with Iran after Bloomberg News reported that the agency had detected uranium enriched to 84% purity, which is close to weapons grade.
A spokesperson for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation denied the report on Monday and said Tehran's uranium enrichment did not exceed 60% purity.
"Through interactions and coordination, we are preventing the rise of new ambiguities and disruptions to our cooperation with the agency," Eslami was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Since the U.S. withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal in 2018, Iran has gradually started going beyond the pact's nuclear curbs and enriching uranium to up to 60% purity in April 2021.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought to acquire an atomic bomb," Amirabdollahian added.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alexander Smith)
By Emilio Parodi
MILAN (Reuters) -Facebook parent company Meta faces a potential tax bill of around 870 million euros ($925 million) in Italy after prosecutors launched an investigation into the company, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
The investigation was opened by Milan magistrates at the request of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), which asked the Guardia di Finanza police and the Italian Revenue Agency to checks if there is a case for user registrations to be subject to tax.
"We strongly disagree with the idea that providing access to online platforms to users should be charged with VAT," a Meta spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The spokesperson added that the company takes its tax obligations seriously, pays all tax required in the countries where it operates and will fully cooperate with the authorities.
The EPPO, which is based in Luxembourg, said it did not comment on ongoing investigations nor would it publicly confirm which cases it was working on.
News of an administrative tax audit into Meta was first published on Wednesday by Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano.
The two sources said that investigators believe that free membership on Meta platforms comes in return for access to user data and should be classified as an exchange of services, therefore subject to VAT sales tax.
ROLE OF FREE ACCESS
Italy's tax police and revenue agency calculated a model under which Meta would have had to pay around 220 million euros of sales tax in Italy in 2021, according to the sources.
The figure for the period back to 2015 was calculated at 870 million euros.
One of the sources explained that the most relevant point was the establishment of a link between free access and data transfer as a taxable transaction, which could have repercussions for other multinationals and other countries in Europe.
A third source told Reuters that Meta believes there is no direct connection between the data provided by users and the access given to the platform, and without this link, there would be no VAT due.
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The assessment by the Italian authorities has been brought to Meta's attention and a dialogue was under way between the company and the revenue agency, according to the sources.
The company may decide either to accept the results of the investigation and pay the requested amount, or contest it and open an administrative dispute.
In recent years, the Milan Prosecutor's Office has opened several tax investigations against multinational tech companies such as Google and Apple.
Usually, once an agreement for payment has been reached, the criminal investigation is closed. ($1 = 0.9401 euros)
(Additional reporting by Giselda Vagnoni in Rome and Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholmediting by Keith Weir)
Under its new military aid package, Italy will provide Ukraine with Spada and Skyguard air defense systems beyond the SAMP-T/Mamba, which it earlier pledged to deliver, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Feb. 21.
Speaking at a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Meloni ruled out supplying Western fighter jets to Ukraine for the time being.
"Currently, there is no question of sending aircraft, and this decision must be made with international partners. We have focused on air defense systems, SAMP/T, Spada, and Skyguard. The priority is to protect infrastructure and civilian population," the prime minister said.
France and Italy approved the delivery of Italian-French SAMP-T air defense systems in early February. Ukrainian servicemen left for training on the system shortly after.
Meloni arrived in Kyiv on Feb. 20 on her first trip to Ukraine since Russia started the all-out war against Ukraine in 2022.
Except for meeting Zelensky, the Italian prime minister also visited Bucha and Irpin, towns in Kyiv Oblast devastated by Russia's occupation in March.
The two leaders signed a declaration reaffirming Italy's continuing support for Ukraine, its European and NATO integration, and efforts to implement the peace formula outlined by Zelensky.
Meloni added that her country was preparing to host Ukraine Recovery Conference in April.
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have both been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating former President Trumps involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to The New York Times, in another sign the investigation is picking up steam.
The subpoena of Ivanka Trump, the former presidents first daughter, and Kushner, news of which The New York Times attributes to two people briefed on the matter, comes as special counsel Jack Smith has summoned other members of Trumps innermost circle in recent weeks, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Special counsel shows signs of ramping up Trump investigation
The special counsel and representatives for both Ivanka Trump and Kushner did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
The escalation of Smiths investigation, including approaching prominent individuals connected to the matter, means the probe may be nearing its conclusion. Smith is also investigating Trumps handling of classified information.
Trump, who has had an adversarial relationship with Smith, has attempted to block witnesses from testifying in the investigation on the grounds of executive privilege. Pence has also said that he plans to fight Smiths subpoena.
Smiths subpoena of Ivanka Trump and Kushner also continues his push to crack the circle of the people that were closest to the former president on Jan. 6, 2021, as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Ivanka Trump was with her father in the Oval Office that day, and Kushner was also at the White House.
Both Ivanka Trump and Kushner also testified before the congressional committee that was investigating the event.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
CNN
Calling out Fox News on Tuesday for falsely smearing Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) after she was violently attacked, CNN anchor Jake Tapper accused the conservative cable giant of peddling a blatant lie that inspired deranged viewers to bombard the congresswoman with abusive calls.
After Craig was assaulted in the elevator of her D.C. apartment building earlier this month by a violent repeat offender, the Minnesota lawmaker called for a crackdown on crime and recidivism. Fox News then followed up by framing the representative as a hypocrite because of her supposed ties to the so-called Defund the Police movement, noting a former staffers support for the racial justice protests after George Floyds 2020 murder.
After the networks most-watched show The Five ran a segment last week criticizing Craig for her supposedly anti-police stance, the congresswomans office released excerpts of profane phone messages shed received saying she deserved her attack. Some of the calls specifically referenced The Fives coverage of Craig.
Im listening to your story on The Five. So, you got attacked, huh? In Minnesota? Well, that's what you get for turning that what, five or six-time felon, crack-smoking, fentanyl-eating, counterfeit money-passing, armed robber holding guns on fetuses, n****r [George] Floyd as a public hero, one racist caller shouted. The same caller also said they hoped to soon see Craig violently sexually assaulted.
Interviewing Craig on Tuesday, Tapper aired a montage of the abhorrent calls the congresswoman had received alongside The Five segment that appeared to encourage the campaign.
If you want to defund the police, well notify 9-1-1, Fox News host Jeanine Pirro said in the Feb. 15 broadcast. Whenever you call them, you dont get the police Thats what they want; thats what they should get. But now that the congresswoman has been victimized, now she feels your pain? Nonsense. And for those who say at least now shes on our side, baloney! Youve done your damage, stick with it!
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Craig, whose office has flagged her support for law enforcement and police funding, told Tapper that both Fox and the National Republican Congressional Committee have accelerated the number of attacks were getting directly and specifically. (The NRCC called Craig a hypocrite for backtracking in her previous support for defunding the police on the same day Fox News took aim at the congresswoman.)
The lies are dangerous, and what I want the GOP to do is I want them to stop lying about my record and about the record of Democrats in general across the country, Craig added. You know, I have a strong relationship and track record of supporting law enforcement in the second district of Minnesota. In fact, I was literally endorsed by the police in my last election.
Pointing out that Craig has never called for defunding the police, Tapper explained that Fox News claims about her largely center on a one-time staffers comments while noting that it does appear fueled by the NRCCs statement last week.
Its spurious stuff. I never found any evidence you called for defunding the police, Tapper continued, prompting Craig to confirm that the GOP published the statement nearly a week after she was assaulted.
This is just really an illustration of how gutter politics and outright lies and absurdities have infiltrated our politics and, frankly, Fox News and many of the commentators who work there, she exclaimed. And its dangerous. Its dangerous to elected officials like myself. Its dangerous to our democracy when you cant tell the truth to your viewers. Tapper, meanwhile, observed that her views on policing shouldnt even really matter in the first place.
I mean to be clear, even if you had called for defunding the police, that doesnt mean that anybody should be making light of you being punched in the face, the anchor declared. I mean, it doesnt matter your political position. That said, theyre also just lying. Its just a blatant lie.
Asked by Tapper what she would say to the people who are lying about your record or feel that it is okay to threaten her, Craig replied that its super dangerous, out of control and they need to stop lying about our records.
The NRCC, for its part, has remained unapologetic over its false claims about Craig and her political positions.
No one condones violence against elected officials, NRCC National Press Secretary Will Reinert said in a statement on Friday. But Angie Craig cannot dispute she is closely associated with defund the police extremists and voted with Ilhan Omar 93 percent of the time.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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A metal sphere with a 5-foot diameter on a beach in Hamamatsu, Japan, on Saturday. NHK News
A metal sphere, 5 feet in diameter, washed up on a Japanese beach and has mystified authorities.
The hollow ball is not explosive, and it could be just a buoy, authorities said.
Many have rejected this online, with some referencing the manga series "Dragon Ball" and Godzilla.
A mysterious iron sphere that washed up on a Japanese beach has baffled authorities and sent social-media users into a frenzy.
The metal ball is about 5 feet in diameter and recently appeared on Enshuhama Beach in the coastal city of Hamamatsu, NHK, a state broadcaster, reported.
A passerby reported it to police on Saturday, which prompted an inspection, but a local man told the outlet that the ball had sat there for more than a month, the outlet said.
The beach was subsequently cordoned off, with officials in protective clothing sent to inspect the object.
Masaki Matsukawa, a representative of the city's civil-engineering office, told NHK that the rust-pocked object had still not been identified. The office said it could be a buoy, the outlet reported an explanation supported by the presence of two apparent metal handles sticking out of it.
An oceanographer based out of San Diego told The New York Times that "it's just a normal buoy" and that buoys like this are very common, and have washed up on some US shores recently.
Shigeru Fujieda, a marine debris expert in Japan, also told the Times that the ball was likely used to anchor ships.
But on the tail of the media attention around Chinese spy balloons, the object has sent social media users into a flurry of speculation.
Some quickly suggested that it's likely one of the orbs from the popular manga series "Dragon Ball." Others disagreed, saying it's clearly a reptile egg readying to birth Godzilla.
A bomb-disposal team was dispatched and, after performing an X-ray, established that there's no risk of explosion, NHK said.
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The sphere was scheduled for removal on Wednesday and will be stored in case someone comes to claim it, NHK reported. The BBC confirmed its removal in a report on Thursday.
"It could be confused for a World War 2 mine ... but those would have spikes sticking out of them," Mark Inall, a professor and oceanographer at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, told the BBC. He added that he immediately recognized the sphere as a buoy.
"Given the recent events ... I could understand there's an interest in an unidentified floating object," he added.
Read the original article on Insider
[Source]
The Japanese Justice Ministry has proposed raising the age of sexual consent from 13 to 16.
The proposal comes as part of an overhaul of the countrys sex crime legislation after multiple rape acquittals in 2019 caused public outrage.
A panel of the Japanese Justice Ministry aims to criminalize the grooming of minors and broaden the definition of rape. The statute of limitations for reporting sexual assault will increase from 10 to 15 years.
However, there is still an exception for intercourse between people who are at least 13 years old and have an age gap of less than five years.
More from NextShark: Chicagos Chinatown on high alert after string of armed robberies
The current law requires victims to prove that there was violence and intimidation during the rape incident and that it was impossible to resist.
Although the wording of this law has not been changed, the panel reportedly added other factors to the definition of rape, such as intoxication, drugging, being caught off guard and psychological control.
According to Justice Ministry Official Yusuke Asanuma, the proposal is not meant to make it easier or harder for victims to win, but that it should make verdicts more consistent.
More from NextShark: Japan pulls off stunning upset of Spain, eliminates Germany from World Cup
Japan currently has the lowest age of consent among developed countries and in the G7 group.
The government could pass the law as early as summer.
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Japanese airline drops its 'Z' logo so travelers won't mistake it for Russia support
Then-state Sen. Jennifer McClellan at a canvassing event in Richmond, Va., in December. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Jennifer McClellan made history, becoming the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress in Virginia. McClellan, a Democrat, won a special election in the Fourth Congressional District, defeating Republican Leon Benjamin.
She is set to fill the seat of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin, who died from colorectal cancer in November, just three weeks after he was reelected to his fourth term.
This district over a hundred years ago sent John Mercer Langston to Congress as the first African American Virginian, said the Virginia state senator on the night of her win. This city helped send the second, Bobby Scott. Then we sent Donald McEachin. That is quite a legacy. And I look forward to building on that legacy.
Heres a look at who McClellan is and what her victory means for Virginia and the country.
McClellan comes from a legacy of service and segregation
McClellan at a news conference on Capitol Hill in 2021. (Andrew Harnik/AP)
McClellan was born on Dec. 28, 1972, in Petersburg, Va., to community leaders and educators. Her father, James McClellan Jr., was a professor at Virginia State University, a historically Black college. Her mother, Lois McClellan, worked as a counselor there. Both parents, raised in the segregated South in the Jim Crow era, became active in the civil rights movement. In 1901, McClellan's great-grandfather was forced to take a literacy test in Alabama and had to have three white people vouch for his character so he could register to vote. In 1947, her father paid a Tennessee poll tax.
My parents lived in Arkansas, Kentucky and then Virginia between the 1950s and 1969 and were very active in the civil rights movement, McClellan said in a campaign ad. But they also felt the trauma themselves of Emmett Till being murdered, of Medgar Evers being murdered, of Martin Luther King being murdered.
Its poetic justice, thinking about what not only my family has been through, but what our country has been through, she told the Washington Post. To be the first Black woman from Virginia, which was the birthplace of American democracy but also the birthplace of American slavery.
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McClellan is a wife and mother
The congresswoman-elect hugs her daughter at her election party in Richmond on Tuesday. (John C. Clark/AP)
Along with being the first Black woman to be elected to Congress in Virginia, McClellan in 2010 was the first Virginia delegate to serve in a legislative session while pregnant and to give birth while in office. She currently lives in Richmond with her husband, David Mills, and their two school-age children, Jackson and Samantha. Her 2008 wedding was officiated by her mentor, Sen. Tim Kaine.
McClellan has credited her dedication to public service to honoring her family and the future legacy of America.
What struck me, now, when Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd were murdered, I felt that same trauma they felt, she said of her parents and grandparents in her campaign ad. And I realized Im fighting the same fights that they fought, and my grandparents fought, and my great-grandparents fought. And I realized I have to do everything in my power to keep my children from fighting that fight.
McClellan has continued to push for social justice through civic service
McClellan at a rally for an economic recovery and infrastructure package prioritizing climate, care, jobs and justice in 2021 in Williamsburg, Va. (Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images for Green New Deal Network)
McClellan first entered Virginia politics in 2006, winning a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, where she represented the 71st District until 2017.
In January 2017, she was elected to the Virginia state Senate in a special election to fill the Ninth District seat vacated by McEachins election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
As a state senator, McClellan passed the Voting Rights Act of Virginia in 2021 the first such act ever passed in a Southern state and modeled after the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. She has also expunged remnants of Jim Crow in Virginia by repealing antiquated segregation laws from 1901-1960 that were still in the states code until 2020. She led the effort to make Virginia the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment; passed the Virginia Values Act, a bipartisan win that protects LGBTQ Virginians in employment, housing and public spaces; and passed legislation to repeal the states ban on same-sex marriage. She also passed the Reproductive Health Protection Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, reformed Virginias criminal justice system and expanded access to child care and tenant rights and protections.
In 2021, she ran for governor but lost the crowded primary race to Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who eventually lost to Republican Glenn Youngkin. If McClellan had won, she would have been the first woman to be elected governor of the state.
McClellan serves as the chair of Virginias Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission a bipartisan agency of the Virginia General Assembly through which she honors Kings legacy by promoting community engagement, economic and social justice, as well as racial healing. Now she is looking forward to building on her own legacy, representing the state of Virginia.
It still blows my mind that were having firsts in 2023, McClellan told NBC News. My ancestors fought really hard to have a seat at that table, and now not only will I have a seat at the table in Congress, Ill be able to bring that policymaking table into communities that never really had a voice before.
Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D) was projected to defeat her Republican opponent on Tuesday to become the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress, according to The Associated Press and early vote counts.
McClellan, 50, led Republican Leon Benjamin by about 40 percentage points on Tuesday during a special election to fill a seat vacated by the death of Rep. Donald McEachin (D). McEachin died of cancer in November, shortly after he was elected to a fourth term in office.
Her victory, while expected in a blue-leaning district that includes Richmond, is a milestone in Virginia politics. McClellan painted her bid as an honor heavy with responsibility to be the states first Black woman to head to Congress, pointing to her familys experiences in the Jim Crow era. She told The Associated Press that her father and grandfather were required to pay poll taxes and her mother wasnt able to vote until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Its poetic justice, thinking about what not only my family has been through, but what our country has been through, McClellan told The Washington Post after her projected victory. To be the first Black woman from Virginia, which was the birthplace of American democracy but also the birthplace of American slavery.
Her victory was hailed by the Virginia Democratic Party.
@JennMcClellanVA has won her race for the U.S. Congress in VA-04!
She is the first Black congresswoman to be elected in the Commonwealth of Virginia. pic.twitter.com/hiZrjY83Je Virginia Democrats (@vademocrats) February 22, 2023
Jennifer McClellans history-making victory as the first Black woman to be elected to Congress from Virginia will have ripple effects across the Commonwealth, Susan Swecker, the chairwoman of the party, said in a statement Tuesday night. Her leadership will expand upon the outstanding progress and advocacy for which we remember Congressman A. Donald McEachin I cannot think of a better way to honor his life and legacy.
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McClellan has served as a state legislator since 2006, sponsoring many Democratic initiatives, including bills that expanded voting access and abortion rights. She pushed forward a clean energy initiative and has pledged to work toward similar efforts while in Congress.
Only three Black men have ever represented Virginia in Congress. McClellan will join 29 other Black women now in the House of Representatives.
Its a huge honor, and responsibility, to ensure that Im not the last, she told AP.
Related...
Hunt
Jeremy Hunt is putting funding for Britain's start-ups at risk because of uncertainty over his tax policies, entrepreneurs have warned.
In an open letter signed by more than 180 start-up founders and tech investors, Mr Hunt was urged to confirm plans to renew three key tax incentives that have helped spur investment in early stage businesses over the last decade.
The Chancellor promised to extend investment schemes in November's Budget, but changes have still not been put into legislation, leaving their progress in doubt.
Founders and investors including Chris Hulatt, who launched the venture firm Octopus, warned that uncertainty over whether the schemes will be extended was negatively impacting start-ups looking to raise investment, as nobody can be sure about what rules for follow-up fundraises may be.
Founders of tech unicorns, companies valued at more than $1bn, including GoCardless boss Hiroki Takeuchi and Zopa founder Giles Andrews, also signed the letter.
In the letter, organised by The Entrepreneurs Network, the business founders warned: Investors know the lifespan of the schemes are finite unless legislation is passed to extend them.
Planned changes included extending the seed enterprise investment scheme, or SEIS, which allows individual investors to claim up to 50pc income tax relief on investments in very early stage companies.
In Novembers Autumn Statement, Mr Hunt promised to extend this scheme and make it more generous by April 2023. Start-ups will be able to raise up to 250,000 from the scheme, compared to 150,000. Annual limits on the amount investors can claim back from the scheme were also due to double.
Mr Hunt also confirmed two other tax breaks would be extended until 2025. The Enterprise Investment Scheme offers up to 30pc tax relief on investments in companies with under 250 staff, while the Venture Capital Trust relief provides a tax discount on investments in funds that back start-ups.
While the Treasury has promised to extend the schemes, the founders said: Despite the welcome news, the Government still is yet to pass the necessary legislation to put these proposed changes into practice.
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The Chancellor and No11 are coming under pressure ahead of Marchs Budget to unveil measures that will help boost growth as the UKs economy stagnates.
Start-up founders have been urging Mr Hunt to rethink plans to cut the level of R&D tax relief companies can claim. Small businesses are currently able to claim back up to 130pc of their research spend as tax credits. This is being cut to 86pc because of concerns from the taxman that the benefits are being misused. The change is expected to save the Exchequer up to 4.5bn over its first five years.
However, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that up to 50,000 of its members said they were less likely to invest in R&D as a result of the changes.
Martin McTague, national chair of the FSB, said: The UK risks being left in an innovation wasteland if Jeremy Hunt does not take control of Treasury innovation policy and restore the single most successful industrial policy of the last decade.
In January, the Government launched a consultation over measures to streamline current research reliefs into a single system. In the consultation, officials admitted the reform to the rates creates challenges for some R&D intensive businesses.
The Treasury said it still planned to extend the tax breaks available under the SEIS scheme from April 2023.
A spokesman said its changes to R&D tax credits were intended to ensure taxpayers money is spent as effectively as possible.
WINDHOEK (Reuters) - U.S. first lady Jill Biden has arrived in Namibia on the first stop on a five-day Africa tour, part of a push by the United States to strengthen its ties on the continent.
Biden landed at the airport in Namibia's capital Windhoek on Wednesday afternoon before heading to Heroes' Acre, a war memorial, with the first lady of Namibia.
Her trip will focus on education, health and empowering youth and women, she said in a statement on social media. After Namibia she will go to Kenya where she will hear from those affected by drought and food insecurity, she said.
The Biden administration is planning a slew of high-level visits to Africa this year in an effort to counter the influence of China and Russia on the continent.
South Africa is currently hosting a joint naval exercise with Russia and China, a move the country says is routine but which has alarmed the United States and other Western partners.
It is Jill Biden's first trip to Africa as first lady.
(Reporting by Siphiwe Sibeko; Additional reporting and writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alison Williams)
WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) Dancers, drummers and Namibia's president and first lady welcomed U.S. first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday as she opened a five-day, two-country visit to Africa aimed at highlighting the challenges facing women and young people and the food insecurity plaguing the Horn of Africa.
After flying all night, the first lady was feted at the airport by members of some of Namibias ethnic groups clad in red, white and blue, or bright pink who greeted her with singing, dancing, drumming and ululating. The last high-level U.S. official to visit was Vice President Al Gore in 1996, the White House said.
The first lady's trip is part of a commitment by President Joe Biden to deepen U.S. engagement with the fast-growing region. The United States has fallen well behind China in investment in sub-Saharan Africa, which has become a key battleground in an increasingly fraught competition between the major powers.
Jill Biden and Monica Geingos, Namibia's first lady, embraced on the tarmac before Biden greeted U.S and Namibian diplomatic and government officials. The two first met in December, when dozens of African leaders flew to Washington for a summit hosted by President Biden.
After leaving the airport, Jill Biden was driven 45 minutes south of Windhoek, the capital, to lay a wreath at Heroes Acre, Namibias official war memorial. She later met with President Hage Geingob and his wife at the State House, where her arrival was heralded with more singing and dancing.
It's Jill Biden's sixth time in Africa, but her first trip as first lady. She is following in the footsteps of her recent predecessors, who all made the trip across the Atlantic Ocean in the name of trying to help foster goodwill toward the United States.
We have a lot to accomplish, she said Tuesday before departing Washington.
Africa is the fastest-growing and youngest region in the world, according to the White House, which says 1 of every 4 people in the world will be African by 2050.
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Jill Biden previously visited Africa in 2010, 2011, twice in 2014 and once in 2016, all during her husband's service as U.S. vice president. Two of those trips were with him.
This time, she is traveling to Africa without the president, who was wrapping up a trip to Poland to mark Friday's anniversary of Russia's aggression toward Ukraine. She brought along her granddaughter Naomi Biden.
Patricia Nixon was the first first lady to travel to Africa on her own. She went as President Richard Nixons personal representative to Liberia, Ghana and the Ivory Coast in 1972. She addressed legislative bodies and met with African leaders about U.S. policy toward the country now known as Zimbabwe, and human rights in South Africa, according to the National First Ladies Library.
What recent first ladies did on their visits to Africa:
MELANIA TRUMP
Mrs. Trump visited for the first time in 2018, when she spent five days as first lady stopping in Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt to promote U.S. developmental aid and education, cradle babies and highlight animal and historic preservation.
She traveled without President Donald Trump, who had denied making disparaging comments about African countries.
She opened the trip at an infant clinic in Ghana. She also learned about Africa's slave past during a tour of Cape Coast Castle, a former slave holding facility on the Ghanaian coast. She spent time inside the cramped dungeon once used to house male slaves and walked through the Door of No Return, from which the slaves were shipped to the New World.
In Malawi, the former model toured indoor and outdoor classrooms, observed lessons and watched students play soccer with U.S.-donated balls. She highlighted elephant preservation at Nairobi National Park in Kenya. She closed the tour in Egypt by touring the pyramids and the Great Sphinx to highlight U.S.-supported preservation efforts there.
MICHELLE OBAMA
Mrs. Obama went to South Africa and Botswana on a goodwill mission in the summer of 2011 to promote youth leadership, education and HIV and AIDS awareness.
The centerpiece of the weeklong trip by Americas first Black first lady was a 30-minute speech at a U.S.-sponsored leadership conference at a church in Soweto township. THe church became a popular refuge during the South African people's fight against apartheid, the now-abolished system of government-imposed segregation.
She was accompanied by her daughters, Malia and Sasha; her mother, Marian Robinson; and a niece and nephew. Mrs. Obama also took her daughters to visit with former South African President Nelson Mandela at his home.
Mrs. Obama made a second solo visit to Africa in June 2016, the final year of the Obama administration. In Liberia and Morocco, she promoted her Let Girls Learn initiative to encourage developing countries to educate girls.
She also visited Ghana with President Barack Obama in 2009, his first year in office.
LAURA BUSH
Mrs. Bush traveled to Africa five times on her own between 2005 and 2007 during President George W. Bushs second term, in addition to two trips she took with him.
Her trips mostly focused on promoting the administration's efforts to combat the spread of HIV, as well as malaria. She also emphasized literacy, drug prevention and national parks. During one stop in South Africa, she praised HIV-positive mothers for working to erase the stigma associated with the disease. She spoke openly with African women about taking control of their sex lives.
Mrs. Bush also announced millions of dollars in U.S. funding for programs to stem the spread of AIDS and mosquito-borne malaria. In Mozambique, she covered her face with a white mask to help illustrate the benefits of spraying homes with insecticides to combat malaria. She also passed out mosquito nets.
She was accompanied on these trips by one or both of her twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.
HILLARY CLINTON
Hillary Clinton took along her 17-year-old daughter, Chelsea, on her two-week visit in March 1997 to Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda and Eritrea.
The first lady opened her journey at Goree Island in Senegal, a hub for the Atlantic slave trade for 300 years. Mrs. Clinton had said she wanted to see the island because of its significance to Black Americans. She discussed violent crime in South Africa, along with the need to improve education for Black people in a country that recently had abolished its apartheid policy of racial segregation.
Mrs. Clinton returned in 1998 when President Bill Clinton made his first visit to Africa; it was also the first visit to the continent by a U.S. president in 20 years.
The White House billed the 12-day tour of Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Botswana and Senegal as a way to encourage trade and investment in Africa.
First lady Jill Biden met with Namibian President Hage Geingob on Wednesday to kick off her five-day, two-country visit to Africa.
We wanted to come because this is a young democracy and we want to support democracies around the world, Biden said ahead of the meeting.
Biden visited with Geingob and Namibian first lady Monica Geingos at the State House and after a photograph together, the three had a closed-door meeting.
Geingob asked Biden how her husband was ahead of the meeting and she replied, Hes great. I will tell him you were asking for him.
Her focus in Namibia is on the role of young people in continuing to shape their democracy and advance health cooperation, senior administration officials said on Tuesday. The last time a senior White House official visited Namibia was former Vice President Al Gore in 1996.
When she first landed in Namibia, she was greeted by Geingos at the airport. Biden and Geingos then visited Heroes Acre, an official war memorial of the Republic of Namibia, and the first lady laid a wreath to open her trip.
We met each other in December and we just continued the relations, Biden said about her relationship with Geingos later on Wednesday.
I think its safe to say we became good friends instantly. It was one of those things where you meet somebody and you connect and we work on the same issues. And thats why it was important I continue my work and come and show support for Namibia, she added.
Geingos noted that the trip is the first time a first lady has come Namibia and that it is a very vibrant democracy.
We have a very large youth population who drives that democracy- very energetic and its very enabled by our constitutional values of our leadership, she said.
Later on Wednesday, Biden will meet with Namibian Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
This whole trip will be exciting and we have a lot to accomplish, Biden said when she left the White House on Tuesday.
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Her next stop is in Kenya, where she will look at the impacts of drought on families and communities hardest hit, officials said on Tuesday. In both Namibia and Kenya, the first lady will participate in engagements about womens and youth empowerment, gender-based violence, as well as about sexual and reproductive health programs and HIV support.
Biden said before leaving that it should be a really good trip. Her granddaughter Naomi Biden joined her on the trip, which takes place while the president is in Poland until Wednesday evening.
The first lady, who will be in Africa until Sunday, is the third U.S. official to visit Africa this year after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The trip will be her sixth overall visit to the continent, including her first visit to Namibia and third visit to Kenya.
President Biden announced at the end of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December that he will travel to sub-Saharan Africa in 2023. He said at the time that there will be other visits to Africa from officials, including his wife.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A drizzle pattered on the roof of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum's covered walkway on Tuesday while visitors funneled into the entrance of the Atlanta museum.
Visitors walked among shrubs and early-spring flowering trees before entering the library and museum that opened in October 1986 and is dedicated to honoring the nation's 39th president and former governor of Georgia.
In case you missed it: Former President Jimmy Carter enters hospice care at 98, charity says
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter entered hospice at 98 years old on Saturday, according to a statement by The Carter Center, a nonprofit founded by Carter's wife Rosalynn in 1982. Since then, the Carter Presidential Library and Museum at 441 John Lewis Freedom Parkway, NE, has received an influx of visitors looking to celebrate his legacy.
Carter's presidential library serves as a research facility and museum that houses approximately 27 million pages of his administration's White House materials as well as documents, photographs, film, audio and video of his life.
Willie Woods, an Atlanta local, said he visited the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum to reflect on the former president's legacy since this weekend was President's Day.
Carter's U.S. Navy service
"(Near) President's Day is a good time to reflect on one of our great leaders who made such good contributions to the U.S.," Willie Woods said.
A veteran and Atlanta resident, Woods said he brought his daughter to the Carter Library and Museum to learn about the former president.
For Woods, Carter was "a people's president, not like the presidents we get now." He read the informational panels lining the walls thoroughly, prodding his daughter to look into a model submarine periscope to see pictures reflecting Carter's service in the U.S. Navy.
The grounds at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum also include a space for the nonprofit Carter Center and several gardens.
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'A long life'
Despite living in Atlanta for many years, Jayne Thraen had never been to the museum.On a rainy Tuesday, the library seemed like just the place to visit.
The news of Carter's deteriorating health wasn't Thraen's and her friend Mary Jo McClellan's primary reason for checking out the presidential library, but they were looking forward to learning more about his legacy.
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"I think it's sad, but he lived a long life and obviously accomplished many wonderful things in his time," McClellan said of Carter entering hospice care. "I was just reading all about his military career. That was a complete surprise to me. I guess I knew he was from Plains, Georgia and was the governor and became president, but I never realized how high up he was in the Navy."
Carter was a lieutenant when he left Navy in 1961, according to the library.
Chris Hancock and his sons Ian and Troy Hancock visited the presidential library from California while in Atlanta.
Carter's legacy
"The thing is, he was in my opinion much more successful as a civilian than he ever was as a president," Chris Hancock said. Carter's legacy after his presidency has marked him as a staunch humanitarian, notably for his contributions to Habitat for Humanity well into his later years.
Visiting from California, Hancock and his sons perused the brightly lit Oval Office replica where a voice-over of Carter played on loudspeakers.
If he's being honest, Hancock said, were he a voter at the time Carter was in office, 1977-1981, he wouldn't have voted for Carter. He and the former president have competing political views. But he believes that with every president, even the ones you disagree with, deserve to be honored for holding the nation's highest office.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: At Jimmy Carter library, visitors pay homage to the 39th president
Re. Putin ups tensions over Ukraine suspending START nuke pact (Castanet, Feb. 21 )
In the article, we read the following excerpt: "Reflecting the Kremlin's clampdown on free speech and press, this year it barred media from unfriendly countries, the list of which includes the U.S., the U.K. and those in the EU."
There's no mention of the ongoing restriction of free speech in Western nations.
For example the attempt to censure (controversial Canadian psychologist, author and media commentator) Jordan Peterson, the recent revelations by Elon Musk regarding the suppression of Republican voices on topics of note such as (alleged U.S.) election fraud, Hunter Biden's laptop, vaccine effectiveness, COVID-19 and other topics of interest to the general public. Other examples include the suppression of opinions contrary to government narratives expressed by doctors and physicians, some of whom have lost their jobs and careers and the introduction of acts and laws to stifle free speech and public protest, the (temporary) invoking of the Emergencies Act as a prime example.
It's a very strange world that we find ourselves in. It's almost as if there are two realities. We live in a duality depending on your perspective of life and social values. One reality is a projection by various entities (mostly from the government) to create a fictional world that people are encouraged to live in. This uses various weapons such as the suppression of opinion, the dismantling of free speech, refusal to engage in debate and discourse, the promotion of closed-mind groupthink and an attempt to control all avenues of public information.
Just live the early phase of COVID-19, there can be only one truth and this must be controlled by a vast state-led information management apparatus, even to the extent that the Canadian military was involved.
The other is the actual real physical world we live in. Most people I engage with seem to scratch their heads at the projection being thrust into the public domain. It does not sit well with them. Most do not associate themselves with this alternate reality.
For example, (some) people do not seem to have a problem with alternative opinions being promoted on (Westside) billboards. (Some) don't seem to mind public protests (examples include long-standing anti-abortionists who gather on Pandosy Street, nor do they object a collection of a few dozen anti-COVID-19 health restriction protestors who gather every weekend.
The people I speak with aren't intolerant zealots. They are mindful that we are supposed to live in a free country, a democracy that should promote understanding, idea sharing and listening to other opinions.
I have many interesting and enlightening conversations and debates with many people, some from various backgrounds, cultures, countries and social values. I always learn something from these exchanges.
And, even if I disagree, I find the human value in these interactions to be hugely rewarding.
Where did we go so wrong?
Ricky Daytona, West Kelowna
(Editor's note: The article referenced was subsequently updated with new information and the headline was changed to: "Russia to respect caps under START nuclear treaty despite suspension" to reflect the new, updated information.)
Iran's Revolutionary Guard controls the country's elite armed and intelligence forces - Morteza Nikoubazl/Getty
Joe Bidens diplomats are pressing the UK Government not to formally declare Irans Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group, despite the Home Office backing the move, The Telegraph has been told.
The US State Department has argued that the UK can play a key role as interlocutors with Tehran which would be undercut by the designation, according to Whitehall insiders.
The argument is being used by the Foreign Office to oppose the Home Offices proposal to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC].
But it runs counter to the fact that the US administration has already itself proscribed the IRGC, a decision taken when Donald Trump was in the White House.
Proscription would make it a criminal offence to belong to the IRGC, attend its meetings, carry its logo in public or encourage support of its activities.
The IRGC was founded as an ideological custodian of Irans 1979 revolution but has since morphed into a major military, political and economic force in the country.
The drive to proscribe the group, first revealed by The Telegraph, has been held up by a battle in Whitehall about the wisdom of taking the approach.
The Home Office, where Suella Braverman is Home Secretary and Tom Tugendhat is security minister, has been pushing for proscription across Whitehall.
Ken McCallum, the MI5 Director General, said in November in a rare public speech that in 2022 there had been 10 Iranian plots to kidnap or murder British residents.
In November, Ken McCallum, the MI5 Director General, outlined detailed plots by the Iranian regime to kidnap or murder British residents - Yui Mok/PA
But the Foreign Office, where James Cleverly is Foreign Secretary, has warned against taking the move and questioned whether it would achieve the aims desired.
One point made by the Foreign Office is that proscription is usually taken against groups that are not a central part of a countrys state apparatus, as the IRGC is to Iran.
Rishi Sunak is expected to make the final decision, although it is unclear when a final call is due. A decision had been expected within weeks in January but has been held up amid the row.
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In a separate development, Mr Tugendhat criticised Irans clamping down on press freedoms during remarks in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Mr Tugendhat said: Let me be clear. Freedom of the press is at the heart of our freedoms. Tehrans efforts to silence Iran International are a direct attack on our freedoms and an attempt to undermine our sovereignty. They will fail.
Pressure from Mr Bidens State Department - the US equivalent of the Foreign Office - complicates debate in Whitehall, given the close US-UK relationship on foreign policy.
However, the opposition from the State Department is not shared by all parts of Mr Bidens administration, according to some British interpretations of the US situation.
Those supporting proscription for the IRGC have questioned the validity of arguments elevated by the Foreign Office citing the State Department.
A UK government source backing the move said: These are arguments made without any real evidence in supposedly mysterious intelligence circles. The Government will do everything it can to crack down on the Iranian regimes criminal operations here in Britain.
The development adds a new layer of challenge between the US-UK relationship under Mr Sunaks premiership.
The Prime Minister is said to be considering a trip to Washington DC after the Budget in March, which would allow him to hold face-to-face talks with Mr Biden.
The Foreign Office and Home Office do not comment on the prescription process until announcements are made.
A US State Department spokesman said: It is up to each country to determine what action in regards to the IRGC is applicable under their legal authorities and in their best interests.
The spokesman also noted the US had applauded the EUs designations of IRGC officials and entities for their involvement in providing drones to Russia.
A US State Department spokesman said: It is up to each country to determine what action in regards to the IRGC is applicable under their legal authorities and in their best interests.
The spokesman also noted the US had applauded the EUs designations of IRGC officials and entities for their involvement in providing drones to Russia.
Retired Judge Greg Mathis speaks at a 2018 funeral service for Aretha Franklin at a Detroit church. (Paul Sancya / Associated Press)
Judge Greg Mathis isn't done presiding over courtroom-television cases just yet.
Last week Warner Bros. announced the cancellation of the Emmy-winning legal program Judge Mathis after 24 seasons and more than 13,000 cases.
Now, just days after Warner Bros. closed the case on Judge Mathis, Byron Allens Allen Media Group has announced that the no-nonsense judge is set to host a new first-run one-hour daily strip, Mathis Court With Judge Mathis, this fall.
"We at Allen Media Group are proud to add 'Mathis Court With Judge Mathis' to our amazing portfolio of court shows," said Allen, founder, chairman and chief executive of the company.
Judge Greg Mathis is an outstanding, charismatic, and iconic television host, and we are extremely confident that our eighth and newest court series with Judge Mathis will be very successful for years to come as he joins our outstanding roster of talent, including Judge Kevin Ross, Judge Mablean Ephriam, Judge Cristina Perez, Judge Karen Mills-Francis, Judge Glenda Hatchett, Judge Lauren Lake, and Judge Eboni K. Williams.
The longest-running Black male television host and second-longest-reigning courtroom judge (behind Judge Judy) announced the favorable decision in a Twitter video on Tuesday.
Hey folks, Im sure by now you know that Warner Bros. is getting out of the judge show business, canceling me and Peoples Court, Mathis said in a video where hes seen sitting outside wearing his robes. But the good news is, the other studios arent getting out of the judge business, and as you can see, with this robe still on, something might be happening real soon.
"And in fact, if it does happen, its going to happen with a Black studio this time.
Judge Mathis scored a Daytime Emmy in 2018 for outstanding legal/courtroom program. The decades-spanning series was also recognized in 2004 with the NAACP Image Award for outstanding news, talk or information series. In May 2022, Mathis received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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For years Ive proudly watched Byron Allen build a first-class global media empire. After 24 years on the air, I cant think of a better company to work with to create my next great chapter, Mathis said.
Byron and I are both from Detroit, and its exciting to see him build the Motown of court programming by bringing together all of my fellow judges from his eight court shows who are the best of the best.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed to favor tech companies in litigation over their liability for aiding terrorist acts, but several justices appeared concerned that a sweeping ruling could undercut prosecutorial tools the government has come to rely on in the war on terror.
During a second day of arguments on similar cases about ISISs use of social media platforms for recruiting, the justices grappled with whether to allow civil lawsuits against such companies over claims they aided and abetted deadly terrorist attacks around the globe.
Various justices suggested that evidence that ISIS posted recruitment videos on Twitter was not enough to link the social media company to specific attacks in a way that could back lawsuits filed by victims and their families.
At a certain point, it becomes too attenuated to support aiding and abetting, Justice Samuel Alito said.
The case argued Wednesday Twitter v. Taamneh involved the death of a Jordanian man in an ISIS terrorist attack, and asks whether Twitter, Google and Facebook can be held liable under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act for allegedly aiding and abetting terrorists by sharing ISIS recruitment content on their platforms.
It followed arguments on Tuesday in a separate but related case Gonzalez v. Google which asked whether the use of algorithms to recommend ISIS videos on Googles YouTube is protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law shielding internet companies from being liable for most third-party content they host.
Some justices seemed to be persuaded that social media has played a role in supporting terrorist groups. Justice Elena Kagan noted that prosecutors have traditionally sought to target criminal enterprises by going after bankers and accountants who support them. She suggested Twitters services could be even more vital to terrorist groups like ISIS.
Whats the difference? Kagan asked. We're used to thinking about banks as providing very important services to terrorists. Maybe we're not so used to but it seems to be true that various kinds of social media platforms also provide very important services to terrorists and if you know that you're providing a very important service to terrorists, you could be liable, she added.
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Several justices said companies providing widely-available services to many customers should have more insulation from lawsuits than individuals or small businesses providing face-to-face services like accounting or banking, which often have requirements on verifying customer identities.
However, the justices seemed to struggle with just how bespoke or hands-on a service has to be to make someone liable for involvement in related criminal activity, and whether the assistance needs to directly support the crime or can just be merely helpful.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who served as a White House attorney for former President George W. Bush at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, seemed particularly wary about any ruling that could limit liability for a company providing valuable services to terrorist groups. He urged Edwin Kneedler not to take a stance that limits the governments ability to go after financiers of terrorism who may not know about plans for a specific attack.
Youve got to maintain a hard line there, Kavanaugh said. And in response to some of the hypotheticals, Im not sure youve maintained the hard line.
But Kavanaugh said that charities and humanitarian groups also need a certain amount of confidence that their activities wont lead to litigation, even if some people may criticize their work as being of some benefit to terrorists.
Moral complicity is different from legal liability, said Kavanaugh. There might be moral complicity without necessarily legal liability without fair notice.
Kneedler, arguing for the Biden administration, repeatedly warned the justices that allowing litigation against the tech companies over the efficacy of their efforts to remove terrorist-related content could degrade the social media platforms for everyone.
Its an important service that we all benefit from, Kneedler said, sounding quite pro-tech for an administration often highly critical of the platforms.
Kneedler also warned that failing to require plaintiffs to show a clear linkage between the platforms and specific attacks would lead to an avalanche of lawsuits.
That would hold these defendants culpable in every terrorist attack, he said.
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner Seth Waxman, representing Twitter, said the platform aggressively removes ISIS content. However, he said any foul-ups or inefficiency in that process cant be enough to make the company legally liable for violence that may ensue.
The failure to do more to remove content in the context of a service that is generally and widely provided to anybody who complies with the policies does not amount to the knowing provision of substantial assistance, said Waxman, the solicitor general during the Clinton administration.
Waxman also stressed that the companys policy against terrorist content makes clear it is not trying to help ISIS.
Our state of mind is the opposite. This is negative intent. We are opposed to this, Waxman said.
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the retirement for a K9 shot in the line of duty.
During a meeting Tuesday, commissioners gave their approval for Gwinnett County K9 Kai, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois, to retire from service and live with his handler, Cpl. Aaron Carlyle, for the remainder of his life.
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Before he retired, Kai was recovering after being shot twice in the line of duty on May 23, 2022, in a stand-off in Gwinnett County.
In July 2022, the Georgia K9 foundation said Kai had been through a lot during the recovery process, but they decided after careful consideration, his leg needed to be amputated.
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In November 2022, Kai was awarded the Purple Heart by the Gwinnett Police Department to honor him for his sacrifice while in the line of duty.
Since joining the department in August 2021, Kai had responded to 43 calls for service, located six suspects and seven articles of evidence in addition to numerous successful drug busts.
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Photo: Contributed
A video of an exasperated Canadian dairy farmer, Jerry Huigen, went viral recently.
For probably the first time in Canadian history, a Canadian dairy farmer was filmed while discarding milk on his own farm. Almost three million people have now viewed that video. It shocked many Canadians, who were left wondering why this is even possible when food prices are skyrocketing at the grocery store.
The dairy industry has its reasons. Supply management, which is our government-sanctioned quota system, allows 9,500 dairy farmers to produce what we need as a country. The system is highly protected with import tariffs, and the Canadian Dairy Commission sets an appropriate price for farm milk so that farmers can make a decent living.
But dairy cows cannot magically start and stop making milk and butter fat. It just doesnt work that way. So, most farmers will overshoot to hit their quota. Feed, the weather, and many other factors influence milk production most Canadians can appreciate that.
Based on rough estimates, it is believed Canadian dairy farmers can dump up to 300 million litres a year in Canada. I asked the Canadian Dairy Commission for exact figures on the amount of milk dumped, and they could not say, which is a problem in and of itself. Since the dairy industry is self-regulated but highly protected by public policy, the Commission, a crown corporation, ought to know. But transparency is hardly the dairy sectors strong point.
In Ontario, an amendment to By-Laws for Marketing Boards under the Milk Act was made last fall, allowing the Dairy Farmers of Ontario to list and maintain the confidentiality of commercially sensitive DFO board documents. Similar rules affect other dairy boards across the country. The DFO did disclose the amount of wasted farm milk prior to 2022. Moving forward, that is highly unlikely to happen again.
Now, as usual, dairy advocates were quick to go on the defensive in an attempt to trivialize the issue of milk waste on the farm. Dairy Farmers of Canada are always ready to send marching orders to those affiliated with Canadas dairy practices. Their message always implies supporting the status quo, without saying so directly. They did the same with the Buttergate scandal in 2021 when it was disclosed that dairy farmers were using palm oil derivatives to feed cows, making butter harder. And they are doing it again, normalizing what is seen as completely unacceptable for Canadian consumers and taxpayers.
Milk dumping remains a highly taboo subject within the industry, which is why dairy boards do everything they possibly can to silence people and make embarrassing stories disappear. It shows the true dark side of supply management, the system farmers care very much about.
What is being missed in this debate is how supply management can actually eliminate all waste as the quota system can be used to our own advantage. Producing food only to destroy it makes no sense, especially with looming emission targets. Most dairy farmers around the world do discard milk occasionally. But Canada has the perfect system in place to eliminate all waste.
Firstly, we need to make milk dumping illegal. This policy shift will provide an incentive for farmers to adjust. Right now, dumping is the easiest thing to do: making it illegal would force marketing boards to find a market for the surplus.
Secondly, the CDC should create a strategic reserve for milk or powdered milk. Most Canadians arent aware that we already have a strategic reserve for butter, which includes over 85,000 kilos. Such a buffer could help between processing and shipping to markets abroad. And finally, we need processing plants.
Canadian dairy farmers have often argued that we cant ship Canadian milk abroad; that is until China decided to build its own plant in Kingston, Ontario, called Canadian Royal Milk. Thats right, Ontario dairy farmers are supplying this Chinese-owned plant to produce baby formula, and all its products are shipped to China. We can certainly do this ourselves. All we need is to create an incentive for change.
Change for the better is possible. The first step to fixing a problem is to recognize that we have one. Meanwhile, though, many dairy advocates and academics will continue to normalize the issue of milk dumping by calling farmers like Jerry Huigen incompetent, foolish, and irresponsible. We also have zero publicly available data about farm milk waste, as we continue to pay more for milk and dairy products at the grocery store.
Huigen, with his 43 years of experience as a dairy farmer, has now delivered what Canadians deserve from the industry. Courage, transparency, accountability. This is what we need, now more than ever so we make supply management work for farmers and Canadians.
Sylvain Charlebois is senior director of the agri-food analytics lab and a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
SAMANDAG, Turkey (AP) Demolition teams are clearing mounds of rubble from the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, as emergency responders scramble to shelter survivors who were traumatized anew by Monday's magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Turkey's already badly battered province of Hatay.
That quake killed eight people in Turkey and Syria and demolished or damaged more buildings, leaving countless homeless. The combined death toll from the Feb. 6 earthquake in both countries stands at around 46,000 the vast majority in Turkey.
Heres a look at the key developments Wednesday from the aftermath of the earthquake.
EU PREPARES FOR DONORS CONFERENCE
The powerful earthquake in Turkey and Syria will require a huge reconstruction operation at a scale never seen before, a top European Union official said.
European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi made the comment Wednesday during a visit to Ankara to prepare for an international donors conference, scheduled for March in Brussels. The conference aims to mobilize funds from the international community to support Turkey and Syria following the quake.
We are all shocked by the horror the people of Turkey have to go through, Varhelyi said during a joint news conference with Swedens minister for foreign trade and Turkeys foreign minister. This is why we are here to help; because we care, because we are friends, because we are allies.
The commissioner continued: My generation for sure has not seen such a devastating earthquake on the planet ... It will take a huge reconstruction operation. Maybe something, again, that we have not seen before.
Last week the United Nations launched an appeal for $1 billion to help humanitarian agencies in Turkey assist millions of people affected by the earthquake.
TURKISH WATCHDOG FINES TV STATIONS
Turkeys broadcasting watchdog has fined four television stations that have aired programs critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's governments handling of the aftermath of the disaster.
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The move is widely seen as a government attempt to censor negative coverage of the governments earthquake response ahead of elections scheduled to take place by June 18.
The Radio and Television Supreme Council, or RTUK, fined Halk TV, Tele 1 and Fox TV and also ordered Halk TV and Tele 1 programs be taken off the air for five days, said Ilhan Tasci, a member of the council from Turkeys main opposition party.
Meanwhile, authorities have blocked access to a popular online forum, Eksi Sozluk, where government critics have posted opinions. The website said on Twitter that it was trying to get information on the reason behind the blockage.
Erdogans government came under intense criticism after access to Twitter was restricted for several hours, days after the earthquake hit. Officials said the move was an effort to fight disinformation on Twitter. Many complained, however, that it hampered rescue efforts.
UN TO HELP WITH DEBRIS MANAGEMENT
The United Nations development program says it plans to support Turkey in the removal of rubble and the management of the debris from the earthquakes devastation.
A UNDP statement says the agency estimates that the disaster has generated between 116 million and 210 million tons of rubble. It estimates an area at least 30 kilometers by 30 kilometers (18.6 miles by 18.6 miles) with debris piled three meters (yards) high would be needed to contain it all.
Turkish authorities say 118,000 buildings containing 412,000 units have either collapsed or are so damaged that they will need to be demolished.
UNDP said it aims to draw on its experience in responding to earthquakes in other locations, including Haiti, Nepal and Pakistan, the massive explosion in Beirut as well as rubble caused by the war in Ukraine.
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Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.
Joe Biden in Warsaw on February 21, 2023
Read also: Zelenskyy says outcome of Kyiv talks with Biden to have impact on the battlefield
Here are some of the more salient quotes from Bidens 20-minute address.
One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv. Well, I have just come from a visit to Kyiv, and I can report: Kyiv stands strong! Kyiv stands proud. It stands tall. And most important, it stands free.
When Russia invaded, it wasnt just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced the test for the ages.
"When President Putin ordered his tanks to roll into Ukraine, he thought we would roll over. He was wrong. The Ukrainian people are too brave. America, Europe, a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific, we were too unified. Democracy was too strong,"
Read also: Putin says Russia suspending participation in Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty
We also faced fundamental questions about the commitment to the most basic of principles. Would we stand up for the sovereignty of nations? Would we stand up for the right of people to live free from naked aggression? Would we stand up for democracy? One year later, we know the answers.
Instead of an easy victory he perceived and predicted, Putin left with burnout tanks and Russian forces in disarray.
Read also: Ukraine sees no alternative to special tribunal for Russian atrocities, says Zelenskyy
He (Putin) thought autocrats like himself were tough and leaders of democracies were soft. And then, he met the iron will of America and the nations everywhere that refused to accept a world governed by fear and force. He found himself at war with a nation led by a man whose courage would be forged in fire and steel: President Zelenskyy.
President Putins craven lust for land and power will fail. And the Ukrainian peoples love for their country will prevail.
A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to erase the peoples love of liberty. Brutality will never grind down the will of the free. And Ukraine Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. Never.
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For free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness. You know, this has been an extraordinary year in every sense.
No one no one can turn away their eyes from the atrocities Russia is committing against the Ukrainian people. Its abhorrent. Its abhorrent.
Read also: Russia may resume nuclear weapons tests, Putin says
The United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia. The West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today. And millions of Russian citizens who only want to live in peace with their neighbors are not the enemy.
To all of you here tonight: Take a moment. And Im serious when I say this: Turn on and look turn around and look at one another. Look at what youve done so far. Poland is hosting more than 1.5 million refugees from this war. God bless you.
The United States and our partners stand with Ukraines teachers, its hospital staff, its emergency responders, the workers in cities across Ukraine who are fighting to keep the power on in the face of Russias cruel bombardment.
Well hold accountable those who are responsible for this war. And we will seek justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity continuing to be committed by the Russians.
Freedom. There is no sweeter word than freedom. There is no nobler goal than freedom. There is no higher aspiration than freedom.
Biden began his Europe tour with a symbolic visit to Kyiv on Feb. 20, despite officially being slated to head to Poland. It was his first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, and the first time any U.S. president visited country since George W. Bush in 2008. Before that, George H.W. Bush visited Kyiv in August 1991 to deliver his famous Chicken Kyiv speech before the Ukrainian parliament, and Bill Clinton in 2000.
Read also: U.S. may speed up tank delivery to Ukraine, State Department says
The president announced additional assistance to Ukraine, and new sanctions against Russia. He also discussed the potential transfer of long-range missiles to Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
King Charles talked to staff at the Felix Project as they loaded meals into their electric vehicle. (Getty Images)
King Charles has visited a food redistribution charity called the Felix Project in Poplar, East London, as food poverty reaches critical levels in the UK.
Camilla, the Queen Consort was due to attend the engagement with him, but Buckingham Palace announced that she would be absent.
On 13 February, Camilla tested positive for Covid, and while a palace spokesperson has assured the public she has made an "excellent recovery" she needed to use today to prepare for a literary reception she is holding on 23 February to celebrate the second anniversary of her Reading Room a passion project of the Queen Consort.
Read more: Kate makes pancakes with residents of nursing home to celebrate Shrove Tuesday
The Chief Executive of the Felix Project, Charlotte Hill, said that although they were "disappointed" Camilla couldn't attend, they hoped she would visit again another time.
King Charles unveiled a freezer at the Felix project, alongside Sadiq Khan, London's major. (Getty Images)
While he was there, the King unveiled a freezer filled with food alongside London Major, Sadiq Khan. The freezer is part of a partnership the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund which he established in 1979 has recently undertaken with the Felix Project.
Read more: From Prince Harry's book to King Charles' coronation, this year's big royal events
The King is said to have a made a "sizeable personal donation" to a 1million starting fund to provide 800 fridges and freezers to food banks and other charities across the country.
The aim of this is to allow the charities to store more food and for longer to enable them to help more people affected by food poverty during the cost of living crisis, and the Felix Project will take the lead in distributing these much needed white goods.
King Charles met with staff and volunteers during his tour of the food redistribution charity. (Getty Images)
King Charles also toured the charity's kitchens where volunteers were preparing meals from surplus supermarket food. Each day the kitchen will make anywhere from 3,500 to 5,000 meals a day. These are then distributed to other organisations who ensure they get to the people who need them.
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The Felix project volunteers have so far made over two million meals, which include lentil bakes and chicken curries on this occasion some of the volunteers were making a tagine, which Charles said sounded "amazing" and even asked for the recipe.
Charles also said before leaving the engagement that he thought the Felix Project was a "remarkable organisation".
King Charles even asked for the recipe volunteers were using while he met them during his visit to the Felix Project. (Getty Images)
"Before I go, I must just say what a remarkable organisation the Felix Project is and I just wanted to join in thanking them, and congratulating them, on the remarkable differences they are making all around this country you're setting a fantastic example."
The King referenced the cost of living crisis during his first annual Christmas address as monarch a move that was deemed by some as verging on too political.
While the causes of the crisis are perhaps partly political, the consequences can firmly be argued to be philanthropical, and safe for the King to tackle and highlight through his engagements.
King Charles learned all about the Felix Project's work during his visit the charity has distributed over two million meals to stop people going hungry. (Getty Images)
The Felix Project said "the cost-of-living crisis has seen demand from its partner organisations for food donations increase significantly, with the organisation working hard to meet requests," according to PA.
Read more: What's next for Harry and Meghan?
Figures from the charity show that 4.7 million adults go hungry every day in the UK and two million children suffer from food insecurity and might risk missing meals.
The Trussell Trust, another leading food bank charity, distributed 1.3 million food parcels between April and September of 2022 and reveals that 14 million people are living in poverty in the UK 4.5 million of whom are children.
Watch: Diana moves on from her failed marriage - here's what really happened
Editor's note: In honor of Black History Month, The Herald-Times is publishing Black stories, both current and historical, throughout the month of February. A new installment will be published each weekday.
Indiana has a long, deep-seated history with the Ku Klux Klan, but the hate group was never able to grab a stronghold in Bloomington, thanks to ever-vigilant students and some local politicians.
The Indiana KKK is believed to have started in 1920, where it soon grew to large prominence. For the next 15 years, a man named D.C. Stephenson spearheaded the Indiana branch, which would become the most powerful in the nation, according to the Indiana State Library. About 30% of white Hoosier men were members including half the state Legislature and the governor.
In the decades afterward, especially following Stephenson's murder conviction in 1925, the Klan's influence waned considerably, though it still had a presence in such places as Morgan County and Indianapolis.
In March 1968, KKK members from Morgan County tried to establish a local chapter in Monroe County through a membership drive. The event was to begin with a gathering on the Bloomington courthouse square where members could mingle and recruit residents, eventually culminating with a march through the business district.
The front page of the Nov. 8, 1946, Indianapolis Star exposed the Ku Klux Klan's efforts to resurge in Indiana.
City and county officials were staunchly against the planned rally. The Monroe County prosecutor petitioned the court to stop the event from taking place, citing the possibility of widespread violence spurred by the KKK's presence. A Monroe Circuit Court judge, believed to be Nat U. Hill, blocked the KKK's visit by issuing a court order. This would earn Hill the ire of Carlisle Briscoe Jr., a notorious local Klan member who would be later convicted of firebombing the Black Market. According to past H-T coverage, Briscoe also was widely believed to have committed a string of arsons in the county, including burning down Hill's barn, during the 1970s; Briscoe was never formally charged with that crime.
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While many Bloomington residents were against the terrorist organization, reader-submitted letters to the H-T reveal a mixed reaction to stopping the event.
"Too bad the mayor and the group had to take the easy and probably unconstitutional way out of the KKK matter. What better, and more appropriately American, way would there be to beat the Klan than let the Kluds, Kruds, Klunks and Kleagles come to town, with bugs in their bedsheets and bats in their belfries, and show the community what really gruesome goons they are?" A local resident, identified as K.D. Hoogerhyde, wrote to the H-T. "Much better than to abridge their freedom to do so, seems to me."
Another reader, Bedford resident and doctor Howard T. Hammel, similarly expressed mixed feelings. He discouraged local KKK membership, "lest any patriotic Christian American not be aware of this warning and consider joining the group, I want you to know that they are like rat poison, which contains 95% good wholesome food but the other 5% of its contents will kill you." While the KKK "espouse many good causes," Hammel wrote, they are motivated by hate and would "suppress, supplant and destroy all equality of opportunity, which is guaranteed to all men of good-will by our constitution and by the Christian moral code."
1968: IU rescinded debate invitation to Ku Klux Klan. Here's why.
In the summer of 1968, the Ku Klux Klan was once again supposed to flood Bloomington streets in defense and promotion of their organization this time, at the Indiana University campus.
According to H-T archives from the time, the IU Forum had invited an unnamed grand dragon of the nearby Ku Klux Klan to engage in a debate on campus. Once news of this invitation spread, a large group of "concerned students" began petitioning then-IU president Elvis Stahr to cancel the event.
In May, Stahr approached the IU faculty and requested the IU Forum organizers to withdraw their invitation.
"The invitation, he noted, came on top of great tension already very evident in the local Negro community which had built up following the Klan's announced intention to demonstrate in the streets of Bloomington. In view of his objective of promoting understanding between the races, Dr. Stahr told the council he had wished to avoid something that seemed clearly to have aroused serious misunderstanding," as described in a 1968 H-T story.
Stahr was quick to point out this was not an official ban of the KKK but rather a withdrawal of the invitation. While it was described as a temporary postponement, a search of the H-T archives did not reveal any such debate happening that year or otherwise.
An H-T reader, Steven D. Hollander, decried this news.
"Indiana University has decided to withdraw an invitation for public debate to the Ku Klux Klan, citing the 'fact' that the Klan's presence would 'insult the black community.' Will the university now decide to ban the teaching of evolution because it 'insults' many God-fearing taxpayers? Will it deny the use of its radio and television stations to speakers who 'insult' Lyndon Johnson? Or George Wallace? Or Mr. Chaney?" Hollander wrote. "A fair debate, as was planned between the Klan and its opponents, could not, in fact, 'insult' anybody. And only a blissfully-ignorant man like Elvis Stahr could believe that a discussion could be anything other than educational."
Despite not having an official promotional event in Bloomington, the KKK made its presence known in more subversive ways. Later in 1968, a man with KKK affiliation firebombed a Black student-run marketplace. Around this time, a local staunch advocate of civil rights, Rev. Ernest Butler, began receiving threatening phone calls at his residence; cards, which read The Ku Klux Klan is watching you, also were dropped on his doorstep. Throughout this time, several Black Bloomington residents were terrorized by the organization.
As recently as August 2019, Ku Klux Klan flyers with bags of candy were found along streets and the B-Line Trail in Bloomington. City police investigated the matter but no reports were ever shared about origin of the flyers and candy that were found along public streets and in private parking lots.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Why the Ku Klux Klan never got a foothold in Bloomington, Indiana
Ukraine plans to create an international tribunal to condemn the aggression of the Russia
The source said there are four skeptical countries that are trying to shift Ukraines attention to the model of the tribunal working in a hybrid format. These are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
Read also: European Parliament calls for creation of special tribunal to punish Russian war crimes
Under the hybrid model, they suggest that we establish a tribunal as a court in the judicial system of Ukraine. That is, a court according to the legislation of Ukraine, but its whereabouts could be in Europe or somewhere.
It does not suit us, the source said.
The source that such an idea is unacceptable since the assessment of the war is narrowed down to the level of a conflict between two states. In addition, the issue of bringing Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and members of the Russian Security Council to justice will only be a matter for Ukraine.
Read also: Ukraine sees no alternative to special tribunal for Russian atrocities, says Zelenskyy
Therefore, Kyiv is now promoting two other models of the international tribunal.
The first one is to set the tribunal up on the basis of an international agreement between the UN Security Council and Ukraine.
The second one is an open international treaty with a declaration, which Ukraine would offer for signing.
It (would be) open for signature by all the civilized countries of the world, the sources said.
Anyone who wants to may sign it, ratify and, accordingly, recognize the jurisdiction of the decisions of this tribunal on its territory. Therefore, these two models are acceptable for us.
Read also: International war crime tribunal for Russian atrocities may launch in summer
In addition, according to the source, discussions are underway on what to call the court. For example, the West suggests that it should not be called an international tribunal but an appropriate mechanism.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The good-humored Ukrainian fighter pilot Danylo Murashko was in low spirits on Jan. 27. He hadnt gone out on a sortie in several days, which always put him in a bad mood.
Noticing Murashkos state of mind, his commander, lieutenant colonel Rostyslav Lazarenko, decided to allow 24-year-old Murashko to join him on a combat mission.
As the two were up in the sky somewhere above Donetsk Oblast, a rocket launched from a Russian fighter hit Murashko's aircraft. The town of Shabelkivka, with a pre-war population of over 4,000 residents, was just ahead of him.
According to his brigade, Murashko tried to divert his plane so that it wouldnt fall on residential buildings. The effort, however, made him fly lower and cost him precious time.
Murashko stopped the plane from killing civilians, but he could not eject safely.
"I turned (the aircraft) away," were the last words Lazarenko heard from Murashko, he said in an interview with the Defense Ministry's news agency Army Inform.
"He would never forgive himself if someone died because of him when he could have saved them," Murashko's wife, 20-year-old Daria Murashko, told the Kyiv Independent.
Following the pilot's death, the 299th tactical aviation brigade, named after Lieutenant General Vasyl Nikiforov, said Murashko was one of its best officers and that he had "died like a hero."
According to the brigade, Murashko had gone on 141 sorties since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war on Feb. 24, 2022. His missions killed nearly 600 Russian soldiers and destroyed more than 80 military cars, about 70 Russian armored vehicles, and 30 fuel tanks.
But he could have done so much more, his friends and wife say.
"He was a hero," says Murashko's close friend Vladyslav Ovramenko. "A true patriot of his country."
Since the government does not disclose Ukraines military losses, it is still unknown how many soldiers have been killed over the year of Russias all-out war.
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But given the bits of information available, the casualty numbers are expected to be high. In September, President Volodymyr Zelensky said around 50 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in action every day. In December, an advisor to the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said, citing Ukraine's military, that the country had lost from 10,000 to 13,000 soldiers.
These figures don't include the 4,619 Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russia's war in eastern Ukraine in 2014-2022.
Posthumously, Murashko was promoted to major. He was buried in his native Nizhyn on Jan. 30.
"We don't need (the title of) hero, we need our boy, but no one will bring him back," Murashko's grandmother told Suspilne after the funeral.
"We wanted to see our boy here but not his coffin," she said, crying.
Daria says Murashko "dreamed of having children" and of a happy life together with her.
"He just dreamed of life, of peace. He dreamed of winning this war so that all the boys would be alive.." she says.
A petition to posthumously award Murashko with the Hero of Ukraine title can be found here.
Note from the author:
Hi! Daria Shulzhenko here. I wrote this piece for you. Since the first day of Russia's all-out war, I have been working almost non-stop to tell the stories of those affected by Russias brutal aggression. By telling all those painful stories, we are helping to keep the world informed about the reality of Russias war against Ukraine. By becoming the Kyiv Independent's patron, you can help us continue telling the world the truth about this war.
New statutory codes of practice around the use of developing AI applications in police have been recommended (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)
The development of new laws on how artificial intelligence (AI) is used in the police force has been recommended in an independent report.
The use of emerging technology, such as facial recognition and predictive policing where computer systems analyse large sets of data to help decide where to deploy police was assessed in a review made in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University and the Scottish Government.
The study, published on Wednesday, has recommended statutory codes of practice be introduced to provide greater clarity and safeguards around the future use of developing AI applications.
While the report did not find significant legislative gaps around police use of emerging technologies, it suggested new laws may be needed for autonomous security robots, if their use for enforcement purposes is considered in future.
The proposal is one of 18 recommendations made by the Independent Advisory Group on Emerging Technologies in Policing.
The review also looked at how innovation in some areas, including electronic databases and biometric identification and surveillance, could impact on human rights, ethical best practice and public confidence in policing.
It recommended the inclusion of an ethical and human rights impact assessment in any business case for new technology, and advised Police Scotland to publicly share the legal basis for using it, and a relevant complaints process.
Justice Secretary Keith Brown said: It is important that in adopting new technology, Police Scotland must do so in a way that secures public confidence.
That is why a robust rights-based, ethical approach to using new technology is so vital.
This valued report makes important suggestions in this significant and interesting sphere which will be given careful consideration.
The advisory group was chaired by Professor Liz Aston, director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research based at Napier.
She said: We believe this report, which draws together a wide range of expertise, provides a platform for policing bodies to adopt innovation in a way which retains public confidence and delivers social justice.
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New technologies are developing all the time and have the potential to play a key role in investigating and preventing crime but it is crucial that any unintended consequences are understood, evaluated and addressed.
I hope the work we have done over the last two years will be useful to other areas of policing here and around the world.
The advisory group was established in 2020 in response to a report by the Scottish Parliaments Sub-Committee on Policing about Police Scotlands use of digital triage devices, known more commonly as cyber kiosks.
Then justice secretary Humza Yousaf suggested the formation of an independent group to monitor wider technological developments in policing.
A U.S. District Court judge sentenced a Lebanon man on Tuesday to more than 16 years in federal prison for his involvement in distributing methamphetamine in St. Clair County.
Michael P. OLeary, 48, pleaded guilty in June of 2022 to one count of methamphetamine distribution, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. In addition to his prison sentence, he received five years of supervised release.
The defendant was responsible for distributing large amounts of methamphetamine throughout the Metro East, said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. Illegal, dangerous drugs have no place in downstate Illinois communities, and the U.S. Attorney Office will continue to work with the DEA to remove individuals responsible for infecting families and loved ones.
According to court documents, an undercover agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency purchased 55 grams of methamphetamine from OLeary in December 2020. In January 2021, the DEA executed a search warrant of his Lebanon residence and recovered 467 grams of methamphetamine.
During the search, DEA agents also located a 9 mm handgun in OLearys closet. OLeary told agents he had other weapons at other locations, the document said.
OLeary is a convicted felon from a methamphetamine distribution charge in March 2015 and therefore unable to legally possess firearms.
DEA led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Carraway prosecuted the case.
[Source]
Leiji Matsumoto, who is best known for creating classic manga and anime space sagas Space Battleship Yamato, "Space Pirate Captain Harlock" and Galaxy Express 999, has died from heart failure at the age of 85.
On Monday, Matsumotos company, Studio Leijisha announced that the manga artist, whose real name was Akira Matsumoto, passed away from acute heart failure at a Tokyo hospital on Feb. 13. A private funeral and ceremony were hosted by his wife, Miyako Maki.
In an official company statement regarding Matsumotos passing, his daughter, Makiko Matsumoto, gave tribute to his work, stating that he set out on a journey to the sea of stars.
I think he lived a happy life, thinking about continuing to draw stories as a manga artist.
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Matsumoto used to say, At the faraway point where the rings of time come together, we shall meet again, his daughter, who heads Matsumotos studio, continued. We trust those words and look forward to it.
Matsumoto was born in the southwestern city of Kurume, Japan, in 1938, where he began to draw manga at the age of 5.
Best known for his anti-war-themed art, Matsumoto said in an interview with Japans NHK television that war destroys your future, recalling his fathers words that life is born in order to live, not to die.
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Many of his works show the tragic outcomes of war, as he experienced his father returning from war to apologize to the families of his fallen subordinates for failing to bring them back alive.
His work with Yoshinobu Nishizaki on the TV series adaptation of Space Battleship Yamato is said to have influenced Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Matsumoto also famously collaborated with Daft Punk on several music videos, including "One More Time," "Digital Love," "Aerodynamic" and "Harder, Better, Faster Stronger" for their "Discovery" album, released in 2001. The videos were later combined into the 2003 short film "Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem."
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Matsumoto received numerous cultural and arts awards from the Japanese government, as well as the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters award from the French Minister of Culture.
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Photo: B.C. government David Eby being sworn in as premier of B.C. on Nov. 17, 2022 during an Indigenous ceremony on Musqueam Indian Band land.
The messy dispute surrounding Indigenous participation in a new hospital project in Duncan provides a cautionary tale for Premier David Eby about the need to overhaul some of the archaic policies of his predecessor before they blow up in his face.
Eby was left to solve an uncomfortable dilemma not of his own making this month.
On the one side, a union-only construction program crafted by the John Horgan government. On the other, a mid-Island First Nation locked out of helping to build a $1.45 billion hospital on its own land because its construction crews werent unionized.
The conflict perfectly encapsulates the tensions these days within the NDP out-of-date policies from the last administration, designed as favours to the partys long-time friends, clashing with the modern landscape of Indigenous reconciliation being led by the current premier.
The Cowichan Tribes had, for months, tried to negotiate a solution to being locked out of the Duncan hospital project, but to no avail. The NDP was in the middle of changing leaders and wasnt listening. Plus, the previous Horgan government had made it clear that union-only construction rules, called community benefits agreements, should be adhered to rigidly.
The Cowichan Tribes, however, was unimpressed.
It is unacceptable that the traditional peoples of this land should be excluded and deliberately prevented from playing a role in the building of vital community infrastructure, Chief Lydia Hwitsum wrote publicly Jan. 19.
This amounts to a rejection of our Rights and Title within our territory. It is hard to believe in todays environment of Truth and Reconciliation that we would find ourselves in this situation.
By the time the issue burst into the legislature this month, in the form of angry Indigenous contractors sitting in the public gallery and Opposition MLAs hurling fiery questions, it was already a full-fledged political hot potato.
Eby, to his credit, barely hesitated in crafting the solution after it became a political issue on the floor of the legislature. He created an exemption for the Cowichan Tribes. Indigenous contractors on the project wont have to be unionized to work on the site, he ruled.
Behind the scenes, work started to make sure at least some of the remaining sub-contract work was directed towards Indigenous companies.
Still, it was weeks of negative controversy that the NDP could have, and should have, avoided.
Eby didnt create the community benefits agreement program, he inherited it from the last premier. It actually dates back to the 1990s BC NDP government, when unions were the partys largest donors and held all the sway in the hierarchy of the partys internal power structure.
Horgan came from that era of the NDP, as did his senior strategists and Labour Minister Harry Bains. It made sense for them to resurrect what amounts to a public kickback scheme to the partys friends in organized labour, because thats the NDP they knew.
Eby, however, owes organized labour nothing.
He crafted the law that banned union and corporate donations, neutering the financial grip unions held on the party. His strategists have experience from the 2020s, not the 1990s. And the NDPs power base now lies in urban Metro Vancouver, instead of the union-heavy natural resource towns of the NDPs past.
The new premier has also placed a renewed emphasis on First Nations reconciliation.
He was the first premier sworn in at an Indigenous ceremony, at the Musqueam Indian Band. In the last month, hes delivered several speeches to the natural resource and forest sectors, warning that Indigenous consent and participation is now a requirement of proceeding with major B.C. projects.
All of that must have made it extremely frustrating for Eby to watch the provinces largest First Nation, in Cowichan, accuse his government of denying its rights to fairly participate in a project on its own territory. It is the antithesis of the Indigenous-led future Eby has been promoting.
The grand irony of CBAs was they were supposed to boost Indigenous employment on public projects. Instead, they ended up locking out one of the most sophisticated, modern First Nations from even participating. The public is paying for this policy it drives up the cost of taxpayer-funded roads, bridges and hospitals by an extra seven per cent to help line the pockets of NDP-friendly unions but, apparently, without achieving the stated benefits.
Ebys exemption for the Cowichan Tribes is the first of its kind for the CBA program, but it will not be the last. Hell need to turn that policy into swiss-cheese to make it relevant to todays landscape.
The Horgan government left Eby a political landmine in the form of CBAs. Hell have to start combing through the books, looking for others.
The last thing Eby needs as he tries to push the NDP into the future, is antiquated holdovers from the past dragging him back down.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 14 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for Glacier Media. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
The first image taken by Nasas Perseverance rover after landing on Mars in 2021 (Nasa)
Lifeforms on Mars could be evading detection by the instruments currently on the planet, scientists have warned.
Probes currently being used using to hunt for alien beings might not be sensitive enough to spot those organisms, according to a new paper.
Researchers made the warning after testing material that was taken from the Chilean desert, where conditions are somewhat similar to the area on Mars being studied by the Perseverance rover. Scientists know that area contained ancient life but it would not be found using the instruments that rover is carrying.
Since the Viking missions in the 1970s, many probes have been sent to the red planet to search for microbial life.
So far, state-of-the-art instruments onboard Nasas Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have only identified low levels of simple organic molecules.
Scientists said these results raise questions about the limitations of current scientific equipment.
An international research team led by Dr Armando Azua-Bustos of the Astrobiology Centre in Spain tested versions of the instruments that are currently on Mars or due to be sent there in the near future.
These instruments were tested in Red Stone, which is located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile.
This area is thought to bear a close resemblance to the conditions on Mars, and contains an abundance of hematite - an oxidised form of iron that gives Mars its famous red colour.
The researchers analysed samples gathered from the sedimentary fossil remains of a river delta located in the desert.
These deposits were thought to have formed under highly arid conditions about 160-100 million years ago and are geologically similar to the Jezero crater on Mars currently being studied by Perseverance.
Analysis revealed a number of biosignatures, molecules that can be used as evidence for past or present life.
The scientists also found that the Red Stone samples contained numerous microorganisms very difficult to identify, which they call dark microbiome.
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Dr Azua-Bustos said: We found that in Red Stone there is a variety of microorganisms that are very difficult to classify, so we propose the term dark microbiome which is similar to the dark matter that is estimated to make up an important part of the universe - we know that it is there but still resists being identified.
Writing in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers said: Our analyses by testbed instruments that are on, or will be sent to Mars, unveil that although the mineralogy of Red Stone matches that detected by ground-based instruments on the red planet, similarly low levels of organics will be hard, if not impossible to detect in Martian rocks depending on the instrument and technique used.
Based on their findings, the scientists said more sensitive instruments are needed on Mars, which can be tested in advance in sites like Red Stone.
They also added that samples will need to be returned to Earth to conclusively address whether life ever existed on the red planet.
Dr Azua-Bustos said: Our report highlights the importance of analogue sites as a testing ground for the next generation of instruments to be sent to Mars.
He added: Among others, we still need to resolve what exactly are these still unidentifiable microorganisms, and how understanding sites like Red Stone may be of help.
Additional reporting by Press Association
(Refiling to restore word "equipment" in headline)
By Andrius Sytas
WARSAW (Reuters) - Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said he urged U.S. President Biden on Wednesday to seek NATO deployment of additional military equipment, such as HIMARS artillery or attack helicopters, in the Baltic states.
Nauseda told reporters he made the request during a meeting in Warsaw between Biden and leaders of countries on NATO's eastern flank, including Baltic nations Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.
Biden was silent but took notes as he listened to proposals by Nauseda and others on deploying air defence systems in the Baltics and other eastern flank countries, the Lithuanian president said.
"I have talked about deployment of so-called critical enablers - this includes airspace surveillance systems, attack helicopters, HIMARS artillery," Nauseda said. "We can hardly afford to purchase this, it but it could be deployed (by allies) to the Baltics on rotational grounds."
Biden met the leaders of the transatlantic military alliance's "frontline" to show support for their security, one day after returning from a surprise visit to Kyiv and two days before the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"The presence of Biden in Kyiv and Warsaw sends a clear signal to our people and to people in Europe that the U.S. presence is going to be there in the coming years," Estonian President Alar Karis said in an interview.
Some of the leaders at Wednesday's meeting discussed the prospect that, after a planned NATO summit in July in Lithuania's capital Vilnius, Ukraine would be "several steps closer" to gaining NATO membership, Nauseda said.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plans to attend that summit in person, Ukraine's ambassador to Lithuania told local newswire BNS.
"I heard from President Biden a very strong commitment to support Ukraine, it's clear that Ukraine should win" its war with Russia, Latvian President Egils Levits said in an interview.
(This story has been refiled to add the word "equipment" in the headline)
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas and Gosia Wojtunik; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jonathan Oatis)
PEMBROKE From jam-filled treats to layered cakes, Zserbo Bakery offers handmade gourmet desserts that are crafted with traditional Hungarian and Caribbean influences.
Owner Anita Borbely grew up in Hungary and spent a lot of time on various Caribbean islands. She said she wanted to introduce several international recipes to her menu, including zserbo, which is a rich, layered apricot and walnut pastry flavored with rum and glazed with chocolate. Borbelys bakery is named after the pastry and it is Hungarys most famous dessert.
"I tried to bring that into my baking, a little bit of everything," Borbely said.
Zserbo Bakery in Pembroke serves gourmet cookies, desserts and more crafted with traditional Hungarian and Caribbean influences.
The shelves are stocked with Hungarian cookbooks, locally made products and Hungarian specialties, such as paprika, jams and honey. Borbely sells her baked goods at local farmers markets in addition to her brick-and-mortar shop on Route 53. The setting is relaxed with a leather couch and a few tables for customers to sit back and chat over freshly brewed coffee.
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A sign on the wall reads, We do not have Wi-Fi talk so talk to each other, which creates a welcoming vibe. Soft gospel music was playing in the background. Paintings of Hungarian buildings in the capital city of Budapest hang on the walls. The pastries in the display cases pop with vibrant colors and textures. Plants adorn the small tables, making it intimate. Candles placed in the windows and strings of hanging white lights created an extra layer of warmth.
Anita Borbely grew up in Hungary and her bakery, Zserbo, takes its name from a traditional Hungarian dessert, a layered cake with apricot walnut filling covered in thin chocolate glaze and flavored with rum.
Chocolate-dipped pretzels, Italian rum cake, S'more pies, mango cheesecake, rum balls, sugar cookies and Swedish almond cookies, are some of the bakery's offerings. Nine flavors of linzer cookies are on the menu as well as croissants, and kalacs, Hungarian sweet braided bread. There are also lemon loaves, Hungarian cheese scones and pumpkin streusel, zucchini and apple walnut breads.
Borbely said quality, flavor and consistency are at the top of her list of priorities. She said Hungarian desserts are big on fruits, chocolate and poppy seeds and her bakery offers hard-to-find specialty ingredients.
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Toffee Social Bar:A chilled-out space with serious cocktails
Borbely started Zserbo online during the COVID-19 pandemic and she caters festivals and parties. Zserbo ships nationwide. Borbely said she loves to travel. She lived in London for 10 years and has traveled all over Europe. She came to the United States in 2004. Her experiences abroad inspire her baking. Borbely prefers not to stay in fancy hotels and resorts, instead she said she likes to mingle with the locals.
"That's how you learn, especially about food," Borbely said.
Laura McAuliffe of Pembroke and Joanne Kinsley of Duxbury enjoy coffee and pastries by the fireplace.
Trips to Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas and the Cayman Islands lend Caribbean influences to some items, such as Island Rum Cake and Gateue Creole cake is a combination of lemon, lime, coconut and island spices. The Haitian Rum Barbancourt is popular among her Haitian customers Borbely said.
A standout is Zserbo's Torte Chocolate, a melt in your mouth flourless chocolate and almond dessert that is a cross between a cake and a brownie. It is made with almond flour and dark chocolate and flavored with brandy and orange zest. It has a crackly, delicate top that is lightly dusted with vanilla powdered sugar. It can also be dressed up with a dollop of whipped cream, fresh berries or with a simple raspberry coulis.
Borbely also serves quiche, sandwiches and soups for lunch. Selections include Hungarian soups, gulyas, chicken paprikas, chicken noodle, and cherry soup. There's tea, apple cider, cold drinks, and kombucha made by a local company.
"You get what you want and it's fresh," Borbely said.
Zserbo has only been open a little more than eight weeks, but the word is getting out. Joanne Kingsley of Duxbury heard about the bakery on Facebook and invited her friend Laura McAuliffe from Pembroke to sit down and sip coffee and tea at one of the tables near the fireplace. They split a chocolate croissant and a tomato, mozzarella and basil quiche.
"This is a good place to de-stress," Kingsley said.
"The interior of this place is very welcoming," McAuliffe said.
Anita Borbely works at her new bakery, Zserbo, in Pembroke.
Zserbo Bakery
Where: 75 Washington St., Pembroke
Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday
Info: 617-959-0672 or zserbobakery.com
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.
Reach Joel Barnes at jkbarnes@patriotledger.com
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Zserbo Bakery: Hungarian native brings taste of Budapest to So. Shore
Passengers at Pittsburgh International Airport trying to rent a car were puzzled and frustrated after learning that a Hertz contract employee admitted hed been stealing from the airport lot, one car at a time.
Like they just vanished or how do you not keep track of 24 cars? Riley Colfer, a passenger at Pittsburgh International questioned.
Its hard to get a rental car and even when people make reservations there are no rental cars available, said Tulip, a Hertz customer.
According to federal officials Bernard Washington, 31, of Coraopolis worked at the Hertz airport location in 2021 from May until October. He stole 24 cars right off the lot.
He then sold at least three of the stolen cars in Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, and in exchange he received not just money, but more stolen cars.
Like you would think there is a GPS, a tracker some sort of ID on the car in order to track that car going from state to state to state, Colfer said.
We reached out to Hertz to see if they could provide any insight on how this employee got away with stealing so many cars, but the company wouldnt comment. But employees from other rental companies who wanted to remain off camera said this isnt a new scheme.
I wonder about the other employees and how that reflects on them? Tulip questioned.
Washington just pleaded guilty and now faces up to five years in prison and could have to pay up to $250,000 in fines.
If you are a business and youre running a business you need to keep track of your inventory, Colfer said.
According to court documents, Washington will have his sentencing trial in May.
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Key Insights
Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group's estimated fair value is US$1.27 based on Dividend Discount Model
Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group's US$1.32 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate
Industry average of 278% suggests Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group's peers are currently trading at a higher premium to fair value
Does the February share price for Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group Corporation Limited (SGX:T14) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!
We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.
Check out our latest analysis for Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group
The Model
As Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group operates in the pharmaceuticals sector, we need to calculate the intrinsic value slightly differently. In this approach dividends per share (DPS) are used, as free cash flow is difficult to estimate and often not reported by analysts. Unless a company pays out the majority of its FCF as a dividend, this method will typically underestimate the value of the stock. The 'Gordon Growth Model' is used, which simply assumes that dividend payments will continue to increase at a sustainable growth rate forever. The dividend is expected to grow at an annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.9%. We then discount this figure to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.7%. Compared to the current share price of US$1.3, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.
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Value Per Share = Expected Dividend Per Share / (Discount Rate - Perpetual Growth Rate)
= CN0.5 / (7.7% 1.9%)
= US$1.3
dcf
The Assumptions
The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
SWOT Analysis for Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group
Strength
Debt is not viewed as a risk.
Weakness
Earnings declined over the past year.
Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Pharmaceuticals market.
Opportunity
Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Singaporean market.
Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio.
Threat
Dividends are not covered by cash flow.
Looking Ahead:
Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group, there are three further elements you should further examine:
Risks: Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Tianjin Pharmaceutical Da Ren Tang Group , and understanding this should be part of your investment process. Future Earnings: How does T14's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the SGX every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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When you lose your job, your now-former employer must continue to support you in certain ways. But what are the five benefits the United States Department of Labor (DOL) says youre entitled to when you leave a company?
Explore: 7 Things You Need To Know About Unemployment Benefits in 2023
Sudden Job Loss Near Retirement? 4 Ways To Cope Financially
1. Healthcare Benefits
If your previous employer has over 20 employees and you werent let go for gross misconduct, you probably qualify to maintain your existing health insurance coverage for up to 36 months under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). If you continue your coverage under COBRA, youll pay the same group rate as your employer. However, youll likely be responsible for the total premium because the company is no longer obligated to cover a portion of the cost.
Pro Tip: If you dont elect COBRA, you have 60 days from when you lose your coverage to enroll in other insurance, such as a Healthcare Marketplace plan.
2. Unemployment Benefits
If you lost your job through no fault of your own, you might be eligible to receive unemployment benefits to help keep you financially afloat until you find another position. Unemployment insurance programs are administered at the state level, so the amount and duration of your benefits will depend on where you live. You must file weekly or biweekly claims (based on your state) to keep receiving payments.
3. Workplace Discrimination Protection
Under Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws, employers cant discriminate against workers due to age, race, sex, religion, ethnicity, disability, veteran status or other protected class. So if you suspect you got let go from your job due to your membership within a protected class, you can contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to report the incident.
Take Our Poll: Do You Have a Second Job or Backup Plan in Case You Are Laid Off?
4. Protection for Veterans
The Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) helps veterans and their spouses reach their full potential in the workplace. VETS protects veterans employment rights and offers career resources, job search assistance and more. So, if you or your spouse has served (or is serving) in the military, youre encouraged to check out the service.
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5. Last Paycheck and Severance Pay
Laws in your state may require your employer to furnish your last paycheck immediately upon termination. But, if thats not the case, the company has until the upcoming regular pay date to compensate you for your final hours worked. If that date passes and you still havent been paid, you can contact the DOLs Wage and Hour Division for assistance.
Your company isnt legally required to provide severance pay. However, based on your employment agreement and the organizations policies, you may be eligible for that payment. If you do receive severance pay, the amount will likely be based on your years of service to the firm.
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Learn: How Much Emergency Cash Should You Have in Case You Lose Your Job?
Your Next Steps
Once youve applied for unemployment and decided what to do about health insurance coverage, its time to create a plan to financially rebuild after losing your job. In general, you should try to trim the fat from your budget, use money from your emergency fund sparingly and strategically and contact your creditors if you think you may be late paying a bill.
More From GOBankingRates
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Lost Your Job? 5 Benefits You Could Be Entitled To If Youve Been Let Go
LANSING The first injection of what is expected to be hundreds of millions of dollars from lawsuit settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors is being funneled to local Michigan governments, leaving local officials to decide what to do with the money.
Michigan is expected to ultimately get about $1.4 billion from opioid damage settlements, with about $776 million from three distributors and a manufacturer of opioid pills in a first settlement, expected to be paid out over 18 years. The rest is expected from other court agreements, according to a January statement from the state Attorney General's Office.
The allocation of the funding is based on the damage believed to have been caused by opioids, using a formula that includes the number of pills, the number of overdoses and other measures of opioid damage.
The state's smaller counties are expected to get larger per-capita settlements, reflecting more intense damage from opioids. For example, the three largest Michigan counties - Wayne, Oakland and Kent - each received an average of less than $20 a person while the three smallest got an average of $30 a person, according to a Lansing State Journal analysis of data from the Michigan Association of Counties.
The Michigan Association of Counties estimates Ingham County should get $7.4 million over 18 years for opioid addiction treatment and prevention; Eaton County, $3.1 million; and Clinton County, $1.7 million.
"It's a lot of money," said Dr. Nike Shoyinka, Ingham County's top health care officer.
She expects Ingham County will use its opioid settlement money for community priorities centered on treatment and prevention that a new committee will establish.
Across the state, the expected payouts range from Wayne County's $35 million to Keweenaw County's $12,087, and include $6.9 million for St. Clair County, $5.5 million for Calhoun County, $2.5 million for Shiawassee County, $2.2 million for Montcalm County, at least $1 million for Gratiot, Ionia and Sanilac counties, and less than $1 million for Barry County, according to the state county association's most recent summer estimates.
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The five counties receiving the largest per-capita payments all have 25,000 people or fewer. Ogemaw, Crawford, Roscommon, Iosco and Manistee counties are expected to get between $40 and $100 a person, according to Michigan's county association. The five counties with the smallest per-capita payments - Keweenaw, Ottawa, Midland, Allegan and Missaukee counties - are expected to get between $6 and $12 a person.
While half of the $776 million will be paid to Michigan's local governments, those dollars will also be shared between a total of 269 counties, cities and townships. The Michigan Association of Counties calculated expected county payments, but a similar breakdown of city and township payments was not available from the association, Michigan Municipal League or the Attorney Generals office.
Communities across the state are figuring out how they'll handle their payouts since a Michigan judge dismissed last month an Ottawa County challenge that was preventing distribution of $81 million in settlement money for local governments. Ottawa County contended the money was being disbursed wrongly and its residents deserved more than the $2.6 million it is expected to receive.
The $81 million reflects three months worth of deposits that were delayed by Ottawa County's lawsuit and now will become regular. That $81 million began hitting county, city and township accounts Jan. 31. Representatives from several local governments say they haven't spent the money yet or determined exactly how to spend it.
In Livingston County, which is slated to get $4.5 million over 18 years, the money will likely go to a variety of uses, such as educating first responders, more access for opioid-countering medications and support to interventions, said Matt Bolang, deputy health officer for the county's health department.
"We're starting to think about how to best use this for our community," he said. "It's certainly something we have a need for and we are in the process of prioritizing the need."
Counties are doing the right thing by planning their spending and working with community groups, said Amy Dolinky, technical advisor for opioid settlement funds for the Michigan Association of Counties. There are no pressing deadlines for spending the money, she noted.
So far, Michigan has received about $39 million for the state's share of the national settlement of at least $21 billion, and, in time, the payouts for local governments and the state should be about equal, state officials said.
However, Dolinky emphasized some restrictions for the money both local governments and the state will receive. They fall into three major categories: Mitigating the misuse or abuse of opioids, treating related disorders, and dealing with side effects, Dolinky said.
She added that about 85% of the money needs to be spent on opioid-related efforts, and most of that 85% needs to be spent on future programs. The rest can be spent on administrative costs and other programs that can include reimbursement.
Municipalities should have plenty of options, from providing jail and medications like naloxone (often known as Narcan), supporting treatment centers, adding more staff to handle treatment and outreach efforts and even efforts like career program for at-risk people, she said.
The state's money, at least the first batch, will go toward prevention, training and research and the money should touch those who are addicted, people starting to take opioids, drug stores, medical professionals, first responders, community health groups and treatment centers, health and human services officials said.
The state released on Friday an initial list of projects for its first $39 million.
In Michigan, we are using this long-term funding to address the multi-generational impact of the opioid epidemic as well as address racial disparities that exist as part of the opioids crisis, MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in the release. Settlement dollars will allow us to invest in supports, improvements and enhancements to further our efforts to decrease substance use disorders, improve treatment options and improve recovery success.
A survey of 1,000 people in 2022 by the University of Michigan's Centers for Health Research and Transformation found treatment was one of the most sought-after uses for the money in Michigan.
The priorities for the money, according to the survey:
Recovery treatment, including residential centers and mental health assistance
Prevention programs, including in schools and for both first responders and medical workers
Expanding medication access and treatment options for opioids
State figures show drug overdoses, including but not limited to opioids, killed 3,096 people in the state in 2021 and 85% of those, 2,504 deaths, were attributed to opioids, a broad term that health experts say encompasses prescription opioids, heroine, cocaine, stimulants, methamphetamines, and manufactured fentanyl. About three quarters of those opioid overdose deaths involved illicit fentanyl, according to federal CDC figures from 2021, the most recent year available.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate indicate street drugs are a bigger problem than prescription drugs. About 2,260 people in Michigan died in 2021 of an overdose linked to illicit fentanyl, that's about 75% of all overdose deaths; about 391 people fatally overdosed with prescription opioids in the same year, according to federal CDC figures from 2021, the most recent year available. Heroin, another opioid, was linked to about 270 deaths in Michigan in 2021.
That was an increase from 2020, when 2,738 people died of overdose. The deaths are most common in young people and men but overdoses for those older than 65 years rose the fastest, accounting for almost 12% more deaths in 2022.
In Ingham County in 2021, 126 deaths involved opioids out of 151 drug-related deaths, according to an annual medical examiner's report. In Eaton County opioids were identified in 15 of 22 drug-related deaths.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or on Twitter @MikeEllis_AIM
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: State, counties figuring out how to spend millions from opioid settlements
Test after test seems to come from Casa Amor (Alamy/PA)
Couples have been putting their relationships to the test in Love Island by exploring connections outside it.
From Tom and Casey to Ron and Will, several of the contestants on the ITV2 show have suggested that flirting or kissing people other than their partner is a suitable way to test whether their relationship is strong.
And it isnt just the men. Tanya has now rekindled her relationship with Shaq after pursuing a connection with Martin, who she met in Casa Amor.
So, why do we do it? And is it healthy to test your relationship in this way?
Committing to someone long term is a big step, and many people want to be 100% certain that they are doing the right thing, explains says Mairead Molloy, relationship psychologist and global director at Berkeley International (berkeley-international.com).
They want reassurance that the relationship is the best they can get, which might prompt them to compare their partners to other potential matches.
Can it do your relationship good?
Relationship tests can make or break a relationship, says Molloy.
It is possible for couples to go on to have a happy relationship after infidelity, provided theyre willing to put in the work when both spouses are committed to real healing, most relationships survive and many become stronger with deeper levels of intimacy, depending on the level of trust.
What about cheating?
It may depend how serious the relationship is (and how long youve been together) but anything considered cheating by either party could have a serious impact.
Few relationship problems cause as much heartache and devastation as infidelity, which undermines the foundation of the relationship itself, Molloy suggests.
People who are unfaithful to their partners regret causing their loved ones so much pain and heartache. Even if the couple decides to stay together, its very hard for them to have a trust-based, happy relationship.
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Does a test spell the end?
Shaq was tempted to call it quits after Tanya returned from Casa Amor with another man, saying: Its the end for me.
Molley says: Tests and red flags are often talked about during the initial stages of dating and relationships, although they can appear within more established relationships too.
With regards to looking elsewhere, it is absolutely possible that your partner does love you, did love you before, and will continue to love you in the future. Infidelity does not mean that the love is gone or never existed. The reality is that you can love someone and still cheat on them.
It could make the person looking elsewhere care more.
Spending time with another person romantically can make you realise that you prefer your partner, and can stir up feelings of guilt and regret, which can bring reassurance that you are with the right person.
It is important to note there can be disastrous consequences to straying, and it is not the best start to any blossoming love story, she says.
What is the alternative to improve the relationship?
There are healthy ways to test the strength of a relationship.
Enjoying your lives outside of the relationship, spending time apart, or going on a holiday without your partner can be positive ways to test the strength of your relationship, says Molloy.
Trust is required, which is vital in a healthy relationship.
While Islanders might not have the chance to do all that in the villa, we can certainly try in the real world.
Photo: The Canadian Press Quebec Premier Francois Legault holds a press conference as Canada's premiers meet in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Ottawa.
After demanding for months that Ottawa stop the flow of migrants into the country, Quebec's premier is making his pitch to English Canada for the closure of an irregular border crossing popular with asylum seekers and for their transfer outside his province.
The number of would-be refugees entering Quebec "has exploded," Francois Legault wrote in an English-language letter published Tuesday in the Globe and Mail, adding that refugee claimants are pushing the province's social services to their limits. The sooner the federal government closes the Roxham Road irregular border crossing in southern Quebec, the better, the premier said.
"This situation even raises several humanitarian considerations, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to receive asylum seekers with dignity," Legault said.
The letter is similar to the one Legault wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday. But unlike the letter to Trudeau, Legault's message in the Globe does not include concerns that the arrival of thousands of asylum seekers is putting the survival of the French language in Montreal at risk. The premier also doesn't mention that he's asked Trudeau for more money to pay for the costs of caring for would-be refugees.
"We have therefore asked the federal government to settle new asylum seekers in other provinces that are capable of supporting them with dignity," Legault wrote in the Globe. The letter called for Ottawa to transfer to other provinces all new asylum seekers who enter irregularly, "while Quebec catches its breath." Ottawa should issue work permits and process refugee applications faster, he added.
"In the meantime, Mr. Trudeau's government should send the message loud and clear to would-be migrants not to come via Roxham Road anymore."
For months, the Legault government has been calling on Ottawa to close Roxham Road and to transfer asylum seekers to other provinces. The influx of would-be refugees in Quebec has put significant strain on the housing, education and social services sectors, the government says.
Later in the day, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded to Legault's letters and called on Trudeau to create a plan to end the crossings at Roxham Road within a month.
"The job of protecting our borders belongs to us, and in particular to the prime minister of Canada," he told reporters in Ottawa. "And under his leadership, the number of illegal border crossings has gone up tenfold.
"We as a country can close that border crossing. If we are a real country, we have borders."
Poilievre did not say how this could be done, but noted that Roxham Road crossings largely stopped at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but he did not mention that the border itself was almost entirely closed.
The opposition leader argued that ending these crossings would save money that could diverted to processing asylum claims made by people who did not illegally cross into Canada.
Poilievre, however, would not say whether he supports transferring asylum claimants from Quebec to other provinces.
Under the Safe Third Country Agreement signed by Washington and Ottawa in 2002, most asylum seekers cannot make claims at official border crossings between the two countries. But the agreement doesnt apply to people who illegally cross into Canada outside of a border station, most of whom are not prosecuted because they file an asylum claim.
In the past, Conservative MPs have floated extending the Third Country Agreement to apply to anyone who reaches Canada, though that would require Washingtons approval and likely violates international rules.
Poilievre rejected those arguments as excuses for Trudeau letting the problem fester.
In his letters, Legault also called for the Safe Third Country Agreement which is currently being renegotiated to apply at all points of entry, both official and unofficial.
According to federal government statistics, more than 39,000 people claimed asylum in Quebec in 2022 after crossing into Canada outside official ports of entry, mostly through Roxham Road. About 369 people who crossed irregularly over that period claimed asylum in the rest of the country. In total, around 64 per cent of all asylum claims in Canada in 2022 were made in Quebec.
In response to Legault's letter to Trudeau, the office of federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Monday that Ottawa had transferred thousands of migrants to Ontario to take pressure off Quebec, adding that the government was working with other provinces and municipalities to find other temporary accommodations.
(Reuters) - Self-driving sensor maker Luminar Technologies Inc announced an expanded partnership with Mercedes-Benz Group on Wednesday to enable fully automated driving for its next-generation vehicles.
Automakers from Tesla Inc to General Motors are focusing on autonomous vehicles, but technological and regulatory hurdles remain.
Tech firms such as Alphabet Inc's Waymo and Aptiv-Hyundai Motor joint venture, Motional, are also looking to develop autonomous vehicles for commercial use.
Luminar will supply the German carmaker with lidars, which use laser light pulses to measure the distance between the sensor and an object and are widely seen as essential to achieving full autonomous driving.
Luminar and Mercedes-Benz had announced a partnership in January last year.
Palo Alto, California-based Luminar also said it plans to build a factory in Asia to support the multi-billion dollar deal.
Luminar teamed up with Volvo Cars and announced in January last year that a hands-free driving system called "Ride Pilot", which will allow the car to fully take over driving tasks in some limited situations, would be first released in California.
(Reporting by Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
A Glen Carbon man was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child.
In December, a Madison County jury found Jesse W. Chartrand, 43, guilty on a single count of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse for acts he committed with the child from August 2019 to July 2020.
The Belleville News-Democrat does not identify minors or victims of sexual assault. In a victim-impact statement, however, the victim described her emotional struggles since the assaults occurred.
You know that feeling when someone dies? When the whole world stops and it feels like nothing is real? Thats kind of how it feels, the victim stated.
The victims mother, in a statement to the court, said the level of pain the child has endured is something no child should have to deal with.
During the trial, Chartrand claimed that he had suffered delusions and asked the jury to find him not guilty by reason of insanity.
Assistant States Attorney Emily Bell, however, showed jurors a videotaped interview of Chartrand, conducted by Glen Carbon Police. Chartrand showed no signs of being delusional during that interview, Bell argued.
He was legally sane, Bell said during her closing argument in the December trial. He is responsible for what he did.
Madison County States Attorney Tom Haine commended the work of Bell and Assistant States Attorney Alison Foley, along with Glen Carbon Police. He also commended the Child Advocacy Center, which conducted the forensic interview of the victim and provided services to her.
Circuit Judge Kyle Napps sentence includes a 30-year prison term for predatory criminal sexual assault, a five-year term for one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and a five-year term for another count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse..
This perpetrator caused immeasurable suffering and trauma for the victim and the victims family, Haine said in a statement. Yet they had the courage to come forward and to assist in the investigation and prosecution. While no punishment could possibly make up for what theyve experienced, we pray that this sentence brings them some degree of healing.
The States Attorneys Office will always aggressively prosecute sex offenders who prey on innocent children. My office is committed to working with law enforcement and the Madison County Child Advocacy Center to hold the perpetrators accountable in these types of heinous cases.
The family of Malcolm X, the civil rights icon who was assassinated in 1965, will file a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against federal and state government agencies for allegedly concealing evidence related to his killing.
The family, along with their lawyers, said at a press conference on Tuesday that they were seeking justice for Malcolm X, who was shot and killed while speaking in New York city in February 1965.
For years our family has fought for the truth to come to light concerning his murder, and wed like our father to receive the justice that he deserves, Ilyasah Shabazz, his daughter, said. The truth about the circumstances leading to the death of our father is important not only to his family, but to many followers, many admirers And it is our hope that litigation of this case will finally provide some unanswered questions.
Lawyers for the family said the suit will name New York state, New York City, the CIA and the FBI as defendants in the case.
The suit comes as two men who were wrongfully convicted of the killing of Malcolm X Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam were awarded $36 million by New York late last year following lawsuits they filed. Both spent over 20 years in prison. Lawyers for the Malcolm X family argue that they are also entitled to compensation.
If the government compensated the two gentlemen that were wrongfully convicted for the assassination of Malcolm X with tens of millions of dollars, then what is to be the compensation for the daughters who suffered the most from the assassination of Malcolm X? their attorney Ben Crump said.
The announcement comes on the 58th anniversary of Malcolm Xs killing, which has long been subject to debate from scholars and civil rights advocates who argue that the government and law enforcement played a role in his assassination at age 39.
The probe that ultimately exonerated both Aziz and Islam concluded that the FBI did not disclose documents that would have cast doubt on their involvement in the killing and that there had been unacceptable violations of law and the public trust in the investigation.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A man is in jail after police said he threatened employees with a gun during a reported robbery in Kettering.
On Feb. 13 around 7 p.m., Kettering police responded to the Shell gas station on Far Hills Avenue to reports of an attempted robbery, according to a weekly Kettering police report.
Police said a suspect, identified as 18-year-old Gavin Hopson, allegedly showed a gun while threatening employees before running from the scene.
>> 3-alarm house fire sets off live ammunition near grenades in Darke Co.
Hopson was later found on an RTA bus in the area of Lyons Road after Kettering officers contacted RTA and provided them with Hopsons description.
Officers also found a gun reported stolen out of Oakwood on Hopson.
He was taken into custody, on preliminary charges of receiving stolen property, aggravated robbery, carrying concealed weapons, improperly handling firearms, criminal trespass, theft and construction official business.
Hopson is in the custody of Montgomery County Jail and is set to appear in court on Feb. 23.
A Kansas City, Kansas, man was arrested Monday for a Johnson County GameStop robbery in which employees were allegedly held at gunpoint and tied up.
Sylvester Pickett, 30, was charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and theft, according to documents filed in Johnson County District Court.
On Feb. 12, two suspects entered the store on the 9700 block of Quivira Road near Oak Park Mall. One suspect allegedly pulled out a gun and began making threats. After restraining two employees, the men began loading up merchandise, according to a statement from the Lenexa Police Department.
During the robbery, a customer walked in and was also detained.
Police later shared security footage of the robbery, which shows two men wearing face masks carrying out boxes of products. The release alleges the suspects drove away in a silver Hyundai SUV.
Court documents allege Pickett took somewhere between $1,500 to $25,000 worth of games.
Picketts bond has been set at $200,000. He remains in custody in Johnson County Jail and is set appear in court March 1.
Lenexa police are still searching for the second suspect, a slender male wearing a dark hoodie and shorts, according to Master Police Officer Danny Chavez.
Detectives are urging anyone with information about the robbery or second suspect to contact them at 913-825-8169.
The man accused of injuring multiple University of Kentucky students during a shooting at an off-campus party in September is now facing a federal charge connected to the alleged crime, according to court documents.
Jason Almanza-Arroyo, 19, was federally charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon that was in and affecting interstate commerce, according to a federal indictment. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and forfeiture of the gun used in the shooting, according to court documents.
A grand jury indicted Almanza-Arroyo on the new charge last week.
At the state level, Almanza-Arroyo faces several counts of assault and wanton endangerment, tampering with physical evidence and resisting arrest for his alleged role in the shooting, according to court records. Hes being held at the Fayette County Detention Center and his next court appearance is in March.
In the evening hours of Sept. 7, Almanza-Arroyo and one other individual showed up uninvited to a party hosted by the Theta Chi fraternity in the 200 block of University Avenue, officials said. An altercation ensued and Almanza-Arroyo allegedly fired one shot in the basement of the building.
According to UK officials, one female student was shot in the leg and 10 other students suffered injuries from shrapnel and debris. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
Almanza-Arroyo was arrested later Thursday morning, police said. Court documents say Almanza-Arroyo was spotted by police after the shooting under the influence of alcohol and carrying a loaded firearm.
When confronted by officers, Almanza-Arroyo was cursing loudly, refusing to comply and spit in an officers mouth during apprehension, according to testimony by Lexington police officer Greg George.
In December, Almanza-Arroyo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in another shooting two years prior.
In April 2020 Almanza-Arroyo and Juan Guerrero-Zendejas, a co-defendant in the case, got into a verbal road rage altercation with two other individuals near Boardwalk and Park Place. Court documents say Almanza-Arroyo and Guerrero-Zendejas pulled up along the drivers side of the victims vehicle and began shooting towards them.
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During the shooting, the suspects rammed their Tahoe into the victims vehicle, causing it to hit a light pole, a tree and a ditch, according to court documents. The victims awoke to serious injuries and they were trapped inside the vehicle, according to court records.
Almanza-Arroyo and Guerrero-Zendejas were arrested approximately two months after the road rage incident but were later released from jail after they each posted bond, according to court records.
Guerrero-Zendejas was charged with two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. His case is still pending and is scheduled for a hearing in January.
UK fraternity faced discipline following party
While Almanza-Arroyo and Guerrero-Zendejas arent UK students, the incident did prompt the university to investigate the off-campus party where the shooting happened to determine if any student conduct rules had been broken.
UK spokesperson Jay Blanton confirmed Wednesday that the university had concluded its investigation. He said UK could not speak to specific student information, but said publicly available results of the investigation were posted on UKs website.
UKs website shows that Theta Chi is facing discipline for multiple conduct incidents. One incident landed them on disciplinary probation, which ended last month, after the fraternity was found to have violated alcohol and hazing policies.
Theta Chi is also currently under disciplinary probation and social restrictions for misuse of alcohol and violations of law or other UK policies, according to UKs website.
Reporter Monica Kast contributed to this story.
A man was killed when he was hit by a vehicle on a Dallas street Tuesday following an argument with another man, Dallas police said.
A 61-year-old man who is accused of driving the car that struck the victim was arrested at the scene.
Dallas police identified the suspect as Emmanual Green, who faces a charge of murder in the case.
The name of the man who was killed has not been released by authorities.
Dallas police responded to a pedestrian struck call just after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of North Moore Street.
When they arrived, officers found the victim in the street. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
The preliminary investigation determined the victim was arguing with the suspect when Green got into his vehicle and hit the victim, police said.
Officers found Green and took him to the Dallas County Jail.
Dallas police did not release any information on the argument.
Photo: The Canadian Press Councilmember Kshama Sawant speaks at a rally at Westlake Park in Seattle, Tuesday, May 3, 2022.
The Seattle City Council has added caste to the citys anti-discrimination laws, becoming the first U.S. city to specifically ban caste discrimination.
Calls to outlaw discrimination based on caste, a division of people based on birth or descent, have grown louder among South Asian diaspora communities in the United States. The movement is getting pushback from some Hindu Americans who argue that such legislation maligns a specific community.
Proponents of the ordinance approved by a 6-1 vote Tuesday say caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries and that without such laws, those facing caste discrimination in the U.S. will have no protections.
The ordinance is a contentious issue, especially among the nation's South Asian diaspora. Supporters argue it is needed because caste is not covered under existing civil rights protections. Groups opposing the measure say it will malign a community that is already the target of prejudice.
Council Member Kshama Sawant, a socialist and the only Indian American on the City Council, said the ordinance, which she proposed, does not single out one community, but it accounts for how caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries.
The origins of the caste system in India can be traced back 3,000 years as a social hierarchy based on ones occupation and birth. It is a system that has evolved over the centuries under Muslim and British rule. The suffering of those who are at the bottom of the caste pyramid known as Dalits has continued. Caste discrimination has been prohibited in India since 1948, a year after the nations independence from British rule.
Dalit activists from Seattle and beyond rallied at Seattle City Hall in support of the ordinance, said Thenmozhi Soundararajan, founder and executive director of California-based Equality Labs.
The U.S. is the second most popular destination for Indians living abroad, according to the Migration Policy Institute, which estimates the U.S. diaspora grew from about 206,000 in 1980 to about 2.7 million in 2021. The group South Asian Americans Leading Together reports that nearly 5.4 million South Asians live in the U.S. up from the 3.5 million counted in the 2010 census. Most trace their roots to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Over the past three years, several colleges and university systems have moved to prohibit caste discrimination.
In December 2019, Brandeis University near Boston became the first U.S. college to include caste in its nondiscrimination policy. The California State University System, Colby College, Brown University and the University of California, Davis have all adopted similar measures. Harvard University instituted caste protections for student workers in 2021 as part of its contract with its graduate student union.
The Seattle measure had the support of Dalit activist-led organizations like Equality Labs and others. The groups say caste discrimination is prevalent in diaspora communities manifesting itself in the form of social alienation and discrimination in housing, education and the tech sector where South Asians hold key roles.
Opposition to the ordinance came from groups such as the Hindu American Foundation and the Coalition of Hindus of North America who say it unnecessarily singles-out a community already vulnerable to discrimination in the U.S.
The man suspected in the murder of a Stoughton woman, whose body was found behind her home, was indicted on a murder charge Wednesday.
A Norfolk County Grand Jury returned a murder indictment against Carter, 40, for the December 2022 death of Amber Buckner. Buckner was found unresponsive in a shed-type building in her backyard.
Carter was arraigned in Stoughton District Court on one count of murder on January 17. Carter entered a plea of not guilty and was held without bail.
During that January hearing, prosecutors told the court that Buckner was found suffering from 30 stab wounds, defensive wounds on her hands and was found with a four-inch tactical knife protruding from her temple.
Carter was taken into custody days after Buckner was found dead when investigators tracked him to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.
Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey also said that Carter and Buckner had a relationship history.
Buckners friends told Boston 25 News that the mother of three loved cooking and was working hard to turn her life around after battling drug addiction.
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A man will spend time in prison in connection to a 2020 double shooting at Jefferson Township bar that left one dead.
>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Jefferson Twp. man charged with murder for shooting outside Napoleons Reloaded
Gregory Alan Bush Jr, 42, Dayton, was sentenced to 12 to 15.5 years in prison after the 2020 shooting of a man and the murder of another outside of Napoleons Reloaded, in the 4100 block of Germantown Pike.
In September 2020, the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office responded to a shooting that killed Lavar Edward Bagley Sr., 43, of Trotwood.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Deputies arrest person of interest in deadly shooting outside Napoleons Palace
A second shooting victim was taken to Kettering Health Dayton, formally known as Grandview Medical Center, with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Jan. 30, Bush was convicted of one count of involuntary manslaughter with a 5-year firearm specification, and one count of felonious assault causing serious physical harm.
By Henriette Chacar and Ali Kucukgocmen
ANTAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) - More than two weeks after huge earthquakes devastated Turkey's Antakya, Mustafa Kazzaz was camped near the rubble of his family's building, refusing to move even after the search for the bodies of his father, brother and sister had ended.
"They worked and worked. They dug out the whole building," he said, sitting alone in darkness on a plot of land across from the building his family lived in.
"They told me the work is done. There is no one else. They are saying, 'Your brother, sister, father are not here.' How can that be?"
Rescue operations in the 10 provinces that were battered by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 that killed more than 47,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria were largely called off on Sunday.
When another violent tremor struck Hatay province on Monday, several buildings collapsed, killing six people and prompting renewed rescue operations. But by Tuesday, efforts to save survivors had ceased and Antakya city centre was desolate.
There was only the grinding clamour of excavators clearing away debris from nearby collapsed buildings as emergency workers tried to pinpoint the bodies of a mother and daughter.
Kazzaz, a 25-year-old Syrian who arrived in Turkey with his family five years ago, was sitting in a chair next to a tent he had been sleeping in for 15 days.
"I will wait here my whole life. I will not leave," Kazzaz said, holding his head in his hands as he wept. "I knew at least 250 people on this street. Now they are all dead," he said, referring to a main street in Antakya where his family resided.
Kazzaz had been living in Turkey's northeastern province of Trabzon, where he worked as a translator in the tourism sector. He spent the day before the first earthquake hit in Antakya, visiting his family for the first time in years.
"I had been working for three years in Trabzon, saving up to get married. My mother converted it all to gold and that all remained in the house. (Now) I am starting from scratch."
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When news of the initial quake broke, he hurried back to Antakya. He said he pulled his sister and mother out of the rubble on his own, without help from authorities.
A video of what he said was his own rescue effort showed him climbing deep inside a narrow opening between a collapsed ceiling and the floor until only his feet could be seen sticking out.
His mother was already dead when he brought her out and his sister died shortly after, he said. In another video, he pointed to his sister's body, seen covered in a pink blanket.
"I was living for them. It is like I am newly born. I have no one. I have no money. I have nothing. I have no future. I have no home."
(Reporting by Henriette Chacar and Ali Kucukgocmen, editing by Mark Heinrich)
A man tried ruining a persons life by relentlessly harassing them online, federal prosecutors say. Hes now convicted of cyberstalking.
He smeared the North Carolina victims name by creating a fake LinkedIn profile pretending to be them, describing them as a child molester and a rapist on the account, court documents show.
LinkedIn is one of a few online platforms Christopher Kevin Morris, 45, of Texas, used to portray the person as a child molester, according to prosecutors. Additionally, prosecutors said this individual wasnt Morris only victim.
A federal jury convicted Morris of cyberstalking Feb. 17, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced Feb. 21.
McClatchy News contacted Morris attorneys for comment Feb. 22 and didnt immediately receive a response.
The harassment against the victim escalated when Morris repeatedly and publicly posted source code, worth millions of dollars, that the person had worked on for six years as part of their job, according to officials.
The cyberstalking and harassment campaign
From July 2021 to October 2021, the victim, identified only as K.L., was described as Morris main cyberstalking target, according to court documents.
Prosecutors detailed how Morris was set on ruining this persons life after directing inappropriate statements to them on a forum that was viewed by other employees. When he wouldnt apologize, Morris lost his job. It wasnt specified where he previously worked.
As a result, Morris created fake email accounts and started emailing the victims co-workers, officials said.
Some of the emails appeared to be from a respected colleague and accused the victim of being a convicted child molester, according to prosecutors.
Other emails were of an overtly offensive nature, calling the victim a queer, saying they were beat up a lot in high school and accusing them of using racist language, a superseding indictment shows.
In addition to impersonating the victim on LinkedIn, Morris also created a fake GitHub account for them, according to the superseding indictment. GitHub is a code hosting website used by software developers.
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On GitHub, Morris used the fake account to characterize the victim as a sexual deviant who love(s) having sex with small children, prosecutors said.
The platform was also used to post valuable source code fully owned by the victims boss, according to officials.
Two other people, who dont live in North Carolina, were also harassed online by Morris, prosecutors said.
He sent all three of the victims harassing emails with ominous messages implying he was keeping tabs on them or their family, and made racist and offensive statements, according to officials.
One message sent to an unspecified victim called them a dead man walking, prosecutors said.
At a sentencing hearing scheduled in May, Morris could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and be ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
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FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
McKinsey & Co. will eliminate up to 2,000 jobs within the next couple of months, reports say.
The job cuts follow a trend of layoffs across industries like tech and media.
The consulting firm is looking to get rid of jobs that do not deal with clients.
In another round of layoffs that has spanned across industries like technology, media, and investment banking consulting firm McKinsey & Co. will eliminate up to 2,000 jobs within the next couple of months, according to multiple reports.
The planned layoffs, which were first reported by Bloomberg, are part of a plan called Project Magnolia that seeks to eliminate support roles to help save money for consultant roles, sources familiar with the matter told the publication.
The restructuring could result in one of the largest cuts the company has ever seen, reports said. Financial Times and Bloomberg reported that over the past five years, McKinsey added 17,000 employees.
Some of the roles that will be eliminated could include human resources, technology, and communications, and could affect hundreds or thousands of jobs, a source familiar with the matter told Financial Times. The source also told the Financial Times that the legal and compliance teams would not be affected.
Representatives for McKinsey & Co. did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
McKinsey & Co. reported over $15 billion in revenue in 2021, and sources told the Financial Times that last year's revenue surpassed that number.
In statements to the media, McKinsey said that it would be "redesigning" its non-client facing teams, but would continue to hire staff that deals with clients.
McKinsey & Co., one of the "Big Three" consulting firms in the US, is one of the most sought-after consulting jobs in the country. In 2018, McKinsey told Insider the firm received 800,000 applications, with only 8,000 people receiving offers.
The firm is also known for being connected to multiple scandals, including its role in consulting work done for the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries. McKinsey's South African branch is also facing criminal charges related to a corruption scandal involving the firm and its business with state-owned freight rail and port operator, Transnet.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The recent Ohio train derailment, in which carriages from a 150-car freight liner carrying toxic chemicals crashed off the tracks in the town of East Palestine, is just one of more than a dozen rail accidents reported to have already taken place in the US since the start of 2023.
The accident was not even the first to have occurred in Ohio this year, according to Newsweek, with another derailment having taken place on 19 January between Trinway and Adams Mill.
In that incident, an Ohio Central Railroad train comprising 97 cars and stretching for 1.2 miles slid off the rails, although they were empty at the time so leaked no cargo and no one was hurt.
A thorough investigation into the cause is still underway, a corporate spokesman told The Zanesville Times Recorder in its aftermath, adding that he expected his crew to have the cars upright and the scene cleared within a week.
Newsweek counts no fewer than three further accidents in South Carolina alone already this year near Lake City on 9 January, near Loris on 21 January, and another near Enoree on 12 February as well as two in rural California, one each in metropolitan Detroit and Philadelphia and others in Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana and Texas.
The derailment of a Union Pacific freight train in Gothenburg, Nebraska, on 21 February, came after three coal trains had derailed in the area in 2022.
But it is the East Palestine incident that has cast new light on Americas under-reported railroad sector and the challenges it faces.
The accident occurred shortly after 9pm on Friday 3 February, when 38 Norfolk Southern carriages crashed off the rails as the result of what investigators later determined was a broken axle, 10 of which were transporting hazardous materials cross-country.
Fortunately, no one was harmed but more than 2,000 East Palestine residents out of approximately 4,800 had to be temporarily evacuated from the area due to health concerns arising from the chemical spill.
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As part of the clean up operation, five of the tankers containing vinyl chloride a compound used to make plastic pipes, wires, cable coating, car parts and packaging but which can cause cancer had to be intentionally breached by emergency crews, who diverted the substance into an excavated trench and carried out a controlled burn to prevent an explosion, sending noxious black clouds billowing into the atmosphere.
The evacuated residents have since been allowed to return home after the Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, monitoring air and water contaminants since the accident, reported that the detected levels are not significant enough to cause a lasting health impact.
But that has not done much to reassure the locals, some of whom have nevertheless reported symptoms such as runny noses, sore throats and headaches in the aftermath of the disaster, while an estimated 3,500 fish have turned up dead in surrounding waters.
Rail accidents like this are actually relatively common in the US, although the consequences are seldom so dramatic.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics records 54,539 train derailments between 1990 to 2021, an average of 1,704 per year.
While that might sound like a lot, the fatality rate from such incidents is low, averaging just four deaths per year over the same period.
A black plume rises over East Palestine (AP)
Rail experts have argued, however, that the East Palestine crash was the inevitable result of compromised safety measures and reduced workforces, part of an effort to boost rail company profits.
Steven Ditmeyer, a former top official at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), told investigative news outlet The Lever that the severity of the crash may have been aggravated by the lack of Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) brakes.
Former US president Barack Obama passed legislation making it mandatory for trains carrying hazardous, flammable materials to have ECP brakes but the order was rescinded in 2017 under a Donald Trump administration assault on red tape.
The National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed that the trains that were derailed in East Palestine were not equipped with ECP brakes, The Lever reports.
The Railroad Workers Union has meanwhile argued in The New Republic that a management practice adopted by rail companies called Precision Scheduled Railroading which organises freight scheduling based on individual cars, rather than considering the balance of the train as a whole may have played a role and could contribute to future accidents by sidelining safety concerns.
Ian Jefferies, head of the Association of American Railroads trade group, has moved to reassure the public about the safety of chemical freight by insisting that 99.9 per cent of all hazardous materials shipments reach their destinations safely.
FRA data showed that dangerous chemicals were released in only 11 train accidents across the US in 2022 out of roughly 535 million miles covered, comparing favourably to the decade highs of 20 recorded in both 2018 and 2020.
Railroads are the safest form of moving goods across land in the country without question, Mr Jefferies said. But railroads are also working to drive toward zero incidents. Until we reach that goal, we havent got to where we want to be.
Historically excluded from krewes and carnivals, Black Americans created their own Mardi Gras traditions. ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images
The history of Mardi Gras in America is rooted in social and racial segregation.
Krewes were formed as a way to reinforce existing hierarchies in Louisiana society.
Black Mardi Gras emerged in response to the exclusionary practices of the celebration.
The first American Mardi Gras took place in the 17th century in Louisiana, which was then a slave-holding colony
An illustration of the Carnival at New Orleans from 1800. Bettman
Mardi Gras has been celebrated in some form in Louisiana since it was first colonized by the French in the 17th century.
The first American Mardi Gras took place on March 3, 1699, when two French explorers landed near present-day New Orleans to establish a colony. They held a small celebration and dubbed their new settlement the Point du Mardi Gras.
Native Americans were originally enslaved in Louisiana. Shortly after, enslaved Africans were brought to America during the transatlantic slave trade.
The first Mardi Gras krewes were invested in reinforcing the social hierarchy of Louisiana society
An invitation to the exclusive Comus Mardi Gras ball at the French Opera House, New Orleans, 1916. Public Domain
Krewes are social organizations that stage parades and balls during the Carnival season.
The Mistick Krewe of Comus was founded in 1857, and was one of the first Mardi Gras krewes formed in America. It was largely made up of white Anglo-American men, as well as some white Creole men. White women, Black people, Jews, and German and Italian immigrants were all excluded from krewe membership.
Krewes emphasized royal imagery through practices like crowning kings and queens, which were otherwise out of favor in the United States at the time. The formation of krewes was connected with nostalgia and anxiety over the waning power of the Southern planter class around the Civil War and the abolition of slavery and was a way to reinforce a social hierarchy where elite white men sat at the top, according to historian Jennifer Atkins.
Early parade themes reflected the white elite's fear and desire to hold onto power
1875 engraving of the 1873 Comus ball at the Varieties Theater, including a costumed man with ape feet and a banjo. James Well Champney/Public Dmain
In 1873, the Mistick Krewe of Comus' parade theme was "Missing Links to Darwin's Origin of Species." The costumes and floats were designed to stir up opposition to the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which guaranteed Black Americans equal protection under the law and the right to vote.
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Costume designs from the parade showed anthropomorphized gorillas wearing feathered hats and playing musical instruments. A journalist at the Daily Picayune at the time compared the gorilla costume to "the broader-mouthed varieties of our own citizens, so Ethiopian in his exuberant glee."
The parade was a way for white elite to assuage unfounded fears toward the threat of Black masculinity, according to historian Elizabeth Leavitt.
"The gorilla costumed figure exoticized this perceived threat in the minds of all who saw it during the Comus parade; the idea that the silly-looking, primitive, banjo-playing gorilla would ever be a threat to a Southern Belle, like Mardi Gras Queen Winnie Davis, would have seemed impossible," Leavitt said.
Excluded from krewes, Black men and women were often used as labor during the parades
Floats used to be pulled by horses and mules, which were often led by Black men. Bettmann/Getty Images
Many of the "flambeaux," or lantern bearers, in parades were Black men who had been recently freed in the decades following the Civil War. These performers had to walk between elaborately decorated floats on foot while twirling open-flame kerosene torches in the air. They held the torches so that parade-watchers could see the floats.
First-hand accounts from the late 19th century also described how the floats were pulled by mules, led by Black men.
The Zulu krewe emerged in response to discrimination and exclusion
Steve Johnson was crowned King Zulu at the 1973 Mardi Gras Parade of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. Porter/Wikimedia Commons
In 1909, the Krewe of Zulu made its first public appearance on parade routes the first of many for what would become one of the most recognizable Black krewes in New Orleans.
Formally known as the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, the Zulu krewe used balls, parties, and social events to raise money for Black Americans suffering financial hardships.
Drawing from the Zulu people in Africa, the krewe members wore grass skirts, blackface, and bushy hair or ornate headgear. The stereotypical costuming was purportedly a subversive gesture to caricatures of Black identity, including minstrelry, while simultaneously embracing their ancestral roots, according to scholar Trimiko Melancon.
"Zulu and other Black krewes created and offered a space of belonging during the racial politics of the era," Melancon wrote on Black Perspectives, the blog for the African American Intellectual History Society.
Mardi Gras krewes were not desegregated until 1992
Members of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club parade down St. Charles Avenue during Fat Tuesday celebrations on February 25, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
In December of 1991, New Orleans City Council voted to desegregate Mardi Gras krewes, which had remained largely white with the exception of a few Black krewes, including the Zulu club.
The Mardi Gras Indians commemorate the shared oppression of African Americans and Native Americans
Members of the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians on March 5, 2019 in New Orleans. Erika Goldring/Getty Images
The Mardi Gras Indian tribes also emerged as an alternative to the royal-centric krewes that communities of color were historically excluded from.
Despite its name, the Mardi Gras Indians are comprised of African Americans in New Orleans. They wear elaborate costumes that honor both African and Native American ancestry as a way to commemorate their shared oppression. It is widely believed that Native Americans aided Africans who escaped slavery,
The Mardi Gras Indians embody the Black masking traditions that arose in defiance against laws that banned African Americans from celebrating in parades. The costumes, adorned with beads, feathers, and sequins, take months to complete, and can cost thousands of dollars in material alone.
The Skull & Bone Gang carries a tradition rooted in African spirituality
The North Side Skull and Bone Gang walk the streets of the Treme neighborhood on March 5, 2019 in New Orleans. Erika Goldring/Getty Images
For more than 200 years, the North Side Skull and Bone Gang has signaled the start of Mardi Gras Day, waking the spirits and reminding the city to live well before death.
At dawn, members of the gang don skeleton suits, butcher aprons, and papier-mache skulls and walk the streets of Treme in New Orleans. Gripping meat bones and spears, they go door to door, rousing their neighbors with drumbeats and their signature call, "You next!"
The tradition has roots in African spirituality, and is a reminder of peace and harmony. Skeletons are part of the transatlantic culture of the African diaspora, including West African rituals, Caribbean Vodou practices, and Latin American Day of the Dead celebrations.
Read the original article on Insider
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has again doubled down on her highly inflammatory call for a national divorce between red and blue states, which some have interpreted as advocacy for a second American Civil War.
Speaking to Sean Hannity of Fox News on Tuesday evening, Ms Greene refused to back down and insisted instead that the US was headed for precisely that outcome.
In my life and my world, all of my friends are regular Americans, she told Mr Hannity.
Everyone I talk to is sick and tired and fed up with being bullied by the left, abused by the left, and disrespected by the left.
Our ideas, our policies and our ways of life have become so far apart that its just coming to that point. And the last thing I ever want to see in America is a civil war. No one wants that at least everyone I know would never want that but its going that direction and we have to do something about it.
The row began when the Georgia legislator tweeted on Monday: We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrats [sic] traitorous America Last policies, we are done.
The statement succeeded only in bringing Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans together, with the likes of Jon Stewart and Liz Cheney united in condemnation.
We get to keep the name right? the former Daily Show anchor joked.
On Tuesday, Ms Greene took her anti-democratic stance further when she told Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on his Real Americas Voice show that Democrats who relocate to Republican-controlled red states should not be allowed to vote in elections for five years.
Red states can choose in how they allow people to vote in their states, she told Mr Kirk.
What I think would be something that some red states could propose is: well, okay, if Democrat voters choose to flee these blue states where they cannot tolerate the living conditions, they dont want their children taught these horrible things, and they really change their mind on the types of policies that they support, well once they move to a red state, guess what, maybe you dont get to vote for five years.
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You can live there, and you can work there, but you dont get to bring your values that you basically created in the blue states you came from by voting for Democrat leaders and Democrat policies.
We need a national divorce.
We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government.
Everyone I talk to says this.
From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrats traitorous America Last policies, we are https://t.co/Azn8YF1UUy Marjorie Taylor Greene (@mtgreenee) February 20, 2023
White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson reacted in a statement: Congresswoman Greenes comments are sick, divisive, and alarming to hear from a member of the House Oversight and Homeland Security Committees.
Congressional Republicans have an obligation to say clearly whether they agree with Congresswoman Ms Greenes calls to dissolve the union or condemn her vile push to further divide our nation.
She added that Joe Biden ran for office to restore the soul of the nation, not to let Republicans in Congress rip our country apart at the seams.
When Ms Greene discussed the matter with Mr Hannity on Tuesday, she expressed confidence that her point of view was a future vote-winner, based on the response she had received on social media.
I actually think this is a much bigger movement than most people in Washington even realised, she insisted.
You can take a look at the tweets that I made just yesterday. The amount of likes and retweets that those tweets got should tell people a lot. And they are not aware of it yet because they dont talk to regular people.
Marjorie Taylor Green says that Democrats who move to Republican-controlled red states should not be allowed to vote in elections for five years.
The right-wing GOP lawmaker made her anti-democratic comments to Charlie Kirk after he asked her how the GOP could stop liberals from trying to invade our states or our counties.
Ms Greene, who has previously called for a national divorce between liberal and conservative states, told him: Red states can choose in how they allow people to vote in their states.
And the Q-Anon supporting congresswoman from Georgia added: What I think would be something that some red states could propose is: well, okay, if Democrat voters choose to flee these blue states where they cannot tolerate the living conditions, they dont want their children taught these horrible things, and they really change their mind on the types of policies that they support, well once they move to a red state, guess what, maybe you dont get to vote for five years.
You can live there, and you can work there, but you dont get to bring your values that you basically created in the blue states you came from by voting for Democrat leaders and Democrat policies.
Ms Greene is an ally of Donald Trump who has spoken out in support of his supporters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6.
She also lost her committee assignments in the last Congress after comments emerged of her talking about the execution of Democratic lawmakers.
Ms Greene told Kirk that it was important for Republican states to act so that their red states dont get changed. Which is whats happening, unfortunately, when Democrat voters leave their Democrat states and they take their Democrat votes with them.
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Marking one year of war, Ukraine and Russia lobbied countries at the United Nations on Wednesday for backing ahead of a vote by the 193-member General Assembly that the United States declared will "go down in history."
"We will see where the nations of the world stand on the matter of peace in Ukraine," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the General Assembly.
The General Assembly appeared set to adopt a resolution on Thursday, put forward by Ukraine and supporters, stressing "the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace" in line with the founding U.N. Charter.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced Russia's invasion and said the Charter was "unambiguous," citing from it: "All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."
Ukraine and its supporters hope to deepen Russia's diplomatic isolation by seeking yes votes from nearly three-quarters of the General Assembly to match - if not better - the support received for several resolutions last year.
They argue the war is a simple case of one unprovoked country illegally invading another, while Russia portrays itself as battling a "proxy war" with West, which has been arming Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Moscow since the invasion.
"The West has ... brazenly ignored our concerns and continue bringing the military infrastructure of NATO closer and closer to our borders," Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the General Assembly.
'VERY SIMPLE'
Nebenzia said Moscow "had no other option" but to launch what it has called a "special military operation" on Feb. 24 last year to defend Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine and ensure "the safety and security of our country, using military means."
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The draft U.N. resolution, which is non-binding, but carries political weight, mirrors a demand the General Assembly made last year for Moscow to withdraw troops and halt the hostilities. Russia has described the text as "unbalanced and anti-Russian" and urged countries to vote no.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters Ukraine was exercising its right to self-defense as enshrined in the U.N. Charter and that "when you are sending weapons to Ukraine, you are helping Ukraine to defend U.N. Charter."
"Russia violated the U.N. Charter by becoming an aggressor," he said at the United Nations. "When you are sending weapons to them, you are helping to destroy the U.N. Charter and everything that the United Nations stand for. It's very simple."
The General Assembly has been the focus for UN action on Ukraine, with the 15-member Security Council paralyzed due to veto power by Russia and the United States along with China, France and Britain.
The Security Council has held dozens of meetings on Ukraine in the past year and will again discuss the war on Friday at a ministerial gathering, due to be attended by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Diplomats say Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is not scheduled to attend.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by Kanishka Singh and David Gregorio)
Photo: The Canadian Press
A court in Romania's capital agreed Tuesday to extend social media influencer Andrew Tate's detention on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking by another 30 days, an official said.
Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen known for misogynistic views who has 5.1 million Twitter followers, was arrested Dec. 29 when authorities descended on his property north of Bucharest. His brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women also are in custody in the same case. None of the four has been formally charged.
Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romanias anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, told The Associated Press that the Bucharest Tribunal approved prosecutors' request to hold the Tates for another 30 days, while the two women will be put under house arrest.
It was the third 30-day extension granted since the Tates were arrested. The brothers also lost an appeal on Feb. 1 of a judges Jan. 20 decision to keep them behind bars while investigations continued.
A document explaining that earlier decision said the judge took into account the particular dangerousness of the defendants and their capacity to identify victims with an increased vulnerability, in search of better life opportunities.
Eugen Vidineac, one of the lawyers representing the Tate brothers, told journalists before Tuesdays ruling that the defense team would challenge another extension, if one were issued. He insisted the defense had effectively paralyzed the evidence" in the case so far and that there was not enough to keep the Tates in custody.
Tate, who has reportedly lived in Romania since 2017, was previously banned from various social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech. He has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and alleged their case is a political attack designed to silence him.
A post on Andrew Tates Twitter account before Tuesday's decision expressed confidence in his lawyers and his eventual release. A subsequent tweet said, I can easily think myself into euphoric gratefulness for things as simple as having air to breathe. I can easily think myself into the deepest and darkest depression. Ive seen hell. Ive lived hell. I can produce either state.
Romania's anti-organized crime agency said in a statement after the December arrests that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to acts of physical violence and mental coercion and were sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.
The agency said victims were lured with pretenses of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group.
In January, Romanian authorities descended on a compound near Bucharest linked with the Tate brothers and towed away a fleet of luxury cars that included a Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari and a Porsche. They reported seizing assets worth an estimated $3.9 million.
Prosecutors have said that if they can prove the cars owners gained money through illicit activities such as human trafficking, the assets would be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and to compensate victims. Tate also unsuccessfully appealed the asset seizure.
MARTIN COUNTY School Superintendent John Millay resigned Tuesday after less than 2 years in his position. He told the School Board he would work until June 30.
That plan is still on, despite pleas from School Board members to reconsider, he said.
"We'll see whatever might develop. But that's my my plan at this time," Millay told TCPalm Wednesday. "I'm just keeping my eyes focused on taking care of our kids. And as of right now, I'm resigning at the end of June 30. And I'm going to do the very best I can to make sure we focus on kids, our instruction and keeping them safe and strong."
Millay, who was appointed in November 2020, said he wanted to tell the entire board together. There was no indication of his resignation on the School Board agenda and it came as a surprise to board members.
There was no immediate board discussion of how it would find Millay's successor. Millay is in the midst of a three-year contract that pays him $170,000 annually.
'A good time to leave'
After 30 years in education and 17 years as a superintendent, Millay, 52, said it was time to leave. There's no specific reason reason for his resignation, he said, but it's something he has considered for several months.
"It's just a good time in my career (to leave)," he said. "The district is bigger than any one person. We have so many hard-working staff members that make all of our departments come together and move forward. I'm proud to have been a part of this."
A stunned School Board initially had little to say after Millay's announcement. By the end of the meeting, however, some board members tried to convince him to stay.
"Quite frankly, I'm not interested in accepting your letter of resignation," board member Christia Li Roberts said. "I think what we should be doing is, as a board, we should be negotiating a multiyear contract."
The teachers union, in a statement Wednesday morning, said Millay would be missed.
"We were saddened to learn of Dr. Millay's resignation last night, and we wish him well in the next steps on his journey," union vice president Matt Theobald said. "His support for teachers and students throughout the district was felt by all. Dr. Millay worked tirelessly to make many positive changes to our academic mission and to improve overall culture in the workplace."
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The union expressed hope that Millay's successor would continue his efforts to improve the working conditions of all employees in the schools.
Board cites Millay's 'leadership and perspective'
The list of Millay's accomplishments in the past 28 months has been tremendous, Li Roberts said.
"Without your leadership and without your perspective of looking at things, I'm not sure where we would have been and what we would have been doing," Li Roberts said.
Other board members said they wanted to show him their support.
"(Millay) has been everywhere I go. In our community, everybody talks up John," board member Michael DiTerlizzi said during the meeting. "I think that's been a blessing for us. Personally, I would hate to see you go. I think we've had a good relationship. I was looking forward to a long-term friendship and you being here."
Dr. John Millay, Martin County School District Superintendant Nov. 19, 2020
Millay told all district staff about his resignation in a letter Tuesday night.
"I wanted each of you to hear directly from me that while this decision was not taken lightly, I truly believe in my heart that it is what will ultimately be best for myself, my family and our outstanding school system," he wrote. "I cannot adequately articulate how great of a blessing it has been to serve you our outstanding faculty, staff and leadership team as your superintendent. I truly believe in my heart that the Martin County School District is poised to become the preeminent system of learning for children, both in Florida and throughout our nation. Please continue to prioritize kindness, positively, transparency and continuous improvement. With humble appreciation, I look forward to finishing this school year sharing the same goals."
Martin's first appointed superintendent
Millay is the district's first appointed superintendent. Martin County voters in 2018 agreed to change from an elected superintendent to an appointed position, giving hiring authority to the School Board. Millay succeeded Laurie Gaylord, who retired in 2020 after her second term.
Martin County School District Superintendent John Millay visits Murray Middle School on the first day of school Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in Port Salerno.
More:Martin County schools approves new superintendent contract, $170,000 salary
And:Martin County voters put an end to elected school superintendents; School Board now will appoint
"I feel like we've made a great deal of progress," he said. "I'll do whatever I can in the coming remaining months to make this transition go smooth and end this school year on a positive and successful note."
Millay, formerly superintendent of the Meade County School District in Brandenburg, Kentucky, was chosen from among 45 applicants after a year-long process.
The board needs to send Millay a sign of support, Li Roberts said.
"If he knows that we support him, then there's something that can be done," she said. "If he knows that the majority doesn't support him, then it's time to move on."
DiTerlizzi joined others in hoping Millay changes his mind.
"I can't believe that Dr. Millay would think that we're not supportive of him," he said.
Millay will be the fourth Martin County public administrator to leave his or her position within a year. Martin County Administrator Taryn Kryzda retired in June after 35 years with the county; Indiantown Village Manager Howard Brown resigned abruptly with no notice or explanation in December after about four years on the job; and Stuart City Manager David Dyess, a former Stuart police chief, has accepted a job as village manager of Juno Beach in Palm Beach County and will be resigning soon after more than four years as city manager.
Martin County High School graduate and government president Summer Reese gives Superintendent John Millay a gift during the commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 20, 2021, at the school in Stuart.
Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm.com. She may be reached at colleen.wixon@tcpalm.com or 772-978-2235.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin County Schools Superintendent John Millay to resign position
By Brendan O'Brien
CHICAGO (Reuters) -A major winter storm battered the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest with high winds and heavy snow on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of schools to close, grounding air travel and making road travel difficult - if not impossible - in some U.S. areas.
More than 50 million Americans were under winter weather advisories on Wednesday morning as the storm moved across a wide swath of the western and northern United States and into the East. Up to 2 feet (60 cm) of snow and winds of up to 60 miles (97 km) an hour were expected in some spots during the day and into Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, some 17 inches (43 cm) of snow, wind gusts up to 45 mph (72 kph) and temperatures hovering around 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 5 C) punished those going about their daily routines.
"It's really cold, but people still want their coffee and eggs," said Bre Bethke, 37, a manager at M.B. Haskett Delicatessen, after being blasted by the fierce weather each time she opened a drive-through window for a waiting customer.
"Our regulars want to come here and get out of the cold. But not today, no way. This is too much."
The storm also pounded California and brought a mix of snow and sleet to the East, including New England, where forecasters warned motorists to beware slick roads.
Snow-covered roads also will make travel treacherous in the Upper Midwest, and ice-covered power lines and falling trees could cause power outages late on Wednesday and into Thursday, said Frank Pereira, a forecaster with the weather service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
"Travel will be near-impossible," he said.
Experts say the growing frequency and intensity of such storms, interspersed with extreme heat and dry spells, are symptoms of climate change. While the East Coast has experienced a relatively mild winter, the Northern Plains has experienced an extreme winter in terms of snowfall and temperatures, according to the weather service.
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Among the hardest-hit cities in the Midwest was Minneapolis, where some 20 inches (50 cm) of snow and 45-mph (72-kph) winds were expected to create whiteouts.
"We are bracing for what is likely to be one of the largest snowstorms in Minnesota history," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said at a news conference.
Local officials declared emergencies in Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul, and motorists were told not to be out on the roads.
Minneapolis' school system said it would hold classes remotely for more than 29,000 pupils for the rest of the week. Dozens of school districts canceled classes in the Dakotas, Colorado and Wyoming.
The storm wreaked havoc on morning air travel. Some 3,500 flights were delayed or canceled across the nation, including 470 flights into and out of Minneapolis, according to Flightaware.com.
It also produced a band of freezing rain stretching from central Iowa through Chicago and into southern Michigan, coating roads, trees and power lines with up to a 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) of ice, the weather service's Pereira said.
The storm hit California on Tuesday and was expected to continue through the end of the week. A rare blizzard warning was issued for Los Angeles County mountains, the first issued by the weather service since 1989.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Rich McKay in Atlanta; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But on a lighter note, a good company can see its share price rise well over 100%. For example, the Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) share price has soared 103% in the last half decade. Most would be very happy with that. The last week saw the share price soften some 3.7%.
While this past week has detracted from the company's five-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.
See our latest analysis for Mastercard
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
Over half a decade, Mastercard managed to grow its earnings per share at 23% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 15% average annual increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market has become relatively pessimistic about the company.
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
We know that Mastercard has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? If you're interested, you could check this free report showing consensus revenue forecasts.
What About Dividends?
It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Mastercard the TSR over the last 5 years was 108%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!
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A Different Perspective
Although it hurts that Mastercard returned a loss of 0.9% in the last twelve months, the broader market was actually worse, returning a loss of 5.7%. Of course, the long term returns are far more important and the good news is that over five years, the stock has returned 16% for each year. It could be that the business is just facing some short term problems, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the fundamentals. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Mastercard you should know about.
But note: Mastercard may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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WASHINGTON (AP) Thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol are being made available to Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson, a stunning level of access granted by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that Democrats swiftly condemned as a grave breach of security with potentially far-reaching consequences.
The hard-right political commentator said his team is spending the week at the Capitol poring through the video and preparing to reveal their findings to his viewers. But granting exclusive access to sensitive Jan. 6 security footage to such a deeply partisan figure is a highly unusual move, seen by some critics as essentially outsourcing House oversight to a TV personality who has promoted conspiracy theories about the attack.
Its a shocking development that brings in both political concerns but even more importantly, security concerns, said Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who was a chief counsel during President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial.
Many critics warn that Capitol security could be endangered if Carlson airs security footage that details how the rioters accessed the building and the routes lawmakers used to flee to safety. And a sharply partisan retelling of the Capitol attack could accelerate a dangerous rewriting of the history of what happened Jan. 6, when Trump encouraged a mob of supporters to head to the Capitol to overturn Joe Bidens election.
It is not lost on anyone that the one person that the speaker decides to give hours and hours of sensitive secret surveillance footage is the person who peddled a bogus documentary trying to debunk responsibility for the Jan. 6 riot from Donald Trump onto others, Goldman said.
Kevin McCarthy has turned over the security of the Capitol to Tucker Carlson and thats a scary thought, he added.
McCarthys office declined to confirm the arrangement, first reported by Axios, despite repeated requests for comment.
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Gripping images and videos from the Capitol attack by Trump supporters have been widely circulated by documentarians, news organizations and even the rioters themselves. But officials have held back much of the surveillance video from hundreds of security cameras stationed in and around the Capitol that offer a detailed view of the grisly scene and the brutal beatings of police as they tried to stop the rioters.
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack went through a painstaking process to work closely with the U.S. Capitol Police to review and ultimately release approved segments of the surveillance footage as part of its public hearings last year.
The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, Tom Manger, issued a terse statement when asked about the new release of footage: "When Congressional Leadership or Congressional Oversight Committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them.
House Democrats planned to convene Wednesday for a private caucus call to hear from Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who served as the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, and others. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called McCarthy's decision an egregious security breach that threatens the safety of those who work at the Capitol.
"Unfortunately, the apparent disclosure of sensitive video material is yet another example of the grave threat to the security of the American people represented by the extreme MAGA Republican majority," Jeffries, D-N.Y. said in a letter to House colleagues.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., the former chairwoman of the House Administration Committee and a member of the committee that investigated Jan. 6, said: Its really a road map to people who might want to attack the Capitol again. It would be of huge assistance to them.
Carlson, who previously produced a documentary suggesting the federal government used the Capitol attack by Trumps supporters as a pretext to persecute conservatives, confirmed that his team was reviewing the footage ahead of a possible airing.
We believe we have secured the right to see whatever we want to see, Carlson, who is the networks most-watched prime-time host, said on his show Monday night.
It's not clear what protocols Carlson and his team are using to view the material, but he said that access is unfettered.
The House committee investigating Jan. 6 underwent an often intense process to review the tens of thousands of hours of footage as it documented its findings.
Over the nearly two-year probe, the panel, which was disbanded once Republicans took control of the House, created a secure room in their Capitol Hill offices for staff to comb through the more than 14,000 hours of footage. The process took months, according to a person familiar with the investigation who requested anonymity to discuss the private machinations.
Any clip of footage the committee wanted to use for their series of public hearings or for the final report had to be approved by Capitol Police to avoid any security breaches, the person said. If police had an objection, the committee would engage in negotiations to redact any content that could potentially endanger the force or the mechanisms they use to protect the Capitol and lawmakers.
Throughout our entire review on the committee, we worked with U.S. Capitol Police, one, to get the footage and review it through secure channels, and then we also worked with them again before we released anything," said Marcus Childress, who was the panel's investigative counsel and now is in private practice. The purpose of that was to make sure that we werent releasing any sensitive surveillance footage."
Anxiety over security is running high after Capitol Police reported an uptick in threats to member safety over the last several years, its highest on Jan. 6, 2021. The number of possible threats against members of Congress rose from about 4,000 in 2017 to more than 9,600 in 2021, then declined last year to 7,501.
Key Republicans welcomed McCarthy's decision as part of his commitment to create a more transparent House and engage in oversight, as Republicans launch a far-reaching series of investigations and probes touching many aspects of government.
I support Speaker McCarthy's decision, said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., the chairman of the House Administration Committee.
Hard-right figures cheered the move. For all of you that doubted we would release the tapes. Here you go! tweeted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a right-flank firebrand who has become close to McCarthy.
Former Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., said if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's daughter, the documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, was able to film that day and release her footage, McCarthy should be able to grant Carlson access.
But others said the two situations are not comparable countless hours of footage have been released from many sources that captured what happened that deadly day. A mob of Trump supporters battled Capitol Police, in often violent scenes, breaking into the building. Five people died in the riot and its aftermath.
"I think we should remember that the Jan. 6 attack happened in broad daylight," said Sandeep Prasanna, a former investigative counsel on the Jan. 6 committee now in private practice.
My concern is that I dont see how releasing thousands of hours of footage to one handpicked controversial media figure could ever produce the same factual and careful analysis that the committee produced over that year and a half, he said.
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Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Capitol insurrection at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.
Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan overwhelmingly won a Tuesday special election for a vacant Richmond-based congressional district, making her the states first Black woman elected to Congress.
McClellan led 68 percent to 32 percent over Republican Leon Benjamin when the Associated Press called the race with 32 percent of precincts reporting in the heavily Democratic area. Virginias 4th District was last held by the late Rep. Don McEachin, who died in late November just weeks after he won reelection to his fourth term.
McClellan is the vice chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and a former gubernatorial candidate. She spent more than 10 years in Virginias House of Delegates and succeeded McEachin in the state Senate when he was elected to Congress in 2016.
Following her primary win in December, McClellan said the lack of a Black woman in Virginias congressional delegation was due in part to an imagination gap that only saw certain types of people as members of Congress. Part of it is that Black women tended to get involved in politics later in life. But its past time that we have one.
The district spans 15 cities and counties, but the largest chunk of voters is in Richmond a city with a predominantly Black population. Its a deep-blue seat that McClellan was favored to win following the action-packed firehouse primary in December, which the state Democratic Party scrambled to organize as four candidates jockeyed for the seat over the course of a week.
Alexsis Rodgers, chair of the 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee, said she felt that momentum continued after the primary despite it being an off-year special election. Democrats are just really fired up, she said.
It could be a decade or more before an opportunity to run happens, and, even in times when there are more competitive races in swing districts, a lot of times Black women or women of color are considered less viable or less likely to win, Rodgers continued. Its a barrier that were going to continue to have to chip away at, and I think that means helping organizations understand that they have to invest in Black women candidates early, not just wait to see if they can make it to the primary.
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During the primary, McClellan received an outpouring of support from local and national Democratic politicians and groups. Throughout the primary and the general election, she raised over $900,000. McClellan has campaigned on the work shes done in the state legislature regarding voting rights, abortion access and environmental protections.
Her win will bring the House to its full complement of 435 members for at least a few months, anyway. Earlier Tuesday, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) announced that he will be leaving Congress on June 1 to head the Rhode Island Foundation. A special election will be set once his resignation takes effect.
McClellan has shrugged off the slog of joining the minority in the House: I spent 14 years in the minority party in the Virginia Legislature and still was able to get over 300 bills passed, she said in an interview after her primary win. I think it's a natural progression of the work that I have been doing already.
In her victory speech on Tuesday night, McClellan nodded again to her work in the state legislature "I passed two bills today!" and paid tribute to McEachin. "I am ready to get to work," she said. "I have a little more work to do down the street, but Im ready to fight for you in Congress for as long as youll have me."
While the world was researching how to stay safe from COVID-19 in 2020, Joel Bervell noticed something many people missed.
Pulse oximeters, which measure a person's blood oxygen level, were being touted as a tool to help people with COVID-19 determine if they needed to go to the hospital. But the devices can overestimate oxygen levels on people with darker skin, Bervell read in a study. In other words, the device is more likely to tell a Black person their levels are normal when they're actually low and need medical care.
I was already thinking a lot about racial issues and how they related to medicine, Bervell, a medical student researching orthopedics at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, tells TODAY.com. So he decided to share what he learned on TikTok because it had real implications for Black people with COVID-19.
It ended up going viral, getting over a half million views. It had hundreds of thousands of comments from people saying either, as a physician, they didnt know about it, or as patients saying, I actually noticed this on myself, Bervell recalls. From there, I started looking into other ways that medicine unfortunately overlooks communities of color.
Since then, Bervell has shared numerous TikToks exploring racial disparities in medicine. While he gets ideas from medical school, sometimes people suggest topics for him to address. He approaches each subject as if he were sharing a story with his family.
A medical professional at the White House (Joell Bervell)
By posting these videos and having this impact, Im helping people that are like my family. They may look like me, but they may not have access to physicians who can talk them through this, he says. I feel very humbled to have this position and have a platform.
One of the things that he finds most surprising after examining racism in medicine for three years is how its built into medicine.
There are literally equations that embed racism (in medicine), and depending on your race, it will impact your care, Bervell says. Not because of the doctor per se, but because its literally built into an algorithm.
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He shares a well-known example, the GFR equation.
Most physicians didnt even know that there was an equation that (estimates) how well your kidneys are assumed to work based on your race, he says. (It) essentially assumed that all Black patients had better kidney functioning than any other race.
Joel Feed (Courtesy WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine)
That meant that Black patients often werent considered for kidney transplants because the equation assumed their kidney function needed to be worse than patients' of other races for treatment, he says. This has recently changed, so theres no correction for race. Still, there are other examples of racial correction in medicine.
In pulmonology, theres something called spirometry. Its a test that understands how well your lungs are functioning, he says. But ... theres a racial correction that assumes that all Black patients and Asian patients have lower lung functioning than any other race. That means those two populations have to show worse lung functioning in order to diagnose something like asthma or obstructive pulmonary disease.
Sometimes these myths are so pervasive that doctors and medical students dont even know that theyre endorsing misinformation, Bervell says. A 2016 study found that Black patients received less treatment for pain because medical professionals believed Black people didnt experience pain as much as other races.
The crazy thing was 50% of the surveyed medical students and medical residents endorsed at least one of those false beliefs, he says.
While seeing all the built-in racism in medicine can feel discouraging, Bervell thinks that the field is changing.
When you look at the timeline, a lot of the changes in medicine have been happening the past three years, he says. Its partly from the COVID pandemic. Its probably from the George Floyd protests, which opened up a lot of people to talk about these discussions on a national stage.
Bervell feels hopeful for the future. He notes that in 2020 the American Medical Association said that racism is a threat to public health.
A lot is being done right now in order to make sure that we reflect these sins in medicine, he says.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Viktor Medvedchuk
We already have the first precedent (...) This shows that Putins fans will look for any pretext to challenge the decisions of the authorities, Arakhamia said.
Read also: Several Ukrainian ex-MPs left Ukraine for UAE after Russian invasion, investigation shows
In order to prevent them from having such a chance, the cleansing of the parliament will take place exclusively in a constitutional manner, he said.
Arakhamia called on all MPs from banned parties to give up their mandates and not to follow the populist appeals of some politicians who incite unconstitutional, voluntarist decisions. He said at least three MPs from the banned Opposition Platform For Life (OPZZh) party are to be stripped of their mandates by Feb. 24.
Read also: Ihor Abramovych, Ukrainian MP from pro-Russian OPZZh party, gives up his mandate
On Feb. 2, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to a petition calling for the removal of the mandates of parliamentarians elected from OPZZh. He asked the Rada officials to work out such a proposal.
On Feb. 21, draft resolutions on the deprivation of the mandates of Natalia Korolevska and her husband Yuriy Solod were submitted to the Rada.
On Feb. 22, the Parliament received a statement from MP Oleg Voloshyn about his giving up his mandate.
Read also: Four Ukrainian MPs to be deprived of deputys seats for holding Russian passports
Earlier, the Rada had stripped MP Ihor Abramovych of his parliamentary powers, as well as pro-Russian MPs from the OPZZh party Medvedchuk, Taras Kozak, Renat Kuzmin, Andriy Derkach, Vadym Rabinovych, and Ihor Vasylkovsky.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
[Source]
Vivek Ramaswamy, an Indian American Republican dubbed by New Yorker magazine as the CEO of Anti-Woke Inc., is reportedly considering running for president of the United States in 2024.
Ramaswamy, who was born to Indian immigrant parents in Cincinnati, received his education at Yale and Harvard and later found success as a biotech entrepreneur. He has also written a book titled, Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam and is now reportedly worth over $500 million.
His intent to run in the upcoming U.S. presidential race is highlighted by his recent activities in Iowa, where he has been attending events and delivering speeches to test the political waters.
Should Ramaswamy ultimately decide to run, he is set to join Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump in vying for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.
More from NextShark: Asian American commissioner candidate in Texas accuses opponent of racism over whitewashed photo
Positioning himself as an outsider on the campaign trail, Ramaswamy has espoused far-right ideals in an apparent bid to emulate Trumps campaign.
In an interview with Fox News, Ramaswamy revealed that his campaign is focused on restoring the "national identity in America" and rejecting the "poison of wokeism, climatism, transgenderism and COVIDism."
Ramaswamy considers China a threat bigger today than the Soviet Union during the Cold War because the country makes the "shoes on our feet and the phones in our pockets."
More from NextShark: S. Korean court recognizes same-sex partner rights for first time in landmark ruling
This is why he is calling for a "total decoupling" from China, which he admits would not be easy and would require some sacrifice of short-term conveniences."
Ramaswamy has warned immigrants who enter the country illegally that he will not be lenient on them should he get elected.
Ramaswamys name emerged as a potential candidate after investor Bill Ackman wrote about him on Twitter.
More from NextShark: House bans TikTok on government devices over security risks
I am going to make a bold and early call. @VivekGRamaswamy will run for POTUS and win. I think the country is ready for his message. He is young, smart, talented and will attract the center to the right to win. He speaks hard truths which many believe but fear to say. https://t.co/agAPlqqlhq Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) February 15, 2023
More from NextShark: Ex-Chinese diplomat warns of 'Armageddon' if Australia joins US in protecting Taiwan
Vivek Ramaswamy, who is of Indian descent, will run for POTUS and win! Ackman wrote. I think the country is ready for his message. He is young, smart, and talented, and will attract the center to the right to win. He speaks hard truths which many believe but fears to say.
Ramaswamy shared that he will announce his final decision before the end of February.
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The four astronauts of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center Tuesday afternoon after a short flight aboard a NASA private jet from Houston.
Turns out they will spend at least one extra day on the Space Coast as their launch date has been pushed back until Monday.
After speaking with reporters, NASA's Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, joined by Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, were transported to the astronaut crew quarters facility at KSC. There, they will live in quarantine and continue to prepare ahead of their launch to the International Space Station.
At a news conference later Tuesday, NASA leadership and other mission managers announced that liftoff from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center is now expected at 1:45 a.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 27, a delay of about 24-hours.
NASA's Ken Bowersox, deputy associate administrator of Space Operations, explained to reporters that "at the readiness poll today, everybody was "go," pending some open work."
According to NASA's Steve Stich, Commercial Crew Program manager, that work was "primarily on the vehicle (and) getting Dragon and Falcon 9 ready to go. We were a little bit behind."
The final hurdles left to clear before liftoff are a dry dress rehearsal of launch day procedures and static firing of the 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket's nine engines. Stich told reporters he expected those activities to be completed Friday morning.
Early Monday morning, the four crewmembers from three international space agencies will launch aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule stacked atop the Falcon 9.
The roughly six-month-long science mission is SpaceX's seventh with NASA but the ninth human spaceflight mission for the company, including two private astronaut missions, Inspiration4 and Axiom-1.
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Crew-6 marks the first long-duration mission for any astronaut from the United Arab Emirates. A Russian cosmonaut will also be on board as part of a long-term partner program with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.
Rocket launch schedule:Upcoming Florida launches and landings
Axiom-2:Two Saudi astronauts will fly with SpaceX on next Axiom Space private mission to the ISS
On track for sping:NASA and Boeing still working through final steps of Starliner's astronaut test flight
Meet the crew members
The four crew members that comprise the SpaceX Crew-6 mission pose for a photo inside SpaceX Hangar X at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are, Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, Pilot Warren "Woody" Hoburg, Commander Stephen Bowen, and Mission Specialist Sultan Alneyadi.
Three Crew-6 astronauts, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev, are first-time space flyers. Bowen, the Crew-6 mission commander making a fourth trip to space, is the only veteran astronaut aboard.
NASA's Joel Montalbano, manager of the International Space Station program, told reporters at a pre-flight news conference in January, "These missions are what we do, and they are what we can take together and showcase the International Space Station."
Roscosmos' Sergei Krikalev, director of human space flight programs, told reporters, "we see that this type of activity exchange, mission integrated crew, (as) very useful and increases the reliability of our missions."
NASA Astronaut: Stephen Bowen, Crew-6 Commander
Astronaut Stephen Bowen of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX Crew-6 Commander, poses for a portrait in his pressure suit at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Bowen is from Cohasset, Massachusetts, and has three children with his wife, Deborah.
He is a veteran of three spaceflights, having flown aboard NASA's space shuttles Endeavour, Atlantis, and Discovery to help construct the ISS. He is a retired Navy captain and was the first submarine officer selected for astronaut duties by NASA in 2000.
Crew-6 will be Bowen's first long-duration mission after accumulating more than 40 days in space and completing seven spacewalks throughout his career.
"For me, this is the first time I have the opportunity to spend more than a couple of weeks on space station, so I'm looking forward to the opportunity," Bowen told reporters last month. "As a contractor, when you build (a) house, you get to see how things come together, but, most of the time, you never get to live there. I get to go live in the house I helped build, and that's going to be really exciting for me."
NASA Astronaut: Warren "Woody" Hoburg, Crew-6 Pilot
Astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX Crew-6 Pilot, is pictured in his pressure suit during a crew equipment integration test at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Hoburg is an instrument-rated commercial pilot from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the time of his selection as an astronaut candidate by NASA in 2017, he was an assistant professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Before joining NASA, he earned a bachelors degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT and a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley.
Crew-6 is Hoburg's first trip to space. He told reporters in January that he expects to spend about half of his working time aboard the ISS conducting scientific research and remainder "keeping the space station healthy" through routine maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. When asked what he's looking forward to most, he said, "I'm trying not to get my hopes up about possibly getting to do a (spacewalk), but that's certainly on the list."
A photo of his father will accompany him on his trip to space. "Unfortunately, over the summer, I lost my father," Hoburg said. "So, I'm just bringing up a photo of him that means a lot to me. I wish he could come along with me."
United Arab Emirates Astronaut: Sultan Alneyadi, Crew-6 Mission Specialist
Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Specialist, is pictured in his pressure suit during a crew equipment integration test at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Sultan Alneyadi represents the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center of the United Arab Emirates on Crew-6, on a mission organized through Axiom Space, a private company that partners with NASA to offer trips to the ISS to non-NASA entities. It marks the first long-duration mission for any astronaut from an Arab nation and the first time a UAE astronaut will fly on a commercial spacecraft.
Before training as an astronaut, he worked as a communications engineer with the UAE armed forces.
Alneyadi was selected in 2017 as an astronaut by the UAE Astronaut Programme. In 2018 he trained with Roscosmos as an alternate crew member for the first UAE private spaceflight participant mission. Since then, he has cross-trained with NASA and SpaceX for future long-duration space missions, including completing spacewalk training and flying NASA's T-38 jets.
"The idea of waking up every morning and having the access to a window like the cupola, I think it's literally out of this world," Alneyadi told reporters in January. "You can see and scan the whole world in 90 minutes which is amazing."
"Looking down to Earth, I have a plan to probably see it with a camera," he said. "I want to share that first moment with everyone. Hopefully, it will work."
Alneyadi's seat on SpaceX's Crew-6 mission was bartered last April as part of a 2021 no-funds contract between Axiom Space and NASA. A seat aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft originally purchased by Axiom Space for one of their private astronauts was instead used to fly a NASA astronaut. In exchange, Axiom Space was granted a seat on NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission. Alneyadi's assignment to Crew-6 was finalized and announced by NASA in July of last year.
Roscosmos Cosmonaut: Andrey Fedyaev, Crew-6 Mission Specialist
Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos, SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Specialist, poses for a portrait in his pressure suit at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Fedyaev was a major in the Russian air force when he was selected for cosmonaut duties in 2012 before retiring in 2013 to focus solely on spaceflight training.
He is the second Russian cosmonaut to travel to the Space Station with SpaceX for a long-duration mission following Crew-5's Anna Kikina.
Fedyaev spoke to reporters via a translator in January and said, "Space cooperation has a very long history. The life of people on the International Space Station is really setting a very good example for how people should be living on Earth."
On Sunday, Feb. 12, the four crew members entered a two-week quarantine period, a routine part of flight preparation. If schedules hold, NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission should be the last launch of the month from Florida.
For real-time updates and live video, visit floridatoday.com/space on launch day.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Jamie Groh is a space reporter for Florida Today. You can contact her at JGroh@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie.
Launch Monday, February 27
Company / Agency: SpaceX for NASA
Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
Location: Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center
Launch Time: 1:45 a.m.
Trajectory: Northeast
Weather: TBD
Landing: Drone ship
Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA's next crew of astronauts to the International Space Station on the company's seventh dedicated mission for the agency. The crew includes NASA's Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates' Sultan Alneyadi and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 astronaut mission delayed until Monday
Photo: The Canadian Press NDP MP Leah Gazan.
An NDP member of Parliament is asking the federal government to establish a system that would send the public a phone notification when an Indigenous woman goes missing.
Leah Gazan penned a letter to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino last Friday urging the government fund what she and other advocates call a "Red Dress Alert" program.
Gazan says it would be similar to the Amber Alert, which is an emergency notification people receive on their phones when a child in their region has been abducted or is believed to be in danger.
The Winnipeg MP says that if the public is better informed when Indigenous women and girls disappear, it will increase the likelihood that they are found.
In her letter, she points to the disappearances and deaths of at least four First Nations women who Winnipeg police believe were murdered by the same man.
Gazan says that because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has recognized the crisis in missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls as a genocide, he must act urgently to better protect them.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have broken their silence amid reports that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are suing the creators of South Park over a recent episode that took aim at the royal couple.
On 21 February, a spokesperson for the Sussexs addressed claims that the pair are pursuing legal action over the episode. Its all frankly nonsense. Totally baseless, boring reports, the spokesperson told People.
The South Park episode that aired last week, titled The World-Wide Privacy Tour, centred on a prince character and his wife who decided to move to the fictional South Park, Colorado town. The prince of Canada is seen promoting his book, titled Waaaagh, as they embarked on a we want privacy tour.
One of the shows main characters, Stan Marsh, referred to the Harry and Meghan-like cartoons as the dumb prince and his stupid wife, while another character named Kyle complained about the private jet parked outside their home.
The episode also saw the cartoon couple holding we want our privacy signs as they travelled to different locations around the world echoing a similar sentiment from critics after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released their six-part Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
While their names are not specifically mentioned in the episode, the characters drew many similarities to the duke and duchess. The princes ginger hair matched closely to Prince Harrys, while the wife wore an outfit that is noticeably similar to one Markle wore at Trooping the Colour in 2018.
The red-headed princes book also appeared to be a reference to Harrys memoir, Spare, which was released in January.
Following the South Park episode, royal commentators suggested it may result in legal ramifications for writers Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Royal commentator Neil told Fox News that the Sussexs legal team are casting an eye over the episode, but the makers of South Park have yet to receive any official filing.
As for how the royal couple reacted to the brutal takedown, a source told The Spectator that the Duchess of Sussex was left upset and overwhelmed by the episode.
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Prince Harry has already found himself wrapped up in a costly legal battle over his police protection in the UK, which has reportedly cost the government a total of 296,882, according to The Sun.
In July 2022, Prince Harry challenged a February 2020 ruling from the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC), which said the Duke of Sussex and his family would no longer be given the same degree of personal protective security when visiting the UK.
The ruling came after Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping back from their duties in the Royal Family and relocated their family to the United States.
Meanwhile, Meghan Markle is being sued by her estranged half-sister, Samantha Markle, over claims of defamation.
Credit - Getty Images
One month before I got pregnant with my son, I was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. My husband and I had been trying to conceive since our miscarriage the year prior. But we were supposed to have paused the baby-making to focus on finding a fix for my brain.
When I told my therapist and my psychiatrist that I was pregnant, their faces fell. I would have to stop trying out medications and hope that the lowest possible dose of the safest possible antipsychotic would be enough to sustain my mental health through my pregnancy. While some pregnant people are able to stay on antidepressants, doctors said they were off-limits for me. In fact, Zoloft was what confirmed my suspected bipolar disorder when it launched me into a mixed statesimultaneous mania and depression.
Im afraid I will lose my mind when the baby is born, I told my therapist.
Well, thats a valid fear, she said. According to a study in Brain Sciences, a meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that as many as 1 in 5 people with bipolar disorder who give birth experience a postnatal psychotic or manic episode.
What if I hurt him? I asked.
The very fact that youre asking this question means youre more equipped than most parents to make sure you dont hurt him, she said.
As my fetus grew from a pear to a coconut to a honeydew melon, I studied news clip after news clip about mothers dealing with postpartum psychosis who were eventually pushed to do unthinkable harm to their children or to themselves. In addition to painting our nursery and mastering the swaddle in our infant-care courses, I tested my husband regularly with worst-case scenarios: If I so much as joke about wanting to throw the baby out the window, what do you do?
Read More: About That Horrific Birth Scene on Fleishman Is in Trouble
My therapist promised I would be monitored carefullyby her, by my psychiatrist, by my husband. But once the baby was born, it was impossible for anyone to watch me all the time so I was alone with him for so many hours each day.
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And I was not OK. On top of my bipolar II diagnosis, I had been diagnosed with complex PTSD (CPTSD) from years of physical and emotional abuse as a child. It manifested mostly in the form of daily flashbacks, nightmares, and inarticulable fear. I screamed in panic, for example, when my son was 6 weeks old, and my husband climbed a step stool to install a ceiling light. Sobbing, I begged him to come down as my concerned in-laws tried to reason with me. When I proved inconsolable, my 71-year-old father-in-law eventually installed the light by himself because my brain couldnt handle the remote possibility that my babys father might fall off that fourth step and die.
But sometimes, the CPTSD showed up as intrusive thoughts. This baby is completely helpless, the thoughts would say. You could crush the life out of him. If you dropped him now, you could kill him. I was terrified of my power. Terrified that being a good mom wasnt an automatic reaction. It was a choice. I couldnt stop thinking: the distance between him alive and him dead / is how well I am.
Of course, I would never intentionally hurt my son. I love my child. To the moon and back, just like the best of them. But when I read about Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of murdering her three children, my first thought, as horrified as I am by her alleged crimes, was not How could a mother do such a thing? It was instead: That couldve been me. Thank God that wasnt me.
More from TIME
Read More: Of Course Shes Not O.K. The Conversation That Changed How I Thought About Early Motherhood
I thought childbirth was supposed to flip on the switch of sacrificial, maternal love, but I have lost count how many mom friends have admitted they were disappointed not to have had that magical moment when the baby was placed in their arms after labor and delivery. Hormones fritzing, body reeling from the bludgeon of pregnancy and childbirth, many of us were shellshocked. It turns out that What am I supposed to do with this now? is a more common reaction to holding your newborn for the first time than I thought.
Having a safe space to confess my most disturbing thoughts and sort out what is and isnt a common reaction is what ultimately helped me most during those trying months. In addition to my mental-health team, I was fortunate to have two close friends, former roommates, who gave birth to their first babies around the same time as I did. One of them made us take the postpartum-depression quiz at least once a month. We could joke with each other about wanting to run away, which made us better equipped to stay.
Still, during that excruciating first year, I fantasized about dying or leaving more times than I admitted even to my best friends. But I had the good fate of avoiding postpartum psychosis. The worst thing I did was leave the apartment once with the baby still inside. I didnt go far. I stood outside our building and stared up into the babys bedroom window. And with the Nest camera feed of him sleeping in his crib open on my phone, I smoked half a pack of years-old cigarettes Id found in a sweater drawer and cried. When I texted the group thread and told them what Id done, the other moms said they were glad I got some air. They were glad I came back home.
Read More: How I Lost Myself to Motherhood
The idea of harming our own children is probably one of the worst scenarios imaginable to the healthy human parent brain. And the idea that its possible not to have control over our own brain while we commit harm is even more alarming. Our instinct here is to distance ourselves from this possibility. We want to believe this could never happen to us.
But while we may feel safer this way, othering people with mental illnesses only increases our susceptibility to this danger. It perpetuates the false idea that mental-health help is something only some people require when what we actually need is more access to mental-health care. For everyone. Its true that people with preexisting mental illnesses are more likely to experience postpartum psychosis, but its also true that 1 in 5 Americans experiences mental illness every year. Thats a whole lot of moms.
When our kids were toddlers done with breastfeeding, one of my happiest, most well-adjusted mom friends with no history of mental illness and a very loving family of origin confided that she thought every mom experienced suicidal ideations during milk letdown. When the other moms and I looked bewildered, she told us about her experience with dysphoric milk ejection reflex (D-MER), which she described as the feeling of Harry Potter-esque dementors descending down upon her every single time she breastfed or pumped. Her mood would plummet just before her milk released, then the momentary depression would vanish after a few minutes of torture.
There is so much that moms dont talk openly about. Sometimes we stay silent because we, like my friend, assume our suffering is so normal that its not something were allowed to complain about. Other times, we stay silent because we worry no one else is struggling and that our suffering might make us appear unfit to parent. Either way, our silence comes from shame. And we are ashamed because of continued stigmas against mothers with mental illnesses, against mothers with histories of trauma, or against the average struggling mom and especially the average struggling BIPOC mom.
When I considered whether to have a second child, I did a deep dive into maternal-mental-health studies before making the difficult choice to stick with one. One 2019 Australian study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family found that while maternal mental health decreases after the first baby, it eventually finds its way back up. But after two babies, its much more likely for maternal mental health to go down and stay down.
I have nearly every privilege in the book. A loving, supportive, hands-on spouse. The kind who can be a solo parent when I have a bad day. Plus money to pay for regular visits with both my out-of-network therapist and my psychiatrist, and to afford my medication. And still, Im not so sure I have the hardware to be able to handle two kids, let alone three. This is not to say its impossible. I happen to know several mothers with well-controlled mental illnesses who parent their multiple children with enviable grace.
But when I see a mother falteror worse, do harmI see a mother whose pain and illness outweighed the resources she had to manage that pain and that illness. The circumstances dont excuse harmful behavior, but they do, at the very least, put the behavior within our own realm of human possibility. Most of all, they expose how ill-equipped we are to support and care for mothers who find themselves in that unique hell, which the rest of us escaped by sheer luck of the draw.
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental-health crisis or contemplating suicide, call or text 988. In emergencies, call 911, or seek care from a local hospital or mental-health provider.
With its warm climate, beautiful beaches and proximity to the U.S., Mexico is a popular tourist destination for many Americans. But recent incidents may have some people wondering if they should reconsider their travel plans.
Over the past few months, taxi drivers have been harassing Ubers in Cancun and there was the death of three Americans in Mexico City in October. Now an updated Travel Advisory warns of crime and kidnapping.
"We get this one a lot, especially by folks who haven't traveled as much, haven't left the country before, or have read stories about 'Mexico being dangerous' but maybe don't recognize it's a large, diverse country, much like ours," Jack Benoff, president of Vacationeeze, which specializes in destination weddings in Mexico, told USA TODAY. Many of Benoff's clients plan trips to Cancun and Riviera Maya, known for their turquoise beaches and myriad resorts.
Stay safe while traveling: Here are 17 CIA tips, advice to think like a spy on vacation
Staying safe: US tourists warned about popular Mexico spots plagued by drug cartel intimidation, violence
The State Department updated the Travel Advisory for Mexico on Oct. 5, which is done regularly. Several tourist destinations, like Mexico City, Sayulita and Cancun, now have warnings related to cartel-related crime.
"The safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas is one of the departments highest priorities, and we provide U.S. citizens with relevant information so they can make well-informed decisions before they travel," a State Department spokesperson said.
Read below to learn more about the Travel Advisory for Mexico's most popular tourist destinations and safety tips for visiting those areas.
Taxis vs. Uber: US issues Mexico security alert as Cancun taxi drivers block road, harass Uber cars
What is the updated Travel Advisory for Mexico?
Women look at the sea in Playa Delfines (Dolphin Beach) in Cancun, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, on Nov. 8, 2022.
Rather than providing one overall assessment for the entire country, each state is assessed individually, because some areas have an increased risk of crime and kidnapping.
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The agency issued a "do not travel to" warning for the Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas state because of violent crime.
A "reconsider travel to" warning has been issued for Baja California and Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta is.
Mexico City, Nayarit, Baja California Sur, Quintana Roo and Oaxaca are issued an "exercised increased caution when traveling to" warning. Baja California Sur is home to Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and La Paz. In Nayarit, many tourists visit the surf town Sayulita. Quintana Roo is home to Cancun, Tulum, Riviera Maya, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. Surfers also like to visit Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca.
Travelers can "exercise normal precautions" when traveling to Yucatan, which includes the popular attraction Chichen Itza. Yucatan state is right above Quintana Roo, where people should be more cautious because of crime and kidnapping, according to the State Department.
Protecting the sharks: Mexico indefinitely bans great white shark cage-diving at this tourist hotspot
'A terrible tragedy': 3 American tourists die of gas inhalation in Mexico City Airbnb
What are some safety travel tips for visiting Mexico?
The State Department has several resources to help keep travelers safe. The agency encourages U.S. travelers to read the entire Mexico Travel Advisory and its Traveler's Checklist, which details more information about traveling abroad.
There is also the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, a free service for U.S. travelers to receive safety alerts about their destination from the U.S. Embassy in real time.
Stay safe while traveling: Here are 17 CIA tips, advice to think like a spy on vacation
"Generally speaking, if you're in a resort town and at a reputable location, you're at a much lower risk," travel agent Benoff said.
Most resorts have security guards and gates, so staying on the property is pretty safe. "If you're leaving the resort property, ensure you have the correct address to where you're going and let the front desk know you're leaving and when you plan to return," he said.
"Use the same safety precautions you would when traveling anywhere."
A few of his top tips include:
Don't flaunt cash.
Use an ATM inside a bank or resort.
Use the safe in your room.
Bring two printed copies of your passport and other important documents, like medication or driver's licenses.
Consider travel insurance to help protect stolen or lost personal property.
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is it safe to travel to Mexico 2023? Cancun, Cabo, Playa del Carmen
Students walk through the Warren College and Moore College area at Vanderbilt University in 2015 in Nashville. (Mark Humphrey / Associated Press)
Vanderbilt University apologized after sending an email that used the artificial intelligence of a chatbot to address students about the recent shooting at Michigan State.
Vanderbilts Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion sent a message of unity last Thursday to students, calling the shootings that killed three students and injured five others at the East Lansing campus a tragic reminder of the importance of taking care of each other, and of creating a safe and inclusive campus.
But the Vanderbilt Hustler , the student newspaper, reported that a note at the bottom of the email indicated the message was composed by a chat bot, a text generator.
The text, which appears in small print, stated (Paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023). Peabody Associate Dean Nicole Joseph, Assistant Dean Hasina Mohyuddin and graduate student Chenxi Zhu signed the email.
According to the Hustler, Joseph issued an apology email Friday and said using the chat bot was poor judgment.
While we believe in the message of inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College, the follow-up email reads, as reported by the Hustler. As with all new technologies that affect higher education, this moment gives us all an opportunity to reflect on what we know and what we still must learn about AI.
The shooting at Michigan State terrorized the campus and evoked an all-too-familiar fear for a student population that came of age during mass shootings.
The email included messages about how connection, respect and understanding establish an inclusive environment, calling it an ongoing process that requires constant reflection and solidarity.
In the wake of the Michigan shootings, let us come together as a community to reaffirm our commitment to caring for one another and promoting a culture of inclusivity on our campus, the Feb. 16 email said. By doing so, we can honor the victims of this tragedy and work towards a safer, more compassionate future for all.
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ABC News reported that Camilla P. Benbow, the dean of Vanderbilt's Peabody College, said in a statement that she was unaware of the email before it was sent and that the incident is under investigation. ABC News also reported that Benbow said Joseph and Mohyuddin, the assistant dean whose name is also on the Feb. 16 email, have stepped back from their responsibilities with the EDI office while the investigation is underway.
Benbow, Joseph and the schools communications department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said AI is the "biggest thing in this decade" Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Bill Gates said in a podcast Google's search engine profits could fall as Microsoft moves into AI.
Gates said AI is the "biggest thing in this decade" and could reshuffle the tech space.
Microsoft unveiled an AI-powered Bing in a challenge to Google's search engine dominance.
Bill Gates the cofounder of tech giant Microsoft said Google's profits from its search engine are likely to fall in the future because the company he cofounded has been able to move rapidly on artificial intelligence.
Gates was speaking on a Monday episode of "In Good Company," a podcast hosted by Norwegian sovereign wealth fund boss Nicolai Tangen, when he said: "Google has owned all of the search profits, so the search profits will be down, and their share of it may be down because Microsoft has been able to move fairly fast on that one."
For context, Google posted $224 billion in advertising revenues in 2022 far dwarfing Microsoft's $18 billion in advertising revenues.
Earlier in February, Gates had told Forbes that AI is "every bit as important as the PC, as the internet." On the podcast, he admitted to being surprised by how the development of AI accelerated in the last year but said it will be the "biggest thing in this decade."
His comments came two weeks after Microsoft unveiled an AI-powered version of its Bing search engine, which pits itself as a challenger to Google's dominance in the search space.
Google has dominated search for the past two decades and according to web analytics service Statcounter, it accounts for about 93% of the global search-engine market, while Bing accounts for about 3%.
Just as Microsoft launched Bing, Alphabet Google's parent company also unveiled an AI service called Bard. Both the new Bing and Bard are open to test users.
While Gates said on the podcast he was "not sure" there'll be a winner from the AI race, at least one prominent analyst Wedbush's Dan Ives said Microsoft is "leading the pack" in the AI race right now.
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What Gates eventually envisions for AI's integration into search engines is a "personal agent" that understands the requirements and style of users replacing the need for separate services from different tech companies like what's happening now with Google dominating search, Amazon owning shopping, Microsoft owning productivity tools, and Apple owning the devices market.
"A decade from now, we won't think of those businesses as separate, because the AI will know you so well that when you're buying gifts or planning trips, it won't care if Amazon has the best price, if someone else has a better price you won't even need to think about it," Gates said on the podcast. "So it's a pretty dramatic potential reshuffling of how tech markets look."
Read the original article on Business Insider
A model of a robot from the movie The Terminator
Well it was fun while it lasted.
On October 26, 1984, Orion Pictures released The Terminator, a movie about genocidal AI-powered robots unleashed by a tech company. Unfortunately, the executives at Microsoft must have been doing something else that day. As part of an ongoing partnership with OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, Microsofts next plan is using the chatbot to control robots.
Our goal with this research is to see if ChatGPT can think beyond text, and reason about the physical world to help with robotics tasks, Microsoft said in a blog post Monday, spotted first by the Register. We want to help people interact with robots more easily, without needing to learn complex programming languages or details about robotic systems.
Read more
Robots run our world, from the mechanized arms building products in factories to the sad, mechanized robo-vacuums cleaning my uncles floor. If you want a robot to do anything new, you need an engineer with advanced technical knowledge to write code and run multiple tests.
But imagine a world where you can communicate with the robots directly and give them commands in plain English. What if the robots understood the laws of physics? That would be good, right? Microsoft thinks so, and theyre probably rightalthough its unsettling considering the companys first AI experiment saw an unhinged Bing chatbot spouting racism, declaring it was alive, forming a secret identity, and dropping hints about plans for world domination.
Microsoft published a paper with a new set of design principles to use a large language model like ChatGPT to give robots instructions. The companys framework starts by defining a list of high level tasks a robot can perform, writing a prompt that ChatGPT translated into robot speak, and then running a simulation of the robot following your instructions. You tweak it until the robot gets it right, and then deploy the finished code on your robot friend.
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If that sounds simple, its because Microsoft is nailing a phenomenally complicated engineering problem, and they posted some fun videos as proof of concept. Skip to 0:52 for a preview of the last sound youll hear before the robots kill you.
ChatGPT + Real Drone
Fortunately for the Sarah Connors of the world, were several steps away from a robot holocaust. On the other hand, theyre already using ChatGPT to run drones, and you dont get flying Terminators until Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, so the engineers at Microsoft may be skipping ahead.
Admittedly, this is all a lot sexier than another update to Office 365. Lets just hope the kinks get worked out before ChatGPT is controlling machines in the physical world, because the robots in all the movies Ive seen are either homicidal or very depressed.
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In a Wednesday appearance on CNBCs Squawk Box, former vice president Mike Pence argued that Florida governor Ron DeSantiss support of a law that stripped Disney of its special tax status was a departure from his preferred vision of limited government.
Disney drew DeSantiss ire after it complained about the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act, which prohibits the discussion and instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools.
When asked to weigh in by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Pence first clarified that he fully supported Floridas initiative to protect kids and protect parental rights.
I was just in Iowa last week where literally theres a school the Linn-Mar Community School [that] will allow a student to get a gender transition plan without parental notification or approval, the former vice president offered by way of comparison.
However, Pence, who is a potential 2024 presidential candidate, disagreed with DeSantiss legal attacks against Disney.
I have concerns about the follow-on. Disney stepped into the fray, they lost, explained Pence. The idea of going after their taxing authority. That was beyond the scope of what I as a conservative, a limited government Republican, would be prepared to do.
I fully supported the Florida initiative to protect kids and parental rights, says fmr. Vice President @Mike_Pence. @Disney stepped into the fray. But [what @GovRonDeSantis] did was beyond the scope of what I, as a limited government Republican, would be prepared to do. pic.twitter.com/QzFehzYm7f Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) February 22, 2023
The conflict was initiated by Disneys decision to release a statement saying the Florida act should never have passed and should never have been signed into law. The company also suspended political donations in Florida in response to the parental rights law.
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DeSantis soon responded by signing legislation last April that stripped Disney of its 50-year-old independent special district status. The Reedy Creek Improvement District, an autonomous area that accommodates the famous Walt Disney World theme park, would be dissolved.
However, the massive tax implications of this move soon came to light. The dissolution would force taxpayers in Orange and Osceola counties to begin paying for the firefighting, police, and road maintenance services that Disney had been paying. They would also have to cover the Disney tax districts debt of around $1 billion.
Florida legislators changed course earlier this month and compromised, allowing Disney to keep its special tax district status. Instead, the governor would gain the power to name the members of the tax districts controlling board.
Nikki Fried, a Democrat who served one term as the states agriculture commissioner, told HuffPost that the latest development shows once again it was not about the governance of Reedy Creek. It was about punishing a corporation that spoke out.
Meanwhile, DeSantis portrayed the legislation earlier this month as a victory, explaining at a press conference that Disney is gonna pay its fair share of taxes and Disney is gonna honor the debt.
This is obviously now going to be controlled by the state of Florida, said DeSantis. So theres a new sheriff in town.
More from National Review
Mio's Pizza in Mariemont is one of two locations in which investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor found child labor law violations.
The operators of two Cincinnati-area pizza restaurants were fined thousands of dollars over child labor violations, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
In May of last year, investigators began looking into Mio's Pizza in Mariemont and Milford operated by Dan and Leslie Igo and identified numerous violations of child labor, overtime and recordkeeping regulations, the department said in a news release Wednesday.
What were the violations?
The department said a total of 21 minors under 16 years old were allowed to use manual fryers, operate gas ovens with an open flame, move pizza in and out of a broiler or conveyor oven and use a mechanical dough puller and sheeter.
Between the two locations, 36 minors worked in violation of federal limits for work hours, the department said.
The Igos sold the Milford location to new owners in late 2022, though the violations at that store occurred before the sale, the release states.
"Young workers should not be risking preventable workplace injuries or having their education hindered by their employers needs, U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Columbus District Director Matthew Utley said in a statement. Mios Pizza has a responsibility to understand the federal overtime exemption for managers and ensure that employees receive the wages they have earned.
Dan Igo declined to comment on the violations but said, "We paid our fines and we're compliant."
There were overtime violations as well
In addition to the child labor violations, the department said a manager at the Mariemont store was denied overtime wages "because the employer paid them a weekly salary of $584 and improperly claimed they were a salaried manager and exempt from overtime."
A manager at the Milford location was also owed back wages because the owners claimed the same overtime exemption, the department said.
What were the fines?
The labor department recovered $11,950 in back overtime wages and damages, according to the release. And it assessed $30,000 in civil penalties due to the nature of the employers violations, which also included inaccurate recordkeeping.
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How long are minors under 16 allowed to work?
Minors 14 and 15 years old cannot work over three hours on a school day or more than 18 hours per week when school is in session, according to the Department of Labor's website.
When school isn't in session, minors cannot work more than eight hours per day or more than 40 hours per week.
And they cannot work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on any day, except from June 1 through Labor Day, when nighttime work hours are extended to 9:00 p.m.
Can they work in kitchens?
While minors under 16 can do some kitchen and food service work including reheating food, washing dishes, cleaning equipment and limited cooking, they aren't allowed to perform any baking operations.
What is Mio's Pizza?
According to its website, Mio's Pizzeria is a local restaurant chain established in 1975. It operates restaurants in Anderson Township, Loveland, Clifton, Mariemont and Mount Washington.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Feds: Mio's Pizza restaurants fined for child labor, other violations
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) The Minnesota Senate moved Tuesday to restore voting rights to convicted felons as soon as they get out of prison instead of continuing to require them to complete their parole before they can cast a ballot.
The Senate approved the Restore the Vote bill less than a week after the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the states current restrictions and left it up to the Legislature to change them. Democrats behind the measure say it will help reintegrate former inmates who are disproportionately people of color back into society.
"We know that in the state of Minnesota right now we have more than 55,000 of our friends, our neighbors and family members who are not allowed to vote. They should have the right to vote, Democratic Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, of Minneapolis, told his colleagues.
The Senate approved the bill 35-30 Tuesday night and sent it to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for his promised signature.
Supporters of the bill said it took on an even greater urgency after the Minnesota Supreme Court last week rejected a challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union, which had argued that the state's restrictions were unconstitutional.
The high court's ruling acknowledged that 1% of white people, 6% of Black people and 9% of Native American people in Minnesota could not vote in 2018 because they had been convicted of a felony but had not completed their parole. If the right to vote was restored upon release from incarceration, it said, those percentages would drop to 0.1%, 1.5% and 2%, respectively.
Twenty-one other states restore voting rights when people with felony convictions leave prison, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, including Republican-controlled North Dakota, Indiana and Utah. Some California lawmakers are pushing to allow felons to vote even while they're still in prison, regardless of their crimes, as Maine, Vermont and the District of Columbia already do.
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Champion said residents who would regain the right to vote are often people whom the courts have deemed safe for release, and that they're working, raising families and paying taxes. He noted that groups representing prosecutors, public defenders, probation officers and crime victims support the bill, as does the state Department of Corrections.
When individuals are connected to their communities and participating in pro-social activities, recidivism goes down, and the decision to do something to reoffend goes down as well, he said.
Attempts by Republicans to weaken the bill failed, including one amendment to exclude people convicted of violent crimes and another that would have kept the requirement to complete parole in place at least for those convicted of child rape.
GOP Sen. Warren Limmer, of Maple Grove, disputed Champion's assertions that probationary periods often run as long as 20 years in Minnesota. He noted that the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission around three years ago capped parole for most offenses at five years, with exceptions remaining for first-degree murder and rape.
Limmer told reporters during a break in the debate that felons should not regain their civil rights in this case the right to vote until after they've completed their full sentence, both their incarceration and probation. He also accused Democrats of getting weaker and weaker on criminals at a time when crime is already high.
There are some offenders that have committed heinous crimes against innocent citizens. I don't think the Senate understands that," Limmer said. "Because this bill treats it as a one-size-fits all all criminals get the same treatment.
Photo: The Canadian Press A person navigates to the on-line social-media pages of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on a cell phone in Ottawa.
Canada's national telecommunications regulator is directing all service providers to notify it within two hours when they experience a network outage, something it notes is increasing in frequency.
The interim requirement is the first step of a consultation announced Wednesday by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission aimed at "enhancing the resilience and reliability" of telecommunications networks.
Providers must also file a report with the CRTC within 14 days following an outage.
The move comes after a mandate handed down by Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne went into effect last week, requiring the agency to implement new rules to bolster consumer rights, affordability, competition and universal access.
The directive rescinds a 2006 policy direction for the agency to rely on market forces in making decisions. It calls on the CRTC to improve consumer protection during service outages.
Canadians need reliable, high-quality telecommunications services," CRTC chairwoman Vicky Eatrides said in a statement.
"We are taking action to lessen the disruptive impact of service outages on Canadians, reduce their occurrence and length, and ensure that essential services such as 911 and emergency alerts are always available.
The CRTC said in its press release that telephone and internet services go down more often due to factors such as extreme weather events, cyberattacks and accidents.
Last July, a major Rogers Communications Inc. network outage left more than 12 million mobile and internet customers without service for upwards of 15 hours.
Champagne later gave Rogers and other major telecommunications companies 60 days to come up with a joint crisis plan in case of future outages. The companies signed onto a formal agreement that ensures emergency roaming, mutual assistance, and a communications protocol for advising the public and government during such outages.
Under that pact, companies have been required since September to provide support to one another when experiencing outages so that Canadians can still place calls, access 911 and conduct business transactions.
The CRTC is hiring an independent firm to review Rogers mitigation plan to prevent serious outages. Along with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, it plans to commission a report on reliability and resiliency measures employed by telecommunications regulators internationally to prevent service outages.
The agency said it expects to launch further consultations on potential measures to enhance network resiliency, access to emergency services, consumer communication and compensation. Such measures could also address the impact of outages on accessibility services and impose penalties on service providers.
The Competitive Network Operators of Canada, which represents independent internet providers such as Distributel and VMedia, said in a statement that it appreciates the regulator wanting more transparency and accountability.
"We will want to make sure that smaller competitors who purchase wholesale network access are also appropriately notified, and compensated, for outages," the group's executive director, Geoff White, said in an emailed statement.
Canadians can submit feedback through the CRTC's website until March 24, or by writing to the agency's secretary-general, as well as through fax.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/Getty Images
A missile system was spotted near the Moscow stadium where Putin gave a patriotic speech.
Similar air defenses have been popping up on roofs across the capital since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Some locals fear the presence of these systems hints the war may get worse, The Moscow Times said.
An air defense missile system was spotted near the site where Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a four-minute patriotic speech in Moscow, according to multiple reports. It appears to be one of a number of such systems indicating the Kremlin has fears of an aerial attack as its invasion of Ukraine drags on.
The Russian news site Meduza reported that a Pantsir missile system was installed outside Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, where thousands had gathered and some had been paid to hear Putin speak on Wednesday.
Mobile air defense systems such as these are intended to prevent aircraft, cruise missiles, and drones from striking Moscow. The surface-to-air missiles began appearing on Russian rooftops in the capital last month, The Guardian reported.
A Pantsir air defence system moves along Tverskaya Street before a rehearsal of a military parade in Red Square marking the 75th anniversary of the Victory in WWII on June 18, 2020 in Moscow, Russia. Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Unlike Ukraine's capital city, Moscow has so far not come under attack as Putin's war continues, but bases deep within Russian territory have been hit. Russia which has lobbed thousands of missiles, suicide drones, and other munitions at Ukrainian towns on an almost daily basis, indiscriminately striking targets like train stations, schools, hospitals, and residential areas blamed the strikes on Ukrainian drones.
According to a report from The Moscow Times, some locals have expressed concern and anger about the presence of Pantsir air defense systems and other similar assets in the capital to shield it from attack. The fear is that these developments could be a sign of military escalation in the country's war with Ukraine.
Russia is not the only one stepping up its air defense capabilities. The US and other NATO allies have stepped up their efforts in recent months to outfit Ukraine with advanced air defense systems to help protect the country from missile and drone attacks carried out by Putin's troops.
Read the original article on Business Insider
A Harrison County grand jury found no criminal conduct by the Gulfport police officer who shot and killed 15-year-old Jaheim McMillan in October.
The Harrison County District Attorneys office on Wednesday sent a press release announcing the grand jury ruling, though the release did not provide any details on what the grand jury had cited for its decision in the case.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation handled the investigation just as it does for all police shootings in Mississippi. Since July 1, The Attorney Generals Office has been charged with reviewing evidence in all police shootings in the state to determine if any criminal wrongdoing occurred.
In McMillans case, Attorney General Lynn Fitchs office reviewed the evidence and decided to present it to a Harrison County grand jury to determine if a crime had been committed. The AGs office has not presented evidence to a grand jury in all of the cases involving police shootings in the state that the office has handled since July.
In a statement released Wednesday, Fitch confirmed the information about the grand jury ruling and said no further criminal action will be taken by this office in this matter.
Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said authorities got in touch with McMillans mother, Katrina Mateen, and other relatives Wednesday morning to set up a time to meet and share with them the grand jury decision and the plans to release the police body camera footage of the shooting to the public.
The Black teenagers death has prompted various protests in Gulfport. Local residents, Black Lives Matter group members, national civil rights figures and other activists have demanded justice for Jaheim, and have called for body camera footage to be released to the public.
At one recent protest, Gulfport police officers some in tactical gear and armed with shotguns loaded with bean bag bullets arrested five of the activists on various charges. One of the five arrested faced a felony charge for allegedly assaulting a police officer.
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Katrina Mateen holds signs seeking justice for her son Jaheim McMillan, a 15-year-old Gulfport High student who was shot by police outside a Family Dollar Store, during a protest outside the Gulfport Police Station in Gulfport on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
The shooting of Jaheim McMillan
McMillan died two days after he was shot in the head by a Gulfport officer. He was on life support for two days at a Mobile Hospital before his death.
Gulfport Police Chief Adam Cooper said the shooting occurred after police responded to a 911 in the area of Pass Road and 8th Avenue in reference to minors waving guns at other motorists.
Cooper said the minors, one of whom was McMillan, were in a Kia Soul and were brandishing weapons and chasing another vehicle.
Gulfport Police Chief Adam Cooper speaks during a press conference at the Gulfport Police Station in Gulfport on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022, about the police shooting of Jaheim McMillan, a 15-year-old Gulfport High student.
Gulfport police officers tracked the minors down in the car in the parking lot of Family Dollar, where Cooper said two of the five occupants jumped out and ran, but were later tracked down and arrested. Both of those minors had guns that police retrieved nearby.
New details emerge in teens killing by Gulfport police. Family demands Justice for Jaheim.
Cooper said McMillan refused the officers repeated demands to drop the weapon prior the shooting and fell to the ground in front of the door to the Family Dollar store. He laid on the ground for some time before any paramedics or otherwise attempted to render aid to him.
A memorial of flowers and signs that demand justice for Jaheim McMillan sits near the entrance of Family Dollar on Pass Road in Gulfport. The 15-year-old died after being shot in the head by a police officer.
Teens family, protesters dispute police claims
Since the shooting, Mateen and other supporters have contradicted the police departments account of events.
Some protesters said early-on that McMillan was unarmed with his hands up in the air when a police officer shot him, but authorities say he was armed with a gun.
Protesters say they obtained a surveillance from a business across the street from the Family Dollar store that clearly shows that McMillan was scared and running for his life because the police officer jumped out (of his car) with a gun already pointed at him.
That footage, the protesters said, showed the police officer chasing McMillan and firing his weapon.
Family of 15-year-old killed by Gulfport police hires high-profile civil rights attorney
In recent months, authorities allowed Mateen to view at least some of the video footage of the shooting. She questioned whether what she saw was an edited version of the police camera footage and didnt feel like it confirmed that her son had turned toward the officer with a gun.
In Mississippi and in other states, indictments against l.aw enforcement officers who kill people while in the line of duty is rare.
The Sun Herald obtained use of force polices from 14 law enforcement agencies in South Mississippi. Though Gulfport police denied a request for the police, the Sun Herald independently obtained a copy of it.
When are Coast police allowed to use deadly force? Some departments wont say.
The Gulfport Police Departments use of force policy says officers are allowed to use deadly force to achieve the following lawful objectives:
To defend himself, or others against serious threats of serious bodily injury or death.
To stop dangerous felony flight, where there is serious imminent risk to the public of death or serious bodily injury.
Sean Woolley, 15, right, and his mother, Ashley Moore, hold hands as they attend a protest at the Mississippi Capitol earlier this month. They joined a group protesting House Bill 1125, which passed and will soon ban gender-affirming care for trans children.
Update: Gov. Tate Reevesa Republican who is suddenly supports expanding Medicaid now that a Democrat is gaining steamsigned the bill banning healthcare for trans children into law on Tuesday afternoon. Mississippi is now the third state to ban healthcare for trans youth this year alone and the fifth state in the nation overall.
We will always protect the kids of our state, Reeves tweeted yesterday, announcing the signing.
Read more
Sure, Reeves. Thats why Mississippi has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation and the highest infant mortality rate in the nation.
Original story below:
Mississippi will become the third state this year to ban gender-affirming healthcare for anyone under 18 after the state Senate passed the legislation on Tuesday. The bill only awaits the signature of Gov. Tate Reeves (R), a ghoul who previously implied that kids who seek gender-affirming care are being used as guinea pigs by modern progressivism.
The Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act would ban standard treatment for minors seeking gender-affirming medical care, such as hormone therapies and puberty blockers, by outlawing any entity, organization or individual that provides gender transition procedures to a person under eighteen years of age from receiving public funds.
In practice this means a hospital that provides gender-affirming care for children couldnt receive state Medicaid dollars, and means that Mississippi will now join Utah, South Dakota, Arkansas and Alabama in passing laws that effective ban healthcare for trans kids. (Arkansas and Alabamas laws are currently held up in court, while bans in Texas and Florida have been enabled by administrative rules.)
During debate on the House version of the bill (which passed on Jan. 19), bill co-sponsor Rep. Nick Bain (R, duh) said a wait-and-see approach is necessary when it comes to the healthcare of trans youth, according to the Mississippi Free Press. I feel the need to repeat here that, despite what conservatives at all levels of government keep repeating, minors are not receiving gender-affirming surgeries like breast reduction or vaginoplasty. Instead, these bans mean parents cant find proper healthcare for their children. Instead, these children and their families become acutely aware that their very existence is not tolerated by the state.
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Mississippi legislators are positioning HB1125 as a measure to protect kids, when the reality is that this bill will do the exact opposite. Access to gender affirming medical care is a top indicator of healthy and positive outcomes for trans people, Mickie Stratos, president of the Spectrum Center of Hattiesburg, said in a statement. To criminalize that care is a direct assault on the physical, emotional, and mental health of trans youth, and we will see negative outcomes for our trans youth and their families in MS as a result.
Mississippi is the latest state where rightwing lawmakers relentless pursuit to make trans lives awful from birth until death has borne fruit, and there are currently at least 95 bills targeting some or all parts of trans healthcare that have been in other state legislatures this year alone, according to the ACLU. But this state-by-state assault on trans people is not one that happens in a single legislative session. Rather, Mississippi is at the forefront of conservatives latest attack on human rights.
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By Alexander Tanas
CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova's leader said on Wednesday she had invited U.S. President Joe Biden to visit the tiny former Soviet republic, whose relationship with Russia is becoming increasingly tense.
President Maia Sandu wrote on Facebook that she had extended the invitation during a meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday, at which the White House said Biden had affirmed support for Moldova's sovereignty. She did not say how Biden had responded.
"I used the opportunity of this meeting to convey to the President of the United States that, in the difficult situation we are in, with a war at the border, we need even more U.S. support to strengthen our economic resilience," Sandu wrote. "I invited President Biden to pay a visit to our country."
Sandu has said repeatedly that she fears Russia wants to destabilise Moldova, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, and accused Moscow last week of plotting to topple Moldova's leadership, an allegation denied by Moscow.
She has taken a pro-Western stance since being elected president in 2020, and has condemned Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. Under her leadership, Moldova has secured European Union candidate status.
"I conveyed to President Biden that Moldovans want to remain part of the free world, to live safely and to realise their dream of joining the European Union," wrote Sandu, who also held talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw.
She thanked Biden for U.S. support for Moldova's economy and democracy, and for assistance in the energy sector.
Sandu made no mention on Facebook of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision on Tuesday to revoke a decree that in part underpinned Moldova's sovereignty in resolving the future of its Transdniestria region, where Moscow keeps troops.
(Reporting by Alexander Tanas, Writing by Max Hunder, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Following a Brooklyn truck rampage in which YiJie Ye, a Chinese immigrant, was killed, New York lawmakers are hoping to help bring his mother from China to the U.S. to attend the funeral.
Ye, a single father of three, was among nine people who were struck by a U-Haul truck in a violent rampage across Brooklyn on Feb. 13, officials said. He was the only person who died. His relative Mike Chen told The Associated Press that Ye, a delivery worker, had been on the job when the vehicle crashed into him.
Officials identified the U-Haul driver as Weng Sor, 62. While a motive has yet to be determined, Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters last week that Sor had been having an apparent mental health crisis. The suspect made his first appearance in court last week. His attorney, Andrew Friedman, did not enter a plea but asked for Sor to be kept under suicide watch in mental health protected custody until his next court date on March 16.
Democratic Reps. Grace Meng and Dan Goldman and Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, all of New York, said Tuesday that they would be helping ShuiYing Jiang, Yes mother, obtain a visa, according to a news release from Mengs office.
My heart aches for YiJie Yes loved ones and the horrific and heinous manner in which he was killed, Meng said in a statement. His family is devastated, and we will be here for them to help facilitate this visa and assist them further in any way we can. We hope all New Yorkers will keep them, and everybody impacted by this terrible incident, in their thoughts and prayers.
The lawmakers said they will be coordinating with the United States Embassy in Guangzhou, China, to bring Jiang to the U.S. so she can help make funeral arrangements and spend time with the victims children. Jiang will need to be granted a nonimmigrant visa to travel from the city of Fuzhou to New York City.
Ye, 44, had left China roughly two decades ago, according to the news release. In addition to delivering food, Ye would sometimes collect recyclables to make a living, Chen told the AP.
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He had a lot of big plans for his kids, like going to college and be able to support themselves and make great contributions to society. But right now, everything just shattered, Chen told the outlet.
Goldman said in the release that he and his fellow lawmakers will do whatever it takes to ensure that Jiang will be able to attend her sons funeral.
As a father, my heart goes out to ShuiYing Jiang and all the loved ones of the other New Yorkers who were victims of this attack, Goldman said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Officials announced on Tuesday theyve arrested a man for allegedly robbing a Peabody mail carrier at gunpoint and threatening to shoot him in January.
20-year-old Anthony Diaz, from Boston, was charged with forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating and interfering with a United States Postal Employee by use of a deadly weapon (firearm). The charges carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least 3 years supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
The U.S. District Attorneys Office says on January 4, 2023, Diaz allegedly approached a mail carrier on Veterans Memorial Driver in Peabody and demanded the employees Arrow Keys while pointing a semi-automatic pistol at the victim, telling them to hurry up or Ill shoot you.
An Arrow Key is used to open designated blue USPS collection boxes in specific areas and it is a federal offense to steal one.
Postal workers are essential to countless aspects of our community and often go to great lengths to provide their invaluable services, at times in incredibly challenging circumstances, said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. The national trend of threatening, assaulting and robbing United States postal employees for Arrow Keys has sadly made its way to Massachusetts. I commend the excellent investigative work by our USPIS partners, and issue warning to anyone seeking to harm postal workers for financial gain: you will be identified, apprehended and prosecuted in federal court.
Diaz was arrested on February 17, according to authorities and appeared in a Worcester court room Tuesday afternoon. He was detained pending a hearing on February 27.
Todays arrest has been a true team effort, said Darnell Edwards, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division. Let todays arrest serve as an example to criminals: if you target U.S. Postal Service employees and accost them with a gun, you will be identified and prosecuted. Postal Inspectors are watching, and we will tirelessly pursue you to bring you to justice.
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Since July 2022, officials say at least 12 USPS mail carriers have been assaulted on the job, including 6 robberies where the perpetrators used a knife, gun, or both.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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More than 1,000 flights were cancelled in the United States on Thursday as Winter Storm Olive brings heavy snowfall, significant ice and dangerous whiteout conditions from coast to coast.
The storm, which prompted the National Weather Service to issue weather warnings in more than two dozen states, began Tuesday and will continue through the end of the week.
The winter storm has already impacted travel, with tracking site FlightAware reporting that 1,096 flights were cancelled in the US by late Thursday afternoon. An additional 4,762 were delayed.
Chicagos OHare, Boston Logan and Denver were currently the worst impacted.
As the winter storm continues to impact travel, it is important for travellers to know where and how to check their flight status, and what their rights are when it comes to cancellations or delays.
How can travellers find out if their flight is cancelled?
Most travellers will be notified by the airline if their flight is delayed or cancelled, either by email, text or app notifications.
If the airline does not have your contact information, or if you did not receive an alert, you can check the status of your flight on your airlines website.
To do so, travellers can enter their departure city and destination, as well as the date of their flight. Alternatively, travellers can enter their flight number and the date of departure, at which point they will be able to see the flight status.
Live airline tracking websites such as FlightAware can also be useful to travellers in times of increased delays or cancellations. The website is capable of showing flights cancelled by airport or by airline.
For example, FlightAware currently shows that SkyWest is the airline most heavily impacted, with the airline cancelling 263 flights as of Wednesday morning.
If you are already at the airport, flight status updates should be displayed on the departures board.
What should you do if your flight is cancelled and what are your rights?
If an airline cancels your flight, typically the airline will rebook you on the next available flight or allow you to choose a flight that best suits you, free of charge.
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This can usually be done on the airlines website or app.
In some instances, rebooking a flight may require you to speak with an agent for the airline, which can be done over the phone or via the app. If the airline is experiencing high delays or cancellations, it may take time before you are able to speak with a representative who can help rebook the impacted flight.
If you are at the airport when your flight is cancelled, you can seek assistance at the airlines help desk. Scott Keyes, the founder of Scotts Cheap Flights , recommends also attempting to contact the airline via phone while waiting in line.
Stand in line and pull out your phone. Gate agents arent the only ones who can help re-accommodate you - phone agents can as well, Keyes told Travel and Leisure. Dont put all your eggs in one basket; you may get through to an agent on the phone before you reach the front of the line at the airport.
Travellers should be aware that, if their flight is cancelled, for any reason, and they choose not to rebook the flight, they are entitled to a full cash refund of the ticket price and associated fees, according to the US Department of Transportation.
Individuals whose flights experience significant delays are also entitled to a full refund if they choose not to travel, the DOT states. Each airline has its own definition of what constitutes a significant delay, so travellers are encouraged to visit the airlines website, where they can find specific cancellation and delay policies.
To request a refund, which can be a lengthy process, customers can visit the airlines website.
Most airlines will issue winter weather vouchers to travellers whose flights have been impacted by a storm, with Southwest Airlines issuing a waiver for customers with reservations to multiple impacted states from 20 to 23 February.
Customers holding reservations to/from/through the cities above on the corresponding dates may rebook in the original class of service or travel standby within 14 days of their original date of travel without paying an additional charge, the airline states.
American Airlines also informed customers change fees would be waived due to delays or cancellations resulting from the winter storm, while Delta Air Lines issued a similar waiver, with the airline offering travellers in the upper Midwest and Rockies and mountain regions who are impacted by the weather the ability to reschedule flights.
It is important to be aware of any fine print on an airline voucher, as they often come with limitations such as blackout and expiration dates, according to US News.
For example, Delta travellers whose rebooked travel occurs after 27 February may see a difference in fare apply, according to the airlines Upper Midwest Winter Weather update.
This article has been updated
ChatGPT has gone from buzzy new chatbot to buzzy new author. Getty Images
A buzzy new author has become a familiar presence in Amazon's bookstore OpenAI's ChatGPT.
The chatbot is credited as an author or coauthor for more than 200 paperbacks and e-books.
One expert told Reuters they were worried the trend could flood the market with low-quality books.
ChatGPT appears to have become a prolific author.
At the time of writing, the buzzy chatbot developed by OpenAI was credited as the author or coauthor on more than 200 paperbacks and e-books in Amazon's bookstore. The number was first reported by Reuters.
The real number of books authored by the chatbot could be much higher as Amazon policies do not require users to disclose the use of AI, per Reuters.
Several books are guides to using the chatbot. One paperback where the bot is listed as a coauthor, "ChatGPT on ChatGPT: The AI Explains Itself," was described as having been "written entirely" by the AI bot. The Kindle version of the book is free but a paperback costs $11.99.
Another popular genre is children's books written by ChatGPT and illustrated by other AI programs. Ammaar Reshi, a product-design manager at a financial-tech company based in San Francisco, told Insider he wrote and illustrated a children's book in 72 hours using ChatGPT and Midjourney.
Reshi self-published "Alice and Sparkle" as a paperback on Amazon's bookstore for free via a service called KDP. The book went viral on Twitter after it was met with intense backlash from creatives. Some were upset about how AI image generators use their work, while others took issue with the quality of the writing.
Mary Rasenberger, executive director of writers' group the Authors Guild, told Reuters: "This is something we really need to be worried about, these books will flood the market and a lot of authors are going to be out of work."
Rasenberger told the news agency she was concerned that the ability to automate creative writing with AI could risk turning the process into a commodity and produce a lot of low-quality books.
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"There needs to be transparency from the authors and the platforms about how these books are created," she said.
Lindsay Hamilton, an Amazon spokesperson told Insider: "All books in the store must adhere to our content guidelines, including compliance with intellectual property rights and all other applicable laws."
Representatives for OpenAI did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside normal working hours.
Read the original article on Business Insider
RABAT (Reuters) - King Mohammed VI of Morocco has caught a cold and has been advised by his doctor to avoid travelling and to take medical rest for several days, the state news agency reported on Wednesday.
King Mohammed, 59, who has the last word on all major decisions in the North African kingdom, had been due to travel to Senegal on Wednesday, according to Senegalese state media, though the visit had not been announced by the palace.
The palace has in recent years issued several statements about the king's health, including when he had heart surgery in 2018, a lung infection in 2019 and COVID-19 last year.
The king has headed the Muslim world's longest-ruling dynasty since 1999 when his father Hassan II died of a heart attack. His heir apparent, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, has at times deputised for his father, including during trips abroad.
King Mohammed's most recent public appearance was last week during a trip to Gabon, where he held talks with the president.
Morocco has made a big push to build ties with West African countries in recent years as part of its effort to strengthen support in the continent for its stance on the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
(Reporting by Moaz Abd-Alaziz and Ahmed Eljechtimi; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Alison Williams and Bernadette Baum)
Joshua Boucher/AP/Shutterstock
The Netflix true crime docuseries, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal , follows the events that led up to the murders of a mother and son from an elite, wealthy family in South Carolina, the Murdaughs.
Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh and her 22-year-old son Paul were both killed in June 2021. Alex Murdaugh, the victims' husband and father, was just found guilty of their murders and sentenced to life in prison.
The family, which has a long history in South Carolina as powerful prosecutors, has been connected to several scandals, including a fatal boating accident where Paul was allegedly driving drunk. The three-part Netflix doc, which dropped in February 2023, explores all these incidents and more.
Alex Murdaugh's only living son, Richard Alex Buster Murdaugh Jr., 26, has been leading a relatively quiet life amid his family's scandal, so you probably still have questions about him. Here's everything to know about the eldest Murdaugh son, from his attempt to go to law school, to his net worth.
His name has been connected to a classmate's death.
In 2015, Stephen Smith, Buster's high school classmate, was found dead on the side of the road about 15 miles from one of the Murdaugh family's properties in South Carolina, TODAY reported. The incident was initially deemed a hit-and-run, but the case has since been reopened as a homicide investigation, per CNN.
The reports from the initial accident showed no vehicle debris, skid marks, or injuries consistent with someone being struck by a vehicle," according to CNN.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol investigation's case file on Smiths death, also obtained by CNN, mentions the Murdaugh name "dozens of times by both witnesses and investigators, including the name of Alex Murdaughs surviving son, Buster." No charges were ever brought forward in the case, and the authorities never named any suspects, CBS reported. Buster has denied any connection.
Smith's family is in favor of the new investigation, and is petitioning to have his body exhumed. They even started a GoFundMe that has raised of $88,000 to provide "a new, unbiased look at his body and an accurate determination of his cause of death based on facts."
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Buster just released a statement denying involvement in Smith's death.
"I have tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in Stephen Smith's tragic death that continue to be published in the media as I grieve over the brutal murders of my mother and brother," Buster said. "I love them so much and miss them terribly."
The statement continued: "These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false. I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family."
Buster filed a police report against the media.
In the week following Alex Murdaugh's conviction, Buster Murdaugh filed a police report. On March 4, 2023, The New York Post included a photo of Buster inside his home in Hilton Head, South Carolina, in one of its stories.
This led to Buster making a police report with local authorities, according to WYFF 4. Buster's report included a description of a "suspicious grey Dodge challenger outside the residence," which he saw in footage from his doorbell camera.
Later, Buster Murdaugh's girlfriend, Brooklynn White, also called into the sheriff's office to report that the couple was being followed by "the media" in a grey Chevy SUV. A deputy in the area reportedly pulled the vehicle over for speeding and "improper lane change" and issued a warning, according to the report via WYFF 4.
Buster was present for his father's sentencing.
Buster was present in the courtroom when Alex Murdaugh was given double life sentences for the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
Buster's reaction in court was minimal for both his father's guilty verdict and sentencing. After the jury distributed their guilty verdict, Alex Murdaugh reportedly mouthed "it's okay" to his 26-year-old son, per The Independent.
Morgan Frances, an anchor for Windy City News, obtained a video of Buster leaving the courthouse after his father's sentencing, looking stoic, which she posted on Twitter.
Buster Murdaugh leaves the courthouse after his dad gets sentenced to life in prison. pic.twitter.com/bQjIHSteWb (@MorganFrancesTV) March 3, 2023
Buster has been present throughout the entirety of his father's trial, per BBC News. He was reportedly very emotional during his father's testimony in court last week, per Law & Crime
He went to Wofford College.
Buster graduated from Wofford in 2018, according to his Instagram. A newsletter for students majoring in government and international affairs said that he was planning to work with a South Carolina law firm before heading back to law school.
Buster Murdaugh was kicked out of law school.
In following with family tradition, Buster had been pursuing his law degree at the University of South Carolina. However, he was kicked out of law school over a plagiarism incident, according to the Wall Street Journal . A local outlet, The Post and Courier, then reported that "the family had paid a well-connected Columbia lawyer, Butch Bowers, some $60,000 to help secure Busters readmittance."
However, Buster still hasn't gone back to school. He has put his desire to go to law school on hold for now, the Murdaugh's lawyer told The Post and Courier. There is no plan for him to start school in the fall or in the spring.
Its unclear what Buster currently does for a living, but he worked at his fathers law firm prior to Alex's arrest, according to PEOPLE .
He withdrew after his mother and brother's deaths.
A former Wofford classmate told PEOPLE that Buster was "not doing well at all," adding, "he really withdrew after everything happened."
"Before, he'd text immediately. His phone was surgically implanted in his hand or something, like you'd send a text 24/7 and he'd respond, and he loved to chat. Now he doesn't respond to most texts, or if he does, it's one or two words. He has really closed off and built walls around himself," the friend added.
At the time, Buster hadn't told friends what he thought of his dad's guilt or innocence.
Buster lives with his girlfriend.
Buster reportedly refused to go back and live at the hunting lodge where his brother and mother were killed, per PEOPLE .
He reportedly resides in a condo with his girlfriend, Brooklynn White, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Brooklynn works as an attorney at Olivetti, McCray and Withrow Law Firm, according to their website . Brooklynn purchased the condo in 2021, a month after the Murdaugh murders, according to Fox News.
Buster testified in defense of his father.
On February 21, 2023, Buster appeared in court as the defenses first witness. Translation: He spoke in support of his father. He told the court that the Murdaugh family had a lot of guns and his brother, Paul, left guns around the property more than anyone else, according to the New York Post.
Joshua Boucher/AP/Shutterstock
Buster also claimed that his father was destroyed the night of the murders. He was heartbroken, Buster testified in court, according to PEOPLE . According to PEOPLE, Alex called Buster to tell him the news.
"He said, 'Are you sitting down?'" Buster testified. "He sounded odd, and then he told me that my mom and my brother had been shot."
At that point, Buster and his girlfriend got in the car to drive the 200 miles to the family's home in South Carolina, per PEOPLE.
Buster helped his family reached a settlement in Mallory Beach's death.
Since Paul Murdaugh's involvement in a fatal boat crash that killed Mallory Beach in 2019, the Beach family has been in negotiations with the Murdaugh family. They recently reached a settlement for a "significant amount" of money, which removed Buster and Maggie's names from the case, per the Daily Mail.
At the time of the crash, Paul Murdaugh, who was then 19, was reportedly drunk while operating the boat. He was later charged for his role in Mallory's death and was out on bail when he died. Paul allegedly purchased alcohol on the day of the collision with Buster Murdaugh's ID and his mother's credit card. After the settlement, only Alex Murdaugh's name will appear on the Mallory Beach lawsuit, per Fox News.
"The Beach family feels very strongly that whatever their faults were, Paul and Maggie didnt deserve what happened to them. They also feel Buster has suffered enough, so it was important to them to try and get him out of the case," the Beach family attorney, Mark Brandon Tinsley, reportedly told Fox News.
Buster was reportedly close to another person who mysteriously died.
In 2015, Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old college student, mysteriously died on the side of the road about 10 miles from the Murdaughs house. He was found with deep gashes to his head on a Hampton County road, according to PEOPLE .
Buster and Smith were former classmates. Some locals interviewed in the docuseries allege that the Murdaughs might have been involved with his hit-and-run death, per the Wall Street Journal .
Stephen Smith's mother, Sandy Smith, also recently told the New York Post that she "didn't understand" the Murdaugh family's interest in the case from the beginning. She said that shortly after the crime happened, and before it was confirmed that it was Stephen who had been killed, Randy Murdaugh even called her husband to offer help in looking into the case. She also reported that when she visited the crime scene, the Murdaugh family was already there.
I dont know if they did it or not. I dont care. I just want to know who and I want to know why, she said to the New York Post.
Smith's death is still under investigation, and the Murdaugh family has not been officially linked, per The New York Times .
What is Buster Murdaugh's net worth?
It's unclear what the Murdaugh family assets look like right now, or what Buster's net worth could total.
The condo Buster and Brooklynn live in, which she purchased in 2021, is reportedly worth about $180,000, according to Fox News.
Alex Murdaugh sold the family estate, Moselle, to Maggie for $5 in 2016. Now, lawyers who are now in charge of Alex's assets are trying to void the sale, claiming it was fraudulent, according to ABC News. The property is worth a few million dollars, but any sale has been blocked because of the scuffle over its ownership. If the property is sold, Buster will reportedly receive $530,000, according to Fox News.
For more details on Buster Murdaugh and his family, you can stream Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal on Netflix now.
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NEW YORK CNN anchor Don Lemon tweeted an apology to viewers for his remarks about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley shortly before returning to work on Wednesday, then stuck to the news.
He made no mention of his comments last week that Haley was not in her prime, during the first hour of CNN This Morning, sticking to stories like President Joe Bidens trip to Ukraine, the Ohio train derailment and winter weather.
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Lemon, during the hour before he went on the air, tweeted that he appreciated the opportunity to return to work. He was absent for three days.
To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience Im sorry, he tweeted. Ive heard you, Im learning from you, and Im committed to doing better.
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His tweet made no mention of Haley, who called Lemons comments sexist and has been referring to them in fundraising appeals.
On last Thursdays show, Lemon and fellow hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins had been discussing Haleys suggestion that politicians over 75 should be subject to mandatory mental competency tests.
Nikki Haley isnt in her prime, sorry, Lemon said. He said a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s. Haley is 51.
He doubled down on his message even after being challenged by his female colleagues. I think we need to qualify, Harlow said at one point. Are you talking about prime for childbearing or are you talking about prime for being president?
After video of his comments spread quickly online, Lemon tweeted regret for his inartful and irrelevant comments. He was scolded the next day by CNN chief executive Chris Licht during an internal staff meeting, and appeared on the call to apologize.
Late Sunday, Licht told staff members in a memo that Lemon would return to work and undergo unspecified training. Licht said in the memo, obtained by The Associated Press, that it was important that the network balance accountability with fostering a culture in which people can own, learn and grow from their mistakes.
Lemon was switched from his own prime-time show when a revamped CNN This Morning was launched in November, one of Lichts biggest swings since taking control of the network last year.
Between poor ratings and awkwardness between the new anchor team, it hasnt gone well.
Alex Murdaughs defense called his surviving son to the stand Tuesday to poke holes in evidence prosecutors have presented in the disgraced South Carolina attorneys double murder trial.
>> Scroll to the bottom of this webpage for previous trial coverage.
Buster Murdaugh answered questions in a matter-of-fact tone, ranging from how he found out about the killings to how his brother would steal his ID and use it to buy alcohol while underage to how his dad coached his baseball teams as a kid.
During his testimony, Buster Murdaugh explained points that prosecutors emphasized as potentially sinister during the trials first four weeks, like Alex Murdaugh parking behind his mothers home or not using his cellphone for an hour the night of the killings.
Buster Murdaugh said he was around his father almost all the time in the 10 days after the killings, and described him as devastated and confused, living and sleeping anywhere other than where his wife and son were killed.
Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial in the murders of his wife Maggie, 52, who was killed by four or five rifle shots; and their 22-year-old son Paul, who died from two shotgun blasts on June 7, 2021, near kennels on their sprawling property in Colleton County. Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison if he is convicted.
Buster Murdaugh, left, the son of Alex Murdaugh, listens to instruction from Judge Clifton Newman before a break during his father's trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their Colleton County, S.C., home and hunting lodge on June 7, 2021. (Jeff Blake/The State via AP, Pool)
Buster Murdaugh was one of the most anticipated witnesses. He has been in the audience behind his father every day of the trial. Alex Murdaugh smiled at him as he took the stand.
He testified that cell service at the familys Colleton County home was spotty and that his father sometimes misplaced his phone. Prosecutors have suggested Alex Murdaugh left the device behind so it wouldnt be where the killings took place.
Buster Murdaugh also said the family frequently parked near his grandparents back door in Hampton, which is where Alex Murdaugh parked when he visited his ailing mother the night his wife and son were killed. Investigators have suggested he parked behind the house to get rid of evidence that has never been found, like both guns or bloody clothing.
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After visiting his mother the night of the murders, Alex Murdaugh returned home, called 911 and reported that he had found the bodies of his wife and son.
There were no tears from Buster Murdaugh on Tuesday. He talked about getting a phone call from his dad on June 7, 2021, who asked if he was sitting down and then told him his brother and mother had been shot.
He was destroyed. He was heartbroken. I walked through the door, I saw him and I gave him a hug, Buster Murdaugh said.
He also testified that his father took a lot of showers during the hot, steamy South Carolina summers, a point apparently meant to address testimony from a housekeeper who found a damp towel the morning after the killings.
Buster Murdaugh also testified that guns were left around the property with the safety on and that he never loaded one shell of larger buckshot and a second shell of smaller birdshot in his shotguns. That combination killed Paul Murdaugh, investigators said.
Neither gun used in the killings has been found. A state agent testified last week he incorrectly told the grand jury which indicted Alex Murdaugh that several shotguns were found on the property loaded the way the weapon was that killed Paul Murdaugh.
Another agent testified that bullet casings found around the Murdaugh property had markings similar to those that held the ammunition killing Maggie Murdaugh.
Prosecutor John Meadors asked gentle questions of Buster Murdaugh in his cross examination, clarifying and emphasizing a few discrepancies in the testimony. He didnt ask him if he thought his father was the killer.
After Buster Murdaugh testified, the defense called a forensic engineer who said that bullet casing locations and the angles of two shots fired at Maggie Murdaugh show the shooter was about 5-foot-2 (1.57 meters) tall or else holding the gun below their kneecap. Alex Murdaugh is 6-foot-4.
Its just trigonometry, Mike Sutton said.
During cross examination, prosecutors asked why Sutton didnt use the same ammunition believed to be used in the killings to test whether shots could be heard from 1,150 feet (350 meters) away, where Alex Murdaugh told police he was napping in the house when investigators think his wife and son were shot elsewhere on the property.
Prosecutors asked Sutton if he considered whether a shooter could have been kneeling. They also asked if he considered whether bullets or pellets could have ricocheted. Sutton said he depended on reports and photos from state agents for that information.
What if any opinion do you have as to whether that person could be Alex Murdaugh shooting? defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian asked.
It cant be, Sutton replied.
The defense started its case Friday with Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey, who testified he estimated the time of death for Murdaughs wife and son at around 9 p.m., give or take an hour. He made the estimate based on the warmth felt when he put his hand under the victims armpits.
The prosecution had suggested the death happened at 8:50 p.m., based on when the victims stopped using their cellphones.
Alex Murdaugh listens as his defense attorneys Phillip Barber, left, and Dick Harpootlian confer during his trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their Colleton County, S.C., home and hunting lodge on June 7, 2021. (Jeff Blake/The State via AP, Pool)
Also on Tuesday, another person was dismissed from the jury because of an unspecified illness. That leaves two alternates.
Before testimony began, Judge Clifton Newman admonished defense attorney Jim Griffin for tweeting a Washington Post opinion piece, repeating the headline Alex Murdaugh trial reveals a sloppy investigation.
Newman said it at least violated the spirit of a rule that lawyers involved in a case shouldnt criticize witnesses or other attorneys.
I understand your honor, Griffin said. I will not retweet anything or tweet anything until this trial is over.
PREVIOUS TRIAL COVERAGE:
VIDEO: Murdaugh Trial, Day 20: Murdaugh prosecutors reveal flurry of steps after killings
A murder suspect was arrested after a high-speed pursuit from Victorville to Devore ended when the driver lost control of a BMW, which flipped and landed on the roof of a building.
Victorville sheriffs officials arrested a suspected killer after a high-speed pursuit ended when his fleeing vehicle flipped and landed on the roof of a building.
The Victorville Sheriffs Station reported that at 1:06 a.m. on Tuesday, deputies responded to the area of Nisqualli and Mariposa roads for a BMW that was stolen out of Arizona.
During a check of the area, deputies found the BMW near Green Tree Boulevard and Burning Tree Drive and attempted a traffic stop.
The driver of the vehicle was later identified as Floyd Walker, 20, of Barstow, and his passenger, Kalvin Streeter, 20, of Adelanto, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department.
Sheriffs officials reported that they had been searching for Streeter, who was suspected of the September 2022 fatal shooting of 20-year-old Christina Conti of Victorville.
During the traffic stop, the driver failed to stop and traveled onto southbound Interstate 15, then onto southbound Interstate 215 toward San Bernardino.
The nearly 27 miles pursuit ended when the driver lost control of the BMW, which left the freeway, flipped over and landed on the roof of a building between Devore Road and Palm Avenue in Devore.
After a short chase on foot, deputies arrested the two suspects, who were both booked in at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Deputies discovered two ghost guns inside the vehicle and both suspects were booked on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm that they did not own, possession of a stolen vehicle and vehicle theft. Ghost guns don't have any identifying markers or numbers, making it harder to track.
Walker was also booked on suspicion of felony evading and remains in jail, with bail set at $100,000. Investigators do not believe Walker was involved in the homicide.
Streeter was booked on suspicion of homicide and remains in custody on a combined bail of $530,000.
Christina Conti
Victorville sheriffs officials reported that on Sept. 8, deputies responded to shots heard in the 14400 block of Begonia Road.
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When deputies arrived, they found Conti unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound. She was transported to a local hospital, where she died.
Investigators with the Sheriff's Specialized Investigations Division-Homicide Detail responded and investigated. No arrests were made and no more information was available at this time.
Anyone with information about the case is asked by sheriffs officials to contact Detective Amy Bilbao with the Specialized Investigations Division at 909-890-4904. Callers can remain anonymous by contacting We-Tip at 800-78CRIME or wetip.com.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Murder suspect arrested after high-speed chase from Victorville to Devore
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) Attorneys for a Tesla shareholder urged a Delaware judge on Tuesday to invalidate a 2018 compensation package awarded by the companys board of directors to CEO Elon Musk that is potentially worth more than $55 billion.
The shareholder's lawyers argue that the compensation package should be voided because it was dictated by Musk and the product of sham negotiations with directors who were not independent of him. They also say it was approved by shareholders who were given misleading and incomplete disclosures in a proxy statement.
Delaware courts often defer to the business judgment of corporate directors in decision-making absent a showing of wrongdoing. But attorney Greg Varallo argued that the Tesla defendants should be required to show that the compensation plan was entirely fair to stockholders because Musk was a controlling shareholder.
Defense attorneys countered that the pay plan was fairly negotiated by a compensation committee whose members were independent, contained performance milestones that were so lofty they were ridiculed by some Wall Street investors, and blessed by a shareholder vote that was not even required under Delaware law. They also argue that Musk was not a controlling shareholder because he owned less than one-third of the company at the time.
Tuesdays arguments followed a November trial at which Musk denied that he dictated terms of the compensation package or attended any meetings at which the plan was discussed by the board, its compensation committee, or a working group that helped develop it.
Musk also downplayed the notion that his friendships with certain Tesla board members, including sometimes vacationing together, mean that they were likely to do his bidding.
The plan called for Musk to reap billions if Tesla hit certain market capitalization and operational milestones. For each incidence of simultaneously meeting a market cap milestone and an operational milestone, Musk, who owned about 22% of Tesla when the plan was approved, would get stock equal to 1% of outstanding shares at the time of the grant. His interest in the company would grow to about 28% if the companys market capitalization grew by $600 billion.
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Tesla has achieved all twelve market capitalization milestones and eleven operational milestones, providing Musk nearly $28B in stock option gains, according to a post-trial brief filed by plaintiffs attorneys. The stock option grants are subject to a five-year holding period, however.
Varallo told Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick that Musk should be force to give back some, if not all, of the stock option grants he has earned.
Defense attorney Evan Chesler said the compensation package was a high-risk, high-reward deal that benefitted not just Musk, but Tesla shareholders who have seen the value of the company based in Austin, Texas, climb from $53 billion to more than $600 billion, having briefly hit $1 trillion last year.
Chesler also said Tesla made sure that the $55 billion compensation figure was included in the proxy statement because the company wanted shareholders to know that "this was a heart-stopping number that Mr. Musk could earn.
Nobodys laughing now, added Chesler, noting that, while some Wall Street investors bet against Tesla, the companys leadership in electric-vehicle manufacturing has transformed the U.S. automobile industry.
Following Tuesday's hearing, McCormick ordered yet another round of briefing on various legal issues.
The fourth annual micro drone race is set to come back to the National Museum of the United States Air Force this weekend.
Visitors who attend the event will be able to watch registered drone pilots maneuver their drones over, under, around, and through the C-124 aircraft at the museum.
Friday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., pilots will race in a series of two-minute heats. Then on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until around 3:00 p.m. the museum will host final double-elimination brackets with the top 32 qualifying pilots.
>>First in Flight: Dayton business partnership completes first-ever drone delivery
Spectators will be able to watch the race along the course in the museums second building, as well as from a large screen that will show the drones perspective as they are racing.
From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day, visitors will also be able to experience flying a drone with computer-based simulators from the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), Sinclair College Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) program, and the museums Education Division, according to a release.
For more information about the event, visit the museums website at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Events/
WARSAW, Poland (AP) NATO's chief said Wednesday that the military alliance has seen some signs that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine, and strongly urged Beijing to desist from what would be a violation of international law.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press in an interview that the alliance, while not a party to the war, will support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
Asked whether NATO has any indication that China might be ready to provide arms or other support to Russias war, Stoltenberg said:
We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that and of course NATO allies, the United States, have been warning against it because this is something that should not happen. China should not support Russias illegal war.
Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount to providing (direct) support to a blatant violation of international law, and of course (as) a member of the U.N. security council China should not in any way support violation of the U.N. charter, or international law.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official Wang Yi raising concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support in the almost year-old war.
China has pointedly refused to criticize the invasion of Ukraine while echoing Moscows claim that the U.S. and NATO were to blame for provoking the Kremlin. China, Russia and South Africa are holding naval drills in the Indian Ocean this week.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said any Chinese involvement in the Kremlins war effort would be a serious problem. Ties between China and the U.S. are under severe strain over Taiwan and other issues.
Stoltenberg spoke to The Associated Press in Warsaw, following a meeting of NATO's nine eastern flank members with U.S. President Joe Biden on the region's security.
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He stressed that while NATO is no party to the Ukraine conflict its tasks are to ensure that Ukraine prevails and to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine and becoming a full-fledged war between Russia and NATO.
He said the main message from the meeting in Warsaw was that we will provide support to Ukraine for as long as it takes.
It would be a "tragedy for the Ukrainians if President Putin wins in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, and also dangerous for all of us because it would send the message to all authoritarian leaders that when they use military force, they get what they want.
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Follow APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Nearly 1 million people applied for international protection in the European Union in 2022, according to data published Wednesday, bringing the number of asylum requests to a level not seen since the refugee crisis of 2015-2016.
The EU agency for asylum said 966,000 asylum applications were made in the 27 EU countries as well as in Norway and Switzerland last year, up 50% from 2021. That doesn't include more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees who were granted temporary protection in the EU, a special mechanism activated to avoid collapsing already backlogged asylum systems.
The European agency linked the increase to continuing easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions, increasing food insecurity and conflicts in many parts of the world. Though most asylum-seekers enter the EU legally, mainly by plane with travel visas, some also crossed the EU's land and sea borders without permission, mainly through the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean.
After more than a decade of war and economic collapse in their country, Syrians continued to be the top nationality of asylum-seekers in Europe with more than 130,000 applications. They were followed closely by Afghans fleeing the spiraling security, humanitarian and financial troubles that followed the Taliban takeover in August 2021, with 129,000 requests.
Coming in third were applicants from Turkey who doubled in numbers with 55,000 requests. Soaring inflation and democratic backsliding were among the factors believed to have caused the increase, the agency said.
In many places, reception centers are overwhelmed, leaving asylum-seekers in the streets.
The recent earthquake that killed nearly 46,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in Turkey and Syria has raised fears of a potential surge in irregular border crossings into Greece. Germany offered earlier this month to temporarily ease visa restrictions to some quake survivors while Spain promised to resettle a small group of 100 vulnerable Syrian refugees from Turkey, which is home to 4 million refugees.
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Venezuelans, Colombians, Bangladeshis and Georgians applied for asylum in record numbers last year, as did Moroccans, Tunisians and Egyptians. Some 4% of asylum-seekers in 2022 claimed to be unaccompanied minors.
The European agency didn't say which EU countries received the most applications last year. But an internal EU migration report seen by the Associated Press lists Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Italy as the top five.
Asylum authorities issued decisions on more than 600,000 applications last year but they received even more new cases, adding to the existing backlog. Of the applications analyzed, 40% were granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, mostly for Syrian, Belarusian, Eritrean, Yemeni, and Malian applicants, as well as for most of the Ukrainians who chose to apply for asylum instead of temporary protection.
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Read more AP coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
"Parade" opened in previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs theater on Tuesday, February 21. @paradebway on Instagram
Neo-Nazis heckled theatergoers outside of the debut of "Parade" on Broadway Tuesday.
They reportedly called people slurs and spread false pedophilia rumors about the play's real-life inspiration.
The antisemitic protesters also handed out flyers featuring the Nazi "SS" symbol.
Neo-Nazis protested outside a Broadway play about antisemitism in New York City, calling theatergoers slurs and insulting the real-life man the show is based on as a pedophile.
Members of the National Socialist Movement which the Southern Poverty Law Center says spreads "violent antisemitic rhetoric" handed out propaganda-filled flyers to theatergoers waiting in line to see the first preview of "Parade" at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York City Tuesday night.
"Parade," starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond, tells the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1913 and later kidnapped from prison and lynched.
The neo-Nazi hate group set up camp outside the theater, which would later house a sold-out show, and spread false claims that Frank was a pedophile.
"You're paying 300 bucks to go fucking worship a pedophile," one man wearing a mask over his face said to the people lined up outside the theater, according to a video posted to Twitter by Jake Wasserman, the engagement editor for The Forward.
A second man can be seen and heard shouting at the line of theatergoers from the street nearby.
In addition to their chants, the group handed out flyers to people in line featuring the SS logo and the Empire State Stormers' "purpose."
One theatergoer called Tuesday night's events "chaotic, heartbreaking ... and a little scary," but added that the theater "felt more like a house of worship than ever before," in a Facebook post following the show.
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"Our audience stared the hate that the musical condemns square in the eye before curtain. We saw the Nazis ... making fools of themselves spewing falsities and displaying/attempting to distribute garish propaganda misspelling Leo Frank's name among other evidence of poor research and stupidity," Jaime Lee said on Facebook.
Lee called the neo-Nazis "pathetic little boys" who called her a slur when she spoke up.
She added that the show's director, Michael Arden, "spoke briefly before the show began and emphasized that what happened is all the more reason why this show needs to be performed and shared and talked about."
Another audience member, Jules Louise, said on Facebook, "To witness this hateful act immediately prior to this STUNNINGLY powerful show is heartbreaking to say the very least. Meeting this world with love instead of hate is not a difficult task, yet somehow this is all too common, even now."
The New York Police Department told Insider that no arrests were made in connection with Tuesday's demonstration.
The producers of "Parade" put out a statement condemning the hate and antisemitism brought to the theater by the neo-Nazi group.
"If there is any remaining doubt out there about the urgency of telling this story in this moment in history, the vileness on display in front of our theater last night should put it to rest," the statement said. "We stand by the valiant Broadway cast that brings this vital story to life each night."
Platt posted a video to Instagram late Tuesday following the performance condemning "the really ugly actions of a few people who are spreading evil."
"I got off stage and was looking at social media naturally the news of the fact that there were some protestors at our show has spread a lot and that's kind of the stamp on the evening in terms of the public perception of the evening and definitely an important thing to hear about," Platt said in the video.
He went on to explain that neo-Nazi protestors "from a really disgusting group" were bothering audience members outside of the theater and "saying antisemitic things about Leo Frank who the show is about and just spreading antisemitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place."
Platt continued: "It was definitely very ugly and scary but a wonderful reminder of why we're telling this particular story."
The hateful protest is the latest evidence of a recent surge in antisemitism in America.
According to a survey conducted by the American Jewish Committee, 69% of American adults were the target of online antisemitism or saw evidence of antisemitism online at least once. Additionally, more than 80% of American adults think antisemitism in the country has increased over the last five years.
Read the original article on Insider
Welcome back, Lookingglass Theatre!
The distinguished Chicago company, taking risks on original work for a whopping 35 years, had not produced a new show in three years prior to Sunday nights opening of Villette, a new adaptation by Sara Gmitter of the novel by Charlotte Bronte. Whatever the issues with this particular show, and Ill get to those, its inestimably cheering to see the city-owned space at the Water Tower Water Works alive again with fresh creativity.
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Ive written for years about how fortunate Lookingglass was to be given this space right in the heart of the Magnificent Mile. But Id say the tables now have turned: Struggling Michigan Avenue needs Lookingglass now just as much as Lookingglass once needed Michigan Avenue. This theater company, founded by Northwestern University classmates and friends in 1988, could and should be a crucial part of a vibrant Mag Mile future.
Its been a tough few years, though, and Villette is a modest and uneven production that has its moments but doesnt fully capture the vivacity and lyrical intensity of my favorite of Bronte's novels, published six years after the far more famous Jane Eyre. By the time she got to Villette, which follows the fortunes of a young Englishwoman named Lucy Snowe who heads to the titular French town to teach in a boarding school, the eldest Bronte sister had managed astounding feats of stream-of-conscious writing, filled with powerful, subversive images as psychologically astute as they were entertainingly gothic. In Villette, Lucy Snowe, who is not necessarily the most reliable of narrators, falls in love with an unattainable man and has what now would be described as issues of mental health. But she hangs in there in what is to her a foreign environment and succeeds spectacularly well.
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Debo Balogun and Mi Kang in "Villette" by Lookingglass Theatre Company. (Liz Lauren / HANDOUT)
Lucy is far more reticent towards, and critical of, her audience in Gmitters adaptation than is the case with the reader on the page. Thats probably because Gmitter wants to imbue her with an edgier, more contemporary sensibility and also because issues of romance and intimacy are just so fraught these days in the theater. Not so for Bronte, or the Brontes plural, Id argue, being as the sisters lived vivid, passionate lives on the page, allowing them to journey far beyond their famous Yorkshire parsonage.
If theres one thing Id suggest for this work in progress, it would be more warmth, narrative kindness and a closer relationship with the people in the seats, the theaters equivalent of the adoring Bronte reader.
In some ways, director Tracy Walshs production is a deconstruction of Villette, a piece of theater that certainly finds the humor in the piece and is appreciative of the wry sensibility. The intent here, I think, is to universalize the story and not worry unduly about the original cultural specifics. The cast, which includes Mi Kang (who plays Lucy), Helen Joo Lee, Mo Shipley, Debo Balogun, Renee Lockett and Ronald Roman-Melendez are all vibrant performers who maintain their own identities rather than disappearing into their Victorian characters. Thats fair enough although a tricky match in places for this particular Bronte, who was so profoundly empathetic.
No one here feels especially vulnerable to anything. So, in essence, the show concentrates on a structural critique of the situation in which Lucy finds herself and a celebration of her personal resilience. I found myself craving fewer, longer scenes, allowing the actors to dive deeper without being so interrupted by the sliding doors on Yu Shibagakis set, more elegant than functional. But Bronte fans will find plenty here to intrigue them.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: Villette (2.5 stars)
When: Through April 23
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Where: Lookingglass Theatre in the Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave.
Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Tickets: $65-$75 at 312-337-0665 and lookingglasstheatre.org
In a scene that mirrored history, spectators waiting to watch a Broadway musical about one of the most infamous antisemitic incidents in U.S. history were heckled outside the theater - by neo-Nazi protesters.
The show, "Parade," is a dramatization of the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish pencil factory director in Atlanta who was convicted of the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in 1913. He was abducted from prison and lynched by an angry mob two years later, and the case remains a lightning rod for the far-right.
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Protesters showed up outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Tuesday as spectators waited to see a preview of the Tony Award-winning musical.
"You want the truth about who you're going to see tonight? You're paying $300 to go worship a pedophile," one masked protester could be heard saying, using an expletive, in a clip shared by Jake Wasserman, an editor for the Jewish American publication, the Forward.
In the same footage, protesters can be seen holding a banner with a link to the website of the National Socialist Movement, which the Anti-Defamation League describes as "the largest neo-Nazi group in the United States."
One Twitter user shared a photo of the fliers handed out by the protesters, which included a web address for a video platform operated by a group that the ADL describes as "a loose network of individuals connected by their virulent antisemitism" and Nazi SS logos.
Ben Platt, who plays Frank, said in an Instagram video that he heard about the protest after the show. "It was definitely very ugly and scary, but a wonderful reminder of why we're telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and particularly theater can be," he said. "And it made me feel extra, extra grateful to be the one that gets to tell this particular story and to carry on the legacy of Leo."
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"Are you really doing the real work of an artist if you aren't be protested by Neo Nazi's?" wrote Prentiss Mouton, another performer in the play, sharing footage of the protesters outside the theater in an Instagram story. "If I wasn't proud enough to be a part of this production it was solidified today."
Frank's case was significant due to the extensive antisemitic tropes used in protests and even some of the media reporting at the time. The Washington Post reported in 1983 that jurors in his murder trial heard shouts of "Hang the Jew" outside the courthouse, and members of the Jewish community, fearing for their safety, left Atlanta after Frank's lynching.
The killing was meticulously planned, The Post reported in 2017 - from the cutting of the prison phone lines to the draining of the gas from police vehicles to help the attackers escape. But no convictions were ever made for Frank's killing.
There were appeals against Frank's sentence over the years, with a former office boy from the pencil factory coming forward in the 1980s to say that he saw the key witness in the trial - a Black janitor, named Jim Conley - carrying the victim's lifeless body. The witness, by then in his 80s, said Conley threatened him and his parents told him not to speak out. It did not overturn Frank's sentence, but Conley was later convicted as an accessory in the case and would go on to serve sentences for violence against women.
Later, in 1986, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles posthumously pardoned Frank, but only on the basis of its failure to ensure his safety while in custody, and not on his innocence.
Frank's story remains significant for other reasons: The ADL was established in the same year as his conviction, with the aim of stopping "the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all." And just a month after Frank's killing in 1915, a group of men - including some of those who took part in the lynching - revived the Ku Klux Klan.
"The trial and lynching of Leo Frank was one of the most virulent anti-Semitic episodes in American history," ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman said in 2013 on the 100th anniversary of Frank's conviction. That same year, the Southern Poverty Law Center noted that neo-Nazi groups were creating propaganda websites about the case
Interest in Frank's case continues, and so, too, does the antisemitism that colored his trial and killing. In January, an ADL survey found that 85 percent of Americans believe at least one anti-Jewish trope - a significant increase from the figure of 61 percent in 2019.
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Benjamin Netanyahu
It is expected that Netanyahu will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he visits.
Ukrainian sources of the newspaper said that an invitation to the Israeli prime minister to visit Ukraine has already been sent, but no exact dates for it have been agreed.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Ukraine on Feb 16. He was the highest-ranking Israeli government official to visit Ukraine since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While in Kyiv, Cohen held talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Read also: Israeli foreign minister visits Bucha, Hostomel and Babi Yar
Israel, which has a large Russian-immigrant population, has not imposed sanctions on Russia, and has not provided weapons to Ukraine. It has, however, provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
Ukraine and its capital Kyiv have become a destination of political pilgrimage for leaders from all over the free world since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion and war on the country on Feb. 24 last year.
The most important visitor was U.S. President Joe Biden, who made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital on Feb. 20.
Some VIPs, such as former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have visited on more than one occasion.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Jake Muzzin will miss the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, the team announced Wednesday.
Muzzin is recovering from a cervical spine injury and will be re-evaluated during Torontos training camp in September. He played in four games during the 2022-23 season, recording one assist before suffering the season-ending injury when he collided with Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller on Oct. 17.
Muzzins $5.625-million salary is accounted for in Torontos long-term injured reserve pool and the 34-year-old carries an identical cap hit for the 2023-24 season, the final year of his current deal.
It was expected by many that Muzzin would miss the remainder of the season, especially after the team took on Ryan OReilly and Noel Acciaris salaries during last weeks trade with the St. Louis Blues, but this confirms Toronto will be without one of its best defenders during this critical juncture of this teams timeline.
Jake Muzzin's 2022-23 season is over, the Maple Leafs announced on Wednesday. (Photo by Gavin Napier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Toronto has $4.4 million in cap space prior to the March 3 trade deadline but its unclear whether the Maple Leafs will pursue a defenceman Columbuss Vladislav Gavrikov among targets to fill the permanent absence left by Muzzins season-ending diagnosis. Goaltender Matt Murrays $4.68-million salary will count against the cap if hes returned from injured reserve, as expected.
Mark Giordano has largely filled Muzzins void, and Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren have both taken a developmental leap this season, but Muzzin is still considered part of the teams core and is widely respected for his leadership and playoff resume, winning a Stanley Cup with Los Angeles in 2014.
Muzzin suffered two concussions in the span of a month last season and missed two months after sustaining the second head injury in February 2022 before returning in April. He has been a key part of Torontos core since being acquired in a January 2019 trade, where the Maple Leafs sent Sean Durzi, Carl Grundstrom and a first-round pick to the Kings.
The policing watchdog has launched an investigation into a welfare check on Nicola Bulley carried out just 17 days before she disappeared.
An IOPC spokesperson said: Following a referral by Lancashire Constabulary on Thursday (February 16) we have started an independent investigation regarding contact the force had with Nicola Bulley on 10 January 2023.
We were notified by the force that an officer attended the family home on that date as part of a welfare check.
Police confirmed on Monday that a body found in the river around one mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen was that of the missing 45-year-old.
She had been missing for more than three weeks and amateur detectives, online sleuths and social media influencers descended on St Michaels on Wyre to look for her.
Earlier on Wednesday, an inquest heard that Ms Bulley was identified by dental records.
Opening an inquest into the death of the 45-year-old mother of two, senior coroner Dr James Adeley said he had contacted a consultant maxillofacial surgeon to ask for a comparison of her dental records.
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Police watchdog probes welfare check on Nicola Bulley days before she went missing
14:24 , Emily Atkinson
The police watchdog has launched an investigation into a welfare check on Nicola Bulley carried out by Lancashire Police on 10 January, days before she was last seen.
An IOPC spokesperson said: Following a referral by Lancashire Constabulary on Thursday (February 16) we have started an independent investigation regarding contact the force had with Nicola Bulley on 10 January 2023.
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We were notified by the force that an officer attended the family home on that date as part of a welfare check.
My colleague Thomas Kingsley has this breaking story:
Police watchdog probes welfare check on Nicola Bulley days before she went missing
Policing watchdog launches probe into welfare check
14:20 , Emily Atkinson
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched an investigation into a welfare check on Nicola Bulley carried out by Lancashire Police on 10 January, days before she was last seen, the watchdog said.
Police and media face questions and criticism over Nicola Bulley case
14:00 , Emily Atkinson
Questions remain about the case of Nicola Bulley, with both the police and media facing criticism after her body was discovered more than three weeks after she disappeared.
Ms Bulleys body was pulled from the River Wyre in Lancashire on Sunday after the 45-year-old was last seen on January 27.
She had been walking her dog in St Michaels on Wyre after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school.
Police and media face questions and criticism over Nicola Bulley case
Watch: Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer offer support to Nicola Bulleys family during PMQs
13:30 , Emily Atkinson
Public raise 10,000 for Nicola Bulleys family following tragic discovery of body
13:00 , Emily Atkinson
The public has raised more than 10,000 for the family of Nicola Bulley after her body found in the River Wyre on Sunday was confirmed to be the mother of two.
Friends and family of Ms Bulley have launched a GoFund Me campaign to donate to funeral planning for the 45-year-old and provide financial support for her partner Paul Ansell and their two young daughters.
The body was discovered on Sunday morning around a mile from where the mortgage adviser was last seen three weeks ago, walking her dog.
Thomas Kinsgley reports:
Public raise 10,000 for Nicola Bulleys family following tragic discovery of body
Nicola Bulley identified by dental records after her body was pulled from river
12:39 , Emily Atkinson
Nicola Bulley was identified using her dental records, an inquest has heard.
Opening an inquest into the death of the 45-year-old mother of two, senior coroner Dr James Adeley said he had contacted a consultant maxillofacial surgeon to ask for a comparison of her dental records.
He said: He examined the body that was located in the River Wyre near Rawcliffe Road in St Michaels on Wyre at 2.15pm on February 20.
My colleague Thomas Kingsley has more on this breaking story
Nicola Bulley identified by dental records after her body was pulled from river
Nicola Bulley inquest opens
12:28 , Emily Atkinson
We have more information now on the opening remarks to the inquest into the death of Nicola Bulley:
Senior coroner Dr James Adeley said he had contacted consultant maxillofacial surgeon Ian Edwards to ask him to compare dental records obtained by police from the Great Eccleston dental surgery.
He said: He examined the body that was located in the River Wyre near Rawcliffe Road in St Michaels on Wyre at 2.15pm on 20 February.
Dr Adeley said the surgeon found restorative work carried out was identical.
He said: I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities, and more, that positive identification has been made.
Nicola Bulley identified by dental records'
12:17 , Emily Atkinson
Nicola Bulley, 45, was identified by dental records, the opening of her inquest at Lancashire Coroners Court has heard.
More to follow on this breaking story
Three reasons why it may have taken so long to find Nicola Bulleys body
12:00 , Emily Atkinson
Missing mother Nicola Bulley was finally found on Sunday, around a mile away from where she was last seen on the river in St Michaels on Wyre in Lancashire.
Experts have said there are a number of reasons why Ms Bulley might not have been found sooner.
Matt Mathers has the deatils:
Three reasons why it may have taken so long to find Nicola Bulleys body
Social media algorithms 'fuelled online interest in Nicola Bulley case
11:30 , Emily Atkinson
Social media algorithms that reward and encourage controversial content fuelled the waves of online interest in the Nicola Bulley case, experts have claimed.
Questions remain about the case of Ms Bulley, with both the police and media also facing criticism after her body was discovered more than three weeks after she disappeared.
Ms Bulleys body was pulled from the River Wyre in Lancashire on Sunday after the 45-year-old was last seen on January 27.
More here:
Social media algorithms fuelled online interest in Nicola Bulley case experts
Nicola Bulleys final text before she disappeared revealed
11:00 , Emily Atkinson
Missing dog walker Nicola Bulleys final text before she vanished into thin air has been revealed.
The desperate search for missing mother Nicola Bulley may have come to an end after a body was found in the river near where she vanished. A man and woman walking their dog on Sunday morning found the body and called police.
The 45-year-old was last seen walking her dog by the river in St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire, on Friday 27 January. She was still logged into a Microsoft Teams call which had ended at 9.30am when her phone was recovered.
Eleanor Noyce reports:
Missing dog walker Nicola Bulleys final text message revealed
Watch: Media watchdog Ofcom asks ITV and Sky to 'explain actions' in Nicola Bulley reporting
10:30 , Emily Atkinson
Police comb private land in search for missing Laurel Aldridge
10:00 , Emily Atkinson
Sussex Police officers are searching private land in the hunt for missing Laurel Aldridge.
Mrs Aldridge, sister-in-law of The Office actor Mackenzie Crook, was reported missing on February 14.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, Mr Crook said his family are clutching at straws a week after the disappearance of his wifes older sister, 62, but they remain determined and driven to find her.
Police comb private land in search for missing Laurel Aldridge
Police officer in Nicola Bulley force accused of misconduct over death of another missing mother
09:31 , Emily Atkinson
A police officer from the force criticised over the Nicola Bulley search is being investigated for gross misconduct after the death of a young mother who was also reported missing.
Kiena Dawes, 23, was hit by a train near Garstang, Lancashire last July just hours after she was reported missing.
Following her death, her family claimed she was let down by Lancashire Police.
Matt Mathers reports:
Officer in Bulley force accused of misconduct over death of another missing mother
ICYMI | Braverman awaiting result of police review of handling of Nicola Bulley case
09:20 , Emily Atkinson
The Home Secretary has said she will see what Lancashire Polices own inquiries come back with when asked if there would be an external review into the forces handling of the Nicola Bulley case.
Suella Braverman said she was not wholly satisfied with responses given by the chief constable when she demanded an explanation as to why some of Ms Bulleys personal details were put into the public domain.
But Ms Braverman said the forces own investigation into how the case was handled must carry out its own process.
Braverman awaiting result of police review of handling of Nicola Bulley case
People may be more fearful to report loved ones missing after Nicola Bulley case
08:52 , Emily Atkinson
The former inspector of constabulary said people may be more fearful of stepping forward to report loved ones missing after the gross invasion of privacy suffered by Nicola Bulley and her family.
Zoe Billingham made the remarks after receiving her CBE from the Princess Royal at a Windsor Castle investiture on Tuesday.
The body of 45-year-old Ms Bulley was pulled from the River Wyre in Lancashire on Sunday after she was last seen on January 27.
People may be more fearful to report loved ones missing after Nicola Bulley case
Man who says he found Nicola Bulleys body claims psychic gift led to discovery
08:31 , Emily Atkinson
A man who says he discovered Nicola Bulley claims he used his gifts as a medium to lead him to the missing mothers body.
Police confirmed on Monday that a body found in the river near in St Michael on Wyre, Lancashire was that of Ms Bulley.
Jason Rothwell, who describes himself as a spiritual medium, wrote on social media that yes, it is myself in the images in the media currently circulating.
I would also like to just say a huge thank you to Lancashire police for their help, support and the open mindedness with which they dealt with us, following our call, spiritualists or mediums are obviously not something the police come across every day and I appreciate the respect given to us both.
Man who says he found Nicola Bulleys body claims psychic gift led to discovery
Serious questions for Nicola Bulley probe after dog walkers find body 23 days after disappearance
08:06 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley have to answer serious questions over why it took more than three weeks to find her body in the River Wyre, experts have said.
Ms Bulley, 45, was found just a mile from where she was last seen, walking her dog after dropping her two daughters off at school on 27 January.
It was on an unremarkable stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, close to where a tree had fallen on its side with branches and undergrowth partially submerged.
The same stretch of water has been searched both by police and a specialist company since the mother of twos disappearance, with nothing being found as speculation in the case hit fever pitch and amateur sleuths travelled to St Michaels on Wyre in their droves.
Serious questions for Bulley probe after dog walkers find body 23 days later
Nicola Bulleys family say she can finally rest, as questions remain over case
07:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The family of Nicola Bulley have said they can let the mother of two rest now, as questions linger over why it took more than three weeks for her body to be discovered.
Ms Bulleys body was pulled from the River Wyre in Lancashire on Sunday after the 45-year-old was last seen on January 27.
She had been walking her dog in St Michaels on Wyre after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school.
Lancashire Police called a press conference on Monday, where the force did not address the widespread criticism it had received for releasing some aspects of Ms Bulleys private life into the public domain.
Police also did not disclose why it took 23 days to find her body in the river.
Nicola Bulleys family say she can finally rest, as questions remain over case
Watch: Media watchdog Ofcom asks ITV and Sky to explain actions in Nicola Bulley reporting
07:38 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ofcom has asked ITV and Sky to explain actions after Nicola Bulleys family complained about the two broadcasters in their public statement on Monday.
Social media algorithms fuelled online interest, say experts
07:20 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Social media algorithms that reward and encourage controversial content fuelled the waves of online interest in the Nicola Bulley case, experts have claimed.
Lancashire Police had received widespread criticism for releasing some aspects of Bulleys private life into the public domain, while her family had questioned the role of the press during the investigation.
But social media experts have also highlighted the algorithms used to power certain online platforms and how they encourage users to earn views and engagement, creating a cycle where content creators are constantly looking for new and often controversial ways to keep users watching.
Read more here.
Social media algorithms fuelled online interest in Nicola Bulley case experts
Man claims psychic gift led to body's discovery
06:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A man who says he discovered Nicola Bulley claims he used his gifts as a medium to lead him to the missing mothers body.
Police confirmed on Monday that a body found in the river near in St Michael on Wyre, Lancashire was that of Bulley.
Jason Rothwell, who describes himself as a spiritual medium, wrote on social media that yes, it is myself in the images in the media currently circulating.
Matt Mathers reports.
Man who says he found Nicola Bulleys body claims psychic gift led to discovery
Ex-home secretary calls for independent inquiry
06:20 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Former home secretary Priti Patel yesterday said the police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley must face an independent inquiry following its highly questionable conduct.
As I have sadly seen in my time as home secretary, families have been let down badly by not treating these instances with the urgency required, she told The Sun.
There are multiple unanswered questions about the handling and investigation.
Police refused help to search Nicola Bulley
05:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The Lancashire police refused extra help to search for Nicola Bulley in a bizarre and inexcusable move.
Search and rescue teams and other police forces offered to help search for the mother-of-two, but the constabulary reportedly dismissed their advances.
To say they have covered off areas when a missing person is still missing is just bizarre, a search and rescue source told The Sun.
Serious questions for Nicola Bulley probe
05:20 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley have to answer serious questions over why it took more than three weeks to find her body in the River Wyre, experts have said.
It was on an unremarkable stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, close to where a tree had fallen on its side with branches and undergrowth partially submerged.
The same stretch of water has been searched both by police and a specialist company since the mother of twos disappearance, with nothing being found as speculation in the case hit fever pitch and amateur sleuths travelled to St Michaels on Wyre in their droves.
Nusrit Mehtab, a former Metropolitan Police superintendent, said an independent inquiry should scrutinise the police investigation, decision-making and poor communication strategy.
Lizzie Dearden reports.
Serious questions for Bulley probe after dog walkers find body 23 days later
Map shows where police searched and where body was found
04:50 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A map showing the exact location where a body was found in the search for missing dog walker Nicola Bulley, compared to where she was last seen and where her phone was found has been released.
The body was found by two dog walkers a mile from where Bulley was last seen, who alerted the police.
The two walkers made the find about a mile downstream of the River Wyre, and just south of a nearby caravan park and fish farm.
Martha McHardy has more.
Map shows where police searched and where body was found in Nicola Bulley search
People may be more fearful to report missing loved ones now
04:20 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The former inspector of constabulary said people may be more fearful of stepping forward to report loved ones missing after the gross invasion of privacy suffered by Nicola Bulley and her family.
Zoe Billingham made the remarks after receiving her CBE from the Princess Royal at a Windsor Castle investiture yesterday.
The body of 45-year-old Ms Bulley was pulled from the River Wyre in Lancashire on Sunday after she was last seen on 27 January.
Read more here.
People may be more fearful to report loved ones missing after Nicola Bulley case
Selfie-takers wanted validation from being at disappearance site
03:50 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
People taking selfies at the site where Nicola Bulley went missing could have been seeking a sense of personal validation or might have been hoping to make money from online clicks, an expert has suggested.
In the weeks after the mother-of-twos disappearance, a family friend said members of the public had arrived from far and wide, some bringing children and taking selfies, making the area feel like a tourist spot.
Areeq Chowdhury, head of policy, data and digital technologies at the Royal Society a fellowship of many of the worlds most eminent scientists described the social media frenzy in the case of Ms Bulley as disgusting.
Read more here.
Selfie-takers wanted validation from being at Nicola Bulley disappearance site
TikTok takes action against Nicola Bulley conspiracy theorists who disrupted search
Tuesday 21 February 2023 21:26 , Eleanor Noyce
TikTok has threatened to remove users who spread misinformation about Nicola Bulley after the social media app was criticised for allowing conspiracy theories to spread on its platform during the search for the mother-of-two.
The social media app said it would take action against people who violated its community guidelines when posting content about the case of Ms Bulley.
Police confirmed on Monday that a body found in the river around 1 mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen was that of the missing 45-year-old.
Ms Bulley had been missing for more than three weeks and amateur detectives, online sleuths and social media influencers descended on St Michaels on Wyre to look for her.
TikTok takes action against Nicola Bulley conspiracy theorists who disrupted search
Suspected area of River Wyre where body was found during search for Nicola Bulley
Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:00 , Emily Atkinson
Braverman awaiting result of police review of handling of Nicola Bulley case
Tuesday 21 February 2023 18:30 , Emily Atkinson
The Home Secretary has said she will see what Lancashire Polices own inquiries come back with when asked if there would be an external review into the forces handling of the Nicola Bulley case.
Suella Braverman said she was not wholly satisfied with responses given by the chief constable when she demanded an explanation as to why some of Ms Bulleys personal details were put into the public domain.
But Ms Braverman said the forces own investigation into how the case was handled must carry out its own process.
Braverman awaiting result of police review of handling of Nicola Bulley case
Rugby league stars disappearance exactly the same as missing Nicola Bulley, brother says
Tuesday 21 February 2023 18:00 , Emily Atkinson
than a year ago says his case is exactly the same as that of missing dog walker Nicola Bulley.
Bryn Hargreaves, 36, vanished in Virginia on 3 January last year but while detectives believe his body may be in a lake, he has yet to be found.
Police were first called to his house after a neighbour reported water had been leaking into their apartment.
Matt Mathers reports:
Rugby stars disappearance exactly the same as missing Nicola Bulley, says brother
Nicola Bulleys family speak of devastation as her body formally identified
Tuesday 21 February 2023 17:30 , Emily Atkinson
The family of Nicola Bulley have said they will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments as police confirmed her body was pulled from a river.
The mother-of-two was discovered on Sunday morning in the River Wyre in Lancashire, more than three weeks on from when she disappeared.
She had been walking her dog in St Michaels on Wyre after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27.
Nicola Bulleys family speak of devastation as her body formally identified
The women still missing as police continue search for Nicola Bulley
Tuesday 21 February 2023 16:55 , Emily Atkinson
Police have found a body in the search for missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley.
The 45-year-old disappeared while on her regular dog walk in the quiet village of St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire on the morning of 27 January.
Dropping her children off at school, she took her spaniel Willow for a stroll by the river and was sighted at around 9am by a witness but despite an extensive search, her disappearance remains a mystery.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain has more:
The women still missing as police continue search for Nicola Bulley
ITV to co-operate fully with Ofcom request
Tuesday 21 February 2023 16:17 , Emily Atkinson
ITV has said it will co-operate fully with media watchdog Ofcoms request to explain its actions over the Nicola Bulley case, following comments by her family.
ITV said: As a responsible broadcaster, we will co-operate fully and respond in detail to Ofcoms request for information.
We express sincere condolences to the family at this difficult time and we will not be commenting further.
Watch: Diver Peter Faulding says he is the fall guy
Tuesday 21 February 2023 15:43 , Emily Atkinson
Selfie-takers wanted validation from being at Nicola Bulley disappearance site
Tuesday 21 February 2023 15:17 , Emily Atkinson
People taking selfies at the site where Nicola Bulley went missing could have been seeking a sense of personal validation or might have been hoping to make money from online clicks, an expert has suggested.
In the weeks after the mother-of-twos disappearance, a family friend said members of the public had arrived from far and wide, some bringing children and taking selfies, making the area feel like a tourist spot.
Heather Gibbons, speaking earlier this month, said that speculation which was rife on social media about the disappearance was hard for the family to take.
Selfie-takers wanted validation from being at Nicola Bulley disappearance site
Nicola Bulley search teams faced poor visibility and challenging conditions
Tuesday 21 February 2023 14:50 , Emily Atkinson
Search teams in the Nicola Bulley investigation did the best job they could in challenging conditions and will be gutted she was not found sooner, a former police officer has said.
Graham Wettone told the PA news agency that conditions in the River Wyre would have been challenging with poor visibility and Ms Bulleys body would have moved around during the time she was in the water.
He said he has spoken to underwater search experts who were supportive of what police and fire and rescue teams in Lancashire did.
The veteran former Metropolitan Police officer, who was in the force for 30 years, said: That was a really difficult search.
Really challenging conditions, you wouldnt have been able to see much when you were underwater with the air tanks on, youd have been almost doing it by touch, by feel.
So its a really challenging searching environment. And its tidal, so it goes backwards and forwards.
Therell be channels and crevices and gaps in the riverbank as you go along where things can get lodged.
Lancashire Police are carrying out their own internal review of the search for Ms Bulley, whose body was found in the River Wyre in Lancashire around a mile from where she was last seen alive.
Mr Wettone said: Theyll be gutted they didnt find her in a week or so. If they think they missed her theyll be even more devastated.
Because theyre working to meet the needs of the family, not the press, not the public, not the TikTok detectives, theyre trying to get some resolution for a family.
Map: Where police searched and where a body was found after Nicola Bulleys disappearance
Tuesday 21 February 2023 14:30 , Eleanor Noyce
A map showing the exact location where a body was found in the search for missing dog walker Nicola Bulley, compared to where she was last seen and where her phone was found has been released.
A body was found in the River Wyre in the search for missing dog walker Nicola Bulley, Lancashire Police confirmed yesterday.
The body, which has not yet been identified, was found by two dog walkers a mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen, who alerted the police.
The two walkers made the find about a mile downstream of the River Wyre, and just south of a nearby caravan park and fish farm.
My colleague Martha McHardy reports:
Map shows where police searched and where body was found in Nicola Bulley search
Treatment of suffering families a continuing issue in the media, says former Ofcom exec
Tuesday 21 February 2023 14:10 , Eleanor Noyce
Stewart Purvis, a former senior executive at Ofcom and former editor in chief of ITN, has said the way families going through a difficult time are approached is a continuing issue in the media.
It comes after the family of Nicola Bulley called for the press to be held accountable.
They criticised Sky News and ITV for contacting them after the body was discovered when we expressly asked for privacy.
Mr Purvis told LBC: I think the whole issue of how you approach the families of those who have suffered, who are suffering from the disappearance and possibly the death of a loved one is a continuing issue in the media.
He said it is quite noticeable that there has been no response from Sky News or ITV, adding: What that tells me is that they are probably uncomfortable with the position they are in.
Im sure they dont want to get into a public row with the family, but if they had a proper defence of this situation, I think we would have heard it from them by now, and Im sure theyre clustered in a group at the moment trying to work out what to say.
Police and media face questions and criticism over Nicola Bulley case
Tuesday 21 February 2023 13:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Questions remain about the case of Nicola Bulley, with both the police and media facing criticism after her body was discovered more than three weeks after she disappeared.
Ms Bulleys body was pulled from the River Wyre in Lancashire on Sunday after the 45-year-old was last seen on January 27.
She had been walking her dog in St Michaels on Wyre after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school.
Lancashire Police called a press conference on Monday, where the force did not address the widespread criticism it had received for releasing some aspects of Ms Bulleys private life into the public domain.
Police also did not disclose why it took 23 days to find her body in the river.
More here:
Police and media face questions and criticism over Nicola Bulley case
Nicola Bulley: Which groups have been criticised since she went missing?
Tuesday 21 February 2023 13:30 , Emily Atkinson
The search for Nicola Bulley has concluded after police confirmed her body was found in a Lancashire river, but questions remain about a number of aspects of the case.
The police handling of her disappearance, the search around St Michaels on Wyre, and the coverage through both traditional news outlets and social media channels have all attracted criticism.
Here, the PA news agency looks at key parts of the case that have come under scrutiny since Ms Bulley disappeared:
Nicola Bulley: Which groups have been criticised since she went missing?
TikTok takes action against Nicola Bulley conspiracy theorists who disrupted search
Tuesday 21 February 2023 13:16 , Eleanor Noyce
TikTok has threatened to remove users who spread misinformation about Nicola Bulley after the social media app was criticised for allowing conspiracy theories to spread on its platform during the search for the mother-of-two.
The social media app said it would take action against people who violated its community guidelines when posting content about the case of Ms Bulley.
Police confirmed on Monday that a body found in the river around 1 mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen was that of the missing 45-year-old.
Ms Bulley had been missing for more than three weeks and amateur detectives, online sleuths and social media influencers descended on St Michaels on Wyre to look for her.
My colleague Matt Mathers reports:
TikTok takes action against Nicola Bulley conspiracy theorists who disrupted search
No 10 expects Lancashire Police to be transparent over probe into Nicola Bulley case
Tuesday 21 February 2023 13:10 , Emily Atkinson
Downing Street said it expected Lancashire Police to be transparent about its internal investigation into the handling of the Nicola Bulley case.
Asked whether Rishi Sunak believed an independent, external review would be necessary, the prime ministers official spokesman said: Our position is to allow the existing process to report back.
We would expect them to detail their findings and then obviously we will consider the next steps as appropriate.
Pressed on whether the internal process would just see the force marking their own homework, the spokesman said: These are long-established processes and we would expect the force to be transparent in their findings.
That does not preclude further work at the end of that.
Ofcom 'extremely concerned' by Nicola Bulley family comments about Sky and ITV
Tuesday 21 February 2023 12:49 , Emily Atkinson
Ofcom has expressed concern following complaints made by Nicola Bulleys family about ITV and Sky.
Bulleys family singled out both corporations for personally contacting them despite asking press to respect their privacy.
The media watchdog has written to both to ask them to explain their actions.
A spokesperson said: We are extremely concerned to hear the comments made by the family of Nicola Bulley about two broadcast licensees.
We have written to ITV and Sky to ask them to explain their actions. We will then assess whether any further action is required.
Jacob Stolworthy has this breaking story:
Ofcom extremely concerned by Nicola Bulley family media complaints
Messages, flowers, and ribbons adorn a bridge over River Wyre
Tuesday 21 February 2023 12:40 , Emily Atkinson
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
(PA)
Former detectives criticise Lancashire force: Police didnt find Nicola dog walkers did
Tuesday 21 February 2023 12:10 , Emily Atkinson
The Lancashire police are facing increased pressure for an external review in the Nicola Bulley case after two dog walkers found her body just a mile down the river from where she went missing last month.
The failure by the investigators to recover the body despite 23 days of extensive search has positioned the Lancashire police in the line of public fury. They are also being criticised for disclosing personal information regarding Bulleys menopause and alcohol consumption.
A former Scotland Yard detective questioned their search strategy as he mounted an attack on the investigators.
Namita Singh reports:
Lancashire Police criticised over Nicola Bulley search
Opinion: Nicola Bulleys body has tragically now been found will it bring closure?
Tuesday 21 February 2023 11:38 , Emily Atkinson
When a loved one goes missing, there are hundreds of questions left waiting to be answered, writes psychologist Dr Jessica Taylor.
Will finding Nicola Bulleys body bring her family closure?
Watch: Nicola Bulley: Social media allowed user conspiracy theories, says former Met chief
Tuesday 21 February 2023 10:39 , Emily Atkinson
Serious questions for Nicola Bulley probe after dog walkers find body 23 days after disappearance
Tuesday 21 February 2023 10:08 , Emily Atkinson
Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley have to answer serious questions over why it took more than three weeks to find her body in the River Wyre, experts have said.
Ms Bulley, 45, was found just a mile from where she was last seen, walking her dog after dropping her two daughters off at school on 27 January.
It was on an unremarkable stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, close to where a tree had fallen on its side with branches and undergrowth partially submerged.
Our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden reports:
Serious questions for Bulley probe after dog walkers find body 23 days later
Approaching suffering families a continuing issue in media'
Tuesday 21 February 2023 09:25 , Emily Atkinson
Stewart Purvis, a former senior executive at Ofcom and former editor in chief of ITN, has said the way families going through a difficult time are approached is a continuing issue in the media.
It comes after the family of Nicola Bulley called for the press to be held accountable.
They criticised Sky News and ITV for contacting them after the body was discovered when we expressly asked for privacy.
Mr Purvis told LBC: I think the whole issue of how you approach the families of those who have suffered, who are suffering from the disappearance and possibly the death of a loved one is a continuing issue in the media.
He said it is quite noticeable that there has been no response from Sky News or ITV, adding: What that tells me is that they are probably uncomfortable with the position they are in.
Im sure they dont want to get into a public row with the family, but if they had a proper defence of this situation, I think we would have heard it from them by now, and Im sure theyre clustered in a group at the moment trying to work out what to say.
Its womens fault when things go wrong, says former Met chief
Tuesday 21 February 2023 09:05 , Emily Atkinson
Nusrit Mehtab, a former superintendent for the Metropolitan Police, has said she did not understand how disclosing elements of Nicola Bulleys personal life was going to help find her body or find her alive.
Speaking to Sky News on Monday, Ms Mehtab said: If that comes out, and youre already feeling isolated, and had she left on her own accord, does it make you all of a sudden want to come back and make that entry easier?
I think that its victim blaming and every time stuff happens with women - we havent heard about a man down the pub with erectile dysfunction that has pints every day. We dont see those headlines because its always our fault.
Its our fault when things go wrong, and it always puts the lens back on women.
Man who says he found Nicola Bulleys body claims psychic gift led to discovery
Tuesday 21 February 2023 08:40 , Emily Atkinson
A man who says he discovered Nicola Bulley claims he used his gifts as a medium to lead him to the missing mothers body.
Police confirmed on Monday that a body found in the river near in St Michael on Wyre, Lancashire was that of Ms Bulley.
Jason Rothwell, who describes himself as a spiritual medium, wrote on social media that yes, it is myself in the images in the media currently circulating.
Matt Mathers reports:
Man who says he found Nicola Bulleys body claims psychic gift led to discovery
Watch: Family of Nicola Bulley release statement after her body is discovered in River Wyre
Tuesday 21 February 2023 08:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Watch Lancashire Police Head of Crime Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables read the statement from Nicola Bulleys family.
Press and members of the public must be held accountable, family says
Tuesday 21 February 2023 08:15 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The press and members of the public must be held accountable for false accusations, misquotations and vilifying Nicola Bulleys friends and relatives, her family has said.
In a statement read out at a press conference by Lancashire Police, they said: It saddens us to think that one day we will have to explain to them [Nicola Bulleys two daughters] that the press and members of the public accused their dad of wrongdoing, misquoted and vilified friends and family.
This is absolutely appalling, they have to be held accountable. This cannot happen to another family. We tried last night to take in what we had been told in the day. Only to have Sky News and ITV making contact with us directly when we expressly asked for privacy.
They again have taken it upon themselves to run stories about us to sell papers and increase their own profits. It is shameful they have acted in this way. Leave us alone now.
Do the press and other media channels and so-called professionals not know when to stop? These are our lives and our childrens lives. To those who genuinely helped and supported us privately we thank you.
Serious questions for Nicola Bulley probe after dog walkers find body 23 days after disappearance
Tuesday 21 February 2023 08:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley have to answer serious questions over why it took more than three weeks to find her body in the River Wyre, experts have said.
Ms Bulley, 45, was found just a mile from where she was last seen, walking her dog after dropping her two daughters off at school on 27 January.
It was on an unremarkable stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, close to where a tree had fallen on its side with branches and undergrowth partially submerged.
The same stretch of water has been searched both by police and a specialist company since the mother of twos disappearance, with nothing being found as speculation in the case hit fever pitch and amateur sleuths travelled to St Michaels on Wyre in their droves.
Serious questions for Bulley probe after dog walkers find body 23 days later
MARION, Iowa Presidential candidate Nikki Haley defended her proposal for mental competency tests here on Tuesday in startlingly personal terms.
Haley said that one critic of the proposal, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), was exactly the reason we need it.
Sanders, 81, had told Stephen Colbert of CBSs Late Show Monday that Haleys plan for mandatory tests of the mental acuity of politicians over the age of 75 was nothing more than old-fashioned ageism and not acceptable.
Haley, answering a final question from an audience member here at a campaign event, said: Bernie Sanders lost his mind because I asked for that. He is exactly the reason we need it.
The crowd laughed but Haley then widened her critique, unprompted, to include two other veteran Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif) and Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.)
Whoopi Goldberg lost her mind over it and you know what she was doing? She was glorifying Dianne Feinstein and Maxine Waters. They are exactly the reason we need it, Haley said.
Feinstein, who is 89 and whose cognitive capacities have been widely questioned, recently announced she would retire at the end of her current term, sparking a Democratic race to succeed her.
Haleys comments seem sure to inject fresh fire into the contoversy and keep her in the news, as she has done throughout an impressive rollout to her campaign.
She spent most of her 25-minute stump speech here suggesting she would pursue conservative policies on topics including crime, education and immigration.
She was for the most part complimentary about Donald Trump, but in response to that same final question made plain her differences with the former president.
The question, from an audience member who identified himself as Bob, was whether she would consider Trump as her running mate in 2024.
So far Trump and Haley are the only two major candidates in the race.
A clearly amused Haley asked, How well do you think it would go over if I called President Trump [and ] said Do you wanna be my VP?'
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President Trump is my friend. I called him before I did this. We had a good conversation, Haley said.
But, she continued, He was the right president at the right time. He broke the things that needed to be broken and he worked to fix them. The reason Im running is, we gotta move forward. We gotta move forward. We cant keep dealing with these issues in the past and I think we need a young generation of leaders.
Up until that point, Haley had mostly couched her contrast with Trump in implicit rather than direct terms.
For example, she hearkened back to a more peaceful time in American life when, she told the audience to nods, Remember, there wasnt chaos. You didnt hold your breath turning on the news.
Yet if Haley would be cast as a moderate, that seems to be a label she doesnt want perhaps because it is likely a ticket to defeat in todays GOP.
She took the fight hard to President Biden, calling the recent Chinese spy balloon episode a national embarrassment. and the withdrawal from Afghanistan a debacle.
She gave a mild nod of acknowledgment to Bidens current trip to Poland and Ukraine but asked rhetorically Shouldnt he be with those people in Ohio?
She was alluding to the recent train derailment in East Palestine, after which residents have complained of a host of health symptoms and the Biden administration has faced criticism for not sending more high-level officials to visit sooner.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Nikki Haley speaks to the crowd in Urbandale, Iowa, on February 20, 2023.
Former South Carolina Governor and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley thinks politicians over the age of 75 should take mental competency tests, but apparently only if theyre Democrats or Independents.
At an Iowa campaign event Tuesday, Haley responded to a question about the proposal by saying, Bernie Sanders lost his mind because I asked for that. He is exactly the reason we need it. (The 81-year-old Vermont Independent criticized the concept as nothing more than old-fashioned ageism.) Haley then continued unprompted to address comments from The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg: Whoopi Goldberg lost her mind over itand you know what she was doing? She was glorifying Dianne Feinstein and Maxine Waters. They are exactly the reason we need it. Rep. Waters (D-Calif.) is 84, and Sen. Feinstein (D-Calif.), 89, just announced that she wont run again.
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Curiously, Haley had nothing to say about Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is 89 and at the start of another 6-year termprobably because she wants his endorsement.
Haleys proposed competency test and overall campaign pitch that shes a new generation of leader is an implicit rebuke of former President Donald Trump, who is 76. And I really do mean implicit because she has not questioned Trumps capacity to serve a second term, despite his extreme difficulty in forming a coherent sentence. (Trump for his part, apparently welcomes the idea, saying Tuesday on Truth Social that anyone running for president, no matter their age, should take a mental competency test. Unsurprising for someone who considers himself a very stable genius.)
Haley and her campaign seem to think dunking on politicians over 75 will be a net positive, but Politico found that older voters in Iowa dont love it. Well see how this strategy pans out for a candidate running in a party that relies on older voters.
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Eric Holder Jr.
Eric Holder Jr., the man convicted of killing Nipsey Hussle, has been sentenced to 60 years after he murdered the rapper and entrepreneur outside of his Crenshaw clothing store in Los Angeles.
The post Nipsey Hussles Killer Sentenced To 60 Years In Prison appeared first on Blavity.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke sealed his fate Wednesday after a lengthy trial that detailed the incident. Jacke sentenced Holder Jr. to 25 years to life in state prison for murdering Hussle and an additional 25 years to life for using a gun. Holder will also serve 10 years in prison for shooting two other men with Hussle at the time of his murder.
Because Holder Jr. was caught on camera fatally shooting Hussle, defense attorney Aaron Jansen tried to convince the court to find him guilty of manslaughter, not murder, the Times reports. In addition, he attempted to claim Holder Jr. was not in his right mind after the rapper mentioned there might be paperwork on him, suggesting Holder may have been a snitch.
Jansen claimed that accusation triggered his client, explaining both Holder and Hussle were a part of the Rollin 60s set of the Crips, and being deemed a snitch by someone of the rappers caliber could be deadly.
Indeed, it was.
This was not just a pleasant conversation between homies who are chopping it up this was a serious accusation, Jansen said during his 2022 closing argument. Mr. Holder Jr. took it serious, as it was. He knows the consequences of being called a snitch in this manner.
However, Deputy District Attorney John McKinney painted a much different picture. He said the defendant was jealous of Nips successful career, as he was also a rapper. McKinney also told the jury that Holder Jr. told Hussle, Youre through, after he shot him.
You got me, Hussle responded before his death.
According to the Times, as Holder was led away, Herman Douglas, Hussles close friend known as Cowboy, started singing Hit the Road Jack and was escorted out of the courtroom for his response.
TMZ notes Holder Jr. is in his 30s. So if he ever gets out, it would be when hes nearing 100 years old.
By Jorge Garcia
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -A California man was sentenced on Wednesday to at least 60 years in prison for the 2019 killing of Grammy-winning rapper Nipsey Hussle after a chance encounter in the south Los Angeles neighborhood where the men grew up.
A jury had found Eric Holder Jr, 32, guilty of first-degree murder in July 2022 for fatally shooting Hussle outside a clothing store the rapper owned.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke sentenced Holder to 25 years to life in state prison for murdering Hussle, plus an additional 25 years to life because he used a gun in the slaying.
Holder was ordered to serve an additional 10 years in prison for shooting two bystanders.
Prosecutors said Holder shot Hussle at least 10 times after they ran into each other on a Sunday afternoon outside the clothing store. Following a brief conversation, Holder left and returned about 10 minutes later and opened fire.
Public defender Aaron Jansen acknowledged that Holder killed Hussle but argued that he should not be convicted of first-degree murder because he said the attack was not pre-meditated.
Jansen said Holder acted in "the heat of passion" after Hussle told him there were rumors of him "snitching" to police, which he considered a serious offense. Holder did not testify during the trial.
Hussle, who was 33 when he died, had publicly acknowledged that he joined a gang as a teenager. He later became an activist and entrepreneur as he found success with rap music and collaborated with artists including Snoop Dogg and Drake.
In 2020, Hussle won two posthumous Grammy awards including one for "Racks in the Middle," released a few weeks before his death and featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Jorge Garcia in Los AngelesEditing by Leslie Adler, Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio)
WASHINGTON (AP) One month into the invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden stood in the courtyard of a grand Polish castle and laid out the punishing economic costs that the U.S. and its allies were inflicting on Vladimir Putin's Russia, declaring that the ruble is almost immediately reduced to rubble.
Russia is now the world's most heavily sanctioned country, according to U.S. officials. The ruble did in fact take a temporary dive and has been slipping again in recent months. But as the war nears its one-year mark, it's clear the sanctions didn't pack the instantaneous punch that many had hoped.
The ruble trades around the same 75-per-dollar rate seen in the weeks before the war, though Russia is using capital controls to prop up the currency. And while Russia's economy did shrink 2.2% in 2022, that was far short of predictions of 15% or more that Biden administration officials had showcased. This year, its economy is projected to outperform the U.K.'s, growing 0.3% while the U.K. faces a 0.6% contraction, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The West's export controls and financial sanctions appear, instead, to be gradually eroding Russias industrial capacity, even as its oil and other energy exports last year enabled it to keep funding a catastrophic war.
Large American multinationals like McDonald's and General Electric fled the country, and some of the country's richest citizens are forbidden from traveling to the U.S. But if Muscovites can't get a latte at Starbucks, there's an imitation waiting for them at the knockoff Stars Coffee as Russia has adapted.
U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo stressed in an interview that the Western sanctions are only one tool as part of a larger strategy" and that the U.S. continues to adjust its sanctions to outmaneuver Russia's own shifts in strategy.
You look at the exodus, the brain drain from Russia, Adeyemo said. "The Russian economy is far smaller, far more closed and will look more like Venezuela, North Korea and Iran than like a major G-7 economy.
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Still, a December Congressional Research Service report drew an underwhelming conclusion from all the economic parrying, stating that the sanctions have created challenges for Russia but to date, have not delivered the economic knockout that many predicted.
A closer look at what's been done so far and what lies ahead:
WHAT'S BEEN SANCTIONED, BY WHOM AND WHY?
Biden last year called the West's sanctions a new kind of economic statecraft with the power to inflict damage that rivals military might.
The sanctions, imposed largely through executive orders, are meant to punish Russia and block its access to the international financial systems and bank accounts that it needs to finance its war effort. Export controls also limit its access to computer chips and other products needed to equip a modern military.
Simultaneously, the U.S. and its allies devoted billions to provide Ukraine with weapons, munitions and other military aid and direct financial assistance.
More than 30 countries, including the U.S., EU nations, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and others representing more than half the worlds economy are part of the unprecedented effort. They've imposed price caps on Russian oil and diesel, frozen Russian Central Bank funds and restricted access to SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions.
Beyond targeting key institutions and economic sectors, the West has directly sanctioned roughly 2,000 Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families. The sanctions are depriving them of access to their American bank accounts and financial markets, preventing them from doing business with Americans and traveling to the U.S, and more.
Unlike the countrywide sanctions on Iran and North Korea, the restrictions placed on Russia target specific industry sectors, firms and individuals. This approach was designed to keep Russian oil and natural gas flowing, in order to limit disruptions to the wider global economy. But energy exports also enabled Russia to replenish its finances and stave off a sharp decline.
An industrialized country of its size the 11th largest economy in the world in 2021 has never faced such financial pressure. Daniel Fried, a former assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said that policy making of this kind is always a shot in dark."
You're looking for hits on the Russian economy, it doesnt happen overnight, Fried said, noting that military aid was far more important as Ukrainian troops have performed better in repelling Russian attacks than U.S. and European officials expected.
DIFFERENCES EMERGE
While there has largely been unity among Western governments on the necessity to punish Russia, there have been differences in the lengths to which countries are willing to go.
European and Asian countries are more dependent on Russian oil and natural gas than was the U.S. That made a ban on Russian exports hard for the alliance and forced compromises that took months to forge.
Ultimately, the countries in December settled on a $60 price cap, which some critics said came too late and was too high to significantly hurt Russia.
Experts and administration officials have said putting greater downward pressure on the sale of oil and other energy products from Russia would make sanctions more effective.
To Marshall Billingslea, assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing in the Trump administration, the sanctions were far from bulletproof and easy for the Kremlin to elude.
Russia has shot holes through the administration's sanctions," Billingslea said.
Tom Firestone, a sanctions attorney, said more time is needed for the sanctions to take their course.
Anyone who expects massive sanctions on Monday, and on Tuesday the Russian regime would fall is not reasonable," Firestone said. "Its a large economy that has large reserves. It has a large variety of trading partners. What we're seeing and what the government is saying is they're on track and it's seriously curtailed Russia's ability to operate."
Russia is also seeking deeper ties with countries that have refused to join the sanctions effort. Its exports to Brazil, China, India and Turkey have increased by at least 50% since the war started compared with the previous year, according to the Congressional Research Service.
HOW RUSSIA HAS BEEN IMPACTED
Russia is a different country today than it was just a year ago, says Adeyemo, and theyve given up almost 30 years of progress in terms of their economic policy in the course of one year.
But on a day-to-day consumer level, its a mixed picture.
Shopping centers have a lot of shuttered shops, but Russian entrepreneurs are helping fill the gaps. One Russian startup has created a reasonably convincing analogue of McDonalds.
Some sectors have suffered greatly from sanctions and the departure of foreign companies.
Russia's automobile sector, for example, has taken a particular hit. A market analysis from the Association of European Businesses, representing European companies in Russia, said sales of new cars in January were 63% lower than a year earlier.
Still, Russia continues to export some lumber, aluminum and other goods to the U.S., based on the need for the products in America.
Russian goods imported to the U.S. totaled $14.5 billion in 2022. Thats less than 1% of all U.S. imports and about half the $30 billion imported from Russia in 2021.
The Justice Department last year formed a task force to target the ill-gotten proceeds of Russian oligarchs, whom the U.S. sees as enabling Moscows war against Ukraine.
As part of that effort, the department has seized two luxury yachts in Fiji and Spain alleged to belong to oligarchs. Prosecutors have also brought criminal charges against oligarchs accused of sanctions violations, including Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate and close Putin associate. Deripaska remains at large.
WHAT COMES NEXT
The U.S. government is not finished by any means. Biden, in Poland on Tuesday, promised were going to announce more sanctions this week together with our partners.
The Treasury Department is expected to impose another large round of sanctions on Russia with a likely focus in 2023 on logistics and manufacturing firms.
Daniel Pickard, a sanctions attorney, said it's a safe bet that sanctions "will continue to be used with greater frequency with this administration and other administrations. It allows the president to take action without having to consult Congress and can be adjusted with regard to changing events on the ground.
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Eric Tucker in Washington and Martha Mendoza in Santa Cruz, California, contributed to this report
NOGALES The prosecuting attorney in the case of the Nogales area rancher who is facing a first-degree murder charge alleged on Wednesday that the rancher shot and killed a Mexican citizen in the back as he ran for his life.
Kimberly Hunley, chief deputy Santa Cruz County Attorney, alleged that George Alan Kelly shot the unarmed man in an unprovoked attack during her remarks at a court hearing at Nogales Justice Court. At least two other people were with the Mexican national as he fled and they were shot at as well, Hunley said.
Mr. Kelly shot an unarmed man in the back in an unprovoked attack as he ran for his life, Hunley said during her remarks. There was no warning and the victim was more than 100 yards from the defendant's residence when he was shot and killed.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office filed an amended complaint in Kellys case on Tuesday adding two counts of aggravated assault to the initial count of first-degree murder.
The Sheriff's Office said that Kelly, 75, committed aggravated assault using a rifle, a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument against two additional victims on Jan. 30, according to the complaint. The two additional victims are only identified by their initials in the complaint.
Both victims have come forward and provided their statements, Hunley said. There were at least eight people in the group that Kelly encountered on Jan. 30 at his Kino Springs area ranch, according to Hunley.
The preliminary hearing was pushed to Friday morning where witnesses will be present.
During a preliminary hearing, the prosecutor must show that there is probable cause that a crime was committed by the defendant. The prosecutor can present evidence and witnesses at the hearing before the judge decides to move forward with the case to trial or dismiss it.
Hunley mentioned that the prosecution is not providing all of the details in the case so as not to make them publicly known.
Kelly entered the courtroom in handcuffs, donning a red prison jumpsuit and a bulletproof vest Wednesday morning. As he left the courtroom, Kelly turned to look at his wife, Wanda, who was sitting in attendance at the hearing.
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There was heavy law enforcement and security presence in and out of the court during the hearing. Kelly is held at the Santa Cruz County Adult Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
Justice of the Peace Emilio Velasquez kept the bond at $1 million on Wednesday but converted the cash bond into a surety bond, a different bond that accepts alternate forms of collateral such as property.
Kellys attorney, Brenna Larkin, called the credibility of the states witnesses into question during her remarks, suggesting that they may have been influenced by drug traffickers. Larkin entered a plea of not guilty on Kellys behalf for the two additional charges of aggravated assault.
Testimony is something that is bought and sold by drug traffickers, the same way that drugs and people are bought and sold, Larkin said during her remarks.
Larkin criticized the investigation of the case for charging Kelly before all the details of the case had been investigated.
George Alan Kelly enters Courtroom Three for his preliminary hearing on Feb. 22, 2023, in Nogales.
The state nevertheless jumped the gun and decided to charge premeditated first degree murder, Larkin said. This essentially lit a match over a very intense political powder keg and, predictably, there was an explosion.
The defense's version of events
On Jan. 30, Kelly was eating lunch with his wife when he heard a single gunshot and saw his horse get spooked and run away at full speed, according to court documents. Kelly saw a group of men, armed with AK-47s, moving through the trees on his property.
The men donned khakis and camouflage clothing and carried large backpacks, according to the 13-page motion Larkin filed on Feb. 9. Kellys home is roughly a mile and a half north of the U.S.-Mexico border and about 8 miles east of Nogales.
Kelly called the U.S. Border Patrols ranch liaison, who is responsible for helping ranchers on the borderlands, and told his wife to stay silent, inside and away from the windows so as not to draw the attention of the men.
Attorney: Nogales rancher charged with murder fired warning shots in self-defense
Kelly walked onto his porch and saw the leader of the group point an AK-47 at him, the motion read. Kelly subsequently fired several warning shots above the heads of the armed men before they scattered into the desert surrounding his property, according to the motion.
Border Patrol agents and Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputies arrived at Kellys property and searched for the group but did not find anyone. Authorities documented the incident and left.
As the sun was setting that day, Kelly went to his pastures to check on his horse as he worried it may have been injured during the incident. After seeing to his horse, Kelly noticed that his dogs were focused on something on the ground near a mesquite tree.
This photo provided by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office shows rancher George Alan Kelly, 73, who is being held on $1 million bond in the fatal shooting last week of a man tentatively identified as a Mexican man on his property. Kelly faces a charge of first-degree murder.
Mr. Kelly approached his dogs, and observed a body lying face down in the grass, the motion read.
Kelly was alarmed by the discovery and put a lit flashlight on the ground to be able to find the body again, according to the motion. He then called the Border Patrol ranch liaison again to report the discovery and request assistance.
The body was that of Gabriel Cuen Buitimea, 48, of Nogales, Sonora. Cuen Buitimea was identified by a Mexican voter registration card he carried.
Cuen Buitimeas body was found about 100 yards to 150 yards from Kellys home with one visible gunshot wound, according to reporting from Nogales International. No weapon or backpack was found on or near Cuen Buitimea, according to the motion.
Cuen Buitimea was wearing tactical boots and had a radio. Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies found the body shortly before 6:30 p.m.
Authorities collected two assault-style rifles from Kellys home to determine if either had been used in the shooting. Details surrounding Cuen Buitimeas death remain largely unclear. The time of death and the type of bullet that killed him have not been made public.
Lawyer asks to lower bond, release Kelly
In the Feb. 9 motion, Larkin asked the judge to lower Kellys bond and release him, either on his own recognizance or into his wifes custody. Larkin argued in the motion that the $1 million bond "is clearly excessive and appears to be designed to keep defendant in custody while he fights to maintain his innocence."
Larkin also argued that the evidence against Mr. Kelly is extremely weak in this case, citing that no bullet has been found to do testing and determine which gun fired the fatal shot.
What we know: An Arizona rancher is accused of shooting and killing a Mexican citizen
Larkin pointed to the fact that authorities were not able to find a body when they searched Kellys home after he fired the warning shots as another example of weak evidence in the case, according to the motion.
Quite simply, this is a case where an innocent man has been wrongfully accused of a crime, the motion read.
Kelly has received significant threats from other inmates in the jail and has been moved to protective custody where he was on 23-hour lockdown, according to the motion.
Kelly and his wife moved to Arizona in 1997 and bought the Kino Springs-area land in 2002 before building the house in 2008, the motion read. The couple also owns land near Springerville.
Kelly, a North Carolina native, describes himself as land rich and dollar poor in the motion.
Have a news tip or story idea about the border and its communities? Contact the reporter at josecastaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on Twitter @joseicastaneda.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New details emerge about Nogales rancher charged with murder
President Joe Biden delivers a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Feb. 21, 2023, at the Royal Castle Gardens in Warsaw. (Evan Vucci/AP)
WARSAW President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a big mistake by suspending his countrys participation in the the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. The U.S. president was in Poland to reassure eastern flank NATO allies that the U.S. will remain by their sides amid the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In his first comments since Putins announcement Tuesday, Biden condemned the Russian decision to pull back from the treaty, known as New START. The move is expected to have an immediate impact on U.S. visibility into Russian nuclear activities, but the pact was already on life support following Moscows cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that both sides have accused the other of violating.
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Its a big mistake, Biden said.
The presidents comments came as he was wrapping up a whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine with talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations in the most eastern parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Putins 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
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As the war in Ukraine drags on, the Bucharest Nine countries anxieties have remained heightened. Many worry Putin could move to take military action against them next if hes successful in Ukraine. The alliance includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Youre the frontlines of our collective defense, Biden said Wednesday of the group. And you know, better than anyone, whats at stake in this conflict? Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.
He pledged that NATOs mutual-defense pact is sacred and that we will defend literally every inch of NATO.
A day earlier at the foot of Warsaws Royal Castle to mark the somber milestone of the year-old Russian invasion, Biden warned that Russian aggression, if unchecked, wouldnt stop at Ukraines borders. Appetites of the autocrat cannot be appeased, he said. They must be opposed.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the right-wing populist leader who argued last week that the European Union is partly to blame for prolonging Russias war in Ukraine, has balked at sanctions on Moscow and arming Kyiv. Orban was skipping the meeting with Biden, and President Katalin Novak was attending in his stead.
Still, Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, insisted that The B9 is stronger than ever.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who was attending the meeting, said, We dont know when the war will end, but when it does, we need to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
Pointing to past Russian actions in Georgia and Ukraine, he added, We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression.
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Biden met Tuesday in Warsaw with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who last week claimed Moscow was behind a plot to overthrow her countrys government using external saboteurs.
Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and one of Europes poorest countries, the Eastern European nation has had historic ties to Russia but wants to join the 27-nation European Union. Biden in his remarks endorsed Moldovas bid to join the EU.
Im proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova, Biden said of Sandu and her country in his Tuesday address.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has sought to forge closer ties with its Western partners. Last June, it was granted EU candidate status, the same day as Ukraine.
Sandu spoke out last week about a Russian plot to overthrow the constitutional order. She spoke out after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova. Those claims were later confirmed by Moldovan intelligence officials.
Bidens speech on the Ukraine war came one day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv, a grand gesture of solidarity with Ukraine. The address was part affirmation of Europes role in helping Ukraine repel Russias ongoing invasion and part sharply worded warning to Putin that the U.S. wont abide Moscow defeating Ukraine.
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The White House has praised several eastern flank countries, including Lithuania, Poland and Romania, over the last year for stepping up efforts to back Ukraine with weapons and economic aid and taking in refugees.
Biden has given particular attention to Polands efforts. The country is hosting about 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees and has committed $3.8 billion in military and economic assistance to Kyiv.
The truth of the matter is: The United States needs Poland and NATO as much as NATO needs the United States, Biden said during talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea could test-fire intercontinental ballistic missiles on a lower, longer trajectory and conduct its seventh nuclear test this year to perfect its weapons capabilities, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday, citing intelligence officials.
North Korea has so far conducted ICBM tests only on lofted trajectories, but has already secured capabilities to launch them at a normal angle, enabling them to fly much further, the lawmakers said after a briefing by Seoul's National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The lawmakers said Pyongyang might undertake an ICBM test on a normal trajectory to pressure the United States, which has conducted military drills in the region recently and plans more large exercises in the coming months.
The briefing came as the U.S., South Korean and Japanese navies staged joint tactical drills on Wednesday in waters between the Asian neighbours.
A Japanese escort vessel and U.S. and South Korean destroyers joined the training aimed at stepping up trilateral ballistic missile responses, Tokyo's defence ministry said.
North Korea fired an ICBM on Saturday and two more short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, with the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un threatening to use the Pacific as a "firing range" depending on U.S. behaviour.
"ICBMs have not been launched at a normal angle so far, but North Korea has all the capabilities and seems to be preparing a timeline to boost the pressure effect on the United States," Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters after the briefing.
North Korea is also likely to carry out what would be its first nuclear test since 2017 and launch a spy satellite this year but it has yet to master the technology to equip multiple rocket launchers with atomic devices, Yoo said.
"There is a possibility for a seventh test which would be essential to complete the miniaturisation and lightening of weight of nuclear bombs," he said.
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Youn Kun-young, another member of the committee, said North Korea might also develop solid fuel-based ICBMs this year, and confirmed the defence ministry's report that Chinese spy balloons did not enter South Korean airspace.
Also on Wednesday, North Korea's foreign ministry said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been "extremely unfair, unbalanced" on its missile tests.
Guterres condemned the North's latest ICBM launch, urging it to immediately halt further provocative actions, comply with Security Council resolutions banning such tests and return to denuclearisation talks.
He "should clearly understand that his unreasonable and prejudiced stand on the Korean peninsula issue is acting as a factor inciting the hostile acts of the U.S. and its followers," Kim Son Gyong, Pyongyang's vice foreign minister for international organisations, said in a statement carried by state media KCNA.
"In case a situation unwished by anyone arises on the Korean peninsula ... (Guterres) can never be free from the heavy responsibility for it."
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Stephen Coates)
By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's official newspaper said on Wednesday that relying on external aid to cope with food shortages would be equal to taking "poisoned candy", urging economic self-reliance despite deepening hardships amid sanctions and coronavirus lockdowns.
The isolated country has suffered food shortages in recent years, reeling from floods and typhoons, international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear and missile programmes, and a sharp cut in trade with China due to border closures and COVID-19 lockdowns.
Most U.N. agencies and Western relief groups have since left North Korea, with China remaining one of the few sources of external food assistance.
In a commentary, the ruling Workers' Party paper Rodong Sinmun warned against receiving economic help from "imperialists" who use aid as a "trap to plunder and subjugate" recipient countries and interfere with their internal politics.
"It is a mistake to try to boost the economy by accepting and eating this poisoned candy," the commentary said.
The article came as South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday that some 700 inmates at three countryside prisons, including in the central city of Kaechon, have died from famine and diseases over the past two years, citing an unnamed source.
Seoul's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korea affairs, declined to comment on the report, but said on Tuesday that there appeared to have been a recent increase in deaths from starvation in some North Korean provinces.
"Food production dropped from last year, and there is a possibility of distribution issues due to a change in their food supply and distribution policy," a ministry official told reporters.
South Korea's rural development agency in December estimated the North's crop production at around 4.5 million tonnes last year, 3.8% down from 2021, citing heavy summer rains and other weather conditions.
Unification Minister Kwon Young-se has said Pyongyang had asked the U.N. food agency, the World Food Programme, to provide support but there was no progress because of differences over monitoring issues. The agency has not responded to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
North Korea on Wednesday accused United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of having an extremely unfair attitude following his condemnation of the countrys most recent missile test.
Guterres rebuked North Korea for its Saturday intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, calling on the nation to cease any additional provocations and resume denuclearization talks for the Korean Peninsula.
Kim Son Gyong, North Koreas vice foreign minister for international bodies, said in response that Guterres is going on the rampage of illogical and miserable remarks, which are little different from those of U.S. State Department officials over the years.
Kim said the missile test was conducted in response to the United States deploying long-range bombers for a joint training with South Korea earlier this year and as a warning to the gathering of the U.N. Security Council earlier this year.
North Korea treats military drills that the U.S. and South Korea regularly jointly conduct as a threat of invasion.
The U.N. secretary-general should clearly understand that his unreasonable and prejudiced stand on the Korean Peninsula issue is acting as a factor inciting the hostile acts of the U.S. and its followers against [North Korea], Kim said.
In November, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui called Guterres a puppet of the U.S. after he condemned an earlier missile test.
North Korea said its 600 mm multiple rocket launcher sent off two rounds off its east coast, a day after the U.S. sent B1-B bombers that carry massive payloads of guided and unguided weapons for its drills with South Korean and Japanese warplanes.
South Korea and the U.S. plan to hold joint military exercises in the upcoming weeks. The drills will include a tabletop exercise that will happen at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
South Korean military intelligence said in a meeting at the countrys parliament on Wednesday that North Korea might further provoke tensions with a nuclear test, a launch of a spy satellite or an ICBM test on a standard trajectory.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A North Texas man was sentenced to prison Wednesday for assaulting a law enforcement officer at the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia.
His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, the U.S. Attorneys Office said n a news release.
Garret Miller, 36, of Richardson, was sentenced in the District of Columbia to 38 months in prison on charges of assaulting a police officer, interstate threat to injure or kidnap, three counts of interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, impeding ingress and egress in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, impeding passage through the Capitol grounds or buildings, and demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Miller pleaded guilty to the charges in December.
U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols also ordered three years of supervised release in addition to Millers prison term.
Miller traveled to Washington, D.C.., on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop Congress certification of the 2020 presidential election, according to court documents. He brought rope, a grappling hook, a mouth guard, and a bump cap with him tools that he referred to as riot gear and stated that he looked forward to fighting what he called the soft people that he might encounter in Washington, D.C.
Miller was obsessed with the results of the 2020 presidential election and his belief that it had been stolen, according to the news release. He had posted threats on social media to multiple people, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, Mark Zuckerburg, and Jack Dorsey.
Miller was at the forefront of every barrier overturned, police line overrun, and entryway breached within his proximity that day, federal authorities said. He was so disruptive on the east front of the building that he was twice detained, the second time resulting in him being put in handcuffs, according to the news release. After being released and vowing to leave, Miller instead stayed at the riot, initially recording himself talking about a revolution.
Story continues
Miller then forced his way past the United States Capitol Police and entered the rotunda, accessing the Senate Chamber before being turned back to the rotunda. As the line of USCP and Metropolitan Police officers tried to remove the rioters, Miller stayed on the front lines, assaulted an MPD sergeant, and engaged in a physical altercation with no fewer than six officers.
Miller then made his way to the west front following his ejection from the building, where he watched the violent encounter at the lower west terrace tunnel until finally leaving the Capitol grounds after 5 p.m, according to the news release.
Regarding Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs social media post to Impeach, Miller directly responded with, Assassinate AOC at 7:26 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. Following the riot and up until his arrest, Miller continued to discuss his desire to start assassinating, bragged to his friends about how he terrified [c]ongress, and openly discussed his desire to publicly identify the officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt at the riot and hug his neck with a nice rope.
Miller was so proud of his conduct, that when he was arrested on January 20, 2021, he was found wearing a shirt with an image of the former president and the words I was there, Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021, the release said.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Texas.
The case was investigated by the FBIs Dallas and Washington Field Offices. Assistance was provided by the MPDs U.S. Capitol Police.
In the 25 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 985 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including approximately 319 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
The investigation remains ongoing.
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) Frustrated by high unemployment and worsening violence, many younger Nigerians are flocking to a candidate outside the political mainstream in this months presidential election.
Despite being Africas largest economy and and one of its top oil producers, Nigeria is in economic crisis. A currency reform effort has left many unable to access their own money, even to buy food. Meanwhile, extremist violence has continued, leaving thousands dead in the past year. Many young people have left the country, seeing no future at home. But many of those who have stayed hope the Feb. 25 election will bring real change.
So many people registered to vote that many spent days waiting in line to collect permanent voter cards, which are required to cast a ballot. Nigerias election commission extended the deadline to collect the cards by two weeks in response.
On Feb. 25, voters will choose among 18 candidates in a first-round vote to succeed incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, who is winding down his second and final term. A runoff will be held unless one candidate gets at least one-quarter of the votes in each of at least two-thirds of all the states.
Either we get things right now in Nigeria, or never, said Kingsley Chima, 26, as the first-time voter waited to collect his voting card from Nigerias election commission.
Nigeria is Africas most populous country, with more than 210 million people, and it has at least 93 million registered voters, almost 40 percent of whom are under 35. The country has one of the worlds largest youth populations, with about 64 million people aged 18-35 and a median age of 18.
Young people have made a third-party candidate with social media appeal into a serious contender in the polls.
Thats surprising in a country where elections have long been usually dominated by Nigerias two largest parties.
Bola Tinubu, 70, of the All Progressives Congress has served as governor of Nigerias economic hub of Lagos, while Atiku Abubakar, 76, of the Peoples Democratic Party has served as Nigerias vice-president. Tinubu was an important backer of the current president, and is known as a key funder for the ruling APC. Abubakar, one of Nigerias richest businessmen, ran for president in 2019 and lost to Buhari.
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Both men have been fixtures in Nigerian politics since 1999.
In 2015, Buhari rode a wave of goodwill to power by promising to curb Nigerias rampant corruption and extremist insurgency, but he failed to make headway on either challenge. Frustration with mainstream parties made room for former governor Peter Obi, 61, to position himself as a change candidate.
The hopes we placed in the current president have been crushed, said Rinu Oduala, a youth activist. Oduala was among the leaders of unprecedented nationwide demonstrations held in 2020 by young Nigerians to protest police brutality and bad governance. Now, shes mobilizing voters, supporting Obi.
Initially seen as an underdog with little political experience, Obi has emerged as a leading candidate, coming ahead of or close behind Tinubu and Abubakar in most polls. Hes the candidate of the Labour Party, which won 5,074 votes in the 2019 presidential election, under a tenth of one percent of the vote.
Hes spoken to young people, promising jobs, and to Nigerias vast diaspora, promising changes that will give them a reason to return.
Tinubu has focused on another bloc: Nigerias Muslim majority. Presidential candidates usually balance their tickets, choosing a running mate from the other side of Nigerias religious divide, but the APC candidate has chosen a fellow Muslim. Some members of the ruling party see the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket as Tinubus biggest chance of securing votes in the Muslim-dominated north, which has more registered voters than the Christian-dominated south.
That strategy could deepen the countrys religious divisions, said Hassan Idayat, who leads the Center for Democracy and Development, Nigerias largest democracy-focused group.
Nigeria is a giant that has never been quite stable, said Ayisha Osori, an analyst with the Open Society Foundations.
We are having one of our most polarized elections ever (and) our campaign messaging is a lot more focused on competition between religions, competition between ethnic groups and trying to address political equity issues, she said.
A key question is how many people turn out to vote. Turnout in Nigerias recent elections has been low. In 2019, only 34% of registered voters cast their ballot in the presidential vote. It reflects both cynicism about politics, and high barriers to participation. Voters can cast ballots only in person, and only at their place of registration.
Long lines to collect voter cards, and enthusiasm online and at rallies, lead many to think this time will be different.
This time around, it is the young people who are very involved in the process; they are not just involved as voters but they are actually the mobilizers, said Idayat. They are going to vote.
Youth turnout could be further boosted by a decision to close the countrys universities for two weeks before the election. Officials cited security concerns as the main reason for the move, but it will also mean many young people are at home to cast ballots.
The typical response from our politicians when young Nigerians complain is that we dont vote, Oduala said. Well, another generation has lately become aware of their responsibilities to join hands to make this nation work. And we have decided to vote.
Among those driving the surge in voter registration is Chukwuenye Igwe in the southeastern Enugu state where she has embarked on a personal campaign urging people to sign up to vote.
People have really woken up, especially the youths, said Igwe. Last year, the 26-year-old was keen to join other young Nigerians leave the country at a level unseen in recent years. She eventually could not move but many have, often citing economic hardship caused by spiraling unemployment rate of 33% and insecurity.
Among those who have recently relocated from Nigeria is Jude Edozie, who left last year as a pharmacist to further his studies in Ireland. He cant vote abroad, but is watching closely.
I dont plan on returning any time soon, but how it ends will either increase or reduce the chances of that happening, Edozie said I hope the election this time is different.
Story at a glance
Santinos Pizzeria, located in the Georgesville area of Columbus, Ohio, had two signs posted on Tuesday reading Now hiring non-stupid people.
The non-stupid signs drew attention online that turned into retaliation, with a man posting on social media that he ordered $110 dollars worth of pizza without paying, then never picked them up.
Other businesses around the country have displayed the same sign, often with similar impact.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Signs with a blunt approach to help wanted outside of a Columbus, Ohio-area pizza shop are making a big impression, but its not the first business to do so.
Santinos Pizzeria, located in the Georgesville area, had two signs posted on Tuesday reading Now hiring non-stupid people. One hung from the fence on the side of the building, while a copy of it also hung upside-down above the entrance. Santinos also posted a more neutral message, Were hiring, on the door to go inside.
The non-stupid signs drew attention online that turned into retaliation, with a man posting on social media that he ordered $110 dollars worth of pizza without paying, then never picked them up.
Residents in 22 states preparing for potentially record-breaking winter storm
They shouldve taken a card for an order over $60. They didnt, the Facebook user wrote. I guess they shouldnt have hired stupid people. Pizza sucks btw.
A photo of the controversial sign accompanied the mans post, and he wasnt the only one to spot it. Cars were seen slowly driving by the Holt Rd. store taking pictures of the signs when Nexstars WCMH visited to ask about Santinos hiring message.
A Santinos employee inside told WCMH that the signs were intended to be a joke, but referred further requests for comment to the pizzerias owners. The worker was well aware of the online attention Santinos request for non-stupid people had received, with people calling the store to discuss the sign.
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WCMH tried to reach Santinos owners by phone for comment but did not hear back as of Tuesday afternoon. Attempts to reach them through an email address on the pizza shops website returned an error.
The Santinos Pizzeria team did address the non-stupid people sign publicly on social media. In response to the $110 prank pizza order over the sign, the business turned it into positive action.
(The user) thought it was funny to place a large order and then called back when it was finish (sic) to talk down to one of our employees and then cancel the order, the Santinos team wrote. We took it to one of the homeless shelters and the people tonight were extremely grateful for the food!
Santinos isnt the first business to use the Now hiring non-stupid people sign. A Texas pet store saw a similar reaction online in October 2022 when it posted an identical sign looking for applicants, Entrepreneur reported. The sign is also readily available to purchase online, selling in multiple sizes for between $27 and $166.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former president Donald Trump is visiting the site of the train derailment in East Palestine near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on Wednesday and is reportedly planning to meet with local officials and donate thousands of gallons of cleaning supplies and water to support the cleanup effort.
The move has been blasted as a political stunt by former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican who served in the Obama administration.
Mr Trumps visit comes as the CEO of the rail operator, Norfolk Southern, faced tough questions from a reporter on how long the company will commit to remaining in East Palestine for the clean-up effort. The CEO dodged a question on the companys lobbying efforts against some federal rail safety measures.
What were really interested in is solution-based safety rules, and were very focused on following the science, CEO Alan H Shaw said.
On Tuesday, another derailment took place in Nebraska when 30 cars from a Union Pacific coal train slid off the tracks outside of Gothenburg in the early hours of the morning, sparking a fresh emergency response operation. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Key points
Trump to visit site of Ohio train derailment today
Nebraska coal train derailment sparks emergency operation
Pennsylvania governor hits out at Norfolk Southern greed and incompetence
Ohio officials share video of them drinking tap water to encourage residents
Toxic spill health concerns prompt state to open East Palestine clinic
Angry Ohio residents seek answers on train's toxic spill
Trump to donate water, cleaning supplies during East Palestine visit
15:40 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump will reportedly donate 13 pallets of bottled water as well as cleaning supplies to the village of East Palestine during his trip on Wednesday.
Mr Trump will be joined by East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, Senator JD Vance, Congressman Bill Johnson and other Republican state officials.
Watch: The Lincoln Project releases ad highlighting derailment and Trumps deregulation efforts hours before former presidents visit to East Palestine
15:20 , Graig Graziosi
Story continues
The Lincoln Project has released a new video focused on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and rail industry deregulation efforts Donald Trump made possible during his time in office.
The group released the video just hours before Mr Trump is set to visit the village.
What the Biden administration has and hasnt done in response to the Ohio train derailment
15:00 , Graig Graziosi
The Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment, as locals question wheres Pete and East Palestines mayor calls the presidents Ukraine visit a slap in the face.
Norfolk Southern was forced to vent and burn the trains load of vinyl chloride, a hazardous material used in the manufacturing of certain plastics, leaving East Palestine residents worried about their health and the longterm effects it might have on their small community.
Since the 3 February derailment there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was slow to move to address the disaster.
What exactly have Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg done since the train derailment, and are the criticisms warranted?
Read more:
What the Biden administration has done in response to the Ohio train derailment
At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan
14:32 , Graig Graziosi
When Donald Trump won office in 2016, it wasnt initially clear who would take the credit, or blame, for the election of a reality TV star to the US presidency.
While Democrats including Hillary Clinton initially focused their fire on Russian disinformation and the role of conspiracies on social media, others pointed to a different phenomenon: the growing conservatism of the Rust Belt, the heartland of Americas manufacturing power.
It was here where progressives and Maga Republicans diagnosed the same problem: an entire region, spurned once too often by the shuttering of massive plants and the resulting regional economic collapses which followed, had turned towards the only politician unwilling to dismiss them as flyover country Donald Trump. Even Democrats find themselves admitting that Mr Trump successfully painted himself as a hero of Americas working class, and in particular a hero of the kinds of blue collar union workers whose families had voted Democrat for years, maybe even decades.
That was the embarrassed anger which was evident whenever progressives and even some centrist Democrats noted that Ms Clintons campaign had failed to reach out to and campaign alongside labour unions in Michigan, or even worse, failed to even show up at all in Wisconsin. After 2016, the question for the left was clear: had the Democratic Party sacrificed its connection to the working class, and in particular to unions, in favour of chasing the suburbanite Republicans and independents whom they wagered were turned off by Donald Trumps caustic rhetoric?
Read more:
At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan
ICYMI: Ohio officials drink East Palestine water after train derailment
14:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Local and state officials drank from an East Palestine sink to help assuage fears that the villages water was contaminated following a Norfolk Southern train derailment in early February.
How the Biden administration responded to the Ohio train derailment
13:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Despite Mr Buttigiegs comments there, the Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment as locals ask wheres Pete? and East Palestines mayor (as we saw earlier) called the presidents Monday visist to Ukraine a slap in the face.
Since the disaster on 3 February there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was too slow to react.
So what exactly have the president and his transportation secretary done since the train derailment and are the criticisms warranted?
Graig Graziosi has the answers.
What the Biden administration has done in response to the Ohio train derailment
Pete Buttigieg calls out Marco Rubio for softening rail safety requirements prior to Ohio train derailment
12:00 , Joe Sommerlad
The US transportation secretary replied to criticism levied at him by Republican senator Marco Rubio by pointing out the lawmaker had voted to soften safety regulations prior to the Ohio train derailment in East Palestine.
The facts dont lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists. It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections, he wrote.
Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not?
The facts don't lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists.
It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections.
Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not? https://t.co/o5MGvbEZbA Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 21, 2023
Pennsylvania governor calls out 'corporate greed and incompetence' of Norfolk Southern over train derailment
11:00 , Graig Graziosi
Cleanup gets underway at site after Ohio train derailment
11:18 , Joe Sommerlad
Trump to visit site of Ohio train derailment today
10:40 , Joe Sommerlad
The former president will visit the small town of East Palestine in Ohio on Wednesday - site of a major freight train derailment earlier this month that caused a major chemical spill and forced local residents to have to temporarily leave their homes.
The accident occurred shortly after 9pm on Friday 3 February, when 38 Norfolk Southern carriages crashed off the rails as the result of what investigators later determined was a broken axle, 10 of which were transporting hazardous materials cross-country.
Fortunately, no one was harmed but more than 2,000 East Palestine residents out of approximately 4,800 had to be temporarily evacuated from the area due to health concerns arising from the spill.
As part of the clean up operation, five of the tankers containing vinyl chloride a compound used to make plastic pipes, wires, cable coating, car parts and packaging but which can cause cancer had to be intentionally breached by emergency crews, who diverted the substance into an excavated trench and carried out a controlled burn to prevent an explosion, sending noxious black clouds billowing into the atmosphere.
According to Fox News Digital, Mr Trump plans to meet local officials including mayor Trent Conaway and state senator JD Vance and members of the community on Wednesday and is set to donate thousands of gallons of cleaning supplies and more than a dozen pallets of water.
President Trump is meeting with the citizens of East Palestine and will never forget them and what they are going through, an advisor told Fox.
Contrast that with Biden and the federal government who has failed them from the beginning.
Nebraska coal train derailment sparks emergency operation
09:00 , Graig Graziosi
A Union Pacific freight train derailed in Nebraska early on Tuesday, sparking an emergency response.
Around 30 cars carrying coal jumped tracks three miles southeast of the town of Gothenburg at about 1.45am, officials said.
Emergency hazmat teams rushed to the site of the crash. There were no reported injuries.
Images posted to KNOP showed dozens of rail cars strewn along the tracks, alongside mounds of black coal.
It was the fourth derailment involving a Union Pacific train in the area since May last year, KNOP reported.
Read more:
Nebraska train derailment sparks third Midwest rail emergency
East Palestine mayor says he made Biden comments during a moment of frustration, would welcome him to village
08:00 , Joe Sommerlad
East Palestine mayor Trent Conaway told reporters Tueday that the comments he made claiming Joe Biden did not care about residents of the village due to his trip to Ukraine were made during a moment of frustration.
He said he stood by those comments but that he would welcome the president to East Palestine if he decided to visit.
Norfolk Southern gave donation to Ohio governor one month before East Palestine disaster
06:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Ohio governor Mike DeWine received a donation from Norfolk Southern just weeks before one of the companys trains derailed in East Palestine, resulting in the release and burn of a hazardous gas over the village.
The company gave Mr DeWine a donation totalling $10,000, the maximum amount allowed by law, according to an investigation by WSYX, a Columbus-based broadcaster who first reported the donations.
In total, Mr DeWine has received $29,000 from Norfolk Southern since he first ran for governor in 2018. The broadcaster also found that the rail company has given a combined $98,000 over the last six years to state and legislative candidates around Ohio.
Read more:
Norfolk Southern gave donation to Ohio governor month before East Palestine disaster
EPA orders Norfolk Southern to deal with Ohio toxic train derailment - or face significant fines
04:59 , Graig Graziosi
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put rail operator, Norfolk Southern, on the hook for the cleanup of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
If it doesnt complete the task, the company will be significantly fined, CNN reported.
The Independent has contacted the EPA for comment.
Read more:
EPA orders Norfolk Southern to deal with Ohio toxic train wreck - or face fines
EPA says no evidence of volatile organic compounds in East Palestine water
04:00 , Graig Graziosi
The head of the Ohio EPA said Tuesday that testing from multiple labs has found no evidence of volatile organic compounds resulting from the train derailment in Ohio in East Palestines water.
The EPA also said it has done air quality testing inside of more than 500 homes in East Palestine, and has found no evidence of volatile organic compounds at concerning levels resulting from the vented and burned vinyl chloride the train was carrying.
Buttigieg warns rail companies to expect increased fines and regulations
03:00 , Graig Graziosi
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has called on the rail industry to immediately improve safety standards or face stiff penalties after a train derailment in Ohio forced mass evacuations and a toxic chemical spill and burn off.
Mr Buttigieg unveiled a package of reforms on Tuesday that would increase fines for egregious violations, force rail companies to provide sick pay and inform local officials when they are transporting hazardous materials through their state.
The current maximum fine a rail company could face was $225,455, which he described as a rounding error for a company like Norfolk Southern who had an annual operating income of $4.8bn in 2022.
He further called on railroad companies to set up confidential hotlines where staff could report safety concerns, after previous instances of Norfolk Southern allegedly trying to silence whistleblowers.
Read more:
Buttigieg warns rail companies to expect increased fines and regulations
ICYMI: Ohio Governor demands stricter laws for trains carrying hazardous chemicals
02:00 , Graig Graziosi
Governor Mike DeWine said during a press conference that laws dictating when rail companies must announce they are carrying hazardous chemicals must be more restictive.
The Norfolk Southern train that derailed was not required under the current laws to announce the nature of its cargo.
Mr DeWine also assured East Palestines residents that the state would remain active in the village until the clean-up is completed.
EPA to take over East Palestine clean-up efforts
01:00 , Graig Graziosi
The Environmental Protection Agency is taking over the clean-up efforts in East Palestine, Ohio, after a Norfolk Southern train derailed, forcing the release and burning of vinyl chloride over the village.
Norfolk Southern has been leading to clean up response up until this point voluntarily. Now it will be subject to the EPAs oversight and could face fines or other punishments if it fails to address the village.
Read more:
EPA orders Norfolk Southern to deal with Ohio toxic train wreck - or face fines
Mysterious orange flyers claiming to be from Norfolk Southern appear around East Palestine
00:00 , Graig Graziosi
Orange flyers have been appearing at the homes of East Palestine residents, warning them that there are hazardous chemicals inside. The flyers claim to be from Norfolk Southern.
According to local broadcaster WKBN, Norfolk Southern says it has not connection to the flyers and said the papers can be discarded.
These are unnecessary attempts to scare residents of the town and cause confusion in the community, the company told WKBN.
Norfolk warns of fake orange flyers in East Palestine https://t.co/GzhOWj32uk WKBN 27 First News (@WKBN) February 21, 2023
Tuesday 21 February 2023 23:00 , Graig Graziosi
US Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut called out Republicans Tuesday on Twitter, accusing them of using the East Palestine train disaster as a political cudgel even though their policies contribute to a less safe rail system.
The same Republicans who are up in arms about East Palestine are the same ones who supported Trumps campaign to gut Obamas railroad safety regulations, he said. Its all fake indignation.
Good morning.
The same Republicans who are up in arms about East Palestine are the same ones who supported Trumps campaign to gut Obamas railroad safety regulations.
Its all fake indignation. Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 21, 2023
During former President Barack Obamas administration rail companies were forced to include ECP brakes on their cars carrying hazardous materials. Norfolk Southern lobbied against those regulations and had them rolled back with the support of the Trump administration in 2017.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to visit East Palestine
Tuesday 21 February 2023 22:20 , Graig Graziosi
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieig appeared on Good Morning America and said he planned to visit East Palestine to survey the clean-up operation.
Host George Stephanopoulos asked Mr Buttigieg if he was planning on personally visiting the site during a recent appearance on the show, noting that some critics have asked wheres Pete?
I am planning to go and our folks were on the ground from the first hours, he said, noting that the National Transportation Safety Board also needed time to conduct an independent investigation of the crash without lawmakers overseeing the process.
Ever since I came into this job I have seen the power that multibillion dollar railroad companies wield and they fight safety regulations tooth and nail. That's got to change. The future cannot be like the past... @SecretaryPete on Ohio train derailment. pic.twitter.com/pDW9oVCJKx Good Morning America (@GMA) February 21, 2023
Ohio officials drink East Palestine water after train derailment
Tuesday 21 February 2023 21:15 , Graig Graziosi
Local and state officials drank from an East Palestine sink to help assuage fears that the villages water was contaminated following a Norfolk Southern train derailment in early February.
Pete Buttigieg calls out Marco Rubio for softening rail safety requirements prior to Ohio train derailment
Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:49 , Graig Graziosi
US Transportation Secretary replied to criticism levied at him by Senator Marco Rubio by pointing out the lawmaker had voted to soften safety regulations prior to the Ohio train derailment in East Palestine.
The facts dont lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists. It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections, he wrote. Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not?
The facts don't lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists.
It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections.
Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not? https://t.co/o5MGvbEZbA Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 21, 2023
Pennsylvania governor calls out 'corporate greed and incompetence' of Norfolk Southern over train derailment
Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:40 , Graig Graziosi
Ohio officials post video drinking East Palestine water in effort to reassure residents
Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:20 , Graig Graziosi
State and local officials in East Palestine, Ohio, filmed a video of themselves drinking the villages water in an effort to assure residents it was safe following a catastrophic train derailment earlier this month.
Residents have expressed concerns that their water was polluted after Norfolk Southern vented and burned vinyl chloride gas that was being hauled by the train.
The water-drinking video was posted as part of a visit to the village by Ohios Lieutenant Governor John Husted. He posted the clip to his Twitter feed.
Mr Husted, along with Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel, Fire Chief Keith Drabick, police chief James Brown, Mayor Trent Conaway, and local Congressman Bill Johnson, filled their cups from a faucet and drank the water.
The water is safe and they are working around the clock to keep it that way, Mr Husted wrote alongside the video.
Read more:
Ohio officials post video drinking East Palestine water to reassure residents
Nebraska coal train derailment sparks emergency operation
Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:16 , Graig Graziosi
A Union Pacific freight train derailed in Nebraska early on Tuesday, sparking an emergency response.
Around 30 cars carrying coal jumped tracks three miles southeast of the town of Gothenburg at about 1.45am, officials said.
Emergency hazmat teams rushed to the site of the crash. There were no reported injuries.
Images posted to KNOP showed dozens of rail cars strewn along the tracks, alongside mounds of black coal.
It was the fourth derailment involving a Union Pacific train in the area since May last year, KNOP reported.Read more:
Nebraska train derailment sparks third Midwest rail emergency
East Palestine mayor says he does not want village to become a political pawn, wants to get back to small town America'
Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:00 , Graig Graziosi
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said he does not want the village to become a political pawn between right-wing and left-wing lawmakers and media outlets.
He said that while he appreciated the media coverage, he hoped to stop having to hold press conferences and get back to hosting picnics in the village.
When asked what he thought justice for East Palestine looked like, he said it would be a return to small town America, and rolling back the clock to 2 February, the day before the disastrous train derailment.
East Palestine mayor says he made Biden comments during a moment of frustration, would welcome him to village
Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:40 , Graig Graziosi
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway told reporters Tueday that the comments he made claiming Joe Biden did not care about residents of the village due to his trip to Ukraine were made during a moment of frustration.
He said he stood by those comments, but that he would welcome the president to East Palestine if he decided to visit.
Former Presidetn Donald Trump whose administration rolled back regulations requiring train cars carrying hazrdous materials to equip special brakes will be visiting the village on Wednesday.
Dirt under East Palestine train tracks where train derailed to be removed
Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:20 , Graig Graziosi
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said during a press conference that the dirt under the train tracks where a Norfolk Southern trian derailed in East Palestine will be removed.
He noted that the company had trains running on the tracks again just days after the accident and said the dirt hasnt been removed from the scene of the accident. The removal will require a temporary shut-down of the route as the tracks will have to be pulled up.
Norfolk Southern gave donation to Ohio governor one month before East Palestine disaster
Tuesday 21 February 2023 19:10 , Graig Graziosi
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine received a donation from Norfolk Southern just weeks before one of the companys trains derailed in East Palestine, resulting in the release and burn of a hazardous gas over the village.
The company gave Mr DeWine a donation totalling $10,000, the maximum amount allowed by law, according to an investigation by WSYX, a Columbus-based broadcaster who first reported the donations.
In total, Mr DeWine has received $29,000 from Norfolk Southern since he first ran for governor in 2018. The broadcaster also found that the rail company has given a combined $98,000 over the last six years to state and legislative candidates around Ohio.
Read more:
Norfolk Southern gave donation to Ohio governor month before East Palestine disaster
EPA orders Norfolk Southern to deal with Ohio toxic train derailment - or face significant fines
Tuesday 21 February 2023 18:45 , Graig Graziosi
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put rail operator, Norfolk Southern, on the hook for the cleanup of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
If it doesnt complete the task, the company will be significantly fined, CNN reported.
The Independent has contacted the EPA for comment.
Read more:
EPA orders Norfolk Southern to deal with Ohio toxic train wreck - or face fines
EPA says no evidence of volatile organic compounds in East Palestine water
Tuesday 21 February 2023 18:21 , Graig Graziosi
The head of the Ohio EPA said Tuesday that testing from multiple labs has found no evidence of volatile organic compounds resulting from the train derailment in Ohio in East Palestines water.
The EPA also said it has done air quality testing inside of more than 500 homes in East Palestine, and has found no evidence of volatile organic compounds at concerning levels resulting from the vented and burned vinyl chloride the train was carrying.
Buttigieg warns rail companies to expect increased fines and regulations
Tuesday 21 February 2023 18:10 , Graig Graziosi
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has called on the rail industry to immediately improve safety standards or face stiff penalties after a train derailment in Ohio forced mass evacuations and a toxic chemical spill and burn off.
Mr Buttigieg unveiled a package of reforms on Tuesday that would increase fines for egregious violations, force rail companies to provide sick pay and inform local officials when they are transporting hazardous materials through their state.
The current maximum fine a rail company could face was $225,455, which he described as a rounding error for a company like Norfolk Southern who had an annual operating income of $4.8bn in 2022.
He further called on railroad companies to set up confidential hotlines where staff could report safety concerns, after previous instances of Norfolk Southern allegedly trying to silence whistleblowers.
Read more:
Buttigieg warns rail companies to expect increased fines and regulations
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says Ohio, Pennsylvania, and EPA will hold Norfolk Southern accountable
Tuesday 21 February 2023 17:56 , Graig Graziosi
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says Ohio, Pennsylvania, and EPA will hold Norfolk Southern accountable after the East Palestine train derailment.
We will hold accountable Norfolk Southern the company that made this vigilance necessary ... [for their] corporate greed, incompentence, and lack of care of residents, he said.
He said that the EPAs order to force the rail company to clean-up the mess will also extend to communities in Pennsylvania just over the border from East Palestine.
We are fighting back, he said.
Ohio Governor demands stricter laws for trains carrying hazardous chemicals
Tuesday 21 February 2023 17:50 , Graig Graziosi
Governor Mike DeWine said during a press conference that laws dictating when rail companies must announce they are carrying hazardous chemicals must be more restictive.
The Norfolk Southern train that derailed was not required under the current laws to announce the nature of its cargo.
Mr DeWine also assured East Palestines residents that the state would remain active in the village until the clean-up is completed.
EPA to take over East Palestine clean-up efforts
Tuesday 21 February 2023 17:22 , Graig Graziosi
The Environmental Protection Agency is taking over the clean-up efforts in East Palestine, Ohio, after a Norfolk Southern train derailed, forcing the release and burning of vinyl chloride over the village.
Norfolk Southern has been leading to clean up response up until this point voluntarily. Now it will be subject to the EPAs oversight and could face fines or other punishments if it fails to address the village.
Read more:
EPA orders Norfolk Southern to deal with Ohio toxic train wreck - or face fines
Mysterious orange flyers claiming to be from Norfolk Southern appear around East Palestine
Tuesday 21 February 2023 16:28 , Graig Graziosi
Orange flyers have been appearing at the homes of East Palestine residents, warning them that there are hazardous chemicals inside. The flyers claim to be from Norfolk Southern.
According to local broadcaster WKBN, Norfolk Southern says it has not connection to the flyers and said the papers can be discarded.
These are unnecessary attempts to scare residents of the town and cause confusion in the community, the company told WKBN.
Norfolk warns of fake orange flyers in East Palestine https://t.co/GzhOWj32uk WKBN 27 First News (@WKBN) February 21, 2023
EPA head, Governor Mike DeWine arrive in East Palestine
Tuesday 21 February 2023 16:07 , Graig Graziosi
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan arrived in East Palestine today.
Mr DeWine and Mr Regan will survey the clean-up operation at the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in early February.
#BREAKING Governor Mike Dewine (R-OH) and EPA Administrator Michael Regan are here. @WTOV9 pic.twitter.com/3gUllkJ7C6 Chloe Mesogitis (@ChloeWTOV9) February 21, 2023
Senator calls GOP handwringing over train disaster fake'
Tuesday 21 February 2023 15:31 , Graig Graziosi
US Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut called out Republicans Tuesday on Twitter, accusing them of using the East Palestine train disaster as a political cudgel even though their policies contribute to a less safe rail system.
The same Republicans who are up in arms about East Palestine are the same ones who supported Trumps campaign to gut Obamas railroad safety regulations, he said. Its all fake indignation.
Good morning.
The same Republicans who are up in arms about East Palestine are the same ones who supported Trumps campaign to gut Obamas railroad safety regulations.
Its all fake indignation. Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 21, 2023
During former President Barack Obamas administration rail companies were forced to include ECP brakes on their cars carrying hazardous materials. Norfolk Southern lobbied against those regulations and had them rolled back with the support of the Trump administration in 2017.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announces push to hold rail industry accountable after East Palestine disaster
Tuesday 21 February 2023 15:06 , Graig Graziosi
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Tuesday that the federal goverment is moving to hold the rail industry accountable.
The proposed actions include increasing the total possible fine that can be levied against rail companies for disasters, making at-least two person crews mandatory, and forcing carriers to announce if their trains are carrying hazardous chemicals through a town.
Profit and expediency must never outweigh the safety of the American people. The freight railroad industry should make these changes now while we continue to act as an administration and I look forward to working with Congress to deliver better accountability and safety. Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 21, 2023
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to visit East Palestine
Tuesday 21 February 2023 14:45 , Graig Graziosi
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieig appeared on Good Morning America and said he planned to visit East Palestine to survey the clean-up operation.
Host George Stephanopoulos asked Mr Buttigieg if he was planning on personally visiting the site during a recent appearance on the show, noting that some critics have asked wheres Pete?
I am planning to go and our folks were on the ground from the first hours, he said, noting that the National Transportation Safety Board also needed time to conduct an independent investigation of the crash without lawmakers overseeing the process.
Ever since I came into this job I have seen the power that multibillion dollar railroad companies wield and they fight safety regulations tooth and nail. That's got to change. The future cannot be like the past... @SecretaryPete on Ohio train derailment. pic.twitter.com/pDW9oVCJKx Good Morning America (@GMA) February 21, 2023
Trump to visit East Palestine on Wednesday, after two weeks of silence on disastrous train derailment
Tuesday 21 February 2023 14:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump says he will visit East Palestine, Ohio, two weeks after a freight train laden with toxic materials derailed and leaked into the community.
The former presidents son Donald Trump Jr first announced the visit on Friday, tweeting: If our leaders are too afraid to actually lead, real leaders will step up and fill the void.
The scope of the visit was not specified but on Saturday, Mr Trump confirmed on his platform Truth Social that he will travel on Wednesday to the community with a population of 4,700.
Mr Trump did not miss a chance to slam the Biden administration, claiming that his announcement prompted the White House to deploy FEMAs assistance to East Palestine. The agency issued a joint statement with Governor Mike DeWine on Friday saying a regional incident management assistance team will arrive in the village.
Biden and FEMA said they would not be sending federal aid to East Palestine. As soon as I announced that Im going, he announced a team will go, Mr Trump said on Truth Social. Hopefully he will also be there. This is good news because we got them to move. The people of East Palestine need help. Ill see you on Wednesday!
EPA administrator returning to East Palestine on Tuesday
Tuesday 21 February 2023 13:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan will return to East Palestine, Ohio for the second time to meet with local, state, and federal leaders and provide an update on the ongoing Federal response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment.
Mr Regan will also announce additional measures to ensure the health and safety of this community and hold Norfolk Southern accountable.
The EPA is leading the Biden administrations multi-pronged response to the incident and has been on the scene since day one. It also secured a commitment from Norfolk Southern to pay for cleanup costs.
A press conference is scheduled for 12.30pm on Tuesday, with Mr Regan joined by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Congressman Bill Johnson, and EPA regional administrator Debra Shore.
Voices: I went home to report on the Ohio train derailment
Tuesday 21 February 2023 13:00 , Oliver O'Connell
Graig Graziosi writes:
Like the rest of the country, I was shocked and morbidly fascinated by the towering pillar of black that rose above East Palestine in early February after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and officials chose to burn off the hazardous and highly flammable vinyl chloride gas it was carrying.
Unlike the rest of the country, I was already very familiar with the tiny Ohio village I spent many hours there in my early and late teens visiting with my father and stepmother.
Read on:
What I found when I went home to report on the Ohio train derailment
Questions mount on rail industry as another train derails in California
Tuesday 21 February 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp
Questions continue to mount on the rail industry as another train derailed this week this time in California.
Rail operator Union Pacific confirmed on Monday that four of its train cars had derailed in Riverbank, Stanislaus County, in the early hours of the morning.
Three of the cars derailed while the fourth was leaning over, the company said.
No hazardous chemicals were released in this incident and no one was injured but an investigation has been launched into what happened.
It comes just weeks after the 3 February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which prompted operator Norfolk Southern to release and burn a toxic chemical to avoid an explosion.
Norfolk Southern gave donation to Ohio governor one month before East Palestine disaster
Tuesday 21 February 2023 12:00 , Rachel Sharp
Norfolk Southern gave a donation to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine just one month before the East Palestine train derailment disaster, according to a bombshell investigation.
State records, examined by 6 On Your Side, reveal that the rail operator gave a $10,000 contribution to the governor in January.
In total, the company has contributed $29,000 to Mr DeWines political funds since he first ran for governor in 2018.
As well as the governor, Norfolk Southern has given $98,000 in donations to several other Ohio statewide and legislative candidates in recent years, according to the outlet.
This comes as pressure is mounting on Norfolk Southern over the incident in East Palestine.
Video claiming to show contaminated water in Ohio goes viral
Tuesday 21 February 2023 11:30 , Oliver O'Connell
A video claiming to show the extent of the water contamination in Ohio after the East Palestine train derailment has gone viral with more than 11 million views on social media.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Video claiming to show contaminated water in Ohio goes viral
Ohio Department of Health to open clinic
Tuesday 21 February 2023 11:00 , Rachel Sharp
On Tuesday, the Ohio Department of Health will open a clinic in East Palestine as it seeks to address the growing health fears in the aftermath of the train derailment.
The clinic will have nurses, mental health specialists and a toxicologist on hand, and any residents concerned over potential medical issues are urged to attend the facility to speak to experts.
I heard you, the state heard you, and now the Ohio Department of Health and many of our partner agencies are providing this clinic, where people can come and discuss these vital issues with medical providers, Ohio Department of Health director Bruce Vanderhoff said in a statement.
Since the disaster, residents in East Palestine have reported symptoms including headaches, rashes, nausea and burning eyes.
Buttigieg warns Norfolk Southern
Tuesday 21 February 2023 10:30 , Oliver O'Connell
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent a letter Sunday to the CEO of Norfolk Southern, warning that the freight rail company must demonstrate unequivocal support for the people of East Palestine, Ohio, and surrounding areas after a fiery train derailment led to the release of chemicals and residents expressing concerns about their health.
Read on:
Buttigieg warns Norfolk Southern to support Ohio community
Ohio officials share video of them drinking water in East Palestine
Tuesday 21 February 2023 10:05 , Rachel Sharp
Ohio officials have shared a video of them drinking tap water in East Palestine in an effort to reassure concerned residents that it is safe.
Lt. Governor Jon Husted posted a video on Twitter over the weekend of him, East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick, Police Chief James Brown, and Mayor Trent Conaway drinking glasses of water together.
The water is safe and they are working around the clock to keep it that way, Mr Husted tweeted.
#EastPalestine Fire Chief Chief Keith Drabick, Police Chief James Brown, and Mayor Trent Conaway have a message for their fellow community members The water is safe and they are working around the clock to keep it that way. pic.twitter.com/U0btfmFKVa Lt. Governor Jon Husted (@LtGovHusted) February 17, 2023
Separating fact from fiction in the Ohio train derailment incident
Tuesday 21 February 2023 09:30 , Oliver O'Connell
When a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on 3 February, the truth began to look stranger than fiction.
A foreboding black cloud rose up from the accident site as officials performed a controlled burn. Thousands of fish in nearby waterways died . People couldnt help but notice the similarities between the disaster and the Don DeLillo novel White Noise, about an Ohio family living through the aftermath of train derailment, which caused an airborne toxic event . Netflix recently adapted the book into a movie, and filmed scenes throughout the state.
To make matters worse, social media users and unscrupulous media figures broadcast conspiracies and exaggerated claims about the real Ohio derailment, leading to misinformation and speculation.
This is kind of the ultimate event for driving conspiracy theories and various anti-government and anti-media sentiment, Meghan Conroy, a US research fellow with the Atlantic Council, told WIRED . Theres a lack of clarity about whats happening on the ground in Ohio.
Heres what you need to know to separate fact from fiction about the East Palestine disaster.
Ohio train derailment fact check: Separating fact from fiction
DC blame game begins over Ohio train derailment
Tuesday 21 February 2023 07:30 , Oliver O'Connell
That disaster has caused residents and local wildlife to suffer a variety of symptoms, and has caused chaos of its own in Washington, as officials have sought to pin the tragedy on one party or policy.
Josh Marcus reports.
The DC blame game begins over Ohio train derailment. Whose fault is it?
Donald Trump attends a rally in Ohio (Getty Images)
When Donald Trump won office in 2016, it wasnt initially clear who would take the credit, or blame, for the election of a reality TV star to the US presidency.
While Democrats including Hillary Clinton initially focused their fire on Russian disinformation and the role of conspiracies on social media, others pointed to a different phenomenon: the growing conservatism of the Rust Belt, the heartland of Americas manufacturing power.
It was here where progressives and Maga Republicans diagnosed the same problem: an entire region, spurned once too often by the shuttering of massive plants and the resulting regional economic collapses which followed, had turned towards the only politician unwilling to dismiss them as flyover country Donald Trump. Even Democrats find themselves admitting that Mr Trump successfully painted himself as a hero of Americas working class, and in particular a hero of the kinds of blue collar union workers whose families had voted Democrat for years, maybe even decades.
That was the embarrassed anger which was evident whenever progressives and even some centrist Democrats noted that Ms Clintons campaign had failed to reach out to and campaign alongside labour unions in Michigan, or even worse, failed to even show up at all in Wisconsin. After 2016, the question for the left was clear: had the Democratic Party sacrificed its connection to the working class, and in particular to unions, in favour of chasing the suburbanite Republicans and independents whom they wagered were turned off by Donald Trumps caustic rhetoric?
For progressives, the answer continues to be yes. Sen Bernie Sanders, the progressive insurgent who gave Ms Clinton a run for her money during the 2016 primary, writes in his new book Its OK to Be Angry About Capitalism, published this week, that Mr Trump was able to to capture those voters from Ms Clinton without pushing policies that actually benefited them.
"Look, you cant simply go around to wealthy peoples homes raising money and expect to win elections," he said in a scathing 2017 interview about Ms Clintons strategy. "Youve got to go out and mix it up and be with ordinary people."
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It was that effort to mix it up with ordinary people that turned the odds back in Joe Bidens favour in 2020. There were still clear issues in reconstructing the so-called blue wall that had long existed for Democrats in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan but some signs, at least, pointed to a recovery in that area.
Mr Biden won 57 per cent of union households in 2020, nearly twice the margin by which Ms Clinton won them over Mr Trump in 2016. Thats a clear advantage going into these states, but not enough to claim the kind of dominance which his party relied upon in the past.
He still failed to capture Ohio, once a solidly purple state but now turning deeper red as the states blue collar areas fume over the continued dilapidation of Americas manufacturing while the suburbanite GOPers chafe over other issues like Covid guidelines and culture war issues. Still, he recaptured Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin; all three states delivered victories for Mr Biden thanks to hand-in-hand successes in flipping some union households back blue while turnout surged in urban areas in a way it simply did not in 2016.
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
This week, the president faces another test in the Rust Belt: growing anger over a shocking freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which has sent a black column of smoke billowing into the sky for days. Dangerous chemicals on board the train, which the EPA said on Tuesday it would require train operator Norfolk Southern to cover cleaning up, have led to fears from residents about tainted groundwater and other serious environmental and public health concerns. Republicans and Democrats are now dueling over responsibility for safety on Americas freight rail system, and have begun trading blows over deregulation efforts.
Meanwhile, reports of dead household pets and health issues arising after the crash continue to flood social media as residents question whether state and federal officials are acting with enough urgency, the latest example, they say, of an out-of-touch Washington ignoring any problem that doesnt directly affect coastal metropolises.
EPA chief Michael Regan headed to the region this week, but now Mr Biden is facing that same accusation of forgetting flyover country after he took a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine this week before he or Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had visited the region affected by the crash.
Those frustrations were summed up by the mayor of East Palestine, Trent Conaway, who delivered a message that echoed the frustrations that many residents have aimed at Washington for many years.
"That was the biggest slap in the face," he said on Fox News. "That tells you right now he doesnt care about us."
Perhaps capitalising on that anger, Mr Trump is set to visit the town on Wednesday. Ohio remains one of his favourite states to campaign in it handed him two easy batches of electoral votes in 2016 and 2020, and last November saw the election of JD Vance, the one Trump-backed Senate candidate in a competitive race who actually won. Mr Vance capitalised on the support of the former president.
The current president has yet to announce plans to visit, though he addressed the derailment on Twitter Tuesday evening: We'll continue to hold rail companies accountable when they fail to put safety first. But first, weve got Norfolk Southerns mess to clean. I want affected residents to know that weve got your back. And as I said to your govs, they'll have every resource that they need.
Donald Trump watches approvingly as his endorsed Senate hopeful JD Vance speaks in Youngstown, Ohio. (Getty Images)
Residents of the Lordstown, Ohio region spoke to The Independent in 2022 amid the crucial Senate race that played out between the man hand-picked by Donald Trump as his stand-in for the race and Tim Ryan, a Democrat who tried to paint himself as a maverick in his own party who bucked the directives of party leaders from coastal regions at the time, most significantly, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In interviews, there was respect evident for Mr Ryans efforts to separate himself from his own party but a clear sense from voters on both sides that the Democratic Party had abandoned the state and, more importantly, the American union worker.
[Democratic Senator] Sherrod Brown knew for nine months that [the Lordstown plant] was going to shut down, and he chose to stay quiet, one Republican voter, John Pleva told The Independent in September. We dont need any more help like that.
He and others spoke of the devastation that played out after GMs pullout. The end of well-paying union jobs for even a few thousand of the citys residents, as the largest employer, devastated businesses across a wide range of sectors.
Those people had home loans. They had IRAs, Mr Pleva said, frustration evident as he spoke about Youngstowns city centre. They had a lot of stuffa lot of them lost their homesit was like a torpedo went off.
The buildings are still there, but theyre shells.
In Ohio, Mr Biden and the Democrats still face steep challenges when it comes to winning back union households and convincing voters that their state was not left behind by lawmakers in Washington who saw Americas manufacturing sector as an afterthought. There are much better signs, however, in Wisconsin and Michigan where Democrats are seeing Republicans similarly abandon urban areas and minority voters in favour of their increasingly old, white base.
Michigan in particular was a source of pride for Democrats after the 2022 midterms, when the party saw Gov Gretchen Whitmer coast to a clean reelection over her Trump-backed challenger and Democrats likewise captured the state legislature for the first time in decades. In Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes came within a hair of knocking out an incumbent Republican senator despite a brutal wave of attacks that went largely unanswered by Democratic operatives. And in Pennsylvania, Democrats had another strong showing this cycle with the dual victories of Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator John Fetterman.
With 2024 looming closer by the day, the Rust Belt remains a heated battlefield which neither party is willing to cede. As Joe Biden gears up for his presumed reelection bid, his campaign will face a crucial challenge in both rhetoric and focus as the president doubles down on the pro-worker, pro-labour pitch that saw him recapture areas once considered one of his partys most reliable bastions.
Heading into this years legislative session, House and Senate Republican leaders told the Tri-City Herald editorial board that adjusting the 2021 police pursuit law was a top priority.
Turns out its a high priority for a number of Democrats as well.
A bipartisan bill making it easier for police to go after suspected criminals made it out of a House committee last week, which is encouraging.
Trouble is, Senate Deputy Majority Caucus Leader Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, likes the law the way it is and has indicated she would keep House Bill 1363 from being heard if it makes it over to her chamber.
When theres bipartisan agreement on such a high profile problem, its disturbing that one person might keep the conversation from moving forward.
Even Gov. Jay Inslee has indicated he is willing to accept some changes to the current law.
Dhingra should, at the very least, give her Senate colleagues the chance to consider the bill. If it fails, it fails. Thats how lawmaking works.
But an issue of this magnitude shouldnt be stopped part way through the process by one Senate leader especially when 55 legislators have signed on to HB 1363 and its companion, Senate Bill 5352.
The pursuit law was changed in 2021 as part of an overall police reform effort, but law enforcement officials and a number of politicians from both sides of the aisle now agree it went too far.
It used to be police had more discretion and could pursue a suspect if there was reasonable suspicion.
Now, there must be probable cause, which means officers essentially have to see someone in the act of committing a crime before they can give chase. Even a witness account isnt good enough.
It didnt take long for criminals to become bolder under the new pursuit law.
And a recent incident in Richland has been highlighted on the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs website showing how tricky some situations can be.
A couple weeks ago a possible suspect in a shooting rammed two police cars as he drove away and eluded arrest. Fortunately, officers were not in the cars so no one was hurt.
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Legally, police couldnt pursue the suspect even though he was considered armed and dangerous because he was only wanted for illegal gun possession. He was eventually arrested in Las Vegas, but so far he has not been charged with shooting anyone.
Currently, the rules restrict pursuits to crimes involving violence, sex, or suspected drunk drivers and only when police have probable cause that such a crime has occurred.
The Richland suspect didnt fit those criteria, so police had to let him flee.
In addition, the Washington State Patrol reported that since the pursuit law restrictions were enacted, more drivers are refusing to stop. Between 2014 and 2020, an average of 1,200 drivers a year fled from police. In 2022, after the change, 3,100 drivers fled from police, a spike of over 150%.
Dhingra and others, however, believe the changes to the pursuit law have saved lives, especially bystanders and pedestrians.
In order to appease those who want changes made, she supports a proposal that would kick the issue to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission to study the issue and come up with a proposal by 2024.
The Sheriffs and Police Chiefs countered that idea with a post on its website, saying that public safety is not an experiment to be studied and that our communities cannot wait for years for change.
We agree. A study alone is not enough when a compromise is needed now.
While HB 1363 would allow officers to pursue suspects for reasonable suspicion and who pose serious risk of harm to others, it would not simply return the pursuit law to its earlier version.
It also requires extra pursuit training for officers, as well as extra communication strategies to make sure bystanders are kept out of harms way.
It also includes a sunset clause for 2025 so the current law could return if lawmakers thought that was necessary.
If Democrats and Republicans in the House are willing to compromise on the pursuit law, then members of the Senate should have that chance too. One lawmaker should not stall the process.
Former President Donald Trump, right, talks with Donald Trump Jr., center, and Tucker Carlson at the 16th tee during the final round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, N.J., July 31, 2022. (Seth Wenig/AP)
WASHINGTON Thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol are being made available to Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson, a stunning level of access granted by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that Democrats swiftly condemned as a grave breach of security with potentially far-reaching consequences.
The hard-right political commentator said his team is spending the week at the Capitol pouring through the video and preparing to reveal their findings to his viewers. But granting exclusive access to sensitive Jan. 6 security footage to such a deeply partisan figure is a highly unusual move, seen by some critics as essentially outsourcing House oversight to a TV personality who has promoted conspiracy theories about the attack.
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Its a shocking development that brings in both political concerns but even more importantly, security concerns, said Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who was a chief counsel during President Donald Trumps first impeachment trial.
Many critics warn that Capitol security could be endangered if Carlson airs security footage that details how the rioters accessed the building and the routes lawmakers used to flee to safety. And a sharply partisan retelling of the Capitol attack could accelerate a dangerous rewriting of the history of what happened Jan. 6, when Trump encouraged a mob of supporters to head to the Capitol to overturn Joe Bidens election.
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It is not lost on anyone that the one person that the speaker decides to give hours and hours of sensitive secret surveillance footage is the person who peddled a bogus documentary trying to debunk responsibility for the Jan. 6 riot from Donald Trump onto others, Goldman said.
Kevin McCarthy has turned over the security of the Capitol to Tucker Carlson and thats a scary thought, he added.
McCarthys office declined to confirm the arrangement, first reported by Axios, despite repeated requests for comment.
Gripping images and videos from the Capitol attack by Trump supporters have been widely circulated by documentarians, news organizations and even the rioters themselves. But officials have held back much of the surveillance video from hundreds of security cameras stationed in and around the Capitol that offer a detailed view of the grisly scene and the brutal beatings of police as they tried to stop the rioters.
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack went through a painstaking process to work closely with the U.S. Capitol Police to review and ultimately release approved segments of the surveillance footage as part of its public hearings last year.
The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, Tom Manger, issued a terse statement when asked about the new release of footage: When Congressional Leadership or Congressional Oversight Committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them.
House Democrats planned to convene Wednesday for a private caucus call to hear from Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who served as the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, and others. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called McCarthys decision an egregious security breach that threatens the safety of those who work at the Capitol.
Unfortunately, the apparent disclosure of sensitive video material is yet another example of the grave threat to the security of the American people represented by the extreme MAGA Republican majority, Jeffries, D-N.Y. said in a letter to House colleagues.
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Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., the former chairwoman of the House Administration Committee and a member of the committee that investigated Jan. 6, said: Its really a road map to people who might want to attack the Capitol again. It would be of huge assistance to them.
Carlson, who previously produced a documentary suggesting the federal government used the Capitol attack by Trumps supporters as a pretext to persecute conservatives, confirmed that his team was reviewing the footage ahead of a possible airing.
We believe we have secured the right to see whatever we want to see, Carlson, who is the networks most-watched prime-time host, said on his show Monday night.
Its not clear what protocols Carlson and his team are using to view the material, but he said that access is unfettered.
The House committee investigating Jan. 6 underwent an often intense process to review the tens of thousands of hours of footage as it documented its findings.
Over the nearly two-year probe, the panel, which was disbanded once Republicans took control of the House, created a secure room in their Capitol Hill offices for staff to comb through the more than 14,000 hours of footage. The process took months, according to a person familiar with the investigation who requested anonymity to discuss the private machinations.
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Any clip of footage the committee wanted to use for their series of public hearings or for the final report had to be approved by Capitol Police to avoid any security breaches, the person said. If police had an objection, the committee would engage in negotiations to redact any content that could potentially endanger the force or the mechanisms they use to protect the Capitol and lawmakers.
Throughout our entire review on the committee, we worked with U.S. Capitol Police, one, to get the footage and review it through secure channels, and then we also worked with them again before we released anything, said Marcus Childress, who was the panels investigative counsel and now is in private practice. The purpose of that was to make sure that we werent releasing any sensitive surveillance footage.
Anxiety over security is running high after Capitol Police reported an uptick in threats to member safety over the last several years, its highest on Jan. 6, 2021. The number of possible threats against members of Congress rose from about 4,000 in 2017 to more than 9,600 in 2021, then declined last year to 7,501.
Key Republicans welcomed McCarthys decision as part of his commitment to create a more transparent House and engage in oversight, as Republicans launch a far-reaching series of investigations and probes touching many aspects of government.
I support Speaker McCarthys decision, said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., the chairman of the House Administration Committee.
Hard-right figures cheered the move. For all of you that doubted we would release the tapes. Here you go! tweeted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a right-flank firebrand who has become close to McCarthy.
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Former Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., said if House Speaker Nancy Pelosis daughter, the documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, was able to film that day and release her footage, McCarthy should be able to grant Carlson access.
But others said the two situations are not comparable countless hours of footage have been released from many sources that captured what happened that deadly day. A mob of Trump supporters battled Capitol Police, in often violent scenes, breaking into the building. Five people died in the riot and its aftermath.
I think we should remember that the Jan. 6 attack happened in broad daylight, said Sandeep Prasanna, a former investigative counsel on the Jan. 6 committee now in private practice.
My concern is that I dont see how releasing thousands of hours of footage to one handpicked controversial media figure could ever produce the same factual and careful analysis that the committee produced over that year and a half, he said.
Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has threatened to veto the extension of the EU's anti-Russian sanctions, which must be renewed every six months, as he demands that four people be removed from the list.
Source: Politico citing three diplomats
Hungary is also opposing the offer backed by all other countries to prolong the extension period from six to 12 months, which would give Budapest fewer opportunities to torpedo the sanctions and derail EU decisions.
On Tuesday, EU ambassadors failed to strike a compromise with Hungary. Two diplomats said the EU was ready to give in to Orbans demands and remove four people from the sanctions list, because if Hungary continues to use its veto, all of the already-sanctioned individuals would have to be de-listed. The EU has sanctioned more than 1,400 people in relation to Russias war, including oligarchs, members of Russias parliament, military and security officials, and Russian administrators in Ukraines occupied territories.
One diplomat argued there are also legal concerns about whether sanctions against those four individuals would hold up in court.
But removing those four names was not enough for Hungary, the two diplomats said, because the country is also opposing the proposed 12-month renewal period. A tentative compromise that ambassadors will discuss today involves moving to nine-month renewal periods (rather than the current six months).
The media did not reveal who exactly the Hungarian prime minister wants to exempt from sanctions, but he mentioned it in his speech on February 18.
"We will be maintaining our economic relations with Russia and we advise the entire Western world to follow suit, since without relations there will be neither ceasefire nor peace talks. That is why we do not agree with the fact that priests and church leaders are included in the sanctions lists. It's bad enough that this can happen to artists and athletes," Orban said.
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Background: Slovak Foreign Minister Rastislav Kacer lashed out at Orban for his policy of playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read more: Not Eternal Orban: How To Overcome Crisis Between Ukraine and Hungary.
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The state Executive Building in downtown Salem houses the Oregon Department of Administrative Services.
A proposed class-action lawsuit claims thousands of state of Oregon employees have been incorrectly paid since the state implemented a new payroll system in December.
We still have many missing or late paychecks. This has led to people not being able to pay rent, or daycare, said Andrea Kennedy-Smith, a paralegal for the states Child Welfare Services and president of SEIU Local 503, OPEU Local 200, which represents Department of Human Services and Oregon Health Authority employees.
Its beyond frustrating, especially for our lower-wage workers that already are not making a livable wage, she said.
According to the lawsuit, employees have experienced:
Missing or late paychecks.
Incorrect pay rates, including incorrect overtime rates.
Incorrect and excess deductions for retirement, deferred compensation, health and dental benefits and charitable contributions.
Inadequate wage statements.
Misreporting of wages to the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System.
Incorrect accrual and deductions from vacation and leave banks.
Late payments to employees at retirement or end of employment.
With the cost of groceries on the rise, gas prices, this has a very serious impact on the day-to-day lives of thousands of state workers, David Kreisman, a spokesman for Oregon AFSCME, said.
The union, which is not a party to the lawsuit, represents some state workers.
The states new payroll system, called Workday, went live Dec. 1, serving about 45,000 employees. The previous system was built in the 1980s.
The first paychecks under the new system were issued Jan. 3.
The lawsuit claims tens of thousands of employees have been affected by the errors. It claims the state should have known before implementing the system that employees would be systemically underpaid.
Defendant activated Workday for all employees in December 2022 without first verifying that all employees would be paid accurately, the lawsuit states. Defendant also did not conduct adequate testing of Workday before it went live.
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The Oregon Department of Administrative Services declined to answer specific questions about the situation, including how many employees have been impacted, how many have outstanding payroll issues, and the status of any fixes.
With any new system upgrade there can be some challenges in implementation, especially when switching from such a dated system, DAS communications director Andrea Chiapella said in an email.
We understand how important it is for employees to be paid accurately and on time, which is why the Department of Administrative Services payroll team and agency payroll teams have been working tirelessly to resolve those issues as quickly as possible, she said.
State employees are paid monthly. Its unclear whether the state expects similar issues when next months checks are issued. That will happen around March 1, depending on which agency the employee works for.
I am confident that it will continue to be a mess, Kennedy-Smith said.
The lawsuit, filed Jan. 30 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, seeks a court order requiring the state to fix its payroll system so it accurately pays its employees, to suspend unauthorized deductions from wages, to re-report wages to PERS, and to conduct an accounting of wages to ensure employees have been accurately compensated.
The suit was filed by Multnomah County resident Michael Kennedy and Marion County resident Laurie Frasco, both state workers.
The Oregon Department of Justice, which defends state agencies against lawsuits, cannot comment on pending litigation, said Kristina Edmunson, communications director.
In December, Multnomah County paid $2 million to settle a 2019 wage lawsuit brought by employees following problems with its switch to the Workday system.
Tracy Loew covers the environment at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779. Follow her on Twitter at @Tracy_Loew
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Lawsuit claims Oregon incorrectly paid thousands of employees
A winter weather advisory remains in effect for Eugene and the rest of the central and southern Willamette Valley until 10 a.m. Thursday.
The following schools announced delays or closures Thursday, Feb. 23:
Blachly School District: Closed.
Camas Valley Charter School: (Updated) Closed.
Creswell School District: a.m. buses on snow routes.
Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District: (Updated) Closed.
Eugene School District 4J : Two-hour delay, a.m. buses on snow routes.
Fern Ridge School District: (Updated) Closed.
Head Start of Lane County: Morning classes canceled. Full-day/extended day starts at 11 a.m., all staff report to work at 10 a.m.
Junction City School District: Closed.
Lane Community College: Closed. All locations.
McKenzie School District: (Updated) Closed.
Mapleton School District: Closed, no preschool.
Marcola School District: (Updated) Closed.
Oak Hill School: (Updated) Closed, No preschool.
Pleasant Hill School District: a.m./p.m. buses on snow routes.
Siuslaw School District 97J: Closed.
Twin Rivers Charter School: Two-hour delay, dress for service class.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Live updates: Oregon winter storm school delays, closures
Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry in September 2021. Michael Kovac / Getty contributor
Orlando Bloom recently opened up about his relationship with his fiance, Katy Perry.
"Sometimes things are really, really, really, challenging," Bloom told Flaunt. "I won't lie."
Perry has said of their relationship: "It's exhausting, but we really hold each other accountable."
Orlando Bloom opened up about his relationship with his fiance, Katy Perry, and it's not all daisies and daffodils.
The actor discussed the challenges he and his "baby mama and life partner" face.
"We're in two very different pools," Bloom told Flaunt. "Her pool is not a pool that I necessarily understand, and I think my pool is not a pool that she necessarily understands."
Bloom added: "Sometimes things are really, really, really challenging. I won't lie.
"We definitely battle with our emotions and creativity, [but] I think we're both aware of how blessed we are to have uniquely connected in the way that we did at the time that we did, and there's definitely never a dull moment."
Bloom and Perry got engaged in February 2019 after three years of dating. They announced the birth of their daughter, Daisy Dove, in August 2020.
Perry and Bloom met in 2016 and were on and off until they got engaged in 2019. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Perry has previously discussed her relationship with Bloom, which she also described as "challenging."
"It's exhausting, but we really hold each other accountable," Perry told Vogue in 2020. "I've never had a partner who was willing to go on an emotional and spiritual journey like Orlando. It's challenging because you're facing all the things you don't like about yourself. It's like a never-ending cleanse."
Bloom is back on the small screen for season two of Prime Video's "Carnival Row," which premiered Friday. Perry, meanwhile, returned to Las Vegas this month for her concert residency, "Katy Perry: Play."
While there's no denying the couple's success, Bloom still finds time to contemplate life, the universe, and, well, everything.
"I think we're all just humans navigating," he told Flaunt. "We have to learn to accept each other. And I think everybody's fallible. Everybody's flawed, and everybody's just looking to improve.
"I'm personally trying to evolve ... attain enlightenment in this lifetime. I'm trying. I'll keep trying. Here I am."
Read the original article on Insider
Orlando Health is hosting two hiring events before the end of the month.
The first event will be Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center, at 52 W. Underwood St., in the North Tower conference room. At the event, Orlando Health Physician Associates will be looking to hire certified medical assistants and licensed practical nurses.
The next event is scheduled for Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Orlando Health Medical Group FHV Health - Brownwood, located at 5437 E. State Road 44, Wildwood.
At that event, Orlando Health will be hiring for:
Read: Little warriors: Orlando Health doctors reunite with children whose hearts theyve healed
Front office assistants
Cardiology clinic registered nurses
Cath lab registered nurses
Certified medical assistants
LPN II
Scheduling coordinators
Echo/vascular sonographers
CT technologists
Cath lab invasive techs
For more information about the events and available positions, click here.
Read: Vacationing boys life saved after 9-hour brain surgery at Arnold Palmer hospital
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.
Senator Linda Stewart (D - Orlando) has filed a bill that would curb excess litigation and protect consumers when it comes to automotive windshield replacement practices.
Senate Bill 1002 would make multiple changes to the process of windshield replacement.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
The bill proposes changes to the process of windshield replacement, including prohibiting replacement service providers from offering incentives to customers and prohibiting consumers from entering assignment of benefits contracts for windshield replacement and calibration.
We have all seen the signs offering us cash or gift cards to have our windshields replaced. These incentives sound great, but the reality is some of these services are using you to sue your insurance for more money than the replacement actually costs, said Stewart. This behavior ultimately contributes to the ever-increasing auto insurance rates as insurers raise rates to compensate their losses from this practice.
Read: 1,000 pound meteor slammed into Texas, NASA confirms
The proposed bill, HB 1002, is accompanied in the house by HB 541, and it also introduces language on calibration requirements for automobiles with advanced driver assistance features into statute.
Vehicle owners would be required to receive a notice stating the need for calibration, so they are aware that the service is necessary for some components of their car to operate properly.
Read: Senate bill aims to crack down on how drug company middlemen negotiate prices
Todays cars have a slew of new features integrated into the windshield to improve driver safety. Without notice that these systems need to be calibrated after a windshield replacement, drivers could find themselves in dangerous situations or at a service provider surprised by the costs and possibly having to pay out of pocket for the calibration of these features, said Stewart.
Read: Survey shows many teens missed school in 2021 because of safety concerns
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.
More than 100 coffins with the occupiers bodies, including Wagner Group mercenaries, were delivered to the airport of Novosibirsk, Russia.
Source: Sibir.Realii
Details: Witnesses have posted a video allegedly recorded in one of the premises of the Tolmachevo airport. The footage shows more than 100 wooden boxes, most of which have death certificates attached. Only one document is clearly visible: the death certificate of Sergei Yumashov, born in Khakassia.
Journalists managed to confirm the identity of the soldier. Yumashov died on 27 January near the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. He was recruited by the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC). His classmates claim that the body was to be delivered to the village of Arshanovo, Altai Oblast of Khakassia, where he was born.
Another coffin is signed "Gerbold ...., Buryatia". Relatives of 39-year-old Gennady Gerbold from Buryatia confirmed to Sibir.Realii that "representatives of the PMC" informed them about his death two weeks ago, and the day before he was brought to Novosibirsk.
Gerbold's sister reports that he disappeared from the colony in November. She found out that he was recruited and was in Ukraine only in December. According to her, they talked on 27 November, and her brother assured her that he would not go to Ukraine. On the 28th, Gerbold disappeared, and his sister found out about his "departure".
At the same time, the Tolmachevo airport denied that the video showed one of the airport's premises.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Pacific island nations are free to form relationships with whichever countries they chose, New Zealand's new deputy prime minister said, but those decisions impact the regional "family", so broad and constant engagement is needed.
The United States, Australia and New Zealand have stepped up diplomacy and aid to the strategically important Pacific region, worried about Chinas growing influence in the region that culminated last year in Beijing striking a security deal with the Solomon Islands.
Every Pacific island country is responsible and has the power to form relationships with who they like," Carmel Sepuloni, who is also associate foreign minister, told Reuters in an interview late Tuesday.
It's really important that we don't go in there and say, we would prefer that you're friends with this person or this person.
However, relationships in the region were key, she added.
It is our family and were so interconnected and reliant on each other," said Sepuloni, who is the first deputy prime minister of Pacifika descent. "We need to be talking really closely all of the time to ensure that the wider family is a consideration in the decisions that are made."
Sepuloni is making her first overseas trip as deputy prime minister this week and will represent New Zealand at the Pacific Island Forum Special Leaders Retreat in Fiji.
At a regional meeting in Fiji last year, leaders from 10 island nations deferred consideration of a sweeping trade and security communique proposed by China.
While small and with limited military capabilities, New Zealand's soft power in the Pacific is arguably stronger than its allies. It has a large Pacifika population and strong family, business, sporting and cultural ties along with territories in the region.
Sepuloni said she would like to see more engagement by ministers and members of parliament with their counterparts in the region.
If you don't have strong relationships with the leaders in the Pacific... it's very hard to have those constructive conversations where change can be made in particular areas.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan's defense minister was in Afghanistan on Wednesday, meeting with officials there in an effort to resolve this week's closure by the Taliban administration of a key border crossing between the two neighboring countries, officials said.
Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif's trip to Kabul and his meeting with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, comes as tensions have increased between Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent months.
Taliban security forces on Sunday closed the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan and on Monday traded fire with Pakistani border guards. The exchange wounded a Pakistani soldier. The border crossing has since remained shut, hampering trade on both sides of the troubled boundary.
The Taliban government in Kabul said Torkham was closed because of Pakistans alleged refusal to allow Afghan patients and their caretakers to enter Pakistan for medical care without travel documents.
For Pakistan, the crossing is a vital commercial artery and a trade route to Central Asian countries. But Islamabad has also accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary for Pakistani militants whose cross-border attacks into Pakistan have led to a spike in violence in the region.
Since Sunday's closure of Torkham, more than 6,000 trucks with goods, including vegetables, fruit and other perishable food items, have been stuck on the Pakistani side of the border.
Pakistans Foreign Ministry confirmed Asif was in Kabul, saying only that he was there to discuss security-related matters, including counter-terrorism measures. Two Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss border issues, told The Associated Press that Torkham's closure was top of the agenda.
In Kabul, a statement issued by Baradar's office about Asif's visit said the two sides discussed the current situation at the crossing.
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According to the statement, Baradar told the Pakistani delegation that necessary facilities should be provided for all passengers" at Torkham and also at Spin Boldak, another trade route located to the south, across from Chaman in Pakistan's restive southwestern Baluchistan province.
Baradar was also quoted as saying special facilities" should be provided for the transportation of patients needing emergency medical care.
The Pakistani side assured the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that it would resolve solving the mentioned issues and ... work quickly on this matter," the statement said. Baradar also stressed it was important to separate commercial and economic issues from political and security issues so that it does not become prey to politics."
Meanwhile, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director at the Pakistan-Afghanistan joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, deplored the traffic halt at Torkham.
Miles after miles you can see trucks loaded with various items, and the drivers are waiting for the reopening of the Torkham border," he told the AP. He said Afghan traders were also worried as the closure has caused problems on both sides of the border.
Closures, cross-border fire and shootouts are common along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Each side has in the past closed both Torkham and Chaman over various reasons.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were withdrawing from the country after 20 years of war. Like the rest of the world, Pakistan has so far not recognized Afghanistans Taliban government. The international community has been wary of the Talibans harsh measures, imposed since their takeover, especially in restricting the rights of women and minorities.
___
Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this story.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan speaks during a news conference in East Palestine, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. Regan announced the agency will hold Norfolk Southern accountable for the costs of the cleanup of the Feb. 3 freight train derailment. (AP Photo/Matt Freed) (Matt Freed/AP)
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to pay for the cleanup of the East Palestine, Ohio train wreck and chemical release as federal regulators took charge of long-term recovery efforts and promised worried residents they wouldnt be forgotten.
Speaking to reporters near the derailment site, Norfolk Southerns CEO promised the company would do whats necessary to ensure the long-term health of the community and become a safer railroad.
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EPA used its authority under the federal Superfund law to order Norfolk Southern to take all available measures to clean up contaminated air and water, and also said the company would be required to reimburse the federal government for a new program to provide cleaning services for impacted residents and businesses.
In no way, shape or form will Norfolk Southern get off the hook for the mess they created, EPA Administrator Michael Regan vowed at a news conference in East Palestine. I know this order cannot undue the nightmare that families in this town have been living with, but it will begin to deliver much-needed justice for the pain that Norfolk Southern has caused.
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He warned that if Norfolk Southern fails to comply, the agency will perform the work itself and seek triple damages from the company.
EPA planned to release more details on the cleanup service for residents and businesses, which it said would provide an additional layer of reassurance.
The agency said its order marked the end of the emergency phase of the Feb. 3 derailment and the beginning of long-term remediation phase in the East Palestine area.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw reiterated promises to restore the site and invest in the community.
From day one, Ive made the commitment that Norfolk Southern is going to remediate the site, were going to do continuous long-term air and water monitoring, were going to help the residents of this community recover, and were going to invest in the long-term health of this community. And were going to make Norfolk Southern a safer railroad, he told reporters.
Jeff Zalick, who lives with his 100-year-old mother just a few blocks from where the derailment happened, said hes waiting for the home to be cleaned before moving back.
He wants the railroad to cover the costs. Theyre going to pay for it. Theres no ifs or buts, he said.
The walls need scrubbing, and he wants to install air purifiers before allowing his mom to return. Theres still a chemical smell inside, although its nowhere as bad as it was a week ago, he said.
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I just want to make sure shes safe, he said. Shes ready to come home. She cries every day.
EPAs move to compel Norfolk Southern to clean up came nearly three weeks after more than three dozen freight cars including 11 carrying hazardous materials derailed on the outskirts of East Palestine, near the Pennsylvania state line, prompting an evacuation as fears grew about a potential explosion of smoldering wreckage.
Officials seeking to avoid the danger of an uncontrolled blast chose to intentionally release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke again billowing high into the sky. That left people questioning the potential health impacts for residents in the area and beyond, even as authorities maintained they were doing their best to protect people.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine assured residents that they will not be left to handle the aftermath on their own once the news cameras leave and public attention turns elsewhere.
We understand that its not just about today, its not just about two weeks from now, he said. People have long-term concerns. and were going to do everything we can to stay at this.
Already, 4,600 yards of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water have been removed, DeWine said. But he said Norfolk Southern had failed to address the contaminated soil underneath its tracks before repairing them and running freight again. He said the company would have to take the tracks back up and remove the soil.
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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro blasted Norfolk Southern over what he called its failed management of this crisis, saying the company chose not to take part in a unified incident command, and provided inaccurate information and conflicting modeling data.
The combination of Norfolk Southerns corporate greed, incompetence, and lack of concern for our residents is absolutely unacceptable to me, said Shapiro, appearing at the news conference in East Palestine with Regan, DeWine and other officials.
Shapiro said his administration had made a criminal referral of Norfolk Southern to the Pennsylvania attorney generals office, while DeWine said Ohios attorney general had also launched an investigation.
EPA said it has tested indoor air quality at 550 homes so far, with outside air being monitored via aircraft, mobile vans and stationary instruments. I feel very confident in the technology that weve deployed, he said.
Still, Regan said he is not sure if EPA is testing for dioxin, a carcinogen, as some lawmakers and advocates have requested.
Under the so-called Superfund law, EPA has authority to direct those responsible for contamination or hazardous waste to clean it up. EPA can fine the railway up to $70,000 a day if the work is not completed. EPA can also do the work itself if necessary and bill Norfolk Southern triple its costs.
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Separately, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a package of reforms on Tuesday and called on railroad operators to take immediate steps to improve safety, such as accelerating the planned upgrade of tank cars.
Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania. AP writer Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.
JERUSALEM (AP) The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired six rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the country's south early Thursday, hours after an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank triggered a fierce gunbattle in which 11 Palestinians were killed.
The rocket attacks, which were not immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups, appear to be triggered by the Wednesday morning raid in Nablus.
The Israeli military said air defenses intercepted five of the rockets which were fired toward the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. One missile landed in an open field. Israeli aircraft then struck several targets in northern and central Gaza. There were no reports of injuries in Israel or Gaza.
Among the dead in Nablus were three Palestinian men, ages 72, 66 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Scores of others were wounded.
It was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed. Israeli police said they were on heightened alert, while the Hamas militant group in Gaza said its patience was running out. Islamic Jihad, another militant group, vowed to retaliate.
The four-hour operation left a broad swath of damage in a centuries-old marketplace in Nablus, a city known as a militant stronghold.
In one emotional scene, an overwhelmed medic pronounced a man dead, only to notice the lifeless patient was his father. Elsewhere, an amateur video showed two men, apparently unarmed, being shot as they ran in the street.
Israel has been carrying out stepped-up arrest raids of wanted militants in the West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel last spring.
Israeli officials liken these operations to mowing the lawn, saying they are necessary to prevent a difficult situation from turning worse. But the raids have shown few signs of slowing the violence, and in cases like Wednesday's operation, can raise the likelihood of reprisals.
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The Israeli military said it entered Nablus, the West Banks commercial center, to arrest three militants suspected in previous shooting attacks. The main suspect was wanted in the killing of an Israeli soldier last fall.
The military usually conducts raids at night in what it says is a tactic meant to reduce the risk of civilian casualties. But military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said forces moved quickly after intelligence services tracked down the men in a hideout.
Hecht said Israeli forces surrounded the building and asked the men to surrender, but instead they opened fire. One militant who tried to flee the building was shot and killed. He said the military then fired missiles at the house, flattening the building and killing the other two men.
At the same time, he said, troops that had set up an outside perimeter came under heavy fire, setting off an intense gunfight. The military said others hurled rocks and explosives at the troops, and officials released a video taken from inside an armored vehicle as crowds of Palestinian youths pelted it with stones. There were no Israeli casualties.
The influx of wounded overwhelmed the citys Najah Hospital, said Ahmad Aswad, the head nurse of the cardiology department.
The 36-year-old medic told The Associated Press that he saw many patients shot in the chest, head and thighs. They shot to kill, he said.
In a moment he said will haunt him, he and a colleague carefully extracted a bullet from a 61-year-old mans heart. After the chaos subsided and they pronounced their patient dead, they looked at the mans face. It was his colleagues father, Abdelaziz Ashqar.
His colleague, Elias Ashqar, was overcome and went silent. It didnt feel like we were in reality, Aswad said.
In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been a large home in the centuries-old marketplace. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris.
Time-stamped security footage widely shared online appeared to show two young men running down a street. Gunshots are heard, and both fall to the ground, with ones hat flying off his head.
The two men did not appear to be armed, but the video did not show the events that led to the shooting.
Hecht called the video problematic, and said the military was looking into it.
Various Palestinian militant groups claimed six of the dead including the three targeted in the raid as members. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups. Later, officials said a 66-year-old man had died from tear gas inhalation.
As the bodies were paraded through the crowd on stretchers, thousands of people packed the streets, chanting in support of the militants. Masked men fired into the air.
Israels police force said it was beefing up security in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in anticipation of violence.
Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 people in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. In response, Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza. The following day, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people.
Days later, five Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli arrest raid elsewhere in the West Bank. That was followed by a Palestinian car ramming that killed three Israelis, including two young brothers, in Jerusalem.
The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new hard-line government took office.
The government is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants and vowed to entrench Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches.
The Cabinet includes a number of West Bank settler leaders. In a move that could further raise tensions, Yesha, the settlement council, announced that Israeli planning officials had granted approval to nearly 2,000 new homes in settlements across the West Bank. There was no immediate confirmation from the government, but an announcement was expected Thursday.
The Palestinians and most of the international community say settlements built on occupied lands are illegal and obstacles to peace. Over 700,000 settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. recognizes Israels very real security concerns, but was also deeply concerned about the deaths and injuries from the raid.
He urged both sides to avoid steps that could inflame tensions, including the possible approval of new settlements.
The Israeli decision comes in the wake of a U.N. presidential statement that strongly criticized settlements. The U.S. blocked what would have been a stronger, legally binding council resolution.
American diplomats claimed to have extracted an Israeli pledge to halt unilateral action to block the resolution. The approval of new settlements by Israel would appear to undermine that claim.
The Palestinian ambassador to the U.N., Riyad Mansour, urged the international community "to put an end to these massacres against our people.
In the Gaza Strip, Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group, warned that Hamas' "patience is running out, he said.
Late Wednesday, Palestinian activists burned tires along Gazas frontier with Israel in protest.
Hamas has battled Israel in four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007.
Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad Al-Nakhala called the Israeli raid a huge crime.
It is our duty as resistance forces to respond to this crime without hesitation, he said.
Nearly 60 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, according to an AP tally.
Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in those areas, making it the deadliest year there since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group BTselem. Some 30 people on the Israeli side were killed in Palestinian attacks.
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Tufaha reported from Nablus. Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed reporting.
There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you'd have done very well indeed. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.
So should Pan Asia Metals (ASX:PAM) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its 'cash runway'.
See our latest analysis for Pan Asia Metals
When Might Pan Asia Metals Run Out Of Money?
A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. When Pan Asia Metals last reported its balance sheet in June 2022, it had zero debt and cash worth US$3.2m. Importantly, its cash burn was US$3.3m over the trailing twelve months. So it had a cash runway of approximately 11 months from June 2022. To be frank, this kind of short runway puts us on edge, as it indicates the company must reduce its cash burn significantly, or else raise cash imminently. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.
How Is Pan Asia Metals' Cash Burn Changing Over Time?
Although Pan Asia Metals reported revenue of US$34k last year, it didn't actually have any revenue from operations. That means we consider it a pre-revenue business, and we will focus our growth analysis on cash burn, for now. In fact, it ramped its spending strongly over the last year, increasing cash burn by 115%. That sort of spending growth rate can't continue for very long before it causes balance sheet weakness, generally speaking. Admittedly, we're a bit cautious of Pan Asia Metals due to its lack of significant operating revenues. We prefer most of the stocks on this list of stocks that analysts expect to grow.
How Easily Can Pan Asia Metals Raise Cash?
Since its cash burn is moving in the wrong direction, Pan Asia Metals shareholders may wish to think ahead to when the company may need to raise more cash. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund growth. By looking at a company's cash burn relative to its market capitalisation, we gain insight on how much shareholders would be diluted if the company needed to raise enough cash to cover another year's cash burn.
Since it has a market capitalisation of US$40m, Pan Asia Metals' US$3.3m in cash burn equates to about 8.2% of its market value. That's a low proportion, so we figure the company would be able to raise more cash to fund growth, with a little dilution, or even to simply borrow some money.
Is Pan Asia Metals' Cash Burn A Worry?
On this analysis of Pan Asia Metals' cash burn, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. We don't think its cash burn is particularly problematic, but after considering the range of factors in this article, we do think shareholders should be monitoring how it changes over time. On another note, Pan Asia Metals has 5 warning signs (and 3 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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The class-action lawsuit ACLU of Indiana lawyer Ken Falk filed in 2008 put local elected officials on notice: the Monroe County Jail was overcrowded, unsafe and must be replaced.
County officials agreed. Public forums, meetings, studies, budgets and visits to new jails followed. An 85-acre site on county-owned land off South Rogers Street was earmarked.
An April 11, 2008, headline in The Herald-Times said: "Firm hired to make financial plans for new county jail."
Yet nothing has actually happened.
This week, 15 years later, Falk spoke to current county officials on the same topic, reminding them of their lack of progress. He said no one should be surprised about the dire need for a new and better jail.
"Monroe County knew it in 2008," he said.
"You have a jail which, I think, is problematic and it needs to be replaced," he told members of the county Community Justice Response Committee Monday. "You guys are living on the edge here. The jail is past its effective life."
Debating the 'perfect' solution
The committee of local criminal justice workers and elected officials has been meeting more than two and a half years, tasked with investigating and recommending the best path forward.
To date, there's been a lot of discussion, a fair amount of contention, not much agreement and no action.
Falk said it appears the well-intentioned committee members are mired in place as they debate what the "perfect" option is, as time moves on and unconstitutional conditions at the jail languish.
'We have to sleep at night': New sheriff says county jail conditions 'not acceptable'
"It's time. It really is time." He said he was tempted last year to not extend an agreed settlement of the 2008 lawsuit that requires the county to cap the number of inmates at 278 or face further ACLU legal action.
He told the committee that continuous talk about doing what's necessary while trying to please everyone, "has hindered your ability to solve this problem."
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Falk, like he did 15 years ago, emphasized that jail inmates and staff deserve a decent and safe facility, and the county is obigated to provide it.
"You need a new jail. Everyone knows that. The expectation of everyone in 2009 was there would be a new jail," he said. "You've been given all the advice you need, and it's frustrating to me to see all you good people, trying to do the right thing, paralyzed."
'Something bad's going to happen'
He said if inmate and staff concerns aren't reason enough to convince officials to get moving on the project, the threat of further litigation might be. "Something bad's going to happen. You guys are going to get sued."
Falk said Monroe County is a prime target for an inmate lawsuit since officials are well aware of ongoing safety issues at the jail. They are documented in the 2008 lawsuit and also in a 2021 criminal justice consultant's report detailing abysmal conditions at the 37-year-old facility.
"County officials are burdened with a correctional facility that should be considered high risk for liability due to the real and potential risk of harm to inmates, staff and the public, the study says.
"The jail facility is incapable of consistently ensuring and sustaining constitutional levels of inmate care and custody. The facility is ill designed to accommodate the array of health care treatment services required to meet constitutional levels of care or programs to prepare inmates for successful community reentry."
The issue of whether and when to build a jail to replace the one inside the Zietlow Justice Center in downtown Bloomington goes back a decade before the 2008 lawsuit.
In the summer of 1998, Herald-Times reporter Kurt Van Der Dussen joined commissioner Norm Anderson, county councilman John Lee Smith, Judge Marc Kellams, sheriff's department Sgt. Steve Chambers and local contractor Harold Weddle on a flight to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to tour a pod-system jail they they hoped to emulate.
Bad conditions and design flaws at the current jail had just come to light; nothing ever happened toward the construction of a jail. Five of the six men on that Grand Rapids trip have since died.
County council member Jennifer Crossley sits on the justice response committee. She asked Falk why Monroe County officials have been so slow to respond to the call and need for a modern jail.
Complacency, he responded. Falk said county officials grew content with the status quo and the annual extension of the lawsuit settlement that holds the ACLU at bay if the jail keeps inmate numbers in line.
"People have become comfortable," he said.
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County, Indiana has stalled on new jail for more than 15 years
A Florida family known for its TikTok videos has come under fire for a shoe hack that many people felt put their oldest child in potential danger.
Recently, Ty and Haley Kelly posted a video showing how they were able to make their toddler son tall enough to ride the more adult thrill rides at the Disney theme parks.
The video, which can be seen in a full version below, shows the two parents gluing flip-flop bottoms to some shoes with already thick soles to help their 37-inch son look like hes 38 inches tall, the minimum height requirement.
But while Ty Kelly calls the shoe-gluing the ultimate theme park hack, others felt that he, as one YouTuber commenter noted, seemed to care more about a youtube video than your childs safety.
The video inspired clapbacks like this one from a woman who helpfully pointed out that height restrictions arent put on rides to ruin your childs day.
Other people commenting on the couples YouTube page were also tough on them.
Safety regulations are written in blood. In the case of amusement parks, that blood is the blood of young children. Youre not just putting your kid in danger, but the children of anyone foolish enough to try this, one person wrote, while another called it the dumbest idea EVER.
Others pointed out that the hack could get some theme park employees fired on the spot if they let a child with altered shoes on a ride.
As Theme Park Insider Editor Robert Niles explained in 2018, height requirements on rides arent arbitrary.
Height and other restrictions protect riders in case something goes wrong, such as the stopping on a safety brake or having to be evacuated, he wrote. In those, rare cases, people under the designated height can be at extreme risk.
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HuffPost reached out to Disney for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Ty Kelly was apparently miffed that people were questioning his parenting skills rather than praising his ultimate theme park hack, so he posted a video titled Watch All The Way Through Please, where he claimed the hack was faked.
I would never condone any other parent trying to put their kid on a ride that they arent tall enough for, he said in the clip. You dont know what happened. In the video, you didnt see him actually go on any rides.
Kelly also claimed there was no need for shoes since his son is actually tall enough for the rides. He didnt acknowledge that someone viewing the first video without that additional context might take his advice at face value.
Based on the reactions of TikTok commenters, people werent particularly impressed.
I cant believe you guys had the audacity to assume that what I said in the video was what I meant, one commenter snarkily wrote.
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Paris Hilton has spoken out about her sense of style and revealed the one fashion trend from the 2000s that she wouldnt do again.
During a recent interview with Today.com to promote her upcoming interactive event with Klarna, House of Y2K, the reality star reflected on the most popular outfits and accessories throughout the early 00s, aka Y2K. The immersive spaces in Los Angeles will also showcase some of Hiltons signature items.
Hilton confessed to Today.com that out of all the fashion trends shes embraced, the one brand that she wouldnt personally wear again is Von Dutch, which was first created in the early 00s. The line was known for its graphic t-shirts and hats with its signature label on them,
I just noticed or saw that a lot of the kids are wearing the Von Dutch hats again, which I think is hilarious. But I would not rock it again, she said.
The Simple Life star also noted that she also wouldnt wear anything from Ed Hardy, another brand from the 00s known for its rhinestone-studded hats and colourful cartoon shirts, again.
This isnt the first time that Hilton has discussed some of her previous fashion choices that shes not too fond of. During an interview with Yahoo! in 2017, she described one look that she wore at Sundance Film Festival and called it the worst outfit shed ever had.
This one time at Sundance, maybe 15 years ago, I wore this dress from Patricia Field. It was a black corset and the bottom was hot pink tulle. But you couldnt wear heels because it was snowing, so I had snow boots, she said. I had an Armani Exchange beanie. And the jacket from Hugo Boss they gave us. It was the worst outfit Ive ever worn in my life.
Elsewhere in her interview with Today.com, the 42-year-old DJ shared how happy she is about the recent resurgence of 2000s fashion trends and how she feels so proud that all [her] looks are being applauded.
Every time I go to fashion shows or talk to designers, my pictures are all over the mood board and people are so inspired, she said. This was back when I had no stylist or anything. I was literally buying my own looks, putting them together. Ive always been ahead of my time.
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She continued: I love that everyone is just loving all of the trends that I made popular and calling me the Queen of 2000s. That makes me really happy.
Hilton went on to acknowledge that shes entered a new chapter in her life. She announced in January that she and her husband Carter Reum had welcomed their first child. However, she also noted that becoming a mother doesnt mean that her style will be completely changing.
I think with each new stage in life, my style evolved accordingly. With this new mom version of me, it made me [have] a tiny bit more practicality in my outfits, she explained. But of course it wouldnt be me without sparkle.
The tender barman: Adam Scott in season three of Party Down (Starz/Lionsgate+)
It came as no surprise when Party Down was cancelled. The year was 2010, and the scrappy, glowingly reviewed sitcom about an LA catering company had languished in obscurity for 20 episodes before finally calling it quits. Its paltry viewing figures dipping as low as 68,000 US viewers for one episode didnt help. Nor did the fact that the Starz network was still in its unsteady early days of original programming. To cap this off, Party Down had already seen one cast member, Jane Lynch, leave at the end of season one; the end of season two would see lead Adam Scott poached by Parks and Recreation on NBC. So, all things considered, cancellation was somewhat inevitable. Its revival, though? Thats another story. The six new episodes of Party Down released weekly on Starz in the US and Lionsgate+ in the UK, beginning this Friday seemed, for a long time, a mere pipedream.
At the heart of the original series is Henry Pollard (Scott), an apathetic employee at the Party Down catering company. Henry is a failed actor of considerable talent, we come to understand. His co-workers are also on the fringes of show business: plucky comedian Casey (Lizzy Caplan), dippy ex-actor Constance (Lynch), embittered sci-fi writer Roman (Martin Starr) and himbo-ish actor-musician Kyle (Ryan Hansen). Bar Henry, they all consider themselves true artists who just happen to make a living handing out hors doeuvres. Ken Marino, meanwhile, plays their uptight, buffoonish manager Ron Donald.
Despite its measly ratings, the series was a cult hit. In the years since its cancellation, Party Downs reputation has only strengthened among its small but ardent fanbase. Yet when it was announced in April 2021 that six new episodes were being produced, more than a decade after the last ones, the celebrations were only tentative. For one thing, the series was returning without Caplan, due to scheduling conflicts. Caplans will-they-or-wont-they with Scott formed the main emotional through-line of the original series; Party Down wasnt just losing a great comic actor but also a key point of investment for the audience. (She is functionally replaced in the new series by Jennifer Garner, while Tyrel Jackson Williams, and Zoe Chao also join the cast.) The problems ran deeper than just this, though. The time jump drastically changed the premise. A bunch of 30-year-olds working an excruciating dead-end job while they pursue their dreams? Thats one thing. Age them all by 10 years, and the picture becomes a whole lot bleaker. Miraculously, however, the new episodes succeed despite these reservations. Theyre far better than they had any right to be.
The genius of Party Down always lay in its premise. Each episode functions as a standalone set piece, staged at a different party the team are catering a corporate retreat; a spoilt teens Sweet Sixteen; an orgy. Theyre not bottle episodes by any traditional definition, but they dutifully obey the Aristotlean unities of time and place. Its a format that allows the characters to bounce off each other, and the many left-field guest stars, with ease; the settings also allow plenty of scope for showbiz satire. Its a sitcom that leans heavily into the sit, with our central characters generally operating around the edges of some more bombastic drama involving whatever bizarre party is employing them.
But it wasnt just the premise that made Party Down one of the best sitcoms of the modern era. All the performances were first-rate. Scott nailed the dry-witted straight man persona he would soon replicate and sanitise for Parks and Recs Ben Wyatt. Marino was a tour de force as Ron, a desperate, pathetic mess stuffed into a too-tight shirt and a haircut you could set your watch to. What set Party Down apart from its contemporaries, too, was a willingness to get ugly, to revel in discomfort. It is perhaps the closest American TV has come to replicating the cringe comedy of The Office. Where shows like Parks and Rec and the US Office heaped sugar on the nastier side of Gervaiss satire, Party Down leaned into it: this was a story of flawed people in a demoralising situation, and it wasnt afraid to let bad things happen to them.
Ryan Hansen, Zoe Chao, Martin Starr, Adam Scott, and Tyrel Jackson Williams in Party Down' (Starz/Lionsgate)
The new episodes may not reach the peaks of the original runs best episodes ones like the vaunted Steve Guttenbergs Birthday, in which the gang arrive at the Police Academy stars house only to find there is no party to cater but they feel like the same show, even after all this time. The new cast members integrate surprisingly smoothly, and, crucially, the six episodes dont overreach. That is to say, rather than attempt to cram the episodes full of 12 years of frustrated what ifs and over-gestated emotional pay-offs, the new Party Down mostly opts for six goofy standalone larks, replete with shock humour, visual gags, and acidly funny repartee.
For diehard fans, the new series is a gift we never expected. For everyone else, its hopefully an elbow in the ribs, urging you to finally give this brilliant series a try. Why dont they make funny sitcoms anymore? Its a refrain I see often from critics and viewers alike. They still do you just have to show up to the right party.
Party Down is available to stream on Lionsgate+ in the UK, with new episodes arriving each Friday starting 24 February
Chicago police officers at the targeted Ford SUV near 111th Street and Hamlet Avenue after the Interstate 57 shooting that left three dead and three wounded on Feb. 19, 2023. (Network Video Productions)
The school community of the 13-year-old boy killed in the Sunday night shooting on I-57 mourned his death as classes resumed Tuesday.
Few new details have emerged about the interstate shooting that wounded three people and killed 2-year-old A-Mara Hall, 19-year-old Nasir Hall and 13-year-old William Smith as authorities remained tight-lipped Tuesday.
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At Montessori School of Englewood, students reflected upon a hole that cannot be filled after the death of Smith, an eighth grader at the school, said the schools director Rita Nolan.
The boy was wise and kind, smart funny and beloved, Nolan said. He devoured books and loved to wear his sweatshirt hood up, she told the Tribune.
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He had this wiry grin, and he just dared you to play with him, Nolan said.
The middle school students learned their classmate had been shot to death as word spread during the Presidents Day holiday. Many came back in tears, remembering the field trip they had taken with the boy on Friday, she said.
Students spent time remembering Smith together. His best friend spoke movingly about him, Nolan said, and classmates released balloons at the end of the day. The school director said it was important to support students in honoring the boy before his death inevitably becomes politicized. The kids affected by violence know whats going on and they should be listened to, she said.
They deserved to be children. He deserved to be celebrated, Nolan said.
The school director had an ongoing bet with Smith, she said: If the boy reached a certain level in his digital reading homework program, she would buy him a pizza. Another student noted that they saw online that Smith had done his homework this weekend. The students ate pizza for lunch Tuesday, Nolan said.
Smiths peers looked up to him, she said. The boys brother and niece were also killed in the shooting, she added.
We need to humanize this, Nolan said. These are real kids. Its our job to keep them safe. He was great.
The Illinois State Police shared no new information Tuesday about what happened as shots fell upon the victims inside the white SUV as the car traveled north on I-57 near Morgan Park. The shooting is not believed to be road rage-related, police said late Monday.
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Police said there is an open investigation into the shooting and would not say whether anyone is in custody. Police declined to share any new information.
Community activist Andrew Holmes is offering $7,000 for any information that helps police identify the shooter. The shots were apparently fired from another car because dozens of shell casings were found on the interstate, and police are still looking for information about the color, make and model of the vehicle the shooter might have been in, Holmes said.
Its a horrible shooting. You can look straight through the window and see there were children in there, Holmes said. The activist said he hopes to connect victims and their families with counseling.
Too many babies have been shot and killed throughout the city, he said, encouraging anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
Make this the talk. Keep this going, about these killers. Somebodys going to call in, Holmes said.
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 >
The interstate attack should be considered a mass shooting, argued Donovan Price, a street pastor who rushes to Chicago shooting scenes to support victims and their families. Price was outside Comer Childrens Hospital Sunday night, where several of the shooting victims were hospitalized.
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It got worse and worse as you heard more about during the course of the night, he recalled. Details were sketchy then and remain that way now, he said.
The mother of one of the children who was shot was unable to get information about what happened even hours after the shooting, Price said. The mother of the slain 2-year-old was driving the car and apparently hospitalized, he added.
He urged politicians pushing for various safety measures in the upcoming city elections to center on Chicagoans directly affected by violence. People need to realize that violence is a shared problem, he said.
Its not just a violence problem, Price said.
An earlier version of this story misstated the age of A-Mara Hall. She was 2, according to the Cook County Medical Examiners Office.
jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
Pence Alex Brandon and Wilfredo Lee/AP Images
Pence and DeSantis are presumed to be seeing the 2024 GOP nomination for president.
Pence drew a distinction with DeSantis on Wednesday over how he handled Disney.
It's an early sign of how the two will differ on big business policies.
Former Vice President Mike Pence is showing early signs of how he plans to differentiate himself from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as both are presumed to be entering the 2024 Republican presidential nomination contest.
Appearing on on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday, Pence said he thought DeSantis went too far when he retaliated against family-favorite Disney World by stripping the company of its self-governing status.
"I have concerns about the follow on," Pence said. "Disney stepped into the fray, they lost, but then the taxing authority that was beyond the scope of what I, as a conservative, limited-government Republican would be prepared to do."
Other Republican critics have called DeSantis' approach to large corporations heavy-handed and polarizing. While portion of the Republican Party has become more populist and distrusting of corporations, the GOP has historically been on the side of businesses by doling out major tax breaks while eschewing regulations in favor of a more hands-off posture.
Pence's comments are an early sign of how the former vice presidents plans to distinguish his positions and record in the 2024 GOP nomination contest. Neither Pence nor DeSantis have said they'll seek the presidency, though both are expected to get into the race that so far includes former President Donald Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Trump has been relentlessly lashing out at DeSantis, saying he has failed to give him enough credit for his 2018 gubernatorial win, while Haley said last week that DeSantis didn't go far enough when he enacted his schools bill that was at the center of the Disney dispute.
Pence, a devout Christian, said during the CNBC segment that he disagreed with DeSantis' retaliation methods even though he "fully supported" the Parental Rights in Education Act, the law critics, including LGBTQ rights organizations, have called "Don't Say Gay."
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Pence said he viewed the law as "protecting kids" because it mandates schools tell parents if they are offering students healthcare services. He cited instances in which minors might be offered transgender healthcare without parental notification.
When Pence was governor of Indiana he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, which some critics said would give businesses a "license to discriminate" against gays and lesbians. Facing backlash, Pence called lawmakers back to Indianapolis to clarify the intent of the law.
The Florida schools law in question bans instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, and has become controversial because it contains nebulous language that such instruction in higher grades must be "age appropriate or developmentally appropriate."
Some Florida school boards have shown they're confused about how to implement the law, and critics have said they're worried about chilling the speech of LGBTQ teachers and about students being bullied or outed to families who don't accept them. Studies show that LGBTQ youth face higher rates of suicide compared to their cisgender or straight peers.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has criticized the GOP's approach to big business. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
DeSantis has doubled down on his big business tactics
DeSantis faced similar backlash as Pence did in Indiana over the schools law he championed in Florida, but doubled down. After Disney leaders said they'd work toward its repeal, DeSantis asked the legislature to send him a bill stripping the company of its self-governing status starting in June 2022.
On top of that, the legislature held a special session in February to take the law even further. Under a new bill that's before DeSantis, the governor will have the power to appoint a state-run board.
DeSantis defended his approach to corporations throughout his race for reelection in 2022, and specifically ran on the actions he took against the resort and theme park. Disney is Florida's largest private employer and the company has championed gay rights since the 1990s.
Disney was free to take a position on the bill but "they are not free to force all of us to subsidize their activism, and that's what they were doing," DeSantis said during a June 2022 interview with conservative commentator Dave Rubin.
"We do not subcontract our leadership to woke corporations in California," the governor said during an October 26 campaign stop in Walton County, Florida.
DeSantis didn't mention during his stumping that he married his wife, Casey DeSantis, at Disney World in 2009, a fact Insider was first to report.
DeSantis' battles against big corporations go beyond Disney. He has fought big businesses everything from diversity trainings to environmental, social, and governance investing.
At a conservative conference in September 2022, DeSantis accused "corporate America" of having too much power in America and of "exercising quasi-public power in terms of using their economic power to change policy in this country."
"What I'm doing is using government to give space to the individual citizen to be able to participate in society to be able to speak his or her mind," he said. "And I think that's an absolutely appropriate use of government power. "
Read the original article on Business Insider
Pennsylvania House Democrats put their freshly minted majority status to work Tuesday in shutting down Republican efforts to make changes to legislation designed to let victims of childhood sexual abuse file otherwise outdated lawsuits.
After the winners of three Pittsburgh-area special elections were sworn in, giving Democrats a 102-101 majority, the chamber began work on legislation for a two-year window for child sexual abuse lawsuits, aiming for a final House vote later this week.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Pennsylvania House to discuss child sexual abuse amendment in special session
The Democrats kept together their single-seat margin during several hours of contentious debate over arcane chamber rules, with both sides using bare-knuckled legislative tactics.
House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County and his Republican caucus colleagues peppered Democratic Speaker Mark Rozzi, of Berks, with parliamentary inquiries, points of order and other floor maneuvers before Democrats forced a vote that approved special rules designed to speed immediate passage of the two-year lawsuit window.
Rozzi and the Democrats want to get the lawsuit window approved by their chamber before the House enacts rules and begins work for the regular two-year session that began last month. The tension surrounding the special-session rules Tuesday suggests the regular rules may also be contentious. Rank-and-file members have yet to learn which committees they will serve on.
The GOP-majority state Senate passed the lawsuit window last month in the form of a constitutional amendment but bundled it with two other amendments Republicans favor and Democrats generally oppose. One would greatly expand voter ID requirements; the other would make it easier to overturn regulations enacted by the governors administration.
Under Republican majorities, the House has previously voted overwhelmingly in favor of the two-year window. The Democrats want to pass it in two ways this week as a regular bill and again as an amendment to the state constitution, as the Senate did.
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A bill that passes both chambers could become law as soon as the governor signs it, while a constitutional change would need to be approved by voters, in November at the earliest.
I think the dual path is always the right way to go, Rozzi said in a Capitol hallway after the session ended. We want to give both options to the Senate. The victims have always wanted the statutory route and if the Senate would pass that, we wouldnt have to wait till November.
Cutler, who opted not to seek another session as speaker at the end of last year, argued Democrats were wielding the majority to prevent amendments and constrain debate, later describing it as undemocratic and a complete shutdown of any minority involvement.
If you want to vote for it, you should at least be able to discuss it, Cutler told his Democratic colleagues on the floor. He also argued Democrats were using questionable procedural tactics that risked future legal challenges.
Rozzi was known as a prime backer of the lawsuit window before he emerged as a compromise candidate for speaker last month.
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The Defense Department on Wednesday warned China against providing lethal aid to Russia, echoing similar cautionary statements from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other U.S. officials as concerns mount that Beijing will support Moscows war in Ukraine with weapons and munitions.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a press briefing that China will face consequences if it provides lethal assistance.
There will certainly be consequences for China should they deepen their relationship with Russia, Singh said. We havent seen them give lethal aid to Russia at this time for the war, but they also havent taken that off the table.
Singh declined to comment on what those consequences would look like.
Over the weekend, Blinken said China has provided nonlethal aid to Russia and was considering the option of sending lethal aid, adding that he warned his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany against the move.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Sunday also said the U.S. has warned China of consequences if the nation supplies any lethal assistance to Russia.
On Monday, Beijing hit back against accusations it was considering sending lethal aid to Russia, accusing the U.S. instead of escalating the war in Ukraine.
It is the U.S., not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield, said Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, at a press briefing. The U.S. is in no position to tell China what to do.
China is one of the few nations that has not condemned Russias war in Ukraine, and trade between Beijing and Moscow soared to record levels in 2022.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who have long had close ties, announced a no limits partnership shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.
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Chinas top diplomat, Wang Yi, traveled to Russia and met with Putin this week. And Xi is planning a visit to Moscow in the coming months, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Russia, China and South Africa are also holding joint naval drills in the Indian Ocean starting on Friday.
Russia has secured lethal assistance from allies during the war, including explosive drones from Iran.
North Korea has also reportedly provided Russian mercenary company Wagner Group with missiles and artillery shells.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Defense Departments U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) launched an investigation this week following a report that said that the unit had an exposed server that was leaking sensitive but unclassified emails online.
USSOCOM is a unit within the Department of Defense that conducts and oversees special operations in branches of the military including the army, navy, marine corps and the air force.
The open server was secured on Monday after being exposed for the past two weeks, according to TechCrunch, which first reported the leak.
A security error left the server without a password, according to TechCrunch, which means that anyone on the internet could access the data via the servers IP address.
USSOCOM spokesman Ken McGraw told TechCrunch on Tuesday that there is no sign that someone hacked the units information systems.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Cyber Command sent The Hill the following statement.
As a matter of practice and operational security, we do not comment on the status of our networks and systems. Our defensive cyber operators proactively scan and mitigate the networks they manage, it reads.
Should any incidents be discovered during these regular operations, we fully mitigate, protect, and defend our networks and systems. Any information or insight is shared with relevant agencies and partners if appropriate.
What did the exposed server contain?
The server housed massive amounts of data that contained sensitive information, including personal and health information of federal employees seeking security clearance, according to TechCrunch.
Anurag Sen, a security researcher, reportedly found the open server over the weekend and alerted the news organization, which then alerted the agency.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A man has been arrested after allegedly starting the fire in Boston that left eight residents homeless Saturday night.
Carl Fernand, 32, of Boston was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on charges of arson of a dwelling, according to the Suffolk County DAs office.
Fernand was spotted spreading accelerant on the floor of the Blue Hill Avenue home that went up in flames and caused damages estimated at $1 million dollars, according to the DA.
The Boston Fire Investigation Unit has determined the the 2 Alarm Fire last Saturday night at 1553 Blue Hill Ave. that left 8 residents homeless ,was intentionally set. A person has been arrested and charged in this case. pic.twitter.com/3L38IBVAKp Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) February 22, 2023
One person was also hospitalized with minor injuries.
The Red Cross assisted the eight people that were displaced.
Fernand was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday, Feb. 24.
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By Marco Aquino
LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian protesters have temporarily lifted blockades of a key mining highway in the country's south, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, a boost for activity at major copper mines that saw activity hit in recent weeks as supplies were choked off.
The "mining corridor" highway, an important transport route for mines including Glencore Plc's Antapaccay and Las Bambas, owned by China's MMG Ltd, has in recent days been unblocked after weeks of protests, the sources said.
"The corridor is clear, some sections are damaged, but it is free," said a source close to Las Bambas, which normally provides some 2% of global copper supply, though saw mining activity significant reduced in recent weeks.
"We were in a state of maintenance care, with minimal production so as not to have to stop," the person said. Las Bambas has a long history of dealing with community protests that have at times stymied operations in recent years.
Las Bambas: maintenance mode? https://www.reuters.com/graphics/PERU-MINING/klvygdlojvg/chart.png
Anti-government protests have hit Peru, the world's no. 2 copper producer, since the Dec. 7 ouster of leftist President Pedro Castillo, who illegally tried to dissolve Congress and reorganize the judicial system. Blockades have affected mines, hitting shares and buoying prices of the metal.
The number of blockades has declined over the last week to around 37 on Wednesday from more than a hundred in January, with talk of a "truce" around the recent festive Carnival period, an important holiday in the region.
"With this truce we are gradually returning to operations, progressively, but we don't know what will happen next," said a source close to Antapaccay, who said the mine has stopped production in mid-January but since resumed at minimum levels.
Publicly available power use data analyzed by Reuters shows that Las Bambas has seen sharp swings in activity since a drop in early February due to a lack of key supplies. Power use at Antapaccay has been under 50% normal levels since Feb. 9.
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Antapaccay: Protest hit https://www.reuters.com/graphics/PERU-MINING/mopaklewlpa/chart.png
The sources said community members involved in protests were planning meetings in coming days and blockades could be resumed. Several communities in the southern Cusco region are expected to meet on Thursday to discuss their next steps.
The protests, which are calling for the resignation of new President Dina Boluarte, the closure of Congress, a new Constitution and early elections, have left 49 dead in clashes and 11 dead in accidents linked to the blockades.
Boluarte has looked to rally political support in recent days amid infighting amongst lawmakers over plans to bring elections forward to this year. She has also authorized payments to relatives of those killed on injured in the protests.
Peru Mines: 7-day average power use https://www.reuters.com/graphics/PERU-MINING/gdpzqdxqjvw/chart.png
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by Adam Jourdan and David Gregorio)
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit East Palestine, Ohio, on Thursday, nearly three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train derailment caused a toxic chemical spill in the area.
Buttigiegs visit comes he faced criticism for waiting more than a week to publicly talk about the derailment and subsequent burn of toxic chemicals that continues to have residents fearing for their health and safety.
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains on Feb. 6, 2023.
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains on Feb. 6, 2023.
Buttigieg has since called on rail companies like Norfolk Southern to remain profitable while maintaining a higher standard of safety and taking better care of their workers.
His visit comes after the Environmental Protection Agency announced response efforts would transition from an emergency phase to a remediation phase, the Department of Transportation said in a statement.
While Gov. Mike Dewine (R) announced last week that the towns municipal drinking water showed no evidence of contamination, the testing used by Ohio authorities was funded by the railroad operator itself and did not initially comply with federal standards, HuffPost first reported on Friday.
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A legal petition seeks to free an 8-months-pregnant Florida inmate who says her fetus has received inadequate medical care while in custody.
The petition, filed Thursday in Floridas Third District Court of Appeal, demands the release of the fetus from the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department because it has received limited prenatal care since Natalia Harrell's arrest.
Harrell, 24, is accused of fatally shooting a woman while they were in an Uber vehicle. She was charged with second-degree murder in August and has been ordered to be held without bond.
According to court records, Harrell pleaded not guilty Dec. 6. Her trial is scheduled for April 18.
Attorney William Norris, who filed the petition on behalf of the fetus after he was contacted by the father, said Tuesday that the "unborn child" is a person with constitutional rights.
Once you define an unborn child as a person, then the unborn child acquires constitutional rights that apply to any person. And specifically, in this case, thats the right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of the law. And in this case, the unborn child has received absolutely no due process at all, he said. The court should let the mother go into an environment that protects the rights of the child.
The filing says officials have failed or refused to take the unborn child to the attending OB-GYN physician at Jackson Hospital, saying the last visit the mother had was in October. The court filing also says Harrell has not received prescribed vitamins and nutritional drinks during her pregnancy.
It says that the "unborn child" is kept in a cell block or pod with violent criminals and that sometimes people are housed there after having been disciplined for fighting or breaking rules at the detention center.
A filing by the respondents the Corrections and Rehabilitation Department and its director argues that the petition should be dismissed because it is beyond the scope of when a subject should be released and says the mother and the unborn's child care are a priority.
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The State of Florida, however, does not take the allegations contained in the petition lightly and recognizes the importance and absolute necessity for a pregnant woman and her unborn child to receive adequate medical attention and treatment," the court document says. "The State communicated with all respondents on an emergency basis to ensure petitioners mother and unborn child's wellbeing."
A corrections department spokesperson said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the agency would not comment on an ongoing case but did speak in general terms about medical care for pregnant inmates.
We are committed to ensuring all inmates receive professional, timely medical care and all appropriate treatment, the statement said. We are conducting a full review of the health services offered and received to ensure that all pre-natal care being provided in our custody is appropriate.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Estes Elementary School kindergarteners Evelyn Bolmer, front left; Jase Bellamy, back right; and Eric Guarneros, front right, listen as teacher Faith Harralson assists Bolmer with a math equation in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 2016. A Kentucky House committee on Feb. 7, 2023, discussed potential ways to attract and retain more educators in response to the state's shortage of teachers. (Jenny Sevcik/The Messenger-Inquirer)
Schools across the country face enormous challenges nowadays. Keeping students and teachers safe from violence is the No. 1 priority. School shootings have become so common that we are no longer surprised when they happen. There were more than 300 shooting incidents on school grounds last year, easily surpassing the totals in 2021 and 2020, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.
Our youths mental health and social-emotional issues are another priority that schools should address consistently. From 2016 to 2019, more than 13% of youths ages 3 to 17 were diagnosed with anxiety and depression, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. The pandemic has exacerbated the problem. An estimated 44% of high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless in the years surrounding the pandemic, according to CDC data.
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There was a time when schools top priority was providing students with a quality education. Preparing them for the labor force meant improving their knowledge base in a broad number of subject areas, including vocational. Teacher colleges across the country echoed this philosophy.
In the 1950s and 1960s, we were united as a country to make Americas educational system first-rate. After the Soviet Union released Sputnik, the worlds first artificial satellite, we responded collectively. The National Defense Education Act helped pour more than $1 billion into Americas educational system to improve the academic output of students, particularly in math and science.
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Unfortunately, providing a competitive and quality curriculum is not enough nowadays, and a spirit of working together and finding common ground seems to have escaped us. Far too many local school districts are facing enormous pressure from policymakers to censor what students are learning in schools. This includes threats of having teachers arrested or their licenses revoked.
Lest we forget the obvious: The growing teacher shortage presents a challenge for Americas educational system and indeed our labor force. The demand for teachers is exceeding the supply for grades K-12 in public education, according to a report by the Learning Policy Institute, an education research and policy advocacy group. This situation is not limited to urban and rural areas; shortages are apparent in areas of the country that usually dont experience a drop in teacher supply. The problem has been made worse by a high number of teachers leaving the profession. Up to half of teachers leave the profession within five years, a 2014 report by the advocacy Alliance for Excellent Education shows.
The implications are far-reaching and could have a deleterious impact on our labor force. As conversations continue about what students should be allowed to read and study, its important that parents and guardians understand that public education is historically a local matter.
[ Daniel B. Coupland: Want to stem the tide of teachers fleeing the classroom? Empower them to lead. ]
The 10th Amendment, which states, The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people, allows parents input into local school matters. Policymakers take their cue from the local community. And parents play an integral role in that process.
The latest poll by Phi Delta Kappan, a professional organization of educators, shows that parents generally have a positive view of their local schools and give their childs school relatively high marks. Thats because they see the hard work that teachers put in daily. They listen to the stories their children share about the sacrifices teachers make, the times they spend their own money to help students and the tireless efforts teachers put in to help the neediest students.
This indicates that parents and schools are not at odds with each other, despite the rhetoric of some policymakers. Through collaboration and shared decision-making, schools work hard to provide the best educational environment for students. The risk of the politicization of many aspects of education not only stymies creativity but also could drive more teachers out of the profession. It also may form a wedge between schools and the citizens of a community.
Undoubtedly, parents and other stakeholders should have a say in local educational matters. They always have. However, having them dictate, without input from teachers and school boards, what should be taught to students runs afoul of how public schools have functioned in America for centuries. Its time to return to that place in time where we worked together and sought areas to agree on rather than disagree.
Its not necessary nor advantageous to promote divisive rhetoric in schools. Dictating what schools do challenges and compromises the freedoms we relish in our democracy. Lets continue to nurture and support dialogue among students, teachers, parents, administrators and school boards. It serves our nation well.
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Jerald McNair, who has a doctorate in education and a graduate degree in public policy, is a school administrator at South Holland School District 151.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
The Honda Classic marks the start of the PGAs Florida swing. Played at PGA National, the course offers a level of difficulty that could cause chaos for a weaker field. Anyone can win, which makes predicting an outright winner that much more challenging. You can opt for the head-to-head market instead to manage risk.
Here are two matchup options, including a first-round matchup.
Full tournament
Ben Griffin +100 > Cameron Davis
Griffin might not have Davis' distance, but he might not need it on this course. Im backing the player with the better iron play and short game. Griffin is top-20 in the field for strokes gained on approach. Plus, hes a negative putter, except on Bermuda greens, the only surface on which he gains strokes.
Were catching plus money fading a player who has back-to-back missed cuts. In Davis past two tournaments, the American Express and Farmers Insurance Open, he lost strokes in every single category. Perhaps a few weeks off can give him a surge, but until proven otherwise, Griffin at +100 is a solid option.
Round 1
Robby Shelton +105 > Billy Horschel
The Alabama native has a nice string of recent results. This year, Shelton has played in four events with two top-20 finishes, including a T6 in the American Express. While he lacks off the tee, Shelton is fifth in the field for his iron play and top-30 around the greens.
Horschel, known for his short game, has been less than stellar in that area, losing strokes in three of his past four tournaments. Known for doing one thing well and then no longer doing that thing well makes for a good fade opportunity. Horschel is the better Bermuda putter, but with the course so penal, Sheltons ball-striking gives him the edge.
A U-2 over the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California in March 2016. US Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Robert M. Trujillo)
A US Air Force pilot took a selfie with the Chinese spy balloon before it was shot down.
The Pentagon confirmed the photo's authenticity after it began circulating online this week.
The pilot, flying a U-2 spy aircraft, took the image a day before the balloon was downed by an F-22.
A US Air Force pilot managed to capture a selfie with a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon the day before it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.
A U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane under US Northern Command authority was sent to monitor the balloon as it flew over the continental US during the final days of January and into early February. A pilot took a picture of the balloon from the cockpit, and it began circulating online earlier this week.
Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a Wednesday briefing that she can "confirm the photo's authenticity, and we are planning to release it," when asked about the selfie.
Insider obtained a copy of the selfie from the Air Force, which said the photo was taken over the "Central Continental" US on February 3, a day before it was shot down by an F-22 Raptor off the coast of South Carolina. The image has since been released on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.
A US Air Force pilot looks down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovers over the central continental US on February 3. Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense
The U-2's involvement in gathering intelligence on the spy balloon was first reported by The Drive on February 6. CNN later reported two days later that the selfie actually existed. Officials told the outlet that the photo had "already gained legendary status" at NORAD and in the Pentagon.
Dragon Lady Today obtained the image and published it on February 21, a day before the US military confirmed its authenticity.
U-2 spy planes are single-seat aircraft that can provide surveillance and reconnaissance from extremely high altitudes at over 70,000 feet. Because of this, pilots typically wear full-pressure suits like those worn by astronauts. The plane first flew in 1955, but it has been upgraded throughout its service life. The 33 in service now were built in the 1980s.
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A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, on February 1, 2022. Chase Doak/via REUTERS
It's unclear where, exactly, the selfie was taken. Senior US defense officials previously said the balloon entered Alaskan airspace on January 28 before entering Canada's airspace two days later and reentering US airspace on January 31 over the Pacific Northwest.
The balloon then traveled southeast across the country before it was shot down on February 4 by an F-22, an fifth-generation stealth fighter, using a single AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile, sending the system plummeting into the Atlantic Ocean from an altitude of over 60,000 feet.
US sailors recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on February 5. Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Thompson
The US military, including the Coast Guard, worked with federal and local law-enforcement agencies to recover the remains of the balloon and its payload, which US officials said carried intelligence-gathering equipment.
The search was concluded on February 16, and Singh told reporters Wednesday that "the majority of the balloon, including the payload, was recovered."
This incident stoked tensions between Washington and Beijing, which US officials say has been operating a global network of similar spy balloons for years. The program has sent balloons over 40 countries across five continents, a State Department official said on February 9.
"We know these balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations," the State Department official added, referring to the People's Republic of China. "These kinds of activities are often undertaken at the direction of the People's Liberation Army."
US Air Force fighter jets downed three unidentified objects in North American airspace in three engagements on February 10, 11, and 12. Officials have yet to reveal what the objects were, but President Joe Biden said last week that they were not related to any country's surveillance program and were most likely civilian objects.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Recent downpours in critically drought-stricken California have helped to replenish reservoirs but scientists caution people to not get the wrong impression from images of areas with seemingly abundant amounts of water.
A series of damaging winter storms from December 2022 into January provided some sorely needed resources for farmers, wildlife, and residents who have faced among the lowest precipitation and lake levels since the 1970s. But its unlikely to reverse the regions decades-long decline in water reserves that supplement surface sources used for irrigation and other purposes, according to NASA.
A caution sign is posted at the Castaic Lake reservoir in Los Angeles County, with hills scorched by the recent Route Fire in the distance, on October 4, 2022 in Castaic, California. The reservoir, part of the State Water Project, is currently at 35 percent capacity, below the historic average of 43 percent.
The abundant water is expected to recharge the groundwater in the next few months, as we have seen during similar events in 2011 and 2017, said Pang-Wei Liu, a scientist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center. However, if the climate pattern is the same as before dry and hot in summer followed by low precipitation and the water demands are still high, then we expect the groundwater drawdown will continue.
Side by side images of one of the two largest reservoirs in the state, Lake Oroville, show the impact of recent winter storms.
Lake Oroville's capacity rose 36% from November and was at 64% capacity as of January 30, or about 111% of the historical average for the time of year, NASA said.
As of this week, levels stood at 115% of the historical average for the date a notable jump from just 61% in February 2021 and 77% in 2022.
Water crisis in West: Massive reservoir Lake Powell hits historic low water level
'Dead pool' approaches: Western water crisis looms as California complicates critical water deal
The tan fringes around the lakes known as bathtub rings which appear when calcium and other mineral compounds attach to the sandstone during instances of higher water levels were mostly underwater again by late January.
Even the wettest wet seasons are simply never enough to make up for the far greater amount of groundwater that California extracts each year, said Arizona State University Professor Jay Famiglietti.
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Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY's NOW team.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Drought-stricken CA reservoir recovers after barrage of winter storms
A crew member signals to an F-35 aircraft for take off on the UK's aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Mediterranean Sea on June 20, 2021. AP Photo/Petros Karadjias
A Royal Navy F-35 pilot described ejecting from an F-35 during a failed takeoff.
He told the BBC the jet wasn't accelerating and was going to "roll off the ship," so he had to get out.
He used his parachute and ended up landing on the deck, avoiding being sucked under the warship.
A UK fighter pilot has described ejecting from his F-35 just before the aircraft fell into the sea.
The Royal Navy pilot, known as Hux, spoke to the BBC about the November 2021 incident, when the fighter jet plunged into the waters off the huge HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier during an attempted takeoff.
While the incident took place in 2021, the interview has only just been released.
Hux said that his jet suddenly lost acceleration, and his efforts to get it to react properly didn't work. "I tried for emergency power - that didn't work, then I tried to slap on the brakes - that didn't work either so I kind of knew it was going to roll off the ship," he said.
He added that he then used his ejector seat, and good luck meant that he ended up above the ship. "A second later I could see the flight deck of the ship starting to appear beneath me," he said.
Hux added that he was able to land back on the deck, just a few feet away from the edge. If he had landed in the water he could have been pulled underneath the 65,000-ton warship, the BBC reported.
An interim investigation into the incident, which finished in June 2022, found that it was likely caused by an intake cover being left on the aircraft, which reduced its power.
The pilot "attempted to abort the take-off but was unable to stop the aircraft before the end of the ramp and ejected," it said.
The pilot was successful in getting back on the ship with his parachute, and only had "minor injuries," the investigation added. The jet sank beneath the waters.
The UK Ministry of Defence said in December 2021 that the jet had been recovered from the sea.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The town of Plains is putting down a fresh coat of paint as it gets ready for whats expected to be a new influx of visitors after the Carter Center announced former President Jimmy Carter would be receiving hospice care.
Channel 2s Richard Elliot watched on Wednesday as crews restriped Main Street and on Tuesday night, the town lit up the Christmas lights.
It was all done to help cheer up the people of Plains and the people who are on their way there.
In a video posted by James Earl Carter IV, Jimmy Carters grandson, you can see him juggling to cheer up everyone inside the Carter home.
They didnt show the former president or first lady, but they were there.
Barely a mile away, crews were busy trying to cheer up the town of Plains by laying down a new coat of paint. They restriped Main Street and all the parking spaces lining it.
Because it was certainly spruced up when he was running for president, said Jody Cripe.
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The town of plains hired Cripes work crew to put down the paint. He grew up in Americus and remembers coming to Plains when Carter was running for president.
He wants to make the town look like that again.
It was exciting to know that he was a local guy, and of course, everybody local voted for him, but it was just, the world came here instead of people going to see the world, Cripe said.
That included people like Bill and Kathi Rattler.
The couple has driven down from Grand Rapids, Michigan for six years hoping to get a glance of the former president. They never did but theyre glad they came back now.
I want to see Jimmy Carter, thats why. We kept coming though, and the people are amazing, Kathy Rattler said.
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Michael and Jessica Harley drove over from Columbus. They like the way the town is sprucing itself up.
We know the city is painting lines and doing everything. I think its nice. It represents that the town still loves him, Michael Harley said.
The town also started turning on its Christmas lights at night. Jimmy carters niece Kim Fuller said she thought it was a good way to honor her uncle.
RELATED NEWS:
The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is celebrating the birth of three dama gazelle calves the rarest of all gazelles.
The zoo says the calves were born throughout January and February in the Heart of Africa region and are thriving thanks to additional support provided by the zoos expert care team.
A female calf was born on Jan. 21 to first-time mother, Kix. The calf was the first birth of the year at the zoo.
The next day, the care team noted during a wellness exam that her temperature was a bit higher than normal. As a precaution, she received a catheter and was treated with antibiotics, plasma and meloxicam.
After three days, her lab work was normal. Kix has remained an attentive mother throughout the process, the zoo said.
>> There is always an inherent risk; 12-year-old bison dies while anesthetized in Columbus Zoo care
On Jan. 31, experienced mother, Susie, welcomed her female calf with sire, Zultan, the zoo said.
The zoo says the care team became concerned when the calf was not observed nursing overnight. When they stepped in with a bottle, the calf latched quickly and began nursing from her mother in the same feeding session.
After also receiving a catheter for a couple of days, the zoo says the calf is quite playful and spunky.
The third calf, a male, was born Feb. 7 to mother Raisin, and father, Kabili, who also sired Kixs calf.
While the calf did not have any issues nursing, the care team observed him occasionally splaying, which could results in more serious issues later, the zoo said. The team used a hobble system on his back legs to help provide support and stabilization while he built his strength.
After a few days, the system was removed, and the zoo says he has since been active, strong, and healthy.
Since Heart of Africa opened in 2014, weve welcomed 14 dama gazelle calves, and every birth is special and important to the survival of this rare species, said Shannon Borders, curator of the Columbus Zoos Heart of Africa region. While the dama can weigh up to 165 pounds and is the largest of all gazelle species, the small calves sometimes require additional care and medical attention when theyre first born. Were proud of the dedication and expertise of our care teams, who stepped in to help ensure that the calves have what they need for their health and overall wellbeing. Already, theyre almost as fast as the adults, and guests will soon have the opportunity to learn more about the species while observing them on our savanna.
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The three calves have not yet been named and continue to bond with their mothers and one another in a behind-the-scenes area.
For more information, you can visit the zoos website.
The first Columbus Zoo births of 2023THREE critically endangered dama gazelle calves! Thanks to assistance from our expert care team, these cuties have spent their first month playing and bonding with their respective mothers, Kix, Susie, and Raisin. https://t.co/W6pWJFOWst pic.twitter.com/u8O6VG1mIu Columbus Zoo (@ColumbusZoo) February 21, 2023
A house in Buchi during the occupation by the Rashists
Information about the soldiers was shared with a U.S. Congress delegation during their visit to Bucha, where they were told about the mass graves that were discovered after the city was liberated from invading Russian troops.
Read also: 90% of Russian unit responsible for Bucha atrocities lost, Ukrainian military says
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said that the Russian army had committed about 9,000 war crimes in Bucha District in Kyiv Oblast, killing over 1,700 civilians 700 of them in Bucha alone.
"We found mass graves with mutilated bodies of men, women, and children, Kostin said.
Torture, murder, sexual violence. This is the true face of the Russian world and the Russian regime, which is based on a complete disregard for the principles of human rights and humanitarian law.
Read also: The New York Times unveils new evidence of Russian war crimes in Bucha
The Prosecutor General said Ukraine needs support in establishing an international tribunal to bring Russias leadership to justice.
"So far, 91 Russian servicemen involved in these crimes have been identified. Were working to bring all those involved to justice," Kostin said.
After the Russian invaders retreated from the Kyiv Oblast, the world saw evidence of their atrocities, involving the murder of hundreds of victims. The bodies of civilians tortured and killed by the Russians were found in the Kyiv satellite towns of Bucha and Irpin, and along the Zhytomyr highway to the west of the Ukrainian capital.
On April 14, the Ukrainian parliament recognized the actions of Russia and its army as genocide of the Ukrainian people. The leaders of several Western countries have condemned the war crimes of the Russian army and called for an investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.
Read also: Ukrainian OSINT group identifies Russian soldier who stole AirPods in Bucha
Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Phoenix Police Department.
Police identified the suspect in a Tuesday morning shooting where an 18-year-old was killed when he was visiting a friend at a home in central Phoenix.
Jose Olegario Gomez Herrera, 29, was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jesus Alexander Reyes-Morales, 18, according to court documents.
According to Phoenix police and court documents, just before 1 a.m., Gomez barged into his former wifes house near 27th Avenue and Van Buren Street and shot her friend, Reyes-Morales, multiple times before dragging him out of the home and fleeing the scene.
Gomez's ex-wife told police that Gomez had been calling her and that she had seen his truck driving by her home prior to him arriving there, according to court documents. Once at her home, she told police that Gomez knocked at the door, punched out the screen door when she answered and pushed past her to Reyes-Morales, who was seated on a couch, court documents say.
Gomez's ex-wife told police she saw Gomez pull a handgun from his waistband and, fearing for her and her child's safety, she fled to a back bedroom where she said she heard about five gunshots in the living room followed by the sound of Reyes-Morales being dragged out of the house, according to court documents. Once she thought Gomez had left, she called police, court documents say.
Officers found Reyes-Morales in the driveway with multiple gunshots to the chest and firefighters pronounced him dead at the scene, according to court documents.
Crime scene evidence indicated Reyes-Morales was on a sofa when he was shot and then dragged from the house, court documents say.
Gomez was identified to police by his ex-wife through a photograph, court documents say.
Police took Gomez into custody after locating him at an apartment where a white Ford pickup was registered, the same truck that was seen on home video surveillance near the crime scene, court documents say.
Gomez was found with multiple .45 caliber cartridges, according to court documents. Police also found .45 caliber fired casings in the living room where the shooting happened.
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Gomez, court documents say, admitted to police to shooting Reyes-Morales while making claims that the victim charged at him with a knife despite no weapon being found. Gomez also said he lived at the home where the shooting took place, despite his ex-wife telling officers he moved out about a year before and was not provided with a key, was not on the lease and was not paying rent, according to court documents.
According to court documents, police found the .45 caliber gun covered in blood after they followed up with Gomez's girlfriend. Court documents say Gomez drove to her home in Peoria after the shooting, told her he had killed someone and gave her the weapon.
In addition to the first-degree murder charge, Gomez was charged with burglary, a felony 2 count, due to entering his former wifes house on suspicion of committing a felony crime, according to court documents. Gomez also was charged with tampering with evidence, a felony 6 count, after his ex-wife said he took surveillance cameras from her home, court documents say.
Additionally, court documents say Gomez was charged with possession of a weapon by a prohibited person, a felony 4 offense.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Gomez was in jail custody on a $1 million bond, Maricopa County court and jail records show. His next court date appearance was scheduled for March 3.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man charged with fatally shooting teen in Phoenix home
A photograph of a Ukrainian serviceman is placed on his grave in the Alley of Glory area of a cemetery in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2023. (Vadim Ghirda / AP)
No sooner had President Joe Biden arrived in Ukraine on Monday than the Russian state news agency Tass berated the surprise visit to his ward Zelenskyy and warned that Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet the same fate as others who have sold their souls to the Americans.
Damned by their own people, needed by no one, forced to spend lavishly the money earned in America from betraying their countries on American lawyers, Tass quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.
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The Russian news site Sputnik badmouthed Bidens business trip, and wondered whether son Hunters consulting contracts are expiring? The Russian site Ukraina.ru underscored how Biden promised a lot of weapons and swore allegiance to the neo-Nazi regime.
The Vladimir Putin misinformation machine is as regimented as a 24-hour McDonalds, especially with Ukraine war, an exhausting topic toward which our attention wavers. Yet, his daily deceit should not be forgotten, even as sexier misinformation topics briefly grab us.
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Leading the pack now is Microsofts reconfigured Bing search engine, which incorporates the much-publicized artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT. The chatbots willingness to generate misleading and inaccurate information, and even unintentionally insult the consumer, has elicited global attention and criticism. Those miscues initially overshadow dazzling elements that will likely make us smarter, more efficient and perhaps revolutionize education.
The tech giant, a partner of ours at NewsGuard, is clearly stung by the early bumbles, acknowledges them and has billion-dollar incentives to make fixes since rivals such as Google are racing down the same AI path.
President Joe Biden, left, is escorted by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he visits St. Michaels Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv, Ukraines embattled capital, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Daniel Berehulak /The New York Times)
Such contrition, and self-interest to remedy misinformation, is not exhibited by Putin, an unabashedly diabolical promoter of falsehoods.
While Microsoft is the medias tech pinata of the moment, Putins Ukraine handiwork tends to get a pass amid the conflicts wearying essence. His unceasing lies are not as alluring as an Associated Press reporters long conversation with the Bing chatbot and watching it grow increasingly hostile when asked to explain itself, eventually comparing the reporter to dictators Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin and claiming to have evidence tying the reporter to a 1990s murder.
But, on the wars melancholy anniversary, NewsGuard cataloged what is often Russian-spewed misinformation. It has kept us busy detailing more than 100 false narratives and identifying 358 Russia-Ukraine disinformation sites.
In addition, NewsGuard has found 50 Russian propaganda films on the war that have made their way onto YouTube, despite the platforms ban on Russian state-funded media.
As the NewsGuard website states: While most myths disavow Russias alleged atrocities and other abuses in Ukraine or demonize Ukrainians, NewsGuard has also debunked some pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian myths, ranging from manipulated images of the mythical Ghost of Kyiv to misleading footage of alleged Russian attacks.
And, notably, we find, almost one-third of the websites that NewsGuard has identified as spreading disinformation about the war 112 continue to earn programmatic advertising revenue, many placed on behalf of blue-chip brands without their knowledge or intention.
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For example, Google delivers ads to Pravda, a pro-Kremlin website that operates in multiple languages and is owned by a Putin ally. The narratives include: The U.S. is developing bioweapons to be used against ethnic Russians; Ukrainian officials have purchased multimillion-dollar properties in Switzerland; and the Ukrainian military sold French-made artillery systems to Russia.
The big-time brands appearing on Pravda of late, and thus financially supporting disinformation, include Hertz, Sothebys, Petco, Lending Tree, Cars.com, AAA, Norton, Toshiba and, yes, Google.
As NewsGuard co-founder Gordon Crovitz puts it, The Putin government took full advantage of the failure of Silicon Valleys leading digital platforms to take responsibility for the news brands they promote in their products.
The pro-Putin disinformation myths are unrelenting: The massacre of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, was staged; Russian-speaking residents in the Donbas region have been subjected to genocide; Russia was not stealing grain from Ukraine or blocking shipments; and Nazism is rampant in Ukrainian politics and society, supported by the authorities in Kyiv.
While misinformation takes a back seat to the deadly realities of the battlefield, it indirectly affects a countrys willingness to resist or fight by demoralizing the population and the armed forces, said Alexander Motyl, a historian-artist and Ukraine expert at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
In creating the impression of an invincible opponent and inevitable defeat, misinformation encourages people to throw down their weapons and settle or, if they are not party to the war, to shrug and turn the other way, Motyl said.
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Many Ukrainians bought into Russian propaganda in past years. As Motyl reminds, some Ukrainians, mostly in the southeast, considered Kyiv responsible for tensions in the Donbas. And misinformation took its toll, even if Russian deception may have failed often in 2022, with the patent obviousness of the invasion, and the magnitude of war crimes, crystal clear.
It affects some audiences in Europe and North America, perhaps mostly on the far left and the far right, including in Latin America, Africa and Asia, Motyl said. Former colonies should support Ukraines anti-colonial struggle, he said. Instead, they are either indifferent, or inclined to believe the Russian narrative.
Jim Warren, a former managing editor of the Tribune, is executive editor of NewsGuard.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Boston Police are investigating another deadly act of violence after two people were shot in Dorchester on Tuesday night.
Officials responded to Wilrose Street just after 7:30 p.m. for reports of two males shot. Police say the responding officers located two adult males suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
One of the victims was transported to a local area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The second victim was pronounced dead on the scene, according to police.
No arrests have been made at this time. This remains an active and ongoing investigation.
This is the third deadly shooting in Boston since Saturday.
32-year-old Diva Ayuso from Sharon was gunned down on Fermoy Heights Avenue in Dorchester Saturday night, resulting in her death.
Nearly two hours after that shooting, police responded to Tremont Street in Roxbury for a double shooting, where two men suffered from gunshot wounds. Both men were taken to the hospital, one was pronounced dead and the second is suffering from non-life-threatening injuries.
Boston Police dont have any suspects for either incident.
Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives at (617) 343-4470.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office reported a man shot in the face during a dispute near the Hollybrook Homes Apartments on 100 King St.
JSO reported that at around 2:15 p.m., officers responded to 100 King St. about a person shot.
JSO claims that after an investigation, the male victim was shot in the face after a dispute with an unknown male individual.
The adult male was transported to a local hospital with non-threatening injuries.
There is currently no description of the suspect.
Anyone with information about this incident please get in touch with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office at 904-630-0500 or via email at JSOCRIMETIPS@JAXSHERIFF.ORG or call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-866-845-TIPS.
This is an ongoing investigation and will be updated when details arrive.
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A Manchester is under arrest for striking and seriously injuring a pedestrian with his car Tuesday night while on drugs, authorities allege.
34-year-old Matthew Davis Webb was charged with driving under the influence of drugs.
Manchester Police say they responded to the area of Pearl Street around 6:25 p.m. for a report of a pedestrian hit by a car travelling north on Maple Street.
The pedestrian, a 79-year-old Manchester man, was found in the roadway with life threatening injuries, officials say. His identity is not being released at this time. The victim was transported by an American Medical Response team to a nearby hospital.
A preliminary investigation by officers on scene conclude Webb was under the influence while driving his car. He will appear in court at a later date.
Anyone with information about this crash is asked to contact Manchester Police.
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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Edgar Rodriguez-Hernandez
GREEN BAY - Police have identified the man slain Feb. 11 in an east-side shooting as Edgar Rodriguez-Hernandez, 27, of Green Bay.
Police said Rodriguez-Hernandez was shot and fatally wounded outside his home in the 900 block of Clayton Place about 3:30 a.m. Feb. 11. A 24-year-old male relative was shot and seriously injured, but was released after treatment at a Green Bay hospital, police said in a news release.
Two Green Bay men were charged Monday with the shooting.
Omar Hernandez, 24, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime involving the use of a dangerous weapon, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime, also involving the use of a dangerous weapon. He is also charged with resisting or obstructing an officer.
Also charged is his brother, Jose Hernandez, 23, of Green Bay: He is charged with first-degree intentional homicide as party to a crime involving the use of a dangerous weapon, and attempted first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime involving the use of a dangerous weapon.
According to the criminal complaint, neighbors said they woke up to loud arguing outside and saw a group of men in a fight, and then heard multiple gunshots.
Both Hernandez brothers were arrested at a traffic stop Saturday afternoon. At that time, Omar Hernandez told officers he was the one who fired the gun, and that his brother "didn't do anything," the complaint says.
However, two witnesses told police they saw both brothers fire the gun, and the victim who survived the shooting told investigators he believed he was shot by someone matching the description of Jose Hernandez.
Police continue to investigate. They ask people who know anything about the shooting, or what led up to it, call (920) 448-3200 and reference case No. 23-207675. To remain anonymous, call Green Bay Area Crime Stoppers at (920) 432-7867. You may also submit a tip online at www.432stop.com, or utilize the "P3 Tips" app.
Email Doug Schneider at dschneid@Gannett.com, call him at (920) 265-2070 and follow him on Twitter at @PGDougSchneider
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Police release name of slain man in Feb. 11 killing in Green Bay
Deputies investigate a triple homicide at a home near Montclair last month. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Investigators continue to search for the gunman who fatally shot three family members near Montclair last month.
On Tuesday, the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department released a photo of a suspect, whom authorities identified last week as Pete Renteria, a 29-year-old relative of victims Sonia Ramirez, 68; her husband, George Ramirez, 72; and their son, David Ramirez, 43.
Deputies found the victims on Jan. 30 inside their home on Ramona Place in an unincorporated area south of Montclair. The shooting devastated the Ramirez family as well as the typically quiet community in southwestern San Bernardino County.
It is an understatement to say that George and Sonia Ramirez were devoted, compassionate, selfless and kind, the family shared in a statement.
As parents, their love was boundless. Our brother, David Ramirez, was our family protector, a doting father and an incredibly supportive son.
Investigators have not shared a motive for the triple homicide.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's Specialized Investigations Division at (909) 890-4904. Anonymous tips can be reported at (800) 782-7463.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Jacob Kenneth Weiderman
BATTLE CREEK Police have found a 34-year-old man reported missing after he apparently departed from a hospital.
Jacob Kenneth Weiderman left Bronson Battle Creek Hospital around 11 p.m. Tuesday, police said in a press release, and was reported seen wearing a hospital gown. He was on foot near the duck pond area in Irving Park, across North Avenue from the hospital, police said.
Weiderman had been receiving court-ordered mental health services, but police said they did not consider him a danger to the community.
Officers attempted to locate Weiderman from their patrol vehicles and on foot, and their search included the hospital and nearby Kellogg Community College properties by drone, with no sign of him.
Weiderman was taken to First Step, a Summit Pointe mental health services facility, about 4 a.m. Tuesday and walked away from the facility a short time later, police said. He was found about 12 hours later near Bailey Park and taken to Bronson Battle Creek Hospital before he was reported missing.
Police said shortly after noon Wednesday that Weiderman was found but did not provide details.
"Thank you to everyone who shared this information and helped to find him safely," police said. "We appreciate you!"
Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Jacob Weiderman walked away from Bronson Battle Creek hospital; police ask for help
The Lake City Police Department reported a man named Daniel Boone was caught eating stolen Zaxbys chicken after reportedly breaking into three businesses Wednesday morning.
All three businesses: Tire Mart, Zaxbys, and Rountree Moore Ford, are located close to U.S. Highway 90 all reportedly broken into by Mr. Boone.
LCPD reported that at approximately 5:50 a.m., officers responded to Tire Mart in reference to a burglary.
The reporting employee advised someone had thrown a metal object through their window.
Video surveillance showed the suspect as a man, wearing only pants and no shirt.
The suspect reportedly entered the business through the broken window and proceeded to rummage through various items, including a company vehicle.
LCPD reported that while investigating the incident at Tire mart, officers reviewed a call of a burglary at Zaxbys. The reporting employee stated when they arrived at the restaurant to open for the day, the north door was found open.
Officers entered the business and located the suspect in the kitchen eating Zaxbys chicken. The suspect matched the description of the suspect at Tire Mart and was identified as Daniel Boone.
Officers also reportedly responded to the report of a burglary, which had already occurred, at Roundtree Moore Ford. The reporting employee informed officers of several vehicles that had been searched through.
Upon questioning, Mr. Boone stated that he did break the window at Tire Mart and went inside the building. He also informed officers of entering inside Zaxbys and the vehicles at Roundtree Moore.
Mr. Boone was arrested and charged with burglary, property damage, and trespassing.
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Rita Curran was 24 years old when police say she was strangled to death inside of her Burlington, Vermont, apartment in July 1971. Her then 31-year-old neighbor is now believed to be her killer.
Rita Curran was 24 years old when police say she was strangled to death inside of her Burlington, Vermont, apartment in July 1971. Her then 31-year-old neighbor is now believed to be her killer.
After nearly 52 years, authorities in Vermont say a 24-year-old school teachers brutal murder has been solved using DNA found on a cigarette butt.
Rita Curran was strangled in her Burlington apartment in 1971 by William DeRoos, a then 31-year-old man who was at the time living two stories above her with his newlywed wife, authorities announced at a press conference Tuesday.
DeRoos, a cigarette smoker, had gotten into an argument with his wife on the evening of July 20 when Curran was murdered and gone for a walk to cool off. The next day he told his wife of two weeks to tell police investigating Currans death that he never left their apartment, warning that his past criminal record would unfairly make him a suspect in her death. She complied, said Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad.
I think that she lied at the time because she was young, she was naive, she was newly married, she was in love, said Police Det. Thomas Chennette, who re-interviewed DeRoos then-wife in later years. He said he didnt believe she knew what her husband had done.
Curran, who was home alone when killed, put up a vicious struggle and fought for her life two floors below the DeRoos, said Murad, citing a copy of the incident report.
She died with her curlers in her hair, tweeted former Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo, who helped investigate the case before his retirement.
Kindergarten teacher Rita Curran was raped and murdered in 1971. She was 24. When I left Burlington, finding her killer was unfinished business. I'm so proud of the @OneNorthAvenue detectives who closed her case today. Thank you, all. The police never forgot about you, Rita. pic.twitter.com/ahhcTSGO3G Brandon del Pozo, PhD, MPA, MA (@BrandondelPozo) February 21, 2023
But it wasnt until after the investigation was renewed in 2019 that detectives said they could definitively link DeRoos, who died in 1986, to the crime.
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A cigarette butt that was found next to Currans right arm, believed to have been left to burn out on the floor next to her body, had been collected and stored in DNA evidence, not knowing what DNA was going to be for another 15 years, said Burlington Police Detective Lt. James Trieb, the commander of the Detective Services Bureau.
The DNA in 2014 was submitted into a federal DNA database for criminal offenders, but it never got a hit, meaning that the DNAs owner had not committed a felony, said Trieb.
Years later, police said the DNA samples were shared with a private DNA testing company that compared it to various genetic materials submitted by members of the public to DNA testing companies. These companies include genealogy websites like FamilyTreeDNA, said CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist who assisted with the cold case.
This case is over 50 years old, but it only took a couple hours to narrow it down to William DeRoos, said Moore at Tuesdays presser while presenting her findings.
In addition to the cigarette butt, investigators said that DNA found on a house coat that Curran had worn at the time of her death matched DeRoos with almost total certainty.
Shortly after Currans murder, William DeRoos left his wife and moved to Thailand to become a Buddhist monk. His then-wife who Murad said does not face charges for lying to police back in 1971 said that she barely saw him again, though authorities said hes believed to have remained violent.
DeRoos eventually moved back to the U.S., and in 1974 he remarried a second woman in San Francisco, California, who told police that there were two instances where he was violent around her, authorities said.
During one instance, the couple was talking with a female friend when she said he took out a pocket knife and stabbed the woman in her abdomen for no reason whatsoever. He was arrested, and the woman was treated for her injuries. Deroos later told his wife that he thought it was her that he stabbed.
In a second instance, she said that they were having dinner when he suddenly started to strangle her without any apparent reason to the point that she lost consciousness. She left him, and he died from a drug overdose in a hotel at age 46. He would have been 83 if still alive today, police said.
Tom Curran, Rita Curran's brother, told reporters on Tuesday that his sister had only just moved out of the family's home when she was killed.
Tom Curran, Rita Curran's brother, told reporters on Tuesday that his sister had only just moved out of the family's home when she was killed.
Were all confident that William DeRoos is responsible for the aggravated murder of Rita Curran, but because he died in a hotel room of a drug overdose, he will not be held accountable for his actions, but this case will be closed, said Trieb.
Currans parents died before ever finding out what happened to her. However, her siblings expressed their gratitude to detectives at Tuesdays press conference, sharing that she was murdered only two weeks after moving out of the familys home for the first time.
I dont think so much about the guy who did this as I do about Rita and my parents and what they went through, said her brother, Tom Curran. I pray to my parents, and I pray to Rita.
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Donald Trumps visit to the site of a toxic train derailment in Ohio is offering a political opening to battered Biden administration officials by calling new attention to the former presidents record of rolling back regulations on both rail safety and hazardous chemicals.
Trumps administration withdrew an Obama-era proposal to require faster brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials, ended regular rail safety audits of railroads, and mothballed a pending rule requiring freight trains to have at least two crew members. He also placed a veteran of the chemical industry in charge of the Environmental Protection Agencys chemical safety office, where she made industry-friendly changes to how the agency studied health risks.
These actions have mostly been a matter of Trump-era trivia amid the furor over the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, which has brought fierce GOP criticism of the response by Biden appointees such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. But Trumps Ohio trip on Wednesday is provoking new scrutiny of his own track record a development that some in the Biden administration were privately welcoming.
Other Trump critics were more blunt in dismissing the motives behind his visit.
Its clear that its a political stunt, said former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican and former member of Congress who led DOT during President Barack Obamas first term. If he wants to visit, hes a citizen. But clearly his regulations and the elimination of them, and no emphasis on safety, is going to be pointed out.
Buttigieg took his own veiled shot at Trump though not by name when answering a POLITICO reporters question about the tension between Trumps rail safety record and his criticisms of the Biden administration.
There is a chance for everybody who has a public voice on this issue to demonstrate whether they are interested in helping the people of East Palestine or using the people of East Palestine, Buttigieg said. A lot of the folks who seem to find political opportunity there are among those who have sided with the rail industry again and again and again as they have fought safety regulations on railroads and [hazardous materials] tooth and nail.
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Buttigieg said he was trying to be careful not to violate the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees political speech, by speaking about a presidential candidate from his position as Cabinet secretary.
Ahead of Wednesday's appearance, the Democratic National Committee sent reporters a list of Trump's deregulation efforts, with the subject line: "REMINDER: Trump Slashed Transportation Safety and Environmental Rules, Funding."
A spokesperson for Trump defended his record and said that he was not to blame for the tragedy in East Palestine.
Trump, who launched his latest presidential bid in November, said on his social media network Truth Social that he was venturing to Ohio to visit great people who need help, NOW!
On Wednesday Trump appeared in East Palestine, bringing with him Trump-branded water and cleaning supplies. Speaking in front of an East Palestine Fire Department truck, Trump took shots at the Biden administrations response, including the EPA, Buttigieg and even Biden himself.
While handing out red MAGA hats, Trump told reporters, Buttigieg shouldve been here already. He also had a message for Biden: Get over here."
Buttigieg plans to travel to East Palestine Thursday, after taking intense heat from Republicans for not going sooner. The Biden administration has said that high-ranking officials, aside from EPA chief Michael Regan, did not visit East Palestine in the derailments immediate aftermath to comply with the evacuation order in place and to avoid impeding investigation and emergency response efforts.
Trump also called on Norfolk Southern to fulfill its responsibilities and obligations to the village. The EPA formally put the rail company on the hook Tuesday for covering all costs of the clean up, which the railroad had already pledged to do.
If our leaders are too afraid to actually lead real leaders will step up and fill the void, his son Donald Trump Jr. wrote on Twitter last week.
Among other criticisms, lawmakers of both parties have questioned DOTs oversight of the railroad industrys labor and safety practices in light of the fiery Ohio crash, which unleashed plumes of toxic smoke and left lingering worries about air and water contamination. They have also faulted the Biden administration for not sending any senior leaders to the derailment site until EPA Administrator Michael Regan traveled there last week.
Buttigieg has not yet gone there but said he plans to, and the heads of DOTs Federal Railroad Administration and its hazardous materials agency are expected to be in East Palestine on Wednesday. Biden administration officials have said that top leaders held off from visiting the site to comply with evacuation orders and to avoid creating a distraction. Still, lower-level investigators and employees from agencies such as the FRA and EPA swarmed to East Palestine within hours after the 150-car Norfolk Southern train went off the track with a cargo that included flammable chemicals such as vinyl chloride.
Because the disaster was a chemical spill, White House officials said, Regan was the lead agency official tasked with responding. Regans agency has faced skepticism from residents about its assurances that East Palestines air is safe to breathe, despite a lingering odor that has left residents in the village complaining about rashes and headaches.
Buttigieg told reporters Monday that he plans to go to the site "when the time is right."
I am very interested in getting to know the residents of East Palestine and hearing from them about how they've been impacted and communicating with them about the steps that we were taking, he said.
Even some less partisan observers have questioned why the Biden administration didnt send a high-profile official sooner to show its support for people in East Palestine.
Theres a tremendous value when a catastrophe occurs of a high-ranking official taking charge, William Reilly, who led EPA during the George H.W. Bush administration, told POLITICOs E&E News for a story Tuesday. He said the purpose of those visits can include communicating to the locally impacted people and to the country. The communication part is enormously important. And that did not happen here.
Local and state political leaders said they welcome high-level attention to a point. They include East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, a registered Republican who on Monday had called President Joe Bidens decision to visit Ukraine before coming to his Ohio village the biggest slap in the face.
At a news conference Tuesday, Conaway said Trump is welcome to visit but that he does not want the village to become political pawns.
We don't want to be a soundbite or a news bite, Conaway said. We just want to go back to living our lives the way they were.
A spokesperson for Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Daniel Tierney, declined to comment when asked whether Trump is welcome in East Palestine.
One senior administration official, granted anonymity to speak freely because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said Bidens appointees are supporting people in East Palestine while Trump and other Republicans see the people there as political props.
Trumps visit validates that this is all about politics for him and Republicans who have been quick to criticize and bizarrely blame Secretary Pete yet are the same people who have done Norfolk Southerns bidding on rolling back major safety requirements, said the official. Trump more than anyone.
Watering down rail regs
As president, Trump made rescinding regulations a major priority for his agencies, even signing an order requiring them to revoke two rules for every one they enact. At the same time, he said he wanted to "ensure that America has among the very cleanest air and cleanest water on the planet."
His administrations most high-profile action on rail safety was its withdrawal of a 2015 rule mandating more advanced brakes on some trains carrying especially hazardous materials.
That withdrawal, however, stemmed from intervention by Congress, which required regulators to put the rule through a more stringent cost-benefit analysis after the Obama administration had issued the regulation. The rule ultimately failed that analysis.
Even if that rule had taken effect, it would not have applied to the train that derailed in East Palestine, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board the lead agency investigating the crash wrote on Twitter last week. Still, environmental groups pressed Buttigieg last week to restore the Obama-era brake rule, writing that [i]t should not take a tragedy like the recent hazardous train derailment in Ohio to turn attention to this issue again.
Trumps DOT also took several rulemaking actions sought by railroad companies that could weaken safety, including its withdrawal of a rule requiring that a crew of at least two people be present on freight trains. The Obama administration had proposed that rule in response to a fiery oil-train derailment that killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in 2013.
The Trump administration argued that a train crew staffing rule would unnecessarily impede the future of rail innovation and automation.
Railroad companies say no factual justification exists for mandating crews of more than one person. Such a requirement, they argue, would make U.S. railroads less competitive and could even undermine climate efforts if it makes shippers turn to trucking, which emits more pollution than trains do.
The Norfolk Southern train that derailed in Ohio had three crew members aboard. After the derailment, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) asked in a letter to Buttigieg whether that was too few people to control such a long train.
The Trump administration also dropped a ban on shipping liquefied natural gas by rail tank car, saying the expansion of U.S. natural gas production necessitated the rollback. The ban had been a response to concerns about possible explosions.
In addition, Trumps Federal Railroad Administration stopped conducting regular rail safety audits of railroads which the Biden administration later reinstituted and allowed railroads to replace some human safety inspections with automation.
Under Trump, railroads could apply for relief from federal regulations, and FRA would grant them, said Gregory Hynes, the national legislative director of the countrys largest rail union, SMART Transportation Division.
It's really shocking what they've been able to get away with, he said.
On chemicals, a rollback of 'almost everything'
Advocates of tougher regulations on toxic chemicals expressed just as much frustration.
Under Trump, there was a rollback of, you know, almost everything, said Sonya Lunder, the Sierra Club's senior toxics adviser.
Trumps EPA repealed regulations intended to prevent chemical accidents at industrial facilities and rolled back requirements for companies to regularly assess whether safer technologies or practices have become available. It also withdrew requirements that companies have third-party audits to determine the root causes of accidents.
The Biden administration last year proposed reinstating all those requirements.
Public health advocates also criticized the Trump administrations implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act, a longstanding law that Congress gave a bipartisan overhaul in 2016.
Advocates say the law was designed to require EPA to look at the overall health dangers of chemicals, but the Trump administration took steps to look at risks in only a piecemeal fashion. For instance, it declined to factor in chemicals Americans breathe from the air or drink in their water, limiting analyses to only direct exposure from products or uses. The Biden administration has reversed that policy and reconsidered some chemicals risks, with potential restrictions or bans on the way.
A federal court in 2019 faulted the Trump-era EPA for avoiding studying certain health risks of some chemicals like asbestos.
Trumps political appointees also overruled career scientists on a health assessment for a type of PFAS, or so-called "forever chemicals," that contaminates almost a million Americans' drinking water and tried to bury internal reports that warned of unsafe chemicals in the air and water.
In addition, Trump proposed shuttering the Chemical Safety Board, a tiny agency that investigates accidents at industrial facilities but has no regulatory or enforcement power.
These rollbacks were carried out by several political appointees with industry ties. Those included Nancy Beck, a former expert for the trade group American Chemistry Council, who became the top political appointee in EPAs chemical office and limited the agencys study of hazardous chemicals. Trump later tried to appoint Beck to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but her nomination stalled in the Senate.
Kayla Guo contributed to this report.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is threatening to veto the extension of EU sanctions against Russia, which must be renewed every six months, Politico reported on Feb. 22, citing three unnamed diplomats familiar with the matter.
One of the reasons is that Hungary wants four individuals to be removed from the list.
According to the report, Hungary is also opposing a proposal, backed by all other member states, to prolong the extension period from six to 12 months, which would give Budapest fewer opportunities to torpedo the sanctions and derail EU decisions.
So far, EU ambassadors have not reached a compromise with Hungary, despite the EU being ready to comply with demands to remove the four people from the sanctions lists, two diplomats said.
On Feb. 22, the officials are set to discuss a tentative compromise that involves moving to 9-month renewal periods rather than the current six months, according to the diplomats.
The EU has sanctioned over 1,400 people in relation to Russias war in Ukraine, including oligarchs, members of Russias parliament, military and security officials, and Russian administrators in Ukraines occupied territories. If Hungary continues its veto, all of them would have to be de-listed, the report reads.
At the same time, the EU is close to agreeing on the tenth sanctions package against Russia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the next sanctions package would help restrict 11 billion euros worth of multiple electronic components used in Russian weapons - such as drones, missiles, and helicopters - via trade bans and technology controls.
The EU aims to adopt the package this week, before the one-year mark of the full-scale Russian invasion on Feb. 24.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza speaks on behalf of her brother, Sgt. Joaquin Mendoza, in photo, during a news conference at Chicago City Hall on Tuesday. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)
In dueling news conferences, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza clashed over whether the citys benefits for police officers disabled by COVID-19 is fair to cops.
At issue is a ruling by the city pension board that denied Mendozas police officer brother, Sgt. Joaquin Mendoza, full disability benefits after he was infected with COVID-19 and was disabled. Susana Mendoza accused the city of setting impossible standards for cops to receive benefits and criticized the mayors political appointees on a pension board for a decision giving him fewer benefits.
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For her part, Lightfoot said she takes police officer safety seriously but defended the boards decision as having been issued by a board and affirmed by a court.
Its not for me to second-guess a decision that was rendered by a board, Lightfoot said.
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Lightfoot also said she doesnt believe the standard is too high.
Lets work to fix what is broken, if its broken, but the leveling of accusations on people for following the law is simply unnecessary, unfair and false, Lightfoot said.
Just a week before the municipal election in which Lightfoot is seeking a second term, Mendoza sought to blame the mayors appointees on the Policemens Annuity and Benefit Fund board for voting to deny duty benefits to her brother and another officer. Mendoza claims that more than a dozen other officers who contracted COVID-19 have disability cases in the pipeline.
I do hold the mayor accountable because thats her board, Mendoza said. And so she cant say with one face that you support the men and women in uniform, our first responders, and then do what they did to them.
Four of the eight members of the police pension board are appointed by the mayor.
Mendoza said Tuesday shes seeking passage of state legislation that would grant police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians who survived COVID-19 the duty disability benefits.
Mendoza said her brother contracted COVID-19 in 2020 while working 17 straight days on the job, according to a news release. Mendoza said her brother spent 72 days in the hospital, suffered kidney failure, lost his ability to use his left arm and suffered five strokes.
Duty disability provides 75% of the officers salary and free health insurance. On ordinary disability, an officer receives 50% compensation and must pay for health insurance.
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You can imagine my shock, disbelief and frankly, disgust when my brothers claim for duty disability benefits was denied, Mendoza said.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks about the citys pension board at City Hall on Feb. 21, 2023. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)
Prior to the mayors own news conference on the matter Tuesday, her office released a statement denying her influence on the pension board vote, which occurred nearly a year ago. The board voted 4-3, with three of the four no votes from Lightfoot appointees. The decision was later upheld in court after Joaquin Mendoza challenged it.
The board has always acted independently and votes based on the information presented, a Lightfoot spokesperson wrote. The mayor is not involved in any pension board decisions nor would it have been ethical or appropriate for her to involve herself in any such decisions.
The statement also said Lightfoots administration has urged the pension boards consult outside medical experts to advise the boards on COVID-related disability claims and be transparent with claimants about the standards that must be met to have consideration for full or partial disability.
The statement also advised first responders to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Lightfoots vaccine mandate for city workers was particularly controversial in the Police Department and resulted in the city and the local police union suing each other.
Susana Mendozas office responded that she also is a strong advocate for vaccines but that is not at issue here because the officers in question were infected before vaccines were available.
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Joaquin Mendozas former supervisor, Eric Winstrom, said he was also frustrated by the decision to deny Mendoza duty disability.
If youre saying we support the police and then this happens, its difficult to reconcile that, said Winstrom, a former Chicago Police Department commander who is now police chief in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It doesnt make sense. The pension board in my mind absolutely got it wrong.
Chicago police Officer Diana Cordova-Nestad, who has complications from COVID-19, talks about benefits at Chicago City Hall. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)
Susana Mendoza was joined Tuesday by several aldermen, firefighters and police officers. Among them was Officer Diana Cordova-Nestad, who spoke softly from a chair and had a tube running to her nose, which she attributed to the complications she suffered from COVID-19.
We dont find you fit for duty, but were taking away your health benefits, Cordova-Nestad said, recalling a meeting with her supervisor. It felt like it was just ripped right out of my chest. Thats all I knew was my work. Thats all I worked for.
On deciding to speak out about this just before Election Day, Mendoza said the timing is dictated by the courts, an apparent reference to a recent court ruling against her brother.
Mendoza said shes not taking a position on the mayors race. This is not an issue of politics, thats not why were here today. Im here specifically to shine a light on an injustice thats happening in our city.
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But the issue highlights an ongoing challenge for the mayor as she campaigns for reelection: how much support she gives to police.
Rising to prominence as a police reform advocate, Lightfoot has been criticized for not doing enough to support officers. Her administration has faced strong criticism for repeatedly canceling officers days off. Lightfoot initially defended the cancellations, telling reporters that police officers get an incredible amount of time off before introducing some scheduling policies she said would help alleviate the issue.
Chicago Tribunes Jeremy Gorner contributed.
hsanders@chicagotribune.com
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
There are "hurdles to overcome" before a Brexit deal is reached to improve the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Foreign Secretary told Conservative MPs on Wednesday night.
James Cleverly addressed around 20 Tory backbenchers at a meeting of the 1922 Committee where Michael Fabricant, the MP for Lichfield, said Mr Cleverly told attendees "he doesn't want to do a running commentary".
"What he also said was every week is going to be 'this week' that it's published,". "He said theres a number of hurdles to overcome yet. So I wouldnt hold your breath."
Earlier in the day, Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, repeatedly pressed Rishi Sunak on what would be in the deal as he claimed it is largely completed but the country is having to wait while the Prime Minister "plucks up the courage to take on the malcontents, the reckless, the wreckers on his own benches".
Accusing Sir Keir of "jumping ahead", Mr Sunak said that he will be "resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom".
He also claimed the Labour leader had adopted his "usual position" of giving "the EU a blank cheque" during talks.
06:47 PM
That's all for today...
Thanks for following along with our live coverage on another busy day in Westminster.
My colleague Jack Maidment will be back early tomorrow bringing you all the latest.
06:37 PM
Prime Minister: Businesses need 'certainty, stability and clarity'
Good to hear directly from Northern Ireland business groups about the issues surrounding the Protocol.
Any deal must provide certainty, stability and clarity for the business community and work for the people of Northern Ireland. pic.twitter.com/iEG6mxAzPn Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) February 22, 2023
06:12 PM
Number of hurdles to overcome, Cleverly tells MPs
Tory MPs are starting to filter out of this evening's meeting of the 1922 Committee with James Cleverly, writes Amy Gibbons, our Political Correspondent.
Story continues
Asked what he told backbenchers, Mr Cleverly replied: "The truth, always."
Michael Fabricant, the MP for Lichfield, said: "We discussed the Protocol but [Cleverly] said - and I understand that - he doesn't want to do a running commentary.
"What he also said was every week is going to be 'this week' that its published. He said theres a number of hurdles to overcome yet. So I wouldnt hold your breath."
06:00 PM
'He's going to enjoy my loyalty'
Steve Baker pledged his full support to Rishi Sunak as he insisted "we can't get into a conversation about speculation" following claims ministers were on resignation watch.
"I'm delighted to be part of Rishi Sunak's Government and he's going to enjoy my loyalty," Mr Baker, a minister at the Northern Ireland Office, told UTV News.
"I think the Prime Minister knows, as everybody does, that any deal's got to meet everyone's legitimate interests - the legitimate interests of unionists, and eurosceptics, and Ireland, and the European Union.
"And that's what I think everyone's working towards in the spirit of goodwill. So any kind of talk about drama within the Conservative Party is very, very premature. I want the Prime Minister to be able to succeed in his negotiation. I'm one of his ministers, I'm going to give him every support."
05:56 PM
'How stupid does Shamima Begum think the British public are?'
Thank God for common sense and for the views of the British people being respected for once, writes Allison Pearson.
All that PR soft-soaping and cunning pretence of rehabilitation were to no avail, Shamima Begum has lost her appeal and lost her British citizenship, subject no doubt to any further appeal.
There is no way on earth that Begum did not witness the barbarity carried out in the name of the bloodthirsty cause she so willingly embraced. Although that was the story she stuck to in recent interviews. Equally offensive was the claim she had been the victim of "trafficking".
Thousands of girls did suffer that fate and, unlike Begum, they were raped by the butchers of Islamic State, one of whom she married.
We all remember how the so-called jihadi bride left the UK in 2015 when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl to join Islamic State. Now 23 and living in a Syrian refugee camp, she has been miraculously transformed into a polished and contrite media performer in Western clothes, albeit one with highly convenient amnesia.
Allison Pearson: Shamima Begum now knows how wise we are
05:26 PM
The latest from this evening's 1922 Committee
The Foreign Secretary was greeted by the customary banging on desks as he prepared to address the powerful committee of backbench Tory MPs amid heightened tensions over Brexit, writes our Political Correspondent Amy Gibbons.
More than a dozen journalists have gathered in Westminster's famous committee corridor waiting for MPs to file out after the meeting, which kicked off around 5pm.
Mr Cleverly was expected to give a speech about Britain's drive to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.
He gave no answer when asked what he would tell colleagues as he entered the room.
05:25 PM
Rishi Sunak: Any deal must provide 'clarity' for NI businesses
Rishi Sunak held a roundtable with Northern Irish business groups about the Protocol this afternoon, Downing Street has confirmed.
A No 10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister outlined that any deal needed to safeguard Northern Irelands place within the union, protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions, fix the practical problems on the ground and ensure the smooth flow of goods within the UK internal market.
"As intensive negotiations with the EU continue, the Prime Minister used the meeting to hear directly from the business community on the critical issues that must be fixed.
"The Prime Minister made it clear that any deal would need to provide certainty, stability and clarity for the business community."
05:19 PM
Most voters think Starmer was right to block Corbyn
The majority of voters believe Sir Keir Starmer was right to block Jeremy Corbyn from running as a Labour candidate at the next election.
Sir Keir made the announcement last Wednesday and polling by Savanta for the Politics Home website shows 55 per cent supported the Labour leader's crackdown on his predecessor.
Twenty-three per cent opposed the decision to stop Mr Corbyn representing the party in his Islington North constituency.
He now sits as an independent MP having had the whip removed in 2020 for his claims that antisemitism in Labour was "dramatically overstated for political reasons".
05:12 PM
Therese Coffey says we cant control Spanish weather over shortages
The Environment Secretary has responded to fruit and vegetable shortages in supermarkets by telling farmers "we can't control the weather in Spain".
Therese Coffey did not take questions from the press during an appearance at the National Farmers Union (NFU) conference and attendees described her as "clueless".
Therese Coffey - Jacob King/PA Wire
Yesterday, Asda and Morrisons put limits on the purchases of some fruit and vegetables following extreme weather, including floods, in Spain and north Africa which has affected food harvests. And Aldi and Tesco also announced rationing of certain items earlier today.
Minette Batters, the NFU president, said that although the current shortages were primarily driven by conditions outside of British farmers' control, the government could do more to encourage people to produce food in the UK.
Why farmers branded Therese Coffey 'clueless' today
04:56 PM
Nadine Dorries: We should all take back control online
Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, has said it is "vital" everyone can take proactive steps to manage their experience online.
In a tweet, Ms Dorries said: "A vital part of everyone being able to manage their online experience is having the tools available to be in control of content you do or dont want to see. Or even, protecting tweets.
"I choose to filter who can respond to my tweets. Thats my empowerment. My choice."
04:36 PM
'The Northern Irish question isnt about trade. Its about who governs'
Rishi Sunak is the latest British political leader to be trapped in a web of countervailing national identities, writes Philip Johnston.
He is looking to fix in the remaining piece of the Brexit jigsaw that Boris Johnson left unfinished in order to secure a deal on the UKs withdrawal and win a general election in 2019.
The big gap in the middle of the picture is the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs the provinces trading relationship with the rest of the UK and the EU. After Brexit, the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic became a land frontier between the UK and the EU.
So as not to unravel the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), which is 25 years old in April, it is widely accepted that this should not be a "hard" border with customs controls and physical barriers. But how was that to be avoided given the different jurisdictions? The answer was to leave Northern Ireland effectively in the Single Market for goods, still bound by some EU regulations and subject to the European Court.
Philip Johnston: Why Rishi Sunak risks missing the point altogether
04:07 PM
Good afternoon
Dominic Penna here, The Telegraph's Political Reporter, guiding you through the rest of the day.
Within the hour James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, will address Tory MPs at the 1922 Committee.
While it is understood the meeting has been in the diary for a while, Brexiteers on the backbenches may well use it to raise concerns or quiz Mr Cleverly amid the ongoing talks between the Government and Brussels.
03:28 PM
DUP MP urges Government not to drop Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
Sammy Wilson, the DUP's chief whip at Westminster, has urged the Government to push ahead with its Northern Ireland Protocol Bill so that the EU knows the UK has a "fallback position" if talks on improving post-Brexit border rules fail.
The Bill would give ministers the powers to make unilateral changes to the rules in Northern Ireland, sidelining the EU.
The Government has effectively paused the passage of the legislation to allow talks with Brussels to continue and there have been reports that Rishi Sunak could be willing to drop it entirely.
Mr Wilson told the Commons this afternoon: "As a result of the Protocol, Northern Ireland, and he knows it, has not gained the benefits that he campaigned for and I campaigned for, and those who voted for Brexit wish to have, because we are still left within the embrace of Brussels because of the imposition of EU law.
"I believe in these negotiations the EU has to understand that there is an alternative and not to proceed with the Protocol Bill would be wrong because there must be a fallback position if these negotiations dont succeed."
02:58 PM
Pictured: Sir Keir Starmer welcomes new West Lancashire MP Ashley Dalton to the Commons
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomes Ashley Dalton to the Houses of Parliament in London as the newly elected Labour MP for West Lancashire - Stefan Rousseau/PA
02:42 PM
'Don't know': Voters unsure what Labour and Tories stand for
What do the current versions of the Labour Party and the Conservative Party stand for? Voters appear to be unsure.
A new poll conducted by Redfield &Wilton Strategies suggested that the most common answer among voters was "don't know" when they were asked what each party stands for under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak.
The polling company has put the responses into a word cloud. Here is Labour's:
What do British voters think the Labour Party under Keir Starmer stands for? (18 February) pic.twitter.com/K6dAGYYK03 Redfield & Wilton Strategies (@RedfieldWilton) February 22, 2023
And here is the word cloud for the Conservative Party:
What do British voters think the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak stands for? (18 February) pic.twitter.com/bTIskKFM0f Redfield & Wilton Strategies (@RedfieldWilton) February 22, 2023
02:29 PM
Teacher strikes 'could be paused'
Teacher strikes due to be held next week could be paused if "real progress" is made in negotiations with the Government, the National Education Union (NEU) has said.
In a statement to the Government, the union said: "In a sign of goodwill, if substantive progress can be made, we are prepared to recommend a pause to strikes next week to our National Executive Committee this Saturday."
Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said: "We reiterate - we are ready to negotiate. We are prepared, should the negotiations make real progress, to pause next weeks strikes. But the Government has to show good faith. We ask ministers to drop its preconditions and to begin serious negotiations."
02:26 PM
Ambulance workers to strike on March 8
Ambulance and other health workers in Unison will strike on March 8 in an escalation of the long-running dispute over pay, the union announced (you can read the full story here).
Meanwhile, the Aslef union announced London Underground drivers will strike on March 15 the day of the Budget in a dispute over pensions and working arrangements.
02:24 PM
Rail strike talks have 'hit a roadblock'
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said negotiations to end the industrial dispute with the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have "hit a bit of a roadblock".
He told reporters at a briefing at Londons Waterloo station: "The railways are not going to be defined forever by this current action. Weve seen people come back into work. We were 2,000 people away from a yes vote.
"Ive got a lot of optimism. Im just frustrated that weve taken a turn into a side street, as opposed to actually sticking on the path of getting this to resolution. I remain genuinely optimistic we will get a sensible outcome here. But at the moment weve hit a bit of a roadblock."
01:41 PM
Rishi Sunak will not drop Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
Rishi Sunak will not drop legislation going through Parliament allowing ministers to override the Northern Ireland Protocol unless there is a new agreement with the EU, Downing Street has indicated.
The Prime Ministers press secretary said: "It is a longstanding position of the Government that we want to resolve the issues in partnership with the EU by negotiation rather than legislate domestically.
"In the absence of that negotiated solution, the Protocol Bill is an important piece of legislation to ensure we safeguard Northern Irelands position in the Union."
01:19 PM
Rishi Sunak holds Brexit talks with Ursula von der Leyen
Rishi Sunak has spoken to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding the Northern Ireland Protocol and will have further talks in the coming days, Downing Street has said.
The Prime Ministers Official Spokesman said the call took place last night.
The spokesman said: "The leaders discussed the good progress made in the negotiations. Intensive discussions continue. They agreed to speak again in the coming days."
Mr Sunak will speak virtually to Northern Ireland businesses later today.
12:56 PM
PMQs analysis: Rishi Sunak's answers likely to increase DUP concerns
There were two interesting Brexit-related things in that Prime Minister's Questions:
1. Rishi Sunak signalled that MPs will get a vote on his final Brexit deal. Downing Street had so far refused to say that a vote would be held despite it appearing to be impossible for No10 not to offer MPs a say. The Prime Minister has now seemingly confirmed the inevitable.
2. The Prime Minister refused to give a firm commitment to rewriting the Northern Ireland Protocol. The DUP wants the actual Brexit treaty to be changed as part of the negotiations with the EU. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told Mr Sunak at PMQs that tweaks would not be enough. But Mr Sunak refused to guarantee that there will be a rewrite of the treaty. That is likely to reinforce growing concerns among DUP and Tory Brexiteer MPs about what sort of deal could be agree.
12:30 PM
DUP leader tells Rishi Sunak the Northern Ireland Protocol must be rewritten, not just tweaked
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the DUP, has told Rishi Sunak that his Brexit deal must involve "rewriting" the existing Northern Ireland Protocol rather than just making "tweaks" to it.
Sir Jeffrey said: "It is unacceptable that Northern Ireland has been put in this place with a protocol imposed upon us that harms our place in the United Kingdom.
"It must be replaced with arrangements that are acceptable and restore our place in the United Kingdom and its internal market. Does the Prime Minister accept how important the constitutional and democratic issues are in relation to getting a solution?
"And will he agree with me that it is unacceptable that EU laws are imposed on Northern Ireland with no democratic scrutiny or consent and will he assure me that he will address these fundamental constitutional issues and do so not just by tweaking the protocol but by rewriting the legally binding treaty text?"
Mr Sunak failed to give a commitment to rewriting the protocol but said addressing the "democratic deficit is an essential part of the negotiations".
Mr Sunak said: "I have heard loud and clear when he says he wants and needs these issues resolved so that he has a basis to work with others to restore powersharing and I know that that is genuine.
"He raised a question of practical issues and it is vital that these are addressed but he also raises a vital question about the constitutional and legal framework in which these arrangements exist and I can assure him that I agree. Addressing the democratic deficit is an essential part of the negotiations that remain ongoing with the European Union and just as he has been consistent, so have I and I can assure him that this is at the very heart of the issues that must be addressed."
12:22 PM
Starmer claims Sunak waiting to 'pluck up the courage' to take on Tory Brexiteers
Sir Keir Starmer claimed Rishi Sunak is waiting to "pluck up the courage" to challenge Tory Brexiteers to accept his new deal with the EU to improve the Northern Ireland Protocol.
He told the House of Commons: "Everyone knows the basis of this deal has been agreed for weeks but it is the same old story. The country has to wait while he plucks up the courage to take on the malcontents, the reckless, the wreckers on his own benches.
"I am here to tell him he doesn't need to worry about that because we will put country before party and ensure the Labour votes to get it through. He should accept our offer, ignore the howls of indignation from those on his side who will never take yes for an answer. Why doesn't he just get on with it?"
Mr Sunak hit back and said: "What I am doing is talking and listening to the people of Northern Ireland. That is the right thing to do, it is to make sure that we can respond and resolve the concerns of the iuniuonist communities and businesses in Northern Ireland that is what I will keep doing."
12:17 PM
Rishi Sunak signals MPs will be given vote on new Brexit deal
Rishi Sunak has signalled that MPs will be given a vote on his Brexit deal if and when it is finalised with the EU.
Sir Keir Starmer asked: "Can the Prime Minister confirm that whatever deal he brings back, this House will get a vote on it?"
Mr Sunak said: "Of course Parliament will express its view. But what is crucial here is that this is not about his desire to play political games in this House with this situation, this is about what is best for the people and communities of Northern Ireland.
"That is what I will keep fighting for."
12:15 PM
Starmer 'wants to put the EU first', claims Sunak
Sir Keir Starmer asked Rishi Sunak: "Can he confirm that if there is a deal he will pull the Protocol Bill?"
Mr Sunak said: "The honourable gentleman wants to put the EU first, I want to put Northern Ireland first."
12:13 PM
Rishi Sunak claims Keir Starmer advocating 'surrender' to EU
Rishi Sunak claimed Sir Keir Starmer had adopted his "usual position" on Brexit.
The Prime Minister said that the Labour leader wanted to "give the EU a blank cheque and agree to anything that they offer".
"It is not a strategy, that is surrender," Mr Sunak said.
12:11 PM
Sir Keir Starmer tells Rishi Sunak 'irreconcilable' Tory Brexiteers 'are going to come after him'
Sir Keir Starmer asked Rishi Sunak: "Will he confirm that to avoid a hard border... the deal he is negotiating is going to see Northern Ireland continue to follow some EU law?"
Mr Sunak said: "The honourable gentleman is jumping ahead. We are still in intensive discussions with the European Union to ensure that we can find agreement that meets the tests that I set."
He added: "I have spent time engaging and listening to those communities in Northern Ireland, businesses and political parties. I have a good understanding of what is required, and I will keep fighting until we get it."
Sir Keir replied: "The Prime Minister is biting his tongue but at some point the irreconcilables on his benches are going to twig and they are going to come after him."
12:07 PM
Rishi Sunak 'will be resolute in fighting' for good Brexit deal
PMQs in the House of Commons is now underway.
Sir Keir Starmer used his first question to ask the PM about his Brexit deal.
He said that the "Labour Party is proud to be the party of the Good Friday Agreement" and he welcomed attempts to improve post-Brexit border rules.
He asked the PM if he agreed that the protocol "has been poorly implemented and the basis for any deal must be removing unnecessary checks on goods".
Mr Sunak said "active discussions" with the EU are ongoing. He said that he is a "Conservative, a Brexiteer and a unionist" and any deal will have to "tick all three boxes".
He said: "I will be resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom."
11:58 AM
New first minister a 'real opportunity' to reset relations between UK Government and Holyrood
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack told MPs this morning that there is a "real opportunity" for the next first minister at Holyrood to "reset the relationship" with the UK Government.
Opening Scotland questions in the House of Commons, Mr Jack said: "I realise many of my colleagues on the (SNP) benches diagonally opposite are somewhat preoccupied by the contest to become the leader of the SNP and Scotlands first minister.
"In my view this is a real opportunity for a new first minister to reset the relationship with the United Kingdom Government, to work constructively with us and to make life better for the people of Scotland."
11:40 AM
Pictured: Rishi Sunak leaves No10 and heads to PMQs
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, leaves 10 Downing Street this morning - Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
11:22 AM
Sir Tony Blair warns Northern Ireland Protocol row using up Government 'bandwidth'
Sir Tony Blair said the rumbling row over the Northern Ireland Protocol means the Government is not able to spend as much time as perhaps it should on other key issues.
The former Labour prime minister said that governments only have so much "bandwidth" to take on challenges.
He told Times Radio: "The longer you are spending going over and over the issues to do with the Northern Ireland Protocol instead of just coming to a practical decision, the less time you are able to spend on these other things that ultimately I think are going to be determinant for the future of the country."
11:04 AM
Fix NI Protocol problems or people may conclude 'Brexit hasn't worked' - Lord Hague
Lord Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party, said the Government needs to secure the "right deal" with the EU to improve the Northern Ireland Protocol.
He argued that failing to remedy the problems with post-Brexit border rules could ultimately lead to people concluding that "Brexit hasn't worked for the country".
He told Times Radio: "There is obviously a very powerful case for settling, driving a hard bargain, there have been really legitimate problems in Northern Ireland about how the protocol has been interpreted and so on but it is important for the Government to get the right deal... some of the people who are most recalcitrant about it need it most because otherwise people are going to conclude after a few years that Brexit hasn't worked for the country and people in Northern Ireland are going to conclude that government will never work unless they have a united Ireland.
"So it is very, very important for all concerned to bring this to a conclusion now."
10:46 AM
Pictured: Therese Coffey addresses the NFU conference in Birmingham this morning
Therese Coffey, the Environment Secretary, is pictured addressing the NFU conference in Birmingham today - Jacob King /PA
10:33 AM
Inside Rishi Sunak's bid to charm Tory Brexiteers
Rishi Sunak has been inviting Tory Brexiteers to Downing Street in recent days as he attempts to persuade them to support his new deal on remedying the problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol.
It is safe to say that the Prime Minister is facing an uphill battle.
One Tory MP told The Telegraph: "The problem is theyve marched everybody up the hill and now theyre realising theyve got a lot more work to do, and theyre going to have to explain why they went off at half-cock."
Meanwhile, other Tory MPs are unsure why Mr Sunak has chosen to take on the Northern Ireland Protocol challenge at a time when the Government is contending with other big issues.
One said they wondered "why he has grabbed this hissing cobra by the neck and is trying to wrestle it to the ground".
You can read the full inside story of Mr Sunak's bid to charm Tory Brexiteers here.
10:16 AM
No Brexit deal this week, says senior Tory MP
A senior Tory Brexiteer said he does not a Brexit deal on improving the Northern Ireland Protocol to be done this week.
Sir Bernard Jenkin, asked if he expected a deal this week, told Sky News: "No. Because the porotocol itself is fundamentally incompatible. The protocol applies law, EU law, in Northern Ireland and there is no democracy, there was a House of Lords sub-committee that is full of people who voted Leave, voted Remain, and they all unanimously said there is a democratic deficit that has to be addressed about the protocol.
"The answer is to include Northern Ireland back in the internal market of the United Kingdom, to make a new protocol attached to the trade and cooperation agreement which is a permanent agreement."
10:07 AM
Senior Tory MP fears Brexit deal 'not very close'
Sir Bernard Jenkin, a senior Tory MP, said he believes the Government is "not very close" to doing a deal with the EU on improving the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Asked how close a deal is, the chairman of the Liaison Committee told Sky News: "Well, I fear not very close because what's been happening is the Government has been strenuously trying to reach an agreement but within very narrow confines that the EU has set.
"They won't consider reopening their mandate to look at new ways of approaching the whole question of Northern Ireland post-Brexit.
"And the consequence is that negotiations have been on a very narrow mandate set by the EU and it doesn't look as though the Government can resolve the powersharing crisis with any deal that will emerge from these negotiations."
09:53 AM
Public sector pay rises an 'intractable problem' - minister
Nursing officials are set to meet with Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, today as they start "intensive talks" designed to end strikes over pay.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has agreed to pause major industrial action while engaging in talks over "pay, terms and conditions, and productivity enhancing reforms".
Johnny Mercer, a Cabinet Office minister, said this morning that issues around public sector pay rises are an "intractable problem".
He told Times Radio: "If you look at what is going on in communities like I represent in Plymouth, the biggest challenge is inflation, without a shadow of a doubt. That is driving up prices across the board.
"If you chase that inflation with public sector pay rises, as people like the governor of the Bank of England have pointed out, you are into a never-ending circle where prices just continue to rise."
Mr Mercer said there is "no cost-free solution".
09:34 AM
Sir Tony Blair: UK is in a 'serious' situation of high spending, high taxes and 'poor' public services
Sir Tony Blair said the UK is in a "serious" situation of high spending, high taxes and poor public service outcomes as he made the case for his plans for a digital revolution (see the post below at 08.07).
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today prorgramme: "You have got a choice. It all depends and starts from how serious is our situation as a country at the moment and I think it is serious.
"Now, it is serious for all sorts of reasons and many other developed countries face similar challenges but here is our problem: We are spending a lot, we are heavily taxed and the outcomes are poor.
"So the question is what changes that situation? So if you take for example the ambition we have on climate, there is no way we can meet that ambition without changing planning, there is literally no way we can do it.
"And a lot of these things, they are not airy fairy, they are actually about peoples lives. People already live their lives digitally. The question is whether government and politicians can catch up with that reality."
09:03 AM
Sir Tony Blair on digital ID cards: 'The world is moving in that direction'
Sir Tony Blair said he could understand why his proposals to introduce digital identification cards (see the post below at 08.07) would frighten many people.
But he argued that the increased digitisation of personal data is the direction the world is heading in.
Asked if he understood fears about data being lost or misused, Sir Tony told the BBC: "I understand it but if you look at the biometric technology that allows you to do digital ID today it can overcome many of these problems.
"By the way, the world is moving in that direction. Countries as small as Estonia and as large as India are moving in that direction or have moved in that direction."
08:54 AM
Putin nuclear threats cannot deter the West from 'doing what is necessary' - Sir Tony Blair
Vladimir Putin yesterday announced that Russia is walking away from the worlds last remaining nuclear arms control treaty, sparking fears of a new global arms race (you can read that story here).
Sir Tony Blair said the Russian President talking about nuclear weapons or threatening the use of nuclear weapons must not stop the West from "doing what is necessary" in supporting Ukraine.
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "Of course it is dangerous. But on the other hand you cant end up in a situation where Putin talking about the use of nuclear weapons or threatening the use then deters us from doing what is necessary."
He added: "You cant end up in a situation where he uses a nuclear threat to stop us defending Ukraine from the aggression."
08:49 AM
Sir Tony Blair: Russian invasion of Ukraine 'only ends' when Putin realises 'he cannot succeed'
Sir Tony Blair said Russia's invasion of Ukraine will only come to an end when Vladimir Putin finally "understands that he cannot succeed".
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the former prime minister said: "I think it only ends when it is absolutely clear to Putin that his war ambitions cant succeed and to put it very simply his original war ambitions have disintegrated, the Ukrainians have shown extraordinary stoicism and bravery in resisting the Russian aggression.
"The West and Nato has been united. And so the last hope of Putin is that that resolve of the West disintegrates in some way and dissipates and so what is important is to show that it remains absolutely strong anf firm for as long as it takes and that we are prepared to do what is necessary in providing weapons and munitions for the Ukrainians to carry on their resistance.
"Once he understands that he cannot succeed, that is when you open up the possibility of ending the conflict."
08:13 AM
Johnny Mercer: Rishi Sunak 'is not going to sell anyone out' on Brexit
Rishi Sunak's deal to solve problems with the Northern Protocol is "not going to sell anyone out", a Government minister has said.
Veterans' affairs minister Johnny Mercer told Sky News that the Prime Minister had "good discussions last week with the European Union" and had "good engagement going on with other MPs".
He added: "Lets give the Prime Minister a chance to come out with something. Hes attacking this, he is throwing everything he can into it. He voted for and campaigned hard for Brexit, right?
"So he is not going to sell anyone out or come up with a solution that is unfair or doesnt deliver on what he thinks is Brexit.
"I think, lets give him a chance, lets give him the opportunity to bring some sort of resolution to the protocol and then lets get behind him and get on with all the other challenges that we face across this country at the moment."
Asked whether there could be a deal this week, Mr Mercer replied: "I dont know, I hope so. But let's see what happens."
08:07 AM
Sir Tony Blair and Lord Hague plan for digital ID cards a 'good idea' - minister
Sir Tony Blair and Lord Hague today launched a push to bring in digital ID cards which would contain a person's passport, driving licence and tax records, amongst other things.
The former Labour prime minister and ex-Tory leader said in a piece for The Times that the move would be part of a much-needed "technology revolution".
The proposal was given a decidedly lukewarm reception by Johnny Mercer, the minister for veterans' affairs, who described it as a "good idea" but suggested the pair should have acted on the idea when they were in positions of power.
He told Times Radio: "I have no view on that at all. I think that it sounds like a great idea. But if only they had been in a position to do something about it.
"Oh wait, Tony Blair was prime minister for nine years wasnt he. Look, good idea but I think theres lots of other things to be getting on with as well."
08:02 AM
'If you take a wage as a politician you should probably turn up to work'
Politicians who are paid to perform a public role "should probably turn up to work", a minister has said after he was asked about the ongoing collapse of powersharing at Stormont.
Johnny Mercer, the minister for veterans' affairs, was asked if he believed the DUP is acting in good faith amid the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
He told Times Radio: "That is a question for them. I have made my views clear on the level of politics in Northern Ireland over a number of issues over a number of years.
"I think people in politics have got to remember what they are there for. We are here to serve, it is a life of public service. No one party is a monopoly on what is right for Northern Ireland.
"I think everybody needs to do their best and conduct themselves in good faith and I hope and expect the DUP are doing that as everybody else is."
He added: "I think if you take a wage as a politician you should probably turn up to work like everyone else in the country and that is what I want to see happen."
07:58 AM
Minister urges Tory MPs to back Rishi Sunak on Brexit and accept his deal on Northern Ireland Protocol
Johnny Mercer, the minister for veterans' affairs, has urged Tory MPs to back Rishi Sunak on Brexit and accept the Prime Minister's proposed deal to improve the Northern Ireland Protocol.
He told Times Radio: "We have got to operate in the real world, right? And I think that is the problem with this debate over many years.
"Rishi Sunak campaigned, voted for and is very committed to Brexit as you have seen a number of times and I think whatever he comes back with, we need to resolve this issue and we need to get on and seize the opportunities of Brexit that have been talked about for so long.
"I hope colleagues recognise the work he is putting into it, I think he is taking the right approach and I think what he comes back with, if he is happy, I am happy and we get on with it and tackle all the other challenges that we are facing today."
Most Americans support more regulations on the transportation of hazardous materials in a new poll, which comes after a train carrying dangerous chemicals derailed in Ohio earlier this month.
The poll, conducted by The Economist and YouGov, found that 54 percent of American adults supported more regulations on transportation hazardous materials. Twenty-one percent said they supported no changes, 17 percent were not sure and 8 percent said there should be fewer regulations.
When divided by party lines, Democrats were more in favor of adding more regulations, with 67 percent saying they supported more compared to just 44 percent of Republicans saying they supported more regulations. Half of independent voters said that they would support more regulations, with 24 percent responding that they were not sure.
The train derailment spilled toxic chemicals in the East Palestine area, which prompted a temporary evacuation of nearby residents. Since then, residents have raised environmental and health concerns about the aftereffects of the derailment, reporting smells and symptoms that they think may be associated with the incident.
State officials said in a press release on Wednesday that the municipal water is safe to drink and that no contaminants have been found while conducting air quality testing.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg unveiled a series of railroad reforms on Tuesday, calling for Norfolk Southern and other freight rail companies to enact new inspection technologies, invest in safer cars and notify state officials if hazardous materials are being transported through their state. The secretary also announced that he will be traveling to East Palestine on Thursday as critics suggest that the administration has not done enough to help the area.
The White House and former President Trump have fired off criticisms at one another, as the White House said Trump officials laid the groundwork for lax regulations in the railroad industry on Wednesday. During a visit to East Palestine on Wednesday, Trump then accused the Biden administration of indifference and betrayal in its response to the train disaster.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Game hen, surf and turf and Thai Caesar salad on the menu at Poltergeist. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Poltergeist
The chef behind L.A.s wild, irreverent, lines-around-the-block pasta pop-up Estrano Things is opening a new restaurant inside the beloved Echo Park arcade and bar Button Mash. Diego Argoti ran a series of collaborative pop-ups in the space last fall. His latest Poltergeist is meant to be a departure from his popular pasta-focused alleyway appearances.
Sticky rice game hen with pickled papaya and radicchio at Poltergeist, a pop-up restaurant inside Button Mash. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
The heart and the feeling of it is definitely there, said Argoti, who also had worked at Bestia and Bavel. The style of whatever people are calling it chaos cooking or fusion or my troll-y mashups of different things I see on TikTok or that I want to cook or things I grew up with it's me. It's very Asian-Italian, kind of a play on 90s fusion.
Poltergeist launches Friday and is meant to feel slightly more sophisticated than the one-off but still thoughtfully devised noodle dishes eaten out of disposable bowls on the street; this menu is built to last, but still built to play with format and flavor. The menu is grouped into small, medium and large plates to encourage sharing and sampling, with options such as honey walnut shrimp that involves a horchata-inspired take on panna cotta, while the Caesar leans Thai with ample lemongrass and puffed rice croutons. Theres game hen stuffed with chicken-gizzard dirty rice; panang lamb neck; vegan green curry bucatini with pistachio gremolata; and an off-menu dish of lamb chops with fried prawn heads, sauteed morning glory and mint tapioca Argotis take on surf and turf to round out the larger plates. Hes taking over the space and hoping to make noise doing it: a culinary poltergeist filling the dining room half of Button Mash beginning this weekend.
The Poltergeist menu will be available at the dine-in tables and booths of the space, while Argotis existing bar menu (with options such as a chile crisp burger, ricotta gnocchi, and Korean fried cauliflower) will still be available throughout the rest, as well as during the day on weekends, prior to Poltergeist dinner service. This marks a new culinary beginning for Button Mash, which closed with an uncertain future during the pandemic. Its previous kitchen tenants include Starry Kitchen (a former L.A. Times 101 list honoree ) as well as a more recent stint from Tacos 1986 , but co-owner Jordan Weiss says Poltergeist feels like a return to the format and weirdness that Button Mash does best.
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Thai Caesar salad prepared with frisee, lemongrass, a puffed rice crouton, smoked anchovies and Parmesan cheese. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
This is a place that was conceived foremost as a restaurant, and was designed this way, with a real dining room, he said. I think it's something we kind of got away from. We wanted people to be here and be excited here, and [Argotis pop-ups] were a friendly reminder that people like weird stuff here. That's what works here.
Argoti still plans on popping up as Estrano Things in the future, but starting this week hes haunting the arcade. Poltergeist will be open Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight.
Chef Diego Argoti and his sticky rice game hen, held up by Mauricio Enriquez, right. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
1391 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 250-9903, instagram.com/eatpoltergeist
Arroz and Fun
This month the family behind Eagle Rocks Chifa and Arcadias new Monarch opened a third restaurant, this time a Lincoln Heights cafe that marries Asian and Latin flavor in the former Gamboge space. If you look at the history of Chinese and Latin immigrants, they kind of all connected in Northeast L.A., so we wanted to celebrate, said co-owner Rica Leon. And I'm Chinese Peruvian; we wanted to bring that whole culture together. The Leon family relocated from Peru to East L.A. in 1977; they riff on Chinese and Peruvian flavor at Chifa and modern Cantonese and Taiwanese dishes at Monarch, but at Arroz and Fun translating to rice and noodles they offer a more casual menu with breakfast options such as savory oatmeal with mushroom, and egg-and-cheese sandwiches on sweet-savory pineapple buns (spam or bacon optional).
The lunch menu includes kabocha congee, pollo guisado, cold sesame noodle bowls and salpicon salad, with the food program helmed by Monarch and Chifa chef and Rica Leons husband John Liu. Their son, Jarod Wang, oversees the cafe, while his girlfriend, Gardi Rosales, roasts coffee under her label Cipota Coffee and fashions drinks such as espresso with lychee puree and tamarind. The cafe also serves small-batch loose-leaf Chinese teas from Tea Drunk, and Taiwanese beer. Arroz and Fun is open Tuesday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; plans for extended days and hours of operation, as well as evening service with beer and wine, are in the works.
1822 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, instagram.com/arrozandfun_la
At Arroz and Fun, the new cafe from the team behind Chifa and Monarch, specialty teas, small-batch-roasted coffees, and a Latin and Asian food menu are on offer in Lincoln Heights. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Bang Bang Noodles
One of the Eastsides most popular street food pop-ups now has a bricks-and-mortar stall in Culver City. Chef Robert Lee began slapping, pulling and boiling his handmade biang biang noodles on the sidewalks of Highland Park in 2019, offering the traditional noodle bowls and other specialties of the Shaanxi province, made here with a bit of showmanship. He and his brother, owner Nelson Lee, expanded the operation with a pop-up downtown as well, but this month landed a space within Citizen Public Market food hall. Street vending is super difficult because I have to constantly set up, break down and take it home and clean it, and somehow bring it back, the chef said. This whole process of having things set up and stationary was the dream to make everybody's life easier and better.
Having a permanent cook station has meant the capabilities for new items, too, such as mala-tinged, collaborative dumplings that Robert Lee makes with their mother, who is also responsible for Bang Bangs various noodle sauces; and a seasonal agua fresca that adds Asian fruit to the Latin staple. In the future, the chef hopes to add Taiwanese beef rolls to the Culver menu as well. The downtown location is currently closed, serving more as a central prep kitchen for the team, and the Highland Park pop-ups are on pause. A return to the Eastside, ideally with a bricks-and-mortar location, is planned. Bang Bang Noodles is now open on the ground floor of Citizen Public Market on Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
9355 Culver Blvd., Suite J, Culver City, bangbangnoodlesla.com
Taco Bell Cantina
The first L.A.-area location of Taco Bells alcohol-serving cantina is now open in Hollywood, filling a space that once housed Old Hollywood-beloved Pickwick Books in the 1930s. Themed to its 1920s architecture, L.A.s Taco Bell Cantina features a faux movie theater marquee inside, along with other trappings such as Taco Bell-inspired movie posters of a Hollywood theme. The food menu mirrors that of every Taco Bell, but from behind the six-seat bar, it will serve slushies in a rotation of flavors that can feature whiskey, rum, tequila or vodka beginning the first week of March. A small taco shop stand at the front of the restaurant, near the touchscreen ordering systems, will sell merchandise from the brand. Taco Bell Cantina is open in Hollywood from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily.
6741 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, tacobell.com
L.A.'s first Taco Bell Cantina is now open in Hollywood with a 1920s theme, flat-screen TVs, a merch counter and forthcoming boozy slushies. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Re: Her returns
L.A.s women-forward food fest is back in March with 10 days of events, cooking classes and special menus. From March 3-12 the Re: Her fest from the eponymous L.A.-founded, national nonprofit will amplify female chefs and women-owned restaurants across the region through a range of events such as a Molly Baz dinner at Suzanne Goin and Caroline Stynes Caldo Verde (March 3); a full day of hands-on cooking classes through Impastiamo, where chefs such as Friends and Familys Roxana Jullapat will share tricks of pie making and other dishes (March 4); a five-course fundraiser at Rossoblu cooked by female chefs from Hatchet Hall, Guerrilla Tacos, Love & Salt and Rossoblu (March 8); and a Smorgasburg takeover, wherein the nonprofits members, guest chefs and retailers will set up booths at the weekly outdoor food fair (March 5).
Various locations, regardingherfood.com
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
PORTSMOUTH The unidentified person seen on camera spray painting hateful imagery, including swastikas, on a slew of downtown businesses and places of worship early Tuesday is believed by investigators to have acted alone.
As the community grapples with another episode of hate, Portsmouth police are calling for assistance to help identify the perpetrator, also releasing a list of streets from which they hope to receive security footage. Local authorities are working with the state attorney general's office.
A total of 15 locations in and around downtown were hit with spray paint between 1:30 and 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, including Temple Israel, according to Portsmouth police Detective Sgt. Kevin McCarthy.
More local news:Woman shares story of assault by Portsmouth ER doctor charged with domestic violence
Grim North Tattoo and Piercing of High Street in Portsmouth provided this surveillance video of a suspect spray painting.
Surveillance footage provided by Grim North Tattoo & Piercing, a High Street business targeted in the widespread incident on Tuesday, shows a masked person in a red sweatshirt wearing khaki pants and white shoes spray painting the building.
Previous story:Portsmouth pushes back on overnight wave of hateful graffiti targeting Temple, businesses
The incident caught on camera occurred just before 3 a.m. Tuesday. Police have not definitively determined whether there was more than one person responsible for the tagging, though according to McCarthy, the person seen on Grim Norths security cameras has appeared on other surveillance footage around the city, leading police to suspect there was one person.
Where Portsmouth police want security video
Portsmouth police are seeking security footage from a number of areas: The portion of the downtown between Deer, Middle and Court streets, with additional areas Marcy Street, Summer Street through Miller Avenue and the surrounding streets; South Street from Miller Avenue to Marcy Street; Marcy Street from Court Street to New Castle Avenue and Maplewood Avenue towards Woodbury Avenue.
Never miss a story: Follow local news on the Seacoastonline mobile app or the Fosters.com mobileapp
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There has been a rise in public neo-Nazi activity in the Seacoast recently by the Nationalist Social Club, a recognized hate group in New England known as NSC-131. Some community members have asked whether Tuesdays acts were conducted by hate groups. In the past, NSC-131 has protested a drag story hour at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, left recruitment materials on residents' properties and hung a sign over Route 1 last summer with the offensive message, "Keep New England White," leading to charges of violating the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act.
Other than the content of the speech, I have no evidence that they are specifically tied with any group, McCarthy said of the person seen on surveillance footage.
Grim North Tattoo and Piercing of High Street in Portsmouth provided this surveillance video of a suspect spray painting.
Businesses and buildings targeted included Macro Polo, 3 Bridges Yoga, St. Johns Masonic Lodge on Middle Street and Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar, a Market Street business owned by city Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley.
Police ask members of the public with information to call McCarthy at (603) 610-7656. Tips can be reported anonymously by contacting the Seacoast Crime Stoppers at (603) 431-1199 or 1-207-439-1199, or via seacoastcrimestoppers.org.
What charges might be filed in this case if suspect is arrested?
New Hampshire Attorney General spokesperson Michael Garrity said a hate crime in the state is any criminal act substantially motivated by the victims religion, race, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, sex, or gender identity. Garrity said New Hampshire's Civil Rights Act prohibits actual or threatened uses of physical force, property damage, and trespass upon property motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or disability.
"As the facts come into focus, we would consider a wide range of potential charges, actions, or legal options and would not want to speculate on those at this time," he said.
'They went after people of color' and different faiths or sexuality, assistant mayor says
Assistant Mayor Joanna Kelley, who is Black and whose business Cup of Joe Cafe & Bar was targeted by the hateful graffiti, spoke about the incident during a City Council meeting Tuesday night.
Kelley said she felt awestruck, saddened and angry. Silence following such acts cannot be accepted, she said.
I think it was very clear, and spoke so loudly of our community, that we will not be quiet in acts of hate, she said. Weve seen this happen in our community before. We were not quiet before and we will not be quiet again.
Kelley said she believes the locations were targeted.
They went after people of color, people of a different faith, people of a different sexuality, of gender (and) origin. Its not one-offs, Kelley said. We have to make sure that we root these people out of our community and that they know that theyre not welcome here. I ask everyone at home, everyone in our community and everyone here, to not just take a moment of silence but to take a vow of action, to take a vow of unity, to stand up for who we are as a community and what we know is right.
Mayor Deaglan McEachern called it incredibly disturbing to see hate symbols painted on Kelleys shop, where she puts as much time and effort serving coffee as she does on the City Council serving citizens.
The mayor said the incidents on Tuesday are not necessarily isolated from the recent displays of hate in Portsmouth.
I don't know what drives folks to do that, but I know what it drives me to do, and that is to reject that ideology in any turn, to continue to fight, to live up to the ideals of a racial justice municipality and to press harder to become the City of the Open Door, he said.
Former City Council member Paige Trace read a statement she prepared. You think you hide behind freedom of speech, but scurrying late at night, with masks, vandalizing Portsmouth with your special brand of stupidity will get you nowhere, she said. We are Portsmouth. We will not succumb to you. We are strong and we are brave for each other. We love our city, and we protect our neighbors.
Trace received a round of applause from meeting attendees and council members after her remarks.
Portsmouth police Chief Mark Newport told councilors officers had been at work all day scouring through footage and speaking with community members as they investigated.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH hate graffiti investigation: Police want security videos
The Golden Gate Bridge is seen through a mix of rain and splashing bay water last month in Sausalito, Calif. (Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images)
As gusty winds downed power lines and trees Tuesday night throughout Northern California and the Central Coast, more than 172,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers lost power.
In Boulder Creek, firefighters rescued a 1-year-old baby who was pinned to the floor of his home after a tree snapped and speared through the roof to the basement. Boulder Creek Fire Protection District Fire Chief Mark Bingham said the child was in critical condition when transferred to a nearby hospital.
Six people, including the baby, and two dogs were rescued by Boulder Creek and Cal Fire crews from the home on Bobcat Lane. Bingham said power lines were also down and winds hit 50 mph, making it difficult to get an ambulance.
"We had about 20 storm-related incidents today due to winds," Bingham said, noting that the baby's rescue was "not something we typically train for."
In Southern California, the National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for some areas Tuesday night with 30- to 40-mph winds and gusts topping 60 mph.
"Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles. Areas of blowing dust reducing visibility are expected in and near agricultural areas. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result," the National Weather Service said.
Northern California regions most affected by the outages have been San Francisco's South Bay, where more than 40,400 people were affected; the Central Coast, where over 23,000 were without power; and the Peninsula, with more than 61,300 affected, according to PG&E spokesperson J.D. Guidi.
Before the outages, Guidi said PG&E prepared for the storm by using prediction models to "help us determine the potential timing, location and number of power outages." The utility company also placed "power poles, powerlines, transformers and other electric equipment" throughout its service area to quickly restore power in anticipation of the heavy winds.
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"PG&E has a plan, and we will execute that plan," Guidi said. "Local PG&E operations emergency centers will activate in impacted regions to more efficiently allocate crews, materials and other resources to restoration efforts."
The windstorm has brought gusts of more than 60 mph to some areas and is expected to continue overnight, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Rick Canepa. Wednesday is expected to remain breezy with gusts up to 35 mph.
***TRAFFIC ALERT UPDATE***
I-80 w/b (SFOBB) @ Treasure Island, the #3-4 lanes were re-opened approx 1 hour from our initial call.
Huge thank you to SF Fire Trk #48 crew for helping us expedite the opening of 2 additional w/b traffic lanes!
#5 lane remains closed w/ 2+ hr ETO pic.twitter.com/xLwSqatnOk CHP San Francisco (@CHPSanFrancisco) February 22, 2023
In the San Francisco Bay Area, a toppled tree on the Bay Bridge blocked three lanes of traffic earlier in the afternoon.
The gusts also caused scheduling delays for the San Francisco Ferry and service cancellation for the Treasure Island Ferry.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner private military company, has showed an image depicting dead Russian mercenaries who allegedly perished on 21 February because the leadership of the regular Russian troops did not give the Wagnerites enough ammunition.
Source: Press office of Prigozhin
Quote: "They did not give us ammunition, and they still don't. It is now 10 o'clock in the morning on 22 February. No steps have been taken to issue ammunition. What is the problem? I will explain. I am posting a photo below. This is one of the gathering places of the dead. These are the guys who died yesterday due to the so-called shell famine. There should have been 5 times fewer of them."
Details: According to Prigozhin, no one from the top military leadership wants to solve this problem neither Sergei Shoigu, the Defence Minister, nor Valery Gerasimov, Chief of General Staff and commander of the Russian troops in Ukraine.
Prigozhin says that the Wagner private military company does not exist formally, and previously, ammunition was issued to other units. Now, this is not being done.
Background: On 21 February, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group, has said that the Russian Ministry of Defence is lying when it claims that Russian forces on the Bakhmut front have sufficient ammunition. Prigozhin complained that the Wagner fighters receive less than 20% of the ammunition they had been promised.
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Prince Andrew stepped back from his public role as a member of the royal family in 2019 after his 'car crash' interview on Newsnight. (Getty Images)
The evidence that Prince Andrew sexually abused Virginia Giuffre remains "very strong", her lawyer has claimed, amid reports the Duke of York is considering reopening his case.
David Boies, the lawyer who has represented Giuffre in the civil case she filed against Andrew in 2021 said the Duke faces potential "disaster" if he attempts to clear his name by reopening the settlement and revisiting the allegations levelled against him.
Watch: Virginia Giuffre's lawyer explains why Prince Andrew settled the case against him
Giuffre has alleged the Duke sexually assaulted her three times when she was a teenager in London, New York and on Epstein's private island, Little St. James. Andrew has vehemently denied these claims, but reached a multimillion out-of-court settlement with Giuffre last year.
Boies was appearing on TalkTV's Piers Morgan Uncensored, and said he didn't believe Andrew could "have afforded to go to trial" and that the Duke settled the case right before he was due to give his deposition - the formal statement Andrew would have given to court to be used as evidence.
"This was never a case where I think he could have afforded to go to trial. This was a case where I think the evidence was too strong and it was going to be very difficult for him to give a deposition," Boies said.
Since Andrew's public disgrace he has only attended a few official events with the rest of the Windsors. (Getty Images)
"It settled right on the eve of the time the court had ordered that deposition to be taken and I think it was a deposition that would have been extremely difficult for him."
Boies also said that, despite Andrew's willingness to defend himself on Newsnight in 2019, a deposition would have been an entirely different kettle of fish.
"I think his lawyers recognised, that it would be a disaster for him to appear for a deposition. I deposed Ghislaine Maxwell and she was indicted for perjury, as a result of that deposition. I think he would have been taking a terrible criminal risk to appear for a deposition where hed have to answer those questions under oath and if he would not answer those questions truthfully under oath, he could then expose himself to real criminal liability.
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Giuffre's lawyer also said that the existence of the photograph of his client, convicted sex-offender Ghislaine Maxwell and the Duke of York at Maxwell's London home would have damaged Andrew's credibility to a jury. Andrew has previously cast doubt on the authenticity of the photograph, suggesting it could have been digitally altered.
Virginia Giuffre (nee Roberts) submitted this photo as evidence that she had met Prince Andrew at Ghislaine Maxwell's London home.
Despite this Boies doubts that Andrew will reopen the case, saying Andrew will be subject to the same scrutiny that he was subjected to before settling the case initially.
The US lawyer also questioned whether if Andrew was an "ordinary chap" rather than a member of the Royal Family, prosecutors would have treated them differently.
"There is no doubt he could have been prosecuted criminally if prosecutors either had jurisdiction over him or wanted to. I think one of the things that was disappointing to us in the United States was how lightly the British prosecutory authorities treated this.
I dont know if it was because he was a member of the Royal Family or whether he just was wealthy, could afford good lawyers our justice system in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom greatly favours people who are well represented so i think if hed been an ordinary chap who had done what he did, I think the prosecutors would have been looking at him in a different way."
Yahoo News UK has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
Watch: Prince Andrew's moments fleeting in S5 of The Crown - likely so we don't feel sorry for him
Prince Andrew runs a terrible criminal risk if he decides to reopen his sexual abuse case, his accusers lawyer has warned.
David Boies, the lawyer for the Dukes accuser Virginia Giuffre, challenged Prince Andrew to contact him if he wanted to overturn their multi-million settlement.
Hes got my telephone number, Mr Boies said.
Prince Andrew is said to be considering a challenge to the settlement he made with Virginia Giuffre (AFP via Getty Images)
Asked if he thought the Duke would make that call, the lawyer told Piers Morgan on TalkTV: I do not, because he knows that if he comes back, hes going to be subject to exactly the same scrutiny, exactly the same deposition, exactly the same trial that caused him to settle in the first place.
Ms Giuffre accused the Duke of sexually abusing her three times in 2001, when she was 17, below the legal age of consent in some US states.
She sued him in August 2020, setting in train a bitter six-month legal battle that was eventually settled with what is believed to be a $12 million payment last February.
The Independent revealed that people close to Prince Andrew were concerned he is cut off from friends and becoming a recluse amid plans to challenge his settlement with Ms Giuffre.
Sources close to the disgraced royal say he is desperate for redemption but has failed to come to terms with being exiled from royal duties.
There are fears hes making judgements in isolation and only speaking to his lawyer, sources told The Independent. Hes seeing nobody, theres a real element of isolation there, it feels like hes becoming a recluse.
But Mr Boies said that the Duke could only reopen the legal process if both sides were in agreement.
Virginia Giuffres lawyer David Boies said Andrew can call him if he wants to reopen the settlement (Screengrab)
All he has to do is ask, he said. He cant unless we let him. Virginia would have to let him come back and reopen it, but if he wants to reopen it, hes got my telephone number. His lawyers got my telephone number.
Mr Boies added that their civil case was settled shortly before the Duke was due to give a deposition under oath.
He said the royal would have been taking a terrible criminal risk" to appear for a deposition, which would have been extremely difficult for him.
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He added: If you lie to an interviewer, you may embarrass yourself, if you lie in a deposition, you go to jail.
Andrew settled with Ms Giuffre last year (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Mr Boies said Andrews infamous Newsnight interview gave a lot of ammunition and strongly suggested the Duke would not want to sit for a deposition.
He had said so many things and his advisers had said so many things to the press on his behalf that he was going to have a lot of difficulty I think reconciling those things with the factual evidence, testimony that people had given. Not just my client but other people, Mr Boies said.
Asked whether he had any doubts about the Dukes guilt, Mr Boies replied: Unless youre there, unless youre there witnessing unless youve got a videotape, you never know personally what happened. All you can do is look at the evidence and the evidence was very strong.
Law enforcement officers have detained pro-Kremlin blogger Dmitry Skvortsov, who was hiding on the territory of a monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in the city of Kyiv.
Source: Press office of the Security Service of Ukraine, Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office, informed sources of Ukrainska Pravda among law enforcement officers
Quote from the Security Service of Ukraine: "The Security Service detained another enemy propagandist in Kyiv, who publicly justified Russian armed aggression against Ukraine.
An accomplice of the Rashists is a blogger from the capital, the founder of the so-called Russian club, who was engaged in the preparation of commissioning articles for the sanctioned information agencies of the aggressor country. Among them are Russkaya Narodnaya Linia [Russian national line] and Odna Rodina [One Motherland]."
Details: Officially, law enforcement officers do not name the detainee, however, according to the sources of Ukrainska Pravda, it is Dmitry Skvortsov.
According to UPs sources, he was detained the other day on the territory of the Monastery of the Holy Annunciation of the UOC-MP in Kyiv.
In his columns, Skvortsov called the seizure of Crimea and parts of the eastern regions of Ukraine "lawful", and also popularised the terrorist organisations "L/DNR" [Luhansk/Donetsk Peoples Republics ed.].
He was informed in absentia of suspicion of treason under Art. 111.1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in August of last year.
According to the investigation, the provocative materials and public speeches of the blogger were actively used by the Russian special services to carry out information sabotage against Ukraine.
For each "portion" of content, the suspect received a monetary reward from Russia.
Currently, the court has chosen a preventive measure in the form of detention for the detainee.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
A family is filing a federal lawsuit against Pueblo County and six sheriff's deputies in connection to the February 2022 fatal shooting of Richard Ward.
The lawsuit alleges wrongful death, excessive use of lethal force and constitutional violations against Ward, his mother and his mother's boyfriend in the shooting and subsequent arrest of Ward's mother and her boyfriend.
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on the matter to the Chieftain. Department spokesperson Gayle Perez said the sheriff's office has not had time to review the lawsuit.
Ward, 32, was shot three times in the chest during an encounter with deputies on Feb. 22, 2022.
According to Darold Killmer, an attorney representing the family, Ward was sitting in a car with his mother, Kristy Ward Stamp, and her boyfriend while waiting to pick up Ward's younger brother outside Liberty Point International School in Pueblo West.
While waiting, Stamp had to take a work-related phone call, so Ward stepped out to get some air and give his mother some privacy, according to a statement provided by Killmer, Lane, and Newman, the law firm representing the family. On the way back to his mother's SUV, Ward accidentally got into the wrong white SUV, parked several vehicles down from his mother's, Killmer said.
Killmer told the Chieftain that the driver of the white SUV was startled and asked Ward what he was doing, at which point he realized his mistake and exited the vehicle.
"(That) probably unsettled both of them a bit, but that was the entire event," Killmer said. "However, a nearby witness called the sheriff and said, 'There's a weird fella walking around the school grounds, come check it out.' "
At approximately 3:15 p.m., deputies Charles McWhorter and Cassandra Gonzales were dispatched to the school to investigate and approached Stamp's SUV and contacted Ward.
Body cam footage of the incident shows Ward explaining what happened and telling the two deputies he was "nervous" because he "didn't really like cops." He claimed that in previous interactions with police they'd used excessive force on him.
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When asked by deputies if he was under the influence of anything, Ward said no and told deputies he didn't believe he had any weapons although he may have a pocket knife.
"As he searched for his identification at the officers request, Richard placed a pill in his mouth, likely a medication prescribed to treat his anxiety condition," the family's attorneys said in a news release.
"Deputies McWhorter and Gonzales immediately and aggressively seized Richard by the collar and dragged him out of the backseat of the SUV, as Richard frantically tried to explain that he had only taken a pill an entirely legal, non-threatening action to which the Deputies should not have reacted with any force."
Photo of Richard Ward.
The body cam shows the two deputies throw Ward to the ground, grabbing his legs and chest and briefly struggling with him before McWhorter draws his firearm, firing three times at close range into Ward's chest.
After the shooting, Wards mother and her boyfriend are heard screaming from inside the SUV, asking for information from the deputies. "Did you just shoot him?" the boyfriend is heard asking.
"Deputies McWhorter and Gonzales did not bother to provide any medical aid as Richard lay dying," the family's attorneys stated in the release. "Instead, they stood and watched him bleed out as middle school students strolled by a few feet away. Richards mother Kristy, who was in the front seat, became more and more frantic upon the realization her son had been shot."
The lawsuit further alleges that deputies arrested and handcuffed Ward's mother and her boyfriend despite a complete lack of involvement in the shooting or any other criminal activity, impounded her vehicle for months and took away her and her boyfriend's cellphones. The lawsuit alleges they were interrogated for hours in what the suit characterizes as a "brazen act of thuggish intimidation."
Following the incident, then-Law-Enforcement Bureau Chief and now-Sheriff David Lucero claimed Ward was "walking around to the parents parked in the loop and banging on windows and just acting very strangely" and that he "appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs." Lucero stated at the scene that Ward had become aggressive when confronted and attempted to grab a weapon from a deputy.
Killmer stated he believes there is "no doubt" Lucero's claims were a deliberate lie, and that Lucero was "making things up as he went along."
"It's an astonishing lie," Killmer said. "Richard doesn't jump out of the vehicle or anything like that, the last thing he wanted to do was mix it up with those officers. He hoped they'd just go away, which they should have there was no probable cause to believe he had committed a crime. Once (the deputy) heard his side of the story, and if he'd talked to the other woman whose car he'd accidentally jumped into, he'd have learned that too."
Killmer stated Ward's family previously attempted to settle out of court, but were "blown off" by Pueblo County, at which point they decided to file suit in federal court.
The deputies later were deemed justified in their use of lethal force by the 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office, according to Chieftain media partner KRDO News Channel 13. However, Ward's family believes it was a senseless killing by law enforcement.
"Our family is devastated," said Eddie Stamp, Ward's brother. "Richard did nothing to deserve such brutality. We demand accountability for those that are responsible for killing Richard. We will not rest until justice is achieved."
Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo County, sheriff's deputies sued for 2022 fatal shooting
46th Ward candidates Michael Cortez, from left, Marianne LaLonde, Kim Walz, Angela Clay and Roushaunda Williams, debate during a forum at the Preston Bradley Center in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood on Jan. 31, 2023. (Trent Sprague/for the Chicago Tribune)
Edgewater condominium owner Jim Jones sat through a candidate forum at Emanuel Congregation in late January, listening for who among the 10 candidates running for 48th Ward alderman has a plan for a key issue affecting the wards future: How to protect its funky vitality by keeping housing affordable for the diverse cross-section of Chicagoans who call the area home.
In the 23 years hes lived in Edgewater, Jones said, hes seen the cost of condos in my building double rentals in the area are getting to be astronomical. If I were needing to rent, I couldnt live here, he told the Tribune.
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Fewer places have seen more high-profile gentrification fights than Uptown. Protests of the redevelopment of the Weiss Hospital parking lot led to arrests last summer. Other fights have broken out over a luxury development at the corner of Montrose and Clarendon avenues and the conversion of a former Chicago Public School building into high-end apartments. All 16 candidates running in the North Sides lakefront 46th and 48th wards have said housing affordability is a top priority.
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Much has stayed the same in those wards. Boundaries changed little over the previous decades and turnover in elected offices has been minimal. And the wards diverse political makeup has created major challenges for its aldermen: renters and owners fill high rises, stately single family homes and traditional two- three- and six-flats; commercial corridors are lined with immigrant-owned restaurants, independent shops and LGBTQ+-friendly spaces alongside national chains; and the ward is home to a dense network of social service providers for those experiencing homelessness, addiction and mental health issues.
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But voters have a fresh opportunity to chart the course of both wards.
Two retirements in the City Council have created wide-open races to represent Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville and the northern portion of Lakeview. Feb. 28 ballots are crowded, with six candidates in the 46th and 10 in the 48th. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters in each ward will face off in an Apr. 4 runoff.
Chicagos new ward map
Not sure which ward you live in? Type your address into the search box below.
Source: City of Chicago
Candidates are spread across the modern Democratic spectrum, from DSA-endorsed progressives to centrists with business ties. Whoever wins could redefine what makes a modern lakefront liberal a squishy term popularized in the 1970s to describe mostly white professional voters along the lakes shoreline who largely backed reform-minded or anti-machine candidates. Pundits have disagreed about whether the label is entirely meaningless, when it died or which election killed it.
Voters were at a similar crossroads in 2011, when moderate 48th Ward Ald. Mary Ann Smith and uber-progressive Black Panther Party ally 46th Ward Ald. Helen Shiller both opted not to run again. Ald. Harry Osterman replaced Smith and Ald. James Cappleman replaced Shiller. But now Osterman and Cappleman both generally considered moderates who rarely sparred with the mayor in power are two of more than a dozen aldermen opting to retire from the council.
46th Ward
North Side political observers have long described the 46th Ward as diverse and divided. Cappleman was pushed into two runoffs in 2015 and 2019, winning both narrowly. Cappleman has yet to endorse any of the six candidates running to replace him, but he said he hopes the ward elects someone who builds bridges rather than burns them or in the case of some of these people running rather than blow them up.
Voters face a range of choices, including the pick of U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, who has a reputation as a technocratic, efficiency-oriented reformer and who 32 years ago ran for alderman and lost against Shiller. Theres also the endorsed candidate of Shiller herself, who, early in her career, worked alongside Mayor Harold Washington and often thumbed her nose at Mayor Richard M. Daley.
I ran in that ward in 1991 and have the arrow holes in the back to prove it, Quigley said earlier this month. He has thrown his support behind Kim Walz, his former staffer and a regional director at Walgreens. Quigley described Walz as a pragmatist who understands what the 46th Ward needs long term.
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You see theres clearly the left-left candidates, Quigley said. Im worried that I dont know whos going to win for mayor City Council is going to move even farther left.
Walz, who ran for a state House seat in 2020 but later dropped out, has led the pack on fundraising. Shes also gotten high-end endorsements from Quigley, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, state Reps. Margaret Croke and Ann Williams and state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz. Walz has raised roughly $150,000 since January of 2022 and the independent expenditure group run by Illinois Realtors has spent $65,000 supporting her.
At a recent 46th Ward forum, Walz said she wanted to see Uptowns theater district by Lawrence Avenue and Broadway and small businesses thrive, and has fielded complaints while campaigning about too much red tape and bureaucracy, as well as rising rents and property taxes for residents and businesses alike.
Two candidates who in the last election criticized Cappleman as insufficiently progressive and too deferential to developers are running again: Angela Clay and Marianne LaLonde.
Clay, a lifelong ward resident, is endorsed by Shiller, the Chicago branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, the Chicago Teachers Union and neighboring Ald. Matt Martin, 47th. Clays platform calls for lifting the statewide ban on rent control, redirecting funding from ineffective policing initiatives and reinvesting in social service programs that proactively reduce violence.
Between January 2022 and mid-February, Clay raised nearly $130,000, including $15,000 from CTU and $20,000 from other affiliated unions representing nurses and teachers at community colleges in Cook County.
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LaLonde, a Maryland native and chemist who has worked for U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, lost to Cappleman in the 2019 runoff by roughly two dozen votes. This time, she is endorsed by former Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th, and John Arena, 45th, as well as former County Clerk David Orr. LaLonde has pledged to propose new laws to protect the environment citywide, including for flood resilience, protecting birds from colliding into buildings and updating the citys lakefront protection ordinance.
She has raised about $65,000 since January of 2022. That includes $15,000 she gave herself and got from family members as well as $3,000 from WGN meteorologist Tom Skilling.
Roushaunda Williams, a bartender at the Palmer House and a shop steward for UNITE HERE Local 1, has the support of her union and the Chicago Federation of Labor, both of which have fueled most of the more than $100,000 she has raised between January 2022 and mid-February of this year. She helped the City Council push to mandate hotel workers be equipped with panic buttons in case of emergencies, including sexual assaults.
Patrick Nagle, the chief administrative law judge with the federal Social Security Administration, has served on Capplemans zoning advisory group for nearly a decade. Nagle has received contributions from a handful of restaurants in the Lakeview portion of the ward, including the Pancake Cafe, Murphys Bleachers and the Kit Kat Lounge.
Real estate agent Michael Cortez has not logged any contributions over $1,000. His website is spare, though he has said he would like to build learn and live centers to train the homeless in the trades.
48th Ward
Candidates for the 48th Ward participate in a community forum at Emanuel Congregation synagogue on Jan. 26, 2023. From left are: Joe Dunne, Nassir Faulkner, Isaac Freilich Jones, Brian Haag and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth. (Victor Hilitski/for the Chicago Tribune)
Among the 10 candidates seeking the 48th Ward post are an affordable housing developer, a university lecturer, an artist, a real estate broker, a resale business owner, an assistant Illinois attorney general, a dance supply business owner, a deputy director at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a restaurateur, and a communications manager working for the states comptroller.
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With so many candidates, the race will likely come down to which candidates have the best ground game to get out the vote.
Retired state Rep. Greg Harris, the former Democratic House leader who was once chief of staff to former Ald. Smith, said compared to 20 years ago, ward residents are younger and more focused on broader issues, such as the environment and police accountability, than ones focused on issues affecting certain blocks or neighborhoods. What hasnt changed: Affordable housing and retaining income diversity and neighborhood diversity. The whole gentrification debate, which has raged on the North Side for many years, still carries on.
The two previous aldermen, Osterman and Smith, are backing a candidate with government experience who puts public safety among his top priorities: Joe Dunne, a vice president at Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp., an affordable housing developer. Dunne previously worked at the Illinois Medical District Commission and the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.
At a late January forum hosted by a condominium group, Dunne received sustained applause when answering a question about revitalizing struggling retail corridors in the ward, including Bryn Mawr and Granville avenues.
People arent going to go to our business corridors if they dont feel safe, he said. So if we want to revitalize Bryn Mawr, and we want to revitalize Granville, weve got to deal with public safety, by adding beat cops and encouraging positive loitering, including street fests such as the Argyle Night Market, launched in part to counter gang violence in the area. Aside from safe streets, he said housing affordability was a top concern.
I get mad as a hornet when I open my tax bill and I feel like Im being priced out of the neighborhood, he said.
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Dunne has raised more than $100,000, including from trade unions, former state Sen. Heather Steans of Chicago, and the owner of the popular Hopleaf bar.
Candidate Roxanne Volkmann is flanked by candidates Larry Svabek, left, and Nick Ward during the forum at Emanuel Congregation synagogue on Jan. 26, 2023. (Victor Hilitski/for the Chicago Tribune)
Only one other candidate in the race has raised more: Nick Ward. The artist and restaurant worker has raised roughly $125,000 since launching his campaign, winning endorsements from several progressive groups along the way. That list includes the Chicago Teachers Union, the Illinois Nurses Association and the national and Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Ward has been the target of attack ads from the Super PAC Get Stuff Done, which is backed by a one-time political aide to ex-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who cite now-deleted tweets from Ward to allege that he is in favor of full abolition of the police. Amid protests following the police shooting of Adam Toledo, Ward tweeted: I saw someone holding a sign last night that read Reinvent Police and while Im appreciative that that is where that person is starting, that is absolutely not the demand of the movement. Its Defund/Disarm/Dismantle, as a means to Abolish & Transform.
In a series of tweets responding to the mailers, Ward decried the mailers as vicious, saying he believes we put too many responsibilities on police to solve all of societys problems. His website lists allocating funds toward violence prevention and working to create a non-police crisis response system for mental health related emergencies as his public safety priorities.
Andy Peters, owner of Andersonvilles TrueNorth Cafe, has largely self-funded his campaign. Peters, who has campaigned as a nerdy Democrat also managed government relations and events at the Illinois Restaurant Association, according to his LinkedIn, and ran a consulting firm that claimed several current and former aldermen as clients, including Michele Smith, 43rd, Brian Hopkins, 2nd, Emma Mitts, 37th, and federally convicted Patrick Daley Thompson, 11th.
The daughter of Filipino immigrants and owner of Chicago Dance Supply, Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth says she is the first queer woman of color running for alderman in the ward. Manaa-Hoppenworth has political organizing experience: she is co-founder of the group Indivisible Illinois and has been endorsed by state Rep. Theresa Mah and former U.S. Rep. Marie Newman of La Grange.
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Isaac Freilich Jones, a Harvard graduate and assistant in Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raouls office, has argued a full-court press is needed to recruit businesses to fill retail vacancies. Permitting should be centralized within the city and taken out of aldermanic hands to speed the process along, he said at the January forum.
Another candidate in the 48th, Larry Svabek, worked on a citywide push for civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department. Svabek, a lecturer and fellow at the University of Chicago, said at the forum that the next alderman needed to be ready to work with soon-to-be elected police district councilors. He pledged to push the city to speed along spending on anti-violence initiatives. But his candidacy has not caught on with donors: most of his fundraising has been from what appear to be family members.
Candidates Andre Peloquin, left, and Andy Peters attend the 48th Ward candidates forum on Jan. 26, 2023. (Victor Hilitski/for the Chicago Tribune)
Andre Peloquin, a residential real estate agent with @properties, has raised less than $50,000 but has received $55,000 in support from the Illinois Realtors Super PAC, according to state records. Brian Haag is the founder of Green Element, a resale shop, and at the 48th Ward forum. Haag pivoted most of his answers at the forum including about public safety back to environmental issues. He said he supports allowing live-work spaces in vacant commercial storefronts.
Roxanne Volkmann, the HUD director, has said she knows how to get government agencies and departments to work for this community, and supports hiring to fill vacancies at the Police Department.
Nassir Faulkner, who works in communications for Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, committed to having a social worker on staff to help with social service and homelessness issues. He has also pledged to create advisory councils on public safety and housing, and would press for at least 30% of units in new housing developments to be affordable.
aquig@chicagotribune.com
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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hit back at the U.S. on Wednesday, warning that his country reserved the right to use its nuclear arsenal to defend itself after a speech in Poland by President Biden following his surprise visit to Ukraine.
After all, it is obvious to all reasonable forces that if the United States wants the defeat of Russia, then we are on the verge of a world conflict, Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, said in a post on the messaging platform Telegram. If the United States wants to defeat Russia, then we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapon, including nuclear.
The message from Medvedev who was president from 2008 to 2018 and the countrys prime minister until 2020 about nuclear weapons comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that he intended to pull Russia from the New START arms treaty, an agreement between Russia and the U.S. to limit their ability to produce and launch nuclear weapons.
After Bidens surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday, he delivered a speech in Poland in which he noted that the United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia.
The West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today, Biden said. And millions of Russian citizens who only want to live in peace with their neighbors are not the enemy.
He went on to lay the burden of ending the war on Putin.
If Russia stopped invading Ukraine, it would end the war, Biden said. If Ukraine stopped defending itself against Russia, it would be the end of Ukraine.
Medvedev turned the claim upside down, arguing it was actually the U.S. who was prolonging the war.
If the US stops supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime, the war will end, he said.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
SPUTNIK
If there were ever a time for the Kremlin to worry about an uprising by its most out-of-control private army, now would appear to be it.
Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has gone from accusing the Russian military of treason to flooding the internet with gruesome photos of the countrys war dead.
Who is to blame for them dying? Those who should have resolved the issue of supplying us with sufficient quantities of ammunition are to blame, Prigozhin said Wednesday in comments to a pro-war Telegram channel, singling out Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. A day earlier, he accused both of trying to destroy the Wagner Group by deliberately choking off their ammunition supply.
To drive his point home on Wednesday, he released a photo showing rows upon rows of bloodied and maimed corpses that he said were Wagner fighters killed trying to keep the Kremlins grip on Ukraine.
No steps have been taken to issue ammunition. I am posting a photo below, this is one of the gathering points for the dead. These are guys who died yesterday due to ammunition hunger. There should have been five times less of them, Prigozhin said.
Wagner, like a beggar crowd funding, is asking unit commanders to help in some way. We will not leave Bakhmut. Well just die twice as much as we already have, until everyones gone. And when the Wagernites run out, then most likely Shoigu and Gerasimov will have to take up machine guns, he said.
Kremlin Admits Putins Chef Might Be Assassinated Soon
While Prigozhin has never been shy about blasting Russias top military brass, his outrage is rapidly spreading throughout the ranks of the pro-war military bloggers the Kremlin has relied on to bolster public support for the war.
And its threatening to overshadow the everything is going according to plan and were all united message Putin wants to send ahead of the one-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion, when the Kremlin has only slight territorial gains and a whole generation of young dead men to show for the military conquest.
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Even as Putin took to the stage at Moscows Luzhniki Stadium for his pro-war rally Wednesday, Wagner supporters (or bots) flooded the chat of an online livestream of the event with angry messages demanding the military give ammunition to Wagner!
Prigozhinwho was known for his role commanding armies of Russian trolls long before he admitted to being the puppetmaster of the mercenary groupwas suspected of unleashing the messages. Several pro-Kremlin Telegram channels have also begun conducting polls on who followers would want to see win in the terrible confrontationShoigu and Gerasimov, or Prigozhin.
Ninety six percent of the more than 15,000 people who responded to one poll on Tuesday voted for Prigozhin.
But anger at the Russian military command has already spread far beyond Prigozhin, and even Wagner.
Igor Bezler, one of the Kremlins most well-known proxy commanders from Russias first wave of aggression against Ukraine in 2014, called for Shoigu and Gerasimov to be assassinated in an intercepted call with an FSB officer recently, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
First Shoigu needs to be shot, and then Gerasimov, fuck. And then half of your fucking FSB to be hanged and their asses put on stakes, and then well start to fight, a man identified as Bezler said in audio of the purported call.
As long as all these fuckwits are in power its all complete nonsense, he said, railing against dumb Putin and others in power before yelling, Our leaders are fucking morons!
Bezler wasnt the only one to float the idea of putting a bullet in the head of the countrys top military brass.
The Wagner-connected Telegram channel Grey Zone on Wednesday shared a missive, apparently referring to unnamed military officials, saying that if they lacked the honor to kill themselves for their mistakes, the least they could do is take off their uniforms to stop bringing shame.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin hailed Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine during a rally in Moscow on Wednesday, calling on the crowds to chant "Russia, Russia" to show their support for those he said were defending the fatherland.
Tens of thousands of people packed into Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, which has a capacity of 81,000, waving white, blue and red Russian flags and listening to patriotic songs before Putin arrived.
"They fight heroically, courageously, bravely. We are proud of them," Putin said at the "Glory to Defenders of the Fatherland" event, held on the eve of Russia's Feb. 23 holiday celebrating those who serve in the armed forces.
"Today they are supported by the whole country," Putin said of Russian forces in Ukraine, adding he had just been updated by military chiefs on the situation at the front. "When we are together, we have no equal. To the unity of the Russian people."
The Kremlin casts the war as a "special military operation" to protect Russia's own security in what it sees as an existential confrontation with the West.
The conflict in Ukraine started in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's 'Maidan Revolution' protests and Russia annexed Crimea. Fighting also erupted in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces.
Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, a decision that Western powers and Ukraine have branded an imperial-style land grab. Ukraine has said it will not rest until every last Russian soldier is ejected from Ukrainian territory, including Crimea.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Moscow, just days after the U.S. warned that Beijing may increase support for Russias war in Ukraine.
We are expecting the President of the Peoples Republic of China in Russia, Putin said during a visit from Chinas top diplomat, Wang Yi, on Wednesday.
We know [Xi] has a domestic political agenda to attend to, but we assume that once the issues on that agenda are dealt with we will proceed with our plans for personal meetings, which will give additional impetus to our relations, Putin added.
On Saturday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of strongly considering providing Russia with lethal assistance for its war in Ukraine, which is set to reach the one-year mark on Friday.
Blinken reportedly warned Wang against such a move when the two met in Munich over the weekend, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted on Sunday that China would face consequences for making that unfortunate decision.
However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin hit back at the U.S. on Monday, noting the U.S. has been pouring weapons into the battlefield.
The U.S. is in no position to tell China what to do, Wenbin said at a press briefing. We would never stand for finger-pointing, or even coercion and pressurizing from the U.S. on our relations with Russia.
Wang on Wednesday said Chinas relationship with Russia would not subject to pressure from third parties, in an apparent retort to the U.S.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russian President Vladimir Putin began his address before Russias parliament on Tuesday by underlining the stakes of his war in Ukraine.
This is a time of radical, irreversible change in the entire world, of crucial historical events that will determine the future of our country and our people, a time when every one of us bears a colossal responsibility, he told gathered lawmakers.
Many of the headlines coming out of his speech focused on his announcement that Russia would unilaterally suspend its involvement in the last remaining nuclear treaty with the United States a move that further stoked nuclear anxiety in the West.
But the speech also offered indications of how the Russian leader might handle the second year of the war he started on Feb. 24, 2022, and how he is seeking to shape the narrative to his domestic audience and the world.
This is the closest to a true wartime speech that we have heard so far, said Daniel Goure, a defense expert and senior vice president at the Lexington Institute, a public policy think tank.
And Putin is no longer framing his fight as a special operation to liberate Ukraine; he is now casting it as an existential war against Western civilization.
This came closest to sort of saying its them versus us, added Goure.
Clash of civilizations
The Western elite make no secret of their goal, which is, I quote, Russias strategic defeat. Putin said Tuesday.
What does this mean to us? This means they plan to finish us once and for all, he said. In other words, they plan to grow a local conflict into a global confrontation. This is how we understand it and we will respond accordingly, because this represents an existential threat to our country.
This sweeping framing of the war blaming imperial America and its allies for starting the war despite supposed Russian efforts at peace gives Putin much-needed political cover as he gears up for a long fight, experts said.
The Russian leader set early expectations that his special operations would take a matter of days. He now needs to justify an all-out war that has cost thousands of lives, isolated Russia internationally and promises months or years of additional pain.
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The case for sending Russian soldiers to die is much stronger if Putin says look, this is defending not just Russians in Ukraine, or even the Russian border, this is defending the culture. This is defending the [Russians] against the pollution from the West, said Goure.
Putin also needs to explain why Russias war effort is flailing, after a year in which Moscows troops made early gains but have been on a months-long losing streak, noted Andres Kasekamp, a political science professor at the University of Toronto who studies the war.
So hes trying to explain that, No, no, were fighting the entire West. Thats why its so difficult. So thats a domestic narrative, he said.
Internationally, blaming the West, and specifically, the U.S., for the war helps muddy the diplomatic waters and might help convince some countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to maintain a neutral stance, rather than denouncing Russias aggression, he added.
It helps to reach that non-Western global audience who might be anti-Western in their perception, Kasekamp said.
Nuclear blackmail
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he gives his annual state of the nation address in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (Dmitry Astakhov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Kasekamp described Putins address as largely rehashing all of the same old grievances, and noted he made no attempt to apologize for his failures or signal an openness for dialogue or changing course.
The only new information in the speech was his announcement that Russia would suspend its participation in the New START Treaty, a post-Cold War agreement that was already effectively paused due to the Ukraine war.
Kasekamp called the announcement bluster and trying to push the one button that he thinks that for U.S. policymakers, he can get their, kind of, attention and irritate them.
Leon Aron, a Russia expert at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), said nuclear blackmail is the only tool Putin has left.
As Russia sinks deeper and deeper into this quagmire of the war in Ukraine its a war of attrition and a bloody slog whats left is nuclear weapons. And it appears thats Russias only effective way of influencing both that war, but broader relationship with the West, he said.
While Putin has been rattling his nuclear saber since before the war started, Aron say his suspension of the treaty was a concrete move meant to back up his nuclear blackmail.
Essentially he buried arms control, Aron said. Why would he do this? He knows that he cannot sustain an indefinitely longer war, and he has to end it one way or another. That is when I think the nuclear blackmail is going to be deployed.
What that looks like is less clear. Aron wrote an article for the National Review last week raising the possibility that Putin could invade another country in a bid to force a negotiated settlement in Ukraine.
Would Putin actually use a nuclear weapon, or just ramp up the threat?
I hope hes not mad, Aron said. But certainly it makes it plausible that he would resort to, one way or another, kind of a very real nuclear blackmail.
So far, Putins nuclear saber rattling has worked with the U.S. and its Western allies engaging in what Kasekamp called self-deterrence, waiting months before providing lethal weapons out of fear of provoking Putin.
And each additional weapon air defense systems, long-range missiles, tanks and now jets spurs a new debate around the same fear of escalation, with Russias nukes as the backdrop.
Preparing for a long war
Ukrainians cross an improvised path under a destroyed bridge while fleeing Irpin, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine on March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
Short of the nuclear option, Putins strategy appears to be maintaining the current war of attrition, and encouraging Russians to adapt to their new reality.
In his address, he boasted that Western sanctions were failing to cripple Russias economy, with agricultural production up and unemployment down. And he sent a message to businesspeople who may still yearn for a comfortable place abroad.
There is another option: to stay with your Motherland, to work for your compatriots, not only to open new businesses but also to change life around you in cities, towns and throughout your country.
With President Biden delivering his own address Tuesday promising to stand with Ukraine until the end, Putin sent his own message of undying commitment to the fight.
His game plan has always been that he thinks that he can outlast the West, said Kasekamp. He has always thought that OK, Im taking great losses now, but the unity of the West is fickle.
And while Biden may have the resolve to support Ukraine for the long haul, that could quickly change if a Republican wins the White House in 2024, or if NATO unity breaks due to changes in other countries.
Governments come and go in the West, and Putins staying forever, in his own mind, Kasekamp added.
All three experts who spoke to The Hill were hopeful that this dynamic would push the West to drop its self-imposed limitations on support to Ukraine and help Kyiv win the war realizing that the status quo ensures a continued slog with neither side gaining an upper hand.
Russia has to lose and has to lose big, said Kasekamp.
Goure said he believed the Biden administration was coming around to similar thinking.
This is rapidly coming to a point where politically, certainly this administration will not be able to stand a negotiated settlement, to split the baby down the middle, he said. So thats the reason Im expecting to see the next round of advanced weapons being sent by the summer.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russian navy frigate Admiral Gorshkov launches a Zircon hypersonic missile in the Barents Sea in May 2022. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
Putin has touted Russian hypersonic weapons like the Zircon missile as impossible to defend against.
Zircon in particular is powerful but there are limits on what it can do, a Western expert says.
Like other high-speed weapons, the Zircon's velocity may come at the expense of its accuracy.
Russia's Zircon hypersonic missile can do two things: fly at almost 7,000 mph, which makes it very hard to shoot down, or hit a moving ship. But it can't do both.
That's the conclusion of a British expert who says that the Zircon is a powerful weapon with major limitations.
"The operational deployment of the Zircon is an important development, but one whose significance should not be exaggerated," according to Sidharth Kaushal, a naval warfare expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a British defense think tank.
President Vladimir Putin has touted Russia's hypersonic weapons as being "invincible." Russian officials claim the 3M22 Zircon can travel at Mach 9, or about 6,900 mph, which may be too fast for current tactical anti-missile defenses.
But Putin's rhetoric can't change the laws of physics. The problem is that objects traveling at hypersonic speeds Mach 5 and beyond ionize the air around them, creating a sheath of plasma around the object that blocks radar signals.
Yet radar is precisely how many guided missiles home in on their targets. Once the missile arrives near a designated point, an active radar seeker in the nose switches on, scans the area, and locks on target. Similar problems affect other high-speed missiles, like China's anti-ship ballistic missiles.
President Vladimir Putin watches a missile launch from a warship during exercises in the Russian Arctic in August 2005. REUTERS/ITAR-TASS/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE
"Because the missile's plasma layer precludes the use of active radar and other onboard sensors to track a target vessel in the terminal phase, the missile likely has to slow down to well short of hypersonic speeds in order to track mobile targets," Kaushal wrote.
Against targets that are fixed, like buildings on land, it's not necessary to slow down. But when hunting ships, the Zircon would probably have to slow down to supersonic speed to use its radar. If that's the case, then as it nears the target, the Zircon would not be moving any faster than earlier Russian anti-ship missiles such as the P-800 Oniks, which has a speed of about Mach 2.5, or 1,900 mph.
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Supersonic missiles can be intercepted by shipboard defenses such as the US Navy's SeaRAM gun/missile system.
In addition, when the Zircon is launched, a rocket boosts it to high altitude and supersonic speed, which is necessary for the Zircon's scramjet engine to kick in and reach hypersonic velocity. The disadvantage is that unlike supersonic anti-ship missiles that can skim just above the water to avoid radar detection, the Zircon will have to stay at an altitude of about 12 miles until it gets relatively close to the target. Flying higher for longer makes it more visible to radar.
"The missile can either be hypersonic or low observable but not both in tandem," wrote Kaushal.
The Zircon should not be underestimated. A destroyer, for example, might not detect a missile until it gets to within about 15 miles, according to Kaushal. "From this point, assuming the missile is a Zircon flying at speeds of Mach 56, the vessel would have 15 seconds to react."
Yet Kaushal is skeptical about Russian claims that the Zircon is really operational.
Russian frigate Admiral Groshkov launches a Zircon hypersonic missile in the White Sea in October 2020. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
The weapon was developed remarkably quickly compared to previous Russian missiles. "Furthermore, there appear to be no reported test failures, which is irregular for a new missile, especially one as complex as a hypersonic cruise missile," Kaushal noted.
The Zircon has a reported range of about 621 miles, but this is contingent on the missile being accurately guided toward the target zone: Its on-board radar can only scan a limited area, and even an aircraft carrier is a small object to spot in a big ocean. Russia also has limited maritime surveillance and detection capabilities beyond its coastal waters.
"While not much is known about the navigation system of the Zircon, the risk of plasma blackout would seem to necessitate very precise inertial guidance" as guidance from GPS or from its Russian counterpart, GLONASS, "cannot be reliably assumed," Kaushal told Insider.
Nonetheless, the Zircon may end up giving many Russian warships a hypersonic attack capability. The weapon is about 26 feet to 32 feet long, meaning it is small enough to be fitted onto smaller warships such as Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates and submarines like the Yasen-class boats that worry NATO commanders.
"It is pretty big even by cruise-missile standards," Kaushal told Insider. "That said, most vessels in the Russian fleet are being equipped to carry cruise missiles, so that is definitely a design principle for even the smaller elements of the fleet."
Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Comparitech said its study of more than 400 childrens apps available on the store found that nearly 25% violated the ICOs guidelines in some way (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Wire)
As many as one in four apps aimed at children on the Google Play app store do not comply with the Information Commissioners Office age-appropriate design code, according to new research.
Consumer group Comparitech said its study of more than 400 childrens apps available on the store found that nearly 25% violated the ICOs guidelines in some way the vast majority by collecting personal data of some kind.
The age-appropriate design code or Childrens Code sets out standards to which online services must adhere in order to comply with UK data protection law when it comes to children and protecting their personal information online.
In its study, Comparitech said the offending apps violated the ICOs code in a number of ways, but many did so by collecting personal data without having a comprehensive, child-specific privacy policy in place.
The group said it had carried out its study by selecting 50 apps from each of the individual app categories within the Google Play Store tab for children.
According to the research, the majority of the apps found to be violating the code were collecting a users IP address, but in some instances other data such as a users name, address, online contact information, telephone number, or geolocation was found to be collected.
The consumer said that all of the apps it found to violate code were graded as expert approved by Google.
Comparitech head of data research, Rebecca Moody, said: Almost 25% of the apps we reviewed were found to be in violation of the ICOs guidelines in some way.
The vast majority collected some kind of personal data without a clear and comprehensive section on childrens data protection within their privacy policy.
Perhaps even more concerning was that 5.5% of the apps we reviewed claimed not to be targeted toward children, despite being featured within the child-specific section on Google Play and sometimes featuring the word kids in the app name.
A spokesperson for the ICO said: The childrens code makes clear that children are not like adults online, and their data needs greater protections.
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All online services likely to be accessed by children must conform with the childrens code in order to be compliant with data protection legislation
ICO spokesperson
We want children to be online, learning, playing and experiencing the world, but with the right protections in place to do so that reflects their best interests.
All online services likely to be accessed by children must conform with the childrens code in order to be compliant with data protection legislation.
It applies to all companies who will process data on UK children. We will investigate when evidence suggests that online services are not complying with their responsibilities to protect children outlined by the code or wider data protection law.
In response to the research, Google said it was looking into the findings of the report and its methodology.
A Google spokesperson said: Google Play takes the protection of children on its platform seriously.
Play has policies and processes in place to help protect children on our platform and has invested significant resources into related features.
Apps that target children must comply with our Google Play families policy, which requires developers to adhere to all relevant laws and all of Plays developer programme policies, plus imposes additional privacy, monetisation and content restrictions like prohibiting access to precise location data.
Developers are responsible for ensuring their apps are compliant with all relevant laws and appropriate for their target audiences, including children.
Queen of the Universe returns for a second season on Paramount+ with Graham Norton as host. The show is set to premiere on the streamer starting March 31 in the U.S. and Canada with the U.K., Latin America, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Australia seeing it on April 1.
The reality competition sees drag queens from around the world go head-to-head vying for a cash prize of $250,000. Former Spice Girls star Mel B joins the panel of judges that includes RaPauls Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, Vanessa Williams and drag queen Trixie Mattel.
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Meet the drag queens of Queen of the Universe Season 2:
AURA ETERNAL (Palermo, Italy)
Having previously appeared on the second season of Drag Race Italia where she made it to the top three, Aura Eternal has already demonstrated sickening skills in her homeland. But now Auras ready to show the rest of the world shes got vocal chops that equal her stunning looks and is ready to become the next singing drag queen global sensation!
Aura Eternal (Palermo, Italy)
CHLOE V (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
With Brazil having won last seasons QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE, Chloe V knows shes got big stilettos to fill. But with a powerhouse voice and gag-worthy looks that could turn a drag queen green with envy, shes confident nobody in the competition can knock her down and steal that crown!
Chloe V (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
JAZELL ROYALE (Orlando, Fla., U.S.)
Jazell Royale is more than just a gorgeous face and an award-winning pageant queen, and the time is now for her star to shine. She may be known in the USA for her many titles and viral videos, but she hopes that the QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE stage will allow her to be remembered for her biggest asset her voice!
Jazell Royale (Orlando, Florida, U.S.)
LOVE MASISI (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Having lived in several different countries throughout their adventurous life, Love Masisi is now proud to call the Netherlands home. After a previous appearance on Drag Race Holland season 2, theyre ready to showcase their passion for music and spread a message of hope and love all over the world.
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Love Masisi (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
MAXIE (Manila, Philippines)
Maxie may already be known in the Philippines as a top-tier performer and LGBTQ advocate, but now shes ready to be known as a universal singing sensation! Although shes appeared on TV several times beginning when she was just a kid, shes never left her home country. Now shes ready to step onto the QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE stage for a shot at her dream.
Maxie (Manila, Philippines)
MILITIA SCUNT (San Francisco, Calif., U.S.)
Known in California for her edgy drag looks and her soulful singing voice, Militia Scunt is ready to conquer the universe and become the next singing drag queen superstar. A triple threat with singing, dancing, and style skills, shes confident shes got the goods to smack down the competition and bring the crown to the USA period!
Militia Scunt (San Francisco, California, U.S.)
MISS SISTRATA (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Miss Sistrata, reporting for beauty! This former soldier is ready to walk onto the QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE stage like the true diva that she is. And with vocal abilities and looks that leave audiences gagged and begging for more, shes ready to make her mark on the competition.
Miss Sistrata (Tel Aviv, Israel)
TAIGA BRAVA (Cancun, Mexico)
Taiga Brava arrives to the main stage from the sunny shores of Cancun, ready to make both her homeland and family proud of her vocal skills and jaw-dropping drag looks. With her effervescent personality and unshakeable confidence, shes confident shes got what it takes to bring the crown home to Mexico.
Taiga Brava (Cancun, Mexico)
TREVOR ASHLEY (Sydney, Australia)
Trevor Ashley is a seasoned theater queen whos been part of the Australian drag community for over 20 years. Despite her many career successes (including winning the Aussie equivalent of the Tony Award) this is her first televised singing competition and the diva from Down Under is ready to deliver!
Trevor Ashley (Sydney, Australia)
VIOLA (Coventry, England, U.K.)
At only 19, Viola may be the youngest contender in the competition but dont be deceived shes a talented musician whos been working towards this opportunity her entire life. Having joined the drag community only a few years ago, this rising star is ready to show the universe just how bright she can shine.
Viola (Coventry, England, U.K.)
Global drag icon and multi-Emmy Award winner RuPaul serves as an executive producer on the series, alongside MTV Entertainment Studios and World of Wonder, the producers of the Emmy Award-winning franchise RuPauls Drag Race.
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Fifteen-month-old Aiden Seeley was killed in September 2020 at the hands of his foster mother's then-boyfriend Ramondo Jones. Jones was found guilty of Seeley's first-degree murder Tuesday and the foster mother, Dacey Spinuzzi, was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for being an accessory to his death.
Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence against a child that readers might find disturbing.
A Pueblo man was found guilty of first-degree murder Tuesday in the 2020 death of a 15-month-old foster child.
Ramondo Jones, 38, was convicted in the death of Aiden Seeley, who at the time of his death was under the care of Jones' then-girlfriend Dacey Spinuzzi and living in her home.
Jones was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Spinuzzi pleaded guilty in September 2021 to being an accessory to the crime and was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison.
Richard Orona, an attorney representing Seeley's family, told the Chieftain the family is relieved "justice will be served."
He said Seeley's two siblings, who also lived with Spinuzzi at the time of his death, "will be able to look back on this and know justice will be served for Aiden, their baby brother."
"It's been an extremely traumatic event for the kids, and we're hoping as they continue through their lives they get the support that they need," Orona said. "Knowing that those responsible for Aiden's death were held accountable will help them as they continue to recover and grow into adulthood."
Pueblo County sheriffs deputies were initially called to Spinuzzis home in the 400 block of West Coral Drive in Pueblo West on Sept. 18, 2020, on a report of an unresponsive child.
A medical examination and autopsy following Seeleys death determined he died from injuries sustained from child abuse. Through an investigation, PCSO detectives concluded the injuries occurred while Seeley was in Spinuzzis care.
During the trial, Spinuzzi testified she had previously lied to the Pueblo County Department of Human Services and law enforcement about a series of injuries suffered by Seeley and another foster child living in her home, saying Jones caused those injuries.
She testified that the abuse mostly occurred while she was at work and Jones was alone with the kids in the home, although she'd previously told law enforcement those injuries were caused by other children or through accidents in the household.
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More:Former Pueblo West foster mom testifies against ex-boyfriend accused in child's murder
In closing arguments, the prosecution said Spinuzzi's lies about the children's injuries were not only to protect Jones, but to defend herself from retaliation. Deputy District Attorney Kala Beauvais referenced a 2019 phone call in which Jones told Spinuzzi he was going to kill her and then desecrate her headstone.
Prosecutors also referenced another phone call from Sept. 26, 2020, in which Jones apologized to Spinuzzi for breaking her jaw in 2016. At the time of that incident, Spinuzzi lied to authorities and said her jaw had been broken after she was attacked by several people at a local bar. Beauvais said both phone calls were evidence that Jones had "trained (Spinuzzi) to lie" through threats and acts of violence.
More:Attorneys give closing remarks in trial of Pueblo man accused of killing foster child
Seeley suffered major injuries from head to toe, including skull and spine fractures, injuries to his genitals, severe bruising all over his body, and his teeth being ripped away from bone.
A medical professional determined the injuries "were consistent with child abuse" at the hands of an adult.
Defense attorney Adam Schultz's closing statement argued that while the recorded phone calls to Spinuzzi presented by the prosecution during the trial were "bone-chilling," they did not provide adequate evidence Jones killed Seeley.
Defense attorneys argued that one child in the home "pushed Aiden around" and another was a "biter," and that the injuries may have occurred at the hands of the other children or possibly other adults. Schultz also pointed out that Spinuzzi had a history of lying to law enforcement.
Following the two-week trial, a 10th Judicial District jury found Jones guilty.
Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter@jayreutter1.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo man found guilty of murder in 2020 death of foster child
Randall Parks biggest goal with his directorial debut, Shortcomings, is to inspire audiences to reflect on how they might be affected byand possibly perpetuatethe internalized white gaze.
My greatest hope for the movie is that people come away like, just wanting to do better and maybe seeing some things in themselves, because every character is flawed, he said to Shadow and Act News Editor Monique Jones in a recent interview. I feel like I see a bit of myself in every character and in their flaws I see parts of myself. I hope that people recognize those things in themselves when they see this and maybe make some change like Ben [Justin H. Min] does at the very end.
Based on Adrian Tomines graphic novel of the same name, Shortcomings premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and follows Ben (Min), who is equal parts self-aggrandizing and self-negating as he traverses the complicated realm of attractiveness and desirability in relationships. What makes his journey more difficult is the internalized white gaze he has projected onto himself and others around him, leading him to fetishize whiteness even while being in a relationship with his girlfriend, Miko (Ally Maki). His defensiveness also nearly torpedoes his friend Alices (Sherry Cola) relationship with her girlfriend, Meredith (Sonya Mizuno). Its only through a painful realization that Ben starts waking up to his internal flaws.
Park said that he has always loved the graphic novel because of how it portrayed everyday Asian-American life.
I read the graphic novel back in 2007 when it came out, and I remember immediately being struck by it, he said. It was probably the first time I saw in any kind of media such an honest reflection of my own everyday light, you know, in terms of just like seeing Asian American characters just kind of hanging out in diners and restaurants and in apartment buildings and just going through kind of day-to-day life, it just felt like very real and authentic to me and I was really just taken by it.
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15 years later, I started a production company and one of the first things I asked my partners in the production company was, Whats going on with Shortcomings? Because that book was so meaningful to me and I was surprised that nothing had been done with it in terms of TV or film, he continued. And [it] turned out that there was a script that was also written by Adrian Tomine, who wrote the graphic novel, and that it had been optioned and they were meeting with directors and I was like, I gotta throw my hat in the ring. Ive only directed a few episodes of TV and Ive directed some shorts and web stuff, but I had never done a feature. I was just so passionate about the material that I felt like it was worth a shot. And somehow I ended up the director.
That character [Ben] resonated with me because it felt so real to meIve known so many people in the community who are like him and Ive been familiar with people who are like him in terms of his own kind of racial identity and how he deals with that. But also in just his disposition.the kind of anger and really a deep depression, you know? he said. I feel like I really know these people. And Ive been to a degreethat person and also the other characters. I saw myself in every character, so for me, it felt cathartic in a way to direct a film featuring these very complicated characters and telling a side of the Asian American experience that we just dont see in media, but it is very real and I dont even think [this story is] specific to any time period. I mean, from talking to younger people whove seen the movie, its like, Oh yeah, were talking about the same things today. So its felt very exciting in that way to tell these stories.
Despite Ben being an adult in the film, he still goes through a coming-of-age arc when it comes to beginning the process of growing out of his immaturity surrounding his self-image and the value he placed on the fantasy of having a white girlfriend. While some people also grow out of that immaturity, Park said that isnt always the case for some people, but regardless, the root of that ideal stems in part from wanting to attain success in American society.
Not everyone grows out of that, thats for sure. But I do think that it is a common thing to see that, at least in my generation, because, I mean, for various reasonsIm sure its way more complicated than how I see itbut I think one factor is you grow up in the Asian American kind of immigrant experience, you grow up with parents who have come to this country and they sacrificed a lot and they work really hard and the whole point is to give their kids opportunity and to make sure their kids are successful, whatever that means, he said. Anda lot of people say its work ethic or whatever, but I think that these values are good values, but theres a flip side to it and I think that for a lot of people, they equate success with whiteness and the validation of white people. And I think that in choosing ones mate, that could be a factorits very complicated.
But I think that when it comes to attractiveness, and you grow up in this country, youre just fed images, you know? Youre just fed images that really kind of tell you, whether subliminally or just outright, that this is the ideal [image]. This is the benchmark of beauty. And that stuff just kind of works on you, you know? It subconsciously kind of shapes your worldviewespecially when youre young, he continued. I think that as people get older and more in the world, hopefully when they meet othersthey recognize that these people who may not fit in that ideal are just as interesting if not more interesting. And I think a lot of people kind of evolve. But I do also think that, again, its very complicated and I think this movie doesnt really take a strong stance on any of this. It just kind of shows how complicated it all is.
Part of what contributes to the subliminal messaging in American pop culture is the lack of stories about other life experiences, particularly racial experiences. Park said that the decision was made to include a riff on Crazy Rich Asians in an effort to modernize the original Shortcomings story while making a commentary on how little diversity there was in terms of the types of Asian American stories being told in the mainstream.
For me, its really more a commentary on narrative scarcity and the lack of different kinds of stories from a community. I mean, every community kind of deals with this to some degree where its like the industry will only green light certain types of stories because they serve their idea of whats authentic or important, he said. But the irony is because of the success of somethingand Miko says this in the moviebecause of the success of a movie like Crazy Rich Asians, were able to get more granular and specific with something like this movie or Everything Everywhere All At Once, [where you] get weirder and different. Were a part of that lineage, even though one movie cant represent everybody in a community. It just cant. And I think that was kind of the point of that opening sequence.
Bens critique of a Crazy Rich Asians-esque film within Shortcomings also reflected a lot of chatter happening within the Asian-American community regarding the impact of Crazy Rich Asians as a whole. As one of the biggest films of its kind, it quickly became a lightning rod for opinions on both sides of the conversation.
Whats a conversation that we hear in the community a lot? And this conversation about Crazy Rich Asians, which to this day is, I think, regarded as the most important Asian American filmIm not saying it isnt important, I think its very important and very pivotal in terms of everything that came after it, but [it was] also very divisive in terms of peoples opinions on it and peoples feelings about it as a movie and also as a representation of the community, said Park. So we wanted to capture that and we felt like Ben is the perfect character to have strong opinions on a pop culture phenomenon like Crazy Rich Asians.
Along with Mizuno who starred in Crazy Rich Asians, the film also featured fellow Crazy Rich Asians and The Daily Show star Ronny Chieng, who played a cameo role with Everything Everywhere All At Once star Stephanie Hsu as actors in the film Ben despises. Park, who said that both Chieng and Mizuno are good Crazy Rich Asians representation in the film, added that Chieng was brought on thanks to their friendship.
Hes a friend, so I just reached out and he understood what we were doing and ultimately it wasnt like we were taking shots at Crazy Rich Asians. It was really more of a commentary on Ben and his perspective using that movie. I think he saw that and he just came through because hes a friend and he really liked the script, he said. He felt like this was something different as a project as a whole and felt like he wanted to be a part of it.
The fact that Shortcomings can reference Crazy Rich Asians speaks to what many hope is the beginning of a new renaissance for Asian American filmmaking. While moviegoers hope that this leads to more stories that can swing for the fences and focus on more specific stories within the broader Asian American experience, Park pointed out that there already have been films that have done just this. With that said, he also pointed out how his film takes part in the larger conversation about diversifying storytelling.
There have been movies that have gotten into the minutiae of the Asian American experience, great movies. I think of this movie called Chan is Missing from way back, and that was a very early, very specific glimpse into San Francisco Chinatown. So it has been done, butI see it as all connected, personally. I really do, he said. I definitely feel like even though they were made around the same time, there is a debt owed to every movie that came before us, and not just Asian American [movies] but every traditionally underrepresented group telling a unique story, I feel will lead to more stories that are different from that community and other communities as well. I definitely feel like there is some respect to be paid to the ones that came before.
Shortcomings also makes an undercover commentary on how Asian men have been trained to see themselves thanks to pop cultures overt focus on Western ideals. If youve been on the internet at any time during the last five or so years, youve probably seen online conversations about Asian male beauty, either in Twitter threads or on sites like BuzzFeed. The hand-wringing over Asian male hotness stems from real issues regarding representation and stereotyping, with Asian men being showcased as effeminate or hopelessly nerdy (i.e. Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles).
But the conversation has turned away from analyzing and dismantling the root cause (white supremacy) and now mostly just centers around replicating Western beauty ideals in attempts to rehash the question or, at worst, using thirst trap pictures as a form of surface-level protest. And also, to ask if someone can be hot because of or in spite of their race is, at its core, sillyanyone can be attractive, regardless of race. Park said that he tries to stay away from that question about hotness because he finds it a very superficial question and a ridiculous question for the internet to ask.
I try not to think of it too much because it almost feels like one of those things that you almost dont want to validate the question by putting energy into it, you know? [Im] like, Yeah, Im just gonna go about my life and not think about it too much. But yeah, I dont know. I just feel like, to me, its like beauty is everywhere. he said. Yeah, you could show photos of people and say, Oh yeah, theyre hot, therefore that makes them hot. But to me, its so much more interesting and hotter to learn about a person and to identify with a person on a deep level and the attractiveness of that person becomes so much more palpable. And I feel like that happens when you tell great stories. Thats what happens when you tell stories of complex people regardless of what they look like. And that happens in ones everyday life, just being out and about and talking to people and being genuine and authentic as possible.
I feel like thats the only power I have when it comes to that question, [to] just [try] to be as un-neurotic as possible in everyday life, and thats a struggle for me, he continued. But also, just putting my energy towards telling these stories and not to think of any sort of agenda of, Oh, I we gotta have [someone attractive]. Justin Min is a hottie, theres no doubt about that. But if anything, the reason why we cast him [were] the things that were so much deeper than that. He was so good-looking that it was almost a problem for me. I was like, Oh, I dont know if Ben should be this good-looking. But when hed act, he almost became less good-looking to me in a way that was great because he became more complicated, more flawed, more damaged. And to me, that was just much more interesting.
Its Bens damage that does make him more intriguing for the audience, especially for those who view the film and see themselves in Ben. Bens particular brand of depression and self-despising hits on a level that Park called Bens defense mechanism.
There is this kind of denial of self andits very complicated with him. But I do think there is an element just self-negation constantly. For me, it just felt really real and what was important to meI didnt want to belabor it, but I did want to put in clues as to why he might be this way, why he might feel this way about community stuff and identity stuff, he said. Theres a line where he talks about his high school years and it was like being in a Mormon modeling agency. And I think later in the script, we just threw in a little detailhes about to go to New York and he tells Alice he wants to go to New York and Alice says, Oh is this your rock bottom? And he says, No, high school was my rock bottom. So you get the sense that something happened during those years where he felt like a complete outsider and his response to it, which is a very natural response, [is] to try to gain some sort of acceptance. In other words, his kind of self-hate was a defense mechanism. I think it often is for a lot of us. Its rooted in painful experiences.
[M]y hopeis that people do kind of recognize that a lot of his tendencies come from a very painful, vulnerable place and that its worth considering seeing things differently, he continued. I think at the very end of the moviewhen hes sitting in the airplane and he sees the old lady watching the movie that he was disparaging earlier, he still hates the movie, but at least he maybe has an idea that this is very important to some people and [he] shouldnt ruin it for them. And hopefully, that message resonates with some people who may be dealing with their own issues in regards to self-hate or the Ben kind of stuff.
The post Randall Park On The Complicated Nature Of Dating And Desirability Politics In His Directorial Debut Shortcomings appeared first on Shadow And Act.
Homewood's Freedom Village apartment community has been acquired by Preservation Equity Fund Advisors, a real estate private equity group focused on preserving existing affordable housing. (PEF Advisors)
Equity fund acquires Homewood apartments
Preservation Equity Fund Advisors, a real estate private equity group focused on preserving existing affordable housing in high-cost markets, last week announced their acquisition of Freedom Village, an apartment community in Homewood.
This is PEF Advisors second acquisition in Cook County in the past 12 months.
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Originally built in 1998 with tax credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Freedom Village is a single three-story building that serves low-income seniors. Comprised of 198-units, the property includes a mix of 124 one-bedroom units and 74 two-bedroom units.
As of November, Freedom Village was 98.5% occupied. Units include fully equipped kitchens with refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, six-panel wood doors and in-unit heating/cooling systems. There is a community room with a kitchen, elevators, lounges, outdoor patio with barbecue grills, library, laundry facilities, fitness center and a game room with a pool table. Parking consists of 40 garage spaces and 93 surface spaces.
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This project sits in a unique part of Cook County as residents are walking distance to major retail corridors and public transportation, said Ann Caruana, president and chief investments officer at PEF Advisors. There is a high demand of housing in the area, and we hope through our dedication in the preservation of affordable housing, Freedom Village will further serve the community.
Silver Cross CEO named New Lenox Citizen of the Year
Silver Cross Hospital president and CEO Ruth Colby, left, stands with New Lenox Chamber CEO Emily Johnson after Colby was named New Lenox Citizen of the Year. (Silver Cross Hospital)
Ruth Colby, president and CEO of Silver Cross Hospital was named New Lenoxs Citizen of the Year at the New Lenox Chamber of Commerces annual dinner Feb. 15.
Colby, who has served as president and CEO since October 2017, received a standing ovation as she was introduced by Emily Johnson, New Lenox Chamber of Commerce CEO.
The New Lenox Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award is presented to an individual in our community that has a passion for good work and serves as an inspiration to others, Johnson said. Ruth Colby embodies those qualifications through her leadership, business acumen, and compassion. As President and CEO of Silver Cross, she has been an integral part of making New Lenox a true health care destination. We are so fortunate to have Silver Cross Hospital, an award-winning institution, in our community; but beyond that, we are thankful to have Ruth Colby at its helm.
When I started working at Silver Cross 17 years ago, I honestly didnt know a soul in Will County or New Lenox, Colby said during her acceptance of the award. Since 2005, its been the most amazing journey for me personally, with the highlight being recognized so unexpectedly, this evening by the New Lenox Chamber of Commerce.
Colby thanked the New Lenox community for its warm reception of the hospital, which opened its New Lenox campus in February 2012.
I cant emphasize enough how fortunate I felt to be welcomed so warmly by the Village of New Lenox, she said. And you welcomed our nurses and physicians and all of our employees. During our open houses right before we started admitting patients, over 12,000 people toured the hospital . Fast forward to today, more than 250,000 inpatients have been served in our location, and 1,900 New Lenox residents were inpatients at Silver Cross in 2022 alone. We cant even count the number of outpatient visits probably close to 25 million over 11 years.
Whats more, Silver Cross has also been an important economic driver for the village. Nearly 400 medical staff members and employees reside in New Lenox, enjoying all the benefits of the village, Colby said.
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Andys Frozen Custard opens in LaGrange Park
Missouri based Andys Frozen Custard opened its newest Chicago area location in January at 531 N. LaGrange Road in LaGrange Park.
Their first customers were Christine and Darrin Sundberg.
Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
The frozen custard chain will hold its grand opening March 16, with $2 sundaes all day. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for 11 a.m. Guests will be able to spin the wheel to win prizes including free frozen custard for a year.
The new location is the former site of Philips Flowers and the Original Pancake House.
The villages Board of Trustees voted unanimously a year ago to approve the new Andys. Its the chains 15th Chicago area location and the 127th store in the chain. The first one in the Chicago area opened in Oak Lawn more than a decade ago.
The new Andys will feature a drive-thru and walk-up service window, and an outdoor dining area.
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Ace Handyman opens in New Lenox
Ace Handyman Services of Lincoln-Way held a ribbon cutting on February 9 at 12410 Horseshoe Drive in New Lenox.
Hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and closed on weekends.
Bob Bong is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at bobbong@hotmail.com.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/godleytx.gov
Wild and wacky Godley, Texas, outdid itself with an email from the city secretary to City Council Member Jennifer Thompson at exactly 5 p.m. on Friday, the deadline for her to file for re-election.
On the dot, Thompson told The Daily Beast.
Thompson had almost decided not to run after she was arrested outside City Hall a half-hour before a regularly scheduled Feb. 7 council meeting for supposedly altering a draft of the agenda. Instead of attending the meeting and voting against Mayor Acy McGehee on a variety of issues, Thompson was strip-searched and told to squat and spread her butt cheeks and cough at the jail.
But her little city of under 2,000 responded with a huge outpouring of support for her, and she decided she would run again after all. She told The Daily Beast on Tuesday that she submitted her signed application to City Secretary Kathleen Rice along with the required certified supporting documents around 11:30 a.m. on Feb 16, a day ahead of the deadline.
I confirmed with the city secretary she had everything she needed and she assured [me] I would be included on the ballot, Thompson remembered.
Then came the email from Rice when there was not even a minute to do anything about it.
After reviewing your application and accompanying documents, it has been determined that you are ineligible to run for City Council, it said.
Thompson has been given no explanation. She might have thought McGehee was using the Feb. 7 arrest as a pretext for disqualification, but she says she was told on Tuesday that prosecutors will not be pursuing the charges.
Texas Councilwoman Started Asking Questionsand Got Arrested
The Johnson County District Attorneys office declined comment, and the county attorney did not respond to queries from The Beast. But Thompson shared a copy of a letter that the county attorneys office sent to the Johnson County Law Enforcement Center concerning the charge of tampering with a government record.
We will not be filing this criminal charge at this time, the Feb. 10 letter says.
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Thompson texted the Daily Beast a copy of the letter on Tuesday and reported that she had just been told by the district attorney's office that if the County Attorney did not pick it up, then I am done & the case had been dropped.
Another possible reason for the disqualification is that Thompsopn pleaded guilty to two felony counts of fraudulent use of an identity document 19 years ago. But Texas law only bars felons from holding public office if they have not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities. The disabilities are incarceration, parole, probation and ineligibility to vote.
I am not in jail I am not on parole I am not on probation I am a REGISTERED ACTIVE voter I AM ELIGIBLE, Thompson texted The Daily Beast.
Thompson is now determined not only to get on the ballot but also to win.
I am going to fight it, she said. I am not rich, but I will figure it out.
Her Feb. 7 arrest sparked an uproar in Godley. Many felt that Thompson had been targeted by the mayor and Godleys entrenched hierarchy after she raised questions about the way the city was being run. Her queries led to the city administrator, the city attorney, and the city secretary resigning en masse.
In the wake of the departures, McGehee closed City Hall. But he still faced a list of more than a dozen potentially troublesome items that Thompson moved to bring before the City Council at the Feb. 7 meeting: an asset inventory, budget lines, employee qualifications, staff salaries, expenses, gifts received by city officials. And Thompson had allied herself with two others in the five-member body. McGehee had two allies of his own, but the mayor could only vote in a tie, which meant Thompson would have a winning majority.
But while she was under arrest, being humiliated behind bars, the mayor broke tie after tie.
As can be plainly seen in video of the Feb. 7 meeting, McGehee was seated with his two allies seated on either side of him. He repeatedly nudged them to signal when the time came for them to vote a particular way.
Thompson planned to talk about that at this Tuesdays meeting, but it was canceled on Friday. The official explanation was that the interim city attorney had a scheduling conflict. In my opinion, he did not want to be put on the spot for his fraudulent voting scheme, Thompson said.
McGehee had avoided three earlier meetings that promised to be uncomfortable, twice by simply skipping it with his allies so there was no quorum and once by forgetting to post the agenda 72 hours in advance, as required by law.
The next council meeting is on March 7, and Thompson says she is sure to be there.
I am curious to see how they silence me and keep me from the dais, she said.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Rebel Wilson, right, and Ramona Agruma, pictured in Dubai on Jan. 21, 2023, are engaged to be married. (Jeff Spicer / Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal)
It's all love for Rebel Wilson and Ramona Agruma, who will soon head down the aisle.
Days after announcing her proposal to clothing and jewelry designer Agruma, Wilson shared thanks to fans and friends. Among the Hollywood figures spreading love in the comments section of Wilson's Instagram post about the proposal were Paris Hilton, Simu Liu, Octavia Spencer, Chris Colfer and Alison Brie.
"Thank you for all the ENGAGEMENT love! it's overwhelming," she wrote in an Instagram story posted Tuesday, the Blast reported.
The "Pitch Perfect" and "Isn't It Romantic" star announced her engagement to Agruma on Monday with a set of Instagram photos taken at Disneyland.
"We said YES! ," Wilson wrote in her caption, which also thanked Tiffany & Co., Disney chief executive Bob Iger and Disney Weddings for coordinating the special moment. In one picture, Wilson and Arguma share a kiss and show off their rings. In another, they both kneel on flower petals.
The engagement comes less than a year after Wilson made her relationship with Agruma public in June 2022.
I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess, the actor wrote at the time in an Instagram post.
If hearing about Wilson and Agruma's engagement brings a sense of deja vu, it's most likely because proposal rumors surfaced in November.
Wilson promptly shut down those rumors, and instead announced that she is a mother.
The "Senior Year" star welcomed her first child, a baby girl named Royce Lillian, in November.
I cant even describe the love I have for her, shes a beautiful miracle, Wilson said in an Instagram post. I am forever grateful to everyone who has been involved, (you know who you are), this has been years in the makingbut particularly wanted to thank my gorgeous surrogate who carried her and birthed her with such grace and care.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Digital nomads move at will from place to place, enjoying their travels while connecting digitally in their work. Due to the nature of this work lifestyle, theres no set pace or itinerary because its totally up to you.
Also See: Pros and Cons of Living in a State With No Income Tax
With a Recession Looming: Make These 3 Retirement Moves To Stay on Track
You can choose to travel from country to country while alternating work with vacation time or relocate to a single country outside the U.S. and only travel there.
Even if youve never heard of digital nomads, there are more people who choose this path than you might think. In 2019, there were about 7.3 million American digital nomads. However, after the dawn of COVID-19 in 2020, that number increased almost 50% to 10.9 million.
According to the third edition of McKinseys American Opportunity Survey, 35% of Americans have the opportunity to work remotely five days per week, which equals a standard workweek. So whats to stop any worker who has such an arrangement from embracing the digital nomad lifestyle?
To find out more, GOBankingRates interviewed people who have actually lived the digital nomad lifestyle. Read on to find out what they said about working remotely from another country.
Also see the 10 safest countries for digital nomads.
Obstacles of Working for a US Company in Another Country
The first thing to take notice of are the company rules for/against this set-up, said digital nomad Pamela Medina, owner of Happy Living Punta Cana who has lived abroad and worked remotely from the Dominican Republic as well as Madrid, Spain.
Take Our Poll: Do You Have a Second Job or Backup Plan in Case You Are Laid Off?
I was able to work in Spain under the radar and without my employer really knowing, she said. I was only in Spain for 2 1/2 months; but, if you are looking for a permanent location, then I recommend you ensure your company is OK with it. Many EU countries have tax laws that companies need to ensure they follow in order to allow employees to live there. These laws require that employers pay a significant amount of taxes, and they could get into trouble if they do not follow these rules and allow employees to work out of certain countries without paying up.
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Kelli Lovett, owner of The Nomad Reports, has been remote since 2018. Here are her thoughts on obstacles to moving and working abroad.
Employers have obligations to regulatory authorities depending on where their employees are located, Lovett said. If the company you are working for does not have an entity set up in your destination of choice, then moving there if even only for a short time could create difficult regulatory requirements for your employer. If you are employed, you will need to work closely with HR to navigate the nuances of visas and tax requirements abroad.
The quickest way to make the jump would be to partner with one of the remote work companies, such as Remote, which acts as an intermediary allowing your employer to issue employment contracts in countries where they do not have physical or tax presence.
How Long Could It Take To Move From the US and Start Working Remotely?
For me, Medina said, it was quite easy because I found a short-term co-living space. They had everything set up, and all I had to do was arrive with my luggage and get settled. I had my job ready before I left abroad, so I was not in another country while trying to look for work. It was really quite easy as I was only there short term for 2 1/2 months in Spain and one month in Punta Cana. I currently go back and forth from Miami to Punta Cana.
But Medinas experience wont be the case for everyone.
Samantha North has worked remotely for over 10 years. The founder of Digital Emigre said she has helped hundreds of remote workers and digital nomads many from the U.S. to relocate and gain residency in Europe.
North said the length of time it will take depends on the following factors:
How long it takes to get approved for a visa if you need one
Length of time needed to find suitable accommodation in your new country; in some cases, you may need to have this prearranged before applying for the visa
How long it will take to arrange shipping of your possessions from the U.S. to your new country (e.g., in Europe there are usually customs issues to overcome, which can cause delays).
As a ballpark figure, North said, Id recommend starting to plan your move at least six months before you intend to arrive in country.
What Are Some Advantages of Living Abroad and Working Remotely?
Living in a lower cost-of-living city allowed me the flexibility to save a lot more money and live less anxious about money troubles, Medina said. Living in a city that was so well connected allowed me to explore neighboring towns that were easily accessible by train/car. Being in a beach town allowed me to be able to do water-related activities on a consistent basis rather than only when I was on vacation. I was able to learn Spanish better by being in countries that are fully Spanish-speaking.
Medina said another advantage was that she had the ability to go to a co-working space to meet people with a similar mentality who were also living the digital nomad life.
I still have friends from these experiences and we meet up all around the world, she said. Having access to a co-working space is key!
What Are Some Disadvantages of Living Abroad and Working Remotely?
Medina shared the following disadvantages from her experiences.
There is a sense of loneliness if you are used to being in a work environment and office setting, she said. If there is a time zone difference, there is an adjustment to working different hours. I was working EST hours but living in CET. This meant I started work later and ended work later. This was a huge adjustment for me and didnt allow me to attend any happy hours or evening events with friends.
Medina also said making new friends can be challenging. It really requires additional effort to meet and get to know new people in a city you are not from.
More From GOBankingRates
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Can You Work Remotely From Another Country?
Rep. Barbara Lee
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) has officially launched her bid to replace the retiring Dianne Feinstein in the US Senate.
Lees announcement had been long expected. The 76-year-old, known for her anti-war and pro-racial justice stances, would be only the third Black woman to ever become a Senator. To do so, she will have to emerge from a crowded field of hopefuls looking to replace Feinstein.
The post Rep. Barbara Lee Kicks Off Her California Senate Campaign, Looks To Replace Dianne Feinstein appeared first on Blavity.
Rep. Lee officially launched her campaign with a 3-minute long video uploaded to social media.
No one is rolling out the welcome mat, especially for someone like me, Lee says in a voiceover at the beginning of the video. As the video progresses, Lee recounts the challenges that she overcame in her younger life, including domestic violence, single motherhood, and homelessness. She also touts that she wrote Californias first violence against womens act as well as laws against anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.
The video ends with a crowd chanting her campaign slogan, Barbara Lee speaks for me.
The California Senate race has been expected to be competitive for some time. As reports of Sen. Feinsteins declining health fueled reports that she would retire after her current term. Since Feinsteins announcement last week that she would not be running for reelection in 2024, Rep. Katie Porter and Rep. Adam Schiff have declared their campaigns for the seat. Other potential candidates, such as Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republicans Brian Dahle and Mark Meuser, could also enter the race.
Currently serving her 12th term in Congress, Lee has represented California in the House of Representatives since 1998. As mentioned in her campaign video, Lees controversial vote early in her congressional career gained her infamy. Immediately after the attacks of September 11, 2001, she was the only member of Congress to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force that gave President George W. Bush the authority to invade Afghanistan and enabled the larger War on Terror. At the time, Lees lone no vote was extremely controversial, with critics calling her everything from a clueless liberal to a traitor, as well as various racial attacks. Over time, her colleagues on both sides of the aisle came to agree with her and support the repeal of the broad war powers given to the office of the president.
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Since her controversial 2001 vote, Lee has regularly voted to end or limit American military involvement in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, though she has voted in favor of American support for Ukraine in its current conflict against Russia.
Domestically, Lee has championed racial justice and rights for women and minorities. She has shared her own story of traveling to Mexico to have an abortion in a clinic in a back alley before Roe v. Wade legalized abortion throughout the United States. In 2020, Lee teamed with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley to introduce the The Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2020, seeking to have racism declared a public health crisis.
If she wins, Lee will be only the third Black woman to serve in the Senate, after Carol Mosely Braun of Illinois and Kamala Harris, who represented California before becoming Vice President; Lee was actually on the shortlist to replace Harris but was ultimately not chosen. Now, Lees path to the Senate will have to include overcoming her popular Democratic opponents and winning a statewide general election. Based on her campaign video, she seems prepared for the fight. To do nothing has never been an option for me, Lee says, and she has set herself up to do a lot in this campaign season.
NORWICH - A 42-year-old man who died of a fentanyl overdose while in Norwich police custody a year ago likely consumed drugs hed stashed away in the clothing he was wearing in jail, according to a report released Tuesday by the state Office of Inspector General.
The 17-page report, the result of months of investigation, concluded Brenton Chambers death in the early hours of Feb. 4, 2022 while in a Norwich Police Department holding cell was not due to the result of any physical force used against him.
Accordingly, there is no cause to refer this matter for potential prosecution, the report states. The Office of Inspector General will take no further action on this matter.
Background:One year since Norwich inmate died in custody: What we know about the investigation
But in a report addendum, investigators note that neither the probation officers who initially arrested Chambers, nor the police who were responsible for his well-being while jailed, discovered the fatal cache of drugs likely concealed in specially-made pockets sewn into his clothes.
The reports last page poses a question: How was Brenton Chambers able to ingest fentanyl while held in cell #5 of the Norwich Police Department?
Though there is no video record of Chambers swallowing the fatal dose of drugs, other factors, however, support an inference that, sometime before 3:37 a.m., he did just that, according to the report signed by Inspector General Robert Devlin, Jr.
Clothing with secret pockets worn by Brenton Chambers while in Norwich Police Department custody when he died last year of a drug overdose.
Chambers was arrested on Feb. 3, 2022 after a search of his vehicle, his Norwich Avenue residence and business by members of the Norwich office of the state Department of Adult Probation. Authorities said they found suspected fentanyl at all three locations and a 9-mm handgun in his residence.
Chambers, on probation for previous convictions of driving impaired and failing to install an ignition lock, was charged with charged with criminal possession of a pistol or revolver, unauthorized possession of controlled substances and possession of heroin/cocaine with intent to sell and transported to Norwich police headquarters.
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By 4:30 p.m. on the day of his arrest, Chambers was in a Norwich police department booking area, according to a 40-minute video released by the Office of Inspector General. During the process, Chambers, wearing a red sweatshirt and sweatpants, is questioned by an officer.
At 5:07 p.m., police ask Chambers to remove his necklace and a sweatpants string. He takes off his sweatshirt, a button-down shirt and a T-shirt before being allowed to re-don the sweatshirt, the video shows. His sweatpants were not removed during the length of the video, though one pocket appears to be turned out.
Chambers is transported to The William W. Backus Hospital at 6:06 p.m. after complaining of foot pain. He is discharged from the hospital soon after and placed in the departments #5 holding cell which is monitored via a camera feed to the dispatch hub.
Clothing with secret pockets worn by Brenton Chambers while in Norwich Police Department custody when he died last year of a drug overdose.
Chambers' last minutes recorded on video
An 18-minute and 19-second cell video released by Devlins office shows Chambers' last minutes of life on Feb. 4, 2022.
3:41 a.m.: Chambers appears to be nodding off in his cell.
3:46 a.m.: Chambers starts violently shaking, collapsing repeatedly against a cell wall and lunging back up as he takes loud gulps of air.
3:48 a.m.: Chambers, sprawled half on a cell bench, is only occasionally twitching. As his right leg falls to the floor, two officers arrive in the holding area.
3:50 a.m.: Chambers is removed from his cell and an officer notes he does not appear to be breathing, though a faint pulse is said to be detected.
3:52 a.m.: Officers begin chest compressions on Chambers.
3:57 a.m.: Emergency medical responders arrive in the cell block and take over treatment.
According to interviews conducted by the investigative team, police dispatchers noticed Chambers repeatedly leaning forward in the hours before he died.
Shortly before 4 a.m., Officer Sarabeth Hanyckyj entered Chambers cell after concerns were raised about the prisoner suffering a seizure, the report states. No pulse was detected, Hanyckyj told investigators. Other officers said Chambers was unresponsive and had vomit in his mouth.
Chambers was transported to Backus and pronounced dead at 4:33 a.m.
Death ruled to be due to acute fentanyl intoxication
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Chambers died of acute fentanyl intoxication with recent cocaine use. The former owner of Juicemans Cloud City Vape Shop in Taftville was noted to have had an enlarged heart, fatty liver and pulmonary edema, the autopsy determined.
Lt. Christopher Merrill, the midnight shift commander on the day Chambers died, said he reviewed cell video footage beginning at 3:15 a.m. and did not see Chambers ingest anything, the report states.
Several articles of Chambers clothing were seized by detectives soon after his arrest, including a RAW brand t-shirt and sweatshirt. Investigators later discovered the garments had several hidden pockets sewn into inconspicuous areas, including the hems.
Such pockets are suitable for concealing contraband such as drugs, according to the report.
Inspectors note Chambers was searched again after returning from Backus and later seen in his cell reaching into his sweatshirt pocket. He appears to be wearing the same red RAW clothing he was arrested in.
Investigators determined Chambers, a self-described heroin addict, had easy access to fentanyl a quantity was found in a fake dictionary in his vehicle. Chambers reached into his sweatshirt front pocket several times while in his cell, many times turning to avoid a direct camera angle, investigators said.
He could have put something into his mouth at these times, Devlin writes in his report.. The powerful and overwhelming reaction he experienced...is strong evidence of his reaction to a fentanyl overdose. I believe that, in combination, these facts support a reasonable inference that Chambers was able to ingest fentanyl while in cell #5 shortly before his death.
How to prevent future deaths
Devlin said there are ways to prevent similar future deaths.
One way to address this situation would be to take custody of the arrestees clothing while the person is in police custody, Devlin wrote.
Investigators suggest providing all arrestees with hospital-type scrubs for the duration of their jail time.
While involving some cost and additional effort by the police agency, such an approach would likely substantially reduce the chance of an in-custody drug-induced death, the report concludes.
Norwich police Chief Patrick Daley on Tuesday night said an ongoing civil lawsuit filed against the department by Chambers family prevents his from commenting on the report.
John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich prisoner who died in jail last year likely snuck in fatal drugs
Pennsylvania Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano denied receiving money from Norfolk Southern, but records show he received $1,000 from the rail company. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano is holding a hearing Thursday on the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.
Mastriano, a Republican, recently denied receiving any money from train operator Norfolk Southern.
But campaign records show he accepted $1,000 from the company's political action committee.
On social media, state Sen. Doug Mastriano a Pennsylvania Republican who last year ran for governor with the backing of former President Donald Trump has gone after "radical environmentalists" and Democrats over this month's train derailment just across state lines in East Palestine, Ohio, suggesting both have neglected the crisis.
In one meme he shared Monday with his nearly 170,000 followers on Twitter, a parent, labeled "US government," is depicted in a pool lifting up one child dubbed "Ukraine" while another, "Ohio," struggles to stay afloat. Another comment he shared attacked President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who defeated Mastriano in the 2022 election. "Biden's in Ukraine and Shapiro's MIA," the user wrote, praising Mastriano for visiting East Palestine over the weekend.
As chairman of the state Senate committee charged with overseeing Pennsylvania's emergency preparedness, Mastriano is hosting a hearing on Thursday where he will seek testimony from state officials as well as representatives from Norfolk Southern, the company whose rail cars crashed and contaminated local waterways with toxic chemicals, killing thousands of fish and sparking concerns for the long-term health of nearby residents.
Mastriano has positioned himself as a truth-teller who bucks the establishment in both parties. But in a Facebook live stream last week in which he addressed the derailment, the senator misrepresented his own financial connection to the disaster.
When the lawmaker who campaigned for governor on a platform of deregulation and expanded oil and gas development told viewers "we can probably use our imagination" to explain the alleged neglect of East Palestine, one viewer, Paulette, offered up this response: "Norfolk rail donates to politicians" ("Donating to Democrats I'm sure!" another viewer, Karen, added in the comments).
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"Yeah, Paulette, I heard on one of the news stations last night that that rail network is heavy into donating to politicians," Mastriano replied during the February 16 stream. While Mastriano said he couldn't confirm that was the case, "I know my own finances. I didn't get any money from that train network."
That's not true, according to campaign finance records. Since 2019, Mastriano has in fact received $1,000 from Norfolk Southern's political action committee, the Good Government Fund, per filings with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State. The last contribution, amounting to $500, came in 2020 when he was running for reelection to the state Senate.
Mastriano did not respond to a request for comment.
Norfolk Southern has also donated to Democrats. Indeed, in the 2022 election cycle, at the federal level, it gave a total of $725,000 to candidates from both parties, with roughly 51% of its contributions going to members of the Democratic Party. That was the first time since 2010 that a majority of its support did not go to the GOP, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics.
The company has been criticized for lobbying against stricter regulation of the rail industry, including a rule proposed during the Obama administration and rescinded by the Trump administration that would have required trains carrying hazardous chemicals to be outfitted with more advanced brake technology, The Washington Post reported.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, assured East Palestine residents that their drinking water is safe. Earlier in the day he and EPA Administrator Michael Regan toured the area and drank tap water from residents' homes.
Joining them was Pennsylvania's Shapiro, a Democrat, who last week ordered his own state's environmental regulators to conduct independent monitoring of water supplies. He lauded the EPA for ordering Norfolk Southern to cover the cost of cleaning up the accident.
"It was my view that Norfolk Southern wasn't going to do this out of the goodness in their heart," he said, CBS affiliate KDKA reported, adding: "There is no goodness in their heart."
Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com
Read the original article on Business Insider
A Republican senator plans to file a bill that could offer new pathways for training principals, along with some monetary benefits.
Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said that the bill aims to create more intensive training for principals, and increase pay for those who complete it.
He said that bill came out of conversations with educators who said a principal is critical to the success of a school.
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So, if you have a very low performing principal, by and large, now therell be some exceptions with Miss Jones classroom or Mr. Smiths classroom, but the school will be lower performing, as well, he said. If you have a high-performing successful principal, they can lift all classrooms up and have the school performing at a higher level.
Orr said that he believed that many principals learn through on-the-job training.
Currently, Alabama has eight standards laid out for instructional leaders. Instructional leaders are expected to plan for continuous improvement; promote and monitor teaching and learning; develop faculty and staff, respect and respond to the diverse needs of students; sustain community relationships; integrate current technologies; manage the learning organization and demonstrate ethics.
Educators can get professional training on those standards, said Vic Wilson, executive director for the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools (CLAS), a professional organization for school administrators. Anyone with an administrative certificate has to complete five units within a five-year period.
Some of the professional learning units currently offered by CLAS include Promoting Continuous Improvement in Schools & Districts; Supporting Whole System Mental Health and Wellbeing in Education: A Learning Circle for Leaders; Providing Effective Feedback for Improving Classroom Instruction and Leaders Building Schools of Character.
Anybody that thinks we dont have standards and adjudicate our leaders based on those standards would be mistaken, Wilson said.
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Wilson said that he believes that any set of standards is a good thing. Principals, like teachers, should be lifelong learners, he said.
Anything we can do to show we have exemplary leadership is very good for those under their care, he said.
Orr compared the idea to national board certification for teachers. To earn certification, teachers complete assessments and portfolios to demonstrate their grasp of five core propositions: being committed to students and learning; knowing the subjects and how to teach them; being responsible for managing and monitoring student learning; thinking systemically about practice and learning from the experience and being a member of a learning community.
In Alabama, certified teachers get an annual $5,000 stipend on top of their pay. Orr said he was considering something similar for administrators.
And, so, were of that mindset to certainly reward principals that want to go the extra mile and receive the training, and then we want to certainly incentivize them to take that training, Orr said.
The 2023 regular session of the Alabama Legislature starts on March 7.
Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
People in the area that Ross/West View EMSA serves will now have to pay a new annual fee.
Ross/West View EMSA serves five communities: Ross Township, West View Borough, Millvale Borough, Reserve Township, and Ohio Township.
Officials say Ross Township was the last of those communities to adopt the new fee. They agreed to the payment on Tuesday.
In Jan. the executive director of Ross/West View EMS said they were expecting to see a $300,000 loss in 2023. To make up for that loss, they created the ordinance and asked all residents and businesses to pay $55 annually.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Leaders set to vote on new fee for residents, businesses in Ross/West View EMS service areas
The new fee will impact around 50,000 residents. Ross/Westview EMS said the fee will affect households and not individual people. They expect to collect around $1.8 million from the new ordinance.
The fee will be paid to Ross/West View EMSA directly. In return, people in the area will no longer have to pay any out-of-pocket expenses for emergency ambulance services.
EMS systems across the United States are struggling and going out of business. This problem has been growing for years and is coming to a breaking point across Pennsylvania and certainly in our area. Ross/West View EMSA in partnership with our communities, have taken steps to manage this problem and assure EMS services are provided for years to come, Ross/West View EMSA said in a statement.
The fee is expected to go into effect on March 1st.
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Failed negotiations with the city of Waukegan, and alleged provocative action by a Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education member, prompted the family of a Waukegan teen falsely arrested a year ago to take legal action.
The attorney for Shanika Williams, the mother of the Waukegan teen, filed a 33-count, 78-page civil rights lawsuit on the youngsters behalf Feb. 15 in federal court in Chicago seeking an unspecified amount of money arising from the teens false arrest and two days of incarceration.
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Along with the city and school district, three police officers involved with the arrest and subsequent incarceration, a school official and an individual school board member are listed as defendants, according to the complaint.
Filed approximately a year after the arrest, the complaint claims the teens 4th, 5th and 14th Amendment rights under the Constitution were violated after an employee at a retail business in Waukegan was shot and wounded Feb. 4, 2022, according to the complaint.
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In the course of a police investigation, officers took the teen into custody on Feb. 16, 2022 at the Waukegan High Schools Brookside campus, according to reports at the time. School officials did not contact Williams, according to the complaint.
Police induced a confession from the teen and he was held for two days at Lake Countys juvenile detention center before proof of the false arrest was provided to authorities and he was released, according to the complaint.
Shortly after the arrest and release, then Waukegan interim Police Chief Keith Zupec made policy changes to prevent a similar incident from happening again. For example, arrests would no longer be made at a school unless the offense occurred on school grounds.
Waukegan police officers and detectives will not interrogate a juvenile suspect unless they have a parent, guardian or attorney present for questioning, Zupec also said at the time.
Around the same time, District 60 Superintendent Theresa Plascencia said in a communication to the school community the district was reviewing its policies to avoid a similar situation in the future.
Kevin OConnor, the attorney for Williams, said in an interview Tuesday he was negotiating with both the city for a scholarship for the teen to further the teens education, and with the school district to assure the teen was getting the necessary tutoring support needed to succeed.
The negotiations broke down with the city near the end of the year, OConnor said. The school district fanned the flames of the fire when they allowed a person to approach (the teen), knowing he was represented by counsel.
School Board member Anita Hanna, facilitated an unsupervised meeting on school grounds between (the teen) and Rayon Edwards, who she should have known had a violent criminal history, according to the complaint. Edwards gave the teen an unsolicited offer of protection at the meeting, it said.
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That showed they didnt want to help him, OConnor said. They showed they were not focused helping him have a peaceful life. They were back at the same old attitude.
Hanna said in an interview Tuesday she came to the high school March 18 to wish students a good and safe spring break. She was with Edwards and another person. They entered the cafeteria where the teen was sitting with several other people.
This is unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, Hanna said. He stood up and said, Hey Ray Ray, she added, referring to Edwards. He walked over to them, and talked to a different boy.
Nick Alatzakis, the District 60 director of communications and chief of staff, said in an email the district is reviewing the complaint and has no comment at this time.
While the city said in a statement it understands community members are concerned and have questions about the allegations in the complaint, the city cannot comment on the specific facts and allegations in the lawsuit.
The City of Waukegan Police Department continues to implement training of its officers in best practices and standards concerning juvenile suspects and offenders, the city said in the statement.
The U.S. is inclining toward sending long-range missiles and fighter jets to Ukraine, Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, according to Reuters.
McCaul said the Biden administration and the National Security Council have yet to decide how fast and what weapons to deliver to Ukraine.
But Im seeing increasing momentum towards getting the artillery and planes in, he said. And in any event, we can start training the pilots now, so theyre ready.
According to Reuters, McCaul was part of a congressional delegation that traveled to Kyiv the day following U.S. President Joe Bidens surprise visit to the capital.
During his visit on Feb. 20, Biden pledged an extra $500 million in aid to Ukraine. The same day, the Pentagon announced the allocation of another military assistance package to Ukraine worth $460 million.
Critics argue that allies reluctance to supply F-16 and Typhoon fighter jets and long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine will prevent Kyiv from launching a counteroffensive and liberating the rest of Ukrainian territory. Ukraines lack of advanced aircraft and missiles will likely prolong Russias war of aggression and result in thousands of deaths.
Wizz Air has some of the least generous legroom available across airlines. Photo: Bernadett Szabo/Reuters
Troublesome boarding experiences, constant delays and almost zero seat comfort have landed budget airline Wizz Air (WIZZ.L) the title of Britains least favourite short-haul airline.
Amidst a number of complaints from passengers about its poor customer service, Wizz Air was the worst performing short haul airline in a survey by consumer group Which?, receiving a customer score of 48%.
One unhappy customer reported their flight was an unpleasant experience and there were repeated complaints about delays.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data revealed the airline was among the worst for punctuality last year, with just 56% of flights arriving on time. Of the short haul airlines included in the survey, only Tui fared worse for punctuality, with less than half (45%) of its flights on time.
Ryanair (52%), Eurowings (53%), British Airways (56%) and Lufthansa (LHA.DE) with 57% finished just ahead of Wizz Air.
Read more: Budget airline Wizz Air passenger numbers up 58%
Travellers also gave Wizz Air only one star when it came to seat comfort, as the budget airline has some of the least generous legroom of the airlines Which? surveyed.
The airlines seat pitch the distance between two rows in standard economy is a full two inches smaller than its budget rival Ryanair (RYA.IR).
Watch: Wizz Air forecasts a return to profit in the coming financial year
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: Travellers have had a torrid time in recent years, with last-minute delays and cancellations an unacceptably common occurrence. While airlines like Jet2.com (JET2.L) have distinguished themselves by offering flyers excellent customer care and a reliable service, too many of their competitors continually fail to measure up.
If alternative carriers are available for your route, avoid Wizz Air, as its poor record on customer care means youre likely to be left high and dry in the event your flight is delayed or cancelled.
Ryanair received a clutch of one and two star scores, including just one star for boarding experience, seat comfort, food and drink and cabin environment, with one respondent summing up their experience as just awful.
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Flag carrier British Airways (IAG.L) was panned by survey respondents, with one traveller remarking they felt their experience was a race to the bottom, providing as little as possible and making cattle class sound like something better.
Read more: Holiday prices to popular destinations jump by hundreds of pounds
The airline scored only two stars for boarding, seat comfort and value for money, and three stars in any other category. Some 2.3% of its flights were cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, making it among the least reliable airlines surveyed.
The number one offender for last-minute cancellations was Eurowings, which cancelled 3.4% of its flights within twenty-four hours of departure, followed by Flybe (3.1%), now in administration, and Guernsey-based Aurigny Air Service, which despite rating highly on punctuality, suffered a number of cancellations last year, in part due to bad weather on its remote Alderney route (3%).
Jet2.com emerged at the top of the short haul airline table, with a customer score of 80%. Travellers awarded it five stars for customer service, with customers praising the helpful and friendly staff.
One remarked that the airline excelled in all areas of customer support, while another claimed it is the best airline by a country mile.
Norwegian Airlines achieved a customer score of 74%, and performed above average on both cancellations and delays, with 80% of its flights on time last year, and 0.6% cancelled at short notice.
Watch: Airline refunds: What are your rights as a consumer?
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A top lieutenant of the Proud Boys chairman, Enrique Tarrio, described on Wednesday a growing desperation among the groups leaders as Jan. 6, 2021, approached and then-President Donald Trumps efforts to overturn the election results sputtered.
Thats when the groups thoughts turned to all-out revolution, according to Jeremy Bertino, the Justice Departments star witness in the seditious conspiracy trial of Tarrio and four other Proud Boys leaders, who are charged with orchestrating a violent attempt to derail the transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden.
Bertino, who pleaded guilty to his own seditious conspiracy charge last year, gave jurors an insiders view of the Proud Boys leadership as Jan. 6 approached and the group became increasingly convinced that the Biden presidency posed an existential threat. Those views, prodded along at times by Trumps own efforts to subvert his defeat, intensified after Tarrio was arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, upon arriving in Washington.
Now, the groups leaders Tarrio and Joe Biggs of Florida, Ethan Nordean of Seattle, Zachary Rehl of Philadelphia and Dominic Pezzola of New York are facing the gravest charges to emerge from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Everyone felt very desperate, Bertino said of the groups increasingly militant rhetoric as Jan. 6 neared, particularly after the Supreme Court declined to take up Trumps actions. As for Tarrio, Bertino added, His tones were calculated, cold but very determined that he felt the exact same way that I did.
Bertino didnt travel to Washington on Jan. 6, in part because he was nursing a stab wound from a skirmish during a Dec. 12, 2020, visit to Washington to protest Trumps defeat. But he remained in contact with the group on Jan. 6, including Tarrio, who had been released from jail and traveled to a Baltimore hotel. Prosecutors showed jurors Bertinos excited messages, urging the Proud Boys to push farther into the Capitol and help disrupt the counting of electoral votes intended to certify Bidens victory.
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I thought I was watching history, Bertino recalled. I thought it was historical. I thought it was a revolution starting.
When one member of the group informed others that then-Vice President Mike Pence had resisted Trumps entreaties to overturn the election on his own, Bertino assured them: Dont worry, boys. Americas taking care of it right now.
Bertinos jubilance turned into fury after Trump told rioters to go home and law enforcement cleared the Capitol.
We failed, he told other Proud Boys in various Telegram chats, after Congress had returned to continue certifying Bidens victory. He lamented that the rioters caused mayhem simply to take selfies in Pelosis office.
That sentiment continued into Jan. 7.
Im done fellas, Bertino said in a voice message to the group. In case you couldnt fucking tell. Im done. I didnt take a knife in the fucking in the lungs to watch the power be given right the fuck back to these evil cocksuckers. We need fucking war. We need to take it back. And we need to fucking get these motherfuckers. Judge, jury, executioner, we need to fucking hang traitors.
You ready to go full fash? asked Proud Boy leader John Stewart in response, referring to fascism. Later, Stewart blamed the normies the Proud Boys term for nonmembers who align with them for having stopped 25% of the way in.
That building should still be occupied right now. They should have cops stuck inside that building They decided to run around and take a bunch of fucking selfies. And, you know, steal some fucking memorabilia to prove that they were in there so that their conviction is assured.
Throughout Bertino's testimony his second day on the stand Prosecutors homed in on messages sent among Bertino and other Proud Boys leaders discussing the prospect of violence on Jan. 6, and noted repeatedly that Tarrio and other defendants never pushed back or suggested violence wasnt the goal.
The entire trial perhaps the most crucial to emerge from the Jan. 6 attack may hinge on whether jurors believe Bertinos testimony. He was in frequent contact with Tarrio and other group leaders in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 and provided context for the groups lengthy chats.
Defense attorneys have yet to cross-examine him, but theyre likely to press him on the contours of his plea deal with the government, as well as his voluminous testimony to the Jan. 6 select committee , which omitted many of the key details he described to the jury on Wednesday.
For example, Bertino described in court but not to the select committee an extensive Telegram chat with Tarrio on Jan. 6, while both men were watching the riot unfold from afar. Bertino described a feeling of pride at seeing the Proud Boys help lead the way into the Capitol and a pang of jealousy for being absent.
I wanted to be there to witness what I believed was the next American revolution, Bertino told jurors.
Bertino also clarified an odd text to Tarrio that read They need to get peloton. It was an autocorrect for Pelosi, Bertino said.
She was the target, as far as the one who had been pushing the information [about the election], Bertino recalled thinking. She was the talking head of the opposition. And they needed to remove her from power.
By Anna Mehler Paperny
TORONTO (Reuters) - Thousands of asylum-seekers crossing irregularly into Canada via a dirt path between New York State and the province of Quebec are becoming a political flashpoint once again in Canada as the Quebec government says it can no longer accommodate the rising numbers.
The movement of asylum-seekers into Canada from the United States has picked up since Canada lifted COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in late 2021, a trend mirroring global displacement. More than 39,000 refugees entered Canada last year via unofficial crossings, the vast majority via Roxham Road linking Quebec and New York State. The number crossing into Quebec more than doubled last year compared to 2017, when Roxham Road made international headlines.
Almost 5,000 more people seeking asylum crossed into Canada between official border crossings last month - the highest January since the Canadian government started breaking down this data in 2017. That 2017 spike was spurred in part by then-U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on migrants.
Canada is a signatory to the international Refugee Convention under which Canada must adjudicate most refugee claims with limited exceptions. The Convention has limitations to the definition of refugee; Canadian law has exceptions as to who can access refugee protection in Canada.
The influx has prompted Quebec Premier Francois Legault to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to resettle refugee claimants in other provinces and to issue work permits more swiftly as the province's "capacity to take care of the asylum-seekers is now largely exceeded."
Quebec is proud of its "tradition of welcoming refugees" but its services are strained, Legault wrote in an op-ed in Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper this week. He has expressed concern in the past that non-francophone newcomers would hamper government efforts to promote the French language.
The federal government says it has transferred more than 5,800 asylum-seekers out of Quebec since June. A spokesperson for Canada's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship minister said in a statement on Tuesday the government is working with communities outside Quebec on a "pan-Canadian approach" that would include resettling refugee claimants elsewhere.
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Legault also called on Canada to push the United States to rewrite the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA)- something Canada says it is doing.
Under the STCA, anyone trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border in either direction at a formal border crossing will be turned around and told to apply for asylum in the first of the two countries they arrived in, with few exceptions.
Canada wants to rewrite this agreement so it can turn back asylum-seekers apprehended anywhere along the border - not just at formal crossings.
The agreement is the reason people wanting to claim refugee status in Canada enter the country via Roxham Road in Quebec: Otherwise they could come to Canada at any U.S. border crossing.
Twice, Canadian federal courts have struck down the agreement and, twice, appeals courts have upheld it. The latest case was argued at Canada's Supreme Court last fall and a ruling is expected in the coming months.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trudeau said his government had been trying to "close" Roxham Road for years by rewriting the STCA.
"The challenge is not to say 'Oh, we should close it.' The challenge is, how to close it, how to make sure that people aren't choosing to cross irregularly into Canada, to protect the integrity of our immigration system but also stay true to the values that we have."
Abdulla Daoud, executive director of the Refugee Centre in Montreal, said bureaucratic delay is the real problem with the asylum-seeker influx.
"If we were to move them to any other province, we're not really solving anything," said Daoud, adding that community organizations will still be overwhelmed because asylum-seekers lack the documents needed to work and access some government services.
Daoud said his organization is seeing many recent migrants coming from Latin America, many saying they are fleeing persecution.
Refugee advocates argue abolishing the agreement entirely, or inserting additional exemptions, would let asylum-seekers enter Canada at regular border crossings elsewhere in the country, not just at Roxham Road, thus alleviating pressure on Quebec.
On Tuesday, opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre urged Trudeau to "close" Roxham Road. Poilievre referenced a COVID-19 policy under which Canada turned back asylum-seekers crossing between ports of entry, a policy that was being challenged in court when it was rescinded.
But "sealing the border is not practical," said refugee lawyer Maureen Silcoff.
"It's in nobody's interest for people to arrive undetected and to take dangerous routes to cross."
(Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; Editing by Denny Thomas and Josie Kao)
The Alabama Womens Tribute Statute Commission Tuesday approved a design for a Rosa Parks statue that will be installed at the top of the steps of the Alabama State Capitol.
The statue, designed by artist Julia Knight, will face people coming up the steps. Parks, whose arrest on a Montgomery city bus in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the modern civil rights movement, will be depicted stepping on a platform and looking up.
Knight said she depicted Parks looking up because she had vision.
The more I think about her her act of rebellion she knew what she was doing, Knight said. She knew where she was going. She knew this was going to go to the Supreme Court, and she was ready for that. She was prepared for that. I personally would like to see her looking up and out.
Julia Knight, the artist tasked with designing the Rosa Parks statue that will stand in front of the Alabama State Capitol, presents a model to the Alabama Womens Tribute State Commission on Tuesday in this screenshot.
Parks had been a civil rights activist for decades when she boarded a segregated bus in downtown Montgomery on Dec. 1, 1955. Her arrest for refusing to surrender her seat to a white man led to the organization of a 382-day boycott of the citys bus system. It led to the desegregation of the buses in 1956. Though Parks and her husband, Raymond, moved from Montgomery the following year, she returned in 1965 to help lead the final part of the Selma-to-Montgomery march at the Alabama State Capitol.
Knights design was selected from 20 others who submitted applications, said Catie Marie Niolet, a Birmingham-based lawyer representing the commission.
The statue will face North Bainbridge Street at a diagonal angle, Knight said during her presentation. According to the proposal, the statue of Parks will be nine feet high and stand on a six-foot tall granite podium. The statue will show Parks placing a foot on a step looking up. Knight that may make it difficult for viewers to see Parks face.
The bronze statue will be built by Clark Memorials in Birmingham. The granite for the base will be sourced from Elberton, Georgia, which Knight said it was the closest to local as she could find.
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Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, the chairwoman of the commission, said that she likes that Parks is looking up.
I love the fact that shes stepping into her own, she said. All that we are today or that I am today is because of those rebellious acts and her ability and wanting to move to make a difference.
The Legislature created the commission in 2019; Hall sponsored the bill establishing it. The bill calls for the placement of statues of Parks and the disability rights activist Helen Keller, a native of Tuscumbia, on the grounds of the State Capitol.
The commission is still seeking funding for the Helen Keller statue. Niolet said the commission needed to develop ways to finance the sculpture and ensure that it complies with requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, an independent nonprofit website covering politics and policy in state capitals around the nation.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Rosa Parks statue design chosen for Alabama Statehouse steps
The Rotary Club of St. Petersburg has awarded its 2022 Ned March/Bud Purdy Award to two detectives tasked with investigating major crimes in the city.
Detectives Renee McKinney and Somsak A. Intravichit of the St. Petersburg Police Department were recognized at an awards ceremony on Friday.
Ned March, a man who served as president of the local Rotary Club from 1948-1949, started the award to recognize local police officers. After his death, the club continued to give out the award and the program was lead by Bud Purdy, who was the citys police chief from 1958-1963.
The police chief and agency staff select the winners of the award each year, according to Doug Phares, president of the club.
We think its an honor and a privilege to be in a position to do this, Phares said.
McKinney said the Rotary Club recognition is an award that few officers expect to get.
For me, its like creating history, McKinney said.
Intravichit said he couldnt describe the immensity of the award.
Im still kind of in shock from it all, Intravichit said.
McKinney has been with the agency for 20 years, and currently works in the personal violence unit as part of its investigative bureau. She said she initially had wanted to become a nurse, but decided to join the police academy on somewhat of a dare a former boyfriend told her he didnt think she could make it through the agility course.
I applied, I went through the physical agility course and got a phone call a couple weeks later, McKinney said. They said When can you start? And here I am, 20 years later.
McKinney said some of the most significant moments of her career include helping secure a life sentence for a man who shot his girlfriend in front of her mother and a 35-year sentence for a man who sexually battered his then 3-year-old daughter. She has also investigated major crimes involving aggravated battery and schemes to defraud.
Intravichit was working as a skating instructor at an ice rink when he read an article about retired crime scene investigators.
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Really, that was what piqued my interest, he said.
After that, Intravichit decided to become a civilian crime scene investigator. He worked for the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office and the St. Petersburg Police Department before moving to Columbia, South Carolina, where he became a sworn police officer. He later moved back to St. Petersburg and has been with the police department since 2015, where he investigates some of the agencys most high-profile cases. Intravichit is also a field trainer for the agencys gun response investigative team.
Really, its just about the work ... and being able to serve the community and help the victims, he said.
According to the HUR, Iran continues to support Russia in the war against Ukraine
"A test batch has been already imported, currently they are trying to get one more batch, but not a trial one, Budanov said.
Read also: Russia could supply Iran with nuclear tech in exchange for weapons, Ukraine says
Its about 20,000 shells. It's nothing compared to the amounts used (by Russia)."
He also added there is no confirmed data about North Korea's supplies of weapons to Russia.
Iran secretly supports Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine by supplying the Kremlin regime with suicide drones that are used to attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Read also: Iran still refuses to hand over ballistic missiles to Russia for war against Ukraine Budanov
Teheran constantly strongly denies supplying Russia with drones, but large amounts of evidence shows these denials to be false. Russia has attempted to obscure the origin of the Iranian drones, named Shahed, by rebranding them as Geran drones.
Ukraine's Foreign Affair Ministry called on Teheran to stop immediately supplying Russia with weapons and warned that the country would be held to account. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has also initiated the severance of diplomatic relations with Iran.
U.S. television news channel CNN has reported that had intends to send Russia approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and suicide drones.
Read also: Iran to send ballistic missiles to Russia for war against Ukraine
Ukrainian intelligence has also confirmed that Teheran has agreed to send about 1,000 military vehicles to Russia.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
General Serhiy Nayev
Read also: Reznikov reveals new Ukrainian offensive planned in a few months
He also said that Ukraine is now preparing forces for its offensive, but the timing of the military action is a secret.
Nayev said that the number of troops and equipment in the Russian Federation was important, but the quality of Ukrainian forces would prevail over the quantity of Russian forces.
Thats why we need Western weapons, which are significantly better than the Soviet models with which the Russian army is equipped, Nayev said.
Earlier, head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov told Forbes magazine in an interview that the occupiers want to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by March 31, but that they were unlikely to be able to do so.
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The deputy head of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has said that if Putin loses the war against Ukraine, Russia will be torn apart, and it will cease to exist.
Source: Medvedev in response to US President Joe Bidens statement on Telegram
Quote from Medvedev: "If Russia stops its special military operation [as the Russians call the war against Ukraine ed.] without achieving victory, there will be no Russia, it will be torn apart."
Details: At the same time, the deputy head of the Security Council assures that the war in Ukraine will allegedly end "if the United States stops supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime".
Medvedev also called Biden's statement addressed to the Russians that the United States did not intend and is not going to attack Russia, "dishonest and meaningless".
At the same time, the Russian official traditionally tried to somehow offend Biden, using the phrases "senile dementia", and "a weird confused-looking old man speaking from Poland".
Medvedev continues to repeat narratives that the United States is a "hostile state that radiates hatred" towards Russia.
The deputy head of the Russian Security Council also undertook to somehow analyse the almost two-hour message of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Federal Assembly. He focused on the suspension of Russian participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
Medvedev once again said that "if the United States wants to defeat Russia, then we are on the verge of a global conflict", and again began to threaten that in this case Russia "has the right to defend itself with any weapon, including nuclear".
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In a file photo, former Trinity International University President David S. Dockery presents the Trinity Class of 2017 candidates for degrees. (Posted by Trinity International University, Community Contributor)
Students at Trinity International Universitys Deerfield campus are entering their final months of in-person instruction at the evangelical Christian school, which announced Friday its intention to discontinue its in-person, undergraduate offerings and move to a fully online model.
Trinity International University President Nicholas Perrin and board Chair Neil Nyberg announced the move in a release which said the schools Board of Regents voted in favor of moving to fully online courses and programs intended for global audiences by the fall of 2023.
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The letter mentions that Trinity has not been immune to national trends of declining undergraduate and graduate enrollments at some U.S. universities, which have only been exacerbated by COVID-19 and subsequent economic instability, and coincide with steadily rising costs to attend college.
U.S. News & World Report numbers show that Trinity had a total of 571 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of 1,454 students in the fall of 2020. More recent numbers were not immediately available.
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In a 2017 file photo, high school students from across the country compete for top scholarships at Trinity International University. (Posted by Trinity International University, Community Contributor)
Trinity will continue to offer its Bachelor of Arts and Master of Divinity in-person residential programs at its Evangelical Divinity School and Trinity Law School, which house fewer students than the universitys undergraduate programs.
Trinitys board also voted to close down Camp Timber-lee in Wisconsin, gifted to the university in 2016, which Perrin and Nyberg wrote has struggled to establish financial viability before and after the university took it over.
In a separate statement, the university announced that the camp endured its largest financial deficits on record in 2020 and 2021 as the pandemic raged, and that the camp has operated at a $2.8 million cumulative loss since Trinity took over operations.
In-person graduate programs will continue, according to the release, at Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, California and the universitys Miami campus.
As hard as such decisions may be, these moves are necessary steps for providing the University, not least our continuing residential programs at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Trinity Law School, a strong foundation as it moves forward as an institution that is more missional, more accessible and more transformational than ever before, the joint statement said.
We know this new direction will be unwelcome news for some, but we believe this course of action will enable us to better serve the global church more effectively as we more closely align our mission our why with these guiding principles, the statement continued. I recognize this letter will not answer all your questions, but we intend to provide additional details in the coming days through regular communications, chapels, special gatherings and other forums.
Randall Balmer, a religion professor at Dartmouth who attended Trinity for his undergraduate education, and obtained his masters degree from its divinity school, reflected on the remarkable place that Trinity was and expressed sadness at the move.
For me, the college was a much more intellectually lively place, and shaped me in more profound ways than my experience at their divinity school, Balmer said. When they decided to close the college (in-person) rather than the divinity school, I found that really disappointing.
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Balmer said that the move is particularly unfortunate for current students, who will either have to transfer or enroll in the universitys new online programs in the fall.
Theyre having their education truncated, and theyre going to have to make other arrangements, Balmer said. This whole scheme about virtual education, its going to go nowhere Im afraid. And as I said in my (online essay), I think its really antithetical to the kind of place that Trinity claimed to be, and was for so long.
By Siyabonga Sishi
RICHARDS BAY, South Africa (Reuters) -Russia's navy will not fire its new generation "Zircon" hypersonic missile during a joint exercise with South Africa and China, a senior Russian naval officer said on Wednesday, contradicting an earlier Russian media report.
South Africa's government has long-standing ties to Moscow dating back to its struggle against apartheid, though it says it maintains a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine.
But the 10-day exercise, which it is hosting off its eastern coast, coincides with the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of its neighbour and has raised alarm among Western governments.
Russia's TASS news agency reported earlier this month that a frigate participating in the drills would perform a training launch of the Zircon missile during the exercise.
A Russian frigate armed with the Zircon weapon system has been deployed to the joint exercise.
However Captain Oleg Gladkiy, who is heading the Russian contingent, said during a media briefing in the town of Richards Bay that no test launch would take place as part of the planned artillery drills.
"The hypersonic weapon will not be used in the context of these exercises," Gladkiy said. "There is no hidden meaning in the exercises that we are performing today."
Russia, China and the United States are in a race to develop hypersonic weapons which are seen as a way to gain an edge over any adversary because of their speeds - topping five times the speed of sound - and manoeuvrability.
Along with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle which entered combat duty in 2019, the Zircon forms the centrepiece of Russia's hypersonic arsenal. President Vladimir Putin has called it "unstoppable".
World powers are vying for influence in Africa amid deepening global tensions resulting from the war in Ukraine and an increasingly aggressive Chinese posture towards self-ruled Taiwan.
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But a number of African nations are steadfastly refusing to take sides.
South Africa has defended its decision to host the Mosi II naval exercise despite the concerns of diplomats from European Union and NATO countries.
"It is my belief that the position of the government of South Africa must also and should also be respected, similar to those who have counter opinions," Lieutenant-General Siphiwe Lucky Sangweni, South Africa's head of joint operations, told the press briefing.
South Africa's governing African National Congress has been historically close to Moscow, which supported its struggle against a racist apartheid regime that many Western states considered a Cold War ally.
Domestic critics of its relationship with Russia, however, warn that maintaining those warm ties in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine risks damaging relations with major Western trading partners.
(Reporting by Siyabonga Sishi in Richards BayAdditional reporting by Carien du Plessis and Anait Miridzhanian in JohannesburgWriting by Joe BavierEditing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
BERLIN The choice of venue was meant to symbolize unity, but in the end, the differences could hardly have been greater.
When the 50 or so members of the Russian opposition met in November at the Jablonna Palace outside Warsaw, where the Polish opposition once began the so-called roundtable discussions that eventually led to the fall of communism, tensions boiled over about how to change the course of Russia.
According to interviews with observers at the congress, ideas were as varied as drafting a new Russian constitution to planning deadly attacks against President Vladimir Putin and his entourage in the Kremlin. But a host of prominent Russian opposition activists avoided the Jablonna Palace meeting altogether a sign of just how divided the Russian opposition is and how far it is from achieving its goal of overturning Putin, even as he pursues a catastrophic war in Ukraine.
It is as always, Andrei Soldatov, a journalist and one of Russias top security experts, who has written extensively about the inner workings of the FSB, Russias intelligence agency, said last month. Russians in exile never have been capable of forming an opposition force. There is infighting, distrust and no clear agenda.
On one end of the spectrum sits Aleksey Baranovsky, a lawyer and close associate of Ilya Ponomaryov, a Jablonna organizer.
Armed opposition is the only option the Russian people have today, Baranovsky told the gathering in November, according to Gazeta Wyborcza, the largest Polish daily newspaper.
He then argued that Russians who come into possession of weapons and take part in the fight against the Putin system and kill its henchmen should be treated as prisoners of war with the right to amnesty if they are captured.
Hearing such radical appeals to action, several of the 50 or so Putin critics present seemed to feel uneasy.
Instead of killing Putin, they would rather see him on trial at the international tribunal in The Hague.
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Leonid Gozman, the head of the Russian liberal-conservative movement Union of Right Forces, decided against participating in Jablonna.
Whatever the resolutions of the Congress, its work will be understood as a call to arms, he said in November on Polish Gazeta Wyborcza a podcast of the Ekho Moskvy radio station, which is now banned. And I am not ready for this.
People attend a demonstration demanding the release of Alexey Navalny in Berlin (Markus Schreiber / AP file)
In a sign of the damaging lack of unity among the Russian opposition, former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, ex-chess-champion-turned dissident Garry Kasparov and, most important, members of the team of the imprisoned resistance icon Alexei Navalny decided to skip Jablonna.
Russian elites are often selfish, said Stefan Meister, the program director at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. They dont get along with each other. A unifying leader is nowhere to be seen.
Counting on the opposition would be naive, he said.
If at all, change will come from within the system, not from the opposition, he said.
A system that might decide at some point that Putin is no longer the right man. Or maybe not.
Scattered across Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw, Berlin and London, the opposition is obviously divided. But within Russia, it is crippled.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Russian system is more repressive today than at any other time in the post-Soviet era.
Thousands of Putin critics are behind bars. The internet is under strict control of Roskomnadzor, the state watchdog that controls all content.
Foreign organizations are labeled foreign agents, if they are not banned outright. The authorities crack down on critics in the media, harass peaceful protesters and engage in smear campaigns against independent groups.
Pressing the wrong like button on social media, retweeting a critical commentary or making a negative remark about the military can put a person behind bars often for many years.
In fact, many of the potential opposition leaders are already locked away Navalny being the most powerful. He is serving time in Penal Colony No. 2 east of Moscow.
In March, Navalny, 46, was given a nine-year jail term after he was found guilty of fraud. New charges were added last fall accusing him of propagating extremism and calling for terrorism. All told, it could earn him around 30 years in prison.
Close Navalny associates, like his lawyer, Lyubov Sobol, and former campaign manager, Leonid Volkov, are trying to keep up the fight from abroad, producing a stream of YouTube videos, posting images and tweeting tons of messages.
Before the war, the prevailing thinking was: You cant be an opposition leader if you are outside Russia, said Soldatov, the security expert. Today, I believe thats wrong.
With the internet and social media, there are ways to make yourself heard even in a sealed-off country like Russia. Not only for Navalny, this realization would come too late.
The same applies to Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin. Kara-Murza, 41, is the deputy chairman of Open Russia, a nongovernmental organization founded by Khodorkovsky, the former oligarch, that promotes civil society and democracy in Russia.
Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing (Dmitry Serebryakov / AP file)
While Khodorkovsky served a 10-year prison sentence and now lives in the United Kingdom, Kara-Murza rots in a Moscow prison and faces 20 years or more for treason and other charges.
In April, Kara-Murza was accused of spreading false information about the Russian army, which carries a prison sentence of three to 10 years. The basis for the indictment was a speech Kara-Mursa gave in the Arizona Legislature shortly after the war began, in which he spoke about Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Later last year, new charges were filed this time for collaborating with an undesirable organization at a 2021 conference of the Sakharov Center in Moscow.
Yashin, 39, is the latest prominent figure to be sentenced to a long prison term. He was a close associate of former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015.
In December, a Moscow court found Yashin guilty of spreading false information about the armed forces when he spoke about the killings in Bucha, Ukraine. The sentence: eight years and six months.
Before his arrest in June, Yashin was considered one of the few remaining opposition politicians who could reach a large audience. However, he has long been a thorn in the governments side, especially after he played a key role in the so-called Bolotnaya protests of 2011-13. At the time, many Russians took to the streets to criticize the allegedly rigged elections to the state Duma, the lower house of parliament.
Andrei Kolesnikov is one of the few opposition activists still in Russia who does not hold back with his opinion about Russia under Putin. For many years, Kolesnikov, 57, a journalist, worked for the renowned daily Izvestia.
His outlook is gloomy.
In Russia, the opposition is completely destroyed, he said by email. What is not understood in the West is that Russia has a strictly authoritarian military-police regime with totalitarian elements. Whats left of the remaining opposition leaders in Russia, they are now all in prison.
Police officers detain a woman during a protest in Moscow (AFP via Getty Images)
Only very few like Kolesnikov still enjoy a tiny bit of freedom. Another one is Yulia Galyamina. Even though Galyamina, the former liberal municipal deputy of the Timiryazevsky district in Moscow, was jailed for 30 days last year after she organized a rally against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she continues to work as a political activist.
Just two days before the attack against Ukraine, Galyamina, 49, and others announced the formation of the feminist movement Soft Power.
In October they were even able to gather a group of women in St. Petersburg and hold its first feminist conference. Although they were watched by police, nothing happened.
We did everything very quietly and with no advance announcements. We wanted to minimize the risks for everyone, Galyamina said in a telephone interview. We are only trying to reclaim a piece of the freedom we used to have.
How much longer will even that be possible?
The margins are shrinking every day, said Meister, of the German Council on Foreign Relations. Every day, what is possible is redefined.
An event like the one by Galyamina may have been possible last fall, but now it may no longer be, he said. The system is not yet so totalitarian that it controls every niche, but it is increasingly trying to do so.
Whereas in the past the Kremlin allowed at least a few liberal voices and media to claim that there was freedom in Russia, it does not anymore.
For Moscow it is no longer important to embody a certain image toward the West, Meister said. They no longer have to put on a sham democratic cloak. They have left that behind.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
(Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday expressed "deep concern" over the United Nations' behaviour regarding the rotation of staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said the United Nations nuclear body was "disrupting" the scheduled changeover of IAEA staff stationed at the plant, which is under the control of Russian forces, without good reason.
IAEA placed staff at the facility on a permanent basis last September, when repeated shelling had raised the prospect of a possible Chornobyl-like nuclear disaster at Europe's largest nuclear power site.
The staff were meant to be rotated for a new contingent earlier in February, but the UN Department of Safety and Security has blocked the changeover, citing concerns over the planned entry and exit route from the facility proposed by Russia's defence ministry, Russia said.
The plant is close to the frontlines of fighting in southern Ukraine.
"Between Feb. 7-18, the UN Department of Safety and Security has three times, without any clear explanations, disrupted the rotation of IAEA specialists at the power plant," Russia's foreign ministry said.
It said Russia's defence ministry had guaranteed in writing the safe arrival and departure of IAEA staff, but the UN had demanded to change the route proposed by Russia.
Moscow said it stood ready to facilitate the rotation of staff before the end of February.
"If the replacement of the IAEA staff is not carried out this time, then we will consider the actions of the UN Department of Safety and Security to be a purposeful attempt to deliberately hinder the work of the IAEA mission," the foreign ministry said.
Russian forces took control of the power station in the first weeks of the war, and Moscow has since transferred the assets and Ukrainian employees to a Russian company - a move Kyiv says is illegal appropriation.
(Reporting by Jake Cordell; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
(Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and China's top diplomat Wang Yi did not discuss a reported Chinese plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine when they met on Wednesday, Moscow said.
Wang, the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Russia since it invaded Ukraine almost a year ago, met President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov separately amid speculation the two sides would discuss a possible Chinese peace plan for Ukraine.
"We note statements by some Western politicians and media reports regarding some kind of 'Chinese peace plan'. As usual, they distort the real picture," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
"The Chinese partners briefed us on their views on the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as approaches to its political settlement. There was no talk of any separate plan," she added.
Russia said on Wednesday it welcomed China taking a more active role in efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and said it valued China's "balanced approach", with Beijing signalling it was ready to take a "constructive role".
While China has taken a nuanced stance on the conflict, criticising Western sanctions against Russia but stopping short of endorsing the war, both countries share a vision of limiting what they see as Western dominance over global affairs.
The two countries signed a "no limits" strategic partnership days before the invasion last Feb. 24, and have since held joint military drills over the Sea of Japan, East China Sea and Western Pacific.
Moscow's foreign ministry said earlier that it was studying a newly released paper on Beijing's Global Security Initiative, Chinese leader Xi Jinping's flagship security proposal.
(Reporting by Caleb Davis; editing by David Ljunggren and Jonathan Oatis)
Aboard the SAS Mendi, Richards Bay, South Africa A Russian naval helping to lead contentiously-timed joint military exercises this week with Chinese and South African forces off South Africa's coast said the war games would not include Russia test-firing one of its most powerful weapons, a hypersonic "Tsirkon" missile. Captain Oleg Gladkly said the pre-planned joint naval exercise was starting Wednesday and would continue for five days.
In January, a U.S. official told CBS News the timing of the exercise, which will be ongoing Friday as the world marks a full year of Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine, had the U.S. "concerned." David Feldmann, spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in South Africa, said that timing would at the very least present South Africa with a diplomatic challenge.
The Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov is seen ahead of joint naval drills between Russia, South Africa and China, in Richards Bay, South Africa, Feb. 22, 2023. / Credit: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty
That "challenge" looked set to take on a possible new degree of severity in February, when a state-run Russian news agency said the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov would take part in the drills and conduct a "training launch" of a Tsirkon missile, taking aim at a "surface target" more than 310 miles away. The TASS news agency quoted "a source close to Russia's defense industry," but noted that Russian officials had not officially confirmed the plan.
During a news conference held Wednesday on the South African frigate SAS Mendi, the Russian commander confirmed that the Admiral Gorshkov, which is equipped with the advanced hypersonic missiles, was taking part, but would not fire one of the weapons.
Russia has been at the vanguard of efforts by many nations, including the U.S., to develop hypersonic glide missiles, which can be harder to detect and intercept due to their speed and maneuverability. Russia and China have outpaced U.S. efforts on the weapons systems thus far. Moscow claimed in March 2022 to have used a hypersonic missile in Ukraine in what would have been the first use of the weapon on any battlefield, though U.S. officials never confirmed one was actually used. Two months later, the Russian Defense Ministry was quoted by TASS as saying it had conducted a successful test of a Tsirkon, hitting a target about 620 miles away.
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Several years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin touted the Tsirkon as part of a new class of "invincible" Russian weapons.
Regardless of the missiles aboard, the Russian warship's presence in South Africa was contentious. It was docked along the South African coast for journalists to see Wednesday adorned with symbols strongly associated with Putin's war on Ukraine.
CBS News asked Captain Gladkly, the Russian commander, about the painted white letters "Z" and "V" seen on the frigate's blackened smokestack, and he quickly admonished the question, telling us "not to read anything into it." Through a translator, he insisted the drills beginning Wednesday were just a friendly naval exercise.
The Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov is seen ahead of joint naval drills between Russia, South Africa and China, in Richards Bay, South Africa, with the letter
"We are hearing South Africans ask, 'Is this the right time for South Africa to support the war fighting capabilities of Russia during its invasion of its sovereign neighbor Ukraine, and does South Africa want to be associated with the symbol 'Z' painted on the side of the frigate the Admiral Gorshkov?'" Feldmann said in an interview on Power FM Zim South Africa. "The symbols of 'Z' and 'V' are symbols of hatred and death. Are they symbols which a South African ship should float next to?"
South African Chief of Joint Operations Lt. Gen. Siphiwe Lucky Sangweni said planning for the naval exercises began two years ago, contradicting earlier reports that they were scheduled during Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.
Senior Captain Sun Honglin, a Chinese Navy commander who joined the Wednesday media briefing, said his country had brought a frigate, destroyer and a supply ship to join the joint exercises.
The symbolism of China and Russia working closer as military allies was on full display Wednesday. The two countries have pushed for years to expand their reach into the African continent.
A soldier patrols onboard the Chinese frigate Rizhao 598, ahead of naval drills between Russia, South Africa and China, in Richards Bay, South Africa, Feb. 22, 2023. / Credit: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty
Some security analysts have argued that by hosting the war games, South Africa is providing Russia a stage to showcase its military might as it wages a brutal war that has claimed the lives of thousands of Ukrainian civilians.
In January, during one of three trips that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has made to Africa, he attended a news conference with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor, who dismissed a question from a journalist asking her to repeat the call from many Western nations for South Africa to withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
Pandor said to issue such a call would be "simplistic and infantile."
South Africa was among 35 nations that abstained from a United Nations vote in October that saw member nations overwhelming condemn Russia's invasion and call for a withdrawal.
South African officials have repeatedly pointed out as they defend the Mosi II exercises that such drills with other nations are routine, including four conducted with the United States since 2011.
Pandor said at the January news conference that trying to stop South Africa from conducting joint military exercises with countries of its choosing amounted to "an abuse of international practice."
The South African National Defense Force said 350 service members would take part in the exercises, with the priority for its navy being to protect fisheries and combat piracy in the Indian Ocean.
Feldmann, at the U.S. Embassy, noted a debate within South Africa about why media outlets were only being given access to one press briefing about the war games, instead of direct access to the exercise as is often enabled.
The exercise, dubbed "Mosi II," which means smoke in the Tswana language, has drawn widespread criticism that South Africa has abandoned its claimed neutrality in the Ukraine war. The exercise will see simulated combat attacks on the ships and involve air defenses using South African and Chinese helicopters and Chinese and Russian high-speed boats. They will also practice maneuvers to rescue ships from piracy and to remove sea mines.
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Russian President Vladimir Putins suspension of the last major nuclear arms treaty with the U.S. has shifted both nations into a more volatile era of engagement on weapons of mass destruction.
The threat of a nuclear conflict still remains low, according to international security analysts, even with the war in Ukraine and the now-suspended New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
But the latest nuclear saber-rattling from the Kremlin once again raised the alarm and spiked fears that tensions are spiraling out of control.
Alicia Sanders-Zakre, a policy and research coordinator with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, said this was a dangerous and reckless move by Putin when tensions are already at the highest level.
This is the latest in a series of reckless, irresponsible, dangerous nuclear rhetoric coming from Russia, including explicit nuclear threats that have really led to elevated levels of nuclear risks, Sanders-Zakre said, calling for a global condemnation of any threats to use nuclear weapons.
In his address to the Russian Federal Assembly, Putin slammed Western allies and NATO, accusing them of seeking to defeat Russia and of hypocrisy and cynicism for supplying Ukraine with weapons to attack Russian forces.
And now they want to inspect our defense facilities? Putin asked. In the conditions of todays confrontation, it sounds like sheer nonsense.
The U.S. has condemned the decision to suspend New START.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the move deeply unfortunate and irresponsible during a Tuesday briefing but added that the Biden administration remains open to dialogue.
We remain ready to talk about strategic arms limitations at any time with Russia irrespective of anything else going on in the world or in our relationship, Blinken said. It matters that we continue to act responsibly in this area. Its also something the rest of the world expects of us.
The New START treaty, first signed in 2010 during the Obama administration, caps both nations at 1,550 nuclear warheads and 700 missiles and bombers while also allowing members of both nations to inspect nuclear sites and facilities to ensure compliance.
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The treaty was extended in 2021 for another five years, meaning it will now expire in 2026 unless extended. Putin has suspended the treaty but has not fully withdrawn from it an important distinction.
Treaty inspections were paused during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a bilateral commission was scheduled for November to resume the regulatory activity.
Moscow unilaterally postponed the November meeting and never gave any indication the talks would be rescheduled.
Last month, the Biden administration accused Russia of violating the treatys accords for the first time.
During his Tuesday address, Putin argued that Russia has been locked out of inspecting some U.S. nuclear facilities.
Just hours after his speech, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it would respect the caps on the number of nuclear weapons included in the treaty, Russian state media outlet TASS reported, and would continue to exchange information regarding test launches of ballistic missiles.
Monica Montgomery, a policy analyst with the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said she viewed Putins announcement as a formalization of recent developments to halt the nuclear pact.
Amid numerous setbacks in the war in Ukraine, Putin is using the fear of nuclear warfare in a bid to get the U.S. and NATO to back down from continued support, Montgomery assessed.
Its all about Putin trying to save face and find a way to continue to advance in Ukraine, Montgomery said. Putin is taking one of the last things that is still out there that is in the mutual interest of both countries.
With the pact now suspended, the U.S. will have to shift into a strategy of surveillance in order to keep up with the nuclear developments in Russia.
But those surveillance methods, often tracked via orbiting satellites, are not nearly as effective as in-person inspections, bilateral talks and cooperative engagement.
Matthew Schmidt, an associate professor of national security, international affairs and political science at the University of New Haven, said the U.S. may have to increase its vigilance.
The response the U.S. is going to make is to use our technical capabilities to increase monitoring, Schmidt predicted.
The war in Ukraine has already pushed the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds from midnight, the closest its ever been to the point of Armageddon.
By suspending New START, Russia is also violating the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, according to the Arms Control Association.
The nonproliferation treaty is signed by 191 nation members, including five nuclear powers that commit to a good faith effort toward disarmament. It was enacted after the Cuban Missile Crisis and went into effect in 1970.
Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, blasted Russia for suspending New START and urged Moscow to return to a nuclear pact with the U.S.
Putins suspension of New START harms Russias own security interests, Kimball said in a statement. Absent full implementation of treaty provisions, Moscow gains less insight and information regarding the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal.
Montgomery, from the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said the suspension also raises the risk of nuclear weapons being used for political and military ploys across the world, particularly from ascending nuclear powers like North Korea and Iran.
Russia as a nuclear power and a member of the Non-Proliferation treaty is showing other countries that nuclear weapons can be used as a tool to carry out reckless military and political aims, Montgomery said.
Russia right now is setting an example that nuclear arms control is not a priority, she continued, and they would risk tearing down one of the last remaining pillars of the arms control [treaty] at the expense of carrying out the war of aggression in Ukraine.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Andrew Osborn
LONDON (Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin took a bitter public feud with the top army brass to a new level on Wednesday, publishing a grisly image of dozens of his fighters he said had been killed after being deprived of ammunition.
Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company which is fighting on Moscow's behalf in Ukraine, has this week repeatedly accused the Russian defence ministry of deliberately starving his fighters of munitions in what he has called a treasonous attempt to destroy Wagner.
The defence ministry, in a statement late on Tuesday, said such allegations were "completely untrue" and complained - without mentioning Prigozhin by name - about attempts to create splits that worked "solely to the benefit of the enemy".
Undeterred, Prigozhin doubled down on his allegations on Wednesday, taking the unusual step of releasing a picture of dozens of his dead fighters laying prostrate on the icy ground in eastern Ukraine, where Wagner is battling to try to take the small Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
"This is one of the places where the bodies of those who have died are gathered," Prigozhin told a prominent Russian military blogger in an interview.
"These are guys who died yesterday because of so-called shell hunger. Mothers, wives and children will get their bodies. There should be five times less (dead). Who is guilty that they died? The guilty ones are those who should have resolved the question of us getting enough ammo."
In another move likely to infuriate the top army brass, he released a copy of what he said was Wagner's official request to the defence ministry for ammunition with detailed tallies of shells used, requested and received - though he said he had blanked out sensitive data such as the names of the shells.
"They're still not giving us ammo. No steps to give us ammo have been taken," said Prigozhin, saying that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, were withholding their signatures from shell approval forms.
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Neither man has publicly responded to Prigozhin's criticism in the past.
Prigozhin, a wealthy catering tycoon and ex-convict, has assumed a more public role since the war started. But he has faced push back from the authorities in recent weeks amid some signs of a move by the Kremlin and defence ministry to curb his growing influence.
On Wednesday, he said he had launched a social media campaign to try to secure the shells and that Wagner had been reduced to begging military warehouses for ammunition, which he said was sometimes successful.
Despite the purported shortage, he said his fighters would keep trying to overrun Ukraine's Bakhmut.
"Twice as many of us are going to die that's all, until there are none of us left," he said.
"And when Wagner are all dead then (Defence Minister) Shoigu and (General) Gerasimov will probably have to pick up a gun."
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Peter Graff)
Russian missiles have hit 112 critical civil infrastructure facilities in Ukraine 255 times.
Source: Kostin at a press conference, reports the Prosecutor Generals Office on Telegram
Quote: "Since 10 October, the enemy has been purposefully destroying critical civilian infrastructure facilities, particularly energy infrastructure facilities. A total of 255 strikes have been conducted on 112 targets. Just so everyone understands, these are the strikes that hit their targets. The period from October to February accounted for 77% of such strikes, namely 197 recorded cases."
Details: According to Kostin, more than 81,000 civilian facilities have been destroyed or damaged since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine, including 62,000 residential buildings, more than 2,300 educational institutions and kindergartens, and more than 450 medical institutions.
Kostin noted that the Prosecutor General's Office considers these attacks as the deliberate creation of uninhabitable conditions, which corresponds to one of the characteristics of genocide specified in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Appropriate punishment is provided for such actions.
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Russia's Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile launches in Russia's northwest region of Plesetsk, on April 20, 2022. Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service via AP, File
A test launch of Russia's nuclear Sarmat missile appears to have failed, CNN reported Tuesday.
The Sarmat ICBM is among the more modern weapons in Russia's nuclear arsenal.
Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin has repeatedly touted his nuclear arsenal.
For years, Russia has repeatedly boasted that it has nuclear weapons that could destroy entire cities.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to do so again in his annual State of the Nation address, but couldn't, because a test launch of one of these weapons the Sarmat missile had failed, according to CNN.
Putin did, however, threaten to suspend Russian participation in its nuclear arms treaty with the US, raising fears over a new arms race.
The RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, which NATO has nicknamed "Satan II", is among the more modern weapons in Russia's nuclear arsenal. But how deadly is it?
Measuring around 112 feet long and weighing just over 211 tons, the liquid-fuel ICBM is capable of carrying more than a dozen nuclear warheads, which can destroy entire cities, VICE News reported.
The warheads are known as Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicles (MIRVs), which means they can be sent to hit different targets at once.
Due to its size, the missile is launched from the ground and usually arcs through the air before coming back down, VICE reported. As it travels downwards, its multiple warheads break off and hit their targets.
The missile is said to have a range exceeding 6,835 miles, meaning that it can easily reach most places on the planet, CNN reported, citing Russian state media.
It was unveiled in 2016 and underwent its first test in 2017, which was successful. It is supposed to be a replacement for Russia's Voevoda ICBMs, which were able to carry three warheads at a time and were designed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Though it is still in its testing phase, the last time Russia successfully tested the missile was in April 2022, two months after Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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"This is a great, significant event in the development of promising weapons systems for the Russian army," Putin said in a speech at the time, the Russian news agency TASS reported.
"This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our Armed Forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice," Putin added.
Since then, Putin has touted his nuclear arsenal on numerous occasions, including a speech in September where he insisted he was "not bluffing" about being ready to use them.
Alexei Zhuravlev, a member of Russia's parliament, in May declared on the state TV channel Russia-1 that the country could launch a nuclear attack on the US over its support of Ukraine.
"I will tell you absolutely competently that to destroy the entire the East Coast of the United States, two Sarmat missiles are needed," he said, according to The New York Post.
"And the same goes for the West Coast," Zhuravlev continued. "Four missiles, and there will be nothing left."
Several experts told CNN in April that Putin's Sarmat test launches were meant to distract from Russia's recent military failures in Ukraine.
Former CIA chief of Russia operations Steve Hall described the tests as "nuclear saber-rattling" and said that the likelihood of any strike on the US was extremely low.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The makers behind Rust say the film will move to Montana when it resumes production in the spring.
Rusts production studio announced Wednesday that it would begin filming in the coming months at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in the Treasure State. The filmmakers had previously announced plans to resume filming, but hadnt disclosed where.
The Alec Baldwin-led Western movie was filming in New Mexico in 2021 when cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in a shooting on the set. Authorities said Baldwin fired a live round from a prop gun while rehearsing a scene.
Baldwin, also a producer on the movie, and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were both charged with involuntary manslaughter last month by the Santa Fe district attorneys office. Prosecutors dropped firearm enhancement from the involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed earlier this week.
Joel Souza, Rusts director who was injured in the shooting, said in a statement obtained by ITK that he was deeply grateful for the invitation to complete the film in Montana.
Thanking the ranchs co-founders, Souza said, Their unwavering friendship, support, and now partnership in completing Rust and honoring Halyna means the world to me and our entire production team.
It is a privilege to work with such great partners as we see this through on Halynas behalf, Souza said.
In a joint statement, the co-founders of Yellowstone Film Ranch said they were honored to play a role in the realization of [Hutchinss] vision and to carry forward her inspiring legacy through championing this film.
Earlier this month, the Rust production team announced plans both to finish the movie and for a documentary on Hutchinss life and career. Matthew Hutchins, the late cinematographers husband, is poised to serve as an executive producer on both projects.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Theres plenty of things to be afraid of in this world of early 2023. Crime, railroad safety, earthquakes, the run-up to next years presidential election, the start of the new season of American Idol.
For supporters of Ukraines valiant defense against brutal Russian aggression, the fear is lack of support as the grinding war enters its second year come Feb. 24. Lake Countys native Ukrainians are afraid U.S. citizens and some politicians are tired of doling out billions in aid and armaments after the past 12 months.
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Even some of those Ukrainian Americans who call northwest Lake County communities home also are weary of writing checks to relatives and relief agencies. Yet, they continue because the alternative is to bow to totalitarianism and the end of a sovereign Ukraine.
At first, my checks were $3,000, and $2,000, and $1,000, and now I have to think if I can keep affording to write them, said my acquaintance Rena, who lives in Lake Villa Township, of her backing of her former country. But what else can we do? Ironically, her first name traces its roots to the Greek word for peace.
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Renas aging parents still live in Ukraine, in a town close to the Polish border. They have escaped much of the carnage that other regions of Ukraine have suffered from Russian rockets and bombs.
Still, they have endured shortages of needed medications and food deliveries. Think supply chains here get disrupted? Try delivering goods in a war zone.
Rena continues to write the checks and donates to a Ukrainian-aid society based in Chicagos Ukrainian Village. It has helped send supplies to the war-torn nation the past year and aids in settling Eastern European newcomers, including children, to America.
Like many of us, she grasps whats at stake if Russia and crazed strongman Vladmir Putin take over Ukraine. Europeans understand the consequences of a Russian victory, as their leaders continue to ante up guns and money. Much of the worlds nations show solidarity with Ukraine, too.
Unlike a growing chorus of congressional Republicans who are voicing their worries over continued subsidies for Ukraine. Some of them attacked President Joe Bidens risky surprise trip to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv the other day as they perceive Americans support for providing unlimited weaponry and economic assistance has started to fade.
Rena may know more about global diplomacy than some congressional GOPsters. She notes if Ukraine falls, the dominoes of other former Soviet states are next in line, including some in the orbit of the European Union and near NATO nations, where thousands of U.S. troops currently are stationed.
Watch Moldova, she advised, its next. That was just days before officials in the small, but strategic Eastern European nation, warned that Russia aims to topple their pro-Western government. Moldova, a former Soviet Socialist republic abutting Ukraine and NATO-ally Romania, has its own pro-Russian contingent in the breakaway region of Transnistria.
British historian A.J.P. Taylor, known for his treatise The Origins of the Second World War, noted that, Wars, when they come, are always different from the war that is expected. Victory goes to the side that has made fewest mistakes, not to the one that has guessed right.
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At the outset of the bloody invasion, everybody guessed Russian military might would subdue Ukraine within days. Putin and his withering numbers of generals certainly guessed that scenario.
After a year, outgunned and defiant Ukrainians, exhausted and spent from months of Russian rockets, drones and artillery shells aimed at troops and civilians, continue to battle what was thought to be one of the worlds premier military forces. Which is why Biden was in Ukraine this week marking the first anniversary of the ongoing war, to the chagrin of his Republican critics.
Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
According to The Associated Press, the president called the Russian invasion a brutal and unjust war. One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.
To ensure Ukraine continues to stand, Biden promised an additional $500 million in U.S. assistance on top of the more than $50 billion already provided for armaments, anti-tank missiles, air surveillance radars and other aid. I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war, the AP quoted Biden of his mission to Ukraine.
We have seen how American blood and treasure has been wasted in other global misadventures. We should be willing to use our treasure, as Ukrainian Americans are doing, to help Ukraine stave off the Russian juggernaut a second year instead of spilling treasured American blood.
Supporting Ukraine is in the worlds best interest. Now is not the time to cut and run.
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Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
sellenews@gmail.com.
Twitter: @sellenews
A New Mexico prosecutor in the fatal Rust shooting case admitted Alec Baldwin was incorrectly charged with an extra penalty that comes with a potential five-year prison sentence, the movie stars attorneys said in a court filing this week.
Baldwins lawyers had called the so-called firearm enhancement unconstitutional in a motion filed Feb. 10.
They argued it was not applicable in Baldwins case because the law was changed in May 2022, seven months after the fatal on-set shooting of Halyna Hutchins in October 2021. Baldwins legal team withdrew their motion Monday.
Baldwin, a producer on the movie, was holding the gun that fired the bullet that killed Hutchins.
The actor, who also starred in The Departed and Beetlejuice, has denied he pulled the trigger. The films armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was also charged with two counts of manslaughter, one of which carried the gun enhancement. Gutierrez-Reeds charges were also downgraded.
Two days after Baldwins defense filed the Feb. 10 motion, special prosecutor Andrea Reeb wrote in an email: We are a tad confused on your motion on the firearm enhancement.
A spokesperson for the prosecution had also spoken to CNBC, saying that the motion to reduce the charges was only an attempt to distract from the criminal case. Prosecutors have referred to Baldwins lawyers as fancy attorneys.
But, according to the Baldwin teams Monday filing, 22 minutes after Reeb sent that first email, she followed up: Let me look at the specific numbers and sections and make sure we have it correct.
A couple hours later, Reeb sent a third email, admitting that the prosecutors were wrong and that she 100 percent agreed with Baldwins lawyers evaluation of the firearm enhancement.
I will have our documents drafted to amend the criminal information to take off the firearm enhancement, she wrote.
Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The emails were sent on Feb. 12. Days later, the prosecutors officially downgraded the charges, removing the firearm enhancement that could have landed Baldwin more than five years in prison if convicted.
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Image: Halyna Hutchins (Fred Hayes / Getty Images file)
Baldwin still faces involuntary manslaughter charges with a possible 18-month prison sentence for his role in the fatal shooting of Hutchins, who was the cinematographer on the set of Rust.
In addition to the criminal case, Hutchins mother, father and sister filed a civil suit against Baldwin and others involved in the production of Rust. Hutchins widower, Matthew Hutchins, settled his own civil lawsuit against Baldwin in October. He is now an executive producer on Rust.
"Rust" producers announced Wednesday theyll complete the project in Montana. A documentary about Hutchins life and work will also begin production.
There was no exact timetable for filming to resume, producers said, other than it'd be at Yellowstone Film Ranch this spring, about 1 years after Hutchins' death.
"Rust" director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the 2021 shooting, thanked Yellowstone Film Ranch owners.
"It is a privilege to work with such great partners as we see this through on Halynas behalf," he said in a statement.
A lawyer for Hutchins' family declined comment on Wednesday.
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are slated to make their first court appearances Friday morning local time in a remote hearing.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Closeup of gavel in courtroom
A University of Missouri Phi Gamma Delta hazing defendant who was designated as pledge Danny Santulli's "pledge dad' on the night in 2021 Santulli collapsed with alcohol poisoning, on Tuesday got more time to prepare his defense.
Ryan Delanty, of Ballwin, was Santulli's pledge dad on the hazing event known as "pledge dad reveal night" on Oct. 19, 2021, at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house. Santulli drank three-fourths of a bottle of vodka he was required to drink, passed out and became unresponsive.
Delanty is charged with felony hazing.
A probable cause statement in another defendant's case included a text message from Delanty to a friend at 10:57 p.m. reading: "My son is dead."
The friend asked Delanty in a text what Delanty did to Santulli, according to the court document.
"I left him," was Delanty's response in the record.
Santulli was resuscitated after arriving at the emergency room of the University of Missouri Hospital. The brain damage Santulli received from the alcohol poisoning left Santulli blind and unable to walk or speak.
He is being cared for by his family at their home in Minnesota, using funds from settlements in civil lawsuits.
Documents provided by the University of Missouri show hazing and alcohol abuse was a regular practice at Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji, and other fraternities.
Attorney Ethan Wolfe, representing Delanty, asked Judge Kevin Crane for additional time. Wolfe said he was standing in for Delanty's regular attorney, Stepanie Fortus. Both Wolfe and Delanty appeared by video.
"They're working on toxicology reports," Wolfe said of the need for additional time
Fortus also has hired a private investigator, Wolfe said.
The attorney for a co-defendant in a recent hearing said the prosecutor's office will seek trials against only two defendants. Delanty and Thomas Shultz were the first two charged with felonies. Eight others are charged with felonies and one with misdemeanor hazing.
The fraternity has been banned from MU. The university also has punished 13 members of the fraternity.
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A hearing for defendant Samuel Gandhi is on the court's schedule for Feb. 27.
Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: New court date set for Danny Santulli's designated Fiji "pledge dad"
Congregants arrive at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest in mid-October. (Allison Dinner / Associated Press)
Two years ago, an Orange County megachurch took a stand that pitted it against conservative members of its denomination. It ordained three women as pastors.
Now, the Southern Baptist Convention has ousted Saddleback Church, its second-largest congregation.
The Lake Forest-based evangelical church, founded by popular pastor and author Rick Warren, is one of the largest churches in the United States. It was among five congregations found not to be "in friendly cooperation" with the convention because they "have a female functioning in the office of pastor," according to a statement from Jared Wellman, chairman of the convention's executive committee.
"These churches have been valued, cooperating churches for many years, and this decision was not made lightly," Wellman said in the statement. "However, we remain committed to upholding the theological convictions of the SBC and maintain unity among its cooperating churches."
In 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention added the ban on female pastors to its Faith and Message doctrine.
Saddleback was facing the possibility of being removed from the convention last year, but Warren fended off the effort during the organization's annual convention.
In an emotional speech at the June 2022 event, he spoke to attendants and urged members to stop "bickering over secondary issues."
We have to decide if we will treat each other as allies or adversaries, he said.
Warren is the author of "The Purpose-Driven Life" and an influential figure in the evangelical Christian community; he hosted then-presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama in 2008. Although Warren retired last year, he has said he would continue to be involved with Saddleback Church.
In his stead, he appointed Lead Pastor Andy Wood to head his congregation, which includes 14 campuses in California, and four others in Germany, Philippines, Argentina and China.
Wood's wife, Stacie Wood, also serves as pastor. The three women who were ordained in 2021 were Liz Puffer, Cynthia Petty and Katie Edwards, according to a church Facebook post at the time.
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Officials at Saddleback Church, and Andy Wood, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ouster.
Warren also did not respond to requests for comment, but in a Facebook post, he told followers that he and his wife were touched by your love! shortly after the decision was announced.
Well respond to the #SBC in OUR time & way thru direct channels, he wrote in the post, where he noted the churchs reach with newsletters, radio, supporting pastors and 11 million followers on social media.
The Southern Baptist Convention made the decision Tuesday during an Executive Committee meeting based on the recommendation made by the denomination's Credentials Committee, which reviews the practices and teachings of affiliated churches to see whether they align with those of the convention.
Saddleback was ousted along with four other churches across the country New Faith Mission Ministry in Georgia, St. Timothy's Christian Baptist in Maryland, Calvary Baptist Church in Mississippi, and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Kentucky for having a woman as pastor.
It also ousted a sixth church, Freedom Church in Vero, Fla., for "lack of intent to cooperate in resolving concerns regarding a sexual abuse allegation."
Saddleback's ouster quickly drew reaction from Dwight McKissic, a Southern Baptist pastor with often contrarian views.
Im burdened by the attempt to disfellowship Saddleback ... [I]ts not about Scripture, or adherence to BFM2K [Baptist Faith and Message 2000] that does not address womens ordination, or wmn [women] serving as associate pastors, McKissic, senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, said on Twitter. Its driven by power, male supremacy; and it stinks in the nostrils of God.
The Southern Baptist Convention has in the past cut ties with churches that ordain female pastors, as well as those that have been openly friendly with the LGBTQ community.
According to its bylaws, Saddleback Church can appeal the decision during the annual meeting in June.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has listed a new campaign treasurer after pressure from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to name an active worker to the role.
The FEC last week warned the first-term congressman that failure to name a treasurer would prevent his campaign and political committees from accepting or distributing funds, per federal law. A new FEC filing now lists one Andrew Olson to the role.
Santoss former campaign treasurer Nancy Marks, who worked on his 2020 and 2022 campaigns, resigned last month amid rising campaign finance scrutiny. The lawmaker himself decided to step down from his House committee assignments.
Subsequent paperwork then named Thomas Datwyler as Markss replacement, but Datwylers attorney told the FEC that he had not accepted the campaign treasurer position, prompting the FEC to issue the warning to Santos and his team.
The new filing gives an address for Olson in Elmhurst, N.Y., and an email address, to which The Hill has reached out.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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Saudi Arabia will deposit $1 billion in Yemens Aden-based central bank to help stabilize the local currency, a senior official at the bank told Bloomberg.
The official said the payment was part of support, announced by Saudi Arabia last year, to prop up the Yemeni rial and boost the war-ravaged countrys public finances.
The Saudi Finance Ministry declined to comment, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs didnt immediately respond to a request. Reuters reported the news earlier Wednesday, citing an unidentified Saudi source.
Houthis Escalate Yemen Tensions With Drone Attack on Port
A separate $1 billion deposit was made in November but authorities in Yemen were worried that a second payment would not be forthcoming after a UN-brokered truce expired in October. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab emirates had pledged $3 billion in aid for Yemen as part of the truce agreed in April.
Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemens war to support the countrys internationally-recognized government and to combat Irans growing influence in the neighboring state. Based in Aden, the government has been battling Iran-backed Houthi rebels since 2014, after they took control of the capital Sanaa, where a rival central bank operates.
The United Nations has described the effects of the war as one of the worlds worst humanitarian disasters and Saudi Arabia has come under criticism in the West for its involvement in a conflict which has killed nearly 400,000 and destroyed much of he nations economy and infrastructure.
The Houthis have blocked oil exports, depriving the government of critical revenues, and have carried out cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia for its intervention in the war. Nearly three quarters of the population of 33 million is dependent on humanitarian aid, which the Houthis have also restricted.
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--With assistance from Sam Dagher.
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The traitor was detained in Vinnytsia
The SBU said the suspected traitor selected candidates and recruited them. He offered each recruit a monetary reward of $2,000-4,000 for joining the Russian mercenary company and fighting against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Russian agent turned out to be a local criminal who had spent 15 years in prison for robbery and gang rape, the SBU said.
A Wagner representative contacted the suspected traitor because of his wide circle of connections in the criminal environment, including in Russia.
The detainee has been served with charge papers under Part 2 of Art. 111of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (treason committed under martial law). He is expected to be remanded in custody as a preventive measure.
Wagner mercenaries have been fighting in Ukraine since 2014 and have also been engaged in hostilities against the Ukrainian army since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion.
Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is close to dictator Vladimir Putin, admitted that he created Wagner Group in 2014 for the war against Ukraine.
According to UK intelligence, the Wagner Group has recruited some 50,000 mercenaries for the war against Ukraine.
U.S. national security spokesman John Kirby stated that of this number, 10,000 are contracted soldiers, and the rest are prisoners recruited from Russian prisons and colonies.
Read also: Wagners Prigozhin earned $250 million by plundering African and Middle Eastern countries, FT reports
He also added that Prigozhin spends more than $100 million a month to finance the operations of the Wagner Group in Ukraine.
There were also data that Russia was transferring Wagners mercenaries to Syria, Mali and the Central African Republic.
Wagner selects for recruitment inmates serving sentences for crimes such as murder, serious bodily harm, robbery, and larceny.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
As a little girl growing up in El Salvador, Aracely Valdes loved school and dreamed of becoming a teacher. Yet, when she enrolled in the Fort Worth, Texas, public schools at age 15, a new immigrant who spoke no English, the path to fulfilling her dream was far from clear.
Then, in her final year at Tarrant County College, Valdes saw a flier for a 12-month program called Tech Teach Across Texas that would let her earn a teaching degree while being paid to serve as a classroom trainee. The Texas Tech University program was designed to address the states growing demand for teachers and widespread dissatisfaction with instructors coming through alternative certification programs that provided little classroom experience.
Texas Techs program allows community college graduates like Valdes to earn both a bachelors degree and a teaching certificate by combining online courses with a year-long paid classroom residency working under an experienced mentor.
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Today, a year after completing the program with honors, Valdes is a dual-language third grade math and science teacher at T.A. Sims Elementary School in Fort Worth. As a bilingual educator of color, she is a much sought-after hire in Fort Worth and beyond.
A host of studies have found that when students of color have teachers of color, their attendance improves, disciplinary infractions decline, and academic achievement and college enrollment rise. For all students, having a diverse teaching force strengthens confidence in their own abilities and improves racial attitudes. Yet, while students of color comprise more than 50% of public school enrollment nationally a share expected to grow steadily in the years ahead nearly 80% of teachers are white. In many states, this lack of diversity means students frequently attend schools and districts that do not employ a single educator of color.
A new FutureEd study of teacher diversity identified a range of programs, like the Tech Teach residency, that offer promising strategies for making the profession more representative of the students in the nations schools.
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Setting measurable goals for recruiting, training and hiring candidates of color is a key first step. That includes publicizing goals and policymakers progress toward achieving them at the state, district and school levels. The federal government can contribute by requiring states to report on the racial and ethnic diversity of students who complete teacher-preparation programs.
Related: Why Diversity Matters: Five Things We Know About How Black Students Benefit From Having Black Teachers
Rather than waiting to begin recruiting teachers of color at the college level, some districts are encouraging middle and high schoolers to explore teaching careers. The Center for Black Educator Development, for example, partners with districts to create high school teacher academies that offer prospective educators a three-year curriculum centered on the Black experience. In Philadelphia, that means high school juniors and seniors can take college courses and graduate with an associate degree in education along with a diploma.
Theres also an opportunity to tap into local talent via Grow Your Own programs that provide pathways for paraprofessionals and other workers in the community to get the training and experience they need to become teachers. Californias Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing program, for example, has helped more than 2,000 teachers aides or paraprofessionals become teachers, nearly half of them Latino. Some programs take the form of teacher residences like the one Valdes participated in and apprenticeships, which are particularly promising for candidates of color, as they can receive extensive clinical preparation and earn a salary while they learn to teach.
The National Council on Teacher Quality has identified nearly 90 programs that are helping potential educators of color navigate a substantial barrier to the profession: state licensing exams. Candidates of color typically fail these tests at much higher rates than other teaching candidates. But at these programs, theres little or no racial disparity in first-time pass rates, thanks to the support they provide to help candidates fill gaps in their content knowledge. Massachusetts is piloting a program that lets candidates substitute another approved standardized test for the states general knowledge exam for aspiring teachers. It also permits candidates who come very close to the passing score on subject-specific tests to submit an essay to demonstrate content knowledge.
Related: Analysis: Study of 6 Grow Your Own Teacher Prep Programs Shows How They Can Improve the Diversity of the Workforce
Making a diverse teacher workforce an explicit priority in school district hiring also makes a difference. Highline Public Schools in Washington state, where more than half of the 18,700 students are Black and Latino, implemented an interview process designed to elicit candidates beliefs about teaching disenfranchised students and to identify implicit bias. Together with other steps, the strategy tripled Highlines new hires of color from 12% in 2014-15 to 36% in 2022-23.
But its not enough to hire more teachers of color if they dont stay, and many dont. Attrition is significantly higher among Black teachers than whites and slightly higher among Latino teachers than whites. Leadership opportunities and clear career pathways for teachers of color can help address the problem. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has launched a fellowship program, Influence 100, to increase the percentage of superintendents of color over a decade. Another strategy is to connect teachers of color with peers, both locally and nationally, through paid, mentorship and professional learning opportunities. Highline Public Schools, for example, has created eight teacher affinity groups dedicated to racial equity and pays teachers to participate in them.
A comprehensive approach to increasing the percentage of teachers of color in the nations schools, pursuing diversity throughout the teacher pipeline, yields the strongest results. That requires a wide-ranging commitment among educators and education leaders. Institutions of color and people of color are [often] burdened with solving the problem, one they didnt create, Anthony Graham, provost of Winston-Salem State University, said in an interview. Addressing teacher diversity, he said, needs to be our problem collectively.
TECHNOLOGY IT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CHATGPT
Illustration picture shows the ChatGPT artificial intelligence software, which generates human-like conversation, on Feb. 3, 2023. Credit - Nicolas MaeterlinckBELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images
A surge in AI-generated spam pitches has forced a prestigious publisher of science fiction short stories to close its submissions, with some joking about the inherent irony given the genre has long covered the perils of machine learning.
Neil Clarke, the editor-in-chief of Clarkesworldan American online Sci-Fi magazine that usually welcomes stories from new writersshared a blog post addressing an increase in spammy submissions. While the pitches are genuine, Clarke said the work is not authentic; they are coming from people looking to cash an easy paycheck.
We had been tracking the problem on a daily basis and were well aware of how quickly the situation was escalating, Clarke tells TIME. By the time we closed submissions, we had received 700 legitimate and 500 machine-written submissions in February.
Sci-Fi publications have reportedly received the brunt of the deluge in AI-generated submissions, according to TechCrunch. The industry tends to offer higher rates to writers because publishers are required to pay a minimum $0.08 per word, according to the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, regulations that dont apply to other genres.
The number of rejections Clarkesworld has issued has surged since the release of AI language models like ChatGPT in December. These submissions are not coming from within the Sci-Fi community, Clarke says, but rather opportunists encouraged by online tutorials on how to use ChatGPT for profit.
Towards the end of 2022, there was another spike in plagiarism and then AI chatbots started gaining some attention, putting a new tool in their arsenal and encouraging more to give this side hustle a try, Clarke wrote in his blog post. It quickly got out of hand.
Created by San Francisco-based firm OpenAI, ChatGPT is an AI-based text generator that quickly became popular after its release. In January, ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly users who can ask the generator simple questions or to complete lengthier writing projects such as essays and articles. Generative AI may have captured the minds and wallets of Silicon Valley, but its outputs often contain factual errors and bigotry.
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Read More: The AI Arms Race Is Changing Everything
OpenAI is trying to mitigate the risk of its own product by watermarking generated work so it is easier to identify. It works by tweaking word choices that ChatGPT selects so they are subtle to the user but predictable to those looking for signs of AI generation.
We want it to be much harder to take a GPT output and pass it off as if it came from a human, said OpenAI guest researcher Scott Aaronson during a lecture at The University of Texas at Austin. This could be helpful for preventing academic plagiarism, obviously, but also, for example, mass generation of propaganda, Aaronson said.
But in the meantime, Clarke said this will require staff to review submissionsan expense few in the short fiction industry can afford. Ive reached out to several editors and the situation Im experiencing is by no means unique, he wrote.
Clarke says his biggest concern is how this will impact new writers who can be buried under the noise of machine-generated submissions.
Many of the solutions that people have suggested would also disproportionately impact new or foreign authors producing legitimate work. These are not communities we should be leaving behind for the sake of convenience, he adds.
Some companies are embracing AI-generated books. More than 200 e-books listed in Amazons Kindle store had ChatGPT as an author or co-author as of mid-February, Reuters reported. That includes a book titled How to Write and Create Content Using ChatGPT.
Clarke says AI-generated stories will remain banned at Clarkesworld until the legal and ethical concerns with technology and copyright ownership are cleared up.
Concession opportunities at Indiana Dunes National Park
Indiana Dunes National Park is looking for service providers for two competitive Commercial Use Authorizations (CUA) to provide concession services for calendar years 2023 and 2024. The park is seeking applications from interested parties to compete for food and beverage and retail sales CUAs at the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk and/or West Beach concession stands, both in Portage. Separate applications must be submitted for each location. A site visit is scheduled for both concession stands on Thursday. Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk will be open from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. followed by the West Beach bath house from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. There is a $250 nonrefundable processing fee. The CUA will be valid from April 1, 2023 through Dec. 31, 2024. All approved service providers will be listed on the national parks website as an authorized vendor. Applications can be obtained at: https://www.nps.gov/indu/getinvolved/commercial_use_authorization.htm. Applications will be accepted from Feb. 10 through March 8. Application packages must be received no later than March 8 to be considered. Send competitive CUA applications to: National Park Service, Interior Regions 3,4, 5 Office, Atten: Kelly Kager, Commercial Services Management Specialist, 601 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE 68102. Submit questions in writing to Kager at the above address. Questions must be submitted before close of business on Feb. 28. More information about the CUA program can be found at: https://www.nps.gov/indu/getinvolved/commercial_use_authorization.htm.
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Foundation to offer First Responder Post Traumatic Purpose Course
The MAAC Foundation will host Travis Howze who will lead his First Responder Post Traumatic Purpose Course from 8 a.m. to Noon on Thursday at the MAAC Training Campus, 4203 Montdale Park Drive, Valparaiso. Howze is an international touring speaker, author, and motivational wellness educator who spent 14 years in the military and emergency services as a U.S. Marine, Police Officer and Firefighter. Mr. Howze will give a realistic view of the mental health epidemic that plagues first responders and their families. Spouses are encouraged to attend. To register visit maacfoundation.org. For more information, call at 219-510-9111.
Chesterton High School presents The NeverEnding story
Chesterton High School Family Theatre will present The NeverEnding Story at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday in the school auditorium, 2125 S. 11th St., Chesterton. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for students and seniors, and can be purchased at the door or online at our.show/neverendingstory.
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Saturday morning art class at MBACD
Miller Beach Arts and Creative District will host a Gelli Plate Monotype Printing art class from 10 a.m. to Noon Saturday at the Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts, 540 S. Lake St., Gary. The cost is $20. Drop-ins are welcome. Supplies will be provided. Children younger than 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Register in advance at https://millerbeacharts.networkforgood.com/events/52750-gelli-plate-monotype-printing-class-2?utm_campaign=dms_email_blast_2397292.
Free Family Art Day at CAC
Chesterton Art Center (CAC) will host a free Family Art Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Chesterton Art Center, 115 S. Fourth St., Chesterton. Families are invited to participate anytime during those hours to tour the current exhibition and create art together. All ages are welcome. With guidance from the CAC team, families will explore the Sense of Place exhibit that celebrates work from the Indiana Dunes National Park Artist-in-Residence program. Visitors can then move into the classroom to create dunes-inspired artwork including collage birds, mixed media beach scenes, and plant study accordion books. All supplies will be provided. While Family Art Day is free, registration is required at https://www.chestertonart.org/youth-and-teen-classes/p/family-art-day, or call 219-926-4711.
Healthcare System to host presentation on heart-saving treatments
Community Healthcare System will host Exploring Advanced Care with Heart-Saving Treatments from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 28 at Community Stroke and Rehabilitation Center, 10215 Broadway, Crown Point. Community Healthcare System cardiologists will discuss treatment methods and ways to reduce risk of heart failure and stroke. Samer Abbas, MD, medical director of cardiovascular services at Community Hospital and the Structural Heart Program of Community Healthcare System, will present information about transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR at 1:30 p.m. Interventional Cardiologist Kais Yehyawi, MD, will discuss atrial fibrillation, blood thinners and the WatchmanFLXTM procedure at 2 p.m. To register for the free presentation, call 219-836-3477. For more information about cardiovascular services at Community Healthcare System, visit COMHS.org/heart.
A fully-involved shed fire spread to a nearby house, costing the owners tens of thousands of dollars in damages Tuesday afternoon.
>> TRENDING: Police searching for suspect after Huber Heights bank robbery
Sidney firefighters were dispatched to the 3200 block of Knoop-Johnston Road at 2:20 p.m. on reports of a structure fire, a spokesperson for the department stated. Firefighters from Lockington, Port Jefferson, and Anna assisted the Sidney Fire Department with the first-alarm call.
Upon arrival, firefighters at the scene reported the fully engulfed shed fire spread into the house.
Crews completed an aggressive exterior attack, along with an interior attack, and search of the house, the spokesperson said. Crews confirmed all occupants of the house had safely evacuated.
The alarm was then upgraded to a second-alarm with firefighters from Kettlersville-Van Buren Township, Houston, and Fletcher responding, the spokesperson said.
Pioneer Electric disabled the electric to the home to prevent a larger hazard.
Deputies with the Shelby County Sheriffs Office also assisted with communications, traffic, and the water fill site.
There were no reported injuries during the fire. Damage is estimated at $30,000.
Sidney Fire is leading the investigation into the cause of the fire. It is currently not known what caused the fire.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) outlined an optimistic vision for the U.S. and the Republican party in a speech on Wednesday in Iowa as he continues to weigh a 2024 White House bid with trips through early primary and caucus states.
Scott, while speaking at Drake University, delivered an encouraging speech a step back from the gloomy and distressed messaging other Republicans have focused on, centered on the Biden administration, early in the campaign.
I see 330 million Americans getting back to celebrating our shared blessings again, tolerating our differences again, and having each others backs again, Scott said, according to the remarks. This is what I see. A new American sunrise. Even brighter than before.
We know people will say that our message is naive. That our faith is foolish, he continued. But they dont know who theyre talking to.
While the South Carolina senator has yet to officially declare a run for the race, former President Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have both launched their White House campaigns. The two have largely stuck to a message of attacking President Biden and Democrats for policies they said are harming the country and Scott too mentioned his concerns with Biden.
Let me be clear: These painful parts of Americas past are not Joe Bidens to dredge up and exploit every time he is losing an argument, Scott said, referring to comments made by the president that labeled a GOP voting law in Georgia as Jim Crow 2.0. I understand that President Biden likes to live in the past. I get it. Hes been in Washington for fifty years.
But we need new leaders who will lift us up, not tear us down, he added.
Scott, who is the only Black Republican in the Senate, said he is living proof that the Founding Fathers are geniuses who should be celebrated, not canceled.
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Were a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression, the senator quipped. This is just my American story. Each of you and your families have your own.
Scott, who is also expected to speak in the states most populous county at the Republican Party of Polk County Iowas annual Lincoln Dinner on Wednesday evening. He is visiting early primary and nominating states as part of his Faith in America Tour to tout his Opportunity Agenda.
Will you join me as a messenger of hope, a missionary for the power of our ideas? he said in his remarks.
I know you conclude a speech with God Bless America. But we should know God has already blessed us, Scott said. So let us be a blessing.
Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence who has also floated a bid for the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential race have also made appearances in Iowa in the past week.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Seth Rogen is revising his stance on teen-centric movies of the past 16 years.
Earlier this month, the Pineapple Express and Knocked Up star drew online backlash after making a few eyebrow-raising comments on 2007s Superbad. Directed by Greg Mottola, the comedy starred Michael Cera and Jonah Hill as teenage buddies who make a pact to lose their virginity before graduation.
Rogen, who has a supporting role in Superbad and wrote the screenplay with Evan Goldberg, said hed observed a recent resurgence of interest in the movie. He also pointed to his Fabelmans co-star Gabriel LaBelle as an example of one of the films younger fans.
Whats crazy is that Gabe LaBelle is like, 19 years old and his and his friends favorite movie is Superbad, Rogen told People. So it never changed for some reason. No ones made a good high school movie since then.
Not surprisingly, many on social media were quick to point out that there had, in fact, been plenty of well-received films about teenagers since Superbad was released.
Among those to receive significant praise were 2010s Easy A, which put a 21st-century spin on The Scarlet Letter, and 2019s Booksmart, starring Hills sister, Beanie Feldstein.
This 2 minute clip of Gigi from Booksmart is more iconic than the entirety of Superbad pic.twitter.com/iDgzc9ezEJhttps://t.co/2pccUb8z2H Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) February 2, 2023
I mean... Project X, The Duff, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Easy A, and Edge of Seventeen are all vastly superior to Superbad but go off I guess https://t.co/kCBYsMtKlN Mikey Protestant (@killmikeymdc) February 2, 2023
By last week, however, Rogen was ready to backpedal a bit, telling People that his comments on high school movies werent intended to be taken literally.
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That was a joke. Theres a lot. Ive personally made a few, he said, alluding to 2018s Blockers and 2019s Good Boys, two films he produced. Obviously there have been many.
According to the publication, Rogen and his wife, Lauren Miller Rogen, went on to list Easy A and 2017s Lady Bird which, incidentally, also starred Feldstein as among their favorites in the high school genre.
Seth Rogen (left) and producer Judd Apatow at the 2007 premiere of
Seth Rogen (left) and producer Judd Apatow at the 2007 premiere of "Superbad."
Currently, Rogen and Goldberg are co-producers on another film about adolescents Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, due for release this summer. Speaking to The A.V. Club last fall, he described the animated reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise as a deeply personal project.
Its a teenage movie, were putting a lot of our own feelingsof awkwardness and insecurity and a desire to belong and be accepted and all thatinto the movie, he said at the time. And as I sit around with the other people working on it, Im like, We found a way to care about this, which is great.
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San Francisco police have closed their investigation into a Stanislaus County teenager found dead in a downtown alley a year ago, accrding to The San Francisco Chronicle.
Key details on how Victorria Moran Hidalgo died at 16 remain unknown, the Chronicle reported Feb. 17. An autopsy revealed fentanyl and other drugs in her system but could not determine her exact manner of death.
A nearby resident found Victorrias body at about 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 18, 2022, on Minna Street near Eighth Street. That part of the South of Market district is known for open-air drug activity.
Victorrias death was cited by local officials and other people horrified at overdose deaths in San Francisco and beyond. Art teacher Aik Brown told the Chronicle this month about the mural he painted in her memory on the same block.
That young girls death shook all of us up here, and I wanted to honor her life, said Brown, who had not known her.
Family members told the Chronicle a year ago that Victorria had a difficult childhood and was in and out of foster care. In September 2021, the Stanislaus County Sheriffs Department got a report that she was missing in Kern County. She later turned up.
The Chronicle followed up with an April 2022 story based on an autopsy report obtained via a public records request to the city Medical Examiners Office. It said the substances found in Victorrias blood included alcohol, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.
The report noted that witnesses came upon the Minna Street scene during the course of a potential sexual assault. They said the man who was with Victorria fled.
Police told the Chronicle this month that they could find nothing to support a criminal homicide charge against any individual.
The state last week released its latest data on overdose deaths to the painkillers known as opioids for 2021. San Francisco led all counties with 435 of the 7,175 cases statewide, the California Department of Public Health said. Stanislaus County lost 108 people.
Relatives Of Missing Schoolgirls Give Interview To Scotland Yard
Renu Begum, eldest sister of Shamima Begum, holds her sister's photo as she is interviewed by the media at New Scotland Yard, as the relatives of three missing schoolgirls believed to have fled to Syria to join Islamic State have pleaded for them to return home, on Feb. 22, 2015 in London, England. Credit - Laura LeanWPA Pool/Getty Images
Shamima Begum, who made international headlines as an ISIS bride in 2019 after pleading with the U.K. government to allow her to return to give birth to her son, lost her appeal Wednesday against a decision made three years ago by the U.K.s Home Office to revoke her British nationality.
Begum, who was born in London and is of Bangladeshi origin, traveled to Syria aged 15 to join Islamic State, where she married an IS fighter and had three children, all of whom have since died. She resurfaced at the al-Roj refugee camp in northeast Syria in 2019.
Begums lawyers say the decision will leave her de-facto stateless and that she is a victim of child trafficking.
The decision could potentially become a landmark ruling, Harjap Singh Bhangal, a prominent U.K. lawyer and immigration law expert, tells TIME. In effect, millions of British citizens whose parents have migrated from abroad before them are eligible to have their citizenship stripped if the government sees them as a national threat, he says.
Below, what to know about the hugely controversial Begum case.
What did the Special Immigration Appeals Commission rule?
Last November, Begums lawyers argued in an appeal hearing that she and two school friends had been subjected to grooming and manipulation to join Islamic Stateand that, in effect, she was a victim of child trafficking.
In its Wednesday ruling, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) said it had found there was a credible suspicion that she was a victim of trafficking to Syria. The motive of bringing her to Syria was sexual exploitation for which, as a child, she could not give valid consent, said the presiding judge Robert Jay. He added that various state bodies in the U.K. had breached their duties in permitting Begum to leave the country as she did, which allowed her to eventually cross the border from Turkey to Syria.
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Nevertheless, the Commission rejected Begums appeal on the grounds that it had no power to trump the Home Secretarys decision, even if the case was found to be in her favor. It added that several British women remain detained in refugee camps in Syria despite having British citizenship.
Reasonable people will differ as to the threat she posed in February 2019 to the national security of the United Kingdom, and as to how that threat should be balanced against all countervailing considerations, said Jay. However, under our constitutional settlement, these sensitive issues are for the Secretary of State to evaluate and not for the commission.
More from TIME
What does SIACs ruling mean for Shamima Begum?
Bhangal tells TIME that the ruling effectively means that the courts think Begums exclusion from the U.K. is justified and that her chances of returning seem bleak.
However, human rights lawyer Shoaib M Khan added there are further rights of appeal available to Begum and that her lawyers have said they will take the case further. One hopes that a more superior court will find it within its powers to actually review the decision and rule on whether it was correct and humane, Khan tells TIME.
He adds, to attempt to disown a British person as soon as they commit a crime, however heinous, is morally and legally wrong. Other countries have taken their people back from the war zones, and the U.K. should do the same. We need to take responsibility for our people and their actions.
Are there wider implications for the SIACs ruling?
Critics of the Home Offices decision to strip Begum of British nationality say it creates a dangerous precedent by creating different tiers of citizenship.
This ruling could make many people second class citizens. For example a British offender with parents born in the U.K. will be sentenced and tried in the U.K. for their crimes, but will still remain a British citizen but a British offender whose parents were born abroad can now be excluded from the U.K. and lose their citizenship, Bhangal says.
Its a position that runs counter to other Western governments. In 2015, Canadas then-opposition leader Justin Trudeau said that a Canadian is a Canadian amid news that the Conservative government had stripped citizenship from a convicted terrorist.
The SIACs ruling could also set a dangerous precedent for victims of child trafficking, a human rights lawyer representing Begum said. No British child who is being trafficked outside the UK will be protected by the British state if the home secretary invokes national security, said Gareth Peirce.
Does Shamima Begum have dual citizenship?
Begum does not hold any other nationality. Begums father resides in Bangladesh and her mother is believed to be a Bangladeshi national, and the U.K. government has argued that under Bangladeshi law, this means Begum is automatically a citizen of the country as well. However, Begum previously told the BBC that she only had one citizenship. I wasnt born in Bangladesh, Ive never seen Bangladesh and I dont even speak Bengali properly, so how can they claim I have Bangladeshi citizenship, she said.
Bangladeshs Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Begum is not a Bangladeshi citizen, that she had never applied for dual nationality with Bangladesh, and that she had never visited the country. In a statement in 2019, it said that it was deeply concerned that Begum had been erroneously identified as a Bangladeshi national.
It added that there was no question of her being allowed into the country given the country had a zero tolerance approach to terrorism and violent extremism.
What about Jihadi Jack?
Jack Letts, nicknamed Jihadi Jack in the media, is another British teenager who left the U.K. to join Islamic State. He was 18 years old when he traveled to Syria in 2014 to become an IS fighter after converting to Islam. Letts, who held dual British-Canadian citizenship, was captured and jailed by Kurdish YPG forces in Syria while he was trying to flee to Turkey in 2017.
Letts, who was born in Oxford, had pleaded with the U.K. government to allow him to return to his country of birth, pledging he had no intention of harming anyone. But in 2019, the U.K.s Home Office stripped Letts of his British citizenship, rendering him the responsibility of the Canadian government, which accused the U.K. of off-loading its responsibilities.
In January, it was announced that Letts would be repatriated to Canada along with 23 other Canadian citizens following a court ruling. The conditions of the men are even more dire than those of the women and children who Canada has just agreed to repatriate, the ruling stated.
China's sci-fi industry experienced steady growth in 2021, with total revenue reaching 82.96 billion yuan ($12 billion), a 50.5% year-on-year increase, according to the 2022 report released at the 2023 annual conference of the China Science Fiction Research Center on Feb. 18.
Sci-fi experts gather at the 2023 annual China Science Fiction Research Center conference in Beijing, Feb. 18, 2023. [Photo courtesy of China Science Fiction Research Center]
The report analyzes the development of the industry in four major areas: reading, film and television, games, and merchandise. It was compiled by the China Science Fiction Research Center, a Beijing-based sci-fi think tank established in 2020, and the Research Center for Science and Human Imagination at the Southern University of Science and Technology.
The sci-fi publishing industry generated overall revenue of 2.7 billion yuan, up 15.4% year on year, while digital reading revenue rose to 1.01 billion yuan, up 34.7% year on year.
Meanwhile, the sci-fi film and television industry saw total revenue of 7.19 billion yuan, up 171.4% year on year, and the sci-fi game industry saw revenue of 67 billion yuan, up 39.6% year on year. The most impressive growth, however, was in the sci-fi derivative products industry, which achieved total revenue of 6.07 billion yuan, up 186.3% year on year.
"The level of accumulation, development, and transformation of original Chinese sci-fi intellectual properties continues to improve, and the market share keeps increasing," remarked Wu Yan, a sci-fi writer, scholar, professor, and director of the Research Center for Science and Human Imagination at the Southern University of Science and Technology. Wu led the team responsible for compiling the report.
He pointed out that original domestic sci-fi merchandise manufacturing and sales revenue reached 2.55 billion yuan, up 20.2% year on year.
The report also highlights the growing interest in science fiction-based cultural tourism projects as the industry undergoes structural changes and adjustments. It suggests that the performance of the sci-fi tourism industry is an area worth monitoring.
"Nowadays, sci-fi-related policies and awards have been successively launched and implemented, various film and television works and videos have been released, and the wave of the Metaverse continues to generate heat, all of which are bringing opportunities and confidence for the development of China's sci-fi industry," Wu said.
"The current sci-fi literary ecosystem in China has never been better," he observed, with the Chinese Nebula Awards, co-founded by Wu, being one sign of that growth. The industry has been buoyed by government support, increased public interest, and intellectual contributions.
Wu emphasized that the development of science fiction literature relies on three crucial factors: the government, intellectual elites, and readers.
"In China's sci-fi development, these three factors are working in concert, and everyone believes that sci-fi is a very important literary branch now," Wu said. "Scientists, writers, journalists, students, entrepreneurs and others from various industries are writing sci-fi, and the number of people doing so is constantly increasing, indicating a thriving scene. In foreign sci-fi, content related to China is also increasing."
Wu also co-edited the annual China Science Fiction Development Yearbook, which was also released at the conference. According to the yearbook, China had approximately 132 sci-fi works translated and published abroad for the first time or re-released in 2021. This indicates an increasing number of foreign publishers helping to promote Chinese sci-fi.
The China Science Fiction Development Yearbook 2022. [Image courtesy of China Science and Technology Press]
Despite the positive developments in China's science fiction industry, experts have raised concerns about its overreliance on a few authors and lack of diversity in its offerings. Wu worries that despite the apparent excitement around Chinese sci-fi, the only author with a significant impact beyond China's borders is Liu Cixin. He emphasizes the need for more sci-fi writers in China, urging people to explore, discover, and support a broader range of science fiction.
Wu is very optimistic about China's sci-fi industry prospects in 2023. "At the beginning of this year, we had the 'Three-Body' TV series, the epic film 'The Wandering Earth 2,' and the import of 'Avatar: The Way of Water,' which all had phenomenal success in China, accompanied by their merchandise. Later this year, the Chinese sci-fi world will see more development, including the upcoming 81st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Chengdu in October. This will certainly boost and improve the Chinese sci-fi industry."
The research center also unveiled its list of young scholars and talents at the conference. The list includes 50 young sci-fi scholars from China and abroad, comprising young university teachers and postgraduate students. The initiative encourages and guides young people to study the interaction between sci-fi and technology, the economy, society, and cultural development.
At the conference, expert representatives such as Yao Haijun, deputy editor-in-chief of Science Fiction World magazine, Wang Yuping, former deputy director general of the China Research Institute for Science Popularization, Fei Jun, a professor at the School of Design of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Yang Feng, founder and CEO of Chinese sci-fi brand Eight Light Minutes Culture, discussed and exchanged ideas on various topics. These included preparations for Chengdu Worldcon 2023, the intersection of ChatGPT and science fiction, mixed-genre narratives, and the first volume of the new book series titled "Chinese Science Fiction: An Oral History."
Floridas Flagler County Sheriffs Office was busy over the weekend, thanks to the Daytona 500 on Sunday and long Presidents Day weekend into Monday.
The 500-mile-long NASCAR Cup Series race held annually at Daytona International Speedway attracted thousands of people to the area, along with some troublemakers, the agency said.
Deputies in Flagler, about 25 miles north, made 19 arrests between 6 a.m. Friday and 6 a.m. on Monday; 1,009 calls for service came in and 202 traffic stops were initiated.
While many visitors were in the area for the Daytona 500 this past weekend some decided to visit the Green Roof Inn, posted Sheriff Rick Staly, referencing the nickname for his jail. and including a few notable calls.
One incident involved a 49-year-old St. Augustine woman who was initially pulled over for a seat-belt violation.
READ MORE: Florida driver crashes into gas pump, keeps going
According to a police report, at around 10 p.m. Sunday, a deputy stopped a woman on North Ocean Shore Boulevard in Palm Coast for not buckling up. The driver of the white Dodge Caravan did not initially stop after the FCSOs patrol cars emergency lights were turned on behind her, according to the arrest affidavit.
The car took an abnormal amount of time to pull over, passing multiple safe and clear areas along the unpaved shoulder, wrote the arresting deputy in the report. This is unusual, as I have conducted many traffic stops throughout my law enforcement career, most of which the operator pulls over immediately after engaging my emergency lights.
The woman told the deputy she could not provide proof of insurance, but that her male passenger would retrieve the information by calling the owner and asking where it was in the vehicle.
While the passenger spoke with the car owner on the phone, the deputy asked the driver if she had drugs on her, and she said no, according to the report. The driver then stepped out of the Dodge, allowing the deputy to look in her purse.
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Inside was a small vial of a brown, syrup-like substance consistent with hashish oil, said the post.
READ MORE: A Florida driver was doing donuts, then came a cop car
A blue pouch, bearing the letter J, was found tucked into her leggings by the appendix area. In the bag was an orange pill bottle containing several other narcotics.
The suspect was placed under arrest on charges of possession of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, hashish, and drug paraphernalia.
She is being held with no bond.
LONDON (Reuters) - Global shipping companies are exploring ways to boost safety in transporting cargoes as risks grow from fires erupting inside containers or in cars at sea, officials said on Wednesday.
Shipping transports around 90% of world trade onboard different vessels including container and Ro-Ro ships with trade routes getting busier.
In a new initiative, leading carriers Evergreen Line of Taiwan, South Korea's HMM, Denmark's Maersk, Germany's Offen Group, Singapore's ONE (Ocean Network Express), Hong Kong's Seaspan as well as British ship certifier Lloyd's Register said they are looking into feasibility studies to understand how cargo is loaded and also monitored at sea, as well as finding solutions to detect fire onboard ships and speed up ways to stop it spreading.
"The priority for the first challenge area is to provide earliest indication of a fire incident, thus allowing the appropriate onboard responses to prevent the occurrence of large fires and loss," Rich McLoughlin, programme director for the cargo fire and loss innovation initiative, told Reuters.
"The initiative seeks to provide proof-points that emerging tech may be used to improve response times over the existing regulatory requirements, leading to enhanced vessel safety."
In its 2022 safety and shipping review, analysis by major insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty showed there had been over 70 reported fires on board container ships alone in the past five years, with growing risks faced by car carriers transporting electric vehicles using batteries.
"The main root cause for cargo fires on container ships is the integrity of dangerous goods throughout the supply chain. Therefore it is a problem that can only be improved through industry wide solutions," Maersk's Aslak Ross said separately in a statement.
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Mark Potter)
The Ukrainian resistance movement has stated that the humanitarian crisis is intensifying on the Crimean peninsula temporarily occupied by the Russians.
Source: National Resistance Center created by the Special Operations Forces
Details: There is a growing shortage of medicines for civilians in Crimea due to the reorientation of the medical system of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to the needs of the Russian military. The priority of the use of medicine is shifted to the needs of the occupiers. In particular, the majority of these medications goes to the treatment of Russian military personnel.
The humanitarian crisis on the peninsula is intensifying because the medical system is generally being reoriented to serve the occupiers in addition to medicine. Civilian medical facilities are being repurposed into military hospitals, as in other temporarily occupied territories.
According to information from the Crimean resistance movement, Moscow has previously promised Sergei Aksyonov, the so-called "leader" of the peninsula, that there would be no such problems in Crimea as in other regions. Instead, the government of the Russian Federation has now responded to Aksyonov according to propaganda techniques: "everything for victory, everything for the army," the National Resistance Center notes.
The National Resistance Center calls on the residents of the temporarily occupied territories to leave the temporarily occupied territories and go to the territories under the control of the Ukrainian government, if possible.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
File image: Known for her controversial conspiracy theories and support for Q-Anon, Greene is now rising through the ranks in GOP (EPA)
The White House has strongly condemned Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greenes call for a national divorce that separates red states and blue states as sick, divisive, and alarming.
White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson called for Republicans to clarify whether they agreed with the controversial Georgia representative, according to a US media report.
Congresswoman Greenes comments are sick, divisive, and alarming to hear from a member of the House Oversight and Homeland Security Committees, Ms Patternson told The Daily Beast in a statement.
Congressional Republicans have an obligation to say clearly whether they agree with Congresswoman Ms Greenes calls to dissolve the union or condemn her vile push to further divide our nation, Ms Patterson said.
She said the president ran for office to restore the soul of the nation, not to let Republicans in Congress rip our country apart at the seams.
The White House has not issued a public statement yet, but Ms Greenes comments calling for a national divorce that came during Joe Bidens visit to Ukraine generated a storm, with some interpreting the statement as a call for a second Civil War.
We need a national divorce, the Republican legislator tweeted on Monday. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government.
Everyone I talk to says this, she claimed.
From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrats (sic) traitorous America Last policies, we are done.
We need a national divorce.
We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government.
Everyone I talk to says this.
From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrats traitorous America Last policies, we are https://t.co/Azn8YF1UUy Marjorie Taylor Greene (@mtgreenee) February 20, 2023
The comments have been widely criticised, including by fellow Republicans and conservatives, with Utah governor Spencer Cox calling her rhetoric destructive and wrong and honestly evil.
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Interestingly, Georgia, Ms Greenes home state, voted for Mr Biden in 2020, technically making it a blue state.
Ms Greene responded to the backlash by stating in a tweet thread that she was calling for not a civil war but a legal agreement to separate our ideological and political disagreements by states while maintaining our legal union.
Known for her controversial conspiracy theories and support for Q-Anon and 6 January rioters, Ms Greene, an ally of Donald Trump, has emerged as an influential figure in the GOP in recent months and is rising through the ranks with positions in the homeland security committee and on the oversight committee.
Sione Tuipulotu is relishing Sundays Paris showdown (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)
Sione Tuipulotu has called on buoyant Scotland to treat this weekends showdown with France like a cup final as he prepares for one of the biggest games of his career.
The Scots head to Paris top of the Guinness Six Nations table after starting with bonus-point wins away to England and at home to Wales.
Victory at Stade de France on Sunday would leave them in prime position to go for a first Grand Slam since the 1990 Five Nations, with back-to-back home games against Ireland and Italy to come in March.
Tuipulotu explained that there is a blend of optimism and steely focus as Gregor Townsends side gear up for their high-stakes trip to the French capital.
We havent started like this before so there is an extra buzz around that and everyones a little happier around camp, said the Glasgow centre. But theres also an intensity about the group now because we know what an opportunity we have.
We take it game by game but if we go to Paris and win we set ourselves up for another big week. Right now, this is our Grand Final and thats what weve got to treat it like. If we win this game we put ourselves in a good position.
Australia-born Tuipulotu, who has a Scottish grandmother, only made his international debut 16 months ago and the 26-year-old is humbled by the magnitude of matches he has been involved in during that time. This Sundays is arguably the biggest yet.
I feel like for the last year I've been in this thing where every couple of months it's the biggest game of my career
Sione Tuipulotu
I feel like for the last year Ive been in this thing where every couple of months its the biggest game of my career, he said. We had the All Blacks come to Murrayfield (in November) and for me growing up in Australia and with the All Blacks having that aura about them, I suppose that was the biggest game of my career at that point.
Then you go into the first game of the Six Nations and you play England at Twickenham and you ask yourself is that the biggest game of my career?
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Id never played at Twickenham before this tournament and now Im going to Paris and Ive never played there either. Its going to be a crazy experience for me.
From where I was three years ago to where I am now, getting the opportunity to play in these big games, I am truly grateful. Its a massive opportunity and I want to take it with both hands and represent the country well.
Despite their strong start in the tournament and the fact they won in Paris behind closed doors on their last visit in 2021, Tuipulotu admits Scotland are still the underdogs.
There is a belief in the team that we can go and do that again, he said, referring to the win two years ago. I wasnt involved in that game but we address this as a new challenge because that was played behind closed doors and theres going to be a packed house of passionate French supporters.
Theyll have changes to their team, well have changes to our team compared to that game so its a new challenge. Its not going to be the same game as last time.
France are the Grand Slam reigning champions so we know were not going there as favourites but thats part of the beauty of it because Scotland are pretty comfortable going places as underdogs. Thats been a part of our identity. We knocked off England at Twickenham and this is another challenge weve got to throw our best punches at.
McAlpine met her husband at university and also started her love affair with cooking (Skye McAlpine)
Skye McAlpine was studying classics at Oxford University when she started getting serious about cooking.
My parents cooked a lot, so I always felt comfortable in the kitchen, but it was that transition from being asked to peel a potato or chop something, to the whole production of creating a meal, says the food writer.
I was always planning supper who I was going to have over, or what I was going to cook when I probably should have been more focused on my studies.
Born in London, she moved to Venice with her parents (her father is the late businessman and politician Lord McAlpine) when she was six, enrolling in a local school and picking up Italian within a year.
Fast forward to Freshers Week at Oxford. After a chance encounter in the college bar, the then-18-year-old began dating the man who would become her husband, Anthony Santospirito and that wasnt her only burgeoning passion at the time.
Thats when my love affair with cookbooks really started, says McAlpine, who now splits her time between Italy and the UK. I bought a couple to learn to cook, and just loved reading them. Then I started collecting them, and spent a lot of time cooking.
Completing undergraduate and masters degrees in classics, she was partway through a PhD, focusing on English translations of 17th and 18th-century Latin love poetry, when she became pregnant. And it was while on maternity leave that McAlpine started a food blog.
By the time Id completed my PhD a year-and-a-half later, the blog had gained momentum, and Id been commissioned to write some freelance pieces. I also had my first cookbook commissioned.
Now the proud author of three titles, the 38-year-old hatched the idea for her latest book, A Table Full Of Love, during lockdown in 2020.
I spent a lot of time thinking about why we cook, and wondering what makes it feel like a worthwhile investment of time, when time is such a precious commodity.
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We cook for people I do anyway and thats why it matters. You make a plate of pasta, then you sit down and eat it its the rituals around it.
Inspired by her academic work, she originally wanted to title the chapters using Greek or Roman words for the different types of love, such as eros (romantic love) or philia (familial love). However, she had to rethink that approach: When I was tackling mania, which is intense stalker-type love, it felt quite forced. So, I thought, I cant do that.
Instead, she settled on five themes to illustrate why we cook: comfort, seduce, nourish, spoil and cocoon.
The first chapter is about friendship, she explains, which is where youll find recipes for gooey macaroni cheese, warming chicken soup, and her mums saffron and lemon risotto.
Its this idea of cooking to lift someones spirits, whether thats because theyve had a tragedy, or theyre having a rough day, or you just want to show them you care.
In the seduce section, McAlpine shares the recipe for Anthonys Special Pancakes, made by her husband in the early days of their courtship.
Some couples have songs, but we have recipes or dishes, she says.
I remember being blown away by how delicious Anthonys pancakes were.
The couples sons Aeneas, 10, and Achille, three are pictured in the nourish chapter, helping mum make polpette ricotta balls. And the spoil theme is all about the joy of edible gifts for both the recipient and the giver.
When theres nothing you can do to help someone, you can make a phone call, you can bake a tray of brownies, or you can make them a cup of tea, McAlpine says.
Being able to do something that visibly makes someone you care about happy is a precious thing.
The final chapter, cocoon, celebrates self-love with dishes perfectly portioned for solo dining, such as roast poussin with lemon potatoes, AKA the joy of a chicken lunch, but for one.
Featuring sumptuous photos taken in the authors magnificent Venetian apartment, the book is beautiful to behold, but McAlpine wants to stress the dishes arent as elaborate as her decor.
There are so many shortcuts and a lot of simple recipes. Its not about cooking something amazing or fancy or impressive, its about doing something, no matter how small, because sometimes these things can bring so much pleasure.
The Venetian cookery influence is obvious, with the plethora of vibrant pasta and creamy risotto recipes.
It was a magical place to grow up, she says of the city famous for crisscrossing canals, gondola rides and incredible architecture. Its a bit of a fairy tale city. Its deeply impractical, but it kind of lives in its own time capsule.
After more than three decades as a part time resident, McAlpine has watched Venice strain under the weight of millions of visitors.
The volume of tourists is high, and Id say it has been for the past 15 years. That has had a big impact on the fabric of the city, but its still magical. Its a magic, magic city.
A Table Full Of Love by Skye McAlpine (published by Bloomsbury, 26; photography by Skye McAlpine), available now.
SAN DIEGO - Petty Officer 3rd Class Jody Wright Jr. serves the U.S. Navy aboard one of the countrys most versatile combat ships, USS Montgomery, operating out of San Diego, California. Wright is the son of Fort Stewart, Georgia, resident, Jody Wright Sr.
Wright, a 2018 Garfield High School graduate, joined the Navy four years ago.
I have other family members in the military, so growing up I had a lot of military influence that inspired me to join, said Wright.
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Montgomery is a fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatant that operates in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats, according to Navy officials. Littoral combat ships integrate with joint, combined, manned and unmanned teams to support forward-presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe.
Littoral combat ships are hybrid surface combatants that lead manned-unmanned teams using unmanned aerial systems like the Fire Scout and Expeditionary Ordnance Disposal forces unmanned underwater vehicles. They conduct forward and maritime security missions like the Secretary of Defense Oceania Maritime Security Initiative. The ships also strengthen partnerships through port visits in small island nations like Tahiti and Fiji due to their shallow-depth hull.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Jody Wright Jr. of Fort Stewart, Georgia
According to Navy officials, the path to becoming an LCS sailor is unique and challenging. The culmination of their 18-month training pipeline, sailors qualify on a virtual reality simulator that is nearly identical to the ship. This intense and realistic training pipeline allows sailors to execute their roles and responsibilities immediately upon stepping on board.
Given the optimized manning aboard our ships, each and every LCS Sailor must be versatile, adaptable, and extremely competent in the multiple jobs they perform," said Capt. Marc Crawford, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron ONE commodore. "Our Sailors constantly amaze me with their relentless drive and technical expertise; It is a privilege to serve beside them."
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With 90 percent of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to trained sailors and a strong Navy.
Reunited: 280 soldiers return to Fort Stewart after six-month deployment to Europe
"Our mission remains timeless - to provide our fellow citizens with nothing less than the very best Navy: fully combat ready at all times, focused on warfighting excellence, and committed to superior leadership at every single level," said Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. "This is our calling. And I cannot imagine a calling more worthy."
As a member of the Navy, Wright is part of a world-class organization focused on maintaining maritime dominance, strengthening partnerships, increasing competitive warfighting capabilities and sustaining combat-ready forces in support of the National Defense Strategy.
The Navy keeps an eye out to keep the waterways safe, said Wright. We protect those who may not be able to protect themselves.
Wright has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
My proudest accomplishment was making petty officer third class in 2021, said Wright. This gives me the opportunity to step up to the next level as a leader. It also made my family proud.
As Wright and other sailors continue to perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.
I'm proud to serve my country, protecting my family and other families, said Wright. It's a good feeling knowing that you're helping others.
Wright is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
I'd like to thank my family, added Wright. They're the reason I'm here.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Son of Fort Stewart GA resident serves aboard Navy combat ships
[Source]
South Koreas fertility rate has dropped yet again, beating its own record for the worlds lowest fertility rate.
According to Statistics Korea, the average number of expected babies per South Korean woman over her reproductive life decreased from 0.81 in 2021 to 0.78 in 2022.
The data is reportedly the lowest among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). As of 2020, South Korea has the lowest rate in the OECD, with its capital, Seoul, logging a birth rate of 0.59.
The countrys birth rate has been falling since 2015.
More from NextShark: Envoys from Japan, S. Korea, US commit to stronger security ties amid fears of N. Korean nuclear test
In 2020, South Korea recorded more deaths than births. This trend has continued as the nation recorded about 249,000 births and 372,800 deaths in 2022.
Without immigration, countries need a fertility rate of 2.1 per woman to maintain a stable population.
The demographic declines are also present in other Asian countries, including Japan and China.
More from NextShark: 'This physical pain does not compare to the pain of losing my nation': How 2 schoolgirls helped fight for Korean independence
According to experts, the low fertility rates are due to demanding work cultures, rising costs of living, changing attitudes toward marriage and gender equality and rising disillusionment among younger generations.
In South Korea, many do not feel obligated to raise a child, citing the costly expenses amid the uncertainty of a bleak job market, expensive housing and gender and social inequality. Women have also cited the patriarchal culture of childcare and discrimination at work.
The average age of South Korean women during childbirth rose to 33.5 last year.
More from NextShark: China's government responds after Trump says it 'destroyed the world' with COVID, Xi is a 'killer'
While the countrys population peaked at 51.84 million in 2020, it fell to 51.74 million in 2021.
It is expected to shrink to 37.66 million by 2070.
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Marriages have also been plummeting in the country amid the expensive costs of housing and education.
More from NextShark: Malaysia to punish women for out-of-wedlock pregnancies and acting like men
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said more than $200 billion has been spent in efforts to boost the population over the past 16 years.
The government introduced multiple initiatives, such as offering monetary baby allowances of 1 million won (approximately $767) as an incentive for more births, foreign and low-cost nannies and extended paid paternity leaves.
Social campaigns have also encouraged men to help in childcare and housework.
However, the initiatives have not shown success.
You are here: Business
People visit the exhibition area of BYD, China's new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer, during the 19th China (Changchun) International Automobile Expo in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, July 15, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]
Chinese automakers are building factories overseas to explore the global market as the popularity of their new energy vehicles continues to grow.
Chery announced it would invest $400 million to build an electric car plant in Argentina, said the embassy of the South American country in China last week.
The embassy said the manufacturing facility is expected to produce up to 100,000 vehicles per year and generate 6,000 jobs by 2030.
Chery aims to grow the facility into a regional center of NEV production, which will further cover the Latin American market together with the automaker's plant in Brazil that is already up and running.
Chinese battery maker Gotion High-tech has agreed to supply batteries to Chery from its factory in northern Argentina, which was co-built with a local mining company.
Argentine Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja said China is very competitive in the NEV sector.
He added that the investment from Chinese companies, including Chery, will be essential for Argentina's electrification plan, which boasts lithium resources that are critical in battery production.
Argentina passed a bill in 2021 that aims to ban gasoline vehicle sales in the country from 2041.
Statistics from the embassy show that NEV sales in Argentina totaled 7,848 units in 2022, up 33 percent year-on-year. Among them, pure electric vehicle sales stood at just 260 units.
Great Wall Motors, China's largest SUV producer, is making inroads into the South American market as well. It announced it will launch 10 NEV models in Brazil by 2025.
It has completed technological upgrading at its Iracemapolis plant in Brazil, which it acquired from Mercedes' parent Daimler in 2021. Great Wall Motors said it will invest $1.68 billion in its Brazilian manufacturing base in 10 years.
"GWM will offer new energy vehicles for users with innovative products and new technologies, bringing them clean and intelligent mobility experiences," said Yang Weiqi, president of GWM Brazil.
Southeast Asia is another major destination for Chinese automakers. Great Wall Motors said it is planning to launch four NEV models in Thailand in 2023.
BYD is exploring the possibility of building a plant in Europe, said Li Ke, its executive vice-president, earlier this month. Li's remarks came after reports that the Chinese NEV maker may take over a Ford plant in Germany.
In October, car rental company Sixt inked a deal with BYD to purchase 100,000 vehicles over six years, with the first ones being the Atto 3.
Chinese NEV carmakers are attracting overseas customers with new models and may thus see their positions rise on the global stage, according to a McKinsey report released in late 2022.
NEV vehicles have boosted China's total exports. Last year, 679,000 NEVs were shipped from China, up 120 percent year-on-year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
They helped China's total auto exports in 2022 soar 54.4 percent to hit 3.11 million units, overtaking Germany as the world's second-largest vehicle exporter.
Zhang Yongwei, vice-president of China EV 100, an automotive think tank, said China's NEV exports are expected to reach 800,000 units this year.
Rick Warren and Saddleback Church in 2003 Getty Images/Bob Riha Jr.
The Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee expelled six churches from the largest U.S. Protestant Christian denomination, one over its handling of a sex abuse case and the other five for installing women as senior or lead pastors. The most prominent SBC member kicked out Tuesday was California's Saddleback Church, one of the largest Southern Baptist churches.
When Saddleback's founding pastor, Rick Warren, retired last August, he put a married couple, pastors Andy and Stacie Wood, in charge of the megachurch. With more than 23,000 members and 12 locations in Southern California, "Saddleback is a household name in American evangelical Christianity," The Nashville Tennessean reports. At the same time, being defellowshipped from the SBC won't overtly affect Saddleback members, The New York Times adds. "The church did not use the word Baptist in its name or foreground any connection to the denomination," and Warren "rarely attended denominational meetings."
"Southern Baptists hold to a complementarianism, a theological idea that teaches men and women have certain assigned roles," The Tennessean reports. Saddleback and the other four churches expelled Tuesday Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi; Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky; New Faith Mission Ministry in Griffin, Georgia; and St. Timothy's Christian Baptist Church in Baltimore were judged to be in violation of the SBC's stated belief that "while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture."
Saddleback has been under scrutiny at the Southern Baptist Convention since it ordained three women as pastors in May 2021, and some Southern Baptists tried to get the church expelled at national meeting in 2021 and 2022. The SBC's executive committee agreed to the disfellowship proposal at the end of a two-day meeting in Nashville. Saddleback and the other four churches kicked out for having female pastors can appeal the decision at the SBC's annual gathering this summer in New Orleans.
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Southwest Airlines experienced more flight delays and cancellations than other carriers as another winter storm in the northern U.S. disrupted flight travel across the country early Wednesday.
According to data from FlightAware, Southwest Airlines was leading all carriers in cancellations or delayed flights, with a total of 411 early Wednesday. Delta Air Lines was also heavily affected, with a total of 378 delayed or canceled flights; by Wednesday afternoon, it had pulled ahead of Southwest for the volume of flights affected.
Regional carrier SkyWest Airlines, which operates flights for United, Delta and American airlines, among others, was the third most affected, with 295 delayed or canceled flights.
Anuvu's flight tracking website, which also measures delays and cancellations, showed Southwest and Delta tied for worst on-time departure rate as of Wednesday morning, at just 56%. Delta had the highest cancellation rate, at 10%, compared with Southwest's 6%.
FlightAware showed that the airport most affected by the storm was Minneapolis-Saint Paul, a hub for Delta that is also served by Southwest, with 44% of flights canceled Wednesday. Denver International Airport, a hub for Southwest, was also heavily affected, with 11%, or 100 flights, canceled and 58 flights, or 6%, delayed. Other airports served by Southwest that were affected by the storm include Detroit Metropolitan, Chicago Midway and Salt Lake City International.
Southwest and Delta have both issued flight waivers for travelers potentially affected by this week's storm that will allow them to rebook without paying any additional charge.
In a statement, Southwest said it was proactively making schedule adjustments based on forecasts.
Capt. Casey Murray, a Southwest pilot and spokesperson for the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said in an interview that the precautionary cancellations are the result of Southwest's ongoing issues with its procedures, especially related to staff scheduling. At Southwest, crew members must manually call in about their availability, rather than notify the carrier electronically; Southwest is negotiating changes to the procedure with the pilots union.
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"Its about how this airline connects crews to airplanes, and that still is not being addressed," Murray said.
Southwest is still dealing with the fallout from a 2022 Christmas weekend winter storm meltdown that saw at least 2 million travelers' flights canceled and that cost the airline at least $800 million. Southwest has commissioned a study to determine what went wrong but has preliminarily blamed a combination of technical and procedural factors. Its COO also told a recent Senate hearing that the carrier's winter weather preparedness was inadequate.
Tips for rebooking a flight
To avoid being trapped in a line to rebook at your airlines terminal, get on the internet immediately and start looking for alternative forms of travel. Experts say Googles flight search option is the best bet for finding the most up-to-date choices when it comes to getting a new flight, which are also searchable by a number of criteria, including price.
If youre strapped for cash and are looking to rebook, youll still want to attempt to call the airline before or as you wait in line for an in-person rebooking agent. Of note: Not all major airlines have rebooking agreements with other carriers. The ones that do are: Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue and United. The ones that do not are: Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest and Spirit.
What your rights are if your flight was canceled
In this situation, you are only entitled to a refund if you dont take an offer to be rebooked on another flight. That also means you dont have to accept an airlines offer of a voucher. According to the Transportation Department: If an airline cancels a passengers flight or makes a significant change in the flight, regardless of the reason, airlines are required to provide a prompt refund to a ticketed passenger, including those with non-refundable tickets, should the passenger choose not to accept the alternative offered, such as rebooking on another flight.
Unfortunately, you have few rights if your flight is delayed or canceled for reasons outside of an airlines control
According to the Transportation Department website, only factors like maintenance or crew problems, cabin cleaning, baggage loading and fueling count as within an airlines control.
If your flight was delayed for three hours or more or if it canceled and you have to wait at least three hours for a new flight, you are entitled to a meal, meal cash or a voucher and, with the exception of Frontier Airlines, are entitled to complimentary hotel accommodations and complimentary ground transport to and from a hotel for an overnight cancellation situation. Click here for more.
If your flight is delayed for any other reason, like weather, you are not entitled to any compensation or refund.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed that Spain would transfer six renovated Leopard 2 A4 main battle tanks to Ukraine, reports El Pais.
Robles added that the goal is to have the tanks in Ukraine by the end of March or early April.
Spain joins a growing coalition of Western allies supplying tanks to Ukraine.
Polands Foreign Ministry said on Feb. 21. that Poland will provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2 tanks in the next two to three weeks after Ukrainian troops complete their training.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell made an appeal on Feb. 15 to the countries with modern tanks that are just standing and covered with dust to send them to Ukraine as fast as possible, adding that the spring and summer of 2023 would be decisive for the outcome of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Leopard tank
Speaking at a plenary meeting of the Congress of Deputies in Spain, the minister said the tanks are being repaired so that they meet modern requirements.
Read also: Germany and Poland to convene tank coalition next week
Robles added that the number of tanks to be sent to Ukraine could grow if necessary or at the request of allies.
Polands Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Feb. 15 that Poland, Norway, Canada, Spain, and Finland had equipped a battalion of Leopard-2A4 tanks to be sent to Ukraine.
Read also: Why we need Leopard 2A5 tanks
On Feb. 14, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that a group of countries, including Germany, Poland, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands, are working on the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
On Jan. 25, after long hesitation, Germany approved the transfer of 14 Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine and their re-export from partner countries. On the same day, the United States announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the first tanks could be sent to Ukraine by the end of March.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Ukraine would receive 120-140 modern Western tanks in the first wave.
On Feb. 7, Berlin issued a license to German military companies to supply Ukraine with 178 Leopard-1A5 tanks. Pistorius stated that Ukraine would receive more than 100 Leopard-1A5s from several European countries.
Read also: Polands Duda says when Ukraine can expect tanks from Poland
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs 300-500 tanks for a major counter-offensive to liberate all Ukrainian territory from Russian occupation.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Tens of thousands of people are expected to pack TIAA Bank Field on Saturday as Gravedigger, Velociraptor, Max-D and more return for Monster Jam. All fans age 2 and older are required to have a ticket.
This weekend also features monster names in music, Willie Nelson and The Beach Boys, at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. The weather is looking dry and warm for whatever you have planned.
Wednesday, February 22:
Jeff Dunham Still Not Canceled - 7:00 pm - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
Thursday, February 23:
Job News USA Job Fair - 10:00 am - 2:00 pm - Prime Osborn Convention Center
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives - 8:00 pm - Florida Theatre
The Army Presents: Stage & Screen - 7:00 pm - Thrasher-Horne Center
Friday, February 24:
Amit Tandon: Masala Sandwich - 7:30 pm - Terry Theater
Jacksonville Symphony: The Queens of Rock & Soul: Tina Turner & Aretha Franklin - 7:30 pm - Jacoby Symphony Hall
Jacksonville Icemen vs. Atlanta Gladiators - 7:00 pm - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
Willie Nelson & Family With special guest Deer Tick - 8:00 pm - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Mania The Abba Tribute - 8:00 pm - Florida Theatre
Saturday, February 25:
Touch-a-Truck - 8:00 am - 1:00 pm - Brooks Family YMCA
Monster Jam - 7:00 pm - TIAA Bank Field
Jacksonville Icemen vs. Worcester Railers - 7:00 pm - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
Justin Willman - Magic for Humans in Person - 7:00 pm - Florida Theatre
The Beach Boys - 7:30 pm - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Jacksonville Symphony: The Queens of Rock & Soul: Tina Turner & Aretha Franklin - 7:30 pm - Jacoby Symphony Hall
Frankie Beverly and Maze along with the Whispers - 8:00 pm - Moran Theater
Sunday, February 26:
Journey: Freedom Tour 2023 with Toto - 7:30 pm - VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
5th annual Clay Bridal Spectacular - 1:00 pm - Thrasher-Horne Center
9th annual Riverside Craft Beer Festival - 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm - Riverside Arts Market
Willie Nelson & Family With special guest Deer Tick - 7:30 pm - St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Monday, February 27:
Sarah Jakes Roberts: Hope Revival Tour - 7:00 pm - Moran Theater
Howard Schultz, Starbucks chief executive officer, and Starbucks found inspiration in the sun-kissed olive groves of Sicily and are introducing a new line of beverages infused with olive oil, the company has announced.
Italy has always been a special place for Starbucks since four decades ago when Howard Schultz first went to Milan and experienced its espresso bars. The visit gave him the idea to bring the Italian coffeehouse to Starbucks and to America, according to a media release.
Oleato is an unexpected alchemy of Starbucks finest arabica coffee infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil offers a velvety smooth, deliciously lush new coffee experience, said the company.
The beverage makes its debut Wednesday at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Milan. It will be introduced to the U.S. this spring in Southern California.
Later this year, select markets in Japan, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom will launch the beverages.
The five Oleato beverages served at the Milan Roastery are Oleato Caffe Latte, Oleato Iced Cortado, Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew, Oleato Deconstructed, and Oleato Golden Foam Espresso Martini.
Starbucks stores in Italy will offer Oleato Caffe Latte, Oleato Iced Shaken Espresso, and Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew.
Schultz reflected on how his journey with Starbucks has come full circle with two big moments. One in Italy at the beginning of his career and one now as he is stepping down next month after serving the last 10 months as Starbucks interim chief executive officer.
In 1983, I took my first trip to Italy and discovered the extraordinary relationship that the Italian people have with the Italian coffee bar, and specifically espresso, Schultz said. I raced back to the United States with a vision and a passion to bring that to Starbucks,
Last year, while Schultz was traveling in Sicily, he began taking a spoonful of olive oil each day as part of the Mediterranean custom. He would do this every morning with his coffee. One day he thought why not blend them together?
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I was absolutely stunned at the unique flavor and texture created when the Partanna extra virgin olive oil was infused into Starbucks coffee, Schultz said. In both hot and cold coffee beverages, what it produced was an unexpected, velvety, buttery flavor that enhanced the coffee and lingers beautifully on the palate.
Schultz then brought the idea back to Seattle and began development.
Now, theres going to be people who say, Olive oil in coffee? But the proof is in the cup, Schultz said. In over 40 years, I cant remember a moment in time where Ive been more excited, more enthused that demonstrates the pride, the quality, the passion, the heritage, and the craft of what Starbucks can do.
Russia nuclear weapons New Star Treaty deal invasion Ukraine war Europe - Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
In his first state of the nation address since unleashing the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will walk away from the New Start Treaty.
I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty [Start], the Russian leader said on Tuesday.
Putin added that some people in Washington were thinking about resuming nuclear testing, and that the Kremlins defence ministry and nuclear corporation should therefore be ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if necessary.
Of course, we will not do this first, he said. But if the United States conducts tests, then we will. No one should have dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed.
Russia and the US still have vast arsenals of nuclear weapons left over from the Cold War whose numbers are currently limited by the treaty, which was agreed in 2010 and is due to expire in 2026.
Below, The Telegraph takes a closer look at what the New Start Treaty is and what its suspension could mean.
Signed in 2010 by Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, the respective US and Russian presidents at the time, the New Start treaty caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that both countries can deploy at 1,550.
It came into effect in 2011 and was extended in 2021 for five more years after Joe Biden took office. It allows both American and Russian inspectors to ensure that both sides are complying with the treaty.
However, inspections under the agreement were put on hold in March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Talks between Moscow and Washington on resuming inspections were due to take place last November in Egypt, but Russia postponed them and neither side has set a new date.
Earlier this month, Russia said that it wanted to preserve the treaty, despite what it called a destructive US approach to arms control.
Together, Russia and the US account for about 90 per cent of the worlds nuclear warheads, and both sides have stressed that war between nuclear powers must be avoided at all costs.
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Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world, with close to 6,000 warheads, according to experts.
Moscows invasion of Ukraine has pushed the two countries closer to direct confrontation than at any time in the past 60 years.
The US has accused Russia of violating the treaty, saying it was refusing to allow inspection activities on its territory.
Last year, Russia said that the danger of a nuclear conflict was real and should not be underestimated, but that it should be avoided at all costs.
Both the US and Russia have checks to ensure that their nuclear missiles cannot be used accidentally, after years of tension during the Cold War led to some near misses.
However, fears of a nuclear confrontation have increased since the Ukraine invasion. Putin has reminded the world of the size and power of Moscows arsenal and said he is ready to use all means necessary to defend Russias territorial integrity.
A senior US official has said that the change in the party that controls the presidential post will not affect US support for Ukraine.
Source: Derek Chollet, counsellor to the US State Department, quoted by Sky News, reports European Pravda
Answering the question of what will happen if a new president is elected in 2024, he noted that assistance to Ukraine is one of the few issues on which Democrats and Republicans agree.
"It's important to note that in the US there has been bipartisan support for our assistance in Ukraine," he said.
According to Chollet, in the year that has passed since the beginning of the war, the United States has provided almost US$30 billion in security assistance, which is six times higher than the 2021 defence budget of Ukraine.
He called Russia's suspension of the nuclear weapons treaty "the height of irresponsibility", but added that the practical impact of this decision is unclear.
"It does not make the world a safer place and yet again reveals Vladimir Putin's intent to try to undermine global stability," Chollet added.
Previously: US President Joe Biden, speaking in Warsaw on Tuesday, said that Ukraine's allies "would not tire" of supporting it in the face of Russia's full-scale aggression, and Kyiv would "never be" defeated by Russia.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Stella Creasy has shared her own experience of harassment. (Getty Images)
Stella Creasy has spoken out about why the argument 'it was a compliment' shouldn't be used as a defence against harassment.
The Labour MP, 45, has called on the public to contact their MPs and tell them why 'we need to close the legal loophole in the Public Harassment Bill'.
Sharing her own experience on Twitter, with a trigger warning, she wrote, "Leaving parliament after dark, a man came up behind me, put his arms around my neck and then on my breasts and suggested I might want to go to the pub to get to know him better.
"Use this thread to tell MPs why it was a compliment shouldnt be defence against harassment."
Her post has prompted many other women to share their own personal experiences.
Read more: Emily Atack and Fearne Cotton receive 'disturbing' messages and photos after sexual harassment podcast
T/W Leaving parliament after dark, a man came up behind me, put his arms around my neck and then on my breasts and suggested I might want to go to the pub to get to know him better.
Use this thread to tell MPs why it was a compliment shouldnt be defence against harassment. pic.twitter.com/TP6rNrHBF7 stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) February 21, 2023
One Twitter user wrote, "Touching another is never 'a compliment' if unwanted and uninvited. I recall being in my early twenties I had a man grab my face & try to force a kiss. I was waiting for a cab home. A few years later I had another male believe it was acceptable to put his hand up my skirt."
"Sometimes we have to laugh it off because that's the safest option. That does not mean it's received as a compliment, it's because we're scared of it escalating into an attack," commented another user.
Read more: Emily Atack damaged by sexual harassment since the age of 10
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In a positive move, the UK government has backed a bill to criminalise sexual harassment in the street including behaviour like deliberately walking closely behind someone at night, making aggressive comments or gestures towards them, obstructing their path or driving slowly near them in public spaces.
But Creasy points out that public order offences allow the accused to argue that they thought their behaviour was reasonable, even if no one else would, as a defence.
This is different to other harassment legislation that only allows a defendant to claim their behaviour is reasonable if others would agree, and that they 'ought to know' if their conduct was unacceptable.
Watch: Stella Creasy: Labour MP reveals gang rape threat while at Cambridge University
"Without changing this element of the forthcoming public harassment bill to be consistent with how harassment operates elsewhere, this new law while well-intentioned risks giving perpetrators the opportunity to claim 'she just cant take a compliment' as an actual defence to a criminal offence," Creasy wrote in The Guardian on Tuesday.
"There is still time to close this legal loophole. With the support of MPs in the coming weeks, we can ensure that all harassment offences deal in the same way with claims of reasonableness by defendants towards their victims.
"Its clear the public would agree according to one survey, one in three people think that sexist abuse should lead to more than a year in prison."
Stellantis said its net profit jumped 26% in 2022 to almost $18 billion (16.8 billion euros) compared with its 2021 results.
The automaker offered a rosy assessment of the past year as well as whats to come in 2023 as it released its earnings early Wednesday for the year. The companys guidance for 2023 listed double-digit adjusted operating income margin and positive industrial free cash flow.
CEO Carlos Tavares, in a news release, touted the results and what they signal about the companys direction as it tackles the shift toward vehicle electrification. Stellantis owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands.
More:Stellantis workers to get profit-sharing checks of up to $14,760
In addition to our record financial results and the focused execution of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, we also demonstrated the effectiveness of our electrification strategy in Europe. We now have the technology, the products, the raw materials and the full battery ecosystem to lead that same transformative journey in North America, starting with our first fully electric Ram vehicles from 2023 and Jeep from 2024, Tavares said. Dare Forward 2030 is the name of the companys business plan, which it released last year.
The company said its global battery electric vehicle sales increased 41% to 288,000 in 2022, with a target of 5 million global battery electric vehicle sales by 2030. During calls with reporters and analysts Wednesday, Tavares highlighted that those 2022 BEV sales represented just what was happening in Europe and that the numbers would continue to grow. He said the company is starting its "BEV offensive in the U.S." this year, with the introduction of the Ram ProMaster battery electric vehicle.
Tavares also said that the company has a strong order book, and he noted that the Ram 1500 REV, the company's first electric pickup which was shown in a commercial for this year's Super Bowl, sold out of its preorders for the first model year in three days. The truck is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2024.
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Recent EV price cuts announced by Ford and Tesla were also apparently on Tavares' mind. He said some competitors had announced price reductions to capture state subsidies, and "I can also guesstimate from the numbers one of the reasons they are doing this is that they are not as happy as they would like to be about their BEV sales growth."
Despite the rise in BEV sales, the company reported a slight decline in its overall shipments for the year, down 2% to just over 6 million vehicles.
It reported net revenues of $191 billion (179.6 billion euros), up 18%, and adjusted operating income of $25 billion (23 billion euros), up 29%, with a 13% margin.
The company reported increased net revenues for all of its regions in 2022.
North America, which generates much of the companys profits, offered a solid showing for the year. The company reported vehicle shipments of 1.86 million vehicles, an increase over 1.82 million in 2021. The change was a result of higher Jeep Grand Wagoneer, Jeep Compass and Chrysler Pacifica volumes slightly offset by lower Grand Cherokee and Ram pickup volumes, the company said.
Net revenues for the region hit $90.99 billion (85 billion euros), up from $74.19 billion (69.7 billion euros) with adjusted operating income of $14.88 billion (13.99 billion euros), up from $12.1 billion (11.4 billion euros).
The company also said its 64,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle sales, such as for the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, put it in the No. 1 spot in the United States, and that its average transaction price in the United States, at $53,000 per vehicle across its portfolio was highest compared with its competition in 2022.
More:Super Bowl ads for Stellantis reveal electric Ram, Jeep's Electric Slide
The company's 2022 results compare favorably to its Detroit Three rivals. For the year, General Motors reported net income of $9.9 billion and Ford reported a net loss of $2 billion, according to previous Free Press reports.
The performance means UAW-represented workers could get profit-sharing checks as high as $14,760.
Stellantis reports earnings each half year rather than each quarter, and its release on Wednesday included earnings for the second half of 2022. The company said net revenues were up 19% from the same period in 2021, to $97.51 billion (91.6 billion euros), and net profits were also up 19%, to $9.37 billion (8.8 billion euros); adjusted operating income hit $11.6 billion (10.9 billion euros), up 17%; but cash flows from operations were down 22% to $11.6 billion (10.1 billion euros).
In North America, vehicle shipments declined in the second half of the year from 947,000 to 902,000 vehicles compared with the same period in 2021. Net revenues were at $45.77 billion (43 billion euros), up from $39.7 billion (37.3 billion euros). Adjusted operating income was at $6.7 billion (6.3 billion euros), up from $6.5 billion (6.1 billion euros).
The company also announced a $4.47 billion (4.2 billion euros) ordinary dividend, equaling $1.43 (1.34 euros) per share, subject to shareholder approval and a $1.6 billion (1.5 billion euros) stock buyback program planned for this year.
The company's performance and announcements appeared to lift the stock price. At midday Wednesday, the stock was up 4.38% to $17.39.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stellantis said it made $18B in net profit in 2022
The Japan-born giant panda Xiang Xiang arrives at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 21, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
Japan-born female giant panda Xiang Xiang arrived at the Bifengxia Giant Panda Base, a giant panda research and breeding facility in the city of Ya'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province at 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday.
The beloved Xiang Xiang departed from Tokyo's Ueno Zoo early the same day, and arrived at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Sichuan at 5:15 p.m. after a more than five-hour flight from Narita International Airport in Tokyo.
Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport opened a green channel and arranged for staff to conduct onsite inspection and disinfection processes to ensure Xiang Xiang's smooth and efficient customs clearance. Xiang Xiang departed for the Bifengxia Giant Panda Base at 6:35 p.m. aboard a truck.
At the base, Xiang Xiang will undergo a 30-day quarantine and examination before being qualified to meet with the public.
Xiang Xiang was a bit restless after her long flight and arriving in a completely unfamiliar environment. The staff will try to minimize disturbances to Xiang Xiang, according to a vet from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
Xiang Xiang was born in June 2017 at Ueno Zoo, where she gained much popularity. Her parents Shin Shin (female) and Ri Ri (male) were both on loan from China, where the ownership of the cubs they give birth to belongs. It was the first time a panda cub was born at Ueno Zoo in nearly 29 years.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters
After initially scrambling to counter a Daily Beast story that he wasnt paying his lawyers, the notorious right-wing media personality Steve Bannon has been sued for owing a single New York attorney a whopping $480,487.
On Friday, the Manhattan firm of Davidoff Hutcher & Citron took the rare step of suing its former client over unpaid bills for a mountain of work a lawyer did defending him for two years against Congress, the feds, and a local district attorney.
On top of the half million dollars he allegedly owes, the firm is now asking that a New York judge force Bannon to pay interestplus the cost of the lawyer who filed this lawsuit.
The firm says it performed various legal services for [Bannon] in a competent and professional manner and deserves to get paid for it.
Steve Bannon Ran Up Huge Legal Bills and Stiffed His Lawyers
Earlier this month, The Daily Beast revealed that Bannon stiffed two lawyers who ran up huge legal bills while defending him at a 2022 trial over the right-wingers refusal to testify before the House Jan. 6 Committee. Those attorneys, Robert Costello of New York and M. Evan Corcoran of Baltimore, declined to comment. It was Costellos firm that sued Bannon last week. Its unclear if Corcorans firm will take similar action.
Bannons miserly attitude toward his own legal team baffled the three sources who spoke to The Daily Beast about the matter on condition of anonymity, all of whom noted that Bannon runs a popular conspiracy-spewing podcast and appears to be backed by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui. Whats more, Bannon himself is a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, co-founded the right-wing news website Breitbart, and made millions off the sitcom Seinfeld.
According to the lawsuit filed by Costellos firm, Bannon has only paid $375,000 of his $855,487 legal bill to that one firm.
Bannon owes an untold amount to Corcorans firm, Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White, but a source familiar with the situation suggested that the total is less than whats owed to Costello in New York.
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Bannons spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Costello and Corcoran declined to comment.
The reason he owes so much to Costello is because the former federal prosecutor has stuck by Bannons side ever since the world started crashing on the far right agitator. Costello first started representing Bannon in Dec. 2020, when the Department of Justice targeted him over a nativist GoFundMe to build a privately funded wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon was accused of secretly enriching himself with donations to the nonprofit effort, and the feds criminally charged him with money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. It was Costello who worked on the pardon Bannon ultimately received from former President Donald Trump, which conveniently sidelined the investigation and gave him a clean slate.
Then Costello kept the House Jan. 6 Committee at bay when the congressional panel subpoenaed Bannon to testify about his central role in the so-called Green Bay Sweep, a plan developed by MAGA diehards to keep Trump in the White House by overturning the 2020 election. Costello continued to represent Bannonnow alongside fellow lawyer Corcoranwhen the DOJ criminally charged him with contempt of Congress over his decision to ignore that subpoena.
The Daily Beast has previously revealed how Costello took on particular risk in that investigation, because the FBI made the controversial decision to secretly seize the lawyers communicationsa move that potentially crossed an ethical boundary. Special agents also quietly listened in on Costellos negotiations with DOJ lawyers, turning what is normally an informal dialogue between defense attorneys and prosecutors into an official investigative interview.
That skirmish has largely been swept under the rug, and Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress. The federal judge who sentenced him held off on sending him to jail pending appeal.
Steve Bannon Delays Trial by Ghosting His Own Lawyers
Fridays lawsuit says Costellos firm stopped billing Bannon for work last November, though court documents in Bannons federal appeal make clear that Costello continues to seek answers over the DOJs decision to spy on him.
When The Daily Beast initially broke the news that Bannon hadnt been paying his lawyers, his representatives initially contested that assertion. A third lawyer on the contempt of Congress trial, David Schoen of Alabama, affirmed that he indeed had been paid.
But as a result, it became clear that Bannon was willing to pay one lawyer while stiffing the rest. Days later, Costellos firm sued.
The lawsuit is a stain that could frustrate Bannons current search to find yet additional lawyers to represent himthis time over a revived version of the We Build The Wall investigation. Last September, the Manhattan District Attorney charged him with local crimes for scamming New Yorkers, an attempt to circumvent Trumps presidential pardon. Schoen and New York lawyer John W. Mitchell represented him in that case, although both suddenly decided to hit the eject button in January, citing a total communication breakdown. Justice Juan Merchan ordered them to stay on the case for now, albeit only on paper.
Bannon has until the end of February to find new lawyers.
Justin Rohrlich contributed to this report.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon sits during his appearance at New York Supreme Court after a hearing in New York City, U.S., January 12, 2023. Steve Hirsch/Pool via REUTERS
Steve Bannon's ex-lawyers filed a lawsuit saying he hasn't paid nearly $500,000 in legal bills.
The firm represented Bannon when he defied his January 6 subpoena.
They also represented him in a case over a fundraising scheme to build a US-Mexico border wall.
A law firm that previously represented former White House strategist and right-wing provocateur Stephen Bannon filed a lawsuit against him, asking for nearly $500,000 in unpaid legal fees.
The law firm, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, represented Bannon between November 2020 and November 2022 for criminal cases in Manhattan and Washington, DC. The firm employs Robert Costello, an attorney who represented Bannon in two federal cases.
The lawsuit, filed Friday, says the firm billed Bannon $855,487.87 but was paid only $375,000, leaving an outstanding balance of $480,487.87.
"Defendant never raised any objection regarding the correctness of the invoices," the lawsuit says.
Bannon was represented by Costello while fighting a subpoena from the House of Representatives select committee investigating January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. A jury convicted Bannon on contempt of Congress charges brought by federal prosecutors in Washington, DC. The judge sentenced him to four months in prison but allowed him to remain free while he appeals the case.
Costello also represented Bannon after federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York brought fraud charges against him in August 2020, alleging he misused funds from a nonprofit meant to build a US-Mexico border wall after Donald Trump's administration failed to get funds from Congress to build it.
Costello didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Trump pardoned Bannon shortly before leaving office, but the Manhattan district attorney's office brought a similar case against him that remains pending.
Bannon is having trouble with his lawyers in the Manhattan district attorney's case, too.
At a hearing in January, Bannon's attorneys David Schoen and John Mitchell asked the presiding judge to let them drop Bannon as a client.
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"There has been a direct breakdown in communications," Schoen said at the hearing, calling their differences over defense strategy "irreconcilable."
The judge, Juan Merchan, gave Bannon until the end of February to find new lawyers, or risk getting one appointed for him.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Workers went on strike in growing numbers last year as they took advantage of a tight labor market and pressed employers for better pay and working conditions, two new sets of data suggest.
Figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday show nearly 121,000 workers took part in 23 large strikes that began in 2022. Thats up from 81,000 workers taking part in 16 large work stoppages in 2021. The bureau defines a large work stoppage as one involving at least a thousand employees.
Meanwhile, a more detailed study from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations identified at least 424 work stoppages of all sizes last year, up from 279 the previous year, or a 52% increase. The work stoppages involved at least 224,000 workers, up from 140,000 in 2021, or a 60% jump.
Both the BLS and Cornell data include lockouts thats when employers force workers off the job amid a labor dispute, as opposed to the workers walking out by choice. But the lockouts represented a tiny share of the overall work stoppages (just seven of the 424 that Cornell found), and all of the large work stoppages in the BLS findings were strikes.
Overall, most of the employees involved in last years strikes a whopping 60% work in education.
Unemployment hovered at historically low levels last year, which made it harder for employers to find workers and gave employees more leverage to demand improvements to their jobs.
But even though strike numbers increased last year, far fewer U.S. workers go on strike now than decades ago, in large part because of labor unions shrinking footprint in the economy. Workers with union protections are far more likely to walk off the job to improve their working conditions, and only 1 in 10 U.S. workers now belong to a union, compared to an estimated 1 in 3 in the 1950s.
While we documented an uptick in strikes and approximate number of workers on strike in 2022 as compared with 2021, the level of strike activity is lower than earlier historical eras, the Cornell researchers noted.
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The sector that saw the most strikes last year was food and accommodations, which accounted for 34% of all work stoppages, according to Cornell. The bulk of those strikes were small and short, involving either Starbucks workers who have mounted a historic organizing campaign with the union Workers United over the past year, or fast-food workers affiliated with the Fight for $15 campaign.
Overall, most of the employees involved in last years strikes a whopping 60% work in education. Those strikes tended to be larger and longer than the walkouts in the food industry. More than 135,000 education workers were out a total of 2.5 million strike days, according to the Cornell study.
UCLA postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers march in Westwood to demand better wages, student housing, child care and more on Dec. 1, 2022, as contract negotiations continue and thousands strike.
UCLA postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers march in Westwood to demand better wages, student housing, child care and more on Dec. 1, 2022, as contract negotiations continue and thousands strike.
The largest strike last year was at the University of California system, where 48,000 teaching assistants, graduate student researchers, postdoctoral fellows and other academic workers walked off the job for 40 days. Believed to be the largest higher-education strike in U.S. history, it ended in December with an agreement between the university and the United Auto Workers union that raised pay as much as 80% for some workers.
Cornell researchers also analyzed the stated reasons for workers going on strike, finding that the most common demands included better pay, improved health and safety, and more staffing. An increasing number of workers also called for an end to anti-union retaliation and the reinstatement of fired workers.
The Supreme Court recently heard a case that could weaken workers ability to strike by opening unions up to lawsuits by struck employers. As HuffPost recently reported, that could make workers less likely to go on strike in the first place if they know companies might be able to pursue damages associated with the work stoppage through litigation.
The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, warned Wednesday in an analysis on strike data that a ruling in employers favor could have a devastating impact for workers.
If the Supreme Court is persuaded by this argument, it will upend decades of precedent surrounding the right to strike and leave workers with a significantly diminished ability to strike, the authors wrote.
A decision in the case is expected later this year.
Related...
Representatives from BT, Google and Microsoft appeared before the Science and Technology Select Committee to discuss AI regulation (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Wire)
Strong regulation of artificial intelligence use in the UK would help stop malicious uses of the technology from reaching or harming the public, MPs have been told.
Representatives from BT, Google and Microsoft told the Science and Technology Select Committee that AI regulation should focus on how the technology is used and not the tech itself in order to be most effective.
The appearance of the tech giants before the committee, which is investigating the governance of AI, comes as generative AI chatbots able to understand questions and hold human-like conversations developed by Google and Microsoft have grabbed the publics attention and raised concerns about the technologys future.
Microsoft is integrating OpenAIs ChatGPT software into its Bing search engine, while Google has announced the development of its own chatbot Bard which will use Google Search to answer queries and respond to requests.
As we regulate AI, we need to make sure that we are thinking hard about the regulation of uses of AI rather than the AI itself
Hugh Milward, Microsoft UK
When asked by MPs if the tech giants would be concerned if AI products were developed with malicious intent by countries such as China, Hugh Milward, general manager for corporate, external and legal affairs at Microsoft UK admitted the company would be worried by such a development, but said strong regulation in the UK would help protect the public here.
We cant hold back the development of AI that has been developed in other countries, he said.
As we regulate AI, we need to make sure that we are thinking hard about the regulation of uses of AI rather than the AI itself.
Because if we do that, then irrespective of where it is developed if its developed in a regime that we dont necessarily agree with if we regulate its use, then that AI has to, when used in the UK, abide by a set of principles.
We can regulate how its used in the UK.
So it allows us then to worry less about where its developed, and worry more about how its being used.
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When discussing uses of the technology, Conservative MP Aaron Bell, who chaired the session, said that he believes civil servants have been asking if they are allowed to use software such as ChatGPT to help produce briefing materials.
He said he believed staff at the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology had made a number of requests as to whether they could use the programme in their work.
In response, Mr Milward said he thought AI could without a doubt could be helpful in Government because of its ability to be programmed to spot more quickly anomalies or patterns in huge collections of data.
On the ongoing public testing of the ChatGPT-powered Bing and Googles Bard, the two companies said they understood some of the concerns raised around the rise of the technology, but that allowing people to use the software was a key way for them to learn as they continue to build and develop it.
Both companies noted that they also had internal policies around testing in order to reduce bias and other issues in the development of AI products.
There have been concerns raised about the possible impact of the technology on a range of writing-based professions, as well as its possible use by students in essay creation.
There have also been issues raised about chatbots spreading misinformation if it is not able to understand the context of the authenticity of sources.
Asked by MPs if they were worried about the future and the potential power of AI to move beyond the control of humans, Mr Milward said he was not, as AI is a co-pilot, not an autopilot and humans had control over how it was used.
Jen Gennai, Googles director of responsible innovation, said that while it was my job to be worried, she was excited about the technology as long as there are guardrails such as strong regulation.
designer491 / Getty Images/iStockphoto
On Feb. 28, President Joe Bidens student loan forgiveness program will be taken up in the Supreme Court. Two cases are challenging the loan forgiveness program, which is currently paused due to legal proceedings.
Student Loan Forgiveness: Timeline of Events Leading Up To the Supreme Court Review
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One case was brought by individual borrowers who did not qualify for the full $20,000 forgiveness. The other is by a group of Republican-led states: Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina.
Before the legal proceedings halted the student loan forgiveness, 26 million applications were submitted. As expected, large states with big populations had the most applications and lower population states had the least.
Approximately 16.5 million of those applications were approved for discharge. The White House recently released data showing the number of fully approved applications by state.
The six states that would be impacted most by Bidens plan are as follows:
California 1.47 million applications approved
Texas 1.39 million applications approved
Florida 1.05 million applications approved
New York 998,000 applications approved
Pennsylvania 743,000 applications approved
Ohio 702,000 applications approved
The Department of Educations data from last week shows how many borrowers per congressional district were fully approved for debt relief, with 60% to 65% of eligible borrowers applying or automatically deemed eligible in most districts.
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In the six Republican-led states that are challenging the student loan forgiveness program, 1.1 million student loan borrowers have already been approved for forgiveness, with another estimated 2.9 million student loan borrowers that could potentially qualify.
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Millions of Americans are waiting to see how the Supreme Court rules on the Biden student loan forgiveness program.
More From GOBankingRates
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Student Loan Forgiveness: 6 States That Would Be Impacted The Most Through Bidens Plan
Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, has confirmed that London is ready to help other countries that decide to provide aircraft to Ukraine, noting that this task is difficult for Britain itself.
Source: Ukrainska Pravdas journalist after a meeting of Ukrainian journalists with Sunak, reports European Pravda
Quote: "What about fighter jets, I said when your president was here that we would be the first country to train Ukrainian pilots to use such fighter jets or other aircraft. It is not just about buying them; it's about tactics; and that is a broader part of the plan, which consists of how we can ensure that Ukraine can protect itself not only today but also in the long term," Sunak said.
Details: However, Sunak said, as of now, sending specific British aircraft and aircraft in general is a difficult task.
"It is not easy because there is a whole set of things that come along; it's not just about the plane. It's how you take care of it, how you maintain it, and you have to work on that," Sunak said.
In addition, Sunak noted that British aircraft are "very different" from those Ukrainian pilots are used to.
At the same time, he confirmed the UK's readiness to help other countries that decide to provide aircraft to Ukraine.
"Now, if there are countries that can provide aircraft that can be used in Ukraine, then we will help them do it. That's what we said. Because we want to continue to provide all the support that we can," Sunak noted.
Background: On 22 February, Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, suggested that the UK would be the first country to unblock the supply of Western fighter jets to Ukraine.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Supermarkets are experiencing shortages of some fresh produce. (Getty)
A supermarket boss has warned Brexit is contributing to shortages of fruit and vegetables in the UK after the sector was hurt horribly" by the decision to leave the EU.
Shoppers are facing limits on the amount of fresh produce they can purchase as supply issues leave supermarket shelves bare.
The major supermarkets have blamed "difficult weather conditions" in Spain and Morocco for the problems following heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and snow storms.
But former Sainsbury's CEO Justin King told LBC that Brexit was partly to blame as UK greenhouses producing peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes had been negatively impacted by it.
Read more: Supermarket food rationing: The stores that are currently affected
Former Sainsbury's CEO Justin King has warned Brexit is contributing to shortages. (Getty)
Tesco, Aldi, Asda and Morrisons have introduced rations on certain items, including tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, as a way of maintaining their stock during the supply issues which could last weeks.
King said: "North Kent, in Thanet, [had] the largest greenhouses in Europe, which used to be full of peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.
"But those greenhouses have suffered, really, from two big things. I hate to say it, Nick, but it's a sector that's been hurt horribly by Brexit."
Anti-Brexit campaign group Save British Farming also blamed supply issues on the UKs decision to leave the EU, adding: The reason we have #foodshortages in Britain is because of this @Conservatives govt and their #Brexit and its not because of Spanish weather!
Watch: Rationing risk as tomato shortage hits UK supermarkets
King added the governments decision to exclude supermarkets from the energy support scheme as well as the bad weather in Spain and Morocco were also to blame.
The UK has relied more on products grown in Morocco following Brexit, so the country is vulnerable to any issues in this region.
Production problems in Morocco began in January with unusually cold night-time temperatures that affected tomato ripening.
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These were compounded by ferry cancellations due to bad weather, hitting lorry deliveries.
Read more: Supermarket rationing could last for weeks, retail experts warn
Empty fruit and vegetable shelves at an Asda in east London with a Max 3 units sign. (Getty)
Rising energy costs have also been cited as a reason for the fresh food shortages.
According to reports, tomato growers in the UK are struggling to heat their greenhouses due to lack of money.
On Wednesday, environment secretary Therese Coffey told farmers we cant control the weather in Spain when confronted with the news that supermarkets were limiting sales of fruit and vegetables.
In her speech to delegates at the National Farmers Union (NFU) conference in Birmingham, Coffey stressed the need for biosecurity but left the conference hall before discussing the supermarket supply issues.
It is understood that retailers believe the problems stem from poor yields on the continent and North Africa, and that supplies will improve in the coming days or weeks.
The Supreme Court justices on Wednesday appeared skeptical that Twitter could be held liable for aiding and abetting a 2017 terrorist attack in a lawsuit brought by the relatives of one of the victims.
The case, Twitter v. Taamneh, arose after an ISIS-linked attacker killed Nawras Alassaf and 38 other people at an Istanbul nightclub. Alassafs family sued Twitter and other tech platforms, accusing them of not taking enough enforcement action against the terrorist group.
Wednesdays oral argument wrapped up a double-header for Big Tech at the high court this week that began with Google attempting to fend off a similar suit brought by another ISIS attack victims family.
Google asserted that Section 230 a controversial liability shield for internet companies protects the company from the underlying terrorism claims.
If the justices ultimately rule in favor of Twitter in the second case, they wouldnt need to touch the Section 230 question in Googles dispute because the company wouldnt need the protections in the first place.
Wednesdays oral argument probed whether a violation of the anti-terrorism law requires knowingly providing substantial assistance to a specific act of terrorism as Twitter argues or if the court should follow the familys contention that assistance to ISISs broader criminal enterprise suffices.
The attacker was never alleged to be on Twitter, but Alassafs familys suit accuses Twitter and other platforms of aiding and abetting the attack by contributing to ISISs growth and not taking more aggressive enforcement action against pro-ISIS content.
The fact that you are focused on the infrastructure rather than specific conduct or specific accounts, does that also mean that Twitter could be held liable Twitter is an aider and abettor in every terrorist act? Justice Clarence Thomas pressed Eric Schnapper, who represented the family.
Seth Waxman, who represented Twitter, said holding the platform liable would require alleging that Twitter was aware of specific pro-ISIS accounts or posts but refused to take them down.
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Where the alleged culpable conduct is the failure to do more to prevent misuse of widely available services offered to the world at arms length, subject to enforced policies against terrorist content, it is not, as a matter of law, the knowing provision of substantial assistance to an act of international terrorism, absent specific knowledge of specific accounts or posts that were used to plan, commit or proximately support the act of international terrorism that injured the plaintiff, Waxman said.
Schnapper, on the other hand, asserted that a plaintiff doesnt need to provide a specific account for their claims to move forward.
We do not think that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that, he said.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who participated remotely because he was feeling under the weather, repeatedly stressed the familys allegations would have to connect to the particular terrorist in question.
There are very few points in this complaint that they aided the person who engaged in the terrorist attack, Gorsuch said. We all appreciate how horrible the attack was, but theres very little linking the defendants in this complaint to those persons.
Some of the justices raised concerns about how a broad interpretation of liability could be used in other contexts.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked Schnapper if adopting his argument meant CNN could be held liable for its famous 1997 interview with Osama bin Laden, when bin Laden declared war on the United States.
Thomas, one of Kavanaughs fellow conservative justices, asked if a pager company could be held liable for a terrorist that uses its product. Justice Samuel Alito, another conservative, pressed whether companies that manage phone booths could be held liable if a terrorist places calls using their booth.
The Biden administration expressed similar concerns as they argued in support of vacating the lower court decision that favored the family.
The statute and we are concerned about not extending it so far that legitimate business activities could be inhibited, that banks, for example, in underdeveloped parts of the world and charities that may depend on those banks, concerns about how they may pull back as a result of legitimate businesses, said U.S. Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler.
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan pressed Kneedler on banks in particular, asking him whether one could be held liable if bin Laden walked in and opened an account.
I would be shocked if the government gave that one away, right, Kagan said.
Kneedler agreed in that scenario, but he stressed that the bank in other hypotheticals could only be held liable if certain conditions are met.
Somebody who is a leader or somebody who you know has committed or is about to commit a terrorist act, Kneedler said.
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A U.S. flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington. (Associated Press)
The Supreme Court justices sounded split Wednesday over whether social media firms can be sued and potentially held liable for aiding international terrorists.
At issue is how to interpret a 2016 federal law that gives victims of international terrorism and their survivors the "broadest possible basis" to sue those who aided and abetted terrorists.
Washington attorney Seth Waxman, representing Twitter, said the court should dismiss the lawsuit against the social media firm on the grounds that the site did not give "substantial assistance" to Islamic State.
But some justices sounded open to allowing lawsuits against Google, Facebook or Twitter for giving a platform to terrorists.
"You're not liable for providing a platform that you knew [terrorists] were using to recruit people and to help arrange other terrorist acts?" Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked dubiously.
The complaint alleged Islamic State had openly maintained accounts on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and used them to recruit thousands of new members.
Justice Elena Kagan said Twitter was sued because it provided a platform that allowed Islamic State to communicate with its members and recruit new ones. Moreover, the social media firms were aware of the activity because they had been repeatedly warned by government officials.
Justice Clarence Thomas who also sounded skeptical of Twitter's argument asked its attorney about the meaning of aiding and abetting.
"I assume you would agree that if I had a friend who was a mugger, a murderer and a burglar but other than that a good guy and I loaned him a gun, but not knowing and not wanting to know what he was going to do with it, that I possibly could be aiding and abetting?"
No, Waxman told Thomas, not unless there was more evidence that you knew your friend was about to commit a crime.
Waxman seemed to make more headway by warning of the consequences of a ruling that would open the door to such lawsuits.
Noting that social media companies serve hundreds of millions of users in this country, he said "every time there is a foreign terrorist incident, every one of them could be liable for treble damages," he said.
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In addition to social media firms, he added, banks, cellphone providers and other businesses could be alleged to have aided a terrorist.
Deputy Solicitor Gen. Edwin Kneedler, siding with Twitter, agreed the suit should be dismissed because there was no evidence that the social media site deliberately aided terrorists.
He said it would be a mistake to allow broad and costly lawsuits against businesses that serve hundreds of millions of people. Under such a rule, even charities and humanitarian groups could be sued for aiding terrorists, he said.
The case of Twitter vs. Taamneh arose from a terrorist attack on the Reina nightclub in Istanbul in 2017. The attacker had been trained by Islamic State, and he shot into a crowd, killing 39 people and injuring 69 others. The American relatives of one victim sued the three major social media sites under the 2016 law.
A federal judge initially dismissed the suit, but the 9th Circuit Court ruled it could proceed.
Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh said he questioned the notion that general businesses serving the public whether banks, rental car companies or social media sites would be held liable for aiding terrorists. Thomas said he had the same concern.
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch saw a separate reason to dismiss the suit. The 2016 law refers to aid or assistance to the "person who committed an act of international terrorism."
The complaint against Twitter describes aid to Islamic State in general, he said, but it does not point to specific evidence involving the attacker who carried out the Istanbul attack.
After nearly three hours of argument, it was not clear how the majority would decide.
On Tuesday, tech industry lawyers were relieved when the justices sounded skeptical of weakening a separate federal law, known as Section 230, that shields websites from being sued over the content posted by others, including by terrorists.
At issue in that case was whether the computerized algorithms used by YouTube to refer users to similar content was protected by Section 230. Several justices suggested the issue was better addressed by Congress.
The justices will meet privately on Friday to discuss both terrorism cases and cast their votes. The decisions may not come until the end of June.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court seemed skeptical Wednesday of a lawsuit trying to hold social media companies responsible for a terrorist attack at a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people.
During arguments at the high court several justices underscored that there was no evidence linking Twitter, Facebook and Google directly to the 2017 attack on the Reina nightclub in Istanbul. The family of a man killed in the attack says the companies aided and abetted the attack because they assisted in the growth of the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack . A lower court let the lawsuit go forward.
What the court does with Wednesdays case and a related one it heard a day earlier is important, particularly because the companies have been shielded from liability on the internet, allowing them to grow into global giants.
If the court bars the lawsuit involving the attack in Turkey from going forward it could avoid a major ruling on the companies' legal immunity. That outcome would leave the current system in place, but also leave open the possibility that the justices could take up the issue again in a later case.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett was among the members of the court who suggested that the suit against the companies lacks the kind of facts required under a federal anti-terrorism law to hold platforms responsible.
Barrett suggested that a lawsuit against a company such as Twitter would need to have more, such as direct messages, comment threads or other evidence that the platform was being used to coordinate activities for a terrorist attack, not just general recruitment or radicalizing people.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, participating remotely for a second straight day because of illness, said he was having difficulty with the argument of a lawyer for the family of Nawras Alassaf, who was killed in the nightclub attack. Gorsuch told lawyer Eric Schnapper that he was "struggling with how your complaint lines up with the three requirements of the statute that the companies knowingly helped a person commit a terrorist act.
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The justices seemed more willing to accept the arguments of a lawyer for Twitter, Facebook and Google, Seth Waxman. At one point during two and a half hours of arguments, Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Waxman to help her sketch out what an opinion would look like if the court ruled for his clients. Write it for me, she said.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh summarized Waxman's argument this way: When theres a legitimate business that provides services on a widely available basis ... its not going to be liable under this statute even if it knows bad people use its services for bad things.
Seeming to agree with that idea, Justice Samuel Alito suggested that it would be outlandish if telephone companies were held responsible for criminal activity of people using their phones. What if, he said, the phone company knows that a particular person is -- has a criminal background and is probably engaging in criminal activity and is using the phone to communicate with other members of that persons gang. Is that aiding and abetting the crimes that they commit?
The law the case involves is the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allows Americans injured by a terrorist attack abroad to sue for money damages in federal court.
A decision in the case Twitter v. Taamneh, 21-1496 is expected by the end of June before the court recesses for its summer break.
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Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
Three years into the fight against COVID-19, China declared a major and decisive victory in its response to the pandemic.
How did a highly populous nation successfully pull through the pandemic and create a miracle in human history?
Over the past three years, China has been adjusting its COVID prevention and control measures in light of new developments to protect its people's health and safety.
A walk down memory lane serves as a reminder that scientific decision-making plays a fundamental role in the fight against COVID-19, and only science-based approaches can deliver an acclaimed performance in the face of the pandemic unseen in a century.
Emergency response
During the crucial early days of the outbreak, the central authorities immediately sent an expert team to Wuhan, hit hard by the COVID-19.
Scientific findings and professional suggestions were quickly translated into concrete actions.
On Jan. 12, 2020, China shared the genome sequence of the virus at the earliest opportunity, making significant contributions to vaccine and drug research and development worldwide.
On Jan. 23, 2020, Wuhan suspended all outbound trains and flights to slow down virus transmission.
Stadiums and exhibition centers were converted into makeshift hospitals. Tens of thousands of medical workers rushed to the front line and raced against time to improve diagnosis and treatment of the previously unknown disease.
"When the pandemic emerged in Wuhan, the response from the Chinese authorities was quite good," Antoine Flahault, director of the Institute of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, told Xinhua in a video interview.
"The Chinese government did apply very strict and effective measures at that time to tackle the pandemic and to avoid its spread all over the country."
Containing sporadic outbreaks
China successfully prevented the virus from spreading in Wuhan as the city reported no new confirmed cases in May 2020. Before the vaccines were available, China formulated new approaches to small-scale clusters to make COVID-19 a controllable disease.
China's measures echoed the methods repeatedly stressed by the World Health Organization. The most effective way to combat an infectious disease, including COVID-19, is testing people who may be infected, tracing their contacts, and isolating or quarantining those who are positive or exposed.
A series of strict prevention and control measures required enormous political courage and vision. Widespread public adherence made a difference in curbing sporadic outbreaks swiftly.
According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), China withstood 11 rounds of small-scale outbreaks caused by the Delta variant, which causes more severe cases than other variants.
In 2021, a study by Oxford University showed that due to COVID-19, 27 of 29 countries spanning most of Europe, the United States, and Chile all saw reductions in life expectancy in 2020, the biggest decrease since World War II.
In China, the average life expectancy increased from 77.93 years in 2020 to 78.2 in 2021.
Dynamic zero-COVID
China adopted the "dynamic zero-COVID" strategy in August 2021. It was a transitional strategy used when the population immunity barrier was not yet established in the face of the continued risk of foreign importation and high transmission of variants.
In other words, China took precise prevention and control measures to quickly find, control, and cure infected people within a specific geographic region to avoid affecting social and economic development in other regions, so as to achieve the maximum effect at the lowest cost, said the China CDC.
China's average annual economic growth rate over the past three years was approximately 4.5 percent, higher than the global average and making significant contributions to global economic growth.
For a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion, China followed a vaccination strategy different from many other countries. Vaccines were administered first to key groups and high-risk groups, due to limited supplies at that early stage of the fight against COVID-19.
As the production capacity picked up, China implemented the world's most extensive vaccination campaign in terms of scale, and managed to build a relatively strong immunity barrier among its citizens.
Currently, more than 90 percent of the Chinese population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and over 86 percent of people aged 60 or above are fully vaccinated.
The country is also continuously improving its medical treatment capacity. According to the National Health Commission, the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in China had reached 216,000, and 135,000 hospital beds could be converted to intensive care, by the end of 2022.
Optimization in new stage
During the three years after the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China kept its severe COVID-19 cases and death rates among the lowest in the world, while treatment, testing, and vaccine production capacities continued growing.
The relatively "mild" omicron variant, a high vaccination rate, and the accumulation of experience allowed China's epidemic prevention and control policy to enter a new stage in late 2022.
China made an array of adjustments to its COVID-19 policies, including 20 measures last November and 10 more measures in December, while also changing the Chinese term for COVID-19 from "novel coronavirus pneumonia" to "novel coronavirus infection." The adjusted policies confirmed a consistent effort to effectively balance epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development needs.
With life and work returning to normal at an accelerated pace, China remains vigilant and continues improving its epidemic monitoring and information reporting system, so that timely and accurate early warnings can be issued and necessary prevention and control measures taken immediately.
The country is also increasing the vaccination rate among its elderly. Local governments across the country are required to provide "express channels" or arrange vaccination vehicles for the elderly, and to provide them with door-to-door services when needed to facilitate vaccination.
Paedophiles are starting to use virtual reality headsets to view child abuse images, crime records suggest.
Childrens charity the NSPCC obtained data from police forces in England and Wales including details of which social media sites or types of technology were mentioned in reported crimes.
Police recorded 30,925 offences involving obscene images of children in 2021/22, the highest number ever logged by forces in England and Wales.
Among these, a social media or gaming site was recorded in 9,888 cases including Snapchat 4,293 times, Facebook 1,361; Instagram 1,363 and WhatsApp 547.
Virtual reality was recorded eight times by police forces in crime reports, the first time this technology has been specifically mentioned, the NSPCC said.
The NSPCC is asking for amendments to the Online Safety Bill to create a child safety advocate to represent the interests of children and families.
It also wants changes to the law to mean senior managers of social media sites are held criminally liable if children are exposed to preventable abuse.
Sir Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: These new figures are incredibly alarming but reflect just the tip of the iceberg of what children are experiencing online.
We hear from young people who feel powerless and let down as online sexual abuse risks becoming normalised for a generation of children.
By creating a child safety advocate that stands up for children and families the Government can ensure the Online Safety Bill systemically prevents abuse.
It would be inexcusable if in five years time we are still playing catch-up to pervasive abuse that has been allowed to proliferate on social media.
A Government spokesperson said: Protecting children is at the heart of the Online Safety Bill and we have included tough, world-leading measures to achieve that aim while ensuring the interests of children and families are represented through the Childrens Commissioner.
Virtual reality platforms are in scope and will be forced to keep children safe from exploitation and remove vile child abuse content. If companies fail to tackle this material effectively, they will face huge fines and could face criminal sanctions against their senior managers.
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A spokesman for Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said it reports child sexual exploitation to international child protection organisation the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children.
He added: This horrific content is banned on our apps, and we report instances of child sexual exploitation to NCMEC.
We lead the industry in the development and use of technology to prevent and remove this content, and we work with the police, child safety experts and industry partners to tackle this societal issue.
Our work in this area is never done, and well continue to do everything we can to keep this content off our apps.
A woman was arrested Tuesday and charged with multiple hate crimes after she allegedly torched an LGBTQ pride flag hanging from a Manhattan restaurant Monday.
Angelina Cando, 30, was charged with three hate crimes including arson, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, according to the New York City Police Department.
WANTED for ARSON: On 2/20 at 1:35AM at 199 Prince St in Manhattan, a white SUV pulled over & an unknown individual exited & approached the establishment. The individual proceeded to ignite a fire to a gay pride flag hanging in front. Any info? DM @NYPDTips, or call 800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/VBKmQVRSmL NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) February 21, 2023
Security video of the incident, released by the NYPD, appears to show a woman exiting a white SUV before walking up to Little Prince in Manhattans Soho neighborhood and setting its rainbow pride flag on fire with what appeared to be a cigarette lighter. No one was injured, and the restaurant only suffered exterior damage, the NYPD said.
A day after police released the video and photos, the suspect was caught.
Pride flag arson suspect (NYPD)
This is Candos third arrest in the past month, according to public records. Cando was arrested on Jan. 30 in connection with a domestic violence case and charged with several misdemeanors, including assault with the intention to cause physical injury. She was arrested again on Feb. 2 and charged with menacing, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon.
Defense attorney Eugene Nathanson, who said he is representing Cando in the pride flag case and the Feb. 2 incident, declined to comment. Defense attorney Mathew Mari, whos representing Cando in the Jan. 30 incident, did not immediately respond to NBC News request for comment.
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After the NYPD announced Candos arrest, New York City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who represents large swaths of lower Manhattan and is gay, posted a statement on Instagram thanking authorities and the community for amplifying the video. He ended his post with a warning.
Anyone who is contemplating attacks against the LGBTQ community, or any marginalized group, should know they will be held accountable, Bottcher wrote.
The incident at the Manhattan restaurant is one among a slew of violent attacks against LGBTQ establishments, figures or symbols in New York City within the past year.
In April, a Brooklyn bar serving LGBTQ New Yorkers closed after an arson attack left the establishment unrecognizable. A man was arrested in November after allegedly throwing bricks at the window of a Hells Kitchen gay bar several times within a matter of days. And in December, two people were arrested after a group of protesters allegedly vandalized Bottchers apartment building with graffiti containing homophobic slurs.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The man accused of murdering Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell has been charged with murder, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced Wednesday.
The suspect, 65-year-old Carlos Medina, is the husband of O'Connell's housekeeper and had done some work around the bishop's home, Gascon said. He faces one count of murder.
Gascon said that the case "warranted the filing of a special allegation that (Medina) used a firearm during the commission" of the murder.
Police have not announced a possible motive for the bishop's killing. Lieutenant Mike Modica of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Wednesday that in an interview, Medina gave "several different reasons" for why he had killed the bishop, but "none of them made any sense to investigators."
According to CBS Sacramento, a tipster alleged that Medina had been acting strange and made comments about O'Connell owing him money, but Modica said investigators had discounted that possibility.
Bishop David O'Connell. / Credit: Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
According to CBS Los Angeles, O'Connell, 69, was shot at his home around 1 p.m. local time on Saturday, Feb. 18. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Gascon said there was no sign of forced entry.
CBS Sacramento reported that detectives reviewed surveillance video that showed an SUV similar to one Medina is known to drive had been at the bishop's home. Police also found two firearms and "other evidence possibly linking Medina to the crime," according to CBS Sacramento.
Medina was arrested after an hours-long standoff with deputies, according to CBS Sacramento. Medina's wife is fully cooperating with the investigation, CBS Sacramento reported.
O'Connell, who was born in Ireland, served the Los Angeles community for nearly "half a century," Gascon said, working with multiple congregations, immigrants, communities impacted by gang violence, and more since he was ordained in the district in 1979.
"This was a brutal act of violence against a person who has dedicated a life to making our neighborhood safer, healthier and always serving with love and compassion," Gascon said. "This is an incredible loss, not only for the church but for our entirely community ... Charging Mr. Medina will never repair the tremendous harm that was caused by this callous act but it does take one step closer to accountability. We will continue to extend our sympathy to the family of Bishop O'Connell and to the entire community."
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(Bloomberg) -- The chief of Taiwans military told a local magazine the islands forces could repel an initial attack from China if they are well-prepared.
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China is certainly strong enough to start a war, but its not so strong that it can successfully take Taiwan within one or two weeks, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said in an interview with CommonWealth Magazine published this week.
Chiu also said Taiwan can definitely make it through any blockade the Peoples Liberation Army imposed, as long as it had the necessary supplies. There are many ways to get around a blockade and we can use the Internet and other forms of communication to break it, he said.
Holding off the PLA for two weeks is a key goal of Taiwans military because it would allow time for the US and other allies to come to its aid.
Beijings unprecedented military drills following then-House speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taipei in August included maneuvers off major cities and both east and west of the island in what appeared to be practice for encircling the island so it would be cut off from outside help.
Russias war in Ukraine has raised concern that Beijing would be emboldened to invade the island that it has pledged to one day bring under control. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Tuesday urged the world to stop drawing the parallels.
Read: Why Taiwans Status Risks Igniting a US-China Clash: QuickTake
Admiral Harry Harris, the former commander of US forces in the Pacific, told Congress earlier this month that the US ignores the prospect of China invading Taiwan within years at our peril.
Some China experts have questioned public warnings about a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. They say Beijing would much prefer to absorb the island eventually without the use of force, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said publicly.
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They also say that the 2027 date that is frequently mentioned is simply the year China has set for its military modernization goals, rather than a hard deadline for conquering Taiwan. The PLA celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2027.
Separately, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo met with US officials in Washington on Tuesday, the semi-official Central News Agency reported.
They visited the American Institute in Taiwans Washington headquarters accompanied by the islands representative to the US, Hsiao Bi-khim, CNA reported.
Assistant US Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and Assistant US Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner arrived at the building around the same time.
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A teenager pleaded guilty Tuesday in the drive-by shooting death of another teen outside a Des Moines, Iowa, high school and was sentenced to a life prison term with the possibility of parole.
Romeo Perdomo, 17, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the March 7, 2022, death of Jose Lopez-Perez, 15, outside East High School. That plea followed a deal in which prosecutors dismissed other charges and recommended a life sentence with a possibility of parole, according to the Des Moines Register. Adults convicted of first-degree murder in Iowa are required to spend the rest of their lives in prison but judges can give juveniles a chance at parole.
Judge Lawrence McLellan gave Perdomo the life sentence with no requirement on the time he must serve in prison, telling him, I hope you use this opportunity to fully understand the consequences you have created, the pain you have created, the grief you have created.
Perdomo was among 10 teens charged in the death of Lopez-Perez and the wounding of two girls. According to court filings, at least eight of those charged plan to plead guilty and one has been sentenced.
Police investigators blamed the shooting on a dispute between rival gang members, and video evidence showed teens getting into three vehicles and driving by the school, where they sprayed at least 42 bullets from six guns.
Fifteen-year-old shot near Great Falls High School. Two suspects in police custody
A 15-year-old student from Great Falls High School was shot and critically injured on his way to school Tuesday, and a 14-year-old has been charged with assault.
Police responded to the 1600 block of the Great Falls Housing Authority just before 8 a.m., Great Falls Police Department reported, after residents reported hearing gunshots and the victim yelling he had been shot. Upon arrival, police learned the victim was walking to school at Great Falls High School, and were provided the names of two suspects who had fled the area on foot.
A resident within the area in which the shooting occurred, northeast of the Great Falls Housing Authority, told KRTV News Tuesday that she heard two shots, then looked her window where she saw "a slender person who was dressed in black" fleeing the scene.
Police reported Tuesday morning that the unidentified 15-year-old victim had been taken to the hospital with what were believed to be "life-threatening injuries," then later in the day confirmed the teenager was in stable condition after surgery.
"Please keep the victim and his family in your thoughts," a GFPD news release said. "...The incident was not random and results from on-going disagreements. This by no means excuses this behavior, even on-going disagreements should never result in violence."
Great Falls High was immediately notified and both Great Falls High and Longfellow Elementary were placed into shelter-in-place after the initial report. The order was lifted after two suspects, one 16 and one 15, were arrested and taken into custody at around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The 16-year-old male had withdrawn from Great Falls Public Schools, according to police. The 15-year-old male was detained at a separate residence. Further investigation revealed neither of these suspects were responsible for the shooting.
Later, a 14-year-old student from East Middle School, currently a Homebound student who receives educational services online rather than on school property, was arrested and charged with assault with a weapon. The suspected firearm has been located and is in police custody, according to a GFPD statement, which indicated the investigation is ongoing.
"Officers have determined this incident to be isolated to those involved," GFPD representatives said on Tuesday. "It was not random. As we continue to investigate the incident, community members may see an increased police presence."
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Teenage boy shot near Great Falls High
This photo taken on Feb. 17, 2023 shows whooper swans (white-feathered) and other wintering birds at a habitat near the Yellow River in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province. [Photo/Xinhua]
A migratory whooper swan wearing an identification collar was spotted for the first time in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, where dozens of such birds are wintering.
Last week, researchers discovered that the number of wintering whooper swans at a habitat on the local section of the Yellow River has slightly increased from 17 a year ago to 23. After days of observation, they found that one of the birds has a blue collar with the serial number "1T83" on its neck and it had arrived with its family.
"This was the first time for us to see a banded whooper swan inhabiting Lanzhou," said Zhang Zhe, who works with the local forestry bureau.
Bird banding is a common practice for identifying individual birds and monitoring their migration, population, distribution, and levels of environmental pollutants, among other information, to provide a scientific basis for protecting endangered species and preventing bird flu, said Zhang Lixun, head of the wildlife biodiversity monitoring and protection team from Lanzhou University.
He said "1T83" was among over 100 swans banded and then released in western Mongolia in 2011. The bird was spotted in Gansu's neighboring province of Qinghai in December 2021, indicating that its wintering site is not fixed.
The "1T83" family is expected to leave Gansu by the end of February, according to experts. The local forestry bureau will continue monitoring and data reporting.
Gansu is located on two international bird migration routes, which are from Central Asia to India and from East Asia to Australia. With the onset of autumn, a good number of migratory birds fly to Gansu and stay till the end of winter.
An untold number of people in Wayne County jails have been stuck behind bars for a week or more after judges ordered their release because of delays in fitting electronic monitoring devices, the Free Press has learned.
Wayne County during the pandemic has been placing nearly three times the normal number of people charged with crimes on tethers, strapping Sheriff's Office staffers and creating the delay.
Some of those in jail are still inside even after loved ones have paid the bond required to free them, according to defense attorneys, bail bond company staffers and jail union officials.
Jail officials say for most inmates the delay is not that long unless there are complications, but acknowledged the release process has slowed to three days from two or fewer before the pandemic. Those same officials did not provide exact numbers on how many inmates wait longer, saying that detail should be requested under the state Freedom of Information Act. The Free Press has a request pending.
Critics argue the additional wait for release can be unfairly punitive for those facing charges but presumed innocent. Days-long delays can cost defendants their jobs or reduce their ability to mount a defense. And having more people incarcerated can increase the chances of catching the coronavirus.
The Free Press found an example of a 26-year-old Detroit man accused of knowingly buying a stolen trailer who sat in jail for three weeks after his mom posted his bail, in part because he was waiting on a tether, according to records and interviews. He said he lost work and had to move in with family because of the delay.
The entrance to the electronic monitoring unit at the William Dickerson detention facility on Feb. 5 in Detroit.
"I think it's an outrage," said William Swor, a defense attorney and member of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. "People should be released when the court orders them released. There should not be a significant delay. Since the right to bond is a constitutional right. ... The question is, at what point does it become a constitutional violation?"
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Union officials blame the tether backlog on low staffing, saying deputies in the tether unit often are tapped to help work in the jails. That makes it difficult to keep track of the nearly 1,700 people already on the devices, they said.
The current tether caseload is a nearly 170% increase from pre-pandemic averages of about 630 people on the devices countywide. And the tether population exceeds the approximately 1,460 inmates currently in the Wayne County jails.
"It's a safety issue," Allen Cox, president of the Wayne County Deputy Sheriff's Association, said of tether unit staffers. "They have extremely large caseloads."
It's not clear exactly how many people work in the tether unit.
Robert Dunlap, chief of jails for the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, declined to give a number but said that the department has "tripled the amount of staff that is budgeted" since the pandemic hit.
Union officials said they have about 15 members in the unit. In 2020, there were 22 staffers, including sergeants in the division, according to a budget document.
Complaints with the countys tether backlog represent just a slice of broader criticism with electronic monitoring programs. Civil rights groups and mass incarceration opponents question the use of the devices to monitor nonviolent offenders, the fairness of the financial burden on defendants and whether tethers improve public safety. Proponents say the devices are a better option than incarceration and save the county money.
Dunlap acknowledged the release process has slowed to about 72 hours as judges ordered more tethers, primarily to reduce potential COVID-19 outbreaks behind bars and with the goal of moving more nonviolent offenders out of jail.
If the delay is longer, usually there are complications, such as when an accused person has warrants elsewhere or doesn't have a place to stay once released, Dunlap said. Many defense attorneys and family members don't understand the multistep tether process, he said, which can include programming in restricted locations, such as victims' addresses, and finding homeless suspects a place to live.
"I think our turnaround time is quite commendable given the volume of people that we process," Dunlap said. To tell the true story about whats going on here, this is a systemic issue with regards to delays in the criminal justice system in America."
The pandemic has periodically shut down area district courts, and Wayne County Circuit Court judges are still working a mix of in-person and remote operations, contributing to a backlog of cases. The circuit court has more than 5,900 felony cases awaiting trial. Pre-pandemic, the court typically had about 1,500 pending.
Delays are common, lawyers say
Lillian Diallo, a defense attorney and president of the Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Association, said that over the past several months she has been getting more complaints from attorneys over tether delays.
We are seeing five, seven days after bond is posted, Diallo said. As a lawyer you have to do Herculean efforts to try and get people out.
Even a three-day wait for a tether is unacceptable, said Deborah Choly, an attorney with Michigan Legal Services who helps monitor the sheriff's department's compliance with a long-standing inmate lawsuit first filed in 1971 over the poor conditions in the jails.
"Nobody is happy with any of this," Choly said. "It's outrageous."
Phil Mayor, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan, agreed that detaining someone for any significant period of time after theyve been ordered released on a tether raises serious constitutional concerns. But he was unaware of any court rules or statutes that limit wait times for electronic monitoring devices to be put on once they are ordered. He suggested that if a tether cannot be handled within 24 hours, judges allow the person to go free and come back with an appointment at an appropriate time.
The Free Press talked to people involved with the system and combed through records to find several examples of release delays.
The man who spent three weeks in jail after his mom posted bond was Minya Irby's client this summer.
She's a bail agent with Banks Bail Bonds in Detroit and paid his $5,000 bail with his mom's help the day of his arraignment May 21 in Hamtramck's 31st District Court. He wasn't released until June 11.
"His mom was real upset," Irby said. "I remember telling her she needed to call the news."
The 26-year-old man's tether release on the stolen property case was delayed by another warrant he faced in Detroit for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The man spent nearly two weeks in jail after his bond was posted before he was arraigned June 3 in 36th District Court on the drunken driving charge.
It's not clear why the arraignment in the second case took so long. Diallo said that process should have taken only a few days.
According to the Michigan Attorney General's Office, in general, a person must be arraigned within 48 hours of an arrest, or within 72 hours on a weekend.
After he was arraigned, the man was eligible for the tether, sheriff's officials said. But the unit didn't get the arraignment paperwork detailing that 36th District judge's order, sheriff officials said.
"During this time frame, (the Sheriff's Office) was having some difficulty getting paperwork from various courts," Wayne County Sheriff's Capt. Jason Bates wrote in an email. "We dont offer this as an excuse, but to paint the best picture possible of the issues at this time."
Officials with 36th District Court said the proper paperwork was sent the day of the arraignment.
The man waited eight more days in jail before he had another hearing on the stolen property case in front of Hamtramck Judge Alexis Krot, who originally ordered the tether. She removed the tether requirement on the stolen property charge and he was released the next day.
Krot, who is recovering from COVID-19, said by email that she couldn't comment on the case because she couldn't review the transcript. Her clerk, who would help her review the case, had also recently gotten sick with the virus.
A Free Press reporter spoke several times to the 26-year-old man, who said he wanted to get answers to why he remained in jail so long but feared being targeted by police for speaking out. He did not return more recent reporter phone calls. He said earlier he does home renovations and lost work and had to move back home with his mom because he was in jail so long.
Detroiter Page Cheatom said the tether backlog made a terrible situation worse after her arrest in November 2020.
The 24-year-old mother of four young children was fitted for a tether and released four days after her sister bailed her out of the Wayne County Jail, according to court records and sheriff's officials.
Then, last spring during her preliminary exam, a judge sent her back to jail and increased her bond, her lawyer, Arni Chambers, said. Cheatom got another tether and was released six days after her family paid her higher bond, according to records. Dunlap said it was a shorter turnaround than six days because the bond was paid in the late afternoon and she was released in the morning.
Cheatom faces a dozen charges, including assault with intent to commit murder, for an incident in 2020 involving an acquaintance. She maintains her innocence and is fighting the charges, Chambers said.
Cheatom said she lost work as a certified nursing assistant while she was in jail, had to move in with her sister and missed her 4-year-old sons birthday all made worse because she had to remain in jail after posting bail, she said. She said jail staffers told her it was because of the tether backlog.
My mom and my sister kept calling up there and they kept telling them, Shes not on the list today, shes not on the list today. Call back tomorrow, Cheatom said. It was the worst experience ever because we paid our money, why was we still waiting there so long for a tether?
It made a lot of things worse.
Dunlap said Cheatom is facing serious charges and in those instances there can be several additional steps that must be taken, including notifying victims.
"I think they did an excellent job," Dunlap said of the tether unit in Cheatom's case. "We certainly dont want to expose the public to any undue danger or harm simply because we acted in haste to release someone who is still under the jurisdiction of the court."
Wayne County's tether caseload standouts
Wayne County Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Kenny said that he's aware of tether delays but reiterated that the process can take time.
"I understand the concern. As a judge, if somebody has been ordered released, they need to be released as soon as possible to comply with the order," Kenny said. "But it does require that the sheriff department has to do a certain amount of due diligence before someone is released."
The William Dickerson detention facility on Feb. 5. It sits on the border of Detroit and Hamtramck.
The process is crucial in order not to mistakenly release a suspect who faces serious charges elsewhere, Kenny said.
Wayne County is unique in metro Detroit when it comes to issuing tethers. Macomb County has about 60 people on the devices and Oakland had about 20 as of last month. Officials say tethers can be expensive and there are alternatives, such as having people report by phone or requiring regular drug testing.
Wayne County also has struggled to keep its jails habitable.
A doctor who inspected the countys three jails in 2020 as part of a lawsuit over conditions related to the pandemic recommended the county stop housing inmates at the Division II facility on Clinton Street, sometimes called the Old Wayne County Jail, because of its severe disrepair.
In 2015, the Free Press reported that problems included malfunctioning fire alarm systems, overcrowding, a lack of medical equipment and a heavy stench of urine and body odor.
Construction of new adult and juvenile jails is underway as part of a $533 million Wayne County Criminal Justice Center that is expected to be completed later this year.
While many defendants awaiting trial in Wayne County jails may prefer release on tether, civil rights advocates and activists against mass incarceration argue the devices infringe on the liberties of the accused and are prone to delays and mix-ups over release conditions.
"Most people should neither be incarcerated nor heavily surveilled while they are awaiting trial at a time when they are still presumed innocent," the ACLU's Mayor said in regard to tether programs statewide.
Kenny defended the county's use of the devices.
"If tethers can be used in circumstances in a case in which the public safety concerns are taken into account and the tether provides an assurance that the defendant is likely to show up for court or be readily located, it reduces the number of people who have to be incarcerated pretrial," Kenny said.
'Hours of time' not at tether address
The recent case of Detroiter Lamont Harvey has exposed problems within Wayne Countys tether unit that could compromise public safety and, critics say, result in the unfair treatment of those released on bond.
Lamont Harvey on Feb. 4 in Wayne County Circuit Judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne's courtroom.
Harvey, 20, was bailed out in late October. But he was rearrested a couple of weeks later for breaking his house arrest, even though the tether unit said nothing about house arrest when he was released from jail, according to his lawyer, Alexandria Taylor. Now, a family friend who put up the deed to her house as collateral for his bond is worried shell lose her home.
Whats more, it took the countys tether unit nearly two weeks to contact Harvey for violating his house arrest. Once the judge in Harveys case found out, she ripped the Sheriffs Office for not finding him sooner as a matter of public safety.
"I know the caseloads that we are dealing with because to be fair this makes the Sheriff's Office look horrible," Wayne County Judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne said during a hearing in Harveys case in December. "This just proves the fact that there are all these violations, if you will, and on all of these days, these ... hours of time where he's not at his tethered address, and no one calls."
Harveys ordeal with the tether unit began when his mother unexpectedly died last October. He had been charged in May with assault with intent to murder for allegedly shooting another man in the leg.
Determined to bail him out so he could attend services for his mother, Harvey's friends and family scraped together a $7,500 down payment and put up the deed to a friends house in northwest Detroit as collateral. Harvey left the jail Oct. 27.
A couple days later he was at his moms funeral, you know, he was hugging me, thanking me, said Trina Stanley, 41, who put up her house. And then the next thing I know, they came and picked him back up because they said some paperwork wasnt signed or he didnt follow the rules.
Trina Stanley, 41, on Jan. 25 in her home in Detroit. Stanley put her house up to help with the bond for Lamont Harvey, the son of a close friend. Harvey had problems with his bond conditions and was rearrested after his release.
The confusion started during a bond hearing in September when Williams-Claybourne set the conditions of any future release of Harvey.
The judge verbally ordered that Harvey be on house arrest if and when released, but a written order memorializing her decision in writing was not immediately filed. Taylor herself was left to rely on her memory of the judges conditions on her client because she didnt receive written notification of Harvey's house arrest until Nov. 10, weeks after the September bond hearing and the very day he was returned to jail for leaving his home, Taylor wrote in an emergency court filing urging his new release.
Kenny , the chief judge, said that an order is normally signed the day a judge issues a change in bond so that the Sheriff's Office is made aware of the conditions.
Williams-Claybourne and the prosecutor in the case both said in court during the hearing after Harvey's rearrest that the verbal order should have been enough.
Further confusing matters, the release documents Harvey received on his way out of jail said nothing about house arrest. GPS tether prior to release was the only condition listed. Copies of the documents show that Harvey also did not sign them, suggesting he was not given proper tether instructions, Taylor said.
Harvey occasionally left his house with the tether attached in the days following his mothers funeral.
When the tether officer arrived at Harveys home to look into his house arrest violation, the officer saw that Harveys release documents said nothing about house arrest.
The tether officer was called to testify in December about the paperwork mix-up, and he said that he called a sergeant and they agreed to give Harvey a warning, telling him to remain on house arrest going forward.
But when Williams-Claybourne discovered that Harvey had violated house arrest, she instructed the Sheriffs Office to apprehend him. As of the publication of this article, Harvey was still in jail, despite the costly bond his friends and family posted late last year.
Stanley said she doesnt know whether she is in danger of losing her home.
It just defeated the whole purpose, because he aint out here and I dont have my deed, she said.
Taylor said her client is being punished for a miscommunication involving the countys tether unit.
Harvey shouldnt be expected to remember the judges verbal order in September that he remain on house arrest, Taylor said, especially because the jail documents provided to him when he posted bond in late October said nothing about that requirement.
Hes young and all the things that have happened, and youre saying, OK, I have this tangible piece of paper and tells me what my requirements are and my tether officer gave this to me and said, "Make sure you follow this." Im supposed to question this and then remember what you said to me two months ago?' Its an unreasonable burden to put on any defendant," Taylor said.
Alexandria Taylor, the lawyer for Lamont Harvey, arguing her client's case on Feb. 4 in front of Wayne County Circuit Judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne.
Williams-Claybourne declined an interview request because she is not allowed to discuss cases pending in her court.
Dunlap, the chief of jails, said the incident was an isolated mistake and commended the officer for acknowledging the error. He also touted what he said was a low absconder rate of below 4% on the tether, which is the percentage of cases where the unit needs to pursue people who cut the devices off or fail to keep batteries charged.
"Wayne County Sheriff's Office runs what I believe is the very best electronic monitoring unit in the state," he said.
But Irby, the bail bonds agent, said as the tether demand grows, it is necessary to rethink how the unit runs, including possibly working with tether companies to help handle the increase.
"You are talking about a system, a structure that is understaffed and overpopulated," Irby said. "Something needs to change."
Contact Christine MacDonald: cmacdonald@freepress.com or 313-418-2149. You can follow her on twitter at @cmacfreep.
Contact Joe Guillen: jguillen@freepress.com or 313-222-6678. You can follow him on Twitter @joeguillen.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tether backlog keeps people in Wayne County jail held longer
Texas state Rep. Carrie Isaac wants to keep democracy out of Texas schools.
Isaac, a freshman Republican, filed a 124-word bill to bar polling places at any institution of higher education last week, and on Tuesday, she said shes working on a bill to bar polling places at K-12 public and charter schools, too.
We must do everything we can to make our school campuses as safe as possible, she said in a release, mentioning the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde last year and a deadly knife attack at a university in 2017. I have experienced firsthand the heightened emotions that often occur at polling locations and I will not wait for more violence to act.
Neither incident had anything to do with voting.
Democrats have advocated for legislation to mandate polling sites on larger college campuses in the current legislative session.
MOVE Texas, a group that mobilizes young voters, condemned the bill in a statement as one of the most insidious attempts to silence young voters.
Universities and schools are common polling places because theyre big enough to accommodate large numbers of voters and are well-known in the community, said James Slattery, the senior supervising legislative attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, which advocates for voting rights and criminal justice reform.
Its ludicrous to me to say that democracy and voting is somehow more dangerous to young people than the fact that the state is awash in guns everywhere, he added.
While elections rules and voting have been top targets for Texas Republicans in the past, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott who controls the agenda for the first two months of the legislative session called on legislators to focus on bills relating to issues including school safety, the border and property taxes.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023
A.I. systems like ChatGPT, Bing, and Bard are here to stay
Generative A.I., the kind of software that powers OpenAIs ChatGPT, Microsofts (MSFT) Bing, and Googles (GOOG, GOOGL) Bard, is all the rage. But the explosion in generative A.I., so named because it generates new content based on information it pulls from the web, is facing increasing scrutiny from consumers and experts.
Fears that the software could be used to help students cheat on tests and provide inaccurate, bizarre responses to users queries are drawing questions about the platforms accuracy and capabilities. And some are wondering if the products have been released too early for their own good.
The genie is out of the bottle, Rajesh Kandaswamy, distinguished VP and fellow at research firm Gartner, told Yahoo Finance. Now it's a question of how are you going to control them?
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Modern Life, Search, and Devices, speaks during a keynote address announcing ChatGPT integration for Bing at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, on February 7, 2023. (Image: Jason Redmond / AFP)
Microsoft has placed new controls on Bing, which is still in limited preview, to curtail the number of queries users can make per session and per day in the hopes that it will address the chatbots stranger responses. The thinking is, the fewer queries users fire at the bot, the less it will freak out. Google, meanwhile, continues to test its Bard software with a select number of what it says are trusted users.
I think in terms of what it means for people to adopt [these technologies] or notit varies quite a bit, Kandaswamy said. [The backlash] will add to the perception that A.I. is scary and it's not reliable.
But dont expect the criticisms to kill generative A.I. hype anytime soon. If anything, its just starting.
Generative A.I. is winning over users
What makes generative A.I. platforms like ChatGPT and Bing so interesting is that they respond to questions from users with human-like tones. Ask Bing if the Mets will win the 2023 World Series, and it will tell you the odds the Mets will win and what other teams will compete for the title, as well as the key players the Mets added in the off season.
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Its those kinds of responses that make chatbots helpful. But when theyre wrong or hit you with an off-kilter answer like when Bing told one user that it can spy on Microsoft employees webcams (it cant) its especially jarring.
Bing hopes the Mets win the World Series. Well, for me at least. (Image: Microsoft)
This was inevitable insofar as we're still very far away...from getting a truly...human-like A.I. system, explained Kim Yoon, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So these systems will obviously have limitations. And these limitations were going to surface.
But just because those limitations are gaining attention, doesnt mean OpenAI, Microsoft, or Google are going to pull back their efforts.
There will be people who are going to look at this raw power and try to harness that. It's always the case, Kandaswamy said. The technology will continue to evolve even before the mainstream population really adopts it. And then it'll reach a point where it becomes safe for mainstream adoption.
ChatGPT and Bing are already drawing millions of users. ChatGPT launched publicly in December and has 100 million users, growing faster than short-form video app TikTok. Bing? Some 1 million people from 169 countries have already signed up to use Microsofts preview. And on Wednesday, the company announced it is rolling out mobile versions of its chatbot on both Android and iOS.
The criticism will keep coming
As more users sign up for these services and pepper them with ever more questions, though, well likely continue to see wonky, inaccurate responses. That, in turn, will prompt ever more criticism.
This is what happens when you use an experimental technology for something serious, explained Douglass Rushkoff, author and professor of media studies at the City University of New Yorks Queens College.
Most A.I.s are basically probability engines, trying to recreate the most probable correct things based on what has happened before. They don't account for a whole lot of other stuff, like facts or copyright. So it's not the A.I. that's the problem here, it's how the AI is being applied. You can't use every technology for every purpose.
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Search speaks to members of the media about the integration of the Bing search engine and Edge browser with OpenAI on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Redmond. Microsoft is fusing ChatGPT-like technology into its search engine Bing, transforming an internet service that now trails far behind Google into a new way of communicating with artificial intelligence. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Its not just concerns about generative A.I.s accuracy or creepy and sassy responses. Bing, ChatGPT, and Bard are also facing questions about the kind of content theyre trained on. After all, these generative systems use information pulled from the web, and some of that includes articles written by news organizations or posts by social media users.
If A.I. platforms are grabbing content from news organizations and summarizing it for readers, they dont have to visit those organizations websites, which will eat into their advertising revenue. If youre an independent artist and a chatbot is trained on your work, do you have any recourse? Its not exactly clear yet.
Microsoft, its subsidiary Github, and OpenAI are already facing lawsuits over their use of third-party computer code, and media organizations including Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal have called out chatbot developers for using their work to train models without paying for them.
I don't necessarily see these issues being fixed, say, in the next month or two, Kandaswamy said.
By Daniel Howley, tech editor at Yahoo Finance. Follow him @DanielHowley
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IFAD supports Vietnamese small-scale farmers
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Vietnam have just signed a Climate-smart Agricultural Value Chain Development (CSAT) project agreement to promote inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth in the Mekong Delta region.
A smart insect monitoring network installed by IFAD to help provide local farmers with real-time data on pests and insects throughout agricultural seasons in Vietnams Mekong delta. Photo by Hoang Pham
The project will generate sustainable income opportunities and improved rural livelihoods for 60,000 families engaged in small-scale farming.
Vietnams small-scale farmers, particularly in the Mekong Delta, face multiple challenges, including volatile food and fuel prices and the effects of climate change, said Ambrosio Barros, IFAD Country Director, Vietnam. Our goal is to enable small-scale farmers, and especially rural women and youth, to move from subsistence farming to climate-resilient, market-oriented agriculture, enabling them to earn increased, sustainable incomes, he added.
CSAT will invest in the climate-resilient infrastructure needed to develop inclusive and sustainable value chains. It will support better access to financial and extension services and encourage small-scale farmers to adopt environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient technologies, including efficient water usage. CSAT will also work to integrate climate resilience more strongly in provincial and regional planning.
IFAD is providing a USD43 million loan towards the total project cost (USD136.4 million) over 5 years. In addition, the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development is providing USD40.01 million, and the national government is providing USD17.87 million, with USD4.6 million contributed in-kind by project participants. Additional private sector financing will be available for producer groups and investments in small and medium enterprises and value chain development.
In Vietnam, IFAD has supported 17 projects directly benefitting 738,470 households, at a cost of USD788.10 million with an IFAD loan of USD463.49 million. It focuses on activities that have the greatest impact on residual poverty in rural areas, developing market-led innovations that aid poor people.
IFAD is an international financial institution and a United Nations specialised agency. Based in Rome the United Nations food and agriculture hub IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition, and strengthen resilience.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has called for strengthening basic research to consolidate the country's self-reliance and strength in science and technology.
Xi made the remarks when chairing the third group study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee on Tuesday.
Xi said that strengthening basic research is an urgent requirement for achieving greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, and it is the only way to become a world leader in science and technology.
He said that the Party and the country have always attached importance to basic research.
At present, a new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation is advancing by leaps and bounds, interdisciplinary integration is growing, the paradigm of scientific research is undergoing profound changes, the integration of science and technology with economic and social development is accelerating, the application cycle of basic research is significantly shortened, and international competition in basic research is moving to the forefront, Xi said.
To cope with international sci-tech competition, achieve greater self-reliance, foster a new development pattern, and promote high-quality development, there is an urgent need to strengthen basic research and address key technologies from the source and from the bottom, Xi added.
He stressed efforts to strengthen the forward-looking, strategic and systematic layout of basic research.
He said that the frontier science and technology in the world should be integrated with the major national strategic needs and economic and social development goals.
Xi urged efforts to coordinate frontier questions raised in light of the law of science development with theoretical questions drawn from major applied research, and sum up key scientific questions in basic research.
He also called for strengthening the feasibility studies and the selection and evaluation of major basic research projects, fully respecting scientists' advice, and grasping the general trends to make an early start.
Xi noted that it is necessary to strengthen the country's strategic strength in science and technology; promote strategic, frontier and market-oriented basic research in an organized way; and give full play to the role of national laboratories, national research institutions, high-level research universities and leading sci-tech enterprises.
The country will optimize the layout of basic disciplines, support the development of key, emerging, less-popular, and weak disciplines, and promote interdisciplinary integration and research, so as to build a high-quality discipline system with comprehensive and balanced development, he added.
Xi called for the institutional reform of basic research to be deepened, and for the value-driven and strategy-directed role of systems and policies to be given full play.
Fiscal investment in basic research should be steadily increased, enterprises should be motivated to invest more through measures such as tax incentives, input from social forces should be encouraged, and the efficiency of the national natural science fund and its joint funds should be improved, he said.
Xi stressed the need to improve the organization, application, review and decision-making mechanisms for basic research projects, and coordinate efforts to tackle major scientific issues.
He urged efforts to handle the relationship between the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide and the market mechanism well, and efforts to improve the evaluation and incentive system, the achievement application and transformation system and the salary system in response to the long cycle of basic research. He also called for long-term and steady support for a batch of innovation bases, competitive teams and key directions for basic research.
Xi stressed the need to establish a national laboratory system with Chinese characteristics, set up research centers for basic disciplines, build new research information platforms, and form a leading basic research backbone network.
He also urged efforts to draw up scientific plans for major sci-tech infrastructure facilities that are forward-looking, strategy-oriented and application-supporting.
Xi urged support for various basic research talent programs to be strengthened, adding that strategic scientists should be trained and used, young sci-tech talent should be supported to play a key role, and leading sci-tech and innovative talent teams should be continuously expanded.
He said that it is essential to improve the style of study and work in the scientific research field; and called for adhering to the path of independent training for basic research talent, optimizing the basic discipline education system, and giving full play to the leading role of colleges and universities in the training of basic research talent.
Xi stressed that international cooperation, opening-up and sharing are needed more than ever for humanity to tackle common development challenges.
It is necessary to build a platform for international cooperation on basic research, establish a global scientific research fund, increase the opening-up of national sci-tech programs to the outside world, and expand and deepen joint scientific research between China and other countries on global issues such as climate change, energy security, biosecurity and the use of outer space, he said.
Xi urged efforts to plan ahead and participate deeply in global sci-tech governance, participate in or initiate international sci-tech organizations, and support domestic universities, research institutes and sci-tech organizations to connect with the international community.
Xi also noted that efforts should be made to enhance openness, trust and cooperation in the international sci-tech community to make new and greater contributions to the progress of human civilization and also effectively safeguard China's sci-tech security and interests.
He urged efforts to carry forward the scientific spirit of pursuing truth and scaling new heights, widely publicize the advanced models and actions in basic research and other sci-tech fields, and guide the majority of sci-tech workers to carry on the tradition of the older generation of scientists who committed themselves to the country and cared for the people.
Xi called for strengthening the country's ability to popularize science, pushing forward the campaign to improve the scientific literacy of the public, spreading scientific knowledge widely, showing scientific achievements online and offline through multiple channels, and fostering a social trend of promoting science.
Efforts should also be made to inspire young people's curiosity, imagination and desire to explore, and cultivate young people with the potential to become scientists, he said.
Xi urged officials at all levels to gain sci-tech knowledge, carry forward the scientific spirit, take the initiative to solve problems and relieve burdens for sci-tech workers, and put into practice a series of strategic plans on sci-tech innovation made by the CPC Central Committee.
LAS VEGAS (AP) Alcohol sales will soon be allowed in a tiny Nevada town where religious roots led to a decades-long ban on buying beer, wine and liquor.
Bars still won't be allowed, but stores will be able to sell alcohol in Alamo after the Lincoln County Commission on Tuesday unanimously endorsed a local board vote taken several months ago to repeal a prohibition adopted in 1985, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Many of the approximately 1,100 people who live in the unincorporated jurisdiction about a 90-minute drive north of Las Vegas are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Town Board Chairman Vern Holaday told the Review-Journal ahead of the county commission vote.
The faith, widely known as the Mormon church, preaches abstinence from alcohol.
Alamos repeal could become effective in about 30 days, Lincoln County District Attorney Dylan Frehner said.
That will leave Panaca as the only remaining town in Nevada to prohibit alcohol sales, the Review-Journal reported. That town of 1,000 people is the Lincoln County seat and is a more than two-hour drive north of Las Vegas.
A handful of communities in neighboring Utah, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint is based, also prohibit alcohol sales. Voters in Blanding, a rural town of about 3,300 residents that attracts visitors to national parks including the Grand Canyon rejected a 2017 ballot measure that would have allowed beer and wine sales for the first time in more than 80 years. In Hyde Park, population 4,000, voters in 2013 lifted a ban on alcohol sales.
Alamo leaders decided last year they want the local supermarket and gas station to be able to compete with rival businesses outside of town that sell alcohol, Holaday told the county commissioners.
Its not like theres going to be a bar in every corner in town he said. County law bans alcohol sales within 1,500 feet (457 meters) of a church, school or other alcohol business.
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A Las Vegas-based convenience store chain has proposed adding a motel, gas station and a market selling liquor at a former truck stop it acquired just outside Alamo, Holaday told the Review-Journal. The chain already sells alcohol at a store 7 miles (11 kilometers) away in Ash Springs.
Holaday did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press at his business, the 16-room Alamo Inn.
Varlin Higbee, a county commissioner who owns a ranch is in Alamo, noted in an email that liquor licensees still must meet town and county requirements.
An over-the-counter bar isnt going to happen in Alamo, zoning laws wont allow it, Higbee told the AP on Wednesday.
By Alexander Marrow
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Trucks carrying Coca Cola roll across the border into Russia, tourists return from abroad laden with Zara's latest designs, and local online marketplaces snap up IKEA's furniture stocks. Western brands may have left the country, but their goods haven't.
Despite European, North American and Japanese companies exiting Russia over its actions in Ukraine, the impact on Russian consumers is minimal, although delivery times can be longer and some goods more expensive.
The main change has been to supply routes, but the products remain available both online and in stores. Buyers just need to know where to look.
Crucially, the vast majority of goods concerned are not subject to sanctions and these cross-border flows are legal. And Moscow is happy to let them in, whatever route they take.
Brands' continued availability shows the challenge companies face in controlling supply chains when exiting a market.
ZARA IN MINSK
Zara-owner Inditex shuttered its 502 Russian stores after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, and then sold them to UAE-based Daher Group.
Now, small-scale imports and online sellers are keeping them alive, a Reuters review of six major online marketplaces and conversations with a dozen buyers and sellers showed.
Albina, 32, took an empty suitcase to Minsk last summer and returned 24 hours later with 33,000 roubles ($442) worth of Inditex-brand Zara, Bershka and Massimo Dutti clothes for herself and friends.
While most Western brands that have halted Russian operations have also pulled out of Belarus - a staunch Moscow ally - Inditex has not. The company did not respond when asked about this.
Albina told Reuters she has also bought clothes in Paris and Dubai and used a network of online sellers.
"There are pages on Instagram, on Telegram, there are girls I know who moved to live in Europe or Istanbul or Dubai," she said. "They collect orders, let's say in Istanbul, they take 15%-30% (as commission), then get them delivered here and you pay for the delivery."
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Last year's strong rouble and weak Turkish lira played into Russian consumers' hands.
Currency dynamics were partly responsible for a seven-fold increase in deliveries from Turkey on CDEK Forward, a delivery service from foreign e-commerce sites, its marketing director Dinara Ismailova told Reuters.
"As soon as brands said they were leaving, some kind of panic started, and the number of volumes and orders rose sharply," Ismailova said.
Dealing with small, private deliveries, CDEK Forward's turnover doubled in money terms last year, with 80% of that coming from clothes, while its goods turnover tripled.
"It's comparable to if you personally went to a Zara store in New York, bought something there and sent it on to your friends in Moscow," Ismailova said.
ONLINE MARKETPLACES
As supply chains broke down, Russia legalised so-called parallel imports, allowing retailers to bring in products from abroad without the trademark owner's permission.
E-commerce sites sell a wide range of imported goods, and sellers often advertise that they bring products from abroad.
Market leader Wildberries sells old stock from Inditex brands and has almost 17,000 goods in its Zara catalogue. A source close to Inditex said these were clearance stocks that were in Russia when it suspended activities there.
Wildberries did not respond to a request for comment.
One ubiquitous Western product Wildberries and its peers Ozon and Yandex Market sell is Coca-Cola, often advertised as imported so buyers know it is the real thing.
While Coca-Cola Co stopped producing and selling drinks in Russia last year, others have been importing them, with labels on cans and bottles showing they have arrived from Europe, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China.
One quirk of this arrangement is that prices vary. In one Moscow supermarket, three cans of Coca-Cola were on sale for three different prices, imported from Denmark, Poland and Britain respectively.
A senior employee at a major retailer explained how companies have adapted.
"Contacts were quickly established and new contracts with new partners signed, new money flows and logistical supply chains with Turkish, Polish and Kazakh companies were launched," he said on condition of anonymity.
Coca Cola is available from even more countries now.
"However, as usual, it is the buyer who pays more for these new inconveniences," the employee added.
'FRIENDLY' IMPORTS
As new routes are developed the extra logistics, travel and scaling costs will fall, and though trade remains relatively inefficient, these new relationships are here to stay, said Ram Ben Tzion, CEO of digital vetting platform Publican.
"The parallel importing mechanisms have been consolidated and expanded, meaning that pretty much everything is accessible and still will be in the future," Ben Tzion said, pointing to border truck queues and new entities springing up in nearby states.
"Coca Cola can easily notice the 'surge in demand' from countries neighbouring Russia, where most parallel imports come from," Ben Tzion said. "It is not in their interest to do anything about it."
Coca-Cola declined to comment.
"Friendly" countries not imposing sanctions have ramped up exports to Russia, their trade data shows. Russia itself has stopped publishing such figures.
China-Russia trade hit a record 1.28 trillion yuan ($186 billion) last year, while Turkey's exports to Russia jumped 61.8% to $9.34 billion and Kazakhstan's rose 25.1% to $8.78 billion.
Informal supply routes could lead to more poor-quality goods entering Russia, however, as regulators lose oversight, Ben Tzion said.
REPLICAS
Some brands face years battling copies and unauthorized imports. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola's Russian rivals have increased bottling capacity and launched new Cola beverages.
Swedish furniture giant IKEA sold its stock to Yandex Market, tech giant Yandex's e-commerce division, when it left Russia. IKEA brand owner Inter IKEA Group said it sold remaining stock for an undisclosed amount to Yandex as it down-scaled IKEA Retail Russia.
Yandex Market says it puts suppliers who previously sold goods via IKEA stores in direct contact with customers.
But former suppliers are also ready to sell lightly modified IKEA items under different names. One already advertises a bedding set it calls "ARUA (analogue of IKEA BERGPALM)".
IKEA said it was looking into goods being advertised as similar to IKEA online.
Although new opportunities are opening up for Russian firms, the fixation with Western brands may hinder efforts to boost local production.
"Over time, market forces will continue to drive the products Russians are used to into the market and while there is an aspiration to move to 'Made in Russia' it will be very difficult to actually get people hooked up on Russian coke," said Ben Tzion.
($1 = 74.7045 roubles, 6.8775 yuan)
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Additional reporting by Olga Popova in Moscow, Corina Pons in Madrid; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
A tornado watch has been issued for much of central Illinois, with the potential for threatening weather Wednesday afternoon.
The National Weather Service in Lincoln issued a tornado watch for large portions of central and southern Illinois through 6 p.m., with Sangamon, Christian, Montgomery, Macoupin and Morgan counties among those affected. Sangamon County is at the northern end of the watch, which stretches south through eastern Missouri.
The NWS says that a line of strong storms originating in eastern Missouri will enter south central Illinois with possible damaging winds and tornadoes. Much of central Illinois, including Springfield, Lincoln, Jacksonville and Taylorville is under a slight risk for severe storms.
Portions of Montgomery County were also under a severe thunderstorm warning until 3 p.m. Wednesday after a line of storms from Raymond to Litchfield crossed through the area, with 60 mph wind gusts creating the risk of damage to roofs, siding and trees.
In addition, portions of Logan and Menard counties are under a flood advisory until 5:15 p.m. NWS said that at 2:29 p.m., Doppler radar indicated heavy rains continuing as a result of the storms, which could lead to minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Places impacted include Lincoln, Beardstown, Mason City, Virginia, Atlanta and Petersburg.
More:Springfield Police, Moving Pillsbury Foward, Public Works, win in city's 2024 fiscal budget
Nicole Albano, a meteorologist with NWS, said that the storm system is a dynamic one, with Springfield and Sangamon County in its warmer region.
"It's pretty untypical for February for us to have storms like this," Albano said. "We've got a lot of winter headlines up to our north and storms here across our area. We're on the warm side of this system, so that's why we're experiencing thunderstorms."
Some strong storms have been reported north of the watch area, but Albano said that they aren't within the kind of moisture-rich air that could cause a severe thunderstorm or tornado.
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"They're not getting enough energy to really become strong," Albano said. "The storms in eastern Missouri are the ones we're concerned about because they're in the more moisture-rich air (and) they've got more energy with them, so that's why we're keeping an eye on those."
Both the risk of hail and tornadoes are considered isolated at this time, with any hail coming in quarter-sized amounts. NWS says that wind is the biggest risk from this line of storms, with gusts in some areas getting up to 60 mph.
The NWS in Lincoln has forecast heavy rains for much of the day, the heaviest of which coming in the mid-afternoon. In Springfield, about half an inch to a full inch of rain is expected, with heavier amounts coming north of Interstate 70.
More:Over objections, city council approves redevelopment agreement for Horace Mann
High temperatures will sit in the lower 50s for much of the day, with storms tapering off later in the evening. Albano said that most of the activity within Springfield was likely to come within the first hour of the system arriving in the area.
"It should be pushing east of Springfield by 5 p.m. at the latest," she said. "
Conditions should clear by Thursday, but heavy wind gusts up to 34 mph could be a factor throughout the day.
"It's not looking like they'll be extremely strong near Springfield, but it'll be breezy," Albano said.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Tornado watch in effect for Springfield and Sangamon County
Hundreds and likely thousands of sensitive files were leaked online
People are likely unaware their health records were stolen
Because the district hasnt disclosed the trove of records exists
And federal privacy laws dont require schools to go public
Update: After this story published, the Los Angeles school district acknowledged in a statement that approximately 2,000 student psychological evaluations including those of 60 current students had been uploaded to the dark web.
Detailed and highly sensitive mental health records of hundreds and likely thousands of former Los Angeles students were published online after the citys school district fell victim to a massive ransomware attack last year, an investigation by The 74 has revealed.
The student psychological evaluations, published to a dark web leak site by the Russian-speaking ransomware gang Vice Society, offer a startling degree of personally identifiable information about students who received special education services, including their detailed medical histories, academic performance and disciplinary records.
But people are likely unaware their sensitive information is readily available online because the Los Angeles Unified School District hasnt alerted them, a district spokesperson confirmed, and leaders havent acknowledged the trove of records even exists. In contrast, the district publicly acknowledged last month that the sensitive information of district contractors had been leaked.
Cybersecurity experts said the revelation that student psychological records were exposed en masse and a lack of transparency by the district highlight a gap in existing federal privacy laws. Rules that pertain to sensitive health records maintained by hospitals and health insurers, which are protected by stringent data breach notification policies, differ from those that apply to education records kept by schools even when the files themselves are virtually identical. Under existing federal privacy rules, school districts are not required to notify the public when students personal information, including medical records, is exposed.
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But keeping the extent of data breaches under wraps runs counter to schools mission of improving childrens lives and instead places them at heightened risk of harm, said school cybersecurity expert Doug Levin, the national director of the K12 Security Information eXchange.
Its deeply disturbing that an organization that youve entrusted with such sensitive information is either significantly delaying or even hiding the fact that individuals had very sensitive information exposed, Levin told The 74. For a school system to wait six months, a year or longer before notifying someone that their information is out on the dark web and being potentially abused is a year that those individuals cant take steps to protect themselves.
In a January report, the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned that school districts were being targeted by cyber gangs with potentially catastrophic impacts on students, their families, teachers and administrators. Threats became particularly acute during the pandemic as schools grew more reliant on technology. The number of publicly disclosed cybersecurity incidents affecting schools has grown from 400 in 2018 to more than 1,300 in 2021, according to the federal agency.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
When L.A. schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho acknowledged in early October that the cyber gang published some 500 gigabytes of stolen records to the dark web after the district declined to pay an unspecified ransom demand, he sought to downplay its effects on students. An early news report said the leaked files contained some students psychological assessments, citing a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation. Carvalho called that revelation absolutely incorrect.
We have seen no evidence that psychiatric evaluation information or health records, based on what weve seen thus far, has been made available publicly, said Carvalho, who acknowledged the hackers had touched the districts massive student information system and had exposed a limited collection of students records, including their names and addresses.
Related: LA District Downplays Student Harm After Cyber Gang Posts Sensitive Data Online
The 500 gigabytes of stolen records include tens of thousands of individual files, including scanned copies of adults Social Security cards, passports, financial records and other personnel files.
The systemic release of students psychological assessments stolen from the Los Angeles district and published to the dark web hasnt been previously reported. Leaked psychological evaluations use a consistent file-naming structure, allowing The 74 to isolate them from other types of district records that appear on the ransomware gangs leak site, including those related to district contractors and files that are benign and do not contain confidential information. The 74 has independently verified that 500 students sensitive psychological assessments are available for download as PDF files on the Vice Society leak site, reaching a federal threshold that would require health care providers to publicly disclose such a data breach if it involved patient health records.
More than 2,200 PDFs and a large swath of other document types follow the consistent file-naming structure, suggesting the total number of leaked student psychological files is in the thousands. The records are at least a decade old and while they dont appear to contain information about current students, they do contain highly personal information about former LAUSD students who are now in their 20s and 30s.
In early October, Carvalho said that people would be contacted if their information got exposed in the data breach, assuring them, No news is good news. By that point, Carvalho said, school district and law enforcement analysts had already reviewed about two-thirds of the data leaked on the dark web.
Now, more than four months after the schools chief denied that psychological evaluations were exposed, the nations second-largest school district has not changed its position publicly. A district spokesperson said that Carvalhos statements in October were based on the information that had been developed at that time and that the review was still ongoing.
Los Angeles Unified is in the process of completing its review and analysis of the data posted by the criminals responsible for the cyberattack to the dark web, to identify individuals impacted and to provide any required notifications, the district told The 74 in a statement. Once Los Angeles Unified has completed its review and analysis of that data, Los Angeles Unified will provide an update, to affected individuals and the public.
Huge emotional strain for the family
The particular files posted online students psycho-educational case studies are among the most sensitive records that schools keep about children with disabilities, said Steven Catron, senior staff attorney of the Learning Rights Law Center, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides free legal representation to low-income families in special education disputes with their childrens school district.
The evaluations are designed to help schools assess how a students disabilities and other factors affect their learning. They include a comprehensive background on the childs medical history, observations on their home and family life, and assessments of their cognitive, academic and emotional functioning.
One of the reports notes that a student was placed in foster care due to domestic violence in the home. The student struggled with a limited attention span and often refused to complete his work, the report notes, and is easily angered when he does not get his way. Another states a students desire to become a police officer so that he can arrest people because they do drugs. A students father works in a plant that makes airplane parts and speaks no English, one report notes. His mother is a librarian assistant and speaks a little English.
In general, Catron said, such reports can include details about a familys immigration status, sexual misconduct allegations, unfounded child abuse reports or that a student has been hitting other children or adults in a school environment. Yet its often difficult for families to get sensitive information removed from the files, he said, even if it isnt accurate. Now, with breached student records of this nature in the public domain, who knows what is going to happen.
The sheer scope of information, like youve seen, its darn broad and pretty hurtful for people, Catron said. If those records include those types of notes, whether correct or not, it can just cause a huge emotional strain for the family.
The files themselves note that the assessment reports may contain sensitive information subject to misinterpretation by untrained individuals and that the nonconsensual re-disclosure by unauthorized individuals is prohibited by state law.
Available files appear to be limited to former Los Angeles students born primarily in the late 1980s and 1990s. The age of the records highlight how potential data breach victims extend far beyond current students when districts suffer hacks, Levin, the cybersecurity expert, said. Students sensitive information can be exposed years or even decades after they graduate if districts lack sufficient data security safeguards.
Help The 74 Report on the LAUSD Ransomeware Attack:
Are you a former Los Angeles Unified School District student in special education who may have been a data breach victim?
Please click here to share your story with investigative reporter Mark Keierleber.
The timeline could also complicate any potential efforts by the district to find and notify affected individuals who could unknowingly face heightened risks including embarrassment, identity theft and extortion.
Sometimes school districts will delay notifying until they can identify every last person that they possibly can, but that can be an expensive to impossible endeavor, Levin said. For a school district like LAUSD to try to track people who were associated with the district say 10 years ago, thats a daunting task and clearly is very likely to be imperfect.
The disclosure gap
Health care providers are held to strict data privacy rules and could face steep fines in the event of a data breach involving sensitive patient records. Agencies and businesses covered by the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act are required to publicly acknowledge health data breaches affecting 500 or more people and notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services without unreasonable delay and in no case later than 60 days following a breach.
The Broward County, Florida, school district recently got caught in a data breach disclosure debacle after the countrys sixth-largest school system suffered a ransomware attack in 2021 and refused to pay an extortion demand initially set at $40 million. In response, threat actors published to a dark web leak site the personal information of nearly 50,000 district personnel enrolled in its health plan. The Broward district is currently one of four K-12 school systems listed on a data breach portal maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services. The breach portal often referred to as the Wall of Shame includes all data breaches affecting 500 or more people that were reported to the federal agency in the last 24 months.
District officials in Florida ultimately waited 154 days three months longer than federal rules allow to disclose the breachs full extent on its website, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. In a statement, a district spokesperson told The 74 the school system worked diligently to investigate the incident. Once officials realized that records related to the districts self-insured health plan were breached, notifications to affected personnel and the federal health administration required the gathering and sorting of significant amounts of data in order to determine the individuals to be notified.
That process was complex and took substantial hours, the spokesperson said. Under the circumstances, notification was made in an expeditious manner.
The Broward district is a HIPAA-covered entity because it operates a self-insured health plan. But public schools arent generally considered covered entities under the health privacy law. And even when they are, students education records including their health information are exempt. Theyre instead covered by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the federal student privacy law known as FERPA. The law prohibits student records from being released publicly but, unlike HIPAA, does not require schools to disclose when such breaches occur.
The same type of information is treated differently from a compliance standpoint depending on who is holding and maintaining that information, said student privacy expert Jim Siegl, a senior technologist with the nonprofit Future of Privacy Forum. The federal privacy rules that apply to hospitals and schools live in separate universes. If its maintained by the school, its FERPA. If its maintained by your doctor, the same information is HIPAA protected.
A small subset of Los Angeles students health records are covered by HIPAA, the LAUSD district spokesperson said, but the psychological assessments are not. A data breach involving students records like the one in Los Angeles could be considered a FERPA violation, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
FERPA requires the school to maintain direct control over the records, Siegl said. There is a lot that goes into a FERPA violation, but I would say that within the spirit of FERPA, they did not maintain direct control over the records.
Yet, consequences for violating FERPA are next to nonexistent. Districts can lose federal funds if they have a policy or practice of releasing students records without parental permission, a high bar that excludes occasional violations. Since the law was enacted in 1974, its never been used to strip funding from a district that broke the rules.
A psychological torment
To comply with state privacy rules, the Los Angeles district has been more transparent about the systemic breach of sensitive records about distinct construction contractors. In a data breach notice posted to the California state attorney generals office website in January, the district said its investigation into the breach had uncovered certified payroll records and other labor compliance documents that included the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of district contractors.
The data breach notice also made clear that cyber criminals had infiltrated the districts computer network more than a month earlier than initially disclosed. Carvalho said in October that district cybersecurity officials were quick to detect the unauthorized access and, in a very, very unique way, we stopped the attack midstream.
The district spokesperson said LAUSD is working to determine whether any of the breached files are considered medical information under state law and whether a notification is required. Any data breach alert to the state attorney generals office would coincide with notifications to affected individuals, the spokesperson said.
Asked about the school districts notification obligations for the trove of leaked student psychological records and whether its investigating the matter, an AGs office spokesperson said in an email we cant comment on, even to confirm or deny, a potential or ongoing investigation, and didnt offer any other information. Reached for comment about the data breaches in Los Angeles and Broward County, a federal Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said its civil rights division does not typically comment on open or potential investigations, and declined to say anything further.
The Los Angeles district has for decades struggled with its obligations to provide special education services to children with disabilities. Last year, it reached an agreement to provide compensatory services to children with disabilities after an investigation by the U.S. Education Departments civil rights office found it had failed to provide them during the pandemic. Parents and advocates said last month many children are still waiting for those services.
Los Angeles parent Ariel Harman-Holmes, whose three children are in special education, said shes worried the data breach could further divert funds from those much-needed special education services.
I would rather have those funds go back into the schools and special education rather than spending a ton on litigation or settlements about privacy issues, said Harman-Holmes, who serves as vice chair of the districts Community Advisory Committee for Special Education. But she acknowledged it would be very disturbing if her own childs psychological evaluations were leaked online.
Our middle son is a very private person and this could be a psychological torment to him knowing that personal observations about him were out there, she said. That would be very devastating to him.
Former President Trump accused the Biden administration on Wednesday of indifference and betrayal in its response to a train derailment that spilled toxic chemicals in an Ohio town.
Speaking in East Palestine, Ohio, where the disaster occurred, Trump blasted President Biden and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), saying that the president and his administration dragged their feet on providing crucial aide in the face of an environmental disaster and its effects on the community.
Unfortunately, as you know, in too many cases your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal in some cases, Trump said. And Biden and FEMA said they would not send aid to East Palestine under any circumstance.
When I announced that I was coming, they changed their tune. It was an amazing phenomenon, he continued, later adding that he opened up the dam and we got them to move.
Trump, who is running for the GOPs 2024 presidential nomination, was joined by two other top Republicans, Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio) and Rep. Bill Johnson (Ohio). Ahead of his remarks, he helped deliver water and supplies to residents of East Palestine.
The former presidents trip to Ohio carried deep political undertones. A longtime swing state, Ohio has lurched to the right in recent years, delivering its electoral votes to Trump in the last two presidential elections. His visit also comes as Biden returns to the U.S. after a swing through Ukraine and Poland.
Bidens Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will travel to East Palestine on Thursday, where hes expected to meet with community members and receive an update on the National Transportation Safety Boards investigation into the derailment.
While Biden and his administration have come under fire for not traveling there sooner, the disaster has also put a spotlight on Trumps own regulatory and environmental policies.
On Wednesday, the White House pointed to past efforts by Republicans including Trump to loosen regulations on railway safety and curb the federal governments ability to respond to chemical spills.
Congressional Republicans laid the groundwork for the Trump Administration to tear up requirements for more effective train brakes, and last year most House Republicans wanted to defund our ability to protect drinking water, deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Donald Trump ally who advised Republicans on legal efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential race has advanced to the Wisconsin Supreme Court general election, putting him one step closer to a seat on the powerful bench.
Daniel Kelly is a former state Supreme Court justice with connections to a plan hatched by the former president's allies to reverse the 2020 election results in Wisconsin through the use of fake electors. He was one of two candidates to advance in Tuesdays Supreme Court primary, according to projections by The Associated Press.
The other to move forward was liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County circuit judge who was endorsed by the Democratic abortion rights group Emilys List.
Protasiewicz and Kelly will face off in an April 4 general election that will determine political control of the court and, with it, the future of many pivotal issues the court is likely to decide in the coming years, including abortion rights, elections and gerrymandering. The winner is elected to a 10-year term.
Although the court and its members are technically nonpartisan, conservatives hold a 4-3 majority. But with conservative Justice Patience Roggensack retiring, that majority hangs in the balance.
There has not been a liberal majority on the court in 15 years, and Democrats see the election as a prime opportunity to shift the balance.
Kelly was one of two conservative candidates in the primary election; the other, Jennifer Dorow, is a Waukesha County circuit judge best known in the state for having presiding over the criminal trial of Darrell Brooks, who was convicted last year of killing six people at a Waukesha Christmas parade in 2021 when he crashed his SUV into the crowd.
Protasiewicz won about 46% of the vote Tuesday, a commanding victory based on Democratic turnout, particularly in Milwaukee and Dane counties, that was especially high for an off-year, down-ballot, winter primary election.
The two liberal candidates in the race together won 54% of the vote, compared to about 46% for the two conservative candidates combined.
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Kelly only narrowly bested Dorow for a second-place finish, with the two basically splitting the support of voters who turned out for a conservative candidate. Kelly outperformed Dorow in rural counties, while Dorow outdid Kelly in the heavily Republican suburban counties surrounding Milwaukee.
Kelly is a former state Supreme Court justice who lost his seat in a 2020 election to liberal Jill Karofsky. He was appointed to the seat in 2016 by former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican. He has remained tied to Trump allies through a plan that was intended to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state with the use of fake electors.
In a deposition to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, former Wisconsin GOP chairman Andrew Hitt said he and Kelly had pretty extensive conversations about the plan, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week that the Republican Party at the state and national levels had paid Kelly $120,000 to advise it on election integrity issues.
A spokesperson for Kelly's campaign did not respond to questions about his involvement in those efforts. Kelly spokesperson Jim Dick told the Journal Sentinel that Kelly "believes Joe Biden is the duly elected president of the United States." Dick also suggested to the newspaper that Kelly's beliefs about the election were not necessarily aligned with what his clients believed, saying, "It is a maxim in the legal profession that the views of clients are not attributable to their attorneys."
Kelly based much of his campaign on heavy criticism of Protasiewicz for having openly suggested how she would rule on pivotal cases likely to come before the court involving hot-button issues with national ramifications, like abortion rights, elections and gerrymandering.
Protasiewicz, one of two liberal candidates in the race (the other was Everett Mitchell, a Dane County circuit judge), focused her campaign heavily on her support for abortion rights. Her television advertisements, for example, emphasized that support: One featured her talking directly to the camera, saying, I believe in a womans freedom to make her own decision on abortion, while a second featured several women touting that support and slamming extremists on the other side of the argument.
Daniel Kelly, Scott Walker (John Hart / AP file)
The issue has taken center stage in the race. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, an 1849 state law banning abortion in almost all cases snapped back into effect.
Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, both Democrats, have said they will not enforce the law, and Kaul has filed a lawsuit alleging that it is unenforceable. The suit is expected to eventually make its way before the state Supreme Court, most likely giving the court the power to decide on abortion rights in Wisconsin.
Kelly, who has refrained from saying how he would rule in such a case, was endorsed by three groups that oppose abortion rights.
The court is also very likely to hear various challenges to existing election laws, as well as cases that might relate to recounts, absentee ballots and other facets of election administration that could have material impacts on the outcomes of close elections in the perpetual battleground including the 2024 presidential election.
For example, in a 4-3 decision last year, the state Supreme Court deemed all ballot drop boxes outside election clerks offices illegal a setback for Democrats, who had advocated to preserve one of the more lenient rules about the boxes that arose during the coronavirus pandemic. Two years earlier, the court, in another 4-3 vote, narrowly upheld the 2020 election results in the state. Court watchers predict similar cases in the future.
Other issues that could make it before the court in the coming years include challenges to Act 10, a law enacted by then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker that eliminated collective bargaining for most public workers. It could also hear cases about redrawn legislative maps (the current map, which experts have said is one of the most gerrymandered in the country, was approved by the current state Supreme Court last year). As is the case in many states, in Wisconsin, if the governor and the Legislature cannot agree on legislative maps, the issue falls to the state Supreme Court.
The general election is on pace to be the most expensive Supreme Court race in Wisconsin history. Candidates and outside groups have already spent more than $9.2 million, an amount that, through the general election, will clearly exceed the record $10 million spent in 2020.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Former President Trump blasted the forewoman of the Georgia grand jury investigating his efforts to interfere with the 2020 election results in the state over her revealing insights into the grand jurys recommendations this week.
This Georgia case is ridiculous, a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time. Now you have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) foreperson of the Racist D.A.s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jurys inner workings & thoughts, Trump posted on Truth Social.
This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court, he continued. Atlanta is leading the Nation in Murder and other Violent Crimes. All I did is make TWO PERFECT PHONE CALLS!!!
Forewoman Emily Kohrs has been interviewed by multiple media outlets to offer insight into the grand jurys report, which was partially released last week. She told CNNs Kate Bolduan on Erin Burnett OutFront that it would be a good assumption that more than a dozen people will be indicted as a result of the investigation.
There may be some names on that list that you wouldnt expect. But the big name that everyone keeps asking me about I dont think you will be shocked, Kohrs said.
Speaking about the people and crimes listed in the report, she told The New York Times that it is not a short list, but declined to name those recommended for indictment. Trumps former attorney Rudy Giuliani and 16 other Republicans who held a meeting to carry out a fake elector plot by voting to certify the election for Trump were among the known targets of the investigation.
The Associated Press first identified Kohrs as the forewoman.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday, reporters told Kohrs that Trump had thanked the grand jury on Truth Social, implying in the post that he had been given total exoneration. After hearing that from the reporters, she rolled her eyes and burst out laughing, according to the report.
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New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman, who has frequently covered Trump over the years, critiqued Kohrss media appearances, saying on CNNs This Morning on Wednesday that the interviews are not helpful for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D), who led the investigation.
Ive covered courts on and off for the last 20 years, more than that. Ive never heard of a grand jury foreperson speaking this way, Haberman said. Now, this is a fact-finding grand jury. This is not a charging grand jury. But even still, Ive never seen anything like it.
If Im the prosecutor, Im not sure that I want this media tour taking place, because Im confident that Donald Trumps lawyers are going to use this, just based on what I was hearing last night from people, to try to argue that this is prejudicial in terms of what she is saying, she continued.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former president Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un talk before a meeting in the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ) on June 30, 2019, in Panmunjom, Korea. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump said North Korea's Kim Jong Un feels 'threatened' by military exercises.
South Korea and the US will hold joint exercises in response to North Korean nuclear threats.
Trump has long praised North Korea's brutal dictator.
Former President Donald Trump has defended Kim Jong Un after a series of recent missile launches, saying the North Korean dictator felt "threatened" by planned military exercises by the US and its South Korean allies.
In a post on his Truth Social page, Trump claimed that during his term in the White House he had formed a close relationship with Kim.
"Kim Jung [sic] Un of North Korea, who I got to know and got along with very well during my years as President, is not happy with the U.S. and South Korea doing big training and air exercises together," Trump wrote. "He feels threatened." He went on to complain that South Korea "pays us very little to do these extremely expensive and provocative drills. It's really ridiculous."
A man watches a TV screen showing North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul. KIM Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
In recent weeks tensions have escalated between North Korea and South Korea, a key regional ally of the US, amid a series of provocations by Kim.
On Saturday North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that landed in the Sea of Japan. The tests were a warning to South Korea and the US over extensive military exercises planned over the next few weeks, North Korea said.
In response, South Korea, Japan and the US staged joint air drills featuring a strategic bomber and stealth fighters.
North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs are banned by the UN, but the reclusive state has continued to develop them and menace its neighbours with them. Earlier in February, Kim attended a military parade in Pyongyang where multiple ICBMs were showcased. It's the highest number of the weapons North Korea has displayed and analysts believe the missiles have the capacity to hit the US, and could be used in a nuclear strike.
Trump during his term in office frequently boasted of the close relationship he'd formed with Kim, and of the "love letters" they'd exchanged.
Story continues
He set up a series of high profile summits with the dictator which resulted in little concrete diplomatic progress in attempts to curtail North Korea's nuclear program, while lambasting South Korea for allegedly freeloading from the US.
In recent years, negotiations between North Korea and the US have stalled. Trump has launched a bid for the presidency in 2024.
Read the original article on Business Insider
House Republicans are calling for significant spending cuts as they seek to balance the federal budget within 10 years, but so far, they have failed to provide a plan showing how they might reach that goal, even as they have taken some of the largest budget items such as Social Security and Medicare off the table for future negotiations.
Russell Vought, who ran the Office of Management and Budget under former President Donald Trump, is hoping to provide the budget blueprint that would allow Republicans to move toward their objective. As Jeff Stein, Josh Dawsey and Isaac Arnsdorf of The Washington Post report, Vought, who now leads a conservative think tank called the Center for Renewing America, has emerged as one of the leading intellectuals in the GOP while providing a seemingly inexhaustible stream of advice on budgetary matters, including guidance on how to use the debt ceiling as leverage to shrink the federal government.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who in many ways pioneered the current Republican approach to federal spending and is advising Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on the burgeoning showdown over the debt limit, told the Post that Vought is a key figure. Russ is the guy conservatives go to for intimate knowledge of how the federal budget works, Gingrich said. He understands an enormous amount of federal budgeting, and that makes him a very big player.
The plan: In a 104-page memo, Vought outlines potential spending cuts at virtually every federal agency that would slash spending while leaving the major social welfare programs alone. Im tired of this focus on Social Security and Medicare, as if youre climbing a mountain and cant make any progress on that mountain until you go to the eagles nest on the top, Vought told the Post. You take these cuts to the American people, and you win.
On the path to a balanced budget, the document outlines massive reductions in federal programs, many of which serve lower-income households. Medicaid would see $2 trillion in cuts over 10 years, while the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, would lose $400 billion, and Head Start funding would be cut in half.
Story continues
Many of the programs targeted for cuts have a common theme. By the Posts count, the Vought memo mentions the word woke 77 times, using it to describe programs at agencies as varied as NASA, the National Institutes of Health and the FBI.
America cannot be saved unless the current grip of woke and weaponized government is broken, Vought writes. That is the central and immediate threat facing the country the one that all our statesmen must rise tall to vanquish. The battle cannot wait. However, this woke and weaponized regime requires the resources of taxpayers to flourish and can be starved in order to dismantle it.
Could the plan work? Critics of Voughts blueprint argue that is unrealistic and cannot provide a path to a balanced budget. Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell notes that, among other problems, the plan assumes the economy will start growing much more rapidly as government spending is slashed, thanks to a surge in labor force participation driven by the cuts. It shows gangbusters growth of 3.1 percent this fiscal year alone, she writes. For context, thats more than 10 times the pace of growth projected by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (0.3 percent).
Other critics question just how much money can really be saved by targeting wokeness. One Republican official told the Post that while Vought is a budget expert, hes selling conservatives a fantasy, which is achieving a balanced budget without cutting anything popular. The official added, Were going to balance the budget by ending woke? Give me a break.
Casey Mulligan, who served as chief economist for the Council of Economic Advisers in the Trump administration, said that Voughts approach might help establish the principle that discretionary spending needs to be slashed, even if it fails to balance the budget. Hes taken this very interesting position that: Yeah, we need to get entitlement spending under control. But Washington the agencies need to take a haircut first, Mulligan told the Post. The agencies are a fairly small amount of money, but the symbolism of it I think hell be successful with that message.
Still, it seems unlikely that the Vought plan could get the budget anywhere close to balanced, even if he could unify Republicans behind what would probably be very unpopular spending cuts. As a purely rhetorical ploy, they may be able to get away with it, William Galston, a former Clinton administration official at the Brookings Institution, told the Post. As a matter of arithmetic, its ridiculous.
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Former president Donald Trump is visiting the site of the train derailment in East Palestine near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on Wednesday and is reportedly planning to meet with local officials and donate thousands of gallons of cleaning supplies and water to support the cleanup effort.
The move has been blasted as a political stunt by former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican who served in the Obama administration.
Mr Trumps visit comes as the CEO of the rail operator, Norfolk Southern, faced tough questions from a reporter on how long the company will commit to remaining in East Palestine for the clean-up effort. The CEO dodged a question on the companys lobbying efforts against some federal rail safety measures.
What were really interested in is solution-based safety rules, and were very focused on following the science, CEO Alan H Shaw said.
On Tuesday, another derailment took place in Nebraska when 30 cars from a Union Pacific coal train slid off the tracks outside of Gothenburg in the early hours of the morning, sparking a fresh emergency response operation. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Key points
Trump to visit site of Ohio train derailment today
Nebraska coal train derailment sparks emergency operation
Pennsylvania governor hits out at Norfolk Southern greed and incompetence
Ohio officials share video of them drinking tap water to encourage residents
Toxic spill health concerns prompt state to open East Palestine clinic
Angry Ohio residents seek answers on train's toxic spill
Trump tells Joe Biden to get over here during East Palestine visit
08:00 , Graig Graziosi
During a visit to East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment, Donald Trump was asked if he had a message for Joe Biden.
Mr Trump replied by saying Get over here.
Mr Biden has been under scrutiny by Republicans, including the villages mayor Trent Conaway, for taking a trip to Ukraine but not visiting the site of the train derailment.
Story continues
TRUMP IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO
Reporter: "What's your message to Joe Biden?"
Trump: "Get over here." pic.twitter.com/LsmVnboL2I VINnews (@VINNews) February 22, 2023
07:00 , Graig Graziosi
Trump tells East Palestine residents they wont be forgotten
Donald Trump told residents of East Palestine, Ohio the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment that they wont be forgotten, and that he stands with them in their struggle for restitution following the accident.
Mr Trump donated bottled water and cleaning supplies to the residents during his visit.
Trump to East Palestine, Ohio residents: "You are not forgotten ... We stand with you" pic.twitter.com/kHy7VqqnBI The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 22, 2023
Yesterday the Biden administration announced that the EPA was issuing a binding order to ensure that Norfolk Southern stayed at the site and continued its clean-up efforts in the village. If the company deviates from the EPAs plan it will continue the work and charge the company triple the costs of the work that needs done.
Pure political theater: Lincoln Project overshadow Trumps Ohio visit with video highlighting rail safety hypocrisy
06:00 , Graig Graziosi
The Lincoln Project has released a scathing video criticising former president Donald Trump for rolling back railroad regulations ahead of his visit to East Palestine, Ohio.
The group, run by former Republicans opposed to Mr Trumps grip on the party, released the video as the former president heads to the location of the toxic train derailment that has local residents concerened.
As Donald Trump travels to East Palestine, Ohio today, lets ask him one question, the videos narrator says. Why did he end the railroad regulations?
Read more:
Lincoln Project overshadow Trump Ohio visit with video on rail safety hypocrisy
Why did the Norfolk Southern train derail in Ohio?
04:59 , Graig Graziosi
The National Transportation Safety Board is in the midst of an investigation into the crash. It has released some preliminary reports, but a full report is likely still some time away.
The NTSB has already established that the immediate cause of the crash was the failure of a wheel bearing due to overheating.
NTSB investigators have identified and examined the rail car that initiated the derailment. Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. The wheelset from the suspected railcar has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination, the agency said in its report. The suspected overheated wheel bearing has been collected and will be examined by engineers from the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
Read more:
Why did a Norfolk Southern train derail in Ohio?
Norfolk Southerns $4m-a-year CEO dodges question on spending millions to lobby against new safety rule
04:00 , Graig Graziosi
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw appeared unwilling to provide details when pressed on why he lobbied against increased safety measures for the rail industry.
From the story:
Steven Ditmeyer, a former top official at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), has told investigative news outlet The Lever that the severity of the Ohio crash might have been aggravated by the lack of ECP brakes.
During the PBS interview, Mr Bennet asked Mr Shaw about another rule change his company had opposed: In November and December, Norfolk Southern met with federal regulators and pushed back against this proposed rule that would have, in most cases, mandated at least two crew members on trains. Why did Norfolk Southern spend so much money, millions upon millions of dollars, lobbying against it?
Read more:
Norfolk Southerns $4m-a-year CEO dodges question on lobbying against new safety rule
Watch: The Lincoln Project releases ad highlighting derailment and Trumps deregulation efforts hours before former presidents visit to East Palestine
03:00 , Graig Graziosi
The Lincoln Project has released a new video focused on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and rail industry deregulation efforts Donald Trump made possible during his time in office.
The group released the video just hours before Mr Trump is set to visit the village.
At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan
02:00 , Graig Graziosi
When Donald Trump won office in 2016, it wasnt initially clear who would take the credit, or blame, for the election of a reality TV star to the US presidency.
While Democrats including Hillary Clinton initially focused their fire on Russian disinformation and the role of conspiracies on social media, others pointed to a different phenomenon: the growing conservatism of the Rust Belt, the heartland of Americas manufacturing power.
It was here where progressives and Maga Republicans diagnosed the same problem: an entire region, spurned once too often by the shuttering of massive plants and the resulting regional economic collapses which followed, had turned towards the only politician unwilling to dismiss them as flyover country Donald Trump. Even Democrats find themselves admitting that Mr Trump successfully painted himself as a hero of Americas working class, and in particular a hero of the kinds of blue collar union workers whose families had voted Democrat for years, maybe even decades.
That was the embarrassed anger which was evident whenever progressives and even some centrist Democrats noted that Ms Clintons campaign had failed to reach out to and campaign alongside labour unions in Michigan, or even worse, failed to even show up at all in Wisconsin. After 2016, the question for the left was clear: had the Democratic Party sacrificed its connection to the working class, and in particular to unions, in favour of chasing the suburbanite Republicans and independents whom they wagered were turned off by Donald Trumps caustic rhetoric?
Read more:
At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan
How the Biden administration responded to the Ohio train derailment
01:00 , Graig Graziosi
Despite Mr Buttigiegs comments there, the Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment as locals ask wheres Pete? and East Palestines mayor (as we saw earlier) called the presidents Monday visist to Ukraine a slap in the face.
Since the disaster on 3 February there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was too slow to react.
So what exactly have the president and his transportation secretary done since the train derailment and are the criticisms warranted?
Graig Graziosi has the answers.
What the Biden administration has done in response to the Ohio train derailment
ICYMI: Pennsylvania governor calls out corporate greed and incompetence of Norfolk Southern over train derailment
00:00 , Graig Graziosi
Cleanup gets underway at site after Ohio train derailment
23:00 , Graig Graziosi
League of Conservative Voters says Trump feigning concern for East Palestine
22:15 , Graig Graziosi
Sara Chieffo of the League of Conservative Voters called out Donald Trump, saying he was feining concern for residents of East Palestine during his visit to the site of a train derailment in the village.
Its the height of hypocrisy for Trump to feign concern for the community of East Palestine after years of openly mocking and rolling back environmental safeguards, she said.
"Its the height of hypocrisy for Trump to feign concern for the community of East Palestine after years of openly mocking and rolling back environmental safeguards." LCV's @SaraChieffo
Trump put communities like East Palestine in harm's way. Period.https://t.co/vgv85CLEUz LCV League of Conservation Voters (@LCVoters) February 22, 2023
Trump tells crowd of East Palestine supporters to have fun everybody during visit to train wreck site
22:00 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump was greeted by crowds of supporters in the village of East Palestine Wednesday, during which he told fans to have fun everybody while he was visiting the site of a derailed Norfolk Southern train whose cargo of hazardous chemicals was vented and burned over the village.
Mr Trump also bought lunch for first responders at a local McDonalds and passed out water and cleaning supplies during his visit.
Trump brags about bringing Trump water to families affected by Ohio train derailment
21:40 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump traveled to East Palestine, Ohio on Wednesday where he bragged about bringing clean Trump water to families whose lives were upended by a massive train derailment earlier this month.
The ex-president was flanked by local officials as he noted that he was bringing water, Trump water, actually, most of it, to families in the region. It couldnt immediately be verified what percentage of the bottles donated by the president were branded with his own name.
Some of it, we had to go to a much lesser quality water, quipped the former president.
It was a scene that played out as a perfect headache for the Biden White House, as the ex-presidents visit occurred just hours before Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was set to visit the region and therefore allowed Mr Trump to claim the mantle of first to the scene.
Read more:
Trump brags about bringing Trump water to families affected by Ohio derailment
Trump accuses federal government of indifference and betrayal in response to East Palestine train derailment
21:30 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump has accused the federal government of indifference and betrayal in response to East Palestine train derailment.
Officials from the EPA, the NTSB, and the DOT were on site in East Palestine on the day the accident occurred. The EPA has also bound Norfolk Southern under penalty of fine to continue its work paying for and cleaning up the crash site. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said during a press conference that Joe Biden had reached out personally to offer additional federal aid. Mr DeWine did not ask for further federal assistance until 16 February, which the White House responded to by dispatching a multi-agency team, including FEMA officials.
Trump buys lunch for firefighters and first responders at East Palestine McDonalds
21:20 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump bought lunch for the firefighters and first responders in East Palestine during his visit to the village where a Norfolk Southern train derailed.
The former president took the group of workers to the villages McDonalds location for their meals.
President Trump buying lunch for all the firefighters and first responders in East Palestine, Ohio pic.twitter.com/5D6ba1BmjD Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 22, 2023
Trump says East Palestine mayor easy to find and compliments village on having no crime and no problems while standing at train crash site
21:10 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump praised the village of East Palestine during his visit to the train derailment site, complimenting it for having no crime.
Its a nice place, right? What do you have, zero crime? Zero crime, no problems, he said while looking over the spot where a Norfolk Southern train derailed, after which its cargo of hazardous vinyl chloride was vented and burned, sending a pillar of toxic smoke into the air above the village.
He met with several local officials during his trip, including Senator JD Vance, Congressman Bill Johnson, and the villages mayor, Trent Conaway, who he said was very easy to find.
WATCH: Trump on the ground with the Mayor of East Palestine, Ohio
"It's a nice place, right? What do you have, zero crime? Zero crime, no problems." pic.twitter.com/1VpNFraun7 Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 22, 2023
Trump touts his Trump water, during visit
21:02 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump visited the site of the Ohio train derailment in East Palestine today, where he was welcomed by crowds of supporters.
Mr Trump brought thousands of bottles of water as well as cleaning supplies with him to distribute to the residents of the village.
He told residents they should try to get their hands on his Trump water rather than the much less quality water his team had to source in order to provide enough to distribute.
Trump says he brought "Trump water" for the residents of East Palestine, and also "much lesser quality water" pic.twitter.com/DpLwcPfNQk Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 22, 2023
Trump bashes Biden during East Palestine visit, silent on Norfolk Southern
20:30 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump took the opportunity during his visit to East Palestine, where a Norfolk Southern train derailed, to take a few shots at Joe Biden.
He said Mr Biden should get over here when asked if he had a message for the president, and later noted that he had visited Ukraine, and wondered aloud if the president would have money left for the residents of East Palestine.
The federal government has issued a binding order forcing Norfolk Southern to clean-up and pay for the clean-up efforts in the village.
The Biden administration also dispatched EPA, NTSB, and DOT teams to the site immediately after the crash, and Governor Mike DeWine noted during a press conference that the president reached out personally and offered additional federal assistance, which the governor declined until 16 February.
Mr Trump took credit for the federal response to the accident, which began before he announced he planned to visit the village.
Trump tells Joe Biden to get over here during East Palestine visit
20:10 , Graig Graziosi
During a visit to East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment, Donald Trump was asked if he had a message for Joe Biden.
Mr Trump replied by saying Get over here.
Mr Biden has been under scrutiny by Republicans, including the villages mayor Trent Conaway, for taking a trip to Ukraine but not visiting the site of the train derailment.
TRUMP IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO
Reporter: "What's your message to Joe Biden?"
Trump: "Get over here." pic.twitter.com/LsmVnboL2I VINnews (@VINNews) February 22, 2023
Trump tells East Palestine residents they wont be forgotten'
19:49 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump told residents of East Palestine, Ohio the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment that they wont be forgotten, and that he stands with them in their struggle for restitution following the accident.
Mr Trump donated bottled water and cleaning supplies to the residents during his visit.
Trump to East Palestine, Ohio residents: "You are not forgotten ... We stand with you" pic.twitter.com/kHy7VqqnBI The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 22, 2023
Yesterday the Biden administration announced that the EPA was issuing a binding order to ensure that Norfolk Southern stayed at the site and continued its clean-up efforts in the village. If the company deviates from the EPAs plan it will continue the work and charge the company triple the costs of the work that needs done.
Pure political theater: Lincoln Project overshadow Trumps Ohio visit with video highlighting rail safety hypocrisy
19:45 , Graig Graziosi
The Lincoln Project has released a scathing video criticising former president Donald Trump for rolling back railroad regulations ahead of his visit to East Palestine, Ohio.
The group, run by former Republicans opposed to Mr Trumps grip on the party, released the video as the former president heads to the location of the toxic train derailment that has local residents concerened.
As Donald Trump travels to East Palestine, Ohio today, lets ask him one question, the videos narrator says. Why did he end the railroad regulations?
Read more:
Lincoln Project overshadow Trump Ohio visit with video on rail safety hypocrisy
Why did the Norfolk Southern train derail in Ohio?
19:30 , Graig Graziosi
The National Transportation Safety Board is in the midst of an investigation into the crash. It has released some preliminary reports, but a full report is likely still some time away.
The NTSB has already established that the immediate cause of the crash was the failure of a wheel bearing due to overheating.
NTSB investigators have identified and examined the rail car that initiated the derailment. Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. The wheelset from the suspected railcar has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination, the agency said in its report. The suspected overheated wheel bearing has been collected and will be examined by engineers from the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
Read more:
Why did a Norfolk Southern train derail in Ohio?
Trump arrives in East Palestine, speaks with mayor and Senator JD Vance
19:27 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump has arrived in East Palestine, Ohio, to visit the scene of the Norfolk Southern train derailment.
Mr Trump was seen chatting with Trent Conaway, the mayor of East Palestine, and Senator JD Vance of Ohio.
Former President Donald Trump speaking with J.D. Vance and the mayor of #EastPalestine @wkyc pic.twitter.com/B7zMQ2P0hz Neil Fischer (@NeilFischerTV) February 22, 2023
GOP Congresswoman attacks Biden, Buttigieg over train derailment response
19:15 , Graig Graziosi
Republican Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee attacked US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden over their response to the Ohio train derailment.
Her attack comes just as Donald Trump is set to visit East Palestine.
When East Palestine pleaded for help after a massive toxic spill, Biden left the country for a photo op and his Secretary of a Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, took personal time.
Which excuse is worse? Rep. Diana Harshbarger (@RepHarshbarger) February 22, 2023
While Ms Harshbargers attacks target Mr Biden and Mr Buttieig, it omits that the federal government, including the EPA, NTSB, and DOT officials have been responding to the train accident since its initial derailment on 3 February.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw to participate in cable news townhall tonight
19:00 , Graig Graziosi
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is reportedly joining a CNN townhall that will be televised tonight.
Mr Shaw and officials from Norfolk Southern skipped an earlier townhall meeting in East Palestine last week, claiming officials felt their safety might be threatened if they participated.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan will also be participating in the event.
JUST CONFIRMED TO JOIN CNNS LIVE TOWN HALL, TONIGHT AT 9PET:
Norfolk Southern @NSCorp CEO Alan Shaw
EPA Administrator @EPAMichaelRegan
Director of @OHdeptofhealth Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff
Director of @OhioEPA Anne Vogel https://t.co/4i2B4hFHRP CNN Communications (@CNNPR) February 22, 2023
Crowds gather in East Palestine to meet with Trump
18:42 , Graig Graziosi
Reporters on the ground in East Palestine report that crowds have gathered in the village in anticipation of Donald Trumps visit to the village today.
Columbiana County, where East Palestine is located, voted overwhelmingly for Mr Trump in the 2020 election.
A few hundred people waiting to get a glimpse of former President Trump who is headed to East Palestine after landing in nearby Youngstown. All as Norfolk Southern trains continue to barrel through. Many tell us they hope the extra attention will ensure support. pic.twitter.com/sveGCwn5nW Evan Lambert (@EvanLambertTV) February 22, 2023
Donald Trump lands in Ohio
18:26 , Graig Graziosi
Former President Donald Trump has landed in Vienna, Ohio, approximately 36 miles north of East Palestine.
Mr Trump plans on visiting East Palestine and donating bottled water and cleaning supplies to the village during his stop.
Former President Donald Trump is on the ground in Ohio today to meet with folks impacted by the East Palestine train derailment & donate supplies. pic.twitter.com/JWReXm6fUT Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) February 22, 2023
Norfolk Southerns $4m-a-year CEO dodges question on spending millions to lobby against new safety rule
17:38 , Graig Graziosi
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw appeared unwilling to provide details when pressed on why he lobbied against increased safety measures for the rail industry.
From the story:
Steven Ditmeyer, a former top official at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), has told investigative news outlet The Lever that the severity of the Ohio crash might have been aggravated by the lack of ECP brakes.
During the PBS interview, Mr Bennet asked Mr Shaw about another rule change his company had opposed: In November and December, Norfolk Southern met with federal regulators and pushed back against this proposed rule that would have, in most cases, mandated at least two crew members on trains. Why did Norfolk Southern spend so much money, millions upon millions of dollars, lobbying against it?
Read more:
Norfolk Southerns $4m-a-year CEO dodges question on lobbying against new safety rule
Pete Buttigieg reportedly heading to East Palestine on Thursday
17:08 , Graig Graziosi
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is reportedly travelling to East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday.
He will arrive the day after Donald Trumps visit to the village.
Exclusive >> Pete Buttigieg headed to Ohio, day after Trump is there and 20 days after accident, highlighting what a huge political problem this has become for the administration. https://t.co/p1H3ldH09P Matthew Kaminski (@KaminskiMK) February 22, 2023
East Palestine preps for Trump visit with welcome signs and even a Trump honey vendor
16:37 , Graig Graziosi
Some residents of East Palestine, which is located in reliably red Columbiana County, Ohio, appear to be excited for former President Donald Trump to visit.
NBC News Henry Gomez shared images from the village ahead of Mr Trumps arrival.
Todd Gerhart, a Trump supporter from Charleston, S.C., drove here last night to sell his honey in downtown East Palestine today. He says 100% of the profits will go to community cleanup efforts. pic.twitter.com/fWmDUZJYd9 Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) February 22, 2023
Trump begins his travel to East Palestine
15:55 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump appears to be on his way to the village of East Palestine.
Few details of his visit were made public. Its unclear where hell be or how long he plans on staying in Ohio.
Donald Trump heads to East Palestine Ohio pic.twitter.com/aYcnTicgoX Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) February 22, 2023
Trump to donate water, cleaning supplies during East Palestine visit
15:40 , Graig Graziosi
Donald Trump will reportedly donate 13 pallets of bottled water as well as cleaning supplies to the village of East Palestine during his trip on Wednesday.
Mr Trump will be joined by East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, Senator JD Vance, Congressman Bill Johnson and other Republican state officials.
Watch: The Lincoln Project releases ad highlighting derailment and Trumps deregulation efforts hours before former presidents visit to East Palestine
15:20 , Graig Graziosi
The Lincoln Project has released a new video focused on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and rail industry deregulation efforts Donald Trump made possible during his time in office.
The group released the video just hours before Mr Trump is set to visit the village.
What the Biden administration has and hasnt done in response to the Ohio train derailment
15:00 , Graig Graziosi
The Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment, as locals question wheres Pete and East Palestines mayor calls the presidents Ukraine visit a slap in the face.
Norfolk Southern was forced to vent and burn the trains load of vinyl chloride, a hazardous material used in the manufacturing of certain plastics, leaving East Palestine residents worried about their health and the longterm effects it might have on their small community.
Since the 3 February derailment there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was slow to move to address the disaster.
What exactly have Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg done since the train derailment, and are the criticisms warranted?
Read more:
What the Biden administration has done in response to the Ohio train derailment
At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan
14:32 , Graig Graziosi
When Donald Trump won office in 2016, it wasnt initially clear who would take the credit, or blame, for the election of a reality TV star to the US presidency.
While Democrats including Hillary Clinton initially focused their fire on Russian disinformation and the role of conspiracies on social media, others pointed to a different phenomenon: the growing conservatism of the Rust Belt, the heartland of Americas manufacturing power.
It was here where progressives and Maga Republicans diagnosed the same problem: an entire region, spurned once too often by the shuttering of massive plants and the resulting regional economic collapses which followed, had turned towards the only politician unwilling to dismiss them as flyover country Donald Trump. Even Democrats find themselves admitting that Mr Trump successfully painted himself as a hero of Americas working class, and in particular a hero of the kinds of blue collar union workers whose families had voted Democrat for years, maybe even decades.
That was the embarrassed anger which was evident whenever progressives and even some centrist Democrats noted that Ms Clintons campaign had failed to reach out to and campaign alongside labour unions in Michigan, or even worse, failed to even show up at all in Wisconsin. After 2016, the question for the left was clear: had the Democratic Party sacrificed its connection to the working class, and in particular to unions, in favour of chasing the suburbanite Republicans and independents whom they wagered were turned off by Donald Trumps caustic rhetoric?
Read more:
At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan
ICYMI: Ohio officials drink East Palestine water after train derailment
14:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Local and state officials drank from an East Palestine sink to help assuage fears that the villages water was contaminated following a Norfolk Southern train derailment in early February.
How the Biden administration responded to the Ohio train derailment
13:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Despite Mr Buttigiegs comments there, the Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment as locals ask wheres Pete? and East Palestines mayor (as we saw earlier) called the presidents Monday visist to Ukraine a slap in the face.
Since the disaster on 3 February there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was too slow to react.
So what exactly have the president and his transportation secretary done since the train derailment and are the criticisms warranted?
Graig Graziosi has the answers.
What the Biden administration has done in response to the Ohio train derailment
Pete Buttigieg calls out Marco Rubio for softening rail safety requirements prior to Ohio train derailment
12:00 , Joe Sommerlad
The US transportation secretary replied to criticism levied at him by Republican senator Marco Rubio by pointing out the lawmaker had voted to soften safety regulations prior to the Ohio train derailment in East Palestine.
The facts dont lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists. It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections, he wrote.
Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not?
The facts don't lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists.
It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections.
Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not? https://t.co/o5MGvbEZbA Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 21, 2023
Pennsylvania governor calls out 'corporate greed and incompetence' of Norfolk Southern over train derailment
11:00 , Graig Graziosi
Cleanup gets underway at site after Ohio train derailment
11:18 , Joe Sommerlad
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the federal response to the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as a betrayal during a visit to the village where residents and local leaders are increasingly frustrated more than two weeks after the disaster.
The former president, who is mounting a third bid for the White House, wore his trademark red Make America Great Again cap as he said the community needs answers and results, not excuses.
In too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal," Trump said at a firehouse roughly half a mile from where more than three dozen freight cars including 11 carrying hazardous materials came off the tracks. The fiery, mangled mess near the Pennsylvania state line apparently followed a mechanical issue with a rail car axle.
Trump appeared with U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Mayor Trent Conaway and state and local leaders and traveled via motorcade giving the visit the look of an official presidential visit.
The Feb. 3 derailment led to evacuations and fears of air and water contamination after a controlled burning of toxic chemicals aimed at preventing an explosion. The disaster has become the latest front in Americas political divide, with Trump criticizing the federal response and the White House in turn saying Trump could have done more as president to toughen rail and environmental regulations.
The trip offered Trump, who has held few events since he launched his campaign in November, an opportunity to reprise the role he often held as president: surveying disaster damage and meeting with residents following tragic events. He praised the staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, even as he offered criticism.
He also donated cleaning supplies along with pallets of what he said was Trump-branded bottled water to residents concerned about the water coming out of their taps.
Before leaving town, Trump stopped by a local McDonalds, where he passed out hats, ordered meals for first responders and picked up food for the plane ride home. He also visited Little Beaver Creek to inspect the damage and greeted supporters assembled nearby to cheer him on.
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Thank you for not forgetting about us, one woman told him.
Have fun, everybody, Trump told them after signing autographs.
Trump, in his remarks at the firehouse, seized on Bidens decision to make a surprise visit to Ukraine this week, saying he hoped Biden would have "some money left over for the residents of East Palestine when he returns. Biden, who has yet to come to the Ohio town, was traveling back from Poland on Wednesday after marking the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Biden White House has defended its response to the derailment, saying officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies were at the rural site within hours of the derailment. The White House says it has also offered federal assistance and that FEMA has been coordinating with the state emergency operations center and other partners.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited the site last week to try to reassure skeptical residents that the water was fit for drinking and the air safe to breathe. And shortly before Trump arrived in Ohio, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced he would visit Thursday after also facing criticism for not coming sooner.
Trump took credit for Buttigieg's trip and also criticized FEMA's role in the response, accusing the agency of having changed their tune after he announced his own visit to East Palestine.
The White House, however, has said FEMA was involved from the beginning, even as other agencies have taken the lead. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, has said Ohio has received all the resources it needs from the federal government.
DeWine and FEMA announced the same day that Trumps trip was announced that FEMA would be deploying additional federal resources to the site, but the timing appears to be coincidental. Federal and state officials have also said Norfolk Southern, the train company, will pay the full cost of cleanup and other expenses such as hotel stays.
Biden administration officials called out a decision by the Trump administration to repeal an Obama-era Transportation Department rule that would have requiring high-hazard cargo trains hauling large amounts of flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol to be equipped with more sophisticated, electronically controlled brakes by 2023.
Buttigieg said this week that the Federal Railroad Administration will look at reviving that brake rule now, though the NTSB noted it couldnt have helped in this derailment because the train wasnt considered a high hazardous flammable train. Only three of the 20 hazardous materials cars the train was carrying were filled with flammable liquids. Regulators may now look at expanding which trains are covered by the high hazardous rules.
Almost three weeks after the derailment, the smell of chemicals that blanketed the village is mostly gone, but some residents close to the tracks say theres still an odor inside their homes.
The village of just under 5,000 residents is near the Pennsylvania state line in Columbiana County, which has grown increasingly Republican in recent years. Trump won nearly 72% of the vote in the 2020 election, and signs of his popularity remain clear.
At a car dealership in town, where bottled water was being distributed, a photo of Trump leaned against a barricade, reading, A Hero Will Rise. Signs and flags around the village broadcast support both for Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate.
Since the derailment, residents have complained about headaches, irritated eyes and other ailments. Thousands of fish have been found dead, and residents have talked about finding dying or sick pets and wildlife. Residents are also frustrated by what they say is incomplete and vague information about the lasting effects from the disaster and have demanded more transparency from Norfolk Southern.
The gas that spilled and burned after the train derailment vinyl chloride, a chemical used to make hard plastics is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers.
Environmental officials say that they monitored for toxins in the air during the controlled burn and that continuing air monitoring including testing inside 550 homes hasnt detected dangerous levels in the area since residents were allowed to return.
Residents like Cory Brittian, whose family owns an auto dealership in the center of the village, praised Trump for his visit.
Any light that can be shined on the situation here, especially with the federal government, can only help, he said. ___
Associated Press writers Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, and Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.
The future of airport security is getting more high-tech as the TSA continues testing a system that scans your face during the screening process.
The pilot program with facial recognition technology is running at several airports nationwide.
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An agency official said the technology is only used at podiums manned by a TSA worker to match a passengers identification information with a photo of their physical presence at that station. The agency believes this will enhance security and cut wait times.
If the technology thinks youre someone else, a TSA official said a security worker would manually check your ID.
To me just invites, further law enforcement scrutiny invites further contact with authorities in ways that are not going to be helpful, said Vincent Southerland, NYU Assistant Professor of Clinical Law.
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Southerland helps run the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU. He believes an incorrect match could be problematic for minority travelers.
Force the person to kind of have to prove or demonstrate their identity in weird ways that they otherwise would not have and that is going to course lead to conflict, said Southerland. And conflict often does not end very well for folks who have been traditionally marginalized, oppressed and targeted by law enforcement.
Its also happened before with facial recognition technology.
Take the case of Robert Williams - hes a black man who the ACLU says was wrongfully arrested by Detroit Police in 2020. The organization said facial recognition software incorrectly identified him as a shoplifting suspect. The ACLU says the charges were eventually dropped.
In some cases, this software compares your image to another one or an entire database of photos.
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So what happens when travelers dont look exactly like their ID?
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A 2019 federal government study by The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) echoes some of those concerns. It found that Asian and African Americans were up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified than White people, depending on the algorithm and the search.
The bigger finding from the 2019 study was that the false positive rates where somebody else could use your passport or somebody else could access your phone very much, much more widely, said Patrick Grother, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Grother is one of the computer scientists who worked on this study. He said they evaluated hundreds of algorithms and reviewed the rate of false negative and positive matches.
One of the mistakes theyll make is a false negative mistake, where it doesnt associate you as you two photos of you. And it doesnt, it doesnt put them together, said Grother. The other mistake is where it takes two photos of me and somebody else and says its the same person. So thats a false positive error.
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Grother said these results went directly to the developers.
We continue to track the technology and whether its improving with respect to accuracy and with respect to these demographic effects, said Grother.
TSA declined our request for an on-camera interview about these racial disparities within facial recognition technology, so the Washington News Bureau took those questions directly to the White House.
The TSA continuously evaluates and improves upon technology and process to better protect the traveling public and ensure that screening is conducted in a manner that respects the dignity of each individual that is clearly a priority, said White Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. DHS is working NIST to access the performance of face recognition technology and reduce demographic differentials particularly as it relates to race and gender.
WATCH: TSA is testing facial recognition software to enhance security & cut wait times at airports. But some critics say that's concerning because this kind of technology isn't always accurate when identifying minorities. I asked @PressSec last month about these concerns. pic.twitter.com/rs3Qlbad1V Kirstin Garriss (@ReporterGarriss) February 8, 2023
A TSA official said the agency is also working within the NIST framework and following a methodology that is based in scientific rigor to test a standard that accurately identifies passengers across race, gender, and ethnic differences.
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But Southerland still has concerns.
By rolling these types of tools out when they have these problems that are that are baked into them, youre almost normalizing the types of harms that we that we anticipate seeing, he said.
Southerland said the price of these problems is high especially if an incorrect match leads to a criminal accusation.
Youre going to be separated from your family, separated from your loved ones, lose opportunities for housing, employment, mental health and regular health care, said Southerland. All the range of consequences that flow from criminal justice involvement are almost compounded by having separate technologies or tools in the hands of law enforcement.
The TSA has not finalized when facial recognition will rollout nationwide. The agency says the new system is performing well, and found no major differences across gender, race and skin tone.
The TSA said any incorrect matches will be reported back to the agency for review.
In early February, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) raised concerns about this TSA system as well. The group sent a letter to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David Pekoske to urge TSA to stop its deployment of this facial recognition technology.
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The International Biometrics + Identity Association, which is the leading international trade group representing the identication technology industry, weighed in on those comments. In a written statement, the association spokesperson said for the top-performing algorithms from IBIA members, including those used by our government, demographic differentials were extremely small.
TSA also sent the Washington News Bureau the following statement about the technology: TSA is exploring the use of one to one and one to few facial identification to automate identity verification at airport checkpoints and modernize the screening experience for passengers. Biometric technology has the potential to enhance security effectiveness, improve operational efficiency, and yield a more streamlined passenger experience at the TSA checkpoint. TSA recognizes that biometric solutions must be highly usable for all passengers and operators, considering the diversity of the traveling public.
These pilots are entirely voluntary. While we are informed the preliminary results are encouraging, TSA continues to monitor these pilots to ensure there is no inherent bias in the technology.
Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson claimed on Tuesday that a recent scandal at CNN over host Don Lemons comments around when a woman is in her prime will lead the US down a road of anger and division comparable to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed in ethnic strife.
Once again the revolution eats one of its own, Carlson said. A faithful servant of the Democratic Party is crushed by its remorseless gears. This is the unsentimental map of identity politics. Know your place. Violate the rules of the hierarchy of the caste system and you die.
The real question is, where does this leave the rest of us? Carlson continued. At a dead end, which is what identity politics is. Its the ultimate national cul-de-sac. Identity politics is the precise inversion of the American ideal, out of many, one. That becomes, out of one, many. The result? Balkanisation, atomisation, racial strife, hatred, division, and craziness. In the end, Rwanda. No country can survive identity politics.
Tucker Carlson defends Don Lemon's sexist comment for acknowledging that "biology is real".
Tucker then says that criticism of comments like Lemon's will result in "racial strife, hatred, division, and craziness. In the end, Rwanda." pic.twitter.com/jqHZ48GMBO Kat Abu (@abughazalehkat) February 22, 2023
Elsewhere in his monologue, Carlson suggested the CNN anchor was being unfairly punished for pointing out that biology is real and for criticising girl power.
The speech was in reference to controversial comments Lemon made last week, after GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley suggested older politicians should have to take competency tests.
This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable. I think its the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians or something are not in their prime, Lemon said on CNN This Morning. Nikki Haley isnt in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.
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Its just, like, prime, Lemon continued as his hosts pushed back. If you look it up, if you Google: When is a woman in her prime? Itll say 20s, 30s and 40s. Im not saying I necessarily agree with that, so I think she has to be careful of saying that politicians arent in their prime and they need to be.
Don Lemon: "Nikki Haley isnt in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, and 30s, and maybe 40s"
Poppy Harlow: "Are you talking about prime for like child bearing?"
"Dont shoot the messenger! Im just saying what the facts are! Google it!" pic.twitter.com/n1HmtkWTpl Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 16, 2023
The CNN anchor later apologised for his remarks.
The reference I made to a womans prime this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it, he later wrote on Twitter. A womans age doesnt define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.
On Wednesday, Lemon returned to his post on the CNN show after a brief absence.
I appreciate the opportunity to be back on CNN This Morning today, the host wrote on Twitter early Wednesday before taking the air. To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience Im sorry. Ive heard you, Im learning from you, and Im committed to doing better. See you soon.
Ms Haley, a former US ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina, hit back at Lemon.
This is something that I have faced all of my life. It was Don Lemon yesterday, it was Whoopi Goldberg the day before, she said last week on Fox News. There will be somebody else tomorrow. I have always made the liberals heads explode. They cant stand the fact that a minority conservative female would not be on the Democratic side, because they know I pull independents, they know I pull suburban women, they know I pull minorities over to what we are trying to do.
I wasnt sitting there saying sexist middle aged CNN anchors need to have mental competency tests, although he may have just proven that point, she added. What I was saying is we need to be transparent, those elected officials that are making key decisions for us Americans on national security and keeping our kids safe. And the debt yes, we need to know exactly that.
TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisian police detained two prominent dissidents and surrounded the home of a third on Wednesday, part of an escalating crackdown on critics of President Kais Saied, who has labelled his opponents traitors and criminals.
The arrests, along with others this month, have targeted some of Saied's most important critics along with other politicians, judges and media figures.
Issam Chebbi, head of the Republican Party, was detained near a shopping centre while he was out with his wife, his family and lawyers told Reuters. Police later searched his home.
Chaima Issa, an activist who took part in the 2011 revolution, was detained after police surrounded her in her car, her lawyer Samir Dilou said.
Police also surrounded the house of Jawher Ben Mbarek to detain him, but the constitutional law professor was not there, his sister and lawyers said.
Speaking in a video published online on Wednesday, Saied attacked the National Salvation Front opposition coalition in which Ben Mbarek and Issa were leaders, along with Chebbi's brother.
He called it "a paid campaign", adding that "Tunisia wants to get rid of these criminals".
Saied shut down the elected parliament in 2021 and seized most powers, moving to rule by decree and writing a new constitution that he passed in a referendum with low turnout last year, actions his foes call a coup.
The president has said the moves were legal and necessary to save Tunisia from chaos, repeatedly calling his critics traitors and enemies of the state.
Last year he also took ultimate authority over the judiciary. In the video released on Wednesday, he said "judges must apply the law and whoever does not implement the law should take responsibility".
Although some prominent politicians had faced court cases after Saied's seizure of powers, there had been no coordinated crackdown on dissent until this month's series of arrests.
Tunisia was seen as the only relative success story of the Arab Spring when it adopted democracy following its 2011 revolution that triggered uprisings across the region.
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However, years of political paralysis and economic stagnation left many Tunisians disillusioned and Saied was elected in 2019 as a political outsider vowing to remake the system.
The police and Interior Ministry have declined to comment on the arrests, but lawyers have said some of those detained were accused of conspiring against state security.
Saied had previously said that some of those arrested were responsible for shortages of food and fuel that economists have blamed on a crisis in public finances.
Issa was already facing a military tribunal on charges of insulting Saied but had refused to answer questions during her court appearance, saying she should be tried by a civilian judge.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Alison Williams, Bill Berkrot and Richard Chang)
By Ali Kucukgocmen and Henriette Chacar
ANTAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) - Trucks, emergency vehicles and excavators lined the desolate streets of Turkey's Antakya Tuesday night, after the third major earthquake in two weeks accelerated an exodus from the once-lively city.
In the pitch-black streets, passing headlights revealed mounds of rubble, frames of broken windows, and entangled rebar. Red and blue flashing lights from military and police vehicles reflected off the jagged facades of slanted buildings.
The sound of excavators clawing out debris echoed through the streets as police, soldiers and disaster responders looked on, clustered around small fires dotting the cracked sidewalks. Occasionally, the digging would stop for emergency workers to inspect for possible bodies.
"Everyone is gone," said Mehmet Ay, a 50-year-old survivor of the quakes who has been living in Antakya his entire life, and is one of the few residents who have remained.
"They have either died or have fled."
From a distance, the sharp cityscape of what used to be tall buildings now appeared crenulated. Chunks of the riverbanks were collapsed into the water, while soldiers blocked off damaged bridges.
Billboards were smashed into the ground and the scattered signage among the rubble stood as reminders of the shops that used to fill the busy streets.
"Our streets used to be paradise," said Ay. "In a single night, everything was destroyed."
Ay was sheltering with his wife Fatmeh and their daughter in one of the camps set up to provide temporary shelter to those who lost their homes. A generator roared over the chatter of people gathered around wood stoves outside their tents.
"We can't leave the camp," he said. "It's difficult to walk around because it's dangerous anywhere you go. The buildings are dangerous. Before you know it, a structure can collapse on you."
Earlier, as the sun set over a square next to the city hall, soldiers, volunteers and survivors lined up at food trucks and service stations for dinner and tea.
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At a roundabout, a statue of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on a rearing horse was still standing. Just below it, a marble plaque with his famous quote on Hatay province becoming part of Turkey lay shattered on the ground.
"The disaster fell on all of us," said Saleem Fawakirji, a 57-year-old dishwasher who has been living in Antakya for 12 years after fleeing Syria. "The rich and poor alike," added his wife, Walaa.
The couple, their two daughters and a son survived the Feb. 6 quake by crawling out of a small crack in the rubble. Their eldest son didn't make it.
Fawakirji said the family had no plans to abandon the deserted city. "Look how God granted all of us another life except for my son. Why take the risk now?" he said.
Ay also said he planned to remain.
"It will take a long time, it will take years - but we will rebuild it," said Ay, a construction worker.
"God willing, it will be better than it used to be."
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Henriette Chacar; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
SAUGERTIES - Saugerties police have charged two suspects with manslaughter following a nearly four-month investigation into the death of a man found lying by the side of a road last October.
One suspect was identified as Joseph E. Karolys, 38, of Route 212 in the town of Saugerties. The other suspect was identified only as a 17-year-old male; his name was not released because of his age.
Both were charged with first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault, and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies. Karolys also was charged with attempted bribing of a witness, a felony.
According to police, the charges relate to the death of David "Mickey" Myer, 66, of Saugerties.
Police said that just before 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2022, they responded to a 911 call reporting an unconscious, unresponsive person lying by the side of the road on Route 32 in the Centerville section of Saugerties, just south of the Citgo Mart.
Saugerties police, members of the Centerville-Cedar Grove Fire Department and paramedics from Diaz Ambulance all responded to the area, where they found Myer, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Saugerties police detectives initiated an investigation into the cause of Myer's death, assisted by the state police and the Ulster County District Attorney's office.
Armed with Superior Court arrest warrants and grand jury indictments, Saugerties police this week arrested Karolys and the 17-year-old male, assisted by the State Police Major Crimes Unit.
Karolys was arraigned in Ulster County Court and sent without bail to the Ulster County Jail, pending further court action. The 17-year-old male was arraigned in the youth part of Ulster County Court and sent to a youth detention facility in lieu of $250,000 cash bail or $1 million bond, pending further court action.
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Police said the investigation is continuing and additional arrests are pending.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Saugerties man's death leads to manslaughter charges for two
A long-standing national call for police reform was renewed following the lethal encounter between the Memphis Police Department and Tyre Nichols.
Nichols was fatally beaten by MPD officers following a traffic stop in early January. The incident led to criminal charges against multiple officers involved and national outcry. By late February, five officers charged on multiple counts for Nichols' death, including second-degree murder, pleaded not guilty.
Police agencies and public officials across the country condemned the actions of MPD, while citizens once again called for interrogation into police relations and reform after yet another high-profile causality. President Joe Biden referred to Nichols death during his State of the Union address in early February, saying America needs to finish the job on police reform.
In South Carolina, Chief Mark Keel with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), put out a statement in late January condemning the actions of the MPD officers, calling the incident shocking and disgusting.
SLED, an assisting agency that works with local law enforcement across SC in a variety of investigations, is often called in to independently investigate officer-involved shootings.
In an interview with The Greenville News, Keel said tragic incidents like what occurred in Memphis make up a small percentage of encounters with the public and law enforcement.
Nevertheless, it's just frustrating to me that in this day and time, we continue to see these types of things happening, Keel said. It impacts every single officer in the United States of America in a negative way.
A Greenville News Investigation:Greenville County Sheriff's Office leads SC in shootings by law enforcement
The Greenville News and Spartanburg Herald-Journal reached out to local police agencies in the Upstate, including sheriffs offices in Greenville and Spartanburg County and local departments in Greer and Spartanburg, to discuss their use-of-force policies, officer training and protocols around transparency when excessive use-of-force occurs.
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The News also reached out to the Greenville Police Department. GPD declined an interview but responded to a few questions via email. We have excellent policies and procedures in place and provide an abundance of training to our officers, Sergeant Jonathan Bragg, spokesperson for GPD, wrote.
SC Statewide reforms brought forward from 2020 events, but agencies say policies constantly evolve
Upstate law enforcement leaders gave varying responses about the footage of Nichols death released in late January, though nearly all noted distaste for the actions of the MPD officers.
After we watched the video, we did go talk to deputies at roll call before they would go to work and make sure that theyd seen it and encouraged them to see it, said Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis. If any law enforcement agency waits to talk to their people about this type of criminal behavior when something like this happens, you're too late.
Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis talks with a protest leader during the closing hour of the demonstration remembering George Floyd at Falls Park in Greenville Sunday, May 31, 2020.
Lewis said real-world events have informed officer training, and GCSO is frequently re-evaluating policies.
Use-of-force policies for Greenville PD, GCSO and Greer PD are available on their respective websites. Spartanburg PD and Sheriffs Office do not currently have those policies listed online but provided the Herald-Journal copies upon request.
Agency leaders also mentioned the murder of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, in May 2020 as a turning point in re-evaluating use-of-force policies and training for their departments.
That sparked a tremendous amount of dialogue between our police department and our community, Chief Matt Hamby with Greer Police Department said.
Spartanburg Police Department Chief Alonzo Thompson said what we believed in 2020 is still true today, referencing a presentation from June 2020 before Spartanburg City Council following Floyds death where he highlighted major police reform initiatives in the public eye (watch below).
SLEDs Chief Keel pointed to state legislation introduced in 2020 and signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster last year where several of these measures were implemented.
The legislation, backed by law enforcement leaders statewide, solidified penalties for illegal chokeholds, amended definitions and procedures for reporting officer misconduct and added required minimum standards for all law enforcement agencies for response to resistance, officer duty to intervene and other policies.
Local Upstate agency leaders underscored the importance of duty to intervene policies during interviews.
In Memphis, MPD and local emergency personnel that responded to the police interaction with Nichols were disciplined for their actions and inaction. Beyond the officers who were fired for use-of-force violations and criminally charged, multiple EMS employees were fired for policy violations for not adequately assessing his condition, according to the Memphis Fire Department.
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In GCSOs policy, deputies are required to intervene if they believe another deputy is using force in violation of the law and stop inappropriate use of force if safe or reasonable to do so. Deputies are also required to report instances of inappropriate force to a supervisor or face disciplinary actions, including potential civil or criminal proceedings.
Policies reviewed by The News and Herald-Journal had similar language for duty to intervene across departments.
Where we've seen incidents, where even when deadly force is used on a person, its still incumbent upon us to render aid, Thompson said.
Protestors gather outside of the Peace Center to participate in a demonstration against police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd Saturday, May 30, 2020.
Police agency accreditation seen as best practice
Legislation passed last year requires law enforcement agencies to either be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) or the South Carolina Law Enforcement Accreditation Council (SCLEA) or have minimum standard policies approved by a statewide Compliance Division established by the law.
Local law enforcement leaders emphasized the importance of accreditation through CALEA, a national accreditation agency, Thompson, with Spartanburg PD, calling it a best practice. Thompson said the accreditation adds a layer of department accountability.
Its costly, its time-consuming, but we feel it is worth every penny and every second that we spend because it assures our community and communicates to those internally that this is important, these are the things we need to do, he said.
Greenville Police Department is CALEA-accredited, and GCSO and Spartanburg Police Department are dual-accredited. Greer Police Department is in the process of regaining accreditation status, which expired in 2007. While Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office does not appear on CALEA or SCLEAs accredited agencies list, public information officer Lt. Kevin Bobo said SCSO is in the process of switching from CALEA to SCLEA.
Greer Police Chief Matt Hamby speaks during a press conference to announce the results of operation 'Millstone' at the Law Enforcement Center on Thursday, March 1, 2018.
We just finished up like the first year of our three-year process to become accredited, Hamby with Greer PD said. Because of that, we've been reevaluating all of our policies due to the accreditation standards.
The new law requires the state Compliance Division to inspect each agencys policies at least once every three years.
Are we perfect? No, but that's what we strive to do every day, Thompson said. So, again, it doesn't take these horrific incidents that occur to cause us to ask ourselves, What can we do? How can we be more receptive, more responsive, do our job the right way?'
How SC police departments investigate and document use-of-force
Keel said SLED provides additional manpower and technical expertise for local departments across South Carolina. But the agency also steps in when requested to independently investigate officer-involved shootings and other instances of excessive use of force.
We do 99.9% of all the officer-involved shootings investigations in our state, Keel said. On the use-of-force investigations, again, we get called on again by request. I would say that the ones that are more significant, we get those calls.
Keel said some agencies investigate use-of-force cases internally and take any criminal cases to a local prosecutor.
That would be the same thing we would do. The only thing is that we encourage independent investigations of any type of use-of-force, Keel said.
A Greenville News Investigation:Some police shootings in South Carolina aren't captured on body camera. Here's why.
Keel said legislation to require SLED to investigate following any officer-involved shooting has been introduced in the past few years, though no bill has passed. A bill with the requirement was filed again this year.
According to policies reviewed by reporters, almost all Upstate agencies consider involving SLED to conduct a criminal investigation in use-of-force incidents that result in serious injury or death best practice.
SCSOs policy does not explicitly state that SLED can or should be called in the case of an officer-involved shooting, but does say an internal investigation shall exist in addition to any investigation by any other agency.
SLED gets involved when there is any kind of potential for inappropriateness from the officers actions, whether it causes death or bodily harm or damage to peoples property or theft, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said. There are a ton of times we do it in-house, and we run it by the SLED captain to tell him what we've got going [on], and hes like, Nope, yall can handle that in-house. Its okay because theres no charges that could possibly be coming out of that.
According to data provided by SLED, the agency investigated three officer-involved shootings from the SCSO, one from GPD and one from GCSO out of 32 total cases statewide in 2022.
Aside from any criminal investigation, agencies also have varying policies for conducting administrative investigations internally into incidents of use-of-force that could lead to disciplinary actions or firings. These policies also explain how incidents are documented.
GCSOs policy notes the departments Office of Professional Standards conducts a quarterly review of Response to Aggression, the offices term for use-of-force, reports to identify trends, training needs or potential patterns of abuse.
Meanwhile, Greenville PDs use-of-force policy notes the department shall collect and analyze use-of-force data and distribute these reports to the public through its website, a dashboard or other mechanisms.
The most recent documentation of use-of-force data from Greenville PD is from a Citizen Complaints and Internal Investigations Summary Report from 2021. According to the report, 11 use-of-force investigations were conducted that year and nearly all officers were exonerated.
The Spartanburg Police Department has a similar set of annual findings from their Office of Professional Standards and Investigations (OPSI) on their website with information up through 2020. Deputy Chief Jennifer Kindall said the 2021 and 2022 information will be added to the website.
More:Man dies, identified in officer-involved shooting on South Carolina Ave. SLED responding.
The OPSI is responsible for investigating, either through an internal or external source, any report of alleged misconduct, inappropriate behavior, officer-involved shooting or any other situations of importance that warrant a thorough and objective investigation.
A member of the OPSI presents at the citys Public Safety Committee meeting every month regarding internal complaints and investigations.
The SCSO does have a Firearms Discharge Review Board that investigates all incidents where a firearm is discharged. The SCSO policy states there is also an annual review by the Chief Deputy of all use-of-force activities, policies, and practices. Bobo said that at present, neither of those findings is publicly available online.
Agency leaders touted transparency as an important part of garnering trust in local communities.
A Greenville News Investigation:After a police shooting, officers in SC often wait days to tell their side or stay silent
In 2018, GCSO established a community incident report briefing policy. The policy states that 45 days after an officer-involved shooting or use of force resulting in death or serious injury, the department would release information to the public including relevant video imagery. (This often includes body camera footage which is exempt from the states Freedom of Information Act.)
Lewis noted that if an event occurred where the public demanded information at the same level as they did in Memphis, GCSO would release it sooner.
That's part of de-escalation on our part, Lewis said. If it happened here, the only thing we can do is put it out there, address it for what it is, and then if it's our fault as a department, somehow a training issue, whatever the case may be, it's our responsibility to put it out there.
None of the other local agencies reporters spoke to had similar procedures to GCSOs CIR Briefings, though some mentioned releasing information to the public when necessary.
When it comes to releasing footage of officer-involved shootings, Wright said that he doesnt have a right to release it if SLED is involved in an investigation. He also stressed consideration for the rights of individual officers in the midst of an investigation.
Even if SLEDs not involved, I still need to do the proper investigation before we do release anything, Wright said. You know, I have to give due care and due process to everybody.
If you bring on a problem, you're stuck with the problem, agencies talk stringent hiring processes
Across the board, local law enforcement agencies said hiring practices is the most important effort departments can take.
Nobody was trained to do what these officers did because nobody trains officers to do what they did, Keel said about the officers in Memphis. People say, Well, you know, law enforcement needs more training. It's not that they need more training. It's a lack of character, in my opinion, of these officers. These are people who probably should have never been a police officer to begin with.
A Greenville News Investigation:Some Greenville deputies tied to multiple shootings have extensive misconduct backgrounds
Nationwide law enforcement agencies have struggled to fill vacancies, but local leaders emphasized not cutting corners during the hiring process to compensate for staffing holes.
We're extremely careful about who we even hire to work here, because I really think that's where it all starts, Chief Hamby of Greer PD said. If you bring on a problem, you're stuck with the problem,
Hamby said his department does a polygraph exam and psychological exam, which includes an emotional intelligence review, during the hiring process. Similarly, Thompson claimed, despite many peer agencies historically not conducting mental health exams, his agency has done so as a hiring prerequisite for decades. This is an attempt to find someone with the mentally right outlook and capacity.
But still, there's times when things [have] occurred, and character flaws are revealed, and we have to take appropriate action, Thompson said.
Kathryn Casteel is an investigative reporter with The Greenville News and can be reached at KCasteel@gannett.com or on Twitter @kathryncasteel.
Chalmers Rogland covers public safety and breaking news for the Herald-Journal. Reach him via email at crogland@shj.com.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina police leaders address Tyre Nichols' death, calls for reform
By Brendan Pierson
(Reuters) - A Texas federal judge on Tuesday refused to set an accelerated trial schedule for a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups seeking to end U.S. sales of the abortion pill mifepristone, in a case that could severely disrupt access to medication abortion nationwide.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo rejected the groups' request to skip a hearing on whether to halt sales of the pill temporarily until the case is fully heard and instead go straight to trial. The Biden administration had opposed the request.
Anti-abortion groups including the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine brought the case against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last November, claiming the agency used an improper process to approve the drug mifepristone in 2000 and did not adequately consider its safety for minors.
Mifepristone is approved for medication abortion in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in combination with another drug, misoprostol. Medication abortion accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions.
Suing in Amarillo, where the Alliance had been incorporated three months earlier, ensured that the case would go before Kacsmaryk, a reliable conservative and former Christian activist.
The government has countered that the drug's approval was fully supported by evidence, and that the challenge, 22 years after the fact, comes much too late.
Medication abortion has drawn increasing attention since the U.S. Supreme Court last year reversed its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed abortion rights nationwide. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, directed federal agencies to expand access to medication abortion in response to the decision, which has allowed more than a dozen Republican-led states to adopt new abortion bans.
The FDA said in a court filing last month that the "public interest would be dramatically harmed" by pulling mifepristone from the market, forcing women to have unnecessary surgical abortions and greatly increasing wait times at already overburdened clinics.
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Major medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, last week weighed in on the side of the government, saying mifepristone "has been thoroughly studied and is conclusively safe."
State attorneys general have also submitted filings in the case, with Democrats opposing the lawsuit and Republicans supporting it.
Mifepristone is also the subject of lawsuits in West Virginia and North Carolina seeking to expand access to the drug by arguing that state restrictions on it conflict with federal law.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)
By Karen Freifeld
(Reuters) - The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing next Tuesday with top officials on China policy to identify gaps in pursuing what it called a "more holistic approach" to countering aggression by the Chinese Communist Party.
The hearing, announced by the panel's chair, Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican, is called, "Combating the Generational Challenge of CCP Aggression."
Alan Estevez, the U.S. Commerce Department's under secretary for industry and security, who oversees restrictions on tech exports to China, is among the witnesses.
Other witnesses are Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Michael Schiffer, Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia at the U.S. Agency for International Development; and Scott Nathan, chief executive officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.
McCaul has been pressing Estevez on the need to ensure China is not transferring U.S.-origin technology to state sponsors of terrorism, and has called for tighter restrictions on exports to blacklisted companies like China's Huawei, which are viewed as a threat to U.S. national security.
(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by David Gregorio)
U.S. Marshals Service
MASSILLON A 21-year-old Canton man wanted in connection with a homicide last month at a Columbus strip club was arrested Wednesday morning.
The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force and U.S. Marshals Service announced the arrest of Travis Ingram Jr., who had been sought on a charge of aggravated murder.
Ingram is accused of shooting multiple people, including 37-year-old Charles T. Smith, at The Doll House, located at 1680 Karl Court near East Dublin-Granville Road. The shooting occurred around 2:15 a.m. on Jan. 29. Three other people were injured in the shooting.
Ingram was arrested at a home in Massillon. Three firearms were found at the home and another man who was inside the home could potentially face charges for obstruction of justice, according to the U.S. Marshals.
Ingram is currently being held in Stark County and will be brought to Columbus in the near future.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: U.S. Marshals arrest Travis Ingram of Canton in strip club shooting
(Reuters) - U.S. regulators are investigating Wells Fargo & Co's retention of employee communications over "unapproved" messaging tools, the bank said on Tuesday, the latest in a crackdown that has already sparked billions of dollars in fines.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission have undertaken the probes, the fourth-largest U.S. bank disclosed in a filing.
The scrutiny highlights the challenges Wall Street institutions have faced in tracking staff communications in the work-from-home pandemic era, particularly over personal devices and apps like WhatsApp.
Most have now adopted hybrid-work models, which allow employees to divide their time between office and remote arrangements.
In September, the SEC fined 16 financial firms, including major global banks, a combined $1.8 billion after staff discussed deals and trades on their personal devices and apps.
Earlier this month, France's third biggest bank Societe Generale was also drawn into a probe by the U.S. securities regulator on whether its staff had used unauthorized messaging platforms.
(Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)
WARSAW Tensions between the United States and Russia escalated on Wednesday following Russia's announcement that it was suspending participation in a key nuclear arms agreement days after the treaty was used to warn the U.S. about an intercontinental ballistic missile test, according to Biden administration sources.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he intends to suspend the New START arms treaty, which limits both countries abilities to produce and launch nuclear weapons, in a speech timed with President Joe Biden's trip to Ukraine and other Eastern European allies this week.
On Wednesday the rhetoric out of Moscow escalated.
Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, said the decision to leave the treaty was "overdue," warning the U.S. that Russia would reserve the right to use its nuclear arsenal even if it means world war.
If the United States wants to defeat Russia, then we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapons, including nuclear weapons, he said on his Telegram channel Wednesday.
The White House quickly criticized Medvedev's comments.
President Obama Holds Talks In Moscow (Alexander Aleshkin / Getty Images file)
As the President made clear last night, our focus remains on helping Ukraine defend its sovereignty from an unprovoked Russian invasion. Russia is the only aggressor here. And Russian rhetoric around the potential use of nuclear weapons remains as unwarranted as it is irresponsible, a White House spokesperson said in a statement.
The lower house of the Russian Parliament, the Duma, rubber-stamped the move in a unanimous vote on Wednesday, Russian state news agency Tass reported.
The back and forth came after reports about Russia testing a missile before Biden traveled to Ukraine.
A U.S. official and a Biden administration official confirmed to NBC News that Russia informed the U.S. of its intention to test a ballistic missile, as per the terms of the START treaty. The officials would not confirm the timing of the test but said it wasnt designed to coincide with Bidens Kyiv visit.
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The administration official says these tests are routine and the Russians used the notification process in START to let the U.S. know underscoring how the treaty remains part of the communication system between the two nations.
This official also says the test did not pose a risk to the U.S. and that the Biden administration did not view the test as an anomaly or an escalation.
The U.S. also tests intercontinental ballistic missiles and has carried out more than 300 exercises.
Putin has several times used the threat of a nuclear strike on an unspecified target to warn against Western allies assisting Ukraines military with arms and financial support.
It is obvious to all reasonable forces that if the United States wants the defeat of Russia, then we are on the verge of a world conflict, said Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and then as prime minister until 2020. He is currently deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, which is chaired by Putin.
While Medvedev was president, the New START treaty was signed, which strictly limits the number of nuclear warheads the U.S. and Russia can store or use, and compels both sides to inform each other of any tests.
But Medvedev has since become a leading supporter of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its right to use lethal force to deter Western support for Ukraine. On Monday he condemned Biden for providing weapons to the "neo-Nazi regime," a common way for hardline pro-war Russian leaders to describe the Ukrainian government.
Medvedev's comments come after it emerged that Russia conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test before Biden visited Ukraine on Monday.
TOPSHOT-RUSSIA-DEFENCE-ARMY (Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik / AFP via Getty Images)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the missile test when asked in his daily press briefing with foreign media on Wednesday. NBC News has asked the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.
In October Putin oversaw military drills by his tactical nuclear forces, including multiple practice ballistic missile launches.
Biden made a historic visit to Kyiv on Monday to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reaffirm the United States commitment to Ukraines defense of its territory against the almost year-old Russia invasion.
Biden used his Kyiv trip to call out Putin directly. He thought he could outlast us. I dont think hes thinking that right now, he said.
The two leaders first met as presidents in 2021 and agreed to conduct regular strategic stability dialogue a promise buried by Russias invasion of Ukraine, which reaches its one-year mark on Friday.
New START treaty was renewed for five years in February 2021, when Russia's embassy in Washington hailed the agreement as a cornerstone of international security.
Kristin Welker reporters from Warsaw, and Patrick Smith reported from London.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
By Andrew Chung and John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism on Wednesday toward a lawsuit against Twitter Inc by the family of a Jordanian man killed in an Istanbul nightclub massacre as they weighed for a second straight day whether to hold internet companies accountable for contentious content posted by users.
American relatives of Nawras Alassaf accused Twitter of aiding and abetting the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the Jan. 1, 2017, attack that killed him and 38 others during a New Year's celebration, by failing to police the social media platform for its accounts or posts.
The nine justices heard arguments in Twitter's appeal after a lower court allowed the lawsuit to proceed and found that the company had refused to take "meaningful steps" to prevent Islamic State's use of the platform.
The justices on Tuesday heard arguments in an appeal arising from a separate lawsuit against Google LLC-owned YouTube, part of Alphabet Inc, by the family of an American woman killed in a Paris attack by Islamist militants. Both lawsuits were brought under a U.S. law that enables Americans to recover damages related to "an act of international terrorism."
Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch said Anti-Terrorism Act focuses liability on aiding a person who engaged in a terrorist act.
"We all appreciate how horrible the attack was, but there's very little linking the defendants in this complaint to those persons," Gorsuch said of Twitter.
Justice Department lawyer Edwin Kneedler, arguing in favor of Twitter's position on behalf of President Joe Biden's administration, said a company might be liable under the statute if it engaged in "personal interaction" with the perpetrator of an unlawful act. But Kneedler said Twitter's services were too remote from the act of terrorism in the case.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh raised doubts over the scope of the statute, reminding Eric Schnapper, a lawyer for Alassaf's relatives, about CNN's 1997 interview with the then-leader of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
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"Could under your theory CNN have been sued for aiding and abetting the Sept. 11 attacks?" Kavanaugh asked, referring to the 2001 attacks on the United States in which al Qaeda militants crashed hijacked airplanes.
The justices asked Seth Waxman, the lawyer representing Twitter, questions about the scope of the Anti-Terrorism Act, testing the company's argument that it should not be held liable for providing a service used by millions of people while also enforcing a policy against terrorism-related content.
"You're helping by providing your service to those people, with the explicit knowledge that those people are using it to advance terrorism," liberal Justice Elena Kagan said.
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett added, "If you know ISIS is using it, you know ISIS is going to be doing bad things, you know ISIS is going to be committing acts of terrorism."
Barrett, however, challenged Schnapper over whether the claims in the lawsuit were specific enough, asking: "Does your complaint contain any specific allegations about ways in which Twitter was used to perpetrate this attack?"
Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor suggested that in a "neutral business setting - using something that is otherwise not criminal, a platform to communicate with people" without trying to help a person commit a crime - might not satisfy the law's requirements to allow for a lawsuit.
'SUBSTANTIAL ASSISTANCE'
A key issue is whether the family's claims sufficiently allege that the company knowingly provided "substantial assistance" to an "act of international terrorism" that would allow the relatives to maintain their suit and seek damages under the anti-terrorism law.
Biden's administration has argued that the Anti-Terrorism Act imposes liability for assisting a terrorist act and not for "providing generalized aid to a foreign terrorist organization" with no causal link to the act at issue.
Islamic State called the attack revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria. The main suspect, Abdulkadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national, was later captured by police.
The justices in the case argued on Tuesday appeared torn over whether to narrow a form of legal immunity provided under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that shields internet companies from a wide array of lawsuits. The lower court dismissed that case largely based on Section 230 immunity.
That case involves a bid by the family of an American woman named Nohemi Gonzalez who was fatally shot in a 2015 rampage in Paris - an attack for which Islamic State also claimed responsibility - to hold Google liable for recommending to certain YouTube users content from the group.
In the Twitter case, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not consider whether Section 230 barred the family's lawsuit. Google and Meta's Facebook also are defendants, but did not formally join Twitter's appeal.
Rulings in both cases are due by the end of June.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
Andriy Yermak
Read also: NATO should finalize security guarantee for Ukraine by July, UK PM Sunak says
I do not rule out that the UK may become the first country to unblock the supply of fighter jets to Ukraine, said Yermak.
There are still issues that need to be agreed upon first.
At the same time, UK PM Rishi Sunak in an interview with Ukrainian news outlet European Pravda said that supplying Western aircraft is a challenging task.
Regarding the fighter jets, I said when your president was here that we would be the first country to train Ukrainian pilots to use such fighter jets or other aircraft, he told Ukrainian journalists.
Read also: UK intelligence analyzes Putin's address, finds bellicose tone, but little of substance
"It's not just about buying them, it's about tactics, and that's a broader part of the plan, which consists in how we can ensure that Ukraine can protect itself not only today but also in the long term."
He added that its not easy to transfer jets to Ukraine because "there's a whole set of things that come along."
On Feb. 22, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine is constantly working on creating an international coalition of countries willing to supply Kyiv with modern aircraft.
Read also: Russian army under increasing pressure ahead of anniversary of invasion, says UK intelligence
On Feb. 20, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Ukraine may receive fighter aircraft from allies in one or two months.
On Feb. 8, Zelenskyy made an official visit to the UK. The president met with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and addressed the Parliament.
Subsequent media reports said that Sunak instructed UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to look into which of its aircraft London could make available to Kyiv. A final decision is yet to be made, however.
Read also: Zelenskyy says outcome of Kyiv talks with Biden to have impact on the battlefield
Zelenskyy said that there were certain positive decisions regarding the fighter jets that remained behind the scenes, following an address to the European Parliament on Feb. 9.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Vladimir Putin
The report reads that Putin criticized the West, once again, characterizing its elite as a "symbol of total unprincipled lies," and announced Russia was suspending its participation the new START nuclear arms reduction treaty.
"Putin continued the bellicose tone he has adopted in speeches over the last six months but did not reveal any practical measures which might relieve Russia's current deadlock on the battlefield," the message reads.
Read also: Putins latest address failed to articulate specific goals for war in Ukraine, says ISW
UK intelligence said that Putin continued his contradictory narrative of Russia being engaged in an existential struggle while still insisting that everything is going according to plan.
Putin made his address to assembled Russian officials, politicians and military officers in the Kremlin in Moscow on Feb. 21.
The Russian dictators rambling, 105-minute speech was peppered with the usual mixture of propaganda, falsehoods and conspiracy theories. The audience at times looked very bored, and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who had a front-row seat, at one point appeared to doze off.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Bloomberg) -- UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested a coming deal with the European Union over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland would involve legal changes to the existing treaty, something the bloc has previously opposed.
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In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson complained that under the existing unacceptable deal known as the protocol EU laws are imposed in Northern Ireland with no democratic scrutiny or consent. He asked the premier for an assurance that he will address these fundamental constitutional issues, and do so not just by tweaking the protocol but by rewriting the legally-binding treaty text?
Sunak said he had heard Donaldson loud and clear. In a strong indication that he was seeking legal changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol, he added I can assure him that I agree and that this was an essential part in the negotiations that remain ongoing with the European Union.
The prime ministers remarks suggest he faces a huge challenge to tread the line between the DUPs demands and the EUs red lines. European Commission President Maros Sefcovic, who is leading negotiations for the EU, has repeatedly said that renegotiating the protocol is unrealistic.
Government officials on both sides have previously signaled that any agreement would not rewrite the existing treaty between the UK and the EU on Northern Ireland. More likely is an arrangement under which they would change their own domestic laws to implement the terms of a new agreement.
Brexit Deal Could Spur UK Growth And Investment Worth Billions
Asked to clarify whether Sunak was seeking treaty changes, his spokeswoman later downplayed his remarks and said she wouldnt get into the details of discussions or preempt their outcome.
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Sunak spoke by phone late on Tuesday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and they agreed to speak again in the coming days, the prime ministers spokesman, Max Blain, told reporters.
The government and unionists contend that the existing arrangements are snarling up the UKs internal trade across the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Parliaments Say
Donaldson had raised a vital question about the constitutional and legal framework in which these arrangements exist, Sunak told the chamber. I can assure him that this is at the very heart of the issues that must be addressed.
The premiers remarks will raise hopes among Northern Irish unionists of a more fundamental change to the existing treaty. It remains to be seen whether the final text of an agreement will meet the DUPs concerns or those of right-wingers in Sunaks own Conservative Party whose views are closely aligned with those of the DUP.
Brexit Critics Team Up to Oppose Sunaks N. Ireland Deal
Sunak also spoke virtually with affected businesses later on Wednesday, where he made it clear that any deal would need to provide certainty, stability and clarity for the business community, Downing Street said in an emailed statement.
Asked if Sunak was confident he could win over backbench Tory rebels, his press secretary said that he was very keen and alive to the strength of feeling on the renegotiation.
In the chamber, the prime minister signaled the House of Commons would get a say on any deal he secures. Asked by opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer if there would be a vote, Sunak replied: Of course Parliament will express its view.
Sunak refused to be drawn on the details of how a final deal would look, batting away questions from Starmer on whether Northern Ireland would continue to follow some EU laws and whether there would continue to be a role in the region for the European Court of Justice.
--With assistance from Joe Mayes.
(Updates with business meeting in 11th paragraph)
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is confident that Ukraine will join NATO in the future, and allies can work on its rapprochement with the Alliance today.
Source: Rishi Sunak during a meeting with Ukrainian journalists, European Pravda reports
Quote: "I agree with Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, who said that Ukraine will become a member of NATO. But we also need to focus on the current situation. For me, this means ensuring that we have a plan to continue supporting Ukrainian security, not only immediately but also in the long term," the British prime minister said.
He noted that "part of this is the training we are conducting".
Quote: "This is a good example of what you want to do. Because ideally, on the way to NATO membership, it is necessary to provide Ukraine with more standard NATO equipment as well as to ensure the interoperability of all the forces of different countries and how they use this equipment, the training of Ukrainian pilots in NATO tactics is also part of this process. These are the things we can work on right now, and we should work on strengthening Ukraine's security in the long term," he added.
According to Sunak, he told his partners and allies that this conversation "needs to be conducted."
Quote: "We have to make sure we're talking about Ukraine's long-term future, and that means, as I said, providing more standard NATO equipment, finding ways to increase operational readiness, and really making sure we're thinking about Ukraine's long-term defence needs, especially things like air defence, for example, and other things. These are all the conversations I want to have with our allies," Sunak stressed.
Previously: Sunak confirmed that London is ready to help other countries that decide to provide aircraft to Ukraine, noting that for Britain itself, this task is difficult.
In addition, the British Prime Minister believes that long-range weapons and the acceleration of support to Ukraine can speed up the decisive advantage of Ukrainian troops on the battlefield.
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Flags of the EU and Ukraine
From one moment to the next, many had to abandon everything. Eight million Ukrainians, the equivalent population of Austria (one fifth of the country's population) were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in the European Union. Another 6 million became internally displaced.
The world also changed for all of us who are witnessing the brutality, the injustice, the blatant violation of international law, the terror, disrespect for human rights, the war crimes that, a year later, are still being committed on sovereign Ukrainian territory.
We all want peace. The Ukrainians the most. The whole European idea is built on peace. But, peace without freedom and peace without justice is no peace at all.
Speaking in the European Parliament just two weeks ago President Zelenskyy outlined how he sees Europe as a continent steeped in rules, values, equality and fairness, and a place where Ukraine is firmly at home. The Kremlin, on the other hand, he said, is doing its utmost to destroy European values.
European Parliament is calling for a Special Tribunal
This is why we will continue to stand with Ukraine. Their citizens depend on it. Europe depends on it. Peace depends on it. We stand alongside the countless families that have found themselves stripped of everything. We stand with the Ukrainian defence forces that fight for freedom, democracy and the rules-based world order. We stand with those who fight for us.
This is why the European Parliament is calling for a Special Tribunal to be set up that can bring all those responsible for war crimes to justice crimes that have no statute of limitations. Crimes that we cannot turn a blind eye to.
This is why the European Union must push on with sanctions on Russia, individuals and entities that support Putins illegal war, and why we must put pressure on other countries and private companies that still deal with the Kremlin. There can be no business as usual with Russia.
Read also: Ukraine sees no alternative to special tribunal for Russian atrocities, says Zelenskyy
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Looking ahead, the European Parliament wants to start planning for liberation day. For EU membership for Ukraine. An aim, to which each candidate country has its own path, but one to which we should open the negotiations as soon as possible. The perspective of membership will help, not only morally and symbolically, but also when it comes to the rebuilding of a free Ukraine.
This will not only relate to the enormous physical reconstruction of Ukraine, but also its administrative, governance and justice systems. It will require hard work and difficult reforms. It will require change and bold decisions.
The European Parliament and a multitude of EU programmes can help. But if the last year has proved anything, it is that the Ukrainian people are among the bravest, most resilient and impressive examples of a people fighting and beating the odds. They deserve our unwavering support. We belong together. Ukraine is Europe. Europe is Ukraine.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A man looks at the damage after a missile strike in Kyiv on Jan. 26. (Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON It was going to be a rout, the experts predicted. Russian forces would storm across Ukraine and into Kyiv within a matter of 72 hours, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed Biden administration officials and congressional leaders in a briefing early last February, as war loomed.
His was the consensus view. Here was the army whose predecessors defeated Hitler and Napoleon, now preparing to take on a much less formidable foe. True, the cause this time around was not especially just, for Ukraine had done nothing to provoke its much larger and more powerful neighbor. Yet the outcome would be the same, the conventional wisdom went.
Three days ago, President Biden arrived in Kyiv to remind the world how wrong those predictions turned out to be.
President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the presidential palace in Kyiv on Monday. (Ukrainian presidential press office via Getty Images)
One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands, the American president said as he stood next to Ukrainian leader Volodomyr Zelensky during his surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital, where life has returned more or less to normal since the initial Russian onslaught.
Ukraines resistance only makes more urgent an uncomfortable question, one that is frequently asked in Washington after the usual shows of fealty run their course and officials permit themselves a measure of frankness: Now what?
Milley himself has provided one answer. For this year, it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from all every inch of Ukraine or Russian-occupied Ukraine, he recently told reporters.
(After this article was published, a spokesman for Milley explained that initial reports about last February's briefing were incorrect. "In the briefing, Chairman Milley laid out several scenarios informed by interagency intelligence assessments," Col. Dave Butler told Yahoo News. He added that a swift Russian rout was one of only five scenarios Milley presented that day.)
Ukraine launched a devastating counteroffensive in September, driving out confused Russian troops and retaking the key city of Kherson. Since then, however, neither side has made significant advancements, with weeks of grueling fighting around Bakhmut producing no decisive victory (and leading to questions about whether the city is even worth the enormous energy both sides have devoted).
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Perhaps most disheartening to Ukraine supporters is that the two sides could continue to trade blows as they have in and around Bakhmut, with Ukraine simply not supplied with enough heavy equipment to achieve the full victory Zelensky says he demands.
Such a victory would have to include the liberation of the Crimean Peninsula, which would probably require an amphibious assault that is beyond the capacity of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Ukrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells in Kyiv last February. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
I would love to think the kinetic phase could end in 2023, but I suspect we could be looking at another three years with this scale of fighting, military analyst Peter Roberts of the London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute recently told DefenseNews. (Kinetic operations is a military euphemism for active fighting.)
U.S. officials acknowledge that they do not expect either side to prevail in 2023. Russia is about to launch an offensive; Ukraine, which is preparing for an influx of Western tanks and other heavy armaments, will likely launch a counteroffensive after the springtime rains subside. Thousands of lives will be lost, but in the end, American officials believe, little will have changed.
If that turns out to be the case, the Western coalition that has bolstered Ukraine since early 2022 could be heading into 2024 confronting a military stalemate that shows little hope of resolution. And with the American presidential election looming and domestic political tensions in France and other European nations deepening, Zelenskys most trenchant supporters could be confronted with choices they had never hoped to make.
There is another reality, so obvious it is sometimes ignored: Ukraine and Russia will always be neighbors, sharing a land border that is currently 1,200 miles long. The impossibility of separating the two belligerents will make any but the most ironclad peace agreement a tenuous affair.
Ukrainian soldiers near the city of Bakhmut look toward Russian positions on Feb. 14. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Russia could agree to a ceasefire but then simply wait for an opportune moment to invade again, much as Germany did after World War I, nursing its wounds until Hitler came to power and began a project of military buildup and territorial expansion.
One of the main dynamics here is that theres nothing to separate Russia and Ukraine. Russia will always possess the ability to aggress and destabilize Ukraine, if nothing else because of their adjacency, says Samir Puri, an expert in Russian and international affairs at the Singapore-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
At a recent symposium hosted by Defense Priorities, a Washington think tank with an anti-interventionist mindset, Puri compared Ukraine to Chechnya, the restive and semiautonomous majority-Muslim republic that Russia subjugated in two brutal wars starting in 1994.
The Russians failed in attaining Chechnya, and then they gathered their strength and had another go, Puri told Yahoo News in response to a question about the potential length of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Chechens have also noticed the discomfiting similarity.
If you want a picture of Ukraines future, look to my home, went the headline of a Guardian essay published by Lana Estemirova, a Chechen writer and activist whose mother, Natalia, was murdered in 2009 for exposing Russian abuses.
A Chechen fighter takes cover from sniper fire in the region's capital, Grozny, in 1995. (Michael Evstafiev/AFP via Getty Images)
There are, of course, vast differences between Chechnya and Ukraine. Other than stray bands of Islamic fundamentalists, the Chechen rebels enjoyed no significant outside support, whereas Ukraine has been celebrated as a beacon of global democracy and provided with some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the world. And whereas Chechnya is a remote mountainous region, Ukraine is an Eastern European buffer of enormous strategic import.
Yet in both cases, the Kremlin regarded the territory in question as inherently belonging to Russia, thus making the conquest of that territory necessary at any cost. A faltering war effort is not seen by the Kremlin as a reason to negotiate for peace but, rather, as an imperative to fight more ruthlessly against an intractable if largely imagined foe.
Putins successor could actually present himself within right-wing circles in Moscow around being able to do the job better, Puri told Yahoo News. And history could repeat itself. Just as Putin did the job that [former Russian President Boris] Yeltsin failed to do in Chechnya, maybe a Putin successor might actually say, I can do the job in Ukraine, or a different job in Ukraine, better. And that is [why] I think this is a real long-term problem.
Yeltsin, Russias first post-Soviet leader, watched from Moscow as his forces were dealt a devastating blow by Chechen rebels in the vicious 1996 battle for Grozny, the regions capital city. The war ended, only to resume in 2000 under Putin, who ordered indiscriminate aerial assaults that left Grozny in utter ruins.
A convoy of vehicles drives along a central Kyiv thoroughfare on Monday during Bidens visit. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)
Kyiv is unlikely to suffer a similar fate, but the Chechen wars do hint at a Russian willingness to endure both suffering and humiliation as the costs of eventual victory.
(A morbid Kremlin willingness to countenance such costs also lurks beneath triumphal Russian histories of defeating Hitler, a feat accomplished only through unimaginable sacrifice that more competent leadership would have obviated.)
Russia also realizes that military assistance from the West has been crucial to Ukraines prospects. But as ever-louder grumblings in Washington as well as Paris and other European capitals suggest, that assistance will have its limits. Next years U.S. election could replace Biden with a Republican president who ends aid to Ukraine on the first day of his or her administration.
For some, that makes the current moment all the more urgent. If Ukraine is to win, these hawks say, it must win now and it will need the best weapons in the U.S. arsenal to do so, without condition or compunction.
It is in our power to shorten this war significantly by finally outgrowing our policy of incrementalism, and fully leveraging the money that Congress has allocated to send massive military aid quickly, says Uriel Epshtein, executive director of the Renew Democracy Initiative.
We have to give Ukraine what it needs to end this in the next 10-11 months, he told Yahoo News in a text message.
A resident walks through a nearly deserted and battle-scarred downtown in Bakhmut on Feb. 14. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Biden, however, has resisted giving Ukraine fighter jets or long-range surface-to-surface missiles. And though the U.S. will eventually ship 31 tanks to Ukraine, Zelensky had initially asked for 10 times that many. Ukrainians believe that if the West is serious about the conflict being a referendum on democracy a framing Biden has frequently used then they are justified in making those asks, however outlandish they may seem to Westerners with no need to worry about Russian aerial assaults.
Asked by a Western interviewer what Ukrainian fighters needed, border police officer Leonid Ostaltsev offered what appeared to be an only half-joking assessment: I think, nuclear weapons.
Ostaltsevs request may seem audacious, but it also hints at the recognition that only an intervention of enormous magnitude will prevent a stalemate. Ukraine may have just enough to survive, and to perhaps claw back territory from Russia, but not to restore the borders it enjoyed before the first invasion Putin launched in 2014. That could turn the war into the dreaded Chechen-like quagmire Western leaders have been desperate to avoid.
Those difficult dynamics leave one option, however thoroughly Zelensky and Putin claim they will never give up the fight.
If neither side can win outright which I think we can all agree is not going to happen then its sort of not clear what the path to ending the war is, absent some change in policy that helps both sides overcome the impediments to negotiation, says Miranda Priebe, a senior analyst at the RAND Corporation.
This could, to varying degrees of intensity, go on for years, potentially, absent some kind of change, she told Yahoo News at the Defense One symposium last week.
A years-long battle would only benefit the Kremlin, which has indicated it is willing to allow as much devastation as necessary to achieve its goals.
Estemirova, the Chechen activist, is haunted by the conviction that Ukraines future could well look like the ravaged past of her native land.
They have done this before, she warned in her Guardian essay. They are doing it again.
A member of a Ukrainian air defense unit demonstrates the use of dual-mounted Stinger missiles outside Kyiv on Tuesday. (Pete Kiehart / For The Times)
In a blustery, knife-edge wind on the banks of the Dnipro River, a burly Ukrainian army major who aptly goes by the military call sign Bison guffawed at the notion that cold and tedium presented a hardship for air defense crews guarding against incoming Russian drones and missiles.
Twenty-four hours of sitting in the snow and waiting that beats an hour under shelling anytime! said the 35-year-old officer, who oversees a battery of vehicle-mounted Stinger missiles about 25 miles outside the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
With the wars southern and eastern front lines largely frozen during winter months, matching the frigid weather, Ukrainian forces have turned much of their focus to protecting civilian infrastructure in densely populated urban areas.
Since October, stepped-up Russian airborne attacks on Kyiv and other cities have smashed apartment blocks and hospitals, bus stops and power substations across the country, seriously disrupting the electricity supply in Kyiv and elsewhere.
But Bison and the seven air defense crews he commands are feeling optimistic. Nearly a year into the fighting, the Russian attempt to smash the national power grid, depriving Ukrainians of light and heat in the dark winter months, appears to have largely failed.
A Ukrainian air defense crew gives a demonstration at an unused position outside Kyiv on Tuesday. (Pete Kiehart / For The Times)
In Kyiv, a city of 3 million people, the wail of air-raid sirens still sounds several times most days whenever a missile-armed fighter jet takes off from a base in Russia or Belarus. There was an alert during Mondays surprise visit by President Biden as he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky strolled outside a downtown landmark monastery.
A widely used cellphone app voiced by Star Wars actor Mark Hamill provides the all-clear when an alert is lifted, with Hamill intoning in his Luke Skywalker voice: May the Force be with you.
Whole swaths of Kyiv were plunged into darkness earlier in the winter, but now, the lights are back on. Cafes and coffeehouses are warm and welcoming. Some previously darkened monuments are again spotlighted against the chilly sky, and streetlights turned off to save power are being put into service again.
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Remote workers who for months haunted metro stations and flocked to invincibility points offering hot tea and power chargers rarely have to resort these days to finding an alternative workspace equipped with lights and electricity.
Before, theyd come every day there was a line to get a place on the couches, said Valentina, a 59-year-old employee at a big-box chain store called Epicenter, with several branches around Kyiv.
During the worst of the wintertime outages, she said, people showed up with work laptops and other devices, plopping themselves onto comfy armchairs in the furniture display, plugging in power strips and giving their restive children the run of the kids furniture section.
But that wartime twist on remote work tailed off in January as the frequency of missile attacks dropped and repair crews, often working around the clock, managed to counter much of the destruction wrought by missiles and drones.
An infusion of foreign-donated generators and transformers has helped as well, and the government has announced that two previously deactivated nuclear power stations are feeding into the national grid once again, easing the strain.
As winter first set in, the threat of Ukraine going dark appeared dire. In October, when Russia embarked on the first of at least 14 withering wave-style airborne attacks, self-exploding drones struck a symbolic blow, hitting the headquarters of the national power company, Ukrenergo. Its chief, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, watched an explosion wreck the top two floors of the building.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko even warned that if the citys power grid collapsed and water and sewage consequently failed, the capital might have to be evacuated.
Power plant workers arrive to repair damage after a Russian attack in central Ukraine. (Evgeniy Maloletka / Associated Press)
Now, for the most part, only towns and villages closest to the front lines suffer from a continuing lack of electricity and even in such places, beleaguered residents are apt to point out that the relatively mild winter is nearly over, and theyve managed.
But peril still awaits. The capital and the air defense crews guarding it are bracing themselves for the prospect of an onslaught coinciding with Fridays anniversary of the invasions start particularly because an attempted Russian offensive in Ukraines east appears to be faltering.
Western military analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently hoped for some significant battlefield victory to trumpet before the anniversary, such as seizing the contested town of Bakhmut. That has not happened, despite a horrific casualty count as waves of Russian troops, some of them prisoners recruited by the mercenary Wagner Group, are mowed down in attacks on Ukrainian positions. Ukrainian forces have also suffered heavy losses in the fighting around Bakhmut.
Out on Kyivs air defense perimeter, the shoot-down rate of Russian missiles and drones is high, although the Stinger operators are keenly aware that even a few getting through the net can have bloody and destructive consequences.
U.S. military aid, including a $500-million package announced by Biden this week, contains a substantial share devoted to air defense. Military analysts credit Ukraine with a nimble strategy of keeping such defenses dispersed and mobile.
As an icy sleet began to fall, a two-man missile crew on a Stinger dual-launch vehicle outside Kyiv showed the forest redoubt where they shelter between trips to launch sites out in the open when a Russian attack is in progress.
Russia routinely fires dozens of missiles and drones almost simultaneously, seeking to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses. The two-man crew from Ukraines 1129th Antiaircraft Missile Regiment demonstrated how they scramble to fit the Stingers into place on the vehicles tripod and expertly adjust the scopes and, after firing, just as rapidly move to break down their gear so they can head back to cover.
During an actual assault, that adrenaline-charged interlude tends to feel both long and short.
I dont even really have anxiety anymore. I kind of got used to it, said the crews 25-year-old shooter, a private whose name was withheld in accordance with Ukrainian military policy. It was harder at first.
Asked what its like to miss a target, he sighed deeply. Success, on the other hand, feels like a personal triumph, making him think of friends and family under attack in Kyiv at that moment.
I feel like when I hit the target, Ive saved someones life, he said. Im defending my country.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
WARSAW, Poland On a freezing Sunday afternoon in the quiet Moldovan village of Palanca, a line of two dozen cars is at a standstill. Inside the vehicles are sights seen at any border crossing. Children sit engrossed in their smartphones, drivers tap the steering wheel impatiently, while others tuck into their homemade snacks. But what is unusual about this scene is that the people are not leaving Ukraine they're entering it.
Its been one year since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called a special military operation in Ukraine. In his speech on Feb. 24, 2022, he argued that NATOs expansion eastward was a very real threat to Russias very existence and to its sovereignty. His plan was to de-Nazify Ukraines population. As a result of the invasion, millions of people fled Ukraine to safety across its borders.
But why would anyone choose to go back to Ukraine and not stay in the safety of a neighboring country? In Poland, Anastasiia Kravtsova, a project manager of the global nonprofit organization International Medical Corps, talked to Yahoo News about leaving Mariupol on the day the invasion began.
Hundreds of Ukrainians flee their homes and cross the border into Moldova on March 14, 2022. (Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
I'm the only person in the world who overslept at the start of the war, Kravtsova joked. She had been unable to get to sleep on the night of Feb. 23, 2022, due to the sound of missiles in the distance growing louder. The thing is that to understand what was going on in Mariupol, you should live in Mariupol or in other cities close to the contact line, she said.
Ukraines revolution in 2014 kicked off a war between Russian-backed separatists and Ukraine. The "contact line" refers to the border that separates the government-controlled areas from the separatist regions. Despite peace agreements in place, fighting never truly ended in the region.
We've been listening to the shelling for eight years, Kravtsova added. It never stopped. Thats why 300,000 people got stuck in Mariupol. But when they realized that it was comparatively worse than before, the city was already closed. They had no chance to flee.
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A woman stands in front of a tent at a refugee camp in the town of Palanca, near the Moldova-Ukraine border checkpoint, on March 2, 2022. (Nikolay Douchinov/AFP via Getty Images)
The story of the city and its heroic citizens would dominate the news cycle during what became known as the siege of Mariupol a brutal three-month-long battle over the control of the strategically important city. Weeks before the battle began, Kravtsova had bought her parents an apartment close to hers so they could spend time with their grandson.
But it didn't work out. After the war began, Kravtsova saw videos of what remained of her properties, both of which lay in ruin in an area now occupied by separatists.
As more cars joined the lineup at the Moldovan border, there was a sense of how normal it all felt. People travel back and forth across the border to go food shopping, visit family or go to funerals, local human rights defender Vitalie Popov explained. Those who live close to the border will travel across for medical supplies or even to work.
Anastasiia Kravtsova's apartment in Mariupol was destroyed last year. (Anastasiia Kravtsova for Yahoo News)
Months ago, just a few hundred feet away from the border, was a field full of blue United Nations refugee agency tents once bustling with thousands of refugees which now lay vacant. The number of people crossing Ukraines borders has dwindled in the past few months, but there was still a slow drip of people crossing in January. After waiting at the border for just 30 minutes, one family pushed a shopping cart packed with what looked like their lifes belongings no car and no protection from the 23F weather. They pushed their bags past cars waiting to enter Ukraine and bundled their suitcases into a small van operated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that waits at the border for those seeking refuge. They appeared exhausted, with the youngest of the family looking no older than 5 years old.
Since last February, more than 8 million people have fled Ukraine for European countries, according to local government data published by the UNHCR. Nearly 5 million of those have applied for temporary or national protection in their host countries. But Ukrainians who have found safety outside their beloved country are still searching for peace.
Oxana, a Ukrainian activist and journalist, at the UNHCR Blue Dot protection center in Warsaw. (Paul Phelan for Yahoo News)
The month of February is the shortest month of the year, but February 2022 was the longest month of our lives, Oxana, a Ukrainian activist and journalist who did not provide her last name, told Yahoo News at the UNHCRs Blue Dot protection center in Warsaw. Since the invasion began, the U.N.s refugee body has been providing those fleeing Ukraine with vital services. In more recent months, the center has been providing day care for children and cash handouts, as well as psychological support.
It is still not over, and it is not clear at all when will February 2022 end," Oxana said. "My children often ask me about this. Sometimes it seems that time has been delayed forever. She left her home in the northeastern city of Novhorod-Siverskyi in September, seven months after the invasion began. I did not dare to leave my city for a long time because I realized that peoples lives depended on the hope that I gave them, she explained.
However, in September, a psychologist urged her to leave for her sons mental well-being. He had very severe psychological trauma due to what he saw, what he heard, Oxana said about her 11-year-old son. Now Oxana and her son, along with her 17-year-old daughter, live in an accommodation shelter with 200 other refugees. Here I realized that my status as a refugee means that I am homeless because I have no place to live."
Vera, a Ukrainian refugee, waits in an accommodation center in Moldova eager to return home. (Paul Phelan for Yahoo News)
Oxana wasnt alone in feeling like this. In Moldova, 74-year-old retired factory worker Vera, who did not want to be identified by her last name, has been living in a government-run accommodation shelter in the village of Popeasca since March 17, 2022. Life has since stood still. We hope it will be resolved soon, she said, sitting in her bedroom, which she shares with around six others, including children.
Maybe we will go home, but we can't do anything yet. Vera fled Ukraine with only a small bag of personal items. Looking around her room, it was noticeable how little everyone appeared to own. Any type of personal belonging would seem like a luxury good. I left with one bag, Vera explained. I've been working for 55 years, I've raised good children, I've taught them all, and I took a bag and left.
The horror of this life! she said.
Just 30 minutes outside Warsaw is Europes largest refugee accommodation center, which has housed 120,000 people throughout the war. Currently, 2,000 people reside there. The center is large and open, with each person given a deck chair to use as a bed. There is a space for people with animals, a day care facility and a medical center. Walking through the rows of makeshift beds, it appeared as though there had been a loss of hope.
According to the U.N., 90% of all refugees who left Ukraine were women, children and the elderly. This was because all men of draft age were banned from leaving the country, leaving it to the mothers and other family members to take care of the children.
Dr. Szymon Skoczen, a pediatric oncologist at University Children's Hospital in Krakow. (Paul Phelan for Yahoo News)
This was no more apparent than in the story of 12-year-old Daniel at University Childrens Hospital in Krakow. Dr. Szymon Skoczen, a doctor of pediatric oncology, said Daniel had been admitted in January for a spine condition. He was accompanied by his 19-year-old sister, Ana, who had traveled to Poland with him last March. Our parents are still in Ukraine, Ana said. They told us to come here because they didnt want us near the war.
Stories of separated families were common. Husbands and parents stayed in Ukraine for a number of different reasons. One story that differed was of the retired factory worker Vera. Originally from Russia, she left for Ukraine 56 years ago. She built a life there, settling down with her husband and children and working in a knitwear factory.
I had a wonderful life in Ukraine, she said. No one has ever offended me in my life. My mom, dad and all my relatives came to visit me. Everything was fine. But when the war started, her family in Russia stopped calling. My sister's son is also an adult; he's doing great. And I have an adult son. It turns out that her son came to kill my son.
Although each refugee had a different backstory, all had one thing in common: a desire to return home someday. All were grateful for their host country and the international organizations that helped them settle, but the feelings were generally the same. Well, if the city is under the control of Ukraine, I will be the first person to come. I will come to rebuild my city, the nonprofit project manager Kravtsova said.
Each refugee seemed to be stuck in a state of limbo unable to move on, physically or emotionally. Nearly all have stayed in the same mindset since the war began one year ago. And they will likely continue to wait, frozen in time, for as long as the war rages on.
Cover thumbnail photo: Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty Images
Defence secretary Ben Wallace has said that Ukraine could receive promised British Challenger 2 tanks within a few weeks.
The Challenger 2 Tanks will arrive in Ukraine in the spring, he said after speaking to the Ukrainian soldiers training to use the superior Western battle tank, as the biggest war in Europe after the Second World War marks a year tomorrow.
Britain has already given more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers basic training in drone warfare and has been training tank crews since late January.
This comes as Joe Biden has called Vladimir Putins move to temporarily suspend Russias participation in the New START nuclear arms treaty a big mistake.
Its a big mistake to do that. Not very responsible. But I dont read into that that hes thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that, Mr Biden said.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has called Russias invasion of Ukraine an affront to our collective conscience at the UN general assembly.
Key Points
Russia reveals conditions for rejoining nuclear treaty
Putin tried and failed to launch intercontinental ballistic missile during Biden visit to Ukraine
Zelensky refutes territorial capture by Russia
Putin says Russia is having a 'very difficult time'
Putin's Ukraine gamble seen as biggest threat to his rule
Zelensky slams fresh Russian attacks on civilians in Kherson
British Challenger tanks could reach Ukraine by spring, says Ben Wallace
03:34 , Arpan Rai
Defence secretary Ben Wallace has said that Ukraine could receive promised British battle tanks within a few weeks.
The Challenger 2 Tanks will arrive in Ukraine in the spring, he said, as he spoke to Ukrainian soldiers training to use the superior Western battle tank.
It is hugely inspiring to come and witness Ukrainian soldiers being trained on British Challenger 2 tanks. Their resilience and determination to succeed for the liberation of their country sends a powerful message to Russia, Mr Wallace said.
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Britain has already given more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers basic training in drone warfare and has been training tank crews since late January, part of what ministers say is proof of the countrys leading role in supporting Ukraine.
Photographer says capturing Ukraine conflict helped her not go crazy
05:00 , Eleanor Noyce
A photojournalist who captured Kyiv through a series of images on the day Russia invaded Ukraine said photography helped her document her weird feelings and not go crazy.
Alina Smutko took photos on February 24 in case she saw Ukrainian Kyiv for the last time.
Danielle Desouza reports:
Photographer says capturing Ukraine conflict helped her not go crazy
Im not a hero but Im not a wimp either UK aid workers reflect on Ukraine
04:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Aid workers from the UK who have visited Ukraine have shared the lessons they have learned over the past 12 months, with one saying: I have never seen those looks on peoples faces before and I have spent years working in hospitals.
Nurse, midwife and humanitarian aid worker Wendy Warrington, 56, from Bury, Greater Manchester, and Liberty Rose, a 27-year-old nursing student who lives in Emsworth, Hampshire, have both visited Ukraine in the 12 months since the war started.
The pair spoke to the PA news agency about the strength and resilience required to assist in the embattled country, as well as their tips for how people can help as the conflict continues.
Danielle Desouza reports:
Im not a hero but Im not a wimp either UK aid workers reflect on Ukraine
Zelensky says working in a very powerful manner with Sunak
03:18 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he and Rishi Sunak spoke last evening over a phone call ahead of the war anniversary.
In the evening I spoke with the prime minister of the United Kingdom. We are working in a very powerful manner together with the UK to strengthen our warriors, to bring our common victory closer, to implement our defence agreements reached during my visit to London, he said in his nightly address.
Mr Zelensky said: And it would be great if all our partners, like the UK, understood how the speed of defence supplies affects concrete successes on the battlefield.
We also discussed important political issues that need to be resolved this week, he added.
The real surprise of 2023? That Putin is still standing
03:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Well, he hasnt changed the script much. For Vladimir Putin, it was as if the past year of setbacks, debates, and humiliation for his own forces had never happened. For him, absurdly, it was the West that started the war, and is culpable not Russia.
It is, apparently, the Ukrainians who are the aggressive neo-Nazis, and not the brutal nationalists in the Kremlin who sent the tanks into Ukraine a year ago and, unable to prevail on the battlefield, have spent the last 12 months terrorising civilians. Even now, with so many casualties that the Russian president has had to announce a new national agency to support the bereaved, the biggest war in Europe since 1945 is still referred to using the euphemism special military operation.
Despite the failure of his special military operation, the degradation of domestic living standards, and international isolation, the Russian leader hasnt been overthrown, writes Sean OGrady:
The real surprise of 2023? That Putin is still standing | Sean OGrady
Ukraine's health care on the brink after hundreds of attacks
02:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Valentyna Mozgova sweeps shattered glass and other debris from the vacant halls of the bombed-out hospital where she began her career. Living in the basement, the 55-year-old lab technician now works as its solitary guard.
Russian artillery strikes targeted Marinskaya Central District Hospital in 2017 and again in 2021. But numerous barrages over the last seven months forced the hospitals medical staff to flee, destroying key departments such as neurology and gynecology, as well as a general medical clinic in the process.
Mozgova chose to stay. Having worked in the hospitals laboratories since graduating from medical school in the late 1980s, she agreed to act as the hospitals security guard for 10,000 hryvnia ($250) a month. She and her husband were soon joined in the basement shelter by five others who had lost their homes to bombing, a dog and a cat.
Mozgova picks up the broom at 8 a.m. sharp every three days to inspect the hallways, carefully avoiding the fragments of Russian Grad rockets strewn across the floors for fear of yet another explosion.
Everything is decaying and falling apart, she told The Associated Press. But Im so sick of it. I want to live my life normally, sleep in my bed, watch my TV, not jump at the sound of an explosion, go to work calmly and do my job.
Read more:
Ukraine's health care on the brink after hundreds of attacks
Global impact: 5 ways war in Ukraine has changed the world
01:00 , Eleanor Noyce
War has been a catastrophe for Ukraine and a crisis for the globe. The world is a more unstable and fearful place since Russia invaded its neighbour on Feb. 24, 2022.
One year on, thousands of Ukrainian civilians are dead, and countless buildings have been destroyed. Tens of thousands of troops have been killed or seriously wounded on each side. Beyond Ukraines borders, the invasion shattered European security, redrew nations relations with one another and frayed a tightly woven global economy.
Here are five ways the war has changed the world:
Global impact: 5 ways war in Ukraine has changed the world
Biden and Stoltenberg meet Nato Bucharest Nine allies in Poland
Wednesday 22 February 2023 23:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Joe Biden and Jens Stoltenberg met with Nato Bucharest Nine allies in Poland on Wednesday, 22 February.
The US president and the Secretary General of Nato held talks with the military alliances eastern flank to assure them that the Biden administration is highly aware of looming threats brought on by Russias invasion of Ukraine.
The Bucharest Nine are Nato allies who joined the military alliance after being dominated by Moscow during the Cold War.
Mr Biden has been staying in Poland after his surprise trip to Ukraine, in which he reiterated US support for Volodymyr Zelenskys troops in their fight against Vladimir Putins forces.
The meeting comes after Vladimir Putin suspended a landmark nuclear arms control treaty just days before the first anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine, amid a period of highest tension between Russia and the West in the decades since the Cold War.
Holly Patrick reports:
Biden and Stoltenberg meet Nato Bucharest Nine allies in Poland
Russia threatens further countermeasures after suspending key nuclear arms deal
Wednesday 22 February 2023 23:20 , Eleanor Noyce
Russia has said it will consider taking further countermeasures against the US and its allies after it suspended its participation in a key nuclear arms deal.
President Vladimir Putin announced the country is suspending the new START treaty on Tuesday.
His deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has now said Russia will be monitoring the US to decide whether to launch further action.
He said: We will, of course, be closely monitoring the further actions of the United States and its allies, including with a view to taking further countermeasures, if necessary.
Mr Putin announced Russia will no longer comply with the agreement, which limits participating countries nuclear capabilities, in a lengthy state of the nation address - in which he also blamed the West for the war in Ukraine.
My colleague Kate Plummer reports:
Russia threatens further countermeasures after suspending key nuclear arms deal
Russia's sports exile persists 1 year after invading Ukraine
Wednesday 22 February 2023 22:50 , Eleanor Noyce
One year after the invasion of Ukraine began, Russias reintegration into the world of sports threatens to create the biggest rift in the Olympic movement since the Cold War.
Russia remains excluded from many international sporting events, but that could soon change. Next years Paris Olympics are fast approaching and qualifying events are under way. The International Olympic Committee is working to bring athletes from Russia and ally Belarus back into competition, but not everyone agrees.
If Russian athletes are to return to competition, the sports world must resolve two key issues that became clear in the days after the invasion: How can Russian athletes return without alienating Ukrainians? And what can be done about the Russians who support the war?
As the first battles raged, the Ukrainian fencing team refused to compete against Russia at a tournament in Egypt, holding up a sign reading: Stop Russia! Stop the war! Save Ukraine! Save Europe!
More here:
Russia's sports exile persists 1 year after invading Ukraine
International journalists federation suspends Russian union
Wednesday 22 February 2023 22:20 , Eleanor Noyce
The International Federation of Journalists has suspended with immediate effect the Russian Union of Journalists over its action since Russias invasion of Ukraine and its role in annexed Ukrainian territories.
The IFJ, which represents more than 600,000 media workers across the world, said the Russian unions membership was suspended following an investigation then a vote by its global executive committee on Wednesday.
The vote was held after the union refused to reconsider its decision to set up branches in four regions annexed by Russia, the federation said.
The Russian Union of Journalists actions in establishing four branches in the annexed Ukrainian territories have clearly shattered ... solidarity and sown divisions among sister unions, said IFJ President Dominique Pradalie.
Read more:
International journalists federation suspends Russian union
Matt Hancock promotes NFTs to raise money for former Ukrainian lodgers
Wednesday 22 February 2023 21:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Matt Hancock is promoting crypto art created by his former Ukrainian lodger to help raise money for refugees who have fled the war.
The NFTs, which make up a 15-piece collection called From Ukraine with Love, were made by Oleg Mischenko, whose family had been staying with the former health secretary until they moved into their own home in Suffolk last week.
They will be auctioned off on cryptocurrency trading app Coinbase, this week, with 90 per cent of the money raised going to charity Care Internationals Ukraine appeal, while the remaining funds will go to Mr Mischenkos family.
A physical sale of the art will also take place at the NFT Gallery in Mayfair and the artworks will be traded in Ethereum.
My colleague Kate Plummer has more:
Matt Hancock promotes NFTs to raise money for former Ukrainian lodgers
Russia denies plan to test new missile off South Africa
Wednesday 22 February 2023 21:20 , Eleanor Noyce
The Russian military denied Wednesday that it was planning to test its new Zircon hypersonic missiles during naval drills off the coast of South Africa this week that will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
Chinas navy also is participating in the Indian Ocean exercises, which come at a time when Russias relationship with the West is at its lowest point since the Cold War, and ties between China and the United States are under serious strain.
As Russian and Chinese warships prepared in South Africa for their joint drills, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Chinas most senior foreign policy official at the Kremlin. Those meetings showed the strengthening of Russias relationship with China and raised concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support for its war in Ukraine.
Russias aims for the naval exercises came under scrutiny because of the involvement of the Admiral Gorshkov, a frigate which is armed with hypersonic missiles. The ship arrived in Cape Town last week emblazoned with the letters Z and V, letters also seen on Russian weapons on the front lines in Ukraine and which are used as patriotic symbols in Russia.
Read more:
Russia denies plan to test new missile off South Africa
Putins most baffling remarks about the West since the war in Ukraine started
Wednesday 22 February 2023 20:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Russias president Vladimir Putin delivered a state of the nation speech in Moscow this week marking the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine he ordered a year ago.
In the colourful two-hour speech, the Kremlin leader vowed to continue his special military operation in Ukraine and told listeners that it would be impossible for Russia to be defeated. Mr Putin acknowledged the difficulty of the war on Russians who had lost loved ones, but he stressed that the West and Ukrainian elites were actually behind the war and not his military orders.
Mr Putin also took an interesting detour to comment on practices in the West. Adding to his many bizarre comments about his opposers, Mr Putin said paedophilia was normal in the UK.
My colleague Thomas Kingsley dissects Putins most baffling remarks about the West since the war in Ukraine started:
Putins most baffling remarks about the West since the war in Ukraine started
Zelensky and Sunak speak ahead of first anniversary of Ukrainian invasion
Wednesday 22 February 2023 20:40 , Arpan Rai
Rishi Sunak has spoken to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the first anniversary of the invasion.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: The prime minister spoke to president Zelensky this evening, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Friday.
The prime minister updated on his visit to the Munich Security Conference, and said he had used the event to call on allies to accelerate their support to help Ukraine progress military gains in the coming weeks and months.
Now was the time for Ukraine to seize the opportunity to make real progress on the battlefield and further demonstrate to Putin that Ukraine would ultimately win, the leaders agreed.
Iconic Slovenian band Laibach to perform in Ukraine amid war
Wednesday 22 February 2023 20:20 , Eleanor Noyce
Slovenias iconic band Laibach will hold a concert in Ukraines capital next month, saying Wednesday this will make them the first foreign group to perform a full show in Kyiv since the beginning of the Russian invasion last February.
The industrial rock band will hold a very special concert on March 31st at the Bel Etage Music Hall in Kyiv, a statement said. The concert will be dubbed Eurovision in reference to the pop song contest which Ukraine won in 2022 but which will be hosted by the UK in Liverpool instead of Ukraine this year because of the war.
While the rest of Europe prepares to celebrate its idea of freedom and solidarity on 9 May in Liverpool, Laibach will be taking Eurovision back to Ukraine where it belongs and where the only true and real vision of Europe is taking place right now, the concert announcement said.
Laibach is Slovenias best known band which has won fame abroad for its totalitarian visual style, toying with populist imagery and almost martial-rhythm songs, sang in husky, deep vocals.
Read more:
Iconic Slovenian band Laibach to perform in Ukraine amid war
Ukrainian mother thanks the UK public for donations, describing them as angels of kindness"
Wednesday 22 February 2023 19:50 , Eleanor Noyce
A Ukrainian mother forced to flee her home has thanked the UK public for donating to help those affected by the conflict, saying they are angels of kindness.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has become the biggest charity donor to the response inside Ukraine, and to the regional refugee response, raising more than 400 million since it was launched in March 2022.
The organisation said the money has gone towards supporting work in communities, tackling homelessness, trauma and emergency responses and is testimony to the generosity of the British people.
Among those supported is Polina, a social worker and mother of three young boys who fled Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine when she was six months pregnant, and is being housed in DEC-supported accommodation.
DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed, who recently visited the country to see the work being carried out, told the PA news agency: There was a huge gratitude and appreciation for the support of the British public.
Polina, for example, said you are angels of kindness and wanted me to pass on the thanks to the British public for their support.
But also this inspired and motivated people for themselves to support each other and also share what they have with others.
King Charles welcomes visit from president of German Parliament, showing solidarity amidst war in Ukraine
Wednesday 22 February 2023 19:20 , Eleanor Noyce
King Charles III has held an audience with the president of the German parliament.
He is expected to become the first British monarch to address the Bundestag during a state visit to Germany later this month, having welcomed Barbel Bas to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday afternoon.
Charles and Ms Bas shook hands in the Palaces 1844 Room, with the pair appearing in good humour, laughing as they chatted and greeted one another.
The Kings trip to Germany is expected to follow immediately after a state visit to France, which is due to be Charless first official journey abroad since he acceded to the throne.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the reported trips.
Katja Mast, first parliamentary secretary of Germanys Social Democratic Party, welcomed the forthcoming visit, telling the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that German-British friendship was extremely important to Europe and the world post-Brexit and amid the war in Ukraine.
Ben Wallace praises dedication and determination of Ukrainian soldiers training on tank operation
Wednesday 22 February 2023 18:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has praised the dedication and determination of Ukrainian soldiers being trained to operate British Challenger 2 tanks donated for the war against Russia.
The Secretary of State, who is a former soldier himself, met the troops training at Bovington Camp in Dorset and told them: Britain is going to continue with you until the end.
We are not in it for a period, we are in it until we defeat Russia in Ukraine and send them home.
He added: We will keep with you, and from Britains point of view the message to Russia is we are not giving up and we are not going away.
Speaking to a Ukrainian commander, he said: I think your tactics are working alongside the bravery of your soldiers and its really showing the Russians. Keep doing it.
Blackouts, air raids and reporting by candlelight: The new normal of The Kyiv Independent newsroom
Wednesday 22 February 2023 18:20 , Emily Atkinson
Olga Rudenko never thought her team of journalists would be reporting on a second year of Russias war on Ukraine.
In the first few months of the invasion Id have been surprised if someone told me it would last a year or longer, says the editor-in-chief of The Kyiv Independent.
For a good chunk of time I believed it would end soon just because of how horrible everything was that was happening. When youre in the middle of all that, its too horrible and big to think it will happen for a long time.
You think: Surely the world will stop this... But here we are.
Editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko speaks to Rachel Sharp about the new normal in the newsroom:
Blackouts, air raids, reporting by candlelight: The Kyiv Independents new normal
Russia says New START suspension won't bring nuclear war closer
Wednesday 22 February 2023 17:50 , Emily Atkinson
Russia has said its decision to suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US did not increase the risk of nuclear war.
President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday he was freezing Russias participation in the treaty during a speech in which he also repeated accusations that the West was seeking to destroy Russia.
I do not believe that the decision to suspend the New START Treaty brings us closer to nuclear war, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Finland and Sweden are heading into Nato hand-in-hand, says Finnish president
Wednesday 22 February 2023 17:20 , Emily Atkinson
Finland and Sweden are proceeding hand-in-hand towards Nato membership, but the decision to ratify the applications for the two Nordic countries lies with Turkey, Finnish president Sauli Niinisto has said.
We proceed hand in hand in terms of the things that are in our own hands, Niinisto said, but added: Ratification is not in our hands.
Niinisto was speaking at a joint news conference with the Swedish and Norwegian prime ministers at the Swedish governments summer retreat outside Stockholm.
Finland would still proceed with joining the alliance once approved, even if Swedens application was held up, Niinisto said.
The Finnish president also said he would sign a Nato membership application bill when it is agreed by Finnish lawmakers, with a vote scheduled for 28 February
Once the parliaments of Natos 30 member states have ratified the application, Finland would become a member, even if Swedens accession was delayed.
If Turkey and Hungary ratify Finland, we will be, as we have requested, members of Nato, he said.
Eastern European countries 'jointly condemn Russias war in Ukraine
Wednesday 22 February 2023 16:50 , Emily Atkinson
All members of the Bucharest Nine, the nations on Natos eastern flank that joined the alliance after being dominated by Moscow during the Cold War, have jointly condemned Russias war in Ukraine, a Polish presidential adviser said.
All allies agreed that they would support each other in the event of a threat, Marcin Przydacz, an adviser to Polish president Andrzej Duda told reporters.
The next point of the declaration was the condemnation of the brutal, bloody war against Ukraine, which is being waged by Russia. All members of the Bucharest Nine signed these words.
EU countries 'fail to agree new Russia sanctions
Wednesday 22 February 2023 16:20 , Emily Atkinson
The EU has failed to reach a consensus on a new set of sanctions against Russia meant to be in place for the one-year anniversary of Moscows invasion of Ukraine on Friday, four diplomatic sources in the blocs hub Brussels said.
There are several issues outstanding, including on rubber and reporting obligations of Russian assets in Europe, one source told Reuters.
More talks among Brussels representatives of EU member countries were due on Thursday afternoon, said the sources.
The proposed package includes trade curbs worth more than 10 billion euros, according to the blocs chief executive.
Russia says it is studying Xi's global security initiative
Wednesday 22 February 2023 15:50 , Emily Atkinson
Russia has said it is studying a newly released paper on Beijings Global Security Initiative (GSI), Chinese leader Xi Jinpings flagship security proposal.
The positions of the two countries on the most pressing international issues coincide or are close, which the Russian and Chinese leadership has repeatedly spoken about, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharkova said in a briefing.
The same can be said for the global security initiative, she added.
China on Tuesday released the GSI paper, which aims to uphold the principle of indivisible security, a concept endorsed by Moscow.
G7 to discuss Ukraine aid programme on Thursday
Wednesday 22 February 2023 15:20 , Emily Atkinson
The main topic at the G7 finance ministers meeting hosted by Japan tomorrow will be financial support to Ukraine, according to German finance ministry sources.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva will give an update on the planned aid programme at the meeting, which the sources said has been discussed intensely.
The IMF aims to adopt a new aid programme for Ukraine by the end of March.
The G7 finance ministers are expected to issue a joint statement after their talks.
Watch Live: United Nations mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine
Wednesday 22 February 2023 14:59 , Emily Atkinson
World journalism body suspends Russia's membership over Ukraine
Wednesday 22 February 2023 14:48 , Emily Atkinson
The International Federation of Journalists sayd it has suspended the membership of Russias main journalism trade union after it established branches in occupied regions of Ukraine.
The IFJ is an organization built on international solidarity, on principles of cooperation between member unions and respect for the rights of all journalists.
The Russian Union of Journalists actions in establishing four branches in the annexed Ukrainian territories have clearly shattered this solidarity and sown divisions among sister unions, IFJ president Dominique Pradalie said in a statement.
The head of the Union of Russian Journalists told state news agency TASS that the move violated the IFJs charter and would hurt the world body financially because it would no longer receive substantial membership fees from Russia.
Russian lawmakers endorse suspension of nuclear pact with US
Wednesday 22 February 2023 14:30 , Eleanor Noyce
The lower house of Russias parliament on Wednesday quickly endorsed President Vladimir Putins move to suspend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the United States, with officials and lawmakers casting it as an eleventh-hour warning to Washington amid the tensions over Ukraine.
Putin declared that Moscow was suspending its participation in the 2010 New START treaty in his state-of-the-nation address Tuesday, saying that Russia cant accept U.S. inspections of its nuclear sites under the pact while Washington and its NATO allies have openly declared the goal of Russias defeat in Ukraine.
The Russian president emphasized that Moscow was not withdrawing from the pact altogether, and the Russian Foreign Ministry said the country would respect the caps on nuclear weapons set under the treaty and keep notifying the U.S. about test launches of ballistic missiles.
Read more:
Russian lawmakers endorse suspension of nuclear pact with US
Spain plans to send six German tanks to Ukraine
Wednesday 22 February 2023 14:10 , Eleanor Noyce
Spain is to send six German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Defence minister Margarita Robles has announced.
Ms Robles confirmed that the battle tanks would be ready by late March or early April, adding that more may be sent in the future.
Elsewhere, the UK has sent 14 Challenger 2 tanks. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged the Government to send more.
Vladimir Putin to meet top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi ahead of Ukraine war anniversary
Wednesday 22 February 2023 14:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Vladimir Putin is going to receive top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Moscow on Wednesday, two days before Ukraine marks a year of siege by Moscow, officials in the Kremlin confirmed.
The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Russian president will receive Wang Yi who is visiting Moscow on a high-level diplomatic mission on behalf of the Xi Jinping administration.
Mr Wang reached Moscow on Tuesday, marking the highest-level Chinese officials visit to ally-nation Russia after it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
On Wednesday, he met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and said that he looked forward to sealing new agreements during his visit to Russia.
The two sides also exchanged views over Ukraine and other issues, reported Xinhua news agency.
My colleague Arpan Rai has more:
Vladimir Putin to meet top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi ahead of Ukraine war anniversary
Biden meets NATO leaders in Warsaw
Wednesday 22 February 2023 13:44 , Eleanor Noyce
US President Joe Biden is meeting with nine NATO leaders today in Warsaw, Poland.
The NATO Bucharest Nine are the countries on the eastern flank, closest to Russia. Its members include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Russians arrive for patriotic concert dedicated to Defender of the Fatherland Day
Wednesday 22 February 2023 13:30 , Emily Atkinson
(AFP via Getty Images)
(REUTERS)
Putin defends special military operation in Ukraine, thanking defenders of the motherland
Wednesday 22 February 2023 13:18 , Eleanor Noyce
President Putin has thanked the defenders of the motherland partaking in the special military operation in Ukraine at a rally held in Moscow.
We are protecting our language, culture, territory, everyone, all of our people, our defenders of the motherland. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts, Mr Putin says.
The anthem of the Russian Federation plays.
Putin addresses rally in Moscow
Wednesday 22 February 2023 13:13 , Eleanor Noyce
President Putin is currently addressing a rally in Moscow. Celebrating the brave men fighting for Russias historical borders, he is met by cheers from the crowd.
Today, in this special military operation, we are here to celebrate but Ive just heard from the highest military command of our country that right now, there is a fight going on on our historical borders for our people, Mr Putin says.
The same brave men that we have here, theyre fighting over there in a heroic way, a brave way, and were proud of them. Were proud of them and in their honour, lets say hooray.
They should hear our call. They are supported by the whole country.
Editorial: A successful summit between Biden and Zelensky but the elephant in the room remains
Wednesday 22 February 2023 13:00 , Emily Atkinson
Without planes, the whole effort of the last year, including tragic civilian casualties, stands at risk of being wasted.
Read our latest editorial here:
Editorial: A successful US-Ukraine summit but the elephant in the room remains
Hungarian minister urges ceasefire and peace talks over Ukraine
Wednesday 22 February 2023 12:30 , Emily Atkinson
A top Hungarian official has urged a ceasefire and peace talks over Ukraine to prevent further escalation of the war into a broader conflict.
Foreign minister Peter Szijjarto on Wednesday called for an immediate end to hostilities after speeches by US president Joe Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, which he said highlighted the severity of the standoff.
Spain to send six 2A4 Leopard tanks to Ukraine'
Wednesday 22 February 2023 12:01 , Emily Atkinson
Spain aims to send six German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine, defence minister Margarita Robles told lawmakers this morning, adding that the number could increase over time.
Vladimir Putin to meet top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi ahead of Ukraine war anniversary
Wednesday 22 February 2023 11:47 , Emily Atkinson
Vladimir Putin is going to receive top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Moscow on Wednesday, two days before Ukraine marks a year of siege by Moscow, officials in the Kremlin confirmed.
The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Russian president will receive Wang Yi who is visiting Moscow on a high-level diplomatic mission on behalf of the Xi Jinping administration.
Mr Wang reached Moscow on Tuesday, marking the highest-level Chinese officials visit to ally-nation Russia after it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
Arpan Rai has more:
Vladimir Putin to meet top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi ahead of Ukraine war anniversary
Russia reveals conditions for rejoining nuclear treaty
Wednesday 22 February 2023 11:13 , Emily Atkinson
Russia would need to see a change in Natos stance and a willingness for dialogue before it would consider returning to its last remaining nuclear treaty with the US.
The lower house of the Russian parliament voted quickly in favour of suspending Moscows participation in the New START treaty following Vladimir Putins announcement yesterday.
The 2010 treaty limits each countrys deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550. Security analysts say its potential collapse could unleash a new arms race at a perilous moment when Putin is increasingly portraying the Ukraine war he launched one year ago as a direct confrontation with the West.
Asked in what circumstances Russia would return to the deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: Everything will depend on the position of the West... When theres a willingness to take into account our concerns, then the situation will change.
Interfax news agency quoted deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying: We will, of course, be closely monitoring the further actions of the United States and its allies, including with a view to taking further countermeasures, if necessary.
Russia's parliament moves to suspend New START nuclear treaty
Wednesday 22 February 2023 10:50 , Emily Atkinson
Russias parliament has moved to suspend Moscows participation in the New START treaty.
Putin announced the suspension in a major national address yesterday as the first anniversary of Russias special military operation in Ukraine approaches.
In a session on Wednesday morning, Russias State Duma, the lower house, voted to approve the suspension of the treaty. The Federation Council, the upper chamber of parliament, was due to vote on the same proposal after 3pm in Moscow.
(AP)
Russias former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of the countrys Security Council, said the move was a long overdue response to the United States and Nato effectively declaring war on Russia.
This decision was forced on us by the war declared by the United States and other NATO countries on our country. It will have a huge resonance in the world overall and in the United States in particular, Medvedev said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
Medvedev also called for the nuclear arsenals of Britain and France to be included in future arms control agreements between Russia and the West.
Putin to meet Chinas top diplomat in Moscow today
Wednesday 22 February 2023 10:30 , Emily Atkinson
Vladimir Putin will meet Chinas top diplomat in Moscow today, the Kremlin says.
Putin will receive Wang Yi, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
At a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov earlier on Wednesday, Wang said that he looked forward to clinching new agreements during his visit to Moscow.
I am ready to exchange views with you, my dear friend, on issues of mutual interest, and I look forward to reaching new agreements, Wang said through an interpreter.
(GRIGORY SYSOYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
No matter how the international situation changes, China has been and remains committed, together with Russia, to make efforts to preserve the positive trend in the development of relations between major powers, Wang said.
Wang said he would work to strengthen and deepen relations between Moscow and Beijing.
Czech PM: We will continue to help Ukraine as long as needed
Wednesday 22 February 2023 10:10 , Emily Atkinson
The Czech Republic will continue to support Ukraine against Russias invasion for as long as needed, prime minister Petr Fiala said ahead of a meeting with leaders of Natos eastern flank.
We will continue in (our) help for as long as Ukraine needs it, Fiala said.
Russian missiles hit Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, injuring two
Wednesday 22 February 2023 09:52 , Emily Atkinson
Two civilians were wounded in a Russian missile strike on Wednesday on industrial facilities in Kharkiv, the biggest city in eastern Ukraine, local officials said.
Kharkiv, Ukraines second largest city, lies about 30 km (19 miles) from the border with Russia and has frequently been under fire since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago.
According to preliminary data, four strikes hit the Kyiv district of Kharkiv. The enemy is targeting industrial facilities, Ihor Terekhov, the city mayor, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The regional governor, Oleh Synehubov, said separately that two civilians had been lightly wounded but gave no details.
Watch: London Fashion Week show shines spotlight on Ukrainian designers
Wednesday 22 February 2023 09:30 , Emily Atkinson
Putin tried and failed to launch intercontinental ballistic missile during Biden visit to Ukraine
Wednesday 22 February 2023 09:15 , Emily Atkinson
Russia conducted the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday when US president Joe Biden arrived in Ukraine, according to a report. However, the launch failed.
The missile test involved a heavy Sarmat missile known as Satan II in the West capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads across the continent, two US officials familiar with the matter told CNN.
But the missile, which has been successfully tested before, appeared to have failed this time, officials said, as Russian president Vladimir Putin would have mentioned it in his State of the Nation address on Tuesday had the launch been a success.
Shweta Sharma reports:
Putin launched intercontinental ballistic missile during Biden visit to Ukraine
Russia concerned by UN disrupting IAEA staff rotation at power plant
Wednesday 22 February 2023 09:01 , Emily Atkinson
Moscow has expressed deep concern over the United Nations behaviour regarding the rotation of staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
In a statement, Russias foreign ministry said the UNs nuclear body was disrupting the scheduled changeover of IAEA staff stationed at the plant under Russian control without good reason.
(REUTERS)
Zelensky plans to attend July Nato summit'
Wednesday 22 February 2023 08:51 , Emily Atkinson
Volodymyr Zelensky plans to attend in person a Nato summit taking place in Vilnius in July, Ukraines ambassador to Lithuania told local newswire BNS.
Mr Zelensky has made only two foreign trips since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago one to Washington in December and another to London, Paris and Brussels in February.
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
The Vilnius summit on July 11-12 will be attended by most leaders of the Atlantic alliance, Lithuania presidential office said.
That is our plan, ambassador Petro Beshta said.
Ukraine hopes attendees at the summit would agree very clearly that as soon as the war is over, Ukraine becomes a member of Nato, the ambassador said.
Children in Ukraine forced to endure over 900 hours underground as war rages on
Wednesday 22 February 2023 08:30 , Emily Atkinson
Children in Ukraine recall feeling terrified to death as they have been forced to hide underground for an average of 920 hours since Russian invaded Ukraine a year ago.
Running to bunkers upon the chilling screech of air raid sirens, families and children are often trapped for up to eight hours underground at a time, Save the Children has found.
Remembering the first explosions she experienced last year, 16-year-old Sofia* said: I was having physics classes online when we first heard explosions ten kilometres away. They then began to land on nearby streets.
Our teacher instructed us to rush to the shelter. When I got to the corridor, I heard a loud explosion. I only managed to sit next to the wall, close my ears, and open my mouth to avoid being shocked by the blast wave.
Children in Ukraine forced to endure over 900 hours underground as war rages on
Live: View outside Biden's Warsaw hotel as he prepares to meet eastern Nato allies
Wednesday 22 February 2023 08:09 , Emily Atkinson
Watch live views outside Joe Bidens hotel in Warsaw as he prepares to meet eastern Nato allies today.
The US president is staying in Poland after his surprise trip to Ukraine, in which he reiterated US support for Volodymyr Zelenskys troops in their fight against Russia.
On Wednesday, Mr Biden will meet staff from Warsaws US embassy. He will then gather leaders of the Bucharest Nine, Natos eastern allies who joined the military alliance after being dominated by Moscow during the Cold War.
Russia Duma's speaker says U.S. destroyed international stability
Wednesday 22 February 2023 08:01 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The United States has destroyed the architecture of international stability by ceasing to honour its commitments and rejecting Russias proposals on global security issues, Dumas speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on Wednesday.
The Duma, Russias lower house of parliament, will on Wednesday consider President Vladimir Putins draft law on suspending Moscows participation in the New START treaty. It is expected to rubber-stamp the initiative.
Putin outlined the suspension of the landmark treaty as a warning over Ukraine in a major set-piece speech on Tuesday, as U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to keep supporting and standing up for Ukraine as the first anniversary of the Russian aggression nears.
By ceasing to comply with its obligations and rejecting our countrys proposals on global security issues, the United States destroyed the architecture of international stability, Volodin wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
They plunged the world into a state of conflicts and challenges.
Dumas speaker Vyacheslav Volodin (AP)
Russia says concerned by UN disrupting IAEA staff rotation at Zaporizhzhia plant
Wednesday 22 February 2023 07:48 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the United Nations behaviour regarding the rotation of staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
In a statement, Russias foreign ministry said the United Nations nuclear body was disrupting the scheduled changeover of IAEA staff stationed at the plant, which is under the control of Russian forces, without good reason.
(Reuters)
Russia's parliament prepares to approve suspension of New START
Wednesday 22 February 2023 07:33 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian officials on Wednesday blamed the United States and the West for President Vladimir Putins decision to suspend Moscows participation in the New START treaty, as Russias parliament was set to rubber-stamp the move.
Putin announced the suspension in a speech on Tuesday, as U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to keep supporting and standing up for Ukraine as the first anniversary of the Russian aggression nears.
Ex-President Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said the move was a long overdue response to the United States and NATO effectively declaring war on Russia.
This decision was forced on us by the war declared by the United States and other NATO countries on our country. It will have a huge resonance in the world overall and in the United States in particular, Medvedev said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
Medvedev also called for the nuclear arsenals of Britain and France to be included in future arms control agreements between Russia and the West.
Deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev (AP)
Russias parliament is expected to rubber-stamp the move to suspend the treaty, possibly as early as Wednesday.
The head of Russias Duma, the lower house of parliament, also blamed the United States for the breakdown.
By ceasing to comply with its obligations and rejecting our countrys proposals on global security issues, the United States destroyed the architecture of international stability, Vyacheslav Volodin said in a statement.
Russias moves have sparked concern in Washington and European capitals.
Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees Russias arms control diplomacy with the United States, said on Wednesday that the possible resumption of the treaty depended on Washington, as he also said Moscow was keeping a close eye on NATOs other nuclear powers, Britain and France.
We will obviously pay special attention to what line and what decisions London and Paris are taking, which can no longer, even hypothetically, be considered outside of the Russian-U.S. dialogue on nuclear arms control, the TASS news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.
He said there was currently no direct dialogue between Moscow and Washington on nuclear issues and it was unknown whether it would resume.
Russias foreign ministry said on Tuesday evening it would continue to abide by the limits on the number of warheads it can deploy and stood open to reversing its decision.
Putin likely conducted failed intercontinental ballistic missile test during Bidens visit CNN
Wednesday 22 February 2023 07:16 , Arpan Rai
Russia attempted to carry out a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile which failed around the time the US president Joe Biden was visiting in Ukraine, two US officials aware of the matter said.
The test launch of the heavy SARMAT missile which can deliver multiple nuclear warheads tanked, according to the officials, reported CNN.
Officials added that the Russian president Vladimir Putin would have boasted the test, had it been successful, in his State of the Nation address yesterday.
One of the officials said that Moscow informed Washington in advance of the launch through deconfliction lines.
Putin presenting contradictory narrative of existential struggle MoD
Wednesday 22 February 2023 06:40 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin has made it clear that he intends to continue with the special military operation in Ukraine as he made his first State of the Nation speech since 2021, the British defence ministry said today.
The Russian president characterised Western elites as having become a symbol of total unprincipled lies and suspended Russia from the New START treaty, the MoD noted.
Putin continued the bellicose tone he has adopted in speeches over the last six months but did not reveal any practical measures which might relieve Russias current deadlock on the battlefield, the ministry said.
It added that Mr Putin continues to present a contradictory narrative of both an ongoing existential struggle, and at the same time insisting everything in Russia is fine and going to plan, rendering both messages ineffective.
New START: last US-Russia arms control treaty in jeopardy
Wednesday 22 February 2023 06:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian President Vladimir Putins announcement Tuesday that Moscow is suspending its participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia arms control treaty will have an immediate impact on U.S. visibility into Russian nuclear activities, but the pact was already on life support.
Putins decision to suspend Russian cooperation with the treatys nuclear warhead and missile inspections follows Moscows cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that both sides have accused the other of violating.
In his state-of-the-nation address to the Russian people, Putin said Russia was withdrawing from the treaty because of U.S. support to Ukraine, and he accused the U.S. and its NATO allies of openly working for Russias destruction.
The U.S. had previously walked away from the treaty. During the Trump administration, the U.S. declined to engage in negotiations to extend it, accusing Moscow of flagrant violations. But when President Joe Biden took office in 2021, his administration signed a five-year extension.
Here is a look at New START and what Russias announcement means for keeping U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons in check:
New START: last US-Russia arms control treaty in jeopardy
Putin speech: Eight key claims from Russian leader and the reality
Wednesday 22 February 2023 05:03 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putins speech to Russias elite yesterday came almost one year to the day since invading Ukraine.
Here are eight key points from his speech, which was delivered to members of both houses of parliament, state officials, military commanders and soldiers. It lasted about one hour and 45 minutes.
Read more here:
Putin speech: Eight key claims from Russian leader and the reality
Putin suspends Russia's involvement in key nuclear arms pact
Wednesday 22 February 2023 05:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Moscow was suspending its participation in the New START treaty the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States sharply upping the ante amid tensions with Washington over the fighting in Ukraine.
Speaking in his state-of-the-nation address, Putin also said that Russia should stand ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if the U.S. does so, a move that would end a global ban on nuclear weapons tests in place since Cold War times.
Explaining his decision to suspend Russias obligations under New START, Putin accused the U.S. and its NATO allies of openly declaring the goal of Russias defeat in Ukraine.
They want to inflict a strategic defeat on us and try to get to our nuclear facilities at the same time, he said.
Putin argued that while the U.S. has pushed for the resumption of inspections of Russian nuclear facilities under the treaty, NATO allies had helped Ukraine mount drone attacks on Russian air bases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
Read more:
Putin suspends Russia's involvement in key nuclear arms pact
Zelensky slams fresh Russian attacks on civilians in Kherson
Wednesday 22 February 2023 04:37 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned fresh missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians in Kherson as he downplayed Vladimir Putins speech.I have not watched it, because during this time there were missile strikes on Kherson. Twenty-one people were wounded and six were killed, Mr Zelensky said.
Addressing the attack in his nightly address, he said: The Russian army has once again brutally shelled Kherson today. There are wounded and dead. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones...
This Russian shelling did not and could not have any military purpose. As well as thousands of similar Russian attacks, which are a real message from Russia to the world. The terrorist state is trying to tell the world by firing missiles at city streets, at residential buildings, at schools, at pharmacies and hospitals, at churches, at bus stops, at markets, at power plants that terror is allegedly something to be reckoned with, he added.
Propagandists claim Russia offered Biden security guarantee for trip to Kyiv
Wednesday 22 February 2023 04:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Russian propagandists have claimed they aided Joe Bidens visit to Ukraine by offering him a security guarantee.
Discussing the US presidents trip to Kyiv on Russian state TV, the presenters claim they could have destroyed Biden while he was meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Has someone given a security guarantee? one asked, with another answering: We did.
You know, we could have destroyed Biden.
During his trip to Kyiv, the president promised another 500m in military aid to Ukraine.
Watch:
Propagandists claim Russia offered Biden security guarantee for trip to Kyiv
As the war in Ukraine approaches the one year mark, it is proving to be a defining chapter of President Bidens time in the White House.
At home, the ripple effects of the war have led to food shortages, higher prices and restricted supply chains while Ukrainian pleas for military aid have put Bidens belief in bipartisanship to the test.
Russias aggression has also challenged running themes of Bidens presidency: That democracies must band together to push back against autocratic leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, that the U.S. must be a leader on the world stage, and that the U.S. government must work together to address global challenges.
With the war showing few signs of abating, it is sure to continue to shape Bidens presidency for the next two years and possibly beyond, something the president himself acknowledged on Tuesday in Warsaw.
As we gather tonight, the world in my view is at an inflection point. The decisions we make over the next five years or so are going to determine and shape our lives for decades to come, Biden told a crowd of thousands from the Royal Castle. Thats true for America, thats true for the people of the world. And while the decisions are ours to make now, the principles and the stakes are eternal.
Bidens presidency has been in many ways consumed by the war in Ukraine since Russia first launched its unprovoked invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Domestically, the ripple effects of the war have been widespread. Gas prices rose as the U.S. and its allies banned imports of Russian oil. Sanctions on Russia metals and minerals rattled supply chains globally, fueling concerns about a global recession as the price of goods increased. A Russian blockade of grain exports from Ukraine last year contributed to higher food prices.
The war forced Biden and his team to recalibrate its relationship with Saudi Arabia after declaring the Kingdom to be a pariah on the campaign trail as the U.S. looked for ways to stabilize oil costs. It led to releases of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and actions to ramp up domestic grain production.
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It also led to a groundswell of bipartisan support for Ukraine aid at a time when Congress is typically polarized, with lawmakers approving $113 billion dollars in military, economic and humanitarian assistance for the war-torn country during 2022.
Some of the most striking images of Bidens presidency to date have stemmed from the war in Ukraine, whether it was of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arriving at the White House last December, or of Biden donning his aviator sunglasses as he strolled up to shake Zelenskys hand upon arriving in Kyiv on Monday.
If the war has made an imprint on Bidens domestic agenda, it has redefined his foreign policy legacy.
A chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021 led to a drop in Bidens approval ratings, and it left some voters and foreign leaders questioning whether the president could deliver on his campaign pledge to restore Americas standing in the world after four tumultuous years during the Trump administration.
A year after Russia first invaded Ukraine, Bidens response has reshaped Americas place as a leader on the global stage.
The president has convened dozens of calls with Group of Seven (G-7) and NATO allies and spoken of the importance of maintaining those alliances. He has helped juggle the various interests of European allies that are reliant on Russian energy to rollout sanctions, and his administration has coordinated with other nations to provide military equipment like tanks in unison so it is viewed as a coalition-wide effort
I think it has allowed him to play the role of statesman and demonstrate some American leadership in trying to hold together our allies on a strong position on Ukraine, said Brett Bruen, a former diplomat and Obama administration official. At the same time, I think it also serves as an opportunity for Biden, as we heard a little bit during the State of the Union, to point to and to brandish his bipartisan credentials.
Biden himself has spoken about the larger implications of the war that will shape not just his agenda, but the future of global democracies and autocracies, a struggle that the president has highlighted whether talking about the need to confront Russia and China, or the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The defense of freedom is not a work of a day or a year, Biden said Tuesday.
The president acknowledged the war in Ukraine will have bitter days ahead, and that it will require continued support from the United States and its allies at a time when some outspoken Republicans are questioning Bidens focus on the war in Europe and domestic support for the war appears to be wavering.
An Associated Press poll released last week found 48 percent of those surveyed support the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine, down from 60 percent in May 2022. The poll also found 56 percent of Americans have either a great deal or some confidence in Bidens ability to handle the situation, while 43 percent said they had hardly any confidence.
But there is a sense among current and former government officials that Biden will be hard pressed to find a more consequential global event during his first term than the conflict in Ukraine, which is Europes largest land war since World War II.
I think it is the defining part of his leadership on the world stage, said Matt Bennett, a co-founder of the centrist think tank Third Way. I think because he developed such an extraordinary legislative record thats going to be an enormous part of his legacy as well. But theres no doubt his handling of Ukraine will define who he was as a global leader.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Dmytro Kuleba
Kuleba said that the issue of providing warplanes to Ukraine needs to be decided collectively, given the complexity of technology and aircraft maintenance.
"No country has said yes, but no country said no either, Kuleba said.
Read also: F-16 fighter jets to be next step in supplying weapons to Ukraine, says Dutch PM Rutte
I believe that in the end this issue will be resolved positively, but given the technological complexity of the issue, it will take some time to approve this decision."
Kuleba added that Ukraine needs fighter jets for two main purposes: to strengthen its air defenses so as to intercept and destroy air targets, and to provide air cover for defensive and offensive actions of ground forces.
Read also: Italy ready to donate five fighter jets to Ukraine, but doesn't want to be first media
Ukraine, in particular, has asked its allies to provide F-16 fighters a multirole warplane that could carry out a variety of tasks over the battlefield.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Ukrainian border guards repelled two assaults by Russian occupiers on the Bakhmut front on Tuesday, 21 February. The Russians lost about 20 people and retreated.
Source: Press service of the State Border Guard Service
Details: The State Border Guard Service reported that in the morning, Russians launched active infantry attacks on the Bakmut front.
Ukrainian fighters used aerial reconnaissance units to track the Russians' movements and target the occupiers with fire. Drone operators indicated the coordinates of the movement routes of Russian forces and the facilities occupied by them.
As a result, the tank crew of the Armed Forces destroyed a building where the occupiers were staying, killing at least five Russian soldiers. The border guards and mortar launchers fired on Russian forces ahead of the front edge of the defensive positions, killing about two dozen invaders.
Attempts to break through the defence lasted until noon, during which time the border guards repelled two assaults on their positions.
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Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, has said that Russias expected big offensive is already ongoing, but it is of very poor quality.
Source: Budanov in an interview with Forbes
Quote from the head of Defence Intelligence: "The big Russian offensive they are aiming for is already underway. But the way it's going on, not everyone can even see it, such is the quality of this offensive."
Details: Budanov noted that the occupiers have a "strategic task" to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by 31 March.
At the same time, he assured that these are only dreams, as the Russians will not be able to implement such a plan.
Background: On 21 February, Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, remarked that the Russian occupiers have had no success in the "big offensive" in the Eastern front of Ukraine.
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Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was not part of the Ukrainian delegation that met the US President in Kyiv, because the US delegation did not include General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Source: Andrii Melnyk, Deputy Foreign Minister, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda
Quote: "If Mr Milley was here together with President Biden, then it [the presence of Zaluzhnyi ed.] would probably be obvious. Because, usually, these delegations are formed taking into account who is coming. This is such a classic of diplomacy and protocol. Therefore, I would not make up things that did not really happen. Trust me, there are no pitfalls here. It was a very private format."
Background:
US President Joseph Biden arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit on Monday, 20 February, and announced a new package of military aid from the United States and additional sanctions against Russia for its aggression.
Due to such a visit, there was a discussion on social media about why Zaluzhnyi was not among the members of the Ukrainian delegation that met the American president. He himself did not comment on it.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Wagner's mercenary admits that he spent his whole life in prison
According to the border guards, 10 Russian invaders were killed during the failed enemy attack.
The Ukrainian military also captured a mercenary from Russias Wagner mercenary company.
In footage released by the border agency, the captured mercenary admitted that he had spent almost all of his adult life in prison. Wagner was earlier reported to have recruited up to 50,000 prisoners in Russian jails to make up for its losses on the battlefield.
Read also: Decision to defend Bakhmut strategically sound, says ISW
Bakhmut remains one of the hottest spots on the frontline. Russian invasion forces transferred numerous military units to attack there in an attempt to break through Ukrainian defensive lines and encircle the town.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Feb. 3 that Ukrainian defenders have no plans to withdraw from Bakhmut.
On Feb. 15, Zelenskyy said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are struggling in this area, but are holding on.
Read also: Ukrainian army to hold Bakhmut as long as it is reasonable, President Zelenskyy says
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Off duty police officers protest a proposed law that would civilianize the Civilian Complaints Review Board, in New York, on Sept. 16, 1992.
Rudy Giuliani greets off duty police officers from all over the city who were taking part in a rally sponsored by the Patrolman's Benevolent Association to protest a proposed law before the City Council that would civilianize the Civilian Complaints Review Board, Sept. 16, 1992. Credit - Keith MeyersThe New York Times/Redux
This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox.
Rudy Giuliani stood before the angry crowd, his voice strained but carrying clearly over the assembled throng. The audience was angry and aggrievedand many were also armed. Giving little heed to civility or comity, Giuliani knew what his crowd wanted, which was to overrun a building where officials were taking actions that the mob believed to be wrongheaded. Such a move would leave officials no choice but to cede their power and give the rioters what they wanted. It might be messy, but the crowd believed it could prevail.
Sounds familiar, right? Well, Giuliani has twice played a similar role in front of a violent mob: the most proximate was on Jan. 6, 2021, when he urged a crowd gathered between the White House and the Washington Monument to march to the Capitol to pressure Congress to keep Donald Trump in power despite and electoral loss; the other was back in 1992, when Giuliani stood on City Halls iconic steps with off-duty New York City police officers who thought the mayors plan to increase civilian oversight of the force would put those in uniform under too much scrutiny.
If you wanted to see an early version of Jan. 6, 2021, go look at the footage of the police riot of 1992, City Hall, New York City, former Mayor Bill de Blasio says in a new TIME Studios documentary about Giuliani.
Watching the four-part project, its clear that Giulianis worst instincts have long been evident. As TIMEs Brian Bennett writes, Giulianis record has plenty of predicates well before he emerged as former President Donald Trumps personal lawyer, chief enabler, and conspiracy spouter. But the event at NYCs City Hall in September of 1992detailed in the second episode, airing at 10 p.m. Sunday on MSNBCreveals a dangerous hype man for grievance in front of a crowd that can quickly turn violent, reveal its racism, and ignore the rule of law supposedly so central to its identity.
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A bit of history: In 1988, the infamous Willie Horton ad helped President George W. Bush defeat Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis in 40 states. A year later, Giuliani leaned into messages seen by his critics as racist and antisemitic during a run for New York City mayor, courtesy of a media strategy that involved future Fox News chief Roger Ailes as an adviser. The strategy didnt work in a race that would give New York its first Black mayor, David Dinkins. But Giuliani, a former prosecutor and now a failed candidate, remained as competitive as everand believed he still had found a winning strategy for a future race.
So Giuliani joined the off-duty police officers, who objected to Dinkins plan to make the Civilian Complaint Review Board independent of the police department and give non-police officials control. Thousands showed up to protest the proposal (which eventually would become reality). Speakers riled-up the officers, many of whom were drunk and hurling racial epithets at City Hall, where Dinkins was not working that day.
Among those drawing applause from a crowd that carried racist cartoon imagery of Dinkins, chanted that the citys first Black mayor was on crack, and suggested he would be better used as a washroom attendant? Giuliani. The reason the morale of the police department of the city of New York is so low, Giuliani says on video, is one reason, and one reason alone: David Dinkins!
By the time Sept. 16, 1992, ended, the police barricades would topple, the Brooklyn Bridge would briefly be blocked, and just 42 of the estimated 10,000 officers involved faced consequences.
The echoes are imprecise, to be sure, but its impossible to ignore the parallels with how Giuliani conducted himself on Jan. 6, 2021, at another public space central to a citys core. Giuliani was among those who fired up a crowd of Trump supporters at D.C.s Ellipse as a mob gathered less than two miles from the Capitol, which would then be breached for the first time since 1814.
He did a dress rehearsal [for Jan. 6, 2021] at the police riot against Dave Dinkins, says Al Sharpton, the MSNBC host and a civil rights leader who led many a march against Giuliani during his time as mayor.
Indeed, the rhetoric and indifference to the political process rang as loudly in 2021 as in 1992.
Over the next 10 days, we get to see the machines that are crooked, the ballots that are fraudulent, and if were wrong, we will be made fools of, but if were right, a lot of them will go to jail, Giuliani said on Jan. 6 before adding one of the most scrutinized statements of that day: So, lets have trial by combat.
Giuliani began his speech that day at 10:47 a.m. By 1 p.m., the first police lines fell at the Capitol. The complex would go into lockdown an hour later, and at 2:13 p.m. the Senate would be evacuated.
Despite his celebrated career as a prosecutor, the documentary argues that Giuliani over the last two decades hasnt given too much primacy to law and order. If it helps him achieve his political goals, count Giuliani in. Giuliani wanted to embarrass and damage Dinkins by any means necessary, so he joined a seemingly racist and furious mob of cops to berate City Hall. Almost thirty years later, he wanted to keep his pal in the White House so he fueled The Big Lie, helped organize a raft of failed lawsuits to overturn the legitimate election results, and called to keep Trump in power. (Giuliani has since testified in a number of venues about that day and its build-up, and faces a civil lawsuit for his role on Jan. 6.) For Giuliani, the rules were always fungible if they didnt serve his ends.
All of which brings back memories of when I sat with Giuliani in November of 2007 in a conference room at Saint Anselm Colleges Institute of Politics. Giulianis run for the White House seemed to be fizzling, and he faced fresh questions about his relationship with Bernie Kerik. Giulianis former police commissioner had pleaded guilty to state misdemeanor charges stemming from $165,000 in free renovations to his Bronx apartment from a construction firm with suspected mob ties. Kerik at the time was facing potential additional federal felony charges. (He would eventually plead guilty to tax evasion, bribery and lying-to-the-White House charges. Trump pardoned him.)
When we sat down together after a speech near Manchester, N.H., Giuliani was blunt when I asked him about Kerik. There were mistakes made with Bernie Kerik, Giuliani told me as aides furiously typed into their BlackBerries. But whats the ultimate result for the people of New York City? The ultimate result for the people of New York City was a 74% reduction in shootings, a 60% reduction in crime, a correction program that went from being one of the worst in the country to one that was on 60 Minutes as one of the best in the country, 90% reduction of violence in the jails.
He then summed up his approach to right-and-wrong versus results: Sure, there were issues, but if I have the same degree of success and failure as President of the United States, this country will be in great shape.
As was the case in 1992 and 2021 alike, the results mattered; the route to them, not so much.
When Truth Isnt Truth: The Rudy Giuliani Story is a new four-part series from TIME Studios and MSNBC Films. The series explores the former prosecutor and mayors rise to power, his fall from grace, and how little he changed in between. Watch episode two on Sunday, February 26th at 10 pm ET on MSNBC and streaming on Peacock TV.
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Kyiv Saw Multiple Missile Attacks By Russia
Firefighters work to put out a fire at CHP power station hit by Russian missile on October 10, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit - Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images UkraineGetty Images
There are many ways to measure the consequences of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began a year ago on Friday, Feb. 24, 2022. Most of them7,200 Ukrainian civilians killed, 8 million forced to flee abroad, a global hunger crisis driven by surging food pricespaint an unremittingly tragic picture, for both Ukraine and the world. For the climate though, its a little different.
Twelve months in, the wars decidedly mixed carbon impact is coming into view. Inside Ukraine, experts have tracked vast amounts of the greenhouse gasses that have been unleashed by Vladimir Putins path of destruction. Outside of Ukraine, though, the opposite has happened. To many analysts surprise, Putins decision to squeeze gas exports to Europe last summer has pushed the regions emissions down in recent months. It has also accelerated a global phase out of fossil fuels: just ask British oil major BP, which in January revised its pre-invasion estimates to predict a much sharper decline in demand for fossil fuels in 2035, citing countries post-war belief that renewables provide better energy security.
But lets look at the bad climate news first. Forest fires sparked by fighting, attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, the need to rebuild hundreds of thousands of blasted buildings, plus the millions of fossil-fueled journeys by soldiers, munitions, and refugees, adds up to a lot of extra carbon pollution. Russias targeting of Ukraines energy system, starting in October, has been particularly damaging: as oil depots and gas power plants have exploded, releasing carbon and methane into the air, Ukrainians have been forced to rely on dirtier fuels to keep warm. We saw a huge influx of inefficient [diesel-powered] generators in November and December, says Lennard de Klerk, a Dutch carbon accounting expert in Kyiv preparing a report on the wars greenhouse gas impact, due to be presented to the U.N. in June.
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Read more: Ukraine Wants Russia to Pay for the Wars Environmental Impact
De Klerk puts the first year of wars carbon footprint in the region of 155 million metric tons, roughly the annual emissions of the Netherlands. Some of that will have been offset by the fact that Ukranians likely didnt emit as much carbon as they normally do in a year (202 million metric tons in 2021): energy demand has fallen due to the shuttering of industries and the fact that 18% of the population was forced to flee to the safety of nearby countries. De Klerk, though, says much of that economic activity and residential energy use will simply have migrated to other European countries.
The betterif not exactly goodnews is that Europe slashed its emissions in the later part of 2022. Many climate advocates had feared that Russias suspension of natural gas exports to the E.U. would force the bloc to use more coal, which is twice as polluting. And some countries, including Germany and the U.K., did extend the life of coal plants that were due to be shut down. But the far more dominant trend was a fall in energy use. Europeans responded to dizzyingly high gas prices by turning down their gas-powered home heatingan option made more feasible by an unusually mild winteror closing down businesses that couldnt pay their energy bills. The E.U.s non-electricity natural gas consumption has fallen 17% year-over-year since the start of the warwhich translates to 117 metric tons of avoided carbon emissions, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Europes CO2 emissions overall would have been higher without the invasion and Putins attempts at an energy war.
Read more: Soviet-Era Centralized Heating Systems Were Ukraines Secret Weapon for Cutting Emissions. Now Theyre a Vulnerability
To be clear, Ukrainian lives ruined, businesses imploding, and Europeans unable to afford heating are no ones idea of a good way to cut carbon. But its hard to ignore the push towards cleaner, more efficient energy spurred by Putins actions over the last year. In 2022, as fossil fuel prices rose and European leaders sought to wean the region off Russian fossil fuels, the amount of solar capacity installed jumped a staggering 47% compared to 2021. Sales of heat pumps, an electric alternative to gas heating, jumped 37%; sales of electric vehicles rose 31%. Some of the more coordinated efforts to cut energy use will be helpful even if energy prices fall: for example, the rollout of apps to help people use electricity at low-demand times, or programs to better insulate homes to improve energy efficiency.
If such changes continue to accelerate, as Myllyvirta predicts they will in 2023, it wont only bring us closer to our climate goals. It will also bring us closer to a world in which leaders who depend on fossil fuels for their power lose their ability to wage pointless wars.
A version of this story also appears in the Climate is Everything newsletter. To sign up, click here.
A previously unpublished photograph of John F Kennedys motorcade snapped minutes before his assassination in Dallas in 1963 has been unearthed in a Texas second hand store.
George Rebeles made the extraordinary discovery inside a used Bachman Turner Overdrive compact disc case that he bought at the Souls Harbor Thrift Store in the city of Ferris, according to local news site WFAA.
Mr Rebeles told WFAA he opened the case about a month after making the purchase, and was stunned to see the black and white Polaroid photo with the date of 11-22-63 handwritten on the back.
How this could have ended up in a small town thrift store, fascinates me, Mr Rebeles told the ABC affiliate.
JFK historian Farris Rookstool told WFAA that the photo appeared to have been taken as the presidential motorcade left Love Field Airport.
According to the JFK Library, the president and wife Jackie Kennedy Onassis arrived at Love Field at 11.38am after taking a short flight from Fort Worth on the morning of 22 November 1963.
A photo taken on the day of John F Kennedys assassination in Dallas in 1963 has been unearthed in a Texas thrift store (WFAA)
The presidents limousine left the airport for the 10 mile ride into downtown Dallas, where he was shot at Dealey Plaza at around 12.30pm. The Warren Commission would later rule that Lee Harvey Oswald was solely responsible for JFKs murder.
However, questions and conspiracies have continued to swirl around the assassination, and investigators continue to push for the government to release all of its classified files.
The National Archives and Records Administration released more than 13,000 documents about the assassination in December,
Mr Rookstool told the news site that the photo would make a nice family heirloom, but was unlikely to be very valuable.
President Kennedys motorcade travelling through Dallas on 22 November 1963
Its new owner said he was yet to decide if he would try to sell the photograph, and that he was more interested in figuring out how it would up in a thrift store in Ferris.
Mr Rebeles told WFAA his discovery had added another perplexing chapter to the enduring mystery of JFKs death.
Im not a huge conspiracy nut or anything like that, but sometimes things dont quite add up, he said.
Meow Wolf
Santa-Fe based immersive experience pioneers and art collective Meow Wolf have a surprising fairy godfather of sorts: Game of Thrones creator and New Mexico resident George R.R. Martin, a key early investor in the project. Meow Wolf now has more outpostsincluding Las Vegas Omega Martand plans for more.
Rewinding a bit, in 2016 Martina patron of the Santa Fe arts scenehelped Meow Wolf co-founder Vince Kadlubek and his team open House of Eternal Return, an old bowling alley transformed into a permanent art installation where visitors can traverse fantastical realms created by local artists. They explained this vision of a Victorian house, unmoored in time and space with a haunted forest and a magical cave system, and portals to other worlds, Martin shared with NPR. And of course, it pushed all my buttons. I love that kind of stuff.
Read more
I first heard about Meow Wolf through a friend who visited in 2019 when it was more of a word-of-mouth cult phenomenon. Back then, people would talk about it carefully so as not to spoil the experience, saying things like it looks like a bowling alley on the outside, but is way bigger on the inside, and refusing to elaborate on what it was exactly, because they wanted you to go discover it for yourself.
Even now I dont want to entirely spoil whats inside or what it isother than its unlike anything youve ever experienced as an immersive art installation. Its not a parade of social media photo-ops calling itself a museum, for one. It has a core that guides you toward a visual and tactile journey of finding what you want within its sci-fi fantasy visions. It was well worth getting stuck in a snowstorm during a road trip one New Years Eve, when my husband and I spent too many hours inside.
Every location is transformative. In 2021 I visited Denver, Colorados Convergence Station; while it was totally different than the Santa Fe attraction, it still shared the heart of the journey I experienced there wandering through Blade Runner-esque side streets. A few months ago, io9 was invited to check out Omega Mart in Las Vegas, which also opened in 2021, where visitors can continue traveling through the multiverse crafted by the projects powerful artistic voices.
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Its an alternative vision of humanity healing and thriving, not through individualism but as a collective. Kati Murphy, Meow Wolfs communication representative, agreed. Meow Wolf is filling and connecting voids. Portal hopping has always been part of the Meow Wolf experience, starting with stepping through the refrigerator door in the House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe, she said. Once inside, the creations of dozens of artists will hopefully guide you towards your own perspective shift as well. The world needs transformative creativity more than ever, and our hope is that we can give a boost of inspiration to others through the works of the artists we build worlds and collaborate with.
Photo: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
Omega Mart is nestled in AREA 15 in Las Vegas, behind a grocery store-inspired front infused with an air of dystopia. But beneath the glossy veneer theres hidden encouragements and messages that lead you to paths within; they open up when you move through its warped vision of consumerism toward paths leading to higher consciousness. Its kind of subversive and genius to have right next to the neon-bedecked Strip, and serves as a clever counterpoint. Omega Mart representative Michael Duffield shared that some guests have bought tickets and almost not gone beyond the hidden portals.
Photo: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
Meow Wolfs current exhibits already push the boundaries of what art installations can be, and the group is now looking even further into the future. We want to take people beyond our physical experienceswhich is why this year, well be taking our first steps outside the walls of our exhibitions in cross-reality realms, bringing the creativity of our artists to you, regardless of your physical location in the multiverse, Murphy revealed, adding the portals will be expanding soon on the digital frontier as well as in new locations set to open this year. We are excited to be opening our next location in Grapevine, Texas this summer. The theme space is under tight wraps until its open, [but] I can tell you that Grapevine will be a revelation of Meow Wolfs ability to [tell stories] with characters that people will love.
Weve also introduced our collaborating artists, who are sneaking peeks on what is behind those construction barriersso there might be a few more hints out there, Murphy added. Were looking forward to the opening of Grapevine and excited for more news about Meow Wolf Houston, opening in 2024.
Here are some more looks at Meow Wolfs Omega Mart!
Omega Mart
Photo: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
Omega Mart
Photo: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
Omega Mart
Photo: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
Omega Mart
Photo: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
Omega Mart
Photo: Sabina Graves/Gizmodo
Keep up to date on all things Meow Wolf at its official website.
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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The US is providing Ukraine with long-range GPS-guided bombs that are capable of hitting targets 72 kilometres away.
Source: Bloomberg citing industry officials
Details: The Pentagon has not formally acknowledged that it is sending the modified version of Boeings Joint Direct Attack Munition, saying only it would send "precision aerial munitions" as part of a US$1.85 billion package announced on 21 December.
But two people familiar with the matter confirmed the weapon is the Extended-Range Jdam, known as the Jdam-ER. Those bombs are capable of hitting targets 72 kilometres (45 miles) away. Boeing is the producing company.
Boeing on 20 January received a US$40.5 million order from the US Air Force under an existing Jdam contract.
Background: The US Department of Defense announced the allocation of a US$460 million military aid package for Ukraine on 20 February.
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The University of Vermont Cancer Center has launched a cutting-edge treatment for certain blood cancers that uses the patient's own immune cells to track down and destroy cancer cells, the director of the cancer center said Wednesday.
Dr. Randall Holcombe said the treatment, known as CAR T-cell therapy, works by training T cells a type of white blood cell used by the immune system to kill viruses and other foreign bodies to recognize and attack cancer cells. The treatment is currently approved for lymphoma, some leukemias and multiple myeloma.
CAR T-cell therapy was developed at the University of Pennsylvania and was approved by the FDA in 2017. Depending on the cancer type, 50% to 80% of patients undergoing the treatment experience a "complete response," where no remaining cancer is detectable. These are typically patients who have exhausted other options for treatment.
The nursing team at the UVM Cancer Center prepares for the launch of the CAR T program at the UVM Medical Center.
"This therapy is groundbreaking, it has completely changed the lives of many patients," said Dr. James Gerson, who was recruited from the University of Pennsylvania to become director of the CAR T-cell program at the UVM Cancer Center. "Advanced cancer patients with no other treatment options ended up being cured."
Gerson worked directly with the team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania who created the therapy, led by Dr. Carl June, and was among the first clinicians to use the therapy in a commercial setting.
Gerson added that the majority of patients who are treated with CAR T-cell therapy remain in remission for many years, including the first patients treated more than 10 years ago in clinical trials. Blood cancers account for 10% of all cancer diagnosed in the United States every year, according to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
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Why treatment in Vermont and northern New York matters
Gerson said he was recruited last summer to head the UVM Cancer Center program, making it possible for patients in Vermont and upstate New York to receive the innovative treatment closer to home. Previously, the closest CAR T-cell program was at Dartmouth Medical Center. Gerson expects to begin treating patients before the end of the month.
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"Until now, CAR-T was not available in Vermont or northern New York," said Dr. Richard Page, dean of the UVM Larner College of Medicine. "Patients had to travel long distances, sometimes living in another city for a month or longer. This brings a level of care to a rural region that's typically associated with metro areas."
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Dr. James Gerson, assistant professor in the Larner College of Medicines School of Medicine, and the physician lead of the CAR T program. Gerson joined the University of Vermont from the University of Pennsylvania, where CAR T-cell therapy was discovered and developed. Gerson worked with the creators of the treatment and is one of the first physicians in the country to use CAR T in a clinical setting.
What does CAR T-cell therapy treatment cost
While the CAR T-cell therapy is administered just once, the process may require ongoing care over three to six months, with many patients living in the area where they're being treated for four weeks. The treatment typically costs around $400,000, but usually is adequately covered by insurance so patients don't have significant out-of-pocket expenses, according to Holcombe.
"Most expenses have to do with living expenses," Holcombe said.
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Holcombe pointed out that while the cost "may seem high," other types of cancer treatment that require being admitted to the hospital on numerous occasions often far exceed the cost of CAR T-cell therapy.
"It's not an expensive therapy when you look at it that way, if you can put people into remission," Holcombe said.
What is CAR T-cell therapy?
Gerson explained that the "engineering process" of extracting T-cells from the patient and genetically modifying them to recognize and bind to specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells leading to their destruction is what makes the therapy "very expensive."
"We remove blood, then the T-cells get extracted and the blood goes immediately back in (to the patient's body)," Gerson said. "When they leave the center they feel the same as when they came in."
A lab technician works on a research process to find new CAR T-cells and RNA in the laboratory of French biopharmaceutical company Cellectis in Paris on Sept. 23, 2021.
A patient's entire blood volume is removed and replaced multiple times through a continuous circuit, he said, resulting in the extraction of a couple of million cells.
"That sounds like a lot, but that's teeny tiny," Gerson added.
After the extracted cells are modified in a lab by adding a receptor gene called chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that can recognize a protein on the cancer cell, latch onto it and kill the cell, the modified cells are multiplied and given back to the patient.
"I tell patients this is a living therapy," Gerson said.
What are some of the side effects of CAR T-cell therapy
In some cases, there can be an "overexuberant reaction" to the modified cells, usually manifesting as a fever, according to Gerson.
"Patients are monitored closely," Gerson said. "Thankfully, the incidence (of a reaction) has dropped dramatically. At first, it was really a problem, but we have gotten very good at managing it."
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Will CAR T-cell therapy work on other cancers
There's ongoing research into applying CAR T-cell therapy to other types of cancer, including solid tumors, but for a variety of reasons not yet understood, the therapy doesn't work as well on non-blood cancers, according to Gerson.
"In oncology, we're never done," Gerson said. "We're always trying to push the needle and make things better."
Contact Dan DAmbrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: UVM Cancer Center expands treatment options; adds CAR T-cells therapy
Vanderbilt Universitys Peabody College of Education and Human Development is apologizing after students learned the school used ChatGPT to compose a campus email about this months mass shooting at Michigan State University.
Vanderbilts Feb. 16 email, signed by two administrators, urged faculty, students and staff to come together as a community to foster a safe and inclusive environment for all. It noted in small print at the bottom that the message was a paraphrase from OpenAIs Chat GPT AI language model.
There is a sick and twisted irony to making a computer write your message about community and togetherness because you cant be bothered to reflect on it yourself, Laith Kayat, a senior whose sister attends Michigan State, told the Vanderbilt Hustler. Three students were killed in the Feb. 13 Michigan State shooting and five were wounded. The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot.
The AI-assisted email was sent by the Vanderbilt Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, per The Tennessean. A day earlier, Vanderbilt Provost G.L. Black issued a sincere statement of his own, which starkly contrasted the ChatGPT emails antiseptic tone.
Nicole Joseph, a Peabody associate dean who co-signed the email, apologized and stepped aside from the equity, diversity and inclusion program as Vanderbilt investigates what led to the message, the Hustler reported. The student newspaper was the first to report on the email, which failed to list resources available to students struggling to deal with the campus mass shooting.
The Nashville, Tennessee school apologized and said it was investigating the email's creation.
The Nashville, Tennessee school apologized and said it was investigating the email's creation.
While we believe in the message and inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College, Joseph wrote in a statement.
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Camilla Benbow, the Peabody College dean, offered heartfelt apologies to all those who deserved better from us and did not receive it, according to ABC News.
I remain personally saddened by the loss of life and injuries at Michigan State, which I know have affected members of our own community, Benbow added. She lamented that her faculty missed the crucial need for personal connection and empathy during a time of tragedy.
ChatGPT has become an increasingly concerning artificial intelligence service available to all.
ChatGPT has become an increasingly concerning artificial intelligence service available to all.
Vanderbilt student Samuel Lu condemned school officials for failing to take the time to put their genuine thoughts and feelings into words.
In times of tragedies such as this, we need more, not less humanity, Lu told the school newspaper.
If you or someone you know needs help, dial 988 or call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also get support via text by visiting suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Officials at Vanderbilt are apologizing and investigating after a university office sent a message to students using artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.
Last week, the universitys Peabody College of Education and Human Developments office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion sent an email to faculty, students, and staff after the deadly shooting at Michigan State University.
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According to Camilla P. Benbow, the Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development for Vanderbilt Peabody, the email encouraged the community to come together to reaffirm our commitment to caring for one another in the wake of the shooting at Michigan State University.
It also included language that indicated it was a paraphrased version of a communication drafted using Open AIs ChatGPT, Benbow said in a statement.
The next day, Benbow said, the Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Nicole M. Joseph, sent a follow-up email apologizing for her offices error in judgment in using ChatGPT for an email intended to reflect on a tragedy.
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The development and distribution of the initial email did not follow Peabodys normal processes providing for multiple layers of review before being sent, Benbow said in her statement. The universitys administrators, including myself, were unaware of the email before it was sent.
Benbows office is launcing an review of what led to the email being sent. During this time, Joseph and Assistant Dean Hasina Mohyuddin will step back from their responsibilities with the EDI office.
As dean of the college, I remain personally saddened by the loss of life and injuries at Michigan State, which I know have affected members of our own community, she said in closing. I am also deeply trouble that a communication from my administration so missed the crucial need for personal connection and empathy during a time of tragedy. I intend that we shall redouble our efforts to express the values that animate our mission and lead to human flourishing. And I offer my heartfelt apologies to all those who deserved better from us and did not receive it.
Three students were killed and five more were injured in a shooting at Michigan State University in East Lansing earlier this month. The man police identified as the suspect took his own life when police confronted him afterward.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- A conservative firebrand is seeking to take Venezuela's political opposition in a radically different tack as she works to end two decades of socialist rule.
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Maria Corina Machado, a 55-year-old former lawmaker whose fathers steel company was seized by the late Hugo Chavez, has ridden a surge in popularity to lead a pack of candidates ahead of the Oct. 22 primary vote that will decide who gets to take on President Nicolas Maduro in next years elections. To get on the ballot, she needs to convince followers of a fractured coalition dominated by leftist parties that a right-winger who wants to privatize the oil industry is the best person to end the autocratic movement known as Chavismo and revive an economy battered by one of historys worst recessions.
Its a tough challenge, to say the least, but anti-Maduro forces clinging to hopes that international observers are able to oversee free and fair elections next year see the vote as the best opportunity to wrest back control of the country. A multi-year effort to depose the president and install the former head of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido, failed spectacularly despite the support of the US, UK and much of the global community.
There is an opportunity to transform the country, to attract huge investments that translate into employment, education, innovation and into quality of life for Venezuelans, Machado said. For that to happen we need a 180-degree shift from what there is today, because we have understood that socialism equals ruin.
Its quite a turnaround for a politician who called for a complete boycott of the last presidential election in 2018, saying there was no point in participating in the rigged system that spurred the US and other countries to impose economic sanctions. Once critical of any concession to opponents, she now approaches potential allies across the political spectrum, looking to unite around their shared goal of ousting Maduro.
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Machados efforts appear to be paying off as infighting among other leaders in the opposition intensifies. She was No. 1 among possible primary candidates with 25% support in a February poll from Datincorp, which also found her popularity had doubled over the past year. Other surveys show her similarly well positioned for the primary, and analysts say she stands a good chance of becoming Venezuelas first female president if the country can mount a free and fair general election.
The opposition is ripe for new leadership following Guaidos disastrous gambit to win power, according to Felix Seijas, the head of Caracas-based pollster Delphos.
The opposition as it existed is no longer, and that opens the door for her to capture support beyond her radical base, Seijas said. The ruling government is now the dominant adversary.
In some respects, Machado is reintroducing herself to the Venezuelan public after half a decade out of the limelight. She had previously been one of the most prominent figures in the opposition when she led anti-government street protests. She is often remembered for interrupting a speech by Chavez to Congress in 2012 to criticize the damage hed done to the Venezuelan economy.
Aguila no caza mosca, Chavez responded in a video shared widely on social media, declining to engage. That phrase roughly eagles dont chase flies in English became a rallying cry for Machado supporters in later years, especially for those who viewed the exchange as a powerful male politician dismissing a female counterpart as unworthy of debating. The regime took away her passport in 2014 amid allegations shed tried to foment a coup against Maduro, an accusation frequently used against his critics.
Machado says she favors privatizing all industries in Venezuela, including oil, which many Venezuelans view as part of their heritage and see as rightfully belonging to the state. But she says rearranging the economy is the best bet for reversing years of decline gross domestic product contracted 75% over the past 10 years as the national currency lost more than 90% of its value. Despite sitting atop the world's largest crude reserves, oil production fell to about 660,000 barrels a day at the end of last year, far from the 2.9 million barrels a decade ago, according to data compiled by OPEC.
Machado, who operated a non-profit group dedicated to electoral transparency before she joined congress, comes from a wealthy family, a point frequently seized upon by her detractors. Her fathers company, Sivensa, was the nations second-biggest steelmaker when Chavez ordered the expropriation of its subsidiaries in 2010, an experience that helped firm up her belief that the state should largely stay out of the economy.
It confirmed how destructive socialism and a government that seeks total control can be, Machado said. I also experienced firsthand, like thousands of Venezuelans, what its like to be robbed and looted by this regime.
Machados rivals among the opposition including Manuel Rosales, the Zulia state governor who registered almost twice her level of support in a Datanalisis poll from November tend to be more left wing in their ideology. She has also come in for harsh criticism for statements that seemed to support a US military intervention in Venezuela in 2019 and 2020, when President Donald Trump was making vague threats about all options being on the table when it came to deposing Maduro.
Now, Machados message resonates because its in opposition to the economic model, not the political model, said Daniel Varnagy, a political science professor at Simon Bolivar University in Caracas. She is the only one that advocates for the full restitution of private property and companies, as well as the elimination of controls in the economy.
For his part, Maduro has taken notice of Machados momentum, calling her a threat against stability in September.
Do we want a privatized country belonging to the oligarchies, or a country at peace that advances toward the guarantee of collective rights? he asked in a nationally televised address from the presidential palace.
Machado invokes her own familys experience when trying to make the case to voters that Venezuela needs a radical change. More than 7 million Venezuelans have left the country in recent years to seek a better life, and Machado points out that her own children have also fled the country albeit in much more privileged conditions that most of her countrymen stuck overseas.
People are tired of socialism. They dont want gifts, they want to be able to be productive and live with dignity, to own their destiny, Machado said. Today, one thing unifies us all, and thats to be reunited as families.
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Sheriffs deputies at Victorville City Hall on Tuesday arrested Councilwoman Blanca Gomez on suspicion of disturbing a council meeting.
Sheriffs deputies at Victorville City Hall on Tuesday arrested Councilwoman Blanca Gomez on suspicion of disturbing a council meeting.
Gomez, 44, was removed from council chambers and booked into the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, where she remained on Wednesday morning, San Bernardino County Sheriffs booking records show.
Sheriffs officials reported that Gomez was booked on suspicion of California Penal Code 403 disturbing a public meeting and PC 602.1(B) interfering with a lawful business.
Gomez is scheduled to appear on Thursday in Victorville Superior Court, according to booking records. It's unclear if prosecutors will file charges.
The council meeting
Online video of the council meeting shows Gomez approaching the podium during public comments to speak as a member of the public.
Mayor Debra Jones requested that when Gomez arrived at the podium, she would reveal what agendized or non-agendized item she would be discussing.
Holding papers in her right hand, Gomez began speaking to the audience before she pointed toward the dais and said, During closed session, which prompted Jones to interrupt and tell her that she may not talk about closed session matters.
Gomez told the mayor that she was allowed to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting, citing freedom of speech.
The mayor requested that the podium microphone be muted, which prompted Gomez to speak to the audience. Jones then called for a 5-minute recess.
When the recess ended, the mayor explained to the audience that revealing closed session items was a violation of the law and a matter of confidentiality, typically covered under law because lawyers are present and topics are about personnel or pending lawsuits.
Mayor Jones said Gomez would be allowed to speak, provided that she follows the rules of decorum. If not, she will be warned to bring herself to order.
Gomez then approached the podium, and told the council that she was not speaking about an item, but about how council members are co-conspiring against her.
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As Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Liz Becerra recorded Gomez with her mobile device, the councilwoman alleged that Becerra was recording to co-conspire against her with Victorville Sheriffs Station Capt. John Wickham.
You will follow the rules of decorum or you will be removed, Mayor Jones told Gomez, as the councilwoman cited the First Amendment, and her right to speak as a member of the public.
As the microphone was again muted, Jones warned Gomez before telling the audience that the councilwoman would be removed if she continued to disrupt the meeting.
The mayor had the microphone unmuted for Gomez to speak to the council, but the councilwoman continued to address the audience.
'She should definitely be removed'
Jones said Gomez would be removed as an audience member, before calling deputies to remove her from the council chambers.
As Gomez headed back to her seat, Jones asked City Attorney Andre De Bortnowsky if the councilwoman walking behind the dais changed the scenario.
She has disrupted the meeting and she continues to disrupt the meeting, she should definitely be removed, De Bortnowsky said.
Thank you. Deputies, remove Miss Gomez from the meeting please, Jones said. Until she agrees to follow the rules of decorum and the orders of the chair.
As Becerra stood and walked toward Gomez to continue recording, two deputies handcuffed the councilwoman and escorted her outside as she kept speaking to the audience.
Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies, Jones said. This is not the way business meetings of the council should proceed.
Jones said council meetings are not town hall meetings but are city council meetings held in public, so the public can have oversight.
She added that council meetings must follow policy, procedure and decorum and function and operate via the law.
The public comment portion of the meeting resumed shortly after the arrest.
Rap sheet
In August 2018, Gomez was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest and trespassing at Hesperia City Hall.
In January 2022, Gomez was charged with several misdemeanors stemming from two incidents in 2021, including one in which she was arrested during a city council meeting.
Gomez pleaded not guilty to three counts of obstructing or resisting a public officer, one count of disturbing a public meeting, one count of battery, and one count of conspiracy to commit a crime. She could face similar charges following Tuesday's arrest.
Gomez was arrested last year after a fracas erupted in Victorville City Hall in July.
The month before her July 20 arrest, Gomez live-streamed an encounter between San Bernardino County Sheriffs deputies and Rodriguez at a Panera Bread off Amargosa Road.
In the June 2 video, Rodriguez can be seen speaking with the officers inside the restaurant when they ask him to step outside. He doesnt appear to want to leave.
Sheriffs spokesperson Cindy Bachman said at the time that deputies were called by an employee who reported a male subject was causing a disturbance with other customers and vaping in the restaurant; he was asked to leave and refused.
Gomez can be seen swinging her camera around to a restaurant employee who immediately puts her hand up and tells Gomez not to videotape her.
In a complaint, the DAs Office charged Gomez with battery on a person who according to their LinkedIn profile works for the restaurant.
Later in the video, both Gomez and Rodriguez are told by a deputy not to come back to the Panera Bread per the managers request or be arrested.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Victorville Councilwoman Blanca Gomez arrested during council meeting
On the anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale military aggression against Ukraine, Pope Francis, at a meeting with pilgrims, once again called for a ceasefire and negotiations between the warring parties.
Source: Vatican news
Pope Francis Quote: "Dear brothers and sisters, the day after tomorrow, February 24, will be one year since the invasion of Ukraine [by Russia ed.], one year since the beginning of this absurd and cruel war; a sad anniversary.
The number of dead, wounded, refugees, internally displaced persons, destruction, the amount of economic and social damage speaks for itself. Can God forgive so many crimes and so much violence? He is the God of peace. Let's stay close to the martyred Ukrainian people, whose suffering continues, and ask: was everything possible done to stop the war?"
Details: Francis then appealed to "those in power in countries" to make concrete efforts to end the war, achieve a ceasefire and start peace talks. "The victory achieved on ruins will never be real," the Pope emphasised.
Earlier: On 6 February, Pope Francis announced that he was ready to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
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Military mobility continues on the Donetsk frontline in Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers fire US-made "M109" self-propelled howitzer on the frontline, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on February 17, 2023. US-made "M109" self-propelled howitzer is used in the Donetsk region, where the intense attacks took place as the Russia-Ukraine War continues almost for a year. Credit - Mustafa Ciftci-Anadolu Agency
Differences are growing within the Biden Administration over what kind of victory for Ukraine the United States should support. On the outcome of these discussions could depend not only the outcome of the war in Ukraine, but even conceivably the future of humanity.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has described a Ukrainian attempt to retake not just the Ukrainian territories seized by Russia over the past year, but Crimea (annexed by Russia in 2014) as a red line for Russia, that could lead Moscow to widen the war. The Washington Post has reported that U.S. officials have warned Kyiv that present levels of U.S. aid to Ukraine cannot be guaranteed, and that Ukrainian ambitions may have to be modified.
On the other hand, U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has recently identified herself with the Ukrainian government position that Ukraine must regain all its territory and will not compromise on this. Nuland declared that, [W]e will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. Ukraine is fighting for the return of all of its land within its international borders. We are supporting them, including in preparing a next hard push to regain their territoryCrimea must beat a minimum, at a minimumdemilitarized.
To judge by his latest speeches in Kyiv and Warsaw, President Biden himself appears not yet to have decided what the territorial goal of U.S. support to Ukraine should be. He has said that this must be a matter for the Ukrainians to decide, but has stopped short of endorsing their aim to recover Crimea.
The issue at stake here for Americans is whether this war should end in a peace that would leave Russia in de facto (if not de jure) possession of Crimea and the eastern Donbas (territory it seized in 2014) while returning (if Ukraine can recapture them) the land seized since the invasion began a year ago; or if America should give massive help to Ukraine indefinitely with a view to recapturing all the lost Ukrainian lands.
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Read More: Why the People of Ukraine Will Triumph
General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has stated that Russia has already lost in Ukraine, and a glance at the map and at the evident goals of the Russian invasion a year ago should make the truth of this clear. The Russian army failed to capture Kyiv and topple the Ukrainian government, and failed in three out of four of its other territorial objectives: to take the whole of the Donbas, Ukraines second city, Kharkiv, and the Ukrainian Black Sea coast. The only really significant goal that Russia has achieved is to conquer the land bridge between Russia and Crimea, and restore Crimeas water supply from the Dnieper River, previously blocked by Ukraine.
These Russian defeats mean that whatever happensshort of exceptionally unlikely outcomes like a complete end to Western aid and a total Russian victorythe great majority of Ukraine, including four out of its five main cities, will in the future be fully independent of Russia and closely aligned with the West. This cancels out not just Moscows aims of a year ago, but more than 300 years of Russian and Ukrainian history.
In the centuries since Russia seized Kyiv from Poland in the 1660s, and Peter the Great defeated the Swedes and their Ukrainian Cossack allies at Poltava in 1709, Ukraine was in one way or another subject to domination by Russia. Like the Scots in the British Empire, ambitious Ukrainians entered the Russian and Soviet bureaucracies and militaries, and Ukrainian writers and filmmakers worked in the medium of the Russian language.
Rule over Ukraine was critical to the Russian self-image as the leader of the east Slavic Orthodox peoples, and to Russias status as a first-rank power. As Zbigniew Brzezinski famously wrote, without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be a Eurasian empire. As a result of defeat in Ukraine, this has indeed happened; and given military and economic realities, it is very hard indeed to see how Russia can reverse it. At most, Russia can take additional limited amounts of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine and then only with a very heavy loss of men and equipment.
Given the extent of the victory that Ukraine and the West have already achieved, what are the arguments for aiming at total Russian defeat and Ukrainian reconquest of Crimea and the Donbas? For many Ukrainians, the issue is understandablyin part a question of honor and emotion. Given the suffering that Ukraine has experienced as a result of the invasion, they would like to see Russia completely defeated and humiliated. The desire to restore Ukraines territorial integrity is also a natural one. It should however be qualified in the case of Crimea and the Donbas both by the legally complex status of Crimea and Sevastopol, and by the extreme difficulty of reintegrating the Russian-speaking populations of these areas into a Ukraine that is increasingly defined by ethnic nationalismas Oleksiy Arestovych, a former chief advisor to President Zelensky, has warned.
The Ukrainian government and some U.S. hardliners have also put forward the argument that the complete defeat of Russia and loss of Crimea are necessary if Russia is to be prevented from regrouping and threatening Ukraine again six months or six years from now, as Nuland said.
This argument as it stands is deeply flawed. Russian capacity to attack Ukraine does not depend on its holding Crimea. If Russia survives as a state, it will retain a 1200-mile-long border with Ukraine. Nor could one defeat, however severe, destroy Russias underlying military capacity, which depends on the still significant Russian economy and population, and the states ability to motivate the population to fight.
And on that score, while many Russians might accommodate themselves to the loss of Ukraine (given the defeats and the appalling losses that Russia has experienced in this war), the loss of Crimea would create a permanent desire for territorial revanche, as soon as an opportunity for this seemed to appear.
Read More: Inside the Basement Where a Ukrainian Village Spent a Month in Captivity
For the great majority of Russians regard Crimea (which was part of the Russian Soviet Republic until it was transferred to Ukraine by Soviet decree in 1954) as a historic part of Russia. As Blinken has indicated, by far the greatest threat of extreme Russian escalation would stem from a Ukrainian move to take Crimea. At the moment most Crimeans still appear to want to be part of Russia, leading to the question of how Ukraine could rule Crimea in future, without repression or ethnic cleansing.
Given the risks of nuclear escalation, what would be the motives for U.S. support for the capture of Crimea? Firstly, the naval base of Sevastopol in Crimea is Russias only deep water port on the Black Sea. Its loss would largely destroy Russian ability to project power in the Mediterranean as well. This would be greatly welcomed by many U.S. strategists, even though the real beneficiaries might turn out to be Turkey and Islamist forces. Turkey would be left as the only major power in the Black Sea; and without Russian forces in Syria, Ankara and the Islamists would be in a much stronger position to take much of that country.
The second hope of U.S. hardliners and the Ukrainian government stems from the point made above, that the loss of Crimea would not in fact end the Russian threat to Ukraine. Rather, it seems, this goal seems related to the hope expressed in various Western circles that as a result of complete defeat in Ukraine, not only would the Putin regime be toppled, but the Russian Federation itself would be radically and permanently weakened or even disintegrate. Nor is this an altogether empty vision. As the examples of Iraq and Libya demonstrate, in multi-ethnic authoritarian states with weak civil institutions, regime and state can be so deeply intertwined that the destruction of one leads to the collapse of the other.
For the U.S. to aim at the crippling of a nuclear-armed state would be the most dangerous enterprise ever embarked on by a U.S. administration. When the Soviet Union broke up, it was for internal reasons, and the first Bush administration was careful not to be seen to be driving the process. For if the Russian elites see Crimea as an existential issue for Russia, then they will be willing to run existential risks to keep it. Is this a risk that Americans should take, when this is not an existential issue for America, and when Ukraine has already won a great and irreversible victory?
[Source]
A week after an unhinged man driving a U-Haul truck rammed through pedestrians in Brooklyn, city officials and community leaders organized a vigil on Monday night to honor and support victims and call attention to mental health.
One person died and eight others were injured in the Feb. 13 rampage, which ran through Bay Ridge Parkway and Fifth Avenue until police stopped the vehicle at Hamilton Avenue and Columbia Street. The man behind the wheel, identified as 62-year-old Weng Sor, is facing murder and attempted murder charges.
Council member Justin Brannan said the incident resulted in a lot of lives shattered forever.
"This may not have been a coordinated act of terrorism, but what happened a week ago, not too far from here, where were standing right now truly left a trail of terror through this neighborhood that is haunting a lot of people to this day," she said.
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Said trail started after Sor whose family claims to have mental health issues was pulled over by police at around 10:49 a.m. Instead of cooperating, he swerved onto nearby sidewalks, striking pedestrians and cyclists.
Yijie Ye, a single father of three, was the lone victim killed in the rampage.
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The 44-year-old delivery worker was riding his bike when it all happened.
His American dream was not supposed to end on this street corner, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes said. The American dream of his children was not supposed to end in a nightmare on this street corner.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Zacharia Salah Rakch, who sustained severe injuries, is out of a coma.
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However, his wife, Nadjet Tchenar, said that he has a long road to recovery and that their children are struggling.
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It has been very hard, especially for the kids. They keep asking, wheres dad? When will he come back home? That really hurt, she told reporters.
Sors son, Stephen, recently revealed his fathers history of mental illness.
More from NextShark: Elderly Asian woman stabbed in the back outside her home in NYC a day before her 71st birthday
He said about a week before the tragedy, his father who had been living in Las Vegas for years showed up in the middle of the night at his Brooklyn home.
Very frequently hell choose to skip out on his medications and do something like this, Stephen told AP News. This isnt the first time hes been arrested. Its not the first time hes gone to jail. I try to just distance, as long as he leaves us alone.
Mayor Eric Adams, who attended the vigil, called for additional mental health services.
This person was experiencing some real mental health issues that we must focus on and face to make sure our city is safe. And Im committed to doing so. It's not humane to allow people to exist in conditions that they are a danger to themselves and others, and we need to focus on that.
Sor is due back in court in three weeks.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a wealthy former biotech executive, jumped into the Republican presidential race Tuesday night, announcing his candidacy in a video released on Twitter and with an appearance on Fox News.
The 37-year-old Ramaswamy is running his longshot campaign as an "anti-woke" capitalist who opposes what he considers liberal "woke" indoctrination in corporate investment based on E.S.G., or environmental, societal and governance principles. Ramaswamy has written two books, including "Woke, Inc" a popular text in conservative circles due to its push to bring a culture war to the corporate world.
"We're in the middle of a national identity crisis. Faith, patriotism and hard work have disappeared," Ramaswamy said in his announcement video. "We hunger to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Yet we can't even answer the question of what it means to be an American."
Ramaswamy said that the "woke left" has "created a new culture of fear in our country that has completely replaced our culture of free speech in America."
Vivek Ramaswamy, chairman and founder of Montes Archimedes Acquisition Corp., speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, US, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. / Credit: Bloomberg
Ramaswamy had already made trips to early primary states, including Iowa, before he officially filed with the FEC on Tuesday.
The multimillionaire Ohio native has ties to Republican Senator J.D. Vance and billionaire Republican donor Peter Thiel. Ramaswamy, Vance and Thiel started the hedge fund Strive, which encourages investments that stay away from so-called "woke capitalism."
Ramaswamy is the latest Republican to formally announce a bid for the presidency in 2024. Other notable candidates include former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who also served as Trump's U.N. ambassador.
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Israel protests put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu over controversial judicial reform plan
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After deadly tornadoes ravage Mississippi, storm chaser describes what he saw in Rolling Fork
Flash
Wang Yi (L), a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee meets with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Moscow, Russia, February 21, 2023. [Photo/Chinese Foreign Ministry]
China and Russia agreed on Tuesday to continue to step up cooperation within multilateral frameworks and make more efforts to improve global governance.
The consensus was reached during a meeting in Moscow between Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, held talks with Patrushev as they respectively lead the mechanism of the Strategic Security Consultation between China and Russia.
The two sides discussed the current international strategic situation and expressed their willingness to jointly practice true multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateral bullying, and promote democracy in international relations and a multi-polar world.
Both parties believe that peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region should be firmly maintained and that the introduction of Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and ideological conflict should be opposed.
The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukrainian issue among others.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, on Feb. 22 criticized Russia's Defense Ministry for not providing his troops with enough ammunition.
On his Telegram channel, Prigozhin posted a photo of dozens of bodies that he claimed belonged to Wagner fighters killed on the previous day.
Along with the image, Prigozhin shared an audio interview in which he expressed his frustration towards the Defense Ministry for not providing his forces with adequate means to fight.
This statement comes as Wagner reportedly suffers heavy losses in the ongoing battles in Donetsk Oblast, particularly in the Bakhmut area.
The Kremlin-controlled mercenary group Wagner, along with the Russian regular forces, have been attempting to capture Bakhmut for months as Moscow tries to consolidate its grip over the entirety of Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, around half of which it currently controls.
According to Ukraine's Defense Ministry, Russian-backed militant groups active in eastern Ukraine are losing up to 80% of some assault units.
"It should have been five times less," Prigozhin said, referring to the death toll as he criticized the Russian Defense Ministry for ignoring his calls for more ammunition.
At the same time, Wagner's supporters left thousands of comments under a video of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's speech in Moscow on Feb. 21, asking him to provide Wagner with shells, BBC Russia reported.
Prigozhin has intensified his rivalry with the Russian Defense Ministry over the past month. According to the Institute for the Study of War, he is trying to establish his mercenary group as an independent elite force in his quest for power in Russia.
On Feb. 21, Prigozhin accused Russia's "chief of the General Staff and the defense minister" of withholding ammunition and supplies from his fighters to try to destroy Wagner, arguing that this was "treason."
Walmart employees will see a minimum starting wage of $14 per hour starting in March. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Home Depot is spending $1 billion to increase wages for hourly workers, the company said Tuesday.
Walmart similarly announced last month that it would raise its minimum wage to $14 per hour.
The moves come as retailers try to hoard workers so they are prepared when business picks up.
Walmart and Home Depot are ramping up spending in the battle for retail workers.
Home Depot announced Tuesday it will spend $1 billion to increase wages for hourly workers, bringing the company's starting wage to at least $15 an hour nationwide. The company also said it would pay commensurate raises to current employees.
The news follows a similar move by Walmart, which announced last month it would increase its minimum wage from to $14 per hour, up from $12, starting in March. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said that the average US associate would earn $17.50 hourly as a result of the wage floor hike.
Both Walmart and Home Depot said they hoped the raises would boost employee retention and recruitment.
The investments show how tight the labor market remains for retail workers, even amid warnings of a potential recession and a rush of layoff announcements among companies in tech, media, and other industries.
Retail workers are quitting at faster rates than the national average, and retail had the second most job openings of any industry as of December 2022.
"This $1 billion investment puts us favorably in the marketplace so we can recruit, retain, and attract the best leaders because they are the future for the company," said AnnMarie Campbell, Home Depot's executive vice president of US stores and international operations. Campbell said nearly 90% of Home Depot's leaders started on the sales floor and rose through the ranks.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillan who began his Walmart career unloading trucks said during his company's earnings call Tuesday: "We're constantly adjusting to put the right combination of wages, benefits, and education in place so that our people can build lifelong careers and achieve their full potential. You can start your career assembling bicycles and end up leading all of our US stores."
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Home Depot's decision to include raises for current workers could help it fend off the criticism that new hires might earn the same or more than an existing employee a payroll phenomenon known as "compression."
That's one of the concerns raised among the mixed reactions from Walmart employees, some of whom have told Insider they feel like the raises do not reward those who have stayed at the company for years. Others have said $14 isn't enough to cover living expenses.
"The cost of living is higher than this, and it still makes it near impossible to live alone with the ($14 per hour) pay," a Walmart employee from Kentucky previously told Insider.
With these steps, Walmart and Home Depot are the latest employers to join the list of retail companies practicing what economists call "labor hoarding," or hanging onto workers in spite of a potential downturn.
"Given how difficult it has been for companies to expand payrolls, there is a reluctance to let them go," KPMG senior economist Kenneth Kim previously told Insider.
Read the original article on Business Insider
In this episode of "Intelligence Matters," host Michael Morell speaks with State Department Counselor Derek Chollet about the state of the war in Ukraine as it enters its second year. Morell and Chollet discuss the implications of a deepening relationship between Russia and Iran as well as Russia and China, which the U.S. recently warned against providing material aid to Moscow. Chollet also provides new insights into the newly tense relationship between Washington and Beijing, following the shootdown of a Chinese surveillance balloon. He outlines the Biden administration's approach to managing Iran's nuclear ambitions after the earlier collapse of nuclear talks.
HighlightsU.S. path forward in Ukraine: "Now we've just got to stick to it, I think. And the basic lines of effort that were put in place a year ago remain, which is to punish and isolate Russia, make it harder for Russia to conduct this fight by choking off its resources and isolating it. By, second, to strengthen Ukraine and to ensure that Ukraine, as best we can, has the means at its disposal to defend itself and regain territory and put itself in a position where we can have a just and durable peace. And then third, to ensure that our commitments to NATO partners and the strength of the NATO alliance and this larger effort to support Ukraine remain strong. And so that's kind of the basic framework we have been operating under over the last year. And I think that's how we're going to continue into this next year."Is China providing lethal assistance to Russia? "Our assessment is they have not yet made that decision up to this point. But there are just increasing indications that this is something on their minds. And that's a concern to us. It's a concern to the Ukrainians. It's a concern to our European partners. It's one of the reasons why we want to talk about it, because this is not something that they're considering to do out in the open. And I think, you know, it would be a grave mistake for them to make and it would do nothing than further the hardship inside Ukraine. And I think it would frankly make life more difficult for China as well. And so it's important for us to talk about it."Diplomatic fallout of the surveillance balloon: "Having a surveillance balloon to collect intelligence fly over the United States territory, the continental United States, visible for all to see, for people to go out in their backyard and take a picture on their iPhones of a surveillance balloon, is not a responsible way to manage this relationship. And the reason why it was important for Secretary Blinken to have a chance to speak face to face with Wang Yi about this in Munich was to send that message clearly, but also at the same time make clear that we still believe that, given the charge that was given to the secretary by the president and by coming out of the meeting in Bali, that obviously there are things that are important to our relationship with China, that are important to global security that we need to talk about."
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Intelligence Matters / Derek Chollet
Producer: Olivia Gazis
Lightly edited for clarity
MICHAEL MORELL: Derek, welcome back to Intelligence Matters. It's great to have you on the show again.
DEREK CHOLLET: Great to be back with you, Michael.
MICHAEL MORELL: So, obviously, Derek, there's a ton to talk about. Lots going on in the world and we want to get to that. But we are called Intelligence Matters. And given that, I wanted to ask you about the intelligence you consume. Obviously, you do that. I, I assume you do that.
DEREK CHOLLET: I'm a loyal and voracious consumer.
MICHAEL MORELL: Excellent. And I wanted to ask you how you do that. Do you have a briefer who comes to see you every day? Do you just get a package and do you go through it? How do you consume it?
DEREK CHOLLET: It's a great question. And I'm sincere when I say I'm a vigorous consumer of intelligence. I get a briefing book every day that's on an iPad. And when you were back in your old job, that was a sort of state of the art, to put it on an iPad. And that's becoming a lot more common, which is really user-friendly and easy.
And then I also get it the old school way. I also get a hard copy of another binder that's done by the Intelligence and Research bureau here at the State Department, which is the State Department's arm in the intelligence community. And in the iPad, I get the PDB, the presidential daily brief. That is a version of what Secretary Blinken gets, my boss. And so obviously, it's important for those of us who work closest with him to kind of have a sense of everything that he's seeing or nearly everything that he's seeing, because, of course, I don't see everything he sees.
And then throughout the day, I'll get updates either on particular issues that I'm following. And so, you know, whether it's pegged to a trip that I'm going to be doing or an issue set that I'm working on intensively, I'll get an additional packet of intelligence based on that because, you know, typically when I'm involved in a particular negotiation, there's no amount of material that's too much. Which is a given.
And then I also have a human being that will come by usually twice a week. It's actually the same briefer that Secretary Blinken has and other senior officials here at the department. He'll swing by a couple of days a week and we'll go over any material that I might administer. It's also, again, as you know well, someone who lives this stuff to just get his or her perspective on pieces that he thought were particularly useful, interesting, or were getting a lot of attention within the IC, just to give you a little situational awareness.
MICHAEL MORELL: Also gives you an opportunity to ask questions.
DEREK CHOLLET: Ask tons of questions. You know, sometimes sort of the back story on particular pieces is really interesting and useful to know. Particularly ones that are saying something particularly provocative or, you know, analytically interesting, just kind of unpacking those a bit and understanding a little bit of how the sausage got made is really helpful.
MICHAEL MORELL: All right. Let's dive into the world here and let's start with the obvious issue, which is Russia, Ukraine. We're coming up on the one year anniversary. And my first question, Derek, is really an analytic one, not a policy one. Where do you think we stand at this point in the war, a year in, now from a strategic perspective.
DEREK CHOLLET: So I think stepping back and thinking about where we were a year ago and where we thought things were going and, you know, exactly a year ago today, we were three days out and pretty much within the zone of nearly any hour, we were thinking that the war would begin.
I think there was a widely held view that the war would be extremely tough for the Ukrainians, just given the numbers game. I mean, there was no question, I think, that the Ukrainians were going to fight like hell, but just that the superior firepower on the Russian side would prove overwhelming. And certainly that's what Vladimir Putin thought. And he thought by week one, he would be largely in control of Kyiv.
Well, of course, he totally failed at that. And so I think from a strategic point of view, a couple of things. I think in many ways, Russia's already faced a strategic defeat in terms of what it was trying to do in Ukraine, whether it's the slow decoupling we have seen between Russia and Europe when it comes to energy I mean, if you think about it, it's a project that was decades in the making to have the Soviet Union and Russia be Europe's chief energy supplier. And we see that being dismantled largely in the course of the last year or two.
The tremendous setbacks the Russian military has faced an estimated 200,000 Russian military personnel either killed or wounded in action. You've seen a flight, private sector companies from U.S. and Europe, you know, head for the exits in Russia.
Around 95% of Russia's ground forces are currently employed in some fashion in and around Ukraine.
NATO's stronger today. Its budgets are up. We're on the cusp of having Sweden and Finland join the alliance, which was not something that was on our to-do list at the beginning of last year. And I think Russia is increasingly isolated in the world.
And we'll see another demonstration of that this week in New York at the United Nations, when foreign ministers, including Secretary Blinken, will get together to talk about this
first year, the Ukraine war.
So, look, it's a tough fight. And Russia controls 20%, roughly, of Ukraine's territory. But Ukraine is is getting stronger. And I have been heartened to see the resilience and strength, first and foremost, of the Ukrainian people and their military, but also of the international coalition that has been put together to help support Ukraine.
And I think if you and I a year ago were talking and said that after the first year there'd be over nearly $30 billion in U.S. security assistance had been provided to Ukraine, and that's matched by nearly the same amount by the 50 some countries that are contributing one way or another to Ukraine's defense in addition to the United States, that we would have seen the resilience in the international community and that Europe would have, you know, basically helped engineer not only impose sanctions, but then engineer this largely cut off of Russia in terms of energy, I would have thought that would have been the kind of outer edge of what could have been accomplished.
So now we've just got to stick to it, I think. And the basic lines of effort that were put in place a year ago remain, which is to punish and isolate Russia, make it harder for Russia to conduct this fight by choking off its resources and isolating it. By, second, to strengthen Ukraine and to ensure that Ukraine, as best we can, has the means at its disposal to defend itself and regain territory and put itself in a position where we can have a just and durable peace.
And then third, to ensure that our commitments to NATO partners and the strength of the NATO alliance and this larger effort to support Ukraine remain strong. And so that's kind of the basic framework we have been operating under over the last year. And I think that's how we're going to continue into this next year.
MICHAEL MORELL: Great. Derek, I want to ask you three questions that many of my listeners asked me. The first is why is the outcome of this war so important to America? Now, I have an answer for that. And I believe that President Biden ran on a platform of a foreign policy for the middle class. And so give me the administration's answer to that question for, say, the people of Akron, Ohio, where I grew up. Why is this important to them?
DEREK CHOLLET: Well, look at what Russia's been doing. What it's trying to do violates the fundamental principle of international politics. And it goes to the heart of the United Nations charter, which is that states should have a right and must have a right to their sovereignty and independence and to be able to choose their own destiny. And then if Russia is allowed to succeed and be able to not just change a border by force, but to try to change a country by force, then no nation can be safe if this kind of aggression goes unchecked.
And that's why whatever peace that is possible, and of course, we fully, sincerely hope we can have peace and that this war ends soon, that that peace be just, that Russia is not
rewarded in any way for what it's been doing.
And by the way, it's not just gobbling up territory or trying to gobble up territory. It's also, as President Biden was clear this week in his speech in Poland, conducting crimes against humanity. We've seen this repeatedly over the course of the last year, the deliberate targeting of civilians, the attempt to take down Ukraine's energy grid, which is trying to basically terrorize the Ukrainian population.
I mean, this is the largest conflict Europe has seen since the Second World War. And the United States, along with our allies and partners in Europe and elsewhere around the world I think what's notable about this is we have Asian partners stepping up and contributing in some way to this effort to help defend Ukraine, as well as as partners elsewhere in the world that are doing their part. Not everyone's doing the same thing, but are doing their part to help Ukraine.
This is why it's so important. And I have to say, you know, Michael, I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and I have been struck as I've traveled around the country over the last year a bit to see how widespread the support for Ukraine is in the United States and just how you see Ukrainian flags pop up all around the country. It's not just something that's a Washington, D.C. thing, because I think everyone understands the kind of basic facts here that there really isn't a neutral position that is possible when it comes to war of aggression.
MICHAEL MORELL: You just can't take away somebody's territory. You just can't.
DEREK CHOLLET: And I think we have to be very clear to differentiate here who is the aggressor and who is the victim. This war could end tomorrow if Vladimir Putin decided to pull his troops out of Ukraine. If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. But the hard reality is, if Ukraine stops fighting, then Ukraine is. And that's the fundamental challenge we're dealing with here.
And I can say I sit in the State Department, I work for the secretary of state. We tried very hard to prevent this conflict from happening, to try to test whether there was some way that we could stop what was so obvious in terms of Russia's troop build-up when Vladimir Putin was trying to do up until a year ago. Unfortunately, that didn't work. And unfortunately, over the last year, we have seen nothing to suggest that Putin is interested in moving off his maximalist objectives, which are to completely subjugate, control Ukraine. And he gave a big speech here today, Tuesday, in Moscow, and he was an hour and a half long speech where he touched on a lot of issues, but again, repeated the same sort of lies about Ukraine, which just shows the fundamental misunderstanding he has about the Ukrainian people in that country.
MICHAEL MORELL: The second question people ask me is, what are the objectives of the United States? What do we want here? Is it the Russians totally out of Ukraine? Or is it just what the Ukrainians want? You know, if they are willing to go to the negotiating table,
we're with them. And when you're sitting in the Sit Room, what's the policy objective here?
DEREK CHOLLET: Well, again, fundamentally, it's allowing Ukraine, as it defines it, to regain its sovereignty and territory. We were kind of guided by several basic precepts here. First, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, and particularly a year ago, but still popping up now. And then in the discussion, there's, you know, we're told, "Why don't you just go talk to the Russians and cut a deal?" Right. This fight is not about us. Russia invaded Ukraine, so we're not going to decide for the Ukrainians what their future is.
And at the same time and these are the precepts we're guided by we can't be more Ukrainian than Ukrainians. We want to be less Ukrainian than Ukrainians. We want a Ukraine that is democratic, that is viable, that peace in which it engages and can be durable. So we're just not sort of, you know, dealing with the same set of issues ten years from now. Right. It's important.
And your wise listeners will remember that it was 2014 when we were dealing with the first incursion, Russian military incursion into Ukraine, which led to the illegal annexation of Crimea. So we just don't want to be back in the same situation ten years from now. So that's why peace needs to be both just in other words, Putin can't be rewarded for what he's doing and also needs to be durable. And that's got to be something that sticks.
But when it comes to the specifics of how a deal might come to fruition or what the contours may look like, that's not for us to decide. And President Zelenskyy has said himself repeatedly: Wars end by negotiation. Russia has shown no interest to have a legitimate, sincere negotiation in any way. In fact, Putin has said, look, "I'll happy to negotiate, Russia, as a precondition for any talks with the Ukrainians, they would have to accept that we now own the territory we have thus far taken, which is not not an indication of a particularly serious negotiation.
But so our view is that therefore, the best we can do is ensure that Ukraine is in the best possible position it can when the time comes to enter negotiation. And that means having a Ukraine that can defend itself and a Ukraine that has the ability to take back territory that Russia has tried to take away from it.
MICHAEL MORELL: And then the third question, Derek, is why does there seem to be sort of a no-yes dynamic to the decision making on weapons, just on on weapons systems? Right? One day we're a no on tanks, the next day we're sending them. Is it because the situation on the ground is changing? Is it because we have a coalition of allies that we need to hold together and therefore make decisions with that in mind? Is it because our assessment of the escalation risk is changing? You know, how should my listeners think about what we're seeing on that front?
DEREK CHOLLET: Well, I think it's all of the above. But also, based on Ukraine's needs and what they can use quickly. Here, again, if we were to step back a year ago from where the
conversation was prior to the invasion, when we were already beginning to ramp up our security assistance to Ukraine and then, of course, has just dialed up exponentially in the last year.
But a year ago it was all about getting them stingers, you know, shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, then to javelins, anti-tank missiles to then, you know, armored personnel vehicles, then sophisticated air defense like Patriots, and now tanks. So this has been a kind of a constant conversation. We've been having the Ukrainians, both in terms of their own needs and what they can use as well as also what's available.
One of the things we have done in addition to providing $30 billion of our own assistance to Ukraine, has been working with allies of partners all around the world to try to rustle up equipment that they can use quickly. So starting a year ago, it was all about Russian-made or Soviet-made systems that allies and partners had in their stockpiles that could get to the Ukrainians in short order, that they didn't need to get trained on. It was just a supply issue. Now, of course, we're talking about systems like M1 Abrams tanks that require training. So that's one consideration.
But also, just as the battlefield has changed, that's changed now. And I would say it's probably like the debate, the external debate creates a perception that it's a no-yes. But I would say it's more of an evolving conversation than we say no, and then it's yes. It's a kind of a constant kind of triaging of what's available, what they need, what the training pipeline looks like.
And also alliance management. And I think one of the things that I feel like has gone in a way that that that we're quite happy with thus far, although it takes constant work and tending to, is this establishment of such a robust coalition of countries. And I can't think of a precedent in the last 30 years other than what we did in the lead up, in the execution of the Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991, in terms of building such a broad based coalition of countries that are contributing to this, to this effort to help support Ukraine.
And obviously, countries are going to make different decisions based on their own needs, based on their own politics and their own assessments. It's not for us to decide what particular countries are doing, and we often are getting asked and try to get sort of dragged into the debates of other countries about what they're doing or not doing. Our position has been consistent, which is we think everyone should do as much as they possibly can, but it's not for us to make the judgment for them on what they're going to do. But of course, we're coordinating really closely with them.
MICHAEL MORELL: So those are the questions that my listeners ask me. Well, that's great. That was great.
Here's a question I want to ask you, which is about Western resolve. So, President Biden's State of the Union address. You know, very strong. I think the quote here is, "America will stand with you as long as it takes." The president was just in in Kyiv. He just gave a very
strong speech in Poland that you noted earlier. Vice President Harris just gave a very strong speech in Munich, calling out the Russians for war crimes. All of that shows American resolve.
But there's just this sense, right, in that at least outside of government that you read in the paper that there's some sort of timeline here. I think The Washington Post, I think, it was after the State of the Union, there was a senior administration official who was quoted as saying, you know, "There's a timeline here on on how much we can give and how long we can give."
So there's just a sense and I'm not saying that's right. I'm just saying that's what people are seeing. So there's just a sense that this can't go on forever. And I'm just wondering, from your perspective, is that right or is that wrong? Is there some sense that it's going to be tough to keep the coalition together for an extended period of time? Is there some sense that it's going to be tough to keep the American people behind this for an extended period of time? How do you think about that?
DEREK CHOLLET: Yeah, it's a great question. Look, I think first we don't take anything for granted. We realize and this is what we're doing here from the State Department, colleagues across the government, the White House and the president, from the president on down, are doing every day is ensuring that we are doing everything we can to keep this coalition strong and that that includes leading by example, by doing our part and in showing the world that we're stepping up in ways that's historic in terms of providing support for a country in which we are not a direct combatant in this conflict.
The closest analogy I can come up with historically is Lend-Lease, 1940s, prior to entry into World War II, just given the scale and the speed with which we provided such significant security assistance.
But the other thing I can say is that I feel like over the last year-plus now, the obituary of our common resolve here and the international coalition has been written multiple times and it's proven to be wrong. And I think many are surprised that Europe has stepped up in the ways that it has in terms of willingness to impose meaningful, serious sanctions which have done real harm to European economies.
Europe's made some quite bold decisions on energy, which I think very few people, I think certainly here in the United States expected Europe to be able to make, as well as on equipment. And one can debate about the timing of some of that. Did it happen too fast, too slow. But as you know these issues so well, it's not an insignificant thing that German tanks are on their way to Ukraine. The last time German tanks were in Ukraine was not a happy time in history
MICHAEL MORELL: Was the wrong side of history on that one.
DEREK CHOLLET: Exactly. And, you know, the psychology of that country for good reason
has a lot of, you know, there is a stigma to that. And they've made some brave political they, the Germans, I think, have made some brave political decisions to step up.
So this is a long way of saying, I think that whereas we don't take anything for granted, nor should we, because that's when you start to get into trouble, we could step back on this year and take gains in confidence about the sort of resilience and resolve that has been shown.
It's important to note as well, I think a huge amount of credit for that, if not most of the credit, needs to go to the Ukrainians because not just in the skill in which they have conducted themselves and President Zelenskyy has been a real historic figure along these lines, just the way that he has made the case for his own country since the beginning of this war by speaking to basically every major democratic parliament around the world, to an amazing visit here to Washington late last year, to triumphant visits to London and Brussels just a few weeks ago to hosting basically every world leader of consequence in the coalition in Kyiv. It's been remarkable.
But then also the skill of the Ukrainian people and the bravery and their courage that has inspired the world and it's inspired the public. So this is another reason why I think you're seeing such resilient support is it's not just leaders of democracies out there trying to make the case for why we should care about this, even though that's really important. And we'll still do that. I think, you know, common folks are watching TV or, you know, listening to podcasts or, you know, on the Internet and they see reports about what Russia is doing in Ukraine. And there's just a sense that this is not right and that it's right for us, therefore, to be stepping up to support them.
MICHAEL MORELL: Yeah.
DEREK CHOLLET; That said, this is a long war. It's been a year. It has been a tough fight. It will continue to be tough. We want it to be over. No one wants it to be over more than the Ukrainian people. So we are constantly thinking of ways that we can put the Ukrainians in a position that they can end this war in a way that will be just and durable.
But we also have to be realistic that, as I sit here today, in late February 2023, I don't see that around the corner. But nevertheless, we have to wake up every day and make that our goal.
MICHAEL MORELL: Okay, let's switch to China. Secretary Blinken just had what I thought was a terrific interview with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation. He talked about his recent meeting with his Chinese counterpart. And he said that he focused on two issues. One, the Chinese spy balloon. And the other I want to quote here this is the secretary talking "Information we have that they, meaning China, is considering providing lethal support to Russia."
I'll take the balloon second, I want to take that lethal support first. It's a huge deal that the
Chinese are thinking about it, and it would be a massive deal if they actually did it.
You know, I'm a little surprised by this, because my sense was that Xi, like President Biden, wanted to make some progress in the bilateral relationship. And so it seems odd from that perspective and it seems odd from the perspective that they had stayed away from this for a year. What's driving this on their part? What can we do to deter them? How do we think about that?
DEREK CHOLLET: So, look, again, I think it's important to take a step back. It was a year ago this month that Xi and Putin met before the Winter Olympics and released an epically long joint statement.
MICHAEL MORELL: Yes, I tried to read it, but
DEREK CHOLLET: I believe you,, as someone who's had a hand in writing other joint statements, I felt for whoever the poor souls drafted that thing. Anyway, so that famously called for a no limits partnership, right?
This week we saw Wang Yi, the senior foreign policy official in the Politburo, visit Moscow, where he talked about a rock solid relationship between Russia and China. And I got to say, just, you know, China has really picked the wrong horse here. And I think they're experiencing the impact in ways that are I'm mystified to think that they find this unexpected. But nevertheless, I think it is unexpected, that this is sort of sinking like a stone in Europe, right? Before Want went to Moscow, was in Munich, where he gave a very defiant speech before he saw Secretary Blinken. And, you know, in my view, they're completely misreading Europe and they still profess to want to have close ties to European partners. And it's just hard to see how they can square that ambition with their full square rhetorical support of Russia.
MICHAEL MORELL: And they'd do even more damage, right, if they go down the road of lethal support.
DEREK CHOLLET: No question. And look, our assessment is and your listeners know better than anyone who could possibly be listening that there's very little I can go into here. But our assessment is they have not yet made that decision up to this point. But there are just increasing indications that this is something on their minds. And that's a concern to us. It's a concern to the Ukrainians. It's a concern to our European partners. It's one of the reasons why we want to talk about it, because this is not something that they're considering to do out in the open.
And I think, you know, it would be a grave mistake for them to make and it would do nothing than further the hardship inside Ukraine. And I think it would frankly make life more difficult for for China as well. And so it's important for us to talk about it.
MICHAEL MORELL: And it would make it very difficult for the United States to move
forward in any kind of positive way with the Chinese.
DEREK CHOLLET: This is true. I mean, it would only add to what is already a challenging moment in our relationship, only more challenging, to state the obvious.
MICHAEL MORELL: Okay. Let's go to the balloon part of this. And I've been talking way too much about the balloon.
DEREK CHOLLET: I'm sure you have. And believe me, speaking of consuming intelligence, I will always remember the day when the briefer walked in my office and briefed me on the balloon. And I had to stop him. I said, "Wait, rewind here. Did I hear it? Did I hear you correctly? Is this we're talking about a balloon?"
MICHAEL MORELL: So the secretary also said to Margaret Brennan that he made it very clear to his Chinese counterpart that sending a surveillance balloon over the United States in violation of our sovereignty, in violation of international law was unacceptable. It must never happen again.
DEREK CHOLLET: Correct.
MICHAEL MORELL: Given my background and where I spent my career, I'm wondering if we're making too much politically of this. Countries spy on each other all the time. I always found that if one gets caught spying, the best approach is to keep the response to that in intelligence channels so as not to constrain the decision space of leaders. That's been kind of the history.
And it really seemed to me that both President Biden and President Xi wanted to make some progress in bilateral relations. And this balloon got in the way of that. And so I'm just wondering if responding in intelligence channels, you know, kicking out the senior Chinese intelligence official here in D.C., you know, would have made more sense than canceling the secretary's visit. Or was just or was that just not possible given how public this was?
DEREK CHOLLET: I think obviously it was the latter, meaning that it was the conditions for the secretary to have a productive visit to Beijing with the balloon traversing the United States was unsustainable.
MICHAEL MORELL: I was going to say hanging over him.
DEREK CHOLLET: Believe me, there are so many balloon jokes around here. It's like the jokes write themselves.
So that was just not possible. The secretary had prepared for this trip to China quite intensively, as intensively as is appropriate for any trip he had done as secretary of state. It would be the first secretary to visit China since, I believe, 2018.
And obviously, this planned trip was a direct outgrowth of President Biden's meeting with President Xi in Bali late last year, where they talked about the importance of putting guardrails on the relationship, establishing a floor on the relationship various metaphors to basically try to find a way that we can manage this competition.
And I can say, Michael, it's important, like we feel and Secretary Blinken often says that he feels the responsibility and the expectation that we, the United States, will manage this relationship responsibly. He hears that from allies and partners who, you know, are not in any way naive about the various challenges and indeed threats the PRC poses, but nevertheless wants to see this relationship managed.
MICHAEL MORELL: They have to live with the Chinese.
DEREK CHOLLET: Absolutely. And so that's what we want to see, a relationship that's managed responsibly. Having a surveillance balloon to collect intelligence fly over the United States territory, the continental United States, visible for all to see, for people to go out in their backyard and take a picture on their iPhones of a surveillance balloon, is not a responsible way to manage this relationship.
And the reason why it was important for Secretary Blinken to have a chance to speak face to face with Wang Yi about this in Munich was to send that message clearly, but also at the same time make clear that we still believe that, given the charge that was given to the secretary by the president and by coming out of the meeting in Bali, that obviously there are things that are important to our relationship with China, that are important to global security that we need to talk about. But there's a right time and place to do that. And given the situation with the balloon, that was obviously the correct judgment not to move forward with the trip. And we'll see what the future holds on that.
MICHAEL MORELL: But the plan is for him to go at some point.
DEREK CHOLLET: No, I mean, we're still sorting our way through kind of where we go from here. I mean, obviously, we're committed to maintaining the dialogue with the PRC on any number of issues. And our meeting in Munich was a good example where they had a very blunt and clear discussion about the balloon, but also talked about Ukraine and the concerns we had about China's position on Russia.
MICHAEL MORELL: So one last question, Derek, on China. You guys at the department just launched what you call your China House. What will the China House do and how do you think about that?
DEREK CHOLLET: Sure. And it's kind of analogous to what the CIA did, Mike, which you know well, on the Mission Centers on critical issues, where it's meant to be a kind of, to bring together the various parts of the department and literally have them co-located.
So let me again take a step back. When I re-entered the State Department two-plus years
ago, now, at the beginning in the Biden administration, I was struck from, since the last time I served here, that China was not just something that the East Asia Pacific Bureau dealt with. It touched every corner of the department, you know, from our oceans, environment and science to consular affairs to the regional people, to the arms control people.
And so there was a sense that we needed to be better organized, to have sort of a more of a single purpose of our mission here. And so this is a bureaucratic fix to to ensure that we're not stovepiped internally and that we're better coordinated. Organized.
And the debut of China House, operationally, was the preparations for the secretary's trip that we ended up having to postpone. But they did a terrific job kind of bringing together a whole of State Department effort in trying to enhance our policymaking towards the PRC because it is such a complex and consequential relationship. It was important for us to make this change. So we still have it's not to say it replaces any particular part of the department. It's just housing this work in one place so we can be more efficient and more effective in our policymaking.
MICHAEL MORELL: Got it. Derek, let's turn quickly to Iran. Not a lot of good news here.
DEREK CHOLLET: No.
MICHAEL MORELL: We have Iranian lethal assistance to the Russian war effort. We have Iranians purchasing sophisticated Russian fighter jets. We have the IAEA just saying Iran is now enriching uranium to 84%, which is obviously just below the level required for a nuclear weapon. We have the Israelis I don't know if this is true or not we have the Israelis just accusing the Iranians of attacking an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.
So I guess my my kind of big picture question here is what's our strategy for dealing with a country that seems perfectly prepared here to become more and more of an international pariah?
DEREK CHOLLET: Yeah.
MICHAEL MORELL: That's the way it seems it's going. Going down the North Korea road.
DEREK CHOLLET: And under increasing stress at home as well.
MICHAEL MORELL: Yes, exactly. Didn't even mention that.
DEREK CHOLLET: The significant sort of variable we've seen emerge just the last year.
I mean, look, Iranian behavior has only gotten worse over the last two years, but I would extend it out over the last 4 to 6 years.
MICHAEL MORELL: Yes, absolutely.
DEREK CHOLLET: Whether it's measured by the pace of their nuclear progress on the nuclear program, their support for terrorist proxies in the region, their proliferation of weapons in the region and beyond.
Now with Russia, Ukraine, whether it's their efforts to undermine regimes that are friendly to us in the region you know, threats, direct threats, these real attacks on U.S. personnel in the region every indicator has gotten worse over the last 4 to 6 years, I would say. And I think, unfortunately, there are no silver bullets here, as you know.
MICHAEL MORELL: Otherwise, they would have been used already.
DEREK CHOLLET: Exactly, long ago. But I think first it starts with our presence. And, you know, again, it's been said too often that the U.S. is pulling out of the Middle East or withdrawing or whatever, and none of that is true. President Biden's been very clear about that.
My colleague Brett McGurk at the White House gave a great speech that was building on President Biden's speech that he gave in Jeddah last summer. But Brett gave a speech before the Atlantic Council that kind of laid out our thinking on the Middle East generally, which Iran was front and center in that discussion, which I would commend to all of your listeners.
So it starts with our presence to ensure that we continue to maintain a robust military presence in the region to protect our interests.
Second, it's our partners in the region and ensuring that our partners, that our relationships with our partners are as resilient and strong as they can be. But then also by helping our partners relationship with one another. And that's a project in the Arab world that's been underway for quite some time. I was part of this when I was back at the Pentagon a decade ago in terms of building the kind of the muscle tissue of cooperation between our partners in the GCC with one another.
But the new factor, which is arguably the the most positive thing that's happened in the region in the last several years, is the relationship between Israel and U.S., an increasing number of its Arab neighbors. And that's something that back when you and I were working together, a government, we knew about the ties between Israel and some of our Gulf partners in particular. But it was all very quiet, very quiet stuff that I know neither of us would have talked about openly. Right now, it is in the open and it is in many cases thriving. And so although that's not driven primarily by Iran, it's that the strength of those relationships is an important answer to the Iran issue as well.
But at the same time, we've got to continue to afford to work with our partners on specific issues like the Iran nuclear program. And again, we are not where we wanted to be and the JCPOA is Secretary Austin, Defense Secretary Austin's put it, is kind of in the deep freeze right now.
But we have over the course of our efforts the last two years, I think built up a stronger consensus between us and our key European allies, who are key, key players in the Iran nuclear discussion. U.S. together with them against Iran. And Iran is clearly the outlier. Iran is clearly the the party that is not engaging constructively. And so that I think will help us in the sense of trying to gain leverage over them.
MICHAEL MORELL: Derek, we could talk about, you know, 25 more issues, but obviously, obviously, we've got more to surface here. You've got to go back to work. So thank you very much for taking the time. This has been a terrific conversation and we will do this again sometime.
DEREK CHOLLET: Always great to be with you. Thank you so much.
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JWST in outer space. James Webb telescope far galaxy explore. Sci-fi space collage. Astronomy science. Elemets of this image furnished by NASA
An artist's rendering of the James Webb Space Telescope at its spot in space 1 million miles from Earth. Credit - Getty Images/iStockphoto
It isnt easy to build a galaxy. The universe is a good 13.8 billion years old and the earliest galaxies ever detectedspotted by the James Webb Space telescope last Novemberdid not form until 350 million years after the Big Bang. Not only did that infant universe take its time bringing forth its first galactic masses, it also didnt build very big ones once it got around to it. The first galaxies were often dwarf galaxiescontaining perhaps 100 million starscompared to the size of modern galaxies like our Milky Way, which is believed to contain a minimum of 100 billion stars. Early galaxies, so the rule goes, were pipsqueaks.
Or at least thats what the rule used to be. According to a new paper published today in Nature, objects that are thought to be at least six galaxies dating back as far as 500 million years after the Big Bang have been discovered with populations of tens or even hundreds of billions of stars. The largest of the six is thought to have a collective mass one trillion times greater than our sunor 10 times the size of the Milky Way.
Its bananas, said Erica Nelson, an assistant professor of astrophysics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a co-author of the paper, in a statement that accompanied its release. You just dont expect the early universe to be able to organize itself that quickly. These galaxies should not have had time to form.
Read more: The James Webb Telescope Team: Innovator of the Year 2022
The observations, conducted by the Webb telescope last summer, were of a patch of sky near the Big Dipper that had previously been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble had detected nothing special in that region of space, but Hubble sees principally in the visible spectrum, while Webb operates in the infraredessentially bringing a completely fresh eye to an otherwise familiar piece of cosmic real estate.
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Straightaway, the new survey yielded something intriguing: popping out from the otherwise unremarkable background image were six blotches of light which, though fuzzy, were extremely bright and extremely red. It was the color that caught the astronomers eyes first. The universe is continually expanding and as objects move away from us, their wavelength of light is stretched into the red spectrum. The redder the color, the farther the object. These half dozen objects were so red they were calculated to be far enough away to have formed up to 13.3 billion years ago. Whats more, they were bigbig enough not to be point sources of light like a bright star or a supernova, but galactic in scale.
That initial estimate of size, however, could have been an illusion. As Albert Einstein first postulated, and as more than a century of observations have confirmed, light from a distant object in space can be bent by the gravity of foreground objects, causing it to appear larger than it isa phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. It was entirely possible that the seemingly galactic scale objects the authors of the new paper discovered were actually much smaller than they appeared and were simply being optically magnified. That idea, however, was quickly dismissed. Closer scrutiny of the entire image revealed no foreground bodies near enough to the six bright objects to have distorted their shape or size.
That left galaxies as the likeliest explanation for what the objects arethough even the researchers admit it will take follow-up observations to confirm that fact. Still, the possibility that they are indeed galaxies raises as many questions as it answers. For one thing, the galaxies would have to have been explosively prolific. The Milky Way is thought to give birth to perhaps two new stars every year. For the six galaxies detected in the new observations to have gotten as big as they did as fast as they did, theyd have had to be forming hundreds of new stars a year for hundreds of millions of years. For another thing, in the early days of the universe, heavier elements found in modern stars werent around: the principal elements that formed stars were hydrogen and helium, and that made for relatively small galaxies. If ones this big formed so early, it would mean that heavier matter was indeed more plentiful and present than scientists thought.
Read more: Scientists Learn More About the History of Stars in Latest Webb Telescope Images
If even one of these galaxies is real, Nelson said in a statement, it will push against the limits of our understanding of cosmology.
That if is a small word with big implications, and the area of the sky that is home to the new objects will surely be scoured by other observations. Currently, the Webb team receives about a thousand requests for telescope observing time per year from astronomers around the world and is able to approve only about 200 of the applications. Some of those studies are certain to include observations of the new bodies with the telescopes near-infrared spectrograph (NIRSPEC), which analyzes the temperature, mass, and chemical composition of target objects. If the six candidate galaxies are indeed actual galaxies, NIRSPEC should confirm that fact. In the process, it will completely transform our current understanding of how quickly large and mature galaxies could evolve and form.
Shamima Begum from Bethnal Green has lost her appeal to return to the UK. (Getty Images)
Shamima Begum has lost her appeal to be allowed to return to the UK, after leaving the country to join the Isis terror group in 2015.
Begum, from Bethnal Green, East London, was just 15 when she left the UK with two school friends and travelled to Syria. She was later stripped of her British citizenship in 2019.
The special immigration appeals commission (Siac) ruled on Wednesday that the citizenship decision taken by then-home secretary Sajid Javid was lawful, despite finding credible suspicion the schoolgirl may have been trafficked to Syria for sexual exploitation.
Her lawyers have suggested she will challenge the latest ruling. "In terms of the legal fight, that's nowhere near over," said Daniel Furner, speaking outside court following the decision.
Read more: Shamima Begum loses UK citizenship appeal (Evening Standard, 4-min read)
Read on for what happened in the Shamima Begum case...
Who did Shamima Begum travel with?
In August 2015, Begum and her two school friends Amira Abase, 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, left their homes in East London and travelled to Gatwick Airport, where they got on a flight to Turkey and later crossed into Syria.
"My mum walked me to the bus stop. I feel guilty for not giving her a better goodbye knowing I wouldn't see her again," Begum later told the BBC of her final day in London.
Begum and her friends were in contact with members of the Isis terror group online, and she later said they had been given advice on what to bring and excuses to use if they were caught attempting to get to Syria. "People used to say... pack nice clothes so you can dress nicely for your husband," she said.
After news of the teenagers' disappearance hit the headlines, a list of items they were intending to take on their journey was discovered, including money for taxi fare, socks and makeup. Begum said she took at least 30 mint Aero chocolate bars with her, as "you can find a lot of things in this country [Syria] but you cannot find mint chocolate".
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(L-R) Kadiza Sultana's Cousin Fahmida Aziz, Shamima Begum's sister Sahima Begum, Amira Abase's father Hussen Abase and Lawyer Tasnime Akunjee representing the families of the three schoolgirls missing in Syria. (House of Commons/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Information has since emerged that the trio were taken into the country by smuggler Mohammed Al Rasheed, who was sharing information about the self-proclaimed Isis caliphate and its followers with Canadian authorities in the hopes of securing asylum.
The Begum family's lawyer later commented: "Intelligence-gathering looks to have been prioritised over the lives of children."
Read more: Schoolgirls believed to have crossed into Syria (Sky News, 1-min read)
What happened to Shamima Begum's friends?
After the three girls crossed into Syria, Begum married to Isis fighter Yago Riedijk, a Dutch Muslim convert who was 21 when he met and wed the schoolgirl just 10 days after she arrived in Raqqa, Syria.
Amira Abase stayed in contact with her own family after leaving the UK, sending her mother messages on social media a number of times before the messages stopped, the Evening Standard reported. Abase married 18-year-old Australian Abdullah Elmir soon after arriving in Raqqa, however he was killed shortly after the pair met.
While Begum previously shared hopes that her friend was alive, Abase's mother told the media she believes her daughter has been killed.
Sultana was also married shortly after reaching Raqqa, to an American Isis fighter. She made a number of phone calls to her family after leaving the UK and said she was living as a housewife, despite intelligence sources suggesting she was involved in making suicide vests.
Sultana was reportedly killed in a Russian airstrike in 2016.
"Her house was bombed. Underground, there was secret stuff going on and a spy had figured out that something was going on and other people got killed as well," Begum said of her friend's death in an interview with The Times.
"At first I was in denial. I thought if we died we'd die together."
What happened to Shamima Begum's husband and children?
Riedijk, who met Begum for 10 minutes before the pair married, travelled to Syria from his home in Holland when he was 21 to fight for Isis.
On agreeing to marrying Begum, he told documentary 'The Shamima Begum story' that the pair discussed conditions before agreeing to the match.
"Basically she asked for some freedoms, which I agreed to give her - going shopping, seeing her friends, very, very basic stuff," he said. "We agreed on a dowry - all she asked for was an English translation of the Qur'an, which I agreed to."
He also commented that Begum had been "an empty paper" when they met, and said he had learned "how marriage worked" in the Islamic State: "Respecting of the husband, trying to please the husband and obedience".
Kadiza Sultana, left, Shamima Begum, centre and and Amira Abase going through security at Gatwick airport, before they caught their flight to Turkey. (Metropolitan Police via AP, file)
Yago Riedijk, speaking to Sky News in 2019. (Sky News)
Riedijk was arrested shortly after marrying Begum, accused by Isis of being a spy, and claims to have distanced himself from the terror group after his release - mainly socialising with civilians in Raqqa.
Begum suffered two miscarriages before having her first child with Riedijk, who told The Daily Mail the pair had some happy times together as a family.
"We started baking cakes, selling cakes on the market in order to make money to survive," he said. "She was basically with the kids, we had a second child, my son Jarrah. There were some nice days with the wife and kids at home. Some beautiful memories."
However, Begum later said that while Riedijk was initially nice, he later became "abusive". She told the Mail: "For the first eight months [in the caliphate] I was waiting at home for my husband who was in prison suspected of spying.
Shamima Begum pictured outside the tent she was living in with her newborn son. The baby later died, as well as Begum's two older children. (Getty Images)
"After that I was constantly making babies."
Riedijk and Begum were separated as they fled Baghouz amid the fall of Isis, with Riedijk captured by Kurdish forces and jailed in Syria. He has been convicted in a Netherlands court over his membership of Isis and will also be jailed there if he is ever allowed to return.
The couple's first two children died from malnutrition and disease, and Begum later lost her third child who died in a refugee camp in 2019 amid her appeal to return home to the UK
What happens to Shamima Begum now?
After losing her latest appeal on Wednesday, Begum's lawyers suggested there were numerous ways forward and said the case was "nowhere near over".
Speaking outside court following the ruling, her legal team said: "Every possible avenue to challenge this decision will be urgently pursued."
Lawyer Gareth Peirce called the decision an extraordinary judgment delivered in an extraordinary way.
Now 23, Begum is living in al Roj camp in northern Syria, which she has previously described as worse than a prison.
"Im just so much more than Isis and Im so much more than everything Ive been through," she added.
Following the ruling, a Home Office spokesperson said: We are pleased that the court has found in favour of the Governments position in this case.
The Governments priority remains maintaining the safety and security of the UK and we will robustly defend any decision made in doing so.
Phase 5 of the MCU has kicked off with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
Kang, played by Jonathan Majors, is the Multiverse Saga's answer to Thanos
The fan favourite character has been a big part of the comics for decades
But what threat does he pose to Earth, the Avengers, and the multiverse?
Jonathan Majors' Kang was introduced to the MCU in Loki as He Who Remains, but this was just the beginning. (Marvel Studios)
Introducing the Conqueror
Although Majors appeared as a Kang variant in Loki Season 1, Quantumania sows the seeds for the next two Avengers movies and introduces the villainous Council of Cross-Time Kangs.
The origin of Kang the Conqueror is a typically complicated one for a time-travelling supervillain. He first appeared on the pages of Marvel Comics in 1963s Fantastic Four #19.
Read more: Ant-Man 3's post-credit scenes explained
Here, he faced off against Marvels First Family under the alias of Pharoah Rama-Tut: a futuristic scholar who travelled from the 31st Century to conquer Egypt. He later emerged as Kang in 1964's The Avengers #8.
Kang is really called Nathaniel Richards and is a possible descendant of Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic. Rama-Tut was forced into the 20th Century by the Fantastic Four, and by using Doctor Doom's armour, created a persona called the Scarlet Centurion in 1968's The Avengers Annual #2.
Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Comics (Marvel)
If you're keeping up, the character of Immortus was retroactively established as Kang's future self in 1975's Giant-Size Avengers #3.
Richards' younger self is part of the Young Avengers as Iron Lad, there's a version that works for the Time Variance Authority as Chronomonitor #616, and there's Victor Timely: a Kang variant who gives up on conquering the 21st Century and places himself in 1901 as the mayor of his own town.
Several of the above appear in Quantumania, and before Ant-Man 3 set up Majors as Timely for Loki season 2, the first post-credit scene introduced a plethora of Kang variants known as the Council of Cross-Time Kangs.
Who are the Council of Cross-Time Kangs?
Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror. (Marvel Studios)
Quantumania's first post-credit scene replecated the iconic Council of Cross-Time Kangs panel from 1988s Avengers #292. The big three of Rama-Tut, Immortus, and (we assume) Scarlet Centurion are leading the others, saying that "they" have started to "touch the Multiverse" and threaten to take it away. This is seemingly a nod toward our Earth-616 Avengers lineup, but remember, Quantumania's Kang claimed to have killed plenty of Earth's Mightiest Heroes over the years.
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We met He Who Remains (also played by Majors) appeared in the Loki Season 1 finale, with this Kang at the end of time saying he won the Multiversal War to become the "Prime Kang" and wrangle the Sacred Timeline.
Read more: The biggest talking points from the Loki finale
By killing He Who Remains, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) inadvertently triggered the Multiverse and allowed the other Kangs to mobilise. It's this infinite number of variants who have now formed the Council of Cross-Time Kangs.
Most thought the Kang of Quantumania would be the Prime Kang, however, his apparent death in the Quantum Realm cast doubt over this. The bearded Immortus looks like the de facto lead because he summoned the Council of Cross-Time Kangs.
As this version of Kang is the oldest and the one all others are destined to become, it makes sense hes in charge here. How many Kangs will make it through to the Avengers ensemble of 2025's The Kang Dynasty remains to be seen.
When will Kang return to the MCU?
Title treatment for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. (Marvel Studios)
It's unclear when we'll next see Kang after Quantumania, but following a reveal that his likeness had taken over the TVA in the Loki finale and the Timely tease Loki Season 2 looks like a solid bet. Beyond that, the space-based adventures of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Secret Invasion's Skrull-based conflict seemingly counts him out. Then again, the Skrull Kang we see in Quantumania's colosseum is a potential link.
Speaking to EW, MCU overlord Kevin Feige warned that not every Phase 5 outing will be tied to Kang, telling fans: "Not every film in the Infinity Saga focused on the Infinity Stones or Thanos, and it'll be the same across 5 and 6.
"But we're gearing up. People will get a taste of this in a big way in Quantumania as we lead to Avengers: Secret Wars, which I'm extremely excited for."
Read more: What is the multiverse?
Lets remember Thanos was first teased via an uncredited cameo appearance in 2012's The Avengers and became a looming presence until Infinity War in 2018. Even though things are being streamlined so Kang can become the big bad of The Kang Dynasty in just two years' time, we're expecting some cameos.
Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. (Marvel Studios)
Just like Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) made a surprise appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Kang variants could be peppered throughout any of the upcoming movies and shows.
Majors has hyped the future of Kang and his variants, telling Digital Spy how he'll have similar importance to Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) as a Nexus being who can traverse the Multiverse. As for wrapping up Kang's story, Major's added, "Who is Kang? I think that is a question that we will all be answering for a very long time."
Read more: The best Ant-Man 3 Easter eggs
Despite Disney holding back on announcing any cast members for the next two Avengers movies, The Kang Dynasty looks like a certainty for Majors.
2026's Secret Wars isn't locked in, however, we imagine it'll be similar to Thanos' two-movie arc for Infinity War/Endgame. Kang and his variants may be ruling the roost for now, but with other goliaths like Mephisto, Galactus, and Doctor Doom presumably waiting in the wings, were sure there will be a new Kang as soon as there was a new Thanos.
Ant-Man and The Wasp is in cinemas now. Watch a Kang featurette below.
The two murals at Vermont Law and Graduate School show the brutality of enslavement through images of a slave market, an enslaver brandishing a whip and a dog attacking someone.
A Black administrator is trying to have slavery-related murals at Vermont Law and Graduate School removed, but the white artist who painted them isnt letting them go down without a legal battle.
Shirley Jefferson, 69, used to advise students to concentrate on their studies when they expressed concerns about the murals depictions of Black people, which some found to be racist caricatures. But her feelings changed after one particular event in May 2020, according to The New York Times.
Jefferson, born in segregated Selma, Alabama in 1953, graduated from Vermont Law in 1986 and returned to work at the South Royalton-located campus in admissions and alumni affairs.
A Black administrator wants two murals depicting slavery, painted by by Sam Kerson, a white artist, removed from the student center at Vermont Law and Graduate School. (Photo: Courtesy of Sam Kerson)
When George Floyd was killed, all of a sudden I said to myself, That mural has got to go,' said Jefferson, now a vice president and associate professor, according to The Times. I called the dean, and he said OK.
Sam Kerson, who is white, painted the murals 30 years ago as a statement against enslavement and is actively fighting against the plan to erase his work.
Kerson sued to prevent Vermont Law and Graduate School from permanently covering the murals after his attempt to reclaim them was unsuccessful since the paintings could not be removed without destruction. He cited a federal law that shields artists from certain types of modification of their work.
In his opinion, preserving the artworks is crucial because enslavement still exists worldwide.
Its a major work, its my life, and its important that it be there, said Kerson, 76, The Times reported. Its historically important in what it says about Black people rising up to resist, and its important as a record of what we said in 1993.
As the lawsuit moves through the judicial process, white panels obscure the murals from view.
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Shielded from view, the murals arent a major priority for current students as they were years ago. But some fault the schools administrators for allowing them to be painted at all and others blast Kerson for resisting campus officials efforts in court.
If someone is saying to you, How youre depicting me is racist, for you to live in your own ignorance, and further aggravate the situation, said second-year student Yanni DeCastro, The Times reported, now youre showing us who you are.
The two murals, each 24 feet long, show the brutality of enslavement through images of a slave market, an enslaver brandishing a whip and a dog attacking someone. Additionally, they depict white Vermonters opposing enslavement and assisting fugitives on the Underground Railroad.
Kerson said he sought a location with the appropriate set of walls and a mission supporting his theme after imagining a pair of murals describing the horrors of slavery and honoring Vermonts abolitionist history. He claimed that the small, forward-thinking law school seemed ideal, and in the early 1990s, administrators welcomed the project to the second level of its student center.
Some students quickly began to feel uneasy around the paintings. Jefferson first heard from students troubled by the murals style and content shortly after she started working there in 1999. The paintings removal was discussed in 2013 and again in 2014 after plaques were added to clarify the subject matter.
The discomfort is validation to the artist.
Of course the images are disturbing, Kerson wrote after the district courts ruling in 2021 affirmed plans to cover his work, according to The Times. These images represent human suffering, and if you do not find them disturbing, you are not looking at them.
The case, which had been moving through the courts for two years, was finally heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York on Jan. 27.
It hinges on a clause in federal law that states that artists can ask to have their work modified without their honor or reputation being damaged. According to the law school, covering the murals even indefinitely is not a modification if it leaves no trace.
While The Times called the law obscure, Kersons attorney Richard Rubin said the Visual Artists Rights Act, or VARA, is anything but that. In a comment from Rubin published in The Times articles replies thread, he called it a significant journalistic lapse that its author limited her article mainly to politics and race.
It reflects our countrys appreciation of the importance and value of art and artists as part of our culture and is part of our identity as a country, Rubin opined. The act protects art of recognized artists only during their lifetime from destruction and modification. It allows for institutions like the law school to get a waiver of its protections from the artist before agreeing to install a mural, which VLS failed to do.
While waiting for the result of the appeal, the temporary white panels remain in place to protect the murals from damage. The final option for either party to continue the case after the appeals courts decision is to submit a petition for the Supreme Court to review.
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The post A white artist painted murals at a college depicting slavery. A Black administrator wants them removed. appeared first on TheGrio.
WASHINGTON The White House is firing back at Republicans following the toxic East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, blaming the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress for undoing Obama-era rail safety measures designed to avert such disasters.
The aggressive rebuttal came as former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine on Wednesday and Republicans increasingly attack the Biden administration, especially Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, for its response to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that unleased toxic chemicals.
Congressional Republicans and former Trump Administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement to USA TODAY.
More: Just how dangerous is the Ohio derailment disaster? Why it's confusing.
Among safety rollbacks cited by the White House, the Trump administration withdrew a 2015 proposal to require advanced braking systems on trains carrying highly flammable materials, ended regular safety audits of railroads and scrapped a proposal to require at least two crew members on freight trains.
Jennifer Homendy, who chairs the National Transportation Safety Board, said the brake rule would not have prevented the East Palestine derailment because it was proposed for "high-hazard flammable" trains carrying 20 or more loaded tank cars. The train that derailed did not meet that threshold.
The White House also resurfaced a 2021 letter to the Federal Railroad Administration signed by 20 Republican senators in support of waivers backed by the rail lobby to allow automated inspections of track safety instead of human inspections.
More: A look at some of the transportation safety rules sidelined under President Trump
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In this photo taken on February 04, 2023 smoke rises from a derailed cargo train in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 4, 2023. - The US government ordered the Norfolk Southern railroad company on Feb. 21, 2023 to pay the entire cost of the cleanup of a toxic train derailment in the midwestern state of Ohio.
On the environmental front, House Republicans last year proposed substantial cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, including the elimination of its Surface Water Protection Program.
Republicans have accused President Joe Biden of ignoring East Palestine, which Trump carried by 40 percentage points in the 2020 election, decrying how the president visited Ukraine and Poland this week instead of Ohio. Their attacks come as Democratic support among working-class voters in Rust Belt states like Ohio has been on the decline for over a decade.
Trains are becoming less safe: Why the Ohio derailment disaster could happen more often
Bates said congressional Republicans laid the groundwork for the Trump administration to "tear up requirements" for more effective train breaks and accused House Republicans of wanting to defund our ability to protect drinking water.
There is only one way they can prove that they are finally disowning their long history of giveaways to rail industry management at the expense of communities like East Palestine: work across the aisle with us to put Obama-Biden protections back in place and go further, including with higher fines for rail pollution and properly equipping the EPA.
More: Trains are becoming less safe. Why the Ohio derailment disaster could happen more often
Buttigieg plans to visit East Palestine on Thursday
Nearly three weeks since the incident near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, East Palestine residents are still reeling with uncertainty as state and federal officials pledge to address their health concerns.
While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Transportation Safety Board continue to investigate the derailment, residents of East Palestine have complained about headaches and skin rashes and raised environmental fears and potential long-term effects.
Federal agencies maintain that the air and water are safe despite the release of vinyl chloride that was meant to prevent a major explosion from the train's wreckage. According to health experts, the toxic spill and explosions and fire that followed warrant careful monitoring of environmental contamination and exposure to the people who live there. But the chemicals involved, which largely evaporate or break down within days, mean acute problems are unlikely.
More: As Biden prepares 2024 reelection run, Democrats worry blue-collar voters are slipping away
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg plans to make his first trip to East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday.
Buttigieg plans to visit East Palestine on Thursday, making his first trip there since the derailment, to meet with community members and receive an update on the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The board's initial findings are expected Thursday.
The visit coincides with the EPA moving out of the "emergency response phase" and transitioning to a long-term remediation phase.
Biden, while visiting Poland, said Wednesday he called federal and state officials, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, about ongoing response efforts in East Palestine. "I reaffirmed my commitment to making sure they have everything they need," Biden said in a tweet.
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @Joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Toxic Ohio chemical spill was Trump admin, GOP's fault: White House
Flash
Iraq on Tuesday signed deals with two Chinese companies and a United Arab Emirates (UAE) firm to develop six oil and gas fields as part of its efforts to increase the production of much-needed natural gas for power plants.
During the signing ceremony at the Iraqi Ministry of Oil in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani congratulated all parties on signing the contracts for the fifth energy auction held in 2018, the official Iraqia TV reported.
"Reform in the oil sector is the optimal investment for oil wealth, and Iraq's entry into the global gas market is an option that we have planned and will implement," said al-Sudani.
"One of the main causes for the electricity crisis (in Iraq) is the lack of fuel. We will reach self-sufficiency in gas within three years to cover all our needs," he added.
In April 2018, Iraq held a competition in the bidding round for licenses to explore and drill for oil and gas in six blocks in eastern and southern Iraq. A UAE oil company and two Chinese oil firms won the bids and were awarded the licenses.
After obtaining the licenses, the ministry signed two initial contracts with China's Geo-Jade Petroleum Corporation to develop the blocks of Naft Khana in the eastern province of Diyala and Huwieza in the southeastern province of Maysan.
It also signed an initial contract with another Chinese company, United Energy Group (UEG), to develop the al-Sindibad block in the southern province of Basra.
In addition, the ministry signed three initial contracts with the UAE Crescent Petroleum company to develop the three blocks in Kilabat-Gumar and Khashim al-Hmer-Injana in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, and Khudhr al-Maa in the southern province of Basra.
The 2018 auction was the fifth in the country since Iraq opened its oil and gas sector for foreign investment in 2009.
Iraq, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), boasts more than 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 132 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves.
Iraq's economy heavily relies on crude oil export, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the country's revenues.
(Reuters) - The White House is considering two economists who held senior Treasury Department posts in the Obama administration for the No. 2 job at the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Both Janice Eberly and Karen Dynan served as the chief economist at Treasury during Barack Obama's presidency and are well regarded by current Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the paper said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
President Joe Biden is weighing whom to appoint as vice chair at the Fed after bringing Lael Brainard from the central bank to be one of his chief economic advisers. Brainard, who had been on the Fed Board of Governors since 2014 and had been vice chair beginning last May, left the Fed in the last week.
Eberly has a Phd in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is currently senior associate dean at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Dynan's doctorate in economics is from Harvard University, where she is a professor. She previously worked as an economist at the Fed for 17 years ending in 2009.
The White House declined to comment but has previously said it expects to make a nomination soon.
Last week, the Journal reported that Austan Goolsbee, another Obama administration veteran who took over in January as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, was under consideration. On Wednesday, the paper said Goolsbee had faced resistance from some Democrats who have urged Biden to appoint a woman or person of color to the job.
(Reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
The White House on Wednesday blamed Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration for lax railway and environmental regulations in the aftermath of a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that spilled toxic chemicals.
Andrew Bates, a deputy White House press secretary, argued congressional Republicans and former Trump administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists, pointing to past efforts to loosen regulations.
Congressional Republicans laid the groundwork for the Trump Administration to tear up requirements for more effective train brakes, and last year most House Republicans wanted to defund our ability to protect drinking water, Bates said in a statement.
There is only one way they can prove that they are finally disowning their long history of giveaways to rail industry management at the expense of communities like East Palestine: work across the aisle with us to put Obama-Biden protections back in place and go further, including with higher fines for rail pollution and properly equipping the EPA, he added.
Bates also pointed to a 2021 letter 20 Republican senators wrote to the deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, urging the agency to expand the use of automated track inspections.
The White House also noted that the Republican Study Committee, which consists of dozens of House GOP lawmakers, last year proposed cuts to government funding to address chemical spills, as well as an elimination of the Surface Water Protection Program.
Politico reported Wednesday that the Trump administration rolled back several safety measures for railways, including regular safety audits and an Obama-era rule that required faster brakes on trains carrying flammable materials.
Those measures were part of a broader agenda of deregulation under Trump, who repeatedly sought to loosen restrictions and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.
Batess statement going after Republicans for their record on rail safety and environmental regulations comes as the White House takes heat from GOP lawmakers over its response to the derailment in East Palestine, and on the same day former President Trump visited the town.
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The Norfolk Southern train derailment spilled a number of chemicals into the area, including a carcinogen called vinyl chloride that is used to make plastic.
Officials temporarily evacuated the area, but have since said it is safe to return. Many community members, however, continue to express concerns about the air and water quality since the incident.
The EPA on Tuesday issued a legally binding order requiring Norfolk Southern to identify and clean up contaminated soil and water, reimburse the EPA for the cleaning that it is doing and attend public meetings at the agencys request.
Biden, who traveled to Europe this week to mark the anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine, spoke Tuesday with officials in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to visit East Palestine on Thursday.
Trump traveled to the area on Wednesday to deliver supplies and draw attention to the Biden administrations response, including the fact that the president had not yet made the trip to Ohio to meet with members of the community.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, has recommended multiple criminal charges as a result of an investigation into Donald Trumps efforts to overturn Georgias 2020 election results.
In an interview, the jury foreperson told The New York Times that the list of charges recommended was not short.
Much like the city of Detroit, also a target of Mr Trumps false claims of voter fraud, Fulton Countys population is majority-Black and was a key region for the Biden campaigns voter turnout efforts throughout 2020. The surge of Democratic votes in those regions were enough to flip two states, Georgia and Michigan, that voted for Mr Trump in 2016 a costly blow in the former presidents fight for the Electoral College.
But it was Republican officials, including Georgias Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who were the target of Donald Trumps overtures in the days following the 2020 election as he desperately sought to change the results. A conference call between the White House, Mr Trumps lawyers, and Georgia state officials on 2 January 2021 has now become a crucial piece of evidence in the grand jury investigation into Mr Trump and his legal team after it first sent shockwaves through the media and political class.
The fallout from the call was immediate. Audio was published in The Washington Post just a day after it transpired, and it would go on to be a key point in the article of impeachment filed by Democrats against Mr Trump later that year.
After the partial grand jury report was released, the foreperson told The New York Times that the panel recommended charges against multiple people. It is not a short list, Emily Kohrs told The New York Times.
She declined to name whom the panel singled out for charges.
Lets take a look at exactly why the call was so damaging for Mr Trumps credibility on the issue of his 2020 election fraud claims:
An opening monologue
Much like youd expect a phone call with Donald Trump to go, it began with a lengthy, rambling soliloquy from the president. Mr Trump spoke for several minutes, barely pausing, and diving immediately into conspiracy theories about what had supposedly occurred in Fulton County.
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Thousands of unregistered voters supposedly cast ballots, he claimed. Thousands of people registered to vacant addresses supposedly voted. Thousands of out-of-state residents allegedly submitted votes. There were no poll watchers. There were no police. And, infamously, a woman was allegedly seen on camera stuffing a ballot box full of votes all, presumably, for Mr Biden.
It was a monologue that could have been ripped straight from one of Mr Trumps speeches. It only ended when Mark Meadows, the presidents chief of staff, interrupted him in the hopes of not overwhelming Mr Raffensperger and his fellow Georgians with nonsense.
Raffensperger responds to individual allegations
Despite the seemingly incoherent mess of conspiracies thrown at his feet by the president a minute earlier, Mr Raffensperger leapt into the conversation as soon as he had the chance and began dismantling the falsehoods Mr Trump was spreading.
Ill go through that point by point, he told the president. The first one he took down was the conspiracy about supposedly compromised voting machines manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems.
[W]e did a hand retally, a 100 per cent retally of all the ballots and compared that to what the machine said, Mr Raffensperger told the president. It came up with virtually the same results. Then we did the recount. Weve got virtually the same results. So I guess we could probably take that off the table.
Mr Trump had no real response to this; after a moment of huffing, he moved on to other conspiracies. At one point, Mr Trump accused a seemingly random poll worker of scanning ballots three times.
Mr President they did not put that we did an audit of that. It was proved conclusively that they were not scanned three times, responded the secretary.
Trump warns Raffensperger: The people are angry
In what could be seen as a veiled threat, Mr Trump at one point in the call warned Mr Raffensperger that his own supporters were extremely upset about the election results.
[T]he people of Georgia are angry and these numbers are going to be repeated on Monday night along with others that were going to have by that time, which are much more substantial even, and the people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry, Mr Trump told the officials, who would go on to be inundated with death threats for months.
He would repeat the potential threat later on: I hate to imagine whats going to happen on Monday or Tuesday.
Trump claims local officials were dishonest or incompetent
Though the Trump campaign maintained publicly throughout late 2020 that they wanted investigators to look into the claims of election fraud the president and his allies were raising, it was clear at one point during Mr Trumps call with Mr Raffensperger that this was not necessarily the case.
Confronted with the fact that investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations as well as the FBI had looked into what had transpired when a burst water main caused a brief evacuation of one polling place, Mr Trump said that their findings didnt matter.
Well, theres no way they could [not have found wrongdoing], said the president. Then theyre incompetent. Theyre either dishonest or incompetent.
He kept raging: Theres only two answers, dishonesty or incompetence. Theres just no way. Look, theres no way.
Trump rages at Raffensperger
When it became clear that the two men differed significantly in their opinions of the integrity of Georgias elections, Mr Trump took it personally. And he lashed out at the official in response.
Told by Mr Raffensperger that he was repeating conspiracies from social media, Mr Trump fired back: No. No, this isnt social media. This is Trump media. Its not social media. Its really not. Its not social media. I dont care about social. I couldnt care less. Social media is big tech. Big tech is on your side. You know, I dont even know why you have a side because you should want to have an accurate election. And youre a Republican.
The president lashes out at Stacey Abrams
Despite Ms Abrams losing her own election, Mr Trump was convinced that she was the secret Democratic puppetmaster behind his loss in Georgia.
Look, Stacey, in my opinion, Stacey is as dishonest as they come. She has outplayed you at everyat everything, he told Mr Raffensperger.
He went on to explain that he believed a court settlement between Mr Raffenspergers office had legalised ballot harvesting in the state. Mr Raffensperger informed the president that he was mistaken.
I just want to find 11,780 votes
Finally, the most damning portion of Mr Trumps outreach to the secretary arrived. Defeated at every turn by dogged state officials who had meticulously shot down every theory and false assertion he had raised, Mr Trump told the other participants on the call that he needed state officials to find a reason, any reason at all, for nearly 12,000 votes to be added to his total.
All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more that we have because we won the state. And flipping the state is a great testament to our country because, you know, this is just, its a testament that they can admit to a mistake or whatever you want to call it. If it was a mistake, I dont know. A lot of people think it wasnt a mistake. It was much more criminal than that. But its a big problem in Georgia and its not a problem thats going away. I mean, you know, its not a problem thats going away.
After Mr Raffensperger responded, telling the president that they had looked into his claims, he tried his luck again.
So what? So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break. You know, we have that in spades already, or we can keep it going.
The call wound down from there; Mr Trump would go on to raise a false claim, and Mr Raffensperger would shoot it down. Rinse, repeat. A lawyer for Mr Trump pressed the officials on whether the matters had really been investigated, while outside counsel to Mr Raffenspergers office responded that they would sit down with the Trump team and explain precisely why their numbers were wrong.
One last attack
As it became clear the call was going nowhere, Mr Trump launched one last bitter attack against the assembled officials and warned them that they were costing Republicans the upcoming runoff elections for US Senate. Georgias two US Senate seats would go on to fall into Democratic hands.
You should meet tomorrow because you have a big election, election coming up and because of what youve done to the president, you know, the people of Georgia know that this was a scam, raged Mr Trump. And because of what youve done to the president, a lot of people arent going out to vote and a lot of Republicans are going to vote negative because they hate what you did to the president. OK?
[Y]ou would be respected ... if this thing could be straightened out before the election, the president added. Ill tell you, its going to have a big impact on Tuesday if you guys dont get this thing straightened out fast.
Finally, the call ended minutes later. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows encouraged the attorneys for the two groups to meet and discuss the results further, and so concluded one of the most shocking moments of Mr Trumps entire administration.
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters
Keri Russells six-season run on The Americans will rightfully be canonized among the greatest dramatic performances in TV history. But the actress has only appeared in two projects since the series wrapped in 2018, one of which, December 2019s Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, was filmed while The Americans was still airing. By the time the Star Wars press tour had wrapped, famously, a pandemic happened.
Three years later, Russell is now starring in a new project, which is certainly exciting. That its a movie titled Cocaine Bearliterally about a bear who is on cocainebegs several questions, such as: What? Why? And, to drive home the point: What the hell?
Well, obviously, I'm always gunning for Oscar nominations, which is why I chose an award-worthy project like Cocaine Bear, Russell tells The Daily Beasts Obsessed, erupting into a laughing fit on the phone before deadpanning: I just feel like that award show needs a little spice in its repertoire.
How does one describe Cocaine Bear, when one does not have 37 hours of your rapt attention to do it? (Though if any description deserves that much of your time, it is Cocaine Bear.)
The film, written by Jimmy Warden and directed by Elizabeth Banks, is based on a true story. Well sort of. Its the kind of wild tale that people say things like you cant make this shit up aboutexcept for the parts that are made up.
More accurately, Cocaine Bear springboards off of something that really happened.
On Sept. 11, 1985, Andrew Thornton III, an Army paratrooper-turned-racehorse trainer-turned-narcotics cop-turned-DEA agent-turned-lawyer-turned-cocaine smuggler nicknamed Cocaine Cowboy, was flying 880 pounds of Colombian powder into the country, likely while high off the supply.
Allegedly convinced the Feds were tailing him, he decided to ditch three duffle bags of coke while over the Chattahoochee National Forest of Georgia. He then put the plane on autopilot and jumped with a parachute. Something went wrong on the way down, and he didnt make it. Those duffle bags, however, did.
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Four months later, the corpse of a 175-pound black bear was found in the Chattahoochee wilderness, dead from a combination of cerebral hemorrhaging, hyperthermia, respiratory failure, renal failure, and heart failure. The bear had, evidently, discovered one of Thorntons duffles and consumed its entire contentsroughly 35 pounds of cocaine.
Cocaine Bear Trailer: The Bear Who Did a Ton of Blow and Then Ate Everybody
Thats all real. What Cocaine Bear imagines, with great creative license, is what happened in that brief, potentially chaotic window, when a massive mammal was absolutely blitzed on an ungodly amount of blow. The possibilities that Warren dreams up and Banks puts on screen is a frenzied, relentless murderous rampage, a horror-comedy-slasher-thriller unlike anything Russell had ever signed on for.
When I read it, I couldnt believe a studio was going to make this movie, Russell says. I still cant. I feel like they might still pull it.
Keri Russell and Cocaine Bear: A Love Story
When something like Cocaine Bear comes into a persons life, they remember the exact circumstances.
Russell had been talking with Banks about working together on a completely different project, which, needless to say, carried a distinctively different tone. But the next day, Banks called her back to pitch her this movie about a drug-addled bear on a killing spree. I thought it was so insane, Russell says. [Banks] goes, No, its even more insane than you think.
Universal Pictures
This all was happening during 2021, when the world was coming out of hibernation (heh) and industry productions were starting up on a regular basis again. But COVID cases were still high, and things remained uneasy. For a certain kind of a person, those are the perfect conditions in which to say, You know what? Screw it.
I just thought it was such a crazy, let-loose departure from everything we were experiencing at that moment, Russell says. And I was like, why the fuck shouldnt we do Cocaine Bear right now?
In fact, that sentiment evolved into somewhat of a life philosophy for Russell and her family. (Cocaine Bear: as effective as therapy.)
Since COVID, I havent really signed on to anything that intense or serious or sentimental, because Ive been much more drawn to the light and the fun, she says, reflecting on the mindset that led her to Cocaine Bear. Life is hard enough right now.
Even the upcoming Apple TV+ anthology series that shes a part of, Extrapolationsalongside a star-studded cast that includes Meryl Streep, Kit Harrington, and Tobey Maguirehas a premise that belies its tone, Russell says. For a show about the effect that climate change has on the lives of a group of interconnected people, she claims its brighter and funnier than one might expect.
My partner Matthew (Rhys, her former The Americans co-star), I cant get him to even sit down and watch something with me if its at all somber or sad. He says, No, no. No way. I cant. she says. I think my appetite for sad things and serious things is sort of full in regular life.
But its one thing to talk about the catharsis of working on a film like Cocaine Bear in theory, especially in hindsight after the films been completed. Its another to get the script and actually sign on.
During COVID, there were a few families that she and Rhys entrenched with, Russell says. Their kids call her and the other women in the group the Moms Gone Wild. When she told those moms about the project, they said to her, If you dont do this movie, were breaking up with you. For his part, Rhys didnt threaten the dissolution of their relationship; he asked for a job. Matthew read it and was like, Whos playing that guy?! Russell says of the character Rhys ends up playing as a cameo in the film. He was like, Text Banks and tell her I want to do that part.
Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
But if theres one thing that really convinced Russell to do it, it was learning that her Emmy-winning The Americans co-star, Margo Martindale, was signing on to the movie, too: We were texting, and she was like, Are you doing this movie? I was like, Are you doing this movie?!
Russells tickled at the idea that, because she and Martindale had last worked together in something as gripping as The Americans, people might show up to Cocaine Bear assuming it is a similarly dramatic and ultra-serious project. Instead, they would quickly discover a tweaking bear, gratuitous gore, and a conveyor belt of jumpscares and laughs.
Theres something beautiful, then, about the Americans trioRussell, Rhys, and Martindaleturning Cocaine Bear into a family reunion, of sorts. It's what we really want to represent us, Russell laughs.
A Film Shoot Like No Other
The thing about a movie like Cocaine Bear is that you actually have to create a bear that is on cocaine.
To up the stakes, the film recasts the real-life black bear with a 500-pound female sun bear, whose omnivorous palate and impressive climbing skills lent themselves to a more cinematic approach.
Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale Is Just Happy to Be Alive
The all-important nugget that has become the selling point of the filmbear does cocaine; bear kills people while highrequires a tangle of human storylines in order to make all the attacking and the eating of the people really land. Cue some hiking tourists, criminals on the lam, and park rangers, one of whom is played by Martindale, all dealing with their own interpersonal dramaand all unknowingly being pursued by a ravenous bear fiending for its next victim, hit of coke, or both.
Russell plays Sari, a divorced single mom whose 12-year-old daughter, Dee Dee (Brooklyn Prince), plays hooky one afternoon with her best friend, Henry (Christian Convery). They stumble on some cocaine in the woods and, in the aftermath, a bit of bedlamespecially once they meet the fateful bear. After the kids become separated, Sari and Henry set out to track down Dee Dee, a task that requires trying desperately not to be gobbled up by a bear that has ingested enough cocaine to power an entire weekend of parties in West Hollywood.
Weta, the New Zealand-based company behind many of Andy Serkis memorable motion capture performances, was brought in to create the bear, who would lovingly become known as Cokey. Motion capture artist and stunt performer Allan Henry was on set to play Cokey, so that the actors could react to a character who was both high-as-hell on cocaine and also bear-like.
These guys are amazing, Russell remembers about filming. But also, it is a grown man in a unitard acting like a bear in front of you.
Even more ridiculous were the takes in which she and the other actors would have to film their close-ups, an acting challenge that became more surreal as the scenes became more outrageous. For those takes, the camera trained in on their faces, while Banks screamed into a microphone from Video Village, bellowing prompts about what the bear is doing for the actors to react to.
OK, and now hes climbing up the hill! And now the bear is ripping his face off and theres blood everywhere! Now his leg is falling from the tree! Russell says, reenacting Banks directives. It was her just yelling out the blow-by-blow, and then us laughing at each other, going, Oh my God, look what theyre doing
Amazingly, that wasnt the most bizarre acting challenge Russell faced. The film shot in Ireland, and part of the way through, Convery, the young actor who played Henry, tested positive for COVID and couldnt shoot for 10 days. To keep the production on schedule, a local Irish boy was brought in as a stand-in. For 10 days, all of Russells scenes were her and this boy walking around the woods in labored configurations, so that the camera couldnt see his face. Russell was delivering the outlandish lines to him while he just smiled back at her silently, because he didnt know the lines.
So that Russell actually had dialogue to react to, Banks once again took up the microphone from Video Village. So its fucking Banks in the background screaming this little kids lines in the background in this Southern accent: Ms. McKinley, have you ever done cocaine? And me looking at this little blank-faced kid.
Universal Pictures
Suffice it to say, it was a film shoot unlike any other Russell had been a part ofand this is an actress who has worked on a motion-capture film before, with Rise of Skywalker and 2014s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. (Much less cocaine in those ones.) To presume that it was worth it is an understatement.
Russell, Rhys, Martindale, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who also stars, recently screened the film together in New York. We were screaming, slapping each other, and laughing our faces off. She and the Moms Gone Wild crew are bringing their teenagers to a showing on opening night Friday, so they can experience the film in person.
This is not one to watch on your couch alone, she says. This is definitely crowd-pleaser craziness.Y ou should do what youve got to do: Drink your beers or do whatever it is that youd like, and then go see it. This is that movie.
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Malcolm X Speaking at Rally
Unflinching when it came to calling out the realities of anti-Black racism, famously referring to white people as blue-eyed devils, he spoke about the need for Black empowerment, argued for the creation of a Black separatist society, and was a highly visible figure within the Nation of Islam. Credit - Bettmann Archive via Getty Images
The family of civil rights leader Malcolm X marked the anniversary of his 1965 assassination on Tuesday by announcing plans to sue the FBI, New York Police Department, and CIA for $100 million, claiming they concealed evidence related to his murder.
For more than half a century, the circumstances surrounding the notorious assassination have been shrouded in mystery, fueling long-held conspiracy theories about possible government involvement. Two men who were convicted of murdering Malcolm X in 1966 were exonerated in 2021 after serving decades in prisonand the New York District Attorney admitted that the FBI and NYPD at the time withheld evidence.
For years, our family has fought for the truth to come to light concerning his murder, Ilyasah Shabazz, a daughter of Malcolm X, said at a news conference at the site of her fathers assassination, which is now a memorial.
The civil rights leader was 39 when he was assassinated in 1965 at an auditorium in New Yorks Washington Heights neighborhood. Three gunmen shot at least 21 times, as Malcolm Xs four children and pregnant wife ducked for safety.
At the news conference on Tuesday, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump said: Its not just about the triggermen. Its about those who conspired with the triggermen to do this dastardly deed. He claims that government agencies had factual and exculpatory evidence that they concealed from the family of Malcolm X and the men wrongly convicted of his assassination. Crump alleged that high-ranking U.S. officials conspired to kill the civil rights leader, repeatedly referencing J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI director who died in 1972.
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Heres what to know.
Ilyasah Shabazz (C), daughter of African-American activist Malcolm X, speaks alongside civil rights attorney Ben Crump (L) and co-counsel Ray Hamlin (C, R) during a press conference in New York on February 21, 2023 at the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, formerly known as the Audubon Ballroom, where Malcolm X was shot dead at 39 on Feb. 21, 1965. Timothy A. ClaryAFP via Getty Images
What we know about Malcolm Xs assassination
Malcolm X was a controversial figure for many Americansboth white and Black. Unflinching when it came to calling out the realities of anti-Black racism, and famously referring to white people as blue-eyed devils, he spoke about the need for Black empowerment. He argued for the creation of a Black separatist society, and was a highly visible figure within the Nation of Islam.
In March 1964, Malcolm X announced that he was leaving the Nation of Islam over disagreements with Elijah Muhammad, the groups leader. He was assassinated a year later as he was preparing to give a speech about the mission of his new group, the Organization of Afro-American Unity, at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City on Feb. 21, 1965.
When Malcolm X took the stage to begin his address, an apparent dispute broke out among the audience and a man ran onto the stage, approached Malcolm X and shot him. Two other people then ran up to the stage and also fired. The civil rights leader was shot a total of 21 times.
What we know about the men convicted of his murder
In the more than half a century since his death, what actually happened that day has remained the subject of controversy and conspiracy theories. One man who was shot by a bodyguard and captured, Thomas Hagan (a.k.a Talmadge Hayer and Mujahid Abdul Halim), confessed to the killing and was imprisoned for 44 years. But since his 1966 trial, he has maintained that the other two Nation of Islam members convicted in the murder were innocent: Norman Butler (a.k.a Muhammad Abdul Aziz) and Thomas Johnson (a.k.a Khalil Islam). Hayer did not name any other culprits at the time of the trial.
There was no evidence linking Butler or Johnson to the crime. Butler had an alibi for the time of the murder: He was at home resting after injuring his leg, and a doctor who had treated him took the stand during the trial. Nonetheless, all three men were found guilty in 1966 and sentenced to life in prison.
In 1977, Hayer named four men who were members of the Nation of Islams Newark chapter who he said had begun planning Malcolm Xs murder in May 1964. He said that he was approached by two of the four men, who told him that Malcolm X should be killed. They later met with the other two men and discussed how they would commit the assassination, he said.
I had a bit of love and admiration for [Nation of Islam leader] the Honorable Elijah Muhammed, and I just felt that like this is something that I have to stand up for, Hayer later said, according to Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, a 2011 biography of Malcolm X written by historian Manning Marable.
But for decades, the new information about the other four alleged conspirators went nowhere. The District Attorneys office did not reopen the investigation until a 2020 Netflix documentary series Who Killed Malcolm X? and efforts by the Innocence Project renewed public interest in the case and prompted Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to review the convictions.
Evidence unearthed by Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, a Malcolm X historian and scholar, and investigative journalist Les Payne made a compelling case that the actual killers were members of a Newark mosque, rather than Malcolm Xs former Harlem mosque associates Butler and Johnson. In November, a judge dismissed the convictions of Butler and Johnson after Vance acknowledged that it was clear these men did not receive a fair trial. New York City was ordered to pay $26 million to the pair to compensate them for their wrongful murder convictions.
What we know about theories about allegations of CIA and FBI involvement
In addition to the unfair trial, some historians have argued that various agencies including the FBI, NYPD, and CIA were actively involved in the assassination attempt. Experts have said that these agencies viewed Malcolm X as a dangerous Black radical figure who needed to be brought down. Others have suggested that they did not need to plot to murder him since he was already a target.
Nonetheless, Malcolm X was under near-constant surveillance by federal and local authoritiesas were many civil rights activists. The FBI first opened a file on Malcolm X in March 1953, and closely monitored him over the next decade using surveillance and informants. On June 6, 1964, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover sent a telegram, which later became public, to the FBI office in New York City that said do something about Malcolm X.
Both the NYPD and FBI failed to disclose to prosecutors that they had undercover officers on the scene, historian Zaheer Ali, the lead researcher for Marables biography Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, wrote for TIME in November 2021. They decided instead to protect their assets; there seemed to be a desire to wrap up the investigation quickly. What paths of inquiry were avoided or cut short as a result? If these two men were unjustly convicted, then who else was unjustly allowed to roam free?
Crump, the lawyer representing Malcolm Xs family, said on Tuesday that their lawsuit will allege that government agencies were involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Malcolm X. The New York District Attorneys office has already acknowledged law enforcements failings in the case, saying in 2021 that the FBI and NYPD did not honor their obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence to prosecutors and the accused, including information that implicated other suspects; that identified witnesses who failed to identify defendant Islam; and that revealed witnesses to be FBI informants. The office also said at the time that FBI records suggested that information was deliberately withheld.
According to Crump, these comments from the New York District Attorneys officecombined with the citys $26 million settlementare what opened the door for Malcolm Xs family to build a case against authorities. If the government compensated the two gentlemen that were wrongfully convicted for the assassination of Malcolm X with tens of millions of dollars, then what is to be the compensation for the daughters who suffered the most from the assassination of Malcolm X? Crump asked.
During a time of overt racism, hatred and separation historically Black colleges and universities served as a home to Black students who still wanted to further their education. This was despite the horrific external circumstances they were dealing with. In 1837, Richard Humphreys created the African Institute, the oldest HBCU; today, its known as Cheyney University.
In the following years, specifically after the emancipation proclamation, more HBCUs started to be formed. Although HBCUs can be found in many states, most are in the south. Thats partially because most of them were founded before and during the early stages of the great migration. This was when Black Americans began to travel up north. These colleges and universities stood as institutions that believed in furthering the minds of young Black people. In doing so, it created a specific culture for those attendees. Despite having such a triumphant history, today, HBCUs get many unwarranted criticisms for not being good enough institutions. As a result, they receive less funding than their Predominantly White Institution counterparts.
There are many stigmas that HBCUs, and the students that attend them, face. Based on reports from the U.S. Department of Education, 7% of Black students enrolled in undergraduate programs attend HBCUs, while 53% of Black students attend PWIs. We make up 13% of the college population and funding is a massive factor in the overall decision of what college youll also attend.
PWIs such as the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Princeton and the University of Michigan receive over $13 million in endowments and Harvard gets $53 billion. The endowment rates for HBCUs are drastically stark in comparison. The highest going endowment to Howard University amounts to only $795,203. Thats a $52 billion difference. Theres not a single HBCU with an endowment over a million dollars. Some HBCUs are barely even receiving over $50,000. Fayetteville State University only has $33,581. Endowments, when broken down, are investments that go into bettering the school. This includes the actual campus, campus programming, class options, food and dorms. The higher the endowment, the better your campus life and overall college experience. While the staff and students at HBCUs cannot control the amount of money thats getting poured into them, it doesnt help to debunk the common misconception that HBCUs wont provide you with quality education and experience.
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Throughout history, there can be a lot of anti-Black rhetoric about Black people who reside in the south. Its another unfortunate deciding factor that prevents people from applying and attending HBCUs. This idea is that Black people in the south are uneducated, ghetto and unprofessional. These are all false and have been entirely created and spread by agents of white supremacy.
There are over 101 HBCUs, with a large majority of those schools being in southern states, with Alabama having over 14 institutions alone. Most students, when applying for schools, avoid HBCUs because of travel. But some will go even longer distances to avoid attending HBCUs. HBCUs have birthed some of our most beloved and incredibly talented Black figures.
From the historical greats of Zora Neale Hurston (Howard University), Langton Hughes (Lincoln University), Nikki Giovanni (Fisk University), Toni Morrison (Howard University) and Martin Luther King Jr. (Morehouse College). To our current greats, Spike Lee (Morehouse College), Debbie Allen (Howard University), Chadwick Boseman (Howard University), Samuel Jackson (Morehouse College) and many more! To say HBCUs dont provide quality education is such an understatement. Aside from the artistic legends, HBCUs have produced high rates of graduates who have gone on to enter the education and medical fields. 70% of Black students who are dentists or physicians obtained their degrees at HBCUs, while 50% go on to be public schoolteachers. HBCUs produce legends!
The culture of HBCUs has become more mainstream over the past few years. From Beyonces Beychella performance that highlighted majorettes and steppers things specifically tied to HBCU culture, to a massive debate that was sparked when a Black student created a majorette team at a PWI which brought people to teach the history of why those particular dance teams and styles were populated on HBCU campuses. If you can love the culture and participate in it, you have to ensure youre honoring and respecting the creators of it.
Its important to debunk these racist and anti-Black stigmas and open up the conversation about why HBCUs dont get the proper investment they deserve. Theres no reason why predominantly Black schools should receive a $52 billion less difference in their endowment when those schools promote brilliant and talented individuals. The school shouldnt be faulted for a racist system that works to continue to perpetuate the same policies they did to result in HBCUs being created in the first place. We must work to erase the stigmas and educate people on the advantages of attending something dear to our culture.
Alycia Kamil is a freedom fighter and believer of the people. She is a Freshman at Wilbur Wright College. Follow her writings, interests and more here.
The post Why We Must Destroy Negative Stigmas About HBCUs appeared first on Blavity.
illustrations of wooly mammoths and a dodo bird Illustrated | Bettmann, Education Images, Getty Images
Scientists at a Dallas, Texas-based company recently announced that they would be attempting to bring the dodo bird, which became extinct in 1681, back to life with a process called de-extinction. Why do researchers want to revive species that are long gone?
What is de-extinction, and how does it work?
De-extinction, also known as "resurrection biology" and "reanimation," reverses extinction in plants and animals using the genetics of closely related living species, explains Colossal Biosciences, the company behind the efforts to revive the dodo bird. Cloning is the most well-known de-extinction method, though back-breeding and genome editing also fall into the category. With selective back-breeding, scientists locate subjects that carry ancient traits from related extinct species and selectively breed them. In the process of cloning, researchers create "genetically identical biological life copies," Colossal explains. Because cloning requires the use of intact living cells, it is only really suitable for species on the brink of extinction not those that have already disappeared. Genome editing is a process by which scientists manipulate the genetic material of a living organism by "deleting, replacing, or inserting a DNA sequence." Scientists can use this process to create a hybrid between an extinct species and a closely related living organism.
"De-extinction is something of a misnomer," says Gizmodo, since it does not bring an extinct creature back to life "as it existed in the past," but instead offers "science's best analog for an extinct creature." Revived species cannot have all of their ancestors' genetic, behavioral, and physiological properties, so technically, scientists are creating close copies, or "proxies."
What is Colossal doing?
The company is moving forward with plans to revive the the dodo. Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal, called the bird, which disappeared less than 100 years after being discovered by humans, "a symbol of man-made extinction," per The Associated Press. Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and lead paleontologist at Colossal, says her team has already completed the first step in the project, CNN reports. Using genetic material gathered from dodo remains in Denmark, they have fully sequenced the dodo's genome from its DNA. They will compare the genomes of the dodo and its closest relatives, the Nicobar pigeon and the Rodrigues solitaire, which is extinct. The process will allow them to study which mutations "make a dodo a dodo," Shapiro says.
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Along with resurrecting extinct animals, the company says it plans to develop a library to house genetic material and embryos of endangered species. Colossal asserts the "process will slow the long-term impacts of human-induced loss of biodiversity and give threatened species a buffer against outright extinction as numbers dwindle."
Since launching in 2021, Colossal has raised $225 million from several investors, including the United States Innovative Technology Fund, Breyer Capital, and In-Q-Tel, "the CIA's venture capital firm which invests in technology," AP explains.
What other animals are scientists trying to revive?
Aside from the dodo, Colossal also has plans to revive the woolly mammoth and the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger. Separate projects include the Tauros Program, which is using selective back-breeding to restore traits from the auroch, an extinct species of wild cattle, to its modern-day domesticated descendants, Ouanta Magazine reports. The Quagga Project in South Africa is using zebra attempting to breed the quagga, a subspecies that was hunted to extinction two centuries ago. In 2003 researchers in Spain successfully cloned the first extinct animal, the Iberian Pyrenean Ibex, at the Centre for Research and Food Technology of Aragon using DNA from the last living specimen that died three years prior. The clone only lived for a few minutes and died because of a lung defect.
Why revive extinct species?
Proponents of reanimation say it is ultimately a conservation tool. "The goal is to adapt existing ecosystems to radical modern environmental changes, such as global warming, and possibly reverse those changes," George Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, argues at Scientific American. For example, reintroducing woolly mammoths to the arctic could keep the region cooler by "(a) eating dead grass, thus enabling the sun to reach spring grass, whose deep roots prevent erosion; (b) increasing reflected light by felling trees, which absorb sunlight; and (c) punching through insulating snow so that freezing air penetrates the soil," Church says. Colossal also claims "rewilding" extinct species or returning them to their original habitats will support local economies and help reverse the effects of climate change.
Are there drawbacks?
Critics say the time and money being poured into de-extinction research would be better spent investing in protecting the hundreds of animals and plants that are listed as endangered. "Why would you even bother trying to save something long gone, when there's so many things that are desperate right now?" Julian Hume, an avian paleontologist who studies the dodo at London's Natural History Museum, asks CNN's Katie Hunt.
Others argue that the original habitats of extinct animals don't exist anymore and may not be suitable environments for them. "You don't rejuvenate degraded environments by coming up with implausible jobs for genetically engineered animals whose connection with any real ecosystem either never existed or was severed thousands of years ago," Ross MacPhee, the curator of the Department of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History, tells Gizmodo.
Daniel Heath Justice, an Indigenous studies scholar and animal cultural historian at Vancouver's University of British Columbia, tells National Geographic he has concerns about how de-extinction could affect Inuit tribes. "Quite frankly, I get quite dubious when settler scientists want to remake the world in a particular image," said Justice.
Whether or not Colossal is successful in reviving extinct species, "genetics research done in the name of creating them could help us better understand the relationships between species and how to protect living creatures from threats like disease," argues Gizmodo's Isaac Schultz. "Better understanding species extinct and extant on a genetic level is a good thing."
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Wichita police have identified a man they say is a person of interest in a shooting at a west Wichita motel that left a man dead Tuesday evening.
In a social media post, the department asked for the publics help in locating 43-year-old Larry Powell in connection with the shooting that killed a 50-year-old man from Santa Cruz, California at the Motel 6 in the 5700 block of West Kellogg Drive.
Police say Powell is 54 and weighs about 217 pounds. He was last seen traveling in a minivan with a 60-day temporary tag.
The shooting happened shortly after 5 p.m. in the parking lot of the motel after Powell and the victim got into an argument that escalated into a fight, police spokesperson Juan Rebolledo said in a news release.
Sometime during the fight shots were fired and the 50-year-old man was struck in the upper body, Rebolledo added.
Police believe Powell and the shooting victim may have known each other. Detectives are working to determine what led up to the shooting.
Anyone who knows Powells location is encouraged to call detectives at 316-268-4407 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111. Callers can remain anonymous with Crime Stoppers.
Contributing: Michael Stavola of The Eagle
Wildlife from around the world from polar bears, to monkeys, to dolphins may be exposed to cancer-linked forever chemicals, a new survey has found.
A comprehensive map curated by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) provides a window into just how many kinds of animals, including some that are endangered or threatened, may be contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Hundreds of studies have already identified these so-called forever chemicals in wildlife populations around the world, but the new map aims to consolidate that research into one interactive, accessible venue, according to EWG.
David Andrews, a senior EWG scientist, expressed his initial surprise at lack of any unified database for the incredible amount of research thats been done globally, documenting PFAS contamination in wildlife.
Everything from studies of crocodiles in South Africa, ticks in New York State and along the East Coast and scorpions in the Midwest, Andrews told The Hill, listing animals whose exposure levels have been tested.
While the most common type of animals to appear on the map are fish, the data also includes many birds, as well as both land and aquatic mammals, according to Andrews.
The work builds upon an EWG study released in January that showed the extent to which PFAS are contaminating U.S. freshwater fish from coast to coast, the group explained.
In humans, scientists have linked PFAS exposure to many illnesses, such as kidney cancer, testicular cancer and thyroid disease. True to their nickname, forever chemicals are notorious for their ability to persist in the body and in the environment.
Known for their presence in both industrial discharge and jet fuel firefighting foam, these synthetic substances are also found in common household products, including nonstick pans and waterproof apparel.
Among the more than 330 species identified on the EWG map are polar bears, tigers, monkeys, pandas, horses, cats, otters, squirrels and other small and large mammals. Also exposed are many types of fish, birds, reptiles, frogs and other amphibians.
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From country to country, and across continents, PFAS pollution is everywhere, a statement from EWG said. No matter the location, no matter the species, nearly every time that testing is done we find contamination from these toxic chemicals.
The researchers emphasized that the map is by no means an exhaustive list of all studies on animal exposure to PFAS and that it doesnt reflect the totality of contamination worldwide.
But it does show that more than 120 different types of PFAS compounds of which there are thousands have been found in the animals that have been studied.
Although definitive health impacts have thus far only been demonstrated in humans, EWG researchers noted that science suggests that wildlife could suffer from similar effects.
Such consequences could be of particular concern for threatened species, who are already contending with problems like habitat loss and ecosystem destruction, according to EWG.
The map depicts how global PFAS exposure knows no limits geolocating studies of birds, beluga whales, polar bears, dolphins and seals in places as remote as the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and on the shores of Greenland.
It highlights the extent that these chemicals can be transported, Andrews said.
The contaminants also show now respect for international boundaries. Tilapia and perch that inhabit the Nile River which runs through a variety of countries had measurable levels of PFAS in multiple studies.
A lot of this is cross-border, and as far as we know, pretty much everywhere you test for PFAS contamination, you will find it, Andrews said.
While the pollution is pervasive and reaches almost every corner of the world, Andrews stressed the importance of acting on the issue at the national level.
No one country can fix this problem, he said. But at the same time, countries like the United States can take a leading effort in researching, identifying alternatives and moving the market away from the chemistry.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Snow begins to fall around the Cathedral of Saint Paul, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. A monster winter storm took aim at the Upper Midwest on Tuesday, threatening to bring blizzard conditions, bitterly cold temperatures and 2 feet of snow in a three-day onslaught that could affect more than 40 million Americans. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP) (AP)
Half a dozen states were largely shut down on Wednesday as a historic winter storm bearing heavy snowfall, powerful winds and bitterly cold temperatures descended on the US.
Schools were closed in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin while public officials warned people to keep off the roads due to dangerous whiteout conditions from Winter Storm Olive.
Difficult to impossible travel across wide swaths of the US, was the National Weather Service warning on Wednesday.
In the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, a first round of wintry conditions dropped three to five inches of snow. The flurries will pick up in intensity by Wednesday afternoon, according to a winter storm warning from the National Weather Service.
A slew of weather warnings, watches and advisories were issued in nearly two dozen states with forecasts sounding the alarm on severe impacts from coast to coast.
Flight woes were also mounting. Total delays in and out of the US topped 1,300 flights by late Wednesday morning, according to the travel site FlightAware, with more than 1,100 cancellations.
Follow the latest updates below
Key points so far
Half a dozen states were largely shut down on Wednesday
Schools closed in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin
Weather warnings and advisories issued in two dozen states by the National Weather Service
An axis of heavy snow'
18:51 , Louise Boyle
The arrival of a large arctic air mass from Canada was delivering an axis of heavy snow to many parts of the northern US, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported on Wednesday.
The snow will continue to move east across the Northern Plains into the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes today.
More than a foot of snowfall is likely from South Dakota heading east throught southern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, NWS reported.
Southern Minnesota could see two feet of snow, forecasters said, amid dangerous blizzard conditions on roads and possible power outages.
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Snow will start making an appearance in the Northeast and New England late on Wednesday into Thursday.
An estimated four to eight inches of snow is forecast from Upstate New York into central New England. Over a foot is possible at higher elevations in New Yorks Adirondacks and the Green and White Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont.
More than 1,000 flights cancelled over historic winter storm - heres what you need to know
18:33 , Louise Boyle
More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled in the United States as a severe winter storm brings heavy snowfall and dangerous whiteout conditions to parts of the country.
The storm, which prompted the National Weather Service to issue weather warnings in more than two dozen states, began Tuesday and is set to worsen Wednesday as it stretches from coast to coast.
The winter storm has already impacted travel, with flight tracking site FlightAware reporting that more than 1,100 flights were already cancelled in the US Wednesday morning. An additional 1,382 were delayed as of 10.54am ET.
Chelsea Ritschel reports.
How can you find out whether your flight is cancelled and what are your rights?
Winter storm in pictures: Snow plows on the move
18:09 , Louise Boyle
Snow plows hit the interstate highway I-35 as Minnesota prepares for a winter storm, early on Wednesday, in Minneapolis. Brutal winter weather bringing snow, dangerous gusts of wind and bitter cold settled over much of the northern US on Wednesday (David Joles/Star Tribune via AP) (AP)
Three killed in avalanche in Cascade Mountains as heavy snow blocks rescuers
17:49 , Louise Boyle
Heavy snowfall and high winds on Tuesday kept searchers away from a remote, jagged peak in Washingtons Cascade Mountains, where an avalanche killed three climbers from the northeastern US over the weekend.
The slide struck Sunday as a group of six climbers were ascending a steep, snow-packed gulley on the 8,705-foot Colchuck Peak, about 70 miles east of Seattle in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Chelan County sheriffs Sgt. Jason Reinfeld said Tuesday.
Four of the climbers were swept about 500 feet down the slope. One of the four survived, a 56-year-old man from New York, and despite some injuries he was able to confirm that the other three were killed before working his way back to their base camp at Colchuck Lake, Mr Reinfeld said.
Three killed in avalanche in Cascade Mountains as heavy snow blocks body recovery
AP
North of the border, more winter storm warnings
17:31 , Louise Boyle
North of the border, Canadians were also receiving alerts due to the severe winter weather conditions caused by the Arctic blast.
Toronto was under a winter storm warning on Wednesday with up to 12 inches of snow possible in the Ontario city by Thursday night, CTV reported.
Toronto is under a winter storm warning with up to 31 centimetres of snow possible in the city by Thursday evening. https://t.co/mHzIArFmHE CTV Toronto (@CTVToronto) February 22, 2023
Winter weather makes travel hazardous in Arizona
17:10 , Louise Boyle
Arizonans were being strongly advised against getting on the road on Wednesday by the states department of transport as they shared pictures of whiteout conditions caused by the storm.
Crews were removing downed trees from the Arizona 260, a scenic highway running eastwest through the middle of the state.
If you do decide to travel, be prepared for lengthy delays due to impassable roads, the transport department tweeted.
NOW: Crews are removing downed trees on SR 260 on the Mogollon Rim.
ADOT strongly advises against traveling during the current Winter Storm Warning. If you do decide to travel, be prepared for lengthy delays due to impassable roads. #aztraffic #azwx pic.twitter.com/T0tQHv1dJd Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) February 22, 2023
Watch: Weather forecast as coast-to-coast storm hits the US
16:52 , Louise Boyle
Businesses, schools shuttered and roads closed
16:33 , Louise Boyle
Many schools throughout the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin were called off for Wednesday, ahead of the storm, The Associated Press reports.
Offices closed, and so did the Minnesota Legislature. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem shut down state executive branch offices in several parts of the state, and employees were working remotely.
In Wyoming, virtually every road was impacted, and many were closed. Officials warned they may stay that way for days.
Associated Press
While the Midwest shivers, record-breaking heat in Florida
16:18 , Louise Boyle
While temperatures plummeted in the northern half of the United States on Wednesday further south, daily high temperature records were being matched or broken.
In Marathon, Florida, the daily high temperature record was tied for the second day in a row as the town hit 86F on Tuesday.
Is everyone ready??? SECOND DAY in a row: #MarathonFL tied the daily high temperature record for today.
A ridge will continue to promote warm, dry, and calm weather conditions, with nil (Pops) through the rest of the week.#FLKeys #FLwx pic.twitter.com/pMtFmCEYnx NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) February 22, 2023
St Paul sees dangerous whiteout conditions
16:07 , Louise Boyle
Snow begins to fall around the Cathedral of Saint Paul, on Tuesday, February 21 at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota. A monster winter storm took aim at the Upper Midwest on Tuesday (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP) (AP)
Flight cancellations pile up at US airports
15:53 , Louise Boyle
Travel woes were beginning to mount up at US airports on Wednesday morning as the severe weather conditions took hold.
More than 1,000 flights had been cancelled in the US and another 1,000 or so delayed, according to FlightAware.
The worst affected airports were in Minneapolis-St Paul, Denver and Detroit.
Twin cities to get slammed by historic storm
15:37 , Louise Boyle
In the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, the first round of wintry conditions dropped three to five inches of snow across the area. The flurries will pick up in intensity by Wednesday afternoon, NWS reported.
The February record of 13.8 inches of snow from a single storm in Minneapolis is likely to be smashed, reported AccuWeather meteorologist Matt Benz.
There seems to be some confusion this morning because the sun has come out. Does this mean all we got was a measly 3-5" and it's over?
Nope! As we've talked about for days, round 2 is on the way and it will pack a punch! Expect an ADDITONAL 10-15" by tomorrow morning. #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/boVp5fK4PR NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) February 22, 2023
California to get rare blizzard
15:33 , Louise Boyle
In California, a rare blizzard warning was issued for mountains in Los Angeles County and Ventura County from early on Friday morning until Saturday afternoon.
In the meantime, California can expect yet more rainfall after being deluged by a wave of atmospheric rivers at the beginning of the year.
Moderate rainfall, but heavy in some spots, and thunderstorms are forecast in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday before moving south and settling over California on Thursday.
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The Ukrainian military conducted exercises in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the 30-km-radius territory around the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP), the Command of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian army (JFU) said Tuesday on Facebook.
The exercises are part of the tactical and special maneuvers codenamed "Oxymoron-2023", which are underway in Ukraine's northern operational zone.
During the drills, the military personnel honed their skills in conditions similar to combat.
Serhiy Nayev, the commander of the JFU, who supervised the training, said the exercises aimed at strengthening the army's ability to react promptly to possible actions of the enemy.
At the same time, Nayev emphasized that currently the threat from the north against Ukraine is minimal.
The Chernobyl plant, some 110 km north of the Ukrainian capital, suffered one of the worst nuclear accidents in human history on April 26, 1986.
In February 2022, Russian forces captured the Chernobyl plant and had been in control of it for five weeks.
Vehicles drive in downtown Minneapolis as snow falls on Tuesday (AP)
Half a dozen states were largely shut down on Wednesday as a historic winter storm bearing heavy snowfall, powerful winds and bitterly cold temperatures descended on the northern plains and Midwest.
Schools were closed in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin while public officials warned people to keep off the roads due to dangerous whiteout conditions.
In the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, a first round of wintry conditions dropped three to five inches of snow across the area. The flurries will pick up in intensity by Wednesday afternoon, according to a winter storm warning from the National Weather Service. Snow emergencies were also issued in the surrounding areas of Plymouth, Robbinsdale, St. Louis Park and Elk River.
A slew of weather warnings, watches and advisories were issued in nearly two dozen states by the National Weather Service (NWS) with forecasts sounding the alarm on severe impacts from coast to coast.
Flight woes were also mounting. Total delays in and out of the US topped 1,300 flights by late Wednesday morning, according to the travel site FlightAware, with more than 1,100 cancellations.
Follow the latest updates below
Key points so far
Half a dozen states were largely shut down on Wednesday
Schools closed in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin
Weather warnings and advisories issued in two dozen states by the National Weather Service
Watch: Weather forecast as coast-to-coast storm hits the US
16:52 , Louise Boyle
Businesses, schools shuttered and roads closed
16:33 , Louise Boyle
Many schools throughout the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin were called off for Wednesday, ahead of the storm, The Associated Press reports.
Offices closed, and so did the Minnesota Legislature. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem shut down state executive branch offices in several parts of the state, and employees were working remotely.
In Wyoming, virtually every road was impacted, and many were closed. Officials warned they may stay that way for days.
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Associated Press
While the Midwest shivers, record-breaking heat in Florida
16:18 , Louise Boyle
While temperatures plummeted in the northern half of the United States on Wednesday further south, daily high temperature records were being matched or broken.
In Marathon, Florida, the daily high temperature record was tied for the second day in a row as the town hit 86F on Tuesday.
Is everyone ready??? SECOND DAY in a row: #MarathonFL tied the daily high temperature record for today.
A ridge will continue to promote warm, dry, and calm weather conditions, with nil (Pops) through the rest of the week.#FLKeys #FLwx pic.twitter.com/pMtFmCEYnx NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) February 22, 2023
St Paul sees dangerous whiteout conditions
16:07 , Louise Boyle
Snow begins to fall around the Cathedral of Saint Paul, on Tuesday, February 21 at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota. A monster winter storm took aim at the Upper Midwest on Tuesday (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP) (AP)
Flight cancellations pile up at US airports
15:53 , Louise Boyle
Travel woes were beginning to mount up at US airports on Wednesday morning as the severe weather conditions took hold.
More than 1,000 flights had been cancelled in the US and another 1,000 or so delayed, according to FlightAware.
The worst affected airports were in Minneapolis-St Paul, Denver and Detroit.
Twin cities to get slammed by historic storm
15:37 , Louise Boyle
In the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, the first round of wintry conditions dropped three to five inches of snow across the area. The flurries will pick up in intensity by Wednesday afternoon, NWS reported.
The February record of 13.8 inches of snow from a single storm in Minneapolis is likely to be smashed, reported AccuWeather meteorologist Matt Benz.
There seems to be some confusion this morning because the sun has come out. Does this mean all we got was a measly 3-5" and it's over?
Nope! As we've talked about for days, round 2 is on the way and it will pack a punch! Expect an ADDITONAL 10-15" by tomorrow morning. #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/boVp5fK4PR NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) February 22, 2023
California to get rare blizzard
15:33 , Louise Boyle
In California, a rare blizzard warning was issued for mountains in Los Angeles County and Ventura County from early on Friday morning until Saturday afternoon.
In the meantime, California can expect yet more rainfall after being deluged by a wave of atmospheric rivers at the beginning of the year.
Moderate rainfall, but heavy in some spots, and thunderstorms are forecast in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday before moving south and settling over California on Thursday.
A 56-year-old Wisconsin man died while hiking in Grand Canyon National Park, park officials announced Tuesday.
The National Park Service said in a news release that he was found on the Bright Angel Trail one of the most popular hiking trails into the Grand Canyon because of its views below Havasupai Gardens, near Flagstaff, Arizona last Friday. The NPS said their search and rescue personnel pronounced him dead.
Authorities said the man, whose name was not released, was from Pewaukee, Wisconsin and was attempting a day hike to the Colorado River and back. An investigation into the incident is underway by the parks service and the medical examiner in Coconino County, Arizona.
According to the parks service, the Bright Angel trail is well-defined and steep. The parks service also warns visitors to not attempt to hike from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, where the trail starts, to the Colorado River. Images from the park before last Thursday also show snow at the South Rim.
A 56-year-old man who died at Grand Canyon National Park tried hiking to the Colorado River and back, the National Park Service said. / Credit: Dean Fikar / Getty Images
This hiker's death comes as another 56-year-old hiker died Saturday at Big Bend National Park in Texas. The parks service said they received a call about a person, whose name they did not release, experiencing chest pains. Friends of the hiker attempted CPR on him and continued with the help of bystanders and park volunteers until rangers arrived, the parks service said, but he ultimately died.
Rick Gupman, the park's acting deputy superintendent, said in a statement that staff and partners were "saddened by this loss."
"Our entire park family extends condolences to the hiker's family and friends," Gupman said.
An analysis of federal data between 2007 and 2018 shows there were more than 2,700 deaths at a U.S. National Parks site, while an estimated 3.5 billion recreation visits were made to the parks.
President Biden wraps up visit to Eastern Europe
Woman walking dog in Alaska kicked in head by moose
Stock market steady following release of Fed minutes
Wisconsin voters decided on two candidates to advance to a general election for a seat on Wisconsin's Supreme Court after a four-way primary election that was nonpartisan in name only between two liberal and two conservative judges on Tuesday.
Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly were the top two vote-getters, with Protasiewicz leading with 46% of the vote and Kelly next at 24%.
The two will advance to a head-to-head general election on April 4, a key race that could decide the future of policy in the battleground state. Conservatives currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court, but conservative Justice Patience Roggensack announced her retirement. Roggensack's departure means liberals have a chance to flip the ideological tilt of the court in their direction should Protasiewicz prevail in April.
At stake: Abortion, redistricting and more
From left, Wisconsin state Supreme Court candidates Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell, and Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz participate in a forum at Monona Terrace in Madison, Wis., Jan. 9, 2023.
With a Democratic governor and Republican-controlled state legislature, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will have a lot of say on key issues, including abortion access in the state, which currently has a near-total ban on the procedure due to a state law that was passed during the 1800s.
Other issues at play: voting rights, redistricting and election laws that could determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential race.
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In 2020, the court narrowly rejected a challenge from former President Donald Trump that attempted to overturn his election loss in the state with conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn defecting to join the liberal minority in the decision.
Who is Janet Protasiewicz?
Janet Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County Judge and state Supreme Court contender participates in candidate forum at Monona Terrace in Madison, Wis. Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.
Judge Protasiewicz has been up front about her views on issues such as abortion and the states congressional maps. I believe in a womans freedom in her own decision to make her own decision on abortion, Protasiewicz said in a campaign ad.
She also derided the states local election maps, calling them rigged in a candidate forum in January. Protasiewicz has faced criticism from her conservative opponents for publicly speaking out on her judicial views.
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She significantly outraised Judge Everett Mitchell, the other liberal jurist who ran in this week's primary. Mitchell ended up in fourth place with 7.5% of Tuesday's vote.
Who is Dan Kelly?
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice and current candidate for the bench Dan Kelly participates in a candidate forum at Monona Terrace in Madison, Wis., Jan. 9, 2023.
Former Justice Kelly is most well known for having served on the state Supreme Court before losing his seat in 2020 to Justice Jill Karofsky, a liberal. On the campaign trail, Kelly cast himself as a conservative who can fight back against what he calls liberal activists on Twitter.
Over the past two years, Kelly was found to have been being paid by the state Republican Party and the Republican National Committee to advise on election issues, including Trumps fake elector scheme to overturn the 2020 election, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Contributing: Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wisconsin Supreme Court is headed for a high-stakes general election
The Wise County District Attorneys Office is seeking the death penalty for Tanner Horner, the FedEx driver accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Athena Strand.
After a grand jury indicted Horner last week on charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, prosecutors filed notice with the 271st District Court that they intend to seek the death penalty if Horner is convicted of capital murder at trial.
District Attorney James Stainton told the Wise County Messenger that the decision was based on Athenas age and the violence of the alleged crime.
You look at that little girls face and you just ask yourself, Why? Its just the brutal nature of what went on, the level of violence that the guy brought to this, Stainton said. Its just unspeakable. I do not comprehend how an individual can do this with that level of violence to a child.
Horner, 31, was delivering a Christmas gift of Barbies for Athena to her fathers North Texas home on Nov. 30 when he kidnapped the child and put her in the back of his FedEx truck, according to the Wise County Sheriffs Office. Horner told investigators that he had backed into Athena with the truck and even though she wasnt seriously injured, he took her and killed her because he was afraid she would tell her father about the accident, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Horner told investigators that he tried unsuccessfully to break the girls neck and then strangled her with his hands. He dumped her body on a Trinity River bank and later told investigators where to find her, authorities said.
Officials and members of the community searched for Athena for two days before a tip led law enforcement to investigate Horner and find security video recorded inside his van that showed him with the girl.
Horner lived in Fort Worth before his arrest. He does not appear to have a previous criminal record in Tarrant or Wise counties, but in addition to charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in Athenas case, he now faces three unrelated counts of sexual assault of a child in Tarrant County. Few details of those allegations have been released, but the charges stem from incidents that occurred in 2013 and were investigated by Fort Worth police.
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Horner remains in the Wise County Jail with bond set at $1.5 million. Hes scheduled to be arraigned on March 6, according to court records.
On Tuesday, Athenas mother, Maitlyn Gandy, announced she has joined a wrongful death lawsuit previously filed by the childs father, Jacob Strand, against Horner, FedEx and Dallas-based contractor Big Topspin.
The lawsuit accuses FedEx and Big Topspin which contracted with FedEx for deliveries and hired Horner of failing to properly investigate Horners criminal background, mental history and prior employment and failing to properly train and supervise him.
It also says the two companies failed to implement and enforce safety policies and procedures. The suit accuses FedEx of negligence in contracting with Big Topspin by failing to supervise the company and to investigate its hiring practices.
FedEx Ground is one of many independent operating companies in the FedEx Corp., which includes FedEx Express, FedEx Freight and FedEx Office. In a statement in December, the company said, FedEx Ground contracts with independent businesses that provide package pickup and delivery services using their own employees, vehicles and equipment. The employees of these service provider companies are subject to criminal history background checks as part of the driver eligibility process.
On Tuesday, the company said in an emailed statement that it is aware of the lawsuit and, Our thoughts remain with the family of Athena Strand in the wake of this tragedy.
Officials with Big Topspin could not immediately be reached for comment.
The lawsuit asks for a jury trial and damages of more than $1 million with the amount to be determined by jurors.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the millionaire entrepreneur and author of Woke, Inc., announced Tuesday that he is running for president.
To put America first, we need to rediscover what America is. Thats why I am running for president, he told National Review. I am launching not only a political campaign but a cultural movement to create a new American Dream one that is not only about money but about the unapologetic pursuit of excellence itself.
He said he has lived the full arc of the American dream as a first-generation Indian American. Ramaswamy, who attended Harvard for undergrad before attending Yale Law, is the son of a General Electric engineer and a geriatric psychiatrist.
Weve celebrated our diversity so much that we forgot all the ways were really the same as Americans, bound by ideals that united a divided, headstrong group of people 250 years ago. I believe deep in my bones those ideals still exist. Im running for President to revive them. pic.twitter.com/bz5Qtt4tmm Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) February 22, 2023
Ramaswamy founded biotech company Roivant Sciences in 2014 and served as its CEO until 2021. That year, he published Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam, which says that despite rosy promises of a better, more diverse, environmentally-friendly world, stakeholder capitalism robs us of our money, our voice, and our identity.
In May 2022, Ramaswamy announced the launch of his new financial firm, Strive, which would focus on excellence capitalism rather than encouraging American corporations to get involved in social or environmental issues.
Ramaswamy told National Review this week that he founded Strive to deliver a market solution to the politicization of capital markets and corporate America, in the form of the [environmental, social, and corporate governance] and related movements.
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But market solutions alone will not spawn the national revival that we need, he said, adding that he stepped down from his post as executive chairman of Strive to focus on his presidential campaign.
He is calling for a return to merit in every sphere of our lives.
That means restoring merit for who gets to come to America securing the border unapologetically and eliminating lottery-based immigration in favor of meritocratic admission, he said. We must embrace merit in who gets to succeed in America. As president I would eliminate affirmative action across the American economy.
Ramaswamy said hes been drawn to the idea of running to address a national identity crisis that has left Americans hungry for purpose, meaning, and identity.
We are at a point in our national history when the things that used to fill that void faith, patriotism, hard work, even family have disappeared, he said, adding that in its absence, wokeism, climate-ism as an ideology, radical gender ideology, Covidism have become secular religions that fill that black hole of identity.
Conservatives have gotten too good at pointing out the problem and trying to stamp out the poison without actually addressing the real problem, said Ramaswamy, who has been dubbed the CEO of Anti-Woke Inc. The solution, he says, is to fill that identity void with a vision of American national identity that runs so deep, that it dilutes the secular agendas to irrelevance.
Only once the U.S. finds a united identity can the country begin to take on its external threats, Ramaswamy said. He has called for a total decoupling from China, which he noted is at the top of the list of threats.
This will not be easy and will require a comprehensive set of policies to accomplish the goal: Declare independence from China, he said. If we can defeat China economically now, we can avoid having to do so militarily later.
Taking on China will involve reclaiming global energy leadership, achieving semiconductor self-sufficiency while vigorously protecting Taiwan, and banning children under 16 from using TikTok, he said.
We must use financial levers to hold China accountable for spawning the Covid-19 pandemic. We must even be willing to bar U.S. companies from expanding into China until its government abandons theft and other mercantilist tactics. We can rise to this occasion if we rediscover who we really are, he concluded.
Ramaswamy was critical of President Bidens handling of the Chinese spy balloon, which the U.S. military shot down off the Carolina coast earlier this month, days after it first violated U.S. air space.
China sent the spy balloon to send a message about whos in charge. Biden received that message loud and clear. He shouldve shot it down instantly, he said.
Ramaswamy has also been outspoken about the need to address Big Tech censorship and has called to convert Section 230 the law that protects social-media companies from being legally liable for the content their users post into an opt-in statute.
If companies enjoy federal protections, they should be bound by the same constraints as the federal government including the First Amendment itself, he said. Cant have it both ways.
Taking inspiration from Elon Musks Twitter files, Ramaswamy said he would release the state action files, if he were elected, to publicly expose every known instance in which bureaucrats have wrongfully pressured companies to take constitutionally prohibited actions.
Ramaswamy would be a long-shot candidate in what is likely to be a crowded Republican primary though only Nikki Haley and former president Donald Trump have formally announced 2024 bids so far. He would also likely be the youngest candidate to enter the field.
More from National Review
In 2010, Christian Demeritt booked a photographer to shoot new headshots for her, hoping those images would help propel her acting career. But 13 years later, she discovered others used her pictures for different purposes.
The post Woman Discovers Her Headshots From 13 Years Ago Were Used In Breast Reduction Ads, Erotic Novel Cover appeared first on Blavity.
In a series of TikTok videos, Demeritt chronicled discovering her 13-year-old headshots were used as part of breast reduction advertisements, training modules and an erotic novel.
Deremitt, who got the headshots shortly after earning a degree in theater from Florida A&M University, remembers gravitating toward the photographer after a fellow actress recommended him.
She inboxed me his information and said he does really great work, she told USA Today.
The photographer asked Demeritt to sign a model release form. She agreed and paid him $100. But unfortunately, she did not read the fine print of the document.
Four years passed, and Demeritt, then a happy customer, didnt think much about the photoshoot. Then, someone she knew walked by a newsstand in Sacramento, California, and said she saw her on a magazine cover. She saw a digitally altered image of Dermeritt that made her look like Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa.
When I first found out, I was shocked, Demeritt said. I found it almost unbelievably amusing at that point I had never even been to California.
Demeritt explained in a video that her headshots then started popping up everywhere. One use included a billboard in another country. Another was a breast reduction ad. Her headshots also appeared in articles about what shirts to wear if you have bigger breasts.
Over the years, people have sent Demeritt those pictures of herself approximately 30 times. But, according to USA Today, she doesnt want to call out the photographer because he didnt do anything legally wrong.
However, the most alarming use of Demeritts images was on the cover of His BIG Childhood Sweetheart, an erotic novel published by Afro Romance Books. The book explores interracial relationships, and its cover includes Demeritt with a shirtless white man.
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Afro Romance Books says the author is not responsible for the cover and noted sourcing the images from a purchased subscription to a stock image website. Since Demeritt posted her first video about the situation in January, sales of the book have spiked.
But Demeritt, pursuing her second masters degree in acting from the New York Film Academy in Burbank and working to produce a thesis film, has yet to profit from those sales. Instead, she knows that selling images to stock photo websites is standard for photographers.
This happens often and Im sure a lot of people dont know about it, she told USA Today.
Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, has stated that the work on creating an aircraft coalition is constantly ongoing at the moment, and the matter of sending aircraft to Kyiv "will have a positive decision" in the end.
Source: Kuleba in a comment to the Ukrinform news outlet
Quote: "We are constantly conducting this work on creating an air coalition, or an aircraft coalition as it is called. In fact, seeing that aircraft contain complex technology and are high-maintenance, we will need a collective decision here. There is no country who has said yes yet, but there is no country who said no at the same time. This is absolutely an open option. I believe this matter will be decided with a positive outcome, but given the technological complexity of the issue, it will take some time."
Details: The Foreign Minister has said that Ukraine needs fighter jets, as they are capable of performing two important functions.
"The first one is being part of air defence systems and enhancing it in order to intercept and destroy air targets. And the second one is covering defensive and offensive actions of our troops on the ground," the Minister pointed out.
Background: Dmytro Kuleba has called on countries that could potentially supply aircraft to Ukraine to start training Ukrainian pilots before a political decision on the aircraft is made.
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Daily Life In Kyiv region, As First Anniversary Of Russia's Large-Scale Invasion Nears
A man rides a bicycle past residential buildings that were destroyed during the Russian attack, on Feb. 20, 2023 in Borodyanka, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Credit - Roman PilipeyGetty Images
There are decades where nothing happens, the Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Lenin is thought to have said, and there are weeks where decades happen. While the veracity of the quote is in doubt, its premise couldnt be more true when it comes to Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In the year since Russian President Vladimir Putin set his so-called special military operation into motion, the world has been altered profoundlyin some ways, perhaps, irrevocably. The Feb. 24, 2022 invasion has sparked a new sense of purpose within Europe and the wider U.S.-led Western military alliance. It has upended the world economy and forced a new energy reality in Europe. It has spurred the largest and fastest displacement of people in decades. It has even begun to influence the geopolitical thinking around events that have not yet occurred.
One year on, here are the most significant consequences of the war so far.
A revitalized NATO
When Putin began laying the groundwork for the invasion of Ukraine, he pointed to what he characterized as an existential threat posed by NATOs expansion into post-Soviet space. What was once a fear has since become a self-fulfilling prophecy: As a result of the invasion, the Western military alliance is poised to expand even further with the looming ascension of Finland and Sweden (though the latter is being held up by a Turkish veto).
Such expansion would have been unthinkable just a year ago. Finland and Sweden, long considered buffers between the West and Russia, were neutral countries that long eschewed military alliancesa status quo that was backed by the majority of their populations. But Moscows invasion of Ukraine exposed their vulnerability and, seemingly overnight, public opinion began to swing in favor of NATO membership.
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Finland would have been very unlikely to join NATO on a fast track were it not for Putin, says former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, though thats not all he credits the Russian leader for inadvertently achieving. The invasion of Ukraine has not only spurred the expansion of the alliance, but it has also led to further investment among its membersmost notably Germany and Poland, both of which have dramatically increased their defense spending. Indeed, all NATO members are on track to fulfill the alliances guidelines of spending at least 2% of their national GDP on defense; there is even talk of exceeding that target.
While Ukraines appeals to join the alliance have been rebuffed, Kyiv has nonetheless benefited from the military might of its members, several of which have pledged billions of dollars in financial and military aid.
Such is the irony of Putins war. A year ago, Putin wanted less NATO, says Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliances erstwhile secretary-general. Now, as a direct result of his actions, he has got more NATO.
More from TIME
A stronger, more unified Europe
Like NATO, the European Union has attracted the interest of new prospective members. Ukraine submitted its membership application within days of Moscows invasion, followed by Georgia and Moldova. The bloc has in turn enjoyed a renewed sense of unity and purpose; to date, it has passed nine sanctions packages targeting Russian officials, banks, industries, and more. A 10th round of sanctions is in the works.
European officials admit that maintaining agreement among the E.U.s 27 members hasnt been easy, particularly when it comes to achieving the buy-in of governments closer to Moscow such as Hungary. But on the whole, the war in Ukraine has galvanized European unity and has even allowed Poland, another post-Soviet state once at odds with Brussels over its rule of law violations, to emerge as the standard bearer of E.U. solidarity against Russian aggression.
While support for Ukraines E.U. membership remains highincluding from seemingly unlikely corners, such as Britains former Prime Minister and Brexiteer-in-chief Boris JohnsonKyivs accession to the bloc is unlikely to occur anytime soon. Still, the way some observers see it, the question of Ukraines E.U. membership is a matter of when, not if. Ukraine will eventually become an E.U. member, says Stubb, a prediction that he has also extended to Georgia and Moldova. When someone behaves as aggressively and as illegally as Putin has done, then the rest of us gang up and integrate.
The largest refugee crisis in decades
One of the starkest consequences of the Russian invasion has been the displacement of millions of Ukrainians, internally and externally. To date, more than 8 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe, according to the U.N. refugee agency, the vast majority of them women and children (Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 to 60 are not permitted to leave the country). That represents nearly 20% of Ukraines pre-war population, the highest proportions of which can now be found in neighboring Poland as well as Germany and the Czech Republic.
This is the fastest forced displacement of people since the 1940s, says Beata Javorcik, the chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, noting that the loss of human capital will have a profound impact on Ukraine and its ability to rebuild when the war finally ends. Overall, refugees are typically younger, more educated people, more entrepreneurial people, she adds. These are the people you need for reconstruction.
The intertwining of business and geopolitics
Prior to the Russian invasion, business and geopolitics were largely able to exist separately from one another. There was a sense that you could let trade be trade and let people build their supply chains, make their investments, make money from wherever it makes sense to make money, manufacture things wherever it makes sense to manufacture things, and then let geopolitics be geopolitics and have the two be kind of separate, says Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former trade negotiator at the World Trade Organization and founder of the ExplainTrade website.
But within days of the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine, scores of businesses around the world announced their intentions to suspend their operations in Russia. The biggest change thats happened in peoples minds after the invasion of Ukraine is watching just how quickly geopolitics can override economic considerations, says Grozoubinski. You have regulators requiring that firms include in their risk analysis geopolitics, but increasingly boards [are] doing it as well, something that he says will prove just as relevant when it comes to U.S.-China relations.
Still, of the more than 1,500 multinationals that announced voluntary exits from the Russian market, about 500 have done so completely, according to a list compiled by Yale University.
Another recent analysis produced by B4Ukraine, a coalition of Ukrainian and international civil society organizations, found that of the 3,000 multinational companies, more than half continue to do business with Russia. Many of them are headquartered in G7 countries, according to their latest report, potentially undermining the groups efforts to curtail the Kremlins revenues and support an independent Ukraine.
Less dependence on Russian oil and gas
After Russias invasion, Europe imposed a ban on Russian oil imports and has decreased its dependence on Russian gas from 35.7% in February 2022 to 12.9% todaya shift that is as much a consequence of European initiative as it is of Moscows. In addition to the Kremlin demanding that foreign buyers purchase Russian gas in rubles, in an apparent bid to prop up the countrys struggling currency, the Russian energy firm Gazprom indefinitely halted the flow of gas to Western Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
While the steep decline in Russian energy has spurred fears of an energy crisis this winter, the impact of which is being felt across the continent, it has also turbocharged the transition to alternative, renewable energy sources.
Eastern European E.U. members, which viewed the green transition as something that was imposed on them by Brussels, are actually embracing the green transition because it has become a matter of energy security, says Javorcik. Suddenly, there is a realization that energy security cannot be achieved by geographical diversification of energy sources; you need diversification of the kind of sources.
An incompletely-isolated Russia
The reality that we face in Europe is a permanently isolated Russia, and this is going to be a generational thing, says Stubb, the former Finnish leader. Even if the war were to end tomorrow, it would likely take decades, if not generations, for trust to be restored between Russia and the West. For Ukrainians, that day may never come.
Were not going to be able to put the egg back together again, says Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London. Whatever emerges from this is going to be very different from where it was in 2021, because the distrust of Russia is so much deeper.
But solidarity with Ukraine has its limits. As U.N. General Assembly votes have made clear, not all countries are willing to involve themselves in this war more than they already have been. India and China continue to straddle the line of ostensible neutrality, as have dozens of other countries representing nearly half of the worlds population.
The crisis has shown that most of the non-aligned world has remained non-aligned and, in some cases, is still leaning towards Russia, adds Chalmers. There is not an international consensus against Russia; theres a Western consensus against Russia.
A new focus on Taiwan
Even as Ukraine continues to dominate global focus, world leaders have started to pay closer attention to China and the potential lessons it could glean from Moscow.
Any attempt by China to try to change the status quo [in Taiwan] by the use of military force will have severe consequences for East Asia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Nikkei Asia in a recent interview. But it will also have consequences for NATO allies and for global security.
There are, of course, fundamental differences between Ukraine and Taiwan. While the former is an internationally-recognized independent state, the latter is not. And whereas trade disruptions between Russia and the West have proven particularly damaging for the global economy, a similar such dispute with China, which boasts an economy 10 times the size of Russias, would be apocalyptic, says Grozoubinski.
While Putin and Xi are very different leaders (Xi Jinping is patient and smart, Stubb says, whereas Putin is impatient and rash), the mistakes committed by the former does illustrate what could happen should the latter choose to follow a similar path vis-a-vis Taiwan.
Had Putin just walked into Kyiv in 48 hours, Xi Jinping might think that perhaps I can do the same thing in Taiwan, says Stubb. But now he kind of understands that he cant.
Correction, Feb. 23
The original version of this story misquoted Beata Javorcik on the historical precedents for the displacement of people during the Ukraine War. It was the fastest forced displacement of people since the 1940s, not since 1914.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The World Court ordered Azerbaijan on Wednesday to ensure free movement through the Lachin corridor to and from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, as an intermediate step in ongoing legal disputes with neighbouring Armenia.
The Lachin corridor, the only land route giving Armenia direct access to Nagorno-Karabakh, has been blocked since Dec. 12, when protesters claiming to be environmental activists stopped traffic by setting up tents.
Armenia last month told judges at the World Court, formally known as the International Court of Justice, that neighbouring Azerbaijan's blockade was designed to allow "ethnic cleansing", a claim rejected by Baku.
Armenia's foreign ministry welcomed the court's decision and called on the international community to ensure Azerbaijan immediately implemented the ruling.
"Armenia will closely monitor the situation and inform the court of any violations by Azerbaijan," it 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 the first of several wars in the early 1990s.
The court said on Wednesday it had evidence that traffic through the corridor was still disrupted, causing "shortages of food, medicines and other lifesaving medical supplies", and depriving Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh of critical medical care.
It therefore ordered Azerbaijan to "take all measures at its disposal to ensure the unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions."
Azerbaijan has denied any blockade, saying the activists are staging a legitimate protest against what it characterised as illegal mining activity.
The country's ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said it would "continue to uphold the rights of all people under international law and to hold Armenia to account for its ongoing and historic grave violations of human rights".
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The court rejected a plea for provisional measures by Azerbaijan that would order Armenia to help remove land mines from areas it previously controlled, and to stop planting explosive devices which prevent Azeri nationals from returning to their former homes.
It also rejected pleas by Armenia to order Azerbaijan to stop alleged orchestration of protests and disruption of natural gas flows to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The court instead referred to the emergency measures it had issued in the tit-for-tat cases brought by the feuding South Caucasus neighbours in 2021, which ordered both countries to not do anything that would make the conflict worse and to prevent the incitement of racial hatred against each others' nationals.
The World Court in The Hague is the UN court for resolving disputes between countries.
Its rulings are binding, but it has no direct means of enforcing them.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer, additional reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Jonathan Oatis)
Dong Nai to export 500,000 tonnes of bananas this year
The southern province of Dong Nai has set a target of exporting 500,000 tonnes of fresh bananas this year.
Bananas are displayed at a trade fair in Dong Nai Province
The target was shared by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on February 22 when local firms sent eight containers of bananas to China.
Dong Nai is the country's biggest banana hub with 13,149 hectares. The province is producing an average of 450,000 tonnes of bananas a year with 80 percent for export.
The department said that China is currently the biggest importer of local bananas, followed by South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia.
"We're enjoying a good price of between VND12,000-14,000 per kilo of bananas now," the department said. "We've exported over 200,000 tonnes of the fruit in the first two months of this year, and our target for the whole year is 500,000 tonnes, compared to the 400,000 tonnes last year."
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Chinese General Administration of Customs signed a protocol for fresh bananas exported from Vietnam to China last November.
Chinas re-opening in early January and its increasing import of fruits and vegetables from Vietnam; and the efforts of Vietnamese exporters to maintain orders with partners in the US, the European Union, and Japan, have helped local farmers.
The country is expected to achieve an export turnover of USD2 billion from exporting dragon fruit, bananas, and durian in 2023.
Flash
Photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Office shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) presenting Ukraine's application for fast-track NATO membership on Sept. 30, 2022. [Photo/Ukrainian Presidential Office]
Ukraine, the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will jointly launch a mechanism to coordinate arms supplies to Ukraine, officials said after the first meeting of the three sides' high-level representatives.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he discussed with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell the need to ramp up weapons production and improve arms procurement "to ensure that Ukraine gets the weapons it needs."
"We are looking for ways to accelerate the deliveries from member states to Ukraine," Borrell said.
To this end, the three sides will set up a coordination mechanism that will link their defense industries, procurers and governments. This will allow them to not only meet Ukraine's needs on the frontline but also to replenish the NATO and EU member states' ammunition stockpiles.
Since the consumption rate of ammunition is greater than the production rate, the EU and NATO member states need to ramp up production, Stoltenberg and Borrell said. Efforts to ramp up production started at the end of last summer, according to Kuleba.
NATO will help Ukraine develop a procurement system that is effective, transparent and accountable, Stoltenberg said. The alliance will also increase its targets for ammunition stockpiles through its Defense Planning Process.
Stoltenberg said he regretted Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the United States, which was announced earlier on Tuesday by Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Russia suspends participation in New START rather than withdraws from it, Putin said.
In early February, NATO called on Russia to "return to full compliance" with New START and allow inspections of its nuclear facilities. That "sounds like some kind of nonsense amid today's confrontation," Putin said in his annual address to Russia's Federal Assembly.
He pointed to the combined strike potential of NATO as the United Kingdom and France also have nuclear arsenals that pose a threat to Russia.
Moscow said it had information that "certain figures in Washington" are considering conducting tests to develop new types of nuclear weapons.
[Source]
The worlds oldest flush toilet may have been discovered by archaeologists in China.
During the summer last year, a research team at the Yueyang archaeological site in the Chinese city of Xi'an found parts of the 2,400-year-old lavatory and a bent flush pipe, local news outlets reported.
However, details about the toilet only began circulating widely this month.
The toilet may help researchers learn more about how Chinas ancient ruling elite lived.
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The excavation team who discovered the lavatory located it among ancient palace ruins, prompting them to call it a luxury object.
High-ranking officials most likely used the toilet during the Warring States period (475-221 BC) and the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), according to Liu Rui, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Liu, who helped discover the toilet remains, explained to China Daily that indoor toilets in ancient times were uncommon. To flush the unearthed toilet, servants likely poured water into it, and the toilets pipe likely led to an outdoor pit.
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It is the first and only flush toilet to be ever unearthed in China. Everybody at the site was surprised, and then we all burst into laughter," he shared.
According to China Daily, researchers aim to identify the food commonly eaten at the time by using soil samples obtained from the toilet.
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Before the recently announced discovery, the first modern flush toilet was widely attributed to John Harington, an English courtier who lived from 1561 to 1612.
However, ancient civilizations such as the Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa of the Indus Valley were found to have flushed away feces in toilet holes using water around 4000 BCE.
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Airbus A320 ( A320-232) aircraft of the low cost airline Wizz Air ( W6 ) with registration landing at Eindhoven EIN EHEH international airport in The Netherlands during the day with nice weather and blue sky. WizzAir is a budget European airline with headquarters in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images) - Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Wizz Air has been named the worst airline for short-haul flights in a survey ranking providers.
Customers shamed the carrier for repeated delays, in a survey carried out by consumer group Which?
British Airways' popularity is also falling, according to the report, with customers accusing the once-loved premier carrier of effectively turning itself into a budget airline in a "race to the bottom".
It comes after holiday makers were forced to endure high volumes of cancellations last year as carriers grappled with post-pandemic staffing shortages.
Almost half of Wizz Air flights arrived at their destinations late last year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority, the airlines watchdog.
Wizz Air received one out of five stars for its boarding experience, as well as for cabin environment and seat comfort. Its planes have some of the least generous legroom of all airlines, Which? found
Ryanair fared only marginally better, coming in second-last in the league table after being singled out as the worst performer last year. Just over half of its customers (52pc) said they were satisfied with the service they received and would recommend the company, in the survey of 8,046 people. Wizz Air received a "satisfaction rating" of 48pc.
Ryanair was criticised for its boarding experience, seat comfort, food and drink and cabin environment, but was praised for good, competitive pricing.
The airline had few cancellations. Just 0.5pc of its flights were axed with less than 24 hours notice in 2022, but more than a third arrived late.
British Airways ranked 21st out of 24 airlines. Although this was an improvement on its position last year, when it came in the bottom two, its customer satisfaction score fell from 63pc to 56pc.
One survey respondent accused BA of participating in "a race to the bottom, providing as little as possible and making cattle class sound like something better".
BA received two stars for boarding, seat comfort and value for money, and no more than three stars in any other category. It was one of the least reliable airlines surveyed, with 2.3pc of flights cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.
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Eurowings rounded out the bottom four thanks partly to one of the highest rates of last-minute cancellations, affecting 3.4pc of flights.
Jet2 retained its spot at the top of the league table, with one customer describing it as "the best airline by a country mile".
British Airways defended its service, saying it did not feel "this small survey, conducted during one of the most challenging periods in global aviation, accurately represents the views of the tens of millions of customers whove chosen to fly with us over the same period".
"While we dont claim to get everything right every time, we continue to be recognised for the service we offer, recently winning Best Airline 2022 at the News UK Travel Awards and nine Business Traveller Awards over the past two years," a spokesman added.
A spokesman for Wizz Air said: "A number of issues affecting the global aviation industry contributed to a worse time performance in 2022. These issues resulted from a widespread shortage in staff, in particular within air traffic control, ground operations and baggage handling, security and across airports. We are committed to constantly reviewing processes to mitigate these issues and are seeing an overall improvement in the on-time performance of our routes."
Ryanair strongly refuted the findings of the survey and said it was Britain's most reliable and low fare airline. Eurowings did not respond to a request for comment.
Read more: Ranked and rated: Our verdict on Europes best and worst airlines
Charlotte, North Carolina --News Direct-- XCPCNL Business Services Corporation
McapMediaWire -- XCPCNL Business Services Corporation (OTC: XCPL), a venture development business that leverages knowledge, skill, and experience in the consumer products industry, is pleased to announce, it has been awarded a purchase order in the amount of $2 million from a large tech company.
The scope of work for the purchase order includes content creation for how ads work, digital fraud, and tracking narrative, IoT and app store principles, and expansion of consumer advocate and developer network on policy engagement, including events. This is a significant milestone for XCPCNL Business Services, and the company is excited to embark on this project.
CEO Tim Matthews expressed his optimism and excitement about the purchase order, stating, "We are thrilled to have been awarded this purchase order, and we look forward to working with our partners to deliver exceptional results. This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, and we are confident that our expertise in SaaS and CaaS platforms will enable us to deliver high-quality solutions to our partners."
XCPCNL Business Services is committed to partnering with visionary entrepreneurs and providing them with access to markets and customers. The company's platforms are built on a strategic network of innovation ecosystem, corporate, and university relationships that help their partners inform and accelerate go-to-market strategies.
For legality purposes, the name of this tech company cannot be mentioned.
XCPCNL Business Services Corporation (OTC: XCPL) encourages shareholders to visit their corporate Twitter account at https://twitter.com/RealXCPCNL
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer:
This press release may include, and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may have, "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. Statements regarding possible business combinations and the financing thereof and related matters, as well as all other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions, as they relate to our management team or us, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company's management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in the Company's filing with the Over-the-Counter Market ("OTC"). All subsequent written or forward-looking oral statements attributable to persons or us acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.
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About XCPCNL
Charlotte, NC-based XCPCNL Business Services is a venture development business that leverages its knowledge, skills, and experience in the consumer products industry. Our primary mission is to provide marketing, technology, and other business services to fast-growing consumer product companies and big-box retailers. XCPCNL is a minority-owned and controlled firm.
To learn more about our businesses, services, and opportunities, please contact info@xcpcnl.com
To learn more about XPCNL, visit www.xcpcnl.com.
For Inquiries:
Email: ir@xcpcnl.com
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View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/xcpcnl-business-services-awarded-2m-purchase-order-from-large-tech-company-453960826
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the country to accelerate fundamental scientific research so it can become self-reliant in critical technologies, capping a series of government proclamations in past days about the need to counter Washingtons sanctions on everything from semiconductors to software.
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The government should provide more policy support for research efforts and strengthen the nations strategic technology power, Xi said in a Politburo group study, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday. Xi also ordered the increased use of homegrown alternatives to replace foreign technologies, pledging more funding and tax stimulus to key research institutes.
Although mostly repeating existing policies, the remarks showed Xi taking center stage in countering the Biden administration and injecting renewed urgency into Beijings technology ambitions. Eight of the 10 paragraphs in the Xinhua article began with Xis name or included it within the first few words, making clear his personal role in the effort.
The US has imposed a series of restrictions on Chinas tech industry, including blacklisting companies such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. that are perceived as national champions. Washington also implemented severe controls on the export of chips and chipmaking equipment to China, effectively barring the worlds most important contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., from making cutting-edge silicon for Chinese designers.
The Biden administration even secured an agreement with the Netherlands and Japan to ban their companies from selling advanced chipmaking machinery to China, further limiting Chinese companies ability to advance technologically. Beijing has shown increasing concern that Washington could use such choke points to undermine its ambitions to advance technologically.
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Xi Jinping pointed out that the world has entered the era of big science, Xinhua reported. It is necessary to fight the tough battle for the localization of scientific and technological equipment, operating systems, and basic software.
Gaining more patents in key areas such as next-generation semiconductor materials and equipment could help China counter the US chip curbs, two Chinese scientists close to decision makers wrote last week.
The top leadership of China is increasingly attracted to the development of cutting-edge technologies amid the tech war with the US. In previous Politburo group studies, Xi invited the nations top researchers to explain an array of emerging technologies from artificial intelligence to blockchain.
In the latest commentary, Xi also emphasized the necessity of constructing a national laboratory system with Chinese characteristics and developing high-level basic research talents. He called for broader implementation of an existing program for seek talents among middle school students.
China is also seeking research partners in Europe despite the Biden administrations efforts to block its technology path. Chinas top diplomat Wang Yi in last week called on France to boost cooperation on tech issues and trade in the face of adverse currents.
The European tech giants may resist such cooperation with China, even though such deals could potentially unlock massive demand in the Asian nation. ASML Holding NV., the Dutch company that makes the most advanced chip-making equipment in the world, revealed this month that an employee in China had stolen company data, the second allegation of espionage its made related to the country.
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A New York man was charged with assault and making terroristic threats after appearing in a YouTube prank video at ShopRite in Rochelle Park, the township police department said Wednesday.
Nasir Valenzuela, 19, better known by his stage name Nas Ebk, a Bronx resident, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Penns Grove on Tuesday.
The video, which was posted on the YouTube channel of Buba100x, was filmed at about 1 a.m. on Jan. 9. In it, Valenzuela, wearing a red hoodie, and Buba are filmed going up to ShopRite customers and employees, asking them questions and yelling loudly. At one point, Buba takes the hat of an employee who reacted angrily, saying "don't do that buddy."
Valenzuela then took the employee's hat and ran off before returning it.
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Toward the end of video, it cuts back to the disgruntled employee who engages in a verbal spat with Valenzuela and Buba, with the latter explaining they were filming a video. As the encounter escalated, Valenzuela is shown taking something out of his pocket.
Rochelle Park police alleged that Valenzuela brandished a scalpel-style knife and threatened the employee.
"Walk toward me again and I'll violate you," Valenzuela can be heard saying.
Following the exchange the video shows Valenzuela appear to kick the man before running toward the store's exit.
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Rochelle Park police said Buba, Valenzuela and a third man, who filmed the video, left before authorities arrived at ShopRite.
The video, which was posted last month, has been viewed over 430,000 times. Buba100x has over 550,000 YouTube subscribers. Valenzuela has 126,000 followers on Instagram.
Valenzuela was charged with possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, simple assault, terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. Authorities' attempts to locate him had been unsuccessful prior to his arrest Tuesday. He is in custody at Bergen County Jail.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rochelle Park NJ: Rapper Nas Ebk charged with terroristic threats
A former youth pastor convicted of planting secret cameras in the bathroom of a Texas church will spend decades behind bars, federal officials say.
Chad Rider, 49, was sentenced to 60 years in prison Tuesday, Feb. 21, nearly seven months after a jury found him guilty of producing child pornography, according to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Evidence uncovered in the trial showed Rider and an accomplice set up recording devices to film children while bathing at the church, officials said in a Feb. 21 news release. Rider also filmed two children in residential settings, the news release states.
Rider, who was a youth leader at Denison Church of the Nazarene, filmed seven children, KXII reported.
The church has not publicly commented on the conviction and sentencing. Calls to the church went unanswered Wednesday morning.
Rider was originally arrested in September 2020 following a joint investigation between local authorities, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Homeland Security Investigations offices.
One of the charges Rider faced stemmed from filming his neighbors daughter in her bathroom, according to the Herald Democrat. He also filmed a young girl who was living with his family, officials told the news outlet.
He used his trusted roles as a church leader, care giver to at-risk teens, and as a trusted member of his community to plant secret recording devices in bathrooms and other places where children would be disrobed, U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston said in a news release. This shocking breach of trust was committed by an individual who had falsely sewn a firm belief of good character of himself in so many parents in his community.
Riders accomplice, David Pettigrew, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2021. Together, they filmed the victims by using various hidden cameras, including cameras disguised as hooks, clocks, a picture frame, a smoke detector, an AC wall adapter, charging blocks and a pen, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.
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The victims were between 11 and 14 years old, officials said.
Denison is about 75 miles north of Dallas.
Bible studies teacher asked student for a nude photo on WhatsApp, Florida cops say
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The Japanese police have restricted access to Enshuhama Beach in the city of Hamamatsu, Japan's prefecture of Shizuoka, after a suspicious ball about 1.5 meters in diameter, believed to be made of metal, was found on the shore, media reported on Tuesday.
The ball was discovered by a local resident, who called the police at about 08.45 local time on Tuesday, Japanese broadcaster Daiichi TV reported.
The traffic in the area is being strictly regulated. The object is currently being checked by specialists who have arrived at the scene, according to the news outlet. Moreover, photos of the balloon have been sent to the Japan Self-Defense Force and the Coast Guard, the report said. ...continue reading
SEATTLE Seattle author Sonora Jha would like to make it clear, "for the record," that her new campus-set novel "The Laughter," out now from HarperCollins, is not about Seattle University, where she is a professor and associate dean. (She smiled, though, when she said it.)
"Academia is a rich, rich place for writing satire," Jha said, in an interview at a Capitol Hill coffeehouse last month. (Sample sentence from her book: "Few events are as shorn of mirth as those in which well-dressed faculty attempt to party.") From the long tradition of campus novels, she cited John Williams' "Stoner," Richard Russo's "Straight Man" and Julia May Jonas' recent "Vladimir" as favorites. But Jha said she wasn't seeing anything in the genre that spoke to her specifically as a woman of color other than the Netflix series "The Chair," which "goes so far, but not far enough ... There are so many people of color on campuses now, and we need to tell a story from their point of view."
But something curious happened when she began to work on what would eventually become "The Laughter," a story narrated by Oliver, an aging, self-satisfied academic who has developed an obsession with his new Pakistani Muslim colleague, Ruhaba. Initially, she had planned to write the novel from three alternating points of view: Oliver, Ruhaba, and Ruhaba's young nephew Adil, who has arrived from France to stay with his aunt. It was 2016 when she began, during the presidential election, and she was intrigued by the idea of "the white gaze, the white imagination, this rumbling of a white man's discontent and the backlash, and all of that." She came up with Oliver's voice, and thought she would soon add the other two.
"But Oliver's voice just kept imposing itself, and I kept writing in his voice, and I thought, what is happening?" Jha remembered. "He just kept imposing. It was all going to be third person, but then I thought, oh my God, this man keeps interrupting me and it looks like he wants to tell the story. So I let him take over. I'm still getting to tell the story, but it's going to be very obvious that he's the narrator of this story." So she allowed his narrative voice to dictate the entire novel, "knowing that he was not really going to take over."
It wasn't easy, she acknowledged, writing first person in the voice of someone whom she found off-putting, particularly the sexual fantasy element "that was difficult to write." But it felt important to do so. She studied first-person narrative in a number of novels, particularly inspired by Kazuo Ishiguro's "The Remains of the Day," Julian Barnes' "The Sense of an Ending," and Hanya Yanagihara's "The People in the Trees." After realizing that she was writing the character to expose his gaze, "then it was easier. I started to enjoy it, just being in his head." The more she wrote in Oliver's voice, "the more I came to realize how he sees me and other people, and it made me fiercely aware of white male supremacy."
And while she was careful to give him humanity and vulnerabilities (he is, for example, quite attached to his dog, a trait Jha shares with Oliver), she wasn't interested in giving him a standard redemption arc. "So much of literary fiction about these men, or even films, has been about that journey," she said. "Some readers may find it unsatisfying. It was important to me to take these tropes and turn them on their head. I'm not writing about this man's journey, and these people of color are his tools to his understanding and his change of heart." More important to her was "what's happening to the people that he's around and that he has power over."
"The Laughter," which recently earned a coveted starred review from Kirkus Reviews, is Jha's second novel (her first, "Foreign," was published in India in 2013); she is also the author of the memoir/essay collection "How to Raise a Feminist Son." Balancing writing and academic work comes naturally to her, she said. "The obsession with writing it just feels so good, you know?" (How does she find the time? She lives alone, her son is grown and launched, and "I'm not obsessive about household care.") She's excited for her colleagues at Seattle University to read "The Laughter." A few in the English department have read it, she said, and "felt very seen, very represented. I have to keep focused on that, I am writing for those that have not been represented in campus novels, or in literary fiction in general."
Already at work on another novel, she continues to find inspiration all around her particularly from her students. "My students in general inspire the heck out of me," she said. "I've been teaching 20 years, so I've seen the millennials and I've seen Gen Z. I'm very excited about them. I stay very optimistic. Of course, some of them, the edges need a little rounding out, but they are very engaged and know things, and they're very kind to each other. That kindness is the thing that really inspires me the immediate empathy that they have for somebody else who seems a bit on the outside."
A juvenile is in custody following an alleged threat to students and faculty at Fremont-Mills School, according to a press release from the Fremont County Sheriffs Office.
Parents and students began calling the sheriffs office on Feb. 21 at around 8:30 p.m., and reported a threat made via social media by a student about bringing a gun to school and shooting multiple people, Deputy Andrew Wake told The Daily Nonpareil.
Deputies investigated the threat Tuesday night and found it to be credible, though no weapons were recovered, according to Wake.
The 12-year-old student was placed under arrest and charged with making a terroristic threat. The student was taken to the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center to await further court proceedings.
Hes been dead for more than 400 years, but most everyone has said or done something in the past 24 hours directly influenced by him. During the final Hawk Talks lecture at Northeast Community College this semester, students, employees and the public are invited to find out how William Shake
Flash
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a regular press conference in Beijing, China, Feb. 21, 2023. [Photo/Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday refuted a false claim by certain U.S. officials, saying there are more than enough facts to show the true nature of the United States as a source of trouble rather than "defender of peace" for the world.
Noting the United States is the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing that just yesterday, the U.S. side announced a further 500 million U.S. dollars worth of military aid to Ukraine.
"It makes people wonder what the United States is up to by falsely claiming that China is offering weapons, and whether the United States finds it conscionable to tell the world it wants peace and yet sits and watches its defense industry lining up their pocket," Wang said.
"We all saw what the United States did in Afghanistan with its strategy of 'fighting to the last Afghan.' Does it now want Ukraine to 'fight till the last Ukrainian'?" he said.
Wang stressed that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is built on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party, which is within the sovereign right of any two independent states.
"We do not accept the U.S.'s finger-pointing or even coercion targeting China-Russia relations," he added.
The United States should seriously reflect on what it has done, stop fanning the flames or profiting from it, and stay truly committed to promoting peace talks as China has been doing, Wang said.
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Weather Alert
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA... The National Weather Service in Omaha/Valley has issued a Red Flag Warning for wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from 1 PM to 8 PM CDT Sunday. * Affected Area...In Iowa, Monona. In Nebraska, Knox, Cedar, Thurston, Antelope, Pierce, Wayne, Boone, Madison, Stanton, Cuming, Burt, Platte, Colfax, Dodge, Butler, Saunders, Seward, Lancaster, Saline and Jefferson. * Winds...Northwest 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph. * Relative Humidity...As low as 20 percent. * Impacts...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. &&
Cairo-based Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ) has expressed concerns about the situation of freedom of press in Tunisia after President of the Tunisian journalists union has been targeted by a lawsuit lodged by the state against him.
Mohamed Yassine Jelassi Tuesday indicated his lawyer informed him that security authorities have lodged a lawsuit against him for insulting a security officer and obstructing traffic during a July sit-in staged by their union, the SNJT. He however indicated he has not yet been summoned.
The FAJ in a statement expressed support for the SNJT and condemned the lawsuit against its leader.
The federation urges, moreover, the Tunisian government to honor its international commitments and opt for dialogue and negotiation. The union also indicated it is concerned about developments in the situation of journalists in Tunisia.
The FAJ also denounced the serious threats to Tunisian journalists economic rights.
The Cairo-based organization also deplored the repeated attacks on Tunisian journalists, victims of illegal prosecutions contrary to the laws regulating the profession in the North Africa country, including the latest attack on the SJNT.
Press freedom has declined in Tunisia since a power grab by President Kais Saied in July 2021, leading to fears of a setback for press freedom, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a report in January.
Between 2021 and 2022, Tunisia dropped from 73 to 94 in RSF Press Freedom Index, the organization added.
Morocco and the Netherlands have agreed to strengthen further their cooperation ties to counter the threats and challenges posed by criminal activities of cross-border trafficking networks, including people smuggling.
The agreement was reached during the meeting held Tuesday in Rabat between Moroccan Minister of the Interior Abdelouafi Laftit and Dutch minister of Migration Eric Van Der Burg.
The two ministers hailed the positive results yielded by Joint Permanent Migration Group, set up last year, leading to better coordination regarding all issues related to migration.
Laftit highlighted in this regard Moroccos efforts made in border control and fight against all forms of transnational crime, affirming that the North African Kingdom plays a key role in regional security.
Triangular partnership (Morocco/Netherlands/Africa) is an efficient tool to combat human trafficking through the appropriate training and the reinforcement of the capacities and technical support of partner countries in the South.
The two ministers welcomed the good prospects opened up in the field of regular migration and circular mobility, underlining the positive role and importance of the Moroccan community residing in the Netherlands.
According to Laftit, all Moroccan unaccompanied minors duly identified should be repatriated in full respect of their rights, their best interests and the international commitments.
FBI Director Christopher Wray conferred on Tuesday in Rabat with Head of Moroccos National Police and Domestic Intelligence agency Abdellatif Hammouchi on bilateral cooperation against emerging threats and security challenges related to transnational crime.
The two sides also discussed ways to disrupt the movement of terrorists through borders, the exchange of information on jihadists, address threats of chemical, biological & nuclear weapons, and expanding counter-terrorism coordination to include the Sahel-Sahara area.
The FBI chiefs visit to Morocco reflects the strength of cooperation between the Moroccan security services and U.S. law enforcement agencies within the frame of the deep strategic partnership existing between the two countries, sharing common commitment for regional peace and international stability.
This visit is the second of its kind under the joint action program set by the two parties. It comes after the visit paid by Hammouchi to the U.S. in June 2022, during which he met with Heads of U.S. National Intelligence, the CIA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The US Department Counter Terrorism Report cites a long history of counter terrorism cooperation between Washington and Rabat and lauds Moroccos comprehensive strategy, which includes vigilant security measures, regional and international cooperation, and terrorist counter-radicalization policies.
Moroccan law enforcement agencies participated in a wide range of U.S.-sponsored programs to improve the countrys counterterrorism technical and investigative capabilities, including financial investigation, intelligence analysis, and cybersecurity, said the US Department in the latest version of the report.
Morocco and Kenya have agreed to strengthen cooperation ties between the two countries offices of public prosecutors, especially in the judicial field.
A memorandum of understanding was signed, Tuesday in Nairobi, between the Kings Attorney General at the Court of Cassation, President of the Public Prosecutors Office, El Hassan Daki, and Director of the Attorney Generals Office of Kenya, Noordin Mohamed Haji.
This memorandum aims at developing the ties of understanding, friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two institutions, especially in the judicial field. It is based on the principles of mutual respect, equality and common benefit in respect of the judicial systems of both countries, as well as international conventions.
The agreement will strengthen the establishment of general relations and cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime, such as cybercrime, corruption, money laundering, drug trafficking and trafficking in human beings.
Under the MoU, the two parties undertake to cooperate in several areas, such as exchanging official visits on all levels to maintain and consolidate the friendship and common understanding, strengthening cooperation in training members of the prosecutors offices, as well as organizing forums and thematic conferences related to the professional skills of both parties.
The signing of this memorandum follows the talks held in Rabat during Noordin Hajis visit to Morocco and reflects the common visions of both parties for areas of cooperation.
This is a first step in the process of implementing bilateral judicial cooperation, Daki told MAP, stressing that the goal is to strengthen cooperation in the criminal field, especially in the fight against organized crime, and develop mechanisms for action between the two institutions.
Daki referred to the challenges posed by new technologies and modern means of communication in the fight against crime.
International NGO Horizon Sans Frontieres has called for the natural leadership of King Mohammed VI to launch the African initiative on international migration for a better management of youth people seeking dignified future, while nearly 1,000 sub-Saharan migrants, expelled by Algeria to the border with Niger, are suffering in the desert.
According to the NGO, 41 Senegalese, 365 Guineans, 301 Malians, 34 Beninese, 30 Gambians and 12 Cameroonians, are in a situation of extreme urgency and must walk many kilometers to reach the town of Assamaka.
For Horizon Sans Frontieres, King Mohammed VI, hope of the African youth, embodies the image of the African leader capable of rekindling hope for the youth people, who are losing their life in the Mediterranean and in the desert.
HSF says Morocco is a welcoming land and country of transit for thousands of young Africans due to its geostrategic position and proximity to Europe.
Following the troubling regional and international management of migration flux, King Mohammed VI stands out as the man of the situation for a united Africa facing the challenges of globalization, affirms the NGO.
It is to be recalled that Morocco is hosting the African Migration Observatory, whose setting up was proposed by King Mohammed VI, in his capacity as the AU leader on the issue of migration.
Jill Biden has started her trip to Africa as first lady, when she arrived in Namibia this Wednesday Feb.22, before later heading to Kenya.
During her visit in the Southwest African nation of Namibia and the East African nation of Kenya, Biden will focus on womens empowerment, childrens issues and the food insecurity that has ravaged parts of the continent. Dr. Bidens trip builds on last years US-Africa Leaders Summit and as another demonstration of President Bidens commitment that the United States is all-in on Africa and all-in with Africa, Judd Devermont, senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council said.
Jill Biden has become the first US First Lady to visit Namibia since the country gained independence in 1990.
In addition to focusing on women and children, the First Lady will draw attention to the dire food insecurity that is again gnawing at East Africa as she visits Kenya.
President Biden highlighted the situation in December when he announced a large humanitarian aid package at a summit that brought African leaders to Washington. And he discussed it again Tuesday as he highlighted the effects of Russias war in Ukraine on global food supplies. Jill Biden visited Africa five times as second lady, highlighting the plight of the powerless, including during a visit to the continents largest refugee camp at Dadaab in Kenya in 2011.
The first European Union-Kenya Business Forum concluded on Wednesday Feb.22 in capital, Nairobi, with Kenyas William Ruto urging the EU to conclude economic partnership deal with the East African Community (EAC) regional bloc.
The two-day forum brought together more than 500 participants including politicians, business executives, experts and diplomats.
Ruto participated in the signing of an EU funding package for TradeMark Africa on Tuesday that is designed to facilitate a five-year program that will boost Kenyas exports and support the government in creating a positive business environment. The funding package is worth $27 million dollars bringing together both the public and private sectors of Kenya alongside European financing institutions with the overall aim of achieving a sustainable growth of exports, including transport and logistics.
In his speech, Ruto insisted that for the EU doing business with Kenya is strategic and highly beneficial, while on the other hand access to the EU market will enable Kenya expand its export base and also create employment opportunities. The president also urged the EU to fasten the process of concluding its economic partnership agreement with the EAC. It is one of the notable interventions that can make a tremendous difference to our economic performance and there is an excellent reason, in the EUs best interests, to conclude the deals, he said.
Ruto also noted that despite agriculture being the highest job-creating sector, exporters still face challenges with quality standards and infrastructure among others. He, however, expressed his confidence that continued consultations and collaboration can unlock these barriers and smoothen the path for stronger trade relationships.
King Mohammed VI has contracted the flu and will therefore observe a period of rest and avoid traveling, following the recommendations of the Sovereigns personal doctor, a statement by Ministry of the Royal Household, Protocol and Chancellery said.
King Mohammed VI has contracted a flu and for this reason, his personal physician has recommended to the Sovereign to observe a period of rest and to avoid traveling for a few days, the Statement said.
The City of Auburn plans to host its annual Arbor Day celebration with a sapling giveaway this Saturday.
Members of the Auburn Tree Commission are set distribute free trees to the public from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Tree giveaway locations include Kroger on Dean Road, Publix at Moores Mill, and Publix at Cary Creek.
Arbor Day is celebrated at different points in the calendar in different places with different climates and planting seasons, and the state of Alabama celebrates Arbor Week in the last week of February.
What we use it for is an opportunity to give away trees so people have more trees, but also just to think about the importance of trees in our community, said City of Auburn urban forestry specialist Anne Randle.
The tree commission will have a variety of trees to hand out on Saturday. Eastern Redbud and White Oak bare roots seedlings, potted hophornbeam, fringetree, and tulip poplar trees will be available free of charge for the public.
If you are looking to plant a tree, weve got something that will cover you, Randle said. Some are better for shade, some are better for full sun. Some are going to be big, tall overstory trees, some are going to be smaller flowering trees. No matter what youre looking for, one of those locations will have a tree that you need.
Randle encourages residents to come early, however, as she says free tree supplies often run out quickly.
If you need a tree theres not a limit to how many you can take, Randle said. We just want folks who will plant them to get them, so come early. Go to a location closest to you and be ready to take home some trees.
The City of Auburn has been recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA for the past 39 years. The designation came with the city budgeting, planning for, and protecting its tree canopy as well as holding its annual Arbor Day celebration.
The city has also received the Tree City USA Growth Award for four consecutive years.
Were a heavily forested area, Randle said. We dont want folks to take that for granted because we have to protect our trees if we want to keep them.
Arbor Day first began in Nebraska in 1872 when newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton proposed a tree planting holiday. The celebration date was set for April 10 of that year. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, more than 1 million trees were estimated to have been planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day.
Today, all 50 states as well as countries across the world celebrate the day. National Arbor Day is typically set for the last Friday in April. This year the national holiday will be Saturday April 28.
The best time to plant trees in Nebraska is in April because everything is still dormant, it hasnt gotten hot yet, Randle said. Alabama celebrates the end of February because thats a much better time to plant trees than April. So, we want to plant when its still cool outside. The trees are still dormant, its not so hot and so dry.
Take this quiz to find out what your view on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how you would respond to it!
How many people were scared? *raises hands* me too. I was really really scared. Tyra Banks on Americas Next Top Model reaction video meme pic.twitter.com/qVI4oluFSw all reaction videos (@allreactionvidz) September 20, 2019
The United States is facing the difficult decision of supplying additional F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as the nation continues to fight the onslaught of Russian invaders. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is expected to advocate for additional international Ukrainian aid at the upcoming G20 meeting in Bengalu, India. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell also recently reiterated the support of most Republicans for providing Ukrainian aid. However, there are worries that funding has fallen into the hands of corrupt players or that the U.S. has spent too much altogether by engaging in a war in which it is not a participant.To address this critical issue, you can take this quiz:A.) Help her look for it.B.) Reassure her, but just stand there.C.) Buy her a new one.D.) Say, "Kim, there's people that are dying."A.) Use all my resources to hold the perpetrator accountable.B.) Encourage her to get mental health counseling to cope.D.) Schedule a Playboy photoshoot and say, "You're doing amazing, sweetie!"C.) I'm the one who leaked it.A.) Grab her and remove her.B.) Help clean up the table.C.) Sit there uncomfortably.D.) Help her flip it and shout, "Prostitution whore!"A.) Blac ChynaB.) Scott HumphriesC.) KanyeD.) That cucumberA.) Allow Tiffany to join the alliance of other models and give her money.B.) Provide F-16s for Tiffany to annihilate Tyra.C.) Stand there and not say anything.D.) Yell at Tiffany, too.A.) Increase the NATO presence around Tiffany.B.) Impose sanctions on Tiffany for hairspray, makeup, and provision of credits to her banks and oil companies.C.) Be stern but not too super harsh because a lot of our allies still rely on her oil and gas.D.) Yell at her even more.A.) Sharon Osbourne dumping alcohol on Megan's head and yanking her weave.B.) Sumthin' pooping on Flavor Flav's floor.C.) Kelly being invited to Scary Island and yelling "Al Sharpton!"D.) Hottie giving raw chicken to Flavor Flav.A.) Pumkin spitting on New York unprovoked represents Russia attacking Ukraine unprovoked.B.) Hoopz represents NATO standing by to support New York after Pumkin's attack.C.) Pumkin spitting on New York represents Russia rightfully attacking Ukraine for having the nerve to continue being an independent nation instead of submitting to Russian annexation.D.) Flavor Flav represents Scandinavian nations, as he is wealthy and has Viking horns.A.)B.)C.)D.)A.) As scared as the girls on ANTM were when Tyra "fainted" (very very).B.)C.) As worried as Lauren Conrad making this face:D.) As worried as New York was about Hoopz winning (not at all).A.) Any bit of support for Ukraine is important and helpful, even if it is performative efforts to "increase awareness."B.) Much of it is ineffective, especially without donations or legislation, but spreading education is important.C.)D.) I spit on it, just like Pumkin spit on New York onYaaaas, queen of supporting the right of an independent nation to have a democratic government in the face of an invasion from an increasingly fascist former Soviet nation! You are very informed of the current issues and developments ongoing in Ukraine and likely want to supply more funding and equipment, including F-16s, and probably want to kick some Putin butt yourself. Just be careful u don't violate the North Atlantic Treaty Association, gworl!U are on the side of Ukraine, even though you might get a lot of your information about the war through social media and not, you know, ~the news~ and are likely feeling war fatigue, which, come on girl, most Ukrainians are, too! U are probs a lil freaked out by the $50 billion or so that the U.S. has given to the counterattack efforts, but, come on, the U.S. is supes rich and we can probs afford it so like why not? Also, I'm sure you have probably posted a Zaddy Zelenskyy meme or two, which I condone.Sis, cal up your pals Alexander Lukashenko, Viktor Orban, Xi Jinping, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei just calm the fuck down? Like, why u gotta hate human rights so much? Like obvi u are not in support of sending funding and military equipment to Ukraine, but do u gotta be such a hater and also an enabler? Nah, jk, but u either don't care much about the war or u are not in favor of supporting Ukraine through additional funding, sanctions on Russia, or diplomatic pressure.Girl, u might be Russia! hello Ms. Putin, did you forget I had a livejournal? Srsly, u need to calm down in your efforts of reuniting the dispersed Soviet Bloc and consolidating ur power. Why not mellow out by legalizing weed and making it legal to be gay again? Then maybe u could loosen up the restrictions on the media so everybody could have a big laugh about it. Um, also, though, you should probably pay a whole bunch of reparations to Ukraine, lol!
Not dating a grandpa anymore is doing wonders for Flo.
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that cokeschnort pic w/ billie is such a dig but I'm a slut for the drama so feel free to dick slap me again, OP
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Lmaoo, I honestly did my best shoehorn it in there because I find it funny
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LMAO on Billie's show I Hate Suzie, Suzie has a scandal involving a photo with her blowing a dude and coke on the table or something........ I guess this is what the inspiration was lmao
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Florence was the best outcome for me from the DWD drama.
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Genuine question: as someone who had a very brief party-lite phase, what does one do for that many hours into the morning (besides drugs) at a party?
Is it mostly sitting around smoking and talking after the dancing is over? hooking up?
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You dance, drink, go to afterparties/hook up, talk aaaaa lot, and/or eat at shady places that are open at 4am. Thats how my friends and I spent our partying days anyway. Good times, but you couldnt pay me to do it now.
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are you not spending copious amounts of money for one night
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During my party days you would be at the bar/club until they turned the lights on, then everyone goes to jack in the box or Dennys or the one pizza place that might be open
Then theres an after party and people wander home around 4 or 5am
I once had a house party that didnt let up until 5am, it was super fun
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back in my day when the clubs closed at 5 you either went to get mcdonalds and/or a kebab or you went to a lousy afterparty and had deep conversations with people you barely knew. it was fun, people tend to confess their deepest fears and desires when drunk at 6 am.
Edited at 2023-02-22 02:03 pm (UTC)
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Clubs in Spain close at 7 am, after parties start at 8-ish (the "official" ones, there are some open space places that are just... There). I like to dance and have a lot of energy, especially when drinking (don't really do party drugs), so the times I've gone to an after, I can easily stay there up to 1 pm. It's what someone said above: people hook up, take/look for drugs, dance.
Sometimes, you leave the club and go to someone's house and continue talking/play board/eat something.
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Ive never done, like coke or stuff like that, and never hooked up with random dudes, but I LOVE to dance and so if theres a great DJ, and the Red Bull Vodkas or Jager Bombs (or Joose/4Lokos for my mid thirties millennials out there) are flowing. Im up until McDonalds starts breakfast service.
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drink, talk, dance, drugs, eat, sing, make out, cry, etc.
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mostly the parties i go to end at 4-6am... then we go back to friends' apt and sit around talking, doing *stuff*/drinking/smoking and listening to music lol we like to pass the phone around and pick stupid songs from "back in the day" (i'm 32, so throwbacks from childhood, middle/high school & college) lmao t.a.t.u. always gets played
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Crazy at people who walk the streets barefoot. I'm always scared of stepping into something or puncturing my foot with something!
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It's usually rich people, since they can afford great medical care
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Or drunk people who cba to walk home in heels! (It me)
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I have walked barefoot in London many times, those pavements are not good enough for a heels + clumsy + drunk off my fucking ass combo.
I don't make good decisions
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lmao me in my 20s in east london
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8:45 whewww please tell me she took a NAP somewhere in there. prob around 6ish lbr
also i was laughing at your crossed out note op lmaooo bc i truly have no idea so i like to be informed! i hope theyre symptoms reside from their hayfever
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also a 2 day hangover i would rather not.. live lmao
Edited at 2023-02-22 07:19 am (UTC)
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She's young, but damn, she def had a nap. There was some private room with like cucumber water and food for her. Or someone on her team made a run to KFC/taco bell/whatever fast food joint just got her. Maybe she got some rest in the limo.
Edited at 2023-02-22 07:25 am (UTC)
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Maybe a nap...maybe a 'chemical enhancement'
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Damn I miss partying
Someone on here said they have friends in their thirties who still have fun house parties every weekend
I feel like my friends were over partying by their mid twenties
Now its maybe brunch or happy hour, but its not like Im going to get shit faced at brunch so its not the same
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<3 i love a good house party <3
i'm in my thirties and i dont plan on stopping partying, although i know that the recovery takes longer than it used to so i can't just party until 4am and go to work/class at 9am like nothing happened. :')
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Yeah, my social circle are mid-to-late thirties and the most we'll do is birthday cocktails (the ones who still drink) and a dinner to celebrate.
But I'm good to leave the bar/club scene behind before I felt too old to be there.
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I still go like once a year... But it involves me sleeping from 18:00 to midnight so that I can be there when it really begins. lol Oh and I can't even drink alcohol anymore.
But yeah, certainly not every weekend, and certainly no uncomfortable shoes anymore.
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I'm in my thirties and miss partying sometimes but the hangovers are SO atrocious now and heart issues rule out any kind of stimulant being an option so it's just not the same. Last NYE is the hardest I've gone in years and I was still in bed before 3am lmao.
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Brunch drinking is about all the drinking strength I have left in me lol
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Thats when all my friends stopped, in their mid-20s. But now in their 40s, theyve kinda started back up againat least every few months
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Good for them tbh.
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In the summer, we day drink on a boat. Thats the wildest thing I think we do. In the winter, we just eat. Sometimes have poker nights with our respective husbands but thats super rare.
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I made it until 2018. I can no longer live that life, and I never want to see the sunrise after a long night of partying ever again.
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God, I really miss house parties.
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Girl I'm dying when my family's New Years party goes to 5 am, ain't no way
Don't get me wrong I think parties are fine (at least the kind I go to, I never went to ones in someone's house in HS/College, those are a different genre of party) but I'm perfectly fine with not taking it that far lol
Barefoot on the street do these people not think of the world they live in? Bring some chancletas in a bag and leave it in the car like the rest of us, nasty.
Edited at 2023-02-22 10:53 am (UTC)
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Lily James definitely going through her break up era; late night partying, pap strolls with an ex, girls trip, incessant thirst traps on IG. Stars are really just like us.
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coke in the park at noon?
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Who among us hasn't had a toot while a dog in a bandana plays frisbee and kids run around?
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i think florence is one of the most talented amongst her peers but something about her as a person irks my soul. that cu pic of her face made my morning a wee bit worse i think..
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I irrationally don't like Florence and I don't know why.
And while I wouldn't walk barefoot I'm guessing from the car to the door of a hotel is relatively low risk.
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I think she has liked pro-Debt things in the past....she also does that annoying raspy voice thing when she sings that i swear all white women do.
Shes really gorgeous though and her cooking videos are qt.
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same a lil bit. I don't fully DISLIKE her but I think part of it is that the first thing I saw her in was little women and she rode my last fucking nerve through the whole thing. It planted a lil seed in my brain for sure lol
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A University of Rochester research team has proposed a novel, physics-based approach, using a substrate of either a layer of metal or alternating layers of metal and dielectric material for perovskite based solar cells. Researchers typically synthesize perovskites in a wet lab, and then apply the material as a film on a glass substrate and explore various applications.
Their reported findings have been published in Nature Photonics.
The competition, silicon, the standard semiconducting material used in a host of applications computer central processing units (CPUs), memory and semiconductor chips, detectors, and solar cells is an abundant, naturally occurring material. However, it is expensive to mine and purify.
Perovskites a family of materials nicknamed for their crystalline structure have show extraordinary promise in recent years as a far less expensive, equally efficient replacement for silicon in solar cells and detectors.
The research led by Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics at the University of Rochester, suggests perovskites may become far more efficient.
Instead, Guo proposed a new, physics-based approach. By using a substrate of either a layer of metal or alternating layers of metal and dielectric material rather than glass he and his coauthors found they could increase the perovskites light conversion efficiency by 250 percent.
This illustration from the Guo Lab shows the interaction between a perovskite material (cyan) and a substrate of metal-dielectric material. The red and blue pairings are electron-hole pairs. Mirror images reflected from the substrate reduce the ability of excited electrons in the perovskite to recombine with their atomic cores, increasing the efficiency of the perovskite to harvest solar light.
Related: Freeport LNG Gets Regulatory Approval For Commercial Operations
Guo noted, No one else has come to this observation in perovskites. All of a sudden, we can put a metal platform under a perovskite, utterly changing the interaction of the electrons within the perovskite. Thus, we use a physical method to engineer that interaction.
Novel perovskite-metal combination creates a lot of surprising physics
Metals are probably the simplest materials in nature, but they can be made to acquire complex functions. The Guo Lab has extensive experience in this field. The lab has pioneered a range of technologies transforming simple metals to pitch black, superhydrophilic (water-attracting), or superhydrophobic (water-repellent). The enhanced metals have been used for solar energy absorption and water purification in their recent studies.
In this new paper, instead of presenting a way to enhance the metal itself, the Guo Lab demonstrates how to use the metal to enhance the efficiency of pervoskites.
A piece of metal can do just as much work as complex chemical engineering in a wet lab, Guo said, adding that the new research may be particularly useful for future solar energy harvesting.
In a solar cell, photons from sunlight need to interact with and excite electrons, causing the electrons to leave their atomic cores and generate an electrical current, Guo explained. Ideally, the solar cell would use materials that are weak to pull the excited electrons back to the atomic cores and stop the electrical current.
Guos lab demonstrated that such recombination could be substantially prevented by combining a perovskite material with either a layer of metal or a metamaterial substrate consisting of alternating layers of silver, a noble metal, and aluminum oxide, a dielectric.
The result was a significant reduction of electron recombination through a lot of surprising physics, Guo said. In effect, the metal layer serves as a mirror, which creates reversed images of electron-hole pairs, weakening the ability of the electrons to recombine with the holes.
The lab was able to use a simple detector to observe the resulting 250 percent increase in efficiency of light conversion.
Several challenges must be resolved before perovskites become practical for applications, especially their tendency to degrade relatively quickly. Currently, researchers are racing to find new, more stable perovskite materials.
As new perovskites emerge, we can then use our physics-based method to further enhance their performance, Guo said.
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Coauthors include Kwang Jin Lee, Ran Wei, Jihua Zhang, and Mohamed Elkabbash, all current and former members of the Guo Lab, and Ye Wang, Wenchi Kong, Sandeep Kumar Chamoli, Tao Huang, and Weili Yu, all of the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics, and Physics in China.
***
This news is sure to get some foreheads slapped. There is sure to be a lot of replication getting under way quickly. Then all the perovskite formulations will get retested. Perhaps the grand perovskite formulation may already be at hand.
As this research gets tested and replicated there should be a realization of this work qualifying as a breakthrough. However the future works out, the intuition shown by this team in forming the results deserves congratulations!
Perovskites have just received a huge kick of energy for more research.
By Brian Westenhaus via New Energy and Fuel
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The United States will need oil production for at least another decade, President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address earlier this month. Analysts and major forecasters say that globally, it could be at least another decade until oil demand peaks, and even after that, consumption will not fall off a cliff. Instead, in most scenarios, oil demand is set for a long and slow decline through 2050, but even in 2050, the world will need oil, all forecasters say.
At Least Another Decade
President Biden slammed Big Oil in his State of the Union address, saying, Have you noticed Big Oil just reported its profits. Record profits. Last year, they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis. I think its outrageous.
Then he veered off the prepared speech and said that in talks with some oil companies, they told him why they didnt invest more to increase domestic production.
And when I talked to a couple of them, they say, We were afraid you were going to shut down all the oil wells and all the oil refineries anyway, so why should we invest in them? I said, Were going to need oil for at least another decade, and thats going to exceed and beyond that. Were going to need it. Production.
The President and his Administration are calling on energy firms to boost oil production in the short term to keep American gasoline prices low. But the industry wants long-term policy encouraging investment in supply and assurances that the U.S. oil and gas industry will be treated as an asset, not a liability. Oil firms want to know whether their potential future investments have a chance to make returns and not be botched by federal regulatory and policy hurdles.
Related: Saudi Arabias Oil Revenues Hit $326 Billion In 2022
Since President Biden took office, the American Petroleum Institute (API) has called on policymakers to ensure U.S. oil production is thriving.
In one of the latest initiatives, API proposed a policy plan for Congress to promote policies enabling investment in the U.S. oil, gas, and refining sectors.
Independent experts agree that global oil and natural gas demand will increase over the next 30 years. And nearly half of the worlds energy is expected to come from natural gas and oil in 2050, API President and CEO Mike Sommers said last month, commenting on the plan.
That demand will be met one way or another. If America does not meet it, it will be met by countries that do not share our security interests, environmental standards, or values, Sommers added.
Peak Demand Doesnt Mean No Oil
Global fossil fuel consumption is expected to peak or plateau within this decade, accelerated by the policy and trade flow shifts following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest annual report last year.
For the first time ever, a World Energy Outlook scenario from the IEA based on the current government policies and settings has global demand for every fossil fuel showing a peak or plateau, the agency said in its World Energy Outlook 2022. Even natural gas, which was previously expected to continue rising, could now join coal and oil in peaking around 2030, per the IEAs latest estimates.
According to the BP Energy Outlook 2023, oil demand is expected to peak between the late 2020s and early 2030s as the Russian invasion of Ukraine is accelerating investment in clean energy and governments are looking to bolster energy security with higher shares of renewables in the energy mix.
However, BPs chief economist Spencer Dale said, The scale of the economic and social disruptions over the past year associated with the loss of just a fraction of the worlds fossil fuels has also highlighted the need for the transition away from hydrocarbons to be orderly.
BPs CEO Bernard Looney also stressed an orderly transition when he announced this month that the supermajor would be producing more oil and gas for longer, and now aims for a fall of 20% to 30% in emissions from the carbon in its oil and gas production in 2030 compared to a 2019 baseline, lower than the previous aim of 35-40%.
Supply Challenges
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Whatever the speed of the energy transition, the world will still need oil and gas for decades. Industry professionals say that exploration and production will still be needed because the rate of depletion of existing fields is faster than the rate at which oil demand is expected to begin falling once it peaks, probably at some point around 2030.
Known fields alone cannot meet oil and gas demand to 2050, Andrew Latham, Vice President, Energy Research at Wood Mackenzie, said in a report this month.
The world is far from the end of the hydrocarbon era, Latham said, adding that in WoodMacs base-case Energy Transition Outlook (ETO), oil demand peaks in 2030, before declining slowly to 94 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2050. Even in the Accelerated Energy Transition (AET) outlook of global net zero by 2050 and achieving the most ambitious targets in the Paris Agreement, oil demand will still be 33 million bpd by 2050.
We see enough advantaged resources to satisfy only about half of our base-case oil and gas demand forecast to 2050, Latham says. According to WoodMac, advantaged resources are the supply of lower-cost, lower-carbon barrels. And this supply remains scarce, the consultancy notes.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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The ramping up of crude oil production from Irans extremely oil-rich West Karoun fields including, most notably, North and South Azadegan, North and South Yaran, and Yadavaran - to at least 1 million barrels per day (bpd) remains one of Irans core strategic economic priorities. This precise increase in crude oil production from the West Karoun fields, up from the then-355,000 bpd level, was also a key part of Chinas commitment in its 25-year Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Iran, as analysed in depth in my last book on the global oil markets. Reports last week that China is not to move ahead on some of these West Karoun commitments are incorrect: China is genuinely looking to move ahead on these developments in one way or another, but it wants even better terms for itself than the ones agreed in the 25-year deal.
Comments from high-level Iranian officials on all hydrocarbons-related subjects have to be taken with a degree of scepticism, but they do act as a frame of reference at least for the truth. Last week, the director of investment and business of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Fereydoun Kurd Zanganeh, stated that: Despite the sanctions [reimposed by the U.S. after its unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA], the NIOC, in line with the strategic document of long-term cooperation between Iran and China, continues to negotiate with the private and state companies of this country for the development of the Yadavaran field and other joint fields in Iran. He added that the first phase of the Yadavaran oil field was completed by China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (CPCC, or Sinopec) in 2015 with a capacity of 110,000 bpd and is still productive. He underlined that: According to the negotiations with this company, the second phase of the development of this joint field was also planned to be handed over to this company, but unfortunately, at that time, the former oil minister stopped the negotiations - therefore, in the past year, NIOC has conducted regular negotiations with Chinese companies in the development of oil and gas fields.
Related: Saudi Arabias Oil Revenues Hit $326 Billion In 2022
According to a senior source who works closely with Irans Petroleum Ministry spoken to exclusively by OilPrice.com last week, it is true that the pace of development of Yadavaran and other fields - by the Chinese slowed after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018. It is also the true, though, that neither of the real reasons for this were to do with a desire on Chinas part to withdraw from Irans oil (or gas) fields or to roll back on its commitments in the Iran-China 25-year deal. In fact, the first reason was that China decided to take a more cautious approach on areas that might provoke the U.S. from 2018, which included high-profile oil and gas developments in Iran. The reimposition of sanctions on Iran by the U.S. in 2018 came at around the same time as the Trade War between the U.S. and China was heating up, so Beijing moved from taking high-profile development roles in Iran to engaging in lower-profile contract-only projects, albeit lots of them, he said. This relates to the Iranian fields in which Beijing has an interest including those in the West Karoun cluster and to several in Iraq, particularly those whose reservoirs are shared with Iran, he added.
Indeed, Irans Zanganeh hinted at the same thing last week: Now, due to the identification of the shareholders of the consortium developing this [the joint Azadegan] field, NIOC, as the employer, has requested in our negotiations with this Chinese company to be present as an investor in this field. He added: Last year, Sinopec, which has a history of cooperation with Iran in the first stage of the development of the North Azadegan field, offered to cooperate with us again. This is precisely what is happening across the key Iranian and Iraqi shared fields, which the Chinese regard as one entity, according to the Iran source, and these include: Irans Azadegan oil reservoir (split into North and South fields) which is exactly the same reservoir upon which sits Iraqs huge Majnoon oil field. This same feature applies to Yadavaran (on the Iran side)/Sinbad (on the Iraq side), Azar (Iran)/Badra (Iraq), Naft Shahr (Iran)/Naft Khana (Iraq), Dehloran (Iran)/Abu Ghurab (Iraq), West Paydar (Iran)/Fakka/Fauqa (Iraq), and Arvand (Iran)/South Abu Ghurab (Iraq), along with many, many others. Indeed, just over one week ago, PetroChina cemented its control over Iraqs supergiant West Qurna 1 oil field, as news emerged that the U.S.s ExxonMobil is finally close to being able to sell its 32.7 percent stake in the site.
This effective takeover of West Qurna 1 by PetroChina followed a gradual corollary build-up of its presence by China in this fields case, in the first instance through the supposedly US$121 million engineering contract-only award made to the China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corp (CPECC) for West Qurna 1 in the middle of 2021. The same contract-only model was evident in CPECCs being awarded a US$203.5 million engineering contract in Iraqs neighbouring supergiant Majnoon oil field. Soon after these awards, Chinas Anton Oil entered Majnoon as well, on a project management and development services contract.
Crucially here in terms of Zanganehs comments last week, it is apposite to reiterate that Majnoon is one field of the same reservoir shared with Iran - on the Iranian side it is called Azadegan. This Iranian field, in turn, is split into two supergiant fields North Azadegan and South Azadegan. The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) whose listed arm is none other than PetroChina (now controlling Iraqs West Qurna 1) - is still the lead foreign operator in Irans North Azadegan, and its operation in North Azadegan went live in November 2016 with production capacity of 75,000 bpd. CNPC also held the lead developer position in Irans South Azadegan from 2009 to 2014 until it was expelled from that field for delays in progress. However, as highlighted by OilPrice.com last week, since then, Chinese companies have again been working on low-key projects in South Azadegan, alongside the nominal Iranian lead developers.
This is the second reason that Chinas pace of involvement in Irans West Karoun fields which together have over 67 billion barrels of oil in place - has slowed. China knows that Iran doesnt have many international options left, so it is looking to optimise the deals it can get on current and future oil and gas field developments, including in the West Karoun fields, especially the shared ones, underlined the Iran source last week. The deal China had, under the terms of the 25-year Strategic Cooperation Agreement, is as follows, as exclusively broken by me on 3 September 2019 and analysed in full in my last book on the global oil markets. Chinese companies have the first option to bid for involvement on any new oil, gas and petrochemical developments and on any stalled or uncompleted developments. Chinese companies will also have first call on any of the oil, gas and petrochemicals produced according to pricing formulae contained in the Agreement. The previous pricing formula for oil was this: China could buy Irans oil at a minimum guaranteed discount of 12 percent to the six-month rolling average price of international comparable oil benchmarks, plus another 6-8 percent of that metric for risk adjusted compensation so, up to a 20 percent discount in total from the international benchmarks.
Now, though, China wants the new pricing that it has been paying on an ad hoc basis for Iranian oil to be formalised and applied to all of its purchases of oil and related products coming from fields it was previous involved in and any new field developments involving it, according to the Iran source. Currently, China pays Iran up to 10 percent less for its crude oil than it pays Russia for its crude oil, and the price it pays for Russian crude oil is discounted from the international benchmark by a minimum of 30 percent, he told OilPrice.com last week. On average, the Chinese discount for Iranian crude oil to the international benchmark over the last 12 months is around 44 percent, he added. But, it is even worse for Iran, as from 11 November 2022 - China has been paying Iran in non-convertible Yuan, that is Yuan that can only be used inside China and/or spent buying Chinese goods, he said. Worse still is that whilst Yuan is the key instrument in payment, China is also using the currencies of Angola, Zambia and Kenya to pay Iran, and China is doing this as a means to induce Iran to buys goods from these countries so that these countries, in turn, can service their loans to China, he concluded.
By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com
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On December 5, 2022, the G7, European Union, Canada, Japan and Australia began implementing a $60 price cap on Russias seaborne crude oil exports (see EDM, December 5, 2022), which China and India quickly capitalized on. Additional ceilings on petroleum products are expected later this year and are anticipated to have a far greater impact (Economic Times, January 17). In retaliation, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that countries abiding by the price cap and other sanctions will be banned from receiving Russian energy (Economic Times, December 28, 2022).
It is believed that this approach will help stabilize elements of global markets, primarily benefiting low- and middle-income countries, so long as Russia remains incentivized to keep producing (Orfamerica.org, December 14, 2022; Economic Times, December 25, 2022, January 10, 2023; Asiafinancial.com, January 16). The price cap will also minimally affect parties to the policy, as most already limited Russian energy imports last spring. However, as most shipping insurers and other vital elements of the industry are incorporated in the Price Cap Coalition, the majority of the worlds cargo companies will be subject to it. Notably, Russia may struggle to export from freeze-prone ports due to a reliance on foreign ice-class tankersthough China is bypassing this via the few ice-tankers Beijing and Moscow own (Ec.europa.eu, December 3, 2022; Alarabiya News, January 13).
Despite these sanctions, Russia claims an increase in oil production by 2 percent to 535 million metric tonnes, with exports growing by 7 percent. Similarly, in 2022, liquefied natural gas (LNG) production increased by 8 percent to 46 billion cubic meters, while gasoline and diesel production rose by 4.3 percent and 6 percent, respectively. Together, the oil and gas industries boosted Russian budget revenues in 2022 by 28 percent, or $36.7 billion (Sputnik, January 16). Via LNG taxes alone, the Kremlin may increase revenue by $3.5 billion in 2023 (High North News, January 2).
Related: Freeport LNG Gets Regulatory Approval For Commercial Operations
Whether these figures are to be believed, it is clear that Moscow mitigated restrictions on its energy industries, partially by granting favorable prices to China and India (Economic Times, December 25, 2022; High North News, January 16). Illustrating this shift, for the first half of 2022, most of Russias Arctic oil exports went to Northern Europe; by the second half of the year, only about one-third were destined for the region; and by November, shipments had almost completely pivoted to Asia (High North News, January 16).
According to a survey of experts, a median estimate of Chinas oil consumption in 2023 is a record 16 million barrels a day (Xinhua, January 13). Russian energy products are an essential element of this supply, surpassing Saudi Arabia as Beijings primary source of oil in 2022 and supplying about 4.5 percent of its gas needs (22.22 percent of imports). Chinas current Arctic crude figures are difficult to find, but clearly, Moscows discounted prices ensure Beijing can cheaply meet its needs in the short term while encouraging long-term projects (e.g., Power of Siberia Two pipeline and the Northern Sea Route) (English.www.gov.cn, February 24, 2022; Iea.org, accessed October 26, 2022; The Barents Observer, December 8, 2022; Anadolu Agency, December 13, 2022).
These arrangements increase Chinas leverage over Moscow, instead of making it dependent. For instance, Beijing is increasingly bypassing Russias land trade routes, and 56 percent of Chinese energy needs come from coal (importing less than 10 percent). Furthermore, China can source fuel from other countries as it pursues energy self-sufficiency and increased Arctic influence (see EDM, May 6, 2021, February 1, June 6, August 4, December 30, 2022; English.www.gov.cn, February 24, 2022; Hellenicshippingnews.com, January 16).
For the United States and its partners, Indias case is perhaps more concerning. From April through December 2022, Russia exported about 64,000 barrels per day (b/d) of Arco and Novy Port grade Arctic crude to India (Economic Times, January 5; Argusmedia.com, January 6; Gazprom Neft, January 10, 2017). By October, Indias largest crude source was Russia (22 percent) (Xinhua, November 6, 2022). By November, Russian exports to India were a record 6.67 million barrels of Arco, Novy Port and Varandey crude, with another 4.1 million barrels sent in December, when the latter grade was imported by India for the first time (Economic Times, January 5).
All told, from June through December 2022, Russias crude exports to India remained above 1 million b/d, achieving an all-time high of 1.19 million b/d in December (Argusmedia.com, January 6). Deliveries of the Varandey blend were set to double in January 2023, which would represent a new record, though official statistics on this were not available at the time of writing.
Indias consumption of Russian fuel is clearly driven by immediate interests, but what about longer-term interests? The country will almost certainly continue its purchases from Russia while expanding Arctic cooperation with Moscow, unless something alters its calculus. Notably, in 2022, New Delhi released its official Arctic and Antarctic policies (Moes.gov.in, May, August 6, 2022). Both are concerned with research, environmental protection and the rule of law, but the Arctic strategy is distinguished by its discussion of raw materials, trade, development and security. Although not explicitly mentioned in the Arctic and Antarctic strategies, Russia is to be a primary partner in achieving these goals, again with a heavy focus on energy and trade (Economic Times, December 17, 2022).
Between Chinas desire to be the primary force in the Arcticat least in Eurasiaand its bellicose rivalry with New Delhi, Indias presence in the Arctic may be yet another point of friction (see China Brief, November 18). However, Moscow, Beijing and New Delhi share similar cultural, political and economic interests that could encourage polar cooperation (Gjia.georgetown.edu, September 16, 2022; for counterarguments, see China Brief, October 19, 2022).
Since US President Joe Biden took office, political considerations have left the US without an ambassador to India, undermining the relationship (The Japan Times, January 11; The Print, January 17). The first step toward ending Indias reliance on Russia and potential enmeshment with China is remedying this vacancy. Additionally, key strategic developing nations should receive assistance to make the most of the energy prices while mitigating Putins threats. Finally, countries, including the US, are still importing Russian petroleum products via India and China (Times of India, January 15). It could be that identifying the source here is difficult, or perhaps it is considered acceptable because it keeps Russian prices and profits low. In either case, this merits closer examination.
By the Jamestown Foundation
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He also appeared to call out the U.S., calling on the countries concerned to stop adding fuel to the fire.
Chinas foreign minister Qin Gang noted that Beijing is concerned that the war in Ukraine will spiral out of control.
China's foreign ministry has issued a statement within hours after Beijing's top diplomat Wang Yi touched down in Moscow for an official visit:
Chinas foreign minister said on Tuesday that Beijing is "deeply worried" that the war in Ukraine could continue to escalate and "spiral out of control," as the conflict continues to rage on nearly one year later.
Foreign Minister Qin Gang appeared to call out the U.S. for its extensive support of Ukraine, urging the countries concerned to immediately stop adding fuel to the fire, stop blaming China, and stop clamoring for 'Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.'"
Qin added that Beijing will "continue to promote peace talks" and "provide Chinese wisdom for the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis."
China says President Xi is interested in brokering peace in Ukraine, however, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday charged that "China is trying to have it both ways," given that, "Publicly, they present themselves as a country striving for peace in Ukraine. But privately, as I said, weve seen already over these past months the provision of non-lethal assistance that does go directly to aiding and abetting Russias war effort."
* * *
Update(1015ET): During top diplomat Wang Yi's visit to Moscow, The Wall Street Journal is reporting based on its sources that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is planning his own visit to Russia soon, where he'll meet with his counterpart President Vladimir Putin at a moment the war in Ukraine shows no signs of slowing.
"Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russias president in the coming months, according to people familiar with the plan, as Vladimir Putin wages war in Ukraine and portrays himself as a standard-bearer against a U.S.-led global order," WSJ writes Tuesday morning.
And according to unnamed sources, "Beijing says it wants to play a more active role aimed at ending the conflict, and the people familiar with Mr. Xis trip plans said a meeting with Mr. Putin would be part of a push for multiparty peace talks and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used." However, nothing official from either side has yet to be confirmed.
The Biden administration has angered Beijing over the last several days in issuing repeat warnings against providing the Kremlin with any lethal weapons or military assistance. Despite these efforts, a Xi trip to Moscow would certainly solidify the 'no limits' partnership between the two countries, and with huge symbolism to boot given the timing.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi announced Saturday at the Munich Security Conference that China will seek to roll out a plan focosued on ending the war in Ukraine, saying, "We will put forward Chinas position on the political settlement on the Ukraine crisis, and stay firm on the side of peace and dialogue." Meanwhile, during Putin's Tuesday speech...
* * *
After the weekend back-and-forth of warnings centered on the Biden administration's latest assertions that Beijing is mulling providing lethal aid to Russia in order to help the Kremlin execute its war efforts, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky has weighed in on the deepening Beijing-Moscow partnership.
He warned that WW3 is on the horizon if China begins supplying weapons. "For us, it is important that China does not support the Russian Federation in this war," Zelenskiy told German daily newspaper Die Welt. "In fact, I would like it to be on our side. At the moment, however, I don't think it's possible."
"But I do see an opportunity for China to make a pragmatic assessment of what is happening here," he continued. "Because if China allies itself with Russia, there will be a world war, and I do think that China is aware of that."
Likely China will shrug off Zelensky's provocative comments, given Beijing already told Washington that it's in no position to make demands.
Previously, Biden administration officials had said the US is concerned by "disturbing" trends when it comes to China's support for Russia. Despite prior international media reports, mostly based on speculation, alleging that China was already supplying Russia's war effort in Ukraine, there's as yet no evidence of this.
The timing of the accusations is also important, given on Tuesday China's top diplomat Wang Yi made his first visit as Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Office to Russia, having arrived in Moscow.
The day prior, he reiterated Beijing's position that negotiated settlement is needed to solve the Ukraine crisis:
"We would like a political solution to provide a peaceful and sustainable framework to Europe," Wang said ahead of a visit to Moscow during a stop in Hungary, which could result in billions of euros of new Chinese investment in the country.
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On Saturday Wang had emphasized something similar in addressing the Munich Security Conference. Calling a room full of European officials "dear friends", he said"We do not add fuel to the fire, and were against reaping benefits from this crisis" - in a message aimed squarely at Washington.
What was supposed to be a bilateral meeting with Secretary Blinken never materialized earlier this month due to the Chinese 'spy' balloon shootdown saga...
"Some forces might not want to see peace talks to materialize. They dont care about the life and death of Ukrainians, nor the harm on Europe. They might have strategic goals larger than Ukraine itself. This warfare must not continue," Wang added in the weekend comments.
As for Wang's trip to Moscow, the Kremlin has said a meeting with President Putin could be in the cards, though this is uncertain. "We do not rule out a meeting between Mr. Wang Yi and the [Russian] president, he will indeed be in Moscow," spokesman Dimitry Peskov said in a briefing.
By Zerohedge.com
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The price of carbon dioxide on the European Union emissions market hit a record high of 98.30 euros per ton, or $104, as Europe braces for a cold spell and a forecast for low wind power output.
Temperatures in Northern Europe are actually now forecasted to go below seasonal averages next week, which might instigate utilities to increase their hedging activities, one carbon emissions trader told Reuters.
Earlier this year, Reuters reported that analysts expected carbon prices in the EU to trend higher this year and the next two as European countries began to recover from the energy crisis and the price of energy declined.
Since the start of 2023, the price of carbon in the EU has already gained 20 percent and, depending on the weather, could swell further. Analysts see the average price for this year at 81.40 euros per ton, moving up to 94.14 euros per ton in 2024.
After this weeks peak, however, some analysts are forecasting carbon dioxide could top 100 euros, or $106, later this year. According to the Financial Times, this already happened, yesterday, with one EU carbon allowance hitting 101 euros.
Many energy transition proponents in Brussels have hoped to see such prices as soon as possible as the higher cost of emissions is seen as critical for motivating more effortsand investmentsin decarbonization.
The fundamental point about this market is the EU has cleared the way for higher prices as that is what is ultimately needed to meet their aims of cutting emissions, the head of climate research at Pierre Andurands hedge fund told the FT.
The EU plans to gradually phase out emission permits by 2039, which lends a significant upward potential to future prices. Last year, carbon prices also got a solid push by the increase of coal-powered generation amid the gas shortage, which led to greater demand for carbon permits.
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By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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Freeport LNG has received regulatory approval to resume commercial operations of its natural gas liquefaction and export facility, the operator of the second-largest U.S. LNG export facility said on Tuesday.
The Freeport LNG export facility in Texas has been shut down since June last year when a fire broke out and damaged the plant.
The authorization received on Tuesday provides for the immediate full return to service of one liquefaction train that has already restarted and the incremental restart and full return to service of a second train, Freeport LNG said in a statement.
The third liquefaction train will need subsequent regulatory approval for restart and a return to service once certain operational conditions are met.
First LNG production and ship loading from the facilitywhich currently uses two of Freeport LNG's three LNG storage tanks and one of its two LNG berthsbegan on February 11, the company said.
The second LNG berth and third LNG storage tank are expected to return to service in May, Freeport LNG said.
Until it was forced to shut down due to the fire in June, Freeport, responsible for some 20% of total LNG exports from the United States and generating $35 billion in revenue during the first nine months of 2022, served Europe well as the continent looked to squelch a growing energy crisis this winter.
The return of Freeport LNG is set to further ease concerns about LNG supply in Europe, which has well managed its gas supply and demand so far this winter, mostly due to long periods of mild weather and lower consumption because of demand destruction in the industry and energy savings from households.
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The restart of Freeport LNG exports could also lift U.S. benchmark natural gas prices, which had slumped by 3% to $2.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) early on Wednesday.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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Crude oil inventories saw another substantial rise this week, with a 9.895 million barrel increase last week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) data showed on Tuesday.
This week, SPR inventory held steady for the sixth week in a row at 371.6 million barrelsthe lowest amount of crude oil in the SPR since December 1983. But the Biden Administration recently announced that there would be further releases from the SPR in the amount of 26 million barrels, after the stockpiles dropped by 221 million barrels last week.
Oil prices traded down on Tuesday in the run-up to the data release. At 3:32 p.m. EST, WTI was trading down $0.29 (-0.38%) on the day to $76.05 $79.15 per barrel, and down nearly $3 per barrel from this time last week. Brent crude was trading down $1.06 (-1.26%) on the day at $83.01a weekly decrease of about $2.50 per barrel.
U.S. crude oil production stayed at 12.3 million bpd for week ending February 10the highest production rate since last April 2020. U.S. production is still 800,000 bpd lower than the peak production seen in March 2020.
WTI was trading at $73.91 shortly after the data release.
Gasoline inventories rose by 894,000 barrels after last weeks API data showed the fuel inventories rising by 846,000 barrels. Distillates rose 1.374 million barrels after rising by 1.728 million bpd in the week prior.
Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, increased by 781,000 barrels on top of the 1.954 million barrel hike reported last week.
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By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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Saudi Arabias state-run oil giant, Saudi Aramco, is now the worlds third-largest company by market capitalization, according to the companiesmarketcap.com list.
Aramco, with a market cap of $1.903 trillion, slid to the number three position behind Apple ($2.413T) and Microsoft ($1.920T).
Just two months ago, in mid-December, Aramco held the Number two position with a market cap of $1.81T, behind only Apple. And before that, In May of last year, Aramco was sitting at the top of the list with a $2.38 trillion market cap.
Al Rajhi Capital said in a January report that Aramcos net profit in Q4 2022 was expected to decline 6.3% from the previous quarter, to $38.90 billion due to a weak demand outlook stemming from a global economic slowdown.
But while Aramcos market cap has been slipping, the company is anticipating Chinas reopening to trigger a pick up in jet fuel demand and crude oil demand, CEO Amin Nasser said in a Bloomberg interview last month. We are very optimistic in terms of demand coming back to the market, Nasser said at the time.
Aramco isnt the only one sharing a rosy outlook for global oil demand, with OPEC remaining cautiously optimistic.
Aramcos Nasser lashed out last week against the ESG trends that were hampering investments into the oil and gas sector.
As far as the future of capital markets is concerned, ESG is clearly a rising trend. And in my view, an increased emphasis on ESG is a move in the right direction, Nasser said last week, adding that if ESG-driven policies are implemented with a bias toward fossil fuel projects, the underinvestments would have serious ramifications with regard to energy security and affordability.
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By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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Azerbaijan's president has directly blamed the Iranian government for the attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran on January 27.
Ilham Aliyev was responding to a question posed by India's WION TV while speaking to reporters following a trilateral meeting with the Armenian prime minister and U.S. secretary of state in Munich on February 17.
"The fact that, right after this act of terror, the terrorist was interviewed by Iranian media demonstrates that he was one of those who was sent by some of the branches of Iranian establishment. And another strange thing was that two days after, he was announced as mentally disabled. How could they [have] held this expertise so quickly? That is an attempt to protect him from justice," Aliyev said in English.
"Therefore, Iranian government should have a transparent investigation. We must be informed about that. The terrorist must be punished, but most importantly, those who sent the terrorist, those representatives of the Iranian establishment who did this brutal act against Azerbaijan, must be brought to justice. Only after that we can talk about any kind of normalization."
This is the first statement from any Azerbaijani official directly accusing Iran of being behind the attack. Previous statements from the country's Foreign Ministry stopped short of such straightforward accusations, though they did link the attack to a "recent anti-Azerbaijani campaign against our country in Iran." And pro-government media were blaming "Iranian special services" within hours of the incident.
The president's statement comes after newly released footage of the attack appears to show Iranian law enforcement inaction as the incident was unfolding.
On February 6, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry released a 24-minute video showing security camera footage of the embassy attack interspersed with interviews with embassy security officers who were wounded while subduing the gunman. The gunman is seen making hand gestures to unknown persons in the distance each time he enters and leaves the compound.
While he is inside wrestling with one of the Azerbaijani officers, an outside camera captures an Iranian police vehicle passing the embassy, talking for a few seconds to the local police officer posted outside, and leaving shortly after. Police and an ambulance arrive at the scene only nearly half an hour after the start of the attack, during which time the gunman kills the security chief, is wrestled down and thrown out of the building, knocked down the door and came back, and left again.
Vasif Taghiyev, the embassy staffer who bare-handedly fought the attacker, tells the camera he watched from a second floor window as police initially fail to intervene when the gunman sets an embassy car on fire and then do so only when he accidentally burns himself.
"The fact that the terrorist chose Friday, which is a holiday in Iran, to commit the incident (to minimize the circumstances that could interfere with the terrorist act), he brought with him to the scene a spare comb full of automatic weapons and bullets, a 'Colt' type pistol, a 'Molotov cocktail', a heavy impact tool and other means, the fact that the Iranian police did not intervene in the terrorist act gives grounds for presuming that the incident was planned in advance," the ministry said in an English press release accompanying the video.
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Iran responded on February 19, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani calling on Azerbaijani officials to avoid "prejudgment" and "politicization" of the incident and expressing Iran's willingness to share the results of its probe with Baku.
"Talking to media to present non-legal interpretations of this incident is not a constructive action in the path of the legal and judicial investigation into the case," Kanaani added.
By Eurasianet.org
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The U.S. benchmark natural gas price plunged on Tuesday by as much as 10% to the lowest level since September 2020 due to milder weather and consequently lower demand.
After Tuesdays slump, the gas price at the Henry Hub fell to around $2.043 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) early on Wednesday, down by 1.59%.
The plunge in prices has been significant in recent weeks due to a mild start to January, consistently high supply, and the outage at the Freeport LNG export facility.
Mild weather and high production continue to weigh on the benchmark U.S. natural gas prices, which are now down by $6 per MMBtu compared to the middle of December and by more than $9 per MMBtu from August 2022. The crash from August and February is nearly 80%.
Last weeks Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report by the EIA showed that stocks of working gas in storage were 328 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 183 Bcf above the five-year average.
The price slide can also be attributed to the imminent expiration of the front-month contract on February 24.
The technical outlook for natural gas prices is strongly bearish, EBW Analytics Group analyst Eli Rubin told Natural Gas Intelligence earlier this week. Last Friday, prices dropped below the critical technical support at the $2.35 per MMBtu level, Rubin noted.
Although the breakdown of technical support opens the door to notable further losses for natural gas, solidifying fundamentals may offer support after the March contract rolls off the board and April becomes the front-month contract, Rubin told Natural Gas Intelligence.
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In its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) for February, the Energy Information Administration slashed its Henry Hub spot price forecast by 30% to $3.40 per MMBtu for 2023, down from $4.90 per MMBtu in the January forecast. The Henry Hub natural gas price averaged $6.42 per MMBtu last year.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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The head of Wagner Yevgeni Prigozhin has accused the Russian Defense Ministry of treason for failing to supply Wagner fighters in Ukraine with munitions, the Moscow Times has reported, citing a statement Prigozhin made through one of his companies.
The head of the military contractor company is accusing the Russian authorities, including the Chief of General Staff, of deliberately not supplying Wagner fighters in Ukraine with ammunition and refusing to assist them with air transport.
"There is quite simply direct obstruction going on," Prigozhin said, adding "This can be equated with high treason."
The head of Wagner and the Defense Ministry have been at odds for quite a while, the Moscow Times notes in its report. Last month, Prigozhin accused the Defense Ministry of trying to take credit for victories earned by Wagner.
Prigozhins statement comes a day after Russias president, Vladimir Putin, said in his annual address to the nation that he will pull Russia out of the New START treaty with the United States.
The New START treaty was the last remaining arms control treaty between the two Cold War superpowers.
Previously, the U.S. and Russia had agreed to extend the treaty through February 4, 2026. The Treaty between the U.S. and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, also known as the New START Treaty, entered into force in February 2011.
Russias representative to the international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, tweeted to clarify that the Russian suspension of the Treaty does not mean withdrawal; return to the Treaty remains possible under certain circumstances.
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Wagners Prigozhin, meanwhile, said that in Bakhmut, where Wagner fighters are spearheading the Russian offense, Russia could take the area in the next month or in April. Earlier, he had said it could take a few months.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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The City of Omaha is now on the hook to pay nearly $1 million to a police captain after a federal judge denied the citys motion for a new trial and approved $285,000 in attorney and witness fees.
In September after a four-day trial, a jury awarded Kathy Belcastro-Gonzalez with $680,000 in lost wages and benefits plus $20,000 in other damages in her retaliation lawsuit against the city and Chief Todd Schmaderer. The jury sided with Belcastro-Gonzalez, who said she was wrongly bypassed for a promotion because of her previous complaints of gender discrimination and harassment within the Omaha Police Department.
The city filed a motion for a new trial in October, alleging juror misconduct and nullification, plus other issues dealing with the admissibility of evidence.
Deputy City Attorney Michelle Peters requested an evidentiary hearing in December, alleging that one of the eight jurors spoke to people about the trial, which was learned by a former Omaha police officer during the trial.
However, that former police officer had told The World-Herald that he did not even talk to the juror until after the verdict came out.
Peters also alleged that the jury delivered its verdict to send a message to the city.
In a ruling issued Tuesday, Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon wrote that the city only speculated about juror misconduct and did not show actual evidence of it.
The affidavit submitted in support of the Citys juror misconduct allegation does not show that the jury heard extraneous information or that a third-party contact influenced deliberations, Bataillon wrote. There is a dearth of reliable and admissible evidence of any inappropriate conversations or actions of the jury.
The judge also said evidence of jury nullification was lacking.
A retrospective statement about a verdict sending a message does not serve to establish that the jury disregarded the courts instructions. The Court declines to disturb the jurys verdict under these circumstances, Bataillon wrote.
In an order filed last week, Bataillon ordered the city to pay Belcastro-Gonzalez nearly $279,000 for attorney fees and roughly $6,000 for expert witness fees.
Belcastro-Gonzalez declined to comment, but her attorney, Tom White, said they were pleased with Bataillons ruling.
The decision is both fair and legally correct, White said. Captain Gonzalez and her family have been so unfairly treated and gone through so much that this order is welcome vindication and it should give courage to any other woman who protests sexual discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
City Attorney Matt Kuhse, in a statement, said the city plans to appeal the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The City disagrees with the Courts latest ruling, Kuhse wrote. There are a number of issues presented in these proceedings that warrant an appellate review.
Kuhse said those issues would be detailed in the citys appeal.
Omaha Police Lt. Neal Bonacci, a department spokesman, declined to comment on Schmaderers behalf and said the City Attorneys Office would address the matter.
Separately, Belcastro-Gonzalez had also contested her 2022 firing from the department. A third-party arbitrator found that the city violated its labor contract by not giving her proper notice before police interviewed her as part of an internal investigation.
Because of the arbitrators decision in early January, Belcastro-Gonzalez returned to the department on paid administrative leave and could face firing again.
At the end of the day, this is what it has come to for the mother of La Vista boy Ryan Larsen, who disappeared in 2021 at age 11: Asking a judge to declare her missing son dead.
Tammi Larsen, with two daughters sitting behind her and her two attorneys at her side, requested the declaration from Sarpy County Judge PaTricia Freeman on Tuesday in a sparse Sarpy County courtroom.
The same son and brother that the Larsen family has previously described as the kindest little boy. The son whom Tammi Larsen has said was always looking for ways to help, whether it was arranging grocery carts in a parking lot or helping the school janitor.
Larsens attorneys, Sean Conway and Michael Duffy of Omaha, told the judge that the ruling was needed so the family could hold accountable those responsible for Ryans disappearance.
Ryan, who has multiple conditions that affect his cognitive ability, disappeared after walking away from La Vista West Elementary School on May 17, 2021.
The school district was aware of Ryans limitations and his individual education plan noted that he had a tendency to wander off and to hide, his mother told the court. Larsens attorneys said her son walked out the front doors of the building in the middle of the day.
The statute of limitations for taking legal action against the school district is two years, but the law typically requires a person be missing five years before they can be declared dead. The attorneys noted that the law and other court decisions allow for exceptions.
Annette Eyman, spokeswoman for the Papillion La Vista Community Schools, said the district will leave decisions about accountability up to the courts.
It is just a tragic situation, our heart breaks for that family, she said. Our focus and our priority is trying to be a support for everyone who has gone through this tragic situation.
Tammi Larsen told the judge that her son has been diagnosed with generalized epilepsy, Tourette syndrome and ADHD and is on the autism spectrum. He isnt able to care for himself in such routine ways as tying his own shoes or preparing his own food. He also lacks impulse control.
While the La Vista Police Department considers the case active, the Larsen family says communications with the department have dropped off significantly.
At the request of La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten, Larsen and her attorneys agreed to drop their subpoena requesting that he testify at the hearing.
Freeman took the case under advisement.
Following the hearing, one of Larsens attorneys, speaking on her behalf, said she still hoped her son was alive.
This has been agonizing for the family, Duffy said. They are always hoping that Ryan will be found. That he is safe.
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2023
In delivering his sentence to a teen who fatally shot his best friend, Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon shared the wise words his father had repeated when he was a boy:
The most dangerous gun is the unloaded gun, Bataillon said.
That advice apparently hadnt reached Blake W. Miller when he was handling what he believed to be an unloaded .22 caliber rifle that killed 18-year-old Tanner Farrell on March 12. Miller pointed the gun at Farrells chest while fooling around and drinking beer, prosecutors said, and pulled the trigger.
Bataillon on Tuesday sentenced Miller to four years of probation on a manslaughter charge. Miller faced up to 20 years in prison.
In brief comments during the 11-minute hearing, Miller apologized for causing so much pain.
I wish I could fix this and change what happened, he said. But I cant. Id just really like to move on for everybody. Thats all. Im sorry for everything.
Authorities have said that a small group of friends were at Millers house drinking beer without his parents home when Miller, then 18, pulled out the rifle to show it off. Miller was a Millard West High School senior and Farrell had transferred the summer before from Millard West to Ralston High School.
After Farrell was shot, one teen called parents to come and another called 911. Miller had said he accidentally shot his friend, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine had said.
It just shows you what can happen when somebody who doesnt apparently know what theyre doing is handling a firearm in an inappropriate manner, and we see the results, Kleine had said. Its tragic. And it should bother everyone.
Millers attorney, William Bianco, said Miller graduated from high school and began working at a farm in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, with the goal of owning his own farm. Bianco said Miller stayed in close contact with Farrells family, who were upset when the manslaughter charge was filed and had issued a statement of support to the teen.
More than two dozen family and friends of Miller and Farrell attended the sentencing. All declined to comment after the hearing.
Prosecutor John Alagaban said probation was an appropriate sentence in this case.
We are wishful that things could be different, Alagaban said. Some mistakes, though, are criminal. This was truly one of those.
Under state law, manslaughter occurs when someone causes the death of another without malice either upon sudden quarrel or unintentionally while in the commission of an unlawful act.
Kleine had said that Miller pointing the gun at Farrell was unlawful and not a true accidental shooting.
In November, a similar scenario occurred in Imperial, Nebraska. Tristan Ferguson, 19, told authorities that he pointed a shotgun at his roommate Jesse Krausnick, 19, and pulled the trigger once, thinking the gun was unloaded, according to court documents. Krausnick died at Chase County Community Hospital.
A Nebraska state trooper said in an affidavit that Ferguson had purchased alcohol at a local convenience store with a fake ID and that minors had been drinking at the Imperial residence where the shooting occurred. Krausnick now faces manslaughter and firearm charges.
But other recent horseplay-type fatal shootings garnered more prison time for the young people who pulled the trigger.
Last year, a Douglas County district judge sentenced 20-year-old Mason Beaverson to 5 to 10 years in prison after pleading to a manslaughter charge. While at a party and high on an assortment of illegal drugs at an Omaha Motel 6 room, Beaverson aimed a gun at 17-year-old Evan Latto on Sept. 4, 2020, and pulled the trigger, killing him.
And in 2021, another judge sentenced Keat Thon, 19, to 10 to 12 years in prison for fatally shooting his new friend, 19-year-old Nuer Yuek in July 2020. An Omaha police detective had said the two were messing around with a gun, passing it back and forth until Thon, believing the gun was unloaded, pulled the trigger while pointing it at Yuek.
The body of a Wahoo man was found amid the wreckage of a single-vehicle crash in Saunders County on Tuesday morning.
The crash is believed to have occurred at 10:33 p.m. Monday, when a Chevy 1500 pickup truck that was northbound on Nebraska Highway 109 left the road near the east edge of Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska. The truck went into the left ditch, then became airborne over County Road X, striking a tree on private property before flipping and coming to a rest several hundred feet north of County Road X, the Saunders County Sheriffs Office reported.
Saunders deputies were called to the scene at 11:47 a.m. Tuesday when the wreckage was discovered and found the body of Jedd Lofgren, 36, of Wahoo. Lofgren, who the Sheriffs Office says was the sole occupant and driver, was ejected from the truck.
Cedar Bluffs Fire and Rescue assisted deputies at the crash scene.
Cedar Bluffs is about 50 miles west of Omaha.
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2023
A 12-year-old southwest Iowa child was arrested after threats were made about a shooting at Fremont-Mills School in Tabor, Iowa.
According to a press release from the Fremont County Sheriffs Office, around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, parents and students began reporting a threat a student made on social media about bringing a gun to school and shooting multiple people, Deputy Andrew Wake told the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil.
Deputies investigated the threat Tuesday night and found it to be credible, though no weapons were recovered, according to Wake.
The student was arrested on suspicion of making a terroristic threat and taken to the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs to await further court proceedings.
Tabor is a rural community 37 miles southeast of Omaha in Mills County, Iowa.
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2023
LINCOLN The Nebraska Department of Education would be tasked with establishing a model dress code and grooming policy for schools under a bill that advanced in the Legislature on Tuesday.
Legislative Bill 630, introduced by State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha, intends to protect Nebraska students from discrimination for wearing attire or their hair in a way that aligns with their religious or cultural beliefs. The Legislatures Education Committee advanced the bill out of committee in a 7-0 vote Tuesday, pushing it to the first of three rounds of debate.
The dress code by the department would not be allowed to prohibit a student from wearing attire associated with their race, national origin or religion, or alter a students hair, according to LB 630. Local school boards would be required to adopt a written dress code and grooming policy consistent with the departments model by July 1, 2025.
During a public hearing on the bill last week, at which there was no opposing testimony, the Education Committee heard supporting testifiers representing various cultures, including some affiliated with Native American tribes. Several parents claimed employees in their school district have cut their childrens hair without first getting their consent.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued a north-central Nebraska school district on behalf of two parents in 2021, alleging that an employee cut the hair of their children, who are Native American. The parents claimed the act violated their beliefs.
We believe our hair is our spirit; as it grows, our spirit grows, one of the parents named in the suit said in a press release.
The lawsuit is still pending, with both sides discussing a potential settlement, according to a court filing dated Feb. 3.
Regardless of personal beliefs, school employees should not be cutting any students hair without getting parental consent, committee member Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area said.
Lawmakers also advanced LB 141 out of committee Tuesday, which would require the State Department of Education to develop guidelines for schools that choose to schedule a moment of silence during the school day.
The bill, introduced by committee member Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, was criticized during a public hearing in January as being an attempt to allow schools to enforce prayer in schools. Briese, who described himself as a religious prayerful guy, denied this, and claimed he took a secular approach while drafting the bill.
The committee approved an amendment that adjusts the language of LB 141 to clarify that schools are not required to add a moment of silence to the school day.
Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session
LINCOLN Nebraskas top corrections official made a pitch Tuesday for lawmakers to finally sign off on building a new $335 million prison.
Diane Sabatka-Rine, interim director for the State Department of Correctional Services, said the deterioration of the Nebraska State Penitentiary and the rising cost of construction mean the long-discussed project needs to move forward.
The 1,512-bed prison has been proposed as a replacement for the aging penitentiary, where a major water leak in one housing unit forced the relocation of 140 men in November. A similar leak last year left the Lincoln prison without running water for nearly two days.
Sabatka-Rine said such problems are likely to be repeated in a facility that includes the oldest buildings in the state prison system. The penitentiary is designed to hold 818 people but currently houses about 1,200 men in maximum-, medium- and minimum-security units.
This project can no longer be delayed, she told members of the Appropriations Committee about the proposed new prison.
Last year, lawmakers set aside money for a new prison and allowed $15 million worth of design work to proceed. But they withheld approval for construction until they could get answers about the departments long-term plans to address the growing inmate population.
The committees preliminary budget this year likewise listed the $335 million for prison construction among pending items, rather than approved spending.
On Tuesday, committee members asked what would be done with the penitentiary if the new prison is authorized. Sabatka-Rine said it would be needed to house prisoners for at least five years while the new facility is under construction.
After that, she said, plans call for the penitentiary to be decommissioned, but nothing concrete has been decided. She said the Corrections Department would work with the State Building Division to figure out whether the buildings can be saved and repurposed, sold or demolished.
In the meantime, Sabatka-Rine defended the departments request for money to replace the fire alarm system at the penitentiary and other state prisons.
She said the current alarm system is at the end of its life and replacement parts are not available. She said it must be replaced because it affects a critical life safety issue. The department will use the same system at all prisons, so the one at the penitentiary can be used for replacement parts in the future.
Sabatka-Rine also urged committee members to include money for previously negotiated employee salary increases in the final budget plan. She said the agency used vacancy savings to cover those costs initially, but the higher pay has attracted enough new employees that those savings have been used up.
In response to questions, she acknowledged that overtime hours have not dropped despite the additional employees. She said one factor is that two prisons, the one in Tecumseh and the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln, continue to operate with 12-hour shifts, which includes some overtime hours.
Another is that the department continues to bus corrections workers from Omaha to Tecumseh, which means they cannot work full shifts. In addition, she said the department is trying to maintain minimum staffing levels, which allow for normal prison operations, rather than get by at critical staffing levels.
Nebraska Inspector General of Corrections Doug Koebernick said staffing shortages continue to affect operations in the prisons. Not all employees got the same level of raises, leaving some groups of workers feeling left behind, he said. The shortages particularly affect the treatment professionals needed to run programs so inmates can make progress toward gaining parole.
FICTION: The Pulitzer finalist for "The Great Believers" makes a gripping murder mystery of me-too politics at a boarding school.
"I Have Some Questions for You" by Rebecca Makkai; Viking (436 pages, $28)
There is a sort of refrain that runs through "I Have Some Questions for You," lest we forget what the novel is really about. "It was the one where " it begins, and what follows is a litany of crimes committed specifically against women: accusations, circumstances, men's myriad ways of ducking responsibility. Amid these instances of harassment and assault, many plucked from recent news, Rebecca Makkai spins a pertinent story that begins when the narrator, a podcaster named Bodie Kane, returns to the boarding school that she attended 20-some years earlier.
Bodie has come back to teach a two-week course in podcasting to a small group of students, one of whom wants to focus on a murder that occurred in Bodie's senior year. The culprit, this prospective podcaster suspects, was not the man who's been serving time in prison for the crime. The renewed focus on the case stirs memories for Bodie, who was briefly the murdered girl's roommate, and because of her minor role in the questionable rush to judgment that followed, pricks her conscience.
"I Have Some Questions for You" is, then, a mystery that proceeds on two intersecting tracks the story of what happened 20 years ago, and the story of Bodie's and her students' pursuit of that complex and elusive truth both filtered through the lens of Bodie's own experience then and now. Then, she was a Midwestern girl with a traumatic history trying to navigate a strange world of privilege, at once fraught and filled with promise.
Now, a confident and successful woman, she is working on an amicable divorce from an artist who is, coincidentally, caught up in a me-too moment when a younger artist accuses him of using his power and position to sexually manipulate her, creating an online firestorm that manages to scorch Bodie, too.
This might all sound somewhat programmatic and maybe it is but it's also a damn good story in which what happens and what it's about bear equal narrative weight, subtly but inexorably forcing us to consider "the way everyone was just a body to be used, to be discarded the way that if you had a body, they could grab you if you had a body, they could destroy you."
Deviously twisting midway, as new and newly remembered information shifts Bodie's suspicions, the book is remarkably good at turning nuance to account and turning the abstractions of personal, social and cultural politics into a practical, deeply felt and occasionally even thrilling reality.
Ellen Akins is a Wisconsin-based writer and a teacher of writing.
NONFICTION: Erica Berry tracks the cultural footprints left by wolves and uncovers a history of all too human fears.
"Wolfish" by Erica Berry; Flatiron Books (432 pages, $29.99)
"Wolfish" by Erica Berry begins with a crime scene. "This is one of those stories that begins with a female body. Hers was crumpled, roadside, in the ash colored slush between asphalt and snowbank." OR-106, the 106th wolf that had been collared in Oregon (where Erica Berry and I both live, although there's no relation). OR-106 had been shot, a continuation of a spate of wolf killings across the state in 2021 and 2022.
Berry, whose MFA was earned at the University of Minnesota, began studying wolves in 2013. She elucidates the myths and stories we tell about our lupine fears in ferocious and beautiful writing. Like the traveling wolf in search of companionship, Berry ranges far and wide, taking readers along on her own journey Oregon, the United Kingdom, Italy, the northern United States in search of answers.
Wolves' journeys from Idaho across Oregon and down into California galvanized feelings of both awe and animosity. In the western U.S., the wolf inspires hatred from many ranchers, who, despite raising animals for slaughter, find the killing of their animals by wolves to be intolerable. And while Berry attempts to understand such a contradiction, it's one of the rare instances in her exemplary study where I felt shortchanged by the discussion. The surface-level of that discussion is a testament to how richly layered and complex the overall work is.
Berry recounts how fear accompanied her in her studies, not from the wolf, but from everyday encounters with men, and, in Italy, from a danger that she could not have anticipated. The most powerful theme that runs through "Wolfish" is human fear, and here Berry's vulnerability and strength is displayed in poignant detail. While recognizing the cultural safeguards she has inherited as a white woman, she lays bare the real dangers posed to women, especially those traveling alone, and the media-fed paranoia that sees constant danger for women who are without the protection of a man.
In addition to the taxonomy, biology and behaviors of terrestrial wolves, Berry argues that it's crucial to understand the "cultural taxidermy, created by humans, fabricated with parts gathered across time and space, and howling first and foremost in our heads. The symbolic wolf is enormous."
The symbolic wolf occupies space in the stories told by various tribes the Kalapuya, the Pueblo and the Cherokee, for example in which the wolf is watchdog, creator and a human relative, and in the stories of wolves that have come down to western culture from Europe. Fairy tales, idiomatic expressions, warrior tales all amplified human fear, and led to the systematic extermination of wolves across Britain and Europe. And if Berry is critical of these harmful stories, she also casts a cynical eye at those who claim to love the wolf, over-identifying the animal with their own views of humanity.
In 2021, a mass poisoning in northeastern Oregon killed off the entire Catherine pack. That deliberate, obliterative act is representative of how the wolf as symbol occupies much more territory in the human head than it does in the narrow bands of space it wanders on the continent.
Lorraine Berry is an Oregon-based writer.
BLOOMINGTON A Chenoa man has been indicted on several charges of selling controlled substances.
Rashed S. Adams, 30, is charged with five counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance containing cocaine and one count of unlawful delivery of methamphetamine.
Prosecutors said Adams sold controlled substance to Illinois State Police Task Force Six, with sales of 1-15 grams of cocaine on Dec. 8 and Dec. 20; 15-100 grams of cocaine on Dec. 20, Dec. 27 and Jan. 5; and less than 5 grams of meth on Jan. 19.
A warrant was issued for Adams's arrest on Jan. 24. He was taken into custody on Feb. 1 by police in Glendale, Arizona, according to court documents.
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office transported Adams to McLean County.
According to the public defender's office and court documents, Adams refused to complete an affidavit of assets and liabilities.
Judge Scott Black said because of this, he would deny Adams access to a public defender.
Black set Adams' bond at $500,000 with 10% to apply, which means he would have to pay $50,035 to be released from the McLean County Jail.
A source of bail motion was filed with the court requiring Adams to file a written notice before posting bond that shows "any funds posted have been lawfully obtained and are not funds or money constituting the fruits of criminal or unlawful conduct."
An arraignment was scheduled for 9 a.m. March 10.
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 A Tazewell County judge moved this week to unseal more documents in the civil cases that accuse Reditus Laboratories CEO Aaron Rossi of mishandling company money.
Isnt that the price we pay for having a public proceeding? ... Why is this case different from a small claims case when it comes to the publics right to know? Judge Stephen Kouri asked an attorney for Reditus and Rossi who asked that certain documents be kept out of public view.
Micah Marcus, attorney for Reditus and Rossi, said he believed the attorneys on the other side of the case were attempting to try matters in the court of public opinion.
The second amended complaint in the civil suit brought by Rossis former business partners was among the items Marcus asked to remain sealed. Kouri agreed to allow it and the draft of an audit report to remain sealed, but the judge noted the final version of the report will not be under seal along with "everything else" when it is filed in about two weeks.
Attorneys in this case are still working through the disclosure of documents complicated by attorney-client privilege issues, to which Kouri expressed frustration.
Im getting impatient on how were spending months and months and months on documents, Kouri said of the documents he previously ordered to be turned over from Reditus, Rossi and Rossis attorney Michael Evans to Dr. James Davie, one of Rossis former business partners.
Those with documents still under dispute were ordered to hand them over to the judge in the next seven days so he can decide which should be disclosed.
The Pantagraph was among a group of Central Illinois media outlets that jointly filed a motion in the case last year seeking to loosen a protective order that had kept some filings from public view.
On another matter, there was no objection from the roster of the more than a dozen attorneys in the courtroom Tuesday when Howard Adelman, attorney for court-appointed receiver Adam Silverman, asked for the judge to grant an order to sell off Reditus' fleet of 61 vehicles and one Dassault Falcon jet.
Silverman, who was appointed last April to handle Reditus assets, has been working to dissolve the companys assets since the announcement that the lab company would end its operations in October amid the litigation.
Reditus is just lights out. Reditus is machinery, receivables, vehicles and airplanes today, Adelman said. "It isn't operating business."
Proceeds from the sales of the vehicles and aircraft will be held pending further order from the judge.
The next hearing in this case is set for March 21.
In an unrelated case, Rossi is awaiting trial on federal charges of tax fraud and mail fraud. He has been accused of filing false tax returns in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and of using funds from his former employer, Central Illinois Orthopedic Surgery, for personal deliveries.
Currently a trial is scheduled for March 20 in the federal case.
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
BLOOMINGTON A 20-year-old Bloomington man was identified Tuesday as the person found dead on a Bloomington churchs property, and police are calling the case a homicide.
Kiejoun Watts was pronounced dead at the scene on the property of Victory Church, 18180 U.S. 150, according to a statement issued jointly by the McLean County sheriff's and coroner's offices.
Preliminary autopsy results indicated he died of a gunshot wound, but toxicology test rests are pending, the statement said.
Sheriff's deputies were notified at roughly 8:45 p.m. Monday about unusual activity on the church property, officials said. They found an unresponsive man at the scene.
Both the coroner and sheriffs office are investigating the incident along the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Unit.
No additional information was available Tuesday.
In a statement on social media, the church said its property was blocked off to the public during the investigation.
"No personal information about the deceased has been shared with Victory Church leadership, nor do we know anything about the events that led to this tragedy," it said.
"We share this information with great sadness. Our church is praying for comfort and care for the family who lost their loved one, and Victory Church is here for anyone hurting as a result of it. Victory Church leadership has pledged its full cooperation with law enforcement authorities as they conduct their investigation."
A special prayer service was planned for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Journey Church in Normal.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Det. Hanner at 309-888-5063 or Lt. Tuttle at 309-888-5928 or the McLean County Sheriffs Office main line at 309-888-5019.
SPRINGFIELD U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, met Tuesday with an advisory group of farmers and Illinois agriculture officials to solicit feedback ahead of negotiations on the latest version of the Farm Bill.
Budzinski, whose district includes some the country's most fertile farmland and agribusiness giants like Archer Daniels Midland Co., will have a front-row seat to negotiations as a member of the House Agriculture Committee.
The committee also includes Reps. Mary Miller, R-Oakland; Jonathan Jackson, D-Chicago; and Eric Sorensen, D-Moline.
The Farm Bill is only negotiated once every five years, Budzinski said. So this is a really unique moment for communities throughout central and southern Illinois to really weigh in on our agricultural priorities.
The expansive measure includes provisions that address everything from crop insurance to the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP).
The Farm Bill affects every farmer in this state and every consumer in the state, said Adam Nielsen, national legislative director for Illinois Farm Bureau. It provides food security for everybody in the country. The nutrition program is the biggest component of the Farm Bill we have a number of people in the state who receive those SNAP benefits.
The nutrition program makes up 80% of the bill. But the measure also impacts farmers and producers throughout the state who rely on the legislation in the event of disaster.
The risks appear to be growing and we want to make sure that crop insurance programs are in place and that disaster programs would be in place," Nielsen said.
Farmers pay premiums to insure their crops against loss caused by natural disaster and they can also insure against drops in prices.
Farmers in attendance expressed the importance of crop insurance and said that as input costs continue to rise, so does the importance of being protected against disasters.
More than 96% of the farms in Illinois are owned by families, and Budzinski said she wants "to make sure that any Farm Bill we pass is going to support those family farmers."
Jennifer Tirey, executive director for Illinois Pork Producers Association, echoed Budzinskis focus on family farms.
(I want) to let more of those non-ag individuals know that a lot of our farms are fathers and daughters and sons coming back and raising those animals, having that grain operation and being able to help feed America, Tirey said.
The measure also includes funding for research into items such as biofuels.
The commodities like corn and soybeans are really growing into these biofuel opportunities for us, where we can be reducing carbon emissions but also supporting our farmers who are growing those crops, Budzinski said.
The measure will also include funding for agricultural education programs and for the rural development program, which is handled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Most people dont understand the breadth of the programs we have available, said Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, Illinois state director for rural development with the USDA. We have more than 70 programs. Theres so many different lives that we touch in different ways.
Rural development programs help improve economic opportunities and quality of life for individuals in small towns.
Agribusiness is what makes Illinois go and all of those businesses are supported by people and those people for the most part live in small towns, Londrigan said.
One-third of food produced in the US goes to wastehere's how that impacts the environment How food waste impacts the environment Most food is wasted when it reaches consumers The annual environmental footprint of food loss and waste per person adds up 90% of food wasted in the supply chain is edible The US far outpaces other countries when it comes to food waste Fruits and vegetables make up the largest share of food loss and waste globally
In a bid to augment its financial inclusion infrastructure, Fidelity Bank Ghana in partnership with Ghana Post has outdoored an upgraded version of its popular Ghana Post agency outlets.
The revamped agent points, dubbed Agency Plus points are located within key Ghana Post offices across the country and are designed to deliver an enhanced customer experience as well as an expanded array of Banking services to the Banks customers. This came to light during the official launch ceremony held at the pristine Agency Plus point at Accra New Town.
Fidelity Banks partnership with Ghana Post commenced in 2019 as part of the Banks efforts to expand the scope and reach of its agency banking network.
This led to the establishment of 35 specialized agents points countrywide making it possible for more customers of Fidelity Bank and the general public to access a bouquet of basic banking transactions such as account opening, cash withdrawals, cash deposits, balance inquiries, mini statements, cardless transactions, funds transfers, utility bill payments, and airtime top-ups at the nearest community post office.
The Bank together with its partners at Ghana Post has since reviewed and revamped the Ghana Post Agent point model to enhance customers service experience.
Throwing more light on the newly launched Agency Plus points, The Director of Channels and Sales at Fidelity Bank, Godfred Attafuah explained that while the existing agent points were designed to be transactional in nature, the Agency Plus points have been redesigned to provide an enhanced customer experience similar to what pertains in a standard Fidelity Bank Branch.
He also stated that the new Agency Plus points would offer 13 additional banking services including cash cheque deposits, prepaid and debit card issuance, PIN re-issuance, loan processing, and personal investment processing among others.
Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Ghana, Julian Opuni reiterated the Banks commitment and readiness to partner like-minded organisations in its ongoing financial drive. He asserted, At Fidelity Bank, the financial inclusion agenda is very dear to our hearts, as we believe that easy access to relevant banking and finance services holds the key to creating economic opportunities, reducing socio-economic inequalities and unlocking the immense potential of the local economy.
We are passionate about absorbing Ghanaians from all walks of life, into the Banking sector so that no one is left behind and one of the best ways to achieve this is by partnering forward-thinking organisations such as Ghana Post who share a similar focus.
Bice Osei Kuffour, Managing Director (MD) of Ghana Post Company Limited who also spoke at the launch event, commended Fidelity Bank Ghana for its commitment to sustainable financial inclusion. He added that his outfit was pleased to be part of the strategic partnership and pledged full support to the growth and sustainability of the partnership.
He stated, Just as Fidelity Bank finds Ghana Post a credible landlord and a partner, we must also state that we have already benefitted from them via the partnership. For every Ghana Post location where Fidelity Bank operates an agency, there has been a notable facelift of our office and increased footfall. As we continue with this mutually productive partnership, it is our fervent hope that in the near-future, they will extend their operations to cover all our 300-plus locations thereby bringing their convenient banking experience to even more of our rural folks and small indigenous businesses.
On his part, the Director of Payment Systems at the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Amedeku Settor reiterated the importance of the financial inclusion agenda to the countrys economic fortunes. He lauded Fidelity Bank for their pacesetting efforts in this regard and urged other institutions in the finance sector to emulate Fidelitys initiative. He also commended Ghana Post for partnering Fidelity and utilizing their wide network to further boost convenient access to financial services.
Subsequent to the launch event, nineteen (19) Agency Plus Points are active. These are Agogo, Tepa and Offinso in the Ashanti region; Kenyasi and Wenchi in the Bono and Ahafo regions; Agona Swedru, Dunkwa and Winneba in the Central region, Enyinasi, Asankragwa and Sefwi Bekwai in the Western North region, Asamankese, Mpraeso, Begoro and Kibi in the Eastern Region; Kajebi in the Oti region; Aflao and Kpando in the Volta region; and Cantonments and Accra New Town in the Greater Accra region. Other Agent Plus points are slated to be opened at other Ghana Post locations in the course of the year.
Fidelity Bank was the first to launch agency banking model in Ghana in 2013. From a pilot project of about twenty-four (24) agents, the Bank now can boast of an Agent network of about 5000 Agents who currently serve close to a million unique customers.
Source: Peacefmonline.come
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The newly reconstituted Board of the Volta Resettlement Trust Fund was inaugurated on Wednesday, 22nd February, 2023 at the Ministry of Energy.
Inaugurating the 16-member committee on behalf of Energy Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Deputy Energy Minister, Hon. Andrew Egyapa Mercer charged the Board to make the current trust deed workable in line with propriety and acceptable standards.
He said in 2021, the Board of the Trust Fund was dissolved to re-assess the objectives of the Trust Deed and re-constitute the membership of the Managing Trustees (the Board) for equitable representation and effective management.
It is therefore apt, that I now inaugurate the VRA Resettlement Trust Fund Board of Trustees (Managing Trustees) after some time of reflections on its mandate, he said.
He continued; I recognize however, that an annual grant provided by VRA may not be sustainable in perpetuity. I therefore charge the incoming Managing Trustees, who constitute a representation of all the three parties to the Trust Deed, to among others, consider revenue generating measures or projects which will overtime, be used to sustain the Fund while providing an exit strategy for the annual grant funded solely by VRA.
On his part, Chairman of the Board, His Worship Rtd, Emmanuel Nana Antwi-Barima assured the Ministry of his Boards determination to offer a paradigm shift and to ensure that their mandate is fulfilled
The VRA Resettlement Trust Fund (the Trust Fund) was established in 1996 by the joint efforts of the Government through the then Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Volta River Authority (VRA).
This was after numerous complaints were received the 52 resettlement townships about their plight created because of the construction of the Akosombo Hydro-electric Power Project.
A Trust Deed (Trust Deed Constituting the VRA Resettlement Trust Fund), which set up the Trust Fund, was executed on July 22, 1996.
The function of the Trust Fund is to address the health, education, water, sanitation, and other needs of direct benefit to the 52 resettlement townships based on requests received.
The Trust Fund is funded by an annual grant of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars (US$500,000.00) from the VRA.
Other Members on the Board include, the Members of Parliament for concerned areas which are Kpandai, Salaga, South, Biakoye, Krachi West, Krachi East and North Dayi.
It also includes MPs for Yilo Krobo, Fanteakwa, Mpraeso and Pru West. The Ministry of Energy is represented by Ms. Sarah Fafa Kpodo , Mr. Hanson Monney and Mr. Isaac Biney. The VRA is represented by Mr. Kenneth Mensah and Mr. Patrick Mireku
Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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Ghanas vote at the United Nations (UN) against Russias invasion of Ukraine is in consonance with its long-standing principled stand against hegemonic tendencies of big countries that believe they can do whatever pleases them, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated.
Coming on the first anniversary since Russia invaded Ukraine of the latters attempt to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the President explained that Ghana as a founder member of the Non-Aligned Movement had consistently resisted the idea that the big powers have the freedom to do what they like on this planet. We have never accepted that principle, whether it is the Americans, Russians, Germans, the French or whatever.
President Akufo-Addo stated this when the German Ministers of Economic Cooperation and Development, and Labour and Social Affairs, Huberus Heil, as well as the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House last Monday.
Also at the meeting were the Ministers of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta; Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, and Gender, Children and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu.
Principle
This is something I need to put on record, President Akufo-Addo stated, and added that the countrys history had been against great power domination of the affairs of the world and that was the reason why Ghana led the fight for independence in Africa.
He explained that it was the same principle that made the country vote against Russias invasion of Ukraine and it is a position we will continue to hold. Great powers trampling on small nations is not something that we welcome. Within our modest means we will register our disapproval of that.
President Akufo-Addo said there might be other considerations for Germany, Europeans and other countries but these are the considerations that are of significance to us.
The President also indicated that the country held the position that the planet existed for all people, the big powers as well as the small, and that hegemonic tendencies and roles of the world should be curbed as much as possible and it was a principle to do with the countrys history.
President Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that the war in Ukraine was going to end soon because it has had a pernicious impact on the countrys economy and many aspects of its national life.
Relations, migration
President Akufo-Addo described Germany as a country that had become closer with Ghana and that it was a relationship that was built on concrete measures.
He said migration would continue for some time until countries got their house in order, especially how well African countries were governed and created opportunities for the young were critical for the young people to stay at home.
The President added that it was for that reason that his administration since its inception in 2017 had come up with policies and programmes geared towards providing education and skills training for the youth as well as creating a flourishing economy.
History
The German Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Huberus Heil, commended President Akufo-Addo for leading the country to stand on the right side of history when the country voted against
Russias invasion of Ukraine. He described it as a very important statement.
That, he explained, put Ghana on the side of the countries that believed and supported the Rule of Law and the fight for the respect of internal law.
Background
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014.
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion which was adopted on March 2, 2022.
It deplored Russia's invasion of Ukraine and demanded a full withdrawal of Russian forces and a reversal of its decision to recognise the self-declared People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The resolution was sponsored by 96 countries, and passed with 141 voting in favour, including Ghana, with five against, and 35 abstentions.
The invasion has caused tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and instigated Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.
About eight million Ukrainians were displaced within their country by June last year, and more than eight million have fled the country as of this month.
Condemnation
The invasion began on the morning of February 24, 2022 upon Russian president Vladimir Putin's announcement of a "special military operation" seeking the "demilitarisation" and "denazification" of Ukraine.
The invasion has been met with widespread international condemnation. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to suspend military operations and the Council of Europe expelled Russia.
Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia, and on its ally Belarus, and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.
Source: graphiconline.com
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The government, through the newly established National Alternative Employment and Livelihood programme (NAELP), has reclaimed over 1000 hectares of land from illegal miners in the Western North.
Dr. Carol Louise Donkor, National Coordinator of the programme, visited some of the areas being taken care of by Dredge Masters a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC). The company has successfully reclaimed many hectares of land from illegal miners (popularly known as Galamseyer) in the Western North.
Dr. Donkor reiterated that NAELP is aimed at alleviating the hardships of people adversely affected by the activities of illegal miners. She also indicated that this forms part of the governments efforts to sanitise the mining space.
The programme also includes a community mining scheme which presents a module for small-scale mining in the country.
She said the project will create jobs for over two thousand youths in the affected area through the replantation of the lands.
It was against this backdrop that Dredge Masters was contracted by the government in 2021 to help reclaim galamsey lands in Asawinso A & B, Sefwi, Mepasem and Antobia all in the Western North Region.
Speaking to the media, the Project Manager for Dredge Masters, Ing. Bernard Asumeng Adjei Saw, said the project was 90 percent complete.
According to him, the land reclamation was part of other components of the project, stating that after that his company will be moving to phase two of the project, which is replanting trees on the reclaimed lands.
Ing Asumeng Saw commended the government for its efforts to reclaim lands damaged by illegal miners.
The government of Ghana has done a very good work. It has invested hugely to ensure that this damaged lands by Galamseyers are reclaimed and put to more productive use, he expressed.
He, therefore, appealed to the chiefs in the Western North Region to support the government in ensuring that illegal miners do not return to these reclaimed lands.
While pointing out some challenges militating against the project, the Site Manager of Dredge Masters, Gilbert Atima, asked that the various communities within the reclaimed lands be involved in the tree-planting phase of the project.
For his part, a Technical Officer for NALEP, Daniel Fordjour Agyemang, indicated that his outfit had a plan in place which would see the involvement of all stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of the economic trees that will be planted on the lands.
In no time, we will roll all this out for the community to benefit, he assured.
The Chairman of the Small-Scale Miners in Juaboso, King George, said the programme had been beneficial to miners in the region.
Some of the workers undertaking the replantation also shared their thoughts on how beneficial the project had been to them.
Source: B&FT
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Kenyan comedian Eric Omondi has been freed following his arrest on Tuesday for leading a group of half-naked men in a protest outside parliament.
The group had carried banners while demonstrating against the high cost of living. They demanded to meet the speaker to outline their grievances.
Police fired tear gas to disperse them and arrested 17 people.
On Wednesday they were charged with holding an unlawful assembly outside parliament. They denied any wrongdoing. They were each released on bail of 10,000 shilling ($80; 65).
In February 2022, the comedian locked himself in a cube outside parliament to lobby MPs to increase the quota of locally produced music being played on radio and TV.
Source: BBC
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As the Atta-Mills Institute (AMI), continues to grow in stature and catching the eye of the International Community, ECOWAS has once again invited AMI to be a part of its Observer Mission for the upcoming General Elections in Nigeria slated for, Saturday, February 25, 2023.
The Founder and CEO of AMI, Samuel Koku Anyidoho is in Lagos, Nigeria, as part of the 250 member Observer Mission and is accompanied by another member of AMI, Maxwell Okamafo-Addo.
The AMI has already joined ECOWAS Observer Missions in, Guinea, Conakry and Cotonou, Benin for elections in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
The Head of the ECOWAS Mission, is former President of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, and has as his Deputy, His Excellency Alhaji Baba Kamara, Ghanas High Commissioner to Nigeria and Permanent Representative to ECOWAS during the tenure of President John Evans Atta-Mills.
The elections is being contested by 18 political parties duly registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of Nigeria, with four major ones being visibly dominant - the ruling All-Progressive Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).
This years elections seems to be very intriguing since Nigeria returned to democratic governance in 1999 after years of military rule
The total number of registered voters is estimated around 95 million and expectations are very high amidst a change of the niara, which has caused a shortage of the currency.
Many International Observers are in Nigeria alongside ECOWAS - including the African Union and the European Union.
Local civil society groups have also been accredited by INEC.
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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Guinea's transitional leader Col Mamady Doumbouya has urged the constitutional review committee to consider the "needs and realities" of the country and draft a robust new supreme law," the privately-owned Africaguinee website reported.
"Our country needs tranquillity, not just permanent transitional periods. So today we are talking about the constitution. We need to be able to think about putting in place a strong constitution adapted to our needs and realities," he said on Tuesday while launching the constitutional review symposium in the capital, Conakry.
He warned the committee against drafting a "copy and paste or tailor-made" constitution for the country.
The junta leader said that the National Transitional Committee is committed to drafting a new constitution for posterity and not one to suit the interim authorities.
Opposition groups and the civil society have called for protests to demand the resignation of the transitional government.
The junta has pledged to hand over power to civilian authorities at the end of the two-year transition period that started in January.
Source: BBC
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US First Lady Jill Biden is expected in Namibia on Wednesday as she begins a five-day visit to Africa that will also take her to Kenya.
The White House said the visit will boost US partnerships in Africa and further mutual priorities for the continent.
Jill Biden is the fifth high-profile US official to visit the continent since the US-Africa leaders in Washington last December.
US Trade Secretary Janet Yellen, Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee and US-Africa leaders' summit representative Johnnie Carson are the other senior officials who have visited the continent since the summit.
Analysts say the USs renewed focus on Africa is an attempt to counter Chinese and Russian influence.
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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Security Analyst, and Terrorism and Counterterrorism specialist, Adib Saani, has cautioned Ghanaians to be vigilant in order to stop any potential terrorist attacks on the country.
Adib Saani urged the government to put adequate measures in place to ensure safety at the various borders as a means to prevent any possible attack in the country.
In an interview with Wontumi TV, he said that the country faces a severe security threat as a result of the way and manner in which people are entering the country through the various borders; as a result, the government should take steps to limit those movements.
He further suggested that the government should involve the locals, especially at the border towns to help in monitoring and identifying terrorism threats in the country.
In addition, he said citizens must also get involved to complement the effort of the security agencies.
I will expect at this point in time that the government will meet the civil societies, specifically on see something say something. Is not about money. So, when you meet them then you let them understand what you seek to achieve by the see something, say something it will help.
But if you think you can do it alone as the government, no, it wont work.
It is closer than we think (terrorist attack), based on the information that I am privy to. Especially what Im worried about is the movement of refugees into this country militants can also act as refugees and come into the country, 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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The trial of Gregory Afoko, a farmer who has been charged together with Asabke Alangde has ended after 8 years following the alleged acid incident which led to the death of Adams Mahama.
The late Mahama, was the Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party and was said to have mentioned the names of Afoko and Asabke as those who poured the substance believed to be acid on him leading to his death.
Gregory Afoko and Asabke, who described himself as the chairman of the Bolga-Kumasi Ayamfuri Lorry Station Master have both denied the charge of conspiracy. While Afoko also separately pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder.
While Afoko was arrested on May 21, 2015, a day after the incident on May 20, 2015, Asabke was arrested four years later in January 2019 after he fled to Ivory Coast for fear of his life.
Afoko was initially tried since 2015 but the proceedings was truncated by the Attorney General after Asabke was arrested in January 2019, for a fresh trial.
The trial restarted after the arrest of the second accused on July 17, 2019.
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the trial ended after the prosecution led by Mrs Marina Appiah-Opare ended the prosecutions cross-Examination of Asabke, the second accused.
When Mrs Appiah-Opare signaled the end of their cross-Examination, Defence lawyer for Asabke who also held brief Stephen Sorwah Charway for (Osafo Buabeng) for Afoko said there would be no re-examination.
Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Merley Afua Wood, sitting as an additional High Court judge adjourned the case to March 8, 2023 to ensure the records of proceedings are ready and given to the parties to file addresses.
The judge also lauded the defence lawyers, the prosecution and the jury for the support saying Thank you very much for your cooperation.
According to EIB Networks Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, the punishment for murder is a death sentence and the seven-member panel of the jury would have to return a unanimous verdict to sustain the charges for the court to sentence them.
They are both on remand and are standing trial for the murder of New Patriotic Partys Upper East Regional Chairman Adams Mahama following an alleged acid incident in May 20, 2015.
*Witnesses*
The prosecution called 16 witnesses including wife of the late Adams Hajia Zenabu Adam, Asigri Quinn, Zuwera Isaka, Tofiq Murtala, Baba Apayaa, Chief Inspector Augustus Nkrumah, the investigator among others to close its case.
Afoko on the other hand testifies himself, called John Ishmael Afoko, his brother who was present when he was arrested and also closed his case.
The second accused Asabke after opening his defence did not call any witness.
*Legal representation*
For the prosecution, Mrs Marina Appiah Opare, a Chief State Attorney, led Dom Esi Fiagbe and Frederick Adu Gyamfi to represent the Attorney General.
For the defence Lawyer Stephen Sowah Charway who held brief for Osafo Buabeng and Andrew Kudzo Vortia represented Gregory Afoko and Asabke Alangde respectively.
*Background*
It was the case of the prosecution led by Chief State Attorney, Marina Appiah Opare, that the two acted with the aim of killing Adams Mahama.
She recounted that the former NPP Chairman, Paul Afoko (brother of Gregory) then General Secretary, Kwabena Agyepong in 2015 attended a meeting in the Upper East region.
The aim, she said, was how to work against the then flagbearer of the party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The said meeting, the prosecution added, was scuttled by some men organised by the late Adams Mahama.
Unhappy about this, the two, according to the prosecutor, attacked to kill Mr Adams days after, when he was heading home.
The State concluded the facts by pointing out that Mr Mahama who was rushed to the hospital, named the two as the persons who poured acid on him in the presence of three witnesses.
Source: Murtala Inusah/Kasapafmonline.com
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Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has blasted the Akufo-Addo government for their continuous blame on the Russia/Ukraine war for the economic crises facing Ghana.
The leaders have been talking about how the war between the two countries has negatively impacted Ghana's economy in various sectors including the agricultural sector.
Government communicators try on daily basis to make Ghanaians understand why the Russia/Ukraine conflict is a major contributory cause of their woes.
But to Mr. Pratt, it is shameful to blame Ukraine.
Settling on the challenges in the agriculture sector, Mr. Pratt disclosed that there are some leaders who till date keep blaming Ukraine saying there is food crises in Ghana because of the war.
This, to him, is preposterous as he explained that Ghana has arable lands to produce food.
" . . If you have 40 percent of the arable lands of the world and you have to go to Ukraine for food, are you not ashamed? . . . Why are our leaders crying that we can't find food because of Ukraine war? What a shame? What an admission of failure; crass incompetence?", he wondered how the nation is expected to develop.
Kwesi Pratt spoke on Peace FM's flagship programme "Kokrokoo".
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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The Alan Kyerematen campaign team has taken notice of an interview granted to Adom TV by the Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh, stating the above as a fact.
It would have been normal practice to ignore such a fib, however considering the high and weighty office of the Majority Chief Whip, and the bias of the current occupant for the flagbearer bid of H.E the Vice President, the propaganda and mischief value of saying Hon Alan Kyerematen chaired a nonexistent committee in a nonexistent structure is so high that the records need to be formally set straight, and it is our hope that you give this publication the necessary attention.
First and foremost, we wish to state emphatically and for the records that there is no such animal called, Economic Management Committee of the Cabinet of the Republic of Ghana and it is only a figment of the imagination of the Hon MP. As a senior member of the Party and of Government, we are surprised that the Majority Chief Whip does not know the architecture of the Cabinet to make such a claim which surprised even the host of the interview.
As a matter of setting the records straight, we challenge the Hon MP to list the members of this so-called Economic Management Committee of Cabinet to enable the media and independent Ghanaians to verify from such members, the truth or otherwise of such a wild claim.
Secondly, we challenge the Hon Majority Chief Whip to publish the mandate of such a committee of the cabinet so we can interrogate their functions compared to the role of the Economic Management Team, headed by His Excellency the Vice President of the Republic. It is unimaginable that he will suggest such duplicity of roles at the highest level of government and we need some education from him if this is indeed true.
The Hon MP further went ahead to malign Hon Yaw Buaben Asamoa, former MP for Adentan and former Director of NPP Party Communications, now Spokesperson and Director of Communications for the Alan Kyerematen Campaign, by casting untrue aspersions on his person and character and then cheekily damning him to dare to win back the Adentan Parliamentary Seat, lost to the Party in the 2020 General elections. The real question is why and how the seat was lost.
If the Hon Annoh-Dompreh is not familiar with the story of how his preferred candidate for leadership of the NPP reportedly helped invest heavily in his brother-in-law to gift an NPP-held seat to our main opponents, then he is indeed doing the High Office of Chief Whip an injustice.
It is the business of the Chief Whip to have his finger on the pulse of the Party but his aspersions in respect of Adentan Constituency show that either he is not on top of his game or that he has deliberately blinded himself to further the interests of his preferred candidate, even if the parliamentary preferences of his candidate have been hurtful to the fortunes of the NPP.
Now the question that begs to answer is, will Annoh-Dompreh be singing praises to his preferred candidate if he was destooled by his brother-in-law from the NDC with the tacit support of the Vice President of the land?
We wish to pray the Hon MP focuses on selling his candidate with a good message that will be bought by all delegates and Ghanaians in general than descend into personality attacks and smear campaigns.
Alan John Kwadwo Aduruwoso Kyeremanten has presented his Great Transformational Plan (GTP) to Ghanaians and we wish all candidates to do the same for critical examination by academia, civil society organisations and indeed, all Ghanaians. This is the only way we can make our party attractive and ready to break the 8.
Source: Richard Nyamah (Deputy spokesperson to Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten)
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Members of the National Democratic Congress in parliament have fully committed their support to the bid of former President John Dramani Mahama to become the partys flagbearer in the 2024 election.
This is according to the Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak who says Mr Mahama has officially conveyed his intent to contest the elections to the Minority caucus.
JM met with us, NDC MPs, earlier today (21/2/2023) at his office. He informed us of his intention to contest to be Flagbearer of the NDC and ultimately the Presidency. We assured him of our full and unflinching support, the MP tweeted on Monday following the said meeting.
Former President John Dramani Mahama in 2016 failed in a re-election bid after serving his first full term in office.
His attempt to return to power in 2020 also failed when he lost to President Akufo-Addo who won his second term in office.
With President Akufo-Addos constiutional two terms coming to an end in 2025 and an economy in shambles, Mr Mahamas chances of winning power has never been more likely.
Ahead of the NDCs election of a flagbearer for the 2024 election, the former president is deemed by several members of the party as the presumptive flagbearer ahead of the primaries scheduled for May 13.
There has been a growing campaign within the NDC to have Mr Mahama contest the partys flagbearership unopposed.
Source: ghanaweb.com
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Director of Communications for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah has stated that the Akufo-Addo government is on course to restore the countrys economic stability and growth that existed before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Addressing the press at the party headquarters in Aslym Down, Accra, today Wednesday 22 February 2023, Richard Ahiagbah, said the governments Post Covid-19 Program for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) is a solid blueprint that is ushering the country out of the economic setback the people of Ghana have had to endure the last 12months.
NDCs poor record
Before he outlined the recovery plans of the Akufo-Addo administration, Mr. Ahiagbah, took a swipe at the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for what he says is a deliberate effort on the part of the opposition party to misled many Ghanaians to think that [the Akufo-Addo government] has mismanaged the economy since assuming office.
This claim by the NDC however is not supported by the hard economic data and the reality around the world. In all these, the NDC has not provided any credible alternative solution(s). They are talking a lot but not about solutions. It is blame, mischaracterization, and denial of obvious global economic realities Richard Ahiagbah said.
Supporting his argument on the poor performance of the NDC when they were in office between 2013 and 2016, Ahiagbah said, on the larger economy which is measured in terms of GDP the NDC, supervised a perpetual decline from 2013 to 2016.
In 2013, GDP was 7.3%; in 2014 it was 4%; in 2015 it was 3.9% and in 2016 it was 3.7%. In terms of percentage changes in the GPD, the economy deteriorated by 45.2% in 2014 compared to 2013 growth. Similarly, the economy decreased by 2.5% in 2015 and 5.12% in 2016.
In the Real Sector, which includes Agriculture, Industry, and Service, the NDCs performance was even worst. From 2013, real sector growth plummeted significantly across all sectors. In 2014 all the sectors grew at a negative rate using 2013 performance as a base Mr. Ahiagbah said.
Let me remind you that this poor performance was against the NDC inheriting an economy that had discovered oil in commercial quantities and began production in 2010; which shot Ghanas GDP to 14% in 2011. All that growth momentum was vanquished by the NDC, led by Ex-President Mahama he added.
NPPs outstanding performance
Comparing the NDCs performance with the NPPs time in office before the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the NPPs director of communications noted that available data shows that the NPP turned around the contracting economy it inherited from the NDC in 2017 to date.
On GDP, 2017 GDP grew at 8.1 percent compared to 3.7 percent in 2016, 2018 GDP grew by 6.3%, 2019 GDP grew by 6.5% and 2020 GDP grew by 0.5%. In the real rector, the industry recorded its highest growth of 16.7% in 2017, with Agriculture at 8.4%, and the Services sectors at 4.3%.
Industry grew from a mournful negative 0.5% in 2016 to 16.7 percent in 2017 and Services grew from 2.8% in 2016 to an appreciable 4.3% in 2017, Ahiagbah said.
The Agric sector also grew from a dismal 2.7% in 2016 to 8.4% in 2017. Friends from the media, this data we just reviewed imply that the vulnerable in our society, the poor, indeed, the vast majority of Ghanaians fared much better under NPP in 2017. Data is sacred he added.
Recovery plan
As part of the recovery plan, Mr. Ahiagbah said Government has introduced the Post Covid-19 Program for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) to among others establish a sustainable macro-fiscal path, restore debt sustainability and macro-economic stability underpinned by key structural reform and social protection.
According to Richard Ahiagbah, the PC-PEG will address the economic challenges of this country through fiscal consolidation, get treatment, and structural reform and that Government through the Central Bank has responded with a raft of monetary policy measures, including the bi-weekly FX forward auction, and the BDC forex auction which has helped subdue the pressure on the spot FX market.
To complement the monetary policies which have been activated, the Government has subsequently announced Expenditure-led measures including a 30% cut in discretionary expenditures, a moratorium on the new creation of government units, a freeze on government travels, 30 percent cut in salaries of the executive and political appointees, among others, Ahiagbah said.
Other policies such as the implementation of the Gold for Oil (G4O) program, implementation of the COVID-19 Alleviation & Revitalization of Enterprises Support (CARES) Program, to inject some Ghc100 billion into the economy [are all part of the larger strategy of the government to the countrys economic stability] Ahiagbah added.
Governments transformative agenda to digitalize the economy [which is aimed at formalizing] the Ghanaian economy & improve its administrative systems & global competitiveness, the banking sector reforms which has introduced a tighter regulatory & supervisory framework in the sector are all part of the steps government is taking to revive the economy.
Through these innovative measures, the government is demonstrating its resolve to build back the economy quickly and restore fiscal rectitude. Governments commitment to these measures is a clear assurance that we are on the right track and capable of causing a turnaround of the economy with the resolute support of all Ghanaians Richard Ahiagbah further stated.
Way Forward for Economy
In his press statement, the NPP's director of communications identified several thematic areas that the government is paying attention to tackle the prevailing economic challenges.
Mr. Ahiagbah noted that in 2022, the government introduced a raft of fiscal and monetary measures to rein in expenditures and improve revenue mobilization, including a cut in discretionary spending, a cut in the salaries of the executives, a freeze on foreign travel, among others".
"The 2023 budget indicates the governments desire to continue fiscal consolidation efforts and reduce the fiscal deficit in line with the pending IMF Programme. The government expects to record one of the lowest deficits this year, much lower than the GH64.0 billion announced in the 2023 budget" Ahiagbah said.
"Expenditure measures, the debt treatment program, and structural reforms, among others, are all measures that the Akufo-Addo administration has embarked on to ensure that the economy is stabilized and subsequently made to grow as was the case before the COVID-19 pandemic" Ahiagbah added.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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Former AttorneyGeneral and Minister for Justice and Presidential hopeful, Joe Ghartey, has said that several sectors in the economy can turn the fortunes of the economy around.
He stated this at the launch of his Hope and Unity Tour in Sekondi Takoradi.
According to the respected legislator, who is also a former 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament, with careful and deliberate interventions in several sectors of the economy including the education sector, Ghana can in the short to medium term, turn its fortunes around.
He said the United Kingdom, for example, earned approximately 28.8 billion pounds a year from international students. He said that if Ghana could attract just ten per cent of this it would earn Ghana almost the same amount it was seeking to borrow from the IMF annually. Joe Ghartey emphasised that wherever educational institutions were situated, the environs experienced increased economic activity.
Joe Ghartey stated further the foundation had already been laid in the education sector.
Hon. Ghartey noted that when he was in the University in the 1980s there were hardly any international students and only three Universities. Today he said Ghana had over sixty Universities which had considerable numbers of international students.
He said a Joe Ghartey government would take the steps that would make our Universities internationally competitive to be able to attract more international students.
These steps include increased regulation, targeted scholarships for lectures and some financial interventions. Joe Ghartey has left the Western Region to the Western North Region as he continues the Nationwide Tour of Hope and Unity.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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Okyeame Kwame has in an interview said he will never hurt an animal because he has come to the realization that the creatures also have feelings just like humans.
The Hiplife artiste intimated that, unlike others who would hurriedly kill a snake to prevent it from biting them, he would rather find out whether the snake in question is poisonous or not. Even so, his means of survival would not include taking the life of the snake.
In his submission, the rapper, who prides himself on being a vegan and a vegetarian, recalled how he respectfully turned down an offer from a Ghanaian ambassador in New York who wanted to help him establish a fish farm. According to Okyeame Kwame, he could not accept the offer because he cannot produce what would eventually be killed and eaten by others when he is against the practice.
Ive been vegetarian for six years; vegan for two years, he said on 3FM. I dont eat meat; I dont eat meat or anything from animals except honey. One day I just realized that the most important thing to me is my life and I saw the cow feels the same way
"So, youre one of those people that if a snake enters your house, youre looking at how to save it before surviving? asked Giovanni Caleb, the host of the show who appeared intrigued by Okyeame Kwames narrative.
Before he would give a direct response to the question, the 46-year-old rapper sought to educate the public on how to find out whether a snake poses a danger to you or not.
He said: You know what is interesting? There are 200 species of snakes; only 20 of them bite to kill. If you look at where the eyes are, you can tell whether it is poisonous or not.
At that moment of survival, youre thinking of species? Giovanni asked; a question that made everyone in the studio, including Okyeame Kwame, laugh uncontrollably.
If it confronts you, then you need to save yourself, obviously. But a snake has entered your house, its in the kitchen, then everyone is looking for something to come and hit it? Okyeame Kwame asked while stating emphatically that he would never do that.
According to the rapper, The opposite of love is not hate; the opposite of love is fear. And we fear what we dont know. So, if you take your time to know the things that are of importance to you, youll have no fear. And once you have no fear, you become complete love.
"And once you become love, you cant hurt people; you cant hurt animals. Even when youre coming to eat a plant, you know youre hurting it and youre sad for it.
Source: ghanaweb.com
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So, what about the 12-hour Ethiopian clock? How exactly does that work?
Daylight is the key to understanding how Ethiopia keeps time. Because it lies about 15 degrees north of the equator, that close proximity means that the days remain relatively consistent throughout the year. So while most of the world begins the new day at midnight, Ethiopia begins the new day at dawn.
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"The day pretty much starts at 12 o'clock when the sun rises, and midday is 6 o'clock, and the end of the day is 12 o'clock when the sun sets. People living over there don't really use a.m. or p.m. ... For example, if they're going to meet someone at 2 p.m. American time they would say, 'Let's meet at 8 o'clock in the afternoon.' Or they might not even mention the afternoon part because the other 8 o'clock is in the middle of the night so it's automatically understood it's in the daytime," says Teka. "For the sake of clarity, 12 o'clock sunrise is 6 a.m., 4 o'clock is 10 p.m., 6 o'clock midday is 12 p.m., 2 o'clock at night is 8 p.m., 6 o'clock midnight is 12 a.m. and so on."
Got all that? Wait, there's more.
Dawn to dusk is the first 12-hour cycle, called the daytime cycle and dusk to dawn is the second 12-hour cycle, called the nighttime cycle. Because of this dawn-to-dusk and dusk-to-dawn cycle, local time in Ethiopia is six hours behind East Africa Time (EAT). So, that means that 7 a.m. EAT is 1 daytime hours in local Ethiopian time.
Make sense, or is your hair on fire? It actually kind of does make sense and is even practical in a country where the length of the days doesn't vary a lot from season to season. But it must be a bit confusing to anyone who has their watch and other devices set to East Africa Time.
" " Ethiopians in Addis Ababa celebrate the arrival of their new millennium on Sept. 12, 2007, more than seven years after the West celebrated it in 2000. Ethiopians proudly follow the Julian calendar, which puts the birth of Christ seven and a half years later than the more commonly followed Gregorian calendar. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
So what's the history behind all this, and how do the people of Ethiopia apply their unique calendar and time difference when relating to the rest of the world?
Long story short, the Ethiopian calendar is based on the ancient Coptic calendar and is seven years and eight months behind the Gregorian calendar, due to alternate calculations in determining the birth date of Jesus. The calendar begins counting days from 7 B.C.E. onwards, while other calendars start with the birth of Jesus on 1 C.E. The Roman Catholic Church heavily influenced many countries that use the Gregorian calendar, but Ethiopia was never colonized and kicked out all the missionaries. Since it didn't accept outside influences, it has continued to use its own historic calendar to this day.
"People who live in Ethiopia mostly use the Ge'ez calendar unless they're doing anything globally, in which case they use the Gregorian calendar. Otherwise the difference doesn't really affect us other than having to switch calendars back and forth when needed," Teka explains.
"Most people, especially in the countryside, don't really use the Gregorian calendar because they don't care that they're behind more than seven years. And those who do use the Gregorian calendar may or may not know the history of why it's behind," says Teka. "Ethiopia has a different Christmas day than most of the rest of the world, except Coptic Orthodox Christians who celebrate it on January 7 or on the Ethiopian calendar Christmas or Genna, is celebrated on Tahisas 29."
Ms. Teka, our "time traveling" citizen of Ethiopia, continues.
"The way I think about it is that time is just a reference just a human construct. I mean, we might say it's 2015 in Ethiopia, but in reality we all live in the present time. Therefore, even though it sounds like Ethiopia is behind seven years and eight months literally it's just the way our calendar is calculated and doesn't mean that people over there are really living in the year 2015."
Now That's Interesting Ethiopia isn't the only country with a notably different calendar. Thailand's calendar is based on Buddha, not Jesus, and is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar. So in Thailand it's already 2566!
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A nanoscale look at how dust aggregates on this spiky surface. Credit: The University of Texas at Austin/Smart Material Solutions
Dust is a common fact of life, and it's more than just a daily nuisanceit can get into machinery and equipment, causing loss of efficiency or breakdowns.
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin partnered with North Carolina-based company Smart Material Solutions Inc. to develop a new method to keep dust from sticking to surfaces. The result is the ability to make many types of materials dust resistant, from spacecraft to solar panels to household windows.
The research is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
"What we've demonstrated here is a surface that can clean itself," said Chih-Hao Chang, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering's Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and a lead author of the study. "Particulates aren't able to stick to the surface, so they come off using just the force of gravity."
In tests, the researchers piled lunar dust on top of their engineered surfaces and then turned each surface on its side. The result: Only about 2% of the surface remained dusty, compared with more than 35% of a similarly smooth surface.
The researchers said the discovery boils down to things the human eye can't detect. In the experiments, the team altered the geometry of flat surfaces to create a tightly packed nanoscale network of pyramid-shaped structures. These sharp, angular structures make it difficult for the dust particles to stick to the material, instead sticking to one another and rolling off the material via gravity. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin partnered with North Carolina-based company Smart Material Solutions Inc. to develop a new method to keep dust from sticking to surfaces. The result is the ability to make many types of materials dust resistant, from spacecraft to solar panels to household windows. Credit: The University of Texas at Austin/Smart Material Solutions
These structures provide a passive solution, meaning they don't require any extra energy or materials to remove dust. Compare that with more active solutions such as a car windshield that requires the use of windshield wipers and wiper fluid to clean off dust.
The research was funded via a grant from NASA's Small Business Innovation Research program, so the first applications focus on space technology. Space dust is especially pesky because of how high-risk everything becomes in that environment, and the conditions make cleaning off dust challenging. Dust wreaked havoc on the Apollo missions and has caused Mars rovers to fail.
"There's not much you can do about lunar dust in spaceit sticks to everything and there's no real way to wipe it off or spray it off," said Samuel Lee, a lead author who was an undergraduate researcher in Chang's group. "Dust on solar panels of Mars rovers can cause them to fail."
This technology also could have tremendous impact on Earth. It could prevent solar panels from collecting dust and losing efficiency over time. It could protect glass windows and someday even digital screens such as phones and TVs.
Anti-dust technology has been around for decades, but it has not gained much traction outside of the lab because of scaling challenges. The researchers used fabrication concepts called nanocoining and nanoimprinting, which prints patterns on objects in a modernized version of the way newspapers and photographs were mass produced during the 1800s.
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Predicted probability of arsenic 5 g/L in alluvial aquifers of the western Great Basin, including (a) mean probability of arsenic 5 g/L, (b) 95% confidence upper bound, and (c) 95% confidence lower bound. Bedrock aquifers and lakes are shown in gray and were not included in the arsenic hazard assessment. Credit: Saftner et al., 2023
In the arid and drought-stricken western Great Basin, sparse surface water means rural communities often rely on private groundwater wells. Unlike municipal water systems, well water quality in private wells is unregulated, and a new study shows that more than 49 thousand well users across the region may be at risk of exposure to unhealthy levels of arsenic in drinking water.
Led by researchers at DRI and the University of Hawai'i Cancer Center and published February 16th in Environmental Science and Technology, the study used data from groundwater wells across the western Great Basin to build a model to predict the probability of elevated arsenic in groundwater, and the location and number of private well users at risk. According to the study, the Carson Desert basin (including the town of Fallon, Nevada), Carson Valley (Minden and Gardnerville, Nevada), and the Truckee Meadows (Reno), have the highest population of well users at risk. The new study builds on previous research showing that 22% of 174 domestic wells sampled in Northern Nevada had arsenic levels exceeding the EPA guideline.
"What we are finding is that in our region, we have a high probability for elevated arsenic compared to most other regions in the country," said Daniel Saftner, M.S., a hydrogeologist at DRI and lead author of the study. "And we are seeing that geothermal and tectonic processes that are characteristic of the Great Basin contribute to the high concentrations of naturally occurring arsenic in the region's groundwater."
The region's mountains are also primary sources of arsenic. "As the arsenic-rich volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks that form the mountains erode, sediment is transported to the valleys below," says Steve Bacon, Ph.D., DRI geologist and study co-author. Water percolating through the valley floor then carries arsenic into the groundwater. Deeper, older groundwater and geothermal waters tend to have a higher arsenic concentration and can migrate upward along faults and mix with shallow groundwater.
"We really wanted to better understand the unique geologic factors that contribute to high arsenic in this study," Saftner says. "It's important for us to think about the role of the environment as it pertains to human healthwhere we live can influence what our long-term health looks like."
Map showing the hydrographic basin boundaries and predicted average population density with arsenic 5 g/L in (a) the entire western Great Basin; (b) Truckee Meadows (Reno area), Lemmon Valley, and Cold Spring Valley; (c) Carson Valley (Minden and Gardnerville areas); and (d) Carson Desert (Fallon area). Credit: Saftner et. al, 2023
To train and test the predictive model, the research team used data collected through the Healthy Nevada Project, including water samples from 163 domestic wells primarily located near Reno, Carson City, and Fallon. These data were supplemented with 749 groundwater samples compiled from the USGS National Water Information System. The model uses tectonic, geothermal, geologic, and hydrologic variables to predict the probability of elevated arsenic levels across the region.
Although the U.S. EPA has set an arsenic concentration guideline of 10 g/L for public drinking water, previous research has shown a range of health effects from long-term exposure to levels above 5 g/L. Using this concentration as the benchmark, the model and map show that much of the region's groundwaterparticularly in western and central Nevadais predicted to have more than a 50% probability of elevated arsenic levels.
"Community members can use our arsenic hazard map to see what the risk is at their location, which might motivate them to test their well water," says Monica Arienzo, Ph.D., associate research professor at DRI and study co-author. "Then, if they have high levels of arsenic or other contaminants, they can take steps to reduce their exposure, such as installing a water treatment system."
The findings from this study are potentially useful for a range of different applications. "The results can be useful for water utilities or water managers who tap similar shallow aquifers for their water supply," says Saftner, "as well as irrigation wells that source water from these aquifers."
The research team plans to use their model to take a closer look at the health impacts of prolonged arsenic exposure. "Through the Healthy Nevada Project, genetic data and health records are paired with environmental data to help determine whether there are associations between the levels of arsenic in a community's groundwater and specific health outcomes," stated Joe Grzymski, Ph.D., research professor at DRI and principal investigator of the project.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
Credibility is a crucial factor when immigration authorities determine whether an asylum seeker is eligible to reside in Denmark or not. However, the assessment of an asylum applicant's credibility takes place in such a complex and opaque procedure that an applicant's rights can easily be suppressed This is the conclusion of a new University of Copenhagen study that examines how data was used in a large number of asylum decisions.
"It is thus stated to the Swedish immigration authorities that he was detained by the Taliban for two years, while he has stated to the Danish authorities that he was detained for about three years."
This is one part of the reason why an applicant was denied asylum by the Danish Refugee Appeals Board in 2019. It is one of fifty asylum decision summaries, in which asylum seekers were denied asylum, that researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Computer Science investigated.
The research sheds light on the role of data when the Refugee Appeals Board (the highest decision-making body) decides who is entitled to asylumsomething that, according to the researchers, has thus far been underexposed in Denmark. Specifically, the researchers reviewed various data practices used by the board to makes decisions.
The decisive factor, according to the study, is whether the authorities consider the asylum seeker to be 'credible' or not. But how is credibility assessed?
"The Refugee Appeals Board must decide whether the applicant has a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin. Our review shows that this assessment takes place via a very complex procedure, where one can estimate using many types of data produced in many different places, that can be interpreted in many different ways. And, it is not unproblematic," explains Ph.D. fellow Trine Rask Nielsen from the Department of Computer Science.
Inconsistencies equate with untrustworthiness
According to the study, the crux of the Refugee Appeals Board's decision is whether authorities encountered inconsistencies in the various data found in the system with regards to the individual applicant.
Data may consist of, among other things: the asylum seeker's testimony to the Immigration Service (initial decision); an asylum application form; he authorities' interpretation of self-reported information; register data from countries through which the applicant has traveled; facial photos and fingerprints; information from the applicants' Facebook profile and mobile phone; and not least, country reports about the applicant's country of origin produced by, among others, the Danish Immigration Service or NGOs like the Danish Refugee Council.
"In the decision summaries we analyzed, applicants are deemed untrustworthy and refused asylum if discrepancies are found between different data sources. For example, as in the case above, where the Swedish authorities registered information about an applicant that conflicted with what was registered by the Danish authorities," says Trine Rask Nielsen.
Facebook can trap you
In many of the cases, the Board justified their refusal based on divergences in data from the asylum application and from country reports available on the situation in the applicant's home country. But there can also be discrepancies between information on Facebook and information provided by that person in a different context:
"During the interview [in the spring] 2018 at the Danish Immigration Service, the applicant was given information from his own and his spouse's Facebook profiles, from which it appeared that they had been married [in the winter] 2016. The applicant explained that the date did not fit and that it had to be a mistake."
"This example illustrates how authorities use new types of data to establish an asylum seeker's credibility when two data points contradict each other. In some cases, social media data is used as documentation," says Trine Rask Nielsen.
Data is never objective
In recent years, a trend has emerged of more and more data being produced on refugees around the world. This is done at both the NGO and government authority levels.
"The increasing amount of data and use of various data in asylum cases can make decision-making processes opaque for asylum seekers. While more data can be positive, it's important to keep in mind that data is never objective. We need to be especially critical when using new types of data as a basis for decisions that can have such a major impact on the lives of vulnerable people," says Trine Rask Nielsen.
She points out that the data included in the decision-making process is created in different ways, by different agencies and at different stages. And, that various asylum agencies interpret data differently from one another.
"Among other things, there is an asylum application form available for applicants to fill out if they choose to and if they are capable. But it is unclear what role the form plays if an asylum seeker fails to or is unable to fill it out. Furthermore, one decides for themselves whether to describe their motivation to seek asylum in 5 lines, or 10 pages. Beyond that, a person must go through several interviews, each of which can take up to eight hours. As the interviews are conducted in Danish, everything goes through an interpreter. Applicants are given a chance to correct potential errors in the summary that the caseworker has written down, as read by the interpreter, but only after many hours of interview," says Trine Rask Nielsen.
A squeeze on people's rights
Overall, the increasing use of data is a change of practice that can become problematic, as expressed in the study of the 50 decision summaries. According to the researcher:
"In these decision-making processes, where asylum seekers and authorities have a very unequal power relationship, democratic and legal rights are easily subject to pressure. Regardless of whether the data is recognizable to an asylum seeker or whether the applicant is even aware of data being produced, it can greatly influence the outcome of a case," says Trine Rask Nielsen.
Naja Holten Mller is an associate professor at the Department of Computer Science who leads the part of the research project on data and practices. She believes that the study is also important at a more fundamental level, in a society where data plays an ever-increasing role.
"As authorities increasingly 'datafy' their decision-making processes, it is democratically important for researchers like us to have the opportunity to study their practices. Therefore, it is also about establishing a collaboration between asylum authorities and researchers, so that we can sit down together and discuss research results," says Naja Holten Mller, who continues:
"As a matter of principle, we should consider to what extent the use of data and databases supports our democratic value of transparency in decision-making processes. And we should look at how authorities consider those values in their work, both when developing practices and the data-based tools to support them. This study is an important first piece in establishing an opportunity to study how data is used in the asylum area."
The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction.
More information: Trine Rask Nielsen et al, Data as a Lens for Understanding what Constitutes Credibility in Asylum Decision-making, Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (2022). DOI: 10.1145/3492825
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
How much individuals express their religious beliefs in the workplace depends on how much power they hold there, according to new research from the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance's Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University.
The study, which utilized survey data from a nationally representative sample of employed U.S. adults, was published in a recent edition of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Expressions of religion that were measured included displaying faith with symbols, feeling comfortable talking about faith and speaking up when observing unfair work practices that conflicted with the respondents' beliefs.
According to Robert Thomson, the study's lead author and a former postdoctoral fellow at Rice University, "expression at work is influenced by more than simply a person's religious enthusiasm or identity."
"Leaders who are free to express their faith would do well to recognize that subordinates may suppress their religious identity at work to avoid alienation, obtain promotion or manage job insecurity," said study co-author Elaine Howard Ecklund, Rice's Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences and director of the Boniuk Institute.
Most prior research on religious expression in the workplace has focused primarily on the impact of such expression on managing stress, increasing job satisfaction and improving performance. The researchers say the new study can help leaders, managers and human resource officers evaluate how their workplace culture and policies facilitate or constrain religious expression for those at different levels of the organization.
"We found that those at the bottom of their organizations may have more limited ability to draw on the resources of religion to cope with the stresses of work," said study co-author Denise Daniels, the Hudson T. Harrison Professor of Entrepreneurship at Wheaton College.
"It would be helpful for organizational leaders to recognize how this can impact worker health, well-being and productivity," according to Daniel Bolger, a former graduate student at Rice University.
The article is based on data collected through the Rice-Wheaton project "Faith at Work: An Empirical Study." Ecklund was principal investigator and Daniels was co-principal investigator. Additional co-authors are Daniel Bolger, a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University who earned his doctoral degree at Rice, and Robert Thomson, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
More information: Robert A Thomson et al, The Relationship between Workplace Status and Workplace Religious Expression, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (2023). DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12828 Journal information: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
Like an old man suddenly aware the world has moved on without him, the conifer tree native to lower elevations of California's Sierra Nevada mountain range finds itself in an unrecognizable climate. A new Stanford-led study reveals that about a fifth of all Sierra Nevada conifer forestsemblems of Western wildernessare a "mismatch" for their regions' warming weather.
The paper, to be published Feb. 28 in PNAS Nexus, highlights how such "zombie forests" are temporarily cheating death, likely to be replaced with tree species better adapted to the climate after one of California's increasingly frequent catastrophic wildfires.
"Forest and fire managers need to know where their limited resources can have the most impact," said study lead author Avery Hill, a graduate student in biology at Stanford's School of Humanities & Sciences at the time of the research. "This study provides a strong foundation for understanding where forest transitions are likely to occur, and how that will affect future ecosystem processes like wildfire regimes." Hill led a related study this past November showing how wildfires have accelerated the shifting of Western trees' ranges.
Understanding and managing zombie forests
Sierra Nevada conifers, such as ponderosa pine, sugar pine, and Douglas fir are among Earth's tallest and most massive living things. They have stood watch as temperatures around them have warmed by an average of a little over 1 degree Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the 1930s.
Meanwhile, recent years have seen a giant wave of new human residents drawn to the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada by spectacular scenery, relaxed lifestyles, and relative affordability. The combination of hotter weather, more construction, and a history of fire suppression have fueled increasingly destructive wildfires, making the names of communities like Paradise and Caldor synonymous with Mother Nature's fury. Credit: Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Hill and his co-authors started by combing through vegetation data going back 90 years, when the vast majority of human-caused warming had yet to occur. Fed this information, a computer model designed by the researchers showed that the mean elevation of conifers has shifted 34 meters (almost 112 feet) upslope since the 1930s, while the temperatures most suitable for conifers have outclimbed the trees, shifting 182 meters (nearly 600 feet) upslope on average.
In other words, the speed of change has outpaced the ability of many conifers to adapt or shift their range, making them highly vulnerable to replacement, especially after stand-clearing wildfires.
The study estimates that about 20% of all Sierra Nevada conifers are mismatched with the climate around them. Most of those mismatched trees are found below an elevation of 2,356 meters (7,730 feet). The prognosis: Even if global heat-trapping pollution decreases to the low end of scientific projections, the number of Sierra Nevada conifers no longer suited to the climate will double within the next 77 years.
"Given the large number of people who live in these ecosystems and the wide range of ecosystem services they confer, we should be looking seriously at options for protecting and enhancing the features that are most important," said study co-author Chris Field, the Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment within the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.
The study's first-of-its-kind maps paint a picture of rapidly changing landscapes that will require more adaptive wildfire management that eschews suppression and resistance to change for the opportunity to direct forest transitions for the benefit of ecosystems and nearby communities.
Similarly, conservation and post-fire reforestation efforts will need to consider how to ensure forests are in equilibrium with future conditions, according to the researchers. Should a burned forest be replanted with species new to the area? Should habitats that are predicted to go out of equilibrium with an area's climate be burned proactively to reduce the risk of catastrophic blazes and corresponding vegetation conversion?
"Our maps force some criticaland difficultconversations about how to manage impending ecological transitions," said Hill. "These conversations can lead to better outcomes for ecosystems and people."
More information: Low-elevation conifers in California's Sierra Nevada are out of equilibrium with climate, PNAS Nexus (2023). doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad004 Journal information: PNAS Nexus
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Biomolecular chiral detection. Credit: Opto-Electronic Science (2023). DOI: 10.29026/oes.2023.220019
As one of the basic physical properties, chirality plays an important role in many fields. Especially in biomedical chemistry, the discrimination of enantiomers is a very important research subject. Most biomolecules exhibit weak chirality in the ultraviolet band, so direct optical chiral detection is very difficult.
It is reported that surface plasmons enhance biomolecular circular dichroism. The coupling effect of metallic nanostructure and biomolecules is considered the basis of chiral detection. Finding appropriate nanostructures is crucial to achieving sensitive detection. Due to the complexity of the coupling model, it is difficult to do quantitative analysis and design nanostructures.
As one of the main artificial intelligence algorithms, reinforcement learning is inspired by behaviorist psychology, concerned with how software agents ought to take actions in an environment to maximize some notion of cumulative reward. The involvement of machine learning contributes significantly to nanophotonic development. Intelligent algorithms provide diverse optimization toolboxes to speed up prototyping of photonic device with enhanced performance.
The research group of Prof. Zheyu Fang from Peking University introduced a nanostructure design platform based on reinforcement learning and the manipulation of optical properties. When biomolecules approach metallic nanostructures, their coupling effect modulates the circular dichroism spectrum and causes a shift of the resonance frequency. The algorithm successfully proposed nanostructures with high quality factor circular dichroism spectrum that emphasized the frequency shift. Microfluidic technology is involved to achieve highly sensitive chiral dynamic discrimination of glucose enantiomers. This method provides an example for the combination of artificial intelligence and optical sensing.
A design algorithm based on reinforcement learning. Credit: Opto-Electronic Science (2023). DOI: 10.29026/oes.2023.220019
Compared with supervised learning, reinforcement learning significantly reduces the computational resources consumed by simulation. Sufficient electromagnetic simulations are the basis for supervised learning to predict accurately the optical response of various metal nanostructures. The training set of neural networks must contain all configurations, most of which possess little chirality. The simulation of achiral nanostructures is meaningless for ultimate optimization. On the contrary, the parameter exploration of reinforcement learning is simultaneous with model training. After several rounds of searching, the exploration range is limited in chiral nanostructures, so the algorithm does not waste computational resources on achiral nanostructures.
Metallic nanostructures are fabricated at the bottom of the microfluidic chip, and the chirality of the sample solution is monitored continuously through the real-time observation of spectral shifts. Unlike traditional biochemical methods, this detection realizes chiral discrimination without chemical reaction. Due to its low sample demand and low destructiveness, the method has great application value and the potential to achieve sensitive chiral detection for various biological macromolecules.
The paper is published in the journal Opto-Electronic Science.
More information: Yuxiang Chen et al, Chiral detection of biomolecules based on reinforcement learning, Opto-Electronic Science (2023). DOI: 10.29026/oes.2023.220019
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain
Between 2015 and 2017, Houston was impacted by three "500-year" flood events, including Hurricane Harvey, which caused unprecedented damage to its people and its infrastructure.
In the aftermath of these catastrophic floods, researchers Dominic Boyer and Mark Vardy embarked upon an investigation of the emotional positions that emerge in populations living with climate change. Their study, "Flooded City: Affects of (Slow) Catastrophe in Post-Harvey Houston," published in Current Anthropology, identifies three such clusters of affective engagement.
Focusing on the two most heavily populated watersheds in Houston's Harris County, Brays Bayou and Greens Bayou, the scholars did fieldwork to understand the diversity of Houston's flood victims. Boyer and Vardy analyzed the affluent, majority-white neighborhood of Meyerland, and the low-income, majority-Hispanic and Black neighborhood of Greenspoint.
Their research reflected the disproportionate effect of climate disaster on economically marginalized communities of color, and revealed an overwhelming feeling of uncertainty about the future. A majority of Houston's flood victims (or "floodies," in local parlance) felt anxiety over increased rainfall and changing weather conditions, as well as a sense of distrust in institutional management of these crises. As a result, residents had begun to turn instead to their "gut decisions" to cope with their new reality; to cede "authority to affect."
One such form of affective reaction, as categorized by Boyer and Vardy, is that of "diluvial individualism." Borne out of an exhaustion with technopolitical misgovernance, diluvial individualism resonates with the concept of "negative freedom" typically associated with traditional liberal philosophy. Diluvial individualism manifests as personal assumption of responsibility even when faced with that strategy's insufficiency, and is ultimately an affective mechanism, rather than a material one.
The authors write, "[d]iluvial individualism is frequently wounded and angry; people feel that they have been forced to take on personal programs of organizational or infrastructural response because of a failure of government to discharge its duties in a fair and functional way."
This emphasis on emotion rather than effect is a quality shared by the second of Boyer and Vardy's affective responses: "hydraulic citizenship." Characterized most prominently by a citizen action group in Houston known as the Brays Bayou Association (or BBA), hydraulic citizenship, the authors write, is a "collectivized response, a practice of pressuring city authorities to put in place technopolitical infrastructures that might address the problem of flooding through social gatherings and bureaucratic spaces."
Hydraulic citizenship, furthermore, acts largely in the interest of preserving a vanishing image of a pre-climate change status quo.
The third and final affective strategy proposed in "Flooded City" is that of "amphibious acceptance." This orientation seeks to live with the effects of flooding and other climate change, rather than denying or resenting them, and takes the form of initiatives like the consolidation of housing in dense, high-elevation areas, and the conversion of the coastline back to green space ecotones in which the bayou and the residents of Texas can coexist.
Although amphibious acceptance has not yet attained the presence in Houston that these other affective modes have, it offers a powerful opportunity for the future of Houston, and even, in the face of slow catastrophe, a radical sense of hope. The authors conclude, "We are eager to see how an amphibious Houston might take shape, a Houston that can learn to thrive in its muck, to live with its rising waters, a city that might still steal a future from the jaws of its toxic history."
More information: Dominic Boyer et al, Flooded City, Current Anthropology (2022). DOI: 10.1086/722270 Journal information: Current Anthropology
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Results from LLNLs hydrodynamic simulations showing the formation and evolution of SBC jets in a Sn target being impacted by a projectile at 2.4 km s1. The time evolution shows the bubbles opening up in panels 2-4, before collapsing in Panel 5, followed by the violent SBC jet creation in Panels 6-7. Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
New research led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) provides a better understanding of ejecta production, which has been the subject of broad interest for more than 60 years throughout the scientific community.
Ejecta are particles of material forced out or ejected from an area. The phenomena are observed across many multi-disciplinary applications, including volcanic eruptions, asteroid impacts on planets, surface shielding on spacecrafts and satellites, engineering applications for powder spraying and laser-induced material ablation.
Garry Maskaly, lead author of a paper featured in the Journal of Applied Physics, said the research team identified a previously unknown ejecta production mechanism called Shallow Bubble Collapse (SBC) that is not based on Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities (RMI), when shock waves interact with and separate two fluids of different density. RMI ejecta previously have been believed to be the main source of shock-driven metal ejecta and have been the subject of decades of research.
The work was an interactive process between computational and experimental efforts that would not have been possible without a vibrant collaboration between LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Nevada National Security Site's Special Technologies Laboratory (NNSS-STL) in Santa Barbara, California.
The team used high-resolution modeling of various shock conditions to identify regimes that behaved computationally different than RMI-theory. The team designed and fielded experiments to evaluate those conditions. WSC codes and LLNL HPC resources were vital for this work.
The work solidifies the tight collaboration amongst LLNL, LANL, and NNSS-STL, pushing forward a new area of ejecta physics. Shock-driven ejecta production from metal surfaces often occurs in high-explosive-driven experiments with metal free surfaces.
"Understanding this phenomenon is important to accurately understand the dynamic behavior of metals in these scenarios," Maskaly said. "Metal ejecta can interfere with diagnostics and change the overall evolution of the system. In multiple shock ejecta experiments, anomalous results have been observed that were not consistent with standard RMI theory. SBC presents a new phenomenology of multi-shock ejecta production."
The key highlights from this research summarized how the SBC mechanism can produce substantially more ejecta (10 times) with a much higher temperature (two times) than RMI ejecta produced under similar shock strengths.
"The results of this research are leading to new insights in physical phenomenon in the field of ejecta physics and production, transport and various mechanisms of interactions and collisions of the SBC jets," Maskaly said.
He explained that when a metal is melted on a shock and there is a release forming cavitation bubbles near the surface, a second shock can recompact those cavitation bubbles, extracting substantial energy from the second shock.
"This causes the material to become very hot and violently explode, spraying large quantities of material in front of the surface at high velocities," Maskaly said.
Fady Najjar, a co-author of the paper, explained further: "Consider a metal sample being impacted on its back side by a fast-moving projectile. The front side is defined as the free surface (interface of sample with air).
"Once impact occurs, a shock propagates through the sample and reaches the free surface," Najjar said. "This is called a Taylor wave. Depending on the strength of the shock and the state of the sample (melted or solid), matter is ejected from that free surface which generates particulates, and we call them ejecta."
Maskaly compared the work to a common party trick where the bottom of a bottle can be broken using just your hands to hit the open mouth of the bottle.
"In this work, the formation and subsequent collapse of cavitation bubbles is violent enough to break the bottom out of a glass bottle with a moderate force," he said. "In shallow bubble collapse, the formation and shock-driven collapse of cavitation bubbles results in a violent event that results in substantial quantities of metal sprayed forward from the surface."
Maskaly said that SBC explains a regime of multiple shock-driven ejecta behaviors that were previously either unexplained or unexplored. With SBC, the team demonstrates that enough momentum is ejected that the bulk hydrodynamics can be impacted.
"Our work on SBC also has inspired diagnostic improvements for momentum measurements that are impacting future fundamental experiments and subcritical experiments," Maskaly said.
In addition to Maskaly and Najjar, co-authors include Gerald Stevens, Brandon La Lone, Dale Turley, and Matt Staska from NNSS STL; and Tom Hartsfield from LANL.
More information: G. R. Maskaly et al, Non-RichtmyerMeshkov instability ejecta production based on shallow bubble collapse, Journal of Applied Physics (2023). DOI: 10.1063/5.0132256 Journal information: Journal of Applied Physics
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Images of six candidate massive galaxies, seen 500-800 million years after the Big Bang. One of the sources (bottom left) could contain as many stars as our present-day Milky Way, but is 30 times more compact. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, I. Labbe (Swinburne University of Technology). Image processing: G. Brammer (Niels Bohr Institutes Cosmic Dawn Center at the University of Copenhagen)
Six massive galaxies discovered in the early universe are upending what scientists previously understood about the origins of galaxies in the universe.
"These objects are way more massive than anyone expected," said Joel Leja, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, who modeled light from these galaxies. "We expected only to find tiny, young, baby galaxies at this point in time, but we've discovered galaxies as mature as our own in what was previously understood to be the dawn of the universe."
Using the first dataset released from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the international team of scientists discovered objects as mature as the Milky Way when the universe was only 3% of its current age, about 500-700 million years after the Big Bang. The telescope is equipped with infrared-sensing instruments capable of detecting light that was emitted by the most ancient stars and galaxies. Essentially, the telescope allows scientists to see back in time roughly 13.5 billion years, near the beginning of the universe as we know it, Leja explained.
"This is our first glimpse back this far, so it's important that we keep an open mind about what we are seeing," Leja said. "While the data indicates they are likely galaxies, I think there is a real possibility that a few of these objects turn out to be obscured supermassive black holes. Regardless, the amount of mass we discovered means that the known mass in stars at this period of our universe is up to 100 times greater than we had previously thought. Even if we cut the sample in half, this is still an astounding change."
In a paper published today (Feb. 22) in Nature, the researchers show evidence that the six galaxies are far more massive than anyone expected and call into question what scientists previously understood about galaxy formation at the very beginning of the universe.
"The revelation that massive galaxy formation began extremely early in the history of the universe upends what many of us had thought was settled science," said Leja. "We've been informally calling these objects 'universe breakers'and they have been living up to their name so far."
Leja explained that the galaxies the team discovered are so massive that they are in tension with 99% percent of models for cosmology. Accounting for such a high amount of mass would require either altering the models for cosmology or revising the scientific understanding of galaxy formation in the early universethat galaxies started as small clouds of stars and dust that gradually grew larger over time. Either scenario requires a fundamental shift in our understanding of how the universe came to be, he added.
"We looked into the very early universe for the first time and had no idea what we were going to find," Leja said. "It turns out we found something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science. It calls the whole picture of early galaxy formation into question."
On July 12, NASA released the first full-color images and spectroscopic data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The largest infrared telescope in space, Webb was designed to see the genesis of the cosmos, its high resolution allowing it to view objects too old, distant or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope.
"When we got the data, everyone just started diving in and these massive things popped out really fast," Leja said. "We started doing the modeling and tried to figure out what they were, because they were so big and bright. My first thought was we had made a mistake and we would just find it and move on with our lives. But we have yet to find that mistake, despite a lot of trying."
Leja explained that one way to confirm the team's finding and alleviate any remaining concerns would be to take a spectrum image of the massive galaxies. That would provide the team data on the true distances, and also the gasses and other elements that made up the galaxies. The team could then use the data to model a clearer of picture of what the galaxies looked like, and how massive they truly were.
"A spectrum will immediately tell us whether or not these things are real," Leja said. "It will show us how big they are, how far away they are. What's funny is we have all these things we hope to learn from James Webb and this was nowhere near the top of the list. We've found something we never thought to ask the universeand it happened way faster than I thought, but here we are."
The other co-authors on the paper are Elijah Mathews and Bingjie Wang of Penn State, Ivo Labbe of the Swinburne University of Technology, Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University, Erica Nelson of the University of Colorado, Rachel Bezanson of the University of Pittsburgh, Katherine A. Suess of the University of California and Stanford University, Gabriel Brammer of the University of Copenhagen, Katherine Whitaker of the University of Massachusetts and the University of Copenhagen, and Mauro Stefanon of the Universitat de Valencia.
More information: Ivo Labbe, A population of red candidate massive galaxies ~600 Myr after the Big Bang, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05786-2. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05786-2 Journal information: Nature
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Stratigraphic section at Utahraptor Ridge. Important contacts in bold black numerals 13 are: (1) top of the Brushy Basin Member of the Jurassic Morrison Formation (Jm); (2) top of a thick and prominent calcrete or horizon of large to very large carbonate nodules, described by Kirkland et al. (their figure 19); and (3) approximate position of Stikes Quarry, also described by Kirkland et al. (their figure 19). Kirkland et al. (their figure 19) placed the top of the calcrete at 30 m above the upper contact of the Morrison Formation, whereas it is placed at approximately 32 m in ours. This slight difference probably results from local relief on stratigraphic contacts. Likewise, the position of Stikes Quarry is higher above the Morrison Formation in our section relative to that of Kirkland et al. (their figure 19). Three concordia ages (red letters and numbers) derived from LA-ICP-MS zircon analyses are shown in red at their stratigraphic positions: SQE-1.3 (145.8 1.6 Ma), SDR-3.85 (139.7 2.2 Ma), and SDR-36.35 (136.1 1.2 Ma) were reported by Joeckel et al. A newly revised high-precision CA-ID-TIMS age for SDR-36.35 is shown here. This estimated eruption age of 135.1 0.3 Ma is reported for the first time in this paper. Abbreviations for grain-size scale are carbonate (c), clay (cl), silt (si), granules (g), and pebbles (p); sand ticks in part of scale labeled sand correspond to very fine, fine, medium, coarse, and very coarse sand, from left to right. Colors in the stratigraphic column approximate rock colors in the field. Credit: Geosciences (2023). DOI: 10.3390/geosciences13020032
Scientists continue to refine techniques for understanding present-day changes in Earth's environmental systems, but the planet's distant past also offers crucial information to deepen that understanding. A geological study by University of NebraskaLincoln scientist Matt Joeckel and colleagues provides such information.
Scientific research in recent decades has confirmed that major changes in the global carbon cycle caused significant changes in the Earth's atmosphere and oceans 135 million years ago, during the early Cretaceous Period. A range of questions remain about the details of climate change dynamics in that era.
This new research, involving wide-ranging chemical and radioactivity-based analyses of rock strata in Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation, helps fill in that knowledge gap by confirming that such carbon-cycle shifts were recorded on land in ancient North America.
The carbon cycle is one of Earth's fundamental environmental phenomena, involving the ongoing transfer of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans and living organisms, as well as soils, sediments and rocks in the solid Earth. The cycle is crucial to biological processes for living things on land and sea. When large-scale changes in the cycle occur, they can produce major shifts in climate and the oceans' biological conditions.
"We're studying how the global carbon cycle has functioned in the past, how changes are recorded in the sedimentary rocks around the world," said Joeckel, a professor in the School of Natural Resources at Nebraska. The environmental phenomena he and his colleagues analyzed "are exactly the kind of things we're talking about today, as people increase the input of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a much-accelerated rate by burning fossil fuels."
Joeckel, the Nebraska state geologist, headed the Utah fieldwork and organized the study, published as a paper in a special February issue of the journal Geosciences.
Over the past two decades, Joeckel and several colleagues have studied a range of geological aspects of southeastern Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation, known for its exceptional dinosaur fossils. The steep, 150-foot slope where the scientists conducted their recent carbon-cycle research is known as Utahraptor Ridge, named for the discovery there of raptors, the ferocious bipedal predators familiar to moviegoers through the Jurassic Park movies.
To determine whether carbon-cycle changes have occurred, scientists analyze the minute amounts of organic carbon held in rocks for major changes in two carbon isotopes. Carbon cycles are evident if scientists find that significant increases and decreases in isotope ratios occurred over time.
Joeckel and his colleagues found evidence for two distinct peaks in a curve representing changes in a key isotope ratio during the early Cretaceous period. This discovery indicates that the Utah site, though on land, experienced the same major carbon-cycle change recorded in marine sedimentary rocks in Europe.
Many geologists refer to this ancient carbon-cycle phenomenon as the "Weissert Event," which was driven by large, sustained volcanic eruptions in the Southern Hemisphere. These eruptions greatly increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, producing significant greenhouse climate effects over a prolonged time.
A central uncertainty has been whether carbon-cycle changes recorded in sediments in ancient oceans were also recorded by sediments on land. The work by Joeckel and his colleagues strongly suggests that happened.
Analyzing the Utah samples for these carbon isotope changes was a challenging scientific endeavor, said Joeckel, director of Nebraska's state Conservation and Survey Division, which conducts a wide array of geological, geographic, water and soil research in the state and beyond.
"We're talking about a minute amount of organic carbon that has to be very laboriously isolated from fist-sized samples of sedimentary rock," he said. Such complex work is "like having to go through a whole pile of phone books by hand just to get to the point where you can generate numbers, and you have to generate a lot of them. There's a lot of hard work in the laboratory that needs to be done."
To accurately date the carbon-cycle changes, the scientists also analyzed microscopic crystals of the mineral zircon. These crystals "are important because they are a way to actually put an age date on the rocks," Joeckel said. The volcanically produced zircon crystals are "nearly indestructible treasure troves of information that are spread all over the place" after an eruption.
Joeckel's co-authors on the paper are Celina Suarez and Garrett Hatzell of the University of Arkansas; Noah McLean, Andreas Moller, Marina Suarez and Joseph Andrew of the University of Kansas; Gregory Ludvigson and Spencer Kiessling of the Kansas Geological Survey; and James Kirkland of the Utah Geological Survey.
The project, Joeckel said, illustrates how geology as a discipline continues to reveal new insights.
"In some ways, the past may be the key to the present, rather than vice versa, as geologists traditionally posited," he said. "The better we understand the ancient carbon cycle and ancient global change, the more we can understand what happens today."
More information: Robert M. Joeckel et al, BerriasianValanginian Geochronology and Carbon-Isotope Stratigraphy of the Yellow Cat Member, Cedar Mountain Formation, Eastern Utah, USA, Geosciences (2023). DOI: 10.3390/geosciences13020032
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Students frequently slept past the start of morning classes. a, Sleep periods and scheduled classes are shown in a representative student who took part in a 6-week actigraphy study. b, Sleep offsets from 174 students are sorted by their first class of the day. Each circle corresponds to an individually determined sleep offset value. Open circles show instances when students woke up after the start of their class. Black circles show instances when students did not wake up early enough to reach class on time when their self-reported travel time was taken into account. c,d, The frequencies of (c) waking up after the start of class and (d) waking up too late to reach class on time were associated with class start times (two-sided chi-squared test: 2(6) = 394.4, P < 0.001, Cramers V = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.31 to 0.37 and 2(6) = 487.5, P < 0.001, Cramers V = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.35 to 0.40, respectively). Credit: Nature Human Behaviour (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01531-x
Early class start times are associated with lower grades and poorer attendance, according to a study tracking attendance and grades of university students.
While grades for classes held in the morning were not significantly lower than those held in the afternoon, morning classes showed a cumulative negative impact on student performance throughout the day. Academic outcomes only got worse the more morning classes a student had scheduled. Researchers found a clear signal that grade point averages were highest for students with no morning classes.
Published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the study, "Early morning university classes are associated with impaired sleep and academic performance," found correlations between sleep, class schedule, and academic performance through a robust collection of data.
Student attendance was passively tracked via WiFi connection logs of 53 class sessions across 13 different courses. 17.4 million time-stamped logins of 39,458 students with the university's Learning Management System (LMS) were collected. The researchers also used a smaller subset of 181 students that participated in a sleep study with 7,329 recordings of device interactions.
By combining the students' Wi-Fi connection logs with their course timetables, researchers at the National University of Singapore were able to estimate the class attendance of more than 23,000 students without requiring their active participation. Data showed that attendance was lowest for classes that started at 8 a.m., about 10 percentage points lower than classes with later start times.
Logins to the university LMS showed a shorter inactive period for students with early start times when compared to those with later start times. The logins illustrated that while students went to bed around the same time, they were waking up earlier to attend morning classes resulting in less potential time for sleep.
The sleep study students were found to get an hour less sleep on days with early morning classes and did not wake up early enough to be on time for nearly one-third of 8 a.m. classes. In reviewing the grades of 33,818 students, researchers showed that the number of days per week a student had morning classes negatively correlated with their grade point average.
Based on the findings, the researchers suggest universities should consider avoiding mandatory early morning classes. While offering early classes may maximize the use of campus classroom space and faculty time spent on teaching, their results indicate that student performance could suffer.
They also point out that most universities currently have the ability to assess their own class start time vs. attendance trends. Since most students carry Wi-Fi-enabled devices, connection data could be used to estimate class attendance without students or instructors needing to take part in an active study.
More information: Sing Chen Yeo et al, Early morning university classes are associated with impaired sleep and academic performance, Nature Human Behaviour (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01531-x Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour
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Public Service Deprivation (Distance to Public Service Hubs), 2014. Notes: Dots indicate public service hubs. Colors indicate tertiles of distance from hubs. Credit: Geography of Discontent: How Public Service Deprivation Increased Far-Right Support in Italy, https://www.unibocconi.eu/wps/wcm/connect/ad1724cd-c386-4573-b98f-564322b6bd3c/Paper_Public_Services-19.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=ofG8tkn
Globalization and economic hardship related to financial crises are known to have boosted support for far-right parties and socially conservative political agendas aimed at restricting the rights of marginalized groups including ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities, migrants, LGBTQIA+ people, and women.
When she launched her ERC Consolidator Grant-winning research project LOSS ("Narratives of Loss: Unravelling the Origins of Support for Socially Conservative Political Agendas") in 2020, Catherine De Vries said that "we do not understand why this happens." About midway through the LOSS project, she can now hypothesize at least two channels that link economic hardship to the electoral success of the far-right.
"Firstly, we've observed that when people experience socio-economic loss and feel their status is diminished, they tend to compensate for it by bringing other parts of their identity to center stage. And since we like to identify with high-status groups, national pride in opposition to the low-status identity of immigrants is likely to emerge."
"Secondly, hardship sparks concern about competition with non-natives over public resources and fuels demand for parochial, as opposed to universal, redistribution. If the pie is perceived as not large enough to be shared among all those who need it, nationality or religion become convenient distributive criteria. For the same reason, the universalist left-wing loses electoral appeal."
The first part of the project focused mainly on Italy. In the working paper Geography of Discontent: How Public Service Deprivation Increased Far-Right Support in Italy, Professor De Vries and co-authors from the research team she recruited thanks to ERC funding, argue that public service deprivation amplifies the appeal of far-right parties by making people more worried about both immigration and increased competition for those services.
"Specifically," the scholar said, "we examine the link between public services and electoral support for the far-right by looking at the effect of a 2010 Italian administrative reform. The reform, which forced some municipalities to jointly manage local public services, reduced access to a number of the services and boosted the vote share of far-right parties. Residents of the affected areas voiced more concern about immigration, self-identifying as further right on the political spectrum."
In the ongoing study, "Without Roots: How Olive Grove Extermination Strengthened the Far Right in Italy," LOSS researchers examine the electoral consequences of the 2014 outbreak of Xylella, a bacterium that exterminated centuries-old olive groves in Apulia, one of Europe's leading olive oil-producing regions.
"By exploiting the geographic variation in the spread of the disease and georeferenced municipal-level data, we were able to quantify the economic and social disruption associated with the spread of Xylella and the electoral consequences," Prof. de Vries said.
"The disease has caused income loss and increased suicides as well as youth emigration. This had important political consequences; far-right parties won higher percentages in affected areas due to increases in voter turnout and a far-left electoral loss. The vote share of the regional incumbent, a broad left-leaning coalition responsible for disaster management and relief, remained unaffected."
In the recently launched second phase of the project, the focus will shift to the rest of Europe, with particular attention given to service deprivation in the Dutch context and in the National Health Services of the four U.K. countries.
"We have some preliminary findings at the European level on the consequences of women's participation in the labor market, which seems to spark more conservative gender attitudes," Prof. de Vries pointed out. An ongoing study finds that for men, increased women labor force participation intensifies competition in the market. For women, it might also be a risk when they are not financially independent, worrying about employment of the men in their household. "We conclude that increased labor market competition by women has generated a backlash in Europe," Prof. De Vries said, "which is driven not only by men, but also by certain women."
An ERC-funded research project of this scale is managed by a principal investigator, but relies on the work of many collaborators. "Nothing would have been possible without the grant, which allowed me to gather a formidable research group that is doing an exceptional job," Prof. De Vries stated. "They are young people from all over the globe and are contributing new, unexpected ideas which fit the project perfectly. Sometimes it seems that my most important role is that of mentor."
Provided by Bocconi University
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
People have inhabited the Andes mountains of South America for more than 9,000 years, adapting to the scarce oxygen available at high altitudes, along with cold temperatures and intense ultraviolet radiation. A new genomic study suggests that Indigenous populations in present-day Ecuador also adapted to the tuberculosis bacterium, thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.
The journal iScience published the findings, led by scientists at Emory University.
"We found that selection for genes involved in TB-response pathways started to uptick a little over 3,000 years ago," says Sophie Joseph, first author of the paper and an Emory graduate student in anthropology. "That's an interesting time because it was when agriculture began proliferating in the region. The development of agriculture leads to more densely populated societies that are better at spreading a respiratory pathogen like TB."
The investigators had originally set out to investigate how the Indigenous people of Ecuador adapted to living at high altitude.
"We were surprised to find that the strongest genetic signals of positive selection were not associated with high altitude but for the immune response to tuberculosis," says John Lindo, Emory assistant professor of anthropology and senior author of the study. "Our results bring up more questions regarding the prevalence of tuberculosis in the Andes prior to European contact."
The Lindo lab specializes in mapping little-explored human lineages of the Americas.
Previously published research found evidence of the tuberculosis bacterium in the skeletal material of 1,400-year-old Andean mummies, contradicting some theories that TB did not exist in South America until the arrival of Europeans 500 years ago.
The current paper provides the first evidence for a human immune-system response to TB in ancient Andeans and gives clues to when and how their genomes may have adapted to that exposure.
"Human-pathogen co-evolution is an understudied area that has a huge bearing on modern-day public health," Joseph says. "Understanding how pathogens and humans have been linked and affecting each other over time may give insights into novel treatments for any number of infectious diseases."
Co-authors of the paper include scientists at Central University of Ecuador, Technical University of Manabi in Ecuador, University of Pavia in Italy, University of Iowa and Florida Atlantic University.
The researchers sequenced whole genomes using blood samples from 15 present-day Indigenous individuals living at altitudes above 2,500 meters in several different Ecuadorian provinces. They performed a series of scans to look for signatures of positive selection for genes in their ancestral past.
"Computational techniques for sequencing genomes and modeling ancestral selection keep improving," Joseph says. "The genomes of people living today give us a window into the past."
Among the strongest signals detected were for biomarkers that are switched on in modern humans during an active TB infection. The researchers modeled the timing of selection for several of the genes involved in the TB-response pathways.
Although they were not as strong as for exposure to TB, some signals were also detected for biomarkers related to adaptation to hypoxia, or low levels of oxygen in the blood that result from living at high altitude.
Previous research has revealed stark differences in how high-altitude populations in Tibet, Ethiopia and the Peruvian Andes adapted to hypoxia.
"For the Ecuadorean samples, we did see a couple of overlaps with studies from the Peruvian Andes in the overarching genes involved in the selection for hypoxia, although the variants were slightly different," Joseph says. "To me, that suggests that there may have been independent adaptations within even small populations, at the community level. It shows the robustness of the genome to solve adaptive problems through different pathways."
Joseph plans a career focused on mapping ancestral data for Indigenous populations from the Americas.
"South America has far fewer genomic studies and publications compared to Europe and I'd like to help close that gap," she says.
"I want to understand human evolution and health from an integrated biological perspective," Joseph adds. "The genome can reveal many fascinating things and yet it is just one aspect of a human being. You also have to consider the environment and social-cultural aspects."
More information: Sophie K. Joseph et al, Genomic evidence for adaptation to tuberculosis in the Andes before European contact, iScience (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106034 Journal information: iScience
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Photomicrograph of a live Spirostomum, probably ambiguum species. Fimon lake, Vicenza, Italy. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
In his famous letter to the Royal Society dated Oct. 9, 1676, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek described a single-celled eukaryote (Vorticella) and its fascinating ultrafast cell contraction. This kind of ultrafast cell contraction triggered by a Ca2+-dependent mechanism is distinct from the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent mechanisms found in actin-myosin and dynein/kinesin-tubulin systems.
Spirostomum, is a genus of millimeter-scale single-celled protists that are known for their incredibly rapid movement similar to Vorticella. They are capable of some of the fastest movement in the biological world due to their ultrafast contraction. Despite much research, however, the molecular mechanism behind this type of ultrafast cell contraction has long been a mystery.
Recently, a research group led by Prof. Miao Wei from the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has unlocked this mystery by describing the molecular basis behind the ultrafast contraction of Spirostomum. The team's research was published in Science Advances.
In this study, the researchers obtained a high-quality genome of Spirostomum using a genome assembly pipeline they had previously established. They found that the contractile structure, a mesh-like contractile fibrillar system, was composed of two giant proteins and two Ca2+ binding proteins. Using RNAi, they validated the functions of the giant proteins.
The contracted and extended states of Spirostomum cells. Credit: IHB
Super-resolution imaging showed that the mesh-like contractile fibrillar system couples with the microtube cytoskeleton, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and fits well with the biological and physical need for repetitive ultrafast contraction and extension of the Spirostomum cell.
"Actually, our research offers a valuable reference for investigating non-model protists, covering aspects from the genome to molecular studies," said Prof. Miao.
This study is highly significant for understanding the molecular mechanism of ultrafast cell contraction and provides a good blueprint for the biomimicry, design, and construction of ultrafast contractile micromachines.
More information: Jing Zhang et al, Giant proteins in a giant cell: molecular basis of ultrafast Ca2+-dependent cell contraction, Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add6550. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.add6550 Journal information: Science Advances
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Although Caesar had told of comparable obstacles meant to deter the enemys approach, so far no physical evidence of their existence had been found. For the most part, the wooden defensive constructions did not survive the test of the centuries. Credit: the researchers
In their search for silver ore, the Romans established two military camps in the Bad Ems area near Koblenz in the 1st century AD. This discovery is the result of research carried out as part of a teaching excavation that spanned several years and was carried out by Goethe University's Department of Archaeology and History of the Roman Provinces in cooperation with the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Several surprising findings were made during the process. For one, the exciting research story earned young archaeologist Frederic Auth first place at the Wiesbaden Science Slam.
When Prof. Markus Scholz, who teaches archaeology and the history of Roman provinces at Goethe University, returned to Bad Ems toward the end of the excavation work, he was astonished: All the photos sent by his colleague Frederic Auth showed but a few pieces of wood. Not surprisingly, Scholz was ill-prepared for what he saw next: a wooden defense construction consisting of sharpened wooden stakes, designed to prevent the enemy's approach.
The martial-looking structure was intended to deter enemies from attacking the camp. Such installationscomparable, if you will, to modern barbed wireare referenced in literature from the time. Caesar, for instance, mentioned them. But to date, none had been found. The damp soil of the Bloskopf area obviously provided the ideal conditions: The wooden spikes, which probably extended throughout the entire downward tapering ditch around the camp, were found to be well preserved.
"Tractor Tracks." The excavations in Bad Ems were initiated by J. Eigenbrod, who spotted suspicious traces in the field from his high seat. The traces constitute changes in the vegetation, indicating ground interventions, in this case the ditches of the Roman camp on the "Ehrlich." Credit: H.-J. du Roi
Two previously undiscovered Roman military camps
The work of the Frankfurt archaeologists and Dr. Peter Henrich of the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, uncovered two previously unknown military camps in the vicinity of Bad Ems, situated on both sides of the Emsbach valley. The excavations were triggered by observations made by a hunter in 2016, who, from his raised hide, spotted color differences in the grain field, indicating the existence of sub-surface structures.
A drone photo of the elevation, which bears the beautiful name Ehrlich (the German word for "honest"), confirmed the thesis: the field was crisscrossed by a track that could have originated from a huge tractor. In reality, however, it was a double ditch that framed a Roman camp. Geomagnetic prospecting later revealed an eight-hectare military camp with about 40 wooden towers.
The archaeological excavations, carried out in two campaigns under the local direction of Dr. Daniel Burger-Vollmecke, revealed further details: the camp, apparently once intended as a solid build, was never completed. Only one permanent building, consisting of a warehouse and storeroom, was located there. The 3,000 soldiers estimated to have been stationed here probably had to sleep in tents. Burn marks show that the camp was burned down after a few years. But why?
It was the student team, led by Frederic Auth, that identified the second, much smaller camp, located some two kilometers away as the crow flies, on the other side of the Emsbach valley. The Bloskopf is no blank slate when it comes to archaeologyexploratory excavations carried out in 1897 uncovered processed silver ore, raising the assumption that a Roman smelting works was once located there. The thesis was further supported by the discovery of wall foundations, fire remains and metal slag.
For a long time it was assumed that the smelting works were connected to the Limes, built some 800 meters to the east at around 110 AD. These assumptions, considered valid for decades, have now been disproved. The supposed furnace in fact turned out to be a watchtower of a small military camp holding about 40 men. It was probably deliberately set on fire before the garrison left the camp. The spectacular wooden defense structure was discovered on literally the penultimate day of the excavationsalong with a coin minted in 43 AD, proof that the structure could not have been built in connection with the Limes.
The big surprise for the archaeologists unfolded during the last days of the excavation campaign: A construction of wooden spikes had been preserved in the damp soil of the "Bloskopf" hill, meant to deter potential attackers. Credit: the researchers
Roman tunnels located above the silver deposit
But why did the Romans fail to complete the large camp, instead choosing to abandon both areas after a few years? What were the facilities used for? Archaeologists have found a possible clue in the writings of historian Tacitus: He describes how, under Roman governor Curtius Rufus, attempts to mine silver ore in the area failed in 47 AD. The yield had simply been too low. In fact, the team of Frankfurt archaeologists was able to identify a shaft-tunnel system suggesting Roman origins.
The tunnel is located a few meters above the Bad Ems passageway, which would have enabled the Romans to mine silver for up to 200 yearsthat is, if only they had known about it. In the end, the silver was mined in later centuries only. The Romans' hope for a lucrative precious metal mining operation also explains the military camp's presence: They wanted to be able to defend themselves against sudden raidsnot an unlikely scenario given the value of the raw material.
"To verify this assumption, however, further research is necessary," says Prof. Scholz. It would be interesting to know, for example, whether the large camp was also surrounded by obstacles meant to hinder an enemy approach. So far, no wooden spikes have been found there, but traces could perhaps end up being discovered in the much drier soil.
Silver mining reserved for later centuries
The fact that the Romans abruptly abandoned an extensive undertaking is not without precedent. Had they known that centuries later, in modern times, 200 tons of silver would be extracted from the ground near Bad Ems, they might not have given up so quickly. The soldiers who were ordered to dig the tunnels obviously had not been too enthusiastic about the hard work. Tacitus reports that they wrote to Emperor Claudius in Rome, asking him to award the triumphal insignia to the commanders in advance so they would not have to make their soldiers slave away unnecessarily.
A monograph on the archaeological excavations in Bad Ems is currently in preparation.
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Bifunctional role of PDMS membrane in designing H2S sensorshumidity resistant and selectivity improved. Credit: Zhang Ruofan
A research team led by Prof. Meng Gang from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has used polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in the research of high performance humidity resistant hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) sensors, paving the way for the practical applications of H 2 S chemiresistors in an ambient humid air atmosphere.
The results have been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and Chemical Communications.
H 2 S is a colorless, flammable, explosive, highly corrosive, and highly toxic gas that is widely found in semi-closed and high humidity environments. Some oxides, including delafossite, ZnO, and CuO, have a high sensitivity to H 2 S in dry air, but humidity tends to interfere with the response of the sensors. In addition, H 2 S is a highly corrosive gas, and its corrosiveness increases with the increase of humidity. This leads to rapid corrosion and degradation of sensors in high humidity environments, which becomes a major challenge for the practical application of sensors.
To solve these problems, the scientists deposited a hydrophobic and semi-permeable membrane of PDMS on the Pt single atom-anchored cupric chromate (CuCrO 2 ) by the thermal evaporation method.
Zhang Ruofan, first author of the study, described the biofunctional role of PDMS as "killing two birds with one stone."
PDMS had a hydrophobic nature. It could effectively isolate the penetration of water vapor in the environment, weaken the influence of environmental humidity on the sensor, and significantly improve the long-term stability of the sensor in a humid environment.
On the other hand, the micropores in the PDMS membrane could effectively block methyl mercaptan molecules whose diameter was slightly larger than that of H 2 S. It acted as a "molecular sieve," further improving the selectivity of the sensor for H 2 S.
The humidity-resistant H 2 S sensor based on PDMS-coated CuCrO 2 had a low operating temperature (100 ), a high response (up to 151 for 5 ppm H 2 S at 50% relative humidity), high selectivity, and good long-term stability, which laid an important foundation for the practical application of H 2 S sensor in petrochemical, natural gas, and other fields.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
A new study from a University of Chicago scientist suggests there may be a layer of surprisingly fluid rock ringing the Earth, at the very bottom of the upper mantle.
The finding was made by measuring the lingering movement registered by GPS sensors on islands in the wake of a deep earthquake in the Pacific Ocean near Fiji. Published Feb. 22 in Nature, the study demonstrates a new method to measure the fluidity of the Earth's mantle.
"Even though the mantle makes up the largest part of Earth, there's still a lot we don't know about it," said Sunyoung Park, a geophysicist with the University of Chicago and the lead author on the study. "We think there's a lot more we can learn by using these deep earthquakes as a way to probe these questions."
Mantle mysteries
We still know surprisingly little about the Earth beneath our feet. The furthest anyone has managed to dig down is about seven and a half miles before the increasing heat literally melts the drill. Thus scientists have had to use clues like how seismic waves move to infer the different layers that make up the planet, including the crust, mantle, and core.
One thing that has stymied scientists is a precise measurement of how viscous the mantle layer is. The mantle is the layer below the crust. It's made of rock, but at the intense temperature and pressures at that depth, the rock actually becomes viscousflowing very slowly like honey or tar.
"We want to know exactly how fast the mantle flows, because that influences the evolution of the entire Earthit affects how much heat the planet retains for how long, and how the Earth's materials are cycled over time," explained Park. "But our current understanding is very limited and includes a lot of assumptions."
Park thought there might be a unique way to get a measurement of the mantle's properties by studying the aftermath of very deep earthquakes.
Most of the earthquakes we hear about on the news are relatively shallow, originating in the top crust of the Earth. But occasionally, there are earthquakes that originate deep within the Earthdown to 450 miles below the surface. These earthquakes are not as well-studied as shallower ones, because they're not as destructive to human settlements. But because they reach down into the mantle, Park thought they might offer a way to understand the behavior of the mantle.
Park and her colleagues looked at one particular such earthquake, which occurred off the coast of Fiji in 2018. The quake was magnitude 8.2, but it was so deep350 miles (560 kilometers) downthat it did not cause any major damage or deaths.
However, when the scientists carefully analyzed the data from GPS sensors on several nearby islands, they found the Earth kept movingafter the earthquake was over.
The data revealed that in the months following the quake, the Earth was still moving, settling in the wake of the disturbance. Even years later, Tonga is still moving slowly down at a rate of about 1 centimeter per year.
"You can think of it like a jar of honey that slowly comes back to level after you dip a spoon in itexcept this takes years instead of minutes," said Park.
This is the first solid observation of the deformation following deep quakes; the phenomenon had been observed before for shallow earthquakes, but experts thought the effect would be too small to be observable for deep earthquakes.
Park and her colleagues used this observation to infer the viscosity of the mantle.
By examining how the Earth deformed over time, they found evidence of a layer about 50-miles thick that is less viscous (that is, "runnier") than the rest of the mantle, sitting at the bottom of the upper mantle layer. They think this layer may extend around the entire globe.
This low-viscosity layer could explain some other observations by seismologists that suggested there are "stagnant" slabs of rock that don't move very much, located around the same depth at the bottom of the upper mantle. "It has been hard to reproduce those features with models, but the weak layer found in this study makes it easier to do so," Park said.
It also has implications for how Earth transports heat, cycles and mixes materials between the crust, core, and mantle over time.
"We're really excited," Park said. "There's a lot more to find out with this technique."
The other co-authors on the paper were Jean-Philippe Avouac and Zhongwen Zhan of California Institute of Technology and Adriano Gualandi of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
More information: Sunyoung Park, Weak upper-mantle base revealed by postseismic deformation of a deep earthquake, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05689-8. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05689-8 Journal information: Nature
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain
Strike numbers rose in 2022, reflecting a trend of more U.S. work stoppages in recent years by workers and activists in the labor movement, according to a report published Feb. 21 by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
According to the Cornell-ILR Labor Action Tracker, a comprehensive database of work stoppages, there were 424 work stoppages in 2022, including 417 strikes and seven lockouts, up from 279 in 2021.
These stoppages involved 224,000 workers (up from 140,000 in 2021, a 60% increase) and nearly 4.5 million strike days, a figure measured by the duration of a strike multiplied by the number of striking workers.
The top industries affected were educational services, health care and social assistance, manufacturing, retail trade, and information, according to the report.
Founded in 2021, the labor tracking project is led by Johnnie Kallas, Ph.D. '23 to provide a fuller picture of worker activity to inform policymakers, the public and others about the level of workplace conflict. The tracker's data is unique; work stoppages involving fewer than 1,000 workers aren't included in the Bureau of Labor Statistics database because of funding cuts by the Reagan Administration in the 1980s.
"It is imperative to have reliable data on strike activity, by union and nonunion workers in stoppages of all sizes, to keep journalists, policymakers, activists and scholars informed about labor activism and unrest across the United States," Kallas said. "In addition to documenting whether a strike occurred, our tracker and annual reports provide detailed information on a number of variables pertaining to each action, such as industry, size, duration, and worker demands."
Alexander Colvin, Ph.D. '99, ILR's Kenneth F. Kahn '69 Dean and Martin F. Scheinman '75, M.S. '76, Professor of Conflict Resolution and Kallas's Ph.D. adviser, said, "The Labor Action Tracker fills a vital gap in data on work stoppages in America that will be invaluable for research in this area. This is important information for policymakers. The growth in strikes this year is noteworthy, particularly in schools and higher education institutions."
Kallas authored the report with Kathryn Ritchie '24 and Eli Friedman, associate professor and chair of international and comparative labor, and the tracker's faculty adviser.
Additional 2022 report findings include:
224,000 workers were involved in work stoppages (up from 140,000 in 2021, a 60% increase).
Workers in the accommodation and food services industry organized more work stoppages in 2022 (144) than any other industry, accounting for more than one-third of all events. However, these work stoppages involved about 7,000 workers or 3% of the total workers involved in work stoppages in 2022.
The majority (131, or 91%) of work stoppages in the accommodation and food services industry were led by Starbucks workers organizing with the Starbucks Workers United campaign or by fast food workers organizing with the Fight for $15 campaign.
The majority of all workers involved in work stoppages came from the educational services industry (135,380, or 60%), including 48,000 graduate students and postdoctoral workers in the University of California system. The number also reflects continued activism by K-12 educators and higher education workers.
Many work stoppages in 202246%lasted one day or less, and two-thirds lasted fewer than five days.
The number of work stoppages and workers involved is lower than the most recent comprehensive Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the 1970s. Also, the number of workers involved in work stoppages in the past two years falls behind the recent organizing upticks documented by the government in 2018 and2019. According to Kallas, more research would help make historical comparisons that account for the challenges facing striking workers and the labor movement.
Information on the project's methodology can be found here. Strike data are generated from existing work stoppage databases, news articles, social media posts and other public sources, and verified by the Cornell-ILR Labor Action research team.
More information: U.S. labor strikes up 52% in 2022 as worker activism rises,
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The Majorana Demonstrator's inner detector is pictured within the experiment's massive copper and lead shield. Credit: Nick Hubbard
For nearly six years, the Majorana Demonstrator quietly listened to the universe. Nearly a mile underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), in Lead, South Dakota, the experiment collected data that could answer one of the most perplexing questions in physics: Why is the universe filled with something instead of nothing?
With the publication of the experiment's final results, humanity is one step closer to finding that answer.
On Feb. 10, 2023, the Majorana Collaboration published their final results in Physical Review Letters. The experiment ran from 2015 through 2021 and was managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Physics with support from the National Science Foundation.
The final results prove that the techniques used by the collaboration could be deployed on a much larger scale to search for the rare, never-before-seen decay that could help explain the existence of matter in our universe.
"The purpose of the Majorana Demonstrator was to prove that our detector design and technology was advanced enough to justify the creation of a ton-scale experiment," said Vincente Guiseppe, co-spokesperson of the Majorana Collaboration and a research staff member at ORNL. "This paperthe culmination of six years of data and the final word on the Majorana Demonstratorproves that we have achieved what we set out to do."
"The SDSTA congratulates the Majorana Collaboration on this major achievement," said Mike Headley, executive director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority, which operates SURF. "The Majorana Demonstrator was part of SURF's initial suite of experiments, and this final result reflects the world-class facility and exceptional support we work to provide for experiments at SURF."
As focus shifts to the next-generation experiment, the collaboration reflects on success that was far from guaranteed a decade ago.
The question
The Majorana Demonstrator is linked to one of the biggest unanswered questions in particle physics: "Why does matter exist in the universe, when everything we know about physics says it shouldn't?"
According to theory, the Big Bang should have created equal parts matter and antimattersubstances that annihilate upon meeting, leaving nothing in their wake but pure energy and, theoretically, an empty universe. Despite this prediction, we find ourselves amidst a universe replete with matter. Some unknown, hidden rule of Nature must have tipped the scales to favor matter.
A leading hypothesis predicts that ghostly, subatomic particles called neutrinos once had super-heavy partners whose decays in the early universe gave rise to the imbalance of matter and antimatter we see today. This hypothesis also predicts that neutrinos can act as their own antiparticle (also known as a "Majorana particle"). If this strange trait is observed, it could support the hypothesis and solve this mystery.
"A Majorana particle is one that is indistinguishable from its antimatter partner. This sets it apart from all other particles," Guiseppe said. "With the Majorana Demonstrator, we are looking for this particle to induce a rare occurrence called neutrinoless double-beta decay."
Just how rare is this proposed decay? To observe it in just two atoms, you'd have to wait more than 1026 years.
"If we watch just one atom, waiting anxiously for it to decay, we would have to watch it for longer than the age of the universe. To win this game, we have to increase the mass we are watching," Guiseppe said.
Researchers knew they were unlikely to detect neutrinoless double-beta decay with amount of mass in the Majorana Demonstrator. The collaboration was in a global competition with other current-generation experiments to demonstrate their detector design and technology and to secure a bid for the scaled-up, next-generation experiment. This time lapse video shows the Majorana Collaboration building the detector shield in a cleanroom on the 4850 Level of SURF. Credit: Matthew Kapust
The cavern
In 2010, Cabot-Ann Christofferson, a South Dakota Mines chemist with the Majorana Demonstrator, swept her headlamp across the drift nearly a mile underground, watching dust waft through the beam of light. The ground was slick with mud, and the air was warm, thick with humidity. She wondered, "How will this ever be the laboratory we need?"
Because the signal that the collaboration sought was so faint, their detector had to be built at SURF, where 4,850 feet of rock would shield the detector from unwanted "background noise" like cosmic rays on the surface of the Earth.
The Majorana Demonstrator's inner detector consisted of 30 kilograms of an enriched isotope of germanium suspended by strings of ultrapure copper and encased in a supercooled cryostat vessel. This inner detector was concealed behind further layers of shielding, including a layer of 108,000 pounds (54 tons) of lead. This structure would be in a cleanroom with as few as 100 particles of dust per cubic foot. Because of the Majorana Demonstrator's sensitivity, even a few particles of dust or a single bead of human sweat would produce enough background radiation to render the detector useless.
Crews at SURF were tasked with transforming the former mine and its century-old infrastructure into the United States' deepest underground science laboratory, capable of meeting the high standards of modern research. And the standards were high indeed.
But SURF was invested in the experiment's success; teams of scientists, engineers, and infrastructure technicians worked closely with the collaboration to create a space tailor-made for the experiment. "Every detail of the facility design reflected the cleanliness protocols and the environment that the experiment required to meet their science goals," said Jaret Heise, SURF science director.
The floor was reinforced to withstand the weight of the heavy lead shield. The concrete floor was created in a single pour, ensuring that no seams would interfere with the hovercraft used to transport detector modules around the cleanroom. The ragged rock walls were covered with shotcrete and given a smooth finish for easy cleaning.
"The Majorana cleanroom is the cleanest lab space at SURF," said Heise, noting that the laboratory's cleaning protocols were informed by world experts in cleanroom operations. "In this laboratory, you must clean according to a detailed process, rather than any visual cue, because you're often cleaning dirt that can't be seen."
The copper
With cavern construction underway, the collaboration got to work on a painstaking process that would prove to be a hallmark of the experiment's success: electroforming the world's purest copper.
"We were in a global competition with other experiments, with no time to waste, so we started electroforming in a temporary cleanroom on the 4850 Level, before our permanent cavern was constructed," Christofferson said.
Electroforming is a fantastically slow process where copper nuggets are first dissolved in a "bath" of ultra-pure sulfuric acid. An electrical current pulls the copper, ion by ion, onto the surface of a metal cylinder. The process slowly forms a layer of exquisitely pure copper at the rate of one millimeter per month, leaving any trace impurities behind.
"The electroforming process creates such pure coppera percentage with so many trailing ninesthe purity couldn't even be measured at the onset of the experiment in 2011," Christofferson said. "Today, the technology has advanced, and we can measure the purity to parts per quadrillion."
Over five years, more than five thousand pounds of copper were grown, then machined into detector components using dedicated tools in an underground machine shop.
The wait
By 2015, the cavern was unrecognizable: The detector was sealed behind a castle-like fortress of lead bricks in a bright, white-walled lab, silently taking in data.
Still, questions lingered. Would their efforts be enough to eliminate background noise? Could this new underground laboratory support world-class science? With the publication of first results in 2017, answers arrived.
While it didn't detect the particle decay, the Majorana Demonstrator proved that a scaled-up experimentone that is more than 33 times its sizemight be able to do so.
"We created an environment so clean and so pure that we did not see any candidate events in our initial data caused by backgrounds, " said Guiseppe upon the publication of first results. "We need to continue operating the Demonstrator to study its performance and better estimate the backgrounds."
The impact
After their initial science run, the collaboration pressed on, refining their detector design and analysis techniques.
"Even though we aim for as few events as possible, we actually have hundreds of terabytes of data to analyze," said Ian Guinn, Majorana's analysis coordinator and a postdoc at University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill. "We had to fine-tune our analysis techniques to distinguish between different types of signals, to remove bugs along the way, and to make sure our processes are reliable across five years of data taking. That was a big challenge."
The Majorana Demonstrators germanium crystals are suspended in a glovebox in a cleanroom on SURFs 4850 Level. Credit: Nick Hubbard
With this rich set of data, the collaboration multitasked, adding exotic dark matter searches to their repertoire, as well as searches for possible interactions beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. The collaboration published 27 scientific articles, including six in 2022 and three so far in 2023, with additional papers expected.
The Majorana Demonstrator also provided an environment for scores of undergraduates and more than 25 Ph.D. candidates to gain experience in the design, construction, and analysis of a world-leading experiment.
"Majorana has served as a training ground for a generation of outstanding young physicists," said John Wilkerson, principal investigator of the experiment and professor of physics at UNC-Chapel Hill. "And I think the experience of our students and postdocs being able to work underground really was fantastic."
More than 40 South Dakota university students were directly involved with the experiment.
"Students from the rural state of South Dakota worked alongside world-renowned scientists," Christofferson said. "Without a laboratory like this, students are not going to get that exposure to that level of large-scale science."
The future
The Majorana Demonstrator completed its science run in 2021. The collaboration's triumphs, outlined in their recent publication, include a world-leading energy resolution and a confirmation that the half-life of neutrinoless double-beta decay in germanium-76 is greater than 8.31025 yearswhich is more than a million billion times the age of the universe.
Under the Apennine Mountains of Italy, researchers at Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), also were studying neutrinoless double-beta decay, employing a slightly different approach with GERDA (GERmanium Detector Array). Together, these two experiments achieved the lowest backgrounds of any neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments in the world. Now, the two are teaming up to scale up.
"Both experiments took different approaches to the same search," Guinn said. "By combining what proved to be the best ideas from each one, we can create an even more sensitive experiment."
The next-generation experiment, named LEGEND (Large Enriched Ge Experiment for Neutrinoless bb Decay), will ultimately use one metric ton of enriched germanium to conduct the search. By scaling up exponentially, LEGEND may be able to strong-arm the neutrino into showing its hand.
"When we started this project, there were many risks and no guarantee that we could achieve our goals, as we were pushing into unexplored territory," Wilkerson said. "Today, we're one step closer to understanding the imbalance in the universeand why we exist at all."
More information: I. J. Arnquist et al, Final Result of the Majorana Demonstrator's Search for Neutrinoless Double- Decay in Ge76, Physical Review Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.062501 Journal information: Physical Review Letters
Provided by Sanford Underground Research Facility
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
Red-bellied lemurs are one of only a handful of mammal species in which the males are active participants in caring for their young. New University of Arizona-led research suggests that expectant lemur dads may experience hormonal changes during their mates' pregnancies that help prepare them for parenting.
Red-bellied lemurs are monogamous, tree-dwelling primates found throughout Madagascar's eastern rainforests. They live together in close family units, with offspring going off on their own at about 3 to 4 years old.
When a female is pregnant, researchers have found, her male partner sees a significant increase in estradiolan estrogen steroid hormone and major female sex hormone that, in several mammalian species, is associated with increased maternal sensitivity and responsiveness.
The hormone spike mainly occurs in the third trimester of pregnancy, with lemurs' typical gestation period lasting about 126 days, or a little over four months. In that final trimester, males see a fourfold increase in estradiol, according to the new study, published in the journal Hormones and Behavior and led by Stacey Tecot, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona.
"Males, when they're expecting, even when they're not carrying the infant, are responding to the developing fetus," said Tecot, who is also a member of the university's BIO5 Institute. "I was shocked by how much of a change there is in estradiol when their partner is pregnant."
Tecot and her colleagues suspect that the hormonal shift is part of nature's way of preparing male lemurs for fatherhood.
"We were interested in estradiol because there have been some experimental lab studies with rodents showing it's required for paternal care and it's important for maternal care," Tecot said. "We wanted to see if there are changes that occur in wild, male lemurs before infants are born, and whether levels of estradiol are associated with how much care they provide for their infants."
While the researchers did not observe a direct link between dads' estradiol levels and the frequency of their specific infant parenting behaviorswhich, in the lemur community, include holding, carrying, grooming, playing and huddlingTecot suspects that the spike in estradiol may occur to prepare the animals for the overall task of parenting.
"These hormonal changes may be priming them, preparing them to perform care," Tecot said.
Lemur dads' estradiol levels don't immediately drop after birth, instead fluctuating up and down until the infant is weaned, the researchers found. Infants, regardless of when they are born, are all weaned in the spring when food in their natural habitat is more abundant.
To measure estradiol levels in expectant dads, Tecot and her collaboratorsincluding Madagascar-based wildlife experts and research assistants from institutions in Spain, Finland and the U.S.collected fecal samples dropped by wild lemurs living in Ranomafana National Park in Madagascar. The droppings were dried by a fire and carefully stored in sealed plastic bags before being shipped to Tucson for analysis in Tecot's Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates, housed in the School of Anthropology in the UArizona College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
In addition to collecting fecal samples, the researchers also observed the wild lemurs' behaviors and interactions and documented what they saw over a nearly two-year period spanning two reproductive seasons.
It's worth noting that not all lemur dads showed themselves to be stellar parents, and just like in humans, there is variation in how involved they are. Tecot and her colleagues give thematic names to the different lemur families they observe, and in the "Authors" family, for example, a dad dubbed Tolstoy went above and beyond as a parent. But, across the tree canopy in the "Star Wars" family, a dad they called Vadertrue to his namewas much less exemplary. Tecot and her colleagues hope to learn more about what causes such variation and what role hormones might play.
Pregnancy a 'group effort'
Red-bellied lemurs are among an estimated 5% of mammal species in which males share infant care responsibilities. And they aren't the only species in which males seem to have a hormonal response to pregnancy and birth.
Previous research has shown that expectant human, tamarin monkey and certain rodent fathers also undergo hormonal changes that appear to occur in response to their partners' pregnancies. During the last trimester and shortly after the birth of an infant, cortisol, oxytocin, prolactin and androgen levels have been found to change significantly in these species. However, estradiol has not been studied extensively in males, Tecot said.
Better understanding hormonal responses to pregnancy and birth in any species could shed new light on how moms and dads prepare for infant care, Tecot suggested.
"We put a lot of pressure on pregnant individuals as the influencers of infant outcomes instead of thinking about the environment, including everyone who interacts with them," she said. "If male lemurs are interacting with the pregnant female and their hormones are responding, that suggests this is a group effort. Something is happening to both parents as they're all preparing for the baby to arrive."
More information: Stacey R. Tecot et al, Functional relationships between estradiol and paternal care in male red-bellied lemurs, Eulemur rubriventer, Hormones and Behavior (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105324 Journal information: Hormones and Behavior
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Credit: Food Quality and Preference> (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.104831
A pair of applied scientists, one with Brand University of Applied Sciences in Germany, the other wtih Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, has found via experimentation that placing shaming tags on packages of meat reduces the likelihood of purchase.
In their paper published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, Anne-Madeleine Kranzbuhler and Hendrik Schifferstein, describe three experiments they conducted with volunteer groups to learn more about their reactions to meat-shaming labels.
Prior research has shown that placing tags on cigarette packages can reduce the likelihood of purchasein this new effort, the researchers sought to find out if the same might be true for meat consumers.
Over the past several decades, an awareness has grown in many Western countries of the sometimes deplorable conditions that exist in meat processing plants. So, too, has awareness of the harm of raising livestock on the environment. Also, the medical community has been recommending reduced meat consumption because of the negative impacts on the cardiovascular system.
Still, in most Western countries, meat consumption remains high. So scientists have been looking for ways to get consumers to reduce meat consumption. In this new effort, the researchers wondered if placing shaming labels on packages of meat might discourage consumers from buying such products.
Credit: Food Quality and Preference (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.104831
The work involved conducting three experiments. In the first, they showed 161 volunteers packages of chicken meat, some with shaming labels, some without, and then asked them how likely they would be to buy the package. In the second experiment, 483 volunteers were shown packages of meat with a wide variety of shaming tagssome that made it more personal by including the word "you" in the message. And in the third experiment, 563 volunteers were shown labels by different groups, such as Greenpeace, the United Nations or Green Eatz.
The researchers found that the words expressed in the tags made little difference, nor did it matter to whom they were attributed. Overall, the volunteers in all three groups were less likely to purchase packages of meat with shaming tags.
More information: Anne-Madeleine Kranzbuhler et al, The effect of meat-shaming on meat eaters' emotions and intentions to adapt behavior, Food Quality and Preference (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.104831
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Immigration status, immigration vulnerability and understanding of immigration-related legal options are critical components of safety, access to public benefits and wellness for many immigrants/migrants. While immigration status is increasingly recognized as an independent social determinant of health, understanding best practices for health care systems that might mitigate the health disparities that result from unequal health care access dictated by immigration status is just beginning to be studied.
In an effort to better understand best practices, researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine evaluated the impact of embedding immigration legal services into a primary care clinic to try and meet the needs of immigrant patients. This novel program, which was able to help patients better understand their immigration legal options, was ranked "very positive" by the participants.
"Participants appreciated that the information they received was coming from a trusted source and that the clinic provided trustworthy access to immigration advice. Many talked about the difficulty of navigating the immigration process independently," said corresponding author Sarah L. Kimball, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the School.
The researchers performed qualitative and quantitative follow-ups with patients before and after an immigration legal intervention in a primary care clinic and then conducted follow up phone calls at 60 and 90 days after. They found participants had very favorable impressions of the legal clinic held in a familiar and safe environmentan important feature of this intervention.
According to the researchers, these findings shows how collaborations can be impactful between the health care system and immigration experts. "Because immigration status has such a huge impact on health, this intervention has the possibility of helping to mitigate some of the barriers that immigrants face in getting their health care needs met," adds Kimball, who also is director of the Immigrant & Refugee Health Center at Boston Medical Center.
The researchers hope that programs such as these are just the beginning of physicians thinking creatively and outside of the box about what needs to done in healthcare to meet the needs of immigrant and refugee patients. "Nevertheless, public health and community interventions that attempt to put in place protections for immigrant/migrant communities are critical to begin to reverse the climate of fear and mistrust that has caused toxic stress levels and health disparities in these communities."
These findings appear online in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.
More information: Sarah L Kimball et al, Immigration-related Legal Collaboration in Primary Care: Evaluating Impact on Knowledge and Well-being, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (2023). DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2023.0016 Journal information: Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
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The crater at the Domaine du Meteore winery really was caused by a meteorite impact. Credit: Frank Brenker, Goethe University Frankfurt
Countless meteorites have struck Earth in the past and shaped the history of our planet. It is assumed, for example, that meteorites brought with them a large part of its water. The extinction of the dinosaurs might also have been triggered by the impact of a very large meteorite.
Meteorite craters which are still visible today are rare because most traces of the celestial bodies have long since disappeared again. This is due to erosion and shifting processes in Earth's crust, known as plate tectonics.
The "Earth Impact Database" lists just 190 such craters worldwide. In the whole of Western Europe, only three were previously known: Rochechouart in Aquitaine, France, the Nordlinger Ries between the Swabian Alb and the Franconian Jura, and the Steinheim Basin near Heidenheim in Baden-Wurttemberg (both in Germany). Thanks to millions of years of erosion, however, for laypersons the three impact craters are hardly recognizable as such.
Geologist and cosmochemist Professor Frank Brenker from Goethe University Frankfurt is convinced the new meteorite crater will now extend the list. While on holiday, the "Domaine du Meteore" winery caught his attention. One of its vineyards lies in a round depression about 220 meters in diameter and 30 meters deep, and the proprietors use the scientific hypothesis that it is the impact crater of a meteoriteseemingly long disprovedas a marketing gag for their wine.
Although this hypothesis was proposed by several geologists in the 1950s, it was dismissed by acclaimed colleagues a few years later.
The iron oxide spherule found in the Domaine du Meteore crater has a core composed of minerals typical for the crater environment and also contains a large number of microdiamonds. Credit: Frank Brenker, Goethe University Frankfurt
Frank Brenker explains, "Craters can form in many ways, and meteorite craters are indeed very rare. However, I found the various other interpretations of how this depression could have formed unconvincing from a geological perspective." That is why he and his wife collected rock samples for analysis in the labs at Goethe University Frankfurtand indeed found the first signs of an impact crater.
Brenker says, "The microanalysis showed that dark-colored layers in one of the shists, which usually simply comprise a larger percentage of mica, might be shock veins produced by the grinding and fracturing of the rock, which in turn could have been caused by an impact." He also found evidence of breccia, angular rock debris held together by a kind of "cement", which can also occur during a meteorite impact.
The following year, Brenker took his colleague Andreas Junge, Professor of Applied Geophysics at Goethe University Frankfurt, and a group of students with him to Southern France to examine the crater in detail. They discovered that Earth's magnetic field is slightly weaker in the crater than in the surrounding area. This is typical for impact craters because the impact shatters or even melts the rock, which can thus contribute less to Earth's magnetic field.
With the help of strong magnets attached to a plate, the researchers also found tiny iron oxide spherules of up to one millimeter in diameter. Such spherules had already been found in other impact craters. Later laboratory analysis showed that the ones here also contained nickel-bearing iron and encased a core of minerals typical for the crater environment. In addition, the researchers discovered numerous shock microdiamonds produced through the high pressure during the meteorite's impact.
Frank Brenker explains, "Such microspheres form either through abrasion of the meteorite in the atmosphere or only upon impact, when a large part of the iron meteorite melts and then reacts with the oxygen in the air. On impact, material shattered at the point of impact might then also be encased. This, together with the lower magnetic field and the other geological and mineralogical finds, allows us to draw hardly any other conclusion: a meteorite did indeed strike here."
This makes the crater very exciting for geological laypeople too, says Brenker, because "every visitor can experience here the immense energies released upon such an impact."
More information: LPSC Houston 2023 Abstract #1910: Impact origin of the "Domaine du Meteore"-crater, France. Compelling mineralogical and geophysical evidence for an unrecognized destructive event in the heart of Europe.
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Pallas's cat (Octolobus manul). Credit: Ondrej Prosicky
With the Iranian Government recently committing to increasing protected areassuch as national parksto 20 percent of Iran's land, researchers have mapped out a way to identify the most important areas needed to protect the most endangered species.
The study was led by University of Queensland alumnus, Dr. Azadeh Karimi, now at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, alongside UQ's Dr. April Reside, and identified areas of the richly biodiverse country not yet covered by the 11 percent of land currently under protection.
Dr. Karimi said the increased protected area comes as good news for Iran, where 80 percent of land is covered by diverse natural ecosystems, all home to a range of critically endangered species.
"It's a richly biodiverse land with forests, high mountain ecosystems and arid landscapes," Dr. Karimi said.
"The Asiatic cheetahs, Persian leopards, Asiatic wild ass, Egyptian vulture, saker falcon, and Gorgan Mountain salamanders are all at massive risk, and that's just naming a few.
"The areas we've identified for priority protection are not only critical to protecting these threatened species, they're also globally important ecosystems."
Ecoregions in the north, north-west and west of Iran were consistently identified as areas in most need of urgent conservation action, researchers discovered.
Iranian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes). Credit: AGAMI
Dr. Karimi said these regions were found using maps of all the internationally listed threatened species identified in Iran, placing highest importance on those that breed in Iran, or only occur there, such as migratory birds.
"We looked at species that are already protected by Iran's existing protected areas, including national parks, which currently covers 11 percent of Iran's land," she said.
"From there, we used spatial algorithms to find the most important areas needed to protect the species not already represented in existing protected areas."
Dr. April Reside said this study allows researchers to better understand the conservation challenge ahead of them.
"The conservation needs of Iran's threatened species are somewhat of a mystery, so a more in-depth biodiversity survey effort such as this was certainly needed," Dr. Reside said.
"In this study, we've taken the first best guess of the areas that are most in need of conservation.
An Iranian eublepharis gecko. Credit: Ksenia Bisler
"Our hope is these findings will provide useful information to help expand that protected area network to achieve international and national targets already committed to.
"Ultimately, this will help safeguard adequate representation of Iran's unique biodiversity."
This research was conducted in collaboration between The University of Queensland, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, and with Hossein Yazdandad from Tarbiat Modares University, Iran.
This research is published in Biological Conservation.
More information: Azadeh Karimi et al, Spatial conservation prioritization for locating protected area gaps in Iran, Biological Conservation (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2023.109902 Journal information: Biological Conservation
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Three-dimensional reconstruction of the brain endocast and associated nerves and blood vessels within the braincase of the iconic British spinosaurid Baryonyx walkeri. Credit: WitmerLab/Chris Barker
Researchers from Ohio University and the University of Southampton have reconstructed the brains and inner ears of two British spinosaurs, helping uncover how these large predatory dinosaurs interacted with their environment.
Lawrence M. Witmer, professor of anatomy at OHIO's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Ryan Ridgley, a research associate of 23 years in WitmerLab, specifically focused their research efforts and contributed information on Baryonyx, one of the species of spinosaurs highlighted in the study.
The most famous spinosaur is Spinosaurus itself, a 45-foot-long, sail-backed giant that was one of the stars of Jurassic Park III. Spinosaurs are an unusual group of theropod dinosaurs, equipped with long, crocodile-like jaws and conical teeth. These adaptations helped them live a somewhat-aquatic lifestyle that involved stalking riverbanks in quest of prey, among which were large fish. This way of life was very different from that of more familiar theropods, like Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus.
To better understand the evolution of spinosaur brains and senses, the team scanned fossils of Baryonyx from Surrey and Ceratosuchops from the Isle of Wight. These two are the oldest spinosaurs for which braincase material is known. The huge creatures lived long before Spinosaurus and would have been roaming the planet about 125 million years ago. The braincases of both specimens are well preserved, and the team digitally reconstructed the internal soft tissues that had long rotted away. Spinosaurus Brain Endocast. Credit: University of Southampton
The researchers found the olfactory bulbs, which process smells, weren't particularly developed, and the ear was probably attuned to low frequency sounds. Those parts of the brain involved in keeping the head stable and the gaze fixed on prey were possibly less developed than they were in later, more specialized spinosaurs.
Findings were recently published in a freely accessible article in the Journal of Anatomy.
"Despite their unusual ecology, it seems the brains and senses of these early spinosaurs retained many aspects in common with other large-bodied theropodsthere is no evidence that their semi-aquatic lifestyles are reflected in the way their brains are organized," said University of Southampton Ph.D. student Chris Barker, who led the study.
One interpretation of this evidence is that the theropod ancestors of spinosaurs already possessed brains and sensory adaptations suited for part-time fish catching, and that 'all' spinosaurs needed to do to become specialized for a semi-aquatic existence was evolve an unusual snout and teeth.
Three-dimensional reconstruction of the brain endocast (purple), cranial nerves (yellow), inner ear (pink) and blood vessels (red and blue) of the British spinosaurid Ceratosuchops inferodios (bottom) and Baryonyx walkeri (top). Credit: Chris Barker
"Because the skulls of all spinosaurs are so specialized for fish-catching, it's surprising to see such 'nonspecialized' brains," said contributing author Dr. Darren Naish. "But the results are still significant. It's exciting to get so much information on sensory abilitieson hearing, sense of smell, balance and so onfrom British dinosaurs. Using cutting-edged technology, we basically obtained all the brain-related information we possibly could from these fossils," Dr. Naish said.
Witmer and Ridgley have been working on brain evolution for over 20 years, with many years of funding for this work coming from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Witmer has also been CT scanning dinosaurs, including Baryonyx, to learn more about their evolution and discover insight on their relationships with the environment for more than 25 years. Currently, the two researchers have received a major new grant from the Swedish Research Council to study the evolution of the brain and cognition with collaborators in Sweden, Scotland, and the Czech Republic.
Artist's impression of Ceratosuchops and the orientation of the endocast in the skull. Artwork for the life restoration by Anthony Hutchings. Credit: Anthony Hutchings
"This new research is just the latest in what amounts to a revolution in paleontology due to advances in CT-based imaging of fossils," Witmer, a co-author on the study, said. "We're now in a position to be able to assess the cognitive and sensory capabilities of extinct animals and explore how the brain evolved in behaviorally extreme dinosaurs like spinosaurs."
For an in-depth look at the Baryonyx brain, visit https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/baryonyx-skull-with-brain-endocast-935090690da54952a68098b8cced571c.
More information: Modified skulls but conservative brains? The palaeoneurology and endocranial anatomy of baryonychine dinosaurs, Journal of Anatomy (2023).
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
An improved global understanding of river temperature could provide an important barometer for climate change and other human activities.
River temperature is the fundamental water quality measure that regulates physical, chemical and biological processes in flowing waters and, in turn, impacts ecosystems, human health, and industrial, domestic and recreational uses by people.
In a comment piece in the new journal, Nature Water, researchers led by the University of Birmingham, UK, and Indiana University, U.S., have called for an increased focus on both river temperatures and the factors driving temperature increases.
In particular, the researchers argue, we need a better understanding of the role played by humans on river water temperature.
A comprehensive bank of knowledge will lead to improved understanding of temperature changes on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and risks, including early warning of algal blooms, waterborne pathogens and effects on fish populations. These aspects may be critical for human survival in many areas of the globe.
Crucial to this understanding will be to rethink how we monitor and model river temperatures to improve our diagnosis of critical changes. In turn, this will play an important part in our ability to manage, mitigate and adapt to high temperature extremes that are damaging to aquatic organisms and ecosystem services for people.
"More attention has been given to other water quality indicators, such as nutrients and contaminants," explained co-lead author, Professor David Hannah, UNESCO Chair in Water Sciences at the University of Birmingham. "However, river temperature influences many of these factors. Emerging evidence shows that river temperatures are rising in response to climate change in many regions worldwide. On top of this human activity is altering water temperature further; but we still need to better understand this phenomenon and its implications."
Professor Darren Ficklin, co-lead author of Indiana University, added: "The knowledge we currently have is inconsistent, with large variations in scale and detailand primarily taking place in richer countries. This severely limits our ability to sustainably manage river systems, protect ecosystems and balance the competing interests of stakeholders."
The researchers suggest a first step would be to create more complete and accessible river temperature archive, which draws all available data together, to highlight information gaps and underpin models for places and times (for example, into the future) for which we lack data. By co-producing river temperature knowledge in this way, the researchers also hope to promote collaborative research and management efforts with local and indigenous communities, avoiding 'top-down' decision-making on which types of data are most valuable
More information: Rethinking river water temperature in a changing, human-dominated world, Nature Water (2023). Journal information: Nature Water
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Chris Denniston and Isabel Rayas are developing ways for autonomous robots to locate toxic algae in lakes. Credit: Emilia Doda
Harmful algae blooms in lakes are a major environmental problem, producing extremely dangerous toxins that can taint water supplies or harm other organic lifeincluding people. Biologists can test water safety by collecting samples off the side of a boat, but getting relevant data is no small task, especially in lakes that cover hundreds of miles.
And while algae blooms can spring up anywhere, finding optimal sites to sample is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
As a result, biologists currently find algae concentrations through trial and error and struggle to anticipate new growth, prolonging the discovery of potentially harmful algae and wasting time and labor in the field.
Now, USC computer scientists and biologists have developed a way for autonomous robots to find prime sample spot locations for toxic algae, before a scientist even steps foot onsite. The team recently presented the paper, titled" Informative Path Planning to Estimate Quantiles for Environmental Analysis," at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS.) The paper is also available on the arXiv preprint server
"Currently, many robots used by scientists in the real world do not have autonomy or adaptivity," said co-first author Isabel Rayas, a computer science Ph.D. student advised by Gaurav Sukhatme, the Fletcher Jones Foundation Endowed Chair in Computer Science and Professor of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering.
"Our work makes it easy for biologists to state what types of areas they would want to collect water from, and the robot can then focus explicitly on taking measurements with that goal in mind. This allows them to save time and collect data more efficiently."
Locating harmful algae
California is no stranger to harmful algae blooms, especially in recent years as climate change causes temperatures to rise and disrupts water systems. Lakes, reservoirs, and other bodies of water have become saturated with cyanobacteria that can cause toxic algae blooms, to the point where those living nearby face health complications from ingesting toxic fumes.
It's very difficult to fight blooms after they're in full force. In some cases, the chemicals used to treat water can even make the problem worse. That's why biologists' ability to keep tabs on cyanobacteria levels is an extremely important task.
While robots have been used before to help biologists locate algae, they have only been able to give a general overview of the environment. According to study co-first author Chris Denniston, a computer science Ph.D. student, the process also suffers from a "chicken and egg problem."
"You don't really know what you would get from sampling the water, and it's hard to choose where to sample because you don't have any previous data," Denniston said. "It's difficult to know which locations are best to measure without first measuring them."
Getting eyes on an area
Instead, the USC team's robots act as a "pre-survey" to get eyes on an area before biologists go out into the field. While biologists have used drones in this process before, the USC team is the first to incorporate planning for this specific kind of task into the robots' routine, where it will actively seek out traces of algae blooms as it explores the lake according to the biologists' preference.
For instance, they might ask the robot only to look for locations that meet a certain "quantile of interest," or, in this case, green spots marking chlorophyll concentrations. Using a camera on a drone, or a chlorophyll sensor on underwater vehicles, this new research focuses on how the algorithm can intelligently select locations to measure toxic algae concentrations, given gathered information. Simulation of a drone collecting data and producing suggested physical specimen collection locations. The robot is run in simulation to allow for diverse and robust comparison to other methods. Credit: Isabel Rayas and Chris Denniston
Now, rather than just giving scientists a more detailed map of an area by exploring it indiscriminately, robots can hone in on ideal sampling locations and eliminate the need for biologists to make multiple trips out to the lake just to figure out where algae blooms might be.
The project's model is "smarter" than the typical devices used by biologists because it maintains a model of its surroundings using informative path planning, or IPP, a type of artificial intelligence that determines the most efficient path for an autonomous system to meet its goal.
Using IPP, the optimal route for the robot to scout for algae is constantly updated, based on the information it gets from its sensorseffectively allowing it to "improvise" where to go, based on what it's seen already.
Whenever the drone moves, it takes new measurements to progressively update an internal model that informs where to go next. The result is a map that clearly shows areas where algae concentrations would be particularly close to the quantiles or levels that biologists would care about. In other words: the ideal place to take samples.
The researchers tested the system's ability to pick up "green spots" of algae by flying the drone in a field.
"The benefit of using robots is that we are focusing on the data collection specifically for the types of locations that these scientists are interested in," Rayas said, adding that they are currently expanding the system to work with teams of robots for additional efficiency. "It takes a little bit of the guesswork out and gives more grounded reason for choosing certain locations."
The study's co-author, Professor David Caron, a USC Associates Captain Allan Hancock Chair in Marine Science and professor of biological sciences, has worked with Sukhatme on research combining biology and computer science for more than 15 years.
"As a biologist, I want to know more about what is going on in the water," Caron said. "Anything that robotics and computer science can do to provide me with insightextra eyes in the water, if you willis very valuable to me."
According to Caron, evaluating bodies of water is extremely labor intensive, and anything that saves time or effort is going to be useful.
"If I want to say something about a body of water, I have to get on a boat, I have to go out there in a huge environment and I have to put instruments in the water, and collect it," Caron said. "There just isn't enough information from something like sensors to be able to make all the measurements I would like."
Sukhatme attested that biologists are not the only ones reaping the benefits, as taking on problems from other fields can change how computer scientists tackle problems.
"Big problems don't fit neatly into disciplinary boundariesyou have to think out of the box. For me, as a computer scientist and roboticist, collaborating with Professor Caron's group has been an education," Sukhatme said. "We've learned how to pose problems in new ways leading to solutions that would have never occurred to us before."
Both Denniston and Rayas value working with biologists because it's given them the opportunity to tackle environmental issues using computer science. They believe that their informative path planning model could be applied to other kinds of surveys on land in the future.
"I think it's really great that we have this collaboration with the biology lab, and it gives us a grounding to why we're doing what we're doing and that it's in the human interest," Rayas said. "I started working on this because I was looking for a way that robotics can be impactful in a positive way for the environment."
More information: Isabel M. Rayas Fernandez et al, Informative Path Planning to Estimate Quantiles for Environmental Analysis, arXiv (2022). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2201.10633 Journal information: arXiv
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
After decades of progress on limiting the buildup of nuclear weapons, Russia's war on Ukraine has prompted renewed nuclear tensions between Russia and the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual State of the Nation address on Feb. 21, 2023, that Russia is "suspending" its participation in the U.S. and Russia's last remaining nuclear arms agreementknown as New START.
"Our relations have degraded, and that's completely and utterly the U.S.'s fault," said Putin, who stopped short of entirely withdrawing Russia from the deal that aims to limit nuclear arms expansion.
In the same speech, Putin threatened to resume nuclear testing if the U.S. does the same, claiming that the U.S. is considering renewed nuclear testing. The U.S. has repeatedly reaffirmed that it can modernize and certify the reliability of its nuclear weapons without resorting to testing.
The U.S. State Department quickly condemned Putin's announcement, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stolenberg said that Russia's suspension from the deal makes the world a more dangerous place.
Putin's announcement greatly weakens the last remaining arms control agreement but does not immediately terminate it. By "suspending" rather than withdrawing from the treaty, Putin retains the possibility of reactiving the agreementwithout having to renegotiate it or have the U.S. Congress ratify it once more.
The New START is the only remaining agreement between the U.S. and Russia limiting the development of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. It allows both countries to regularly, and with limited advance notice, inspect each other's nuclear weapons arsenals.
I have worked on and researched nuclear nonproliferation for two decades.
Convincing countries to reduce their nuclear weapons stockpiles or renounce the pursuit of this ultimate weapon has always been extremely difficult.
A history of nonproliferation
The Soviet Union, U.S., United Kingdom, France, Israel and China had active nuclear weapons programs in the 1960s.
Countries recognized the risk of a nuclear war in the future.
Sixty-two countries initially agreed to what's been called the "Grand Bargain" in 1967, an essential element of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. One hundred and ninety-one countries eventually signed this treaty.
The agreement prevented the spread of nuclear weapons to countries that didn't already have them by 1967. Countries with nuclear weapons, like the U.S. and the U.K., agreed to end their nuclear arms race and work toward eventual disarmament, meaning the destruction of all nuclear weapons.
This landmark agreement laid the groundwork for agreements between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to further reduce their nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. It also stopped other countries from developing and testing nuclear weapons until the end of the Cold War.
Israel, India and Pakistan never joined the agreement because of regional security concerns. They all now possess nuclear weapons. North Korea withdrew from the agreement and developed nuclear weapons.
Some successes
There have been major achievements in preventing countries from gaining nuclear weapons and dramatically reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles since the Cold War.
The global nuclear stockpile has been reduced by 82% since 1986, from a peak of 70,300, with nearly all of the reductions in the U.S. and Russia, who held the largest stockpiles at the time.
Globally there are now around 12,700 nuclear weapons, with about 90% held by Russia and the U.S.or between 5,000 to 6,000 weapons each.
Several other countries have nuclear weapons, and most of them have a few hundred weapons each, including the United Kingdom, France and Chinathough China has been building up its nuclear stockpile. Newer nuclear countries like India, Pakistan and Israel have around 100 each, while North Korea has around 20.
Starting in the late 1960s, countries agreed to more than a dozen legally binding agreements, or treaties, that limited new countries from getting nuclear weapons and prohibited nuclear weapons testing, among other measures.
But they have not reduced the number of nuclear weapons with short-range missiles.
No agreements cover these weapons, which could also cause widespread destruction and deaths.
U.S.-Russia cooperation declines
U.S.-Russia engagement on nuclear weapons changed when Russia forcibly annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Russia built up land missiles in Kaliningrad, an enclave of Russia in the middle of Eastern Europe, in 2014.
The U.S. and NATO then accused Russia of violating a 1987 nuclear agreement on short- and intermediate-range land missiles. From Russia, these could travel from 311 to 3,418 miles (500 to 5,500 kilometers), hitting targets as far as London.
The U.S. also terminated this agreement in 2019 because of reported Russian violations. Now, there are no international nuclear agreements in Europe.
The New START agreement, signed by Russia and the U.S., remains the one main strategic nuclear weapons agreement in place.
It was to continue until at least 2026.
The U.S. and Russia halted all inspections of each other's nuclear weapon sites and operations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, hundreds of notifications were still exchanged between the two states, reducing the likelihood of miscalculations and misunderstandings. In November 2022, Russia canceled talks to resume inspections. The U.S. considers these violations of the agreement, but not an altogether outright material breach of the treaty.
Impact of Ukraine war
Putin has repeatedly ignited concern that Russia's setbacks during its nearly year-old war with Ukraineas well as Western involvement in the conflictcould result in Russia's launching a nuclear attack on Ukraine or another country in the West.
A single nuclear weapon today in a major city could immediately kill anywhere from 52,000 to several million people, depending on the weapon's size.
The U.S. and Russia's arms control regime was successful in the Cold War because it included significant verification mechanismsdirect inspections of each party's nuclear arsenal with less than 24 hours' notice.
Russia and the U.S. have conducted 306 inspections since New START took effect in 2011. Without New START, all inspections of nuclear bases and support facilities will end.
During nuclear talks in 1987, President Ronald Reagan translated a Russian maxim, saying, "trust, but verify," the foundation of the nuclear arms control regime.
If the U.S. and Russia are no longer transparent about their nuclear arsenals and developments, pressure for both countries to develop new nuclear weapons and delivery systems will increase, along with the risk of miscalculations.
The U.S. State Department already told Congress in January 2023 that Russia is not complying with New START. Russia has denied these accusations and accused the U.S. of violating the agreement as well. Putin reiterated these accusations on Feb. 21, 2023.
While Putin has not followed through on his threat of a nuclear strike, the potential for a nuclear attack has meant the U.S. and NATO have responded to Russia's attack on Ukraine with this lingering threat in mind.
The U.S. and NATO members announced in January and February 2023 plans to increase their military assistance) to Ukraine. This might signal a change to the United States' and NATO countries' strategy, so far, of limiting their direct support to Ukraine and avoiding further escalation with Russia in the conflict.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Vietnam presents 25 tonnes of goods as relief aid to earthquake hit Turkey
The rescue force of the Vietnam Peoples Army on February 21 handed over nearly 25 tonnes of goods including dried food, rice, milk, medical equipment and other necessities to Turkey to help it overcome the consequences of the recent deadly earthquake.
Representatives of the Vietnamese rescue force and the National Coordinating Agency of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) at the handover ceremony.
The handover ceremony was held at Hatay Stadium in Antakya, the capital of Hatay province which was one of the Turkish localities badly affected by the earthquake. Hatay is also the locality where rescue force of the Vietnam Peoples Army has undertaken the rescue mission.
Present at the ceremony were Vietnamese Ambassador to Turkey Do Son Hai, Ambassador Hakan Cakil who represents the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and representatives of the National Coordinating Agency of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).
Addressing the ceremony, Major General Pham Van Ty, deputy chief of the Office of the National Committee for Incident and Disaster Response, Search and Rescue, expressed hope Turkey would soon overcome the consequences of the recent earthquake.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Hakan Cakil expressed his deep gratitude for the support of the Vietnam Peoples Army in recent times, noting the donation would contribute to helping the Turkish people overcome difficulties and losses.
Medical supplies donated by the Vietnamese side will be quickly delivered to local hospitals and medical support centers to support the treatment of patients affected by the earthquake, he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on February 20 visited international rescue workers, including those of the Vietnam Peoples Army who were taking part in a rescue mission in earthquake-hit Hatay province.
The President thanked the rescue forces of Vietnam and other countries for their tireless efforts to support search and rescue after the earthquake disaster in Turkey.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tremors rocked Turkey and Syria on February 6, killing more than 46,000 people, mostly Turkish people.
The Ministry of Public Security decided to dispatch a 24-member contingent of police officers to Turkey to assist with rescue work there. The contingent of police officers accomplished the mission and returned to Hanoi on February 19.
The Ministry of National Defence later also decided to send 76 soldiers and officers to support recue work in Turkey. The rescue force is scheduled to return to Hanoi on February 23.
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Findings of bowhead whale research. Credit: Clarissa R. Teixeira
As sea ice declines in the Arctic, bowhead whales are staying north of the Bering Strait more frequently, a shift that could affect the long-term health of the bowhead population and impact the Indigenous communities that rely on the whales, a new study by Oregon State University researchers shows.
Bowhead whales found in the Pacific Arctic, sometimes called Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort bowheads based on their migratory patterns, normally winter in the northern Bering Sea and migrate north in the spring through the Bering Strait to the Canadian Beaufort Sea, where they spend summer and fall. They then migrate south again through the Strait for the winter.
The migration essentially follows the sea ice south through the Bering Strait, which would close up as ice formed in the Chukchi Sea. But warming temperatures in the Arctic over the past decade have led to sea ice decline and kept the Bering Strait open increasingly into the winter months, said the study's lead author, Angela Szesciorka, a research associate with Oregon State's Marine Mammal Institute.
"The lack of ice means they are losing this critical habitat, and as a result, we're seeing that these whales are not leaving the Arctic anymore for the winter," Szesciorka said. "Without that ice, there could be changes in bowhead availability for the Indigenous people who rely on the whales. The lack of ice also opens the door for other species to move into the Arctic, resulting in competition for resources, potential predation and increased human interaction due to ship strikes or entanglement in fishing gear."
The findings were just published in the journal Movement Ecology.
Bowhead whales are a species of baleen whale and the only one that lives year-round in Arctic and subarctic waters; the subarctic is the region just south of the Arctic. They use their large skulls to break through sea ice up to 18 inches thick, feed on zooplankton such as copepods and krill, and can reach up to 200,000 pounds and 62 feet in length. They are believed to have a lifespan of up to 200 years.
Commercial whaling in the 1800s and early 1900s decimated the population found in the Pacific Arctic, and bowheads have been listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act since the 1970s. The species has rebounded to about 25,000 whales across four populations in the Arctic, including the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort group studied by the researchers.
"That group is largest of the four bowhead populations and it appears to be growing," said co-author Kathleen Stafford, an associate professor at the Marine Mammal Institute, part of OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences and based at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.
Sea ice is believed to play an important role in the bowheads' survival. Slow-moving animals may use sea ice as shelter from potential predators, and the ice-covered water might also lend itself to improved communication among the individuals, Stafford said.
But in the Arctic, sea ice has decreased about 13% per decade since 1979, and near surface air temperatures have risen four times faster than the global average in that time. Once perennial, the sea ice in the Chukchi is now considered annualmeaning the ice is no longer surviving through the melt season.
Three bowhead whales breathing near ice. Credit: Kate Stafford, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University
To better understand what that means for bowhead whales, Szesciorka and Stafford analyzed 11 years of recordings of bowhead whale calls and songs to track how the whales' movements have changed as sea ice has declined.
The recordings, made between 2009 and 2021, were collected using passive acoustic monitoring devices placed in the Chukchi Sea near the entrance of the Bering Strait. The devices also captured noise from passing vessels.
"Bowheads make a number of non-singing calls, but in the fall, winter and into spring, they are singing," Szesciorka said. "We think it's the males who are singing, and that the songs are for courtship purposes. They sing many different songs and they don't tend to repeat. It's beautifully complex."
Analysis of the whales' calls and songs, coupled with information about sea ice and weather conditions, indicated that the bowheads' fall migration to the Bering Sea was delayed in years when there was less sea ice and that some whales are wintering instead in the southern Chukchi Sea.
"The Strait is the only gateway between the Arctic and the Pacificanything going between the two has to pass through there, like a turnstile," Stafford said. "Not all of the bowheads are passing through this turnstile anymore."
The researchers also found that spring northward migration was earlier in years when there was less sea ice. Indigenous Traditional Knowledge also suggests that less ice and more open water has shifted the timing of the spring migration by about a month. Those changing migration patterns could impact the Indigenous communities that rely on bowhead whales for nutritional, cultural and spiritual subsistence, the researchers said.
"Bowheads have been hunted for millennia by Arctic peoples, but in the fall of 2019, there were no whales in reach of Indigenous hunters in Utqiagvik, Alaska," Stafford said. "That has the potential to decrease food security in these communities, and that is problematic."
The lack of sea ice also means that the "turnstile" at the Bering Strait is open to potential predators such as killer whales and to commercial vessels that have not previously overlapped into bowhead whale territory in the winter.
"There are some big questions for future study: Will bowheads be at increased risk of ship strikes or fishing gear entanglement if the lack of sea ice leads to increased fishing or other ship traffic? Bowheads aren't typically around vessels, and they may not know how to respond," Szesciorka said.
"This change is happening very quickly, and it is unclear what the potential impacts might be as the Arctic continues to warm."
More information: Angela R. Szesciorka et al, Sea ice directs changes in bowhead whale phenology through the Bering Strait, Movement Ecology (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00374-5
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Shark and stingray populations have declined by 71 per cent in the last half-century. Credit: Hannes Klostermann / Ocean Image Bank
Shark populations have been declining for years, largely due to overfishing. And for years, the solutions offered by researchers have included increasing the number, size and effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPA) and improving the global management of sharks and stingrays in fisheries that catch them.
However, the large expanse of the ocean makes it hard to properly enforce protections in these MPAs, making this a global challenge. A solution to this issue lies in the use of international treaties like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), wherein 184 member countries propose ways to ensure that species are not threatened due to international trade.
At the recent CITES Conference of the Parties (COP19) held in Panama City in November 2022, I witnessed the discussions that went into four proposals to include 104 shark and ray species in the CITES Appendix II. The acceptance of these four proposals, which included 54 requiem sharks, 37 guitarfishes, six hammerheads and seven river rays, would restrict their trade to sustainable and legal avenues.
This listing would impact global fisheries and trade, especially considering that the requiem sharks make up over half of the global annual reported catch of sharks and rays. Guitarfishes are, meanwhile, heavily traded throughout Africa and southern Asia. All four shark and ray proposals passed and the species were added to the list. But how good is this news really?
Why are sharks and rays declining today?
On the surface, these new protections for sharks and rays are a step in the right direction. But, being listed on CITES means the species' population was in steep decline, driven by humans trading these species at unsustainable levels.
This unsustainable trade is due to improper management, or in some casesno management of the catch and landing of sharks and rays in fisheries.
In our newly published paper, we revealed that requiem sharks only have half of the ideal management in place and in another paper show that guitarfish have just 45 percent of ideal management in fisheries across 30 countries and four Regional Fisheries Management Organizations.
On assessing their fisheries management, we found that most countries have a central management body in place, engage with international treaties (like CITES) and manage illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This shows they have the capacity and infrastructure to ideally manage sharks and rays.
However, this was not usually the case. We found most countries have little understanding of the population status of species in their waters and few, if any, landing limitsnumber of individuals or total tons allowed to be caughtwere imposed for sharks and rays.
We did find that landing limits were more likely to exist for species already listed on CITES Appendix IIlike the Oceanic Whitetip and Silky Sharks. Therefore, the inclusion of an additional 104 species will hopefully improve management of sharks and rays in fisheries globally.
There are big differences in how well sharks and rays are managed globally. In wide-ranging species, like many requiem sharks, they are subject to a patchwork of management. For example, the Blacktip Reef Shark is well-managed in Australia, but less so elsewhere in its range.
While guitarfish are found throughout the tropics, the distribution of their various individual species vary across waters of different countries. One species is found in Tanzania and Madagascar, while another can be found in Malaysia and Indonesia. Another species is found in the waters surrounding Taiwan. This varied distribution means that each species' global status is directly related to how well these countries manage their catch.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, over 77 percent of guitarfish are threatened with extinction, meaning current management is not working. What's worse? There is no data regarding the volume and species of guitarfish that are traded internationally.
We need fisheries legislation that requires species-specific reporting of catch and trade in these species to better understand the population status and changes in abundance of these species.
How does Canada fit in?
Canada is blessed with vast forests, lakes and oceans. But it failed to protect its biodiversity as planned at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Japan in 2010, or the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
In particular, Target 11, which states 10 percent of coastal and marine areas and 17 percent of terrestrial and inland waters should be protected by 2020. Despite these targets not being met, more ambitious goals have been set at the most recent CBD meeting in Montreal, including protecting 30 percent of the world's land and ocean by 2030.
Canada voted against protecting guitarfishes at CITES COP19. There are no guitarfishes that live in Canadian waters, nor is there any evidence of import. Therefore, this vote would not affect any catch, landings or trade for Canada.
All votes regarding requiem sharks were done by secret ballot, so Canada's vote can only be speculated on. However, Canada spoke in support of the removal of 'look-alike' species, which includes the only requiem shark found in Canadian watersthe near-threatened Blue Shark.
The discussions concluded with the final vote to include all requiem shark species on Appendix II, which was accepted with 75 percent support including the European Union and its Member States and the U.S. who declared their votes publicly.
What does this all mean?
Canada should be transparent about the reasons environmental policies like the Aichi targets or the CITES voting are or are not put in place. Citizens have a right to know how their government is voting on international policies (like the protection of requiem sharks), and the reasons behind those decisions.
On a global scale, fisheries need to be managed as per the most susceptible species nations interact with. The excuse that sharks and rays are "unavoidable bycatch" has led to severe declines in their populations in all environments.
In the open ocean, shark and ray populations have declined by 71 percent in the last half century. Sharks and rays have been so overfished on coral reefs that almost two-thirds are now threatened with extinction.
There is hope still.
New research shows that implementing science-based effective limits on fishing can improve the status of shark populations. However, it takes time for these long-lived animals to recover, which is why changes need to be made immediately.
Improved fisheries management is essential to ensure long-term sustainability for sharks and rays as well as the associated fisheries as food and income sources. Managing fisheries the main threat for sharks and raysis the only way to prevent them from needing international protection like CITES in the future.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Sheep mow a central part of the UC Davis campus as part of a pilot project in improving landscape and mental health. Credit: Gregory Urquiaga, UC Davis
Bicycles whirr by, students rush to class, staff and faculty are grabbing lunch or coffee on the goand sheep graze the grassy knolls among the traffic, bleating every now and then. The grazing is their job.
The 25 wooly sheep who seasonallyfor the past two yearsleave their University of California, Davis, barns to nibble on lawns at various central campus locations, are doing much more than mowing, fertilizing and improving the ecosystem. The sheep also are improving people's mental health.
The sheepfour breeds of Suffolk, Hampshire, Southdown and Dorsetfirst took on this role in 2021, when COVID-19 masking and social-distancing protocols were in full swing. The goal was to determine whether sheep could benefit urban lawn landscapes and make a case for increasing their usage. The program is growing and exploring additional benefits sheep provide.
"This started out as experiment to test their mowing abilities, and we have now published research on how they make people feel peaceful," said Haven Kiers, the lead author of a new study, director of the sheep mowers project and an assistant professor of landscape architecture in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
"I can't believe this is research; it's so much fun," Kiers said.
Landscape management research includes mental health and nature therapy
The research has important relevance, especially at a time when, nationwide since the 1980s, students of all ages have expressed that they struggle with stress and their mental and physical health. Kiers, co-authors and researchers surveyed about 200 students, staff, faculty, and community members about their experiences walking by, or even hanging out in Adirondack chairs studying, sketching and painting watercolors among the sheep.
"We found that there was a significantly lower likelihood of current feelings of being 'very stressed' or 'stressed' among the sheep mower group when compared to the group that did not experience sheep mowers," she said of the study, researched over four sheep-mowing events in spring 2022. "The group with the sheep was just so much happier," Kiers said.
She said as far as she knows, similar stress studies have been done only with dogs and horses, not sheep. "We really need to look at how we can get the most out of landscape management, in all formsin the physical environment as well as mental health."
The paper, co-authored with Carolyn S. Dewa, of the UC Davis Department of Public Health, and Kelly M. Nishimura, a 2020 graduate of UC Davis and urban designer in the Office of Campus Planning and Development, was published in January in The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Sheep graze UC Davis lawns as part of a program to improve lawns, but a study found the sheep also improve mental health of people on campus. Credit: Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis
Therapeutic grazing events provide stress relief
Students and other passersby participating in the experiment were interviewed by student employees and student shepherds in quick chats near the sheep and on social media. All the while, the sheep are given access to plenty of clean water, are fenced in with a combination of electrical and snow fencing, and are trailered back and forth to their home barns in the morning and at night.
Researchers collected comments from observers, then aggregated the comments into themes that included community engagement, place identity, relaxation and academic stress reduction.
Wrote one student on the Instagram feed used in the survey: "I loved seeing the sheep right before my chem midterm; it helped me distract myself and not stress right before taking the exam."
Mina Bedogne, a research assistant on the project and now in her fourth year of undergraduate work, said the distraction seems to make most people happy.
"Just taking a break from a chaotic workday and mindlessly observing the flock has brought joy to so many people," said Bedogne, an environmental science and management major. "Some students find our grazing events so therapeutic that they'll stay there for hours eating lunch, doing work and catching up with friends."
She said the sheep events help her, too. "I also enjoy being able to forget all my other responsibilities for a few hours and engage with all the passersby in the welcoming and inclusive environment we've created."
That is much of the vision behind the program, said Dewa, who is also chair of the Graduate Group in Public Health Sciences and professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dewa first met Kiers when they were examining the impacts on well-being of Kiers' Nature Rx course, and they began a partnership that would evolve into this latest research. (Nature Rx is a program at UC Davis and other universities that seeks ways to improve mental and physical health by looking to the external environment.)
Dewa also leads the Aggie Mental Health Ambassadors programfunded by University of California's Mental Health Equity funds to educate the UC Davis community about mental health and mental health services and support. The program builds community and encourages mental health promotion. The ambassadors offer their help on site at sheep mower events, directing art and craft projects. There, students can draw, paint and in the future, card woolall activities that get people engaged and reduce the social isolation that can sometimes happen on college campuses, Dewa said.
"Loneliness is a struggle for many of our students," said Dewa. "One robust research finding is that social support is a protective factor for mental health. One of the ways the sheep mower events help to promote mental health is by providing an opportunity for a shared experience.
"The events help people to see that they are a part of a larger group and give people a sense of community."
More information: A. Haven Kiers et al, Leveraging Campus Landscapes for Public Health: A Pilot Study to Understand the Psychological Effects of Urban Sheep Grazing on College Campuses, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2023). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20021280 Journal information: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
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At center, Wes Osburn, Ph.D., Texas A&M University meat scientist, is working in his lab with students Tanner Wright and Arlie Reeves on a new no nitrite-added cured meat system. Credit: Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Michael Miller
Imagine your favorite cured meat like beef jerky, pepperoni or bacon without any added sodium nitrite from any source currently necessary for color and shelf life. Wes Osburn, Ph.D., is doing exactly that.
Osburn, associate professor in meat science in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science, has set out to find an innovative method to generate the nitric oxide and residual nitrite needed to cure meat and poultry products, but without the addition of natural or synthetic nitrite sources.
Conventional curing of most processed meat products involves adding sodium nitrite to meat to preserve it and reduce the potential growth of bacteria like Clostridium botulinum or perfringens during cooking and chilling.
Curing meat
Osburn has been researching the idea of a novel amino acid alternative curing system for meat for many years. In 2022, he received a $500,000 U.S. Department of AgricultureAgriculture and Food Research Initiative grant to determine the feasibility of adding amino acids to activate the nitric oxide synthase system.
Joining him in the research are Department of Animal Science faculty members Rhonda Miller, Ph.D., professor in meat science; Guoyao Wu, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, University Faculty Fellow and Texas A&M AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow in animal nutrition; Sapna Chitlapilly Dass, Ph.D., assistant professor in microbial ecology and microbiome interactions; and Chris Kerth, Ph.D., associate professor in meat science; along with Ranjith Ramanathan, Ph.D., professor in meat science, Oklahoma State University.
While curing meat with synthetic sodium nitrite is safe and efficient, the process has long been associated with cancer concerns. In response to these concerns, meat processors have developed "uncured" meat products that contain "no added nitrates or nitrites except those naturally occurring."
This alternative curing system uses vegetable powder derived from celery as a natural source of nitrite to cure meat products. But these products may result in a detectable vegetable taste to the meat and a less favorable cured meat, or pink color, Osburn said.
Knowing that nitrites and nitrates occur naturally in humans and in some foods, Osburn believes it is possible to add an amino acid, L-arginine, to the meat that activates the nitric oxide synthase, NOS, enzyme contained in it. The NOS enzyme converts L-arginine to nitric oxide, NO, and another amino acid, L-citrulline.
The nitric oxide molecule creates the characteristic cured pink color associated with cured meats. Also, two nitric oxide molecules can combine to form nitrite, which serves as an antioxidant and antimicrobial to enhance product shelf life and safety.
Osburn said he was listening to a medical doctor friend, Dr. Nathan Bryan, speak about the endothelial nitric oxide synthase, eNOS, system in the human body and how it uses L-arginine to generate nitric oxide, which enhances circulation and blood flow. That is when the connection clicked, and he wondered if the eNOS enzyme could be activated by adding L-arginine to generate nitric oxide and cure meat.
"It could be that this approach is actually a 'natural curing process' by adding an amino acid to an enzyme whose primary function is to generate nitric oxide," Osburn said. "I'm not adding any nitrates or nitrites."
Utilizing natural amino acids
Osburn said adding the amino acid L-arginine will activate the nitric oxide synthase system to naturally generate nitric oxide and nitrite to cure meat and poultry products.
Using naturally occurring nitrites and nitrates, a team led by Wes Osburn, Ph.D., Texas A&M University meat scientist, is working to make sure they can obtain the pink color of cured meats. Credit: Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Michael Miller
This novel amino acid-based alternative curing method is expected to eliminate the need for direct or indirect addition of sodium nitrite in cured meat products. Their research will allow for a better understanding of the interconnected biochemical mechanisms contributing to the functionality of the NOS system.
The research team plans to develop processing and operating procedures for meat processors to effectively use the NOS system to cure meat and poultry products consistently and predictably.
Osburn said they must validate the process's feasibility and ensure it works, as well as make sure it works across species and products within species under all kinds of conditions. He said it will take a while to run the research on the different types of cured beef, pork and poultry products.
"There are differences in the amount of the NOS enzymes within different muscle groups across various meat species," he said. "This enzyme is closely associated with the mitochondria, so there tends to be more NOS enzyme in muscles used for locomotion. There are also differences in myoglobin content (meat color pigment), so if we can generate nitric oxide via the NOS enzyme, the cured meat color may vary.
"That's what we are trying to deal with, developing a uniform cured pink color via our amino acid-based curing system so that it compares favorably with conventionally cured meats."
Where's the meat?
"The question we are still trying to answer is will the NOS enzyme generate sufficient amounts of nitric oxide to develop acceptable cured meat color and enough residual nitrite to ensure that the product is safe, regardless of whether it is summer sausage or pepperoni or some other product?" Osburn said. "Think about it, if we can make pepperoni through this process, there could be a huge economic impact since we consume a lot of pepperoni here in the U.S."
He said he is developing a prototype amino acid-cured ham product that will be taken through a manufacturing sensory analysis for cured color pigment, volatile compounds, sensory and textural analysis and shelf life.
His research team is manipulating several factors, such as the arginine concentration, meat pH, temperature and time to determine optimal conditions for nitric oxide generation by the eNOS enzyme.
"We are in the second phase of our USDA-NIFA-funded grant," Osburn said. "We are shifting from benchtop to pilot plant production, so it is the first time we are making a commercial cured meat product and evaluating all aspects of the product from color, shelf life, aroma and sensory properties. This information will provide more evidence to show interested companies that this system works."
His research team plans to apply this new curing system to five cured productsrestructured ham, beef jerky, bacon, fermented summer sausage or salami and poultry frankfurtersall products requiring different processing steps to validate that the amino acid curing system effectively cures different meat products.
Moving to the cured meat case
"If, based on the results of our research, the data indicates that our new curing system is comparable to conventionally cured products with respect to safety, shelf life and sensory attributes, then there is a great chance for industry adoption of this process," Osburn said. "This new curing system must compete favorably with the current curing system. If we can't get close to it, it'll always be a novel thing. Companies may or may not want to get on board."
Osburn said while he is getting a lot of interest from meat companies in the process, there is still a lot of research to be done, as well as some upcoming rulings by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will determine future labeling of current alternative or "uncured" meat products.
Robert Brummett, senior licensing manager at Texas A&M AgriLife Research's Intellectual Property and Commercialization office, has worked with Osburn to seek intellectual property protection for the alternative meat curing process. A patent application was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, in December 2020.
According to Brummett, the patent application is currently being examined by the USPTO, and that process may take an additional 18 months or longer to complete. In the meantime, Osburn and Brummett are actively seeking interest from companies to license rights in the technology and/or working with Osburn in furthering the research for use of the technology by industry.
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Researchers use this device located on a tower structure to measure evaporation rates in Baskett Forest. Credit: Jeffrey Wood, University of Missouri
Missouri is home to an array of natural resources, with forests among the state's most valuable ecosystems. As warmer temperatures fueled by climate change affect ecosystems globally, forests are under stress to adapt to these changes and ensure their survival in a warmer world.
In a new study, University of Missouri researcher Jeffrey Wood introduces the "ecosystem wilting point" concept, which explains how whole forests respond to drought. Wood and his research team found that when forests reach their ecosystem wilting point, they are less able to function properly, which includes their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. To learn how the forest behaved during periods of drought, Wood combined measurements of evapotranspiration (the loss of water to the air) and ecosystem water status, which indicates how hydrated the forest is.
"The motivating reason for being able to understand the drought response of forests is that, globally, drought is important now, and it's not expected to get better," said Wood, an assistant professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. "We wanted to develop a better way to understand and characterize these ecosystems, so we can use that information to help with modeling the dynamics of vegetation over time and better understand the future impact on these ecosystems."
In pursuit of understanding the nuances of forests' stress, Wood and his co-authors reanalyzed data collected during an extreme drought event that took place in 2012 in Baskett Forest, an outdoor laboratory of 2,266 acres located five miles east of Ashland, Missouri. This study uses a method that was initially developed to understand the interaction between water and an individual cell. That method was later applied to leaves, and then Wood extended it in this study to analyze a whole forest.
In a new study, University of Missouri researchers discovered the point at which forests struggle to breathe during seasons of drought. Credit: Jeffrey Wood, University of Missouri
In this study, this oak-hickory forest in central Missouri reaches its ecosystem wilting point between 2-4 weeks of extreme drought. At that point, the forest would need soaking rainfall to rejuvenate.
"The ecosystem wilting point is functionally significant in that when the forest passes that threshold, there is a noticeable change in how the forest is behaving," Wood said. "When you get into that highly stressed state, the forest is quite unresponsive to changes in the environment. So, when the sun comes up, you would tend to think that the forest turns on and starts to photosynthesize, but if the forest is past its ecosystem wilting point, it has a very limited capacity to respond to the changes in light in terms of carbon dioxide uptake because it's under so much stress."
This study offers insight into the water relations of whole forests, a useful tool for researchers exploring how forests across the globe handle temperature variationssomething Wood emphasizes is important as scientists manage forests in a way that prepares them to better withstand climate change.
"Forests are pretty important; they're connected to weather and the climate in ways that we still don't fully understand," Wood said.
"The ecosystem wilting point defines drought response and recovery of a Quercus-Carya forest" was published in Global Change Biology. Co-authors include Lianhong Gu, Paul J. Hanson, Christian Frankenberg and Lawren Sack.
More information: Jeffrey D. Wood et al, The ecosystem wilting point defines drought response and recovery of a QuercusCarya forest, Global Change Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16582 Journal information: Global Change Biology
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A man walks by damaged building, in Mananjary district, Madagascar, Wednesday Feb. 22, 2023 after cyclone Freddy reached Madagascar. A slightly weakened Cyclone Freddy has made landfall in Madagascar, where schools, businesses and public transportation were shut down ahead of its arrival. Freddy was packing winds gusting to 180 kilometers per hour, or about 111 miles per hour, as it came ashore in a nation already hit in January by a tropical storm that killed at least 30 people. Credit: AP Photo/Solofo Rasolofomanana
A weakened Cyclone Freddy which pummeled Madagascar Tuesday night with heavy rains and strong destructive winds, killing four people, is continuing to wreak havoc in the southwest of the Indian Ocean nation.
Freddy battered the western city of Mananjary and left 16,660 people displaced and damaged nearly 5,000 homes in the country, according to the latest provisional assessment by Madagascar's risk and disaster management office. But somewhat weaker winds and better preparation staved off further damage.
The cyclone had waned slightly over land, with the state's meteorological office measuring average winds of 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour and reduced gusts of 70 kilometers (43 miles) per hour.
The red alerts issued for Madagascar's east coast were lifted Wednesday morning and the southwestern regions of the island have now been placed on "blue alert," indicating a phase of post-cyclone damage assessment, rescue and recovery.
"Recently built utilities, schools, stadium and health centers have been affected including houses by the seafront whose roofs were blown off," said Martin Raveloarimanana, a church minister in Mananjary. "We try to repair what can be repaired and to clean up."
Raveloarimanana said that better preparation and early evacuations limited damage and risk to life. But he added that the region was still recovering from Cyclone Batsirai that pummeled the region in February last year and the new damage has only added to residents' despair.
Authorities say 64 tons of relief food rations have been made available to the region.
People work on a damaged building, in Mananjary district, Madagascar, Wednesday Feb. 22, 2023 after cyclone Freddy reached Madagascar. A slightly weakened Cyclone Freddy has made landfall in Madagascar, where schools, businesses and public transportation were shut down ahead of its arrival. Freddy was packing winds gusting to 180 kilometers per hour, or about 111 miles per hour, as it came ashore in a nation already hit in January by a tropical storm that killed at least 30 people. Credit: AP Photo/Solofo Rasolofomanana
"Bananas and breadfruit trees fell because of the winds," said Gabriel Ravelomanantsoa, a resident of Antsenavolo, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Mananjary. "This is what people eat daily and everything is now destroyed."
But he added: "Homes were not affected that much as everyone had reinforced their house because we had information in advance."
Vatovavy region authorities, where Mananjary is located, reported that 12,000 people were displaced. The region's governor told The Associated Press that officials are "still in the process of taking stock of the damage."
Freddy, now classified as a "moderate tropical storm," is projected to leave the island Wednesday evening. It is set to travel across the Mozambican Channel where it will likely regain strength as it barrels towards mainland Africa, with Mozambique in its path, the United Nation's meteorological center in Reunion estimated. It is due to make landfall in the country on Friday morning.
The U.N. weather agency warned that the cyclone will lash Mozambique as a "strong tropical storm with potentially damaging winds."
A regional climate center based in Botswana also warned of "heavy to extreme rainfall" over some parts of Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and South Africa.
Meanwhile, fears of a new cyclone forming near the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean were raised after Reunion's cyclone center said it's monitoring a new tropical depression that "has significant potential to strengthen into a tropical storm by Thursday."
2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Image of the globular cluster M92 captured by the James Webb Space Telescopes NIRCam instrument. The black strip in the center is a chip gap, the result of the separation between NIRCams two long-wavelength detectors. The gap covers the dense center of the cluster, which is too bright to capture at the same time as the fainter, less dense outskirts of the cluster. This image is a composite of four exposures using four different filters: F090W (0.9 microns in wavelength) is shown in blue; F150W (1.5 microns) in cyan; F277W (2.77 microns) in yellow; and F444W (4.44 microns) in red. The image is about 5 arcminutes (39 light-years) across. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, A. Pagan (STScI).
On June 20, 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope spent just over one hour staring at Messier 92 (M92), a globular cluster 27,000 light-years away in the Milky Way halo. The observationamong the very first science observations undertaken by Webbis part of Early Release Science (ERS) program 1334, one of 13 ERS programs designed to help astronomers understand how to use Webb and make the most of its scientific capabilities.
NASA spoke with Matteo Correnti from the Italian Space Agency; Alessandro Savino from the University of California, Berkeley; Roger Cohen from Rutgers University; and Andy Dolphin from Raytheon Technologies to find out more about Webb's observations of M92 and how the team is using the data to help other astronomers. (Last November, Kristen McQuinn talked with NASA about her work on the dwarf galaxy WLM, which is also part of this program.)
Tell us about this ERS program. What are you trying to accomplish?
Alessandro Savino: This particular program is focused on resolved stellar populations. These are large groups of stars like M92 that are very nearbyclose enough that Webb can single out the individual stars in the system. Scientifically, observations like these are very exciting because it is from our cosmic neighborhood that we learn a lot of the physics of stars and galaxies that we can translate to objects that we see much farther away.
Matteo Correnti: We're also trying to understand the telescope better. This project has been instrumental for improving the calibration (making sure all of the measurements are as accurate as possible), for improving the data for other astronomers and other similar projects.
Why did you decide to look at M92 in particular?
Savino: Globular clusters like M92 are very important for our understanding of stellar evolution. For decades they have been a primary benchmark for understanding how stars work, how stars evolve. M92 is a classic globular cluster. It's close by; we understand it relatively well; it's one of our references in studies of stellar evolution and stellar systems.
Correnti: Another reason M92 is important is because it is one of the oldest globular clusters in the Milky Way, if not the oldest one. We think M92 is between 12 and 13 billion years old. It contains some of the oldest stars that we can find, or at least that we can resolve and characterize well. We can use nearby clusters like this as tracers of the very ancient universe.
Roger Cohen: We also chose M92 because it is very dense: There are a lot of stars packed together very closely. (The center of the cluster is thousands of times denser than the region around the sun.) Looking at M92 allows us to test how Webb performs in this particular regime, where we need to make measurements of stars that are very close together.
What are the characteristics of a globular cluster that make it useful for studying how stars evolve?
Andy Dolphin: One of the main things is that the bulk of the stars in M92 would have formed at roughly the same time and with roughly the same mix of elements, but with a wide range of masses. So we can get a really good survey of this particular population of stars.
Savino: Also, since the stars all belong to the same object (the same globular cluster, M92), we know they are all about the same distance away from us. That helps us a lot because we know that differences in brightness between the different stars must be intrinsic, instead of just related to how far away they are. It makes the comparison with models much, much easier.
Detail of the globular cluster M92 captured by Webbs NIRCam instrument. This field of view covers the lower left quarter of the right half of the full image. Globular clusters are dense masses of tightly packed stars that all formed around the same time. In M92, there are about 300,000 stars packed into a ball about 100 light-years across. The night sky of a planet in the middle of M92 would shine with thousands of stars that appear thousands of times brighter than those in our own sky. The image shows stars at different distances from the center, which helps astronomers understand the motion of stars in the cluster, and the physics of that motion. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, A. Pagan (STScI).
This star cluster has already been studied with the Hubble Space Telescope and other telescopes. What can we see with Webb that we have not seen already?
Cohen: One of the important differences between Webb and Hubble is that Webb operates at longer wavelengths, where very cool, low-mass stars give off most of their light. Webb is well-designed to observe very cool stars. We were actually able to reach down to the lowest mass starsstars less than 0.1 times the mass of the sun. This is interesting because this is very close to the boundary where stars stop being stars. (Below this boundary are brown dwarfs, which are so low-mass that they're not able to ignite hydrogen in their cores.)
Correnti: Webb is also a lot faster. To see the very faint low-mass stars with Hubble, you need hundreds of hours of telescope time. With Webb, it takes just a few hours.
Cohen: These observations weren't actually designed to push very hard on the limits of the telescope. So it's very encouraging to see that we were still able to detect such small, faint stars without trying really, really hard.
What's so interesting about these low-mass stars?
Savino: First of all, they are the most numerous stars in the universe. Second, from a theoretical point of view, they are very interesting because they've always been very difficult to observe and characterize. Especially stars less than half the mass of the sun, where our current understanding of stellar models is a little more uncertain.
Correnti: Studying the light these low-mass stars emit can also help us better constrain the age of the globular cluster. That helps us better understand when different parts of the Milky Way (like the halo, where M92 is located) formed. And that has implications for our understanding of cosmic history.
It looks like there's big gap in the middle of the image you captured. What is that and why is it there?
Dolphin: This image was made using Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). NIRCam has two modules, with a "chip gap" between the two. The center of the cluster is extremely crowded, extremely bright. So that would have limited the usefulness of the data from that region. The position of these images overlaps nicely with Hubble data available already.
One of your main goals was to provide tools for other scientists. What are you particularly excited about?
Dolphin: One of the key resources we developed and have made available to the astronomical community is something called the DOLPHOT NIRCam module. This works with an existing piece of software used to automatically detect and measure the brightness of stars and other unresolved objects (things with a star-like appearance). This was developed for cameras on Hubble. Adding this module for NIRCam (as well as one for NIRISS, another of Webb's instruments) allows astronomers the same analysis procedure they know from Hubble, with the additional benefit of now being able to analyze Hubble and Webb data in a single pass to get combined-telescope star catalogs.
Savino: This is a really big community service component. It's helpful for everyone. It's making analysis much easier.
Provided by NASA
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The Vindolanda wooden phallus. Credit: Newcastle University
A headline bound to get you up in the morninga 2,000 year old dildo from ancient Rome has just been discovered.
The 16-centimeter wooden phallus was originally uncovered at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland in 1992. It was originally catalogued as a darning toola sewing technique for repairing fabric with a needle and threadlikely because it was discovered next to a number of garments and craft waste.
However, after a series of "very interesting discussions," researchers have decided the real purpose of this tool was a little less darn and a lot more damn.
"I have to confess, part of me thinks it's kind of self-evident that it is a penis," said Rob Collins, a senior lecturer in archaeology at Newcastle University who coauthored the paper breaking the news. "I don't know who entered it into the catalog. Maybe it was somebody uncomfortable with it or didn't think the Romans would do such silly things."
The phallus was a powerful symbol of strength in ancient Rome, used to invoke fertility and ward off evil. Even so, researchers are skeptical to declare this phallic object was used solely for decorative purposesprimarily because it was notably smoother at the end, suggesting it had been well used for some undecided purpose in its time.
28,000 year old dildos and famous Hohle
While this headline may seem shocking to many, those more familiar with the sex lives of ancient civilizations know this 2,000-year-old dildo barely makes a dint in the longstanding history of sex toys and aids.
In the history of human inventions, this is one of the oldest and longest-enduring tools. At our current estimate, the oldest known dildo dates back to at least 28,000 years ago. It was discovered by a team of researchers from Tubingen University in 2005, exploring the famous Hohle Fels Cave (near Ulm in Germany's Swabian Jura region).
After piecing together all 14 fragments, they were left with a 20cm-long, 3cm-wide siltstone object, destined to be the subject of similar archeological debate.
However, the object's distinctive form and the etched rings around the top are "a symbolic representation of male genitalia", as the leading researcher Nicholas Conard stated. The researchers comparably noted that the object was highly polished at the end, suggesting it had been well used.
While this siltstone phallus is certainly the oldest suspected sex toy, it is far from the only discovery from the ancient world. Archaeological discoveries in Eurasia have revealed the existence of suspected dildos that date back to 40,000-10,000 BCE.
A Mesolithic site in Motala, Sweden, unearthed a 4,000-6,000-year-old model, while similar models have been found in Pakistan from the same period. In Turkey, sculptures of genitalia dating back to the 6th century BCE have been identified.
Hallie Lieberman's research indicates that double-ended dildos have a history that extends back at least 13,000-19,000 years. A commonality in many of these discovered is the phallic shape, etched rings, and smooth ends that indicate some sort of use.
An ancient double-ended dildo. Credit: The China Museum of Sex
What wood Jesus do? Biblical dildos and classical toys
Our knowledge of dildos isn't just limited to amusing archeological finds. We see evidence of dildos in a range of art and literature from the ancient world.
Dildos assume a prominent role in Aristophanes' comedic play Lysistrata (411 BCE). In a bid to end the Peloponnesian War, Lysistrata instructs the women of the warring cities to refuse sexual favors to their husbands and lovers until the men negotiate peace. To prevent their own frustration, she instructed them to satisfy their needs in the meantime with use of their "eight-fingered leather dildos as a sort of flesh replacement for our poor cunts."
However, the first literary appearance of the dildo may well outdate even ancient Greece. In fact, the first literary reference to dildos is believed to take place in the Old Testament. In Ezekiel 16:17, God reprimands the people of Jerusalem because they "took the gold and silver" that He has given them and made "phallic images and fornicated with them".
According to a video by Dan McClellan, theologian and scripture translator, the original verb used to describe this fornication is "zanah," which is often used in a metaphorical sense in the Hebrew Bible to refer to worshiping other deitiessymbolically committing adultery against the God of Israel.
While this passage could thus be read as a metaphorical fornication with "phallic images," he states that is is also very plausible to interpret this passage literally. Ezekiel features a number of quite sexually shocking moments, so it's quite likely the people of Israel were depicted to be fornicating with dildos as a way of illustrating how depraved they had become.
When in Rome
With the considerable length of dildo-history in mind, why should we care that the ancient Romans were also exploring all of the joys that wood has to offer?
Ancient Rome is readily remembered as a place of sometimes surprising sexual liberality. Tourists flock to the remaining sites of the city of Pompeii to admire the penises carved into walls and pavements, explore the preserved brothels, and view the highly erotic art which has survived on the walls. Yet, despite all the stories and evidence of shocking bedroom proclivities, we have yet to find a life-sized Roman dildountil now.
It is the first discovery of a disembodied, wooden phallus found anywhere in this supposed haven of erotic behavior. It is also remarkable because wooden objects rarely survive. While this phallus measures to 16cm now, it is likely to have once been much bigger and have shrunk with age.
It should also be held in mind that the objects categorization as a dildo doesn't necessarily equate it was sexual liberation and pleasure.
As Collins has stated: "Sometimes they [dildos] weren't always used for pleasure they can be implements of torture so I'm very conscious of using the term sex toy. Hopefully that is what it was used for. That is the most exciting and intriguing possibility."
While the jury is currently out on our wooden friend, the 16cm phallic representation has at least been freed from its classification as a sewing tool. Considering all we know about the history of sex toys, and all we know about the sex life of the ancient Romans, it is likely this phallus will soon be finding its place in the 28,000-year history of dildos.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
ATLANTIC CITY The Atlantic City Housing Authority was fined $10,000 Tuesday and given until March 14 to fix outstanding violations of city code at the aged Stanley Holmes Village public housing complex, a city official said.
Municipal Court Judge Henry L. Warner issued the fine Tuesday, said Dale Finch, director of licensing and inspection for the city.
"He sent a message to them, I believe," Finch said.
Stephanie Marshall, president of the Housing Authority board of directors, had no comment Tuesday.
"I have not yet gotten a report," Marshall said about Tuesday's court action.
Part-time interim Executive Director John Clarke has not responded to several days of text questions about the situation. Finch said Clarke did not participate in Tuesday's court session, but the Housing Authority was represented by an attorney.
If issues such as infestations of roaches, bed bugs and mice and mold intrusion are not fixed by March 14, the city will begin issuing summonses for each unit, Finch said.
"If there are 100 units (with outstanding problems), we will issue 100 summonses," Finch said.
On Thursday, Warner toured the aging complex with Finch and others to see conditions for himself.
The Housing Authority is an independent agency that reports to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is supposed to inspect complexes and make sure they are in good repair.
But despite finding hundreds of health and safety violations in its latest inspection, HUD gave Stanley Holmes a passing grade.
The city went into almost all 420 units at the aging public housing complex on an emergency basis in early December and issued eight summonses for violations of city code after inspectors found 220 units had infestations of mice, roaches and bed bugs; 106 had mold; 67 had heating issues; 60 had a stove or oven malfunction; 57 had nonworking smoke detectors, 51 had nonworking carbon monoxide detectors, 45 had hot water temperatures below what they should be, and 20 had refrigerator problems.
Stanley Holmes residents still waiting for November rent refunds ATLANTIC CITY Residents of the public housing complex Stanley Holmes Village, who went wit
The judge dismissed three summonses that related to lack of heat and hot water, since the boilers that supply heat and hot water have since been fixed, Finch said.
That left five summonses related to infestations, mold, non-working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, non-working stoves, ovens and refrigerators; and plumbing issues, Finch said.
"It was a $2,000 fine for each," Finch said, or a total of $10,000 plus court costs.
The attorney for the Housing Authority told the judge he wasn't sure the March 14 deadline could be met, Finch said.
"If it takes seven days a week by the firms who are going to do the treatments, so be it," Finch said.
The Housing Authority still has not provided the city with any written reports on which units have had issues addressed, but it does seem that some have had broken smoke detectors and stoves replaced, Finch said.
Stanley Holmes Village residents seek refunds over broken stoves, refrigerators ATLANTIC CITY The property manager at Stanley Holmes Village asked the Atlantic City Housi
"There has been no documentation, no written follow through with reports or anything," Finch said. "The lack of effort or cooperation from Mr. Clarke as acting director of the Housing Authority, it's just disturbing."
The authority is also being sued by a group of 87 residents represented by South Jersey Legal Services in Atlantic County Superior Court over conditions at Stanley Holmes Village.
In that case, Atlantic County Superior Court Judge John C. Porto has required the Housing Authority to provide information on inspections, assessments and work performed on gas lines as well as heating and hot water systems.
Olga Pomar, housing preservation and community development coordinator for South Jersey Legal Services, has said the Housing Authority still has not provided specifics on when problems will get fixed.
The authority has said supply chain issues have prevented it from getting all of the supplies it needs to fix the problems.
Until January it was also under HUD's "zero threshold" status, which meant it had to get HUD approval to spend any money because of HUD's concerns over its financial management.
Latest HUD inspection gave Stanley Holmes Village a passing grade ATLANTIC CITY The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development gave Stanley Holmes
Finch said he was grateful the judge toured the complex.
"Whether it is supply chain or HUD's zero tolerance, it doesn't matter," Finch said. "You can't have people living in those conditions."
BRIDGETON A city woman will spend the rest of her life in prison for killing her nearly 2-year-old son in 2019.
Nakira Griner, 28, of Bridgeton, was sentenced Tuesday by Judge George Gangloff to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the Cumberland County Prosecutors Office said in a news release.
Griner was found guilty Jan. 4 of murder, desecration of human remains, endangering the welfare of a child, tampering with evidence and false public alarm.
The verdict came after a two-week jury trial before Gangloff.
On Feb. 8, 2019, Griner reported her 23-month old child, Daniel Griner Jr., was abducted while she was walking to the store. She initially told police she had been attacked while she was walking the child in a stroller and that her son had been kidnapped. Only the stroller was recovered by police.
Bridgeton woman convicted of toddler son's 2019 murder BRIDGETON A jury on Wednesday found a city woman guilty of murdering her toddler son in 20
Griner later admitted hitting Daniel hard enough to cause bruising. She also told police he took a tumble down a staircase.
Instead of calling first responders for help, she took the injured Daniel for a walk in the stroller, according to past reports.
Her story began to change during subsequent interviews with police, authorities said in 2019. She was reportedly recorded on a phone call saying she did what she did to him to hide the bruising on his body.
Griner was charged after the burnt remains of her son were found buried on her property.
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE A corrections officer arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor will stay in jail, a judge ordered Tuesday.
Jonathan Perez, 33, of Woodbine, appeared before Cape May County Superior Court Judge Christine Smith on Tuesday. He is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
Perez was arrested after his alleged victims mother told police the child was sexually assaulted by Perez on various occasions between 2020 and Feb. 3, 2023, in some cases giving the child alcohol and allowing her to watch pornography, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Prosecutors said during the hearing that Perez allegedly had sexual intercourse and that he tied the girls wrists during the assaults.
The child told her mother about the assaults Feb. 8, the prosecution said.
After the mother reported the assaults to police, a sexual assault medical forensic examination was performed at Cape Regional Medical Center. Afterward, the child was interviewed by the Cape May County Prosecutors Office, recounting the alleged assaults, the affidavit states.
Perez fled to New York before being arrested by State Police and brought to the Atlantic County jail, the prosecution said.
Perez is a corrections officer at the Cape May County jail but has been suspended since the charges were filed, the Prosecutors Office has said.
What's Happening in the Region
Kazakhstans Parliamentary Campaign Begins
Candidates for Kazakhstans Mazhilis, or lower house of parliament, and for local administrations started campaigning on February 18.
This campaign should be more interesting than previous campaigns in Kazakhstan.
For one thing, there are independent candidates running in the parliamentary elections for the first time since 2004.
About 100 independent candidates gathered at Gandhi Square in Almaty on February 19 to kick off their campaigns.
The elections would have been more interesting if Kazakhstans Justice Ministry had registered any of the half dozen or more opposition parties that tried to register and participate in the upcoming elections.
Apparently, Kazakh authorities are not yet prepared to make the jump and allow opposition parties to take part in elections.
Constitutional changes adopted in the national referendum of June 2022 changed the way deputies to the Mazhilis are elected.
Of the 98 Mazhilis seats available in the elections, 69 will be filled from party lists and 29 from voting in single-mandate districts.
There are 435 candidates registered to run in the single-mandate districts; 359 of them are running as independents.
This election is also being held on a notable anniversary for Kazakhstan, though that is coincidental.
March 19, election day, is the fourth anniversary of the day first President Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped down from office and handed over power to current president Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev.
Seems like a long time ago.
Otherwise, its business as usual.
Seven pro-government parties are registered. The ruling Amanat, formerly Nur-Otan party, has the most candidates (90) for the seats available from party lists.
These are snap elections necessitated by the changes in the constitution. So, as has been the case in almost all parliamentary and presidential elections, Kazakhstan is not holding these parliamentary elections on schedule.
Why Its Important: President Toqaev and other top officials have been repeating that the changes in the constitution created a new Kazakhstan.
The March 19 elections will show just how new Kazakhstan is.
Will any independent candidates win seats, and how many?
Opposition parties are already prevented from participating, as they have been for 20 years.
The snap presidential election last November was as predictable as previous presidential elections in Kazakhstan.
So this is the last chance for a demonstration of what new Kazakhstan looks like.
If the pro-government candidates take all or nearly all the seats, wed have to say Kazakhstan today looks like Kazakhstan yesterday.
Russia Pressures Turkmenistan on Pipeline?
The head of Russias state company Gazprom was in Turkmenistan, apparently to remind Turkmen officials that Moscow would not be happy to see construction of a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline.
Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller arrived in Turkmenistan on February 15.
Turkmen and Russian media did not reveal many details of Millers meetings with Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhammedov and his father, the head of the Peoples Council Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
But the Telegram channel Vzglyad na Vostok (View to the East), which is believed to be run by Russian officials, said Miller emphasized a (gas) pipeline from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan along the bottom of the Caspian Sea would be blocked by Russia.
Turkey has been pushing for construction of a Trans-Caspian pipeline to supply Turkmen gas, via Turkeys pipeline network, to Europe.
RFE/RLs Turkmen service, known locally as Azatlyk, reported Miller proposed Turkmenistan join a natural gas organization Russia is trying the create modeled on OPEC that would include Iran, and possibly Qatar.
In a separate report, Azatlyk said Iran was proposing shipping Russian and Turkmen gas through its territory.
Why Its Important: First, its clear Russia does not want Turkmenistan to supply gas to Europe.
That has been the Kremlins position for years.
Second, it shows how helpless Turkmenistan is now.
Turkmenistans closest ally is Russia, and the unpopular Turkmen regime seems to be counting on Moscow to help keep it in power, even if it means losing a chance to make billions of dollars selling gas to Europe.
That money could be used to provide enough food so that rationing of basic goods could be lifted after nearly five years.
The Latest Majlis Podcast
This weeks Majlis podcast looks at sexual violence in Central Asia, a topic just highlighted in a report from the organization Equality Now.
Efforts are being made to find solutions to the growing problem and laws are being passed in the Central Asian countries, but are they having any effect?
This weeks guests are Janette Akhilgova, Eurasia consultant at Equality Now; Dilfuza Kurolova, a human rights lawyer and activist for gender equality from Uzbekistan; and Subhiya Mastonshoeva, a researcher with thematic experience in human rights, gender, and justice issues including prevention and response to violence against women and girls in Tajikistan.
What I'm Following
Tajikistan Closes the Independent Human Rights Center
Tajikistans Justice Ministry ordered the closure of the Independent Center for Defending Human Rights that has worked for 13 years to combat the use of torture in Tajikistan.
Deputy Justice Minister Asadullo Hakimzoda said the organization was late handing in its financial statements and there were other violations, though Hakimzoda didnt say what those violations were.
Domestic and international rights groups have been accusing Tajik authorities of using torture on suspects for years.
Tajik authorities deny this and usually move to silence those who bring attention to government abuses.
Rights Group Says at least 50 Died in Karakalpakstan Violence
Rights defender Galym Ageleuov from the international rights organization Liberty spoke at a press conference in Almaty on February 20. She said the death toll from the protests in western Uzbekistans Karakalpakstan Republic was far higher than official figures.
Ageleuov said her organization had identified 50 people who were killed on July 1-2, 2022.
Uzbek authorities say 21 people died after protests over proposed constitutional amendments to the sovereign status of Karakalpakstan sparked protests that turned violent when authorities tried to disperse the large crowd in the regional capital Nukus.
Fact of the Week
Kazakhstans Prime Minister Mukhtar Smailov said on February 18 that his country took in $22.1 billion in foreign investment in the first nine months of 2022, a 17.8 percent increase over the figure for the same period in 2021.
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Bruce
After Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now be taking charge of the BJPs northeast mission.
Since 2014, the saffron party has been engaged in its goal of a Congress-free India, and has thrown the party out of power in many northeastern states. The BJP is now strategising to win the vote bank of the regional parties in these states.
Legislative Assembly elections were held in Tripura on February 16, while campaigning for the Assembly polls in Meghalaya and Nagaland, to be held on February 27, is underway in full swing.
As per sources, the Prime Minister will be visiting these two states on Friday to campaign in favour of the party candidates. IANS
Fadnavis expresses inability to make any announcement due to the code of conduct; however, promises to look into pending issues faced by local residents
Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured that the government is committed to resolving the issues being faced by housing societies. However, he avoided making announcements citing the model code of conduct being in force. We are committed to resolving the issues faced by housing society residents. Many problems have been solved by the two MLAs from PimpriChinchwad of our party. A meeting of the MLAs with the office-bearers of the societies will be arranged in the near future.
More announcements cannot be made since the election code of conduct is in force. However, you will not face issues in the future, assured Fadnavis, while addressing a meeting of office-bearers of housing societies from Wakad, Pimple Saudagar, Rahatani and Ravet recently. Fadanvis interacted with residents and the office-bearers.
Union railway minister Raosaheb Danve, BJP city unit president and MLA Mahesh Landge, MLA Shrikant Bharatiya, Chinchwad assembly segment election in-charge Shankar Jagtap, regional spokesperson Eknath Pawar, local BJP office-bearers, former corporators and office-bearers of all housing societies, representatives and citizens from Wakad were present. Wakad residents demanded solutions to issues such as encroachment, water supply, solid waste management, sewerage, etc.
Pimpri-Chinchwad Housing Society Federation spokesperson Arun Deshmukh demanded that the deemed conveyance should not be made mandatory for residents. He also sought exemption from the income tax on society income. The Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act (MOFA), 1970, should be implemented effectively. He brought these issues to the notice of DCM Fadnavis. Sachin Londhe said that the federation was formed to fight for the water supply issue.
He demanded a meeting to discuss the pending issues. Sanjeevan Sangle expected an early supply of Bhama-Askhed water. He urged not to delay this for political reasons. MLA and BJP city unit president Mahesh Landge stressed on the need for a permanent solution to the solid waste management issue. He informed that there was an odd rule of cutting the water supply of the entire pipeline for non-payment of the water bill by an individual resident.
He sorted this issue out at the local level. Builders promise heaven while selling their flats. However, the situation is entirely different later. Building plans are changed, which adversely affects flat buyers. They come to us. A concrete solution will be found to this problem, said Landge. Replying to queries raised by office-bearers, Fadnavis said, I will hold a separate meeting with the society federation after the elections.
There are restrictions due to the poll code. Mahesh Lange and Laxman Jagtap have done tremendous work together for the city. He said the BJP is committed to solving all civic issues, including roads, transport, water, and solid waste. Local development has been accelerated multifold in the past five years after citizens gave the civic bodys reins to the BJP. The BJP is capable of solving the pending issues.
He promised that these issues faced by the housing societies will not be neglected. Fadnavis recalled that the late MLA Laxman Jagtap had followed up these issues with the state government and the civic body. He appealed to the residents of housing societies to elect the BJP-Shiv Sena alliances candidate Ashwini Jagtap with a huge margin.
Fadnavis promised that he would speak to the Union finance minister regarding the income tax imposed on society income. He sought blessings in the form of votes to improve the citys living conditions. He assured that the agenda set by the Prime Minister would be implemented in Pimpri-Chinchwad.
NCP has no issues
Criticising the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), DCM Fadnavis said the NCP has no problems to highlight. Hence, they are harping on the Bhimashankar issue. The NCP has been defaming Maharashtra through an advertisement. He said there is no need to comment on Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, who makes baseless allegations.
TEXT BY VICKY PATHARE
The chronic traffic jams in Pune is well known, and the city competing in this regard internationally may not come as a surprise. The city has achieved the dubious distinction of being the sixth-most congested in the world, as per the TomTom Traffic Index Ranking 2022. On an average, a commuter takes 27 minutes and 20 seconds to cover a distance of 10 km, which is one minute and 10 seconds more as compared to the year 2021. Puneites spend 249 hours yearly on driving while 121 hours struggling in congestion.
Pune is an automobile, IT and education hub. People have to deal with heavy traffic in the citys busiest areas. There are as many as 43.44 lakh vehicles in Pune registered with the Pune Regional Transport Office. The citys approximate population has reached 45 lakh and has nearly the same number of vehicles on its roads. This leads to massive jams. With the Public transport not that dependable, citizens mostly rely on their private vehicles. Pune grabbed the 6th rank and became the 2nd Indian city with the highest traffic-related issues.
The worst rush hour in Pune turns out to be exactly the same as in Bangalore. On Fridays between 6 to 7 pm, a commuter takes 35.50 minutes on average to cover 10 km. August 10, which was a Wednesday, was the worst day for drivers as the same distance took them 34 minutes and 40 seconds. TomTom Traffic Index Ranking 2022 highlights the global traffic conditions.
Taking into account 389 cities across 56 countries on six continents of the world, the Index measures travel time, fuel expenses, and carbon dioxide emissions of the destinations to highlight their traffic conditions. The data revealed can be a useful tool for drivers, riders, city planners, automakers, and policymakers to curb traffic-related problems in their cities.
Now-retired Scott County Attorney Mike Walton saved everything.
From his first job offer at the Scott County Attorney's office to thank-you notes from victims' families, each occupies a laminated spot in a neatly kept binder.
The missives and mementos include a pretend check, written for "a million thanks, from a family Walton worked with in the '90s. Another thanked him and his staff for being unfailingly courteous and helpful in handling his kidnapping case.
The binder contains dozens of similar notes many handwritten and organized by date from families, police departments, and staff attorneys.
The binder is one example of Waltons meticulous organization, which his colleagues repeatedly noted in remembering his career.
Hes always fully prepared and organized for a trial, said Kent Simmons, a defense attorney who worked opposite Walton on several cases. That is the absolute key to being successful at trial ... being ready for anything that might happen. When you went to trial against Mike, you always knew he was going to be ready for anything, so you had to do the same.
How it came to be
Walton, 62, spent 34 years as a prosecutor for Scott County. During law school in St. Paul, being a prosecutor wasn't his primary ambition. After graduating Hamline School of Law in 1987, though, he wanted some experience beyond what he could glean from his fathers general practice.
He wrote to a friend of his father's at Scott County, asking about some courtroom experience. He could not have predicted the long-term result.
His predecessor, Bill Davis, hired him in 1988, and Walton figured the job would last a couple years.
Turned out, I loved it, he said. I just found it really interesting, and I got involved in some fairly big cases early on. I think that helped.
It was partly in his blood. Not only did his father work as an attorney, but his sister, Julie Walton, also was hired by Davis to work in the county attorney's office.
Walton was part of a team of prosecutors in the high-profile killing of Davenport Central High student Michelle Jensen in 1993. Three classmates were convicted the following year, and three others took a guilty plea.
According to Quad-City Times archives of trial testimony, Jensen was shot once in the back of the head because she refused to use her car for a convenience-store robbery. Davis led the prosecution, along with the first attorney at the time and Walton.
I think that was the first really eye-opening cruelty and coldness, Walton said.
(The teenager who shot Jensen) was interviewed, and Ill never forget. He was very cold and calm, he said. And the detective asked him, 'How do you feel about shooting Michelle?' He just kind of shrugged his shoulders, and the detective was kind of aghast.
The case, Walton said, is probably what kept him interested in working for the prosecution.
I always felt what I was doing was important, he said. Its probably a little corny, but I always even to my last days got kind of a thrill out of the announcement that the State is represented by Mike Walton.
Rising in the ranks
In 1992, Walton asked Davis if he could lead the felony division, filling a role left by a retiring attorney.
A few years later, he became Davis right-hand attorney, called the first assistant. In that role, he began representing the county in civil cases. Members of the Board of Supervisors and other elected officials started going to him for legal advice.
By 2007, when Davis resigned, the supervisors appointed Walton the county attorney. He ran for the post the following year and won. The rest is history.
Workload often crushing in attorneys office
When Walton took over as county attorney, he recommended supervisors make attorneys full-time employees. They previously worked part time and were permitted to work in private practice at the same time.
In fact, Walton worked in family, business, and real estate law on the side before being appointed county attorney.
Voters first elected him during the onset of the 2008 recession. Department heads were warned not to ask for more money or to reduce their budgets, he said.
It remained that way for a long time, Walton said. I understood it. Its a reality. Its a tough caseload. Its always been a tough caseload.
During his tenure, his office added several attorneys and others, including victims' support, administrative assistant, a paralegal, a private investigator and a digital-evidence expert.
A 2020 analysis of the office's staffing levels found the Scott County Attorney's Office "severely understaffed" to meet what is described as "crushing" caseloads. The report by Vera Causa Group called on the county to hire 11 more staff attorneys.
Since then, Scott County has added just two.
It was very tough. I know that the attorneys were carrying a crushing caseload, and I did what I could to alleviate that, Walton said.
Needs changed, too, with technology.
When he started in the Scott County Attorneys Office in 1988, evidence was stored on VHS tapes, not computers. Now, every squad car and officer is equipped with a video camera. Video presents powerful evidence, Walton said.
But videos have to be reviewed and re-reviewed, which can be an enormous, time-consuming job, he said.
Thats what its all about now. Its all digital body cam, squad cam, surveillance that all has to be reviewed, has to be reproduced, has to be edited, Walton said.
Rising, falling gun crime
Although the department wasnt set up to track statistics, Walton said, he noticed the number of gun crimes increasing throughout his time in office.
In 2020, Davenport police recorded a record number of gunfire complaints. In subsequent years, however, those statistics have declined.
Fifteen years ago, Walton said, eight murders would have been be a high bar. Now, there are 20 or more in a year.
And cases take longer to resolve, due to the vast amount of evidence and limited resources, especially in the public defenders office.
2020 unrest and decisions on police killings
One fairly recent day in Walton's career stands out.
He described as "surreal" a June night of civil unrest in Davenport. Two people were killed in separate shootings, police were ambushed and other area departments were called in to help.
Davenport and Scott County officials put in place a public curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., requesting residents stay in their homes, except for those traveling to or from work. The streets were eerily empty the morning after the unrest, Walton said.
He described Davenport on his commute to his office that day as, "a ghost town.
The Scott County Attorneys Office reviews shootings by police, including the one that night, and determines whether they were justified.
All of Waltons rulings have exonerated officers. Only one of his rulings has been contested a fatal shooting by a Scott County Sherriffs deputy during a traffic stop for a faulty brake light. A civil lawsuit still is pending in that case.
In the courtroom
Attorneys who worked opposite Walton described him as thorough and professional.
Defense attorney Kent Simmons said Walton was a natural-born trial attorney with a real gift for cross-examination.
One thing that amazed me about him, and Id tell him: I dont know why you want this job, Mike. He was always trying the toughest cases, which will wear you out on its own. Then he was also legal counsel to the county.
Walton "was tough but he was fair," Simmons said. "It was a full-pitch battle, and then totally cordial afterward and in between those trials, as it should be."
Murray Bell, one of six defense attorneys in the case surrounding the Jensen murder, said Walton was always extremely professional, and never took the battle out of the courtroom.
Hes a good man, Bell said. I think he was fair. He fought hard. That was his job, like it was my job.
What to do now?
After he retired at the end of 2022, Walton set his sights on home-improvement projects and travel.
He has another post-retirement goal: If I can go the rest of my life and not have to look at an autopsy picture, Ill be a happier man," he said.
A dispute between the Silvis mayor and city council now involves the States Attorney.
Four of seven aldermen present at a council meeting Tuesday cast no-confidence votes in Mayor Matt Carter. One alderman was absent.
Some aldermen allege that Carter violated Illinois Whistleblower Act, and Rock Island County States Attorney Dora Villarreal said she is looking into the matter. Carter and others, meanwhile, have accused aldermen of violating the states Open Meetings Act.
First Ward Alderman Tony Trulson said the mayor violated the whistleblower law by retaliating against a city employee or employees.
The councils no-confidence vote was taken, Trulson said, because of harassing actions, statements that have been made lately by the mayor towards a few of our employees, and the perceived violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act. It is because of those reasons, not anything else.
The alleged retaliation is said to have occurred after an employee was terminated. Specific allegations were not discussed.
Trulson told the crowd of about 45 people at Tuesdays meeting: You deserve all the transparency, but lets be honest: Youre probably not going to hear the whole story tonight, due to some of it being under investigation. Ill tell you as much as I think I can without jeopardizing any of the investigation, but its not going to be enough.
After the vote, 4th Ward Alderman Joshua Dyer said information pertaining to the violation Carter is alleged to have committed were turned over to the Rock Island County States Attorneys Office for evaluation.
Contacted after Tuesday nights meeting, Rock Island County States Attorney Dora Villarreal confirmed she has received information requesting her office investigate a claim of official misconduct by a public official as it pertained to the states Whistleblower Act.
Our office was contacted late last week to investigate potential retaliation by a public official, Villarreal said Tuesday night. We are still in the early stages of gathering information related to the allegations to determine whether further action from our office is warranted under Illinois whistleblower laws.
We are very hesitant to intervene in the business of other government bodies and will only do so if the evidence and facts arise to such a degree where it is warranted.
Dyer said he expects the States Attorneys Office to do a full investigation into his actions.
This was entirely about retaliation against other city employees and creating a toxic work environment, Dyer said. Weve done all we can, I think, as City Council. The States Attorney will take care of it going forward, and theyll determine if misconduct has occurred and if he needs to be removed from office.
Both during the meeting and after the meeting, Carters attorney, Mark Daniel, of Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, accused City Council members of violating the states Open Meetings Act by holding a closed meeting Feb. 7.
Daniel said he and Carter want the recording of the closed meeting.
Before the vote, several members of the public spoke in favor of Carter, while one person thanked the City Council for what they were doing.
Former Silvis Mayor Bill Fox told Carter to run again and that he would back him.
Tim Davis, who lives in the 3rd Ward, said he voted for Carter and told the council members, Youre wanting to take my vote away, and he wanted to know why.
I want an explanation, I want transparency and I want it before the vote of no confidence is taken, Davis said. I think I deserve to know, because if its not warranted, then maybe some other people should step down.
Craig Pirmann, who is running for 2nd Ward alderman, said: Right now what Im seeing in this council is embarrassing. Matt has served this city for over 12 years as an alderman and six years as a mayor. Now all of a sudden he disagrees with something and you want a vote of no confidence.
Pirmann said the council had: transcended the whole concept of transparency. We dont know whats going on because you get behind your closed doors and your closed meetings and you hide and do all your work in the shadows when people want to know whats going on.
Mike Schwarz, who works for the street department, thanked the City Council.
Schwarz said he filed a grievance on Oct. 18, 2022, against the fired employee, and that the city launched an investigation.
It was determined there was harassment in the workplace, he said. He later produced documents, showing the reasons for the employees termination and the harassment finding.
Schwarz said his religion, his lisp and his military status were brought into the workplace. The investigation resulted in the termination of the long-time city employee, he said, but also some push back.
Jerry Leibovitz told the council: I think youre all making a mistake, trying to get rid of our mayor. Common sense tells me that we voted a mayor in.
If the council wants to get rid of him, Leibovitz said, run against him next time. Beat him if you want to get him out. But I think this is no way to handle it.
During the regular City Council meeting, Carter told those in attendance: I want to apologize to all the residents of Silvis for the circus that is resulting here form the actions of some aldermen. Its been difficult to put into words what I have been feeling for the past few days since the special meeting was posted.
After expressing disappointment in some of the council members, Carter said, I hope that in the future we can come together as one and work for the common cause and whats best for the city of Silvis.
Third Ward Alderman Rick Lohse told Carter that he should not try to use his attorneys to obfuscate what happened in the closed meeting.
Since that meeting, many of your actions that have put the city at risk have continued, Lohse said.
Several times alderman said that a letter had been sent to Carter, asking for his resignation. The letter was signed by all eight aldermen.
After the meeting, Carter reiterated that he has been accused of nothing in writing and that the vote was nothing but a political stunt.
Carter said hes not angry and held no ill-will toward the aldermen.
Its not in my nature, he said. He also said that it was not him creating a toxic environment, saying, Its the council thats creating the toxic environment.
Students from across the Quad-Cities poured into the Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf for the 6th annual QC Mayor's Young Adult Hiring Fair.
More than 60 companies were hiring for part-time, full-time, summer and seasonal positions. The fair was geared toward adults ages 16-24.
The jobs ranged from seasonal to entry-level, part-time and full-time positions. Apprenticeship representatives for plumbing, electrical, welding and HVAC were also present.
Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms said the goal of the event was to show local young adults what opportunities there are available in the region.
"At that age, it's difficult to narrow down an interest. Hosting a job fair like this opens the doors to jobs some may have never thought of," he said.
Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher agreed, saying the job fair was the perfect place for those who both knew what they wanted to do, and for those who were looking for a new opportunity.
"Hopefully it will marry some job seekers with those open positions," he said. "Our community, like all, is hurting to fill positions. If we can at least expose our young adults to opportunity and possibilities, maybe we can get them interested in certain career paths."
For students who may not have an interest in college or cannot afford it, being exposed to the trades available can be helpful, Thoms said. The benefit to the city is that if students find jobs, they tend to stay in the area.
"If they find jobs, they work on staying and raising a family here. That's a positive thing for the community also," he said.
Davenport North High School students Im'Unique Watson and Dakota Ford attended Tuesday's event. The pair will graduate in spring and were looking for summer employment. Watson said she was not quite sure what she was looking for, but would not have attended an event like this on her own.
Aimee Weaver with Eagle View Behavioral Health in Bettendorf was looking to talk to students, for a couple of reasons. The behavioral hospital just opened in 2020 and offers a variety of services for teens and young adults, she said.
Tuesday, she was hoping to talk with students about their passion for mental health, but also let them know about the services available in the area. Matt Worthen with Interstate Power Systems was also trying to get the word out about his company.
The Minneapolis based company has an office in Davenport and offers a variety of jobs ranging from mechanics to electrical to construction. The job fair being geared toward the younger crowd appealed to him because a big portion of his role is training people for the jobs they have available.
"We want them if they have the right mindset, and they're willing to put the time and the effort in," he said.
A year after enacting stricter requirements for receiving unemployment benefits, a new Republican bill would require Iowans to conduct more job searches to get them.
An Iowa Senate workforce subcommittee Tuesday advanced Senate Study Bill 1159. The bill would require a person applying for unemployment benefits to complete four to six job searches a week to earn benefits, depending on the number of job openings published by the states workforce agency. The more jobs available, the more work searches one must complete.
To maintain eligibility for unemployment benefits, Iowans now are required to complete four re-employment activities each week, three of which must include job applications, according to Iowa Workforce Department.
To most people, if youre unemployed and asked to do four, five or six job search requirements a week thats not a big ask, said bill sponsor and committee chair Sen. Adrian Dickey, R-Packwood. Dickey said the intent is to build off last years law and get Iowans back to work sooner.
Unemployed workers in Iowa now receive 10 fewer weeks of state unemployment benefits under a new law that took effect last year. The law reduced the length of state unemployment benefits from 26 to 16 weeks, making Iowa just the fourth state with 16 weeks or fewer of state unemployment benefits.
The new law also changes the requirements for taking a job that pays less than the unemployed Iowans previous job. Republicans touted the new law as a way to encourage Iowans to take jobs sooner and to lower taxes on businesses, which are used to fund the state's unemployment trust fund.
Democrats and labor groups argue it attacks workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own, and who may lack child care or transportation to a new job.
Work search requirements may be waived if the person is temporarily unemployed and expected to be recalled by a former employer within a reasonable time frame. In addition, the work search requirement is waived for state-approved workforce training.
Dickeys bill, though, would remove language allowing the employer to request an extension to waive job search requirements for up to two weeks if work is not available at the conclusion of a temporary layoff due to unforeseen circumstances beyond the employers control.
The bill defines work search as applying for a job by submitting a resume or application to a potential employer, interviewing for a job, or taking a civil service or military aptitude exam. Dickey, though, said the bill likely will be amended to align with existing departmental practice for satisfying the weekly search for work requirement.
At least half the work searches must be from a list of known available jobs within a 50-mile radius of the workers home in fields in which they have experience or identified an interest. The bill requires Iowa Workforce Development to provide a list of jobs weekly.
The proposal also reduces maximum weekly benefit amounts for out-of-work Iowans with three or more dependents. Currently, the more dependents a worker has increases the maximum benefits. Dickey said the measure is aimed at preventing fraud.
Mike Owen, deputy director of Common Good Iowa, said the bill will weaken Iowa industries that have seasonal unemployment, including construction. Owen, too, said the work-search requirements are unnecessary, given the states success getting out-of-work Iowans back on their feet and into new jobs.
The percentage of Iowans collecting unemployment who exhausted their benefits dropped to 13.7 percent last fall, the second-lowest in the nation.
Unemployment insurance is one of the most important tools we have to keep a strong, resilient workforce and economy, Owen told lawmakers. So this simply adds more work for IWD and it makes receiving unemployment insurance benefits more difficult for people who need it.
Sen. Todd Taylor, D-Cedar Rapids, declined to sign off on advancing the bill, echoing concerns that the bill needlessly reduces benefits and introduces barriers.
Taylor, too, noted that while the state currently lists more than 71,000 job openings, many may not be relevant to some out-of-work Iowans skill set or be close to home.
Dickey responded: We should aspire all Iowans to want more than unemployment benefits.
And your next job does not have to be your last job. Its just got to be your next job, he said. And, maybe, that allows you to take a job thats not your dream job right now, but its your next job until you find that dream job.
Dickey and fellow subcommittee member Sen. Dawn Driscoll, R-Williamsburg, recommend passage, advancing the bill to the full Senate workforce committee.
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A bomb threat emailed Tuesday sent law enforcement to Molines Jane Addams Elementary School, though a search found no device.
The email, sent as an educational technology help desk ticket, arrived around 8 a.m. and stated that both the school and the residence of Superintendent Rachel Savage would be targeted, according to a news release from the Moline-Coal Valley School District.
In response, district officials and the Moline Police Department went to both locations, the release states. The police and the Quad-City Bomb Squad conducted the search at Jane Addams.
The release, issued just before 1 p.m., said that, in the wake of the search, normal operations would resume at the school.
The Moline Police Department continued to investigate the threat, the district said.
The Moline Police said that, as of Tuesday afternoon, it appeared the threat originated outside the United States. There had been no arrests as of that time.
A majority of the Silvis City Council has cast a no-confidence vote against their mayor.
Several dozen people filled the city council chambers in Silvis Tuesday night for a discussion on Mayor Matt Carters performance. The vote is merely symbolic, meaning it will not impact the mayors standing.
The vote was 4 to 3 in favor of a no-confidence stance. One alderman was absent.
Throughout the day Tuesday, city officials sent multiple emails to Quad-City media, going back-and-forth on whether plans for a no-confidence vote met Open Meeting Act requirements for supplying sufficient public notice of the meeting.
A special meeting was canceled and aldermen instead took up the matter in discussion at the end of the meeting.
The councils eight aldermen signed a letter to Carter earlier this month, referring to complaints regarding your conduct, and saying they thought it was in the best interest of the city and its residents for Carter to resign.
They have declined to reveal specific reasons for their lost confidence in the mayor and did not disclose the nature of the alleged complaints.
The city received some complaints against the mayor, and the council looked into those, said Alderman Josh Dyer, 4th Ward. We reviewed them, and things did not improve. Given everything weve found out, we thought it best to call for the mayors resignation.
The alderman said he could not elaborate on the complaints in order to protect the complainants.
We tried to do it in a quiet manner, Dyer said. We told him that, You really need to resign. He did not seem very responsive to that.
On Feb. 7 the council held a closed meeting without the mayor, city clerk or city administrator present, Dyer said. They have refused to give a recording of that meeting to the mayor.
His response to that was to send a letter to the attorney that had been hired by the city council, announcing that he was firing her, Dyer said. That attorney is Allison Wright of Pappas and Wright in Rock Island. She was hired by the council, and its our estimation that he does not have the power to fire her.
It was at that time, Dyer said, that he tried to have a vote of no confidence in the mayor placed on the city council agenda.
A Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus reporter was present at the council meeting Tuesday and will provide updates on the council action in upcoming editions and online.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker made a stop Wednesday in Rock Island as he travels the state, touting the multiyear Smart Start plan he proposed in the fiscal 2024 budget.
Smart Start Illinois invests $250 million for child care providers and early childhood education. It provides an additional $75 million for early childhood block grants administered by the Illinois State Board of Education, additional funding for early intervention programs, and the Illinois Department of Human Services' home visiting program.
"(We can) ensure more of our most vulnerable families can receive evidence-based, early intervention and home-visitation services, provide more equitable access to our child care system, and increase the pipeline of early childhood educators, setting our kids up for success from cradle to career," Pritzker said.
The funding would create 5,000 new preschool spots in the first year, the governor said, with the goal of creating 20,000 spots over the next four years.
Pritzker was joined by local officials and community members at a news conference Wednesday at the Skip-a-Long Child Development Services in Rock Island, discussing how the child care and early education investments could be transformative in addressing children's developmental needs in the long term.
Jendaya Bailey, a former Skip-a-Long student and now a mother of three daughters, said her kids are always excited to go to Skip-a-Long and having the care allows her to attend classes at Black Hawk College and to work.
"Thank you for giving us a way for me to be able to work and for my children to go to a loving day care that loves and supports my children," Bailey said.
Director of Skip-a-Long, Pat Allison, said the program has the potential to increase staff wages and retain employees who can support children's individual needs.
Being able to increase wages and recruitment, she said, could help open three classrooms that currently are closed due to staffing shortages. By opening up the classrooms, Skip-a-Long can serve 46 more children, including 38 who are on a preschool waiting list.
"I have seen so many children who have benefited from the (Skip-a-Long) and have gone on to build and maintain successful lives," Allison said.
Republicans have raised concerns, saying that launching a new program could lead to tax increases or other service cuts in future budget years.
Pritzker, however, said in the past few years of being governor, Illinois has come a long way in balancing the budget, leading to surpluses, and has been able to pay off debt. It's now time to properly invest in early childhood education, K-12 and higher education, he said.
The fiscal year 2023 budget, the one Illinois is currently in, had a $444 million surplus.
Other investments being made in early childhood education include $100 million to expand existing facilities and to build new; $70 million for the Child Care Assistance Program for lower-income families; $12 million for scholarships and apprenticeships to expand the child care workforce; and $1.6 million to launch a partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, an initiative that sends free books to children under age 5.
Photos: Gov. Pritzker, officials, tout Smart Start Illinois in Rock Island visit
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) A Chicago man was convicted Tuesday of shooting and seriously wounding an Iowa sheriff's deputy during a robbery at a convenience store in 2021.
Stanley Donahue, 38, was convicted of several charges, including attempted murder, stemming from the shooting in Coggon, about 20 miles northeast of Cedar Rapids.
Prosecutors said Donahue robbed two employees at a Casey's store and confined them in a cooler before shooting Linn County deputy Will Halverson seven times on June 20, 2021.
Halverson was seriously injured but has returned to work. He testified during the trial that Donahue was the man who shot him.
As he was being led from the courtroom on Tuesday, Donahue looked at Halverson and his family and said It should of been worse than what it was," followed by an expletive, The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported.
Donahue fled after the shooting and was later arrested after a more than 12-hour manhunt that ended when he was spotted by a television news crew.
During the trial, County Attorney Nick Maybacks argued that it was clear Donahue meant to kill Halverson.
Donahues attorney argued DNA was inconclusive and did not rule out the possibility of other suspects.
Donahue faces up to 112 years in prison at sentencing. He was convicted of attempted murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, willful injury, attempt to elude, trafficking stolen weapons, disarming a peace officer, being a felon in possession of firearm and two counts of false imprisonment.
No sentencing date was set.
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Rapid City's mayor is "encouraged" by a letter from a management company that oversees Maplewood Townhomes, one of "The Big Three" low income housing complexes in a north side neighborhood.
The high-crime area consists of Maplewood Townhomes, Knollwood Townhouses (also known as the ABCs for the buildings differentiated by letters), and Sage Place (formerly Knollwood Heights Apartments and casually known as simply "Surfwood" because of the street on which it's located).
The area routinely receives more calls from law enforcement than other areas in the city, and residents have expressed fear of going outside due to violent crime, which has included several murders in the recent past.
Earlier this month, Mayor Steve Allender, and Ward 4 City Council members Lance Lehmann and John Roberts pleaded for action from the properties' owners to help reduce crime and vandalism after letters from the mayor's office in September and October 2022 went mostly unanswered by the owners.
The city threatened to take legal action against the properties after already increasing law enforcement patrols in the area and opening a substation on Knollwood Drive.
The management of Maplewood Townhouses responded to a Feb. 2 Journal article by writing a letter on Feb. 6. The letter was from Kenneth Talle, president of Thies and Talle Management.
"We're anxious to cooperate," Talle said.
Talle forwarded the letters, addressed to Allender, Lehmann and Roberts respectively, to the Journal on the same day. The Journal published the letter Feb. 18.
Talle's letter sought to set the management company apart from the other two properties, highlighting the steps the company has taken to improve safety at its property. Steps include installing improved and additional lighting and a security camera system and hiring a security patrol through Mountain States Security.
The Rapid City Police Department confirmed that they have online access to the security system and Sgt. Ryan Phillips has been in contact with the management company since last summer.
"We're encouraged by the response and we look forward to working with them," Allender said on Monday. "Maplewood itself has never really been the biggest problem. They have seemed to carry out their management in a way that's not alarming to us or anything. That's my personal opinion. They respond, but they're not the greatest source of the issue.
Allender said he has an appointment to meet with the owners of Sage Place next week.
The letters, aside from listing the steps management has already taken, asked for more assistance from the city to combat crime. The letter said it wants an abandoned restaurant across the street from Maplewood torn down, along with a nearby abandoned church.
Lehmann said hes not aware of what church the company was referring to in its letter. Talle clarified it's the "brown church" on North Maple Avenue.
The letters also asked the city to take action against a pawn shop and liquor store near the property, which are consistent sources of problems in the neighborhood and for the residents in nearby properties. The failure of the city to take action against these properties as well as the two other apartment properties mentioned in (the Feb. 2) article has had a negative effect on our properties and our residents.
The city is trying to get all three properties to work through their security problems. It is my hope that the empty (restaurant) building can be reviewed by code enforcement and something happens with it, Lehmann told the Journal. To my knowledge, the pawn shop hasnt been in question at this time.
Lehmann also acknowledged the efforts that Maplewood has made to combat problems in the neighborhood, but added there is much more to be done.
I hope they continue to be a willing partner and we can attempt to bring the other neighbors on board to address the problems in the neighborhood, Lehmann said. The residents have made an awesome attempt with their patrols, but even that wasnt enough.
"The city now can do its part in conjunction with the other efforts that have taken place. I hope we can bring all concerned parties together and look at all possible options and ownership's willingness to participate will be paramount to being successful to address the crime in the neighborhood.
Off-reservation hunting rights legislation in Wyoming died on its final vote in the Senate on Tuesday after garnering such strong backlash from members of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe that two senators who cosponsored the measure pulled their names.
The legislation, sponsored by Fremont County Rep. Lloyd Larson, was brought in response to the U.S. Supreme Court case Herrera v. Wyoming. It would have authorized the governor to negotiate and enter into agreements with tribes concerning hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering rights and provided the state government some rule-making authority.
Sen. Affie Ellis, R-Cheyenne, and Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, both removed their co-sponsorship of the bill on Tuesday, which is uncommon. Ive never done that, Ellis said. But this is unlike other pieces of legislation we bring for consideration.
There were a series of protests against the bill at Fort Washakie, with the largest one happening on Friday, Case said. Lander even heard about the bills controversy at church over the weekend, he said.
When you stand back and read this language, and you read this language about a member of a sovereign tribe which predates the state of Wyoming. That has historical ties here for thousands of years Case said. You can see why theyre upset.
Members of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe said they were blindsided by their business councils decision to negotiate this legislation with Gov. Mark Gordon behind closed doors.
The bill was introduced due to a legal debate that started in 2014 when Clayvin Herrera went hunting with family on the Crow tribes reservation in southern Montana. They crossed into the neighboring Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming, where they killed several elk. He was later fined, which sparked conversations about off-reservation tribal hunting rights in Wyoming.
He argued that when the Crow tribe gave up land in present-day Montana and Wyoming under an 1868 treaty, the tribe retained the right to hunt on it. His attorneys petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case, and they eventually sided with Herrera in a 5-4 vote in 2019.
The legislation was meant to proactively address off-reservation hunting guidelines rather than allow a future court decision to create Wyomings standard, Larson said during the bills initial hearing on Jan. 24.
This last year, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe approached the governors office and inquired if the state would be willing to work with them in pursuing some kind of off-reservation hunting language that would allow this to move forward, he said. Since that time, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the governors office have worked together.
The bill passed unanimously that day and continued to enjoy sweeping support until it failed on its final reading in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon. The legislation was sold as having been in part created with and supported by the Eastern Shoshone Tribe.
Yet, Eastern Shoshone tribal members had no knowledge of this bill until it hit the legislative session, member Jola LeBeau told the Star-Tribune last week. The six-members of the business council were negotiating with Gov. Mark Gordon for six months without our knowledge.
A lot of them cant believe the business council did this, but they did. I think they thought they had the power to do this, but they dont, she said.
The business council ultimately withdrew its support for the bill in a letter sent to the governors office on Feb. 3, but many feared it may have been too late to stop the legislation's momentum; the bill passed another two votes in the Senate after the letter was sent.
They withdrew that support after obtaining legal opinions from tribal attorneys and hearing concerns from the Shoshone-Bannock tribes, who share the same hunting treaty, John St. Clair, the Eastern Shoshone Business Council Chairman, said in the letter.
We apologize for this development; however, we now believe that the bill will jeopardize and compromise the rights of our tribe and other tribes, if it becomes state law, he wrote.
The Eastern Shoshone Business Council did not respond to requests for comment beyond providing the letter.
The bill failed by an 8-23 vote.
Bitterroot Valley schools continue their fight to keep children fed.
Starting on the first of October, school meals were no longer covered by pandemic funds the National School Lunch Program. School food programs and the families they serve are struggling with the impact.
Darby and Victor schools students qualify for 100% free and reduced lunch and breakfast status and are not impacted.
At the Florence-Carlton School District, Superintendent Todd Fiske said parents are reluctant to complete the application that may qualify their family for free or reduced-priced meals and many families are behind on paying their meal bills.
He said those actions place the school in a difficult situation similar to being a collection agency, which they are not equipped to do. He said the school continues to feed the students.
Families with accounts that exceed $50 or greater is something we are dealing with, Fiske said. In the end, it impacts the budget to make up the losses incurred through non-payment of meals. We understand this sensitive situation trying to balance feeding a child that needs the nutrition and how it is paid for.
Fiske said the school has not received donations this year but has been told that in the past some donations have come to the school to pay delinquent food accounts.
Corvallis Food Service Director Kathy Martin said keeping children well-fed and ready to learn is dear to her heart.
We have returned to the system that families need to qualify for assistance based on household income and the size of their family, she said.
Some families have applied for assistance, and students who qualify for free meals may receive two free meals a day, while students on reduced meals pay .70 cents per day for the two meals.
Martin is worried as she has seen a decline in participation in the meal program since the funding for free meals stopped.
One in four students in our community qualify for assistance with meals, she said. We cant forget that there are children next door who live in a food-insecure household. There are families that struggle to make their meal payments, thankfully we have had several small donations and grant money to support them through their tough time. We are so grateful that a donor has given grant money for those on reduced to receive a free breakfast.
Martin said the school strives to support Corvallis families by offering payment options of online, by mail, or in person.
We notify them of negative balances with email, mail, and phone calls, she said. [We are doing] anything we can to support the kids getting their meals. The most difficult thing is to collect money. USDA has set up the protocols to follow for collections. We have to be fiscally responsible to everyone.
She maintains an angel fund of donations to help struggling families when there is a need.
We gladly accept any donations for this fund, at any time, Martin said. We think creatively to ensure the children receive nutritional meals as We are Corvallis (the schools slogan).
Stevensville Public Schools Superintendent Dave Thennis said that Stevensville is also experiencing a reluctance to complete free and reduced-priced meal applications.
Historically, Stevensville qualifies 45-49% of students for free meals, he said. This year 35% of students are qualified for free or reduced-priced meals. We continue to encourage families to complete the application so qualifying students have access to meals.
He reported that the school has had several generous community donations to help cover the balance from outstanding student lunch accounts.
We are grateful for your generosity, Thennis said.
Lone Rock Superintendent/Principal Robert DoBell, Ed.D., said the situation has also impacted the K-8 school there.
We have had some families that have struggled, as it is a sign of the economic times, and we had an anonymous donor in the community pay off the lunch balances to total $4,000 for the school district at Christmas time, DoBell said.
Hamilton Schools also reported that families are falling behind in meal payments.
Ronda Hansen in the district office said, so far this year we have used donations to cover around $10,000 of unpaid lunch fees.
She said donations came from The Greater Ravalli foundation and the Thomas family at Christmas time.
We currently have around $5,000 in unpaid lunch fees, Hansen said.
Rob Wilkins, president of Lions Club in Hamilton, said his service organization was recently made aware that the lunch program in Hamilton School District has a huge need for financial support.
The Lions Club has decided to donate $5,000 to help, Wilkins said.
He is reaching out to other service clubs to see if they are interested in donating.
The end of the nationwide federal free lunch program is touching lives beyond the Bitterroot Valley. Helena Rep. Melissa Romano, HD 81, is drafting legislation to have the state pay for student meals. Romano said the bill is on hold until the second transmittal date. LC 3486 would fund school meals for all students. Romano found that school nutrition is closely linked to student health and academics, impacting overall attendance and behavior.
Across the nation, when school meals stopped being free after the first two years of the COVID pandemic, many states started looking at legislation to ensure access to food. Those states include Massachusetts, Vermont, Nevada, Colorado, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and North Carolina.
Maine and California currently have free school meals.
Romano, and many schools and families, hope Montana will be next.
Lutefisk, cod, pickled herring, fish sticks, coleslaw, cranberry sauce, lefse, boiled potatoes and plenty of traditional desserts will fill the table at this year's Scandinavian dinner in Hamilton.
The event, set for March 11, is a celebration of heritage and fellowship that was started by residents Charlie and Judy Larson in 1974 and has been held every other year since.
Its an opportunity to learn about the Scandinavian culture, share it and talk to people, said organizer Carol Peterson. The meal is served as a sit-down meal and youre group is put with another group to fill a table of eight to 10 people.
Peterson explained how Norwegian recipes often vary from cookbook to cookbook because the country's fjords long, narrow inlets of sea between high cliffs kept communities fairly separate.
The mountains isolated the communities and so everyone makes the traditional meal and desserts a little bit differently," she said. "Some will say, my grandma made it this way, and another will say, well, my grandma made it this way. There wasnt a lot of movement back and forth in the communities because of the mountains.
She and baker Pat Larson were busy making examples on Monday for a cooking-making workshop set from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Faith Lutheran Church, ahead of the dinner.
Peterson explained that her grandmother came to America without a cookbook, but with the recipes she had memorized.
Norwegian Kringla cookies are traditionally shaped in a figure 8, but Larson said her grandchildren began making the cookies in the shape of their initials. First, the dough is made with simple ingredients, formed into balls, then rolled into a pencil shape and twisted into the final shape to be baked. They have a flavor and texture similar to a cream puff.
They're also holding lefse-making workshops at the church from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 3 and 4.
Lefse is made from a mashed potato base, cooked thin on a grill, and eaten in a variety of ways including with butter, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, or with roast beef in the middle. The amount of flour changes the texture.
Around 500 people are expected to attend the dinner, Peterson said. The sanctuary of the church will have decorations, a store, and heritage information for patrons to enjoy while waiting for their turn to have the meal.
Christina Gunvaldson Waltz will have rosemaling (Norwegian painting) to sell, Peterson added.
The lutefisk will be cooked in a tent outside the church because of its strong smell.
It is first soaked in lye, dried and then reconstituted, Peterson said. It is coming from North Dakota. The last time we had the dinner in 2019, the Lutefisk got stuck in North Dakota in a snowstorm. We bought fresh cod, locally, and people like the cod. This year well have both.
She said that as a child her uncles had lutefisk on Christmas and she and her cousins just kept passing it around the table, as it smelled so bad.
There are all sorts of poems about stinky, smelly lutefisk and how it could take the wallpaper off your walls, she said. If you go to Norway and Sweden lutefisk isnt one of the big items, so I think it was one way of getting fish across the ocean.
Peterson said everyone, of any heritage, is welcome at the dinner and workshops.
Under 10 is free because we want the kids to come, Peterson said. If we make some money this year we will share it with the Hamilton Fire Department. So, it is a community dinner.
MISSOULA A California man who admitted to a drug-trafficking crime for shipping methamphetamine from one of the worlds leading drug syndicates, Sinaloa Cartel, into the Butte community for redistribution was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
Heriberto Tavares, 30, of Anaheim, California, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to possession with intent to distribute meth.
According to court documents, the government alleged that from about November 2018 to November 2019, Tavares served as a stash house for the Sinaloa Cartel and in addition acted as the Amazon shipping services for the cartel, shipping drugs from Mexico into the United States at the direction of the drug trafficking leaders. In some instances, Tavares had 20 pounds of meth at a time in his home, which is the equivalent of approximately 72,480 doses.
Law enforcement learned that Tavares was shipping drugs, which originated in Mexico, into Montana. During an undercover operation, an agent ordered meth from Humberto Villareal of Sinaloa, Mexico, who was sentenced in 2021 to 17 years in federal prison for conviction of meth trafficking in the Butte area.
In July 2019, law enforcement received a package sent from Tavares that contained a little over one pound of meth and heroin. Agents paid for the drugs Tavares sent by wiring money to Ricardo Ramos Medina in Sinaloa.
Medina was sentenced in 2020 to eight years in federal prison for conviction on trafficking pounds of meth and other drugs to the Butte area.
Tavares was indicted as part of an investigation into a large-scale drug trafficking organization that brought massive quantities of meth, counterfeit oxycodone pills and heroin into Butte for redistribution throughout the state.
The investigation resulted in federal convictions of 22 persons. Tavares is the last defendant to be sentenced.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement.
A gofundme.com page has been created to raise money to help the Montana Highway Patrol trooper severely injured Feb. 16 after being hit near Eureka by a pickup truck driven by a man wanted by law enforcement for a parole violation.
Injuries for 36-year-old Lewis Johnson include a punctured lung, damaged liver, head injury, broken ribs, broken arm, broken leg and severe spinal trauma, friends said.
Doctors anticipate recovery to be long and difficult, the GoFundMe page, at https://bit.ly/3lYT75C, states, adding the money raised will help Johnson and his family with the enormous expenses associated with his recovery.
More than $160,000 had been raised as of Tuesday afternoon.
He was injured after being run over by a vehicle during a pursuit on Highway 37 in Lincoln County, about 10 miles southwest of Eureka.
Johnson was run over by the suspect vehicle, according to a press release from the Montana Highway Patrol. All individuals in the suspect vehicle were apprehended, the release said.
He was in stable condition and flown to Logan Health in Kalispell by air ambulance.
Johnson was born in 1987 in Chester. In 2014 Lewis and his wife Kate graduated from the Law Enforcement Academy and are both state troopers now stationed in Eureka. He is a Law Enforcement Torch Run volunteer and an avid outdoorsman with a love for hunting and fishing.
He is a devoted husband, a loving father and an exceptional friend, the GoFundMe page organized by Nina Stefani states. It only takes a few minutes with Lewis before he has you laughing and knowing you have a true friend for life.
The page includes a note from Johnsons wife, Kate, from Saturday.
Miracles happened today! she wrote, adding the endotracheal tube was removed at 2 p.m.
He was groggy but followed every order given and the tube was removed quickly with little discomfort, she wrote. He was able to speak softly immediately.
Kate Johnson said by 4 p.m. Lewis was eating ice chips and sipping on water and visited a couple hours later with the deputy who was on the pursuit with him.
Those two chatted for an hour and Lewis remembered every little detail of the event, she wrote. He's in great spirits and gives a strong handshake to everyone who visits.
She said there is nothing much for sensation below his waistline, but he has some tingles on the upper right leg. She said they are getting him focused on walking and talking about the future like everything goes back to normal.
Kate Johnson said the trauma nurse has said it takes the body a year to fully recover and they will keep working hard.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, deputies were trying to arrest Jason Allen Miller, 41, of Eureka, on a felony warrant for absconding from parole following a conviction on charges of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and two counts of theft.
Miller led deputies on a chase and drove his pickup truck south on state Highway 37, south of Eureka, according to the sheriffs office. Johnson joined in the chase. Miller tried to turn onto Camp 32 Road and lost control of the truck. Johnson and deputies approached the vehicle.
Miller drove the truck at law enforcement and struck Johnson, authorities said. Deputies helped the trooper while other deputies continued the pursuit. A Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks warden intercepted Miller, who rammed the wardens vehicle and was then taken into custody, the sheriffs office said.
A female passenger in Millers truck jumped out during the pursuit and was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents. She was questioned and released, sheriffs officials said.
Jeffrey Zwang, Lincoln County deputy county attorney, said Miller is being held on the Department of Corrections warrant. He said the investigation into the arrest in which Johnson was injured was continuing and expected more charges would be filed.
HELENA Investigators probing a 2021 fatal Amtrak derailment in Montana disclosed Tuesday that the track had been bent along a curve near the accident site and that the problem had been getting worse as freight trains traveled over the area before the derailment that killed three people and injured dozens of others.
Details on the bent track were included in hundreds of pages of investigative documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The agency did not determine a cause. Amtrak's Empire Builder derailed Sept. 25, 2021, in north-central Montana, while en route from Chicago to Seattle and Portland, Oregon, with 154 people on board. The track is owned by BNSF Railway.
Survivors described horrific scenes of people maimed and killed as four cars including an observation car with large windows toppled and skidded down the tracks.
Killed in the accident were Margie and Don Vardahoe, a Georgia couple on a cross-country trip to mark their 50th wedding anniversary, and Zachariah Schneider, 28, a software developer from Illinois. Forty-four passengers and crew were taken to area hospitals with injuries.
The train was traveling just below the speed limit of 79 mph (127 kph) when its emergency brakes were activated, the NTSB has said.
The conclusion that the track was bent came from video footage, including from two freight trains that went around the accident curve within 90 minutes before the Amtrak derailment.
After each of the freight trains had passed, the bend in the track appeared to have gotten worse, investigators reported. Neither of the freight train crews saw the problem.
"The Amtrak engineer also did not see the track misalignment before traveling over that portion of track. Investigators, who watched the videos and were focused primarily on detecting the track deviation, were able to first see the misalignment only a couple seconds before the trains had traveled over it," the report said.
Former NTSB investigator Robert J. Chipkevich, who had not reviewed the findings in the 2021 crash, said track problems can be caused by issues including the quality of maintenance and repairs, the integrity of the ballast material that underlies the rails and excessive summer heat.
"These conditions can change certainly after a heavy freight train passes over it," Chipkevich said. "If it wasn't noticed by a crew member, then you have several tons of train crossing over that so it could change."
Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari declined comment on the track issues raised in the report.
Railroad safety practices are facing renewed scrutiny following a fiery Ohio freight train derailment involving toxic chemicals. The Feb. 3 accident forced evacuations and raised public health concerns.
Rail accidents including derailments have been trending down in the U.S. as the number of miles travelled by trains drops.
However, the rate of accidents per mile has been going up, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Railway unions contend rail transportation has become riskier in recent years following widespread job cuts. Most rail accidents involve freight trains, and fatalities involving passenger trains are rare.
Irish immigrants, Meriwether Lewis mother, and outstanding Montanans Dolly Smith Cusker Akers and Ivan Doig will be honored in March by the Montana Historical Society.
At noon on March 1, Montana Historical Society Director Molly Kruckenberg and special guest Gov. Greg Gianforte will induct Doig and Akers into the Gallery of Outstanding Montanans. The public is invited to attend the induction ceremony, which will take place in the Capitol rotunda; the gallery itself is in the west wing of the Capitol.
The gallery was established by the Montana State Legislature in 1979 to pay homage to Treasure State residents who "made contributions of state or national significance to their selected fields while epitomizing the unique spirit and character that defines Montana."
The program is operated by the Montana Historical Society.
The March 9 public program features a presentation by Lauren Hunley on the deep connection of the Irish in Montana. From Dublin to Tanzania, from Civil War battlefields to the mines of Butte, discover the roots of Irish immigrants in the Treasure State. Hunley, who is the Western Heritage Centers community historian, will follow the paths of Irish immigrants to Big Sky Country.
The March 23 public program is a first-person interpretive presentation of the life of Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks. Her story offers critical insight into understanding her intrepid explorer son. Lucy was determined to fulfill the role expected of upper-class woman at the turn of the 19th century, while remaining independent. She managed a large plantation household, which included dozens of enslaved people, and followed her passion for healing and the natural world, while remaining fiercely devoted to her son. Popular historic interpreter Mary Jane Bradbury tells the story of this remarkable woman.
Both public programs are free, and begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Lewis and Clark Library at 120 So. Last Chance Gulch in Helena. The library is co-sponsoring the event. The public programs also will be recorded for viewing on the Montana Historical Societys YouTube channel.
Put simply, Champagne is a sparkling wine (meaning it is carbonated) that is produced in the Champagne region of northern France, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Paris. The French AOC does not permit sparkling wines that originate from outside of here to be called Champagne.
That's because sparkling wines produced in Champagne follow the rules of the AOC system, which include specific methods and practices. Theses rules hold up well in France where the AOC standards are respected. Some 121 countries have agreed to recognize the special Champagne designation, thanks to the efforts of the CIVC.
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" " Ay is a village in the Vallee de la Marne Champagne production region of eastern France. Most of the Champagne produced here is classified as Grand Cru, and some of the most prestigious Champagne houses own vineyards here including Ayala Deutz, Gosset and Bollinger. David Silverman/Getty Images
But there are a couple of caveats, and a handful of countries are not quite on board with the AOC designation. For example, some American producers still call "long-established domestic brands 'champagne,' as long as there is also a clear indication of the wine's true geographical origin," wine critic Jancis Robinson wrote on her website.
Some American producers sneak in the word "champagne" on their labels under a grandfather clause; those in business before 2006 "are only obliged to display the state of origin on their bottles of wine," Clement Thierry explains for France-Ameriqiue. Hence the reason you might see the confusing pairing of "California" and "champagne" on a bottle, despite the contents truly being sparkling wine. Tsk tsk.
When Beth Louisell picked up her horse from Byrd Rareshides farm in 2015, she went ballistic.
Louisell had left her show horse, Charisma, with Rareshide a year prior. His nickname was Fatboy, she said, because of how easily he held on to extra pounds.
Charisma looked fine going into the winter, but when she next visited, approximately 80 days later, Louisell estimated Charisma had lost between 125 and 150 pounds, and dropped several body condition score points, a metric used by veterinarians to gauge the health of horses.
Louisell removed her horse from the Rareshide farm, published pictures of the concerning weight loss on Facebook and left several calls with animal control officials at the Goochland County Animal Care, Adoption and Protection office.
This weekend, Rareshide was charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty, and county officials said it was the first time that they had been called out to Rareshides property. But several owners say they made efforts to call the department with similar allegations as long as eight years ago.
Rareshides farm, a type of nursing home for older horses, became the subject of much fervor at the beginning of February, when an owner removed an alarmingly underweight horse and posted photos, alleging mistreatment of the equine on Facebook.
More than 15 horses were removed in short order, with as many as nine going to a rehabilitation facility in Gordonsville. One, suffering chronic lameness and malnutrition, was euthanized, according to a local vet.
Animal control officials, who visited the farm several times in the wake of the allegations, did not remove any of the horses.
On Feb. 11, Byrd was charged and arrested, 24 days after the allegations caused an uproar on social media. Animal control officials maintained that they received their first complaint on Feb. 3.
The allegations against Rareshide were prepared in conjunction with the county commonwealth attorney.
A Rareshide neighbor and horse owner, Sarah Hatfield, also said she alerted animal control, saying she placed at least two calls in 2018 but she never heard back from anyone.
Hatfield said Byrds property abuts a stretch of road where drivers can see the horses condition as they pass. The photos are bad, but when youre there, its a lot worse, said Hatfield.
Lara Craddock, who lives near Rareshides farm, also said she called the county in the summer of 2022. I called and told them that there are horses there that always look awful and like they arent being fed, said Craddock.
Craddock said she left the voicemail anonymously, but provided her phone number. She said no one returned her calls.
Other horse owners were disturbed by the countys response time given the deluge of outcry around Byrds farm, including concern from veterinarians.
Thats what really confuses me, how animal control could ignore a call from a vet, said Lori Custer, whose horses were removed from Byrds farm over a week ago.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed last week for complaints regarding Byrds farm, the department chose to use a clause in Virginias legal code that allows agencies to withhold records pertaining to ongoing criminal investigations.
Jessica Kronberg, a spokesperson for Goochland County, said that county is undertaking an exhaustive review of our records to confirm the assertion of no previous records of complaints.
Goochland County Animal Care, Adoption, and Protection investigates all animal welfare complaints and takes allegations of animal cruelty seriously, said Kronberg.
Rareshide said animal control visited her farm at least twice since the beginning of February, and gave the stable a clean bill of health.
Two gentlemen showed up. They told me everything looked in order. They told me: These horses look like theyre retired horses. I dont know why were here, said Rareshide.
Rareshide added that one officer said, We are on the cusp of spring and I dont know why Im here. I drive by this farm all the time and everything seems in order.
But veterinarian Rebecca Kramer of Keswick Equine Clinic said that a number of horses had been diagnosed with heart murmurs, a symptom that can be consistent with starvation.
Rareshide has said that many of the horses came to her farm sick, lame or with dental issues, and that she single-handedly has bent over backwards to care for around 25 animals at her farm.
Louisell, Charismas owner, said she was also confused as to why Byrds longtime veterinarian had not been concerned enough to flag Charismas weight loss in 2015.
At the time, Rareshide said that she was using a veterinary clinic called Old Dominion Equine, in Albemarle County. Melissa Robertson, a manager at Old Dominion Equine, said they could not share information because of confidentiality rules, and did not comment on whether they had called animal control.
Photos provided by Lisa Murphy
A Chesterfield County teen exited a restroom stall with a gun at the Cultural Center of India last summer and opened fire during a fight among two groups of teens, killing 16-year-old Joel A. Gonzalez-Alvarado in the midst of what had been a joyful coming-of-age celebration for the victims cousin, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
The events that night led to Joels final celebration, Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Barbara Cooke told the jury empaneled to decide the guilt or innocence of David Saul Alvarez Reyes, who was 15 at the time of the July 2, 2022, slaying.
The shooting in the mens restroom was partially recorded by a teenager, who entered the facilities, sensing trouble. And what you can see is one of [Reyes] friends hold Joel up against a urinal, up against the wall in the bathroom, Cooke said.
Several of the other teens were also armed. After a series of shots were fired, surveillance cameras inside the center captured partygoers running for the exits.
Less than 24 hours later, Chesterfield police investigators with a warrant searched Reyes North Chesterfield home and found a gun under his mattress. A state firearm examiner later matched the weapon to cartridge casings found at the scene and bullet slugs recovered from the victims body, the prosecutor said.
But defense attorney Vaughan Jones told jurors there is much more to the story. He said his client fired in self defense after Gonzalez-Alvarados friends followed him and his friends into the restroom and initiated a fight.
He did not fire until he believed he was fired upon, Jones said, adding Reyes resisted using deadly force three times raising and then lowering his gun before eventually firing as he tried to break up the fight.
David [Reyes] was trapped in a very [difficult] place, and he was outnumbered 3-1 by the people in Joels group, the attorney said, identifying the victim as the initial aggressor. He goes into the bathroom and these other boys come in to start the fight.
Reyes, now 16, is the first of four teens to be tried in Gonzalez-Alvarados slaying. Four days have been set aside to hear the case.
Reyes, being tried as an adult, was indicted in November on four felony charges: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and discharging a firearm in a public place resulting in injury. The jury will decide which count of murder will be appropriate, or will acquit him of the offense.
Reyes has been identified as the teen who fired the fatal shots.
His co-defendants Brayan C. Izaguirre-Cuellar, who was 17 at the time; Yahir Estuardo Barrientos, also 17 then; and Kevin Benitez Sorto, 16, face similar murder and firearm charges for allegedly acting in concert with Reyes.
Two guns were fired in the restroom. Detectives recovered spent cartridge casings from 9mm and .22-caliber firearms. Reyes allegedly fired the .22-caliber weapon.
In her opening remarks to the jury, Cooke said Reyes and his friends had not been invited to the event and crashed the quinceanera, a traditional Latino coming-of-age-celebration for 15-year-olds. The Cultural Center of India building at 6641 Ironbridge Road had been leased for the occasion.
Jones was dismissive of his client not having received an invitation; he noted the event had been loudly broadcast on social media, and there were hundreds of people in and out of this event.
Cooke said Reyes and his friends arrived between 10 and 10:30 p.m., and surveillance footage shows one of Reyes friends entering the lobby and hanging out for a couple of minutes before going back outside with the others. The friend then returned to the lobby and he was soon followed by Reyes and the others. At that point, the teens bee lined directly into the bathroom, the prosecutor said.
Reyes is not seen in the cellphone video until he exits a restroom stall. He has a gun in his hand, Cooke said. He racks the gun and he comes to stand behind his friend who has Joel up against the wall.
You can see him raise his gun and point it at Joel, Cooke added.
After the teenager who was recording the incident saw other teens in the restroom armed with guns, he and other witnesses became alarmed. They turned around and started to run, the prosecutor said.
One shot, followed by four in succession, can then be heard on the video.
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A couple of those shots hit Joel, the prosecutor said. At that point you see Joel stagger out of the bathroom and fall right in front of the bathroom door, get back up, stagger a short distance and then fall again.
Responding police officers and paramedics administered CPR but the boy died at the scene.
In the chaos following the shooting, Chesterfield sheriffs Deputy Donte Govine, who was providing security at the party, shot and wounded another party-goer, Kenny Juarez-Arriola, after the deputy saw Juarez-Arriola fire a gun into the air in the parking lot. That occurred moments after Gonzalez-Alvarado was fatally shot, and the deputy believed Juarez-Arriola might have been involved in the killing.
The deputy shooting Juarez-Arriola prompted Shwaryln E. Arriola, an off-duty Richmond police officer attending the celebration, to push Govine twice. Juarez-Arriola is the Richmond officers half brother. Arriola pleaded no contest to assaulting the deputy and was sentenced in December to a suspended jail term. Arriola resigned from Richmond police on Dec. 16.
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The FBI on Tuesday said an internal memo from the Richmond office related to investigating Catholics a memo that has angered public officials and several state attorneys around the country and in Virginia does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI.
While our standard practice is to not comment on specific intelligence products, this particular field office product disseminated only within the FBI regarding racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI, the national office for the FBI said yesterday in an email.
Upon learning of the document, FBI Headquarters quickly began taking action to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a review of the basis for the document, the statement said.
The FBI is committed to sound analytic tradecraft and to investigating and preventing acts of violence and other crimes while upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans and will never conduct investigative activities or open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity, it added.
A spokeswoman for the local FBI field office in Richmond had said that the agency would not be commenting about a request by U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to hand over documents related to the internal memo, which classified radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology as a possible national security threat.
The eight-page memo from the Richmond office was leaked on Jan. 23 by Kyle Seraphin, who was a special agent at the bureau for six years, and was published on the site uncoverdc.com.
It said the agency was investigating Catholics who have possible ties to the far-right white nationalist movement.
The FBIs Richmond Division would like to protect Virginians from the threat of white supremacy, which it believes has found a home within Catholics who prefer the Latin Mass, Seraphin, who is Catholic, wrote.
Seraphin told The New York Post he believed the document was an appalling violation of the First Amendment and said there is no connection between Catholics and white supremacists.
The document was later rescinded by FBI headquarters.
Nineteen attorneys general, including Virginias, wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they condemned the memo and asked for information about how Catholics were being investigated. The letter also was sent to Stanley M. Meador, the special agent in charge of the Richmond office.
Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., also contacted Wray. They described the FBIs targeting of a set of Catholic Americans for their religious beliefs as the latest example of a serious misuse of federal law enforcement resources for apparent political purposes.
Jordan asked that the FBI produce a list of investigations that the Richmond Field Office relied upon to make its assessment, as well as a list of the agency employees involved in the drafting, reviewing, approving or disseminating it. He set a deadline of 5 p.m. March 2.
We remind you that whistleblower disclosures are protected by law and that we will not tolerate any effort to retaliate against whistleblowers for their disclosures, Jordan added.
Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, had just won a landslide victory in her historic race for Congress on Tuesday when she received a long-distance call from President Joe Biden, fresh off his speech in defense of Ukraine, in which he offered his congratulations to a new Democratic ally in the House.
It was that kind of night for McClellan, 50, who became the first Black woman elected to Congress from Virginia with a win of almost 50 percentage points over Republican Leon Benjamin to succeed the late Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th, in the 4th District.
Her victory set in motion another fast-paced Democratic primary to fill her 9th District Senate seat. On Wednesday, Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, set the special election for March 28, which she said means parties have until this Monday [Feb. 27] to nominate their candidates.
Get ready to vote this weekend! Lucas wrote in a post on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.
Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, who had initially challenged McClellan for the congressional nomination before withdrawing in December, formally launched his already-declared campaign for the seat on Wednesday. Del. Dawn Adams, D-Richmond, and 4th District Democratic Chair Alexsis Rodgers also are campaigning for the nomination. Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, said this week that he will not run for the Senate seat or seek re-election in the House, setting up a potential run for Richmond mayor next year.
McClellan informed Lucas early Wednesday that she will resign her state seat by March 7, when the election results are expected to be certified, or when she is sworn in as a member of the 118th Congress, whichever happens first.
It has been a tremendous honor to serve in the Senate of Virginia for the past six years representing the residents of the 9th District, she told Lucas in the letter. As the Congresswoman for Capitol Square, I look forward to working with you in my new capacity.
The notice, sent while the General Assembly remains in session, allowed Lucas to set the date of a special election ahead of the April 12 veto session, when Senate Democrats expect a full confrontation with Gov. Glenn Youngkin over his proposed budget amendments, vetoes and potential legislative gambits.
Whoever wins the special election could have to defend the seat in a second party primary later this spring in the new 14th Senate District, which the Virginia Supreme Court created in political redistricting last year. About 80% of the new district lies in Richmond, with the remainder in Henrico County, which has a larger share of the current 9th District.
You have the possibility of having two primaries in three months ... with the same people, said Bob Holsworth, a veteran political scientist in Richmond.
McClellans victory was expected in the strongly Democratic 4th Congressional District, but its magnitude was overwhelming. She won with more than 74% of the vote by a margin of 48.5 percentage points over Benjamin, who lost his third consecutive race for the seat. He finished with under 26% of the vote, or about 10 percentage points less than his landslide loss to McEachin in November, three weeks before the congressman suddenly died.
We are saddened by the results of last nights election, Benjamin said in a statement Wednesday that represented his first public concession after three blowout losses. While we worked very hard to bring conservative values to the 4th District, we did not prevail in turning the district red.
The republic was hard at work even though we came up short, he said.
Holsworth called the concession an advance over 2020 when Benjamin accused Democrats of stealing the election despite losing by 91,000 votes though it would have been even more gracious if he could have congratulated the congresswoman-elect.
Benjamin received little financial support from outside Republican donors. The party itself provided only logistical support with digital advertising and mailings.
Usually, you want to applaud people who are willing to take on these long-shot elections and work hard, Holsworth said. At the same time, it does the party no good if someone gets blown out. ... Its really more of a sacrifice than anything else.
State Republican Party Chairman Rich Anderson praised Benjamins work ethic and said it remains to be seen who steps forward for Republicans in the next House race in 2024.
Its a tough district, Anderson said.
McClellan already had demonstrated her strength among Democrats in the 4th District by winning almost 85% of the vote in a party-run firehouse primary against fellow Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, and two other candidates just before Christmas.
On Tuesday, she won all of the 15 localities in the district except for Colonial Heights and Prince George County. She won Petersburg with 91% of the vote, but most of her votes came from big wins in Richmond (90%), Henrico (81%) and Chesterfield County (65%).
Though there was no question that Democrats would retain the seat, her overperformance was notable, said Larry Sabato, president of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
The contenders for her Senate seat were quick to congratulate her. I know Donald is looking down at you proud tonight, Bagby said in a tweet referring to McEachin, who had been a political mentor to him and McClellan.
Rodgers, who helped turn out more than 28,000 voters in the hastily organized firehouse primary in December, hailed McClellans victory in a statement Tuesday night as a reminder theres a place for women, Black and Brown people, and queer folks like me. She added: McClellan is a beacon of light to remind us that we are not forgotten nor will we be erased.
Adams, a nurse practitioner who decided to run for the Senate nomination instead of a fourth term in the House, issued a statement Wednesday that called McClellan a mentor, colleague and friend of mine since I first sought elected office in 2017.
She promised to carry on the congresswoman-elects legacy on progressive priorities. I believe I can bring a depth and breadth of health policy knowledge currently missing from the Senate, Adams said.
Bagby, chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, had publicly announced in mid-January that he would run for McClellans seat if she were elected to Congress. He formally launched his bid Wednesday. Our communities are at a crossroads, in need of a leader committed to bridging divides to unleash all the potential Virginias future holds, he said.
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Defeated in a close re-election bid, former Rep. Elaine Luria, D-2nd, wants to use her fundraising and campaigning connections to help Democrats win General Assembly majorities in November.
Her new political action committee, called Defend Democracy, will also back candidates for city and county offices.
Im disturbed by some of the things the Youngkin administration has tried to push in the General Assembly, she said.
Among those concerns are Youngkins position on reproductive rights, evident in calls for new abortion restrictions and for access to womens menstrual health data, as well as the administrations stances on voting rights and gun control.
Luria said she wants to bring her campaigning and fundraising experience to help state and local candidates who may not have the network of backers she developed in in her successful runs for Congress in 2018 and 2020.
She lost in November to Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, after redistricting cut out two Democratic strongholds and much of a third, and in which Luria won Kiggans old state senate district.
Ive always thought this was a team sport, Luria said.
Asked about her own future political plans, Luria said she is focused on the here and now and the 2023 legislative races.
Luria raised just under $10.8 million in her campaign for re-election to Congress, and had a balance of nearly $282,000 in that fund as of the end of 2022, according to Federal Elections Commission filings. That included more than 19,600 contributions from individuals.
I was kind of shocked upon seeing the final FEC report, she said.
Luria, a career Navy officer, started her career in Norfolk on the nuclear-powered carrier USS Harry S Truman and, after a posting in Japan, returned to Virginia and has stayed here ever since. Her parents have settled in Virginia Beach.
She is especially eager to win back for Democrats Hampton Roads General Assembly seats that swung to the GOP in 2021.
This is my home, she said. I know these people.
Democratic Party of Virginia chair Susan Swecker said Lurias PAC will be an important factor in what she called a watershed year in state politics.
From local school boards to the state Senate, we have an obligation to fight for our neighbors, Swecker said.
Whether its abortion rights, fully funded schools, or protections from working families, we need to protect the progress weve made, build on past successes, and elect Democrats up and down the ballot, she said.
Rich Anderson, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said he has no concern about the new PAC>
This is more about Ms. Luria trying to remain relevant, he said After three statewide wins by Republicans in 2021, flipping the House of Republican control and sending one more Republican and one less Democrat to Washington in 2022, Republicans are well-position to grow our House majority and flip the Virginia Senate in 2023.
Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, says that, next session, she plans to bring back her defeated legislation that would prohibit menstrual health data from being included in search warrants. Favola said that, while it was really surprising that the White House noticed the legislation, it signals widespread attention to the matter.
When a House of Delegates subcommittee tabled the bill last week, it caught the eye of President Joe Bidens administration. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement last week condemning Gov. Glen Youngkins administration for its role in prompting the bills defeat.
A House Courts of Justice subcommittee voted 5-3 along party lines to kill Senate Bill 852 after Deputy state Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Maggie Cleary spoke against the legislation, calling it an unprecedented limit on search warrants in police investigations.
I think my bill really does speak to a lot of values that we hold and where people stand on [it], Favola said.
Before its defeat in the House panel, the measure garnered bipartisan support in the Senate, with nine Republicans voting in favor of the bill. With Democrats controlling that chamber, their bills do not need bipartisan support to pass.
For me, it is a privacy issue for my patients, said Sen. Siobahn Dunnavant, R-Henrico, an OBGYN who supported the bill in the Senate. So that was my natural perspective on the bill.
Before the House panel tabled the bill, Cleary said: The administrations concern is that this would ultimately open the door to put further limits on search warrants down the road. And that would be incredibly problematic from a criminal law or really any legal standpoint, she said.
Jean-Pierre said that opposition to Favolas bill attacks the principles of freedom and a womans fundamental right to privacy in the United States of America.
While defending Youngkins stance on the matter, spokesperson Macaulay Porter suggested the Biden administration could carve out a limit on menstrual data through executive order if the president wanted to.
Currently, a privacy rule within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act permits but does not require places like reproductive health care clinics to hand over to law enforcement records of people who have had abortions. Favolas bill is broad in the sense that it concerns health data stored on a computer, computer network or other device containing electronic or digital information.
Favola said her bill is preemptive, since menstrual health data relates to national conversations around abortion access. Last summer, national concern emerged over whether or not peoples menstrual cycles could be accessed from tracking apps on their phones.
Though several anti-abortion organizations and Attorney General Jason Miyares have expressed that it is not their desire to prosecute people who have abortions should the procedure become further restricted or banned prosecution would focus on people who perform abortions legislators like Favola are concerned that might not always be the case.
Im trying to lay the groundwork for protecting Virginians so this is on the books before everybody is saying you know what, we might as well go out and prosecute women, Favola said. I dont know if that day will ever come. But nobody really thought we were going to have abortion bans as restrictive as they are.
Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, which had federally protected abortion access for 49 years, some states have enacted bans or strict restrictions and, in some cases, have threatened prosecution.
I just cant believe that were even having this debate, to be quite frank, said Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Fauquier, who also supported the bill. I mean, its a private health record.
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A bill offering a new way for disbarred attorneys to practice law again is headed for its last steps toward enactment, with the one legislator it could affect, state Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, having abstained from voting on it.
Under the bill, disbarred attorneys seeking reinstatement could ask a three-judge panel to consider their case as an alternative to a disciplinary committee of the State Bar.
That is the same procedure open to attorneys who are contesting efforts to discipline them, and the bills sponsor, state Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said it seemed logical to extend the option to attorneys seeking reinstatement to the bar.
I served on a bar disciplinary committee, what 10, 15 years ago, he said. When you do, you rely on the bar counsel very heavily it can feel a lot like having the prosecutor deciding a case, some lawyers feel theres an issue of impartiality.
Surovell said nobody approached him to introduce the bill, which some legislators quietly, but not on the record, believe was meant to help Morrissey.
Morrissey and his attorney, state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, said he had nothing to do with the bill.
I abstained because the Senate rules, as I interpret them, require a senator to abstain if a particular bill has the possibility of benefiting the member, Morrissey said.
Morrissey has been disbarred twice. The first time was in 2003, when the State Bar said he had violated the terms of a previous suspension. The Virginia Supreme Court, acting on Morrisseys appeal, reinstated him in 2012, on a 4-3 vote.
The State Bar took his license again in 2018, saying he violated its rules of conduct because of his relationship with his 17-year-old receptionist, now his estranged wife, in 2013, for which he was convicted on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam pardoned Morrissey.
The Bar also cited a violation involving one of Morrisseys associates, who passed the bar exam but who had not been formally sworn in, after she represented a client in court.
The disbarment does allow Morrissey to apply for reinstatement after five years, which means he could begin the process this spring.
Former General District Court Judge Birdie Jamison, denied re-election by the General Assembly in 2016 after 25 years on the bench, said it would be a conflict of interests for Morrissey to ask a three-judge panel for reinstatement because, as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he is among the legislators who interview candidates for the bench and judges who are up for re-election.
One could reasonably conclude that this legislation gives Morrissey the best possible opportunity to circumvent the well-established and highly respected protocol for reinstatement, she wrote in a letter to Surovell.
The Office of the Attorney General said it would need at additional $231,000 to hire an attorney and a paralegal to handle additional responsibilities the bill imposes on it.
The bill, which passed the Senate on a 25-14 vote with the Morrissey abstention, is due to come before the House of Delegates on Thursday.
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Newport News Police have turned over to prosecutors the results of their investigation into the Richneck Elementary School shooting.
The file was sent to the Newport News commonwealths attorneys office at about 10 a.m. Tuesday more than six weeks after a 6-year-old boy pulled a gun from his pocket and shot his first grade teacher in the chest.
The detectives have completed their investigation, and completed their interviews, Police Chief Steve Drew said Tuesday in a Facebook Live video chat.
Drew did not say what the detectives are recommending or who if anyone police believe should be charged with a crime. Any determination on charges will be made by Commonwealths Attorney Howard Gwynn.
Gwynn said Tuesday afternoon that he could not give a time frame on how long it will take to review the case and decide on charges.
Theres three binders full of information, Gwynn said, adding that dozens of police officers responded to the scene and many hours of body camera footage need to be reviewed.
Were going to look at the facts, research the law, and based on the facts and the law, any person that we could charge and convict beyond a reasonable doubt, we will do so.
The child himself cannot be charged, legal experts say, because he is too young to have formed the legal intent needed to be charged with a crime. But adults involved in the case face possible criminal liability for allowing the shooting to happen.
Drew said the investigation has been comprehensive, with the challenge of interviewing the numerous first grade children who witnessed the shooting.
Its not something we wanted to rush through, Drew said. I totally understand people would like the case open and shut. Thats just not what we have here. Im not going to rush those detectives through anything, and theres a lot of things in the balance.
Unlike with adults who police can simply ask to come to headquarters for an interview interviewing children at a neutral location is a more challenging undertaking, Drew said.
We have to work with a child psychologist, he said. We have to get permission from parents. So all those things have to be coordinated to have an effective case.
Aside from interviewing the child witnesses, Drew said, detectives had to interview Richneck faculty and staff, process forensics, look at several angles on surveillance cameras and go through significant paperwork. Detectives received emails along the way that required some following up.
Detectives completed their part of the investigation last week, with sergeants and lieutenants also participating. As prosecutors review the case going forward, Drew said they may have more details on which detectives will need to follow up such as re-interviewing particular witnesses or getting some additional forensics.
This is a lot more than just someone bringing a gun to school and that gun was found, Drew said.
This is someone that has suffered a gunshot wound, an aggravated assault. On top of the situation of, How did that child get the gun? Where did it come from? Did the parents know? Did they not know? What role did they play?
While he was sitting at his desk at about 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, the boy pulled a handgun from his hoodie and shot his teacher, 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner, once. Police say the round went through her hand and struck her in the upper chest.
Though the bullet is still lodged inside Zwerner, she was released from Riverside Regional Medical Center the week of Jan. 17.
Police have said the childs mother legally purchased the 9mm Taurus handgun, and that the boy brought it to school in his backpack. Through an attorney, the boys family has said the firearm was secured with a gun lock and stored on the top shelf of a bedroom closet.
Zwerners attorney maintained in a notice of claim sent to the Newport News Schools on Jan. 24 that Richnecks assistant principal, Ebony Parker, ignored several stark warnings from teachers and other staffers that the boy had a gun on him that day.
That included declining to have the boy searched even after a fellow student told a teacher that the 6-year-old showed him the gun at recess and threatened to shoot him if he told anyone.
Under Virginia law, adults responsible for children getting access to guns can be charged with felonies or misdemeanors.
Someone whose willful act or omission in caring for a child was so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life, can be convicted of child neglect, the law says. Thats a Class 6 felony punishable by up to five years behind bars.
Parents or other adults can be charged with the misdemeanor charge of allowing access to firearms by children.
That charge punishable by up to a year in jail can be brought when someone recklessly leaves a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of fourteen.
A bill sponsored by Virginia Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, to strengthen the penalties of calling in a false threat to law enforcement an act known as swatting has passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly.
House Bill 1572 was approved 40-0 in the Senate on Tuesday; the House passed it 92-6 earlier this month.
HB 1572 updates language in the state code to say, Any person who knowingly reports, or causes another to report in reliance on intentionally false information provided by such person, a false emergency communication to any emergency personnel that results in an emergency response is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
A Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia is punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
The bill also states any person who makes such a threat that results in any person suffering serious bodily injury would be guilty of a Class 6 felony, and any threat resulting in death would be punishable as a Class 5 felony.
A Class 6 felony carries one to five years in prison and up to $2,500 in fines, while a Class 5 felony carries prison time of one to 10 years and up to $2,500 in fines.
The bill, Walker said Tuesday in an interview with The News & Advance, sends a message that Richmond can come together on some matters of public safety.
You know there are things that we can agree on ... as far as legislators, and especially when it comes to harming students in school and public safety. We all agree on this, Walker said.
It doesnt matter whether its a Republican bill or Democrat bill. Its a public safety bill protecting our community.
Walker said he was happy to see the felony classification in the case of bodily harm or death, and added that, under his bill, the individual calling in the threat would be financially responsible for first responder resources deployed on the call.
I dont think people understand the extent of what law enforcement has to do when these threats are called in, Walker said.
Swatting has become a bigger issue for law enforcement agencies in recent years, Lynchburg Police Chief Ryan Zuidema said in November.
Swatting is the act of making a hoax call to 911, or even to a private citizen who then communicates the false information to 911, with the intent to draw law enforcement response, which could potentially involve a SWAT team hence the name.
At the time, Zuidema said he and several law enforcement departments across the commonwealth were hoping to solidify this law a little bit more and give some additional options for prosecution in the event of a swatting attempt.
The item was among several priorities on the City of Lynchburgs 2023 legislative agenda.
Walker said he had conversations with Lynchburg police in addition to several other nearby localities law enforcement offices prior to putting the bill in.
An example of swatting in Lynchburg was the September 2022 lockdown at E.C. Glass High School, where a threat was phoned in from outside of the state against the school, resulting in an hours-long lockdown.
Similarly, students at E.C. Glass were held on lockdown for most of the school day on Jan. 25 for a threat made against the principal. A teenager was arrested the same day in Lynchburg and charged with using profane, threatening or indecent language over the telephone.
On that very same day, Walker was on the floor in Richmond presenting his bill to the House.
I said, You guys, you know Lynchburgs E.C. Glass High School is in lockdown while Im presenting this bill. So this is the exact reason Im down here, is to try to prevent any future disturbances at schools, Walker said Tuesday.
With the bill now only needing Gov. Glenn Youngkins signature, Walker said he is excited that word will go out to law enforcement and school divisions that were not going to tolerate any more young people calling in bomb threats ... or anything that would cause harm to students in schools.
Cuba says ballast being shipped to Puerto Morelos an important investment for their country
Puerto Morelos, Q.R. The shipment of ballast from Cuba to Mexico has had its difficulties but is an important investment between the two countries. The Cuban General Consul in Quintana Roo, Armando Fernandez Isla, made the comment during the recent visit of Cuban President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez.
Recently, the Cuban President was in Campeche along with the Mexican President and there were talks of investments, especially in the issue of Cubas participation in the transfer of ballast for the construction of the Maya Train. It is an important investment and it is important business that is being developed, he said.
The process of shipping the ballast to Puerto Morelos is advancing little by little since it has just begun. He said that in time, it will strengthen and grow as the Maya Train project requires it and is a process that will continue to develop.
According to Armando Lara Denigris, the Secretary of Ecology and Urban Development, more than 200,000 tons of stone is expected at the Puerto Morelos dock from where it will transferred by truck to a crusher located on the Ruta de los Cenotes.
There it will be turned into ballast and then distributed to sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Maya Train, which runs from Cancun to Bacalar.
Kidnapper working out of Cancun sentenced to 41 years in Mexican prison
Cancun, Q.R. A man has been sentenced to 41 years in Mexican prison for kidnappings. The Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) reported on the sentencing of Eliseo P after being found guilty of kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping, mainly in Cancun.
The FGR reported that Eliseo P has been attributed to being a member of a criminal organization dedicated to kidnappings, mainly in Cancun. In July 2011, he pointed a gun at a victim and put her in a van before stripping her of her belongings and moving her to a safe house.
In July 2014, the arrest warrant for imprisonment against Eliseo P was executed at the Chetumal Social Reintegration Center. In September 2021, a conviction had been handed down, however, he filed an appeal.
Subsequently, and after complying with the corresponding procedures, a sentence of 41 years in prison was handed down against him in addition to reparation for the damage. He is currently an intern at the Federal Center for Social Readaptation 13 CPS-Oaxaca.
Navy of Mexico evacuates cruise ship passenger for Cancun hospital transfer
Isla Mujeres, Q.R. A 26-year-old man was evacuated from a cruise ship due to a medical emergency Monday. The Secretary of the Navy, who also acts as Coast Guard, met the ship approximately four nautical miles (7.4 kilometers) north of Isla Mujeres.
The ships doctor made the call to have the young man transferred to hospital after he showed signs of secondary anemia and digestive tract bleeding. Navy personnel responded to the call for assistance in transferring the man from the ship to hospital where he could be treated.
He was transferred by boat to Puerto Juarez where a waiting ambulance transferred him to Cancun hospital.
CHRISTIANSBURG Sue Kass announced Tuesday night that she wont seek another term on the Montgomery County School Board.
Kass, whose time on the board began in 2020, cited her need to spend time with her elderly parents. She said her father had a heart procedure performed on him earlier in the day.
Kass said shes had to travel to New Jersey on a regular basis. She also cited increasing job responsibilities at her work. Kass, a former teacher, works as a human resources generalist with the Virginia Tech National Security Institute.
So this will be my last year on the school board, Kass said in a brief speech at the end of Tuesdays board meeting. Thank you for a very memorable four years, everyone. Its had its ups and its downs. I hope there are more ups than downs going forward for everyone.
Kass said her time on the board has been a learning experience and that she learned a great deal about herself.
Kass said shell be happy to speak with anyone interested in running for school board in District F, which includes a portion of Blacksburg.
With Kass announcement, at least two school board members have decided to not seek reelection. Board Chairman Mark Cherbaka announced a few weeks ago that he wont seek re-election.
Penny Franklin, who is currently the longest serving board member, announced earlier this year that she will seek another term. She currently faces a challenge from former county Superintendent Mark Miear.
Board member Marti Grahams term also ends this year, but she has yet to publicly address her future on the board. She also didnt respond to a previous request for comment on whether shes running again.
Kass time on the board began just months before the start of the pandemic, a period that was marked by much division on the board. In addition to disagreements on pandemic related measures, board members were also at odds over issues such as policies for transgender students.
During the pandemic, Kass, along with Cherbaka and Franklin, formed the part of the board that pushed for a more conservative approach to reopening the schools due to concerns and uncertainties over the COVID-19 virus at the time.
Perhaps Kass most high profile moment on the board occurred at around this time last year when she abruptly left a meeting following a verbal exchange with a local parent who, during public comments, singled out Kass over the issue of masking. The parent had shown social media photos of Kass without a mask while around other people.
Kass had been a proponent of masking in schools, but her stance as well as that of a few other board members was in line with the guidance of health experts and agencies at the time.
The exchange was recorded as part of the districts streaming of the meeting and went viral, drawing national attention.
Kass, who served as chairwoman last year, later apologized for the incident.
The event occurred amid Gov. Glenn Youngkins push at the time to end mask mandates in schools.
Correction Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, 11:14 a.m.: The Sister Cities sculpture in Roanoke are located in Century Plaza. An earlier version of this story included incorrect information. The story has been updated.
Roanoke Valley Sister Cities Inc. is officially pausing its relationship with Pskov, Russia, due to the continuing war in Ukraine.
And the organization decided that the Russian flag that flies in Pearl Fu Plaza near the City Market will be removed. Nearby, Century Plaza includes art representing each of Roanokes seven sister cities.
And, on Tuesday evening, the Roanoke City Council unanimously voted to affirm a letter from the Sister Cities organization, which announced the pause in the relationship and the removal of the flag.
Its hard to have a relationship. Theyre not able to speak freely, said Mary Jo Fassie, the Sister Cities organization president, of the counterparts in Pskov.
Roanoke and Pskov have been sister cities for roughly three decades.
Fassie and the organizations Treasurer Bill Bestpitch said they are not aware of a previous occasion where the organization has paused or broken off a relationship with one of its sister cities.
Bestpitch said the organization had just kicked off efforts to grow closer with Pskov when the Ukrainian invasion began last February.
About three days before the invasion, Fassie said, members of the Roanoke Valley group had a Zoom meeting with their counterparts in Pskov.
We had started to make some plans with art exchanges. And then Putin moved his troops in, Fassie said.
Months later, Pskov made international headlines following a New York Times article detailing the execution of Ukrainians performed by Russian paratroopers, some of whom were based out of Pskov.
In January, Fassie said, the Sister Cities board heard from members of a local Ukrainian committee, including Roanoke Valley residents Inna Payne and Tatyana Munsey, who have ties to Ukraine.
And we totally agreed that not only should this be paused, but that the Russian flag was offensive to them and that it should be removed from Pearl Fu Plaza, Fassie said.
The organizations board voted unanimously Feb. 7 to approve the letter affirmed by council Tuesday night.
To have a flag of an aggressive country Russia is like having a Nazi flag during the second world war. Because its a sister city is not an excuse, Munsey said.
Seeing the flag in Pearl Fu Plaza has been painful, Payne said.
I know of families there [in Ukraine], how many people are dying for no reason. [Russia] being justified in killing like that, with its flag right there? No, Payne said.
Munsey and Payne are glad the city is showing its support by pausing the relationship with Pskov and taking down the Russian flag.
It means, we think, that the city of Roanoke doesnt support aggression anymore, Munsey said.
Payne stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine.
Ukraine is a small country, but they are fighting not just for them but for other countries for us, too. I know history. [Russia] will not stop. We have to support [Ukraine], Payne said.
Roanokes six other sister cities are: Florianopolis, Brazil; Kisumu, Kenya; Lijiang, China; Opole, Poland; Saint Lo, France; and Wonju, South Korea.
ROCKY MOUNT Friday marked the start of celebrations in honor of Rocky Mounts 150th anniversary. Several town officials and business leaders gathered at the Rocky Mount Train Depot to share a bit about the towns history and what is to come.
At Fridays presentation, several speakers provided history on the town. Linda Stanley, managing director of the Franklin County Historical Society, discussed how much of the town of Rocky Mount was first established as Mount Pleasant in 1805. She said the main street for Mount Pleasant is now known as Maple Avenue which runs parallel to the contemporary Main Street.
The community was originally established as the location of the Washington Iron Furnace, according to Kevin Tosh with the Franklin County Department of Tourism. The furnace was created in the 1770s and some of the slag from the furnace was used to build some of the first roads in the town, he said.
Tosh and Stanley were two of several speakers at Fridays kickoff. They are part of the towns sesquicentennial committee planning the upcoming events for this years celebration.
Daniel Pinard, cultural and economic development director for Rocky Mount, is overseeing the towns 150th celebrations this year along with the sesquicentennial committee. He said several annual events will be bigger this year due to the 150th anniversary and some new things will be coming as well.
Some of the events planned include a fashion show with modern clothing as well as period pieces from the time the town was incorporated in 1873. The show is planned for this May at The Grande at 290.
Franklin County Court Days on June 10 will be expanded this year with a car show featuring cars from a variety of eras. A cemetery tour is also being planned to showcase the graves of several prominent figures buried in the town.
The years biggest event to showcase the towns 150th anniversary will be 150 Fest set for Sept. 30. It will be a downtown music festival showcasing the music and history of Rocky Mount. Franklin Street will be closed to traffic for the event and five stages will be placed around downtown for artists to perform.
We have so much local talent that we want to make sure it is being shown off, Pinard said.
CHARLOTTESVILLE The Student Council at the University of Virginia wants the school to help pay for public school improvements and affordable housing projects in Charlottesville to make up for the fact that it pays no property taxes.
The council passed a resolution in favor of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, program last week in a 22-1 vote, with one abstention.
The resolution urges UVa to pay a portion of the property taxes it would owe if it were not tax-exempt.
UVa has one of the largest endowments of any public college in the country, totaling $14.5 billion as of 2021.
While the universitys property taxes would amount to roughly $15 million based on the nearly 2,000 acres it occupies, the resolution calls for an annual commitment of at least $10 million towards the city by 2030.
The program would be similar to those between Boston and Harvard and Boston universities; New Haven, Connecticut, and Yale University; and Providence, Rhode Island, and Brown University.
The resolution merely signals support for such a PILOT program; neither Student Council nor Charlottesville City Council have the legal authority to unilaterally require UVa participate. Further action is required from the university, the city and state legislators for any program to be put into effect.
Neither representatives of the Student Council nor UVa immediately responded to a request for comment from The Daily Progress.
City Council Member Michael Payne, who has been proponent of a PILOT program and was the inspiration for the resolution at UVa, said the Student Councils approval is a step in the right direction.
Because the university pays no property taxes, the city permanently loses out on revenue they own just within Charlottesville city limits, Payne said. With about 95 land parcels and an assessed value of about $1.6 million, if the university paid the same tax rate as everyone else it would owe about $16 million per year. That amount of money would make a huge difference in Charlottesville.
The Student Council decision on Feb. 14 came after two weeks of debate at the councils weekly Tuesday meetings.
Third-year Rep. Andreas Masiakos, who sponsored the resolution, told the Cavalier Daily student newspaper he was inspired by Payne after the city councilor suggested a PILOT program during a visit to a university class last semester.
Masiakos provided two clarifying amendments to the resolution before its passage last week.
One amendment specified the city spend the money on Charlottesville public schools and affordable housing projects. The other said that the funds should come from a relocation of existing discretionary funds so that student tuition would not increase to pay for the program.
While similar programs can be found in other cities with strong university presences, their success rate is a matter of debate.
In New Haven, Yale announced in 2021 a new agreement that would raise the universitys financial commitment to the city by $52 million over the next six years.
Yale and New Haven have a bond that has been tested by time and strengthened by shared purpose, Yale President Peter Salovey said in a statement at the time.
However, in Boston, the city received only 68% of the requested PILOT money from educational institutions, including both Harvard and Boston universities, in its area in the last fiscal year.
Harvard has fallen short of its target contribution every single year since the PILOT program was introduced in 2011.
In fiscal year 2022, Harvard contributed a total of almost $10.8 million 79 percent of the nearly $13.7 million request, according to city data, the Harvard student newspaper the Crimson reported on Oct. 14. This fiscal cycle marks the fifth year in a row that Harvard paid 79 percent of the citys PILOT request.
The student newspaper also reported that $6.8 million of Harvards contributions were community benefits credits, which are calculated based on the amount that Harvards existing initiatives financially benefit Boston residents. This means that less than half of Harvards contributions came from discretionary funds.
And in Providence, Mayor Brett Smiley said earlier this month that the citys PILOT program with Brown University, which expires this spring, should be expanded. Smiley is specifically seeking a change in state law that would tax properties rented out by tax-exempt universities to for-profit commercial tenants.
Brown spokesman Brian Clark told the WPRI news station that the Ivy League school paid $2.4 million last fiscal year for its commercial buildings and spaces.
Asked if the school would be willing to contribute more, Clark said the university is proud of the significant number of ways the school supports the city.
Ideally, Payne said Charlottesville and UVa would rise to the occasion and be one of the success stories.
Its just a question of Does UVa have the will and desire to figure out how theyre going to make the program happen? Payne said. One thing the university often responds with is Were a public university and we receive public money. The important context is that the university budget is only about 15% public money from the General Assembly. So the vast majority is not public and they do have the ability to allocate some of that to a PILOT program.
Payne said part of the next steps toward enacting a PILOT program would be an education campaign to illustrate how the university could help support the community where it is located.
Thats a community where officials have been trying to cope with what they themselves have identified as a housing crisis since at least 2009.
The median sales price for a single-family residence in the Charlottesville area sits at about $400,000 today, according to the latest numbers from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors. The median income in the city is $31,161, according to 2020 census figures. The annual salary needed to afford a $400,000 house is at least $165,000, according to fintech company SoFi.
With more than 28,000 employees, UVa is the No. 1 employer in Charlottesville, where the population reached 51,278 in 2022, according to the latest data from the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia, which studies population demographics.
Payne said he believes that the community would support a PILOT program if they were exposed to the hard numbers and the potential benefit of university dollars flowing into the citys housing and education programs.
I think for it to happen really requires building education and support in the community that this is something thats been done across the country, Payne said. Its something that UVa has the ability to do, there are the benefits it could have for housing and education while building momentum in the city. For the university student body, alumni and faculty, this is something we really want to see UVa take action on.
Payne said he believes the push for the PILOT program will be similar to the push for a living wage for faculty members.
After students, staff, faculty and community members lobbied the university, UVa announced in 2019 it would begin paying all full-time, benefits-eligible employees in its academic division and medical center a living wage of at least $15 an hour.
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In a new study, an international team of astrophysicists has discovered several mysterious objects hiding in images from the James Webb Space Telescope: six potential galaxies that emerged so early in the universe's history and are so massive they should not be possible under current cosmological theory.
Each of the candidate galaxies may have existed at the dawn of the universe roughly 500 to 700 million years after the Big Bang, or more than 13 billion years ago. They're also gigantic, containing almost as many stars as the modern-day Milky Way Galaxy.
"It's bananas," said Erica Nelson, co-author of the new research and assistant professor of astrophysics at the University of Colorado Boulder. "You just don't expect the early universe to be able to organize itself that quickly. These galaxies should not have had time to form." Nelson and her colleagues, including first author Ivo Labbe of the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, published their results Feb. 22 in the journal Nature.
The latest finds aren't the earliest galaxies observed by James Webb, which launched in December 2021 and is the most powerful telescope ever sent into space. Last year, another team of scientists spotted four galaxies that likely coalesced from gas around 350 million years after the Big Bang. Those objects, however, were downright shrimpy compared to the new galaxies, containing many times less mass from stars.
The researchers still need more data to confirm that these galaxies are as big as they look, and date as far back in time. Their preliminary observations, however, offer a tantalizing taste of how James Webb could rewrite astronomy textbooks.
"Another possibility is that these things are a different kind of weird object, such as faint quasars, which would be just as interesting," Nelson said.
Fuzzy dots
There's a lot of excitement going around: Last year, Nelson and her colleagues, who hail from the United States, Australia, Denmark and Spain, formed an ad hoc team to investigate the data James Webb was sending back to Earth.
Their recent findings stem from the telescope's Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey. These images look deep into a patch of sky close to the Big Dippera relatively boring, at least at first glance, region of space that the Hubble Space Telescope first observed in the 1990s.
Nelson was peering at a postage stamp-sized section of one image when she spotted something strange: a few "fuzzy dots" of light that looked way too bright to be real.
"They were so red and so bright," Nelson said. "We weren't expecting to see them."
She explained that in astronomy, red light usually equals old light. The universe, Nelson said, has been expanding since the dawn of time. As it expands, galaxies and other celestial objects move farther apart, and the light they emit stretches outthink of it like the cosmic equivalent of saltwater taffy. The more the light stretches, the redder it looks to human instruments. (Light from objects coming closer to Earth, in contrast, looks bluer).
The team ran calculations and discovered that their old galaxies were also huge, harboring tens to hundreds of billions of sun-sized stars worth of mass, on par with the Milky Way.
These primordial galaxies, however, probably didn't have much in common with our own.
"The Milky Way forms about one to two new star every year," Nelson said. "Some of these galaxies would have to be forming hundreds of new stars a year for the entire history of the universe."
Nelson and her colleagues want to use James Webb to collect a lot more information about these mysterious objects, but they've seen enough already to pique their curiosity. For a start, calculations suggest there shouldn't have been enough normal matterthe kind that makes up planets and human bodiesat that time to form so many stars so quickly.
"If even one of these galaxies is real, it will push against the limits of our understanding of cosmology," Nelson said.
Seeing back in time
For Nelson, the new findings are a culmination of a journey that began when she was in elementary school. When she was 10, she wrote a report about Hubble, a telescope that launched in 1990 and is still active today. Nelson was hooked.
"It takes time for light to go from a galaxy to us, which means that you're looking back in time when you're looking at these objects," she said. "I found that concept so mind blowing that I decided at that instant that this was what I wanted to do with my life."
The fast pace of discovery with James Webb is a lot like those early days of Hubble, Nelson said. At the time, many scientists believed that galaxies didn't begin forming until billions of years after the Big Bang. But researchers soon discovered that the early universe was much more complex and exciting than they could have imagined.
"Even though we learned our lesson already from Hubble, we still didn't expect James Webb to see such mature galaxies existing so far back in time," Nelson said. "I'm so excited."
Other co-authors on the new study include Pieter van Dokkum of Yale University; Katherine Suess of the University of California, Santa Cruz; Joel Leja, Elijah Matthews and Bingjie Wang of the Pennsylvania State University; Gabriel Brammer and Katherine Whitaker of the University of Coppenhagen; and Mauro Stefanon of the University of Valencia.
More information:
Ivo Labbe, A population of red candidate massive galaxies ~600 Myr after the Big Bang, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05786-2. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05786-2
Provided by University of Colorado at Boulder
James Vary and his collaborators will transition their simulations of atomic nuclei from high-performance, classical computers to next-generation quantum computers. Credit: Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University
Let's see, thought James Vary, how can we have a little fun with the name of our $1 million nuclear physics project?
Hmm, can we work in the term hack?
So, it's "Nuclei and Hadrons with Quantum Computers." Or, "NuHaQ," for short.
"It's a takeoff on 'hack,'" said Vary, an Iowa State University professor of physics and astronomy and leader of a new project supported by a three-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. In academic computing circles, "to be a good hacker is a positive compliment. Hackers love to solve these problems."
In this case, Vary and the collaborating researchers from Iowa State, Tufts University in Massachusetts and the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California have some very challenging problems to solve.
They aim to figure out how to use quantum computingan emerging technology with enormous power, speed and potentialto simulate all the natural forces within an atom's nucleus.
But don't we already know a lot about atomic nuclei? After all, it was back in 1911 that Ernest Rutherford (who won the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for studies of radiation) published a paper with the first description of an atom's nucleus, discovered when particles hit gold atoms and somehow scattered backward. (Turns out they bounced off the atoms' dense cores, their nuclei.)
Well, wrote Vary and his colleagues in a project summary, "Atomic nuclei comprise more than 99% of visible matter in the universe yet they are not well understood in terms of the fundamental laws of nature."
How, for example, did nuclei form in the Big Bang that created the universe? Or how do nuclei form in the processes that create a supernova, a massive, dying, exploding star?
Wanted: Even more computing power
Vary and his colleagues have simulated the forces within nuclei by successfully competing for time on the world's most powerful supercomputers. That includes "Supercomputer Fugaku" from Japan's RIKEN Center for Computational Science, a machine ranked No. 2 on the latest "TOP500" ranking of the world's supercomputers. Between June 2020 and November 2021, it ranked No. 1 on the list published every June and November.
"Our research is at the extreme edge of what classical computers are currently capable of doing," Vary said. "So, we need to look for that next capability, the next level of computers. We're always keenly aware of the limits of the computers we're working with."
They've tried adding some artificial intelligence tools to their work with high-performance computers. While that is beginning to reveal some of the inner workings of the smallest nuclei, it's also revealing some limits.
"Artificial intelligence has given us a look into the realm we can't yet enter," Vary said.
To get there, Vary and his collaboratorsPieter Maris, Glenn Luecke (retired) and Weijie Du (postdoctoral research associate) of Iowa State; Peter Love and Gary Goldstein of Tufts; and Chao Yang of Berkeley Labare turning to quantum computing.
"Quantum computing is a game changer," Vary said of the emerging generation of computing power that's based on the mechanics and energies at the quantum world's atomic and subatomic scales. "It's a totally different realm with potential for immense capabilities far beyond what the current high-performance computers can do."
Quantum technology means the researchers could have the computing power to begin simulating and studying mid-sized and large atomic nucleiand their bigger numbers of protons and neutrons.
Vary said the researchers' first task will be to identify the nuclear physics problems that can help them develop and test quantum computing tools. He said the researchers would work with manufacturers to get access to the newest quantum computers. And then they'll develop the new step-by-step computational instructionsthe algorithms, schemes and codesrequired to transition their work to quantum technology.
They're hoping the work leads to "our ultimate goal of achieving quantum advantage," the researchers wrote. That would be quantum computers becoming the best tool to model and study nuclei and all the fundamental forces within them. And it would be researchers and students fully utilizing their new quantum tools.
A new hack, indeed.
Provided by Iowa State University
South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division agents arrested Thomas Trey Franklin James III, 31, of Darlington Feb. 17, according to a release from the state agency. James is charged with purchasing and using heroin while on duty between Feb. 16-17, according to an arrest warrant issued by SLED. The heroin was located in his department-issued cruiser and was located after a Darlington Police sergeant searched the car after James employment was terminated, according to the warrant.
Rwanda: acquittement d'une figure de l'opposition accusee de viol
Une figure de l'opposition au Rwanda, Christopher Kayumba, a ete acquitte mercredi a Kigali apres avoir ete accuse de viol et detenu pendant 17 mois.
Ce professeur d'universite de 49 ans avait ete arrete en septembre 2021 puis inculpe de viol et complicite de viol apres des accusations formulees a son encontre par plusieurs personnes, dont une ancienne de ses eleves a l'universite, selon le Bureau d'enquete du Rwanda.
M. Kayumba, qui a cree un journal en ligne appele "The Chronicles", avait lance en mars 2021 un parti politique en opposition au president Paul Kagame.
Peu apres, de premieres accusations de viol, qu'il avait contestees, avaient emerge sur les reseaux sociaux.
Mercredi, un tribunal de Kigali l'a acquitte de toutes les accusations, jugeant "insuffisantes" les preuves presentees.
"La Cour declare Mr Kayumba non coupable de tous les chefs d'accusation et ordonne sa liberation immediate", a declare le tribunal.
Le ministere public avait requis une peine de 10 ans de prison a l'encontre de M. Kayumba. Ce dernier etait absent lors de l'enonce du verdict.
En 2021, M. Kayumba avait mene une greve de la faim durant 11 jours pour protester contre ces accusations, "politiquement motivees", selon lui.
Il y avait mis fin apres 11 jours en raison d'un "etat diabetique qui s'etait rapidement deteriore et mettait sa vie en danger", avait explique son avocat.
L'opposant avait deja ete arrete en decembre 2019, et condamne a un an de prison pour "trouble a l'ordre public", les autorites assurant qu'il s'etait presente a l'aeroport de Kigali en retard pour un vol pour Nairobi et en etat d'ebriete, et qu'il avait menace de "faire fermer l'aeroport".
L'an dernier, un recruteur au sein du parti de M. Kayumba a ete condamne a 10 ans de prison apres avoir ete accuse d'avoir constitue une organisation criminelle.
Depuis la fin du genocide de 1994, qui a fait au moins 800.000 morts principalement tutsi, le Rwanda est dirige d'une main de fer par Paul Kagame.
Loue pour les succes de sa politique de developpement, le president est en revanche critique par les organisations de defense des droits humains pour sa repression notamment de la liberte d'expression.
"Severe Mental Illness and the Death Penalty: A Menu of Legislative Options" | Main | Fourth Circuit panel joins minority of circuits giving broad reading to FIRST-STEP-amended safety valve provision
February 22, 2023
US Supreme Court, in 5-4 ruling, rejects Arizona's claim of proper state-ground basis to uphold death sentence
In an interesting little ruling in a state capital case, the US Supreme Court this morning in Cruz v. Arizona, No. 21846 (S. Ct. Feb 22, 2023) (available here), rejected an effort by Arizona to preserve a state death sentence on procedural grounds. The Court's opinion was authored by Justice Sotomayor and joined by the Chief Justice and Justices Kagan, Kavanaugh and Jackson. Here is how the Court's opinion starts and ends:
Petitioner John Montenegro Cruz, a defendant sentenced to death, argued at trial and on direct appeal that his due process rights had been violated by the trial courts failure to permit him to inform the jury that a life sentence in Arizona would be without parole. See Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 161162 (1994) (plurality opinion); id., at 178 (OConnor, J., concurring in judgment). Those courts rejected Cruzs Simmons argument, believing, incorrectly, that Arizonas sentencing and parole scheme did not trigger application of Simmons. See State v. Cruz, 218 Ariz. 149, 160, 181 P.3d 196, 207 (2008). After the Arizona Supreme Court repeated that mistake in a series of cases, this Court summarily reversed the Arizona Supreme Court in Lynch v. Arizona, 578 U.S. 613 (2016) (per curiam), and held that it was fundamental error to conclude that Simmons did not apply in Arizona. 578 U.S., at 615. Relying on Lynch, Cruz filed a motion for state postconviction relief under Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.1(g). That Rule permits a defendant to bring a successive petition if there has been a significant change in the law that, if applicable to the defendants case, would probably overturn the defendants judgment or sentence. Ariz. Rule Crim. Proc. 32.1(g) (Cum. Supp. 2022); see also ibid. (Cum. Supp. 2017). The Arizona Supreme Court denied relief after concluding that Lynch was not a significant change in the law. 251 Ariz. 203, 207, 487 P. 3d 991, 995 (2021). The Arizona Supreme Court reached this conclusion despite having repeatedly held that an overruling of precedent is a significant change in the law. See id., at 206, 487 P. 3d, at 994 (The archetype of such a change occurs when an appellate court overrules previously binding case law). The Court granted certiorari to address whether the Arizona Supreme Courts holding that Lynch was not a significant change in the law for purposes of Rule 32.1(g) is an adequate and independent state-law ground for the judgment. It is not.... In exceptional cases where a state-court judgment rests on a novel and unforeseeable state-court procedural decision lacking fair or substantial support in prior state law, that decision is not adequate to preclude review of a federal question. The Arizona Supreme Court applied Rule 32.1(g) in a manner that abruptly departed from and directly conflicted with its prior interpretations of that Rule. Accordingly, the judgment of the Supreme Court of Arizona is vacated, and the case is remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
The dissent was authored by Justice Barrett and joined by Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch. It ends this way:
The Court makes a case for why the Arizona Supreme Courts interpretation of its own precedent is wrong. If I were on the Arizona Supreme Court, I might agree. But that call is not within our bailiwick. Our job is to determine whether the Arizona Supreme Courts decision is defensible, and we owe the utmost deference to the state court in making that judgment. Cases of inadequacy are extremely rare, and this is not one. I respectfully dissent.
February 22, 2023 at 12:18 PM | Permalink
Comments
Kavanaugh is a wuss. The state may have got it wrong on direct appeal, but so what? Res judicata.
Another example of BS death penalty "jurisprudence." What a joke. Why capital murderers with no credible claims of innocence get this sort of fly-specking treatment by federal courts (including SCOTUS) is reason enough to withdraw jurisdiction. The Supreme Court deals with this crap, but ignores the plight of Mr. Nowak? Weak weak weak.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 22, 2023 12:31:27 PM
The problem here is the state court rule (and most states have something like that rule) which allow cases -- both civil and criminal -- to be reopened in some circumstances. If res judicata was an absolute rule then Arizona would win. Since it's not absolute, we get into this debate (and the majority has the better argument) about whether Arizona bent its rule into a pretzel to avoid complying with a U.S. Supreme Court summary decision that they did not like.
These cases rarely come up because the doctrine definitely favors affirming the state courts. The last one of these that I remember involved my state with the issue being that, while the procedural bar that the State invoked was technically on the books, it was almost never followed. (It involved the requirement that continuance requests be in writing and, for the most part, our courts simply ignore it and deal with oral continuance requests on the merits. Given that practice, the U.S. Supreme Court found that we could not use the rule to evade looking at the merits of a continuance request that raised due process concerns.)
Posted by: tmm | Feb 22, 2023 1:10:04 PM
The state is pretty much the master of its rules here. There's no evidence of bad faith or anything like that. Res judicata has never been absolute (fraud), and the state court (presumed to be doing its job) gets to modulate when overruling of precedent really triggers the rule. This a "death is different" case.
https://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2012/01/scotus-gives-break-to-death-row-petitioners-whose-lawyers-missed-deadline.html
Posted by: federalist | Feb 22, 2023 1:26:17 PM
Ruling the other way would've given a blueprint for states that wished to ignore the Supreme Court. I imagine some justices noticed that.
1. State ignores SC ruling they don't like.
2. Rule against every defendant who raises a claim under the ignored ruling.
3. Finally get another case where the SC tells the state to follow the ignored ruling.
4. Say that no defendant who was ruled against in the years between steps 1 and 3 can raise a claim because a "misapplication of law" doesn't warrant relief.
And then wait until states realize they could expand this system beyond criminal laws.
Posted by: D | Feb 22, 2023 1:30:39 PM
Kudos to Kent Scheiddegger for his commentary on the decision, noting that the AZ Supreme Court's position was indefensible and that SCOTUS was right to reverse. (Although his view would have counted for double in my book if offered prior to today's opinion :))
Posted by: John | Feb 22, 2023 2:04:27 PM
This is a rare occasion where I disagree with Kent, and this probably results from my dislike of SCOTUS flyspecking. His "on the merits" comment is distinct from whether SCOTUS owed deference to the state. The law is clear that it did. Kent may be going soft. LOL.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 22, 2023 2:08:28 PM
When the Supreme Court took the case, I was worried about a broad ruling. The majority opinion is very narrow and does not substantially alter what qualifies as a firmly established and regularly followed rule. The opinion is very fact specific and fits into the "good for this one case and this one day only" type of case that we get about once every two or three years from the U.S. Supreme Court. And it is what tends to happen when the Supreme Court thinks that a lower court is trying to evade its decisions.
Posted by: tmm | Feb 22, 2023 3:09:53 PM
tmm, the Supreme Court's inappropriate treatment of Alabama in the Maples case and its failure to deal with the Kindler case (Pa. had applied the fugitive disentitlement doctrine to his capital appeal and the Third Circuit waved that away) take away its moral authority to handwring over any state court trying to hold on to a death penalty judgment. This is not to mention the Supreme Court's institutional failure to ensure that AEDPA requirements are enforced.
Why the Supreme Court is wasting its time with this is beyond me. Capital punishment, in the absence of innocence issues, shouldn't be a big deal.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 22, 2023 4:56:04 PM
federalist writes: "Capital punishment, in the absence of innocence issues, shouldn't be a big deal." I'll put that statement second on the list, the first being that "Trump was a great President."
Posted by: anon | Feb 22, 2023 5:03:22 PM
Funny, anon, you never seemed to answer my list of accomplishments by Mr. Trump . . . .
And funny how Russia invaded Ukraine on Obama/Biden and Biden's watch. And one of Trump's accomplishments was bringing final justice to a host of brutal killers!!
Posted by: federalist | Feb 22, 2023 5:11:35 PM
https://nypost.com/2023/02/22/jose-alba-to-sue-city-over-dropped-murder-case/
Let's hope he bankrupts the city .. . .
Posted by: federalist | Feb 22, 2023 5:19:05 PM
https://hotair.com/headlines/2023/02/22/mo-senate-president-demands-resignation-from-gardner-as-incompetent-and-grossly-unfit-n532574
Sickening. Kindness to the cruel is cruelty to the kind. The cost of Doug's freedom arguments . . . .
Posted by: federalist | Feb 22, 2023 5:19:56 PM
Not sure what kind of "freedom arguments" you are talking about, federalist, but you spend enough time on this site to know I do not blog much about bonds/bail and its various failings. That said, I am sure that it shouldn't take 3 years to try a seemingly simple robbery charge (and that multiple years on house arrest for a teen seems far from ideal).
Posted by: Doug B | Feb 22, 2023 5:44:30 PM
John --
Without taking a position on the merits here, I'll say that Kent is perhaps the most scrupulously honest and fair-minded legal analyst I ever met. (This did not stop some commenters on this site from calling him a Nazi).
Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 22, 2023 6:02:27 PM
Doug, you used to make inchoate freedom arguments when it came to incarceration time--locking people in a cage . . . .
Posted by: federalist | Feb 23, 2023 8:46:38 AM
Do you disagree, federalist, that freedom is not well served by locking people in cages without a good justification? I sense you would agree with me that freedom was not well served when Anthony Novak was locked in a cage for four days. Likewise, I surmise you did not think freedom was advanced when Bogdan Vechirko spent time locked up in a cage.
Of course, the challenge in so many settings is figuring out what degree/length of caging is justified, and that challenge has been keeping this blog going for almost two decades now.
Posted by: Doug B | Feb 23, 2023 10:28:32 AM
"Of course, the challenge in so many settings is figuring out what degree/length of caging is justified, and that challenge has been keeping this blog going for almost two decades now."
Yup. But you've posited the idea that a society is less free the more it locks people up--true enough--and issues raised by Novak, Vechirko and countless others need to be address, but Janae Edmondson gets to spend her freedom without legs, and that's a problem too. Yeah, the Novak case is one of those that really makes me pessimistic for our country. The cops retaliated against this guy in plain sight, and the courts ratified it. And lawyers participated in it.
Gardner belongs in a cage.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 23, 2023 10:44:31 AM
when I said "true enough" i meant more of a truism.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 23, 2023 10:55:26 AM
Car accidents are a fact of life, federalist. In the US, roughly 100 people die every single day (and thus losing their "freedom" entirely). Another 4,500 suffer injuries in vehicle crashes each day (thankfully most do not suffer injuries as severe as Janae Edmondson). So I share you concerns about these kinds of harms, but I think it quite significant that they are not state-imposed.
When a private person complains about what pronouns I use, that feels and is a lot different than when a state actor seek to suppress or compel my speech. Private persons and companies, economic realities and the marketplace, culture and climate all impact our freedom all the time, but I see all that as quite different in kind from state action -- eg. if a private person locks me in a cage, that's kidnapping; when the state does this to Novak, Vechirko and countless others, it gets justified in the name of public safety with very little review or accountability.
Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 23, 2023 11:41:53 AM
You bring a lot of strands together. The problem in the St. Louis case is that the guy shouldn't have been free to drive without a license. When criminals get too low sentences and wind up hurting others, that's on the state, so to speak. The state had a hand in the deaths of members of the Petit family. Gardner was tough on the McCloskeys--soft on everyone else.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 23, 2023 11:53:17 AM
Doug --
Why the loaded word "caged"? How about "imprisoned"? Aren't law professors supposed to be neutral? "Caged" is anything but a neutral term. It's designed to imply that criminals sentenced to prison are being treated like animals, which implication is neither neutral nor true.
Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 23, 2023 3:08:23 PM
Doug --
And speaking of caged, the NYT just now has an article about how defense bar hero Harvey Weinstein was just sentenced to be "caged" for 16 years. Is that wrong? Should he be sent to the country club for 16 years instead?
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/23/us/harvey-weinstein-sentence-los-angeles.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20230223&instance_id=86114&nl=from-the-timesi_id=171086462&segment_id=126111&te=1&user_id=97e470aaaf9cc8014c5c97aebe4559c9
"Caged" is just designed to smear the system and build up hate against the people in it. It does nothing to advance reasoned argument.
Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 23, 2023 3:13:56 PM
Doug,
Society is less free the more you lock people up
Thats not necessarily true. If you could miraculously round up every thug in Chicago and create a crime free city, do you think the residents would feel more or less freedom?
Thats an issue with your perspective. Its focused on individuals, almost always the criminals, and never about whether a citizen can go for a peaceful walk at 10 PM. Instead, the citizen has to stay in his cage (to use your preferred word).
In other words, action/inaction and more/less incarceration all can negatively impact the freedom of the population.
The difference is I prefer the criminal over law-abiding citizens shouldering the burden of loss of freedom.
eg. if a private person locks me in a cage, that's kidnapping; when the state does this to Novak, Vechirko and countless others, it gets justified in the name of public safety with very little review or accountability.
Do you really believe that people are put into cages with very little review or accountability? Im not talking about specific injustices, which will happen under any system, but as a general rule. Thats risible.
Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 23, 2023 4:08:15 PM
Bill,
Of course the Weinstein sentence is unfair. Dont you remember? No one should serve more than 20 years and he is already serving a 23 year sentence. This last batch of sexual assaults should have been freebies.
He is also 70 years old. Only a monster like you would want to keep an elderly man in prison.
Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 23, 2023 4:17:09 PM
Bill: I used the word "cage" because that was the word that federalist used. Geez, you whine that I put words in your mouth and then whine when I use the exact words of others. I guess I should be grateful you are not also whining about my use of pronouns. I thought it was only the woke crowd that whines about every implication of every word, but maybe you are a lot more woke than I realized. :-)
Tarls: how about we just lock up every man in Chicago? And, based on data on crime per capita, let's also do every man in Memphis, Detroit, South Bend, Little Rock, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Lansing, Chattanooga, Kansas City and Houston. Wouldn't that make the women in those cities and all of us in the rest of the country more free as you see it? Or, if you want to be more focused on the most crime prone or "thug"-like, let's just lock up all the men in those cities between the ages of 16 and 36. Wouldn't that make everyone else in those cities more free as you see it?
I assume you'll say that you only want to round up the "thugs." But do you want to lock up every "thug" for the rest of their lives? (In another thread, you endorsed 150 years for a first offender with awful pictures on his laptop, so maybe you do.) If you do not want to lock every "thug" up forever, then we both are on the same page struggling with the same problem of how long it makes sense to lock people up.
You are right that I tend to focus on the individual and his/her position relative to the government in part because, even with recent reductions in incarceration, I fear we actually hurt public safety and waste tax dollars and also undercut our sense of a nation "conceived in liberty" through excessive use of excessive terms of incarceration. We still incarcerate more persons for more time than any other civilization in human history AND our crime rates are higher than most other countries that share our climate and culture (that's in part because crime is a young-man's game and while some of our prisons are starting to look like geriatric wards). Maybe you think incarcerating still more and more and more and more would make us freer, but that's not how I see it.
Posted by: Doug B | Feb 23, 2023 5:38:57 PM
My experience is that most times that people complain about people being improperly locked up, it is based on a one-sided review of the case. I have dealt with enough cases -- some of which resulted in charges being dropped, some of which resulted in people whom I still believe committed the offense going free, and some of which involved people who might not have been guilty being found guilty -- to know that most of them involved rather complicated facts with two sides to the story. Furthermore, in most of them, the person who got locked up (even if they didn't commit a crime) did something that made law enforcement legitimately believe that they committed a crime. While folks may argue that some of that conduct should not be criminal or that law enforcement got the wrong person, in most of these cases, there is an interpretation of the acts that would cross the line into a violation of the law or something that the defendant did that made them a suspect. And the current interpretation of Section 1983 makes it very difficult to sue law enforcement and the government for acts taken based on good faith interpretations of the law and evidence simply because somebody else later disagrees with their interpretation of the evidence and the law.
Posted by: tmm | Feb 23, 2023 5:50:37 PM
TarlsQtr --
Guilty as charged, your Honor. P.S. Are you and I still the same person? We were yesterday, but you never know when the Fruitcake Left is going to change its mind.
Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 23, 2023 9:03:37 PM
Doug --
I think you've been using "caged" for a long, long time before TarlsQtr ever brought it up. But you shouldn't. It's just a loaded term designed more to promote emotion over thinking.
As for my views of Wokeism: https://ringsideatthereckoning.substack.com/p/should-desantis-run-as-the-angry
Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 23, 2023 9:06:36 PM
Bill, I do on occasion use the term caged and cages as a provocative way to describe incarceration, in part because I think the emotion it may trigger can sometimes be justified. When I see all-too-frequent stories of inmates being raped by guards, of disabled prisoners being brutally abused, of prisoners confined in solitary for years on end, of food I would not feed a dog being served, I do fear that some criminals being sentenced to prison are sometimes being treated worse than animals. I sincerely hope that is the exception and not the rule, but prisons are notoriously opaque institutions and many that I have visited have lots of rooms with bars that, I think, can be fairly described as cages.
Posted by: Doug B | Feb 23, 2023 9:52:56 PM
Doug --
It's mistaken and unfair to judge the system by its outlier episodes, while ignoring that, for by far the most part, nothing like what you describe happens. It's also mistaken and wrongheaded constantly to see imprisoned criminals as victims. I can tell you from years as an AUSA that it's really hard to get yourself a prison sentence, and if you get one, it's not because you're a victim. It's because you earned it, typically by being a victimizer.
Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 24, 2023 4:38:15 AM
Bill, there are situations (and I agree, thankfully rare) where bit players in major drug conspiracies get serious serious time.
The current version of the DoJ, in my opinion, doesn't have the moral authority to prosecute anyone.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 8:32:14 AM
"It's mistaken and unfair to judge the system by its outlier episodes, while ignoring that, for by far the most part, nothing like what you describe happens."
In a way, yes, but when errors are plain and don't get addressed, then there's a problem. Why should ANY of us pay taxes if the government is going to go easy on Hunter not paying his?
Tarls, I meant to say "truism"---obviously incapacitation of violent criminals helps free the law-abiding. My bad/
Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 8:54:38 AM
Bill, this NPR piece highlights that, for women in federal prison, being at risk of sexual abuse by guards has been the norm, not an outlier: "Male prison employees assault women in at least two-thirds of U.S. prisons." https://www.npr.org/2022/12/13/1142594198/male-prison-employees-assault-women-in-at-least-two-thirds-of-u-s-prisons
And here is research detailing that in 2021 "an estimated 41,000 to 48,000 prisoners in the United States were held in isolation for an average of 22 hours a day for 15 days or more."
https://law.yale.edu/centers-workshops/arthur-liman-center-public-interest-law/liman-center-publications/time-cell-2021
And here is a report discussing that "the misuse of force against prisoners with mental health problems is widespread"
https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/05/12/callous-and-cruel/use-force-against-inmates-mental-disabilities-us-jails-and
And here is an article discussing California's persistent failure to address abuse of physically disabled prisoners
https://www.courthousenews.com/disabled-calif-prisoners-say-mistreatment-persists-despite-court-orders/
All these stories, and many more I could provide, reinforce my fear that when we put people in prison cages, it is all too common that we treat them worse than animals. That concerns me not because I view "imprisoned criminals as victims," but because I think the state has an obligation to be better than a criminal and should try to treat all individuals with as much humanity as reasonably possible and should try to respect the importance of human liberty to the extent reasonably possible.
Of course, Bill, given that you dedicated much of your professional life to sending people into cages, I fully understand why you want to believe that people in those cages are not treated worse than animals or that they entirely "earned" being raped or abused or kept in extreme isolation while there. If I spent most of my professional life sending people into cages, I suspect I would want to believe the same thing. And I sincerely hope prison life for most people is as nice as you imagine it to be. My sense is that's true in Scandinavian counties, but not generally in the US. Perhaps I should take this back-and-forth as a sign that you would be a supporter of efforts to brings Scandinavian prison norms to the US: https://theconversation.com/a-pennsylvania-prison-gets-a-scandinavian-style-makeover-and-shows-how-the-us-penal-system-could-become-more-humane-187834
Posted by: Doug B | Feb 24, 2023 9:08:23 AM
And one last observation: federalist's comment --- that "the current version of the DoJ, in my opinion, doesn't have the moral authority to prosecute anyone" --- effectively highlights how readily the state can lose its moral authority to prosecute and punish in the eyes of the citizenry. I do not share federalist's view as to the DoJ, but his sentiments are one part of why I think it so very important for the state to be better than the criminals.
Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 24, 2023 9:46:03 AM
Doug, the Ashley Biden diary prosecution (together with the jackboot raid on James O'Keefe) shows that the FBI/DOJ has become a Praetorian Guard. That alone shows that it should be abolished. You simply cannot have this. And that's on top of the FBI's role in suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story and to name another shameful episode, the doctoring of the Flynn 302.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 11:44:27 AM
So, federalist, should all these recent DOJ indictments/convictions be dismissed because DOJ "doesn't have the moral authority to prosecute anyone"?:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-high-ranking-ms-13-leaders-arrested-terrorism-and-racketeering-charges
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-convicted-use-firearm-connection-murder-and-robbery
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-charged-federal-hate-crimes-allegedly-shooting-and-wounding-two-victims
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/street-gang-member-pleads-guilty-rico-conspiracy
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-charged-sexual-exploitation-children-and-distribution-receipt-and-possession-child-sexual
In addition to wondering exactly what you mean by your call to abolish the FBI/DOJ, I trust you (and Bill) can readily see how your frustrations with the work of federal cops and prosecutors which leads to a call for abolition is quite similar to many other groups making similar calls to "abolish" one or another a law enforcement institution that they fear does more harm than good.
Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 24, 2023 12:06:55 PM
Doug, of course not. But here you are falling into the trap--that DoJ does good does not mean that things like the Ashley Biden prosecution etc. are tolerable. The DoJ doesn't get to exist (in its current form anyway) because we need to prosecute these criminals. The DoJ is all we got. But it is rotten to the core. The Chinese government doesn't have any moral authority either--but murderers still need to be punished.
I guess you agree with my positions on the Biden diary etc. because you dare not challenge them.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 12:18:42 PM
I do not know the details well enough, federalist, to agree or disagree with your positions on the Biden diary etc. (I do not think the diary defendants have been sentenced yet, and I am looking forward to seeing their sentencing submissions.).
My point is that, based on your view of just a handful of cases --- what Bill would likely call "outlier episodes" --- you are saying that the FBI/DOJ "should be abolished." Notably, nobody died in any of these cases, nor did anyone serve extended time in a cage. And yet, because you are so troubled by law enforcement investigative behaviors in a few cases, you think a VERY MAJOR part of our national criminal justice systems are "rotten to the core." Fine, but I hope that gives you respect for those with an eye on injustices in other cases who make calls to abolish other law enforcement institutions that they think are "rotten to the core." (E.g., the fake stash-house sting case and the federal bail unlawfulness are other salient examples of other issues/cases that can look very ugly when you start to look under the hood.)
Put another way, you sound like many in the BLM crowd, federalist, it is just the types of cases that lead to calls for abolition that differ.
Posted by: Doug B | Feb 24, 2023 12:35:23 PM
Doug, Ashley Biden left behind a diary. It was sold. And this is a federal case? This means that partisan political considerations attended this prosecution--which is an absolute no-no. Lisa Page helped to edit the Flynn 302--a huge no-no.
The FBI suppressed the Hunter Biden story--which means that a criminal law enforcement agency was interfering in an election. That undercuts democracy.
The stash house stings look to be up to the line, but not over the line. Bail stuff, I agree, has gotten a little bit out of hand.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 12:47:54 PM
You have every right to draw your lines and cry out to abolish the FBI/DOJ based on the handful of cases that deeply trouble you, federalist. But same goes for the BLM crowd and others who focus on different "no-nos" while crying out for criminal justice reforms in their own way.
Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 24, 2023 1:33:35 PM
Organizations are run and staffed by human beings, and things are going to happen. However, the in plain sight election meddling by a law enforcement agency and the prosecution of people who found (then sold) abandoned property simply because that abandoned property happened to be the president's daughter's diary (in which she stated that Biden showered with her when she was 13/14, which is pretty creepy).
The FBI's actions likely affected the outcome of the 2020 elections, which, not to put too fine a point on that, delegitimizes the federal government.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 1:41:46 PM
Again, federalist, you have every right to believe that actions in 2020 by Trump's FBI serves to "delegitimize the federal government." And all sorts of others have all sorts of other reasons to believe all sorts of other government actions serve to "delegitimize the federal government." Thanks again for reinforcing the only point I was stressing here, namely that even small seemingly suspect actions by the state can lead it to lose its moral authority to prosecute and punish (or even its entire legitimacy) in the eyes of some members of the citizenry.
Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 24, 2023 2:28:09 PM
Doug, the most precious right of the People is to govern themselves, and elected officials must submit themselves to the People periodically in elections. When the government (which, in this case, you cheekily note was the Trump Admin--I don't even need to comment on that bit of sophistry) puts its thumb on the scale of an election by suppressing a legitimate story about a candidate, then the elections become unfair. Joe Biden, to his ever-lasting disgrace (along with that of Chris Wallace) accused Trump of parroting Russian disinformation in the debates. If that doesn't concern you, well, I just don't know what to say.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 2:50:01 PM
I have little interest in chasing or debating your partisan views of the FBI, federalist, but I surmise that you think the FBI during the Trump years headed by Trump's appointee was rigging elections against Trump and that serves to delegitimize the current federal government. Okay, and lots of other folks with lots of other partisan views have a different story that gets them to a similar conclusion that certain law enforcement institutions are "rotten to the core" and "should be abolished" and that associated governments are illegitimate.
You are more than welcome to keep preaching your perspectives here about which particular police forces you think should be abolished, federalist, and I will keep noting how similar you sound to the BLM crowd. You are singing the same basic abolition song, albeit in slightly different keys. And the songs you are all singing concern me; they are all in the same pitch as this entire blog as they call for us to be ever eager and vigilant to question and interrogate the exercise of state powers.
Posted by: Doug B | Feb 24, 2023 3:06:15 PM
Obviously, we'll need to replace the DOJ. But I absolutely have to laugh at your characterization of my points about the FBI--do you deny that the FBI was involved with the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story? Do you really think that any consideration other than the fact that it was Ashley's diary went into the prosecution of the two who found it?
Of course, you can't answer these points, so you descend into sophistry and ad hominem. Cute.
Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 3:09:39 PM
Not sophistry and ad hominen, federalist, just how I see things from the outside. I have never worked in the FBI or the DOJ, so I have little basis to understand their actions, mistakes, motivations, chain of command and review or whether to endorse your assertion that they are "rotten to the core" and "should be abolished." Perhaps Bill, who spent much of his career in federal law enforcement, can provide more of an insider perspective on the rot you now see. I have read that the FBI was hyper-concerned about disinformation in the run up to the 2020 election which prompted the Hunter laptop actions. Some of those actions sound hinky to me; but again, as an outsider, I do not know who should be held to account for any mistakes and biases in those actions. Moreover, as an outsider, I do not understand who exactly I am supposed to blame if an FBI/DOJ run for multiple years by Trump appointees is making mistakes that reflect political biases.
Also, as I have explained before, I see politics in everything done by federal law enforcement. Its lack of enforcement of marijuana prohibition is driven by politics, its capital punishment decisions are driven by politics, its approach to gun possession prosecutions is driven by politics, its other drug enforcement decisions (stash-house stings) are driven by politics, and on and on and on. Of course, DOJ insiders will surely have tales about only sound policy, not politics, in play. I suspect the folks who prosecuted the diary folks will say it is sound policy to prevent individual from trying to obtain and sell dirt on the children of federal candidates. But what some will reasonable believe to be justified by policy, others will reasonable see as a form of politics.
I am not attacking the sincerity of your beliefs that the FBI/DOJ are "rotten to the core" and "should be abolished." I am rather just continuing to make the point that lots of others, based on different prosecutorial and police activity that they find suspect and biased, also are inclined to conclude that certain law enforcement institutions are "rotten to the core" and "should be abolished" and that associated governments are illegitimate.
Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 24, 2023 3:45:56 PM
"I have read that the FBI was hyper-concerned about disinformation in the run up to the 2020 election which prompted the Hunter laptop actions."
I have to marvel at that--swallowing whole the excuse for trying to protect Biden.
And as for Ashley--really? She left the diary behind . . . .
Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 5:34:50 PM
Doug,
If you are dumb enough to believe incarcerating every male between certain ages is logically connected to anything I have said, then you should step down from your position. Of course, I know you arent that dumb.
Now, lets talk about freedom. Keith Melvin Moses has a long record, multiple felonies, some violent. He shot five people, killed three, including a nine year old and a journalist. Which is a bigger affront to freedom? If he would have been incarcerated a long time for his previous criminal record and not been out of prison or the death of those three people?
Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 24, 2023 9:25:40 PM
Tarls, your suggestion was that if we could "round up every thug" we would enhance freedom. One plausible means for seeking to do so would be to round up everyone most likely to be a "thug" (young men). Thus, it is sensible to inquire if you really think freedom would be enhanced by locking up everyone in this crime-prone demographics. My inquiry is one logical extension of the notion that locking up the "right people" enhances freedom.
That you balk at this proposed variation on mass incarceration suggests you recognize that at some point ever more incarceration does not advance freedom. I concur, and so it seems we are now on the same page of debating how and how long we should selectively incarcerate those who show themselves to be crime-prone via their behaviors. I am quite comfortable saying folks with violent records like Keith Melvin Moses should be locked up for a long time. But Weldon Angelos and Alice Marie Johnson and Luke Scarmazzo thousands of others are sentenced to decades or more in prison for non-violent offenses and I fear we undercut our resolve and the resources needed to keep the truly dangerous incarcerated by locking up the not-dangerous.
I might feel different if the scale of US imprisonment was not historically massive or if it seemed somewhat more effective. But, as I said before, we incarcerate many more persons for much more time than any other civilization in human history AND our crime rates are higher than most other countries that share our climate and culture. It is quite discouraging to see stories of persons with ugly histories allowed to be free to cause carnage, though those stories make me ever more depressed that waste resources and lives locking up those without ugly histories.
Coming full circle, you may view Americans in the 21st century as the most crime-prone people in human history, and so that is why we need to have historically high levels of American incarceration in order to be "free." But I am not quite ready to accept the idea that this country breeds the most crime-prone people in the world. But maybe it does and maybe I should just embrace mass incarceration as the best path to freedom within such a horrid population.
Posted by: Doug B | Feb 24, 2023 10:26:11 PM
federalist you rave on an on about Hunter Biden's laptop. Sounds like the never ending rant by Republicans about Benghazi, Benghazi.... which turned out to be a big nothing-burger. And you don't seem very much concerned about the Jan. 6 insurrection or Trump's multiple illegal and reckless acts. Hard to credit anything you say or argue given your view that Trump was a great President, when he was and is nothing but a charlatan and snake oil salesman.
Posted by: anon | Feb 25, 2023 10:12:15 AM
Doug,
Every thug (me) to likely to become a thug, (you).
You never have any moral right to claim that people are putting words in your mouth.
Just curious. What objective measures do you use to define likely? It cannot be merely age, as far fewer than 50% of any age are criminals.
Wasnt Angelos convicted of multiple counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking? Thats not a guy carrying a joint around. If a guy is carrying a gun while trafficking, its reasonable to assume he would use it given the necessity.
I call BS. If Moses had not killed those people and was in prison for his previous crimes, wed be hearing about how he was a juvenile when he committed them and we were just creating a better criminal, blah, blah, blah.
What other countries have the same climate and culture that we do?
Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 25, 2023 11:20:01 AM
anon,
Comparing Benghazi to Hunters laptop? My heavens. Just what has come out so far shows extensive criminality and complete lack of ethics from Hunter and The Big Guy.
Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 25, 2023 11:24:36 AM
TarlsQtr --
You are merciless, may God be praised.
P.S. Are we still the same person? I've lost track.
Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 25, 2023 2:15:13 PM
Tarls, I am not trying to put words in your mouth. I am working through the implications of your claims that we increase freedom by locking up "the right people" (which you call "thugs") and presumably for decades since you seem concerned that Angelos got released after 13+ years. To the extent you balk at the idea that the "right people" to imprison is a huge number (or perhaps balk at the notion that you want all "thugs" to serve decades in prison to advance freedom), then I conclude we are on the same basic page and are ultimately debating how and how long we should selectively incarcerate those who show themselves to be crime-prone via their behaviors in service to the goals of freedom. (You may have other goals you want to achieve through long terms of imprisonment, but this discussion is about advancing freedom.)
Maybe I can simplify my point this way. I readily concede we can enhance the freedom of a community by incarcerating its greatest threats even if they need to be locked up for a very long time (eg, the serial killer, the serial rapist and even the serial grifters). Do you agree that we undercut the freedom of a community by incarcerating its mildest threats especially if we do so for a very long time (eg, the drug user, the jaywalker, the juve shop-lifter)? Assuming you concede that point, then we both agree that imprisonment can advance freedom at one extreme and undercut it at the other. I doubt this is controversial, and I was just trying, in perhaps an unclear way, to suggest there is some common ground here. I do not want to abolish prisons in the name of freedom, and I sense you do not want it massively expanded it in the name of freedom. We are just debating where between these extremes we might best be located to advance freedom. (Again, if you have other goals for our system other than advancing freedom, the discussion takes on additional variables. Many focus on "desert" in punishment systems; that's a different variable. And I surmise many in the "abolish prison" camp are focused on visions of racial equity, not a freedom agenda.)
With the easy part out of the way, the hard challenge is figuring out the "right" sentence to advance freedom for Weldon Angelos or Alice Marie Johnson or Keith Melvin Moses. That is always going to be very hard --- I think 5 would have been plenty for Weldon, you might think he still needs to be serving his original 55 year term --- but I also think a nation committed to liberty and freedom should always struggle with and have to justify the use of coercive state power to incarcerate because imprisonment is, by definition, an extreme restriction on freedom. You may think the harms of various crimes are so great, and the protections in place already so robust, and the risk to community so vast, that we ought to worry much more about under-incarceration rather than over-incarceration in the name of freedom. But the fact that many other nations are safer with much lower incarceration rates makes me sad and makes me think we can and should keep trying to do better in enhancing freedom in this country without incarcerating more and more and more.
Here are links to various (highly imperfect) sources comparing crime/homicides across nations:
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/crime-rate-by-country
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/homicide-rate-vs-gdp-pc
When I reference countries that "share our climate and culture," I mean mostly western democracies with relative high GDP/capita, but there are really so many variables here in a large nation like the US which is truly like no other. Weather is a critical criminogenic factor (which is why I mention "climate"), and surely in part accounts for US variations in crime: New England always looks a lot like western Europe with relatively low crime rates, while parts of southeast US looks closer to part of South America with high crime rates. By "culture" I am thinking about capitalism/democracy that generally enables a social safety-net, though on reflection I suppose I should note that few other nations share the US "gun culture" which some use to explain our high rates of gun crimes/violence: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23141964/america-gun-violence-epidemic-chart
Posted by: Doug B | Feb 25, 2023 2:41:38 PM
Bill,
We are the same person on even days, so tomorrow.
Doug,
In the same sentence you say you are not putting words in my mouth, you do it again. The right people? After years on this blog, have you ever heard me condone incarcerating innocent people? Once?
How many jaywalkers and juve-shoplifters are in prison? Hell, even personal use drug users. However, even mild offenses that are repeated over and over deserve real punishment. No one should be walking the streets freely with a dozen arrests. They are proven scofflaws.
There is no other country with our culture. The western democracies you speak of lack the scars of slavery and the racial component. They set up the system and left to not face the consequences of it.
A huge majority of our crime is committed in a few neighborhoods of urban centers, with African-Americans committing a huge outsized proportion of it. If you remove that component, again one that Europe doesnt have to deal with, our crime rate falls in line with other western democracies.
Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 25, 2023 9:51:02 PM
You are making reasonable and important points, Tarls, but they are incomplete. First, on terminology, I was not trying to say you want to incarcerate innocent people, I was trying to say you want to incarcerate certain people. You used the term "thugs" before, but now you reference "proven scofflaws."
Okay, but what does that mean and does it include repeat drug users and/or impaired drivers? CDC data suggest that past-month illicit drug use likely encompasses at least 40 million Americans over the age of 12. NSDUH data estimates the number of U.S. residents ages 16 years and older who drove under the influence in the past year was nearly 20 million for alcohol; 12 million for marijuana; 2.5 million for illicit drugs other than marijuana. If we throw in child porn downloading, this gets even more depressing as I have seen reports suggesting at lease 500,000 illegal images are downloaded in the US every day. Yuck. (Also, limited data suggests little racial differences in these crimes, save CP downloading, which seems to be mostly white folks.)
Point is that there are literally tens of millions of Americans committing "mild" (and not so mild) offenses and many are surely "repeated over and over." Do all these persons "deserve real punishment"? Will freedom be advanced by incarcerating all these persons? Some of them? Only the ones who get caught a lot? Send in enough police and we can catch as many as we want; subject folks to lots of "supervision" and we will see no shortage of "mild offenses that are repeated over and over."
Maybe these are not the "mild offenses" you have in mind, Tarls, and you want to focus on "violent crime." Good, I would like our system to focus much more on violent criminals. But there are nearly one million annual arrests for aggravated assault, so even a focus there is going to call for a lot of sorting in that one crime category. Perhaps you want to focus especially on repeat violent criminals, which I do to. And that's my main point, I think we are mostly on the same page, just debating the details.
I agree that the US is unique, but our crime problems are not unique to our cities. You are quite right that crime often is concentrated in a few lost neighborhoods in urban centers. But the stories in rural America are not looking so great these days.
Here is recent data highlighting gun violence in rural counties:
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/gun-violence-in-rural-america/
Here is a WSJ article on recent murder surges in the rural US:
https://icmglt.org/rural-america-reels-from-violent-crime-people-lost-their-ever-lovin-minds/
I know you are not a big fan of Vera's work, but (pre-pandemic) they highlighted increased and high rates of jail use in rural areas:
https://www.vera.org/newsroom/rural-america-has-highest-jail-incarceration-rates-in-the-u-s-despite-low-crime-rates-new-report-reveals
Finally, if the urban/African-American explanation was the whole story, wouldn't we expect consistently low crime rates in mostly rural states with low AA population like Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota? They are all in the bottom quartile of states in AA population, but Alaska and New Mexico are at the very top of violent crime per capita, Montana and SD are in top quartile. Race, gender, class, economic inequality and a host of other factors are part of the stew of challenges we will always face in our responses to crime and in our distributions of punishment.
Incarceration policies always strike me as really hard, and yet I always think we can do better. Indeed, until the pandemic and our response thereto really messed up a lot of institutions, it felt like we were really starting to do better. And I am always going to keep trying.
Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 25, 2023 11:37:51 PM
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What are the taxes we need to pay in Singapore? (PHOTO: Getty)
By Dee Lim
Taxes are inevitable, so make sure you know which ones you'll need to pay.
At some point in our lives, we have to pay taxes, but do you know what your tax dollars are being used for and what are some of the taxes that you're likely to pay?
For the most part, the revenue collected from taxes goes back into funding what the government spends on. This changes from year to year, depending on what's needed.
The majority in the 2021/2022 financial year (FY2021/2022) went towards money used in the social development sector, which invests back into the population.
Money is also set aside yearly for use in the security and external relations sector, which handles defence, home and foreign affairs. There's also an amount that goes towards the economic development sector and government administration.
Singapore Tax: Taxes we need to pay in Singapore
Here are some of the basic taxes and fees you are likely to pay as an individual:
1. Income Tax
As its name says, this is the tax that you pay on the income you earn, and is calculated as a percentage of your annual income. There are ways to get deductions from your income tax, including charity donations, the parenthood tax rebate, or the working mother's child relief, among others.
2. Good and Services Tax (GST)
This is the tax you pay for consumption of any goods or services, even on items that are imported. Basically any time you buy an item or someone does a service for you, you'll need to pay GST.
GST is currently at eight per cent, and will rise to nine per cent in 2024.
3. Property Tax
This is imposed on any properties that you own. Keep in mind that if you're renting out a property that you own, you'll need to pay property tax and income tax on the rent that you're earning.
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In 2023, property tax for most residential units is set to increase due to a rise in annual values.
4. Stamp Duty
There's quite a bit of legal paperwork involved when dealing with property, and stocks and shares, and stamp duty is the fee you pay for having those documents processed. This includes lease/tenancy agreements, transfer documents for property and mortgage agreements.
5. Motor Vehicle Tax/Fees
As part of owning a car in Singapore, you will have to obtain the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) when you first purchase the car. The COE gives you the right to own a car for 10 years you'll also have to factor in the road tax that you pay to drive the vehicle on Singapore roads. These two vary depending on market conditions (for COE), and the type of car that you drive (for road tax).
These are just some of the taxes that are applicable to most people there are other taxes if you're also a business owner. If you're unsure about the taxes that you need to pay or the processes, reach out to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
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2.82 KOKO MARE2400 University Hill 1 CEOCEO161 ChatGPT2029 0.08% 25 0.46% 6 ChatGPT 64.24 48 27%2024 ChatGPT 0.71% GDP 1.4 9 LV5000 GDP5% 16% 415 KeeTa 0.38% 0.26%15%
Hy-Vee has suspended its employee discount program and plans to revamp it by mid-April after the company found cases of fraud and misuse.
The program was originally launched in 2019 and allowed a Hy-Vee employee and one member of their household to buy store merchandise at a 10% discount. The program was suspended Monday following allegations of fraud and abuse.
In a press release Monday, Hy-Vee officials said there was a significant uptick with people using the discount, even though they did not live in the same household, or even the same city, as the employee. The employee-owned company based in West Des Moines, Iowa, added that there were other fraudulent practices and loopholes that were occurring within the program.
The discrepancies found were significant enough to signal a much broader issue that needed to be addressed immediately, the release stated.
As reported by TV station KAAL in Rochester, Minnesota, Hy-Vee executive vice president Georgia Van Gundy noted some instances of fraud in a video sent to employees last Friday. Those include an employee having their Fuel Saver account used in five different states in one hour and another employee using their discount to make large purchases with the intention of reselling the items at a profit.
While the discount program is getting revamped, Hy-Vee noted that employees enjoy many other benefits, including free Hy-Vee Plus premium memberships, weekly pay and tuition assistance.
SIOUX CITY -- A woman died of injuries sustained in a rollover accident, near mile marker 132 on Interstate 29, late Tuesday afternoon.
At around 4 p.m. Tuesday, Woodbury County Sheriff's deputies responded to the accident. Preliminary investigations shows the vehicle left the roadway on the west side of the southbound lane, rolled over, ejecting the female occupant.
The female occupant, Ashley Bond, was transported to the hospital by helicopter. She was pronounced dead due to her injuries. A male occupant, Curtis Cotton, was not ejected and refused medial treatment.
The Iowa DOT, Iowa State Patrol, Mercy Wings, Woodbury County EOC, Salix EMS and Sloan EMS offered assistance to the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office at the scene.
The Woodbury County Sheriff's Office said the accident remains under investigation.
SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man with three outstanding arrest warrants for domestic abuse was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of assaulting the alleged victim for at least a fourth time.
Sioux City police were dispatched to an apartment in the 1000 block of Fourth Street at 2:55 a.m. for a report of a disturbance. Upon arrival, officers met with a woman who said Dustin Fegenbush had strangled her in her apartment, causing her to lose consciousness. According to court documents, officers observed markings on the woman's face, ear and neck consistent with strangulation and dried blood on her shirt and left ear.
Officers had observed Fegenbush fleeing into a neighboring apartment when they arrived, and forced their way inside. Fegenbush is accused of resisting officers handcuffing and searching him, kicking one of them in the chest. Officers found 5 grams of marijuana and a used glass methamphetamine pipe in his backpack.
Fegenbush, 42, was booked into the Woodbury County Jail on charges of domestic abuse assault impeding air/blood flow causing bodily injury, assault on an officer and possession of a controlled substance.
Fegenbush had outstanding arrest warrants, all for third or subsequent offense domestic abuse assault, stemming from incidents involving the same woman in August and October.
Court documents show Fegenbush has previous domestic abuse assault convictions in Woodbury and Monona counties.
SIOUX CITY Due to a looming Wednesday winter storm, Sioux City students are getting out early.
Just after 9 a.m., the Sioux City Community School District officially announced on its Facebook page that "all SCCSD schools will have a two-hour early dismissal today, Wednesday, February 22."
Along with the student dismissal, the District said its downtown offices will close at 1:30 p.m.
Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools will be dismissing two hours early. South Sioux City schools will be dismissing at noon Wednesday.
According to the latest from the National Weather Service's Sioux Falls office, snow is likely to fall before 1 p.m. and then there's a chance of snow mixing with freezing rain and sleet throughout the rest of the day into the evening.
Total accumulation, of snow and sleet or freezing rain, is now expected to be around 5 inches.
NEW YORK CNN anchor Don Lemon tweeted an apology to viewers for his remarks about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley shortly before returning to work on Wednesday.
He made no mention of his comments last week that Haley was not in "her prime," during "CNN This Morning," instead reporting on stories like President Joe Biden's trip to Ukraine, the Ohio train derailment and winter weather.
Lemon, within an hour of going on air, tweeted that he appreciated the opportunity to return to work. He was absent for three days.
"To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience I'm sorry," he tweeted. "I've heard you, I'm learning from you, and I'm committed to doing better."
His tweet made no mention of Haley, who called Lemon's comments sexist and has been referring to them in fundraising appeals.
On last Thursday's show, Lemon and fellow hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins were discussing Haley's suggestion that politicians over 75 should be subject to mandatory mental competency tests.
"Nikki Haley isn't in her prime, sorry," Lemon said. He said a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s. Haley is 51.
He doubled down on his message even after being challenged by his female colleagues.
"I think we need to qualify," Harlow said at one point. "Are you talking about prime for childbearing or are you talking about prime for being president?"
After video of his comments spread quickly online, Lemon tweeted regret for his "inartful and irrelevant" comments. CNN chief executive Chris Licht scolded him the next day during an internal staff meeting, and appeared on the call to apologize.
Late Sunday, Licht told staff members in a memo that Lemon would return to work and undergo unspecified training. Licht said in the memo, obtained by The Associated Press, that it was important that the network balance accountability with fostering a culture in which people "can own, learn and grow from their mistakes."
Lemon was switched from his own prime-time show when a revamped "CNN This Morning" was launched in November, one of Licht's biggest swings since taking control of the network last year.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) The 22-year-old accused of carrying out the deadly mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs in November ran a neo-Nazi website and used gay and racial slurs while gaming online, a police detective testified Wednesday.
Anderson Lee Aldrich used racial slurs while gaming, posted a rifle scope on a gay pride parade and used another slur when referring to someone who was gay, Detective Rebecca Joines testified on the first day of a three-day trial to determine if there's enough evidence to warrant hate crime charges against Aldrich.
Aldrich identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns they and them. Joines said another witness told investigators that Aldrich said their mother, Laura Voepel, is nonbinary and forced them to go to LGBTQ clubs.
Joines said evidence also indicates that Aldrich was considering live-streaming the Nov. 19 attack in which five people were killed and many others were injured.
This is an update. APs earlier story follows below:
A pickup truck driven by 36-year-old Jedd Lofgren of Wahoo crossed over into the oncoming lane while northbound on Nebraska 109 near Cedar Bluffs, went through a ditch, went airborne, struck a tree and rolled, the Saunders County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
DES MOINES Students would be taught gun safety in Iowa schools, and it would be legal for adults to have a gun in their car while in a school parking lot under separate bills that were considered by state lawmakers Tuesday.
Under one proposal, Iowa K-12 students would be given age-appropriate firearm instruction as part of schools emergency operations plan.
That proposal was offered by Rep. Skyler Wheeler, a Republican from Hull who represents a rural northwest Iowa district, and Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, a Democrat who represents a portion of Des Moines.
Abdul-Samads son was killed in a shooting in 1997 at age 20. The death was ruled an accident.
My baby isnt growing up. My baby was shot in the chest and killed by another young man who didnt know a thing about a gun, Abdul-Samad said Tuesday during a legislative hearing on the proposal. So this is reality that were facing.
Abdul-Samad said that reality is that guns are in peoples homes, they are being brought into schools, and they are being found in public places. Because of that reality, Iowa children should be taught what to do when they discover a gun, he said.
We also have to provide a vehicle so that those children who see a gun know what to do, and the best way to do that is to help educate our babies, Abdul-Samad said.
Under the proposal, students would be allowed to opt out of the instruction.
The proposed legislation, House File 73, advanced and is now eligible for consideration by the full House education committee. Abdul-Samad said House lawmakers have not yet discussed the proposal with lawmakers in the Senate.
This is a great step for our kids, said Rep. Henry Stone, a Republican from Forest City and member of the legislative panel that advanced the bill Tuesday.
ALLOWING GUNS IN CARS BELONGING TO ADULTS
Meantime,
That proposal, House Study Bill 173, did not have bipartisan support. It advanced only with the support of Republicans, and is now eligible for consideration by the full House public safety committee.
Rep. Brian Meyer, a Democrat from Des Moines, said he opposes the bill and considers it a property rights issue. He argued schools, corrections facilities and casinos should be allowed to regulate whether guns are permitted on their premises.
Rep. Phil Thompson, a Republican from Jefferson who chairs the Houses public safety committee, argued that property rights also apply to drivers.
Individual property rights matter as well, he said.
Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican from Denison, said the bill attempts to balance the rights of schools and jails with individuals rights.
I understand the conflict with the rights of business owners to control what goes on in their parking lot. I actually get that argument. I do, Holt said. We also have the rights of the law-abiding citizen who owns that vehicle to think about as well.
DES MOINES Marijuana would be legal for recreational use, previous convictions for non-violent possession charges would be removed from an individuals criminal record, and the states medical cannabis program would be expanded under legislation introduced Tuesday by Democratic state lawmakers.
The proposal is not likely to become state law any time soon, since Republican state lawmakers in leadership and Gov. Kim Reynolds have in the past opposed any efforts to legalize marijuana in Iowa.
Nationally, 21 states have legalized recreational marijuana, including Iowa neighbors Missouri and Illinois. Minnesota state lawmakers are considering legislation to legalize marijuana there.
It is time, said Iowa Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, a Windsor Heights resident and leader of the minority-party House Democrats.
Konfrst argued that legalizing marijuana would keep sales tax revenue in Iowa instead of sending it to other states, it would preserve state resources that currently go toward enforcing marijuana laws, and it would increase the quality of life for Iowans with chronic illnesses.
She also noted legal recreational marijuana use is popular with a majority of Iowa voters: 54% of Iowans said they support legalizing recreational pot in a 2021 Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.
It is across party lines. It is across the place where you live in the state: rural, urban and suburban. And it is time to do this, Konfrst said.
House Democrats proposal would tax marijuana sales at 10%, and revenue would be split three ways: 35% to fund scholarships for Iowa college students, 32.5% to mental health services and substance abuse programs, and 32.5% to local law enforcement agencies.
Imagine that kind of revenue to Iowa schools, mental health services and local public safety, said Iowa Rep. Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, who introduced the proposal along with Konfrst.
The state agency that currently regulates alcohol laws would oversee marijuana sales in Iowa under Democrats proposal.
The proposal also would allow Iowans convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession without any convictions for violent crimes to request the courts to remove the possession conviction from their record.
James and Konfrst said House Democrats examined legal marijuana programs in other states in order to glean best practices for their proposal.
The Republicans who lead the Houses public safety and judiciary committees said the proposal will not advance in the House, where Republicans hold the agenda-setting majority.
I have been clear in the past that I do not believe marijuana legalization is the right path forward for Iowa, said Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican from Denison who chairs the judiciary committee. This is not an issue that has received much support from the judiciary committee in my time as chair, and I do not expect this session to be different. Iowans have expressed a very different set of priorities to me and my Republican colleagues.
Added Rep. Phil Thompson, a Republican from Jefferson who chairs the public safety committee, I dont have any interest in moving it without broad Republican support, and I dont think we have that.
The Democrats proposal was still being drafted, they said Tuesday, and thus does not yet have a bill number. Officials said they expect the bill to be filed Wednesday.
Johnnie Marie Woods is the granddaughter of a man born into slavery.
She is the daughter of a man who never learned to read or write and signed his name with an "X."
Born in rural Louisiana and a resident of Rock Island since the age of 8, handed-down memories of slavery, sharecropping, segregation and racism are living, breathing aspects of Woods' life. It is her American experience.
That's why the 72-year-old calls Black history by another name: American history.
"I was always interested in Black history. I never got to learn about it when I was in school, but I never saw Black history as anything other than the history of this country," she said. "Black people are a part of the country, so is our history.
"To me, the label 'Black history' just makes no sense. Maybe people don't want me to say that. But that is the way I've always felt."
Woods was willing to share her story and her fascination with local Black history.
Her family's backstory and her love of poetry led her to self-publish a collection of poems and a memoir entitled, "A Safe Place" in 2022. Now she's finishing up a history of Quad-City-area Black churches called, "We Have Come This Far By Faith."
'I think this is really interesting'
A fellow member at Olivet Baptist Church in Rock Island sparked Woods' interest in the history of Black churches in the area.
"A lady told me about how the Third Missionary Baptist Church in Davenport was founded by freed slaves," Woods said. "That just started me out. I was curious about it, so I started looking it up.
"I had already put together my book of poetry, and I had compiled a history of local Black churches back in 2012, so I started doing the research. I knew it would end up being another book."
She compiled histories provided by 31 churches. She also reproduced hundreds of newspaper stories that chronicled the history of Black churches and the lives of many of the people connected to them.
"I learned so much," she said. "It's all just fascinating much more than I ever expected."
She had examples, including the history of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Muscatine, which was founded in 1848. Alexander Clark, who served as ambassador to Liberia, was instrumental in helping build the church.
Bethel AME no longer exists in Muscatine, but Woods thinks it could be the oldest Black church in the region.
She also tracked down the history of Third Missionary Baptist Church In Davenport, which was founded in 1875 by former slaves Lydia and Henry Applewhite, Milton Howard, Leedam Hart, Katherine Dodge Hart, Mose Bush, George Chesterfield, William Baker and William Hart.
"They started worshiping by meeting in a home," Woods said. "That was in 1875. Three years later, they purchased the land for the church. They saved up $400 for that land."
Woods pointed out that Lydia Applewhite was born in 1845 and was sold to a family from Keokuk. She later married Henry and moved to Davenport. She is buried in Oakdale Cemetery.
A memoir through poetry
Woods has come a long way from a sharecropper's farm in Homer, Louisiana. Her family moved to the Lincoln Homes project when she was 8, and she went on to graduate from Augustana College in Rock Island.
"I tell kids all the time that if a little girl from the projects can get into Augustana and graduate, they can do anything and everything," she said.
And that's what Woods did. She spent the better part of 30 years as a family therapist and social worker, mostly at the Youth Services Bureau of Rock Island. She represents District 17 on the Rock Island County Board and works as a staff assistant at the Illinois-Iowa Center for Independent Living.
She has written poetry all her life.
"It was my way to deal with what I experienced a way to set it down," she said.
Her poem entitled, "Daddy" recounts watching her father move from her grandfather's sharecropper farm, where they all lived, to work in a lumber yard in Rock Island.
"My father never learned to read or write," Woods said. "He was 50 when we moved up here. He had a hard life."
Her mother, also called Johnnie, earned money as a day laborer in the "houses up on the hill" in Rock Island.
"My mother was a domestic," Woods said. "And we were discouraged from going up the hill to the parks."
Her poetry reveals the first time she was called the "N-word," which occurred the first time she got permission to go up the hill to Longview Park to meet some friends. The work is entitled "Awakening."
"And as far as the poetry goes, I think I'm pretty unconventional," she said. "I'm free-form. I don't follow any rules. I write what I remember and what I feel."
No holding back
One thing she feels is the freedom to speak her mind.
"I'm Black. I'm an American. I love my country. If something is not correct, or not taught, I can call my country on it," she said. "It's ludicrous that we call history 'Black history' and now there is an effort to not teach it in schools.
"I was once asked if I'm glad, 'Now that racism is over.' I love this country, but racism is far from over. It's as much with us as it has ever been. And it's just as ugly."
Woods sees what she's learned about the area's Black churches as a great example.
"This history of Black churches it's a part of all our history. It's a part of the history of the Quad-Cities and the towns all around us," she said. "It's a really interesting part of our history, our American history. I think it's just fascinating, and I wanted to share it."
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued an unexpected trio of opinions that should collectively have progressives breathing a sigh of reliefone unanimous opinion in a bankruptcy case, one split decision that ruled in favor of a worker seeking overtime, and another split decision that ruled in favor of a capital defendant who was challenging his sentence in state court.
These arent the usual results these days at 1 First Street. And its worth taking a moment to consider what went right. Thats particularly warranted for the courts decision in Cruz v. Arizona, which held that states are actually required to adhere to Supreme Court precedent, at least some of the time, or at least in cases that have nothing to do with abortion. But its also important to recognize how closeone votethe Supreme Court came to plunging us further into nihilism and lawless shell games.
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The issue in Cruz v. Arizona sounds technical, but it affects whether defendants have any remedies when their rights are violated. The case is also about basic principles of the rule of law.
The Cruz case arises out of Arizonas refusal to apply a Supreme Court case that governs states imposition of the death penalty. In Simmons v. South Carolina, the Supreme Court held that during the penalty phase of a capital sentencing proceeding, states must inform a jury whether the defendant would be eligible for parole if they were not sentenced to death. That is, the state had to tell the jury whether, if they didnt impose the death penalty, the defendant could get out of prison, particularly if the state was arguing for the death penalty on the grounds that the defendant posed a risk of danger in the future.
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While the particular case of Simmons arose out of South Carolina, the rule that it announcedstates must inform juries whether a capital defendant will be eligible for release if they are not sentenced to deathapplies everywhere. But Arizona courts refused to apply the rule, even after Arizona changed its law so that people who are convicted of capital crimes were not eligible for parole. Arizona courts refused to apply Simmons for almost two decades, until the court shot them down. In 2016, in Lynch v. Arizona, the Supreme Court held that Arizona was bound by the Supreme Courts decisionsand that Arizona therefore had to inform Arizona juries whether capital defendants would be eligible for parole.
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But the Arizona courts didnt give up. Instead, Arizona courts refused to apply the Supreme Courts decision in Lynch to cases that had already been decided. They refused to apply Lynch on the grounds that state law allowed defendants to challenge their convictions or sentences on the basis of new Supreme Court rules. And, Arizona continued, Lynch did not announce a new rule. Lynch had simply applied an existing rule (from Simmons) to Arizona without actually changing the law in the process.
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What? Arizonas position would have effectively left Arizona defendants with no remedy at all. Thats because before Lynch, Arizona courts were refusing to apply the rule in Simmons. And after Lynch, Arizona courts maintained that they still didnt have to apply Simmons to those older cases, because it was so obvious that they should have been applying Simmons all along.
As Justice Elena Kagan explained at oral argument:
I think Kafka would have loved this. Cruz loses his Simmons claims on direct appeal because the Arizona courts say point-blank Simmons has never applied in Arizona. And then he loses the next time around because the Arizona courts say Simmons always applied I mean, tails you win, heads I lose, whatever that expression is? I mean, howhow can you run a railroad that way?
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Indeed. In a majority opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court affirmed that states cannot play heads I win, tails you lose with constitutional rights. (Sotomayor wrote for a majority of five that included the other Democratic appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the dissent. This is basically the same lineup, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson replacing Justice Stephen Breyer, as the case last term where the court preserved the procedure that allowed people sentenced to death to challenge how the state planned to execute them.)
Had the Supreme Court countenanced Arizonas scheme, it would have enabled states to ignore Supreme Court cases that Arizona didnt like. It would have permitted states to refuse to give effect to any Supreme Court precedent the states and Supreme Court justices didnt likeand to deny people their rights in the process.
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If that concern sounds familiar, it should. Its basically what the Supreme Court allowed Texas to get away with on abortion in the S.B. 8 case before the court ultimately overruled Roe v. Wade last term. In 2021, the Texas legislature adopted S.B. 8, a novel abortion restriction that was designed to shut down abortion access without allowing abortion providers to challenge the law in court. In the case challenging S.B. 8, five justices (the five justices who would later overrule Roe) let Texas get away with that gambit while Roe was still standing. The five justices allowed Texas to effectively nullify a Supreme Court decision that Texas didnt care for, and that six justices on the court didnt care for either.
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Had the court allowed Arizona to do the same in Cruz v. Arizonato nullify a decision that Arizona and probably a majority of justices on the court didnt care forit would have facilitated even more legal machinations that deprive people of their constitutional rights. Framed that way, its actually a little frightening that Arizona came within one vote of pushing us further toward a world of open season on any case that Republican-led states and Republican-appointed justices dont like.
But for now, five justices are willing to say states must actually apply and enforce Supreme Court precedents. At least, some of the time.
On Tuesday, in a state judicial election loaded with national significance, Wisconsins primary vote put progressive Judge Janet Protasiewicz in the catbird seat for the swing seventh vote on the states Supreme Court. Her 46 percent tally in a four-way race nearly doubled the 24 percent of the vote taken by former Judge Dan Kelly, her closest rival and a staunch conservative. They will face each other in a runoff on April 4 that is being accurately billed as the most consequential election of the 2023 off-year cycle.
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Protasiewiczs resounding primary win sends a clarion call across the country: Support for reproductive freedom remains fierce. The race will determine the future of reproductive rights for Wisconsinites. Wisely, Protasiewiczs television advertising focused on womens freedom to make our own decisions when it comes to abortion.
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Typically, conservative voters dominate off-year elections. But not this time around in battleground Wisconsin. Together with Everett Mitchell, the second candidate in the race who backed reproductive rights, progressives collected 54 percent of the votes.
In a swing state like todays Wisconsin, 54 percent for progressivesan 8-point margin of victoryis more than a landslide, its an earthquake. The gap contrasts with Republican Sen. Ron Johnsons much more typical 1-point win over Mandela Barnes in November and President Joe Bidens less-than-1-point win over Donald Trump in 2020.
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Should Tuesdays results hold in Aprils general, it will be just one more data point that voters around the country are furious with the Supreme Courts decision overturning Roe v. Wade and are making their choices at the ballot box with that in mind. Wisconsin voters were plainly fired up Tuesday by the serious danger to womens health and freedom. Protasiewicz has called Dobbs the worst Supreme Court decision in decades.
Theres a reason why that powerful condemnation struck a chord in Wisconsin. Dobbs, by allowing states to deny womens reproductive rights, revived an 1849 Wisconsin law making abortion a crime. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and state Attorney General Josh Kaul have sued to overturn it; that suit will ultimately find its way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where the vote of either Protasiewicz or Kelly will likely be the tie-breaker.
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While Protasiewicz took the issue head-on, Kelly has ducked questions on abortion and other issues, offering only catchphrases like saying that he will follow the law.
He undoubtedly recognizes the political unpopularity of his views on reproductive rights. In the past, he wrote that Democrats favored abortion to preserve sexual libertinism, and its primary purpose [was] harming children. Kelly previously served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 20162020 after his appointment by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
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In circuit court Judge Jennifer Dorow, Republicans had a candidate of integrity as an alternative to Kelly, who had already lost an election in 2020. She earned national fan mail as a freakin saint for her skillful management of the trial of an often out-of-control defendant, Darrell Brooks Jr., the now-convicted murderer who plowed his SUV over scores of pedestrians at Waukesha, Wisconsins 2021 Christmas parade, killing six.
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Dorow attracted 22 percent of the vote, 2 fewer points than Kelly. Unlike him, she was honest enough to say she supported Dobbs. Dorow might well have been a tougher runoff opponent for Protasiewicz to beat, butlike with last years midterm electionsGOP voters apparently couldnt resist putting the most extreme possible candidate up for the general election.
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Even running against Kelly, Protasiewiczs supporters cannot afford to get complacent. Republicans have a plan for the April runoff. The Legislature that they control through gerrymandered districts has placed red-meat initiatives on the ballot to draw conservative voter turnout.
One initiative would permit judges to consider a persons criminal history in setting bailnot only the risk of flight. The other would advise the legislature on whether low-income individuals must show they have searched for a job to receive welfare benefits. On Feb. 20, a judge gave the initiatives a green light to appear on the April ballot.
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And so progressive groups such as Swing Left, which backed Protasciewicz by knocking on doors, writing letters, and hosting virtual phone banks for out-of-state volunteers, will need to redouble their efforts. The fundraising group Emilys List, which made Protasiewicz the first state Supreme Court candidate it has ever endorsed, will have to do the same.
The race has national significance on at least three other fronts.
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First, 2024. In the last presidential election, the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected, by a 43 vote, Trumps flawed lawsuit to overturn the states election. Protasiewiczs ascendance to the court would help provide a fair result should a similar case arise in 2024.
By contrast, in late 2020, Kelly was special counsel to the state party and counseled Andrew Hitt, the former state party chair, when he participated in the Republican fake elector scheme in Wisconsin. The future of democracy in Wisconsinand potentially the United Stateswould not be safe with Kelly as the state high courts swing vote.
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Second, gerrymandering. Wisconsin, a state whose voters are evenly divided, has six Republican congressional representatives and only two Democrats. The states Legislature is overwhelmingly controlled by Republicans. Districting is so skewed in Wisconsin that in past years Republicans have dominated the state Legislature even when pulling fewer votes than Democratic candidates.
Kelly represented the Republican Legislature in disputes over the 2010 redistricting maps. Protasiewicz has called the current maps rigged, and given the state Supreme Courts 10-year terms, if elected in April, would be on the court to judge any legal disputes when redistricting again occurs after the 2030 census.
Third is equal justice for LGBTQ people. Kelly has called a Supreme Court ruling recognizing same-sex marriage destructive. Protasiewicz supports marriage equality.
These issues, however, were not likely the central question on which most Wisconsin voters made and will make their decisions. Abortion is front and center. Protasiewicz continuing to pound her contrast with Kelly on reproductive rights has every prospect of carrying her to victory in April.
Welcome to State of Mind, a section from Slate and Arizona State University dedicated to exploring mental health. Follow us on Twitter.
I learned how to recognize strokes from TV. I must have seen the PSA urging me to Act FAST hundreds of times, slotted between episodes of Rugrats and Hey Arnold!, and I still recall the signs easily: facial droop, arm weakness, speech problems, timely response.
Those PSAs have surely saved lives. According to the National Institutes of Health, 795,000 people have strokes each year in the U.S.; 137,000 of them die. But although obvious physical signs are essential to recognize in an emergency situation, and are what we often associate with the subsequent recovery, they provide an anemic window on the reality of stroke.
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Since Sen. John Fetterman experienced a severe stroke last May, his long-term physical side effectsand how they influence his jobhave been analyzed and perseverated over to the point of offense. Fetterman does still struggle with auditory processing, a limitation he shares with about 20 percent of stroke survivors. But, by all accounts, he can smoothly conduct conversations using a tablet that provides him with automatic captionsan accommodation that is becoming more common in many workplaces and can help a wide range of people besides stroke survivors.
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But because we see stroke almost exclusively as a matter of physical signs like weak limbs and slurred speech, the internal struggles of recovery often remain invisible. Thats why last weeks announcement that Fetterman has admitted himself to the hospital for depression treatment may have come as such a surprise, judging by the flurry of attention around it.
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In reality, depression is even more common than auditory processing issues in people who have had a stroke: One in every three stroke survivors will contend with it. Yet it remains a relatively unrecognized complication, and understandably so. Despite the enormous strides that continue to be made in mental health awareness, depression still carries a weighty stigma and may be perceived as a personal failing rather than a medical issue. Even someone who freely discusses their physical impairments may be reluctant to share the emotional effects of their stroke. For a public figure like Fetterman, such candor may be particularly consequential: Fifty years ago, a history of inpatient depression treatment scuttled Sen. Thomas Eagletons chances at the vice presidency, and only a few current congresspeople have divulged their mental health diagnoses.
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Any neurological disease can spark mental illness, and many do at astronomical rates. Plenty of people can recognize the characteristic tremors of Parkinsons disease, but few realize that three-quarters of patients may also experience psychiatric symptoms, which can sometimes be as debilitating as hallucinations or suicidal thoughts. And almost everyone with Alzheimers disease will eventually develop some degree of mental illnesseven at the earliest stages of the disease, about a third of patients have depression.
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This makes sense: Living with chronic illness can be challenging, and for someone like Fetterman, with a prominent public profile and an enormous burden of responsibility, the psychological strain is immense. And because Fetterman has contended with depression in the past, it is possible that he is now dealing with a resurgence of that previous illness, perhaps ignited by the simultaneous pressures of stroke recovery and serving in the Senate.
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But theres a more basic reason for the link between stroke and depression: Mental illnesses are diseases of the brain, and stroke kills brain cells. Fetterman struggles to understand spoken language because the parts of his brain that process speech were damaged when they were deprived of oxygen; he may be experiencing depression because other regions of his brain were damaged as well.
The idea that depression is biological is not new, but the diseases neurological underpinnings have long remained obscure, despite intensive research. In the past few years, patients like Fetterman have helped researchers make some material progress. Doctors have long assumed that stroke patients developed depression when important emotional brain regions were deprived of oxygen, but they had struggled to prove it. Damage to some regionslike the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, DLPFC, which sits underneath the foreheadhad appeared to cause depression in some studies, but other studies found no such link. By examining data from patients with stroke or other brain damage, scientists have recently started to figure out why: Depression may result not only from stroke in the DLPFC, but also from stroke in a whole host of other areas throughout the brain that are closely connected with the DLPFC. Fettermans speech processing issues may come from damage to a specific brain region; his depression, from damage to a specific circuit of regions.
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The recent scientific results provide powerful evidence that physical and mental illness are equally rooted in biology. They could also help doctors develop better mental illness treatments. These days, medication-resistant depressionboth post-stroke and otherwiseis often treated by transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS, a form of brain stimulation in which neurons are activated by a magnetic wand. It turns out that stimulating the depression-linked brain circuit may provide the most relief for stroke survivors. As tools like TMS become more widely available, the insight that stroke survivors can provide into the neurological basis of depression becomes ever more valuable.
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With the advent of TMS, as well as new drugs like ketamine, depression is now more treatable than it has ever been. Though we dont know what particular treatment Fetterman is receiving, by opting to be admitted, he has ensured that he will recover as quickly as possible. Like any other disability, Fettermans depression may require some accommodations once he returns to the Senateflexibility in his schedule for medical appointments, for example, or remote meetings. But to assume his depression fundamentally changes the terms of his senatorial service is not only ableist: It is unscientific.
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Already Fetterman has done a great deal for both stroke survivors and people with depression, simply by being candid about his treatment. Long before last weeks disclosure, Fettermans health had been subjected to unending, and often ableist, interrogationand while thats unlikely to change, his openness demonstrates to Americans that depression is a common consequence of stroke, and that mental health care is as essential to stroke recovery as physical and cognitive rehabilitation. Patients like Fetterman are a refutation of the antiquated idea that depression is a character flaw, a source of shame, and a challenge that can be overcome with sufficient grit. Depression is a brain disease, not a moral failingand it must be accommodated in the workplace.
State of Mind is a partnership of Slate and Arizona State University that offers a practical look at our mental health systemand how to make it better.
A version of this article first appeared in Issues in Science and Technology.
I have been teaching a seminar on disability rights and brain injury at Yale Law School since 2015, and for years, despite the subject matter, I never came close to tears. But I choked up when I told my students about the death of Terry Wallis, at age 57, on March 29, 2022. Wallis came to international attention when he awakened from what was thought to be a permanent vegetative state after 19 years of being unresponsive, and his astonishing experience anchors what I hope will become legal frameworks that enable disability law to better meet the needs of patients with severe brain injury.
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After an accident in 1984, Terry was considered by his care team to be in a state of permanent unconsciousness, until 2003when he said Mom and then Pepsi, his favorite drink. In the years that followed, Terry became more interactive, recognizing and communicating with his family. In 2009, he told his mother, Life is good.
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Its not an exaggeration to say that Terrys awakening set off a golden age of brain science, profoundly changing the scientific, moral, ethical, and legal understandings of consciousness. Although Terry was exceptionalhe became a brain injury rock starhis death was all too ordinary and, arguably, avoidable: a consequence of therapeutic nihilism about severe brain injury, widespread discrimination against people with disabilities, and inadequate rehabilitation facilities in the rural area where he lived.
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The irony and injustice of the way he died affected me deeply. Despite the fact that neuroscience has learned so much from Terrys remarkable journey, the United States depersonalized health care system neglected him, like so many others with severe brain injury. His death was a harsh reminder that the revolution in brain science that Terry helped launch will remain incomplete until scientific progress is matched by an obligation to bring these advances into clinical practice in ways that are meaningful and just.
In the near year since his passing, I have come to think that Terrys death may be as important as his emergence for the way it encapsulates both the progress and peril of how society is coming to understand severe brain injury and frame its obligations to care for people who have experienced them.
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I first met Terry and his parents, Angilee and Jerry, when they came to the Consortium for the Advanced Study of Brain Injury at Weill Cornell Medicine and Rockefeller University in 2004 to see if our team, which I codirect with neurologist Nicholas D. Schiff, could explain his emergence. I interviewed Angilee and Jerry as part of research for my book on the rights of those with severe brain injury, Rights Come to Mind, shortly after they arrived in New York from rural Arkansas. I gathered they felt out of place in Manhattan, but we immediately struck a connection when they realized that their concern for Terry was matched by our research groups interest in his experience.
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Nothing was more important to the family than Terry, whose medical course Angilee had tracked carefully since his car accident. She told me that the family thought they had seen glimmers of awareness over the years and had asked for a neurologist to reassess Terrys condition, only to be told it was too expensive and wouldnt matter.
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Terrys remarkable story had garnered international headlines and been hailed as a miracle, but my colleagues and I were not surprised by his recovery. Although he had been described as being in the vegetative statethat is, permanently unconsciouswe suspected he had actually been in the minimally conscious state (MCS), a condition that was formalized only a year before Terry started to talk again.
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MCS resembles the vegetative state but is distinct because MCS patients are conscious, albeit liminally so. They have awareness of self, others, and the environment. The challenge is that they dont always manifest these behaviors and can appear vegetative when these signs are absent. But biologically, these patients are distinct from those in the vegetative state. The minimally conscious brain is functionally integrated and capable of communicating across widely distributed neural networks necessary to sustain consciousness. This contrasts with the functionally disintegrated vegetative state, which cannot work as a consolidated unit and thus cannot sustain consciousness. MCS patients exhibit behaviors reflective of awareness and consciousness: They may say a word, reach for a cup, or look up when you enter the room. However, these behaviors are usually episodic and intermittent, and such signs of covert consciousness are easy to missand, if noticed, easy to dismiss as wishful thinking. One study found that up to 43 percent of nursing home patients diagnosed as vegetative following traumatic brain injury were in fact in MCS.
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During the many years that Terry was lying in his nursing home bed, his brain had recovered.
Imaging studies of Terrys brain done by Schiff and our team found dynamic changes that might explain the improvement in his brain state.
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Terrys scans were stunning, revealing the potential of the injured brain to heal itself and carrying implications for how physicians view the depth and length of rehabilitation.
If brain recovery recapitulates brain development, which takes years, maybe the duration of rehabilitation should resemble that of childhood education, which is tailored to the developing brain. If rehabilitation is viewed as analogous to the educational process, then payments for its provision should be guided by the underlying recovery. Instead, they are often guided by the traditional reimbursement criteria of insurance companies, which presume stasisoften resulting in patients having to forgo rehabilitation efforts altogether. Brains recover by biological mechanisms, not reimbursement criteria.
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In the two decades since Terry regained his voice, the science of disorders of consciousnessand the possibility of treatmenthas radically shifted. Researchers have learned how to identify covert consciousness with functional neuroimaging, have begun to develop drugs and devices that can accelerate the return of consciousness, and now even consider the ethical implications of these advances. This progress culminated in 2018, when a new standard of care for patients with disorders of consciousness was issued by the American Academy of Neurology, the American College of Rehabilitation Medicine, and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. In addition to the use of emerging technology and drugs to assess and treat patients, the new standard importantly called for the amelioration and prevention of confounding conditions that effect the morbidity and mortality of these patients, such as bedsores, urinary tract infections, and pneumonia. If a patient succumbed to these conditions because of inadequate care, any progress in the diagnosis and treatment of their underlying brain injury would be for naught.
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It was clear that Terrys awakening had helped catalyze a promising era of neuroscience and prompted a moral consideration of what societys responsibilities should be toward people with severe brain injury. Indeed, as the personification of MCS and example of what neuroscience was learning about severe brain injury, Terrys passing was a major news event: The New York Times carried a full obituary with a photo, and I saw him featured as a notable death on a national TV news show.
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These cultural markers, however, only tell part of Terrys storycelebrating his emergence. They dont acknowledge how he died. That Terry was so well known makes the circumstances of his death all the more disquieting. With access to adequate care, I believe the complications that led to his death might have been prevented and treated. But for patients with brain injuries, who are often subject to what is euphemistically called custodial care, such deaths are all too common. Access to high-quality rehabilitation is limited by geographic availability and insurance preauthorization requirements that tend to send such patients to nursing facilities rather than rehab. Thus there is a paradox: Scientific progress over the past two decades has not been matched by greater access to the latest standards of care. Without appropriate rehabilitation, patients cannot benefit from advances in neuroscience.
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In January 2022, Terry developed pneumonia. Before participating in a decision to place him on a ventilator, his sister, Tammy Baze, called Schiff and me for advice. Tammy said that his doctors advised against the procedure because they couldnt imagine that the life he led was worth living. But Terry had treatable pneumonia, and his family insisted he be treated like anyone else.
Later the family told us that doctors asked to remove the ventilator, saying that Terry seemed withdrawnwhich they ascribed to the hopelessness of his brain injury. However, his family felt that his interactions with them hadnt changed, but rather that he was still grieving his mother Angilee, who had died two years earlier. Furthermore, he couldnt fully articulate his feelings with a tracheostomy in his airway. The family felt that because they couldnt clearly understand his wishes, it would be wrong to withdraw life support.
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Based on what the family told us, Schiff and I said that Terry needed access to pulmonary rehabilitation to regain lung function. A new doctor agreed, but there were no facilities nearby that had availability and were capable of providing the kind of rehabilitation he needed. There seemed to be a place out of state, but Terry was too frail for a long ambulance ride. He was transferred to a skilled nursing facility that could provide pulmonary support until he was strong enough to make the trip. Despite the best efforts of his family and care team, he died of pulmonary complications.
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It would be a shame if the public only remembered Terrys awakening and failed to acknowledge the policy implications of his death. Even though Tammy advocated for Terry and rallied support from his care team, without access to rehabilitation locally, his treatment was predicated on him becoming well enough to travel out of state. All of this speaks to the intersectionalityand compounding vulnerabilityfelt by people with severe disabilities. These challenges are amplified by poverty, limited access to health care in rural America, and historic crosscurrents about vulnerable peoples right to die and right to care. Safeguarding the rights of people with disabilities is especially critical when their lives are marginalized by so many complicating factors.
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I didnt get the chance to go to Terrys funeral, which was near his home in Big Flat, Arkansas. He was buried next to his mother andreflecting his sense of humor and his favorite soft drinkhe wore a Pepsi shirt and his casket was decorated with red, white, and blue flowers. Tammy wishes Terry were still alive but is consoled, knowing that he could give Angilee a hug for the first time in 38 years.
When I started medical school, such vast questions around consciousness, treatment, rights, and responsibilities were not discussed or even considered. At the time, neuroscientists saw the vegetative state as one of futility, and so the dominant societal conversation was about the right to die.
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Establishing this right for patients and families was vitally important, but the early association of the vegetative state with the establishment of the right to die has left an enduring presumption that severe brain injury is without hope. This can lead to implicit bias and premature discussions about end-of-life care, even as neuroscientists have developed increasing hope for treating disorders of consciousness. Terry Walliss experience reflects these tragic, embedded assumptions.
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Nonetheless, evolving knowledge has opened new clinical and normative horizons for brain injuries. With a better sense of the prevalence of covert consciousness, the temporal frame for brain recovery, and an expanding set of therapeutic possibilities, the widespread neglect of brain-injured patients has become a societal challenge demanding a comprehensive, humane approach. Learning to identify covert consciousness and predicting its course are projects for the future of the field. But now that these possibilities have been proven to exist, it is no longer acceptable to look away and presume the worst.
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As the neuroscience about disorders of consciousness has evolved, it has become clear that society has a pressing ethical and legal obligation to view consciousness as a civil right: if it is present, it must be recognized; if insecure, it must be supported. As researchers develop the technological means to identify covert consciousness and then to restore and sustain people with disorders of consciousness, society must begin to see this as a responsibility concordant with disability law and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA compels society to hear the voices of people with disabilities, respect their lives, and integrate them into the nexus of their families and communities. The law, and its aspirations, gives sobering context to the narrative of Terrys life and death. And Terrys death demonstrates that rights are necessary but not sufficientthey must be backed up by appropriate, accessible care, in every part of the country. Terry deserved better, and so do others who struggle under the burden of severe brain injury and are left isolated and away from the larger community.
Now that scientists are on the cusp of having the technological means to provide imaging, stimulation, and drugs that may allow for more human flourishing, the nation must begin to grapple more meaningfully with the care and regard of marginalized people with disorders of consciousness. Their plight is the civil right that we dont often think about, but we must.
The author is grateful to Tammy Baze and the Wallis family for their permission to tell their story.
Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
A well-fitting bra has many health benefits.
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"A woman wearing a bra that doesn't fit her is visible at first glance," says MARIAN TAR for the daily SME, one of the co-owners of the Attractiv stores, which sell underwear and offer professional bra fitting.
"This is the reality of most Slovak women. Also, if you look carefully, you will find that most women walk while hunched. Often the reason is not that they are ashamed of their large or small breasts, but that they are wearing the wrong bra."
Your store is dedicated to the sale of underwear, mainly offering bra-fitting and bras in brick-and-mortar stores. On social media, you also try to explain to women why it is important to choose a bra carefully. Have you ever encountered any hate over a man tackling this issue?
Not at all. Well, I was a little hesitant when I first had the opportunity to come out of anonymity. I did so and thus far there has not been a single negative response to the fact that men are behind the Attractiv brand. One could say that it's interesting for marketing purposes. Even though men are behind the brand, you will not see us in stores or at a bra-fitting. There are only women in the stores.
Ever since we opened a brick-and-mortar store, I realised that women really know very little about bras and sizing. Most of the time, they have no idea how to wear a bra correctly, how it should fit, what cut is suitable for certain breasts. There has been a lack of awareness on this topic for a long time, and women really have no way of knowing.
Can an expert tell at first glance that a customer who has just entered the store is wearing the wrong size?
A woman wearing a bra that doesn't fit her is visible at first glance. Highly pressed breasts, compressed breasts, breasts at the level of the belly or various other aesthetic imperfections are the reality of most Slovak women. Also, if you look carefully, you will find that most women walk while hunched. Often the reason is not that they are ashamed of their large or small breasts, but that they are wearing the wrong bra. And they know it subconsciously.
What do you think are the biggest benefits of wearing a bra?
A well-fitting bra has many health benefits. When breasts are large, heavy and lack support, women often experience pain in various parts of their body: neck, back, spine and even joints. It can also give you a headache. If a woman has the right bra, it forces her to straighten up a bit. Many times, customers return and say that when they bought the right bra, people around them immediately noticed their more upright, more confident posture.
If breasts are not supported, they will start to fall. Many women think that if they have small breasts, they don't need a bra. That is a myth. Older customers also come to us, and most say that if someone could have told them when they were young how their breasts would look at old age, they would have not gone without a bra.
Why is it that women know so little about bras?
Why we need to keep reminding people of how and why Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova died.
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It was not just angry people, but a desire to change the country, that took over SNP Square in Bratislava five years ago. Journalists stood on stage and talked about how the then prime minister Robert Fico had been attacking the media for years, how he had created an environment in which someone could think that they could get away with the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova.
The crowd answered them: Away with Fico, we stand with you.
That was in 2018. Fico has not stopped attacking journalists since, and is now planning a return to power. He relies on the fact that many have forgotten the architect of the mafia state, the official with ties to the Italian mafia, corrupt police officers, and oligarchs with an entry card to the centres of power.
Almost every Slovak woman wears wrong sized bra, Concert for Ukraine announced. Learn more in today's digest.
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Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, February 22 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Killer of Filipino released after less than three years
Juraj Hossu during a telebridge at the Trnava District Court. (Source: TASR)
A man sentenced to nine years behind bars for beating a man to death was conditionally released on Wednesday after serving just three years in jail.
A court imposed a seven-year probation period and ordered Juraj Hossu to wear a tracking bracelet for three years among other restrictions.
Hossu killed Filipino Henry Acorda in 2018 when the latter tried to prevent him from harassing two women on Obchodna Street in Bratislava.
Read more about the case:
More stories on Spectator.sk
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Feature story for today
According to foreign research, up to 80 percent of women wear the wrong-sized bra.
Marian Tar, one of the co-owners of the Attractiv chain, which sells underwear and offers professional bra fitting, says that in Slovakia it is closer to one hundred percent.
"Almost every woman who comes to our store is wearing the wrong size," he says in an interview.
He helps women pick the right bras: You cannot buy a good bra for 15 Read more
Music tip of the day
On Sunday February 26, Concert for Ukraine will be held in Bratislava. The event, organised by the Pohoda Festival, aims to support Ukrainian musicians who now have limited opportunities to perform in their country because of Russia's full-scale invasion. Performers include Charkiv Choir, Zapaska and Druha rika.
The concert will start at 5:00 PM and is free of charge.
Yana Shpachynska a Pavlo Nechytailo are the indie-folk duo behind Zapaska.
video //www.youtube.com/embed/1TdawUpxaVU
In other news
The past twelve months have strengthened and united NATO allies, and countries on the eastern flank of the alliance are now more protected than ever, said Slovak President Zuzana Caputova at a meeting of the Bucharest Nine representatives with US President Joe Biden in Warsaw.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova (centre), with Polish President Andrzej Duda (left) and US President Joe Biden. (Source: TASR/AP)
Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad (OLaNO) received a bullet in an envelope on February 21 . "This isn't the first time it has happened and, sadly, won't be the last. Politics is behind it, but also foreign intelligence services," the minister wrote on Facebook. "I will not be intimidated," he added.
. "This isn't the first time it has happened and, sadly, won't be the last. Politics is behind it, but also foreign intelligence services," the minister wrote on Facebook. "I will not be intimidated," he added. Interim Prime Minister Eduard Heger has said the controversial Paragraph 363 of the Penal Code will probably not be changed during this election period. The paragraph grants the general prosecutor the exclusive power to scrap any decision by the police or other prosecutors during pre-trial proceedings. General Prosecutor Maros Zilinka has applied the paragraph several times in controversial cases. President Zuzana Caputova asked the Constitutional Court in January to review its use.
during this election period. The paragraph grants the general prosecutor the exclusive power to scrap any decision by the police or other prosecutors during pre-trial proceedings. General Prosecutor Maros Zilinka has applied the paragraph several times in controversial cases. President Zuzana Caputova asked the Constitutional Court in January to review its use. On the train from Brussels to London on February 20, 2023, Slovak MFA Rastislav Kacer posted the following from his personal Facebook account ahead of the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine: "For Putin's collaborators and especially for those in the Carpathian Basin and Felvidek (Upper Hungary), for all those who want peace at the cost of the destruction of Ukraine, I have only one message: ! (Go to hell!)"
ahead of the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine: "For Putin's collaborators and especially for those in the Carpathian Basin and Felvidek (Upper Hungary), for all those who want peace at the cost of the destruction of Ukraine, I have only one message: ! (Go to hell!)" OLaNO chair Igor Matovic is the east trusted politician in Slovakia, while Hlas chair Peter Pellegrini is the most trusted, according to a Focus poll. (TV Markiza)
A small plane crashed near the village of Trencianske Stankovce , Trencin District, killing four.
, Trencin District, killing four. Slovakia donated 37,000 to Syria to set up a temporary camp for people affected by the February 6 earthquake.
to set up a temporary camp for people affected by the February 6 earthquake. The Slovak National Gallery will reopen to the public on Thursday, March 2. During the spring period, the gallery will be open only four days a week. Opening hours will be from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Thursdays, and from 10:00 to 6:00 PM on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The recently reconstructed gallery will be closed on other days.
Weather for Thursday
Mostly cloudy, with temperatures between 6 to 13 degrees Celsius. Occasional fog and light precipitation.
If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.
Juraj Hossu spent only three of nine year sentence behind bars.
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A man sentenced to nine years in jail after he beat a man to death on a Bratislava street when he tried to stop two women being harassed has been released from jail after just three years of a nine year sentence.
The Trnava District Court conditionally released Juraj Hossu who was jailed for the 2018 killing of Filipino Henry Acorda in Bratislava.
The court imposed a seven-year probation period on Hossu, and ordered him to wear a tracking bracelet for three years and adhere to a 9PM to 5AM curfew. He must also find work and is not allowed to drink alcohol or take drugs.
Related article
Related article I am not an aggressor, claims the man accused of Filipinos manslaughter Read more
Hossu, from the southern-Slovak district of Dunajska Streda, attacked Henry John Serafica Acorda, after the latter tried to prevent him from harassing two women on Obchodna Street in Bratislava in the early morning of May 26, 2018. After Acorda fell to the ground, Hossu, 28 at the time, kicked him in the head.
A video circulating on the internet soon after the attack showed Hossu posing with his foot on his victim while he apparently took a picture.
The killing resulted in a protest whose participants demanded Justice for Henry, and sparked debate about Bratislava's nightlife, no-go zones in the city, and the safety of people, especially foreigners, in the streets. It also resulted in the establishment of a municipal police station on Obchodna Street.
Related article
Coffee beer is so 2020. Espresso martinis are the thing of 2022. 2023 is the year of coffee cider, or at least a few months of it are anyway. Thats thanks to Locust Cider, who are doing a limited release Cold Brew Hard Cider, and its so crazy it just might work.
Brought to our attention by King 5 News in Seattle, the latest quaff is from nearby Gig Harbors Locust Cider, who have teamed up with neighboring coffee roasters Cutters Point. The rather unique collaborationmade with Washington apples and a blend of coffees from Colombia, Ethiopia, and Nicaraguais described as coffee forward and having notes of toasted mallow, bakers chocolate, amaretto, and light spice, balanced with hazelnut and vanilla. Even still, the 6.3% ABV hard cider has a pale golden color.
Thats what Im hearing the most is how come its not dark? The honest answer is it doesnt need to be, Locust Cider head cider maker Eric Smith tells King 5. The coffee that were using has a really rich profile and that flavor carries a long way without having to use a lot of it.
At first blush, cold brew and cider seems like an odd pairing. (The obvious choice here would be a cascara cider, which if any cider makers are listening, make a cascara cider, please and thank you.) But if you really think about it, theres a lot of tasty potential there. As Tiktok taught usand every Gen X cafe owner shortly thereafter haranguing that they did it firstespresso and orange juice is a very good drink. Ciders need not be of the tart, crisp variety. Like apples themselves, a good cider can have a range of flavors, including something more conducive to warming spices and say, coffee. Have you ever split an elegant, semi-sweet bottle of perry at 2am in East London? Its a magical experience. Lets hear em out is all Im saying.
So if there are any adventurous cider drinkers out there looking to add a little buzz to their booze, Locust Ciders Cold Brew Hard Cider is available for a limited time starting this month and going until its gone. Locust has taprooms across Washington as well as a few in the Denver area and one in Fort Worth, Texas. For those living outside those regions, six-packs of 12oz cans can be purchased directly from the cider company online. For more information, visit Locust Ciders official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/russian-envoy-un-partners-have-no-desire-to-cooperate-on-probe-into-nord-stream-sabotage-1107681548.html
Russian Envoy: UN Partners Have No Desire to Cooperate on Probe Into Nord Stream Sabotage
Russian Envoy: UN Partners Have No Desire to Cooperate on Probe Into Nord Stream Sabotage
Russia's Western partners on the UN Security Council are not showing a desire to cooperate in an independent investigation to verify a report that presented significant details that the United States was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia said.
2023-02-21T23:42+0000
2023-02-21T23:42+0000
2023-02-21T23:53+0000
nord stream sabotage
seymour hersh
un security council (unsc)
vasily nebenzya
nord stream pipeline
jeffrey sachs
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"We do not see a desire from our partners to cooperate," Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday. Russia presented a UN Security Council draft resolution requesting the UN Secretary General to conduct an independent international investigation to verify the facts that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh put forward claiming the United States sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines, according to a source familiar with the matter. The Russian envoy's remarks came as renowned American economist Jeffrey Sachs, who was invited by the Russian Mission to the UN to be one of the briefers for the session on Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, urged the body to take action on Hersh's revelations.More than ever, we need a healthy functioning UN Security Council, he added.The resolution put forth by Russia at the UNSC meeting was subsequently backed by China, whose ambassador underscored the importance of launching an investigation.UK Mission to UN Awaits Probe by 'Competent Authorities'The United Kingdom awaits the results of the investigation into the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines' sabotage by the "competent authorities" of Denmark, Sweden and Germany, a representative of the UK mission to the United Nations said.With respect to Russia's claims that the United States is behind the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipelines, the UK representative characterized the statement as "lurid accusations."Earlier Tuesday, Denmark, Sweden and Germany announced that their investigations into the Nord Stream pipelines' sabotage were not yet completed and the countries were not ready to give an exact deadline of when they would end the probes.In September 2022, underwater blasts occurred at three of the four strings of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines built to carry a combined 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe annually. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden launched separate investigations into the incident. On February 8, Hersh published a report saying that US Navy divers had planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines during NATO Baltops exercises in the summer of 2022. Norway activated the bombs three months later, according to the journalist. The US government has repeatedly denied its involvement in the sabotaging of the Russian pipelines, while the Russian government has demanded an open investigation.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/seymour-hersh-says-will-testify-neither-before-unsc-nor-us-congress-about-nord-stream-blasts-1107668771.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/archaeologists-discover-ancient-wooden-penis-that-may-be-a-rare-2000-year-old-sex-toy-1107683884.html
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Wooden Penis That May Be a Rare 2,000-Year-Old Sex Toy
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Wooden Penis That May Be a Rare 2,000-Year-Old Sex Toy
An ancient phallic-shaped tool first classified as a tool for darning could actually be a seven-inch (17 centimeter) sex toy used by the Roman occupiers of Great Britain, according to a new analysis of the object conducted by academics from Newcastle University and University College Dublin.
2023-02-22T04:06+0000
2023-02-22T04:06+0000
2023-02-22T04:06+0000
viral
history
ancient history
sex
sex toys
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An ancient phallic-shaped tool first classified as a tool for darning could actually be a seven-inch (17 centimeter) sex toy used by the Roman occupiers of Great Britain, according to a new analysis of the object conducted by academics from Newcastle University and University College Dublin.While stone and metal phalli are known from across the Roman world this is the first example of a Roman wooden phallus, authors detailed in their study.According to researchers the ancient object could have also served its purpose as a good luck charm, as phallic images were a common symbol of luck during that period. It also could have been used for culinary or medicinal uses to grind ingredients while instilling medicine or food with good luck.But this phallus is different from others, the authors explain, as it is life-size and disembodied, while its smooth edges suggest it was used domestically for intimate purposes. The naughty object was found in a refuse ditch used in the second century CE, meaning it was probably thrown away after it was used.I have to confess, part of me thinks its kind of self-evident that it is a penis, said Rob Collins, an archaeologist at Newcastle University who co-authored the paper. We know ancient Romans and Greeks used sexual implements. This object from Vindolanda could be an example of one.The history of sex toys has received limited academic attention, write the study authors. We can assume, however, that such objects existed in other past societies, and this is strongly supported in texts and artistic representations from the Graeco-Roman world.We hope to have prompted the search for similar objects elsewhere and encouraged their meaningful incorporation into narratives of the past," the authors write.That is the most exciting and intriguing possibility, said Collins, who admits that he is hopeful that it is in fact, a sex toy. If that is the case it would be, to our knowledge, the first Roman dildo thats been encountered from archaeology.The group's findings were published in the journal Antiquity.
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ancient history, archaeologists, wooden penis, sex toy
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/biden-administration-unveils-tough-new-immigration-measure-amid-clampdown-on-illegal-crossings-1107705579.html
Biden Administration Unveils Tough New Immigration Measure Amid Clampdown on Illegal Crossings
Biden Administration Unveils Tough New Immigration Measure Amid Clampdown on Illegal Crossings
The Joe Biden administration has unveiled a tough new immigration measure amid clampdown on illegal crossings.
2023-02-22T14:49+0000
2023-02-22T14:49+0000
2023-02-22T14:49+0000
americas
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joe biden
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migrants
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The administration of Joe Biden has come up with a new measure to clamp down on illegal migrants crossing the US-Mexico border. The measure is not a total ban, but would deny asylum to thousands and has already been dubbed by its critics as Trump-esque and Trumpian.The rule, announced by the US Departments of Homeland Security and Justice on February 21, establishes a rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility," and will render some migrants ineligible for asylum in the US if they crossed the border unlawfully or failed to first apply in another country.The proposed new asylum rule, according to the joint proposal by Homeland Security and the Justice Department, will encourage migrants to avail themselves of lawful, safe, and orderly pathways into the United States, or otherwise to seek asylum or other protection in countries through which they travel, thereby reducing reliance on human smuggling networks that exploit migrants for financial gain.The administration has insisted that the border is currently overwhelmed with surging numbers of migrants. Furthermore, illegal crossings are expected to soar to an estimated 11,000 to 13,000 daily after the Title 42 border policy dating to Donald Trump's presidency expires in May.Indeed, the rule, announced on Tuesday, had already been mentioned in early January. At the time, it came as part of an announcement by the Biden administration that some 30,000 migrants a month would be allowed legal entry in line with an executive authority known as parole" from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, under the condition that they apply through a mobile app, and have a US sponsor, instead of simply massing at the border.As for the Title 42 policy, adopted amid the COVID pandemic during Trumps presidency, it essentially allowed the US authorities to expel migrants on the grounds of protecting the country from the spread of the virus. The Biden administration first began preparations to scrap Title 42 in early 2022, with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) moving in May to terminate it as no longer necessary. However, a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the order, and legal battles ensued in courts as a group of states sued. The court required the government to keep Title 42 in place in the meantime.As Biden administration officials were reportedly arguing that the new regulation is tailored to help ensure secure, orderly, and humane processing of migrants once Title 42 eventually lifts, critics denounced what they called a policy echoing Donald Trump's restrictive migrant approach. Democratic senators, including Bob Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, and Alex Padilla of California, all said they were deeply disappointed with the proposed rule.The approach "defies decades of humanitarian protections enshrined in US law and international agreements, and flagrantly violates President Bidens own campaign promises to restore asylum," Krish OMara Vignarajah, president of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, told media. The Biden administrations rule would "send asylum seekers back to danger, separate families, and cost lives, as human rights advocates have been asserting for weeks, said Jane Bentrott, counsel at Justice Action Center, an immigrant rights nonprofit.The measure, officially proposed on Tuesday, is to endure a 30-day public comment period. If adopted, it would remain in place for two years.After President Joe Biden took office, he wasted no time issuing a flurry of immigration-related executive orders, including putting a halt on construction of Trumps signature border wall, revoking excluding undocumented immigrants from the census, a reversal of the Trump travel ban, the cancellation of the "Remain in Mexico" policy, and others. All this resulted in a huge surge in migrant crossings, with even fellow Democrats criticizing the approach. According to border control data, illegal crossings in fiscal year 2022 exceeded 2.7 million, breaking the previous record by one million.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/biden-administration-to-end-covid-19-emergencies-on-may-11--letter-1106840009.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20221222/title-42-how-uss-immigration-crisis-nearly-shut-down-the-government-and-left-pentagon-penniless-1105709082.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230109/why-is-bidens-immigration-policy-failing-1106172744.html
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us-mexico border, bar migrants from claiming asylum, new proposal, attempt by joe bidens administration to deter unauthorized crossings, rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility, some migrants not qualified for asylum, asylum in america, if they failed to first apply in another country, lawful, safe, orderly pathways into us, expiry of title 42, migrant surge
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/biden-blames-rail-operator-for-ohio-train-derailment-says-its-their-mess-to-clean-up-1107682315.html
Biden Blames Rail Operator for Ohio Train Derailment, Says Its 'Their Mess' to Clean Up
Biden Blames Rail Operator for Ohio Train Derailment, Says Its 'Their Mess' to Clean Up
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered rail operator, Norfolk Southern, to clean up and dispose of hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio, US President Joe Biden said in a tweet.
2023-02-22T01:37+0000
2023-02-22T01:37+0000
2023-02-22T01:37+0000
americas
ohio
train derailment
joe biden
biden administration
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"This is common sense. This is their mess. They should clean it up," he tweeted on Tuesday. Biden also said the US Department of Transportation has made it clear to rail companies that their pattern of "resisting safety regulations" has got to change. Biden's statement comes as former President Donald Trump is expected to visit East Palestine and talk with the locals on Wednesday. The CEO of Norfolk Southern has been heavily criticized by the residents and political leaders for the lack of engagement following the derailment of a train carrying cars with hazardous materials on February 3. The company's president visited East Palestine, Ohio, but Norfolk Southern representatives did not show up at a public meeting last week where residents gathered, citing fear of physical threats. Despite repeated assurances that the air and water are safe, residents in the area have told Sputnik of recent health impacts, including headaches, burning skin, and irritated eyes, as well as anxiety about long-term health risks such as cancer. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources told Sputnik that approximately 3,500 fish had died in waterways near the train derailment site.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230220/1107611074.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/biden-on-putins-new-start-pullout-says-confident-they-will-be-able-to-work-it-out-1107721613.html
Biden on Putin's New START Pullout Says Confident They 'Will Be Able to Work It Out'
Biden on Putin's New START Pullout Says Confident They 'Will Be Able to Work It Out'
US President Joe Biden said he is confident the United States and Russia will be able to work out issues related to arms control regardless of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend Russia's participation in the New START treaty.
2023-02-22T22:26+0000
2023-02-22T22:26+0000
2023-02-24T15:12+0000
world
new start treaty
russia
us
joe biden
vladimir putin
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Putin officially announced Moscow was pulling out of its long-running talks with the United States for a New START treaty during his Tuesday address to the Federal Assembly. He also accused the United States of developing new types of nuclear weapons and considering new nuclear weapons tests. Biden further said he thinks arms control agreements are very much in both parties' interest and the worlds interest. The US president added that the United States has not seen any change in Russia's nuclear posture or evidence that Putin is thinking of using nuclear weapons or international continental ballistic missiles. On Wednesday, the Russian parliament's lower and upper houses approved a bill to halt Russia's participation in the New START treaty. New START, in effect since February 5, 2011, is the last remaining legally binding agreement between the US and Russia the two countries with the largest nuclear capabilities. Under the treaty, the US and Russia have been required to reduce their nuclear arsenal to a total of 700 missiles, 800 launchers and 1,550 deployed warheads. In June 2021, Putin and US President Joe Biden signed a joint US-Russia statement on strategic stability, where they pledged to "lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures" through the bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue and reaffirmed the principle that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." Earlier that year, the Biden administration agreed to extend the New START accord to February 5, 2026.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/scott-ritter-anyone-who-doesnt-get-how-serious-new-start-suspension-is-doesnt-appreciate-life-1107697152.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/biden-snubs-americas-problems-and-arrives-in-kiev-to-deliver-more-money-1107681448.html
Biden Snubs America's Problems and Arrives in Kiev to Deliver More Money
Biden Snubs America's Problems and Arrives in Kiev to Deliver More Money
On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including Turkiye being hit by two earthquakes on Monday, and The Party of... 22.02.2023, Sputnik International
2023-02-22T09:44+0000
2023-02-22T09:44+0000
2023-03-05T10:54+0000
the backstory
radio
nato
adl
minsk agreements
ai
start treaty
drones
kremlin
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Biden Snubs America's Problems and Arrives in Kyiv to Deliver More Money for War On todays episode of The Backstory, host Lee Stranahan discussed current events including Turkey being hit by two earthquakes on Monday, and The Party of Regions political party being banned in Ukraine.
Mark Sleboda - International Relations and Security Analyst | Biden Arrives in Kiev, Putin Delivers a Speech, and Russia Suspends the New START TreatyLucas Cage - US Veteran, Author, and Commentator | Censorship at the DC Rally, The Mainstream Media Disparage the Anti-War Rally, and The Invasion of IraqIn the first hour, Lee and Jason Goodman spoke with Mark Sleboda about Putin's speech, media translations of Putin's speech, and Joe Biden's incompetence. Mark detailed President Putin's speech to the Federal Assembly and how Putin has micromanagement details of the Russian government. Mark commented on Joe Biden's arrival in Kiev and the sirens in Kiev used as political theatre. In the second hour, Lee and Jason Goodman spoke with Lucas Gage about the anti-war movement, spiritual journeys, and overcoming egos. Lucas discussed his experience at the Rage Against the War Machine rally and the mainstream media coverage of the rally in DC Lucas spoke about his tactic to engage people in conversation and the uniparty in Washington DC pushing America into a World War III situation.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/20230222/bidens-ideological-absurdities-aimed-at-deceiving-americans-about-ukraine-conflict-us-vet-says-1107705893.html
Biden's Ideological Absurdities Aimed at Deceiving Americans About Ukraine Conflict, US Vet Says
Biden's Ideological Absurdities Aimed at Deceiving Americans About Ukraine Conflict, US Vet Says
Sputnik has sat with international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda to discuss two separate keynote addresses by Russian President Vladimir Putin and... 22.02.2023, Sputnik International
2023-02-22T14:27+0000
2023-02-22T14:27+0000
2023-02-22T14:26+0000
analysis
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Joe Biden's speech delivered in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw on Tuesday came at least partially as a response to Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly.Biden claimed that the West was not seeking to destroy Russia and immediately contradicted himself by bragging that the US had assembled a worldwide coalition of more than 50 nations to get critical weapons and supplies, including air defense systems, artillery, ammunition, tanks, and armored vehicles, to fight against the Russian military in Ukraine.He also stated that US Democrats and Republicans alike have united against Russian "autocracy," because "that's what Americans are, and that's what Americans do." The US president further praised the 2014 February coup d'etat in Kiev as the epitome of democracy and called the eight-year shelling of Donbass civilians by the Ukrainian neo-Nazi regime an example of bravery.Biden's Upside-Down LogicAccording to Sleboda, the US "blob" would never acknowledge that it has ousted legitimately elected democratic governments across the world to reach its own vested and geopolitical goals. Instead, they and their subservient media will continue to push ahead with their propaganda narrative. "It's a very destructive feedback loop of ignorance and propaganda," the US veteran warned.While many US politicians "know nothing about Russia, and simply believe a lot of the ideological absurdities that they are told by the deep state," figures like National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken "do know that all of this is nonsense and it is all just propaganda intended primarily to deceive not the Russian people, but the American people, so that they can continue this geopolitical conflict no matter what it costs the people of the US, Europe or Ukraine," according to Sleboda.The analyst provided an example of how Russian moves are misinterpreted by the US mainstream media. He cited Moscow's security guarantees given to Biden prior to his "surprising" visit to Kiev. In the eyes of the US media, Russia did this out of "fear"; in reality, Moscow practiced diplomacy, Sleboda underscored.Even though Russia provided guarantees and did not launch any airstrikes against Kiev, the Ukrainian leadership turned on air raid sirens. They did so "because that was great, they're doing it just as a propaganda set piece to create the atmosphere that they want for Biden's trip to support this totalitarian proxy in Kiev," Sleboda underscored.Putin's Speech: Logic Behind Special Op & New START SuspensionPutin's February 21 speech comes in contrast to both Biden's theatrical visit to Kiev and the US president's pretentious Warsaw address, according to the US military veteran.Contrary to outlandish claims voiced by Western and Ukrainian observers, Putin did not announce "a forced mobilization of every student" in the country or a change to the status of the special military operation, Sleboda pointed out. Instead, the Russian president devoted the first 15 to 20 minutes to once again patiently reiterating Russia's rationale for the involvement in the Ukraine conflict, the security analyst emphasized.At the end of the speech, Putin "announced that Russia was suspending - not withdrawing, but suspending its operations in the New START Treaty because of the US, well, Kiev regime attacks, using a type of drone that Putin says was upgraded by Western technicians that attempted to make strikes against Russia's airfields like Engels Air Force Base, where they keep their nuclear bombers, part of the nuclear triad," the security analyst noted.Sleboda explained that "with this type of attack by the West () at least with Western facilitation on Russia's strategic industries, the inspections of such nuclear facilities that are allowed under the new START treaty would simply allow them to even better target Russia's strategic deterrence, something that is kind of absurd at a time of open conflict with the West like this.""So Russia has for the time being, until the state of conflict between Russia and the West ends, suspended their participation in this last part of the Cold War security architecture," the US military veteran underscored.Bucharest Nine: Will Biden Further Raise Stakes?While the Russian leadership has once again outlined its clear position with regard to the militarization of Ukraine by the West and NATO's open claims that the alliance is seeking to impose a strategic defeat on Russia, Biden is meeting the Bucharest Nine on Wednesday. The Bucharest Nine is a collection of nations in the easternmost parts of the NATO alliance. The group was formed after the 2014 coup in Kiev and subsequent reunification of Crimeans, who rejected the neo-Nazi Ukraine regime, with Russia. The Bucharest Nine is composed mostly of former Soviet Republics and ex-Warsaw Pact members.According to the Western press, Biden is expected to discuss further military support for Kiev with them. Polish President Andrzej Duda said that he expected the summit to come up with new security proposals for Central and Eastern Europe. The gathering is also a preliminary meeting for the upcoming July NATO summit in Vilnius.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/putins-speech-from-russias-economic-growth--military-advancements-to-new-start-suspension-1107672755.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/scott-ritter-anyone-who-doesnt-get-how-serious-new-start-suspension-is-doesnt-appreciate-life-1107697152.html
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joe biden's warsaw speech, nato unity against russia, nato weapons to kiev, us military aid to ukraine, biden's surprise visit to kiev, putin's address to federal assembly, suspension of new start, freezing of the new start treaty
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/elon-musk-nobody-pushing-ukraine-conflict-more-than-victoria-nuland-1107718556.html
Elon Musk: Nobody 'Pushing' Ukraine Conflict More Than Victoria Nuland
Elon Musk: Nobody 'Pushing' Ukraine Conflict More Than Victoria Nuland
Nobody is pushing for conflict in Ukraine harder than US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, Twitter CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday.
2023-02-22T18:47+0000
2023-02-22T18:47+0000
2023-02-22T18:47+0000
americas
us
victoria nuland
elon musk
ukraine
nord stream
nord stream 2
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Nobody is pushing this war more than Nuland, Musk said via Twitter. Musks statement came in response to a US media report covering Russias reaction to recent comments by Nuland in support of strikes on Crimea. Nulands support for strikes on Crimea confirm the United States intimate involvement in the Ukraine conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. On Tuesday, former US President Donald Trump also criticized Nuland by name for her role in promoting conflict, stressing that she and other US officials are obsessed with pushing Ukraine into NATO. Victoria Nuland has served in positions across the US government, including NATO Ambassador, State Department Spokesperson and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. In 2014, a leaked conversation purportedly between Nuland and then-US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt revealed that the US officials were discussing who they would like to see take power in Ukraine among opposition leaders. In January 2022, Nuland said Nord Stream 2 would not move forward if Russia launched an operation in Ukraine, foreshadowing the USs responsibility for the attack revealed by journalist Seymour Hersh earlier this month. In December, Nuland said that the Biden administration is gratified to know the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230217/nulands-words-on-crimea-confirm-us-involvement-in-ukraine-conflict-moscow-says-1107533733.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/gross-internet-scoffs-as-starbucks-rolls-out-olive-oil-infused-coffee-drinks-in-italy-1107689382.html
'Gross': Internet Recoils as Starbucks Rolls Out Olive Oil-Infused Coffee Drinks in Italy
'Gross': Internet Recoils as Starbucks Rolls Out Olive Oil-Infused Coffee Drinks in Italy
Starbucks coffee chain is launching olive oil-Infused coffee beverages in Italy.
2023-02-22T07:10+0000
2023-02-22T07:10+0000
2023-02-22T09:09+0000
starbucks
starbucks
world
coffee
olive oil
italy
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Italians starting the morning with a shot of espresso are in for a bit of a shock, as the American Starbucks chain is debuting an array of new, olive oil-infused concoctions this week in Italy.The "Oleato", gearing up to hit the country's coffee scene, will include: an oat-milk latte, an Oleato ice shaken espresso with oat milk, hazelnut flavor and olive oil, and Iced Shaken Espresso beverage infused with Partannas olive oil. The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan will offer visitors five Oleato beverages: Caffe Latte, Iced Cortado, Golden Foam Cold Brew, Deconstructed and Golden Foam Espresso Martini.What the chain intends to offer the Italian public, who are highly protective of their coffee-drinking traditions, is "velvety smooth, delicately sweet and lush coffee that uplifts each cup with an extraordinary new flavor and texture", according to a statement issued by the company.The novel, "coffee meets olive oil" approach has been touted by Brady Brewer, Starbucks chief marketing officer, as "one of the biggest launches weve had in decades. Howard Schultz, at present the interim chief executive of Starbucks, insisted the tweak to the menu is "the most significant, transformative thing weve done in decades. Schultz, incidentally, is to be credited for this launch, after he paid a visit in 2022 to olive oil producer Tommaso Asaro, chairman of United Olive Oil, through which Starbucks is sourcing its olive oil. During his trip he was introduced to the custom, believed to be highly beneficial, of consuming a tablespoon of olive oil each day. Schultz speculated whether this practice could be combined with the daily coffee ritual.One can only wonder whether the launch will manage to win the hearts of Italians, who back in 2018 demanded a boycott of Starbucks when it first announced it would venture into the country. At the time, Schultz went on record as saying humbly: "We are not coming to teach Italians how to make coffee. We're coming here with humility and respect, to show what we've learned."The Oleato brand will also be coming to Southern California, in the US, in spring, and hitting markets in the UK, Middle East and Japan sometime this year.The announcement of the olive oil-infused coffee drink sparked a less than enthusiastic response on the internet. Some users were brief, curtly responding with "No", "Ew", and "Why?"Others had more to say, either lambasting the chain, which already had high-calorie beverages, for adding still more, or "gagging" as they wondered what it might taste like. A majority of those commenting on the launch on the internet were highly skeptical of the chances that the oil-infused drinks would find fans in Italy.
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starbucks coffee chain, launching olive oil-infused coffee drinks, beverages in italy, oleato, ice shaken espresso,
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/how-russo-chinese-strategic-cooperation-may-bring-us-forever-wars-to-end-1107713826.html
How Russo-Chinese Strategic Cooperation May Bring US Forever Wars to End
How Russo-Chinese Strategic Cooperation May Bring US Forever Wars to End
China has many reasons to deepen ties with Russia amid the surge in US provocations against the two powers, international observers told Sputnik, expressing doubts about Washington's capability of waging a hot war simultaneously against Moscow and Beijing.
2023-02-22T17:29+0000
2023-02-22T17:29+0000
2023-02-22T17:37+0000
analysis
us
opinion
china
russia
ukraine
taiwan
europe
wang yi
munich security conference
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"In recent years, Chinese-Russian relations have been developing steadily, and have now entered a new stage of comprehensive cooperation and strategic partnership," Yang Mian, an international relations professor at the Communication University of China in Beijing, told Sputnik. "China and Russia have always adhered to the development of bilateral relations based on the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties."The professor pointed out that the US is forming groups of its supporters in order to force China to change its position with regard to the Ukraine conflict. For its part, Beijing is not inclined to choose sides, but calls for a peace settlement and promotes negotiations, according to Yang.'Russo-China Relations are Solid as Rock'Russian and Chinese top-level officials recently confirmed their strong commitment to enhancing collaboration between the two countries. On February 22, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi held meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Larov. Wang highlighted that Beijing is ready "to deepen political mutual trust and strategic cooperation with the Russian side, comprehensively expand practical cooperation (...) to ensure the interests of our countries, as well as to promote the development of the whole world."While speaking to Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia's Security Council, the Chinese official stated that relations between the nations are "solid as a rock" and will withstand any test."Wang Yi used images of the strength of Russian-Chinese ties while still being foreign minister in 2021. Having become a high-ranking official of the CPC Central Committee system in charge of foreign policy, he reaffirmed that Russian-Chinese bilateral ties are indeed strong and stable, unaffected by external changes," the academic continued.China's Global Security Initiative ConceptBut that is not all: prior to visiting Moscow, Wang delivered a speech titled "Making the World a Safer Place" at the Munich Security Conference. The Chinese official stressed that all people are members of "one global village" and belong to a community with a shared future, warning the international community against falling into the trap of zero-sum game, antagonism, division, and confrontation.Wang also announced the release of China's Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, which lays out practical measures to address current security challenges. The document particularly states that "the Cold War mentality, unilateralism, bloc confrontation and hegemonism contradict the spirit of the UN Charter and must be resisted and rejected."The release of the Global Security Initiative Concept coincided with Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly, in which the Russian president lambasted the collective West for methodically violating the principle of common and indivisible security, abusing other countries' sovereignty and neglecting the security concerns of other states.Beijing's Global Security Initiative deserves very careful consideration, Lomanov underscored. According to him, Wang's statement that China and Russia need to take new steps on the path of strategic cooperation is a signal that Beijing considers Russia as a key and indispensable partner in the implementation of the new initiative.Ukraine Scenario for TaiwanMeanwhile, Beijing is closely monitoring the Biden administration's provocative statements targeting the People's Republic. Mara Karlin, the US assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities, recently told the Senate that Ukraine would be a model for Taiwan defense if Beijing attacks the island's "sovereignty." Beijing considers the island an inalienable part of China.Karlin's remarks came as US-Chinese relations remain at historic lows. Previously, the Biden administration cancelled Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to the People's Republic over the so-called Chinese "spy" balloon scandal. The US military shot down the Chinese airship which, according to Beijing, was nothing but a meteorological device. During the next few days, the US military downed several other unidentified flying objects hovering in American airspace in what the Chinese qualified as "hysteria."The latest Taiwan statement by Karlin is tricky, especially because ordinary Taiwanese do not want to fight in a hypothetical US-China war over the island, according to Thomas W. Pauken II, the author of "US vs China: From Trade War to Reciprocal Deal," a consultant on Asia-Pacific affairs, and a geopolitical commentator.Pauken noted that if Washington war planners deem that they can arm the Taiwanese and send them to fight against the Chinese, it means they are getting the regional situation wrong. So, when US officials evoke the Ukraine scenario, in which Ukrainian troops are being used as cannon fodder, it hits a raw nerve with Taiwanese leaders and Asia-Pacific countries, according to the consultant. "They don't know if the US is going to show up and fight, fight for Taiwan [in the event of a conflict] or are they just going to send them weapons, and it will be a case of too little, too late," he remarked.US Cannot Fight Hot War Against Russia and ChinaOne might ask whether the US is really ready to show up in the Asia-Pacific in the event of war. Pauken is skeptical about the Biden administration's readiness to directly confront China in the near term, especially given that Washington is burning through its weapons in the flames of the Ukraine conflict."Many Americans love playing video games and sometimes they think foreign policy is a video game," Pauken said. "So, they talk about fighting Russia and China at the same time, but if that was true, then why is the US not directly fighting Russia at this moment? They're just sending weapons. So if the US is so strong and able to handle a two-pronged war between Russia and China, don't you think they would have defeated Russia first before going after China? They don't even send the US troops into Ukraine. What are we supposed to expect if something happens in Asia-Pacific?"Pauken suggested that, apparently, Biden administration strategists thought they would drag Russia into an Afghanistan-style scenario in Ukraine and make it bogged down in the conflict. In that case, perhaps, Washington would have had more room for maneuver, but the plan did not work, according to the author.Earlier, the Western mainstream press lamented the fact that the Ukraine conflict is depleting NATO member states' arsenals. At the same time, Western media yarns about Russia running out of missiles and shells turned out to be hot air. To complicate matters further for the Biden administration, NATO's Ukraine policy has driven Russia and China closer together.While Biden visits Kiev, pledges indefinite support to Ukraine, and holds, together with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, a summit of the bloc's easternmost members in Warsaw, the writing is already on the wall, and it says that the White House's resources for maintaining the Ukraine conflict are waning. This sentiment has already been voiced by Biden administration officials and leaked to the mainstream press. Apparently, Beijing's Global Security Initiative Concept has come just in time to lay the ground for future peace talks.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/russian-president-putin-meets-chinas-top-diplomat-wang-yi-1107695314.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/russian-fm-lavrov-meets-chinas-top-diplomat-wang-yi-in-moscow-1107692842.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/putins-speech-from-russias-economic-growth--military-advancements-to-new-start-suspension-1107672755.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/beijing-urges-foreign-nations-to-cease-ukraine-today-taiwan-tomorrow-statements-1107646304.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/joint-drills-with-russia--china-sign-of-south-africas-independence-experts-say-1107650663.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230217/time-for-peace-talks-biden-facing-faded-public-support-for-arming-ukraine-1107554952.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/israeli-raid-in-nablus-reportedly-leaves-at-least-9-palestinians-dead-1107707636.html
Israeli Raid in Nablus Reportedly Leaves At Least 9 Palestinians Dead
Israeli Raid in Nablus Reportedly Leaves At Least 9 Palestinians Dead
At least nine Palestinians have been killed and over a hundred more have been injured as a result of a raid of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the city of Nablus in the West Bank.
2023-02-22T13:52+0000
2023-02-22T13:52+0000
2023-02-22T13:52+0000
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Nine people, including one elderly person, have been killed in clashes and at least 102 more have been injured, with six of them in critical condition, the report said, adding that the IDF started to fire live bullets and tear gas after being confronted by residents. Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the Israeli operation, urging the international community to respond. Earlier in the day, the IDF stated that it had started an operation in Nablus to apprehend Palestinians suspected of terrorist activity. Media reported that violent clashes occurred between local residents and the Israeli forces during the operation as two Palestinians suspected of terrorism by Israel barricaded themselves in a house. A total of 58 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli forces during a series of raids since the beginning of 2023, according to the news agency.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230127/raids-drone-strikes--rockets-the-jenin-raid-and-its-aftermath-1106746054.html
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israeli raid in nablus, israeli raid in west bank, israeli raid leaves palestinians dead
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/japan-and-china-hold-first-security-talks-since-2019-reports-say-1107689969.html
Japan and China Hold First Security Talks Since 2019, Reports Say
Japan and China Hold First Security Talks Since 2019, Reports Say
apan and China expressed their concerns over a number of security issues to each other on Wednesday as part of their first security dialogue since 2019, with a view to boosting mutual trust
2023-02-22T06:49+0000
2023-02-22T06:49+0000
2023-02-22T06:49+0000
asia
china
japan
senkaku islands
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The meeting took place in Tokyo, at the level of foreign affairs and defense officials, according to reports. During the talks, Japanese Senior Deputy Foreign Minister Shigeo Yamada expressed concern over Beijing's intensifying military activities in the East China Sea and collaboration with Russia, as well as Chinese "spy balloons," the report added. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, in turn, raised the issue of Japan's recently adopted security and defense documents, as well as warned against Tokyo's "negative moves" related to Taiwan" in collusion with power outside the region,", Japanese media reported. The diplomatic relations between China and Japan are complicated by a number of controversial issues, including Taiwan issue, territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, Tokyo's close relations with the United States and others. In particular, in its key defense document adopted in mid-December 2022, Japan emphasized the importance of "the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait" and stated about retaliatory strike capabilities, implying ability to target enemy bases. The recent escalation in bilateral relations took place last week, when the Japanese Defense Ministry said that three unidentified flying objects spotted in Japanese airspace from 2019-2021 had been Chinese "spy balloons." The announcement come amid US statements that the Pentagon has spotted and then shot down an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon over its territory. Beijing has refuted the allegation saying its balloon was a civilian airship engaged in scientific research that veered off course.
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/joint-drills-with-russia--china-sign-of-south-africas-independence-experts-say-1107650663.html
Joint Drills With Russia & China Sign of South Africa's 'Independence', Experts Say
Joint Drills With Russia & China Sign of South Africa's 'Independence', Experts Say
The ongoing joint naval exercises which are held by South Africa, Russia and China are important both from a political and military point of view, given the current situation in the world, an expert has shared with Sputnik.
2023-02-22T03:26+0000
2023-02-22T03:26+0000
2023-02-22T03:26+0000
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The ongoing joint naval exercises held by South Africa, Russia and China are important both from a political and military point of view, given the current situation in the world, Russian military expert and political analyst Ivan Konovalov told Sputnik.As for South Africa, Konovalov says such exercises are a very powerful means of raising the status of the country in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Pretoria plays a role in solving regional problems, with the help of its armed forces. Therefore, this is a very serious "grandstanding" for South Africa, including on the international arena.The Russian expert's comments were echoed by Eguegu Ovigwe, a policy analyst specializing in geopolitics and African affairs at Development Reimagined, who underlined that South Africa could benefit from the exercises from a technical standpoint, exchanging experience with major military powers and increasing its domain awareness around its coasts.The naval drills take place at two locations, off the shores of the coastal city of Durban in the province of KwaZulu-Natal and off the city of Richards Bay, which is located 180 kilometers (110 miles) from Durban. The drills are expected to involve six ships and vessels three Chinese, two Russian and one South African. The three countries' military personnel team-up coincides with South Africa's Armed Forces Day celebration in Richards Bay, uMhlathuze Municipality.In late January, following the announcement of the plans of the South AfricaRussiaChina Naval Drills by the South African National Defense Force (SANDF), White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Washington was concerned about the African country participating in military exercises with Russia and China.Western media warned Pretoria risked facing an "embarrassing backlash" due to joining and hosting the Russian-Chinese naval exercises, noting that holding the exercises during Russia's special military operation in Ukraine had Western diplomats privately incensed and publicly critical. The media saw "freezing out Russia" or, at least, postponing the drills as a "smarter choice."As Ovigwe noted, the drills have nothing to do with the Ukraine crisis, despite Western rhetoric.According to Ovigwe, the fact that the drills are taking place signifies the West's efforts to isolate Russia are unsuccessful.In his turn, Konovalov points out that similar exercises, the participants of which are not Western countries, have a strong influence on the regional global alignment of forces. The official noted that such drills are "very serious evidence" of military-political, as well as military-technical cooperation between sovereign nations in the confrontation of the so-called "US hegemony."The analyst also slammed the attempts of the so-called "collective West" to isolate Moscow, arguing that the number of people living in those countries that are strategic partners and allies of Russia is "three-quarters of the world's population."Ovigwe noted the West is discontent with countries such as BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa for not supporting anti-Russian initiatives among other things, voting against them or abstaining from voting at the UN General Assembly. The analyst stressed the West exerts pressure on South Africa and other countries because they choose not to pander to those who view Russia as an adversary. In January, the South African National Defense Force stated that it views the trilateral maritime drills as "means to strengthen the already flourishing relations" between Pretoria, Moscow and Beijing.Mzuvukile Maqetuka, South African ambassador to Moscow, in an interview with Sputnik in late January pointed out that the joint South Africa-Russia-China naval exercises have "all chances" of taking place again in 2024 and becoming an annual event.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted he could not understand why Russia, China and South Africa's joint exercises could cause a "mixed reaction" since US exercises off the coast of China, for instance, do not raise questions from anyone.According to Su Hao, founding director of the Center for Strategic and Peace Studies at China Foreign Affairs University, the joint exercises caused concerns for the Biden administration as the US is afraid of losing control in the Indian Ocean. He noted that Washington considers any close cooperation with China in the territories of the Belt and Road Initiative - and especially along the Maritime Silk Road - a threat.While Russia and China have annually held military naval exercises since 2012, South Africa joined their initiative and hosted their first trilateral naval drills in November 2019. Over the past years, many countries across the world participated in Russian-Chinese military exercises, including Iran, India, Algeria, among other nations.From a military point of view, Konovalov assumes that naval drills along the waters off the South African coasts are of great importance for the Russian Navy so that it can fulfill its mission in various waters across the globe.Noting that the three countries participating in the ongoing Mosi II exercises are BRICS members, Konovalov stated such military cooperation between these states must be held on a regular basis.South Africa joined the BRIC bloc in 2010, after which the organization changed its name to BRICS. Currently, the African country is the BRICS' 2023 chair and will host all the organization's events, including the summit, which will take place in Durban in late August.According to experts, South Africa acts as an example for countries on the African continent wishing to "form a new alliance to break away from Western dominance."As of the present time, BRICS is comprised of five nations although many have expressed their desire to join the organization, with Egypt, Algeria, Iran and Argentina having formally made their application to become members of the bloc. According to South African Ambassador to Russia Mzuvukile Maqetuka, about 13 countries are interested in joining the group.Concerning new members, South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor stated earlier in January that the bloc is working on criteria for accepting new members to the organization.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230125/south-africa-illustrates-wests-failure-to-divide-world-russian-fm-spox-says-1106678988.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/chinese-naval-fleet-arrives-in-south-africa-for-joint-maritime-drills-with-russia-sa-1107647435.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230210/cooperation-between-russia-china-and-south-africa-goes-beyond-economy-expert-says-1107311641.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/quran-the-only-religious-text-protected-from-burning-by-swedish-police-say-reports-1107686336.html
Quran The Only Religious Text Protected From Burning By Swedish Police, Say Reports
Quran The Only Religious Text Protected From Burning By Swedish Police, Say Reports
Sweden's Quran-burning saga embodies the nation's dilemma between the quest to join NATO without losing face and staying true to its declared ideals such as freedom of speech.
2023-02-22T06:08+0000
2023-02-22T06:08+0000
2023-02-22T06:07+0000
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In the wake of the recent turmoil, Swedish police have begun to ban Quran burnings for safety reasons. Religious books other than the Quran are not covered by the ban, according to internal police documents obtained by the Swedish press.Last week, the Swedish police, in talks with the nation's Security Police, announced that from now on they will consistently deny applications for public gatherings where Quran-burning is planned. Although admitting that it constitutes a restriction of free speech, the police justified the move by citing a potential increase in the terrorist threat against the Nordic country.In recent weeks, Scandinavia saw a series of Quran-burnings (alongside several rejected applications), and Sweden's Security Police called this activity a threat to Swedish society, as perceived violations against Muslims and Islam constitute motives for attacks against Sweden and "Swedish interests abroad".Though the ban apparently covers the Quran alone, other holy books have been in focus recently as well.An Egyptian man recently applied to burn the Jewish Torah outside the Israeli embassy and a Bible on one of the squares in central Stockholm. However, he voluntarily withdrew his application before authorities had time to consider it.Swedish authorities made somewhat contradictory statements, appearing to stand up for freedom of expression and condemning religious hatred at the same time.Sweden's Quran ConundrumThe ban on Quran-burnings followed a massive outcry in the Muslim world, with Swedish flags being torched in several places in protest. At home, over the past weeks, Sweden was swept by a series of hack attacks and disruptions targeting numerous organizations ranging from the country's top universities, hospitals and regional administration offices to the national broadcaster SVT.A hacker group called Anonymous Sudan has already notably called for cyberattacks against Swedish authorities in protest against Quran-burnings in Stockholm and claimed responsibility for at least some of the disruption that hit the Nordic country.However, even more vital than terrorism warnings from Sweden's secret services, may be the country's application to join NATO which is now at stake, as Turkiye, the only alliance member openly to oppose Sweden's bid, specifically warned Stockholm that its goals will never be met as long as Qurans are allowed to be burned freely.Finland and Sweden filed a joint bid in May 2022 and intended to join NATO together, yet given Stockholm's recent run-ins with Ankara, there has been a growing feeling in Helsinki in favor of proceeding alone, as Turkiye has repeatedly said it has no objections to the Finnish bid.Sweden, by contrast, as well as previously admitted, seemingly insurmountable difficulties in talks with Turkiye, has been plagued by a row of scandals denigrating Turkish President Erdogan (including him being hung in effigy in Stockholm and ridiculed in a cartoon contest) and defacing the Quran. Among others, Danish-Swedish fringe Hard Line party leader Rasmus Paludan who made Quran-burning one of his key gimmicks, pledged to torch its copies "every Friday" until Sweden gets admitted to NATO, notoriously framing it as "a lesson in free speech for Erdogan".Stockholm's beleaguered NATO bid has become a tough issue for the Moderates-led minority government to handle, as it has to walk the tightrope of delivering on its promises without compromising Sweden's image abroad and making too glaring concessions to Ankara.Trying to juggle national interests with the commitment to free speech and the country's image as a bastion of human rights has landed the government in the crosshairs from left and right alike. The left-wing opposition claimed that Sweden effectively abandoned its humanitarian stance by complying with Turkiye's deportation demands and resuming arms exports it had halted as a matter of principle, whereas the government's right-wing allies, the Sweden Democrats, notoriously accused it of "groveling to dictatorial Islamism", with party leaders calling for "a hundred Qurans" to be burned, if necessary for the sake of free speech.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230220/finnish-mps-getting-ready-to-enter-nato-alone-despite-swedish-pms-warning-1107602680.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/russia-suspends-start-cooperation-anti-war-rally-in-dc-chinas-push-for-peace-1107682638.html
Russia Suspends START Cooperation; Anti-War Rally in DC; China's Push for Peace
Russia Suspends START Cooperation; Anti-War Rally in DC; China's Push for Peace
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech in which he notified the world that the Russian Federation is suspending cooperation on the START treaty. 22.02.2023, Sputnik International
2023-02-22T09:35+0000
2023-02-22T09:35+0000
2023-02-22T09:35+0000
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Russia Suspends START Cooperation; Anti-War Rally in DC; China's Push for Peace Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech in which he notified the world that the Russian Federation is suspending cooperation on the START treaty.
Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss President Putin's speech. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech in which he notified the world that the Russian Federation is suspending cooperation on the START treaty. Also, the neocons are eyeing Hungary for regime change.George Koo, journalist, social activist, and international business consultant, joins us to discuss China. China has shared a new peace plan which pushes to end hostilities via diplomacy worldwide. Also, a squad of US members of Congress is heading to Taiwan.Patrick Henningsen, independent journalist, joins us to discuss Saturday's "Rage Against War; protest in DC. A coalition of like-minded but ideologically disparate groups came together to sue for peace in Ukraine and beyond.Dr. Gerald Horne, Professor of History at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss the US empire. Western neocon leaders have joined to demand that Global South nations choose between supporting the US empire in Ukraine or facing its wrath.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. The US is giving Israel an open hand for hostilities against Iran. Also, Turkey and Syria have suffered another major earthquake.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss foreign policy. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech in which he notified the world that the Russian Federation is suspending cooperation on the New START treaty. Also, US neocons are pushing for escalation in Ukraine.Ted Rall, political cartoonist, and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss the EU. The EU has destroyed its economy for NATO's Ukraine proxy war. Also, we discuss Norway's part in the Nord Stream attack and Google is stepping up censorship in the EU.Gary Flowers, radio talk show host, joins us to discuss domestic policy. The Twitter files have lifted the lid on a secret alliance between US intelligence agencies and the political establishment.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/20230222/russian-senators-approve-bill-on-new-start-suspension-1107705209.html
Russian Senators Approve Bill on New START Suspension
Russian Senators Approve Bill on New START Suspension
The Russian Federation Council unanimously approved at a meeting on Wednesday the bill on the suspension of Russia's participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty (New START).
2023-02-22T13:13+0000
2023-02-22T13:13+0000
2023-02-22T13:13+0000
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The document was submitted to the State Duma by Putin, the lower house approved it earlier in the day. In accordance with the document, the operation of the treaty is suspended, the decision on the resumption of Russia's participation in the New START may be made by the head of state. The law comes into force on the day of its official publication. On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a message to the Federal Assembly that Russia was suspending participation in the Russian-US New START Treaty, stressing that the country was not withdrawing from the treaty. He noted that before returning to the discussion, "we must understand for ourselves what countries such as France and the UK still claim, and how we will take into account their strategic arsenals, that is, the combined strike potential of the [NATO] alliance." The agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States on measures to further reduce and limit strategic offensive arms was signed on April 8, 2010 in Prague. It replaced the 1991 START treaty and, upon entry into force, replaced the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT). On February 3, 2021, Moscow and Washington exchanged notes on the completion of the internal procedures necessary for the entry into force of the agreement on the five-year extension of the New START.
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/russias-rostec-ramps-up-deliveries-of-advanced-weapons-to-russian-military-1107711428.html
Russia's Rostec Ramps Up Deliveries of Advanced Weapons to Russian Military
Russia's Rostec Ramps Up Deliveries of Advanced Weapons to Russian Military
The Moscow-based defense conglomerate consists of over 800 subsidiaries and scientific research institutes, and is involved in the production everything from Su-57 fighters to Armata tanks and electronic warfare equipment.
2023-02-22T15:43+0000
2023-02-22T15:43+0000
2023-02-22T16:16+0000
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Rostec has ramped up the delivery of equipment for the state defense order many times over during the course of the special military operation in Ukraine, the company has announced.The defense giant said it is fully fulfilling its obligations under the state defense order, and that in some sectors, the delivery of military supplies has increased many times over.At the same time, we continue to improve our technologies and designs, the company said.During his address to the Federal Assembly on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to the workers and engineers at Russias defense companies, who are now working almost around-the-clock, in several shifts, in providing the military with the equipment and weapons they need for the special operation.Russian drone maker ZALA Aero Group, a subsidiary of Rostecs Kalashnikov Concern, is the developer of the Lancet and KUB drone designs. The Lancet is a loitering munition/suicide drone first unveiled at the ARMY-2019 military expo in 2019, and combat tested against jihadist militants in Syria in 2020 and 2021. The Lancet and the delta-wing design KUB-UAV strike drone were deployed in Ukraine last year. The drones operate at speeds of between 110 and 130 km per hour, have a useful payload of between three and five kilograms, and a range of up to 40 km.The Russian military deployed new, long-range Tornado-S MLRS rounds with a firing range up to 120 km in Ukraine last year, with the shells featuring both an inertial navigation control system and satellite navigation, and aerodynamic rudders which improve glide properties.The Ukraine crisis has eaten up vast stocks of weapons and ammunition, starting with equipment left over from the Cold War and gradually scaling up to some of the latest equipment fielded by the NATO and Russian armies. The United States and its allies sent tens of billions of dollars in military equipment to Kiev in 2022, and have pledged to continue to ramp up support in 2023, notwithstanding domestic economic crises and spiking energy costs in Europe. In a photo-op visit to Kiev on Monday, US President Joe Biden boasted that the West has committed "nearly 700 tanks and thousands of armored vehicles, 1,000 artillery systems, more than two million rounds of artillery ammunition, more than 50 advanced launch rocket systems, anti-ship and air defense systems" to the "defense" of Ukraine.In his speech to lawmakers on Tuesday, President Putin estimated that the US and its allies have already spent over $150 billion "helping and arming" Ukraine, while committing far, far less for its much-touted global initiatives such as aid to poor countries, fighting poverty, working for sustainable development and protection of the environment.Russia is expected to spend about 4.98 trillion rubles ($66.1 billion) on defense in 2023. By comparison, NATO defense spending reached about $1.2 trillion in 2022, and is set to see a further rise during the current year.
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230210/former-acting-us-defense-secretary-cut-military-spending-by-half-stop-hyping-china-threat-1107332069.html
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South Africa: Gauteng to spend R1.2 billion towards energy crisis
The Gauteng Provincial Government is set to release R1.2 billion towards resolving the energy crisis in the province.
In a few weeks, we will appoint six developers who will commence the construction of an 800 megawatts solar farm in Merafong. This will be followed by the installation of roof top solar panels in government buildings especially hospitals, clinics and schools, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said on Monday in Johannesburg.
Delivering his State of the Province Address in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, he said the electricity deficit is focused at 4058 mega volt-ampermps (MVA) in 2025.
This is slightly high given Eskom's inability to generate more from its current fleet. As Gauteng, we have been working on finding solutions to the energy crisis. We have established an energy crisis response team that engages with the National Energy Committee and working with local government and energy experts, Lesufi said.
Eskom has been battling to keep the lights on for the past few months, leading to increased stages of load shedding and a devastating impact on lives, livelihoods and businesses.
We will engage with Johannesburg Municipalitys City Power as well as Tshwanes Rooiwal facility with an intention of supporting them to expand and generate more power. We will meet with owners of Kelvin Power Station to establish how we can partner with them to limit load shedding in Gauteng. From next week, we will advertise a call for proposals for alternative suppliers of energy that can contribute to a solution of the energy crisis and the reindustrialization of Gauteng, he said.
The Premier welcomed the declaration on a National State of Disaster, which was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier this month.
The President explained that the declaration will enable government to provide practical measures to assist businesses that have been devastated by the effects of load shedding.
Where technically possible, it will also enable government to exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants from load shedding.
It will enable government to accelerate energy projects and limit regulatory requirements while maintaining rigorous environmental protection as well as procurement principles and technical standards.
Furthermore, a Minister of Energy in the Presidency is expected to be appointed to focus solely on bringing the country out of the current energy deficit.
Prior to the declaration, government had already been working on ending loadshedding as the President announced a plan to address the crisis in July 2022.
The plan was developed through extensive consultation and endorsed by energy experts as providing the best and fastest path towards energy security.
Since the plan was announced, there has been important progress in implementing the Energy Action Plan.
Climate change
Lesufi indicated that the provinces air quality continues to deteriorate.
The water quality and now quantity is on a decline. This places vulnerable sectors more at risk. As government, we are making efforts to mitigate against the factors, which contribute to climate change. Among other efforts in combating climate change, we are investing in green technology and planting trees, he said.
With the country experiencing natural disasters, the Premier assured citizens that the provincial government is ready to deal with them.
For the reasons above, we are establishing a combat ready Disaster Management Centre with state-of-the-art disaster management equipment. It will also house helicopters, drones, and highly skilled personnel that can respond within the shortest possible time.
Areas prone to disasters such as Jukskei River in Alexandra Township will receive additional support to relocate within the shortest possible time when the disaster centre is in full force, he said. SAnews.gov.za
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
U.S. is biggest source of weaponry for battlefield in Ukraine: FM spokesperson
Xinhua) 08:10, February 22, 2023
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday refuted a false claim by certain U.S. officials, saying there are more than enough facts to show the true nature of the United States as a source of trouble rather than "defender of peace" for the world.
Noting the United States is the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing that just yesterday, the U.S. side announced a further 500 million U.S. dollars worth of military aid to Ukraine.
"It makes people wonder what the United States is up to by falsely claiming that China is offering weapons, and whether the United States finds it conscionable to tell the world it wants peace and yet sits and watches its defense industry lining up their pocket," Wang said.
"We all saw what the United States did in Afghanistan with its strategy of 'fighting to the last Afghan.' Does it now want Ukraine to 'fight till the last Ukrainian'?" he said.
Wang stressed that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is built on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party, which is within the sovereign right of any two independent states.
"We do not accept the U.S.'s finger-pointing or even coercion targeting China-Russia relations," he added.
The United States should seriously reflect on what it has done, stop fanning the flames or profiting from it, and stay truly committed to promoting peace talks as China has been doing, Wang said.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/russias-un-partners-have-no-desire-to-probe-us-role-in-nord-stream-blasts-despite-smoking-gun-1107694722.html
Russia's UN Partners Have No Desire to Probe US Role in Nord Stream Blasts Despite Smoking Gun
Russia's UN Partners Have No Desire to Probe US Role in Nord Stream Blasts Despite Smoking Gun
Nord Stream Investigation
2023-02-22T12:34+0000
2023-02-22T12:34+0000
2023-02-22T12:34+0000
nord stream sabotage
nord stream
sabotage
vasily nebenzya
seymour hersh
nord stream pipeline
gas
russia
un security council (unsc)
joe biden
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Harsh accusations were traded, lines were drawn, and no vote was taken at a United Nations Security Council session on February 22, called by Russia over the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.Russia circulated a draft resolution on February 17, calling on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish a commission that would conduct a comprehensive, transparent and impartial international investigation of all aspects of the act of sabotage including identification of its perpetrators, sponsors, organizers and accomplices.'Covering Up Tracks'We are not here to set up a trial in the Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said during discussions on the matter at the international body. He stressed that Moscows request for an independent investigation was prompted by doubts about the integrity and transparency of Denmark, Germany, and Sweden in their ongoing inquiries. As Nebenzya reiterated that Moscow hasnt been allowed to take part in the investigations by any of the three countries, he insisted they were "not only not transparent, but it is quite clear that they seek just to cover the tracks and stick up for their ... American brother.The UN secretary-general is someone we trust to lead an investigation, Nebenzya said, adding that there was proof that explosives had been planted near the 1,224-kilometre-long pipelines delivering gas from Russia to Europe during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercise in the summer of 2022.This was a reference to a report published earlier this month by Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh on his blog. The reporter stated that US Navy divers during the NATO BALTOPS exercises in the summer of 2022 planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines, which Norway activated three months later. US President Joe Biden opted to authorize the sabotage after more than nine months of secret deliberations with his national security team, the report based on insider information said.US 'Animus' to Nord StreamIn support of Russias call for a UN investigation, presentations were offered on Tuesday by economist and Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, and retired CIA officer/political activist Raymond McGovern. Sachs homed in on the White House's labeling of Hershs allegations as completely and utterly false," saying that senior American officials, made statements before and after the blasts that showed US animus toward the pipelines.McGovern stated that he associated himself "completely with Sachs comments.'Legitimate, Reasonable' RequestsThe resolution put forth by Russia at the UNSC meeting was backed by China, whose envoy said a request for an independent investigation is entirely legitimate and reasonable.Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said it was necessary to conduct an impartial investigation into the Nord Stream explosions and bring those responsible to justice. And yet, the investigation into the act of terrorism targeting Nord Stream remains stuck at the "ongoing" stage, with pipeline operator Russia and other interested parties barred from national investigations into the matter, as underscored by Moscow in the draft resolution.Denial & Blatant LiesA verbal barrage of denial and accusations targeted Russia over its demands for an impartial probe into the Nord Stream blasts. US Ambassador John Kelley insisted that the United States was "deeply concerned by the sabotage that took place on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines last September. Deliberate actions to damage critical infrastructure cannot be tolerated."But in the same breath, he told the UN Security Council that, clearly and plainly: Accusations that the United States was involved in this act of sabotage are completely false. The United States was not involved in any way. He also claimed that todays meeting is a blatant attempt to distract from the forthcoming emergency meeting of the General Assembly to mark one year since Moscows launch of its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.Russia desperately wants to change the subject... Russia is abusing its position as a Council member, Kelley quipped. Russia was again accused of brandishing "unfounded accusations," this time by UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo. In a briefing to the Council, she called on the parties to show restraint and avoid any speculation that might, ostensibly, "inhibit the search for the truth.The UN is not in a position to verify or confirm any of the claims relating to Nord Stream incidents, and we await the findings of ongoing national investigations, she argued, adding that preliminary results of inquiries show extensive damage, signs of gross sabotage and foreign items seized at the site.'Act of Terrorism'Blasts occurred simultaneously at three of the four strings of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines built to carry a combined 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe annually. The incidents, designated by the Russian Prosecutor Generals Office as an international terrorist act, halted gas deliveries to Germany ahead of the cold season, prompting gas costs to surge. Russian President Vladimir Putin also slammed the explosion in the gas pipeline as a blatant act of terrorism. While at the time not excluding targeted sabotage, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have still failed to produce any conclusive report.Ahead of the UN Security Council meeting called at Russia's request, the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden, and Germany sent a letter to council members saying that their investigations established that there has been extensive damage to the pipelines and that the damage was caused by powerful explosions due to sabotage.These investigations have not yet been concluded, the letter said, and at this point, it is not possible to say when they will be concluded. Albeit expressing "deep concern over the acts of sabotage against the pipelines, which they claimed were unacceptable," the trio added in the letter that Russian authorities have been informed regarding the ongoing investigations. However, Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told reporters:
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/russian-envoy-un-partners-have-no-desire-to-cooperate-on-probe-into-nord-stream-sabotage-1107681548.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/denmark-sweden-germany-unable-to-set-deadline-for-probe-into-nord-stream-blasts-1107678074.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/west-obstructed-russias-bid-to-schedule-unsc-meeting-on-nord-stream-blasts-to-keep-focus-on-ukraine-1107676238.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/seymour-hersh-us-norway-have-cooperated-on-clandestine-operations-since-vietnam-war-1107709280.html
Seymour Hersh: US, Norway Have Cooperated on Clandestine Operations Since Vietnam War
Seymour Hersh: US, Norway Have Cooperated on Clandestine Operations Since Vietnam War
US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh wrote Wednesday that Norways navy has had a "murky history" of cooperation with American intelligence since the Vietnam War.
2023-02-22T14:19+0000
2023-02-22T14:19+0000
2023-02-22T14:44+0000
world
nord stream
nord stream pipeline
sabotage
explosion
seymour hersh
us
norway
secret operation
vietnam war
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"The Norwegian Navy has a long and murky history of cooperation with American intelligence, Hersh wrote in a follow-up post on Substack. Hersh said that Norway invested in developing large armed boats to defend its 1,400 miles of Atlantic coastline after World War II, which were more powerful than US boats. Norway subsequently used these boats to assist the CIA to pressure North Vietnam's leadership during the Vietnam War. This eventually culminated in a confrontation on August 2, 1964 between three North Vietnamese gunships and two American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. The leader of one of the US destroyers initially cabled a false alarm that he was under attack and later rescinded his report. However, President Lyndon Johnson claimed to the US public that North Vietnam had attacked a US destroyer, creating a pretext for the US to bomb the North. Congress also passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution to allow Johnson to deploy US military force as he saw fit in South Vietnam. Hersh said that Norway stayed quiet all along about its assistance to the US and even went on to sell 18 more of their boats to the US Navy. Citing a US intelligence source, Hersh said that the first batch of such boats used in the CIAs secret war within a secret war against North Vietnam numbered six and landed in early 1964 at a naval base in Danang. These boats had Norwegian captains and crews to train US and Vietnamese sailors to use them in a long-running series of secret coastal attacks directed by the CIA and controlled by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, Hersh said.Earlier this month, Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist, published a report detailing how US Navy divers had planted explosives under the Nord Stream pipelines, which Norway activated three months later at the order of President Joe Biden.Hersh wrote that cheap Russian gas had been a boon for the German economy, fueling its post-war rise to prosperity while diminishing Europe's dependence on the United States. He cited a source with direct knowledge of the US operational planning as saying that Norway played a key role in helping the US organize the attack and keep the Swedish and Danish navies in the dark.Both the United States and Norway dismissed the investigation as a lie. Russia, for its part, said it was no surprise that Hersh's report was largely overlooked by Western mainstream media despite Biden and Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland outright warning Russia months before the attack that the pipeline would be dealt with if it launched a military operation in Ukraine.On September 26, 2022, blasts occurred at three of the four strings of Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines built to carry a combined 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe annually. The incidents halted gas deliveries to Germany ahead of the cold season, prompting a gas price hike and a scramble for alternative sources in the European Union.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/seymour-hersh-says-will-testify-neither-before-unsc-nor-us-congress-about-nord-stream-blasts-1107668771.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/russias-un-partners-have-no-desire-to-probe-us-role-in-nord-stream-blasts-despite-smoking-gun-1107694722.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/south-africa-salutes-its-military-during-armed-forces-day-1107657137.html
South Africa Salutes its Military During Armed Forces Day
South Africa Salutes its Military During Armed Forces Day
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa officiated annual Armed Forces Day, which took place on 21 February.
2023-02-22T06:19+0000
2023-02-22T06:19+0000
2023-02-22T07:47+0000
africa
south africa
cyril ramaphosa
armed forces
southern africa
president
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South African President and Commander-in-Chief of the country's Defense Force, Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the country's military during the annual Armed Forces Day celebration.In his speech, Ramaphosa honored the memory of every member of South Africa's Forces "who has lost his or her life in the line of duty".Moreover, the president paid special attention to the memory of the victims of the SS Mendi naval tragedy. The troopship sank in the English Channel on 21 February 1917 after colliding with another ship in thick fog, killing 646 people, mostly South African soldiers, along with the crew.The president recalled Reverend Isaac Wauchope Dyobha, one of the ship's passengers. According to South African oral history, the man not only faced his death with dignity, but also calmed those who were prone to panic on board.Earlier that day, the South African president laid a wreath at the World War Memorial site in Richard's Bay, KwaZulu-Natal province, commemorating victims of the SS Mendi tragedy.In his address to the military, the president outlined how much the servicemen do for the country's better.General Rudzani Maphwanya, chief of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF), explained that Armed Forces Day started out a decade ago with the aim of bringing the SANDF to the people.General Maphwanya also noted that the event has grown since its inaugural event in Atteridgeville, when soldiers from only one company took part. This year a brigade-size force was engaged, with more than 8 000 servicemen deployed along with four maritime ships, dozens of aircraft, and hundreds of vehicles, Maphwanya said.South Africa has celebrated Armed Forces Day for 10 years since 2013, when it was first held on 21 February in Ga Mothakga Resort, Atteridgeville, Pretoria.This year celebrations took place in Richard's Bay, in the uMhlathuze municipality, and last year Armed Forces Day was celebrated in Mbombela, Mpumalanga province.
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/us-businessman-vivek-ramaswamy-announces-2024-presidential-bid-1107708100.html
US Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy Announces 2024 Presidential Bid
US Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy Announces 2024 Presidential Bid
US businessman and author Vivek Ramaswamy has announced that he will compete for the Republican nomination in the upcoming presidential election in 2024, saying he hopes to inspire a new cultural movement in the United States.
2023-02-22T13:59+0000
2023-02-22T13:59+0000
2023-02-22T13:59+0000
americas
us
2024 us presidential elections
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"To put America first, we need to rediscover what America is. Thats why I am running for president. I am launching not only a political campaign but a cultural movement to create a new American Dream one that is not only about money but about the unapologetic pursuit of excellence," Ramaswamy wrote in an editorial in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, said the US is in the midst of a "national identity crisis," with faith, patriotism and hard work on the decline. He said the Republican party should act to fill what he called a cultural void by inspiring a national identity that embraces the concept of merit. The son of parents who immigrated to the US from India, Ramaswamy said the US needs more immigrants like them, rather than those who "break the law when they enter our country." Ramaswamy also emphasized the need to defeat what he called "the greatest external threat" to the United States - communist China. Ramaswamy is the third Republican to enter the 2024 presidential race, following announcements from former President Donald Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230215/haleys-presidential-bid-may-get-shot-down-early-unlikely-to-secure-trump-base---experts-say-1107480564.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/washington-does-not-want-to-force-africa-to-choose-sides-in-military-cooperation-us-army-general-1107700327.html
Washington 'Does Not Want to Force' Africa to Choose Sides in Military Cooperation: US Army General
Washington 'Does Not Want to Force' Africa to Choose Sides in Military Cooperation: US Army General
Washington does not coerce its African partners to make a choice in military cooperation between the US and its opponents - Russia and China, a representative of the US Africa Command, Major General Kenneth Ekman has said.
2023-02-22T16:32+0000
2023-02-22T16:32+0000
2023-02-22T16:33+0000
africa
us
russia
china
military cooperation
us africa command (africom)
atlantic council
naval drills
naval exercises
joint military exercises
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Washington does not want to coerce its African partners to make a choice in military cooperation between the US and its opponents Russia and China, a representative of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), Major General Kenneth Ekman, has said."We respect and uphold the sovereignty and agency of each country. This includes appreciating that Africans have a choice in trusted security partners," he said at a seminar organized by the Washington Atlantic Council, adding that "while the US has much to offer, many African militaries have strong long-standing defense relationships with a variety of nations."However, the US wants them "to be forewarned," he noted, adding that the US National Security Strategy is clear about the US objectives to outcompete its supposed pacing threat, China, and constrain its alleged acute threat, Russia.He underlined that the US would cooperate with African states where it can - on shared challenges such as climate and energy security, pandemics and biodefense, and food insecurity.In Africa, US strategic competitors, particularly Russia, have had a strong and negative effect on African nations, and on US access and influence in Africa, according to him.However, some of the US' "African partners" might disagree with that statement.US 'Does Not Want to Compel' But Does It?In May 2022, Washington adopted a bill to counter "malign" Russian activities in Africa, hindering the achievement of the United States' objectives and interests. In line with the bill, the country may punish African nations for interaction with Russia in various areas.At a meeting with his US counterpart Joe Biden in September 2022, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the bill, calling it a "misplaced type of legislation."African countries' mistrust of US respect for sovereignty was also expressed by Jacob Mudenda, speaker of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe.He said that African countries reacted with disgust to the May 2022 bill, as it infringes on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations willing to cooperate with Russia.In her turn, South African Defense Minister Thandi Modise stated that Washington "threatens Africa, not just South Africa, of having anything that is even smelling of Russia."Along with Mudenda, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the US bill, calling it "an American provocation."The US does not consider African nations its equals, he said, recalling a time when former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Africa to urge "everyone to stop trading with Russia and China, because both Russia and China do it for self-interest."In January this year, during a joint press conference with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor after a meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, the Russian top diplomat commented on the pressure exerted by the US on countries wanting to cooperate with Russia.Lavrov added that the US, along with the EU, only appeals to principles of democracy when it corresponds with their interests, but undermines democratic principles in terms of international relations.While making statements on the "respected freedom of choice," US officials criticize the trilateral naval exercises that South Africa is holding with its BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) partners Russia and China.David Feldmann, spokesperson for the US Embassy in South Africa, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed concern over South Africa's preparations for the exercises.Former White House advisor Fiona Hill joined in the choir of critics, saying in a US congressional hearing this month that conducting these exercises is "not acceptable," adding that other countries "should not be doing that too."Earlier, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, in her turn, stated that holding military exercises with friends is the natural course of relations.Pandor underlined the importance of the trilateral drills for South Africa, saying it's part of the country's "agreements with many countries worldwide" and pointing to the fact nobody questioned South African military exercises with the US or France.Concerning the drills, Sergey Lavrov, in his turn, urged the West to respect their foreign colleagues.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230118/lavrov-us-bill-countering-russia-in-africa-represents-colonial-mentality-1106460779.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230217/former-white-house-adviser-south-africas-naval-drills-with-russia-china-not-acceptable-1107492942.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/washington-forcing-kiev-to-launch-offensive-in-southern-direction-official-says-1107688835.html
Washington Forcing Kiev to Launch Offensive in Southern Direction, Official Says
Washington Forcing Kiev to Launch Offensive in Southern Direction, Official Says
SIMFEROPOL, Russia (Sputnik) - Washington is forcing the Ukrainian authorities to launch an offensive in the south, and US President Joe Biden's recent visit... 22.02.2023, Sputnik International
2023-02-22T06:25+0000
2023-02-22T06:25+0000
2023-02-22T06:25+0000
russia's special operation in ukraine
russia
ukraine
joe biden
volodymyr zelensky
offensive
us
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The official added that Biden's behavior showed that the occupation of Russia's southern territories is more important to him than the fate of the American people.On Monday, Biden made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev to hold talks with Zelensky and discuss US weapon supplies, among other things. During the trip, the US president announced a new $500 million package of military aid for Ukraine.On February 3, a train hauling 20 cars from Norfolk Southern with hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. A big fire erupted due to the derailment, leading to officials burning vinyl chloride inside five of the tanker cars to avoid a catastrophic explosion. The accident released toxic chemicals, including hydrogen chloride, phosgene, butyl acrylate, and ethylene, into the environment.The CEO of Norfolk Southern has been heavily criticized by the residents and political leaders for the lack of engagement following the disaster. The company's president visited East Palestine, Ohio, but Norfolk Southern representatives did not show up at a public meeting last week where residents gathered, citing fear of physical threats.Despite repeated assurances that the air and water are safe, residents in the area have told Sputnik of recent health impacts, including headaches, burning skin, and irritated eyes, as well as anxiety about long-term health risks such as cancer. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources told Sputnik that approximately 3,500 fish had died in waterways near the train derailment site.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230220/bidens-kiev-visit-aims-to-boost-approval-rating-ahead-of-elections-expert-says-1107623921.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/wwii-bombing-survivor-berlusconi-stunned-by-zelenskys-claim-that-he-never-had-his-house-bombed-1107708512.html
WWII Bombing Survivor Berlusconi Stunned by Zelenskys Claim That He 'Never Had His House Bombed'
WWII Bombing Survivor Berlusconi Stunned by Zelenskys Claim That He 'Never Had His House Bombed'
Ukraine's president attacked the veteran Italian statesman during Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melonis visit to Kiev on Tuesday, implying that he knows... 22.02.2023, Sputnik International
2023-02-22T14:16+0000
2023-02-22T14:16+0000
2023-03-05T11:00+0000
silvio berlusconi
volodymyr zelensky
ukraine
russia
italy
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Former prime minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi has responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskys tirade against him, saying the Ukrainian leader doesnt have a clue about him or his life story.Contrary to what he says, I have known the horror of war. I was displaced together with my family, Berlusconi added, referring to his experiences as a child in northern Italy during World War II, when his native Milan was subjected to brutal bombing by the Western Allies.During his meeting with Prime Minister Meloni, Zelensky attacked the 86-year-old Berluscnoi, claiming that his house was never bombed with rockets, that tanks had never approached him, and that nobody killed his relatives. Berlsuconi, according to Zelensky, has never had to collect a suitcase at three oclock in the morning to flee, thanks to his brotherly love for Russia.Berlosconi was born in Benito Mussolinis fascist Italy in 1936. During World War II, his native city of Milan was subjected to heavy bombardment by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force, with over 14,000 buildings destroyed and over 2,200 people killed. About 300,000 civilians were forced to flee the city, including six-year-old Berlusconi and his family. The politician has repeatedly recalled his memories of the war years in discussions with the media. I will never forget how the Allies bombed Milan in 1943. I was six-and-a-half years old. Once, a bomb fell right onto our street Volturno Street. After that, my parents decided to move to a small village north of Milan, Berlusconi said in one interview.Commenting on Zelenskys remarks on her Telegram page, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dubbed it another fit of impotent rage by the bunker resident, and suggested that the Ukrainian leader had thus inadvertently "compared his regime with a fascist one."Despite breaking off his close personal friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine crisis, Berlusconi has become a political punching bag in Kiev and the West for calling for a negotiated settlement to the conflict, and for pointing out that Ukraine bears the lions share of the blame for the crisis. Earlier this month, he criticized Prime Minister Melonis decision to meet with Zelensky, saying he judges this gentlemans behavior very, very negatively, and that the crisis could have been averted if Kiev did not attack the Donbass.Berlusconis comments prompted Melonis office and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to reiterate Romes full-fledged support for Ukraine.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20221028/we-want-to-rule-italy-100-years-since-mussolinis-march-on-rome-brought-fascism-to-europe-1102808633.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230213/all-he-had-to-do-was-stop-attacking-donbass-italys-berlusconi-blames-zelensky-for-ukraine-crisis-1107386273.html
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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/xi-urges-politburo-to-push-massive-effort-to-place-china-at-head-of-global-sci-tech-revolution-1107720370.html
Xi Urges Politburo to Push Massive Effort to Place China at Head of Global Sci-Tech Revolution
Xi Urges Politburo to Push Massive Effort to Place China at Head of Global Sci-Tech Revolution
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the leading body of the Communist Party of China to invest more heavily in cultivating Chinas technological skill base in order to ensure it can be both self-sufficient and compete on a global scale.
2023-02-22T21:11+0000
2023-02-22T21:11+0000
2023-02-22T21:11+0000
world
china
us-china trade war
high-tech
xi jinping
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Speaking to the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Wednesday, Xi urged greater investment in basic research, including science education at an earlier age, as well as strengthening the feasibility studies and the selection and evaluation of major basic research projects, fully respecting scientists' advice, and grasping the general trends to make an early start, in order to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology and to become a world leader in science and technology, according to Chinese media.While he emphasized the need for China to be as self-sufficient as possible, including in its scientific research, he also stressed that international cooperation was more important than ever, and urged the Politburo to build a platform for research cooperation and the establishment of a global scientific research fund. He said efforts should be made to enhance openness, trust and cooperation in the international sci-tech community.That is in part why the Communist Party has pushed up a new crop of party leaders with experience in aerospace, artificial intelligence and other strategically important areas. Observers noted that after the 20th Party Congress last October, their numbers in the newly Central Committee had reached nearly 40% - a level of tech expertise last seen in 1992, when then-leader Jiang Zemin began another major push to expand and advance the countrys tech industry. In addition, the number of tech experts on the Politburo, a 24-person leadership body formed from the Central Committee, had risen to eight from just two before.Perceiving the threat to its supremacy, the US has moved in recent years to snuff that effort, encouraging tech companies in the US and allied nations, by hook or by crook, to pull out of their business deals in China. The latest effort has been to deny China access to the worlds most advanced microchips built in Taiwan and the Netherlands. However, critics have noted that such maneuvers will only push China into just the kind of self-sufficient policies Xi has proposed.In July 2017, Chinas State Council also laid out the New Generation AI Development Plan, a roadmap to becoming a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2030, and set aside 400 billion yuan ($59.07 billion) to develop the core of its AI industry by 2025.Xis emphasis on self-sufficient research groups is also in response to the growing hostility to Chinese nationals seen across US society, where racist attacks against Asians and Asian-Americans has increased precipitously since the COVID-19 pandemic began and the US government began blaming China for the respiratory virus. Chinese academics at US research institutions have faced new restrictions on funding, research-sharing, and other essential aspects of joint research ventures."Even before the pandemic, Chinese students were shifting their study-abroad sights elsewhere, driven by doubts about whether they would feel welcome in the US and the emergence of more domestic and international alternatives. Travel restrictions and heightened safety concerns during the pandemic accelerated that decline," said the report.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230218/blinken-says-us-not-looking-for-new-cold-war-or-conflict-with-china-discussed-balloon-1107585052.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230131/dual-containment-of-moscow-beijing-is-mission-impossible-for-washington-taiwan-expert-says-1106864934.html
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Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Heavican on Tuesday outlined a series of ongoing efforts to improve the state's judicial system by further addressing issues such as the needs of children and minority defendants, along with mental health challenges.
"Please be assured that Nebraska's judicial branch is always striving to find ways to do it better," Heavican told state senators during his annual State of the Judiciary address to the Legislature.
The chief justice said 14,000 adults and 2,500 juveniles are on probation in Nebraska every day.
The average cost of supervision of an adult on probation is $5,500 per year compared with $42,000 for incarceration, Heavican noted.
A largely federally funded court improvement project focuses on the needs of children, youth and families involved in the juvenile court system, he said.
"Our judges are frequently confronted with defendants who have mental health issues," the chief justice said, and judges turn to probation officers to find services for those individuals.
Heavican pointed to "an ongoing and long-standing problem of mental health determinations for criminal defendants to stand trial."
With the Lincoln Regional Center experiencing a six-month backlog to perform such evaluations, he said, "this problem has festered for years and needs a resource supplement."
Heavican suggested adding a veterans treatment court in Sarpy County and a drug court in Platte County, noting that the previously established mental health court in Sarpy County and DUI court in Lancaster County experienced their first graduations during the past year.
Last summer, he said, the Supreme Court and the Access to Justice Commission completed a series of focus group hearings with Natives to consider their interaction with courts.
Forty-six different languages were interpreted in court proceedings last year, the chief justice said.
Photos: The business of governing in Nebraska in 2023
Law enforcement is seeking public assistance to locate Joseph Sloan, 37, of rural Gering.
Family members reported him missing late in the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 21, according to a press release issued by Sheriff Mark Overman. He was possibly in the La Grange, Wyoming area Tuesday.
Sloan is described as a white male, 6-feet tall, weighing 155 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
He is believed to be driving a silver 2012 Toyota Tundra Crewmax pickup bearing Nebraska license plate 21-67BE.
Family members have also been circulating a post on social media.
Overman asks that anyone with any information to report contact the Scotts Bluff County Communications Center at 308-436-6666, or other local law enforcement.
The American Legion Auxiliary, Department of North Carolina, Division 3, District 11, held its annual meeting Feb. 4 at Hurst Turner American Legion Post 65.
Approximately 50 members and three officers from the department (state) attended. They included Mary Bartlett, president; Evelyn Lewis, vice president; Beth Whitaker, Division 3 president; and Dianne Wilson, District 11 president, who presided. Wilsons home unit is 65.
Unit presidents gave reports on activities of their units and goals of service to veterans for the upcoming year. Also, department chairmen gave reports on activities and encouraged members to participate.
District 11 consists of 12 units from Lansing to Lenoir to Maiden, with currently 270 members strong.
Next years meeting will be held in the spring at the American Legion Post 401 in Troutman, where Shelia Dagenhart serves as president.
Gloria Benfield serves as Post 65 auxiliary president. Post 65 is known as the one with the helicopter.
The American Legion Auxiliary was founded in 1919 and has nearly 1 million members throughout the world. In August, the National Convention will be held in Charlotte. Membership consists of male and female spouses, grandmothers, mothers, sisters and direct and adopted female descendants of members of the American Legion.
For those interested in finding out more about our local American Legion Auxiliary, contact Auxiliary@NCPost65.org.
The streets of Statesville are alive with The Sound of Music.
Rehearsals are underway as Center Stage Alliance prepares for this beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein classic which will open March 16 at Mac Gray Auditorium at Statesville High School.
The Sound of Music will feature a cast of adults and children from Statesville and surrounding areas.
Joining the cast is professional actor Mike McColl, who was raised in North Carolina. While McColl has called Los Angeles home for the past 25 years, strong family ties keep him connected to Iredell County and Center Stage Alliance his cousin, Josh Myers, is directing this production, and Myers and his wife, Mykel, founded the company in 2020.
Performing in the role of Capt. Georg von Trapp, McColl stands center stage with an impressive ensemble cast in this timeless classic which reminds us that hope can exist even in the most trying of times.
McColl moved to L.A. in 1996 to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and has worked on-screen, stage and microphone ever since.
Recent television credits include recurring roles on Netflixs The Lincoln Lawyer and ABCs Greys Anatomy, as well as guest-star appearances on TNTs Animal Kingdom and Showtimes Shameless. He also plays redneck carny Ricky Joe in the soon-to-be-released movie Rumble Through the Dark, starring Aaron Eckhart and Bella Thorne. Some Los Angeles stage credits include Firemen and American Falls (Echo Theatre Co.), Flu Season and Fathers and Sons (Circle X). He has been the promo/trailer voice for countless television shows and movies, including Paramount Networks mega-hit Yellowstone and ABCs long-running hit, The Bachelor.
McColl is thrilled to be working with Center Stage Alliance under the direction of Josh Myers, music director Lisa Matthews, and choreographer Jatana Stevenson.
We are elated to have Mike in The Sound of Music, said Center Stage Alliance President Mykel Myers. He and his wife, Gwyn, have been a trusted and valuable resource for our company since its inception, and will continue to mentor in every aspect of the organization.
They will also be an instrumental part of our educational team, leading in the classroom and onstage. They will perform these leadership roles remotely from California when necessary and in person when possible.
My wife and I have a deep and abiding love for the theatre and are excited about being a part of the Center Stage Alliance family, McColl said. I wish Id had a community theatre like this when I was a kid. Its the kind of thing that can have a profound and positive impact on not just those involved directly, but on audiences and the community as a whole. Im glad to see that theres great support from local folks already and hope that will continue to grow.
Ive always wanted to play the role of Capt. von Trapp and work on a show with my cousin Josh, he added The timing was right and I think the production is going to be terrific!
Mike and I have always had a relationship more like brotherhood, and hes been a role model for years. Weve been wanting to work on a project together since I graduated from film school 22 years ago. Anytime hes home, we spend hours talking about film, theatre, art and music, said Josh Myers. Soon after we announced auditions for The Sound of Music, he asked if he could submit a video audition for the role of The Captain. I was beside myself with surprise and excitement. What didnt surprise me was how good his audition videos were, or how impressed the rest of the panel was when we watched them together. His support and guidance have helped Mykel and I through our entire theatre career, and his counsel was foundational in our development of the idea for Center Stage Alliance. His trust and faith in my vision have buttressed my confidence and drive to lead this whole team to somewhere fresh and honest with this well-known material.
McColl stars alongside Ashley Gardner, who plays Maria Rainer, Tennille Sherrill as Mother Abbess, and many others.
I feel like a directors most important job is choosing the right people for the project. I couldnt be more proud of the production team that Ive gathered, and this entire cast seems like a gift. This local talent blows my mind nightly at rehearsals. There are plenty of times where youd be hard pressed to pick out the pro from the first timers they have all risen to the occasion and show up prepared and ready to work, said Josh Myers. Ive experienced goosebumps many times, tears a few times and goofy, awestruck smiles more times than I can count. I fall in love with this cast anew at each rehearsal. We look forward to introducing these talented cast members, and more, as the shows opening approaches. Be sure to look for your friends and neighbors!
Follow rehearsals and progress on the Center Stage Alliance Facebook and Instagram page.
Shows are at 7:30 p.m. on March 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25, and at 3:30 p.m. on March 19. Tickets are available in advance online for $16 or at the door for $20. To purchase tickets online, visit www.centerstagealliance.org.
Show sponsors include Griffin Insurance, Simply Southern Smiles, Iredell Health System, Sir Speedy, the Iredell Arts Council, the North Carolina Arts Council, The United Way of Iredell County, and many others.
About Center Stage Alliance
Center Stage Alliance, a newly formed 501(3) community theater group focused on youth education and community theater, has a mission to create and unite through the arts. Center Stage Alliance aims to bring youth and the arts together, expanding knowledge in each area and creating quality group performances, projects and shows for the community. Students receive professional training in the arts and learn to focus on individual growth while simultaneously working, united, toward a greater cause. Learn more at centerstagealliance.org.
Statesvilles crime rate was about the same in 2022 as it was in 2021, but a number of violent crimes that included seven homicides made for a difficult first few months for Chief David Onley as he took over last June.
Despite an increase in murders from three to seven and robberies in 2022, the total number of violent crimes was about the same according to the statistics presented during the Statesville City Council meeting on Monday.
One fewer was reported last year as aggravated assaults and rape were down according to SPD statistics, but murder and robberies were up.
The number of robberies increased to 23 from 11, but Onley said nine of them were either deemed unfounded or there wasnt the evidence or witnesses to move forward with those cases.
Gun crime was up 18%.
Traffic accidents were down 1.67% with 1,651 reported in 2022, as well as a 3.05% drop in property crimes with 1,145 cases reported.
Onley said that the 32.74% decrease in officer-initiated calls last year was due to staffing shortages, but that the SPD is up to 96% staffing level with three vacancies.
Where we were from a staffing standpoint to where we were from the year before, these guys and gals dont get enough credit. So I thank them and you guys for supporting us.
In its evidence intake, SPD reported it seized 18 rifles, eight shotguns, 114 pistols, and three BB guns while also taking in 482 drug items. It also, through its investigations, seized $24,996.67.
Black History Month
Doris Allison took a moment, along with a Ward 3 community service award, to recognize that Kim Wasson also is the first woman and Black person to serve in an at-large seat on the city council. Allison herself made history in 2017 as the first Black woman elected to a city council position when she won her election in Ward 3.
Wasson made a presentation as well, as a group of students from Third Creek Middle School put on a program at their school for Black History Month.
You could tell when the children were hosting and presenting, that they had done the work, and I was so proud of them and impressed with them, that we wanted to share and spotlight, Wasson said.
The students read off Black History Month facts and information at the meeting before being presented with a community service award from Wasson.
Public comment
Vivian Williams spoke about Mount Pleasant AME Zion Church, recalling its history before asking why it was part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, but not part of Statesvilles own historic preservation. She also asked the city to allot money to help maintain it as a historical place if it is added to the citys historic preservation districts.
Mike Kubiniec introduced himself to the council as one of the newly elected members of the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education, as well as bringing a number of issues to the council such as safety as well as mental health issues, and the recruitment and retaining of teachers.
Regular agenda
Economic incentive: The city council held a public hearing to consider approving an economic incentive for Dura Supreme LLC, which is part of Dura Supreme Cabinetry, in the amount of up to $202,119 over five years based upon an investment by the company of up to $17.4 million for industrial development. It estimates it will create a minimum of 115 jobs, and up to 237.
No one spoke at the public hearing and it was approved 8-0.
Landquest: The council approved 8-0 the first reading of the rezoning request from Landquest for the 0.55 property located at 3511 Cambridge Place from IC R-20 (Single-Family Residential) District to City of Statesville R-15 (Urban Fringe Low-Density Residential) District. 1. The plan is to build a single-family residence.
The current total taxable value of the subject parcel is approximately $37,000 according to the city with a current tax value to be $340,000.
Warehouse: A public hearing was held before the council passed a resolution 8-0 to permanently close portions of these unused roads and alleys of the following: Durham Avenue, West Raleigh Avenue, Tenth Street, Eleventh Street and two alleyways. The property is owned by the city and it plans to construct a warehouse on the land.
The move will cost the city $615.28 for its newspaper notice.
Fire Station 1: The city voted 8-0 to accept the remaining bid packages for the Fire Station 1 project and approve the total construction cost.
The construction total was brought to $13,520,379 after Januarys bid process, which is the final construction cost given by Edifice.
The council previously designated $600,000 to the project for design and related tasks, and $7.2 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds, for a total of $7.8 million. An additional $7 million is needed to cover the remaining construction cost and the approximately $1.25 million needed for city-purchased items backup generator, furnishings, IT, and other internal systems according to the action request.
The total project cost is $14.8 million and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024.
The actions also moved the city forward by seeking financing proposals for the balance of the project cost and adopting an ordinance amending the capital project fund for this project.
Consent agenda
The following items were passed with a consent vote and considered routine by the city council.
City hall: Approved a request for $20,000 to be transferred from contingency to risk management for locking devices on lobby doors and access control for the City Hall public elevator.
Statesville Fire Department: Council approved the SFD to apply for a 2022 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant in the amount of $146,747.27, which requires a 10% local match in the amount of $14,674.73. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) would be used to purchase a mobile live fire training prop.
No parking: The city also approved an ordinance establishing a No Parking Zone on the east side of South Oak Street.
Recreation and Parks: Fees were increased at the leisure pool as well as for summer camp registration as the department said it would generate additional revenue which will help offset increases in operational costs associated with increased salary, supply, and chemical costs.
At the pool, prices increased to $7 from $5 for ages 1 and younger, while the group camp pool admission went to $5 from the $3 it was previously. Camp costs went up as the day camp is now $100, Adventure Camp is now $150, and the pool to $150 as well.
The department said leisure pool admission fees have not increased since the facility opened in 2009 while camp fees have increased periodically over the years.
An investigation into a Monday evening collision in which two juveniles were struck by a pickup truck in front of Macados in Marion has concluded and the matter will be turned over to Smyth County Commonwealths Attorney Roy Evans for review.
Marion Police and emergency crews were dispatched to the East Main Street location just before 6 p.m. Both juveniles, ages 10 and eight, were transported to Bristol Regional Medical Center with orthopedic injuries, according to a release from the Town of Marion.
A crash reconstruction performed by Virginia State Police shut down that section of the road for about two hours before the scene was cleared around 8 p.m.
Few details were available by press time on Tuesday. Marion Police Chief John Clair said state police, which took over the investigation Monday night, would turn their findings over to Evans, who will decide whether or not charges will be placed against the driver.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday took part in a classroom discussion at Fort Monroe about the origins of slavery in the U.S. The discussion was broadcast to classrooms across Virginia.
The lesson, in commemoration of Black History Month, focused on 400 years of history at Fort Monroe in Virginia.
The spot near the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia was where slavery first took root in 1619, when the first enslaved Africans arrived at Point Comfort, present day Fort Monroe in Hampton.
It is also where Union Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler in 1861 refused to return three enslaved people who had escaped to Fort Monroe from their Confederate enslavers.
It's really important history starting in 1619, where the first Africans were brought to this country as slaves. And it was a terrible, terrible, terrible beginning, Youngkin told the classroom of students. But what we also learned was that at Fort Monroe, a decision was made in order to give three men freedom that spread to thousands. That was the beginning of the end of the horrific, terrible institution of slavery.
Youngkin showed the students artifacts, including cowry shells found along the trade routes of West Africa. He said his favorite artifact was a picture of the three enslaved people who first took refuge at Fort Monroe: Frank Baker, James Townsend and Shepard Mallory.
The history lesson comes at a time when the way students are taught history in Virginia is under scrutiny.
Youngkin and his administration have repeatedly said they intend for Virginias students to learn all history the good and the bad.
The governor signed an executive order on his inauguration day last year that called for ending the use of inherently divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory, in Virginia K-12 public education.
His administration rewrote the states proposed K-12 history standards late last year to include more patriotism and remove teachings about the ongoing legacy of slavery in the U.S.
While the rewritten history standards have come under fire from many educators and historians, who call the standards a whitewashing of history, the administration stands by its latest redraft, which it says expands the teaching of African American history. The initial redraft contained several errors and omissions, and was rejected by the State Board of Education, with a majority appointed by Youngkin.
Youngkin also pushed back on a Black Lives Matter at School toolkit that a statewide teachers union sent out earlier this month. A Youngkin spokeswoman called the materials a politically driven curriculum toolkit, which contains tenets that go beyond teaching history.
Family travel 5: Celebrate Black History Month with a trip to one of these destinations 1. Unfiltered Truth Collection, Louisville, Kentucky 3. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Tickets for the 2023 CertainTeed Castle Rock TT motorcycle race presented by Law Tigers are now on sale through the SDI-Racing.com and the AmericanFlatTrack.com websites. The race is set for Aug 12.
Spectators can purchase adult tickets for $40; general admission and children under 10 are free. Pit passes are also available at $80 for adults and $20 for children.
Many of the worlds greatest TT riders have competed at the Castle Rock TT, including three-time winners Chuck Joyner and Sammy Halbert, according to organizers. Dating back to 1965 when Dave Palmer won the American Flat Track inaugural race, the Castle Rock TT was one of the most prestigious events in flat track racing prior to the eruption of nearby Mount St. Helens weeks ahead of the scheduled race date in 1980, organizers report.
In 2023, J.D. Beach returns on an Estenson Racing Yamaha 750cc machine to take on defending AFT series champion Jared Mees, former titleholder Briar Bauman, teenage star Dallas Daniels, Oregon native Davis Fisher, reigning Production Twins champion Jesse Janish and Washingtons Kody Kopp, the Parts Unlimited Singles series titleist and local star and three-time Castle Rock winner, Sammy Halbert, according to organizers.
Motorcycle manufacturers from Yamaha, KTM, Indian, Harley-Davidson, Honda and others will head to Castle Rock Race Park for the all-important TT contest at the tricky, half-mile TT course just west of downtown Castle Rock.
An 8-year-old Vancouver boy who was missing since June was found safe Friday in Jasper County, Mo.
According to the FBI, investigators at the Kansas City, Mo., office found Breadson John and placed him in the custody of Missouris Department of Social Services. Washington Child Protective Services staff are traveling to Kansas City to bring him back to Washington.
Breadsons recovery would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Vancouver Police Department, FBI Kansas City, and the Jasper County Sheriffs Office, Special Agent Richard A. Collodi from the FBIs Seattle office said in a new release. We are relieved at this outcome and how quickly we were able to resolve it.
On June 17, Vancouver police officers conducted a welfare check at Breadsons Vancouver home in connection with a criminal investigation. Community members had reported concerns over the boys welfare.
Since then, officers tried to contact several of Breadsons family members to determine if they knew his whereabouts. Vancouver police said officers were unable to locate the boy, and family members would not provide information about his whereabouts.
In January, the FBI issued a missing person poster for the boy. Investigators were later able to determine he was taken to Missouri in August, the news release states.
In December, investigators filed charges of custodial interference against Breadsons grandparents, whom Vancouver police say were the boys last known guardians and persons of interest in the initial criminal investigation.
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:
Professor Nicole Gillespie. Credit: University of Queensland
A University of Queensland and KPMG Australia study has found only 40% of Australians trust the use of artificial intelligence (AI) at work.
More than 17,000 people from 17 countries were surveyed about their trust and attitudes towards AI and its use at work, the perceived risks and benefits and expectations of its management and regulation.
Professor Nicole Gillespie, KPMG Chair of Organizational Trust at the UQ Business School, said the results show Australians are amongst the least comfortable with AI use at work, particularly for HR purposes such as monitoring, evaluating and recruiting employees.
"Australians are more open to AI being used to automate tasks and help employees complete their work," Professor Gillespie said.
"In fact, they actually prefer AI involvement in managerial decision-making over sole human decision-makingthe caveat is they want humans to retain control.
"But concerningly, only 43% of Australians believe their employer have practices in place to support the responsible use of AI."
James Mabbott, Lead Partner KPMG Futures said a key challenge is that a third of people have low confidence in government, technology and commercial organizations to develop, use and govern AI in society's best interest.
"Organizations can build trust in their use of AI by putting in place mechanisms that demonstrate responsible use such as regularly monitoring accuracy and reliability, implementing AI codes of conduct, independent AI ethics reviews and certifications and adhering to emerging international standards," Mr. Mabbott said.
Professor Gillespie said Australians recognize the many benefits of AI, but are hesitant.
"Only 44% believe the benefits outweigh the risks and only a quarter believe AI will create more jobs than it will eliminate," she said.
The findings also show the number one perceived risk of AI globally is cybersecurity.
Seventy-five percent of respondents are concerned about potential risks of AI including cybersecurity and privacy breaches, manipulation and misuse, loss of jobs and deskilling, the erosion of human rights and inaccurate or biased outcomes.
Professor Gillespie said mitigating those risks and protecting people's data and privacy are critical to trust in AI.
"The survey found 70% of Australians expect AI to be regulated, but only 35% believe there are enough safeguards, laws and regulations in place," she said.
"It also found the community expects an independent regulator, rather than reliance on industry governance."
The study pre-dated the commercial release of AI chatbot, ChatGPT.
"Trust in Artificial Intelligence: Global Insights 2023" also sheds light on current understanding and awareness of AI, and who is trusted to develop, use and govern AI.
More information: Trust in Artificial Intelligence: Global Insights 2023: kpmg.com/au/en/home/insights/2 l-insights-2023.html
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:
Researchers have developed new math tools to describe how creases affect looping structures. Images courtesy of the researchers. Credit: Princeton University
Scientists often turn to origami for tasks like packing expandable structures into spacecraft or creating new medical devices, but the math used to describe the folds between segments can be difficult to work with. Now, Princeton researchers have developed a new mathematical approach that makes dealing with troublesome folds far easier.
Typical methods treat a crease as a break between two distinct sections of a structure. The methods require engineers to model creases as rotational hinges with certain stiffness and impose geometric and mechanical matching conditions for connecting the two distinct sections of the structure. These models can be resource-intensive to use and don't always capture what happens to a material when it is sharply bent.
"When people study creases it is challenging because there is a discontinuity between sections of the structure," said Sigrid Adriaenssens, a professor of civil and environmental engineering who led the research team. "Normally, they cut it up and impose complicated boundary conditions to represent the discontinuity."
In an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Adriaenssens's team presents a method that describes creases as part of a continuous system rather than a separate section of calculations. The new method not only allows engineers to conduct calculations in one effort, it also accounts for different degrees of folding in a structure, from sharp tent-like creases to more gradual curves.
"We can model the entire range, from very sharp all the way to very smooth," said Tian Yu, the paper's lead author and an associate research scholar in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
The researchers said they developed the method by applying a classical math approach more typically used in signal processing and the study of shock waves. Yu said that he had been trying other approaches without success when co-researcher Francesco Marmo suggested applying a function that is a regularized version of the Dirac delta function introduced by mathematician Paul Dirac in 1927. Marmo, of the University of Naples Federico II in Italy, was working at Princeton at the time as part of a Global Collaborative Network program administered by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies.
The researchers applied the new system to structures made of looping rings called creased annuli. By varying twists in the rings, the researchers created a wide variety of three-dimensional shapes. Using the new math system, they were able to recreate the structures accurately with a computer.
The article, "Continuous modeling of creased annuli with tunable bistable and looping behaviors" was published Jan. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
More information: Tian Yu et al, Continuous modeling of creased annuli with tunable bistable and looping behaviors, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2209048120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Electrically switchable metasurface pixels by flash localized heating. a Illustration of the fabricated sample, composed of designed nanoholes in a silicon film, so-called hole array metasurfaces, embedded in an ITO transparent heater. The pixels optical responses are switched by applying a voltage across the contacts, which locally heats the metasurfaces. The thermo-optical effect results in an alteration of the metasurface scattering properties. b The calculated transmission spectra of hole-array metasurfaces together with the normalized electric field profiles (|E|) at both resonances. The parameters of the design are his = 155 nm, d 1 = 78 nm, d 2 = 101 nm, h ITO = 380 nm, and pitch = 350 nm. c Colored SEM image of the fabricated sample. Credit: Light: Science & Applications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01078-6
Researchers have developed a proof of concept technology that could pave the way for next-generation displays beyond current LCDs and LEDs, enabling screens and electronic devices to become thinner, offer higher resolution and be much more energy efficient.
A team at Nottingham Trent University, the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales Canberra in Australia has engineered electrically tunable arrays of nanoparticles called "metasurfaces," which can offer significant benefits over current liquid crystal displays.
Today's display market offers a large range of choices, each with its pros and cons. However factors including production costs, lifespan and energy consumption have kept liquid crystal technology the most dominant and popular technology for screens such as TV sets and monitors.
Liquid crystal cells are responsible for switching the transmitted light on and off and are lit by a backlight, with polarizing filters in the front and behind the pixels. They determine the dimension of pixelsthe resolutionand play a significant role in managing the device's power consumption.
Credit: Nottingham Trent University
The newly engineered metasurface cellswhich have tunability and extraordinary light scattering propertieswould replace the liquid crystal layer and would not require the polarizers, which are responsible for a large amount of wasted light intensity and energy use in displays.
The metasurfaces are 100-times thinner than liquid crystal cells, offer a tenfold greater resolution and consume 50% less energy.
As part of the study, the team demonstrated that pixels could be electrically programmed and the light could be switched almost 20 times faster than human aversion response time by changing the temperature of the material.
The researchers believe their technology is compatible with modern electronic displays and fills a technological gap for tunable metasurfaces capable of switching light effectively at high frequencies.
"We have paved the way to break a technology barrier by replacing the liquid crystal layer in current displays with a metasurface, enabling us to make affordable flat screens liquid crystal-free," said the project leader Mohsen Rahmani, Professor of Engineering at Nottingham Trent University's School of Science and Technology and a Royal Society Wolfson Fellow.
He said, "The most important metrics of flat panel displays are pixel size and resolution, weight and power consumption. We have addressed each of these with our meta-display concept.
"Most importantly, our new technology can lead to a huge reduction of energy consumptionthis is excellent news given the number of monitors and TV sets being used in households and businesses every single day. We believe it is time for LCD and LED displays to be phased out in the same way as former cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs over the past ten to 20 years."
Dragomir Neshev, Director of the ARC Center for Excellence in Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) and Australian National University Professor in Physics, said, "The capability of conventional displays has reached its peak and is unlikely to significantly improve in the future due to multiple limitations. Today there is a quest for fully solid-state flat display technology with a high-resolution and fast refresh rate. We have designed and developed metasurface pixels that can be ideal for the next-generation display.
"Unlike liquid crystals, our pixels do not require polarized lights for functioning, which will halve screens' energy consumption."
Khosro Zangeneh Kamali, a Ph.D. scholar at the Australian National University and the first author of the study, said, "Metasurfaces are proven to exhibit extraordinary optical behavior. However, inventing an effective way to control them is still a subject of heavy research. We have proposed electrically programmable silicon metasurfaces, which is a versatile platform for programmable metasurfaces."
Dr. Lei Xu, a team member from Nottingham Trent University, said "There is significant room for further improvements by employing artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to design and realize even smaller, thinner and more efficient metasurface displays."
Professor Andrey Miroshnichenko, a team member from the University of New South Wales Canberra, said, "Our pixels are made of silicon, which offers a long life span in contrast with organic materials required for other existing alternatives. Moreover, silicon is widely available, CMOS compatible with mature technology, and cheap to produce."
He concluded that it was hoped the development could generate a frontier technology in new flat displays. The work is reported in the journal Light: Science & Applications.
More information: Khosro Zangeneh Kamali et al, Electrically programmable solid-state metasurfaces via flash localised heating, Light: Science & Applications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01078-6 Journal information: Light: Science & Applications
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Microsoft President Brad Smith addresses a media conference regarding Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the future of gaming in Brussels, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Virginia Mayo
Microsoft's Xbox video game division on Tuesday announced new partnerships with Nintendo and chipmaker Nvidia as it tries to persuade European regulators to approve its planned $68.7 billion takeover of game publishing giant Activision Blizzard.
A key audience for the announcements were the European Union antitrust regulators who held a closed-door meeting Tuesday with executives from Microsoft and some of its competitors, including Sony and Google.
Microsoft announced a 10-year agreement with chipmaker Nvidia to bring Xbox games to Nvidia's cloud gaming service. Microsoft also said it has now signed a similar deal with Nintendo, formalizing a commitment it revealed late last year.
What it does not have is an agreement with Xbox's chief rival, PlayStation-maker Sony, which has sought to convince antitrust regulators around the world to stop the Activision Blizzard merger.
The all-cash deal, which is set to be the largest in the history of the tech industry, faces pushback from regulators in the U.S. and Europe because it would give Microsoft control of popular game franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush.
The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive arm, has been investigating whether the merger would distort fair competition to popular Activision Blizzard game titles. It's scheduled to make a decision by March 23.
Microsoft first announced the agreement to buy the California-based game publisher early last year, but the takeover has also been stalled in the U.S., where the Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the deal, and in Britain, where an antitrust watchdog's provisional report said it will stifle competition and hurt gamers.
Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, has been counting on getting approval in either the EU or Britain to help advance its case in the U.S.
Microsoft's president, Brad Smith, said at a Brussels news conference after meeting with regulators Tuesday that he was "not in a position to say exactly what was said in the hearing room" but emphasized that Xbox has a much smaller share of the market than PlayStation does in Europe, and asserted that the deal would be good for the industry by bringing more games to more people.
"For us at Microsoft, this has never been about spending $69 billion so that we could acquire titles like Call of Duty and make them less available to people," Smith said. "That's actually not a great way to turn a $69 billion asset into something that will become more valuable over time."
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The Supreme Court building is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 10, 2023. The Supreme Court is taking up its first case about a federal law that is credited with helping create the modern internet by shielding Google, Twitter, Facebook and other companies from lawsuits over content posted on their sites by others. The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday, Feb. 21, about whether the family of a terrorism victim can sue Google for helping extremists spread their message and attract new recruits. Credit: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File
Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.
A case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, Gonzalez v. Google, challenges this lawnamely whether tech companies are liable for the material posted on their platforms.
Justices will decide whether the family of an American college student killed in a terror attack in Paris can sue Google, which owns YouTube, over claims that the video platform's recommendation algorithm helped extremists spread their message.
A second case, Twitter v. Taamneh, also focuses on liability, though on different grounds.
The outcomes of these cases could reshape the internet as we know it. Section 230 won't be easily dismantled. But if it is, online speech could be drastically transformed.
WHAT IS SECTION 230?
If a news site falsely calls you a swindler, you can sue the publisher for libel. But if someone posts that on Facebook, you can't sue the companyjust the person who posted it.
That's thanks to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which states that "no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."
That legal phrase shields companies that can host trillions of messages from being sued into oblivion by anyone who feels wronged by something someone else has postedwhether their complaint is legitimate or not.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have argued, for different reasons, that Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms have abused that protection and should lose their immunityor at least have to earn it by satisfying requirements set by the government.
Section 230 also allows social platforms to moderate their services by removing posts that, for instance, are obscene or violate the services' own standards, so long as they are acting in "good faith."
WHERE DID SECTION 230 COME FROM?
The measure's history dates back to the 1950s, when bookstore owners were being held liable for selling books containing "obscenity," which is not protected by the First Amendment. One case eventually made it to the Supreme Court, which held that it created a "chilling effect" to hold someone liable for someone else's content.
That meant plaintiffs had to prove that bookstore owners knew they were selling obscene books, said Jeff Kosseff, the author of "The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet," a book about Section 230.
Fast-forward a few decades to when the commercial internet was taking off with services like CompuServe and Prodigy. Both offered online forums, but CompuServe chose not to moderate its, while Prodigy, seeking a family-friendly image, did.
CompuServe was sued over that, and the case was dismissed. Prodigy, however, got in trouble. The judge in their case ruled that "they exercised editorial controlso you're more like a newspaper than a newsstand," Kosseff said.
That didn't sit well with politicians, who worried that outcome would discourage newly forming internet companies from moderating at all. And Section 230 was born.
"Today it protects both from liability for user posts as well as liability for any claims for moderating content," Kosseff said.
WHAT HAPPENS IF SECTION 230 GOES AWAY?
"The primary thing we do on the internet is we talk to each other. It might be email, it might be social media, might be message boards, but we talk to each other. And a lot of those conversations are enabled by Section 230, which says that whoever's allowing us to talk to each other isn't liable for our conversations," said Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University specializing in internet law. "The Supreme Court could easily disturb or eliminate that basic proposition and say that the people allowing us to talk to each other are liable for those conversations. At which point they won't allow us to talk to each other anymore."
There are two possible outcomes. Platforms might get more cautious, as Craigslist did following the 2018 passage of a sex-trafficking law that carved out an exception to Section 230 for material that "promotes or facilitates prostitution." Craigslist quickly removed its "personals" section, which wasn't intended to facilitate sex work, altogether. But the company didn't want to take any chances.
"If platforms were not immune under the law, then they would not risk the legal liability that could come with hosting Donald Trump's lies, defamation, and threats," said Kate Ruane, former senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union who now works for PEN America.
Another possibility: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other platforms could abandon moderation altogether and let the lowest common denominator prevail.
Such unmonitored services could easily end up dominated by trolls, like 8chan, a site that was infamous for graphic and extremist content.
Any change to Section 230 is likely to have ripple effects on online speech around the globe.
"The rest of the world is cracking down on the internet even faster than the U.S.," Goldman said. "So we're a step behind the rest of the world in terms of censoring the internet. And the question is whether we can even hold out on our own."
Correction note: This story has been corrected to say Kate Ruane is a former senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union and now works for PEN America.
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People line up outside the US Supreme Court in hopes of getting a seat in the public gallery for the Big Tech - Section 230 case.
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a landmark case that could transform the internet by scrapping decades-old legal protections for tech companies, but gave no indication that a clear majority would opt to rework the law.
In a two-and-a-half-hour session, the nine justices targeted their questions on better understanding the so-called Section 230, a US law that was signed in 1996 at the dawn of the internet era and before the creation of Google.
The justices did acknowledge that the legal shield was probably no longer fit for purpose given the leaps and bounds made by the online world since the law was draftedbut added that they might not be the best suited to fix it.
"We're in a predicament here because this is a statute that was written at a different time when the internet was completely different," said Justice Elena Kagan, indicating the complexity of the case put before them.
"We're a court, we really don't know about these things. These are not like the nine greatest experts on the internet," she added.
Section 230 currently gives internet platforms blanket immunity from any content that comes from a third party and, crucially for the day's case, even if it is pushed out as a recommendation by the website.
Specifically targeted in the case is YouTube's recommendation algorithm that decides what videos a user might want to view next, based on their previous choices and profile.
The plaintiff in the case is the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, an American exchange student who was one of the 130 people killed in the November 2015 attacks in Paris.
Her family blames Google-owned YouTube for having recommended videos from the Islamic State jihadist group to users, which they believe made the company a party to the violence.
"The problem is that when you click on one video, and you pick that one, YouTube will automatically keep sending you more videos, which you haven't asked for," said Eric Schnapper, the lawyer for the Gonzalez family.
Some justices asked questions on the breadth of Section 230, expressing surprise at how far the immunity stretches for tech companies, including on recommendations.
"The question today is 'can we be sued for making recommendations?' That's just not something the statute was (intended for)," said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court's newest member.
'Crash' the internet
The justices were also concerned that changing the rules would open a floodgate of lawsuits and seriously jeopardize the carrying out of business on the internet.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh referred to complaints that a rethinking of Section 230 would invite "economic dislocation" and "really crash the digital economy with all sorts of effects on workers and consumers."
Justice Samuel Alito asked if Google would "collapse or the internet be destroyed if YouTube and therefore Google were potentially liable for posting and refusing to take down videos that it knows are defamatory and false."
Schnapper, representing the plaintiffs, insisted that the impact would be limited since "the kinds of circumstance" in which a recommendation could be subject to a lawsuit would be limited.
The prospect of the Supreme Court even tinkering with Section 230 is causing cold sweats in the tech world and Google's lawyer warned of major consequences.
"You know, basically you take down anything that anyone might object to, and then you basically have... The Truman Show versus a horror show," lawyer Lisa Blatt told the justices.
"You would have only anodyne, cartoon like stuff... (or) otherwise you just have garbage on the internet and (the law) would not have achieved its purpose," she added.
The same judges on Wednesday will consider a very similar case, but this time one involving Twitter that asks if internet platforms can be found liable for aiding and abetting terrorism.
The Supreme Court declines to hear the vast majority of the cases that come its way, and experts believe that by opting to decide on this one indicates there could be a willingness to modify the landmark law.
Google said it was "proud" to make its case to the court given the stakes.
"Eroding these protections would fundamentally change how the internet works, making it less open, less safe, and less helpful," added Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google's General Counsel.
A decision on both cases is expected by June 30.
2023 AFP
Korey Thomas of New Orleans was in a cheerful spirit on Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday as he was recognized for the success of his family owned restaurant, The Remnant of Nawlins in Bryan, which he says all started with the help of his mother-in-law, Deborah Miller.
As I was working in College Station, my mother-in-law would bring some food for me and the guys I was working with and as I would bring it to work, we started to sell it, he said. And I thought, we are always making food, why dont we start a restaurant?
Thomas was one of three local Bryan-College Station businesses awarded the 2023 Community Impact Award through the B-CS Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday at Pebble Creek Country Club in College Station.
His journey to the Brazos Valley came after his family was uprooted from their New Orleans-area homes by Hurricane Katrina. During his acceptance speech, he shared what it was like in his household growing up that brought him to where he is today.
Growing up for me in New Orleans Ninth Ward and Kenner, Louisiana, wasnt peachy by no stretch of the imagination, but it wasnt all bad, Thomas said in his acceptance speech. In fact it was what made me who I am today. Very little regrets; when I say it wasnt peachy, I mean I wasnt born with a silver spoon. In fact in my household, you may have had water, lights or food, but you seldom had all three.
But my mom did the best she could battling a drug addiction and I appreciate her for that. She taught me that although we may not have something we always had each other. It was there I learned: That I would rather be broke together than rich alone. Family to me is everything even when you have nothing.
Jason Cornelius, the Chambers chair elect, introduced Thomas at the reception and said Thomas in-laws established the first location of The Remnant of Nawlins in the Checkers Food Mart in College Station. In 2014, Thomas and his wife took over the business and over the years it moved from a convenience store kitchen to a full-service restaurant specializing in authentic New Orleans cuisine at 1416 Groesbeck Street in Bryan.
He shared how Katrinas catastrophic effect brought him to Texas.
When I got to Texas all I knew was I cant go back to where I was and God was keeping me. All I had was slippers, faith and a mind to work, he said.
After finding out he won the award, Thomas said he was in shock because he won every award this year that he hoped he would.
I won Best of the Brazos this year and the Readers Choice Award, so this was the icing on the cake, he said.
Thomas said his hope for the future is that he can continue to be involved in the community and always be the olive branch.
I dont want to be a business that takes from the city, I want to be a business that gives back to them, he said.
Cornelius also introduced the other award winners, mother and daughter duo Meredith Stancik-McAuliffe and Janis Stancik, and Sabi Boutique.
A love of fashion and decor is in the Stancik genes, Cornelius said. Janis owned a successful boutique in La Grange for many years and got the chance to continue in the retail world when Meredith shared her dream of opening a boutique in College Station in 2012. Sabi Boutique now occupies a 3,000 square-foot brick-and-mortar building in the heart of College Station on University Drive and employs two full-time and 17 part-time associates.
Sabi Boutique, located at 520 University Drive E. in College Station, also won Best of the Brazos and the Readers Choice Award as well as statewide industry awards, including Boutiques by Shop Across Texas, he said.
The third recipient of the Impact Awards was Mike Espitia of Goldstar Barber Studio at 607 University Drive E. in College Station. A native of Bryan, Espitia opened his first barber shop, Mikes Barber Studio, in 2015.
That location on University Drive has grown to six full-time Gold Star barber studios with four locations in College Station, Cornelius said in his introduction of Espitia. As his business grew, he realized a need for professional barbers in our area and responded by opening Gold Star Barber Schools in Bryan and San Antonio. He now employs 53 barbers, three partners, seven receptionists and 25 enrolled students.
Espitia has also won Best of the Brazos and the Readers Choice Award seven years in a row, Cornelius said.
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Friday marked the start of celebrations in honor of Rocky Mounts 150th anniversary. Several town officials and business leaders gathered at the Rocky Mount Train Depot to share a bit about the towns history and what is to come.
At Fridays presentation, several speakers provided history on the town. Linda Stanley, managing director of the Franklin County Historical Society, discussed how much of the town of Rocky Mount was first established as Mount Pleasant in 1805. She said the main street for Mount Pleasant is now known as Maple Avenue which runs parallel to the contemporary Main Street.
The community was originally established as the location of the Washington Iron Furnace, according to Kevin Tosh with the Franklin County Department of Tourism. The furnace was created in the 1770s and some of the slag from the furnace was used to build some of the first roads in the town, he said.
Tosh and Stanley were two of several speakers at Fridays kickoff. They are part of the towns sesquicentennial committee planning the upcoming events for this years celebration.
Daniel Pinard, cultural and economic development director for Rocky Mount, is overseeing the towns 150th celebrations this year along with the sesquicentennial committee. He said several annual events will be bigger this year due to the 150th anniversary and some new things will be coming as well.
Some of the events planned include a fashion show with modern clothing as well as period pieces from the time the town was incorporated in 1873. The show is planned for this May at The Grande at 290.
Franklin County Court Days on June 10 will be expanded this year with a car show featuring cars from a variety of eras. A cemetery tour is also being planned to showcase the graves of several prominent figures buried in the town.
The years biggest event to showcase the towns 150th anniversary will be 150 Fest set for Sept. 30. It will be a downtown music festival showcasing the music and history of Rocky Mount. Franklin Street will be closed to traffic for the event and five stages will be placed around downtown for artists to perform.
We have so much local talent that we want to make sure it is being shown off, Pinard said.
Make sure to polish those old cars as the 50th Annual Auto Exhibition will be displayed this weekend at Fonner Park.
The 50th Annual Auto Exhibition will be held at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, 700 E. Stolley Park Rd., in Grand Island. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Attendees will be able to view all different types of vehicles, including classic cars, street rods, race cars, motorcycles, and more. There will also be automotive related commercial and candy vendors at the show, including BluePrint Engines, Central Nebraska Dry Stripping, Central Community College and Mountain Mamma Candy.
The auto show is hosted by the Tri-City Street Rods, a car club located in central Nebraska.
According to Danny Oberg, President of the Tri-City Street Rods, the first exhibition took place in 1974 and is the second longest running event at Fonner Park.
I have never heard of a local automotive show that has been around for 50 years, said Oberg. Fifty years is a long time.
This year, as a way to celebrate the milestone, all cars on display will be 50 years or older. There will also be a few returning cars to the auto exhibition this year.
Five to 10 cars will be from the first auto exhibition, said Oberg. Two of those cars will be from Tri-City Street Rods founding members Ron Von Behren and Alton Jackson.
This year, the exhibition will also be holding a raffle for attendees, where they can win a new 383 Chevrolet block engine. Donated by BluePrint Engines in Kearney, the engine is 443 ft-lbs and 436 horsepower.
According to Oberg, each raffle ticket will cost $10 each or $50 for six. With no pre-sale for the tickets, only 1,000 will be sold at the exhibition.
Profits from the raffle will go toward several trade school automotive scholarships.
All other proceeds earned at the show will be donated to Crossroads Mission Avenue, a nonprofit organization which seeks to help unhoused individuals in Central Nebraska.
The donation will be evenly split between two Crossroads locations, Grand Island and Hastings.
We want to give back to the community so that we arent just remembered for our cars, said Oberg.
The admission for the 50th Annual Auto Exhibition will cost $10 for people age 13 or older. Children under the age of 12 can attend for free, as long as an adult accompanies them.
For more information check out the Tri-City Street Rods Facebook page.
YORK An arrest warrant has been issued for William Willden, 53, of Casper, Wyoming, who was found sleeping in a York County residents bed while highly intoxicated from controlled substances.
Willden was arrested a couple of months ago for that offense and eventually made bail. This past week, he was supposed to be in York County District Court for arraignment but did not appear. Because of his failure to appear, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest and he has now been charged with an additional Class 4 felony.
The original case began in the middle of the night when the York County Sheriffs Department received a call from a man who lives on a nearby farm who said two suspicious men were at his home, not making sense and likely under the influence of something. The man said it appeared they had been there for four to five hours and they said they had run out of gas.
Deputies went to the farmstead and when they arrived, they saw a vehicle with Utah plates. The windows were iced over and there were many items in the vehicle it appeared to be trashed with garbage and other items.
While the deputies were looking at the vehicle, the man who reported the situation came outside from a shop building and said the two men in question were inside his house. He also told the deputies they were out of it.
Deputies found Willden sleeping in a bed and the other man, identified as Gideon Jackson, 19, was in the room as well.
The affidavit filed with the court says Jackson acted very strange by not sitting still and was very fidgety.
The deputies spoke with Willden, who appeared to be very tired but spoke very fast while slurring his speech. They believed he was under the influence of methamphetamine and was crashing.
Deputies said in court documents, Willden said they ran out of gas but he didnt remember much because he was sleeping while Jackson was driving.
Meanwhile, another deputy found methamphetamine on Jacksons person and he was arrested.
After a York County drug dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, a search was conducted and deputies allegedly found a bag of methamphetamine, a loaded syringe, two used syringes and seven unused capped syringes.
Willden was arrested as well.
Now that Willden has failed to appear, he is facing two Class 4 felonies.
This photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows the Karuma dam at the Karuma hydropower plant in Kiryandongo, Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
by Xinhua writers Zhao Bochao, Li Li
QUITO/ISLAMABAD/KAMPALA/LUANDA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Adriana Carranza, a resident in the San Luis village in northern Ecuador, has fond memories of her days working with a Chinese company at the Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) hydroelectric project from 2012 to 2015.
"Thanks to the work I had done for (a subcontractor of) the Sinohydro Corporation, I was able to save money," the former cook at the company told Xinhua. The job was well paid with good working conditions.
Carranza is among the thousands of Ecuadorians who have worked at the Chinese-constructed project, some 150 km east of the capital Quito. As the country's biggest hydropower project, the 1,500-megawatt CCS has been running smoothly for over six years, generating around 42 billion kWh of clean and renewable hydroelectricity, becoming the largest power source for Ecuador.
However, a recent report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which also spoke to Carranza, painted a gloomy picture of the CCS project with distorted facts and unfounded accusations.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). With infrastructure construction a key priority, 81 Chinese central state-owned enterprises have been involved in over 3,400 projects in countries along the Belt and Road by January 2021. The cumulative amount of China's direct investment in these nations reached 161.3 billion U.S. dollars from 2013 to 2021. A World Bank report estimated that when fully implemented, the BRI could help nearly 40 million people in relevant countries leave poverty behind.
Turning a blind eye to such achievements, the WSJ article dated Jan. 20 criticized several Chinese-built mega-projects in Latin America, Asia and Africa in an attempt to smear the China-proposed initiative.
FALSEHOODS & MISREPRESENTATION
"The 14-hour days were long, and her Chinese boss didn't speak Spanish," wrote the WSJ about Carranza's experience working for Sinohydro's sub-contractor.
Contrary to what was described in the report, Carranza told Xinhua she was well paid for working extra hours. During her pregnancy, her boss and colleagues treated her "as if I was their daughter."
"We usually want to work (extra hours)" and "I'm satisfied with my salary," said Graciela Quirina, who also worked in a Sinohydro kitchen.
The WSJ's misrepresentation went further. Citing unnamed government engineers, the U.S. daily alleged that the CCS plant has thousands of cracks in its "eight turbines" due to "faulty steel imported from China" and boldly speculated that it could soon "break down."
In an interview with Xinhua, Miguel Calahorrano, Ecuador's former Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, said the WSJ article lacks veracity and "has a political intention."
"How can a plant that is of no use to us have come to produce almost 42,000 gigawatt hours of energy? I'm sure these people don't even understand what 42,000 gigawatt hours of energy means," the former minister said.
"It clearly has the political intention of trying to devalue the relationship" between China and Latin American countries, he said.
Regarding the cracks, Sinohydro and the Ecuadorian State Electricity Company hired the German testing agency TUV SUD in 2018 as an international independent third party, which concluded in its risk assessment report that these cracks will not affect the operation and safety of the plant for its design life of 50 years.
As to the suitability of the steel, the TUV SUD report indicated that the base materials are within the values required by the specifications.
Furthermore, the WSJ associated erosion along a section of the Coca River and the disappearance of a waterfall with the Chinese-built project to hype up its environmental consequences.
Ecuadorian government-commissioned research conducted by Swiss consulting company Lombardi concluded that the disappearance of the waterfall was a natural phenomenon and had nothing to do with the construction of the CCS -- a view shared by many geologists, local media reports said.
Ecuador has never lodged the issue with Sinohydro, which was tasked with the construction, according to the Chinese company.
Calahorrano said that the CCS plant has managed for the first time in the country's history, together with other hydropower plants, to raise hydroelectricity in the electrical matrix to more than 93 percent, reducing the use of fossil fuels, saving the country about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars a year from fossil fuel imports and cutting carbon dioxide by about 18 million tons a year.
ONE-SIDED STORY
Under the sensational headline "China's Global Mega-Projects are Falling Apart," the WSJ article went on to bring in Pakistan's Neelum Jhelum hydroelectric project, and again blamed "flaws" in Chinese construction for its shutdown in July 2022.
The accusation is far from the truth. The quality of the Chinese construction, as evaluated by local authorities during its handover in 2018, was impeccable and up to standard.
Sajjad Ghani, chairman of the Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority, told Xinhua that the WSJ report is unjustifiable.
"The quality of construction of the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project has been fair," said Ghani.
There is no doubt that the China Gezhouba Group Co, the main contractor for the project's civil work, "has done all these things successfully," said Muhammad Irfan, CEO of the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Company, which now operates the plant.
The root cause for the shutdown, Irfan told a parliament meeting in November, was pressure from a mountain on the underground tunnel, resulting in partial collapse and a blockage.
The problem emerged when Pakistan was ravaged by floods seen as the "worst in history," while earthquakes were recorded in the surrounding areas of the plant. Irfan said Neelum Jhelum has signed a new contract with the Chinese constructor to repair the tunnel, with the civil work contract already completed.
In Uganda, another Chinese-constructed project -- the Karuma hydropower plant -- also came under harsh criticism from the WSJ, which blamed "cracked walls" for delays.
The Chinese constructor Sinohydro told Xinhua that the problem was discovered in 2016 but not substantial enough to compromise the stability of the structure, and has been dealt with properly to the satisfaction of all parties.
"In order to provide a standard power plant, we are always liaising with experts in all fields of the power plant construction to achieve high quality standard plant," said Bless Ayebazibwe, head of the Ugandan technical team at Sinohydro, adding that they have worked with an architectural expert from Canada, manufacturers from all over the world who always visit the site when called upon, as well as local experts.
Local and international engineers who supervise the construction of the 600-megawatt plant along the River Nile said the project is being built to international standards, despite insurmountable challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and "rampant vandalism" which have impacted the project's timeline, according to Sinohydro.
Vandalism has been a threat to Uganda's electricity infrastructure. More than 300 tons of parts have been stolen from the Karuma plant and more than 50 km of conductors cut off and stolen, according to Sinohydro. Delays in compensating landowners affected land acquisitions, impacting the project's timeline.
The Chinese company said it would overcome all these challenges and hand over a high-quality plant to Uganda.
The Isimba Hydro Power Plant in Uganda, built by China International Water & Electric Corporation, was also targeted. The company said the WSJ report was "misleading."
There is "a lack of inquiring first-hand information" in the report, said Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistani civil engineer working at the project site.
"We can see that this is just to exaggerate the scenario whereas the project is running well, generating power, heading to the national grid," he said, calling the project "a successful commission."
Meanwhile, the WSJ reported that the Chinese side "failed to build a floating boom to protect the dam from water weeds and other debris, which has led to clogged turbines and power outages." The company dismissed the accusation, given that the problem never occurred at Isimba.
"The WSJ report is pure slander," it added.
Also in Africa, the vast Social Housing Project Kilamba Kiaxi, built by China's CITIC Construction outside the capital of Luanda, Angola, was criticized by the WSJ for alleged poor construction quality.
However, Fan Juntao, general manager of the Chinese company's Angolan division, told Xinhua that there is no construction problem, as the issues of cracked walls and humidity mentioned in the WSJ report are quite rare and result from some tenants' improper renovations.
The substandard renovations have destroyed the original water and electricity pipelines, leading to water leakage in some houses, Fan said.
"The Kilamba Kiaxi (project) has been completed with good quality," said Carlos Augusto, an Angolan engineer who is working on Phase II of the project, adding that the apartments are at full occupation and no major complaints have been lodged by the residents.
ENORMOUS BENEFITS
Overcoming power shortages is critical if Uganda is to grow its economy and industrialize. The 183-megawatt Isimba plant now accounts for roughly 14 percent of the East African country's total installed capacity. The Karuma plant is expected to increase capacity by 40 percent upon completion.
Solomon Acaye is one of around 15,000 Ugandans employed by the Karuma project. He joined it as a mason but now leads a construction team.
"I came with only the skill of house construction, but as soon as I joined here, I've learned a lot -- carpentry, steel fixing," he told Xinhua, noting that his newly acquired skills would prove helpful once the project ends.
As part of the projects, roads were paved and widened, and schools and health service buildings were constructed. Hamis Muzinga, who lives near the Isimba project, noted that workshops are mushrooming in nearby towns, "basically set up by former workers of Isimba."
Neighboring communities near the Karuma plant are happy to have the large project in their area, said Ismail Bongomin, chairman of the Karuma Town Council. "Because this one is going to (benefit) generation after generation. It's not just like a thing for today only," he said.
With a total of 20,002 housing units and the support of municipal works, the Angolan Kilamba Kiaxi project has become home to around 120,000 residents in Luanda.
Costa Sebastiao, a Kilamba Kiaxi resident for seven years, said the condominium has changed his life in many ways.
The Chinese company has brought positive changes to the city, especially for young people, he said, adding "a good number of young people did not have homes, and with the construction of the project, they managed to get a house."
From the China-Laos Railway that transformed the landlocked Laos into a land-linked hub to Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Railway contributing more than 0.5 percent to the African nation's economic growth, the Belt and Road Initiative has helped many developing nations embrace fast development.
But the initiative has fallen prey to a Western-led smear campaign. Denis Mwaba, lecturer in Civil Engineering at the University of Zambia, noted that U.S. media have been publishing "damaging" reports to "blacken the efforts of China." The WSJ article is heavily biased and "not a proper articulation of the facts," he said.
Mwaba said the ubiquitous success of the global infrastructure program has gained Africa's favor.
Projects under the Initiative are meeting the continent's needs, revolutionizing infrastructure and shifting the African development landscape, said Gideon Chitanga, associate researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
Belt and Road cooperation is also in full swing in Latin America. "China currently offers an alternative to traditional financing schemes, which has led to more prosperous and realistic development aid," said Argentine economist Pablo Levinton, who believes there is a vast difference in how the Chinese invest compared to the West.
"Any Western investment is based on a simple calculation of expected profit that results from subtracting planned expenses from expected revenues," he explained. "In China's case, while that is the basis for any type of investment, it is not summed up as a mere profit margin, but rather as a 'win-win' concept."
The best proof that the CCS plant works is the production of clean energy and its economic, social and environmental benefits for Ecuador, which have yet to be evaluated by those who criticize the project and try to disqualify it, said Calahorrano, the former Ecuadorian minister.
The hydroelectric plant has also bolstered the country's energy sovereignty and sustainability, with Ecuador no longer depending on imported energy. On the contrary, it has become an energy exporter in significant quantities to Colombia and Peru.
Speaking with Xinhua, Nancy Chicaiza, a shopkeeper in San Luis who was also quoted in the WSJ report, said she missed the days when the Chinese company was present.
"I am grateful because Sinohydro has helped us a lot," she said. Enditem
(Li Guorong in Quito, Jiang Chao, Tariq Hameed and Ali Jaswal in Islamabad, Ji Li, Ronald Ssekandi and Patrick Onen in Kampala, Lv Chengcheng in Luanda, Jin Zheng in Nairobi, Yan Liang in Mexico City, and Chen Weihua and Xie Zhao in Rio de Janeiro contributed to the report.)
Solomon Acaye (R), who leads a construction team, works with his colleagues at the Karuma hydropower plant in Kiryandongo, Uganda, on Feb. 5, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
People work inside the main switchyard at the Karuma hydropower plant in Kiryandongo, Uganda, on Feb. 4, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
This photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows the Karuma dam at the Karuma hydropower plant in Kiryandongo, Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
This undated aerial photo shows the intake dam of the Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) hydroelectric project built between Ecuador's provinces of Napo and Sucumbios. (Sinohydro/Handout via Xinhua)
Engineers of China Gezhouba Group Co. Ltd. (CGGC) work at Pakistan's Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project on Jan. 3, 2023. (CGGC/Handout via Xinhua)
This undated photo shows the hydroelectric power generators of the Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) hydroelectric project built between Ecuador's provinces of Napo and Sucumbios. (Sinohydro/Handout via Xinhua)
Niu Hongtao (L), assistant project manager of the Isimba Hydro Power Plant, talks with Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistani civil engineer working at the project site, during a tour at the Isimba Hydro Power Plant in Kayunga, Uganda, on Feb. 9, 2023. TO GO WITH "Reinvestigation: WSJ report on China-built mega-projects untrue, biased" (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
This photo taken on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Isimba Hydro Power Plant switchyard in Kayunga, Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
Niu Hongtao (L), assistant project manager of the Isimba Hydro Power Plant, and Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistani civil engineer working at the project site, tour the switchyard at the Isimba Hydro Power Plant in Kayunga, Uganda, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
Engineers of China Gezhouba Group Co. Ltd. (CGGC) work at Pakistan's Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project on Jan. 3, 2023. (CGGC/Handout via Xinhua)
PINCKNEYVILLE A Perry County man was convicted of possessing and reproducing child pornography on Friday as part of Attorney General Kwame Raouls ongoing work to apprehend offenders who download and trade child pornography online.
Timothy E. Hedrick, 42, of Cutler was convicted in Perry County Court of three counts of reproduction of child pornography, Class X felonies punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and five counts of possession of child pornography, Class 2 felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Hedrick was remanded to the custody of the Perry County Jail. His sentencing is scheduled for March 13.
Child pornography leaves victims and their families with lifelong scars, Raoul said in a press release. My office is committed to working with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and local law enforcement to track down individuals who perpetrate these horrible crimes and hold them accountable.
The Attorney Generals investigators, with the assistance of the Perry County Drug Task Force which is comprised of the Perry County Sheriff's office and the Du Quoin and Pinckneyville police departments, conducted a search of a residence in Cutler and arrested Hedrick after discovering evidence of alleged child pornography. All children depicted were under the age of 13.
Perry County States Attorney David H. Searby Jr.s office provided support and assistance to the Attorney Generals office for the case.
I appreciate all the hard efforts and dedication by the prosecution team and the investigators from the Attorney Generals Office in the matter, Searby said. The Perry County States Attorneys Office stands ready to assist the Attorney Generals Office in these types of cases as we did in this case.
Assistant Attorneys General Shanti Kulkarni and Vanessa Minson prosecuted the case for Raouls High Tech Crimes and Sexually Violent Persons bureaus.
Driving past the Carbondale Culvers the other day, I noticed a couple of tractors and a sign informing the public that the fast food restaurant supports farming education. The sign was set up in honor of FFA week.
I scoffed at the sign, and was rebuked by my wife who is always trying to soften my more cynical side. I wondered what good an organization like FFA could do for kids today who arent the children of landed lords of old. She suggested that perhaps there were governmental organizations which help with financing a farm. I remained incredulous.
A 1940s Sherlock Holmes episode ends with the hero prophesying, "There's a new spirit abroad in the land. The old days of grab and greed are on their way out." Holmes makes this prediction after a character tosses an ancient land grant in the fire which could have made her the richest woman in England. Now, Holmes may have been a master of deduction but a master of sociological prediction he was not.
It would be far truer to have said that the days of grab and greed were just beginning, since land consolidation started to boom after the Second World War. Farms were growing bigger just as farmers were growing fewer and older. At the turn of last century, farmers made up about 70 percent of the population. Today, farmers make up about 1 percent of the population, and the average age is 60.
Formerly known as The Future Farmers of America, now called the National FFA Organization, what the FFA is doing to address this uncontrollable skyrocketing of farmland cost and consolidation is a little misty.
The official name of the organization is the National FFA Organization. The letters FFA stand for Future Farmers of America. These letters are a part of our history and our heritage that will never change, the FFA website states, yet the same website also has a commercial in which it has subtly changed the meaning of FFA from "Future Farmers of America" to "For the Future For All," shifting focus away from the increasing dearth of farmers in America to the the increasing participation of minority groups in farming.
Now, the FFA seems to be preoccupied with helping youth be professionals and leaders in almost any field except ones for growing things. "FFA is not just for students who want to be production farmers; FFA also welcomes members who aspire careers as teachers, doctors, scientists, business owners and more, the website stated.
On the FFA website you can read about how youth learn parliamentary procedure and how snazzy they look in their official blue jacket, but how they can overcome the barriers to entry into modern farming markets, not so much. The FFA may not be the cause of the problem, but it is not really helping by providing a solution either.
It is no secret that billionaires like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are buying up all the farmland in the country. Indeed these are the days of Grab and Greed. Consequently, in Illinois the average farm is 375 acres, at a cost of $7,500 per acre. That means that the average cost of a farm in Illinois is about $3,000,000!
As it turns out, there is a governmental program to help people become farmers. The Illinois Department of Agriculture has a farmer ownership loan program. Unfortunately, the maximum loan amount is only $600,000. Thats only a fifth of the cost of the average farm in Illinois.
Without millions in the bank, Illinoisans are fated to own little more than hobby farms at mostassuming they can even afford the $30,000 cash down-payment for the maximum loan amount in the first place. Not to mention the fact that half of those who can afford a small farm take jobs in the city too just to make ends meet. Theres just no chance for the average person with the average bank account to become a competitive farmer in todays market.
As farm values continue to rise, the number of farmers will continue to fall, as family farms are consolidated into mega farms by the mega rich who are, come to think of it, the actual future farmers of America.
South Carolina State Universitys 1890 Research & Extension Program has been given a $4.5 million grant to help farmers implement sustainable agriculture techniques.
It will be working with Mixon Seed Services, marking the 1890 programs first-ever public-private partnership project.
The 1890 program announced the grant on Tuesday to let the world know the really great job the university is doing in pushing out its research agenda, Vice President & Executive Director of 1890 Land Grant Programs Dr. Louis Whitesides said.
The grant is from the U.S. Department of Agricultures National Resources Conservation Services.
The money is designed to:
Focus on regenerative agriculture and its potential to enhance the sustainability of underserved, limited resource farmers in South Carolina.
Verify the benefits of climate-smart practices.
S.C. States 1890 program will partner with Mixon Seed Services and the South Carolina Black Farmers Coalition to educate and provide resources, including financial incentive opportunities, to small and minority farmers specializing in leafy greens and cover crops.
Whitesides said bringing the university and industry together will help make research more robust.
You make a whole lot more strides to solve problems, because what's actually happening on the ground is being infused in what problems need to be solved by the university," Whitesides said.
Mixon Seed CEO Robert Etheridge sees promise in the partnership with the university.
I think thing that struck me was the innovation, the willingness to step outside and do some things differently not just taking the same old thing but trying something new, Etheridge said. Also, theres a commitment to do what's right for farmers in the state of South Carolina.
S.C. State President Alexander Conyers said We are moving onward and upward.
The S.C. State and Mixon Seed Climate-Smart agriculture partnership marks yet another significant milestone in our strategic vision for fulfilling and preserving S.C. State Universitys land-grant values of teaching, research and outreach, he said in a release.
The partnerships will run for five years.
The grant is also designed to help in the effort against climate change.
We are looking at means to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas. We are looking into ways to improve the health of the soil so that the productivity can happen, 1890 Director of Strategic Initiatives, Evaluation and Engagement Dr. Lamin Drammeh said.
The commodities that they will be growing, the way that they will be growing them and the practices they will use to grow them is all geared towards impacting climate in a positive sense, Drammeh said.
We're able to reduce climate emissions, increase sequestration, mitigate the impact and improve soil health and soil quality and increase the overall management of the farming practice. That's the ultimate objective, Drammeh said.
The announcement of the grant and partnership was made on the campus of South Carolina State University in the Presidents State Room.
RAMALLAH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Six Palestinians were killed and 71 others injured Wednesday during armed clashes with Israeli soldiers who raided the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian medics and Israeli sources said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry made the announcement in a statement, saying the injuries include three journalists, following clashes with the soldiers after an Israeli army force stormed the city.
Local sources and eyewitnesses said that an Israeli troop backed by armored vehicles stormed the outskirts of the old city of Nablus and surrounded a house to arrest several Palestinians wanted by Israeli security.
They said that the wanted Palestinians were armed, and exchanged fire with the soldiers who surrounded the building, adding that several explosions and intensive gunfire were heard in the city.
Meanwhile, clashes broke out in the city's streets between dozens of Palestinians, who threw stones and empty bottles, and the soldiers, who opened fire at the demonstrators to disperse them.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the city said in a statement that the Israeli soldiers prevented its ambulances from entering the area to evacuate casualties that needed medical treatment in the hospital.
The Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement that an Israeli army force carried out on Wednesday morning a regular military activity following reports that Palestinian militants and members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were hiding in a house in the city.
Israeli media reports said that the soldiers moved to the city and traded fire with the militants hiding in a house in the city, adding that no injuries were reported among the Israeli soldiers.
The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has been flaring since early January in the West Bank following a series of Palestinian attacks that killed ten Israelis, according to official figures of Israel.
In return, the Israeli army carried out dozens of daily incursions into the West Bank cities, villages, and refugee camps to arrest Palestinians involved in carrying out attacks against Israel. Official figures said that more than 30 Palestinians were killed.
Kim Barker felt a loss of security when 22-year-old college student Shelli Wiley was brutally murdered in 1985 in Laramie. The event stuck with her for nearly 40 years.
I think it was something that just always sort of sat with me, Barker told the Star-Tribune on Tuesday. I didnt know that it was a story in the very beginning. It was more just like trying to scratch this itch Ive always had.
The unsolved murder will be the focus of a new limited series by the popular crime podcast Serial. Barker, who was in high school in Laramie at the time the murder took place, will host The Coldest Case in Laramie, the New York Times and Serial Productions announced last week. Barker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for the New York Times.
Laramie had a population of about 25,000 people when Wiley was murdered, and there was only one high school. It affected everyone there, she said. The students in high school and people around the city knew Wiley, and they knew her family.
Having only one high school means rumors spread really quickly, Barker said. I think it felt way closer than it actually was, if that makes sense. Sorta this idea that you werent as safe as you thought you were.
Barker was born in Montana and grew up in Laramie, where she lived until her senior year of high school. Her family is now scattered around the United States, and she hadnt really been back to Laramie until she started working on the podcast. So she was very cognizant about the potential of appearing as an outsider while trying to write about Laramie and the murder.
Its something I thought about a lot when I read stories about Montana or Wyoming by the national media. Everybody is portrayed in this folksy way, and it drives me crazy, she said. I hate the idea of parachuting into smaller towns. I know people are going to be suspicious of me and suspicious of my motives.
During the podcast, Barker describes Laramie as an uncommonly mean place made of jagged edges and cold people. That segment was used to promote the show on social media.
Wyoming Twitter did not like that. I dont blame them. I get it. I totally understand where youre coming from, but just listen to the podcast, she said. It was my experience in the mid 80s at a specific point in time, and people need to give me some rope with that.
She recalled feeling a mild sense of dread upon seeing the rust-colored soil that reminds her of Laramie, she said. She did in fact remember it as the meanest place she ever lived. Though, things have changed.
I got back there, and Im like oh, thats a very nice vegetarian restaurant. Everybody was so freaking nice, she said. Memory is a tricky thing, and the podcast deals with that. I would happily go back to Laramie right now. I totally get why people live there.
Barker looked into the case every few years to see what happened with it, and she did again during the pandemic. It was the first time she saw that charges had been filed against former Albany County sheriffs deputy and Laramie police officer Fredrick James Lamb. Then, the charges were dropped, and nothing more happened.
Cold case
The murder was particularly violent. Wiley was stabbed repeatedly before being dragged into her apartment, which was then set on fire. An autopsy found her neck was cut through to the bone and she had been stabbed in the lung.
Officials filed murder charges against a teenager shortly after Wileys death, but they were dropped in 1991. Investigators also performed DNA tests on a convicted rapist in Utah in 1994, the Salt Lake Tribune reported at the time.
Many sources, including the lead detective on the case, believe Lamb, who was staying two doors down from Wiley, killed her. Lamb was not a law enforcement officer at the time of Wileys killing.
An investigation determined a body had been dragged from the apartment where Lamb had been staying to Wileys apartment. And his DNA was allegedly found at the scene.
Lamb was charged in 2016, and he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree arson. But the charges were dismissed in 2017.
Former Albany County District Court Judge Tori Kricken also signed an order of expungement, removing his criminal record from public access.
Officials said dropping the charges was supposed to be a temporary procedural hiccup. Yet, they never refiled. The Laramie Police Department did not respond to requests for comment.
What happened?
Barker didnt want to give any spoilers, but the unusual part of this Serial production is that we really have a sense of everything that happened, she said.
Many podcasts basically take whatever they are told by police at face value, and the police are painted as heroes, she said. Theres this dynamic that they are the good guys going after the bad guys.
And I certainly understand that dynamic. The police are trying to get to the bottom of things. But I think there can be a lot more gray area there. And I think thats what people are going to get to hear in this podcast, she said.
The series will spotlight the interview subjects, with Barker often taking a backseat. There is a level of intimacy in the conversations that show that the interviewees trust her and trust where she is coming from, she said.
This is not somebody from the New York Times coming in to criticize Wyoming without having ever been there, she said. Its the opposite of that.
If youre at all curious about what happened with this case, or if you want to hate listen to it and say Im totally wrong, knock yourself out, she said. I think people should give it a chance in Wyoming.
The Natrona County Board of County Commissioners may soon adopt a formal procedure for selling county lands.
Natrona County owns dozens of properties, according to county assessor data.
But the county doesnt have a law in place governing when and how its allowed to sell it something officials at the county have been wanting to address for awhile, said Deputy County Attorney Charmaine Reed.
Prior boards have talked about implementing something, and the legal department has worked on (the issue) off and on, she said.
A draft resolution presented to the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday afternoon seeks to change that.
The proposal would have to be approved by commissioners during an official meeting in order to be adopted into law.
Since it would be an internal rule, the county wouldnt need to host a public reading on the proposal beforehand, Reed said.
The initial draft considered Tuesday was fairly straightforward:
If a person or organization want to buy county land, first theyd submit an offer to the commissioners. The offer would have to state a description of the property and its address (if there is one), who wants to buy it (and their contact info) and a proposed purchase price and any contingencies upon the offer.
After the offer is made, the prospective buyer would have to pay to publish a notice about the bid for two consecutive weeks. The notice would have to include the address or other legal description of the property, that the land is owned by Natrona County and the proposed purchase price, the draft resolution said.
The county would handle publicizing the notice.
According to the draft, the Natrona County Board of County Commissioners would convene to discuss the offer at least two weeks after the initial notice was published. From there, the board could decide to accept or reject the bid, or submit a counter offer.
If the board and the applicant reached an agreement, the county attorney would put together a purchase contract and a quit claim deed.
After receiving the contract, the buyer would have one week to sign it and pay the county for the property.
CHEYENNE After the House Revenue Committee passed Senate File 151 on Tuesday, the bills sponsor, Cheyenne Republican Sen. Lynn Hutchings, asked the chairman for a moment to speak at the mic.
I have never seen anything like this in my life, Hutchings told the committee. And Ive gotta tell you, today is one day out of 13 years being involved with the Legislature, Im ashamed to be a legislator.
The committees chairman, Casper Republican Rep. Steve Harshman, cut Hutchings off at that point. Its called bicameralism, he said, referring to the Wyoming Legislatures process of vetting bills through the House and Senate, rather than through a single body.
Boy, if I had known you were gonna take that little cheap shot you wouldnt have had the mic. Shame, Harshman said.
Later, Hutchings told the Star-Tribune that she was upset over the extent of the amendments to her bill, which aims to increase regulations around pharmacy benefit managers, but also because she wasnt warned ahead of time that the amendments would be coming.
I always, Mr. Chair, when Im gonna amend someones bill, either side, I go to the sponsor of the bill, and let them know what Im planning to do. So Im just gonna let you know I find it very rude and disrespectful not to come to me, especially with a three-day weekend, to let me know that there was something, Hutchings said at the meeting.
Push for civility
Its relatively rare to see lawmakers clash in this manner. The Legislature has strict rules of decorum that attempt to keep strife among lawmakers in check as they debate difficult issues. On the House and Senate floors, for example, lawmakers cant refer to each other by name. Debate has to stay strictly on topic.
Legislative leadership has kept a pretty close reign on incivility among lawmakers this year amid what many have described as a recent decline of decorum in the Legislature. Both Speaker of the House Albert Sommers and Senate President Ogden Driskill underscored the importance of civility and relationship building in speeches at the beginning of the session.
We are here to solve problems, and that can only be done by starting conversations, building trust and forming relationships, Sommers said on the House floor. Building relationships is impossible if we lack civility and foment discord. We will disagree on many issues, but we must maintain decorum and civility to each other and to the public that we represent.
When asked shortly after the Tuesday House Revenue meeting if he planned to report the incident to legislative leadership, Harshman, chair of the House Revenue Committee, said he tries to give everyone a little grace.
It happens, people are passionate, he said, recalling times when he and other lawmakers have slipped up and let their passions take over.
Harshman pointed out that Hutchings bill ended up clearing the Senate Revenue committee in a unanimous vote, something that he said seems like a win for her. Hutchings, however, didnt describe it as a win after the committee substantially amended her bill.
You would be very angry if you walked into your apartment tonight and noticed that your furniture was gone. And thats kind of like what they did. They wiped out my furniture, put their own in there, Hutchings said.
If you want legislation, you go to legislators and ask for it. You dont insert it in somebody elses legislation.
The legislation
Before the session started, pharmacy advocates and representatives from the pharmacy benefit managers industry agreed to language for drafting a compromise bill around pharmacy benefit manager regulation. But then pharmacy representatives withdrew their support, and as a result, lawmakers decided not to bring the bill to the session. Pharmacy advocates have instead backed Hutchings bill and House Bill 191, which died earlier this month.
Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, a member of the House Revenue Committee, brought on Tuesday a substitute bill that contained language from that compromise legislation, which he and Sen. Fred Baldwin, R-Kemmerer, had planned to sponsor.
Bills are sometimes amended so much that its easier just to move along a substitute bill, but in this case there wasnt any motion to adopt that substitute. Lawmakers instead voted in favor of several substantial amendments brought forward primarily by Zwonitzer.
Though its not written into any rules, out of courtesy lawmakers typically let bill sponsors know if they want to bring an amendment to their bill. Zwonitzer conceded that he hadnt let Hutchings know ahead of time about his amendments, and that this was a mistake.
Hutchings bill isnt at the finish line yet. It still has to survive three votes in the House, during which lawmakers could choose to strip off the House Revenue Committee amendments. And if a bill is amended in the second chamber that it moves through, then it has to go back to its original chamber for a concurrence vote, which means that lawmakers in the original chamber have to agree to those changes.
In this case, if Hutchings bill makes it through the House with the House Revenue Committees amendments intact, the Senate still has to check off on those and other potential amendments too.
Outdoor recreation and tourism are critical economic drivers for many Wyoming communities.
In 2021, the outdoor recreation industry contributed $1.5 billion to Wyomings economy, accounting for 3.6% of the states gross domestic product, according to the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation.
Both figures continue to grow, leading lawmakers to look for ways to support the industry.
Now, they have seemingly found a lasting and sustainable solution.
The Senate Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee advanced a bill Tuesday morning that would create a trust fund to permanently finance the maintenance and creation of outdoor recreation infrastructure.
The new trust fund would form the backbone for investment in outdoor recreation in Wyoming, using state and federal money and private donations to award grants to local governments and other organizations to improve and develop trails, recreation facilities and even purchase public access easements.
The trust fund will now go before the Senate in what could be its final step before heading to Gov. Mark Gordons desk.
Lawmakers and those who spoke at Tuesdays committee hearing on the bill said the trust fund stands to benefit Wyoming residents for generations.
Our young people our Millennials and Gen Xers they like this kind of stuff, said Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, the chairwoman of the Senate committee. If theyre going to go to small town Wyoming because this is where a job is, they want to be able to recreate.
Whether its bike trails, ATVs, horse trails or whatever it is, they want these amenities, Schuler said. I think thats an important thing to talk about. [Its] not just our locals that have lived here all our whole lives, but to try and get our young folks back in the state and make them a part of what were doing.
The trust fund would support outdoor recreation projects using the income it generates.
An earlier version of the bill called for 5% of the state sales and use tax allocated to the general fund to go to the new trust fund until it reached $50 million or until July 2026.
The Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee sponsored the bill.
The goal was to have the Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources Commission award $2 million to projects each year with another $500,000 supporting the administration of the fund, Darin Westby, the director of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, told the committee.
However, the House cut the use of state sales and use taxes. In its place, lawmakers earmarked $6 million every two years from Wyoming tourism reserves to support the fund.
With the changes, Westby said it would take time for the trust fund to build income, and in the meantime, the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources would distribute what it could toward outdoor recreation projects.
We wont be granting $2 million a year. Well be granting what we can, he said.
The Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources Commission would oversee the trust fund and report to the governor and Legislature. Any projects costing more than $250,000 would require approval from the Legislature.
Those who receive the grants must also consult with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
The bill broadly defines outdoor infrastructure as facilities and installations needed for the public to access and enjoy Wyomings outdoors.
Those who helped to draft the bill did so on purpose, said Dave Glenn, deputy director of Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails and the head of the Outdoor Recreation Office.
A lot of times people think, Oh, were just going to build more mountain bike trails or more trails, Glenn said. Thats part of it, but I would throw out [that] if the community of Rock Springs wants to build an off-road vehicle park, it could be funded through this.
Expanding campgrounds or developing shooting ranges could also fall under the program, he said.
We made it as broad as possible so communities could build what they would like in their area, Glenn said.
All of those who spoke before the committee supported the creation of an outdoor recreation trusted. They highlighted the economic benefits, the importance of partnering with local communities and the significance of permanent and sustainable funding for outdoor recreation in Wyoming.
Glenn said that the trust fund would not only benefit the residents of the state, but also wildlife.
We have the ability to control our outdoor recreation in the state of Wyoming right now, he said. We can do that through educating people, dispersing them in certain places and then concentrating them at times. When we talk about critical deer winter range or sage grouse habitat or migration corridors, this is exactly what this trust fund will help us do.
Thats the whole idea of this, is steering these people to the places we want them versus just letting them parachute in and go where they want to, Glenn said.
Though everyone at the hearing spoke in support, Sen. Fred Baldwin, R-Kemmerer, said the committee had received emails opposing the trust fund and questioning government spending.
But he argued that creating the trust fund would be money well spent.
Its an investment in the state, and I think thats important, Baldwin said. We shouldnt just spend money anywhere and everywhere, but we need to invest in our state because its going to make a difference to whats here for us, for our kids and for our grandkids.
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BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday slammed Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for deliberately obstructing a Chinese mainland delegation from going to the island to mourn Master Hsing Yun.
This is the only reason the mainland delegation failed to travel to Taiwan, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
Master Hsing Yun, the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order in Taiwan, died on Feb. 5. The Chinese mainland delegation had planned a trip to the island with the assistance of Fo Guang Shan through regular channels, which was unwarrantedly blocked by Taiwan's mainland affairs authority.
The delegation later paid tribute to Master Hsing Yun in Jiangsu Province on Feb. 12. The master was born and became a monk there.
The spokesperson also denounced a "Taiwan independence" media outlet on the island for concocting rumors concerning the mainland delegation.
The farce, played together by the DPP authorities and the media outlet, is utter "intentional political manipulation," which has exposed the real purpose of the DPP authorities' act, Zhu said.
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.
CHAGUANAS nightlife is said to be declining as random crimes increase, with food vendors and bar operators calling yesterday for better arrest rates to stop repeat criminals.
Once booming mostly as a result of plentiful fast food options, the Chaguanas Main Road is still a go-to for doubles and gyros but now shows much less activity after dark than in years past.
It is indeed heart-warming and refreshing to have seen the news that the Asa Wright Nature Centre will once again be open for business. Plenty thanks and Gods blessings to the persons who have been given the concession and had a vision for the upgrades. The place looks like a paradise, and it is hoped that all would appreciate and protect it.
True Concord Voices & Orchestra waited nearly three years to perform the world premiere of Jocelyn Hagens Here I Am.
Some might say that late-January performance would be a hard act to follow.
Unless youre True Concord and its Music Director/Founder Eric Holtan.
This weekend, the ensemble is following up Here I Am with Haydns large-scale oratorio Creation, a life-affirming, optimistic and brilliant work that will feature a 32-voice choir, five vocal soloists and an orchestra 36 instruments strong.
Yep, they dont believe in doing things small at True Concord.
Heres all you need to know about this weekends performances.
Haydns Creation: The Austrian composer was influenced by Handels Messiah, the 1741 oratorio that told the story of the birth, life and death of Christ from the Bibles New Testament. Haydn delved into the Old Testament Book of Genesis nearly 60 years later, recounting how God created the Earth and all that lies in it in seven days.
The libretto is based on narratives from the Book of Genesis, some Psalms and John Miltons epic 1667 poem Paradise Lost. The work is divided into three parts: the creation of the universe and plants; the creation of animals and man and woman; and the story of Adam and Eve in Paradise.
There are five solo parts in Creation: Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Adam and Eve. True Concords soloists for the performance are sopranos Julie Bosworth and Chelsea Helm; tenor Steven Soph; and basses Paul Max Tipton and Edward Vogel.
When and where: 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, at Green Valleys Valley Presbyterian Church, 2800 S. Camino del Sol; and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, at Catalina Foothills High School, 4300 E. Sunrise Drive.
RAMALLAH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian presidency on Wednesday said real peace in the Middle East can only be made through recognizing the Palestinian people's legitimate rights, slamming the Israeli leadership's reported remarks on coupling Israel-Arab rapprochement with anti-Iran agenda.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, said in a press statement that "making real peace can only be achieved through recognizing the Palestinian people's legitimate rights that are recognized by the international community."
His remarks came after The Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper, reported on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is linking peace with Saudi Arabia to the goal of stopping Iranian aggression, which will open economic possibilities for Israel and the region.
According to the report, Netanyahu's remarks came a day earlier during his address at the Conference of Presidents of American Jewish organizations in Jerusalem, during which he said "the Arab world recognizes the primacy of the Iranian threat."
In an apparent response to the remarks, Abu Rudeineh said "ignoring the Palestinians' right and making individual agreements will not bring security and stability to anyone," adding that "this unveils the truth of Israel's intentions to evade entitlements of peace based on international legitimacy."
He added that "the current events have proven that resolving the Palestinian cause under UN resolutions and international law and giving the Palestinians their right to freedom and independence is the real key to the region's crises."
Israel announced earlier in February that it had agreed to ink a deal with Sudan to normalize ties later in 2023.
The move makes Sudan the fourth Arab nation to sign a normalization agreement with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords, a series of U.S.-brokered normalization deals Israel reached with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco to establish official relations in 2020.
The Palestinians said that any normalization with Israel is linked to the decisions of the Arab Peace Initiative issued in 2002, which called for its complete withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied since 1967.
They want to resolve the conflict with Israel by implementing the UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, ending the Israeli occupation, which began in 1967, and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Hows it growing folks?! This week's episode of Here Weed Go! is a special Black History Month episode, with the focus on company owners and brand creators that are pursuing success through authenticity in a way that is unique to their stories and their struggles.
According to a report by cannabis industry trade publication Marijuana Business Daily, only about 4% of cannabis business owners and founders are black. When it comes to black women owners, that number is about 1%.
Take into account a study from the American Civil Liberties Union that found that, on average, a Black person is 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though Black and white people use marijuana at similar rates. In 10 states, Blacks were more than five times more likely to be arrested.
With all that in mind, there are amazing stories of success, like the stories my two guests sport in their backgrounds.
Marlo Richardson is a former police lieutenant and serial entrepreneur who is now the owner, president and CEO of Greenwood and Co., a vertically integrated cannabis company based out of Los Angeles.
Watts Homie Quan is a comedian, social media influencer and cannabis afficianado who is promoting his new cannabis brand, Grownin Up LA, with the help of Richardsons delivery service and a unique marketing strategy that utilizes QR codes, social media skits and a love for quality weed.
Celaya spoke with both Richardson and Quan last month about how each got into the cannabis industry, how their partnership came about, what sets their brands apart in the uber-competitive and saturated LA market, and what challenges theyve faced as black founders and owners in an industry that touts itself as diverse, but still has plenty of work to do.
MORE INFO
Marlo Richardson info/social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/IamMarloNicole
Watts Homie Quan: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-w7-3ngzZP199hURvE7MbA
PHOENIX Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs fired the first financial salvo at legislative Republicans Tuesday, promising to raise $500,000 to unseat them in 2024.
That doesnt count another $1.5 million or so she has left over from businesses that contributed to her inaugural festivities, money that can also be used in her attempt to oust GOP lawmakers.
In a news release, Hobbs, who has been in the office less than two months, accounted for what her campaign aides called an unprecedented investment so early in the election cycle with the goal of ending the one-vote majority that Republicans have in the House and the Senate.
The governors chief political strategist, Nicole DeMont, said this should come as no surprise.
She said the results of the last election show Arizona voters want the governor and lawmakers to work together to solve our states toughest challenges like lowering costs, addressing our water crisis, and fully funding education.
But Republicans in the Legislature have already shown they have no interest in bipartisan cooperation and arent serious about solving problems, DeMont said in her written statement. We intend to hold these extremist legislators accountable for being uncompromising obstructionists, and were confident their constituents will agree.
What DeMont did not say is that the 2022 election may not have been the mandate the new governor contends she has: Hobbs won the race over Republican challenger Kari Lake by just 17,117 votes out of more than 2.55 million votes cast.
And the 2022 election resulted in no net change in the Legislature, with the House remaining 31-29 Republican and the Senate holding a 16-14 GOP edge.
Reacting Tuesday to Hobbs announcement of the planned expenditure, the Arizona Republican Legislative Victory Fund, which raises outside dollars to maintain the GOP majority, tweeted it will be ready to defeat Democrats at the ballot box in 2024 just like weve done the past two election cycles.
Arizona law contains various exceptions to campaign finance limits for special funds that spend money on their own to advocate for the approval or defeat of candidates, versus giving the money directly to those on the ballot. Such funds are not unusual, and former Gov. Doug Ducey ran a similar operation to help secure the election of Republicans when he was governor.
Controversy over left-over inaugural funds
Joe Wolf, another of Hobbs political operatives, said the $500,000 commitment is separate from more than $1.3 million Hobbs has pocketed for political purposes from profits from the inaugural celebration organized by the new governors political committee.
Those funds were put into what the Internal Revenue Service calls a social welfare organization. After paying the more than $200,000 in actual costs of the event, the balance can be used for political purposes.
Hobbs has so far ignored a request by House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria, and Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, to put the excess into the states Protocol Fund.
Under state law, money in the Protocol Fund can be used for promoting the interests of the state or to promote and encourage citizen public service to this state. Governors also have used such cash for other purposes, ranging from new office carpeting to gifts for foreign dignitaries.
Most significant, any expenditures from the fund must be disclosed in an annual public report.
Hobbs said she has provided some information about the source of the funds in response to a request for information from Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria. She pointed out that the people she has running that social welfare organization finally disclosed a list of contributors.
But Livingston remains unsatisfied and continues to demand more.
There also is the possibility the entire account could end up being subject to litigation.
In their letter to the governor, Toma and Petersen noted there was a link on the governors state-run webpage where people were given a number they could call if they wanted to become paying sponsors for her inauguration.
It would be inappropriate to utilize any monies in the Inaugural Fund to influence an election, the two GOP leaders said, citing state statutes that prohibit the use of public resources to affect the outcome of any election.
Downed power lines have caused various road closures across Pima County Wednesday morning.
The northbound lanes of Interstate 19 in Sahuarita were closed due to a downed power line at mile post 49, near Pima Mine Road. The highway was reopened around 9:20 a.m., the Arizona Department of Transportation said.
Earlier this morning in Marana, a powerline was struck after three vehicles were involved in a collision at the intersection of West Barnett Road and North Postvale Road, Marana police said.
Three people were taken to a hospital and are in stable condition. West Barnett Road is closed from the Frontage Road to Lon Adams Road.
East and westbound El Camino Del Cerro is also closed between Silverbell and Wild Life Drive due to a downed powerline.
The Pima County Sheriff's Road Condition Hotline can be reached at (520) 547-7510. Go to https://www.transview.org/Map to get road information compiled by the Pima Association of Governments.
Real-time highway conditions are available on the Arizona Department of Transportation's Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov. It is also available by downloading the AZ511 app, calling 511 or through ADOTs Twitter feed, @ArizonaDOT.
A border rancher charged with murder shot an unarmed man in the back as he ran for his life, the prosecutor says.
Santa Cruz County sheriffs deputies arrested George Alan Kelly, 74, after finding the body of a Mexican national on Jan. 30 who had been shot and died on Kellys property, which is close to the U.S.-Mexico border near Nogales.
Its the states position that Mr. Kelly shot an unarmed man in the back in an unprovoked attack as he ran for his life with no warning, and the victim was more than 100 yards from the defendants residence when he was shot and killed, prosecutor Kimberly Hunley said at a Wednesday hearing in the case.
Hunley also said there were two more victims besides the man who died, who also fled and were shot at, and more witnesses. The victims and others in the group present, which numbered at least eight people, were unarmed, she said.
Kellys attorney, Brenna Larkin, countered: We obviously have a disagreement about what the facts of this case are. The state asserts that Mr. Kelly, with no criminal history and no motive for doing so, just essentially began opening fire on a group of unarmed people who were trespassing on his property.
Our position is that that did not happen, that Mr. Kelly would not do such a thing, and that instead, what happened was that he was approached by armed men who were on his property, Larkin said.
Hes not going to run away
There were two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, related to the two other alleged victims, added to the murder charge against Kelly on Tuesday, prior to the Wednesday hearing in Justice Court in Nogales.
The filing with the additional charges only used initials for the two other people suspected of having been assaulted and did not list their nationalities.
A judge agreed at the hearing to change Kellys $1 million cash bond to a surety bond of the same amount, meaning a bail bondsman could post bail.
Kelly entered a not guilty plea during Wednesdays hearing, where Larkin asked for the judge to modify his conditions of release from the $1 million cash bond to releasing him on his own recognizance or to his wife as a third party and that his bond be reduced and/or converted to a surety bond.
Larkin said Kelly has lived in the area for decades, has caused no problems, is elderly, has no reason to flee and has no place to go, and is extremely recognizable due to all the publicity surrounding the case. Hes willing to surrender his passport and wear an ankle monitor, she said.
Hes putting up his own land, his own property, essentially everything that he has, and hes not going to run away from that, Larkin said, in asking the bond be converted to a surety bond.
The motion also said Kelly has received threats from other jail inmates and was moved to protective custody on 23-hour lockdown.
Defense says group carried AK-47s
A motion to modify the conditions of release filed on Feb. 9 detailed the defenses version of events on Jan. 30, when Kelly reported to authorities that he discovered a body on his property, in the Kino Springs area, where he and his wife have lived for the past two decades.
Earlier that day, Kelly and his wife were eating lunch when they heard a gunshot, then saw his horse running away at full speed, the defense motion says. Next, he saw a group of men carrying AK-47s, wearing khakis and camouflaged clothing and carrying large backpacks moving through the trees around his home, it says.
The defense document goes on to say that Kelly called the Border Patrol and asked for immediate help, then told his wife to stay inside, silent and away from windows, while he went to the porch with his rifle.
Kelly was hoping to scare the men and fired a shot well over their heads, the motion says. The group fled and Kelly went to his barn to see if it was secure.
The motion says the Border Patrol incorrectly reported that Kelly told them he could not tell whether the men were armed or not, but that the agencys radio dispatch did say that armed men had been seen in the area.
While Kelly checked the barn, Border Patrol agents and sheriffs deputies arrived on his property, and Kelly told them what hed seen, the motion says. Law enforcement spoke with Kellys wife, who said she also saw armed men carrying large backpacks, it says. Agents and deputies walked all over the property and didnt find anyone.
Later in the day, as the sun was setting, Kelly went to the pastures to check on his horse, bringing his dogs with him. After checking on the horse, he saw the dogs were focused on something on the ground near a mesquite tree.
Kelly walked over and saw a body, face down in the grass, the motion says. Kelly called the Border Patrol again to report the body and ask for help.
Authorities believe the man who was killed was 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen Buitimea, of Nogales, Sonora, because of a Mexican voter registration card he carried, according to The Arizona Republic.
When his body was discovered he did not have any firearms or a backpack, but he did have a radio and tactical boots, the court filing says. The cause of death appeared to be a single gunshot wound and it appeared that the body was fresh, meaning he had likely died recently.
Kelly told law enforcement he had fired warning shots but not directly at anyone, and he doesnt believe any of his shots could have hit the man or caused his death. The investigation continues.
Prosecution says victim safety a concern
The state filed a motion late Tuesday in opposition of modifying the conditions of release, and an amended version on Wednesday that removed two victims first names the state erroneously included.
Many details of the investigation and victims statements are being withheld, at least in part because of concerns for the victims safety, and because the investigation is ongoing and witnesses still are being interviewed, the prosecutions filing says.
The filing details some of what the victims reported. On Jan 30, a group of seven to eight undocumented immigrants were traveling north through the Kino Springs area from Mexico, the prosecutions filing says, reiterating that no one in the group was armed.
The victims said they were within sight of Kellys residence when he suddenly shot at them with an AK-47, without any warning, it says.
One victim, only identified as D.R-R, heard Cuen Buitimea call out that hed been hit before falling to the ground. D.R-R saw his eyes roll back in his head and knew he was dead, the filing says.
D.R-R and another victim identified as R.F-G ran away from the shooter toward Mexico and felt they were being hunted. Kelly shot eight more rounds without warning and unprovoked, while they fled for their lives, unarmed and unable to defend themselves, the filing says.
The two victims said they ran south until they jumped the fence back into Mexico. They are both willing to testify, the filing says.
The filing goes on to say Kelly made numerous conflicting statements to law enforcement, including telling the Border Patrol agent he called that he was being shot at and was shooting back and later saying he was too far to tell if they had firearms.
Not much has been released about the victim Cuen Buitimea, but federal court records show someone with the same name and age pleaded guilty to unlawfully entering the country at or near Nogales in 2016 and had been either denied entry or deported several times in previous years.
An evidentiary hearing in Kellys case is scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m. in Nogales.
National fundraising for Kelly
A crowdsourcing fundraiser for Kelly on GiveSendGo had raised nearly $318,500 by Wednesday afternoon, with nearly 5,700 contributions.
GoFundMe shut down campaigns to pay for Kellys legal defense, saying its rules explicitly prohibit campaigns that raise money to cover the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime, according to the Associated Press. The money was returned to donors.
The description for the Kelly fundraiser on GiveSendGo, which describes itself as a Christian fundraising platform, says Kelly is in jail for killing an invader to the United States, as well as mentioning former president Donald Trump, saying, there are Patriots bringing it to President Trumps attention, hopefully President Trump will stand up for him and the American people against this outrage.
Disturbing communications, threats
Santa Cruz County employees in the sheriffs office, county courthouse and main complex have been receiving hostile and racist phone calls from people sympathetic to Kelly, largely from out-of-state area codes, as originally reported by the Nogales International.
The prosecutions Wednesday court filing also says the court, county attorneys office and sheriffs department have received disturbing communications, some threatening in nature, that seem to indicate an ongoing threat to the safety of the victims.
Kellys defense attorney said during Wednesdays hearing that he has nothing to do with any such comments or threats.
Hes very upset and disappointed that there are people out there who have taken it upon themselves to engage in that activity, Larkin said.
There is a self-published book on Amazon likely authored by Kelly called Far Beyond the Border Fence. The book summary says its a contemporary novel which brings the Mexican Border/Drug conflict into the 21st century.
Authored by a man with the same name as Kelly, the 57-page novel focuses on a man named George and his wife, Wanda, which is the name of Kellys real-life wife, according to the Associated Press.
Several times each week illegal immigrants would cross the VMR ranch, says a section in the book. They were led by armed human smugglers called Coyotes. George and his foreman had to patrol the ranch daily, armed with AK-47s.
Charges against a man in the fatal shooting of a woman this summer on Tucsons south side have been dropped, court records show.
On Feb. 13, prosecutor Virginia Dawn Aspacher moved to dismiss the case against Andrew Bryan Sharpe without prejudice. Criminal cases that are dismissed without prejudice can be refiled.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard E. Gordon later ordered that the case be dismissed and that Sharpe be released from custody, court records say.
Sharpe was accused of fatally shooting Angelica Marie Pinales, 38, on July 5. He was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Pinales was found dead by Tucson police at an apartment complex in the 1500 block of West Ajo Way. At the time, police said Sharpe was arguing with Pinales when gunfire was heard.
PHOENIX State lawmakers, courting a likely lawsuit, voted Tuesday to require students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day.
Existing law spells out that schools have to set aside time each day for students who wish to recite the pledge. But HB2523, approved by the House on a 31-29 party-line vote, adds language that says each student shall recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag during this time.
The only exceptions would be for students who have a request from a parent to opt out, or for students who are at least 18, who could refuse. The measure now goes to the Senate.
We stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day on this floor. Whats good for us is good for the children, Rep. Barbara Parker, R-Mesa, told colleagues.
The measure is illegal, said Rep. Jennifer Pawlik, D-Chandler.
There was a 1940 U.S. Supreme Court ruling saying Jehovahs Witnesses could be required to salute the flag and recite the pledge despite religious objections.
But Pawlik noted the court reversed its stance three years later after the West Virginia Board of Education adopted a resolution ordering that the salute to the flag become a regular part of activities in public schools, requiring students to participate and saying refusal would be regarded as an act of insubordination, and shall be dealt with accordingly.
Justice Robert Jackson wrote: If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us.
Pawlik said that was buttressed by a 1969 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the First Amendment right of students to wear black armbands at school as a silent protest against the war in Vietnam.
It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate, wrote Justice Abe Fortas.
Parker, however, presented a series of arguments she said support her legislation.
One, she said, is that there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution requiring separation of church and state. The only restriction, said Parker, is that the government cannot form or enforce a state religion.
She also pointed out that when the Supreme Court ruled in 1943, the words under God were not in the pledge.
Finally, she said, nothing changes for students who dont want to say the pledge at least for those whose parents excuse them from that obligation.
The current law is that parents have a right to direct the education of their child, Parker said. And this is a parents rights state.
In a separate measure, a vote is pending in the Senate on a related bill to financially penalize schools that do not obey existing laws requiring a U.S. flag in each classroom.
This is to make sure that students growing up understand the country in which they live and embrace the citizenship and the founding principles that we hold so dear, said Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff.
Rogers acknowledged she had no figures on how many schools were not following the law. But she said she had heard from constituents that there are instances of noncompliance.
At least two internet searches for Isabel Celis were run in 2014 on a computer belonging to the man accused in the 6-year-old childs kidnapping and slaying, an expert testified Tuesday.
Christopher M. Clements, 41, is on trial in the case. Isabel went missing from her Tucson bedroom in 2012 and her fate wasnt known until 2017 when Clements led authorities to her remains in a desert area, in exchange for getting unrelated charges dropped.
Clements was convicted last year at a separate trial in the kidnapping and killing of Maribel Gonzalez, 13, who disappeared on the way to a friends house in 2014.
Former Tucson police digital forensic examiner Russell Blaylock told jurors Tuesday that someone ran searches in 2014 for Isabel Celis sexy, body found in desert and trace evidence on body on a computer identified as belonging to Clements.
Blaylock said there was also evidence on the computer that someone accessed two articles on the Daily Mail UK website about Isabel Celis and her disappearance.
Blaylock said he discovered more than 1,300 images of women and young girls, many of them identified as being taken in Tucson, in a password-protected folder on two iPads belonging to Clements, a convicted sex offender. He testified that user data on the device containing more than 1,200 of the photos indicated Clements was the primary user, although his girlfriend at the time also had access.
Blaylock said many of the young girls in the photos were scantily clad and there were screenshots of images from websites including underageladies.com, littlemodels.biz and tinymodels.biz.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Tracy Miller projected many of the images on television monitors overhead, including a series of photos from January 2014, showing the back of a woman as she walked through a local store.
Clements ex-girlfriend testified last week that she didnt know the girls and had no knowledge of the photos stored in the secret folder.
Blaylock also identified five photos of Clements face taken from his tablet photos generated by a My Secret Apps security feature thats enabled when someone enters an incorrect password.
Jurors heard from the father of three girls pictured in a photo found on Clements iPad. Rolando Roman said his daughters would have been between the ages of 6 and 9 at the time. His kids always played in the backyard pictured in the photos, he said, adding he didnt know they were being photographed and his family had never met Clements.
Two women Clements used to date also testified Tuesday. Sara Bainter told jurors she briefly dated Clements in late 2013 and identified photographs of herself found on Clements devices as ones shed sent him during their relationship. Tiffany Denlinger also identified photos of herself found on Clements devices, saying she had posted them on social media but never sent them directly to Clements.
Two forensic anthropologists with the Pima County Medical Examiners Office also testified Tuesday, about their involvement in the search and identification of Isabels remains.
Dr. Jennifer Vollner told jurors about a March 4, 2017 search in the area of Avra Valley and Trico Roads, a day after authorities located cranial bones later identified as belonging to Isabel. Clements had taken authorities to the location.
Members of the second-day search found three thoracic vertebrae, one lumbar vertebra, and pieces of a tailbone and femur.
Vollner said she and her colleagues estimated the remains belonged to a child who died between two and five years before their discovery, but couldnt be more specific than the three-year window.
Dr. Bruce Anderson, who is also with the medical examiners office, talked about their examination of the bones, saying they were all consistent with a child between the ages of 5 and 8.
Anderson said a fracture discovered in the first thoracic vertebra had to have occurred hours to days before death to hours to days after death.
He was more specific in his estimate of the childs time of death, saying that while the postmortem interval was two to five years, 2012 was much more likely the year she died than any other year.
During his cross examination of Anderson, defense attorney Eric Kessler asked if he could exclude animal activity as the cause of the vertebral fracture. The doctor answered that given the lack of a complete skeleton, it couldnt be ruled out.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Chris Ward followed up on the issue, with Anderson saying having seen thousands of bodies that were in the desert over the years, its not a usual place of fracture when a body is being jostled around by animals.
A Navy sailor died on Sunday, Feb. 19, after a training accident in Marana, NavyTimes.com reports, citing information from the Naval Special Warfare Command.
Chief Special Warfare Operator Michael T. Ernst was assigned to a Naval Special Warfare East Coast-based unit, the article says.
The accident involved military free fall training, according to the article.
Ernst enlisted in the Navy in August 2009.
His awards and decorations included a Silver Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and three Combat Action Ribbons, NavyTimes.com reports.
The Navy is investigating the incident and declined to offer additional comment pending a complete investigation, the article says.
Naval Special Warfare Commands mission is to: Provide maritime special operations forces to conduct full spectrum operations, unilaterally or with partners, to support national objectives, its website says.
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to pay for the cleanup of the East Palestine, Ohio, train wreck and chemical release as federal regulators took charge of long-term recovery efforts and promised worried residents they won't be forgotten.
Speaking to reporters near the derailment site, Norfolk Southern's CEO promised to undertake necessary steps to ensure the long-term health of the community and become a "safer railroad."
EPA used its authority under the federal Superfund law to order Norfolk Southern to take all available measures to clean up contaminated air and water. It also said the company would be required to reimburse the federal government for a new program to provide cleaning services for impacted residents and businesses.
"Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess that they created and the trauma that they inflicted on this community," EPA Administrator Michael Regan vowed at a news conference in East Palestine. "I know this order cannot undo the nightmare that families in this town have been living with, but it will begin to deliver much-needed justice for the pain that Norfolk Southern has caused."
He warned that if Norfolk Southern fails to comply, the agency will perform the work itself and seek triple damages from the company.
EPA planned to release more details on the cleanup service for residents and businesses, which it said would "provide an additional layer of reassurance."
The agency said its order marked the end of the "emergency" phase of the Feb. 3 derailment and the start of long-term remediation.
Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw reiterated promises to restore the site and invest in the community.
"From day one, I've made the commitment that Norfolk Southern is going to remediate the site, we're going to do continuous long-term air and water monitoring, we're going to help the residents of this community recover, and we're going to invest in the long-term health of this community. And we're going to make Norfolk Southern a safer railroad," he told reporters.
Jeff Zalick, who lives with his 100-year-old mother just blocks from the derailment site, said he's waiting for the home to be cleaned before moving back. He said there's still a chemical smell inside, though not nearly as bad as a week ago.
The walls need scrubbing, and he wants air purifiers installed before allowing his mother back.
"I just want to make sure she's safe," he said. "She's ready to come home. She cries every day."
In a tweet after the EPA announcement, President Joe Biden said the Trump administration and other elected officials hampered efforts to improve rail safety.
"We'll continue to hold rail companies accountable when they fail to put safety first. But first, we've got Norfolk Southern's mess to clean," he said. "I want affected residents to know that we've got your back."
EPA's move to compel Norfolk Southern to clean up came nearly three weeks after more than three dozen freight cars including 11 carrying hazardous materials derailed on the East Palestine outskirts, near the Pennsylvania state line, prompting an evacuation.
Officials seeking to avoid an uncontrolled explosion intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke into the sky. That left people questioning the potential health impacts even as authorities maintained they were doing their best to protect people.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine assured residents they will not be left to handle the aftermath on their own once public attention turns elsewhere.
"We understand that it's not just about today, it's not just about two weeks from now," he said. "People have long-term concerns, and we're going to do everything we can to stay at this."
Already, 4,600 yards of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water have been removed, DeWine said. But he said Norfolk Southern failed to address the contaminated soil underneath its tracks before repairing them and running freight again. He said the company would have to take the tracks back up and remove the soil.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro blasted Norfolk Southern over what he called its "failed management of this crisis," saying the company chose not to take part in a unified incident command, and provided inaccurate information and conflicting modeling data.
"The combination of Norfolk Southern's corporate greed, incompetence, and lack of concern for our residents is absolutely unacceptable," Shapiro said at the news conference with Regan, DeWine and other officials.
Shapiro said his administration had made a criminal referral of Norfolk Southern to the Pennsylvania attorney general's office. DeWine said Ohio's attorney general launched an investigation.
Separately, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a package of reforms Tuesday and called on railroad operators to take immediate steps to improve safety.
He said railroads and tank car owners should accelerate their plan to upgrade the tank cars that haul flammable liquids like crude oil and ethanol by 2025 instead of waiting to comply with the 2029 standard Congress ultimately approved after regulators suggested the earlier deadline. He also said freight railroads should reach more agreements to provide their employees with paid sick time to help prevent fatigue.
Railroad unions also raised concerns that car inspections are being rushed and preventive maintenance may be getting neglected after widespread job cuts in recent years that they say have made railroads riskier.
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The cross-Strait consultation and contact mechanism between the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) will be resumed once the SEF, upon due authorization, confirms adherence to the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said Wednesday.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, told a press conference that this stance of the mainland has been clear-cut and coherent.
Zhu made the remarks in response to recent comments from the new SEF head expressing hope for the resumption of exchanges between the SEF and the ARATS.
Noting that the reason for the six-year suspension of the cross-Strait communication mechanism is evident, the spokesperson said the establishment of the mechanism did not come easily and needs to be valued.
"We are willing to carry out communication and dialogues with all circles in Taiwan on the basis of the one-China principle and 1992 Consensus, so as to jointly promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations," Zhu said, stressing that the Democratic Progressive Party authorities abandoning their "Taiwan independence" separatism is a prerequisite for cross-Strait consultation resumption.
The spokesperson also expressed willingness to enhance high-level exchanges with the Chinese Kuomintang party, based on the existing common political foundation, to strengthen political mutual trust.
WASHINGTON The Supreme Court rejected an appeal, backed by the satirical site The Onion, from a man who was prosecuted for making fun of police on social media.
The justices on Tuesday left in place a lower court ruling against Anthony Novak, who was arrested after he spoofed the Parma, Ohio, police force in Facebook posts.
After his acquittal on criminal charges, Novak sued the police for violating his constitutional rights. But a federal appeals court ruled the officers have "qualified immunity" and threw out the lawsuit.
The Onion filed its brief in defense of parody. Its lawyers wrote that the First Amendment protects people from prosecution when they make fun of others.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Moscow's participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States, announcing the move Tuesday in a bitter speech in which he made clear he would not change his strategy in the war in Ukraine.
Putin emphasized, however, that Russia isn't withdrawing from the pact yet, and hours after his address the Foreign Ministry said Moscow would respect the treaty's caps on nuclear weapons. It also said Russia would continue to exchange information about test launches of ballistic missiles per earlier agreements with the United States.
In his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address, Putin cast his country and Ukraine as victims of Western double-dealing and said it was Russia, not Ukraine, fighting for its very existence.
"We aren't fighting the Ukrainian people," Putin said ahead of the war's first anniversary Friday. "The Ukrainian people have become hostages of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, which have effectively occupied the country."
The speech reiterated a litany of grievances he has frequently offered offers as justification for the widely condemned military campaign, while vowing no letup.
Along with limits on the number of nuclear weapons, the 2010 New START envisages broad inspections of nuclear sites. Putin said Russia should stand ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if the U.S. does so, a move that would end a global ban on such tests in place since the Cold War era.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded by calling for Russia and the United States to return to dialogue immediately because "a world without nuclear arms control is a far more dangerous and unstable one."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Moscow's decision to suspend participation in the treaty as "really unfortunate and very irresponsible."
"We'll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does," he said while visiting Greece.
U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking in Poland a day after his surprise visit to Ukraine, did not mention the START suspension but blasted Putin for the invasion. He pledged continued support for Ukraine despite "hard and bitter days ahead."
"Democracies of the world will stand guard over freedom today, tomorrow and forever," Biden said at Warsaw's landmark Royal Castle before a cheering crowd of Poles and Ukrainian refugees.
Meanwhile, a handful of congressional Republicans met Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a signal of continued U.S. support, even as hard-right members of the party vow to block future aid to the embattled country.
Mike McCaul, the newly appointed chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led a small delegation to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy for the first time since the start of the war a year ago and since Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives in November.
McCaul and the four other lawmakers said they discussed what Ukraine's military needs to fight off Russian aggression. Zelenskyy provided them with a list of weapons, including longer-range artillery and air-to-surface missile systems.
Zelenskyy cited fresh attacks on Ukrainian civilians Tuesday, and downplayed Putins speech.
I have not watched it, because during this time there were missile strikes on Kherson. Twenty-one people were wounded and six were killed, he said.
Putin's announcement was the second time in recent days the Ukraine war showed it could spread into perilous new terrain, after Blinken told China over the weekend that it would be a "serious problem" if Beijing provided arms and ammunition to Russia.
China and Russia have aligned their foreign policies to oppose Washington. Beijing has refused to condemn Russia's invasion or atrocities against civilians in Ukraine, while strongly criticizing Western economic sanctions on Moscow. Late last year, Russia and China held joint naval drills.
The deputy head of Ukraine's intelligence service, Vadym Skibitskyi, said his agency hasn't seen any signs so far that China is providing weapons to Moscow.
Chinas U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, called on the U.S. and Russia to continue to negotiate with each other in finding a good solution.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and made a dash toward Kyiv, apparently expecting to overrun the capital quickly. But stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces supported by Western weapons turned back Moscow's troops. While Ukraine reclaimed many areas initially seized by Russia, the sides have become became bogged down elsewhere.
The war revived the divide between Russia and the West, reinvigorated the NATO alliance and created the biggest threat to Putin's rule of more than two decades.
In Tuesday's speech, Putin again offered his own version of recent history, discounting Ukraine's arguments that it needed Western help to thwart a Russian military takeover. He repeatedly depicts NATO's expansion to include countries close to Russia as an existential threat to his country.
"It's they who have started the war. And we are using force to end it," he said before an audience of lawmakers, officials and soldiers and broadcast on all state TV channels.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was in Ukraine on Tuesday, said she wished Putin had taken a different approach.
TOKYO A Japanese startup announced plans Tuesday to launch commercial space-viewing balloon flights that it hopes will bring an otherwise astronomically expensive experience down to Earth.
Company CEO Keisuke Iwaya said passengers do not need to be billionaires, go through intense training or have the language skills needed to fly in a rocket.
"It's safe, economical and gentle for people," Iwaya told reporters. "The idea is to make space tourism for everyone." He said he wants to "democratize space."
The company, Iwaya Giken, based in Sapporo in northern Japan, has been working on the project since 2012 and says it developed an airtight, two-seat cabin and a balloon capable of rising up to an altitude of 15 miles, where the curve of the Earth can be clearly viewed. While passengers won't be in outer space the balloon only goes up to roughly the middle of the stratosphere they'll be higher than a jet plane flies and have an unobstructed view of outer space.
The company teamed up with major Japanese travel agency JTB Corp., which announced plans to collaborate on the project when the company is ready for a commercial trip. Initially, a flight would cost about $180,000, but Iwaya said he aims to eventually bring it down to tens of thousands of U.S. dollars.
While Japanese space ventures have fallen behind U.S. companies like SpaceX, Iwaya said his aim is to make space more reachable.
SpaceX launched three rich businessmen and their astronaut escort to the International Space Station in April for $55 million each the company's first private charter flight to the orbiting lab after two years of carrying astronauts there for NASA.
But unlike a rocket or a hot air balloon, the Iwaya Giken vessel will be lifted by helium that can be largely reused, company officials said, and flights will safely stay above Japanese territory or airspace. The first trip is planned as early as later this year.
The balloon, which can carry a pilot and a passenger, would take off from a balloon port in Hokkaido, rise for two hours to as high as 15 miles and stay there for one hour before a one-hour descent. The drum-shaped plastic cabin is 4.9 feet in diameter and has several large windows to allow a view of space above or the Earth below, the company said.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Launching a startup is hard. Arizona has a great startup community, but there are things we should do to make it better.
I am a clinical gastroenterologist and was CEO/founder of WaitLess Medical, an Arizona-based, pre-revenue startup until December 2022, when it closed due to not being able to secure outside funding. Its main software product, WaitLess, texted medical appointment cancellations at specific times patients wanted so they could get their care sooner. WaitLess was novel because it knew patient preferences and could be used for procedures, medical tests, surgeries, as well as office appointments. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted a method patent on its unique waitlist functionality.
Organizations exist in Arizona to help startups, but there are gaps. Resources include networking spaces such as Venture Cafe to meet other startup founders, Arizona Commerce Authority, ASU entities including Venture Devils, and pitch contests. Opportunities to be mentored exist within many of the accelerators or incubators in the area.
Although support exists for investors, not so much for founders. A founder of a company cannot qualify for the Arizona Investment Credit if you own more than 30% of your startup. It is designed to help angel groups who invest, not the bootstrapping co-founders. Funding entities often want proof of concept, customers, and revenue. However, to do so, startups often need additional funding beyond what family and friends can provide.
Arizona lacks financial support for companies that are pre-revenue, but post-conceptual stage, who already may have an MVP, a website, a patent, and beta customers.
All the entities WaitLess explored in Arizona, including angel groups, venture capital groups, Arizona Venture Development Corporation, among others, by choice require either revenue status or a high measure of traction to consider the entity for funding.
The Arizona Development Corporation whom we approached, for instance, will not lead a round, nor will they consider investment by accredited investors as a sufficient measure for them to invest. You must have an investment from an angel group that has an established due diligence process in place, for instance, as well as revenue. This restriction excludes many good startups.
These Arizona funding entities miss many opportunities locally by not fostering good ideas at earlier stages. For example, WaitLess Medical had entered various pitch contests over several years including Venture Madness, Flinn foundation, Unmet Arizona, Arizona Investment Challenge, and Idea Funding, but we along with many other entities could not compete favorably in the final rounds against revenue-generating companies.
Running a startup should be hard, but it could be made easier in Arizona.
A strong startup community for Arizona is vital if we are to compete with states such as Texas, California, Massachusetts or Florida where there are currently more funding opportunities for startups and in my opinion, a more mature startup community.
To make Arizona stronger for future startups, it is vital Arizona develops entities that provide funding for startups that are pre-revenue. This can allow startup companies to explore the latest technologies that may eventually generate quality jobs and wealth for Arizona and its citizens.
At the moment, there is a funding gap for quality pre-revenue companies. Creating some type of funding to supplement bootstrapping in pre-revenue startup companies is needed in Arizona. The qualifying criteria for the Arizona Investment Credit could be modified to allow entrepreneurs with startups to make their own dollars go further. Universities could be better incentivized to partner with small community startups. This can help with traction and proof of concept stages, often a stumbling block for startups.
Investment in quality pre-revenue companies can help foster data for future rounds of investments, proof of concept on a larger scale, and place Arizona as a leader in the startup world.
Related content Drawing on kindness: Free tattoo coverup event aims to replace hate
SAND SPRINGS Blaine Womack was 16 when he woke up one day with a swastika tattooed on the inside of his left calf.
He couldnt remember how it got there, and he couldnt have known then that 22 years later, hed see that tattoo as something that has caused me nothing but trouble.
Now 38 and three years sober, Womack was among scores of people who turned out Tuesday for Stop the Hate in the 918, an event aimed at ridding the world and the wearers of incendiary ink.
Womack, who lives in Sand Springs, said it seemed like a great time to get rid of this thing, adding that he had caught hell over it from employers who called me a racist.
That aint me, he said.
Jamy Magee, who was covering up Womacks swastika on Tuesday, owns Parlour Hair & Ink in Sand Springs. Hes the founder of and driving force behind the event, in which some of the states most renowned tattoo artists work for free for a day to cover as many hate-, gang- and race-related tattoos as they can.
Magee said the clientele tend to be people who had been in prison or a gang previously but have corrected their life except for the daily reminder of their pasts emblazoned on their skin. Stop the Hate in the 918 allows them to complete their fresh start, he said.
The event is now in its sixth year, although in its first at the Case Community Center, where more people could be accommodated.
Magee said he had been nervous about how things would go in the new venue, but by Tuesday afternoon, the gymnasium had a good-size crowd of people checking out the food and retail vendors and donating blood through the Oklahoma Blood Institutes bloodmobile while waiting their turn for tattoo services.
Dalton Todd wasnt taking any chances on a large crowd possibly thwarting his quest to have his tattoo removed. Although the event began at noon, Todd, of Muskogee, showed up at 11 the night before.
The next person showed up at 6:30 in the morning, he said, chuckling.
First in line, Todd paired up with tattoo artist Dennis Tucker of Black Sheep Tattoo in Tulsa to envision a large raven that Tucker would create to obscure the hatchetman tattoo on Todds chest.
The hatchetman is a popular tattoo with fans of the hardcore hip-hop group Insane Clown Posse, known as the Juggalos. But Juggalo gangs also sport the hatchetman imagery, and as a result, Juggalos have been classified as a criminal street gang by the FBI, the National Gang Intelligence Center and several states, reports show.
Consequently, the hatchetman tattoo is frequently unwelcome in civil society.
Todd, 30, said he got his hatchetman tattoo when he was 18 and immediately didnt like it. Ive wanted to get it covered up since I was 18, and Ive just never been able to afford it.
Has it caused him any problems over the years?
Quite a few a lot of violence, he said.
Thats exactly why Tucker was giving his time and talent freely at Tuesdays event. He had worked on Todds chest for two hours and 45 minutes already and had about 40 minutes more to go, he said, but the payoff would be worth the effort.
Here, I get to come to work, draw for people and affect their entire life, he said. You take away a lot of pain for some people, and it literally can change the trajectory of somebodys life.
When you can do that for people, its an amazing blessing.
Tucker, who once built houses and even owned the company, has been tattooing for 30 years.
Tattooing has given me my entire life, he said. Its given enough to me that its time I give back. And I know the struggle these people are going through. I see it every day.
Tucker said he researches every piece he does, and thats how he was able to work with Todd to come up with the raven, which is represented in Nordic and pagan symbolism.
I dont just throw things on people, he said. Most people who are coming in here, they want you to put a piece over what they have, and they dont really care what it is; they want (what they had) gone.
But I cant be like that. I want to make sure that what he does get is meaningful for what he wants to accomplish for the rest of his life.
Tucker wont even consider doing the types of tattoos that many people attending the event were having covered.
I dont try to talk them out of anything, he said. I just tell them no.
There are a lot of tattoos Tucker wont do because of quality control issues not only about the tattoo itself, such as whether its desired in an awkward location, but also about quality of life whether the tattoos content or location is going to cause grief down the road to the person sporting it.
He himself has plenty of ink, but nothing that goes below his cuff or above his collar.
I wear a shirt and tie a lot more than you would think, Tucker said. So I try to keep that in mind. It doesnt matter where you are in life right now; you may not be in that same spot in 20 years. Please dont tattoo your neck.
Im the one person youll talk to who probably says no more than I say yes.
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Northeastern State University announced that 686 students met the criteria to be named to the presidents honor roll for the fall 2022 semester.
Several students from Skiatook were honored at the Oklahoma-based school, including: Ashley Burton, Macy Bush, Maxwell Kramer and Chase Noblin.
To be eligible, students must have completed at least 12 hours of undergraduate classes with a 4.0 GPA.
People visit the International Electricity and Renewable Energy Exhibition (SEER) in Algiers, Algeria, on Feb. 21, 2023. The exhibition is held from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23. (Xinhua)
People visit the International Electricity and Renewable Energy Exhibition (SEER) in Algiers, Algeria, on Feb. 21, 2023. The exhibition is held from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23. (Xinhua)
An exhibitor introduces products to visitors at the International Electricity and Renewable Energy Exhibition (SEER) in Algiers, Algeria, on Feb. 21, 2023. The exhibition is held from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23. (Xinhua)
A visitor talks with an exhibitor at the International Electricity and Renewable Energy Exhibition (SEER) in Algiers, Algeria, on Feb. 21, 2023. The exhibition is held from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23. (Xinhua)
Heres a food trip worth revisiting:
A past Tulsa World Magazine story provided suggestions so readers could try to eat their way through the alphabet in Green Country.
If you want to belly up to the challenge, heres a revised list of A-to-Z recommendations:
A Apple strudel
From: Ludgers Bavarian Bakery, 6527 E. 91st St., and Siegis Sausage Factory, 8104 S. Sheridan Road
Theres a reason strudel was Sgt. Schultzs kryptonite on Hogans Heroes. Who can resist? It will again be among offerings at Oktoberfest, but you dont have to wait until fall to go strudel-ing.
B Badwich
From: Elmers BBQ, 3316 S. Peoria Ave.
Bad has never been so good. Elmers has served It be bad! barbecue on South Peoria since 1982, and the Badwich is the star of the menu. It features a slice of smoked bologna, chopped beef and a hot link or smoked sausage on Texas toast, plus a smoked pork rib on the side.
C Cheddar fries
From: The Brook, 3401 S. Peoria Ave. and 7727 E. 91st St.
Start with a heaping plate of fresh cut, seasoned fries. Add melted cheddar cheese, double-layered for gooey goodness. You can add bacon bits, chives and jalapenos, if you like. Dip them in homemade ranch dressing.
D Double Okie
From: Bills Jumbo Burgers, 2002 E. Admiral Blvd.
The Double Okie is a 2-pound burger with cheese served at one of Tulsas cherished hole-in-the-wall burger joints. Adam Richman paid a visit to Bills Jumbo Burgers for an episode of Man v. Food Nation in 2011. He tried the Double Okie.
E East Side Onion Rings
From: Freeway Cafe, 1547 E. Third St., 465 S. Sheridan Road and 5849 S. 49th W. Ave.
Diners used to love the onion rings at East Side Cafe, which closed in 2005 after a 68-year run. Those thinly sliced and lightly breaded onion rings have been reincarnated at Freeway Cafe. Order the East Side Onion Rings as an appetizer regardless of what you get for an entree.
F Frito Pie
From: Rons Hamburgers & Chili, multiple locations
Rons advertises its Frito pie as the best Frito pie on the planet. Lets take the hype a bit further. Its the best Frito pie on any planet. A mound of Fritos is blanketed with chili and topped with cheese.
G Garlic Knots
From: Andolinis Pizzeria, multiple locations
Andolinis takes the basic recipe strips of pizza dough twisted into the titular shape, garlic, butter, a dash of herbs for garnish then gives it an additional twist by deep-frying the knots, rather than baking them.
The results are addictive crispy on the outside, fluffy and tender inside, and loaded with garlic and cheese.
Tulsans also speak lovingly of the garlic knots at Umbertos Pizza, 3147 S. Harvard Ave.
H Hot Hamburger
From: Murphys Steak House, 1625 SW Frank Phillips Blvd., Bartlesville
If you order the hot hamburger at Murphys, a server might ask if you want gravy all over. The answer is yes.
Murphys is known for its hot hamburger, a chopped beef patty covered in fries and brown gravy.
If you live closer to Claremore than Bartlesville, be aware that Hammett House has a Murphys-inspired hot hamburger on the menu.
I ITR Salad
From: In The Raw, 3321 S. Peoria Ave., 6151 S. Sheridan Road, 216 S. Main Street (Broken Arrow), 110 N. Elgin Ave.
The ITR Salad is made up of roasted chicken, shredded lettuce, crispy noodles and wontons, toasted almonds and scallions. Its tossed with In The Raws signature ginger vinaigrette.
Amazing is a word the Tulsa World has used in describing the dressing. Light, not too tangy, not too sweet. Just right.
J Jalapeno Chicken Basket
From: Linda-Mar Drive In, 1614 W. 51st St.
Maybe you come to Linda-Mar Drive In for burgers or The Andy Griffith Show, which plays on a continual loop at televisions there.
But youre doing yourself a disservice if you fail to try the chicken basket. Served hot, chicken chunks may need a cooling off period before you take bites, but it will be worth the wait.
K Kimchi Fries
From: Lone Wolf Banh Mi food truck, 203 E. Archer St. and 3136 E. 11th St.
You cant go wrong with the original kimchi fries, but you can add a variety of extras, including kung pao pork, cilantro pesto chicken, candied bacon, soy Dijon portabella, pulled pork, pork belly, easy egg and extra aioli.
L Landfill
From: Savastanos Pizzeria, 8211 E. Regal Place
Youve been warned. The deep-dish pizza at Savastanos really is deep-dish pizza.
The Landfill comes in three sizes, and its stuffed with sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, onions and pepperoni.
M Mac N Cheese
From: Burn Co. Barbecue, Jenks, 500 Riverwalk Terrace
Burn Co. attracts barbecue lovers, but the mac n cheese, by itself, is worth the trip. Shells and cheese go in the smoker to create a heavenly version of mac n cheese that will make you want to go back for more. Its available only Thursday through Saturday, according to an online menu.
N Navy Beans
From: Brownies Hamburger Stand, 2130 S. Harvard Ave., 6577 E. 71st St.
Brownies is famous for its homemade root beer, burgers and daily bowl specials.
Navy beans and ham are among the bowl options, but theyre not available every day, so do research in advance.
O Onion rings
From: White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan Road and 1105 E. Kenosha (Broken Arrow)
We already mentioned Freeway Cafe's Eastside Onion Rings, but an onion ring tour of Tulsa isnt complete unless you get a plate of them to go with your White River Fish Market meal. The Billys on the Square concession at BOK Center (check out the "T" entry below) has great onion rings, too.
P Peoria Special
From: Brookside by Day, 3313 S. Peoria Ave.
The Peoria Special is a triple option menu item. It comes with two eggs, any style, plus your choice of a pork chop, burger patty or chicken fry, plus all the fixins.
Q Queso
From: Cafe Ole, 3509 S. Peoria Ave.
The Ole Queso has been a homemade classic for 30-plus years. Flavor comes from melted cream cheese, peppers and spices.
Wash it down with a from-scratch margarita, and your chips and your taste buds will be pleased.
R Rolls (cinnamon)
From: Savoy, 6033 S. Sheridan Road
Savoy has been feeding hungry Tulsans since 1918 and is known for its cinnamon rolls, which are baked fresh daily.
S Strawberries and Crust
From: Country Cottage, 6570 S. Oklahoma 82, Locust Grove
If youve never been introduced to strawberries and crust, heres an explanation: Its exactly what it sounds like.
Strips of pie crust are baked fresh at the restaurant. Visit the buffet line, snag crust strips for your dessert plate and pile strawberries on top of the crust.
With experience, you can figure out how much of each you will need to find the perfect blend of crunch and sweetness.
T Theta Burger
From: Billys on the Square concession at BOK Center, open during events
Tulsans were sad when Billys on the Square closed its Bartlett Square location in 2020, but the food lives on thanks to a Billys concession inside BOK Center. Among MVP menu items is the Theta Burger. Its a quarter-pound charburger with mayo, pickles, hickory sauce and cheddar cheese.
U Ultimate Enchiladas
From: Mexicali Border Cafe, 14 W. Reconciliation Way
Ultimate enchiladas? A fajita steak enchilada and a chicken fajita enchilada in flour tortillas are filled with sauteed pico de gallo and portabello mushrooms. They are topped with white queso, mixed cheese, cilantro and ranchera sauce.
V Veggie Burrito
From: El Rio Verde, 38 N. Trenton Ave.
The wet burrito is a signature item at El Rio Verde, but, for the vegetarians out there, heres something you should try.
The veggie burrito is stuffed with fresh zucchini, yellow squash, spinach, mushroom, tomatoes, bell peppers and onions, which are grilled with a secret recipe sauce, plus beans, rice and lettuce. Youll love it even if youre a carnivore.
W World Famous Chicken-Fried Steak
From: Nelsons Buffeteria, 4401 S. Memorial Drive
For good reason, the signature dish at Nelsons is the chicken-fried streak cut, tenderized and hand-breaded daily.
X (marks the spot for gravy)
From: Bros Houligan, 4848 S. Yale Ave.
We fudged a little in coming up with a menu item that starts with X, but Bros. Houligan is x-actly where a gravy lover should want to be. A bowl of cream gravy is perfect for dipping Bros. Houligans cottage fries, chicken tenders and steak fingers. On the back of servers' shirts are the words "eat more gravy."
Y Yang Zhou Fried Rice
From: Mandarin Taste, 6125 S. Sheridan Road
Mandarin Taste was born in 2013, when a student from Beijing couldnt find a Tulsa restaurant that served real Chinese food. Now, the menu includes Yang Zhou fried rice, which is given flavor by shrimp, Chinese sausage, crumbled egg, onion, carrots and peas.
Z Zucchini Strips
From: Steak Stuffers USA, 7846 E. 51st St.
Tired of regular side orders? Take zucchini strips for a test drive. It may remind you a bit of fried okra. An order of zucchini strips is served with ranch dressing.
Featured video:
Update: Rogers County Emergency Management officials report Kaiden was found safe.
State and local authorities are searching for 12-year-old Kaiden Upshaw after he was abducted Tuesday afternoon.
Kaiden was taken from his grandparents' house in Claremore by his non-custodial mother, 31-year-old Clara Randall, and her husband, 35-year-old Richard Randall, according to an Amber Alert from Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The boy was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt, jeans and red shoes. He is described as 4-foot-5 with red hair.
The suspect vehicle is a gray 2018 Ford Escape with the license plate number KOT244, the alert states.
OHP encourages anyone with information to call 911.
Video: Defining Amber Alert
11 years ago, a portrait of late historian and civil rights leader John Hope Franklin was hung on the second floor of the state Capitol Rotunda.
The Rentiesville native joined the company of other notable state historical figures ranging from Jim Thorpe, considered to be one of the worlds greatest athletes, to Sequoyah, inventor of the Cherokee alphabet, whose portraits are also displayed in the Capitol.
After growing up in Tulsa, where his father, celebrated civil rights lawyer Buck Franklin, defended the rights of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre survivors, John Hope Franklin would strike his own blow for racial justice with his pen.
The Booker T. Washington High School graduate went on to become one of the countrys most respected scholars and historians and wrote several key texts, including From Slavery to Freedom, a definitive narrative on black history, and the book Racial Equality in America taken from lectures.
Following his death in 2009, Tulsas Reconciliation Park, which commemorates the victims of the race massacre, was renamed in his honor.
See more of the life and legacy of John Hope Franklin here.
OKLAHOMA CITY A Senate panel on Tuesday passed a bill aimed at barring students from accessing books with obscene or offensive content.
Senate Bill 397 by Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, passed the Senate Education Committee by of vote of 10-2 and now heads to the Senate floor.
This bill would stop students from accessing obscene or offensive content at schools, Hamilton said. Parents across the state are concerned that their students may be able to get their hands on inappropriate materials from the library.
The bill would create local committees to classify books and other materials in school and public libraries into age-appropriate categories ranging from elementary to juniors and seniors and making the content available to those specified age groups.
Students seeking to access books only for juniors and seniors would be required to show parental or guardian consent in writing.
Beginning July 1, 2024, no print or nonprint material or media in a school district library, charter school library, or public library shall include content that the average person age 18 or older applying contemporary community standards would find has predominant tendency to appeal to a prurient interest in sex, the measure says.
Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, asked why private schools were not included.
Hamilton said they are not funded with public dollars.
Hamilton said it is not the intent of the measure to ban anatomy or biology books used in sex education.
Sen. Michael Bergstrom, R-Adair, said nothing in the measure would prohibit a parent from checking out a book and providing it to the student.
Once again, our Republican colleagues are telling Oklahoma parents we dont trust them to make decisions for their families, said Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa. Im sorely disappointed we have chosen to limit Oklahomans freedoms by censoring schools and libraries.
Content in libraries is something parents are paying attention to, said Senate Education Committee Chairman Adam Pugh, R-Edmond.
I have previously opposed banning books, Pugh said. That is not what this bill seeks to do. This bill seeks to create a set of standards that are appropriate school by school, grade by grade, and include parents in the process.
Featured video:
These were the top 10 books people wanted removed from schools and libraries in 2021 1. 'Gender Queer' by Maia Kobabe 2. 'Lawn Boy' by Jonathan Evison 3. 'All Boys Arent Blue' by George M. Johnson 4. 'Out of Darkness' by Ashley Hope Perez 5. 'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thomas 6. 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian' by Sherman Alexie 7. 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' by Jesse Andrews 8. 'The Bluest Eye' by Toni Morrison 10. 'Beyond Magenta' by Susan Kuklin
State and local officials would have to disclose their interests in medical marijuana businesses under legislation approved by an Oklahoma House of Representatives committee on Tuesday.
House Bill 1616, by Rep. Rande Worthen, R-Lawton, would require elected and appointed state, county and municipal officials to disclose any conflict of interest or ownership interest in the medical marijuana industry.
Worthen said the bill was prompted by situations in which municipal officials have taken votes or been otherwise involved in decisions related to medical marijuana.
A related situation arose in Tulsa this year when City Councilor Grant Miller advocated for changes to city policy regarding employee use of medical marijuana while he owned an interest in a cannabis-growing operation.
The bill was one of several advancing from House committees during a busy workday.
Among other bills winning approval Tuesday were:
HB 2152, by Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, which would require that all maternal deaths occurring during pregnancy or within a year of the termination of a pregnancy be reported within 72 hours to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and that the medical examiner investigate the deaths.
Roe said Oklahoma has one of the nations highest rates of maternal mortality.
HB 2461, by Rep. Brian Hill, R-Mustang, would add the state Capitol and surrounding complex to the list of critical infrastructure, a category originally created several years ago to discourage protests at energy assets such as pipelines, refineries and generation plants.
None of that was mentioned during presentation to the General Government Committee, and it was not immediately clear how the bill might apply to protests at the Capitol. During his explanation, Hill mentioned only that his bill would ban the overflight of unmanned aircraft.
HB 2228, by Rep. Ross Ford, R-Broken Arrow, would make it an offense to hold a cellphone while driving, whether it is in use or not.
Also on Tuesday, which was Cherokee Nation Day at the Capitol, Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. spoke to both the House and the Senate.
Hoskin, who is up for reelection this year, reminded various lawmakers of improvements in their districts paid for by the Cherokee Nation and repeatedly mentioned the willingness of the tribe to work with its neighbors.
He also gently tweaked the Legislature about its approach to the past.
Studying our history, every single chapter the good chapters, the dark chapters, the tough chapters has to be studied, because I dont want to repeat the mistakes, Hoskin said.
Thats the reason the Cherokee Nation is looking at some of the difficult chapters in our history, the fact that we enslaved other human beings, the fact of emancipation, the fact that were committed to equality, is something I trust our young people more than anybody to understand.
Featured video:
Oklahoma lawmakers took action Tuesday to bar sex education from grades K-5 and state Superintendent Ryan Walters from making rules they dont like.
A busy meeting of the House Common Education Committee advanced 12 bills to general order, including one that would require school districts to be more forthcoming about why some teachers leave their employ and another proposing extra duty pay for elementary teachers whose classes contain more students than the statutory limit.
The displeasure of Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, and what seems to be a large share of the Legislature was readily apparent with the committees 10-1 vote in favor of McBrides House Bill 2569, which imposes a moratorium on additional accreditation rules approved and imposed upon school districts by the State Board of Education without specific legislative statutory authorization.
McBride, chairman of the Appropriations and Budget subcommittee, which oversees education funding, told the Tulsa World earlier this week that Walters and his hand-picked State Board of Education should stop threatening schools accreditation with sudden changes to administrative rules.
Walters only sympathetic voice in Tuesdays committee meeting, Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, argued that the Legislature already has ultimate oversight through the administrative rules process, but McBride wasnt having it.
I want to put this gentleman (Walters) in a box, McBride said. I hate to be that blunt, but we have got to focus on public education and not his crazy destruction of public education.
Pressed on why this couldnt be done through the administrative rules process, which can be cumbersome and involves disapproving rules once theyve already been implemented, McBride pointed to the bills standard emergency clause wording: It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace.
People are scared, said McBride.
Discussion was somewhat more intense concerning HB 2546, by Rep. Terry ODonnell, R-Catoosa.
The bills language says that classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity shall not occur in kindergarten through grade five or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students, but in discussion ODonnell indicated that the ban would apply to all K-5 sex education, including optional explanations of puberty and its effects on the human body.
Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, a former public school administrator and teacher, said such classes are typically offered in the fifth grade and that delaying them even a year might defeat the purpose.
Provenzano said shes been told by adults that the class gave me the words, when I was a child, to say what was happening to me at home.
ODonnell, apparently not understanding Provenzanos meaning, said, This bill would suggest that class would be put off until the sixth grade.
He then suggested that pediatricians could explain such changes if they begin before the sixth grade.
The reality, said Provenzano, is that not all parents would be an advocate. The parent that reached out to me said, I needed those words sooner, or I would have been subjected to two more years of molestation and not knowing how to talk about it.
Passing with no disagreement was HB 2260, by Rep. Danny Sterling, R-Tecumseh. It would require districts to report to the State Board of Education teachers who leave a school as the result of a civil settlement involving sexual abuse or exploitation or an agreement between the school and teacher to avoid civil litigation.
Currently, such reports are required only in cases involving potential criminal charges.
HB 2009, by Rep. Dean Davis, R-Broken Arrow, would require districts to pay stipends of up to $5,000 to elementary teachers whose classes exceed 18 students in kindergarten through third grade or 22 students from fourth through sixth grades.
On a related matter, House Speaker Charles McCalls education package HB 2775 and HB 1935 has been added to the Wednesday afternoon floor agenda.
Featured video:
Hoang Xuan Luan, a 12th grader in Quang Tri Province, north-central Vietnam, rummaged about junk shops to look for accessories, assembled a computer and installed software himself. The special computer helped Luan win the third prize at a provincial excellent IT student contest and nurture his dream of becoming a computer engineer in the future. With his efforts to overcome difficulties and pursue his passion, Luan, a male student of class 12B1 of Con Tien School in Gio Son Commune, Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province, got a Vi tuong lai Viet Nam (For Vietnams future) scholarship awarded by the Quang Tri Province Youth Union. Made-by-Luan computer The made-by-Luan computer is the first foundation to achieve his dream. Sitting in front of the computer, which he has used since he was in grade 9, in his narrow house, Luan said his studying is much more convenient thanks to the computer. Everyone said this is a made-by-Luan computer. I feel happy and think that they are right as I even do not know how many accessories the computer has and what brands they are from. This is my first-ever computer, an unforgettable remembrance, Luan said. Luan, like many other children in Gio Son Commune, had to visit an Internet shop to use computers. He was completely bewitched by the miraculous world of computers. I wished I had had a computer to learn about it, Luan said. When he was in grade 9, a friend of Luan had a broken computer, so he and his cousin came to the friends house to ask for the scrap computer. Luan later looked at the computer longingly although it did not run after being turned on. The broken computer was enough to make Luan happy although he did not know if the computer would run or not. Luan was determined and believed that he could revive the computer. He later dismantled the CPU (Central Processing Unit), learned from the Internet and concluded that most of the accessories of the computer broke and needed alternatives. With initial knowledge about hardware from Google, Luan visited a junk shop in the commune to look for accessories. He foraged for computer accessories from a pile of scrap computers and fetched home active accessories. My cousin and I bought a hard disk drive, RAM (Random Access Memory), a chip, and a screen from the junk shop at VND150,000 [US$6.3], Luan recalled. Bringing the accessories home, Luan held a screwdriver but did not know where to start. He decided to learn from Google. After many difficulties, he finally completed assembling the computer. However, after pressing the power button, all he saw was a black screen. Luan dismantled the CPU, connected and assembled accessories again, and even visited the junk shop one more time to look for more accessories. After three times, the CPU began to run. Luan cannot forget the moment when the screen turned on. Following the hardware, Luan accessed the Internet to learn how to install software. His passion motivated him, so he found it easy to install the operating system and software for his computer. As I assembled the computer and installed software myself, the computer faced many hardware and software errors. At the time, I tried to fix them myself. Over the past three years, I have been repeatedly correcting errors and Im still using the made-by-Luan computer now, Luan said. Fruitful results The made-by-Luan computer has helped him achieve fruitful results. With his passion and talent, Luan was picked to his schools excellent IT student team. He quickly got tech lessons from his teachers. Early this school year, he and two other students attended a provincial excellent IT student contest and he got the third prize. My prize is my gratitude to my teachers and parents. I consider it a memory and I will continue trying to become a good computer engineer and programmer. Luan is an excellent student over the past three years. He is preparing for the high school graduation exam and striving to become an IT student of the Da Nang University of Science and Technology in the namesake central city. He studies English daily, which he is not good at, himself. He has set a target to improve his English before he enters university so that he can access and understand programming, which is full of specialized terms. Doan Thi Chau Loan, the head teacher of Luans class at the Con Tien School in Quang Tri, said the made-by-Luan computer is well-known at the school. It is a story of the perseverance to overcome difficulties and head toward the future. Luan is an energetic, obedient and excellent student. He is good at natural science subjects and has a passionate interest in information technology. I hope with his passion, desire, and studying achievements, his dream of becoming an excellent computer engineer and programmer will come true, Loan added. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Hoang Xuan Luan, a 12th grader in Quang Tri Province, north-central Vietnam, rummaged about junk shops to look for accessories, assembled a computer and installed software himself.
The special computer helped Luan win the third prize at a provincial excellent IT student contest and nurture his dream of becoming a computer engineer in the future.
With his efforts to overcome difficulties and pursue his passion, Luan, a male student of class 12B1 of Con Tien School in Gio Son Commune, Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province, got a Vi tuong lai Viet Nam (For Vietnams future) scholarship awarded by the Quang Tri Province Youth Union.
Made-by-Luan computer
The made-by-Luan computer is the first foundation to achieve his dream.
Sitting in front of the computer, which he has used since he was in grade 9, in his narrow house, Luan said his studying is much more convenient thanks to the computer.
Everyone said this is a made-by-Luan computer. I feel happy and think that they are right as I even do not know how many accessories the computer has and what brands they are from.
This is my first-ever computer, an unforgettable remembrance, Luan said.
Luan, like many other children in Gio Son Commune, had to visit an Internet shop to use computers.
He was completely bewitched by the miraculous world of computers.
I wished I had had a computer to learn about it, Luan said.
When he was in grade 9, a friend of Luan had a broken computer, so he and his cousin came to the friends house to ask for the scrap computer.
Luan later looked at the computer longingly although it did not run after being turned on.
The broken computer was enough to make Luan happy although he did not know if the computer would run or not.
Luan was determined and believed that he could revive the computer.
He later dismantled the CPU (Central Processing Unit), learned from the Internet and concluded that most of the accessories of the computer broke and needed alternatives.
With initial knowledge about hardware from Google, Luan visited a junk shop in the commune to look for accessories. He foraged for computer accessories from a pile of scrap computers and fetched home active accessories.
My cousin and I bought a hard disk drive, RAM (Random Access Memory), a chip, and a screen from the junk shop at VND150,000 [US$6.3], Luan recalled.
Bringing the accessories home, Luan held a screwdriver but did not know where to start.
He decided to learn from Google. After many difficulties, he finally completed assembling the computer.
However, after pressing the power button, all he saw was a black screen.
Luan dismantled the CPU, connected and assembled accessories again, and even visited the junk shop one more time to look for more accessories.
After three times, the CPU began to run. Luan cannot forget the moment when the screen turned on.
Following the hardware, Luan accessed the Internet to learn how to install software.
His passion motivated him, so he found it easy to install the operating system and software for his computer.
As I assembled the computer and installed software myself, the computer faced many hardware and software errors. At the time, I tried to fix them myself.
Over the past three years, I have been repeatedly correcting errors and Im still using the made-by-Luan computer now, Luan said.
Fruitful results
The made-by-Luan computer has helped him achieve fruitful results.
With his passion and talent, Luan was picked to his schools excellent IT student team.
He quickly got tech lessons from his teachers. Early this school year, he and two other students attended a provincial excellent IT student contest and he got the third prize.
My prize is my gratitude to my teachers and parents. I consider it a memory and I will continue trying to become a good computer engineer and programmer.
Luan is an excellent student over the past three years. He is preparing for the high school graduation exam and striving to become an IT student of the Da Nang University of Science and Technology in the namesake central city.
He studies English daily, which he is not good at, himself.
He has set a target to improve his English before he enters university so that he can access and understand programming, which is full of specialized terms.
Doan Thi Chau Loan, the head teacher of Luans class at the Con Tien School in Quang Tri, said the made-by-Luan computer is well-known at the school. It is a story of the perseverance to overcome difficulties and head toward the future.
Luan is an energetic, obedient and excellent student. He is good at natural science subjects and has a passionate interest in information technology.
I hope with his passion, desire, and studying achievements, his dream of becoming an excellent computer engineer and programmer will come true, Loan added.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Read what is in the news in Vietnam today: Politics -- Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen received visiting Secretary of the Party Committee of Chinas Hainan Province Shen Xiaoming in the southern Vietnamese metropolis on Tuesday. Society -- Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have plans to install more security cameras to fight sidewalk encroachment. -- A fire broke out from some electrical wires and telecommunication cables installed along the Dien Bien Phu 1 Bridge in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City at around 3:45 pm on Tuesday and was quickly put out. Authorities have reported no damage. -- The pair of Mong Cai-Dongxing International Border Gate in Vietnams Quang Ninh Province and Chinas Guangxi Province, respectively, resumed normal activities on Tuesday after being suspended for almost three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. -- The Peoples Procuracy of northern Tuyen Quang Province has prosecuted a 30-year-old woman for helping her 51-year-old partner rape her nine-year-old daughter. The partner has also been indicted. -- The problem that the SMW3 cable, the last fully functional Internet cable of Vietnam, encountered on Tuesday morning was fixed on the same morning, an Internet service provider in the country said. -- Researchers have uncovered a 2,000-year-old stringed musical instrument, one of the earliest examples of this type of instrument in Southeast Asia, in southern Vietnam. The discovery was published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed archeology journal Antiquity. Business -- Vietnam exported more than 359,000 tonnes of rice, bringing in more than US$186 million in January, down 29 percent in volume and 24.2 percent in value from the same period last year, according to statistics of the General Department of Customs. -- Eight cruise ships will call at Nha Trang City in south-central Khanh Hoa Province from now to June with two cruise ships expected in the remainder of this month alone, according to a representative of Viet Excursions Company. Ltd. on Tuesday afternoon. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:
Politics
-- Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen received visiting Secretary of the Party Committee of Chinas Hainan Province Shen Xiaoming in the southern Vietnamese metropolis on Tuesday.
Society
-- Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have plans to install more security cameras to fight sidewalk encroachment.
-- A fire broke out from some electrical wires and telecommunication cables installed along the Dien Bien Phu 1 Bridge in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City at around 3:45 pm on Tuesday and was quickly put out. Authorities have reported no damage.
-- The pair of Mong Cai-Dongxing International Border Gate in Vietnams Quang Ninh Province and Chinas Guangxi Province, respectively, resumed normal activities on Tuesday after being suspended for almost three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
-- The Peoples Procuracy of northern Tuyen Quang Province has prosecuted a 30-year-old woman for helping her 51-year-old partner rape her nine-year-old daughter. The partner has also been indicted.
-- The problem that the SMW3 cable, the last fully functional Internet cable of Vietnam, encountered on Tuesday morning was fixed on the same morning, an Internet service provider in the country said.
-- Researchers have uncovered a 2,000-year-old stringed musical instrument, one of the earliest examples of this type of instrument in Southeast Asia, in southern Vietnam. The discovery was published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed archeology journal Antiquity.
Business
-- Vietnam exported more than 359,000 tonnes of rice, bringing in more than US$186 million in January, down 29 percent in volume and 24.2 percent in value from the same period last year, according to statistics of the General Department of Customs.
-- Eight cruise ships will call at Nha Trang City in south-central Khanh Hoa Province from now to June with two cruise ships expected in the remainder of this month alone, according to a representative of Viet Excursions Company. Ltd. on Tuesday afternoon.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The rescue team of the Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) presented nearly 25 tonnes of supplies to Turkey on Tuesday to assist the country in dealing with the aftermath of an earthquake. The aid, including ration packs, rice, milk, medical supplies, and other essentials, was handed over at Hatay Stadium in Antakya City, the capital of Turkeys Hatay Province. The supplies demonstrate the sympathies of the Vietnamese people and the Ministry of National Defense for Turkey over the human and property losses brought about by the earthquake, said Major General Pham Van Ty, deputy head of the Rescue Department under the VPAs General Staff, and head of the Vietnamese rescue team in Turkey. On behalf of Turkish authorities, Ambassador Hakan Cakil, a representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Hatay Province, expressed his gratitude for the assistance, stating that practical support will help Turkish people surmount difficulties and losses. The medical supplies will be quickly transported to local hospitals and health centers to support the provision of emergency treatment to patients, he noted. The delegation of 76 military officials and soldiers under the VPA arrived in Turkey on February 13 to engage in search and rescue operations for victims of the earthquake. Another rescue team including 24 members from Vietnams Ministry of Public Security returned to Hanoi on Sunday after spending nine days in Turkey assisting in earthquake relief efforts. More than 46,000 people have been killed in the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 and the toll is expected to continue to rise, Reuters reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The rescue team of the Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) presented nearly 25 tonnes of supplies to Turkey on Tuesday to assist the country in dealing with the aftermath of an earthquake.
The aid, including ration packs, rice, milk, medical supplies, and other essentials, was handed over at Hatay Stadium in Antakya City, the capital of Turkeys Hatay Province.
The supplies demonstrate the sympathies of the Vietnamese people and the Ministry of National Defense for Turkey over the human and property losses brought about by the earthquake, said Major General Pham Van Ty, deputy head of the Rescue Department under the VPAs General Staff, and head of the Vietnamese rescue team in Turkey.
On behalf of Turkish authorities, Ambassador Hakan Cakil, a representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Hatay Province, expressed his gratitude for the assistance, stating that practical support will help Turkish people surmount difficulties and losses.
The medical supplies will be quickly transported to local hospitals and health centers to support the provision of emergency treatment to patients, he noted.
The delegation of 76 military officials and soldiers under the VPA arrived in Turkey on February 13 to engage in search and rescue operations for victims of the earthquake.
Another rescue team including 24 members from Vietnams Ministry of Public Security returned to Hanoi on Sunday after spending nine days in Turkey assisting in earthquake relief efforts.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 and the toll is expected to continue to rise, Reuters reported.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Police in Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam have arrested a woman for swearing at a team of traffic police officers and preventing them from performing their duty. Police in Ba Thuoc District confirmed on Wednesday they had initiated legal proceedings against Nguyen Thi Ngan, 44, for charges of obstructing on-duty officers. Ngan was also taken into custody to facilitate the investigation. Preliminary information showed that a team of six traffic police officers was patrolling along a street in Canh Nang Town, Ba Thuoc District on the morning of February 16. At around 11:20 am, the officers pulled over Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan, 25, and booked her for failure to wear a crash helmet while riding a motorbike. During the process, Ngan, who is Lans mother-in-law and lives in the neighborhood, arrived at the location and asked the officers to let her daughter-in-law go. After the officers refused, Ngan snatched their documents and threw them away and began swearing at them. After being handcuffed, Ngan continued swearing at the officers and used her upper body to push them. The traffic policemen later booked Ngan for obstructing on-duty officers and handed over the case to the district police unit. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Police in Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam have arrested a woman for swearing at a team of traffic police officers and preventing them from performing their duty.
Police in Ba Thuoc District confirmed on Wednesday they had initiated legal proceedings against Nguyen Thi Ngan, 44, for charges of obstructing on-duty officers.
Ngan was also taken into custody to facilitate the investigation.
Preliminary information showed that a team of six traffic police officers was patrolling along a street in Canh Nang Town, Ba Thuoc District on the morning of February 16.
At around 11:20 am, the officers pulled over Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan, 25, and booked her for failure to wear a crash helmet while riding a motorbike.
During the process, Ngan, who is Lans mother-in-law and lives in the neighborhood, arrived at the location and asked the officers to let her daughter-in-law go.
After the officers refused, Ngan snatched their documents and threw them away and began swearing at them.
After being handcuffed, Ngan continued swearing at the officers and used her upper body to push them.
The traffic policemen later booked Ngan for obstructing on-duty officers and handed over the case to the district police unit.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Expert says U.S. involvement in Nord Stream explosions "not impossible"
Xinhua) 08:19, February 22, 2023
Aerial photo provided by the Swedish Coast Guard on Sept. 27, 2022 shows the gas leak from Nord Stream in the Baltic Sea. (The Swedish Coast Guard/Handout via Xinhua)
A Croatian security expert said that the United States has benefited the most from the September 2022 Nord Stream explosions, supporting a thorough investigation into the incident.
ZAGREB, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The involvement of the U.S. Navy in the September 2022 Nord Stream explosions, as alleged by a renowned U.S. journalist in a recent report, is "not impossible" because the United States has benefited the most from the incident, Croatian security expert Mirko Vukobratovic said in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.
American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has written on the U.S. portal Substack that the U.S. Navy was involved in the Nord Stream explosions.
Photo taken in Arlington of Virginia, the United States, shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attending a press conference in Washington, D.C. Feb. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
U.S. President Joe Biden said last February that if Russian tanks and troops cross the border and enter Ukraine, "there will be no longer Nord Stream 2."
According to Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize winner, last June, U.S. Navy divers, operating under the cover of a widely publicized mid-summer North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercise known as BALTOPS 22, planted the remotely triggered explosives that destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines three months later.
Vukobratovic credited Hersh's article for providing "important, objective" details about the Nord Stream explosions, from which the United States has benefited the most as it can sell gas to Europe at a much higher price, in addition to exerting pressure on Russia.
An inflatable dummy and a yellow sign board reading "The bill has arrived" are seen at the Big Mamy bar in Rome, Italy, Sept. 17, 2022. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni)
If the United States had evidence of any Russian involvement, Washington and the U.S. media would be "full of accusations directed against Russia," Vukobratovic noted, adding that the European Union, as usual, followed in the footsteps of the United States in this case.
Vukobratovic welcomed the call by the Chinese government for a thorough investigation into the Nord Stream explosions, which seriously sabotaged vital transnational infrastructure and caused severe damages.
"The Chinese position that the investigation must be objective and impartial is the only correct one. Only when it is carried out professionally can we talk about the intentions of those who caused the explosion," he said.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (C) speaks at a press conference with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto (R) and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Harpsund, Sweden, on Feb. 22, 2023. The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua)
STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges.
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto, Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store met on Wednesday in Harpsund, about 120 km southwest of Stockholm.
Harpsund is a country retreat for the prime minister of Sweden. The three discussed common security challenges and cooperation on foreign, security and defense policy issues.
A Swedish government statement released on Wednesday said that the security situation had deteriorated due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"Norway, Finland and Sweden, together with our Nordic neighbors, have a shared responsibility to respond to security challenges in the region, including in our northern areas," the statement said, adding that as Sweden and Finland are on their way to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), "we are working in a more integrated way to strengthen security."
"We will continue to deepen our cooperation in large-scale exercises in the coming years. Our defense cooperation is closely coordinated with our Nordic neighbors and our close partners, including the United States and the United Kingdom," it said.
"Our countries' northernmost regions are more sparsely populated than other areas, and their climate and geography present particular challenges. At the same time, there is great potential for deeper cooperation in these areas, given their location and unique conditions for collaboration on the green transition, space and the extraction of rare earth metals," it said.
Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in the wake of the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Their accession to NATO requires the approval of all member states of the military alliance. Turkiye and Hungary, both members of NATO, have yet to give their approval.
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks at a press conference with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store (not in the picture) in Harpsund, Sweden, on Feb. 22, 2023. The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua)
Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store speaks at a press conference with Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto (not in the picture) in Harpsund, Sweden, on Feb. 22, 2023. The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua)
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto speaks at a press conference with Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store (not in the picture) in Harpsund, Sweden, on Feb. 22, 2023. The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua)
Three networks will now screen the Olivia Newton-John State Memorial on Sunday: ABC News, Nine and Seven and their online platforms.
This will largely screen Live around the country*.
The service at Hamer Hall in Melbourne will begin at 4pm sharp AEDT.
ABC News
4pm 6pm
Live coverage of the State Memorial Service to honour the extraordinary life of Dame Olivia Newton-John. From Hamer Hall in Melbourne.
Nine:
Sydney, Melbourne & Perth*: 3.30pm
Brisbane: 2.30pm
Adelaide: 3.00pm
The State Memorial Service to honour the extraordinary life of Dame Olivia Newton-John will be broadcast live from 3.30pm AEDT this Sunday, February 26, on Channel 9 and 9Now. Our coverage of the service, to be held at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, will be hosted by Alicia Loxley and Tony Jones.Olivia passed away on August 8, 2022 following a 30-year battle with breast cancer. She was 73. The service will be an opportunity for the nation to honour Olivias memory and her achievements. Across a career spanning six decades, Olivia released 28 studio albums and six live albums, won four Grammy Awards, reached number one on the charts numerous times, and sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Olivia is best known for her role of schoolgirl Sandy in the 1978 film Grease with John Travolta. Still one of the most successful movie musicals of all time, Grease is a cultural icon and the soundtrack of a generation. It included hits such as Youre the One That I Want and Summer Nights and earned Olivia a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy). First diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, Olivia used her own cancer journey as a way to raise research funds and promote cancer awareness, including the benefits of early detection and wellness. In partnership with Austin Health, the Olivia Newton-John Wellness and Research Centre (ONJWRC) opened in 2012. The facility offers treatment, education, training and research, and features a dedicated wellness space for mind, body and spirit. Dame Olivia leaves an incredible legacy, not only through her work on the stage and screen but also as a philanthropist and advocate. In addition to ONJWRC she founded National Tree Day in Australia and established the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, which sponsors global research into plant medicine to help find kinder treatments for cancer.
Seven:
3:30pm AEDT on Seven
The life and legacy of Australias sweetheart, Dame Olivia Newton-John AC DBE, will be celebrated at her star-studded memorial service, to air this Sunday 26 February, 3.30pm AEDT on Channel 7 and 7plus. The beloved Grease and Xanadu songbird, who died after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer in August last year, will be honoured for her extraordinary entertainment career and her ground-breaking advocacy for cancer awareness. Her superstar friends and international co-stars, including John Travolta, Paul Hogan and Delta Goodrem, are expected to join Olivias daughter Chloe Lattanzi, husband John Easterling and her extended family and fans in the emotional send-off from the city she called home, Melbourne. Sevens coverage, live from the famed Hamer Hall, will be hosted by 7NEWS Melbourne presenters Mike Amor and Rebecca Maddern, while Australias entertainment guru and Sunrise and The Morning Show expert, Peter Ford, will relay industry tributes and guide viewers through official proceedings. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will lead the dignitaries and VIP guests, who are scheduled to walk the orange carpet, designed to lift spirits and celebrate the magic and wonder of ONJs colourful and purposeful life.
Live Stream:
The Victorian Government will also Live stream online from 3:25pm with a personal photo tribute from Dame Olivias family. In lieu of flowers and at the request of Dame Olivias family, memorial tributes may be made in the form of contributions to the Wellness Programs at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre.
This post updates.
EXCLUSIVE:
China Tonight returns to ABC News on Friday but is no longer hosted by Stan Grant, who is focussing fulltime on Q+A, radio and columns.
This season, ABC business reporter Samuel Yang will be in the hosting chair covering latest news headlines.
Hell be joined by comedian Annie Louey covering whats trending on Weibo and other cultural content, plus regular contributors from both here in Australia and China.
Its the superpower that dominates global news, but its also home to 1.4 billion stories. The China Tonight team are here to share them with you. Hear from people who make this extraordinary nation what it is today.
8pm Friday on ABC News.
(Twitter)
A talented British ceramicist died in Bali after accidentally drinking Methanol when she believed it was alcohol, a coroner has ruled.
Kirsty McKie, 38, was taken ill the day after consuming the toxic substance and died in hospital from methanol poisoning on July 24 last year.
Coroner Alison Mutch has now urged the UK government to launch a publicity campaign to warn Britons of the dangers of cheap spirit drinks and cocktails in Indonesia and other parts of Asia.
Methanol is a chemically simple version of alcohol that is found in locally-made spirits, such as Arak, in Bali. If consumed, it can cause nausea, blindness, and death.
Ms Mutch, the Senior Coroner for Greater Manchester South, concluded the inquest in Ms McKies death in January, and has now published her findings in a report aimed at preventing future deaths.
Kirsty Margaret McKie was a UK national who lived and worked in Bali. She ran a successful business as a talented ceramicist, she wrote.
On 22nd July 2022 she had consumed what she believed to be alcohol. The following day she felt unwell.
Kirsty McKie died after being poisoned by methanol in Bali (YouTube)
She went to a hospital in Bali where she deteriorated and died on the 24th July 2022 despite treatment.
Post-mortem examination included toxicology. It was found that she had methanol in her system which had caused her death.
Methanol is not meant for human consumption. She had inadvertently consumed methanol believing she had consumed alcohol. The methanol had been sold as being alcohol fit for human consumption when it was not and caused her death.
Ms Mutch insisted the UK should follow the lead of Australian authorities, who have made efforts to warn people of the dangers of drinking methanol.
The Inquest heard evidence that there is a growing problem of methanol being passed off as alcohol for human consumption particularly in places such as Bali, said the coroner.
Methanol is used rather than ethanol in spirits aimed at the Western market and sold even through apparently reputable suppliers.
Story continues
Knowledge of the problem amongst the expatriate/tourist community was very low despite the increase in the problem and the catastrophic consequences of methanol consumption.
There was little publicity by the UK Government of the risk in contrast to the approach taken by the Australian Government who had undertaken a campaign to increase awareness to protect their citizens travelling in areas of Asia such as Bali.
The UK Government publicising information about the risk of methanol being used in local spirits, steps that could be taken by UK nationals travelling to reduce the risk and warning signs of methanol toxicity would help to reduce the chance of others dying in the way in which Kirsty McKie died.
In the wake of Ms McKies death, friends held a fundraiser in her honour for an animal welfare charity, and paid tribute to a truly remarkable and unforgettable woman who left us too soon.
The coroners report has been passed to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, for him to consider further action.
Silhouette of mother and daughter (left) and stacks of money notes (Photos: Getty Images)
SINGAPORE - A 32-year-old Singaporean woman was sentenced to 15 months' jail on Tuesday (21 February) after she pleaded guilty to two counts of helping to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
According to CNA, Suhaili Suparjo was charmed by a Malaysia-based Nigerian man, who used her bank account for illegal transactions.
Even after finding out about the man's crimes, she continued to help him with an account from another bank. She acted as his money mule and laundered more than S$356,000 in criminal proceeds for him.
Suparjo even had a child with the Nigerian, who convinced her to keep the baby upon her discovery that she was pregnant.
Met via Facebook, charmed into befriending him
Suparjo first met Awolola Oladayo Opeyemi via Facebook in late 2016. Charmed by interest from a man of a different nationality and a seemingly legit social media account, she agreed to befriend him.
Over time, she grew closer to Opeyemi through constant texting, phone and video calls and was later introduced to his friends as his girlfriend.
CNA reported that around February or March 2017, Suparjo discovered that she was pregnant and was convinced to keep the baby by Opeyemi, who even claimed he would convert to Islam for her.
It was then that Opeyemi began asking to use Suparjo's bank account to transfer and withdraw money for a supposed overseas friend.
Claiming to be a college student in Kuala Lumpur, Opeyemi persuaded her to act as his money mule, receiving cash in person and through her bank accounts.
According to CNA, Suparjo's POSB account was later frozen for illegal transactions. However, she followed Opeyemi's instructions and gave cover-up stories to the Singapore Police Force during investigations. Even after she found out about Opeyemi's crimes, she continued to help him using a OCBC account instead.
Suparjo would withdraw money from the account from time to time and travel to Malaysia to pass the cash to him. Between June and August 2017, the account received a total of S$255,935 from four scam victims in Singapore, Canada and Macau.
Story continues
Birth of child and subsequent arrest
In September 2017, Suparjo went into labour, fainted at Customs and gave birth to a slightly premature daughter, reported CNA.
Opeyemi was an absent father and did not assist Suparjo financially in raising the child. Despite helping him, Suparjo did not gain a dime from his laundering crimes.
Opeyemi and another scammer, Awolola Gbolahan Ayobami, were arrested in Malaysia in 2019 and later handed over to Singapore. It was the first time that love scam suspects based overseas were arrested and brought to Singapore for prosecution.
Opeyemi was sentenced to 60 months' jail in December 2021.
According to CNA, the judge allowed Suparjo to defer her jail term to March this year.
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By Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska and Kacper Pempel
GLOGOCZOW, Poland (Reuters) - Tamila Melnichenko, 82, has one last wish: to be buried in Ukraine. A year ago, she was uprooted by the Russian invasion and now spends her days in a retirement home in Poland, longing for the life she had to leave behind.
The former nurse reads Ukrainian and Russian classics and memorises poems or walks down the narrow corridors on her crutches to keep herself busy as the days slowly tick by.
Her thoughts constantly drift back to Ukraine where she lived all her life and raised her family.
"I'm old, I want to die there (in Kyiv). Now I dont know where I will die," she told Reuters.
"I don't bother anyone, the staff here are very helpful, I receive warm meals. What else would an old person need?," she said in the sparsely furnished room in the home in Glogoczow, southern Poland, that she shares with two other refugees.
"But I want to go back to Ukraine."
(For a photo essay, click on )
She knows she could not have stayed in Kyiv. When air raid alerts went off, she was in her apartment on the fourth floor, alone and in a wheelchair. The widow and her only daughter, Oksana, decided to leave with Oksana's son.
A neighbour drove them to western Ukraine and then they took the train for the gruelling journey to Poland.
"We thought it was only for a month and we did not take anything with us. We even left unwashed dishes in the sink," Melnichenko said.
She spent the first few months in the house of a Polish family but because of her difficulties walking her daughter placed her in the retirement home, paid for by Polish social services. She has no idea how long she will have to stay there and whether she will ever go back to Ukraine.
More than 9 million Ukrainians - mostly women, children and the elderly - made a similar journey to Poland in the weeks and months after the invasion. Many have returned home, but around 1.5 million remain, according to Polish Border Guard estimates.
Story continues
While social isolation and loneliness are part of the experience of exile, older people can be the worst affected.
Since the beginning of the war, 76,000 Ukrainians over the age of 60 have registered with the Polish authorities - necessary for refugees to access healthcare and benefits.
According to a report by the World Health Organization and Poland's General Statistics Office, nearly two-thirds of respondents over the age of 55 said they would benefit from support in dealing with a mental condition that affected their daily functioning.
SURVIVAL STRATEGIES
To cope with the strain, some, like Tatiana Potapova, 62, have tried to build ties within their new communities.
In Krakow, Potapova attends Polish language classes at the local Zustricz foundation, which also organises get-togethers of Ukrainian and Polish pensioners who seek a new sense of belonging.
This keeps her going.
Potapova used to work in the Kharkiv Institute of Medical Radiology as a chemist. On Feb. 24, the day the war began, her hometown of Slabozhensky near the Russian border fell under Russian occupation and Potapova and her family could no longer travel to areas under Ukrainian control.
"It was impossible to leave the house, it was scary, Russians were checking everyone ... Two pharmacies were plundered," she recalled.
But Potapova's daughter, who has diabetes and uses a wheelchair, needed medicine, while her grandson showed symptoms of trauma. In the end, she said they had no choice but to leave, fleeing through Russia and Estonia to Krakow, where her elder daughter lives.
Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" to protect Russian security. Kyiv and its allies call Russia's actions a land grab.
Potapova's younger daughter spends most days in a hospital for treatment while she takes care of her grandson, taking him to school, to the swimming pool, or to therapy.
Finding work is hard. She initially got a few cleaning jobs but the offers soon stopped coming. People over 60, she says, are not in demand in the labour market.
"I find joy in learning Polish ... But I miss my job, I felt confident there. Here I constantly worry. Today is good, but what will happen tomorrow?"
This uncertainty, which drains her energy, is shared by many refugees, even those who are surrounded by their family.
Svitlana Skibina, 62, left Kharkiv last April with her disabled husband, her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.
Skibina, who now lives in Warsaw, worked in a library at a medical college. But there are few options for her in Poland.
"For the first two months I had a terrible depression, I didn't want anything. I only wanted to go home," she said.
Skibina has not given up. She attends Polish language classes in the LIFE centre run by the Pentecostal church, and on weekends goes to mass. But she is haunted by guilt. She left, while many of her friends in Kharkiv continue to suffer.
"The pain does not go away. Will we ever go back? I would like to help to rebuild my town, but will I have enough strength?"
(Reporting by Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska, Editing by Krisztina Than and Alison Williams)
The private school Saint Thomas dAquin (Google Maps)
A teacher was stabbed to death by a pupil in front of a packed class at a school in France.
The bloodbath unfolded on Wednesday morning at the Roman Catholic Thomas Aquinas private school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, on the southwestern Atlantic coast.
A Spanish lesson was taking place, when the pupil launched a frenzied attack on the teacher, said an investigating source.
The 16-year-old pupil was restrained before police and emergency service arrived, but it was too late to save the life of the teacher, who succumbed to her injuries.
She was stabbed through the chest, said the source, without naming either the attacker or the victim.
The pupil knifeman is said to have told police who arrested him that he was possessed by the devil, said the investigating source.
He was taken to a secure police station after the attack, which happened at about 10am.
The murdered female Spanish teacher was in her 50s and had taught at the school for a number of years, said a source at St Thomas Aquinas. She was well liked and respected.
Local prosecutor Jerome Bourrier confirmed that a murder enquiry had been opened, as public officials including Education Minister Pap Ndiaye visited the school.
Senator Frederique Espagnac, who represents the Pyrenees-Atlantiques region in which the school is set said she totally condemns this act of violence against a teacher.
Just over two years ago on October 16 2020 history and geography teacher Samuel Paty was stabbed and beheaded near his school in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris.
The perpetrator was 18-year-old Abdoullakh Anzorov, a Russian refugee from Chechnya who was killed by police soon after the murder.
Anzorov had no connection with Paty or the school, but had travelled from his home in Normandy to kill the teacher after watching a video posted by a pupils father who was angry that Paty had shown students images of the prophet of Islam in a civics class.
(Action Against Hunger | Amy Murrell)
There goes a saying eat good to do good, but how much of the latter do you actually put to the test? Heres your opportunity...
Action Against Hunger have rallied together a bunch of big-name cooks including Angela Hartnett, Neil Borthwick, Paul Ainsworth for a one-off charity dinner hosted at Darbys, London.
The top UK chefs will be cooking for a cause at the Chefs Up for Turkey and Syria event raising urgent funds for those affected by the Syria-Turkey appeal.
Feast on a delectable four course meal prepared by Michelin-Star chefs Robin Gill, Nieves Barragan Mohacho, Angela Hartnett, Neil Borthwick, Paul Ainsworth, Francesco Mazzei, Luke Holder and Mitch Tonks. The evening will be led by Clerkenwell Boy and chef, tv and radio broadcaster Andi Oliver, with an unlimited raw bar and drinks to accompany.
And if that all doesnt sound good enough to satiate your appetite, knowing youre making a difference will be sure to do the trick. All donations collected by Action Against Hunger will go directly to the survivors of the recent earthquake. There will also be a chance for guests to bid on exclusive prizes in a silent and live auction so get your purse out.
The humanitarian charity is raising urgent funds for those affected by the Syria-Turkey appeal supplying families with food, sleeping kits, medical supplies, winter clothing and trauma support. Since the earthquake hit south-east Turkey and the north-west region of Syria, thousands have died and millions have been displaced. Dont miss your chance to make an impact.
Dinner will be served at 6:30pm, Darbys, London on Monday 27th February.
Tickets are 250 on limited release, available here
SHIRAHAMA, Japan, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Eimei, a giant panda that has lived in Japan for 28 years, left western Japan's Wakayama park along with his twin daughters to fly back to China on Wednesday morning .
The 30-year-old male panda, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at the Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama in Wakayama prefecture.
Later in the day, the three giant pandas were scheduled to take a flight from the Kansai International Airport to a facility in southwest China's Sichuan province.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday, where about 2,000 visitors said goodbye to the three pandas.
Eimei, or Yong Ming in Chinese, is a 30-year-old male panda and the oldest giant panda living in Japan. Coming from China in 1994, it is the father of 16 giant panda cubs born at the Adventure World, setting the world record for being the oldest giant panda to have successfully bred in captivity.
Last year, Eimei was appointed as a special envoy for Sino-Japan friendship.
Thanks to the friendly cooperation between the Adventure World and the research base of giant panda breeding in China's Sichuan province, Wakayama and Sichuan forged a prefecture-province friendship relationship in January 2022, said Shuhei Kishimoto, governor of Wakayama prefecture.
Upon the pandas' return, only four giant pandas will be living at the Adventure World in Japan.
The delegation paid a visit to the Hoa Binh hydropower plant expansion project
This visit was part of the preparations for the Summit on the New Global Financial Deal announced by French President Emmanuel Macron at the last G20 Summit in Indonesia, which will be held in June 2023 in Paris.
On February 17, Rioux met with Duong Quang Thanh, chairman of the Council of Members of Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), for an exchange on the issue of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). On February 18, Rioux visited the construction site of the Hoa Binh hydropower plant extension project, an emblematic projects financed by AFD in favour of the energy transition.
At COP26 in Glasgow, Vietnam committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and phasing out coal by 2040. In line with this international commitment, the country formalised the JETP in December 2022 with a group of international partners, including France.
This partnership will mobilise $15.5 billion in public and private funding over the next three to five years. Public financial contributions, including those of AFD, made available to the group of international partners are in the order of $7.75 billion.
In return, Vietnam has committed to reducing annual emissions from the electricity sector by 30 per cent and to limiting the use of fossil fuels as much as possible by promoting the development of renewable energies with quantifiable objectives.
EVN is playing a central role in Vietnams energy transition. In response to the countrys commitments, the group is building its energy transition roadmap, adapting its development strategy and investing in clean energy. AFD, as a trusted and long-term partner, is supporting EVN in this transformation.
Within the framework of this JETP, the AFD is leading a consortium of European donors in Europe (EIB, KfW), together with Japanese partners (Japan International Cooperation Agency), to appraise the 1200MW Bac Ai pumped storage hydroelectric power plant project.
At the meeting with AFD, Thanh told Rioux about the strategic direction of EVN, and the challenges and experiences of the group in the process of energy transition. EVNs exchanges and sharing of experience highlighted potential areas of collaboration with AFD to meet the challenges of energy transition.
In addition to existing and future concessional financing for EVNs projects, AFD is available to share its expertise. During Riouxs visit, the two groups directors officially launched a technical cooperation programme between EVN and EDF with financial support from AFD of around 1 million ($1.06 million). This will help EVN to develop its energy transition roadmap and support innovation projects.
The two leaders then jointly visited the Hoa Binh hydropower plant expansion project (480MW), which showed EVNs achievements in developing its largest generation assets. In addition to the additional renewable generation capacity, the project will greatly contribute to improving the functioning of the Vietnamese power system in the context of the increasing integration of renewable energy.
Rioux said, Vietnam has a strong ambition in terms of energy and low-carbon transition, and I am honoured and proud of the partnership we have built in this field with EVN for over 20 years. In discussions with Thanh and during our visit to the Hoa Binh hydropower plant, I confirmed our commitment to provide the expertise and financing that Vietnam needs under the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
Thanh said, I deeply thank Rioux and the French delegation, for his visit and his special attention to the partnership relationship. On our side, we are committed to the energy transition process to meet the governments net-zero commitments, therefore JETP has become an important strategic focus of the group."
France supports extension of Ialy hydropower plan through AFD Fabrice Richy, director of the French Development Agency (AFD) in Vietnam and Nguyen Xuan Nam, vice chairman of Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) signed a credit facility agreement for a 74.7 million ($88.6 million) non-sovereign concessional loan aiming at financing the extension of Ialy Hydropower plant, supporting Vietnam's energy transition.
Vietnam and its people have a respected presence in Australia. Vietnamese migrants have long been accepted as an integral part of the community.
Ranjit Thambyrajah, chairman of cross-border funding and investment arranger Acuity Funding
Since official diplomatic relations were established in February 1973 the bonds between Vietnamese and Australian people have been strengthened through long-term migration, cross-cultural education, tourism, trade and investment.
Almost 300,000 people of Vietnamese ancestry live in Australia. Vietnamese is the fifth most spoken language. Vietnam is a favourite destination for Australian tourists. Many Australians live in Vietnam to assist with developing the trade and investment relationship.
The Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy was announced in December 2021 and it concludes that the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and Australia is strong. Vietnam and Australia established a comprehensive partnership in 2009, which was elevated to a strategic partnership in 2018. There is a commitment to deepen the bilateral investment relationship and pursue more open trade and investment.
The goal is for the two countries to become top-10 trading partners and double two-way investment.
The stage is set for investors to capitalise on this excellent relationship to expand cross-border investment, rebuild after the pandemic and fortify our nations economies against future threats.
Economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region has re-shaped the global landscape. Vietnam finds itself at the centre of the vibrant and burgeoning ASEAN region.
Asia boasts 60 per cent of the worlds population, 45 per cent of global GDP. Vietnams economy grew by an average of 6.2 per cent per year over the past decade.
Vietnam and Australia have enjoyed healthy bilateral trade for the past 20 years, growing on average by 8.6 per cent per annum, faster than Australias overall trade and trade with other ASEAN countries.
Bilateral investment has room to grow further. Total two-way investment amounted to AU$2.17 billion ($1.5 billion) in December 2020. The Vietnamese and Australian governments wish to double that.
Sovereign governments do not favour printing money or taking on debt to pay for major projects including roads, bridges or schools, hospitals, universities so opportunities for private investment include nation-building projects. The governments of Vietnam and Australia have set the stage, with their Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy, for private investors, hedge funds and other forms of private equity to flow into Vietnam and vice versa.
Scenario one: Cross-border investment into Australia
Vietnams investment in Australia increased five times between 2008 and 2020, from AU$155 million ($107.13 million) to AU$785 million ($542.6 million). In 2019, Vietnamese invested more in Australia than in any other country.
The Australian economy has had unprecedented growth since the early 1990s surviving the global financial crisis in better shape than most economies. Growth was interrupted only by the recent pandemic. Strong demand for resources and agricultural produce from rapidly growing economies including Vietnam has underpinned Australias economic prosperity.
Demand from Southeast Asia for Australias education, tourism and other professional services has also driven growth. Australia is the 13th largest economy in the world, with an annual GDP of almost $1.4 trillion. The World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness Index for 2019 ranked Australia at 16, and the Ease of Doing Business Index for 2020 ranked Australia at 14.
Australia offers investment opportunities in resources and energy, circular economy, defence, advanced manufacturing and space, digital technologies, agribusiness and food, health, and infrastructure.
Australias is a stable investment environment, a gateway to the Asia-Pacific, providing investors with access to a growing consumer market. Its skilled workforce can support the growth of businesses across a range of industries. Investment opportunities abound due to Australias rich supply of natural resources.
There are synergies between Vietnams strengths in electronics and technology and Australias emerging expertise in advanced technologies and AI in finance, education, medicine and food production. Cultural similarities help Vietnamese investors pursuing Australian opportunities. The large Vietnamese-Australian community makes it easier to navigate the cultural and business landscape.
Acuity Funding helps Australians expand into Vietnam with knowledge and relationship-building
Challenges
Acuity Funding has observed earlier waves of cross-border investment from Japan and China into Australias property market. They were undermined by a lack of local knowledge and the inability to secure funding to complete projects.
During the 1980s there was rapid growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) out of Japan, driven by the liberalisation of Japans financial markets and rapid appreciation of the yen. This coincided with the deregulation of Australias markets. Expansion of Japanese inbound tourism resulted in investment in tourism infrastructure, including luxury hotels.
The reversal of Japans economic fortunes in the 1990s saw most Japanese investors withdraw from Australian projects rapidly. Whilst their 1980s investments resulted in substantial hikes in property values, particularly in areas such as Queenslands Gold Coast, their rapid withdrawal saw substantial price reductions.
Chinese investors followed in the early 2000s, purchasing land to develop mixed-use buildings in capital cities to sell only to Chinese clients. The 2008 global financial crisis meant many of those property investments were riskier than they looked. Chinese buyers did not eventuate. A lack of cashflow resulted in some projects being abandoned. The inability of Chinese investors to secure local funds was the cause of failure.
Whilst these missteps by earlier cross-border investors are clear, Australia can do more to pave the way for Vietnamese investors.
Simplifying visa application processes and increasing the availability of visa options for business and investment purposes is needed.
Additional refinements in cultural understanding through cultural exchanges, language classes and other activities would also help. Tax incentives to Vietnamese investors, business development programmes and other initiatives to help Vietnamese businesses get established could compound successes.
The solution
Cross-border investment can be done with ease by using a funding arranger who understands both markets and cultural nuances. Acuity brings expertise as a fund arranger and project manager with excellent industry knowledge and connections to provide immigration assistance and education opportunities.
Acuity is the only funding arranger in Australia offering services across infrastructure and government project funding, public-private partnerships, specialised securities and international mortgage management. We arrange large-scale funding for major projects in infrastructure, mining, agriculture, technology, or real estate. Over 40 years of experience give our services wisdom and innovation that first-time cross-border investors need.
We have a record of helping developers and businesses break into markets. Our understanding of the regulatory and financial expectations Australian governments have of their commercial partners is extensive.
Scenario two: cross-border investment into Vietnam
As of December 2020, Australias investment in Vietnam totalled AU$1.38 billion ($953.8 million) or 0.51 per cent of total registered investment in Vietnam. Australia was ranked 20th out of all countries investing. This low base represents an opportunity.
Vietnams economy attracts strong domestic and foreign investment flows. It is a great place to invest, offering rapid industrialisation and proximity to other growing economies. Vietnams international rankings as a preferred investment destination have improved substantially in recent years. Vietnam was ranked 19 globally as a destination for FDI in 2020, jumping five places from 2019.
Vietnams Global Competitiveness Index ranking jumped 10 spots to 67 (the largest jump of any economy) in 2019. Vietnam also rose 12 places from 82 in 2016 to 70 in 2020 on the global Ease of Doing Business Index. Ratios of FDI inflows to GDP are among the highest in Southeast Asia. Opportunities prevail in construction, food and beverages, financial services, steelmaking and airport expansion.
Challenges
The business culture in Vietnam is relationship oriented. Trust is the key to developing lasting investment relationships. The cultural nuances and expectations of Vietnams government and private sector mean that it may be worth engaging expert help. The other challenge is securing funding for large projects.
The solution
Acuity Fundings global desk means we can provide Australians expanding into Vietnam with the knowledge and relationships for success. Its membership of SWIFT gives us the global capacity to engage in payments, securities, banking, and investment services. Our reputation for financing major projects with no funding cap provides investors and clients with confidence.
In addition to meeting with the Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, Andrew Goledzinowski, Acuity has established working experience with the State Bank of Vietnam and other leaders of the government and banks.
In Vietnam, the delivery of major projects, including energy and infrastructure, is dependent on external funding. That is a great opportunity for Acuitys investors who are looking for growth opportunities as they wait out the cost-of-living crisis slowing down western economies.
Our mission is to connect investors with those needing funds by providing the highest levels of transparency, local representation, transaction speed and efficiency. We can confirm funds, receive funds, and administer the movement of funds seamlessly between our growing client base of investors, borrowers, and others.
Vietnam and Australia upgrade ties to strategic partnership Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull today announced that Australia and Vietnam will enhance their bilateral relationship to the level of a strategic partnership.
Vietnam and Australia boost economic co-operation Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison chaired a meeting on exchanging and promoting co-operation opportunities between Vietnamese and Australian businesses in Ha Noi on Friday.
Vietnam and Australia seek to boost IT cooperation A virtual conference on Vietnam-Australia trade cooperation in the IT sector was held for the first time on August 10-12, aiming to promote IT business activities between the two countries.
COLOMBO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) on Wednesday announced that Kazakhstan's major carrier SCAT Airlines will start flights to Sri Lanka from March 2023.
The SCAT Airlines will fly once a week from March 5, to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport from Almaty in Kazakhstan, the CAASL said.
The authority also announced that it has granted approval for charter flights to operate from the Mattala airport.
As the country's second international airport in the southern town of Mattala, it resumed international flight operations in December 2022 after a lapse of two years.
International organisations say that Vietnam must prepare for, and adapt to, Industry 4.0, Le Toan
The ministries in Vietnam responsible for planning and investment, sci-tech, and industry and trade were last week assigned to devise more mechanisms and incentives for innovation-based activities in the country this year.
One of the focuses is on strongly renovating the quality and effectiveness of vocational education, in which high-quality human resources are to be produced in order to help improve the countrys labour productivity (LP) and economic competitiveness in the context of Industry 4.0 and increased international integration.
The government last week also urged the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs to expedite the formulation of the revised Law on Employment in a manner suitable to the digital era, in which there will be a plan to reduce informal employment to below 50 per cent by 2025, from 56 per cent in 2021.
The amended law is set to be discussed by the National Assembly (NA) in May.
Businesses are being facilitated further to engage in Vietnams education and training sector, in which universities and institutes are encouraged to cooperate with enterprises to establish sci-tech businesses. It is expected that by 2025, Vietnams vocational training index in the Global Competitiveness Index by the World Economic Forum will climb by 40-50 places as compared to 2019, and the countrys student skill index will also ascend by 45 places.
Moreover, the government will also invest more in research and development (R&D). At present, merely 0.5 per cent of GDP is used for R&D annually.
The government will enact special incentives to encourage businesses to invest into R&D and innovation, and engage in global value chains, stated PM Pham Minh Chinh. We will also develop and connect technology exchanges at all localities throughout the country.
Under Januarys Resolution No.01/NQ-CP on the nations socioeconomic development plan and state budget estimates for 2023, the government demands continued restructuring of all production and service activities pertaining to innovation and increased application of science and technology.
The country will strongly develop industrial production intensively, with the economys structure to be shifted to an expansion of the manufacturing and processing industries. Efforts are to be made to accelerate the restructuring process of industrial industries, closely associated with digital transformation and deeper participation in global value chains. The ratio of the digital economy in GDP in 2023 will be about 15.5 per cent, Resolution 01 stated.
The government will also focus on developing the national innovation system, and conducting on a pilot basis the development of sci-tech enterprises at institutes and universities under the new model of spin-off businesses.
Notably, the government will also accelerate the establishment of national startup hubs firstly in Hanoi, the centrai city of Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City in addition to the strengthened expansion of domestic and foreign innovation networks.
Making headways
The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that Vietnams per capita GDP last year, calculated under the existing price developments, is estimated to be VND95.6 million ($4,156) up by $393 compared to 2021.
The LP of the whole economy in 2022 under the current price developments is estimated to stand at VND188.1 million ($8,178) up by $622 against that in 2021. As per comparative prices, the LP recorded an on-year increase of 4.8 per cent in 2022, and 4.6 per cent in 2021. This is thanks to an improvement in labourers skills and qualifications, with a ratio of trained labourers having certificates and diplomas in 2022 hitting 26.2 per cent, which is 0.1 per cent higher than in 2021, the GSO said.
According to the Global Innovation Index as updated by the World Intellectual Property Organization, last year Vietnam was placed in the group of nations recording the biggest progress in the past decade. The country increased by 20 ranks and standing at 48 out of 132 nations and third within Southeast Asia.
Under the governments action plan to implement the economic restructuring plan to 2025, the LP will increase more than 6.5 per cent annually, in which the LP in the manufacturing and processing industry will be 6.5-7 per cent annually.
According to experts, if the LP is further improved, it can help Vietnams innovative economy to grow at an impressive rate of 29-30 per cent a year.
Under Vietnams 2021-2025 economic restructuring plan, the first solution to achieve higher economic growth with better quality is to increase LP.
The LP must increase over 6.5 per cent a year in 2021-2025, stated a plan report. The ratio of total factor productivity in GDP must be 45 per cent, while the gap in national competitiveness with the ASEAN-4 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines) must be filled, especially in terms of institution, infrastructure, and human resources.
The NA has also set a target of an average annual rise of 6-7 per cent in LP in the 2021-2025 period, up from an average 5 per cent in 2016-2020.
Further advances
The GSOs report on Vietnams LP in the previous decade, released over a week ago, reported that despite some improvements, the countrys LP remains lower remarkably than that of many regional nations.
The GSO cited the World Banks data as stating that as compared to the GDP scale of ASEAN member states under the purchasing power parity of 2017, that of Vietnam over the past years have seen positive improvements.
Specifically, in 2020, Vietnams GDP of $346.6 billion ranked third within ASEAN, equivalent to 32.1 per cent of Indonesias and 83.6 per cent of Thailands. It was 1.2 times higher than the Philippines and Malaysia, 1.9 times higher than Singapore, and 3.8 times of Myanmar.
However, the GSO said, as calculated under the purchasing power parity of 2017, Vietnams LP in 2020 was equal to 11.3 per cent of Singapore, 23 per cent of South Korea, 24.4 per cent of Japan; 33.1 per cent of Malaysia, 59.1 per cent of Thailand, 60.3 per cent of China, 77 per cent of Indonesia, and 86.5 per cent of the Philippines.
Vietnams LP is higher than that of Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, the report read.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said Vietnam must better prepare for, and adapt to, the impact of Industry 4.0 on drivers of growth and job creation.
Accelerating Industry 4.0 offers both opportunities and risks in terms of future employment creation, as Vietnam embarks on new growth pathways. It is anticipated that automation and AI will displace jobs in several sectors that have been driving Vietnams growth, said a UNDP report on the issue.
The International Labour Organization also suggested that about 70 per cent of jobs in Vietnam were at risk of automation. Meanwhile, currently in Vietnam, about 1.6 million people enter the labour market annually, which is a burden that is expected to grow further with the rise of Industry 4.0.
Innovation at centre of AEONs expansion AEON Group has defined Vietnam as the second hub beside Japan to accelerate investment. This is because it has plenty of potential for development thanks to high population growth rate and the growing middle class. Living standards of people is also improving.
Vietnamese representative wins CES Innovation Awards Earable Neuroscience Technology Co. has become the only Vietnamese representative to win the Smart Wearables category at the CES Innovation Awards held in the United States with its FRENZ products.
Fostering innovation in response to economic headwinds Vietnam needs to reform and innovate to face as tough year ahead, according to a number of experts.
Scaling-up innovations that are worth tackling Clarify, ideate, develop, and implement are the broad underlying design-thinking principles that guide the innovation processes at all levels of enterprises, from your large multinationals to grassroots entrepreneurs. Globally, there has been substantial demand for innovation and human capital in innovation, as evidenced by the growing number of innovation labs.
Vaibhav Saxena, lawyer at Vilaf
Driving any merger and acquisition (M&A) deal through is a challenging task for not only the lawyers but for financial and technical advisors. The key remains to have an eagle eye to sight the red flags and provide a workable solution for investors. Negotiations, on the other hand, play a vital role in convincing the transacting parties to agree and not to agree to disagree on the table.
The outcome of legal due diligence (DD) decides the fate of the planned deal. Lawyers play an important role to row the boat to the shore in high and low tide scenarios while conducting the due diligence.
The industry should be mindful of some major issues that strike during the legal DD process in terms of recent conventional, renewable energy and infrastructure M&A transactions in Vietnam.
Business lines and M&A deals
Local targets may not face issues while subscribing for business lines under its constitutional documents with respect to the restrictions that might be applicable to foreign investors due to foreign ownership caps in certain business areas. Such restrictions could be based on the international commitment of Vietnam and/or the local laws of permissibility for foreign access in a particular sector.
The definition of foreign-invested enterprise organisation under the Law on Investment of Vietnam leads to a change in the legal form of the target after the acquisition by a foreign investor.
A solution could be to have a condition precedent (CP) under the transaction documents to obligate the seller for removing such unnecessary business lines in order to ensure accessibility for the foreign investor to acquire planned percentage of shares/capital in the target.
Similar to any other M&A, in the power sector for majority stake acquisition, an approval is required if the planned acquisition stake crosses the threshold of 50 per cent.
However, even for a minority stake acquisition transaction, an approval could be required from the provincial planning and investment department the reason being that certain lines linked to the power generation business might be subject to market access conditions for foreign investors.
It is noted that the transaction cannot proceed without such an approval and thus, making this approval as a CP under the transaction documents could be necessary.
Some energy projects will be seeking amendments so that implementation schedules can be extended, photo: Le Toan
Charter and equity capital
A thin line between the registered charter capital and contributed charter capital may often surprise during the legal DD process. When the enterprise is incorporated, the registered charter capital should be contributed by the owner/shareholders within a timeline of 90 days from the issuance of the enterprise registration certificate (ERC).
However, a glitch in law relates to any subsequent contributions, meaning there is no timeline under the laws of Vietnam for contribution of any subsequent increase in the charter capital of an enterprise.
Foreign investors often fall into this trap when they review the registered charter capital amount under the ERC of the special purpose vehicle (SPV).
A safer method could be to request with the seller to provide proof of capital contribution, and if the seller fails to meet such requests from the foreign investors they could either be asked to contribute fully the registered charter capital. If this is not possible, then a CP for decreasing the charter capital amount equalling to the actually contributed capital amount should be put in the transaction documents.
Project capital is mainly divided in two forms under the investment registration certificate (IRC): equity capital and mobilised capital. The equity capital of the project should be injected as per the contents under the IRC. Foreign investors could request the seller to provide clear information on this matter to avoid later hassles.
Targeted shares/capital should ideally be free from any encumbrances to enable a smooth transfer. If the target shares are mortgaged with the lenders, then a prior assent from the lenders may be required in accordance with the terms of the mortgage agreements.
Further, any existing loans to the shareholders should be reviewed closely if such shareholder plans to exit the SPV after acquisition by the foreign investor.
Updating approvals
An approved project comes with an implementation schedule by way of milestones under the IRC. An investor is required to comply with the said milestones to avoid sanctions from the authorities, which may even lead to venture revocation in extreme cases.
Often, it is seen that a project can face delays due to a number of reasons including but not limited to administrative delays from the authorities, financing hurdles, EPC delays, land clearance, and unexpected challenges with the terrain.
If the SPV is unable to comply with the contents of the investment in-principle approval and the IRC, the SPV needs to apply for the required amendment to the said approvals.
It is noted that pursuant to the provisions under the Law on Investment, for a project which is issued with an investment in-principle approval, the investor is not permitted to extend the implementation schedule of the initiative beyond 24 months as compared to the implementation schedule of the project provided in the initial in-principle approval.
This is not so in the following cases: remedying the consequences of an event of force majeure; if implementation is extended due to late allocation or lease of land or late permission to convert land; if the schedule is changed pursuant to a request of the state administrative agency; if the project is amended as a result of master planning amendments; and if the objectives of the in-principle approval are changed.
Further, there are a number of issues in relation to the estimated commercial operation date (COD) of the project as mentioned under the power purchase agreement, for example. Such estimated COD also requires amendment to the agreement and related documents to avoid breach circumstances.
Another linked matter relates to escrow deposit that is paid by the SPV as a security to implement the project in accordance with the in-principle approval.
If a venture faces delays and is unable to begin with construction activities, it could be likely that it would be unable to be put into operation by the approved COD timeline. As such, so as not to forfeit the escrow deposit amount, an amendment to the approval to extend the schedule for implementation of the project shall be required.
Land issues
Land is the most crucial part for the project and it is always a complex matter to handle with in almost all jurisdictions, and Vietnam is no exception.
Land approvals are prolonged and often be the star for delays. It is not merely from the administrative side but also from the land resettlement costs that is majorly challenging to meet the expectations of the current land users. Then comes the compensation phase, which is a tedious task even for the authorities in many cases.
Further, land could attract complications based on its type that further prolongs the process and may require repurposing of the land into the relevant land master plan.
Approvals in this area comprise land decision, land lease agreement (LLA), land handover minutes signing with a public ceremony, and land use rights certificate.
Land decision inks that the land parcel belongs to the project and which is perfected with the signing of LLA. Remaining ones could be time-consuming due to administrative formalities on the authorities part. Foreign investors should also closely review the land area under the land approvals.
In addition to the aforementioned matters, there could be possible issues related to labour, financing, material contracts, environmental aspects, intellectual property, and more besides.
While conducting legal DD, such issues are prominent and based on the negotiations among the transacting parties. These matters are generally resolved by agreeing to appropriate CPs and condition subsequent under the transaction documents.
On some matters, for an added layer of security, the parties could consider adding appropriate representation, warranties, and indemnities under the transaction documents.
Depending on the transaction structure, CPs are linked to payment milestones. It acts as key performance indicators for the seller to fulfill before the payments are released by the buyer.
Super Energy Group powers ahead with expansion Thailands Super Energy Group is demonstrating its commitment in the Vietnamese market through expanding investment and its portfolio.
Singapore and Vietnam ties on track Vietnam and Singapore are intensifying their bilateral ties in new fields, focusing on digital economy and innovation, infrastructure, and energy, which will help businesses in both economies to benefit from new forms of cooperation.
Assessing the dual features of nations energy plan and PDP8 Vietnams immediate prime concern is to conclude its energy plans and establish a blueprint for sustainable growth. The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technologys Dr. Bui Huy Phung, a former member of the Power Development Plan VII (PDP7) Appraisal Council, responded to VIRs Hai Van on this topic.
Over the past five decades, Australia and Vietnams partnership has extended across political, security, economic, and people-to-people activities. Australians born in Vietnam represent the sixth-largest migrant community in Australia, and around 20,000 Vietnamese students enrol in education institutions in Australia each year.
Currently, consumers in Vietnam can now enjoy Western Australian rock lobster caught from the states pristine waters. Meanwhile, Vietnamese meat and seafood products are now on the shelves of Australian stores.
Australians are also enjoying Vietnamese mangos, lychees, and other delicious fruit, while Vietnamese consumers have access to fresh Australian cherries, peaches, and nectarines.
Furthermore, the two economies are highly complementary. Australia is a reliable supplier of the services and raw materials that Vietnams exporters require, and its consumers enjoy Vietnams high-quality products in their homes and workplaces.
But while many Australian businesses have a strong foothold in the Vietnamese market, in general, awareness of the market in Australia is still low.
To be successful, building cultural understanding and personal relationships is deemed crucial. Australian companies can take advantage of the large overseas Vietnamese community there to increase their linguistic and cultural understanding, and to better understand potential opportunities and risks. The increase in the number of Australian families living in Vietnam over the past decade should also be seen as a potentially valuable asset, insiders say, helping Australian businesses penetrate the Vietnamese market.
Even so, Australian businesses with a clear understanding of these challenges benefit from Vietnams economic opportunities. Ongoing reforms to state-owned enterprises and the development of market-oriented economic activities could bring greater competitiveness and open up more opportunities for Australian businesses in Vietnam.
Education and training is one of top priorities in the Vietnam-Australian strategic partnership
Enhancing partnerships
Meanwhile, Vietnamese companies see Australia as an expensive but safe market to invest in. Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski notes that the investment relationship has some room to improve, but a growing cohort of Vietnamese companies have declared interest in Australia. Australian investors are finding similar opportunities here in Vietnam, with strong growth in sectors including education, agriculture, and innovation.
In addition, we have been delighted to see more and more Vietnamese students returning to Australia. And Australia is now the second most popular destination for Vietnamese students to study abroad and were hoping some day soon well be number one. We hope that these students will become future ambassadors for Australia-Vietnam relations, he stressed.
In terms of human capital development, there are 350,000 Australians with Vietnamese heritage, accordsing to Goledzinowski. This important factor means that many foreign investment firms here benefit from the cultural and linguistic expertise of Australian Vietnamese people.
Some of them are led by Australian Vietnamese who have come back to Vietnam to live and work and invest here, he added. Thats a huge feature of the relationship, along with the long history of economic integration.
Over the past 50 years, the bilateral relationship has gone from strength to strength, driven through the two countries converging interests, and strong people-people ties. This history is one of the key ingredients of the relationship, with several Australian firms playing a pioneering role in Vietnams economic opening in the early 1990s.
Back then, leading economists and others supported Vietnam in the reform and modernisation process. After that, Australia was heavily involved in a range of processes, including Vietnams accession to the World Trade Organization and its participation in multiple free trade agreements. All of those are features of our relationship over the past few decades, stressed Ambassador Goledzinowski.
Australian firms also played a big role in the early days of Vietnams integration development. ANZ Bank was one of the first foreign banks in Vietnam, while Allens Linklaters was one of the first law firms from overseas to step foot here. RMIT was also the first foreign university in Vietnam.
In more recent times, a key feature has been the growth in trade relationships. Figures show that Australia has gone from being Vietnams 14th largest trading partner in 2020 to seventh-largest last year.
The result reflects Australia and Vietnams mature and diverse bilateral relationship, encompassing wide-ranging cooperation on political issues, trade and investment, education, defence and security, policing, immigration, and combating transnational crime, people smuggling, and human trafficking.
Closer institutional links
Launched by Prime Minister Morrison and Vietnams Prime Minister Chinh in November 2021, the Vietnam-Australia Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES) was a remarkable achievement, according to Goledzinowski. The strategy solidified a commitment to trade liberalisation and economic connectivity, and helps businesses in both countries take advantage of emerging market opportunities.
Last October also witnessed the first step of the Business Champions Initiative, one of the key initiatives under the EEES. The governments of the two nations have selected six trailblazing businesspeople from both nations to support the delivery of the strategy and promote trade and investment opportunities to business communities.
The honorary positions, appointed for an initial one-year term, include Aurecon COO Louise Adams and Sunrice CEO Rob Gordon from Australia; and from Vietnam, TH Group CEO Hoang Cong Trang and Hoa Phat Group deputy general director Nguyen Thi Thao Nguyen, among others.
Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said, After a brief conversation with champions of the two nations, I admire the pioneers passionate and enthusiastic attitude, as well as the positive early results produced over the past year. I believe that they will take concrete steps to expand prospects for investment and exports-imports of the two countries.
Ambassador Goledzinowski added, We are confident that all of these efforts, complemented by regular high-level visits, will spur the trade and investment relationship. We hope for numerous business delegations on a range of topics of mutual interest.
By supporting closer institutional links, encouraging cooperation between Australian and Vietnamese business associations and chambers, and producing research and guidance on the opportunities, traders and investors on both sides will find it easier to navigate the challenges of doing business in an unfamiliar environment, he added.
This strategy is the strongest reflection yet of our confidence in our shared economic future, bringing us closer to becoming top 10 trade partners and doubling investment. Through the strategy, we can recover our economies and prosper together, the ambassador concluded.
David Gottlieb-Economic counsellor Australian Embassy in Vietnam The Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES) is the latest chapter in the story of our two countries economic relations. The strategy was jointly developed, a first for both Vietnam and Australia, and reflects an incredible commitment on the part of both countries to deepen our partnership. You can see over the past few decades how the economic relationship has evolved and developed. In our fiftieth year of diplomatic relations, the fact it is in such good shape is a testament to the hard work of many: from people to people links, businesses, chambers and industry associations, to embassies and government departments. Building on our history and connection, weve already seen tangible benefits from the EEES since its release. Our Business Champions Initiative, a key outcome of the EEES, sees industry leaders bring together companies through workshops and activities in both nations to help encourage and educate on trade and investment in each others markets and make the most of the opportunities. The Business Champions Initiative will culminate this year in a presentation from the Business Champions to relevant ministers on their key conclusions, providing guidance and advice on messaging from business. We have also seen the acceleration of market access and negotiations between our agriculture ministries and departments, which is providing opportunities for Australian and Vietnamese farmers to export products to each others markets. Weve expanded cooperation in the energy and resources field, particularly since Australia and Vietnam have committed to achieving net-zero by 2050. That joint commitment is unlocking opportunities in the green economy. In education, there has been a bounce back in student numbers, and we are delighted to see the number of students from Vietnam returning to studies or starting new studies in Australian universities. In general, Australian companies bring human capital development, technology transfer, and good links to local supply chains. Australian investors can offer Vietnam a lot, and are optimistic to realise more opportunities this year and into the future.
Australia, Vietnam work together on gender equality for stronger economies The Australian-funded Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) programme hosted a symposium, Engaging Women in Markets Scaling up Local Successes Nationwide, in Hanoi on May 27.
Vietnam, Australia promote trade, investment partnership The Australia-Vietnam Business Council (AVBC) held a conference in Sydney on June 23 to promote trade and investment partnerships through the strengthening of the Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy that was reached between the two countries in late 2021.
Hau Giang Biomass Energy, a joint venture of Erex Co., Ltd., from Japan, Power Engineering Consulting 2, and Son My Renewable Energy, is accelerating the construction of a biomass power plant in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang after a groundbreaking ceremony held in December.
Vietnam and Japan cooperate for a net-zero carbon future, illustration photo/ Shutterstock
The project is financed through a joint credit mechanism of the Japanese government and is expected to be put into commercial operation by the end of 2024 with an annual generation of about 125 GWh.
Like its Japan-based factories, the plant will employ steam condensing turbine technology using biomass materials, mainly rice husks, which are carbon-neutral and environmentally friendly.
Emphasising the role of large-scale ventures in helping Vietnam to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, Kazuo Kusakabe, chief representative of Toshiba Asia-Pacific in Hanoi, said that climate change is a challenge for the entire world, and to achieve the goal of being carbon-neutral by 2050, Vietnam may need an investment of up to $600 billion.
This is a huge amount of capital that the Vietnamese government and financial institutions cannot provide alone. To move towards a green economy and respond to climate change, the government needs to step up in approving large projects that support green growth activities, Kusakabe said at a Vietnam-Japan research forum held by the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) in Hanoi on February 15.
At the forum, experts from the CIEM said that the room for cooperation on green growth between the two countries remains large, particularly in electrical equipment, wooden architecture, wind and solar power, biomass power, organic aquaculture, and farming.
Experts from CIEM also suggested the two countries cooperation focuses on improving institutional capacity, regulations, and policies related to green growth and developing sustainable infrastructure in Vietnam. In addition, they need to promote low-carbon and-emission value chains and foster the development of international treaties, rules, and standards related to green growth.
In the past, the two nations governments and related agencies have implemented action plans to support Vietnam to reach its low carbon goals. At a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in early 2022, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio said that Japan would boost all-around comprehensive cooperation from policy and technology to financial issues with Vietnam.
In November 2021, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha and Japanese Minister of the Environment Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi signed an MoU on the joint credit mechanism. Under the deal, the Japanese party will assist Vietnams purchase of equipment with advanced Japanese tech, thus contributing to the net carbon economy.
Currently, there are over 40 projects in Vietnam approved through the mechanism. The building of a waste-to-energy plant in the northern province of Bac Ninh, implemented by T&J Green Energy, is one such example. Besides this, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan Science and Technology Agency will implement a scheme on sci-tech for natural rubber, in cooperation with the Hanoi University of Science and Technology and the Nagaoka University of Technology in Japan.
The initiative will run until 2027 and will focus on development of advanced tech to establish large-scale production for protein-free natural rubber in Vietnam. New technologies for biodegradation of rubber products, low greenhouse gases, and rubber production wastewater systems will also be developed.
Head of the CIEMs General Research Department Nguyen Anh Duong said that many large power sources, including from Japan, were available to help Vietnam realise its net-zero targets. However, to unlock these capital sources, the government needs to issue specific criteria for green projects, and establish specific criteria that determines what qualifies as a green business and green project, Duong said.
Green finance and technology solutions for net-zero emissions As climate change has become a serious international issue, many countries have taken action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In Vietnam, the government has made a tremendous effort to combat climate change by ratifying the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016, pursuing the National Green Growth Strategy for 2021-2030, and implementing the Law on Environmental Protection which came into effect at the beginning of 2022.
Billion-dollar challenge begins to establish a greener Vietnam To follow suit with its previous net-zero carbon commitments and accelerate the energy transition towards green and sustainable sources, Vietnam is now making long-term planning to use public and private finance for the energy transition.
The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Czech Embassy in Vietnam, and the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic hosted the forum, aiming to create opportunities for businesses from the two countries to expand the networks.
The event was held as Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela visited Vietnam on February 19-22.
Leading enterprises of the Czech Republic visiting Vietnam for the event came from many fields, including energy, construction, network security, software development, pharmaceuticals, credit insurance, and many more.
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said at the forum, After more than 70 years of diplomatic relations, Vietnam and the Czech Republic have seen many achievements in trade and investment, but that is still not commensurate with its potential. Export figures both ways are still modest, so both sides need to promote further."
Last year, the total trade turnover between Vietnam and the Czech Republic increased by 12.6 per cent compared to 2022, reaching $828 million. In which, Vietnam's export to the Czech Republic reached $668 million, up 14.6 on-year. Meanwhile, Vietnam's imports from the Czech Republic reached $160 million, up 5 per cent. The Czech Republic is now one of its most important trading partners of Vietnam in East-Central Europe.
The main export items of Vietnam to the Czech Republic are footwear, garments, seafood, and industrial machines. Vietnam also imports from the Czech Republic machinery and equipment, mechanical products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and crystal glassware.
By the end of 2022, the Czech Republic has four valid projects with total registered capital of approximately $92.4 million, ranking 49 among 141 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.
Likewise, Vietnam only has four projects in the Czech Republic at modest capital of $4.4 million, mainly in the form of joint ventures.
I urge Czech businesses to pay more attention to the Vietnamese market, which is one of the most dynamic developing markets in Asia. Obviously, the potential for cooperation between the two countries is considerable but has not been adequately promoted," said Hai.
The deputy minister said that Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade, and other relevant ministries, departments, and branches are committed to supporting and creating favourable conditions for Czech enterprises to business, trade, and investment in accordance with Vietnam's laws, regulations, and policies of actively integrating into the international economy.
Jozef Sikela, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, considers Vietnam a very close friend in the strategic economic partner in terms of the development of trade and investment for many reasons. He noted that the special relationship between the two is based on the presence of the Vietnamese community, which is the third largest in Europe. That number is approximately 100,000 people, who play an important role in society and for the economy. Contrarily, there are more than 200,000 citizens who speak Czech or Slovak in Vietnam.
Secondly, in terms of overall trade, Vietnam represents the most significant trade partner of the Czech Republic acts in Southeast Asia and tech companies have excellent references on the local market in areas such as defence and security, mining, industry, energy sector, and financial services.
Last year, the bilateral trade between both countries reached a record level and we expect that the value of trade will increase even more in the years to come thanks to the cooperation projects of the companies from the two sides, said Sikela.
In addition, the trade rules between the two countries are now much simpler thanks to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.
Vietnam is among the most stable and fast-expanding markets in Asia, and remarkable economic and investment opportunities can be found here, Sikela added. The forum represents an excellent occasion to find ways how to further expand economic cooperation between the Czech Republic and Vietnam and support business-to-business contacts between our two business communities.
The business forum also witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation between a number of Vietnamese enterprises and partners from the Czech Republic.
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.
Indonesia boosts cooperation with Eurasian Economic Union 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.
Vietnam and Poland ramp up robust economic cooperation Vietnam and Poland continue to promote economic cooperation. Piotr Harasimowicz, chief representative officer at the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, shared with VIRs Thanh Van about the prospects of partnership between two countries.
Philippines, Japan agree to boost economic, security cooperation President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to strengthen economic and security cooperation between the two countries.
ChatGPT and its potential legal implications in Vietnam ChatGPT is the topic on almost everyones lips at this great juncture in Vietnam. Even high school kids will be trained for this technology so that they can know how and when to use and not to use it in their studying and future careers. The big question remains, nonetheless, as to the legal implications this technology carries.
Fire alarms at the Jack Harwell Detention Center on Marlin Highway have become unreliable, prompting McLennan County commissioners Tuesday to approve installing a new system at the jail.
Waco attorney Michael Dixon, who provides legal counsel to the county, urged commissioners to take action, calling the situation an emergency.
Though not an urgent matter, commissioners Tuesday addressed another jail-related issue. They chose John W. Erwin General Contractor as construction manager at risk for converting the old county jail downtown into courtrooms, jury rooms and office space. County officials estimate the 16-month construction project will cost between $30 million and $40 million. McLennan County Judge Scott Felton said talks between John W. Erwin and jail architect Brinkley Sargent Wiginton will produce a more definitive figure to be called a not-to-exceed estimate.
The downtown jail on Columbus Avenue, immediately behind the McLennan County Courthouse at 501 Washington Ave., closed in 2010. Space in the 121-year-old courthouse and its annex has been at a premium for years, and the state Legislature recently authorized a new state district court and a county court at law for McLennan County, adding to the crunch. The jail conversion will give the county another 46,200 square feet to work with. Felton has said the conversion will be more economical than building a new facility off-site, especially considering the long-term costs of providing security at separate facilities.
Mazanec Construction and John W. Erwin competed for the work.
Both companies made very impressive presentations, Felton said. The great thing is we had two locals competing against each other.
He said John W. Erwin may have benefited from serving as construction manager at risk when the county built its $32 million Base multipurpose center on Bosque Boulevard. The facility opened in early 2021, and the project came in under budget and ahead of schedule.
The county will spend $9.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to meet the financial demands of the downtown jail conversion. The county received about $49 million in the federal COVID-19-related economic relief measure.
Commissioners also agreed to spend $255,000 in American Rescue Plan money to cover the cost of installing a new fire detection system at the Jack Harwell jail.
Felton did not downplay installing a new fire detection system, but said if it were in my house, Id wait until I had a problem. We have 1,300 guests, not counting employees, so there is a higher level of urgency.
County facilities director TJ Jackson said the system dates to the buildings construction, and is showing its age. The county opened the facility in 2010.
Were seeing some failures in the detectors, have gone in the past couple of years and replaced that stuff, Jackson said. Lately it has become more of a software problem. Weve had a series of trouble alarms, and we had to call someone out, specialized folks from Austin who are able to work on this equipment. That led us down the path to full replacement.
He said with a purchase order in hand, he hopes within two weeks to have a local contractor install new smoke detectors and control panels.
Jackson said he is not aware of any occasion when the system failed to detect smoke or caused emergency vehicles to needlessly respond.
The county built the Harwell jail using bond proceeds and opened it in 2010 as an overflow facility for the McLennan County Jail next door. They are connected by a shared kitchen. From its opening, the county hired for-profit companies to run Harwell, while the sheriffs office operated the McLennan County Jail.
The sheriffs office took over operations at Harwell in October 2019.
Also Tuesday, commissioners voted to allocate $430,448 in American Rescue Plan money on a thermal camera system the sheriffs office requested.
It expands our ability to provide public safety, an effective tool that takes technology another step, Felton said. It will be used from a helicopter to identify things on the ground, something very helpful in searching for escapees or missing persons. It provides very clear definition. The difference between cows, horses, pigs and people is obvious.
WATERLOO A Waterloo woman wont have to go to jail for setting her boyfriend on fire in May.
But a judge has ordered them to remain apart.
This is the first time Im going to give probation for someone that set someone on fire, District Court Judge David Staudt said Feb. 16 as he granted Kimberly Rochelle Epps, 50, a suspended sentence.
Epps was charged with willful injury causing bodily injury and domestic abuse causing bodily injury. She pleaded guilty.
Authorities allege Epps and Demetrice Martin were involved in an argument in their Thompson Avenue apartment around 1 a.m. May 14. During the argument, Epps allegedly poured rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer on him and ignited it with a lighter.
Martin suffered second-degree burns to 10% to 15% of his body with injuries to his arms, back and head. He was taken to UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital for treatment.
In court for the sentencing, Martin pushed for probation instead of prison for Epps. He also asked the judge to lift the restraining order so they could be together again.
Staudt agreed with Martin and prosecutors, sentencing Epps to concurrent sentences with two to five years of probation. He ordered her to complete the Iowa Domestic Abuse Program.
But he kept the restraining order in place.
I dont think I can lift the no contact order, Staudt said, noting the order also works to keep him from contacting her.
Leave her alone, she leaves you alone. Just move on, Staudt said.
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
MANILA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Philippine officials expressed optimism on Wednesday that the Philippines will reap the benefits from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement after the Philippine Senate ratified the mega-regional trade deal.
The government economic managers said RCEP, which entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022, is a timely tool to foster regional integration and economic growth as the Asia-Pacific region and the world recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan lauded the Senate for taking the "bold and game-changing move" of approving the pact, which "will provide another engine for growing the Philippine economy and making it part of a rapidly rising Asia."
Balisacan likened RCEP to "a vehicle that would drive (the Philippine) economy's sustained growth through regional and global trade as well as through greater investment in strategic sectors."
He said being part of RCEP will further enhance the Philippines' market access, placing the country at par with other RCEP-participating countries and the world's largest economies, such as China, Japan and South Korea.
"With the country's participation in RCEP, the Philippines has further strengthened its position as an ideal investment hub in the region as we expand market access, facilitate trade, and align our rules and procedures with participating economies," he said.
In line with the overall goals of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the minister said robust business expansion and investment will lead to more, higher quality and more resilient jobs that will be key to rapid and sustained poverty reduction.
RCEP is a massive free trade agreement (FTA) involving Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It is the world's largest free trade area representing 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
Philippine officials said RCEP covers roughly 50.4 percent of the Philippines' export markets, 67.3 percent of the country's import sources, and 58 percent of foreign direct investment.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said joining RCEP will result in a stable and predictable business environment to attract more investments in the Philippines and safeguard the country's investments abroad. "The agreement will also support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) development and drive participation in the global value chain."
According to Diokno, zero or lower import tariffs for Philippine exports such as agricultural products, automotive parts and garments would give the Southeast Asian country more access to bigger product markets.
Philippine manufacturers would also benefit from wider sources of raw materials due to zero or lower import duties on their inputs and more flexibility in the rules of the FTA on product manufacturing.
Skilled Filipino professionals and business persons in legal, construction, engineering, and banking services will be given preferential treatment to practice their professions in participating nations.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said participation in RCEP is expected to lead to a 2.02-percent increase in real GDP, according to a study by Francis Quimba, research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, said the Philippines' ratification is "a welcome positive development," adding the trade deal "will yield tangible benefits" for the country.
"Most importantly, RCEP will provide the Philippine exporters with sources from 14 countries, including the country's top import sources of raw materials, China and ASEAN. RCEP will also allow Philippine traders to source intermediate goods from any of the 14 RCEP members-countries with only one certification of origin and will significantly improve the overall business environment of the Philippines," she added.
In September 2021, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ratified the RCEP Agreement and brought it to the Senate for concurrence. But the Senate failed to ratify the agreement in December 2021 before the free trade deal took effect on Jan. 1 last year.
In the Philippines, treaties or international agreements entered into by the government require Senate concurrence.
On Tuesday night, the Senate approved the a resolution ratifying the RCEP agreement. Senate Resolution No. 485 was approved on the third and final reading, with 20 affirmative votes, one negative vote and one abstention.
WATERLOO A legislative public forum will be held March 3 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Hawkeye College Van G. Miller Adult Learning Center at 120 Jefferson St.
The topic of the forum will be health care issues. The public is invited to attend and will have an opportunity to ask questions of the legislators. The forum is sponsored by a group of community organizations.
Hy-Vee has suspended its employee discount program and plans to revamp it by mid-April after the company found cases of fraud and misuse.
The program was originally launched in 2019 and allowed a Hy-Vee employee and one member of their household to buy store merchandise at a 10% discount. The program was suspended Monday following allegations of fraud and abuse.
In a news release Monday, Hy-Vee officials said there was a significant uptick with people using the discount, even though they did not live in the same household, or even the same city, as the employee. The employee-owned company based in West Des Moines added that there were other fraudulent practices and loopholes that were occurring within the program.
The discrepancies found were significant enough to signal a much broader issue that needed to be addressed immediately, the release stated.
As reported by TV station KAAL in Rochester, Minnesota, Hy-Vee executive vice president Georgia Van Gundy noted some instances of fraud in a video sent to employees last Friday. Those include an employee having their Fuel Saver account used in five different states in one hour and another employee using their discount to make large purchases with the intention of reselling the items at a profit.
While the discount program is getting revamped, Hy-Vee noted that employees enjoy many other benefits, including free Hy-Vee Plus premium memberships, weekly pay and tuition assistance.
Marjorie Kruger was stunned to learn last fall that she would have to leave the nursing home where shed lived comfortably for six years.
The Good Samaritan Society facility in Postville, Iowa, would close, administrators told Kruger and 38 other residents in September. The facility joined a growing list of nursing homes being shuttered nationwide, especially in rural areas.
The rug was taken out from under me, said Kruger, 98. I thought I was going to stay there the rest of my life.
Her son found a room for her in another Good Samaritan center in Waukon, a small town 18 miles north of Postville. Kruger said the new facility is a pleasant place, but she misses her friends and longtime staffers from the old one. We were as close as a nice family, she said.
The Postville facilitys former residents are scattered across northeastern Iowa. Some were forced to move twice, after the first nursing home they transferred to also went out of business.
Owners say the closures largely stem from a shortage of workers, including nurses, nursing assistants, and kitchen employees.
The problem could deepen as pandemic-era government assistance dries up and care facilities struggle to compete with rising wages offered by other employers, industry leaders and analysts predict. Many care centers that have managed to remain open are keeping some beds vacant because they dont have enough workers to responsibly care for more residents.
The pandemic brought billions of extra federal dollars to the long-term care industry, which was inundated with covid-19 infections and more than 160,000 resident deaths. Many facilities saw business decline amid lockdowns and reports of outbreaks. Staff members faced extra danger and stress.
The industry is still feeling the effects.
From February 2020 to November 2021, the number of workers in nursing homes and other care facilities dropped by 410,000 nationally, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Staffing has rebounded only by about 103,000 since then.
Wisconsins long-term care industry is similarly in crisis, with roughly one of every five caregiver positions vacant, the states leading industry associations wrote in a 2022 report. It found there were 23,165 open caregiving positions but only 19,600 workers in all of Wisconsin who were not in the labor force but who wanted to work.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin lost 42 skilled care nursing homes between 2016 and 2021, according to Leading Age Wisconsin, an industry group.
In Iowa, 13 of the 15 nursing homes that closed in 2022 were in rural areas, according to the Iowa Health Care Association. In more sparsely populated areas, its harder and harder to staff those facilities, said Brent Willett, the associations president. He noted that many rural areas have dwindling numbers of working-age adults.
The lack of open nursing home beds is marooning some patients in hospitals for weeks while social workers seek placements. More people are winding up in care facilities far from their hometowns, especially if they have dementia, obesity, or other conditions that require extra attention.
Colorados executive director of health care policy and financing, Kim Bimestefer, told a conference in November that the state recognizes it needs to help shore up care facilities, especially in rural areas. Weve had more nursing homes go bankrupt in the last year than in the last 10 years combined, she said.
In Montana, at least 11 nursing homes 16% of the states facilities closed in 2022, the Billings Gazette reported.
Nationally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported recently that 129 nursing homes had closed in 2022. Mark Parkinson, president of the American Health Care Association, said the actual count was significantly higher but the federal reports tend to lag behind whats happening on the ground.
For example, a recent KHN review showed the federal agency had tallied just one of the 11 Montana nursing home closures reported by news outlets in that state during 2022, and just eight of the 15 reported in Iowa.
Demand for long-term care is expected to climb over the next decade as the baby boom generation ages. Willett said his industry supports changing immigration laws to allow more workers from other countries. Thats got to be part of the solution, he said.
The nursing home in Postville, Iowa, was one of 10 care centers shuttered in the past year by the Good Samaritan Society, a large chain based in South Dakota.
Its an absolute last resort for us, being a nonprofit organization that would in many cases have been in these communities 50 to 75 years or more, said Nate Schema, the companys CEO.
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, the full name of the company, is affiliated with the giant Sanford Health network and serves 12,500 clients, including residents of care facilities and people receiving services in their homes. About 70% of them live in rural areas, mainly in the Plains states and Midwest, Schema said.
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Postville, Iowa, closed in November 2022. It was the only nursing home in the town of 2,500, and one of at least 15 care centers to close in Iowa last year. (Tony Leys / KHN)
Schema said many front-line workers in nursing homes found less stressful jobs after working through the worst days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when they had to wear extra protective gear and routinely get screened for infection in the face of ongoing risk.
Lori Porter, chief executive officer of the National Association of Health Care Assistants, said nursing home staffing issues have been building for years. No one thats been in this business is in shock over the way things are, she said. The pandemic put a spotlight on it.
Porter, who has worked as a certified nursing assistant and as a nursing home administrator, said the industry should highlight how rewarding the work can be and how working as an aide can lead to a higher-paying job, including as a registered nurse.
Care industry leaders say that they have increased wages for front-line workers but that they cant always keep up with other industries. They say thats largely because they rely on payments from Medicaid, the government program for low-income Americans that covers the bills for more than 60% of people living in nursing homes.
In recent years, most states have increased how much their Medicaid programs pay to nursing homes, but those rates are still less than what the facilities receive from other insurers or from residents paying their own way. In Iowa, Medicaid pays nursing homes about $215 per day per resident, according to the Iowa Health Care Association. That compares with about $253 per day for people paying their own way. When nursing homes provide short-term rehabilitation for Medicare patients, they receive about $450 per day. That federal program does not cover long-term care, however.
Willett said a recent survey found that 72% of Iowas remaining nursing homes were freezing or limiting admissions below their capacity.
The Prairie View nursing home in Sanborn is one of them. The facility, owned by a local nonprofit, is licensed for up to 73 beds. Lately, it has been able to handle only about 48 residents, said administrator Wendy Nelson.
We could take more patients, but we couldnt give them the care they deserve, she said.
Prairie Views painful choices have included closing a 16-bed dementia care unit last year.
Nelson has worked in the industry for 22 years, including 17 at Prairie View. It never has been easy to keep nursing facilities fully staffed, she said. But the pandemic added stress, danger, and hassles.
It drained the crud out of some people. They just said, Im done with it, she said.
Prairie View has repeatedly boosted pay, with certified nursing assistants now starting at $21 per hour and registered nurses at $40 per hour, Nelson said. But shes still seeking more workers.
She realizes other rural employers also are stretched.
I know were all struggling, Nelson said. Dairy Queens struggling too, but Dairy Queen can change their hours. We cant.
David Grabowski, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, said some of the shuttered care facilities had poor safety records. Those closures might not seem like a tragedy, especially in metro areas with plenty of other choices, he said.
We might say, Maybe thats the market working, the way a bad restaurant or a bad hotel is closing, he said. But in rural areas, the closure of even a low-quality care facility can leave a hole thats hard to fill.
For many families, the preferred alternative would be in-home care, but theres also a shortage of workers to provide those services, he said.
The result can be prolonged hospital stays for patients who could be served instead in a care facility or by home health aides, if those services were available.
Rachel Olson, a social worker at Pocahontas Community Hospital in northwestern Iowa, said some patients wait a month or more in her hospital while she tries to find a spot for them in a nursing home once theyre stable enough to be transferred.
She said its particularly hard to place certain types of patients, such as those who need extra attention because they have dementia or need intravenous antibiotics.
Olson starts calling nursing homes close to the patients home, then tries ones farther away. She has had to place some people up to 60 miles away from their hometowns. She said families would prefer she find something closer. But when I cant, I cant, you know? My hands are tied.
Wave of rural nursing home closures grows amid staffing crunch is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a nonprofit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009.
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About two performances
1. Yesterday there was a Message from the President of Russia to the Federal Assembly, which, among other things, announced the suspension of our participation in START-3. An overdue decision, the inevitability of which I noted last year. The decision prompted by the war declared by the United States and other NATO countries to our country. A decision that will have a huge resonance in the world in general and in the United States in particular. After all, the American establishment has been thinking until now something like this: we will spoil you everywhere and in everything, we will supply gigantic volumes of weapons to the Kiev regime, we will work to defeat Russia, we will limit and destroy you, but strategic security is a separate issue. It is not connected with the general context of relations between the US and Russia. She is almost a sacred cow.
This conclusion is worse than a crime this is a gross mistake of the Americans. An error generated by their mania grandiosa. Their sense of superiority and impunity. After all, it is obvious to all reasonable forces that if the United States wants the defeat of Russia, then we are on the verge of a world conflict. If the United States wants to defeat Russia, then we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapon, including nuclear. And as Vladimir Putin rightly said: It is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield. It is with this that the suspension (for now) of START-3 is connected. Let the out-of-touch elites in the US think about what they have achieved. We will also observe the reaction of other nuclear powers NATO members: France and Britain. Their strategic nuclear forces were usually not included in the balance of nuclear warheads and carriers when preparing agreements between the US and the USSR (Russia), but it is high time to do so.
2. Biden addressed the Russian people in front of a crowd of Poles. In fact, he delivered a sermon in the traditional messianic key for America, adjusted for senile insanity. Heaped high words about how important it is to defend democracy, and that the US is not going to attack Russia. It looked dishonest and ridiculous. Who is this strange grandfather, broadcasting with a bewildered look from Poland? Why does he appeal to the people of another country at a time when he is full of domestic problems? With what fright should we listen to a politician from a hostile state that exudes hatred for our Motherland? Why should the citizens of Russia trust the leader of the United States, who unleashed the most wars in the 20th and 21st centuries, but reproach us for aggressiveness? A person who directs all his weakening intellectual capabilities only to ensure that Russia suffers a strategic defeat.
And further. To paraphrase a famous expression, Biden said in Warsaw: If Russia stops its invasion, it will end right now. If Ukrainians stop defending themselves, that will be the end of Ukraine. This is a refined lie. The truth is quite different.
If Russia stops the NWO without achieving victory, Russia will not exist, it will be torn to pieces. If the US stops supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime, the war will end.
Medvedev
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 REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by snowmelt continues to be 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...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. &&
BUDAPEST, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- "Steady, gradual growth" in the number of Chinese tourists will make the year 2023 as good as 2019 was, a senior manager of Hungary's largest passenger shipping company has said.
"I believe that one of the most important things for Hungary is the return of Chinese tourists," Gabor Spanyik, managing director of MAHART PassNave Passenger Shipping Ltd., told Xinhua at a tourism conference held here on Tuesday.
After China optimized its COVID-19 policies and lifted travel restrictions, Chinese tourists have been flocking to popular destinations around the world, including Hungary, boosting the tourism industry worldwide.
Spanyik said Chinese tourists are now arriving in greater numbers, which can already be seen on the banks of the river Danube.
He said he was confident that the two countries' similar cultures and developing business relations will lead to the arrival in Hungary of even more tourists from China.
China has become an increasingly important market for Hungarian tourism. In recent years, Hungary has been promoting itself on Chinese social media platforms, such as TikTok, Weibo or WeChat. The efforts appear to pay off.
Last year, 4-5 percent of the tourists who arrived in Budapest on cruise ships came from China, Spanyik said. "Nowadays, this rate is more like 14-15 percent on international tourist ships."
Spanyik said that his company is making improvements to welcome Chinese tourists, such as providing information in the Chinese language as well.
STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Talks between Sweden, Finland and Turkiye would resume in mid-March, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told local media Wednesday night.
"We have just confirmed this today," Kristersson told Swedish public television broadcaster SVT, without specifying the date for such talks.
Turkiye has postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland on their North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bids slated for February following the burning of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm.
Despite the U.S. attempts to push for both countries' rapid accession into NATO, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday reaffirmed Ankara's demand for more efforts from Sweden over its security concerns.
Ankara's stance on Finland's accession could be different and its membership could be ratified earlier, he said.
Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Their accession needs the approval of all member states of the military alliance.
Turkiye and Hungary, both members of NATO, have yet to give their approvals. Turkiye requests that the two Nordic countries to "speedily and thoroughly" extradite individuals it considers to be terrorist suspects.
First Gas From Vali Gas Field
Melbourne, Feb 22, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Vintage Energy Ltd ( ASX:VEN ), 50% interest holder and Operator of the ATP 2021 Joint Venture (other interest holders: Metgasco Ltd, 25%; and Bridgeport (Cooper Basin) Pty Ltd, 25%,) advises gas supply from the Vali gas field commenced Tuesday 21 February 2023.
Vali is supplying gas to eastern Australia under a long-term gas supply agreement with AGL Energy Limited ("AGL"). The field, among the larger gas discoveries in the Cooper Basin in the past decade, is independently certified as having proved and probable gas reserves of 101 petajoules (PJ) (Vintage share 50.5 PJ). Vali is to supply an estimated 9 PJ to 16 PJ gas to AGL from field start-up to end-2026, under Vintage's inaugural gas contract.
"First production and first revenue generation is a landmark event for every company" said Vintage Managing Director, Neil Gibbins.
"For an exploration company to reach this point, let alone within four and a half years of floating, is noteworthy. The achievement was made possible by the support and contribution of many, starting with our shareholders and ATP 2021 joint venturers. The efforts and vigilance of our employees and contractors has preserved an LTI and environmental incident-free record. Their persistence enabled the project to progress in the face of obstacles and disruption brought by Covid and consequent supply chain issues.
"AGL showed its willingness to step up and encourage new players with new supply; something keenly needed by the east coast gas market. By pre-paying the joint venture $15 million, AGL enabled Vali to be brought online much earlier than would otherwise have been the case. The long-term supply agreement with AGL was pivotal to Vintage securing the capital required to commit to the project.
"I would like to acknowledge the support and role played by the Queensland State Government in facilitating the discovery, appraisal and connection of the Vali gas field. The South Australian Government and the Cooper Basin Joint Venture are to be thanked for their role in enabling integration into the Moomba gas gathering network.
"Our expectation is Vali, and the nearby Odin gas field, will be supplying gas to eastern Australia for many years. The facilities and pipeline installed for these first flows will be an initial production solution on full field development in the coming years." said Mr Gibbins.
Vintage has refrained from contracting the bulk of the field's gas reserves, as it builds a thorough understanding of the field's producing reservoirs from its three existing wells. The understanding acquired over the first 6 - 9 months of production will inform the preparation of a full field development plan and marketing of Vali's uncontracted gas, which currently stands at 85 PJ (gross, Vintage share 42.5 PJ). The Odin gas field (located approximately 7 km west of Vali) has been independently certified as containing a 2C resource of approximately 40 PJ of gas (Vintage share 19 PJ).
Vintage floated on the ASX in September 2018, with a strategy to address the opportunities foreseen arising in gas supply to eastern Australia and a board and management team proven in finding and developing oil and gas in Australia.
Gas from Vali undergoes initial separation and metering through facilities recently installed and commissioned at the field from where it is transported to join the Moomba gas gathering network at Beckler. Processing is undertaken at the Moomba facility prior to sale.
Vali-1 is currently producing from the Patchawarra Formation, although the well has been completed as a dual producer with capacity to produce from the Toolachee Formation.
Work to bring Vali-3 then Vali-2 to commissioning is continuing. Current expectations are for first gas from Vali-3 in early March and from Vali-2 later in that month.
"The focus in this initial production appraisal period will be on assessing and learning from the performance of the individual producing reservoirs in each well, rather than short-term output maximisation.
"By the second half of this calendar year we expect to be in a position to outline the most value-accretive development plan for the field and the scale and profile of an expanded gas supply we can take to market," said Mr Gibbins.
Odin
Work on connecting the nearby Odin gas field to market has been advancing. The Fiberspar pipe to connect the field to the Vali-Beckler pipeline has been laid. FEED on the connection has commenced.
This link will provide an interim accelerated connection to enable Odin gas to flow to the east coast market as soon as practicable.
Supply from Odin through the interim accelerated connection is projected to be possible in the third quarter of calendar 2023.
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/GK62177B
About Vintage Energy Ltd
Vintage Energy Ltd (ASX:VEN) has been established to acquire, explore and develop energy assets principally within, but not limited to, Australia, to take advantage of a generally favourable energy pricing outlook.
NEW YORK (AP) A former Mexican presidential cabinet member was convicted in the U.S. on Tuesday of taking massive bribes to protect the violent drug cartels he was tasked with combating.
Under tight security, an anonymous New York federal court jury deliberated for three days before reaching a verdict in the drug trafficking case against ex-Public Security Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna.
He is the highest-ranking current or former Mexican official ever to be tried in the United States.
Garcia Luna, who once stood at the pinnacle of law enforcement in Mexico, will now live the rest of his days having been revealed as a traitor to his country and to the honest members of law enforcement who risked their lives to dismantle drug cartels, Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
Garcia Luna, who denied the allegations, headed Mexicos federal police and was later the countrys top public safety official from 2006 to 2012. His lawyers said the charges were based on lies from criminals who wanted to punish his drug-fighting efforts and to get sentencing breaks for themselves by helping prosecutors.
He showed no apparent reaction on hearing the verdict. His lawyer, Cesar de Castro, said that the defense planned to appeal and that the case lacked credible and reliable evidence.
The government was forced to settle for a case built on the backs of some of the most notorious and ruthless criminals to have testified in this courthouse, de Castro said outside court.
Garcia Luna, 54, was convicted on charges that include engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. He faces at least 20 years and as much as life in prison at his sentencing, set for June 27.
The case had political ramifications on both sides of the border.
Current Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has railed throughout the trial against ex-President Felipe Calderons administration for, at a minimum, putting Garcia Luna in charge of Mexicos security. Lopez Obrador spokesperson Jesus Ramirez tweeted after the verdict that justice has come to a Calderon ally and that the crimes committed against our people will never be forgotten.
Garcia Lunas work also introduced him to high-level American politicians and other officials, who considered him a key cartel-fighting partner as Washington embarked on a $1.6 billion push to beef up Mexican law enforcement and stem the flow of drugs.
The Americans werent accused of wrongdoing, and although suspicions long swirled around Garcia Luna, the trial didnt delve into the extent of U.S. officials knowledge about them before his 2019 arrest. Lopez Obrador has, however, pointedly suggested that Washington investigate its own law enforcement and intelligence officials who worked with Garcia Luna during Calderons administration.
A roster of ex-smugglers and former Mexican officials testified that Garcia Luna took millions of dollars in cartel cash, met with major traffickers in settings ranging from a country house to a car wash and kept law enforcement at bay.
He was the best investment they had, said Sergio El Grande Villarreal Barragan, a former federal police officer who worked for cartels on the side and later as his main job.
He and other witnesses said that on Garcia Lunas watch, police tipped off traffickers about upcoming raids, ensured that cocaine could pass freely through the country, colluded with cartels to raid rivals, and did other favors. One ex-smuggler said Garcia Luna shared a document that reflected U.S. law enforcements information about a huge cocaine shipment that was seized in Mexico around 2007.
One ex-smuggler, Oscar El Lobo Nava Valencia, said he personally heard Garcia Luna and a then-top police official say they would stand with us during a meeting with notorious Sinaloa cocaine cartel kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzmans associates amid a cartel civil war. That sit-down alone cost the drug gang $3 million, Nava Valencia said.
Garcia Luna didnt testify at the trial, although his wife took the stand in an apparent effort to portray their assets in Mexico as legitimately acquired and upper-middle-class, but not lavish. The couple moved to Miami in 2012, when the Mexican administration changed and he became a consultant on security issues.
The trial was peppered with glimpses of such narco-extravagances as a private zoo with a lion, a hippo, white tigers and more. Jurors heard about tons of cocaine moving through Latin America in shipping containers, go-fast boats, private jets, planes, trains and even submarines.
And there were horrific reminders of the extraordinary violence those drugs fueled.
Witnesses described cartel killings and kidnappings, allegedly including an abduction of Garcia Luna himself. There was testimony about police officers being slaughtered and drug-world rivals being dismembered, skinned and dangled from bridges as cartel factions fought each other while buying police protection.
Testimony also aired a secondhand claim that Calderon, the former president, sought to shield Guzman against a major rival; Calderon called the allegation absurd and an absolute lie.
Garcia Luna was arrested after allegations of his alleged graft emerged at Guzmans high-profile trial about four years ago in the same New York courthouse.
The former lawman also faces various Mexican arrest warrants and charges relating to government technology contracts, prison contracting and the bungled U.S. Fast and Furious investigation into suspicions that guns were illegally making their way from the U.S. to Mexican drug cartels. The Mexican government has also filed a civil suit against Garcia Luna and his alleged associates and businesses in Florida, seeking to recover $700 million that Mexico claims he garnered through corruption.
Anticorruption activists gathered outside the courthouse to celebrate Tuesdays verdict.
My country is a grave. Its now a cemetery thanks to the corruption, said Carmen Paes, who blamed drug lords in her native Mexico for the disappearance of a nephew decades ago.
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Associated Press writer Maria Verza contributed from Mexico City.
Consumers are willing to pay monthly subscription fees for streaming services, pet food and even toilet paper. And now some restaurants are betting theyll do the same for their favorite meals.
Large chains like Panera and P.F. Changs as well as neighborhood hangouts are increasingly experimenting with the subscription model as a way to ensure steady revenue and customer visits. Some offer unlimited drinks or free delivery for a monthly fee; others will bring out your favorite appetizer each time you visit.
Theyre following a trend: The average American juggled 6.7 subscriptions in 2022, up from 4.2 in 2019, according to Rocket Money, a personal finance app.
This is just another way for customers to provide a level of support and joy and love for our offerings, said Matt Baker, the chef at Gravitas, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Washington.
For $130 per month, Gravitas Supper Club subscribers get a three-course takeout meal for two. Baker said Gravitas shifted to takeout during the pandemic but saw demand fizzle once its dining room reopened. The Supper Club which serves about 60 diners per month keeps that revenue flowing.
The upscale Chinese chain P.F. Changs also saw an opportunity to increase to-go orders with its subscription plan, which launched in September. For $6.99 per month, members get free delivery, among other perks.
Other restaurants are experimenting with memberships, which let diners pre-pay toward their visits.
El Lopo, a San Francisco bar, has 26 members in its Take-Care-Of-Me Club. They pay either $89 per month for $100 in dining credits or $175 per month for $200 in credits. When members come in, El Lopo starts bringing out their favorite dishes. Each visit, they can gift a free drink to anyone in the bar.
El Lopo owner Daniel Azarkman started the club in March 2021 to encourage patrons to return as the pandemic eased. Now, hes hearing from restaurants all over the country who are interested in starting similar programs.
What it really achieves is getting them in more often, he said.
Rick Camac, executive director of Industry Relations at the Institute of Culinary Education, said he expects many more restaurants to offer subscriptions in the coming years. Consumers are accustomed to them, he said, and the regular monthly income helps restaurants manage their cash flow.
But not all subscription programs have had success. In 2021, On the Border Mexican Grill introduced its Queso Club, which offered free cheese dip for a year for $1. The program stopped taking new subscribers a year later.
Edithann Ramey, On the Borders chief marketing officer, said more than 150,000 people signed up for the Queso Club, and members visited seven times more often than the average guest. But the Dallas-based chain wasnt making enough to cover the cost of the dip.
On the Border is now retooling the program and expects to reintroduce it later this year. It may charge more or move to a monthly model, Ramey said, but the subscription element will remain.
Its becoming kind of a hot trend and we want to stay as a leading brand, Ramey said.
Taco Bell is also tinkering with its $10 Taco Lovers Pass, which lets subscribers get a taco every day for a month. The pass was introduced in January 2022 and again in October; it generated buzz, but the chain is trying to think of ways to make it more valuable to consumers, said Dane Mathews, Taco Bells chief digital officer. A subscription could promise faster service, for example, or unlock unique menu items.
Other restaurants have dropped subscriptions, saying they have their hands full just running the kitchen.
In late 2020, SheWolf, an upscale Italian restaurant in Detroit, started sending subscribers a box of pasta, sauces and other treats for $80 per month. But when its dining room fully reopened six months later, it was too much work to put together hundreds of boxes.
Still, SheWolf is keeping one foot in the subscription space. Dan Reinisch, the restaurants beverage director, sends Italian wines to about 80 subscribers who pay $60 or more each month.
Other businesses have had better luck. St. Louis-based Panera had nearly 40 million members in its loyalty program in early 2020, but it wanted to convince them to drop in more often. So it launched a subscription program that offered unlimited coffee and tea for $8.99 per month. Customers started coming in several times a week, and about one-third of the time they bought food.
Last year, Panera expanded the subscription. Now, members can pay $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year for unlimited hot and cold drinks. Annual subscribers also get free delivery.
Eduardo Luz, Paneras chief brand and concept officer, wont share exact numbers but he said members now make up 25% of the chains transactions.
Its a huge traffic driver, Luz said.
The idea quickly spread overseas. Pret A Manger, a sandwich chain owned by the same private company as Panera, launched its own coffee subscription in the U.K. in 2020. As of November, it was being used 1.2 million times per week. Pret also offers subscriptions in France and the U.S.
Chris Hosford, a communications consultant in southern California, joined Paneras subscription plan a year ago. He passes four or five Paneras on his regular routes and often stops to grab a coffee and a bite to eat.
Its not a huge amount of savings for me probably $5-10 in the average month, Hosford said. But Im good with that.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Taco Bells chief digital officers last name. Its Mathews, not Matthews.
SANTA FE A bill that would enshrine remote work for state employees in law was rejected Tuesday by a House panel, after a phalanx of cabinet secretaries urged legislators to stay out of a simmering dispute between Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration and a state labor union.
In an unusual display of executive pushback, more than 15 agency heads or deputy secretaries showed up to speak at the House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee meeting, with several saying state workforce issues should be left to the executive branch.
I think its important for the executive to be able to negotiate these matters, Children, Youth and Families Department head Barbara Vigil said during the Tuesday hearing.
Another cabinet secretary, Tourism secretary Jen Schroer, said remote work was beneficial during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, but said its imperative to have employees back in the office nearly three years after the pandemic first hit New Mexico.
We serve the public better when we are in our offices, providing customer service and answering the phones and meeting with people in-person, Schroer said.
After the hearing, Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Maddy Hayden said Cabinet secretaries were encouraged to participate to illustrate the importance of returning to the office.
The cabinet-level testimony appeared to sway some legislators, but also drew the ire of at least one of the bills sponsors.
This is the way of the future, said Rep. Chrinstine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, referring to remote work. This is very backward to be hearing this from people who should be thinking forward.
She also said some Cabinet secretaries have told her in private conversations they support telework.
However, the committee voted 7-4 to table the legislation, likely signaling its demise for the 60-day legislative session that ends March 18. Three Democratic lawmakers sided with the panels four Republican members in voting in favor of halting the bills progress.
The measure, House Bill 300, was filed by three Democratic lawmakers amid the fallout from the Lujan Grisham administrations decision to require state employees to return to in-person work, starting Feb. 2.
The decision to rescind a remote work policy and bring back employees who had been allowed to work from home angered top Communications Workers of America Local 7076 union leaders, who subsequently challenged the states authority to cancel the policy without bargaining.
The return to the office mandate has also prompted some state workers to announce plans to leave their jobs.
Specifically, the legislation would have required the State Personnel Board to adopt rules outlining telework for state workers. But employees would only be eligible for remote work if their specific job duties did not require them to show up in person.
With many state agencies struggling with high vacancy rates, Rep. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque, said state workers need to feel valued.
I believe state workers drive the success of our state in every category, and this is really a way to recruit and retain, Garratt said.
She also said about a dozen of the states 112 legislators are currently participating in the legislative session remotely after testing positive for COVID-19.
A judge on Tuesday ordered 16-year-old Cruz Medina held in custody while awaiting trial in the shooting death of an Albuquerque Academy student at a house party in December.
Medina will be charged as an adult with first-degree murder in connection with the Dec. 18 killing of 18-year-old Jada Gonzales, the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office said.
A talented writer and photographer with family in Zuni Pueblo, Gonzales had recently received a four-year college scholarship at the time she was killed at a house party in the 5200 block of La Bajada NW.
Medinas attorney, Adam Oakey, agreed to waive the pretrial detention hearing Tuesday on condition that he could file a motion later seeking Medinas release from custody.
Second Judicial District Judge Clara Moran found there is clear and convincing evidence that (Medina) presents a danger to the community.
Moran also ruled that there are no conditions or combination of conditions of release that the court could set right now to reasonably ensure the safety of the community.
Medina remained in custody Tuesday at Bernalillo Countys juvenile detention center.
Medinas co-defendant, Jessie Parra, 19, has remained in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest Jan. 17.
District Judge Lucy Solimon on Feb. 1 granted a prosecutors motion to hold Parra pending trial.
Parra also faces a charge of first-degree murder in Gonzales killing, court records show.
Both he and Medina face additional charges of shooting at an occupied building, tampering with evidence, and two counts of conspiracy.
Prosecutors allege Medina and Parra were among several males who were kicked out of the party the night of the killing, according to an arrest warrant filed in Metropolitan Court.
Witnesses told police the group was carrying firearms and posing for pictures with the guns, as well as flashing gang signs, before they were asked to leave the party. They appeared reluctant, embarrassed and angry as they left, the affidavit said.
Minutes later, gunshots were fired outside the house, it said. The fatal round traveled through a bedroom and penetrated an interior wall, striking Gonzales in the torso.
Democratic governors in 20 states are launching a network intended to strengthen abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision nixing a womans constitutional right to end a pregnancy and instead shifting regulatory powers over the procedure to state governments.
Organizers, led by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, described the Reproductive Freedom Alliance as a way for governors and their staffs to share best practices and affirm abortion rights for the approximately 170 million Americans who live in the consortiums footprint and even ensuring services for the remainder of U.S. residents who live in states with more restrictive laws.
We can all coalesce, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in an interview ahead of a Tuesday announcement. She added that the courts Dobbs decision that ended a national right to abortion horrified and put pressure on governors to act. This is leveraging our strengths to have more of a national voice.
That includes, organizers said, sharing model statutory language and executive orders protecting abortion access, ways to protect abortion providers from prosecution, strategies to maximize federal financing for reproductive health care such as birth control, and support for manufacturers of abortion medication and contraceptives that face potential new restrictions from conservatives.
Lujan Grisham noted the launch comes as a federal court in Texas considers a challenge to the nationwide availability of medication abortion, which now accounts for the majority of abortions in the U.S.
In a statement, Newsom called the effort, which he and his aides spent months organizing, a moral obligation and a firewall to protect fundamental rights.
The group includes executives of heavily Democratic states like California, where voters overwhelmingly approve of abortion rights, but also involves every presidential battleground state led by a Democrat, including Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tony Evers of Wisconsin.
The alliance has secured its initial funding from the California Wellness Foundation and the Rosenberg Foundation, not-for-profits that often steer money to public health efforts focused on disadvantaged communities.
While the organization is billed as national and nonpartisan, the makeup underscores that abortion access since Dobbs has settled essentially into two Americas that broadly track the platforms of the nations two major parties. That means greater access in states controlled by Democrats, tighter restrictions or practically outright bans in those controlled by Republicans.
For example, 22 Democratic-run states have weighed in on the Texas challenge to medical abortions that was filed by many of the same litigant states that worked together to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. A similar contingent of Republican-led states has filed briefs in the Texas case urging a judge to reverse a decades-old approval by the Food and Drug Administration of medical abortions.
Still, Newsom aides said the group would welcome Republicans, though they declined to name any GOP executives that Newsom or other Democratic governors might be recruiting to the consortium. Indeed, a handful of Republican governors support abortion rights broadly.
Lujan Grisham mentioned New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who has sent mixed messages on the issue. Sununu signed a state budget in 2021 that included a ban on abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy but also said after the Dobbs decision that abortion would remain legal in his state. He endorsed candidates in the November elections who favored further restrictions but also supports adding exemptions to the current law for victims of rape and incest.
Lujan Grisham acknowledged that the alliance cannot make national policy or even impose policy across state lines. But she said theres practical value in having executives and their staffs have a formal framework to communicate.
She noted that New Mexico lawmakers now are considering how to affirm abortion access with a statute, even though she and others believe the states constitution already establishes the right.
The problem is everyone keeps challenging those constitutional interpretations, she said. Were going to codify equality on abortion rights, reproductive rights and care in as narrow as possible way. New Mexicos process, she said, could become a model for other similarly situated states.
Governors offices in the alliance also have started working with advocacy groups that back abortion access.
Jeanne Lewis, the interim CEO of Faith in Public Life, a progressive multistate faith-based organization, said having states work together to ensure abortion access is essential as states and federal lawmakers continue to consider bans and deeper restrictions.
It is important for governors to be in conversations now about shared solutions across state lines, she said.
Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Foundation of America, said states should be working together to protect abortion access, especially given the pending Texas case.
Barrow reported from Atlanta. Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Associated Press reporter Holly Ramer contributed from Concord, New Hampshire.
My cat(alytic converter) got stolen. Do something.
A customer of Albuquerque City Councilor Renee Grout, who owns a vehicle repair shop
Its one of those things that doesnt require even six degrees of separation. Catalytic converter theft is so prevalent we all know someone who has had the anti-pollution device stolen off their vehicle.
Here at the Journal we dont even have to look beyond the staff list. One employee had theirs stolen while parked at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in broad daylight during a performance. Another had theirs stolen while parked in the Journal lot in the middle of the afternoon. And several company vehicles have had theirs cut off overnight.
In fact, 1,300 were reported stolen in Albuquerque in 2022, Grout says.
And its a national trend. Plug it into an online search and see stories of theft rings making hundreds of millions of dollars reselling the precious metals inside as well as multiple ads for preventive equipment. Just this month the Minnesota House voted 113-15 with little debate to crack down on the rash of catalytic converter thefts, prohibiting scrap metal dealers from purchasing a catalytic converter without identifying markings that can trace it to a specific vehicle.
Grout wants to do the same in Albuquerque her shop has had to do thousands of dollars in repairs for each customer who comes in minus the catalytic converter. Her proposed ordinance is very good.
But passing N.M. Senate Bill 133 into law would be even better. This theft is not limited to Albuquerque, and a city ordinance alone means thieves will continue to steal them in Albuquerque and sell them over the city line.
Much like Grouts proposed law, SB 133 requires those buying catalytic converters, i.e. secondhand metal dealers, to keep records of those purchases, including information on the seller and proof the seller owned the vehicle the catalytic converter came from. And it includes a provision that local governments may impose additional reporting requirements Grout would like to see sales reported to the Albuquerque Police Department rather than simply recorded in a ledger and put on a shelf. Thats smart.
SB 133 is bipartisan sponsored by Sens. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, and Leo Jaramillo, D-Espanola, House Speaker Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, and Reps. Janelle Anyanonu, D-Albuquerque, and Joshua Hernandez, R-Rio Rancho. It passed the Senate unanimously Feb. 13 and is currently in the House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs Committee.
The number of thefts and costs of repairs are already daunting, and SB133s Fiscal Impact Report ends on this cautionary note:
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL: Theft and sale of catalytic converters to secondhand metal dealers will continue to be loosely regulated, requiring easily-met documentation, and resulting in continued escalation of theft.
New Mexicans simply cannot afford that. We agree with Grouts customers, that its time for New Mexico to do something about catalytic converter theft. Get SB 133 to the governor.
This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
88-year-old offers up some life lessons
THE ALBUQUERQUE Journal of Sunday Feb. 12 gave us several ideas of Legislature happenings. There are hints that too many lawyers as elected representatives are acting on personal ideals instead of representing the citizens that elected them. One example is raising medical malpractice payouts so insurance costs to doctors and other medics are impossible. That is interfering with the health care options of New Mexico citizens, but gives trial lawyers more business. Another example is the excessive amount of paid leave from work for various reasons. What they propose is beyond the financial ability and responsibility of most of New Mexico businesses.
N.M. police departments do not need policy demands from elected legislators who have no idea what actual police work demands of individual officers. If you leave them alone, they will get things sorted out to work properly. Provide funds to police departments so they can properly train their officers. Even with proper training, there will be many criminals who will make their situation difficult.
helping public school students graduate from school with less knowledge is not doing them or their families any favors. Legislators must encourage parents of students to help their children learn to read, especially before attending school.
Legislators going after citizens firearms is very foolish. Criminals need to be given more attention via stiffening laws and penalties. Some (gun owners) do need more education on handling and storage. There have been reports of women being killed because they had to wait to purchase a firearm to protect them from a person (they) filed protection papers against. Hopefully, some legislators will be able to read about some of what I learned after 88 years living in these wonderful United States of America.
ROBERT PRICKETT, Albuquerque
Malpractice: How much is a life worth?
MY MOTHER was killed by medical malpractice. When I hear that legislators want to decrease caps that insurance companies must pay to families who lost a loved one, my stomach sinks.
How much is your mothers life worth? Its unfair, and grossly misleading, for the media and legislators to pin the provider shortage on families such as mine. Health care professionals have been leaving this state for at least a decade and there is nobody who wants quality health care providers in this state more than families such as mine families that lost a loved one because of medical malpractice. Do not use our loss to advance your political agenda. It only adds to our grief. Say no to changes to the medical malpractice act.
ANNETTE GONZALES, Albuquerque
Reform will reduce lobbyist power
STOP ME! Im a lobbyist who influences how legislators think about legislative proposals.
I urge passage of House Joint Resolution 2/a, which would set the length of sessions at 60 days, adding 30 more days in a two-year period. I also urge support for HJR 8/a to provide legislative salaries to be determined by an independent commission, not legislators themselves. More staff is needed.
Our New Mexico legislators work very hard almost every one of them works far beyond what anybody else would do for a regular job much less one for which they are a volunteer. They simply dont have the time and resources to review each bill as theyd like to and as the public deserves. Modernizing the Legislature would reduce the power of lobbyists and replace us with informed policy-making based on objective staff analysis.
CHARLES GOODMACHER, Albuquerque
GOP shoots down smart gun reforms
IF ACTIONS speak louder than words, Republicans in the state Legislature are proclaiming that their love for guns is more passionate than their love for the women and children they purport to care so deeply about.
As reported by the Journal Feb. 8, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, along with Democrats in the Legislature, are poised to enact multiple gun safety laws, including a measure to keep guns away from children.
Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, in condemning the recent attacks on politicians in Albuquerque, makes the tired claim that tightening gun laws doesnt make anyone safer.
Rep. Stefanie Lord, R-Sandia Park, trots out the debunked assertion gun storage requirements designed to keep weapons away from children might leave a women unable to defend herself against a violent ex-husband. But, credible data show women rarely use guns for self-defense and, overwhelmingly, a womans own gun is used against her. Anyone owning a gun significantly increases the risk of violent injury or death to members of their household.
New Mexico has one of the highest gun-death rates in the country, but, at every opportunity to date, Republicans in the state Legislature have voted no to common-sense gun-safety measures.
If N.M. Republicans truly believe in the sanctity of life, they will join the Democrats in passing reasonable, life-saving gun safety laws.
JUDITH GORDON, Bernalillo
SANTA FE Just over a year after suffering a serious stroke, Ben Ray Lujan told state lawmakers Tuesday hes lucky to be alive and plans to use his position as a U.S. senator to raise awareness about brain health.
In the New Mexico House gallery that his late father long presided over as House speaker, Lujan also said the experience has changed some of his policy views and priorities.
Theres a lot of new perspective I have, he said during a joint session of the House and Senate.
Specifically, Lujan urged others to react quickly to unusual symptoms like dizziness and persistent headaches, saying, time is not on the side of someone experiencing a stroke.
In a subsequent interview, he said hes working to secure more funding for brain health programs, including research on Alzheimers disease and other types of dementia.
He also said his story has prompted strangers to approach him with words of thanks.
The more people that learn about what to look for, what to expect matters, Lujan said. Educationally, thats advocacy. We can do more of that everyone one of us across the country, we have that responsibility.
Lujan suffered a stoke in his cerebellum in January 2022 and later underwent surgery to ease swelling at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.
After several weeks of medical procedures and rehabilitation, the 50-year old Democrat returned to the U.S. Senate less than two months later, though he acknowledged some lingering physical issues.
During his 20-minute speech to lawmakers Tuesday, Lujan also called for more civility in politics, citing the personal friendships his late father, Ben Lujan, had with fellow Democrats and Republicans alike.
With his mother, Carmen, and two sisters looking on, Lujan lauded legislators for passing legislation authorizing up to $100 million in state funds to begin repair work on roads, culverts and acequias damaged by last years Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire and subsequent flooding.
That bill was signed this week by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., also spoke to legislators Tuesday, saying it was good to be home a reference to the two-plus years she spent as a House member before winning election to an open seat in Congress in June 2021.
During her speech, Stansbury called on lawmakers to approve bills dealing with abortion and elections that have been proposed ruing this years 60-day session, while also expressing support for proposals to pay legislators a salary and extend the length of sessions.
The other three members of New Mexicos all-Democratic congressional delegation delivered remarks to the Legislature last week.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and three others injured following an explosion and fire at a welding company in Florida on Tuesday.
The welding company is located in Medley, a town in Miami-Dade County. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and three others were hurt in the fire, officials said.
Miami-Dade Police Department's Homicide Bureau, along with the arson unit, is investigating what caused the combustion.
The incident came only a day after one person was killed and more than a dozen others were injured in a fiery explosion at a manufacturing plant in Ohio.
A 500-acre tract of land west of Kirtland Air Force Base intended originally to become a 55+ community at Mesa del Sol is now destined to house new employers. The land use change was approved unanimously by City Council on Wednesday.
What weve found is we have a great need for more of an employment area that is adjacent to the existing employment area, said Mesa del Sol CEO David Campbell.
Changing the land use from strictly residential would allow for the construction of such facilities as office, industrial, and research and development spaces.
Since Netflix originally moved into the development, its footprint has exploded from 30 acres to 330. The Albuquerque studio is expected soon to support approximately 2,500 employees, Campbell said.
Campbell said its too early to say how many employers or employees could be supported by the new 500-acre space. First, we need to make this change on the map, he said.
Campbell said the goal is to attract additional employers to the area, joining such companies as Netflix, Fidelity Investments and United Poly Systems, which all lease or own property within the development.
In Mesa del Sols master plan, drafted 15 years ago, the tract of land was intended to include age-restricted housing, about 60 acres of open space, and a civic, fitness and recreation center.
Campbell said that the housing and resources still have a home at Mesa del Sol just not on the original land parcel. Instead of sectioning off a specific area for 55+ residents, Campbell said the new plan is to incorporate several multi-story housing areas throughout existing Mesa del Sol residential areas.
The proposed land use change has already overcome some hurdles, passing the Environmental Planning Commission unanimously in November.
In addition to filling a need for a larger employment area, the change reflects a shift in thinking about developments. When the Mesa del Sol master plan was originally written, Campbell said, developers generally sectioned off senior communities. But, in the years since, that thinking has changed.
Seniors would like to live in the same communities as their grandchildren, and their grocery stores and their yoga studios, Campbell said.
There are currently 400 occupied dwellings at Mesa del Sol, with 100 additional dwellings and a 314-unit apartment complex under construction.
Editors Note: This story was updated following a Wednesday City Council vote.
More from Alaina Mencinger
Pete Woods, with Catchlight Painting from Massachusetts, works on painting areas inside the Gateway and Gibson Health Hub during the Painting Contractors Associations Paint-It-Forward day in Albuquerque, N.M., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (Chancey Bush/Albuquerque Journal)
Members of the Painting Contractors Association worked inside the Gateway and Gibson Health Hub Tuesday during its Paint It Forward event in Albuquerque.
Some 125 volunteers added fresh coats of paint to the lobby, fourth-floor suite and sleeping areas, amounting to 1,000 hours of labor.
The estimated value of labor and materials Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore made donations totaled close to $400,000.
The University of New Mexico is seriously considering lifting its COVID-19 vaccine mandate after medical experts on a university committee recommended such a move.
The end of the mandate would mean that current and prospective employees and students on main and branch campuses would no longer be required to have a vaccine to work or attend the university.
The roughly dozen or so employees who left the university for refusing to get the shots would be able to reapply for their positions, and their decision not to get vaccinated wouldnt be held against them, said Cinnamon Blair, a spokeswoman for the university.
Dr. Cristina Beato, the chair of UNMs Health Protocols Committee, said health officials still recommend the vaccine as a way to prevent serious illness, hospitalizations and death. But she also acknowledged the vaccines have caused adverse side effects in a small number of cases and that people who get the vaccine can still get and transmit the virus more than what was believed when the schools vaccine mandate was rolled out in August 2021.
We strongly believed that there are benefits to the vaccine, but that there are also some side effects, especially in the younger cohorts, although rare, she said at an online forum last week discussing the mandate. Unfortunately when the vaccine started coming out, we were told, 92%, if you get vaccinated, you will not get the virus and you will not transmit it. We now know that is not accurate and even with vaccination, you will get the virus and you will transmit it.
The final decision on vaccine policy rests with UNM President Garnett Stokes, but the Health Protocols Committee has recommended it come to an end.
I firmly believe (the vaccine mandate) was essential action for us to take during the peak of the pandemic, Stokes said.
She said she will announce a decision soon.
Meanwhile, COVID cases, deaths and hospitalizations throughout the state have declined in the last eight weeks. There were 69 people with COVID hospitalized throughout the state on Tuesday and the state Health Department reported three additional COVID-related deaths, pushing the toll to 9,016 since the onset of the pandemic.
Concerns raised
Blair said after Stokes announced in a letter to the campus that she was seriously considering lifting the mandate, the school received about 50 comments from the UNM community. The vast majority of those comments, Blair said, were related to safety concerns from immunocompromised people and people who lived with immunocompromised people.
Anyone who comes into contact with patients at UNM Health and Health Sciences clinical areas will still be required to follow the vaccine mandate, which is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Stokes said.
NMSU vaccine mandate being re-evaluated
New Mexico State University still has a vaccine requirement in place for students and employees.
In light of recent developments at the state and federal level, we are currently re-evaluating these requirements and will keep our university community informed should there be any changes, NMSU spokesman Justin Bannister said in a statement.
New Mexico state government employees, as of August, are only required to be vaccinated if they work in a facility thats licensed or certified by CMS.
If youre sick, stay home
Dr. Nestor Sosa, an infectious disease specialist at the UNM School of Medicine, said the landscape in terms of COVID has changed significantly in the last three years.
He said some scientists believe the COVID virus is becoming less deadly as it evolves; more than 90% of people have antibodies from either the vaccine or exposure to the virus; treatments and antivirals are available; and tests are rapid and prevalent. Plus, the UNM policy only required people receive the primary series of vaccine and a booster. It didnt require the more recent booster shot that is available.
Additionally, Sosa said adverse effects of the vaccine, though extremely rare, are more common in younger people. For example, one of those effects, myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, happened about 106 times out of a million doses of the Pfizer vaccine given to 16- or 17-year-olds.
We now have evidence that thats the age group with the least benefit and maybe a slightly greater risk (for an adverse effect) Sosa said. Vaccine mandates are one of the strongest public health interventions, but they should be used sparingly and only when they are necessary and when there are no other valid interventions that can curtail a pandemic.
UNM Provost James Holloway said the university plans to keep in place some health measures that were used during the pandemic. For example, he said students and employees should stay home when they are sick with COVID or another illness and feel free to recover and not try to work from home. He also said faculty members shouldnt require students to bring a note from a doctor, which can waste resources at Student Health and Counseling.
If youre sick, stay home, and dont work, he said. The purpose is to stay home and get well.
SANTA FE Legislation adopted by the state House late Tuesday would prohibit cities and public schools in New Mexico from interfering with a persons access to abortion or gender-affirming care.
The proposal, House Bill 7, now advances to the Senate, following an intense, three-hour debate that touched on the rights of teachers, parents and children.
Democratic lawmakers described the bill as a way to prohibit discrimination and protect access to reproductive health and gender-affirming care throughout New Mexico. It comes after a series of conservative cities and counties in the eastern part of the state passed anti-abortion ordinances.
This bill would mean that patients can access the life-saving care they need when and where they need it, House Majority Whip Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, said.
Republicans fiercely opposed the proposal.
House Minority Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec, questioned the Democratic sponsors in detail about the potential impact of language prohibiting, say, a teacher from directly or indirectly interfering with access to reproductive health care or gender-affirming care.
He characterized it as a vague, unfamiliar legal standard that would leave educators without a clear understanding of what information they could share with a parent.
Sadly, Lane said, I think were unnecessarily pitting parents against their child when it comes to important, vital medical decisions.
The proposal won approval on an 38-31 to vote. Six Democrats joined all 25 Republicans against the bill.
It heads next to the Senate, where Democrats also hold a majority, though abortion rights have sometimes faced more skepticism.
State Rep. Linda Serrato, a Santa Fe Democrat who presented the bill Tuesday and defended it throughout a debate that stretched beyond three hours, said the legislation wouldnt change parental notification procedures or medical standards for the treatment of transgender individuals.
Teachers and public employees, she said, are not required to take affirmative action additional steps they wouldnt otherwise.
The legislation covers public bodies, including cities, counties, school districts and public universities.
They would be prohibited from discriminating against anyone for using or refusing to use reproductive health care or gender-affirming care.
Public bodies and their employees also would be banned from denying, restricting or interfering either directly or indirectly with access to such care.
The attorney general or a district attorney would be empowered to enforce the law, and individuals could file their own civil lawsuits seeking damages. Claims would have to be against the public body itself, not its employees.
Some of the debate was personal. Lawmakers shared stories about pregnancies and friendships with people who sought gender-affirming care.
Republicans offered several amendments, which were rejected.
I think this is a very sad day for New Mexico, Republican Rep. Cathrynn Brown of Carlsbad said.
State-by-state abortion debate
Debate over reproductive health care has intensified at state capitols across the country in the wake of last years U.S. Supreme Court decision ending the federal right to abortion, sending the issue to states.
Protecting abortion rights was a centerpiece of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams reelection campaign last year.
She announced Tuesday that she is one of 20 governors establishing a multi-state network intended to strengthen abortion access.
This historic alliance will continue to work to guarantee reproductive freedom in each of our states and to restore that right to every woman in America, Lujan Grisham said in a written statement.
In addition to the House bill acted on Tuesday, lawmakers are also considering legislation, Senate Bill 13, that would put into law an executive order issued last year by Lujan Grisham. It would prohibit state agencies from sharing the reproductive health care information of patients or providers for an out-of-state investigation.
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., expressed support for the House bill during a Tuesday speech to lawmakers, and she said during a subsequent interview the proposal comes at an important time.
Weve had the undermining and eroding of our basic rights at the federal level, Stansbury said, referring in part to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year overturning the Roe v. Wade decision.
Dan Boyd of the Journal Capitol Bureau contributed to this article.
SANTA FE Working deep into the night, the state House passed a bill Tuesday that would expand automatic voter registration at MVD offices and establish a permanent absentee voter list.
The proposal, House Bill 4, won approval on an 41-26 vote, sending it over to the state Senate.
Democrats praised the bill as a significant expansion of voting rights in New Mexico.
Letting every voice be heard, thats what we want, Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo, said.
Republicans, in turn, blasted the idea of registering people to vote without their consent even if briefly and questioned whether the legislation has adequate protections to ensure only legitimate ballots are counted.
Rep. Greg Nibert, R-Roswell, raised the prospect of illegal ballot deliveries to drop boxes required by the bill.
This seems be one area, he said, where I think theres a weak point.
House Majority Leader Gail Chasey, an Albuquerque Democrat who presented the bill, said the boxes called for in the bill would be secure and monitored.
She described the legislation as a major step forward for protecting the right to vote for our citizens in New Mexico.
The legislation would:
Phase in automatic voter registration during some transactions at Motor Vehicle Division offices, such as when a person presents documents proving citizenship while applying for a drivers license.
Newly registered voters would be told theyve been added to the voter rolls and that theyll get a postcard in the mail allowing them to decline the registration.
Allow voters to sign up once to get absentee ballots before every election.
Restore the voting rights of felons when they leave custody rather than after they complete probation or parole.
Make Election Day a school holiday.
Enact a Native American Voting Rights Act to better coordinate access to the polls on tribal land.
Require each county to have at least two secured, monitored boxes for people to drop off absentee ballots.
Four Democrats in the House Speaker Javier Martinez of Albuquerque, Chasey, Doreen Wonda Johnson of Shiprock and Raymundo Lara of Chamberino are jointly sponsoring the bill. The bill is also sponsored by Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque.
It passed largely along party lines about 11:20 p.m. after three hours of debate.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) President Joe Biden closed out his wartime visit to Europe on Wednesday, working to shore up partnerships with allies on NATOs perilous eastern flank even as Russias Vladimir Putin was drawing closer to China for help as his invasion of Ukraine neared the one-year mark.
Bidens meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine nations in Warsaw came at the conclusion of a whirlwind, four-day visit to Ukraine and Poland meant to reassure allies that U.S. support in fending off Russia isnt at risk of waning.
In dramatic counterpoint, Putin on Wednesday played host in Moscow to Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Partys most senior foreign policy official, as U.S. intelligence warned that Beijing is considering supplying arms and ammunition to the worn-down Russian military.
The flexing of alliances was a fresh indication that both sides are digging in for prolonged conflict in Ukraine with the fighting expected to intensify with the arrival of spring.
Bidens trip had provided yet another moment of telling counterprogramming on Tuesday when he delivered a ringing speech on Western unity in Warsaw, a day after he swept into Kyiv unannounced for a visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As Biden spoke in Poland, Putin announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty.
Biden called that departure a big mistake. The exit is expected to have an immediate impact on U.S. awareness of Russian nuclear activities. However, the pact known as New START was already on life support following Moscows cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that each side has accused the other of violating.
Biden met Wednesday with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, the nations in the easternmost parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Putins 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. They include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Youre the frontlines of our collective defense, Biden told them. And you know, better than anyone, whats at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.
These countries have worried that Putin could move to take military action against them next if hes successful in Ukraine. Biden responded to that anxiety by pledging that NATOs mutual defense pact is sacred and that we will defend literally every inch of NATO.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, pointed to past Russian actions in Georgia and Ukraine and said, We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression.
It was unclear how the U.S. and its allies aimed to do that, other than by continuing to arm Ukraines military with the Western and aging Soviet arms that have allowed it retake about half of the territory it lost in the opening days of the war.
Biden returned to Washington late Wednesday night.
After the Russian militarys battlefield shortcomings were revealed at the start of the conflict, Putin, too, has been seeking rearmament, drawing on Iran and North Korea for assistance and potentially China.
Administration officials dont yet have an indication that China has decided to move forward on sending Moscow weaponry, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week it would be a serious problem should Beijing follow through.
Throughout the conflict, China has cautiously weighed the pros and cons of directly aiding Russia. But a year into the war, Beijing now seems increasingly concerned that Russia one of its closest allies is teetering toward something that could approximate a loss in Ukraine.
The U.S. and its allies have threatened secondary sanctions on countries that support the Russian war effort. But there was no consensus this week on potentially steeper sanctions for China, which could have global economic implications, should it decide to rearm Putins forces.
One European official described the intelligence regarding Chinese consideration of supplying Russia with weapons as unambiguous. Western officials do not know whether the possibility is currently being studied only by Chinas military or some other single branch of the government, or by the Chinese government as a whole, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the Wests intelligence on the matter.
Western intelligence indicates that the kind of supplies China is considering giving Russia would be aimed at backfilling stocks of weapons that Russia was losing, or wasting, on the battlefield in Ukraine, the European official said.
From the intelligence signals thus far, Western officials dont believe Chinas supply of weapons to Russia would be sufficient to change the trajectory of the year-old war.
But Chinese cooperation on military supplies for Russias war in Ukraine would be a significant sign of Beijings current appetite for risk-taking when it comes to allying with Russia in a stand against the West.
Li Mingjiang, an associate professor in international relations at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said at an event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace last week that Beijing was weighing the value of creating a situation in which the U.S. will have to now deal with really two potential enemies and challengers and that will help divert a bit of Americas attention and resources from the Asia Pacific region.
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Miller reported from Washington. AP writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Nomaan Merchant in Washington contributed to this report.
JERUSALEM (AP) The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired six rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the countrys south early Thursday, hours after an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank triggered a fierce gunbattle in which 11 Palestinians were killed.
The rocket attacks, which were not immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups, appear to be triggered by the Wednesday morning raid in Nablus.
The Israeli military said air defenses intercepted five of the rockets which were fired toward the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. One missile landed in an open field. Israeli aircraft then struck several targets in northern and central Gaza. There were no reports of injuries in Israel or Gaza.
Among the dead in Nablus were three Palestinian men, ages 72, 66 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Scores of others were wounded.
It was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed. Israeli police said they were on heightened alert, while the Hamas militant group in Gaza said its patience was running out. Islamic Jihad, another militant group, vowed to retaliate.
The four-hour operation left a broad swath of damage in a centuries-old marketplace in Nablus, a city known as a militant stronghold.
In one emotional scene, an overwhelmed medic pronounced a man dead, only to notice the lifeless patient was his father. Elsewhere, an amateur video showed two men, apparently unarmed, being shot as they ran in the street.
Israel has been carrying out stepped-up arrest raids of wanted militants in the West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel last spring.
Israeli officials liken these operations to mowing the lawn, saying they are necessary to prevent a difficult situation from turning worse. But the raids have shown few signs of slowing the violence, and in cases like Wednesdays operation, can raise the likelihood of reprisals.
The Israeli military said it entered Nablus, the West Banks commercial center, to arrest three militants suspected in previous shooting attacks. The main suspect was wanted in the killing of an Israeli soldier last fall.
The military usually conducts raids at night in what it says is a tactic meant to reduce the risk of civilian casualties. But military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said forces moved quickly after intelligence services tracked down the men in a hideout.
Hecht said Israeli forces surrounded the building and asked the men to surrender, but instead they opened fire. One militant who tried to flee the building was shot and killed. He said the military then fired missiles at the house, flattening the building and killing the other two men.
At the same time, he said, troops that had set up an outside perimeter came under heavy fire, setting off an intense gunfight. The military said others hurled rocks and explosives at the troops, and officials released a video taken from inside an armored vehicle as crowds of Palestinian youths pelted it with stones. There were no Israeli casualties.
The influx of wounded overwhelmed the citys Najah Hospital, said Ahmad Aswad, the head nurse of the cardiology department.
The 36-year-old medic told The Associated Press that he saw many patients shot in the chest, head and thighs. They shot to kill, he said.
In a moment he said will haunt him, he and a colleague carefully extracted a bullet from a 61-year-old mans heart. After the chaos subsided and they pronounced their patient dead, they looked at the mans face. It was his colleagues father, Abdelaziz Ashqar.
His colleague, Elias Ashqar, was overcome and went silent. It didnt feel like we were in reality, Aswad said.
In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been a large home in the centuries-old marketplace. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris.
Time-stamped security footage widely shared online appeared to show two young men running down a street. Gunshots are heard, and both fall to the ground, with ones hat flying off his head.
The two men did not appear to be armed, but the video did not show the events that led to the shooting.
Hecht called the video problematic, and said the military was looking into it.
Various Palestinian militant groups claimed six of the dead including the three targeted in the raid as members. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups. Later, officials said a 66-year-old man had died from tear gas inhalation.
As the bodies were paraded through the crowd on stretchers, thousands of people packed the streets, chanting in support of the militants. Masked men fired into the air.
Israels police force said it was beefing up security in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in anticipation of violence.
Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 people in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. In response, Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza. The following day, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people.
Days later, five Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli arrest raid elsewhere in the West Bank. That was followed by a Palestinian car ramming that killed three Israelis, including two young brothers, in Jerusalem.
The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new hard-line government took office.
The government is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants and vowed to entrench Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches.
The Cabinet includes a number of West Bank settler leaders. In a move that could further raise tensions, Yesha, the settlement council, announced that Israeli planning officials had granted approval to nearly 2,000 new homes in settlements across the West Bank. There was no immediate confirmation from the government, but an announcement was expected Thursday.
The Palestinians and most of the international community say settlements built on occupied lands are illegal and obstacles to peace. Over 700,000 settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. recognizes Israels very real security concerns, but was also deeply concerned about the deaths and injuries from the raid.
He urged both sides to avoid steps that could inflame tensions, including the possible approval of new settlements.
The Israeli decision comes in the wake of a U.N. presidential statement that strongly criticized settlements. The U.S. blocked what would have been a stronger, legally binding council resolution.
American diplomats claimed to have extracted an Israeli pledge to halt unilateral action to block the resolution. The approval of new settlements by Israel would appear to undermine that claim.
The Palestinian ambassador to the U.N., Riyad Mansour, urged the international community to put an end to these massacres against our people.
In the Gaza Strip, Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group, warned that Hamas patience is running out, he said.
Late Wednesday, Palestinian activists burned tires along Gazas frontier with Israel in protest.
Hamas has battled Israel in four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007.
Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad Al-Nakhala called the Israeli raid a huge crime.
It is our duty as resistance forces to respond to this crime without hesitation, he said.
Nearly 60 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, according to an AP tally.
Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in those areas, making it the deadliest year there since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group BTselem. Some 30 people on the Israeli side were killed in Palestinian attacks.
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Tufaha reported from Nablus. Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed reporting.
WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration said Tuesday that it will generally deny asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S. southern border without first seeking protection in a country they passed through, mirroring an attempt by the Trump administration that never took effect because it was blocked in court.
The measure, while stopping short of a total ban, imposes severe limitations on asylum for any nationality except Mexicans, who dont have to travel through a third country to reach the U.S.
The measure is almost certain to face legal challenges. President Donald Trump pursued a similar ban in 2019 but a federal appeals court prevented it from taking effect.
The Biden administration rule proposed Tuesday has to first go through a 30-day public comment period before it can be formally adopted. If adopted it would remain in place for two years.
Administration officials expect the rule will take effect when a pandemic-era rule that denies asylum on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19 ends. That rule, known as Title 42 authority, is set to expire May 11 but has been delayed twice by legal challenges from Republican-led states.
The Homeland Security and Justice Departments argued that surging numbers of migrants left them little choice. They anticipate illegal crossings to climb to between 11,000 and 13,000 a day if no action is taken after Title 42 ends; thats even higher than the 8,600 daily crossings in mid-December as anticipation spread among migrants and smugglers that Title 42 was about to end. At the last minute the Supreme Court kept it in place.
The proposed rule establishes a rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility for anyone who passes through another country to reach the U.S. border with Mexico without first seeking protection there, according to a notice in the Federal Register. Exceptions will be made for people with an acute medical emergency, imminent and extreme threat of violent crimes such as murder, rape or kidnapping, being a victim of human trafficking or other extremely compelling circumstances. Children traveling alone will also be exempted, according to the rule.
The rule largely calls on prospective migrants to follow legal pathways to apply for asylum such as using the CBP One app, through which prospective migrants can schedule an appointment to apply to appear at a border entry point to apply for asylum. The administration portrayed these efforts as a way to protect migrants from the dangerous journeys as they travel north to the U.S. and allow the U.S. border entry points to manage the migrant flows in a safe and efficient manner. But critics have said the app has been beset by technical problems and its not clear how many appointments are available every day.
U.S. officials insist the measure proposed Tuesday is different from Trumps, largely because there is room for exemptions and because the Biden administration has made other legal pathways available, particularly humanitarian parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Ukrainians.
We are a nation of immigrants, and we are a nation of laws. We are strengthening the availability of legal, orderly pathways for migrants to come to the United States, at the same time proposing new consequences on those who fail to use processes made available to them by the United States and its regional partners, said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The rule was first mentioned in early January as part of a wider announcement by the administration to let in 30,000 migrants a month from four countries Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua provided they apply to come to the U.S. and dont just arrive at the border. In the ensuing weeks, the administration said migrant encounters from those countries plummeted, and theyve hailed it as a model for dealing with immigration.
But immigration advocates have criticized attempts to limit asylum applications at the southern border, saying some migrants cant wait in their home country and noting that other countries dont have the same asylum protections as the U.S.
Four Democratic senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker of New Jersey, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and Alex Padilla of California said they were deeply disappointed the administration was moving forward with the rule and urged it to reconsider.
We have an obligation to protect vulnerable migrants under domestic and international law and should not leave vulnerable migrants stranded in countries unable to protect them, the senators statement read.
Anu Joshi of the American Civil Liberties Union, which litigated many of the challenges to Trumps immigration restrictions, sharply criticized the rule, saying it was simply revisiting Trumps asylum ban.
The new rule comes as President Joe Biden is facing a Republican-controlled House determined to make immigration a key issue as they attempt to portray the southern border as out of control.
For asylum seekers traveling north through Central America and Mexico to the U.S. border, Costa Rica and Mexico have the most robust asylum systems. Both countries, however, have been overwhelmed by the surging number of asylum applications in recent years.
Costa Rica, a country of only 5 million residents, trailed only the United States, Germany and Mexico in the number of asylum applications it received in 2021. In December, President Rodrigo Chaves decreed changes to the asylum system, alleging that it was being abused by economic migrants.
Most of those seeking asylum in Costa Rica in recent years are Nicaraguans fleeing repression in that country. In 2012, Costa Rica received barely 900 asylum applications. Last year, the total was around 80,000.
That has created a tremendous backlog and lengthened the process, something that led more Nicaraguans to look north to the United States last year.
Mexico has been facing increased asylum applications for years and last year received 118,478, mostly from Honduras, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. Many migrants had used the asylum system to legally cross Mexico while in process and then to try to enter the U.S.
Other countries along the migrant route north have very limited capacity for receiving asylum seekers.
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Spagat reported from San Diego. Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed.
WASHINGTON (AP) One month into the invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden stood in the courtyard of a grand Polish castle and laid out the punishing economic costs that the U.S. and its allies were inflicting on Vladimir Putins Russia, declaring that the ruble is almost immediately reduced to rubble.
Russia is now the worlds most heavily sanctioned country, according to U.S. officials. The ruble did in fact take a temporary dive and has been slipping again in recent months. But as the war nears its one-year mark, its clear the sanctions didnt pack the instantaneous punch that many had hoped.
The ruble trades around the same 75-per-dollar rate seen in the weeks before the war, though Russia is using capital controls to prop up the currency. And while Russias economy did shrink 2.2% in 2022, that was far short of predictions of 15% or more that Biden administration officials had showcased. This year, its economy is projected to outperform the U.K.s, growing 0.3% while the U.K. faces a 0.6% contraction, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The Wests export controls and financial sanctions appear, instead, to be gradually eroding Russias industrial capacity, even as its oil and other energy exports last year enabled it to keep funding a catastrophic war.
Large American multinationals like McDonalds and General Electric fled the country, and some of the countrys richest citizens are forbidden from traveling to the U.S. But if Muscovites cant get a latte at Starbucks, theres an imitation waiting for them at the knockoff Stars Coffee as Russia has adapted.
U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo stressed in an interview that the Western sanctions are only one tool as part of a larger strategy and that the U.S. continues to adjust its sanctions to outmaneuver Russias own shifts in strategy.
You look at the exodus, the brain drain from Russia, Adeyemo said. The Russian economy is far smaller, far more closed and will look more like Venezuela, North Korea and Iran than like a major G-7 economy.
Still, a December Congressional Research Service report drew an underwhelming conclusion from all the economic parrying, stating that the sanctions have created challenges for Russia but to date, have not delivered the economic knockout that many predicted.
A closer look at whats been done so far and what lies ahead:
WHATS BEEN SANCTIONED, BY WHOM AND WHY?
Biden last year called the Wests sanctions a new kind of economic statecraft with the power to inflict damage that rivals military might.
The sanctions, imposed largely through executive orders, are meant to punish Russia and block its access to the international financial systems and bank accounts that it needs to finance its war effort. Export controls also limit its access to computer chips and other products needed to equip a modern military.
Simultaneously, the U.S. and its allies devoted billions to provide Ukraine with weapons, munitions and other military aid and direct financial assistance.
More than 30 countries, including the U.S., EU nations, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and others representing more than half the worlds economy are part of the unprecedented effort. Theyve imposed price caps on Russian oil and diesel, frozen Russian Central Bank funds and restricted access to SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions.
Beyond targeting key institutions and economic sectors, the West has directly sanctioned roughly 2,000 Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families. The sanctions are depriving them of access to their American bank accounts and financial markets, preventing them from doing business with Americans and traveling to the U.S, and more.
Unlike the countrywide sanctions on Iran and North Korea, the restrictions placed on Russia target specific industry sectors, firms and individuals. This approach was designed to keep Russian oil and natural gas flowing, in order to limit disruptions to the wider global economy. But energy exports also enabled Russia to replenish its finances and stave off a sharp decline.
An industrialized country of its size the 11th largest economy in the world in 2021 has never faced such financial pressure. Daniel Fried, a former assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said that policy making of this kind is always a shot in dark.
Youre looking for hits on the Russian economy, it doesnt happen overnight, Fried said, noting that military aid was far more important as Ukrainian troops have performed better in repelling Russian attacks than U.S. and European officials expected.
DIFFERENCES EMERGE
While there has largely been unity among Western governments on the necessity to punish Russia, there have been differences in the lengths to which countries are willing to go.
European and Asian countries are more dependent on Russian oil and natural gas than was the U.S. That made a ban on Russian exports hard for the alliance and forced compromises that took months to forge.
Ultimately, the countries in December settled on a $60 price cap, which some critics said came too late and was too high to significantly hurt Russia.
Experts and administration officials have said putting greater downward pressure on the sale of oil and other energy products from Russia would make sanctions more effective.
To Marshall Billingslea, assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing in the Trump administration, the sanctions were far from bulletproof and easy for the Kremlin to elude.
Russia has shot holes through the administrations sanctions, Billingslea said.
Tom Firestone, a sanctions attorney, said more time is needed for the sanctions to take their course.
Anyone who expects massive sanctions on Monday, and on Tuesday the Russian regime would fall is not reasonable, Firestone said. Its a large economy that has large reserves. It has a large variety of trading partners. What were seeing and what the government is saying is theyre on track and its seriously curtailed Russias ability to operate.
Russia is also seeking deeper ties with countries that have refused to join the sanctions effort. Its exports to Brazil, China, India and Turkey have increased by at least 50% since the war started compared with the previous year, according to the Congressional Research Service.
HOW RUSSIA HAS BEEN IMPACTED
Russia is a different country today than it was just a year ago, says Adeyemo, and theyve given up almost 30 years of progress in terms of their economic policy in the course of one year.
But on a day-to-day consumer level, its a mixed picture.
Shopping centers have a lot of shuttered shops, but Russian entrepreneurs are helping fill the gaps. One Russian startup has created a reasonably convincing analogue of McDonalds.
Some sectors have suffered greatly from sanctions and the departure of foreign companies.
Russias automobile sector, for example, has taken a particular hit. A market analysis from the Association of European Businesses, representing European companies in Russia, said sales of new cars in January were 63% lower than a year earlier.
Still, Russia continues to export some lumber, aluminum and other goods to the U.S., based on the need for the products in America.
Russian goods imported to the U.S. totaled $14.5 billion in 2022. Thats less than 1% of all U.S. imports and about half the $30 billion imported from Russia in 2021.
The Justice Department last year formed a task force to target the ill-gotten proceeds of Russian oligarchs, whom the U.S. sees as enabling Moscows war against Ukraine.
As part of that effort, the department has seized two luxury yachts in Fiji and Spain alleged to belong to oligarchs. Prosecutors have also brought criminal charges against oligarchs accused of sanctions violations, including Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate and close Putin associate. Deripaska remains at large.
WHAT COMES NEXT
The U.S. government is not finished by any means. Biden, in Poland on Tuesday, promised were going to announce more sanctions this week together with our partners.
The Treasury Department is expected to impose another large round of sanctions on Russia with a likely focus in 2023 on logistics and manufacturing firms.
Daniel Pickard, a sanctions attorney, said its a safe bet that sanctions will continue to be used with greater frequency with this administration and other administrations. It allows the president to take action without having to consult Congress and can be adjusted with regard to changing events on the ground.
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Eric Tucker in Washington and Martha Mendoza in Santa Cruz, California, contributed to this report
Public Service Company of New Mexico is warning people to avoid downed power lines and issued a possible power outage warning due to high winds expected Wednesday into early Thursday morning.
PNM said on its website people should assume anything touching a downed power line is energized and should not be touched.
Downed power lines or outages should be immediately reported at www.pnm.com/search-an-outage or by calling 888-DIAL-PNM, or by texting #OUT to 78766.
If the winds knock out your power during this winter storm, remember these safety tips to keep you and your family safe! #nmwx pic.twitter.com/3rsV2GvkIM NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) February 22, 2023
The National Weather Service also warned people to be careful of the fire risk posed by using candles and space heaters, and to follow safety instructions when using portable generators as carbon monoxide poisoning is also a risk.
PNM suggests unplugging or turning off electronics and appliances to help avoid damage during an outage. Keep refrigerators closed as much as possible to prevent food from thawing during an outage, the utility said.
PNM also recommends keeping an emergency safety kit on hand, including:
OTTAWA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ground-penetrating radar has detected 17 suspected grave sites around the property of the former Alberni Indian Residential School in British Columbia, Canada, local media reported Tuesday.
The 17 suspected graves represent the minimum number believed to be on 12 of 100 hectares that they searched, the Canadian Press reported, citing Brian Whiting, a geophysics division manager with GeoScan, a local land surveyor that conducted the scans since last July.
The Tseshaht First Nation on Vancouver Island said its interviews with survivors, the historical records and other documents showed that 67 students died at the school.
Many of the 67 children had died from medical conditions, said Sheri Meding, the lead researcher who did the work with historical records and survivors' statements, adding that there were a number of recurring themes when interviewing survivors of the school, including forced abortions, multiple burial locations without markers, students finding skulls and human remains around the grounds and witnessing small coffins being taken out of the building at night.
Tseshaht Elected Chief Councillor Wahmeesh said it was essential to embark on what he called "this journey of truth" despite the process being difficult for survivors.
He said any legal investigations would have to be done by an independent body with Tseshaht consent, and not by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), because of the force's role in residential schools and removing children from their homes.
He also called on Canada to conduct a review to determine the RCMP's role in the Alberni school.
Children from at least 70 Indigenous communities around British Columbia attended the school while it operated from 1900 to 1973.
The site is the latest of several Canadian locations being searched for possible unmarked graves of children who died while being forced to attend residential schools, the Canadian Press reported.
The National Weather Service is warning of a possible snow squall that could cause life-threatening travel conditions in the Farmington and Gallup areas Wednesday morning.
The snow just reached #AztecNM. The gusting winds and the snow could quickly create dangerous driving conditions. Be careful out there if you have to travel. #nmwx pic.twitter.com/9pxjtk8zps Hannah Grover (@hmgrover) February 22, 2023
The service is warning of potential white-out conditions from heavy blowing snow, according to the agencys Twitter page.
A snow squall warning is in effect until 11:00 AM MST for I-40, US-491 near Gallup, NM. pic.twitter.com/pF1RYcdJc3 NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) February 22, 2023
The potential squalls are part of a massive storm system moving across the country thats expect to result in snowfall in other parts of northern New Mexico, and strong winds in central and southern New Mexico, according to NWS.
Snowfall in Taos County, Santa Fe County and the Jemez Mountains area is reported between .9 inches and 3 inches, the NWS Albuquerque Office said.
New Mexico 475 from Santa Fe and New Mexico 4 through Valles Caldera are experiencing snow-packed and icy road conditions.
A major storm bringing widespread damaging winds and winter storm/blizzard conditions to parts of western and northern NM is crossing AZ this morning. Conditions will worsen through the day. Delay travel if possible, and secure loose and light weight items from outdoors. #NMwx pic.twitter.com/5Hft0P6ej9 NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) February 22, 2023
Snow plows are currently working to clear the areas.
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Interstate 25 at Raton Pass was still clear and open.
The Albuquerque area will experience gusts up to 70 mph by the afternoon.
Gusts may be as high as 85 mph in Socorro and Lincoln counties throughout Wednesday, slowing down to gusts of 50 mph through 5 a.m. Thursday.
The wind is blistering, the dust is blinding, and the snow not so enchanting in the Albuquerque metro area Wednesday. Twitter user @dan_majewski might have summed it up best: Eww.
Wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour are expected in Albuquerque. The wind is howling to the north, as well, with the Santa Fe Airport experiencing an 85-mph gust.
85 mph wind gust at the #SantaFe Airport. Likely a top 3 all-time wind gust for that site. Visibility is down to a half mile in blowing snow and dust. #nmwx #NM NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) February 22, 2023
And its not just blowing dust. By early afternoon, snow was falling in Albuquerque.
On the way to pick up my kid, I went through a wind storm. On the way back, I encountered a snow storm. #NMWX Chris Ortiz (@ChrisJOrtiz) February 22, 2023
The National Weather Service is warning of a possible snow squall in northern New Mexico that could cause life-threatening travel conditions.
this snow be squalling Joe Votes (@EarlyVotes) February 22, 2023
Check out this temperature drop from 1:05 to 2:05 p.m. at the Albuquerque airport.
I think I spot the cold front! 20 degree drop in temperature in the span of 30 minutes at the Sunport #NMwx pic.twitter.com/aDbyfX6xTv Michael Anand (@NUCLRGOLFWX) February 22, 2023
Umm really!?
Winds caused these highway light poles to wobble back and forth at I-40 and Unser in Albuquerque today.
Matthew Torrez #NMwx pic.twitter.com/6jfbc2Vurz Grant Tosterud (@granttosterudwx) February 22, 2023
The weather is also causing dangerous conditions due to power outages.
Just lost power and then received an outage notice from Xfinity as well. This wind is no joke! Mac (@mac_actual) February 22, 2023
Some places are deciding to close up shop early due to the inclement weather and high school games are being postponed a day.
Due to inclement weather, the ABQ BioPark will be closing early to the public today. As always, the animals in our care always have a choice of in or out access and animal care staff will still be here keeping the animals well. Stay safe out there today everybody! ABQ BioPark (@abqbiopark) February 22, 2023
The wind/weather is wreaking havoc with district tournament skeds. Four games tonight have been moved to Thursday night. The list:
Santa Fe at Rio Grande boys
Capital at Los Lunas boys
Farmington at Eldorado boys
Eldorado at Sandia girls (this one because Sandia has no power) James Yodice (@JamesDYodice) February 22, 2023
Be safe if youre planning to drive.
Winter weather driving conditions. Please use caution when driving and slow down Albuquerque Police Department (@ABQPOLICE) February 22, 2023
For some, this weather is surprising.
Lifelong Midwesterner take on ultra-windy days in New Mexico: still cant believe tumbleweeds are a real thing Sean Reider (@lenaweereider) February 22, 2023
Of course, if youre from New Mexico, you know about these windy days.
Here are some more images, videos and banter about Wednesdays weather in the Albuquerque metro area. Stay safe!
This wind her in ABQ is no joke, bought pushed me over just walking to the dentist office. KDQ l DUO (@DUO_I_lX_V) February 22, 2023
The view from my window in Albuquerque. Pre Snow Squall. There are mountains out there, somewhere. Stay safe y'all. pic.twitter.com/pwzVLPk2fA mamawinn (@mamawinn86) February 22, 2023
Requiem for the juniper tree outside my office, felled by the wind and unceremoniously being sawed up and hauled away. Marygold Walsh-Dilley (@MarygoldWD) February 22, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court seemed skeptical Wednesday of a lawsuit trying to hold social media companies responsible for a terrorist attack at a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people.
During arguments at the high court several justices underscored that there was no evidence linking Twitter, Facebook and Google directly to the 2017 attack on the Reina nightclub in Istanbul. The family of a man killed in the attack says the companies aided and abetted the attack because they assisted in the growth of the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack . A lower court let the lawsuit go forward.
What the court does with Wednesdays case and a related one it heard a day earlier is important, particularly because the companies have been shielded from liability on the internet, allowing them to grow into global giants.
If the court bars the lawsuit involving the attack in Turkey from going forward it could avoid a major ruling on the companies legal immunity. That outcome would leave the current system in place, but also leave open the possibility that the justices could take up the issue again in a later case.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett was among the members of the court who suggested that the suit against the companies lacks the kind of facts required under a federal anti-terrorism law to hold platforms responsible.
Barrett suggested that a lawsuit against a company such as Twitter would need to have more, such as direct messages, comment threads or other evidence that the platform was being used to coordinate activities for a terrorist attack, not just general recruitment or radicalizing people.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, participating remotely for a second straight day because of illness, said he was having difficulty with the argument of a lawyer for the family of Nawras Alassaf, who was killed in the nightclub attack. Gorsuch told lawyer Eric Schnapper that he was struggling with how your complaint lines up with the three requirements of the statute that the companies knowingly helped a person commit a terrorist act.
The justices seemed more willing to accept the arguments of a lawyer for Twitter, Facebook and Google, Seth Waxman. At one point during two and a half hours of arguments, Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Waxman to help her sketch out what an opinion would look like if the court ruled for his clients. Write it for me, she said.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh summarized Waxmans argument this way: When theres a legitimate business that provides services on a widely available basis its not going to be liable under this statute even if it knows bad people use its services for bad things.
Seeming to agree with that idea, Justice Samuel Alito suggested that it would be outlandish if telephone companies were held responsible for criminal activity of people using their phones. What if, he said, the phone company knows that a particular person is has a criminal background and is probably engaging in criminal activity and is using the phone to communicate with other members of that persons gang. Is that aiding and abetting the crimes that they commit?
The law the case involves is the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allows Americans injured by a terrorist attack abroad to sue for money damages in federal court.
A decision in the case Twitter v. Taamneh, 21-1496 is expected by the end of June before the court recesses for its summer break.
___
Follow the APs coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
SANTA FE Starting next year, New Mexico high-school students could see an increased menu of elective classes but a reduction in the total number of units required to graduate, under a proposal decisively approved by the House on Wednesday.
House members voted 64-3 to approve the bipartisan measure, House Bill 126, after backers argued it would give more flexibility to students and school districts alike.
We have so many students that are disengaged as they get to the high school level, and we need to reengage them, said. Rep. G. Andres Romero, D-Albuquerque, a high school teacher and co-sponsor of the bill.
The proposal would overhaul New Mexicos high school graduation requirements for the first time since 2007, Romero said, by reducing the number of credit units required to graduate from 24 to 22 units. A similar bill passed the House two years ago but stalled in a Senate committee.
It won broad support Wednesday after supporters tacked on two amendments one adding personal financial literacy as a core part of social sciences and the other stipulating that Algebra II still be offered, even though it would no longer be required for graduation.
House Minority Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec, who is also sponsoring the legislation, pushed back against previous criticism it represents an attempt to dumb down public education in New Mexico.
What it does is it frees up some flexibility in a students calendar to pursue electives and career technical programs, Lane said.
Specifically, the bill would require four elective units for high school graduation, which could include non-English language classes, fine arts, military career preparation, financial literacy and computer science.
In addition, Romero said local school districts would be able to decide whether to add additional graduation requirements on top of the states minimum requirements.
I think we have a thoroughly vetted bill that is very rigorous for students, he said in an interview after Wednesdays vote.
The three representatives who cast no votes were Reps. John Block, R-Alamogordo, Joseph Sanchez, D-Alcalde, and Natalie Figueroa, D-Albuquerque.
Celebrity
The 'Elizabeth I' actress explains why playing the Israeli female politician in biopic is not really much different from portraying the Tudor monarch in 2005 miniseries.
Feb 22, 2023
AceShowbiz - Dame Helen Mirren likens playing Golda Meir to portraying Queen Elizabeth I. The Oscar-winning actress takes on the role of the former Israeli Prime Minister in "Golda" and compared the politician's "maternal" instinct to that of the Tudor monarch, who she played in the 2005 TV miniseries "Elizabeth I".
"(Golda) was extraordinarily brave and her commitment to Israel was total. It was a bit like playing Elizabeth the first of England, in the sense (of) her commitment to her country and to her nation," Helen, 77, told The Hollywood Reporter at the Berlin International Film Festival premiere of the biopic on Monday, February 20.
"She achieved it without being the sort of power mad dictator character. She was very maternal. She had that wonderful domestic side to her. She was happiest when she was on the kibbutz looking after the chickens, but life took her on a different path."
The movie is set during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and sees Meir - who had been diagnosed with cancer - leading Israel after the country is rocked by a surprise twin attack by Arab powers Syria and Egypt on the morning of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.
Israel had faced complete military defeat by Meir's effective war leadership helped the country to secure a surprise victory that changed the face of the Middle East and director Guy Nattiv took inspiration from the classic film "Das Boot".
He said, "In the sense that she is in the trenches, she is in one location and cannot leave, she's very alone in the mayhem of the war. This is a very tough and hard look at the war and every soldier that dies. So for me it was going in with my eyes open. Golda is not a super clear character in this movie. She had her faults, she made mistakes and she took responsibility, which leaders are not doing today."
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The 'Crazy Rich Asians' actress, who already shares a 2-year-old baby girl with her rocker boyfriend Ryan Kattner, confirm she's having a bun in the oven via Instagram Story.
Feb 22, 2023
AceShowbiz - Constance Wu finally confirmed her second pregnancy. The "Crazy Rich Asians" leading lady, who is welcoming her second child with her rocker boyfriend Ryan Kattner, shared the news by baring her baby bump in a new photo.
The 40-year-old expectant mom posted the said picture on Instagram Story on Tuesday, February 21. "Bun in the oven. Filipinese baby #2 coming soon," she wrote in the accompanying message, adding a red heart emoji.
Wu first sparked pregnancy rumors on February 16. At that time, she was photographed with her growing belly while strolling around Los Angeles. She looked sporty in a red and blue striped, long-sleeved top, black yoga pants and sneakers that she paired with a black hat and sunglasses.
Wu and Kattner welcomed their first child together back in August 2020. The couple, however, decided to raise the now-2-year-old baby girl out of the spotlight.
In May 2021, the Destiny depicter in "Hustlers" told Jimmy Fallon that her daughter has a "special" birthmark. She said, "Her butt is the color blue. There's this thing, I had never heard of it before, but it's called a Mongolian spot."
"Apparently, it happens in a lot of Asian babies, and my boyfriend and I are both Asian," she further elaborated. "And it's where your butt is blue for like the first two years of your life, and then it just goes away."
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The 'West Side Story' actress additionally posts some behind-the-scenes pictures from the event in which she poses with Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kathryn Gallagher and Rege-Jean Page among others.
Feb 22, 2023
AceShowbiz - Ariana DeBose shared a cryptic message after being blasted online for her disastrous rap performance at the 2023 BAFTA Awards. Making use of her Instagram account, the "West Side Story" actress appeared to slam the critics in the post.
She post, which was shared on Instagram Stories on Monday, February 20, read, "Babygirl, in a world full of choices, choose yourself." That aside, Ariana posted some behind-the-scenes pictures from the event. She was seen posing with fellow stars, including Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kathryn Gallagher and Rege-Jean Page.
Ariana's new posts arrived after the actress deactivated her Twitter account in the wake of criticism of her now-viral "awkward" rap on the same day. During her opening performance, the actress began with a song as she was joined by dancers who tore off her skirt in impressive scenes.
She later went on to name check members of the star-studded audience, including "Squid Game" star Ho-Yeon Jung, Dolly De Leon, Kerry Condon, Carey Mulligan, Emma Thompson, Ana De Armas, Danielle Deadwyler, Michelle, Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Cate Blanchett and Jamie.
"All the ladies in the room/ supporting and leading all here, I presume/ Ho-Yeon Jung, Dolly De/ Kerry and Carey with a C/ Dame Emma, I'm so fond/ Ana, girl, you're great in 'Blonde'/ Danielle D, you broke my heart/ Michelle, I've loved you from the start," she rapped. "Angela Bassett did the thing/ Viola Davis my 'Woman King'/ Blanchett Cate, you're a genius/ Jamie Lee you are all of us."
In response to the performance, some fans immediately dubbed the special shout-out "cringe" and "awkward." Some others, meanwhile, admitted that they were "pissing" themselves laughing. "Bit cringe," one person tweeted. Another person said, "Can't say I was a fan of that rapping," with someone else adding, "Pissing myself laughing at the Ariana DeBose BAFTA song. Why did this happen?"
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Tommie calls Natalie Nunn, Winter Banco and Rollie liars after the trio blame Tommie for putting them in 'danger' with her aggressive behavior at Chris' London concert.
Feb 22, 2023
AceShowbiz - Tommie Lee has spoken up after she was accused of causing drama allegedly involving Chris Brown's baby mama Ammika Harris at his concert backstage. Denying the allegations by Natalie Nunn, Winter Banco and Rollie, she called out Breezy's baby mama and his son Aeko.
The "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" star hopped on Instagram Live on Tuesday night, February 21 to share her side of the story. "Imagine me, for a baby that ain't even mine, to knock a door down. Is you f**kin' serious?" she said while getting her makeup done in the video.
"Please. So, that's what they came up with? Run the cameras, I know they got 'em back there. Oh, okay. I'm standing there, knocking down a door to see a baby," she added, seemingly responding to Natalie and Co.'s claims. The raptress claimed she didn't even know the child was there.
After calling Natalie, Winter and Rollie liars, Tommie said it was Aeko's mother Ammika who slammed the door. She went on insulting Ammika and her son. "I don't care about your baby. F**k your baby," she said. "And f**k his daddy, too. The f**k? Really. Like, girl. I ain't pressed 'bout no motherf**kin baby. F**k him. All y'all look albino as f**k. F**k all y'all motherf**kers."
Tommie's video was in response to Natalie's claims in which she accused the former of getting aggressive backstage at Breezy's London concert. "Natalie got us backstage with Chris Brown," said Rollie during the livestream on Natalie's page. "Once we was headed to our section with Chris Brown and his team, why the f**k did Tommie see Chris Brown baby and was like, 'Oh, his baby is so cute.' "
She went on ranting, "They grabbed the baby and put him in the room. She smacked the door in. They went ballistic." Blaming Tommie for putting them in "danger," she continued, "Why would you do something like that and put me and Johnathan and Natalie in danger? We literally had to fight off three different n***as 'cause of what Tommie did. And she was drunk!"
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ABP Network, Indias leading multi-language news network had made a promise in 2022 that bears fruition on February 24-25, at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. The ABP Networks Ideas of India summit as promised is back, bringing together on one stage: one platform, the brightest minds cutting across sectors from within and beyond the borders of the country. In 2023, the grand second edition of the immensely successful Ideas of India summit is woven around the theme of Naya India: Looking Inward, Reaching Out.
ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey said, The inaugural edition of ABP Networks Ideas of India, in 2022, turned out to be a huge success, not just in terms of how many people watched it, across our network, but more importantly what the forum meant as an intellectual exchange of diverse ideas. It was evident to me that this was an idea that was worth sticking with, because ABP Ideas of India event is not just a summit, it is a platform that represents and extends the pluralism that is the ethos of India. A true democracy, like India, is a grand idea built on the churning of a million smaller ones, pulling and pushing together as a single unit. I am happy to announce that with ABP Networks Ideas of India Summit 2023, this is officially now an annual platform of that churning of ideas, that will contribute to the defining of tomorrows India. The 2023 summit is all about the making of a Naya India as we look inward while reaching out to the world.
The 2-day event, in Mumbai, this year will primarily address the question - Where does India stand at this moment in history, with its burgeoning economy successfully tackling the energy divisions of yet another war in Europe, with a post pandemic recalibrating world looking up to her as a global leader and a whole new generation of Indians impatient to lead across sectors? The speaker list of thought leaders, business icons, cultural ambassadors, and politicians addressing this vital question is long and varied. It extends from Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister of UK to Indian Chief Ministers like Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann and Eknath Shinde; From novelist and champion of environment Amitav Ghosh to tech and business innovation icon N.R Narayana Murthy; from internationally acclaimed academician and author Mahmood Mamdani to the highly amiable Union Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari or the Central Minister in-charge of ensuring connectivity, be it Railways or IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw. The world of arts and cinema will have yesteryear heartthrobs like Zeenat Aman and Asha Parekh as well as a social messaging movie superstar like Ayushmann Khurrana. Ideas of guts and grit of a fighting women will be shared by Vinesh Phogat, Ashwini Nachappa, Jwala Gutta, Joshna Chinappa while education path breakers like Khan Sir and NV Sir will talk about a young India gaining useful knowledge. International film directors Mira Nair and Shekhar Kapur will be there as will be the versatile actor, Manoj Bajpayee; Devdutt Pattanaik will bring alive the myths of the past as someone like Lucky Ali makes the connection between music and words. From celebrity chef Vikas Khanna sharing ingredients of his cooking mantra to young political heavy weights Poonam Mahajan, K Kavitha, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Raghav Chadha expounding on their individual political partys recipe for the elections ahead, the summit is all set to deliberate the paths to a vibrant destiny for a new India.
ABP Ideas of India 2023, with 40 odd sessions and more than 60 speakers, is designed to be an intense and thought-provoking experience that celebrates the strengths that make Naya India the nation that it is as the country reaches out to take its rightful place in the world of tomorrow. ABP Ideas of India Summit 2023 will be available for viewing, on both days of 24th and 25th February, across all the different digital and broadcast platforms of the entire ABP Network.
Amity University Online, Indias first university entitled by UGC to offer online degree programs, is aiming to create an inclusive digital learning ecosystem by providing everyone the ease of learning from anywhere, anytime. As a part of their ongoing Ab kabhi bhi padho India, bas aage badho campaign, the university has recently rolled out a digital-driven functional film focusing on their top Indian & global faculty and best-in-class career placement facilities.
The campaign reinstates how Amity University Online offers a competitive edge to learners by upgrading their skills with Indias leading & top ranked university. All this is focused to enable a successful career for learner with complete flexibility of learning as per their own schedule & pace. The university has launched two ad films under their Ab kabhi bhi padho India, bas aage badho campaign. While the previous film underscored the university's pioneer efforts to make higher education accessible from anywhere and anytime, the recently launched ad film highlights the distinctive advantages of Amity University Online at each step of the student life cycle from admission to placements. These include learning sessions from renowned Indian & global faculty members, job readiness support through career services like masterclass, interview preparation workshops & placement assistance through 300+ hiring partners. Amity University Online also offers industry first experiences like learn on the go with audio books, virtual university tour through Metaverse, online to offline confluence through induction sessions of learners & much more.
Through the digital brand campaign, the university is targeting learners in Tier-1, 2 & 3 cities. In addition to getting featured in leading print publications across the nation, OTT platforms and digital news platforms, the brand campaign is also being streamed digitally on Hotstar since Amity University Online is the Associate Sponsor of India vs Australia test and ODI series.
Ajit Chauhan, Chairman, Amity University Online, said, We aspire to provide high-quality education to students through Amity University Online. Through this digital campaign, we hope to accentuate the numerous advantages that students can gain by learning from India's leading top ranked university and gain a competitive advantage in their careers. We intend to encourage students across India to pursue their aspirations and achieve career goals while studying at their own pace & schedule. Everyone from homemakers who want to have a professional career to job seekers or business owners can opt for our graduate and post-graduate programs since they offer completely flexible and accessible learning alongside distinctive Amity advantages.
Amity University Online offers full-fledged undergraduate & postgraduate degree programs with advantages like study at your own pace &schedule, learn from top Indian & global faculty, live lectures, career services to become job ready, placement assistance through 300+ hiring partners & much more.
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Feb. 21, 2023
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on how Christians are being depicted on some campuses:
No civilization has brought about more liberty and equality than western civilization, and that is due, in large part, to the contributions of Catholicism. Yet on many campuses, not only is western civilization being trashedwhile primitive cultures are being celebratedChristianity is under attack. More than that, the western haters have turned their academic guns on Christians themselves.
"Christian Privilege" classes, workshops, and lectures have been in vogue for the past several years. At George Washington University, diversity workshops teach that "Christians enjoy a privileged, easier life than their non-Christians counterparts, and that Christians possess 'built-in-advantages' today."
In other words, Hispanic Catholics who clean the toilets of filthy-rich atheist students and their pampered professors are the "privileged" ones.
At Rutgers University, a guest lecturer from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Khyati Joshi, told students a few years ago that "white Christian privilege" was responsible for slavery. She did not say who is responsible for slavery in a large part of the non-white world today.
Florida State University has been in the news lately for promoting "diversity, equity and inclusion," or what is really racismracism against white people, especially white Christians. Some of what follows, the university now says, is being discontinued, but there is reason to doubt it.
Students are being told in some classes that they must list their "identities." One student was told to list himself as a white, heterosexual, Catholic male. To what end? The point of the assignment, everyone knew, was to shame him.
Another student, a female, said that her professor was known for going off on "white privilege" and "systemic racism," and that if any students disagreed with him, their grades suffered. In fact, when she wrote a paper defending Christianity as an institution that helped to end slavery, she received an "F."
The diversity, equity and inclusion gurus on campus have training programs where participants learn the four expressions of "Religious Oppression," all of which blame white Christians for oppressing everyone else. The Indians and Pakistanis, and rival African tribes, according to this narrative, never butcher each other.
The proponents of this left-wing propaganda, which is today called scholarship, say that observing Christmas is an example of Christian hegemony. If that is the case, we need more of it. "Christian Privilege," they say, refers to "the view that Christian beliefs, language, and practices do not require any special effort to be recognized, as they are embedded into the U.S. American culture."
Leaving aside the fact that there is no such thing as a Christian "language" (these idiots should be fired for incompetence), why should it be considered controversial for a nation founded by Christians to celebrate its history? What exactly do they do in countries founded by Jews, Hindus and Muslimscelebrate Christianity? The USSR and Communist China were founded by secular genocidal maniacs and their celebrations were never criticized by the same people at war with Christians.
Classroom instruction at Florida State also includes discussion of the "Matrix of Oppression," or what some call the "Matrix of Domination." It is basically a list of victimizers and victims.
The bad guys include white people, "biological" men (meaning real men), "gender conforming men" (meaning sane men), rich people and "naturalized citizens' (meaning those who didn't break the law coming here). The good guys, the victims, are non-whites, "biological" women (meaning real women), "transgender, genderqueer, intersex" (meaning the sexually confused), and "undocumented" people (meaning those who crashed our borders illegally).
Asking university staff and students to swallow this moonshine is not without consequence. In 2021, Florida State had to settle out of court with Jack Denton, the Student Senate President, after he sued for having his First Amendment rights violated. Here's what happened.
Denton sent a text to his fellow Catholic students complaining about Black Lives Matter and the ACLU. A student who read the text, and was offended, shared Denton's private correspondence with his friends, triggering massive retaliation against him. They distorted his remarks and he was removed from his Senate office. When he brought this to the attention of university officials, they refused to do anything about it. That's when he sued.
Any personof any race, ethnicity, religion, sex, or sexual orientation who apologizes for who he issimply because of real and contrived offenses committed by people who share his identity, needs help. Unless the bullies on the Left are told to take a hikeand sued when appropriatethis madness will continue.
Red Bull India and Oracle Red Bull Racing are all set to enthrall F1 enthusiasts with the Red Bull Showrun here in Mumbai along with racing legend & 13-time F1 grand prix champion David Coulthard. The spectacle can be witnessed on the scenic roads of Bandra Bandstand in Mumbai on Sunday, 12th March 2023 10 am onwards with David Coulthard driving the iconic Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 car, the RB7.
Red Bull Racing remains the only team to win all the Indian GP during its three-year stint at the Buddh International Circuit. This is not the first time they will be bringing their Showrun to the country their last appearance in India was at the Hyderabad Showrun in 2015, with Coulthard behind the wheel. Red Bull athlete and Lithuanian freestyle stunt biker Aras Gibieza will also be seen showing off his daredevil act in between the Red Bull Showrun along with a host of other acts. These include the Super Car showcase by the Super Car Club.
Speaking about his return to Mumbai and driving the F1 car on Indian soil once again, David Coulthard said, Namaste India! I am very excited to be coming back to your wonderful city again. Its been a while since my last trip to Mumbai, but it feels like I never really left. India has gained such a strong fan base for F1. I am sure when I drive those dazzling streets at Bandstand, I will see a huge turnaround of the crowd. Looking forward to seeing you all in Aamchi Mumbai on the 12th of March.
After captivating the crowd in the first ever Showrun at Bandra Worli Sea Link in 2009, David returns to the maximum city that never sleeps after 14 long years. Red Bull Showrun aims to bring motorsport fans closer to the Formula 1 Car. The Mumbai Showrun comes at the back of a golden year for Oracle Red Bull Racing, with Max Verstappen dominating the F1 scene with the largest points haul by any driver in F1 history. With the growing popularity of F1 globally & the recent success of Red Bull Racing, this Showrun is a perfect experience to give the Indian audience a glimpse of scintillating F1 action.
Make sure not to blink, and soak in the whiff of burnt rubber as a mean machine from a decorated team whizzes past you.
Event Details:
Date: 12th March 2023
Timings: 10 am to 1:00 pm
Venue: Bandra Bandstand, Mumbai.
For tickets: https://www.redbull.com/in-en/events/red-bull-show-run-mumbai-2023/tickets-for-red-bull-showrun-mumbai
CNN, which has maintained a full-time presence in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022, will mark the first year of war with comprehensive, on-the-ground coverage across television and digital platforms all this week.
In the days leading up to the anniversary, CNN correspondents positioned across Ukraine, Russia and Poland will provide viewers around the world unmatched access to these countries at a pivotal time in this ongoing conflict.
The events in Ukraine continue to shock our humanity and endanger peace and security in Europe and beyond, said Chris Licht, Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide. In these uncertain times, people around the world have turned to CNN for reliable, relevant and timely updates on this conflict. I am proud of the work of our entire organization, but particularly our teams in the field risking their lives to show the world the realities of this deadly war. As we mark this grim milestone, CNN remains wholly committed to covering this story from every angle, on air and online.
As President Biden makes a historic trip to the region, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins will co-host CNN This Morning live from Poland on CNN, CNN International and HLN. CNNs Chief White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly will also report from the Polish capital of Warsaw on Bidens movements and meetings with world leaders.
CNNs Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour will anchor her daily global affairs program, Amanpour, live from Warsaw and Kyiv this week on CNN International. CNNs Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward, who has spent nearly five months reporting in Ukraine since the invasion began, and International Correspondent Melissa Bell will both cover the latest updates from the Ukrainian capital. CNNs Senior International Correspondent Sam Kiley and Senior National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt who both were in Ukraine at the start of the war last year will report across the country as frontlines continue to shift. CNNs Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen will report live from the Russian capital of Moscow all week at a decisive time in this year-long war.
CNNs Fareed Zakaria will host a special global town hall event, with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and USAID Administrator Samantha Power, from Washington, DC on Thursday, February 23 at 9pm ET on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Espanol. CNN Town Hall: Russias Invasion of Ukraine, One Year Later will feature a live audience with members in the U.S. and in Ukraine, who will be able to ask questions of the administration officials.
On Sunday, February 26 at 8pm ET, CNN will air a new special reported by Ward, who criss-crosses the country to explore the extraordinary resilience and unwavering will to win of ordinary Ukrainians. CNN Special Report: The Will to Win: Ukraine at War revisits many of the locations Ward reported from in the last year including Kharkiv, where she reported live as the invasion began. She reunites with paramedics she followed on a shift last spring as Russian artillery smashed into the residential building where the team was treating victims. In this hour-long primetime special broadcast on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Espanol, Ward tells the story of this war through the eyes of Ukrainian fighters, volunteers and leaders who have endured the unthinkable and continue to fight.
CNN Digital will mark the anniversary by launching a series of on-the-ground pieces, interactives, videos, news writes, explainers and other content that breaks down what has transpired in the past year and what lies ahead, available to users at CNN.com/Ukraine. It will also continue the Ukraine live story, which has generated nearly one billion page views and 40 million hours of time spent on content published since the invasion began.
CNN International will offer viewers around the world comprehensive coverage of this anniversary, including live programming and reporting from CNN correspondents across Ukraine, Russia and Poland. In addition to the networks live town hall event and CNN Special Report, CNN International will broadcast a half-hour special featuring Ukrainian artists who have taken extraordinary measures to keep the worlds attention focused on whats happening in Ukraine. Hosted by John Vause, Music that Makes a Difference will air Saturday, February 25 at 3pm ET on CNN International and at 7:30pm ET on CNN en Espanol.
CNN en Espanols special programming will begin Wednesday, February 22 with a special Ukraine edition of primetime show Conclusiones at 9pm ET anchored by Fernando del Rincon. On Friday, February 23 Ana Maria Luengo-Romero will host a special edition of Panorama Mundial at 8pm ET followed by a special live show, Russias War on Ukraine: One Year Later, anchored by Rafael Romo with CNNE correspondent Gustavo Valdes.
CNN Town Hall: Russias Invasion of Ukraine, One Year Later, hosted by Fareed Zakaria, as well as CNN Special Report: The Will to Win: Ukraine at War, reported by Clarissa Ward, will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com and CNN OTT, and mobile apps under TV Channels, or CNNgo where available. The Town Hall will also be available On Demand beginning Friday, February 24 to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN apps, and Cable Operator Platforms. CNN Special Report: The Will to Win: Ukraine at War will be available On Demand beginning Monday, February 27 to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.
Hyper Connect Asia, the multi-disciplinary agency headquartered in Mumbai is the strategy and design partner for the unique D2C jewelry brand that is focused on celebrating the rich heritage and culture of Maharashtra through contemporary jewelry designs. The brand launch brings together some of the biggest names from the Marathi film fraternity like Tejashri Pradhan, Sayali Sanjeev, Spruha Joshi & Shivani Kulkarni enamoring this new-age jewelry brand.
The brand name Magina is inspired by Maharashtra cha Dagina or Jewel of Maharashtra, is a unique effort to celebrate the rich culture, heritage, and stories of Maharashtra through their unique modern-day heirloom pieces. The D2C start-up is the brainchild of Yogeshwar Dande, a 4th generation jewelry entrepreneur from the 100-year-old legacy jeweler brand Govind Dande and Sons Pvt Ltd based out of Nasik. With Magina, Yogeshwars vision is to create a global light jewelry brand that takes inspiration from the cultural heritage of Maharashtra and creates unique and contemporary designs for modern women.
Commenting on the launch and the partnership, Yogeshwar Dande, Founder, Magina said, I was toying with the concept of an independent jewelry venture for the last couple of years. The D2C Jewelry space is booming with multiple traditional and new-age brands harping on the demand and optimizing the potential of this space. But with so many D2C jewelry players around, we needed to break the clutter and find a unique brand voice. Hyper Connect changed my perspective in our very first meeting and we were absolutely excited and driven by the idea of creating a brand, which celebrated the rich stories of Maharashtra in a contemporary way. Magina is an endeavor via which young and independent women living in Maharashtra or anywhere globally can find a connection with this heritage and traditionally rich state through a unique piece of jewelry. Each of our designs is unique, modern and affordable and is designed keeping this brand philosophy in mind.
Hyper Connect Asia has been the one-stop partner for all branding & consulting needs of the unique light jewelry brand. Under this brand consulting mandate, Hyper Connect Asia has created the branding from scratch including - brand name, identity design, visual design, tone of voice, product photography, product video content, along with designing & developing UI & UX for Maginas e-com platform. The clutter-breaking launch idea will help us launch the brand and Hyper Connect Asia will continue to partner with us as our marketing partner to build influence over their search & social, to drive conversions.
Kiran Khadke, Co-founder & Creative Lead, Hyper Connect Asia shared, This was one of the most exciting & fulfilling projects as it challenged us to create a brand from scratch. Right from crafting a brand name that is meaningful, to creating the brand identity design, brand tonality, visual story guides and extending it to UI & UX of the e-commerce website and driving product photography. We have been successful in designing a unique brand roadmap for Magina that reflects the brand philosophy and weaved it together with a digital 1st launch strategy. We are very confident that this cohesive brand strategy will enable Magina to get noticed and drive their relevant reach and subsequently lead to high conversions.
Ankur Pujari Co-Founder & Business Lead, Hyper Connect Asia commented, We are constantly looking for opportunities where we can create disruptive brands that are reimaging the categories and are deep-rooted in consumer needs. We are exhilarated to have been partnered with Magina right from its inception to creating a brand that strongly stands on the values of tradition and heritage but is evolved and forward in its philosophy and creativity.
Jovees Herbal, a leading herbal skin & hair care brand, has announced the launch of its second advertisement featuring Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra. The new ad campaign focuses on the beauty of natural & glowing skin using the brand's range of herbal and natural facewashes.
The new ad campaign follows the success of the first one, which was released in September. The response to the first ad was overwhelming, and the brand received a lot of positive feedback from its customers. The second ad campaign aims to build on this success and showcase the effectiveness of Jovees Herbal's products.
"We are excited to launch our second ad campaign with Parineeti Chopra. She has been a fantastic brand ambassador for us, and we are confident that this new campaign will be a huge success," said Rakhi Ahuja, CEO of Jovees Herbal. "The new ad focuses on the beauty of natural & glowing skin, and we are proud to offer our customers a wide range of herbal and natural facewashes for all skin types and concerns that can help them achieve this."
Jovees Herbal has witnessed a 35 percent growth in sales numbers on a year-on-year basis, a testament to the quality and effectiveness of its products. The brand has expanded globally to countries such as Qatar, France, Malaysia, Sudan where it has been well-received by customers.
"We are thrilled to have seen such significant growth in our sales numbers. Over the last 19 years, our driving force has been the continuous response from our valuable consumers. It's a testament to the quality of our products and the trust that our consumers have in us," said Rakhi Ahuja. "We are also excited to expand globally and bring our products to customers in new markets."
The new ad campaign is a 360-degree one, with a focus on TV and digital media. The brand is targeting a wide range of audiences, including young adults, working professionals, and homemakers. The campaign aims to showcase the effectiveness of Jovees Herbal's range of herbal and natural products, which are formulated with natural ingredients and are gentle on the skin.
Following the ad campaign, the brand plans to release a series of animated films, which will further highlight the natural beauty of skin glow and the effectiveness of Jovees Herbal's products.
"We are always looking for new ways to showcase the effectiveness of our products and connect with our current and potential consumers," said Rakhi Ahuja. "We believe that the series of animated films will be a great way to do this and will help us reach a wider audience, especially young adults."
In conclusion, Jovees Herbal's second ad campaign with Parineeti Chopra is set to be a huge success, building on the positive response to the first ad campaign. The brand's range of herbal and natural products is effective, and the expansion into new markets has been well-received. With the new ad campaign and series of animated films, Jovees Herbal aims to connect with its customers and showcase the beauty of naturally glowing skin.
Authored by Smita Khanna, Chief Operating Officer- Newton PR
In a country where one has 62 recognizable TV news channels and 31 reputed news publications, with these news publications having their city-focused print and online media presence across the country, the task for a brand to reach out, engage, and communicate with the media is herculean. This is where media relations come into play, and the need for an expert and the expertise of a specialist in the public relations domain becomes imminent. It is this need that propels the 0.25 billion-dollar industry that Public Relations as a practice has become in India.
Public relations (PR) is an essential part of any organization's marketing and communications strategy. The primary goal of PR is to create and maintain a positive image for the organization, its products, and its services. And media relations are the be-all and end-all of public relations, entailing the establishment and maintenance of relationships with the media in order to secure the desired coverage of events and happenings for a brand or organization.
Media relations is the practice of developing relationships with journalists, editors, producers, and other media professionals, mostly on behalf of clients of PR agencies. The purpose of media relations is to help an organization get positive and noteworthy appearances in the media, which can boost the organization's credibility and visibly enhance its reputation. A positive media presence can help position an organization as a thought leader in its industry, improve its market reputation, and increase brand awareness.
Media relations can help boost your client's credibility in several ways.
First, by securing positive media coverage, one can increase a client's visibility and effectively help to position the client's achievements in their field. When a journalist quotes a client brand or features them in a story, it provides third-party validation, which is a great measure to establish your client as a credible source of information.
Second, media coverage can help to create a positive perception of your client's brand. Positive coverage can help highlight your client's strengths and unique selling points and differentiate them from their competitors. It can also help to build brand awareness and increase the likelihood of new customers choosing your client's products or services.
Third, media coverage can help to establish your client as a thought leader in their industry. By positioning your client as an expert in their field, they can gain credibility and influence. This can lead to opportunities to speak at industry events, participate in panel discussions, and contribute to industry publications. Thought leadership can help establish your client's authority and expertise, which can lead to increased trust and confidence in their brand.
To effectively use media relations to boost your client's credibility, it is essential to develop strong relationships with the media. This involves understanding the needs and interests of journalists, editors, and producers and providing them with relevant and compelling story ideas. In fact, this becomes the core task of PR agencies that are hired to manage media relations on behalf of clients.
It is important to note that media relations is not just about getting coverage for clients. Its a fine balance of want vs. need! The task of a media relations professional entails providing value to the media. This means understanding the type of content that the media is looking for and providing them with relevant and high-quality information that is reader- and viewer-appealing.
If a brand wishes to manage media relations on their own and not hire an external PR consulting firm, it is important to craft a compelling and relevant pitch when pitching a story to the media. This should include a brief summary of the story, why it is newsworthy, and how it relates to the media outlet's audience. You should also be prepared to provide additional information or resources, such as quotes from your client, images, or statistics that matter.
Once a story has been secured, it is important to continue to build and maintain the relationship with the journalist. This activity ideally involves providing them with additional information, responding to their inquiries promptly, and being available for follow-up interviews or comments.
In conclusion, media relations are a critical component of PR that can help boost a PR agency client's credibility and increase their brand visibility. By developing strong relationships with the media, providing value, and crafting compelling pitches, one can secure positive coverage for clients, position them as thought leaders, and propel brand awareness through the media, which has the potential to increase top line growth.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) US billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX said its satellite internet service provider Starlink is now available in the Philippines.
SpaceX announced this on Wednesday through a post on Twitter, almost a year after it received the governments approval to register in the country as a value-added service provider.
Earlier this month, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said it expedited Starlinks commercial rollout, approving the companys request that its user terminals be classified as customer premise equipment and not subject to the same procedures as radio station licensing.
With Starlink, the government hopes it could address the internet needs of Filipinos residing in rural areas with unserved or underserved connectivity.
Starlink services involve high-speed low latency satellite internet with a download speed of between 100 to 200 Megabits per second, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
Based on its order form available on the Starklink website, Filipinos in Metro Manila wanting to tap the companys internet service would have to pay a one-time fee of 29,320 for hardware, while their monthly subscription is set at 2,700.
Xiplomacy: Building China-Africa community of health for all with dedication and action
Xinhua) 08:23, February 22, 2023
Hao Yabo (R) performs acupuncture therapy with his assistant to a patient at a hospital in Bangui, Central African Republic, Feb. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Chinese medical teams are currently working at 115 medical centers in 56 countries around the world, most of which are in Africa. African people hail the Chinese medical workers as health messengers in white, models of South-South cooperation and most welcome guests.
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- With the first rays of sunlight shining into the clinic rooms, a group of doctors from east China's Zhejiang Province were about to start work at the Friendship Hospital in the Central African Republic's capital of Bangui.
As some 90 patients were waiting their turn in the hallways, loud noise of electricity generators resounded through the hospital. The hospital is struggling with fragile conditions. The walls are peeling. In rainy seasons, rains leaked through the roofs. And water and power outages are common for local people.
Those poor medical infrastructures have left thousands of people in the country vulnerable to diseases and with little access to health services.
Despite the harsh conditions, some 300 Chinese doctors and nurses have come to the African country since 1978 to help local people. Since its first medical aid team set off for Algeria in 1963, China has sent about 30,000 personnel to 76 countries and regions across five continents, providing 290 million diagnoses and treatments for local people.
Chinese medical teams are currently working at 115 medical centers in 56 countries around the world, most of which are in Africa. African people hail the Chinese medical workers as health messengers in white, models of South-South cooperation and most welcome guests.
A Chinese doctor (R) from the Chinese medical team in Ghana operates a surgery on a Ghanaian patient suffering from cataract in LEKMA Hospital in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on Feb. 13, 2023. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)
ON MISSIONS TO HEAL AND RESCUE
"I could not see well in the right eye, and sometimes, after taking a few steps, it felt like I was about to fall. I came to the hospital and was diagnosed with cataract," Elizabeth Dzokpe, a retired nurse from Kpando in the Volta Region of Ghana, told Xinhua.
To help her restore sight, the Chinese medical team stationed at the LEKMA Hospital in the country's capital Accra offered a free surgery, and now Dzokpe regained a normal vision.
Dzokpe is one of the many beneficiaries of such free surgeries the medical team performed since last November. This program intends to treat as many low-income Ghanaians with cataracts as possible.
"Next to the gift of life is the gift of sight, because our sight lightens our world and makes us appreciate our existence better," said Ghanaian Deputy Minister for Health Mahama Asei Seini.
The Chinese people love peace and cherish lives, which is vividly illustrated by their efforts in international medical assistance, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a reply letter to the 19th Chinese medical team dispatched to the Central African Republic earlier this month.
True indeed. In Botswana, the 16th Chinese medical team dispatched to the country has performed 6,081 operations on local patients, rescued 4,044 critically ill patients, and delivered 605 babies over the last two years. Working in Sierra Leone for more than a year, the 23rd Chinese medical team has treated some 18,000 patients and made multiple breakthroughs in surgeries.
"These Chinese doctors made great sacrifices, and their stories are unfolding in the continent every day. This kind of humanity should be praised, and their stories will be told from generation to generation," Benjamin Anyagre, general secretary of the Ghana-China Friendship Association, told Xinhua.
China-donated Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Feb. 10, 2021. (Photo by Li Boyuan/Xinhua)
FRIENDS IN NEED
China and Africa together have written a splendid chapter of mutual assistance amidst complex changes. One of the best examples of the kind is their cooperation against various deadly viruses.
When China struggled to contain the COVID-19 pandemic within its borders, leaders of more than 50 African countries offered their sympathy and provided support to China's battle against the virus. Later, China also proved a reliable friend in deed who honors its pledges of support for an Africa in need, delivering myriads of urgently-needed medical supplies, sending over teams of medical experts, and sharing its own anti-pandemic experience.
To fulfill its commitment to making COVID-19 vaccines a global public good, China has provided tens of thousands of vaccines to more than 50 African countries and the African Union. It has also helped Africa with producing COVID-19 vaccines, offering technology and expertise.
The solidarity between China and Africa demonstrated over the past three years has reminded many of what happened in the three years since 2014, when West Africa was plagued with one of the most deadly viruses in the world: Ebola.
From 2014 to 2016, China had sent over 1,000 medical personnel to the virus-stricken regions, and trained more than 13,000 local health personnel and community epidemic control coordinators for deployment to the affected areas. It had also offered ambulances, motorcycles, pickup trucks and portable incinerators to West Africa.
"It is in the hour of need that one discovers who your true friends are," said Namibian President Hage Geingob.
The Chinese are always on the Africans' side, said Teruneh Zenna, Ethiopia's former ambassador to the United Nations. "I am looking forward to more cooperation between Africa and China in the field of public health."
This aerial photo taken on Jan. 8, 2023 shows the headquarters building of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Photo by Dang Honglai/Xinhua)
TOWARDS COMMUNITY OF HEALTH FOR ALL
Gazing at an iconic twin tower sitting on a once derelict land full of garbage in the southern suburbs of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, local resident Wakjira Totofa said, "It's really like a dream."
"We never thought we would see such a magnificent building in a short period," said Totofa, a civil servant who lives in the neighborhood of the building hosting the headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Totofa has witnessed the dramatic change from "nothing to something" on his daily commute. The first phase of this flagship cooperation project was completed in January, another fine testament to China's endeavor to build a China-Africa community of health for all.
In December 2015, China announced 10 major plans, including on public health, to boost cooperation with Africa in the following three years. Three years later, the country reaffirmed its commitment to building an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. Both sides have pledged to build "a China-Africa community of health for all."
In 2021, the Chinese president proposed to work closely with African countries to implement nine programs, the first of which is the medical and health program.
"I have been impressed by China's active participation in promoting global health with a shared future. Chinese leadership under President Xi Jinping has focused on pursuing the greater good and shared interests across the world, which has boosted China's efforts in maintaining good cooperation in global health," said Emery Nzirabatinya, a Rwandan international relations expert.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) Filipino film Oras de Peligro, which tells the story of a family living near the Malacanang Palace during the EDSA Revolution, is not made to push for a certain political agenda, the movies director and producers said.
Executive producer Howie Calleja said there is no political motive behind the project as the film involves no political characters despite the story being set four days before the Marcos family fled to Hawaii.
Theres nothing political. We dont have any political characters. We are not on any political side. But as they said, the truth has to be told, again and again ang again so that the truth would not be overshadowed, Calleja told CNN Philippines The Final Word.
We collected video footage of the time. Its a docu-drama. There is a document of the time and a dramatization of the life of a simple family which was looking for justice at that time. There are no actors portraying Marcos, Cory, Ninoy, none. Those are all video footage, Director Joel Lamangan said.
"Oras de Peligro" features a fictional family living in the slums who dealt with the murder of a family member under the hands of corrupt policemen days before the historic People Power Revolution in February 1986.
The film shows the transition of the main characters played by veteran actors Cherry Pie Picache and Allen Dizon from passive victims of social injustice into active participants in the final hours of the uprising.
Lamangan said the story is meant to depict what really happened back then, showing the point of view of the ordinary Filipino then rather than from any of the political parties involved in the revolution.
Meanwhile, Picache and Dizon said the movie also aims to address a need to correct the views and beliefs about the EDSA Revolution as well as combat disinformation and misinformation about the countrys history.
There is a danger now that some people and some groups are trying to erase history. They would like to put their own kind of history, Lamangan said.
"Oras de Peligro" will be shown in local cinemas on March 1, simultaneous with the drama film "Martyr or Murderer," which director Darryl Yap said depicts new revelations about the Marcos family.
The corporate media has made a fundamental mistake in dealing with President Donald J Trump. Day after day Trump is attacked with made-up conspiracies and personal innuendo and when the president defends himself, they say he doesn't look "presidential." But the American people know he is defending their interests. President Trump is not the problem, Trump is the solution.
At his campaign rallies, President Trump has remarked that many compare his election in 2016 to that of Andrew Jackson in 1828.
President Trump prominently displays a painting of Andrew Jackson in the Oval office. Jackson, Americas seventh president, was a no-nonsense populist, one ranked high in leadership ability by U.S. historians. The selection of the Ralph E. W. Earl portrait by the president suggests the direction Trump wants to lead the country in and the chief executive he deems worthy of emulation.
Andrew Jackson, like Trump, was an outsider who advocated a populist agenda championing the common man over corrupt government institutions and private financiers and stock jobbers whose financial interests and profits took priority over any allegiance to country.
But a far more compelling historic parallel exists with another outspoken New Yorker and similarly ostracized Republican -- Theodore Roosevelt.
Roosevelt hailed from Manhattan while Trump was born in Queens. Like Trump, Roosevelt was utterly despised by a GOP Republican establishment that did everything to render him impotent. Roosevelt would be denied the Republican presidential nomination by party insiders in 1912.
Because of his forthright opinions, the GOP regulars relegated Roosevelt to dead-end positions first as U.S. Civil Service Commissioner 1889, then as Assistant Secretary of the Navy 1897. Undaunted, Roosevelt turned all those positions into springboards for further advancement.
Roosevelt resigned as assistant secretary at the start of the Spanish American War in 1898 and formed his own regiment of Rough Riders. A hero in that war, he became governor of New York. Barely a year into his term, the Republican establishment bosses wanted him out of New York and thought the safest place to put him was as VP on the GOP ballot with William McKinley.
But the unthinkable happened. McKinley was assassinated in 1901. Roosevelt became president. GOP party leader and US senator Mark Hanna despairingly exclaimed on behalf of the old guard, now that damned cowboy is in the White House. The GOP establishment was similarly apoplectic when Donald Trump, who humbly referred to himself as a redneck from Fifth Ave, won the 2016 presidential election.
Roosevelt, like Trump, was charged with not being a real conservative. As president, Roosevelt advocated executive stewardship. He saw himself as a steward working on behalf of the people in an industrial age of huge corporate trusts in which their voice was diminished. Roosevelt championed free competition, what he called a Square Deal. Trump too encourages what he calls free and fair trade for the American people.
A strong proponent of the nation-state, Roosevelt like Trump decidedly opposed the internationalism of the Republican big business, chamber of commerce establishment types. The Trump Doctrine battles against any global treaty that signs away U.S. sovereignty to unelected international bureaucrats.
Trumps conservatism, like Roosevelts, is one based on commonsense and prudence. It is practical, not theoretical and looks disdainfully upon abstract neoconservative ideologies about world community, nation building or the end of history.
Before the advent of television, Roosevelt used his office as a bully pulpit to advocate his policies. Roosevelt, a master self-promoter, became the first president to invite the press into the White House. Previously they stood outside in inclement weather. Roosevelt was also the first President to publicly disparage the press as muckrakers. Today Trump calls it fake news and uses Twitter as his bully pulpit to communicate directly with the American people going over the heads of special interest of the corporate media.
Roosevelt, like Trump, did not shy away from the use of tough language which became instant sound bites. He once called the president of Venezuela, an unspeakably villainous little monkey. During the election of 1912, President Taft was labeled a fat head.
Long before Twitter, Roosevelt used the telegraph effectively. When U.S. citizen, Ion Perdicaris was captured in Morocco and the kidnapper, a Berber chief named Raisuli, sought ransom; President Roosevelt instructed Secretary of State John Hay to cable a message, which President Trump would be proud to own as a Tweet. The cable message read, Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead. The hostage was immediately released.
Roosevelt's tough talk led to peaceful resolution of disputes like the United Mine Workers coal strike in 1902. He had a penchant for bringing warring parties together and making deals, as he did in ending the Russo-Japanese War, in 1905 for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize.
President Trump has also demonstrated great diplomatic skills. His peace initiative with North Korea was just the beginning. President Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Prize for his efforts for peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Serbia and Kosovo.
President Trump has been called every name in the book by the mass media except what he truly is which -- a great reformer. This too is a parallel to Theodore Roosevelt.
Despite all the manufactured polls and tumultuous disinformation employed by the carnival-barking media, President Trump appears to be Niagarously roaring toward re-election victory.
Perhaps for his second term, he might consider replacing the portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval office with one of his fellow New Yorker: rambunctious Theodore Roosevelt, who also spoke his mind and didn't back down in defense of his country.
Images: LoC, Gage Skidmore
A few days ago, on several internet news sites, a bone-chilling claim appeared: The U.S. is looking to the Ukraine war to shape its planning for the coming conflict with China over Taiwan. This is completely wrong because there is no connection between events in Ukraine and a possible Chinese assault on Taiwan.
The comparison between current events in Ukraine and possible future events in Taiwan has been common practically since the Ukraine conflict began.
On May 19, 2022, Politico wrote that U.S. officials are pushing their Taiwanese counterparts with new urgency to look to Ukraines success in fending off Russian forces as a blueprint for countering a Chinese attack.
Less than a year later, News published an article entitled, How Ukraine war has shaped US planning for a China conflict: As the war rages on in Ukraine, the United States is doing more than supporting an ally. Its learning lessons with an eye toward a possible future clash with China.
Reading these articles, one must ask whether our military experts have a realistic grasp of the coming battle of Taiwan? I doubt it.
Apparently, US officials imagine that Chairman Xi is channeling Gen. Robert E. Lee and intends to reenact Picketts charge at Gettysburg by charging across the Taiwan Strait, in the same way that Russian President Vladimir Putin reenacted it with his infantry and armor against Kiev.
Image: Taipei skyline by . CC BY 2.0.
The simple fact is that Picketts charge is as bad an idea in 2023 as it was in 1863. Its rather amusing to see Americans think that the Chinese will fall for it.
For thousands of years, the only offensive tactic the generals of the world could imagine was the frontal assault. Innovators such as General Hannibal Barca and General Thomas Stonewall Jackson were a rarity. Over time, advances in weaponry invalidated the frontal assault. Those advances continue to invalidate it today, something confirmed by Russias Russian armored re-enactment of Picketts Charge before Kiev and the sinking of the Moskva on April 14, 2022, 4/14/22 in the Black Sea.
Given the comparison between Ukraine and Taiwan, many are asking what Biden would do if China did attack Taiwan. (See, e.g., this Newsmax article.) People who ask this question dont understand the tempo of the coming Chinese attack. By the time Biden learns about the attack, Taiwan will have surrendered.
The scenario for the Chinese attack is clear. In war, as in love, timing is everything.
First, its true that, if an attack occurs, the Chinese will choose Bidens administration to do it, and thats true whether because they perceive Biden as pitifully weak or because theyre making good on their investment in Hunter Biden. The attack must seize the island quickly and with minimum damage to the people or infrastructure. It will occur at high noon on a bright summer day. The attack will proceed in five stages:
(1) A massive cyber assault creates chaos in Taiwans computer systems.
(2) The cyber assault clears the road for a missile carrying the low-yield nuclear device that will detonate in the sky above Taiwan. In the bright sunlight at high noon, most people wont notice the EMP attack. They will only notice that their phones are dead. Every computer chip on the island that has not been armored against an EMP strike will be fried. Taiwan will have no tanks, no trucks, no airplanes, no ground-to-air missiles, no communications. Surrender will be the only option.
(3) A white Chicom helicopter flying dozens of white flags lands on Taiwan, and China presents its offer to accept a bloodless surrender.
(4) The surrender is executed.
(5) Chicom forces land on the beach and drive into Taipei.
A war that begins in the wee hours of Eastern Standard Time will be a fait accompli long before Biden wakes up enough to understand what happened. There will likely be no Chinese boots on Taiwan soil until the Taiwan surrender, which will be mere hours after hostilities begin.
Even Taiwan hasnt grasped this, as evidenced by a Taipei Times editorial pushing for a defense upgrade. The editorial wisely eschews any expectation that the USA will intervene with military force but continues to anticipate that, after the attack, Washington will provide detailed intelligence and vast quantities of weapons. Taiwan, like the U.S., fails to understand that the Beijing attack will move at a speed that makes Hitlers blitzkrieg look like slow motion.
So, is Taiwan doomed? No, no, no, not at all. Diplomacy can save Taiwan.
What does China want? Two things: wealth and dignity.
Specifically, from Taiwan, China wants trade and acceptance of the One China policy. This is cake. Trade will benefit both Taiwan and China. And accepting the one China policy is easy for Taiwan to finesse. In fact, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has previously called upon Beijing to work with Taipei to find a mutually agreeable arrangement to uphold cross-strait peace and stability, saying military confrontation is not an option for the two sides.
Despite the benefits of a negotiated settlement, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC or China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) continue their unrelenting head-butting fracas over the one China doctrine. This doctrine sees the PRC claim it is the one and only China, shouting We are the Chinese nation over and over ad nauseam. Meanwhile, just last week, the ROC claim reiterated that s a sovereign nation that has never been and never will be a part of the Peoples Republic of China. The truth is that this dustup has become as boring as a family feud that persists unabated despite an obvious and easy solution.
The key to the solution is to understand the distinction between a nation and a state. A nation is a collection of people with important common characteristics, like race, language, etc., while a state is a polity, a political entity, a collection of people with a governmental structure. So, yes, indeed, there is only one Chinese nation, but that one Chinese nation is implemented in several Chinese states, including Tibet, Outer Mongolia, the PRC, and the ROC. (There may be others of which I am unaware.)
Taiwan can eagerly proclaim: Yes, there is only one China! And we are proud to be part of it! Agreeing to this simple formula can avoid a war, assure the PRC that all four states are Chinese, and secure to both the PRC and the ROC the blessings of trade and a lasting peace.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 21) The government loses at least 500 billion every year to tax evasion, according to the head of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
"If isasama natin yung illicit trades, sa sigarilyo pa lang nasa halos 100 bilyon na yan. Wala pa yung leakage sa petroleum, yung hindi rehistrado at sa pagbebenta ng pekeng resibo. Siguro hindi bababa sa 500 bilyon kung susumahin mo," BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumaguihe said.
[Translation: If we include illicit trades, we lose around 100 billion from cigarettes alone. This does not yet include leakage from petroleum, from unregistered products, and false receipts. It's at least 500 billion if you sum it all up.]
Based on government data, half-a-trillion pesos would have been enough to build half-a-million classrooms, or hundreds more San Juanico bridges.
The bureau said it will now intensify its campaign against tax evaders to plug the tax leaks.
Earlier this month, the BIR filed 74 tax evasion complaints amounting to around 3.58 billion against several individuals and corporate taxpayers.
The BIR's target collection for 2023 is at 2.599 trillion - a 13% increase from 2022's 2.3 trillion.
CNN Philippines senior correspondent Lois Calderon and digital producer Faith Ragasa contributed to this report.
One year after Russia invaded Ukraine, its invasion has stalled.
The Ukrainians have not only held their own, but have managed to liberate a good chunk of their conquered territory. Theyve been buoyed tremendously by a constant influx of Western military aid. I argue here, against a small but vocal conservative faction, that we should continue this aid.
There has been plenty of unhelpful hyperbole on both sides of the debate. Prominent pro-Ukrainers have attempted to equate opposition to Ukrainian aid as opposition to democracy itself. Michael Beschloss, NBCs resident Rent-A-Zinn, referencing members of Congress who didnt applaud Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys recent speech, and in Stalinist fashion, tweeted we need to know from them exactly why. Neocon David Frum tweeted that Elon Musk, who questions some aspects of the U.S. response, is a Russian trial balloon. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, more detached than a greasy Duplo block, called Ukrainian assistance our number one priority..
But some prominent anti-Ukrainers, not to be outdone, dutifully rose to the challenge. Dan Caldwell, vice president of foreign policy for Stand Together tweeted, Zelenskyhas been very clear his goal is to get Americas sons and daughters to fight and die in the war in Ukraine. Likewise, Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren tweeted, We cant fight this war for you for eternity!!! Im not sure which war we are fighting for them and, to my knowledge, Zelensky has not requested anything beyond funding and weapons. I assure you that Ukrainian soldiers can perfectly operate American tanks and planes themselves, Zelensky told American lawmakers. Unless Caldwell and Lahren have information that we dont, theyre engaging in reckless fear-mongering. American troops are not fighting in Ukraine, nor will they.
The rational position of the anti-Ukrainers, outlined in more reasonable terms by John Daniel Davidson, Katherine Thompson, William Wolfe, and others, seem to rest on the following four points, which I attempt to refute:
THE MONEY WERE SENDING TO UKRAINE COULD BE BETTER SPENT HERE
Yes, we are largely funding the Ukrainians against the Russian invasion. Weve given them roughly $100 billion in piecemeal funding with many strings attached and, as Matthew Continetti pointed out, in the grand scheme of our $31 trillion debt and our now-routine trillion dollar budgets, this aid amounts to a rounding error. The United States government spent $6.27 trillion in FY 2022, from which our Ukraine aid barely registers. Sure, we could have spent the money domesticallyon such urgencies as environmental justice programs, transgender youth programs, and further FBI investigations into concerned parents domestic terrorism, all of which Mitch McConnell helped pass in the latest leftist smorgasbord omnibus package. Given the choice, that money is better spent kneecapping Russia than it is surgically mutilating children.
UKRAINE IS NONE OF OUR BUSINESS
The mirage that we can isolate ourselves from the happenings of the world is one weve entertained before, most consequentially on Dec. 6, 1941 and Sept. 10, 2001. Subsequent events were assumed to have shattered that mirage, but, alas, it appears difficult to eradicate. This is not the bugle call of the neocon fever dream demanding all war all the time everywhere. Rather, we need to pick and choose our battles carefully but assertively and, when possible, fight them through proxies. We did this across the globe for the entirety of the Cold War, as did our enemies. And every country in which we fought a proxy war could justifiably be considered none of our business. Yet youd be hard pressed to find a Republican, then or now, who criticized Ronald Reagans decision to support anticommunist armies in Latin America, or other paramilitary efforts to contain communism in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. And unlike democratic Ukraine, most of these allied governments were unabashed dictatorships and Islamist theocracies.
Austria in 1938 was none of our business, too. Afghanistan in the 1990s was none of our business. Except they were. You might not be interested in totalitarianism, but totalitarianism is interested in you. Our experience with domestic leftists should have us beyond convinced of this reality. Freedom and tyranny are not static entities; one grows or shrinks in inverse proportion to the other. We can choose to fight it when its weak, or be forced to fight it (or submit to it) when its strong.
THIS COULD ESCALATE INTO NUCLEAR WAR
To news last December that we were sending Patriot missile systems (mind you, purely defensive weapons), Beege Welborn at Hot Air warned, Wed all pay. Dearly. ... if said systems were used to down a Russian plane. But many Russian planes have been downed since the wars inception, without a single Russian nuke obliterating an American city, or any American anywhere, in reciprocity.
That this war involves Russia itself rather than a proxy doesnt change the calculus. In Vietnam, the NVA was armed far more lavishly by the Russians and Chinese than Ukraine is currently armed by us. In Afghanistan, we armed the Mujahideen against the Soviets for nearly a decade. And for the record, in 2018, Putin was caught smuggling large caches of weapons to the Taliban for use against us. This happened without us nuking each other.
For all his saber-rattling, Putin knows that a direct conflict with the United States would quickly end his rule. And he knows that a nuclear conflict with the United States would quickly end his beloved Russia and its supposed cultural superiority. If Putin was going to use nukes, he would have done so by now, and he would have nuked Ukraine rather than the United States. But Putin is not going to nuke anybody, not because of any moral qualms, but because its the surest way hell lose everything precious to him.
IF DEMOCRATS AND NEOCONS SUPPORT IT, WE SHOULD OPPOSE IT
I wont deny theres an off-putting sleaziness associated in finding common ground with McConnell, Biden, and the rest of the deckhands of the Crimson Permanent Assurance. Disagreeing with the Democrats, without even knowing what the issue is, is a good bet 99.99% of the time. And whatever their motives are regarding Ukraine, surely they are not the defense of freedom in the face of brute tyranny. But we can do the right thing for the right reasons, despite them doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. We fought Naziism alongside the Soviets.
Napoleon is thought to have issued the maxim: 'never interrupt your enemy when hes making a mistake.' For two decades, Putin has been playing five-dimensional chess while our civilian and military leadership still struggle to figure out Candyland. But his Ukraine invasion was a grave miscalculation, uncharacteristic for him, and one from which he cannot extract himself while saving face. He has spent the year digging his hole ever deeper, with no end in sight, all the while exposing the once-feared Russian military for the ineffective husk it really is. Even if the war ended today, his reconstituted Soviet empire remains a chimerical pipe dream. The Russian military has been decimated. It now relies on Iran and North Korea for weaponry. Russias best and brightest have either fled the country or decompose in Ukrainian mud. Putin has lost over 100,000 troops along with 300,000 wounded in less than a single year. Those are world war-level casualties. Why would we interrupt him?
The Ukraine War isnt an endless war. Its been a year. In Realpolitik, Ukraine is just the next proxy army fighting the latest Cold War battle so that we dont have to. And Ukraine has performed beyond anyones expectations. Maybe thats because, as Americans, our expectations are so dismal. We expect our media to openly sympathize with the enemy, and to declare a quagmire any war in which American boots have been on the ground in excess of ten minutes. We expect our woke Pentagon clowns to fight using obsolete rules of engagement written in 1949 and to win the hearts and minds of our enemies rather than kill them. We expect our elected leaders to trade captured enemy generals for American traitors, and to abandon impenetrable air bases deep in enemy territory for no strategic reason whatsoever. So if we can fund a war fought by Ukraine rather than a war fought by America with Gen. Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the genderfluid helm, my money is on the former.
To Ukrainians, the war is about Ukraine. To the rest of the world, the war is about Russia. Its about Russian intentions, capabilities, expansionism, willpower, and future. And its about Putins obsession with, and insistence of, an eternal Manichean struggle against the West. In speech after speech, both before and after his invasion of Ukraine, he rails not against the supposed neo-Nazis lurking in neighboring states but against Western hegemony, against the U.S. dollar, against colonialism (at least the non-Russian variety), and the like. Putin has called the collapse of the USSR the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century and has said that he would reverse its demise had he the power to do so. Far from being cornered, he has successfully invaded Chechnya (1999) and Georgia (2008), stole the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine (2014), and installed puppet governments in Belarus and other former Soviet republics. Is there any reason to think that if we let Putin win this war, that he would stop there? Remember what we conservatives used to say about the dangers of appeasement?
This is the pro-Ukraine argument in a very small nutshell. There are undoubtedly many rational counterarguments, in which I am sincerely interested and will gladly concede any and all valid points. But shrieking NEOCON STOOGE!!! not only leaves my argument intact, it exposes the vacuity of the counterargument. Conservatives can passionately debate issues and, if need be, agree to disagree. Conservatism is a big tent, in which there is enough room for both the pro-Ukrainers and anti-Ukrainers. Anyone insistent on administering purity tests is in the wrong tent.
Image: Screen shot from ABC News video, via YouTube
As American taxpayers paying into Social Security today stare down the barrel toward substantial cuts to their own benefits, estimated to take place in 2034, they can at least take solace in knowing that all categories of Ukrainian pensioners will get a 20% raise in March 2023. As early as this March, says Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the government will index pensions by 20% for about 10 million Ukrainians.
Indexing the payments is not mandatory according to the Law of Ukraine on the State Budget for 2023, but benevolent President Zelensky has instructed them to reprice the benefits upwards anyway.
And why wouldnt he? His government is swimming in American cash.
Americans have spent more than $100 billion on aid to Ukraine. And, as the notoriously corrupt Ukrainian government is undoubtedly well aware, money is fungible.
This is an example of a common shell game that politicians love to play with the rubes when it comes to government spending. The Ukrainian government could have certainly diverted government spending from its pension outlays toward its own national defense in a time of war while calling for foreign aid to support its pension program, and the fiscal effect might have largely been the same. Its just more politically defensible for Ukraine to continue paying uninterrupted pensions while demanding that massive amounts of foreign aid are needed to finance its national defense. And now, because Ukraines government no longer has to spend its own money on its own national defense, it has plenty of money to give generous raises to Ukrainian pensioners.
But we all know that few Americans would have signed on to billions in foreign aid if the impetus was to preserve Ukraines pension infrastructure. Whats truly amazing, though, is that Joe Biden and the media are just coming right out and saying exactly that the government is using your money to pay Ukraines obligations to ten million of its pensioners. American aid to Ukraine, Biden says, is going to allow pensions and social support to be paid to the Ukrainian people.
One might think that senile Joe is just saying the quiet part out loud by directly telling us that our dollars are being sent overseas to pay for a corrupt government pension system and to support its vast welfare system. Thats possible, but not likely. What is incredibly disheartening is that its far more likely that he and his handlers meant for him to say exactly what he said, because they simply dont have any fear of the electorates response anymore. They know we wont like it, but in the eyes of the ruling class in Washington, we Americans are just too sedated, ignorant, and powerless to do anything about it.
How would the average American feel about paying billions of dollars to support Ukrainian pensioners, after all?
He/she probably doesnt feel very good about that. If the government actually had any money to spend on pensions, it should probably deploy those resources in shoring up Americas national pension infrastructure first, most Americans would argue.
But, of course, the government doesnt even have the money to pay for Social Security, much less Ukrainian pensions. Americas pension infrastructure is utterly broken, and most Americans instinctively know this to be true, despite the countless prominent idiots with microphones who try to convince us otherwise.
As of its 2022 report, the Congressional Budget Office:
projects that if Social Security outlays were limited to what is payable from annual revenues after the trust funds exhaustion in 2033, Social Security benefits would be about 23 percent smaller than the scheduled benefits in 2034.
Even this is a rosier picture than may be deserved. Social Security pays benefits from only two sources payroll tax income and Social Securitys trust fund assets. Its been well over a decade since payroll tax income has covered the bills. Only after all payroll taxes are accounted toward benefits does the Social Security Administration tap into the assets of the trust funds.
These assets arent in a piggybank somewhere. The trust funds are owed principal and interest for non-marketable bonds that they purchased from the Treasury during those years when payroll tax income exceeded the benefit outflows. In other words, the assets and debts only exist on paper, and without any marketable value, while the government that owes the debt spent that money a long time ago. While the principal and interest are listed as an asset to the Social Security trust funds and as debts to the Treasury, the Treasury cant even come close to paying its bills, and is running at incredible annual deficits. In fiscal year 2022, the government spent nearly $6.3 trillion, collected $4.9 trillion in revenue, and experienced a $1.3 trillion deficit.
So, it will happen like this for the next decade or so, barring any intercession. Social Security will not be able to meet its obligations by collecting payroll tax income, so it will call on the Treasury to repay the principal and interest on its debt so that full benefits can be paid to beneficiaries. But the Treasury will continue running at a huge deficit, so it has no money to pay the Social Security Administration what it owes. However, the Treasury is obligated by law to pay it, so it must take on new debt in order to repay its old debt to Social Security.
This cycle will continue until roughly 2034, until the IOUs from the Treasury run out, and the Treasury is no longer obligated to pay for the shortfall between what is owed to beneficiaries and payroll tax receipts. God only knows what the national debt will be at that time, but what we do know is that you, your children, and grandchildren will be on the hook for whatever is owed by the Treasury. And at that time, again, barring any intercession, all Americans on Social Security are expected to get a 20%+ pay cut.
Most people who contribute very little while standing to collect a lot from Social Security, along with those already collecting the benefits of the program, dont care much to listen about these problems with Social Security. And most people who contribute substantial amounts of money into the system know that its a government boondoggle and a terrible investment that they are coerced to make. There are a lot more of the former than the latter, which unfortunately makes it a death sentence for politicians to even begin addressing any potential changes that might fix it.
But if theres one thing that all Americans in both of those categories should be able to agree upon, its that, for the love of God, American taxpayers should not be paying billions of dollars that we dont have to provide millions of Ukrainian pensioners a 20% raise.
Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required.
Down in Mexico, President Andres Lopez-Obrador, who literally thinks he is the leader of the Third World, is engaged in a fight with the nation of Peru. You may remember that AMLO, as they call him, did not accept the change of presidents in Peru. He did not like that his "amigo" from the left, President Pedro Castillo, was removed and replaced by V.P. Dina Boluarte. It was completely legal under the Peruvian constitution, but AMLO has a case of selective outrage. After all, he recently embraced the unelected "presidente" of Cuba. Peru had elections, and Cuba didn't, but AMLO loves those lefties.
The latest from Mexico is fascinating, as we see in this article by our friends from Pulse News Mexico:
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), who was due to turn over the rotating presidency of the Pacific Alliance in November of last year when he was supposed to host the annual summit that he canceled at the last minute, has refused to relinquish the position to the next country in line, Peru. During his daily press conference on Friday, Feb. 17, which this time was held in Hermosillo, Sonora, Lopez Obrador said that he will not hand over the pro tempore presidency of the regional trade bloc, which is supposed to be rotated every six months. Lopez Obrador went on to say that he did not want to allow Peru to take the presidency because he considers the administration of President Dina Boluarte, who took over the government after her predecessor Pedro Castillo (a close friend and political ally of AMLO) was ousted for corruption and abuse of power, as "spurious." The Pacific Alliance, composed of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, met in December in Lima, Peru, after AMLO canceled the November summit.
So AMLO is now the last word on the Pacific Alliance? It would be interesting to see how the leaders of Chile and Colombia feel about this. Unfortunately, they are two leaders from the left and may not want to challenge AMLO. At the same time, AMLO's nonsense could end up destroying the Alliance.
We do not have a friend in AMLO, no matter how much he embraces President Biden or thanks him for not building the border wall.
PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.
Image: Karel Navarro.
California is depopulating, with some 500,000 taxpayers fleeing the one-party socialist state in search of lower taxes, less onerous business regulations, and a friendlier government that views them as assets and not ATMs.
So not surprisingly, the state has found itself in a $22-billion hole.
This doesn't seem to bother the state's insular ruling class, which blames the pandemic, President Trump, and a host of other factors for the flight, secure in the sense that those taxpayers can always be replaced by newcomers.
Illegal aliens fit that bill nicely, given the massive benefit packages the state doles out to court them.
Now reality is biting.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune:
But now, as the liberal-leaning state confronts a projected $22.5 billion deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state can no longer afford to contribute to the [Migrant COVID testing] centers, which also receive federal and local grants. The Democratic governor in January proposed phasing out state aid for some medical services in the next few months, and eventually scaling back the migrant assistance program unless President Joe Biden and Congress step in with help.
The U-T, which never bothers to disguise its left-wing political orientation anymore, notes that conditions have changed as the pandemic is phasing out, so perhaps these services will not be necessary anyway.
Several other news outlets have zeroed in on the COVID testing centers alone as "some medical services."
But the fine print in the U-T piece says that the entire "migrant assistance program" is on the block as the state goes into the red.
Last June, the state Legislature, in a law signed by Newsom, voted to guarantee "free" health care to all illegal aliens over the age of 50 in the state even as California's taxpayers shoulder some of the highest health care costs in the nation.
According to Reuters:
LOS ANGELES, July 27 (Reuters) California's governor on Tuesday signed into law a major expansion of the state's Medicaid coverage to all low-income residents aged 50 and up regardless of their immigration status, extending eligibility to some 235,000 undocumented people. Governor Gavin Newsom, a first-term Democrat facing a Republican-led recall election in September, said the bill is a key milestone in efforts to bring universal healthcare to the nation's most populous state. California leads all 50 U.S. states in the number of unauthorized immigrants - roughly 2.9 million in 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, though other estimates put the figure closer to 2.2 million.
That comes on top of a state measure to hand out free health care to all illegals under the age of 26.
According to the New York Times:
In a budget plan unveiled this week, Newsom proposed allowing undocumented immigrants to sign up for Medi-Cal, the state's health program for low-income Californians. (This is distinct from an ongoing effort to create a single-payer health care system in the state.) The state already allows undocumented Californians under 26 to join Medi-Cal, and those 50 and over will become eligible in the spring. Opening up Medi-Cal to the remaining undocumented population approximately 700,000 people would cost $2.2 billion annually, Newsom said. "We are positioned with this budget to be able to deliver on what we've been promoting: universal health care for all," Newsom said at a news briefing on Tuesday. "I'm proud to be here I hope we see this replicated across the country."
It was a getaround from federal rules prohibiting illegals from accessing federally funded free health care for the indigent.
Now that Newsom has offered it to illegals, and has found that he can't pay for it, he wants the feds to pay for it. According to the U-T:
Though the White House declined to comment and no federal legislation has advanced, Newsom said he was optimistic that federal funding will come through, citing "some remarkably good conversations" with the Biden administration.
...from, whom else, FEMA:
Already, one potential pot of federal money has been identified. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement to KHN noting that local governments and nongovernmental providers will soon be able to tap into an additional $800 million in federal funds through a shelter and services grant program. FEMA did not answer KHN's questions about how much the agency spends serving migrants.
That would be the same FEMA that initially denied East Palestine, Ohio any aid whatsoever to its residents, who fled a toxic engulfment from a train wreck this month.
It did seem that that ridiculous denial may have been premised on not having much money left in its coffers. If FEMA has been shelling out for illegals in these past months, as five million surged across the border, suddenly things are pretty clear as to what's going on here.
It's important to note that Congress forbade illegals from accessing federal health care dollars for a reason it was costly, and it was unconscionable, given that Americans pay inflated health care rates under Obamacare, which is compulsory. California ignored that reason, and insisted on its own on handing out free health care to illegals, and suddenly found itself out of money. Instead of recognizing reality, it wants Uncle Sam to pay, even though federal legislation says it's not to pay. Don't count on Joe Biden to respect that. For him, it's another getaround to import more Democrats.
But even Biden seems to be getting the hard reality message that Newsom has gotten: he's rolled out new asylum restrictions from country-shopping migrants who go from country to country in search of the best benefit package, prohibiting migrants from claiming asylum if they've crossed more than one border to hit the States and make their claims. That's a big one it dates from the Trump era, and it's fully compliant with established U.S. and international law. If a Haitian has been granted asylum in a place like Brazil or Chile, he can't toss his passport and come to the States claiming persecution in Haiti. Asylees under international law get one time to the asylum well the first country of safety, in fact.
Biden is going to be taking tremendous flak from the open-borders left on this restriction, but apparently he has no choice. He's being howled at by blue-state mayors angry at their gargantuan municipal bills for their champagne welcomes to illegal aliens, such as we see in New York, calling for bailouts. He's being blasted by blue-state governors as well for the migrant surge. The red-state governors have gotten the ball rolling by offering free transport to illegal aliens to the blue sanctuary cities of their choice, and the result has finally moved mountains as the blue mayors and governors pressure the feds to pick up the tab now.
Biden doesn't have the political capital, let alone the goodwill to ram legislation through to pay for the full fare of five million illegals plus unknown numbers of gotaways. He's out of money and out of ideas, and the public is angry, leaving him just the Trump solution to embrace, which has got to be bitter stuff.
Newsom's got his hand out though, because he, too, has run out of money.
What an amazing picture we see unfolding now. Red-state governors such as Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis got this ball rolling, running desirable states that taxpayers are fleeing to, and then refusing to pay for the illegals invited in by the blue state hypocrites and their senile president.
Now reality is hitting, and illegals are starting to see their free ride slowly fade away, forcing them to pay for their own services and make decisions about their best options accordingly. Many will return to their homelands.
Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
If the architects of the New World Order have proven anything over the years, it is that they are not competent enough to run such a thing.
George Soros can't even cheat competent people into local office, so what exactly makes the "stateless statesman" qualified to bring in a New World Order?
Take the example of the candidates he backed for high office in Chicago. If Chicago had a balanced budget, and was crime- and corruption-free, I would look at the Soros candidates and say, "Wow, maybe the Davos guys are on to something, maybe world government will work."
But Soros-backed Mayor Lori Lightfoot and District Attorney Kim Foxx are idiots, and Chicago is an unflushed toilet full of number two. Soros backs incompetence, therefore it stands to reason that he is also incompetent.
Bill Gates can't even design a computer operating system that isn't vulnerable to outside code attack, and yet he thinks he's an expert on human disease all of a sudden. He lectures us on climate change from a private jet as his daughter buys an 8,000 square foot energy hog of a palace to live in.
Anthony Scaramucci couldn't hold a government job for two full weeks.
Warren Buffett bemoans the low taxes he pays, but would it kill him to give $5 million to Omaha to fill some potholes without taxing him?
And Klaus Schwab. Seriously, the guy looks like a Bond villain... just based on the fact that he looks like he is in charge of SPECTRE should disqualify him from designing world government. What comes out of his mouth is even worse.
You know who else shouldn't be allowed near government design? Anyone named Rockefeller! We did it their way for a century, and ended up with a blue-haired, nonbinary, gender-confused mess. The worst propagandists of our age broadcast live from Rockefeller Center, and the Rockefeller-funded "educational" foundations have created a mess of our schools and our society.
And they did it on purpose, in order to convince you that self-determination is a bad idea, that family is a bad idea. That families are... "dysfunctional."
Sure, families can be manipulated into pretty much any behavior through a constant bombardment of print and electronic propaganda. But if I want to see true "dysfunction" I need only look to "my" government.
The best actors in government make the most loathesome people in my family look like Mother Teresa in comparison.
The solution to incompetence in government in America is to perhaps have less of it, and not subject it to constant outside interference.
The people who are trying to re-set us created this chaos, so they can "save" you from it. It's 7 billion people versus a few dozen trust fund brats and secret club benefactors who have never held elected office. They can't run the old world order, why on earth should they be trusted with a new one?
Iran's history over the past two hundred years has repeatedly demonstrated the monarchy's propensity for authoritarianism and the destruction of democratic institutions.
During the reign of Reza, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, and especially during the reign of the Shah, who was deposed by the 1979 revolution, all the democratic institutions that had emerged from the Iranian revolution of 1907 were destroyed.
Under the Shah's rule, all political parties were banned, with the exception of the Rastakhiz Party, so that anyone who wanted to be politically active had to be a member of that party. Thus, through the destruction of all democratic institutions and the suppression of freedom fighters by the Shah, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, was able to establish his religious authoritarianism, taking advantage of a huge political vacuum.
From the point of view of the model of governance, Khomeini can be considered as the immediate crown prince of the Shah. There followed forty-three years of unprecedented repression of the people and their political, economic and cultural demands. Since the beginning of the popular uprising in Iran, a central slogan of the Iranian revolution has been "Death to Khamenei," meaning, Ali Khamenei, Khomeini's successor, and "Death to the dictator, be he king or ruler." A way for the people to make their political choice clear. It was by marking the red line between the people and two dictatorships that this revolution was able to withstand unprecedented repression.
Invitation from Reza Pahlavi
One may wonder why, without having participated even once in the uprising and therefore without any legitimacy, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah, was invited to participate in the Munich conference. Similarly, the fact that his name is presented as an alternative to the clerical regime of the mullahs by some media is surprising. At best, this signifies ignorance of the sacrifices of the younger Iranian generation to establish a democratic government. At worst, it could be seen as a form of complicity of the media in giving way to lobbies (state and corporate) more interested in future negotiations with a dictatorship than with a democracy.
Distorting the alternative
When a revolution is on the verge of overthrowing a regime, when the world believes in it and when the outcome seems closer than ever, there is the crucial question of a credible and desired alternative. From a strictly diplomatic point of view, the regime and the supporters of the appeasement policy prefer the current regime to a democratic alternative in Iran. Very logically, they therefore undertake the methodical decredibilization of the only real political alternative that exists; the NCRI (National Council of Resistance of Iran), a body bringing together all the oppositions to the dictatorships, all trends, all ethnicities populating Iran for over 40 years!
The objective of the Iranian state's lobbyists is simple: to prove to the media that there is no serious alternative. Therefore, in order to maintain order and stability in economic and commercial exchanges, it is preferable to help the current regime to maintain itself... Or how to praise the benefits and values of democracy in speeches but work underhand to maintain one of the worst dictatorships that this world carries at the moment.
Over the past forty years, the only movement that has demonstrated coherent political organisation, including internationally, while remaining active on the ground in fierce opposition to the mullahs, is the NCRI, a council founded on the basis of gender equality and fighting against all forms of dictatorship, monarchical or religious.
Attempt to invalidate the valid alternative
Since the beginning of the revolution, Iran's notorious Ministry of Intelligence has claimed that the alternative to the mullahs' regime, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, does not have the support of the people. This allegation has been widely used abroad by the regime's lobbies and those with concrete interests in denying the regime's downfall. But this can only mislead public opinion abroad. The Iranian people, especially the younger generation, know, despite all the censorship, that if this alternative did not have a popular base, it could never have withstood the cruelty of the mullahs for more than forty years. More than 30,000 political prisoners were massacred in Iran in 1988, mainly from the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), which is strongly represented in the NCRI. Yet this movement continued to resist the mullahs.
Since then, the NCRI has been working on revealing the truth, organizing a future political life and keeping the troops together on the ground. Thus, the resistance units scattered throughout Iran, which are the backbone of this revolution, are under the leadership of the NCRI. And this is what has made the continuation of this revolution possible. Let us be clear. If this alternative did not have a popular base, it could not have continued the struggle against the dictatorship despite 30,000 arrests and at least 750 deaths!
Standing on the right side of history
The ongoing revolution includes all classes, strata and political tendencies. The Shah, the Mullahs and their remnants have no place in the people's camp. The red line with the dictatorship of the Shah and the Mullahs is the only real political demarcation line to finally reach democracy. Anyone who distorts it will certainly not be in the people's camp. For there are now only two camps in Iran: that of the dictators of all kinds and that of the people. And history has taught us time and again that, no matter how long it takes, the people always win in the end. It is now up to the parties involved to make their choice, on the right or wrong side of history...
Image: Taymaz Valley, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0
House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) granted Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to surveillance footage of the Jan. 6, 2021 protests.
Carlson received 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from McCarthy's office.
In December 2022, McCarthy sent a letter to the former House select committee investigating Jan. 6, demanding that it hold a hearing on the security failures that led to the Capitol "breach" during the protests.
"It is imperative that all information collected be preserved not just for institutional prerogatives but for transparency to the American people. The American people have a right to know that the allegations you have made are supported by the facts," McCarthy said at the time.
During a press conference in January, the speaker told reporters that Americans should see the truth about the Jan. 6 protests rather than a report written for political purposes.
"I think the public should see what happened on that day," he said.
"We watched the politicization of this. I think the American public should actually see all what happened instead of a report that's written for a political basis," he added.
In 2021, the FBI found little evidence that the Jan. 6 protests were an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election through "violent" means. A Harvard University survey reached the same conclusion.
According to the Harvard Crimson, less than 8% of protesters on Jan. 6 were motivated by a "desire to start a civil war or an armed revolution."
As such, Carlson has long questioned the political narrative that the protests were "violent."
"You know it tells you a lot about the priorities of a ruling class that the rest of us are getting yet another lecture about January 6th tonight from our moral inferiors, no less," Carlson stated on air in June 2022. "An outbreak of mob violence, a forgettably minor outbreak by recent standards, that took place more than a year and a half ago, but they've never stopped talking about it."
Carlson told Axios that the footage he received will "reveal what actually happened" on Jan. 6, hinting that it will release in his show Tucker Carlson Tonight.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) supported McCarthy's decision to release footage of the events that unfolded in January 2021.
J6 video tapes will also be available for all J6 defendants.
All 42,000+ hours.
Thank you Speaker McCarthy. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 20, 2023
Tucker Carlson now has 41,000 hours of January 6 footage that Pelosi held for over two years.
Thank you @SpeakerMcCarthy for following through on this!
The public deserves to see everything that was hidden. Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) February 20, 2023
However, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) did not support the speaker's decision to hand over the footage, calling Tucker Carlson a "right-wing propagandist."
Kevin McCarthy turned over Jan 6 videos to right-wing propagandist Tucker Carlson.
A man who spews Kremlin talking points. Suggests Jan 6 was a false flag. And spreads the Big Lie.
Make no mistake: This isnt about transparency, its about fueling dangerous conspiracy theories. Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 20, 2023
The release of the footage from Jan. 6 will allow the American people to form their perspectives about the events of that day rather than believe a purely political narrative.
Image: Kevin McCarthy. Credit: World Economic Forum via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Certain American and Canadian scientists have officially proposed that the scientific community phase out the musty old terms "male" and "female" from scientific language in order to avoid any appearance of "emphasizing hetero-normative views." Instead, these "experts" want terms such as "sperm-producing" and "egg-producing" to be employed, as they say they're more inclusive. They also approved the use of "XY individual" or "XX individual" as tolerable alternatives.
Moreover, these ass-hats scientists contend that the terms "man," "woman," "father," and "mother" are "problematic," as are those such as "primitive," "advanced," and "non-native."
Something called the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Language Project put out the new scientific language guidance. The EEBLP is an initiative "founded by a collaboration of scientists in the US and Canada who claim some terminology is not inclusive, and could be harmful," according to the U.K. Telegraph.
The Project was apparently conceived in February's edition of the scientific journal "Trends in Ecology and Evolution." (Check out this month's centerfold! Want a subscription? Operators are standing by!) According to the Project's so-called scientists, hateful terms like "male" and "female," et. al., "are used to reinforce societally-imposed ideas of a sex binary." Isn't society silly, thinking for millennia that the human race comprises males and females? Well, now we know better.
In seriousness, individuals and societies are diminished, not elevated, when people are referred to by their biological functions. You, ma'am, are not a "lady," a "female," or even a "woman." You are no more than an "egg-producer." And you, sir? Naught but a "sperm-producer."
In any case, surely even these terms are too specific and exclusionary when men such as "Rachel" Levine can do nothing other than curl their hair and throw on a string of pearls and proclaim themselves women? It's essentially the same thing as calling someone "male" or "female." They, too, are exclusionary, bigoted, and hurtful! Literally violence!
"Rachel," "Lia" Thompson, and countless others we are told to consider "women" still have male genitalia, but they would be apoplectic if someone referred to them as a "sperm-producer." And we can't objectively call them "egg-producers"...because they aren't.
So if we can't just label folks "scrotum-sporters" and "boob-bearers," what term(s) can we employ? I say, if we're going to dispense with the traditional terms "male" and "female," why not more accurately and inclusively brand every one of us a "feces-producer"?
Classy? Maybe not. Inclusive? Hell, yeah!
The left is full of crap, and is trying and thus far succeeding to despoil tradition, wisdom, elegance, and beauty. It disdains the uplifting, despises the divine, denies the truth.
It is well past time that we stop the decay and put an end to this insanity. To paraphrase a 20th-century Welshman: Do not go gentle into that dark and endless night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light!
Thought experiment: Would the song "Lady" by Styx be improved if the (mad) scientists' recommendations were followed?
You're my Egg-Producer of the morning
Love shines in your eyes
Sparkling, clear and lovely
You're my egg-producer
Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required.
In the last few days of the year leading up to the midnight of December 31, two Dutch teams from the neighboring districts of Scheveningen (in Noorderstrand) and Duindorp (in Zuiderstrand) battle each other on Scheveningens North Beach for the title of the largest bonfire in the Netherlands. The long tradition and a matter of pride keeps the emotions churning as enthusiastic participants stack wooden crates and pallets as high as they can. The battle is closely monitored not only from Scheveningen and Duindorp, but also in the rest of the Netherlands and beyond. Tourists come all the way from America, Germany, France and England to see the bonfires. Before the bonfires are lit on the midnight of December 31, there are usually performances by artists and fireworks display.
Photo credit: reddit.com
The tradition of lighting bonfires to celebrate important events goes back by at least a few centuries. In Scheveningen, the first bonfire after Christmas were probably lit around 1850. After World War II, The Hague became the center of New Year celebration. At that time, groups of young people would go out hunting for Christmas trees and would put a match to it. Fights between rival gangs often resulted in injuries.
The police tried to keep the situation under control by designating six congregation places where bonfires could be lit. But the crowd continued to be as unruly as ever, dumping everything thats combustible on the fire Christmas trees, tires, and furniture. These unstable structures became a fire hazard. Besides drunk young men often caused trouble in the area, forcing the city police to restrict all bonfire lighting activities to the North Beach.
The city proposed that they could build bonfires as big and high as they wanted as long as they keep the infighting among themselves civilized and organized and on the beach. They could only use wooden crates. No tire burning or Christmas tree burning was allowed. Most people felt the new rules were too strict and missed the thrill of hunting for Christmas trees in the neighborhoods and other things to burn. Some neighborhoods took part for a year or two and then quit. The only two groups that remained are Scheveningen and Duindorp. Now most neighborhoods who wishes to take part either side with Scheveningen or with Duindorp.
This year Duindorp won the battle again.
Also see: St John's Eve Bonfire in Alesund
Photo credit: Arjen Toet/Flickr
Photo credit: Arjen Toet/Flickr
Photo credit: Maurits Verbiest/Flickr
Photo credit: Maurits Verbiest/Flickr
Photo credit: Maurits Verbiest/Flickr
Photo credit: Maurits Verbiest/Flickr
Photo credit: Arjen Toet/Flickr
Photo credit: Hollandse-Hoogte via ZUMA Press
Source: www.vreugdevuur-scheveningen.nl
One of the most visited exhibits at Washington's National Museum of Health and Medicine is the shattered leg bones of an American Civil War general. The display is very popular and the legs owner himself visited it a number of times both to mourn its loss as well as impress upon his visitors whom he brought along.
The leg belonged to Union Major General Daniel Edgar Sickles, one of the war's most controversial political generals. Sickles was born into a middle-class family in New York. After attending university, he undertook a career as a lawyer and then a politician. In 1851, at the age of 32, he caused a minor scandal by marrying Teresa Bagioli, a woman half his age. A notorious womanizer, Sickles became openly involved with a prostitute named Fanny White and took her around to socialize, once taking her to the New York State Assembly Chamber to the dismay of those present.
Sickles's leg, along with a cannonball similar to the one that shattered it, on display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
Sickless continued love affairs and neglect for his legally wedded wife pushed Teresa to a romance of her own with Phillip Barton Key, a U.S. District Attorney. When Sickles discovered his wifes infidelity, Sickles shot and killed Key in full view and across the street from the White House. Sickles turned himself in and was arrested, but because he was a a senior lawyer and politician, he was treated disgracefully well. For instance, he was allowed to retain his gun while in prison and received numerous high profile visitors including congressmen, senators, and other leading members of Washington society. At the trial, Sickles pleaded temporary insanity, insisting that his wife's infidelity had driven him insane. This was the first time temporary insanity was ever used as defense in a trial, and it seemed to work. Newspapers were sympathetic with Sickles, with one paper claiming that there can be no doubt, the public of the United States will justify him in killing the man who dishonored his bed. The prediction turned out to be true; Sickles was acquitted.
Sickles shoots Key. Illustration published in Harper's Weekly in 1859.
Sickless brush with the law did little to affect his military career. On the contrary, he was promoted to the rank of Major, and soon he was leading a charge against the Confederates at the Battle of Gettysburg. On the battle's second day, on July 2, 1863, Major General Sickles defied orders and advanced his III Corps ahead of Union lines, exposing much of the Union center to Confederate attack. Corps was effectively annihilated, and while astride his horse on top of a grassy knoll Sickles was hit in the right leg by a 12-pound cannonball.
Also read: The Strange Tale of Lord Uxbridge's Leg
Sickles was removed to a sheltered ravine in the rear of his position and the Medical Director of the Third Army Corps, Thomas Sim, examined his leg. The injury had shattered both the tibia and the fibula of his lower leg, and Dr Sim decided that the only to save the life of the Major General was to amputate his leg.
After the amputation, Sickles instructed the leg to be donated to the Army Medical Museum (since renamed the National Museum of Health and Medicine) which had recently been founded and was seeking specimens, artifacts, and medical reports pertaining to battlefield trauma and treatment for the study of military medicine. Reportedly, Sickles had the leg forwarded to the museum in a coffin-shaped box, where it was received with utmost care and prepared and mounted for display.
Daniel Edgar Sickles.
Sickles visited the exhibit a number of times in the following years, sometimes inviting guests to accompany him during these visits. Once he brought along Mark Twain, who observed that the general valued his lost leg away above the one that is left. Twain wrote,I am perfectly sure that if he had to part with either of them he would part with the one that he has got.
Sickless injury effectively ended his military career. He retired from the army, and went back to politics. He died in 1914, at age 94. His leg is still at display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
References:
# Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles: His Contribution to the Army Medical Museum, National Museum of Health and Medicine
# Sickles' Leg and the Army Medical Museum, Military Medicine
# The Homicide at Washington
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) The Cessna plane that crashed near the crater of Mayon Volcano possibly went off track when it took off from the Bicol International Airport en route to Manila, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Wednesday.
What we are thinking is when they departed the airport, the clearance given is to proceed via the Whiskey 9 which is the designated airway going to Manila, CAAP Deputy Director General for Operations Edgardo Diaz told CNN Philippines The Source.
If the aircraft is on its northbound, it is supposed to make a left turn to proceed towards Manila, he said.
However, Diaz noted that the aircraft was found towards the right side.
On Tuesday, the CAAP confirmed that the wreckage found near Mayon Volcanos crater is the Cessna plane that went missing on Saturday.
It was located at an elevation of 3,500 to 4,000 feet on the west side slope of Mayon.
Diaz said the area where the plane was found was a restricted zone.
Moreover, the volcano is currently under Alert Level 2, or moderate unrest, which is why airplanes are not supposed to fly close to it, he noted.
As pilots, we were trained to avoid mountainous areas," he pointed out. "The wind and the condition surrounding a mountain, specifically flying very close to a maintain, is very unpredictable.
Diaz said investigation is still ongoing to know what really transpired.
While not being completely ruled out, he noted it is less likely that the cause of the crash was aircraft failure or lack of experience of the pilot.
Based on CAAPs records, the plane was issued a certificate of air worthiness, which involved layers of inspection, Diaz said.
Capt. Rufino James Crisostomo Jr., the plane's pilot, was a veteran, he added.
Aside from the pilot, crewman Joel Martin, and two Australian passengers, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santana, remain missing.
It was the second recent crash involving a Cessna plane. Another one reported missing in Isabela in January has not yet been found.
Samsung has a couple of premium mid-range smartphones lined up for release soon, possibly next month. The Galaxy A34 5G and Galaxy A54 5G will top the companys mid-range offerings this year, with the latter being a more premium model. Leaks about the duo have been coming for the past few months.
Android Headlines exclusively gave you early renders of the Galaxy A54 5G in December last year. A couple of months later, we are now getting a clearer look at both models thanks to fresh renders courtesy of WinFuture. The German publication has also shared key specs of the phones.
If you have been following earlier leaks about the Galaxy A34 5G and Galaxy A54 5G, you are probably already aware that Samsung is giving the mid-range duo the same rear design as its brand-new Galaxy S23 series flagships. The devices feature a triple camera setup on the back with each sensor protruding individually. Theres no camera housing here. The three sensors are aligned vertically, and the LED flash unit sits next to them. Both models get flat front and back panels, making them look even more like the Galaxy S23.
However, when you notice the display bezels, you can tell the difference. The Galaxy A34 5G and Galaxy A54 5G have thicker bezels than the new flagships. The former lacks a punch-hole selfie camera as well. Instead, Samsung is equipping it with a notched display.
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The phone has a waterdrop-shaped notch at the center, which the company calls an Infinity-U display. The overall design loudly screams Samsung, which is a good thing for the company, It helps create a brand identity in the crowded smartphone market.
Galaxy A34 5G and Galaxy A54 5G rumored specs
There have been enough leaks about the Galaxy A34 5G and Galaxy A54 5G for us to get a fair idea of what to expect from Samsungs new mid-range phones. For a quick roundup, the former features a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The latter gets a 6.4-inch panel of the same specs.
The devices are reportedly powered by MediaTeks Dimensity 900 and Samsungs Exynos 1380 processors, respectively. The former will be available in 6GB/8GB RAM options and 128GB/256GB storage variants. The latter will have 8GB of RAM across the board, with 128GB/256GB of internal storage. Samsung may include a microSD card slot in both phones.
The Galaxy A54 5G is expected to feature a 50MP primary rear camera, paired with a 12MP ultrawide lens, a 5MP macro camera, and a 32MP selfie shooter. The Galaxy A34 5G, meanwhile, gets a 48MP primary shooter, 8MP ultrawide lens, 5MP macro camera, and 13MP selfie camera. Both should boast OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and support 4K video recording.
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A 5,000mAh battery with 25W fast charging, NFC support, IP67 certification, and an under-display fingerprint scanner are other highlights of the upcoming mid-range duo. Samsung will likely unveil the phones within a few weeks.
Hats off to OpenAI; it takes quite the force to make Google, the search messiah, afraid. Thats just what happened in late 2022 when OpenAIs chatbot ChatGPT shocked the world. Now, Google is worried about ChatGPT, and it declared a code red for the company. But why is the company shaking in its boots?
Firstly, what is ChatGPT?
So, if you dont know what ChatGPT is, its quite a piece of artificial intelligence. Its an AI chatbot thats meant to be an all-in-one source of information, advice, content, and support. You can ask for information just like you would on Google or Bing. For example, you can ask something like When should I feed my baby solid food?. Itll deliver a direct answer.
ChatGPT doesnt stop there. This chatbot can deliver written content. You can ask it to write stories, scripts, poems, and even full news articles. All you have to do is type in what you want the chatbot to spit out, and you will get results.
To top it off, ChatGPT can also just be there to chat. You can type in any subject that you want to talk about, and youll be able to have a full and developed conversation. Type in something like I want to chat or simply type in the subject you want to talk about. Youll have a back-and-forth conversation about it.
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We have a lot more information about ChatGPT. If you want to know just about everything there is to know about it, click here. If you want to know how to use ChatGPT, click here.
Why is Google worried about ChatGPT?
So, ChatGPT does a lot of stuff and more, but what does that have to do with Google? Well, a ton! What is Google known for mostly? Sure, it has its Pixel phones and it owns Nest and Fitbit amongst other companies, but its primarily a search company. The mass majority of the internet is powered by Google Search.
Google has an ad business, and Search is a huge part of it. Millions of people and companies around the world buy advertising space on the Google search page. When someone clicks on their ad, Google gets the majority of that money. The more people use Search, the more chance that someone clicks on the ads. Hence, Google gets more money.
This is why people using ChatGPT as a Google alternative is such a bad thing for the company. Google sells a bunch of Nest, Fitbit, and Pixel devices, but those net the company chump change compared to ads.
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In 2020, ads made up over 80% of the companys yearly revenue ($147 billion according to CNBC). About 71% of that came from ads on search pages ($104 million). So, ad revenue from the search engine made up about 57% of the companys total yearly revenue.
It doesnt take a math wiz to know that thats a massive chunk of the companys money. If enough people start using ChatGPT in lieu of Google search, the company is in for some severe losses.
What makes ChatGPT a threat
There are some factors that make ChatGPT a particularly large thorn in Googles paw. Firstly, people will turn to it to do things for them. A lot of the time, people will turn to Google to ask how to do something. Best courses to learn to code, Best books to read about becoming an author, etc.
However, ChatGPT has the ability to do things for people. Why ask how to code when you can have it made for you? Why try to learn how to become an author if you can just have ChatGPT generate a book for you? Google will see a dip in traffic from people who want to learn the tools of the trade. Theyll flock to ChatGPT to have things made for them.
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Also, theres the lack of noise
What might be the largest reason that Google is worried is the lack of noise. Question: if youre looking for advice on how to swaddle a baby, would you rather ask a single person for a concise answer or talk to a group of people wholl have varying answers and conflicting arguments? Most people will opt for the first option.
The thing is that when youre Googling topics, you run the risk of being overloaded with a ton of conflicting results. You can search how to swaddle a baby and get results like Best ways to swaddle your baby and you could also get something like DO NOT Swaddle your baby! right under it. Then, you could see Best alternatives to swaddling your baby right under Does swaddling your baby cause brain tumors?.
Thats something that people on Google have to deal with. If you ask ChatGPT this question, it will just give you a short, sweet, and to-the-point list of how to do it. You dont have to bother with wading through results. Now, we cant ignore the risk of ChatGPT giving wrong information. However, this wont stop people from flocking over to the chatbot for their queries.
What is Google doing?
So, thats why Google is worried about ChatGPT, but what is the company doing? Google has come up with a way to counter its competition. The company unveiled its own AI chatbot called Bard. You can read more about it here. As you can imagine, its expected to do pretty much the same things that ChatGPT does. Instead of getting a slew of search results, youll get straightforward answers.
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This will be auspicious for the company, as people will be able to get answers backed up by the chatbot while still being fed search results. This will ensure that people are still using Google and are still able to click on ads from the company.
At the moment, were still waiting for the competition between ChatGPT and Bard to heat up. Were sure that, within a years time, the AI landscape will be completely different from what it is now.
A new Motorola Razr just appeared online with a massive cover display, and we guess this is a next-gen model. Images of this phone have been shared by Evan Blass, a well-known tipster.
Next-gen Motorola Razr could have a massive cover display
The tipster did not mention this is the Motorola Razr 2023, or anything like that. All he wrote is Thats quite a cover display, while sharing three images of the device. Speaking of which, you can check out all those images in the gallery below the article.
As you can see, the entire front panel (when folded) of this phone is covered by the display. The panel even goes around the cameras, and an LED flash. If this ends up being true, this phone will trump even the OPPO Find N2 Flip when it comes to cover display size, by quite a margin.
The current-gen Motorola Razr allows you to do plenty with its cover display, which is not tiny. You can even write messages on it. It definitely has the most useful cover display out of all the clamshell foldables.
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If Motorola ends up keeping that functionality, while also putting this display on the outside, well, it could have a winner on its hands. Youd be able to do a lot of things without even opening up the phone.
Some users may find this cover display implementation annoying
We can see how using it may be annoying, though, due to the cameras, and the LED flash. Motorola would have to adapt the UI so that its always aware of them, so that it can work around them, as it does in the provided images.
The Motorola Razr 5G launched in 2020, while the Motorola Razr 2022 arrived last year. Considering that Motorola opted not to release a Razr phone in 2021, its possible the company will skip 2023 as well.
If the device shown here really is a next-gen Razr foldable, well, then we may actually see it released this year. If that does end up happening, itll most likely arrive in August.
Samsung has announced a major update for its digital voice assistant Bixby. The AI-powered tool, which functions similarly to Google Assistant or Apples Siri, is getting new features and improvements that make it faster and more intelligent. The company says the changes will significantly elevate the Bixby experience for users.
For starters, Bixby now supports custom wake-up phrases. If youre tired of saying Hey Bixby, you can delve into settings and create your own unique phrase to summon the voice assistant. And, once it wakes up, it does a better job at listening to your commands as well. Samsung says Bixby can provide more seamless continuity during conversations. It can better understand the context when you make certain commands depending on your words or previous commands.
For example, you can Play music for this workout after starting a workout on Samsung Health and Bixby will know precisely what you are asking for. This improved continuity also works for tasks related to weather, messages, calendar, and more. And many of those queries are now processed locally on the device. Samsung has upgraded Bixbys on-device AI applications to process commands for setting a timer, taking a screenshot, or turning on the flashlight offline on the device itself.
Bixby Text Call adds support for custom voice
Bixby Text Call is one of the more useful features of Samsungs AI assistant. It transcribes live audio calls in real time. If you receive a call in a situation where you cant speak or listen but still want to attend it, you can use Bixby Text Call to get a text version of everything the caller says on your phones screen. You can respond by typing a message, which Bixby will convert into audio and relay to the caller.
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Samsung debuted this feature in South Korea last year. It was available to users with One UI 4.1.1 and worked for calls in Korean. With the One UI 5.1 update, the company has rolled out the feature globally and added support for English. It is now adding custom voice support to Bixby Text Call. A new Bixby Custom Voice Creator tool will let you train the AI assistant to copy your voice and tone. It will then relay the audio version of your text responses in that voice.
This feature will initially be limited to Korean users. But, Samsung plans to bring it to more people and support more languages in the future. It will also expand the applications of your AI-generated voice beyond phone calls, and to other Samsung apps. While we will have to patiently wait for that, the latest additions to Bixby will start rolling out to compatible Galaxy smartphones and tablets soon.
Just when the rest of the world started getting a taste of 5G technology, South Koreas Ministry of Science and ICT, on Monday, announced plans to launch their own 6G network by 2028, 2 years before schedule. This move aims to secure an early advantage in future wireless frequencies and maintain their leading position in the global competition for future network infrastructure.
South Korea is already a major player in the 5G market, accounting for 25.9% of 5G patents last year, trailing China, the market leader, by just 1%, according to the German analysis firm IPlytics. Therefore, to further maintain its position in the next generation of communication technology, the Korean government announced the K-Network 2030 plan. This plan focuses on developing top-quality 6G technologies, innovative software-based next-generation mobile networks, and a robust network supply chain.
The Korean government also planning to create an open RAN that can work with any mobile device, providing mobile carriers and businesses with greater flexibility.
In addition, the country is conducting a feasibility study for a research and development project on core 6G technologies worth KRW 625.3 billion ($481.7 million), further demonstrating its commitment to leading the charge in this new technology.
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Encouraging Local Companies to Produce 6G Technology
The government hopes to create new opportunities for local businesses in South Korea by encouraging the early development of 6G technology. By offering incentives to produce materials, components, and equipment, local companies will be able to participate in the development of the technology, boosting the local economy and creating employment opportunities.
The launch of South Koreas 6G network will take network speeds to the next level and set a new standard for connectivity. While some argue that 5G speeds are sufficient, 6G speeds could open doors for new possibilities in virtual and augmented reality, the internet of things, and autonomous vehicles.
Funf Baren aus einer Gallefarm befreit und in gute Obhut gebracht 22. Februar 2023
Heute rettete Animals Asia funf Mondbaren aus einem Brennpunkt der Gallefarmen in der Nahe von Hanoi, Vietnam.
Vor nur wenigen Jahren ware es undenkbar gewesen, in eine solche Hochburg einzudringen und diese Baren zu retten. Doch heute konnten wir dank Ihrer anhaltenden Unterstutzung funf unschatzbare Baren vor dem Schmerz und dem Leid retten, das sie seit zwanzig Jahren erdulden mussten.
Zusammenarbeit fur eine freundlichere Welt
Diese Rettung bedeutet, dass eine weitere Barenfarm ein fur allemal geschlossen wurde. Und wir sind dem endgultigen Aus fur Barengallefarmen in ganz Vietnam einen Schritt nahergekommen.
Die Gemeinden vor Ort, die Regierung, unsere Barenrettungsteams und jetzt auch die Barenfarmer arbeiten zusammen, um dieser entsetzlichen, unnotigen Industrie ein Ende zu machen.
Aber wir sind noch nicht fertig
Es gibt noch Hunderte von Baren genau wie diese wunderschonen Lebewesen, die gerettet werden mussen, und wir bauen gerade unser zweites Rettungszentrum in Vietnam, um dafur zu sorgen, dass wir sie alle so schnell wie moglich nach Hause bringen konnen.
Wir haben diese Baren Dawn (Morgendammerung), Noon (Mittag), Twilight (Zwielicht), Midnight (Mitternacht) und Chronos (Gott der Zeit) genannt, Namen, die uns standig daran erinnern, dass es in jeder Minute, Tag und Nacht, immer noch Baren gibt, die leiden und uns brauchen.
Diese Rettung haben Sie moglich gemacht
Unser Rettungsteam steht immer bereit, um diesen verzweifelten Baren jederzeit zu Hilfe zu eilen, doch moglich ist das nur dank Ihnen.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) Chinese vessels, including suspected maritime militia, are still swarming the West Philippine Sea despite fresh protests lodged by the Philippine government, authorities reported Wednesday.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), citing a recent aerial inspection, said a number of Chinese Coast Guard vessels and militia ships have maintained their presence in the Ayungin and Sabina Shoals which are both part of Manila's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Authorities, in particular, spotted at least 26 of Beijing's vessels anchored in the vicinity of Sabina Shoal, while at least four suspected militia ships were observed around Ayungin.
A Chinese Coast Guard vessel also maintained a "constant close distance" from the Philippines' grounded warship BRP Sierra Madre, according to the PCG.
The PCG also said its personnel received radio challenges from the Chinese vessels during their routine maritime flight.
The Philippine aircraft responded with its own challenge.
"Suspected [militia] vessels were directed to immediately depart the Philippine EEZ and were warned that they were not authorized to loiter or swarm these shoals," the PCG said in a statement.
The development comes following the Philippines' latest protest against Beijing's incursions in the contested waterway particularly the laser-pointing incident involving the countries' coast guards.
The East Asian giant has denied the claims and maintained that the ship had no intention to hurt the Philippine crew.
READ: Chinese envoy cites 'lack of communication' in Ayungin laser incident, pushes for stronger mechanisms
Despite these, the PCG said the country will continue to carry out maritime patrols in the area.
(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 22 - Italy's top news agency ANSA has signed a cooperation agreement with Vietnam's VNA wire service as part of its ongoing drive to boost its international ties.
The agreement was signed in a ceremony held on Monday in Hanoi in the presence of Italy's Ambassador to Antonio Alessandro, with ANSA officials taking part via video link.
"Today's signing (of the cooperation agreement) fills a vacuum in bilateral relations between Italy and Vietnam, in view of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of them beginning," Alessandro said.
He said the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the States would be marked by "events, activities, visits and opportunities".
The cooperation deal makes it possible for the two agencies to use each other's services for editorial purposes.
"The agreement will make our two countries even closer than they already are and it will offer new opportunities for reciprocal awareness and collaboration between the two agencies on both the editorial and technological fronts," said ANSA Managing Director Stefano De Alessandri.
"This collaboration will soon be able to take a concrete form with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Italy". (ANSA).
TEL AVIV - Ten Palestinians were killed in clashes with the Israeli army during a military operation in Nablus in the West Bank. The number of victims was reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health and cited by Wafa news agency. The number of wounded are at least 102 persons, 7 are in serious conditions.
Israel practices 'organized terrorism says PA Premier
"Organized terrorism". These are the words used by Palestinian Authority Premier Mohammad Shtayyeh to define "the continuous Israeli aggression against our people in the city of Nablus". A terrorism - the Premier explained, as reported by Wafa news agency - "through which Israel tries to export its internal crisis to the Palestinian area". Shtayyeh then called on the UN to "put an end to double standard politics which encourages Israel to continue its aggression against Palestinians".
The spokesperson for Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeinah, accused "the Israeli government of being responsible for this dangerous escalation".
'Immediate attacks thwarted' in Nablus says Israeli army
The operation conducted by the Israeli army today in Nablus - in which at least 10 Palestinians were killed, according to local sources - was ordered to "neutralize three wanted individuals who were involved in armed attacks in the West Bank, they were also planning new attacks in the near future". The Israeli army and the Shin Bet, the internal security service, issued a joint press release communicating this news.
Two of the men who were wanted by the police - Hussam Assalim and Walid Dachil - were militants in the local faction in Nablus known as the Lion's Den. The third wanted man - Muhamad Ala' Fatah - was a member of the Islamic Jihad.
PA Premier, Israel practices 'organized terrorism Abbas' pokes, 'government responsible for escalation'
(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, 22 FEBRUARY - "Organized terrorism".
These are the words used by Palestinian Authority Premier Mohammad Shtayyeh to define "the continuous Israeli aggression against our people in the city of Nablus". A terrorism - the Premier explained, as reported by Wafa news agency - "through which Israel tries to export its internal crisis to the Palestinian area". Shtayyeh then called on the UN to "put an end to double standard politics which encourages Israel to continue its aggression against Palestinians".
The spokesperson for Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeinah, accused "the Israeli government of being responsible for this dangerous escalation".(ANSAmed).
TUNIS - Tunisian President Kais Saied called for "urgent measures" against illegal migration of sub-Saharan nationals to his country, stating that their presence is a source of "violence and crime". Saied, who presided the session of the National Security Council, commented "[the session] is dedicated to the urgent measures that must be taken to face the arrival in Tunisia of a large number of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan African countries", he spoke harshly about the flow of "Illegal migrants" whose presence in Tunisia is, according to him, cause of "violence, crime and unacceptable acts, in addition to being illegal", he also insisted on the necessity to "put an end rapidly to this migration". This was communicated in a Presidential press release.
This clandestine migration, states the press release, is part of "a criminal plan devised at the beginning of this century to modify Tunisia's demography", with the objective of transforming the country in a "solely African" one and blurring its "Arabic-Muslim" character. "Some entities have received significant sums of cash after 2011, to facilitate the settlement of irregular sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia", is written in the press release, according to which "the unannounced objective of future clandestine migration waves is to render Tunisia a solely African country with no tie or relation to Arab and Muslim nations".
The President called on authorities to act "at all levels: through diplomacy, security and the military" to face this migration and asked for "the rigorous application of the law on the status of foreigners in Tunisia and the illegal crossing of borders".
"Those who are behind this phenomenon are human traffickers who present themselves under the false guise of human rights defenders", said Saied, in the press release.
This speech against sub-Saharan migrants comes a few days after roughly twenty local NGOs denounced the increase of "incitement to hatred" and racism against irregular sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia. According to these NGOs, "the Tunisian state is ignoring the increase of hate speech and racism on social media and in some media". This speech "is also supported by certain political parties, that conduct propaganda action facilitated by regional authorities", they added. By denouncing the "human rights violations" that migrants are subject to, the NGOs called on Tunisian authorities to "fight the instigation to hatred, discrimination and racism against them [the migrants] and to intervene in case of emergency to safeguard their dignity and rights".
Tunisia registered a significant increase of irregular migration flows over the last months, most of these migrants come from sub-Saharan Africa, on their way to Italy.
BRUSSELS - This afternoon the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will go to Palermo, Sicily and this evening she will honor the memory of magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Francesca Morvillo (his wife) and the victims of the Sicilian mafia attack in Capaci of 1992. The European Commission shared this communication.
Tomorrow, 23 February, von der Leyen will hold an inaugural speech for the beginning of the academic year of the University of Palermo. On the sidelines of the ceremony, she will meet with Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, the President of the region of Sicily Renato Schifani and the mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla. Following this event, von der Leyen will meet President Mattarella for a working lunch at the end of her visit.
Around four in 10 hours currently devoted to chores like laundry and cleaning could be automated in a decade, experts suggest.
Among household tasks, time spent on grocery shopping was seen as most automatable, with ironing, dishwashing and cooking also featuring on the list.
But the study also found that just over a quarter (28%) of care work is predicted to become automated in the not-too-distant future.
The University of Oxford and Japans Ochanomizu University research suggests time currently spent on this task would fall by nearly 60%.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) experts believe time spent on physical childcare would only be reduced by 21% as a result of automation.
According to the study, male and female experts have different expectations about automation of domestic work, potentially reflecting the differences in their life experiences.
Past research suggests working age people in the UK spend nearly 50% of all their work and study time on unpaid domestic work such as cooking, cleaning, and care.
The new findings suggest the potential for an increase in leisure time as domestic tasks get automated.
In the UK, the effects are likely to affect women more than men, as experts suggest working age men spend around half as much time on domestic unpaid work as working age women.
Dr Lulu Shi, a postdoctoral researcher with the Oxford Internet Institute, said: Our research suggests, on average, around 39% of our time spent on domestic work can be automated in the next 10 years.
The degree of automation varies substantially across different types of work. However, only 28% of care work, including activities such as teaching your child, accompanying your child, or taking care of an older family member, is predicted to be automated.
Yet 44% of housework, including cooking, cleaning, and shopping, are expected to be automatable.
The findings are based on responses from AI experts in the UK and Japan, when asked what difference automation was going to make to housework and other unpaid work.
The researchers found the estimates were influenced by the personal background of the experts.
Ekaterina Hertog, associate professor in AI and Society, Oxford Internet Institute and Ethics in AI Institute, said: We found male and female experts had different expectations about automation of domestic work, potentially reflecting the differences in their lived experiences with technology as well as their involvement in housework and care work.
Male UK experts tended to be more optimistic about domestic automation compared with their female counterparts, the study found.
This is in line with previous studies, which show men tend to be more optimistic about technology than women.
But this was reversed for Japanese male and female experts and the authors speculate the Japanese gender disparity in household tasks could play a role in these results.
According to the study, the general level of optimism in respect of domestic automation also varied by country.
On average, UK-based experts thought automation could reduce domestic work time by 42%, compared with a 36% reduction expected by Japanese respondents.
The authors suggest this may be because technology is associated more with labour replacement in the UK.
While in Japan new smart technologies are expected to work alongside humans rather than replace them.
The study, published in Plos One, involved 29 male and female AI experts from the UK and 36 experts from Japan.
They were asked to estimate the degree to which 17 housework and care tasks might be automated over the next decade.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) A French senator urged countries in the Indo-Pacific region to continue working together to stop future provocations in the South China Sea.
In an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines, French Senator Olivier Cadic said China's recent actions in the hotly-contested waters is its way of testing the reactions of the Philippines and other allied nations.
"They test you because they think you are weak We must review the way we act when there is provocation," added Cadic, who is also the vice president of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Committee of the French Senate.
Cadic has ended his five-day visit to the Philippines, which is part of his trip to Indo-Pacific countries.
The French senator met with Philippine counterparts, including Senate President Migz Zubiri.
"After Ukraine we think about the possibility of escalation, act of intimidation here from China and it's about to listen from some lawmakers to hear what they think about. I want to discuss with them the situation and how do they plan to react in these provocations come back and come back again," he said.
Cadic added that the Philippines should remain firm in asserting its rights in the West Philippine Sea.
"Don't wait to be attacked. We have to think that this kind of pressure is not acceptable. The international court has decided that this [West Philippine Sea] belong to the Philippines and you must stop that because this in violation of sovereignty of the Philippines," he said.
Enhancing PH-France ties
France is willing to support the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, according to Cadic.
"We have some equipment that we can discuss with the PH; we feel that we are closer and closer," he said.
Cadic added that aside from military ties, France is also exploring other areas of cooperation with the Philippines, including energy, food, and agriculture.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to embark on a state visit to France in June. Top Philippine and French officials are also set to meet next month for the high-level trip.
Bono made a surprise appearance at the Berlin international film festival to present Steven Spielberg with a special lifetime achievement award.
The U2 frontman described Spielberg as one of the biggest big shots in Hollywood, as he presented the Oscar-winning director with the honorary Golden Bear award on Tuesday.
Members of the Irish rock band attended the International Berlinale festival for the premiere of documentary Kiss The Future, in which Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton all star.
The U2 frontman described Spielberg as one of the biggest big shots in Hollywood (Joel C Ryan/AP)
The band, who recently announced a new 2023 Las Vegas residency, gave a special performance ahead of the screening and were later joined on stage by actor Matt Damon.
Later, while presenting the award to Spielberg, Bono told audiences that Spielberg was out of this world.
Hes not really a celebrity, is he? Thank God for that, he said, per US outlets who attended the event.
Bono attended the festival for the premiere of documentary Kiss The Future, in which he stars with band members The Edge and Adam Clayton (Jens Kalaene/dpa/AP)
We know hes one of the biggest of the big shots in Hollywood, but we get the sense he doesnt quite belong there and were kind of relieved.
He added: Tonight youre giving the Golden Bear to Steven Spielberg for the right reasons.
But his lifetime achievement is not just his work. It is his actual life, his actual family.
U2 musicians Bono, centre, and Adam Clayton, left, stand onstage with producer and actor Matt Damon at the stage presentation of the film Kiss the Future (Jens Kalaene/AP)
Past recipients of the honorary Golden Bear award include Dustin Hoffman, Kirk Douglas and Meryl Streep.
Spielberg, 75, is known for Hollywood blockbusters including ET, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and Jaws.
His most recent film The Fabelmans tells the mostly true story of his own childhood and introduction to filmmaking in post-war America.
Steven Spielberg holds his honorary Golden Bear trophy (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
The film, starring Paul Dano and Michelle Williams, has already received wide critical acclaim, picking up top nods and wins at the 2023 Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.
It is also nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture at the Oscars next month.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said housing asylum seekers in hotels is causing understandable tensions following ugly clashes between protesters.
She said violence was never acceptable but we are all frustrated with the situation and it is not racist or bigoted to acknowledge the problems caused to communities.
Anti-migrant protesters have gathered in recent weeks outside hotels in Knowsley, Merseyside and Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where they have clashed with counter-demonstrators.
A burnt out police van after a demonstration outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside, where people were protesting against asylum seekers (Peter Powell/PA)
Asked if she supported the protesters, Ms Braverman said: I very much understand peoples frustrations with hotels being occupied by large numbers of illegal immigrants or asylum seekers.
In an interview with GB News, Ms Braverman said: Violence is never acceptable and intimidation, harassment, any forms of abuse to anybody should be condemned and I condemn them in the fullest possible terms.
And its clear that we have an unsustainable situation in towns and cities around our country whereby, because of the overwhelming numbers of people arriving here illegally and our legal duties to accommodate them, we are now having to house them in hotels.
And that is causing understandable tensions within communities, pressures on local resources and is frankly unsustainable.
Ahead of a demonstration planned outside a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall later this month, the county council leader Linda Taylor branded the protesters racist and bigoted.
But Ms Braverman said: It is clear and undeniable that there are really serious pressures on communities and saying so does not make you racist or bigoted.
The Government is trying to find alternative accommodation for asylum seekers, including empty holiday parks, former student halls or disused military barracks.
At Prime Ministers Questions, Rishi Sunak said the Home Secretary would make a formal update in the coming weeks on progress in finding alternatives to hotels.
The Home Secretary pledged to do whatever it takes to put in place a system to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats including the possibility of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
At this stage, nothings ruled out, she said.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
We need to ensure that we fix this problem of illegal migration. Thats my priority and as the Prime Minister himself has said, hell do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
Weve had 45,000 people last year arrive here illegally on small boats. That situation is unacceptable.
We need to design a robust framework. We need to have a deterrent so people stop making the journey in the first place. And we have to do whatever it takes to ensure that we can deliver that.
A real wartime cabaret which originated in a bunker in Kyiv is to be performed in London to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine.
Bunker Cabaret combines music, poetry and dance, and has been performed in places including Cornwall, and Leipzig and Berlin in Germany.
The next stop is Somerset House on Friday and Saturday, with the aim to highlight the resilience of Ukrainian artists one year after Russia invaded their country on February 24 2022.
Peter Cant is the director of Bunker Cabaret (Steve Tanner/PA)
Its a very particular event that were revisiting the material is about the beginning, as well as whats happened since and the struggles for each artist about what you say at this time, director Peter Cant, 36, told the PA news agency.
You can go online and find all the information about what happened in Mariupol, Bucha, Irpin, if you want to educate yourselves about the nature of the genocide thats taking place.
So what do we as artists have a responsibility to say? What are we going to offer to allow audiences another way in? We have the chance to share something that isnt being shared.
Mr Cant is one of the founders of Hooligan Art Community an independent theatre company which began in Kyiv in 2019 which wrote and stars in Bunker Cabaret.
Members of Hooligan Art community performing (Lidia Crisafulli/PA)
Fellow founders of the company, which was separated after the invasion, include Mirra Zhuchkova, 25, Sam Kyslyi, 28, and Danylo Shramenko, 26.
Mr Kyslyi and Mr Shramenko, who were unable to leave Ukraine due to a wartime law, sparked the idea for the show through recording short films in a bunker in Kyiv during rocket attacks of themselves performing songs, satire and sketches.
These were sent to the rest of the team who were living in Germany as a means of allowing the group to feel as though they were still together.
Sam Kyslyi spoke to the PA news agency about the idea behind Bunker Cabaret (Lidia Crisafulli/PA)
The first impulse to make the show came to us when we were separated. We had this strong wish to be united again, Mr Kyslyi told PA.
The material we made in the bunker acted as kind of this bridge which we created between us and we felt that somehow we are kind of coming together.
Mr Cant added: Once we found out that we could get permission for the male members of the company to get out of Ukraine thanks to the Ministry of Culture in Ukraine, we knew we had to take all that work they had been doing and put that on stage and build a show around it, so from the bunker came the cabaret.
Ms Zhuchkova spoke about February 24 of last year and the different feelings among the company.
Mirra Zhuchkova said she felt conflicted about leaving Ukraine when the full-scale invasion began (Steve Tanne/PAr)
I feel like everyone from our company has different experiences about what they were feeling on the day of the invasion, she told PA.
I had plans to go to Germany in May before the war happened and its interesting because when the full invasion started, I didnt want to leave Ukraine and my city because I wanted to protect my city.
When I had to leave Ukraine, I immediately turned to creating performances.
The group was reunited at the end of August 2022 in the UK.
When we were together again, it was a big thing we are doing something in crazy, extreme circumstances, but at the same time we cannot stop doing it, we have to do it to spread the message about the war, Mr Kyslyi said.
I feel like if audiences come, what theyre really seeing is a real wartime cabaret. We have somehow the duty to express the crisis of being an artist, thats the crisis of being in the war right now.
(from left to right) Sam Kyslyi and Mirra Zhuchkova (Steve Tanner/PA)
The UK tour of Bunker Cabaret takes place as part of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture, designed by the British Council and the Ukrainian Institute, with additional funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Claire De Braekeleer, UK/Ukraine season director, British Council, said: The British Council and the Ukrainian Institute are proud to jointly support Bunker Cabaret.
This production both the collaborative way it was made in the hardest circumstances, and the themes of shared humanity it addresses embody the spirit of the UK/Ukraine Season.
The UK tour has been co-produced by Hooligan Art Community and Mahogany Opera in collaboration with Andrea Ferran and imPOSSIBLE Producing.
The group are currently displaced from their base in Ukraine and looking for places which can provide the group with interesting spaces to be in creative residency in the longer term.
Tickets for Bunker Cabaret can be booked here: https://www.mahoganyopera.co.uk/
More information about Hooligan Art Community can be found here: http://www.hooliganart.org/
The earliest evidence of an uncommon type of brain surgery performed some time around 1500 BC has been unearthed by archaeologists in Israel.
Scientists examined the remains of two individuals thought to be brothers buried in a tomb at the archaeological site of Tel Megiddo.
One of the skulls has a 30mm square hole in the frontal bone, where a piece was surgically removed as part of an ancient medical procedure known as trephination.
Although this procedure is thought to have existed for thousands of years, experts said this type of trephination is the earliest example of its kind to be found in the ancient Near East which covers western Asia, south-eastern Europe and north Africa.
Doctors today perform a similar procedure, known as craniotomy, to treat tumours or blood clots or remove foreign bodies such as bullets.
Rachel Kalisher, a doctoral student at Brown Universitys Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World in the US, said: We have evidence that trephination has been this universal, widespread type of surgery for thousands of years.
But in the Near East, we dont see it so often there are only about a dozen examples of trephination in this entire region.
The scientists believe one of the brothers had undergone a specific type of cranial surgery called angular notched trephination.
The procedure involves carving four intersecting lines in the skull and using leverage to create a square hole.
Experts believe this type of medical treatment was rare in the region and only accessible to the elite.
A closer look at the skull from where a piece of bone was surgically removed (Kalisher et al/Plos One/PA)
Analysis of the bones suggests both brothers suffered from some form of chronic disease.
Ms Kalisher said: These brothers were obviously living with some pretty intense pathological circumstances that, in this time, would have been tough to endure without wealth and status.
The researchers believe the upper-class brothers lived in Megiddo around the 15th century.
Their tombs were found adorned with high-quality food and ceramics similar to other nearby high-status tombs.
One of the brothers is thought to have died in his teens or early 20s and the other some time between his 20s and 40s, both possibly with some form of infectious disease.
Writing in the journal Plos One, the researchers said: Among the studys multiple findings, we wish to highlight the special type of cranial trephination, the earliest of its kind in the region.
This uncommon procedure was done on an elite individual with both developmental anomalies and infectious disease, which leads us to posit that this operation may have been an intervention to deteriorating health.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack told MPs there was a real opportunity for the new first minister to reset the relationship with the UK Government.
Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf is running against Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes and former community safety minister Ash Regan to be the next SNP leader and first minister, following Nicola Sturgeons shock resignation.
Opening Scotland questions in the House of Commons, Mr Jack said: I realise many of my colleagues on the (SNP) benches diagonally opposite are somewhat preoccupied by the contest to become the leader of the SNP and Scotlands first minister.
In my view, this is a real opportunity for a new first minister to reset the relationship with the United Kingdom Government, to work constructively with us and to make life better for the people of Scotland.
We need a first minister who will put Scotlands interests above the nationalist interests and my offer to all those running in this is that the United Kingdom Government stands ready to work with you and that will be the real win for improving the lives of people in Scotland.
SNP MP Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) jokingly thanked the governor-general for a long-winded reply to his question linked to retained EU law.
Scotland minister John Lamont joked during the Commons session that the SNP had decided to provide the country with compelling drama now that Happy Valley has ended.
Labour shadow Scotland secretary Ian Murray claimed it was frankly absurd that failed Scottish government ministers are fighting amongst themselves for the top job when too many Scots are worrying about how they pay their bills.
Mr Murray said: Scots are being hit very hard by the cost-of-living crisis which is made worse by the state of Scottish public services.
The NHS is on its knees while the failing Health Secretary is focusing on other things and Scottish local government is having its funding decimated again by the finance secretary seemingly intent on offending every minority group in Scotland.
So does the minister agree with me that amid such a serious crisis in Scotland, its frankly absurd that failed Scottish government ministers are fighting amongst themselves for the top job when too many Scots are worrying about how they pay their bills?
Mr Lamont replied: It does seem that the SNP have decided to provide the country with compelling drama now that Happy Valley has ended, but there is a very serious point here.
Whilst the SNP indulge in the most savage infighting since Labours Blair/Brown civil war, Scotland is crying out for attention on things that really matter, the economy, the health service and the education system.
Shamima Begum is due to find out whether she has won an appeal against the decision to remove her British citizenship.
Ms Begum was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls travelled to Syria to join the so-called Islamic State (IS) in February 2015.
Her British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by then-home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019.
She has been locked in a legal battle with the Government ever since, recently challenging the Home Office at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) over the decision.
Shamima Begum challenged the Home Office at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission over the citizenship decision (Kirsty OConnor/PA)
Mr Justice Jay is now due to give the decision on Wednesday morning.
During a five-day hearing in November, Ms Begums lawyers said that the Home Office had a duty to investigate whether she was a victim of trafficking before stripping her of her British citizenship.
The specialist tribunal heard said that she was recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received in Syria for the purposes of sexual exploitation and marriage to an adult male.
At a previous hearing in February 2020, SIAC ruled that the decision to remove her British citizenship was lawful as Ms Begum was a citizen of Bangladesh by descent at the time of the decision.
However, her barristers said in November that the decision made Ms Begum de facto stateless, where she had no practical right to citizenship in Bangladesh, with Bangladeshi authorities stating they would not allow her into the country.
Barristers for the Home Office defended the Governments decision, arguing that people trafficked to Syria and brainwashed can still be threats to national security, adding that Ms Begum expressed no remorse when she initially emerged from IS-controlled territory.
Sir James Eadie KC, for the department, said there was no credible suspicion that she was a victim of trafficking or was at real and immediate risk of being trafficked prior to her travel from the UK.
Sir James said that the then-home secretary Mr Javid took into account Ms Begums age, how she travelled to Syria including likely online radicalisation and her activity in Syria when making the decision to remove her British citizenship.
He added that the Security Services continue to assess that Ms Begum poses a risk to national security.
The judgment is due to be handed down at 10am.
Key questions after the ruling in the Shamima Begum case
Shamima Begum, who had her British citizenship revoked on national security grounds after she travelled to so-called Islamic State-controlled territory in Syria, has lost the latest stage of her legal battle with the Government.
Here the PA news agency looks at Wednesdays ruling and what happens next.
What was the challenge?
Ms Begum brought a legal bid against the Home Office over then-home secretary Sajid Javids decision to strip her of her British citizenship on national security grounds in February 2019.
The case was heard at a specialist tribunal, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), sitting in central London.
After a five-day hearing in November, on Wednesday Mr Justice Jay and two other tribunal members dismissed Ms Begums challenge.
Giving the decision, the judge said that reasonable people will differ over the circumstances of Ms Begums case.
What was the decision?
In a 76-page public judgment, Mr Justice Jay and the two other members dismissed Ms Begums challenge on all grounds.
Wednesdays ruling was only about her citizenship, and whether the decision to remove it would need to be reconsidered by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, not whether she could return to the UK.
British citizenship is not an absolute entitlement for everyone, Mr Justice Jay said. It can be removed by the Secretary of State, but not if to do so would render the subject stateless.
Many citizens of the United Kingdom are immune from deprivation action for that reason, but not Ms Begum.
Ms Begum was shown the letter from the Home Office stripping her of her British citizenship by ITV News (ITV News)
Mr Justice Jay said that the tribunal had found it to be a case of great concern and difficulty.
The judge also noted that Ms Begum had been married off to an IS fighter when in Syria, and that her three babies had died.
Whatever the extent of her ideological commitment before she left in February 2015, Ms Begum could not have had any inkling of how much personal suffering she was destined to endure, Mr Justice Jay said.
The judge also found it was arguable that bodies including the Metropolitan Police, Ms Begums school and the local authority had failed to take reasonable preventative measures in the months before Ms Begum left for Syria.
The state may have failed in its duties to Ms Begum before she travelled to Syria, but she is now well beyond the scope of its protection, he added.
What about trafficking?
Announcing the decision, Mr Justice Jay said the real merits of Ms Begums case involved her arguments that she had been the victim of trafficking.
The tribunal found that there was a credible suspicion that Ms Begum was recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
However, they also found that Mr Javid was not required to formally consider whether Ms Begum was, or might have been trafficked when deciding to strip her British citizenship.
Mr Justice Jay said: The commission has fully recognised the considerable force in the submissions advanced on behalf of Ms Begum that the Secretary of States conclusion, on expert advice, that Ms Begum travelled voluntarily to Syria is as stark as it is unsympathetic.
Further, there is some merit in the argument that those advising the Secretary of State see this as a black and white issue, when many would say that there are shades of grey.
The judge found it was up to the people advising the Home Secretary, not the tribunal, to assess whether Ms Begums travel was voluntary, adding that many right-thinking people will strongly take issue with the assessment of those advising the Secretary of State.
Ms Begum was prevented from returning to the UK to bring her appeal by the Supreme Court (Yui Mok/PA)
What happened before?
Wednesday marks the second major judgment in Ms Begums case at SIAC.
In a preliminary ruling in February 2020, SIAC ruled the decision to deprive Ms Begum of her British citizenship was lawful as Ms Begum was a citizen of Bangladesh by descent at the time of the decision.
The tribunal also found that she could not play any meaningful part in her appeal and that, to that extent, the appeal will not be fair and effective.
Ms Begum took her case to the Court of Appeal over whether she could return to the UK for the main challenge.
After the Court of Appeal ruled that she could return to the UK in July 2020, the Home Office challenged this decision at the Supreme Court.
In February 2021, the UKs highest court said that Ms Begum should not be granted leave to enter the UK to pursue her appeal against the deprivation of her British citizenship.
In Wednesdays judgment, Mr Justice Jay said the Supreme Courts ruling had complex ramifications.
What happens next?
Following Wednesdays ruling, Ms Begums lawyers said that they plan to appeal the decision.
Speaking outside Field House in central London after the judgment was handed down, one of Ms Begums solicitors, Daniel Furner, said: In terms of the legal fight, thats nowhere near over, were not going into details about exactly what that means at this stage.
What else this judgment calls out for though is some courage and some leadership from the Home Secretary to look at this case afresh in light of the clear and compelling factual findings this court has made.
Appeals to rulings made at SIAC are typically heard at the Court of Appeal, rather than the High Court.
Gareth Peirce, another of Ms Begums lawyers, called the decision an extraordinary judgment delivered in an extraordinary way.
What has the Government said?
The Home Office said they are pleased the court has ruled against Shamima Begum.
Former home secretary Sajid Javid welcomed Wednesdays ruling (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
In a statement, a spokeswoman said: We are pleased that the court has found in favour of the Governments position in this case.
The Governments priority remains maintaining the safety and security of the UK and we will robustly defend any decision made in doing so.
Mr Javid also expressed his support for the decision.
He said: I welcome todays court ruling, which has again upheld my decision to remove an individuals citizenship on national security grounds.
This is a complex case but home secretaries should have the power to prevent anyone entering our country who is assessed to pose a threat to it.
The King has held an audience with the president of the German parliament.
Charles, who is expected to become the first British monarch to address the Bundestag during a state visit to Germany later this month, welcomed Barbel Bas to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday afternoon.
Charles and Ms Bas shook hands in the Palaces 1844 Room, with the pair appearing in good humour, laughing as they chatted and greeted one another.
Charles meets Barbel Bas at the Palace (Yui Mok/PA)
The Kings trip to Germany is expected to follow immediately after a state visit to France, which is due to be Charless first official journey abroad since he acceded to the throne.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the reported trips.
Katja Mast, first parliamentary secretary of Germanys Social Democratic Party, welcomed the forthcoming visit, telling the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that German-British friendship was extremely important to Europe and the world post-Brexit and amid the war in Ukraine.
The pair met in the 1844 Room (Yui Mok/PA)
The King previously addressed the Bundestag in Berlin in 2020 as the Prince of Wales.
Charles and the Queen Consort are expected to travel to Paris in the last week of March at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Le Parisien newspaper reported they will attend a state dinner at the Elysee Palace, with Camilla also holding a meeting with Frances first lady, Brigitte Macron.
Charles earlier on Wednesday visited the warehouse and kitchens of the Felix Project food distribution charity in east London, but Camilla pulled out of the engagement while she continues to recover from Covid.
Liz Truss has been formally re-selected by the South West Norfolk Conservative Association as their candidate for the next general election.
After a meeting of party members in Swaffham, the former prime minister said she was delighted to have been chosen to fight a fifth campaign in the constituency.
Delighted to have been re-selected as Conservative candidate for South West Norfolk. Thanks to my local association for their ongoing support and I look forward in due course to us fighting a fifth general election together. https://t.co/b3FxrcLy6s Liz Truss (@trussliz) February 21, 2023
Thanks to my local association for their ongoing support and I look forward in due course to us fighting a fifth general election together, she tweeted.
After the collapse of her chaotic 49-day premiership, Ms Truss recently returned to the political fray with a hawkish speech warning of the threat from China.
She was previously criticised for a 4,000-word newspaper article in which she blamed the failure of her government on a powerful left-wing economic establishment.
Rishi Sunak promises to be resolute in negotiations over Brexit protocol
Rishi Sunak promised to be resolute in defending Northern Ireland as he seeks a deal to rewrite the terms of its post-Brexit arrangements.
The Prime Minister indicated that he would put any new deal to a vote in the Commons, risking a showdown with Eurosceptics on the Tory benches.
The Government and the European Union are still negotiating changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol, the arrangements aimed at preventing a hard border with Ireland.
Mr Sunak told MPs: I am a Conservative, a Brexiter and a unionist, and any agreement that we reach needs to tick all three boxes.
It needs to ensure sovereignty for Northern Ireland, it needs to safeguard Northern Irelands place in our union, and it needs to find practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses.
I will be resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.
The Prime Minister spoke to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday night, Downing Street said.
The leaders discussed the good progress made in the negotiations. Intensive discussions continue. They agreed to speak again in the coming days, the spokesman said.
Mr Sunak spoke virtually to Northern Ireland businesses groups on Wednesday afternoon, with Downing Street saying that he promised them certainty, stability and clarity from any deal.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his partys MPs would vote to get a deal through the Commons, suggesting that Mr Sunak should rely on Opposition support rather than trying to win over the irreconcilables, the malcontents and wreckers on the Tory benches.
He said the Prime Minister had to be honest that there would be a continued role for the European Court of Justice and Northern Ireland would have to continue to follow some of Brussels laws.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during Prime Ministers Questions (House of Commons/PA)
Being forced to rely on Labour votes to overcome a revolt on his own benches would undermine Mr Sunaks leadership and he is determined to win over potential rebels.
Mr Sunak said he wanted a deal that guaranteed sovereignty for Northern Ireland, Northern Irelands place in our precious union and provided practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses.
He added: I have a good understanding of what is required and I will keep fighting until we get it.
The Prime Minister said Sir Keirs approach was to give the EU a blank cheque and agree to anything they offer. Its not a strategy, thats surrender.
Pressed on whether MPs would get a vote on any changes to the protocol agreed with Brussels, Mr Sunak said: Of course Parliament will express its view.
The protocol, agreed as part of the UKs Brexit deal, effectively kept Northern Ireland in the EUs single market for goods, meaning checks on products crossing from Great Britain.
The situation led to the collapse of powersharing in Northern Ireland, with the Democratic Unionist Party protesting about the barrier to trade with the rest of the UK.
Thank you @MarosSefcovic for another discussion with @chhcalling and me on the NI Protocol. As work continues between teams, we remain laser-focussed on finding a solution that works for the people of Northern Ireland. Looking forward to speaking again soon. James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) February 21, 2023
With the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April, there is symbolic importance in getting a deal which could allow the Stormont administration to be re-established.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told Mr Sunak: It is unacceptable that Northern Ireland has been put in this place with a protocol imposed upon us, that harms our place in the UK.
It must be replaced with arrangements that are acceptable and restore our place in the UK and its internal market.
He warned that it was unacceptable for EU laws to be imposed on Northern Ireland with no democratic scrutiny or consent and said any deal must not involve simply tweaking the protocol but instead rewriting the legally binding treaty text.
Mr Sunak said addressing the democratic deficit was an essential part of the negotiations with Brussels and he had heard the DUPs concerns loud and clear.
Sir Jeffrey addressed Tory Eurosceptics on Tuesday night, and the views of the DUP on any deal will carry significant weight for potential Conservative rebels.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic have held a series of talks in recent days as intensive work to finalise a deal has continued.
Mr Sunaks conversation with Ms von der Leyen on Tuesday night followed talks with her in the margins of a summit in Munich on Saturday.
Mr Cleverly discussed the protocol at a sparsely attended meeting of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives but stuck firmly to his position of not giving a running commentary when fielding questions from MPs.
He told them there remain a number of hurdles to overcome yet, according to MP Michael Fabricant.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) The Philippines and Australia confirmed holding talks on possible joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) a partnership which Manila is also discussing with the United States.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles announced the possibility during a joint press briefing with Philippine Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. in Manila on Wednesday.
We did talk today about the possibility of exploring joint patrols and we will continue that work and we hope that comes to fruition soon, Marles, who concurrently serves as Australia's minister for defense, told reporters.
According to Galvez, the two countries had already held joint maritime patrols in the past, particularly in the Celebes Sea and the Sulu Sea.
We have the experience, and we can redo it again, he said. The joint patrols that we have done can also be given attention by both countries.
Discussions on the joint exercises are set against the backdrop of increasing tensions with China over the resource-rich WPS.
Over the weekend, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Beijings harassment of Manila in the disputed area continues on a daily basis.
Just earlier this month, a Chinese vessel also pointed a military-grade laser at a Philippine Coast Guard ship near Ayungin Shoal, temporarily blinding crew members and disrupting its resupply mission.
Australia was among the nations that expressed support for the Philippines, calling Chinas conduct unsafe and intimidatory.
Marles said exploring joint patrols is one of the ways in which Australia and the Philippines can help ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Galvez virtually met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III to talk about developments in the contested waters, including the recent laser incident with China.
The two leaders discussed proposals to deepen operational cooperation and enhance the United States and the Philippines shared security, including the recent decision to resume combined maritime activities in the South China Sea, the US Department of State wrote in a statement.
It previously announced that Manila and Washington agreed to restart joint maritime patrols to help address regional security challenges.
The US department also said Austin and Galvez tackled opportunities to expand security cooperation with like-minded nations, such as Japan, that seek to uphold the rules-based international order and our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
READ: Marcos: Govt eyeing stronger tripartite alliance with US, Japan
Top bosses from Royal Mail have been accused of blaming others after admitting the business had broken its own rules after posters appeared which compared how long different workers were pausing on the job.
MP Darren Jones, who chairs the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee said he found it difficult to agree with the bosses and accused them of pointing the finger at others.
Theres a theme to your answers today gentlemen, theres a theme which is: We have rogue posters, we have rogue managers, we have isolated incidents, weve got a global pandemic, weve got industrial action, he said.
Its everyone elses fault that there are all of these problems, nothing to do with me Guv, nothing to do with me.
Chief executive Simon Thompson, said he was alarmed to see a poster put up in a delivery office which urged staff to not get caught stopping during their delivery rounds.
We were alarmed to see that, it definitely breaches our policy. Anything on there that says dont get caught is clearly not what we do and I dont believe its representative at all of what happens, Mr Thompson said.
He said that another print-out which tracked how long each individual worker had stood still also breached policy.
Striking postal workers outside the Royal Mail Islington Delivery Office in north London, last year (Lucas Cumiskey/PA)
The computer devices that postal workers carry do not track them in real time, do not nudge them to speed up, do not tell workers which order to do anything in, and the data that is kept is not used in performance management, Mr Thompson said.
But he also added that in the last three months the data had been referenced in 16 conduct cases with staff.
The chief executive also admitted that Royal Mail had failed to meet its universal service obligation which forces it to deliver letters and parcels and not to prioritise one over the other.
The MPs showed Mr Thompson a poster which said that workers should prioritise parcels over letters during their shifts.
Mr Thompson said that two employees who he named had taken responsibility for that and that it was absolutely a one-off, rogue poster.
He was then shown another six posters and scripts to managers to read out which appeared to give instructions that de-prioritised letters.
Not all of them are rogue posters, he said in response, adding that what we see here is what happens on days of industrial action.
Operations development director Ricky McAulay said the strikes had been going on for six months and before then the pandemic had forced the company to act differently.
Mr Thompson said the company needed to do better on its universal service obligation, but added that he thinks Royal Mail is improving.
Scientists have criticised the Treasury for taking back 1.6 billion it had allocated for research.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy returned the funds to the Treasury, according to a Government document which sparked criticism from scientists.
The money had been set aside for UK involvement in the EUs 100 billion euro (88 billion) Horizon Europe research programme.
But a stalemate with the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol has seen the UKs association with the flagship research initiative blocked.
News that the funds had been returned was revealed on page 300 of a Treasury document entitled Central Government Supply Estimates 2022-23.
It says there has been a surrender of unused funding for Horizon and Euratom association to the tune of 1.6 billion.
In a statement, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine director Professor Liam Smeeth condemned the move.
He said: The UK has a well-deserved reputation as a world leading powerhouse in health research, recently evidenced by the role we played in the Covid response globally.
The benefits are huge in health improvement, economic investment and global prestige.
The lack of agreement to allow the UK to continue to play a full role in the European Union Horizon funding programme severely threatens our success.
Achieving full association with EU funding programmes must remain the primary aim but will take considerable political skill and determination.
Until today, the UK Government did as a constructive interim measure appear to be committed to filling any shortfalls in science funding that occurred because of Brexit.
This appears to no longer be the case and we face major cuts in investment in science and innovation as well as continued uncertainty over EU funding.
The UKs position as a global scientific leader is severely threatened.
Once our position is lost, rebuilding the excellence of our science and education base in the face of fierce international competition may be an impossible task.
We face major cuts in investment in science The UKs position as a global scientific leader is severely threatened." Liam Smeeth comments on reports 1.6 billion allocated for #HorizonEurope & alternatives has been reassigned @sciencecampaign More https://t.co/6L0CQb5gFU pic.twitter.com/vE3RV3RABF London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (@LSHTM) February 21, 2023
Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, said: The failure of all sides to secure the UKs association to the EUs research programmes has now cost UK science 1.6 billion.
That comes on top of the talented researchers who have left the UK in order to carry on their collaborative work. How does this sit with the Governments stated mission to have the UK as a science superpower?
The Treasury must now ensure that this money is reinvested in research in the coming years.
Professor Sarah Main, executive director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), said: The Government has repeatedly stated that R&D (research and development) budgets would be protected and that the money allocated for association to Horizon Europe would be spent on R&D.
The Governments reversal of this position with todays withdrawal of 1.6 billion for R&D undermines the Prime Ministers assertions about the importance of science and innovation to the UKs future and the creation, only this month, of a new department to pursue this agenda.
In his autumn statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said it would be a profound mistake to cut the research and development budget today.
He added: I am protecting our entire research budget and confirming that we will increase public funding for R&D to 20 billion by 2024-25 as part of our mission to make the United Kingdom a science superpower.
The Government has been approached for comment.
New research has linked obesity to genes related to Alzheimers disease.
Scientists suggest the findings offer an explanation for why Alzheimers is sometimes more common among adults who experienced obesity in midlife.
They say it is important to address obesity and begin healthy weight loss when people reach their 40s and 50s.
Researchers analysed data from 5,619 people in the Framingham Heart Study an ongoing study in America and looked at 74 Alzheimers-related genes.
They found 13 of the genes were associated with body mass index (BMI), while eight genes were associated with a second metric of obesity called waist-to-hip ratio.
Claudia Satizabal, of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimers and Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Texas, San Antonio, said: Several of the genes were more strongly related to obesity in midlife versus in late life, and also to obesity in women versus men.
She added that the findings are in line with previous studies which suggest midlife obesity may be a factor in Alzheimers disease risk in women.
According to the experts, people who develop dementia tend to lose weight about five to 10 years before the onset of the disease this may be unhealthy weight loss driven by the disease.
We think it is more important to address obesity and begin healthy weight loss in midlife, in ones 40s and 50s, when obesity may be impacting expression of the genes we studied, assistant professor Satizabal added.
Obesity has been linked to Alzheimers disease in late life, and researchers say understanding the connection between brain health and body weight is crucial.
The findings are published in the Alzheimers & Dementia journal.
Shamima Begums legal fight over the decision to deprive her of her British citizenship is nowhere near over, her lawyers have said as they announced plans to appeal.
On Wednesday, the 23-year-old lost a challenge against the decision to strip her of her citizenship on national security grounds at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).
Giving the tribunals decision, Mr Justice Jay found that while there was a credible suspicion that Ms Begum was recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation, this did not prevent the then-home secretary Sajid Javid from removing her citizenship.
It was for those advising the secretary of state and not for the appellate tribunal to consider and assess whether Ms Begums travel was voluntary, he said in a 76-page public judgment.
Ms Begum was 15 when she travelled from Bethnal Green, east London, through Turkey and into territory controlled by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group in 2015, before her citizenship was revoked in February 2019.
Speaking outside Field House in central London after the judgment was handed down, one of Ms Begums solicitors, Daniel Furner, said they would be challenging the ruling.
He said: In terms of the legal fight, thats nowhere near over, were not going into details about exactly what that means at this stage.
What else this judgment calls out for though is some courage and some leadership from the Home Secretary to look at this case afresh in light of the clear and compelling factual findings this court has made.
Mr Furner later said that neither Ms Begum nor Home Secretary Suella Braverman were allowed to know the outcome of the case until 10am on Wednesday.
Gareth Peirce, another of Ms Begums lawyers, called the decision an extraordinary judgment delivered in an extraordinary way.
She added: The implication, the outcome, that we face is that no British child who has been trafficked outside the UK will be protected by the British state if the home secretary invokes national security.
In the ruling, Mr Justice Jay said the case had been of great concern and difficulty.
He continued: This Secretary of State maintains that national security is a weighty factor and that it would take a very strong countervailing case to outweigh it.
Gareth Peirce (Brian Lawless/PA)
Reasonable people will profoundly disagree with the Secretary of State, but that raises wider societal and political questions which it is not the role of this commission to address.
During the five-day hearing in November, Ms Begums lawyers argued that she should have been viewed as a victim of child trafficking and that she was persuaded, influenced and affected with her friends by a determined and effective Isis propaganda machine.
On Wednesday, Mr Justice Jay said the commission was concerned by the Security Services apparent downplaying of the significance of radicalisation and grooming, in stating that what happened to Ms Begum is not unusual.
He continued: The commission does not doubt that this has been commonplace but that has no real relevance.
History, and sadly the present, is replete with examples of dictatorships attempting to manipulate their subject populations with propaganda and the like. It is commonplace that they succeed.
However, he said the tribunal could not accept that being radicalised as a minor was relevant to the risk Ms Begum posed now.
He continued: Some might argue that a child who has been radicalised or brainwashed has become more intractable and refractory than an adult.
But the real point here is that, in the light of Begum, this is exactly the sort of issue that lies within the judgment of the Secretary of State and not the commission.
Wednesdays decision was welcomed by the Home Secretary Suella Braverman and former home secretary Sajid Javid.
Ms Braverman said: My priority is, and always will be, the safety and security of the UK.
I am pleased with the decision from the court today, who have agreed with the Governments position on every appeal ground.
My priority is, and always will be, the safety and security of the UK. I am pleased with the decision from the court today, who have agreed with the Governments position on every appeal ground. https://t.co/kIE6ChB4y5 Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) February 22, 2023
Mr Javid said: I welcome todays court ruling, which has again upheld my decision to remove an individuals citizenship on national security grounds.
This is a complex case but home secretaries should have the power to prevent anyone entering our country who is assessed to pose a threat to it.
Shamima Begum, pictured at al Roj camp, where she is currently being held. (Getty Images)
Shamima Begum remains "de facto stateless" after losing her most recent appeal over her British citizenship after it was revoked in 2019.
The former schoolgirl, who was just 15 when she fled the UK to join the terror group Isis in Syria, was recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received in Syria for the purposes of sexual exploitation and marriage to an adult male, her legal team had argued in the November appeal.
But in a ruling on Wednesday, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission upheld the Home Office's previous position, despite her lawyers arguing she had no real protection from becoming stateless as "a citizen of Bangladesh by descent".
"It is clear that, had the Home Secretary made inquiries as to the practical effect of depriving the appellant of her citizenship, he would likely have understood that the appellant could be left without the protection of any state, in the dire conditions of the Roj camp," Begum's lawyers argued in November.
"He would have been aware that the deprivation decision was likely to render the appellant de facto stateless."
Where is Shamima Begum living now?
Begum has been held in the Roj camp for internationally displaced persons in northern Syria since 2019. Her youngest child, Jarrah, was born in the camp and died three weeks later from pneumonia, records show.
Arriving at the camp while she was pregnant with her third child - having lost her first two children to malnutrition and disease - Begum appealed to the then home secretary Sajid Javid to let her return home, saying that she was worried about the safety of her unborn child.
"I was hoping maybe for the sake of my child they would let me back. I cant live in this camp forever," she said shortly after giving birth.
The al Hol and Roj camps have been referred to by the High Commissioner for Human Rights as overcrowded displacement camps. Roj Camp, the smaller of the two, is home to around 3,000 people, 65% of whom are children, according to recent United Nations Human Rights estimate.
Begum pictured at Roj Camp in November 17. (Getty Images)
Camp Roj is one of two Kurdish-run displacement camps housing foreign family members of suspected IS fighters. (Getty Images)
The camp's conditions have been described as "dire" by Begum's legal team, while reports of malnutrition, disease, sexual assault and death are widespread.
According to Human Rights Watch, which last visited the camps in May 2022: "Conditions for the children are life-threatening, deeply degrading, and in many cases, inhuman; their cumulative psychological impact may amount to torture. Medical care, clean water, and shelter, as well as education and recreation for children are grossly inadequate."
The majority of the 37,000 foreign nationals held in al Hol and Roj are the families of suspected Isis members, many younger than 12 years old, whose home nations refuse to repatriate them - leaving them in a state of limbo.
Watch: Shamima Begu loses appeal
Parents of children in the camp have told of desperate bids to protect them from attacks from adults loyal to Isis, while numerous sexual assaults have been reported.
Begum herself has spoken about being targeted in the camp and fears of her tent being torched by people who consider her less devout for wearing Western clothes.
When the first tent fire happened we just got back to normal and then the second fire happened and then we just live in fear constantly," she told The Daily Mail at the time.
Speaking to journalist Josh Baker for the BBC, Begum said of her time in Roj: This is, I feel, worse than a prison I think its because at least with prison sentences you know that there will be an end but here you dont know if theres going to be an end.
Read more:OPINION - Shamima Begum was brainwashed, she doesnt owe us regret or remorse (Evening Standard, 4-min read)
Primary school children across the UK will be shown a short film inspired by the experiences of child refugees and created in response to the war in Ukraine.
The film, entitled Home, is being released to mark the one-year anniversary of the invasion.
Save the Children teamed up with animation studio Aardman to make the film which highlights the experience of refugee children around the world as they face separation from friends and family and having to go to new schools.
Home, a short animation, tells a story about the challenges faced by child refugees (Aardman/Save the Children/PA)
The four-minute animation, which also looks at how children can welcome new refugee friends and learn about different cultures, aims to tell the stories of those who have fled Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria as well as Ukraine.
Director Peter Peake said those behind the film hope it will encourage empathy in children towards refugees.
He said: Our film was created as a specific response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, but it aims to help all children displaced from their homes due to war, famine and persecution.
Working with Save the Children, we learnt what difficulties children face when trying to settle in a new country.
Ultimately, we hope the film encourages children everywhere to empathise with some of their peers who might be going through that experience and to know the impact they can have by making someone feel welcome.
Alison Griffin, head of conflict and humanitarian campaigns from Save the Children, said: Many refugee children whove found a new, safer home, still carry the physical and emotional scars of war, or face daily setbacks simply because of who they are or where theyve come from.
Thats why its so important for refugee children to get the welcome and the childhood they deserve. We hope this beautiful short film will inspire people to reach out to child refugees, welcome them, and help them feel somewhere like home again.
Save the Children said it is distributing the animated film among its UK-wide network of primary schools following Wednesdays launch.
Sir Paul McCartney will appear on The Rolling Stones upcoming album, bringing together two of the biggest bands in British musical history.
The former Beatle, 80, has provided a bass part to one of the tracks that is expected to feature on their upcoming studio album, which remains untitled.
A spokesman for the Stones said reports Sir Ringo Starr also featured were untrue and that Sir Paul had found himself in a nearby recording studio while Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were mixing the record.
Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones performing at BST Hyde Park last year (Suzan Moore/PA)
The album, due to be released later this year, will feature the late Charlie Watts on around half its songs, with current drummer Steve Jordan on the others, the PA news agency understands.
Jordan has toured as a regular member of the band since the death of long-standing drummer Watts in August 2021.
US publication Variety previously reported Sir Paul had recorded for a forthcoming Stones project helmed by 2021 Grammy producer of the year Andrew Watt during sessions in Los Angeles.
Although the Beatles and Stones were portrayed as rivals during the 60s and 70s, members have collaborated over the years.
During the Stones Rock and Roll Circus show in 1968, John Lennon made an appearance as part of a supergroup dubbed The Dirty Mac while Brian Jones played on the Beatles track You Know My Name (Look Up The Number).
The Beatles, featuring Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison (PA)
The Stones also scored an early hit with I Wanna Be Your Man a song written by Sir Paul and John Lennon, and later also recorded by The Beatles.
This past summer the Stones Sir Mick and guitarists Richards and Ronnie Wood travelled through Europe for their 60th anniversary tour.
The bands Sixty tour featured stops in cities including Madrid, Milan and Paris, as well as two shows at BST Hyde Park in London.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been pressed by business leaders in Northern Ireland for pragmatic solutions in a deal on the Brexit protocol.
The UK Government and the EU are negotiating changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol amid speculation that agreement is close.
Mr Sunak spoke with around 15 business leaders in a call on Wednesday.
Nichola Mallon of Logistics UK said while no details were released during the conversation, it was clear that the Prime Minister has a detailed understanding of the issues Logistics UK has been consistently raising.
Nichola Mallon (Niall Carson/PA)
This includes the need to find an agreed, workable and durable outcome between the UK and the EU on the NI Protocol which banks and builds on the benefits, and reduces the administrative and cost burdens to businesses trading GB to NI, she said.
Along with others in the NI Business Brexit Working Group, I pressed the need for pragmatic solutions that protect NI consumers and work for all sectors across Northern Ireland.
Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said the Prime Minister was fully engaged and had an intimate understanding of the issues.
From reports in the last 24 hours, it appears many issues we have flagged could be resolved, including ensuring goods available to consumers in Southampton are available in Strabane, TRQs, VAT, state aid, tariff reimbursement, consumer parcels and huge reduction in bureaucracy for all traders, he said.
Whilst we didnt discuss the detail of any deal nor the timing, the Prime Minister clearly understood the issues and he was committed to finding agreement with the EU.
Many stressed a dual regulatory regime works very well for consumer-facing industries but for most producers that it simply does not work and risks the collapse of critical industries.
The Prime Minister was impressed with the detailed and pragmatic contribution which business has made and wished to ensure that business and others would have a role in mechanisms to resolve issues in to the future should they emerge.
Supermarkets are experiencing shortages of some fresh produce. (Getty)
A supermarket boss has warned Brexit is contributing to shortages of fruit and vegetables in the UK after the sector was hurt horribly" by the decision to leave the EU.
Shoppers are facing limits on the amount of fresh produce they can purchase as supply issues leave supermarket shelves bare.
The major supermarkets have blamed "difficult weather conditions" in Spain and Morocco for the problems following heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and snow storms.
But former Sainsbury's CEO Justin King told LBC that Brexit was partly to blame as UK greenhouses producing peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes had been negatively impacted by it.
Read more: Supermarket food rationing: The stores that are currently affected
Former Sainsbury's CEO Justin King has warned Brexit is contributing to shortages. (Getty)
Tesco, Aldi, Asda and Morrisons have introduced rations on certain items, including tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, as a way of maintaining their stock during the supply issues which could last weeks.
King said: "North Kent, in Thanet, [had] the largest greenhouses in Europe, which used to be full of peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.
"But those greenhouses have suffered, really, from two big things. I hate to say it, Nick, but it's a sector that's been hurt horribly by Brexit."
Anti-Brexit campaign group Save British Farming also blamed supply issues on the UKs decision to leave the EU, adding: The reason we have #foodshortages in Britain is because of this @Conservatives govt and their #Brexit and its not because of Spanish weather!
Watch: Rationing risk as tomato shortage hits UK supermarkets
King added the governments decision to exclude supermarkets from the energy support scheme as well as the bad weather in Spain and Morocco were also to blame.
The UK has relied more on products grown in Morocco following Brexit, so the country is vulnerable to any issues in this region.
Production problems in Morocco began in January with unusually cold night-time temperatures that affected tomato ripening.
These were compounded by ferry cancellations due to bad weather, hitting lorry deliveries.
Read more: Supermarket rationing could last for weeks, retail experts warn
Empty fruit and vegetable shelves at an Asda in east London with a Max 3 units sign. (Getty)
Rising energy costs have also been cited as a reason for the fresh food shortages.
According to reports, tomato growers in the UK are struggling to heat their greenhouses due to lack of money.
On Wednesday, environment secretary Therese Coffey told farmers we cant control the weather in Spain when confronted with the news that supermarkets were limiting sales of fruit and vegetables.
In her speech to delegates at the National Farmers Union (NFU) conference in Birmingham, Coffey stressed the need for biosecurity but left the conference hall before discussing the supermarket supply issues.
It is understood that retailers believe the problems stem from poor yields on the continent and North Africa, and that supplies will improve in the coming days or weeks.
A 17-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in West Yorkshire has been identified by police as another teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Police were called to Kings Mill Lane in Huddersfield at just before 4am on Monday to find a youth had suffered serious injuries from a bladed weapon. He died from his injuries later that morning.
He has now been named as Harley Brown, with his family paying tribute to his loving personality, beautiful smile and cheeky sense of humour.
West Yorkshire Police said a 16-year-old male was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday morning on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody for questioning.
A spokesperson said of the arrests made so far, a 14-year-old youth remains under arrest in custody on suspicion of murder.
Two males aged 15 and 19 who were also arrested on suspicion of murder have been released on bail pending further enquiries.
Two females aged 17 and 19 who were arrested in connection with the case have been released on police bail.
A 37-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder has been released with no further action taken.
A statement from Harleys family said: Harleys mother, two sisters, brother, niece, family and all his friends are deeply saddened.
Harley will always be remembered for his loving personality, beautiful smile and cheeky sense of humour. He will be deeply missed by us all. He had so much potential, we wish he was given more time.
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Weekes of the West Yorkshire Police homicide and major enquiry team (HMET), who is leading the investigation, said: We continue to progress a number of ongoing enquiries as this case develops, including the arrest of a 16-year-old male on suspicion of the murder of Harley this morning.
Officers have received good support from residents as this investigation progresses but I continue to appeal to anyone who may have information which could assist our enquiries, but has not yet come forward, to do so.
Anyone who has information or footage which could assist enquiries is asked to contact HMET on 101 or by using the wwww.westyorkshire.police.uk/101livechat service on the West Yorkshire Police website, quoting log 0138 of 20 February.
Information can also be reported anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) The Philippines and Australia are discussing ways to strengthen their bilateral relationship and take it to an unprecedented level, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday.
The official, who also serves as Australias minister for defense, said he believes stronger cooperation is imperative, as the two nations now have "greater strategic alignment" than in any moment in our respective histories.
Both countries are allies of the United States. Both countries have China as our largest trading partner," Marles told reporters during his Manila visit.
"Both the Philippines and Australia are completely committed to a global rules-based order, he added.
At the joint press conference, Philippine Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. also said he and Marles agreed to explore more ways to collaborate, while reaffirming that maritime security and counter-terrorism remain as core pillars of Philippine-Australia defense ties.
Our two nations look forward to elevating our partnership as agreed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last November, Galvez said.
The Australian officials visit came just a couple of weeks after China aimed a temporarily blinding military-grade laser at a Philippine ship near Ayungin Shoal.
The incident again drew international attention to Beijing's continued aggressions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), with Australia and the US joining the list of nations that called out the dangerous and intimidatory conduct.
Marles said to help ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region, he and Galvez discussed the possibility of the two countries holding joint patrols in the WPS.
READ: PH, Australia exploring joint patrols in West PH Sea
Manila also earlier agreed to restart such a joint activity with the US.
Marles added that Australia and the Philippines are expected to sign a "strategic partnership" agreement later this year and establish an annual defense ministers' meeting.
On top of this, he told the media, Australia is sending one of the largest contingents to the upcoming annual military Balikatan exercises in the country.
He said they also look forward to Manila sending for the first time observers to Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia in August.
Later the same day, the chief executive received Marles in a courtesy call where he said his visit would bolster a stronger alliance with the countrys Indo-Pacific neighbor.
According to the Presidential Communications Office, Marcos also noted that Marles visit will be an important part of the response to the recent acts by the Chinese Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea.
"I truly believe that the future lies in strong alliances and in a united front in promoting again the values that we consider important to our countries," the president was quoted as saying.
"You are going now to Southern Philippines to welcome a contingent from Australia. So this is extremely important that we are seeing constantly in consultation, and we are seeing to continuously promote the rule of law and the sovereignty of nations," he added.
A Ukrainian mother forced to flee her home has thanked the UK public for donating to help those affected by the conflict, saying they are angels of kindness.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has become the biggest charity donor to the response inside Ukraine, and to the regional refugee response, raising more than 400 million since it was launched in March 2022.
The organisation said the money has gone towards supporting work in communities, tackling homelessness, trauma and emergency responses and is testimony to the generosity of the British people.
Among those supported is Polina, a social worker and mother of three young boys who fled Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine when she was six months pregnant, and is being housed in DEC-supported accommodation.
The generosity the UK public has shown for the appeal has been incredible, especially given the challenges at home. Thanks to the 400 million raised, DEC charities are providing a lifeline to millions of people affected by the conflict in Ukraine" Hannah Richards, DEC pic.twitter.com/qb93tUBjMV DEC (@decappeal) February 3, 2023
DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed, who recently visited the country to see the work being carried out, told the PA news agency: There was a huge gratitude and appreciation for the support of the British public.
Polina, for example, said you are angels of kindness and wanted me to pass on the thanks to the British public for their support.
But also this inspired and motivated people for themselves to support each other and also share what they have with others.
Others were saying to me if we can receive all this support from people halfway around the world, we are also able to share what we have with our fellow countrymen and women alike.
So I think is incredibly inspiring.
The UK Government match-funded 25 million of public donations to the DECs Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, its largest ever commitment through UK Aid Match.
Disasters Emergency Committee chief executive Saleh Saeed (Jonathan Brady/PA)
The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities at times of crisis overseas to raise funds quickly.
Mr Saeed said the appeal has been one of the biggest launched in the DECs history.
He went on: To everyone thats donated and supported this appeal, thank you.
Your support is making a huge difference on the ground. Ive seen how funds provided by the DEC, given by the British public, are making a difference.
People are able to get the support they need, whether its a warm room, a warm flat, or to get the trauma care they need for their children.
Above all, it gives them hope that people out there care for them and that they are supported to rebuild their lives and thats only been made possible with the kind support of the British people and others whove donated to the appeal, for that an incredible thank you.
People are encouraged to continue donating, and can visit https://donation.dec.org.uk/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal for more information.
Britney Spears attends the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)
Britney Spears is once again asking fans not to contact the police based on her social media presence or lack thereof.
On Tuesday, the pop musician shared an Instagram video showing off some new dresses that just arrived and speaking in a fake accent. It's unclear whether Spears was doing an impression of a European accent or using an effect to alter her voice.
Spears posted the clip less than a month after she scolded fans for sending police to her house because she deactivated her Instagram account something she does relatively frequently.
"If I shut down my Instagram, do not call the cops," the "Hold Me Closer" hitmaker says in the middle of the video.
In the caption, Spears wrote, "Stay humble out there, yall ... Hi mommy and daddy, I am a star ... now have you heard ??? Carry on peeps "
Spears' latest Instagram post echoes her previous statement declaring that her "privacy was invaded" when fans dialed 911 on her behalf last month. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office confirmed to The Times in January that it received some calls from concerned fans simply because [Spears] had deleted her social media account ... responded to her home for a check ... and determined she was safe and in no danger."
I love and adore my fans, but this time things went a little too far, Spears said at the time.
The police never entered my home and when they came to my gate they quickly realized there was no issue and left immediately. This felt like I was being gaslit and bullied once the incident made it to the news ... I truly hope the public and my fans who I care so much about can respect my privacy moving forward."
After returning to Instagram late last month, Spears shut down rumors that she "almost died" and said she would "probably ... stop posting" on the platform if people continue to spread lies about her personal life. Amid reports that her loved ones attempted to stage an "intervention" to save her life, the Grammy winner assured fans that she is alive and well more than a year after her controversial conservatorship was terminated.
"The conservatorship has been over ... No folks, its not 2007 its 2023 and Im making my first homemade lasagna at home !!!" she wrote in an Instagram post.
"I finally got my fireplace to work in my living room !!! As my hubby says it best: dont believe everything you read !!!"
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Lamb of Gods Omens Are Coming to Light
Its shaping up to be a huge year for live metal. The amount of stacked festivals and unmissable tours is growing by the week. Baltimores venerable Maryland Deathfest may be taking a year off a breather before the event comes roaring back in 2024 but in its place, the battle-vest-clad faithful can choose between new Baltimore blowout Hell in the Harbor as well as the reactivated Milwaukee Metal Fest, both taking place during Memorial Day weekend, with Decibels Metal & Beer Fest taking over Philly a month earlier. And big names such as Carcass, Emperor, Ghost, Dying Fetus, Mastodon and Gojira (on the same bill), Morbid Angel, the quasi-reunited Pantera, all-star Death tribute Death to All, and some band called Metallica will all be criss-crossing the States throughout the spring and summer. In the meantime, the release calendar is starting to heat up, so lets run down the best of Februarys brand-new heaviness.
Memoriam, Total War
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In 1989, in the opening minutes of Bolt Throwers classic Realm of Chaos LP, Karl Willetts lamented the ongoing battle of the eternal war. Some 34 years later, the vocalist has still got the battlefield on the brain on Rise to Power, the fifth album in six years from his current project, Memoriam. War! Total war! he growls on, yes, Total War, an eventful, tempo-hopping track that shows off the potent chemistry between Willetts whose convincingly dire delivery helped make his old band one of the most beloved in all of underground metal and guitarist-songwriter Scott Fairfax. Willetts has said that the song was specifically inspired by the war in Ukraine, and you can hear the disgust in his voice as he shouts, And now history repeats itself once more/In 2022, a new global war.
Siege of Power, The Devils Grasp
Another death-metal veteran Chris Reifert, best known as drummer-vocalist of the legendary Autopsy is in peak form on This Is Tomorrow, the new second album from Siege of Power. The band shares a considerable amount of DNA with Dutch death-metal institution Asphyx, including that outfits former drummer, Bob Bagchus, and current guitarist, Paul Baayens. If youre familiar with the Asphyx and Autopsy back catalogs, you wont be remotely surprised by The Devils Grasp, but theres something extremely satisfying about the way Reiferts patented gruff bark accented with all manner of wordless punctuations: ugh, arghhhhhh! oooooo complements the songs barreling, hardcore-style drive.
FesterDecay, Exposing the Skin Tissue
More inspired primitivism arrives this month from FesterDecay, a Japanese outfit that acts as a historical preservation society for a very specific early chapter in the discography of U.K. extreme-metal legends Carcass. That band has long since moved on from the so-called goregrind of its debut album, 1988s Reek of Putrefaction, but an entire subgenre still orbits its gloriously gross audiovisual aesthetic. FesterDecay check all the boxes on their debut album, Reality Rotten to the Core, pairing stomach-turning cover art that looks like an anatomy textbook illustrated by Dali with grotesque blasts of aural vomit. Exposing the Skin Tissue finds the band capturing the unhinged energy of its heroes while weaving in a few insistently catchy riffs.
Heavens Gate, Cinder Woman
Also keeping things nasty, brutish and short are Heavens Gate, a new quasi-supergroup from Tampa, Fla. that unites Municipal Waste and Iron Reagan frontman Tony Foresta with guitarist Mike Goo (of a bunch of bands, including New York metallic-punk faves Warthog), bassist Jeff Howe (whose C.V. includes stints with influential screamo-adjacent acts Reversal of Man and Combatwoundedveteran) and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz of a scrappy, up-and-coming outfit called Cannibal Corpse. The bands self-titled debut EP is a hell of a lot of fun, and the minute-long Cinder Woman perfectly captures the quartets punky, stripped-down attack, seasoned with some choice Mazurkiewicz blasts. (We feel compelled to add that were exceedingly charmed by the idea of a band featuring the drummer of the biggest death-metal act in the world gigging at a St. Petersburg VFW hall, as Heavens Gate did earlier this month.)
Venomous Concept, Fractured
Lets continue with that underground-all-stars theme and shout out Venomous Concept. Does Shane Embury the longest-tenured current member of Napalm Death, and also the bassist for Brujeria, Lock Up and a bunch of others really need another musical outlet? On the basis of Fractured a track from the bands new fifth full-length, The Good Ship Lollipop wed answer in the affirmative. Embury takes over lead-vocal duties here, and while were big fans of the groups primary frontman, Brutal Truths Kevin Sharp, were pretty blown away by what the bassist comes up with here: a readymade post-punk anthem that pairs the bassists moody Jaz Colemanstyle melodicism with the raging riffs of current Napalm Death live member John Cooke and sturdy groove of former Cancer drummer Carl Stokes.
Curtan Wall, Siege Ubsessed!
Following in Emburys ultra-prolific footsteps is Abysmal Specter, the musician behind Northern Californias Grime Stone Records. Hes involved in a bunch of projects, many of which deftly walk the line between righteously raw and unabashedly ridiculous. Siege Ubsessed! the latest from his solo endeavor Curtan Wall fully embraces the latter zone, right down to its 1987 Ren Faire programcaliber cover art. You really have to hear this stuff to get the full effect, but strap in for a bewildering amalgam of rickety bedroom black metal; jaunty, accordion-accented melody that brings to mind dances in a medieval town square; theatrical female vocals that you might expect to hear in an onstage adaptation of The Legend of Zelda; and a little saxophone thrown in for good measure. We dont pretend to have a clue as to whats driving Mr. Specter to create such madness, but we nevertheless raise a goblet to his lovably batshit vision.
Clouds Taste Satanic, Sun Death Ritual
Though Curtan Wall and Clouds Taste Satanic sound nothing alike, theres a similar kind of insular charm to the latter outfit, a New York band thats steadfastly devoted to playing groovy, riff-forward doom metal at an epic scale. The groups lack of vocals might stands out on paper, but as you can hear on Sun Death Ritual one of four tracks on their new album, Tales of Demonic Possession, all of which hover around the 20-minute mark guitarists Steven Scavuzzo and Brian Bauhs, bassist Sean Bay and drummer Greg Acampora are so focused on their core mission of trudging endlessly onward through a psychedelic expanse that words could only spoil the mood. This album is what we imagine the desert nomads seen on the cover of Sleeps Dopesmoker reissue might be blasting in their headphones.
Sanguisugabogg, Mortal Admonishment
Another band with a lot invested in the art of groove is Sanguisugabogg. The Columbus, Oh., outfit caused an underground stir with their 2019 EP Pornographic Seizures and their jokey, meme-savvy online presence, only to be quickly snapped up by Sony Musics Century Media in 2021. The band hasnt modified its core sound much since ascending to the metal big leagues: As you can hear on Mortal Admonishment, a standout track from their new second LP, Homicidal Ecstasy, they remain committed to beefy, head-nodding riffs, reveling in the Neanderthal grooves of the slam death-metal subgenre while spicing up the songwriting just enough to keep things interesting. Devin Swank is a powerful, resolutely guttural presence on the mic, but the VIP here is unquestionably Cody Davidson, the bands drummer and in-house producer, who invests every grody breakdown with a funky, hardcore-style bounce.
Vampire Squid, Cosmic Seapage
Vampire Squid, a death-metal outfit from Corona, Ca., with a penchant for aquatic-themed grotesqueries, harness a similar neck-wrecking potential on their excellent new EP, Plasmic. Cosmic Seapage see what they did there? features one of the catchiest choruses weve heard in a metal track this month, a double-kick-driven strut featuring charmingly graphic lyrics about being devoured by a swarm of tenatacled beasts: Sucked up like an anemone/Open wounds that can never heal, blurts vocalist-guitarist Andrew Virrueta. Squeeze out into a jelly/Degraded to a lesser meal. Thats gotta hurt!
Tentacult, Litany of Relict Caverns
In the mood for more tentacle action? Tentacult have you covered on their full-length debut, Lacerating Pattern. Like many of their young death-metal contemporaries, the Sacramento band harks back to the genres early-90s glory days with inspired results. Litany of Relict Caverns, from their debut LP, Lacerating Pattern (surely the years coolest title so far), capably combines the dismal doominess of classic Finnish bands like Abhorrence with a twisted dark-sci-fi atmosphere that might put you in mind of Florida visionaries Nocturnus. If youre a fan of the early work of heavy hitters like Tomb Mold and Blood Incantation and, really, who isnt? we strongly urge you to spend 10-plus minutes immersing yourself in the occult-prog vibes on offer here. Definitely a band to watch.
Lamb of God and Kreator, State of Unrest
Having spent a lot of this months column in the shadowy realms of the underground, lets take a moment to check out what some of metals marquee names are up to. Off the top of our heads, we cant think of another collaboration quite like State of Unrest, a stand-alone team-up between Lamb of God and Kreator, unveiled in advance of their in-progress European tour. Its a solid, anthemic track featuring those bands beloved respective vocalists, Randy Blythe and Mille Petrozza, trading off lines about humanitys technology-induced malaise. The inevitable sight of the two bands joining forces to perform it on the tour is enticing, and another compelling aspect of State of Unrest comes via its backstory: The track was originally supposed to feature lead vocals from Riley Gale, the late frontman of Power Trip, billmates on the original version of this tour, slated for spring 2020 and postponed due to COVID-19. All proceeds from the song will go to Dallas Hope Charities, a charity assisting homeless LGBTQ youth that Gale worked with. Weve gotta say: This idea of a tour-themed collaborative single is super cool, and wed love to see more co-billed bands trying something like this.
In Flames, The Great Deceiver
Maybe the months most high-profile metal release is Foregone, the latest from Swedish melodic-death-metal heavyweights In Flames. Their Gothenburg peers At the Gates tend to get more underground props, but In Flames still commands a pretty massive audience, and its easy to hear why on The Great Deceiver. The bands mixture of triumphant, hooky riffs and caustic vocals is huge-sounding and fist-pumping fun, clearly benefiting from the pop-minded savvy of co-writer and producer Howard Benson, who has worked with big names like Kelly Clarkson and Bon Jovi and here helms his third straight In Flames LP.
Big Brave, Carvers, Farriers and Knaves
Carvers, Farriers and Knaves, taken from nature morte, the new album by Montreals Big Brave, is as exploratory as The Great Deceiver is straightforward. Unfolding across seven gripping minutes, the track combines pummeling art doom with the alternately wailing and shrieking delivery of vocalist Robin Wattie. The trios sound is crushing yet admirably outside the box, and wed highly recommend this one to fans of similarly uncategorizable outfits from Swans to Sumac.
Menstrual Vampires, Bestial Encounter
If youre looking for something a little more crude OK, a lot more crude! have a listen to Bestial Encounter, a track from the new self-titled debut EP by the absurdly named duo Menstrual Vampires. This one is a mighty-strange blend of the primitive blurt of way-underground death metal (burping-frog vocals, percussion that sounds like its emanating from an 8-bit drum machine, though honestly were not sure whats going on there) with riffs that are way more coherent and memorable than the ones you usually hear associated with this style. The involvement of one Scott Conner better known as the man behind renowned one-man black-metal project turned depressive folk act Xasthur only makes the whole thing seem that much more out of left field. Were curious to see where this project goes!
Nucleus, Inculcate
Azath, In Reptilian Pathways
And rounding things out this month, we have a good-old split seven-inch: a partnership between Chicagos Nucleus and the apparently Seattle-based Azath (though were honestly not sure where the latter band is from, as Encyclopedia Metallum says theyre split between California and Canada), featuring charmingly campy cover art adorned by a murderous lizard man, and, more importantly, two savage death-metal tracks. Nucleus keep you guessing by juxtaposing head-down midtempo churn with chaotic speed bursts and sneaky technicality, while Azath dive straight into blastbeat-driven aggression that never lets up. Both tracks bode well for whatevers next from each of these groups.
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
The post Lamb of Gods Omens Are Coming to Light appeared first on SPIN.
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After a report surfaced that ABC was considering bringing back Chris Harrison to The Bachelor, the former host is weighing in on the possibilities of a return and whether theres any truth to the speculation.
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[The report said] internal conversations are being had by ABC executives about bringing me back. Do I think these conversations have happened? Probably, the 51-year-old The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever host said on a recent episode with Tori Spelling. I think it would almost be crazy not to if youre running a business, any business at all, and that business sales are down 50 to 60 percent and falling and everybody can see the numbers, we know whats happening and you think theres something that could change that and fix that? Of course youre going to have that conversation. You would be crazy not to have that conversation.
Harrisons last season as part of the popular franchise was Matt James journey, which aired in 2021. He launched his podcast last month.
With the advent of this podcast, theyve seen the numbers, he continued to Spelling, 49. Theyve seen the response in my social media. Theyre not deaf to all of that. Theyve seen whats happening, so am I shocked these conversations are happening? No. It would not be a surprise. In fact, I would be shocked if they arent happening.
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Earlier this month, ABC told Daily Mail that there were no immediate plans to bring Harrison back following Radar Onlines report otherwise. The network cut ties with the Perfect Letter author as he was under fire for his apparent defense of James eventual winner, Rachael Kirkconnell, when college photos of her at an Old South-themed party resurfaced. Jesse Palmer stepped in to replace Harrison a decision he didnt see coming.
I thought, to be completely candid, that Wells was going to get the job, Harrison said earlier this month, referring to Bachelor in Paradise bartender Wells Adams. I even told him, I said, Hey, man, I wont speak out publicly because I dont think that will help you at all. In fact, it would do a lot more harm than good. But I really hope you get the job. I think youd be great at it.
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When asked about the Texas natives remarks, Palmer told Us Weekly: [I have] no reaction, really. I mean, hes obviously entitled to his own opinion as everybody is. Im just really happy for Chris and wish him the best in his next venture.
While there is seemingly no truth to claims ABC wants Harrison back, the Beverly Hills, 90210, alum couldnt help but ask him whether he would ever consider a return.
I live by the axiom never say never because in life and business, that comes back to bite you in the butt, Harrison responded. Would I have that conversation? Yes. I also believe in relationships and in business, take the phone call and you listen and you have that conversation, whether its uncomfortable or not.
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The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
The behind-the-scenes drama surrounding Nicola Peltz's wedding to Brooklyn Beckham is getting thrust into the spotlight. The alleged details are emerging amid an ongoing legal battle between the actress' billionaire father and the wedding planners who organized the grand event.
Nicola, 28, and Brooklyn 23, tied the knot in a lavish, $3 million ceremony in Palm Beach, Florida, in April 2022.
While the event seemingly went off without a hitch, Nicola's father, Nelson Peltz, wound up filing a lawsuit against Nicole Braghin and Arianna Grijalba of Plan Design -- wedding planners who were employed temporarily before being dismissed before the event -- in December. Nelson's lawsuit claimed that the planners refused to refund him a $159,000 deposit.
Now, the planners -- who were brought in six weeks before the wedding and were let go after nine days -- have filed a countersuit against Nelson, and shared alleged details of the behind-the-scenes tension, drama and infighting that they claim made planning the wedding exceedingly difficult.
"Let me point out that Plan Design did not start this fight. Throughout their time working together, my clients felt that Nelson, Claudia and Nicola were appreciative and respectful of Plan Designs work--as evidenced by the sincere and respectful nature of the parties communications," said Braghin and Grjalbas attorney, David Rosenberg, in a statement to ET. "My clients were totally shocked to learn about the lawsuit given their experience working with the Peltz family. At this point, my clients will continue to defend against the false accusations made against them in the lawsuit, and Plan Design will continue to pursue the legal rights and remedies it possesses in connection with this matter."
Among the many factors contributing to the difficulty was the cost of the event, which Nicola's mother, Claudia Peltz, allegedly attempted to hide from her husband to prevent him from getting upset at the price tag.
According to the court documents, obtained by ET, the planners claim that Nelson "paid more than $100,000 plus travel expenses for Nicolas hair and makeup services for the wedding."
"Claudia mentioned to Braghin that Nelson could not know the cost of the hair and makeup, or he would 'kill her, and be so mad,'" the suit claims.
According to the countersuit, a meeting was held on March 1, 2022, to discuss the challenges that had been faced during the planning of the event -- allegedly including difficulty obtaining accurate guest list information from the different parties involved in the union.
It was at this meeting -- held just over a month before the event itself -- that the planners claim to have heard Nelson air his frustrations regarding the entire affair.
"Nelson said, in front of Braghin and Grijalba, that he wanted to 'cancel the wedding' and that it was 'a s**t show,'" the docs claim. "But Claudia begged Nelson not to cancel the wedding because it would 'destroy Nicolas career.'"
Apart from allegedly trying to keep Nelson from knowing the extent of the costs, Claudia allegedly wanted to keep Brooklyn's mother -- Victoria Beckham -- from knowing of any of the problems that had arisen during the planning process.
One major issue that the planners say led to delays and obstacles was the sizable guest list. The countersuit claims the Beckhams provided a full list of the guests they wanted and their list was "fully organized with all contact information fully revised and nearly ready to go."
However, the suit claims that the Peltz family's list "was not revised, not up to date, and contained the wrong guests." Additionally, a separate list provided by the bride and groom allegedly "contained wrong addresses, missing addresses... [and] some guests with no point of contact."
Complicating matters, the countersuit claims that Nicola was "too busy to speak with Plan Design by telephone, so all communication was conducted through text message," and those texts numbered in the hundreds.
"Between February 24, 2022 and March 4, 2022, in this Chat Group alone, more than 1,400 text messages were exchanged relating to the planning services rendered by Plan Design," the documents claim. "There are also hundreds of e-mails and other text messages relating to the planning services rendered by Plan Design at the request of the Peltz family."
Because of the alleged lack of cooperation, the planners stated that getting the guest list finalized was like hitting a "moving target" and booking the right vendors and designer for the event was equally challenging.
Braghin and Grijalba were ultimately let go from the event, and the family hired Michelle Rago of Michelle Rago Destinations to complete the planning for the lavish wedding.
Meanwhile, regarding the behind-the-scenes drama, a source tells ET, "When Nicola and Brooklyn were first dating, Nicola and Brooklyn's parents were very close, but after they got engaged, there was some tension between them due to Brooklyn not spending as much time with his family."
"Ahead of the wedding, there were some arguments about various aspects of the celebration, which caused some friction among the families," the source adds. "But Brooklyn and Nicola are happy in their relationship, and things between them have gotten better as they've matured and settled into married life."
Rumors of a feud between Nicola and Victoria Beckham first began to swirl when Nicola didn't wear a gown designed by her mother-in-law on her wedding day, instead opting for Valentino couture.
In September, Nicola opened up about the fashion decision in an interview with GRAZIA USA.
Well, I was planning on wearing Victorias wedding dress, and I was truly so excited to be able to wear a design that my future mother-in-law created," she told the magazine. "I thought that was so beautiful and such a beautiful story.
But Nicola said that their vision didn't pan out the way she'd expected.
I thought, Oh, this is going to be so fun. One of my best friends and my mom," she said of collaborating with her stylist pal, Leslie Fremar, and mother, Claudia. "We connected to start designing the dress, and then a few days went by and I didnt hear anything. Victoria called my mom and said her atelier couldnt make it. So, I spoke to my mom and Leslie, and I was like, Well, unfortunately, this cant happen, so whats the next step? Ive been a fan of Valentino and their couture for so long. I was really lucky to be able to travel to [the atelier] to try on the dress. Thats really what happened."
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WASHINGTON (AP) It seems no one wants to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits.
Not President Biden, who is already telling voters his upcoming federal budget proposal will defend and strengthen the programs. Not Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has declared cuts to the programs off the table in negotiations to raise the federal debt limit.
There's just one glitch with these declarations: Social Security won't be able to pay out its promised benefits in about a dozen years, while Medicare won't be able to do so in just five years. Economists have done the projections and say both programs will drive the national debt higher in the decades to come, forcing teeth-gritting choices for the next generation of lawmakers.
Here's a breakdown of the dilemma, the potential fixes and the harsh politics around Social Security and Medicare:
THE CHALLENGE
It's a math problem that requires a political solution.
Payroll taxes largely fund Social Security and Medicare. They generally get deducted from workers' paychecks, which is why Biden, a Democrat, says people are merely getting back what they've already paid into the system.
But as more baby boomers age and retire, there are more beneficiaries and not enough tax revenue to fund the programs. Payroll taxes are expected to generate $1.56 trillion this year, but the combined costs of Social Security and Medicare are likely to be $2.16 trillion, according to a Congressional Budget Office report last week. The office warned in its report that Social Security benefits may need to be cut even earlier than past projections, beginning in 2032.
CBO Director Phillip Swagel said Friday at a Bipartisan Policy Center event that benefits today are being paid in full as promised, drawing down on the Social Security trust fund. But when the government is unable to pay full benefits, thats a challenge, he said.
The number of people enrolled in Medicare has more than tripled to roughly 65 million since its inception in 1966. More than 10 million new retirees and disabled people joined in just the past decade, according to data from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
The shortfall in tax revenues combined with a rising number of recipients would eventually lead to Social Securitys trust fund being unable to fully pay benefits in 2035, a Social Security and Medicare trustees report predicted last June, though the CBO said it could happen sooner. Medicares trust fund would be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2028.
This forces the inevitable choice of whether to shore up the trust funds' finances or reduce people's benefits. Continued delays by Congress and the president in addressing this math problem could narrow the number of potential fixes.
WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS?
There is basically some combination of four options:
Raise taxes.
Change benefits such as the eligibility age.
Cut costs.
Rely more on general revenues to cover the gap, which could mean higher budget deficits or cuts to other programs.
Biden took a step last year with his Inflation Reduction Act, which would allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices on a handful of drugs and charge drug companies when they raise the price of drugs faster than inflation. The law also makes vaccines free, caps monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 and limits out-of-pocket drug expenses at $2,000 starting in 2025.
The CBO said the prescription drug components of the law would save $237 billion over 10 years, prompting some Republican lawmakers to say it was a spending cut that would dig into pharmaceutical companies' profits, forcing them to limit how much they spend developing new treatments. But the law aims to lower the cost people pay for medication, rather than ax benefits.
Democrats are also trying to rein in spending on the increasingly popular - and expensive - Medicare Advantage program, a network of private insurance plans that are reimbursed by the government. Recently, 70 Democrats signed a letter to the president asking his administration to crack down on scams and wasteful spending in the program, which federal investigators say has cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, has pushed legislation that would create bipartisan committees to look at ways to salvage the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. The bill has gone nowhere but has limited bipartisan support, including from Senate Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mark Warner of Virginia.
President Biden speaks about his administration's plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and lower healthcare costs, Feb. 9, 2023, at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Payroll taxes were capped last year at $147,000 meaning no one paid the taxes after surpassing that threshold. In 2019, Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., proposed a bill that would reinstitute the payroll tax at earnings above $400,000.
Last year, members of the House Republican Study Committee proposed raising the age at which someone could qualify for Social Security and Medicare. Right now, people can access their full Social Security benefits at 67, an age minimum thats increased by two years since the program was first established nearly 90 years ago. You must be at least 65 to access Medicare.
Last year, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., laid out a plan to require Congress to reconsider all federal laws every five years leading to criticism by Biden that Social Security and Medicare would be cut. That idea has received an ice-cold reception with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, saying it will not be part of our agenda.
After several months of flak, Scott on Friday revised his plan to specifically exclude Social Security and Medicare.
The CBO has also laid out nearly 60 policy options that could save the federal government billions of dollars on Medicare, including higher monthly premiums for some older and disabled adults.
THE POLITICS ARE TOXIC
In his State of the Union address, Biden got boos from GOP lawmakers when he said that some Republicans want to cut spending for the programs. It led to an improvised standing ovation for seniors as both parties on the spot committed to avoiding any cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Put simply, voters like low taxes and generous benefits. This means it can be politically suicidal to overhaul either program. Any change can be used against a lawmaker seeking reelection, especially as 2024 looms. For the past two weeks, Biden has been giving speeches in key states such as Wisconsin and Florida in which he warned that some Republicans would gut the programs, despite the GOP denials.
Why are the politics so bad?
It's because of the composition of the electorate. AP VoteCast found that nearly six in 10 voters in last year's midterms were older than 50. Of that group, three in 10 were 65 or older. This means that a dominant bloc of voters already benefit from these programs or are on the verge of doing so.
REFORM IS POSSIBLE
Go back 40 years to 1983.
President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, and House Speaker Tip O'Neill, a Democrat, struck a deal to extend the life of Social Security, which was facing insolvency. The amendments to the program raised the retirement age, delayed the cost-of-living adjustment by six months and mandated that government employees start paying into Social Security, among other changes.
When Reagan signed the law on April 20, 1983, he said: This bill demonstrates for all time our nations ironclad commitment to Social Security. It assures the elderly that America will always keep the promises made in troubled times a half a century ago. It assures those who are still working that they, too, have a pact with the future.
In the 1984 elections, there was little political fallout. Reagan won a second term in a landslide, while Democrats held onto the House.
THIS IS A GLOBAL PROBLEM
It's not just the U.S. There's pushback in other countries amid efforts to restrain costs tied to an aging population.
There have been repeated protests in France over French President Emanuel Macrons plans to raise the minimum retirement age for a full state pension from 62 to 64. Nearly 1 million people marched in Paris, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes and other cities on Feb. 11, with Parisian police officers saying they arrested eight people for violations that included vandalism and possession of a firearm.
In the Chinese city of Wuhan last week, seniors belted out the communist anthem The Internationale in protest of the government cutting health care benefits.
In a recent analysis for the International Monetary Fund, Harvard University's David Bloom, an economics professor, and Leo Zucker, a research assistant, said that aging worldwide creates a colossal set of health, social, and economic challenges in the coming decades. They warned about the costs of inaction if there are not enough workers to fund health care benefits for older people, leading to more disease and a lower quality of life.
___
Treasury reporter Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.
South Carolina's capital city of Columbia. (Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Additional fees may be coming for incoming South Carolina residents who want to legally drive on their new home state's roads.
Droves of newcomers have made South Carolina one of the nation's fastest-growing states. As legislators respond to climbing population totals, a bill dubbed the Yankee tax could require freshly minted Palmetto State locals to pay $500 total in one-time fees for new driver's licenses and vehicle registration.
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved the proposal by a 11-6 vote. It now heads to the Senate floor.
Republican Sen. Stephen Goldfinch's bill purports to capitalize on the state's in-migration by ensuring these new neighbors pay for the infrastructure already funded by existing taxpayers. He compared the tax to impact fees: one-time charges commonly paid by developers to help cover the increased demands their new project might bring for public facilities.
For Goldfinch, the dynamic is unfair to his growing constituency in coastal Georgetown County who already foot the bill for the services utilized by people just moving into the area.
Were not trying to build a wall across the North Carolina border, Goldfinch said. "But, at the same time, we think that people should have to pay their fair share when they show up.
Were not trying to build a wall across the North Carolina border. But, at the same time, we think that people should have to pay their fair share when they show up.GOP Sen. Stephen Goldfinch
Democratic Sen. John Scott said the newcomers already become contributors as soon as they move through payments like the gas tax. In 2017, the General Assembly approved increases to the gas tax by 2-cent increments over a six-year span. The additional revenues go toward a trust fund dedicated to infrastructure maintenance.
Under the measure, county governments could levy the increased rates if voters approved the hikes through a county referendum held during a General Election cycle. The resulting funds could only go toward local infrastructure, public education and greenspace conservation.
The fee would be paid with newcomers property taxes. Residents would then present the tax receipt at their local Department of Motor Vehicles office to get the new license and registration.
Republican Sen. Katrina Shealy noted that many active-duty military members make South Carolina their permanent residence after getting transferred to the state. Goldfinch said he would be open to adding tax exemptions in those situations.
Steady stream of new residents
Goldfinch also dismissed concerns that the fees would prevent prospective South Carolinians from making the move. Despite the additional $250 drivers license and $250 registration payments, he suggested newcomers would still be compelled by the money saved through the states low property tax rates.
A steady stream of new residents has boosted South Carolina's ranks as the U.S. South experiences increased in-migration from around the country. U.S. Census Bureau data show that the state added nearly 500,000 people over the last decade for a total population of 5.1 million. Over 129,000 people moved to South Carolina in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with former North Carolinians and Georgians leading the pack.
Republican Sen. Sean Bennett, who supported the effort, said he was torn. Under the bill's logic, Bennett questioned why lawmakers shouldn't also charge fees for placing children in schools or road tolls in new neighborhoods.
Growth is not easy to manage, particularly in your community, certainly in my communities, said Bennett who also represents a coastal district, adding: But where does it stop, I guess, is my question.
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James Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
A total of 7.2% of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ, and younger generations particularly those 25 and under are driving the numbers, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The Gallup survey of 2022 data also shows that the number of U.S adults who identified as LGBTQ has more than doubled in a decade: In 2012, Gallup found that 3.5% of U.S. adults said they were LGBTQ. That number surged to 7.1% in 2021 before holding steady last year.
The fact that the numbers stabilized in 2022 after recent dramatic jumps is not unexpected, Gallup Senior Editor Jeff Jones told USA TODAY.
"Weve seen a doubling, representing a total 3.7-point increase in 10 years," he said. "At that rate, in most years we would expect to see rather incremental changes on the order of tenths of a percentage point. If you look at it over time, though, the incremental increases add up to something more substantial."
One of the key takeaways from the annual poll in recent years has been the growing presence of Generation Z in embracing new identities an indicator Jones says is likely to continue.
I think the data (is) clear that LGBTQ identification is highest among the younger generations, Jones told USA TODAY. I dont put much stock in year-to-year increases or decreases that are within the margin of error ... but over a longer period of years youll see a more definite trend emerge.
What do the poll results show?
For Generation Z those born from 1997 to 2004 19.7% identified as LGBTQ in the poll, which was based on aggregated data of 10,000 people.
Among millennials those born from 1981 to 1996 11.2% identified as LGBTQ.
By comparison, 3.3% of Generation X identified as LGBTQ in 2022; for baby boomers, 2.7%.
Cathy Renna, communications director for the National LGBTQ Task Force, says the poll results reflect reality as LGBTQ young people continue to blaze trails. "Who we are is rooted deeply in us and is something young people growing up in a culture that has finally been able to tell them that they are arent alone, that they are beautiful and perfect exactly as they are will never turn back from now."
CITIES MAKE STRIDES: More cities are excelling at policies on LGBTQ equality even amid hostile legislation, report finds
Demonstrators protest inside the Florida State Capitol on March 7, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla., against the state's "Don't Say Gay Bill."
Other highlights from the poll
The number of adults who said they were bisexual was also higher in younger generations. About two-thirds of LGBTQ members of Gen Z and 62% of LGBTQ millennials identified as bisexual, according to the survey.
More than half, 58.2%, of LGBTQ adults identified as bisexual in the poll.
Gallup for the first time recorded the preferred identity of those who indicated they were something other than lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender: About 1% to 2% of LGBTQ adults identified as queer, pansexual or asexual.
'A PIVOTAL TIME': LGBTQ Task Force enters 50th year fighting blitz of anti-LGBTQ bills
Poll lands as more than 300 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced
The poll comes at a challenging for the LGBTQ community. The Human Rights Campaign said last week that it is tracking 340 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in statehouses this year. About 150 of those would restrict the rights of transgender people, the most pieces of legislation targeting the trans community in a single year, the HRC says.
Many of the bills impact young people, from access to gender-affirming health care to the use of bathrooms and other school facilities that align with gender identity.
The wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation won't change trajectories evidenced in the Gallup poll, Renna said. The number of young adults identifying as LGBTQ are a "testament to the courage and resilience of our young people and the legacy of so many who have worked to create a world that is more honest, open, loving and accepting of LGBTQ people," she said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LGBTQ identification is highest among Gen Z, Millennials: Gallup poll
(Reuters) - Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights in the United States on Wednesday as a strong winter storm makes its way through the western and central states.
A total of 1,035 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled by 0915 am ET, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware, which showed 932 flights were delayed.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a tweet on Tuesday that the severe weather could cause flight delays or cancellations this week in Minnesota and other states in the Great Lakes and southern plains.
Snow falling at a rate of two inches an hour and gusty winds will make travel conditions treacherous and perhaps impossible in parts of the Northern Plains and the Upper Midwest, the National Weather Service said in its forecast.
Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines Co led the cancellations with 235 flights, followed by Delta Air Lines that canceled 197 flights.
Southwest and Delta did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
The film with this awards season's most unexpected trajectory may be All Quiet on the Western Front, an adaptation of Erich Maria Remarques 1929 German-language novel set during World War I. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and launching on Netflix in October, the film went on to become the first German-language film nominated for the Oscar for best picture. In all, the film brought in nine Academy Award nominations, making it the third most-nominated non-English-language film in Oscars history, behind only Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Roma.
The film also came away as the big winner at Sunday's BAFTA awards, winning seven, including best film, director and adapted screenplay more than any other non-English-language film in BAFTA history.
Set from spring of 1917 to the end of the war in November 1918, the film the first time Remarque's antiwar classic has been adapted for the screen in its original German follows teenager Paul Baumer (Felix Kammerer, in his screen debut) as he enters the army as an enthusiastic recruit and quickly becomes disillusioned by the horrors of the brutal, futile fighting he encounters. Soldiers such as he are expendable pawns to officers safe from the battlefield and who demand the fighting continue even as armistice is only hours away.
We don't have your history. It's laden with guilt and shame. We can't make a movie where a German soldier kills, quote-unquote, an enemy and it'd be a good thing, explained director Edward Berger. In an American movie you can kill a bunch of Nazis and it's a good thing. And in a German movie, you can't do that.
You can't kill the people that came to liberate Europe and feel good about it, Berger continued. So I think that people suddenly notice that and go, Wow, I've never thought about this. And I would feel shameful making a movie like that, because there's no honor or pride associated with our history. There is something honorable about your ancestors going to Europe and fighting for freedom. You can look back on that. You can honor your veterans. In Germany, you can't.
Edward Berger holds his BAFTA award for best director for "All Quiet on the Western Front" at London's Royal Festival Hall on Feb. 19, 2023. (Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty Images)
Bergers film does not shy away from depicting violence, from sweeping large-scale battle scenes to the intimacy of two men fighting to the death in a muddy trench.
It's not an enjoyable film. It's not easy for people to watch, said producer Malte Grunert. It's something that an audience needs to decide to do. So I'm very happy to see that it resonates and there is a connection.
All of which leads to the question: Why has this film struck such a chord with awards-voting audiences, particularly in the U.S. and the U.K.?
Multiple members of the creative team behind the film point to the ongoing war in Ukraine as one reason the movie could be resonating so strongly in this specific moment.
You'd hope it would be less relevant over time, but it's not, said co-screenwriter Ian Stokell.
When you look at the novel through the lens of today, of course we now know what history came after, said co-screenwriter Lesley Paterson. So in that regard, that's something we really wanted to reflect on that is different from the book. But what is very similar to the book is the feeling of absolute loss, absolute betrayal, absolute devastation.
I think the way that Ed has shot it and the emotional roller coaster that you go on, you feel empty inside, which is exactly what you feel like when you've read the book, said Paterson. Rather than a literal translation of the book, it's an emotional translation.
Paterson and Stokell first optioned the book in 2006. Paterson, a world-champion triathlete, used her race winnings to keep the project afloat over the years and mortgaged her house at one point to hold onto the rights. In writing the script, Stokell drew from his three years in the British Army in the 1970s, including a deployment in Northern Ireland.
Though their adaptation was initially in English, once it reached Grunert, the idea was floated to re-adapt the story into German, the original language of Remarques novel. (The final script, nominated for an Oscar for adapted screenplay, is credited to Paterson, Stokell and Berger.)
It pretty quickly felt to me like such an obvious blind spot, said Grunert. It is the most successful German-language novel of all time internationally. It is the German novel about World War I and it had never been made in Germany in the German language.
Co-screenwriters Ian Stokell and Lesley Paterson shared the BAFTA for adapted screenplay for "All Quiet on the Western Front." (Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty Images)
Berger, perhaps best known to American audiences for his work on the television series Deutschland 83, was shooting the Bryan Cranston series Your Honor in New Orleans when Grunert called about the All Quiet project. Though one obvious influence on the film is Stanley Kubricks 1957 Paths of Glory, also a WWI-set tale that examines the tension between soldiers in the trenches and officers in a distant chateau, Berger cited his favorite film, Francis Ford Coppolas Apocalypse Now," as a more conscious source of "All Quiet's" atmospheric storytelling and depiction of wartime as a kaleidoscopic landscape of peril.
In contrast to the film's abundant success with U.S. and U.K. awards groups, however, it has generated a much more varied reception in Germany. As Philip Oltermann put it in the Guardian summarizing the German-language reviews, the film has been at the receiving end of a critical drubbing, with critics complaining that it turns a beloved literary classic into a spectacle horny for an Oscar, and military historians bemoaning its black-and-white historical inaccuracies.
For his part, Berger disputes just how many of the German reviews have been negative, saying, Its not quite true that the film has been poorly reviewed in Germany.
Part of the reviews are sort of mixed and they're definitely also critical reviews, but it's part of the territory, said Berger. You know, you're going to get critics every time and you can't please everyone.
Berlin-based freelance film critic Patrick Heidmann said, It's not like the film is generally panned by critics here, but noted that many of the harshest reviews have come from the nations most prominent media outlets.
So I understand why people would think this film is really not loved in Germany at all, Heidmann added. But even the good reviews that I read, they all felt a little bit muted compared to some of the raves that the film has gotten in the U.K. and in the U.S.
Heidmann also pointed out that All Quiet on the Western Front wasnt nominated for any of the major categories at the European Film Awards, where Triangle of Sadness, also an Oscar nominee for best picture, won four top awards. All Quiet did receive two EFA prizes, for hair and makeup and special effects.
The German perspective is something very, very different, said Grunert. A war film, or an antiwar film, from a German perspective can never be a hero's journey. The death of an enemy is never a good thing in that context. And I think that's a perspective that is very, very unique to us as Germans because of our horrible past and our responsibility stemming from that.
As Berger has traveled around the world with the film, one thing he has noticed is the differing audience response at the end of the film when spoiler alert young Paul dies. Audiences tend to gasp at the moment, except in one country.
Only in Germany people don't gasp. He dies and people sort of accept it, Berger said. First of all, everyone knows the book that might have something to do with it. But secondly, that expectation that you need someone to survive is not there. It's almost the expectation that you want everyone to die, because of our history.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) Talks on human rights between Philippine senators and their counterparts from the European Parliament on Wednesday turned "intense" after the International Criminal Court's (ICC) probe into Manila's bloody war on drugs was mentioned during the closed-door meeting.
"The discussion was so intense that I couldn't leave. I had to defend our sovereignty," Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa bared. "You know these Europeans, they're trying to impose their standards upon us."
Dela Rosa said Spanish lawmaker Miguel Urban Crespo questioned the resolution filed by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada seeking to defend former President Rodrigo Duterte from the ICC's investigation.
READ: Senators file resolutions opposing ICC drug war probe, defending ex-President Duterte
According to the former Philippine National Police chief, the European Parliament member "slightly raised his voice," but he rebutted him.
"I told him, 'You know, my good friend, honorable Spaniard, you know the Philippines was conquered, ruled, enslaved by the Spaniards for more than three centuries, for over 300 years. And now that we have gained our freedom, we have our own sovereignty as a nation, we hope that other countries will respect our sovereignty as a nation,'" Dela Rosa said before leaving the meeting.
"That is too much of tinkering with our internal affairs. Who is he to question that move by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada?" he later told reporters in a chance interview.
But Senate committee on justice and human rights chairman Francis Tolentino who presided over the meeting clarified that the Spanish lawmaker only had to raise his voice for the sake of the interpreter.
Tolentino and the European delegation called the discussion "fruitful" and "constructive," despite having different opinions about the ICC's drug war probe.
"Hinihingi natin yung kanilang respeto sa ginagawa ng ating bansa at pamunuan bilang isang sovereign state. Hindi tayo kabilang sa ICC, ginagalang nila 'yun at nagkaroon man ng dialogue na hindi naman mainitan, naipaliwanag natin ang ating posisyon," the senator explained.
[Translation: We asked them to respect the country and the administration as a sovereign state. We are not part of the ICC, which they respect, and we had a dialogue that was not heated, where we explained our position.]
EXPLAINER: ICC and its authority
"We see right now prosecutions starting but being rather slow with at least 6,000 people killed in the war on drugs, only 20 cases filed and three people convicted," said Hannah Neumann, vice chairperson of the European Parliament subcommittee on human rights.
'International action to help, not harm domestic efforts'
The European delegation also invited Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros for a separate meeting, where they asked for clarification if extrajudicial killings continue under the Marcos administration.
Citing data from the UP Third World Studies Center, the senator said there were 152 drug-related killings under the new administration with 46.7% committed by state operatives.
"I wonder with your assessment, is it domestically feasible or should we insist or at least being very proactive on having ICC being part of the investigations?" Neumann asked Hontiveros.
"We are really waiting for the ICC process to ripen and we are really hoping that it will proceed to investigation," Hontiveros answered. "Because international action against impunity and against extrajudicial killing can only help, not harm our own domestic efforts."
"The work against impunity is already so large and we need and should appreciate all the help we can get," she added.
In a briefing, Hontiveros also said she sees the European Union's respect for the Philippines, and hopes the government will also listen to the international community.
"Kaya lang naman tayo nakakapagmiyembro sa UN or dati sa ICC sana maulit muli or sa ano pa man bilang bansa dahil may soberanya tayo in the first place," the opposition senator told reporters. "We presume na may mutual respect kaya nga hindi tayo pumapayag sa pambubully ng Tsina sa West Philippine Sea. Same principle, mutual respect."
[Translation: We only become part of the UN, or in the past, the ICC and I hope we can return or in whatever group as a nation because we have sovereignty in the first place. We presume there is mutual respect that's why we reject China's bullying in the West Philippine Sea. Same principle, mutual respect.]
One of the alleged human rights victims under the previous Duterte administration is his staunch critic, detained former Sen. Leila de Lima. The European delegation plans to visit her on Thursday.
RELATED: Inter-Parliamentary Union 'ever more convinced' De Lima's detention politically motivated
CNN Philippines correspondent Eimor Santos contributed to this report.
A financial secretary stole more than $200,000 from the church where she worked and used the money on personal purchases, including a cruise and trip to Las Vegas, federal prosecutors say. Now, shes heading to prison.
From December 2016 to June 2019, Sharon Collins used credit cards issued to her and other employees by the First Baptist Church and falsified information to embezzle $209,744.61 from her employer, according to court documents. Collins worked as a secretary at the church in Foley, Alabama, from May 2007 until July 2019.
Collins pleaded guilty to 12 counts of wire fraud in August 2022, her plea agreement said. U.S. District Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced her to five years in prison and three years of supervised release on Thursday, Feb. 16, the court docket showed.
Collins was also ordered to pay a restitution of nearly $211,000, according to the docket.
Neither First Baptist Church nor Collins attorneys immediately returned McClatchy News request for comment on Feb. 21.
Prosecutors said Collins used church credit cards to make personal purchases, including a trip to Las Vegas with family members, a seven-night Royal Caribbean cruise for her family and a bachelors degree from Troy University.
Collins also used the stolen money to pay for her car registration, her DirecTV and AT&T bills, a three-night hotel stay in New Orleans, and several Amazon and Barnes & Noble purchases, according to the plea agreement.
In 2019, leaders in the congregation began asking questions about the churchs finances. At the time, Collins was the sole person in charge of the churchs financial statements; she was responsible for writing checks, managing the churchs accounts, classifying payments and preparing reports, prosecutors said.
When Collins refused to give church officials access to her computer and the churchs accounting records in July 2019, she was fired, court documents show. The churchs pastor and other leadership then reported the incident to the Baldwin County Sheriffs Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation who launched an investigation.
Foley is about 40 miles southeast of Mobile.
Church worker stole over $500K for years until temporary replacement noticed, feds say
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a critic of "sick and disgusting woke culture," stages her cabaret act at the State of the Union address on Feb. 7. (Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)
Across the intellectual heavens, the cry is heard: "Wokeness is dead."
The story is that the movement for diversity, equality and inclusion in American society and workplaces has shot its bolt.
Corporations are downplaying their diversity programs, and some are even telling employees who pressed them for inclusive policies to go find work elsewhere.
I feel like Im almost starting to write about wokeness in retrospect.
Blogger Noah Smith
Teachers and school librarians are on the run, forced to screen schoolbooks for any hint that America hasn't reached perfection in its race relations, lest they be subject to arrest.
The outcome is school bookshelves devoid of books, because those that used to be there have been found wanting, or merely because no one has time to page through them in quest of textual nonconformities with white privilege.
Keep your eye on this trend. It won't be long before culture warriors like Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) start taking credit for killing "wokeness."
At the moment, however, they're still riding the anti-woke hobbyhorse. On Presidents Day, when we honor Presidents Lincoln and Washington (go figure), Greene seemed to advocate secession by red states to counteract "the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats." Which issues are those? She didn't say.
We need a national divorce.
We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government.
Everyone I talk to says this.
From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrats traitorous America Last policies, we are https://t.co/Azn8YF1UUy Marjorie Taylor Greene (@mtgreenee) February 20, 2023
DeSantis declared that he has made Florida into a place where "woke goes to die" apparently his rallying cry for his forthcoming presidential campaign.
The evidence of his determination is provided by the acres of vacant classroom and school library bookshelves in his state, ransacked to eradicate woke artifacts in schoolbooks.
All this raises two fundamental questions: Is wokeness really dead? And what is wokeness, anyway?
One problem with assessing the rise and fall of wokeness is that the term is vacuous to the point of being meaningless. To some, it signifies acknowledging and accommodating the diversity of American society and culture; to others, it bespeaks a punitive and sanctimonious campaign against white privilege.
Conservative economist Tyler Cowen grappled with the difficulty of definition in a column proclaiming that "wokeism has peaked" last year. "On the positive side," he wrote, wokeism "is highly aware of racism and social injustice, and is galvanized toward raising awareness. On the negative side, it can be preachy, alienating, overly concerned with symbols and self-righteous."
If Cowen was suggesting that these are two equivalent sides of the same coin, he was way off-base. Part of the problem was that he was trying to shoehorn multiple movements into a single whole.
Others have been trawling the same waters for signs of wokeness' passing. This weekend, Noah Smith, a center-left economist and blogger, declared,"I feel like Im almost starting to write about wokeness in retrospect." Among his data points was that "corporate interest in DEI [that is, diversity, equity and inclusion] seems to be waning."
Smith pointed to a recent posting by Musa al-Gharbi, a sociology researcher at Columbia University, headlined, "The 'Great Awokening' Is Winding Down." Al-Gharbi's evidence included, among other things, a database showing that references in the New York Times to terms such as "sexism," "mansplaining," "racism" and "multiculturalism" all ostensibly watchwords of the Woke faith had fallen since the 2020 election.
That illustrates the difficulty of defining wokeness. Its critics on the right appreciate its very ambiguity. They can endow "wokeness" with a sinister connotation, a process that has become common among conservative culture warriors; witness the exploitation of terms such as CRT (for "critical race theory"), ESG (for environmental, social and corporate governance) and "entitlements" (for Social Security and Medicare).
Conservative politicians use these terms to represent some sort of inchoate government overreach. But the vast majority of their audience and even the politicians themselves couldn't define them. For those using them as talking points, that's a virtue.
Never mind that CRT isn't an element of the curriculum in any grade school, that ESG is a responsible approach to investing in a world beleaguered by global warming, that Americans are yes "entitled" to Social Security and Medicare benefits because they've paid for those benefits all their working lives; repeat the term often enough with a sneer, and they can be made to symbolize for credulous listeners all that they believe is wrong with the world.
DeSantis, Greene and their ilk don't even bother to explain what anyone should consider ominous about "wokeness." When Florida education officials dickered with the College Board over its Advanced Placement Black studies curriculum all last year, they didnt feel obligated to explicate what was wrong with it, ultimately ruling that the course was inexplicably contrary to Florida law and complaining that it was filled with Critical Race Theory They guessed they would scare the hell out of the College Board, and they guessed right.
Anti-woke crusaders are thus free to find "wokeness" wherever they choose to look. Take Cowen, who is director of the Mercatus Center at Virginia's George Mason University, a program that was founded and has been funded by the far-right Koch network.
In his column, Cowen identified last year's recall of three San Francisco school board members as possibly "the turning point for the fortunes of the woke" and a signal that "even left-leaning voters can put up with only so much wokeism."
He asserted that "voters were upset that the school board spent time trying to rename some schools in a more politically correct manner, rather than focusing on reopening all the schools." He noted, in passing, that voters may also have been irked that the board instituted a lottery for admission to the city's selective high school instead of relying on grades and test scores.
But Cowen had things upside down. All voters were mainly irked at the extended pandemic closure of the public schools; Asian voters particularly were irked that the lottery system would obstruct their kids' access to the elite school, where they have been in the majority.
Is interest in "diversity" waning on cable TV? Not according to this chart, tracking mentions of the word on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC over the last year. (Stanford University)
The renaming issue was a sideshow; if those other factors hadn't existed, the renaming might not have caused more than a ripple. Incompetence, not wokeness, was on the ballot.
The latest brouhaha over woke culture involves the children's and young adult books of Roald Dahl. Dahl's publisher, Penguin Random House, has made extensive changes to the books for new editions, ostensibly so they conform more closely with modern mores.
Smith, the economist and blogger, notices that condemnation of the bowdlerizing from the anti-racism and "cultural left" has been "near-universal" and asserts that at peak wokeness, three to five years ago, the same action would have fostered a "heated debate" among the same cultural sentries.
Smith is right about the scale of the condemnation, which comes from noted authors such as Salman Rushdie and Philip Pullman (author of the "His Dark Materials" fantasy trilogy).
But it's not at all clear that the same re-editing of Dahl's books wouldn't have provoked the same objections a few years ago, especially since the changes go much deeper than most commercially minded tweaking and include the injection of whole passages at odds with Dahl's crass and subversive sensibility. Its doubtful that the literary community would have been silent back then.
It's also fair to note that Dahl is something of a special case. His non-adult fiction occupies a penumbra between "not really classics" and "better than most of the crap pushed at kids." That leaves it outside the protective bubble occupied by true classics such as "Huckleberry Finn," which is properly judged exempt from the blue penciling of modern-day Mrs. Grundys.
Dahl himself was overtly antisemitic and racist, qualities that crept into many of his books, sometimes subtly, sometimes unsubtly.
He evidently recognized that some features of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" might have fallen short of changes in cultural standards to an extent that might undermine the book's continuing commercial potential. So he altered his description of the Oompa-Loompas, those minions of Willy Wonka, from amiable black pygmies imported from the very deepest and darkest part of the African jungle" in the original text, to little people with "rosy-white" skin and "golden-brown" hair for subsequent editions.
As for pointing to an ebbing of corporate wokeness, alluded to by Smith and Al-Gharbi, that doesn't suggest that business is tiring of diversity and inclusiveness, but rather that most American corporations are as pusillanimous as ever: If they're downplaying their efforts in this vein it's most likely because they figure that stirring up mulish pols like DeSantis isn't worth the candle, or because they smell a recession coming on and are looking to slash non-revenue-generating operations.
Anyway, the examples that right-wing commentators use to suggest a retreat on inclusiveness aren't all that convincing. So ExxonMobil is refusing to fly the LGBTQ rainbow flag from its corporate flagpole? Remind me when ExxonMobil ever was held up as a paragon of corporate sensitivity.
As for drawing conclusions from the frequency of words in the New York Times or any other news source, David Rozado, the New Zealand data expert who generated the charts cited by Al-Gharbi, has cautioned against drawing facile conclusions from the statistic. He acknowledges that the frequency of some words might decline because they become overused and get supplanted by new ones that mean the same thing.
That said, Stanford University's TV News Analyzer, which tracks the frequency of terms and people on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, doesn't show any long-term or consistent decline over the last year in terms such as "diversity," racism" or other terms associated with "wokeness."
What's really happening with the movement toward more diversity and inclusion in American society? Two things. One is that it has matured. No popular movement can be maintained at a white-heat level indefinitely; eventually it settles down to a steady state, partially because the initial battles have been fought and won and don't need to be repeated over and over again, and partially because the time comes to consolidate and secure its real gains.
Another is that the constant nattering by culture warriors has scared some corporate leaders of the movement into being quieter about their programs.
Don't expect the politicians who have been riding this horse to abandon the field. They'll keep harping on the same few isolated cases of "cancel culture," because they have nothing else to offer voters.
Don't expect them to explain just what it is that they object to in the movement to make American society and workplaces more welcoming to all. They're playing a game of symbols, and substance just doesn't matter.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) - An oil rig supervisor who earned more than $200,000 a year working for Houston-based Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc is entitled to overtime pay, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a decision with costly implications for the oil and gas industry.
The court in a 6-3 decision authored by liberal Justice Elena Kagan decided that because the rig supervisor, Michael Hewitt, was paid a daily rate of $963 and not a salary, an overtime pay exemption in federal wage law for highly paid workers did not apply to him.
The justices affirmed a 2021 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Helix must face Hewitt's 2017 lawsuit seeking overtime pay. That lawsuit now goes back to a federal judge in Houston.
A 1940 regulation holds that highly compensated workers - currently defined as those earning $107,000 a year or more - would not receive overtime pay if they have supervisory duties and are paid at least $455 per week in the form of a salary.
Kagan said the text of the regulation made clear that it did not apply to employees who are paid based on how many days they work and are not guaranteed minimum weekly wages.
Ed Sullivan, a lawyer for Hewitt, said that "my client and team are appreciative that the Supreme Court applied the plain text of the law to his case."
Helix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Helix was backed in the case by oil and gas trade groups including the American Petroleum Institute, which said in briefs to the justices that supervisors in the industry are routinely paid daily rates and work long hours. A ruling favoring Hewitt would require companies to pay overtime premiums and invite a flood of lawsuits from highly paid workers, the groups added.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts joined the court's three liberal members in the ruling.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a dissent joined by fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito, wrote that because Hewitt earned a set daily rate, he knew he would be paid at least that much for any week in which he worked. That coupled with his management duties made him exempt from overtime pay, Kavanaugh said.
Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch in a separate dissent said Helix's appeal should have been dismissed for procedural reasons.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Alexia Garamfalvi)
STRAUSBERG, Germany (Reuters) - German military instructors teaching some 1,000 Ukrainian troops how to use Western tanks and other arms will soon be reinforced by several hundred specialists from other countries, the head of the Special Training Command said on Wednesday.
"We are talking about some 30-50 troops from Norway and several hundred from the Netherlands," Lieutenant-General Andreas Marlow told Reuters in an interview at his headquarters in the town of Strausberg near Berlin, adding he was aiming for further contributions from other nations.
"I hope we will be able to convince more partners to support us," he said, noting the first additional trainers are expected to arrive by the end of March.
Marlow's Special Training Command (STC) is part of a European Union military mission set up in November to train up to 30,000 Ukrainian troops in various skills to help Kyiv fight off Russia's year-old invasion.
Courses in various European countries range from basic training to the operation of modern battle tanks such as the Leopard 2, air defence systems, rocket launchers and howitzers.
So far, some 1,500 mainly German soldiers have been handling the training in Germany, with the goal of completing courses for some 9,000 or more Ukrainians by the end of 2023, Marlow said.
Poland is another major training hub while Spain, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Italy are also running courses. Beyond the EU mission, U.S. and British troops are training Ukrainian troops in Europe as well.
While public discussions over the past few months have focused on whether or not the West would supply tanks to Ukraine, the instructors in Germany stress the importance of all weapons acting in concert.
Such warfare, described by the military as combined arms operations, is seen as a strength of NATO forces in contrast with Russia's military that experts say bets on strength from sheer numbers of troops and weapons.
"We see tanks and infantry fighting vehicles as inseparable twins that go into battle together, with the support of others such as artillery, engineers or air defence systems," said Marlow.
"Only this mix creates the synergies that give us an advantage over someone who is using their troops without this kind of orchestration," he added, noting that a tank operating alone was vulnerable to attacks by infantry with anti-tank weapons approaching the vehicle from a dead angle.
Marlow said he was impressed by the quick wits, skills and commitment of the Ukrainian troops.
"That gets to you, when you see these young people training on a tank, on an infantry fighting vehicle that will head directly into battle - not like the artillery that fires at a distance," he said.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Alexander Ratz, editing by Mark Heinrich)
Ukraine's stop gap strategy is simple: Fix the armored vehicles you've got, and get them back into battle.
It takes a lot of work to keep Soviet-era workhorses of Ukraine's armored divisions in the fight.
"They are old; it's no secret," says Roman Batsenko. "They need repair and good handling."
Batsenko is a gunner with the Ukraine army's 3rd Tank unit, known as the Iron Brigade. His call-sign is "Lion" because...
"I was born in August," he said. "I also have a lion tattoo from before the war, and, well, it's my character."
Before the war, Lion worked for 15 years for the railway. Now, after a year of fighting, tanks are his identity.
"The tank is primarily needed for the infantry," he said. "Cover, deliver, evacuate the infantry. Tanks are necessary, and the more the better."
Major tank battles with the Russians loom, while the location of Ukraine's tanks even while under repair is top secret.
The coming weeks of the war while the ground is still frozen will likely be a game of tanks and, for Ukraine, a game of waiting for better, faster, safer western tanks to arrive, including British Challengers, German Leopards and American M1 Abrams models.
The tanks Ukraine is currently using are different than ones coming from NATO countries.
"They were produced in the USSR, and there were problems with safety," Lion said. "Our ammunition is under us."
SEE MORE: Ukraine: Impacts of Invasion
But Lion won't be upgrading to a Leopard. He'll stick to his T-72B, battle-scarred and tested.
"We had a fight. Our tank was hit seven times, but we held on," Lion said, recalling a battle in a village in the Kharkiv region a few months ago. "But when a mine flew into the engine, the tank caught fire. I pulled the commander and mechanic out of the tank. I saved their lives, and we walked back. But before that, I managed to destroy three enemy tanks and several armored vehicles. Such a beautiful story with a beautiful ending."
For his valor, his commander presented him with a Ukrainian medal of courage.
Lion says being in a tank battle with Russians is all about their mentality.
"The battle itself is going on 10 to 15 minutes," he said. "The main thing is to be focused, trust each other, and then everything will be fine."
He says they also need to trust their tank that it won't break down in battle. For that, there is an entire battalion of the Iron Brigade devoted to repairs. Olersandr Dereka is the commander.
"We already had this tank under repair. We sent it a couple of days ago, and it broke down again," Dereka said.
Dereka allowed Scripps News a point of view from the driver's seat, to take in how old the controls are, the small window size and how tight the confines are. The two other crew members, the gunner and the tank's commander, also work in coffin-like conditions.
Dereka says he feels responsible for the people who use the tanks.
"We know all the mechanics, drivers, crews we serve," Dereka said.
And the Russian offensive is making the job even harder and more dangerous.
"There is always danger," Lion said. "We came here and are working to destroy the Russians, to free ourselves from the invaders. This is our job. We protect our motherland. In this war, it's always dangerous."
And with that, Lion was already headed back to the front line.
SEE MORE: Citizen war crimes investigator in Ukraine risks life for justice
Miami isnt known for its majestic mountains. The tallest peaks in the South Florida landscape, in fact, are a series of landfills. The highest point south of Lake Okeechobee is the dump at Monarch Hill Renewable Energy Park, better known as Mount Trashmore, which towers 225 smelly feet above northern Broward County.
But there are natural bumps and ridges of limestone that gradually rise and fall along the length of South Florida. In Miami-Dade County, the tallest of these slopes soar to the dizzying height of about 20 feet above sea level. At these alpine altitudes, youll find strange things not seen anywhere else in Miami: mountain biking trails, underground cave systems, even houses with basements.
Cliffs, bunkers, mammoth bones: Miami-Dade Countys most intriguing high points
The highest points in Miami-Dade County are unmarked and largely unnoticed. But high ground has played an outsized role in the history of South Floridas development and, more importantly, offers clues about how climate change could shape the regions future. Starting with its real estate market.
The scientists who study South Floridas limestone ridges say theres a warning hidden in the rock beneath our feet. All of it formed underwater, at a time when South Florida was at the bottom of a shallow sea. Now, sea levels are rising. One day its hard to pinpoint when even our highest ground may be underwater once again.
South Florida geology 101: Lessons in the rock about future risks from sea rise
Everybody thinks this is a God-given sea level, said Harold Wanless, who heads the University of Miamis geology department. Theres nothing special about where the sea level is right now.
A view of a home near Cocoplum Plaza Circle on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, in Miami, Florida. The home is located near one of Miami-Dade Countys highest points of elevation.
As the tides inch higher and flooding becomes more common, more developers and home buyers are starting to seek out land at higher elevations. The past also provides a lesson there: High ground has long been some of the most desirable real estate in Miami.
Thats why Miami-Dade Countys highest ground is home to the oldest houses in Miami and some of the earliest evidence of human settlement south of Lake Okeechobee. High ground is essentially where settlers were forced to live until the Everglades began to be drained in the early 1900s, said Paul George, resident historian at HistoryMiami.
But as housing prices rise, some community groups are warning about the risk of climate gentrification, a process that pushes out poor residents living in higher and drier neighborhoods to make way for wealthier renters and buyers who want a home thats safe from flooding.
The climate-driven component of gentrification is creating a situation where its raising the cost of living, its really squeezing people and its forcing them out, said Paul Namphy, lead organizer and political director at the Family Action Network Movement (FANM), a community advocacy group based in Little Haiti.
Homeowners on the high ground
Waterfront properties, despite being vulnerable to hurricanes and sea rise, are still some of the most desirable and expensive real estate in South Florida. But in recent years, buyers and renters have become more interested in high ground, and government agencies have given them more tools to research their homes elevation and flood risk.
Miami-Dade County publishes extremely detailed elevation data online. The data comes from lidar drones, which fly overhead bouncing laser beams off the ground to map the countys topography. The Miami Herald consulted this data to identify the countys highest points for this story.
A man rides a paddle board down a canal near Cocoplum Plaza Circle on Dec. 12, 2022, in Miami. The canal is located near one of Miami-Dade Countys highest points of elevation.
Broward and Palm Beach counties dont publish the same level of detailed data, but county records and research carried out by the county highpointers, a niche group of hobbyists who travel the U.S. climbing the highest points in every county, confirm that Browards natural highest point is 29 feet above sea level at Pine Island Ridge and Palm Beachs highest point is about 50 feet above sea level somewhere in Jupiter, within the gated community of The Bluffs. Floridas highest point is 345-foot Britton Hill in Walton County in the Florida Panhandle.
Move over, Everest climbers. The rarest peaks to scale may be in Miami-Dade County
Potential home buyers and renters can also use the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Sea Level Rise Viewer, a free tool that lets you see what parts of your neighborhood might flood or sink beneath the water under future climate change scenarios.
Reid Grier, the president of a senior care company called Right at Home, consulted NOAAs Sea Level Rise Viewer when he bought a home near Coral Gables at one of the highest points in Miami-Dade County in November 2020.
As Grier raised the hypothetical sea levels by one foot, then two, then 10, he saw water surge in from the coasts and spill out of canals. But the water didnt touch his future home, which is built 20 feet above sea level. It essentially showed our block being one of the few remaining pieces of land above water, Grier said.
Grier has family in Houston and he saw the destruction after Hurricane Harvey flooded the city in 2017. He didnt want to buy a house that faced the same risk. The fact that we are far enough away from the coast and outside of any flood risk area, said Grier, it just gives us peace of mind.
Attorney A.J. Barranco at the top of the stairs to his basement, a rare option in flat Miami-Dade. His home along South Bayshore Drive home in Coconut Grove is built on one of Miami-Dades highest pieces of ground.
A.J. Barranco, a lawyer who has lived at another one of the countys highest points in Coconut Grove since 1978, learned just how valuable elevation can be during a major hurricane. Barrancos house is perched on a limestone bluff overlooking South Bayshore Drive, which protected it when Hurricane Andrew struck in 1992 and created a storm surge along the coast of Biscayne Bay.
The houses down below me were all flooded. There were sailboats on South Bayshore Drive, Barranco recalls. His front lawn was strewn with debris oars, life vests, sails, flippers and so on. But his house, built 22 feet above sea level, was untouched except for a little flooding in the basement. Ive always felt very fortunate being this high up, he said.
But others, like David and Michelle Diaz, only found out they were living at one of the countys highest points when a Miami Herald reporter came knocking at their door. They bought their Kendall home 22 feet above sea level in 2020. I had no idea, said David, but thats pretty cool. Perhaps in the future, if we ever sell this house, we can use that as a selling point.
The climate gentrification debate
Some research suggests that sellers are starting to do just that.
In 2018, a team of Harvard researchers led by then-design professor Jesse Keenan studied housing prices in Miami-Dade County and found that property values were rising faster for houses at higher elevations than for houses at lower elevations. They coined the phrase climate gentrification to describe how wealthy buyers and renters, hoping to avoid sea level rise and flooding by moving to homes on higher ground, could drive up housing costs and displace longtime residents in elevated neighborhoods like Little Haiti.
In response, the City of Miami passed a resolution directing the city manager to study climate gentrification and dedicated $4 million from the Miami Forever Bond to address the issue.
This rendering shows an aerial view of the planned Magic City Innovation District, an 18-acre development that would transform a swath of Little Haiti.
Gentrification has been happening in Little Haiti for decades, according to Namphy, the FANM organizer. But growing interest in high ground real estate has sped things up. What were seeing is a climate component grafted onto an already existing gentrification process, he said.
Climate gentrification became a rallying cry for local activists protesting the Magic City development in Little Haiti. Plaza Equity Partners plans to build 18 acres of apartments, hotels, shops and office space on the northern edge of a limestone ridge, where the elevation ranges from 10 to 17 feet above sea level.
The issue came up again in more recent protests against the Sabal Palm Village development eight blocks south. The climate gentrification discussion is definitely front and center in both of those conversations, Namphy said.
But in South Florida, development waves are as difficult to stop as the tides.
Elius Louima, 82, lives in between the Magic City and Sabal Palm Village development sites, in a house 18 feet above sea level one of the highest points in Little Haiti. He moved there from the Bahamas in 1977 and has been renting his current house since 1985. He loves the neighborhood not for its elevation but for its community. When you go out, neighbors look after you, he said. People are nice to each other.
Louima said he started noticing new high-rises being built nearby around 2019, a year after the climate gentrification paper was published. Hes seen his rent rise from $400 to $1,000 a month since he moved in. It used to be low, he said. Now everythings going up.
But, in Miami at least, the whole concept of climate gentrification is divisive. One common critique is that its hard to tell climate gentrification apart from regular gentrification. No one argues that rents arent rising in Little Haiti and forcing some residents out, but some researchers say theyre rising for reasons that have nothing to do with climate change. The neighborhood has cheap land, its close to the center of Miami, and nearby neighborhoods like Wynwood and the Design District have already gone through major cycles of gentrification.
ZOI restaurant and lounge is the latest enterprise to occupy a charming old pump house in Little Haiti, one of the highest points in Miami-Dade County.
The thing is, you cannot distinguish the Magic City project in Little Haiti from the traditional gentrification process in Wynwood, said Han Li, an assistant professor in the UM Department of Geography and Regional Studies who published an in-depth analysis of Miami-Dade County housing prices last year that critiques Keenans climate gentrification paper.
As rents have risen in Wynwood and the Design District, people are running to Little Haiti and Little River to save money, said Devlin Marinoff, a managing partner at DWNTWN Realty Advisors, a brokerage that is selling property five blocks from Louimas house in Little Haiti. I get calls daily about Little River and Little Haiti.
Marinoff said the elevation of these neighborhoods still isnt top of mind, at least for developers. It does come up from time to time when were working on a deal, but I havent yet seen a situation where it affected the value or whether or not a deal was going to get done, he said.
But that could change. Marinoff said hes seen flood insurance rates quadruple for some of his commercial properties in low-lying neighborhoods. At some point I would imagine thats going to have an effect on the bottom line, he said. Has it at this point been a reason to break a deal? Not yet. Do I think thats on the horizon? Absolutely.
The historic value of high ground
Seeking out high ground was once a no-brainer in South Florida, according to HistoryMiamis Paul George. In addition to the settlements they built along the Miami River, the Tequesta also lived on high ground near the Deering Estate and dry pine islands in the Everglades. Before the Everglades were drained, many of Miamis wealthiest residents and early developers built on Dade Countys highest points to keep their properties safe from flooding.
Susana Baker lives in a Mediterranean revival mansion built in 1924 by a fruit farmer and Design District developer named Theodore V. Moore (known in his era as Floridas Pineapple King). The house sits on a slight hill in Buena Vista 19 feet above sea level, which counts as high ground in Miami-Dade County.
Susana Baker lives in a Mediterranean revival mansion built in 1924 by a fruit farmer and Design District developer named Theodore V. Moore (known in his era as Floridas Pineapple King). The house sits on a slight hill in Buena Vista 19 feet above sea level, which counts as high ground in Miami-Dade County.
You can tell he was very wealthy because he purposefully made sure his home was on a hill, said Baker. So when theres flooding, everyone else gets flooded, but we dont.
The same is true of Ralph Munroe, a wealthy yacht designer and the first commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club who in 1891 built The Barnacle the oldest house still standing in Miami-Dade County on a limestone hill in Coconut Grove. Although the property slopes down to the water, Munroe put his home on high ground 18 feet above sea level.
Ralph Munroe, a wealthy yacht designer and the first commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club who in 1891 built The Barnacle the oldest house still standing in Miami-Dade County on a limestone hill in Coconut Grove. Although the property slopes down to the water, Munroe put his home on high ground 18 feet above sea level.
Some of South Floridas earliest modern development happened on high ground. The countys first public library and one of its first schools were built in 1894 in Lemon City, a community built in what is now Little Haiti. When Henry Flagler built his railroad connecting Miami to the rest of the U.S. in 1896, he sent surveyors through South Florida to find the highest ground.
Thats where they ran the railroad, said George. You just cant operate a railroad on low ground thats flooded.
The construction of the railroad and nearby hotels gave some of Miamis earliest black residents an opportunity to build homes on high ground, George said. Many of the black Bahamian and American workers who worked on these projects settled nearby on relatively high ground in what is now Little Haiti, Wynwood, Overtown and Coconut Grove the neighborhoods where some of their descendants are grappling with gentrification today.
But, over the past century, George said South Floridians have become less concerned about building on high ground. After 1909, as canals were dug and the Everglades drained, it opened up new, once-flooded land for developers to build on.
Thats why so much of Miami-Dade County and Broward County and parts of Palm Beach are 6 feet high or less, said Wanless, the UM geology professor. They were former wetlands, and then we drained the wetlands, lowered the water level and built the ground up to about 6 feet above sea level.
Jennifer Tisthammer, director of the Deering Estate, walks along the Miami Rock Ridge, a buildup of limestone rock that the estate sits on. It is the site of ancient artifacts from the Tequesta, South Floridas earliest settlers, who were drawn to the high ground in what is now Palmetto Bay.
The majority of Miami-Dade County 56% is 6 feet or less above sea level, according to county elevation data. Most of that land has been paved over and developed. The Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact expects sea levels to rise 3 to 8 feet over the next century, putting these low-lying areas at risk.
As sea level further rises, theyre going to flood more easily, theyre going to drain more slowly, king tides are going to get at them more frequently and storm surges are going to be increasingly devastating, Wanless said.
High ground may be temporary haven
If rising tides force South Floridians to retreat from the coasts and low-lying areas, the remaining high ground could become even more valuable. But even that haven may not last forever.
In the near term, coastal retreat might involve developers building high-rises on high ground and local governments focusing their infrastructure spending in those areas, according to Keenan, who is now an associate professor of sustainable real estate at Tulane University. Cities like Miami would shrink to a smaller area built around pockets of high ground.
That [high ground] is where you invest your first infrastructure dollars, and on the periphery is where those dollars begin to evaporate, Keenan said.
Cars make their way down Coral Way near Southwest 58th Avenue a nondescript location that also happens to be one of Miami-Dade Countys highest points of elevation.
A 2018 study from the Rand Corporation concluded that Miami-Dade County could avoid flood damage by directing future growth toward areas of naturally higher ground. Over the next 20 years, that development strategy would reduce the amount of property at risk from flooding by more than $100 million, the think tank calculated. A drive along the beachfront shows that idea hasnt been embraced yet in South Florida.
High ground homeowners sometimes joke that if sea levels keep rising, their houses might become beachfront property.
Maybe my descendants will inherit a private island one day, said Grier, the senior care company president. Even if the ocean rises 14 feet by 2120 in line with NOAAs extreme worst-case climate projections, Griers house, built 20 feet above current sea levels, will at least stay above water.
But its not clear how valuable a private island in flooded South Florida would be for future generations. Even the homes at the countys highest points rely on streets and infrastructure built at lower elevations, which are vulnerable to just a few feet of sea level rise.
Youre not going to have roads to get around on. Youre not going to have sewage treatment facilities. You wont have garbage pickup. You wont have a source of fresh water, said Wanless. All those things are the unfortunate reality of the future, and it wont wait until sea levels have risen 20 feet.
In other words, even the people who live on Miamis highest ground have a reason to care about the 3 to 8 feet of sea level rise the Southeast Florida Climate Compact expects over the next century and the uncertain level of sea rise South Florida will experience in the years that follow, depending on how quickly humanity cuts its carbon emissions.
Everybody needs to understand that were all going to be impacted by this, said Yoca Arditi-Rocha, executive director of the CLEO Institute, a nonprofit climate advocacy group based in Miami. Obviously, the most vulnerable are feeling the disproportionate impact, but at the end of the day, were all going to feel it.
This climate report is funded by Florida International University, the Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partner. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
The Missouri House on Tuesday approved a bill that would give Kansas City more control over how much it pays its police chief and officers.
The bill, which passed 151-3, is joint legislation filed by state Rep. Mark Sharp, a Kansas City Democrat, and state Rep. Chris Brown, a Kansas City Republican. It would remove the maximum salary cap for the Kansas City police chief and its officers in an attempt to attract and retain talent.
It also removes the requirement that applicants for chief be under 60 years of age and allows the police board to establish a salary range for officers.
This bill is not going to solve crime problems in Kansas City, Brown said on the floor Tuesday. But the bottom line is that every piece helps.
The bill now heads to the upper chamber. If both chambers pass the legislation, it would head to Republican Gov. Mike Parsons desk. Parson is the former sheriff of Polk County.
Kelli Jones, a spokesperson for Parson, said the governor does not like to comment on bills until they reach his desk.
It comes as Kansas City has lagged behind other cities across the country in how much it pays its chief and officers. The departments salary problem has been compounded by the citys unusual lack of control of its police.
Kansas City is the only city in Missouri that does not control its police force. The department is overseen by a five-member board of police commissioners. Four are appointed by the governor and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas fills one spot.
Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2, a Kansas City social justice group, told The Star on Tuesday that the bill illustrated how Kansas City needs true control of its own police force.
We have heard that our chiefs salary is on the lower end, and that made it tough to be competitive to get a good chief. However, this is just one more thing that points to our need for local control, she said. None of this should be decided at the state level. Its our money, Kansas City taxpayers, and theyre all too quick in Jefferson City to determine how we should spend it.
Missouri law sets the annual salary of the Kansas City chief and the departments sworn officers. The current salary cap for the chief is $189,726.
When the police board of commissioners appointed Stacey Graves as the chief late last year, it set her salary at $180,000. Graves earns far less than chiefs in peer cities and nearby departments.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum has an annual salary of $240,890. Raul Pazen, the police chief in Denver, makes $236,505. In Nashville, Police Chief John Drake is paid $234,000.
Neil Noakes, who leads the Fort Worth Police Department, another KCPD peer city, earned $227,136 in 2022, according to a salary database published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Robert Tracy, the St. Louis police chief, has a base salary of $175,000 but the St. Louis Police Foundation kicks in another $100,000 annually. That means Tracy brings home $275,000 each year.
Lucas, Kansas Citys mayor, visited Jefferson City last month to urge lawmakers to vote in favor of the bill. He told the House Special Committee on Urban Issues that it was essential for the police board to have flexibility to set the salaries of its chief and officers.
We want to make sure we have the tools to continue to take care of our officers, our command staff, and to make sure through the board of police commissioners we can be competitive with departments, not just in the Kansas City region but for us, other major cities, police departments all around the country, Lucas said.
The last time Missouri lawmakers increased the maximum salary for the Kansas City chief was in 2013. It was part of an amendment that included a bill that allowed Kansas City police officers to participate in political activities while they were off duty.
Currently, a probationary KCPD officer can earn up to about $3,987 a month. The probation period lasts six months. The salary cap for police officers tops out at $6,958 a month. That amount doesnt include if there are any cost of living increases after the top step, according to KCPD.
While the bill passed by the Missouri House would give Kansas City more control over police pay, some lawmakers are pushing to put St. Louis police department back under state control.
That effort, which comes 10 years after St. Louis regained local control of its police through a statewide vote, could damage ongoing efforts to bring Kansas City back in control of its own department.
Metro Mania (CNN Philippines, February 22) The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has dismissed a civil case against the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and his cronies for lack of evidence in supposed ill-gotten wealth amassed through dummy corporations.
In a 156-page decision promulgated on Feb. 21, the anti-graft court junked the case for reversion, reconveyance, and accounting that the government, through the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), filed against Marcos, his wife Imelda, Peter Sabido, Luis Yulo, Nicolas Dehesa, Rafael Sison, and Don Ferry.
This court finds that the plaintiff failed to prove by preponderant evidence that the properties alleged in the complaint are ill-gotten and/or was beneficially owned and controlled by former President Marcos and his family, the Sandiganbayan said.
The civil action was filed in July 1987 to recover from them ill-gotten wealth consisting of funds and other property which they, in unlawful concert with one another, had acquired and accumulated in flagrant breach of trust and of their fiduciary obligations as public officers, with grave abuse of right and power, and in brazen violation of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of the Philippines.
However, the court noted there was no competent evidence to prove that the corporations in the amended complaint were dummies and the former president had a hand in them.
It added there was no sufficient proof that other defendants had close associations with Marcos or any members of his family.
The Sandiganbayan said the PCGG relied on the affidavit of Rolando Gapud, a former financial adviser of Marcos. But he failed to take the witness stand, making his affidavit a hearsay.
Plaintiff relied heavily on the affidavit of Rolando Gapud wherein it said that serving as financial advisor of the former President, he had personal knowledge that the later used his close business associates Yulo as his dummy in YKR and PIMECO, the decision read.
While it is true that the affidavit was notarized, the general rules are that affidavits are classified as hearsay evidence, unless affiants are placed on the witness stand, it further read.
The PCGG estimated that the Marcos patriarch amassed around $5 billion to $10 billion of ill-gotten wealth, which the Guiness World of Records recognized as the greatest robbery of a government.
President Biden speaks during a meeting Wednesday with the leaders of the Bucharest Nine, a group of nine countries that make up the eastern flank of NATO. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)
Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to pull out of the country's sole remaining nuclear arms control treaty with the U.S. was a "big mistake," President Biden said Wednesday, the latest volley in a diplomatic showdown between Washington and Moscow as the president wraps up a four-day trip to the region.
Biden weighed in on the Kremlin's announcement as he arrived at the presidential palace in Warsaw, where he met with leaders of nations from the NATO alliance's eastern flank amid unease over Russia's ongoing assault in Ukraine.
The Bucharest Nine Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia was formed in the wake of Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea. Leaders worry a Russian victory in Ukraine could embolden Putin to invade other countries on the eastern edge of Europe.
Putin announced this week during his annual parliamentary address that he was suspending cooperation with the New START nuclear nonproliferation agreement, ratcheting up tensions with Washington as he faulted Ukraine and Western allies for starting the war. The Russian leader's announcement came hours before Biden delivered remarks at Warsaw's Royal Castle to mark the anniversary of Moscow's assault on Ukraine a year ago.
"It was a big mistake," said Biden, bearing a black smudge on his forehead to mark Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.
Biden extended the New START treaty with Russia for an additional five years when he took office, arguing it was in the best security interests of both countries.
The meeting puts an exclamation point on Biden's trip to Poland and surprise stop in Ukraine to highlight the U.S. and Western allies' continued commitment to support Kyiv in the face of Russian aggression as the war stretches into a second year.
"Youre the front lines of our collective defense," Biden told the group of leaders. "And you know, better than anyone, whats at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world."
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said the war has "brought nothing but suffering and despair, killing and displacing of millions of Ukrainians."
"We the leaders of the eastern flank have the duty to stand firm in defense of our peace," Iohannis told the group.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
WARSAW/MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Biden will meet leaders of NATO's eastern flank on Wednesday while China's top diplomat holds talks in Moscow - contrasting shows of support ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Within Ukraine, schools took their classes online for the rest of the week for fear of an upsurge of Russian missile attacks a year on from Moscow's Feb. 24 all-out assault, which failed to topple the government and has long been bogged down.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded to the stalemate with veiled threats to use nuclear weapons. He suspended a nuclear arms control treaty on Tuesday, accusing Washington of turning the war into a global conflict by arming Ukraine.
China and Russia struck a new "no limits" partnership just weeks before the invasion, and China's foreign minister Wang Yi was due to meet Putin on Wednesday. Addressing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "my dear friend", he said he expects to strike new agreements during his visit.
"No matter how the international situation changes, China has been and remains committed, together with Russia, to make efforts to preserve the positive trend in the development of relations between major powers," Wang said.
President Biden visits Poland.
Biden, who underlined his support for Kyiv in a surprise visit to war-torn Ukraine on Monday, then rallied NATO allies in Poland, saying the invasion had tested the whole world but Washington and its allies had shown they would defend democracy.
"There should be no doubt: Our support for Ukraine will not waver, NATO will not be divided, and we will not tire," he said in the Royal Castle of Warsaw on Tuesday.
In Moscow, Putin, who argues that NATO represents an existential threat to Russia, delivered a warning to the West over Ukraine by suspending its last major nuclear arms control treaty with the United States, New START.
There should be no doubt: Our support for Ukraine will not waver, NATO will not be divided, and we will not tire.President Biden
Russia's foreign ministry said later it would continue abiding by the restrictions outlined in New Start (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) on the number of nuclear warheads it could have deployed. Russia's lower house of parliament rubber-stamped the suspension of the treaty on Wednesday.
Biden rejected Russia's assertion that Western allies were seeking to control or destroy Russia, and accused Moscow of crimes against humanity such as targeting civilians and rape. Russia denies committing war crimes or targeting civilians.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Putin's suspension of the nuclear treaty was "deeply unfortunate and irresponsible". NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it made the world more dangerous and urged Putin to reconsider.
Blinken has also said Washington is concerned Beijing was considering supplying weapons to Moscow and warned of consequences should that happen.
President Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow.
China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun said the New START treaty and other instruments were important for the global security architecture and "the parties concerned should continue to negotiate with each other".
Tension over Ukraine had already halted inspections under the treaty, which calls for the United States and Russia to let each other check their nuclear arsenals.
NATO allies and other supporters have sent Ukraine tens of billions of dollars worth of arms and ammunition. Since the new year they have promised modern battle tanks, though they have yet to offer Western fighter jets sought by Kyiv.
On Wednesday, Biden will meet leaders of the Bucharest Nine, NATO's eastern members that joined the alliance after years of Cold War domination by the then Soviet Union. They include many of the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine.
Russia suffered three major battlefield reverses in Ukraine last year but still controls nearly a fifth of the country. It has launched a massive offensive in recent weeks in eastern provinces, so far making only marginal gains despite some of the heaviest losses of the war.
Ukraine's military said Bakhmut city, the focus of Russian advances in the eastern region of Donetsk, came under shelling, along with 20 other settlements in the area.
President Biden meets Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kyiv.
The governor of the neighbouring Luhansk region said Ukraine had repelled intense attacks around the town of Kreminna further north.
"At Kreminna yesterday the enemy tried to break through with the help of a company of tanks and infantry," Serhiy Haidai said on Ukrainian television. "Several of their tanks remained on the battlefield - ours simply destroyed them. The breakthrough failed, the situation stabilized."
Two civilians were wounded in a Russian missile strike on Wednesday on industrial facilities in Kharkhiv, the biggest city in eastern Ukraine, local officials said.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.
The biggest land war in Europe since World War Two has displaced millions, left cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy. The U.N. rights office has recorded more than 8,000 civilians killed, a figure it describes as the "tip of the iceberg".
Richard Gere, photographed in 2019, was recently hospitalized for pneumonia. (Valerio Nicolosi / Associated Press)
Richard Gere is on the mend.
TMZ reported last week that the Maybe I Do actors family vacation in Mexico had been interrupted by a bad bout of pneumonia.
According to Geres wife, philanthropist Alejandra Silva, the family was already feeling under the weather when they traveled from New York to Mexico to celebrate her 40th birthday.
Gere, 73, had a persistent cough that prompted him to seek treatment, which led to his pneumonia diagnosis and hospitalization. Their youngest son, James, also was diagnosed with pneumonia, while Silva and their other son, Alexander, struggled with sinusitis and ear infections.
After the news broke, the Gere family received an outpouring of love and support over the weekend via social media.
I woke up this morning and I saw the news and all your kind and worry messages, he is recovering he is felling much better today! Silva captioned a photo of the family up and about. The worst has already [passed]! Thank you all for you sweet messages we really appreciate them! #thankyou
On Tuesday the activist shared another update to her Instagram, with a photo of Silva turning to smile at the camera and Gere carrying one of their sons on his shoulders.
Hi everyone, a little update, Richard is feeling much better," the caption read. "We are all feeling much better, 'almost' back to normal.. we want to thank doctor Rioss and the hospital la Joya.
"We came to Mexico to continue with our conservation project south of Puerto Vallarta, we all came sick from NY, our youngest James and Richard got Pneumonia and Alexander and I sinusitis and ear infections, now we are all well and almost fully recovered. Thank you all for your messages!"
Silva slipped a vintage shot of Gere a la "American Gigolo" into the post with a caption joking, "Richard wanted me to post this second photo to show you that he is feeling much better.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
In this handout photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, Russian military sailors stand in solemn formation onboard of the Admiral Gorshkov frigate of the Russian navy in Richards Bay, South Africa. Russia's Admiral Gorshkov frigate arrived at Richards Bay, South Africa, to participate in naval drills of Russia, South Africa and China, the Russian military said Wednesday. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) The Russian military denied Wednesday that it was planning to test its new Zircon hypersonic missiles during naval drills off the coast of South Africa this week that will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
China's navy also is participating in the Indian Ocean exercises, which come at a time when Russia's relationship with the West is at its lowest point since the Cold War, and ties between China and the United States are under serious strain.
As Russian and Chinese warships prepared in South Africa for their joint drills, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted China's most senior foreign policy official at the Kremlin. Those meetings showed the strengthening of Russia's relationship with China and raised concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support for its war in Ukraine.
Russia's aims for the naval exercises came under scrutiny because of the involvement of the Admiral Gorshkov, a frigate which is armed with hypersonic missiles and has served as the main testbed for them. The ship arrived in Cape Town last week emblazoned with the letters Z and V, letters also seen on Russian weapons on the front lines in Ukraine and which are used as patriotic symbols in Russia.
Russia has said the Zircon missiles can penetrate any missile defense systems by flying at an astounding 7,000 miles per hour (11,265 km/h) around nine times the speed of sound to strike targets at sea and on land. They have a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (over 620 miles), Russia claims.
Putin sent the Admiral Gorshkov on a trans-ocean cruise last month in a show of force as tensions with the West escalated over Ukraine. But a Russian navy officer in South Africa said Wednesday that the exercises would focus on maritime security, including the fight against piracy, and the Zircons would not be fired.
The drills will involve "mutual maneuvering of the three sides, assistance of the suffering vessel in a disaster, liberation of a captured vessel by the pirates, and artillery fire which, according to our schedule, does not include the firing with the hypersonic missiles, Capt. Oleg Gladkiy said. He spoke through a translator.
The Admiral Gorshkov and a Russian oil tanker for refueling, a Chinese destroyer, frigate and a support vessel, and a South African frigate will be involved in the exercises, according to a South African military statement released last week.
Ukraines ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova., criticized the timing of the drills, which will overlap with Friday's one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine.
Abravitova noted that China, Russia and South Africa, which are partners in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, have undertaken joint naval drills before but said it is a concern for us that they are happening at the time of the anniversary of the brutal Russian invasion.
The vessel that came to the shores of South Africa basically brought a piece of the war to this peaceful land through having the letters Z and V, which they are using as a marking on their military equipment while bombing Ukrainian cities, Abravitova said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Last week, a small yacht flying Ukraines flag sailed by the Admiral Gorshkov in Cape Towns harbor in protest. On Wednesday, a group of protesters gathered outside the Russian Embassy in the South African capital, Pretoria. They criticized the presence of the Russian warship and South Africa's decision to host it.
One protester held up a placard that read: DON'T PLAY with bullies.
South Africa, a key partner of the West in Africa, has come under criticism for holding the naval exercises but has defended itself by saying they were planned two years ago, well before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The exercises are to be held around the Indian Ocean port cities of Durban and Richards Bay. Media access was restricted.
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Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Congregants arrive at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest in mid-October. (Allison Dinner / Associated Press)
Two years ago, an Orange County megachurch took a stand that pitted it against conservative members of its denomination. It ordained three women as pastors.
Now, the Southern Baptist Convention has ousted Saddleback Church, its second-largest congregation.
The Lake Forest-based evangelical church, founded by popular pastor and author Rick Warren, is one of the largest churches in the United States. It was among five congregations found not to be "in friendly cooperation" with the convention because they "have a female functioning in the office of pastor," according to a statement from Jared Wellman, chairman of the convention's executive committee.
"These churches have been valued, cooperating churches for many years, and this decision was not made lightly," Wellman said in the statement. "However, we remain committed to upholding the theological convictions of the SBC and maintain unity among its cooperating churches."
In 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention added the ban on female pastors to its Faith and Message doctrine.
Saddleback was facing the possibility of being removed from the convention last year, but Warren fended off the effort during the organization's annual convention.
In an emotional speech at the June 2022 event, he spoke to attendants and urged members to stop "bickering over secondary issues."
We have to decide if we will treat each other as allies or adversaries, he said.
Warren is the author of "The Purpose-Driven Life" and an influential figure in the evangelical Christian community; he hosted then-presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama in 2008. Although Warren retired last year, he has said he would continue to be involved with Saddleback Church.
In his stead, he appointed Lead Pastor Andy Wood to head his congregation, which includes 14 campuses in California, and four others in Germany, Philippines, Argentina and China.
Wood's wife, Stacie Wood, also serves as pastor. The three women who were ordained in 2021 were Liz Puffer, Cynthia Petty and Katie Edwards, according to a church Facebook post at the time.
Officials at Saddleback Church, and Andy Wood, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ouster.
Warren also did not respond to requests for comment, but in a Facebook post, he told followers that he and his wife were touched by your love! shortly after the decision was announced.
Well respond to the #SBC in OUR time & way thru direct channels, he wrote in the post, where he noted the churchs reach with newsletters, radio, supporting pastors and 11 million followers on social media.
The Southern Baptist Convention made the decision Tuesday during an Executive Committee meeting based on the recommendation made by the denomination's Credentials Committee, which reviews the practices and teachings of affiliated churches to see whether they align with those of the convention.
Saddleback was ousted along with four other churches across the country New Faith Mission Ministry in Georgia, St. Timothy's Christian Baptist in Maryland, Calvary Baptist Church in Mississippi, and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Kentucky for having a woman as pastor.
It also ousted a sixth church, Freedom Church in Vero, Fla., for "lack of intent to cooperate in resolving concerns regarding a sexual abuse allegation."
Saddleback's ouster quickly drew reaction from Dwight McKissic, a Southern Baptist pastor with often contrarian views.
Im burdened by the attempt to disfellowship Saddleback ... [I]ts not about Scripture, or adherence to BFM2K [Baptist Faith and Message 2000] that does not address womens ordination, or wmn [women] serving as associate pastors, McKissic, senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, said on Twitter. Its driven by power, male supremacy; and it stinks in the nostrils of God.
The Southern Baptist Convention has in the past cut ties with churches that ordain female pastors, as well as those that have been openly friendly with the LGBTQ community.
According to its bylaws, Saddleback Church can appeal the decision during the annual meeting in June.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Supporters and opponents of a proposed ordinance to add caste to Seattle's anti-discrimination laws rally on the steps of Seattle City Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Seattle. Council Member Kshama Sawant proposed the ordinance. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
SEATTLE (AP) The Seattle City Council on Tuesday added caste to the citys anti-discrimination laws, becoming the first U.S. city to specifically ban caste discrimination.
Calls to outlaw discrimination based on caste, a division of people based on birth or descent, have grown louder among South Asian diaspora communities in the United States. But the movement is getting pushback from some Hindu Americans who argue that such legislation maligns a specific community.
Proponents of the ordinance that was approved by a 6-1 vote Tuesday say caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries and that without such laws, those facing caste discrimination in the U.S. will have no protections.
The ordinance is a contentious issue, especially among the nation's South Asian diaspora. Supporters argue it is needed because caste is not covered under existing civil rights protections. Groups opposing the measure say it will malign a community that is already the target of prejudice.
Council Member Kshama Sawant, a socialist and the only Indian American on the City Council, said the ordinance, which she proposed, does not single out one community, but it accounts for how caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries.
Activists on different sides of the issue began arriving in Seattle well ahead of Tuesday's city council meeting. As early as last week, more than 100 people had put in requests to speak at the meeting. Early Tuesday, several activists braved cold temperatures and wind gusts to line up outside City Hall so they would get a chance to speak to the council before the vote. But the council restricted public comment at the meeting.
The origins of the caste system in India can be traced back 3,000 years as a social hierarchy based on ones occupation and birth. It is a system that has evolved over the centuries under Muslim and British rule. The suffering of those who are at the bottom of the caste pyramid known as Dalits has continued. Caste discrimination has been prohibited in India since 1948, a year after the nations independence from British rule.
Dalit activists from Seattle and beyond rallied at Seattle City Hall in support of the ordinance, said Thenmozhi Soundararajan, founder and executive director of California-based Equality Labs.
The U.S. is the second most popular destination for Indians living abroad, according to the Migration Policy Institute, which estimates the U.S. diaspora grew from about 206,000 in 1980 to about 2.7 million in 2021. The group South Asian Americans Leading Together reports that nearly 5.4 million South Asians live in the U.S. up from the 3.5 million counted in the 2010 census. Most trace their roots to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Over the past three years, several colleges and university systems have moved to prohibit caste discrimination.
In December 2019, Brandeis University near Boston became the first U.S. college to include caste in its nondiscrimination policy. The California State University System, Colby College, Brown University and the University of California, Davis have all adopted similar measures. Harvard University instituted caste protections for student workers in 2021 as part of its contract with its graduate student union.
The Seattle measure had the support of Dalit activist-led organizations like Equality Labs and others. The groups say caste discrimination is prevalent in diaspora communities manifesting itself in the form of social alienation and discrimination in housing, education and the tech sector where South Asians hold key roles.
Opposition to the ordinance came from groups such as the Hindu American Foundation and the Coalition of Hindus of North America who say it unnecessarily singles-out a community already vulnerable to discrimination in the U.S.
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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.
South Park has made headlines for its controversial depiction of Harry and Meghan.
In a recent episode of the adult animated series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the royal couple are lampooned with a series of jokes referencing events from the last few years.
Viewers have branded the episode brutal, and it was reported on Tuesday (21 February), that Markle herself was left upset by its content.
A representative for the couple denied reports that they were considering a lawsuit, calling the speculation nonsense.
Still, the episode, in true South Park form, doesnt hold back. Here are the references you might have missed.
The social media candle furore
The writers drew from Queen Elizabeths IIs funeral for one small joke featured early in the episode.
The characters based on Harry and Meghan attend the funeral of the Canadian Queen, and as they arrive, they walk past a candle identical to the one that became the source of social media discussions back in September.
Following the televised broadcast of the Queens funeral, unverified claims suggested that the royal family intentionally sat Markle behind a candle; many viewers said all they could see of Markle during the broadcast was her black hat.
If anything, the candles appearance in South Park was designed to send up the social media furore as opposed to Markle.
South Park referenced the candle furore following Queens funeral (Paramount Plus)
Harrys memoir
Perhaps an obvious one the book Harry is promoting in the episode is titled WAAAGH, which is a nod to his memoir Spare, which was published in January.
In the book, which The Independent said sets fire to the royal family, Harry spoke of his hatred of the press, his strained relationship with his brother William and grappling with loneliness, trauma and PTSD.
At one stage in the episode, South Park characte Kyle tells his friends: They have this huge jet parked in front of my house and they keep on wanting me to buy their book.
Michelle Obama
In the episode, the characters based on Harry and Meghan meet with a brand manager, who labels Meghan as a sorority girl, actress, influencer and victim. Meanwhile, Harry is described as royal prince, millionaire, world traveller victim.
Meghans profile is also shown, and eagle-eyed viewers have noticed the phrases Lawyer Pretending and First Lady Botherer among her list of hobbies., The former is a nod to Meghans role in legal drama Suits, while the latter references quotes made by royal expert Tom Bower in Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors.
South Park hints at claims surrounding Meghans relationship with Michelle Obama (Paramount Plus)
Bower claims that Obama was alarmed following a series of meetings with Markle, who was allegedly unsure how to find her place within the royal family. He claimed that Obama told Markle: Take some time and dont be in a hurry to do anything.
TV interviews
South Park poked fun at Harry and Meghans TV appearances (Paramount Plus)
Harry and Meghans several TV appearances, including a sitdown with Oprah Winfrey and appearance on ITV News, were sent up in the episode. The characters based on the pair appear on Good Morning Canada to insist they want privacy however, its pointed out by the host that Meghan is holding a sign reading: Do not look at us. Harrys sign states: We do not want privacy.
When the host asks the prince if he hates journalists, he replies: Thats right. We just want to be normal people all this attention is so hard.
They end up walking off the show.
Their move to California
In the episode, the royal couple give up their duties to move to South Park, with the character based on Meghan exclaiming: If we moved here, people would think were really serious about wanting to be normal.
This is a direct reference to the couples move to California after announcing they would step down as senior royals in 2020.
Their move to South Park angers the lead characters, with Kyle telling accusing the princes wife of bossing him around, adding: Im sick of hearing about them! I cant get away from them! They are in my f***ing face!
Characters based on Harry and Meghan move to South Park (Paramount Plus)
Harrys frost-bitten penis
After moving to South Park, the Harry and Meghan characters are furious after realising photos of their new home have been leaked to the media.
When Kyle clashes with the couple, his new neighbours, the Meghan character accused him of victiminsing her, with Harry stepping in to defend his wife, by saying: This is an outrage we will just see how he deals with my blue penis.
This is a reference to Harrys revelation in his memoir that he was suffering from a frostbitten penis at his brother Williams wedding to Kate Middleton, following a 200-mile expedition to the North Pole in March 2011.
Meghans GQ magazine cover
In a tiny moment featured in the episode, several magazine covers appear on the screen, many of which sends up Meghans interviews with Vogue and The Cut.
However, its her GQ one, published in 2018, that is raising eyebrows. Written on the actual cover of the magazine was Meghans annus mirabilis, which, translated from Latin, means Meghans wonderful year.
The Latin phrasing itself was a nod to a speech given by the Queen in 1992, referred to as her annus horribilis. The speech, which featured in the most recent season of The Crown, came after a particulary bad year for the monarchy.
Parker and Stone eyed an opportunity, and instead of annus mirabilis, used the phrase Princess Anus on the fictional version of the magazine cover.
South Park is available to stream in the UK on Paramount Plus.
Donald Trump has hit out at Fox News on his Truth Social app over its favourable coverage of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who has been widely tipped to run against Mr Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
I call Fox News the RINO Network, and their DOWN BIG Ratings accurately reflect the name, he fumed, using a common conservative acronym meaning Republican in Name Only.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump is set to visit the town of East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday site of a major freight train derailment earlier this month that resulted in a massive chemcial spill and forced residents to evacuate their homes.
That follows Georgia grand jury foreperson Emily Kohrs revealing that the panel has recommended indictments against several individuals on multiple charges over the investigation into Mr Trumps 2020 election meddling in the Peach State and his boasting of having had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin on Monday, just hours after his successor Joe Biden made a historic visit to Ukraine to mark the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion.
Speaking at a rally in Florida on Presidents Day, Mr Trump once again baselessly claimed that the war would never have happened on his watch, declaring: Putin never, ever would have gone into Ukraine if I were president.
Key points
Trump labels Fox RINO network over favourable DeSantis coverage
Ex-president to visit site of Ohio train derailment today
Georgia grand jury recommended multiple charges in Donald Trump probe
Trump boasts about very good relationship with Putin
Trump says anybody running for president should take mental and physical tests after Haley jab
11:45 , Joe Sommerlad
Mr Trump has said that anybody running for president should take mental and physical tests after Nikki Haley took a swing at both himself and President Biden when she suggested that mental competency tests should be conducted for politicians over the age of 75.
Gustaf Kilander has more:
Trump says anybody running for president should take mental and physical tests
Nikki Haley hits back at Don Lemon over not in her prime comment
11:15 , Joe Sommerlad
Speaking of the Republican presidential candidate, she has hit back at Don Lemon after the CNN host said that the former South Carolina governor was not in her prime.
Ms Haley, who announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for president last week, responded to Mr Lemons remarks on Friday on Fox News.
This is something that I have faced all of my life. It was Don Lemon yesterday, it was Whoopi Goldberg the day before, she said.
There will be somebody else tomorrow. I have always made the liberals heads explode. They cant stand the fact that a minority conservative female would not be on the Democratic side, because they know I pull independents, they know I pull suburban women, they know I pull minorities over to what we are trying to do.
Ms Haleys announcement of her plan to run makes her the first candidate to challenge Donald Trump for the nomination in 2024.
Prior to that, she won two terms as governor of South Carolina before Mr Trump nominated her to serve as the US ambassador to the United Nations.
Read more:
Nikki Haley fires back at Don Lemon after CNN host claims shes not in her prime
Ex-Trump supporter tells Daily Show criticism of Ron DeSantis turned him off, not kids in cages
10:45 , Joe Sommerlad
The Comedy Central shows correspondent Jordan Klepper has been out meeting more members of the public, this time attending an early Nikki Haley rally in South Carolina.
One gentlemans take on why he walked away from Donald Trump is interesting!
It wasnt the dual impeachments, the Capitol riot or the cruel treatment of migrants at the Mexican border that bothered him.
Are Republicans really ready to ditch Trump? @jordanklepper went to Nikki Haley's campaign launch to find out pic.twitter.com/hXbfQeUZ9u The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) February 17, 2023
His opinion, however, appears to be shared by Donald Tapia, who served as US ambassador to Jamaica under Mr Trump from 2019 to 2021, who has told Politico that he now supports the Florida governor too and says of his old boss: The name-calling has turned a lot of people off. Let me tell you, we dont like that.
Mr Trump has dubbed Mr DeSantis Ron DeSanctimonious and, even better, Meatball Ron, although he has since distanced himself
Trump labels Fox RINO network over favourable DeSantis coverage
10:17 , Joe Sommerlad
The 45th president again ripped into Fox News, once a vital media ally, on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday over its friendly coverage of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who has been widely tipped to run against Mr Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
So interesting to watch Fox News cover the small and unenthusiastic 139 person crowd in Staten Island for DeSantis, but stay as far away as possible from coverage of the thousands of people, many unable to get in, at the Club 47 event in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump wrote.
I call Fox News the RINO Network, and their DOWN BIG Ratings accurately reflect the name, he said, using a common conservative acronym meaning Republican in Name Only.
If FAKE NEWS CNN was smart, which theyre not, theyd go Conservative & All Trump, All the Time, like in 2016, and become a Ratings Juggernaut.
Read more:
Trump calls for CNN to go conservative in an attack on RINO network Fox News
Trump to visit site of Ohio train derailment today
09:45 , Joe Sommerlad
The former president will visit the small town of East Palestine in Ohio on Wednesday - site of a major freight train derailment earlier this month that caused a major chemical spill and forced local residents to have to temporarily leave their homes.
The accident occurred shortly after 9pm on Friday 3 February, when 38 Norfolk Southern carriages crashed off the rails as the result of what investigators later determined was a broken axle, 10 of which were transporting hazardous materials cross-country.
Fortunately, no one was harmed but more than 2,000 East Palestine residents out of approximately 4,800 had to be temporarily evacuated from the area due to health concerns arising from the spill.
As part of the clean up operation, five of the tankers containing vinyl chloride a compound used to make plastic pipes, wires, cable coating, car parts and packaging but which can cause cancer had to be intentionally breached by emergency crews, who diverted the substance into an excavated trench and carried out a controlled burn to prevent an explosion, sending noxious black clouds billowing into the atmosphere.
According to Fox News Digital, Mr Trump plans to meet local officials including mayor Trent Conaway and state senator JD Vance and members of the community on Wednesday and is set to donate thousands of gallons of cleaning supplies and more than a dozen pallets of water.
President Trump is meeting with the citizens of East Palestine and will never forget them and what they are going through, an advisor told Fox.
Contrast that with Biden and the federal government who has failed them from the beginning.
As if the atmosphere werent toxic enough already in East Palestine
Flames rage from huge fire after train derailment in Ohio (AP)
Tucker Carlson called Trump a demonic force, court filings reveal
09:15 , John Bowden
Tucker Carlson allegedly called former president Donald Trump a demonic force who could destroy him if he missteps, in his texts to his producer.
Hes the undisputed world champion of that. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong, Carlson texted his Fox News producers, according to court filings in the Dominion defamation case. He called Mr Trump a demonic force, a destroyer, adding, But hes not going to destroy us.
The $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems over the networks coverage of the 2020 presidential election has been termed as an assault on the First Amendment by the attorneys for the channel. So far, revelations from the lawsuit have been nothing short of embarassing for the conservative network.
Read more:
Tucker Carlson called Trump a demonic force, lawsuit reveals
Trump touts very good relationship with Putin ahead of one-year anniversary of Russias war in Ukraine
08:15 , John Bowden
Donald Trump boasted about his very good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russias war in Ukraine.
On Monday night, the former president also defended his previous claim that he trusted Mr Putin over US intelligence.
In 2018, during a summit with Mr Putin in Helsinki, Finland, Mr Trump was asked if he trusted the conclusion of US intelligence that Russia had interfered in the 2016 US election or if he believed Mr Putins rejection of those allegations.
In response, Mr Trump appeared to suggest that he believed Mr Putin.
Gustaf Kilander has more for The Independent:
Trump touts very good relationship with Putin ahead of one-year anniversary of war
Its not a short list: Grand jury recommended multiple charges in Trump Georgia probe, foreperson reveals
07:15 , John Bowden
The Georgia special grand jury investigating the attempt by former President Donald Trump and his associates to overturn the 2020 election results in the state has recommended indictments against several individuals on multiple charges in its report, only parts of which have been released, the jurys forewoman has said.
It is not a short list, Emily Kohrs told The New York Times. She said the jury appended eight pages of legal code that we cited at various points in the report.
She chose not to comment on who the grand jury has recommended for indictment as the judge chose to not release that information when publishing parts of the report last week.
Read more:
Grand jury recommended multiple charges in Trump Georgia probe
Trump attacks DeSantis in flurry of posts
06:15 , John Bowden
Donald Trump swiped at his presumed 2024 GOP primary rival, Ron DeSantis, in a pair of Truth Social posts late Tuesday morning.
In one, he took a shot at the size of a crowd Mr DeSantis was able to draw in New York this week as the Florida governor visited Staten Island.
So interesting to watch FoxNews cover the small and unenthusiastic 139 person crowd in Staten Island for DeSantis, but stay as far away as possible from coverage of the thousands of people, many unable to get in, at the Club 47 event in West Palm Beach, Florida, Mr Trump noted, referring to his own event.
In another, he criticised Mr DeSantis in a more direct manner: Florida was doing GREAT long before Ron DeSanctus got there. People are fleeing from New York to Florida (and other places) because of high TAXES and out of control CRIME, not because of Governor (thank you President Trump!) DeSanctimonious. Rick Scott did great, and even Charlie Crist had very good numbers. SUNSHINE AND OCEAN, very alluring!!!
James OKeefe out at Project Veritas
05:15 , John Bowden
James OKeefe has resigned from Project Veritas.
Appearing in a tear-filled video, Mr OKeefe informed his fellows that the board of Project Veritas had removed him as CEO, and that he had stepped down. Mr OKeefe went on to vow to form another organisation similar in form to the conservative group famous for undercover interviews, some of which have faced allegations of deceptive editing.
Read more:
James OKeefe steps down from right-wing group Project Veritas
Trump hails fearless election denier for taking over Michigan GOP
04:16 , John Bowden
On Sunday, Donald Trump congratulated one of his supporters, Kristina Karamo, following her takeover of the Michigan Republican Party. He called her a fearless election denier in a Truth Social post.
If Republicans (and others!) would speak the truth about the Rigged Presidential Election of 2020, like FoxNews should, but doesnt, they would be far better off, the ex-president complained.
He then took a victory lap: The New York Times stated that This cements the Partys takeover by Trump loyalists. I dont call them loyalists, I call them GREAT AMERICAN PATRIOTS!!!
Trump announces campaign staff in Iowa
03:15 , John Bowden
Donald Trumps campaign on Monday announced the hiring of key staff in Iowa, which is currently set to remain the site of the GOPs first caucus of 2024.
Among the new hirings was Eric Branstad, son of the states former governor, Terry Branstad. The younger Branstad is joining the Trump campaign as a senior adviser.
President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Campaign Staff in Iowa
As Democrats destroy decades of tradition, we must always protect Iowas First-in-the-Nation Caucuses. Im the one who did it this time and you will always be first with me. - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/hhx2sehfNG Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) February 20, 2023
The biggest revelations from Dominions Fox News lawsuit filing
02:16 , John Bowden
Fox News is facing a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, a Denver-based manufacturer of voting machines, over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election and then-president Donald Trumps bogus claims that the contest was rigged to ensure victory for Joe Biden.
In a 192-page court filing published on Thursday containing private messages from many of Foxs biggest stars, Dominion argues: From the top down, Fox knew the Dominion stuff was total bs.
Yet despite knowing the truth or at minimum, recklessly disregarding that truth Fox spread and endorsed these outlandish voter fraud claims about Dominion even as it internally recognised the lies as crazy, absurd and shockingly reckless, the filing said.
Attorneys for Fox, however, have argued that Dominion has advanced only novel defamation theories and is seeking a staggering figure in damages aimed at winning headlines, silencing protected speech and enriching its owner, Staple Street Capital Partners, and its investors.
A Fox spokesperson said in a statement in response to Thursdays filing: There will be a lot of noise and confusion generated by Dominion and their opportunistic private equity owners, but the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech, which are fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution and protected by New York Times v Sullivan.
A five-week trial is scheduled to begin on 17 April.
Here, The Independents Joe Sommerlad gives a brief overview of some of the most astonishing claims in the new filing, which collects private text messages from prominent anchors like Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham and owner Rupert Murdoch discussing coverage of the 2020 elections aftermath:
The biggest revelations from Dominions Fox News lawsuit filing
Bernie Sanders calls Nikki Haleys demand for politicians over 75 to take mental competency tests absurd
01:16 , John Bowden
Bernie Sanders has slammed Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haleys suggestion that politicians over the age of 75 should receive a mental competency test - calling it absurd.
Haley, 51, made the demand as she launched her campaign to win the GOP nomination and criticised 76-year-old Donald Trump and 80-year-old Joe Biden.
But Mr Sanders, who himself is 81, refuted the idea as he appeared on CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday morning.
Read more:
Bernie Sanders calls Nikki Haleys demand for mental competency tests absurd
Trump ridiculed for pretending he has been exonerated by Georgia grand jury over his bid to overturn election
00:15 , John Bowden
Donald Trump took to Truth Social to claim that he had received a total exoneration from the Georgia grand jury investigating his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
Thank you to the Special Grand Jury in the Great State of Georgia for your Patriotism & Courage. Total exoneration. The USA is very proud of you!!! Mr Trump wrote on Thursday.
The long awaited important sections of the Georgia report, which do not even mention President Trumps name, have nothing to do with the President because President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong, he claimed. The President participated in two perfect phone calls regarding election integrity in Georgia, which he is entitled to do - in fact, as President, it was President Trumps Constitutional duty to ensure election safety, security, and integrity.
Between the two calls, there were many officials and attorneys on the line, including the Secretary of State of Georgia, and no one objected, even slightly protested, or hung up. President Trump will always keep fighting for true and honest elections in America! he wrote.
Read more:
Trump ridiculed for pretending he has been exonerated by Georgia grand jury
Trump hits out at boring Twitter and Facebook and dismisses his return
Tuesday 21 February 2023 23:30 , John Bowden
On Monday, the former president dismissed his recent return to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram telling conservative network Real Americas Voice that he has no interest in using the social media platforms.
Ive been invited back, he said.
Its waiting, I guess. Twitter has close to 90 million people waiting.
Mr Trump claimed he can get his message out on his own Truth Social platform.
But I think I get a very strong word out on Truth, and theres something very beautiful about it, he said.
Mr Trumps accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook were suspended after the January 6 Capitol riot, where a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol to try to overturn the election.
Earlier this month after two years his accounts were restored.
Romney weighs reelection bid
Tuesday 21 February 2023 22:45 , John Bowden
He twice voted in favor of convicting former President Donald Trump in impeachment trials. He excoriated his fellow senators who objected to certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. He even scolded New York Rep. George Santos for his audacity in grabbing a prominent seat at the State of the Union speech after admitting to fabricating much of his biography.
After four years in Washington, Republican Mitt Romney has established himself as a rare senator willing to publicly rebuke members of his own party.
But the Utah senators outspoken stances, along with his willingness to work with Democrats, have angered some Republicans in the deep-red state he represents and led them to cast about for someone to try to dethrone him a primary race next year.
The 75-year-old said he hasnt made a decision on whether to run for reelection in 2024 and doesnt expect to until the start of summer.
Im sort of keeping my mind open, Romney said in an interview. Theres no particular hurry. Im doing what I would do if Im running with staffing and resources, so its not like I have to make a formal announcement.
Read more:
Romney, outspoken about his own party, weighs reelection run
Its not a short list: Grand jury recommended multiple charges in Trump Georgia probe, foreperson reveals
Tuesday 21 February 2023 21:13 , Gustaf Kilander
The Georgia special grand jury investigating the attempt by former President Donald Trump and his associates to overturn the 2020 election results in the state has recommended indictments against several individuals on multiple charges in its report, only parts of which have been released, the jurys forewoman has said.
It is not a short list, Emily Kohrs told The New York Times. She said the jury appended eight pages of legal code that we cited at various points in the report.
She chose not to comment on who the grand jury has recommended for indictment as the judge chose to not release that information when publishing parts of the report last week.
Read more:
Grand jury recommended multiple charges in Trump Georgia probe
Fox News blocked Trump from on-air call during the Capitol riot because it would be irresponsible
Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:45 , John Bowden
Fox News blocked Donald Trump from making an on-air call to the right-wing news channel during the January 6 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.
Mr Trump called into the Lou Dobbs shown Fox Business after the fatal riot, according to court filings in the $1.6bn defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems against the network.
The afternoon of January 6, after the Capitol came under attack, then-President Trump dialed into Lou Dobbs show attempting to get on air, Dominion lawyers wrote in their legal brief.
But Fox executives vetoed that decision, Dominions filing continued. Why? Not because of a lack of newsworthiness. January 6 was an important event by any measure. President Trump not only was the sitting President, he was the key figure that day.
Read more:
Fox News blocked Trump from on-air call during the Capitol riot
James OKeefe out at Project Veritas
Tuesday 21 February 2023 20:00 , John Bowden
James OKeefe has resigned from Project Veritas.
Appearing in a tear-filled video, Mr OKeefe informed his fellows that the board of Project Veritas had removed him as CEO, and that he had stepped down. Mr OKeefe went on to vow to form another organisation similar in form to the conservative group famous for undercover interviews, some of which have faced allegations of deceptive editing.
Read more:
James OKeefe steps down from right-wing group Project Veritas
GOP to adopt loyalty pledge for debate participants
Tuesday 21 February 2023 18:15 , John Bowden
Republican presidential candidates will be blocked from the debate stage this summer if they do not sign a pledge to support the GOPs ultimate presidential nominee, according to draft language set to be adopted when the Republican National Committee meets next week.
The proposal sets up a potential clash with former President Donald Trump, who has raised the possibility of leaving the Republican Party and launching an independent candidacy if he does not win the GOP nomination outright. While RNC officials and Trump aides downplay that possibility, such a move could destroy the GOPs White House aspirations in 2024 and raise existential questions about the partys future.
After the primary, it is imperative to the health and growth of our Republican Party, as well as the country, that we all come together and unite behind our nominee to defeat Joe Biden and the Democrats, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement to The Associated Press when asked about the loyalty pledge.
Read more:
Republicans to adopt loyalty pledge for debate participants
Trump attacks DeSantis in flurry of posts
Tuesday 21 February 2023 17:30 , John Bowden
Donald Trump swiped at his presumed 2024 GOP primary rival, Ron DeSantis, in a pair of Truth Social posts late Tuesday morning.
In one, he took a shot at the size of a crowd Mr DeSantis was able to draw in New York this week as the Florida governor visited Staten Island.
So interesting to watch FoxNews cover the small and unenthusiastic 139 person crowd in Staten Island for DeSantis, but stay as far away as possible from coverage of the thousands of people, many unable to get in, at the Club 47 event in West Palm Beach, Florida, Mr Trump noted, referring to his own event.
In another, he criticised Mr DeSantis in a more direct manner: Florida was doing GREAT long before Ron DeSanctus got there. People are fleeing from New York to Florida (and other places) because of high TAXES and out of control CRIME, not because of Governor (thank you President Trump!) DeSanctimonious. Rick Scott did great, and even Charlie Crist had very good numbers. SUNSHINE AND OCEAN, very alluring!!!
Trump touts very good relationship with Putin ahead of one-year anniversary of Russias war in Ukraine
Tuesday 21 February 2023 16:08 , John Bowden
Donald Trump boasted about his very good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russias war in Ukraine.
On Monday night, the former president also defended his previous claim that he trusted Mr Putin over US intelligence.
In 2018, during a summit with Mr Putin in Helsinki, Finland, Mr Trump was asked if he trusted the conclusion of US intelligence that Russia had interfered in the 2016 US election or if he believed Mr Putins rejection of those allegations
In response, Mr Trump appeared to suggest that he believed Mr Putin.
Gustaf Kilander has more for The Independent:
Trump touts very good relationship with Putin ahead of one-year anniversary of war
Trump says anybody running for president should take mental and physical tests after Nikki Haley jab
Tuesday 21 February 2023 14:30 , John Bowden
Donald Trump has said that anybody running for president should take mental and physical tests after Nikki Haley took a swing at both Mr Trump and President Joe Biden when she suggested that mental competency tests should be conducted for politicians over the age of 75.
Ms Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump administration ambassador to the UN, announced her 2024 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on 15 February during a rally in her home state.
Gustaf Kilander has more:
Trump says anybody running for president should take mental and physical tests
Tucker Carlson called Trump a demonic force, court filings reveal
Tuesday 21 February 2023 14:05 , John Bowden
Tucker Carlson allegedly called former president Donald Trump a demonic force who could destroy him if he missteps, in his texts to his producer.
Hes the undisputed world champion of that. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong, Carlson texted his Fox News producers, according to court filings in the Dominion defamation case. He called Mr Trump a demonic force, a destroyer, adding, But hes not going to destroy us.
The $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against Fox News by Dominion Voting Systems over the networks coverage of the 2020 presidential election has been termed as an assault on the First Amendment by the attorneys for the channel. So far, revelations from the lawsuit have been nothing short of embarassing for the conservative network.
Read more:
Tucker Carlson called Trump a demonic force, lawsuit reveals
Trump hails fearless election denier for taking over Michigan GOP
Tuesday 21 February 2023 13:35 , John Bowden
On Sunday, Donald Trump congratulated one of his supporters, Kristina Karamo, following her takeover of the Michigan Republican Party. He called her a fearless election denier in a Truth Social post.
If Republicans (and others!) would speak the truth about the Rigged Presidential Election of 2020, like FoxNews should, but doesnt, they would be far better off, the ex-president complained.
He then took a victory lap: The New York Times stated that This cements the Partys takeover by Trump loyalists. I dont call them loyalists, I call them GREAT AMERICAN PATRIOTS!!!
Trump announces campaign staff in Iowa
Tuesday 21 February 2023 13:05 , John Bowden
Donald Trumps campaign on Monday announced the hiring of key staff in Iowa, which is currently set to remain the site of the GOPs first caucus of 2024.
Among the new hirings was Eric Branstad, son of the states former governor, Terry Branstad. The younger Branstad is joining the Trump campaign as a senior adviser.
President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Campaign Staff in Iowa
As Democrats destroy decades of tradition, we must always protect Iowas First-in-the-Nation Caucuses. Im the one who did it this time and you will always be first with me. - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/hhx2sehfNG Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) February 20, 2023
Trump hits out at boring Twitter and Facebook and dismisses his return
Tuesday 21 February 2023 12:35 , Rachel Sharp
On Monday, the former president dismissed his recent return to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram telling conservative network Real Americas Voice that he has no interest in using the social media platforms.
Ive been invited back, he said.
Its waiting, I guess. Twitter has close to 90 million people waiting.
Mr Trump claimed he can get his message out on his own Truth Social platform.
But I think I get a very strong word out on Truth, and theres something very beautiful about it, he said.
Mr Trumps accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook were suspended after the January 6 Capitol riot, where a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol to try to overturn the election.
Earlier this month after two years his accounts were restored.
Insane, lying, complete nut: Fox News stars rejected election conspiracy theories while network pushed them
Tuesday 21 February 2023 12:05 , John Bowden
Top personalities, executives and producers at Fox News privately condemned reckless claims from election fraud conspiracy theorists they dismissed as crazy and insane.
But they were repeatedly invited on air on some of the most-watched cable news programmes in the country, where they amplified bogus statements about the 2020 presidential election and a voting machine company that has accused the network of defamation in a $1.6bn lawsuit.
A 192-page, partially redacted filing in Dominion Voting Systemss lawsuit against Fox News reveals behind-the-scenes irritation with false claims made by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, based on text messages, emails and depositions from programme hosts, producers and executives, including owner Rupert Murdoch.
Read more:
How Fox News stars rejected Trumps election conspiracies while network pushed them
Donald Trump boasts about very good relationship with Putin
Tuesday 21 February 2023 11:42 , Rachel Sharp
Donald Trump has boasted about having a very good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, just hours after President Joe Biden made a historic visit to Ukraine to mark the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion.
Speaking at a Florida rally on Presidents Day on Monday night, Mr Trump once again baselessly claimed that the war would never have happened on his watch.
Putin never, ever would have gone into Ukraine if I were president. I actually had a very good relationship [with Putin], he said to a crowd of supporters at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport hotel.
Remember when [the media] hit me with a question: Who do you trust: your intelligence people, Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Lisa Page (how about Lisa)? Or Putin?
And I said: You know, that could be the toughest question Ive ever been asked as a politician. And then when I really didnt give them a very good answer in terms of exactness oh, all hell broke loose
. But thats okay, you know, thats okay. And it turned out I was right. I was right about that, too.
Back in 2018, Mr Trump appeared to side with Mr Putin over the USs own intelligence agencies when they revealed that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election.
Fox News blocked Trump from on-air call during the Capitol riot because it would be irresponsible
Tuesday 21 February 2023 11:05 , John Bowden
Fox News blocked Donald Trump from making an on-air call to the right-wing news channel during the January 6 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.
Mr Trump called into the Lou Dobbs shown Fox Business after the fatal riot, according to court filings in the $1.6bn defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems against the network.
The afternoon of January 6, after the Capitol came under attack, then-President Trump dialed into Lou Dobbs show attempting to get on air, Dominion lawyers wrote in their legal brief.
But Fox executives vetoed that decision, Dominions filing continued. Why? Not because of a lack of newsworthiness. January 6 was an important event by any measure. President Trump not only was the sitting President, he was the key figure that day.
Read more:
Fox News blocked Trump from on-air call during the Capitol riot
Bernie Sanders calls Nikki Haleys demand for politicians over 75 to take mental competency tests absurd
Tuesday 21 February 2023 10:05 , John Bowden
Bernie Sanders has slammed Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haleys suggestion that politicians over the age of 75 should receive a mental competency test - calling it absurd.
Haley, 51, made the demand as she launched her campaign to win the GOP nomination and criticised 76-year-old Donald Trump and 80-year-old Joe Biden.
But Mr Sanders, who himself is 81, refuted the idea as he appeared on CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday morning.
Read more:
Bernie Sanders calls Nikki Haleys demand for mental competency tests absurd
Trump ridiculed for pretending he has been exonerated by Georgia grand jury over his bid to overturn election
Tuesday 21 February 2023 09:05 , John Bowden
Donald Trump took to Truth Social to claim that he had received a total exoneration from the Georgia grand jury investigating his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
Thank you to the Special Grand Jury in the Great State of Georgia for your Patriotism & Courage. Total exoneration. The USA is very proud of you!!! Mr Trump wrote on Thursday.
The long awaited important sections of the Georgia report, which do not even mention President Trumps name, have nothing to do with the President because President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong, he claimed. The President participated in two perfect phone calls regarding election integrity in Georgia, which he is entitled to do - in fact, as President, it was President Trumps Constitutional duty to ensure election safety, security, and integrity.
Between the two calls, there were many officials and attorneys on the line, including the Secretary of State of Georgia, and no one objected, even slightly protested, or hung up. President Trump will always keep fighting for true and honest elections in America! he wrote.
Read more:
Trump ridiculed for pretending he has been exonerated by Georgia grand jury
Romney, outspoken about his own party, weighs reelection run
Tuesday 21 February 2023 08:05 , John Bowden
He twice voted in favor of convicting former President Donald Trump in impeachment trials. He excoriated his fellow senators who objected to certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. He even scolded New York Rep. George Santos for his audacity in grabbing a prominent seat at the State of the Union speech after admitting to fabricating much of his biography.
After four years in Washington, Republican Mitt Romney has established himself as a rare senator willing to publicly rebuke members of his own party.
But the Utah senators outspoken stances, along with his willingness to work with Democrats, have angered some Republicans in the deep-red state he represents and led them to cast about for someone to try to dethrone him a primary race next year.
The 75-year-old said he hasnt made a decision on whether to run for reelection in 2024 and doesnt expect to until the start of summer.
Im sort of keeping my mind open, Romney said in an interview. Theres no particular hurry. Im doing what I would do if Im running with staffing and resources, so its not like I have to make a formal announcement.
Read more:
Romney, outspoken about his own party, weighs reelection run
The biggest revelations from Dominions Fox News lawsuit filing
Tuesday 21 February 2023 07:05 , John Bowden
Fox News is facing a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, a Denver-based manufacturer of voting machines, over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election and then-president Donald Trumps bogus claims that the contest was rigged to ensure victory for Joe Biden.
In a 192-page court filing published on Thursday containing private messages from many of Foxs biggest stars, Dominion argues: From the top down, Fox knew the Dominion stuff was total bs.
Yet despite knowing the truth or at minimum, recklessly disregarding that truth Fox spread and endorsed these outlandish voter fraud claims about Dominion even as it internally recognised the lies as crazy, absurd and shockingly reckless, the filing said.
Attorneys for Fox, however, have argued that Dominion has advanced only novel defamation theories and is seeking a staggering figure in damages aimed at winning headlines, silencing protected speech and enriching its owner, Staple Street Capital Partners, and its investors.
A Fox spokesperson said in a statement in response to Thursdays filing: There will be a lot of noise and confusion generated by Dominion and their opportunistic private equity owners, but the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech, which are fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution and protected by New York Times v Sullivan.
A five-week trial is scheduled to begin on 17 April.
Here, The Independents Joe Sommerlad gives a brief overview of some of the most astonishing claims in the new filing, which collects private text messages from prominent anchors like Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham and owner Rupert Murdoch discussing coverage of the 2020 elections aftermath:
The biggest revelations from Dominions Fox News lawsuit filing
Kari Lake suffers another defeat in Arizona
Tuesday 21 February 2023 06:05 , John Bowden
Former Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake suffered another legal defeat when the Arizona Court of Appeals rejected her attempt to overturn Novembers election results.
Ms Lake, whom former president Donald Trump endorsed, refused to concede to Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs.
Like Mr Trump, the former news anchor has claimed election fraud and sought to have the election results overturned.
But Chief Judge Kent Cattani issued the ruling saying the court found no such evidence of fraud.
Read more:
Kari Lake suffers court defeat in baseless bid to overturn Arizona election results
Trump announces campaign staff in Iowa
Tuesday 21 February 2023 05:05 , John Bowden
Donald Trumps campaign on Monday announced the hiring of key staff in Iowa, which is currently set to remain the site of the GOPs first caucus of 2024.
Among the new hirings was Eric Branstad, son of the states former governor, Terry Branstad. The younger Branstad is joining the Trump campaign as a senior adviser.
President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Campaign Staff in Iowa
As Democrats destroy decades of tradition, we must always protect Iowas First-in-the-Nation Caucuses. Im the one who did it this time and you will always be first with me. - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/hhx2sehfNG Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) February 20, 2023
So insulting: Marjorie Taylor Greene and GOP hardliners slam Bidens trip to Ukraine
Tuesday 21 February 2023 04:05 , John Bowden
Hardline Republican members of Congress including Marjorie Taylor Greene blasted President Joe Bidens visit to Ukraine as he met with the nations president Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, arguing that it showed the presidents misplaced priorities.
Ms Greene and many other Republicans have frequently criticised US support for Ukraine. When Russian President Vladimir Putin began his onslaught on Ukraine a year ago, Democrats controlled the House of Representatives. Many Republicans in the Senate and in the House Republican conference voted for military assistance to Ukraine, and have vowed to continue that support in the new Congress.
Eric Garcia has more:
Marjorie Taylor Greene and GOP hardliners slam Bidens surprise trip to Ukraine
Donald Trumps Save America political action committee spent about $10m on law firms representing him in private legal disputes in 2022, according to Federal Election Commission filings obtained by the New York Times.
The legal fees went towards Mr Trumps battles with the writer E. Jean Carroll, who has accused him of sexual assault, his former attorney Michael Cohen, and for a tax fraud civil case that ended with 17 convictions for the Trump Organization in December.
A total of $16m from Mr Trumps PAC went towards his legal expenses in 2021 and 2022.
The spending amounted to about 20 per cent of Save Americas total expenditures that were not payments to other political candidates, according to the Times.
Most of the legal expenses were paid out prior to Mr Trump declaring his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election in November.
Campaign finance experts told the Times that there should be legal limits on the amount that his PAC can spend on private legal bills now that he is running for president.
Meanwhile, Mr Trumps legal woes continue to mount.
Department of Justice special prosecutor Jack Smith last week subpoenaed former Vice President Mike Pence and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as part of his probe into Mr Trumps actions during the January 6 Capitol riots.
And a Georgia grand jury investigating Mr Trumps pressure campaign to overturn the 2020 election results has recommended multiple indictments, according to reports.
Mr Trumps Save America PAC was formed in late 2020 and raised nearly $72m in two years while promising to fight for election integrity.
Donald Trump spent $10m in donations to a political action committee on his personal legal fees (Associated Press)
He still has $18m in cash on hand, according to the FEC filings.
The Times noted that the largest single expenditure from the Save America PAC was the $3m that went to the law firm Critton, Luttier and Coleman, that represented the Mr Trump and the Trump Organization in an ongoing civil lawsuit accusing him of overvaluing his business by millions of dollars.
Some $1.3m was paid to Silverman Thompson Slutkin and White, a law firm that is representing Mr Trump in an investigation by the Justice Department into his handling of classified documents.
About the same amount went to Michael van der Veens law firm, who defended the Trump Organization in a tax fraud trial in late 2022.
And Save America spent about $2m with Habba Madaio & Associates. Managing partner Alina Habba represents Mr Trump in several cases, including a defamation suit brought by the New York-bases writer E.Jean Carroll.
By Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Jon Tester of Montana will run for reelection, he said on Twitter on Wednesday, in a win for Democrats who are defending seats in several battleground states in 2024 as they seek to defend their thin 51-49 majority.
Tester, who has represented Montana in the U.S. Senate since 2007, is a reliable moderate who has won three tight races in the past in the increasingly Republican state.
"Montanans need a fighter that will hold our government accountable and demand Washington stand up for veterans and lower costs for families," Tester said in a Twitter post declaring his reelection campaign. "I will always fight to defend our Montana values. Let's get to work."
The former music teacher has a reputation for folksy, down-to-earth authenticity, frequently mentioning his family farm that he still works on as a third-generation farmer.
Even with an incumbent's advantage, Tester will likely still face a tough battle for reelection.
Republicans have swept the state in federal elections in recent years, and will see the Senate seat as a potential pick-up.
Upcoming races in states including Montana, West Virginia, Ohio and Arizona all present challenges to the Democrats' ability to hold on to their Senate majority going into 2025.
Arizona U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema in December left the Democratic Party, changing her registration to independent. While she continues to caucus with President Joe Biden's party, her move could lead to a three-way race in 2024 between the incumbent, a Democratic candidate and a Republican challenger.
Democratic U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego last month said he would seek the party's nomination to challenge Sinema.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Richard Cowan, Alistair Bell and Chizu Nomiyama)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) One of the suspects in the Lanao del Sur ambush that wounded the governor and killed four of his companions last Feb. 17 died in a shootout with authorities, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.
The suspect identified only as Otin" was fatally shot in an armed encounter with local police, following pursuit operations conducted from Feb. 17 to 19, according to PNP.
Authorities said they recovered a pistol loaded with six live ammunition from Otins possession.
They also identified him as the son of another suspect with the alias Fighter.
Fighter and three other people believed to be behind the crime are still at large, the PNP said.
RELATED: Manhunt on for suspects behind Lanao del Sur gov ambush
Armed men attacked Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal "Bombit" Adiong Jr. and his convoy while they were passing through Sitio Landslide in Maguing town and headed toward the municipality of Wao.
Four of the governors police escorts were killed, while the official was hit in the waist and a member of his staff was shot in the feet.
Police have created a special task force to probe the attack and the motive behind it.
"We condemn this senseless act of violence against our public servants, PNP chief General Rodolfo Azurin, Jr. said in a statement.
We assure the public that the PNP will exhaust all efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice," he also said.
"We stand in solidarity with the families of the victims, and we will not rest until those responsible are held accountable for their actions, he added.
Azurin also commended the composite police team that tracked Otin for a successful pursuit operation.
The PNP said its investigators continue to coordinate with the victims and their families, as it urged those who may have any information on the suspects to help in the probe.
A man looks at the damage after a missile strike in Kyiv on Jan. 26. (Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON It was going to be a rout, the experts predicted. Russian forces would storm across Ukraine and into Kyiv within a matter of 72 hours, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed Biden administration officials and congressional leaders in a briefing early last February, as war loomed.
His was the consensus view. Here was the army whose predecessors defeated Hitler and Napoleon, now preparing to take on a much less formidable foe. True, the cause this time around was not especially just, for Ukraine had done nothing to provoke its much larger and more powerful neighbor. Yet the outcome would be the same, the conventional wisdom went.
Three days ago, President Biden arrived in Kyiv to remind the world how wrong those predictions turned out to be.
President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the presidential palace in Kyiv on Monday. (Ukrainian presidential press office via Getty Images)
One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands, the American president said as he stood next to Ukrainian leader Volodomyr Zelensky during his surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital, where life has returned more or less to normal since the initial Russian onslaught.
Ukraines resistance only makes more urgent an uncomfortable question, one that is frequently asked in Washington after the usual shows of fealty run their course and officials permit themselves a measure of frankness: Now what?
Milley himself has provided one answer. For this year, it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from all every inch of Ukraine or Russian-occupied Ukraine, he recently told reporters.
(After this article was published, a spokesman for Milley explained that initial reports about last February's briefing were incorrect. "In the briefing, Chairman Milley laid out several scenarios informed by interagency intelligence assessments," Col. Dave Butler told Yahoo News. He added that a swift Russian rout was one of only five scenarios Milley presented that day.)
Ukraine launched a devastating counteroffensive in September, driving out confused Russian troops and retaking the key city of Kherson. Since then, however, neither side has made significant advancements, with weeks of grueling fighting around Bakhmut producing no decisive victory (and leading to questions about whether the city is even worth the enormous energy both sides have devoted).
Perhaps most disheartening to Ukraine supporters is that the two sides could continue to trade blows as they have in and around Bakhmut, with Ukraine simply not supplied with enough heavy equipment to achieve the full victory Zelensky says he demands.
Such a victory would have to include the liberation of the Crimean Peninsula, which would probably require an amphibious assault that is beyond the capacity of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Ukrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells in Kyiv last February. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)
I would love to think the kinetic phase could end in 2023, but I suspect we could be looking at another three years with this scale of fighting, military analyst Peter Roberts of the London-based think tank Royal United Services Institute recently told DefenseNews. (Kinetic operations is a military euphemism for active fighting.)
U.S. officials acknowledge that they do not expect either side to prevail in 2023. Russia is about to launch an offensive; Ukraine, which is preparing for an influx of Western tanks and other heavy armaments, will likely launch a counteroffensive after the springtime rains subside. Thousands of lives will be lost, but in the end, American officials believe, little will have changed.
If that turns out to be the case, the Western coalition that has bolstered Ukraine since early 2022 could be heading into 2024 confronting a military stalemate that shows little hope of resolution. And with the American presidential election looming and domestic political tensions in France and other European nations deepening, Zelenskys most trenchant supporters could be confronted with choices they had never hoped to make.
There is another reality, so obvious it is sometimes ignored: Ukraine and Russia will always be neighbors, sharing a land border that is currently 1,200 miles long. The impossibility of separating the two belligerents will make any but the most ironclad peace agreement a tenuous affair.
Ukrainian soldiers near the city of Bakhmut look toward Russian positions on Feb. 14. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Russia could agree to a ceasefire but then simply wait for an opportune moment to invade again, much as Germany did after World War I, nursing its wounds until Hitler came to power and began a project of military buildup and territorial expansion.
One of the main dynamics here is that theres nothing to separate Russia and Ukraine. Russia will always possess the ability to aggress and destabilize Ukraine, if nothing else because of their adjacency, says Samir Puri, an expert in Russian and international affairs at the Singapore-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
At a recent symposium hosted by Defense Priorities, a Washington think tank with an anti-interventionist mindset, Puri compared Ukraine to Chechnya, the restive and semiautonomous majority-Muslim republic that Russia subjugated in two brutal wars starting in 1994.
The Russians failed in attaining Chechnya, and then they gathered their strength and had another go, Puri told Yahoo News in response to a question about the potential length of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Chechens have also noticed the discomfiting similarity.
If you want a picture of Ukraines future, look to my home, went the headline of a Guardian essay published by Lana Estemirova, a Chechen writer and activist whose mother, Natalia, was murdered in 2009 for exposing Russian abuses.
A Chechen fighter takes cover from sniper fire in the region's capital, Grozny, in 1995. (Michael Evstafiev/AFP via Getty Images)
There are, of course, vast differences between Chechnya and Ukraine. Other than stray bands of Islamic fundamentalists, the Chechen rebels enjoyed no significant outside support, whereas Ukraine has been celebrated as a beacon of global democracy and provided with some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the world. And whereas Chechnya is a remote mountainous region, Ukraine is an Eastern European buffer of enormous strategic import.
Yet in both cases, the Kremlin regarded the territory in question as inherently belonging to Russia, thus making the conquest of that territory necessary at any cost. A faltering war effort is not seen by the Kremlin as a reason to negotiate for peace but, rather, as an imperative to fight more ruthlessly against an intractable if largely imagined foe.
Putins successor could actually present himself within right-wing circles in Moscow around being able to do the job better, Puri told Yahoo News. And history could repeat itself. Just as Putin did the job that [former Russian President Boris] Yeltsin failed to do in Chechnya, maybe a Putin successor might actually say, I can do the job in Ukraine, or a different job in Ukraine, better. And that is [why] I think this is a real long-term problem.
Yeltsin, Russias first post-Soviet leader, watched from Moscow as his forces were dealt a devastating blow by Chechen rebels in the vicious 1996 battle for Grozny, the regions capital city. The war ended, only to resume in 2000 under Putin, who ordered indiscriminate aerial assaults that left Grozny in utter ruins.
A convoy of vehicles drives along a central Kyiv thoroughfare on Monday during Bidens visit. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)
Kyiv is unlikely to suffer a similar fate, but the Chechen wars do hint at a Russian willingness to endure both suffering and humiliation as the costs of eventual victory.
(A morbid Kremlin willingness to countenance such costs also lurks beneath triumphal Russian histories of defeating Hitler, a feat accomplished only through unimaginable sacrifice that more competent leadership would have obviated.)
Russia also realizes that military assistance from the West has been crucial to Ukraines prospects. But as ever-louder grumblings in Washington as well as Paris and other European capitals suggest, that assistance will have its limits. Next years U.S. election could replace Biden with a Republican president who ends aid to Ukraine on the first day of his or her administration.
For some, that makes the current moment all the more urgent. If Ukraine is to win, these hawks say, it must win now and it will need the best weapons in the U.S. arsenal to do so, without condition or compunction.
It is in our power to shorten this war significantly by finally outgrowing our policy of incrementalism, and fully leveraging the money that Congress has allocated to send massive military aid quickly, says Uriel Epshtein, executive director of the Renew Democracy Initiative.
We have to give Ukraine what it needs to end this in the next 10-11 months, he told Yahoo News in a text message.
A resident walks through a nearly deserted and battle-scarred downtown in Bakhmut on Feb. 14. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Biden, however, has resisted giving Ukraine fighter jets or long-range surface-to-surface missiles. And though the U.S. will eventually ship 31 tanks to Ukraine, Zelensky had initially asked for 10 times that many. Ukrainians believe that if the West is serious about the conflict being a referendum on democracy a framing Biden has frequently used then they are justified in making those asks, however outlandish they may seem to Westerners with no need to worry about Russian aerial assaults.
Asked by a Western interviewer what Ukrainian fighters needed, border police officer Leonid Ostaltsev offered what appeared to be an only half-joking assessment: I think, nuclear weapons.
Ostaltsevs request may seem audacious, but it also hints at the recognition that only an intervention of enormous magnitude will prevent a stalemate. Ukraine may have just enough to survive, and to perhaps claw back territory from Russia, but not to restore the borders it enjoyed before the first invasion Putin launched in 2014. That could turn the war into the dreaded Chechen-like quagmire Western leaders have been desperate to avoid.
Those difficult dynamics leave one option, however thoroughly Zelensky and Putin claim they will never give up the fight.
If neither side can win outright which I think we can all agree is not going to happen then its sort of not clear what the path to ending the war is, absent some change in policy that helps both sides overcome the impediments to negotiation, says Miranda Priebe, a senior analyst at the RAND Corporation.
This could, to varying degrees of intensity, go on for years, potentially, absent some kind of change, she told Yahoo News at the Defense One symposium last week.
A years-long battle would only benefit the Kremlin, which has indicated it is willing to allow as much devastation as necessary to achieve its goals.
Estemirova, the Chechen activist, is haunted by the conviction that Ukraines future could well look like the ravaged past of her native land.
They have done this before, she warned in her Guardian essay. They are doing it again.
A severely cash-strapped Sri Lanka lacks funds to even hold local elections scheduled for next month, the country's election agency said.
The 9 March elections would be the first polls held in the South Asian country since last year's economic turmoil.
The Election Commission informed the country's apex court on Monday that it has not received the required funds from the government's treasury department.
The Election Commission has also not received backing from other agencies, including the government printer and police for the upcoming ballot, chairperson Nimal Punchihewa told Bloomberg.
The election bodys statement to the countrys top court was in connection with petitions filed by opposition parties, seeking a court writ ordering the conduct of the polls. The Supreme Court is likely to hear a petition calling for the postponement of polls later this week.
Cabinet spokesperson Bandula Gunawardana had earlier this month claimed that cash flow difficulties could affect the elections.
The opposition in Sri Lanka, along with civil society members, accused president Ranil Wickremesinghe of postponing the local government polls citing a lack of funds. The upcoming polls won't affect the government's majority in the 225-seat parliament, however, it is seen as a test of the popularity of the governing coalition, which has been under fire for raising taxes and power tariffs.
The election to appoint 340 local council administrators for a four-year term was postponed since March last year due to the unprecedented economic crisis.
"We want the election," members of the opposition raised slogans as they staged a protest holding placards. The House was shortly adjourned till 9.30am Wednesday amid the din.
. @ParliamentLK adjourned after entire opposition protested inside the chamber against the decision of #SriLanka President @RW_UNP to do away with local government elections. Read @FT_SriLanka editorial today https://t.co/yOavRQACgv pic.twitter.com/7iHUd5q7JU Harsha de Silva (@HarshadeSilvaMP) February 21, 2023
Earlier on Monday, thousands of supporters of Samagi Jana Balawegaya, or United Peoples Power party, shouted anti-government slogans as they marched toward the centre of capital Colombo, demanding elections without further delay.
The protesters were blocked by the local police, who resorted to firing tear gas and a water cannon to disperse the crowd.
We are out here on the streets today to force the government to hold the local election. We will continue our struggle, Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the opposition, said.
Former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday spoke out against postponing the elections. Elections are not meant to be postponed. We opine that the election should go ahead as scheduled, he was quoted by Daily Mirror as saying.
The nation of 22 million citizens is reeling from its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948, due to shortage of foreign currency, surging prices and a lack of essential items.
The bankrupt nation has suspended repayment of foreign debt pending the outcome of talks with the International Monetary Fund on a $2.9bn bailout package.
Sri Lankas foreign debt exceeds $51bn, of which $28bn must be repaid by 2027.
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Tibetan New Year marked with joy and hope
Xinhua) 08:25, February 22, 2023
LHASA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- On Tuesday, the first day of the Year of the Water Rabbit under the Tibetan calendar, people across Lhasa, the capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, greeted each other with the phrase "Losar Tashi Delek" (Happy Tibetan New Year).
A girl presents the chema box, a two-tier rectangular wooden box containing roasted barley and fried wheat grain, to celebrate the Tibetan New Year in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
Starting Monday evening, throughout the whole night, fireworks and sparklers popped, glittered, and lit up the sky over Lhasa.
Across Barkhor Street in downtown Lhasa, decorations such as red Tibetan New Year couplets, exquisite chema boxes (a two-tier rectangular wooden box containing roasted barley and fried wheat grain), auspicious sheep heads, colorful dyed flowers accompanied the hustle and bustle of large shopping crowds.
"Business has been exceptionally good this year," said Tsering Nima, a merchant of Barkhor Mall. With the optimized COVID response, shops and stalls have gradually regained popularity.
The Spring Festival boom has just ended, and now the fervor of the Tibetan New Year has risen again, Tsering Nima said.
On Feb. 18, Tashi Phuntsog woke up early and drove from his Singpori community to Lhasa for some festive shopping.
"In addition to the essentials for the new year, including Kasai (a traditional Tibetan fried pastry made of flour and butter) and a chema box, I also bought new clothes for my family. We will celebrate the new year in our new home in Singpori," he said.
Back when they used to live in Tsonyi, China's highest county, they had to go to the nearby counties of Nyima and Bangoin, which are still hundreds of kilometers away, to shop for the new year.
"After the relocation, there are more choices for us and it is more convenient," said Tashi Phuntsog, who spent altogether 4,100 yuan (about 598 U.S. dollars) for the goods.
Tashi Phuntsog does festive shopping at Barkhor Mall in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)
Singpori is on the north bank of the Yarlung Zangbo River in the city of Shannan, located at an altitude of 3,600 meters. It is only some 10 km from the Lhasa airport. In addition to residences, the community also has access to a newly-built hospital, kindergartens and schools, a market and a recreation center.
In July 2022, Tibet launched the second phase of the high-altitude ecological relocation to Singpori. The program aimed to eventually relocate nearly 10,000 people from the counties of Tsonyi, Amdo and Nyima, with an average altitude of over 4,500 meters, to Singpori.
In that same month, Tashi Phuntsog's family of five moved to the Singpori and was allocated a two-story house covering 119 square meters.
In 2020, Tashi Phuntsog graduated from Harbin Medical University in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. After graduation, he was admitted to the People's Hospital of Tsonyi County, and sent for standardized training at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in east China's Zhejiang Province.
"I haven't spent the Tibetan New Year with my family for three years. This year, I took a month's leave to be with my family for the festival," he said. He has begun to bear all the household expenses as he now earns a decent income from his work as a doctor.
"When we moved in, the house was already equipped with facilities such as water and electricity. In January, I spent 40,000 yuan on the decoration of our home and bought pieces of furniture including Tibetan-style beds and tables," he said.
This photo taken on July 19, 2022 shows a view of the relocation site in Singpori, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhang Rufeng)
"Our life is better off thanks to the relocation. The children have a brighter future and my health is gradually improving," said Kelsang Drolkar, Tashi Phuntsog's mother. She used to suffer from serious rheumatic arthritis, a common highland disease. But her symptoms have eased a lot after the relocation.
FESTIVAL FOR ALL
The 2023 Tibetan New Year falls on Feb. 21, almost a month after the Spring Festival. The celebration usually starts on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar and ends after 15 days. Just like the Spring Festival, the Tibetan New Year marks the perfect opportunity for Tibetans to reunite with their relatives and friends.
While a sweet smell coming from the pot, Tsewang, 74, stirred the soup ladle from time to time at her Singpori home. She was cooking "gutu," a kind of soup made of flour and a traditional dish for the night of the 29th of the 12th month in the Tibetan calendar.
"Gu" in Tibetan means nine, which is a lucky number. "Tu" means "pasta." Nine different fillings like wool, charcoal and chili are placed inside the dough drops, and each of these fillings has a meaning.
Tsewang and her family enjoy "gutu," a kind of soup made of flour and a traditional dish for the night of the 29th of the 12th month in the Tibetan calendar, at the relocation site in Singpori, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)
"It is the Tibetan New Year Eve tomorrow. The family and relatives will be gathered together and welcoming a warm new year at the new home," Tsewang said on Sunday.
For 46-year-old Li Xijun, from northwest China's Gansu Province, celebrating Tibetan New Year with his wife Drolma Tsering has become a part of his life after living in Tibet for 26 years.
"We celebrate both Spring Festival and Tibetan New Year at home," he said. Li started his commercial trade business in Tibet after retiring from the army in 1997. He met his wife in 2000, and has since settled in the border county of Yadong to take care of Drolma Tsering's parents and younger sister.
It is the third Tibetan New Year for Yuan Yubing from Shanghai. Yuan came to Tibet to learn Thangka painting in 2017 and married Losang Samkhar, her studio teacher, the following year.
"I was more of a spectator when I first celebrated the festival," Yuan said. But after years of living here, Yuan has already known all kinds of customs of the Tibetan New Year.
Yuan and her mother-in-law have cleaned up the windows at home, and all the new year's goods are ready. She has even replaced her mother-in-law to cook for the family for new year's eve.
"Coming to Tibet makes me feel that my heart has found a home," she said.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) Authorities in Albay province face twin challenges in efforts to reach the Cessna plane crash site, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said on Wednesday.
The challenges would be the weather and also the terrain. We were told that the slope is very steep so its also dangerous for our people to get there, Edgardo Diaz, CAAP deputy director general for operations, told CNN Philippines The Source.
On Tuesday, the CAAP confirmed through a high-definition camera that the wreckage found near Mayon Volcanos crater was from the missing small aircraft.
However, there is still no word about the people on board, namely, Capt. Rufino James Crisostomo Jr., crewman Joel Martin, and two Australian passengers, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santana.
Diaz said the rescuers sent to the crash site would hopefully reach the area within Wednesday to further assess the aircraft and hopefully find survivors. Around 50 people are involved in the operations, he added.
The CAAP has yet to coordinate with families of the passengers, Diaz said.
Based on initial assessment, Diaz said the Cessna possibly went off track after taking off from Bicol International Airport on the way to Manila on Saturday.
He said it is less likely that the crash was due to aircraft failure or lack of pilot experience.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. A resolution related to Nagorno Karabakh and the Armenian prisoners of war was adopted at the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly, Arman Yeghoyan, the Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on European Integration said on social media.
MP Yeghoyan said that the document calls for an urgent and complete resolution of outstanding humanitarian issues, such as the release of all Armenian detainees, determining the fate of the missing persons and victims of forced disappearances and the launch of a UNESCO mission for preserving the cultural heritage in the region. The resolution welcomes the EU support for the humanitarian de-mining efforts and emphasizes that the rights and security issues of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh must be solved, ensuring lasting peace in the region.
MP Yeghoyan also posted a video of his speech during the debates.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. During the Munich Security Conference, held on 18 February 2023, the President of Azerbaijan made a number of statements aimed at disguising the criminal policy of Azerbaijan towards the people of Artsakh, and distorting the essence of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict by violating causal relationships, the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) said in a statement.
Below is the full statement.
During the Munich Security Conference, held on 18 February 2023, the President of Azerbaijan made a number of statements aimed at disguising the criminal policy of Azerbaijan towards the people of Artsakh, and distorting the essence of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict by violating causal relationships.
In particular, the President of Azerbaijan once again tried to refute the obvious fact of the blockade of Artsakh, which has been recognized by the international community, with the exception of Azerbaijan itself. To prove their claims, the Azerbaijani president cited data on the passage for the entire period of the blockade of 2,500 vehicles of the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the evacuation of 100 patients to hospitals in Armenia through the ICRC. However, these data prove exactly the opposite of what Baku claims. During the 73 days of the blockade, fewer cars passed through the Lachin Corridor than during three usual days in the pre-blockade period. All vehicles passing through the Lachin Corridor belonged to either the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent or the ICRC. Other vehicles belonging to citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, state structures or carrying out commercial transportation are not able to pass through the Lachin Corridor. Seriously ill patients can only be evacuated to Yerevan through the ICRC, which once again indicates the lack of free passage through the Lachin Corridor. Moreover, at the beginning of the blockade, at least one seriously ill patient died due to the impossibility of his urgent transportation to Yerevan for further treatment. The fact that many citizens of the Republic cannot return to Artsakh, and hundreds of separated families are deprived of the opportunity to reunite, is another confirmation of the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan.
It should also be noted that during a conversation with Azerbaijani journalists following a trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the Azerbaijani president stated about Baku's proposal to set up a checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor. It becomes obvious from his words that Baku had been hatching these plans long before the blockade was imposed. All these facts clearly prove that in addition to creating unbearable living conditions for the people of Artsakh, the blockade is also aimed at revising the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020. Thus, Azerbaijan is clearly seeking to legitimize its intention to revise the provisions of the Trilateral Statement. These attempts must be resolutely rejected by all actors involved in the normalization of relations in the region. Full functioning of the Lachin Corridor should be restored in accordance with the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, and without any preconditions.
Azerbaijan's attempts to interfere in the internal political life of Artsakh, as well as its vision of a dialogue between Stepanakert and Baku, are also absolutely unacceptable for the official Stepanakert. In this regard, we reiterate that a comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict must be achieved through negotiations that will ensure equal footing for the parties and will not contain conditions that prejudge the outcome of the negotiations. In this context, we consider it necessary to restore the international mediation format as an additional guarantee of the irreversibility of the peace process. We once again emphasize that the results of the illegal use or threat of force by Azerbaijan cannot serve as a starting point on the path to peace, stability and security.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The regulations of the Lachin corridor are negotiated and signed in the 9 November document and the re-negotiation of the regulations, furthermore as a result of renewed use of force of the threat to use force again cannot be an acceptable solution for the Armenian side, the Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn in Yerevan.
He made the remarks in response to Azerbaijani President Aliyevs speech in Munich, where the latter had said that they have offered Armenia to install checkpoints between Lachin and Armenia and in the so-called Zangezur corridor.
Indeed, an idea like that has been voiced, to install checkpoints on the border of Armenia and in the section where the Lachin corridor begins. But our response is unequivocal and very public. This stance has been voiced immediately after the blockade of the Lachin corridor began, and it remains the same: The regulations of Lachin corridor are negotiated, signed, including by the President of Azerbaijan, I am speaking about the 9 November document. A re-negotiation of the Lachin corridor regulations, moreover as a result of renewed use of force and under the threat to use renewed force, is obviously unacceptable for us and cannot be an acceptable solution, FM Mirzoyan said.
Asked to comment whether Azerbaijan demands the so-called Zangezur corridor from Armenia in exchange of opening Lachin corridor, the FM said that by analyzing the situation one can see the Azerbaijani expectation around opening the Lachin corridor for obtaining another similar corridor. This isnt a new narrative and the position of the Armenian side has been voiced earlier again.
We have the Lachin corridor, which, by the way, even before the latest war was separated as a humanitarian corridor in the entire negotiations process, given that the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh are entirely blockaded by Azerbaijan, and the only road linking to the world and Armenia is the Lachin corridor itself. Meaning, the existence of the corridor has been highlighted since the beginning. And everyone, including Azerbaijan, accepted this, and it is also reflected in the 9 November document, the Lachin corridor is clearly stipulated in it, Mirzoyan said.
Regarding the unblocking of other regional infrastructures, around which there are agreements in the 9 November document and the January 11, 2021 document, the stance of Armenia is again the same and very constructive. We can immediately start the unblocking of those roads the moment we accept that all those roads to be unblocked, including the railway, will function under the sovereignty and legislation of the countries through which they pass. I think this is a much substantiated, constructive and very transparent approach, proposal and readiness, the Armenian FM said.
FM Mirzoyan said the Armenian side rules out, doesnt accept changes in existing agreements under the threat to use force or the aggressive policy of extorting concessions at the expense of one sides interests, which is reflected in Azerbaijans statements.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Luxembourg wants the trilateral peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue, ARMENPRESS reports, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn said at a joint press conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan.
"The trilateral peace talks that started in 2021 between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of the European Council Charles Michel and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev seem to have stopped at this moment. There were encouraging developments. We would like them to continue, Luxembourg supports the resumption of trilateral peace talks so that you can achieve a strong and lasting peace treaty," said the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg.
Luxembourg also supports the establishment of a long-term EU mission in Armenia. According to Jean Asselborn, it will strengthen relations with the EU, the mission can play an important role, reduce the number of incidents, risks for the population.
"The launch of this mission can be an important element for the general peace process and the normalization of relations. Luxembourg will be active, we also have a member in the mission," said the Foreign Minister.
He also highlighted the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement that entered into force in March 2021. This will provide an opportunity to cooperate in more areas, including strengthening democracy, the rule of law, and the fight against corruption. "Armenia has made great progress. I hope that you will continue this democratic path", said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) Reiterating his stand against the International Criminal Courts (ICC) probe into the Duterte administration's war on drugs, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada called its investigators white monkeys and the prosecutor a Pontius Pilate in a hearing on Wednesday.
During his manifestation in a plenary session, Estrada said the country should not be pushed to follow instructions given by the investigators, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) should be trusted.
Kung sino man ang pinapunta ng ICC dito sa ating bansa kung sino mang Poncio Pilatong prosecutor, itong mga puting unggoy na ito hindi na dapat papasukin dito sa ating bansa because that will be an exercise in futility, he said
[Translation: These people who were instructed by the ICC to come to the country whoever this Pontius Pilate prosecutor, these white monkeys are they should not be allowed to enter the country because that will be an exercise in futility.]
Im confident that the DOJ is not remiss in its primary mission to uphold the rule of law. We should trust our justice system at katulad nga ng sinabi ng aking matalik na kaibigan na si Senador [Robin] Padilla, hindi tayo dapat magpauto, (just like what my close friend Senator Robin Padilla said, we should not let them fool us), he added.
Estrada on Monday filed Senate Resolution No. 492, expressing strong opposition to the ICCs decision to resume its probe into the war on drugs.
Padilla, a staunch supporter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, on the same day filed Senate Resolution No. 488, seeking to defend the former chief executive from investigation or prosecution by the ICC. Padilla also defended Duterte during his privilege speech on the resolutions.
"Hindi na po tayo tali sa ICC. Gayunman, ang ating paghiwalay ay hindi nangangahulugan ng pagpapabaya. Hindi po ibig sabihin nito na tayo po ay tumatalikod sa isyu at hinahayaan na lang po natin ito," he said.
"Tayo po ay hindi na alipin ng mga banyaga. Tayo po ay hindi na pwedeng utus-utusan ng mga banyaga. Hindi po papayag si Andres Bonifacio. Hindi rin papayag si Jose Rizal," he added.
[Translation: We are not tied to the ICC. However, our separation does not mean we are careless. It does not mean we are turning our backs against the issue. No, we are not slaves to foreigners. We should not be pushed around by them. Andres Bonifacio would not allow it. Jose Rizal would not allow it.]
Both senators brought up the governments efforts in reviewing the war on drugs, which backed the argument that the Philippines has the responsibility and the right to prosecute criminals in the country.
READ: EXPLAINER: ICC and its authority
The discussion on human rights between Philippine senators and their counterparts from the European Parliament was said to have turned "intense" after the ICC probe was mentioned during a closed-door meeting.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday said he cannot cooperate with the ICC probe into the drug war because the Philippines is a sovereign country and is no longer a colony of the former imperialists.
Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman, however, warned that the country will suffer great consequences due to the Marcos administrations refusal to cooperate with the ICC probe.
He pointed out that the Supreme Court ruled that the ICC has jurisdiction over the Philippines from 2011 to March 2019, the period covered by the probe. Manilas withdrawal from the international tribunal took effect in March 2019.
I think a contumacious refusal to submit to the jurisdiction of the ICC makes the country a renegade in the community of nations, and would be a disincentive for foreign investors to come in, Lagman told CNN Philippines.
As per the available statistics, while womens voting percentage has gone up to 71.52, the percentage for men has remained static at 72.67
NEW DELHI: In a race to consolidate women votebank, which over the years has emerged as a major factor in Karnataka, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai is going ahead with a free bus pass facility for working women and schoolchildren from April 1. The data shows that over the years the state has seen a steep rise in the percentage of women voters. As per the available statistics, while womens voting percentage has gone up to 71.52, the percentage for men has remained static at 72.67.
It is learnt there are more women voters in north Karnataka districts of Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Mysuru, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga and Udupi.
Our government is always with the working staff and the management and let us provide a good service to commuters, the chief minister said. With the BJP rath yatra due to start from March 1, BJP workers have now fanned out across the state to launch a propaganda blitz for the party. The chief minister has asked party functionaries to organise conventions and meetings in all Assembly seats.
Targeting the common man, the chief minister on Tuesday launched Ambari Utsav by introducing 20 multi-axle Volvo 9600 sleeper buses for long-distance travel. Continuing its move to woo the government employees, the CM said that a proposal has been submitted for a hike in staff salaries, and a suitable decision will be taken after looking into the financial commitments and discussing it with the employees.
Meanwhile, in a significant development, the CM declared that the state government will hand over 59 corruption cases filed during the Congress government before the now-dissolved Anti-Corruption Bureau to the Lokayukta. Mr Bommai targeted the Congress and asserted he had solid evidence to prove the corruption cases filed during the last Congress-led government. He added that under Congress rule, Karnataka had emerged as one of the most corrupt states in the country. Launching a scathing attack on the Opposition party, the CM claimed that in just four years of the Congress government (2013-17), 3,800 farmers had committed suicide, which was highest in the country.
Saying that the Congress failed to fulfill electoral promises, the chief minister claimed that of the 173 promises made by the Congress in its manifesto, it could implement only a few promises.
Mr Shah said that issues concerning the development and rights of eastern Nagaland will be addressed after the elections
GUWAHATI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that he is confident that the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) will be removed from the entire state of Nagaland in the next three to four years.
At a rally at Tuensang, eastern Nagaland, Mr Shah said that issues concerning the development and rights of eastern Nagaland will be addressed after the elections. "We understand your problems, and in consultation with chief minister Neiphiu Rio, the Centre has decided to bring a solution to the issue soon after the elections are over," he said, asking the people to vote for the ruling alliance.
In another development, the Eastern Nagaland Peoples Organization (ENPO), which represents seven tribal bodies in six districts, has withdrawn its earlier call for a boycott of elections in eastern parts of the state after a discussion with the government.
Mr Shah also said that Naga peace talks are underway. "We hope that the initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bring lasting peace to Nagaland soon," he added.
The home minister also claimed that there has been a 70 per cent decline in violent incidents, a 60 per cent reduction in deaths of security forces, and an 83 per cent dip in civilian deaths in the Northeast region under BJP rule.
It is significant that in April 2022, Mr Shah had announced the withdrawal of AFSPA from several districts across Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. He said the move is the "result of the improved security situation and fast-tracked development due to the consistent efforts and several agreements to end insurgency and bring lasting peace in the Northeast by the BJP government".
Mr Shah also highlighted that the Centre, in the last eight years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accelerated the pace of development.
He also pointed out that during the Congress regime, only Rs. 2 lakh crores were given in five years for the entire Northeast but under the Modi-led government, Rs. 7 lakh crores were allocated for the development of the state. "In 2009-10, Congress gave Rs. 1,300 crores to Nagaland whereas the BJP-led NDA decided to grant Rs. 4,800 crores in 2022-23," he said.
The state is set to go to the polls on February 27. The counting of votes will be held on March 2.
The exponential growth in Sino-US trade gave the Dragon a spectacular opportunity to test the West and use its wealth to its own advantage
In this photo provided by Chad Fish, the remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, Feb. 4, 2023. (Photo: AP)
The weeks-long recent drama over the mysterious Chinese balloons that were seen for several days floating over America, and were subsequently shot down by the US military, and other unidentified objects that were taken out with missiles over Alaska and Canada, have really raised more questions than provided answers. The details still remain opaque.
The United States, which was initially ecstatic, albeit temporarily, got a little edgy because for several days the Chinese military refused to take Americas attempted phone calls through so-called hot line, in a bid to express strong displeasure at the puncturing of its balloons.
China was angry and unimpressed as the United States also reiterated allegations of ceaseless theft, fraud, espionage and deceit committed by the Dragon deep inside Washington for years. Whether thats true or untrue, the reality is that todays hi-tech China is a creation of the US and the West in general since the 1970s.
The US saw China as a mega-market for its own manufacturing industry. This was also to keep in check its main Cold War rival -- stretching from the Volga to the Far East -- and rein in the existential threat it posed to the European heartland. The reach and expanse of the then Soviet Union, from Vladivostok to Vilnius, from the Bering to the Baltic Sea, created fear across the West, and the US wanted to wean China away from the clutches of the Soviets.
The exponential growth in Sino-US trade gave the Dragon a spectacular opportunity to test the West and use its wealth to its own advantage. In almost four decades, cheap Chinese goods had flooded the West (and India as well) and the US had dug its own graveyard. While US firms invested heavily in China, setting up factories to produce goods at a cheaper price to maximise profits, the Chinese too invested heavily in America, buying up companies and dominating the financial markets.
Lets now focus on the aviation sector in particular. US and Western companies had paved the way for their own decline by willingly offering the Chinese a portion of the aerial pie. A few examples reveal the myopia of the US and Western governments. In 2011, a company run by the Communist Party of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army bought up US piston-engine maker Teledyne Continental, and in 2013 it did the same with German diesel aero-engine maker Thielert.
Beijing steadily lured the Wests aero-engine makers to co-produce in China. Overnight, Soviet engines had Western rivals as the Chinese signed an MoU in 2009 with CFM International for a joint venture to do research and development; manufacture; final assembly; testing; sales; maintenance; repair and overhaul; service; technological development; and consultation. In 2011 followed a Sino-German agreement with Berlins MTU to develop a commercial aero-engine industry in Beijing and to collaborate on civil aircraft CJ-1000. The Americans and the Europeans, greedy for fresh markets, had no idea of what Beijings real game was.
Both the West and India were hopelessly off the mark for at least six decades to read the CPC-PLAs intentions correctly. But everything was on record. Chinas post-Mao overlord Deng Xiaoping had openly spelt out the PLAs aim just before leaving for Paris: To learn knowledge (read technology) from the West to save China.
From today, look back 51 years. In 1972, China requested the British government to licence the manufacture of Rolls-Royce Spey aircraft engine, which was signed on December 13, 1975, during the last days of dictator Mao Zedong.
According to Janes, Chinas Xian Aero-Engine Corporation has been producing large numbers of engine parts for General Electric, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce and Snecma (Safran Aircraft Engines). Thus, from the beginning, China has targeted the best of both Cold War camps with a single-minded target to produce indigenous engines for indigenous airframes through every and any means, fair or foul. Aviation includes anything and everything which is in the air -- whether its Boeing or balloon, Lockheed or weather exploring apparatus.
The Chinese aviation saga mentioned here reminds the West in general, and the United States in particular, that the latter needs to remember a few fundamentals relating to its own past acts, both memorable and messy. The American mainland is virtually an impregnable fortress, that is impossible to be attacked or conquered by any army, unlike Russia, India and the European nations, which are known for their numerous historical land battles and invasions against each other for centuries. In contrast, the vastness and indisputable greatness of the US so far could only be threatened through three aerial incidents.
The first foreign attack was made 4,050 miles off the US mainland, at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii by the imperial Japanese navy and air force was over 81 years ago, in December 1941. The second airborne attack targeted the US east coast commercial, financial and political hubs on September 11, 2001. This time though the attackers werent military men but terrorists in hijacked aircraft who inflicted colossal human and economic loss. And now, the third and latest foreign assault by Chinese balloons which made a whale of a high-profile flying display of US sovereignty infringement.
Flying for over a week at 60,000 feet nonchalantly through the entire continental US in northwest-southeast axis uninterrupted, unimpeded and unchallenged, it created furore owing to an uncontrolled and uncontrollable flight path, busy picking up weather info, though beneath which (accidentally or otherwise) lay nuclear silos to soldiers barracks, commercial hubs to combat machine manufacturing centres.
The pertinent point, therefore, is the grim reminder to the US-led West. Gone are the days of the US fighting for itself and its allies or along with the armed forces of other countries -- in Normandy (France), Nangarhar (Afghanistan), Nagasaki (Japan) or Vietnam all of which are thousands of miles off the American mainlands coast.
The world today is in the grip of severe turbulence which doesnt seem to be taking the US-led West kindly. In the Beijing balloon context, the key role played by Washington in the rise of the CPC-PLA is there for all to see. Successive American establishments made a hash of things, with monumental error of judgment, and got entangled with globalisation and liberalisation and the concept of the world as a global village, along with the unrestricted movement of goods, capital and labour. All this (to put it mildly) challenged the 1648 Westphalia nation state concept. The lesson to learn is this: excessive prising open of a nations economy can be injurious to its economic and security health.
Concern has been expressed about the delay in advertising the vacancy to fill the post of CMD for NMDC
The recent proposal from the Union ministry of steel to extend the tenure of the current CMD of National Mineral Development Corporation, Sumit Deb, has brought attention to the issue of extension of service for incumbents at the board level in central public service enterprises. While the proposal seeks an extension of one year beyond Mr Debs retirement date, the ministry of personnel has raised concerns about the legality and appropriateness of such an extension.
Sources have informed DKB that the ministry of personnel has noted, rules generally do not permit extension in service, the exception being board-level incumbents of sick CPSEs who contributed exceptionally well to the turnaround of that CPSE. Since NMDC is not a sick CPSE, the proposal raises questions about the justification for an extension in Mr Debs case. Concern has been expressed about the delay in advertising the vacancy to fill the post of CMD for NMDC.
Could the proposed extension for Mr Deb be an attempt to circumvent the selection process? The view of the personnel ministry seems to hint at this, with the steel ministrys failure to follow the prescribed timeline approved by the appointments committee of the Cabinet (ACC) for advertising and filling up the vacancy being seen as particularly troubling.
The ball is now back in the court of the steel ministry. It has one-and-a-half months left before Mr Deb retires as NMDC CMD.
Ex-babus in Karnataka eye political careers
Retired bureaucrats in India have long tried their luck in politics, and this trend appears to continue in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. It is not surprising that many retired babus are seeking tickets from all major political parties, including the BJP, Congress and AAP.
Sources have informed DKB that former IPS officer Bhaskar Rao has dumped the khaki and embraced khadi by joining the Aam Aadmi Party, andis likely to contest from the Basavanagudi constituency. Retired information commissioner and IRS officer Sudham Das, too, has resigned and is seeking a Congress ticket from the Nelamangala constituency. Interestingly, his predecessor L. Krishnamurthy is also aspiring for a ticket from the same constituency. There are many more serving babus who are knocking at the doors of major political parties and are ready to resign from the service once the party ticket is confirmed.
Still, not every babu who was successful in the administrative world has been able to translate their success into politics. While some retired babus have been successful in their post-retirement political careers, many others have failed to make a mark. Political success requires more than administrative experience; a strong political acumen and the ability to connect with voters are equally important. Ambitious babus itching to become netas will need to remember this before taking the plunge.
Politics behind WB Raj Bhavans removal of senior IAS officer
As predicted by some babu watchers, West Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose has relieved his principal secretary Nandini Chakravorty of her duties. The states governors have typically formed their own team of babus. Notably, former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar (elevated to Vice-President of India) whose tenure was marred by multiple clashes with the Mamata Banerjee government over a variety of issues had similarly assembled a team of his choice at Raj Bhavan.
Sources have informed DKB that the state unit of the BJP had been pressing Mr Ananda Bose for Ms Chakravortys removal and alleged that the senior babu was misleading the governor and making him go soft on the state government. Mamata has, so far, enjoyed cordial ties with Mr Ananda Bose, but this could change if she believes that the BJP is trying to control activities at the Raj Bhavan. A fresh outbreak of hostilities is not unexpected, given the recent history of the TMC government and the states governors, and Ms Chakravortys removal from the governors office could become the most likely trigger.
Ms Chakravorty, a 1994-batch IAS officer, was appointed as principal secretary to governor La. Ganesan in August last year and retained the post when Mr Ananda Bose replaced him as governor. Before being appointed as the principal secretary to the governor, Ms Nandini Chakravorty was looking after the state's non-conventional and renewable energy sources department.
by Guido Alberto Casanova
Japans new H3 rocket is designed to replace an old one and cut costs. But Japans space agency, which is working Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, has to first prove the reliability of the new technology after its first launch failed.
Tokyo (AsiaNews) Like in the 1950s and 1960s, the space race is once again at the centre of global technological competition, involving government space agencies as well as private industry.
As the sector expands, Japan is determined to play a leading role thanks to its new H3 launch vehicles
To this end, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has launched an ambitious technological and infrastructure development programme in cooperation with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with the aim of expanding the country's presence in the sector and consolidating its position as an aerospace powerhouse.
For Japan, the timing is extremely propitious, and not only because of growing demand; by invading Ukraine, Russia has isolated itself internationally, leaving major gap in the space market.
Were receiving twice as many inquiries about our service, said Iwao Igarashi, General Manager for business development at Integrated Defense and Space Systems at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The H3 launch vehicle is Japans trump card. As the first generation of Japanese rockets to enter service in more than 22 years, it is meant to replace the H2A series, which was introduced in 2001.
Compared to its predecessor, known for its reliability (only one launch out of 46 failed), the H3 rocket should have a slightly greater load capacity but above all lower costs.
Launching an H2A costs about US$ 90 million, far higher than the US$ 67 million for SpaceX's Falcon-9, and so it is not competitive.
The new H3s slashes costs to around US$ 50 million, but to bring them onto the market, JAXA and Mitsubishi must prove their reliability.
This is where problems begin for Japan. Last Friday the first launch of an H3 was supposed to take place at the Tanegashima Space Centre in order to put into orbit a satellite equipped with sensors for military use, even though it was built to monitor natural disasters.
In the days leading up to the launch, everyone was nervous over the rockets new electronic components and engine, for good reason. The first test was not completed because the auxiliary booster engines failed to ignite.
For Masashi Okada, project manager of the H3 development team, the problem was not related to the engines but was most likely in an electrical system in the first stage.
He refused to call the test a failure, saying that he hoped the problem could be fixed and another launch done before the launch window closes om 10 March.
This is especially important since the H3 is already behind schedule. The first launch was set for March 2021, but technical issues related to some components postponed it by almost two years.
by Emanuele Scimia
In a self-serving move, the Kremlin wants France and the UK to join the nuclear treaty, not China. The latter has the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world but wants nuclear parity with Russia and the US before joining the treaty. For Russian expert, Putin's move is political, not military; Russia has enough nuclear weapons. The risk for their use in Ukraine is low.
Rome (AsiaNews) As Chinas top envoy Wang Yi ended his visit to Russia today by meeting Vladimir Putin, the Russian Duma (lower house of parliament) approved the suspension of Russias participation in the New START Treaty with the US on the reduction of nuclear weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension yesterday in a long speech in which he again justified the invasion of Ukraine with the military threat of NATO.
Under New START, the United States and Russia can hold 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads each (only one warhead is counted per long-range bomber).
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, today said that rebooting the treaty with the US will also depend on France and the United Kingdom, two NATO nuclear powers that can no longer be kept out of talks between Washington and Moscow on nuclear arms control.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who signed the New START Treaty in 2010, which was extended in 2021 by five years, also reiterated Ryabkov's views.
However, Russias position appears self-serving. If Paris and London have to be brought in to sign onto the treaty, all the more reason it should include China. Yet Russia's friend without limits has long been committed to boosting its nuclear arsenal.
The Federation of the American Scientists estimates that Russia has 5,977 nuclear warheads, the US 5,428, while France and the United Kingdom have 290 and 225 respectively.
China has 350, but, unlike most of Russias and the USs, they appear not be deployed yet. What is more Beijing has refused to join New START unless Moscow and Washington accept nuclear parity.
According to some observers, Putin's decision to suspend the New START Treaty is a dangerous escalation. Alexander Savelyev, chief research fellow at the Moscow-based Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, disagrees.
An adviser to the START-1 negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991, he told AsiaNews that the Kremlin's move was "unpleasant" but with political, not military effects.
Asked about the possible increase in Russian nuclear forces, Savelyev thinks that Putin might want to, but the reality is that he cannot.
Reinforcing a strategic nuclear arsenal is a very expensive and a very long program, which can take years, not months. Moreover, Russia still has more than enough nuclear weapons. I can see no sense in doing that.
On Moscow's possible use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Savelyev says the risk is low at present.
In his view, It was relatively high during the first stages of a conflict with Ukraine, because it was not quite clear whether a so-called Gerasimov doctrine existed or not.
The reference is to a doctrine attributed to General Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (currently serving as the commander of Russian forces in Ukraine) whereby nuclear weapons would be used at the start of a military offensive.
I hope, Savelyev said, Russian leaders and authorities responsible for such a decision and its implementation are not of a suicidal type.
(Photo Reuters)
by Dario Salvi
A Russian nuclear power plant is under construction in Mersin with one reactor set to start operating at the end of the year. Supporters say that one plant in five is located in seismic active areas. Its builder, Rosatom, claims the planned reactors can withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake. In a plea to government and opposition, activists and civil society groups are calling for a common front against the project.
Milan (AsiaNews) - The devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on 6 February, followed by thousands of aftershocks, some of them of strong intensity, have reopened the debate on nuclear energy.
Turkey is building a nuclear plant in Akkuyu, in the southern province of Mersin, with Rosatom, a Russian state corporation, which includes four 1,200 MWe VVER1200 units, three of which are already under construction.
The plant is expected to generate 27.5 terawatt hours or around one-tenth cent of the country's electricity by the time it is completed in 2026.
However, more and more critics are raising their voice. At a press conference, the Mersin Anti-nuclear Platform warned that Mersin, although less touched by the recent quake, is in a seismic zone.
In an appeal to both the government and the opposition, Turkeys Human Rights Association (Insan Haklar Dernegi, IHD) called for a common front regardless of the outcome of the 14 May elections to stop the construction of the nuclear power plant.
For Osman Kocak, a spokesperson for the Mersin Anti-nuclear Platform, This wave of earthquakes has shown us that earthquakes are, despite all scientific and technological advances of humankind, natural events for which we can make estimations but we cannot foresee the time, the place, the magnitude of, and therefore the area to be affected and the destruction to result.
Kocak also noted that the Mersin area was struck by earthquakes and tsunamis between 1953 and 2023, the same region where the plant is under construction. For this reason, Rosatom's claims that the plant could withstand a magnitude of 9 is totally baseless.
Meanwhile, the ground continues to shake in Turkey and Syria, with two more quakes measuring 6.4 and 5.8 in Hatay province with six more deaths and almost 300 injured, some seriously. Injuries have also been reported in Aleppo and Idlib, Syria. At present, the overall death toll tops 46,000.
The Akkuyu plant is about 338 km from the epicentre of the 6 February earthquake and, at least on paper, should survive strong earthquakes.
However, the Fukushima plant disaster shows that even in a country like Japan, which is used to regular seismic activity, the best plans can come to nought when certain calamities strike.
In the end, few Turks are likely to trust Rosatoms claim that the possibility of a magnitude 9 earthquake in the vicinity of the Akkuyu reactor "is approximately once every 10,000 years
A Turkish official told the Associated Press that the authorities have no immediate plans to reassess the project.
For Andrew Whittaker, a professor of civil engineering at the University at Buffalo, There's no reason to be concerned, but there's always a reason to be cautious.
For anti-nuclear activists, this is not enough and worries people on Cyprus, on both the Turkish and the Greek of the islands divide, who would be very exposed in the event of a nuclear disaster.
Not so says the World Nuclear Association, according to whom about 20 per cent of existing reactors are located in areas of significant seismic activity, like the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant which is in a region where quakes of up to 8.5 magnitude can occur.
Turkeys Mersin area was chosen because it was considered one of the safest" in the region in seismic terms.
How things will unfold will also be affected by economic and geopolitical factors amid great international tensions sparked first by the war in Syria where Turkey and Russia are on opposing sides vis-a-vis Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and now by Russias war in Ukraine.
When the plant is completed, at a cost estimated to be around US$ 20 billion, it will have a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts of electricity, satisfying 10% of the country's needs.
The first of four reactors is expected to be up and running by the end of the year. According to the government, if the power plant started operating now it could provide enough power for a city of about 15 million people, like Istanbul.
Rosatom has a 99.2 per cent stake in the project and is in charge of construction, maintenance, operation and decommissioning.
(CNN) Russia carried out a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile that appears to have failed while President Joe Biden was in Ukraine on Monday, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.
Russia notified the United States in advance of the launch through deconfliction lines, one official said. Another official said that the test did not pose a risk to the United States and that the US did not view the test as an anomaly or an escalation.
The test of the heavy SARMAT missile -- nicknamed the Satan II in the West and capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads -- appears to have failed, officials said. It has been successfully tested before and had this one worked, US officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin would have highlighted the test in his State of the Nation address on Tuesday.
Instead, Putin made no mention of the launch in the speech that lasted an hour and 45 minutes. He did, however, formally declare that Russia will be suspending his country's participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, imperiling the last remaining pact that regulates the world's two largest nuclear arsenals.
The timing of the test suggests that the US and Russia were communicating through several different channels earlier this week for deconfliction purposes -- US officials also notified the Russians on Sunday night, hours before Biden's visit to Kyiv, that the president would be making the trip to the Ukrainian capital, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.
CNN has asked Russia's embassy in Washington for comment.
Putin has announced successful ICBM tests in the past, including last April, just months after Russia invaded Ukraine. That test was also for the SARMAT missile which was first unveiled in 2016 and said by Russian state media to have a range exceeding 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles). The missile can carry a warhead weighing 100 tons and was designed as a successor to the R-36M Voevoda ICBM.
Putin warned last year that the missile would "give thought to those who are trying to threaten Russia."
At the time, Western experts portrayed the 2022 test as "nuclear saber-rattling" and it was perceived as an attempt to distract from Russia's military failures at the time, such as the sinking of its Black Sea flagship the Moskva.
Then-Pentagon press secretary John Kirby called the 2022 test "routine, and it was not a surprise. It was not deemed to be a threat to the United States or its allies."
The Russian military has faced multiple major defeats on the battlefield in Ukraine over the last year and has broadly "failed" in its strategic objectives there, multiple senior US officials have said.
"Russia is now a global pariah and the world remains inspired by Ukrainian bravery and resilience. In short, Russia has lost -- they've lost strategically, operationally, and tactically," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said last week.
Yet Putin has shown no intention of rethinking his war, which he still insists is a "special military operation."
Last week, Russian fighters and bombers flew near Alaska two times in as many days, forcing NORAD to scramble its fighter jets in response. The Russian aircraft remained outside US and Canadian sovereign airspace, which extends 12 miles from the coastline, but they flew in or near Alaska's Air Defense Identification Zone, which is up to 200 miles from the coastline.
Two NORAD F-16s intercepted TU-95 bombers and SU-35 fighters that had already entered the ADIZ last Monday. One day later, NORAD F-35s intercepted TU-95 bombers, as well as SU-30 and SU-35 fighters.
"We remain ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America and Arctic sovereignty," NORAD said in a statement.
NORAD stressed that it did not view the Russian flights as provocative or as a threat, nor did it consider it related to the aerial objects seen around Alaska and Canada recently.
This story was first published on CNN.com, "US believes Russia had failed intercontinental ballistic missile test while Biden was in Ukraine."
by Melani Manel Perera
The government has not yet allocated funds to print ballots for the 9 March vote, arguing the country cannot afford it. While a ruling by the Supreme Court is expected tomorrow, tensions rise in the country. The opposition accuses Wickremesinghe of trying to prevent the collapse of Rajapaksa's party, which backs him in parliament.
Colombo (AsiaNews/Agencies) Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo is against postponing local elections set for 9 March; such a possibility could spark massive unrest across the country.
The government has not yet allocated funding to print the ballots the Supreme Court is expected to rule in the matter tomorrow.
The opposition is accusing President Ranil Wickremesinghe of trying to prevent the election so that the unpopularity of his administration does not become so flagrant.
Mr Wickremesinghe came to power last July after street protests ousted his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, amid the countrys worsening economic crisis.
In Sri Lankas parliament, the president has the backing of the Sri Lanka People's Front (Sri Lamka Podujana Peramuna, SLPP). Still led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, a brother of the ousted president, the Front is expected to suffer a major defeat if elections were held as scheduled.
The postponement of the polls will result in Sri Lanka losing the confidence it has earned from the international community, Card Ranjith warns.
We appeal to the authorities not to push the country towards a greater crisis at a time when it is hit by bankruptcy and assistance of World Bank, IMF, and the foreign nations.
The cardinal goes on to remind the president it is his duty to see that local elections are held. If the president and public servants fail in this exercise, it would be a violation of the constitution.
In fact, It is the duty of all political parties, civil organisations, and religious leaders to come forward for the sake of the nation," he added.
All the while, tensions over the elections are running high in Colombo. The Election Commission has petitioned the Supreme Court after the government failed to pay for election-related expenses, such as printing ballot papers, pay for petrol, and deploy police protection at polling stations.
I had given an undertaking to the Supreme Court recently that the poll will be held on time, Election Commission Chief Nimal Punchihewa told AFP. But I am now informing the court that we wont be able to do it because the government is not releasing the necessary funds.
As a result of the lack of funding, the postal vote, which was due to take place this week, has already been postponed to a later date.
Local elections come with a price tag of 10 billion rupees (US$ 27.5 million); it is unclear whether the government has the money to pay for them if the court rules that the vote must go ahead.
Meanwhile, parliament was adjourned yesterday after opposition MPs held up placards protesting at what they say was an attempt by the government to cling to power and avoid the voters verdict.
Midvalley residents line up to speak on Tuesday at an Eagle County commissioners meeting on The Fields proposal. Opponents outweighed supporters about 3-to-1 among the speakers. The commissioners didnt reach a vote.
Sam Rose is a candidate for Aspen City Council. He can be reached via email (SamuelRose30@gmail.com) or phone (802-752-7026). His website is SamRoseforAspen.com.
Michigan Says It Needs $750M More for Ford Battery Site
Written by Scott McClallen, The Center Square
Published Feb. 22, 2023
Michigan says it needs $750 million more from taxpayers to prep the site for Ford Motor Company's $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall.
Taxpayers are already footing $1 billion for the factory, dubbed "Project Hickory," that Ford says will create 2,500 jobs.
Economic development officials said "not a cent" of the $750 million would go to Ford, but would instead fund site readiness.
The $750 million includes $330 million to the Michigan Department of Transportation for road improvements, $224 million for pad-ready site improvements, $100 million for water and wastewater improvements and $75 million for land acquisition. Other projected spending includes $15 million for Norfolk Southern rail improvements, $5 million for building inspections and $300,000 to fund fiber optics.
The cost breakdown was included in documents distributed at the Feb. 22 House Appropriations Committee hearing.
Ford said the factory is key to delivering an annual run rate of 600,000 electric vehicles globally by the end of this year and 2 million globally by the end of 2026.
Currently, Michigan has 25,181 EVs registered statewide. Cost is one major barrier to adoption. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average price of an electric car in September 2022 was $65,291. Meanwhile, the average price for a gas-powered vehicle was $48,100. Moreover, many used gas-powered cars cost between $5,000 and $15,000.
Ford's BlueOval factory aims to make lithium iron phosphate batteries in the U.S.
Chris Smith, Fords chief government affairs officer, said CATL, a Chinese company, was only a technical service provider for the plant and rejected claims that CATL would receive taxpayer money.
The government of China has no role in the project and no tax dollars will go to the company licensing that technology, Smith said.
However, Smith couldnt provide the contract between Ford and CATL, saying it was still under negotiations.
Rep. Andrew Fink, R-Hillsdale, said Chinese law requires all Chinese companies to cooperate with the intelligence gathering operations of the Chinese government, which is wholly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
I think we cant talk about this seriously by saying, well, theyre not going to be a direct recipient, Fink said. What is the real substantive reason that we shouldnt be concerned about the presence of an entity that is legally subject to the control of the CCP, according to the laws of their own country?
Rep. Rachel Hood, D-Grand Rapids, said the proposed jobs would only pay between $20-$40 an hour, which is barely a living wage job to support a family.
Marshall City Manager Derek Perry supports the plant. He said the project could bring 2,500 jobs to a region thats lost 2,000 jobs in 20 years. Perry said the Ford investment is critical in reversing that trend.
Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin Messer Jr. said the projects goal is to grow Michigans population and the tax base.
Smith said Ford plans to recycle EV batteries to extract minerals from used batteries.
"A battery that is at end-of-life still has a lot of value," Smith said.
We thank The Center Square for reprint permission.
(CNN) Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered a search and rescue for 53 people trapped at a collapsed coal mine in Inner Mongolia, Chinese state media CCTV reported Wednesday.
Two people have been killed and six injured in the collapse that took place earlier in the day on Wednesday in Alxa Left Banner in Inner Mongolia, according to CCTV.
Authorities have mobilized 51 trucks, 223 fire fighters and 6 rescue dogs to the scene from across the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
We must make every possible effort to rescue the missing persons and treat the injured, Xi said as quoted by Reuters.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for an immediate investigation into the cause of the accident, according to the news agency.
The collapsed coal mine is owned by Xinjing Coal Mining Company and is located in the town of Alxa League.
This story was first published on CNN.com, "Two killed and 53 people trapped at collapsed coal mine in China"
Tesla Program Provides Career Path for High School Students
Written by Maria Merano, Teslarati
Published Feb. 22, 2023
Tesla recently highlighted the advantages and benefits of its Manufacturing Development Program (MDP), an initiative for graduating high school students that gives participants the financial resources, coursework and experience needed to qualify for a job at the company.
Tesla rolled out its MDP for graduating high school students living in California, Nevada, New York and Texas, the four states that host a major Tesla facility. Tesla said the application process is easy, and includes a series of information sessions and interviews.
Students selected for the MDP receive an offer and are invited to a signing day celebration. After completing the program, which includes specific courses at local colleges, MDP participants earn a Tesla Advanced Manufacturing Certification. They can then start work as a production associate at the Fremont Factory, Giga Nevada, Giga New York or Giga Texas.
Tesla said MDP participants are offered full-time paid positions with benefits, as well as TSLA stock.
Justice Fevella-Potes, part of the programs 2019 class and now a Level 3 process engineering tech, spoke about some of the advantages.
Ive been able to advance to a Level 3 process engineering tech, working hands-on with products and investigating ways to make them better and more efficient every day. MDP allowed me to grow, and my brother is now part of the program, Fevella-Potes said.
Those who wish to apply for Teslas Manufacturing Development Program can click here.
We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.
How it all began
Photo: General Motors LLC
Adding a genuine Ferrari V12 to the mix
Photo: General Motors LLC
More subtle Italian flair with a touch of flashy Americana
Photo: General Motors LLC
Further modifications under Bill Mitchells stewardship
Photo: ROGERIOMACHADO via Flikr
Its been almost twelve and a half years since General Motors was forced to discontinue the Pontiac brand. Sadly, the name doesnt mean much these days for the younger generations who mockingly associate it with Walter Whites atrocious Aztek But, for older folks and car fanatics of all ages, Pontiac lives on as one of the brands that thrived during the original muscle car era. Four-wheeled legends like the GTO or the various V8-powered Firebird versions remain some of the most exciting rides built on U.S. soil throughout the 1960s and 1970s.Throughout the years, these cars have been covered in thousands of articles and, if the Aztek is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear Pontiac, I suggest you do some reading.Regular GTOs, Firebirds, or Azteks aside, lets take a look back at probably the most incredible concept car ever built by the now-defunct brand, the 1-of-1 Firebird Pegasus concept.Though the exact date when this insane endeavor actually started is still a mystery, multiple sources state that 1970 was the year when Chevrolet designer Jerry Palmer drew the first sketches of this wild concept.The initial idea was to come up with visual improvements for the newly-introduced, second-generation Camaro , so Palmer decided to add several cues (most notably the front end) from a 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa to the existing design.As weird as the combination might have sounded, the sketches looked awesome, catching the eye of styling chief Bill Mitchell, the man remembered for greenlighting some of the corporations most iconic designs Mitchell thought that the sketch should be transformed into a real car but, rather than giving the project to the Chevy team, he took it to Pontiac and tasked the engineers with transforming a production version of the Camaros platform-sharing sibling into a fully functional concept.The Pontiac engineers went to work on what was called the Pegasus project, but the designers opted to modify several aspects of Palmers original work. The bulging, Ferrari-inspired fenders as well as the swopping rear end with its wraparound glass, that would make it into production in 1975, were retained. Yet the front fascia received cues from the standard model like the grille divider and squarish headlights.Apart from the visual refinements, Mitchell told the engineers to swap out the Firebirds stock motor with something that would match its new Ferrari-inspired looks. Rather than spend time and money on developing a new engine or beefing up an existing unit, he gave them a genuine Ferrari V12 to work with.Legend has it that Mitchell spoke about the project with Enzo himself and surprisingly, the Ferrari boss gave his blessing. While its unclear if the GM Vice President of Design had to kiss his ring or do anything of that nature, he did receive a brand-new engine straight from Maranello.The unit in question was a 365 Colombo with dual overhead cams and a dry sump lubrication system. With an output of 352 hp, the 4.4-liter was originally used in the 365 GTC/4 Daytona grand tourer. Mitchell wanted a Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, and the engineers tried their best to make it happen, but the powerplant proved too much for the three-speed auto, so the car ultimately received a five-speed manual.With four more cylinders than what American cars were usually accustomed to in the 1970s, the V12 didnt exactly fit like a glove inside the Firebirds engine bay, requiring several modifications. Lengthening the chassis was considered, but, in the end, engineers took a less drastic approach, moving the firewall nine inches back and modifying the engines exhaust headers.With the exterior enhancements and the Ferrari V12 sitting snuggly under the Firebirds hood, the Pegasus team could have called it a day, and no one would have complained. However, they didnt stop there and put a decent amount of work into refining the unique car even more.The first example of this desire to achieve perfection is the interior, where the dash was modified to house Veglia Borletti gauges borrowed from the Daytona. Everything else was relatively stock inside, but the abundance of fine, light-colored leather made the car feel more Italian.Like many iconic European exotics of the era, the Pegasus Firebird sat on a set of Borrani wheels hand-build in Italy, which were wrapped in chunky Goodyear Eagles made in the U.S.Completed in 1971, it was painted with an eye-catching shade of red and decorated with what seemed like miles worth of gold pinstripes.The GM VP was so impressed with the result of what had become his latest pet project, that he decided to keep it. Mitchell didnt exactly drive it daily, but he used to often take the Ferrari-powered Firebird to car shows and racing events. He didnt race it either, but rather took it around the track for a few demonstration laps , then parked it in the pit area with its hood up, leaving everyone speechless.After one such event held at Road America in Wisconsin during a weekend plagued by heavy rain, Mitchell ended up crashing the one-off into a bridge abutment. After this incident, the cars front fascia was rebuilt following Jerry Palmers original design.Mitchell retired in 1977. But he kept the Pegasus all to himself, continuing to drive it regularly. Several years later, its front end was subtly redesigned one more time, followed by a full restoration.The legendary designer passed away in 1988, and the astonishing concept car was returned to GM. It underwent another complete restoration in 2012 and, while no further modifications were made, it was repainted without the original pinstripes.Those that want to see Pontiacs most outrageous concept can visit GMs Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan, where it currently resides. For those who are nowhere near Michigan, the YouTube video below by Tonys Car Parts takes you on a virtual walkaround.
NUNAV Navigation is a navigation app whose main role is to help drivers deal with heavy traffic. Just like Waze, its specifically focused on finding the fastest route to a destination and avoiding traffic jams.It doesnt sport the advanced traffic reporting system bundled with Waze, but NUNAV uses a concept called collaborative routing specifically to provide drivers with better routes. The company guarantees that every driver is offered an individual route, so the system always finds the fastest way to a provided address.NUNAV is now available on CarPlay too. An update that went live a few weeks ago brought the new feature to the first users, while a February release completed the rollout of CarPlay support.Apple CarPlay allows the mobile UI to be mirrored on compatible media receivers installed in cars. Applications like Google Maps, Apple Maps, Spotify, and others can run on the larger display in the cabin, and drivers can interact with them through direct input or voice commands.NUNAV brings its essential feature package to CarPlay, so drivers can set up routes and then get guidance on the head unit.The big catch is that the NUNAV availability continues to be limited. Its routing system is exclusive to Belgium, Germany, France, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. Expanding the availability is perhaps critical for its long-term adoption, but bringing the app to more regions is expensive and can't happen overnight.NUNAV isnt as feature-rich as Waze and Google Maps, but it certainly doesn't disappoint. Users can configure 3D or 2D display modes for routes, enable voice guidance, mark parking lots on the map, and show traffic lights at intersections.On the other hand, theres still room for improvement. NUNAV is currently lacking critical navigation settings, including support for disabling toll roads, satellite maps, and offline navigation. What sets it apart from the rest of the crowd is the advanced search engine.When setting up the navigation, users can provide not only an address, but also places, events, contacts, and even calendar entries. NUNAV can look precisely to a related location and then calculate the fastest route. The parent company promises to keep the experience ad-free and requires no registration. Furthermore, the application is getting an increased focus on eco-friendly routing, as the generated routes are also supposed to help reduce CO2 emissions.Google Maps offers a similar mode, as the navigation app can now look not only for the fastest route to the provided destination but also for an alternative allowing for a reduced carbon footprint.
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This is an open secret in ???????? auto industry. Some automakers sell new vehicles to affiliated companies, which then after insurance registrations dumped them in the used car market. This is one of the ways to boost sales. https://t.co/9PvoOdKpBF Ray (@ray4tesla) February 22, 2023
BYD, one of the biggest carmakers in China and one of Teslas major suppliers, has ballooned over the course of the past two years. Until 2021, the Chinese carmaker barely sold 50,000 cars in a quarter. Starting from there, the young company grew exponentially. The numbers are impressive whether you look at battery-electric vehicles or the so-called new-energy vehicles (NEVs), which include plug-in hybrids. BYD abandoned pureproduction a while back, so theres nothing to report on that front. BYDs growth has impressed investors and competitors alike, with Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway taking a huge chunk of the companys shares in 2008. Nevertheless, the legendary investor mustve spotted something off about BYDs business because he started dumping shares about the same time BYD results went through the roof. Berkshire Hathaways position in BYD has been trimmed from over 20% in August 2022 to less than 14% in January 2023.On the contrary, Charlie Munger, a longtime Warren Buffett investment partner, is bullish on BYD, claiming that the Chinese company is so much ahead of Tesla in China, its almost ridiculous. He might want to reconsider his position because rumors from China indicate that the NEV carmaker might not report accurate sales data. BYD reported sales of 1.86 million vehicles in 2022, but insurance data (equivalent to registrations in other markets) were 260,000 lower. Some of them (56,000) were exported, leaving BYD more than 200,000 vehicles short of its own reports.The discrepancy is supported by used-car dealers in China, who said many brand-new BYD cars had been dumped on the market. According to Charles (@CharlesWBoy), one second-hand dealer has many BYD Han cars in its inventory, with less than 50 km (32 miles) on the odometer. They all bear an insurance registration date of December 30, 2022. Although the price of new cars is 280,000 yuan ($40,000), they are now sold at 220,000 yuan ($32,000). The dealer bragged in a video that he would receive more BYD cars when the current stock clears.According to sources familiar with such practices, Chinese companies use affiliate companies (shadow companies) to buy their cars and count the transaction as sales. After the insurance registrations, these vehicles are dumped in the used-car market to artificially boost sales . According to Ray (@ray4tesla), Chinese carmakers use this strategy to clear up excess inventories so that they can report shiny sales. Not only do sales benefit from this practice, but carmakers can also claimcredits before expiration. The credits offset some losses considering the vehicles are sold at lower prices.While this practice is questionable, BYD is not the first and certainly would not be the last company to use it. Other companies in China, like Xpeng, have done this, and even western carmakers used similar tactics. Volkswagen, for instance, reported a huge uptick in ID.3 sales at the end of 2020. Nevertheless, the cars were sold to dealers to capitalize on carbon credits and avoid emissions penalties. They were then re-sold as used cars, even though they were riddled with software problems at the time.
Together with Google Maps, Waze dominates the navigation space on Android and Android Auto. With a crowdsourcing engine and built-in traffic reporting system , the application provides users with accurate ETAs and faster routes to the destination particularly as it warns of speed traps, accidents, and traffic jams.Despite being owned by Google, Waze has been struggling with various errors on Android Auto, and the most recent caused the app to occasionally freeze.In my car, the freezing typically occurred after the map was loaded. Waze did manage to determine my location , but the information was no longer updated as I started moving. As such, the provided route guidance was inaccurate. Force-closing the app, sometimes two or three times in a row, temporarily restored the app.For others, this Waze behavior was encountered right after launch, while in some rare instances, the app stopped working in the middle of the drive.Waze never acknowledged the problem publicly, but the most recent release candidate build fixes the freezing bug. Waze 4.92.0.1 resolves the glitch, but any subsequent update should do the same as well.If you dont see the beta update just yet, sideloading the APK allows you to download the latest build without waiting. Just keep in mind this method involved granting special permissions for the installation of apps from sources other than the Google Play Store.The other highly anticipated update for Waze is the Coolwalk support. Announced in early January, Coolwalk brings a significant redesign to Android Auto, allowing users to run multiple apps side by side in so-called cards. Each card is assigned to a specific application, such as navigation and music. Navigation solutions are provided with the largest card on the screen, but they must be updated to support running in this mode.So far, only Google Maps can provide navigation on Coolwalk. Waze has already confirmed its working on it, and the feature is now available in the beta program. Running Waze on Android Auto, with or without Coolwalk enabled, is only possible in the full-screen mode for now.The rollout of Coolwalk also continues. Google enabled the new interface for the first users in early January, but the company did not share an ETA regarding the general availability. The redesign is activated in stages and is not tied to a specific Android Auto version. This means that new Android Auto updates dont enable Coolwalk, so installing a specific version produces no improvement in this regard. The redesign is expected to become available to all Android Auto users by the end of the year.
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Aircraft production during WWI paved the way for the car factory
In 1972, a revolutionary event in the history of car production in Europe took place at Sindelfingen
The 22,000,000-anniversary car wasean EQS 580 4Matic electric sedan
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Sindelfingen is a town in the region of Baden-Wurttemberg, about 15 km (9 miles) southwest of Stuttgart, where Mercedes-Benz is headquartered. However, Sindelfingen itself is no less important. Some of the world's most sophisticated cars have been produced here since 1919.Today, some of the brand's exclusive models drive through the gates of the Sindelfingen plant. The-powered S-Class sedan as well as the hybrid versions, Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, GLC, E-Class, and the Mercedes-AMG GT four-door coupe, all see the light of day right there.The origins of the factory itself actually date back to 1915. That is when aircraft production began here during the First World War. And in 1919, a year after the war, automobile production was added. The first of these was the Mercedes-Knight Type 16/45. It came with a 4.0-liter four-cylinder engine producing 45 horsepower (around 46 ps).In the 1920s and 1930s, large-scale production took off here, before the decline of car production from 1939-1945. After World War II, the industry recovered spectacularly, and by 1966 Sindelfingen was producing twice as many cars a year as in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was all due to a more efficient production.The first fully automatic robotic transfer line was installed and put into operation at the Mercedes-Benz plant in the body shop. This was a major technological breakthrough. Back then, the use of robots in production was relatively new. The robotic transfer line enabled a more efficient and precise production process, reducing the need for human labor and improving overall product quality. This achievement paved the way for the future of automotive production, opening up opportunities for even more advanced technologies and automation in the industry.The factory reached the 20,000,000-vehicle production milestone in 2015, with the anniversary car being the Mercedes-Benz S 500 Plug-in Hybrid. In 2020, the current generation of the S-Class began production here, later joined by an electric version, the EQS.A milestone for the factory comes in 2021 when production of the EQS, the first electric luxury saloon from Factory 56, begins. But in the more than 100-year history of the production facility, millions of cars wearing the three-pointed star badge have rolled off the production line, 22 million to be exact. The EQS itself is a revolutionary model for the German brand as the first fully electric luxury saloon from the Mercedes-EQ division, a model that redefines the segment. The EQS 580is the top model, producing 523 ps (516 hp) and with a range of up to 770 km (around 478 miles) in thetesting cycle. Charging can be done with up to 200from a DC fast plug. Mercedes-Benz claims that in just 15 minutes the EQS can accumulate enough energy for 300 kilometers (around 186 miles).The EQS 580 4Matic version has two motors one on the front axle and one on the rear axle. With these resources the electric sedan sprints from 0 to 100 kph (0-62 mph) in just 4.1 seconds.Inside, driver and passengers enjoy the Hyperscreen technology that uses a massive curved 141-centimeter (56-inch) display. It incorporates both the digital instrument cluster and the center or right-hand passenger screen.And because we live in an age where viruses have made us pay attention to the air we breathe, Mercedes-Benz has introduced an interesting feature. EQS features technology that will appeal to those who want clean air in their car. It's called Energizing Air Control Plus, which filters the air inside the EQS with the help of sensors. The filter captures fine particles, micro-particles, pollen, and other substances from the outside air. The certification offers protection against viruses and bacteria.The doors of the EQS close and open by themselves. If the driver approaches the car with the key in his pocket, doors open automatically. The car system calculates the location of the car and considers whether this can be done safely. In other words, it adapts to the situation. The doors will close again as soon as the driver enters the car and presses the brake pedal.To make life easier for owners when the electric sedan is charging, Mercedes-Benz has introduced a feature called Power Nap. It automatically reclines the seats to the maximum, pulls the side blinds, and plays a soothing melody through the sound system to create the perfect sleeping environment. So after a few minutes, not only will the car have its batteries charged, but so will the driver.
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Deemed one of the prettiest cars in its class, the second generation will soon blow five candles off its birthday cake. Production kicked off back in 2018, not long after its official unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show (ah, the good old days!), and youre looking at three body styles, liftback and estate, and sedan for China with the stretched 508 L.If you havent been living under a rock these past few months, then you know that Peugeot is working on the mid-cycle refresh of the car. The 2024 508 will premiere this Friday, February 24, as per a short video shared recently online by the French company and embedded at the bottom of the page. At 15 seconds long, the clip puts the spotlight on some of the novelties of the Skoda Superb fighter, including the revised styling.Full details are still being kept under wraps, but the facelifted Peugeot 508 will get a new grille, decorated by the automakers new logo. We can also see the wheels, with the uprated brakes behind them, beefy side skirts with canards at the rear, and not much else for the time being. Previous spy shots have revealed that it will also get an entirely new face, with cleaner overall looks, fresh head- and taillights, different bumpers, and the obvious updated emblems, likely joined by some novelties in the cabin.Nothing is known about the engine family at this point, and it will probably remain like that until the grand presentation. Nonetheless, it should soldier on with the same small gasoline units, including the 1.2-liter three-pot in the entry-level model, and at least one diesel for the European market in all likelihood. Look for plug-in hybrid assemblies as well, including the one powering the 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered (PSE).Mixing a turbocharged 1.6-liter unit with two electric motors, one at the front and the other at the rear, the current iteration enjoys 355 horsepower combined, or 360 metric hp/265. Ask the lion brand how quick it is, and they will tell you that it needs a little over five seconds to hit 62 mph (100 kph) from a standstill. Top speed is electronically capped at 155 mph (250 kph). Transferring the thrust to the all-wheel drive system is an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The 508 PSE has a-rated electric range of 26 miles (42 km). Top speed stands at 80 mph (130 kph) in the all-quiet driving mode.
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TRSCM stands for trailer reverse steering control module, the electronic component that prevents the rearview image from showing on the touchscreen display under certain conditions. No rearview image with the gear lever in the reverse position is a non-compliance with the field of view and image size sections of federal motor vehicle safety standard 111.Gear lever may not be the right word because most Rams now come with a rotary dial. Continental Autonomous Mobility of Auburn Hills is the supplier of the suspect trailer reverse steering control module, with FCA US LLC listing no fewer than eight part numbers in the document attached below. 68,809 pickup trucks are called back, split between the 2021 to 2023 model year Ram 1500 and 2023 model year Ram 2500 workhorse.The bulk of the affected population is represented by the half-ton pickup, namely 68,784 units produced between June 3rd, 2020 and August 17th, 2022. Only 25 units of the heavy-duty 2500 are called back, pickup trucks produced from June 21st, 2022 to August 17th, 2022.Dealers will be instructed to update the TRSCM software on March 31st, the day owners will be notified about the recall by first-class mail. A software update for a module that may fail internally seems weird, but then again, FCA US LLC is known for cutting corners aggressively.Out of 24 brands analyzed, Consumer Reports ranks Ram in 16th place for reliability, right between Nissan and Cadillac. Mercedes-Benz is dead last in 24th place, whereas Toyota and Lexus top everything. Ford sits 18th, whereas Chevy and GMC are listed in 20th and 21st.Codenamed DT, the half-ton pickup subject to this recall is currently priced at $37,410 sans destination charge, up from $37,090 for the 2022 model year. The previous-generation DS soldiers on as the Ram 1500 Classic at $30,695 excluding the $1,895 destination charge.Weve heard reports about a Dakota revival since what appears to be eons ago, but Ram didnt deliver even though FCA US LLC produces a mid-size pickup in the guise of the Jeep Gladiator. The truck brand is currently invested in EVs, with the Ram 1500 REV scheduled to start series production sometime in 2024 for the 2025 model year.REV may stand for revolution, but said revolution only applies to Ram . The Ford Motor Company introduced an electric version of the F-150 for the 2022 model year under the Lightning moniker, a nameplate that was previously used for a performance version of the F-150. General Motors currently makes the GMC Hummer, with the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV scheduled to follow suit in the nearest of futures.
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RGNT is relatively new on the market, but it has already established itself as a premiumbrand. It launched in 2019, intending to become a top player among two-wheeler brands across the globe. Its first prototype was unveiled in 2020 as a solution for urban commuters to swap their cars for electric motorcycles. Now, the brand has two models available: the No. 1 Classic and the No. 1 Scrambler , with different versions for each.Given that it's a Swedish brand, what better place to attempt a speed record on ice than on a frozen Swedish lake? RGNT named this challenge Project Aurora on the weekend of February 24 and 25, RGNT-engineer Timmy Eriksson will race a modified RGNT No. 1 Classic SE during the SMA Svenska Motorsport Alliansen sanctioned and licensed Speed Weekend in Arsunda, Sweden. A small group of employees started RGNT's Aurora project, and they initially wanted to break the record in their free time, like in the evening or on weekends. Their mission was not only to achieve groundbreaking performance on the e-motorcycle but also to gift it with a fitting, eye-catching design.The magnitude level of the project grew, and soon the entire company was on board. From design to R&D, production, and engineering, the mission took over the whole 40-employee company. Furthermore, even sponsors and partners such as Heon helmets, Petrol Industries, or J.Juan brake system support RGNT's ambition.RGNT's tool for achieving this goal is an A1-certified RGNT No. 1 Classic SE production model. The "SE" in its name means "Sport Extended" - basically, it's a slightly more powerful version of the standard No. 1 Classic, boasting moreof power and a larger battery.Of course, the production e-motorcycle had to be further modified for this specific mission. Firstly, several components in the battery were upgraded to maximize power output. Secondly, the software and power output of the drivetrain has been unlocked, leading to a peak power of about 30 kW, compared to the No. 1 Classic SE's 21 kW.Besides needing power, a two-wheeler attempting to break a speed record should have a thoroughly aerodynamic design the e-motorcycle's standard fairing didn't suffice. And so, taking inspiration from several concept studies for a future RGNT racer model, the company designed and built a full aerodynamic, lightweight fairing with an HMI (Human-Machine Interface) race screen.The final numbers are in the race-ready bike tips the scales just under 160 kg (353 lbs.) and, as you'd expect, will ride on spike-studded tires. The RGNT team is also attempting to set records for stock electric and stock A1 electric motorcycles with a fully standard RGNT No. 1 Scrambler SE production model.RGNT Motorcycles is inviting enthusiasts to participate in the action-packed weekend on ice the company will host a team area where you can sip some coffee, have a chat, and check out the e-motorcycles. You can find out more detail about the event here
At the end of 2022, the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition had kicked off the selection process for the operators who would get to put their air taxis to work during the event. Three of the eVTOLs that will fly at the Expo are already well-known in the industry: the American Joby , the UK-based Vertical Aerospace, and the Japanese SkyDrive.According to Joby Aviation, it will provide air taxi services linking the events venue with at least one other location in Osaka. Its partner in this endeavor is Ana Holdings (ANAHD), which has been its collaborator for the Japanese market since 2022.The Californian company couldnt have picked a better partner or a better setting for its launch in this part of the world. ANAHD is the countrys largest airline, while the World Expo is the largest and most complex event of its kind. The last time it was held in Japan was way back in 1990, which makes this upcoming edition extra special. A huge crowd of nearly 30 million people is expected to attend, and the Smart Mobility section is due to be one of the most popular.Several eVTOL makers are planning to officially launch commercial services in 2025. Joby has already more than 1,000 test flights under its belt and is gearing up for advanced tests in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC) wind tunnel, at NASAs Ames Research Center. This is the largest wind tunnel in the world, and Joby will be the first in the AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) sector to test its electric propeller at this prestigious facility.Vertical Aerospace is also close to making a splash in Japan. A trading and investment company in the country (Marubeni) has agreed to purchase up to 200 units of Verticals air taxi, marking one of the largest eVTOL orders ever. Thats no surprise for the UK-based manufacturer, claiming to have secured more pre-orders than any other eVTOL maker in the world.SkyDrive is sure to get everyones attention at the Expo as the company representing eVTOL manufacturing in Japan. Its been working on the SD-05 since 2018 and plans to launch air taxi services in 2025, at the event.In the meantime, all of these manufacturers will have to work out the precise details for each flight, together with their partnering operators and the Expos organizers. It sounds like the lucky folks who will be visiting the Expos Smart Mobility section in 2025 are in for a treat.
Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kids toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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And do not think for a second this is traditional warfare which, luckily, also means there are no losses of human life. Instead, the struggles take many novel automotive forms, from new model skirmishes to aftermarket battles and motorsport belligerence. Naturally, the latter brawls are also some of the coolest because the safe environment of racing tracks allows all parties involved to unleash true monsters.Sometimes, there is no need for OEMs to pour billions into stock dreadnaughts as the aftermarket realm will gladly take care of the battle cruisers for a lot less and even if the war parties are a little past their prime. And there is no need to take our word for granted, as we always have plenty of examples. In the case of the great US of A, even the smallest local racing venue or dragstrip is fit for any challenge. Here, let us check out the videographer behind the Jmalcom2004 account on YouTubes latest feature to better grasp the concept.According to the description for the video embedded below (which has freshly uploaded on February 21), we are probably headed to the South Carolina Motorplex & Mudplex track in Neeses, SC, as theres a note that we are dealing with Triggaman Racings first event of the year which has an NSFW title, by the way. Aside from a massive crash during Triggamans race (check out the second video embedded below for the fiery ordeal), there was also genuinely entertaining action during the event.A good case in point could be made with an eternal GM versus Blue Oval fight between a second-generation Chevy Camaro with a massive, towering blower V8 setup (check out those triple side exhausts, as well!) and a crimson Ford Mustang (its probably a fourth-gen New Edge iteration) that was a tad subtler by hiding the hulking turbo V8 assembly under a big bulge! Meanwhile, the vintage GM coupe was more than willing to deliver outrageous thrills and still win the races there were two of them, and each has its blend of drag racing spice.As such, for the big wheelie, massive save, and subsequent win (I am guessing here based on a visual appraisal, as there are no track aids in sight), do check out the initial brawl at the 0:50 mark. Secondly, the sunset rematch from the 1:10 mark probably settled the score as the yellow-striped classic Maro most obviously won the skirmish, this time, even though both racers ultimately needed to deploy the chutes. Too bad these grudge-style events do not give us the elapsed times and trap speeds, as I would have loved to compare their facts and figures!
A challenger to the likes of the Mercedes CLS , which is pretty much responsible for the four-door coupe craze, it also went against the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe that eventually evolved into the 8er that we all know today.Offered in a five-door liftback body style, for increased hauling despite the elegant-looking body, the first-gen Audi A7 came with an assortment of gasoline engines, including a V8 in the range-topping RS model, and a diesel. The four-ring brand pulled the plug on it in 2018 when the second generation was introduced.Sharing its clever MLB Evo construction with the A6 and A8, as well as the Q7 and Q8, and other large SUVs made by the Volkswagen Group, the second-gen A7 comes in the same liftback body style, joined by a regular four-door sedan when it comes to Chinas A7 L . Power is supplied by a generous host of gasoline burners, two diesels, and a plug-in hybrid assembly. The 4.0-liter V8 with twin-turbocharging is still reserved for the RS 7, whereas the S7 makes use of a turbod 2.9-liter V6.As per the data shared by carsalesbase, the A7 family is by no means a moneymaker for Audi. Almost 3,100 of them were sold in the United States in 2021, and nearly 2,900 the year before. It didnt do that well in Europe either, with 4,260 and 5,807 units delivered respectively, but it is still an important product for the four-ring brand, hence why it has a future, which is likely electric.Few automakers are willing to take big risks in these challenging times when pretty much anything on four wheels with a generous ground clearance and a zero-emission powertrain tends to sell rather well. As a result, no matter how badly you may wish for an Audi A7 Avant, it wont happen, because it wouldnt be profitable at all. Also, such a body style would make little sense, considering that those looking for an executive station wagon can opt for the A6 Avant.Now, a little daydreaming hasnt hurt anyone, in theory at least, so while the A7 Avant will never happen, not the way wed want it, there are several of them living and breathing in the digital world. The latest came from sugardesign_1 on Instagram, with the renderings imagining it with a long roof, bigger rear fenders, and larger three-quarter windows. It has muscular shoulders, big concave wheels, and it looks ready to pump new blood into the segment. It is also very attractive dressed in the RS attire, and we kind of want one. Do you?
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev admitted such a desire after his weekend talks in Munich with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian mediated by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Aliyev said he suggested during the trilateral meeting that checkpoints be set up on that road as well as a would-be corridor to Azerbaijans Nakhichevan exclave.
The idea of setting up checkpoints on Armenias border and at the starting point of the Lachin corridor was really floated [at Munich], said Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. But our response was explicit.
Our position was expressed shortly after the blockage of the Lachin corridor and it remains the same: regulations for the Lachin corridor were already negotiated and signed, including by the president of Azerbaijan And renegotiating them under the threat of another use of force is unacceptable to us, he told a joint news conference with Luxembourgs visiting Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.
Mirzoyan referred to the Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the 2020 war in Karabakh. The agreement placed the Lachin corridor under the control of Russian peacekeeping forces and committed Azerbaijan to guaranteeing safe passage through it.
Yerevan maintains that the continuing Azerbaijani blockade is a gross violation of this arrangement. Russia, the United States and the European Union have cited it in their repeated statements urging Baku to unblock Karabakhs land link with Armenia and the outside world.
Speaking in Munich, Aliyev again defended Azerbaijani government-backed protesters blocking the Lachin corridor on ostensibly environmental grounds.
Mirzoyan said that in return for reopening the vital Karabakh road Baku hopes to force the Armenian side to agree to an extraterritorial corridor to Nakhichevan that would pass through Armenias southeastern Syunik province. He ruled out such a concession while reaffirming Yerevans readiness for conventional Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links.
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
Ink and headlines splashed Wendy Howards verdict across pages and screens after jurors acquitted her of first- and second-degree murder but d
Professor Maire ONeill, Regius Professor in electronics and computer engineering and principal investigator, CSIT, Will Drury, interim executive director digital and technologies at InnovateUK, UKRI; Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Steve Baker MP; Dr Kedar Pandya, EPSRC director for Cross-Council Programmes; David Quinn, executive director of Queens Universitys Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology and Professor Ian Greer, president and Vice-Chancellor of Queens University
Northern Irelands cyber security industry has won nearly 20m in government funding to develop professionals for the industry and help companies develop new opportunities in the field.
The 18.9m from the UK government includes 11m in funding through the New Deal for Northern Ireland announced at the end of 2020 to boost economic growth at the end of the Brexit transition period.
Steve Baker MP, Minster of State for NI, said the investment will create a new Cyber-AI hub at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) in Belfast.
It will also help develop the careers of new cyber professionals with the creation of a Doctoral training programme and Masters bursaries. That will help deliver on the governments pledge to have 5,000 cyber professionals in Northern Ireland by 2030, the government said.
An additional 3.3m from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will support the next phase of the UK's innovation and knowledge centre at CSIT, while 4.6m has also come from project partners.
The funding injection was announced ahead of Belfast hosting industry event CyberUK 2023 in April.
Mr Baker said: This funding will help to create jobs and strengthen Northern Irelands economy, ensuring NI continues to lead the way in cyber security.
We have world-class talent and expertise in NI, and the Government is committed to developing cyber security professionals, here and across the UK.
The funding will have an immediate positive impact on NIs cyber sector, and with Belfast hosting the UKs leading cyber security conference in April, Im looking forward to seeing NIs deserved recognition as a global cyber security hub.
Professor Ian Greer, president and Vice-Chancellor of Queens University Belfast, said: This funding boost will have a hugely positive impact on the cyber security sector locally, nationally and globally.
Investing in a Doctoral training programme is vital for the future of our society. We are investing in the skills of the next generation of leaders in cyber security, as well as progressing the Northern Ireland economy.
Mr Baker visited the Belfast office of US artificial intelligence (AI) firm Nvidia, one of the companies which has been collaborating with CSIT, to learn more about its work on bolstering the security of its networking solutions.
The South Park episode appeared to mock the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have broken their silence amid reports they are suing the creators of South Park over a recent episode that took aim at the royal couple.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex dismissed claims that the pair are pursuing legal action over the episode. Its all frankly nonsense. Totally baseless, boring reports, the spokesperson told People.
The South Park episode that aired last week, titled The World-Wide Privacy Tour, centred on a prince character and his wife who decided to move to the fictional South Park, Colorado town. The prince of Canada is seen promoting his book, titledWaaaagh, as they embarked on a we want privacy tour.
One of the shows main characters, Stan Marsh, referred to the Harry and Meghan-like cartoons as the dumb prince and his stupid wife, while another character named Kyle complained about the private jet parked outside their home.
The episode also saw the cartoon couple holding we want our privacy signs as they travelled to different locations around the world echoing a similar sentiment from critics after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released their six-part Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
While their names are not specifically mentioned in the episode, the characters drew many similarities to the duke and duchess. The princes ginger hair matched closely to Prince Harrys, while his wife wore an outfit that is noticeably similar to one Markle wore at Trooping the Colour in 2018.
The red-headed princes book also appeared to be a reference to Harrys memoir, Spare, which was released in January.
Following the South Park episode, royal commentators suggested it may result in legal ramifications for writers Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Royal commentator Neil told Fox News that the Sussexs legal team are casting an eye over the episode, but the makers of South Park have yet to receive any official filing.
As for how the royal couple reacted to the brutal takedown, a source told The Spectator that the Duchess of Sussex was left upset and overwhelmed by the episode.
Prince Harry has already found himself wrapped up in a costly legal battle over his police protection in the UK, which has reportedly cost the government a total of 296,882, according to The Sun.
In July 2022, Prince Harry challenged a February 2020 ruling from the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC), which said the Duke of Sussex and his family would no longer be given the same degree of personal protective security when visiting the UK.
The ruling came after Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping back from their duties in the Royal Family and relocated their family to the United States.
Meanwhile, Meghan Markle is being sued by her estranged half-sister, Samantha Markle, over claims of defamation.
Sir Paul McCartney will appear on The Rolling Stones upcoming album, bringing together two of the biggest bands in British musical history.
The former Beatle, 80, has provided a bass part to one of the tracks that is expected to feature on their upcoming studio album, which remains untitled.
A spokesman for the Stones said reports Sir Ringo Starr also featured were untrue and that Sir Paul had found himself in a nearby recording studio while Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were mixing the record.
Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones performing at BST Hyde Park last year (Suzan Moore/PA) Suzan Moore
The album, due to be released later this year, will feature the late Charlie Watts on around half its songs, with current drummer Steve Jordan on the others, the PA news agency understands.
Jordan has toured as a regular member of the band since the death of long-standing drummer Watts in August 2021.
US publication Variety previously reported Sir Paul had recorded for a forthcoming Stones project helmed by 2021 Grammy producer of the year Andrew Watt during sessions in Los Angeles.
Although the Beatles and Stones were portrayed as rivals during the 60s and 70s, members have collaborated over the years.
During the Stones Rock and Roll Circus show in 1968, John Lennon made an appearance as part of a supergroup dubbed The Dirty Mac while Brian Jones played on the Beatles track You Know My Name (Look Up The Number).
The Beatles, featuring Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison (PA) PA
The Stones also scored an early hit with I Wanna Be Your Man a song written by Sir Paul and John Lennon, and later also recorded by The Beatles.
This past summer the Stones Sir Mick and guitarists Richards and Ronnie Wood travelled through Europe for their 60th anniversary tour.
The bands Sixty tour featured stops in cities including Madrid, Milan and Paris, as well as two shows at BST Hyde Park in London.
John Malkovich says disappearance of friend Julian Sands is a very sad event (Joel C Ryan/AP) Joel C Ryan
John Malkovich has said the disappearance of his friend and fellow actor Julian Sands is a very sad event.
The pair became close while working on the film Killing Fields in 1983 and later appeared together in 2014 US drama series Crossbones.
Malkovich is a godfather to one of Sands sons with his first wife journalist Sarah Sands.
Authorities have vowed to bring closure to the Sands family, after more than five weeks of searching in southern California.
Julian Sands has been missing in the San Gabriel mountains in southern California for more than five weeks (Ian West/PA) Ian West
The actor was first reported missing on January 13 in the Mount Baldy region of the San Gabriel mountains after failing to return from a hike.
Julian and I were very, very close, Malkovich said, speaking at a press conference at the Berlin International Film Festival, according to US outlets who attended.
Im a godfather to his son from his first wife, Sarah, who I know very well, and I introduced him to his second wife.
We were close forever, ever since we met in 1983 on the set of The Killing Fields. Its a very sad event.
The San Bernardino sheriffs department said on Monday that further ground searches for Sands over the weekend had yielded no results.
The San Bernardino sheriffs department said further ground searches for the British actor over the weekend had yielded no results (San Bernardino County Sheriff/PA)
The force added that an imminent storm in the region meant that search efforts would now be delayed for some time.
On February 18, over 20 members of the Fontana sheriffs station and the West Valley search and rescue team conducted a ground search in the Mt Baldy area, a spokesperson told the PA news agency.
The crew members focused on the area where the California Highway Patrols Recco device hit on a possible electronic device on January 25.
Unfortunately, nothing was found that would lead to the discovery of Mr Sands.
With the imminent storm approaching, ground searches for Mr Sands will be delayed for some time.
Our goal is to bring closure to the family of Mr Sands and, when we can, we will try this again.
Previous ground searches for the British actor had been hampered by poor conditions in the area (San Bernardino County Sheriffs office/PA)
Several searches have taken place on foot and by air, with both state and federal agencies using special technology to help pinpoint a more accurate location to focus their efforts.
The sheriffs department previously said it remained hopeful of finding the actor, but admitted that the outcome of the searches may now not be what we would like.
Sands family have praised the heroic efforts of Californian authorities involved in the searches, and were deeply touched by the support they had received.
He is best known for his starring roles in films such as Warlock, Room With A View and Leaving Las Vegas. On television he had roles in Smallville and 24.
Belfast's The Sphinx took home 'Best Kebab Takeaway' in the awards
Takeaway restaurants in Londonderry, Belfast and Portstewart have been named among the winners of The Irish Takeaway Awards 2023.
The awards, which took place earlier this week in Athlone, Co Westmeath, came together to celebrate the stars of the industry.
The winners from Northern Ireland were Beijing House in Derry who took the prize for Chinese Takeaway of the Year and The Sphinx in Belfast who won Kebab of the Year
Warkes Deli in Portstewart was awarded Vegetarian Takeaway of the Year.
Shane Smith Managing Director of NI Media, who run the awards said; Food to go is one of the fastest growing sectors in the foodservice sector. Customer expectations are high and the modern Irish diner has a discerning palate.
"The standards that we encountered this year were incredibly high and the quality of food delivered was outstanding.
"We are lucky to have an extensive panel of researchers and every entrant to the awards was inspected by experienced judges. Wed like to thank them and everyone who took part in this years programme.
The honour for The Sphinx comes as they were previously finalists in the prestigious British Kebab Awards last year.
The famous kebab shop also took a prize in the YesChef Takeaway Awards last year.
A man who admitted the manslaughter of his neighbour has walked free from court.
Brian Nicholl (54) got into a fight with 65-year-old Nigel Burgess, who then suffered a fatal heart attack, in April 2020, Newry Crown Court heard.
Judge Gordon Kerr KC gave Nicholl 100 hours of community service and two years supervised probation. He was also warned that any breach of the sentence would see him jailed for 12 months.
On the day his trial was due to start last November, Nicholl, of Ballinahone Close in Armagh, entered a guilty plea to manslaughter by causing the death of Mr Burgess on April 11, 2020.
Summarising the case today, Judge Kerr outlined how the defendant and Mr Burgess lived three doors apart in the cul-de-sac just off the Hamiltonsbawn Road.
Mr Burgess had begun watching the movements of a man who lived between them much to his annoyance and this other neighbour called Nicholl just after 10pm to tell him what Mr Burgess was doing.
Nicholl came outside and there was a verbal confrontation with Mr Burgess, with the defendant then throwing a punch.
The deceased fought to defend himself and a fight ensued during which Nicholl accepts that they exchanged punches, the judge said.
He added that it only stopped when Mr Burgess was lying motionless and unconscious on the ground.
Following this, Nicholl left him and walked away, going back into his house where he changed his clothes.
Meanwhile, other neighbours who saw parts of the fight went to check on Mr Burgess and shouted to Nicholl that he wasnt moving. When he came out again, he tried to roll him over and told him to get up.
Police and paramedics tried to resuscitate Mr Burgess, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Judge Kerr said a post-mortem examination showed theres no evidence to suggest that Nigel Burgess was rendered unconscious as a result of any physical blow to the head.
However, it did reveal that he had severe narrowing of the arteries that were clogged.
The judge explained that the pathologist and a cardiac specialist were agreed in their views that Mr Burgess had suffered a fatal heart attack during the fight and that his death was most likely instantaneous.
He noted that the death had badly affected Mr Burgess 13 siblings, some of whom needed counselling. He said he had received a moving statement from his brother David who outlined how there are no words to fully describe the impactor to describe the living hell in the days, weeks, months and years.
When arrested, Nicholl denied doing anything that would have caused his neighbours death.
Judge Kerr revealed the father-of-two has 78 previous convictions, mainly for public order offences, but had no convictions in the last 12 years. He also said Nicholl has had to stop working as a painter and decorator due to ill health and is the main carer for his wife and elderly mother.
In this case, its important to note that the parties agree the fact of the death means that the custody threshold has been met, Judge Kerr told the court.
The defence argued the case could be met with a suspended sentence, but Judge Kerr did not consider that to be appropriate. He said the enhanced combination order was a direct alternative to a 12-month sentence.
Following sentencing, police said the case showed how lives could be changed in seconds and urged people to think about their actions.
Detective inspector Michelle Griffin said: Police officers, along with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, responded to a report of a fight between the two men in the Ballynahone Close area of the city. This was on the night of Saturday, April 11, 2020.
Mr Burgess was found lying unresponsive on the ground and, sadly, was later pronounced dead at the scene.
A subsequent post-mortem revealed pre-existing heart disease. Its believed that Mr Burgess death was caused by a cardiac arrest, triggered during the physical altercation between the two.
This is a tragic case, which has seen a life cut short and left loved ones bereft. I would urge people to think about how their actions, within a matter of minutes or even seconds, can change lives forever."
The victims family expressed thanks to the police and Ambulance Service for their response and support, especially in efforts to resuscitate Mr Burgess.
A 15-year-old girl allegedly punched and kicked another unconscious female nearly 30 times in a horrifying attack over a boyfriend, the High Court heard today.
Prosecutors claimed she carried out the assault in Derry last week and then walked off fixing her hair and make-up.
At one point the victims body jolted on the ground as she was struck to the head.
The accused, who cannot be named because of her age, was granted bail on a charge of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent.
Police called to Waterloo Street in the city at around 1.30am on February 15 found the victim with a black eye and complaining of feeling dizzy and faint.
She said the defendant had kicked and punched her about the head.
The court heard CCTV footage showed the teenage defendant knock her to the ground and continue the assault as the victim lay motionless.
She is seen punching the complainant in excess of 27 times while the complainant appears to be unconscious, a Crown lawyer said.
She had to be pulled off, at which point she kicked the complainant in the head and her body can be seen to jolt on the ground.
The girl then allegedly returned to inflict a similar further blow.
She then fixed her hair and lipstick, at which point she walked out of view of the CCTV, the prosecutor added.
When shown the footage by police, the defendant allegedly showed no remorse and stated that the victim had reached for my boyfriend.
Her application for bail was opposed bail due to the perceived risk to the public.
The amount of violence caught on CCTV is horrifying for someone so young, prosecution counsel submitted.
The violence was gratuitous and she is lucky not to be facing a more serious charge as a result of this incident.
It was also claimed that the girl and her boyfriend have acquired a dog they are training to attack people.
Objecting to those assertions, defence barrister Sean Doherty stressed his client has not been interviewed about any suspected intentions.
He argued that the accused expressed remorse for the alleged assault.
Thankfully the complainant sustained no serious injuries beyond bruises and scratches, Mr Doherty added.
Despite acknowledging the seriousness of the charge, Mr Justice Kinney granted bail due to the girls age.
He ordered her to abide by a curfew as part of strict conditions imposed to manage the risk.
A west Belfast man was today handed a four-month prison sentence suspended for a year for being unlawfully at large from jail.
Convicted robber Kieran Zac Smyth (63), formerly of Springfield Avenue, appeared at Belfast Crown Court via videolink from Maghaberry Prison to mount a bail application.
But a defence barrister told Judge Philip Babington that the bail application was being formally withdrawn and Smyth was then re-arraigned and pleaded guilty to being unlawfully at large from the prison.
Prosecution barrister Robin Steer said Smyth had been sentenced in 2015 to 12 years in prison for a violent house robbery.
He said the defendant was released from custody on licence on September 14, 2019, but was recalled to prison in March 2020 for breaching the terms of his release.
He was released on July 8, 2021, following a parole hearing. On August 27, 2021, detectives were in attendance at a Belfast police station in Belfast and he was attending to comply with his daily reporting conditions.
He obviously had been drinking and was required to take a breath test which came back as 115 milligrams three times the limit which was a breach of his licence conditions.
The next day he left his home in the morning and didn't return home by 10pm which was a breach of his curfew.
Judge Babington was told that Smyth's licence was then revoked and police made inquiries to try and find him.
There was a police media appeal to capture him along with inquiries made with family and friends. He didn't hand himself in and was arrested on December 21, 2021 and returned to prison.
In a statement to police in March 2022, Smyth said he had absconded as he feared he would be returned to prison for breaching his licence conditions.
The court heard Smyth's long-term release date is January 4, 2024.
A defence barrister said Smyth had found the past 15 months in custody a sobering experience both physically and metaphorically speaking.
He added that a report from the Parole Commissioners had recommended a further release on licence given his rehabilitation work in prison, the support of his family, there had been no further violent offending and his willingness to engage with addiction services.
They feel that if he were to continue to languish in prison until 2026 that he could be set up to fail if the support mechanisms were not in place for him. So we should strike while the anvil is hot and I submit he is a good candidate to be released, he added.
Handing down the suspended sentence, Judge Babington told Smyth: You got into trouble a lot in the past and now experts more knowledgeable than I am feel that you are turning the corner and making progress in the right direction.
They feel you should be allowed into the community subject to licence and I am not going to interfere with that. Make sure don't get into trouble.
A man has died following an accident at Belfast Harbour on Monday evening.
Belfast Harbour Police said they are currently investigating the accident, which took place in the Port.
The man was a crew member of a container vessel which was located at Victoria Terminal 3.
Northern Ireland Ambulance crews were called the scene around 23.00 where the man was taken to hospital but later died.
A Belfast Harbour Police spokesperson said: This is an ongoing investigation and no further details can be released at this stage.
PSNI officers have discovered a quantity of Class A drugs at a property in north Belfast on Tuesday.
The search was part of an ongoing investigation into suspected criminality linked to the west Belfast UDA.
Detective Inspector Corrigan said: Todays seizure is a demonstration of the PCTFs commitment to tackle all types of criminality linked to paramilitaries, in an ongoing effort to rid our communities of the harm these groups cause and of their coercive control.
Our enquiries remain ongoing and we would like to thank the local community for their continued support. We will continue to act on the information.
Police have asked anyone with information to contact them via 101.
Boris Johnson also brands Rishi Sunaks negotiating strategy with EU as irrational
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has indicated the proposed deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol between the European Union and the UK Government only meets three or four of the partys tests.
He is also reported to have said it is bonkers to shelve the NI Protocol Bill.
It comes amid reports that ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering coming out publicly against a deal.
In 2021, the DUP said they will only accept a deal to revamp the post-Brexit trade arrangements if it meets seven key tests set out by the party.
These include guaranteeing the sixth article of the Act of Union 1800, avoiding diversion of trade, and no border in the Irish Sea.
Sir Jeffrey briefed members of the Tory Eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) on his talks last week in Belfast with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
According to The Times, Sir Jeffrey made clear his party would not be bullied into accepting a bad deal.
During the meeting, the DUP leader reportedly said only three or four of the groups seven tests have been met and said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak needed to press the EU more on protecting the UK single market rather than purely the EU one.
He also described the shelving of the Protocol Bill as bonkers. The Bill, set in motion when Mr Johnson was PM, was progressing through the House of Lords, but has been paused.
Downing Street has previously said the Bill is an "important piece of legislation.
Read more PM Rishi Sunak ready to return to NI as a deal over the protocol progresses
A deal between the EU and UK Government was expected to be announced this week.
However it is believed to have been delayed due to some of Mr Sunaks MPs pushing back on some of its details, as well as opposition from the DUP, whose support is vital to any agreement.
Speaking on Sky News on Wednesday morning, Veterans' affairs minister Johnny Mercer said Rishi Sunak had "good discussions last week with the European Union" and had "good engagement going on with other MPs".
"So he is not going to sell anyone out or come up with a solution that is unfair or doesn't deliver on what he thinks is Brexit," he said.
The comments come as Mr Sunak is said have gained the support of Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
Mr Heaton-Harris, who has been involved in discussions around the deal and is the former head of the European Research Group, has reportedly been telling Tory MPs how good the deal is according to the Financial Times.
But on Wednesday it was reported that Mr Johnson privately claimed that Mr Sunaks negotiating strategy with the European Union is wholly irrational.
Allies of Mr Johnson told The Times he would 100% criticise the deal publicly if he felt it took Britain towards closer alignment with the EU.
On Monday, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Maros Sefcovic told a press conference in Brussels that the finishing line in sight, but deal on NI Protocol not done.
He added the EU never work with artificial deadlines and the deal was not just about keeping peace in Northern Ireland, but about prosperity for the region.
It comes after two men have already been charged with murder in the case
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the fatal shooting of Liam Christie .
The 58-year-old man was arrested after Mr Christie (44) was shot multiple times, including twice in the face and under his jaw, while he slept in his home in Antrim last October.
Although a Catholic from the republican Ardoyne area of north Belfast with convictions for carrying out robberies with Continuity IRA members, Christie sold drugs for the LVF in Antrim.
For the decade before his killing, the father-of-three lived in the loyalist Ballycraigy estate, in which the terror gang has a considerable presence.
Christie fled his home there in the weeks prior to his death, having been warned by police he was under threat. However, he made the foolish mistake of returning.
Two men have already been charged with murder in the case Jonathan David Patterson (44), with an address at Moylinney Park in Antrim, and Paul Armstrong (also 44), from Hawkswood Terrace in Antrim.
Patterson was also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm, namely a 9mm handgun and ammunition, with intent to endanger life.
The new suspect was arrested on suspicion of murder and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life today (Wednesday). He is currently in custody.
A PSNI spokesperson said: Our investigation continues, and I am appealing to anyone with information to please come forward.
"Im particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have captured dash cam footage from the Ballycraigy Estate or surrounding areas between 7am on Wednesday 19 October and 12pm the following day.
Please call detectives on 101, quoting reference number 310 of 20/10/22. Alternatively information can be provided, with 100% anonymity, to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
Information, including photos, CCTV and dash cam footage, can also be provided to police through the Major Incident Public Portal: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/PSNI22R26-PO1.
Police are becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of missing 46-year-old Rebecca Delaney.
Rebecca was reported missing on Tuesday, February 14.
She was last seen in the area of Belfast City Hospital on Thursday, February 16.
She was wearing a grey coloured track suit and black trainers. Rebecca is described as being around 54 tall with short hair which has been coloured pink, purple and blue and has a number of facial piercings.
She has tattoos of a red and blue heart tattoo on her neck and black script on her wrist and speaks with a southern Irish accent.
Police have asked for Rebecca or anyone who knows her whereabouts to contact them at Lisburn Road station.
Relatives of some of those killed in the bombing of McGurks Bar have lodged a complaint of maladministration with the Police Ombudsman.
Fifteen people were killed in the blast at the north Belfast bar in December 1971.
The attack was carried out by the UVF but at the time security forces blamed the IRA, prompting speculation the dead might have included IRA members carrying the device.
A UVF man was convicted for his part in the attack in 1978.
A Police Ombudsmans report in 2011 said RUC officers had shown an investigative bias with the original misattribution of blame.
On Wednesday, the families revealed they have lodged a complaint of maladministration with the Police Ombudsman, claiming discrimination and that Police Ombudsman Marie Andersons Offices withheld evidence from the families.
The families also alleged delay and omissions or commissions that resulted in injustice.
They said they lodged an 87-page book of new evidence, comparative analyses and research with the Police Ombudsman on Wednesday.
They have requested the Police Ombudsmans office carries out an internal review and writes a supplementary report on the bombing.
Ciaran MacAirt, grandson of Kathleen Irvine, who was killed in the blast, claimed the office of the Police Ombudsman is wilfully withholding information around the bombing.
A spokesman for the ombudsman said: The Police Ombudsman has received the complaint, which she will fully and carefully consider before issuing a response to the serious matters alleged.
A Newry man wanted by the PSNI in connection with serious crime in the Co Down area is thought to have fled to Australia in fear of his life following the murder of his father.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol could be agreed within days (Liam McBurney/PA) Liam McBurney
A deal that would allow a return of power-sharing in Northern Ireland is still possible in the coming days, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said, but it will require further concessions from Brussels.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that he had been encouraged by the progress that had been made in talks with the UK Government on the Northern Ireland Protocol, saying lines have been crossed by the EU side which it had previously refused to countenance.
However, he said Brussels needed to accept that goods traded within Northern Ireland were subject to UK laws and standards, and not those of the EU, if there was to be an agreement that would allow his party to return to power-sharing at Stormont.
It is possible given the level of progress that has been made and the principles that have already, Im told, been agreed the outstanding issues could be resolved within the next few days, he told reporters at Westminster.
In judging the progress I believe has been made so far, I think lines have been crossed. Therefore, that suggests to me there is the potential to resolve this issue.
He added: We cant have a situation where businesses in Northern Ireland are able to bring goods in from Great Britain and sell them as UK standard products, and make the same product themselves in Northern Ireland but they are required to make them to EU standards.
That is not acceptable.
Sir Jeffrey was speaking after briefing members of the Tory Eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) on his talks last week in Belfast with Rishi Sunak on the latest negotiations with the EU on the protocol.
He said that his party, which walked out of the Stormont executive in protest at the protocol which governs post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, would need to see a legal text before they could agree to support any new agreement.
ERG chairman Mark Francois said they would need to see a legal text (Victoria Jones/PA) Victoria Jones
He added: We recognise that progress has been made. There is still some way to go. There are still some very key issues that need to be resolved.
We will work with the Government to make sure that we get the right outcome an outcome that respects Northern Irelands place within the United Kingdom and its internal market.
His comments were echoed by ERG chairman Mark Francois, who insisted that they wanted to see a resolution to the long-running dispute over the application of the protocol.
He said: Any MP worth their salt if they are asked to vote on a deal wants to be able to read it first. Thats not unreasonable. That ultimately means a legal text.
A number of members of the ERG have warned that they would not be prepared to support an agreement in a Commons vote unless it is acceptable to the DUP.
If it was not, it could mean that Mr Sunak would have to rely on Labour votes to get it through something that he would almost certainly want to avoid given the damaging impact on his premiership.
Jacob Rees-Mogg has compared Rishi Sunaks negotiating position with Theresa Mays Brexit strategy (Jonathan Brady/PA) Jonathan Brady
Government insiders still believe a deal could be struck in the coming days, but acknowledged it would slip to next week if not concluded by the one-year anniversary of the start of the Ukrainian conflict on Friday.
Earlier Mr Sunak told the weekly Cabinet meeting that intensive negotiations with the EU continue on resolving the issues with the way the protocol was being enforced, Downing Street said.
The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: Negotiations have progressed and that is to be welcomed, but there still remain a number of unresolved issues.
Former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Mr Sunak of imitating Theresa Mays doomed Brexit strategy.
The prominent Brexiteer questioned why so much political capital was being spent on brokering a new deal without ensuring the DUP and the ERG were on board first.
On his ConservativeHome podcast, Mr Rees-Mogg said: There seems to me to be no point in agreeing a deal that does not restore powersharing.
That must be the objective. If it doesnt achieve that objective, I dont understand why the Government is spending political capital on something that wont ultimately succeed.
I dont know why so much political capital has been spent on something without getting the DUP and the ERG onside first.
He said it was very similar to what happened with Theresa May where a policy would be presented in the hope that people would conveniently fall in behind it.
Life doesnt work like that. Its important to get support for it first before you finalise the details and that doesnt seem to have been done here, he said.
"We are so proud of Daithi" - Daithi arrives in London as 'Daithi's Law' passes through Commons
Daithi Mac Gabhann high-fived his dad as MPs backed a new opt-out organ donation law for Northern Ireland, known as Daithis Law.
MPs supported the change to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill as it passed through its Commons stages.
The Bill received an unopposed second reading and will now head to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.
The law is named after six-year-old Daithi, who has been waiting for a heart transplant for most of his life.
Independent MLA Claire Sugden said that Stormont shouldnt need Westminster to do its job as she joined the chorus of politicians welcoming progress.
Ms Sugden said: This is fantastic news for all those who remain on organ transplant waiting lists and their families. The stress and uncertainty that have accompanied the year since the bill was agreed by the Assembly have been unnecessary.
It underlines the vital need to get our institutions up and running again in Northern Ireland, in order to progress the myriad of other important pieces of legislation and actions that are urgently required, she continued.
"We have devolution for a reason for locally accountable and locally elected politicians to make the laws and policies that local people need and deserve.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris noted Daithi was watching from the public gallery as MPs approved the change, saying the six-year-old was "going to make some history today".
He said: "Obviously I want to see the assembly in place, and the assembly should have done this ... I do recognise that this issue is so important that it warrants an exceptional intervention from the Government."
Shadow Northern Ireland minister Tonia Antoniazzi said: "I want to say thank you to Daithi, he's an inspirational little boy, and I'm not sure he knows yet quite how much of a difference he and his family have made across Northern Ireland, because frankly he has made history."
Local politicians also congratulated the familys hard fought Donate4Daithi campaign.
Sinn Fein MP Paul Maskey said: This is a hugely momentous day for little Daithi Mac Gabhann, his parents Mairtin and Seph and everyone who has campaigned with determination to get Daithis Law over the line.
Not only will this modernise our organ donation laws and put in place an opt-out system, but it will also give hope to every single person who is waiting for an organ transplant.
Daithis Law will save lives and it will change lives for the better. I want to congratulate the efforts of the Donate4Daithi campaign for getting us to this point.
Alliance MP Stephen Farry said the family have moved mountains for organ donation
[They have] managed to unite the Northern Ireland parties and UK Government at a time of great political upheaval, said Mr Farry.
The people of Northern Ireland owe Daithi, Seph and Mairtin a great deal. Their success gives hope to the rest of us fighting for progress in our society.
His party colleague, Alliance Health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw MLA said it was vital the law was now implemented as soon as possible.
It is now essential no further time is wasted on delivering the various components of this legislation, she said.
Meanwhile, the British Heart Foundation in Northern Ireland welcomed news the law is to pass.
Chief executive Dr Charmaine Griffiths, and head of the BHFNI Fearghal McKinney, were in Westminster to support the Mac Gabhann family.
Speaking after the vote, Mr McKinney said: Today is an historic day for Daithi, his parents Mairtin and Seph and for the entire organ donation and transplant community in Northern Ireland.
"It is a fitting tribute to the years of hard work and dedication by the family and everyone involved with the Donate4Daithi campaign.
"We were proud and honoured to be with Daithi and his family today at Westminster and throughout their journey. They are truly an inspiration.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could make another dash to Northern Ireland his second in seven days as talks around the protocol near an end.
While discussions between the EU and UK Government are said to be close to resolution, some key issues remain unresolved.
These include the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in arbitrating in any future legal disputes arising from trade through Northern Ireland.
Mr Sunak visited last Thursday, holding late night talks with the DUP, before having short meetings with the four other main parties on Friday and a further one hour meeting with the DUP. Downing Street had tried to keep Mr Sunaks visit last Thursday low key.
After the Prime Ministers plane touched down at George Best Belfast City Airport, he was whisked away to the Culloden Hotel in Co Down, entering via a rear exit.
Downing Street was contacted about speculation that the Prime Minister was planning a further visit this week, but did not respond at the time of going to press.
The expected visit follows a dramatic weekend in attempts to broker a deal to resolve the protocol, amid push-back from some DUP figures and Tory Brexiteers.
Sources say that much of the issues around trade have been resolved, although the DUP argue that even the lightest touch on goods in the Green Lane travelling from GB but for the NI market would be too much and that all internal trade should be completely frictionless and without checks.
The Red Lane would be an opt-in scheme for those businesses wanting to trade into the EU market, those businesses would be subject to EU law.
This is where negotiations are now concentrating, with the stumbling block around legislation and what role the ECJ will have in Northern Ireland.
The Belfast Telegraph understands the Irish government has been working closely with the EU to help iron out the remaining issues.
Sources say the Prime Minister could well be back in Northern Ireland as early as this evening or tomorrow to personally make sure that unionists are on board with the deals progress to date.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris held a videolink meeting with European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic yesterday.
Mr Sefcovic said prior to the meeting that the finishing line on the talks could clearly be seen but added being close doesnt mean being done.
Speaking on GB News yesterday, former First Minister Dame Arlene Foster said she believed there has been no further movement on the protocol deal as she criticised Mr Sunaks tactics during his visit to Belfast last week.
Dame Arlene said the Prime Minister shared information with the DUP during his last visit to Northern Ireland but there was no text shared or anything like that".
But he gave them a sense of where things were at and after that meeting, youll recall that [DUP leader] Jeffrey Donaldson came out and said, yes, there has been progress made, but that there was no real basis for a deal at that point, she said.
And I havent heard anything further since then.
Dame Arlene accused Mr Sunak of using the same tactics and same playbook as the previous prime ministers in their approach. In other words, do the negotiations and then, at the end, well show it to the DUP and say actually, it meets all of your tests without actually involving them up until that point with a view to actually getting it over the line and in a proper way.
Rishi Sunak has said he wants to put Northern Ireland first as he responded to questions about the anticipated deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Speaking during Wednesdays Prime Ministers Questions, Mr Sunak accused Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer of putting the EU first while he was putting Northern Ireland first.
He also said the Labour leader wanted to write a blank cheque to the EU to let them do whatever.
We are still in active discussions with the European Union, [Sir Keir] should know that I am a Conservative, Brexiteer and Unionist and any agreement we reach will tick all three boxes.
It needs to ensure sovereignty for Northern Ireland, it needs to safeguard for Northern Irelands place in our union and it needs to find practical solutions for the problems, by people and businesses.
"I will be resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Sir Keir responded to Mr Sunak by saying everyone agrees the protocol can be improved but said there are trade-offs required.
"Businesses in Northern Ireland were told no forms, no checks and no barriers of any kind absolutely nonsense and it destroyed trust, he said.
"The sound you here is them cheering the Prime Minister pulling the wool over their eyes.
"It's the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the 30th anniversary of the Downing Street declaration, Tony Blair and John Major both recognised that politics in Northern Ireland is built on trust and not telling people what they want to hear and the need to take seriously the concerns of both communities - nationalists and unionists."
Asked if the deal will confirm no hard border on the island of Ireland, Mr Sunak responded to the Labour leader to say he was jumping ahead.
Were still in intensive discussions for the EU to ensure we can find the agreement, said the Prime Minister.
"I have spent time engaging with businesses and people in Northern Ireland, I have a good understanding of what is required.
During the questioning, which was heavily dominated by questions concerning the protocol deal, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson thanked the Prime Minister for his efforts to achieve a deal but said it must be replaced with something acceptable.
It's unacceptable that EU laws are imposed on Northern Ireland: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson addresses Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
He also asked if Mr Sunak accepts how important the constitutional and democratic issues are in getting a solution and if he believes its unacceptable EU laws are imposed on Northern Ireland.
"I have heard loud and clear when [the DUP] say they want these issues resolved so a basis to work with others and restore power sharing. It is vital these are addressed, responded Mr Sunak.
"I can assure [Sir Jeffrey] that addressing the democratic deficient is an essential part in negotiations that remain ongoing with the European Union. I can assure him these are at the very heart of the issues which must be addressed.
CEO Manufacturing NI, Stephen Kelly, spoke to the Prime Minister regarding the Protocol.
He said: "It was very clear that the Prime Minister was not only fully engaged but had an intimate understanding of the issues and the need to strike the balance between protecting consumers and the market access our exporters depend upon.
Whilst we didnt discuss the detail of any deal nor the timing, the Prime Minister clearly understood the issues and that he was committed to finding agreement with the EU, he added.
The Prime Minister was impressed with the detailed and pragmatic contribution which business has made and wished to ensure that business and others would have a role in mechanisms to resolve issues in to the future should they emerge."
The minutes silence will be lead from the Parliament Buildings at Stormont on Friday. The building was previously was lit up blue to mark Ukrainian Independence Day in August
The Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker will lead a national minutes silence on Friday to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Speaker Alex Maskey will lead the silence in Stormonts Great Hall on Friday, 24th February at 11am.
It marks one year since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine from the north, east and south in what he called a special military operation aimed at demilitarization and de-nazification of the country.
The invasion received widespread public condemnation internationally with multple sanctions put in place against Russia, including the removal of many Western services in the country.
Thousands of Ukrainians have been killed or had to flee from their homes, causing international displacement.
The Northern Ireland Assembly will join other countries across the world in marking the anniversary, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expected to lead the silence from Downing Street.
Speaker Maskey will be joined by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Presiding Officer of Senedd Cymru Elin Jones and the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone.
A rally is also planned in Belfast on Saturday to mark the anniversary, with Ukrainians in Northern Ireland organising a walk from Botanic Avenue to Belfast City Hall at 1pm.
We invite everyone who cares to join the peaceful rally in the city of Belfast on February 25 starting at 13.00 to meet at Botanic Avenue the group said.
Truth about decades-old baby murder may have gone to the grave with man linked to case
39% of time spent on chores could be automated within 10 years (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Dominic Lipinski
Around four in 10 hours currently devoted to chores like laundry and cleaning could be automated in a decade, experts suggest.
Among household tasks, time spent on grocery shopping was seen as most automatable, with ironing, dishwashing and cooking also featuring on the list.
But the study also found that just over a quarter (28%) of care work is predicted to become automated in the not-too-distant future.
The University of Oxford and Japans Ochanomizu University research suggests time currently spent on this task would fall by nearly 60%.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) experts believe time spent on physical childcare would only be reduced by 21% as a result of automation.
According to the study, male and female experts have different expectations about automation of domestic work, potentially reflecting the differences in their life experiences.
Past research suggests working age people in the UK spend nearly 50% of all their work and study time on unpaid domestic work such as cooking, cleaning, and care.
The new findings suggest the potential for an increase in leisure time as domestic tasks get automated.
In the UK, the effects are likely to affect women more than men, as experts suggest working age men spend around half as much time on domestic unpaid work as working age women.
Dr Lulu Shi, a postdoctoral researcher with the Oxford Internet Institute, said: Our research suggests, on average, around 39% of our time spent on domestic work can be automated in the next 10 years.
The degree of automation varies substantially across different types of work. However, only 28% of care work, including activities such as teaching your child, accompanying your child, or taking care of an older family member, is predicted to be automated.
Yet 44% of housework, including cooking, cleaning, and shopping, are expected to be automatable.
The findings are based on responses from AI experts in the UK and Japan, when asked what difference automation was going to make to housework and other unpaid work.
The researchers found the estimates were influenced by the personal background of the experts.
Ekaterina Hertog, associate professor in AI and Society, Oxford Internet Institute and Ethics in AI Institute, said: We found male and female experts had different expectations about automation of domestic work, potentially reflecting the differences in their lived experiences with technology as well as their involvement in housework and care work.
Male UK experts tended to be more optimistic about domestic automation compared with their female counterparts, the study found.
This is in line with previous studies, which show men tend to be more optimistic about technology than women.
But this was reversed for Japanese male and female experts and the authors speculate the Japanese gender disparity in household tasks could play a role in these results.
According to the study, the general level of optimism in respect of domestic automation also varied by country.
On average, UK-based experts thought automation could reduce domestic work time by 42%, compared with a 36% reduction expected by Japanese respondents.
The authors suggest this may be because technology is associated more with labour replacement in the UK.
While in Japan new smart technologies are expected to work alongside humans rather than replace them.
The study, published in Plos One, involved 29 male and female AI experts from the UK and 36 experts from Japan.
They were asked to estimate the degree to which 17 housework and care tasks might be automated over the next decade.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman during a visit to Warrington Police Station, Cheshire, as part of the announcement of a tough crackdown on domestic abuse. The most dangerous domestic abusers will be monitored more closely and electronically tagged under a raft of new proposals to crack down on the crime. Picture date: Monday February 20, 2023. Danny Lawson
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said housing asylum seekers in hotels is causing understandable tensions following ugly clashes between protesters.
She said violence was never acceptable but we are all frustrated with the situation and it is not racist or bigoted to acknowledge the problems caused to communities.
Anti-migrant protesters have gathered in recent weeks outside hotels in Knowsley, Merseyside and Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where they have clashed with counter-demonstrators.
A burnt out police van after a demonstration outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside, where people were protesting against asylum seekers (Peter Powell/PA) Peter Powell
Asked if she supported the protesters, Ms Braverman said: I very much understand peoples frustrations with hotels being occupied by large numbers of illegal immigrants or asylum seekers.
In an interview with GB News, Ms Braverman said: Violence is never acceptable and intimidation, harassment, any forms of abuse to anybody should be condemned and I condemn them in the fullest possible terms.
And its clear that we have an unsustainable situation in towns and cities around our country whereby, because of the overwhelming numbers of people arriving here illegally and our legal duties to accommodate them, we are now having to house them in hotels.
And that is causing understandable tensions within communities, pressures on local resources and is frankly unsustainable.
Ahead of a demonstration planned outside a hotel in Newquay, Cornwall later this month, the county council leader Linda Taylor branded the protesters racist and bigoted.
But Ms Braverman said: It is clear and undeniable that there are really serious pressures on communities and saying so does not make you racist or bigoted.
The Government is trying to find alternative accommodation for asylum seekers, including empty holiday parks, former student halls or disused military barracks.
At Prime Ministers Questions, Rishi Sunak said the Home Secretary would make a formal update in the coming weeks on progress in finding alternatives to hotels.
The Home Secretary pledged to do whatever it takes to put in place a system to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats including the possibility of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
At this stage, nothings ruled out, she said.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Stefan Rousseau
We need to ensure that we fix this problem of illegal migration. Thats my priority and as the Prime Minister himself has said, hell do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
Weve had 45,000 people last year arrive here illegally on small boats. That situation is unacceptable.
We need to design a robust framework. We need to have a deterrent so people stop making the journey in the first place. And we have to do whatever it takes to ensure that we can deliver that.
The first stage of an inquest into the fatal shooting of a GAA official in Co Londonderry 26 years ago is set to open next month.
Sean Brown, 61, was abducted in Bellaghy by loyalist terrorists and shot dead in May 1997.
He was taken by a Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) gang as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GA Club in May 1997.
No-one has been convicted of his murder.
The funeral of Sean Brown at the Church of St Mary, Bellaghy, in 1997 (PA) PA
A preliminary hearing at Belfast Coroners Court, on Wednesday, heard that a date is to be set is to be set in March to hear some available evidence, including a statement from Mr Browns elderly widow, and a penned portrait about him by his daughter.
Desmond Fahy KC, for the Brown family, described a most welcome development.
A date for the opening of this inquest is one for which they have waited a long time and we are very heartened to hear that that date will now be identified in March, he said.
However, coroner Patrick Kinney heard of a number of challenges to preparing other aspects of the inquest.
These include around the disclosure of sensitive material from police and the Ministry of Defence, as well as a lack of response from an Irish Government department.
Mark Robinson KC, for the PSNI, outlined demands on police resources from a number of legacy inquests taking place and being prepared, as well as other litigation demands.
He said a five-year plan to hear legacy inquests has been significantly compressed due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as proposed legislation to deal with Northern Irelands troubled past.
While (in this case) the material has been reviewed and directions have been issued, there are a number of outworkings from those notes that will indeed generate further sensitive material for review, and indeed create further documents that will have PII (public interest immunity) contained within those documents, he said.
Asked about a timeframe, Mr Robinson said that given the number of variables, its impossible to give a timeframe.
Meanwhile, counsel for the coroner described another disclosure matter in terms of a request for assistance to the Irish department of foreign affairs.
It is around an advisory committee during the second police investigation into Mr Browns murder, which included representatives from that department.
He said they had written a number of times to the department but, to date, have had no substantive response.
We will look at what the formal process is to see if we can take that any further, he said.
The coroner is also set to consider whether potential suspects in the case will be engaged with for the inquest.
A number of individuals were considered suspects by the police service during the various investigations, one of the issues (the coroner) will have to determine is whether, and to what extent, the inquest wishes to engage with those individuals, the counsel for the coroner said.
Shamima Begum has lost an appeal against revoking her British citizenship (PA) PA
Shamima Begum has failed in her legal bid to challenge the decision to deprive her of her British citizenship.
Ms Begum was 15 years old when she travelled from Bethnal Green, east London, through Turkey and into territory controlled by the so-called Islamic State (IS).
Her British citizenship was revoked shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019.
Ms Begum, now 23, brought a challenge against the Home Office over this decision at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), a specialist tribunal which hears challenges to decisions to remove someones British citizenship on national security grounds.
Following a five-day hearing in November, the tribunal dismissed her challenge on Wednesday.
Giving the decision of the commission, Mr Justice Jay said that the tribunal found that there was a credible suspicion Ms Begum had been trafficked to Syria for sexual exploitation, to which, as a child, she could not give a valid consent.
In the commissions opinion, there is a credible suspicion that Ms Begum was recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation, he continued in the ruling.
Kadiza Sultana, Shamima Begum and Amira Abase pictured as they fled to Syria (Metropolitan Police/PA) Metropolitan Police
However, the specialist tribunal ruled that a finding that Ms Begum had been trafficked did not prevent the then-home secretary from removing her citizenship.
Mr Justice Jay also said in a summary of the commissions decision that the existence of this suspicion was insufficient for her to succeed on her arguments that the deprivation of her British citizenship failed to respect her human rights, adding that given she was now in Syria, the Home Secretary was not compelled to facilitate her return nor stopped from using deprivation powers.
He continued in a 76-page public judgment: This Secretary of State maintains that national security is a weighty factor and that it would take a very strong countervailing case to outweigh it.
Reasonable people will profoundly disagree with the Secretary of State, but that raises wider societal and political questions which it is not the role of this commission to address.
During the hearing, Ms Begums lawyers previously argued that her school and the police both missed opportunities to prevent her travel to Syria.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Jay said: The police, the school, the local authority, the Home Office and the Security Services have been blamed in various ways.
In our view, putting the matter at its very lowest, there is an arguable case of failing to take reasonable preventative measures directed against the police, the school and the local authority.
The case against the Home Office is less clear-cut; the case against the Security Services appears thin.
Former home secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the decision (Yui Mok/PA) Yui Mok
Wednesdays decision has been welcomed by the Home Office and former home secretary Sajid Javid.
A department spokesperson said: We are pleased that the court has found in favour of the Governments position in this case.
The Governments priority remains maintaining the safety and security of the UK and we will robustly defend any decision made in doing so.
Mr Javid, who made the decision to strip Ms Begum of her British citizenship, said: I welcome todays court ruling, which has again upheld my decision to remove an individuals citizenship on national security grounds.
This is a complex case but home secretaries should have the power to prevent anyone entering our country who is assessed to pose a threat to it.
Amnesty International has criticised the ruling.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, the charitys UK refugee and migrant rights director, said: This is a very disappointing decision.
He continued: The power to banish a citizen like this simply shouldnt exist in the modern world, not least when were talking about a person who was seriously exploited as a child.
Just as other nations have done, the UK should be helping any of its citizens stranded in Syria including by assisting in their safe return to the UK, whether or not that means facing possible criminal investigation or prosecution.
Lawyers acting on behalf of Ms Begum said Wednesdays ruling has left no protection for a British child trafficked out of the UK.
In a statement Gareth Pierce and Daniel Furner, from Birnberg Pierce Solicitors, said: The outcome is that there is now no protection for a British child trafficked out of the UK if the home secretary invokes national security.
Regrettably, this is a lost opportunity to put into reverse a profound mistake and a continuing injustice.
Ms Begum remains in unlawful, arbitrary and indefinite detention without trial in a Syrian camp. Every possible avenue to challenge this decision will be urgently pursued.
The Foreign Office did not put a figure on the numbers of people returning (Victoria Jones/PA) Victoria Jones
Ukrainian refugees are returning to their homes because, in some cases, they are running out of money, according to Foreign Office officials.
Millions of people have been displaced in the eastern European country following Russian president Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022.
While western countries, including the UK, took in those refugees fleeing the conflict, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the humanitarian picture now included providing for those going back to their homeland.
Some who moved to other areas of Ukraine while their neighbourhood was transformed into the frontline are also beginning to return to their places of origin or nearby cities, despite the risks involved and lack of basic services available.
Urban areas like Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, situated in the north-east of the war-torn country, witnessed intense fighting in the opening months of the invasion and continues to be shelled by the Kremlins troops.
But, with the year anniversary of the conflict set to be marked on Friday, the threat of Russian missiles has not put people off from returning to the city, officials said.
Foreign Office humanitarian adviser Fred Robarts, speaking from Kyiv, told reporters on Wednesday: What weve been hearing here is that numerous displaced people have been returning to their places of origin or nearby cities, like Kharkiv, despite the evident risks and the high levels of destruction in those places and the shortage of basic services.
And the reason for that is they are running out of savings.
Kharkiv University faculty building following a Russian missile attack in March 2022 (State Emergency Service of Ukraine/PA) State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Obviously it is more complex than that, but that is driving some of those returns.
The FCDO was reluctant to put a figure on the numbers of people returning.
Alex Stevens, group head of the Ukraine humanitarian team at the FCDO, said the latest figures from January 23 suggested that 5.5 million people had been displaced internally by the war, with that number down from 5.9 million in December.
He told reporters: While some people are returning to their home areas, others continue to move away from the places where conflict is affecting them the most.
So most of the new displacements are in the east.
Mr Stevens said there were widespread protection concerns for those who had been displaced, including about human rights abuses, sexual violence and the forced deportation and relocation of civilians to Russian-occupied areas and also to mainland Russia.
Those people remaining in the country faced regular attacks on energy and water supplies, the FCDO said.
Officials said there had been 755 verified attacks on healthcare sites during the conflict and 3,000 strikes on education facilities, with 400 destroyed.
In cities and towns reclaimed by Ukrainian armed forces, 90% of buildings had been damaged or destroyed.
Mr Stevens added: The invasion is also leading to a significant rise in the cost-of-living by limiting livelihood opportunities and straining social services.
All of this is of course driving the humanitarian needs.
The reduced incomes and insecurity are also forcing people to adopt harmful coping strategies.
That includes reducing how much they eat and how much they spend on medicines and utilities.
Health services in Ukraine were under immense strain, Mr Stevens said, with 26% of people reporting a lack of access to essential medicines and care.
On top of the assaults on public facilities, Mr Stevens said it was estimated that 30% of Ukraine an area twice the size of Austria was contaminated with unexploded ordnance and landmines, presenting a challenge for aid efforts and population safety.
The UK has provided 220 million for the humanitarian response in Ukraine, with the money being deployed through the United Nations, Red Cross and other non-government organisations.
Mr Robarts said the funding made the UK one of the largest bilateral donors when it came to humanitarian aid, with its contribution helping to reach 13 million people.
Protestors hold a sign asking US President Joe Biden to send fighter jets to the Ukraine as he leaves his hotel for the Polish Presidential Palace (Alastair Grant/AP) Alastair Grant
Joe Biden says Russian President Vladimir Putin made a big mistake by suspending his countrys participation in the the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty.
The US president was in Poland to reassure eastern flank Nato allies the US will remain by their sides amid the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In his first comments since Mr Putins announcement on Tuesday, Mr Biden condemned the Russian decision to pull back from the treaty, known as New Start.
The decision to suspend Russian co-operation with the treatys nuclear warhead and missile inspections follows Moscows cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that both sides have accused the other of violating.
President Joe Biden is greeted by, from left, Romania President Klaus Werner Iohannis, Biden, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Slovakia President Suzana Caputova, right (Evan Vucci/AP) Evan Vucci
Mr Bidens comments came as he was wrapping up a whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine with talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations in the most eastern parts of the Nato alliance that came together in response to Mr Putins 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine drags on, the Bucharest Nine countries anxieties have remained heightened. Many worry Mr Putin could move to take military action against them next if he is successful in Ukraine. The alliance includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
When Russia invaded, it wasnt just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced a test for the ages, Mr Biden said in an address from the foot of Warsaws Royal Castle on Tuesday to mark the sombre milestone of the year-old Russian invasion. Europe was being tested. America was being tested. Nato was being tested. All democracies were being tested.
Addressing concerns of the Nato members that they could be next, Mr Biden on Tuesday pledged Americas ironclad commitment to the mutual-defence treaty and Ukraines defence.
Appetites of the autocrat cannot be appeased, he said. They must be opposed.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the right-wing populist leader who argued last week that the European Union is partly to blame for prolonging Russias war in Ukraine, has balked at sanctions on Moscow and arming Kyiv. Mr Orban was skipping the meeting with Mr Biden and President Katalin Novak was attending in his stead.
Still, Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, insisted The B9 is stronger than ever.
A man wears a face mask of Mr Biden as he waits outside the Presidential Palace in Warsaw (Czarek Sokolowski/AP) Czarek Sokolowski
Mr Putin on Tuesday delivered his own address, in which he lashed out against Ukraine and its western allies. The Russian president also announced Moscow would suspend its participation in the US-Russia arms control treaty. The move is expected to have an immediate impact on US visibility into Russian nuclear activities but the pact was already on life support.
Mr Biden met on Tuesday in Warsaw with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who last week claimed Moscow was behind a plot to overthrow her countrys government using external saboteurs.
Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and one of Europes poorest countries, the Eastern European nation has had historic ties to Russia but wants to join the 27-nation European Union. Mr Biden in his remarks endorsed Moldovas bid to join the EU.
Im proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova, Mr Biden said of Ms Sandu and her country in his Tuesday address.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has sought to forge closer ties with its western partners. Last June, it was granted EU candidate status, the same day as Ukraine.
Ms Sandu spoke out last week about a Russian plot to overthrow the constitutional order. She spoke out after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova. Those claims were later confirmed by Moldovan intelligence officials.
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Mr Bidens speech on the Ukraine war came one day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv, a grand gesture of solidarity with Ukraine. The address was part affirmation of Europes role in helping Ukraine repel Russias ongoing invasion and part sharply worded warning to Mr Putin that the US will not abide Moscow defeating Ukraine.
The White House has praised several eastern flank countries, including Lithuania, Poland and Romania, over the last year for stepping up efforts to back Ukraine with weapons and economic aid and taking in refugees.
Mr Biden has given particular attention to Polands efforts. The country is hosting about 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees and has committed 3.14 billion in military and economic assistance to Kyiv.
The truth of the matter is: the United States needs Poland and Nato as much as Nato needs the United States, Mr Biden said during talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
President Joe Biden delivers a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Warsaw (Evan Vucci/AP) Evan Vucci
US President Joe Biden is wrapping up his whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine by reassuring eastern flank Nato allies that his administration is highly attuned to the looming threats and other impacts spurred by the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Before departing Warsaw on Wednesday, Mr Biden will hold talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations on the most eastern parts of the Nato alliance that came together in response to Russian President Vladimir Putins 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine drags on, the Bucharest Nine countries anxieties have remained heightened. Many worry Mr Putin could move to take military action against them next if he is successful in Ukraine.
The alliance includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
When Russia invaded, it wasnt just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced a test for the ages, Mr Biden said in an address from the foot of Warsaws Royal Castle on Tuesday to mark the sombre milestone of the year-old Russian invasion.
Europe was being tested. America was being tested. Nato was being tested. All democracies were being tested.
Mr Putin on Tuesday delivered his own address, in which he lashed out against Ukraine and its western allies. The Russian president also said Moscow will suspend its participation in the last remaining US-Russia arms control treaty. The move is expected to have an immediate impact on US visibility into Russian nuclear activities, though the pact was already on life support.
Mr Putins decision to suspend Russian co-operation with the treatys nuclear warhead and missile inspections follows Moscows cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that both sides have accused the other of violating.
Mr Biden met on Tuesday in Warsaw with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who last week claimed Moscow was behind a plot to overthrow her countrys government using external saboteurs.
Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and one of Europes poorest countries, the Eastern European nation has had historic ties to Russia but wants to join the 27-nation European Union. Mr Biden in his remarks endorsed Moldovas bid to join the EU.
Two protestors wrapped in Ukrainian flags take images next to a sign asking US President Joe Biden to send fighter jets to the Ukraine during the presidents visit to Warsaw (Michal Dyjuk/AP) Michal Dyjuk
Im proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova, Mr Biden said of Ms Sandu and her country in his Tuesday address.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has sought to forge closer ties with its western partners. Last June, it was granted EU candidate status, the same day as Ukraine.
Ms Sandu spoke out last week about a Russian plot to overthrow the constitutional order. She spoke out after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova. Those claims were later confirmed by Moldovan intelligence officials.
Mr Bidens speech on the Ukraine war came one day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv, a grand gesture of solidarity with Ukraine. The address was part affirmation of Europes role in helping Ukraine repel Russias ongoing invasion and part sharply worded warning to Mr Putin that the US will not abide Moscow defeating Ukraine.
The White House has praised several eastern flank countries, including Lithuania, Poland and Romania, over the last year for stepping up efforts to back Ukraine with weapons and economic aid and taking in refugees.
Mr Biden has given particular attention to Polands efforts. The country is hosting about 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees and has committed 3.14 billion in military and economic assistance to Kyiv.
The truth of the matter is: the United States needs Poland and Nato as much as Nato needs the United States, Mr Biden said during talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
A youth holds a white rose at the entrance of a private Catholic school after a teacher of Spanish was stabbed to death (AP Photo/Bob Edme) Bob Edme
A high school student has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a teacher to death in front of other students in a classroom in southwestern France, it has been reported.
An investigation has been opened for suspected premeditated murder into the incident on Wednesday at a private Catholic school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Bayonne prosecutor Jerome Bourrier said.
Investigators were able to interview the suspect on Wednesday afternoon, he added.
The student was not previously known to police and justice services, Mr Bourrier said. He declined to provide more details amid the ongoing investigation.
Police officers guard the entrance of a private Catholic school after a teacher was stabbed to death in Saint-Jean-de-Luz (AP Photo/Bob Edme) Bob Edme
Education ninister Pap Ndiaye, who travelled to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, said a minute of silence will be held in all French schools on Thursday at 3pm.
He said about 90 students, including those who witnessed the attack, as well as some teachers, are being taken care of by a psychology unit.
A government official, speaking anonymously because he was not allowed to discuss the issue publicly, said the first elements communicated by police suggest the attacker has severe mental health issues.
French media reported that the student, born in 2007, said he heard voices telling him to kill the 53-year-old Spanish language teacher.
French government spokesman Olivier Veran, speaking after a weekly Cabinet meeting, expressed the governments support for the education community and said the event represents a trauma for the nation.
In 2020, teacher Samuel Paty was killed outside his school in suburban Paris by an 18-year-old refugee of Chechen origin.
The attacker was angry at the teacher showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in class after the images were re-published by a satirical newspaper targeted in a 2015 attack.
The sun rises behind the landfall facility of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the transfer station of the Opal gas pipeline, the Baltic Sea Pipeline Link, in Lubmin, Germany (Markus Schreiber/AP) Markus Schreiber
Russia clashed with the United States and other western nations over the Kremlins call for a UN investigation into last Septembers sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to western Europe.
Russias UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council Moscow has no trust in the separate investigations being carried out by Denmark, Sweden and Germany, but does fully trust UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres to establish an independent international investigation into the explosions.
The US, United Kingdom, France and others said authorities from the three countries are still investigating the pipeline attacks and the real reason Russia has raised Nord Stream 1 and 2 now is to divert attention from the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine and high-level UN activities for the next three days, including adoption of a General Assembly resolution condemning Moscows action.
Todays meeting is a blatant attempt to distract from this, US minister-counsellor John Kelley told the council. As the world unites this week to call for a just and secure peace in Ukraine consistent with the UN Charter, Russia desperately wants to change the subject.
Russian ambassador Vasily Nebenzia confers during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine last March (Bebeto Matthews/AP) Bebeto Matthews
Ahead of the meeting, the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden and Germany sent a letter to council members saying their investigations have established the pipelines were extensively damaged by powerful explosions due to sabotage.
The letter, circulated on Tuesday morning, said further investigations are being conducted in all three countries and that it is unclear when they will finish. It says Russian authorities have been informed about the investigations.
But Russias deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told reporters: They are claiming that they are informing Russia about it, which is not true Any attempt for us to get any information was rejected by them or ignored.
Russia circulated a draft resolution to council members late last week, asking the UN secretary-general to urgently establish a commission to investigate the Nord Stream attacks. Security Council experts held closed consultations on Monday on the proposed resolution and council diplomats said there was opposition to it.
Mr Nebenzia said Moscow has not been allowed to join investigations by any of the three countries, saying they are not only not transparent, but it is quite clear that they seek just to cover the tracks and stick up for their American brother.
Russia has alleged that the US was behind the sabotage, which its proposed resolution says occurred after the repeated threats to the Nord Stream by the leadership of the United States.
Mr Kelley, the US diplomat, responded, telling the council: Clearly and plainly: accusations that the United States was involved in this act of sabotage are completely false. The United States was not involved in any way.
Pipes at the landfall facilities of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipline are pictured in Lubmin, northern Germany (Michael Sohn/AP) Michael Sohn
Nord Stream 1 carried Russian gas to Germany until Moscow cut off supplies at the end of August 2022. Nord Stream 2 never entered service as Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 2022. The explosions on both occurred on September 26.
UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Security Council, saying the UN is not in a position to verify any claims relating to the explosions and urging all concerned to show restraint and avoid any speculation.
While exactly what happened beneath the waters of the Baltic Sea in September 2022 is still unclear, whatever caused the incident, its fallout counts among the many risks the invasion of Ukraine has unleashed, she said.
Economist Jeffrey Sachs told the council the consequences of the sabotage were enormous not only from the economic losses but in the heightened threat to all cross-border infrastructure, including undersea internet cables and offshore wind farms.
It is the responsibility of the UN Security Council to take up the question of who might have carried out the act in order to bring the perpetrator to international justice, to pursue compensation for the damaged parties and to prevent future such actions, he said.
Mr Sachs, a Columbia University professor, is also director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development. He was invited to speak by Russia and said he appeared before the council on his own behalf.
Mr Sachs said the destruction of the pipelines required a very high degree of planning, expertise and technological capacity, and to do so in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden adds greatly to the complexity of the operation.
Only a handful of state level actors have both the technical capacity and access to the Baltic Sea to have carried out this action including the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, either individually or in some combination, Mr Sachs said. Ukraine lacks the necessary technologies as well as access to the Baltic Sea.
In their letter to the council, Denmark, Sweden and Germany reiterated that acts of sabotage against the pipelines were unacceptable, endanger international security and give cause for our deep concern.
They added that concerns about the indirect effects on greenhouse gas emissions are substantial and worrisome.
The Russian draft resolution expresses serious concern at the devastating consequences to the environment from the acts of sabotage, which also pose a threat to international peace and security.
Its all over: Meghan will find it very hard to come back to UK now
Allison Morris reveals that the protection money Fox was paying republicans to avoid assassination was never passed on.
Sean Fox was fatally shot at Donegal Celtic in Belfast last year
The murder of Sean Fox in October 2022 sent shockwaves through Belfast and beyond.
The Belfast Telegraph now understands that Sean Fox believed he was safe - as he was paying off a dissident republican organisation but it now seems that money never reached them.
The 42-year-old was gunned down by two assassins in a crowded public place on a Sunday afternoon.
It was the latest in a series of murders linked to drug-dealing and the so-called Marbella Crew.
The Belfast Telegraphs crime correspondent Allison Morris tells Ciaran Dunbar the story.
Cottonbro/Pexels
Does a digital identity represent the mark of the beast and fulfill the end-time prophecy of the Antichrist?
Our world is constantly creating new digital identities. Everything from driver's licenses to passports will soon be only accepted as a digital form. Are those forms dangerous to Christians and the same as receiving a mark on the forehead from the Antichrist himself?
The Bible doesn't specifically mention digital identities, but it does talk about our identity in general. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." This verse reminds us that God has a good plan for our lives and that we can trust Him no matter what.
In addition, the Bible mentions that we are all God's children. Romans 8:16, it says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." This verse reminds us that we are all valuable and loved by God. We can find our identity in Him no matter what else happens in our lives.
Many Christians believe a digital identity is a precursor to the Antichrist and have asked lawmakers to allow a religious exemption from getting any license that uses biometrics. They recited revelations in the request to which it was denied.
The end-times prophecy says that one day Antichrist will arise, and he will deceive the world with his words. Once Antichrist has arisen, he will proclaim himself to be God. He will claim to have all the power and authority of God, and he will demand that everyone worship him. He will also try to change the laws of God so that people can only worship him. Anyone who does not bow down to Antichrist will be persecuted.
The Antichrist will rise to power in the last days and establish a global economic system that allows him to control the buying and selling of goods and services. (Revelation 13:17) He will be a master of manipulation, and his economic policies will be ruthless. The poor will suffer while he amasses great wealth.
Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
Revelation 13:1118
What is the Mark of the Beast?
Christians are very familiar with the mark of the beast, which is also associated with the number 666 and represents Satan. A mark from the beast is seen as a tribal identification and punishment. It is believed that a mark is seen as a sign of ownership and the person displaying the mark is a disgrace. The mark is placed on a person's forehead or hand. Now with the breakthroughs in chip implantation and the push for digital identities, there has obviously been an increased interest in the mark of the beast.
Digital Identity and the Mark of the Beast
Getting a chip implant or even a digital identity form does not represent the mark of the beast. In Revelations, it is said that only those who worship the Antichrist will receive the mark. If you stay true to your Christian convictions, you have nothing to worry about. Be wary of false Christs but do not fear a digital form as this will not be the mark of the beast. The Antichrist will be much more deceiving, as Christ warned. As long as you stay focused on the real Jesus, you will live a life of glory.
A digital identity does not promote greed or arrogance. It instead allows for more efficiency and accuracy in communication. The Antichrist will instead try to enter your life in the form of a false god, so be wary of any figure that asks you to worship them when their message is not in line with the word of God. The true God will never ask Christians to worship anyone other than Him.
As a Christian, ask yourself if you have neglected the righteousness of God, and if you have, you still have time to repent. God will never leave those in the hands of the Antichrist that believe in his holiness.
Chinese company likely to offer normalized space travel service in 2031
People's Daily Online) 08:36, February 22, 2023
With the development of suborbital space technology, suborbital space travel for paying passengers is expected to be a reality in the near future.
CAS Space, a Chinese Academy of Sciences launch spinoff, will continue to develop space travel spacecraft, and plans to launch and recover its first unmanned space travel spacecraft by 2025 and achieve normalized space travel services by 2031, said Li Winfeng, Deputy General Manager of Zhongke Aerospace (Guangzhou) Equipment Industry Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of CAS Space.
This means that experiential space travel, which lasts one hour from launch to return and includes a weightless period of 5 to 10 minutes, will soon come true.
CAS Space, a Chinese Academy of Sciences launch spinoff, will continue to develop space travel spacecraft, and plans to launch and recover its first unmanned space travel spacecraft by 2025 and achieve normalized space travel services by 2031. (Photo/China Economic Network)
Photo shows a space capsule at the exhibition hall of CAS Space in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo/China Economic Network)
Photo shows a space capsule at the exhibition hall of CAS Space in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo/China Economic Network)
(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Du Mingming)
Two people on a motorcycle pass the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the countrys first nuclear power plant, which Russia is helping build, in Pabna District, west of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 14, 2023.
Moscow has told Dhaka it is seriously concerned about the decision to ban the entry of Washington-sanctioned Russian ships into Bangladesh ports, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Bangladesh envoy to Moscow, Kamrul Ahsan, was summoned Tuesday by the Russian foreign ministry and told that the ban did not bode well for the sectors the nations cooperate in, the Russian statement issued Tuesday said.
In January, Bangladesh banned the entry of nearly 70 United States-sanctioned Russian ships, weeks after blocking another one carrying goods for a huge nuclear power plant that Moscow is helping Dhaka build.
In its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry spoke obliquely of the help it is providing Bangladesh, saying that blocking its ships may have a negative impact on the prospects for our cooperation in various fields.
During the conversation [with Ahsan], the current state of Russian-Bangladeshi cooperation was discussed, a number of aspects of which cause serious concern to the Russian side, said the statement posted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on its website.
In particular, they drew the attention of the head of the diplomatic mission to information about the decision of the authorities of his country to ban the entry into their ports of Russian ships carrying goods for Bangladesh.
BenarNews reported earlier this month that according to a Jan. 16 notification, Bangladesh banned the entry of 69 large cargo ships belonging to seven Russian companies, in accordance with United States sanctions on them.
The United States and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Russian entities following Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
On Christmas Eve, Dhaka had blocked sanctioned Russian ship Ursa Major, which was carrying cargo apparently to be delivered to the countrys Rooppur nuclear power plant, which Russian state-run Rosatom is constructing.
On Wednesday, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry confirmed its envoy was summoned, but said it would brief the media about it on Thursday.
We asked our ambassador to send a report. We are going to analyze what was discussed, Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told reporters.
We have already informed that not only this particular issue, some other bilateral issues were also discussed at the meeting.
The minister declined to comment on a report by Russian state media TASS, which said Bangladesh had blocked the ships under the threat of secondary U.S. sanctions.
Ensure balanced relations
Bangladesh is caught in the middle of a U.S.-Russia power struggle and the timing of the Russian summons is telling, an analyst said.
Its a challenge for Bangladesh to maintain relations with both the U.S. and Russia, Imtiaz Ahmed, a professor of international relations at Dhaka University, told BenarNews.
Recent visits by some high-profile U.S. officials to Bangladesh have made it clear that the country is trying to ensure dominance here. Now, its the duty of Bangladeshi diplomats to ensure balanced relations.
He was referring to last weeks visit to Bangladesh by U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet. Additionally, Donald Lu , assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, and Rear Adm. Eileen Laubacher, senior director for South Asia, National Security Council, visited the South Asian nation last month.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina counts Russia as one of her strongest allies. The ties between her Awami League party and the Russian state date to Bangladeshs war of independence in 1971, which the Soviet Union supported.
Immediately after she returned to power following the 2008 election, Hasina signed a treaty with Russia to build the Rooppur nuclear power plant. The costliest infrastructure project ever undertaken in Bangladesh, it has solidified ties between the two countries.
An official at Rosatom, the nuclear corporation building the Bangladesh nuclear plant, said the Russian firm plans to send some light equipment for the plant via air.
Most of the heavy materials have already been sent to the site, said the Rosatom official in Bangladesh, who asked not be named because he is not allowed to talk to the media.
If needed, the company would use such vessels which are out of sanctions, in the future, he told BenarNews.
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi (right) and her Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, speak to reporters following their meeting in Jakarta, Feb. 22, 2023.
China and Southeast Asian countries will accelerate South China Sea code of conduct talks, Beijing and ASEAN chairman Indonesia said on Wednesday amid regional tensions as the superpower has refused to relinquish its claim to almost the entire waterway.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, told reporters about their discussions following their meeting in Jakarta, the latters first visit to Indonesia as foreign minister.
The two sides will work with other ASEAN countries to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), accelerate consultations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, and jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, Qin said after talks with Retno.
Qin also met with Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo, who conveyed the importance of peace and stability in Southeast Asia.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China signed the non-binding DOC in November 2002 as a basis for a peaceful dispute resolution on the South China Sea, but this was not implemented successfully.
The waterway, one of the worlds busiest for shipping, and a source for oil, natural gas and minerals, is claimed by ASEAN member-states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
While Indonesia does not regard itself as a party to the dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesias exclusive economic zone.
Earlier this month, Retno said Indonesia would host several rounds of negotiations on the code of conduct , with the first one to take place next month.
On Wednesday, Retno said South China Sea COC talks would be intensified.
Indonesia and ASEAN want to produce an effective, substantive and actionable COC, she said.
Despite Retnos push, some analysts have said Beijings increasing activities in waters of claimant states mean the atmosphere is not favorable for such talks. They said it appears unlikely that such negotiations will end during Indonesias ASEAN chairmanship this year.
The negotiations aim to establish a set of rules to govern the behavior of all parties in the South China Sea.
Discussions between China and Southeast Asian claimant states have been going on for decades, but progress has been slow because of the complex and sensitive nature of disputes in the maritime region.
Jokowi, meanwhile, stressed the need for Indonesia and China be drivers of peace and stability in the region.
According to the president, economic development cannot be achieved without peace and stability in the region, according to a statement released by his office.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (left) meets Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Feb. 22, 2023. [Indonesias Presidential Palace handout via Reuters]
Belt and Road
Qin said Indonesia and China agreed to accelerate the construction of flagship projects under Beijings Belt and Road initiative, including the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway , and to ensure that they are completed and opened to traffic on schedule.
The China-backed high-speed railway, Indonesias first, is scheduled to begin operations in July after construction was delayed because of issues ranging from environmental concerns to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, an Indonesian deputy minister said Jakarta and Beijing had agreed to reduce the amount of cost overrun on the rail project to U.S. $1.2 billion (18.2 trillion rupiah) from $1.4 billion (21.3 trillion rupiah).
Indonesia has been trying to negotiate a loan with the China Development Bank to finance most of the cost overrun. The government is funding $200 million of it, contradicting a decree in 2015 that prohibited the use of state funds for the projects construction.
An investigation has found that a man who died in Norwich police custody last year died of a fentanyl overdose and may have sneaked the drugs into his cell in secret pockets that were found sewn into his clothing, the document says.
Brenton Chambers, 42, died in a holding cell at Norwich Police Department headquarters on Feb. 4, 2022, just hours after he was arrested on drug and gun possession charges, records show. The Office of the Inspector General released a report this week that said Chambers death was not the result of any use of force or criminal action by law enforcement officers.
On the night Chambers died, officers on the night shift observed Chambers acting funny about 3:45 a.m., according to the report, and then realized he appeared to be having a seizure. Officers rushed into the cell where he was being held and found Chambers unresponsive, the report said.
Officers began performing CPR as they waited four minutes for an ambulance to arrive, the report said. He was rushed to Backus Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:33 a.m., the report said.
An autopsy found Chambers died from active fentanyl intoxication with recent cocaine use and his death was ruled an accident, according to the state medical examiner and the OIGs report.
After Chambers death, investigators seized Chambers clothing a T-shirt and a sweat suit. In his clothes, they found hidden pockets where investigators say he could have hidden fentanyl, the report said.
They have hidden pockets sewn into inconspicuous areas along the hems and other locations, the inspector generals report said. Such pockets are suitable for concealing contraband such as drugs.
Chambers, who had a history of heroin addiction, had been searched for any contraband when he arrived at the Police Department. A video of him being searched was released as a part of the inspector generals 17 page report released Wednesday.
Chambers had been arrested on Feb. 3, after the Norwich Office of Adult probation searched his home, vehicle and business. Chambers had previously been convicted in 2019 of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended after 30 days, and two years of probation, the report said.
During the February searches, a probation officer found a safe disguised as a dictionary in Chambers Chevrolet Silverado. Inside the safe was about three grams of fentanyl, officials said.
Inside Chambers home on Norwich Avenue, officers found a 9mm handgun and two plastic bags with about 14 grams of suspected fentanyl, the report said. At Chambers business, Juicemans Cloud City vape shop on Jewett City Road in Taftville, officers found 15 suspected fentanyl pills, the report said.
Following the searches, Chambers was arrested and charged with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of a firearm. He was held on a $150,000 bond, which he could not post, officials said.
Chambers was taken to Norwich police headquarters for holding without incident, officials said. He was briefly taken to Backus Hospital to have one leg put in a boot due to a swollen ankle that he claimed stemmed from an injury he sustained while in police custody, the report said.
On the night of Feb. 3 and the morning of Feb. 4, two officers on the overnight shift watched Chambers in his cell via a camera feed from his cell to the dispatch area. The camera footage did not show Chambers ingesting any drugs, the report said, but investigators believe he may have removed fentanyl from a hidden pocket.
At 3:11 a.m., video footage shows Chambers reaching into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. At other points before 3:37 a.m., Chambers turns his back to the camera, the report said.
Shortly after that time, Chambers began to have a seizure and was then unresponsive, the report said.
He could have put something into his mouth at these times, the report said. The powerful and overwhelming physical reaction he experienced (and that the camera records) is strong evidence of his reaction to a fentanyl overdose.
The inspector general found that this evidence, and the determined cause of death, supported the conclusion that Chambers was able to ingest fentanyl while in cell #5 shortly before his death.
The OIG ruled that Chambers death was not due to any officers use of force or any criminal action by any officer, and no further action would be taken.
The main Thai Deep South separatist organization BRN has agreed to other groups joining peace talks with the Thai government, the Malaysian negotiator told BenarNews on Wednesday after the latest two-day round of negotiations held in Kuala Lumpur.
Analysts noted the new Malaysian facilitator for the talks, former military chief Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, achieved another breakthrough when he managed the rare feat of a joint press conference with negotiators representing the Thai government and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) rebel group.
Zulkifli said he hoped other groups from the Malay-majority Deep South would be present at the next round of negotiations in March, which would mark the first time they participate in peace talks since 2018.
They have agreed in principle to invite others because they want to be inclusive too, but we need to send formal invitations to the others to make it happen, Zulkifli told BenarNews in an exclusive interview.
This was the first round of talks attended by Zulkifli since he took over as facilitator this year, replacing Abdul Rahim Noor, although the former Malaysian military chief visited Bangkok earlier this month to introduce himself to the Thai government team.
After the two days of talks, the Peace Dialogue Panel for the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand, headed by Gen. Wanlop Rugsanaoh, and the BRN delegation, headed by Anas Abdulrahman, agreed to move forward the peace dialogue process under what they termed a Joint Comprehensive Plan toward Peace.
This plan, though, would have a timeframe 2023 to 2024 and would address issues dealing with reduction of violence, and public consultation that leads to political solutions, a Thai statement said.
Specific details would be worked out between March and May during technical meetings, with an aim to present such [a] draft for consideration and endorsement in June, the statement said.
When asked whether he believed the separatist conflict would end in two years, Zulkifli said he did.
I am confident based on my two friends here, he said at the press conference.
BRN has been fighting since January 2004 to establish an independent state for Malay Muslims who form the majority of the population in the southern border region. More than 7,300 people have been killed and 13,500 others injured in violence across the region since then, according to Deep South Watch, a local think-tank.
Not easy for me
Regional conflict analysts said this was a good start, but added details needed to be worked out quickly. They also said the joint press conference was a good sign.
Considering the fact that the two sides still cant find common ground on many things, this gesture should be welcomed, Don Pathan, a Thai security analyst, told BenarNews.
The talks outcome showed progress said Rukchart Suwan of the Yala, Thailand-based Buddhists Network for Peace group.
There is a timeframe shown concerning the Joint Comprehensive Plan toward Peace, Rukchart told BenarNews.
For Fikry A. Rahman of the Bait Al Amanah research institute in Malaysia, the plans inclusion of a roadmap is crucial.
Having a roadmap will have added value to the progress for peace. But it is important to have a solid outcome soonest, he told BenarNews.
Zulkifli said arriving at the joint plan had not been easy, but it had been clear that there was a commitment toward peace on both sides.
It was not easy for me to get both sides to agree on things. Drafting one word could take us an hour or so the delicacy of the matter. We had to take many breaks in between to make sure that discussion went through and we achieved the result that we needed, he told BenarNews.
Prime Minister [Anwar Ibrahim] previously said that the trust deficit must be overcome. Now, in a way we have overcome it. We spoke our mind, we shared our thoughts and showed that we are sincere.
On his first official visit to Thailand as prime minister earlier this month, Anwar said Malaysia was unequivocally against violence as a means to resolve the insurgency.
Many observers have pinned their hopes on a solution to the long running conflict in the Thai Deep South on Anwar because of his abiding interest in the issue and the region that shares a border with Malaysia.
The border region in the Thai Deep South encompasses Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala provinces and four districts of Songkhla province. The armed separatist movement in this area began in the 1960s.
Iman Muttaqin Yusof in Kuala Lumpur and Mariyam Ahmad in Pattani, Thailand, contributed to this report.
Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele (right) and other officials escort Wang Yi (center), then Chinas foreign minister, upon his arrival at Henderson International Airport in Honiara, May 25, 2022.
China has named a special envoy to Pacific island countries, adding to its diplomatic arsenal in a region where Beijing increasingly vies with the United States for influence.
Chinas government had announced plans for the envoy role in mid-2022, when then-Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Pacific island states after a period of limited face-to-face contact because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beijing revealed the appointment of Qian Bo until recently Chinas ambassador to Fiji in response to a question from Chinese state media during a regular press conference at the foreign ministry last week.
As special government envoy, Qian will make strong efforts to advance further development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Pacific Island countries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Feb. 15.
During the past two decades, China has become a source of infrastructure, loans and aid for economically-lagging island nations in the Pacific as it seeks to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and gain allies in international organizations such as the United Nations.
Some analysts say Beijing also hopes to establish a military presence in the Pacific in a challenge to American dominance. Last year, the Asian superpower signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, alarming the United States and Australia, which have stepped up their efforts to counter Chinas increased sway.
Four of the 14 countries that recognize Taiwan are in the Pacific. The Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched their recognition to China from Taiwan in 2019.
The appointment of a special envoy shows that greater influence in the Pacific remains a goal for China, according to Mihai Sora, a Pacific analyst at Australias Lowy Institute and a former Australian diplomat in the region.
Beijing is aiming to better coordinate its diplomatic and strategic moves in the Pacific at a time when Pacific island countries have less appetite for large infrastructure loans and have also increased their security cooperation with Australia and the United States, Sora told BenarNews.
China has special diplomatic envoys for several countries, regions and global issues including Myanmar, the Middle East, Afghanistan and climate change and in the past decade has increasingly sought to mediate in conflicts. It already had an envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum, an organization made up of 16 Pacific island nations as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Well all watch with interest. It seems like overkill. But perhaps it is an indication of their intentions to aggressively increase their influence in the region, said Matthew Wale, leader of the Solomon Islands opposition.
The Mercator Institute for China Studies has said that Chinas higher diplomatic profile and attempts at conflict resolution are linked to the Belt and Road Initiative, a sprawling Chinese plan, begun in 2013, to build a global network of Chinese financed and constructed railways, energy pipelines, highways and other infrastructure.
Through more active diplomacy, China wants to both protect its economic interests and build a reputation as a responsible global power, Mercator said.
The single armed conflict in the Pacific islands region is between Indonesia and Papuan independence fighters, who want the Indonesian-governed western half of the island of New Guinea to be an independent state, and who have grassroots support in some island nations such as Vanuatu.
China would not want to get involved as it would draw further attention to its own colonial policies in Tibet and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Wale said. China also has ambitions for Indonesia to be a key part of its infrastructure plans.
The special envoy is more to see how best to build and leverage Chinas relationships at the regional level, Wale told BenarNews.
Qian, the Pacific envoy, was Chinas ambassador to Fiji from 2018. He was formally replaced in February by Zhou Jian, previously ambassador to Qatar and a deputy-director in the Chinese foreign ministrys Policy Planning Department.
Qians role likely has greater clout within the Chinese government than the envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum and he will be able to deal with more complex and substantial issues, according to Wang Yiwei, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing.
It reflects the increased importance that the Chinese government attaches to the affairs of this region, he said, according to Hong Kongs South China Morning Post.
Funeral workers carry the remains of two victims of then-President Rodrigo Dutertes drug war that were exhumed from a public cemetery in Navotas, Metro Manila, after the lease of a rented crypt expired, Feb. 28, 2022.
European legislators met with their Philippine counterparts from the Senate in Manila on Wednesday, in what a senator described as a tense briefing about former President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs.
The meeting came ahead of an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into Dutertes alleged crimes against humanity.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa , who had served as Dutertes national police chief and launched his bloody drug war, claimed that a member of the European Union parliamentarians delegation raised his voice at the Philippine politicians.
Dela Rosa said Spanish legislator Miguel Urban Crespo was hot and questioned a Senate resolution that sought to protect Duterte from the ICC. Dela Rosa told reporters that he answered him by demanding respect for Philippine sovereignty.
I said, if you know your history, we were conquered and ruled by Spain for 300 years. Now that we have gained our freedom, we have gained our independence, we expect that other countries should respect our sovereignty, dela Rosa told reporters.
German politician Hannah Neumann, the head of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights delegation, countered dela Rosas take on the closed-door meeting.
It was not tense. It was an open and critical discussion that in the end was more constructive than tense, Neumann told reporters.
Philippine Sen. Francis Tolentino, who was also at the meeting, said there was no shouting match.
No one raised their voice. I have to correct that, he said.
Dela Rosa led the national police from the beginning of Dutertes term in 2016 until 2018 as the presidents drug war heated up.
About 8,000 suspected dealers and addicts were killed in Dutertes drug war during his time in office, according to police statistics. Rights groups said the figure could be three times higher, noting many others were killed by pro-Duterte vigilantes they suspect were working with police.
One of the drug wars victims, Diego Bello Lafuente , a Spanish surfer and businessman, was killed by police in the southern island of Siargao in 2020. Three police officers had claimed Lafuente pulled a gun during a search, triggering a shootout that led to his death they had gone into hiding, but surrendered to authorities Feb. 9.
Deep concern
During the meeting, Neumann said the delegates raised their concern over the extrajudicial killings, adding that while the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has initiated an investigation, they find the process slow.
On Saturday, Marcos said his government would not allow the ICC to conduct its own investigation in the Philippines, where he claimed the justice system was intact and working fine.
My position hasnt changed and I have stated it often even before I took office as president, that there are many questions about their jurisdiction and what we in the Philippines regard as an intrusion into our internal matters and a threat to our sovereignty, Marcos said.
So no, I do not see what their jurisdiction is. I feel that we have in our police, in our judiciary, a good system. We do not need assistance from any outside entity, he said.
Neumann, meanwhile, stressed that the European Parliament was deeply concerned at the pace of the investigation, noting that fewer than two dozen cases against police officers had been filed.
We, as the European Union, are members of the Rome Statute. We support the ICC and we see this as a potential to support the investigations into the killings. We clearly understand that the senators we met right now see this differently, she said.
Neumann and Crespo were joined by European parliamentarians Ryszard Czarnecki, Isabel Wiseler-Lima and Karsten Lucke.
The Philippines Tolentino, for his part, said senators who were against the ICC intervention were able to clearly state the Marcos administrations position.
We are asking for their respect for what our country and leadership is doing as a sovereign state. We are not part of the ICC. They respect that, he said.
And through our dialogue, albeit not heated, we were able to explain our position.
Jojo Rinoza in Manila contributed to this report.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles answers questions from reporters during a joint press conference with Philippine counterpart Carlito Galvez Jr. after their meeting in Manila, Feb. 22, 2023.
The Philippines and Australia have agreed to formalize their strategic defense engagement through an annual meeting, their defense chiefs said Wednesday, as both countries look to counter Beijings growing military influence especially in the South China Sea.
Philippine Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and Richard Marles, his Australian counterpart, made the announcement after a closed-door meeting in Manila on the same day that Washington also backed the Southeast Asian nation, whose coast guard was threatened recently by a Chinese ship during an incident in the disputed maritime region.
At a joint post-meeting press conference, Marles underscored deep connections between Australia and the Philippines, which already have been cooperating in anti-terrorism training in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao.
[W]hen we start talking about our strategic interests and the matters that go to our nations, those discussions happen upon a really solid personal human foundation of trust, friendship and affection, and that matters, said Marles, who is also Australias deputy prime minister.
At present, both nations have a greater strategic alignment than weve had in any moment in our respective histories, he said.
Later this year, we look forward to signing the strategic partnership between our two countries which comes on top of the first meeting between Prime Minister Albanese and President Marcos in November of last year, Marles told reporters.
He was referring to a meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year in Bangkok during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Marles said Galvez was expected to visit Australia soon as part of the official annual meeting in what he called a formed institutional path.
Marles also pushed for the possibility of joint patrols in the South China Sea.
Marles said Australia was deeply invested in asserting the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which gives coastal states like the Philippines a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
As countries which are committed to the global rules-based order, it is natural that we should think about ways in which we can cooperate in this respect. And so we did talk today about the possibility of exploring joint patrols and we will continue that work, Marles said.
Both countries are looking at ways in which we can pursue joint patrols together in the South China Sea, and looking at ways in which we can do more exercises together, Marles emphasized.
Australia in the coming months, he said, would be sending one of its largest contingents to join Balikatan, the annual joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III (right) arrives at the Philippine Department of National Defense at Camp Aguinaldo in Manila, Feb. 2, 2023. [Jason Gutierrez/BenarNews]
Marles echoed the sentiments of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, who visited the Philippines early this month to negotiate more access for American troops to the countrys strategic military installations. Since his visit to Manila, the U.S. and the Philippines have also been discussing the prospect of joint patrols in the South China Sea.
Both the United States and Australia, along with the United Kingdom, have formed a three-way security pact AUKUS whose primary aim is to blunt Beijings growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Earlier on Wednesday, the American chief spoke by phone to Galvez to offer his countrys support after a China Coast Guard ship allegedly aimed a military-grade laser onto a Filipino vessel delivering supplies to Manilas outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal.
Secretary Austin underscored the United States commitment to supporting the lawful rights and operations of the Philippines in the South China Sea, said Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagons spokesman.
According to Ryder, Austin reiterated that the U.S. was bound to come to Manilas aid in case of an armed attack on its military, aircraft, and public ships by a foreign power, as spelled out in the 72-year-old Mutual Defense Agreement.
The two leaders discussed proposals to deepen operational cooperation and enhance the United States and the Philippines shared security, including the recent decision to resume combined maritime activities in the South China Sea, he said, adding that Austin also reaffirmed his governments commitment to bolstering the Philippines defense capabilities and capacity to resist coercion.
Chinese vessels are seen in waters within the Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near the Ayungin Shoal and Sabina Shoal in a Philippine-claimed portion of the South China Sea, according to these aerial photographs taken by the Philippine Coast Guard on Feb. 21, 2023. [Handout photo/Philippine Coast Guard]
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said that one of its aircraft received radio challenges from the Chinese coast guard during a routine patrol flight in the Philippine EEZ.
The aircraft was flying over the Ayungin and Sabina Shoals when it received inaudible radio challenges, both in English and Chinese, from CCG-5304 currently continuing to maintain presence in the area, the PCG said.
The incident occurred despite diplomatic protests filed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the coast guard said in a statement in which it also released photos taken of vessels that it described as Chinese ships and boats spotted in the area.
The PCG aircraft issued its own radio challenge emphasizing that it is conducting a [Maritime Domain Awareness] flight within airspace over the Philippine EEZ and directing CCG-5304 to leave the area immediately, it said.
During the patrol, the PCG airplane also observed at least twenty-six (26) suspected Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) vessels anchored in and around the vicinity of the shoal.
Mindanao
Galvez, for his part, underscored Australias help in the Philippine militarys efforts at controlling Islamic State-linked militants in the southern island of Mindanao.
Australia and the U.S. helped in intelligence gathering to chase pro-IS militants out of the southern city of Marawi in 2017 after five months of pitched battles that left 1,200 militants, government forces and civilians dead.
Galvez noted that a small contingent of Australian forces were currently engaged in joint training with Filipino forces in the south, and that this gave confidence to Filipino troops on the frontline.
We are very thankful that the skills have been completely transferred to our soldiers. And we have seen now that terrorism has dramatically decreased in these areas, Galvez said, noting that since the battle of Marawi, there have been very minimal skirmishes in the area.
A man was involved in a multi-vehicle crash in Hartford after being shot, police said.
Officers responded to a reports of a crash involving multiple vehicles, some of which were parked, in the area of Farmington Avenue and Woodland Street at 5:58 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Hartford Police Department.
Police found one man who was injured and initially thought he was suffering from injuries sustained in the crash. He was rushed to St. Francis Hospital where doctors discovered he had been shot, police said.
Investigators did not yet know where the shooting took place, though they dont believe he was shot at the scene of the crash, police said.
The man was believed to be in his late 20s but had not yet been identified. He was in critical condition but had been stabilized as of Wednesday morning, police said.
The Hartford police major crimes and crime scene divisions were investigating.
Voters will be asked to approve annual budgets for for the three Bennington area school districts during annual elections on March 7. Above, Mount Anthony Union High School seniors get ready to accept their diplomas during graduation exercises as the school in June 2022.
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The man was masked when he crouched near a basement door, then allegedly sneaked into a Manchester home to stab a woman in the stomach seven times, records show.
But the gravely injured victim told her mother she knew the man, as he had allegedly been stalking her at her job at a nearby convenience store, police said in an arrest warrant affidavit issued for the man.
The 23-year-old victim was inside her house on Oakland Street on the night of Feb. 16, when the man wearing a ski mask came inside, allegedly stabbed her repeatedly and then ran off, according to police.
Police said in the warrant affidavit for the alleged attackers arrest that surveillance footage from the area captured the moment a masked man walked in the door. On that footage, police said, one can immediately hear someone screaming as if in terror.
The alleged attacker, later identified as 35-year-old Damion Davis, of Hartford, had been a customer at the store where the victim worked, according to police, as noted in a warrant affidavit for Davis arrest.
Just hours before the brutal stabbing, Davis had allegedly spent at least 40 minutes inside another store on Oakland Street, talking to the owner and the victims cousin. Davis allegedly told the man that he was dating the victim and knew where she lived and worked, police said in the warrant affidavit.
Davis allegedly made a lot of inappropriate sexual remarks about the victim, police said in the warrant affidavit.
Another of victims relatives was in the building where victim lives at the time of the attack. She heard her cousin screaming, police said in the warrant affidavit.
That relative told police she ran into the kitchen and allegedly saw a male actively stabbing (the victim) in the stomach, police said in the warrant affidavit.
The relative tried to grab the attackers hands, but he ran out the door when he looked up and saw her, police said.
The relative provided police with a description of the attacker and investigators obtained surveillance footage from a security camera at the store where victim worked, from the second store Davis had been in and from a neighbors Ring doorbell camera, records show.
The surveillance videos from the time of the attack show a masked man crouching near the basement doors, then walking up to a side door, going inside and running out shortly after, police said.
The victim, who was rushed to Hartford Hospital with seven stab wounds, called her mother before she went into surgery, police said. The victims cousin told investigators that victim told her mother, who does not speak English, that she knew her attacker, according to the affidavit.
She told her mother that he comes into (the store) all the time and talks to her, her cousin told police, according to the warrant affidavit.
Investigators also analyzed several footprints in the dirt outside of victims home and made fliers identifying Davis as a person of interest, according to the warrant affidavit. Detectives spotted Davis, who they recognized from surveillance images from the second store, and brought him in for an interview, police said.
During the interview, Davis admitted to going into victims home, stabbing her and running away, according to the warrant affidavit. He allegedly told police he threw the knife he used to stab her near a bus stop on the northwest corner of North Main and Main streets, police said.
Investigators later found the weapon a purple and black folding knife with a less than four inch blade in that spot, police said.
Davis, of 141 South Marshall St. A2, Hartford, is charged with first-degree assault, home invasion, first degree burglary and second-degree stalking, police said.
He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court next on March 8, court records show.
The most serious charge that can be brought against New England, naturalist Joseph Wood Krutch, wrote, is not Puritanism but February. Some years, the month of February has been utterly bleak, one gloomy, gray day following another, often with squalls of snow turning to icy sheets of sleet.
Not so this year! February has been rather glorious, with unusually warm days and enough rain to wash away the last of the dirty snow. Small ponds are no longer iced over. Lawns are a little bit greener; hillsides are dusted with a pale maroon-ish haze of newly formed buds. Even the freshening willows branchlets are a bright yellow. Think spring! Spring is definitely in the air.
Though as we move toward March, lets not be fooled by fickle Mother Nature. Persephone is such a tease, enveloping us in this false spring when we know fresh snow is right around the corner. With such lovely weather, though, all thoughts turn to birding.
Slowly migratory birds are arriving. That solitary red-winged blackbird that hunkered down at our feeder in early January has been joined by his comrades and companions, the total around the house now, is 10, males only with the red on their freshly-molted epaulets all aglow. The females are lollygagging down south having bachelorette parties before heading north and getting down to their annual breeding business near our swamps and rivers. The flicker that has come to the feeder on and off all winter is still here. Today there were two.
Slowly, the morning chorus is livening up. Redwings are tweee-ing from the treetops at first light, joining the always early-to-rise cardinals. These two species are quickly joined by that sweet, springtime two-note whistle of the chickadees, the whi-whi-whi-whi-ing of the white-breasted nuthatches and the heebie-jeebie-jeebie of the tufted titmice. So wonderful to be greeted by birdsong in the morning!
One day, Danny and I decide to take our annual February drive north to the grasslands near Fort Edward, N.Y., in search of short-eared owls and other predators. Here, snow is a little more evident, especially those plow-piles near driveways. And there are many more driveways than there were a couple of years ago, for some of the defunct farms have been subdivided and houses have cropped up here and there. Fortunately, much wide open grassland has been preserved for hungry predators to find mouse meals.
No owls this time, but we check off 12 red-tailed hawks, some perched in trees, others on telephone poles glaring down at us as we stop and stare back. Finally, we come across a stately, rough-legged hawk, the buteo visitor from the north that we see infrequently. These birds are a little larger than the red-tails, with a smallness of beak which gives them a different profile making it a little easier to tell the two species apart.
A male sparrow hawk lifts off from a wire as we slowly cruise the road. Off he flies, those sharp wings quickly taking him a short distance away where he suddenly comes to an abrupt mid-air stop and hovers, shifting his head from side to side, searching for the tiniest of rodent movement. Then he swoops lower, again stops, twitches a quick hover, then gives up and flies to a tree to watch and wait.
At a nearby field with clumps and hillocks amid the winter-flattened grass, a female northern harrier (marsh hawk) sweeps back and forth about four feet above the ground, gracefully maneuvering hither and thither. The hawk turns and flies once again in front of us, so close we can see the many color browns of her sleek plumage. How differently this bird hunts compared to the sparrow hawk. The harrier, too, shifts her head as she searches for food, but since shes so close to the ground she just lowers her taloned claws to snatch up a tidbit, whereas the sparrow hawk hovers, hovers and then whoooosh dives down to collect its dinner.
Of the smaller birds we observe here in the grasslands, the most prominent is the bluebird. In four different areas, small bands of bluebirds are also actively hunting for food. The method here is perch, focus, fly down into the grass, grab an insect, then fly back to the same perch to finish the meal. Fun to watch these birds that appear so very blue (either Berlin Blue or Flax Flower Blue in "Werners Nomenclature of Color") with a luscious rusty bib (Reddish Orange).
Back in East Chatham, N.Y., on my morning walks, there are bluebirds aplenty. At least three small flocks (4-5 birds) can be heard, one by our house, one by the large pond and one in the woods further along. Sibley transcribes the constant calls as chitiWEEWwewidoo; to me it's a lovely low burbling.
A handy field guide for this time of year is Donald W. Stokes "A Guide to Nature in Winter." This book has sections devoted to winter weeds, various species of trees in winter, woodland evergreen plants, evidence of insects, mushrooms, kinds of snow, tracks in snow and winter birds. In the winter bird section there is NO entry for bluebirds. I check the publication date 1976. This was the time when the population of bluebirds had drastically declined. When seeing a bluebird was an event to report. How wonderful it is that all of the bluebird house projects across our area have been so successful!
Canada geese are on the move too. Three have returned to the marsh on my road. Occasionally, they join the morning chorus, but then they may call at any time of day especially when they start moving en masse towards Canada. As the ice melts from the ponds and lakes, ducks start to return. The mallards at a pond in New Lebanon have on and off been sharing the open waters with two gadwall, two hooded mergansers and a great blue heron.
This year Puritanism tops February as the most serious charge against New England!
News Reporter
Matt Martinez is a news reporter at The Berkshire Eagle. He worked at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, graduated Marquette University. He is a former Report for America corps member.
Community News Editor / Librarian
Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989.
PITTSFIELD Jimmy Carters decision to enter hospice care doesnt surprise a former Pittsfield mayor who once served as the former presidents chief of protocol.
Its classic Jimmy Carter, said Evan Dobelle in a telephone interview. He was born in Plains (Ga.), hes going to die in Plains. Hes not going to die in a hospital in Atlanta and in his mind take a hospital bed from somebody who needs it.
He is clear-minded, as I understand it. He understands the situation hes in. Hes overcome other challenges before, and hes not going to overcome this one, said Dobelle, who currently holds various roles with the American University of Afghanistan in Qatar, Alliance Energy Group, and Countable, an app based in San Francisco and Washington D.C. Its just Jimmy Carter doing what is the right thing to do.
Dobelle, who pursued a career in education after leaving politics, served as Carters chief of protocol in 1977 and 1978 after serving as mayor of Pittsfield from 1974 to 1976. He left the mayors office a year into his second term to serve as then-Gov. Michael Dukakis commissioner of environmental affairs, which came 11 months after Dobelle had changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat.
When he switched parties in January 1976, Dobelle went from being part of then-President Gerald Fords re-election team to actively campaigning for Carter, according to the Springfield Union News. The move came about three weeks after the little-known Carter visited Pittsfield on a campaign stop about two months ahead of the Massachusetts State primary.
Dobelle had first heard Carter speak at an event in 1972 when U.S. Sen. Henry Jackson, D-Wash., was running for president, and had visited him in Georgia before Carter came to Pittsfield.
I liked Gerry Ford as a person, Sil Conte (a longtime Republican congressman from Pittsfield) was devoted to him, but I just didnt think he understood cities, and I saw the party start to veer to the right, Dobelle said.
So I endorsed him, he said, referring to Carter. I was the first mayor outside of Savannah, Ga. (to do so).
According to Dobelle, Pittsfield was the only city in Massachusetts that Carter won in the 1976 presidential election.
I campaigned for Carter in Iowa and Florida, he said. I did it the same way I campaigned for mayor in Pittsfield. I didnt know any big shots. So we went to see everybody.
The chief of protocol advises the president, vice president and secretary of state on matters of national and international protocol. The position holds the rank of ambassador and assistant secretary of state.
Dobelle, who will be 78 in April, was 31 when Carter tapped him for that position, the youngest person to ever serve as chief of protocol to that time. He was 28 when elected mayor of Pittsfield in 1973, still the youngest person elected to that position.
Carter named Dobelle chief of protocol the day after inauguration day in 1977. He served in that position until April 1978, when Carter nominated him to be treasurer of the Democratic Party. Dobelles wife, Kit, succeeded him as chief of protocol.
It was certainly a surprise to me, Dobelle said, referring to his protocol appointment. I got a call at 7:30 in the morning the day after he was inaugurated from Hamilton Jordan, who was the chief of staff. He said, 'The president wants to see you this morning.'
"Hamilton comes by wearing a blue suit, Dobelle said. I said, 'Youre looking good.' He said, 'What (the president) is going to tell you is that youll need a lot of suits.'
Looking back, Dobelle views his time as chief of protocol as an education.
Working closely with him at a really young age offered me a remarkable front-row seat to history, Dobelle said. There was extensive foreign travel, a broad overview of how Washington works, local governments, business groups, interest groups, how they shape things to do things and to not allow other things to be done.
Carter is known now more for his accomplishments after leaving office than for what he did during his one term as president.
Dobelle said Carters presidential record, which included creation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the negotiations that resulted in the Camp David accords, the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel that has held for 46 years, are largely overlooked. Carter came to Washington an outsider and remained one, which Dobelle said affected his public image.
He underestimated the power of the Washington establishment and the media that was connected to it, Dobelle said. He didnt go to Kay Grahams dinners at The Washington Post. He didnt have drinks with Ben Bradlee. He wasnt a player. The narrative that was formed on him was that he was going to be over his head, and he wasnt.
Jimmy Carter was very consequential, Dobelle said. He was a decent man, a true Christian with his values and, at the end of the day, an exceptionally successful president.
GREAT BARRINGTON In Great Barrington, they fanned their liberalism like peacock feathers and still do. They composted and recycled and voted the right way.
And they still do.
But what they werent doing and still often dont is talk about the nuances of racism within ourselves, Guillermo Delano Burrowes told an audience Monday night at the 26th Annual W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Lecture Series at Bard College at Simons Rock.
The early college chose Burrowes this year to deliver his lecture, titled The Languages Black Folks Speak: Letting Go of the Myth about Finding our True Voice.
From the subtleties that cause a Black child to dance with racism in a town that still holds itself aloof from the progressive but still-dangerous white unconscious an adult grows up.
Grows up traumatized.
I was scared, scared of making eye contact, because I thought, What are you thinking about when youre looking? he said, speaking of his shyness as a silent little Black queer boy growing up here in Great Barrington.
Now a Brooklyn, New York-based artist and writer, Burrowes is also known for his exploration of the split interior self that plagues the Black community.
Du Bois chronicled this double consciousness in his groundbreaking book, The Souls of Black Folk.
Burrowes, who is the nephew of the late Rev. Esther Dozier of the former Clinton A.M.E. Zion Episcopal Church Dozier also founded the towns early Du Bois celebration returned to Great Barrington last year to revisit an exploration with art on the streets of downtown.
How Do You See A Black Person? was part of Burrowes The Great Barrington Project: Unbleaching the Souls of Black Folk. He said the style was somewhat inspired by the performance art of Marina Abramovic.
What sparked it was a residual discomfort over what he saw at the Black Lives Matter protest at Town Hall in June 2020. He saw yet another display of the towns white progressives congratulating themselves on social media without perhaps cutting deep into the course fibers of their own conditioning and taking a hard look.
He wrote a letter to the editor about it.
At Mondays lecture he again spoke of those who check all the right political and social boxes even by attending his talk but dont check that one cunning box that lies within.
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He said it with a reference to the affliction of Du Bois double consciousness, which creates a conflict between the soul and the inner architecture versus the acceptable surface behavior for Black citizens.
And, The sense of always looking at oneself in the eyes of others, Burrowes said, quoting Du Bois.
Damaging stuff. Slavery taking different forms, he noted.
Smiled and went on my way
It appears he shares much in common with that scholar, poet and giant of the civil rights movement. Burrowes grew up near Du Bois birthplace on Church Street. Like Du Bois, he was rejected by a girl he had a crush on at a Great Barrington middle school after giving her card. After seeing Burrowes card, she said something about how her parents wouldnt approve.
I smiled and went on my way, but inwardly, it felt like an early death you know, oh, my Blackness constitutes being a problem, Burrowes said.
But it was reading Du Bois account of it, while in his 30s, that all those lifelong inner contortions made sense. So much emotional shrapnel from the color line, as Du Bois called it, making mischief in the soul.
Which also can lead to drug use, something Burrowes said he struggled with in the past and overcame. And it leads to questions about what ones real and true voice will be saying, and can people handle it.
I cant always use my authentic voice, Burrowes told the audience, responding to those who tried to prepare him for the lecture by telling him to be true and authentic.
He pointed to behavioral expectations infused by a white world into so many aspects of life, including speaking, writing and education. He said these are lauded as the way out of poverty and a way to reach that holy grail of being middle class.
And what to do around the police.
My body reacts in a certain way because I know their system is set up and you have to speak in a certain way and you have to be a certain way, he said.
Du Bois knew all about these chains, the enslavement of the soul. The internalized racism.
Burrowes talk suggests Dr. Du Bois also was a healer.
He told his audience early on that he found himself questioning why they would come to hear him speak. By the end, he read another passage by Du Bois, and said he was working to embrace even those harsh inner voices.
I no longer wonder why Im here, he said. I no longer question whether my voice matters.
A $12 million payout to Baby Dylan, a now 8-year-old boy who sustained near-fatal injuries after months of abuse and neglect as a 1-year-old foster child, passed through the Connecticut General Assemblys Judiciary Committee in a vote Wednesday but not without significant scrutiny of the state agency responsible for the toddlers placement and care.
Dallas Barrios, formally known as Dallas Church before his adoption by the Barrios family, received the pseudonym Baby Dylan in a 2016 report by the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate which detailed how the state Department of Children and Families failed to address warning signs and adhere to practices that ultimately could have saved Barrios from life-altering injuries.
Judge Claudia Baio approved the multi-million dollar damages agreement between the state and the Barrios family on Jan. 25. Dual Senate and House resolutions seeking the legislatures authorization of the settlement now go to their respective chambers for further action.
Deputy Attorney General Eileen Meskill said Barrios lawsuit was a rare case where the state admitted liability.
In June 2015, DCF removed the 13-month-old Barrios and his biological siblings from their parents home due to neglect conditions and placed Barrios in the care of Crystal Magee, the cousin of his biological mother, until November 2015.
Meskill said that when DCF finally removed Barrios from Magee, after several missed red flags, Barrios new guardian rushed the 19-month-old baby to the hospital.
He had multiple healed scars, visible ribs, untreated broken bones in both his arms, including his left arm that he was unable to use, multiple healed wounds to his feet, a retinal hemorrhage. He was unable to talk or walk or feed himself based on malnutrition. He had a traumatic brain injury as well, Meskill said before the Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
According to Meskill, experts appointed by both the plaintiffs and the defense determined that Barrios would need lifetime support and would face severe limitations due to emotional, behavioral and functional deficits.
Our office determined that DCF, based on its own policies, should not have placed Dallas with McGee because of the familys child protection and criminal history. The DCF staff failed to seek information to establish the risks attendant to their history had been addressed and did not seek the proper waiver from the commissioner to place the child in a home with a prior criminal and child protection history, Meskill said. We determined with DCFs agreement that the best force was for the state to admit liability, something we rarely do.
The familys attorney, Robert Reardon of the Reardon Law Firm, said that the $12 million will be provided to Barrios through a trust so that the child can continue to receive the care he needs.
This has been a long ordeal for this family. Fortunately, this child is with wonderful people who are doing the best they can to allow this child to recover and live out a reasonably normal life. But theres a long way to go, Reardon said. There was a lot to be learned from this case. With the current commissioner, shes already made some changes but there are many more changes that are yet to be made.
In a statement issued after the committee meeting Wednesday, DCF Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes said the department looks forward to a full and final resolution of this very sad and tragic outcome for this little boy which occurred approximately eight years ago.
Upon learning of Dylans conditions in 2015, DCF leadership immediately undertook a full review of the casework and departmental actions that led to this child being placed in an unsuitable home and why his injuries were not discovered in a timely manner, Dorantes said. Over the last eight years, under previous and current administrations, DCF has updated its policies and best-case practices.
During the committee meeting, lawmakers ripped into past and current DCF practices in questions directed to the DCFs Deputy Commissioner of Operations Michael Williams.
Judiciary Committee Member Rep. Melissa Osborne recalled her time as a lawyer in juvenile court and the concerns that arose when DCF shifted towards kinship foster placements with family members the program that allowed Barrios to enter Magees care.
I remember distinctly the colloquy among my colleagues, worrying about the lack of adherence to the same standards in kinship foster care that we saw in the core foster placements, Osborne said. Our colleagues [were] saying Well, you know, the pendulum swings one way and there is going to be a horrible tragedy and the pendulum will swing back again.'
Williams said that Barrios placement was not a typical of kinship care.
Its important as it relates to this case that we say this is not kinship foster care. This is what we say in our industry [is a] dump and run,' Williams said. When a child is in the custody of DCF and we place them, every placement has to be a license or a license-approvable placement.
Williams described the practice deviations that led to Barrios situation as significant and egregious.
The fact that the individuals handling this case did not comply with the policy that was already in place and chose to cut corners, created a scenario [where] unfortunately this little boy ended up being maltreated, Williams said. Were totally embarrassed by the practice that occurred on this case. This does not in any way, shape or form represent the standard of practice that we adhere to then and adhere to now. The policies, procedures and standards of practice that weve always operated under, was one that required every i to be dotted every t to be crossed at every time. Because you can do it 99 times when you miss it, that one time is the one time something can occur.
Williams and Commissioner Dorantes said in the eight years following this case, DCF has centralized its foster care system, mandated emergency home visits before placement, disciplined employees who fail to follow and issued more scrutiny over its caregiver waiver system, among other changes.
But Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee Rep. Craig Fishbein said he remains concerned about potential subjectivity in DCFs determining which prior convictions disqualify individuals from foster care placements.
What we have here is still subjectivity and Im looking to protect kids, Fishbein said. Based upon the OCA report, nobody knew who could do what, who could sign off on what, who could delegate to who Ive got fingers and toes crossed that the multiple conundrums that were in 2015 are going to get worked out because this is not clear.
Im very concerned moving forward. Im hoping to never see a case like this again, Fishbein added in his closing remarks.
A representative from the attorney generals office said that the $12 million does not require an appropriation and will come out of the Adjudicated Claims Fund, which draws from the unobligated reserves in the general fund.
Ranking Member Sen. John Kissel shared his frustrations with the Judiciary Committee, members of the Attorney Generals office and DCF.
This little one, this little guy, was entrusted to the state of Connecticut and we completely failed in our mission, Kissel said. Its dollars and dollars are important, but dollars are fungible and I want to make sure they are used wisely because 12 million in this building is a substantial amount of funds for programs and people. My job is to watch the taxpayer dollars, but its also to watch the little guys, the little girls out here and make sure that we as a state take care of them.
Kissel questioned why the states defense would take a position of liability so early on.
Assistant Attorney General Carolyn Signorelli explained that admission of liability was not immediate. She said that the case, which started as a claim in 2017, did not go to the Superior Court until 2019.
There was a significant amount of discovery and dispositions and motions practice that did go on prior to the state determining to admit liability, which wasnt until August of 2021. So there was a significant period of time where liability was contested and a lot of work was done on the case before we reached the conclusion that we should admit liability based upon the evidence, Signorelli said. We were facing the likelihood of a potential $20 million award if we went to trial based upon the state of the evidence.
Alison Cross can be reached at across@courant.com.
This year the Nedbank IMC will be hosting an in-person limited seating event for the first time in four years. While the virtual format did not dim the impact of Nedbank IMC - which saw 2,000 delegates from 15 countries gather online last year - 2023's hybrid format of in person and online is perfectly in tune with the conference theme of Marketing. Up close and personal.
Each year the Nedbank IMC develops a theme reflective of marketings current concerns and conversations. This years theme Up close and personal has a dual meaning. Following the Nedbank IMCs in-person hiatus, its time to get together once again, reconnect and forge new connections.
It is also a time for marketing to get to know and understand customers better. Dale Hefer, CEO of Nedbank IMC says that as todays customers continue to grow in sophistication and complexity, not knowing our customers can have a material impact on brands. According to global research company Euromonitor, 30% of Gen Z consumers, in particular, make purchase decisions based on brands' social and political beliefs, while 24% boycott brands that dont share their social or political beliefs. Dale says: As marketers and advertisers its imperative that we dial in to our customers to gain deeper levels of understanding so that we can reflect our customers core values back at them in all that we do.
This year Nedbank IMC delegates can expect the same winning one day, one stage, no less than 18 speakers formula. For those familiar with Nedbank IMC, they will quite rightly anticipate the high energy and pacy line-up of local and international thought leaders which exemplifies the conference.
For those yet to attend, Nedbank IMC is not only a knowledge-sharing platform in which to hear first-hand from some of Africa and the worlds leading marketing voices; it is a master class in a conference approach. But dont delay, there are limited seats for the in-person event which will be held at Urban Brew Studios in Johannesburg on 15 September 2023. Register today.
In-person tickets (conference only) priced at R3,000 (excl VAT) until 31 March 2023.
In-person tickets (conference and Effie Awards South Africa) priced at R4,000 (excl VAT) until 31 March 2023.
Virtual tickets priced at R1,499.
For more information visit: www.imcconference.com.
Many people may have the month of February marked down as the "month of love" - however, it should be marked as the month of wine.
February sees South Africa celebrating the official birthday of our wine industry, and wine lovers the world over will agree that this is an occasion to raise a glass and say cheers!
2023 marks 364 years since the first wine was made from Cape grapes an occasion noted by Jan van Riebeeck in his diary in 1659 when he wrote Today, praise be to God, wine was made for the first time from Cape grapes.
To honour this momentous event, South African wine producers, wine lovers, social sippers, connoisseurs, collectors, restaurateurs, and retail outlets countrywide come together and pay tribute to South Africas rich wine heritage.
Amongst the celebrations that take place in February is the annual Wine Harvest Commemorative Event, which was hosted at South Africas oldest wine-producing farm, Groot Constantia on 2 February. This is where the wine industry pays tribute to individuals and organisations for their exceptional contribution to the ongoing journey and future success of South African wine. It is thanks to role players such as these, and those they support, that South African wine lovers can enjoy a proliferation of many of the best wines in the world!
Over the years, many greats have been recognised, including Nelson Mandela. And in 2023, Ken Forrester, Rydal Jeftha, Wendy Jonker, and Dr Erna Blancquaert were added to the list of outstanding leaders in the categories of Visionary Leadership (with the 1659 Award for Visionary Leadership), Growing Inclusivity, Wine Advancement, and Viti- and Viniculture.
Ken Forrester (winner of the Visionary Leadership category and widely known as Mr Chenin) has profoundly enhanced the reputation of the South African Chenin Blanc cultivar. Over the years, his inspired work has not only resulted in sales growth locally but has also brought global renown to South African wine, Chenin Blanc in particular.
Rydal Jeftha, CEO and managing director of the Koopmanskloof Vineyards and winner in the Growing Inclusivity category, has a passion for emerging generations of farmers and winemakers and is a mentor and inspirational leader to multitudes of young people - creating a sense of hope and future focus for those who may face barriers to enter the industry.
The behind-the-scenes work of Wendy Jonkers, administering officer of the Liquor Products Act and winner in the Wine Advancement category, has significantly contributed to opening doors for the South African wine industry internationally. Without the dedication and expertise of role players like her, the industry would find it difficult to advance consistently and sustainably.
Dr Erna Blancquaert, Viti- and Viniculture category winner, is a lecturer in Grapevine and Wine Sciences at Stellenbosch University, and also acts as Postgraduate Supervisor of Masters and PhD students in Viticulture and Oenology, Sustainable Agriculture, and Biotechnology. She was the first black South African to receive a PhD in Viticulture and her tireless devotion to empowerment sees a strong focus on building and supporting a new generation of black researchers and constructively addressing lingering prejudice in the wine industry and academia.
The Wine Harvest Commemorative Event is also the time when the new South African harvest is blessed a special tradition going back hundreds of years, and one that is honoured all over the world.
But the wine celebrations dont end there! February also sees other highlights for wine lovers such as International Syrah Day on the 16th, followed by Global Drink Wine Day on the 18th, and Open That Bottle Night on the 25th a multitude of reasons to savour our outstanding SA wines, and to give a thought to those who work tirelessly to making the wine industry in South Africa so successful!
For more information on the Wine Harvest Commemorative Event, the honourees, and the South African wine industry in general visit www.sawineharvest.co.za. Share your special celebratory events of the SA Wine Birthday on social media with @sawineharvest using the hashtag #HappyBirthdaySAwine.
OpenAI's ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, raising questions about its impact and implications across various industries. One sector that urgently needs to consider questions around the opportunities and challenges surrounding ChatGPT in particular, but artificial intelligence in general, is higher education.
The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE), SAs private higher education provider, says universities have to consider this new factor and its impact on teaching and learning, as well as academic integrity, without delay, and implement the appropriate guidelines and policies.
And while ChatGPT is one of South Africas first widescale encounter with AI, technologies are now advancing at such a rapid pace, that the education sector must remain vigilant and resilient in response to new developments.
The technology has already had an impact on higher education. This impact has largely been in the form of quite different reactions to the release of the technology as we are still in the early days of release, says Dr Gillian Mooney, Dean: Academic Development and Support at The IIE and member of the Accreditation Committee of the British Accreditation Council (BAC).
On the one side, there are camps that are thinking about how to leverage the technology in their teaching and learning practices. On the other hand, there are discussions that assume students will cheat using this platform, and we need to work on ways to stop this.
Questions to consider
On the opportunity side, academics are taking the following questions into consideration at this stage:
How to provide students with a strategic advantage in the current academic, and future work, contexts with this technology;
How to ensure that students are not disadvantaged in any way, given that a subscription to ChatGPT, providing preferential use, is currently $20, and
What are the implications of this technology for knowledge generation, given that the response is based on information to which the platform has access.
Does the above include peer-reviewed journal articles, which are typically only available via subscription? And what will be the impact of the fact that in recent years, researchers have made their work more readily available?
Academics at good universities should already be considering how to embrace this new technology, and ask how they can be leveraged in their teaching and learning to provide students with a strategic advantage in the academic and future work contexts. However, not surprisingly, there are significant concerns about academic integrity and the validity of degrees which, if not addressed, could have a devastating impact on the reputation of a university and its qualifications going forward, Dr Mooney says.
She says currently, the most extreme version of the response to AI developments is that all assessments will have to be written by hand in a standardised and invigilated venue to ensure students are not submitting AI-generated responses.
However such thinking reflects a wider existing problem in education, she says.
For instance, if you do a basic search in Google assessment help in South Africa, in 0.44 seconds you receive 553,000 results. What ChatGPT is likely to do is to collate this information for the student. In recent years, there has been an explosion of what is considered cheating websites, which work off various models from paying for an expert tutor to write your specific assessment response, to sites that mimic social media platforms in which students upload their assessments, other students download these assessments and there is a matrix of ratings and likes for each user.
So how can institutions of learning now ensure that the degree certificate that a graduate holds reflects a valid set of knowledge and skills that a graduate can demonstrate, and not the knowledge and skills of a paid-for expert, fellow student, or a piece of technology? There are certain levers in this regard, Dr Mooney says.
Firstly, there is the stick approach. Students who cheat must fail the assessment and face disciplinary consequences. Students must not be able to access such platforms via the campus WiFi. One can also send lawyers letters to such websites to require them to remove the institutions content. However, this is not enough and is not aligned with the imperative of developing students.
The carrot approach
Of greater importance is the carrot approach, Dr Mooney says.
The nub of the issue is about the ethical practices of a socially-responsible citizen in the world of academia and work. Here we focus on the ethical identity of the student and see this ethical behaviour in a range of everyday activities. To put it simply, we help students to understand that cheating is stealing, and both behaviours are ethically unacceptable.
We should be encouraging our students to want to be socially responsible and retain the integrity of their hard-earned qualification in the workplace, and to make a contribution to the economy and to society. While all of this may sound idealistic and a mammoth challenge in a society in which accusations about corruption are widespread, we must own this idealism and take our responsibility as educators of future generations seriously.
Ultimately, the response to these rapid advances in AI technology will require a two-pronged approach which includes elements of the carrot, as well as the stick.
Prof Pamela Dube was officially inaugurated into office as the newly appointed vice-chancellor and principal for the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT). Prof Pamela Dube officially began her term at the university on 1 January 2023 and has entrenched herself into the CUT community, receiving a warm welcome from various stakeholders and partners.
Prof Pamela Dube was officially inaugurated into office as the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor and Principal for CUT.
Delivering her inaugural address, Prof Pamela Dube identified four educational priorities as she sees them for a university of technology Our first responsibility as a university is to undertake a reappraisal of the meaning of technology in the broader population, to demystify its force while bending its potential to the ideal of post-apartheid freedom.
This, we will soon realise, is easier said than done. It will require an education that reaches beyond the confines of our institution, one that is oriented to a nascent public sphere. More than simply talking about the use of technology, we will be asked to educate our people on how technology should be approached to make judgements necessary for a thriving civic life. CUT will have to become a public facing institution that builds confidence in the attitudes towards technological resources, said Dube.
She added that the second responsibility is to offer the best teaching for our students in the arts of design and invention. This is not merely an education in speculations about what technology can help us achieve, but in how it reveals our predicament as a species and a planet. The education we offer our students is not merely about the market value of technology but the process of becoming more human. It is about fostering intellectual inquiry, engaged scholarship and critical citizenry. Thinking beyond, is CUTs motto and in our pursuit of excellence we strive to be satisfied with nothing less than what is possible to envision beyond, she continued.
Our third responsibility is to ensure that we steer clear of an idea of technology as delivering a static world, one where civil war is an order of the day. We need a technology that is always in motion, that is capable of moving us to a more resources-wise future in which we learn to preserve our vital resources as much as we offer to change the circumstances of the most vulnerable and destitute. This requires us to avoid making a fetish of technology, added Prof Dube.
My fourth and final plea for this universitys educational vision is that it pursues an ambition to lead our students to a position of self-sufficiency, but more. While we will endeavour to build entrepreneurial skills, we should be careful that such skills are not simply one to enhance markets. Rather, we should also work towards building technological resources and advanced qualifications (for instance in professional MA and doctoral degrees) that will help expand other fields of knowledge, especially in the areas of health, infrastructure development, service delivery, agriculture and manufacturing, and economic sustainability. For this we need a capable, committed and visible professoriate, to contribute effectively towards this universitys educational vision and the renewal of our academic, research and innovation endeavours, she concluded.
If the shoe fits...
Speaking on behalf of the Dr Nkosinathi Sishi, Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training; Thandi Lewin, Chief Director: Institutional Governance and Management Support, reiterated their pride and excitement towards Prof Dubes new role. Vice-Chancellor, be very assured of our support and our well wishes from the side of the department, I am very confident that CUT will excel under your leadership. And Im confident for several reasons; one, Prof Dube brings extensive knowledge to CUT, she has served in many different capacities in the higher education system in South Africa and internationally as well. Secondly, she is extremely qualified for this position given her extensive experience.
Thirdly, and most importantly, Professor Dube served in the department of education as a director in the University education branch, in fact she cut her teeth in the government machinery and she understands as a result the complexity of our history, our education system, our post school education and training system and she has continued to support the work of the department in many different capacities, said Lewin.
As she takes on her role as Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Pamela Dube has initiated effective partnerships and relationship-building approaches with academic, government, key industry and business role players which will encourage a fruitful tenure.
An exciting podcast focused on self-discovery for South African youth - 'Don't hold back - say it loud' - won a bronze award at this year's The Anthem Awards held in New York last week.
Dont hold back is a first-of-its-kind podcast series created in collaboration with Jacaranda FM, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and East Coast Radio.
Gautengs beloved More Music you Love radio station has added an exciting ecosystem of multimedia products like the Dont hold back podcast, and winning a bronze prize in the Education, Art, and Culture category celebrates our purpose and mission-driven work, and our collaborators of course, says Deirdre King, managing director of Jacaranda FM.
The Anthem Awards honour the work of media, individuals, or organisations across the globe with a goal of social impact. Dont hold back was positioned amongst the stars as other winners include Human Rights Watch, cultural icons like Lil Nas X, Stephen Colbert, and the satire show Last Week Tonight.
Thank you to all our fans who have supported us, our wonderful host Nozibele Qamngana, and the magnificent international team who collaborated internationally to bring this important bring this podcast to life! adds King.
About the international collaboration
The podcast is presented by well-known health activist - Nozibele Qamngana-Mayaba as she creates a safe space to discuss contentious and taboo issues that matter to young South Africans. Episodes seek to inspire and encourage listeners through personal stories of the guests, who share their stories of overcoming adversity, and in so doing empower listeners under 35-years-old to do the same.
This international broadcaster collaboration on a podcast, is a first of its kind on African soil as we created a digital product together from scratch a true collaboration. We are incredibly honoured to be Deutsche Welles production and distribution partner in Africa. Its also really exciting to present the youth with an audio companion, backed by data, and produced with the utmost care, says King.
Key facts
Listen at https://www.jacarandafm.com/jacpod/dont-hold-back-say-it-loud/ or on Apple Podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dont-hold-back-say-it-loud/id1631971351, Spotify via https://open.spotify.com/show/6nfUDXqv4OHg6gOHuQhjSI or Google Podcasts at https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9pb25vLmZtL3Jzcy9jaGFuLzczNjc
Co-production of Kagiso Media (Jacaranda FM and East Coast Radio) & Deutsche Welle and is the first international broadcaster collaboration for a podcast on African soil
The podcast is hosted at Jacaranda FM studios in Midrand, Johannesburg
Urban South Africans aged 20 to 35 are the target audience for the podcast
Nozibele Qamngana-Mayaba, the well-known YouTuber and health activist hosts season one
Subjects are diverse and include gender-based violence, finance, mental health, depression, and toxic relationships to name a few
Language: English
Length: 20-30 mins each episode; the first season has 10 episodes
Rhythm of publication: monthly on all podcast platforms
About Nozibele Qamgana-Mayaba
South African presenter Nozibele Qamngana-Mayaba is famous for her HIV/Aids activism and YouTube channel. After her own diagnosis with HIV in 2013, Nozibele made it her mission to hold open conversations about her journey living with HIV.
Now a published author and respected authority on the subject, the 31-year-olds work was named as one of the webs Top 15 HIV YouTube channels.
With her direct, engaging, and empathetic hosting style, she is the perfect fit to address taboo topics - and to say: Don't hold back!
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A high-tech manufacturer in Farmington is expanding into a new 65,000-square-foot facility, a move that federal and state officials on Wednesday called a significant win for Connecticut.
Mott Corp. anticipates hiring about 100 new employees, and said its two current buildings in Farmington cant accommodate its growth.
This is a success story for manufacturing in Connecticut, Chief Executive Officer Boris Levin said at a ceremony at his companys headquarters on Spring Lane.
Its a success story of the company that here in Connecticut makes the most sophisticated products to solve the most pressing challenges of our times: national security, health care and climate change, Levin told employees.
Mott manufactures precision filtration systems and products for the computer, clean energy, medical technology and space exploration fields. At the ceremony, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Mott has positioned itself as a leader in the kind of high-growth, high-skill industries that are crucial to the countrys success.
Donald Chislum, a senior employee at Mott Corp., speaks at a ceremony celebrating the companys expansion in Farmington.
Mott is a great American success story because it will enable this country to beat our competition globally, Blumenthal said.
The federal Chips and Science Act that became law last year budgeted $280 billion in new funding to aid domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors, and Blumenthal said Mott is an example of a company that deserves such aid. He pledged to help it secure funding.
The lifeblood of our nation is innovation, innovation, energy. Thats what Mott epitomizes, he said. It epitomizes integrity. Mott is paying back its PPP loan. I encounter very few companies that are taking that patriotic action.
The companys clean energy business center is centered on so-called green hydrogen, a low-emission fuel thats expected to be in increasing demand globally well into the future.
Mott began in 1959 in a small East Hartford building, and as recently as 2013 had a payroll of less than 100. It now fills roughly 80,000 square feet of space in two Spring Lane buildings, and will be adding 65,000 square feet of manufacturing space when it leases part of the 1690 New Britain Ave. office building, the company said.
Levin said that among the key elements of Motts success are its employee-ownership model and its reinvestment in Farmington and nearby towns.
Financial success is spread through the community where we live, he said.
The employee-ownership model means the companys more than 350 workers share substantially in all profits, according to Mott. When it fills the 100 new engineering and advanced manufacturing jobs over the next two years, those workers, too, will benefit, it said.
Levin said the goal is to create generational wealth by enabling current workers to buy homes, live fairly well and retire in solid financial condition.
Donald Chislum, an inventory controller, told the audience that he will be able to retire sooner than the norm.
A New Britain Avenue office building in Farmington where Mott Corp. will locate some operations as it expands this year.
For me, (Mott) endeavors to invest positive generational change in the lives of its employees, its neighbors and the global community, Chislum said. Because Mott continues to offer its employee stock ownership plan, I will be able to retire a number of years earlier than the 65-year average age.
Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes also applauded Mott for its support of Wheeler Health and other community services as well as its market success. Lamont noted that Levin came to the United States after fleeing the former Soviet Union.
You came from a country that pretended they cared about the workers, Im not sure they really did. Mott really does, Lamont said.
I love the fact that youre all part of a family, that fact that youre all owners and part of the success, Lamont told the employees. Part of that success is somewhat financial. Its also being part of something bigger, thats what makes life meaningful.
Local authorities across the country are turning to private suppliers to help businesses and households keep the lights on.
Worker tests LED lights on a solar panel at Ener-G-Africa factory in Cape Town. Source: Reuters/Esa Alexander
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a state of disaster over the energy crunch, which is seen wiping as much as two percentage points off economic growth this year.
With South Africans spending up to 10 hours a day without electricity, Cape Town aims to halve power cuts for its residents by 2026, its executive director for energy Kadri Nassiep said.
Officials plan to procure up to 500 megawatts (MW) from private power companies by 2026 to provide roughly a third of the city's annual 1,500-1,800MW electricity needs.
They are also looking at offering households monetary incentives to save power during peak demand.
"Our idea is to make up the shortfall that Eskom is not able to provide so that we can get the economy growing here again, investors interested again, get jobs back," Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis told Reuters.
Debt-laden Eskom said earlier this month that it was only able to supply 56.6% of the power needed nationally in the 2022/23 financial year.
The electricity crunch has been years in the making, a product of factors including delays in building new coal-fired power stations and easing regulation to enable renewable energy producers to swiftly bring projects onstream.
Independence from Eskom
Cape Town's Nassiep said the city was taking steps towards total energy independence from Eskom beyond 2030.
It issued a 200MW solar energy tender last year and expects to follow that up with another for up to 300MW of battery storage in the next few weeks.
Other cities including Johannesburg are looking at issuing similar tenders though unstable political coalitions have delayed their finalisation.
Johannesburg's bulk energy supplier, City Power, in November requested proposals from private companies for an up to 36-month purchasing agreement and hopes to add 500MW to the city's grid, then mayor Mpho Phalatse announced in January.
The neighbouring Ekurhuleni municipality has signed deals with 46 private power companies for 700MW, according to its 2020/2021 annual report.
Hill-Lewis said Cape Town also plans to change its energy policy to allow households and businesses that produce solar power to sell the excess to the city.
Challenges remain
It is mostly big businesses and wealthy residents who can afford to install solar panels, which can retail between R60,000 and R250,000. In Cape Town, for those wanting to sell excess power to the city, a R12,000 feed-in meter is required.
"As a small business, we cannot afford to put in solar panels. We work hand to mouth," said Faieza Caswell, a seamstress in Cape Town's Mitchells Plain township.
There are also large residential areas that, due to the historical make-up of the city, have little option but to buy electricity directly from Eskom so risk being left out.
The Gauteng Provincial Government is set to release R1.2bn towards resolving the energy crisis in the province.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi. Source: Facebook
In a few weeks, we will appoint six developers who will commence the construction of an 800-megawatt solar farm in Merafong. This will be followed by the installation of rooftop solar panels in government buildings especially hospitals, clinics and schools, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said on Monday, 20 February, in Johannesburg.
Delivering his State of the Province Address in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, he said the electricity deficit is focused at 4058 mega volt-ampermps (MVA) in 2025.
This is slightly high given Eskom's inability to generate more from its current fleet. As Gauteng, we have been working on finding solutions to the energy crisis. We have established an energy crisis response team that engages with the National Energy Committee and working with local government and energy experts, Lesufi said.
Eskom has been battling to keep the lights on for the past few months, leading to increased stages of load shedding and a devastating impact on lives, livelihoods and businesses.
We will engage with Johannesburg Municipalitys City Power as well as Tshwanes Rooiwal facility with an intention of supporting them to expand and generate more power. We will meet with owners of Kelvin Power Station to establish how we can partner with them to limit load shedding in Gauteng. From next week, we will advertise a call for proposals for alternative suppliers of energy that can contribute to a solution of the energy crisis and the reindustrialisation of Gauteng, he said.
State of disaster
The premier welcomed the declaration of a National State of Disaster, which was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) earlier this month.
The president explained that the declaration will enable government to provide practical measures to assist businesses that have been devastated by the effects of load shedding.
Where technically possible, it will also enable government to exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants from load shedding.
It will enable government to accelerate energy projects and limit regulatory requirements while maintaining rigorous environmental protection as well as procurement principles and technical standards.
Disaster management in Gauteng
With the country experiencing natural disasters, the Premier said the provincial government is ready to deal with them.
For the reasons above, we are establishing a combat ready Disaster Management Centre with state-of-the-art disaster management equipment. It will also house helicopters, drones, and highly skilled personnel that can respond within the shortest possible time.
Areas prone to disasters such as Jukskei River in Alexandra Township will receive additional support to relocate within the shortest possible time when the disaster centre is in full force, he said.
Minibus taxi association umbrella body, Santaco strike which was scheduled for today, 22 February 2023 has been called off following a successful meeting between the City of Cape Town, Western Cape Government and Santaco. Newly sworn-in Western Cape Minister of Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie met with leaders from Santaco to prevent a "stayaway" this week in the province.
An agreement to provide Mckenzie with the necessary time to engage the organisation on the raised issues has been reached. This will also provide the agreed task team with a chance to meet and tackle the initiatives that were discussed.
"I am extremely pleased that the meeting today has resulted in the looming Santaco taxi strike being called off. As a result of the progress made during todays engagement, all taxi industry role players are asked to continue with operations as per usual tomorrow. Our people cannot afford disruptions in getting to work and putting food on their tables, and our communities cannot again be exposed to the risk of public violence," says Councillor Rob Quintas, Citys mayoral committee member for urban mobility.
Addressing obstacles
In a statement, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government said that it will make a sustained effort to engage the leadership and ensure that peaceful and proactive ways are found to address the various obstacles.
"This will be done in the spirit of open and frank ongoing dialogue, where we as government are able to move forward in regularising the industry, and ensuring a working, integrated public transport system in Cape Town," says Quintas
It has been decided that Mackenzie will convene and chair a task team comprised of officials from the Western Cape Government and City, together with the leadership of Santaco, Western Cape. The City of Cape Towns Urban Mobility officials will fast track the Special Regulatory Process in consultation with Santaco, and advise the PRE on Operating Licence applications for issuing within the shortest possible timeframe.
The Western Cape Governments Department of Mobility will furthermore work with Santaco to implement a project to register minibus taxi drivers.
Detailed commitments have been made in the interim regarding initiatives that could assist in addressing the various grievances that have been raised by Santaco. Details on these agreements will be communicated as developments are made.
On the back of South Africa's rand falling to its lowest level this year against the US dollar, the 2023 budget speech saw Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announcing National Treasury's Eskom debt relief plan.
Source: iStock
The R254bn debt relief amounts to almost as much as the power utility has received in bailouts since 2008, a step in the right direction that will likely determine the currencys next move, analysts say.
"The Eskom debt relief, amounting to R254bn will require a step change in public debt which will result in government debt stabilising at 73.6% of GDP in 2025/26, later and at a higher level than in the 2022 medium term budget policy statements," Godongwana said.
He said government taking over a portion of Eskoms debt will ease pressure on the companys balance sheet, enabling it to invest in transmission and distribution infrastructure. It will also allow Eskom to conduct the maintenance required to improve the availability of electricity, he said.
"Secondly, R337bn of Eskoms debt is already government guaranteed. Explicitly taking on this debt, will reduce fiscal risk and enhance long-term fiscal sustainability."
#Eskom: The #ANC want what will win them the next election not what will keep the country going for the next two decades - Andre de Ruyter https://t.co/NxUPABRzu3
Pauli Van Wyk (@PaulivW) February 22, 2023
The proposed debt relief comprises two components, Godongwana explained. One is R184bn. This represents Eskoms full debt settlement requirement in three tranches over the medium term. Second is a direct take-over of up to R70bn of Eskoms loan portfolio in 2025/26."Because of the structure of the debt relief, Eskom will not need further borrowing during the relief period," he said.
Government will finance the arrangement through the R66bn baseline provision announced in the 2019 Budget, and R118bn in additional borrowings over the next three years.
Investing in renewable energy
A fiscal support package to encourage businesses and individuals to invest in renewable energy and increase electricity generation was announced.From 1 March 2023, businesses will be able to reduce their taxable income by 125% of the cost of an investment in renewables.
There will be no thresholds on the size of the projects that qualify, and the incentive will be available for two years to stimulate investment in the short term.
As announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa, government will also introduce a new tax incentive for individuals to install rooftop solar panels to reduce pressure on the grid and help ease loadshedding.
"Individuals who install rooftop solar panels from 1 March, 2023 will be able to claim a rebate of 25% of the cost of the panels, up to a maximum of R15,000. This can be used to reduce their tax liability in the 2023/24 tax year. This incentive will be available for one year," Godongwana said
Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan has launched an attack on outgoing Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter, slamming him for meddling in politics instead of focusing on ending load-shedding. https://t.co/C7NYCDQNVc Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) February 22, 2023
Changes to the Bounce Back Loan Guarantee Scheme are also proposed to incentivise renewable energy, rooftop solar investments, and address energy-related constraints experienced by small and medium enterprises.
Government will guarantee solar-related loans for small and medium enterprises on a 20% first-loss basis.
National Treasury will launch the Energy Bounce Back Scheme in April 2023.
In addition, by means of the Just Energy Transition investment plan, launched by the President in 2022 at the Cop27, significant investments will be made in SA's economy over the next five years, supported by a coherent industrial policy to enable innovation and economic diversification.
The International Partners Group of developed economies in 2021 pledged $8.5bn to support South Africas transition. As in the 2022 Budget, government again proposes no changes to the general fuel levy or the Road Accident Fund levy.
To limit the impact of the energy crisis on food prices, the diesel fuel levy refund will be extended to manufacturers of foodstuffs for a period of two years, from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2025. Furthermore, old age and disability grants will increase by R90 on 1 April and a further R10 on 1 October 2023. The child support grant rises from R480 to R510 on 1 October 2023. Foster-care grant increases from R1,070 to R1,130 over the same period.
Total consolidated government spending will amount to R7.08tn over the next three years, of which 51% or R3.6 tn is allocated for the social wage.
Read the full 2023 Budget Speech here.
Planet42, a car subscription startup addressing transport inequality, has raised $100m in combined equity and debt funding. Founded in 2017 in Estonia, Planet42 has operations in South Africa and Mexico.
Planer42 leadership team | image supplied
The $15m equity round was co-led by Naspers and ARS Holdings, with participation from existing and new shareholders, including Rivonia Road Capital, who also provided a $75m credit facility.
Private investors contributed a further $10m in debt financing. The funds will enable Planet42 to rapidly scale its business and meet its ambition of providing one million cars worldwide.
In 2021 Planet42 raised $6m in equity and $24m in debt financing. Since then, the company has nearly quadrupled the size of its business and purchased well over 5,000 cars in South Africa in the last 12 months alone.
In South Africa, nearly 1,000 dealerships have been added to the Planet42 network. Planet42 buys the customers chosen car and rents it out to them on a subscription basis.
Grant Wing, South Africa managing director and country manager of Planet42, says:
Planet42 is committed to breaking down the barriers that South Africans face in accessing cars. The struggle for credit, particularly for car finance, has been an ongoing challenge for millions of people in the country, even a decade ago, when the economy was arguably in better shape, and we understand the significant impact that this has on peoples lives. Essentially, no car equals lower standards of living and, in many cases, no income at all. Our mission is to empower people to create a brighter future for themselves, and we are proud to be a part of their journey towards financial inclusion and success.
Im thrilled to support Planet42 as they expand worldwide and improve the lives of thousands of individuals who face limited access to private transportation, which can significantly impact their quality of life and opportunities. Planet42's team has displayed remarkable execution, with a proven innovative, cash-generating, and globally scalable model, says Andrew Rolfe, general partner at ARS Holdings, who joins Planet42 as a member of its supervisory board.
The Gauteng Provincial Government has committed to use 60% of its R34bn goods and services budget to support township initiatives.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi. Source: Facebook
Delivering the State of the Province Address (Sopa) in the Provincial Legislature in Johannesburg on Monday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said townships are the provinces "new gold" and with new malls and filling stations being rapidly set up there, government must ensure these investments benefit the people.
This house (legislature) unanimously adopted the Township Economic Development Act, a blueprint on how we will support township businesses and fund them. We want this act... to migrate from paper to practice.
As the Gauteng Provincial Government, we commit, as we do now, that as of 1 April, we will use 60% of the R34bn goods and services budget (about R20.4bn) to support township initiatives. We are establishing a digital database (township business register) of all businesses in townships, Lesufi said.
Lesufi said a financing model is currently being finalised to allow township businesses to have their own bulk buying mechanism through the establishment of township-based warehouses and distribution centres, like the ones already launched in Katlehong and Mamelodi.
The Premier said the province has also adopted a prototype for local retail shops, commonly known as spaza shops, so that they can differentiate them from shops owned by foreign nationals.
We are now firmly reclaiming our shops in the townships. The township residential rental market or the backroom economy has been part of the township economy since the beginning of time, Lesufi said.
R50m approved for backroom property owners
The province is upscaling the formalisation and upgrading of backroom properties and empowering "aboMastandi" (landlords) to get into the real estate industry.
Lesufi said 2,000 applications have been validated for funding for aboMastandi and 40 loans have been approved to the tune of R50m, which has the potential to create employment.
We want to ensure the timeous lodging of zoning applications and direct collaboration with municipalities on the delivery of this project of backyard dwellers. With our Gauteng Broadband Network, we will provide reliable internet in the townships and make free WiFi available at strategic areas in our communities, Lesufi said.
Taxi rank of the future
As the taxi industry plays an important role in the township economy, Lesufi said together with the taxi industry, the provincial government has put together a taxi fund to the tune of R20m, as a seed capital for the taxi association to raise money in the market.
Taxi ranks will be our future shopping stations. We will be launching taxi ranks of the future, a one-stop shop, for taxi parts and tyres, banks, restaurants, and many other related businesses, such as filling stations.
A new model of taxi rank of the future will be unveiled. We are excited about this project, Lesufi said.
Gov. Ned Lamont addressed rising health costs and hospital consolidation Tuesday with two bills that put a free-market governor at odds with Big Pharma and a hospital industry that is a major employer throughout Connecticut.
When the market is not working, states can take action, said Dr. Deidre Gifford, the physician and health-care cost expert who advises the governor on health issues as the executive director of the Office of Health Strategies.
At a press conference in a crowded corner of an independent pharmacy in New Britain, the governor took the first public steps towards passage of two administration bills addressing the related issues of costs and competition.
The measures include a ban on outpatient facility fees that cost Connecticut consumers $400 million annually, a cap on out-of-network patient costs, a ban on anti-competitive language and a commitment to join a multi-state program that offers lower prices through the bulk purchase of generic drugs.
The system is broken, Lamont said, standing with consumers, a pharmacist and others who described patients self-rationing drugs, risking their health to save money for other household necessities.
Our patients and citizens of this state should not have to go without medications, said Daniel Michalak, the pharmacy manager at Beacon Prescriptions. They have tough choices between bills, food and shelter. Medication should not be skipped due to financial struggles.
The roll out came on a day when one of the two measures, Senate Bill 983, was up for a public hearing before the legislatures Insurance and Real Estate Committee, where the hospitals lined up in opposition. The other measure, House Bill 6669, is before the Public Health Committee.
In written testimony echoing points made by individual hospitals and systems, the Connecticut Hospital Association cast the cost-containment efforts as a boon to insurers and a burden on hospitals. The four national health insurers operating in Connecticut made between $4.1 billion and $20.1 billion in profits in 2022, the CHA said.
Nothing in SB 983 would require these companies to pass on the savings generated by these government-imposed price caps to consumers, the CHA said.
Delayed by an interruption in web service necessary for hearings that are required to simultaneously occur virtually and in person, the hearing was expected to stretch into the evening.
A willingness to fight with the hospitals is a departure for a governor who managed in 2019, his first year in office, to resolve a long-running tax battle with the industry opened by his predecessor, then worked closely with hospitals when COVID-19 threatened to overwhelm the system.
Gifford, whom Lamont hired as the commissioner of social services, then moved her in December to a broader role at the Office of Health Strategies, said the state must act in face of crushing health costs.
The United States spends more than twice per person on health care than the rest of the developed world, Gifford said. And furthermore, our health outcomes are not as good as many other countries that spend far less. Medical debt is the No. 1 cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States. Think about that. Health care costs are driving people into bankruptcy, with all of the disruption and the physical and emotional stress that goes along with it.
Lamont said the legislation outlined Tuesday is an outgrowth of Giffords new assignment. While the task of providing universal and affordable health care is a national issue, there is a significant role for the states in cost containment.
Here in Connecticut, I want to do everything I can to deal with the underlying health care costs, Lamont said. I want to make sure that all the pharmacists here at Beacon have all the tools you need to make sure that I can get the right prescription at the best value for folks.
The administration is working with Sean Scanlon, who oversees the administration of health coverage to state employees as the newly elected state comptroller. Lamonts legislation would authorize Scanlon to pursue his idea of having Connecticut join with Nevada, Oregon and Washington in Array RX, a program to lower generic drug prices through bulk purchases.
Obviously, I think that there are a lot of solutions at the national level that I wish we could see happen, Scanlon said. But because of the gridlock in Washington, its up to states like Connecticut to act, and, thankfully, the governor is acting. This team is acting.
The legislation comes at a time of expansion and acquisition by the states two largest hospital systems, Hartford HealthCare and Yale-New Haven.
Health system consolidation has led to some improvements in efficiency and coordination, but the evidence is clear that its also led to price increases, Gifford said. Large health care systems increase their bargaining power with insurers and make it difficult to maintain reasonable prices. So to increase competition and make a more level playing field, SB 983 will ban contracting terms that allow health care monopolies to stifle competition and increase prices.
Dr. James Cardon, the executive vice president of Hartford HealthCare, submitted testimony calling the proposal for an out-of-network rate cap a legislative disruption of the commercial contracting process that will disadvantage the hospitals and quality of health care.
The bill would cap the rate at 100% of the Medicare reimbursement rate, which hospital administrators said was too low.
This would undermine good-faith negotiation between hospitals and commercial insurers, said Patrick Charmel, the chief executive officer of Griffin Health in Derby. The provision would provide a perverse incentive for commercial insurers to offer rates that are well below those prevailing in the market knowing that if the hospital refused those substandard rates, the hospital would lose its participating provider status and be forced to bill the patient/insurer as an out of network provider and then accept even lower rates, which would not be financially feasible given that they would not cover the hospitals cost of providing care.
But Ellen Andrews of the Connecticut Health Policy Project said market changes have made the case for the legislation proposed by Lamont.
In sum, Connecticuts health care markets are increasingly consolidated and less competitive, driving up prices and premiums, reducing access to care, with no improvement in quality. SB 983 and HB 6620 can level the playing field, support competition, lower premiums, support value-based purchasing, improve access to critical services such as birthing centers and overcrowded emergency departments, and reduce overall health care costs.
Gifford said she expected negotiations would follow Tuesdays roll out, but she said costs cannot be contained without addressing prescription prices and hospital costs.
The main drivers of increasing health care costs continue to be hospital inpatient charges, hospital outpatient charges and the cost of drugs, Gifford said. We will only be successful in tackling our long term health care costs if we tackle those three issues.
If you're tired of censorship, cancel culture, and the erosion of privacy and civil liberties subscribe to Reclaim The Net.
The UKs Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office is funding London-based think tank the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which creates a blacklist of websites it thinks advertisers should avoid that are mostly right-of-center news websites.
GDI states that its objective is to disrupt their advertising-funded business models by encouraging brands, suppliers and ad tech vendors to blocklist them.
The GDI is also funded by the US State Department.
Recently, the think tank published a list of 10 least risky and riskiest news websites in the US. The New York Times, Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, and AP News were among the list of least risky. Among the 10 riskiest websites were the New York Post, Newsmax, the American Spectator, and The Federalist.
GDI also wants anything that challenges scientific consensus on vaccines and climate change to be blocked. For instance it is disinformation to describe the COVID-19 vaccines as experimental.
The GDI is on a mission to defund online sources of disinformation.
Discover will allow its network to track sales at gun sellers starting in April.
The card network is apparently the first to publicly give a date for the initiative, designed to help law enforcement investigate gun crimes, Reuters reported Sunday (Feb. 19).
We remain focused on continuing to protect and support lawful purchases on our network while protecting the privacy of cardholders, the card company said in its statement to Reuters.
Later, a spokesperson for Discover told Reuters that other payment networks had also chosen April to roll out their programs, but declined to name those companies.
We were following the industry for consistent implementation, the spokesperson said.
PYMNTS has reached out to Discover for comment but has not yet received a reply.
Last year, Visa, Mastercard and American Express agreed to add new merchant category codes (MCCs) to provide more information about retailers who sell firearms.
That was in response to a request California Attorney General Rob Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had hoped to flag suspicious activity, such as large purchases of guns or ammunition, for law enforcement.
If tracking MCCs could stop just one mass shooting or derail one gun trafficker aiming to flood the streets with guns, the change would be justified, the two prosecutors wrote in a letter to the card companies.
MCCs exist for all sorts of consumer product sellers. However, gun shops were categorized by the far broader categories of specialty retailers or durable-goods sellers.
The new code will be for retailers whose primary business is firearms sales, and big-box stores selling guns will not be included in the code.
Card companies have said the MCCs are not designed to track gun sales, but to classify the type of business a retailer does.
However, MCCs do not give Visa or any other payment network visibility into product-level data, also known as SKU-level data, that company wrote in a blog post last year. When we process a transaction, we have no visibility into what items a consumer is purchasing this is true irrespective of which MCC applies to a merchant.
The plan has been criticized by Republican state attorneys general, who argue that the MCCs could be a violation of consumer protection and antitrust laws.
Writing to the CEOs of the three card companies, the attorneys general argued the monitoring and tracking of firearms sales creates a list of gun buyers and places the information of law-abiding consumers at risk.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in a statement that it is extremely disappointing to see credit card companies cave to pressure from international bodies and adopt this measure that will do nothing to improve public safety.
A list of the 25 highest paid East Hartford municipal employees in the last fiscal year includes 15 police officers and seven fire department personnel who in most cases boosted their earnings with overtime necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The list, which does not include school employees as they are contained in separate data was provided swiftly and free of charge by East Hartford in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Courant. The numbers are rounded to the nearest dollar.
The top earner in gross wages was police patrol officer John Zavalick, who earned $247,642. Zavalick had a base pay of $86,086 and also earned $161,456 in overtime, data show.
Mayor Michael P. Walsh said Zavalick, a 30-year veteran, has since retired and moved to another police department.
Veteran police Sgt. Ian Allison made the list at No. 25 because of a settlement the town had to pay him following a labor dispute.
Allison was dismissed Feb. 3, 2021 for allegedly trying to inflate hours for another officers private duty job, but was reinstated by a State Labor Board panel that found there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegations.
Allison earned $38,893 in wages, but also got an employee settlement related to the case of $115,903, bringing his total up to $154,797, data show.
Of the 15 police officers on the list, five of them earned more in overtime than their base pay but no one near as much as Zavalick.
There are shocking numbers in some cases, but it represents a cost the town paid to keep the community staffing, at a safe level and within contract requirements, Walsh said.
Walsh said East Hartford doesnt face as much of a hiring/staffing crisis as many other municipalities in Connecticut do, because they still offer a pension.
But COVID cases among police officers and firefighters last year presented a challenge and required finding replacements for those sick or in quarantine.
Both the police and fire labor contracts have minimum staffing provisions in them to ensure employee safety, as well as public safety, Walsh said.
The police contract also requires no fewer than eight patrol officers on the street and the fire department 26 firefighters on a shift, Walsh said.
A large portion of the overtime numbers are comprised of extra duty pay that is paid by outside sources, rather than out of city coffers, Walsh said. But payroll doesnt separate the numbers, Walsh said.
Police Chief Scott Sansom said hes glad so many officers in the department are willing to work overtime, as many departments are grappling with having to order people in to cover shifts, as there has been a shift in philosophy among officers.
He said generally police departments are finding the younger generation officers are less willing to work overtime because they are concerned with family and quality of life.
Im glad the officers are working this overtime on a voluntary basis, he said. Sansom said that while they are down several officers because of attrition, they are better off than many departments in Connecticut.
Another earnings category that boosted some salaries were contractual retirement payouts, which include sick days, compensatory time, and unused vacation time.
In addition to Zavalick and Allison, the top municipal wager-earners, from highest to lowest, according to town data, were:
Police Lt. Steven Camp who earned $211, 672, with $103,108 in base pay and $108,564 in overtime,
Finance Director Linda Trzetziak earned $210, 287, with a base pay of $101,517 and a retirement payout of $108,770.
Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Flor earned $191,781, with a base pay of $108,210, overtime of $30, 344 and a payout of $53,226.
Fire Lt. David Noyes earned $189, 713, a base pay of $95,709, overtime of $50,061 and a payout of $43, 941.
Police Lt. Michael Demaine earned $188, 059, with a base pay of $106, 078 and overtime of $81,981.
Police Lt. Paulo Nievesearned $183,483, with a base pay of $105,891 and $77,591 in overtime
Deputy Fire Chief Richard Littell earned $175,499, with a base pay of $108,844, overtime of $23, 884 and a payout of $42,770.
Police Lt. Daniel Caruso earned $175,421, with a base pay of $98,303. and $77,118 in overtime.
Police Lt. John Dupont earned $174, 959 with a base pay of $105,489 and $69, 470 in overtime.
Fire Lt. Jeffrey DeMarest earned $173,826 with a base pay of $91,608, overtime of $37,362 and a payout of $44,855.
Patrol officer Krzysztof Gorynski earned $173,649, with a base pay of $86,608 and overtime of $87,041.
Fire Lt. Ronald Krystofik earned $172,964, including $93,028 base pay, $29,402 in overtime and a payout of $51, 534.
Chief Sansom earned $167,826.
Police Lt. Joseph Ficacelli earned $167,636, with a base pay of $105,324 and overtime of $62,312.
Fire Capt. Richard Leach earned $165,853 with a base pay of $95,709 and $70, 144 in overtime.
Patrol officer Jason Cohen earned $164,752 with a base pay of $86,986 and overtime of $77,765.
Patrol officer Eric Apronti earned $162,064, including a base salary of $78,869 and overtime of $83,195.
Director of Public Works John Lawlor earned $181,850, with a base pay of $143,465, no overtime and $18,385 in payouts.
Patrol officer Juan Rivera, earned $160, 132 with a base pay of $84,846 and $75,285 in overtime.
Assistant Fire chief James Silver, earned $160,100, with a base pay of $122,314, and overtime of $37,791.
Parks project coordinator and maintenance supervisor Daniel Brimley earned $159, 924, with a base pay of $83,584, overtime of $21,073 and a payout of $55,266.
Patrol officer Michael Weglarz earned $158,300, including his base pay of $84,927 and overtime of $73,372.
Patrol officer Jerry Cao earned $156,479, with a base pay of $74,103 and overtime of $82,376.
A month after abruptly halting plans for a potential merger of its major media companies Fox Corporation and News Corporation, Rupert Murdochs business empire said its no longer involved in discussions to sell its real-estate listings business Move to rival CoStar.
The publishing company controlled by the Murdoch family had been in talks to sell the parent of Realtor.com and other real estate-related websites for more than $US3 billion ($4.4 billion), people familiar with the talks said last month. The Financial Times had reported News Corp was to sell the entirety of its 80 per cent stake under the plans.
Rupert Murdochs News Corp is no longer in talks to sell Move to CoStar. Credit: AP
News Corp said in a statement on Tuesday that it will actively assess opportunities as it continues a strategy of optimising the value of its online real estate segment, declining to make further comments. The company has received interest from other potential buyers, said a person familiar with the talks who asked not be identified because they are private.
On a conference call with investors on Tuesday, CoStar chief executive Andrew Florance confirmed that at this point CoStar Group is not acquiring Realtor.com. CoStar plans to continue investing in its Homes.com site, which is gaining traffic, he said.
The year 1831 seemed the perfect time to start a new venture in New Haven, one that would bring education and prosperity to the Black community in the city and beyond.
It would be the first Black college, created by Black and white leaders in the city to teach those who were descended from slavery, or formerly enslaved themselves, classical subjects as well as practical trades such as agriculture and mechanics.
In 1831 you have the dawn of the abolition era and you have this emergence of Black leadership in New Haven, said Tubyez Cropper, director of the film What Could Have Been and program manager of community engagement at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale.
The title card to the documentary What Could Have Been, about the effort to found a Black college in New Haven.
The film produced by the Beinecke, will be shown at the New Haven Museum today at 6 p.m. followed by a discussion.
In 1831, William Lloyd Garrisons newspaper, The Liberator, began publishing. Abolition was gaining momentum, although Connecticut did not abolish slavery until 1848.
Connecticut was not as progressive as what is popularly perceived, Cropper said. And essentially, Connecticut was one of the last Northern states to abolish slavery. But you have all of these great Black leaders, both in New Haven, Philadelphia and New York, coming together to create the first of its kind. But theres also great white leaders as well that are helping to push it because they have the voice and people will listen.
Simeon Jocelyn, a white minister to the Black Temple Street Congregational Church, wrote to Garrison and Black leaders such as Richard Allen in Philadelphia.
Simeon Jocelyn, minister at the Temple Street Congregational Church, led the effort to found a Black college in New Haven.
A site was picked out, at Water and Wallace streets, in a building located where Interstate 95 now runs. New York philanthropist and abolitionist Arthur Tappan bought the building for $1,000.
New Haven was seen by advocates of the Black college as a perfect location. Yale College was the nations largest, with 469 white male students. As the proceedings of the 1831 convention in Philadelphia read:
First, the site is healthy and beautiful. Second, its inhabitants are friendly, pious, generous and humane. Third, its laws are salutary and protect all without regard to complexion. Fourth, boarding is cheap and provisions are good. Fifth, the situation is as central as any other that can be obtained with the same advantages.
But it was not to be. Reactionary forces rose up, concerned about the impact a new college would have on Yale and about the influx of Black students, especially from the South, from which Yale attracted many of its students.
Mayor Dennis Kimberly called a town meeting in the statehouse behind Center Church on the Green. The vote was 700-4 against the college. The dream was dead. The first Black college in America would be the African Institute, now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1837.
The big story here is this was not that long ago, Cropper said. And what we want people to realize in all these stories that are uncovered, but especially something like this is, a lot of the roads, a lot of the buildings are still here, so it helps people to realize what once was and what almost could have been.
William Lloyd Garrison, a leading abolitionist and publisher of The Liberator, was involved in the effort to found a Black college in New Haven.
He said one purpose of the film is to just push that envelope that this was real. The places that were in existence in 1831 for the most part are still here. Theres so much New Haven history and New Haven was a major player in our national development and at that time in the center of U.S. news was something as new as [the Black college].
The history of the would-be college was not forgotten. The story itself, the people who are part of it, was preserved, Cropper said. John Warner Barber, who was a New Haven engraver, had a compilation of everything that happened, everything that transpired in that short time in 1831.
A handwritten note on both the cover and first page reads, To be carefully preserved. This is a great document that really shows its existence and puts it in perspective, Cropper said.
The idea of a Black college in New Haven was historic in itself, but that wasnt all. It is notable that the college would have had four Black trustees and three white trustees and it was revolutionary in 1831, said Michael Morand, director of community engagement at the Beinecke, who wrote the film with Cropper.
The funding would have been half from Black people and half from white people, he said. So its an early and revolutionary proposal. That it didnt happen is terrible, but it did set the ground for later organizing and development.
This painting shows the three churches on the New Haven Green and the statehouse behind Center Church, since torn down, which was built when New Haven was a co-capital with Hartford. The town meeting to vote on a proposed Black college was held in the statehouse.
Morand said its important to look at both negative and positive parts of history. We celebrate firsts and triumphs. As a dominant culture we tend to look away at hard history. But we need to know all of our history, he said.
In the 1831 convention, among their resolutions you see the timeless statement that knowledge is power, he said. That white leadership of New Haven fought against it because they wanted to hold on to power, did not want power to be shared with their Black neighbors. They knew also that knowledge is power.
Morand sees echoes today in that effort to preserve white dominance. We can look around our country today and see the history wars and the laws being passed by states to prevent teaching, not to have advanced-placement African-American studies in high schools. And its a reminder that we know now, as was known then, that knowledge is power.
With their film, Morand said he and Cropper are bringing forward the stories so that we can engage the past in our present, in order to hopefully transform and improve the future.
Margaret Anne Tokarshewsky, executive director of the New Haven Museum, said, Its important that we understand the past and little-known stories or hidden stories. We have no idea, and its only through research and conversation, that theyre going to become better known.
Charles Warner Jr. is narrator of What Could Have Been and chairman of the history committee at Dixwell Congregational UCC Church, which started as Temple Street Congregational, said city leaders, Black and white, spoke out after the college was defeated.
There are people like Bias Stanley, who wrote a letter to the newspaper after the idea was shot down, basically trying to assuage the white citizens about not wanting to force social equality, and not looking to supplant all white people in town, but really just that these were citizens who are interested in developing themselves, Warner said.
With six enslaved people in Connecticut in 1831, the state was hardly a progressive model. Garrison once called in the 19th century, Connecticut, the Georgia of New England, Morand said. Connecticut was reactionary, more reactionary on racial questions and racial inclusion than other states in New England.
He said the state enshrined in its Constitution the prohibition against Black men voting, which wasnt reversed until 1870 when the 15th Amendment gave all men the right to vote.
The opposition to the Black college involved Yale as well, which white leaders thought would be threatened. In reality, Yale was New Haven; New Haven was Yale. And Yale had stature, Cropper said. Many newspapers talked about how detrimental this move would be to such a college and how it would destroy their nation.
The Black college was compared to bees being drawn to a hive, and it would ruin the entire reputation of a thriving place, Cropper said.
Yale also depended heavily on Southern students, even naming the former Calhoun College after pro-slavery vice president of the United States, John C. Calhoun. Obviously, Yale would not have as many students coming from the South if there were a Black college, Cropper said. That would change a lot. It might have changed the economy.
Warner said the next up-and-comers who have prominent children flocking to New Haven were from both North and South because the sons of the Southern gentry could afford to pay the tuition. So Yale had recruited among Southerners, the plantation owners, to send their sons to Yale. So you had at the time a Southern presence in the city.
Warner said it would have been jarring for owners of the enslaved to see the very people who have no rights and work my fields and farms are walking around New Haven sharing sidewalk space and free and participating, like out in the open as free people and its offensive.
Opposition was strong among the white elite of New Haven, such as Ralph Ingersoll, who was the congressman at the time, Warner said. And interestingly enough, he also was the legal representative for the Spanish crown in the Amistad case.
There was also David Daggett, chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, who ruled against Prudence Crandalls plan to open a school for Black girls, opposed by the town of Canterbury. His ruling was used in the infamous Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which said Scott, who was enslaved, couldnt bring suit in federal court.
Cropper worries the college would not have survived, given the race riots at the time. But I also think about the pros, being this would have changed an entire generation of Black children and would have changed an entire culture, he said. And who knows what the relationship would have eventually turned into between Yale and that college, and how they could have collaborated and built up New Haven even more.
Morand also speculated, If the college had happened, perhaps the resolution to slavery as an institution would have come before 1865. Perhaps Reconstruction could have been better, because even more of an educated leadership could have come sooner and better and lasted more and been able to withstand the white reactionary forces that brought upon Jim Crow.
The presence of an institution of higher learning affects so many areas of living; it really does, Warner said. You think about what it would have meant for creating an educated class of people who had the knowledge to start financial institutions or agriculture businesses, manufacturing jobs. It really would have given New Havens Black community a very solid and firm footing.
Warner attended Morehouse College, a historically Black mens college, and said theres a piece of education that happens outside of academics that relate to cultural education and self-esteem and focus on who you are.
I can tell you that my first week there I was thoroughly immersed in a cultural, social, historical inundation that introduced me to the spirit of not only the school but the purpose and where we fit into that, Warner said.
The importance of historically Black colleges and universities cant be underestimated, he said. People literally were able to leave slavery in 1865 and find their way to being attorneys and being doctors, he said.
But despite the defeat of New Havens Black college, the story doesnt end in a sad way to me if you know how to look at it, Warner said.
The same group of people who pushed for the Negro college are the same people who sprung into action when the Amistad incident took place, he said. Theyre also the same folks as old men who pressed Abraham Lincoln for intervention in the eradication of slavery in the South. And the same men who galvanized themselves to address the needs of the great number of newly freed enslaved people in the South.
Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com.
The story was edited to correct John C. Calhouns title as U.S. vice president.
While were speaking about Jason Clare, the education minister has been speaking on Sky News about the review into Australian universities competitiveness.
If we went in a time machine back to when you and I were born in the western suburbs of Sydney, there was only a handful of unis, only about 7 per cent of Aussies had a uni degree. If you fast forward to today weve got about 40 unis, more than a million Australians are at uni at the moment...
Were told than nine out of 10 jobs in the coming decade are going to require you to finish school and then go to TAFE or go to uni. So universities and TAFEs are going to be more important in the years to come than they have been in the past decades...
So a big part of this review is, how many people do we need to have a university degree, and what are the priority areas where they need to focus?
Hundreds of firefighters battle Victoria fire
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Arne Treholt was a 42-year-old Norwegian diplomat and politician tipped as a future foreign minister when he was arrested in a dramatic swoop by Norwegian authorities at Oslo Airport in 1984. He was on his way, it later emerged, to meet a KGB agent in the historic European spy capital of Vienna.
In his briefcase, they found 65 classified documents, including plans on how and where NATO forces in Europe, including some from the United States, would reinforce Norway in any potential conflict with the Soviet Union. The two countries shared a 120-mile border.
Norwegian KGB Spy Arne Treholt, left, photographed with Soviet Union intelligence officers in Vienna, Austria in 1983. Credit: AP
Treholt, 80, died in Moscow on February 12, the Norwegian government confirmed, citing his family. No cause was reported. He had spent almost eight years of a 20-year prison sentence in Norway during the 1980s and early 1990s for spying for at least a decade for the Soviet Union and Iraq. The court verdict said his treachery had caused irreparable harm to Norway. By implication, that suggested potential damage to NATO strategy in general.
The arrest and trial was the biggest European spy drama since 1974 when West German chancellor Willy Brandt was forced to resign after his closest aide, Gunter Guillaume, was found to have been spying for communist East Germany.
Police say feuding Middle Eastern organised crime groups could be behind a string of shootings in Melbournes northern suburbs that sent a man to hospital with serious leg injuries and wounded another.
In recent weeks Thomastown and Coolaroo have been rocked by three separate shootings, which investigators believe are targeted attacks between groups.
Ibrahim El-Sayah was shot in the leg in Coolaroo on February 10.
Emergency services were called to a home on Barry Road in Thomastown, 16 kilometres north of the CBD, about 1am on January 24 after neighbours reported hearing gunshots coming from the property.
Police believe the shooting was the second time the property had been targeted in about 24 hours, after gunmen sprayed the home with bullets the day before. A 40-year-old was shot in the arm in the January 23 attack, which was not reported to police.
The family of an elderly couple found dead in an apparent murder-suicide at the weekend have released a statement saying the last 48 hours have been overwhelmingly difficult.
Linda, 66, and Ernie Gielink, 70, were found around 7.30pm on Sunday by their daughter, who visited the pairs Sunningdale Circle property in Cooloongup after being unable to get in touch with them.
Linda, 66 and Ernest Gielink, 70, who were found dead in their Cooloongup home. Credit: Unknown
It is understood the tragedy is being investigated as a possible murder-suicide and that a knife was involved.
We remain patient while the authorities continue their investigation and have the utmost confidence that they will bring this terrible ordeal to a satisfactory conclusion, the family said.
The dust from cutting engineered stone benchtops and vanities is killing Australian tradies.
One of the worlds largest stone benchtop companies and a coalition of health experts have separately called for a ban on products blamed for a deadly silicosis epidemic.
The push from manufacturer Cosentino and key health organisations, including the Lung Foundation Australia and Public Health Association Australia, came as a leading government voice on workplace relations also called for immediate action from state and federal governments to right a terrible wrong.
X-rays showing the effects of silicosis on the lungs. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
An investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes revealed this week that stonemasons have been inhaling carcinogenic silica dust when cutting engineered stone benchtops containing up to 95 per cent silica.
Manufacturer Cosentino produces more than one in every five domestic kitchen benchtops sold in Australia and is facing international scrutiny over its safety record.
Capping super balances is one option the government is considering to wind back the roughly $50 billion in superannuation tax concessions, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones says.
On Monday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers unveiled the governments suggested wording for a definition of super that would restrict its use to retirement income. He also said the cost of tax concessions was in his sights before the May budget.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones says the government is clearly thinking about caps on super tax concessions. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
While the opposition seized on that as a broken promise, key Senate crossbenchers are open to backing a shake-up of super tax breaks.
Speaking on ABC News Breakfast, Jones said by 2050 the government will be paying more in super tax concessions than it is on the aged pension, which is the largest government welfare payment.
Queensland is already trying to find temporary ways to boost strained youth detention capacity ahead of another expected jump in the number of young people placed in custody under proposed laws.
Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard also conceded the governments U-turn on a long-criticised LNP policy to criminalise bail breaches by young offenders was about taking a bipartisan approach in response to community pressure, rather than evidence.
The Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville, one of three such sites across Queensland. Credit: File
Experts and advocates have warned that the suite of tough youth crime measures expanded this week would only drag more young people deeper into the justice system and boost reoffending.
The measures were initially flagged in December after the first of three recent alleged murders by teenagers.
A mysterious iron orb that washed ashore on a Japanese beach has alarmed authorities, and garnered the name Godzilla Egg from social media users.
The 1.5-metre metal ball appeared on Enshuhama Beach in the city of Hamamatsu, the state broadcaster NHK reported.
The mysterious object, nicknamed Dragon Ball and Godzilla Egg, on Enshuhama Beach in Hamamatsu, Japan.
A passer-by reported it to police on Saturday prompting an inspection. Police blocked roads near the site and within a radius of 100 metres, and called an explosives disposal team to investigate.
Using X-rays, the police determined the orb was hollow, but they did not know in detail what it was.
A federal pandemic policy that guaranteed Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents is coming to an end.
Typically, people who receive Medicaid, known as HUSKY in Connecticut, go through an annual process to confirm whether they still qualify for the program. But, during the pandemic, the federal government instituted a policy, known as continuous enrollment, that prevented states from kicking people off of Medicaid, even if they no longer qualified or failed to update their eligibility information.
But, on March 31, continuous enrollment will end, kicking off a year-long process called unwinding, where everyone whose Medicaid coverage has been extended as part of the public health emergency will need to reevaluate their eligibility. In Connecticut, around 434,000 residents have had Medicaid coverage extended at some point over the past three years under the continuous eligibility rules.
Just the numbers alone make this really challenging, said Sen. Matthew Lesser, D-Middletown, who chairs the Human Services Committee.
How will unwinding work?
During a forum with the Human Services and Insurance committees in early February, Peter Hadler, a director with the Department of Social Services, presented the agencys plan for unwinding to legislators.
Hadler estimated that, once unwinding begins, DSS will have to process renewals for roughly 45,179 households per month, representing a nearly 70% increase over the volume of renewals the agency did last year.
But Hadler said the DSS has improved its ability to issue passive renewals, a process by which the agency can automatically renew Medicaid coverage using data from the Connecticut Department of Labor and the IRS. Passive renewals allow people to keep their Medicaid coverage without having to take any action.
Because that passive renewal process has been strengthened going into the unwinding period, were anticipating that a lot of people will now be able to passively renew, Hadler explained in an interview with the CT Mirror.
Sixty days prior to a persons renewal date, the state will attempt to passively renew their coverage. If this process is successful, the recipient will receive a notice that their coverage has been renewed and that no additional action is required.
DSS estimates that around 70% of households that need a renewal will be able to have their coverage passively renewed.
If the state were not able to passively renew the coverage, the person would receive a pre-populated renewal application in the mail 45 days prior to their renewal date, which they will have to complete either online, by phone or on paper.
Even if the state were able to process most renewals passively, this would still mean around 13,000 households per month would need to manually renew their Medicaid coverage through Access Health CT.
Potential challenges
Representatives from community health centers, which play a major role in helping people apply for Medicaid, shared concerns that the system will not be able to handle the volume of renewals that it will have to process during unwinding.
The way things are going, the amount of time this is taking, we can only get to a few patients a day, and thats just not going to be feasible once the unwinding starts, Gilda DiScala, a certified application counselor at Fair Haven Community Health Center in New Haven, told legislators during the forum in early February.
DiScala said completing a single renewal via Access Health CTs portal can take between one and two hours. Most of the time when she tries to help patients complete renewals online, the system kicks them off and prompts them to call Access Health CT directly to complete the application, further drawing out the process.
Our patients know us, they trust us, theyre coming to us, and we want to be able to assist them, she said.
Hadler said that DSS has hired over 100 new staff members to help with operations. The agency is also ramping up the number of contracted staff to support its shared operations with Access Health CT, including call centers and data entry.
Lesser said he worries about making people aware that they may have to renew their coverage in the first place.
Connecting to folks and making sure that the people who need health insurance, who need health care, dont go without it is going to be a real challenge, said Lesser.
DSS and Access Health CT are in the process of running a campaign called Update Us so we can Update U, which is designed to make folks aware that unwinding is coming. The campaign includes print and digital advertising, as well as direct email and automated call campaigns.
Who is at risk of losing Medicaid coverage?
Hadler said that adults on HUSKY A (coverage for low-income children and their parents and caretaker relatives) and HUSKY D (coverage for low-income adults without dependents) are most at-risk of losing their Medicaid coverage because their income has risen above the eligibility limits.
But even for those who no longer qualify for Medicaid, there are still options for low- and no-cost health insurance through the state.
About 51% of people on HUSKY A who no longer qualify will still get another year of HUSKY coverage through a program called Transitional Medical Assistance. Others who surpass the HUSKY income limits but still fall below 175% of the Federal Poverty Level may also qualify for a no cost plan through Covered CT. People can also purchase low-cost coverage through a qualified health plan.
Gov. Ned Lamonts proposed budget includes several initiatives aimed at smoothing the impacts of unwinding, including $34.4 million to support anticipated growth of the Covered CT program, $10 million in ARPA funding to pay for two months of premiums for individuals with income between 175 and 200% of FPL who enroll in an Access HealthCT silver plan, and $4.7 million to support costs associated with unwinding.
Katy Golvala is a reporter for The Connecticut Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/ ). Copyright 2023 (c) The Connecticut Mirror.
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The meeting which lasted several hours, was chaired by Manoj Govil, secretary, ministry of corporate affairs. The additional members to the committee will be nominated by Govil. The digital competition law committee in its first meeting held on Wednesday decided to widen the ambit of its discussions by bringing more stakeholders to the table. The corporate affairs ministry is expected to include some domestic start-ups and news publishers in the panel, a senior official said.
The whole idea behind the law is to protect the startups and small businesses from abuse of dominance of the big tech. Their representation is very important, an industry official said. Several start-ups and news publishers had raised the issue of their non-inclusion in the committee earlier and said the panel seemed to be dominated by corporate lawyers, many of them representing the Big Tech.
Among the law firms on the panel are Haigreve Khaitan of Khaitan & Co, Pallavi Shardul Shroff of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, and Anand Pathak, P&A Law Offices. The 16-member panel includes chairperson, The Competition Commission of India, Saurabh Srivastava, chairman, Indian Angel Network and co-founder of industry body NASSCOM.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Tuesday said a governor would never like to become an obstacle for any state government and that they are there to ensure whatever a government does is in accordance with the law.
His remarks came amid a row between Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Differences between the state governments and governors have also surfaced in some other places.
Khan said a governor is accountable to the President of India while a state government is accountable to its people.
He was here to attend India Minority Conclave 2023, organised by NID Foundation.
Replying to a question on the tussle between the governor and the chief minister in Punjab, Khan said, "We must understand, from the constitutional provisions, what is the role of the governor. The role of the governor is to ensure that the business of the government is conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the laws, rules and regulations."
A row had erupted between Governor Purohit and Chief Minister Mann after the former asked the latter about the process of selecting 36 government school principals for a training seminar held recently in Singapore.
Mann had said he was not answerable to a Centre-appointed governor and went on to question the criteria for appointing governors.
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The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab also accused Purohit of interfering in the state government's affairs.
Citing a Supreme Court judgement, Khan said the apex court had laid down that the oath which a governor takes is not a mere formality.
"The will of the people as reflected in the majority party is effective only to the extent where they do whatever business they undertake...in accordance with the Constitution and the law, he said.
"If any governor notices something...because sometimes elected governments in order to cater to populist feelings, they tend to do certain things which are not exactly not in accordance with the law," said Khan.
He said not just the law, the spirit of the law must be respected as well.
"If a governor seeks clarification, I do not think any governor would like to create any obstacle. He (governor) would like to encourage the government in whatever good they are doing for the people of their state.... He would like to counsel them.
"He would never like to become an obstacle in that process. But sometimes people become impatient and they try to find what is the intention behind it, attribute motives. That is not a fair thing in democracy, said Khan.
He said both sides should appreciate each other's position.
"The governor is responsible to the president of India, the government of any state is responsible to the people. So the governor is not there to run the administration. Governor is there only to ensure whatever the government does, they uphold the Constitution and the law, said Khan.
When 28-year-old Dr Shelly Oberoi joined Aap Aadmi Party (AAP) as an activist in 2013, little did she know that one day she would be heading the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as the Mayor.
Besides earning the distinction of being a lifetime member of the Indian Commerce Association (ICA), Shelly has several awards and accolades to her credit.
Before embarking on a political journey, Oberoi completed her Phd in management studies from IGNOU's School of Management Studies. Along with Delhi University, she had also taught at several other universities like NMIMS, IP and IGNOU.
Upon joining AAP as an activist, Shelly went on to become the party's state Mahila Morcha vice-president and continued till 2020.
A councillor from ward no 86 of Patel Nagar constituency, Shelly was named mayoral candidate weeks after the AAP secured the majority in the MCD election.
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After three adjourned meetings since the MCD polls results were out, the national capital Delhi on Wednesday got the new mayor.
She secured 150 votes while BJP's nominee Rekha Gupta got 116 votes. Total 266 votes were cast for the Mayoral election.
After Oberoi was announced as the new mayor of MCD, she thanked the people of Delhi, CM Arvind Kejriwal, L-G V.K. Saxena and the leaders and workers of the party.
In her first speech in the MCD House, Oberoi said, "All of you have elected me as the Mayor of Delhi. The people of the national capital have dreamt of making Delhi clean and beautiful, we all have to work together for this. We will run the House as per the Constitution and the DMC Act."
Making Shelly's victory more interesting is the fact that she has emerged victorious from a place where BJP turf has a stronghold. A former visiting assistant professor at Delhi University and a first-time councillor, 39-year-old Oberoi contested the elections from former Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta's home turf of East Patel Nagar and defeated her rival Deepali Kumari by 269 votes.
After being named for the post of mayor, she had said that her priorities will be fulfilling the 10 guarantees promised by the CM and working together with all councillors to shake off the city's 'garbage capital' tag.
Oberoi has become the first mayor of the reunified MCD. Oberoi will now preside over the rest of the polls, including that of the deputy mayor and six members of the powerful standing committee.
--IANS
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After much delay since the high-stakes civic polls in Delhi, the stage is set for the election of a new mayor on Wednesday following a Supreme Court order.
The municipal House is slated to begin at 11 am during which the election to the posts of mayor, deputy mayor and six members of the standing committee will be held.
The exercise to hold elections to the top post will be carried out after three failed attempts.
Last week, Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena gave his nod to convene the municipal House for holding the mayoral election following the apex court order.
The top court on February 17 ordered the issuance of a notice within 24 hours for convening the first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to fix the date of elections for the mayor, the deputy mayor and the members of the standing committee of the civic body.
The court issued the order after hearing a plea moved by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi, who had sought an early conduct of the election.
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In a shot in the arm for the ruling AAP, the apex court also held that the members nominated to the MCD by the Lt Governor cannot vote to elect the mayor.
According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to be elected in the very first session of the House after the civic polls.
However, it has been over two months since the municipal elections were held on December 4.
A month after the municipal polls, the House had convened for the first time on January 6. It was adjourned following acrimonious exchanges between members of the BJP and the AAP.
The second and third meetings on January 24 and February 6 also failed to carry out the exercise, and were both adjourned without electing a mayor, triggering much political bickering among parties in the two months since the civic polls.
The crisis also impacted the annual budget proceedings and the schedule of taxes for 2023-24 was passed by the Special Officer of the MCD on February 15, since the deliberative wing has not come into place.
According to the norms, the schedule of taxes has to be passed by the House before or on February 15.
However, the remaining budget is expected to be passed by the House before March 31, as required, since the new deliberative wing led by a mayor is likely to come into place on February 22.
As per the direction from the Lt Governor, the House that will convene on Wednesday will be a reconvening of the adjourned first House on January 6.
Both the BJP and AAP members had held each other responsible for the derailment of the proceedings.
The municipal House in Delhi then convened again on February 6 as the city hoped to get a mayor.
It, however, failed to elect a mayor for the third time in a row following ruckus over the decision to allow aldermen to vote, even as the AAP had alleged a "planned conspiracy" by the BJP to stall the process and said it would move the Supreme Court to seek a "court-monitored" election.
The petitioner, Oberoi, had moved the apex court on February 7.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala, during a hearing on Friday, directed that the election of the Delhi mayor shall be conducted at the first MCD meet and once elected, the mayor shall preside over the deputy mayor's election.
The AAP had emerged as a clear winner in the December 4 polls, bagging 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The BJP won 104 wards to finish second, while the Congress won nine seats in the 250-member municipal House.
The electoral college for the election of mayor comprises the 250 elected councillors, seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs from Delhi and 14 MLAs.
The Delhi Assembly Speaker has nominated 13 AAP and one BJP member to the House.
The total number of votes in the mayoral polls are 274. The numbers game favours the AAP, which has 150 votes against the BJP's 113.
Ahead of the auspicious Gudi Padva festival on March 22 and Bharat Ratna Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's 132nd birth anniversary on April 14, the Maharashtra government will gift Rs 100 food kits to around 1.63 crore ration card holders, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced here on Wednesday.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by Shinde, to give the benefits of the subsidised ration kits under the Antyodaya Food Scheme to the poorest sections of society, for the second time after a similar scheme was implemented in Diwali 2022.
Accordingly, the festive season largesse will be given to priority families, farmers under various categories from different districts of Aurangabad and Amravati Divisions, besides Wardha of Nagpur Division, suicide-prone districts and farmers falling below the poverty line.
The food kit will comprise 1 kg each of semolina, chana dal, sugar and palm oil from Gudi Padva for a month, through both online and offline systems.
The government has also decided to complete the tendering process within 15 days instead of 21 days through an online method to procure the required rations for the upcoming scheme in time, the Chief Minister said.
--IANS
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The Air India flight AI 106 was carrying around 300 passengers. There was panic among passengers after the cockpit crew announced that the flight was being diverted to an airport in Sweden due to a technical glitch. All the passengers are safe. Air India Delhi-bound flight from New York had to make a precautionary landing in Sweden's capital Stockholm after detecting technical glitches on Wednesday.
After reporting a technical snag, the flight was diverted to Stockholm. Several fire tenders rushed towards the aircraft on arrival at Stockholm airport. "Air India flight AI 106 from Newark to Delhi developed a technical snag and diverted to Sweden, (Stockholm) airport safely," an Air India official told ANI.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the Air India flight reported an oil leak from the engine. "Fear gripped the nearly 300 passengers on board as a large number of fire engines rushed to Stockholm airport," a source told ANI.
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Air India has deployed Boeing B-777 aircraft for long routes, especially for the United States. "Air India flight Newark to Delhi flight diverted to Sweden's Stockholm due to oil leak from aircraft engine," DGCA said.
Earlier on Monday, an Air India flight from New York to Delhi (AI 102) was diverted to London due to a medical emergency onboard. After landing at Heathrow airport, the passenger was rushed to a hospital in London. Air India's statement on the above diversion is awaited.
"Air India ground staff at Heathrow have been made to evacuate the individual concerned to hospital," an Air India official told ANI.
The Assam cabinet Wednesday approved the guidelines for granting 'Right of Way' (RoW) to telecommunication infrastructure in the state to facilitate speedy rollout of 5G.
The highlights of the guidelines include single window clearance for 5G RoW applications, integration of Assam RoW applications with Central Gatishakti Sanchar Portal for 5G purposes, provision for use of street infrastructure for deployment of small cells and overground cables, state Tourism minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said at the media briefing after the meeting.
The other guidelines include provision for deployment of poles for installation of small cells or overground telecommunication cables along with structure of fees for various components of RoW and revenue sharing pattern amongst the stakeholders, he said.
The cabinet also approved a host of other programmes like the revival of the Assam Flying Club for the benefit of aspiring commercial pilots, re-engagement of 17 former employees of the Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) in different departments as per their qualification by condoning their upper age limit and taking up Special Recruitment Board from the list submitted by the ex-employees unions, Baruah said.
For improving public safety, the meeting, which was chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, approved the Assam Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Bill, 2023 which mandates use of surveillance equipment like CCTVs in spaces that see congregations of people by owners of such places.
It sanctioned the release of Rs 361.42 crore to the Bodoland Territorial Council as the second instalment for 2022-23 for its overall development and raising a Rs 414.42 crore loan from NABARD for 1000 model anganwadi centres in 35 districts, three rural road projects in two districts and for 39 soil conservation and water harvesting projects in 20 districts, the minister said.
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The cabinet gave its nod to the amendment to Medical Colleges of Assam (Regulation of Admission into Post Graduate Degree and Diploma Courses) Rules, 2021 to incentivise post graduate medical students to pursue pre and para clinical subjects, besides the amendment to the composition of Assam Engineering Service Recruitment Board, he said.
The council of ministers approved of recognition to three-year diploma in engineering by State Council of Technical Education as equivalent to Class 12 (Science) and will be applicable to all students of polytechnics holding a diploma in engineering awarded by SCTE.
The cabinet sanctioned Rs 270 crore as grant-in-aid for the Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana for paddy procurement by Assam Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Limited in an uninterrupted manner and also implement the Amrit Sarovar, Baruah added.
The court delivered this ruling in a case in which a chartered accountant and an advocate representing a firm of exporters were summoned and arrested. The two had filed a petition on behalf of the exporters, who were alleged to have fraudulently claimed a refund of integrated goods and services tax (IGST). Chartered accountants (CAs) or advocates who assist enterprises, but aren't involved in fraud committed by the latter should not be arrested, ruled the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The court said persons against whom there is no documentary or otherwise concrete evidence to establish direct involvement in the evasion of huge amounts of tax, should not be arrested prior to the determination of liability and imposition of penalty. Later, the exporters allegedly named the petitioners as party to the fraud.
The court observed that the GST Act empowers a designated officer to arrest a person who has evaded taxes in excess of Rs five crore. The Act has also prescribed maximum sentence of five years for such evasion. CAs or advocates who had filed returns for, or otherwise assisted a business, but were not beneficiaries or party to the fraud should not be arrested merely on the basis of a statement, without any corroborative evidence linking the professionals to the alleged offence.
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China, Russia agree to strengthen cooperation within multilateral frameworks
Xinhua) 08:45, February 22, 2023
MOSCOW, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia agreed on Tuesday to continue to step up cooperation within multilateral frameworks and make more efforts to improve global governance.
The consensus was reached during a meeting in Moscow between Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, held talks with Patrushev as they respectively lead the mechanism of the Strategic Security Consultation between China and Russia.
The two sides discussed the current international strategic situation and expressed their willingness to jointly practice true multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateral bullying, and promote democracy in international relations and a multi-polar world.
Both parties believe that peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region should be firmly maintained and that the introduction of Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and ideological conflict should be opposed.
The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukrainian issue among others.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
This past Christmas, one of my first graders handed me a gift: a candle accompanied by a note from his mother. It read, Thank you for lighting the right fire in my little ones learning experience. Ive been a physical education teacher in Hartford Public Schools for 34 years moments like this give meaning to my career.
Ive worked with kids from diverse economic and racial backgrounds for decades. Teaching PE gives me an opportunity to promote a healthy lifestyle and to teach pro-social skills that will help them become responsible and productive members of society. From the beginning, my practice has been to hold students accountable to the rules while helping them process and learn from their choices.
This profession has its share of challenges. Survival requires a thick skin, and the payoff in students lives comes years, sometimes even decades, later.
But in the last few years, Ive experienced a different kind of challenge, and its forced me to take legal action.
In education, mandatory trainings have become routine. One such training in the Fall of 2020 was different, though, and not just because it was held over Zoom during the height of the pandemic. The training was labeled Identity & Privilege. I recognized it as part of critical race theory. After completing an activity, I and other teachers were assigned to breakout rooms and asked to discuss how the activity made us feel. I was asked for my opinion, so I gave it, honestly and professionally.
Apparently because I disagreed with the trainings implications, two teachers complained. Months later, district administration informed me I was under investigation.
Our employee handbook explicitly guarantees freedom of speech, stating, No employee of the Hartford Public Schools will be subject of disciplinary action or retaliatory action of any kind as a result of the exercise of his or her free speech rights.
But I was smeared and vilified, anyway. The districts disciplinary process is heavily stacked against teachers, and it soon became a witch hunt that led to a kangaroo court.
So, I wasnt surprised when, more than a year later, administrators issued me a written reprimand that required further sensitivity awareness training and threatened more discipline even termination if I didnt comply.
This skewed process is one reason why unions exist. I should know I was a member of the Hartford Federation of Teachers (HFT) for 29 years, a building representative for five years, and helped negotiate two teacher contracts. I always stood up for my colleagues when administrators treated them unfairly. Though I resigned from the union in 2018, teachers still call me when they need advice.
I knew that I could effectively defend myself in front of an unbiased third party during arbitration. But only the union can start the arbitration process.
Thats when the surprise came: HFTs vice president emailed me saying that because I was no longer a dues-paying member, the union would not initiate arbitration.
Over 30 years of teaching service. Thousands of dollars in dues payments. A union appreciation plaque for being part of a team that negotiated Hartford teachers last good contract. None of this swayed union officials whose representation I, by law, must accept.
I guess not all Hartford teachers matter to the union.
But Connecticut law also says that teachers unions have a legal duty to fairly represent both union members and nonmembers alike.
Laws, like guarantees of free speech rights in an employee handbook, are only effective if someone is willing to enforce them. Fortunately, I found a public interest law firm, the Fairness Center, to help me do just that.
Last summer, I filed a complaint against the union for denying my arbitration request based on my membership status and against the school district for mandating union approval before it will engage in arbitration. Connecticuts labor relations board heard my case this month.
The reality is, Im near retirement, and Id like to smoothly sail into it. But Hartford teachers deserve to have our First Amendment rights protected and to receive fair representation from the union that represents all of us.
I hope my litigation clears my name and pays off for all teachers in the years to come. Until then, Ill continue to light the right fire in my students learning experience.
John Grande is a physical education teacher for Hartford Public Schools.
Telecom regulator TRAI on Wednesday told the Kerala High Court that it did not delay implementation of its 2020 regulations and tariff order regarding TV channel pricing as all stakeholders, including members of AIDCF, were of the view that it requires a re-look.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) told Justice Shaji P Chaly that it was not at fault as the 2020 regulations were challenged before the Bombay High Court and it had passed some interim orders on the same.
Later when the matter reached the Supreme Court, all the stakeholders, including AIDCF which has presently challenged TRAI's 2022 interconnect regulations and tariff order, were of the view that another consultation process was required.
TRAI was responding to the claims of the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) that the regulator never properly implemented the 2020 regime.
"We were not at fault," the TRAI's lawyer told the High Court during the close to an hour-long arguments on behalf of the regulator.
"Therefore, there was no perversity. There was no manifest arbitrariness," it contended.
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At the end of arguments on Wednesday, AIDCF urged the court to pass some interim orders as blocking of signals by the broadcasters had affected around 5 crore consumers.
However, Justice Chaly said he will hear the matter finally and pass orders thereafter.
The arguments remained inconclusive and would continue on Thursday with the broadcasters, like Star and Sony, placing their side of the matter before the court.
Sony's lawyer briefly contended before the court that the AIDCF has not availed the statutory remedy available under the TRAI Act against the disconnection of signals by the broadcasters and challenged that too before the high court.
AIDCF has challenged TRAI's amended interconnect regulations and tariff order of November 2022.
Under the 2020 regime, the price of the "driver" channel in a bouquet was capped at Rs 12, but under the latest tariff order it has been increased to Rs 19, AIDCF has claimed.
The multi-system operators (MSOs), represented by the AIDCF and the Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd, have contended in their plea that TRAI's amended interconnect regulations and tariff order of November last year were "arbitrary" and "take away from the consumer their choice and autonomy".
They have also claimed that TRAI has 'failed' to regulate the pricing of television channels or cap their prices.
Instead, it increased the pricing of television channels that can be included in a bouquet, they have contended.
AIDCF is India's apex body for Digital Multi System Operators (MSOs) and its members include Asianet Satellite Communications, Hathway Cable and Den Networks, according to the petition.
"An analysis of the packs announced after the impugned 2022 tariff amendment which are yet to be implemented or passed onto consumers demonstrates that consumers will need to pay between 20-40 per cent higher prices on regularly subscribed channels," the petition has claimed.
TRAI, on the other hand, has opposed the plea saying that AIDCF had consented to the price cap of Rs 19 per channel.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday asserted that the e-tendering system started by his government in Panchayati Raj Institutions is to bring more transparency in development works.
He said transparency in all spheres of governance is part of his government's policy of zero-tolerance towards corruption.
"With this system, we have empowered urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The duty of panchayats is to ensure smooth execution of development work, while providing timely funds for the same is our job," Khattar said.
The chief minister was replying to the Governor's address here this evening during the ongoing Budget Session of the Haryana assembly.
Several sarpanches in the state have been protesting the introduction of e-tendering for execution of development works in rural areas.
During his reply on various issues raised by legislators during the debate on the Governor's address, Khattar and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda shared couplets and had a bit of banter.
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In one such instance when Hooda looked at his watch, the chief minister asked him whether he had a flight to catch and was getting late.
Chief Minister Khattar said he has always been in favour of healthy criticism by the opposition, but it should not be merely for the sake of opposing.
Khattar, who has in the recent past contested the state debt figures mentioned before the media by Hooda, on Wednesday told the senior Congress leader in the assembly to disclose the source of his claims.
Hooda claimed that the state debt, including liabilities, stood at Rs 3.19 lakh crore.
"I am saying on the floor of the House that with liabilities, you will now soon cross Rs 3.5 lakh crore debt," the Congress member said.
Khattar said Hooda's figures were not right and added, "we know that our debt is within permissible limits".
When the chief minister insisted that Hooda should disclose the source of the debt figure giving by him, the former chief minister quipped, "these are CAG figures".
After repeated demands by Khattar that he disclose the source, Hooda handed the chief minister the paper from which he was reading.
Khattar said he will give the paper to his finance secretary to find out which figures Hooda was quoting.
"The document has been placed on record. There is a system that I have to verify this document, from which you are making the claims," said the chief minister.
Hooda replied that he had given the document to the chief minister and not to be handed over to the finance secretary. He demanded that it be given back to him and in a lighter vein said he will not allow Khattar to leave.
The chief minister said the quality assurance authority has been formed to curb corruption in construction works, ensuring transparency and accountability in government projects.
He said eradicating corruption from its roots is no less than a 'junoon (passion)' for him and following this passion his government has taken several radical IT reforms.
The chief minister said that as much human interface is minimised, corruption will be checked. "That is why we have started portals and digitised various services," he said.
Through the DBT system, be it farmers, scholarships for eligible students or old age pension, things have been made completely transparent, he said.
Lakhs of ghost beneficiaries have been eliminated and thus, Rs 1,150 crore of the state exchequer has been saved, he said, referring to digitalisation of various services.
The chief minister said that Haryana ranks sixth in 19 big states of the country in the Social Progress Index (SPI) report released by the NITI Aayog.
On a matter raised by a member, Khattar clarified that government school students who have been given computer tablets free of cost will have to submit these to the school's management at the time of taking the school living certificate and not before that.
Calling the Parivar Pehchan Patra (family-id) scheme his dream project, the chief minister said that the project aims to curb corruption by reducing human interface.
Kejriwal, who has repeatedly vouched for Finlands education model, has claimed that more than 1,000 educators from Delhi who went abroad in the past for training, have transformed their schools after coming back. Deputy Chief Minister and the states education minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, has also repeatedly claimed that the Scandinavian countrys education system is considered to be the best in the world. Delhis Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday made another plea on his Twitter account to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena to allow teachers of city government-run schools to visit Finland for a training programme. The tweet has reignited a debate between the LG and the CM around the efficacy of Finlands education system, and the necessity for Indian educators to learn from this countrys model.
So how different is the Finnish education system, from Indias school education setup? On the other hand, the LG has maintained the training can be done in the country itself, and teachers dont need to go to Finland.
Schools in Finland also begin later in the day, usually after 9 am. In India, children are often expected to be in school as early as 7 am. Even after school is over at 3 pm, students in India often head over to private remedial classes. This allows them very little time for extracurricular activities. For one, children below the age of 6 are not always required to Finland school starts later, between the ages of 6 and 7. In India, children often as young as 3 are enrolled in playschools.
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Also, homework in the Nordic nation is minimal. In India, it is the opposite, with school kids drowning under piles of homework. So much so that even during holidays/breaks, they are not spared from it. In Finland, however, schools put less stress on rigidly structured, syllabus-based teaching and testing structures. Finland has no mandated standardised tests, apart from one examination at the end of senior year in high school.
Finland is routinely near the top in the OECDs Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests and that boasts a high school graduation rate of more than 90 per cent, according to a report by Al Jazeera. In fact, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), students in Finland have the least amount of homework compared to any other nation in the world. On average, they spend only half an hour a night working on school-related activities.
Dr Anup K Singh, Director General of Nirma University points out, "It has been proven that the education system in Finland is better than those in several developed countries. The teacher training is rigorous and it is not easy to take admission in their teacher training programmes, which also focus on learning rather than mere testing. In addition, Finland pays its teachers pretty well." On the other hand, teaching programmes in the Nordic nation, are said to be the most rigorous. As an OECD document specifies, Teachers are required to have a masters degree that includes research and practice-based studies. In Finland, teachers too are largely free from external requirements such as inspection and standardised testing. In fact, school inspections were done away with in the 1990s.
However, not all experts dont believe the Nordic nations impressive educational setup will necessarily be a perfect fit for Indian schools. The principal of a school in South Delhi told Business Standard, Indias employable population is expanding by the day, and its workforce is one of the youngest in the world. Education at school and college level are therefore much more competitive and result oriented.
Ranjita Raman, CEO of Mumbai-based ed-tech firm Jaro Education, adds, The education systems of Finland and India possess distinct strengths and challenges, and it is crucial to acknowledge the contextual and cultural factors that shape the system. It is also worth noting that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to education, and a methodology that yields fruitful results in one situation may not prove to be as effective in another. Instead, Raman points, it will be helpful to identify, prioritize and therefore combine areas for enhancement within each structure. She also emphasised that Finland has a more homogenous socio-cultural canvas, as opposed to India which thrives on diversity. While it is easier for schools in countries such as Finland to follow a more centralised and uniform model of education, Indian educational boards, schools as well as individual teachers must reach and cater to a more diverse range of students.
Educators also believe the National Education Policy 2020 is a definite step towards incorporating some of the desirable aspects of global educational systems like that of Finland.
The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Delhi Waqf Board to file a separate substantive petition to challenge the Centre's decision to take away 123 waqf properties.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri refused to grant any interim relief in the board's application filed in a pending petition challenging the Centre's decision to re-examine the de-listing of its 123 properties.
You file a fresh substantive petition to challenge the Centre's February 8 letter, the judge told the counsel for the board and listed the application along with the pending petition on August 4.
The Land and Development Office (L&DO) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) recently decided to take over 123 properties of the Delhi Waqf Board, including mosques, dargah and graveyards, based on the report of a two-member committee.
Board chairman Amanatullah Khan has said the report of the committee was not shared with the board, and added that a case challenging its formation was already pending in the high court.
The deputy L&DO, in a letter to Khan on February 8, had informed about the decision to absolve the Delhi Waqf Board from all matters related to the 123 properties based on the two-member committee report.
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During the hearing in the high court, senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the board, contended that the Centre has no source of power to absolve the board from the properties.
He said these properties were clearly demarcated through four surveys conducted in 1970, 1974, 1976 and 1984 and were later assented by the President that they were waqf properties.
Mehra said under the statutory scheme, there is no concept of central or state government to absolve the properties from the board.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, opposed the plea saying the challenge to the letter by way of this application was totally beyond the scope of the pending petition.
The board's counsel urged the court to grant interim protection till filing of a fresh petition.
The judge said, What prevents you from filing the petition today. File it and it will be listed soon.
Khan has claimed that the ministry earlier formed a one-member committee and later the two-member panel but reports of these committees were not shared with the board.
He has said that the 123 properties, including mosques, dargah and graveyards were being used by the Muslim community and they would not be allowed to be occupied by the Centre.
He has also rejected the two-member committee's claim that the board did not present its view regarding the 123 properties.
A case was filed in the high court challenging the formation of the committee and it was also informed about the same with a request to hold its proceedings, Khan has said.
Horticulture sector is being considered as a driver of economic growth and is gradually turning into an organised industry linked to seed trading, value addition and exports, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Wednesday.
Inaugurating virtually a four-day National Horticulture Fair being held in Bengaluru, Tomar said horticulture plays an important role in doubling the income of farmers and providing essential nutritional security.
"Rapid increase in production and availability of horticulture crops will help in bridging the gap between nutritional security of the country," Tomar said.
According to an official statement, he said the country's horticulture production has increased 13 times from 25 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 331 million tonnes during 2020-21, which is more than foodgrain production.
"The sector is being considered as a driver of economic growth and is gradually turning into an organised industry linked to seed trading, value addition and exports," he said.
In the 2023-24 Budget, the minister said Rs 2,200 crore has been allocated for the development of the horticulture sector, especially for the Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme.
By Shivangi Acharya, Sarita Chaganti Singh and Aftab Ahmed
BENGALURU (Reuters) -India does not want the G20 to discuss additional sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine during New Delhi's one-year presidency of the bloc, six senior Indian officials said on Wednesday, amid debate over how even to describe the conflict.
On the sidelines of a G20 gathering in India, financial leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations will meet on Feb. 23, the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion, to discuss measures against Russia, Japan's finance minister said on Tuesday.
The officials, who are directly involved in this week's G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs, said the economic impact of the conflict would be discussed but India did not want to consider additional actions against Russia.
"India is not keen to discuss or back any additional sanctions on Russia during the G20," said one of the officials. "The existing sanctions on Russia have had a negative impact on the world."
Another official said sanctions were not a G20 issue. "G20 is an economic forum for discussing growth issues."
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Spokespeople for the Indian government and the finance and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Wednesday, the first day of meetings to draft the G20 communique, officials struggled to find an acceptable word to describe the Russia-Ukraine conflict, delegates of at least seven countries present in the meetings said.
India tried to form a consensus on the words by calling it a "crisis" or a "challenge" instead of a "war", the officials said, but the discussions concluded without a decision.
These discussions have been rolled over to Thursday when U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be part of the meetings.
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has previously said the war has disproportionately hit poorer countries by raising prices of fuel and food.
India's neighbours - Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh - have all sought loans from the International Monetary Fund in recent months to tide over economic troubles brought about by the pandemic and the war.
U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Tuesday that Washington and its allies planned in coming days to impose new sanctions and export controls that would target Russia's purchase of dual-use goods like refrigerators and microwaves to secure semiconductors needed for its military.
The sanctions would also seek to do more to stem the trans-shipment of oil and other restricted goods through bordering countries.
In addition, Adeyemo said officials from a coalition of more than 30 countries would warn companies, financial institutions and individuals still doing business with Russia that they faced sanctions.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has not openly criticised Moscow for the invasion and instead called for dialogue and diplomacy to end the war. India has also sharply raised purchases of oil from Russia, its biggest supplier of defence hardware.
Jaishankar told Reuters partner ANI this week that India's relationship with Russia had been "extraordinarily steady and it has been steady through all the turbulence in global politics".
(Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Nick Macfie)
The hot temperature if persists in March may not only reduce the wheat crop yield but also heat up the commodity prices, said CRISIL.
The rabi wheat crop yield will be impacted if the temperature is high in March. The crop yield will be on a par - or marginally lesser - than last year's low, said CRISIL in a report.
According to the report, in Uttar Pradesh, accounting for about 30 per cent of India's wheat production, the eastern part is expected to have relatively good yields on-year because of timely sowing after harvest of Kharif paddy.
On the other hand, western Uttar Pradesh could see a marginal decline due to late sowing - majorly in the sugarcane belt - if high temperatures persist in March.
In Punjab and Haryana (together accounting for about 25 per cent of India's wheat production), late-sown wheat is in the flowering stage, while the early sown lot is in the milking stage. High temperatures are detrimental to grain formation in both these stages, CRISIL said.
Similarly, in Madhya Pradesh (about 20 per cent of India's wheat production) late-sown wheat is at the milking stage.
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According to CRISIL, Bihar (about 5 per cent of India's wheat production) saw early sowing and the crop there is at the grain formation/maturation stage. Therefore, it could be impacted relatively less.
Though such abiotic factors cannot be managed very effectively, farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh are said to have initiated spraying of crop nutrients such as bio-stimulants and specialty fertilisers, which should help them cope with the heat wave to some extent.
"While wheat prices have been on a downward trend in the past 20 days, if these high temperatures persist for the next 20 days, there could be a turnaround in prices," CRISIL said.
--IANS
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Indian-American non-profit organisation Sewa International Houston's AmeriCorps team dispatched over 200 boxes of relief material for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Turkiye and Syria, which killed over 46,000 people.
They organised a donation drive over the weekend to gather essentials for those impacted by the 7.8 magnitude quake, which hit Tukriye and Syria on February 6.
People from different communities all over Houston came together to donate hundreds of items which filled over 200 boxes.
Sewa AmeriCorps partnered with the National Association of Christian Churches (NACC) for the delivery of these goods to both Turkiye and Syria.
Former president of Sewa International, Manju Gupta, came to donate items in the drive and said, This is amazing work. It needed a lot of planning, hard work, and dedication to get this done. Kudos to the Sewa International and AmeriCorps team.
Sewa International also started a Facebook fundraising campaign for earthquake victims, which has raised USD 15,000.
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Volunteers from Food For Life (FFL), Sewa International's partner organisation, started relief work in Turkiye's earthquake-hit areas, serving about 800-1,200 meals daily in villages near Antakya, the capital of Hatay Province.
Kira Reyna, a Sewa-AmeriCorps member and the team lead for this drive, said, I am completely overwhelmed with gratitude at the response we have received from the community, especially considering that this drive was announced on Monday and took place on Saturday. The amount of love, compassion, generosity and sense of community that came from this event was just incredible and I'm overjoyed to have been a part of it.
Key committee meetings were postponed and some work ground to a halt Tuesday at the state Capitol as the internet was knocked out unexpectedly.
With no internet at the governors office, employees were using hot spots on their cellphones in order to check websites and obtain information. There was no direct impact on Gov. Ned Lamont, who was holding meetings in person and by telephone, a spokeswoman said.
The impact was widespread as the outage prevented the use of credit cards in the cafeteria at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Customers were forced to use cash instead and a state employee said it felt like it was 1995 instead of 2023.
The outage inconvenienced 400 people who had been scheduled to testify in person or via Zoom at the housing committee public hearing on rent stabilization that is known as cap the rent. The proposal would impose a 4% rent cap on housing providers causing both support and opposition. The meeting was eventually restarted by mid-afternoon, but some expected speakers had headed home by that time.
Confused state employees initially had no explanation for the outage, but then the state Department of Administrative Services provided details.
This morning a tripped electrical breaker at one of the states data centers has caused an unexpected widespread, on-going outage, the department said. Anyone operating on the state network has been impacted by slow or impaired connection. A cross-functional team under DASs Bureau of Information Technology Solutions (BITS) is working to diagnose and address the issue.
The BITS team was later credited with quick solutioning and restoring power that allowed activities including the housing committee hearing to resume.
By mid-afternoon, the administrative services department announced, This issue has been resolved. Thank you for your patience on this matter, and to our BITS team for quick solutioning.
The outage impacted everyone from high-ranking state officials to the general public at hearings.
State Attorney General William Tong had been scheduled to testify personally in front of the banks committee Tuesday, but the hearing was postponed. Prompted by problems and complaints with M&T Banks acquisition of Bridgeport-based Peoples United Bank, Tong is now seeking wider authority so that his office can investigate complaints related to bank mergers.
In this case, Tongs office received more than 400 complaints that included stunning reports of money disappearing from bank accounts and problems with pre-existing power of attorney that is commonly needed to complete various bank transactions often with adult children helping their elderly parents who are no longer capable of properly handling their accounts.
Earlier in the day, the state Capitol police sent out an alert as a text message on phones that said, Internet problems impacting CGA causing issues with internet, email and other services, including meetings and hearings.
A meeting of the energy and technology committee was recessed until 11 a.m. Wednesday, and a public hearing by the powerful budget-writing appropriations committee on health issues in Lamonts $50.5 billion, two-year state budget was postponed until March 3.
State Rep. Jason Doucette, a Manchester Democrat who co-chairs the legislatures banking committee, said he learned even before he arrived at the Capitol complex, around 10 a.m., that there were problems with the internet connection.
The big problem was the Zoom, Doucette said. The Zoom, which was all being hosted and run on our internet server, kept crashing because the internet server kept crashing.
Doucette said that was a particular problem because under the legislatures new rules, hybrid hearings are held so that the public is allowed to testify over Zoom.
The way the rules are written, if we cant allow the public that option, then we cant conduct the hearing, basically, so that was the real problem, Doucette said.
The banking committee had 14 people signed up to speak, half on Zoom and half in person, including Tong. There was a scramble as leaders of committees, like Doucette, conferred with each other and the office of House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford.
Doucette said the banking committee had its hearing room booked from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. By noon, with no resolution in sight, the committee decided to postpone and combine Tuesdays agenda with another hearing the committee had already scheduled for Feb. 28.
Who is to say when the technology was going to be guaranteed? Doucette said. We could have started, but then as soon as Zoom became unavailable again, we would have had to suspend it again.
Courant staff writer Alison Cross contributed to this report.
Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
Confirming the development, M A Yusuff Ali, chairman, LuLu Group said, We have entered into a deal to set up a hypermarket in the mall, which is being built by Emaar Properties." This comes at a time when as part of the first foreign direct investment (FDI) in the state, LuLu Group kicked off exporting apple, saffron and dry fruits from the state. From shopping malls to food processing, Jammu & Kashmir is attracting the attention of foreign investors, especially from West Asian countries. A shopping mall of about 500,000 square feet in Srinagar is being planned by real estate giant Emaar Group, in which Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Group-which runs supermarkets across West Asia will be setting up a hypermarket.
We have already established sourcing offices in Srinagar. During the current financial year, we have already exported close to Rs 70 crore worth of apples, vegetables, walnuts and saffron. For the food processing and packaging segment, we are investing around $100 million in J&K, said Ali. Last year, the state government had signed a deal with LuLu Group to set up a food processing and logistics hub in Srinagar. With this, the products from the state will reach 247 LuLu hypermarkets across West Asia.
On February 17 this year, the state saw JSW Group announcing plans to set up a 120,000 metric tonne colour-coated steel manufacturing unit. J&K also caught attention because of the large discoveries of lithium recently. It was in January 2022 that the real estate major Emaar signed an agreement with the Jammu and Kashmir government to develop the shopping mall in Srinagar. This happened as part of a real estate summit in the state, which signed 39 MoUs with a possible investment of around Rs 19,000 crore. Out of this, 20 MoUs were in the residential sector, seven in commercial, four in hospitality and three in infratech among others.
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The discovery gives India the third largest reserves of lithium after Chile and Australia, sufficient enough to meet the countrys lithium ion cell manufacturing needs for the next 50 years. If the entire 5.99 million tonnes turns out to be extractable, it can support 10 TWh (terawatt-hour) of lithium ion cell manufacturing. This can be compared to the current demand of lithium ion batteries of 3 gigawatt hour (GWh), which is projected to touch 20 GWh by 2026 and 70 GWh by 2030, according to a report by Arthur D Little. The government according to reports is planning to auction lithium reserves by June with one condition that all refining will be done in the country.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict and China's increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific will be "very high" on the agenda of the talks between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend, German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann said on Wednesday.
The envoy said Germany has also reached out to India seeking its support to a resolution by the UN General Assembly on the Ukraine conflict calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and lasting peace in Ukraine.
German Chancellor Scholz will begin his two-day visit to India on Saturday with an aim to expand cooperation in areas of trade, climate change, clean energy and migration of skilled manpower besides exchanging views on pressing global challenges.
"We see Russia and Ukraine (conflict) very high on the agenda in the meeting between German Chancellor Scholz and Prime Minister Modi. It will be a very important part of the agenda," Ackermann said at a media briefing.
The German Chancellor is visiting India a day after the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and amid renewed global focus on the conflict.
Describing the current international environment as "very very difficult", Ackermann said Germany considers India as a "very influential and valuable partner" in discussing these issues.
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"We will continue to help Ukraine to defend its territory. The Russian side is surprised by the unity and strategic patience of the West," the ambassador said.
Asked whether China's aggressive behaviour, including in the Indo-Pacific, will figure in the talks, the ambassador said it will also be high on the agenda.
"China will be very high on the agenda. The Chancellor has been to China and he will share his impressions with the Prime Minister," he said adding, "You would see more engagement of Germany in the Indo-Pacific".
To a question on whether India not supporting the upcoming UN General Assembly resolution on Ukraine would be disappointing for Germany, Ackermann said it is for India to decide on the matter.
"It is a sovereign decision of any country to vote or abstain. We have reached out to the Indian side and we do not know how they will react tonight," he said.
Asked about India's continued procurement of discounted crude oil from Russia, Ackermann said Germany does not have anything to do with it.
"India buying oil from Russia is none of our business basically. That's something the Indian government decides," he said.
Germany would like to see India's role in finding a resolution to the crisis, but not at this stage, the envoy said, citing Russian President Vladimir Putin's state of the nation address on Tuesday.
In the speech, Putin indicated a Russian escalation of the conflict as he accused Western countries of seeking "unlimited power" in world affairs.
"We would like to see an Indian engagement at some stage after a while. India is a very appropriate candidate at some stage to, maybe, come up with some solution. But I do not think this is time for it," he said.
"Because we have heard what Putin said yesterday. He did not mention negotiations one single time. India has a very very skilled diplomacy. I think if they want to step up they have to find a good moment for it," Ackermann said.
Asked whether short seller Hindenburg's report on Adani Group would impact confidence of German investors, he said: "We see the Adani-Hindenburg story from an observer's point of view."
"More than 2,000 German businesses are very active (in India). We are talking about small and medium enter[rises but also the giants. Overwhelming majority of them are doing very good business in India.
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a State Human Rights Commission has the power to examine a case of criminal medical negligence when a contrary view has been taken by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol was hearing a matter filed by IVF doctor Roya Rozati from Telangana.
The bench noted that the petitioner is charged with medical negligence and her contention is whether the State Human Rights Commission has the power to examine a case of criminal medical negligence when a contrary view in favour of the petitioner was taken by the NHRC.
The top court noted the view taken by NHRC by an order passed on March 29, 2016.
The NHRC had said: "Direction issued by the Commission: This case pertains to allegations of medical negligence by a private nursing home. Since to public servant is involved in this case the matter is dismissed in limine. The file be sent to SB-II after issuing the letter. Action taken: Dismissed in limine (dated 3/29/2016). Status on 5.17.2016: Dismissed."
The top courtA posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks, and directed pleadings to be completed in the meanwhile.
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The medical practitioner has been charged with criminal medical negligence for administering fertility related drugs to a patient who was suffering from tuberculosis and ultimately, these proved to be fatal to her. The matter was referred to the NHRC which refused to interfere stating that no public servant is involved. However, the State Human Rights Commission issued notice to Rozati and sought documents from her.
Advocate Namit Saxena, appearing for Rozati, argued that there is a statutory bar under section 21 of the Protection of Human Rights Act that once the NHRC or any other state human rights commission adjudicates upon a complaint, no other state human rights commission can examine the same.
--IANS
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Bogus invoices row: GST authorities summon insurance intermediaries
Widening its probe in the bogus invoicing case against insurance intermediaries and aggregators, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities issued summons to several of them in the past two weeks seeking extensive information.
Practice of permanent board seats at listed companies likely to end The information sought includes their agreement and contract with insurance companies, total input tax credit passed to them since 2018-19, along with supporting documents proving rendering of services. The summons were issued in connection with the Directorate General of GST intelligence (DGGI) probe launched in 2022 against at least 16 insurance companies for allegedly availing input tax credit in a fraudulent manner. Read more
Trade in local currency: India may ink pacts with UAE, Nigeria, Malaysia The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed to put a stop to the practice of certain directors occupying permanent board seats at listed companies. The regulator has suggested that the directorship of any individual serving on the board should be subject to periodic approval from shareholders, at least once in five years. Read more
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Two-wheeler electric vehicle sales may fall short of 1-million target India may ink pacts with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, and Nigeria to facilitate settlement of international trade in local currencies as early as next month. The move is aimed at reducing transaction costs for exporters and importers, a source said. Read more
Mega push for 'Jal Jeevan Mission' to reach the target within year With just a month left in this financial year, electric two-wheeler sales, so far, are at just 62 per cent of the ambitious target of 1 million units set for 2022-23 by the NITI Aayog. According to VAHAN data, compiled by the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), 620,006 units of electric two-wheelers were sold across the country until February 21. Read more
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Tuesday said a uniform civil code is the constitutional objective to deliver uniform justice to all communities, and added that a wrong narrative was being built around it.
He was here to attend India Minority Conclave 2023, organised by NID Foundation.
"Uniform civil code is the constitutional objective to deliver uniform justice that is common for all communities. There is a wrong narrative being built around uniform civil code that by adopting it there will be intrusion in our religious practices or the existence of other countries will be in-danger," he said.
"The provisions of uniform civil code are to offer equal justice to women belonging to different communities, be it matrimonial disputes or inheritance of property disputes.
"Women in our country have been subjected to injustice due to different definitions of personal laws adopted by different communities and so there is a need to bring such a uniform law which has the same provisions for all the communities," a statement quoted Khan as saying.
The objection which is being raised today is that if a uniform civil code is enacted, it will erode the identity of every community and they will be forced to adopt uniform method for solemnisation of marriage, for burial of the dead and all kinds of things which is totally without basis, he said.
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"Because the objective of a civil law is not to dictate you what customs and rituals you want to have. It is only about the uniformity of justice," he added.
"The beauty of Indian democracy is the vast diversity in terms of culture, caste and religion that it has yet it is one country with one vision," he said.
"We have to connect our youth with our traditions and heritage as all the Indian Civilizations have taught us very rich values with a message of universal brotherhood and communal harmony in India," he added.
Speaking on this occasion, National Commission for Minorities Chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura said all communities have made equal contributions for the nation's development.
"If we talk about freedom struggle or wars with Pakistan, the freedom fighters and our defence forces have contributed in defending our land without caring about their religion or caste. Time has come that we should concentrate on the development of Indians as citizens and not people belonging to different communities, he said.
Parliamentarian Sasmit Patra said the prime minister has given a vision of "Amrit Kaal" and as a citizen it is our duty to work towards realisation of this goal.
"Abolition of triple talaq, giving equal opportunities for higher education, supporting minority children for their education, and providing loans through PM Mudra Yojna for entrepreneurship for minorities are some of the landmark decisions of the Narendra Modi government," he said.
When India is moving ahead to become a global superpower, western powers with vested interests are putting all efforts to defame India and Indians, he added.
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday lauded Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud's initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) for live transcription of Supreme Court proceedings.
In a first, the top court started using AI and Natural Language Processing technology for live transcription of its hearings on an experimental basis from Tuesday.
"Honble Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud has taken a great initiative in the Supreme Court by using AI to transcribe hearings," Rijiju tweeted.
He said the Supreme Court officially publishes the transcript of the Constitution Bench proceedings.
The live transcription has been launched in the court room of CJI Chandrachud.
Rijiju has been pushing for the use of AI in the judicial system as well as arbitration proceedings.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday earmarked more than Rs 2,250 crore for the police department and said crime has come down drastically in the state in 2022 as compared to 2016 when the Samajwadi Party was in power.
The budgetary allocation is aimed at strengthening the state's law and order system by providing accommodation facilities for police officers and employees on the one hand and allowing commissionerate offices to operate on their own lands.
Presenting the state's budget for financial year 2023-24, Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna told the Assembly that the priority of the government was to prepare the police force to face challenges before law and order in an effective way.
He said as compared to 2016, the incidents of crime saw a downward trend in the year 2022.
There has been a decrease of 79.83 per cent in cases of dacoity, 63.49 per cent in robbery, 33.89 per cent in murder, 53.22 per cent in 'balwa' (ruckus), 17.22 per cent in theft and 44 per cent in kidnapping for ransom from January 2022 to November 2022, compared to the year 2016.
There has been a decrease of 15.81 per cent in dowry deaths, 21.24 per cent in rape, and 9.17 per cent in kidnapping in crimes against women during this period, he said.
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The minister said 3,41,236 complaints related to illegal encroachment have been received on the anti-land mafia portal in the state, out of which 3,39,552 have been resolved. Under the campaign, a total area of 68,841.03 hectares has been freed from illegal encroachment.
He said 23,920 revenue cases, 923 civil cases and 4,504 FIRs have been registered in the state while 776 encroachers have been identified as land mafia and currently 189 land mafia are lodged in jail.
"For the prevention of cybercrime, cybercrime police stations have been established in each zone of the state. Cyber help desks (1531) have been established at all police stations of the state. Basic cyber forensic labs are being set up at regional headquarters and advanced digital cyber forensic labs at police headquarters," he said.
The budget provides for a financial aid of Rs 17.96 crore to the dependents of 73 martyrs/deceased personnel who died while serving in the Central Para Military Forces/Para Military Forces of other states or the Indian Army, and the natives of the state of Uttar Pradesh who died in the line of duty.
Rs 850 crore has been proposed for the arrangement of newly created Police Commissionerate's office and non-residential buildings etc. With this, the Police Commissionerate system implemented in various cities will gain momentum, the minister said.
"With this amount, police departments will be able to construct offices on their own land in cities with police commissionerate systems instead of renting space as they do now. They will be able to use this amount for the construction of offices and other facilities according to their requirements," Khanna said.
Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated to provide residential facilities for the officers and employees of the police department and Rs 400 crore for providing residential facilities (urban areas) to the officers/employees of the police department in the state.
For the strengthening of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), a provision of Rs 10 crore has been made for the purchase of new vehicles.
The British government has strongly defended the BBC and its editorial freedom in Parliament after the Income-Tax department's survey operations on the UK-headquartered media corporation's New Delhi and Mumbai offices over three days last week.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) junior minister responded to an urgent question raised in the House of Commons on Tuesday to say that the government cannot comment on the allegations made by the I-T department over an ongoing investigation but stressed that media freedom and freedom of speech are essential elements of robust democracies.
David Rutley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of the FCDO, pointed to a broad and deep relationship with India which meant the UK was able to discuss a wide range of issues in a "constructive manner".
We stand up for the BBC. We fund the BBC. We think the BBC World Service is vital. We want the BBC to have that editorial freedom, said Rutley.
It criticises us (government), it criticises the (Opposition) Labour party, and it has that freedom that we believe is so important. That freedom is key, and we want to be able to communicate its importance to our friends across the world, including the government in India, he said.
Updating the Commons on the issue, the minister said India's I-T department conducted what has been described as a survey on the BBC's offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, beginning on February 14 and finishing after three days, on February 16.
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Highlighting that the BBC is operationally and editorially independent, the minister said the public broadcaster plays an important role and the FCDO funds services in 12 languages, including four Indian languages: Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi and Telugu.
"It will continue to do so, because it is important to ensure that our voice and an independent voice, through the BBC is heard throughout the world, he said.
Pressed on by Opposition MPs on the "deeply worrying raids" and asked about discussions with the Indian government, the minister added: It is because of our broad and deep relationship with India that we are able to discuss a wide range of issues in a constructive manner with its government. As part of those conversations, this issue has been raised and we continue to monitor the situation.
The urgent question was raised by Northern Ireland MP Jim Shannon, who branded the action a deliberate act of intimidation following the release of an unflattering documentary about the country's leader and sharply criticised the UK government for failing to make a statement on the issue.
The raids happened seven days ago. Since then I say this respectfully there has been silence from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. No government statements have been issued, and it has taken an urgent question to encourage the government to condemn this blatant attack on press freedoms, said Shannon, a member of Parliament for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
British Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi expressed his concerns that "India, a nation with which we have shared values of democracy and press freedoms, decided to conduct a raid on the BBC offices after the airing of a documentary critical of the Indian Prime Minister's actions.
These issues have absolutely been raised as part of those conversations, the minister responded.
Other Labour MPs pointed out that it was not the first time that the authorities in India had undertaken such "investigations into media organisations that are critical of the current government.
We need to ensure that our views on media freedom are communicated clearly with other governments. We have those conversations not only with the government of India, but across the world. We think these are very important principles and, as I said, they are essential elements for robust democracies, the minister said.
Our broad and deep relationship, guided by the comprehensive strategic partnership and the 2030 road map for India-UK future relations, allows us to discuss a wide range of issues in a constructive manner with the government of India. We continue to follow the matter closely, he added.
Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman, a vocal supporter of the Indian government, asked the minister to confirm if the I-T authorities in India have been investigating the BBC for seven years.
The minister, however, declined to comment on an ongoing investigation that the BBC is actively engaged in.
The I-T department said in a statement following the survey that the income and profits disclosed by the organisation's units were "not commensurate with the scale of operations in India".
The government on Wednesday approved the extension of mandatory packaging norms which provide for all foodgrains and 20 per cent sugar to be compulsorily packed in jute bags, sources said.
The reservation norms for mandatory use of jute in packaging for Jute Year 2022-23 (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023) were cleared at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The mandatory packaging norms approved for Jute Year 2022-23 provide for 100 per cent reservation of foodgrains and 20 per cent reservation of sugar to be compulsorily packed in jute bags, the sources said.
The approval to these norms will provide relief to 3.7 lakh workers employed in jute mills and ancillary units as well as support the livelihood of several lakh farm families, they added.
It will also help protect environment because jute is a natural, bio- degradable, renewable and reusable fibre and hence fulfils all sustainability parameters.
The jute industry is significant to India's economy in general, especially to the country's eastern region, including West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, besides Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
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The reservation norms under Jute Packaging Materials (JPM) Act provide for direct employment to 3.7 lakh workers and several lakh farmers in the jute sector.
The JPM Act, 1987 protects interest of jute farmers, workers and persons engaged in jute goods' production.
Notably, 75 per cent of the total production of the jute industry is jute sacking bags of which 85 per cent is supplied to Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State Procurement Agencies (SPAs) and remaining is exported/sold directly.
The government purchases jute sacking bags worth approximately Rs 9,000 crore every year for packing of foodgrains, thereby ensuring guaranteed market for the produce of jute farmers and workers.
Israel's handing over of the strategic port of Haifa to Indian company, the Adani Group, is a reflection of the trust that the country has on India, Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon said on Wednesday.
At a media briefing, the envoy also said that both India and Israel are keen on finalising the proposed free trade pact as it could further boost overall bilateral trade ties.
Gilon indicated that there could be a forward movement on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during the upcoming "high-level" visit.
Describing defence ties between the two countries as very strong, he said Israel has an advantage to support India in its efforts to become self reliant in defence manufacturing because of the "long-standing" trust in the area between the two countries.
On the Adani Group acquiring the Haifa port last month, Gilon said it was sign of Israel's trust on India and it could boost bilateral trade. It was a very important move from our side as Haifa is a strategic port, he said.
The Adani Group last month acquired the strategic port of Haifa for USD 1.2 billion (one billion =100 crore) and vowed to transform the skyline of this Mediterranean city as part of its decision to invest more in the Jewish nation.
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The Port of Haifa is the second largest port in Israel in terms of shipping containers and the biggest in shipping tourist cruise ships.
In his remarks, the Israeli envoy also said that there is a great potential to expand cooperation in areas of renewable energy, smart mobility, agriculture, healthcare, water and cyber and homeland security.
India does not want the Group of 20 nations to discuss additional sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine during New Delhi's one-year presidency of the bloc, six senior Indian government officials told Reuters.
On the sidelines of a key G20 gathering in India, financial leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations will meet on Feb. 23, the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion, to discuss measures against Russia, Japan's finance minister said on Tuesday.
The officials, who are directly involved in this week's G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs, said the war's macroeconomic impact would be discussed but India does not want to deliberate on additional actions against Russia.
"India is not keen to discuss or back any additional sanctions on Russia during the G20," said one of the officials. "The existing sanctions on Russia have had a negative impact on the world."
Another official said sanctions were not a G20 issue. "G20 is an economic forum for discussing growth issues."
Spokespeople for the Indian government and the finance and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has previously said the war has disproportionately affected poorer countries by raising prices of fuel and food. India's neighbours - Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh - have all sought loans from the International Monetary Fund in recent months to tide over economic troubles brought about by the pandemic and the war.
U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Tuesday that Washington and its allies planned in coming days to impose new sanctions and export controls that would target Russia's purchase of dual-use goods like refrigerators and microwaves to secure semiconductors needed for its military. The sanctions would also seek to do more to stem the trans-shipment of oil and other restricted goods through bordering countries.
In addition, Adeyemo said officials from a coalition of more than 30 countries would warn companies, financial institutions and individuals still doing business with Russia that they faced sanctions if they continued to do so.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has not openly criticised Moscow for the invasion and instead called for dialogue and diplomacy to end the war. India has also sharply raised purchases of oil from Russia, its biggest supplier of defence hardware.
Jaishankar told Reuters partner ANI this week that India's relationship with Russia had been "extraordinarily steady and it has been steady through all the turbulence in global politics".
Interested parties may work on creating a digital economy measurement framework. They may also need to come up with measurements and projections of the size of the digital economy for states along with rankings of states based on the size of their digital economies. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday invited proposals to take up the task of estimating the size of Indias digital economy as well as the rankings and measurement of the share of the states in this area.
The Centre released a report on India's trillion-dollar digital opportunity in 2019, which says digital transformation could empower un-served and under-served segments and create $1 trillion in economic value in 2025, sustaining 60-65 million jobs. It adds that $390-500 billion of this $1 trillion economic value would come from digital applications in core economic and social sectors like agriculture, health, and education. As reported earlier, the government plans to showcase the success of Indias digital economy during the G20 summit to be held in New Delhi in September. It may also offer conditional help to other countries to further advance their own digital economy and payments infrastructure.
It added that the first meeting of the working group is likely to be held in the early second week of March 2023, for the purpose of assessment of proposals on the subject. The study identified 30 digital themes ranging from IT infrastructure, software capabilities, and healthcare education to next-generation financial service. To achieve this, concerted action is required in a 'Team India' spirit with collaboration between government and private or social sectors, the IT ministry said in the invitation for proposals.
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The main tasks of the interested parties include identifying digital interventions to realise Indias trillion-dollar digital economy potential and the challenges in implementing them. In addition to this, the participants will carry out research and statistical analysis on the digital economy and Digital India initiatives for helping in decision-making, setting up and maintaining a dashboard for the digital economy, and studying and analysis of any other subject or sector contributing to the digital economy.
Set up by the Indian Navy in 2019 in Gurugram, the Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC), Seychelles. To enhance cooperation in the realm of maritime security, Indias high-tech control centre for monitoring traffic through the Indian Ocean Region agreed on Tuesday to cooperate with a similar body in Seychelles, in the southern Indian Ocean.
The IFC-IOR is a diplomatic initiative that underlines Indias status as the guardian of the Indian Ocean a net security provider that brings together regional countries to safeguard global commons, freedom of navigation and to provide security against challenges such as piracy, terrorism, gun-running, narcotics, human migration and illegal fishing. (This) aims to promote collaboration between the two centres towards enhancing maritime domain awareness, information sharing and expertise development, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated on Wednesday.
IFC-IOR, hosted by the Indian Navy, was established by the Government of India at Gurugram on December 22, 2018, to enhance collaborative maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean Region in line with Indias vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), said the MoD. Towards this, it obtains feeds from a range of space-based and terrestrial sensors and sources, to track fishing boats and commercial vessels near Indias coast and in the vast maritime domain beyond.
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Now the IFC-IORs partnership with the RCOC, Seychelles, allows the Indian Navy to focus its watch further south. The IFC-IOR primarily watches over the Northern Indian Ocean, through which run sea lines of communications (SLOCs) that carry 75 per cent of the worlds maritime trade and half of daily oil consumption.
The maritime security architecture in the Western Indian Ocean is supported by the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC), the RCOC in Seychelles and the national centres of seven signatory countries: Comoros, Djibouti, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles, said the MoD. To enable better cooperation, IFC-IOR also hosts International Liaison Officers (ILOs) from 12 partner nations: Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Singapore, the UK and the US, said the MoD.
The IFC-IOR obtains inputs from a range of sensors. Primary inputs come from Indias coastal radar network that is manned by the Coast Guard. The thrust of this initiative remains to track civil, commercial shipping. For tracking its own and hostile warships, the Navy maintains a separate Operations Room. There is a deliberate firewall between the two.
IMAC also incorporates inputs from LRIT (long range identification and tracking). This mechanism, which works under the International Maritime Organisation, paves the way for 174 countries to provide real-time information on their commercial shipping. Information is also generated from White Shipping Agreements that India has with 36 countries, and three multinational agencies. These feed in details of all commercial shipping passing through their ports.
Custom-designed software feeds this diverse data, obtained from multiple sources, into a common operating picture.
The report highlights that fewer women have returned to the workplace. The unemployment rate among rural females increased by 1.6 per cent while that among rural males decreased by 1.2 per cent. The exclusion of women from the workforce that began due to the pandemic could very well be permanent for many women, a report titled "Women and work: how India fared in 2022" released by Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE) says.
As of late 2021, the number of female job-seekers in both rural and urban India had dropped significantly, even as the number of men seeking work increased, compared to 2019. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) and Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA), in urban India alone, womens employment was reduced by 22.1 per cent in 2021 compared to 2019.
For instance, a deep-dive into NFHS-V numbers by IWWAGE researchers shows that among working women, Female guilt leads to more incidents of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). "Working women often worry about failing at their perceived fair share of household duties and out of the female guilt of not being able to fulfil their traditional roles to the fullest, justify IPV more than other women. Approximately 47 per cent of women in paid employment justified IPV." Along with highlighting the glaring status of women's participation in the workforce in India, the report also provides insights into everyday challenges faced by working women.
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Just as there has been a disproportionate impact of the pandemic across India, the recovery from the pandemic has also The report also shows how that Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) for women and girls above 15 is 32.5 per cent, whereas the Labour Force Participation Rate for males in the same age group is 77 per cent.
Further analysis of the PLFS data between 2017-2021 for five states by IWWAGE shows significant differences in the workforce participation rate (WPR) of women in urban and rural regions. not been equitable.
In Telangana, the WPR of rural women has increased considerably from 25.9 per cent in 2017-18 to 45.1 per cent in 2020-21, while the WPR of urban women has only moved up by 3.8 per cent. According to the report, in Punjabs rural region, Female Work Participation Rate (FWPR) has doubled (9.9 per cent to 17.9 per cent) between 2017-18 and 2020-21, whereas in the urban areas, there is a slight improvement of only 3 per cent.
In Assam, the WPR for rural women witnessed a notable increase of 9.8 per cent, while in the urban areas, there is only a marginal improvement of 2.3 per cent. In Kerala, the WPR increased by 9 per cent for rural women and, for urban women, it has increased by only 4.8 per cent.
The report's analysis of monthly trends of formal labour force jobs through Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data for a one-year period from October 2021 to October 2022, highlights that the monthly share of womens registration has constantly remained lower than 28 per cent despite the extent of job losses during the pandemic being higher for women. Chhattisgarh follows the same trend where urban FWPR is about 26.5 per cent lower than the rural FWPR in 2020-21.
The reports analysis of the informal sector through the gender-disaggregated data available on the e-shram card portal also shows that certain sectors like apparel and domestic household work continue to be highly feminised. This indicates that the jobs recovered in the year have not been evenly distributed.
A survey report by IWWAGE and Delhi Skills & Entrepreneurship University examining womens access to and appetite for skilling found women expressed interest in entrepreneurial and livelihood skill training programmes such as stitching and sewing, pickle and papad making, embroidery, as well as soft skills training such as business management and planning, communication and thought expression, and use of mobile phones. The entrepreneurial aspirations of women who own Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are mostly confined to the micro-enterprise category, making them invisible from the perspective of policy-making and programming.
The report also identifies "key enablers" that can help correct the participation of women in the workforce in India. Among 522 surveyed women, 77 per cent of aspirational women entrepreneurs cited supplementing their family income as their main reason for starting their own business, while only 11 per cent saw it as a way to gain economic independence.
Sona Mitra, the Principal Economist at IWWAGE told Business Standard, the pandemic has not only disrupted global growth but also disproportionately affected women's participation in the workforce. The 2022 edition of our Women and work trends report reveals how exclusion from the workforce may be permanent for many women, and fewer are returning to work." These include improving physical infrastructure, improving childcare, strengthening skilling programmes, increasing digital access and addressing safety concerns.
Key enablers:
The report notes the following trends on the status of womens access to key enablers for their participation in the workforce: Mitra adds, "access to enablers such as safety, relevant skilling modules, improved digital access, and gender-friendly workplace infrastructure are vital for women's participation in the paid workforce. By reducing the 'time poverty' that women experience, these enablers create an ecosystem for women-led growth and development."
Household infrastructure Jal Jeevan Mission: 70 million tap water connections, 80 million LPG connections, 15.8 million LPG connections as part of Ujjwala 2.0 released till 30 November 2022.
Childcare:
As of 30 June 2022, only 4,947 creches were functional; 12 states/Union Territories reported 0 functional creches
Skilling: Womens employability consistently remains higher than mens.
Mobile Access: Wheebox India Skills Report of 2023 estimates womens employability in India rose from 34.26% in 2020 to 47.28% in 2022.
Between 2020-2021, the percentage of smartphone owners among men rose by 8%, and only by 1% for women.
GSMA Consumer Survey found that women are less likely to own a smartphone than men.
Safety: Only 30% of Indian women use mobile internet.
The state government has announced 100 per cent reimbursement of net goods and services tax (GST) incentive for a period of 12 years subject to 125 per cent of fixed capital investment for five early-bird MSME units and five large units, which come into production. From approving business proposals digitally to dedicated relationship managers, the Punjab government is making significant promises ahead of its upcoming Progressive Punjab Investors Summit.
The main focus at the two-day event will be on MSMEs, apart from agriculture and food processing, healthcare, manufacturing and light engineering, plastics and petrochemical, among others. As the state prepares to roll out the red carpet for investors from across the world for the 5th Progressive Punjab Investors Summit on Thursday, an online unified regulator and 40 plus state level approvals across 12 plus departments are some of the ease-of-business advantages the state is listing.
I had gone to Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Germany to invite industrialists to the summit. Industrial honchos in these metros were surprised to note the vast potential of industrial growth in the state, the chief minister had said. How many MoUs the state has signed and how much investment it is looking to garner at the upcoming summit is unclear, but Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has said he has not just met Indian but also foreign business honchos ahead of the summit.
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To streamline activities pertaining to industrial infrastructure development and maintenance the state will set up the Punjab Industrial and Business Development Authority (PIBDA), a statutory body. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is looking to showcase the states strength in areas like cycle and cycle component manufacturing, tractor and agricultural machinery, cotton and blended yarn, and hand tools manufacturing.
According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade the state has seen around ~6,580 crore worth of foreign direct investment equity inflow from October 2019 to December 2022. For revival of the sick MSME units, the state government is providing deferment of recovery of various arrears for a period of five years, exemption from minimum charges for electric connection, and exemption from electricity duty for two years. For large units, reimbursement up to 75 per cent of net GST is also being offered.
Ahead of Punjabs FY24 Budget, economists from the state have raised concerns surrounding what they term slow growth trap and debt trap, urging the AAP government to act swiftly to ensure sustainable development of the state. Punjab accounts for 1.5 per cent of Indias land area and contributes 2.5 per cent to Indias gross domestic product (GDP). However, its rising debt has been a concern.
According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, Punjabs debt amounted to 53.3 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP), which was the highest in the country.
The jury will be chaired by SS Mundra, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The other prominent members of the jury are HDFC Limited Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Keki Mistry, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Managing Director (MD) & CEO A Balasubramanian, ICAN Investment Advisors Chairman Anil Singhvi, and former MD & CEO of Bank of Baroda P S Jayakumar. A high-powered jury comprising an eminent former central banker and financial sector stalwarts will meet virtually on Thursday to select the winner of the Business Standard Banker of the Year award for 2021-22.
Filters using financial parameters were applied to shortlist the candidates for the final round of discussion. Size, growth in assets, liabilities, fees, pre-provision profit, interest income, and non-performing assets are some of the data points the jury will look at. Apart from qualitative aspects, subjective parameters like adherence to RBI norms or how many times a lender was penalised will also be high on the check-list. Sandeep Bakhshi, MD & CEO of ICICI Bank, was the Business Standard Banker of the Year 2020-21.
However, in the absence of any strict lockdowns like the first wave in 2020, economic activity remained resilient as reflected by a rebound in the real GDP growth, which was 8.7 per cent in 2021-22. The initial months of the financial year 2021-22 were marked by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, which waned in the second part of the year before the third wave caused by the Omicron variant hit the country in December 2021-January 2022.
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The consolidated balance sheet of scheduled commercial banks registered double-digit growth in 2021-22, after a gap of seven years. Public sector banks continued to have the lions share in the balance sheet with 62 per cent deposit market share and 58 per cent loan market share. The banking sector was resilient in 2021-22 with improved profitability and adequate capital. Importantly, asset quality continued to improve during the year under review with most lenders achieving a reasonable level of provision coverage ratio an indicator of the strength of the balance sheet.
Timely policy support cushioned the impact of the pandemic on banks financial performance and soundness indicators. The legacy challenge of non-performing assets (NPAs) is easing, and profitability has been improving sequentially to levels last observed in 2014-15. This has been accompanied by lower slippages and the bolstering of capital buffers, the regulator had said. During 2021-22, the balance sheet of commercial banks expanded at a multi-year high pace, the RBI had said on the banking sectors performance in 2021-22.
Commercial banks combined net profit grew 49.2 per cent on-year in 2021-22 to over Rs 6 trillion, the RBI data showed. Higher profits during 2021-22 were contributed by acceleration in income and contraction in expenditure, the RBI had said. The contraction in total expenditure of these banks was led by interest expenditure, which declined due to low deposit rates.
Pakistan's all-weather ally China has approved a loan of USD 700 million to the cash-strapped country, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday.
The announcement by Dar on the loan by the Board of China Development Bank came a day after Pakistan's National Assembly unanimously passed a money bill aimed at raising tax revenues to fulfil the demands set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for seeking a USD 1.1 billion loan facility to avoid an economic meltdown.
"Formalities have been completed and the Board of China Development Bank has approved the facility of USD 700 million for Pakistan. This amount is expected to be received this week by the State Bank of Pakistan which will shore up its forex reserves!" Dar tweeted.
Pakistan has a chronic balance of payments problem which was exacerbated in the last year, with the country's forex reserves declining to critical levels.
As of February 10, the central bank had only USD 3.2 billion in reserves, enough to cover barely three weeks of imports.
To stem dollar outflows, the government has imposed restrictions, allowing imports of only essential food items and medicines until a bailout is agreed upon with the IMF, which is seen as essential for the country to stave off default.
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The government headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to implement measures to cut down on its expenditures by increasing taxes on the public and bringing down government expenses.
The government has also ordered the Foreign Ministry to slash the number of missions abroad and reduce their offices, and staff and initiate other measures to cut down expenditures of the debt-ridden nation by 15 per cent.
In November, finance minister Dar said that Pakistan has secured a USD 13 billion bailout from China and Saudi Arabia with USD 5.7 billion in fresh loans. Dar was confident that the cash would come before the IMF programme revival.
However, it became clear with time that Islamabad's old allies refused to dole out more cash without the country first agreeing to the IMF's conditions. That was when Pakistan had to invite the IMF mission to negotiate the deal, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
While offshore subsidiaries can use the global auditors, their parent firms were urged to hire local Chinese or Hong Kong accountants when contracts come up for renewal.
Concerns about data security have prompted Chinese authorities to ask state-owned firms to stop using the four biggest global accounting firms as Beijing seeks to curb the influence of Western auditors. Chinas Ministry of Finance is among government entities that gave informal guidance to some state-owned enterprises as recently as last month, urging them to let contracts with PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte expire, the report said, quoting sources.
A handful of congressional Republicans met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a signal of continued US support even as hard-right members of the party vow to block future aid to the embattled country.
The newly appointed chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee led a small delegation to Kyiv on Tuesday to meet with Zelenskyy for the first time since the start of the war a year ago and since Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives in November.
Chairman Mike McCaul and four other Republican lawmakers said they discussed at length what Ukraine's military needs to fight off Russian aggression. Zelenskyy provided them with a list of weapons, including longer-range artillery and air-to-surface missile systems.
The meeting came one day after President Joe Biden made an unannounced trip to Kyiv to reaffirm US support for Ukraine as the war heads into its second year.
Biden has been trying to keep the allies unified in their support for Ukraine as the war is expected to intensify with spring offensives. The biggest hurdle facing the president is House Republicans. McCaul's visit Tuesday is the latest in a series of efforts by the Texas Republican to make the case to his party for why the US should continue spending billions of dollars on the war effort.
We have seen time and again the majority of Republicans and Democrats support our assistance to Ukraine. But the Biden administration needs to layout their long-term strategy, McCaul said in a statement. There are some Members who would be more supportive if they saw a long-term strategy that was based on a Ukrainian victory rather than sending just enough support to prolong the war but not win it.
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A spokesperson for McCaul noted the delegation has been focused on oversight and ensuring there are guardrails in place for any future aid to Ukraine.
A far-right faction of the Republican Party has been expressing its opposition to continued US support to Ukraine since last spring. That campaign intensified this month when a group of 11 House Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida put forward a Ukraine Fatigue resolution. It stated that the US must end its military and financial aid to Ukraine and urged the combatants to reach a peace agreement.
America is in a state of managed decline, and it will exacerbate if we continue to hemorrhage taxpayer dollars toward a foreign war, Gaetz said.
Thus far, the US has provided four rounds of aid to Ukraine in response to Russia's invasion, totalling about USD113 billion, with some of the money going toward replenishment of US military equipment that was sent to the front lines.
Congress approved the latest round of aid in December. While the package was designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, much depends upon events on the ground.
For his part, Zelenskyy has been working with both Democrats and Republicans to ensure their support once the country runs out of aid, likely to happen in late summer. It's really very important. We're thankful for the US, for its people, Zelenskyy said in an video posted by his office after the meeting.
In comments later on social media, Zelenskyy added, Thank you, American congressmen, for supporting Ukraine and understanding the importance of stepping up aid to help us achieve victory over the aggressor.
Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has launched his 2024 presidential bid with a promise to put merit back and end dependence on China, becoming the second community member to enter the Republican Party's presidential primary after Nikki Haley.
Ramaswamy, 37, whose parents migrated to the United States from Kerala and worked at a General Electric plant in Ohio, made the announcement during a live interview on Fox News's prime time show of Tucker Carlson, a conservative political commentator.
He is the second Indian-American to enter the Republican presidential primary.
Earlier this month, two-term former governor of South Carolina and former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Haley announced her presidential campaign. She announced that she will contest against her former boss and ex-US President Donald Trump for the Republican Party's nomination.
We are in the middle of this national identity crisis, Tucker, where we have celebrated our differences for so long that we forgot all the ways we are really just the same as Americans bound by a common set of ideals that set this nation into motion 250 years ago," Ramaswamy said.
He calls wokeism a national threat
"That's why I am proud to say tonight that I am running for United States president to revive those ideals in this country," he announced.
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"I think we need to put merit' back into America' in every spirit of our lives," he said, adding that he will end affirmative action in "every sphere of American life."
A second-generation Indian American, Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and led the largest biotech IPOs of 2015 and 2016, eventually culminating in successful clinical trials in multiple disease areas that led to FDA-approved products, according to his bio.
He has founded other successful healthcare and technology companies, and in 2022, he launched Strive Asset Management, a new firm focused on restoring the voices of everyday citizens in the American economy by leading companies to focus on excellence over politics.
I'm all for putting America first, but in order to put America first, we have to first rediscover what America is. And to me, those are these basic rules of the road that set this nation into motion from meritocracy to free speech, to self-governance over aristocracy.
"The people who we elect actually make them run the government rather than this cancerous federal bureaucracy. That's gonna be the heart of my message, Ramaswamy told Fox News in an interview.
He said the US faces external threats like the rise of China.
It "has got to be our top foreign policy threat that we've gotta respond to, not pointless wars somewhere else."
"That's gonna require some sacrifice. It's gonna require a declaration of independence from China and complete decoupling. And that's not gonna be easy. It's gonna require some inconvenience, he said.
Foreign policy is all about prioritisation, Ramaswamy said.
We gotta wake up to the fact that China is violating our sovereignty and the reason, if that had been a Russian spy balloon, we'd have shot it down instantly and ratcheted up sanctions. Why didn't we do that for China? he asked.
The answer's simple. We depend on them for our modern way of life. This economic co-dependent relationship has to end, he said.
In a statement Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison said as Ramaswamy used Tucker Carlson's show to announce his campaign for president, one thing is clear: The race for the Make America Great Again (MAGA) base is getting messier and more crowded by the day.
Over the next few months, Republicans are guaranteed to take exceedingly extreme positions on everything from banning abortion to cutting Social Security and Medicare and we look forward to continuing to ensure every American knows just how extreme the MAGA agenda is, Harrison said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement Tuesday that Moscow is suspending its participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia arms control treaty will have an immediate impact on U.S. visibility into Russian nuclear activities, but the pact was already on life support.
Putin's decision to suspend Russian cooperation with the treaty's nuclear warhead and missile inspections follows Moscow's cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that both sides have accused the other of violating.
In his state-of-the-nation address to the Russian people, Putin said Russia was withdrawing from the treaty because of U.S. support to Ukraine, and he accused the U.S. and its NATO allies of openly working for Russia's destruction.
The U.S. had previously walked away from the treaty. During the Trump administration, the U.S. declined to engage in negotiations to extend it, accusing Moscow of flagrant violations. But when President Joe Biden took office in 2021, his administration signed a five-year extension.
Here is a look at New START and what Russia's announcement means for keeping U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons in check:
WHAT IS NEW START
New START, formally known as the The Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, was signed by the Obama administration in 2010 and took effect in February 2011 as a 10-year agreement. The treaty obligated both Russia and the U.S. to commit to regular communications on the status of their nuclear arsenals, allow regular on-site inspections and abide by caps on the number of deployed and non-deployed warheads each would maintain.
Those caps include: 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and deployed nuclear bombers; 1,550 nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs and deployed bombers; 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and bombers.
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Hours after Putin's address, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia would respect the caps on nuclear weapons, even though Putin suspended participation in the pact.
Russia also will continue to exchange information about test launches of ballistic missiles per earlier agreements with the United States, the Foreign Ministry said.
IMPACT OF SUSPENSION
Since New START was signed, Russia and the U.S. have allowed each other's compliance teams to conduct 328 on-site inspections of their stockpiles, and importantly the two nations have provided data exchanges and 25,311 notifications on the status of their programs, the State Department said.
Putin's announcement and the subsequent clarification from the Foreign Ministry seemed to indicate the inspections are on a permanent suspension but they left unclear what data sharing and notifications might be continued.
The U.S. will get its first clues on March 1, the day both parties are supposed to exchange data on the aggregate numbers of their nuclear forces, said Hans Kristensen, director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists.
The U.S and Russia also have been exchanging daily messages on movements and exercises, which has helped keep both nuclear powers clear on the other's actions, both Kristensen and William Alberque, director for strategy, technology and arms control for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said.
There are notifications that come through every single day, Alberque said. On the U.S. side, those formatted computer messages are processed by a military-civilian team at the National and Nuclear Risk Reduction Center inside the State Department.
If Russia decides not to provide the notifications, we're immediately going to start losing data, to be able to track exactly how many strategic weapons they have, and whether or not they're in the place that they're supposed to be, and whether or not they're acting the way they're supposed to, Alberque said.
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE
Inspections of U.S. and Russian military sites under New START were paused by both sides in March 2020 because of the spread of coronavirus. The U.S.-Russia commission overseeing implementation of the treaty last met in October 2021, but Russia then unilaterally suspended its cooperation with the treaty's inspection provisions in August 2022 to protest U.S. support for Ukraine.
Those discussions were supposed to have resumed in Egypt in late November, but Russia abruptly canceled them without offering a specific reason, according to U.S. officials.
In late January, the Biden administration reported to Congress that Russia was not complying with the terms of the agreement by refusing to allow inspections on its territory and refusing to agree to new talks on resuming those checks.
At the time, the State Department said Russia has a clear path for returning to full compliance and that all it needed to do was to agree to new inspections.
WHAT'S NEXT
Now it will be up to the Biden administration to decide how to react whether to continue to comply with the treaty.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the Russian move deeply unfortunate and irresponsible.
We'll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does, he said. We'll, of course, make sure that in any event we are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies.
Last month, the State Department reported it could not certify that Russia was in compliance with New START because of its refusal to allow on-site inspectors last year. Now that the treaty has been rejected altogether by Russia, there's a risk of an arms buildup.
Both the U.S. and Russia have meticulously planned their respective nuclear modernization programs based on the assumption that neither country will exceed the force levels currently dictated by New START, the Federation of American Scientists said in a February report that looked at the risks if the two sides failed to renew the treaty.
Without a deal after 2026, that assumption immediately disappears; both sides would likely default to mutual distrust amid fewer verifiable data points, and our discourse would be dominated by worst case thinking about how both countries' arsenals would grow in the future.
Pakistan has to do more to ensure that the foundation for strong growth is in place, taxes are collected and are fairly distributed, and those who have more, pay more, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said, as the cash-starved country is engaged in "tough" talks for a bailout with the global lender to tide over the worsening economic crisis.
Pakistan, which is in dire need of funds as it battles a wrenching economic crisis, has received financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the past and is presently in discussions with the organisation to resume its loan programme.
An agreement on the ninth review of the programme would release over USD 1.1 billion. A resumption of the IMF programme would also unlock other avenues of funding for Pakistan.
Georgieva emphasised that the IMF has made "good progress" in its talks with Pakistan.
"Pakistan has gone through a number of years striving to stabilise the economy and put in place a sound framework for private sector growth. There is still some work the country needs to do to achieve this objective," Georgieva told PTI in an interview ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting in Bengaluru this week.
Pakistan, she said, has been severely impacted recently by the floods that put one-third of the country under water. It adds to the difficulties of this South Asian country, she said.
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The cataclysmic floods inundated a third of the country, displaced more than 33 million and caused economic damages to the tune of USD 12.5 billion to Pakistan's already teetering economy. The devastating floods last year killed 1,739 people.
"What we would like very much to support Pakistan in is to make sure that the foundation for strong growth is in place, that taxes are collected, they're fairly distributed, and that those who have more, pay more, and that the use of public money is well designed, so it targets the most vulnerable people in society, Georgieva said.
"In other words, subsidies are not made available to those who don't need them. We know that Pakistan is now seriously engaged in implementing programme objectives," she said.
"We have had our team come back. Good progress was made. Still some more to be done. And I do hope that we will see Pakistan coming from that very difficult time with a sounder policy framework for the future, Georgieva said.
Her remarks came days after the two sides concluded the ninth review of the USD 6.5 billion bailout package without a staff-level agreement after 10 days of talks. However, both sides agreed to a set of measures that could still help clinch the deal.
The two sides are now holding talks in virtual settings to finalise a deal to provide the much-needed funds to shore up the foreign exchange.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said earlier this month that the IMF was giving a "tough time" to the government during talks for the restoration of the loan.
"As I speak, the IMF delegation is in Islamabad and they are giving Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team a tough time, Sharif said in Peshawar.
The economic challenge at this point was unimaginable, Sharif said, adding that the IMF conditions that the country has to meet are beyond imagination, but it is mandatory to fulfil the demands of the Fund.
Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan have fallen to around USD 3 billion, barely enough to cover three weeks of controlled imports.
Earlier, the IMF said in a statement that both sides have agreed to stay engaged and virtual discussions will continue in the coming days to finalise the implementation details of the policies, including the tax measures, discussed in Islamabad.
The government is in a race against time to implement the tax measures and reach an agreement with the IMF. The IMF has given a deadline of March 1 to Pakistan for implementing all the measures.
Pakistan Senator Waqar Mehdi, the General Secretary of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in his speech in the House criticised former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, saying that terrorists were supported and encouraged by the PTI government, Pakistan-based Dawn newspaper reported.
He said that terrorists cannot be good in any form, as a terrorist is a terrorist. According to him, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) named Khan a member of its negotiating team for peace talks with the government in 2014.
Senator Mehdi said that after the recent terrorist incident in Peshawar, the government had decided to summon a multi-party conference, but Khan refused to participate in it. This clearly shows that he preferred his political interests over issues linked with national security, Dawn reported.
As per the PPP senator, National Action Plan (NAP) chalked out to fight terrorism and extremism was not implemented in its true spirit by the previous government.
Mehdi also condemned the terrorist attack on the Karachi Police Office and paid tribute to those killed.
Shahzad Waseem, Opposition Leader in the Senate, criticised the government for its irresponsible attitude amid pressing issues and serious crises due to resurgence of terrorism and economic meltdown.
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According to a recent Policy Research Group (POREG) report, terrorism in Pakistan is a self-inflicted wound. Pakistan has been nurturing terrorists in its backyard as a part of its security and foreign policies. The country now has to pay the price for this misadventure.
According to POREG, the problem is the powers that matter in Pakistan have made terrorism a time bomb, initially appeasing the terrorist elements, in the name of preserving Islam and afterwards unleashing a reign of counter-attacks against them.
The challenge before the country's leadership is two-fold. It must crush militancy in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border belt, and bring a sense of security and peace to the region. Simultaneously, Pakistani forces must check the re-grouping and growth of various Islamist militant factions within mainland Pakistan.
Thousands of locals protested in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on February 5 under the slogan of Ulasi Pasoon (public uprising) against the suicide attack on Peshawar Police Lines Mosque and the increasing lawlessness in the region.
Unrest has also been witnessed in the districts of Lakki Marwat, Mohmand and Malakand over the return of terrorist menace. The law and order situation in the country has worsened in the past five months. People are unable to step out of their homes after nightfall, particularly in Lakki Marwat.
According to POREG, the cry for peace is becoming louder by the day. Most youngsters are at the forefront of the peace marches. Holding white flags, placards and banners, they are demanding the government to eliminate militancy and ensure sustainable peace.
The visit by Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official, to Moscow comes as the conflict in Ukraine continues to upend the global diplomatic order. Wang Yi met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, and pledged to strenghthen cooperation between the two countries, the Chinese foreign ministry said. Russia and China showcased their deepening ties Wednesday in a series of meetings closely watched for signs that Beijing might offer stronger support to the Kremlin for its war in Ukraine.
China is willing to work with Russia to deepen political trust, extend pragmatic cooperation, and play a constructive role for both countries in promoting world peace and development, Wang told Putin. No country can affect our ties with Russia, Wang Yi was quoted saying.
A time of crisis required Russia and China to continuously deepen our comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang said. Putin said he was looking forward to a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping and a deeper partnership. Xi is expected to make a peace speech on Friday. Making the highest level visit to Russia by a Chinese official since the countries signed a no limits partnership weeks before the invasion, Chinas top diplomat Wang Li told Putin that Beijing was ready to enhance ties.
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Russia and China are reaching new milestones including in trade, which may grow to $200 billion sooner than their goal of 2024, Putin said. Kyiv says there can be no talk of peace with Russian troops in Ukraine.
Putin noted escalating international tensions, adding that in this context, cooperation between the China and the Russian Federation on the global arena is particularly important for stabilising the international situation. We are ready, together with the Russian side, in accordance with top-level agreements, to resolutely defend national interests and dignity, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas, Wang was quoted as saying.
Trucks carrying Coca Cola roll across the border into Russia, tourists return from abroad laden with Zaras latest designs, and local online marketplaces snap up IKEAs furniture stocks. Top brands pull out of Russia, but their goods easy to find
Western brands may have left the country, but their goods havent.
Despite European, North American and Japanese companies exiting Russia over its actions in Ukraine, the impact on Russian consumers is minimal, although delivery times can be longer and some goods more expensive.
Crucially, the vast majority of goods concerned are not subject to sanctions and these cross-border flows are legal. And Moscow is happy to let them in, whatever route they take. The main change has been to supply routes, but the products remain available both online and in stores. Buyers just need to know where to look.
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The Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) has urged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the city-state to use the PayNow-UPI linkage for business dealings with India for ease of payment.
SICCI Chairman Neil Parekh, while welcoming the launch of the linkage of India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore's PayNow on Tuesday, also emphasised that the SMEs stand to benefit from the launch of the cross-border real-time digital payment system.
The launch is timely as both countries have resumed normalcy, and Singapore continues to see a steady and high influx of Indian entrepreneurs coming to Singapore for business delegation meetings with their counterparts and our Chamber, Parekh said.
Small and medium enterprises stand to gain with this launch of real-time payment, and SICCI strongly urges SMEs who have business dealings with India to use the scheme for ease of payment, Parekh told PTI.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi witnessed the launch of the cross-border connectivity of real-time digital payment systems via video conferencing on Tuesday.
"The PayNow-UPI linkage will offer cheaper, faster, and safer cross-border retail payments and remittances, for businesses and individuals alike, directly between bank accounts or e-wallets," Singapore's Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
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Parekh, who attended the launch, congratulated the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the launch.
"I want to congratulate Ravi Menon (Managing Director of MAS) and Shaktikanta Das (Governor of the RBI) for finalising the details and launching the scheme during India's Chairmanship of the G20," Parekh said.
I was delighted to discuss the real-time payment scheme with Das when he addressed our members during a fireside chat organised by SICCI, he added.
Das addressed SICCI members in Singapore last July.
The PayNow-UPI linkage is the world's first real-time payment systems linkage to use a scalable cloud-based infrastructure which can accommodate future increases in the volume of remittance traffic, according to a MAS release.
The service is available to Singapore customers of DBS Bank and Liquid group under a phased approach, where these institutions will progressively increase the number of eligible user groups and transaction limits from Tuesday till the end of March 2023.
Indian customers of all participating Indian banks will be able to receive funds through the service from the onset, the MAS release said.
The move will help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students, through the instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa.
The United Nations' educational, scientific and cultural agency chief on Wednesday called for a global dialogue to find ways to regulate social media companies and limit their role in the spreading of misinformation around the world.
Audery Azoulay, the director general of UNESCO, addressed a gathering of lawmakers, journalists and civil societies from around the world to discuss ways to regulate social media platforms such as Twitter and others to help make the internet a safer, fact-based space.
The two-day conference aims to formulate guidelines that would help regulators, governments and businesses manage content that undermines democracy and human rights, while supporting freedom of expression and promoting access to accurate and reliable information.
The global dialogue should provide the legal tools and principles of accountability and responsibility for social media companies to contribute to the public good, Azoulay said in an interview with The Associated Press on the sidelines of the conference in the French capital. She added: It would limit the risks that we see today, that we live today, disinformation (and) conspiracy theories spreading faster than the truth.
The European Union last year passed landmark legislation that will compel big tech companies like Google and Facebook parent Meta to police their platforms more strictly to protect European users from hate speech, disinformation and harmful content.
The Digital Services Act is one of EU's three significant laws targeting the tech industry.
The United Kingdom has surpassed India to occupy the sixth place. The latter had overtaken its former colonial ruler just nine months ago to break into the top five for the first time. India has slipped to the seventh position in ranking of nations by market capitalisation (m-cap) with the rout in Adani Group stocks continuing to make a dent in the countrys standing.
So far this year, Indias m-cap is down by $231 billion, or 6.93 per cent, to $ 3.1 trillion. The Adani Group has accounted for more than 60 per cent of the losses, with the group m-cap seeing an erosion of nearly $145 billion year-to-date (YTD). In less than two months, the domestic markets rank has dropped two places. On January 31, France had dislodged India from the fifth position.
The Indian market is by far the worst-performer in top 10, with other markets catching up to its outperformance seen last year. Indias contribution to the world m-cap too has slipped below 3 per cent after having topped 4 per cent in October 2022.
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Analysts said investors are also concerned about whether the group will be able to maintain its pace of growth, given the current turmoil that has wiped out over Rs 12 trillion in market capitalisation (m-cap) since the start of the year. There seems to be no respite for Adani Group companies from the market carnage. All 10 stocks belonging to the conglomerate came under a fresh bout of intense selling pressure on Wednesday as the groups debt levels and repayment capabilities continued to plague investors.
Six other group stocks bearing the Adani name hit their 5 per cent down limit, extending the total m-cap loss for the group by another Rs 51,348 crore. With this, the group has lost more than Rs 11.6 trillion, or $140 billion, since US short-seller Hindenburg Researchs scathing report against the Gautam Adani-led group on January 24. Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone the two most valuable companies of the group tumbled 10.4 and 6.2 per cent, respectively, on Wednesday.
The decline in Adani stocks on Wednesday comes amidst new reports suggesting that the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked credit rating agencies for details of ratings of local loans and securities of Adani Group companies. The total m-cap of the group has now been reduced to just Rs 7.6 trillion, down from more than Rs 20 trillion at the start of the year.
Also Read Hindenburg Research: All you need to know about US-based investment firm Fraud can not be obfuscated by nationalism: Hindenburg on Adani's rebuttal Hindenburg vs Adani: Meet Nate Anderson, founder of Hindenburg Research Rs 8.7 trn mcap loss for Adani cos in 6 days; Adani Ent tanks 35% since Tue To win back investors' trust, Adani Group to probe Hindenburg allegations Tighter liquidity, inflation concerns send govt T-bill yields soaring India slips to seventh position in ranking of nations by market cap: Report Cyient hits 52-week high on pact with Thingtrax; stock surges 7% in 3 days Sensex crashes over 900 points: Top 4 factors behind a wobbly Wednesday Real estate shares weak; Godrej Properties, DLF, Mahindra Life shed 3% each
Another news report suggested that Wikipedia editors accused Adani Group employees of adding content in favour of the conglomerate. Earlier this week, a large environment, social and governance fund dumped its stake in one of the group companies. The report mentioned that rating companies in India have not changed the ratings or outlook of Adani companies since the publication of the report by Hindenburg Research, even as global peers have sounded a note of caution.
The report released by Hindenburg Research accused Adani firms of brazen stock manipulation, accounting fraud, and use of extreme leverage, spelling danger for its creditors.
The track record of rating agencies has been abysmal. They dont downgrade until a company goes into default. Nothing of that sort has happened in Adani Group. On the contrary, it has been repaying its debt. Sebi will seek details from all sources. Rating agencies are part of the equation; there is nothing much to read into it. Wednesdays fall is largely due to technical reasons. Maybe from next week, things should improve for the group. In the short term, one can expect more stability once group companies come with their audited statements, he said. S P Tulsian, founder, SPTulsian.com, said Wednesdays fall was more due to technical reasons and played down concerns around its leverage.
Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL): BEL has signed an MoU with Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), DRDO, for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.
Biocon: The company has issued and allotted unlisted, secured, rated, redeemable, non-convertible debentures of face value of Rs one lakh each on private placement basis in three Series.
Sapphire Foods India: The board of directors of Gamma Pizzakraft (Overseas) Private Limited (GPOPL), wholly-owned subsidiary of Sapphire Foods India, has considered and approved subscription of upto 81,914 equity shares of Gamma Island Food Private Limited (GIFPL), subsidiary of GPOPL and step-down subsidiary of the company, for a total consideration of upto MVR 18,840,220.
MPS: E.I. Design and MPSI, the wholly owned subsidiaries of MPS, in their meeting of board of directors, have considered and approved the Draft Scheme of Merger of E.I. Design into and with MPSI.
Aurionpro Solutions: Finastra, a global provider of financial services software applications and marketplaces, announced a partnership with Integro Technologies a subsidiary of Aurionpro, the pioneer provider of high-end lending platforms, to offer Integro's SmartLender Trade Limits solution alongside its own Trade Innovation solution.
Bajaj Steel Industries: The company has executed Slump Sale Agreement with the VSA Business Solutions Private Limited, Nagpur with regard to sale of Superpack division. The rest of the transactions pertaining to such sale are expected to be completed on or before 31 March 2023.
Also Read HAL gets EoI from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Bharat Electronics signs MoU with Aeronautical Development Agency, DRDO PM inaugurates HAL's new helicopter factory in Karnataka Dynamatic Tech gains on signing MoU with HAL Bharat Forge, HAL and Saarloha inks MoU for production of aerospace grade steel alloys BPCL, Asian Paints, BEML, NHPC in focus HUL, Cipla, Surya Roshni in spotlight UltraTech Cement, Vedanta, RailTel in spotlight IndiGo, MIDHANI, Tanla Platforms, RateGain in focus ONGC, Apollo Hospitals, GMR Airports in focus
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Bharat Electronics said that it has signed an MoU with Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), DRDO, for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.
The MoU was announced on the sidelines of the Bandhan event held at Aero India 2023.
The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) was established under the Department of Defence Research and Development (DR&D), Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India, at Bangalore, in 1984 to oversee the development of the nation's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme.
The primary objective of ADA is the design and development of LCA to meet the Air Staff Requirements (ASR) specified by the Indian Air Force, and subsequently, the design and development of carrier borne naval variant and advance version of LCA (Mk1A, Mk2), Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) Aircraft, etc
The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft is a 5th generation, multi-role, all-weather fighter aircraft designed with high survivability and stealth capability.
The MoU aims at leveraging the complementary strengths and capabilities of BEL and ADA, wherein both the parties will co-operate for the design, development, qualification, production and supply of Internal Weapon Bay Computer and other LRUs for AMCA and provide lifetime product support to the Indian Air Force.
Also Read BEL, Biocon, Aurionpro Solutions, Bajaj Steel in focus HAL gets EoI from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Bharat Electronics signs MoU with Aeronautical Development Agency, DRDO PM inaugurates HAL's new helicopter factory in Karnataka Dynamatic Tech gains on signing MoU with HAL Air passenger traffic up nearly 96% to 1.25 crore in Jan'23: DGCA Everest Inds to set up manufacturing facility in South India IRB Infra gains on emerging as 'preferred bidder' for Rs 2,132 crore road project in Gujarat Dilip Buildcon arm executes concession agreement with NHAI Kiri Industries Ltd leads losers in 'A' group
Navratna PSU Bharat Electronics (BEL) is a multi-product, multi-technology, multi-Unit conglomerate which designs, manufactures and supplies products and systems in a wide variety of fields including radars, missile systems, military communications, naval systems, electronic warfare & avionics, C4I systems, electro optics, tank electronics & gun/weapon system upgrades, and electronic fuzes in the defence segment.
The company had reported reported 2.64% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 598.77 crore in Q3 FY23 as against Rs 583.37 crore in Q3 FY22. On a standalone basis, the PSU company's net sales increased 10.6% to Rs 4,046.11 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2022 compared with Rs 3,656.22 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
The scrip rose 0.74% to end at Rs 95.55 on the BSE yesterday.
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Hong Kong share market finished lower for second straight session on Wednesday, 22 February 2023, as risk-averse sentiment weighed on the stocks amid worries about the potential for further Federal Reserve tightening and the impact it has on global growth.
Also, weighing risk sentiments was geopolitical tensions ahead of the Ukraine war's first anniversary and signs that Beijing wants to play a more active role in the Ukraine conflict.
At closing bell, the benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 105.65 points, or 0.51%, to 20,423.84. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was down 92.31 points, or 1.33%, to 6,832.76.
Market participants were nervous as sabre rattling by both US President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Ratcheting up geopolitical tensions, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia's last major nuclear arms treaty with the United States.
Back to home, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po handed out HK$5,000 of consumption vouchers to each resident, versus HK$10,000 in the previous round, when he presented the city's 2023 budget on Wednesday. Other one-off measures included a smaller cut in salaries tax ceiling, and rate concessions for residential properties. Other tax sweeteners included a reduction of profits tax in 2022-23 for small-medium enterprises, benefiting 134,000 companies, a move that will cost the government HK$720 million in income. The city is studying a proposal to keep the market running during extreme weather such as typhoons. The local economy is forecast to expand by 3.5% to 5.5% this year after the border reopening with the mainland.
Among blue chips, Carmaker BYD lost 1.3% to HK$224.40 while hotpot restaurant chain Haidilao slipped 0.6% to HK$19.08. Limiting losses, property developer Sun Hung Kai Properties surged 0.8% to HK$111.90 while Henderson Land climbed 1.6% to HK$27.90. HSBC surged 5.3% to HK$60.65 as the lender signalled higher dividend payout, while its unit Hang Seng Bank added 2.7% to HK$131.60.
Also Read Hong Kong Market falls on geopolitical tensions Hong Kong Market on rising US-China tensions Hong Kong Market rises on bargain buying, calming Sino-US tensions Hong Kong Market falls 0.6% Hong Kong Market falls on weak offshore cues, Fed rate hike woes Australia Market extends losses US Market tumbles in broad selloff Singapore Market ends softer Hong Kong Market falls on geopolitical tensions Japan Market ends lower
Most Hong Kong developers advanced. Chan proposed tweaks to the city's variable property tax regime to ease the financial burden on first-time homebuyers, a move that will cost the government HK$1.9 billion annually.
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ITI surged 7.99% to Rs 104.75 after the company announced the appointment of Rajesh Rai as chairman and managing director (MD) of the company for period of five years with effect from 21 February 2023.In an exchange filing, the company stated, The Government of India has appointed Rajesh Rai, general manager (GM) of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) to the post of chairman and managing director of ITI for a period of five years with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post i.e. 21 February 2023, till the date of his superannuation, or until further orders, whichever is the earliest.
Rajesh Rai has more than 30 years of experience in telecommunication industry. Previously, Rai has served as general manager (Admin) of Mahanagar Telphone Nigam (MTNL), Mumbai.
The company's director marketing, Rakesh Chandra Tiwari has relinquished the additional charge of the post of chairman and managing director effective from 21 February 2023.
ITI is engaged in the field of telecommunications, it has contributed to 50% of the present national telecom network.
The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 87.61 core in Q3 FY23 as compared with Rs 92.59 crore in Q3 FY22. Net sales jumped 86.7% year on year to Rs 256.35 crore in Q3 FY23.
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The Kerala-based gold NBFC on Wednesday (22 February 2023) announced that its board may consider raising funds through debt securities in March 2023.
Manappuram Finance said that it is considering various options for raising funds through borrowings including by the way of issuance of various debt securities in onshore/offshore securities market by public issue, on private placement basis or through issuing commercial papers.
Based on the prevailing market conditions, the NBFC's board may consider and approve issuances of debt securities during the month of March 2023. The proposal is subject to such terms and conditions including the issue price of debt securities, as the board/respective committee may deem fit.
Manappuram Finance is one of India's leading gold loan NBFCs. The NBFC's consolidated net profit soared 50.3% to Rs 392.17 crore on 15.1% rise in total income to Rs 1,734.52 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.
Shares of Manappuram Finance declined 1.38% to Rs 103.90 on the BSE.
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The QSR company on Tuesday (21 February 2023) announced that it will increase its stake in Gamma Island Food (GIFPL) to 75% from the existing 51%.
GIFPL is a limited liability company, incorporated in the Republic of Maldives. The principal objective of GIFPL is to operate Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in Maldives under franchisee agreements. During FY 2021-22, the total revenue of GIFPL was 26,374,562 Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR).
In a regulatory filing, Sapphire Foods India said, The board of directors of Gamma Pizzakraft (Overseas) (GPOPL), wholly-owned subsidiary of Sapphire Foods India (SPIL), has considered and approved subscription of upto 81,914 equity shares of Gamma Island Food (GIFPL), subsidiary of GPOPL and step-down subsidiary of SPIL, for a total consideration of upto MVR 18,840,220. Pursuant to this proposed acquisition, the equity share holding of GPOPL in GIFPL will be increased from the existing 51% up to 75%.
The proposed acquisition is by way of subscription to the additional equity shares issued by GFIPL to GPOPL, in one or more tranches, pricing of which is based on a chartered accountant report, the company added.
The objective of the proposed acquisition is to principally support GFIPL in its business expansion (opening of new stores) plan in the Maldives and to further consolidate shareholding in GFIPL.
The indicative time period for completion of the acquisition is March 2023.
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Sapphire Foods India is principally engaged in the franchisee business of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell branded restaurants.
The company's consolidated net profit declined 23% to Rs 32.7 crore in Q3 FY23 compared with Rs 42.4 crore in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations rose 17.5% year on year to Rs 596.13 crore during the quarter ended 31 December 2022.
Shares of Sapphire Foods India declined 0.96% to Rs 1,225 on the BSE.
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Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy on Wednesday said 229 antiquities, which were taken out of India during different eras, have been retrieved from overseas during the past eight years, while this number was only 13 before 2014, reflecting the Centre's resolve to bring valuable articles associated with cultural pride back to the country. Asked about bringing back the Kohinoor diamond from Britain, Reddy said he would like the famed jewel to be in the country. He was talking to reporters on the margins of the first G20 working group meeting of culture which began at Maharaja Chhatrasal Convention Centre (MCCC) at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district. The meeting will go on till February 25 at Khajuraho, an ancient city known for its magnificent temples and intricate sculptures and located some 370km from the state capital Bhopal.
India currently holds the presidency of G20 or Group of 20 - an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. The Union minister said only 13 Indian antiquities, which were stolen or taken to foreign countries during different eras, were retrieved till 2014 after Independence. In comparison, 229 antiquities were brought back to India from abroad in the last eight years due to efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who assumed office in 2014, he said, adding 25 of them are being exhibited during the ongoing Culture Working Group (CWG) meet of G20 in Khajuraho. This clearly highlights the Centre's resolve to bring valuable articles of cultural pride back to the country, he added. Reddy said more than 250 meetings of the G20 working group are being organised across 56 cities of the country as the PM believes foreign delegates will be culture and tourism ambassadors when they return home.
He said, "We are trying to showcase our heritage and culture to delegates during all these meetings. Local culture is also being showcased where these meetings are being organised." The Union minister said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which looks after 3,600 monuments, is working to digitise and conduct surveys besides amending its Act by taking opinions of different stakeholders. During the working group meeting at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh also inaugurated an exhibition titled, 'Re (ad) dress: Return of Treasures. Reddy said the exhibition is aimed at showcasing the spirit, need and future of the repatriation of cultural property through select examples.
The exhibition will reflect upon the concept of repatriation through the lens of cultural objects, their histories and multitude of stories surrounding their successful return, he said. Reddy said protection and restitution of cultural properties will be one of the key focus areas of discussions for the G20 working group meeting of culture under India's presidency.
The theme of G20, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -- One Earth, One Family, One Future -- highlights the true spirit of India, he said. Earlier, delegates were welcomed at the Khajuraho airport upon their arrival with folk performances of Bundelkhand - Badhai and Rai. Later, traditional arts were showcased for them. One of the most important pieces being displayed in the exhibition is the 'Parrot Lady' repatriated to India in 2015 by Canada. It is now housed in the ASI site museum at Khajuraho, an official said. The exhibition portrays around 26 antiquities from across India complimented with photos and visuals of antiquities returned so far to the country along with some encouraging examples of repatriation from other parts of the world. The first G20 working group meeting of culture will have four sessions in which G20 member-states, international organisations along with officials from the Ministry of Culture will participate.
During the meeting, cultural programmes have been organised which included the Khajuraho Dance Festival.
Also Read US repatriates 307 antiquities valued $4 mn stolen, trafficked from India A total of 229 antiquities retrieved from foreign nations since 2014: Govt Paris auction house cancels auction of Nataraj idol after TN flags issue Stolen idols: US accounts for largest number of returned artefacts Ten bodies spotted, four retrieved after avalanche in Uttarakhand This is my last Assembly session, says ex-Karnataka CM Yediyurappa BBC cannot hide economic offences under garb of freedom of expression: BJP Imposition of property tax in Jammu and Kashmir anti-people move: NC, PDP Congress calls Jaishankar 'failed' foreign minister on his china remark Win of Delhi people, defeat of 'hooliganism': Kejriwal on mayoral poll win
The delegates will visit the Western Group of Temples, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. They will also be taken to the Panna Tiger Reserve.
A day after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged threat to his life, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said police will check the claim and act accordingly.
Raut on Tuesday wrote to the police alleging "threat to life" from CM Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde.
"Lok Sabha member Shrikant Shinde has given a 'supari' (contract) to kill me to a Thane-based criminal Raja Thakur. I have confirmed information regarding the same. I am informing you as a responsible citizen," Raut said in his letter submitted to the Mumbai police commissioner, copies of which were also sent to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio.
Responding to a query on Raut's allegations, CM Shinde said the allegations will be thoroughly investigated.
"Investigation will also be done to check if if this (Raut's claim) is based on facts or is a stunt. It is our job to ensure security, law and order in the state," Shinde told reporters after the cabinet meeting here.
He said a committee is already in place to allot security as per requirement.
Also Read Rs 2,000 cr deal to purchase Shiv Sena name and symbol, says Sanjay Raut 'Like China, we will enter Karnataka,' says Sanjay Raut over border issue Uddhav holds meeting with his camp leaders at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Mumbai Our govt formed legally: Shinde; Raut asserts Uddhav faction is 'real' Sena MVA's collapse, its aftermath kept political pot boiling in Maha in 2022 Under PM Modi, India does not shy away from taking a stand: J P Nadda Heavy security deployment at MCD headquarters for Delhi mayoral poll CBI should immediately arrest Sisodia in 'snooping' case, says Delhi BJP Political parties creating 'cradle-to-grave' welfare state: Varun Gandhi EC order on Shiv Sena made things crystal clear, asserts Anurag Thakur
"Security cover is not withdrawn with political motive. The committee will review the threat perception and provide security as required to anyone from the ruling or opposition sides," Shinde said.
Responding to Raut's letter to the police, Fadnavis had earlier said the Rajya Sabha MP has a habit of making thoughtless allegations, but his missive will nevertheless be sent to the authorities concerned for a review.
The rival factions led by Shinde and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray are locked in legal battles over the control of the Shiv Sena.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday in jest remarked if the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has sought hearing of a 2019 case involving Adani Enterprises, its Chairman Gautam Adani and Managing Director Rajesh Adani now because of the scenario outside, an apparent refence to a damning report on the Indian conglomerate released by a US-based investment research firm.
A petition was filed by Adani Enterprises in 2019 seeking to quash a sessions court order of the same year refusing to discharge the company, Gautam Adani and Rajesh Adani from a case of alleged violations of market regulations involving nearly Rs 388 crore. In December 2019, the high court stayed the sessions court order. This stay order came to be extended from time to time till February 2022. Last week, the SFIO, a multi-disciplinary organization under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, sought for the matter to be placed for hearing following which it was listed before a single bench of Justice R G Avachat on Wednesday. Senior counsel Amit Desai, appearing for the three petitioners, informed the HC they were unaware the matter was to be heard on Wednesday and sought for it to be fixed for final hearing on a particular day. Justice Avachat then jovially remarked as to why the matter was circulated seeking hearing now. Why is the matter circulated now? Because of the present scenario outside? Justice Avachat said in a lighter vein, indirectly referring to the controversy surrounding the Adani Group after US-based Hindenburg Research issued a report critical of the port-to-energy conglomerate. The bench then posted the plea for final hearing on April 18. In 2012, the SFIO filed a chargesheet against 12 persons, including the Adanis, accusing them of criminal conspiracy and cheating. However, a magistrate's court in Mumbai discharged them from the case in May 2014. The SFIO challenged the discharge order. A sessions court in November 2019 set aside the magistrate's order and noted that the SFIO had made out a case of unlawful gain by the Adani Group. Adani Enterprises, in its petition in the HC, termed the sessions court order as "arbitrary and illegal".
Q2 Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: QTWO), a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for banking and lending, announced today that Hume Bank, a AU$1.7B community bank based in Albury, has selected Q2 to transform and streamline its customer origination processes for loan and deposit products.
Hume Bank CEO Stephen Capello said, As a customer-owned bank, we play an important role in ensuring our customers and community get access to the right banking products. With over 55,000 customers, were always looking for ways to meet and exceed their needs, and we look forward to launching a faster, easier and more innovative onboarding process. Drawing upon Q2s innovative technology stack, well reduce the wait time for loan decisioning and account initiation to ultimately deliver a better user experience and bring value to our community.
Our Q2 investment is part of a bank-wide transformation program focussed on modernising our bank to ensure we can deliver on the changing needs of our customers and community.
Q2 will consolidate and unify Hume Banks digital channels and multiple product offerings under a single, configurable and adaptable lending platform. The upgrade will enhance the user experience, enable STP (straight-through processing) to automate data sharing and reduce repetitive, menial tasks.
Ali Khan, Managing Director for Q2 APAC said, We look forward to furthering Hume Banks commitment to digital transformation. Todays consumers have high expectations for banks to quickly adapt to emerging technologies that enable fast, safe digital transactions. By harnessing the power of smart, fully integrated digital solutions, Hume Bank will continue providing high value to all its customers.
Read more about:
Consumer Lending https://www.q2.com/consumer/consumer-lending,
Commercial Onboarding https://www.q2.com/commercial/acquire-and-onboarding
Digital Banking https://www.q2.com/consumer/digital-banking
About Hume Bank
Hume Bank is an Australian customer-owned bank with total assets of over $1.7 billion, it provides products and services to over 55,000 customers, and employs more than 140 people. Headquartered in Albury, New South Wales and with an office in the Melbourne CBD, Hume Bank has 14 branches in its network throughout North-East Victoria and Southern Riverina Murray.
About Q2 Holdings, Inc.
Q2 is a financial experience company dedicated to providing digital banking and lending solutions to banks, credit unions, alternative finance, and fintech companies in the U.S., Australia and around the globe. With comprehensive end-to-end solution sets, Q2 enables its partners to provide cohesive, secure, data-driven experiences to every account holder from consumer to small business and commercial. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Q2 has offices throughout the world and is publicly traded on the NYSE under the stock symbol QTWO. To learn more, please visit Q2.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005938/en/
An unexpected alchemy of Starbucks finest arabica coffee infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil offers a velvety smooth, deliciously lush new coffee experience
Unveiled at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Milan and Starbucks Italy stores, Oleato to launch in select markets worldwide over the coming year
Starbucks today unveiled a transformational innovation in coffee, Oleato a line of coffee beverages that brings together the unexpected Starbucks arabica coffee deliciously infused with a spoonful of Partanna cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil. The result is velvety smooth, delicately sweet, and lush coffee that uplifts each cup with an extraordinary new flavor and texture. The new beverage platform which launches in Starbucks stores in Italy on Feb. 22, includes: Oleato Caffe Latte, Oleato Iced Shaken Espresso, and Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew. The Starbucks Reserve Roastery Milan will also debut five beverages to customers on Feb. 22: Oleato Caffe Latte, Oleato Iced Cortado, Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew, Oleato Deconstructed, and Oleato Golden Foam Espresso Martini. Starbucks will begin to introduce the beverages in select markets around the world, starting with Southern California in the United States this spring. Later this year, Japan, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom will launch the beverages.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005753/en/
Introducing Starbucks Oleato a Revolutionary New Coffee Ritual (Photo: Business Wire)
During my first trip to Milan in 1983, I was captivated by the sense of community, connection, and passion for coffee I found in the citys espresso bars. It was that trip that inspired me to bring the ritual of handcrafted espresso to Starbucks and to America. Oleato represents the next revolution in coffee that brings together an alchemy of natures finest ingredients Starbucks arabica coffee beans and Partanna cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, said Howard Schultz, Starbucks interim chief executive officer. Today I feel just as inspired as I did 40 years ago, Oleato has opened our eyes to fresh new possibilities and a transformational way to enjoy our daily coffee, said Schultz.
Starbucks continuous search for inspiration revealed a family tradition that has existed in regions of Italy for generations - enjoying a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil each day as an uplifting ritual. This led Starbucks to Partanna, an Italian extra virgin olive oil brand with more than 100 years of tradition and dedication to farming and crafting premium extra virgin olive oil.
Oleato, The New Coffee Ritual
Partanna created a highly curated blend of extra virgin olive oil from the finest Mediterranean olives, including the high-quality Nocellara del Belice (also called Castelvetrano) olives from Partanna, Sicily. The blend was thoughtfully selected to pair perfectly with Starbucks coffee, which is then skillfully infused in the beverage to unlock a smooth and delicious experience like no other.
Starbucks Oleato beverages that will be served in Starbucks stores around the world:
Oleato Caffe Latte : Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast, a light roast that is smooth and subtly sweet, is infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil and steamed with creamy oatmilk to create a velvety smooth, deliciously lush latte.
Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast, a light roast that is smooth and subtly sweet, is infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil and steamed with creamy oatmilk to create a velvety smooth, deliciously lush latte. Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew : The inviting aroma of lush Partanna extra virgin olive oil infused cold foam cascades slowly through the dark, smooth cold brew, creating a subtle sweetness in the beverage.
The inviting aroma of lush Partanna extra virgin olive oil infused cold foam cascades slowly through the dark, smooth cold brew, creating a subtle sweetness in the beverage. Oleato Iced Shaken Espresso: This coffee-forward beverage offers layers of flavor sweetened with notes of hazelnuts, rich espresso and creamy oatmilk infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil.
In select markets, customers will also be able to add a press the equivalent to a spoonful of Partanna extra virgin olive oil as a customization to select beverages. The press will then be infused (steamed, shaken, or blended) as a customization into select drinks such as espresso beverages and tea lattes. Golden Foam will also be available as a customization, which can be added as a delicious topping on both hot and cold beverages.
Designed to pair perfectly with the exquisite Starbucks Reserve coffee, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Milan today debuted five Starbucks Reserve Oleato beverages:
Oleato Caffe Latte : Starbucks Reserve Espresso and creamy oatmilk infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil create a velvety, luscious latte.
Starbucks Reserve Espresso and creamy oatmilk infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil create a velvety, luscious latte. Oleato Iced Cortado : Starbucks Reserve Espresso, demerara syrup, and a dash of orange bitters and oatmilk is infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil. It is then served over ice and finished with an orange peel.
Starbucks Reserve Espresso, demerara syrup, and a dash of orange bitters and oatmilk is infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil. It is then served over ice and finished with an orange peel. Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew : Starbucks Reserve Cold Brew is lightly sweetened with demerara syrup and finished with Partanna extra virgin olive oil infused cold foam, creating an inviting aroma and subtle sweetness.
Starbucks Reserve Cold Brew is lightly sweetened with demerara syrup and finished with Partanna extra virgin olive oil infused cold foam, creating an inviting aroma and subtle sweetness. Oleato Deconstructed : An ode to the Italian tradition of combining olive oil with a squeeze of lemon. This beverage pairs Starbucks Reserve Espresso and Partanna extra virgin olive oil infused with a luxurious passionfruit cold foam.
An ode to the Italian tradition of combining olive oil with a squeeze of lemon. This beverage pairs Starbucks Reserve Espresso and Partanna extra virgin olive oil infused with a luxurious passionfruit cold foam. Oleato Golden Foam Espresso Martini: Starbucks Reserve Espresso, vodka and vanilla bean syrup topped with golden foam a fusion of fior di latte (sweet cream) and Partanna extra virgin olive oil.
When creating the beverages, we were inspired by the rich history and origin stories of coffee and olive oil two of natures most transcendent ingredients, said Amy Dilger, principal beverage developer for Starbucks. Infusing Starbucks coffee with olive oil yielded a velvety smooth, rich texture, with the buttery, round flavors imparted by the olive oil perfectly pairing with the soft, chocolatey notes of the coffee.
One thing thats special about Partannas olives is their uniquely nutty, slightly sweet flavors think of that rich smoothness of a buttery caramel, its a natural complement to our coffee, said Dilger. Whether you enjoy Oleato hot or cold, you get this really luxurious, textural experience.
Read more about the inspiration and creation of these beverages here.
Raising the Bar on Coffee Innovation
Italys romance with coffee, food and connection has served as an inspiration for the Starbucks Experience since the companys earliest days, influencing its coffee, food, and store designs, as well as its reverence for artistry.
The art of coffee craft, curation and creation remains core to Starbucks. Our aspiration to continue to be the world's leader in premium coffee in both the art and the science is as strong today as it was more than 50 years ago when Starbucks first opened its doors, said Schultz. Embracing our heritage, we remain dedicated to exceeding our customers expectations bybringing innovative experiences to savor.
From the first Starbucks Caffe Latte served in 1984, to Pumpkin Spice Latte, Nitro Cold Brew, and the more recent Iced Shaken Espresso beverages, Starbucks continues to bring its customers innovative beverages at scale.
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with nearly 36,000 stores worldwide, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at stories.starbucks.com or starbucks.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005753/en/
Medidata, a Dassault Systemes company, today announced a new leadership structure designed to fuel its mission of creating end-to-end solutions that power smarter treatments and healthier people. The strategic evolution is an opportunity to further long-term goals and growth to enhance customers ability to unlock greater value across the Dassault Systemes portfolio, ultimately taking drug development to new heights.
Pascal Daloz, an accomplished leader at Dassault Systemes, was named CEO of Medidata. Daloz played a key role in the success of the acquisition of Medidata in 2019, and his proven success as a business leader and visionary are a great complement to Medidata.
Michael Pray was named company COO. In his prior role as Medidata chief commercial officer, he was instrumental in the rapid growth of the company, which includes more than doubling total revenue to over $1B and 100 percent growth in number of customers during the last six years. Pray will lead the day-to-day operations at Medidata, and will work closely with Daloz to build a complete solution set serving the life sciences industry at large.
Customers are asking to do more with Medidata, and we are evolving to meet their digital transformation needs, said Pascal Daloz, Medidata CEO. Building on the strong foundation that has been set over the last twenty years, we will continue to pioneer unmatched solutions across the life sciences lifecycle. We are extremely committed to this industry and will continue investing to achieve the vision that includes prevention to precision medicine and discovery to distribution, in order to be at the center of every patient journey.
Medidata is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault Systemes, which with its 3DEXPERIENCE platform is positioned to lead the digital transformation of life sciences in the age of personalized medicine with the first end-to-end scientific and business platform, from research to commercialization.
About Medidata
Medidata is leading the digital transformation of life sciences, creating hope for millions of patients. Medidata helps generate the evidence and insights to help pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and diagnostics companies, and academic researchers accelerate value, minimize risk, and optimize outcomes. More than one million registered users across 2,100+ customers and partners access the world's most trusted platform for clinical development, commercial, and real-world data. Medidata, a Dassault Systemes company (Euronext Paris: FR0014003TT8, DSY.PA), is headquartered in New York City and has offices around the world to meet the needs of its customers. Discover more at www.medidata.com and follow us @Medidata.
About Dassault Systemes
Dassault Systemes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, is a catalyst for human progress. We provide business and people with collaborative 3D virtual environments to imagine sustainable innovations. By creating virtual twin experiences of the real world with our 3DEXPERIENCE platform and applications, our customers push the boundaries of innovation, learning and production to achieve a more sustainable world for patients, citizens, and consumers. Dassault Systemes brings value to more than 300,000 customers of all sizes, in all industries, in more than 140 countries. For more information, visit www.3ds.com.
3DEXPERIENCE, the Compass icon, the 3DS logo, CATIA, BIOVIA, GEOVIA, SOLIDWORKS, 3DVIA, ENOVIA, NETVIBES, MEDIDATA, CENTRIC PLM, 3DEXCITE, SIMULIA, DELMIA, and IFWE are commercial trademarks or registered trademarks of Dassault Systemes, a French societe europeenne (Versailles Commercial Register # B 322 306 440), or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230216005613/en/
China remains popular destination for foreign investment
Xinhua) 08:47, February 22, 2023
Aerial photo taken on Dec. 28, 2021 shows the new Tiexi Plant of BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) under construction in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Yang Qing)
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China remains a hot spot for foreign investment, as business operators' opinions resonate with the country's official data.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 14.5 percent year on year to 127.69 billion yuan in January, the Ministry of Commerce said Monday. In U.S. dollar terms, the FDI inflow went up 10 percent year on year to 19.02 billion U.S. dollars.
High-tech industries saw a rapid FDI increase of 62.8 percent in January. Specifically, foreign investment in high-tech manufacturing surged 74.5 percent, while that in the high-tech service sector rose 59.6 percent.
In Shenyang, the capital city of Liaoning Province in northeast China, the five millionth car produced by BMW Group's joint venture in China, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. (BBA), rolled off the production line on Monday.
The five millionth car is an all-new pure electric BMW i3 eDrive40L, which shows that BMW is ready for the electric era in China's automotive industry, said Franz Decker, the president and CEO of BBA, in an interview.
The company said BMW sold about 42,000 pure electric vehicles in China in 2022, up 91.6 percent from the previous year.
In south China's Guangdong Province, ExxonMobil's mega-investment project in Huizhou made new progress in February as it completed the hoisting of heavy equipment and started the construction of a technology center.
The ExxonMobil Huizhou Ethylene Project, with a total investment of about 10 billion U.S. dollars, has seen the smooth construction of the first-phase project and the preparatory work of the second-phase project.
It is ExxonMobil's first integrated center of its kind outside the North American headquarters with a pilot plant, product development, and process development, which can serve to meet the growing market and technology needs of the Asia Pacific region, according to Fernando Vallina, chairman of ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
"We believe that Guangdong has a highly business-friendly environment. The government is very experienced. We will continue investing here with our model. It's not to build just one plant; it is to build first a complex and then keep on adding faces, keep on investing for many years," said Vallina.
Data show that the total amount of funds in place for the whole project reached 1.42 billion U.S. dollars, and the accumulative investment in fixed assets reached 17.55 billion yuan (around 2.55 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of 2022.
"China is the biggest market in the world for chemicals. It is the second-largest economy in the world. So it's a vitally important market for us. We believe that to be successful globally, it's imperative to be successful in China," said Vallina.
GE Healthcare China President and CEO Zhang Yihao said the strong resilience and vitality of the Chinese economy and the opportunities for China to further open up at a higher level strengthened the company's confidence in deep-rooted development in China.
FDI flowing into China's central region reported a year-on-year expansion of 25.9 percent in January, followed by 21.6 percent in the western region.
Shu Jueting, a spokesperson for the commerce ministry, said on Thursday at a press conference that China will always adhere to open cooperation and provide opportunities for the world through its own development.
Foreign businesses will enjoy more opportunities in China's enormous markets, institutional opening-up, and deepened international cooperation, Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping has said.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The Eknath Shinde faction received the Shiv Sena office in Parliament House on February 21, 2023, after the Election Commission recognised them as the legitimate Shiv Sena.
At the same time, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Uddhav Thackeray faction's appeal of the Election Commission's decision on February 22, 2023.
But, a crucial element of the continuing Sena vs. Sena conflict is undoubtedly the process by which the election commission (EC) determined which party is the real Sena.
The Majority Test
In making its decision, the EC merely applied the majority test, determining which faction has the most MPs and MLAs on its side to assert claim to the Shiv Sena name and the "bow and arrow" symbol. Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, led the winning faction. In its judgement, the EC cited the Sadiq Ali case, which occurred after Indira Gandhi split the Party in 1969. The EC ultimately decided the Congress (O) vs.
Congress (J) conflict using the "test of majority," a provision introduced in the Symbols Order of 1968. The case, which became known as the Sadiq Ali case, was heard by the Supreme Court, which in 1971 supported the EC's judgement.
Why Were Other Tests Rejected?
Further requirements include "tests of party constitution" and "tests of purposes and objects," among others. Similar to the Congress split case from roughly 50 years ago, the EC dismissed the other two in the Sena v. Sena case. Both parties asserted adherence to goals and objectives. The EC concluded that it was unable to rely on this criterion.
Shiv Sena's constitution was changed in 2018 to give party president Uddhav Thackeray the authority to nominate and remove officeholders. However, the EC stated in its order that the party had failed to submit the amendment-related document, in violation of the Representation of the People Act of 1951.
Second, if the "test of constitution" criterion were applied, the EC would need to know how many of all office holders supported each faction. But then it would most likely run into trouble since the entire electoral college within the party would be made up of individuals Thackeray appointed. This clause in the Shiv Sena constitution was deemed "undemocratic" by the EC.
Experts are divided on the EC's order
On the Commission's order, constitutional scholars have differing opinions. Former Indian chief election commissioner Om Prakash Rawat stated that the Commission always takes into account all relevant criteria, including the party's goals and objectives, support from party officials, and majority in the legislative wing.
But, only the test that is devoid of disagreement or challenge is taken into account, Rawat said in a statement. "A test is discarded if there is any disagreement over it. Most of the time, counting the MLAs and MPs is sufficient to reach a decision."
Rawat further emphasised that the Commission's decision only affects which side receives the emblem and name and has no influence on other factors like property. PMP Achary, a former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, contends that the Commission's order is flawed.
According to Achary, "the party is the organisation and can exist even without a legislative wing." "Thus, organisational strength must be considered."
According to Achary, the Commission cannot make decisions only based on who controls the legislative branch; otherwise, the one with the largest number of legislators will always prevail.
Achary stated that it was unreasonable and unacceptable to base decisions solely on the legislative wing.
MSBTE 2023: The Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education (MSBTE) will going to declare the Diploma result 2023 for winter session by visiting the official website at. Candidates can check the MSBTE Diploama result by filling in their roll number and password. According to the MSBTE winter 2022 exam schedule. The Diploma result is scheduled to be declared in the fourth week of Feburary 2023.
MSBTE has conducted the winter diploma examinations from January 5 to 25, 2023. The MSBTE winter 2023 examination was conducted in two shifts- the morning shift will be held from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and the afternoon shift will be conducted from 2 pm to 5 pm.
Whereas the winter diploma exams are being held from the third and fifth semester, , the MSBTE conducts summer diploma examinations for the second, fourth and sixth semester students. The students will be able to check their MSBTE winter result for diploma in engineering, pharmacy, and government approved short-term courses through the official website.
Steps to check MSBTE Diploma result 2023
Well, it took Geely Philippines long enough. About two years after we said they needed a sub-compact crossover to penetrate the local market...
Photo: . Hail only lasted for a short moment before moving on.
Vancouverites got a surprise from the sky today.
While the sun still shone on much of the region, parts of the city were hit by a hail storm.
The tiny ice pellets only fell for a short period of time, but it came fast and furious. Vancouver doesn't get a lot of hail, typically, and Tuesday's storm appeared to hit with larger hail stones than normally seen.
While precipitation of other sorts have been predicted for Vancouver, hail was not been mentioned in forecasts until earlier today. Snow flurries are expected as soon as Wednesday morning.
Vancouver Is Awesome has reached out to Environment Canada for more information.
Taiwan Cement fined for price fixing
22 February 2023
Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC) is one of 18 firms fined a combined TWD213m (US$7m) for forming a ready-mixed concrete (RMC) price-fixing cartel, accord to Taipei Times. Since 2018 the companies have regularly met in person and messaged via apps to control the supply of RMC and drive up prices, reports the Fair Trade Commission.
TCC faces an individual fine of TWD50m but has said that it will appeal against the ruling. TCCs ready-mix concrete quality and price have been considered to be the best in the industry with strong trust from clients. TCC has no need and did not engage in concerted action with peers, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Published under
Perus cement market contracts in January
ICR Newsroom By 22 February 2023
Total cement dispatches in Peru fell by 16 per cent to 0.915Mt in January 2023 when compared with 1.088Mt delivered in January 2022, according to Asocem, the countrys cement association. Of this total, Asocem members dispatched 0.883Mt in January 2023 while non-affiliated companies dispatched 0.032Mt.
Cement production in Peru declined 13 per cent YoY to 0.931Mt in January 2023. The output level is an aggregate of all Asocem members. Clinker production surged by 46 per cent to 1.079Mt in the first month of 2023.
External trade
Cement exports fell by 13 per cent YoY to 15,000t in January 2023 from 18,000t in the year-ago period. Clinker exports were down 49 per cent YoY to 36,000t from 71,000t over the same period.
In terms of imports, Peru sourced 5000t of cement from outside its borders in January 2023 with Vietnam delivering 3200t and Chile 1700t. This represents a 90 per cent drop when compared with January 2022, when 49,000t of cement were imported. There were no clinker imports in January 2023 unlike January 2022, when 151,000t were imported.
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Bengaluru-vased River launched its first electric scooter called Indie on Wednesday. (Photo: Twitter)
BANGALORE: The two-year-old Bangalore-based electric vehicle startup River, is targeting to touch an ambitious sales volume of one lakh units of electric scooters in the fiercely competitive market in the country over the next three years.
River, founded in March 2021, backed by marquee investors such as US-based Chris Saccas Lowercarbon Capital, Japanese Toyota Ventures of Toyota Corporation, Maniv mobility and Trucks VC with a total of Rs 105 crore, plans to introduce all new three scooter models.
"Our sales target is over 1 lakh units in the year 2025 which is easily achievable with our upcoming all new models which will stand out in the growing electric scooter market," Aravind Mani, co-founder and CEO at River told Financial Chronicle.
On Wednesday the company launched its first electric scooter called Indie, which the company called the SUV of scooters priced at Rs 1.25 lakh at Bangalore showroom. Deliveries will begin in August.
River Indie competes with the likes of Bajaj Chetak, TVS iQube and Ola S1.
"This year, we will 3,000 to 5,000 units as will streamline supply chain and distribution model, " Mani, who was vice president business strategy at Ultraviolette, said, adding that in 2024 sales volume will touch 30,000 to 36,000 units across 50 dealers in as many cities. River will start selling Indie first in Bangalore and in the neighbouring cities like Chennai and Pune and gradually expand pan India in a phased manner.
At present, River has 300 employees, including 240 engineers working at its R&D Centre in Bangalore and production is slated at its newly built factory in Bangalore in April 2023.
Its first electric scooter Indie is locally designed and manufactured except that Lithium cells are imported form south Korea and Taiwan and the battery pack is made at its R&D Centre.
Last year India sold a total of 6 lakh electric scooters and the trend is growing up with more and more consumers opting for green vehicles.
With a powerful motor of 6.7 kW can take Indie scooter to a top speed of 90 kmph and it can switch between three ride modes like Eco, ride and rush. The 4kWh battery provides a real range of 120 km and can be charged to 80 per cent in 5 hours with a standard charger, the company claimed.
River provides 5 year warranty for the battery pack or 50,000 km whichever is earlier.
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Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. (File Photo: Facebook)
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has called for the drafting of a new industrial policy for AP with a view to extending more support to entrepreneurs -- from the level of developing a concept to the commissioning of the project and also for providing them with marketing tie-up at international level.
This would help attract more industries to AP, the chief minister said at a high-level review meeting he held to discuss the drafting of a new industrial policy with more attractive features. Senior officials including industrial special chief secretary Karikal Valaven, finance secretaries KVV Satyanarayana, N Gurjar and others were present.
The new industrial policy must be prepared in such a manner that it would do hand-holding to the investors from the very start till the final execution of the projects and the reach of the products to international markets. This would, in special, help the micro, small and medium enterprises who have limitations for outreach, he said.
He said there would be more competition in the MSME sector. "There is the need for providing them proper marketing facilities so that the industries would flourish.
The CM underlined the importance of providing encouragement to the start-up concepts and directed the officials to construct a new building in a good location in Visakhapatnam, in an area spread over three lakh square feet. The office of the department of industries must be set up in the same building, he said.
City Council members said they may begin considering requests to convert motels into apartments as special exception cases.
That would be preferable to allowing the conversions under a zoning category "by right," it was stated.
Councilman Chip Henderson said a similar approach was taken for liquor stores, late night establishments, contractor businesses and others.
In those cases, application must be made for a Special Exception Permit.
Councilman Henderson noted that those cases get discussion by the City Council and, in some cases, a public hearing. He said the public can weigh in on those matters.
Councilwoman Carol Berz said when zoning is "by right" that "it takes away the right of people to make comment and put in their two cents worth."
The Thornhill Management Group has asked to be able to convert the Motel 6 at 7707 Lee Highway near Bonny Oaks Drive, the America's Best Inn nearby at 7717 Lee Highway and the Knights Inn at 3655 Cummings Highway in Lookout Valley into apartments.
They are seeking UGC zoning.
Councilman Henderson said Lookout Valley has never had UGC zoning, "and I don't see us getting it."
County Commissioner Joe Graham said he is adamantly opposed to allowing the change in Lookout Valley, saying it could turn into a Budgetel operation. The Budgetel in East Ridge was shut down as a public nuisance.
Several speakers at the City Council meeting on Tuesday said Esai Navarro, the inaugural Director of the Citys Office of New Americans, had been fired.
City officials said, "We dont discuss HR decisions for individual employees out of respect for all involved.
"The administration places the highest priority on our Office of New Americans and ensuring it has a leader who serves our immigrant community while building strong coalitions with a wide range of partners and advocates. "
The speakers spoke in support of Ms. Navarro, saying she had been active in helping community members and in proposing a series of programs that allegedly had been blocked.
Mayor Tim Kelly said at her appointment:
Established in October 2021 as part of the mayors One Chattanooga plan, the Office of New Americans helps connect migrants and refugees in Chattanooga with the resources and opportunities they need to thrive, including translation services, citizenship application processing, and referrals for wraparound services. As director, Navarro will help shape the offices services and programs to ensure all migrants who choose to relocate to Chattanooga are welcomed with compassion and support.
Esais extensive background and expertise in serving our countrys immigrant community make her uniquely qualified to lead our Office of New Americans, said Mayor Kelly. It was clear she was the right person for the role from quite literally her first day on the job, when she rose to the task of coordinating a multi-agency response to support the migrants passing through Chattanooga on buses from Texas. While that particular situation has resolved, I have every confidence in Esais ability to help ensure our migrant community is welcomed and empowered to thrive and prosper in our city.
A native of Clarksville, Tn., Navarro has served the tens of thousands of residents who make up the Chattanooga immigrant community for over 15 years through the development and implementation of innovative programs, curriculums, and policies focused on cultural competency, education, digital equity, civic engagement, small business development, criminal justice, and immersion services. She brings an expansive network of local and nationwide diverse partnerships spanning several sectors to her work with the City, along with an unmatched heart for her community that aligns with the values of Mayor Kellys One Chattanooga plan.
Among her many accomplishments, Navarro created the award-winning Uno X Uno Immigrant Youth Library Program, one of the Urban Library Councils Innovative Initiatives in the Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Division. She also founded ALAS, an education equity centered nonprofit working to empower immigrant and under-resourced youth to achieve their educational and/or career goals. Her leadership experience extends to rapid response and disaster recovery operations, as evidenced by her work during 2020s Easter Tornados and COVID-19 response, when she was a key figure in advocating for the inclusion and culturally relevant response and recovery for Chattanooga immigrants.
Prior to joining the Office of New Americans, Navarro consulted with higher education, grassroots community groups, non-profit organizations, and businesses to assist them in connecting with the Latinx community. She remains active in the community, continuing her work with multiple nonprofit organizations to help bridge the gaps of marginalized communities across the city.
In order to avoid legal action by the ASPCA, the McKamey Animal Center, Hamilton County Humane Society, dog lovers local and internationally, etc. this is a disclaimer of any perceived anti-pooch position and is merely a statement of the historical basis for a definition of the term.
According to legend in prehistoric China, for hygiene and safety reasons, dogs werent allowed inside the city walls. It was also forbidden to dispose of garbage within the city, and so the designated dump outside the walls was where the stray dogs found food. When undesirables and criminals were banished from the city and forced to compete with the dogs for food at the garbage dump, it was said they had gone to the dogs.
(Any coincidental similarity to the political and economic status of conditions in our community and nation is beyond the scope of this article.)
However, it should be respectfully pointed out some parts of China are relatively puppy free because they are considered a delicacy on the food chain.
* * *
You can reach Jerry Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com
A woman told police that she and her husband had gotten into an argument and he had been drinking and then he left. She said she was tracking him on an app and told police that he was at the Kankus gas station at 702 Central Ave. Police located her husband in the parking lot outside his vehicle, walking into the store. Police conducted a nystagmus test to see if he was under the influence of an intoxicant. He appeared to be over the limit. Police did not see him operating his vehicle at the time of the encounter. He was informed by police to have someone pick him and his vehicle up. He called a friend.
* * *
A woman in an apartment on Arlington Avenue called police to make a report that her neighbor is very loud during early hours of the morning. Police did not hear any noise from the neighbor's apartment when they arrived. The woman said she would just like to make report of it at this time.
* * *
Employees at the Mapco, 100 W. 20th St., told police a vehicle was running in their parking lot with people inside. Employees wanted police to check on the occupants. They advised they were just sleeping because they were driving from Oklahoma. The Mapco did not want them sleeping in their parking lot. The people were informed to move to the parking lot across the street.
* * *
Police initiated a traffic stop on Arlington Avenue on a 2013 silver Ford Escape (TN tag) for the brake light not working properly. Police spoke to the driver, who said she has been having trouble with the wiring. The woman was given a verbal warning for the equipment violation.
* * *
Police spoke to a man on De Sales Avenue who said he needed a ride, or somewhere to go. Police offered the man a ride to the Community Kitchen.
* * *
A dumpster fire was reported at the Kingdom Center, 730 E Martin Luther King Blvd. Police found a Republic Trash Service dumpster on fire. The Fire Department arrived on scene and put out the fire. Police attempted to contact Republic, but they are closed on weekends. Police gave a copy of this report number to a church employee, as they are the property owner where the dumpster was located burning. No injuries were reported, and damage was isolated to the dumpster only. There is video of a suspect standing at the dumpster moments before it caught fire. Video quality will not allow identification, but it appears the person is wearing a camo jacket, blue jeans with faded blue pockets and possibly a light pink/red colored hat.
* * *
An employee reported someone attempted to break into the storage shed of Papa John's, 6210 Hixson Pike, sometime overnight. This resulted in the lock hasp being bent, but no entry was made and no items were taken. There is no suspect information or investigative leads.
* * *
While working an extra job at the Aquarium, an officer was notified of a theft that took place. Aquarium security showed the officer a video of a black male cutting the lock on a gate belonging to the Aquarium. The man then entered the gate and stole items belonging to the Aquarium (two socket sets, one wrench set, and one toolbox). Aquarium security said they have never seen the man in the area before and had no further information. There are no further leads.
4/15/2023
Police were informed of a man claiming stolen valor who had been panhandling near the Aubrey's at Northgate Mall. Police observed the man panhandling at the entrance of Northgate Mall near Highway ... more
Collegedale police were requested to assist the sheriffs office search the Hunter Road area for an elderly individual suffering from dementia, who had walked away from their residence. The individual was located.
An officer was dispatched to the 4800 block of Taylor Circle, on the campus of Southern Adventist University, for an unknown 911 call that had come in but had no answer on call back. The officer checked the area but was not waved down nor were any signs of distress found.
A traffic stop in the 10000 block of Lee Highway led to the driver being charged with driving on a revoked license.
An individual reported to police that their vehicle had been damaged in October of last year.
Police were requested to check the well-being of an individual having a panic attack at the Aldis grocery store. Everything checked out ok.
Police responded to a disorder at the College Park apartments. One individual was arrested for domestic assault. Another individual was charged with possession of illegal narcotics.
A Wellesley neighborhood resident reported that they had been notified by their bank that their social security number may have been compromised.
An officer was requested to check the well-being of an elderly person walking around the Collegedale Walmart area. No one was located.
A local business owner came to the police department to receive some options for an employee they believe to be using a company credit card fraudulently. They were advised of a few options and advised they would return once they made their decision.
A minor fender bender was reported at the crosswalk in the 5000 block of University Drive.
A traffic stop in the 9900 block of Cloverlan Hills Drive resulted in the driver being arrested for DUI and refusal of implied consent.
The courtesy officer for the Hawthorne at the Summit apartment complex called police to handle a noise complaint regarding loud music from an apartment. Police made contact with the residents and the music was turned down.
A man who got into a road rage incident with another vehicle picked a rough customer to contend with.
A passenger in the other vehicle, Martemius Smith, was charged in a 2021 fight inside Dick's Sporting Goods.
Last year, Smith was charged in connection with a large fight on Fagan Street in which one individual was flashing a gun and someone was hit with a gun.
In an incident on Saturday, police responded on an aggravated assault at 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd. The caller said a man pointed a gun at him and then drove away in a green Toyota with a drive-out tag. He said his girlfriend got a photo of the drive-out tag.
An officer made a stop on the green Toyota on Brainerd Road near Hibbett Sports. Officers were eventually able to get all occupants of the Toyota out of it.
The caller said the green Toyota had pulled out in front of him and he honked his horn. He said a man in the back seat flipped him off, then he flipped the man back.
At that point, he said, the driver (later identified as Sanders) got out of the vehicle holding a handgun. He said another individual (identified as Smith) got out of the front passenger seat and pulled a gun from his waistband.
He said both men "presented handguns in a threatening manner" and said, "What you gonna do b---- a-- (racial epithet)."
They then got back in the Toyota and left, he said.
Smith, 24, and Deiveon Dearvis Sanders, 23, both of 1905 St. Beech St., face four counts of aggravated assault as well as gun and drug charges.
Paul E. Smith, a member of the 1977 Tennessee Constitutional Convention which amended the state constitution, appeared before the school board legislative committee in opposition to the state Education Savings Account program, which may be expanded to include Hamilton County.
Some students in Hamilton County would be eligible for vouchers worth about $8,000 for private school tuition, joining students in Davidson County and Shelby County school districts.
The new eligibility requirements passed in the state Senate Feb. 16 and move on to the House K-12 Subcommittee this week.
School districts with five failing schools, not 10, would be eligible for the vouchers, adding Hamilton County to the list.
Mr. Smith, who served as chairman of the education committee at the constitutional convention, said the new voucher program is illegal.
If its taken to court, he told the legislative committee, it will be thrown out.
School board member Ben Connor, chairman of the legislative committee, said he favors charter schools over a voucher program.
If what he says is fact, then there is a major issue, Mr. Connor said, though he predicted its going to stand some hard opposition in the House.
The state supreme court ruled in 2022 that the voucher program is constitutional.
Our intent was that the school board would make these types of decisions, said Mr. Smith. We made a very clear record. He argued that taking decisions away from the school board and giving them to the state, or even to the county, will stunt equal opportunity for every neighborhood through its school board representative.
THIRD GRADE RETENTION LAW
Mr. Connor said state subcommittees will make decisions March 7 about 14 amendments submitted to the new third grade retention law.
Thats something Im going to plan to be a part of, Mr. Connor said.
He said the best amendments want more data points, adding input from teachers and interventionists and taking power away from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program test.
School board member Gary Kuehn referenced one amendment unpopular with the legislative committee that would require students to be seven years old to start first grade, not six, which would effectively force younger students to repeat kindergarten.
Legislative committee member Faye Robinson said she supports a bill in subcommittee that would raise teacher spending in classrooms for instructional supplies from $200 to $500.
Mr. Connor said he will hold a town hall meeting to discuss laws and amendments that are passed this season.
A drone operated by a Hamilton County drone unit has located a missing 15-year-old boy in a wooded area of Cherokee County, N.C.
County Mayor Weston Wamp praised the local drone team, singling out P.J. Kellum for his involvement in the techno rescue.
Officials of the Hiwasee Dam Fire Department described the life-saving rescue of the special needs youth:
"Words cannot express how we feel right now. After a long ground search, the young man was found in good shape. Thanks to our members, Wolf Creek FD, Culberson FD, Copper Basin Fire and Rescue, West Polk Fire and Rescue with their drone, Cherokee County Sheriff's Department, Cherokee County Emergency Management, Cherokee County 911.
"Over a year ago, Hiwassee Dam FD joined the Tri-State Mutual Aid Association which is based around the Chattanooga metro area. Tonight is the first time we have called on them. They dispatched Hamilton County Emergency Management with their drones. They responded from Chattanooga and immediately started flying.
"Their 2 drones and West Polks drone flew grid patterns for 2 hours. One of the Hamilton County drones picked up a heat signature. Once he was able to zoom, the signature appeared to be a body lying in the fetal position. He was able to mark the GPS coordinates and lead ground searchers to the missing juvenile. He was then carried out of the woods and turned over to Cherokee County EMS medics for evaluation.
"Thanks you to all who responded. Once again, training and great relationships with mutual aid partners led to a successful mission.
"On another note, if you view these pictures, we live in a beautiful part of the country. The first picture is the drone image of the person. This is amazing technology."
Over the years, Raashii starred in several masala entertainers that became very successful. (Photo By Arrangement)
Raashii Khanna started her film career with the Hindi movie Madras Cafe (2013). And after having spent a decade in the South film industry, shes again part of a Hindi project, Farzi, helmed by director duo Raj & DK. The actress is getting rave reviews for her performance as Megha Vyas (whose expertise lies in sniffing out fake notes) in the comic thriller.
Has life come full circle for Raashii, we ask. "Its a bit surprising actually to realise that I have completed a decade in the film industry. I still feel like a student in cinema, trying to understand the nuances of the craft and improve myself. Its been an enriching journey," she shares.
Over the years, Raashii starred in several masala entertainers that became very successful. So, has her choice shifted to more serious roles? Actors love to see themselves in various roles, provided theres room to perform, she replies.
"Actors get content-driven films only if they prove themselves. After my first film Oohalu Gusagusalade (2013) I did several masala flicks. I auditioned for several films too. Raj & DK saw one of my old auditions and my videos in Tholi Prema and cast me in Farzi," she says, adding that Farzi is an intriguing project to have at this time of her career.
"Its OK to drop my make-up if the character needs it, because as actors, we look forward to living the role with authenticity," she shares, adding that she has been making a conscious effort to look for content-driven plots and roles.
In her quest for authentic scripts, hasnt she put herself under pressure? Raashii is quick to acknowledge the truth in that. "In the effort to evolve as actors and improve with every film, we do put ourselves under pressure. But thats the challenge. Every film is a risk, so we need to be courageous to choose this profession, particularly without a godfather," she chuckles.
"The biggest challenge I encountered is the way I look. Since many think Im good for masala entertainers and never tried to cast me for content-driven films.
But I am glad that my old audition helped me break that assumption," she shares. The actress also auditioned for Ajay Devgn-starrer Rudra. "Working with different filmmakers made me explore more layers as an actor," she says.
Raashii, who has seen many downturns in her career, stresses that at no point was she laid too low. "I have seen ups and downs but I never gave up on myself during my low phase, and perhaps thats what helped me not to take my setbacks seriously. The effort was always to work harder and learn from my mistakes," she reveals.
In another balancing act, Raashii tries to combine showbiz with spiritualism. "I think times are changing, and you can meditate being in showbiz," she smiles. "My life is a balance of both as they keep me charged up. My family and friends help keep me motivated."
Asked if she has any 3AM friends in the industry, she says, "Its tough to have people in the industry as best friends because after we do films we move on to other films, its like a professional space. I dont have any 3AM friends from the film industry, but I have friends outside the film circle."
When director duo Raj & DK auditioned me for Farzi, they told her Hindi had too much of a South Indian accent. And that was a surprise. "It was then that I realised the amount of work I did in the South. I am also surprised at the way how I have picked up Telugu and Tamil fluently though I was scared in the beginning."
One of seven Tennessee Songwriters Week finalists impressed the crowd on stage at Songbirds Guitar & Pop Culture Museum in Chattanooga last night, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development announced today. Aaron Bucks competed against 21 other songwriting entrants to win the showcase.
Six other showcase events are taking place across Tennessee this week, including at The Bijou Theatre in Knoxville, Lafayettes Music Room in Memphis, Ole Red in Gatlinburg, The Down Home in Johnson City, The Franklin Theatre in Franklin and The Palace Theatre in Gallatin.
Each of the seven finalists earn the opportunity to perform at The Bluebird Cafe during a private event in March with music industry professionals, a branded commemorative Taylor guitar, two-night stay in Nashville, $100 gift card for travel and one-year membership to Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).
Songwriters performed at qualifying rounds in February at more than 50 venues, museums, attractions and cafes to advance to the showcase events.Mr. Bucks captivated the audience and impressed the judges, winning with his original song Put Down Our Words, which he performed in his signature Country Soul style. His soulful lyrics and rich, smooth voice connected with the crowd at Songbirds last night where he won the showcase.Sean Phipps with Chattanooga Tourism Co. hosted the event. Judges included Stratton Tingle with SoundCorps, Donna Elle Harrison, Director of Cultural Tourism, Chattanooga Tourism Co., Charlie Moss with Songbirds Museum, Shane Morrow with Rise Chattanooga, and Elliott Duke representing The Bluebird Cafe. Judges considered lyric originality, performance and connection with the audience.From the jazz and blues of The Big 9 era and the Glenn Miller tune, Chattanooga Choo Choo, to hip hop, bluegrass, and rock n roll, music has always permeated Chattanoogas culture. Today, the music scene continues to embrace diverse sounds and is so dynamic that music is constant at restaurants, pubs, musical venues, public spaces, and anywhere live music thrives throughout the city.Home of the Chattanooga showcase, Songbirds Guitar & Pop Culture Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing transformative experiences through music. Committed to celebrating and embracing different backgrounds, Songbirds Foundation, along with its Guitars for Kids program, believes these differences create stronger people, experiences, and communities. Songbirds delivers educational programming that preserves music history and provides concrete resources for emerging artists.SoundCorps is dedicated to growing the music economy in the Chattanooga region. We devote our energies to building local music industry infrastructure and professional expertise through ongoing programs, events and initiatives. These efforts translate into increased opportunities to experience Chattanooga music.Previous Chattanooga finalist Barclay, who will be releasing a new project by mid-summer, performed as a special guest during the shows intermission along with previous Chattanooga finalists Courtney Holder and Robert Lee, who closed out the show.Helmed by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Tennessee Songwriters Week was established in 2019 to support music venues, celebrate songwriters with live performances in all genres of music, drive visitation and inspire travelers to experience the states music stories, history, attractions and venues. Since its inception, more than 3,500 songwriters have shared their original music across Tennessee stages during the annual celebration.The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development partners with The Bluebird Cafe, NSAI, Taylor Guitars, music venues and local convention and visitors bureaus, chambers and partners across the state, all committed to make sure songwriters can share their original work onstage with other writers.Follow the journey of these songwriters and join the fun by following @tnvacation on social media and #tnsongwritersweek.
February is Black History Month. It is designed to honor and recognize the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans, as stated by President Gerald Ford in 1976. We devote this article to one such Black Americans accomplishments.
When I was 15, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. No one thought this was a good idea. So said Constance Baker Motley, who went on to become a veritable giant in the law. She wrote the original complaint in the monumental Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education. She litigated the case that resulted in the admission of James Meredith to the University of Mississippi. She was the first Black woman to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court, ultimately arguing ten such cases and winning nine of them. She was the first Black woman appointed to the federal bench. Her amazing career proved wrong all those who thought her desire to become a lawyer a mistake.
Motley was born on Sept. 14, 1921, in New Haven, Ct., to working-class parents who had immigrated from Nevis in the British West Indies. Neither of her parents had advanced past a secondary education. Despite her humble roots, she excelled academically in New Haven. Doubts about her desire to become a lawyer thus did not arise from her intellect, but rather from her race and gender. She graduated with honors from high school but did not have the financial means to enter college. Fortuitously, she so impressed a New Haven businessman and philanthropist who heard her speaking at a community center that he offered to finance her education.
She enrolled at Fisk University in Nashville, but only attended for one year. Her stint travelling to and living in Nashville exposed her to the racism and segregation prevalent in the South. She described her experience with racism and Jim Crow laws in her memoir. On reaching Cincinnati during her travel to Fisk, she was ordered to leave the train car in which she had traveled from New Haven and enter an aging, rusty car marked COLORED. She wrote of the experience: Although I had known this would happen, I was both frightened and humiliated. All I knew for sure was that I could do nothing about this new reality. After beginning her studies at Fisk, she transferred to a school closer to home, New York University (NYU). Three years later, in 1943, she graduated from NYU with a degree in economics. From NYU she went to Columbia Law School, where she received her law degree in 1946.
While in law school, Motley met Thurgood Marshall, who was then general counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF). Marshall hired her to work as a law clerk for the LDF before she had completed her legal education, and she became the LDFs only female associate attorney after her graduation.
During her two decades at the LDF, Motley was instrumental in some of the crucial cases facing the nation, executing the LDFs legal strategy attacking the separate-but-equal doctrine. She worked with and represented some of the most important civil rights figures of the century. In 1950, she wrote the original complaint in Brown v. Board of Education. She represented the Little Rock Nine and Freedom Riders. She represented the Birmingham Children Marchers, overturning their wrongful expulsion from school for engaging in nonviolent demonstrations. She represented Martin Luther King for the first time when he was incarcerated in Albany, Georgia, in 1962. She stayed in the family home of NAACP Mississippi field secretary/director Medgar Evers while he was under armed guard due to threats against his life.
Most famously, Motley represented James Meredith throughout his efforts to integrate and attend the University of Mississippi, from the district court all the way to the Supreme Court. Both the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court ruled in her favor and ordered the University to admit Meredith.
Motley once explained that the LDF gave her difficult cases in the South because Marshall believed that only a woman would be safe there. She commented, I dont know how hes got that figured. But, so far, Ive never been subjected to any violence. She did, however, have to contend with rudeness, condescension, and hostility from white male lawyers and judges time and again, while responding with poise and professionalism.
Motley was thus one of the crucial players in the LDFs legal attack on de jure segregation. Her litigation helped to desegregate Southern buses, restaurants, and schoolsincluding in Tennessee, where she first attended college.
In recognition of her outstanding legal experience and abilities, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Motley for a United States District Court seat in New York on January 26, 1966. She faced opposition and delay in the Senate from Southern segregationists, but upon her confirmation seven months later, she became the first Black female United States judge. She later served as chief judge of the Southern District of New York. She was known for mentoring numerous female lawyers and judges during her time on the bench.
This remarkable lawyers lawyer died in New York City on Sept. 28, 2005.
Curtis L. Collier
United States District Judge
Chair, Eastern District of Tennessee Civics and Outreach Committee
Carrie Brown Stefaniak
Law Clerk to the Honorable Curtis L. Collier
Past President, Chattanooga Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
Karen L. Sheng
Law Clerk to the Honorable Curtis L. Collier
The 73rd Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a dynamic program with over 120 experts leading 200-plus educational opportunities, will take place April 26-29.The announcement was made by Dr. Joey Shaw, director of the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage and UC Foundation professor of biology, geology and environmental science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.Registration for the four-day event, which regularly draws 1,000-plus participants, will open at 10 a.m.on Wednesday, March 1, via the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage website Event pricing can be found on the organizations website, along with lodging options The Spring Wildfire Pilgrimage is a nonprofit event in which we invite expert biologists and ecologists from every platform, said Dr. Shaw, who has been part of the Pilgrimage since 1998 and director since 2015. I handpick the experts and invite all of them based on their expertise and ability to communicate with the public.Dr. Shaw said the Pilgrimage offers expert-guided hikes to learn about wildflowers, trees and shrubs, pollination, ferns, mosses, fungi, lichens, insects, butterflies, spiders, salamanders and snakes, birds, owls, warblers, bats, bears, boars, parasites, animals of the leaf litter, stargazing, nature journaling, wildflower and bird sketching, human uses of the land and wild foods. There are programs for beginners and those with more advanced knowledge bases.The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most diverse places on the planet, he said, and to have all of these experts thereand the sheer numbers of species that you can see on any of these hikesis incredible. The biological diversity is impressive.The event program can be found on the website, and Shaw suggested attendeesknown as pilgrimsdo their prep work and plan out their own pilgrimages because registration often sells out.There are 200 different educational programs over the four days, and for one ticket price, people can sign up for as many experiences as theyd like, he said. People who register on March 1 should study the program now to figure out what courses or hikes they want to go on. There are even tips and tricks on the website to help with the registration process.Dr. Shaw said 20 UTC faculty and current or former students are participating as educational program leaders.The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage series began in 1951 as a collaboration between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the city of Gatlinburg and UT Knoxville.Dr. Shaw first got involved as a graduate student at UT Knoxville. After receiving a bachelors degree in biology from UTC in 1998, he headed to Knoxvillewhere he obtained masters (2000) and doctoral (2005) degrees in botany.I grew up in it, he said. My mentors at UTK (Ken McFarland, Gene Wofford and Pat Cox) asked me to help. Eventually they all retired, and Ive been running the event since 2017.
This illustration from the Guo Lab shows the interaction between a perovskite material (cyan) and a substrate of metal-dielectric material. The red and blue pairings are electron-hole pairs. Mirror images reflected from the substrate reduce the ability of excited electrons in the perovskite to recombine with their atomic cores, increasing the efficiency of the perovskite to harvest solar light.
Silicon, the standard semiconducting material used in a host of applicationscomputer central processing units (CPUs), semiconductor chips, detectors, and solar cellsis an abundant, naturally occurring material. However, it is expensive to mine and to purify.
Perovskitesa family of materials nicknamed for their crystalline structurehave shown extraordinary promise in recent years as a far less expensive, equally efficient replacement for silicon in solar cells and detectors. Now, a study led by Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics at the University of Rochester, suggests perovskites may become far more efficient.
Researchers typically synthesize perovskites in a wet lab, and then apply the material as a film on a glass substrate and explore various applications
Guo instead proposes a novel, physics-based approach. By using a substrate of either a layer of metal or alternating layers of metal and dielectric materialrather than glasshe and his coauthors found they could increase the perovskites light conversion efficiency by 250 percent.
Their findings are reported in Nature Photonics.
No one else has come to this observation in perovskites, Guo says. All of a sudden, we can put a metal platform under a perovskite, utterly changing the interaction of the electrons within the perovskite. Thus, we use a physical method to engineer that interaction.
Novel perovskite-metal combination creates a lot of surprising physics
Metals are probably the simplest materials in nature, but they can be made to acquire complex functions. The Guo Lab has extensive experience in this direction. The lab has pioneered a range of technologies transforming simple metals to pitch black, superhydrophilic (water-attracting), or superhydrophobic (water-repellent). The enhanced metals have been used for solar energy absorption and water purification in their recent studies.
In this new paper, instead of presenting a way to enhance the metal itself, the Guo Lab demonstrates how to use the metal to enhance the efficiency of pervoskites.
A piece of metal can do just as much work as complex chemical engineering in a wet lab, says Guo, adding that the new research may be particularly useful for future solar energy harvesting.
In a solar cell, photons from sunlight need to interact with and excite electrons, causing the electrons to leave their atomic cores and generating an electrical current, Guo explains. Ideally, the solar cell would use materials that are weak to pull the excited electrons back to the atomic cores and stop the electrical current.
Guos lab demonstrated that such recombination could be substantially prevented by combining a perovskite material with either a layer of metal or a metamaterial substrate consisting of alternating layers of silver, a noble metal, and aluminum oxide, a dielectric.
The result was a significant reduction of electron recombination through a lot of surprising physics, Guo says. In effect, the metal layer serves as a mirror, which creates reversed images of electron-hole pairs, weakening the ability of the electrons to recombine with the holes.
The lab was able to use a simple detector to observe the resulting 250 percent increase in efficiency of light conversion.
Several challenges must be resolved before perovskites become practical for applications, especially their tendency to degrade relatively quickly. Currently, researchers are racing to find new, more stable perovskite materials.
As new perovskites emerge, we can then use our physics-based method to further enhance their performance, Guo says.
You would think that efficiencies of more than 100 percent are only possible using alchemy and other Harry Potter-like wizardry. But it can be done. The answer lies in the magical world of quantum efficiency and stacked solar cells (symbolic image).
Solar panels with multiple stacked cells are currently breaking records. Remarkably, a team of researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and TNO at Holst Centre have now managed to make photodiodes - based on a similar technology - with a photoelectron yield of more than 200 percent. You would think that efficiencies of more than 100 percent are only possible using alchemy and other Harry Potter-like wizardry. But it can be done. The answer lies in the magical world of quantum efficiency and stacked solar cells.
Rene Janssen, professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology and co-author of a new Science Advances paper, explains. I know, this sound incredible. But, were not talking about normal energy efficiency here. What counts in the world of photodiodes is quantum efficiency. Instead of the total amount of solar energy, it counts the number of photons that the diode converts into electrons.
I always compare it to the days when we still had guilders and lira. If a tourist from the Netherlands received only 100 lira for their 100 guilders during their holiday in Italy, they might have felt a bit shortchanged. But because in quantum terms, every guilder counts as one lira, they still achieved an efficiency of 100 per cent. This also holds for photodiodes: the better the better the diode is able to detect weak light signals, the higher its efficiency.
Dark current
Photodiodes are light-sensitive semiconductor devices that produce a current when they absorb photons from a light source. They are used as sensors in a variety of applications, including medical purposes, wearable monitoring, light communication, surveillance systems, and machine vision. In all these domains, high sensitivity is key.
For a photodiode to work correctly, it has to meet two conditions. Firstly, it should minimize the current that is generated in the absence of light, the so-called dark current. The less dark current, the more sensitive the diode. Secondly, it should be able to distinguish the level of background light (the noise) from the relevant infrared light. Unfortunately, these two things usually do not go together, on the contrary.
Tandem
Four years ago, Riccardo Ollearo, one of Janssens PhD students and lead author of the paper, set about solving this conundrum. In his research he joined forces with the photodetector team working at Holst Centre, a research institute specialized in wireless and printed sensor technologies, Ollearo built a so-called tandem diode, a device that combines both perovskite and organic PV cells.
Combining these two layers a technique also increasingly used in state-of-the-art solar cells he was able to optimize both conditions, reaching an efficiency of 70 per cent.
Impressive, but not enough, says the ambitious young researcher from Italy. I decided to see if I could increase the efficiency even further with the help of green light. I knew from earlier research that Illuminating solar cells with additional light can modify their quantum efficiency, and in some cases enhance it. To my surprise, this worked even better than expected in improving the photodiode sensitivity. We were able to increase the efficiency for near-infrared light to over 200 per cent!
Mystery
Up this point, the researchers still dont know exactly how this works, although theyve come up with a theory that might explain the effect.
We think that the additional green light leads to a build-up of electrons in the perovskite layer. This acts as a reservoir of charges that is released when infrared photons are absorbed in the organic layer, says Ollearo. In other words, every infrared photon that gets through and is converted in an electron, gets company from a bonus electron, leading to an efficiency of 200 per cent or more. Think of it as getting two lira for your guilder, instead of one!
Putting the diode to the test
The researcher tested the photodiode, which is hundred times as thin as a sheet of newsprint, and suitable for use in flexible devices,, in the lab. We wanted to see whether the device could pick up subtle signals, such as the heart or respiration rate of a human being in an environment with realistic background light. We opted for an indoor scenario, during a sunny day with the curtains partially closed. And it worked!
Holding the device at 130 cm from a finger, the researchers were able to detect minute changes in the amount of infrared light that was reflected back into the diode. These changes turn out to be a correct indication of changes in the blood pressure in a persons veins, which in turn indicate heart rate. When pointing the device at the persons chest, they were able to measure the respiration rate from light movements in the thorax.
Future
With the publication of the paper in Science Advances, Ollearos work is all but finished. He will defend his thesis research on April 21. So, does the research stop there?
No, certainly not. We want to see if we can further improve the device, for instance by making it quicker, says Janssen. We also want to explore whether we can clinically test the device, for instance in collaboration with the FORSEE project.
The FORSEE project, led by TU/e researcher Sveta Zinger and in collaboration with the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, is developing an intelligent camera that can observe a patients heart and respiration rates.
Lets hope the researchers at TU/e and TNO continue to prove that you dont need to be a Harry Potter to achieve amazing feats of science!
Bottles made of bioplastic protect cooking oil from oxidative spoilage (rancidity) to a similar extent as PET bottles. In addition, even less taste- and odor-impairing substances were formed. This is the result of a recent study published in the journal "Food Packaging and Shelf Life" by researchers led by Marc Pignitter of the University of Vienna's Department of Chemistry.
To keep healthy cooking oils with a high content of unsaturated fatty acids fresh for a long time, the bottle material is crucial. Due to their material properties and low cost, PET bottles are often the first choice for this purpose. However, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is very difficult to biodegrade and remains in nature for up to 2000 years. With a global production of almost 400 million tons of plastic (2021), only one-third of plastic waste is recycled in Austria, for example, and a quarter of plastic waste also ends up in landfills across the EU. In 2022, the EU Commission therefore called for new EU-wide regulations for a transition to biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics - a group of substances that the research team around food analyst Marc Pignitter at the Institute of Physiological Chemistry at the University of Vienna is working on intensively.
Renewable & Sustainable
One promising candidate for bioplastic bottles is polylactic acid (PLA) - a thermoplastic biopolymer derived from renewable raw materials that is also industrially compostable. It is obtained by fermenting carbohydrates in corn starch or sugar cane and is already used successfully in the food industry, for example to fill smoothies. The research team now investigated whether bioplastic bottles made from PLA could also be used to store edible oils, which would be a decisive advantage in terms of sustainability & environmental compatibility given that around 200 million tons of edible oil are produced worldwide.
In detail, the effects of different conventional plastic packaging materials as well as of the bioplastic PLA on the oxidation stability and shelf life of sunflower oil were compared. The focus was on the packaging-induced development of oxidation products in the oil, which are responsible for the rancidity and bitter taste. In addition, the compounds that transferred from the bottle materials into the oils were analyzed.
Beneficial & Sustainable
The results of the storage study showed that bioplastic bottles made from PLA actually protected the sunflower oil from rancidity better than conventional PET in some cases. In addition, unlike PET bottles, PLA bottles were not found to transfer "unintentionally introduced substances" (NIAS) into the oil - so all in all, two more advantages in addition to the sustainability of the material. Although PLA is currently still well above (recycled) PET in terms of cost, the push towards bioplastics and the associated scalability will have a price-reducing effect and bring PLA into focus as a real alternative. Since PLA can already be partially recycled, it would also have to be taken into account in waste management.
Melissa Payne stands next to a photo of her late mother Rodslen Brown who was a community activist and a champion of the Cherokee Freedmen.
Air India Delhi-bound flight from New York had to make a precautionary landing in Sweden's capital Stockholm after detecting technical glitches (Representational image: AFP)
New Delhi: Air India Delhi-bound flight from New York had to make a precautionary landing in Sweden's capital Stockholm after detecting technical glitches on Wednesday.
The Air India flight AI 106 was carrying around 300 passengers. There was panic among passengers after the cockpit crew announced that the flight was being diverted to an airport in Sweden due to a technical glitch. All the passengers are safe.
"Air India flight AI 106 from Newark to Delhi developed a technical snag and diverted to Sweden, (Stockholm) airport safely," an Air India official told ANI.
After reporting a technical snag, the flight was diverted to Stockholm. Several fire tenders rushed towards the aircraft on arrival at Stockholm airport.
"Fear gripped the nearly 300 passengers on board as a large number of fire engines rushed to Stockholm airport," a source told ANI.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the Air India flight reported an oil leak from the engine.
"Air India flight Newark to Delhi flight diverted to Sweden's Stockholm due to oil leak from aircraft engine," DGCA said.
Air India has deployed Boeing B-777 aircraft for long routes, especially for the United States.
Air India's statement on the above diversion is awaited.
Earlier on Monday, an Air India flight from New York to Delhi (AI 102) was diverted to London due to a medical emergency onboard. After landing at Heathrow airport, the passenger was rushed to a hospital in London.
"Air India ground staff at Heathrow have been made to evacuate the individual concerned to hospital," an Air India official told ANI.
When LUV (Listening, Understanding, Validating) talk engages with the conviction that context matters, it paves the way for an authentic conversation with Black history.
Black history in America is the perpetuation of a progressive dream for Black Americans to overcome the isims (e.g., racism, sexism, classism, ageism) in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Its also the story of a people whose faith is rooted in a sovereign God with a track record of compassion towards the marginalized. Considering the context of history enables us to move into a dialogue with Black history.
When seeking to grasp the significance of the past concerning the present, the context of stories, family, faith, culture, and community matter. The more we excavate the context, the greater our understanding. The same holds for grasping Black history. As my pastor puts it: A text without context is a con.
I wrote a previous article on LUV talk, citing the importance of seeing others (discovering context) before serving others. When LUV talk engages with the conviction that context matters, it paves the way for an authentic conversation with Black history. I invite you to join me in a LUV talk with a contemporary voice who told me her Black history story during a recent interview, paying attention to her context along the way.
Step #1Listening: Dimple, a 77 year-old mother, grandmother, sister, and poet, was employed with the federal government for thirty years before retiring and venturing into real estate. When asked for her assessment of the state of Black America, Dimple indicated that while Black America has come a long way, it still faces oppression.
I wrote a poem quite some time ago called Song of a Black Man that carries you through where I feel our journey has gone from coming over on the slave ship to being on the plantation to being set free and not knowing we were free for months. And then supposedly being given 40 acres and a mule, and that didn't happen. And then many of us thought we'd go North and be much better off. But we've come a long way from a slave ship to having a Black president. And now we have a Black vice president, but were still oppressed.
When asked about the struggles Black America continues to face, Dimple points to prejudice, unequal opportunities, and poor living conditions stemming from racial and economic disparities. A central issue is the "being Black" syndrome, resulting in a lack of acceptance as equals.
And no matter where we go in the United States of America, Black people are Black people and White people don't think that we measure up to being treated as well as them.
She recommends seeing people as individuals and giving them equal opportunities as a remedy. When asked about the potential or possibilities of America, Dimple states:
We are a great country, but it's possible for us to be even greater if we learn to love our neighbors, love each other, and accept Christ in our lives. Just try to help each other. Like the homeless people out on the street, help them. You know, if you see somebody that needs help, try to help. Don't try to kick them down. Just try to help them get up. Because when you help them get up, we all become greater together.
Step #2Understanding: Lets explore Dimples context for a deeper understanding of her story: Dimple was born in a small East Texas town, Lovelady (405 population), where she lived until age three before moving to Houston, Texas. At age seven, her mother died. Dimple attended junior college in Dallas, Texas, and completed a clerical course at a historically Black university in Texas. She grew up in the 50s and 60s, experiencing racism first-hand in every aspect of life, from segregated restaurants and water fountains to restrooms and schools. While Dimple prefers to use the term American when referring to herself, she is proud to be Black and identifies with the Black community. Dimple cherishes Black traditions celebrating historical events and civil rights. Religiously, she is a Christian who loves Jesus and believes in showing love and compassion for others.
Step #3Validation: In 2022, I took a summer intensive course on faith, philanthropy, and fundraising at Baylor Universitys Truett Seminary. Our professor, Dr. Dustin D. Benac, provided a context-driven approach to understanding the connectional points of practical ministry. Below are three diagnostic questionsinformed from Dr. Benacs coursefor reflecting on Dimples story of Black history.
1. What do you see (or hear)?
2. What do you wonder (or perhaps wrestle with)?
3. What is now possible in light of this LUV talk about Black history?
As Christians, we know that love is an action, not a noun. Likewise, the call to action of a LUV talk with Black history is to move from our steps of mental deliberation to compassionate action which validates the African-American sisters and brothers within our circles of influence.
Here, Jemar Tisbys Awareness-Relationship-Commitment (ARC) model provides a helpful roadmap. The journey begins with gaining a greater awareness of the African-American context. Numerous African-American resources are available for the road trip (e.g., The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the Americans Churchs Complicity in Racism and How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby; Faithful Antiracism: Moving Past Talk to Systemic Change by Dr. Christina Edmondson and Chad Brennan).
Next, the task is intentionally entering into meaningful relationships with the African-American community (via a person, church, or organization) within or beyond our circle of influence, inviting them to share their unique Black history experience. Finally, an ongoing commitment to partnership with the African-American community is paramount in realizing a koinonia (caring and sharing) community, which is the ultimate destination.
While you may never know Dimple (my mother), countless stories of unseen and unknown Black Americans provide the focus, aim, and purpose for continuing the upward climb in pursuit of the African-American dream of overcoming in solidarity. The African-American dream is an American dream, analogous with the call of faithful followers of Christ and in step with Jesus praxis of a gospel that spreads the Good News of holistic salvation intended for all humanity.
How might your LUV talk with Dimple's story, mobilized by Tisbys ARC, help you in becoming a Better Samaritan?
The Better Samaritan blog is produced by the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, a research institute which specializes in resilience and spiritual fortitude. To learn more and apply for a M.A. in Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership, visit our website
Arbra Bailey is a community leader, writer, speaker, consultant, strategist, and a Postgraduate Student at Baylor Universitys Truett Seminary. He brings a unique ability to develop people and networks, fostering community into his role as President of Bailey Consulting. Arbra utilizes a relational approach to develop transformational leaders that transform organizations. He holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Trinity University and an MDiv in Theology from Truett Seminary.
For many Indian families, gender reveals are less pink or blue parties and more future financial announcements. Baby girls are expenditures; baby boys are investments.
In communities where children work, girls generally remain at home while boys can earn money at young ages. After their weddings, while sons traditionally stay in the homes they grew up in, daughters move into their in-laws households, to whom their parents can pay lavish dowries (including cars or townhouses).
Although dowries are illegal, a punishable offense, and seen as perpetuating poverty for the already poor and the lower middle income groups, they are nevertheless still widely practiced across the majority of the country, regardless of religion. While Christian families may not loudly champion dowries, many continue to practice it under the guise of culture.
Today, India has 9 million missing girls in two decades due to sex-selective abortions, according to a Pew Research Centers 2022 report.
Despite the current significant disparity, researchers found that bias toward sons is waning among all religious groups in India and say that the annual number of missing girls has dropped from about 480,000 in 2010 to about 410,000 in 2019. Though Christians comprise 2.3 percent of Indias population and only 0.6 percent of the missing, Pew nevertheless estimates that Christians account for 53,000 of the countrys missing girls.
Are Indian Christians immune from the cultural preference for a boy? Five Christian leaders weighed in on the pressures they see Christians in their own communities experience and what changes, if any, the church has made on this issue over time. CT also spoke to two Christian leaders from the Khasi community, one of the worlds last matrilineal societies, about the special place that girls hold in their families and community.
Seema Justin, principal of the Wesleyan English Medium School in Vapi, a city of roughly a quarter-million people in southern Gujarat. Christians make up 0.6 percent of the entire population.
The head of each family, Christian or non-Christian, is a male, and it is the son who carries the family lineage forward. Families who have only boys do yearn for a daughter, because it is a joy to bring up a daughter. But likely more than one daughter is probably not welcomed, whereas more than one son continues to be celebrated.
Though dowry is prevalent in Gujarat, some families demand dowries, whereas in others families it is understood. If the groom-to-be is a professional, perhaps a doctor or engineer, his family may demand a luxury car or a bungalow. Conservative Christians can fall into any of these categories, but then there are liberal and mature Christians who do not encourage the practice of dowry because of their fear of God and their obedience to Gods Word. Their preference is a daughter-in-law with strong Christian beliefs, who is well educated with good values. Such Christians are on the rise in Gujarat.
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But then there are extreme cases, like one of my Christian female friends who grew up in a family with two sisters. Because her mother had three daughters, my friends Hindu neighbors believed she would only give birth to daughters herself. She lived with her husbands family, and when she gave birth to her first child who was a girl, she faced a lot of opposition from her mother-in-lawa practicing Christianwho belittled her and treated her poorly.
During her second pregnancy, my friends mother-in-law did not offer her proper food or care. She had to sneak fruit to the toilet and eat it there. Her mother-in-law tried to force her to get a prenatal sex determination and subsequent abortion if the fetus was a girl. However, this friend did not go through with the sex determination and thus spent each day of her pregnancy with struggle and fear as to what would be her fate and the fate of her daughters, if she bore another daughter. After praying and pleading to the Lord to give her a boy child, she did have a boy baby, and she was spared the torment her mother-in-law would have inflicted upon her for having two girls.
It was only the Word of God that sustained me, said the woman (who requested anonymity), confirming the story to CT. If I was not a Christian, I would have committed suicide.
Suja Phinehas, vice president of Gilgal Mission Trust, an organization that serves lower-caste people through social development projects in the city of Pollachi in Tamil Nadu. Christians make up about 4 percent of the population of 123,000.
Though not spoken about openly, Christian women face pressures to give birth to a male child. If they are not able to give the family a boy child, they may be forced to break the marriage and step out so that the family could get their son remarried. Sometimes women who dont give birth to male children are denied any part of the family inheritance.
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I am a counselor for families, and during my counseling sessions, after the couple has explained the pressures on them for not having a girl child, I counsel them through the Bible and tell them that God created both male and female in his own image and remind them that both the girl child and the boy child are a blessing from the Lord. After speaking to the couple, I also speak to the parents of the groom. In most cases it is the mother of the husband who needs major counseling, as she is the one insisting on having a grandson who carries on the family and the family name.
Most of my counselees have several questions and insecurities for the future of a girl child, especially about protecting the girl from sexual harassment. There are some mothers who were sexually abused as little girls and do not want their daughters to endure this. They state examples of families and friends who had three or four girl children and have lost everything when they had to pay their daughters dowries. Other parents concerns are financial: A boy child can be an earning member at an early age, but most families do not send girls out to work.
It is easier to convince Christian families as compared to non-Christians. About 75 percent of what I share with them are biblical examples and Bible verses, like 1 Corinthians 11:12, which reads, For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.
I also give illustrations and examples from real life, including stories of families where the son has not taken care of his old parents and where a girl child stood by her parents in their old age. I also tell them how a woman alone is gifted to give birth and how valuable she is.
Change is slowly coming, but it will take a long time for each family to understand and for the outlook of the society to change.
Raaj Mondol, a longtime advocate on the issue of girl children, Delhi. The capital city is home to about 22 million people, but less than 1 percent of them are Christian.
Preference for a son is a part of Christian homes. The Indian church has never acted counter culturally in any way but has always been influenced by what is happening at the societal level, so a lot of these evils, whether it be the practice of dowry, practice of son preference, or domestic violence, are found even in the churches.
No one speaks about these things in the church because of a culture of silence. Sometimes, we even justify these things based on our own interpretation of the Scripture. Some people wrongly quote Psalm 127:35, saying that sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
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We are not discipling people culturally. Our discipling is in terms of spiritual life: that is, how to lead your devotional life; how to read your Bible; how to pray, fast, and evangelize. So Christians continue to follow what they have heard and followed from the life they lived before accepting Christ. When it comes to cultural mindset, there is not much shaping or transformation taking place.
The preference for sons and the practice of dowry are interlinked. South India has a huge practice of dowry even among Christians, and I have heard that some churches even receive a tithe from the dowry the grooms family gets. In those instances, nobody in the church is going to speak out against it. Widely accepted practice of dowry pressurizes Christian parents to save for dowry for their daughters. All these things also are factors that lead to daughter avoidance, and they cannot be seen as one apart from the other.
These problems arise from how we view women in our society. If we view them as inferior to men and as a second-class citizen or a burden on the fathers head, we will continue these practices. Such mindsets have further consequences, like domestic violence, assault, or harassing or accosting her in public.
We as a church have in a way reinforced these teachings, by using the Scripture to project patriarchal supremacy of the man over woman. And it is not easy for the church to preach otherwise without facing resistance.
Christians are certainly better than the other religions when it comes to gender imbalance because there are various examples of Christians who do not practice these social evils. But I would not credit that to the church sermons but to the individuals walk with the Lord, their own understanding of taking the Word and letting it refine us and change us. I will credit that to the exposure that Christians are having due to education and good books and the willingness to look outside the box.
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Sicily Johnson, Indian Evangelical Mission, Rajasthan Gujarat border. The Rajput Garasia have an estimated population of 465,000, and less than 0.2 percent (around 1,000) of them are Christian.
I worked for 10 years among the Rajput Garasia tribe and especially women. Wives have been beaten by their husbands for delivering a girl child. A man is allowed to have more than one wife if his first wife is either infertile or bears him no sons.
Girls are usually not sent to school but take the goats to graze in the forest. They are married at an early age of 12 or 13. Only boys are sent to the village school, and for further studies they must travel some distance to a town. There were no Christians in the village in 1983, when I went there. We worked very hard to impart moral values among these women, teach them hygiene, and convince them to educate their daughters. We have consistently taught them to treat their daughters as they treated their sons and to not grieve the birth of a girl child.
We opened a hostel so girls who wanted to continue their education would have a place to stay. Though this hostel is open for the Christians and the non-Christians, most of the hostelers come from Christian parents. These accommodations have helped families to continue their daughters education. We have a girl who graduated from university, and there are about 65 total girls who completed their 12th and 10th grades last year (2022).
The women of the tribe are now willing to send their daughters for education. They do not want their daughters to suffer the way they did. The Christian women no longer find their daughters to be a burden but count them a blessing.
There is this lady in the village who was impressed by the story of the poor widow who put two small copper coins and Jesus taught his disciples through her example (Mark 12:4144), so much so that she became the first believer of the tribe. She said, Your God is so nice. He is noticing the poor lady. I want to know more about this God. We told her about Jesus love and care, and she accepted Christ.
There are about a thousand believers in the village today.
Living in an urban setting now, I see that the Christians are no longer what they used to be a few decades ago. There is more stigma around abortion, Christian couples are aware of the concept of sin, and I know a couple who decided to go for abortion 30 years ago and still feel guilty for taking a life. My husband and I led them through the process of repentance and seeking Gods forgiveness and also forgiving themselves for this horrendous crime.
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Mismola Mawlong, womens ministry leader at Mawkhar Presbyterian Church Shillong, and Leaderwell Pohsngap, former principal of Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, from Shillong. The capital of Meghalaya is home to 196,000 people, and nearly half (47 percent) are Christians.
Mawlong: Descent in our community is traced through the mothers lineage. The children receive the mothers title (last name), while the husband continues to keep his. Wealth and property pass from mothers to daughters. Unlike the culture in the other parts of India, the husband moves into his wifes home, especially the youngest daughter who is responsible to look after her aging parents.
If the girls family is a wealthy family, property is divided between all the girl children, but the largest share belongs to the youngest daughter, and she will continue to occupy the ancestral house. If the family is not a wealthy family, then the house and the little property will go to the youngest daughter only. Sons might get a share, depending upon the wealth, but not as equal as the daughters. Because of our customs, sons do not like to take their share from their parents house and carry it into their wives houseslike my own husband who got a share from his parents, but he refused to take it and bring it to our house.
Although it may sound like these arrangements mean that our society is a women-dominated society, men in no way are regarded less in our community. Men are the breadwinners, and women are supposed to take care of the children and raise them up. Men look after the entire family, the house, the property and take care of the health of the family. Children revere their father. Traditionally, the man is honored by his mothers family and, as an uncle, is consulted in every decision of the family.
When it comes to heads of the family, the Khasi custom is very beautiful. There are two crowns, not one. Both husband and wife are the head of the family.
We celebrate the birth of both a girl and a boy child equally. No doubt that a girl would inherit the family and become the mother of the family, and thus she is a must. But we need to have both a boy and girl to make a family, so we welcome both.
Leaderwell Pohsngap: There is no history available as to when this tribe began to follow the matrilineal structure, so we would like to believe that it is from the very beginning. Definitely the matrilineal system followed in the Khasi tribe is in accordance with the Word of God. Sometimes when I read the Bible in Genesis, I begin to think that it is mostly matrilineal. It says that a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife (Gen. 2:24). In a way thats what the Khasi culture follows. When a man marries, he moves in with his wifes family and the children then follow the name of the mother. The Jewish tribe followed the matrilineal system.
Confucianism and the Bible agree: Humans are capable of discerning basic moral principles, such as what is good and evil, and we should choose good through our conscience, or general revelation.
Moreover, Paul acknowledges our struggle and hardship in not doing what we want to do and doing what we dont want (Rom. 7:1520) because the Christian worldview believes humans have a fallen nature.
But this biblical view of humanity is harder for those with Confucian values to come to grips with. Their worldview says that humans are basically good and that through education and hard work they should be able to conquer weakness.
IChing Thomass book, Jesus: The Path to Human Flourishing, provides valuable insights into three ancient belief systems: Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It demonstrates how many of Gods truths, which Chinese people have observed and applied from general revelation, can be understood through these ancient Chinese beliefs and acknowledged when sharing the gospel with people of Chinese descent.
Thomas, a Malaysian Chinese author and speaker who focuses on Christian apologetics in Eastern contexts, hopes to not only share the gospel with the Chinese but also answer the question of why the gospel is necessary for them, as they possess a rich history in their cultural faith traditions.
While charting points of continuity and discontinuity between Christianity and these ancient traditions, Thomas emphasizes that familiarity with this cultural landscape and how it interfaces with Scripture will prove helpful for people who seek to evangelize or develop their faith in this particular context.
Engaging age-old philosophies
Thomas unpacks the Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian belief systems inherent in Chinese culture that serve as the main contributors to Chinese core values. Her book makes evident that knowing the core beliefs of the Chinese allows us to find greater commonalities between the gospel and their culture, which will enable more conducive and effective evangelistic efforts.
In essence, all three belief systems rely on human effort to attain salvation. In Confucianism, one may develop into a sage-like noble man, or junzi (), whose behavior is characterized by virtues like benevolence and righteousness. In Buddhism, one strives to become enlightened and attain nirvana. In Daoism, the goal is to be immortal.
As the book examines these ancient belief systems, it explains how Chinese worldviews have been shaped by each one and how they have contributed to modern-day values that are manifested in daily life.
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For instance, Buddhism introduced the concept of reincarnation to the Confucian idea of ancestral veneration. Reincarnation led to the understanding that people could escape hell and take on good bodies in their next lives, depending on the quality of their past decisions and actions. Ancestral veneration involves showing respect to deceased ancestors who are thought to live on as spirits that can influence what goes on in the real world.
Consequently, when Christians tell their (non-Christian) parents that they cannot perform rites to honor their ancestors, they violate the Confucian virtue of filial piety, upsetting their parents beliefs in reincarnation and the afterlife.
Filial piety not only has a bearing on Chinese attitudes toward their ancestors. It also plays out in the Chinese cultural value of respecting and honoring ones elders. This is most evident during the Lunar New Year, where many Chinese recognize the importance of spending time with relatives and the need to be kind and respectful to them during this festive period, regardless of how frustrating they may be.
Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism, Thomas says, were easier to incorporate into the Chinese context compared to more prescriptive beliefs like Christianity. Buddhism is not a canonical religion, while Christianity is canonical as well as exclusive. Confucianism was seen as practical, relating to everyday life and providing society with structure in a time of upheaval. Daoism fit into the traditional Chinese culture of harmony in terms of its dualistic yin and yang beliefs, where yin represents feminine energy and yang represents its counterpart, masculine energy.
Ironically, before these belief systems permeated Chinese thought and worldviews, the Chinese originally believed in an omnipotent, personal God who ruled the world, Thomas writes.
Delving into biblical truth
Along with thoughtful introductions to these belief systems, Thomas also explains how they lead to achieving human flourishing in the Chinese mindset.
Chiefly, she does this by comparing Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianisms notions of a good life to the biblical reality of shalom, as defined by Cornelius Plantinga in Not the Way Its Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin:
The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delighta rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.
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Responding to common virtues that Chinese people hold, Thomas gives modern-day examples of weaknesses that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism cannot adequately address or remedy. It is here that she demonstrates how biblical faith answers questions of good and evil, life and death, and ethics.
For example, Confucius believed that humans were flawed because of a bad environment but couldnt account for what made the environment bad to begin with. This is where his knowledge of the corruption of humanity is correct but incompleteand where this knowledge can be used to introduce the special revelation of Scripture and the Son of God in the person of Jesus Christ to help us flourish.
Preaching the gospel effectively
Jesus: The Path to Human Flourishing offers a fascinating introduction to basic Chinese belief systems and how they manifest today, even when they may not be followed explicitly. It demonstrates an apologetic approach to convince the Chinese people that their culture may not always conflict with Christian beliefs and that Christianity is not just a foreign religion.
Confucianism may no longer be the state religion in China, but filial piety and investing in education are strong core values that many Chinese people still have. Philosophical discussions on how to be truly human, or how to be a noble man as Confucius taught, are still very practical in daily life.
Similarly, not many Chinese people today will claim to be Daoist, but a significant number have been strongly influenced by the Daoist arts or hold strong beliefs in the efficacy of Chinese medicine.
Acknowledging these influences as well as the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese culture, Thomas presents several important aspects to keep in mind when sharing the gospel: the deep desire to maintain harmonious relationships and dealing with shame and guilt, self-sufficiency, and practicality.
We can not only address the desire of the Chinese to flourish by highlighting areas of convergence when we share about Christ but also weave their beliefs from general revelation with the shalom of the Bible. Doing so can help them realize that Jesus is the path to the human flourishing they desire.
Thomass book is helpful for Christians who evangelize to Chinese people, are looking for an introduction to the history of Chinese belief systems, and are involved in contextualization.
Colleen M. Yim has served as a professor at Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary and an adjunct at Biola University. She has been involved in cross-cultural work since 1991.
A previous version of this book review was published on ChinaSource.
[ This article is also available in and . ]
An unnamed Turkish man dug through the rubble. The stench from rotting corpses filled his nostrils; the cries from trapped survivors pierced his ears. Finally, he located a little girl he could help, removed the surrounding debris, and gently pulled her from the clutches of death.
And social media cursed him.
The man filmed the whole episode on Facebook Live. And contrary to his expectations, comments of derision poured in from across the country. While his religion is unstated, Turkish Christians warned of similar earthquake exploitation from their brothers and sisters in faith.
When Bibles were distributed in Kahramanmaras, between the epicenters of the 7.8- and 7.5-magnitude quakes that killed 47,000 people along the Turkey-Syria border, local authorities responded by saying they did not want help from the church.
This is not the way of Jesus; it is opportunistic, and doesnt work, said Ilyas Uyar, an elder in the Protestant Church Foundation of Diyarbakir. We say we are Christians all the time, but it is disgusting to connect this to aid.
The Protestant Association of Turkey (TeK) has been hard at work to establish guidelines. Last week, after expressing a debt of gratitude to all who have prayed and given to support relief efforts, it issued six directives.
Alongside the prohibition of Bibles and evangelistic materials was a basic request to work with the local church to navigate Turkish sensitivities. These included basic requests to coordinate aid, as well as the avoidance of political commentary and unauthorized photos.
But permission is not the only issue. A Christian group from Italy came to Diyarbakir to offer help, Uyar said. They filmed and took pictures and then asked for church assistance to move onward to Kahramanmaras.
Perhaps they will return home and help raise funds. But to spare overburdened local volunteers from playing tour guide, TeK suggested three hubs for communication and collection of donations.
The first is an organization.
First Hope Association (FHA), a disaster relief agency founded by Turkish Protestants, has long cooperated closely with the official authorities. Over 10 tractor trailers have been dispatched to deliver 55 generators, 150 beds, 200 heaters, 3,000 blankets, and 12,000 cans of food.
Over 4,000 people benefit daily from FHA hygiene trucks.
But echoing TeK concerns about Bibles, FHA board chairman Demokan Kileci described his anger at how many Christian organizations are fundraising off the disaster.
Others, he lamented, are well-intentioned humanitarian tourists.
They fly over a group of 20 people, stay in hotels, and rent cars and to come to the area, he said. Meanwhile, our people cant even find places to sleep.
Turkey is not backwards, he continued, as it works according to European standards with professionally trained experts. And the church has started to supply psychological support for its many volunteers.
Trauma care workers and programs for children can wait for a month.
Even so, the job is too large for Turkey alone. FHA was designated by the government to facilitate the assistance of Samaritans Purse, which has set up a virtual mini-city with 22 tents, a 52-bed field hospital, and a rotating crew of about 100 international disaster relief specialists.
We offered our help, and they immediately took it, said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the evangelical aid association. We are open about our Christian faith, but did not come to distribute shoe boxes.
Operation Christmas Child, the popular holiday outreach which has sent 209 million gift boxes around the world, has direct evangelistic and discipleship purposes. But in Turkey, Samaritans Purse is focused on the immediate need to save life, Graham said. Working through the US embassy, he praised the Turkish military for helicopter delivery to the parking lot of a collapsed hospital facility outside Antakya.
The local medical profession is devastated, he added.
A week after the quake, Samaritans Purse chartered a 747-sized airplane to deliver 600 oversized tents that can shelter up to 1,000 families. More than 900 have received medical care, including 25 surgeries. Graham expects Samaritans Purse to be present for up to four months, replenishing supplies every 10 days, and will leave everything behind when Turkey is able to assume local care.
Until then, its staff lament the fires lit in the streets to help people stay warm.
You look at great suffering, but dont get paralyzed, stated Aaron Ashoff, deputy director of international projects, who takes strength from the psalms. You need to walk into that pain, and then walk out, and say, Were Samaritans Purse, we are going to act.
So have the other two TeK hubs.
Many churches and organizations are helping in relief, TeK board member Soner Turfan said. But the sister churches in Diyarbakir and Antakya were identified due to their strong local ministry. His Shema radio ministry has just recently restored its signal to the latterand survived this weeks 6.3 magnitude aftershock.
Now we need to broadcast hope, healing, and the love of God, said Tufan. To cry with them and share the sorrow.
Uyar said his church is preparedand has prepared others.
With a congregation of about 50 members, their numbers are low as discipled believers were sent out to serve in about a dozen TeK churches across Turkey. It has facilitated coordinated relief work, and from Diyarbakir 10 of their members have been dispatched to other areas for earthquake relief.
The Antakya congregation, smaller with about 30 members, had long won a good local reputation in its neighborhood. Now the churchs building has been destroyed, along with about 80 percent of all buildings as the biblical Antioch has been wiped from the map, said Uyar.
Diyarbakir was further removed from the quake epicenters, with only about a dozen collapsed structuresincluding three residences of church members, with an additional four among the thousands displaced as aftershocks continue to rattle their now-cracked apartments. But generous Turkish citizens have flooded the city with supplies.
Elsewhere, not enough is getting through.
Road closures and overall devastation mean that village areas are much less serviced, even by the authorities who are working well and doing their best, Uyar said. His church, six hours away from Antakya, therefore decided to rent a warehouse in Adana, only two hours away, as a distribution point for church members serving in eight cities overall.
One now lives in a shipping container in Adiyaman.
Ender Peker, from Mardin, is joined by several others staying in similar quarters, including Eser Gunyel from the Yalova Lighthouse Church in Istanbul. Putting their welding skills to work, they are constructing tarp-covered tin huts complete with a heating unit as they distribute blankets, mattresses, and over 20 tons of food to locals in need.
They left their families behind, since looting ravages the area.
The first week, we had to take care of our own, said Uyar. But we couldnt sit still.
The Adiyaman team gained permission from authorities and became the only evangelical presence in the city. There is a Syriac Orthodox church which suffered irreparable damage, and a small Protestant congregation whose seven membersone of which was a deaf-mute believer pulled from the rubbleall relocated to other areas for safety.
There and elsewhere, they cooperate with fellow Christians and Muslims alike.
A similar story is reported across the border in Aleppo, Syria. With five churches and four schoolsall of which survived the earthquakethe citys Armenian evangelicals have joined in housing homeless residents fearful of the continuing tremors.
Each church is responsible for its neighborhood, and not its own dispersed community, said Haroution Salim, president of the Armenian Protestant Churches in Syria. Together we give hope of a brighter futurethat after destruction, there is resurrection.
There are 11 members of the Council of Heads of Christian Denominations, who have met regularly for years. The day of the earthquake was chaos; the second day, they gathered and agreed to ring the church bellscalling all to safety.
Protestants, Greek Orthodox, and Muslims all mixed in the courtyard. The Islamic charity stopped by, promising to care for any handicapped Christians with rental and monthly stipends. Salim signed up two Armenian families.
His community had been active in neighborhood service, with a street cleaning initiative, open enrollment in the schools, and distribution of food parcels to the need of the war-torn city. The number of families helped by the church has now doubled from 300with 25 percent to members, 45 percent to other Christians, and 30 percent to Muslim beneficiaries.
The council also agreed to set up teams of engineers for building inspections. The government has dispatched only three to Aleppo, where 180 buildings were destroyed in the quake. But fearful of the nervous bureaucrats who might mark livable structures for demolition, Christians assumedand paid forthe work themselves. The official ministry agreed to accept church reports instead.
So far, only a few buildings have been marked green. The majority are marked orange, requiring imminent evacuation and substantial repairs. Red buildingsrepresenting a third of the totalwill be brought down.
But the people trust the church, Salim said, and the Middle East Council of Churches is fundraising to pay for necessary renovations. Here, each denomination visits its own members homes.
So many, however, are intermingled in the churches.
We are witnessing a new phenomenon, said Salim. The earthquake shook our consciences, as it shook the entire region.
Will it also shake their faith? Some evidence from Turkey suggests it might.
We entrusted our lives to Christians, Jews, Armenians, and even atheists, circulated one viral message on social media. But we protect our property from Muslims!
Falsely attributed to a popular Turkish rock star, Uyar said the statement is emblematic of local frustration with contractors who built substandard apartments and neighbors who rummage through the ruins in search of valuables.
But the answerat this timeis simple sincerity.
Rather than addressing Muslims, the church elder quoted Scripture to his fellow Christians. When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, Uyar pulled from the Sermon on the Mount. Dont worry about the fruit, he continued, recalling Jesus healing of the ten lepers, only one of whom returned with thanks.
And if extremists accuse them of exploiting the needy, he said, remember the words of Peter: Keep a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
But his most damning salvo came from Paul, applying to well-wishing Christians what the apostle originally addressed to the Jews in Rome: Gods name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.
Maybe in six months it will be time to speak of Jesus.
When we lay down our lives and ask nothing in return, people become curious, Uyar said. Where, they will ask, does this love come from?
[ This article is also available in Francais. ]
Last month, a member of Germanys parliament proposed the creation of an International Day Against the Persecution of Christians.
The motion failed. And the pushback from lawmakers even challenged the integrity of the international Christian persecution advocacy organization Open Doors.
The resolution came from the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland party (AfD), whose website declares that Islam does not belong to Germany. When the party was founded in 2013, it was mostly known for its skepticism toward the European Union.
A couple of years later, however, the AfDs attention shifted to opposing high levels of immigration to Germany, especially from Muslim-majority countries. Its rhetoric is similar to some other right-wing populist politicians in Europe who have appealed to Europes Christian cultural identity, such as Hungarys prime minister Viktor Orban.
In his January 27 speech introducing the measure, AfD representative Jurgen Braun repeatedly blamed Islam as the source of persecution.
He cited statistics from Open Doors, including a figure stating that 360 million Christians suffer intense persecution or discrimination worldwide. Following Brauns remarks, this and other figures were criticized by other legislators as exaggerated, false, and completely unbelievable.
During the debate, legislators from all five of the other parties that hold seats in the Bundestag had spoken forcefully against Brauns proposal for a new day of remembrance and accused the AfD of using the plight of persecuted Christians to stir up hate or suspicion against Muslims. Some also noted Germany already has two days that have been designated for remembering persecuted Christians: St. Stephens Day in the Catholic church and Reminiscere Sunday in Protestant churches.
Meanwhile, Open Doors found that it had surprisingly become a political punching bag on the floor of Germanys parliament.
Rejects the instrumentalization
Open Doors primary advocacy tool is its annual World Watch List, a report that highlights the top 50 countries where Christians experience the highest levels of persecution around the globe. Ado Greve, the press officer for the German branch of Open Doors, distanced his organization from the AfD and the proposed International Day Against the Persecution of Christians.
Open Doors did not work with the AfD on this proposal, he told CT. There was and is no collaboration between Open Doors and AfD. As Open Doors provides information on its website for the general public, everybody can quote it, of course.
While declining to speculate on the AfDs motives for this specific initiative, Greve emphasized that in general, Open Doors rejects the instrumentalization of the suffering of persecuted Christians for political purposes.
Greve also responded to some of the statements made by Bundestag members that cast doubt on the veracity of Open Doors research. The critiques came from representatives Falko Dromann and Nadja Sthamer of the center-left Social Democratic Party, as well as Boris Mijatovic of The Greens Party. Dromann claimed that the known evangelical organization cited in the motion considers Christians to be suffering persecution when they merely live as minorities in a majority-Muslim or atheist country.
Open Doors disputed that allegation and pointed to definitions from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the European Union as standards they use to identify persecution.
Living as a minority in a Muslim-majority country is not equivalent with discrimination or persecution, Greve stated.
Dromann also claimed that Open Doors figures were contradicted by another source: the Ecumenical Report on the Worldwide Religious Freedom of Christians, which was published together by Germanys Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant churches in 2017. According to Dromann, this report gave completely different, more detailed figures.
Greve says Open Doors welcomes the Ecumenical Report as another vehicle to increase awareness of the persecution of Christians. He noted, however, that contrary to Dromanns claim, it largely refrains from using figures. The report itself says the authors decided against presenting concrete numbers.
Therefore, it is not clear in what regard this report contradicts Open Doors statistics, Greve stated.
In response to an emailed request for comment, an aide in Representative Dromanns office noted that the representative did not mention Open Doors by name in his speech and declined to answer further questions.
Responsible advocacy
The persecution of Christians has been a problem on Frank Heinrichs mind since childhood. As an adolescent growing up in West Germany, he helped his parents smuggle Bibles into East Germany and Eastern Europe. He was aware of Open Doors even back then.
Years later, when he served in the Bundestag as a member of the center-right Christian Democratic Union from 2009 to 2021, he tried to raise the profile of Open Doors among his fellow legislators. He found that the information Open Doors shared was generally taken well by other representatives.
I invited them, I quoted them, I [brought them] into meetings with other colleagues, he said. [I wanted to] make them aware of our system and the system aware of them.
During his time in the Bundestag, the Christian Democrats founded the Stephanuskreis (Stephen Circle), a working group that still meets regularly to discuss how to alleviate the suffering of persecuted Christians and other religious minorities.
Since leaving public office, Heinrich was chosen to be codirector of the German Evangelical Alliance, an association that represents many Protestant churches and groups and is a member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Now watching the political process as a former policymaker, he fears that the AfDs approach to combating religious persecution will be a setback for the cause in German politics. Members of some parties are hesitant to seriously engage with the issue, as they fear they will be linked to the AfDs anti-Islam rhetoric.
Their way of discussing the subject is not a Christian way, Heinrich said. Its instrumentalizing a group of persons that need support.
Greve, the Open Doors spokesperson, emphasized that the organization seeks to advocate for persecuted Christians in a Christlike manner, which includes calling [believers] to prayer not only for Christians but also for those who persecute them.
He also insisted that the reality of Christian persecution receives far too little attention in the Bundestag and called for more political initiatives such as support for faith-based organizations and churches in countries where Christians face maltreatment.
Academic scrutiny
Each edition of the annual World Watch List is audited by the International Institute of Religious Freedom (IIRF). The academic think tank works with a network of scholars around the world and promotes religious freedom for all faiths.
This years audit was coordinated by Dennis Petri, who serves as the IIRFs international director and has previously worked for Open Doors. He led a team of five other scholars who determined that the World Watch List upheld the quality standards of the previous years.
[The auditors] all came to the same conclusion: that Open Doors does its job well, Petri said. Theres always room for improvement, minor things. But overall, we found that its a serious process.
One part of the process that can always be further developed, Petri explained, is how researchers justify preferencing one source of information over another. Open Doors draws on several streams of information, including field offices around the world, external experts, and their own analysts. Auditors also suggested additional sources that Open Doors could consider in future reports.
In 2012, Open Doors conducted a major overhaul of its methodology for producing the World Watch List. Petri, who was working there as a researcher at the time, described the previous process as basic and rudimentary. The changes, which were implemented in consultation with IIRF, made the list compliant with academic standards. Open Doors regularly analyzes its methodology and began another review earlier this year.
Jason Bruner, a religious studies professor at Arizona State University, has written extensively on world Christianity and religious violence. In his book Imagining Persecution: Why American Christians Believe There Is a Global War against Their Faith, he cited and engaged with data from Open Doors.
On the whole, I think they do a reasonably good job of trying to make [their research process] transparent, Bruner said. For the most part, they seem to follow numbers that would generally be within the margin of error of other groups that track [religious persecution].
He also noted that Open Doors often calculates a lower annual total of martyrs than some other Christian research organizations. They seem to use a definition of martyrdom that is more closely aligned with how Christians historically have tended to think about what a martyr is.
Bruner appreciates that Open Doors and other similar Christian groups are advocating for their co-religionists around the world, but he sees difficulties in using their data in political debates. Because there is a comparative dearth of data about religious persecution against other faiths, it is challenging for policymakers to consider different forms of religious oppression in context. Additionally, he fears that persecution data can be easily co-opted by exclusionary nationalist kinds of political movements, even when thats not the intention of the researchers.
I do think [persecution data] can so easily be put to an Islamophobic agenda or other kinds of agendas that, at least in my mind, arent substantiated by those same numbers but nevertheless can easily lend their support to groups like the AfD, he said.
Is Munchausen syndrome by proxy driving kids to identify as trans? Psychiatrists answer
As the debate over transgender medicalization erupts nationwide and more states pass laws banning the mutilation of adolescents' bodies, one largely unanswered question remains: Why are so many mothers trans-ing their children?
Sometimes called Munchausen syndrome by proxy, the term refers to a disorder in which a parent draws attention to themselves by projecting a disease or psychological condition onto their child even though the child is not unwell.
According to psychiatrists interviewed by The Christian Post, these are indeed complex phenomena. The family dynamics and factors at play, particularly when a parent is psychologically unstable and might be trans-ing their child to gain attention, even if such cases are believed to be rare, are worthy of discussion.
Dr. Miriam Grossman, author of the forthcoming book Lost in TransNation: A Child Psychiatrists Guide Out of the Madness, told The Christian Post that the terms Munchausen's syndrome and "Munchausen's by proxy" are no longer cited in professional journals. In today's psychiatric literature, these syndromes are referred to as factitious disorders. The by-proxy cases are factitious disorders that are imposed on another person, including the imposition of gender confusion onto children, Grossman added.
According to the medical history journal Versailus, the term Munchausen, which was used to define this mental disorder, was coined in 1951 by Richard Asher after a German man named Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, also known as Baron Munchhausen, and was based on a fictional character whose name had become proverbial as the narrator of false and hyperbolic tall tales. Such tall tales were a feature in the German writer Rudolf Erich Rapse's 1785 novel Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia.
When its a plain factitious disorder, its a person who either makes up or exaggerates medical symptoms, and that may sometimes involve falsifying medical tests, Grossman told CP.
A factitious disorder by proxy includes the falsification of physical or psychological signs or symptoms or induction of injury or distress in another person where the individual presents the victim to others as being ill or injured, she continued, adding that an example of this is putting sugar in a urine sample to present oneself as a diabetic.
Such tampering with urine has been known to happen. In 1977, British pediatrician Dr. Roy Meadow published one such account in the Lancet of a mother who had done so with her 6-year-old daughter Kay's urine to make her appear to be ill. This mother had also fed her 14-month-old son high doses of salt for the same reason. Between bouts of these attacks of sickness, the very young boy was, the doctor noted, otherwise "healthy and developing normally."
Meadow's cautiously written landmark article, "Munchausen Syndrome, The Hinterland of Child Abuse," documents that the 14-month-old ultimately died of salt poisoning and that an autopsy showed gastric erosions "as if a chemical had been ingested."
Since that time, a body of literature has emerged on this subject and the mental disorder has been analyzed in other journals and news articles. Examples include a 2004 feature story in the New Yorker titled, "The Bad Mother," and a book published in 2000 titled, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Abuse: A Practical Approach. It has even been referred to in pop culture. Rapper Eminem's 2002 single "Cleaning Out My Closet" mentions being a victim of this syndrome. In 2003, the first known memoir written by a victim of this abuse, titled Sickened by Julie Gregory, was published.
This deceptive behavior that accompanies factitious disorders is evident even in the absence of external rewards. Such an external reward might be a large outpouring of sympathy and attention following a diagnosis, perhaps even generous financial assistance to help with the costs of fighting the disease.
In October 2017, the journal Child Abuse & Neglect published an article titled The perpetrators of medical child abuse (Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy) A systematic review of 796 cases that detailed the findings of researchers Gregory Yates and Christopher Bass who examined hundreds of cases involving this psychiatric condition.
Yates and Bass found that nearly all of the abusers were female (97.6%) and about that same percentage were the victims' own mothers (95.6%). Approximately three-fourths of the abusers were married and the mean caretaker age when the child presented with some sort of illness was 27.6 years. In nearly half of all cases reviewed, the perpetrators of the abuse were reported to be in a healthcare-related profession (45.6%). And nearly a quarter of those who had medically abused children had obstetric complications (23.5%) or had histories of childhood maltreatment (30%).
Of the hundreds of cases reviewed, the most common psychiatric diagnoses documented were self-imposed factitious disorders (30.9%), personality disorders (18.6%), and depression (14.2%).
Factitious disorders are indeed admittedly strange.
Most of us dont want to be ill and we dont want the people we care for to be ill. It is very odd," explained Grossman. "But the mind does some really odd things and in the case of a parent who would do this to a child, they have significant emotional problems. What is it that theyre seeking here? Theyre seeking attention and validation. And theyre doing it by victimizing their child.
To try and understand that youd have to try and understand the history of the parent, who the parent is, what sort of emotional disorders theyre struggling with, what sort of inner emotional issues. Were they neglected as a child?
While there has been growing awareness of how trans identities are spreading rapidly among youth, especially among women in their 20s, teens, and younger via a peer contagion which was thoroughly explored in Lisa Littmans study, titled "Parent reports of adolescents and young adults perceived to show signs of a rapid onset of gender dysphoria," published in Plos One in 2018 what has gone unexamined is if a concurrent social contagion is happening among parents of trans-identifying children. And is this spreading among a subset of parents who crave attention and claim to have a gender-dysphoric child?
At this point, Grossman believes its merely speculation, but that it is nevertheless a reasonable question to consider.
Its fair to ask if perhaps [this is happening] among parents who are trying very hard to be whats now being called woke or whether a parent who is well-intentioned and who wants the best for their child but notices certain behaviors. And these days were being led to believe that almost anything could be related to being transgender: if a child doesnt fit in, a child who is unhappy with their body, a child that has trouble making friends or is withdrawn, Grossman offered. Even the most well-intentioned parent who simply wants to help their child, it certainly may cross their mind. Maybe this (transgenderism) is the issue.
Dr. Roger Hiatt, a child and adolescent psychiatrist based in Tennessee who is also licensed to practice in Arkansas and has an office in the town of West Memphis, is convinced there are parents who indisputably push gender ideology and experimental medicalization on their children: puberty blockers, opposite-sex hormones, and body mutilating surgeries.
Yet, from his experience, for every parent who is clearly driving this agenda with their child, there are probably 10 more who've been misled by groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics or the Pediatric Endocrine Society, which have both rubber-stamped the affirmation-only model and publicly opposed state legislative efforts to curtail the experimental medical practices.
Hiatt has treated over 200 gender dysphoric patients. In the first 15 years of his career, he encountered only two such patients, both of whom were males who identified as females. In the last seven years, however, the vast majority of these patients have been adolescent girls identifying as boys.
It is definitely true that for every case that Ive dealt with where I felt like the parent was actively, aggressively pushing the transgender identity there are more than 10 [parents] who are either neutral or very ambivalent about the whole process, Hiatt recounted in an interview with CP.
The impression is being portrayed that there is an absolute consensus in the medical community that gender-affirming care is the only option that would be appropriate in dealing with a kid who, from the moment they identify themselves as gender-questioning or even transgender then immediately the process unfolds to socially transition them followed by puberty blockers, followed by cross-sex hormones, followed by surgery.
But despite corporate media repetition, this supposed consensus is absolutely not a shared view among most doctors, he insists.
Its difficult to attribute motive to a parent in terms of why they do what they do. In terms of a child who is questioning or being actively encouraged to pursue a transgender lifestyle and identity, in my experience those situations, the typical scenario is a mother who encouraged it, Hiatt said.
The psychiatrist told CP he once saw a case where the parents were divorced, the mother was aggressively pushing the child's trans identity, and the father was adamantly against it. Although they had joint custody, social institutions such as the hospital and the public school system were actively siding with the mothers stance that the child must identify as the opposite sex.
Hiatt has seen several patients who have what he described as medicalized presentation where a parent often the mother but it could be either has been actively inducing or doing things that result in the child needing medical care. The parents who present with this get a secondary gain, the benefit of being a parent of a child in medical distress.
These dynamics can also present as gender confusion.
Once the child has been identified as gender dysphoric or transgender, there is a huge push in much of the medical community to medicalize that child, to address the issue with medical interventions, he said. It basically locks in both child and parent to a patient role or the parent of a patient role. And not only for the parent but also for the child there is a secondary gain from that: feeling important or different, unique or special. That absolutely is a factor, not in every case, but in many cases.
When asked how factitious disorders develop in people and why a parent would want to impose a medical condition on their child, Hiatt stressed that there is an unmistakable delusional component that cannot be ignored.
The notion that any intervention or group of interventions can actually change a boy to a girl or a girl to a boy is an absolute lie. Its not even possible. All that can be done is that society can be compelled to treat the patient a certain way. Interventions can take place that can cause physical changes to the body to make the individual appear a certain way. But in the end, it does nothing to the individual chromosomally and they continue to require medical interventions for the rest of their lives if they choose to continue to portray themselves this way, Hiatt said.
In terms of where [factitious disorders] come from, its multi-factorial. There is almost universally psychological trauma or abuse, depression, anxiety, other mental health issues and concerns that are in the child and typically in the parent as well that in some regards where they feel like Wow, Ive found a solution to all my problems."
Some prominent institutions pushing medicalized gender transition assert that a child will be better off after experimental drugs are prescribed or a patient undergoes sex change operations. Yet because of the distinctly delusional component of the parents' minds, they genuinely dont feel like they are doing anything wrong. Indeed, they actually do believe they are helping their child.
Prior to finishing his psychiatry training, Hiatt gave a grand rounds presentation on a condition called Folie a deux, a French phrase meaning folly of two, and it is what is known as a shared delusional disorder.
The disorder, first conceptualized in 19th century French psychiatry by Charles Lasegue and Jules Falret, is also known as LasegueFalret syndrome. The condition is similar to and equally as unusual as those who believe that their child was born in the wrong body. This rare disorder produces similar social dynamics seen in families with children mired in gender confusion. In this shared delusion disorder, the inducer who has a psychotic disorder operates as the primary actor influencing another person or possibly more, the secondary actors, with delusions based on that delusional belief.
In 2021, Hiatt provided expert testimony in support of Arkansas' Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which prohibited prescribing puberty blockers, opposite sex hormones, and performing body mutilating sex-change surgeries on youth who are 18 years old or younger. The bill passed overwhelmingly through both chambers of the state Legislature only to be vetoed by then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The Legislature subsequently overrode his veto.
Mere weeks later, as was expected, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against the state on behalf of three trans-identifying youth, asserting that the law was unconstitutional. The law is currently being litigated in the courts. Breaking with Hutchinson, then-Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who is now the states lieutenant governor, stated that she would defend the law in court.
At the state level, Hiatt firmly believes that laws such as the SAFE Act are necessary and vitally important. Nationally, however, he thinks medical malpractice lawsuits in coming years will probably be required and more effective as many of those who steer children down this destructive path will be reluctant to do so if they know that it will likely result in serious personal financial losses.
The medical establishment in the U.S. has, by and large, adopted and advanced what has become known as the "Dutch protocol."
As CP reported in 2018, the first thorough study of the drug Triptorelin used as a puberty blocker on a child who was suffering from gender confusion was published out of the Netherlands in 1998 when a pediatric endocrinologist, together with a psychologist, decided to use the medication on a 13-year-old patient.
The rationale was that the 13-year-old should have the drug because the effects of going through puberty would be too traumatic to endure and "pausing" those signals in the brain would give the child time to adjust and then later decide whether to have a series of sex-change surgeries. This approach migrated across the Atlantic in the following years and guidelines favoring the "gender-affirmative" approach became widely accepted within prominent U.S. hospitals and in professional societies such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine Society. The first pediatric gender clinic in the U.S. opened in 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Yet even pioneers of the Dutch protocol, such as Dr. Thomas Steensma, have in recent years criticized the approach of the American medical establishment, noting that the group of young people who doctors in the Netherlands treated in its earlier years was much smaller.
Where does the large flow of children who have suddenly registered for transgender care since 2013? And what is the quality of life like for this group long after sex change? There is no answer to those questions, Steensma said in 2021.
The research on the small group of people from before 2013 may not apply to the large group that there is now. We conduct structural research in the Netherlands. But the rest of the world is blindly adopting our research. Every doctor or psychologist who engages in transgender care should feel the obligation to do a good before-and-after measurement.
Likewise, Dr. Annelou de Vries, who was part of the same Dutch Protocol collaborative, stressed in an October 2020 commentary for the AAP Pediatrics journal, adolescents with recent-onset gender dysphoria who had no previous no childhood history of gender distress, were not part of their study protocol.
Grossman, who was also interviewed by Matt Walsh in The Daily Wire film What is a Woman? notes that her greatest distress is seeing the victims of this mass experiment. In that film, she explains that she received a phone call from a mother whose 14-year-old daughter had been prescribed puberty blockers and, as a result, was dealing with osteoporosis, an ailment that causes brittle bones and is common in senior citizens, not adolescents.
And we know about the kids being victims but I feel like we dont talk about the parents being victims, she said soberly.
Something else is at work, she believes, and thats a pervasive and sinister anti-male sentiment that indelibly contributes to young boys suffering confusion over their sex.
Now, Im not minimizing women who have been treated badly, abused or worse, by men, Grossman was quick to add, but overall, there has been a war on men and on boys.
We sometimes find that there is a mother who really has a hatred or deep resentment of men because of things that she has gone through earlier in her life. And that without even realizing it she can influence her son to have that same negativity about being male. Children want to please their parents. And more than anything else, children want their parents love. And its not impossible that a boy might pick up on his mother's animosity toward men and feel like, Oh, I dont want to be like that.
The boys might be overhearing conversations with the mom, with friends or relatives or what have you. Anti-male kind of stuff and that does not help the boys identity of himself as being a male, she continued.
That does not help.
DOJ indicts 8 pro-life activists for obstructing Michigan abortion clinic
A federal grand jury indicted eight people accused of blocking access to an abortion clinic in Michigan. Two defendants were indicted for allegedly doing the same to a second facility elsewhere in Michigan.
In a statement, federal prosecutors announced indictments against activists Calvin Zastrow, Eva Zastrow, Justin Phillips, Heather Idoni, Chester Gallagher, Eva Edl, Caroline Davis and Joel Curry for holding an August 2020 blockade of an abortion clinic in Sterling Heights.
The group was charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and engaging in a civil rights conspiracy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Idoni and Edl were also charged with violating the FACE Act for their alleged connection to an April 2021 blockade of an abortion clinic in Saginaw.
The indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that on Aug. 27, 2020, all eight defendants engaged in a conspiracy to prevent the Sterling Heights clinic from providing, and patients there from receiving reproductive health services, stated the DOJ.
Gallagher allegedly advertised the Sterling Heights clinic blockade on social media. He and Curry reportedly live-streamed the incident.
The indictment also said that the defendants gathered at a location near the Sterling Heights clinic before going over to stand in front of the door and interpose.
Passed by Congress in 1994, the FACE Act created federal penalties and civil remedies for any damaging or violent acts against reproductive healthcare providers and their patients.
The Justice Department established the Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers in 1998, shortly after the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an abortion provider based in New York.
Although the act is traditionally used to protect abortion providers, two individuals were charged with violating the FACE Act in January in connection to the vandalism of three pro-life pregnancy care centers in Florida.
The Justice Department also used the FACE Act to prosecute Catholic activist Mark Houck after he pushed an abortion clinic escort who harassed him and his son near a Philadelphia clinic. Houck was acquitted of the charges.
In 2020, Phillips and Zastrow were part of a lawsuit against Detroit and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over the ticketing of pro-life activists demonstrating outside an abortion clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff issued an order in April 2020, noting that an agreement was made allowing for pro-life demonstrations during the lockdown period.
Zastrow, Gallagher, Edl and Idoni were also among 11 people charged with violating the FACE Act for hosting pro-life actions against an abortion clinic in Tennessee.
"The indictment alleges that, beginning in February 2021, Chester Gallagher utilized social media to promote a series of anti-abortion events scheduled for March 4-7, 2021, in the Nashville area," the DOJ stated last October.
"On March 4, 2021, Coleman Boyd and Chester [Gallagher] advertised the blockade of the Carafem Health Center Clinic in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, which was planned for the following day."
Pastor, congregation stop gunmen in church with prayer
A gang of armed young men who allegedly entered the All Creation Northview Holiness Family Church in Ferguson, Missouri, to commit a robbery, had their plans thwarted when the pastor and his congregation showered them with prayer.
Marquaello Futrell, the churchs pastor, who worked as a police officer for 10 years, told KSDK that the miraculous Holy Spirit arrest of the gunmen happened during the morning service on Sunday, which was broadcast on Facebook Live.
Futrell told KSDK that the ordeal began after a man who entered the church carrying two bags, began questioning the churchs children services director.
I immediately just had the hairs on the back of my neck Im like, 'OK, somethings about to happen,'" he said.
Shortly after that, the four young men wearing masks entered the church.
Me being a former police officer, I immediately noticed their waistbands, Im like, 'Theres something there,'" he said.
Another member of the church would later see a member of the group drop a gun. Futrell said instead of scaring his congregation, he went on with his service as planned and alerted the police. He also directed church staff to move the children to safety and ensure that the faces of the men were recorded for evidence.
He then continued to worship and pray with his congregation until about the 54-minute point in the recording when he approached the group of young men sitting at the back of the church.
Whats your name. In the purple, tell me your name, Futrell began.
He then questioned the other men about their names and their reason for attending church that day.
Who sent yall here? he asked. Yall just saw the church and decide to come? Talk to me.
The pastor then encouraged his congregation to praise God for them attending the church, declaring: I said, praise God that God sent them in here. That what the devil meant for evil, you messing with a Marquaello Antonio Futrell.
He also made it clear he was aware they had initially come to the church with ill intent, but God was changing the plot of the enemy.
Dont you play with me. I still got a cop anointing and I still know whats going on and I still know whats about to happen. Gods about to change the plot of the enemy. Lift your voices and shout unto God for what hes about to do, he said.
He then asked the young men if he could pray for them and they agreed. The entire church quickly focused their attention on the men and prayed for them for several minutes.
When the prayer was over, Futrell made the men aware that they had entered a holy place.
See that wasnt so bad brothers. Thank yall for letting us pray for you. And were thankful that for whatever reason, the Lord let yall come here. That when you walked on the ground, you walked on Holy Ghost turf, he said. You stepped foot on All Creation parking lot. You encountered the move of the Holy Ghost and I just believe that you all will never be the same again.
The Ferguson Police Department would later confirm that the four men left the church in a Black Dodge charger with tinted windows that day and they are still being investigated.
While All Creation Northview Holiness Family Church did not immediately respond to calls from The Christian Post on Wednesday, Pastor Futrell praised God for intervening in the moment during the service.
I just heard the Lord say, this is what happens when you illegally trespass, he said. That when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard. The flood will never be greater than the standard.
Revelation 8: The eagle of woes
In the book Storm Warning, the late Dr. Billy Graham writes about a group of people having a hurricane party before Hurricane Camille.
Graham says the winds were strong and howling outside the classy Richelieu Apartments in Pass Christian, Mississippi when Police Chief Jerry Peralta approached the group. It was nighttime, and the apartments were only 250 feet from the surf and directly in line with the coming storm. Camille was a category five storm, packing winds of 175 miles per hour and a storm surge of 24 feet. Peralta was there to warn them to clear out before the storm could arrive. But no one was listening.
One man came outside his apartment on the second-floor balcony, carelessly waving at Peralta with a drink in his hand. The profoundly concerned Police Chief desperately tried to persuade him and the others who joined him on the balcony to leave. When that didnt work, he ordered them to vacate the premises and get to safety. Still, they just laughed. One man yelled, This is my land; if you want me off it, youll have to arrest me.
Peralta didnt have the authority to arrest anyone in this case. Nevertheless, while they laughed at him, he wrote down the names of everyone at the party and their next of kin. They were warned, but they were foolish and would not flee the coming tempest.
When Hurricane Camille hit, the storm killed 143 people along Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Because of the catastrophic flooding that occurred from the storm, 153 additional people in Nelson County, Virginia, perished. The wrath of Camille injured 8,931 people, destroyed 5,562 homes,13,915 homes sustained significant damage, and industry and businesses would suffer more than 10 billion dollars worth of loss by todays standards.
Graham wrote, News reports later showed that the worst damage came at the little settlement of motels, go-go bars, and gambling houses known as Pass Christian, Mississippi, where some twenty people were killed at a hurricane party in the Richelieu Apartments. Nothing was left of that three-story structure but the foundation. The only survivor was a five-year-old boy found clinging to a mattress the following day.
Graham adds, Were they ignorant of the dangers? Could they have been overconfident? Did they let their egos and pride influence their decision? Well never know.
What we can know, however, is they were warned Police Chief Peralta implored them to leave, and when they wouldnt listen, he even harshly ordered them to leave. Still, the choice was their own, and they chose foolishly.
In Revelation Chapter 8, Christ breaks the seventh seal of the scroll, which He alone is worthy to open. Each broken seal reveals Gods final actions in dealing with a defiant world. When the seventh seal is broken, four angels with trumpets blow to announce the unmatched cataclysmic destruction of the planet and the worldwide altering of human government.
The blowing of these trumpets and the following events warn people to repent. These warnings are to a world stiff-necked, hardened, stubborn, exceedingly foolish, and will not bend the knee to their rightful Sovereign. They will not have Christ to rule over them. They will not be reconciled with their Maker.
Still, God reaches out to them with warning after warning after warning after warning. God is like this. Through his prophet Ezekiel, the Lord told sinful and obstinate Israel in their day, As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? (Ezekiel 33:11). The heart of the Lord is to save.
Life is so short compared to eternity. Nothing in life is more important than preparing for where one will spend eternity. Think of the many ways God influences and directs people to make peace with him. Drawing from something the late W. Herschel Ford wrote in one of his many Simple Sermons Series, here are some ways:
He gives us the Bible. The Bible, the Word of God, is easily accessible to most people. There are Bibles almost everywhere today. The Bible tells of Gods grace and mercy in Christ, in both the Old and New Testaments.
He gives us the Church. In most towns and cities, there is a church with a faithful witness by Gods people, telling of his redeeming purposes through Jesus Christ and showing his love.
He gives us the Gospel on radio, television, websites, social media, print, etc. Through these mediums, the message of Christ and Gods earnest desire for people to be saved abound.
He gives us a conscience. Though not a perfect witness, our consciences point out our many sins. Our consciences, often afflicted with guilt, remind us that we are broken and need a spiritual transformation.
He gives us the prayers and witness of Christian friends and loved ones. Most people who dont know Christ have known someone who has lived a real Christian life in front of them at one time or another. Many have a family member who, for years, has earnestly been praying for them to come to know Christ personally.
He gives us sickness, sorrow, and trouble to bring us to himself. All illness, suffering, and troubles in life are not because of sin. But sometimes, the Lord uses these to show us our need for him. It is, most unfortunately, the only way he can get our attention.
He gives us the Holy Spirit. Before Christ returned to the Father in heaven, he said that he would send the Holy Spirit who will convict the world of its sin, and of Gods righteousness, and the coming judgment (John 16:8). The Spirit of God woos and warns of our need to make things right with God before its too late.
God is so good to give us these aids to help us find the way. When we live in sin, ignoring Him, running from him, and rebelling against him, He still extends his offer of mercy. One has to crash through these many safety signs to ultimately plunge over the precipice and into Hell.
After the four angels have blown their trumpets, there once again seems to be a pause, albeit a brief one. Then the apostle John writes that he sees one solitary eagle in the zenith of the sky, warning people of three more trumpets with forthcoming measures of inexplicable doom. He writes:
Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets (Revelation 8:13).
In discussing the conversion experience with a fellow preacher, he shared something that has stayed with me through the years. He said, Sometimes God only needs a pop gun to move certain people his way; with others, he has to use an elephant gun. In the end times, it appears evil is so entrenched God has to use the guns of an Iowa-Class Battleship, figuratively speaking.
Terror, terror, terror, says the Eagle, Gods harbinger of judgment. Some translations taken from the oldest manuscripts refer to this supernatural entity as an angel crying out, woe, woe, woe.
Dr. Henry Morris, in The Revelation Record, asserts:
Maybe both texts are correct he is both angel and eagle. The four mighty cherubim, the living creatures of Revelation 4, are indeed high in the angelic hierarchy, even ranking above the archangels, in all probability (Satan himself had been the highest of all cherubim before his fall). The fourth of these is said to have an appearance like a flying eagle (Revelation 4:7). It may be that this mighty angelic cherub is the eagle flying through the midst of heaven with the warning message of three woes. Whether angel or cherub or eagle, of course, it is the unique form and substance of the warning that arrests the attention of the earth as its inhabitants fearfully await the sound of the next trumpet.
There is one final truth that may be drawn from this incredible passage. Revelation 8:13 says the eagles ominous words of alert are to all who belong to this world.
There are only two types of people: the earthbound and the Heaven-bound. The earthbound are those who have invested all of their life in this present world without considering the need to prepare for the next.
Jesus once told a parable about a farmer who became very wealthy. As he cheerfully looked at his bumper crop, he didnt see Gods hand in the matter; he only saw himself and opportunities to build bigger barns to hold his many possessions. This silly man invested his whole life in the things of this world. But suddenly and unexpectedly, God said to him, You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for? (Luke 12:20). This farmer had achieved remarkable success. Still, he was a failure with God and went out into eternity unprepared to meet him.
In his excellent book, Eternity, Joseph Stowell says most people are consumed with the tyranny of the temporal, and both the character and power of a life with an eternal focus are traded for the ordinary. Indeed, and what a bad trade it is!
Terror, terror, terror, warns the Eagle of God, flying high in the mid-day sun. Gods wrath is about to be poured out on the earthbound. The matter is most urgent.
Flee the wrath of God while you can! Youve been warned over and again! Surrender to your rightful Sovereign, who loves you so much he gave his unique Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for your many sins (John 3:16).
Turn to Christ in repentance and faith now! A horrid hell storm is on its way!
'God can speak in showers or waves': Tennessee middle school students lead in prayer, song and repentance
As a spiritual awakening moves among college students across the nation, one K-12 school in Tennessee says it's also seeing a revival atmosphere spreading on its campus.
Grace Christian Academy of Knoxville experienced an unplanned worship service on Friday where several middle school students held prayer, shared confessions and even made professions of faith.
A spokesperson for GCA told The Christian Post in an emailed statement on Tuesday that the gathering began with the school's annual tradition of Discipleship Days.
The Discipleship Days seeks to have GCA students enriched by Gods Word, grow in love for Jesus, and put their faith into action by holding classroom discussions and activities, with the theme being Know Him, Love Him, Love Them.
Last Friday, after GCA concluded the worship service for their middle school students, many felt compelled to continue their time of worship, the spokesperson added. Leadership pivoted any planned afternoon activities and allowed students to lead one another in song and prayer. This led to students repenting, confessing and seeking Christ.
God can speak in showers or waves, and at last weeks Discipleship Days, He decided to flood our campus with His presence, GCA Upper School Principal Angie Nordhorn was quoted as saying in the statement shared with CP.
As a tenured member of the GCA community, I only remember one other time, in 2010, when we experienced a profound demonstration of the Holy Spirit, Nordhorn added. I pray that the Lord will continue to flood our halls with His presence. Discipleship Days is only a ripple in the ocean of what can happen at GCA.
The academy intends to continue discipling students who made professions of faith and hold small group discussions in response to last Fridays worship gathering, GCA added.
We praise God that students lives have been transformed forever, and we have witnessed eternity-changing decisions through this schoolwide initiative, concluded the statement.
Earlier this month, Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, became the epicenter of an ongoing spontaneous worship service, with many considering the gathering a new revival.
In the Christian tradition, revivals are often gatherings in which large numbers of individuals come together for prayer and worship, with many seeking forgiveness, confession and sometimes conversion to Christianity.
The revival at Asbury has continued for more than two weeks and has attracted thousands of individuals from outside the state and other countries, and has spread to several other campuses and churches nationwide.
Among the Christian campuses where students are experiencing an outpouring of the Holy Spirit is Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, which is also holding continual worship gatherings.
Rob Fultz, a campus pastor at Lee, told CP in an earlier interview that their gathering began when a group of students who had watched the events of Asbury and asked their professor if they could go to the chapel and pray that God would move on our campus as well.
The professor said, 'yes.' The class of eight to nine students went to the chapel and began to pray. Within a couple of hours, the room started to fill with students, faculty and staff, Fultz said.
Fultz described the continuous prayer and worship at Lee as a predominately spontaneous movement of prayer and a beautifully sacred movement that is ongoing.
We currently are not incorporating worship teams, speakers other than some students, faculty or staff or scripted worship service, Fultz told CP.
It is still going on. However, as the week progresses, I do anticipate the administration updating the schedule and availability to the public."
File Photo (ANI/Twitter)
Hyderabad: Extreme changes in weather conditions spread over the past few days and mass gatherings of people at various venues are resulting in the fast spread of viral infections across the state, caution experts.
People from different age-groups are visiting nearby hospitals for treatment with many of them showing post-Covid-19 symptoms.
Pediatricians have expressed concern at the surge in cases of severe cold, cough and fever among children, who normally have such illnesses in November
and December. Ironically, these cases were very few in the peak winter season.
Youngsters and adults have also been complaining of severe cold, cough, throat infection and mild fever as a result of general medicine and ENT practitioners and pediatricians are attending more cases in recent times. Many people have started wearing face masks as a precautionary measure.
Noted pulmonologist Dr. K. Bhuma Reddy said that of late many people are
coming with cough, cold, running nose and fever complaints. Community spread
of viral infection might be the reason for this, he said. Dr. Reddy said that a huge relief was that such viral infections are not fatal.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, head of the department of critical care at GGH, Nizamabad, Dr. Kiran Madala said that there is no wave of Covid-19 across the country. The fear stems from the surge of Covid-19 cases in China. He said that since January-end movement of people has been extensive because of marriages and functions.
Normal cold will be cured within a short time but the present viral infection is severe and takes more time, he said. Edino virus might be causing severe viral infections, including in the interiors, he said.
Dr. Madala said that either weak efficacy of Covid-19 vaccination or post-Covid ailments are not reasons for the viral infections. There is no scope to hush-up Covid cases as states like Kerala are conducting tests quite effectively, he said.
Trump to visit 'great people who need help' in East Palestine, Ohio
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit the site of a train derailment in Ohio as the Biden administration faces criticism for its response to the incident, which resulted in the leakage of toxic chemicals into the air and water.
In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed his intention to visit East Palestine on Wednesday, describing the residents of the eastern Ohio village as great people who need help, NOW! In a subsequent post, Trump credited his plans to visit East Palestine with causing the Biden administration to move after Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that the president had no immediate plans to visit the community.
Biden and FEMA said they would not be sending federal aid to East Palestine. As soon as I announced that Im going, he announced a team will go. Hopefully he will also be there, Trump wrote. The people of East Palestine need help. Ill see you on Wednesday!
Trumps visit to East Palestine comes nearly three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in the village on Feb. 3. A controlled burning of the poisonous chemicals occurred three days later, with Norfolk Southern citing concerns about an explosion as the reason for carrying out a controlled burn of the chemicals.
Local officials asked those in the immediate vicinity of the accident to evacuate their homes. Two days after the controlled burn, they received the green light to return home.
State and local officials assured residents of East Palestine that the air and water were safe from pollution, however, the state acknowledged that the train derailment and the subsequent chemical burn did have an impact on the environment. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimated that 3,500 fish in the 7.5 miles of waterways located in close proximity to the accident site died as a result of contaminated water.
Several first responders and residents who did not evacuate experienced diarrhea, bad coughs, headaches and a sore throat in the immediate aftermath of the accident. Two residents of East Palestine, a young couple who bought a house there in May, told Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson they had coughed up blood and experienced headaches several days after the train derailment and the burning of toxic chemicals.
Nathan and Kelly Izotic appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight Tuesday, with Mrs. Izotic asserting that the headaches are horrible.
When Im about three to four miles outside of town, they start and as long as Im within a few miles of the crash site, Ive got headaches. Mrs. Izotic added, characterizing her symptoms as really bad headaches and migraines.
A Fox News cameraman traveled to East Palestine to set up a camera in the couples home for the interview on Tuesday. Mr. Izotic said the cameraman agreed that a sweet odor permeated the village that smells terrible.
Trumps visit to East Palestine comes as President Joe Biden has traveled to eastern Europe on the first anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine and ongoing war. The presidents critics point to his trip to Europe as an example of mismatched priorities, with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway describing it as the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now he doesnt care about us in an appearance on Fox News Jesse Watters Primetime Monday.
I found that out this morning in one of the briefings that he was in Ukraine giving millions of dollars away to people over there and not to us, and Im furious, Conaway added.
For its part, the Biden administration is defending its response to the East Palestine train derailment.
In a fact sheet published Friday, the White House stated that the Environmental Protection Agency is continuously monitoring air quality using state-of-art equipment and assisted with the indoor air monitoring of 500 homes under a voluntary screening program offered to residents.
According to the White House, No detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride were identified above levels of concern.
The Biden administration added that the EPA is assisting state and local agencies to test surface and groundwater to ensure drinking water is safe.
In a statement released Tuesday, The EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to conduct all necessary actions associated with the cleanup from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.
The EPA's order will require the train company to identify and clean up contaminated water sources, reimburse [the] EPA for cleaning services to be offered to residents and businesses to provide an additional layer of assurance, which will be conducted by EPA staff and contractors, attend and participate in public meetings at [the] EPAs request and post information online and pay for [the] EPAs costs for work performed under this order.
The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPAs order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community, said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. Regan vowed that Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma theyve inflicted on this community.
Christian teacher fired because she cannot be dishonest with parents
The cost of following Christ just hit home in a new way for one California teacher who was fired for refusing to tell lies about biological reality or hide students gender transitions from their parents. Jurupa Unified School District served physical education teacher Jessica Tapia, mother of three, with a Notice of Unprofessional Conduct for not embracing the districts new policies promoting transgender identities and, on January 31, fired her after determining it could not accommodate her religious beliefs.
District administrators directed Tapia to refrain from disclosing the gender identity of a student who is transgender to a parent who does not know the students gender identity and to address students by their preferred name and preferred gender pronouns. But she told them that her religious beliefs made her unable to comply with the two directives.
Tapias response
I knew immediately, like in my gut, in my heart, in my soul, that there was a decision I had to make because, you know, these two things were totally butting heads, said Tapia. I essentially had to pick one. Am I going to obey the district in the directive[s] that are not lining up with my own beliefs, convictions, and faith? Or am I going to stay true choose my faith, choose to be obedient to the way the Lord has called me to live. And so it was crazy to be in the position where I realized that I couldnt be a Christian and a teacher.
Tapias refusal is biblical. Jesus distinguished our obligations to temporal versus divine authority, render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods (Matthew 22:21). Whenever a human authority contradicts God by commanding anything God forbids or forbidding anything God commands, a person must choose whom to obey. When ordered not to evangelize, Peter and John applied Jesus teaching, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:19-20). They state the conclusion in the next chapter, we must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).
The Jurupa Unified directives directly contradict the teachings of Scripture. Elsewhere Jesus cited Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 to argue that God created male and female, marriage and family.
He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate (Matthew 19:4-6).
Jesus applied these teachings to condemn divorce, but his logic applies equally to any human rejection of Gods divinely established order for biological sex, marriage, and family. The directive to affirm a student in a gender identity other than the one God gave them denies Gods authority to create them male and female. The directive to hide such a gender identity from parents is not only lying, but it also undermines the parents God-given authority over their children.
Therefore, complying with the demands Jurupa Unified made on Tapia would have been sinful. If any other Christian in her situation had agreed to affirm false gender identities and hide them from parents, then his or her church would have legitimate grounds to put such a member under church discipline, as Jesus spelled out in Matthew 18:15-17, and even for removing such a member if they proved unrepentant. This means that the policy of Jurupa Unified School District, as applied to Tapia, would prevent any Bible-believing Christian from teaching in their schools as Tapia said, I realized that I couldnt be a Christian and a teacher.
Immediate context
However, it doesnt follow necessarily that there are no Christians teaching in the Jurupa Unified School District, or in any district with similar policies. Tapias circumstances were unusual for another reason: she was targeted by a cancel campaign.
Activist students scoured Tapias social media accounts, digging up old posts and reporting her to the district for unsafe conduct. Some of the allegations, the evidence they submitted for them, were literally Bible verses that I posted, Tapia said. Some of the allegations were that I was not calling students by their preferred gender or pronouns, which was very interesting, too, because I had never had a student come to me with, Mrs. Tapia, I would like you to call me this. No parents had complained about Tapias performance as a teacher; the ouster was entirely student-driven.
Following this student troublemaking, district officials served Tapia with a Notice of Unprofessional Conduct with the anti-Christian directives at a September 30 meeting. Tapia then began a 12-week medical leave a category that also covers the birth and care of [a] newborn child after which she told the district her faith did not permit her to follow their directives. She also forbade students with male genitalia from entering the female locker room, another moral defiance of the school districts policies.
The school district held one final meeting on January 13 to discuss your religious beliefs and to gather information to allow the District to determine whether it can accommodate your religious beliefs while remaining compliant with California law, it told Tapia. The school district then informed Tapia it would release you from your employment on January 31, which is rather a euphemistic phrase for a public school to use to mean firing someone for her religious beliefs.
Jurupa Unified apparently hushed up Tapias ouster, as if they were ashamed about it or had something to hide. Im not aware that the parents were made aware. Im pretty sure it was just I left, they slid a sub in and that was it, said Tapia. I know a close coworker there, the other female PE teacher at the high school; she was even unsure why I was gone.
Legal confusion
In fact, it seems that Jurupa Unified did have something to hide. Tapia said of the September 30 meeting, I made sure to clarify, too, with [the] district personnel that were sitting across from me. I looked them in the eye, and I said, Are you asking me to lie to parents? and they said, Yes. Its the law.
This is false, of course. California law stipulates that parents have an absolute right to access to any and all pupil records related to their children. In fact, accessing student records requires parental consent in most cases. But if a school district is simply following the direction of the California Department of Education (CDE), they wouldnt know that.
A CDE FAQ page answers the question, May a students gender identity be shared with the students parents ? with the following paragraph (emphasis added):
A transgender or gender nonconforming student may not express their gender identity openly in all contexts, including at home. Revealing a students gender identity or expression to others may compromise the students safety. Thus, preserving a students privacy is of the utmost importance. The right of transgender students to keep their transgender status private is grounded in Californias antidiscrimination laws as well as federal and state laws. Disclosing that a student is transgender without the students permission may violate Californias anti-discrimination law by increasing the students vulnerability to harassment and may violate the students right to privacy.
While ignoring the clear text of Californias law, which entrusts student privacy to their parents, the CDE here suggests that 1. a students right to privacy is distinct from parental protection, and 2. if parents knew, it might put students at risk. It further states vaguely that student privacy is grounded in various laws, but none of the examples they give explain why a students right to privacy should not be entrusted to the protective guardianship of parents.
However, this novel interpretation from the CDE is sweeping California school districts. Last fall, San Francisco USD adopted an LGBTQ Student Services guidebook ordering teachers to hide students gender transition from parents. Apparently, Jurupa Unified adopted a similar policy.
In a statement, Jurupa Unified tried to defend its actions by passing the buck to other levels of government, The District takes seriously its obligation to accommodate its employees religious beliefs. Simultaneously, the District is obligated to comply with all local, state, and federal laws, including anti-discrimination laws and laws that protect students rights to privacy.
According to my school district, Tapia explained, students have privacy. And so if a student shares information regarding a pronoun preference or thinking there may be the opposite gender of what they biologically are, if they share that information with a teacher, we are supposed to keep that info from parents in case the parent doesnt know.
Anti-Christian bias
There is no question Jurupa Unified School District fired Jessica Tapia because of her religious beliefs. It restated her beliefs to show it understood them. It appropriately applied those beliefs to the context. And then it fired her for holding to them.
During the meeting, you informed that District that: 1. You are a follow of the Christian faith. You believe that God created man and woman and that God creates every individual to be the person with the gender assigned in the womb and at birth, wrote the school district. So far, so good, although the in the womb and at birth seems a bit redundant.
Based on your religious beliefs, you cannot be dishonest with parents If asked about a students gender identity by a parent, you cannot refer the parent to a counselor, defer the inquiry and suggest they speak with a student or otherwise deflect the parents inquiry, they continued.
Yes, thats how things stand.
And then they came to this conclusion: the district cannot accommodate your religious beliefs that prohibit you from maintaining a students gender identity and refraining from disclosing a students gender identity from his/her/their parent(s)/guardians. Wow.
In moments like these, the rainbow movement reveals its actually not tolerant at all. It not only declares sexual normalcy disfavored and discourages teachers from telling the truth, but it also declares outright that it wont even accommodate such values. Were talking about children. This is a very moldable time in life [when] the brain is developing and its so important that you have good people to look up to, good models in your life, good teaching, said Tapia.
Firing Tapia is ultimately the school districts loss. Tapia became a teacher because she wanted to be a light to [kids] possibly coming from very rough homes, and she found the work rewarding way beyond a paycheck. The public school system has too few teachers like that. Perhaps thats why they shamefacedly concealed her unreasonable termination.
Tapia, represented by the Pacific Justice Institute, plans to file a lawsuit against the school district alleging religious discrimination. We are waiting for a right to sue letter from the EEOC [U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission], and then we will proceed from there, she said.
Christian witness
When school personnel told her to lie to parents, Tapia reminded them that the district asks teachers to uphold honesty But now Im learning its situational. You want me only to be honest in this situation [at this review] but when it comes to parents being aware of the basic well-being and knowledge of their child, I cannot be honest.
This, again, is a demand Tapia could not, as a Christian, comply with. As the first mark of Christians putting on the new self in the Spirit, Paul says, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor (Ephesians 4:25).
Tapia said she doesnt believe God is calling us to love by affirming those lies and confusion. I believe firmly that God created man and woman, and you are who he made you to be. And when someone has confusion about that, I believe thats lies and confusion from the devil.
Originally published at The Washington Stand.
Ray Comfort: Fear of the Lord is key to ensuring God answers prayers
Apologist and author Ray Comfort is releasing a new book this month that explains why a healthy fear of the Lord is a key component of prayer.
In the book, titled How to Make Sure God Hears Your Prayers (BroadStreet Publishing) with a foreword written by Answers in Genesis President Ken Ham, Comfort explains, while many people profess to be born again, only people who fear the Lord reflect that fear in how they live.
It doesnt matter how much we accomplish in our lives, the size of our Christian ministry, or how much money we leave behind. Everything boils down to whether we fear God, he writes. The fear of God is the fertile soil from which good, biblical fruit grows, and as we shall see, it is a priceless gift from the hand of our loving Creator.
In a Q&A with The Christian Post, Comfort revealed what he considers to be the biggest misconception about prayer.
CP: What led you to write this book?
Comfort: Most people arent too concerned about prayer until theyre hanging by their teeth over a 1,000-foot cliff or theyre in severe turbulence upside down at 20,000 feet. Thats when we need to know that God hears our prayers.
And most people think that all we have to do is speak and God hears. And, in a sense, He does, but we dont want God just to hear us, we want Him to answer our prayers.
There are certain things we have to do if we want an audience with the king of England. You dont just show up in your pajamas and begin chatting. There is a certain etiquette that must take place.
And thats exactly the same with God, but the etiquette is so much more high. The Scriptures say that who should enter the hill of the Lord? He that has clean hands and a pure heart. Scripture also warns that God will not hear your prayer if you have sin in your heart, and the Bible tells us that our sins make a separation between us and God.
Not that God doesnt hear us, Hes omniscient. He sees all and knows all. But He takes no regard unless we do what He says when it comes to approaching His throne. So, its important that we understand this.
CP: Last year, theologian R.T. Kendall released a book titled Fear: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, in which he argued that churches need to reclaim the fear of God. In an earlier interview with CP about his book, Kendall said: "Ive had, in recent years especially, a feeling that there is no fear of God in the nation, and there is little fear of God in the Church." Would you say that you agree with his assessment?
Comfort: Absolutely. Right on.
Most people have a wrong concept of God. To them, Hes an old man with a beard and a pink nightie sitting on a cloud reaching out, touching fingers with Adam.
God is nothing like that. Thats called idolatry when we have a wrong image of God. Well never fear God while we have a wrong image of Him. Thunder and lightning play a little part in putting the fear of God into us. When we are in a lightning storm and we hear thunder shake everything around us, that makes us tremble. It's not God showing His wrath, it's merely nature that He created doing its own thing.
Jesus said, fear not him who has power to kill your body and afterwards do no more, but fear him who has power to kill your body and cast your soul into Hell.
He was saying if someone plunges a knife into your chest, dont fear that, compared to the fear of falling into the hands of a living God. Thats more than a reverential fear. Thats fear and trembling. The Bible says of Jesus, He was heard in that He feared. He had that necessary reverence and trembling before the throne of God and He was heard because of that fear.
The fear of God is a very good thing. And its the fear of God, all these years later, that keeps me from looking at pornography. Its the fear of God that keeps me from getting involved in gossip. Its the fear of God that keeps me walking a straight and narrow path of Gods Word. And thats good.
We often think that fear is a bad thing, but there are a lot of instances where it's good. Fear will make you put on a parachute if you have to jump 10,000 feet. That fear is your friend, not your enemy.
Fear will make you put on a seatbelt when you get into a car. And so, we shouldnt discount fear. Of course, there is a fear that has torment and thats not good, but there is a fear of God that is good and is for our benefit.
CP: Each chapter includes a transcript of a time in which you witnessed to unbelievers. Why did you feel it was important to include those discussions and how did you go about figuring out which witness conversations to include?
Comfort: Our YouTube channel has over 230 million views and I took the cream of our witnessing experiences and transcribed them because theyre so relevant. And the reason I did that is that I once did it, gave it to someone, and they said it brought them to tears, and I thought, youre kidding!
They dont just have to see it on video, they can actually read it and still be instructed and encouraged by what they see.
Because when you see an atheist backslide in two minutes, it's encouraging. Theres nothing to be feared. We dont need to feel intimidated when we talk to an atheist if we know certain principles.
Thats what the YouTube channel does. It shows you that you dont need to fear when it comes to speaking to ungodly people about the things of God, because everyone is the same, everyone has a will to live, and everyone has a conscience.
CP: What do you think is a big misconception about prayer?
Comfort: I think one of the biggest misconceptions that most people have when it comes to prayer and the things of God is the wrong understanding of the word "faith."
We tend to think that faith is believing in something without the evidence. And thats why we believe in God. Just a blind faith. But thats not true. There is some credible scientific evidence of Gods existence all around us.
In the same way, if you look at a building, you dont believe or have faith there was a builder, you know there was a builder, because buildings dont build themselves. A building is proof of a builder.
And thats exactly the same with paintings. You dont need to meet the painter to know there was a painter. You look at the painting and intelligence or common sense tells you that paintings dont paint themselves. Even if the painter died 300 years ago, we know he existed, because of the existence of the painting.
And the same thing applies when talking about the existence of God. The creation is evidence that theres a Creator. There is order from the atom through the universe.
So, we dont have faith that God exists, we know He exists. And thats not in arrogance, it's common sense.
When the Bible speaks of faith, it's not speaking of an intellectual assent, it is speaking of an implicit trust. In the same way, we would trust a surgeon to operate on us. We trust his integrity. We trust his ability. I have faith in my wife, I trust her integrity. Thats the sort of faith that pleases God, and without that, it's impossible to please Him.
You cant have any relationships in society without faith. Say to your boss, Ive got no faith in you, and youll lose your job. Say to your wife, Ive got no faith in you, youll probably sleep on the couch and maybe ruin your marriage. Say that to your friends and youll lose your friends. Without faith, you cannot live. We have faith in doctors, we have faith in pilots, we have faith in surgeons, we have faith even in some politicians.
So, that sort of faith is the faith that we need to approach God when it comes to prayer. The Bible says, without faith, it is impossible to please Him.
CP: How do you respond to those who feel that, although they prayed to God with a sincere fear of Him, their prayers went unheard or unanswered?
Comfort: God always hears our prayers, if we come to Him in humility.
Sometimes we can feel that our prayers dont get past the ceiling, but if we come to Him with humility, the Bible says God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. His ears are open to our cries.
And thats what faith actually is. It's trusting that God answers our prayers. Sometimes He says yes, sometimes He says no, sometimes He says hang on a minute.
When it comes to suffering, and were crying out to God because a loved one is suffering, we still have to rest in faith. Charles Spurgeon said, faith may swim where reason may only paddle. And the reason we can trust God is because of Romans 8:28. Its the great safety net Scripture, it says All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purposes.
We might find ourselves in a lions den, with hungry lions surrounding us, or on the edge of the Red Sea. Thats when we stand still and just trust God no matter what.
CP: What do you hope readers take away from your book?
Comfort: I hope they are encouraged. I hope they have more of a vibrant prayer life. I hope that it increases their faith and I hope that it causes them to have a concern for the lost that are around us.
We want people to not only pray, but to share the Gospel with those sitting in the shadow of death. And thats what the book will help you do.
Rush Limbaugh's brother shares how radio host grew closer to Christ in final year of life
The younger brother of the late conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh described in an interview last week how his brother's faith deepened in the final year of his life and eliminated doubts about whether he truly surrendered to Christ.
In a Friday interview with Evangelical author Joel C. Rosenberg, the editor-in-chief of All Israel News, apologist David Limbaugh opened up about the first time he learned his brother had been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer from the talk show host's wife.
The author believes this event likely happened in January 2020, 13 months before his brother died at 70 on Feb. 17, 2021.
David Limbaugh said they were raised in a Christian home, attended church, and their parents taught them "great values."
The younger brother acknowledged that he had "intellectual doubts" about faith. While he always believed that God existed, David Limbaugh said he had merely been going through the "motions."
In college, the attorney and author began considering serious philosophical questions about faith, including suffering and why a supposedly all-loving God condemns people to Hell.
After studying more, Limbaugh concluded there is "overwhelming evidence in favor of Christianity's truth claims." He came into a full relationship with Christ in his mid-30s.
"People think that Christianity is based on blind faith," David Limbaugh said. "No, no, it's based on evidence. But faith is critical. Without faith, meaning putting your trust in Christ for your personal salvation, you're not going to get there, no matter how much you believe intellectually."
Once he fully accepted Christ, he wondered if his brother was a Christian.
"I mean, he thought he was in my view, and he embraced it intellectually," David Limbaugh said. "But did he think enough about it? And did it really affect his life in the way you would think if you were truly a faithful Christian?"
He started witnessing to his older sibling, even asking him straightforwardly whether he truly believed. Rush Limbaugh answered, "yes." David Limbaugh asked why his brother didn't discuss his faith more. Rush Limbaugh allegedly replied that he didn't talk about it much because he didn't think he knew enough about it. He didn't want to make something he wasn't an expert in the focus of his talk show.
"It makes you wonder why you didn't study it more and all that," David Limbaugh said.
Rosenberg pointed out that it was interesting because Limbaugh was known to be a "student" of everything he was excited about to become an expert in those areas. David Limbaugh agreed.
"Even though he was not being intellectually dishonest about it, he didn't quite yet get it in my view," David Limbaugh said.
At one point, Rush Limbaugh assured his brother that he never had doubts about his faith or Christ, which David Limbaugh found "heartening." But he still wasn't sure whether his older brother accepted Christ.
Limbaugh said the "silver lining" of his brother's cancer diagnosis was "God's grace" because God often allows suffering to enable people to "embrace Him."
"We grow from our suffering, and that is totally biblical throughout. So many things come in God's time," he said.
"With Rush, he was experiencing this hardship, and he was taken down to the lowest point, and he turned," David Limbaugh added. "He had to turn; he had nowhere else to turn. Even if he hadn't had faith in Christ before, he had such sincere, heartfelt faith."
He said his brother began talking to God daily and reading the Bible, even texting his brother for insight on certain passages, something David Limbaugh had never seen him do before.
"It really doesn't matter if Rush embraced Christ 10 years before or one day before he died," he said. "What matters is, and I can say emphatically that he did embrace Him. I would say for sure in the early part of that last year. I think he did before, but I don't know. All I can say is he had an exclamation point on it during that time. He got his faith through Christ, and he leaned on Him."
As The Christian Post reported, Rush Limbaugh spoke publicly about his faith in October 2020, revealing to his audience that he was relying on Christ as his cancer progressed.
"I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ," Rush Limbaugh said. "It is of immense value, strength, confidence. That's why I'm able to remain fully committed to the idea that what is supposed to happen will happen when it's meant to."
Limbaugh thanked his listeners for their prayers, calling their support a "series of blessings."
"There is some comfort in knowing that some things are not in our hands, there's a lot of fear associated with that, too, but there's some comfort. It's helpful to be able to trust and believe in a higher plan," he said.
Kate Forbes, Evangelical Christian mom in race to replace Sturgeon, defends faith against 'illiberal' critics
A 32-year-old Evangelical Christian is defending her faith from criticism as she seeks to become the next First Minister of Scotland.
Nicola Sturgeon, who has served as the head of the Scottish government and the leader of the Scottish National Party since 2014, announced her decision to resign on Feb. 15, vowing to remain in place until a successor is chosen. Kate Forbes, a member of the Scottish Parliament representing Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, who also serves as the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, launched a campaign to succeed Sturgeon Monday.
Like Sturgeon, Forbes is a member of the Scottish National Party and an advocate for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. However, she differs from Sturgeon and many other politicians in the U.K. by speaking openly about her Christian faith as a member of the Calvinist Free Church of Scotland and taking a conservative position on hot-button cultural issues. Forbes addressed concerns about her religious beliefs and their impact on her political views in an interview with STV News after announcing her candidacy.
When pressed for her views on same-sex marriage, Forbes indicated that she would have voted against legalizing same-sex marriage if she had been a member of the Scottish Parliament when the issue came before the legislative body nearly a decade ago. While Forbes stressed that she views equal marriage as a legal right that she would defend to the hilt, she still sees marriage as a question of conscience.
I would have voted in line with my conscience on a position which is actually echoed across most major faiths in terms of Islam, Judaism and so on, she insisted. As a practicing Christian, I can tell you what I practice, which is that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Forbes answered in the affirmative when STVs Colin Mackay summarized her position as, legally, you accept gay marriage, but morally, you dont accept gay marriage. She expressed hope that that is possible in a pluralistic society.
Some of your supporters dont agree with you in that and can no longer support you because of that, replied Mackay. Forbes responded by declaring, I respect their integrity, asking, Isnt this what this is all about?
Politicians should have integrity to say what they believe, how they believe it and to act on that. And if I can defend their right to hold a view, can they defend my right?
Reiterating that she vowed to defend the right to the hilt to live and to love without fear and harassment, Forbes expressed a desire for others to defend the rights of people of faith to believe and to practice. She credited the pushback she has received over her position on same-sex marriage for bringing to light a fascinating question at the heart of Scottish political discourse, which is what does liberalism mean?
Have we become so illiberal that we cannot have these discussions or some people are beyond the pale? she inquired. If some people are beyond the pale, then those are dark and dangerous days for Scotland.
Forbes also elaborated on her views regarding therapy and counseling for unwanted same-sex attraction, which critics deride as so-called conversion therapy: I would absolutely, wholeheartedly condemn coercion of any kind when it comes to peoples sexuality.
When asked for her position on buffer zones that prevent people from protesting within a certain distance from an abortion clinic, she said, I think anyone going for a termination is not doing so lightly.
I think its a hugely emotional, challenging thing to do and they should be allowed to do it without fear or harassment, Forbes added. She maintained that buffer zone legislation must be targeted, expressing opposition to any efforts to subject women to fear and harassment while seeking an abortion.
In the past, Forbes has highlighted her pro-life stance on the issue of abortion. As Evangelical Focus reported, Forbes contended that the measure of true progress is how the unborn and terminally ill are treated.
More recently, Forbes told media outlets that she struggled to support the self-ID element of the Gender Recognition Act. The Gender Recognition Reform Bill would make it easier for trans-identified people to legally change their sexual identity on government documents from their biological sex to whatever they choose at the time. Forbes ultimately did not participate in the vote on the measure, which passed 86-39 on Dec. 22. The bill still awaits final approval.
As Piers Morgan explained on the Fox News opinion show Tucker Carlson Tonight last week, the Gender Recognition Act and the rush to affirm peoples self-declared gender identity has consequences for society as a whole, highlighting a specific example from Scotland: A man raped two women and when it came to his trial, he suddenly put his hand up and said, I identify as a woman so that he could get an easier time in a womens prison and be locked away of course with potential new targets.
Tucker Carlson: "Well, preferred pronouns are a signaling message for narcissists and cult members and political activists"
Tucker Carlson and @piersmorgan roast Sam Smith. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/RwB9rYrMTK 3sidedstory ???????? (@3sidedstory) February 18, 2023
He was sent as a woman to a womens prison. Now, there was such a fury over this ... against the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Surgeon, whose idea this was and she wanted to increase the ability to identify as whatever you want, that actually, in the end, he was taken to where he should have been, which was a male prison.
Members of the Scottish National Party will have the opportunity to vote for a new leader from March 12-27. Members of the Scottish Green Party, which has formed a coalition government with the Scottish Nationalists, have suggested that they might not want to remain in the coalition if Forbes becomes the new leader. The Scottish Nationalists have 64 out of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, meaning the party must form a coalition with another party in order to have the number of seats necessary to form a majority government.
Currently, the Scottish Green Party has seven seats in the Scottish Parliament, the right-leaning Conservative and Unionist Party has 31 seats, the left-leaning Scottish Labour Party has 22 seats, the left-leaning Scottish Liberal Democrats have four seats and one member of the Scottish Parliament does not have a partisan affiliation.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, management firm fined $5M for hiding $32 billion
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its affiliated investment manager, Ensign Peak Advisors, Inc., have been fined a collective $5 million by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for using shell companies to hide the size of their investment portfolio, which grew to about $32 billion in 2018.
"We allege that the LDS Church's investment manager, with the Church's knowledge, went to great lengths to avoid disclosing the Church's investments, depriving the Commission and the investing public of accurate market information," Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a statement Tuesday. "The requirement to file timely and accurate information on Forms 13F applies to all institutional investment managers, including non-profit and charitable organizations."
Ensign Peak Advisers Inc., a non-profit entity operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to manage investments, failed to file forms that would have disclosed the church's equity investments, the SEC stated.
The federal agency found that from 1997 through 2019, Ensign Peak failed to file Forms 13F, which investment managers are required to submit to show the value of certain securities they manage.
"The Church was concerned that disclosure of its portfolio, which by 2018 grew to approximately $32 billion, would lead to negative consequences," the regulatory body reports.
Ensign Peak created 13 shell companies around the U.S. to obscure the church's wealth and then filed Forms 13F in the names of those companies while maintaining control over the companies.
"The order finds that Ensign Peak maintained investment discretion over all relevant securities, that it controlled the shell companies, and that it directed nominee' business managers,' most of whom were employed by the Church, to sign the Commission filings," the SEC release said. "The shell LLCs' Forms 13F misstated, among other things, that the LLCs had sole investment and voting discretion over the securities. In reality, the SEC's order finds, Ensign Peak retained control over all investment and voting decisions."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, charged for causing the violations, agreed to pay a $1 million penalty, while Ensign Peak agreed to pay $4 million.
Responding to the SEC announcement Tuesday, church officials said they relied on advice from their lawyers to fulfill the reporting requirements and expressed regret for "mistakes made." They further noted that Forms 13F are now being properly filed for their investments.
"Since 2000, Ensign Peak received and relied upon legal counsel regarding how to comply with its reporting obligations while attempting to maintain the privacy of the portfolio. As a result, Ensign Peak established separate companies (LLCs) that each filed Forms 13F instead of a single aggregated filing," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement.
"Ensign Peak and the Church believe that all securities required to be reported were included in the filings by the separate companies. In June 2019, the SEC first expressed concern about Ensign Peak's reporting approach. Ensign Peak adjusted its approach and began filing a single aggregated report. Since that time, 13 quarterly reports have been filed in full accordance with SEC requirements," the church added.
"This settlement relates to how the forms were filed previously. Ensign Peak and the Church have cooperated with the government over a period of time as we sought resolution. We affirm our commitment to comply with the law, regret mistakes made, and now consider this matter closed."
The fines for the violations are expected to be paid out of profits made on the church's investments.
In 2019, a report on a whistleblower complaint to the Internal Revenue Service alleged that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stockpiled some $100 billion of tithes and donations meant for charity.
Officials at the organization pushed back, saying the "vast majority" of the funds are spent immediately for church business and related humanitarian work.
Church officials acknowledged that they have managed to save and invest the organization's finances well to build a "prudent reserve for the future."
"Over many years, a portion is methodically safeguarded through wise financial management and the building of a prudent reserve for the future. This is a sound doctrinal and financial principle taught by the Savior in the Parable of the Talents and lived by the Church and its members. All Church funds exist for no other reason than to support the Church's divinely appointed mission," the church said. "Claims being currently circulated are based on a narrow perspective and limited information. The Church complies with all applicable law governing our donations, investments, taxes, and reserves. We continue to welcome the opportunity to work with officials to address questions they may have."
Putin claims West trying to destroy the family institution by normalizing gay marriage, 'pedophilia'
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning over what he called religious attacks from Western culture Tuesday as he suspended a landmark nuclear arms treaty and threatened to move forward with nuclear tests.
Rebuking what he described as "information attacks" from the West, Putin accused the United States of seeking to turn the war in Ukraine into a global conflict in his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow.
In response to the West's actions, Putin said Russia will suspend its participation in the New START treaty, signed in 2010 during the Obama administration to limit the number of nuclear stockpiles of both the U.S. and Russia. Putin reiterated that Russia was suspending the treaty but not completely withdrawing from it.
"The Western elite make no secret of their goal, which is, I quote, 'Russia's strategic defeat,'" Putin claimed.
"However, they too realize it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield and are conducting increasingly aggressive information attacks against us targeting primarily the younger generation."
Following the speech, U.S. Secretary of State blasted Putin's announcement as "deeply unfortunate and irresponsible." NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Putin to reconsider, Reuters reported.
In his address, Putin leveled sharp criticism at Western values and said the U.S. and other Western nations were using "information attacks" to target youth, distort "historical truth," and "attack our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church and other traditional religious institutions in our country."
Putin appeared to suggest the advancement of same-sex marriage and other rights for LGBT-identified people are aimed at destroying the institution of the family and promoting pedophilia.
"Look at what they're doing with their own people," he said. "It is all about the destruction of the family, of cultural and national identity, perversion and abuse of children, including pedophilia, all of which are declared normal in their life."
As an illustration, Putin claimed priests are being forced to "bless same-sex marriages."
After asserting that "people can live however they want" and that Russia has "never intruded into people's private life," Putin cited the definition of marriage found in the scriptures.
"Look at the holy Scripture and the main books of other world religions. They say it all, including that family is the union of a man and a woman, but these sacred texts are now being questioned," Putin said.
Putin also cited a report stating the Anglican Church is considering the idea of a gender-neutral God, an apparent reference to a vote earlier this month by the Church of England to officially endorse plans for priests to offer prayers of blessing for same-sex couples.
"What can we say? God forgive them," he said. "They don't know what they're doing."
Although he claims priests are being forced to bless same-sex marriages, the Church of England's proposed plans to bless same-sex marriage grant priests autonomy not to bless same-sex marriages. The denomination's figurehead Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says he doesn't plan to bless same-sex couples.
Last month, an Orthodox denomination in Ukraine with historic ties to Moscow spoke out about the Ukrainian government's recent crackdown efforts targeting dozens of churches formerly affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, hundreds of buildings have been forcibly converted from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has long been affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church, to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Orthodox denomination based in Ukraine founded to be independent of Moscow.
Religious freedom advocates in the U.S. have warned of threats to religious liberty in the Eastern European nation amid the crackdowns on Orthodox churches.
"We claim Ukraine's battle against Russia is a fight for democracy, but sending the army into monasteries is not promoting liberty," Hedieh Mirahmadi, a columnist for The Christian Post, wrote in December.
"This latest move by our ally in Ukraine should be grounds for a loud outcry from Christians, regardless of where we stand on the political spectrum."
Has the lightning of revival struck in the United States?
Revival happened in Wales in 1904-1905, beginning with youth. Is it happening now in the United States?
In Wales, Evan Roberts, a coal miner barely out of his teens, had been struck by the lightning, and everyone with whom he came into contact was ignited, I will never forget the lightning in his voice, said Alun Morgan of Caerfarchell, an older man who was in contact with Evan in those days.
When the revival volt hit Evan Roberts, a church leader described Evan as acting like an article of radium a consuming fire which took away sleep, cleared the channels of tears and sped the wheel of prayer throughout this district.
W.T. Stead, a skeptical journalist, would write that it seemed like living energy had invaded Evans soul, burst all bonds, and overwhelmed him.[1]
It happened to Evan during a prayer service on September 29, 1904. During that session, Evan began to sense an irresistible influence coming upon him as he listened to Pastor Seth Lloyd pray for God to bend me!
In a short time, the humble youth, a gangly former coal miner and blacksmith would be regarded as the leader of the revival.
Meanwhile, the lightning of revival had struck a teen-aged girl in a Calvinist Chapel in West Wales. A historian described Florrie Evans as one of the highly significant figures in the revival. During a church service, the pastor asked people to answer the question: What does Jesus mean to you?
Florrie, a new believer, could not be silent. I love Jesus with all my heart, she declared. With that, conviction spread audibly and tangibly throughout the room.
From those beginnings, a powerful revival began to spread throughout the country. And it was much needed. Churches had gone cold, and attendance had declined. Immorality and drunkenness were corrupting the society, destroying families and wrenching the beauty and life from Wales, which had been known as a land of inspiring worship music sung by mighty choirs
In 1902, David Howell, a prominent pastor, had written an open letter sounding the alarm.
Wales was headed for a train wreck spiritually, theologically, morally, and culturally. The authority of the Bible and the foundational truths of Christianity were being judged in the court of reason and criticism, he lamented. Pulpits were spiritually vacuous and pews deserted.
As Howell described the crises of his time, Roger Cohen, in a New York Times article, wrote decades later about the unraveling of our present age: The fabric of society frayed. Democracy looked quaint and outmoded beside new authoritarianisms politicians, haunted by their incapacity, played on the fears of their populations. Dystopia was a vogue word the great rising nations of vast populations held the fate of the world in their hands but hardly seemed to care until it was too late and people could see the Great Unraveling for what it was and what it has wrought.
Fruit is proof of genuine revival. Thus, the most important question: What was wrought from the Welsh Revival? Consider this:
Within eight months more than 100,000-150,000 people had joined churches. David Matthews, a revival participant, summed it up: It is a fact that large numbers have been added to the churches. Not merely converted or restored, or helped on, but to become full members
Matthew continued: That which costly legislation, cumbersome philanthropic effort, or organizations have failed to do, here the Spirit of God is doing with ease and thoroughness surprising to behold. Drunkards give up drinking without pledge or pressure quarrels are healed without the courts Homes made happy Debts paid without legislation Streets purified without threat or fine The quest for holiness became the passion of the man in the street. Matthews also noted that every pub in Llanfair in Anglesey was closed.
F.B. Meyer wrote: Judging from the fruits. In the vast multitude who have been truly converted and have joined the churches, and the transformation wrought over wide districts in the country. It is impossible to doubt that there has been a deep and real work by the Spirit of God.
Vynrwy Morgan, a critic of Evan Roberts and the revival, later said that men who had been regarded as either too old or too wicked to be touched and saved, surrendered fully and absolutely, and have since become useful citizens and church members.
Again, the fruit is the real proof of revival, and the standard of measurement of the revival that may be forming now in America through the students could be a hint of what is to come. So, think now about all those students calling down lightning on college campuses in our day.
Is revival on the horizon? We need to join in spirit and soul at least their worship and intercession. Its either revival or unraveling.
And if there is an end to the campus rallies, hopefully, the students will continue calling down lightning, worship, and repentance on behalf of themselves, their institutions, and the nation.
He lived in the now: the legacy of Si Newhouse
Christies will present 16 masterpieces from the collection of S.I. Newhouse, the third in a series of historic sales from the legendary Conde Nast co-owner who built one of the greatest art collections of the 20th century
Si Newhouse Jr. was passionate and driven in his collecting. The late Conde Nast co-owner was willing to go to any length for a painting he truly loved. In 1988, he had his sights set on False Start (1959) by Jasper Johns, one of his favourite artists. He acquired the work for $17 million. The price was the highest paid at auction for an artwork by a living artist at the time, signalling Newhouses commitment to the highest-level of contemporary art. Thirty years later, the record would again be broken with the sale of another work from his own unrivalled collection. Just as Johnss use of language and abstraction in False Start broke boundaries in painting, Jeff Koonss iconic Rabbit ushered in a new era of contemporary sculpture upon its debut in 1986. Cast in an edition of three plus an artists proof, the stainless-steel balloon bunny holding a carrot melds Minimalist sheen with a seductive, inscrutable playfulness. By 2019, all but one in the edition resided in major museums. The Rabbit from Mr. Newhouses collection, the last in private hands, made a sensation that year, when it sold for $91,075,000 at Christies New York, making it the most expensive work by a living artist to be sold at auction. The record-breaking Koons was presented alongside 11 other major works from the Newhouse collection, including Paul Cezannes Bouilloire et fruits. The sale realised a grand total of $216,287,500.
Open a larger version of this image Francis Bacon (1909-1992), Self-Portrait, 1969. Oil on canvas. 14 x 12 in (35.6 x 30.5 cm). Estimate: $22,000,000-28,000,000. Offered in Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection on 11 May 2023 at Christies New York
On 11 May, Christies is proud to present 16 groundbreaking works in Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection, a standalone evening auction during the 20th and 21st Century sale week in New York. This will mark the exciting third chapter of the media magnates famed art collection at Christies, which began with the sale of Francis Bacons incomparable portrait Study of Henrietta Moraes Laughing in 2018. Shaping the culture with fearless instincts As the long-time chairman of the media empire that included The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest and many other leading publications, Mr. Newhouse was a hugely influential figure in American cultural life. Guided by his renowned taste, he became one of the greatest art collectors of the 20th century. His collection of modern and contemporary masterworks remains, as the curator Mark Rosenthal told Christies in 2019, one of the most sought-after groupings of art in private hands. He was mythical, says Tobias Meyer, advisor to the Newhouse family. He had the reputation of being very determined, and he inspired others to be determined in their collecting as well. He showed them how to be passionate, which also made many people want to own his paintings.
Open a larger version of this image Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), Orestes, 1947. Oil, enamel and paper collage on paper mounted on board. 24 x 36 in (61.3 x 91.8 cm). Estimate on request. Offered in Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection on 11 May 2023 at Christies New York
Mr. Newhouse became the publisher of Vogue in 1964 after his father purchased Conde Nast publications in 1959. By 1975, he was chairman of the media conglomerate. In the 60s, he first became interested in colour field painting via Alexander Lieberman, then Editorial Director of Conde Nast, who introduced him to Barnett Newman. Through his friendship with the celebrated Abstract Expressionist painter, Mr. Newhouse learned about art at its source, engaging directly with the practitioners who were pushing the form forward. He filled his duplex penthouse on East 73rd Street with works by Newman, as well as Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland and Mark Rothko, hanging massive canvases cheek-by-jowl in stunning arrays. Driven by intellectual curiosity Mr. Newhouse loved the hunt, and he developed a knack for identifying pivotal works that uniquely reveal an artist at the height of their powers. He would make up his mind incredibly quickly, says Meyer. If he made the decision to buy something, nobody outbid him. In the 1990s after living in a townhouse with ample room for large-scale works of art since 1969, Mr. Newhouse and his wife, Victoria, moved to the apartment on Beekman Place, which led to the sale of some of his largest pieces, which he replaced with more intimate works by the same artists. At this time, Mr. Newhouse also expanded into collecting the earlier masters of modernism, including Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh.
I think Sis biggest joy was to stay current. As a publisher, its essential to be alert, to live in the present and not dwell in the past. And that informed his collecting, which was always evolving and looking forward Tobias Meyer
In the apartment Jeff Koonss Rabbit stood facing Pablo Picassos Pregnant Woman (1950). The two sculptures share a similar scale and burgeoning, rounded forms, forging an unexpected connection between the master of modernism and that of Post-Pop. Such juxtapositions were natural to Mr. Newhouse, who displayed his collection in striking configurations that brought layered art historical through-lines into relief. All layers of his collecting could co-exist, with individual works competing for interest, or challenging for the approbation of holding up. Si knew that the act of installation was imbued with the possibility of reinvigoration and discovery, Mark Rosenthal reflects.
Open a larger version of this image Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), Rouen Cathedral, Set IV, 1969. Triptych oil and Magna on canvas. Each: 63 x 42 in (160 x 106.7 cm). Estimate: $18,000,000-25,000,000. Offered in Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection on 11 May 2023 at Christies New York
For example, Roy Lichtensteins Rouen Cathedral, Set IV (1969) hung in the sightline of Cezannes Bouilloire et fruits, reifying the bridge between Impressionism and Pop art. Works that defined their artists Beyond his record-setting acquisition of False Start in 1988, Mr. Newhouse was an enthusiastic collector of other works by Jasper Johns, three exquisite examples of which will be offered in May. Among them, the seminal 1971 painting Decoy combines reproductions of Johnss early bronzes with the gestural brushwork of his Maps series and his signature stencilled lettering in one of the most complex paintings of the artists long career. Picassos painting of Lee Miller L'Arlesienne (Lee Miller) from 1937 represents the most intricate portrait he painted of the American photographer. The canvas depicts Miller in Arlesienne costume a tribute to Van Gogh rendered in colourful, striated patterns. Miller was discovered as a model by Conde Nast himself, who put her on the cover of Vogue in 1927.
Open a larger version of this image Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), L'Arlesienne (Lee Miller), 1937. Oil and Ripolin on canvas. 28 x 23 in (72.7 x 59.8 cm). Estimate: $20,000,000-30,000,000. Offered in Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection on 11 May 2023 at Christies New York
Another painting from the collection that showcases Mr. Newhouses singular taste is a daring 1940s black-and-white painting by Willem de Kooning. Exhibited in de Koonings first solo exhibition, Orestes (1947) is arguably one of the most important early paintings by the artist to remain in private hands. It finds de Kooning abandoning the last vestiges of figuration and embracing abstraction, coating the canvas with bold forms in painterly swaths of black. In addition to his love of AbEx, Mr. Newhouse had much affection for contemporary British figurative painting, especially the works of Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. This Mays auction will offer a Chardin-inspired scene by Freud, as well as an exquisite self-portrait by Bacon. Painted in 1969 using the intimate format that became a signature of the artist, the canvas shows an unusually contented Bacon, rendered with distinct tenderness and soft strokes. In Newhouses Beekman Place apartment, the Bacon self-portrait hung together with Study of Henrietta Moraes Laughing, overlooking the East River.
Open a larger version of this image Lucian Freud (1922-2011), After Chardin (Large), 1999. Oil on canvas with attached wooden panels. 20 x 24 in (52.4 x 61.3 cm). Estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000. Offered in Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection on 11 May 2023 at Christies New York
Whether Freuds homage to Chardin or Picassos to Van Gogh, Mr. Newhouse was drawn to works embedded with rich art historical lineages. Rouen Cathedral, Set IV is no exception. The epic three-part painting finds Roy Lichtenstein interrogating Monets famous series, translating Impressionism into comic Ben-Day dots in one of the most perceptive compositions of his career. A legacy of unmatched taste This latest selection from the Newhouse collection also includes career-defining works by Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Arshile Gorky, Brice Marden, Lee Bontecou and George Condo. Works of Newhouse pedigree bear the provenance of an exceptional tastemaker, one who, much like the artists he knew and loved, was a maverick with an eye toward the vanguard of artistic expression. I think Sis biggest joy was to stay current, says Meyer. As a publisher, its essential to be alert, to live in the present and not dwell in the past. And that informed his collecting, which was always evolving and looking forward. Highlights from Masterpieces from the S.I. Newhouse Collection will embark on a global tour, opening at Christies London in February.
Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi on Tuesday directed GHMC officials to conduct an inquiry into the killing of four-year-old Pradeep by stray dogs (Twitter/@GadwalvijayaTRS)
Hyderabad: Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi on Tuesday directed GHMC officials to conduct an inquiry into the killing of four-year-old Pradeep by stray dogs in Amberpet.
According to her, "when people quit feeding them after routinely feeding them, dogs tend to behave that way." When questioned about the aggressive behaviour of street dogs throughout the summer, she responded that she understood "such behaviour because she's a dog lover herself and has seen dogs at a park she walks, behave that way."
Talasani Srinivas Yadav, minister for animal husbandry, expressed his grief over the incident and said that a special meeting will be called on February 23 to discuss strategies to solve the stray dogs and monkeys menace in the city.
The incident has sparked debate among people on the problem of stray dogs. Jaya Ramanamma, a tailor and a resident of Amberpet, said that this is what happens when wealthy people in the area want to feed dogs because they like them but do not want to raise them in their homes, allowing them to reproduce, grow in number, and be a danger to the people.
The Mayor claimed that four lakh dogs out of a total of 5.7 lakh present in the city were sterilised through birth control procedures.
"With five animal care facilities, GHMC offers emergency rabies vaccination and sterilisation services. GHMC sterilised 50,091 dogs in 202021, 73,601 dogs in 202122, and 40,155 dogs in 202223," she noted. Around 33 dogs have been caught and sent to the GHMC Animal Care Centre in Mahadevapura for observation and sterilisation.
"GHMC is conducting sterilisation and emergency rabies vaccination through five animal care centres. Veterinary officials informed us that 50,091 dogs were sterilised by GHMC in 2020-21, 73,601 in 2021-22 and 40,155 in 2022-23," she said. The Mayor reported that 30 teams had been working in 30 circles under the GHMC limits to capture the stray dogs.
The Mayor claimed that each GHMC circle has been given anti-rabies shots and animal birth control to make sure that such situations do not recur. "Every time a complaint regarding street dogs is made to us, we respond appropriately. We have also assigned vehicles with two officers to check the same. Necessary steps are being taken to arrest these issues in the summer," she said. She emphasised the importance of adopting street dogs rather than purchasing "nice-looking" dogs.
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Sugarcane Growers' Council CEO Vimal Dutt, Fiji's sugar industry minister Charan Jeath Singh, Fiji Sugar Corporation CEO Bhan Pratap Singh and Iiai, Second Secretary Fiji High Commission, New Delhi
Hyderabad: In history, there would, perhaps, be few events that change the course of nations and alter peoples behaviour. The Covid pandemic, unmistakably, falls under this classification. It forced several countries to reinvent themselves to emerge better. Fiji, an archipelago of 300 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, is one of many countries that has taken lessons from the pandemic and tries to devise an economic course correction to give better lives to its people.
Traditionally, the sugar industry was the top foreign exchange earner for Fiji. However, due to decline in the sugar industry caused by archaic machinery and shortage of labour, the tourism sector became the number one industry. But when the Covid pandemic struck the world, the earnings from tourism came to nil. But the sugar industry continued to be resilient. So we learnt our lesson from Covid and decided to rejuvenate or bring back the sugar industry to the normal level, said Fijis sugar industry minister Charan Jeath Singh in an interview with Deccan Chronicle.
"The difference between tourism and sugar is this: Tourism will create only employment. The money earned by hoteliers will be taken back overseas. But in the sugar industry, the money comes all into Fiji. It goes to labourer, cane cutter, farmer, lorry driver, and so forth up to the miller," said the Fiji minister, who is in Hyderabad to the 31st Congress of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists (ISSCT).
He said the ISSCT is an international conference, which is attended by people from across the world have come and would allow them to understand how to modernize Fijis sugar industry. Though the South Pacific nation had four sugar mills, one got damaged by a cyclone, leaving it with three operational sugar plants, which are over 100 years old. "The idea is to come here to this conference and meet the relevant stakeholders and suppliers of machines and equipment that can perhaps rebuild the fourth mill, which the government promised rebuild during the recent elections, the minister said.
The minister, however, said Fiji wants to devise the most modern technology for the new plant and wants to opt for vertical integration of sugar production by setting up cogeneration plant to produce power and distillery to produce ethanol. "So our whole idea is if we are going to set up this new plant, it should have all these three."
The minister, who visited sugarcane farms and sugar mills in Telangana, said his country to understand best practices followed by sugar cane farmers in India and improve the productivity in his country. "In Fiji, the production of cane is around 47 tonnes per hectare. But in the normal practice, we should be around 85 tonnes hectare.,, In good times, we used to crush 4.3 million tonnes of cane. But due to variety of issues, the production dropped to 3.2 million tonnes. Thereafter, it fell down 1.3 million tonnes. However in the last two years, we managed to increase the production to 1.6 million tonnes."
As the sugar industry supports 200,000 people directly or indirectly in a country of 900,000, the minister said the revival of the sugar industry assumes critical importance.
"Sugarcane growers council and sugar mills body are working hard to promote and get more farmers back in farm. Our target is to increase the production by 200,000 tonnes every year until we achieve our target of three million tonnes. But the biggest hurdle is the shortage of labour. As farmers children get educated, they are moving into white collar jobs. So they dont want work on farms. Thats why, we want to look at the way India is able to continue its large scale production," the minister said.
The minister also said that Fiji could be open to hiring labour from other countries, including India, or leasing land in Fiji for sugar cane farming to address the shortage of workers in his country. "We also looking at the possibilities of bring people from overseas, probably India, to work in Fiji Even for that matter, if they want to come and lease the land in Fiji for planting sugarcane, it could also be an option. If there are genuine people who want to come and lease the land, I am sure why not," he said.
When asked about the issues discussed during his recent meeting Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, the Fiji minister said his country
sought Indian assistance in reviving its aging railway line, which is used mostly for transporting sugarcane from farms, medical scholarships, medical assistance and education.
Fiji, he said, is also looking for the Indian assistance for building the new modern sugar mill and expects write off of an existing loan extended to Fiji through EXIM Bank about 20 years back. "Some 20 years back, we had received $50 million from Indian government through the Exim Bank of India. Unfortunately, that money was supposed to be used to buy machinery from the Indian suppliers. But that loan was not properly used because of middlemen, who go us equipment that had second grade materials."
In moving to the Middle East, Pant found the lack of a vibrant startup and partner ecosystem difficult. PoCs take a lot of time, he says. Skill sets needed are not readily available or are available at high price points, all of which prevents us from getting results fast.
As a foreigner, building trust with the IT team is extremely important, an aspect that proved to be the most important and challenging issue for David Berry, CIO of apparel and accessories manufacturer Boardriders, when he shifted from Haagen-Dazs in the US to become VP of IT at Grand Metropolitan Foods Europe in France.
How do you get people to trust you that youre not just going to impose an American view on things and [instead] respect the international side of things. If you cant get over that you cant settle down because youre only as good as your team, he says.
Building trust becomes even more difficult in countries whose cultures differ widely from your own. For instance, as compared to the Dutch, Indians are less direct, more polite, and more respectful of position and authority, Ventre says.
As a leader you want to be challenged, you want to be told that your idea is stupid and that there is a better way to do it but there is very little dissent in India. In such a situation, it takes a lot of time to build trust, he says.
Dealing with business stakeholders
Business expectations of IT can also differ from country to country. For example, according to Ventre, expectations in Europe focus on the how, whereas in India they concentrate on the what.
He felt that taking the time to improve the maturity of the IT function and setting it up for future success was less valued in India than delivering the next project, regardless of how the project was delivered.
Differing corporate structures can also pose challenges, especially when it comes to issues of collaboration versus hierarchy.
Joe Locandro, CIO, Fletcher Building Joe Locandro / Fletcher Building
It is very challenging to work in corporate Australia and New Zealand where everybody wants to have a say in technology. Some business units want to share some solutions while others want to build their own fiefdoms and have shadow IT, Locandro says. The poor CIO gets pulled from pillar to post because every business unit has a different philosophy. There is a necessary overcomplication of collaboration.
The Middle East and Asia, however, have more of a hierarchical setup, Locandro says, with implicit trust in specialists, who are allowed to get on with their job, which results in speed to market.
The downside is that if you try to do that in Australia or New Zealand, you wouldnt get business buy-in and therefore you wouldnt achieve your objectives. Similarly, if you tried to use the Australian approach in Asia or the Middle East, youd never get anything done, says Locandro, who returned to Australia from Dubai in 2018 and has since taken the CIO role at Fletcher Building in Auckland, New Zealand.
As for Ventres experience, business leaders in India expect their CIOs to have an in-depth knowledge of technology and a hands-on approach to it, he says.
I remember being in meetings and being asked very detailed technical questions and expected to have the answer, he says. In Europe, if I was going into a meeting with the board about cybersecurity, I would have my CISO by my side, but in India you find that doesnt happen as much. The CIO is expected to have the answer and if he/she doesnt then the fear is that it might reflect on his/her ability.
Because of this, Ventre says, European CIOs have been able to evolve their careers into business leaders first and IT leaders second. I am not the expert in cyber, architecture, cloud, project delivery, or data, nor should I be. I have an amazing team of domain experts around me for that. My job is to develop the technology strategy that underpins the business strategy, and to orchestrate my people to achieve our goals and the right outcomes for the business, he says.
Culture clashes
Aligning with the new culture might not be easy or to everyones liking but IT leaders will have to go the extra mile to do so if they seek success.
For example, Europe offers lots of opportunities and people can carve out careers and climb the professional ladder quickly, Ventre says, but India, with its large population, is far more competitive. To get ahead people feel compelled to work harder than the next, often putting work before family, he observed.
Richard Ventre, Group CIO, SHV Holdings, with his family at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India Richard Ventre
I had a real challenge to convince my team that I did not want to see them in the office past 6:30pm. It was like a battle of the wills to see who the last person in the office could be. As the working week ended on a Saturday at 2pm, I lost the Friday feeling. Ventre says of his time in India.
In some countries, an expat IT leaders communication skills can be put to the test, as top management may seek advice not from people of position but from those they trust.
In Australia I can directly tell someone Im not happy about something. However, in Hong Kong and in the Middle East, you sometimes need to convey messages to your suppliers or to other departments through a trusted third party, says Locandro.
The Iron Rice Bowl, a Chinese term for employment security, is yet another cultural challenge, typical of Asian countries, that an expat CIO will have to contend with, Locandro says, adding that most people prefer to have a full-time job in these countries, which is opposite to Australia and New Zealand where lots of people, because of tax and other choices, want to contract and consult. For Locandro this was a major hinderance in infusing fresh talent into CLP as the companys churn rates was as low as 5%.
Over time, Locandro addressed this issue by shifting CLP from being Hong Kong-centric to Asia Pacific-centric, expanding into India, Cambodia, and Thailand, as well as launching projects offshore. Some people self-selected out as they couldnt handle the change. For those who stayed back, I did a lot of skill development, he says. I started doing such a reorganization exercise every two years, and those who didnt want to change generally left. Coupled with people retiring, the churn rate increased to 8 to 10%.
Changing jobs regularly can also be considered suspicious in certain cultures, something that Ferris encountered when he moved to Europe. Its typical in New Zealand to move to a new role every three years but in Europe changing jobs frequently is viewed with suspicion. It was a real challenge for me early on because it was seen that there must be something wrong with me where I couldnt hold down a job. I had never considered my CV from that perspective and had to explain to people that it was very, very normal where I came from, he says.
Building business value abroad
To address the myriad challenges of leading IT abroad, IT leaders must leverage their communication, collaboration, and relationship-building skills.
One key area where an expat IT leaders soft skills will be tested is in establishing an effective relationship with business stakeholders. In this aspect, Pants experience of working with very demanding stakeholders in professionally managed companies as well as family-owned businesses in India was very helpful, he says.
Bhupendra Pant, CIO, OTE Group, in Muscat, Oman Bhupendra Pant
As IT leaders, you should initiate a few things that add value from the managements perspective. While they are expected to keep the lights on and secure the crown jewels, they should quickly understand what is being appreciated and what isnt. For this, CIOs must constantly take feedback from the stakeholders by setting up good communication between business and IT, he says.
To accelerate this at OTE Group, Pant made the CIOs office and IT department more accessible across the companys grades and locations. For example, when his team was working on its OTE Connect mobile app for customer service, the IT team was transferred to the vehicle service location where it not only worked closely with the business but also interacted with external customers.
Initially there were teething troubles but there was no argument or justification on any adverse feedback, and we would immediately rectify it. We would also not shy away from asking what we needed from the business. This also helped in improving the participation from business, Pant says, adding that the approach of proactively seeking feedback was much appreciated.
To successfully bring business on the same page as IT, Locandro organized a yearly innovation day during his stint with CLP. On this day, business leaders were invited to talk about the successes of their IT projects and how it helped them. He also set up an innovation center and organized walk-throughs for business units.
Ferris made sure he spoke short, crisp sentences with very clear meaning with his bosses who werent native English speakers, even though they could be incredibly fluent in the language. People get lost in long sentences, and when senior leaders get lost they dont admit it; they just say no. Give them something they care about, but make sure they could understand it, he says.
To deliver value and break down silos between business and IT, Ferris leveraged a distributed model embedding squads into other business units rather than grabbing all the authority himself. I found if I held the budget and the reporting line, giving away operational control was a powerful tool to build trust. Also, my embedded resources could learn about a business unit far better than I ever could from a conversation. They are in team meetings, hearing the vibe and seeing the opportunity. This approach helped us in breaking down silos delivering value in a big way, he says.
Staying on the right side of risk and compliance are critical for any technology decision maker, but for foreign IT leaders the need for help may be more pronounced. For Berry, it meant working closely with the human resources and internal audit team. Dealing with HR is extremely important because they know the law, they know the regulations in the country. Working with internal audit is important from a financial point of view. I stay close to them to make sure what I do follows whatever the regulations are, he says.
Making connections
Not recognizing subtle cultural differences can lead to a CIO treading on toes without knowing it. For a better understanding of the local culture, Locandro studied Chinese history and took Mandarin classes when he was in Hong Kong. Similarly, he learned about Muslim culture when he went to Dubai.
In Spain everyone goes out to lunch together. If you are eating alone at your desk, which is very normal in many cultures, it is considered very rude and youre really thumbing your nose at the team when you do it, says Ferris, who also recommends CIOs to use websites such as Hofstede Insights to compare countries on key dimensions before making the switch.
Brian Ferris, chief data, analytics, and technology officer, Loyalty NZ, at Nike headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands Brian Ferris
When in India, Ventre ended his team meetings with theek hai, chalo (its fine, lets go), a small indication that he understood some Hindi and was trying. I would never have been able to hold meetings in Hindi, Gujarati, or Dutch but I understood some words/phrases and it is important to show a willingness to learn, he says. The reality is that in most global organizations the business language is English, but that does not mean you should be ignorant to the fact that you are working in a different country with a different language.
Another area where making an effort is vital and can pay off is in developing a professional network.
Locandro, for example, had to map out a network of trusted third parties to get his messages across to business and technology stakeholders within the company and outside. The trusted people needed to reach out to stakeholders in IT were mostly inside the organization. In case of suppliers, they would be people in business or in chambers of commerce and for government, I had to go through other government departments, he says, adding that it took him two years to create a social-professional network to break into the inner circles and get accepted.
Eventually, I ended up being one of the thought leaders and got invited to a lot of Chinese events in mainland China, in Hong Kong and government and advisory, he says.
While at Heineken in Amsterdam, Ferris formed a peer network to get together away from everyone else and share learnings and problems. Under this non-competitive peer relationship initiative, he set up a technology architecture group comprising IT leaders from big companies such as Shell and Phillips, which proved to be valuable for everyone.
Embrace the challenge
The decision to go international brings a steep learning curve for IT leaders, but the transition to a new geography has its rewards.
There is enrichment of thought, diversity, and insights. CEOs look for resilience, adaptability, and clarity in thinking. The experience you gain offshore gives you those dimensions, and when you speak in the job interviews, you can draw from a whole range of experiences, says Locandro, who credits his entry back into New Zealand to his ability to apply global best practices over other candidates.
Ferris says his international exposure has made him aware that technology wont always come out of the US Silicon Valley. Eindhoven and Hilversum are hotbeds of innovation. Culturally, I think its really helped me in understanding and building my teams better. I have more empathy and respect for people working and operating in another language, he says.
And the peer networks built while abroad are invaluable. As Berry says, I still have contacts in virtually every country Ive worked in. When I have any business or technology issue, I can call somebody up in any country and seek a solution. This is the power of networking and collaboration.
Wilkes-Barre, PA (18701)
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Mostly cloudy with occasional light rain...mainly this evening. Areas of patchy fog developing. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%..
Tonight
Mostly cloudy with occasional light rain...mainly this evening. Areas of patchy fog developing. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
China will remain defender of world peace: foreign minister
Xinhua) 08:48, February 22, 2023
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence, or engage in arms race, but remain a defender of world peace, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday.
Qin made the remarks when delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Lanting Forum on the Global Security Initiative: China's Proposal for Solving Security Challenges, during which China officially released "The Global Security Initiative Concept Paper."
The Global Security Initiative (GSI) upholds the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, pursues the long-term objective of building a security community and advocates a new path to security featuring dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum, Qin said.
The GSI embodies the core tenets in the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, and has been warmly received by the international community upon its introduction. Over 80 countries and regional organizations have expressed their appreciation and support, Qin said.
"The Global Security Initiative Concept Paper" expounds the core ideas and principles of the GSI, identifies the priorities, platforms and mechanisms of cooperation and demonstrates China's sense of responsibility for safeguarding world peace and firm resolve to defend global security, Qin said.
He added that the 20 priorities of cooperation laid out in the concept paper could be summarized as upholding the UN's central role in security governance, promoting coordination and sound interactions among major countries, facilitating peaceful settlement of hotspot issues through dialogue, tackling traditional and non-traditional security challenges, and strengthening the system and capacity for global security governance.
"The GSI is rooted in the fine traditional Chinese culture that values peace above everything else, and is inspired by China's independent foreign policy of peace and its practices," he added.
"China has never started a conflict or war, or taken a single inch of foreign land. To this day, China remains the only country that has put the commitment to peaceful development in its Constitution," Qin said, stressing that no matter how much it develops, China will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence, or engage in arms race, but remain a defender of world peace.
Qin added that security is a right for all countries. "It is not a prerogative of some, still less should it be decided by any individual country. The GSI intends to serve the interests of all and protect tranquility for all. Its advances need the unity and cooperation of the international community."
On the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis, Qin said China will continue to promote peace talks, contribute its ideas for a political settlement of the crisis, and join the international community to promote dialogue and consultation, address the concerns of all parties and seek common security.
"In the meantime, we urge certain countries to immediately stop fueling the fire, stop shifting blame to China, and stop touting 'Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow,'" he said.
(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has launched his 2024 presidential bid (Twitter/ @VivekGRamaswamy)
Washington: Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has launched his 2024 presidential bid with a promise to put merit back and end dependence on China, becoming the second community member to enter the Republican Party's presidential primary after Nikki Haley.
Ramaswamy, 37, whose parents migrated to the United States from Kerala and worked at a General Electric plant in Ohio, announced his presidential bid during a live interview on Fox News's prime time show of Tucker Carlson, a conservative political commentator.
He is the second Indian-American to enter the Republican presidential primary.
Earlier this month, two-term former governor of South Carolina and former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Haley announced her presidential campaign. She announced that she will contest against her former boss and ex-US President Donald Trump for the Republican Party's nomination.
We are in the middle of this national identity crisis where we have celebrated our differences for so long that we forgot all the ways we are really just the same as Americans bound by a common set of ideals that set this nation into motion 250 years ago," Ramaswamy said.
He calls wokeism a national threat.
Wokeism is the promotion of liberal progressive ideology and policy as an expression of sensitivity to systemic injustices and prejudices.
"That's why I am proud to say tonight that I am running for United States president to revive those ideals in this country," he announced.
"I think we need to put merit' back into America' in every spirit of our lives," he said, adding that he will end affirmative action in "every sphere of American life."
A second-generation Indian-American, Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and led the largest biotech IPOs of 2015 and 2016, eventually culminating in successful clinical trials in multiple disease areas that led to FDA-approved products, according to his bio.
He has founded other successful healthcare and technology companies, and in 2022, he launched Strive Asset Management, a new firm focused on restoring the voices of everyday citizens in the American economy by leading companies to focus on excellence over politics.
I'm all for putting America first, but in order to put America first, we have to first rediscover what America is. And to me, those are these basic rules of the road that set this nation into motion from meritocracy to free speech, to self-governance over aristocracy.
"The people who we elect actually make them run the government rather than this cancerous federal bureaucracy. That's gonna be the heart of my message, Ramaswamy told Fox News.
He said the US faces external threats like the rise of China.
It "has got to be our top foreign policy threat that we've gotta respond to, not pointless wars somewhere else."
"That's gonna require some sacrifice. It's gonna require a declaration of independence from China and complete decoupling. And that's not gonna be easy. It's gonna require some inconvenience, he said.
Foreign policy is all about prioritisation, Ramaswamy said.
We gotta wake up to the fact that China is violating our sovereignty and the reason, if that had been a Russian spy balloon, we'd have shot it down instantly and ratcheted up sanctions. Why didn't we do that for China? he asked.
The answer's simple. We depend on them for our modern way of life. This economic co-dependent relationship has to end, he said.
In a statement Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison said as Ramaswamy used Tucker Carlson's show to announce his campaign for president, one thing is clear: The race for the Make America Great Again (MAGA) base is getting messier and more crowded by the day.
Over the next few months, Republicans are guaranteed to take exceedingly extreme positions on everything from banning abortion to cutting Social Security and Medicare and we look forward to continuing to ensure every American knows just how extreme the MAGA agenda is, Harrison said.
Before entering the presidential ballot, Ramaswamy and Haley have to win the Republican Party's presidential primary which will start in January next year. The next US presidential election is scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024.
Ramaswamy is the fourth Indian-American to run for the White House.
Bobby Jindal ran in 2016 and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020. PTI LKJ AKJ NSA 02221301 NNNN
Reminder: Anunt pentru selectarea participantilor in cadrul unui program de instruire in ceea ce priveste gandirea critica, alfabetizarea media, analiza, rezistenta la dezinformare si reflectarea informatiilor de interes public intr-un mod impartial
The chief executive of the British Red Cross, Mike Adamson, has announced his decision to step down after eight years in post.
Adamson first joined the charity as a regional director in the 1990s. After a 10-year stint there, he went to work for the NHS as director of commissioning and primary care.
He then spent five years as managing director for services at the national hearing loss charity Royal National Institute for Deaf People.
Adamson returned to the British Red Cross in 2010, spending five years as managing director of operations before taking the helm of the charity in 2014.
The British Red Cross said Adamson will remain in post until it has recruited a new CEO in late 2023.
Liz Padmore, chair of the British Red Cross said: I want to thank Mike for his service to the British Red Cross and the tremendous contribution he has made, and will continue to make this year, as our CEO. Mike has led the organisation courageously at a time when the world has faced extraordinary and complex crises. Under his leadership we helped those most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, grew our work helping refugees, strengthened our partnerships with the NHS and focused our work in emergencies, particularly around the use of cash assistance.
Mike has overseen the charity through a period of great change, transforming our work in the UK and internationally. He has worked tirelessly to uphold the fundamental principles of the Red Cross as we all strive for a world where everyone gets the help they need in a crisis.
Commenting on his departure, Adamson said: The British Red Cross has been helping people in crisis for more than 150 years and it has been an honour to play my part in stewarding it through turbulent times. I am incredibly proud of everything that our dedicated staff and volunteers have achieved, helping those most in need in the UK and internationally, but after twelve years it is the right time for me to move on.
My passion for the work of the Red Cross in a profoundly changing world is, and will remain, undiminished. I will leave behind an incredibly effective, dynamic and compassionate organisation that is committed to the power of kindness. Until then, I am looking forward to using my remaining time at the British Red Cross to continue to make a real difference for those in crisis, no matter where they are.
Adamson will also stand down from his role as co-chair of the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership, a coalition of local and national organisations established in 2017 to help deliver a more coordinated response to emergencies.
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This is part of a series on platforms and the press published jointly by CJR and the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy.
In recent years, citizens have become more integrated into the digital world as a result of the explosion of social media news platforms and portable communication gadgets.
The commonly used term citizen journalism implies community reporting of news. In contrast, citizen digitalization, which we introduce now, focuses more on participation on digital platforms for any outcome, including but not limited to journalism, e-commerce, and social mobilization.
The African states uneasiness
In essence, efforts to curtail online platforms is a direct assault on citizen digitalization and, by extension, freedom of expression. This does not come as a surprise in Africa, though, where governments are used to monopolizing citizen interactions through broadcasting services.
The advent of online platforms has countered this abuse by opening up or liberalizing communication channels. These repressive regimes are still feeling the effects of the virtual revolution, and their attempts to maintain their iron grip on information have not been successful.
This curtailment is often accomplished through restrictive laws, policies, and lockdowns that sometimes lead to a complete shutdown of the internet in some countries.
Uganda is one example. It has come up with laws that tax the use of social media platforms. When that would not work, another law, the Computer Misuse Bill, was passed in September 2022 to provide heavy penalties for misuse of social media.
Zimbabwe reportedly shut down the internet in 2019. The countrys leading ISP, ECONET, confirmed at the time that the shutdown of social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter resulted from a government order that came in response to protests that had turned fatal.
Botswana watered down a surveillance law in February 2022 after a public outcry.
Economic impact
When freedom of expression is curtained, these countries not only are shut out from the world, but are also unable to communicate within themselves. While the target may be restricting expression, the fallout hits the common hawker who cant sell their data bundles or airtime, as well as the buyer whose bundles would run out without use.
However, information has become so basic that even the high charges do not scare away consumers. The Botswana Gazette reported in 2020 that Botswana was among the top fourteen most expensive in data charges as per a survey conducted by Cable.co.uk, something that the regulator, the Botswana Communication Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), supported by the ISPs, refuted.
Personal data protection
Despite these laws that are supposed to protect personal data, the proliferation of digital platforms has made the monitoring process cumbersome. While official surveillance by the state can be easily advocated against, it is a challenge to fight the potential abuse of data by other data handlers, such as enterprises. Users are not immediately clear on what accepting cookies means, and even the privacy notices they are supposed to accept and agree to are too detailed for an average person to understand. As a result, users find themselves inadvertently accepting unsolicited membership to unknown platforms.
Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today
Alvin Ntibinyane is an investigative reporter from Botswana and currently a journalism professor at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario.
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Bailey Stover is a multimedia journalist with The Missourian. She is pursuing a double major in Journalism and Spanish and a double minor in Public Health and Sociology at the University of Missouri. She can be reached by email at bascnh@mail.missouri.edu.
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Clayton Vickers is a graduate student at the University of Missouri Journalism School, and through his education there he aspires to become a public-affairs journalist of great renown.
Clayton is working in Jefferson City to cover the ongoings of the state legislature and the stories within the community that matter to Missourians. He hopes to utilize his political science background to step into government-accountability reporting that places power into the hands of constituents (at any scale).
Clayton will graduate with his master's degree in Spring of 2024 after completing an internship with a reputable publication.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
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.
India, Singapore link digital payments for cross-border deals
In what is a first-of-its-kind collaboration with another country, India and Singapore yesterday linked their respective online payments systems - Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore - for seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries.
This collaboration will also help Indian expats in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students through instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@SGinIndia
The virtual launch function was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.
The linkage of these two payment systems of both countries would enable residents of both countries to the faster and more cost-efficient transfer of cross-border remittances. People in both the countries will be able to send money real-time via QR-code based or simply by entering mobile numbers linked to the bank account.
"The linking of fintech services between India and Singapore will take the technology to a new level," PM Modi said at the launch event.
"It will provide low-cost real-time platform for remittance transfers to people in both countries," PM Modi said.
Shaktikanta Das, governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country's apex financial authority, also presided over the launch event.
India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems for fintech innovation and the PM Modi-led government has been instrumental in driving the globalisation of India's digital payment infrastructure.
A key emphasis of PM Modi has been on ensuring that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India only, but other countries, too, benefit from it.
This collaboration will also help Indian expats in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students through instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa.
Separately, taking into account the popularity of the UPI payment system, the Reserve Bank of India proposed to permit all inbound travellers to India to use UPI for their merchant payments while they are in the country.
UPI payments system has become hugely popular for retail digital payments in India, and its adoption is increasing at a rapid pace.
On February 8, the RBI governor made the announcement while deliberating upon the outcome of the three-day monetary policy committee meeting.
To begin with, the facility will be extended to travellers from G-20 countries arriving at "select international airports".
Tulsa police arrested an Oklahoma couple who starved their daughter with a missing son the authorities believe is already dead. They found the girl in 'skin and bones' condition but did not find a trace of the boy when they were taken in.
Oklahoma Couple Accused of Serious Child Abuse
Suspects Camille Lewis and John Miles were arrested after the kids' grandmother reported them and later were charged with child abuse and neglect of the welfare of a child. The grandmother called the police, worried something bad would happen to them, reported Meaww.
Records show the grandmother called the cops last January 17 to report the stepfather and mother for grave acts. She added that no sign of the boy was seen for a few years, saying foul play is possible. She told the cops the guardians had abused the girl for a long time, noted the Sun.
The 13-year-old girl was taken from the guardians and given to the grandmother telling the police they had starved the child badly. Camille Lewis disclosed to her mom that the 11-year-old boy died when she dropped the girl at the grandmother's home. Attention is focused on the boy's disappearance, and detectives consider it murder.
Daughter Severely Starved; Son Missing for Years
Child Crisis Detectives asked the surviving girl if the boy was murdered, then learned the boy was dead. She added that her parents' abuses ended when she was taken from them and lived with the grandmother in November 2020, citing Fox19.
Read Also: Queens Dad Arrested for Death of 3-Year-Old Son
The father was a monster who abused the girl by giving her food for sexual favors. Authorities found out that her mom found the boy dead on March 2021.
Police dealing with the case revealed that both children were tortured and beaten with objects by the adults. The children were kept in closets for a long time and told to urinate and poop in cups. The surviving girl said they were told to exercise outdoors in the cold and forced to sleep inside an igloo doghouse.
Sources say the boy died from a seizure, but the mom never got medical help because of getting suspected by hospital personnel. Information given by the daughter indicated the stepdad and a cousin buried the body in the park. Later got and burned the corpse to ashes, then washed it down the drain.
The mom said they did starve and beat them, though she denied her son was dead despite the testimony. The mother claimed the boy ran away and was never seen again.
Lewis was arrested first, then Miles the day after. They were charged with child abuse with injury and neglect with a possible murder charge. Bonds for both would be $600,000, and Miles is accused of sexual abuse with records as a convicted felon in Tulsa County Prison records.
But the detectives doubt her claims and will see it as a murder investigation, remarked Tulsa police. Stated that if remains aren't found, the charges will change based on the murder probe.
An Oklahoma couple starves their daughter with a missing son thought to be dead but denied by the two parents.
Related Article: Connecticut Mom Arrested After Dead Son Found Inside Plastic Bag
@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Deployment of backdoors on networks was the top action attackers made in almost a quarter of all incidents remediated in 2022. "Backdoors led to a notable spike in Emotet cases in February and March. That spike inflated the ranking of backdoor cases significantly, as those deployed in this timeframe account for 47% of all backdoors identified globally throughout 2022," according to the newly released IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index.
Increased backdoor deployment may also be due to the amount of money this kind of access can generate on the dark web. Compromised corporate network access from an initial access broker typically sells for several thousands of US dollars, stated the report.
Ransomware, which had been the number one attack in 2021, came as a close second with 17% and business email compromise (BEC) followed with 6%. The study found 19 ransomware variants in 2022. LockBit variants comprised 17% of total ransomware incidents observed, up from 7% in 2021. Phobos tied with WannaCry for second at 11%. Many WannaCry cases were the result of infections from three to five years ago, taking place on old, unpatched equipment.
The top impacts of cyberattacks
Extortion was the main impact at 21% of incidents observed by X-Force. Extortion cases were often achieved through ransomware or BEC and often include the use of remote access tools, cryptominers, backdoors, downloaders, and web shells.
One tactic observed in 2022 was attackers making stolen data more accessible to downstream victims. By making it easier for second-hand victims to identify their data among a data leak, operators seek to increase the subsequent pressure on the organization targeted by the ransomware group or affiliate in the first place, the report found.
In second place came data theft with 19% followed by credential harvesting with 11%. Data thefts have not all resulted in data leaks, which happened in 11% of all the cyberattacks.
What IBM X-Force observed in the malware landscape
A 17% spike in the Raspberry Robin malware between early June and early August was identified in the oil and gas, manufacturing, and transportation industries. X-Force advises ensuring security tools block known USB-based malware (such as Raspberry Robin), implementing security awareness training, and disabling autorun features for any removable media.
IBM X-Force also noticed an increase in popularity of the Rust programming language with developers releasing Rust versions of their malware including BlackCat, Hive, Zeon, and RansomExx.
A sudden influx of Vidar InfoStealer was noticed in June through to early 2023. Vidar can be used to retrieve device information such as credit card information, usernames, passwords, and files. It can also take screenshots of the users desktop or steal Bitcoin and Ethereum cryptocurrency wallets.
Manufacturing is the most targeted OT industry
Of the operational technology (OT) industries, manufacturing experienced 58% of incidents X-Force helped remediate. In line with the main findings of the report, deployment of backdoors was the top action on objective, identified in 28% of cases in the manufacturing sector. X-Force believes this to be a favorite of ransomware actors likely due to these organizations low tolerance for downtime.
Spear phishing accounted for 38% of initial access vectors in OT-related industries, including use of attachments (22%), use of links (14%) and spear phishing as a service (2%). This was followed by exploitation of public-facing applications followed with 24%, detection of backdoors with 20% and ransomware with 19%. The most popular impact of such attacks was extortion (29%) followed by data theft (24%).
Cyberattacks trends by geography
For the second consecutive year, Asia-Pacific was the most attacked region in 2022 registering 31% of all incidents. This represents a 5% increase compared to 2021, according to the report. Japan was the epicenter of the Emotet spike in 2022.
Manufacturing was the most attacked industry in the region with 48% followed by finance and insurance with 18%. Other global trends also applied including spear phishing by attachment being the top infection vector at 40% and deployment of backdoors being the top action on objective at 31%.
Japan was the most targeted nation with 91% of the received attacks followed by the Philippines with 5%, and Australia, India, and Vietnam each at 1.5%. Europe was the second most targeted region with 28% of attacks. The region was the hardest hit by extortion, with 44% of all extortion cases observed. The top impact caused by attacks was extortion (38%) across the region. The United Kingdom was the most attacked country in Europe, accounting for 43% of cases. Germany accounted for 14%, Portugal 9%, Italy 8%, and France 7%.
The most attacked industries were professional, business, and consumer services, which tied with finance and insurance for the most-attacked industry, each ranking 25% of the cases to which X-Force responded. Manufacturing was second with 12% of cases, and energy and healthcare followed in third place at 10%.
X-Force saw no evidence of widespread state-sponsored cyber activity following the invasion of Ukraine. However, it did find that Russia has deployed an unprecedented number of wipers against targets in Ukraine. The wipers were mostly used against Ukraines networks from before the countrys invasion through to March 2022.
One of the most prolific self-proclaimed hacktivist groups observed was Killnet, a Russia-sympathetic group that has claimed DDoS attacks against public services, government ministries, airports, banks and energy companies based in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states, allied countries in Europe, as well as in Japan and the United States.
North America experienced a slight increase in the number of incidents with 25% in 2022 from 23% in 2021. The regions most attacked industries were energy with 20% of attacks, manufacturing and retail-wholesale followed with 14% each, however manufacturing represents a 50% drop in cases when compared to 2021.
The US accounted for 80% of the regions attacks and Canada 20%. The biggest impact in the region was credential harvesting (25%) and the top infection vectors were exploitation of public-facing applications at 35% and spear phishing attachments at 20%. Ransomware incidents accounted for 23% of cases.
In Latin America, retail-wholesale was the most attacked industry with 28% of cases followed by finance and insurance (24%) and energy (20%). Ransomware accounted for 32% of attacks and extortion was the most common impact at 27%. Brazil accounted for 67%, Colombia 17% and Mexico 8%. Peru and Chile split the remaining 8%.
Deployment of backdoors was detected in 27% of cases to which X-Force responded in the Middle East and Africa in 2022. Finance and insurance were the most targeted industries in the region, accounting for 44%. Saudi Arabia comprised two-thirds of the cases in the region to which X-Force responded. The remaining cases were split between Qatar, United Arab Emirates and South Africa.
What to do to secure your organization
X-Force makes six recommendations to help companies secure systems against malicious threats including those mentioned above.
Understand the data the company possesses. This is key to understanding what is being defended and the most critical data to the business. Managing assets has been, and still is, one of the biggest issues facing cybersecurity teams today, John Hendley, head of strategy at IBM Security X-Force tells CSO. This is especially the case on the perimeter, where the presence of any vulnerabilities can introduce a foothold into your environment for threat actors. Thats why weve seen such a large shift in strategy for defenders, away from perfecting perimeter security and towards detection and response, including the principles behind zero trust.
Know your adversary. Adopt a view that emphasizes the specific threat actors that are most likely to target your industry, organization, and geography. In Hendleys words, CISOs need to adopt the hacker mindset. Doing so makes you see your systems, your networks, and really the whole world in a new way. Red teaming your defenseswhether that be simply probing for vulnerabilities or misconfigurations, or more in-depth detection and response testing can help you get that understanding.
Better understand how threat actors operate. Identify their level of sophistication and know which tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) attackers are most likely to employ. For example, the actions and tactics of threat actors targeting pharmaceutical companies for intellectual property will be a world apart from cyber gangs that target elementary schools with ransomware. Being sharp on who your adversary is can push defender teams to that next level, Hendley says.
Maintain visibility at key points throughout the enterprise. Ensure alerts are generated and acted on in a timely manner are critical to stopping attackers.
Assume compromise. This will ensure cybersecurity teams are constantly re-examining possible infiltration points, detection response capabilities and how difficult it can be for an attacker to access critical systems and data.
Apply threat intelligence. Analyze common attack paths and identify key opportunities for mitigating common attacks and be prepared by developing an incident response plan.
The threat landscape is highly diverse and attacks range in sophistication from the most basic scams to nation-state-level cyberespionage. However, companies need to prioritize their defenses against the most common threats that are likely to impact them and their employees.
In its newly released annual State of Malware report, cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes selected five threats that they consider to be archetypes for some of the most common malware families observed in 2022:
LockBit ransomware
The Emotet botnet
The SocGholish drive-by download
Android droppers
macOS Genio adware
"Protecting your business for the rest of 2023 requires one critical understanding: The most dangerous cyberthreats you will face are not the strangest attacks you will see on any given week, or the most sophisticated, or the most eye-catching. They are not even the most prevalent," the company said in its report. "Instead, the most dangerous threats come from a set of known, mature tools and tactics that an entire ecosystem of cybercriminals rely upon to take in billions of dollars a year."
LockBit is the king of ransomware
Last year saw big changes in the ransomware threat landscape with highly successful gangs such as Conti shutting down operations. The void was quickly filled by a plethora of other smaller groups. By far the stand out was LockBit, a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation that quickly innovated and attracted a large number of affiliates.
Affiliates are the cybercrime underground's mercenaries. Either lone hackers or groups of specialized individuals, they handle the initial access and lateral movement aspects of an intrusion before deploying the ransomware program they're affiliated with for a significant portion of the ransoms paid by victims. Meanwhile the ransomware creators provide the software itself, the back-end infrastructure and handle the negotiation with victims.
LockBit is not a new threat and has been around since 2019, originally under the name ABCD. For the first two years of its existence, the operation was overshadowed by bigger and more prolific groups such as Maze, Ryuk, and Conti that managed to attract most of the hacking talent. This began to change in 2021 with the release of LockBit 2.0 but really exploded last year when LockBit 3.0 was launched and the entire affiliate program was revamped to make it more attractive to affiliates looking for work in the wake of Conti's demise.
LockBit "puts a lot of effort into marketing itself to affiliates, maintains a slick dark web website, conducts PR stunts, and pays bug bounties for finding flaws in its software," the Malwarebytes researchers said. "It claims to have 100 affiliates. So, if one is caught, the LockBit operation is not disrupted."
According to Malwarebytes' telemetry, LockBit was by far the most prolific ransomware operation last year, with 3.5 times the number of victims than the next most active ransomware: ALPHV. Overall, one in three ransomware incidents in 2022 involved LockBit and the largest ransom demanded by the gang was $50 million. The LockBit affiliates hit all types of businesses, from small law firms to large multinational corporations, and use various methods of gaining initial access, from abusing weak remote access credentials (RDP and VPN), to exploiting vulnerabilities in public-facing systems to phishing emails with malicious attachments. Once inside the group destroys backups and uses lateral movement techniques to gain domain administrative access.
"If you can understand and address LockBit, youll greatly reduce the risk of any ransomware attack on your organization," the Malware researchers said.
Emotet, the immortal botnet
Another big player in the cybercrime underground is Emotet, a botnet that serves as a delivery platform for other malware families, including some of the most prolific ransomware and Trojan programs in recent years.
Dating back to 2014, Emotet went through many iterations, originally starting out as a banking Trojan -- a program focused on stealing online banking credentials. When that branch of cybercrime became less popular, the botnet's owners pivoted to malware distribution. Emotet's modular architecture makes it very flexible and easily customizable for different tasks.
Europol once called Emotet the world's most dangerous malware. In 2021 law enforcement agencies from multiple countries including the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands managed to take over the botnet's command-and-control infrastructure. The takedown attempt was short-lived and Emotet was soon rebuilt showing its resiliency.
In November 2022, the botnet returned with a new iteration, after a four-month break, distributing hundreds of thousands of malicious emails every day. Using email as the primary delivery mechanism, Emotet's creators are specialized in spam lures, using techniques such as thread hijacking and language localization. The latest spam campaign distributed archives with Excel files that contained malicious macros.
Post-deployment Emotet will drop additional malware in systems. In the past it used to install TrickBot, another botnet that had a close relationship with the Ryuk ransomware. In the latest campaigns, the botnet was seen dropping the XMRig cryptominer and the IcedID Trojan, which itself is associated with other malware families. Emotet will also steal contacts from Outlook accounts installed on computers and use them to send further spam emails and will attempt to crack the password of network shares.
"Because it infects and reinfects other machines so ferociously, removing Emotet from an organization can be an extremely complex and costly task," the Malwarebytes researchers said. "In the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, a single errant click caused an outbreak that cost a reported $1 million to remediate."
Just like LockBit is an archetype of modern ransomware programs, Emotet is the archetype for botnets that function as malware delivery platforms and are one of the initial access providers into enterprise networks.
Drive-by downloads alive and well with SocGholish
Drive-by downloads is a term used for malware threats that are delivered through websites instead of email. Back in the days of browser plug-ins such as Java, Flash Player, and Adobe Reader, this used to be a popular technique because attackers could exploit vulnerabilities in outdated versions of those plug-ins. However, the method is still used, even if it now requires user interaction and a bit of social engineering.
SocGholish is a remote access Trojan (RAT) that's used as a malware loader. It's typically distributed via fake pop-ups about critical browser updates that are displayed on compromised websites or through malicious ads. If users accept the rogue browser update, they usually get a ZIP archive with a JavaScript file inside. If executed, this file performs reconnaissance on the machine and network and then deploys some other malware threat, usually ransomware.
"SocGholish is simple, but its use of social engineering and target fingerprinting is effective enough to have compromised high profile companies and even critical infrastructure," the Malwarebytes researchers warn. "Its end goal is delivering ransomware, and its a threat to treat with respect.
Android droppers
With mobile devices representing a large percentage of any company's fleet of devices, Android threats should not be neglected. Android droppers are Trojan programs that usually masquerade as legitimate applications or free versions of paid apps and are distributed from third-party app stores and various websites users might visit.
In general, they're not as easy to install as malware on Windows, because users need to change the default security settings and ignore warnings, but there have cases of malicious apps being discovered on the official Google Play store. These droppers can be used to deploy other threats such as hidden ads, banking Trojans and apps that steal passwords, emails, record audio and take pictures.
"In 2022, droppers accounted for 14% of detections on Android," Malwarebytes said. "Other malware is more widespread, but droppers pose the greatest danger to organizations."
Adware is the most prevalent threat on Macs
Compared to Windows, the macOS malware ecosystem is much smaller, but threats do exist. One of the most prevalent type is adware -- applications that inject unwanted ads. One of the oldest such programs on macOS is called Genio and is used to hijack browser searches.
Like Android droppers, most macOS adware and malware in general is distributed as fake applications or updates. Genio used to masquerade as Flash Player updates or was bundled with video codecs, but these days it poses as PDF reading or video converter apps.
Once deployed Genio can be very hard to remove because it's very aggressive in hiding itself. It imitates system files and files belonging to other applications and uses code obfuscation. It injects libraries into other processes, it exploits system flaws to grant itself permissions, installs browser extensions without consent, and manipulates users' password keychains.
"Though classified as adware, Genio has deployed an array of malware-like behaviors to dig further into the computers its installed on, piercing defenses and compromising security in the name of making itself extremely difficult to remove," the Malwarebytes researchers said about this threat that accounted for one in ten threat detections on macOS last year.
Sources say that Russia will soon be sending the Su-25SM3 with the Su-35SM concerned with close air support against the Arm Forces of Ukraine. Speculations over the deployment of the upgraded ground attack aircraft regarding the increasing attacks using Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) are rife,
Russia Expands Ground Offensive in Close Air Support
Ukrainians are seeing the deployment of VKS in aerial raids when units like fighter planes and rotorcraft are placed near the borders of Ukraine, reported Eurasian Times.
Based on sources like TASS, which indicated in Russian media sporadic reports, modified planes from the Soviet era saw action at the front. By all indications that the RuMoD did somewhat verify these reports.
The VKS and UAF force have the legacy Soviet aircraft as part of their offensive forces as support, flying low and napping off the earth to attack ground targets. Recent offensives in the Donbas and the Bakhmut meat grinder help the Russian forces wage a more intense campaign to conquer Ukrainian defenders.
Last February 18, the Russian Ministry of Defense published these Su-25 assault aircraft firing missiles at designated Ukrainian targets. Sources report the Russian MoD doesn't mention specific variants of the plane used to demolish AFU positions, according to Military Today.
Su-25 SM3 Grac Improved ground support
It is called the Frogfoot by NATO, which flies under the speed of sound, is armored to take ground fire, covers ground forces, is built to attack in all weather conditions, can operate at 650 kilometers wide, and is a top speed of 975 kilometers. Its payload carries 4.4 tons of weaponry at maximum capacity, per Airforce Technology.
Read Also: North Korean Su-25 Attack Jets Seen in Training With Weapons Systems To Give Close Air Support
Lasers guide smart weapons to their targets, allowing fire and forget weapons to hit targets on their own too. More add-on is a GLONASS for the plane to orient itself and fire high-precision weaponry, improving the chances of non-guidance air-launched arms hitting like guided weapons.
Installed are brand new SOLT-25 navigation and targeting systems with multiple sensors. Equipped with a legacy GSh-30-2 dual barrel 30-mm cannon and a variety of artillery for all targets guided by sensors.
To protect the Grach or Frogfoot, Ekran's Vitebsk self-defense system prevents attacks with optical and radio jamming of all kinds of missiles. It comes as a respite from getting shot down in the war zone since 2015. Flares to draw away missiles fired by MANPADS were noted by the Russian MoD, which resulted in the losses of Su-25 being reported on both sides.
Squadron Leader Vijainder K. Thakur (retd) commented that the conflict had things to say. He added that fewer Su-25s are lost because of better strategies using the Su-35S and Su-30SM to shield them from AFU attacks.
These aircraft were in Syria in 2015 to see how effective the complex is against the portable ground-to-air missiles, mentioned AIN Online. The improved SM3 can be linked to the battlefield network that connects all complexes.
Russian VKS is expected to punch through AFUs defense with this complex added to Russian forces. Russia sees the addition of the Su-25SM3 in close air support as critical to the offensive.
Relate Article: Russia's Su-25s: Western Front Support of Russia's Ground Offensive in Ukraine
@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
China calls the US claims that it will give arms to Russia unfounded and provocative. What Beijing wants is to end the conflict in Ukraine and not cause more escalation as opposed to the allies.
China Decries US Claims of Arms Supply to Russia
The statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last Sunday saying that Moscow will be equipped with weapon systems, ammunition reports Anews.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated that instead of limiting arms to Kyiv, which has resulted in a prolonged conflict. He added the US claims to divert from its part is regrettable in a message to the US to blame others for their actions instead of decreasing escalation. Less blame and fake news should be geared toward an environment conducive to a peace deal, which was communicated in a briefing, noted Al Jazeera.
The mainland government, from the start, has told Putin must seek peace and won't support the war. Wang explains that global calls for peace do not extend the conflict further than they should. He stressed that Beijing calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Last Saturday, the Chinese official mentioned a solution allowing both parties to withdraw from fighting. He stressed that this meeting is a diplomatic solution to reach the goal, citing News24.
Wang, during the Munich Security Conference, drew the line on targeting nuclear facilities and using bioweapons to mediate a resolution. The EU foreign policy head, Josef Borrel, warned Beijing not to help Moscow in Ukraine. He warned that Beijing should heed that Brussels will be watching.
Read Also: Biden To Meet Eastern NATO Allies Following Putin's Nuclear Threat
US Striking Chinese Balloon Escalates Tension
An incident about spy balloons was hyped by Washington that made Beijing tell the Biden administration to watch its claims. Entry of the alleged spy balloon that the F-22 shot was touted and blame the PRC for it. Increasing losses in Ukraine have prompted the US to warn the Chinese not to help Putin. They fear that as the 1st year of the conflict comes, it will come to a hammer blow to its proxy.
An ABC interview wherein Blinken said that US President Joe Biden told Xi Jinping not to arm the Russian forces. However, Beijing has long responded that the US needs to reflect on its redundant allegations.
The US administration allegedly took credit for Beijing's siding on non-escalation by not selling platforms to Moscow. But the Kremlin has proven to be self-sufficient in arming its forces.
Both Wang Yi and Blinken had a front row in arguing the rash actions of the US in the balloon incident. It could be seen as alleged grandstanding by Blinken to show it was not afraid of China by shooting down the balloon. The State Department spokesman Ned Price reinforced this in another media drive by the US.
The Chinese official commented the US had made the wrong decision to shoot down an off-course weather balloon and used it for opportunistic political mileage.
On Saturday, the Chinese diplomat spoke at the Munich Security Conference that the US has regressed to hysterics and theatrics that make resolution difficult. A response from China that the irresponsible US claims that it will give arms to Russia will sink its proxy further is very maligning. The actions of Washington block a peaceful initiative, not them.
Related Article: China Shows 'Rock Solid' Support for Russia Amid US Pressure
@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Gold and silver prices have been weakening in recent weeks
Retail traders responded by increasing their upside exposure
Is this a sign XAU/ USD and XAG/USD are in trouble ahead?
Recommended by Daniel Dubrovsky Get Your Free Gold Forecast Get My Guide
In recent weeks, gold and silver prices have been aiming lower as traders began pricing out once-anticipated rate cuts from the Federal Reserve towards the end of this year. That has pushed up the US Dollar alongside Treasury yields, denting precious metals. Retail traders have responded by increasing net-long exposure in XAU/USD and XAG/USD. This can be seen by looking at IG Client Sentiment (IGCS), which tends to function as a contrarian indicator. Is more pain ahead?
Gold Sentiment Outlook - Bearish
The IGCS gauge shows that about 72% of retail traders are net-long gold. Since most of them are biased to the upside, this suggests that prices may continue falling. Meanwhile, upside exposure has increased by 1.97% and 11.22% compared to yesterday and last week, respectively. With that in mind, the combination of current exposure and recent changes offers a stronger bearish contrarian trading bias.
XAU/USD Daily Chart
In the short-term, gold prices have been consolidating above the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at 1828. This followed a breakout under the 20- and 50-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), marking a reversal from the November January uptrend. Now, a bearish Death Cross between the SMAs could be on the horizon see chart. That may open the door to an increasingly downside technical bias. Breaking lower exposes the midpoint at 1787.
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Chart Created in Trading View
Silver Sentiment Outlook - Bearish
The IGCS gauge shows that about 89% of retail traders are net-long silver. Since most of them are biased to the upside, this hints prices may continue falling. Meanwhile, downside exposure has decreased by 8.72% and 13.1% compared to yesterday and last week, respectively. With that in mind, the combination of overall and recent changes in positioning offers a stronger bearish contrarian trading bias.
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XAG/USD Daily Chart
Silver prices appear to have found the next key level of support just above the midpoint of the Fibonacci retracement at 21.095 see chart. A Hammer candlestick pattern was left behind recently, which is a sign of indecision relative to the near-term downtrend since late January. Still, a bearish Death Cross between the 20- and 50-day SMAs remains. The latter is offering a downside technical bias. Immediate resistance is the 38.2% level at 21.929. Clearing higher exposes, the 20-day SMA. Otherwise, extending losses places the focus on the 61.8% level at 20.261.
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-- Written by Daniel Dubrovsky, Senior Strategist for DailyFX.com
To contact Daniel, follow him on Twitter:@ddubrovskyFX
China releases Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, a timely, necessary and targeted blueprint for tackling hotspot issues
By Chen Qingqing and Bai Yunyi (Global Times) 09:56, February 22, 2023
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang speaks at a forum on Tuesday, introducing China-proposed Global Security Initiative Concept Paper. Photo: Chen Qingqing/GT
China released a Global Security Initiative (GSI) Concept Paper on Tuesday, fully elaborating a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept and providing China's wisdom in tackling growing risks and challenges in traditional and non-traditional security areas. Chinese diplomats and experts hailed the release of the document as timely, necessary and targeted, saying that it provides a detailed blueprint in tackling global and regional hotspot issues in an effective way, especially further clarifying China's peace-promoting position on the Ukraine crisis.
In a forum held at the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday morning, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang unveiled the concept paper and told the audience that the document underscores China's responsibilities and determination in safeguarding world peace. "'What kind of security concept the world needs and how countries achieve common security?' has become a topic of our days," Qin said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the GSI at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 held in Hainan Province in April 2022. The concept is now welcomed and supported by more than 80 countries and regions, the Chinese foreign minister said.
Ambassadors, diplomats and representatives from 137 countries and international organizations attended the forum on Tuesday. Some diplomats told the Global Times during the event that they welcomed China-proposed security initiative, saying that it would be important to solve disputes through dialogue rather than bloc confrontation or hegemony.
During his speech, Qin noted that China's development is impossible without a safe international environment. Similarly, without China's security, there will be no global security.
"President Xi first proposed a new vision for security, which goes beyond traditional security ideas and power politics in the West," Xu Bu, president of the China Institute of International Studies and secretary-general of the Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Center, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
It transcends the long-term practice of Western countries of building their own security on the basis of jeopardizing the security of other countries. When times are so turbulent, "we need a correct vision as guidance," Xu said.
As the world is approaching the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine crisis this week, the US and some Western countries have been continuing to fan the flames and escalate the tension by sending more weapons to Ukraine, and making political gestures like the surprise visit by US President Joe Biden to Kiev on Monday.
"China is deeply concerned about the escalating conflict and potential for situation to spiral out of control," Qin said, commenting on the Ukraine crisis during the forum. China will continue to promote peace talks, provide Chinese wisdom for a comprehensive solution to the Ukraine issue, and work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation to address the concerns of all parties to seek common security, he said.
The Chinese foreign minister urged relevant countries to immediately stop adding fuel to the fire on the matter, stop blaming China and stop provoking the situation by using references like "Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow."
Clear blueprint
Some Western media outlets, citing experts, claimed that the concept paper "continued Beijing's ambiguity over the Ukraine crisis," suggesting that it appears to be largely a strategic messaging exercise rather than a fully thought-out strategy.
"In fact, we have a very clear position on the Ukraine issue. This document points out some basic ideas on solving the crisis in a much clearer way," Fu Cong, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
China will also put forward a more comprehensive and authoritative position document in the next few days in terms of a political settlement of the Ukraine issue including some basic ideas such as respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty, respecting the UN Charter and resolving disputes through peaceful means, Fu said.
"One country's security cannot be built on the non-security of another country. All the security concerns of relevant countries should be respected those basic ideas have been included in the paper, which should play a leading role in preventing further escalation and in seeking peaceful solutions," the Chinese envoy said.
The concept paper provides an important path to further implement the GSI over 20 key cooperation areas and six cooperation platforms, which could be actionable measures, Wang Dong, an expert on China-US relations at Peking University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"Although Qin did not mention the US by name in the speech, he urged the US not to fuel the conflict, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop comparing the Ukraine crisis with the Taiwan question, to which we are firmly opposed to," Wang from Peking University said, noting that China's position is always clear as it always stands on the side of peace, de-escalation and advancing peace talks.
"The document was unveiled in order to fully elaborate our position - that is supporting a UN-centered multilateralism when some Western countries keep blaming us for being pro-Russia," Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Some Chinese experts believe that China holds the most objective and neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict as it is taking a very fair attitude toward both sides. In contrast, the US - part of the root cause of the conflict - raised doubts over China's position as Washington views it from its own interests and perspective.
"Under the GSI concepts and ideas, when it comes to the Ukraine crisis, the future security of Europe can't exclude Russia," Wang said. As now some forces like the US hope to bring down Russia and exclude the country from Europe in security and energy, that is unrealistic, Wang Yiwei noted.
New type of foreign relations
During the forum, the Chinese Foreign Minister emphasized that security is the right of all countries in the world, which is not held exclusively by some countries nor should it be decided by certain countries. "We welcome any country who is willing to join the GSI and support world peace and development," Qin said.
The document highlights the positive interaction between major countries and the special responsibilities that a major country needs to shoulder in safeguarding global peace. Security and development are complimentary to building a new type of international relations, which is underscored in China-proposed ideas, Chinese experts said.
In terms of cooperation mechanisms, the paper supports multilateral platforms, for example, on establishing a new security framework in the Middle East, it supports the League of Arab States and other regional organizations in playing a constructive role, while in resolving regional conflicts, fighting terrorism and safeguarding maritime security, it supports the efforts of African countries, the AU and sub-regional organizations' efforts.
"We are firmly opposed to hegemony and power politics in all forms, the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation," Qin told the forum.
Some Western media also highlighted that although the GSI paper mentioned some multilateral mechanisms but it did not mention the organizations like NATO.
Against the backdrop of the US-China rivalry, the China-proposed security vision clearly targets US-led bloc confrontation which desires to expand NATO, including into Asian Pacific, that only creates enemies or restructure supply chains in the name of security, creating more confrontation, Wang noted. "In contrast, China is pushing forward a new type of international relations that are inclusive and balanced, tackling challenges together and achieve the security for all."
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
A Ukrainian tank commander named Igor admitted their old tanks are getting ripped apart by modern Russian armor and anti-armor weapons in the field. Such losses outnumber what the Russians have experienced in combat. The tank assets of Ukraine have been whittled to half of its 800 battle-ready main battle tanks (MBT) from the start of the conflict.
Ukraine Still Uses Outdated Tanks in Battle
Most of the AFU uses out-of-date Soviet MBTs like the T-64, T-72, T-80, and T-84 in the campaigns against Moscow. This old armor was donated by former members of the defunct Eastern Soviet Bloc, reports Bulgarian Military.
News of the incoming supplies of less obsolete western tanks from the US and EU is welcome for these AFU tank crews. But how many are they causing bated breath that is impactful or negligible? Based on the pledges that 50 units are coming to resupply their lost units. A chance to get more is a slight chance, but it is mostly a big what if.
Modern Russian Armor Wipes Out Ukrainian Tanks
Commander Igor spoke about what his T-64 faces as a relic in a modern war, noted IB Times. One of the legacy MBTs fighting against a modern Russian army has led to choosing not to face head-on newer models. Their older unit is likely to get demolished in an unequal contest.
Many Ukrainian tankers are the same, and it echoes Igor's conclusion that it is terrible for them in the field. Age has made the older Soviet-era tank suffer from busted and faulty systems in combat.
Read Also: Russia Unleash Flying Tank To Attack NATO Forces
He added a 50-year-old tank that is older could not counter a modernized Russian army tank. Told that getting the Leopard 2 is better than a grandpa unit as a reprieve for them, per Army Technology.
Western tanks are supposed to counterbalance a Russian juggernaut
The Leopard 2 was permitted to be re-exported by Germany to Kyiv. But Olaf Scholz told NATO and EU allies that dealing with well-equipped Russian forces will not be easy. The first deliveries will come in March and April, as the latest info.
Analysts warn that Ukrainians forget that there's more to tank combat. Most of the terrain is optimized for a lighter Soviet tank with support infrastructure for their deployment. The weight of heavier western tanks will see them to have a hard time in the terrain and support structures.
Supplies of the Leopard 2 will fall short as only 2000 operational, but even one tank battalion is not possible,
Ukraine currently has 31 units in its armored battalions, and Warsaw pledged 30 Leopards, with Germany and Portugal adding extra units as well. One catch is they need repair as many require refurbishing before delivery.
T-64 was introduced later in the sixties and built until the last part of the 1980s. With 13,000 units produced, about 38 tons with a 125mm maid cannon including two machine guns as lighter armament.
An engine powers the chassis with almost 700 hp that is grossly underpowered too. It has a range of 500 km with a full tank and a top speed of 60 km/h.
Ukrainian tanker Igor calls old tanks useless against modern Russian armor unless they get more than legacy units. Preferably the Leopard 2 or equivalent MBTs is better than a T-64, even if it can get bogged down in the mud.
Related Article: Russia Main Battle Tank Deploys in Ukraine
@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The consequences are almost beyond imagination. Everything about Vladimir Putin's insane invasion of Ukraine has been unthinkable but if China weighs in with open support for the Russian dictator's beleaguered army, then our whole way of life could be threatened.
President Xi Jinping's government is already bankrolling the Kremlin, underwriting the war by boosting imports of Russian oil, gas and agricultural goods shunned by the West. It is building a new gas pipeline to China from Russia and supplying 'dual-use' technology such as drones supposedly for civilian use but used by Russia for reconnaissance.
But there's a red line, one drawn in blood. The Chinese will cross it if they start supplying arms to Russia. Putin is pressing hard for that to happen and U.S. Intelligence has concluded that Xi Jinping may be preparing to provide 'lethal support'.
Just yesterday, China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, met Putin in Moscow to reaffirm their 'ongoing co-operation'. What else they discussed, we do not yet know.
But if the day comes when China starts openly providing weapons, it will redefine global politics in a way we haven't seen since the Cold War.
President Xi Jinping's government is already bankrolling the Kremlin, underwriting the war by boosting imports of Russian oil, gas and agricultural goods shunned by the West. Pictured: Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in Beijing, China on February 4, 2022
Just yesterday, China's top diplomat, Wang Yi (left), met Putin (right) in Moscow to reaffirm their 'ongoing co-operation'
Even the darkest days of the simmering conflict between the USSR and Nato cannot compare to the cataclysm threatening to engulf us if China gives arms to Russia.
As a longtime foreign correspondent in Moscow, the Indo-Pacific and China, I am accustomed to dictators' sabre-rattling. But Putin is now openly menacing Ukraine and all Europe with both implicit and explicit threats of its nuclear arsenal in a manner never seen before.
Meanwhile, China has quietly been growing its own nuclear strike force. By 2035 it is expected to have 1,500 warheads ready to fire every one of them carrying a destructive power that dwarfs the bombs dropped in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
We last faced a nuclear stand-off during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, and that lasted only a few days. Should Xi and Putin combine forces, the threat to the world would be unimaginably worse.
To us in the democratic West, it seems deranged that any world leader could ever think of using this firepower for anything but a last-ditch defence. And, mercifully, I know many Chinese statesmen are wary of Putin's nuclear rhetoric.
But Xi and Putin are tyrants, who are not bound by the same constraints as our leaders. That makes it much harder for our intelligence agencies to predict what might happen.
One thing we do know is that Xi and Putin underestimated the West's involvement in the war thus far.
I am almost certain Xi knew in advance of Russian's intention to invade Ukraine, but both assumed the democracies were too decadent and their economies too weak to impose meaningful sanctions, let alone to support President Volodymyr Zelensky's impassioned resistance.
Xi and Putin are tyrants, who are not bound by the same constraints as our leaders
Putin is now openly menacing Ukraine and all Europe with both implicit and explicit threats of its nuclear arsenal in a manner never seen before. Pictured: Military medics carry a wounded soldier, Bakhmut, Ukraine, February 22, 2023
I am almost certain Xi knew in advance of Russian's intention to invade Ukraine, but both assumed the democracies were too decadent and their economies too weak to impose meaningful sanctions
Putin and Xi have a personal chemistry and a common vision of the world. Both are steeped in resentment at perceived humiliations heaped upon their countries by the West and both dream of restoring the mythical greatness of their respective empires.
It suits Xi's purpose to see the U.S. and Europe sucked into a conflict but Beijing has also been shocked by the incompetence of the Russian military, particularly as China's People's Liberation Army shares many of its characteristics.
So now we have reached a critical juncture. If Xi becomes an open partner in Putin's barbarity, the three-way relationship between the superpowers will be transformed. In essence, as in the Cold War, the world will be split between two blocs: free and not free.
Xi will be declaring China an implacable enemy of the democratic world, especially the U.S. and the war in Ukraine will be indefinitely prolonged.
China is already the world's fourth-largest exporter of arms, and its sophisticated weapons systems would bolster the faltering Russian forces. But the implications extend far beyond that.
The West would have to react, which could lead to severing our trade ties with the Chinese an economic earthquake that would dwarf anything seen with Russia over Ukraine. We are hopelessly reliant on Chinese electronics, engineering and much else. There is barely a supply chain that does not run through China and we in the West have been too slow to reduce critical dependencies.
It is no exaggeration to say this has the potential to bring about at least a partial collapse of society.
To take just one example: despite shifting some of its production to India and Vietnam, Apple relies on China for 95 per cent of its iPhone output. The supply chain created to build these smartphones is more complex and highly tuned than any seen in any other industry.
Should Xi and Putin combine forces, the threat to the world would be unimaginably worse. Pictured: Putin attends a patriotic concert at the Luzhniki stadium, Moscow, February 22, 2023
One thing we do know is that Xi and Putin underestimated the West's involvement in the war thus far. Pictured: Putin greets members of the military in Luzhniki Stadium, February 22, 2023
Shutting that down would deliver a body blow to Western culture, which has become utterly dependent on smartphones. One estimate predicts the price of new iPhones could increase fivefold by 2027, with new handsets costing 5,000. The black market in used phones would become both lucrative and cut-throat.
Even more disruptive would be the loss of raw materials on which the global market in electronics depends. These 17 minerals are known as 'rare earths' and although their names are obscure (neodymium, dysprosium, yttrium, cerium), they are essential to modern life.
Rare earths are crucial to modern electronics, used in small amounts in everything from microchips, screens, medical devices, rechargeable batteries and magnets to missile guidance systems.
China currently mines as much as 63 per cent of the world's rare earths and does around 85 per cent of the processing, which is expensive and messy. Without these materials, Western defence systems could be irreparable when they break down.
Equally catastrophic could be the damage to our economy. Last year, the Office for Budget Responsibility [OBR] calculated that military escalation by China would force Britain to increase our defence spending by 25 billion, more than 2 per cent of our gross domestic product [GDP].
The OBR also modelled the effects of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan: as well as causing the price of electronic goods to soar, this would force up our borrowing by 20 billion a year and wipe more than 5 per cent off our GDP within a decade, creating a 57 billion hole in government finances. That's the equivalent of the entire defence budget.
That sounds like a doomsday scenario. But if Xi arms Russia and the West retaliates with sanctions against China, hardliners in Beijing will argue that now is the ideal time to annex Taiwan.
It sounds insane. But so, only a year ago, did the idea of invading Ukraine. Conciliatory voices in Britain and the States will argue that Xi won't do it, because China's economy has benefited so much from global trade.
Putin and Xi have a personal chemistry and a common vision of the world
If Xi becomes an open partner in Putin's barbarity, the three-way relationship between the superpowers will be transformed
Last week, Beijing's Communist Party mouthpiece, China Daily ran excerpts of a speech by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond which argued that current world events should be treated as 'background noise'.
Such naivety would be laughable if it weren't so frightening.
We must open our eyes to how closely the Russian and Chinese militaries work together.
This week they were engaged in a ten-day naval exercise in the Indian Ocean, alongside South African warships.
They have gone beyond symbolic shows of camaraderie and are co-ordinating their ability to fight together on the battlefield.
China is already supplying anti-aircraft missile radar parts to a sanctioned Russian defence firm, and allegedly providing satellite imagery to the mercenary Wagner Group to aid combat operations.
It's only one small step to begin openly supplying armaments. When Xi Jinping crosses that red line, the world will change for ever.
This article has been amended to reflect that Phillip Hammond did not write an article for China Daily in fact, it quoted part of a speech Mr Hammond gave in London, which he says was amended by China Daily to misrepresent some of his comments.
What is the most tedious phrase in the English language? Tough one. Any ranking would need to have 'Rail replacement bus' somewhere near the top. So too 'See it, say it, sorted' or 'Unexpected item in bagging area'.
Running them pretty close at the moment is 'the Northern Ireland Protocol' which might sound like the title of a juicy Jack Higgins novel involving gun-toting Irish gangsters, but relates instead, as we know all too well, to the more mundane matters of EU law and pettifogging trade arrangements.
These days, any mention of the protocol is enough to make even the most hardened political anorak roll their eyes and long for a loaded revolver.
No wonder then, that dull old Sir Keir Starmer loves discussing it. This is his specialist subject, his favourite Desert Islands discs all recorded onto one long, dreary compilation album.
Which was a good reason for him to focus on it at PMQs. That and because he knows any deal Rishi Sunak strikes with the EU over the coming week is likely to drive a thick wedge between him and his party. On the Conservative benches there is a rumble of rebellion and the whiff of mutiny. Yes, it's suddenly all gone a bit 2018 around here again.
Henry Deedes: Dull old Sir Keir Starmer loves discussing the Northern Ireland Protocol. This is his specialist subject, his favourite Desert Islands discs all recorded onto one long, dreary compilation album
Sir Keir was clearly relishing the prospect of opening up another Tory row over Europe. He entered the chamber yesterday with a proprietorial air and a grin as wide as a motorway. His hair was crimped and coiffed like heavily whisked egg-whites, so stiff it looked as though he'd gone through two cans of hairspray. Or was it starch?
He taunted the Prime Minister over the Eurosceptics threatening to cause trouble. 'The Irreconcilables' was how he described them the Spartans, the die-hards who would sooner crawl through an open sewer than accept a deal which forces Northern Ireland to follow EU law.
One of the big sticking points on the deal is said to be the role of the European Court of Justice. The EU wants it to remain arbiter over any future trade disputes. The DUP is adamant that there will be an agreement for ECJ snouts to be kept well out of Northern Ireland's affairs. 'That's not going to happen,' sneered Starmer, that nasal vibrato of his twanging with undisguised glee.
Mr Sunak breezily insisted nothing had been agreed yet. Talks with the Brussels bureaucrats were still ongoing. Plenty still to play for and all that.
He knows any deal Rishi Sunak strikes with the EU over the coming week is likely to drive a thick wedge between him and his party
He accused Starmer of 'jumping ahead'. From Labour's benches there came the inevitable guttural scream of 'Ger on wi' it!' That noted loudmouth Dame Margaret Beckett up to her old tricks no doubt.
The PM accused Starmer of taking his 'usual position' with the EU 'give them a blank cheque and agree to anything they offer. It's not a strategy, that's surrender!' That at least produced a momentary cheer.
Sir Keir asked whether MPs would be given a vote on the deal when it's announced. He generously offered to put 'country before party' and whip his own MPs into voting for it.
Why promise to vote for deal without even seeing it yet? Well, partly because Starmer knows it will embarrass the government if it needs Labour's help to get it over the line. But mainly, one suspects, because he wants anything remotely Brexity well out of the way before a general election.
Sir Keir asked whether MPs would be given a vote on the deal when it's announced. He generously offered to put 'country before party' and whip his own MPs into voting for it
'Of course,' Rishi insisted, Parliament would get to have its view. Which was not quite a definite 'yes' to a vote.
Over the corner of the chamber, seasoned Tory Eurosceptics Bill Cash (Stone) and David Jones (Clwyd W) adopted the same horrified expressions they wore throughout the long, bad old days of those dreaded 'meaningful votes'. Think of two clubland trenchermen who've just been informed the steak and kidney pud has been removed from the bill of fare.
Meanwhile, seated on her in her usual perch two rows behind the PM was the sepulchral figure of Theresa May, observing her successor's obvious discomfiture. She wore the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Etched on her face was an expression which seemed to say 'Been there, done that dearie, got the T-shirt'.
On a few occasions in recent years I have, to my surprise, found myself agreeing with Tony Blair. The man is talking sense, Ive sometimes thought. Fair play.
When he suggested that Labour would remain unelectable as long as Jeremy Corbyn ran the show, I inwardly cheered. He even said before the 2019 election that he would struggle to vote for his old party.
I applauded several years ago when, to general astonishment, the man who had opened the floodgates to mass immigration as prime minister spoke of peoples genuine anxieties on the issue, and of the need for governments to deal with their legitimate concerns.
Once or twice during the pandemic, the leader who misled this country into an illegal war in Iraq, and dispatched our troops to a hopeless quagmire in Afghanistan, made what I thought were useful contributions.
So it is with some relief that I once more find myself in disagreement with Mr Blair, who has co-authored a report with former Tory leader William Hague about how Britain should adapt in a rapidly changing world.
On a few occasions in recent years I have, to my surprise, found myself agreeing with Tony Blair. The man is talking sense, Ive sometimes thought, writes Stephen Glover
Sir Tony Blair has joined ex-Tory leader William Hague in calling for the Government to introduce a digital ID that people can have on their phones. Sir Tony and Lord Hague, pictured during their time as prime minister and leader of the opposition, insisted that a 'fundamental reshaping of the state around technology' is needed
Misguided
By no means all of the report which is written in gobbledegook language peppered with acronyms, and full of endless to do lists that make the head spin is misguided.
One could hardly quarrel with their premise that Britain should be better prepared for a new scientific revolution. Proposals for improved education and more spending on Research and Development make sense.
Yet there is one suggestion so illiberal that one wouldnt be surprised if it were the official policy of the Chinese Communist Party. It is both a mystery and a matter of regret that Mr Hague, who used to be a pretty sensible sort of chap, should have lent his name to the report.
It envisages a digital ID which everyone would have on their smartphone. This would incorporate peoples passports, driving licences, tax records, qualifications, right to work, and God knows what else. Almost everything known about you in one place.
Where does one start in attacking this terrifying idea? Well, I dont like the assumption that everyone has, or should have, a smartphone. Some people find them bewildering and hard to cope with. Others dont want to be dominated by a device that somehow sucks the life out of you.
A 'National Identity Card' for UK citizens began to be issued by Blair's New Labour government in 2009 before the scheme was scrapped by the Tory-Lib Dem coalition in 2010
But although far from unimportant, this is a relatively trivial objection when set alongside the sinister, Big Brotherish implications of what these two former politicians cheerily recommend.
Not many of us want to live in country whose government defines us in a single app, allowing officials to gain access to our personal details with one poke of the finger.
I accept there may be a reasonable case for a separate identity card of the sort people carried during the war and for some years afterwards, until it was abolished by a Conservative administration in 1952.
One argument is that they make it harder for illegal immigrants to find a job, and so act as a deterrent to illegal immigration. Perhaps, though several countries which operate ID cards are beset with migrants they havent welcomed.
When he was prime minister, of course, Tony Blair tried, and failed, to introduce identity cards. Here he is again, wholly unabashed the difference being that this new proposal is more menacing because the prying State could be inside your smartphone within seconds, and find out far more about you than would be disclosed by an old-fashioned identity card.
My objections dont simply concern civil liberties. Hackers would try to get hold of the treasure house of personal information conveniently concentrated in one place on the instructions of HMG.
Since the States record in setting up computerised systems has been pretty woeful, one could have little confidence in the security of a digital ID. Anatoly in Omsk and Li in Shanghai would discover almost everything about you in a trice.
Nor would I be surprised if government decided to flog off some of the information it had gathered about you. After all, the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency) has made tens of millions of pounds out of selling our personal details to third parties.
Abuse
No, this is a thoroughly bad idea illiberal and prone to abuse. The technologically advanced society for which Messrs Blair and Hague yearn would be one in which the State enjoyed unprecedented surveillance over our lives.
Im not surprised that Tony Blair should be enthusiastic about such a draconian scheme. A man who has made tens of millions of pounds in the course of rubbing shoulders with dodgy potentates is unlikely to have very many qualms about extending State control.
But Mr Hagues involvement does rather amaze me. He has come a long way from the 16-year-old boy who stood in front of a Tory Party conference in 1977, and teased delegates by saying that half of you may not be here in 30 or 40 years time, but I will be and I want to be free.
I like to remember the William Hague who, as Conservative leader, regularly got the better of Mr Blair during Prime Ministers Questions, and fought the 2001 election in the colours of a Eurosceptic. That was before he became a conventional Foreign Secretary in David Camerons administration.
One of lifes natural outsiders has morphed into a member of the Establishment. I expect he has bumped into Tony Blair at one of those cosy jamborees in Davos or at a meeting of the secretive Bilderberg group, where the international great and the good decide whats best for the common people.
In a way, its a pity the report has been disfigured by their proselytising of digital IDs. There are, as I say, a few good ideas about removing obstacles to economic growth, though unfortunately cutting taxes, which are at record levels, doesnt make much of an appearance.
They rightly cite the extensive bureaucracy [of] the British State and the accountant mindset of the Treasury, which they believe stands in the way of growth. They equally rightly champion streamlining the planning system.
Yet there is a pervading sense of technocratic superiority which chimes with Mr Blairs autocratic tendencies. For example, they suggest appointing executive ministers to knock heads together in Whitehall. These people wouldnt have to go to the bother of being members of the Commons or House of Lords.
Liberties
Mr Blair said something revealing when he and Mr Hague were being interviewed on yesterdays Today programme on Radio 4. He loftily dismissed politicians who obsess about marginal differences in tax and spending.
The multi-millionaire former prime minister now breathes the rarefied air of the Davos elite which thinks it knows what is best for us, and isnt over concerned with democratic niceties.
And that is why Mr Blair feels able to champion digital ID. In his eyes, it makes government more efficient. If it threatens the liberties of ordinary people, that is a price worth paying.
I dont agree. There may be a few good ideas in this ill-written report, but Im more glad than ever that Tony Blair is part of history. The sadness is that William Hague, who once believed in freedom, should have joined forces with the man he once opposed.
M&S' hot cross buns have won first place in Good Housekeeping's annual Easter taste test, beating Sainsbury's, Lidl and Iceland to the top spot.
The Good Housekeeping Institute tested 166 products from a selection of brands and grocers to unveil the best Easter eggs, hot cross buns and meat, seafood and centre pieces ahead of Easter Sunday.
When it comes to buns, M&S reigned supreme, winning both in the traditional category as well as the gluten-free one, and rating runner up in the flavoured buns category as well.
Cutter & Squidge's 21.99 Billionaire Filled Easter Egg, and Abel & Cole's 12.95 Cocoa Loco Marbled Chocolate Egg, jointly received the title of best milk chocolate Easter egg.
Meanwhile, Waitrose's Whole Chicken With Garlic And Herbs got the coveted title of best roast, while Lidl was crowned the best budget option.
Good Housekeeping Institute tested 166 products from a selection of brands and grocers as part of their annual tradition which aims to unveil the best Easter eggs, hot cross buns and meat, seafood and centre pieces ahead of Easter Sunday. M&S impressed the panel with the 'near perfect' texture of their Luxury Fruited Hot Cross buns, which scored 86 out 100, the highest score on the list
Each of the product was shortlisted by an expert panel and then blind tested by a consumer panel to avoid brand bias.
Testers based their rating on the items' appearance, aroma, texture and their flavour.
The Institute tested 36 hot cross buns in total, including 12 traditional, 18 flavoured, and gluten-free offerings.
M&S impressed the panel with the 'near perfect' texture of their Luxury Fruited Hot Cross buns, which scored 86 out 100, the highest score on the list.
They particularly loved the buns' fluffy and lightly crispy glazed tops and the flavoursome vine fruit.
Iceland's buns, which cost 1 for a pack of four, came in second place, and also ranked highest for the best budget buy.
Their rich spiced flavour, which the panel likened to German Christmas cookies, earned the Iceland offer a score of 80/100.
Sainsbury's took home the title for best flavoured hot cross buns with its 1.65 Taste the Difference Lemon Curd & White Chocolate hot cross buns, scoring 83 out of 100.
Meanwhile, M&Ss 2 Banoffee Hot Cross Buns came second in this category, winning praise for its chewy toffee chunks and pronounced banana flavour.
Lidls 1.19 Apple & Cinnamon hot cross buns were the top budget buy, scoring 74 out of 100.
M&S also topped the gluten-free bakes selection, with their 2.50 Gluten Free Fruited Hot Cross Buns, while Sainsburys Taste the Difference Free From Caramel and Chocolate Hot Cross Buns, which cost 2.50 for a pack of four, came in in second place with a score of 72 out of 100.
Who's selling the tastiest hot cross buns this Easter? Lidl Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns, left, which costs 1.19 for a pack of four, won the Best budget flavoured hot cross bun. Sainsburys Taste the Difference Free From Caramel and Chocolate Hot Cross Buns, costing 2.50, were the runner up for the gluten-free hot cross buns category Hot cross buns Number tested: 36 total (12 traditional, 18 flavoured, 6 gluten-free) Best traditional hot cross bun M&S Luxury Fruited Hot Cross Buns, 1.85 for 4pk Score: 86/100 Runner-up AND best budget traditional hot cross bun Iceland Hot Cross Buns, 1 for 4pk Score: 80/100 Best flavoured hot cross buns Sainsburys Taste the Difference Lemon Curd & White Chocolate, 1.65 for 4pk Score: 83/100 Iceland's Luxury hot cross buns were the runner-up for best traditional buns, and the winner of the best budget traditional hot cross bun Iceland Hot Cross Buns M&S' Made Without buns, left, won both Best gluten-free and best budget gluten-free hot cross buns. Sainsburys Taste the Difference Lemon Curd & White Chocolate, right, costing 1.65, won the best flavour category Runner-up flavoured hot cross bun M&S Banoffee Hot Cross Buns, 2 for 4pk Score: 82/100 Best budget flavoured hot cross bun Lidl Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns, 1.19 for 4pk Score: 74/100 Best gluten-free and best budget gluten-free hot cross buns M&S Gluten Free Fruited Hot Cross Buns, 1.85 for 4pk Score: 79/100 Runner-up gluten-free hot cross buns Sainsburys Taste the Difference Free From Caramel and Chocolate Hot Cross Buns, 2.50 for 4pk Score: 72/100 Advertisement
There were joint winners in the coveted Easter Eggs category after the Institute Number tested 63 eggs in total.
This included 20 molk chocolate eggs, ten white chocolate eggs, 11 dark chocolate eggs, 11 vegan eggs and 11 eggs intended for children.
Cutter & Squidge's 21.99 Billionaire Filled Easter Egg and Abel & Cole 12.95 Cocoa Loco Marbled Chocolate Egg both won the title of best milk chocolate Easter egg for 2023, with both scoring 82/100.
Both were beloved by the panel for their thick chocolate shells and perfectly-executed mix of milk, white and dark chocolate.
Morrison's scored the highest in the white chocolate egg category with its 8 White & Blonde Chocolate Egg from their The Best line, with 82 out of 100.
Aldi's 2.99 Moser Roth Geometric Blonde Egg, 2.99 for 120g stood out as the best budget option, scoring 79 out of 100.
Waitroses 7 Orange Ribbon Easter Egg was the best overall dark chocolate egg, with a score of 85 out of 100.
Morrisons came on top as the best budget option in the category for its 6 The Best Belgium Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Egg, which scored 79 out of 100.
What are the best chocolate eggs to try this Easter? Cutter & Squidge's 21.99 Billionaire Filled Easter Egg was the joint winner of the best Milk chocolate egg category Easter eggs Number tested: 63 (Milk 20, White 10, Dark 11, Vegan 11, Kids 11), from a shortlist of 122 Joint best milk chocolate Easter egg Cutter & Squidge Billionaire Filled Easter Egg, 21.99 for 500g Score: 82/100 Joint best milk chocolate Easter egg Abel & Cole Cocoa Loco Marbled Chocolate Egg, 12.95 for 225g Morrisons' 6 The Best Belgium Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Egg, left, won the Best budget dark chocolate Easter egg title. Abe and Cole Cocoa Loco Marbled egg, right, jointly won best milk chocolate Easter egg Abel & Cole Cocoa Loco Giant Bakewell Cherry & Almond Egg, which costs 37.95, was crowned this year's Best vegan Easter egg Score: 82/100 Joint runner-up milk chocolate Easter egg Love Cocoa Giant Luxury Milk Chocolate Easter Egg, 40 for 500g Score: 80/100 Joint runner-up milk chocolate Easter egg Bettys Milk Chocolate Feuilletine Egg, 22 for 200g Score: 80/100 Best budget milk chocolate Easter egg Aldi Wildflower Egg, 12.99 for 200g Morrisons was crowned best white chocolate Easter egg with its The Best White & Blonde Chocolate Egg, costing 6, left. Waitrose Orange Ribbon Easter Egg, right, which costs 7 for 163g, won the dark chocolate egg title Score: 77/100 Best white chocolate Easter egg Morrisons The Best White & Blonde Chocolate Egg, 6 for 240g Score: 82/100 Runner-up white chocolate Easter egg Waitrose Raspberry Ribbon Easter Egg, 7 for 175g Score: 81/100 Best budget white chocolate Easter egg Aldi Moser Roth Geometric Blonde Egg, 2.99 for 120g Score: 79/100 Chococo Dorset's 13 Dinosaur Studded Egg was crowned the best children Easter egg of 2023 Best dark chocolate Easter egg Waitrose Orange Ribbon Easter Egg, 7 for 163g Score: 85/100 Runner-up dark chocolate Easter egg Asda Extra Special Peppermint & Cocoa Nib Dark Chocolate Egg, 7 for 400g Score: 83/100 Best budget dark chocolate Easter egg Morrisons The Best Belgium Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Egg, 6 for 240g Score: 73/100. ASDA's 3 Milk Chocolate Egg Easter Special Delivery snatched the title of best budget pick for kids Best vegan Easter egg Abel & Cole Cocoa Loco Giant Bakewell Cherry & Almond Egg, 37.95 for 1250g Score: 78/100 Runner-up vegan Easter egg Venchi Nougatine Egg, 39 for 570g Score: 76/100 Best budget vegan Easter egg ASDA Free From Lemon Cheesecake Easter Egg, 4.50 for 160g Score: 70/100 Best kids Easter egg Chococo Dorset Dinosaur Studded Egg, 13 for 175g Score: 74/100 Joint runner-up kids Easter egg Nomo Crispie Egg & Lolly, 3.50 for 92g Score: 73/100 Joint runner-up kids Easter egg Melt Maracca Filled Chocolate Eggs, 6.50 for 38g Score: 73/100 Best budget kids Easter egg ASDA Milk Chocolate Egg Easter Special Delivery, 3 for 100g Score: 70/100 Advertisement
Abel and Cole's 37.95 Cocoa Loco Giant Bakewell Cherry & Almond Egg was crowned the best vegan option of 2023, scoring 78 out of 100 thanks to its thick chocolate shell and its generous chunks of almonds and sour cherries.
ASDA's 4.50 Free From Lemon Cheesecake Easter Egg got the title for best budget vegan Easter egg, with 70 out 100.
When it comes to children, Chococo Dorset's 13 Dinosaur Studded Egg delighted testers with the dinosaurs and fossils embedded in its shell.
Asda's 3 Milk Chocolate Egg Easter Special Delivery scored 70 out of 100, winning the best budget options for the little ones.
No Easter would be complete without a generous Easter Dinner, and the taste test also included a ranking of the best meat, fish and vegan out there.
Waitrose came out on top with its 6.90 Whole Chicken With Garlic And Herbs, which scored 85 out of 100.
If you want to go for a traditional Good Friday supper Aldi's 4.49 Specially Selected Cheese & Dill Salmon Wellington, scored an impressive 83 out of 100.
Cook earned the top spot for veggie options with its 12 Portobello Mushroom Wellington, with a score of 77 out of 100. Meanwhile, ASDA's 5.55 wellington won in the vegan stakes, with a score of 76 out of 100.
Callum Black, Food & Drink Testing Manager at the Good Housekeeping Institute said: 'We started preparing for the Easter taste test back in December, and Im pleased to say the results prove you neednt spend a lot for a feast to remember.
'With the cost-of-living crisis still driving our shopping habits, were proud to have included a budget option in every category.
When it comes to roast dinner centrepieces, our winners reflect the best of British produce, at a price point to suit all.
'And elsewhere we were delighted to see our top-rated Easter eggs had an ethical and sustainable focus something we hope to see more of in future testing.'
A woman has laid bare the horrific trauma that she experienced as a teenager in response to the CDC's recent report that teen girls are becoming 'sadder' - from having nude photos leaked to everyone in her school to a man threatening to 'rape her' after she turned down his flirting.
Julia Fomby, 22, from Salt Lake City, Utah, posted a TikTok video detailing the horrifying things that she endured during her teen years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that a new survey showed that a startlingly-high amount of young women said they had considered taking their own lives.
Her video also came days after Senator John Kennedy claimed that young women are becoming 'more fragile' and that social media is 're-affirming a culture of victimhood.'
Julia explained that she once had to deal with her naked pictures being spread to almost every guy she knew, and that a stranger said he was going to sexually assault her because she rolled her eyes at him.
A woman has laid bare the horrific trauma that she experienced as a teenager in response to the CDC's recent report that teen girls are becoming 'sadder'
Julia Fomby, 22, from Salt Lake City, Utah, said she had nude photos leaked to everyone in her school and that a man once threatening to 'rape her' after she turned down his flirting
She also said she was forced to empty a purse that she used to carry tampons in front of all of her classmates, which left her mortified.
The CDC's shocking new findings about teen girls and mental health Three in five (57 per cent) US teen girls said they felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021 - double that of boys and a 60 per cent increase over the past decade
One in three (30 per cent) US teen girls said they seriously considered attempting suicide - up nearly 60 per cent from a decade ago
One in five (18 per cent) US teen girls said they experienced sexual violence in the past year - up 20 per cent since 2017
One in 10 (14 per cent) US teen girls said they had been forced to have sex - up 27 per cent since 2019 Advertisement
'So this week, the CDC released a study saying that girls are "sadder" than they used to be,' she began in the TikTok video, which has now been viewed more than 860,000 times.
'Also, something I saw this week on Twitter was Senator John Kennedy saying that girls are being more "fragile" and re-affirming this idea of, like, victimhood.
'So here's a list of things that I experienced as a teenage girl that I think would send any Senator in today's day and age - any male Senator at the very least - into a coma.'
Julia began by detailing the moment she found out that intimate photos she had taken had been sent to others without her permission.
'My senior year of high school, somehow nude photos of me got leaked and got spread to everyone in the school - all the guys in my school - at like 7 in the morning and I had to go about my day like that had never happened,' she recalled.
'One time I got cat called by a guy while I was walking to my friend's house after school and I rolled my eyes at him, and then he saw that and proceeded to say, "I'll come over and rape you."'
'In middle school, I started my period, probably, like, when I was 12 maybe. I started carrying a purse around school to carry my tampons in because we couldn't carry around our backpacks.
'I got in trouble one day for carrying a purse and I was forced to empty it in front of all of my peers and stuff ... I was forced to embarrass myself in front of everyone.'
Julie posted a TikTok detailing the horrifying things that she endured during her teen years after a survery conducted by the CDC showed a rise in teen girls who have considered suicide
The CDC's survey was conducted among 17,232 US high school students. Results showed that three in five teen girls - amounting to 57 per cent - said they felt 'persistently sad or hopeless'
Her video also came days after Senator John Kennedy claimed that young women are becoming 'more fragile' and that social media is 're-affirming a culture of victimhood'
The Salt Lake City-native also spoke out about the terrible pain that she would experience from her period cramps as a teen, which would sometimes leave her 'screaming, crying, and throwing up.'
'I would be up all night literally puking, in and out of the bath trying to alleviate some of the pain. It was probably some of the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life,' she added.
The CDC's survey was conducted among 17,232 US high school students. Results showed that three in five teen girls - amounting to 57 per cent - said they felt 'persistently sad or hopeless,' which is double the amount of teen boys, while one in three teen girls - amounting to 30 per cent - said they have seriously considered attempting suicide.
'While all teens reported increasing mental health challenges, experiences of violence, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, girls fared worse than boys across nearly all measures,' the report said.
The survey also found that one in five women said they had experienced sexual assault within the past year, and that one in 10 had been raped.
Julia said she had to deal with naked pictures being spread around her school, and that a stranger once said he was going to sexually assault her because she rolled her eyes at him
She also said she was once forced to empty a purse that she used to carry tampons in front of all of her classmates, which left her mortified
'Hre's a list of things that I experienced as a teenage girl that I think would send any Senator in today's day and age - any male Senator at the very least - into a coma,' she said in the clip
'Our teenage girls are suffering through an overwhelming wave of violence and trauma, and its affecting their mental health,' said Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDCs Division of Adolescent and School Health during a briefing last Monday.
'For every 10 teenage girls you know, at least one of them, and probably more, has been raped.'
Last week, Senator Kennedy, of Louisiana, made a series of comments stating that young women are becoming 'more fragile' during a hearing about the harmful effects of social media.
'We've talked about a number of problems that are presented by social media - data privacy, sexual exploitation, but also mental health and the impact that I think it's clearly having on particularly young women in the Gen-Z generation - 10 or 11 to 25 and 26,' he said.
'They're living their lives on social media. They're not developing interpersonal relationships.
'It's making them very fragile. It's re-affirming this culture of victimhood. They're not getting ready for the world.'
A mother who avoided cervical screening appointments for 13 years due to being 'too busy' has shared her regret after being diagnosed with incurable cancer.
Esther Hodges, from Barnet, London, who juggles two jobs as an accounts supervisor and cleaner, as well as being a mother-of-two, said her busy life got in the way of important health check ups.
Just over a year ago, the 49-year-old had no reason to suspect anything was wrong until she experienced a haemorrhage in a club toilet while on a night out.
Shortly after the incident, Esther's earth shattered as she was diagnosed with stage two cervical cancer that is bordering on stage three.
Esther, who is also a grandmother, said she is now making the most of her time with her family, saying: 'I hate myself for missing my appointments and have to live with that now for however long I have left.'
Esther Hodges, from London, who avoided cervical screening appointments for 13 years due to being 'too busy' has shared her regret after being diagnosed with incurable cancer
Esther, who juggles two jobs as an accounts supervisor and cleaner, as well as being a mum-of-two, was diagnosed with stage two cervical cancer that is bordering on stage three
Esther says that when it came to booking the smear test, life got in the way.
She said: 'I had not had one since 2009 unfortunately I just kept putting it off.
'I would get the odd letter from my GP and I would think about going soon but I just never did.'
But in November 2021, she began experiencing excruciating pain that she claims doctors dismissed as hormone problems after she stopped receiving her contraceptive injections.
Esther added: 'I loved going out with friends. I have a group of girls who are all very close.
'I was known as the life and soul of the party. I started to get really bad lower back pain. It got to the point where I would be rolling round the floor in agony.
'I went to my GP and was told that it can take about three months for your hormones to go back to normal after coming off the contraceptive injection.
'They just told me to take paracetamol but it got so bad I started to go to my local A&E who basically said the same thing.
'The only way I could describe it is like labour pains but all in your back.
Esther said on her birthday night out, she haemorrhaged blood in a nightclub toilet.
Just over a year ago, the 49-year-old had no reason to suspect anything was wrong until she experienced a haemorrhage in a club toilet while on a night out
Esther, who said she was known as the life and soul of the party, said she loved going out and socialising with friends
An ambulance was called and Esther was rushed to hospital, who arranged for her local oncologist to see her and she was soon given the devastating news
Esther described the pain as like labour pains but all in her back (Pictured with her granddaughter Nevaeh)
The mother-of-two, who is also a grandmother, said she was left devastated by the 'hurt' in her family and friends faces
She explained: 'I went out with friends for my birthday last January and I felt fine at first.
'When we got to the club I said to my best friend when we get in, I need to go straight to the toilet because I had a little bit of a belly ache.
'I then found massive lumps of blood falling out of me.'
An ambulance was called and Esther was rushed to hospital, who arranged for her local oncologist to see her and she was soon given the devastating news.
She said: 'I felt so numb.'
She continued: 'How I wish I took that 20 minutes out of my day to go to my appointment.
'It might have been picked up earlier and I wouldn't be in this situation now.
'It breaks my heart seeing so much hurt in my family and friends faces over this.
'I couldn't tell my children [at first] and my step-mother was with me when I got the original diagnosis.
'When we left the appointment, she phoned my family and children to tell them, they were completely numb.
'I wanted everybody to know, but I was in too much of a state to tell them.
Esther said she felt terrified about losing her hair, which was her identity but she wanted to turn a negative into a positive by shaving it off for charity
As Esther makes the most of her time left with her family and friends, she has shared her story to highlight how crucial it is to attend the short, routine smear test (Pictured, left, with her grandchildren Nevaeh and Rhinaya, and right, with friends)
Sadly, in September 2022, Esther found out the cancer has also spread to her lungs and will she stay on a trial immunotherapy drug for two years
Esther said that doctors have told her that her cancer is treatable but not curable and she has had to go through a range of treatments including 12 rounds of chemotherapy and 25 rounds of radiotherapy in total
Esther said that doctors have told her that her cancer is treatable but not curable and she has had to go through a range of treatments including 12 rounds of chemotherapy and 25 rounds of radiotherapy in total, as well as six rounds of a trial drug.
Sadly, in September 2022, Esther found out the cancer has also spread to her lungs.
'I feel like I've done it to myself and can't help but think if I only I went to my appointment they might have spotted it sooner.'
Now, for Esther, she says it's 'killing her' inside knowing she won't be able to see her children, Charlotte, 29 and Keyona, 19, as well as her grandchildren, grow up.
She said: 'I felt so horrible I just asked if they could take my lung out but that is not an option.
'I am having chemo and a trial drug. The chemo was only six sessions I have my last one the end of this month.
'I will have the trial drug every three weeks for two years.
'I asked my consultant what the survival rate is and she said half her patients are still here within the two years and sadly half have passed. It's all about how my body reacts to treatment.
'I know it's never going to go and at some point, will kill me. But they are trying to contain it and stop it spreading anywhere else.'
Esther has been overwhelmed with the amount of support her friends and family have provided her in this time of need.
As she is unsure of how much time she has left, the mother plans on making every moment count with the people who mean most to her.
She said: 'Everybody is devastated and just there for support.
As she is unsure of how much time she has left, the mother plans on making every moment count with the people who mean most to her
Esther Hodges, with her brother Owen, raised over 8,600 by taking part in Macmillan's Brave the Shave fundraiser
GI Salon owner and friend, Greg Gregoriou, Ella Forster (Macmillan Fundraising Manager), Esther Hodges and hair stylist Dean Foster (who shaved Esther's head) present the incredible 8,616 Esther raised whilst going through cancer treatment
'I don't want to know how long I could have left so I am just trying to carry on being me. I will just let nature take its course.
'I want to make lots of special memories with my loved ones and do as much fund raising as I can for them to speak and remember me for the good I've done.'
Esther is also focusing her efforts on raising money and awareness for charities including Great Ormond Street Hospital.
She hopes to spread one very clear message: don't miss your health appointments.
She said: 'Please take the time out of your day to go for a cervical screening.
'You think it will not happen to you but it can I'm a prime example. I am just trying to take each day as it comes and just enjoy however long I have left.'
Inside Our Autistic Minds viewers broke down in tears last night as Chris Packham opened up about his 'relatable' everyday struggles with Asperger's Syndrome.
The Springwatch star, 61, explained how he been avoiding going into his study since having shelves built as the disorder makes him feel 'out of control'.
In the opening moments of the documentary, Chris was seen carrying a cardboard box into the annex of his New Forest home.
Describing how tidying the space is proving such a challenge, he said: 'I don't like coming in this room.
'I moved here a couple of years ago, which meant that I had to take my library to pieces so I've had all of these shelves built to get it up and running again.
Chris Packham (pictured) allowed cameras in the study of his New Forest home after admitting that the disorder made him feel 'out of control'
'But that's a massive challenge because that means I've got to deal with something my type of autistic experience doesn't welcome - change.'
In one poignant moment, the presenter goes to place a book on one of the top shelves before then second-guessing himself.
Getting frustrated, he said: 'It's just not going to work, is it? It's not going to live there, is it? [...] Well it's not now.'
Covering his face with his hands, the conservationist - who was diagnosed with Asperger's when he was 44 - said he was worried about this particular moment being shared with viewers.
He said: 'I'm just self-conscious of the fact that you might be thinking, "just get a grip - put the books in order of subject and get them on the shelves man."
'Change is disastrous. For me, change becomes difficult because it represents a loss of control. I'm not in control of this situation, I've lost control of my library.'
However, the presenter says that the library was a sanctuary for him when everything is in its proper place - which allows him to be 'confident and comfortable enough to be [his] real self.'
After sharing this vulnerable moment, viewers were full of praise for the presenter and the documentary as a whole. Elsewhere in the show, Chris meets with teaching assistant Anton, who also struggles with his desire for control, and 19-year-old student Ethan, who is hypersensitive to sound.
The presenter, 61, he was worried about this particular moment being shared with viewers as he thought some may tell him to 'get a grip'
Chris said he had been avoiding sorting out his books. He added: 'It means I've got to deal with something my type of autistic experience doesn't welcome - change.
One tweeted: 'Oh god, I had such empathy watching Chris trying to deal with change. His anxiety, panic and discomfort was palpable.'
Another added: 'I don't get emotional often but Chris Packham's all-too-short series on autism was so beautiful and wonderful that I welled up.
'This is the BBC at its best and encapsulates [former Director-General] Lord Reith's vision: "Inform, educate and entertain." Superb.'
Discussing the parallels in their own life, a third said: 'It makes me so emotional in relation to my son and I see a lot of me in it too. Incredible programme.'
Meanwhile, a fourth wrote: 'So beautiful, I just spontaenously burst into tears. No longer crying but tears rolling down my face.
'I still don't know what triggered it. A feeling I have a tribe out there.'
Describing the show as 'very relatable', a fifth said: 'The preference for patterns, the seeking sensory experiences for comfort, the strict routines and times I need to keep to, the overwhelm I get when things suddenly change.'
The poignant moment struck a chord with viewers - who commented that Chris' 'panic was palpable'
Later on in the programme, Chris met with Dr Luke Beardon from Sheffield Hallam University, an expert in autistic hypersensitivity, to learn about his own restrictive behavior.
When asked if he ever repeats daily tasks until he gets them 'just right', Chris said: 'Redoing things is the story of my life.
'I'm constantly redoing everything to try and get it "righter".'
Demonstrating how he also organises things in 'rows or patterns', Chris then invited Dr Beardon to take a look in his wardrobe - where he has colour-coded his t-shirts collection.
He said: 'These are my everyday t-shirts. What's important is that there is a spectrum order here.
'I also like to have a uniformity of hangers and the hangers need to be equally spaced.'
Later on in the show, Chris met with Dr Luke Beardon from Sheffield Hallam University, an expert in autistic hypersensitivity
Chris invited Dr Beardon to take a look in his wardrobe - where he has colour-coded his t-shirts collection
What's more, the Springwatch star says even being immersed in the natural environment he loves so much can be 'overwhelming' for him.
Describing how people without Asperger's syndrome might just see a beautiful woodland scene when they venture into a forest, he explains that he experiences it very differently, seeing 'every trunk, every branch'.
Packham says his version of autism is 'enormously beneficial' for a naturalist, but also admits that sometimes the 'visual part of my world' is simply too much, saying 'it becomes utterly overwhelming'.
Last month, the nature lover revealed he's cancelled all TV work for the next three months after feeling completely 'burnt out'.
Career: Chris says this is the first time in his TV career he has taken a break (pictured filming The Really Wild Show which ran from 1986 to 1995)
Scars: Packham says he was bullied at school and feels relief that there wasn't social media around at the time so his tormenters 'could never get to me in my bedroom' (Pictured as a child, and in the new BBC2 series)
Signs of Autism in adults: finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling getting very anxious about social situations finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on your own seeming blunt, rude or not interested in others without meaning to finding it hard to say how you feel having the same routine every day and getting very anxious if it changes
noticing small details, patterns, smells or sounds that others do not
having a very keen interest in certain subjects or activities
liking to plan things carefully before doing them Source: NHS Advertisement
The host of BBC's Winterwatch and Springwatch went public with his own Asperger's syndrome in 2016, and the following year made a BBC documentary on the subject titled, Asperger's and Me.
He says people with autism should be understood not tolerated as he voiced his fears about the impact of social media on youngsters living with the condition.
The presenter says he is still scarred from the horrific bullying he faced as a child and said his life would have been absolute hell if one particular bully could have continued to abuse him online too.
He said: When I went to my bedroom in the 1970s and I closed the door and there was no way of reaching me, I found security. I was in that space where I could just carry on existing.
But now that bedroom has been penetrated by social media because those kids will have their phones and they will have access to those people who misunderstand them.
Explaining how it's estimated that 700,000 people in the UK could have autism, he continued: I can see because of my visual memory some of the most horrific things that other young people said to me when I was a kid and they still hurt now which means theyve carried a burden to now.
Theyve tattooed something unpleasant in my psyche that will still have an influence now. If thats coming through Instagram or TikTok or Facebook, that can be pretty damaging.
Im so pleased that a particular child in my early life could never get to me in my bedroom because he made my life absolute hell the damage is done. It just never goes away.
Packham did acknowledge that social media could provide a space for finding like-minded people who are not in your classroom and urged those with an enormous voice to use it to raise awareness for autism.
We just need to find people who have a voice and have the bravery to speak out but that is hard, he said. There are some great people with great voices who you know could be using for great good but theyre just not doing it. Its pretty sad.
A cider maker has been left outraged after the UK's alcohol industry regulator threatened to ban one of its drinks because the name and logo is 'too sexual'.
The Bearded Brewery, based in Cornwall, says the complaint is 'utterly disgraceful' - after alcohol trade body the Portman Group said the imagery, name and slogan could be seen as referring to the 'pursuit of a young woman's virginity'.
The cherry-flavoured Unshaven Maiden cider is apparently 'too sexual' - with its logo showing a mermaid figurehead on a pirate ship, her breasts partially covered by her long red beard and hair, and its slogan saying: 'Search for the cherry'd treasure'.
Bearded Brewery co-founder Robbie Langouroux-Fay said the regulatory body has been trying to force him to ditch his CAMRA award-winning cider for a few years after a Guardian food and drink columnist first took offence at the name.
Since then, the 4 per cent ABV cider has been in the firing line for its overt 'sexual content'.
A cider maker has been left outraged after the UK's alcohol industry regulator banned one of its drinks because the name and logo (pictured) is 'too sexual'
Robbie said: 'I'm a dad of an 11-year-old and five-year-old girls. I'm a family man. The complaint is ridiculous. What the Portman Group have written back to us is quite shocking.
'They're implying that our product and our brewery support people looking to sleep with underage girls. It's utterly disgraceful.
'This is a dark place. It's something we had not even thought of when we came up with the name. Who thinks that? It just reflects back on them. I told them as much.'
A statement from Matt Lambert, CEO of The Portman Group, insisted the trade body's decision was 'provisional' rather than 'final', and that the brewer has the opportunity to appeal the decision.
The Bearded Brewery in St Mawgan, which was co-founded with Mark Long, has been making a name for itself for almost six years, trading on the beards, tattoos, bikers and pirates imagery since day one.
Among the ciders the brewery produces are the 6.2 per cent Storm Damage, the 5.5 per cent Swallows Rest and the 8 per cent Tanker Slapper as well as the Moustache Mango cider, Shaky Todd or Pink Fluffer.
However, it is the Unshaven Maiden which attracted the ire of the Portman Group with a formal hearing following a second complaint by another craft cider maker before Christmas.
In its letter to the Bearded Brewery, which has been seen by CornwallLive, the Portman Group said the mermaid was too prominent compared with the rest of the ship, and too life-like.
It also said the name and the image of a half-naked woman combined with the tagline 'search for the cherry'd treasure' was too sexual and could cause widespread offence.
The Bearded Brewery, based in Cornwall, says the complaint made by the Portman Group is 'utterly disgraceful'. Pictured, founders Mark Long and Robbie Langouroux-Fay at the Bearded Brewery in St Mawgan with their cider 'Unshaven Maiden'
The complaint - dated November 2022 - that Unshaven Maiden is 'unnecessarily sexual', was made under the Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks which states that a 'drink, its packaging and promotional material should not in any direct or indirect way suggest any association with sexual activity or sexual success'.
It was also made under another article of the code that no drink should be produced that causes 'serious or widespread offence'.
Robbie said he tried to argue that the bearded mermaid was in the context of his business's name - Bearded Brewery - while the tagline is a play on the words 'search for the buried treasure' as well as a reference to the cherry flavour of the cider.
The letter from the Portman Group reads: 'The panel noted that "maiden" could relate to a virgin or an unmarried young woman.
'Furthermore, the panel considered this alongside the tagline "search for the cherry'd treasure", which reinforced the perception that the name referred to a pursuit of a young woman's virginity.
'The overall impression conveyed by the product packaging meant that the overriding meaning communicated was a deliberate double entendre with strong sexual connotations.
'Furthermore, the panel expressed concern that "search for the cherry'd treasure", when understood in the wider context of searching for a young virgin woman, suggested that seeking out virgins was in some way acceptable.'
The Portland Group's letter added: 'When considering these elements in combination, the panel concluded that the name, the tagline and prominent depiction of the partially nude, life-like mermaid all linked to a sexual innuendo of hunting for a young woman's virginity, and created an indirect association with sexual activity.
'The panel concluded such messaging was offensive, and damaging in the wider context of gender stereotypes, which was out of place with societal values in 2022.'
The Portman Group upheld the complaint from last year's preliminary hearing at a more recent meeting this month. Robbie said he's filed one last appeal and is awaiting the outcome.
It is the second time the brewery has been in trouble over the name of its products.
In 2019, the cidermaker had to stop producing its 7.8 per cent Suicyder because it was deemed to portray a link between alcohol and suicide.
Robbie added: 'We made that cider specifically to raise awareness and money for mental health charities like MIND and Man Down in Cornwall.
'After the latest complaint, I honestly feel like making ciders that are as offensive as possible so they continue to ban us and give us free publicity. The whole thing is just ridiculous.'
Under the rules, drink makers have several choices about how to proceed. Most producers will make changes to their packaging to bring it in line with the code or voluntarily remove it from the UK market.
On its website, the Portman Group said that if producers do not take action within three months, the group can issue a retailer alert bulletin which would stop the sale of any problematic product.
Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group, said: 'A complaint was received related to Bearded Brewerys product. The Independent Complaints Panel (Panel) reviewed this first on 10 November 2022 and issued a provisional decision to the producer upholding the complaint on the grounds the product packaging created an indirect association with sexual activity and was likely to cause widespread offence. It is important to emphasise this is a provisional decision, not a final decision.'
He added that The Bearded Brewery were given the opportunity to appeal the decision on 20 February, before a final decision is made.
Mr Lambert added: 'Whatever the outcome, we support willing producers where complaints are upheld through our Advisory Service. We can help them to amend designs to comply with the Code and only as a last resort issue a Retailer Alert Bulletin asking for the product not to be restocked.'
Twenty Democratic governors are organizing a network to improve abortion access since the US Supreme Court struck down a woman's constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy and gave state governments regulatory responsibility over abortion.
The Reproductive Freedom Alliance, chaired by California Gov. Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party, allows governors and their staffs to reinforce abortion rights for 170 million Americans and services for the remaining US citizens in states with more stringent regulations, as per an AP News story.
Organizers said that includes exchanging model legislative wording and presidential orders safeguarding abortion access, measures to shield abortion doctors from prosecution, and efforts to optimize government funding for reproductive health care, including birth control post-Roe v Wade.
Moreover, the coalition of Democratic Party governors will promote support for abortion pharmaceutical and contraception makers facing possible new restrictions from republicans.
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Upholding Fundamental Rights
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham emphasized that the launch comes as a Texas federal court weighs a challenge to medication abortion, which currently accounts for most US abortions.
California Governor Gavin Newsom called the initiative "a moral obligation" and a "firewall" to safeguard fundamental rights, per the Washington Post. The coalition includes the Democratic Party governors of every presidential battlefield state, including Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina's Roy Cooper, Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro, and Wisconsin's Tony Evers.
The alliance's start-up funds come from the California Wellness Foundation and the Rosenberg Foundation, per WRIC News's report. Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court said that an investigation into who leaked the Roe v. Wade decision weeks before it was made public failed to identify the culprit, according to a previous HNGN report.
Last month, the Supreme Court called the leak "a horrific attack on the judicial process," and the inquiry's inconclusiveness was a further embarrassment.
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A sweet letter written by a six-year-old King Charles to his 'ill Granny' has been found in a loft - has sold for 7,000 at auction.
The note, urging the Queen Mother to 'be better soon' was penned in 1955, and signs off with 'lots of love' from the royal.
The incredible discovery, which had been 'gathering dust' for decades, was made during a Christmas break clear-out by a couple who live near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire - who had no idea the royal letter existed.
'We finally had the time to look through a big box file that my mother had given to us,' the unnamed seller, a 49-year-old farm manager, said.
Another surprising discovery in the collection, which will go under the hammer at a sale by Hansons Auctioneers, of Etwall, Derbyshire, on March 7, is a booklet titled 'The Words of Her Majesty The Queen, Christmas Day Nineteen Hundred and Fifty-Six'.
A sweet letter written by a six-year-old King Charles to his 'ill Granny' has been found in a loft is expected to sell for 2,000 (pictured)
The letter from a young King Charles features a selection of colourful doodles and kisses.
The letter on Buckingham Palace notepaper, dated March 15, also shows off the young King's neat and large handwriting.
The letter had originally belonged to their late grandfather, Roland Stockdale, who is understood to have been 'involved in helping to protect the Queen Mother.
The seller believes his grandfather 'probably worked with several royals over time.'
Roland was also highly regarded by William Tallon - or 'Backstairs Billy' - the Queen Mother's devoted servant - because there is correspondence in the collection from him.
It includes a postcard sent to Roland in January, 1983 from Sandringham which begins 'Dear Sarg, Queen Elizabeth told me this morning that you are not well*'.
A few weeks later on February 7, Tallon offered his condolences to Mrs Stockdale following Roland's death.
A letter to her on Clarence House headed paper said: 'I am so dreadfully sorry to hear* of your very sad loss and the family have all my deepest sympathy at this awful moment in time.
'I always thought most highly of Ron (the best and kindest Sgt we ever had). I only hope that all was peaceful at the end and that he didn't have to suffer.'
The letter on Buckingham Palace notepaper, dated March 15, also shows off the young King's neat and large handwriting
The seller has 'absolutely no idea' how the letter from King Charles (pictured with the Queen Mother) came into his grandfather's possession
Roland - who passed away in his seventies - was originally a farm worker from Carlisle. He had moved to London to find work, and got a job with the Metropolitan Police.
This would lead to him being entrusted to work for the Queen's personal protection force during the 1950s.
The file includes pictures of him in the Information Room in Scotland Yard in 1952.
The seller explained that Roland's box - which was passed down to his son, and later, daughter-in-law, contained 'lots of royal memorabilia'.
'My wife said "wow, look at that!",' they added. 'We were pretty gobsmacked but we weren't sure whether anyone would be interested in it.
'My grandad was a man of few words and never really spoke about his time working with the royal family but he was clearly well thought of.'
The seller has 'absolutely no idea' how the letter from King Charles came into his grandfather's possession.
Charles Hanson, pictured, said that the sweet surprise note from the then-Prince was a touching find
'It's one of many things he kept,' they said. 'The file includes royal menus, an invitation to a dance at Balmoral Castle for his wife Audrey Stockdale, a note signed by the Queen Mother and a George VI Memorial Westminster booklet from October 21, 1955.'
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said the sweet note from the then-Prince was a touching find.
'The childhood letter from King Charles, written with painstaking care on lined paper, is heart-warming,' he said. 'Amid recent royal family rifts it is lovely to see a simple demonstration of affection sent from a boy to his granny.'
The Queen Mother died in 2002.
It is a copy of the Queen's 1956 Christmas broadcast which she delivered from her study in Sandringham, Norfolk.
'These rare royal finds are remarkable, even more so when you consider the family had no idea they had them in their care for around 40 years,' the auctioneers owner added.
'We all hang on to items throughout our life, such as cards and letters. Roland did the same and, like the vast majority of us, never thought to mention them to his family.
'He was clearly a devoted royal servant who treasured any snippet of royal memorabilia offered to him. It is clear from the tone of the correspondence that the royal family held Roland in high regard for his kindness.
'It has long been normal practice for members of the royal family to give away small keepsakes and personal mementos to valued servants.
The Queen Mother died in 2002. In a recent documentary, royal experts claimed that the King was 'closer to the Queen Mother ' as a young boy. Charles pictured between the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret
The letter from Prince Charles has an estimated price of 2,000-3,000. Pictured,, the King as a baby in 1949
'Such was the warmth felt for Roland, it appears the Queen Mother allowed him to keep one or two special items.'
The letter from Prince Charles has an estimated price of 2,000-3,000 while the Queen's Christmas Day Speech, privately printed and scarce, is guided at 100-200.
Other items include three small gift tags signed by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, circa 1960, 300-500; a note card inscribed and signed by the Queen Mother, 100-150, and two letters by Backstairs Billy, 50-80.
In total, the collection is expected to make in the region of 4,000 at auction.
A pilot has revealed the secret staircase on a Boeing jet that leads to beds for cabin crew to rest during their shift.
Steve Giordano, from New Jersey, took to his Twitter page @JTTsteve to showcase the hidden staircase which leads to the bedroom.
In the clip, which racked up over 71,000 views, the pilot said: 'Here is the crew rest area on the dreamliner here.'
Panning around the kitchen area he said 'it's in the galley' before opening up a door which initially looked like a cupboard door.
He walked up a narrow staircase into a small area with two beds with curtains between them for privacy.
Crew rest area on the B787-9 for your viewing pleasure #AvGeek pic.twitter.com/vSsFSo5w2w Steve Giordano (@JTTsteve) February 21, 2023
Steve Giordano, from New Jersey, revealed the secret staircase on a Boeing jet that leads to beds for cabin crew to rest during their shift
The pilot took to his Twitter page @JTTsteve to showcase the hidden staircase which leads to the bedroom
Steve showed that there is also a seat in the room and a place for staff to hang their uniforms.
He captioned the video: 'Crew rest area on the B787-9 for your viewing pleasure #AvGeek.'
Many people who were impressed by the sleeping quarters rushed to the comments.
One person wrote: 'That's a pretty comfy spot, except for the seat. Hopefully delivering to a new owner.'
Another wrote: 'If you are patient at the end of a trip and wait until the end you can often visit the flight deck and the crew are always happy to show you around - did this on one of my early A380 flights - talked about thrust settings for take off etc'
Someone else said: 'Nice. It's good to see they have a place to get away from passengers and relax!'
Many people who were impressed by the sleeping quarters rushed to the comments while others were not so sure about the space
Meanwhile others were not so sure about the space as some thought it looked a little too small and another thought it would be strange sleeping next to a colleague.
One person said: 'Claustrophobic me says no thanks as much as it looks cool.'
Another person wrote: 'Nice, much better than our A380 ones, though not sure how I'd feel about sleeping 'next' to someone with just a curtain between us, as opposed to above/below them.'
It comes after Steve shared a heart-stopping moment he descended through blinding cloud that hid the runway until just moments before the aircraft landed last year.
He was on the point of aborting landing the Boeing 767-300 when co-pilot Bob Allen spotted the runway lights, allowing them to touch down in Blytheville, Arkansas.
They were flying the 22-year-old former Japanese Airlines aircraft from Tokyo, to the small Arkansas airport.
Giordano was on the point of aborting landing the Boeing 767-300 when Allen spotted the runway lights, allowing them to touch down at the small airport in Arkansas
Giordano switched off the jet's autopilot and lined up the aircraft for the runway
The airport is not equipped with a modern instrument landing system making landing in poor weather considerably easier.
Cockpit footage captures the two men performing a 'non precision approach' to the 11,000ft runway - meaning they had to see the runway from more than a mile out if they were to continue with their landing.
The non-precision approach system was similar to that used by pilots in the aftermath of World War Two, before modern navigation systems were developed.
As the aircraft descends through the cloud, one pilot monitors the instruments, keeping a close eye on the jet's speed and altitude while the other looks out for the the runway.
The footage, which was broadcast on Giordano's YouTube channel Cockpit Casual, shows the wipers on the windshield working at full speed as the aircraft descends through the cloud.
In a precision approach, a beam is broadcast from the end of the runway which tells a pilot if they are on the correct course to land on the center of the airstrip.
The royal, 74, toured the warehouse and kitchens of the Felix Project in Poplar
The King today praised the efforts of millions of 'wonderful' volunteers up and down the country.
And he urged organisations to nominate some of their most dedicated helpers for his wife's Coronation Champions Awards.
The monarch was speaking during a visit to The Felix Project in East London, which distributes surplus supermarket food.
It is London's largest food redistribution charity and works to tackle both food waste and food poverty, last year saving more than 12,000 tonnes of high-quality food which would otherwise have gone to waste.
Charles had been due to be accompanied by his wife, but the Queen Consort decided to pull out of the visit as she continues to recover from Covid.
The King today praised the efforts of millions of 'wonderful' volunteers up and down the country during a visit to a food charity
Charles today unveiled a freezer as he made a solo visit to a food charity in east London - while the Queen Consort stayed back to continue her recovery from Covid
And the engagement appeared to be a hit with local residents, who were pictured waving and observing the monarch from nearby apartment balconies
The charity's kitchen makes between 3,500 and 5,000 meals every day, ranging from chicken curry and rice to lentil bake and mashed potatoes.
And it relies on a dedicated 1,500-strong volunteer workforce to do it.
Unveiling a plaque to mark the visit, Charles said: 'I must just say what a remarkable organisations the Felix project is.
'I wanted to join in thanking them and congratulating them on the remarkable differences they are making all around this country. You are setting a fantastic example.
'Above all, it is a wonderful example of volunteering at its best.
'So I can't thank you enough, and all the volunteers, who represent a remarkable number all around this country, who make so many valuable things happen in their remarkable way.
'So thank you to all the volunteers. Hopefully there may be some Coronation Champions volunteers among you, never know. '
Buckingham Palace said Camilla had made an 'excellent recovery' but was taking time out ahead of a busy day of royal engagements on Thursday.
The royal, 74, grinned as he revealed the appliance from beneath a lime green sheet and spoke with volunteers at the Felix Project, in Poplar
'That's it!' Charles laughed, brandishing the ice-box with a flourish and unveiling the new appliance
Charles inspected the freezer he had flourished during his visit to the food charity in east London today
Charles also spoke with food bank delivery drivers loading electric vehicles with cartons of groceries, listening intently as he learned about the organisation's work
Charles spoke to charity workers while they loaded vehicles with food for the city's most vulnerable
Charles, pictured during his solo visit, greeted food bank delivery drivers as he toured the charity today
King Charles examined the freezer after unveiling it during his visit to the east London charity today
Camilla, 75, contracted coronavirus recently for the second time and missed a run of engagements after suffering cold-like symptoms.
A Palace spokesperson said: 'Her Majesty has made an excellent recovery from last week's illness.
'However, to allow for additional preparation ahead of Thursday's rescheduled literary reception and other commitments, Her Majesty will not be attending today's Felix Project engagement.
'His Majesty's diary remains unaffected.'
During his visit today/yesterday her husband remained ice cool under the pressure of unveiling a freezer for the first time A lifelong champion of the environment and sustainability projects, the King has made a 'substantial' personal donation to a 1million fund providing freezers and fridges to charitable organisations in need, including The Felix Project.
Alongside London mayor Sadiq Khan, Charles unveiled one of the new freezers making its way to Hackney City Farm as part of a scheme to distribute 800 fridges and freezers around the UK to local food banks.
A palace aide said: 'It's the first time the King has unveiled a fridge or a freezer' and it will even be recorded on the court circular, the official record of royal engagements.
He also toured the kitchen where he was told how the charity is facing 'unprecedented' demand for its service with hundreds of new organisations on the waiting list to receive food.
Rosana Bailey, executive coordinator, said: 'We received one of the King's donated fridges in January and it has been incredible to meet His Majesty and thank him for this transformational gift.
'Before we got it there was nowhere for us to store food and it meant sometimes we had to waste items - fresh food that should be helping those in need.
Charles smiled as he spoke with staff at the food charity. The Felix Project provides meals for vulnerable people in London
Charles pictured with volunteers. The organisation, which distributes surplus supermarket food, is London's largest food redistribution charity and works to tackle both food waste and food poverty
'Now, we can store the food and give it out on another day, it has made a huge difference to our service and our community, particularly at a time when the need is so high.' One of the volunteers the king met was Angela Perry from Hackney, a part-time nurse who also helps out at The Felix Project two days a week.
She said: 'I've always done some sort of volunteering. There's a great team here. I sort stuff, date check, load vans, deliver to the charities, help in the kitchen. I love it so much if I come here for the morning I often end up working a double shift. I couldn't encourage people enough to get involved. You get an amazing sense of satisfaction.
'The king said to me 'we need people like you' two or three times and 'you must love this'. He was lovely. He's a good man.'
Nine days ago, on February 13, the Palace announced that Camilla had tested positive for Covid-19.
She missed visits to Milton Keynes, Birmingham and Telford last week and postponed a Clarence House literary reception to celebrate the second anniversary of her Reading Room book club, which is now due to take place on Thursday.
It comes as the King this week met with Ukrainian military recruits at a Wiltshire training camp to mark one year since the outbreak of war with Russia.
The King toured The Felix Project's warehouse and kitchens, where volunteers were preparing and packing meals
Its kitchen makes between 3,500 and 5,000 meals every day, ranging from chicken curry and rice to lentil bake and mashed potatoes
More than two million meals have been distributed so far, to organisations which either help people with no access to cooking facilities, or provide meals but do not have the catering facilities to feed everyone using their service
The charity, in a partnership with The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund, recently received a starter fund of 1 million, including a substantial personal donation from the King
Charles looked to be intrigued as a volunteer appeared to talk him through the organisation's kitchen set up
The king watched attentively as cooks in the charity's kitchen showed off their culinary chops today
The monarch was pictured shaking hands with soldiers who are completing their five weeks of basic combat training from British and international partner forces.
The royal was all smiles as he greeted the men, who will return to fight in Ukraine once their training complete.
He also took part in a hongi - the traditional Maori greeting where two people greet each other by rubbing noses - as he met a solider from New Zealand.
The hongi is an important part of New Zealand's culture and means the two people are now 'unified'.
While the soldiers were dressed in full uniform, Charles opted for more casual attire for his engagement this morning.
Along with his camel-coloured corduroy trousers, he wore a blue shirt and maroon printed tie.
Charles was without his wife, who pulled out of the engagement as she continues to recover from Covid
The King was all smiles as he arrived at the engagement, which he was initially meant to attend with Camilla, the Queen Consort
No longer, we're assured, will it ever be described as 'just a domestic'. For such a long time, that has been the dangerously dismissive term applied to the terrible violence which has been perpetrated behind closed doors, ruining the lives of women, children and, in some cases, men.
Some 2.4 million people in England and Wales, mostly women, experienced domestic abuse in the past year and it's worth remembering how many women's lives are ended in the home.
One in five murders happens as a result of a woman being killed there or soon after she has managed to leave the man who has beaten her, raped her, threatened her, or controlled her every move.
On the orders of the Home Secretary, the police are, at last, being ordered to adopt a Strategic Policing Requirement which puts violence against women and girls on the same level as terrorism, child sexual abuse and organised crime.
Every force in England and Wales is to be asked to target the most dangerous domestic abuse offenders. Those with a conviction for controlling or coercive behaviour will be managed by the police, prison and probation services, and added to the Violent and Sex Offender Register.
On the orders of the Home Secretary (pictured), the police are, at last, being ordered to adopt a Strategic Policing Requirement which puts violence against women and girls on the same level as terrorism, child sexual abuse and organised crime
There will also be a trial in three areas where perpetrators will be tagged and closely monitored.
Which is all fine. Domestic violence should be taken this seriously. But where's the money? Where are the numbers of police who are adequately trained or who have the adequate respect for women needed to take this work seriously?
How are women to trust officers when confidence in the police is at an all-time low? How are they to find out crimes are being committed when women are terrified of reporting what's going on?
I have two friends I now know have suffered for years. Before either of them married we would often go out together. They're highly educated, from middle-class families and I thought they'd done rather well in the marriage stakes. I was invited to both weddings and met what appeared to be nice young men. Good-looking, well- mannered, charming, with well-paid professional jobs.
Soon they were both set up in pleasant family homes and children came along pretty quickly.
I assumed when they refused my invitations to go out, maybe for a bite to eat or to see a film, it was a result of the pressures of trying to do their jobs and care for their children. I thought nothing of it.
I started to worry when the first one gave up her job and rarely answered my calls. On the one occasion I did manage to get hold of her and she agreed to go for coffee, I was alarmed to see she was wearing dark glasses on a cold wintry day. She took the glasses off in the coffee shop, revealing a black eye. She'd bumped into a kitchen cupboard, she said.
I was wise to the classic excuse and began to question her. Why had she never called me when I'd tried to contact her so many times? How had she really got her black eye? Why had she quit the work she loved?
We're talking here about women whose lives are too often at risk and children who can find no safety in their own homes. Surely, they are worth it
She made lame excuses until she finally burst into tears and told me he controlled everything. She was not allowed to see friends and family, he took care of the money, giving her an allowance to buy food. If she did anything to displease him, he thumped her, often in front of the children.
It was a long time ago and the term coercive control had not entered common parlance, but I knew what was going on. I begged her to get away. She had enough good friends who would help.
She should tell her family what was happening. She should report him to the police. She refused to do anything. She had no money, no prospects and was terrified she might lose her children. She made me promise to tell no one. We hugged as we parted. I never heard from her again.
The second woman fell off my radar soon after her marriage. I heard from mutual friends that she never answered their calls either and it was rumoured her husband was a 'bit of a bully' who wanted her at home looking after 'his' children, making sure his shirts were pristine and his dinner was on the table. He checked her phone to see who she'd spoken to.
None of us reported him. I wish we had, but would the police have thought it 'just a domestic'?
For this new scheme to work, it must be properly funded with police and probation services fully staffed and trained. Women must be given the confidence to ask for help and not feel any shame at revealing themselves as victims.
There is one positive move. A scheme launched in 2021 where a woman can go into her local chemist and 'Ask for Ani' (Action Needed Immediately) will now be available in 18 JobCentres and Jobs & Benefits offices across the UK, with staff trained to offer help.
No mention has been made of funding domestic violence refuges, of which there are not nearly enough and those that do exist struggle for money.
There's no point in the Home Secretary speaking of grand plans without finding the substantial sums to make them work.
We're talking here about women whose lives are too often at risk and children who can find no safety in their own homes. Surely, they are worth it.
Proof Hollywood stars are mortal, too
Actress Lily James attending the British Vogue And Tiffany & Co. Celebrate Fashion And Film Party 2023 at Annabel's earlier this week
I was rather pleased to see the lovely Lily James leaving a Baftas after-party this week with bare feet
I'm ever so slightly shamed to admit that I was rather pleased to see the lovely Lily James leaving a Baftas after-party earlier this week in a sparkly frock, fur stole and bare feet.
What a relief to discover that even the young, fashion-conscious stars can't wait to get their shoes off at the end of a long night.
End the stigma of free school meals
I can't agree with London's mayor Sadiq Khan on his diabolical traffic management, but free primary school meals for all is on the button.
London's mayor Sadiq Khan
Academic performance is proved to be better when children have a decent meal and this plan takes the shame out of being the one forced to admit your parents can't afford to pay.
My own shame at school came in the opposite direction. I proudly told Mum I'd signed up for free lunches.
I've never seen her more cross. 'You tell them you don't need it. Daddy works hard so that you never need to go short of anything.'
The sting of being thought poor struck me then. I was only seven.
Great TV Prue, but I have one complaint
In their Channel 4 documentary, Prue Leith and her son Danny Kruger MP, tour America and Canada to discuss Dignity in Dying Prue is for, Danny against.
Only one complaint: I wish they'd made clear how proposals here are different and would be tightly controlled.
In their Channel 4 documentary, Prue Leith and her son Danny Kruger MP, tour America and Canada to discuss Dignity in Dying Prue is for, Danny against
Only the terminally ill, in great pain, would be allowed to choose it, should the law change.
No attention was paid in the documentary to the people here who take their own lives in desperation.
David Minns, who took part in my programme on the subject a year ago, died last week.
He suffered with multiple myeloma and longed for a dignified death with his family around him. He should have had that choice.
Bombs shrieked overhead as Anastasia Piddubna's contractions quickened. The war had robbed the hospital basement where she was in labour of both power and water.
The only warmth to protect her from the -5c degree chill blasting through holes in the walls was a coat flung over her shivering body; the only light in the makeshift birthing centre in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol was the torch from smartphones.
Having been evacuated here after surviving Russia's barbaric attack on the city's Maternity Hospital No. 3 last March an atrocity described by President Zelensky as a war crime Anastasia had been in labour for almost 20 hours.
Her baby was too big for a natural birth, doctors warned, but they had nothing with which to perform a Caesarean section.
'I was told the baby could not survive. I was giving birth under fire, with my hands over my ears because it was so loud,' says Anastasia, 26. 'I felt desperate, realising my baby was in such danger. I was praying to God to help me and this miracle happened. My body found a way to push him out naturally.'
'I was told the baby could not survive. I was giving birth under fire, with my hands over my ears because it was so loud,' says Anastasia Piddubna. The 26-year-old is pictured with her son, Damir, now 11 months old
Her son, Damir, is now 11 months old, gurgling in the background with his grandparents as Anastasia talks to me via an interpreter on a video call.
She weeps as she recalls the terror she felt at what should have been such a euphoric moment: 'You're supposed to be happy that you're giving birth, but you can't guarantee you'll stay alive, so how can you keep your baby safe?'
Tomorrow marks a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, destroying swathes of the country, tearing apart families and killing more than 9,000 civilians.
But amid the carnage, life still begins, of course, as the striking pictures of babies being pulled from the earthquake rubble in Turkey and Syria recently reminded us.
According to Save the Children, around 900 babies have been born in Ukraine every day since the war started. Often they arrive in unimaginable circumstances. There have been 703 attacks on the country's health infrastructure, including on hospitals and maternity wards, stripping a once developed country of basic medical supplies.
Even when births are straightforward, bringing up a baby in a country ravaged by war is anything but. On this bleakest of anniversaries, I found Ukrainian mothers still reeling from their shattered expectations of parenthood. But their babies have offered hope, too a ray of light in the darkness. As Anastasia says: 'This baby kept my family going.'
She was eight months pregnant when Russia invaded, about to take leave from her career as a radio presenter and living with her sales manager husband, Vladyslav, in Mariupol in south-eastern Ukraine.
They'd thrown a gender-reveal party that showed they were expecting a boy and had spared no expense on toys and baby paraphernalia.
But Mariupol, a major strategic city for the Russians, was one of the first areas to come under attack.
Seraphine Chykiriakina, 24, a translator, gave birth a day after a kamikaze drone attack, forcing her into a Kyiv hospital bomb shelter with her newborn
As shelling started, the terrified couple fled to Anastasia's parents' house in another neighbourhood, to be safer. 'I didn't want to leave Mariupol,' says Anastasia. Besides, she adds, 'it was already impossible they were shooting all around.'
At the beginning of March, friends sent her a video to show her entire property had been destroyed by a missile. 'Only the walls remained,' says Anastasia who explains with no self-pity that she quickly had to 'get used to' a life without possessions: 'I understood that my baby and being alive were what mattered.'
With every bombing, the family rushed to the basement. 'There was constant stress. I needed a place where I could wait safely for the baby to be born,' Anastasia says. 'The only option was to go to hospital early.'
She'd been in the bomb shelter in Maternity Hospital No. 3 for four days when the Russian air strike hit on March 9, leaving scenes that horrified the world. It killed three people, including a child, and injured 17.
Anastasia, sitting in the freezing shelter with her ten-year-old brother, recalls hearing a 'huge' noise, 'and behind me was a wooden door that fell on my head and shattered.
'There was dust everywhere. People were shouting and moaning. I was praying my baby's heart hadn't stopped'.
Pregnant women and new mothers were pushed in from wards upstairs. Her parents and husband had been in the yard outside the hospital, preparing food, and were also rushed to the shelter.
'My mum was unconscious. My husband was covered in blood. We could barely see each other but I could hear his voice telling me that everything was OK.'
After several hours, Anastasia was evacuated. 'Everything was on fire,' she recalls. Her husband drove her and her brother to another hospital, through scenes the Red Cross would later describe as 'apocalyptic'.
Such was the chaos, Anastasia wasn't sure if her parents, taken to another hospital for treatment, had survived. She, Vladyslav and her brother remained in the hospital's basement with no news from the outside world until she gave birth to Damir on March 22, after which they stayed there for another 19 days. 'We were in a damp mouldy basement. Our baby was yellow. There was no joy, no daylight. I was constantly in fear,' Anastasia says.
So on April 10, they cleared their car of glass that had fallen into it from shelling and drove with Anastasia's brother to a camp set up by Russia, under international pressure, to allow civilians to evacuate.
They then spent a week driving to Holland, where Vladyslav had family connections. 'Damir was in my arms. Every day we drove for 12 hours,' says Anastasia, whose parents later joined them in the western Netherlands, where Vladyslav now works in construction.
An image from March last year shows the aftermath of a shell bombardment on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine
She has seen a psychologist but has yet to fall asleep without thinking of war. 'This is a wound that will never heal' says Anastasia, who dreams, above all, of bringing up her son in Ukraine.
Yet despite the horror of her baby's entrance into the world, many will consider Anastasia one of the lucky ones. Life for new mothers who remain in Ukraine is all too often one of power cuts, food scarcity and the buzz of fear.
Those usual rhythms of early motherhood trips to the park, bonding with other mums at play groups are a world away.
Women are often forced to flee to other areas of the country, like Iryna Prikhodko, 30, who was eight months pregnant when war broke out in Kharkiv, a city on the north-eastern border heavily targeted by Russia.
'The stress was constant. There was no water or electricity,' says Iryna, who lived with her husband in a flat on the outskirts and recalls shelling all day and all night throughout March.
'We moved into the entrance to try to keep safe,' she says. 'At night there was such a huge explosion the whole building shook. We held hands, told our son he would survive, and be born healthy, and everything would be fine.'
As her due date approached the couple drove for four days to Vinnytsia in western Ukraine, where they had family. After Konstantin was delivered by Caesarean section on March 13, Iryna says, 'there were tears of happiness'. But there were also air-raid sirens, each one forcing her to hurry into a basement shelter in another building, despite her recent surgery.
'I was in pain. It was freezing. Children were crying, and apart from rocking your baby, you didn't know what to do,' recalls Iryna.
Heavily pregnant mother-to-be Mariana Vishegirskaya walks down stairs in a maternity hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol in March
Since returning to Kharkiv after the Ukrainians defeated Russian forces there last May, she has accepted a grim new normality.
'We don't go anywhere except the shops,' says Iryna. 'It's strange and sad. Our son doesn't understand this tragedy yet, but as parents, we will teach him what is good and what is evil.'
Katerina Mykhalko, 26, from Kyiv, was six months pregnant when war started. She has an older daughter, Christina, six, and refused to leave Ukraine.
'I didn't want to leave my husband,' she explains.
It was three months after giving birth to daughter Stephania in Kyiv on June 8 before she had her first post-natal appointment, and she still struggles to find baby food. 'I am angry that people are dying and children are suffering,' she says.
Her baby, however, is her greatest reminder that 'life goes on'.
For months, Kyiv successfully defended itself from the worst of the devastation.
But on October 17 that all changed when Russia launched 28 kamikaze drones, purportedly in response to the bombing of the bridge between Russia and Crimea a week earlier.
The attack happened a day after Seraphine Chykiriakina, 24, a translator, had given birth, forcing her into a Kyiv hospital bomb shelter with her newborn.
'I was crying, broken inside,' says Seraphine. She had found out she was pregnant a fortnight before war broke out last February.
She and her husband Denis, 31, a logistics expert, watched Kyiv empty from their fifth-floor flat. 'It was like an apocalyptic city,' she says. The couple began sleeping in their car in the basement to feel safer. Food shortages meant walking several kilometres to find something to eat.
'Being pregnant made me more vulnerable. I worried the stress would hurt my baby,' she says. 'I had nightmares about my baby being under missiles.'
When her son, Leon, was born on October 16, she recalls: 'I felt relief, that he was so beautiful and healthy.' Yet at 8am the following morning, as she slept in a maternity hospital in central Kyiv, a deafening missile landed nearby.
A nurse rushed in and told everyone to run to the bomb shelter underneath the hospital. Hours after giving birth, Seraphine says, she could barely walk, let alone run. 'It was still too painful for me to sit. There was first aid for the babies, but no food.'
When they were allowed home, she says, 'we thought: 'Thank God we're alive.' Yet a week later Russia attacked Ukraine's energy sites, leaving 1.5 million homes without electricity every day, 'sometimes two,' says Seraphine.
Daily power cuts still mean Seraphine can't heat food. 'Thank God I am breastfeeding because I can't imagine how mums prepare milk,' she says.
Her dreams of something as simple as taking Leon to baby swimming lessons have gone 'before the war we had so many opportunities, but none of the pools is working' and the danger to the young (the UN estimates that at least 1,170 children have been killed or injured in Ukraine since last February) is ever present.
'Sometimes I'm afraid to go out,' says Seraphine. 'One day we were walking and there was an airstrike nearby. The baby shuddered and screamed, and I started crying.'
Still, she won't contemplate leaving the country and man she loves. But nor does she expect the fighting to end soon.
She adds, despairingly: 'I don't want my son to grow up in war.' A sentiment that is surely echoed by every parent in Ukraine.
Additional reporting: ANASTASIA KOMAROVA
It features the Guilty fragrance in the campaign that is released on March 1
The Umbrella Academy actor came out as transgender in December 2020
Elliot, 36, is fronting his first-ever fragrance campaign with Gucci
Elliot Page is set to star in his first-ever fragrance campaign as was announced he is one of the faces of Gucci's 'pour homme' scent from the Guilty collection.
The 36-year-old Oscar-nominated actor, director, and producer added a new credit to his impressive resume with the collaboration that features 'a collection emblematic of bold authenticity,' according to a press release from the Italian house.
Alongside the actor - who came out as transgender in 2020 - Julia Garner and A$AP Rocky will also represent feminine and masculine Gucci Guilty fragrances in the campaign that is set to release March 1.
As the press release teased, 'Rocky, Garner, and Page personify an ode to self-acceptance, friendship and love in all its forms through a story of tenderness, imagination, and curiosity.'
Elliot Page is set to star in his first-ever fragrance campaign as was announced he is one of the faces of Gucci Guilty 'pour homme' scent
Alongside the actor - who came out as transgender in 2020 - Julia Garner and A$AP Rocky will also represent feminine and masculine Gucci Guilty fragrances
Gucci Guilty has been apart of the Gucci beauty brand since the launch of its first fragrance in 2010
Gucci Guilty has been apart of the Gucci beauty brand since the launch of its first fragrance in 2010.
After the original scent received major success, the Italian house released Gucci Guilty Pour Homme in 2011.
Last year, the beauty brand added two new additions, Gucci Guilty Intense Pour Femme and Pour Homme.
The collection marks The Umbrella Academy actor's first time fronting a fragrance collection.
Elliot publicly game out as transgender and non-binary in December 2020 in a statement on social media, writing: 'Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot.'
'I feel lucky to be writing this. To have arrived at this place in my life,' the actor added.
Prior to revealing he was transgender, Elliot was married to Emma Portner, 28, however, the two divorced in 2021, less than two months after he publicly came out.
Emma, who 'proudly' supported her partner's decision to come out as transgender.
The collection marks The Umbrella Academy actor's - who Elliot publicly game out as transgender and non-binary in December 2020 - first time fronting a fragrance collection
Page was reported to have signed up to celebrity dating app Raya, following his divorce from Emma Portner, 27, in 2021, after three years of marriage; The couple pictured in 2017
Elliot has been dating Canadian comedian Mae Martin, 35, since August 2021, and the two have gotten extremly close
In a statement made to DailyMail.com, Elliot and Emma revealed that they actually 'separated last summer', before the actor came out as transgender, and decided to make the split official.
'After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce following our separation last summer,' the statement said. 'We have the utmost respect for each other and remain close friends.'
During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Elliot opened up about the way his life post-transition has 'improved drastically.'
Elliot explained that he had been reflecting on, 'very difficult times in my life, certain struggles and obstacles and all that and I think ultimately getting through that it really deepens your empathy.
In August of 2021 Mae shared a look at their matching coffee mug tattoos, located on their side and on Page's arm
Page has previously posted Martin on his Instagram in July of last year, sharing a selfie of the duo having drinks with the caption, 'Chilling with this heartthrob'
'I think of the times in my life where I was the most uncomfortable. Where I was the most unwell, those were the times where I was the most angry. And I was the most unkind to myself or self-righteous or all of those things. Its improved my life drastically,' Elliot said.
He added, 'I hope maybe people who do have an issue with me could maybe try and hear that and embrace that on some level.'
Elliot has been dating Canadian comedian Mae Martin, 35, since August 2021, and the two have gotten extremly close, and have even gotten matching tattoos together.
Elliot first found fame for starring as a pregnant teenager in the hit 2007 movie Juno, for which he earned an Oscar nomination.
He went on to star in Inception, X-Men, and most recently, The Umbrella Academy.
Some peopled find it to be 'hilarious,' while others called it 'unprofessional'
It reads, 'Now hiring non-stupid people,' and has divided the web
Santino's Pizza, located in Columbus, hung up the controversial sign outside
An Ohio pizzeria has sparked a massive debate online after the owner hung up a sign that said, 'Now hiring non-stupid people' - with some finding it offensive while others branded it hilarious.
Santino's Pizza, located in Columbus, put up the controversial job advertisement two months ago, but when one person saw it and shared it to Facebook last week - it quickly went viral and launched a major argument between social media users.
The red-and-white sign is hung on a fence outside the restaurant, and in big letters it reads, 'Now hiring non-stupid people.'
Someone named Allison posted a snap of it on her profile, and it cause quite the buzz.
An Ohio pizzeria has sparked a massive debate online after the owner hung up a sign that said, 'Now hiring non-stupid people' - with some finding it offensive and others calling it hilarious
Santino's Pizza, located in Columbus, put up the controversial job advertisement two months ago, but when one person saw it and shared it to Facebook last week. The owner is seen
Someone named Allison posted a snap of it on her profile, and it cause quite the buzz. It quickly went viral and launched a major argument between social media users
People quickly started flooding the comment section with their thoughts, and while some found it to be funny - others were not amused.
Poll Do you think the 'Now hiring non-stupid people' sign is offensive or funny? So rude Hilarious Do you think the 'Now hiring non-stupid people' sign is offensive or funny? So rude 29 votes
Hilarious 620 votes Now share your opinion
'I would never work there. Also won't buy there because who conducts business like this?' wrote one person.
'Grow up and be a professional. Seems this idea came from a playground, not an adult.'
'I would never apply to a place that advertised jobs in that manner because it's likely a very toxic work environment,' said someone else.
Another commenter added: 'Why are they so extra?' while a fourth scathed, 'Their pizza is nowhere near good enough to have that high of a standard.'
Others, however, were amused by the sign, with one user calling it 'f**king hilarious' and another branding it as 'marketing at its finest.'
People quickly started flooding the comment section with their thoughts, and while some found it to be funny - others were not amused
Someone else agreed: 'They just earned my business.'
'Everyone that was offended, theyre probably referring to you,' read a different comment.
'I will be taking my pizza needs to this establishment,' announced another person.
According to the owner, Jayden Dunigan, the advertisement was supposed to be a joke. She discussed the backlash with ABC 6 recently, and she insisted that it 'wasn't meant to target anyone or be rude.'
'It's more humor than anything,' she explained, adding, 'A lot of people we've hired just don't want to work.
According to the owner, Jayden Dunigan, the advertisement was supposed to be a joke. She discussed the backlash with ABC 6 recently, and she insisted it 'wasn't meant to be rude'
'It's more humor than anything,' she explained, adding, 'A lot of people we've hired just don't want to work. There is no work ethic, so thats the meaning behind the "Non stupid"'
After the Facebook post went viral, Jayden told the outlet that someone played a nasty prank on the pizzeria by placing an order totaling over $100, just to not pick it up or pay for it
They opted to donate the unused pizzas to charity instead, with Jayden explaining, 'Since we don't enjoy wasting food here, we always think that someone else in need can enjoy the food'
'There is no work ethic behind them, so thats the meaning behind the "Non stupid."'
After the Facebook post went viral, Jayden told the outlet that someone played a nasty prank on the pizzeria by placing an order totaling over $100, just to not pick it up or pay for it.
'It was about 10 pizzas. We made the order, he called back, he talked down to one of our employees. He said our pizza sucks, and he's canceling the order,' she said.
They opted to donate the unused pizzas to charity instead, with Jayden explaining, 'Since we don't enjoy wasting food here, we always think that someone else in need can enjoy the food.'
Fashionable shoppers are obsessing over a stylish pink dress from a budget retailer that only costs $60.
Aussie women are rushing to Target to get their hands on the versatile Lily Loves Cutout Midi dress in the fuchsia pink colour.
Fashion bloggers are posting about the trendy affordable buy all over social media and showing followers how to style it for almost any occasion.
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Aussie women are rushing to Target to get their hands on the versatile Lily Loves Cutout Midi dress (pictured) in the fuchsia pink colour
The sleeveless midi dress has a scoop neckline, straight fit, and cut-out detail with a stretchy knit material in a vibrant pink colour
The sleeveless midi dress has a scoop neckline, straight fit, and cut-out detail with a stretchy knit material in a vibrant pink colour.
TikToker Liv Rahme shared a clip of her getting ready for 'lunch with the girls' in the $60 buy which amassed more than 22,000 views and had many in the comments keen to get their hands on the 'amazing' dress.
Liv paired the midi with white strappy heels, gold earrings and a necklace as well as a Fendi handbag.
Budget fashion influencer Tori Jane (pictured) bought the Lily Loves dress and styled it with nudes heels, chunky gold earrings and a pink-patterned clutch
The Lily Love midi dress is available in all sizes from extra small to large and while it is still available on the Target website there are only a few stores that haven't sold out
Budget fashion influencer Tori Jane bought the Lily Loves dress and styled it with nudes heels, chunky gold earrings and a pink-patterned clutch.
'Obsessed with the colour of the pink dress,' one follower said to which Tori replied: 'Right! I love that this colour is so in at the moment. I am so here for it'.
The Lily Love midi dress is available in all sizes from extra small to large and while it is still available on the Target website there are only a few stores around the country that haven't sold out.
A mum was shocked to find unfamiliar 'dust' in her bathroom after returning from a five-day vacation - only to discover the crux of her problem was much more severe.
Vicki, from New South Wales, was feeling rejuvenated after her mini-break away from everyday responsibilities.
But her holiday-mode was soon cut short when she discovered a mound of ant dust in her home - indicating a dangerous infestation.
'[We've] been away from home for five days and came back to this in our bathroom,' she shared in a popular Facebook group for mums.
The photo showed a mysterious black dust on a mantle which had seemingly fallen to the ledge holding the tub, creating a small mound.
A mum was shocked to find unfamiliar 'dust' in her bathroom after returning from a five-day vacation - only to discover the crux of her problem was much more severe
'We had noticed a couple of little spots before we left, so sprayed with surface spray but its had no effect.'
She added, 'We have no idea what it is or how to get rid of it. Its below the bathroom window and has fallen onto the top of the row of tiles and on the bath surround.'
Vicki ended her post by requesting help from other mums who might know more about her situation.
Comments soon came flooding in, with many pointing their fingers at two possible culprits.
'There are most likely ants in your windowsill,' said one mum.
'Get in touch with pest control immediately - there might be termites! Just check that around the window doesn't sound hollow.'
But the crowd soon agreed that the mess was probably caused by an ant colony.
'It's ant dust - there's an ant nest behind the wall.'
'I had the same happen to me last week - you need a solution that will kill the Queen otherwise they will just come back.'
Many agreed that the ant Queen would have to be killed to solve Vicki's infestation problem
Vicki's husband was put on the case to investigate and found the problem after some work.
'My husband investigated further - and he found a tiny hole in the bottom corner of the architrave around the window,' she said.
'He watched some tiny black ants come in and out - we have bought some Ant Rid bait strips from the supermarket and have placed them near the tiny hole! Fingers crossed it works!'
She then thanked the other mums who responded to her conundrum and provided solutions.
'Thank you to everyone who has commented and made some useful suggestions.'
Fierce debate has broken out online over the correct way to wipe after using the toilet - but the argument has raised worrying health concerns.
Millions were shocked when they realised some people wipe themselves back to front rather than front to back - but more were mindblown that some reach 'through' their legs instead of 'around the back' to wipe.
The debate was triggered after TikToker Sam Doll learned that her friend wipes 'through her legs' towards the back.
'Okay am I fu**king crazy? because I wipe my a** like this,' Sam said as she demonstrated her own method.
'Is someone playing a prank on me? Do half of you women wipe yourselves from the front? What are you doing?' Sam asked.
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The debate was triggered after TikToker Sam Doll learned that her friend wipes 'through her legs' towards the back
People at both sides of the debate are fiercely defending their own views, but experts say that one method can have dangerous effects
Poll Which way do you wipe? Back to front Front to back Front to back but I reach through my legs Which way do you wipe? Back to front 247 votes
Front to back 713 votes
Front to back but I reach through my legs 155 votes Now share your opinion
'I cannot believe people that close to me wipe themselves like that.'
Sam was further shocked when thousands of her followers admitted they also wipe the same way.
'Never even knew front was a thing. Im 48!' one surprised woman said.
'Sadly I'm with your friends, but I know it's the wrong way. Can't do it your way, hurts my arm,' another commented.
Several people agreed that they find it sore, or they feel like their arms aren't long enough to do the job.
'Look.. some of us were plagued with T-rex arms and physically cannot reach behind,' one woman said.
However, gynecologists' warn against any method other than a traditional 'front to back' as it can cause serious issues for women.
'You should wipe front to back in order to prevent the tracking of bacteria from your anus to your front and prevent infection,' she said.
Research suggests the most common cause of urinary tract infection is from faeces accidentally entering the urethra. If this happens, experts suggest rinsing the area with cool water and increasing your fluid intake to rinse out bacteria.
Some of those who find it uncomfortable to wipe front the back have opted to use bidets instead, a popular toilet accessory in Europe and Asia.
The use of a bidet was another debate that recently took over TikTok, after a TikToker, known as LovegoodAllie, revealed she would no longer buy toilet paper because she prefers to use a bidet.
'There is no way water gets all of it away,' one shocked woman said.
'You should definitely give people a heads up or keep some toilet paper for when guests come over. Being caught off guard by that isn't nice,' another wrote.
However, many other people believe the tool is cleaner than just using toilet paper, and causes less toilet paper waste.
Although many agree, research suggests a bidet's nozzle can contain bacteria, which can cause particular risk of infection for women, especially those are pregnant.
The new Turkey-Syria earthquakes instilled another round of trauma for residents as the 6.3 magnitude tremor affected the area that the previous, stronger quake devastated.
The previous earthquakes have been known to kill roughly 45,000 people and have destroyed thousands of buildings. Turkey's disaster management agency noted that on Monday, six people were killed, and roughly 300 were wounded, 18 of whom critically.
New Turkey-Syria Earthquakes
On the other hand, in Syria, a woman and a girl lost their lives in the provinces of Hama and Tartus amid reports of people jumping from buildings to escape collapsing structures. The latest tremor also damaged buildings that survived the quakes two weeks ago, displacing a new group of residents into the streets of Aleppo and Latakia.
In a statement, a Damascus-based spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jani Savolainen, said that the biggest impact of the recent earthquake is something not visible: the effect that it has on the people, as per USA Today.
Savolainen said that the latest tremor brought back memories from the war and created new traumas of people losing family members, homes, and belongings. Before the recent quake, authorities recorded roughly 6,000 aftershocks after the tremors two weeks ago.
The Monday earthquake was centered in Defne, located in the country's Hatay province. The quakes struck the province, which borders Syria and the Mediterranean Sea, on February 6. Residents felt a second tremor on Monday, a magnitude 5.8 quake, and several dozens of aftershocks. Furthermore, the recent incidents shook parts of Jordan, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, and Egypt.
Read Also: Japan Provides $5.5 Billion Aid for Ukraine
Search and Rescue Operations
In a Tuesday Twitter post, Yunus Sezer, the head of Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, said that search and rescue operations were ongoing to look for any survivors in the affected areas, according to CNN.
Officials noted that three men in Antakya were trapped when a building that previously survived the two quakes collapsed in the latest tremor. Into the early hours of Tuesday, hundreds of rescuers tried to reach the men. Some rescuers fell asleep on rubble next to fires as others endured the freezing temperatures while trying to rescue the trapped people.
The White Helmets volunteer rescue group said more than 130 people were injured in northwest Syria. They added that they deployed teams to take injured people to hospitals, inspect the affected areas, and remove rubble to open up roads so that ambulances could pass through.
The United States Geological Survey initially said that the quake was a magnitude 6.4 tremor with a depth of 10 kilometers but later revised this to magnitude 6.3. On Monday, Turkish Vice President Fuat Okyat urged the public to avoid entering damaged buildings, even if it was to take their belongings.
In a statement, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the White House would continue assisting Turkey, citing that the nation had so often contributed by providing humanitarian rescue experts to other countries, said Aljazeera.
Related Article: Russia Suspends Nuclear Treaty with US
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The pair now run a cafe on anther barge as they travel the country on narrowboat
A couple have ditched their high-flying nine-to-fives to live on a narrowboat with their toddler - before buying another to run a cafe on the canal.
Joanna and Victor Gould, both 34, put the corporate grind behind them, and insist they've 'never been happier' - despite raking in a combined 25,000, compared to their previous total of 150,000.
The couple are now delighted to 'live life on their own terms' and travel the country with their one-year-old in their humble vessel.
'Back then we were getting up at 6am for a gruelling two hour commute into the city,' Joanna said. 'Now we are open to a more wholesome pace of life.
'Don't get us wrong, we have long days, not only with the cafe boat but with our little one.
Joanna and Victor Gould, both 34, revealed how they ditched their high-flying nine-to-fives to live on a narrowboat with their toddler - before buying another to run a cafe on the canal
'But it just means we are able live life for ourselves, not on the company clock.'
She added that while maintaining the boat can be time consuming, it's 'so worth it'.
The couple - who met in April 2015 - were working up 80-hour weeks as freelance TV editors in London.
That same year, they purchased a canal boat - with renovations costing 30,000 - and decided to give up their old lives to start afresh.
By the spring of 2017, the barge - called Zero - was fully renovated, and the pair moved in to start their new life.
Now, they spend their days roaming up and down the canals between Croydon and Nottinghamshire with their main base in Cheshire.
The couple - who previously rented in Hackney, East London - bought a second boat and now run a cafe from it, which opens seasonally from 10am until 3pm.
Joanna and Victor take it in turns to take care of their tot, William, while the other serves up teas, coffees and cakes.
The couple put the corporate grind behind them, and insist they've 'never been happier' than they are running a cafe on a boat
The inside of Zero, the couple's narrowboat. Now, they spend their days roaming up and down the canals between Croydon and Nottinghamshire with their main base in Cheshire
By the spring of 2017, the barge - called Zero (interior pictured) - was fully renovated, and the pair moved in to start their new life
'Our life now, compared to the city, is so much better,' Joanna said, revealing that it was liberating to start anew.
'I had to shrink my wardrobe down a lot as there's very limited space on a boat,' she explained. 'I'd been travelling, so was used to living out of a suitcase, but this was a whole new level.
'When I met Victor, he'd already had a boat which he'd sold and was having another one built,' Joanna added.
'He was so passionate about narrowboat life and I was so intrigued, but I never thought I'd be living on a boat too.'
She recalled the challenges with decluttering her life to prepare for life on the barge, admitting she used tips from organisation guru Marie Kondo.
The couple - who previously rented in Hackney, East London - bought a second boat and now run a cafe from it, which opens seasonally from 10am until 3pm. Pictured while working in London
Joanna and Victor take it in turns to take care of their tot, William, while the other serves up teas, coffees and cakes. The cafe boat pictured before renovation
They also learned to stay vigilant when it comes to boat maintenance over the years. The cafe boat pictured before renovation
'It was really freeing to get rid of things that I didn't need like old clothes I'd forgotten about and household clutter,' she said. 'But, it was hard not being able to use my hairdryer.
They also learned to stay vigilant when it comes to boat maintenance over the years.
'On a boat we have to make sure the water is topped up, making sure we have the diesel for the Aga,' Joanna revealed.
'When living on the River Thames, the tide would go up and down and some mornings we'd wake up in the centre of the canal.'
The couple didn't ditch their TV gigs straight away, braving a two-hour commute from Otford, Kent, to Old Street, East London, every day.
'We'd be getting up at 6am for the two-hour commute which consisted of paddling to the river bank from the boat, walking to the train station and then from the station to work,' Victor said.
The couple now have a combined salary of 25,000, compared to their previous total of 150,000
They were able to put their editing skills to use when starting their YouTube channel in April 2020 - which details the practicalities of life on a boat and the cities they visit
'It was always a great conversation point - being able to say you paddle to work - but it wasn't sustainable.'
The pair left their freelance work in December 2019 - 'just before Covid hit' - and haven't looked back since.
They were able to put their editing skills to use when starting their YouTube channel in April 2020 - which details the practicalities of life on a boat and the cities they visit.
In April 2021, the pair renovated a second boat which they opened as Holly The Cafe Boat.
The couple didn't ditch their TV gigs straight away, braving a two-hour commute from Otford, Kent, to Old Street, East London, every day. Victor pictured going to work in 2017
They now boast more than 44,000 YouTube subscribers - and nearly 10,000 on Instagram - with followers all across the country
The couple say Hampton, South West London and Oxford are their firm favourites to visit - as well as Macclesfield, Cheshire and Coventry, West Midlands
Their little boy, William, is a favourite with their online fans. Pictured in January, at 15 months old
The venture allows the couple to 'give back to the communities that they travel to through barista coffee and conversations with locals'.
'It's lovely when people recognise us from our social media because it's like we know them already,' Victor added.
The couple have now visited more than 50 location - stopping at them for two weeks at a time, with Hampton, South West London and Oxford being firm favourites - as well as Macclesfield, Cheshire and Coventry, West Midlands.
They now boast more than 44,000 YouTube subscribers - and nearly 10,000 on Instagram - with followers all across the country.
Their little boy, William, is a firm favourite with their online fans.
'We're so thankful that he's having this childhood, not two parents working all hours in the city,' Victor said.
'He loves nature and his first work was "duck".
'We're able to spend lots of family time and people who come to the cafe always get a smile off him.'
Joanna and Victor can be found @hollythecafeboat on both Instagram and YouTube.
A pair of pen-pal lovers who met when they were 17 and 23 in the 80s - and then lost contact for decades - have revealed how they have rekindled their love and are moving to Germany together this month.
Kate Pymm and Guenther Baer - now 50 and 57 respectively - tied the knot after reconnecting during the pandemic, both having been married and divorced to other people.
The couple first met in Devon, in 1989, after Gunther, who is originally from Germany, came to the UK to improve his English.
'I remember me and my mum went for a bite to eat in this beautiful village. We walked into the bar and I saw this gorgeous guy,' Kate - who is from Guisborough - told the BBC.
The make-up artist told the outlet that Gunther had reminded her of A-ha keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, and the pair chatted the time away.
Kate Pymm and Guenther Baer - now 50 and 57 respectively - tied the knot after reconnecting during the pandemic, both having been married and divorced to other people
The couple first met in Devon, in 1989, after Gunther, who is originally from Germany, came to the UK to improve his English
It was the start of a long-distance romance.
Kate and Guenther exchanged addresses and, for two years, wrote letters to one another, scheduling in phone calls and visits whenever was feasible.
But the back and forth proved too much for Kate, who broke things off in 1991 - admitting it was a 'heart-breaking' decision as the pair were still in love.
They had stopped writing in 1993 and went on to lead separate lives - Kate now runs a successful make-up business and Guenther has three children.
But amid the Covid pandemic, Kate found herself faced with a treasure trove of memories.
She stumbled upon their love letters - all of which she kept - in November 2020 while on the hunt for Christmas decorations, telling the BBC it was the 'first box that she found'.
After an 'emotional weekend' during which she read all of their correspondence in date order, Kate was determined to find her old flame once again - which proved difficult due to Guenther's elusive social media presence.
Her old pen pal was 'gobsmacked' to read the letter and immediately phoned her up.
This time, the pair wasted no time; they met face to face in January 2021, and by December of that year, were married in a beautiful Bavarian wedding
Her old pen pal was 'gobsmacked' to read the letter and immediately phoned her up. And now the couple are starting their new life in Germany on Sunday
This time, the pair wasted no time; they met face to face in January 2021, and by December of that year, were married in a beautiful Bavarian wedding.
And now the couple are starting their new life there on Sunday.
'Our dream finally came true,' Kate penned in a gushing Instagram post about the ceremony. 'WE GOT MARRIED!!!!!
'We had a beautiful small, intimate registry office Wedding here in Guenther's home town with our immediate Bavarian family.'
Kate added the couple were keen to do 'the "legal bit"' in Germany.
She continued: 'I'm now finally "Mrs Baer" after 31 Years of loving this wonderful, gorgeous man, my happy ever after finally arrived. Here's to 30 Years more ..... at least!'
Beach lovers have discovered a little-known swimming spot with calm clear waters in the middle of a major Australian city.
Castle Rock Beach is hidden in the cliffs along the Spit to Manly track in Clontarf almost 15 kilometres north of Sydney's CBD.
Despite its location along one of the city's most popular walking trails, few know about the stunning beach so it is often quiet enough for visitors to feel like their on their own island holiday.
Sydneysiders have discovered a secret beach with crystal-clear water along a popular walking trail in the middle of the city
Castle Rock Beach is hidden in the cliffs along the Spit to Manly track in Clontarf almost 15 kilometres north of Sydney's CBD
Swimmers can venture through the lush jungle-like bush down a steep set of worn stone steps to find the secret beach.
Word is getting out about Castle Rock Beach's beauty thanks to its glass-like turquoise waters, white sands and smooth boulders to perch on and take in the harbour views.
It is a popular place for boats to dock on a windy day as it is well sheltered from the sea breeze.
Despite its suburban location, few know about the stunning beach so it is often quiet enough for visitors to feel like their on their own island holiday
Word is getting out about Castle Rock Beach's beauty thanks to its glass-like turquoise waters, white sands and smooth boulders to perch on and take in the harbour views
How to get to Castle Rock Beach The best way to get there is to drive to Oglivy Road where you will find free parking. From the end of Ogilvy Road, follow the track down to the intersection with the Spit to Manly Walkway. Walk down the concrete steps until you find the Castle Rock Beach track, then follow that down to the beach. It's all sign posted and the walk should not take any longer than 10 minutes. There are no shops so take all your supplies (and lots of water) with you. Source: Weekend Notes Advertisement
After a bout of rain visitors may be able to see the trickling waterfalls cascade down the surrounding rock faces.
Castle Rock Beach's tranquil surrounds make the spot a perfect place for hikers to recharge while on the 10km Spit to Manly walk.
It can be found at the end of Oglivy Road where there is a track down to the to the intersection of the Spit to Manly walkway.
Castle Rock Beach's tranquil surrounds make the spot a perfect place for hikers to recharge while on the 10km Spit to Manly walk
There is a set of concrete steps down to the Castle Rock Beach track which leads down to the quiet beach.
Explorers say the 'intimate' beach can get a little bit crowded on sunny weekends but have been raving about the little-known find.
'Absolutely stunning location, with beautiful views. Clear water and visits from the ice-cream boat are awesome,' one woman wrote online.
'Another gorgeous little beach tucked away in the Sydney Harbour. If you want to avoid the crowd, this beach is just perfect,' said another.
You can donate to our appeal online at www.cruk.org/dailymailappeal
To help the cause Lush has turned its bath bomb gold for Dexter's Arc charity
It's already a cult favourite and it's hoped these Dragon eggs will be worth their weight in gold.
Lush has turned its best-selling bath bomb gold to raise money in honour of their co-founder's grandson, Dexter Constantine-Tatchell, who they call 'their master of dragons.'
The seven-year-old died in July last year after being diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a rare type of soft tissue cancer.
Now his family aim to raise 500,000 in his memory to put towards developing better and kinder treatments for childhood cancers.
Dexter Constantine-Tatchell, pictured right, died aged seven in July last year after being diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a rare type of soft tissue cancer. In memory of Dexter, and to coincide with Childhood Cancer Awareness month, Lush turned their cult favourite bath bomb gold, pictured left, the colour synonymous with fighting against childhood cancer
It turned gold the colour synonymous with fighting against childhood cancer to mark International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day this month.
All proceeds will go towards Dexter's Arc, a fundraising platform raising funds for non-animal testing research into the disease.
It was created with the support of the cancer charity Alice's Arc, which supported Dexter and his parents, Jack and Rachel Constantine, 38.
'He loved dragons and created a whole fantasy world full of them,' said Mrs Constantine, a freelance writer.
'When he was in Southampton Hospital and just about to start chemo, I bought him a dragon that was called Dexter', said Mrs Constantine, a freelance writer.
'He decided we couldn't have two Dexter's so renamed him Crackle. Crackle was with him to the end, through every treatment and hardship he went through.'
Dexter Constantine-Tatchell's parents, Jack and Rachel, pictured above at their home in Poole, Dorset. The parents are now desperate to help find better treatments and work towards a cure for the type of cancer
Dexter, pictured above with his father Jack, is the grandson of the co-founder of Lush. The proceeds from the gold bath bomb will go towards Dexter's Arc, a fundraising platform raising funds for non-animal testing research into the disease
In December 2019 the couple, from Poole, Dorset, noticed what they thought was a polyp in one of his nostrils.
Within days it had grown, causing a severe nosebleed which hospital doctors initially dismissed as most likely caused by putting lego up his nose.
Scans later revealed it was a large cancerous tumour, with chemotherapy started the next day.
Doctors said the position of the tumour meant it was inoperable, putting their hopes into chemotherapy and proton beam therapy, which they hoped would shrink the tumour.
He underwent 33 days of intense proton radiation therapy, numerous biopsies', lumber punctures and blood transfusions before six months of maintenance chemotherapy, giving the family 15 months of hope that the tumour had been killed off.
At first Dexter's parents noticed what they thought was a polyp in one of his nostrils. Within days it had grown, causing a severe nosebleed which hospital doctors initially dismissed as most likely caused by putting lego up his nose. Scans later revealed it was a large cancerous tumour, with chemotherapy started the next day
Dexter Constantine-Tatchell's parents Jack and Rachel ,pictured centre, with their children, left to right, Oscar (12), Quill (2), Ethan (18), Bellatrix (6) and Lily (16) at their home in Poole, Dorset
In March they were told the cancer had returned and in May they stopped treatment, with Dexter battling on until July 27.
One of seven, Dexter's parents are now desperate to help find better treatments and work towards a cure for the type of cancer, which has only an eight percent survival after relapse.
'Because it was such an aggressive cancer, he had the highest doses of treatment with terrible side effects,' said Mr Constantine.
'He had so much radiation that it hurt his eyes to look at the Christmas tree lights and he had to wear sunglasses outside.
'As parents your job is to protect your children but you know the treatment is hurting and damaging them. You just hope it is damaging the cancer more than them.
'Treatments like chemotherapy haven't really changed since the 1970s and the side effects are terrible.
'He was so stoic and never complained and we asked him to do awful things with these treatments.
'But even in the hardest of times, he was still funny. There wasn't a moment until the last few days or weeks that he didn't relish every moment of life.'
The limited edition bath bomb will be sold online and in stores worldwide.
Alice's Arc works with Cancer Research UK, who the Daily Mail teamed up with to launch the Fighting to Beat Children's Cancer campaign and this year's Race for Life.
We are asking generous readers to dig deep and help turn the tide on cancer, which remains the leading cause of death by disease in youngsters.
All money raised will support Cancer Research UK's work on cancers affecting children and young people, so that more 0-24-year-olds can survive cancer with a good quality of life.
And any other hospitals have reported damning unresolved maintenance issues
Broken lifts, leaks, sinking floors, holes in the ceiling and cracked walls - this is the reality at one NHS hospital.
Alarming footage has laid bare the grim condition of St Helier Hospital in south London, which is said to be 'literally crumbling'.
Clips released as part of an ITV investigation show 'leaks so severe they flood and close corridors', maternity staff working under sheets full of water, and broken doors being propped open by waste bins.
Some wards at the hospital have become so unsafe they have been shut, and what was once an intensive care unit is being used a store room due to a broken ventilation system.
Dr Pauline Swift, a consultant who works at the hospital, said: 'I feel like the NHS is held together by new licks of paint and plywood.
Alarming footage has laid bare the grim condition of St Helier Hospital in south London, which is said to be 'literally crumbling'
Some wards at the hospital have become so unsafe they have been shut (pictured) and what was once an intensive care unit is being used a store room due to a broken ventilation system
'There are leaks, a lot of leaks. Paint is peeling off the wall. It looks very much like a temporary shack.'
She added that staff fear patients will be concerned about what sort of care they are going to receive in conditions that are 'not suitable, not now, not ever.'
But Dr Swift stressed that the level of care provided is 'first-class'.
And this is not a one-hospital issue.
Half of trusts which responded to the investigation claimed to have at least one unresolved structural or maintenance problem.
The University Hospital of North Tees said its building is not fit for purpose and 'presents significant safety issues for our staff and patients.'
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary claimed there is 'potential for falling stone' at its site, while Liverpool's The Walton Centre said leaks have been unresolved for eight years.
And Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn is being 'held up by 61 temporary props', while Torbay Hospital has significant structural defects in the concrete floors above two operating theatres.
At Croydon University Hospital, one patient was so appalled by the ward conditions, which included a tree growing through a bathroom window and no heating on the wards, that she took videos.
Sarah Hills said: 'My nose was freezing and it was bitter. They brought down one oil-filled portable heater that was put near my bed. That was it for a whole ward.
'I looked up at the ceiling above my head and it was cracked.'
Ms Hills added that staff were being forced to work in 'such poor conditions' and her 'heart just bled for them'.
ITV found that many NHS doctors feel maintenance issues are being played down, and even hidden, but are too scared to speak out for fear of repercussions.
This is not a one-hospital issue, as 50 per cent of trusts who responded to the investigation claimed to have at least one unresolved structural or maintenance problem
Clips released as part of an ITV investigation show 'leaks so severe they flood and close corridors', maternity staff working under sheets full of water, and broken doors being propped open by waste bins (pictured)
Speaking anonymously, one medic said: 'I feel like we are always just hoping that the next time something happens it doesn't cause something catastrophic.'
And another, also anonymously, said: 'I have had to push a critically unwell patient through dropping water effectively and getting both me and the patient wet.'
The Department of Health and Social Care said that hospitals are being given record amounts of funding to repair and maintain their premises.
Numerous factors, including delays to the Government's New Hospitals scheme, are to blame for the state of Britain's crumbling hospitals.
Tory MP Elliot Colburn said: 'The pictures we have seen of St Helier Hospital are shocking indeed.
'NHS staff should not have to put up with working in these conditions and patients deserve better.
'This is exactly why we need the investment that the Government has committed to putting into the NHS Trust, which will not only allow St Helier to fix these problems and improve their facilities, but also build a second, brand new hospital in the area.
'It's time for the bureaucracy to get out the way so the NHS can get on and deliver these improvements.'
Labour's botched private finance initiatives (PFI) expanded to the NHS when it was last in power are also partly blamed.
Under PFI schemes, private firms paid for the building of new hospitals, with trusts repaying them over 30 or more years, with interest. Hospitals are currently paying out more than 2billion a year still as part of the deal.
Trusts also agreed to pay firms for maintenance of the properties, meaning the companies can charge exorbitant sums as there can be no competition.
Often, trusts pay a fixed sum for maintenance meaning if they do not need much work done over a year, each individual piece of work becomes very expensive.
This has seen trusts fork out up to 13,000 to install lights in a garden, over 8,000 to install a dishwasher and nearly 1,000 to build and fit a TV cabinet.
Experts have warned that PFI-funded hospitals are a 'major drain' on NHS trusts' budgets.
Thinktanks calculated that up to 1 in every 6 of trusts' budgets are spent on the 'toxic' legacy of PFI leaving little left to invest in building.
Mississippi is on the cusp of banning sex change surgeries and drugs for trans children under 18 - as a wave of bans continues to sweep the US.
House Bill 1125 would make it illegal for healthcare providers to administer puberty blockers, hormone treatment or gender-affirming surgeries to minors.
It was passed in the state Senate yesterday in a split partisan vote 33-15. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican who is running for reelection, confirmed he intends to sign the bill into law.
Gov. Reeves wrote on Twitter: 'Sterilizing and castrating children in the name of new gender ideology is wrong. That plain truth is somehow controversial in todays world.'
The Mississippi bill is one of several bills in the state legislature that takes aim at LGBTQ+ rights. South Dakota and Utah have both enacted all-out bans on gender transition healthcare
Gov. Reeves said he is looking forward to getting the bill. He wrote on Twitter: 'Sterilizing and castrating children in the name of new gender ideology is wrong. That plain truth is somehow controversial in todays world.'
Mississippi will join more than half a dozen states to put legal restrictions on pharmaceutical interventions for young people with gender dysphoria. Federally, there is no age limit on when trans Americans can be given the drugs or surgeries.
The new bill in Mississippi would allow for doctors' licenses to be taken away if they prescribe gender-affirming surgery or prescribe hormone-warping drugs to minors and create a 'civil claim of action' for them to be sued up to 30 years later.
Doctors would also be unable to access the state's generous tort claims protections.
House Bill 1125 would also prevent insurers or Medicaid from reimbursing families for the procedures.
Gov. Reeves signed a law in 2021 to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls or womens sports.
The vote in the Mississippi Senate came less than a week after transgender teenagers, their families and others who support them protested against the bill.
Jensen Luke Matar, executive director of the Mississippi-based Transgender Resources Advocacy Network and Services Program, denounced the bill in a statement.
He said: 'Mississippi lawmakers are insisting that they know whats best for transgender youth and ignoring the recommendations of every major medical association.'
Heritage Action, a national group affiliated with the Heritage Foundation in Washington, praised the passage of the bill.
Jessica Anderson, Heritage Actions executive director, said: 'Dangerous cross-sex hormones and experimental surgeries are not a compassionate solution for children struggling with gender dysphoria.
'These dangerous procedures both fail to address underlying mental health issues and also leave children suffering with irreversible psychological and physical damage for the rest of their lives.'
The Republican governor of Utah recently signed a ban on gender-affirming care into law, and judges have temporarily blocked similar laws in Arkansas and Alabama.
In Arkansas yesterday, the state Senate approved legislation that tried to effectively reinstate the states ban on gender-affirming care for minors by making it easier to sue providers of such medical care.
The number of Americans identifying as trans has rocketed in recent years.
A report by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found the number of Americans who identified as trans nearly doubled from 2017 to 2020, with 300,000 now identifying as such.
This rise has been strongest among young people, and that is where legislators have so far focused their efforts.
Around 1.5 percent of American teens identify as trans, the highest of any age group.
Many trans-identifying children will undergo hormone treatments, hoping to prevent themselves from developing sex-based characteristics linked to their birth gender.
These often include puberty blockers, which push back the start of the process, and medication that boosts either estrogen or testosterone levels.
Puberty blockers are used to pause puberty and consider whether they want to transition.
By stopping the body's production of sex hormones, gendered characteristics like a deeper voice in men or the development of breasts in women can be halted.
The long-term effects of these drugs are not fully understood, but it can take years for the body to naturally start producing hormones after stopping the drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the drugs to stop precocious puberty - when a child goes through the process earlier than when is healthy - but they are used off-label for trans care.
Hormone therapy can then trigger desired sexual characteristics in a trans teen.
By giving a person born as a female testosterone, or a person born male estrogen, they will instead develop traits that match their wanted gender.
The long-term consequences of taking these drugs in youth has not yet been determined, leaving many experts fearful of the recent increase in their use.
Gender-affirming operations, often called top or bottom surgery, will either make changes to a child's genitalia or chest to match that of their new sex.
These are irreversible and can leave a person infertile.
The streets of America are being flooded by a new terrifying drug that turns patients into zombies and leaves them with gaping sores.
Xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer approved in the US for cows and horses, is now flooding the illicit US drug market, with drug dealers cutting everything from cocaine to heroin with the powerful sedative.
But it is most often used to cut fentanyl, the lethally potent synthetic opioid that already kills tens of thousands of Americans every year.
Philadelphia is at the epicenter, with Xylazine now linked to a third of all overdose deaths there from two percent in 2015. For Rhode Island another hotspot it is now showing up in 40 percent of samples tested.
Patients suffer damage to their blood vessels that leads to gaping wounds appearing on their bodies. Some are left unable to walk, or need amputations because the wounds are so severe, cutting right down to the bone.
There are mounting concerns that xylazine will spread across the US. A study published in December and involving 60,000 US adult drug tests showed xylazine was detected in samples from states across the country. Experts say there is concern that it is spreading in the Midwest
Dr Katie Harris (left), a drug policy expert at Rice University in Texas, said xylazine could be described as the 'new kid on the block' in the US drug market. Emma Roberts, a senior director at the National Harm Reduction Coalition based in New York, said that xylazine users can have large wounds open up on their bodies
Health officials are warning of a terrifying flesh-eating drug which is being increasingly found laced into heroin, cocaine, and other narcotics, leading to a soaring number of overdoses across the country. Pictured: A homeless man seen injecting himself on the streets of Kensington, Philadelphia
There are mounting fears that the drug will cross to the west coast.
Earlier this month four fatalities in San Francisco were linked to the drug, while experts on the ground report signs of the characteristic lesions appearing in midwestern areas.
What is xylazine?
Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer developed in the 1960s to help vets working to treat cows, horses and sheep among other animals.
It is commonly sold under brand names including Rompun and Anased.
The drug works by stimulating animals' muscles to relax, and also as an analgesic relieving pain. It does this by prompting less norepinephrine and dopamine to be released into the central nervous system.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved xylazine for use in animals. There have been few studies on its effect on humans.
In the drug supply, it is often cut with fentanyl and other drugs and reduces the number of times an addict needs to get a shot.
Emma Roberts, a senior director at the National Harm Reduction Coalition in New York, told DailyMail.com that adding xylazine had allowed drug users to go from injecting themselves six to eight times a day on average to get a high, to three to four.
The drug is not an opioid but is often mixed with opioids such as fentanyl when it is used to augment it. Because of this, people who take it are more difficult to treat with the overdose-reversing drug naloxone.
What happens if I take xylazine?
The Drug Enforcement Administration says xylazine takes a few minutes to kick in with effects lasting for up to four hours in animals. It is not clear how long these would last in humans.
In many cases, it leaves users 'knocked out' on street corners and at bus stops for hours. When these people come to, they discover the high from heroin has subsided and start looking for their next hit.
Menacingly, the drug is also causing open wounds to appear on the body often away from the injection site.
Ms Roberts, who has worked with xylazine patients in Puerto Rico, told DailyMail.com: 'What we are seeing is very large lesions, sometimes at the site of injection and sometimes in the body.
'If left, they can cut right through and you can see people's bones and tendons.
'One man I was working with couldn't bend his wrist properly anymore because the wound had got very deep so that you could see his tendons.'
Asked how large the wounds are, she added: 'I saw someone whose lesions were as big as their forearm, just above the wrist up until close to the elbow.'
Nurses have described them to STAT News as appearing as though something is 'eating away your flesh from the inside out'.
Medics are still unsure what triggers the lesions in those taking the drug. One theory gaining ground is that the drug triggers a high level of inflammation in the body, which makes it harder for wounds to heal.
It can also damage blood vessels and weaken the immune system, leaving people more open to infections.
The above graph shows the cumulative annual figure for the number of drug overdose deaths reported in the US by month. It also shows that they are continuing to trend upwards
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
A massive skin lesion caused by xylazine. Users often exacerbate the problem by injecting the painkiller into their festering wounds. This image was published in a journal in 2021 and shows the lesion stretching from the hand up the forearm
Other effects from the drug include blurred vision, disorientation, drowsiness and staggering. It can also lead to a coma, problems breathing and high blood pressure.
Many patients are left disfigured by the drug.
In cases where the wound becomes infected and spreads to the bone, doctors may have no choice but to amputate a limb.
The drug can also cause the 'progressive and extensive' appearance of skin ulcers full of dead tissue.
Where is xylazine taking off in America?
Philadelphia is currently at the epicenter of America's xylazine crisis. The drug has made its way into the city's supply as a cheap and very potent cutting agent.
Reports published last month showed an outreach charity was finding patients left with 'gaping wounds' and 'unable to walk'.
FDA warns cocaine, meth and heroin are being cut with deadly animal sedative 'xylazine' The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning about xylazine in November after the drug began to show up in a growing number of toxicology reports after fatal overdoses. Xylazine is not approved for human consumption and is typically used as a sedative or painkiller for cows and horses in veterinary medicine. The FDA warns in people it can cause 'serious and life-threatening side effects that appear to be similar to those commonly associated with opioid use'. Yet xylazine is increasingly being used by drug dealers as a cutting agent in heroin, meth, cocaine and opioids, the federal agency told stakeholders in a letter Tuesday. The alert warned that it can be 'difficult to distinguish' a xylazine overdose from opioid overdose both drugs cause the lungs to start failing. But unlike opioids, xylazine overdoses cannot be curtailed with naloxone, the emergency opioid overdose reversal drug. Advertisement
It is also cropping up in the drug supply of other east coast states including New York, Massachusetts and Maine.
And there are now fears that it is reaching the west coast and mid-western states.
Earlier this month, San Francisco reported four overdose deaths where low levels of xylazine were found in the patients' systems.
The city's department of health said this was the 'first time' they were seeing evidence of the drug inside the city limits.
It has been present in Puerto Rico's drug supply for years, scientists say.
A study published in December last year found that the drug had already reached 25 states out of the 35 from which it tested samples.
These included many on the East Coast New York, Massachusetts and Maine among others West Coast California, Oregon and Washington and increasingly in the south Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and midwestern area.
Ms Roberts told DailyMail.com: 'Xylazine use is definitely growing in the US.
'We are getting more and more requests from people who want to know more about it, so it is definitely expanding on the mainland.'
She added: 'We are also beginning to see it in middle America, hearing murmurings of people seeing these wounds in the mid-west.'
Asked about the drug, Dr Katie Harris in the drug policy center at Rice University in Texas, told DailyMail.com: 'It's the new kid on the block.
'It is a little too early to know if it will become as rampant in the national drug supply as fentanyl is, but the fact it is associated with sores means we might see a different trajectory for it.'
Is xylazine more deadly than fentanyl?
The Drug Enforcement Administration warns that when combined with fentanyl or other opioids, xylazine can increase the risk of a fatal overdose.
Experts say patients die after taking xylazine because it can slow breathing as well as heart rate and lower blood pressure, compounding the effects of other drugs.
A record nearly 107,000 Americans die from overdoses every year, but estimates on how many are down to xylazine are not available because this data is not routinely collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Experts say the drug may contribute to a rise in overdose fatalities.
Dr Chelsea Shover, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told NPR: 'If you have an opioid and a sedative, those two things are going to have stronger effects together.'
The drug prolongs the highs felt from heroin, but results in users passing out for hours at a time, while injection points ulcerate and lead to grisly wounds that spread across the body, Pictured: Homeless people on the streets of Kensington, Philadelphia
How is it treated?
There is no approved antidote for xylazine overdoses in humans, with treatment instead focused on easing symptoms.
Patients who have overdosed are still given naloxone because this will treat other drugs they may also have taken like fentanyl.
But the naloxone itself will not be able to address the impact of xylazine on effects such as breathing problems and blood pressure.
This has led to concerns among experts that the growing prevalence of xylazine in the drug supply may render naloxone less effective.
Medics say that care teams should focus on supporting a patient's breathing and ensuring their blood pressure is not too high.
Wounds linked to the drug can be treated with antibiotics.
Family doctors have become outnumbered by receptionists over the past 7 years
Receptionists at GP surgeries should not be a medical 'triage' service, campaigners claimed today.
Under an NHS drive to free up doctors' time, clerical staff have been trained as 'care navigators'.
Medical unions insist they play a key role in ensuring GPs focus on patients and not paperwork.
They ask patients ringing practices about why they're contacting with the aim of signposting them to the correct place. Practices argue this is not clinical triage and that patients can still bypass them to speak to a GP or health professional instead.
Dennis Reed, of Silver Voices which represents senior residents, told MailOnline: 'It's all very well saying it's efficient to have them "triage".
'But these aren't medically-trained people.
Mr Reed added: 'They don't necessarily know what lies behind a basic description of a symptom whereas a doctor will.'
The call comes after MailOnline revealed that receptionists now outnumber GPs at practices in England, with levels spiking in recent years.
In 2015 family doctors outnumbered receptionists in England's primary care workforce by over 1,000. But by the end of 2022 this had completely changed with 3,000 more receptionists than GPs. Source: NHS Digital. Some data for reception numbers in 2016 and 2017 is incomplete and has been left in the graph as a straight line
According to the latest data GPs now only account of a quarter of the the primary care workforce, outnumbered 2-to-1 by admin staff, of which over half are receptionists
While the number of fully qualified GPs in England has overall fallen the patient population has risen to 62million, meaning more Brits competing for fewer doctors
He also said patients were often left worried their illnesses were not being taken seriously if receptionists told them the issue didn't need an urgent appointment.
'If you're talking to a receptionist, you're not confident that any reassurance that's being given is appropriate,' he said.
Mr Reed also decried receptionists giving patients an ultimatum to divulge their sometimes intimate or embarrassing symptoms to secure an appointment with a family doctor.
'The process is humiliating for older people,' he said.
However, medical unions have said primary care is actually suffering from a shortage of receptionists to deal with the level of queries from patients.
Read more: Now the junior doctors will strike! 'Militant' BMA union joins never-ending wave of winter walk-outs with demand of an inflation-busting 30 PER CENT pay rise The results of the British Medical Association's strike ballot for junior doctors is in with 98 per cent voting to strike Advertisement
Union officials have said while they understand patients' frustration in delays to see a GP the abuse receptionists receive daily is unacceptable.
Mr Reed's call came as NHS data shows that only a quarter of all 143,000-plus staff working at surgeries across the nation are family doctors.
Nurses, healthcare assistants and admin staff, including receptionists, secretaries and call handlers, make up the rest of the workforce.
Brits are continuing to have to fight to get appointments with their family doctor with many stuck in lengthy phone queues or simply unable to get through at all.
And those who manage to secure an appointment are facing battles to see their GP face-to-face.
Experts have blamed the crisis, which has seen patient groups describe the service as like a 'stretched elastic band ready to snap', on a rising population and shrinking workforce.
Many family doctors are choosing to retire in their 50s, move abroad or leave to work in the private sector because of complaints about soaring demand, paperwork and a toxic environment.
It means the number of patients per fully qualified GP has rocketed to its highest-ever level, with an average of 2,273 people scrambling for appointments with each family doctor an increase of 15 per cent in five years.
Up-to-date NHS statistics show there were 39,782 full-time equivalent (FTE) receptionists across the country in December.
But there were only 36,686 FTE family doctors in the same month.
Less than seven in ten GP appointments in England (68.3 per cent) were held face to face in December. It marks the second month in a row that the figure has fallen after peaking at 71.3 per cent in October. Eight in ten consultations were in-person pre-pandemic. But the figure has so far failed to bounce back
The latest NHS data on GP appointments for December showed fewer than half of appointments were with a family doctor
There were just 27,558 full-time equivalent, fully qualified GPs working in England last month, down 1.6 per cent on the 18,000 recorded in June 2021. It was down 5.3 per cent on the more than 29,000 working in June 2017
By comparison, there were almost 1,400 more GPs than receptionists in 2015, when NHS stats began.
The ratio has been slowly dropping since then, reaching parity in 2017 before rapidly deteriorating.
GPs, who are paid on average around 110,000, now only make up about 25 per cent of the workforce.
Admin staff the bulk of which are receptionists account for just over 50 per cent.
Nurses and other health professionals made up the rest.
FTE records total hours worked in each role allowing a fairer comparison than pure headcount, which can count part-time staff on par with full-timers.
Mr Reed said the data was a sign of the 'sick situation' in England's primary care system.
'The number of GPs has fallen so low that there is a need for gatekeepers to try and police the number of appointments,' he said.
'It's a sign of the times that there's this broader need for gatekeepers to control access to GPs than the GP's themselves seeing patients.'
Mr Reed also said that patients are tired of receptionists being used as a GP triage service.
'It's all very well saying its efficient to have them triage but these aren't medically trained people, they don't necessarily know what lies behind a basic description of a symptom whereas a doctor will,' he said.
He added that while receptionists may tell a patient they did not need to see a doctor urgently older Brits were often left to fret if this was the correct advice for their health problem.
'If you're talking to a receptionist, you're not confident that any reassurance that's being given is appropriate,' he said.
Mr Reed also decried receptionists give patients an ultimatum to divulge their sometimes intimate or embarrassing symptoms to secure an appointment with a family doctor.
'The process is humiliating for older people,' he said.
NHS data for December also shows only 27,000 of the FTE GPs were fully qualified, with rest in training.
This means the ratio of fully qualified GPs to admin staff is even more dire.
Dr Mike Jones, researcher for the thinktank TaxPayers' Alliance, said the figures would frustrate patients struggling to see their GP.
'With huge pressure on the NHS, this smacks of misplaced priorities,' he said.
'NHS funds should be focused on employing clinical staff to meet patients' demands.'
Connor Axiotes, director of communications at another thinktank, The Adam Smith Institute, said the figures were another sign that GP system needed an overhaul.
'Our dysfunctional GP system needs reform,' he said.
'It's in such a bad place that it's even stopping people from wanting to become GPs in the UK.
'This means other areas of our already overstretched NHS are becoming even more overwhelmed.
'At the minute, GPs are perversely incentivised to have more patients signed up but to see them less.
'We want to see a GP system wherein those who need to see their GP can and do so quickly.'
He added that England should move to a system where patients paid to see a doctor directly, instead of through taxes.
Read more: NHS could avoid another crisis next winter if elderly were cared for better in their own home, experts say The charity Age UK said support has become harder to access for the elderly. It added when care for the elderly is 'rationed' it has a knock-on effect on the NHS, which is a 'terrible false economy' Advertisement
'Those who need to see the GP urgently would get an appointment quicker. Rather than all patients having to pay by proxy - with both parties' precious time being wasted,' he said.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said: 'GPs work in multi-disciplinary teams, including both other healthcare professionals and non-clinical staff, such as practice managers and receptionists.
'All members of the GP team play an invaluable role in ensuring patients receive timely, safe and appropriate care.'
She added that while family doctors share patients' frustrations regarding appointments, they and other practice staff groups were blameless.
'It is not the fault of hard-working GPs and members of their practice teams, but due to decades of underfunding and poor resource planning,' she said.
'While the number of fully qualified, full-time equivalent GPs has fallen by 734 since 2019, the number of patients needing our care and the complexity of their health conditions has escalated.'
Professor Hawthorne added that RCGP is calling for the Government to commit to a GP workforce strategy as well as taking steps to 'cut unnecessary bureaucracy that takes GPs away from patient care.'
Speaking to MailOnline in January, Dr Kieran Sharrock, the British Medical Association England GP committee acting chair, said practices were actually suffering from a shortage of receptionists.
'Practice receptionists are trained 'care navigators' and will do all they can to get patients seen by the most appropriate professional in the most timely way possible,' he said.
'But alongside a shortage of GPs, many practices do not have enough receptionists to manage the incoming queries.'
He added that too many GP receptionists face abuse from frustrated patients over the phone, causing some to leave their jobs.
An NHS England spokesman said: 'Since 2019, over 25,000 new members of staff with direct patient care roles, such as pharmacists and physiotherapists, have started working in general practices, alongside more non-clinical, but public-facing workers such as receptionists.'
'Thanks to these expanded GP teams, record numbers of appointments are being delivered for patients, with the latest figures showing that more than 27million appointments took place in December 2022 up almost 12 per cent compared to before the pandemic.'
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson added: 'The number of doctors in general practice has risen by almost 500 in 2022 compared to 2021 and is more than 2,000 higher than before the pandemic.'
'The Health and Social Care Secretary is focused on ensuring resources are targeted to improve care for patients, funding is directed to frontline services and the NHS operates as effectively and efficiently as possible.
'Since 2019 we have recruited over 25,000 additional staff into various roles in general practice and we are ahead of schedule to hit the 26,000 target for primary care staff by March 2024.'
NHS data analysed by MailOnline includes an estimation for some GP practices that did not provide fully valid staff records.
However, these estimations only account for 2 to 9 per cent of the total number of practices analysed, depending on the year.
MRNA vaccines including the Covid shots could be made illegal in Idaho under a radical new bill introduced by two female Republican lawmakers.
The bill, from state Sen Tammy Nichols and state Rep Judy Boyle, would impose misdemeanor charges against anyone who administers a shot using the mRNA tech. A well-meaning doctor could face up to six months in jail and/or a fine of $1,000.
The bill was met with derision on Twitter from healthcare professionals, who argued that the move was buying into conspiracies about the shots.
One of the main arguments against the shots made by the Idaho Republicans is that they were developed at such an accelerated timeline that they could have sidestepped safety and efficacy standards, a point often used by antivaxers to discount the shots.
Sen Nichols and Rep Boyle would see an outright ban in Idaho on administering vaccines that rely on mRNA technology, namely the Covid vaccines.
Covid vaccines are not the only medical breakthrough that relies on mRNA technology. Scientists are currently working to leverage that tech to develop cures for other diseases including some types of cancer. The Idaho bill would cast a chilling effect on that research
The mRNA shots do carry a small risk of serious side effects such as heart inflammation which has raised questions about their use in young people who are at relatively low risk of Covid infection. But the shots have been credited with averting more than three million deaths in the US.
The Idaho bill currently sits in the state Houses Health & Welfare Committee, which will hold a hearing on the bill before advancing it out of committee for full votes.
This process could be a sluggish one, as the legislature has yet to even place a hearing on the bill in the calendar.
Not only would the bill criminalize the use of mRNA Covid shots, but it would also put restrictions on experimental vaccines for other serious diseases such as cancer which are still in trial and showing promising results.
The bill itself says: Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person may not provide or administer a vaccine developed using messenger ribonucleic acid technology for use in an individual or any other mammal in this state.
If passed, this bill would levy financial penalties or imprisonment against well-meaning doctors.
Many vocal opponents of mRNA shots have cited the debunked beliefs about the messenger RNA technology, including the theory that it can alter one's DNA makeup.
And staunch conservatives like Sen Nichols have voiced concerns that the speed at which mRNA Covid vaccines were developed likely meant scientists sacrificed certain safety measures.
The tech entails wrapping the messenger RNA in a bubble of fat which is then injected into the body.
The mRNA then instructs the cells to reproduce the spike protein that is part of the coronavirus, helping the body recognize and fight the virus if it were to invade.
But Sen Nichols maintains that the FDA rushed the shots through approval without fully understanding health concerns associated with them, such as the risk of developing inflammation in the heart muscle, or myocarditis.
She said: We are seeing more and more concerns rising because of the mRNA vaccine.
We have issues that this was fast-tracked, there's no liability, there's no access to data, risk-benefit analysis has not been done, there's no informed consent.
However, the vaccines safety profiles have been backed up by countless virologists, epidemiologists, and other experts.
A 2021 study published in JAMA analyzing records of just over 2 million people who had received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine through May 2021 found 20 cases of myocarditis and 37 cases of pericarditis, inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart.
Reports of adverse health effects of mRNA shots are voluntarily uploaded into a database run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those reports, which are unable to be verified as true by the agency, have driven anti-vax arguments against getting the shots which they say have more risks than benefits.
When questioned a second time about her claims that the mRNA vaccines were erroneously pushed to market despite being unsafe, Sen Nichols said: I'm seeing conflicting reports in regard to [whether the shots actually measured up to FDA safety and efficacy standards].
So I'm actually having more information being sent to me to address that particular issue, because I'm finding that it may not have been done like we thought it should have been done or that it would have normally been done for an approval process, as an FDA-approved vaccine.
Sen Nichols was slammed on Twitter in response to her Tweet saying: Today I introduced a bill to ban all messenger ribonucleic acid technology (mRNA) in the State of Idaho.
Dr Jack Turban, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of California San Francisco said: 1. This tweet suggests you think vaccines are the only mRNA technology, which should disqualify you from writing legislation in this arena. 2. The mRNA vaccine ban is also foolish.
Meanwhile, Dr Leonidas Platanias who leads the Lurie Cancer Center of Northwestern University said: Beyond vaccines, banning all mRNA technology in the state of Idaho, also means essentially banning cancer research in the state of Idaho. Not a good idea.
And Dr Ryan Marino, an emergency physician and addiction specialist at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center said: You should have read a book instead.
Tens of thousands of residents affected by the toxic train derailment in East Palestine will be offered free health checks amid fears of a looming public health crisis.
They will have their vital signs taken and be medically examined by a doctor to check for acute health problems. Mental health specialists and a toxicologist will also be available for consultation.
The new clinic was opened by Ohio's Department of Health (ODH) in a church in East Palestine after trains carrying chemicals derailed in a crash three weeks ago and let off an explosion of toxic plumes.
Biden's transport secretary has come under fierce criticism for not visiting the site of the crash 19 days after the incident occurred. Donald Trump became the first high-profile politician to visit today, where he delivered supplies and spoke to locals.
The chemicals on the board the train were vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, benzene residue, glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene
Tens of thousands of residents affected by the toxic train derailment in East Palestine will be offered free health checks amid fears of a looming public health crisis
The clinic, which only opened yesterday, is fully booked until Friday. It was initially only open to residents of East Palestine.
But the local health department announced today that it is expanding its free check to around 22,000 people living in Unity Township in Ohio, and neighboring Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
Residents have been reporting a wave of sickness despite environmental officials ruling there were no health hazards detected in the town's water or air. Some reported burning eyes, loose stool and headaches since the crash.
A poison-control hotline has also been introduced for East Palestine residents only, which can be accessed on 1-877-603-0170.
Physicians from East Liverpool City Hospital have been drafted in to help the clinic, located inside the First Church of Christ, 20 W. Martin St in East Palestine.
Two assessment rooms inside the church have been set up, along with a mobile unit outside.
Initially meant for East Palestine residents with medical questions or concerns, the clinic expanded its reach shortly after opening but prioritized those closest to the disaster.
The wider area includes all residents of Unity Township in Ohio, as well as residents of Beaver County, Pennsylvania in zip codes 16115, 16120 and 16141.
Appointments can be made by calling 234-564-7755 or 234-564-7888.
All those who attend will have their temperature, pulse rate and breathing rate taken, as well as a medical examination. Referrals will be made as necessary.
ODH director Dr Bruce Vanderhoff said: 'We have been working to bring additional medical resources to the community as quickly as possible.
'I am pleased we now can offer people a more complete medical evaluation.'
The clinic will be open at least through March 4. Hours are 8am to 8pm Monday through Saturday, except for this Friday (Feb. 24) when it is open 8am to 4pm.
Fifty Norfolk Southern Railroad freight train cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride derailed in Columbiana County at around 9pm on Friday, February 3.
A controlled release of the cancer-causing chemicals was done by the railroad company on Monday February 6 to avert a possible explosion.
Hundreds of East Palestine residents were evacuated from their homes prior to the release but were told on February 8 it was safe for them to return. Many are doubtful it is given their symptoms.
It later emerged that three other dangerous chemicals ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene were also in the rail cars.
The substances released during the incident can cause symptoms including nausea, dizziness and shortness of breath.
Raven Ramsey, who lives in Niles, Ohio, roughly 27 miles from East Palestine, said on Facebook: 'All three of my kids have had coughs, watery puffy eyes, nausea and headaches.'
She added: I'm concerned and don't know where to go or start.
Six toxic chemicals were on board the trains that derailed, two of which are known to cause cancer, and can cause irritation to the nose and eyes, and headaches when inhaled.
Melissa Ryan, a mum of two living six miles away from the derailment, said there was a giant black cloud directly over her house.
We were away the weekend of the derailment but when I came back that Sunday my eyes started burning and have been doing so since. I have a cough, both my kids have a cough.
They are going to the pediatrician so they can listen to their lungs. Im exhausted.
She added: Since we are outside the one mile there is absolutely no assistance for us.
Another resident said: We live about 10 miles out, household experiencing severe headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath.
East Palestine resident Candice DeSanzo evacuated the area along with her five sons after the derailment but returned when federal authorities lifted the evacuation order.
'We all have red rashes, loose stool, congestion, eyes burning. Everything smells. I've been having terrible headaches, she told an Ideastream reporter at a community meeting held last night.
Brazilian authorities ordered search and rescue operations to locate at least 44 people who went missing following floods and landslides.
Officials recorded roughly 680 millimeters of rain, more than double the expected monthly amount, that fell within 24 hours around the famous beach city of Sao Sebastiao. The state government said the amount of downpour the area experienced was never before seen.
Brazilian Search and Rescue Efforts
While the Inmet weather service forecasted that rains would continue falling in the area for this week, authorities raised the official death toll to 44. In a statement, the office of Sao Paulo's governor said that search and rescue operations continue unimpeded despite raging rivers of mud, stones, and trees.
However, rescuers had a difficult time due to wet weather, even though they were backed up by 50 vehicles, 14 helicopters, and 53 engineering teams. Sao Paulo Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas said that officials do not know where the death toll would stop, as per France24.
Officials also noted that 38 people were still missing, which is a figure that the governor expects to come closer to 70 in the near future. Brazilian authorities added that more than 1,730 people were temporarily evacuated from their homes while 760 others were left homeless.
So far, 25 people, including six children, have been taken to hospitals, seven in severe conditions. Officials in Sao Sebastiao have also set up a tent for a collective wake for victims.
Residents could be seen using shovels and hoes to clean the mud out of their homes while heavy vehicles pass by to collect debris. On Monday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew over the affected area and warned of the dangers of improvised urban construction.
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Historic Weather Phenomenon
Members of the country's armed forces joined rescue efforts, and the Navy, starting on Thursday, will construct a hospital that has up to 300 beds to assist with relief efforts. Freitas was the one who announced the plans during a Tuesday news conference, according to Yahoo News.
Despite efforts, parts of the highway connecting Rio de Janeiro state with Sao Paulo's port city of Santos were still blocked following landslides. Officials noted that a separate road was blocked that connected the city of Bortiga to inland Sao Paulo.
Lula da Silva has also called on residents who lived in the hillside areas of the country to relocate to safer regions. The state government of Sao Paulo added that roughly 7.5 tons of aid, including food, water, and hygiene kits, have already been provided to victims of floods and landslides.
Meteorologist Marcelo Seluchi noted that a cold front with a combination of specific characteristics was responsible for the historic weather event. This included not only heavy rains but also high swells that made it difficult for any of the rainfall to drain away.
Many make-shift structures built on steep hillsides were not strong enough to endure the force of the water rushing down. The danger comes as more than 9 million Brazilians are thought to be living in areas that are prone to mudslides or flooding, said BBC.
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Driving test examiners have announced 10 days of strike action across England, Scotland and Wales next month that will undoubtedly extend delays for learners trying to gain a licence.
More than 1,600 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency will take rolling days of industrial action from March 6 to 28.
The strikes are the latest escalation of the union's long-running campaign over pay, pensions and jobs.
With learners currently facing a 15-week wait to sit their practical tests due to the backlog hangover from the pandemic, next month's strikes will only exacerbate the issue.
More than 1,600 driving test examiners will strike across 10 days from March 6 to 28, it has been announced
The test invigilators took strike action earlier this year which the union said caused disruption to tests.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'The Government must put forward concrete proposals to resolve this dispute.
'The more ministers choose to ignore members' concerns over low pay, the more angry our members become.
'Our members cannot choose to ignore the cost-of-living crisis.
'Ministers can choose to resolve this dispute by putting money on the table.'
Around 100,000 PCS members will strike on Budget Day March 15 with the increasingly bitter dispute remaining deadlocked.
Strikes will extend driving test waiting times of 15 weeks
Ministers said last month that they hoped to clear the driving test backlog 'within the next few months' after MPs demanded action on the long wait faced by learners.
Transport minister Richard Holden told the House of Commons on January 19 that waiting lists for driving tests are reducing 'rapidly' and he pointed to 300,000 new practical test slots.
But Conservative MP Greg Smith said several of his Buckingham constituents have been unable to secure tests, with one struggling to book a spot at five centres despite logging on daily.
Liberal Democrat former minister Alistair Carmichael said the earliest date for booking a test is 18 weeks away in Shetland, and for Orkney there are 'no test dates available'.
He added: 'That is quite apart from the continued lack of availability of off-road motorcycle testing.'
The strikes are the latest escalation of the PCS unions long-running campaign over pay, pensions and jobs
Mr Holden had told the Commons: 'The DVSA is recovering after the pandemic. The theory test service is performing well, there are 620,000 practical test appointments in the booking system.
'Since April 2021 it has created an extra 695,000 car practical driving test appointments and the average waiting time to take a car test is at 15.1 weeks, with over 80,000 slots currently available.
'The average waiting time for an HGV or other vocational driving test is currently just over two weeks. The heavy vehicle testing service is operating normally and enforcement operations continued throughout the pandemic.'
Tory colleague Mr Smith said: 'Multiple constituents have written to me this week about the inability to get a driving test one saying that despite logging on daily they can't get a test at all in nearby test centres at Bletchley, Leighton Buzzard, Aylesbury, Banbury, Northampton.
'For rural communities like those that I represent the car is absolutely essential to get anywhere, young or old, so can (Mr Holden) prioritise when he talks to the DVSA test centres for rural communities to get back on track?'
Mr Holden, MP for North West Durham, replied: 'I also represent a rural constituency, although in a different part of the country.
'We have made big progress in recent years with over 300,000 new slots available due to the extra 300 driving instructors we have hired since the pandemic.
'Waiting lists are coming down for driving tests and rapidly and we hope to achieve back to pre-pandemic levels within the next few months.'
For Labour, shadow transport minister Simon Lightwood said: 'Nationwide almost one in 10 bus driver positions are vacant, hitting vital services across the country hard.
'But ministers are asleep at the wheel, with no action plan to tackle it.
'Currently, DVSA requires a provisional bus licence to start training. But with huge paperwork delays, 20 per cent of applicants give up before their training begins.
'So will the minister listen to calls to speed up this glacial process to allow applicants to begin their theory tests while they wait for their provisional licences?'
Mr Holden replied: 'The Opposition spokesman raises a very important point and one I've been raising myself and have spoken to both unions and the management recently on visits to both Stevenage and to Gateshead bus depots.
'There's currently an under three-week wait for driving tests for bus drivers, under three-week wait for practical tests, and we are looking at everything we can to speed it up.'
AA president Edmund King, speaking outside the chamber last month, said: 'As well as rural areas, the driving test backlog is also a big issue in urban areas where many young people are dependent on passing their test to help find employment.
'The AA Charitable Trust supports teenagers in care and care leavers learn to drive in Barnet, north London, in association with the charity Live Unlimited.
'Our research shows that learning to drive not only helps mobility and job prospects of teenage care leavers but also boosts self-esteem.'
When Alex de Laune's Wizz Air flight from Gatwick was cancelled last August and his trip to Cyprus ruined, he applied for compensation.
The special educational needs teacher from Surrey was meant to be going on a trip with two friends. But he ended up waiting at the airport for four hours and subsequently had to ditch the entire holiday.
Promised 1,134.52 compensation for the cancelled flight, he still has not received it nearly seven months on.
Complaints: Wizz Air has today received the worst rating in a survey of more than 8,000 travellers, according to consumer group Which?
The 33-year-old is one of hundreds of passengers caught in a backlog of claims that has seen the Hungary-based airline in the crosshairs of the aviation watchdog. It has also been named the worst short-haul airline operating in Britain.
In a poll of 8,000 travellers by consumer group Which?, the carrier was criticised for chronic delays, as well as poor customer service and in-flight comfort.
Money Mail's postbag has received more complaints about Wizz Air than any other airline. We've sent a dossier of claims for more than 4,000 to the firm.
Wizz Air told us it has had to double the size of its customer services team to cope with the recent deluge of complaints.
In the Which? study, holidaymakers awarded it the lowest possible score for boarding experience, cabin environment and seat comfort.
This is the latest blow for the airline after facing heavy scrutiny from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over 'unacceptable' dealings with customer complaints.
In a rare move, the CAA raised 'significant concerns' over the high volume of grievances levelled against the carrier.
And it highlighted long delays in reimbursing passengers.
Alex's flight was delayed due to a burst tyre. He says: 'We were told it would be fixed in an hour. Eventually, airport staff told us the flight was cancelled. No one from Wizz Air was around to tell us what was happening. It was a waste of a day and we had to cancel the holiday.'
When Money Mail sent the case to Wizz Air, it said compensation was sent in late September to his travel agent.
But, confusingly, Wizz Air has been telling Alex to check his bank account for the refund with no mention of the travel agent.
The number of complaints brought to the CAA against Wizz Air is over three times higher than those against rivals. Between July and September, 2022, 811 gripes per million passengers were brought to the CAA against the carrier.
In comparison, British Airways received 166, EasyJet 245 and Ryanair 235 per million.
The flurry of complaints follow problems faced by the airline last summer when 7 per cent of flights did not operate due to staff shortages.
Holiday hell: Widespread chaos caused by staff shortages during the peak travel season meant customers were plagued by last-minute cancellations
Widespread chaos meant customers faced last-minute cancellations and long waits in the airport or on the tarmac.
The CAA, which is expected to give an update on complaints soon, says Wizz Air remains firmly on its radar.
A Wizz Air spokesman says the vast majority of claims relating to last summer have been processed. But Money Mail readers say they still face long waits for compensation.
We have sent the carrier cases of readers who are hundreds of pounds out of pocket and have waited months for compensation.
None of us will ever get on a Wizz Air flight again Beverley David, Wizz Air customer
Beverley David has waited since July for a refund of almost 200 after contacting the airline 'countless' times.
Beverley and her husband Richard, both 74, were forced to cut short a trip to Alicante, Spain, last summer after Richard injured his knee. They had to return home to Cardiff for treatment.
There was no Wizz Air flight available, so the couple had to use Vueling instead.
Beverley, a lecturer, warned the airline in advance they would not be on their original return flight. In the booking terms and conditions, it stated they could claim money back. She was told a 175.34 refund was owed.
After Money Mail took up her case, Beverley finally received the payment seven months later. The grandmother of six says: 'We are a big family and fly regularly back and forth to Alicante as we have properties in the area. None of us will ever get on a Wizz Air flight again.'
Wizz Air operates from Luton, Gatwick, Liverpool, Bristol and Belfast airports in the UK. It serves Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
Complaints filed against the airline are escalated to the CAA if a customer is not satisfied with the firm's response.
Delays: Wizz Air was among the worst offenders for punctuality last summer, with just 56% of flights arriving on time
The regulator has also expressed concern at a large number of County Court Judgments (CCJ) legal orders which can be made against a company to enforce debt repayment made against Wizz Air which remain unpaid.
One reader told Money Mail he instigated a CCJ in October after a 'torturous' process trying to claim over 400 for a delayed flight. Last summer just 56 per cent of Wizz Air flights arrived on time, CAA data shows.
Ameleah Press, 22, waited five hours for her Wizz Air flight to take off only to be told it was cancelled.
The graduate was meant to fly from London Gatwick to Israel in October to surprise her boyfriend Yonatan who lives in Tel Aviv.
She boarded the plane three hours after the original departure time and was then stuck on board for two hours more before the flight was cancelled due to bad weather.
Ameleah claims a Wizz Air representative at the airport said she would be able to get a refund and 600 compensation. She says: 'Because of this I booked a flight for 1,000 with another airline as I thought this would cover it. But I haven't been able to get compensation.
'I was stranded at the airport with no idea what was going on made worse by the lack of customer service.'
Wizz Air refused to compensate Ameleah, saying flight disruption caused by bad weather falls under extraordinary circumstances, which are out of its control. It adds: 'Only Wizz Air's customer services team has the authority to advise on refunds and compensation claims. Wizz Air apologises for any confusion caused.'
Anna Bowles, CAA head of consumer policy and enforcement, says: 'We have made it clear to Wizz Air that its behaviour is unacceptable. We expect overdue complaints and claims to be resolved.
'Where we have evidence an airline is letting passengers down, we won't hesitate to take further action.'
A Wizz Air spokesman says: 'We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience we have caused our customers.
'We are working hard to put things right and resolve all outstanding claims as quickly as possible.
'The major disruption we navigated last summer meant that we have been dealing with an unprecedented number of claims.'
t.armstrong@dailymail.co.uk
An activist investor has launched a fresh broadside against the owner of Wagamama over its ruinous and devastating share price performance.
Oasis, which owns 6.5 per cent of The Restaurant Group (TRG), called for better communication with investors.
Last week, it demanded sweeping changes after a 65 per cent share slump in the past year.
Shares slump: Hong Kong-based activist investor Oasis - which owns 6.5% of Wagamama-owner The Restaurant Group - called for better communication with investors
Now, Oasis says that more of the same ruinous and devastating share price performance is not an option and failure to work with shareholders will leave them with no recourse but to seek to hold TRGs representatives to account.
No trading update in January meant it was missing a clear opportunity to inform stakeholders about the impact of cost of living in contrast to rivals, it said.
TRG said it provided a full response to a letter from Oasis on February 16 and would give an update at its full-year results on March 8.
Astrazeneca boss Pascal Soriot scooped 15.3million in pay last year, taking his total earnings to almost 120million in a little over a decade at the pharmaceuticals giant.
The chief executives 2022 package marks the fourth straight year he has earned over 15million, but it was down slightly from the 15.7million he was given in 2021.
His package included a 1.4million salary, 13.6million in bonuses, benefits worth 136,000 and 150,000 in pension contributions.
Pay deal: Pascal Soirot's 2022 package marks the fourth straight year he has earned over 15m, but it was down slightly from the 15.7m he was given in 2021
The total was 230 times the amount received by a typical AstraZeneca worker.
Luke Hildyard, director at the High Pay Centre, said: These are really discomforting figures.
A pay award of 15million, taking Soriots total pay over the past ten years to over 100million, is a highly unusual amount for someone who is just a manager of a long-established organisation, not an entrepreneur who built it from scratch.
Soriot is one of the UKs best known chief executives, having been at the helm of the firm since October 2012.
In that time, pay has been a constant gripe for the Frenchman, who has complained bosses at rivals overseas earned more.
In 2018, after receiving a 13million pay award, Soriot caused a stir when he said: The truth is Im the lowest-paid chief executive in the whole industry.
It is annoying to some extent. But at the end of the day it is what it is.
The 63-year-olds latest payout comes just two weeks after he shone a light on Britains uncompetitive tax regime.
At the companys annual results on February 9, Soriot blamed the high cost of doing business in Britain for prompting AstraZeneca to switch plans for a 330million investment in a new manufacturing facility to Ireland.
Soriot said the group wanted to build a new state-of-the-art plant close to its existing sites in the North West, but instead chose Ireland because the UK tax regime was discouraging.
Corporation tax in the UK is set to rise to 25 per cent from 19 per cent in April.
Despite never being far from controversy, Soriot is credited with leading a turnaround that has transformed AstraZenecas image from laggard to pioneer, with a formidable portfolio of blockbuster drugs.
The company became a household name during Covid when it joined forces with Oxford University to produce a jab that was sold for no profit although Soriot irked investors by spending much of the pandemic at his family home in Australia.
Before that, he saw off a 69billion raid in 2014 by US rival Pfizer, which wanted to buy AstraZeneca and use the UK as its headquarters for tax purposes.
Today, AstraZeneca is valued at almost 178billion after a near-300 per cent rise in its share price since Soriot took over.
Jon Steinberg will join FTSE 250 publisher Future as its new chief executive officer from 3 April, the group said on Wednesday.
Mr Steinberg will succeed Zillah Byng-Thorne, who announced her intention to stand down last September.
Ms Byng-Thorne will step down from her current role on 31 March but will remain available to support Mr Steinberg over a two-month transition period to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities.
New job: Future has appointed Jon Steinberg as its new chief executive officer
Future shares were down 0.97 per cent or 14.00p to 1,423.00p this afternoon, having fallen over 40 per cent in the last year.
Future said Mr Steinberg was an experienced media executive, 'with a strong track record of innovation, scaling media groups and creating value'.
Most recently, he was the president of Altice USA's news & advertising division, which encompasses News 12, i24NEWS, Cheddar News, and Altice USA's a4 Advertising unit.
He joined Altice through the sale of Cheddar News, a digital-first innovative news company, which he founded in 2016.
Prior to that, he was the chief executive of DailyMail.com North America, having joined from BuzzFeed, where he was president & chief operating officer.
He is also currently a senior adviser to The Raine Group, which is conducting the sales process of Manchester United.
Mr Steinberg, said: 'I am delighted to be joining Future.
'It is a business that I've followed closely and long admired for the way it has redefined the media playbook, marrying the best of editorial and technology.
'I look forward to working with the Board and the leadership team to build on the success achieved under Zillah's tenure.'
Richard Huntingford, the group's chair, added: 'Jon has highly valuable expertise and has developed a fantastic track record, combining entrepreneurialism with leadership at some of the very best digital and media organisations operating at scale.
'He is a charismatic leader with a deep understanding and passion for media, particularly how technology, creativity and innovation can be harnessed to accelerate growth and build significant value for stakeholders.
'As we look to further extend Future's leadership, particularly in the US, Jon is a natural fit.
'On behalf of the Board and all of Future I would like to thank Zillah for the exceptional role she has played for almost a decade.
'Through her leadership, Future has transformed beyond recognition, from a loss-making magazine publisher into a leading digital media platform of 250 brands reaching 1 in 3 adults online in the US and UK, and delivering market-leading returns for our investors in the process.'
Earlier this month Future reiterated its full-year guidance despite a continued slowdown in audience numbers and consumer spending.
The MoneyWeek and Marie Claire UK publisher told investors its full-year adjusted operating profits were expected to align with forecasts, having risen by 39 per cent to 271.7million.
Savers without internet access are being penalised as the best rates are increasingly reserved for online accounts.
You can earn as much as 3.06 per cent online, some 0.5 percentage points more than the top branch-based accounts.
The gap widened as smaller banks reacted swiftly to National Savings & Investments rate boost last week. The Treasury-backed bank now offers 2.85 pc on its internet and telephone-based Direct Saver.
Online only: You can earn as much as 3.1% online, some 0.55 percentage points more than what's offered by the top branch-based account widely available to savers
Within hours the newer banks, offering only online or app-based accounts, raised rates.
It can take weeks for big banks and building societies to follow suit. And there is no guarantee they will move the rate they pay on branch-based accounts at all.
Missing out most are older savers. Office for National Statistics figures show just 49 per cent of over-65s use internet banking.
As rates rise to their highest for more than a decade, the gap between online and branch accounts is growing.
The average of the top five online accounts is 3.04 per cent, up from 0.7 per cent in December 2021 when Bank of England base rate started its rapid rise from 0.1 per cent to 4 per cent today.
The best branch accounts now pay an average 2.5 per cent, up from 0.4 per cent.
On a 20,000 pot, over a year, a 3.06 per cent rate generates 612 in interest compared to 506 on 2.5 per cent a premium of 106 for online users.
Big banks are also keeping those without internet access from the top deals. For example, HSBC offers a 3 per cent rate up to 10,000 for those happy to open and run theirs online but only 0.9 per cent if youre not.
On the top balance, thats a difference of 210 interest over the year.
Rachel Springall, of financial data firm Moneyfacts, says: The link between base rate and savings rates is much more disconnected now.
There is no guarantee savers will benefit from every single rise in base rate. Online banks are keen to attract deposits and offer better rates than High Street competitors.
Top of the online accounts is Shawbrook Easy Access at 3.06 per cent, Tandem Instant Access and Sainsburys Defined Access, both at 3.05 per cent, Cynergy Bank Online Easy Access at 3.04 per cent and Gatehouse Bank at 3 per cent.
But there are catches. Cynergy has a bonus of 0.15 percentage points and Tandem a 0.25 point bonus for 12 months.
After that you earn a lower rate. Sainsburys only allows three withdrawals a year rather than easy access to your cash.
Shawbrook pays the top rate where there are no catches. Other online accounts nearing the 3 per cent benchmark with no catches are Secure Trust and Atom both at 2.95 per cent.
The top branch equivalent is Yorkshire BSs Access Saver Plus issue 7 at 2.55 per cent.
You can earn over 3 per cent in branch accounts, too. But it depends on where you live, if you are happy with the accounts restrictions and how fast you can snap up accounts on sale for just a short time.
The Rainy Day Account from Yorkshire BS pays 3.35 per cent. But this is only paid on the first 5,000. And withdrawals can be made on just two days a year.
Swansea pays 3.25 per cent on its Easy Access Account, but you must live in Wales to open one.
Bath Building Society Instant Saver account will pay 3.09 per cent from March 1. But you must live or work in the city to open one.
Newbury BS Welcome account pays 3.15 per cent but only to new customers on their first 3,000.
Just below the 3 per cent benchmark is Skipton Branch Tracker Issue 4 at 2.9 per cent on sale through its 87 branches around the country.
Available online and in branches, it guarantees to pay the Bank of England base rate less 1.1 percentage points for two years. But you need to grab this now you see it, now you dont account while you can.
Money Mail does not include easy-access accounts with bonuses or limited withdrawals in its best buy tables. But we do inform you of what is on offer.
Sy.morris@dailymail.co.uk
The grisly scene where a top Bill Clinton adviser was found hanged from a tree with a gunshot wound to his chest has finally been revealed nine months after he died.
But the sheriff's report into Mark Middleton's mysterious death raises more questions than answers as it rules he died by suicide despite no sign of the weapon that killed him.
Middleton, 59, was found dead last May at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas, an hour west of Little Rock.
Release of the report was held up after members of his family petitioned a judge. They were worried that pictures from the gory scene would be made public.
The judge eventually ruled that details could be released but photographs could not.
Bill Clinton's special advisor Mark Middleton, who signed Jeffrey Epstein into the White House several times, killed himself in May 2022
Middleton's body and car were found at the Heifer Ranch, which is owned by an anti-poverty nonprofit called Heifer International, in Perryville, Arkansas
Middleton was Bill Clinton's special advisor who admitted Jeffrey Epstein to the White House on seven of the at least 17 times the late pedophile visited. Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Clinton are seen in 1993 at the White House
The report, written by Perry County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Lawson, says he was called to the ranch by worker Samantha McElroy who had found Middleton's abandoned black BMW SUV.
McElroy, 46, then walked around a cottage on the ranch.
'Almost immediately after stepping around the corner of the cottage she started yelling,' wrote Lawson.
'Upon reaching the back of the cottage she pointed towards the rear of the property and asked if that was a person.
'I could see what at first appeared to be a man sitting near a tree, as my eyes focused better, I could see a rope of some type going from the tree limb to the male."
Lawson said it was clear that Middleton was dead.
'I could see that he had a gunshot wound to the chest and that he had a knot tied in an extension cord that was around his neck and it was attached to the limb directly above him.
The deputy said a search of Middleton's vehicle turned up three boxes of buckshot and a gun case but no weapon.
The details give fresh insight into the death of Middleton, a married father of two daughters aged 18 and 20 who was found dead on May 7 last year.
The married father-of-two, who lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, shot himself at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, 30 miles away from his home
In Middleton's obituary, his family requested that, instead of flowers, well wishers donate to a service that specializes in counseling and therapy linked to the New Life Church, which is based in Arkansas
The police report obtained by DailyMail.com gives fresh insight into the death of Middleton, 59, a married father of daughters aged 18 and 20, who was found dead on May 7 last year. Middleton with his wife Rhea and daughters, Lindsay and Lauren
DailyMail.com previously revealed Epstein visited the White House on 14 separate days and stopped by twice in one day on three occasions during Bill Clinton's first term. Middleton admitted him at least seven times
Middleton was a special advisor to Bill Clinton in the 1990s and signed Jeffrey Epstein into the White House on seven of the 17 times the late pedophile visited.
Middleton also flew on Epstein's jet, nicknamed the 'Lolita Express'. More recently he had been working for his family's HVAC business in Little Rock.
The police report was released to DailyMail.com by the Perry County sheriff's office.
According to the Arkansas Times, Middleton's family said he was suffering from depression.
Middleton's life in recent years was a world away from the power he enjoyed in the 1990s.
White House visitor logs previously reported by DailyMail.com showed that he appears as the authorizing signatory on seven of Epstein's White House visits, most of which were to the West Wing.
In addition to being a special assistant to the President, Middleton was also assistant to the chief of staff, Thomas 'Mack' McLarty.
Middleton left the White House in February 1995 and was accused of setting himself up as an international deal-maker, exactly the kind of person that would appeal to Epstein.
In addition to being a special assistant to the President, Middleton was also assistant to the chief of staff, Thomas 'Mack' McLarty. Clinton and McLarty are pictured in the White House in 1993
Middleton flew on Epstein's plane and appears to have acted as a conduit between Clinton and Epstein. Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell are seen on the plane
Middleton had for decades run an air conditioning business in Little Rock but in the 1990s he was a special advisor to Clinton and finance director on his Presidential campaign
Perry County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Lawson said in his report of Middleton's death that buckshot and a gun case were found in the dead man's car, but he found no weapon
In 1996 an investigation by the White House found that Middleton had abused his access to impress business clients and was barred from the executive mansion without senior approval.
Middleton denied the claims.
A number of Clinton's former associates have died over the years in unexpected circumstances, including deputy White House counsel Vince Foster.
His 1993 death was ruled a suicide but sparked a slew of conspiracy theories about the involvement of the Clintons.
After Epstein hanged himself while awaiting trial in 2019, Donald Trump retweeted conspiracy theories that Clinton was involved.
Others whose deaths have been linked to the Clintons without foundation have been Seth Rich, the Democratic National Committee staffer who was murdered in 2016 with no culprit having been found.
DailyMail.com has reached out to a spokeswoman for the Middleton family.
A lawyer who represents thousands of 9/11 cancer victims is warning the residents of East Palestine to ignore the hasty assurances of government officials telling them it is safe to go home, and that he fears the disaster will spark an 'explosion of cancers'.
Michael Barasch is the chief advocate for Ground Zero first responders and anyone who breathed in the toxic dust from where the towers stood in the eight months that followed the atrocity.
To date, 69 different types of cancer have been linked to the attacks, including some that are only now being diagnosed.
In an interview with DailyMail.com on Wednesday, he told of his alarm over the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the hasty assurances from the EPA that it was safe for residents to return home.
'When I heard the EPA say that the water is safe to drink the air is safe to breath, I literally had shivers go down my neck.
'Those are the exact words that the EPA used 21 years ago when they tried to assure downtown New Yorkers that it was safe to come back to work, or go to school, for the first responders to be in the Pit. It wasnt.'
'I fear that we are going to see an explosion of cancers if the parallels are what I think they are in another 10, 15, 20 years.
'Its really going to be heartbreaking to see what happens to this community.'
Michael Barasch is the chief advocate for Ground Zero first responders and anyone who breathed in the toxic dust from where the towers stood in the eight months that followed the atrocity.
A New York City firefighter surveying the damage after 9/11. Thousands of people who were in the area that day and for the months that followed were later diagnosed with cancers and respiratory illnesses
The Norfolk Southern train derailed on February 3. It was carrying huge amounts of toxic cargo which were later burned in a controlled release to avoid an explosion in the town.
The town's 6,000 residents were evacuated over fears of contamination - but they are now being told it is safe for them to go home.
Many are hesitant to believe the assurances of the government, and say they want more testing in the water and air before they'll feel comfortable.
Barasch - who himself was diagnosed and beat prostate cancer after the towers fell - says their skepticism is warranted.
He also lamented how officials rushed Wall Street back to lower Manhattan to keep the NYSE afloat back in 2001, after the terror attack sent the markets into a freefall.
In East Palestine, there is no such corporate urgency.
'They wanted to reopen Wall Street, they had an ulterior motive, they wanted to make sure everybody was calm. Here, there is no ulterior motive its just a knee jerk reaction stay in your homes, everythings going to be OK. Dont panic.
'Well, I beg to differ. I think you should be very scared. Whats that movie line be afraid, be very afraid? Err on the side of caution. Take care of your families and get out of there until we have real, independent, scientific knowledge that this is going to be safe.
'I know it's not easy, a lot of these people cant afford to go to a hotel. But theyve got to protect their families.'
Norfolk Southern has been so far paying for displaced residents to have alternative accommodation. But Barasch says they cannot be relied upon to tell people when it's safe to go home, and that Biden's Environmental Protection Agency also bears some blame.
The site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 4. The train was carrying toxic materials when it crashed
' I see the fumes in the air, Ive seen the bubbling water, its easy for me to say from the safety of lower Manhattan, but it sure reminds me of what lower Manhattan looked like when those two towers fell,' Barasch said of the town of East Palestine, shown above on February 6
'I wouldnt trust [Norfolk Southern] nor their scientists alone to say now its safe. They are facing huge liability claims. It's too soon to know how big this could be. Just protect yourself and dont just trust the EPA on its own either.'
Barasch was working in the same downtown office he has now when the towers fell.
Since then, he said he has lost two colleagues to cancers that are related to the tragedy.
'At the time of 9/11 I was two blocks away, we returned to our office because the EPA told us dont worry its safe.
'Within a dozen years my secretary Liana died of breast cancer aged 47, my paralegal Dennis also aged 47, died of kidney cancer.
'I am a prostate cancer survivor. My secretary Barbara has lymphoma, my partner Barry has skin cancer. This is just one small office.
'It was really deadly toxins that we were exposed to, very similar to what the people of East Palestine are being exposed to now.'
He fears the first illnesses to present themselves would be blood or skin cancers, but that it will take several years for them to present themselves.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway with Lt. Governors and other officials drinking the tap water to try to assure residents that it is safe to return
Jeff Zalick wipes away a tear outside a newly-opened clinic as he discusses the fears of getting back into his house following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine
Neil Figley, 28, holds his daughter, Harlie, 4, wait in line at the Norfolk Southern Assistance Center to collect a $1000 check and get reimbursed for expenses while they were evacuated following a train derailment prompting health concerns on February 17, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio
He wants Congress to set up a healthcare fund now for the victims - that is similar to the World Trade Center Health Program.
The program is available to anyone who was in the area of the tower collapse for eight months after 9/11, and not just to the first responders who helped clean up the wreckage.
There is also concern over how far the damage from the East Palestine train derailment and subsequent burning of chemicals could have traveled.
The Governor of Pennsylvania - which sits just a mile over the border from East Palestine - has demanded a criminal investigation into Norfolk Southern.
'The wind blew west, all across Pennsylvania, and all across into western New York state. Those people have real reasons for concern, as do the people who drink water in the surrounding areas.
'From what I understand the Ohio basin, the water travels to the Mississippi.
The President is yet to comment publicly on the disaster, much less visit the town, but he called the mayor from Poland yesterday after being slammed for his lackluster response
'We need scientists we trust to test this and tell us its safe or its only safe after boiling or its only safe after filtering whatever it is.
'Dont treat us like children and say Oh we dont want to scare the residents no, we can take it. What we cant take are lies,' Barasch said.
There has been widespread condemnation of President Biden's breezy response to the catastrophe.
The President is yet to comment publicly on the disaster, much less visit the town, but he called the mayor from Poland yesterday after being slammed for his lackluster response.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will today visit.
He announced his visit after former President Donald Trump announced plans to travel there himself.
A proposal for super funds to invest in the government's 'national economic priorities' such as housing projects and clean energy schemes rather than purely for the financial benefit of members has been met with ridicule by Today show Karl Stefanovic.
Stefanovic has slammed Labor's plan to legislate a purpose for superannuation, arguing 'it doesn't make any sense'.
The plans are part of a review into retirement savings by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who has also flagged winding back generous concessional tax rates for super contributions which are costing the Budget more than $50billion a year.
A Treasury consultation paper released this week also suggested super funds could invest 'where there is alignment between the best financial interests of members and national economic priorities'.
The Australian Financial Review's economics editor John Kehoe suggested Dr Chalmers was trying to 'nudge' super funds into investing in social causes like housing and green energy.
'Chalmers is saying, "Look I'm not saying you have to take sub-optimal returns, but if these returns stack-up financially, you should go and do it",' he said.
'So it's more of a gentle nudge rather than forcing the funds to do it.'
A fired-up Stefanovic questioned the purpose of that.
'Can I just say this Johnny, it's our money,' he said.
'It's our money in a super fund, and maybe I'm silly. I would just want the best return.'
Karl Stefanovic (left) has slammed a government plan that could see Australian's superannuation returns cut short, saying the move 'doesn't make any sense'
Mr Kehoe responded, saying: 'The only way that these social investments are going to stack up, is perhaps if the government provides a subsidy or some other red tape reduction,' he said.
'I can't see many of the super funds doing this unless the financial returns actually stack up.'
Stefanovic replied: 'It doesn't make any sense economically, or fiscally from my point of view,' before joking that he does not know much about the topic.
Dr Chalmers has this week also suggested winding back the flat 15 per cent concessional tax rate for Australians depositing up to $27,500 a year into the super.
The Australia Institute, a left-wing think tank, calculated the $52.6billion annual cost was almost as much as the $55.3billion spent on the aged pension.
'Right now, we're on track to spend more on super tax concessions than the age pension by around 2050,' Dr Chalmers said.
'I'm not convinced that's a sustainable way to get to our destination good retirement incomes for more Australians, now and into the future.'
Treasurer Jim Chalmers (pictured) has flagged a shake-up to Australia's superannuation system, including new laws to prevent Aussies from accessing their super early
Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan, a former economist, said Labor's plan could stifle super returns.
When you can access your superannuation For those born before July 1, 1960, it's 55 The rises to 56 for baby boomers born between July 1, 1960 and June 30, 1961 It's 57 for those born between July 1, 1961 and June 30, 1962 It's 58 for those born between July 1, 1962 and June 30, 1963 It's 59 for those born between July 1, 1963 and June 30, 1964 It's 60 for anyone born after July 1, 1964 Advertisement
'It is our money. Just leave our money alone,' he told the Today Show on Wednesday.
'This is shaping up as a massive broken promise if they proceed with this. The Labor Party said before the last election they wouldn't touch our super or tinker with it.
'People work hard for this money. At a time when they are struggling to pay their bills today, the Labor Party seems dead-set on making it harder for people tomorrow.
'This money is there for you to help you in your retirement.'
Labor is planning to tighten the rules on accessing super early, which would make it harder for those born after July 1, 1964 to touch it before they turn 60.
Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg allowed Australians to withdraw up to $20,000 from their super funds during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Australians could choose to access their super via two $10,000 instalments during the early months of 2020.
Outside of the pandemic, early release super is only allowed in very limited circumstances, including if someone is permanently incapacitated, is dying, is facing severe financial hardship or has a severe physical or mental impairment that stops them from working.
Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan, a former economist, said Labor's plan could stifle super returns.
The federal government has announced a review into retirement savings with Labor also hinting at winding back generous concessional tax rates for super contributions that cost the budget more than $50billion a year (pictured is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with his girlfriend Jodie Haydon)
Dr Chalmers called the early release a 'debacle' that 'forced' Australians 'to choose between better incomes in retirement or paying their bills' after $36billion was withdrawn.
Labor's shake-up could see an end to Australians being able to plunge up to $27,500 into their super each financial year at a low rate of 15 per cent, if they earn up to $250,000.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said any change to super would be a breach of an election promise when asked if the tax concessions were fair and sustainable.
'What we do know is they made a very clear commitment to the Australian people before the election, that they weren't going to make changes to super,' he told the ABC's PM radio program on Tuesday.
The existing rules, that debuted in 2006, mean high-income earners on $180,000 are taxed much less than their marginal income tax rate of 45 per cent.
It is also a big saving for those in low and middle income tax brackets, who are taxed at 32.5 per cent between $45,000 and $120,000; and 37 per cent between $120,000 and $180,000.
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola have set their sights on the east coast after making billions in Western Australia as they snap up the exclusive Waldorf Astoria Hotel project planned for the nation's most iconic waterfront.
The 25-storey, 220-room luxury hotel in Sydney's Circular Quay was acquired by Fiveight, the property arm of the billionaire couple's investment firm Tattarang, for $575million from Lendlease and its joint venture partner Mitsubishi Estate Asia.
But the Forrests may have scored a discount by paying a large portion of the cost upfront, with sources from the billionaires' firm claiming the price was closer to $520million.
The Waldorf Astoria is expected to be the most expensive hotel in the country and will be the brand's first foray into Australia.
The hotel promises sweeping views across Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge and is part of a $3.1billion project set to spruce up Circular Quay, which would include a ritzy 59-level residential building along with a retail precinct.
The 25-storey, 220-room luxury Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Circular Quay (pictured, a plan of the hotel) has been purchased by the couple's company Fiveight for $575million
Andrew and Nicola Forrest (pictured) have invested in the exclusive Waldorf Astoria Hotel
The 'premium' One Circular Quay apartment building will be adjacent to the hotel at the site of the former Gold Fields House (pictured, the view from the apartments)
Hotel guests will have access to luxury amenities including restaurants, spa, wellness facilities and an indoor pool, Lendlease said in a statement.
It will also include ballroom and function spaces, boardrooms, a rooftop bar and restaurant.
The hotel will start construction in June this year and is expected to be open by late 2026.
The $575million hotel sale - which equates to around $2.6million a room - attracted interest from a large pool of buyers, the Australian Financial Review reported.
The 25-floor hotel will be designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates and built by Lendlease.
The Forrests' Fiveight firm will also own and develop a 430-square-metre shopping precinct. The retail space will include 11 shops on the hotel's ground floor and in the residential complex.
The 'premium' 59-floor One Circular Quay apartment building will be next to the hotel, on the site of the former Gold Fields House.
Tattarang said the long-term investment in the hotel and the buildings was keeping the 'centrepiece' of Circular Quay's redevelopment in Australian hands.
Tattarang's joint owner Nicola Forrest said the hotel investment was a part of the firm's strategy to invest in and prop up Australian infrastructure.
Sources close to Tattarang said the price for the hotel and retail assets cost the Forrests about $520million (pictured, a plan of what the new hotel and residential apartments will look like)
'Circular Quay is a globally unique and instantly recognisable location that continues to welcome millions of visitors from both near and far each year,' Mrs Forrest said in a statement.
'As long-term investors, we believe this development can play an important role in the future rejuvenation of the wider Circular Quay precinct.
'We are committed to engaging with Lendlease and the surrounding community towards an even brighter future for Australia's gateway city.'
Mrs Forrest also said the 11 retail brands will feature the best products Australia has to offer.
Hilton Australasia head Paul Hutton, which owns the Waldorf Astoria brand, said the hotel heavyweight was excited to get the brand Down Under.
Lendlease also said its One Circular Quay residential complex, which includes a three-level penthouse with panoramic views of Sydney Harbour, has had unprecedented buyer interest.
On Tuesday, China's top diplomat assured one of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies that Beijing's relationship with Moscow was "rock solid" and would withstand any test posed by an evolving international scenario.
Patrushev, a close ally of Putin, told "Comrade" Wang that Beijing was a primary priority for Russian foreign policy and that the two nations must remain together against the West.
Russia-China Relations
Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 sparked one of the bloodiest European wars since World War II and the most significant confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The fight broke out weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged a "no-boundaries" friendship. Xi has supported Putin and resisted Western attempts to isolate Russia.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, commerce between China and Russia has skyrocketed, and Moscow has sold Asian nations, particularly China, increasing quantities of oil. Putin and Xi share a broad worldview that views the West as decadent and declining, much as China threatens US preeminence in technology, espionage, and military might.
Per Reuters, the United States identifies China and Russia as the two greatest dangers to its national security. Washington views China as the most significant long-term "strategic rival" and Russia as an "imminent threat." Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to go to Moscow for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Communist Party chief will likely encourage his counterpart not to use nuclear weapons.
Those familiar with the idea told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that the high-level conference, which is scheduled to occur in the coming months, will be part of a multi-party drive for peace negotiations as Russia's conflict in Ukraine approaches its first anniversary.
According to insiders, Xi Jinping will use the negotiations to avoid the confrontation from becoming nuclear. The meeting might occur in late April or early May, when Russia commemorates its triumph over Germany in World War II, according to sources familiar with the issue.
This claim comes just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that the United States is "extremely worried that China is considering providing deadly support to Russia" as Moscow continues its invasion of its western neighbor. Per NY Post, Blinken refused to comment on the kind of help China may give, but he did say that Beijing is attempting to "have it both ways."
At NATO headquarters, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that he had met with Wang and learned critical aspects of China's strategy on Tuesday. He noted that the proposal must be founded on territorial integrity, while Kyiv awaits the whole text before replying.
Read Also: Turkey-Syria Earthquake: 2 Tremors Hit Again in Devastating Blow
Fear of World War III
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that China's assistance for Russia's military activities might spark a third World War. But, Zelensky emphasized that China has a chance to make a "pragmatic evaluation" of the situation.
Moreover, Putin stated that Russia should be prepared to begin nuclear weapons testing if the United States did likewise, which would end the Cold War-era worldwide prohibition on such tests. A year after the invasion of Ukraine, the "no boundaries" cooperation between China and Russia has come under test in the West after the United States expressed worry that Beijing would contemplate supplying Russia with weapons.
Xi has supported Putin and resisted Western attempts to isolate Russia. After the invasion of Ukraine, commerce between China and Russia increased dramatically, and Moscow supplied Asian nations, particularly China, with increasing quantities of oil.
Putin and Xi share a broad worldview that views the West as decadent and declining, much as China threatens US preeminence in technology, espionage, and military might. Russia and China performed combined naval exercises in the East China Sea towards the end of last year, as per Daily Mail.
Related Article: China's Top Diplomat To Visit Russia
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Upland School District officials said in a statement they are investigating
One mother whose daughter received a letter that said 'to my favorite cotton picker' said she has pulled her child from the school over harassment
Parents of students at a Southern California elementary school are outraged after a student was given a drawing that said 'you're my favorite monkey'
Racist drawings given to black students at a Southern California elementary school have prompted one parent to pull their child from the institution.
Sketches containing pictures of a stick figure being lynched and messages reading 'you're my favorite monkey' and 'to my favorite cotton picker' were given to one young student by her fellow classmates.
The mother of the girl who received the drawings told KTLA she will no longer allow her daughter to attend Pepper Tree Elementary School in Upland, California after continued harassment.
The parents of a second girl who has encountered similar racism say their three children, all who attend Pepper Tree, have gone mostly unaddressed.
Upland Unified School District's superintendent said in a statement this week the drawings are under investigation at this time.
Racist drawings given to black students at a Southern California elementary school have prompted one parent to pull their child from the institution
This sketch given to a student contains a picture of a stick figure being lynched
Maylana and Rome Douglas are the parents of the three children at Pepper Tree Elementary, one who was told they would also get a picture of a lynching
The shocking drawings given to the child show a large brown monkey on one side of a card accompanied by the message 'you're my favorite monkey.'
One of the other cards shows a landscape with white pieces of cotton in the air surrounded with the words 'to my favorite cotton picker.'
Maylana and Rome Douglas are the parents of the three children at Pepper Tree Elementary, one who was told they would also get a picture of a lynching.
'They said that they were going to give her (a drawing) that specifically said, "You're my favorite slave," and they were going to show her as a slave hanging from a tree,' Maylana said.
One drawing showed a picture of a black stick figure hanging from trees.
Maylana and Rome also said their daughter also was told by a group of girls they were going to give her special treatment for Black History Month.
The girls said they would provide her with back rubs and massages.
'It's your month, you're entitled to back rubs,' Rome said the girls told his daughter.
'And apparently, someone told her, "well, maybe only half the month because you're only half black,"' the concerned father continued.
One of the other cards shows a landscape with white pieces of cotton in the air surrounded with the words 'to my favorite cotton picker'
'They said that they were going to give her (a drawing) that specifically said, "You're my favorite slave," and they were going to show her as a slave hanging from a tree,' Maylana said
Maylana and Rome also said their daughter also was told by a group of girls they were going to give her special treatment for Black History Month
This picture shows a black stick figure holding a sign reading 'no more picking cotton'
On the other side of the card, the student wrote 'happy Black History Month. The group will be nice all month' along with a smiley face
Another card given to one black student shows a stick figure holding a sign that states 'no more picking cotton.
On the other side of the card, the student wrote 'happy Black History Month. The group will be nice all month' along with a smiley face.
As shocking as the drawings are, parents say it's not the first time students have experienced racism in the district.
Just last year, a teacher placed on leave after they made anti-Asian comments at another school nearby.
'This is not the first time a situation like this has happened. It's not going to be the last time that this situation happens, but the most important thing is our response to the situation,' said Robin Allen, the school's PTA president.
'I'm hoping that the district does not brush this under the rug as they've brushed issues under the rug in the past,' Allen said.
In a video posted to YouTube, Upland USD Board President Sherman Garnett said the district has a 'zero tolerance policy' for these incidents.
'I want to make it perfectly clear that we have a strict zero tolerance policy on any type of hate speech, harassment,' Garnett said in the video.
As shocking as the drawings are, parents say it's not the first time students have experienced racism in the district. Just last year, a teacher placed on leave after they made anti-Asian comments at another school within the district
'This is not the first time a situation like this has happened. It's not going to be the last time that this situation happens, but the most important thing is our response to the situation,' said Robin Allen, the school's PTA president
'I want to make it perfectly clear that we have a strict zero tolerance policy on any type of hate speech, harassment,' said Upland USD Board President Sherman Garnett
Officials with the school district said in a statement they are looking into the situation.
'An investigation took place immediately upon learning about these disgusting, racist drawings students gave to another child in their class,' district officials said.
'The content in those cards is shocking and abhorrent. We deeply regret that our student has had to endure the hurt that race based bullying causes,' they continued.
When asked if the student or students who made the drawings are facing discipline, the district said they cannot share that information due to privacy laws.
A tenured professor at the University of Texas at Austin sued the school after he claims the administration made threats to his job when he criticized critical race theory as having 'no scientific basis.'
Dr. Richard Lowery filed the lawsuit in federal court this month and claimed the university violated his constitutional right by punishing him for speaking out on controversial subjects - like the school's critical race theory and diversity policies.
While Lowery is tenured, the school could still strip him of his affiliation with the Salem Center, which would cost him a $20,000 stipend and research opportunities, which they threatened to do, his lawyer said.
Dr. Lowery is an associate professor of finance at the McCombs School of Business, and has been an outspoken critic of the school's promotion of CRT, previously telling Fox New Digital, that it has 'no scientific basis.'
Dr. Richard Lowery, a tenured professor at the University of Texas at Austin, sued the school after they allegedly threatened his job when he criticized CRT as having no scientific basis
Dr. Lowery is an associate professor of finance at the McCombs School of Business, and has been an outspoken critic of the school's promotion of CRT
Del Kolde is a senior attorney at the Institute for Free Speech which is representing Lowery, and told Fox News Digital that the school made threats to his job and that there was a 'concerted effort' by the school to 'silence' Lowery.
Lowery has been an outspoken critic of the school's policies, and has criticized the school's move toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies that he said were used to filter out academics who opposed progressive ideology.
But when he 'criticized school officials' actions, engaged in traditional academic campus discourse, and asked elected state-government officials to oversee the school's operation, UT officials campaigned to silence him,' the court filing states.
The filing continues to claim that the school 'threatened Lowery's job, pay, institutional affiliation, and research opportunities if he did not shut up.'
'In the atmosphere they fomented, one of Lowery's colleagues even asked UT police to surveil the professor because he might contact politicians or other influential people.'
Lowery 'got the message' and began to quiet down over fear of 'retribution,' according to the complaint, and he began self-censoring, throttling his social media use and altering the topics of his academic speeches,' the injunction says. 'That harm is ongoing. This court should put a stop to it.'
While Lowery is tenured, the school could still strip him of his affiliation with the Salem Center, costing him a $20K stipend and research opportunities, which they threatened to do
The filing continues to claim that the school ' threatened Lowery's job, pay, institutional affiliation, and research opportunities if he did not shut up'
Lowery is outspoken critic of the UT Austin's critical race theory and diversity policies
The lawsuit filed this month is requesting that the court 'bar UT officials from threatening or acting on the threats made to Lowery for his protected speech' and also to declare that the 'threats against Lowery amounted to unconstitutional state action designed to chill Lowery's protected speech and retaliate against him.'
Kolde told Fox News Digital that Lowery was exercising his right to freedom of speech when he said that taxpayer funds being used to promote CRT and DEI amounted to 'ideological indoctrination.'
'We're going to court on his behalf in order to protect his right to speak so he can start speaking again and be part of the conversation,' Kolde said.
'All he's asking to do is to be treated equally like other faculty members,' Kolde went on., 'If you're pro DEI at the University of Texas you can speak all day all the time talking about how great these DEI policies are. In fact, they have a grant program that pays people to go talk about it.'
Institute for Free Speech released a statement claiming that he had documentation of school officials plotting to punish Lowery for his criticisms.
This includes an alleged comment from Sheridan Titman, an official at the business school, that said, 'We need to do something about Richard.'
'The injunctive relief is the most important thing,' Kolde said.
'Because otherwise, every time he opens his mouth he has to be worried about, 'Shoot, are they going to try to remove my Salem Center affiliation are they going to try to find other ways to mess with me and maybe even go after my tenure?'
'You should not have to make that calculation as a public employee working for a public institution.'
The ranking of Australia's best-performing schools are in - and many are public schools in lower socio-economic areas with big populations of immigrant families.
The 2022 NAPLAN literacy and numeracy scores from every school across Australia were uploaded to the My Schools website by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority this week.
A diverse mix of private, Catholic, selective, non-selective, co-educational and public schools head the list, proving to parents they do not need to live in an expensive suburb or pay tens of thousands each year to ensure their children get the best education.
NAPLAN is the annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 who, until this year, sat the test in May each year.
The latest data is the first NAPLAN snapshot in several years due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The 2022 NAPLAN results have been revealed. Pictured are students from Presbyterian Ladies' College in Melbourne, one of the country's best-performing schools
NEW SOUTH WALES
There were few surprises on the NSW secondary schools list dominated by Sydney selective schools best known for their outstanding HSC success year in and year out.
Selective schools took out nine out of the top 10 spots, with James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney's northwest topping the list with a Year 9 average of 730.8.
North Sydney Boys High School was second on 709.4, closely followed by Sydney Girls High School on 709.
Sydney Grammar was the only primary school with an average above 600.
Woollahra Public School in Sydney's east was the state's second best performing primary school, followed by Beecroft PS.
Cabramatta High School in Sydney's immigrant-heavy southwest was one of several schools identified as high-achieving.
It means students showed above-average literacy and numeracy results compared with those of similar socio-educational backgrounds.
Nearby schools Fairfield Heights Public and Canley Vale High were also identified as high achieving.
James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney's north-west topped the state's secondary school list with a Year 9 average of 730.8
Canley Vale High School (pictured) and Fairfield Heights Public also had high achieving results
VICTORIA
Of the top 100 schools in Victoria, 28 were girls-only schools, more than double the number of boys' schools featured.
All girls-schools took four of the top five spots on the best-performing primary school list.
Presbyterian Ladies' College in Melbourne's east topped the list, followed by Harkaway Hills College, Fintona Girls' School, Camberwell Grammar School and Camberwell Girls Grammar School in the city's north.
Selective school MacRobertson Girls High School topped Victoria's secondary schools, followed by Melbourne High School, Nossal and Suzanne Cory high schools and Fintona Girls' School.
Schools with a high population of students from first-generation migrant families dominated the list of high achievers.
Dandenong North Primary in Melbournes south-east where 70 per cent of pupils are classified as disadvantaged is the only school across the state where students in all year levels made progress.
Dandenong North Primary (pictured) in Melbournes south-east where 70 per cent of pupils are classified as disadvantaged is the only school where students in all year levels made progress
QUEENSLAND
Some of Queensland's best results came from state public schools.
Sunnybank Hills State School on Brisbane's outskirts was ranked the state's best primary school.
More than quarter of the suburb's multicultural population are of Chinese background
It was followed by Rainworth State School in Brisbane's north-west and Brisbane Grammar School.
Rounding out the top five were non-metropolitan surprise inclusions Ormiston College in the Moreton Bay regions and Coolum Beach Christian College on the Sunshine Coast, both outside the top 40 in five-year NAPLAN comparisons.
There were few surprises on the best performing secondary schools led by Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology in the riverside suburb of Toowong, Brisbane Grammar School and Brisbane Girls' Grammar School
Whitsunday Anglican School in central Queensland came in a surprise fourth after being ranked 45th in a five-year comparison.
All-girls schools were among Victoria's best achievers, including Fintona Girls' School (pictured) which was in the top five for primary and secondary school results
Sunnybank Hills State School (pictured) in Brisbane was Queensland's best performing primary school
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Out west, the pattern was similar with state schools with many students of non-English-speaking backgrounds showing up many of the more prestigious private colleges.
Caladenia Primary School in Canning Vale, which is overwhelmingly made up of students from migrant backgrounds, and Ballajura Primary were examples that both finished near the top of the rankings.
Of the top 20 schools in the state, 14 were public, five independent and one Catholic college.
Four of the five independent schools were Islamic: three branches of Australian Islamic College, plus Al-Ameen College.
John Calvin School in Albany, south of Perth, was the other high-ranking independent school, along with Chisholm Catholic College in Perth's north-east.
Ballajura Primary (pictured) in Western Australia finished near the top of the rankings for the state
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
There were also surprising results in South Australia, where small public schools outclassed many high-fee charging and high-profile private schools.
The public Linden Park Primary School in a wealthy Adelaide suburb was ranked top, followed by Dara School for advanced learners, the high-fee St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School and St Andrew's School.
Owen Primary School in a small town in the grain-growing mid-north district surprisingly rounded out the top five.
It finished ahead of the likes of Anglican School for Girls, Pembroke School, Saint Ignatius College and St Peter's College.
Linden Park Primary School's main feeder high school Glenunga International was the state's highest-performing secondary school.
TASMANIA
In Tasmania, Princes Street Primary in the prestigious Hobart suburb of Sandy Point was rated the state's best primary school, with the top five featuring a mix of public and private schools.
Located in the same suburb, all-girls independent institution Fahan School recorded the best secondary results as well as the second-best primary results.
Schools in the prestigious Hobart suburb of Sandy Point were among Tasmania's best performing schools. Pictured is Princes Street Primary School
NORTHERN TERRITORY
In the Northern Territory, remote and online schools were among the best NAPLAN performers.
Darwin-based Haileybury Rendall School and The Essington School were the best primary school, followed by the Alice Springs Steiner School in the outback.
The Essington School also recorded the best secondary results, followed by Nhulunbuy Christian College and Haileybury Rendall School.
From this year, parents and carers will get earlier, simpler and clearer information about their children's NAPLAN achievements based on new, more rigorous national standards.
The tests are now online and will be held next month, two months earlier than the traditional testing period, aimed to give teachers more time to focus on students' strengths and weaknesses.
Sydney Grammar School in inner-city Sydney's was NSW 's best performing primary school
It is the perverse reality at the heart of Australia's superannuation system.
The Albanese government is opposed to letting young Australians withdraw their retirement savings early to buy their first home.
But baby boomer investors can buy as many investment properties or commercial premises using their superannuation, if they have a self-managed fund.
A self-managed super fund is where an individual directs how their retirement savings are invested, rather than leaving it to the fund to decide.
Problems with the retirement savings system are in the spotlight with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor government this week flagging tighter rules on early access to superannuation.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday afternoon declared generous tax concessions for super, that mainly benefit the wealthy, would be here to stay - despite his misgivings about the cost.
'We're not contemplating major changes to superannuation,' he told Sydney radio 2GB.
The Albanese government is opposed to letting young Australians withdraw their retirement savings early to buy their first home (pictured is a stock image)
At the last election, the Coalition proposed allowing first-home buyers to invest up to $50,000 or 40 per cent of their superannuation if they had saved for a deposit of at least five per cent.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton still stands by the policy, arguing Labor was inconsistent in opposing super withdrawals to buy a first home but allowing it to purchase an investment or commercial property.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton (pictured with wife Kirilly) said Labor was inconsistent in opposing super withdrawals to buy a first home but allowing it to purchase an investment or commercial property
'In relation to superannuation, your super money in your super fund can be used to buy somebody else a house, but it can't be used to help a first home buyer buy his or her house,' he told Perth radio station 6PR this week.
'It doesn't make any sense.'
Australia's average super balance in 2019-20 stood at $145,388, tax office data showed.
But wealthier baby boomers are in a much better position to deposit up to $27,500 a year into their super fund and pay a concessional tax rate of just 15 per cent.
This concession costs $53billion a year, with wealthier Australians putting money into super paying a concessional rate that is well below the marginal tax rate of 45 per cent for those earning more than $180,000.
Two-thirds of these concessions go to the top 20 per cent of income earners and less than 1 per cent of people have super savings of more than $3million, with that group having an average pool of $5.8million.
But baby boomer investors can buy as many investment properties or commercial premises using their superannuation, if they have a self-managed fund (pictured is a stock image)
Dr Chalmers said it was wrong for the richest Australians to benefit the most from superannuation tax concessions but has yet to declare any specific policy to undo the 15 per cent rate a former Coalition government introduced in 2006.
'If we all agree that the purpose of superannuation is to provide retirement income in retirement, it beggars belief you could have $100million in a superannuation account attracting very generous tax concessions that aren't available outside the system ... clearly it's not about retirement income,' he told ABC News.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers (pictured with wife Laura) said it was wrong for the richest Australians to benefit the most from superannuation tax concessions
'It's about tax management, estate planning - not about retirement income.
'That's an obvious place to look at.'
But later on Sydney radio station 2GB, Dr Chalmers declared there would be no changes to the tax concessions.
'We think that there should still be generous tax concessions for people to save for their retirement,' he told drive broadcaster Chris O'Keefe.
He added the 'generous tax treatment of superannuation' was 'an important part of the system' and that raising taxes on extra super contributions was 'not on the table'.
Australia's earning up to $250,000 a year can deposit up to $27,500 into their super and pay a 15 per cent concessional rate.
The Treasurer ruled out reducing that threshold to $200,000 for a 30 per cent rate to apply.
'That's not something that we have been proposing or considering either,' he said.
Dr Chalmers has previously spoken out against the $254billion cost, over a decade, of the Stage Three income tax cuts only to leave the former Coalition government's policy for July 2024 in place.
Buy an investment property
Australians wanting to buy a house or unit, as an investment property to rent out, can do so if they have a self-managed super fund.
The individual trustee of this self-managed super fund, however, can't live in it and nor can other trustees of this fund or distant relatives of the trustees.
The property also can not be rented out to anyone related to the trustee, and it can not be bought from a relative either, even at market value.
Property investors would have done particularly well in 2021 when Reserve Bank interest rates were still at a record-low of 0.1 per cent and banks were offering ultra-low fixed rates of 2 per cent - leading to a boom in house prices.
But H&R Block's director of tax communications Mark Chapman said self-managed super funds could not be used to fund a holiday house.
'So, buying a holiday home in your SMSF and living there during the summer isn't allowed,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
Labor has not flagged any crackdown on self-managed super funds but Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said retirement savings should not be used to buy housing.
'It starts with establishing a political consensus which must make it clear that superannuation is for retirement incomes,' he told the Sydney Institute on Tuesday night.
'Not for cosmetic surgery, not for estate planning, not for housing.'
Australians wanting to buy a house or unit, as an investment property to rent out, can do so if they have a self-managed super fund. The individual trustee of this self-managed super fund, however, can't live in it and nor can other trustees of this fund or distant relatives of the trustees (pictured is a Melbourne auction)
Buy a commercial property
Mr Chapman said small business owners could also use a self-managed super fund to buy their shopfront or office premises and then pay rent directly back to this self-managed super fund.
'It's important to get this right: the rent paid must be at the market rate - no discounts - and must be paid promptly and in full at each due date,' he said.
Poll Is the super system rigged against young Australians? Yes No Is the super system rigged against young Australians? Yes 127 votes
No 196 votes Now share your opinion
'The investment must also satisfy the overarching function of the SMSF which is to provide a retirement fund for the members.'
Apart from rental yields and capital growth, Mr Chapman said those who bought a commercial property would be liable for a 15 per cent tax on the rental income.
'Getting the SMSF to purchase the building might make sense for your business but does the building represent a good investment for the SMSF?' he said.
Properties held for more than a year are eligible for a one-third capital gains tax discount.
If the commercial investment property is bought via a loan, the interest payments on the mortgage are tax deductible to the super fund.
'If expenses exceed income there is a taxable loss that is carried forward each year and can be offset against future taxable income,' Mr Chapman said.
Any rental income or capital gains from the self-managed super fund are tax free once the individual reaches retirement age, but if a loss is incurred on a rental property, they cannot be offset against personal income tax outside the fund.
H&R Block said small business owners could use a self-managed super fund to buy their shopfront or office premises and then pay rent directly back to this self-managed super fund (pictured is a commercial property up for lease in Brisbane)
Running a self-managed super fund
Australians who operate a self-managed super fund have until February 28 to lodge their annual return to the Australian Taxation Office.
But the deadline is May 15 if trustees use a tax agent to declare their assets and liabilities and a profit or loss for their fund's balance sheet as of June 30, at the end of the previous financial year.
Mr Chapman said self-managed super funds also needed to keep documents for five years after the end of the financial year.
'These records are to be kept in a form, with supporting documentation, to enable them to be properly audited,' he said.
The trustee is also required to appoint an independent auditor who, in turn, is required to tell the tax office if any irregularities are detected under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act of 1993.
'You can't just provide an excel spreadsheet of items to the auditor that you wish to claim,' Mr Chapman said.
'You need to have original bank statements, invoices for expenses.'
An SMSF can't be lodged until an accredited auditor has compiled a report.
Trustees who fail to lodge a return face a $275 for every 28 days beyond the February 28 due date, up to a maximum of $1,375.
Other things you can invest in
Self-managed super funds can buy Australian and international shares, cash and term deposits, collectable artwork, commodities like gold and fixed-income products.
A gay pride mural in Sydney's CBD of a man in a bondage outfit with a teddy bear head has sparked outrage and demands for the 'creepy and sexualised' image to be removed from the view of children.
The mural on Wynyard St, adjacent to one of the city's busiest train stations, was commissioned by YCK Laneways, a collective of local shops in the area.
The painting shows a hairy, overweight man wearing a teddy bear head and bondage gear while lying on a dilapidated lounge draped in a gay pride flag.
YCK Laneways said the mural was created to celebrate World Pride, a global event celebrating queer culture currently being hosted in Sydney.
But many city workers and visitors have called the mural 'inappropriate', particularly given the teddy bear image would capture the attention of children who would then be exposed to sexual fetishes.
A new mural in Sydney's CBD depicts a man wearing bondage and a teddybear head (above)
Catlin Roper, a spokesperson for Collective Shout, an organisation that campaigns against the infiltration of pornography into the mainstream, was disgusted.
'Whose idea was it to pair a teddy bear with BDSM for a public audience? This is creepy,' she wrote in an online comment.
A second person wrote: 'Why is a teddy bear in bondage meant to represent pride?!
'The gay community worked hard for years to distance themselves from this sort of representation. Small children will be walking past this.'
Another angry commenter said: 'How did YCK Laneways arrive at the conclusion that a furry/BDSM clad male would be suitable for kids to walk by in their own community? This mural need to be removed as soon as possible.'
Poll Should the bondage teddy mural be removed? Yes No Should the bondage teddy mural be removed? Yes 205 votes
No 29 votes Now share your opinion
A fourth person wrote: 'Why would you think this is appropriate to display in public?!
'A fat, hairy, alcohol drinking, bondage wearing teddy bear man on display where people walk past to go to work, and in full view of children.'
Others compared the disturbing correlation between childhood imagery and sexual fantasies to the Balenciaga scandal.
The upmarket fashion house was forced to apologise for an advertising image that included teddybears dressed in bondage.
One Sydneysider shared his thoughts about the explicit painting on TikTok.
'At what point does inclusiveness pass too far,' user Moeyreacts said.
'You've got a fat man who's naked in a gimp costume with a cute teddybear hat, right in Wynyard.
'Now tell me this, when you're walking down the street with your kid and the kid looks at a cute teddybear hat and relates it to a man in a gimp suit - at what point does it get too dangerous?
'This is disgusting, this is Balenciaga vibes.'
More than 1,000 viewers commented under the video with most calling for the mural to be scrapped.
Hundreds of outraged Sydneysiders have called for the 'creepy' mural (above) to be removed or painted over
'It's beyond my comprehension how this can ever be allowed to happen,' one commenter said.
'I saw that on the way to work, was considering getting bucket of black paint and covering it,' a second person wrote.
'Im sorry but I couldnt explain that to my kids. Thats way too far!,' another said.
However, some people were in favour of the mural and told negative commenters to 'look away' if they have a problem with it.
A YCK spokesperson responded to the outrage, saying: 'YCK Laneways is an inclusive precinct which welcomes and celebrates a variety of communities and sub-cultures from across Sydney.
'The mural is in place to celebrate World Pride and will be removed on 5 March.'
World Pride said it is not associated with the painting.
Australia's famous urban sprawl has been captured in one photo as residents of a new outer suburban housing estate queue in their cars each morning just to leave the suburb.
Residents of Kalkallo, 50km north of Melbourne, can take an hour just to get out of the estate - but it's far from just being a Victorian problem.
Kalkallo's regular one kilometre tailback happens before drivers even reach the road that will then take them to work, school, shops and everything else beyond the estate.
The problems have been caused by a lack of roads in the newly developed area, where the infrastructure has not kept pace with the rapid population growth.
In the 2016 census, there were just 105 people living in Kalkallo. Five years later, the 2021 census found there were 6,466 living there.
ABC reporter Margaret Paul highlighted the huge problem by tweeting pictures showing dozens of cars banked up trying to get out of their estate.
Residents of Kalkallo, 50km north of Melbourne, have a commute from hell every morning, when it can take an hour just to get out of their Cloverton housing estate (pictured)
She said she had 'seen people overtaking on the wrong side of the road and driving onto the grass to turn left. The frustration is intense.'
At 8am on Tuesday morning she tweeted: 'This queue goes 500m back into the housing estate.'
But just 15 minutes later she said she'd 'found the back of what locals say is the completely everyday traffic queue to get out of this housing estate in Kalkallo.
'It is one kilometre long!'
Paul also tweeted about the lack of transport options in the area, saying the massive traffic jam was a 'completely average Tuesday morning ... I've (only) seen three buses in the hour I've been here.'
Ramy Najmeddine and his family live in the huge Cloverton estate in Kalkallo - where there are more than 2,000 residents, but only one road in and out.
Construction on a second road started last October but is not due to be finished until mid-2024.
Margaret Paul said in a tweet (pictured) that the tailback in an outer urban housing estate was one kilometre long
Even on the best day, it takes Mr Najmeddine 20 minutes just to get out of Cloverton, giving him plenty of time to think while he waits in traffic.
'Sometimes you do get thoughts of, 'did I make the right move buying here?'' he told ABC.
'That does come across sometimes, because there's more frustration than there is ease when it comes to taking kids to school, driving to work, all the peak-hour stuff that people are doing in the estate. It is quite frustrating.'
Mr Najmeddine dreads to think what would happen if there was an accident during one of the daily periods of traffic chaos.
'I can't imagine for the life of me if there was an emergency that was to happen and an ambulance needs to come in and come out,' he said.
Evan Mulholland, who was elected to the Victorian upper house for the Northern Metropolitan Region last November, said the area has suffered from 'a lot of neglect'.
'As someone who has lived in the northern suburbs my entire life, I recognise the need for strong local advocacy on issues, particularly roads and public transport,' he told the North Central Review.
Mr Mulholland is a Liberal, though, and the state government is Labor - but that will not stop him from advocating for his constituents.
'I'm keen to fight for locals for a greater share of funding. We're taxpayers as well in the outer suburbs, but under the current state government we're seeing a lot of money spent in the eastern suburbs and not a lot in the outer north,' he said.
The issue of lack of infrastructure is not just a Victorian problem, with similar situations in the outer suburbs of cities across the country.
Ian Wright, a professor at Western Sydney University, said while the 'great Australian dream' of affordable housing draws people to an an area, 'poor planning' is letting them down. Pictured is a huge queue to get out of the Cloverton estate 50kilometres north of Melbourne
Ian Wright, an associate professor in the School of Science at Western Sydney University said while the 'great Australian dream' of affordable housing draws people to an an area, 'poor planning' is letting them down.
'I think there is this absolute desperation for families (to get) a roof over (their) head. That Aussie dream, having a family, having your own house,' he told Yahoo News.
'Then there is this promise of 'yeah, the high schools are coming, the shops will be coming, the train line will get extended'.
'It's all these promises and it's just awful,' he said.
Australia Post is again under intense scrutiny over its extravagant spending after paying out more $28million in bonuses to highly-paid staff while sacking a lowly manager who went overboard on a Christmas party.
The latest scandal comes after ex-CEO Christine Holgate lost her job in 2020 amid a political firestorm over her gifting four Cartier watches worth a total of $20,000 to high-performing employees.
Under a crackdown on wasteful spending in the wake of her exit, Australia Post has limited the budget for end-of-year work parties to just $20 per person.
However, a low-ranking Australia Post manager has been sacked after spending 'thousands of dollars' on a party for her 10 staff, 2GB's Ben Fordham has revealed.
While the ultimate cost of the party has not been confirmed, it's understood the dinner was claimed as an expense and flagged as being over budget.
Following an internal investigation, the manager was fired for 'serious misconduct'.
The hard line on spending comes after Australia Post employees were handed more than $28million in bonuses last financial year - including $4.45million to eight senior executives who took home an average $556,000 each.
CEO Paul Graham scored an $885,000 bonus - about $335,000 more than the Prime Minister's annual salary - in a total package worth $2.09million.
Mr Graham is the executive behind a controversial suggestion to end daily letter delivery in a bid to cut losses.
A senior manager at Australia Post had been fired for going 'overboard' when she booked her team of 10 people into a ritzy Sydney hotel last year, 2GB's Ben Fordham (pictured) revealed
The latest scandal comes after ex-CEO Christine Holgate (pictured) lost her job in 2020 amid a political firestorm over her gifting four Cartier watches worth a total of $20,000 to high-performing employees
Australia Post CEO Paul Graham (pictured) scored an $885,000 bonus in 2021-22 - about $335,000 more than the Prime Minister's annual salary - in a total package of $2.09million. He is the executive behind a controversial move to end daily letter delivery and increase stamp prices
Susan Davies, an executive general manager, received a $674,499, amounting to a $1,471,542 compensation package.
Head of operations Rob Barnes received $661,819 in bonuses as part of a total $1.78million package.
Chief financial officer Rodney Boys took home a $661,819 bonus as part of $1.58million in total remuneration.
A total $24million was handed to 362 non-executive workers on base salaries higher than $235,000, who each received bonuses ranging between $11,000 to $289,000.
Fordham called out the 'hypocrisy' of already highly-paid Australia Post executives securing huge bonuses while cracking down on spending for lower-paid workers.
'Australia Post, they are handing out bonuses on blank cheques. Executive salaries are beyond belief,' he said.
'So on the one hand - Australia Post forces a CEO to resign over $20,000 worth of watches, and a NSW manager gets her marching orders over a Christmas party that cost thousands.
'But all the while - they happily dish out eye-popping bonuses to hundreds of senior staff - $4.4million to the top executives, $24 million to other senior workers.'
'What a bunch of hypocrites.'
Australia Post head of operations Rob Barnes received a $1.78million package which included $661,819 in bonuses
Legislation requires Australia Post to deliver letters to every household five days a week - but Mr Graham said there was an argument that needed to change. Pictured: A postman in Brisbane
Susan Davies, an executive general manager at Australia Post, received a $674,499 bonus in the 2021-22 financial year and $1,462,592 in total compensation
An Australia Post spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'Australia Post has strict expense and ethics policies which we enforce.
'Following a full investigation, Australia Post terminated the employment of an individual due to serious misconduct following unauthorised spend at an end-of-year celebration.
'Australia Post is carefully managing its cost base and does not tolerate serious policy breaches.'
The potential end for daily delivery of letters was spelled out in a senate estimates hearing earlier this month, where Mr Graham declared that arm of the Australia Post business was in an 'unstoppable decline'.
Legislation requires Australia Post to deliver letters to every household five days a week - but Mr Graham said there was an argument that needed to change.
'We have strategies in place and the determination to ensure that Australia Post is financially, socially and environmentally sustainable so we can continue making a positive contribution to the nation,' he told the hearing.
'But we will have to explore further changes to the way we operate to return the business to a stable financial footing.'
The dire assessment came after the the government-owned enterprise announced it was expecting its first full-year loss since 2015. Australia Post reported a 171.5 per cent increase in letter-business losses to $189.7 million for the half year.
It comes after Ms Holgate resigned from Australia Post in 2020 after it emerged she had gifted four Cartier watches to senior managers as a reward for securing a deal with three major banks that would allow people to do some banking in post offices.
Ms Holgate told a subsequent inquiry that she had heard of high-performing staff being sent on overseas trips in the years before her tenure.
Australia Post allegedly asked heads of departments to spend just $20 a head when organising end-of-year Christmas parties last year, as top executives pocketed hundreds of thousands
Ex-Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate (pictured right) with Grace Tame
She said the practice of receiving watches for strong performance was common at Australia Post, and some were even given cars in previous years.
On hearing about the reward in 2021, then-prime minister Scott Morrison told Parliament the gifts were a disgrace.
'She's been instructed to stand aside and if she doesn't do that, she can go,' he said.
An investigation later found no indication of dishonesty, fraud, corruption or intentional misuse of Australia Post funds relating to the watches, and Ms Holgate was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Ms Holgate said in 2021 she was treated 'like a criminal', 'abandoned to a media firestorm' and wrongfully ousted against her will, leaving her suicidal and needing insomnia medication.
She was paid $1million because she was effectively forced from her job during the investigation, and told the audience at an International Women's Day breakfast it caused her 'immense personal trauma'.
Ms Holgate's predecessor, Ahmed Fahour, who was CEO of the company from 2010 to 2017, spent thousands on six smart watches valued at $579 each in 2015
Quoting the report into the way she was treated during the investigation, Ms Holgate said: 'She was treated appallingly but we don't owe her an apology. She was an outstanding CEO and we gave her $1million.'
'But they don't even know how to apologise,' she added.
The same inquiry heard that Ms Holgate's predecessor, Ahmed Fahour, who was CEO from 2010 to 2017, spent thousands on six smart watches valued at $579 each in 2015.
The watches were gifts to senior members of staff, with Mr Fahour also organising the purchase of a $2,400 pen for an outgoing chairman in August, 2012.
The devastated dad of one of two little girls who died when their mum left them inside a hot car says she should have been charged with murder and jailed for 30 years - instead of the nine-year manslaughter sentence she received.
Kerri-Ann Conley, 30, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her daughters Darcey-Helen, aged two-and-a-half, and Chloe-Ann, 18 months, last week.
Supreme Court Justice Peter Applegarth sentenced Conley to nine years behind bars, and said she had shown 'gross criminal neglect' when she left the toddlers in the car for nine hours, when temperatures soared past 60C inside the vehicle.
Conley had initially been charged with murder but that was downgraded, with Darcey-Helen's father Peter Jackson being told murder was 'too hard to prove'.
If Conley had been convicted of the double murder, under Queensland law she would have served a mandatory non-parole period of 30 years.
Mr Jackson said he could not conceive why Conley had been able to enter a plea to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Kerri-Ann Conley was sentenced to nine years in jail over the manslaughter of her daughters
Kerri-Ann Conley's daughters Darcy-Helen Conley (left) and Chloe-Ann were found dead in Conley's car, parked outside her Waterford West home in November, 2019. Picture: Supplied / Channel 9
'I still think it should be murder. She should have got the 30 years,' Mr Jackson told the ABC.
'I don't think it's fair. These were defenceless children.'
Conley will be eligible for parole in November next year, having already served three years in custody.
She was initially charged with murder under legislation introduced just a few weeks before the incident that broadens the definition of murder to include a reckless indifference to human life.
But she was allowed to plead guilty to the downgraded charges and to possessing dangerous drugs and utensils when arraigned last Tuesday.
The charges were downgraded to manslaughter before the case could reach a jury, with the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) admitting to Mr Jackson murder would be 'too hard to prove'.
Peter Jackson, the father of two-and-a-half-year-old Darcy-Helen, was seen arriving at the Brisbane Supreme Court last week
The court heard of a number of instances of negligence shown by Conley and that she had made a 'deliberate decision' to leave the two girls in the car after arriving back at her home in the southern Brisbane suburb of Waterford West after 4am on November 23, 2019.
'I do believe the charges should have stuck,' Mr Jackson told the ABC.
Mr Jackson wore sunglasses as he arrived at Conley's sentencing last week and sat in the back of the court with other family members.
The court was told Conley deliberately left the two girls in her car Instead of removing her daughters from their seats, she went inside, dawdled on her phone for a few hours and fell asleep.
Darcy-Helen and Chloe-Ann were left in the vehicle in direct sunlight for hours as temperatures climbed to 61.5 degrees.
The girls' skin was hot to the touch, covered in burns and blisters and was 'peeling off' as paramedics tried to revive them, the court was told.
The court was told Conley disclosed she smoked the drug ice daily to a covert police officer while in custody.
Crown prosecutor Sarah Dennis said Conley left the children secured inside the car with the doors locked and the vehicle parked under no shade, after she returned home
But she insisted her kids 'always came first' and her drug use did not affect her relationship with the girls.
'It's an astounding statement only a drug addict could make,' Justice Applegarth said.
He said the thought of the distressed children being awake and strapped in the hot car as they died was 'too much to bear'.
'Your grossly negligent conduct was deciding to leave your vulnerable children uncared for, unheard and unobserved in the dark,' he said.
The court was told there had been previous incidences of Conley's children being left in a hot car.
Justice Applegarth said Conley's excuse for previous occasions where the children were left in the car was that they were 'difficult' to settle after being woken up.
The children's skin was covered in blisters and was hot to touch, and peeled off as paramedics attempted to treat them, Ms Dennis said
Autopsies confirmed the girls died of hyperthermia, but a time of death could not be properly established (pictured is Peter Jackson, father of deceased toddler Darcey-Helen)
He said this begged the question of why she was coming home in the early morning hours with two young infants.
'You should have realised the inherent risks of leaving (the children) in the car while you went inside and slept,' Mr Applegarth said.
After taking the girls inside from the car, Conley was captured on home surveillance cameras throwing away a plastic bag that police believed contained drug residue.
A small amount of marijuana and a glass pipe were found by police during the search of her house.
The court was told Conley was genuinely remorseful for her conduct and she had experienced neglect growing up as a child.
Her drug use was described as a coping mechanism, but this was also torn apart by Justice Applegarth.
'It simply helps explain your criminal conduct, it is not a mitigating factor,' he said.
'No child should have a parent who uses methamphetamine.'
Peter Jackson, the dad of one of the deceased toddlers, wore sunglasses as he arrived to court in Brisbane where Kerri-Ann Conley was sentenced for the manslaughter of his young daughter
The girls were left in the station wagon as she went inside and fell asleep, police alleged
Justice Applegarth stressed Conley's case involved criminal negligence and accepted she did not genuinely wish to harm either of her daughters.
Autopsies confirmed the girls died of hyperthermia when the body is heated to more than 40C (not to be confused with hypothermia, which is from excessive cold) but a time of death could not be properly established.
Chinese multi-billionaire Jack Ma has been pictured in Australia on a 'personal trip' - the first time in years he has visited the country he credits with changing his life.
Mr Ma, the founder of multinational tech company Alibaba Group who is worth $35 billion, is visiting Australia for the first time in six years.
The sighting of him sitting in the lobby of a Melbourne hotel drinking a Coke has prompted widespread speculation about his visit, as he has been forced to keep a low profile since falling out of favour with Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2020.
The rarity of his public appearances mean that sightings of Mr Ma, 58, immediately go viral on the internet.
A person with knowledge of his visit said 'It was just a personal trip' on which he is thought to have met the Morley family who he has known for over four decades.
In 1980 Mr Ma, then 15, met the Morley family from Newcastle, NSW while they holidayed in his home town of Hangzhou.
Jack Ma is pictured in a cafe on a recent trip to Melbourne. Sightings of him have become rare since he fell out of favour with President Xi Jinping in 2020
Ken Morley, an electrical engineer, became a mentor to the teenager, helping him practise his English.
In 1985, Mr Ma visited the Morleys on his first first overseas trip and was pictured on a ferry on Sydney Harbour, with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge behind him.
'When I arrived in Australia, I was so shocked and amazed by the wonderful things, the people, the culture, the landscapes, the products,' he told the Australian Financial Review in 2016.
How did Jack Ma become a billionaire? Jack Ma created Alibaba, an Amazon-style online shop with friends in his hometown of Hangzhou in 1999. Alibaba changed the way hundreds of millions of Chinese bought and paid for goods. Business magazine Forbes says his net worth is now $35.3billion after falling about 30 per cent during China's tech crackdown. In 2019, Mr Ma stepped down as Alibaba's chairman to focus on his charity foundation. In early 2023 he gave up his voting rights in Ant Group, a technology spinoff from Alibaba. Advertisement
'I was educated in China that China was the best and richest country in the world when I arrived in Australia I saw the world was so different,' he said, adding the trip 'totally changed my future'.
David Morley, the son of the late Ken Morley, has known Mr Ma since they were children and now runs a yoga school in Newcastle.
He told the AFR that he could not speak publicly about Mr Ma's visit or plans.
The billionaire is so fond of the country that impressed him so much as a teenager that in 2017 he set up a $29million scholarship fund through the the University of Newcastle in honour of the Morleys.
He also uses Melbourne as the base for a branch of his philanthropic foundation, the Australian reported.
In 2020, Mr Ma was the highest-profile victim of a crackdown launched by Mr Xi to target the generation of people who made billions on technology.
Mr Xi was reportedly outraged over Mr Ma's criticism of Chinese financial regulators.
Before that, Mr Ma was China's best known business person and was often seen in the company of world leaders.
He is understood to have been living in Tokyo for the past six months, though it is not clear if he is in exile or just wants to keep out of the way of the Chinese authorities.
Mr Ma has also been seen in America, Thailand, Israel and Hong Kong in recent times.
Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma is pictured (front) on a ferry on Sydney harbour in 1985 when he was a teenager
Jessica Rudd, the daughter of former prime minister Kevin Rudd previously worked as a brand ambassador for Alibaba.
Speaking in 2019, she spoke about admiring Mr Ma's generosity.
'Ma has always been ahead of his time, and philanthropy is a new frontier for China,' she told the AFR.
'For a nation that has just pulled half a billion people out of poverty, it's a quick turnaround to move into a culture of giving, so I'm glad Jack will be leading the way.'
Throughout all of the turbulence of recent years, the one thing it seems that has not changed is Mr Ma's affection for Australia.
'I love Australia and I love going there. Thats the country that changed my view of life,' he said.
A security van driver, who handcuffed himself to his steering wheel, helped stage a bogus raid and then claimed he was suffering from PTSD has been convicted of stealing 920,000.
Andrew Measor, 51, claimed robbers had handcuffed him to the wheel of his van and he had only managed to raise the alarm by dialing the number with his nose.
He was found guilty after he was caught bragging about faking his stress-related illness after the fake heist and boasted to friends he was 'milking it', Southwark crown court heard.
Measor, from Essex, was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice on Tuesday.
He waited two hours before raising the alarm over the faked robbery in Ilford, east London, with his accomplice Stefanos Cantaris.
Andrew Measor, from Essex, was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice on Tuesday
He claimed robbers had handcuffed him to the wheel of his van and he had only managed to raise the alarm by dialing the number with his nose
Cantaris, from Epping, Essex, who had already pleaded guilty to the theft charge, was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, while they were both cleared of conspiracy to launder money.
Cantaris was remanded in custody while Measor was granted conditional bail ahead of sentencing on March 24 but Judge Dafna Spiro warned him he faces a lengthy prison sentence.
While signed off from work after the heist, Measor told a friend that it was 'defo an inside job', prosecutor Catherine Farrelly told the jury.
She said: 'That is probably one of the few things upon which Andrew Measor and the prosecution will agree during this trial - that this was an 'inside job'.
'And so you will want to consider who it was on the inside who was able to provide Stefanos Cantaris and his co-conspirators with the information needed to execute this theft.
'It won't surprise you to hear me say the prosecution says that the evidence points squarely in the direction of Andrew Measor.'
Ms Farrelly said the theft of the 920,000 was carried out 'with the assistance and full participation' of Measor.
'They sought to hide this by faking a robbery,
'They have then, to the most part, successfully hidden the money that was stolen.'
Five others were cleared of involvement in the plot following a six-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Earlier prosecutor Charlotte Hole said the conspiracy involved three main things:
'First of all stealing a large amount of money from a cash-in-transit vehicle.
'Having stolen that money, the second aim was to conceal it both to hide their links to the money and to prevent it from being recovered.
'Thirdly, achieving the theft of the money in the first place by the participation of an inside man from the company running the cash in transit vehicle, in this case Loomis.
'The prosecution says that each of these defendants, to varying degrees, were involved in the theft of a large amount of money, 920,000, from Loomis, with the assistance and full participation of the Loomis driver from whom the money was taken, Andrew Measor.
'They sought to hide this by faking a robbery. They have then, to the most part, successfully hidden the money that was stolen.'
She told the jury: 'You can already be sure of one thing; you can be sure that there was a conspiracy to steal because Mr Cantaris accepts that there was by having pleaded guilty and he accepts that he was involved.'
Measor left the depot in Dagenham on December, 30, 2021 with 920,000 in bank notes and 14,660 in coins in his van, the court heard.
Cantaris, from Epping, Essex, who had already pleaded guilty to the theft charge, was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, while they were both cleared of conspiracy to launder money
When the van arrived in Friary Lane, Ilford, Measor placed shopping bags full of cash in the van's airlock.
A white Vauxhall Combo van pulled up and two men got out to collect the bags.
Measor then drove his van to Oak Lane and handcuffed himself to the steering wheel.
Two hours later, Measor called the landline number of the Loomis depot at Dagenham.
He said he had been robbed at 5.00am that morning when a man approached him with a gun and had said: 'I know everything that goes on, just do as I say and everything will be ok.'
Measor said he was handcuffed to the steering wheel of his van and had tried to get passers-by to help him, but no one had paid him any attention.
'He explained that he'd had to use his nose to dial the number,' said the prosecutor.
'He explained that the thieves had given him bags to put the money into and he had then passed the bags out to them.'
Measor appeared calm after the incident but he claimed that he had PTSD and told Loomis he needed time off, the court heard.
'It appears that he claims he was traumatised from the events that occurred,' Ms Hole said.
'If this had been a genuine robbery, of course that would be expected.'
Ms Hole read out messages from his mobile phone to the jury.
'He told one friend that he'd been signed off sick from work due to post-traumatic stress, and then added that he was 'milking time off.'
In another conversation with someone who appears to have been a colleague at Loomis, he discussed the police investigation and speculated that the police may think that he was involved.
He then commented, 'Was starting to sort out comp claim, apparently I get more if it goes to court, more stress etc, June 13th I'm still milking.'
'In another conversation, he again talked about 'milking the f*ckers' and told the person with whom he was communicating to keep an eye out for any available work for him.
He also told them it was 'defo an inside job.'
Cantaris met with Measor several times before the raid, and CCTV and phone evidence linked the others to them, the court heard.
Measor, of Loughton, Essex, denied but was convicted of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
He was acquitted of conspiracy to conceal or transfer criminal property.
Terrance Burrell, 57, from Theydon Bois, Essex; Mark Kendall, 56, from Loughton; Paul McSweeney, 55, from Watford, Hertfordshire; Saimir Neziri, 38, from Barnet, north London; and Christopher Shipp, 35, from Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, were acquitted of all three charges.
They hugged each other as the jury foreman delivered the verdicts.
Measor was released on conditional bail ahead of sentence on March, 24, subject to a curfew, electronic monitoring and not applying for international travel documents.
Supreme Court justices voiced their hesitance to rule in the high-profile Section 230 case against Google over potentially unintended consequences.
The hearing on Tuesday was regarding making websites legally liable for their automatic recommendations of user content. The case highlights the challenges attorneys face in their attempt to hold the tech giant accountable for suggesting YouTube videos that terrorist groups or their followers created.
Supreme Court Hears Case on Section 230
Nine justices questioned attorneys representing Google, the United States government, and the family of Nohemi Gonzalez for almost three hours. Gonzales was an American student killed in an ISIS attack in 2015.
The justices questioned the attendees about how the court could design a ruling that exposes harmful content recommendations to liability while protecting non-harmful ones. If or when the Supreme Court makes a ruling, there could be significant implications in how websites rank, display, and promote content to users on their platforms to avoid litigation, as per CNN.
The attorney representing the family of Gonzalez argued that narrowing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act would not result in sweeping consequences for the online world. The Act is a federal law that protects websites' rights to moderate their platforms as necessary.
However, both the court's liberals and conservatives have argued that the Supreme Court could make a decision that impacts everything from "pilaf [recipes] from Uzbekistan" to individual users on various social media platforms.
The justices expressed concern over the waves of lawsuits that could result if they ruled in favor of the Gonzalez family. During the hearing, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that "lawsuits will be nonstop."
Read Also: Alec Baldwin Faces Reduced Charges Over Fatal 'Rust' Shooting
Tech Giants' Legal Immunity
The Gonzalez family argues that Google violated the Anti-Terrorism Act through its subsidiary YouTube by aiding and abetting ISIS when it promoted the terrorist group's videos. However, according to CNBC, lower courts have sided with the tech giant, saying that Section 230 provides immunity from being held liable for third-party content posted on its service.
But the Supreme Court justices needed to understand where the petitioner's counsel, Eric Schnapper, was drawing the line on what recommendations count as content that YouTube itself generates.
At one point, conservative Justice Samuel Alito said he was "completely confused" by Schnapper's distinction between the video platform's speech and that of a third party. The council repeatedly referenced the thumbnail image that YouTube shows to users that feature content coming next.
Schnapper said that the thumbnail was a joint creation between YouTube and the third party that posted the video, which, in the particular case of the Gonzalez family, is ISIS, because the platform contributes the URL.
On the other hand, Lisa Blatt, Google's attorney, dismissed Schnapper's argument, saying that it was never part of the plaintiff's complaint in the case. Like Alito, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she was confused by what was being discussed. She said that she believed the relevant issue was the scope of Section 230 immunity and not what could trigger liability, said Fox News.
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Russia carried out an intercontinental ballistic missile test on Monday while Joe Biden was in Ukraine, according to a report - but warned the U.S. in advance.
Moscow was told several hours before Biden arrived in Kyiv that he would be there, and warned not to attack the city during that time. The bold visit, designed to emphasize U.S. support for Ukraine as the first anniversary approaches, was not publicized in advance.
But on Tuesday, two sources told CNN that Russia has tested an ICBM known as Satan II while the president was meeting his Ukrainian counterpart.
Moscow warned Washington in advance, and the U.S. officials told CNN they did not consider the launch to be an escalation. The test launch failed.
Joe Biden is pictured on Monday in Kyiv alongside Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky. The Russians were warned in advance that he was going to be there. They tested an ICBM while he was there - but also warned Washington
An April 2022 photo from the Russian government showing the launch of 'Satan II', the SARMAT missile, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region
A local resident who lives close to the Plesetsk region took an image of a trail hanging low in the sky, thought to be the remnants of a failed missile launch
The test of the heavy SARMAT missile, capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads, would have been highlighted by President Vladimir Putin in his Tuesday State of the Union speech, officials believe - were it successful.
Putin has announced successful ICBM tests in the past, including in April - weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine.
That test was also for the SARMAT missile which was first unveiled in 2016.
The missile is said to have a range in excess of 6,835 miles, and be able to carry a warhead weighing 100 tons.
But U.S. sources told CNN that the latest test appeared to have failed, without more detail of how or why it had gone awry.
A picture taken by local residents in Plesetsk - a notorious missile testing area - showed a white trail low in the sky that suggested the missile had failed in flight. - though the Russian defence ministry did not announce any launch or respond to requests for comment.
'There was a huge loud bang, and it went on rumbling for a whole minute,' said one Plesetsk resident, named Maksim.
'I rushed outside to have a look, and didn't see anything, but there was a trail very low in the sky.
'I could even see it being wiped away by the wind. And the thing I am most concerned about is that there is no information from Plesetsk cosmodrome.'
He said that usually rocket launches 'fly right over my house'.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address at the Gostiny Dvor conference centre in central Moscow on February 21, 2023
This image provided by the Russian defence ministry shows the moment a nuclear capable Sarmat II missile is launched
'Each time when they launch it the sound is so strong our windows crack. I always Google information about the launch, as I did this time. But this time there was nothing at all about it.'
Another local resident Sofia Danilova said she saw a similar trail on the same day over Arkhangelsk.
'I observed a nearly identical train, but there was also dark exhaust,' she said. 'The trail and the exhaust were a lot higher than what I see in this picture.'
She did not hear a blast-off and said: 'It certainly wasn't a plane. We know how they fly and how they look.'
Russia has the world's biggest nuclear arsenal - inherited from the Soviet Union - and up until the COVID pandemic was subjected to constant inspections and control from the U.S., which comes in a close second.
During his Tuesday speech, Putin announced he was pulling out of the last remaining nuclear treaties, the New START Treaty.
Senior Biden administration officials have insisted Putin's move won't change the status quo because inspections haven't been carried out since 2020.
Putin also said he would adhere to the cap of 1,550 nuclear weapons per side and insisted he wouldn't be pulling out of the treaty.
But he did make clear that he wanted to get rid of arms control with his argument that the U.S. and West wants to inflict 'strategic defeat' and 'climb on our nuclear facilities'.
The treaty expires in 2026, and could spark the start of an era similar to in the Cold War when nations could build up a stockpile capable of wiping out countries in seconds.
Vladimir Putin signaled an end to formal arms control between the world's two biggest nuclear superpowers when he announced he would suspend Russia's participation in the New Start treaty on Tuesday
William Alberque, director of strategy, technology and arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Reuters 'both sides could immediately go from 1,550 deployed strategic warheads to 4,000 - that could happen overnight.'
Security analysts have also said that this could bring an end to mutual deterrence, and let other superpowers such as China, India and Pakistan to develop their own arsenals.
Putin also claimed U.S. and NATO inspectors would pass on information on the nuclear sites to Ukrainians to launch attacks.
'This is a theater of the absurd,' he said.
'We know that the West is directly involved in the attempts of the Kyiv regime to strike at the bases.'
As the U.S. waits for Russia's next move, the Biden administration has time to formulate a response.
Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said it is 'no surprise' that Putin has suspended participation, and called for a response.
He said the U.S. should deploy additional nuclear forces and accelerate planning in the event Putin breaches the caps.
Post Office victims bankrupted by the Horizon computer scandal will get extra compensation following a Daily Mail investigation, ministers said yesterday.
Francis Duff, 80, said he had been 'shafted twice' after losing his post office, house and marriage when mystery 'shortfalls' appeared in his branch's accounts.
He was offered 330,000 in compensation but was forced to hand back 322,000 to pay off bankruptcy creditors and a tax bill.
Now the Business Department has promised to consider the situations of postmasters left bankrupt after the scandal and 'make offers accordingly'.
Neil Hudgell, a lawyer representing more than 150 postmasters, said: 'We are two and a half years on and only now addressing the fundamental issue that affects those that appear to have suffered the most financially.
Post Office victims bankrupted by the Horizon computer scandal will get extra compensation following a Daily Mail investigation, ministers said yesterday (file image)
Francis Duff (pictured) said he was 'shafted' after losing his post office, house and marriage. The 80-year-old was offered 330,000 in compensation but had to hand back 322,000
'At the end of the day, the focus should be on putting these people back in the position they would have been had Horizon not occurred.
'As it stands, the framework in which compensation has been put forward does not get them to within a fraction of that position.
'The statement doesn't address the specifics of how that will be achieved without further significant delay.'
Politicians called for ministers to step in to solve the 'ludicrous' situation.
Karl Turner, a Labour MP and barrister who has represented postmasters, said: 'The Government needs to pull its finger out, pay up and ditch these punitive tax rates.'
Tory peer Lord Arbuthnot added: 'It's essential all postmasters are put back into the position they would have been in had this scandal not happened. This shouldn't be treated as a game, it's life-altering stuff for all too many people.'
Ministers have sparked an outcry by refusing to exempt postmasters from 'unjust' income tax bills on compensation payments, which will run into the tens of thousands of pounds for the worst affected.
Dan Neidle, the expert credited with exposing former Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs, said: 'This is really disappointing. Post Office victims face a horrible tax result, and only the Government can fix it.'
Ray McCann, former HM Inspector of Taxes, added: 'Given the nature of this situation, and the unprecedented scandal, the Government should take action to exempt the payments from income tax.'
He said Australia has 'huge role to play' in combating climate change
Bill Gates has told Australia that it has a 'huge role to play' in combating climate change despite flying down under in a fuel-guzzling private jet.
But he insists he is not part of the problem regarding private jets polluting the world because of the effort he puts into offsetting his carbon emissions.
The Microsoft co-founder travelled to Australia at the end of last month on board a $70 million Gulfstream private jet that burns around 1,700 litres of fuel per hour.
After arriving on the private jet, Gates went on to preach about the dangers of climate at the big business-funded Lowy Institute think-tank and on the ABC's 7:30 report show,
He told the Lowy Institute: 'Climate change is not yet having the negative effects of a disease like malaria, which kills 400,00 children a year.
'The reason why climate change is worth investing in massively is because it will get worse and worse over time.'
'If you allow the warming to go to an extreme level, then all sorts of natural ecosystems disappear and all sorts of places in the world you can't do outdoor work.
'So the tropical areas, agriculture would be impossible, outdoor work during large parts of the year would be impossible.'
Then the following week, during an interview with the ABC's 7:30 report he warned: 'We will have to adapt while we do our very, very best to bring our emissions to zero as fast as we can.
'Australia has a huge role to play. It's very lucky, it'll have some of the cheapest renewable energy in the world.'
Bill Gates flew his $70million Gulfstream, which burns about 1,700 litres of fuel per hour, to Australia to tell Aussies they have a 'huge role to play' in climate change (pictured, Gates boarding a private plane)
When asked how Australia could rank as a global climate leader while remaining one of the world's biggest exporters of fossil fuels, Gates said: 'I think Australia will be able to export green hydrogen and other clean products.
'It's certainly a country where the opportunity in a green economy is greater than it has been in the past.'
However, Gates' climate philanthropy versus his taste for luxury travel on private jets has seen him called a 'climate hypocrite' with critics stumped on how the multibillionaire can preach about lowering emissions while choosing to jet around the world privately.
During an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan earlier this month, Gates was asked how he answered people who called him a hypocrite for his jet use.
'What do you say to the charge that if you are a climate change campaigner, but you also travel around the world in a private jet, you're a hypocrite,' the BBC's Amol Rajan asked Gates.
The billionaire answered by telling how he throws money at the problem.
'Well, I buy the gold standard of funding Climeworks to do direct air capture that far exceeds my family's carbon footprint,' he said.
Gates then went on to talk about all the money he has put into climate research, and that his work is better done when he visits the places his companies are studying first hand.
'I spend billions of dollars on climate innovation,' he said. 'So, you know, should I stay at home and not come to Kenya and learn about farming and malaria. Anyway.'
He added that he was 'part of the solution.'
'I mean, I'm comfortable with the idea that not only am I not part of the problem - by paying for the offsets, but also through the billions that my Breakthrough Energy group is spending, that I'm part of the solution.'
Bill Gates' private jet. He said without it he couldn't fly to places like Kenya to study climate change
Gates (above) has been accused of being a 'climate hypocrite' for preaching about lowering emissions while travelling the world in his two private planes
'I mean, I'm comfortable with the idea that not only am I not part of the problem - by paying for the offsets, but also through the billions that my Breakthrough Energy group is spending, that I'm part of the solution.'
A single private jet emits as much carbon dioxide in an hour as the average person does in an entire year, with private flights 14 times more polluting (per passenger) than a commercial plane.
Gates, the fourth richest person in the world, visited Australia in January with representatives from his organisation Breakthrough Energy, which aims to drive innovation in sustainable energy to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Gates was seen relaxing on Lizard Island on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef before flying his Gulfstream jet, one of two he owns, to Sydney for a meeting with Anthony Albanese.
A Brisbane man is accused of an 'inappropriate' act with his dog after disturbing images were allegedly found on his phone.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday on several charges - including a 'breach of duty of care' relating to the 'inappropriate handling of a dog'.
He is also facing serious child pornography and drugs charges.
It understood the dog was removed from the man's rented home on Monday and placed in the care of Animal Welfare.
Police swooped o the Brisbane man's rented home in Brisbane on Monday
'The dog is in the care of RSPCA Queensland and we are assisting Queensland Police Service with their investigations into the matter,' an RSPCA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
The man, believed to be in his 30s, was charged with two counts of possessing child exploitation material after police searched his phone while investigating an unrelated matter in December.
Video of the man and dog was also allegedly uncovered during the search.
The matter has been adjourned until March 13, and the man remains in police custody.
An investigation into the accused's online activity allegedly unearthed inappropriate footage involving his dog
The man appeared at Brisbane Magistrate's Court this week with another appearance scheduled for March 13
A Queensland Police spokesperson declined to elaborate on the charges, saying only that the case in ongoing and the defendant could potentially face more charges prior to his next hearing.
The penalty for an individual convicted of a breach of duty of care of an animal is up to $43,125 or one year imprisonment in Queensland.
However, more serious breaches can attract penalties that align with those for animal cruelty (section 18), that is, up to $287,500 or 3 years imprisonment.
The higher penalty applies where a persons breach of the duty of care results in the death, serious deformity, serious disability, or prolonged suffering of the animal.
The man also faces a maximum five years for each child pornography possession charge as well as the charge of grooming of a child under the age of 16.
Democrat Jennifer McClellan defeated her Republican opponent in a special election Tuesday to win a seat in the House of Representatives - making her the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.
McClellan, a veteran state legislator from Richmond, prevailed over pastor and Navy veteran Leon Benjamin in the race for the blue-leaning 4th District, which has its population center in the capital city and stretches south to the North Carolina border.
The seat was open after the death of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin in November.
McEachin died weeks after being elected to a fourth term after a long fight with the secondary efforts of colorectal cancer.
Jennifer McClellan will be Virginia's first black woman to represent the state in Congress
A 50-year-old corporate attorney, McClellan has represented parts of the Richmond area in the General Assembly since 2006, when she joined the House of Delegates.
In December, she handily secured the Democratic nomination for the 4th District race in a four-way firehouse primary.
A native of central Virginia, McClellan said in an interview ahead of the election that the history she will make as the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress carries extra weight because of her familys history in the Jim Crow South.
Her fathers grandfather had to take a literacy test and find three white people to vouch for him just to be able to register to vote, she said. Her dad and his father paid poll taxes and her mother, now 90, didnt vote until after the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
'Its a huge honor, and responsibility, to ensure that Im not the last,' she said.
At the Statehouse, McClellan has cultivated a reputation as a deeply knowledgeable, widely respected consensus builder and legislator. A skilled debater with a polished, reserved style, she's sponsored many of Democrats top legislative priorities in recent years, including bills that expanded voting access and abortion rights and legislation that set ambitious clean energy goals.
Dominic Bascone, a state employee, said Tuesday after casting his ballot in Richmond that he follows the work of the General Assembly closely and has been impressed with how much McClellan has accomplished in her time there.
Rep. Don McEachin died in November shortly after being elected to a fourth term
'If she wins, it would be sad to see her go because I feel like shes done a lot of good,' Bascone said.
A mother of two school-aged children, she was the first delegate to be pregnant and give birth while in office.
McClellan also followed in McEachins footsteps when she moved from the House up to the state Senate. She announced her candidacy for a seat he previously held after he was first elected to Congress in 2016. She easily won a January 2017 special election.
In 2021, McClellan was part of the crowded Democratic field seeking the partys nomination for governor, which Terry McAuliffe won.
McClellan has been active in the state Democratic party since she was in college and met her husband, David Mills, through politics. They were married by U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a mentor and adviser of McClellans.
The general election contest between McClellan and Benjamin, a far-right candidate who as a commentator has espoused conspiracy theories and previously lost twice to McEachin, was not seen as competitive. McClellan far outraised Benjamin and had a structural advantage in the heavily Democratic, majority-minority district.
McClellans victory Tuesday will set up another special election at a future date to fill her seat in the General Assembly.
The tearful widow of the Temple University officer who was shot and killed while patrolling the streets of Philadelphia over the weekend said he kissed her goodbye, told her he loved her before his death.
Christopher Fitzgerald never returned home - despite telling his wife Marissa 'I'll be right back babe.' He was shot in the head in the line of duty - during an extra shift he'd picked up - on Saturday night.
Marissa Fitzgerald was running errands when she got the call he had been gunned down. She sobbed as she recalled his final words to her, adding that his four young children miss their father 'so much' and that he will always be 'our greatest hero.'
Miles Pfeffer, 18, was arrested on Sunday morning in connection to the shooting on Montgomery Avenue in North Philadelphia. He was arraigned on murder charges on Monday and is being held on bail.
Marissa Fitzgerald, the widow of Temple University officer Christopher Fitzgerald, who was shot and killed while patrolling the streets of Philadelphia recalled his final words to him
Temple University police officer Christopher Fitzgerald, 31, was gunned down on Saturday night allegedly by 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer, 18, who was arraigned on a slew of charges
The slain cop's family, including his widow Marissa, and his father Dr. Joel Fitzgerald Sr., who is the chief of police for Denver's RTD, sat down for an interview with NBC10's Karen Hua.
Marissa also blasted her husband's suspected killer - calling him an 'evil coward' who deserves to rot in a jail cell.
Recounting her final moments with her husband, she said: 'He gave me a kiss and he told me that he loved me. And, I said 'I love you too.' And when he walked out the door, he said he'd be right back. He said, 'I'll be right back babe.'
Fitzgerald took on the fateful extra shift on Saturday and but before he left home, he promised he would he would take his family out for breakfast Sunday morning. The officer leaves behind four children between the ages of seven and 13.
'My kids will always know who their dad is,' Marissa said. 'Their dad is a hero and he is our greatest hero.'
His youngest daughter, his 'princess,' was curled up with her grandfather during the interview, her eyes red from crying.
'They miss their dad so much,' she said, after describing Fitzgerald was a goofball who loved his children.
Marissa added: 'I am going to try to be as strong as I can be because I know that's what he wanted. I'm going to make sure that they know who their dad was. They already know. He's the greatest hero we could ever have.'
The slain cop's family, including his widow Marissa, and his father Dr. Joel Fitzgerald Sr., who is the chief of police for Denver's RTD, sat down for an interview with NBC10's Karen Hua
Marissa and his father Dr. Joel Fitzgerald Sr. also talked about Fitzgerald's legacy and that he died doing what he loved. Fitzgerald, who is also in law enforcement is calling for justice
Video footage by Action News captured Fitzgerald's final moments (right) doing what he loved - serving and protecting the community
Marissa and his father Dr. Joel Fitzgerald Sr. also talked about Fitzgerald's legacy and that he died doing what he loved.
'He really wanted to make a change for the city so that people could be safe and that the kids could be safe,' Marissa said. 'My husband was not a bad person, he was such a good man and a good cop.. awesome cop.'
His father, who is also in law enforcement, is now calling for justice.
'He wanted to do it because he knew that was his method of giving back to our community,' Joel Fitzgerald said.
He added: 'Chris was adamant that he could stay in Philadelphia and facilitate change. Although we're devastated, we could never be more proud.'
Marissa then delivered a message for her husband's suspected killer.
'He took a family man, he took a father, he took a son, he took a brother, he took a nephew, you took so much,' she said. 'Our lives will never be the same.'
'You had no right, you are a coward, you are evil, I know what you did to my husband, you shouldn't even be allowed to breathe because my husband is not breathing, but you get to have air flowing through your lungs,' she said.
'I hope that he's haunted for the rest of his life, I hope he rots in a cell.'
Pfeffer, who faces a slew of charges, is also accused of carjacking a driver and ditching the car in another part of Philadelphia after the shooting. He then got a ride from his mother to the family's home where he was later arrested.
'Your mother who picked you up should be charged ... we will make sure that we have justice,' Marissa said.
Miles Pfeffer, 18, was arrested on Sunday after he was accused of fatally shooting Temple University officer Chris Fitzgerald, 31, in the head
He is accused of shooting Temple University cop Chris Fitzgerald, 31, multiple times before going through his pockets and trying to steal his gun
Chris Fitzgerald (pictured) is the son of Joel Fitzgerald, who was the police chief in Allenstown for two years from 2013. He was a father of four children
Less than 12 hours after the shooting, police arrested Pfeffer at his family's home in Buckingham Township - an affluent rural area north of Philadelphia.
He was placed in Fitzgerald's handcuffs as part of a tradition to honor fallen police officers, according to the US Marshals.
Pfeffer faces charges of murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and weapons crimes in the death of Officer Fitzgerald, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said.
The number of crimes involving child abuse images reported to police has soared by two thirds in just five years, data shows.
Childrens charity the NSPCC said there were 30,925 recorded offences of the sharing or possession of indecent images of children in 2021-22 a record high.
Just five years earlier the figure was 18,574, meaning numbers have surged by 66 per cent.
The charity, which obtained the UK-wide police data under freedom of information laws, said the 2021-22 figure included nearly 10,000 cases in which social media or a gaming site was used to distribute the illegal images.
Of those, Snapchat was recorded 4,293 times, Facebook 1,361, Instagram 1,363 and WhatsApp 547, it said.
There were 10,000 cases in which social media or a gaming site was used to distribute the illegal images, with Snapchat being the most commonly used, according to the NSPCC
A number of cases involved children being groomed online into sharing indecent images of themselves, the charity warned.
It called on ministers to introduce tough new measures to combat the problem in the Online Safety Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.
Sir Peter Wanless, the NSPCC chief executive, said: These new figures are incredibly alarming but reflect just the tip of the iceberg of what children are experiencing online.
We hear from young people who feel powerless and let down as online sexual abuse risks becoming normalised for a generation of children.
The charity called on ministers to introduce tough new measures to combat the problem in the Online Safety Bill, which is currently going through Parliament
He called for the creation of an official child safety advocate to hold tech giants to account.
It would be inexcusable if in five years time we are still playing catch-up to pervasive abuse that has been allowed to proliferate on social media, Sir Peter added.
The NSPCC also found virtual reality headsets are being used to view child abuse images.
Virtual reality was recorded eight times by police forces in crime reports, the first time this technology has been specifically mentioned, the charity said.
A Queensland magistrate has denied or adjourned applications by major media companies to reveal the identity of a high-profile man accused of rape.
The man, facing two charges of raping a woman in October 2021, had his case mentioned for the second time in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Solicitors for News Corp, Seven and Nine networks, and the ABC applied to magistrate Kay Philipson to use her discretionary powers to grant an exemption to Queensland's Sexual Offences Act that prohibits naming people accused of rape unless and until they are committed to stand trial.
A high-profile man accused of rape has had a second hearing before a Queensland court
Ms Philipson said it was written in the 'strict construction' of the law that she could not use those powers unless the matter proceeded to a committal hearing.
'I'm doing no more on this mention that determining where proceedings are at and what the next step is. I'm not holding a committal today, I'm not taking witnesses today,' she said.
The high-profile man was excused from appearing in person and his barrister Andrew Hoare said there had been issues with some elements of the prosecution's electronic brief of evidence not functioning.
Mr Hoare said prosecutors had sought a forensic download of evidence and his client's legal team would need six weeks to examine the prosecution's brief of evidence.
Ms Philipson granted an application for the matter to be adjourned until April 5 at Toowoomba Magistrates Court and extended the accused man's bail.
The media organisations' lawyer, Xander Croft, said his clients would continue to pursue their application to name the accused man.
Two New Jersey drug dealers were convicted after a court heard they sold fentanyl that killed a 43-year-old Staten Island man - texting him days before he died to alert him they had drugs to sell, saying 'Rise and shine'.
Keith Wyche, 38, from Union, and Oneil Allen, 31, from Somerset, were arrested in September 2018 alongside their supplier, Kyron Graham, from the Bronx.
All three were members of the Bloods gang, prosecutors said.
Wyche and Graham, 32, shared a cell phone from which they sent messages to buyers in the morning notifying them who was selling that day.
'Mr Wyche and Mr Allen would text customers first thing in the morning to keep their clientele coming back,' said James Dennehy, the FBI Special Agent-in-Charge for Newark.
'Their goal was to make more money, disregarding one mans life and the lives of others to whom they sold.'
Keith Wyche, who went by the name 'Marco', was convicted on Tuesday of drug dealing. The court was shown a text conversation from April 2017 with one of his clients, who died shortly after buying the drugs
He added that the FBI 'has a message for criminals at the root of this growing epidemic plaguing our communities - there is a federal prison cell waiting for you as well.'
Graham pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2019 and was sentenced to five years probation.
Wyche went by the alias 'Marco', and on the morning of April 15, 2017 sent a text message to Vincent Price, alerting him he was near his Staten Island home.
'Rise and shine I'm around,' Wyche wrote at 8:18am. Price did not reply.
On April 17, Price at 6:54am asked Wyche: 'Around?' This time, Wyche did not reply.
Price tried again the following day, asking Wyche at 8:21am on April 18: 'Around?'
Wyche replied immediately, asking: 'What you need'. Price said he needed 'two'.
At 9:16am, Wyche told him he was at his door, saying: 'Come out.' Price was found dead by his father.
A hypodermic needle, tourniquet, and glassines containing fentanyl were on and around the body.
Judge Dora Irizarry (pictured) will sentence Wyche and Allen at a later date
Six months later, a woman, 28-year-old Sarah Wieboldt, would buy drugs from the gang and overdose in her car in Staten Island, in October 2017.
'After first responders administered several doses of Narcan to Jane Doe, she regained consciousness and was transported to a hospital,' prosecutors said.
'A review of messages on Jane Doe's phone showed similar messages to those found on John Doe's phone, including a message reading 'Rise and Shine' on the day of Jane Doe's overdose.
'Jane Doe testified at trial that she purchased narcotics from the defendants and later helped law enforcement gather evidence against them.'
Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, celebrated Tuesday's verdict.
'With today's verdict, two drug dealers who sold lethal drugs without any regard for the lives they were endangering, have received a powerful response from the jury holding them responsible for their crimes,' he said.
Judge Dora Irizarry ordered both men to remain free on bond - $1 million for Wyche and $150,00 for Allen.
The judge did not set a sentencing date.
BBC broadcaster Nicky Campbell has interviewed the daughter of an alleged paedophile teacher who he says sexually abused him at boarding school.
Campbell, 61, has spearheaded a public campaign about the abuse at Edinburgh Academy in the 1970s.
He spoke with Jenny Pearson, 64, who commented for the first time about the allegations against her late father Hamish Dawson and branded him an 'abomination', The Mirror reports.
She said: 'Knowing I'm the daughter of a paedophile, it's repulsive, shameful.
'It's disgusting. I've spent my whole professional life fighting for the rights of children and young people.'
Broadcaster Nicky Campbell says in addition to the abuse he suffered from Hamish Dawson, he witnessed another teacher 'Edgar' abuse male pupils at Edinburgh Academy in the 1970s
The broadcaster, pictured as a child, said he could never talk about the abuse he suffered at Edinburgh Academy while his parents were alive as they 'sacrificed' so much for him to attend
Mrs Pearson reached out to Campbell after he named her father among three teachers who were involved in child abuse.
She has since devoted herself to helping victims who were abused at her father's school.
Speaking on Campbell's BBC Radio 5 podcast Different, she described the 'terror' of her childhood suffering violent abuse at the hands of her father, who died in 2009.
She also recalled emotional abuse from her mother, who died five years after him.
Ms Pearson said: 'From 14 to 19 I never saw my father... he was always with the boys.'
She added that she later found 'horrific' material in relation to women slaves on her father's computer after his death and has since spent hours speaking to his victims.
Campbell first revealed the sexual abuse he had suffered from Dawson in an interview with BBC Breakfast last July.
Now that Dawson is dead, Campbell has been concentrating his efforts on bringing another alleged abuser named 'Edgar' to justice, who is proving difficult to extradite from his home in South Africa.
Edinburgh Academy, where dozens of boys were abused in the 1970s, has since issued a public apology and says it is cooperating with police
'I think it's an absolute scandal that the extradition process is kind of like yeah whatever,' he said.
'[Edgar] could well be one of the most prolific paedophiles in British criminal history if you do the maths and look at how long he taught and how many schools he was at.'
He claimed that in 1971, aged ten, he witnessed the man - who is being investigated for more than 20 child abuse allegations under the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry - abusing one of his friends in Edinburgh Academy's showers after rugby training.
'My friend is laughing but I know from the fear in it that it's not a good laugh,' Campbell recounted. 'When we walk to the bus stop we don't even talk about it and we'd never tell.'
The former Watchdog presenter added he 'couldn't have spoken about the school' when his mother and father 'were alive' because of the sacrifices they made to send him to private school.
He also called on a change of the rules for private schools who are not subject to the same safeguarding requirements as state schools.
Campbell spoke about witnessing and experiencing sexual and violent physical abuse as a young schoolboy
Mr Campbell added: 'There is no mandatory reporting in the private sector and you think now with our understanding and sensibilities there would be.
'Schools like that fostered a culture of omerta and not telling and keeping the secrets and these are the people who have been running the country.'
After Campbell went public with the allegations, other former pupils of Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College stepped forward with stories of abuse.
Edinburgh Academy has since issued a public apology and say it is cooperating with police.
In a statement to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, Fettes College - whose alumni include former PM Tony Blair - made a 'full and unreserved apology'.
It said: 'While words of apology may have limited worth, we fully accept and recognise in the past there was sexual, physical and emotional abuse of pupils while at Fettes College.'
Edgar, who lives in a retirement complex in Cape Town, was arrested in South Africa in 2019 by British Police and is due to appear in court on March 17 for a further extradition hearing.
He told a previous court hearing that he moved to Edinburgh from South Africa in 1967 to seek treatment after experiencing 'urges' to touch boys in the school he worked at after graduating, The Times reports.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration issued a new policy that bans migrants who went through other nations en route to the US-Mexico border from seeking asylum in the United States, marking a change from the decades-old policy.
The new 153-page draft regulation, which may affect tens of thousands of individuals, is the most stringent of a patchwork of measures implemented by the Biden administration to control the US-Mexico border and resembles a policy from the Trump administration.
Biden Administration's New Border Policy
The proposed rule would presume ineligibility for asylum and "encourage migrants to avail themselves of lawful, safe, and orderly pathways into the United States, or otherwise to seek asylum or other protection in countries through which they travel, thus reducing reliance on human smuggling networks that exploit migrants for financial gain," according to the regulation's text.
While there are certain exceptions, the rule would mainly apply to migrants who unlawfully cross the US-Mexico border. It does not apply to unaccompanied child migrants, as per CNN.
Administration officials dismissed the connection to the Trump administration on Tuesday, stating that it is not a blanket prohibition on asylum and highlighting measures to enhance access to lawful avenues to the United States, such as the recently announced parole program for select nationalities.
The proposed regulation will be published in the Federal Register for 30 days of public comment. It will likely go into effect in May when a pandemic-era border limitation known as Title 42 expires. Also, the regulation is anticipated to remain for two years.
Like the Trump administration, the Biden administration's stance has been widely criticized by Democratic politicians and immigration activists. Democratic Hispanic senators voiced their persistent opposition to the rule in a private meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week, according to a person familiar with the encounter.
The new regulation, which was announced on Tuesday, is the most rigorous border control policy implemented by President Joe Biden so far. If migrants crossing the southern border did not first seek asylum in a nation they traveled through, such as Mexico, they would be ineligible for refuge in the United States.
No matter how they enter the United States, migrants fearing persecution can request asylum under US immigration law. But, Biden's policy would infer that unlawful border crossers are ineligible for asylum.
Read Also: China's Top Diplomat To Visit Russia Following Meeting with Anthony Blinken
Southern Border Policy Opposed by Advocacy Groups
Opponents assert that it is comparable to the "transit ban" suggested by Trump, which was ruled unconstitutional by the courts during his administration. It was the brainchild of Trump's ardently anti-immigrant aide, Stephen Miller.
The Biden administration contends that their program is unique since it permits migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Cuba to apply directly to enter the United States if they have a US-based sponsor.
Nonetheless, the ACLU criticized the policy changes offered by Biden as "mere window dressing." And Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center, said that her organization and others would once again collaborate in opposing any such regulation, as they did with the Miller version.
She forecasted that it would not withstand their legal challenge. Biden's proposed policy would go into effect in May and expire two years later. It will likely go into effect before the COVID-19-era Title 42 public health restrictions expire on May 11, as per Daily Mail.
In January, just before his visit to the southern border, Vice President Joe Biden detailed his efforts to reduce illegal border crossings, including implementing Title 42, which expires on May 11. The president stated that the new measures "won't repair our entire immigration system, but they will assist us significantly in better managing a difficult situation."
He highlighted that the United States needs more asylum officers and professionals to decide whether individuals qualify for refuge. Organizations have protested his initiatives, notably the planned transit ban-style regulation. In a letter, about 300 advocacy organizations urged Biden not to apply the policy.
Biden was lauded for his pledge to reestablish humane standards at the border but failed to address the migrant issue. Republicans have severely criticized Trump on this subject. Even several Democrats from border states have urged the government to strengthen its measures.
Transit bans, sometimes known as asylum bans or in certain circumstances as safe third country accords, are based on an interpretation of asylum legislation that compels asylum seekers to seek refuge in the first safe nation they enter, as opposed to the jurisdiction they believe would provide protection.
In January, when traveling on Air Force One to El Paso, Texas, Mayorkas categorically rejected that his plan is a transit ban, describing it as "a rebuttable presumption of ineligibility." And there is a clear distinction between the two."
The measure is intended to curb migration throughout Central America and restrict asylum seekers to neighboring nations. Administration officials emphasized that both the expanded parole program and the transit regulation are temporary measures pending action on immigration by Congress.
The government is implementing the asylum rule to safeguard the upcoming termination of Title 42, a pandemic-inspired border control policy that severely restricted asylum.
Authorities assert that terminating pandemic limitations in March will render the Title 42 lawsuit moot. Regardless of whether this is true, the administration wishes to have the asylum rule in place before this occurs. The ruling will almost certainly be challenged in court. The administration's legal defense of the regulation will likely rely on Mayorkas' distinctions.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the policy and said it would do so again. Although the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals merely decided to lift an injunction, the court clearly said that a regulation could not override a foreign national's right to seek refuge on US soil.
Per The Hill, the Trump administration published a final regulation reinstating the transit prohibition on January 19, 2021, one day before the inauguration of President Joe Biden. A month later, a federal court in California knocked down this order, writing that the transit prohibition was "illegal since it is inconsistent with existing asylum legislation."
Related Article: MSU Shooting: Misleading Info Identifying Suspect Spreads Online
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The aunt of a baby girl who was mauled to death by two Rottweilers at a family dinner has lashed out at cruel trolls who blamed the infant's parents for the tragedy.
Anna Zandberg defended her brother Tom Riley and his wife Lani as 'incredible parents' after their daughter Mia Jade Riley was killed in a vicious dog attack at a home in Moruya, on the NSW south coast, at about 10.40pm on Saturday.
The five-week-old baby was asleep in a basinet at the end of a table of six to eight adults when the pair of Rottweilers, which had been sleeping three metres away, suddenly mauled her to death.
Initial reports suggested the tragedy unfolded at a barbecue at the home of Mia's grandfather Ross Galvin, and that the pets were owned by her cousins - but a friend of the young couple told Daily Mail Australia that was not the case.
The dogs actually belonged to Mr Galvin's neighbour, whose house the family were visiting for dinner.
Mia Jade Riley's family (Mia pictured with father Tom) said the infant was asleep when the vicious dog attack occurred
Friends of the family told Daily Mail Australia that the dog's attack was completely random. One of the Rottweilers is pictured
Anna Zandberg (left) defended her brother Tom Riley and his wife Lani as 'incredible parents'
The parents were too distraught to speak in the days following the tragedy, but Mr Riley's sister on Wednesday hit back at social media trolls who wrongly claimed her brother and sister-in-law had failed to 'supervise' their daughter.
'[The] baby was not adequately supervised or it wouldn't have happened,' one posted on Facebook.
'If you can't see that it's the people responsible for caring for the child's fault, then it's something that can happen again.
'People need to learn from their mistakes not act like they did absolutely nothing wrong.'
Ms Zandberg lashed out in response: '[Mia] was never alone for her five short weeks on Earth. She was and is dearly loved and she was taken away right before our eyes'.
But the troll hit back with the incorrect claim: 'If she was never alone then why did nobody witness the attack?'
An emotional Ms Zandberg asked why the troll was 'intent on causing us pain', and clarified that the tragedy unfolded in front of several adults.
'My sister-in-law and brother are incredible and this happened in a room with everyone right there,' she said.
In another comment, Mia's distraught aunt said 'we are grieving and traumatised and you are all out like a lynch mob. Is this really how the world is?'
Mia's grandfather Ross Galvin is pictured, right. He is standing next to a neighbour. There is no suggestion the neighbour pictured is the owner of the dogs who attacked Mia
Pictured: Ross Galvin, Mia's grandfather. The little girl was mauled to death by dogs during a family dinner
Above is Mia Jade Riley's grandfather's home in Moruya, on the NSW south coast
Mia's aunt lashed out at trolls online: 'You are all out like a lynch mob. Is this really how the world is?'
A friend said Tom and Lani Riley's two-year-old daughter had also been around the dogs repeatedly since she was born without any incident
She said Mia's parents are 'the most loving dedicated and protective parents who have just experienced the most unimaginable thing a person can'.
A family friend told Daily Mail Australia both sides of Mia family 'are not doing very good'.
'It's just a tragedy for everyone involved,' they said.
'Our thoughts are just with the parents and everyone involved who is going to be affected by this for the rest of their lives.'
A police source told Daily Mail Australia there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the parents and they will not be charged.
But it has come to light that multiple neighbours claim to have reported the dogs to council months before the attack.
They said they were so afraid of the Rottweilers that they had stopped walking by the property where they lived.
'We warned them... we said (to council) they will attack someone one day, they are so loud and intimidating,' an elderly resident told the Daily Telegraph.
Another local added: 'I know the council went there, maybe six to 12 months ago and spoke to the people (who own the dogs).
'But nothing really changed. I'm not aware of them ever attacking, but they are just scary to look at and very large, you just worry what they could do if they got out.'
The Rottweilers were seized by Eurobodalla Shire Council following the incident. It is believed they have been euthanised.
The dogs were seized by council rangers after the attack and they are believed to have been euthanised (one of the Rottweilers is pictured)
The Rottweilers (pictured) were previously reported to the council by neighbours, it has been claimed
Local residents Karen and Mandy said the little girl's death has rocked the tight-knit community.
Karen said a friend called her yesterday 'in tears' to tell her the devastating news, but also issued a warning to parents.
'A lot of dog owners trust their dogs and don't believe anything like that could happen,' she added.
Days before the tragedy, Mr Riley had posted to the South Coast Spine Care's Facebook page where he worked as a chiropractor, saying he planned to work only four days a week so he could spend more time with family.
Three heartbreaking posts show a blissful family devoted to their newborn - in one, Mia older sister could be seen cradling the infant.
In the same post the proud father told his patients his baby daughter was 'safely delivered at home' on Monday, January 6.
He planned to return to work 'after some much-needed family time surrounded by all my beautiful girls'.
On the door of the chiropractic clinic on Wednesday was a note: 'Clinic closed due to unforeseen circumstances.'
On Saturday, the parents leapt to prise the dogs off their baby girl as horrified guests at the dinner scrambled to help.
They bundled up the blood-soaked child and rushed her by car to the nearby Moruya Hospital.
But medics were unable to save her and she died from head injuries shortly after midnight.
'Everyone there had to be involved to get the dogs off,' a family friend told Daily Mail Australia.
On the door of the chiropractic clinic on Wednesday was a note (pictured): 'Clinic closed due to unforeseen circumstances.'
'There was a considerable amount of blood, it was terrible.
'There was just no warning.
'They were just having a family barbecue with the neighbours at the rear of the property and then they turned around the dogs were on her.
'There were no other kids, the dogs weren't running around and no-one was provoking the dogs or anything. They weren't agitated or distressed.
'It just happened out of nowhere.'
He said the couple's other two-year-old daughter had also been around the dogs repeatedly since she was born without any incident.
'They have another child who has probably been in the same position or very similar,' he said.
'There's never been an issue. It's really horrible. It's just beyond words.'
He said the tight-knit seaside town was reeling from the attack.
'It's really knocked this little community around,' he said. 'There's nothing you can say. It's just that tragic.
'This will be really difficult for all the family to deal with. I spoke to the grandfather and he's just in shock.'
A NSW Police investigation has been launched into exactly what happened at the home and a police spokesman could not provide any further comment.
Broadcaster Chris Smith will make a miraculous return to the airwaves, two months after his drunken behaviour at a work function looked to have ended his career.
Smith has been thrown a lifeline by international digital talk station TNT Radio where he will present an afternoon program five days a week from Monday.
The 60-year-old, who has a history of booze-fuelled misconduct, has not touched a drop of alcohol for 75 days and has vowed never to drink again.
Smith was sacked by 2GB and Sky News Australia after he outraged several women with his conduct after the TV network's Christmas party.
He made lewd comments which brought a female colleagues to tears at the shindig, and touched another on the bottom.
Broadcaster Chris Smith will make a miraculous return to the airwaves, two months after his drunken behaviour at a work function looked to have ended his career. He has vowed to never drink alcohol again. His wife Susie Burrell has stood by him
Smith was sacked by Sky News Australia and radio station 2GB due to his offensive conduct after a Sky News Christmas party on December 10. Smith has been thrown a lifeline by digital talk station TNT Radio where he will present an afternoon program five days a week
Smith told Daily Mail Australia after spending time in rehab and consulting with psychiatrists and psychologists he had realised he was incapable of drinking responsibly.
'In previous times where I've stuffed up binge drinking I never had the guts nor probably the guidance to be able to give up drinking,' he said.
'I never had the advice, I'd never had the guts to do what I should have done which was to give it up completely.
'I've never given up more than three weeks. I could never do it. I thought I could control it, as I thought I could control it in December, but I can't.'
Asked if he would ever drink again Smith said, 'Never, ever.'
'I dont need it. I'm angry with it. It's not just the big incidents that have occurred in my life. It's also the reliance on alcohol on almost daily basis which I've also had.
'It negatively impacts my family, my wife, my kids. I don't need that anymore.'
Smith said he had learnt he could not mix alcohol with the medication he took for bipolar disorder, which caused him to black out.
'If I drink more than five hours I hit this black wall. I now know it's due to the medication that I take. You black out. I never knew that.
Smith told Daily Mail Australia he had spent time in rehab and after consulting with psychiatrists and psychologists had realised he was incapable of drinking responsibly. He is pictured on December 8 at News co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch's harbourside mansion
'I always thought grog mitigated the medication I took for bipolar but it made you black out.'
Smith described those said those black outs as 'that wild card prospect' and said problematic drinking had been 'the bane of my life'.
'I've removed the wild card prospect of behaving like an adolescent,' he said. 'I've taken that out of my life and I should have done it more than a decade ago.
'It's a great relief for me and it's a great start to hopefully another stage of a career without drama.'
The Chris Smith Show will air on tntradio.live from 3pm to 5pm from Monday to Friday and will concentrate on international affairs in its first hour.
The next hour will have a more local focus and Smith will be able to take callers from around the world.
'It's awfully lucky,' Smith said. 'It's a great life buoy for me and I intend to grab it with both hands. I don't think I've ever been more appreciate of a job in my life.'
Smith, who has a history of alcohol-fuelled misbehaviour at work functions, celebrated 50 days off the drink with this Facebook post in January
Smith said TNT Radio CEO Mike Ryan had asked him what he had been doing since December before giving him a job.
He told Ryan about his rehabilitation efforts which included weekly AA meetings to avoid any further 'self-sabotage'.
Chris Smith's three days on the drink Thursday, December 8: Smith attends Lachlan Murdoch's evening Christmas drinks at his Bellevue Hill mansion Friday, December 9: Smith attends a Sky News dinner for hosts and station management at Aria restaurant at Circular Quay (7pm-11pm) Saturday, December 10: Smith attends Sky News Christmas party at Ivy Sunroom in the CBD. Function runs midday to 5pm. Continues nearby at Establishment and leaves 7.30pm Advertisement
'He was happy with all of that and knew my work,' Smith said. 'And very happy to have me on board,' Smith said.
'I feel as if I'm on a really positive trajectory now and I don't feel as if I'm a danger to myself or a danger to anyone else.'
Smith said his nutritionist wife Susie Burrell had supported him throughout his ongoing recovery and was delighted with his new job.
'She has been an absolute tower of strength,' he said. 'She's been fantastic.
'She's glad that I've got this Monday to Friday job for the first time in many years and she's also glad that she's got a sober husband.'
Before his sacking Smith was about to be given his own daily 5pm show on Sky News before he was sacked, with that role being given to Sharri Markson.
Smith was previously suspended by 2GB for allegedly harassing four women at the radio station's 2009 Christmas party.
He had also been demoted at Nine Network's A Current Affair after allegedly exposing himself at a farewell party in the late 1990s.
After the 2GB soiree Smith admitted to having been drunk on champagne and red wine and said he had also taken the 'the wrong antidepressants'.
He was soon back at 2GB where until December he had been a weekend presenter as well as regular fill-in announcer.
Smith, who had hosted a Sunday night show on Sky, checked himself into a mental health facility in December and apologised for his behaviour.
'I am beyond gutted and devastated to know I have upset my colleagues after our Christmas party,' he said at the time.
'I apologise profusely to the women I upset. That's not the man I am at work, ever, as they will all attest. They have been so supportive to me and do not deserve such drunken treatment.'
Smith blamed the events on bipolar disorder and alcohol addiction, saying 'I have a recurring problem with alcohol... it sends me manic'.
He had joined colleagues at Sky News's end of year celebrations at Ivy Sunroom in Sydney's central business district which began about 12pm on December 10.
When that formal event concluded in the afternoon, a group including Smith moved nearby to Establishment.
It is there Smith was accused of touching one young female co-worker on the backside and making lewd comments to another.
Several of Smith's former colleagues at SKY and 2GB attacked him when his conduct became public knowledge.
Ray Hadley was on holidays but called in to 2GB to state, 'I don't think [Smith] should ever return to a network.'
The evacuation happened at the same time as when a bridge in Oregon was shut down over a threat to the headquarters of the Satanic Temple
An emailed bomb threat sent to officials at a Chesapeake, Virginia school read 'you promote devil worship and unIslamic values'
A primary school that recently made headlines for hosting an After School Satan Club was evacuated Tuesday due to a bomb threats
An elementary school that runs its own After School Satan Club - and has recently faced harsh criticism in the local community because of it - was evacuated on Tuesday because of a bomb threat.
B.M. Williams Primary School in Chesapeake, Virginia dismissed students just after noon after administrators had initially placed the institution in a 'level one lockdown.'
The bomb threat comes just days after the school held its first meeting of the After School Satan Club, which was referenced in an email alerting officials to the threat.
'You are evil, there is no other way to put it,' the email obtained by WAVY reads. 'You promote devil worship and unIslamic values.'
The After School Satan Club is an organization that has chapters nationwide and is founded by the Satanic Temple. According to its website, the club does not teach Satanism.
A primary school that recently made headlines for hosting an After School Satan Club was evacuated Tuesday due to a bomb threats
Families now say they are upset by the attention the club is bringing to the school
The club is meant to 'educate children and encourage critical thinking' allegedly
According to Lucien Greaves, a spokesperson for the Temple, the club is meant to 'educate children and encourage critical thinking' without proselytization.
Despite Temple officials claiming the organization does not teach Satanism, chapters created at schools around the country have faced massive backlash.
In November, DailyMail.com reported on the formation of a branch at a elementary school in Tehachapi, California.
In an interview at the time, one parent described the decision to allow the club as 'disgusting,' while another called it 'a mistake.'
Parents at the B.M. Williams in Virginia seem to agree, with protests having been arranged since the club's first meeting on February 16.
Some families now say they are upset by the attention the club is bringing to the school. 'This is a hassle, this is a lot, to be worried about your children's safety over a club is unnecessary,' said one local mom.
'They need to fix it,' another parent who spoke on camera with 13News Now said.
'They need to stop it, and get them away from the school,' the mom continued.
One child who spoke with the outlet said he initially thought the lockdown was a joke but that he became scared after realizing it was real.
The school was placed on a 'level one lockdown' as officials investigated the bomb threat
One child who spoke with the 13 News Now said he initially thought the lockdown was a joke but that he became scared after realizing it was real
The Satanic Temple's website describes the club as a way to educate without proselytization
Parents and families are now calling on the district to cancel the After School Satan Club
Police searched the school for several hours Tuesday but found nothing.
Initially, two explosive detection K9s were alerted to a backpack in a classroom, local outlets reported, but the Virginia State Police used an x-ray to scan the bag.
The bag was determined to be empty and no other objects were found.
School administrators said they plan to increase police presence in the coming days.
Police officials confirmed after students and staff had been evacuated Tuesday that the bomb threat did in fact appear to be related to the controversial club.
'A motive for the threat is uncertain but language in the email appears to give reference to an After School Satan Club which recently held a meeting at the school,' the police department said.
The matter is still under investigation by Chesapeake Fire Marshals, Chesapeake Police, and the FBI.
No suspects have been arrested at this time.
Police officials confirmed after students and staff had been evacuated Tuesday that the bomb threat did in fact appear to be related to the controversial club
This is a grab from the Satanic Temple's own video explaining the purpose of the club
This is the logo for The Satanic Temple, which is the founder of the After School Satan Club
Around the same time that investigators were locking down the Virginia school, the Satanic Temple's headquarters in Salem, Oregon and the 'general area' was evacuated.
According to the The Salem News, an email was to staff at outlet just after 8.30am, reading: 'We placed a bomb in the Satanic Temple in Salem. In the name of Allah we will kill all you satanic degenerates.'
The situation was cleared several hours later after police determined the threat to be a hoax, the Oregon outlet reported.
'The Satanic Temple and surrounding areas have been searched and cleared from the earlier bomb threat,' read a public alert.
Firing back: Owner Pierre Moio (pictured) said the venue didn't have pokies to subsidise their menu prices
A trendy restaurant owner who made headlines this week after charging $28 for a single piece of chicken schnitzel has blamed the lack of pokies at his venue for the hefty prices.
Five Dock Bowling Club's in-house Italian restaurant, Skinny Tony's, in Sydney's inner west, was the subject of furious debate on Tuesday over its schnitzel price that jumped to $45 if customers wanted two sides with it.
The chicken schnitzel itself goes for $28.90, with fries costing $6.90 and salad or mash potato adding and extra $8.90 each.
Other items on the menu like steaks and sausages also came with eye-watering price tags, prompting Today Show host Karl Stefanovic to publicly criticise the restaurant.
The revamped restaurant sits on the same site of the historic Five Dock bowlo but is not actually a registered club meaning it is not allowed to have poker machines.
Owner Pierre Moio has since said that because the venue is run privately and doesn't offer any gambling services, that typically net pubs and restaurants thousands in extra revenue, it wasn't able to subsidise its restaurant prices and offer cheaper meals.
The Five Dock Bowling Club's in-house Italian restaurant, Skinny Tony's, was the subject of furious debate on Monday over its chicken schnitzel that ended up costing $45 if customers ordered two sides with it
Owner Pierre Moio has since said that because the venue is run privately and doesn't offer any gambling services, it wasn't receiving a subsidy to allow for cheaper meals
He added the rise in the cost-of-living and skyrocketing prices on produce also had an impact.
'As restaurateurs that invest in creating venues for people to come in and enjoy, there's a certain responsibility from our point of view to ensure that we put on an experience for people,' Mr Moio told Yahoo News.
'But at the end of the day if there's a cost there to do that at some point, the consumer needs to realise that.'
He said if prices weren't passed onto the customers, then it was a 'slap in the face' to the farmers and distributors.
'All along the way, there's people that are losing their livelihoods and everything else around these devastations and I think responsibility needs to be shared across the whole spectrum,' he added.
Mr Moio said there were some venues with pokies that could offer meals for $20, but without the subsidy, it wasn't feasible for Skinny Tony's to do the same.
'People have always expected to pay the same price for a meal when they go out, but businesses are incurring the costs,' he said.
Listed are the prices for some of the meals on offer at Skinny Tony's
Mr Moio earlier told The Today Show the portion sizes were large and customers often left with takeaway containers.
'It's an a la carte restaurant and we are priced at where we need to be to provide value,' he said.
'At the end of the day, we can only do so much, we've put out a product that meets current market demand and aside from teething problems like staffing issues - which the entire industry is experiencing - we've had great feedback from guests.'
Customers who wanted a chicken parmy with two sides (chips and salad) and a single beer, would have to pay a whopping $63 for their meal at the venue.
If you wanted humble sausages you'd pay $34.90 for the chargrilled pork and fennel bangers.
The cheapest steak on offer is $54.90, for a grain-fed, 21-day aged 400gram hunk of Riverina beef. Or you could spent $120.90 on a 1kg grass-fed angus 'Tomahawk' steak.
The pizza menu features six options priced at over $30 - which is uncommon, even for the inner west's many specialist pizzerias.
Daily Mail Australia contacted the owner for further comment.
Prices across the menu at the Five Dock Bowling Club appeared pricey, with the cheapest steak costing $55 and two bbq lamb skewers (pictured) $45
It comes as the NSW government is set to make all pokies cashless within five years.
Problem gamblers will also be able to have self-imposed limits on how much money they can feed through machines under a massive plan to overhaul the gaming industry.
Among the cashless change and limits, pubs, clubs and governments will also be banned from retaining any personal information linked to the gambler.
To ease the potential economic hit to pubs and clubs, the government will help them move away from reliance on pokies by offering no-interest loans and grants of $50,000.
But the body representing registered clubs - which operate 64,000 pokies - raised concerns about the 'significant costs and technical challenges' of turning pokies cashless.
'We're particularly concerned about the implications for small, regional clubs and the impact this will have on jobs across the industry,' ClubsNSW said.
The industry group said it remained committed to tackling problem gambling and keeping criminals out of venues.
Problem gambling has become a major election issue after a NSW Crime Commission report found billions of dollars in dirty money was being laundered through machines every year.
Seattle has become the first U.S. city to outlaw caste discrimination on Tuesday, after its local council voted to add caste to the city's anti-discrimination laws.
The move addresses an issue important to the area's South Asian diaspora, particularly the Indian and Hindu communities. India's caste system is among the world's oldest forms of rigid social stratification.
'The fight against caste discrimination is deeply connected to the fight against all forms of oppression,' Kshama Sawant, an Indian American Seattle City Council member, said.
The caste system dates back thousands of years and allows many privileges to upper castes but represses lower castes. The Dalit community is on the lowest rung of the Indian Hindu caste system and have been treated as 'untouchables.'
'Caste discrimination doesnt only take place in other countries. It is faced by South Asian American and other immigrant working people in their workplaces, including in the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities around the country,' Sawant said when her office introduced the proposal to ban caste-based discrimination in Seattle.
Seattle Council Member Kshama Sawant speaks to supporters and opponents of a proposed ordinance to add caste to Seattle's anti-discrimination laws at a rally at Seattle City Hall
The caste system dates back thousands of years and allows many privileges to upper castes but represses lower castes
People celebrate the passing of an ordinance to add caste to Seattle's anti-discrimination laws in the Seattle City Council chambers
Caste discrimination was outlawed in India over 70 years ago, yet bias persists, according to several studies in recent years, including one that found people from lower castes were underrepresented in higher-paying jobs.
Even though India has banned untouchability, Dalits still face widespread abuse across that country, where their attempts at upward social mobility have at times been violently put down.
Debate over the caste system's hierarchy is contentious in India and abroad, with the issue intertwined with religion. Some people say discrimination is now rare. Indian government policies reserving seats for lower-caste students at top Indian universities have helped many land tech jobs in the West in recent years.
Activists opposing caste discrimination say it is no different from other forms of discrimination like racism and hence should be outlawed. U.S. discrimination laws ban ancestry discrimination but do not explicitly ban casteism.
Tensions within the community were visible at Seattle City Hall on Tuesday, as a noisy hearing culminated with a 6-1 vote with a majority of the council agreeing that caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries.
Without such laws, those facing caste discrimination in the U.S. will have no legal rights or protections, they agreed.
The packed room, which overflowed with activists from both sides bearing banners, chanting slogans, challenging speakers and city officials as they made their comments, laid bare stark divisions over this issue within the South Asian diaspora.
Activists opposing caste discrimination say it is no different from other forms of discrimination like racism and hence should be outlawed
Supporters and opponents, such as Livi Nivarthi, center pointing, attempt to out yell each other during a rally at Seattle City Hall regarding a of a proposed ordinance to add caste to Seattle's anti-discrimination laws
A majority of those present in council chambers were supporters of the ordinance and those opposed were a vocal minority.
As council members voted in favor of the ordinance, the chamber erupted into cheers of 'Jai Bhim,' which means 'victory for Bhim' a rallying cry adopted by followers of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian Dalit rights icon whose given name was Bhimrao.
Dalit groups and their supporters say caste discrimination is prevalent in U.S. diaspora communities, manifesting itself in the form of social alienation and discrimination in housing, education and the tech sector where South Asians hold key roles.
Yogesh Mane, a Seattle resident who grew up as an untouchable in India, broke into tears as he heard the council's decision.
'I'm emotional because this is the first time such an ordinance has been passed anywhere in the world outside of South Asia,' he said. 'It's a historic moment and a powerful feeling when the law allows us to speak up about things that are wrong.'
Thenmozhi Soundararajan, executive director of Oakland, California-based Equality Labs, whose advocacy work along with community partners continues to push caste discrimination laws forward, called the council vote 'a culture war that has been won.'
'We got the support of over 200 organizations from Seattle and around the country,' she said. 'It's a powerful message that Dalit people are not alone. The South Asian community has united to say we want to heal from the trauma of caste.'
A Vanderbilt University dean who used artificial intelligence to write an email to students about the Michigan State University mass shooting previously claimed that she loved writing and 'wouldn't have it any other way.'
Nicole Joseph signed off on the email to students on February 16 reminding them to 'take care of each other' after the tragedy.
While the email came off as kind and offered students ways to help promote a caring environment with their peers, at the very bottom, there was outrage when it was revealed it wasn't written by a human.
However, back in December, Joseph shared a grinning selfie on Facebook with a post about her love of writing.
Joseph and another dean, Hasina Mohyuddin, both temporarily stepped down while the The Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion 'reviews' the situation, Peabody's Dean of Education Camilla P. Benbow said in a statement.
Vanderbilt University dean Nicole Joseph, who used ChatGPT to write an email to students about the MSU mass shooting, previously posted about how much she loved writing
Joseph shared a selfie on Facebook back in December with a post about loving what she does - writing
The two deans who signed off on the email - Nicole Joseph (left) and Hasina Mohyuddin (right) - have temporarily stepped down while the Peabody EDI office 'reviews' the situation. Joseph sent a follow-up email to students the next day to apologize for the 'bad judgment'
On December 17, 2022, Joseph wrote: 'Yall alright this morning? Im trying to hype myself up to face all the writing I have to do today. I would not have it any other way. It matters when you LOVE what you do. #facultylife'
The post came to light after it was revealed the dean signed off on an email that was written by AI.
Vanderbilt University has since apologized for using artificial intelligence to write a 297-word email to students after the MSU shooting.
The long letter was signed off by two deans - Joseph and Mohyuddin. But the line at the bottom of the letter caused outrage among students.
'Paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023,' it read.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence software that is capable of producing large amounts of text by giving the generator writing suggestions, where it pulls from ten of thousands of datasets to produce written content.
The email caused disgust among students, including Laith Kayat, who is from Michigan and has a sister who attends MSU.
On February 16, the Vanderbilt's Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion sent students an email reminding them to 'take care of each other' after the MSU shooting
Although the email came off as kind and caring, at the very bottom, it revealed it wasn't written by a human. 'Paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023,' it read
'There is a sick and twisted irony to making a computer write your message about community and togetherness because you cant be bothered to reflect on it yourself,' he told the Vanderbilt Hustler, the student newspaper.
Vanderbilt senior Laith Kayat, whose sister also attends MSU, said using ChatGPT to write a sensitive note was, 'disgusting'.
'[Administrators] only care about perception and their institutional politics of saving face,' he continued. 'Deans, provosts, and the chancellor: Do more. Do anything. And lead us into a better future with genuine, human empathy, not a robot.'
Samuel Lu, a sophomore, told the student paper: 'Its hard to take a message seriously when I know that the sender didnt even take the time to put their genuine thoughts and feelings into word. In times of tragedies such as this, we need more, not less humanity.'
Benbow claimed the 'development and distribution' of the email 'did not follow Peabody's normal processes,' nor was she or other university administrators aware of the email 'before it was sent.'
Benbow insisted she remains 'personally saddened by the loss of life and injuries at Michigan State' and was so 'deeply troubled that a communication from my administration so missed the crucial need for personal connection and empathy during a time of tragedy.'
Joseph, before she temporarily stepped down, sent a follow-up email to students on February 17, apologizing to students for the 'poor judgment' of the office to use AI to write the email.
'While we believe in the message of inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College,' her email read, according to Buzzfeed News.
'As with all new technologies that affect higher education, this moment gives us all an opportunity to reflect on what we know and what we still must learn about AI.'
Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, killed three students on February 13 at MSU before turning the gun on himself.
Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, killed three students Feb 13 at MSU before turning gun on himself
Alexandria Verner (left), Brian Fraser (middle), and Arielle Diamond (right) were killed in shooting
He terrorized the students for four hours on campus, killing Brian Fraser, 20, Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, and Alexandria 'Alex' Verner.
Alexandria 'Alex' Verner, a 2020 graduate of Clawson High School, was a biology and anthropology junior at MSU and set to graduate in 2024.
Brian Fraser, 20, graduated from Grosse Pointe South and was studying business at MSU.
Flavor of Love reality TV star Deelishis revealed her niece, Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, was the third victim.
The three were killed and five others were injured when McRae opened fire at 8.18pm.
PAC is led by white former VMI classmate of the superintendent, who is black
The oldest public senior military college in the US has found itself embroiled in a very modern form of cultural warfare, after a group of alumni organized a campaign furiously protesting the school's recent diversity push.
The controversy at the Virginia Military Institute has been simmering since October 2020, when then-Governor Ralph Northam ordered a probe into reports of widespread racism at the institution, and the school's board voted to remove a Confederate statue on campus.
In a twist of fate, the two sides in the VMI culture war are led by 'brother rats', as VMI classmates are known, who both graduated from the college in 1985, according to a Washington Post report on Tuesday.
The belligerents are retired Army Major General Cedric T. Wins, 59, who is VMI's first black superintendent, and Matt Daniel, 60, a white former Marine who founded a PAC dubbed 'Spirit of VMI' that has launched ads and lobbying efforts opposing Wins' diversity push.
'Reject the woke assault on VMI, close ranks,' one of the PAC's websites states, adding: 'We stand for a strong VMI with a proud history and a bright future.'
VMI Superintendent Cedric T. Wins (left) has faced opposition to the school's diversity initiatives from Matt Daniel (right), his former VMI classmate
VMI's Board of Visitors ordered the removal of a statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson in 2020, days after Virginia's governor ordered a probe into racism allegations
The PAC has lashed out at Wins and the VMI board, questioning its decision to award him a $100,000 bonus, on top of his $656,000 annual salary, after the school suffered a 25 percent drop in freshman enrollment.
Spirit of VMI has also posted cartoons mocking Wins, who appointed the college's first chief diversity officer.
VMI is one of six US senior military colleges, the state-run institutions designated by federal law to offer military Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs.
Founded in 1839, VMI became a key source of Confederate officers during the Civil War, and did not admit black cadets until 1968, or women until 1997.
The college remains majority white, and majority male, with black students making up about 8 percent of the 1,500 cadets, and women accounting for 13.5 percent.
In October 2020, a Post article alleging 'relentless racism' at VMI prompted Northam to order the state probe into the allegations.
Days later, VMI's Board of Visitors ordered the removal of a statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson from the campus, and the following month the board appointed Wins as temporary superintendent, later making the appointment permanent.
Wins was tasked with leading VMI through a turbulent time, leading the response to the state-ordered probe, which came out in June of 2021 and found that the school tolerated and failed to address institutional racism and sexism.
Initially, his former classmate Daniel was publicly supportive of Wins, writing an encouraging note in the alumni magazine that said: 'If there was ever a leader to take the helm and navigate VMI through such odd and dark, shark-infested waters, it is Cedric Wins.'
'Reject the woke assault on VMI, close ranks,' one of the Spirit of VMI PAC's websites states
The Spirit of VMI group has posted cartoons like this one mocking the college's diversity push
Daniel (left) and Wins (right) are seen in their VMI yearbook photos. Both graduated from the military college in 1985, but now find themselves on opposite sides of a cultural battle
But as Wins has overseen reforms such as the removal of Confederate emblems from campus, and hired consultants on diversity, equity and inclusion to advise the college, he has faced the wrath of Daniel's Spirit of VMI PAC.
'Often described broadly as a form of political correctness, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a Marxist doctrine at the center of the malignancy of identity politics,' the group said in a statement earlier this month.
'Akin to a pervasive cancer that seemingly overnight has metastasized across the country, DEI sows division, destruction, and discord where ever it has been allowed to fester,' the PAC added.
Wins has rarely responded directly to the group's allegations, but he did take to Facebook in a rare post last year, slamming a VMI alum who accused to school of being overrun by critical race theory.
'That is categorically false,' wrote Wins. 'We are moving forward, forward-focused, with the bedrock of Institute fundamentals defended and even brighter days ahead, with all that is essential intact and the continuing to produce citizen-soldiers.'
In December 2020, Wins issued a statement defending the removal of the Stonewall Jackson statue, which was moved to be displayed in the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park.
'It is an understatement to say the relocation of the statue has evoked strong opinions on both sides of the issue,' said Wins.
In December 2020, a statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was moved from VMI to be displayed in the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park
Wins (second from left) is seen at a recent VMI ribbon cutting. He has defended his diversity push as strengthening the college for the future
'VMI does not define itself by this statue and that is why this move is appropriate,' he added. 'Though change can sometimes be difficult, it is time for our beloved Institution to move forward, to strengthen our unique system of education and training, and grow the leaders of tomorrow.'
Davis Estes, a close friend of Wins who also ran track with Daniel and attended his wedding, told the Post that he believes Daniel and the PAC are unnecessarily demonizing equity.
'In my estimation, the PAC's long-term fear is that VMI will no longer cater primarily to young white males, and white male enrollment will decline and be overshadowed by minority and female matriculation,' said Estes, 59, a black former financial adviser.
'They will promote DEI and any cultural changes the superintendent fosters as critical race theory and as the boogeyman poised to destroy VMI,' he said. 'They will utilize conservative print and radio media to promote their fight against change and maintain themselves as victims.'
In the summer of 2021, an independent law firm issued its findings into a probe of racism allegations at VMI, undertaken on Northam's order.
The report stated that 'racial slurs and jokes are not uncommon' and 'contribute to an atmosphere of hostility toward minorities.'
Among other findings, the report found that a racial disparity exists among cadets who have been dismissed by the schools student-run honor court. Cadets of color represent 23 percent of the corps but make up 41 percent of those dismissed since 2011.
The report also said that sexual assault is prevalent yet inadequately addressed at the nation's oldest state-supported military college. A survey found that 14 percent of female cadets reported being sexually assaulted, while 63 percent said that a fellow cadet had told them that he or she was a victim of sexual assault.
'The racist and misogynistic acts and outcomes uncovered during this investigation are disturbing,' the report states. 'Although VMI has no explicitly racist or sexist policies that it enforces, the facts reflect an overall racist and sexist culture.'
The report said the state should require VMI to submit quarterly reports on diversity and inclusion efforts, adding that VMI 'will likely follow through on its promised reforms only if it is forced to do so.'
Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins (left), is seen during his active duty days, when he was commanding general of the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command
Cadets marching in formation outside the barracks at VMI. Two classmates from the Class of 1985 are fighting over the direction of the military college
A statue of George C. Marshall on the VMI campus. Marshall was a 1901 graduate of VMI
Wins responded at the time that the school has already been moving toward becoming more inclusive and welcoming.
Wins added that he developed an action plan following 'deep dives' into VMI's policies that will help to better unify cadets.
'And so now it's up to us to take the report, along with our Board of Visitors, and look at it and understand what the recommendations are,' Wins told The Associated Press during a phone interview. 'And we'll certainly have conversations with state agencies ... and chart a path in terms of the direction that we need to go.'
VMI was founded in 1839 in Lexington, a historic town in western Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. The school educated Generals George Patton and George Marshall.
In anticipation of the report's release, VMI highlighted recent diversity and inclusion efforts earlier in 2021.
They've included forming a committee focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. The school also hired its first chief diversity officer and created a cadet-led cultural awareness training program.
The school said that enrollment of cadets of color rose from 12.7 percent in 1992 to 23.4 percent in 2020, and that people of color make up 11 percent of full-time, tenure-track faculty members.
VMI also said it is one of the highest producers of minority commissioned officers in the US military.
VMI also pushed back against some of the news coverage, saying: '(W)hatever work lies before us - the 'clear and appalling culture' of ongoing institutional racism attributed to us at the outset of this investigation is simply inaccurate.'
A horror smash involving a truck and five cars has seen seven people rushed to hospital and one of Sydney's major highways closed.
Emergency services rushed to the scene of a collision at Wentworth Falls, on the Great Western Highway, in the Blue Mountains at 1.05pm on Wednesday.
Four people were trapped in their cars in the accident, which occurred near Shortland Street, and had to wait to be freed by NSW Fire and Rescue officers.
Two people in their 60s had to be airlifted to hospital from the scene. The man was flown to Liverpool Hospital and the woman to Westmead Hospital.
The Great Western Highway was closed by the rescue operation, meaning nobody could get through the mountains via its main artery.
The horror smash at Wentworth Falls involved a truck and five cars and resulted in seven people rushed to hospital
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said there were 'multiple injuries' amongst those hurt in Wednesday's crash on the Great Western Highway, 'all in a serious condition'
In total 10 people were injured and treated on the highway by NSW Ambulance paramedics.
A NSW Ambulance spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia there were 'multiple injuries' amongst those hurt, 'all in a serious condition'.
One person was rushed to Westmead Children's Hospital and two went to Westmead Hospital.
The others went to Nepean and Liverpool hospitals.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Ronald Gavin described the scene as 'confronting and chaotic'.
'This was a confronting and chaotic scene to attend involving five vehicles with a considerable number of patients requiring a large, multi-agency emergency response,' Insp. Gavin said.
In total 10 people were injured and treated on the highway by NSW Ambulance paramedics
Emergency services rushed to the scene of a collision at Wentworth Falls, on the Great Western Highway, in the Blue Mountains at 1.05pm on Wednesday
'On arrival, paramedics began triaging patients and treating them for a wide range of injuries.
'We also had four patients trapped initially, three were freed relatively quickly, however one man was trapped for an extended period.'
One eastbound lane of the Great Western Highway was re-opened about 4pm, but motorists headed west still could not move past the accident scene.
Drivers have been warned to expect major delays in the area.
NSW Police crash unit investigators are on the scene examining the cause of the crash.
CEO Alan Joyce says WI-FI on flights might come next year
Qantas is set to launch free, high-speed Wi-Fi on its international flights as soon as next year as it works towards ultra long-haul trips.
It's welcome news for the airline which has been plagued with delays, cancellations, missing luggage, mechanical errors, turn backs and staffing problems post-pandemic.
The airline's chief executive, Alan Joyce, announced Qantas's plan to have Wi-Fi ready onboard international flights before it rolls out Project Sunrise services in late 2025.
Project Sunrise will carry out non-stop flights on 12 Airbus A350-1000s to destinations such as New York and London.
But Mr Joyce said on Tuesday that Wi-Fi access could arrive in 2024 depending on satellite coverage, reports The Australian.
Qantas is set to roll out high-speed Wi-Fi on its international flights - and it could come as early as next year (stock image)
Poll Is Wi-Fi on international flights a good idea? Yes, it will be a good distraction No, I want my peace Is Wi-Fi on international flights a good idea? Yes, it will be a good distraction 63 votes
No, I want my peace 26 votes Now share your opinion
'The great news is satellites have been launched and we think coverage will start appearing from 2024-25 onwards so we're looking at equipping Project Sunrise aircraft with high speed Wi-Fi,' he said.
The Qantas boss added that he would rather wait for adequate satellite coverage and focus on flight quality over charging passengers for poor Wi-Fi in the meantime.
'We tested Wi-Fi on the A380s and because of the low band satellite coverage, you can't give it free to everybody because it's so slow and intermittent, it's a terrible product,' he said.
'What happened domestically is for the NBN these great satellites were put up and we tapped into that and it meant everybody can stream Netflix simultaneously.'
Qantas is one of the only premium global airlines that does not offer Wi-Fi.
This is even though other carriers charge passengers for accessing WI-FI on flights.
WI-FI on Virgin Australia international flights costs $6.99 per hour or $12.99 for the entire flight. Long-haul travel is $8.99 per hour or $19.99 for the full flight.
For overseas carriers, Emirates charges about $15 to $30 for access, Etihad WI-FI costs $7.30 every 30 minutes, Qatar Airways costs $12 to $15 and Japan Airlines charges $15 an hour.
My Joyce said the airline's 'intent has always been to offer it free to customers'.
He also announced that Qantas would splash $100million on upgrading its lounges as a 'thank you' to travellers who have supported the airline.
But debate has raged about whether passengers should be allowed to make calls on flights due to noise and privacy.
Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel industry analysis firm in San Francisco, recently told CNN, 'No matter how you look at it allowing cell phone calls on planes is controversial.'
The airline's CEO, Alan Joyce (pictured), announced the plan to have WI-FI ready onboard international flights before Project Sunrise launches in 2025
Qantas is one of the only premium airlines to not have WI-FI available on international flights. Although other carriers charge a fee for access (stock image)
'I don't want to be forced to overhear someone else's conversation if it's avoidable,' he said.
'It's bad enough when you find yourself in that situation at a coffee shop or in a hotel lobby.
'In an airplane at cruising altitude, in a situation where you can't do anything or go anywhere to escape, it would be horrendous.'
A Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia a final decision on whether people can make audio or video calls is yet to be made.
The airline was hit with more drama over the weekend when Qantas passengers were forced to sleep inside a terminal at Newcastle Airport after their flight travelling from Santiago, in Chile, to Sydney was diverted due to a damaging thunderstorm that rolled into the city on Saturday.
Earlier this month, a flight was forced to circle Sydney for almost two hours after pilots detected a problem with the aircraft's brakes.
The airline was also criticised around the same time for leaving 60 passenger bags at Sydney Airport that were for a flight that had already left and landed in Wellington, New Zealand.
Shocking police body cam footage showed the moment a Miami cop grabs a handcuffed man by the neck and drags him on the ground.
Details of the rough arrest of George Augustus from 2021 came to light when an internal affairs audit found the body cam video did not match what officers wrote in their arrest reports.
Two Miami officers - Sgt. Gary Sampson and Bens Mocombe - now face disciplinary action after an 11-member civilian investigative panel voted on Tuesday that they violated policy and used excessive force.
It was determined by the panel that none of the officers properly documented their response to resistance or use of force.
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Shocking police body cam footage shows the moment a Miami cop drags handcuffed man in a hospital after more video shows his arrest when he was dragged to the ground by another cop
Body cam video captured the incident as it unfolded on December 9, 2021, when police responded to a domestic battery call and found George Augustus, who would not back up when they demanded he do so. He was not a suspect in the original investigation
Body cam video captured the incident as it unfolded on December 9, 2021, when police responded to a domestic battery call at a residence on NW 5th Court near Miami Edison Senior High.
Local resident George Augustus, who was not a suspect in that investigation, is seen on video standing on the sidewalk when Sgt. Gary Sampson approaches him and demands that he back up.
'We're conducting an investigation. You need to back up,' Sampson says while pointing his finger in Augustus' face.
'Get your hands out of my face!' Augustus is heard protesting.
Sampson continues to yell, 'You need to back up,' and Augustus responds, 'I am on my property. You are on my property b***h!'
The argument gets heated and Sampson is seen grabbing Augustus' neck, pushing him against a fence, as other officers rush in to handcuff him and tell him to stop resisting.
'I'm not resisting. I was never resisting,' he is heard screaming. 'I am hurting... I need a doctor.'
The ordeal did not end there.
Local resident George Augustus, who was not a suspect in that investigation, is seen on video standing on the sidewalk when Sgt. Gary Sampson approaches him and demands he back up
The argument gets heated and Sampson is seen grabbing Augustus' neck, pushing him against a fence, as other officers rush in to handcuff him and tell him to stop resisting
Augustus was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in handcuffs and shackles, that he complained were too tight, and refused to walk.
The body cam footage shows him arguing with officers as he remains on the ground.
'My ankle, my ankle! This shit's too tight... I can't walk. This shit's scratching me. I ain't walking,' he yells. 'Do your job b***h! Go ahead drag me.'
One of the officers - identified as Bens Mocombe - is seen on the video dragging Augustus by his right arm through the hospital hallway, his head banging the floor.
Mocombe, who was cited with excessive force, had told internal affairs that he believed Augustus was faking injury because he didn't want to go back to jail, the Miami New Times reported.
Augustus was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in handcuffs and shackles, that he complained were too tight, and refused to walk
One of the officers - identified as Bens Mocombe - is seen on the video dragging Augustus by his right arm through the hospital hallway, his head banging the floor
Mocombe, who was cited with excessive force, had told internal affairs that he believed Augustus was faking injury because he didn't want to go back to jail
A third officer, Elouse Joseph, reportedly just watched the incident happen, but did not intervene. No hospital staff stepped in to assist either, the investigation found.
The two other officers were cited for failing to report the hospital incident to a supervisor.
Augustus was booked at the time for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest with violence, but the charges were downgraded and prosecutors declined to pursue the case against him.
Following the internal affairs investigation, the civilian investigative panel determined that both Mocombe and Sampson used excessive force in the arrest.
'Without the body worn camera footage, we wouldn't have instances that give us the accountability that people are asking for around the community,' Rodney Jacobs, the executive director of the civilian panel, said.
'The police department did a really good job in identifying this case.'
Disciplinary action by the Miami Police Department could range from more training to suspension without pay, it was reported.
'It shows that you'll be held accountable, especially with body cam footage now,' said Jacobs added.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that he would suspend his country's membership in a nuclear arms deal and threaten to resume nuclear weapons testing.
Putin delivered a defiant state-of-the-nation address in which he blamed the West for the Ukraine crisis one year before the anniversary of the invasion he ordered.
Russia-US Nuclear Arms Control Deal
Putin spoke before a gathering of 1,400 people in Moscow on Tuesday, addressing members of both chambers of parliament, military leaders, and troops. At the same time, video screens were also set up in the country's major towns. In addition to warning the West of a worldwide clash, Putin attempted to explain the invasion by stating that it had been imposed upon Russia and that he felt the suffering of the families of the slain.
In addition, Putin announced that Russia would suspend its participation in the New START pact, the last main pillar of post-Cold War nuclear weapons limitation between Moscow and Washington that restricts their strategic nuclear arsenals. Putin stated that Russia must be prepared to conduct nuclear tests if the United States decides to do so. Global countries encouraged Russia almost immediately not to withdraw from the deal, as per Al Jazeera.
"The announcement by Russia that it's suspending participation is regrettable and irresponsible," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated.
The 2010 New START pact, signed in Prague, limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads that Russia and the United States may deploy. It also limits the number of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers that may be used to deliver the warheads.
According to analysts, Russia possesses the world's greatest nuclear arsenal, with nearly 6,000 warheads. Russia and the United States possess around 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, enough to destroy the earth several times. In a press conference with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and EU's foreign policy leader Josep Borrell, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Putin's remarks and asked Russia to rethink.
In January, a United States Department of State representative stated that Russia "is not fulfilling its commitment under the New START Treaty to permit inspection efforts on its territory." During Putin's speech, he accused the United States and other Western nations of starting the war and releasing "the genie from the bottle" even though he was speaking just three days before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians.
His presentation occurred one day after President Joe Biden's unannounced trip to Ukraine. He committed an additional $500 million to help the war-torn nation and unveiled a slew of fresh sanctions against Moscow. On his first visit to the country since the outbreak of war, the President of the United States met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the presidential palace before touring Kyiv.
Biden talked of the United States' "unwavering support" for Ukraine, stating that "the President of the United States needed to be present on the day the onslaught began. During the visit, Biden committed a half-billion dollars in further military help, including artillery ammunition, extra javelins, and additional Howitzers, as per The Independent.
The United States is also imposing new sanctions on Russian leaders and businesses. Biden departed Kyiv and traveled to Poland, where he would engage in discussions with European allies and give statements about US support for Ukraine.
Read Also: Migrant Crisis: Biden's New Border Policy Limits Asylum for Immigrants
Russia Failed to Test Missile
Meanwhile, according to two US officials with knowledge of the situation, Russia conducted a failed test of an intercontinental ballistic missile around the time Biden was in Ukraine on Monday.
One official stated that Russia informed the United States before the launch via deconfliction channels. A second official stated that the test posed no threat to the United States and that the United States did not consider it as an aberration or an escalation.
According to authorities, the test of the powerful SARMAT missile, known in the West as Satan II and capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, looks to have failed. It has been successfully tested in the past, and if this test had been successful, US officials think Putin would have mentioned it in his Tuesday State of the Nation speech.
Putin did not mention the launch during his one-hour and 45-minute-long address. The timing of the test implies that the United States and Russia were speaking via many channels earlier this week to deconflict - National security advisor Jake Sullivan said on Monday that US authorities informed the Russians about the President's journey to the Ukrainian capital on Sunday night, hours before Biden's arrival.
Putin has previously declared successful ICBM testing, notably in April, only months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to Russian official media, this test was also for the SARMAT missile, which was introduced in 2016 and had a range of over 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles).
The missile is meant to replace the R-36M Voevoda ICBM and can carry a 100-ton payload. At the time, Western analysts viewed the 2022 test as "nuclear saber-rattling" and an attempt to deflect attention from Russia's military setbacks, such as the sinking of its Black Sea flagship, the Moskva.
According to CNN, former Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the 2022 test was "regular and predictable." It was not a danger to the United States or its allies." Many top US officials have stated that the Russian military has suffered multiple major fighting setbacks in Ukraine over the past year and has mostly "failed" to achieve its strategic objectives there.
Related Article: China Shows 'Rock Solid' Support for Russia Amid US Pressure
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Donald Trump spent $10million in donor money to pay his legal bills last year, but snubbed Rudy Giuliani because he failed to overturn President Biden's 2020 win, federal election filings show.
Trump channeled the money from his Save America PAC into the pockets of his lawyers, who are still battling multiple cases.
The 76-year-old has teams of lawyers working to defend him against allegations of tax fraud at the Trump Organization; an investigation into his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago; claims of interfering in the election in Georgia; and whipping up the January 6 insurrection.
However, one prominent name that does not feature on the federal election filings list, obtained by the The New York Times, is Giuliani, who championed Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Trump told aides he did not want to pay Giuliani unless he succeeded in overturning the election.
Donald Trump, seen on January 28, has used $10million in donor funds to pay his legal bills, it was reported on Tuesday
Trump spent $10M of donor money on his own legal bills - and gave former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani - his former personal attorney - nothing
Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, points to a map as he speaks to the press about various lawsuits related to the 2020 election. Trump has yet to pay his legal bills with Giuliani
Whether Trump can continue to use his PAC funds to pay his personal legal bills now that he is a declared presidential candidate is a gray area, experts told the paper.
'Payments by a PAC that exceed the contribution limit are contributions to the candidate and are unlawful,' said Jason Torchinsky, a campaign finance expert and lawyer with the firm Holtzman Vogel.
The current limit on individual donations to candidates is set at $3,300 for the current two-year political cycle.
The biggest paycheck, for $3million, went to Florida-based law firm Critton, Luttier and Coleman.
The firm is affiliated with Christopher M. Kise, a former solicitor general of Florida.
Kise was hired by Trump to work on the Mar-a-Lago documents case, but is also now working on the tax fraud case at the Trump Organization, being led by the New York attorney general, Letitia James.
Another firm working on the Mar-a-Lago documents - Silverman Thompson Slutkin and White - received $1.3million.
The firm is where Evan Corcoran, another of Trump's high-profile lawyers, works.
Corcoran testified before a grand jury last month about the classified documents, and federal prosecutors are seeking to have him return to answer more questions. They have asked a judge to waive his right to refuse to answer questions on the basis of attorney-client privilege.
Chris Kise, a former attorney general for Florida, received $3million to represent Trump in cases involving Mar-a-Lago documents and Trump Organization tax fraud allegations
Evan Corcoran, whose firm Silverman Thompson Slutkin and White received $1.3million to work on the Mar-a-Lago documents
Jim Trusty, a former assistant state attorney in Montgomery County, Maryland, was hired by Trump after the former president saw him on TV
Michael van der Veen represented Trump in his second impeachment trial, in February 2021
Alina Habba is acting for Trump in the case of E. Jean Carroll, who accuses him of raping her in a New York department store changing room in the 1990s. Her firm has been paid $2million
The PAC spent roughly $1.2million in fees paid to Ifrah Law, the firm of Jim Trusty.
Trump saw Trusty on television and decided to hire him, the paper reported.
Habba is representing Trump in multiple cases
Another $1.3million went to Michael van der Veen's law firm.
He represented Trump during his second impeachment trial, and in a New York tax fraud case against the Trump Organization - losing on all 17 counts.
And roughly $2million was paid to the firm of Alina Habba, who is acting for Trump in the case of E. Jean Carroll, who accuses him of raping her in a New York department store changing room in the 1990s.
Habba is also representing the former president in his case against The New York Times for its reporting on his tax returns; a defamation case in Pennsylvania; and in a case against Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and 'fixer' who has now turned against him.
Most of Trump's PAC money was raised before his November announcement that he was running for re-election in 2024.
At the end of last year, the PAC had just over $18million in cash on hand, its federal filings show.
This comes as Trump and his businesses are fighting multiple legal woes and scandals.
Yesterday, the top investigator for the House January 6 committee said the riots - which some say Trump incited - were part of a 'multipart plan to prevent the transfer of power' following the 2020 election.
Timothy Heaphy, a former U.S. attorney, said he believes the Department of Justice also needs to charge several allies of former President Donald Trump including his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Meadows never testified before the committee, while Giuliani revealed very little - pleading the Fifth throughout his testimony.
The House select committee spent months investigating Trump and his allies' involvement in inciting the riot and called on several members of his inner circle to testify.
Although some decided to remain silent when called before the panel, Heaphy said that the DOJ will ultimately come to a decision on who to charge depending on what further evidence they are able to procure - beyond what was presented to the House committee.
And last summer, Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 400 times during his deposition with the New York Attorney General's office.
The former president refused to answer any questions during four hours of questioning on August 10.
Trump had to go to New York City over the summer to appear for a deposition in James' civil fraud investigation against the former president.
Appearing on August 10, Trump politely answered the opening questions from James before going into the several-hundred string of refusals to Wallace's inquiries.
Trump answered 'yes' when James asked if he was familiar with the rules for a deposition.
Two Rottweilers who mauled a five-week-old baby to death had already been reported to the council by terrified neighbours months before the tragedy, it has been revealed.
Mia Jade Riley was asleep in a bassinet at her grandfather's home in Moruya, on the NSW South Coast on Saturday night when the dogs suddenly attacked her about 10.40pm.
Her parents and several other adults desperately tried to save her and she was rushed to hospital, where she sadly died of her injuries.
Friends of the family told Daily Mail Australia the dog attack was completely random and came after they had been dozing harmlessly near the little girl.
However, multiple neighbours have now revealed they were so afraid of the Rottweilers they had stopped walking by the property where they lived.
Friends of the family told Daily Mail Australia that the dog's attack was completely random. One of the Rottweilers is pictured
Medics at the nearby Moruya Hospital were unable to save Mia Jade (pictured) and she died
Mia Jade's father, local chiropractor Tom Riley, and his wife Lani (pictured) leapt to prise the dogs off their baby girl
The dogs are believed to belong to Mia's mother's cousin, who lives next door to the property where the attack took place.
'We warned them .. we said (to council) they will attack someone one day, they are so loud and intimidating,' an elderly resident told the Daily Telegraph.
Another local added: 'I know the council went there, maybe six to 12 months ago and spoke to the people (who own the dogs).
'But nothing really changed. I'm not aware of them ever attacking, but they are just scary to look at and very large, you just worry what they could do if they got out.'
Eurobodalla Shire Council is not commenting on the reports.
A spokeswoman previously confirmed the dogs were seized by council rangers but was unable to comment further due to the ongoing police investigation.
Police are believed to still be interviewing the parents and other adults who were at the gathering to understand exactly how the attack happened.
The child was asleep next to a table of six to eight adults when she was attacked.
Mia Jade's father, local chiropractor Tom Riley, and his wife Lani leapt to prise the dogs off their baby girl as horrified guests at the dinner scrambled to help.
They bundled up the blood-soaked child and rushed her by car to the nearby Moruya Hospital. But medics were unable to save her and she died shortly after midnight.
'Everyone there had to be involved to get the dogs off,' a family friend told Daily Mail Australia.
The dogs were seized by council rangers after the attack but their fate is currently unclear (one of the Rottweilers is pictured)
The Rottweilers (pictured) are believed to belong to Mia's mother's cousin, who lives next door to the property where the attack took place
Friends of little Mia Jade Riley's family (Mia Jade pictured with father Tom) have revealed how the child was asleep next to a table of six to eight adults at her grandfather's home in Moruya, on the NSW south coast, on Saturday night when the tragedy occurred about 10.40pm
A friend said Tom and Lani Riley's (pictured) two-year-old daughter had also been around the dogs repeatedly since she was born without any incident
The baby had been asleep in a bassinet at her grandfather's home in Moruya (pictured), on the NSW south coast on Saturday night
'There was a considerable amount of blood, it was terrible.
'There was just no warning.
'They were just having a family barbecue with the neighbours at the rear of the property and then they turned around the dogs were on her.
'There were no other kids, the dogs weren't running around and no-one was provoking the dogs or anything. They weren't agitated or distressed.
'It just happened out of nowhere.'
He said the couple's other two-year-old daughter had also been around the dogs repeatedly since she was born without any incident.
'They've done it before, and there's never been any issues before,' he said.
'They have another child who has probably been in the same position or very similar.
'There's never been an issue. It's really horrible. It's just beyond words.'
He said the tight-knit seaside town was reeling from the attack.
'It's really knocked this little community around,' he said. 'There's nothing you can say. It's just that tragic.
'This will be really difficult for all the family to deal with. I spoke to the grandfather and he's just in shock.'
Bruce Lehrmann is planning to write a tell-all book about his experiences and study law, it can be revealed.
Sky News reported on Wednesday evening that the former political staffer has met with biographer and journalist Andrew Urban about a book.
'It's early stages. I can't comment further but it's a subject any journalist or author would be interested in,' Urban told the network.
'I've had a meeting with Bruce about the idea of a book but we haven't started writing it or looking at content yet.'
Discussions are preliminary and Mr Urban told Sky he is yet to meet with a publisher.
Bruce Lehrmann is planning to write a tell-all book about his life, Sky News reported on Wednesday evening
Mr Urban is a prolific author who has written books about subjects as varied as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former Crown Prosecutor Margaret Cunneen.
Ex-staffer Brittany Higgins accused Lehrmann of sexually assaulting her in Parliament House in March 2019.
He has always maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty at trial last year. Lehrmann's trial collapsed last year after juror misconduct.
Prosecutors later dropped the sexual assault charge against him over concerns about Ms Higgins' mental health.
Ironically, Ms Higgins has similar plans to Lehrmann. She is studying law on the Gold Coast and has a $325,000 book deal.
Daily Mail Australia earlier reported that Ms Higgins book deal may have to be paused until Lehrmann's defamation lawsuits against Channel 10 and news.com.au are resolved.
Lehrmann is suing Channel 10 over an interview that aired on The Project in February 2021, where Ms Higgins first alleged to host Lisa Wilkinson that she was raped by 'a male colleague' in Parliament House in 2019.
Brittany Higgins (pictured), who accused Lehrmann of sexual assault in 2019 before prosecutors dropped the charge against him over concerns for her mental health, has a $325,000 book deal
The book has been touted as 'her story in her own words'
According to a statement of claim filed in the Federal Court on February 7, Mr Lehrmann will allege Channel 10 and Wilkinson were 'recklessly indifferent to the truth or falsity' when the allegations against him were made.
Specifically, it will be alleged that Wilkinson 'was seeking to exploit the false allegations of sexual assault as made by Ms Higgins for her own personal and professional gain'.
Mr Lehrmann's lawyers at Mark O'Brien Legal also filed a statement of claim against News Life Media - an umbrella company of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation which runs news.com.au, over coverage which featured the same allegations by Ms Higgins.
The original TV interview and online article about Ms Higgins' allegations were published in tandem.
Jihadi bride Shamima Begum will learn today whether she has won a legal battle to reclaim her British citizenship.
Ms Begum was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls travelled to Syria to join ISIS in February 2015.
Her British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by then-home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019.
The 23-year-old has been locked in a legal battle with the Government ever since, recently challenging the Home Office at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) over the decision.
Mr Justice Jay is due to deliver the decision on the case at 10am this morning.
Today, defence minister Johnny Mercer said he was confident judges will come to the 'right conclusion' over the appeal against the revocation of citizenship.
Jihadi bride Shamima Begum (pictured) will learn today whether she has won a legal battle to reclaim her British citizenship
Ms Begum's British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by then-home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019
In a round of interviews this morning, Mr Mercer said the question of whether Ms Begum should be allowed to return to the UK was 'a decision for the Home Secretary and previous home secretaries'.
'Certainly, Sajid Javid when he was home secretary made the decision to revoke her citizenship. That's a decision for them,' he said.
'Of course she clearly represents a threat. But there is a lot of information in that case that is not in the public domain.
'I don't think it is worth discussing it in public. I think those decisions are made in the courts and in the Home Office, and I'm sure they'll come to the right conclusion.'
During a five-day hearing in November, Ms Begum's lawyers said that the Home Office had a duty to investigate whether she was a victim of trafficking before stripping her of her British citizenship.
The specialist tribunal heard said that she was 'recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received in Syria for the purposes of 'sexual exploitation' and 'marriage' to an adult male'.
At a previous hearing in February 2020, SIAC ruled that the decision to remove her British citizenship was lawful as Ms Begum was 'a citizen of Bangladesh by descent' at the time of the decision.
Begum's citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by then-home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found in a Syrian refugee camp. She's seen in 2015 (left) and escaping through Gatwick airport (right)
However, her barristers said in November that the decision made Ms Begum 'de facto stateless', where she had no practical right to citizenship in Bangladesh, with Bangladeshi authorities stating they would not allow her into the country.
Barristers for the Home Office defended the Government's decision, arguing that people trafficked to Syria and brainwashed can still be threats to national security, adding that Ms Begum expressed no remorse when she initially emerged from IS-controlled territory.
Sir James Eadie KC, for the department, said there was 'no 'credible suspicion' that she was a victim of trafficking or was at real and immediate risk of being trafficked prior to her travel from the UK'.
Sir James said that the then-home secretary Mr Javid took into account Ms Begum's age, how she travelled to Syria including likely online radicalisation and her activity in Syria when making the decision to remove her British citizenship.
He added that the Security Services 'continue to assess that Ms Begum poses a risk to national security'.
The judgment is due to be handed down at 10am.
Standing at 130 feet tall with arms spanning 92 feet, it has become a common target for lightning strikes
Christ the Redeemer overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro from the Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Park
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This is the moment Rio's famous Christ the Redeemer statue appeared to hold a lightning bolt in its hand.
The statue is located at the peak of the 2,300ft at the Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca National Park overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. Visited by two million each year, it has become a symbol of Christianity around the globe and has been voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Brilliant deep purple skies yesterday were lit up by the flashes of lightning - which seemed almost to appear as a sign from above.
For a split second, Jesus's words from the gospel of John in the Bible - 'I am the light of the world' - appeared to ring true as the statue appeared to be generating its own beacon of light - in the form of a bolt of lightning.
The 130-foot art-deco style soapstone carving was completed in 1931 and towers over the city. The width of Christ's arms alone span 92 feet.
The structure's immense size and shape make it a common target for lightning. In 2008 the statue was struck by lightning had to be repaired after losing its right thumb. In 2014, another bolt caused damaged to its head.
And on February 10 a huge bolt struck the statue once more - illuminating the religious figure in a flash that wowed millions around the world.
Earlier this month the flag of Turkey was projected onto the replica of Christ as a tribute to the victims who have been stuck by its devastating earthquake.
This is the moment Rio's famous Christ the Redeemer statue appeared to hold a lightning bolt in its hand
Brilliant deep purple skies yesterday were lit up by the flashes of lightning - which seemed almost to appear as a sign from above
For a split second, Jesus's words from the gospel of John in the Bible - 'I am the light of the world' - appeared to ring true
The statue appeared to be generating its own beacon of light - in the form of a bolt of lightning
The statue is located at the peak of the 2,300ft at the Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca National Park overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro
The SNP is descending into all-out civil war today over the 'illiberal' backlash at leadership hopeful Kate Forbes.
Senior figures have been voicing alarm at the 'feeding frenzy' over Ms Forbes' devout Christian views, saying the party needs to 'call off the dogs'.
The Finance Secretary had been the front runner to replace Nicola Sturgeon, but appears to have effectively torched her prospects by declaring she would have voted against gay marriage and regards sex outside marriage as 'wrong'.
The 32-year old insisted that she had no intention of 'imposing' her 'fairly mainstream' beliefs on anyone else.
But MSPs have rushed to distance themselves from Ms Forbes, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, amid a vicious backlash from activists.
She could face an internal SNP disciplinary probe after telling ITV Border: 'I believe that a trans woman is a biological male who identifies as a woman.'
Party rules suggest that referring to trans women as 'biological males' can be classed as transphobic.
Senior SNP figures have been voicing alarm at the 'feeding frenzy' over Kate Forbes' (pictured) devout Christian views, saying the party needs to 'call off the dogs'
The crumbling leadership bid leaves Health Secretary Humza Yousaf (left) as the favourite to take over from Nicola Sturgeon. Ash Regan is also standing for the top job
SNP MP Joanna Cherry said it was 'time to call the dogs off', pointing out that Ms Sturgeon appointed her as a minister 'in full knowledge of her religious views'.
Ms Cherry, a KC, said she 'strongly disagreed' with Ms Forbes' opinions but 'this feeding frenzy is unseemly and bad for the party'.
The crumbling leadership bid leaves Health Secretary Humza Yousaf as the favourite to take over from Ms Sturgeon - but has also highlighted the massive rift at the heart of the SNP. Other parties have been rubbing their hand at the prospect of Mr Yousaf becoming leader, branding him the 'minister for gaffes'.
Humza Yousaf says he will not use Muslim faith as basis for laws Humza Yousaf has said he does not use his Muslim faith as the basis for his position on gay marriage. The Scottish Health Secretary supported the 2014 law on same-sex unions - although he missed the key vote due to an official engagement. But he acknowledged that his Muslim faith is not aligned with the idea. He told Times Radio: 'The crux of the issue is whether you use your faith as a basis by which to legislate as a leader, that's a choice we have to make. 'I couldn't come on the programme in all sincerity and tell you I am able to change what Islam says about gay marriage or gay sex. 'But the question is do people use the basis of their faith when legislating? I haven't done so, I wouldn't do so because I don't believe that is the job of legislators and policy makers. 'I believe in a Scotland that celebrates differences, celebrates diversities, celebrates equality. I have been a minority my whole life in this country , I know my rights are interdependent on everybody else's rights.' Advertisement
There had been speculation that veteran frontbencher Angus Robertson might U-turn on his decision not to run, but he reiterated this morning that he wants to spend more time with his young family.
Ms Cherry said complaints that Ms Forbes had been transphobic were 'making a mockery' of the SNP.
'@TheSNP manifesto did not commit us to a policy of Self ID. The party's code of conduct is being trashed. It's unconscionable,' she tweeted.
The KC said the 'party's definition of transphobia does not comply with #equality or #HumanRights law'.
'Furthermore a complaint about ''misgendering'' a male rapist makes a mockery of the best traditions of both our party & country. Someone in a leadership position needs to call this lunacy out,' she said.
Ash Regan, who will formally launch her leadership campaign later this week, warned against 'dismissing' people's views.
'I firmly support the right to equal marriage and I am proud of the SNP Scottish Government's record in delivering the Equal Marriage Act Scotland in 2014,' she said.
'In 2014 everything felt possible as people from across Scotland came together to dream bigger and connect to each other on common purpose, for a better independent Scotland for all.
'Ideas different to our own must not be dismissed but discussed.
'As party leader and First Minister, I will take the SNP forward together, with like minds and critical friends, to create a Scotland where everyone feels safe, included and protected in what they say, what they believe and who they love.
'I believe that you should marry the person you love. Just don't marry the wrong person been there, done that. Thankfully we're still friends!'
Equal marriage was made legal in Scotland in 2014 with an overwhelming majority of 105 votes to 18, while Ms Forbes was not elected to Holyrood until the 2016 election.
Ms Forbes has said she would not have voted for the Scottish Government's Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill in its current form.
As she was on maternity leave, she did not participate in the final vote before the new year, but has been clear on her opposition since 2019.
She was one of 15 SNP politicians who publicly called on her party to delay the controversial proposals which make it easier for transgender people to self-identify as their chosen gender.
In another controversial intervention, Ms Forbes said the convicted transgender rapist who was initially placed in a female jail 'is a man'.
Ms Sturgeon previously dodged questions over whether Isla Bryson, formerly known as Adam Graham, is a woman after the 31-year-old was found guilty of two sex attacks.
'If he comes back he's going to be subject to exactly the same scrutiny,' he said
Virginia Roberts' lawyer said he does not think Prince Andrew will reopen case
The lawyer representing Prince Andrew's sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre has said he does not think the duke will re-open the civil case because 'he's going to be subject to exactly the same scrutiny'.
The Duke of York, 62, paid a rumoured 10million settlement to Ms Roberts, now known as Giuffre, last year in a civil case brought against him in the US without accepting liability.
He has maintained his innocence but is now reportedly considering reopening the case in order to overturn the out-of-court settlement and clear his name.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on Talk TV, Ms Giuffre's lawyer David Boies said he did not think Prince Andrew would re-open the case.
He said: 'He knows that if he comes back he's going to be subject to exactly the same scrutiny, exactly the same deposition, exactly the same trial that caused him to settle in the first place'.
David Boies (pictured), the lawyer representing Prince Andrew's sex abuse accuser Virginia Roberts, now known as Giuffre, has called Ghislaine Maxwell a 'very damaged person'
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, (left) pictured with Ms Giuffre (centre) and Ghislaine Maxwell (right)
When asked about the possibility of reopening the case, Mr Boies said: 'All you have to do is ask. He can't unless we let him.
'Virginia would have to let him come back and re-open it, but if he wants to re-open it, he's got my telephone number.'
Prince Andrew is accused of sexually abusing Ms Guiffre three times in 2001, when she was 17 years old, which in some US states is below the legal age of consent.
She launched legal action in August 2020. Last February the Duke agreed to an out-of-court settlement weeks before he was set to appear at a deposition, in which he would have been questioned under oath.
Mr Boies told Piers Morgan on Talk TV: 'If he wants to re-open it, he's got my telephone number.
The prince, pictured on a horse ride on February 20, has been allegedly plotting to overturn a settlement he paid to Ms Giuffre last year
Saying that a deposition would have been 'difficult' for Prince Andrew, Mr Boies added he thought the duke's lawyers 'recognised it would be a disaster for him to appear for a deposition'.
He said: 'He would have been taking a terrible criminal risk to appear for a deposition where he'd have to answer these questions under oath.
'And if he did not answer those questions truthfully under oath he would then expose himself to real criminal liability.
He added: 'If you lie to an interviewer you may embarrass yourself, if you lie in a deposition you go to jail.'
Elsewhere in the interview, Mr Boies said he had no clue why Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew spoke publicly as it 'undercut their credibility'.
Ms Giuffre's lawyer David Boies said he had no clue why Prince Andrew or Maxwell (pictured) spoke publicly as it 'undercut their credibility'
'One of the things that has been a mystery to me throughout this, is with Prince Andrew, with Ghislaine Maxwell is why they say the kinds of things they do publicly,' he said.
'It doesn't help them, it just undercuts their credibility.
'That interview that Prince Andrew gave, the interview that Ghislaine Maxwell gives from a jail sentence while her case was being appealed.
'Why in the world would you want to further damage your credibility at that point in time?
'I think she's a very troubled person in a very troubling situation.
'I think she never thought that she would find herself in jail and it's very hard to know why she says the kind of things she says now.
'I think she's under tremendous emotional pressure. She's a very damaged person.
'She's done a lot of horrible things but it's hard on a human level not to have certain empathy for the pain I'm sure she's going through right now.'
Miss Roberts who brought the lawsuit under her married name Virginia Giuffre launched her legal action seeking unspecified damages for battery, including rape, and the infliction of emotional distress.
Despite vowing to fight the allegations and repeatedly protesting his innocence, the prince agreed to pay a huge sum to settle the case before it ever reached a jury.
Although the agreement contained no formal admission of liability from Andrew, or an apology, it said he now accepted Miss Roberts was a 'victim of abuse' and that he regretted his association with Epstein, the disgraced financier who trafficked countless young girls.
Prince Andrew is said to be looking at forging a new career in the US
It also said the prince accepted that Miss Roberts, now 38, had been subjected to 'unfair public attacks' and that he had never intended to 'malign her character'.
Mr Boise's interview about Ghislaine Maxwell came after he said he thought Andrew had avoided court because the photo of him with the then 17-year-old Ms Giuffre made him a less credible witness as he maintains that they never met.
Andrew was forced to step away from royal duties in 2019 and is unlikely to take on a formal role at his brother's coronation as a result of the scandal.
Mr Boies told Piers Morgan that the contested photograph of the two together 'made it clear that he could not say he never met her'.
Mr Boies suggested that if a jury had decided that the prince's claim that he had never met Ms Giuffre was not credible it would be difficult for them to believe they had not had sex.
He said: 'You have her testimony and you have his complete denial. The question is, is he credible or not?'
When asked if he thought criminal charges would have been brought, the lawyer replied it was a 'distinct possibility'.
'I don't want to say that [he would have been charged] because I think you've got to look at what all the evidence is. I haven't seen enough evidence to know about criminal charges.'
Prince Andrew, who has always vehemently denied the allegations, has reportedly assembled an 8million war chest to fight the settlement that was agreed with Ms Giuffre last year to resolve a civil case.
The disgraced prince is understood to be plotting a comeback that will restore his tarnished reputation, including possible legal action against Ms Giuffre.
Prince Andrew has reportedly assembled an 8million war chest to fight the settlement that was agreed with Ms Giuffre last year
The Duke of York, 62, has been watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's progress across the US 'very closely' (Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pictured in 2019)
He is also reputed to be searching for new staff to build up his team as he eyes a move to America.
The furore surrounding the case led to him being stripped of his honorary military titles and any return to public life seems improbable.
According to insiders the Duke of York has been watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's progress across the US 'very closely'.
He was stripped of his royal titles and roles last year but insiders claim he is 'less bothered' about the situation than people believe.
This is the moment a grown woman allegedly 'punched and kicked' a 13-year-old schoolgirl on a bus in a row over music being played on her phone.
The footage, which came to light on Tuesday, shows the pair arguing before the adult lunges at the teen, appearing to slam her head against the window in the process.
It is claimed it happened after the woman demanded the teen turn down the music being played on her phone while she was travelling home from school in Ealing, west London.
The incident, which was reported to the police on February 3, took place in front of shocked passengers on the X140 bus in Church Road, Northolt, who can be heard gasping when the woman confronts the girl.
The Metropolitan Police says it is investigating what happened and is looking for the woman, who is thought to be in her 20s or 30s.
The footage begins with a woman (right) shouting at a teenage girl (left) after a row over the 13-year-old playing music on her phone
The woman can be seen lunging at the girl and appears to slam her head against the window of the bus while shouting: 'Turn that s**t off!'
Footage of the incident captured by a passenger on the bus shows the adult asking the girl: 'Do you not hear what I'm saying?'
The girl responds 'yeah', before the woman shouts: 'I'll pull your f*****g hair out do you understand?', slamming her head against the window as she does so.
The person behind the camera can be heard gasping in shock, while the woman, who has the girl in her grasp shouts: 'Do you understand? Turn that s**t off!'
A spokesperson for the Met said the victim had turned her music down but had not turned it off completely before the incident.
They added: 'At 4.24pm on February 3 police received a report of an assault against a school girl on a Route X140 Bus at Church Road, Northolt.
'The victim, a 13-year-old girl, was travelling home from school on the bus when the suspect, a woman aged 20-30 years, approached her and told her to turn her music down.
'The victim complied with the request turning the volume down but not turning it completely off. The suspect then assaulted the child at which point the driver of the bus came upstairs and ordered the victim to leave the bus.
'Enquiries are underway to identify the suspect. Anyone who witnessed this incident, has footage, or can identify the suspect should call 101 or Tweet @MetCC quoting 5183/3FEB.'
Rosie Trew, Head of Bus Operations at TfL, said: 'This was a truly unacceptable incident. Safety is our absolute priority and we condemn all forms of violence and abuse on our network.
'We are speaking to the operator, RATP Dev Transit London, about what happened and will be working with the Metropolitan Police to identify the perpetrator.'
Two senior publishing bosses who helped make hundreds of 'woke' changes to the works of Roald Dahl previously branded his books 'a dream to read aloud' and 'laugh out loud funny', it has emerged.
Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children's, and Jane Griffiths, who leads on Puffin Books' Dahl publishing, both described the late author as being among their favourite children's writers.
It comes after Puffin hired sensitivity readers to rewrite chunks of Dahl's texts to ensure the books 'can continue to be enjoyed by all today', sparking fury among some literary fans.
Considerable edits have been made to descriptions of characters' physical appearances - the new editions no longer use the word 'fat', for example, which has been cut from every book, and the Oompa Loompas from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory are now gender neutral.
Elsewhere, in The Witches, 'old hag' has been changed to 'old crow', while 'you must be mad, woman' is now 'you must be out of your mind'. And in Matilda, Miss Trunchbull no longer has a 'great horsey face.'
Francesca Dow (pictured), managing director of Penguin Random House Children's, and Jane Griffiths, who leads on Puffin Books' Roald Dahl publishing, both described the late author as being among their favourite children's writers
Puffin hired sensitivity readers to rewrite chunks of Dahl's texts to ensure the books 'can continue to be enjoyed by all today', sparking fury among some literary fans (Pictured: Roald Dahl in 1983)
In The Witches (pictured), 'old hag' has been changed to 'old crow', while 'you must be mad, woman' is now 'you must be out of your mind'. And in Matilda, Miss Trunchbull no longer has a 'great horsey face'
One of the architects behind the changes is believed to be Ms Dow, who managed Puffin Books for 11 years - and who previously admitted that Dahl wrote the best bedtime stories.
Speaking in a 2019 interview, she said: 'One of the greatest pleasures of being a parent has been reading with my two boys and sharing stories together. Sadly (for me) they are now too grown up for bedtime stories but my favourite reading memories are courtesy of Roald Dahl.
'His writing is a dream to read aloud. He is a little bit terrifying in places but laugh-aloud funny. His characters are classics: take the Fantastic Mr Fox, or the wonderful BFG who gets his words muddled but has a heart of gold.'
Ms Griffiths, meanwhile, placed Dahl among her favourite childhood authors.
Puffin Books is the company which publishes the Dahl novels. It is the children's division of Penguin Random House.
And while it has decided to make controversial edits to the classics, its European counterparts will not be following suit, with some criticising the move.
Joris van de Leur, director of De Fontein, which has published Dahl translations for decades, will demand an explanation during talks in Italy in two weeks' time, reports the Times, after he was left 'surprised' by the changes.
Mr de Leur said stereotypes and exaggerations 'make children think about good and evil', telling the Trouw newspaper: 'If you take them all out, it loses its power.'
He added: 'Fortunately we have the freedom to see what that means for our translations. We will be careful not to detract from Dahl's humour... Roald Dahl is the reason I came to work at this publishing house. His humour is second to none.'
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Gallimard, which publishes Dahl's works in France, appeared to rule out any edits, adding: 'This rewrite only concerns Britain.'
MailOnline has contacted Penguin Random House for comment.
The decision to edit Dahl's classics has triggered a wave of outrage in the UK, with 98 per cent of MailOnline readers demanding the best-selling author's works are kept in their original form.
Now parents have said they will be boycotting the updated novels as the changes were branded as 'absolutely insane', with one saying: 'If you're that easily offended, then stay at home wrapped in bubble wrap.'
'I find the whole thing utterly horrific and shudder to think that there are enough people in the profession to cheer this on,' wrote one person on popular parenting forum Mumsnet.
'Write your own books and leave other books alone. If you are that easily offended, then stay at home wrapped in bubble wrap.'
One parent raged: 'This is absolutely insane. These are children's books that have been beloved for decades. I won't be buying the new versions for my two little ones... seriously, what's going to be targeted next? Shakespeare?'
While a third person wrote: 'I seriously hope nobody buys this!' with another user adding: 'I have to agree the whole thing is ridiculous!'
Another added: 'They have removed 'crazy' but not 'nutty'... Seems kind of random. Sooner or later someone with crooked teeth will complain, and they will need to do another reprint.'
One person questioned why the word 'fat' had been removed to describe Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
'If they were seriously worried about fat-shaming, they could have removed any reference to Gloop's size and just had him as a greedy character, leaving it to the reader's imagination what he looked like. You don't need to be obese to get stuck in a glass pipe,' they said.
The comments were echoed by the former child actor who played Augustus Gloop in the original Willy Wonka movie, who has insisted there's 'nothing harmful' about how the character is described.
Publishers Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company have changed how Gloop (pictured far left in 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) is described, with the character no longer called fat in new versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Now child star, Michael Bollner, of the original 1971 movie, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which starred Gene Wilder, has spoken out to defend the author
The German actor played the gluttonous boy Augustus Gloop, who departs the film after he falls into the chocolate river in Wonka's factory. He said: 'I don't think this chocolate factory story was politically incorrect at all.'
German actor Michael Bollner played the gluttonous boy Augustus Gloop in the 1971 movie, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, which starred Gene Wilder.
Speaking out this week in defence of Roald Dahl, the 64-year-old said he did not think the book needed to be rewritten and the story was 'very good'.
'I don't think this chocolate factory story was politically incorrect at all,' he added.
'Down here in Bavaria, we are used to people making jokes at us a little, and we are kind of very well known for being very fond of all our traditional food and that's ok.
'It is really fine. So I don't have feeling like it was cruel or politically incorrect or anything.'
In the latest edition of The Witches, 59 changes have been made to avoid offence. Pictured: The 1990 film of the book
In the new version of The Twits, Mrs Twit's 'fearful ugliness' has been chopped to 'ugliness'
He added: 'Performing on the set never made me sad or anything like this, really on the contrary.
'So from my point of view it is really fine I think fine with the book and story, and I definitely don't think it has to be rewritten at all.'
It comes as Rishi Sunak hit out at attempts to alter Dahl's books, with the Prime Minister quoting the author's BFG character to warn you shouldn't 'gobblefunk' with words.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said it was 'important' literary works were 'preserved and not airbrushed', citing the 'right of free speech and expression'.
The spokesman said: 'When it comes to our rich and varied literary heritage, the Prime Minister agrees with the BFG that we shouldn't gobblefunk around with words.
'I think it's important that works of literature and works of fiction are preserved and not airbrushed. We have always defended the right to free speech and expression.'
The Prime Minister had concerns about rewriting the books - and quoted Dahl's BFG in a warning not to 'gobblefunk' with words. Pictured: BFG film poster
Rishi Sunak poses with his daughter on the red carpet at the world premiere of the Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical film last year
Hundreds of changes have been made to Dahl's books, with some passages not written by the author being added
Acclaimed writer Sir Salman Rushdie has also branded the moves as 'absurd censorship'.
It was previously revealed that following the use of sensitivity readers, the publishers had decided to cut words such as 'crazy' and 'mad' from the books.
References to the colours 'black' and 'white' are also said to have been removed, with the BFG not able to wear a black cloak and the description 'turning white with fear' axed.
This comes as children's authors have given their opinion on the controversy.
His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman said Dahl's books 'should be allowed to fade away' rather than changed if they were regarded as offensive.
'If Dahl offends us, let him go out of print,' Pullman told Radio 4's Today programme. 'Read all these [other] wonderful authors who are writing today, who don't get as much of a look-in because of the massive commercial gravity of people like Roald Dahl.'
Best-selling author Philip Pullman (pictured in 2019) has said that publishers must stop censoring Roald Dahl's classic children's books and instead just let his work go 'out of print'
Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Random House, has removed so-called colourful language from books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda to make them 'more acceptable' to modern readers (file photo)
Unlike the literary experts calling the censorship 'absurd,' Sir Philip argued that changing Mr Dahl's texts will not cause lasting damage to the industry. Pictured: Roald Dahl in 1988
He pointed out that there were probably millions of second-hand editions of Dahl's books in school libraries, classrooms and charity shops, saying 'are you going to round up all the books and cross them out with a big black pen?'.
Appearing on Nicky Campbell's Radio 5 Live talk show, John Dougherty, award-winning author of around 30 children's books, said the alterations made to Dahl's books sounded like 'overreach'.
He said there was no reason the BFG should not have a black cloak, saying this 'seems absurd'.
How the stories changed CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 2001 - Mrs Salt was a great fat creature with short legs, and she was blowing like a rhinoceros 2022 - Mrs Salt was so out of breath, she was blowing like a rhinoceros THE TWITS 2001 - Mrs Twit may have been ugly and she may have been beastly, but she was not stupid 2022 - Mrs Twit may have been beastly, but she was not stupid. MATILDA 2001 - Get your mother or father 2022 - Get your family THE BFG 2001 - 'BFG,' she said, 'would you please tell these rather dim-witted characters exactly what to do.' 2022 - 'BFG,' she said, 'would you please tell them exactly what to do'. THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE 2001 - We eat little boys and girls 2022 - We eat little children ESIO TROT 2001 - 'I beg you to tell me Mr Hoppy! I'll be your slave for life.' 2022 - 'I beg you to tell me Mr Hoppy! You'll be my hero for life.' FANTASTIC MR FOX 2001 - Bunce, the little pot-bellied dwarf, looked up at Bean 2022 - Bunce looked up at Bean JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH 2001 - They were like a couple of hunters who had just shot an elephant 2022 - They were like a couple of hunters who had just shot their prey Advertisement
Hundreds of changes were made to the original text, extinguishing Dahl's colourful and memorable descriptions, some over fifty years old, to make his characters less grotesque.
Mrs Twit's 'fearful ugliness' has been chopped to 'ugliness' and Mrs Hoppy in Esio Trot is not an 'attractive middle-aged lady' but a 'kind middle-aged lady'.
Gender is also eliminated, with books no longer referring to 'female' characters.
Miss Trunchbull in Matilda, once a 'most formidable female', is now a 'most formidable woman', while her 'great horsey face' is now called 'her face'.
Oompa-Loompas, who were once 'small men', are now 'small people' and Fantastic Mr Fox's three sons have become daughters.
Passages not written by the late author, who died in 1990, have also been added by the publisher to complete their new editions.
In The Witches, a paragraph describing them as bald under their wigs is followed shortly by a new line: 'There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.'
A witch posing as a 'cashier in a supermarket' now works as a 'top scientist' and Matilda reads Jane Austen instead of Rudyard Kipling.
Mental health was another focal point for sensitivity readers with the words 'crazy' and 'mad', which Dahl used in a comic fashion, removed from his books.
The word 'black' was removed from the description of the terrible tractors in 1970s The Fabulous Mr. Fox. The machines are now simply 'murderous, brutal-looking monsters'.
The Roald Dahl Story Company, which controls the rights to the books, previously said it worked with Puffin to review the texts because it wanted to ensure that Dahl's 'wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today'.
The language was reviewed in partnership with Inclusive Minds, a collective which is working to make children's literature more inclusive and accessible. Any changes were 'small and carefully considered,' the company said.
The firm claimed the analysis started in 2020, before Netflix bought the Roald Dahl Story Company and embarked on plans to produce a new generation of films based on the author's books.
A spokesman for the organisation added: 'We want to ensure that Roald Dahl's wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today.
'When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it's not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a book's cover and page layout.
'Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text. Any changes made have been small and carefully considered.'
They added: 'As part of our process to review the language used we worked in partnership with Inclusive Minds, a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion and accessibility in children's literature.
'The current review began in 2020, before Dahl was acquired by Netflix. It was led by Puffin and Roald Dahl Story Company together.'
Rishi Sunak is in a Brexit stand-off with unionists and scores of his own backbenchers today as he seeks a deal with the EU over Northern Ireland.
The Prime Minister is struggling to win over hardline eurosceptics to an outline of an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol with Brussels, amid reports it could be ready by tomorrow.
Both the DUP and the European Research Group of Tory MPs - two influential groups who would be key to a deal's success - continued to withhold their support.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned there was 'some way to go' to placate his party over rules governing goods entering Ulster from Britain.
However, a minister today suggested the DUP needed to 'live in the real world' and accept the deal.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer told Times Radio that parties in Northern Ireland needed to 'conduct themselves in good faith' when asked about the protocol debate which has seen Stormont suspended.
Asked whether the DUP was 'letting down' people in Northern Ireland, he said: 'I think people in politics have got to remember what we're there for: we're here to serve, it is a life of public service. No one party has a monopoly on what's right for Northern Ireland.'
One senior Tory ERG member told MailOnline it would be 'suicide' for the PM to push ahead with a deal without getting the DUP on board, warning there would inevitably be a Commons vote.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer told Times Radio that parties in Northern Ireland needed to 'conduct themselves in good faith' when asked about the protocol debate which has seen Stormont suspended.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said there was 'still some way to go' on a Protocol deal after meeting with Tory Brexiteers at Westminster
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is thought to be on the verge of striking a deal over the post-Brexit trade dispute with the EU
'They'd be stupid. If the institutions aren't restored it'll be a futile exercise,' the MP said.
'He must listen to sensible advice.'
The MP added: 'The EU will be more persuadable if the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill goes ahead.'
Another former minister suggested that Mr Sunak could only be hoping that the DUP takes a neutral stance on any deal. 'I think that must be it,' they said.
Sir Jeffrey last night outlined how his party was pushing for the UK Government to remove requirements for Northern Ireland businesses to have to abide by EU laws when selling goods to the rest of the UK.
He said the idea of 'dynamic alignment' between Northern Ireland and EU rules, as currently exists under the Protocol, was 'the key issue' in his party's opposition to the post-Brexit arrangements.
What is the Brexit row about and what has been the impact on Northern Ireland? The UK and the EU have been engaged in substantive negotiations over the workings of the Northern Ireland Protocol of the original withdrawal agreement that allowed the UK to leave the EU. It was designed to ensure the free movement of goods across the Irish land border with Ulster after Brexit. Rather than being an internal EU line between two countries, with Brexit it became a border between the bloc and a third party country with different customs and trade rules. In any other cases it would be solved simply by creating a 'hard' border - physical checks on vehicles and people travelling between the two. But the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of violence in 1998, expressly prohibits a return to such checkpoints on the island of Ireland. To get around this the protocol instead created economic barriers on trade being shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. It has proven to be deeply unpopular with unionists, who claim it has weakened Northern Ireland's place within the UK. Last year the DUP collapsed the powersharing institutions at Stormont in protest at the arrangements. It came as the party was replaced as the largest in the powersharing government by Sinn Fein for the first time. And the DUP is refusing to back a deal and restart powersharing unless their concerns are realised. They have set seven tests that it must pass to be approved. Advertisement
The ERG, which has often been a staunch supporter of the DUP on Brexit issues, insisted it could only take a view on a Protocol deal once it had been scrutinised by its 'Star Chamber' of lawyers.
A revolt by Tory eurosceptics against a Protocol deal could imperil Mr Sunak's chances of finally resolving the UK's dispute with Brussels and put further pressure on his premiership.
The DUP are continuing to boycott powersharing in Northern Ireland as part of their protest against the Protocol, with a resolution to the UK-EU row seen as critical to restoring Stormont government.
Speaking after a meeting with the ERG at Westminster tonight, attended by up to 50 MPs, Sir Jeffrey commended Mr Sunak for the progress he had made so far on reaching a Protocol deal with the EU.
But he added: 'There's still some way to go, there are still some very key issues that need to be resolved.
'We will work with the Government to ensure we get the right outcome. An outcome that respects Northern Ireland's place in the UK and its internal market, an outcome that meets our seven tests, and an outcome that sees the political institutions in Northern Ireland restored on a firm democratic footing.'
Sir Jeffrey said the DUP were 'concerned' that any deal means the application of EU law is replaced by UK law for Northern Ireland businesses trading goods with the rest of the UK.
He stressed that Northern Ireland should 'follow UK law and UK standards for trade within the UK and, for trade with the EU, we follow EU law and EU standards'.
'That's very clear. The Protocol created a huge problem for Northern Ireland and our ability to trade with the rest of the UK,' he added. 'That at its heart is what needs to be resolved.'
The DUP leader said it was 'not acceptable' to have a situation where Northern Ireland could import goods from Great Britain and sell them as products made to UK standards, but then make the same products in Northern Ireland and be forced to make them to EU standards.
'The idea that all goods manufactured in Northern Ireland should align to the EU single market and its rules really inhibits our ability to trade within the UK and that's not acceptable,' he added.
Sir Jeffrey admitted he had yet to see the legal text of any Protocol agreement between the UK and EU, but said it was 'possible' that a breakthrough could emerge 'in the next few days'.
Pressed on whether Brussels would ever agree to the DUP's demands, Sir Jeffrey pointed out how he was previously told the EU would never renegotiate the Protocol.
'I don't subscribe to the never ever view,' he added.
ERG chairman Mark Francois said Tory Brexiteers would not be able to support any deal struck between Mr Sunak and Brussels until they had seen a legal text
ERG chairman Mark Francois said Tory Brexiteers would not be able to support any deal struck between Mr Sunak and Brussels until they had seen a legal text.
'Any MP worth their salt, if they're asked to vote on a deal, weants to be able to read it first,' he said. 'That's not unreasonable.
'We too would be very keen to read the legal text and our Star Chamber of lawyers, under Sir Bill Cash's chairmanship, will put it through pretty close scrutiny.
'And then when we've had a chance to do that we can given you an opinion too.
'But I think it's not unreasonable to point out, you can't ask for the degree of support or otherwise for a deal or against a deal, until you can't actually ask what the deal is.'
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and the EU's Maros Sefcovic had earlier held talks via video link.
Mr Cleverly said the trio 'remain laser-focussed on finding a solution that works for the people of Northern Ireland' and would speak again soon.
On Tuesday, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and family members of Malcolm X announced their intention to file a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department and various government agencies.
Crump appeared at a press conference in Manhattan with two of Malcolm X's daughters, Qubilah Shabazz and Ilyasah Shabazz, to deliver what he termed "formal notice" of the legal complaint to the city of New York, the state of New York, the NYPD, the district attorney's office, and various federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and CIA.
Malcolm X's Family to Sue FBI, CIA, and NYPD
The attorney for Malcolm X's family stated that the family intends to file a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that the entities named "had factual and exculpatory evidence that they fraudulently concealed from the men who were wrongfully convicted for the assassination of Malcolm X."
In 2021, a state Supreme Court justice exonerated two of the three individuals previously convicted and imprisoned in connection with the murder of Malcolm X, as per CBS News. After a two-year inquiry by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Muhammad A. Aziz, then 83 years old, and Khalil Islam, who has since passed away, were determined to have been unlawfully convicted.
A third individual, Mujahid Abdul Halim, acknowledged the shooting, but neither Aziz nor Islam was engaged. The case was announced at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center in Washington Heights, New York. The structure now serves as a memorial to Malcolm X and his late wife, Shabazz, was formerly the Audubon Ballroom, where Malcolm X was tragically murdered on February 21, 1965. It has been 58 years since his death on Tuesday.
Two individuals were exonerated in 2021 after a re-investigation of their cases revealed that the evidence used to secure their convictions was insufficient and that authorities withheld facts.
Ilyasah Shabazz, the co-administrator of her father's estate, filed notifications of claim, which is the first stage in the process, stating that the agencies "conspired with one other and with other persons and acted, and failed to act, in such a way as to cause Malcolm X's wrongful death."
Emails were addressed to the CIA, FBI, Department of Justice, and New York City's legal department for comment. Per AP News, Crump mentioned the anniversary date and stated, "There has been suspicion regarding the killing of Malcolm X ever since."
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Malcolm X Wrongful Death
Invoking the 2021 exonerations, he asserted that government institutions, including the Manhattan district attorney, the NYPD, and the FBI, "had factual information, exculpatory material that they fraudulently suppressed from the men who were unlawfully convicted for the killing of Malcolm X."
Crump responded affirmatively when asked if he believes federal entities collaborated to kill Malcolm. "They infiltrated a large number of civil rights groups," he said. Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam, the two men exonerated in the 1965 killing of Malcolm X, earned a $36 million settlement in October 2022, following the filing of litigation against the city and state of New York in 2021.
New York City agreed to pay $26 million to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of posthumously exonerated murder suspects Aziz and Islam. Meanwhile, New York state agreed to pay an extra $10 million. The two-year investigation conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, attorneys David Shanies and Deb Francois, and the Innocence Project revealed that the FBI refused to disclose materials that cast doubt on Aziz and Islam's role in the assassination of Malcolm X.
Vance questioned how law enforcement handled the case and stated that the inquiry indicated that several witnesses were directed not to identify as FBI informants by then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Last year, Vance apologized on behalf of law enforcement for "grave, inexcusable abuses of the law and the public's confidence," ABC News reported.
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Vladimir Putin met with China's top diplomat in Moscow today and declared 'other countries will not influence our relations' as he doubles down on forging ties with Beijing amid the West's condemnation of his war in Ukraine.
In a clear sign of his desire to cosy up to the eastern superpower, Putin warmly greeted Wang Yi at the Kremlin today before the pair sat down to talk business face-to-face, mere feet from one another.
It was a stark contrast to Putin's treatment of other world leaders which has seen the likes of French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban forced to sit at the opposite end of the room, separated by a humungous table.
Even some of the Kremlin's top insiders, including loyal foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, hapless defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Ukraine war architect Valery Gerasimov are subjected to extreme social distancing - yet Wang was allowed direct contact with the Russian despot.
China and Russia in recent months have promised to strengthen what they called a 'no limits friendship', with Putin in December inviting his Chinese counterpart for a presidential visit to the Russian capital.
The Russian despot smiled as he shook hands with Wang Yi inside the Kremlin today during their impromptu meeting - proudly showcasing his deepening ties with China amid his barbaric invasion of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Foreign Minister Vang Yi meet on February 22, 2023. Putin sat directly across from Xi - a departure from his usual treatment of foreign leaders and delegates who are typically separated from Putin by a humungous table
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Moscow, Russia February 7, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) meet at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 15 February 2022
Vladimir Putin meets General Valery Gerasimov, far left, and Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu in winter 2022, but refuses to sit anywhere near them
MOSCOW, RUSSIA FEBRUARY 1, 2022: Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban (R) hold a meeting at the Moscow Kremlin
Putin told Wang, the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official, that he looked forward to President Xi Jinping visiting him in Moscow.
The Russian President said ties between Russia and Beijing are important to 'stabilise the international situation' amid crippling Western sanctions against Moscow in response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago.
The pair insisted that relations between Russia and China could not be influenced by other countries in a two-fingered salute to the West and Ukrainians.
Wang meanwhile told Putin told that Beijing will play a constructive role in reaching a political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported.
'The Chinese side will, as in the past, firmly adhere to an objective and impartial position and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis,' TASS quoted him as saying.
Relations between Russia and the West are at their lowest point since the Cold War, and ties between China and the US are also under serious strain.
Moscow suspended its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty with Washington this week and the US expressed concern in recent days that China could provide arms and ammunition to Russia.
Earlier today, Wang met with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and parroted the same lines about how China remains 'committed' to 'preserving' its ties with Russia 'no matter how the international situation changes'.
Speaking at the start of their talks, Lavrov noted that 'our ties have continued to develop dynamically, and despite high turbulence in the global arena we have shown the readiness to speak in defence of each other's interests.'
Wang responded in kind, underlining Beijing's focus on deepening ties with Russia - a relationship it says has 'no limits'.
A grinning Vladimir Putin today met with China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Moscow as the pair vowed 'other countries will not influence our relations' in a jibe at the United States
Ukrainian service members ride tanks as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Tuesday
'I am ready to exchange views with you, my dear friend, on issues of mutual interest, and I look forward to reaching new agreements,' Wang told Lavrov through an interpreter.
'No matter how the international situation changes, China has been and remains committed, together with Russia, to make efforts to preserve the positive trend in the development of relations between major powers,' Wang said.
Wang said he would work to 'strengthen and deepen' relations between Moscow and Beijing. He provided no specific details on what agreements might be reached during his visit.
But the series of meetings were closely watched for signs that Beijing might offer stronger support to the Kremlin for its war in Ukraine.
China has pointedly refused to criticize the invasion of Ukraine - echoing Moscow's claim that the US and NATO are to blame for provoking the Kremlin while blasting the punishing sanctions imposed on Russia. Russia, in turn, has staunchly supported China amid tensions with the US over Taiwan.
The two nations have held a series of military drills that showcased their increasingly close defence ties.
Wang's visit to Moscow came after it emerged that China's President Xi Jinping is preparing to visit the city himself for a summit with Putin in the next couple of months, sources familiar with the plan said.
During the visit, Xi is expected to urge Putin not to use nuclear weapons and push the Kremlin towards having peace talks with Ukraine - nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Preparations for the trip are at an early stage and the timing has not been finalised, the Wall Street Journal said, adding that Xi could visit in April or in early May, when Russia celebrates its Second World War victory over Hitler's Germany.
Meanwhile, Putin announced yesterday that Russia was suspending its participation in a landmark nuclear arms treaty with the United States.
Putin also said Russia should stand ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if the US does so, a move that would end a global ban on such tests in place since the Cold War era.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Moscow's decision as 'really unfortunate and very irresponsible'.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi enter a hall during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday
'We'll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does,' he said while visiting Greece.
It was the second time in recent days the Ukraine war showed it could spread into perilous new terrain, after Blinken told China at the weekend that it would be a 'serious problem' if Beijing provided arms and ammunition to Russia.
Wang is expected to discuss Xi's trip to Russia while he is in Moscow, sources familiar with the summit planning said.
The Chinese diplomat yesterday told one of Putin's closest allies that Beijing's relationship with Moscow was 'rock solid' and would withstand any test in a changing international situation.
China's 'no-limits' partnership with Russia has come under scrutiny in the West after the United States said it was concerned that Beijing might be considering supplying weapons to Russia.
At a meeting in Moscow, Wang Yi told Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's powerful Security Council, that he looked forward to discussions about security.
'Chinese-Russian relations are mature in character: they are rock solid and will withstand any test in a changing international situation,' Wang told 'Comrade' Patrushev through a Russian interpreter in remarks aired on state television.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks down an empty street as he patrols the area, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the front-line city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on February 21
This aerial photograph shows destroyed residential buildings in the village of Bohorodychne, Donetsk region, on February 21
Wang said Russia and China should work out new joint steps to ensure the security of both countries, without elaborating.
Patrushev, who is close to Putin, told 'Comrade' Wang that Beijing was a top priority for Russian foreign policy and that the two countries must stick together against the West.
'In the context of a campaign that is being waged by the collective West to contain both Russia and China, the further deepening of Russian-Chinese cooperation and interaction in the international arena is of particular importance,' Patrushev said.
Xi has stood by Putin, resisting Western pressure to isolate Russia. Indeed, Chinese-Russian trade has soared since the invasion of Ukraine, and Russia has sold Asian powers including China greater volumes of oil.
Putin and Xi share a broad world view which sees the West as decadent and in decline just as China challenges US supremacy in everything from technology to espionage and military power.
Beijing has refused to condemn Russia's invasion or atrocities against civilians in Ukraine while strongly criticizing Western economic sanctions on Moscow. At the end of last year, Russia and China held joint naval drills in the East China Sea.
The United States casts China and Russia as the two biggest nation-state threats to its security. China is viewed by Washington as the gravest long-term 'strategic competitor' and Russia as an 'acute threat'.
'I want to confirm our continued support for Beijing over the issues of Taiwan, Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong,' Patrushev said.
Meanwhile, Putin yesterday suspended Moscow's participation in the New START nuclear Treaty. The pact, signed in 2010 by the US and Russia, caps the number of long-range nuclear warheads the two sides can deploy and limits the use of missiles that can carry atomic weapons.
The despot claimed the West was plotting to achieve 'limitless power' and vowed to 'systematically' continue with the offensive in Ukraine during an explosive state of the union address in Russia's parliament.
He told lawmakers he was addressing them 'at a time which we all know is a difficult, watershed moment for our country, a time of cardinal, irreversible changes around the world, the most important historic events that will shape the future of our country and our people'.
He added: 'The responsibility for fuelling the Ukrainian conflict, for its escalation, for the number of victims... lies completely with Western elites.'
Kyiv quickly hit back at the Russian leader, with presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak saying the speech demonstrated the 'hopelessness of [Putin's] position' and that he was 'in a completely different reality'.
Sir Tony Blair was today accused of pushing a 'creepy' plan for every Briton to be issued with a 'digital ID' as part of a 'reshaping of the state around technology'.
The former prime minister has joined ex-Tory leader William Hague in calling for the Government to introduce an ID card that people can have on their phones.
This would hold details such as their passport, driving licence, tax records, qualifications and right to work status.
Sir Tony - who attempted to introduce widespread ID cards while in Downing Street - insisted that new biometric technology would overcome concerns about online dangers.
He and Lord Hague have insisted that a 'fundamental reshaping of the state around technology' is needed amid a 'radically' shaping world.
However critics hit back at their demands, with ex-Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry branding digital IDs 'a creepy state plan to track you from the cradle to the grave'.
Campaign group Big Brother Watch condemned Sir Tony for 'reviving failed proposals for an intrusive mass digital identity system and a database state'.
But a snap poll by YouGov revealed more than half of Britons (54 per cent) would support the introduction of a system of national ID cards in Britain.
Sir Tony Blair has joined ex-Tory leader William Hague in calling for the Government to introduce a digital ID that people can have on their phones. Sir Tony and Lord Hague, pictured during their time as prime minister and leader of the opposition, insisted that a 'fundamental reshaping of the state around technology' is needed
A poll by YouGov revealed more than half of Britons (54 per cent) would support the introduction of a system of national ID cards in Britain
How did Blair attempt to introduce ID cards while PM? In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, Tony Blair's New Labour government pushed ahead with plans to introduce 'entitlement cards'. These were later to be referred to as 'identity cards' and, following a consultation, the Identity Cards Bill was introduced to the House of Commons in late 2004. The 2005 general election prevented the bill becoming law but a similar bill was introduced to Parliament in the early weeks of Blair's third term in office and passed by MPs in 2006. The Identity Cards Act 2006 created a framework for national identity cards in the UK and a national identity register. The roll-out of compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals began in November 2008 and the roll-out of ID cards to UK residents began on a voluntary basis a year later. Three types of ID cards began to be issued, these were: - A lilac and salmon-coloured 'National Identity Card' for British citizens to be used for travel in Europe - A turquoise and green-coloured ID card for EU citizens living in the UK - An Identity Card for Foreign Nationals (ICFN) for those from outside the EU who were staying in Britain for more than six months. This allowed them to prove their right to live, work, study or access public services in the UK. Although New Labour had originally intended for the ID card scheme for British citizens to become compulsory, it never became so amid a series of rebellions among MPs and defeats in the House of Lords. In 2010, following the formation of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government,it was announced the ID card scheme and the national identity register would be scrapped. The 15,000 cards already issued were subsequently cancelled and deemed invalid. Advertisement
According to the survey of more than 4,000 adults today, almost a quarter (23 per cent) said they would strongly support national ID cards, with 31 per cent saying they would 'tend to support' such a plan.
This compared to 13 per cent who said they would tend to oppose the introduction of national ID cards and 14 per cent who said they would strongly oppose such a plan. Almost one in five (18 per cent) replied 'don't know'.
Sir Tony and Lord Hague unveiled their proposals in a joint article for The Times, in which they said 'politics must change radically because the world is changing radically'.
'We are living through a 21st-century technology revolution as huge in its implications as the 19th-century industrial revolution,' they added.
They warned that current politicians were 'in danger of conducting a 20th-century fight at the margins of tax and spending policy when the issue is how we harness this new revolution to reimagine the state and public services'.
Outlining their proposals for a shake-up of Whitehall - including digital IDs for every citizen - they also called for 'a national health infrastructure that uses data to improve care and keep costs down, and sovereign AI systems backed by supercomputing capabilities'.
The Times reported the pair's plan, published in a report with more than 40 recommendations, included:
Limiting the Treasury's power to manage science and technology investment.
Appointing 'executive ministers' from outside Parliament to rewire Whitehall's approach to science and technology.
Using AI to help teachers in schools and provide personalised support to pupils at home.
Offering tax breaks to stimulate pension fund investment in UK start-ups.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Sir Tony highlighted how countries 'as small as Estonia and as large as India' are moving towards digital IDs.
'If you look at the biometric technology that allows you to do digital ID today, it can overcome many of these problems,' he added.
Downing Street today ruled out taking up Sir Tony and Lord Hague's advice.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'There are no plans to introduce digital ID. Our position on physical ID remains unchanged.'
Amid a backlash at the pair's proposals, Sir Jake - who was Tory chairman under Liz Truss's premiership last year - posted on Twitter: 'Pitch rolling for creepy state plan to track you from the cradle to the grave.
'As a Conservative who belives in freedom, I will never vote for this.'
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said his party had 'been clear from the start that ID cards would be costly and unworkable'.
'That is why we led the fight against Blair's original, illiberal ID card scheme and defeated it,' he added.
Ex-Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry branding the proposal 'a creepy state plan to track you from the cradle to the grave'
A 'National Identity Card' for UK citizens began to be issued by Blair's New Labour government in 2009 before the scheme was scrapped by the Tory-Lib Dem coalition in 2010
Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo said: 'Sir Tony and Lord Hague are absolutely right about the need for the UK to take leadership in technological innovation.
'But this means protecting people's rights and privacy, not reviving failed proposals for an intrusive mass digital identity system and a database state.
'Mandatory ID systems increase state control over individuals' lives and rarely live up to the extraordinary benefits technocrats tend to attribute to them, and these were the reasons cited in Parliament when Blair's failed ID card scheme was scrapped in 2010.
'A sprawling digital identity system of the type described by Sir Tony and Lord Hague is utterly retrograde and would be one of the biggest assaults on privacy ever seen in the UK.'
An eight-year-old child who was missing for eight months after disappearing from Washington State has been found safe in Missouri.
Breadson John was reported missing on 17 June last year after a welfare check at his Vancouver home.
Local police, with support from the FBI, were unable to find the child and family members reportedly did not provide further details of his whereabouts.
Today, FBI Seattle thanked sheriff's deputies in Jasper County for helping find Breadson on Friday 17 February - exactly eight months since his disappearance.
It was not clear what the boy was doing in Missouri.
Image shared by the FBI shows Breadson Johnson from Vancouver before his disappearance
The FBI reportedly discovered that the boy had been taken to Jasper County back in August last year.
Until then, the FBI said he might visit, or could be staying with ties in, Hawaii, Arizona, Washington or the Federated States of Micronesia.
The Jasper County discovery led investigators to Missouri, where they found the boy, though it is not clear who he was with or why over the last eight months.
Breadson's last known guardians were his grandparents, a Vancouver police statement said, and in December 2022, charges of Custodial Interference were filed against them.
They were considered persons of interest to the case.
The FBI said Breadson was born in Hawaii and speaks English and Chukeese, an Austronesian language spoken in parts of Micronesia.
FBI-shared image with pictures of now recovered Breadson John, who went missing last year
Two weeks ago, two children who had been missing from Missouri for nearly a year were recovered.
The children, 11 and 12, were found with their non-custodial mother in a grocery store in Florida.
Kristi Gilley was arrested after police ran a vehicle tag check on her vehicle, which flagged she was a fugitive.
Police said the children would be reunited with family members in Missouri.
A police chief inspector with a 2.5million property portfolio owed thousands of pounds to a developer who was at the centre of a major criminal investigation, a misconduct panel has heard.
Chief Inspector Stephen Rice, of Merseyside Police, is accused of lying about regularly contacting the prime suspect in a probe into potential large-scale property fraud.
The 24-year veteran of the force is accused of failing to disclose the money owed to the suspect, who can only be referred to as 'Mr A' for legal reasons and was described as a 'long-standing associate' of actor-turned-drug dealer Desmond 'Dessie' Bayliss.
Chief Inspector Rice is also alleged to have used the police database to snoop on Bayliss and one of his associates without 'proper policing purpose', as well as paying a company to write his dissertation for him so he could pass his Master's degree.
The police officer is not accused of any involvement in criminal offences and denies wrongdoing.
Chief Inspector Stephen Rice (pictured here in his uniform) is accused of lying about contacting the suspect in a major criminal investigation
The suspect in the case, known as Mr A, is described by Merseyside Police intelligence as a 'long-standing associate' of actor-turned-drug dealer Desmond Bayliss (pictured here in his mugshot in 2011)
A police misconduct panel convened at Merseyside Police HQ on Tuesday to determine if he breached professional standards of behaviour on multiple occasions - he faces being sacked and banned from the profession if found guilty of gross misconduct.
The main allegations centre on Chief Insp. Rice's connections with Mr A, who is being looked into by the Economic Crime Team in a probe called Operation Benadir - an investigation into allegations of large-scale property fraud, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The independent panel, presided over by Legally Qualified Chair (LQC) Callum Cowx, heard that the police officer bought rental properties worth a total of more than 2million from Mr A between 2012 and 2016 after a sit-down between the pair in a Costa Coffee cafe on Old Hall Street in the city centre.
It is alleged those transactions involved Mr A handing him 'significant' interest-free loans to cover the deposits, and Chief Insp. Rice obtaining commercial mortgages to cover the rest of the purchase price.
Barrister James Berry, representing Merseyside Police, outlined allegations against Chief Insp. Rice, mostly relating to his years-long business relationship with Mr A and two other men: a financial advisor referred to as 'Mr B' and a solicitor referred to as 'Mr C' who also worked on the property deals.
The panel heard:
Chief Insp. Rice was allegedly in regular contact with Mr A almost three years after learning he was a suspect in Operation Benadir, and even asked him for a 10,000 loan to cover legal costs during that time.
Chief Insp. Rice allegedly used the force intelligence database to snoop on Desmond Bayliss and a man called Jordan O'Rourke, the then boyfriend of Mr Bayliss's daughter, without any 'proper policing purpose'.
Chief Insp. Rice was told by a woman, referred to as 'Ms D', that the solicitor used in some of the property deals, Mr C, 'was running with the Ungis now', a reference to a 'prominent organised crime group', but allegedly lied to investigators about who she was referring to.
After a leak from one of Chief Insp. Rice's rental flats caused damage to a shop below, he discussed the issue with a man connected to the shop called Craig Wright, despite allegedly knowing Mr Wright was in prison and speaking on an illicit mobile phone.
In an unrelated accusation, in 2015 Chief Insp. Rice allegedly paid 3,300 to a company called UK Essays to write a dissertation in his name so he could pass a Master's degree in Police Leadership at Liverpool Hope University.
The veteran police officer is alleged to have first been introduced to Mr A by his own cousin, with a meeting being arranged between him, Mr A and Mr B in a Costa Coffee in 2012.
Mr Berry told the panel that off the back of that meeting, Chief Insp. Rice agreed to buy the Roklis Building, a large commercial property comprising flats and retail units in Liscard Road, Wallasey, for 570,000.
The barrister claimed Chief Insp. Rice agreed to buy two further properties soon after, both on Alpass Road in Aigburth.
Mr Berry said: 'On each occasion the agreement was Chief Insp. Rice would obtain mortgages from Lloyds Bank. At the time the maximum for commercial mortgages was 70 per cent of the value of the property.
'The 30 per cent deposit would be loaned to Chief Insp. Rice by Mr A, as he did not have the funds to cover the deposit. Mr A would himself pay the stamp duty and the legal fees.
'These were very significant loans from Mr A to Chief Insp. Rice. They were interest free, with no repayment schedule or terms, and they were unsecured. In fact they were not supported by any documentation, there is no signed loan agreement for instance.'
Chief Insp. Rice bought the Roklis Building (pictured) off the back of a meeting with Mr A in 2012
A misconduct hearing at Merseyside Police HQ in Liverpool (pictured) heard Chief Insp. Rice is accused of multiple breaches of professional standards
It is claimed that on February 16, 2016, the officer completed the purchase of an annexe in Portland House on Linnet Lane, Aigburth from Mr A, using the same arrangement.
Mr Berry told the panel that on the very same day the purchase was completed, Chief Insp. Rice used the NICHE intelligence database to do a search on Mr Bayliss, who had been released from prison on licence two years earlier after serving half of an eight-year term for drugs supply offences.
Mr Berry said: 'His purpose was, we say, to see who he was getting himself involved with.'
The panel heard Chief Insp. Rice himself became concerned that all was not right with the Linnet Lane deal in March 2017, when a woman contacted him claiming she represented a Saudi Arabian investor who had purchased all of that property, and he was involved in fraud.
However it is alleged he reported none of that to Merseyside Police and continued to do business with Mr A.
The hearing was told that in December 2017, the officer was contacted by the Economic Crime Team and a meeting was arranged in which he was informed he may have been the victim of a fraud.
Mr Berry said the force's case is that during this meeting he was told that Mr A, Mr B and Mr C were all suspects in the fraud enquiry, but the panel heard Chief Insp. Rice denies he found out during that meeting.
The fraud investigation continued for two more years, during which time Chief Insp. Rice had allegedly continued to maintain regular contact with Mr A.
The heat was turned up in March, 2019, when Chief Insp. Rice was served with a notice of investigation. He was interviewed under criminal caution on March 28 that year, when he told detectives he was aware Mr A was under criminal investigation and said he was no longer in contact with him.
However according to Merseyside Police, the senior officer had been in 'regular telephone contact' with Mr A from December 2017, including several times in March 2019 - even on the same day as he was being interviewed.
Chief Inspector Rice then filed a notifiable persons report in December 2019, in which he claimed he had purchased 'a property' from Mr A in 2016, using Mr B for financial advice and Mr C for legal services during the transaction.
The senior police officer bought an annexe to a building in Linnet Lane (pictured) in Liverpool as his property portfolio grew, the misconduct hearing was told
He is also alleged to have bought two properties in Alpass Road (pictured) in Aigburth, Liverpool
In the report he claimed he had become aware 'in the past 18 months' that the men were under investigation and had ceased all contact with them, while claiming he was 'not indebted to any of the males'.
The report also referenced an attack on Mr A in August, 2019, in which he was stabbed.
In the report, Chief Insp. Rice claimed he had noticed a memo about the attack on a 'Threat, Harm, Risk' document and immediately closed it, before informing Professional Standards Department officers.
Merseyside Police, however, alleged that the officer was in fact in contact with Mr A throughout 2019, and even into February 2020. According to the force, Chief Insp. Rice later 'accepted he had lied' under caution.
Mr Berry told the panel that by December 2019, Chief Insp. Rice had been told he was no longer a criminal suspect, but was given a performance improvement plan which ordered him to fully disclose all the properties he owned and any money owed on them.
The officer submitted a spreadsheet containing eight properties worth a total of 2.5million. However the force later discovered he had failed to declare two other properties, one on Goodacre Road and the second on Butterwick Drive, and had misstated the true purchase price of the Linnet Lane property.
According to misconduct charges, Chief Insp. Rice also 'failed to disclose that you owed significant sums of money to Mr A, not secured by way of mortgage, which he had loaned to you in connection with the purchase of properties.'
The misconduct hearing is due to continue for four days, and Chief Insp. Rice is expected to give evidence today.
Gaige Grosskreutz, shot by Rittenhouse at Kenosha in 2020, sues for damages
Kyle Rittenhouse, now 20, says he is ready to defend himself as lawsuits mount
Kyle Rittenhouse has vowed to 'prove my innocence again' after the man he shot in 2020 sued him for 'emotional distress and humiliation'.
Gaige Grosskreutz, who testified that he had pointed a pistol at Rittenhouse and was then shot during the 2020 Kenosha riots, is suing the 20-year-old for 'damages for emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, and other pain and suffering on all claims.'
Grosskreutz 'must live with the physical and emotional wounds inflicted by Defendant Rittenhouse and the Defendants who deputized and enabled him,' the lawsuit says.
It claims that 'the law enforcement Defendants deputized these armed individuals, conspired with them, and ratified their actions by letting them patrol the streets, armed with deadly weapons, to mete out justice as they saw fit.'
Rittenhouse, now a popular content creator and right-wing influencer, told Fox News Digital: 'I guess it came as a shock to why he's filing a lawsuit because he admitted that he pointed a gun in my face and that he chased me down.'
He said that it would come with a hefty price tag, but said he was ready to prove his innocence 'again'.
Kyle Rittenhouse waits for the jury to enter the room to continue testifying during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 10, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Using a microphone as a prop for his Glock handgun, Gaige Grosskreutz shows the jury how he was holding the gun in his right hand when he was shot by Kyle Rittenhouse, 8 November 2021
A protester clashes with Kyle Rittenhouse (center, ground) as a man (right) shot in the chest during confrontations between protesters and civilians, who claimed to protect Kenosha
This comes only weeks after the father of Anthony Huber, who was shot and killed by Rittenhouse during the protests, brought forward a 'wrongful death' lawsuit against Rittenhouse, also alleging he conspired with police to target protestors.
Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all counts by a jury at trial in November 2021, after fatally shooting two protestors and injuring a third during the 2020 Kenosha riots in Wisconsin.
READ MORE: Kyle Rittenhouse will face wrongful death lawsuit filed by father of one of the men he shot dead during Kenosha riots, judge rules Advertisement
Gaige Grosskreutz was among protestors in Kenosha on 25 August 2020, which formed following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha.
Blake was shot four times in the back on 23 August and left paralyzed from the waist down.
Grosskreutz and Rittenhouse met in the protests, as Rittenhouse, then 17-years-old, had travelled from his home in Illinois reportedly with the intention to protect businesses from rioters.
During the clash, Rittenhouse shot three men including Grosskreutz with his AR-15-style assault rifle.
Grosskreutz testified in the trial that he was pointing his own gun at Rittenhouse before he was shot in the arm.
He said he did not intend to shoot Rittenhouse as he had his hands raised, holding the gun towards him.
A jury found Rittenhouse not guilty of five felony charges including a murder charge.
Since then, victims and their families have brought forward separate lawsuits against Rittenhouse.
The suit levied by John Huber, father of protestor Anthony Huber, alleges Rittenhouse and other 'counter-protestors' were 'subject to a different set of rules and were allowed to move about freely in areas controlled' by law enforcement.
It also claims that officers violated Anthony Huber's constitutional rights when they allowed the riots to erupt into violence, resulting in his death.
CBS 58 reported the lawsuit from Grosskreutz named Rittenhouse, former Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth and former Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis as defendants, as well as the city and county of Kenosha and other counties and municipalities who sent personnel to Kenosha during the protests.
Rittenhouse has divided opinion since the verdict in 2021.
President Biden came out after the decision and said he was 'angry and concerned', but said he stood with the jury's decision.
'I stand with the jury as the jury system has concluded. The jury system works and you have to abide by it,' he told reporters at the time.
Some outraged celebrities went online to complain about the decision, with performer Bette Midler saying it was a 'tragic, tragic day'.
#kylerittenhouse found not guilty tho we SAW HIM kill two,' she shared with her followers on Twitter that November.
Fundamentally stupid, I predict he will go on to a big career on #Fox and in #RadicalRightWing circles, which counts as a plus with them. A tragic, tragic day for decent, THINKING, feeling, ethical people everywhere.
Donald Trump congratulated Rittenhouse, a supporter of the former president, on the verdict.
'Congratulations to Kyle Rittenhouse for being found INNOCENT of all charges,' said Trump in an emailed statement.
The 20-year old has looked to reinvent himself as a content creator, right wing influencer and student since the verdict.
Rittenhouse, who raised more than a million dollars in crowdfunded donations for his Kenosha legal defense, has attracted a large following to his YouTube channel dedicated to his interest in guns.
He has also organized a number of speaking events, talking on the Kenosha unrest and Second Amendment rights.
In January he encouraged fans to attend his censorship rally after venues cancelled his speaking events.
The former nursing student also said last year he would look to go to university in Texas in 2023.
Kyle Rittenhouse shared his immediate thoughts on the new lawsuit on Twitter
Rittenhouse walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha on 25 August 2020 with his AR15-style rifle
Gaige Grosskreutz describes the moments where he was shot by Kyle Rittenhouse during the trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha on 8 November 2021
Rittenhouse announced he would launch the Media Accountability Project in 2022 to 'hold the media accountable for its lies'.
He said after the verdict: 'My trial exposed a deep corruption in our media that cannot go unanswered. Their blatant lies, defamation, and propaganda were malicious attempts to tear our nation apart and destroy my life and I am committed to holding them accountable.'
There is no indication it is an espionage device from China or North Korea
The orb washed up on Enshu beach in the coastal city of Hamamatsu in Japan
A mysterious metal sphere has washed up on a beach in Japan, leaving locals and Japanese authorities clueless as to its origin or purpose.
The orb, measuring roughly 5 feet in diameter, washed up on Enshu beach in the Pacific coastal city of Hamamatsu, prompting a flurry of theories about what it might be.
Japanese authorities quickly deployed bomb disposal squads to the shoreline yesterday amid initial fears it could be a sea mine, erecting a 600ft perimeter around the scene and preventing public access.
But an X-ray of the object revealed its rusted metal shell was merely a casing, its insides hollowed out.
There were also no indications it was a surveillance or espionage device deployed by nearby foes China and North Korea.
A mysterious metal sphere has washed up on a beach in Japan, leaving locals and Japanese authorities clueless as to its origin or purpose
Japanese authorities quickly deployed bomb disposal squads to the shoreline yesterday amid initial fears it could be a sea mine
Panic over, more mundane theories began perpetuating, chief among which suggested the sphere was a simply mooring buoy - characterised by a raised handle that could be used to hook a rope - that had become detached and drifted away.
But this theory also has its problems - such large metallic buoys typically contain more components and materials inside the outer casing to aid buoyancy.
The shell appears to be coloured with a faint yellow hue, with patches of brown likely caused by rust.
Investigators at the scene took several photographs of the sphere and said they had sent the images to the coast guard and the armed forces for further inspection and examination.
Locals interviewed by Japanese broadcaster NHK said they'd also inspected the object and had no idea what it was.
'I tried to push it, but it wouldn't budge,' one man told NHK.
Despite investigators' insistence the orb was not of Chinese origin, there were still concerns about the provenance of the object amid recent tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
Following the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon by the United States, Japanese authorities last week said it planned to clarify military engagement rules to allow its jet fighters to shoot down unmanned aircraft that violate its airspace.
The shell appears to be coloured with a faint yellow hue, with patches of brown likely caused by rust. Japanese authorities are still yet to determine what the object is
The orb, measuring roughly 5 feet in diameter, washed up on Enshu beach in the Pacific coastal city of Hamamatsu
The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023
And today, at the Asian powers' first formal security talks in four years, Tokyo took aim at Beijing's military ties to Russia and its suspected use of spy balloons in Japanese skies.
The talks, aimed at easing tensions between the world's second- and third-largest economies, came as Tokyo worries that Beijing will resort to force to take control of Taiwan in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine, sparking a conflict that could embroil Japan and disrupt global trade.
Japan in December said it would double defence spending over the next five years to 2 per cent of gross domestic product - a total of $320 billion - to deter China from resorting to military action.
Beijing, which increased defence spending by 7.1 per cent last year, spends more than four times as much as Japan on its forces.
'While relations between Japan and China have a lot of possibilities, we are also facing many issues and concerns,' Japanese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Shigeo Yamada told his Chinese counterpart.
He pointed to their territorial dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, Beijing's recent joint military drills with Moscow and the suspected Chinese surveillance balloons spotted over Japan at least three times since 2019.
A transgender cartoonist who makes fetish art of furry creatures wearing nappies has sparked controversy after being booked by a library to give a talk to teenagers and families.
Canadian artist Sophie Labelle is set to speak at Sheffield Central Library on Monday.
The comic book creator is going to talk about her book The Best of Assigned Male, art and activism, as well as trans experiences.
But there have been concerns raised over the suitability of the speaker for children as young as 13, who can attend.
The February 27 event is advertised as 'suitable for adults, teens and families'.
Sophie has previously spoken about a penchant for 'diaperfur art', but has insisted 'I have a kink I indulge in responsibly and I refuse to be shamed for it'.
Canadian artist Sophie Labelle is set to speak at Sheffield Central Library on Monday
Some of Sophie Labelle's art as posted on the artist's publicly viewable Twitter account feed
Conservative MP Miriam Cates has written to Sheffield Council - which runs the library - urging it to reconsider the event.
She said: 'Even the most cursory background checks on Sophie Labelle thrown up serious safeguarding red flags.
'In no way can the work or "activism" of this author be considered suitable for children.
'It is widely agreed by child safeguarding experts, and across society, that it is wrong and deeply damaging to expose children to sexualised material.
Sophia Labelle creates artworks often featuring animals imparting a message on certain topics
Sheffield Central Library, pictured, has sparked controversy over the booking
Miriam Cates has written to Sheffield Council - which runs the library - urging it to reconsider
'I strongly urge you to investigate this matter urgently and to act to safeguard children and prevent Sheffield from being brought into disrepute.'
Sophie told the Telegraph: 'My work aims to empower trans youth and illustrate trans joy.
'I have done hundreds of talks and public events, in youth groups, libraries, schools, without any incident.'
Richard Williams, a council member, said: 'Sheffield is a diverse and inclusive city.
'The event is aimed at teenagers upwards, but we know some families do attend Sophie's talks and did not want to exclude them.'
NZ's health agency warned Kiwis who were on the flight
Measles was detected on a flight from Jakarta to Sydney
Passengers are being warned to check for measles symptoms after cases were detected on a Qantas flight that landed in Sydney.
Flight QFA4 took off from Jakarta, Indonesia, and arrived in Sydney at 6.17am on February 15 before flying to New Zealand.
Passengers onboard that flight or who travelled through Sydney International and Domestic Airports last Wednesday have been advised to check for symptoms which include high fever, coughing, a runny nose, watery eyes and in serious cases a red rash.
Those present at the domestic arrivals terminal of Canberra Airport, including the baggage claim area, between 11am and 11.30am last Wednesday are also urged to observe for symptoms.
NSW Health confirmed the original case - an ACT resident - developed the highly contagious infection while travelling in Asia.
Aussie and Kiwi passengers on Qantas flight QFA4 which flew from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Sydney are being urged to check for measles symptoms after cases were detected
NSW Health assisting director of communicable diseases, Dr Katherine Todd, said these locations do not pose an ongoing risk, but urged people who may be susceptible to measles and were present at exposure sites to be alert for symptoms until March 5.
'Those most likely to be susceptible to measles are infants under 12 months of age who are too young to be vaccinated, and anyone who is not fully vaccinated against the disease, which may include some adults,' Dr Todd said.
'If you develop symptoms, please call ahead to your GP to ensure you do not wait in the waiting room with other patients,' Dr Todd said.
'The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is safe and effective protection against measles. It's free for anyone born during or after 1966 who hasn't already had two doses. If you're unsure whether you've had two doses, it's safe to have another.'
New Zealand's public health agency, Te Whatu Ora, also issued a warning Kiwis on board the same flight on Wednesday morning.
The agency strongly urged those Kiwis to call the country's health advice service, Healthline, immediately if they had not already been contacted.
New Zealand National Public Health Service clinical lead Dr William Rainger said six passengers had been contacted, but there were 29 people health staff were still trying to reach.
The flight landed at Sydney international airport at 6.17am on February 15 before flying to New Zealand (pictured, a COVID-19 testing clinic at Sydney international airport)
NSW Health assisting director of communicable diseases, Dr Katherine Todd, said the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (pictured) 'is safe and effective protection against measles' for those who are unvaccinated
Those onboard flight QFA4 who are immunocompromised, pregnant and not vaccinated against measles or have a child under the age of 12 months who has not been vaccinated is urged to contact their local public health unit.
Symptoms of measles include fever, sore eyes and a cough followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash spreading from the head and neck to the rest of the body.
Measles is highly contagious and is spread in the air through coughing or sneezing by someone who is unwell with the disease
Qantas declined to comment on the measles cases detected on the flight.
Ex-Labour MP Chris Williamson has lost his access to Parliament over his 'unacceptable' role as a host on Iranian state TV.
The former shadow minister, a staunch ally of ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, was MP for Derby North between 2017 and 2019.
Up until this week, he had continued to enjoy privileged access to Parliament by holding one of more than 300 passes doled out to former MPs.
But his pass has now been suspended until further notice after concerns were raised about his work for Iran's PressTV.
The 66-year-old also recently caused fury by claiming Volodymyr Zelensky is 'backed by literal Nazis' on the day the Ukrainian President made his historic address to Parliament.
Senior Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker, the chair of the Administration Committee, wrote to Chris Williamson yesterday to inform him that his pass was being suspended
As revealed by MailOnline, the House of Commons' Administration Committee met on Monday to review Mr Williamson's holding of a parliamentary pass.
Senior Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker, the chair of the committee, subsequently wrote to Mr Williamson yesterday to inform him that his pass was being suspended.
'The Administration Committee met and decided to suspend your parliamentary pass until further notice,' he wrote.
'The Committee considered that your continued presence on PressTV, a broadcaster that has been banned in the UK and multiple other countries, is unacceptable and risks bringing Parliament into disrepute.'
But Mr Williamson told MailOnline he intended to ask Sir Charles to rethink the suspension of his pass as he hit out at the 'absurdity and inconsistency' of the committee's position.
Mr Williamson has seen his Twitter account branded 'Iran state-affiliated media' by social media bosses over his role as a host of PressTV's 'Palestine Declassified' show.
PressTV, which is owned by the Iranian state, has been banned in Britain since 2013 after breaching the UK's broadcasting rules.
The channel was also recently sanctioned by the EU as part of the bloc's response to Iran's violent crackdown on demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini.
Mr Williamson was MP for Derby North between 2017 and 2019 and served as a shadow minister under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
The 66-year-old has been a host of Iranian state-owned PressTV's 'Palestine Declassified' show since March 2022
Mr Williamson recently angered serving MPs by claiming Volodymyr Zelensky is 'backed by literal Nazis' on the day the Ukrainian President made his historic address to Parliament
As well as expressing concern at his role with PressTV, MPs recently reacted with fury to Mr Williamson's Twitter posts about Mr Zelensky's speech to Parliament this month.
He branded the Ukrainian President a 'neo-Nazi backed hypocrite', claimed Mr Zelensky was 'backed by literal Nazis', and hit out at current Tory and Labour MPs who 'salivate about escalating the war in Ukraine'.
One MP, a former Government minister, suggested to MailOnline that Mr Williamson was 'basically' repeating Russian propaganda about the Ukrainian leader, who is Jewish.
When Vladimir Putin began his invasion of Ukraine last year, his stated goal was to 'denazify' Russia's neighbour.
After having his parliamentary pass suspended, Mr Williamson said: 'I wasn't surprised by the decision to withdraw my parliamentary pass. The political class has been gripped a kind of hypocritical hysteria.
'The grounds for the arbitrary cancellation of my pass are absurd. They claim that my presence on PressTV "risks bringing parliament into disrepute".
'But it's their attack on free speech that is bringing Parliament into disrepute, not the fact that I present a weekly programme on PressTV about Palestine's struggle for freedom.
'Although I have never used my pass since I left Parliament in 2019, there is an important point of principle at stake here. I am being targeted for speaking up for the Palestinian people and for exposing the brutal Israeli apartheid regime.
'If there was a genuine, (if wholly unjustified) concern about associating with Iran, former government ministers Jack Straw and Norman Lamont would be targeted.
'They are the chair and president respectively of the British Iranian Chamber of Commerce, which lobbies to increase trade between Iran and Britain.
'I hope this authoritarian intolerance will not extend to them just because they're promoting trade between the two countries, which was worth 670 million last year, an increase of 114 per cent on the previous year.
'I therefore intend to write back to Sir Charles Walker, the chair of the committee, to ask them to think again in view of the absurdity and inconsistency of their position.'
Mr Williamson's Twitter account is officially flagged as 'Iran state-affiliated media' on the social media site
Mr Williamson this month branded the Ukrainian President a 'neo-Nazi backed hypocrite' and claimed Mr Zelensky, who is Jewish, was 'backed by literal Nazis'
All ex-MPs are eligible for passes that give them access to Parliament - although the authorities can refuse in some circumstances.
According to official records, Mr Williamson has held a pass since July 2020.
This was seven months after he failed to be re-elected as Derby North's MP when standing as an independent candidate at the 2019 general election.
Mr Williamson was blocked from standing as an official Labour candidate following his suspension from the party.
This came after he claimed Labour had been 'too apologetic' about its record on tackling antisemitism.
He has been a host of PressTV's 'Palestine Declassified' show since March 2022 after previously appearing as a guest on the channel.
The show has asked whether a UK charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism and related threats, the Community Security Trust, can be 'trusted'.
Another episode hosted by Mr Williamson in March last year discussed the 'Zionist influence' on the music industry.
Mr Williamson's Twitter account is officially flagged as 'Iran state-affiliated media' on the social media site.
But he disputes this by writing in his account bio that he is 'NOT affiliated to any state media'.
Commons' Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has previously asked Sir Charles to look into the issuing of parliamentary passes to former MPs.
This followed concerns about whether such passes are being used for lobbying purposes by ex-MPs who take on roles as consultants or advisers.
Ex-MPs have to apply for a former members pass and, if they are found to have breached the rules associated with the pass, it will be brought to the attention of an committee that advises the Commons authorities.
A Commons spokesman has previously said they are unable to comment on individual cases.
Revealing private letters written by Australia's worst female serial killer to her best friend will be part of an inquiry that could see her walk free from jail after 20 years.
Kathleen Folbigg, 55, has spent almost two decades behind bars for the murders of her children Patrick, Sarah and Laura - aged from eight months to 19 months - between 1991 and 1999.
She was also found guilty of the manslaughter of her first-born child, Caleb, who was just 19 days old when he died in Newcastle, north of Sydney, in 1989.
But 'Australia's most hated woman' as she has come to be known has always maintained her innocence and lodged repeated appeals to overturn her convictions.
A second public inquiry this month will examine whether a gene variant in two of her children could be to blame for their sudden deaths - as she has repeatedly claimed.
Kathleen Folbigg, 55, (pictured) has spent almost two decades behind bars for the murders of her children Patrick, Sarah and Laura - aged from eight months to 19 months - between 1991 and 1999
Her childhood friend Tracy Chapman is adamant Folbigg is innocent and believes her correspondence proves it.
'She's a good person, simple as that, and I know she didn't do this,' she told A Current Affair.
'She's not the media monster portrayed for the last 20 years or more.'
Many of the 32 letters submitted to the hearing seek to explain troubling passages in her diary at the time of their deaths, which was a key factor in the guilty verdicts.
Craig Folbigg contacted police after reading his then-wife's diary, in which she detailed the children's deaths.
In one letter to Ms Chapman, Folbigg, admitted 'some of my [diary] entries sound atrocious'.
Folbigg wrote in 1997 before Laura's death, 'She's a fairly good natured baby Thank goodness, it has saved her from the fate of her siblings. I think she was warned'
She told Ms Chapman in a 2005 letter 'I probably exaggerated on my thoughts about them warning her'.
'I still had weird thoughts stuck in my head about any possible reason why she would of left me. I grasped at anything Trace,' she wrote.
'If it wasn't physical, medical, genetic what was it. I thought I was to blame, I blamed myself."
Folbigg was also convicted for murdering her son Patrick (pictured left) and the manslaughter death of her firstborn son Caleb (pictured right)
Regarding an infamous diary entry that stated 'I am my father's daughter', Folbigg claimed in a letter to Ms Chapman to have mixed up the order of her words
Folbigg wrote in the diary that Laura's 'good nature' had 'saved her from the fate of her siblings' and 'I think she was warned'. In a letter to Ms Chapman, Folbigg walked back part of that diary entry
Also part of the inquiry are 32 letters that Folbigg sent from jail to her childhood friend, Tracy Chapman
Folbigg was convicted of the murders of Sarah (left) and Laura (pictured right) along with her two sons, but scientists later said Folbigg should be pardoned because the two girls' deaths could be explained by genetics
Only an hour before Caleb died in 1989, Folbigg wrote in her journal that he was 'finally asleep'.
In another letter Folbigg defended this entry, saying she meant it exactly as it was written. 'Finally asleep after many hours of restlessness, nothing sinister in it at all'.
Regarding an infamous diary entry that stated 'I am my father's daughter', Folbigg claimed in a letter to Ms Chapman to have mixed up the order of her words.
In 1969, Ms Folbigg's father, Thomas John 'Taffy' Britton, murdered her mother, Kathleen May Donovan, by stabbing her twenty-four times.
Folbigg claimed in a letter to Chapman, 'I actually asked 'am I?' Totally different, just wrote it down wrong.'
In 2020 an international team of scientists discovered a genetic mutation which they said 'likely' killed Laura and Sarah.
That led 90 Australian scientists and medical professionals to petition the NSW Government to pardon Folbigg in 2021.
Folbigg's diary was a key factor in the 2003 guilty verdicts. Her husband Craig called police after reading it
Many of the letters Folbigg sent to her friend Tracy Chapman seek to explain troubling passages in her diary
The Inquiry is working to determine whether the two infants could have died of a genetic variant linked to long QT syndrome - a medical condition that triggers chaotic heartbeats or arrhythmias.
The inquiry heard a Canadian forensic pathologist Dr Matthew Orde accept Laura's genetic heart inflammation was a likely cause of her death.
But he also said he couldn't rule out whether Laura was also smothered.
If reasonable doubt is proven, Folbigg, who is due for parole in 2028, could be released early.
US President Joe Biden will visit NATO's eastern flank leaders on Wednesday to bolster their security, as Russian President Vladimir Putin suspends a historic nuclear weapons restriction agreement as the Russia-Ukraine war turns one year.
Biden will meet with Warsaw embassy personnel on Wednesday before meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, NATO's eastern flank nations that joined after being ruled by Russia during the Cold War, according to Reuters.
The majority of Bucharest Nine, which includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, are staunch backers of Ukraine's request for military assistance, and politicians from several of them have asked for even more help, including systems for air defense.
Before returning to Washington, Joe Biden aims to reiterate security pledges and address Ukrainian support during the conference.
A day after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, President Joe Biden traveled to Warsaw, Poland on Monday.
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Joe Biden's Visit Indicates a Significant Political Signal
Moldovan President Maia Sandu met with President Joe Biden on Tuesday in Warsaw. Sandu made headlines last week when she accused Russia of plotting to destabilize her administration by dispatching foreign saboteurs, as per an AP News report.
Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda remarked that the Joe Biden visit delivered "an extremely important political signal," particularly for Ukraine, according to the BBC.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West over Ukraine by suspending a landmark nuclear arms control pact with the US and threatening to resume its nuclear weapons testing, per a previous HNGN report.
Vladimir Putin also blamed the expansion of NATO and the deployment of new European anti-rocket defense systems for sparking the Russia-Ukraine war.
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A mother and her one-year-old baby are missing and feared dead after a bridge packed with more than a hundred carnival-goers collapsed in Brazil.
The disaster happened when the footbridge connecting Torres and Passo de Torres over the Mampituba River gave way as revellers were returning to their homes after the carnival in the early hours of the morning.
Horrifying footage from just before the collapse shows a group of party-goers crammed together on the footbridge as the cables above them begin to sway.
Then, suddenly, the cables snap, the narrow walkway buckles, and the unsuspecting revellers are hurled into the river below.
Some can be seen clinging desperately to the wreckage of the bridge to avoid falling into the water while others scream for help and try to swim to safety.
The disaster happened when the footbridge connecting Torres and Passo de Torres over the Mampituba River gave way as revellers were returning to their homes after the carnival in the early hours of the morning
Firefighters say they pulled around 30 people from the water, many of them injured, at 2.30am on Monday morning.
At least three people are still reportedly missing, including a mother and her one-year-old son.
Student Luciana Soares Tavares - who was on the bridge - told local media: "When we realised what was happening, we had already fallen into the water.
"It was very fast. We only heard people falling into the water and saw people climb to the surface. We were scared; we felt absolutely desperate."
City Tourism Secretary Matheus Junges said a group of people had been returning from Passo de Torres to Torres after a carnival party.
Firefighters search for people after the collapse of the bridge that connects Torres and Passo de Torres in Brazil
Local media report that the bridge - which has a maximum capacity of 20 - was packed with at least 100 party-goers.
Firefighters continue the search and 16 people have already received medical attention in the city.
Officials say the bridge's safety checks were up to date but believe it was massively overloaded on the night.
The US embassy in London went into a state of lockdown after a security alert caused by a suspicious package outside the building this morning.
Those inside were told to duck and move away from windows with photos shared online showing people crouching on the floor and sitting back against the walls.
One witness, who lives close to the embassy and can see the building from their window, told MailOnline there were armed police and sniffer dogs patrolling the area.
Social media users on the ground also reported 'lots of armed police shouting'.
A police officer could be seen cordoning off the area in Nine Elms, London.
Pictures shared on social media showed those in the embassy standing back against the walls and sitting on the floor
Pictures from the scene show at least two fire engines and police vehicles in the area surrounding the embassy.
It was later confirmed that the alert was a false alarm, and officers were stood down at 11.07am, around an hour after they first descended on the scene.
'The US Embassy is back to normal business operations. Local authorities investigated and cleared a suspicious package outside the Embassy,' the embassy's official Twitter account said.
They thanked the Met Police for their 'swift action' and thanked visitors for their cooperation amid the incident.
One tweeting from the scene wrote: 'Alarm went on and they told us to stay out of the windows. After a while they moved us to north west side of the floor.
'After that armed soldiers started running around but the atmosphere was calm. The stuff was very friendly and professional.
'Its all back to normal now.'
When contacted for comment, the Metropolitan Police said they were aware of the incident.
The desperate search for a missing paramedic who went on a hike has ended in tragedy after her body was discovered by police.
Fiona Lavelle, 41, was hiking around Cape Le Grand National Park, which is 63km south-east of Esperance, Western Australia.
She had planned to hike at Hellfire Bay on Tuesday morning before the temperature in the area reached 43C that afternoon.
WA Police conducted a major search for Ms Lavelle and found her car, a Nissan Navara, at a carpark on the western end of Cape Le Grand Road on Tuesday night.
An emergency text message and a photograph of Ms Lavelle and her vehicle was also sent out by local police to people in the surrounding area.
Fiona Lavelle (pictured), 41, was reported missing after she went hiking around Cape Le Grand National Park in Western Australia
'Esperance Police are currently searching for Fiona who has been hiking around Cape Le Grand and was planning on hiking at Hellfire Bay this morning (Tuesday),' a social media post read.
'She may have been in company with another female and is driving her Nissan Navara 1EVZ664.
Residents were urged to contact Esperance Police if they had seen Ms Lavelle or her vehicle.
Police found Ms Lavelle's body on Wednesday.
They are not treating her death as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Ms Lavelle was a respected St John WA paramedic.
St John WA said its community was 'deeply saddened by the events which unfolded today'.
Police found Ms Lavelle's car, a Nissan Navara (pictured), at a carpark on the western end of Cape Le Grand Road on Tuesday night
Ms Lavelle was a respected St John WA paramedic. St John WA said its community was 'deeply saddened by the events which unfolded today' and 'our thoughts are with the family and colleagues of our team member'
'Our thoughts are with the family and colleagues of our team member,' a statement to Perth Now said.
'Our focus is on supporting our people and the broader St John community.
'We offer our thanks to WA Police, the State Emergency Service and all those who participated in the search.'
Ms Lavelle's family had requested privacy 'during this difficult time', police say.
This is the 'disgusting' moment a Yodel delivery driver was caught appearing to spit on a customer's letterbox.
The courier had been delivering a package to the Birkenhead home of Belle Sutton at 1.30pm on February 13 when he was spotted apparently gobbing by her doorbell camera.
The 19-year-old said she had left a note on the Yodel app asking for the package to be left in a 'safe space' behind her bin, outside her flat.
The health assistant, who had been working at the time, was instead left 'absolutely fuming' when she discovered the act after being notified someone had been at her front door.
Delivery firm Yodel has apologised Ms Sutton and said it had taken 'appropriate action' - but failed to confirm if the individual was still working for them.
Belle Sutton, from Birkenhead, was left 'absolutely fuming' after seeing the act on her doorbell camera
Ms Sutton, who knew she would be at work at the time of the delivery said she left instructions for the courier about what to do with the package.
READ MORE HERE: Air mail! Moment Yodel delivery driver hurls package 12ft up onto window sill where it gets STUCK on bird spikes Advertisement
'I left a note on the "safe spot" bit online saying I won't be in so can you please leave it behind the green bin,' she said.
'He tried to ring my ring doorbell and just spat on my letterbox because I wasn't in. I got a notification at work saying someone had been at my front door so I went to the staff room and checked.
'I was absolutely fuming, how disgusting. How does that benefit him? How has spitting on my letterbox made his day?
'I think for other people's safety he should be sacked. Not everyone has a ring doorbell. Imagine if he had Covid and he did that to an old woman and she touches it. I disinfected the letterbox when I got home.'
Ms Sutton claims she made a complaint to Yodel's webchat and a customer service agent left her a voicemail reassuring her that they were taking the complaint to 'the highest level'.
She posted the video on social media where commenters were left horrified and urged her to report the incident to the police.
One person said: 'I hope Yodel sack him the f*****g tramp.'
Another wrote: 'Oh my God, report him and with all this Covid I'm sure he can be prosecuted for spitting.'
A third added: 'This is a public health issue on your property. Police.'
Ms Sutton added: 'I missed their [Yodel's] call back but they left me a voicemail. The voicemail said they were taking my complaint to the highest level.
The delivery driver was seen appearing to spit on her letterbox after dropping off Ms Sutton's package on February 13
'People think it's disgusting and I should report it to the police but I'll just let Yodel deal with it.
'It's my first time using them and I probably won't use them again.
'It's scary to think what he'd be doing if they didn't have video footage. He rang my ring doorbell so he knew I had video footage.'
A Yodel spokesperson condemned the footage and said the company had taken action.
'We take driver behaviour very seriously and this incident clearly does not meet our high standards,' they said.
'We have taken appropriate action and reached out to the customer to express our sincere apologies.'
JK Rowling and her first husband Jorge Arantes met in a Portuguese bar while the author was teaching English in a short romance sparked by a shared love of Jane Austen.
The former TV reporter is the father of her 29-year-old daughter Jessica and had a whirlwind affair with the British writer that led to a marriage that was over in 13 months.
Arantes is said to live a solitary life in Porto, the city where the former couple met more than 30 years ago when JK was 23. After a night of drinking and chat in the early 1990s, love then blossomed having found they had a shared interest in Jane Austen.
But Ms Rowling, now happily married to Dr Neil Murray for the past 21 years, had hinted there had been violence in their short-lived relationship until 2020, when she revealed he had beaten her in the street. When confronted by reporters he was unrepentant, admitting he hit her hard in the face and didn't regret it.
And yesterday the Edinburgh-based author claimed her abusive first husband kept the first Harry Potter manuscript hostage, the Philosopher's Stone, to stop her leaving him.
The multi-award winning author said she was forced to sneak the precious notes out of the house a few pages at a time and photocopy them at work, so concerned was she that Arantes would destroy the work that later transformed her life and made her a $1billion (850million) fortune. Arantes, in contrast, was reportedly on benefits and did not work for a number of years.
Turbulent: JK Rowling with first husband Jorge Arantes, who has admitted to 'slapping' her. The former couple met in Porto in the early 1990s when he was a student and she was a teacher. Their marriage would last 13 months
The former couple with their daughter Jessica, who is now 29 and uses the surname Rowling
JK Rowling has found love and happiness with her second husband Dr Neil Murray (pictured together)
JK's ex rarely leaves the house and has had no contact with her since 1993, it has been claimed.
Arantes lives alone in the first floor flat behind a cemetery and close to an arts school in the historical part of Porto. For a time he lives in Paris with his brother who works as a travel agent.
While Rowling and Arantes share a daughter, Jessica, 29, they are not thought to have had any contact since the end of their marriage. Jessica uses the surname Rowling.
Neighbours told MailOnline in 2020 he rarely leaves the apartment and instead spends his days inside listening to loud music.
One said: 'He does not get up very early, and sometimes we see him in the afternoon.
Ms Rowling yesterday divulged shocking details of the lengths she had to go to in order to protect her writing and escape her violent marriage in the 1990s.
Speaking to a new podcast, The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, the author said Arantes knew what that manuscript meant to me because at a point he took the manuscript and hid it. That was his hostage.
Ms Rowling has previously been vocal about her experience of violent and coercive domestic abuse at the hand of her first husband, who has admitted slapping her.
The writer, now worth a reported 850million, met Mr Arantes in a bar when she was teaching in Portugal. They have a daughter, Jessica, now 29, who was conceived after Ms Rowling experienced a traumatic miscarriage.
Ms Rowling has become the biggest name in writing since she left her violent ex
Arantes (pictured), 52, did confess to slapping his ex-wife after she walked out on their brief marriage taking their daughter Jessica with her. He said he didn't regret it
Jorges Arantes was last pictured in 2020 as he stepped out from his modest flat in the Portuguese city of Porto wearing a face mask and glasses
Ms Rowling first opened up about the violence she suffered in a personal essay published in the summer of 2020, and Mr Arantes said that he was not sorry.
When I realised I was definitely going to go, Ms Rowling told the podcast about that period in her life, I would take a few pages of the manuscript into work every day, just a few pages so he wouldnt realise anything was missing, and I would photocopy it.
Gradually in a cupboard in the staff room, bit by bit, a photocopied manuscript grew and grew because I suspected that if I wasnt able to get out with everything, he would burn it or take it and hold it hostage.
That manuscript meant so much to me and it was the thing that I prioritised saving. The only thing I prioritised beyond that was my daughter but at that point she was still inside me so she is as safe as she can be in that situation.
Describing when she escaped her husband in 1993, Ms Rowling said: There came a night where he became very angry with me and I cracked and I said I want to leave. He became very violent and he said, You can leave but youre not getting Jessica, Im keeping her, I will hide her.
So I put up a fight and I paid the price. There was a violent scene which terminated with me lying in the street.
The author also said she was later forced to leave the home she bought in Edinburgh with the money she earned from the first Harry Potter book, published in 1997, because Mr Arantes broke into it after excessive Press coverage.
She said: I was so ill-equipped for what happened to me. It was changing faster than I could deal with and all the time I had this lurking fear because I know there is someone out there who does not wish me well.
The reason we left the first place was my ex-husband arrived and broke in. Moving became quite a pressing issue.
I was trying to reconcile suddenly having a lot of press interest with really, really wanting to live under the radar for very concrete reasons. I was living in a state of real tension I couldnt express to many people.
Ms Rowling has been married to Dr Neil Murray since 2001 and the couple have two children. Mr Arantes could not be reached for comment.
But following Ms Rowlings revelations in 2020, he told The Sun: I slapped Joanne but there was not sustained abuse. Im not sorry for slapping her.
In an earlier conversation about the relationship he said: She refused to go without Jessica and, despite my saying she could come back for her in the morning, there was a violent struggle. I had to drag her out of the house and I admit I slapped her very hard in the street.
The unnamed teacher received emergency medical care but died at the scene
A teacher at a private Catholic school in France was stabbed to death in front of a packed class by a pupil who claimed to be 'possessed by the devil'.
Agnes Lassalle, 54, died after the 16-year-old plunged a knife through her heart during a Spanish lesson on Wednesday morning.
Her killer who cannot be named for legal reasons was charged with premeditated murder and taken into custody.
Ms Lassalle, who was married and who had been on staff at the school for 26 years, was heard to briefly scream during the attack at the Thomas Aquinas School in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, before collapsing in a heap.
The attacker then stood calmly over Ms Lassalle's body, waiving the knife, as other pupils ran away in panic.
Today's fatal attack took place at Saint Thomas d'Aquin Roman Catholic private school near Bordeaux
Police officers guard the entrance of Saint Thomas d'Aquin school
Concerned parents gather outside the school where the lethal attack took place this morning
The Spanish teacher, in her 50s, was giving the class earlier today at the Roman Catholic Saint-Thomas d'Aquin private school (pictured) in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz
After his arrest, it emerged he was only transferred to Thomas Aquinas in September, after other schools rejected him because of his psychological problems.
Defending the school's Christian ethics, Marc Aillet, the Bishop of Bayonne, said: 'He was looking for a new establishment and Saint Thomas Aquinas welcomed him.'
Eyewitnesses to the attack meanwhile told how they watched the bloodbath unfold soon after 10am in the town, which is on France's southwest Atlantic coast.
'He stuck a large knife in her chest without saying anything,' said a pupil identified as Ines, 16.
'I didn't see him get up from his desk, but I saw him facing the teacher, and very calmly approach her.'
Another pupil who watched the killing happen said the attacker 'was normally very calm, but had been taking medication for stress'.
He said: 'We saw him take something out of his bag, an object surrounded by paper.
'Then he headed for the door. We thought he wanted to go to the bathroom. In fact, he blocked access.
'The teacher was then at the blackboard, near this door. He then turned around and struck a blow with what looked like a screwdriver, at the level of the throat. We heard a scream, then nothing.'
Police and prosecutors later confirmed the weapon was a knife, and the lethal wound was to Ms Lassalle's chest.
There was then an 'immediate panic' as 'everyone tried to get out through a door' leading to another class, said the witness.
'Others were so scared they were tempted to jump through the window. We did not know if all the students had been able to escape,' the pupil continued.
'Before exiting, we saw the assailant remain standing, his weapon in his hand he was holding it up.
'We passed a senior teacher in the hallway and we told him to run. Other classes had been alerted.
'Apparently, the students were quickly brought to safety. We wanted to get out of the campus to get as far away as possible.'
Ms Lassalle, who was married with no children, had joined the school as a Spanish teacher in 1997 and was 'much loved and highly respected as a teacher,' said a colleague.
France's Education Minister Pap Ndiaye visited the school and said a 'total of 90 pupils were receiving psychological counselling'.
Mr Ndiaye said there would be a minute silence for Ms Lassalle at all French schools at 3pm on Thursday.
Scared pupils stand outside the Saint Thomas D'Aquin private school in southwestern France after they were evacuated amid a knife attack on a teacher
Saint-Thomas d'Aquin school is located in Saint Jean de Luz, a popular seaside town near Bordeaux
A portrait of French teacher Samuel Paty is displayed on the facade of the Opera Comedie in Montpellier on October 21, 2020, during a national homage to the teacher who was beheaded for showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed in his civics class
Bayonne prosecutors said an investigation had been opened for 'premediated murder' and that the alleged killer 'was in custody'.
Just over years ago on October 16 2020 history and geography teacher Samuel Paty was stabbed and beheaded near his school in the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris.
The perpetrator was 18-year-old Abdoullakh Anzorov, a Russian refugee from Chechnya who was killed by police soon after the murder.
Anzorov had no connection with Paty or the school, but had travelled from his home in Normandy to kill the teacher after watching a video posted by a pupil's father who was angry that Paty had shown students images of the Prophet Mohamed.
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch has hit out at the rewriting of Roald Dahl's books to remove potentially offensive language.
The Tory MP said it was not 'right' to change the words of the celebrated author and warned against losing 'collective memory' by altering old literature.
Ms Badenoch, who is Business and Trade Secretary as well as holding the Government's women and equalities brief, also defended under-fire SNP minister Kate Forbes.
She insisted Ms Forbes - whose bid to replace Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader is at risk of collapsing amid a controversy over her stance on gay marriage and pre-marital sex - should be able to have 'freedom of conscience'.
Ms Badenoch has been unafraid to intervene on so-called 'culture war' issues and has previously spoken out against 'cancel culture' in the House of Commons.
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch has hit out at the rewriting of Roald Dahl's books to remove potentially offensive language
The Roald Dahl Story Company and Puffin Books have revealed they carried out a review of the author's books and rewritten parts
Ms Badenoch, who is Business and Trade Secretary as well as holding the Government's women and equalities brief, also defended under-fire SNP minister Kate Forbes
In an interview with Politico last night, the Cabinet minister said it was 'sad' that Dahl's estate and publisher had recently made edits to his work.
'I think its sad because it doesnt show the transition thats happened,' Ms Badenoch said.
'If you change everything old to look new, then people dont know what things used to be like, which means that you lose the institutional memory, you lose the collective memory.
'I think its an odd thing for publishers to do. If you dont like old books, publish new books.
'There are loads of people who have new content that can be looked at if you think something else is problematic.
'But changing the words that someone wrote, I dont think is right.'
The Roald Dahl Story Company and Puffin Books have revealed they carried out a review of the author's books and rewritten parts to ensure the 'wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today'.
This has reportedly seen Augustus Gloop, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, now described as 'enormous' after the word 'fat' was removed from every book.
The 'Cloud-Men' in James And The Giant Peach have become 'Cloud-People', while Mrs Twit from The Twits is no longer 'ugly and beastly' but simply 'beastly'.
And the words 'crazy' and 'mad' are also said to have been removed as a result of an emphasis on mental health'.
Rishi Sunak this week also condemned the rewriting of Dahl's works, with the Prime Minister said by Downing Street to agree with the author's BFG character that 'we shouldnt gobblefunk around with words'.
In her interview with Politico, Ms Badenoch also defended Ms Forbes' right to oppose same-sex marriage.
The Scottish Finance Secretary, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, is currently bidding to be elected SNP leader and replace Ms Sturgeon as First Minister.
But she has been hit by a backlash after admitting she would have voted against equal marriage laws, while also stating that having children outside of marriage is 'wrong' according to her faith.
Ms Badenoch expressed her support for 'freedom of conscience' and said it was 'one of the things that makes this country great' as she commented on the controversy over Ms Forbes's views.
'Itd be very easy for her to tell lies, just so that she could win that election,' she added of the SNP leadership candidate.
'And shes not doing that, and I think that thats something that people need to take into account.'
Ms Badenoch also hit out at the 'un-seriousness' of those who had withdrawn their support for Ms Forbes amid the row over her views.
And, while she pointed to her own support for gay marriage, Ms Badenoch refused to condemn Ms Forbes's stance on the issue as she highlighted her role as women and equalities minister.
'To ask me to criticize someone for their religious beliefs, when Im supposed to be safeguarding it, shows that those people dont understand equality,' she added.
'What they want is to use the Equality Act as a sword to fight their own personal battles, rather than as a shield to prevent others from discrimination.'
Donald Trump is visiting East Palestine, a small Ohio community of 4,700, upended by a toxic train derailment on Wednesday 19 days after the crash, but still before President Joe Biden or Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Republicans are reeling that Biden has not visited Ohio for himself, or at least deployed Buttigieg there to survey the damage and speak with local leaders about how the administration can best assist.
Buttigieg, however, assures that he will visit the derailment site - next to the border with Pennsylvania and about 35 minutes from Pittsburgh - claiming he did not want to preemptively visit just for the sake of a photo-op, which he suggested Trump is doing.
On February 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed and released large amounts of toxic chemicals into the air, water and ground, forcing evacuations as residents feared for their health. Some complained of headaches and other symptoms.
Former President Donald Trump boarded his campaign plane Wednesday afternoon in Florida to depart for East Palestine, Ohio
Trump will visit the site of the Ohio train derailment Wednesday afternoon while high-profile administration officials have still not come out to survey the damage in-person
A 50-car freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3 released toxic chemicals into the air, land and water causing the community to evacuate after experiencing some symptoms like headaches
On Feb. 16, Michael S. Regan, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, traveled to the derailment site to thank first responders for their work and assure that the EPA would have 'boots on the ground' throughout the cleanup process.
'We hear you. We see you. We will get to the bottom of this,' he said. 'All families need to know that they are safe. All families deserve access to clean air and safe drinking water.'
Biden's trip to Ukraine and Poland this week caused an uproar with Republicans demanding answers as to why he went to the war-torn country before addressing issues back at home first.
The president finally broke his silence on the derailment with a Twitter thread on Tuesday following his speech in Poland lambasting Russia and its President Vladimir Putin. He made five calls Tuesday evening from Warsaw, Poland.
The president noted that he spoke with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
'I reaffirmed my commitment to making sure they have everything they need,' Biden wrote in a thread posted to his official Twitter Tuesday evening.
He noted that the EPA ordered Norfolk Southern, the train owner and operator, to fund the clean-up efforts and disposal of the runoff and burn off of hazardous materials.
'This is common sense. This is their mess. They should clean it up,' Biden wrote.
Biden also blamed the disaster on his predecessor, saying that Trump implemented policies that made it hard to strengthen and enforce rail safety.
'For years, elected officials including the last admin have limited our ability to implement and strengthen rail safety measures,' Biden wrote. 'Heck, many of the elected officials pointing fingers right now want to dismantle the EPA the agency that is making sure this clean-up happens.'
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested Tuesday that Trump's trip to Ohio is just a photo-op and assured that he will also make a visit to East Palestine following backlash for not already going to the community
Biden has received a slew of backlash for going to Ukraine and Poland this week before visiting Ohio
'I want affected residents to know that we've got your back,' Biden insisted. 'And as I said to your govs, they'll have every resource that they need.'
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, however, isn't convinced Biden is committed to helping his community instead saying he is 'furious' that Biden chose to visit Ukraine this week before coming to Ohio.
East Palestine is still reeling from the fiery 50-car derailment aftermath, and Conway says Biden's refusal to focus on domestic issues and instead parade around in the war-torn Eastern European country was a 'slap in the face.'
Buttigieg, however, downplayed the need for an administration official to come survey the damage and visit the community disrupted by the toxic crash.
He also suggested that Trump's trip to Ohio on Wednesday is just a photo-op as part of his 2024 campaign.
Trump announced November 15 his third run for the White House. He has not held many public events since announcing his bid during a rally at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. He's expected to be joined by Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance according to two people briefed.
Last month he visited early primary contest states of New Hampshire and South Carolina for campaign events that were much more intimate than the usual massive Trump rallies.
Biden's team has repeatedly blamed Trump for the derailment while refusing to do much to get boots on the ground to address the issue as the public calls for a visit from the president to the community.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway (center) told Fox News this week that he is 'furious' President Joe Biden took a trip to Ukraine before visiting the site of the Ohio train derailment calling the move a 'slap in the face'
It's true that some policies were implemented during Trump's presidency that affected rail safety, including withdrawing an Obama-era proposal that required more swift brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials. He also ended regular railroad safety audits.
'Our team is working in lockstep with state and local officials and were on the ground hours after the train derailed,' Biden assured.
He said that the EPA has already screened more than 500 homes in the area and is 'monitoring air and water quality.'
The administration also deployed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chemical assessment personnel and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) resources to East Palestine.
'The Department of Transportation has made clear to rail companies that their pattern of resisting safety regulations has got to change,' Biden wrote in his Twitter thread Tuesday night.'
'Congress should join us in implementing rail safety measures.'
A discarded cigarette has helped investigators finally identify the killer of a 24-year-old Vermont school teacher killed in July 1971.
Using DNA identification, Burlington Police were able to name the killer of Rita Curran as William DeRoos, the upstairs neighbor who strangled Curran to death after having a fight with his wife.
After the investigation into Curran's death was relaunched in 2019, detectives spoke to DeRoos' former wife, who said he had left their apartment for a 'cool down walk' after the argument during a period when Curran's roommates were out.
After he returned he told his wife of two weeks not to say that he had been out.
DeRoos moved to Thailand after Curran's death to become a monk, later returning to the United States and dying of a drug overdose in 1986.
Burlington Police Detective Lt. James Trieb said at a news conference on Tuesday: 'We are all confident that William DeRoos is responsible for the aggravated murder of Rita Curran, but because he died in a hotel room of a drug overdose he will not be held accountable for his actions, but this case will be closed.'
Police say DeRoos (R) strangled Curran (L) to death after an argument with his then-wife
DeRoos was the upstairs neighbor of Curran and flatmates when he killed her in 1971
Curran's parents died without learning who had killed their daughter, but the victim's brother and sister attended the event held at Burlington police headquarters.
'I don't think so much about the guy who did this as I do about Rita, my parents and what they went through,' Curran's brother Tom said during the event. 'I pray to Rita and I pray to my parents.'
In the early morning hours of July 20, 1971 Burlington police were called to the Brooks Avenue apartment after Curran's roommate arrived home to find her body in their shared bedroom.
Police say Curran resisted fiercely, but she was strangled. The murder shook Burlington.
The case remained open and investigators never let it go, but in 2019, Trieb and a team of detectives, officers, technicians and others began working the case as though it had just happened.
A key piece of evidence was a cigarette butt that had been found near Curran's body. In 2014, previous investigators had sent the butt and other evidence off for DNA analysis.
The test did compile a DNA profile of whoever had smoked the cigarette, but it did not match any samples in DNA databases compiled by law enforcement.
DNA testing was introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s and would not have been immediately available when Curran died in 1971.
The detectives who picked up the case in 2019 contracted with a DNA testing company and the samples were compared with genetic material submitted to commercial DNA testing companies by members of the public.
Last August, Burlington detectives were told the sample, which had been traced through relatives on both sides of DeRoos' family, was pointing at DeRoos, even though he had no DNA profile on record.
Detectives then determined DeRoos and his wife Michelle had been living upstairs at the time of Curran's death. They had spoken with investigators after Curran's death, but at the time they said they had not seen or heard anything.
DeRoos and his wife, who no longer uses the name DeRoos, left Vermont shortly after Curran's death.
Their marriage ended after DeRoos went to Thailand.
DeRoos married again after moving back to the United States.
Tom Curran, brother of 1971 murder victim Rita Curran, faces reporters at the news conference on 21 February 2023 after the discarded cigarette helped identify the killer
In a recent interview, DeRoos' ex-wife, who lived with him in Burlington and now lives in Eugene, Oregon, told investigators she had lied about her husband leaving their apartment that night.
Burlington detectives later interviewed a subsequent wife who told them DeRoos had a penchant for sudden outbursts of violence.
Detective Thomas Chennette, who interviewed DeRoos' first ex-wife, said Tuesday he didn't believe she knew he had killed Curran, but was protecting him because he had a criminal record.
'I think she lied at the time because she was young. She was naive. She was newly married. She was in love,' Chennette said.
Now-retired U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, who was the Chittenden County State's Attorney when Curran was killed and went to the crime scene that night, attended the Tuesday event.
Asked if he felt the case would ever be solved, he said that he had hoped it would.
'I must admit after 20 and 30, 40 years I figured it never would... It was a terrible thing,' he said.
A married military intelligence officer preyed on a young private before slapping her bottom and declaring 'You're coming back with me tonight,' a military court heard.
Captain Ruaridh Wedgwood is said to have pursued the recruit throughout the evening, becoming progressively more drunk at a black tie dinner to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Adjutant General's Corps, it is alleged.
The court heard Cap Wedgwood followed her to the toilets, from table to table and to a smoking area up to 20 times throughout the dinner in the sergeant's mess at a barracks in Northern Ireland last April.
She told how he tried to kiss her numerous times, moving her chin towards him with his hand on one occasion.
The soldier became so concerned she reported the matter to the camp orderlies and claimed Captain Wedgwood ran away from one of them when confronted.
The military court at Catterick, North Yorks, was told the captain was 'trying to play catch up' after arriving at his dinner late due to a hospital appointment.
Captain Ruaridh Wedgwood is said to have pursued the recruit throughout the evening
At one point in the evening, it is alleged, he asked to do shots at the bar with younger soldiers and appeared 'unstable' on his feet.
Scots-born Wedgwood, who was then captain of an infantry regiment but is now with 1st Military Intelligence, denies a single charge of sexual assault.
He says it was the private who tried to kiss him and was angry when he rejected her.
The complainant told the hearing that several units and detachments had been invited to the dinner hosted by Captain Wedgwood and that when he arrived he walked around the tables introducing himself.
'Captain Wedgwood became progressively more drunk,' she said.
'Throughout the night normal conversation got a little bit weird.
'He said to me, 'Private, could I have a word with you/' and then the inappropriate comments started.
'He was saying:' I really want to kiss you, you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen, can you come back to my room tonight?'
'Multiple times throughout these interactions he tried to kiss me and that was refused.
The military court at Catterick, North Yorks, was told the captain was 'trying to play catch up' with his drinking after arriving at his dinner late due to a hospital appointment
'As Captain Wedgwood got there a little later, I felt he was trying to play catch up with everyone else so was having a few more drinks to himself.'
She said that at various times in the evening the captain would arrive to stand beside her placing his hand on her arms, her back or her bottom.
She said: 'I would move so that his hand was not on me.'
Later in the night she said he shocked her by slapping her bottom in front of other recruits from her detachment.
The woman said: 'I was perched on a bar stool, balanced on the edge.
He walked past me, slapped me on the bum, grabbed me around the waist and said: 'You are coming home with me tonight.'
'The slap was done with intention, it was loud and hard enough that I could feel and hear it.
'I thought wow, did that just happen?'
She was sufficiently shaken by the alleged assault from a commanding officer that she brought the matter to the attention of two orderlies at the barracks.
She said the female orderly tried to confront Captain Wedgwood, She said: 'She confronted him and he ran away from her and no one could find him.'
The alleged sexual assault was witnessed by another private, a friend of the complainant, who described Captain Wedgwood as 'intoxicated and handsy.'
Sean Hammond, defending, suggested to the private that he had been told by the complainant that Captain Wedgwood 'had been predatory towards her.'
Mr Hammond suggested that because of that, the soldier was recalling what the complainant had told him rather than what he had actually seen.
He insisted he saw the captain strike his friend to the bottom with an upward swing of his hand and had heard him invite her to his room.
Mr Hammond outlined Captain Wedgwood's recollection of the events to the alleged victim.
He said: 'I suggest during the evening Captain Wedgwood was not following you around and touching you repeatedly.
'He did speak to you a number of times, just as he was speaking to other members of your attachment and those interactions were entirely professional and normal.
'I suggest that although he'd had a drink he was not drunk or intoxicated at that stage in the evening to the level you are describing.
'I suggest you were the one who was affected by drink and it made you giggly and over familiar with people.'
He said that at one point in the evening Captain Wedgwood was alone with the private, speaking to her about career-related matters.
Mr Hammond said: 'During this interaction you put your hands on his ribcage and moved in as if you were to kiss him. He backed away saying 'no, I am a happily married man.
'You were mortified and embarrassed that you had misread the situation and had been rejected. Isn't that what happened?'
The woman denied the version of events, saying: 'I would never try it on with a married man. I'm a proud Catholic and I have morals.'
The hearing continues.
Following the publication of this article, Capt Ruaridh Wedgwood has been acquitted
Yi embroidery in SW Chinas Yunnan prospers
People's Daily Online) 10:00, February 22, 2023
Female embroiderers of the Yi ethnic group discuss embroidery techniques with each other. (People's Daily Online/Hu Zunhui)
In recent years, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province has advanced the development of Yi embroidery art.
For over 1,700 years, Chuxiong Yi embroidery art has been known for its creative themes, beautiful color schemes and exquisite designs.
In Chuxiong, there are 538 households, 56 cooperatives and about 57,000 female embroiderers engaged in the craft. In 2022, the added value of the embroidery sector in the prefecture reached 245 million yuan (about $35.67 million), which was 11 times than in 2012. In recent years, the craft of the Yi embroidery has become a tool for rural residents to raise their income, as well as for rural vitalization.
(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wang Yi, a top Chinese diplomat, at the Kremlin on Wednesday, according to media reports.
Vladimir Putin was seen across the cameras discussing a "complex international problem" with Wang at a long table, per CNN.
Russia's head of state praised the "new milestones" reached between Moscow and Beijing during the meeting with the senior Chinese official.
Vladimir Putin noted that Russia-China ties "are developing as we planned in previous years. Everything is moving forward and developing, and we are reaching new milestones."
Wang Yi pledges that the Russia -China relations would not yield to external pressure, according to the BBC.
Wang Yi adds in a friendly tone that China is eager to enhance its collaboration with Russia's Moscow for the benefit of both nations and the globe.
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Russia-China Relationship Remains Strong Amid Pressure From West
Wang's Russia visit indicates Beijing's ongoing alignment with Moscow. It occurs in the days leading up to the first anniversary of Russia-Ukraine war and in the aftermath of the US shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, according to Nikkei Asia.
Beijing has declined to denounce Moscow for its continued aggression in the Russia Ukraine war and has instead repeated Kremlin's allegations that NATO sparked the conflict.
The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Wang Yi follows an announcement by US President Joe Biden that he would meet with NATO officials on the alliance's eastern border to discuss security.
Biden on Wednesday will meet with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, a group of NATO member states that joined after once being under Russian control, per a previous HNGN report.
Related Article: China Will Not Supply Weapons To Russia
@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The incident took place at an East Brisbane private school
Footage sees the boy ask the students who took his lollies
A school boy, 14, has threatened two students with a knife
A teenage school boy at an elite private school has pulled out a knife and threatened a student over a bag of lollies.
Bizarre footage shows the angry teen, 14, holding a knife inside a boy's bathroom at Anglican Church Grammar School in East Brisbane last Saturday.
He asks a Year 9 student 'who took my bag of lollies?' believing he had stolen them from his backpack.
'Where did you put my s***?'
The student filming the boy at the $27,000-a-year school responds: 'No one took your stuff. Put the f***ing knife away.'
Footage has emerged of a private school boy, 14, from Anglican Church Grammar School in East Brisbane threatening a student with a knife inside a bathroom
'Really so why isn't it in my bag?' the boy says brandishing the blade.
'You took all my lollies from my bag. Why did you eat them all?'
The student denies eating the lollies.
'I just got in here c***,' he bluntly tells him.
He then demands the boy 'put the f***ing knife away' again.
The boy is seen pulling out a sheath and putting the blade inside as the footage cuts.
Anglican Church Grammar headmaster Dr Alan Campbell confirmed the private school was aware of the incident.
He explained that the school was in contact with Queensland Police.
'We take the welfare of all students very seriously and we are currently liaising with the Queensland Police Service, who are investigating, to understand how this incident occurred,' he told the Courier Mail.
'Clearly, there is never any justification for bringing a knife into a school environment.
The teenager asks the other students who stole his bag of lollies as one of the students records the confrontation on his phone
The student filming demands the boy 'put the f***ing knife away', which he does. Anglican Church Grammar School said it was aware of the incident and were in contact with police
'This incident reminds us that the young people in our care, more than ever, require us to be ever vigilant and sensitive while providing clear boundaries and high standards in the behaviour we expect.'
A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman told the publication that a 14-year-old boy had been dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act following the incident.
Officers from the Morningside Child Protection and Investigation Unit were working with the school as part of investigations and would be provide support, according to the spokeswoman.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted police and the school for further comment.
It has now been 32 days since the last rainfall, the worst on record since 1959
France is preparing to introduce restrictions on water use following the driest winter in 64 years, as a severe drought threatens countries across Europe.
Water restrictions are set to be introduced from March in an unprecedented move for the time of year, France's environment minister Christophe Bechu said on Wednesday.
It has now been 32 days since the last rainfall, the worst since records going back to 1959.
The news comes as other European countries face similar concerns with the risk of catastrophic drought and rising temperatures due to global warming, following the third hottest January on record.
The unseasonable weather across the continent has seen water reserves sink in Spain, crop production slashed, and low tides leaving gondolas unable to navigate Venice's historic canals.
It has now been 32 days since the last rainfall, the worst since records going back to 1959. Pictured: Soil is broken due to drought in Le Broc near Nice, France, February 22, 2023
In France, water restrictions are set to be introduced from March in an unprecedented move for the time of year
In France, watering and irrigation is already restricted in 87 municipalities in the south - a measure usually put in place in the summer rather than the winter - and meetings with officials on Friday and Monday will look at extending this, environment minister Bechu said.
'It's unprecedented' at this time of year, the minister told broadcaster Franceinfo. 'France is in a state of alert.'
Bechu did not spell out the possible measures but said they would be 'soft' ones, and would be taken on a case by case basis when needed in a specific area to avoid having to take tougher, emergency measures closer to the summer.
As an example, filling swimming pools could be restricted in some territories, he said.
Hydro stocks are low in France compared to last year, the second lowest over ten years, and the quantity of snow in the Alps is also low in comparison with 2022, which was a particularly dry year.
'Overall, we expect low hydro power production and river levels lower for the spring and summer,' Jean-Paul Harreman, director of EnAppSys BV consultancy said.
Meteo-France said the rainfall for the next three months would be crucial for groundwater and rivers returning to their usual levels ahead of the summer.
Since August 2021, all months but three have had a rain deficit.
In Spain, one of the European countries most exposed to the risk of drought, there is also concern about current water reserves. Pictured: A skinny cow lays due to lack of food at the Donana Natural Park in Huelva, Spain on January 25, 2023
An aerial view of the dry marshes at the Donana Natural Park in Huelva, Spain on January 25, 2023
Farmers in the European Union's biggest agricultural sector are watching to see if scone showers forecast from Wednesday will ease dryness ahead of the spring growing season.
While cereal crops sown before winter remain in good condition, according to farm office FranceAgriMer, there are concerns spring-planted crops such as maize and sugar beet may suffer from water stress, like during last year's drought.
That drought led growers to increase sowing of winter crops such as wheat and leave less room for spring varieties this year, the FNSEA farming union said.
'Farmers have already adapted their sowing,' FNSEA President Christiane Lambert told reporters on Tuesday.
In Spain, one of the European countries most exposed to the risk of drought, there is also concern about current water reserves.
Barcelona and large swathes of Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia have imposed water restrictions due to the lack of rain.
The measures include banning the use of drinking water to wash the exterior of houses or cars or to fill swimming pools, and reducing the amount of water used for irrigation.
But the country's 1962 record of 79 days with no more than 1mm of rainfall still stands.
The unseasonable weather across the continent has seen water reserves sink in Spain, crop production slashed, and low tides leaving gondolas unable to navigate Venice's historic canals
Gondolas tied up in Venice Canal Grande, during a severe low tide in the lagoon city of Venice
In Italy, the warmer weather has led to a reduction in snow cover and related water resources. The Italian Alps had 53 percent less snow than usual, reducing the amount of meltwater for the Po Valley, the country's main agricultural hub.
The flow rate of the Po River was nearing all-time lows in at least two cities last week, according to the national body overseeing land and irrigation resource management.
Nationwide, snow-related water resources were 45 percent lower in mid February than the 10-year average, according to Fondazione CIMA, a research institute.
London Underground drivers will stage a fresh strike as they join 100,000 civil servants in walking out of their jobs for 24 hours on Budget Day.
Tube drivers in the capital will hold industrial action on Wednesday, March 15 - the same day Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will reveal his Budget - as their dispute over pensions and working arrangements rumbles on.
The Aslef union, which represents train drivers, said 99 per cent of its members came out in favour of strike action, with 77 per cent turning out to vote in their row with Transport for London (TfL).
The union's decision to strike on March 15 means they will join more than 100,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, providing a tumultuous backdrop to Mr Hunt's Spring Budget.
The industrial action will also take place the day before members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union strike at Network Rail and 14 train operating companies across the UK and will kick off days of chaos on the railways.
The Aslef union has announced Tube drivers will go on strike for 24 hours on March 15. Pictured: Euston Underground Station closed during a strike in November last year
The strike will take place on March 15, the same day Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (pictured) is due to announce the Government's annual Budget
Aslef said the dispute is over a failure to accept that changes to working arrangements and pensions should happen by agreement.
READ MORE HERE: How union boss Mick Lynch could cost rail workers another 500 by prolonging strikes into April Advertisement
Finn Brennan, Aslef's full-time organiser on the Underground, said: 'The size of these 'Yes' votes, and the large turnouts, show that our members are not prepared to put up any longer with the threats to their working conditions and pensions.
'We understand that TfL faces financial challenges post-pandemic, but our members are simply not prepared to pay the price for the Government's failure to properly fund London's public transport system.
'Cuts to safety training have already been forced through and management is open that they plan to remove all current working agreements under the guise of 'modernisation' and 'flexibility' and to replace the agreed attendance and discipline policies. Proposals to slash pension benefits are due to be announced in the next week.
'We are always prepared to discuss and negotiate on changes, but our members want an unequivocal commitment from TfL that management will not continue to force through detrimental changes without agreement.
'Unless they are prepared to work with us, and accept that changes have to come by agreement, and bring real benefits to staff, rather than just cuts and cost savings, this will be only the first day of action in a protracted dispute.'
Nick Dent, Director of Customer Operations at TfL, said: 'We have not proposed changes to anyone's pensions, and instead have been working with our trade unions to see how we can make London Underground a fairer and more sustainable place.
'We want to make London Underground a better place to work so we urge ASLEF to call off this damaging strike and continue working with us.'
It means there are likely to be severe delays across London's Underground network and knock-on effects on other public transport services such as buses in the capital.
It will be the first strike on the Tube since November last year, when combined action by the RMT and Aslef brought the underground rail network grinding to a halt.
The union said its members are 'simply not prepared to pay the price for the Government's failure to properly fund London's public transport system'. Pictured: Aslef members at a picket outside Euston Station on February 3
Aslef has called on TfL not to force through detrimental changes without agreement from its members. Pictured: An Aslef member stands on the picket line outside Birmingham's New Street Station on February 3
The union, led by general secretary Mick Whelan, says 99 per cent of its members voted in favour of strike action. Pictured: Mr Whelan outside The British Museum at a strike by PCS members on February 14
Around 100,000 civil servants in the Public and Commercial Services union are also planning to strike on Budget day in a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and pensions.
READ MORE HERE: Devastating NHS nursing strikes are PAUSED as ministers finally agree to 'intensive talks' over pay Advertisement
The PCS union said it was escalating its campaign of industrial action by targeting March 15.
Next month's strike could be joined by a further 33,000 PCS members working for ten more employers, including HM Revenue & Customs, whose strike ballot results are due this month.
The PCS said 100,000 of its members went on strike last week alongside teachers, university lecturers and train drivers in separate disputes.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'Rishi Sunak doesn't seem to understand that the more he ignores our members' demands for a pay rise to get them through the cost of living crisis, the more angry and more determined he makes them.
'PCS members are suffering a completely unacceptable decline in their pay.
'By April, one third of HMRC staff, for example, will be earning just the minimum wage, and 40,000 civil servants have used a food bank.
'It's an appalling way for the Government to treat its own workforce.
'Rishi Sunak can end this dispute tomorrow if he puts more money on the table. If he refuses to do that, more action is inevitable.'
The strike will herald days of chaos on Britain's railways, with thousands of members of Mick Lynch's RMT union walking out of their jobs in the days after.
RMT members will strike at Network Rail and 14 rail operating companies on March 16, 18 and 30, and April 1.
The first of these strikes will coincide with a walk-out by teachers which is likely to close schools in England and Wales, as well as action by university staff.
Rishi Sunak was cornered by unionists and Labour at Prime Ministers Questions today as he was attacked over his attempt to sort a Brexit deal with the EU.
DUP leader Sir Jeffery Donaldson ripped into the PM as he demanded the whole withdrawal agreement be rewritten to remove jurisdiction for 'undemocratic' EU laws in Northern Ireland.
Mr Sunak was also put on the spot at Prime Minister's Questions by Labour leader Keir Starmer over an outline agreement with Brussels that could be ready to go this week if the DUP agrees to back it.
The agreement would seek to solve the months-long impasse over a trade former in Northern Ireland that has become a running political and economic sore.
Speaking in a packed House of Commons, Sir Jeffrey said: 'Does the Prime Minister accept how important the constitution and democratic issues are in relation to getting a solution, and will he agree with me that is unacceptable that EU laws are imposed on Northern Ireland with no democratic scrutiny or consent? And will he assure me that he will address these fundamental constitutional issues and do so not just by tweaking the protocol, but by rewriting the legally binding treaty text?'
But Mr Sunak declined to agree, replying: 'I have heard loud and clear when he says he wants and needs these issues resolved so that he has a basis to work with others to restore power-sharing and I know that that is genuine.'
Sir Keir also asked him about the retention of EU laws in Ulster - a key sticking point - which would be required to avert a hard border in the island of Ireland, to with virtually the whole Conservative Party watching on.
The PM refused to commit to removing it, accusing the Labour leader of 'jumping ahead' over a text he has yet to see.
Mr Sunak was put on the spot at Prime Minister's Questions by Labour leader Keir Starmer over an outline agreement with Brussels that could be ready to go this week if the DUP agrees to back it.
At PMQs Sir Keir Starmer asked him about the retention of EU laws in Ulster - a key sticking point - which would be required to avert a hard border in the island of Ireland, to with virtually the whole Conservative Party watching on.
Three recent polls by YouGov, Deltapoll and Redfield and Wilton Strategies, put Labour on at least 50 per cent of the vote.
Mr Sunak said: 'As he knows, we are still in active discussions with the European Union, but he should know that I am a Conservative, a Brexiter and a unionist, and any agreement that we reach needs to tick all three boxes.'
He also refused to accede to a demand from DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson that he rewrite the whole EU withdrawal agreement text.
He suggested MPs would get a Commons' vote on any deal that is agreed, though No10 later played down the chances of this happening.
It comes as opinion polls showed the Tories falling even further behind Labour in the polls. Three recent polls by YouGov, Deltapoll and Redfield and Wilton Strategies, put Labour on at least 50 per cent of the vote.
Sir Jeffrey last night warned there was 'some way to go' to placate his party over rules governing goods entering Ulster from Britain.
What is the Brexit row about and what has been the impact on Northern Ireland? The UK and the EU have been engaged in substantive negotiations over the workings of the Northern Ireland Protocol of the original withdrawal agreement that allowed the UK to leave the EU. It was designed to ensure the free movement of goods across the Irish land border with Ulster after Brexit. Rather than being an internal EU line between two countries, with Brexit it became a border between the bloc and a third party country with different customs and trade rules. In any other cases it would be solved simply by creating a 'hard' border - physical checks on vehicles and people travelling between the two. But the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of violence in 1998, expressly prohibits a return to such checkpoints on the island of Ireland. To get around this the protocol instead created economic barriers on trade being shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. It has proven to be deeply unpopular with unionists, who claim it has weakened Northern Ireland's place within the UK. Last year the DUP collapsed the powersharing institutions at Stormont in protest at the arrangements. It came as the party was replaced as the largest in the powersharing government by Sinn Fein for the first time. And the DUP is refusing to back a deal and restart powersharing unless their concerns are realised. They have set seven tests that it must pass to be approved. Advertisement
However, a minister today suggested the DUP needed to 'live in the real world' and accept the deal.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer told Times Radio that parties in Northern Ireland needed to 'conduct themselves in good faith' when asked about the protocol debate which has seen Stormont suspended.
Asked whether the DUP was 'letting down' people in Northern Ireland, he said: 'I think people in politics have got to remember what we're there for: we're here to serve, it is a life of public service. No one party has a monopoly on what's right for Northern Ireland.'
One senior Tory ERG member told MailOnline it would be 'suicide' for the PM to push ahead with a deal without getting the DUP on board, warning there would inevitably be a Commons vote.
'They'd be stupid. If the institutions aren't restored it'll be a futile exercise,' the MP said.
'He must listen to sensible advice.'
The MP added: 'The EU will be more persuadable if the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill goes ahead.'
Another former minister suggested that Mr Sunak could only be hoping that the DUP takes a neutral stance on any deal. 'I think that must be it,' they said.
Sir Jeffrey last night outlined how his party was pushing for the UK Government to remove requirements for Northern Ireland businesses to have to abide by EU laws when selling goods to the rest of the UK.
He said the idea of 'dynamic alignment' between Northern Ireland and EU rules, as currently exists under the Protocol, was 'the key issue' in his party's opposition to the post-Brexit arrangements.
The ERG, which has often been a staunch supporter of the DUP on Brexit issues, insisted it could only take a view on a Protocol deal once it had been scrutinised by its 'Star Chamber' of lawyers.
A revolt by Tory eurosceptics against a Protocol deal could imperil Mr Sunak's chances of finally resolving the UK's dispute with Brussels and put further pressure on his premiership.
The DUP are continuing to boycott powersharing in Northern Ireland as part of their protest against the Protocol, with a resolution to the UK-EU row seen as critical to restoring Stormont government.
Speaking after a meeting with the ERG at Westminster tonight, attended by up to 50 MPs, Sir Jeffrey commended Mr Sunak for the progress he had made so far on reaching a Protocol deal with the EU.
But he added: 'There's still some way to go, there are still some very key issues that need to be resolved.
'We will work with the Government to ensure we get the right outcome. An outcome that respects Northern Ireland's place in the UK and its internal market, an outcome that meets our seven tests, and an outcome that sees the political institutions in Northern Ireland restored on a firm democratic footing.'
Sir Jeffrey said the DUP were 'concerned' that any deal means the application of EU law is replaced by UK law for Northern Ireland businesses trading goods with the rest of the UK.
He stressed that Northern Ireland should 'follow UK law and UK standards for trade within the UK and, for trade with the EU, we follow EU law and EU standards'.
'That's very clear. The Protocol created a huge problem for Northern Ireland and our ability to trade with the rest of the UK,' he added. 'That at its heart is what needs to be resolved.'
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer told Times Radio that parties in Northern Ireland needed to 'conduct themselves in good faith' when asked about the protocol debate which has seen Stormont suspended.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said there was 'still some way to go' on a Protocol deal after meeting with Tory Brexiteers at Westminster
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is thought to be on the verge of striking a deal over the post-Brexit trade dispute with the EU
The DUP leader said it was 'not acceptable' to have a situation where Northern Ireland could import goods from Great Britain and sell them as products made to UK standards, but then make the same products in Northern Ireland and be forced to make them to EU standards.
'The idea that all goods manufactured in Northern Ireland should align to the EU single market and its rules really inhibits our ability to trade within the UK and that's not acceptable,' he added.
Sir Jeffrey admitted he had yet to see the legal text of any Protocol agreement between the UK and EU, but said it was 'possible' that a breakthrough could emerge 'in the next few days'.
Pressed on whether Brussels would ever agree to the DUP's demands, Sir Jeffrey pointed out how he was previously told the EU would never renegotiate the Protocol.
'I don't subscribe to the never ever view,' he added.
ERG chairman Mark Francois said Tory Brexiteers would not be able to support any deal struck between Mr Sunak and Brussels until they had seen a legal text
ERG chairman Mark Francois said Tory Brexiteers would not be able to support any deal struck between Mr Sunak and Brussels until they had seen a legal text.
'Any MP worth their salt, if they're asked to vote on a deal, weants to be able to read it first,' he said. 'That's not unreasonable.
'We too would be very keen to read the legal text and our Star Chamber of lawyers, under Sir Bill Cash's chairmanship, will put it through pretty close scrutiny.
'And then when we've had a chance to do that we can given you an opinion too.
'But I think it's not unreasonable to point out, you can't ask for the degree of support or otherwise for a deal or against a deal, until you can't actually ask what the deal is.'
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and the EU's Maros Sefcovic had earlier held talks via video link.
Mr Cleverly said the trio 'remain laser-focussed on finding a solution that works for the people of Northern Ireland' and would speak again soon.
Cando will appear in court later today; she is said to live in downtown Manhattan
She is also charged with criminal mischief for vandalizing two cop cars
Angelina Cando, 30, was arrested on Tuesday for setting fire to the Pride flag
A 30-year-old woman who was arrested for setting fire to the Pride flag outside Little Prince, a New York City restaurant, last week, has appeared in court.
Angelina Cando was charged with arson as a hate crime and reckless endangerment as a hate crime. She appeared today, and had 'outbursts' in front of the judge where she insisted she was innocent.
Cando was also charged with criminal mischief for scrawling 'Jesus is King' on the back of two NYPD squad cars.
Angelina Cando appeared in court today
Cando was also charged with criminal mischief for scrawling 'Jesus is King' on the back of two NYPD squad cars
Angelina Cando was charged with arson as a hate crime and reckless endangerment as a hate crime
The fire was seen slowly starting outside of the restaurant as several cars passed by
The woman was seen approaching the flag that read, 'Make America Gay Again' in front of the Little Prince Restaurant
She is due in court in New York City later today.
Cando has been arrested in the past for menacing, though details of those crimes are not clear.
The incident sparked outrage among Little Prince's trendy downtown clientele.
The French hotspot is in the heart of SoHo and has been the target of homophobic attacks before.
A worker previously revealed that someone once tried to steal the Pride flag, which hangs proudly among an exterior flower wall.
The NYPD listed Cando as having a downtown Manhattan address not far from the restaurant, but no other details of her life have yet become public.
She is currently being held in custody.
For the first time ever, the city of Los Angeles is under a blizzard warning as a dangerous winter storm makes its way from California to Maine.
The National Weather Service Los Angeles shared the historic warning Wednesday, writing: 'Blizzard warning for extremely dangerous mountain conditions coming. Mountain travel will be a mess.'
Noting just how unusual the warning was, the NWS LA added: 'Clarification note on previous post. After review (sic) more records, This is the first blizzard warning we are aware of (even dating back before 2007).
'This is shaping up to be a very unusual event in certain places, especially and the impacts are probably going to be really substantial,' UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a video posted to YouTube Tuesday night.
Snow has already begun falling in parts of the Midwest, which could see over two feet of snow from Winter Storm Olive from Wednesday night into Thursday.
More than 65million people across 29 states from California to Minnesota, through Maine, are now under winter weather alerts that warn of icy conditions, extreme cold and sleet, with the upper Midwest expected to bear the brunt of Olive's wrath.
But even California and the northeast are expected to be affected by the powerful storm, with thousands of customers already without power in the Golden State, and more than 1,400 flights canceled across the country.
The National Weather Service said it is the first blizzard area that it is aware of for the city, and that the warning is the first it has ever issued for the normally temperate city
LEHI, UTAH: A group of good Samaritans were seen trying to push a car out of the snow on Wednesday as a dangerous storm made its way across the country
DENVER, COLORADO: Downtown Denver Business Improvement District employees shoveled the sidewalk outside of Union Station during Winter Storm Olive on Wednesday
As of Wednesday evening, nearly 1,500 flights were canceled coming into, leaving or traveling within the United States, according to FlightAware.com. Nearly 4,000 other flights were delayed.
The situation seemed to be the most dire at the Minnesota/St. Paul International Airport, which canceled 46percent of its outgoing flights and 51percent of its incoming flights.
Making matters worse for travelers, several interstate highways across California and the Midwest were shut down.
Meanwhile, more than 141,000 homes and businesses across five states were already without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
The majority of the outages were reported in California, where Pacific Gas and Electric said strong winds were already affecting the electrical equipment, while the Weather Service office in San Francisco reported downed trees and damaged roofs.
The area is now expected to see snowy conditions over the next few days, with the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties all under blizzard warnings from Friday through Saturday as cooler air moves in and wind speeds increase to 55mph.
The snow is expected to hit low elevations 'all the way from the Oregon border to the Mexican border,' Swain warned. 'Nearly the entire population of CA will be able to see snow from some vantage points later this week if they look in the right direction.'
Some areas more than 6,000 feet above sea level could see up to seven feet of snow, while areas with elevations of less than 2,600 are likely to see lower amounts.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said it is the first blizzard area that it is aware of for the city.
At the same time, areas along the coast and the valleys will see several inches of rain.
Up to seven feet of snow are predicted in some areas more than 6,000 feet above sea level, while lower amounts are expected in elevations of less than 2,500 feet.
DENVER, COLORADO: A United Airlines flight had to be de-iced before it could take off on Wednesday
DENVER, COLORADO: Cathi Vinson looks at a departures board at Denver International Airport showing canceled and delayed flights as she hopes to fly home to Houston
ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS: The Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport canceled nearly half of its outgoing and incoming flights on Wednesday
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Travelers are pictured waiting for their flights on Wednesday, as nearly 1,500 flights were canceled coming into, leaving or traveling within the United States, and another nearly 4,000 were delayed
DENVER, COLORADO: Travelers are pictured passing through a TSA security checkpoint amid widespread flight cancelations and delays
But it is the Midwest that will likely bear the brunt of the winter storm, as more than 5million people are under ice storm warnings across northeastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin, northwest Illinois and southern Michigan.
Another 2million people are under blizzard warnings across Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas.
Forecasters say Milwaukee, Detroit and Ann Arbor are likely to experience icing, as damaging winds and rain batter parts of Oklahoma, into western Arkansas, across Missouri and into western Illinois.
Some areas may see as much as 25 inches of snow, with the heaviest amounts falling across Minnesota and Wisconsin, while wind gusts could reach 50mph and wind chills could hit below 50 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota.
The city of Sioux Falls in South Dakota is now bracing for up to 16 inches of snow, in addition to the four inches the state has already seen.
And in North Dakota temperatures could plunge as low as negative 20 degrees Thursday and to minus 25 degrees in Grand Forks.
Schools across the area have already been cancelled, with even the Minnesota State Legislature closed as South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem shut down the state executive branch offices in several parts of the state, with employees working remotely.
Winter Storm Olive is expected to bring snow, ice and frigid temperatures to states across the country in the coming days
Some areas, particularly in the Midwest, may see snowfall totals of up to two feet
In Wyoming, dangerous conditions were already evident along the interstates on Wednesday morning.
Dashcam footage caught the moment a Wyoming state trooper was nearly killed by an out-of-control semi, on a snowy highway, as a dangerous nationwide winter storm is expected to bring up to two feet of snow to large swathes of the US.
Video posted online by the Wyoming Highway Patrol shows a state trooper returning to his car Tuesday, when a large white truck barrels down Interstate-80 near Rawlins. Fortunately, the trooper manages to run out of the truck's way before it could hit him.
'The tractor and trailer driver could not maintain control of his vehicle and ran off the roadway and into the median,' the Highway Patrol explained on Facebook. 'Luckily, no law enforcement or first responders lost their lives.'
Eastern Wyoming College has already announced the closure of its main campus and the Food Bank of Wyoming, which serves all 23 counties, planned to close for the day.
The city of Cheyenne is now expected to see snowfall up to one foot and heavy winds that could make temperatures feel as cold as 35 below zero.
Harrowing dash cam video captured the moment a Wyoming state trooper was nearly plowed down by an out-of-control semi truck as a winter storm approaches
Still, forecasters say it is the Twin Cities in Minnesota that will fare the worst in the storm, receiving more than 20 inches on Wednesday and more than two feet total over the next three-days potentially the most snowfall the notoriously snowy city has seen in 30 years.
The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities said the 'historic' three-day storm 'will bring widespread accumulating snow, with blowing and drifting snow mainly Wednesday through Thursday.'
The worst impacts are expected to begin late Wednesday into Thursday, when heavy snow will blanket the cities quickly and be accompanied by gusty winds.
Some parts could see snowfall rates of one to two inches per hour.
By Thursday, CNN reports, parts of Minneapolis could see between 15 to 25 inches of snow in addition to the one to three inches that have already fallen there.
The largest snowstorm on record for the city was 28.4 inches from October 31 through November 3, 1991 known as the Halloween Blizzard. The second largest dumped 21.1 inches of snow from November 29 through December 1, 1985.
Making matters worse in the city, wind chills may make temperatures fall to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which could result 'in significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions,' the National Weather Service said.
Gov. Tim Walz said he has already directed the state's National Guard, the transportation department and the state patrol to be prepared to respond to the effects of the storm.
'We're working to ensure we're ready and Minnesotans have a part to play, too,' he tweeted, advising residents to 'plan ahead, drive safe [and] limit travel.'
The Minneapolis area is expected to be hit the hardest by the winter storm. Snow began falling around the Cathedral of Saint Paul on Tuesday
LEHI, UTAH: People pushed a vehicle out of the snow on Mountain View Parkway amid whiteout conditions
BIG COTTONWOOD CANYON, UTAH: Heavy snowfall covered parked cars as local officials urged residents to use traction devices if they have to drive
LEHI, UTAH: Police and emergency workers tried to free a U-Haul moving truck from the snow on Mountain View Parkway Wednesday
SALT LAKE VALLEY, UTAH: Skiers and snowboarders took advantage of the weather
On Tuesday, families scrambled in the Twin Cities on Tuesday to get shopping done before the extreme weather sets in.
Molly Schirmer, for example, was seen stocking up on heat-and-serve dinners and Mexican Coca Colas at a Costco in St. Louis Park, knowing her teenagers might get stuck inside.
'The schools are already preparing to go online, so the kids will probably be home doing online school,' she told the Associated Press.
And in Mankato, Minnesota, C&S Supply manager Corey Kapaun said demand was high for salt and grit though shovels, now plows and other equipment were not yet selling out.
He attributed that to the fact that winter is almost over.
'I think people are either prepared or they're not,' he said. 'It's usually the first snowfall of the year that gets a lot of attention.'
Ayden Ereth is pictured brushing snow off his vehicle in Bismarck, North Dakota on Tuesday
PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA: Carolyn and Dan Elwood shoveled snow outside their store
SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA: A family walks through blowing snow as weather conditions worsened on Wednesday
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: Runners negotiated snow covered paths along Interstate 80
Drivers have been urged to stay off the roads as Winter Storm Olive makes its way across Minneapolis, Minnesota on Wednesday
Interstates across the Midwest have already shut down in preparation for the devastating storm
Once the storm is done battering the Midwest, it is expected to make its way to the northeast, where it could bring snowfall totals of up to a foot in high elevations like the Adirondacks.
Lighter accumulations of up to four inches were predicted in lower elevations across upstate New York and central New England.
A winter storm watch is now in effect for parts of Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont/
A hardened criminal whose gang murdered a hero off-duty policeman before escaping from jail and going on the run for 13-years has a parole hearing today and could be freed.
James Hurley, now 60, was once Scotland Yard's 'Most Wanted' after fleeing abroad in 1994 after escaping while being transferred to Wandsworth Prison, south east London.
Hurley was serving a life sentence at the time having been convicted of being part of a gang involved in an armed robbery on April 14 1988 on a Barclays Bank in Hemel Hempstead.
He was the getaway driver in the operation, alongside two other men who ambushed a security van outside the bank premises in Bank Court.
James Hurley, now 60, was part of a gang who murdered hero police officer Frank Mason as he tried to stopped them raiding a security van outside a bank in 1988
Off-duty Hertfordshire Police Constable Frank Mason attempted to intervene in the robbery and was shot in the back as he attempted to arrest one of the suspects.
Shocked on-lookers later spoke of the terrible scene as passersby made efforts to comfort and save the 27-year-old PC, who had only been in the force for four years.
Sara Jones, a nurse, who rushed to Frank's side, later testified: 'He had lost blood from a wound in his back. He was semi-conscious, slipping away, I could tell.'
PC Mason, who had previously been a young reporter on the Watford Evening Echo, died of his injuries. He was posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his bravery.
He had recently married wife Jill. They had no children.
The robbers escaped with 15,480 in cash and cheques worth 86,000.
Hurley, then 26 and two other gunmen - Charlie McGhee, 30, described by police as 'Luton's public enemy Number One', and Perry Wharrie, 28, were arrested a short time later.
The three gang members were convicted of murder after a trial at Southwark Crown Court in 1989 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
At the trial, Mr Michael Kalisher QC told the jury: 'He (PC Mason) saw the robbery taking place and with considerable courage, because he must have seen they were armed, decided to tackle the parties.
Hero: Off-duty PC Mason, 27, tried to intervene in the robbery and was shot in the back as he attempted to arrest one of the suspects. He had only been in the police force for four years when he was murdered and had been walking his dog at the time
'PC Mason was shot in the back at close range with a Colt revolver.'
The Parole Board confirmed to MailOnline that Hurley would have his first parole hearing today.
The news has come as a shock to PC Mason's widow Jill, who now lives abroad.
Jill, who is in her 60s, said in a statement to MailOnline: 'Thirty-five years after Francis was murdered, I still wonder what my life would have been like if he hadn't been brave, if he hadn't been a policeman, if he hadn't been walking the dog and intervened.
'We loved each other so much; I am sure it would have been a wonderful life.
'When people do bad things, it is not just the victim and the victim's family that suffer.
'Hurley and his family will have missed out on so much life and joy and opportunities to be happy.
'If he is released, Hurley will still have time to do those things whereas Francis won't and that will always feel unfair.
'Losing him has always been the cruellest blow to my life, he was the best and loveliest of men.'
Hurley could also be moved to an open jail if the Parole Board does not choose to release him.
The parole panel will take into consideration Hurley's behaviour in jail, including his extraordinary escape from custody and life on the run.
PC Mason, who had previously been a young reporter on the Watford Evening Echo, was posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his bravery. His widowed wife Jill told MailOnline she still wonders what their life would have been like if he hadn't been killed
On February 16 1994, Hurley was being transferred from Olney prison near Rugby, Warwickshire, to HMP Wandsworth in a prison bus.
As the vehicle was travelling along Swandon Way, Wandsworth, about a mile from the new jail, Hurley and another inmate threatened a prison officer with a knife. Hurley managed to escape.
Hurley fled the country and seemed to disappear despite one of the biggest manhunts in UK and European criminal history involving individual police forces in many countries.
The search also involved Interpol, which brings together forces in 192 member countries and Europol, designed to handle pan-European criminal intelligence.
On the 10th anniversary of Hurley's escape, the Metropolitan Police stumped up 10,0000 for information leading to his arrest and released photos digitally modified to show how he might look in 2004.
Commander Andy Baker, of the Met's Specialist Crime Directorate said at the time: 'Hurley has been on the run for 10 years now. Perhaps he is tired of spending his life looking over his shoulder and we would urge him to contact police and turn himself in.
'We believe Hurley may have adopted a new identity and tried to start a new life for himself, but you cannot leave your past behind.
'I would urge anyone who recognises the man in the digitally aged pictures to contact police immediately.'
Despite the huge publicity, Hurley remained at large until police had a stroke of luck.
A raid on a drugs factory by Dutch police saw him arrested in The Hague on November 19, 2007.
Police tape off the scene of the killing where Hurley and his gang ambushed a security car and eventually escaped with 15,480 in cash and cheques worth 86,000
He gave a false name but fingerprints and DNA on a police database meant officers could identify him.
Frank's widow Jill said at the time: 'It doesn't bring Francis back, but Hurley needs to serve time for the crime he committed.'
After serving four years of a six-year sentence imposed for the possession of Class A drugs, he was returned to the UK on November 16, 2011.
Officers from the tactical team of Hertfordshire Constabulary extradited Hurley from the Netherlands and returned him to a London prison to serve his life sentence for the murder of PC Mason.
After being recaptured and imprisoned Hurley attempted to get his murder conviction overturned.
On July 30 2015, Hurley appealed to have his conviction for the murder of PC Mason quashed.
His legal team argued that he had been intimidated into keeping quiet by Charles McGhee, the man who pulled the trigger.
At his original trial, he had not given evidence in his own defence.
The Appeal Court rejected his claim. Lady Justice Hallett, sitting with two other judges, described his version of events as 'frankly incredible.'
She told the court: 'His [Hurley's] account has varied over the years in significant respects... he has changed his account several times on when he knew a man had been shot.
On February 16 1994, Hurley (pictured) was being transferred from Olney prison near Rugby, Warwickshire, to HMP Wandsworth in a prison bus. As the vehicle was travelling along Swandon Way, Wandsworth, about a mile from the new jail, Hurley and another inmate threatened a prison officer with a knife. Hurley managed to escape
'He appears to be the kind of man who is prepared to change his account as and when he feels his interests dictate.'
Hurley has served most of his sentence in maximum security prisons across England.
A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: 'An oral hearing has been listed for the parole review of James Hurley and is scheduled to take place in February 2023.
'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
'A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
'Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing.
Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing.
'The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more.
'Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.'
A spokesperson for Hertfordshire police said: 'Francis Mason was an exceptional police officer who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the public more than three decades ago.
'Today we still honour his memory in Hertfordshire with an annual awards event that recognises excellence in policing which is dedicated in his name.'
McGhee died in prison in 2009.
Wharrie was freed early from prison in 2005 after serving 17-years - only to go on to smuggle 350million of cocaine.
He got 30-years for the plot in 2008 when a gang was caught trying to smuggle the drug into Cork, West Ireland.
Paul Murdaugh's long-time girlfriend has broken her silence to accuse the murdered 22-year-old of physical abuse - and claimed his family once helped cover up a serious car crash when he was driving drunk.
Morgan Doughty, 23, spoke out about her turbulent relationship with Alex Murdaugh's younger son, Paul, for the first time in a new Netflix documentary 'Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal'. She described him as an abusive partner who would often drink, claiming that one night he started kicking her, and when she told him to stop, grabbed her by the throat and punched her.
Doughty detailed the events following a 2017 Christmas party, where she alleged a drunk Paul crashed his truck, with his family rushing to the scene to hide guns and beer cans in the vehicle before police arrived.
She also recalled how the family's housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, had found bags of pills belonging to Alex Murdaugh, who was addicted to opioids, and told Paul about it the same year she died from a fall at their estate.
The new allegations come amid the fifth week of Alex's double murder trial, in which he is accused of shooting dead his son Paul and his wife Maggie on June 7, 2021, at the family's sprawling hunting lodge in Moselle, South Carolina.
Morgan Doughty broke her silence to discuss her relationship with Paul Murdaugh, claiming he often abused alcohol and crashed his truck full of beer cans and guns in 2017, an event she said his family helped cover up
Doughty, pictured together with Paul, said their romance soured over his alleged heavy drinking and physical abuse, claiming he once grabbed her by the throat and hit her
The three-part Netflix documentary dives into the scandals and suspicious deaths linked to the once-prominent South Carolina legal scion Alex Murdaugh and his family between 2015 and 2021.
Speaking in the documentary, Doughty, who moved to South Carolina with her parents when starting high school, said she had a strong connection with Paul, and the two began going out in their junior year.
Alex Murdaugh (pictured) is on trial for the 2021 fatal shooting of his son, Paul, and wife, Maggie, at his hunting lodge
During their romance, Doughty said she and her friends would hang around Paul's home, where his parents allegedly offered the minors liquor on a regular basis.
'Whenever I came around the Murdaugh's, it was very normal for them to be drinking and have a lot of alcohol always stocked in the house,' Doughty said.
The claims of the Murdaugh's prevalent drinking culture matches what Doughty told police after the 2019 death of her friend Mallory Beach, 19 - who was killed in a boat crash allegedly driven by Paul when he was drunk.
In her affidavit, Doughty provided 25 videos of minors drinking alcohol with Alex and his family present.
But while the fatal boat crash has been heavily scrutinized, Doughty claimed Paul was responsible for another drunk driving incident two years prior.
On December 25, 2017, Doughty claimed she was driving an intoxicated Paul home when he 'aggressively' demanded that he drive his truck.
She said he then lost control and crashed into a ditch, adding that beer cans and guns inside the truck rolled over everywhere.
When she tried to call 911 for help, Doughty said Paul grabbed her phone and hung up, opting instead to call his grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh, and Alex.
Doughty claimed Randolph, Alex and Maggie Murdaugh rushed to the scene, and before checking up on the teens, they cleared the truck of the guns and beer cans.
She added that they chastised her for calling 911 because it would have meant trouble for their youngest son Paul.
Doughty said Alex and Maggie Murdaugh were fully aware of their son's drinking and that they often offered alcohol to minors. Pictured: a picture of Doughty giving Alex a shot in 2018
Doughty said Paul would drink regularly with friends as a minor (left), and would drink alcohol provide to him by his parents (right)
Doughty said there was a prevalent culture of drinking alcohol at the Murdaugh estate
Due in part to Paul's alleged constant drinking, Doughty said their relationship began to sour, with her friends warning her to stay away from him.
In the documentary, her friend Miley Altman said she and Beach would tell Doughty to end things with Paul, saying the couple would break up over the weekends and get back together again.
Describing her relationship with Paul, Doughty said: 'I think that our relationship is just something that I really clung to just because when it was good, it was really good. But when it was bad, it was really bad.'
She said their arguments began getting physical, and it all came to a head one night when they were celebrating Buster Murdaugh's graduation and Paul began kicking her at a hotel they were staying at.
Doughty noted that Paul was drunk, and when he told her to stop, he grabbed her by the throat.
'He got on top of me, and I just remember him screaming, "I told you to shut up,"' she recalled.
'Just holding down my throat. I just remember then he punched me really hard in the knee,' she added as she began to cry.
On the day of the boat crash, Doughty alleged that Paul slapped her and spat at her.
Doughty's parents, Bill and Diane, said they had no idea what their daughter had gone through, but said she was through with him on the day of the accident.
'She was done,' her mother, said. 'That was it.'
'She always said that Mallory saved her, and that's one way, really, she saved her.'
Along with her own inner turmoil, Doughty also offered insight into Paul, saying that he often felt he was a disappointment to his family and that he only got approval from the family's housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
Doughty said Satterfield was 'Paul's second mom,' and that the housekeeper had told him about 'baggies of pills' she found that belonged to Alex.
Alex had been abusing opioids for years, and was often confronted about it by his family, including Paul just a month before he and Maggie were murdered on June 7, 2021.
Doughty noted that Satterfield's discovery occurred in 2018, the same year she fell to her death in Alex's hunting lodge.
Doughty also said that Paul (left) felt like he was a disappointment to his family after his brother Buster (right) sought a career in law like their father
Paul's biggest supporter was housekeeper Gloria Satterfield (pictured), Doughty said, describing her as Paul's second mom. She died in a fall at Alex's hunting lodge in 2018, the same year she found the legal scion's 'baggie of pills'
The majority of the first episode in the Netflix series was dedicated to Beach's death and Paul's alleged role in it.
Beach, 19, was thrown from the boat when it crashed into Archers Creek Bridge, in Beaufort South Carolina, in February 2019. Her body was found five days later.
It is believed Paul, 19, was drunk at the time, with brother Buster accused of lending his younger brother his ID in order for him to buy alcohol before the crash.
Also speaking in the Netflix series was Anthony Cook, Beach's boyfriend, and his cousin Connor Cook, Miley's boyfriend.
Connor spoke about his outrage when the Murdaugh family attempted to pin the crash boat crash on him.
'I wanted to beat the sh** out of him because I wasn't driving,' Connor said, adding that he was relieved when Paul was finally indicted over Mallory's death
At the time of his death, Paul was awaiting trial on three felony counts two of boating under the influence and one of causing death and bodily injury.
He had been indicted and released on a $50,000 bond.
According to legal documents seen by DailyMail.com, Murdaugh was 'highly intoxicated,' 'drunk' and 'belligerent,' on the February night two years ago when he sped his boat into a piling on Archer's Creek.
All of the six youths on board that night were under 21, and were ejected from the vessel. But Beach did not make it to shore.
Beach's mother filed a $50million creditors claim against the estate of Paul and his late mother Maggie, while other boat crash survivors - Doughty and Altman - also filed claims against the Murdaugh estates for $10million and $5million.
Creditors claims filed against an estate are legal means for claimants to get money they feel they are owed from someone after they have died.
Doughty's friend, Mallory Beach (pictured) disapproved of her relationship with Paul. Beach, 19, died when an allegedly drunk Paul crashed his father's boat in 2019
Pictured: Blood found on the Murdaugh yacht following the fatal boat crash
Paul was allegedly driving the boat drunk with his friends on board when the boat crashed, sending everyone flying overboard, with all but Beach returning to shore
Pictured: Paul (right) walking with the group of friends to the yacht on the night of the crash
Last month, the family of Mallory Beach reached a tentative settlement with Buster Murdaugh in the $50million lawsuit.
The cost of the settlement has not been made public, but ABC News 4 reported that it had been told it is a 'significant' amount.
Reports say the settlement will mean that Buster and his late mother Maggie Murdaugh - who was accused of knowing her son Paul was drunk when he went out boating that night - are no longer named on the lawsuit.
This would leave just Paul and Buster's father Alex and Parker's Kitchen convenience store (where Paul purchased alcohol underage) as being named.
When President Joe Biden finished his rousing call to face down Vladimir Putin's invading forces in Ukraine, the music began: Coldplay's 'A Sky Full of Stars' blared through the PA system.
Much to the confusion of the tens of thousands of Poles and Ukrainians packed into the grounds of the Royal Castle in Warsaw.
'We would have an old standard, classical music or folk when the president speaks,' said broadcaster Pawel Sztompke.
'This music was pop. We didn't know this song was special for President Biden.'
He spent Wednesday explaining to his Radio Polskie audience that the song had been a favorite of Biden's late son Beau.
President Joe Biden walked out beneath a spectacular light show before tens of thousands Polish and Ukrainians in Warsaw on Tuesday evening to deliver a speech marking the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rallying allies to action
But it came with the visual trappings of a campaign rally, including children from the local American school waving flags. Biden is believed to be planning a 2024 run
But regular Biden watchers will also know the track is a consistent part of his campaign playlist. It often provides his walk-off music, and it was the soundtrack for a drone and firework show when victory in the 2020 election was finally called.
It was just one of the clues that Tuesday's speech was more than a presidential address. It was potentially fodder for campaign videos.
American children waving American flags
At the end of his speech, he was mobbed by children of different ethnicities clutching American flags, as well as the red and white of Poland, and the Blue and Yellow of Ukraine.
'These did not look like Polish kids, if you know what I mean,' said a local journalist who discovered the children were students at the local American school.
Biden's address was preceded by the sort of American playlist that evokes recent Democratic campaigns: Think Bruce Springsteen mixed with Beyonce.
And his entrance could not have been more dramatic. Night had already fallen on the spectacular castle backdrop. A smoke machine poured clouds into the air, showing off spotlights beaming skywards.
There was even a jumbotron.
Biden may not have declared that he is running. But this is what it might very well look like.
Democratic strategist Nick Ryan said it reflected how the 2024 election cycle had effectively begun on November 9, the day after the midterms.
'I don't want to say these sorts of international trips are political in nature, per se, but I think the reality is that he knows, and his team knows, that everything, everything that he does over the next 18 months is going to be perceived that way and they're mindful of that,' he told DailyMail.com.
The Warsaw mayor's office said some 30,000 people attended the speech, waiting out in cold, wintry conditions to listing to Biden rail against Russian aggression
As well as Polish and Ukrainian flags, American flags were distributed to attendees
Biden condemned Russia for crimes against humanity. But the end of speech brought a carnival atmosphere. Biden was all smiles as he posed with children
Made-to-measure clips for campaign videos
Foreign policy may not factor into how Americans cast their vote for president, but international travel is a chance to show leadership. And that does matter in elections, said Brad Bannon who runs a political polling and consulting firm.
You can almost hear the campaign team starting to cut together campaign videos from Monday's walkabout in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's wartime leader, and from the stirring speech the next night.
'The whole trip was made to order for a presidential reelection campaign,' he said.
'Obviously he sent a strong message to Ukrainians, and the Russians, but at the same time, it was made to order for demonstrating strong leadership in Biden's reelection campaigns.
'It's a classic win win ... for policy and for politics.'
Biden took his time leaving, shaking hands and posing for pictures with well-wishers
The speech was the major set piece event of Biden's four-day trip to Eastern Europe
The choice between chaos and stability
He hit talking points that reflected his 2020 campaign as he railed against Russia's invasion, and hailed the strength of democracies.
By setting out a timeline of the next five years, he rather extended his time in office almost to the end of second term.
'The decisions we make over the next five years or so are going to determine and shape our lives for decades to come,' said Biden.
'The choice between chaos and stability, between building and destroying, between hope and fear, between democracy, [which] lifts up the human spirit, and the brutal hand of the dictator who crushes it.'
The choice between chaos and stability was pretty much his entire 2020 campaign message.
Biden said the future offered a choice between chaos and stability. What could he mean?
The trip to Ukraine and Poland offered possibilities galore for cutting campaign videos, said Brad Bannon, who runs a political polling and consulting firm
Biden took a 10-hour train journey to arrive for a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday morning
And even his selection of words echoed his Democratic convention acceptance address.
Then he contrasted the Trump years with his promise of better times, promising to be 'an ally of the light, not of the darkness.'
Now, on Tuesday evening, he set out 'an abiding commitment to be allies not of darkness, but of light,' as NBC News spotted.
Biden harnessed the presidential bully pulpit
Some Republicans said the music and lights were out of step with the severity of the message.
'We just saw President Biden giving this what seemed to me like a campaign speech in Warsaw, Poland, as if this was some kind of kickoff for his 2020 for reelection,' said conservative activist Jack Posobiec on Judge Napolitano's podcast, 'rather than a speech that was meted with any type of severity given the weight of the things that he's talking about.'
Democrats saw a presidential figure, delivering a presidential message at a lectern decorated with the presidential seal.
That brings a clear contrast with Republicans throwing bombs in the culture wars or former President Donald Trump's slinging mud at rival Ron DeSantis, said Ryan.
'I think putting himself on stages where he is Commander in Chief is a chance to project stability,' he said. 'And you split screen that with Trump saying that Ron DeSantis is a groomer.
'I think it creates a pretty clear contrast for voters to look at and see what each side stands for.'
Putin's Wagner chief revealed a huge pile of his mercenaries were killed in just one day as he accuses the defence chief of failing to provide his army with enough weapons - in a sign of a growing split within Russian forces.
The open warfare inside 'very unwell' Putin's armed forces deepened today as Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner private army, accused defence minister Sergei Shoigu of lying to the Russian people.
He posted a macabre picture showing the bodies of dozens of fighters, believed to be around Bakhmut and killed in the past 24 hours, claiming the losses are five times greater due to the incompetence of top Russian commanders.
A statement from the defence ministry on the supply of weapons and ammunition to pro-Putin fights amounted to spitting in their faces, he said.
He has already accused commanders of 'treason' for failing to provide Wagner with the munitions they need to storm Bakhmut.
Putin's Wagner chief posted a macabre picture showing the bodies of dozens of fighters
Yevgeny Prigozhin (pictured), head of Wagner private army, accused defence minister Sergei Shoigu of lying to the Russian people
Today he went further, posting a picture of dozens of Wagner corpses.
'This is one of the places for gathering the dead,' he said. 'These are guys who died yesterday because of the [lack of shells].
'The number should have been five times smaller. Five times. So mothers, wives and children will receive their bodies.
'Who is to blame for their death? Those who should have decided to supply us with sufficient quantities of ammunition.'
He directly blamed Shoigu and chief of staff General Valery Gerasimov for their deaths.
'The final signature must be put either by Gerasimov or Shoigu. Neither of them wants to make a decision.'
Shoigu's ministry accused Prigozhin of lying and aiding the enemy.
It comes as a prominent Russian Putin-watcher claimed the president 'looked very unwell' in his major speech on Tuesday, questioning his 'cognitive abilities'.
The latest spat confirms open warfare within Putin's regular army run by the defence ministry and Wagner, the main private force he is deploying in Ukraine.
Shoigu had provided 'everything necessary to the volunteers and soldiers of the assault units'.
Shoigu's ministry accused Prigozhin of lying and aiding the enemy (Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is pictured with Putin in 2020)
It comes as a prominent Russian Putin-watcher claimed the president 'looked very unwell' in his major speech on Tuesday
Prigozhin's complaints over lack of weapons and ammunition was 'completely untrue'.
Over two days this week they had provided '1,660 rockets for multiple launch rocket systems, 1,071 ammunition for large-calibre barrel artillery and mortars and 980 sets of ammunition for tanks', said the ministry.
'All requests for ammunition for assault units are fulfilled as quickly as possible.
'In all, last year's ammunition requirements of the assault units were met by 140 per cent of the requests received.'
Shoigu's ministry hit out at Prigozhin - a close Putin ally who now appears to have fallen out of favour despite his key war role - saying 'attempts to create a rift in the close co-operation and support mechanism between the units of the Russian grouping are counterproductive and only play to the enemy's advantage'.
But Prigozhin stormed: 'The Ministry of Defence is circulating information that it is allegedly giving ammunition to volunteer units in [Bakhmut].
'I want to stress once again Wagner is under-receiving 80 per cent of the ammunition required for combat missions
'So the statement of the Ministry of Defence is nothing but a spit in the direction of Wagner.'
It was 'an attempt to hide [the ministry's] crimes in front of those fighters, who today perform heroic deeds in Bakhmut.
'There is no ammunition. Sapper blades have not been supplied so far.
'If you give ammunition, give it to them, do not tell them in the media, deceiving the Russian people.
'Unlike the Ministry of Defence and its statements, I am ready to submit all documents [to prove this].
'There is just direct opposition going on, which is nothing less than an attempt to destroy Wagner. This can be equated to high treason.'
Meanwhile, a prominent Putin expert Valery Solovey, a former professor at Moscow's prestigious Institute of International Relations, said the Kremlin leader is struggling in his state of the nation address on Tuesday.
'There was nothing new, in terms of substance,' he said. 'There were new things style wise. Putin looked very unwell.
'Initially he was coughing, then under the influence of medications he stopped coughing.
'He is normally given [medicine] 40 minutes prior, and [it] starts working some time later Also he has to follow the script. As soon as he doesn't follow, he repeats himself immediately.
'It is clear that his cognitive abilities are not very great. He is saying the same mantras as a year ago, at the beginning of the special military operation.
'No threats and nothing convincing in what he said. It looks quite unconvincing, weak, and disappointing for the Russian elite.'
A student, who claimed to be possessed, killed a teacher at a Roman Catholic school in southwestern France on Wednesday.
The Spanish instructor, who was in her 50s, was teaching at Saint-Jean-de-Luz when the student launched a knife attack on her, according to The Telegraph.
According to Sud Ouest, students panicked and ran out of the building following the stabbing in France.
BFMTV stated that after the incident, the attacker retreated into the next room and told a teacher that a voice commanded him to launch the attack. The teacher removed the knife and stayed with the student until the police showed up, per CNN.
The student may have been experiencing mental health problems, according to the local media. A representative claimed there was no evidence to imply terrorism at this time.
Reports from the scene stated that the victim suffered a heart attack and died shortly after rescue personnel arrived.
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French Government Assures Support for Teachers
French Education Minister Pap Ndiaye took to Twitter to offer his condolences to the slain teacher's family, colleagues, and children.
French government spokesman Olivier Veran told reporters that teachers throughout France will receive support after the attack committed by someone suffering from a mental health problem.
Veran said in a press conference that he "can hardly imagine the trauma" caused by the fatal incident, per the BBC.
The school is a private Catholic institution located close to the heart of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a popular summer holiday destination in France.
The students, who had been instructed to stay in their classrooms, were eventually allowed to leave at noon. Most of them got picked up by their parents.
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The head of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has refused to reveal who made the decision to send transgender double rapist Isla Bryson to a women's prison after a furious row over Nicola Sturgeon's stance.
Isla Bryson was convicted in late January and was taken to Cornton Vale - Scotland's only all-female facility - to be held in segregation to await sentencing.
Following outcry from the public and politicians, Bryson was moved to the male estate within days and an urgent review was commissioned by Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown.
The outcome of the review showed the decision was taken by the SPS to take Bryson to Cornton Vale instead of HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow - as was ordered by the judge in the case - while the offender was in transit.
Appearing before the Criminal Justice Committee today, SPS chief executive Teresa Medhurst said she would not discuss who made the final decision and she was 'not at liberty to say' who made it.
Scottish Prison Service chief executive Teresa Medhurst (pictured) has refused to reveal who made the decision to send transgender double rapist Isla Bryson to a women's prison when appearing before the Criminal Justice Committee today
Transgender double rapist Isla Bryson (pictured), 31, was convicted in late January and taken to Cornton Vale - Scotland's only all-female facility, but was was moved to the male facility following public outcry
'That decision, as I said earlier, was taken by headquarters,' she said under questioning from Conservative MSP Jamie Greene.
When pressed further on who made the decision, she added: 'I'm not at liberty to say.
'Normally, there are processes locally and processes nationally and people seek advice through... into headquarters.'
Ms Medhurst went on to say that 'ultimately... the position is that I'm accountable for all decisions within the organisation'.
Asked if she felt it was 'appropriate' to house a rapist in the women's estate, Ms Medhurst said: 'There are a really complex set of issues that require to be considered, both in relation to the risks that someone may pose, the risks to themselves, the needs of individuals, the needs of others and the rights of individuals and of others.
'So it's not a simple process and at the point of time where someone is making a decision on the location of an individual, they will have extremely limited information and make the best decision at that time, given both the circumstances and our policy position.'
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been mired in controversy recently as her government sought to push through gender reforms, only for them to be blocked by Westminster.
In the past weeks, the outgoing SNP leader has been forced to deal with the fallout after Bryson was initially held in a women's prison, after attacking two women while known as Adam Graham.
The urgent review, which was published earlier this month, recommended communication and information-sharing about newly convicted prisoners between the prison service, courts and the Crown Office be improved as well as the creation of a 'shared justice process' for the admission of transgender people into prisons.
Bryson (pictured) was moved to the male estate within days and an urgent review was commissioned by Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown
In the past weeks, outgoing SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon (pictured) has been forced to deal with the fallout after Bryson was initially held in a women's prison
SPS assured the public that Bryson - who committed the rapes while known as Adam Graham - was never in contact with prisoners while at Cornton Vale.
The case sparked a wider debate on the handling of trans prisoners in the wake of the Scottish Government's gender reforms - which were blocked by the UK Government and have not been enforced.
The SPS took the decision to halt the movement of all trans prisoners with a history of violence against women into the female estate.
The controversy coincided with an SPS review into the handling of trans prisoners which has been ongoing.
Due to be completed last summer, Ms Medhurst said it would likely face further delays following the Bryson case, but said she would be 'very disappointed' if it was not complete by the end of the year.
As Alex Murdaugh stands trial for the double homicide of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, he has been fighting another less public legal battle seeking to keep the millions Maggie left in his family and out of reach of his numerous victims and creditors.
Now DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal how, after close to two years of legal wrangling, Maggie's estate has finally been settled in a complex deal that will see Moselle, the murder home, sold and millions divided between those victims and creditors as well as surviving son, Buster, when it is executed next month.
A trove of documents held by Georgetown County Probate Court in South Carolina and reviewed by DailyMail.com show that Maggie's estate was valued at $4,309,057.77.
In her will drafted in August 2005, a copy of which has been obtained by DailyMail.com, she left everything to her husband.
Maggie Murdaugh's estate, valued at $4,309,057.77, has been settled after husband Alex sought to keep her millions in his family. In her will drafted in August, 2005, she left everything to her husband who is now on trial for her murder
The complex deal will see Maggie's millions divided between her surviving son Buster, victims and creditors when it is executed next month
The vast majority of Maggie's estate was tied up in Moselle, the remote Islandton home where Maggie and son Paul died on June 7, 2021
The vast majority of her estate, and the battle for a stake in it, is tied up in Moselle, the remote Islandton home with 1,772 acres of hunting grounds and swamp straddling Hampton and Colleton Counties, where she and Paul met their gruesome ends on June 7, 2021.
But Maggie, 52, no longer considered Moselle her home.
In fact, a close friend has told DailyMail.com, that she had been living separately at the family's beach house on Edisto Island for many months fueling speculation that all was not well in the marriage.
The friend told DailyMail.com, 'Maggie wasn't living at Moselle. She was living out at the beach house. She really wanted a house with a dock running down to the water. She never wanted Moselle to be her primary residence.
'Who would? You're out there in the boonies, with terrible cell reception.
'Maggie only went back there to see her boys Paul and Buster when they were home.'
Jurors at Colleton County Court have heard how the marriage had been tested by Murdaugh's addiction to opioids, by the threat of ruinous lawsuits and, according to Maggie's sister Marion Proctor who testified as a witness for the prosecution, by suspicions that he had been unfaithful once and was cheating on her again.
In fact, Maggie had reportedly consulted a divorce lawyer and was considering bringing in the services of a forensic accountant.
Friend and housekeeper, Blanca Simpson, told the court that she had found Maggie's wedding ring under a seat when she cleaned out her Mercedes SUV.
On the night of the murders Murdaugh told investigators that he and Maggie had dinner together 'most nights.'
But texts showed that Murdaugh had asked Maggie to come back to Moselle that night telling her his father, Randolph's health was failing and they should have a family meal with Paul, 22.
Immediately after the Moselle property was put up for sale in February 2022 Murdaugh filed a Qualified Disclaimer with the probate court in which he renounced his inheritance
Probate records obtained by DailyMail.com show that in December 2016 Murdaugh 'sold' Moselle an estate worth around $3million at the time to Maggie, for '$5 and love and affection'
An offer of $3.9million was accepted on Moselle in December 2022 when the sale was allowed on condition that the proceeds be held in trust until their division be decided in court
The dog kennels where Maggie and Paul were found shot to death is pictured
At the time of Maggie's death Moselle was no longer a home for her, it was an asset. And it was one that, records show, Murdaugh was at pains to shield from the creditors and victims we now know he defrauded over years of misappropriation of funds and embezzlement.
The probate records obtained by DailyMail.com show that in December 2016 Murdaugh 'sold' Moselle an estate worth around $3million at the time to Maggie, for '$5 and love and affection.'
According to receivers brought in to represent the interests of Murdaugh's creditors and victims, this was tantamount to 'fraud.'
In documents held in Georgetown County Probate Court they state, 'Alex Murdaugh [had] orchestrated, planned, participated in, directed and began to execute a complex financial scheme of indefinite duration to take, divert and otherwise deprive third persons of their money unlawfully for his benefit, the benefit of Maggie Murdaugh, potentially unknowingly by Maggie Murdaugh, and the benefit of others associated with the financial scheme.'
Murdaugh has been charged with close to 100 financial crimes including numerous allegations that he embezzled law firm fees and deprived victims he represented in civil suits of millions of dollars' worth of settlement money.
He moved Moselle into Maggie's name in the full knowledge that a host of potential lawsuits were coming down the pipeline should his actions be discovered.
Moselle was shielded if Maggie was alive. And records uncovered by DailyMail.com show that Murdaugh had a quick fix to keep it that way following her death.
Alex Murdaugh has been charged with close to 100 financial crimes including numerous allegations that he embezzled law firm fees and deprived victims he represented in civil suits of millions of dollars' worth of settlement money
Jurors heard how the Murdaugh marriage had been tested by Murdaugh's addiction to opioids, by the threat of ruinous lawsuits and, according to Maggie's sister Marion Proctor who testified as a witness for the prosecution, by suspicions that he had been unfaithful
Friend and housekeeper, Blanca Simpson, told the court that she had found Maggie's wedding ring under a seat when she cleaned out her Mercedes SUV
Immediately after the property was put up for sale in February 2022, Murdaugh filed a Qualified Disclaimer with the probate court in which he renounced his inheritance.
This meant that if the property was sold any proceeds would flow not to him, nor to the pockets of all those with claims against him, but to surviving son Buster, 26.
As representative of Maggie's estate, Murdaugh's brother John Marvin, 41, put Moselle on the market in February 2022.
The complex legal battle over who was entitled to the proceeds stalled that sale for close to a year.
In filings and counter filings, Marvin and Murdaugh petitioned for the right to sell, while the receivers argued that neither Maggie's ownership, nor Murdaugh's renunciation of his inheritance, were legal, as both were cynical ruses employed to hold onto the millions.
Key among those staking a claim to the money were several families of victims of the now infamous boat crash.
The family of Mallory Beach, who was killed in a boating accident caused by Paul Murdaugh, are understood to be receiving approximately $600,000 to release their claim against Buster
The balance of the proceeds of selling the Moselle home will be divided between Paul's ex Morgan Doughty (right), Miley Altman (left, with Mallory Beach) and the Beach family
Buster, Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh are pictured in a photo presented to jurors during the trial at Colleton County court on Tuesday, February 14. Buster will receive $530,000 from his mother's estate
At the time of his death Paul was facing criminal charges for being drunkenly at the helm of his father's boat when, in February 2019, he crashed it into bridge pilings killing Mallory Beach, 19, one of six friends on board.
Beach's family as well as the families of fellow passengers Connor Cook, Miley Altman and Morgan Doughty have all brought claims against Murdaugh.
The Beaches also sued Buster whose ID Paul used to buy alcohol that night.
An offer of $3.9million was accepted on Moselle in December 2022 when the sale was allowed on condition that the proceeds be held in trust until their division be decided in court.
The fate of Maggie's millions, which had remained in limbo since her death, was finally settled last month, when, DailyMail.com can reveal, the 'gordian knot' of claimants was unraveled.
After the protracted legal battle, $290,000 of the estate will be eaten up by lawyers' fees.
A reduced mortgage settlement has been reached with Palmetto State Bank (owed more than $1million) and $275,000 will be held in a fund by the receivers.
Buster will get $530,000, a sum augmented by his uncle John Marvin's decision to waive the percentage he could have claimed as representative, while Marvin will be reimbursed $12,305.28 for personal funds advanced on behalf of the Estate.
Intriguingly, though Murdaugh vocally remained focused on 'clearing Paul's name' in the aftermath of the murders, Buster has used the sale of Moselle to settle his suits with the boat crash victims.
Connor Cook, who placed the 911 call on the day of the crash and told officers that Paul had been driving, will receive $100,000.
The balance of the proceeds will be divided between Morgan Doughty, Miley Altman and the Beach family, with the Beaches understood to be receiving approximately $600,000 to release their claim against Buster.
The settlement will be executed on March 8 when the sale of Moselle is completed and the battle for Maggie's millions finally laid to rest.
Chick-fil-A has said the worker who 'misspelled' the label will undergo training
A black woman in North Carolina has called for a Chick-fil-A employee to be fired after her daughter Nyiashia was handed items with her name written as 'N****'.
Nyiashia Jackson, 19, was so upset she couldn't eat after a drive-thru employee pointed out how her name had been written by another worker as he handed over the items.
The derogatory racist slur was written on both a soda cup and a paper bag in capital letters, with one G.
Her mother, April Jackson, has said the person who created the label should lose her job and others involved should face consequences too.
Chick-fil-A has said the label was the result of a misspelling and that the employee in question will receive additional training.
Nyiashia Jackson (pictured), 19, said she was warned by the worker that handed her the order that the slur was on the label and that she was so upset she couldn't eat
A black woman in North Carolina has called for a Chick-fil-A employee to be fired after her daughter Nyiashia was handed items with her name written as 'N****'. The word itself has been blurred in this image but the first letter is visible
'You shouldn't have to be trained not to call someone a n****. I'm just being as honest as I can be,' said April during a press conference on Monday afternoon.
She said it happened when her daughter went through the drive-thru at the Chick-fil-A off Brookshire Blvd in northwest Charlotte on Monday, February 13.
'I was really, really upset and sad,' she said. 'She told her her name was Nyiashia, and she put on her ticket "N****"'.
Nyiashia said that she was even warned by another employee at the restaurant before seeing the labels for herself.
'He was like, you might want to look what they put your name as,' she said. 'I was just in shock. I literally parked right there, I was just couldn't eat the food, I was just in shock.'
Her story gained attention after her mother posted a photo of the label on Facebook which went viral.
In a statement, Chick-fil-A said that an investigation was underway and claimed the incident was the result of a mistake and that it treats customers with 'honor, dignity and respect.'
'Though we understand this to be a misspelling of the customer's name, that does not negate the impact or experience had by our guests. The Operator has started additional training at his restaurant to ensure this doesn't happen again,' they said.
Jackson said it happened when her daughter went through the drive-thru at the Chick-fil-A off Brookshire Blvd in northwest Charlotte on Monday, February 13
Nyiashia's mother April has said the restaurant's response has been unsatisfactory and that she is preparing to take legal action
Chick-fil-A has said the branch in question conducted an investigation and said the relevant employee will be required to take additional training
April said that wasn't enough. 'I want the employee to be fired, that most definitely. I feel like a lot people in there should be fired because Chick-fil-A, this was in your screen. This was a ticket that was printed not once but twice,' she said.
The fast food restaurant said that the owner of the particular branch had reached out to apologize but had not heard back.
'Chick-fil-A Mountain Island has thoroughly investigated and tried to connect with the customer to better understand her experience and apologize for the situation,' it wrote in a statement.
April said she was unable to respond as she is preparing to take legal action.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday condemned Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend Russian cooperation with the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty, further escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow.
Putin made the announcement in his state-of-the-nation address on Tuesday, as he railed against the West.
A day later, Biden was asked for his response just ahead of a meeting with Eastern European allies in Warsaw.
'Big mistake,' was his terse response.
Vladimir Putin signaled an end to formal arms control between the world's two biggest nuclear superpowers when he announced he would suspend Russia's participation in the New Start treaty on Tuesday
Biden condemned Putin's New START treaty announcement before he sat down with leaders of the Bucharest Nine nations, a group of countries that make up NATO's eastern flank
Biden's comments came at the end of a four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine.
Wednesday brought talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations in the most eastern parts of the NATO alliance, putting them on the frontline of Western defenses after Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
He promised that NATO had a 'sacred' duty to defend all its members.
'We will defend literally every inch of NATO ... every inch of NATO,' he told them.
Russia has the world's biggest nuclear arsenal - inherited from the Soviet Union - and up until the COVID pandemic it was subjected to constant inspections and control from the U.S., whose arsenal comes in a close second.
The monitoring was part of the New START treaty, which was signed in 2010 and is in force until 2026.
It limits Moscow and Washington to deploying a maximum of 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads and no more than 700 long-range missiles and bombers.
But the deal was already in trouble. Last month American officials accused Moscow of violating the agreement by refusing to allow inspections.
Biden is welcomed by Polish President Andrzej Duda and Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Wednesday
At the end of his speech on Tuesday blaming the West and global 'elites' for the war on Ukraine, he made clear that he would bar the United States from inspecting sites that house some of the 5,977 warheads owned by the Kremlin
They said privately they expected Russia to announce it was giving up on the treaty, but had not expected that decision to come so soon.
In address to lawmakers, Putin said Russia was withdrawing because of U.S. support to Ukraine.
William Alberque, director of strategy, technology and arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Reuters 'both sides could immediately go from 1,550 deployed strategic warheads to 4,000 - that could happen overnight.'
Security analysts have also said that this could bring an end to mutual deterrence, and let other superpowers such as China, India and Pakistan to develop their own arsenals.
Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said it was 'no surprise' that Putin has suspended participation, and called for a response.
He said the U.S. should deploy additional nuclear forces and accelerate planning in the event Putin breaches the caps.
Russia last year launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine, and since late 2019 has had the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles in service. The Avangard can travel at up to Mach 27, changing course and altitude
Polish President Andrzej Duda and US president Joe Biden face each other during their meeting at the presidential palace. Biden used the occasion to promise support to Europe
Marshall Billingslea, Donald Trump's Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control at the State Department, told DailyMail.com that Russia and China will now deploy more warheads.
'President Biden needs a forceful, but measured response that includes support for expedited fielding of a nuclear-tipped submarine-launched cruise missile and acquisition of additional B-21 bombers and Columbia submarines,' he added.
Both countries, which account for 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, have so far adhered to the terms of the treaty by respecting the cap on the number of deployed warheads.
'When Russia invaded, it wasn't just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced a test for the ages,' he said during an address in front of Warsaw's Royal Castle on Tuesday evening, the mark the anniversary of the invasion.
'Europe was being tested. America was being tested. NATO was being tested. All democracies were being tested.'
A college professor suspended for using ChatGPT to write a commiseration letter over a mass shooting is a super-woke critical race theorist who says the author of White Fragility is 'like a sister' to her.'
Nicole Joseph's ultra-progressive politics and positions have come to the fore since she was ousted from her role as associate dean at Vanderbilt University. She was given the boot for using artificial intelligence software to write a letter decrying the February 13 shooting at Michigan State University that killed three.
The 52-year-old has built a career at the Nashville, Tennessee University researching how black women and girls develop their identity and how 'whiteness' and 'white supremacy' operate to influence that.
In a 2019 seminar, the embattled professor spoke to the experiences of black women and girls in mathematics and how it remains a 'understudied line of inquiry.'
She also hailed Robin DiAngelo - the highly-controversial author of ultra-woke 'self-help' book White Fragility - as 'like a sister to me.'
Suspended Vanderbilt University associate dean, Nicole Joseph, is a critical race theorist and has lauded the work of 'White Fragility' author Robin DiAngelo
Joseph talks to the culture of mathematics and how it has been built on a platform of oppression of 'whiteness'
Joseph, 52, stepped down from her role with the Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion while it 'reviews' an incident, in which she along with assistant Dean Hasina Mohyuddin, used AI software ChatGPT to write a commiseration letter.
While the letter in the wake of the horrific shooting at Michigan State University (MSU) was written sensitively, students were outraged to find it wasn't written by a human.
'We know very little about how they experience mathematics teaching and learning,' the description reads.
'The aim of this interactive talk is to problematize and interrogate the current circumstances surrounding black women and girls in mathematics that deny them access, power, participation, and opportunity to develop mathematics identities.'
In the talk, Joseph identifies herself as a 'critical scholar' and 'pedagogue' which she defines as a person who 'thinks about teaching and learning.'
'I also consider myself an activist,' said Joseph during the seminar.
The 52-year-old prides herself of the care and consideration of her work and the students who she teaches going on to note the number of projects that she has spearheaded to help black women and girls in STEM programs.
'I just want to keep my feet to the ground as a tenure-track faculty member at a research one institution,' she said.
'So [I do this] just to sort of keep myself grounded.'
Joseph went on to talk to the culture of mathematics and how it has been built on a platform of oppression.
'I really want to talk about the culture of mathematics and how that culture really is embedded in whiteness and white supremacy,' she said.
'We're going to talk about the word white supremacy, because what I find is people are scared of that word and are scared to use that word.
'They have these ideas of that I'm talking about the Ku Klux Klan, well yes that is white supremacy, but that's not what I'm talking about.
'I'm talking about everyday decisions that we make in our classrooms, our admissions decisions, in the decisions on who we invite [to be] a manuscript author.'
She then goes on to talk about White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo.
The 52-year-old herself lives in a four bedroom, four bathroom mansion in Nashville, Tennessee costing with an estimated cost of $675,000
The Nashville property boasts a large lawn and lavish interiors
The book White Fragility talks to 'how to be an anti-racist' and is authored by Robin DiAngelo
'Robin DiAngelo is an incredible scholar, who writes about white fragility, what it means to be white, she is really like a sister to me,' she said.
She uses DiAngelo as a footing to explain why some people find it 'hard to do things' when making decisions about social justice and equity.
'Because I'm not a Marxian I'm going to end on some hope,' she said.
The 52-year-old herself lives in a four bedroom, four bathroom mansion in Nashville, Tennessee costing with an estimated cost of $675,000, according to Zillow.
Joseph poised herself as a caring and politically astute educator but shockingly did not translate this sensitivity when writing to students of the Vanderbilt University in the wake of the Michigan shooting tragedy.
It remains unclear why Joseph along with Mohyuddin and graduate assistant, Chengxi Zhu, chose to generate the letter which was, albeit, heartfelt rather than putting time in to write it themselves.
Following the incident, Joseph sent a follow up apology email to the Peabody community obtained by student paper Vanderbilt Hustler which stated that they'd used 'poor judgment.'
'While we believe in the message of inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College,' it reads.
'As with all new technologies that affect higher education, this moment gives us all an opportunity to reflect on what we know and what we still must learn about AI.'
Just days after the incident Vanderbilt University's Data Science Institute hosted a 'lunchtime information session' titled 'Understanding ChatGPT.'
'ChatGPT marks a groundbreaking step forward in artificial intelligence beyond the impressive technology, the program is generating controversy and conversation about its impact on academia,' the description reads.
'Vanderbilt University's Data Science Institute is hosting a lunchtime information session entitled Understanding ChatGPT from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm on Monday, Feb. 20th, in Alumni Hall, Room 202.'
It remains unclear whether the session was spurred by the recent ChatGPT scandal which has rocked the university campus.
DailyMail.com has approached Joseph, Mohyuddin, Zhu and the University for comment.
It has not been confirmed, who sent the initial ChatGPT prompt, or what wording had been used to generate the email.
On Feb 16, Joseph signed off on an email to students reminding them to 'take care of each other' after the tragedy that hit MSU.
The two deans who signed off on the email - Nicole Joseph (left) and Hasina Mohyuddin (right) - have temporarily stepped down while the Peabody EDI office 'reviews' the situation
On February 16, the Vanderbilt's Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion sent students an email reminding them to 'take care of each other' after the MSU shooting
Although the email came off as kind and caring, at the very bottom, it revealed it wasn't written by a human. 'Paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023,' it read
Vanderbilt University has since apologized for using artificial intelligence to write a 297-word email to students after the MSU shooting.
The long letter was signed off by two deans - Joseph and Mohyuddin. But the line at the bottom of the letter caused outrage among students.
'Paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023,' it read.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence software that is capable of producing large amounts of text by giving the generator writing suggestions, where it pulls from ten of thousands of datasets to produce written content.
The email caused disgust among students, including Laith Kayat, who is from Michigan and has a sister who attends MSU.
'There is a sick and twisted irony to making a computer write your message about community and togetherness because you can't be bothered to reflect on it yourself,' he told the Vanderbilt Hustler, the student newspaper.
Vanderbilt senior Laith Kayat, whose sister also attends MSU, said using ChatGPT to write a sensitive note was, 'disgusting'.
'[Administrators] only care about perception and their institutional politics of saving face,' he continued. 'Deans, provosts, and the chancellor: Do more. Do anything. And lead us into a better future with genuine, human empathy, not a robot.'
Samuel Lu, a sophomore, told the student paper: 'It's hard to take a message seriously when I know that the sender didn't even take the time to put their genuine thoughts and feelings into word. In times of tragedies such as this, we need more, not less humanity.'
Benbow claimed the 'development and distribution' of the email 'did not follow Peabody's normal processes,' nor was she or other university administrators aware of the email 'before it was sent.'
Benbow insisted she remains 'personally saddened by the loss of life and injuries at Michigan State' and was so 'deeply troubled that a communication from my administration so missed the crucial need for personal connection and empathy during a time of tragedy.'
Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, killed three students on February 13 at MSU before turning the gun on himself.
He terrorized the students for four hours on campus, killing Brian Fraser, 20, Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, and Alexandria 'Alex' Verner.
Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, killed three students Feb 13 at MSU before turning gun on himself
Alexandria Verner (left), Brian Fraser (middle), and Arielle Diamond (right) were killed in shooting
Alexandria 'Alex' Verner, a 2020 graduate of Clawson High School, was a biology and anthropology junior at MSU and set to graduate in 2024.
Brian Fraser, 20, graduated from Grosse Pointe South and was studying business at MSU.
Flavor of Love reality TV star Deelishis revealed her niece, Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, was the third victim.
The three were killed and five others were injured when McRae opened fire at 8.18pm.
Starbucks CEO warned operations may have gone 'sour' at Starbucks as employees fight for a union.
Howard Schultz, 69, sat down with CNN's Poppy Harlow in an interview released Tuesday to discuss the ongoing union efforts and his belief they don't belong at America's biggest coffee chain.
Schultz, 69, served as CEO of Starbucks until 2017 before later stepping in as interim in 2022 to fix the company's deteriorating 'values' as employees protested for better pay and benefits for part-time employees.
'I'd be first to say the union showed up because Starbucks was not leading in a way that was consistent with its history in terms of being a valued based company, and I came back to restore those values,' Schultz told CNN.
'The efforts of unionization in America are in many ways a manifestation of a much bigger problem.'
Howard Schultz, 69, sat down with CNN's Poppy Harlow in an interview released Tuesday to discuss the ongoing union efforts as he prepares to leave Starbucks for good
Schultz served as CEO of Starbucks until 2017 before later stepping in as interim in 2022 to fix the company's deteriorating 'values' as employees protested for better pay and benefits for part-time employees
Schultz stepped back into his former roll last spring, months after the first Starbucks in New York voted to unionize.
'I came back this last year because the company really did loose its way and its lost its way culturally,' he said.
The businessman has since pushed for store managers to halt union organization efforts calling, 'a new, outside force that's trying desperately to disrupt our company,' according to More Perfect Union.
Starbucks is known for offering generous benefits to full-time and eligible part-time employees - an act Schultz claimed was inspired by watching his father and their family struggle financially.
Benefits offered include a 401k retirement plan, paid time off, health coverage, tuition coverage through Arizona State University programs and parental leave.
'Unions in America, for the most part, have existed and succeeded in the past, because of companies that did nefarious things on the backs of their people. That they put their people last instead of first,' Schultz said.
'Now, let's look at Starbucks. Starbucks employees, 450,000 people around the world, 250,000 people in the US in our stores, we provide unprecedented benefits not because a union told us to but because the conscious of the company and my own life story is based on trying to build a company that my father, a blue collared worker, was not given... those rights.'
Schultz (left) has been accused of union-busting by shutting down unionized stores over 'safety' issues and firing baristas heavily involved in union efforts
EXCLUSIVE: In a leaked video call, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz begged managers to increase their union busting.
The billionaire CEO blasted unionizing, hourly employees as so-called workers and some outside force thats going to dictate or disrupt who we are and what we do. pic.twitter.com/KIFI5FzDxr More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) April 21, 2022
Employees have spoken out about the pushback they received from higher-ups to agree with their terms.
'The company refuses to bargain with us,' an employee told CNN. 'We're understaffed, we're underpaid, they're playing these games. The corporate is setting the tone of what to expect for the labor movement in the future.'
Schultz said the company is willing to sit down and bargain in person, but those pushing for the union insist on meeting virtually.
'We are willing to sit down and bargain in person,' Schultz said. 'In 10 months, I've done everything I possibly could to address the problems from our people.'
As Shultz prepares to leave Starbucks behind permanently, he reflected on how the coffee chain has succeeded for decades.
'We're not a perfect company,' he said. 'But I'm saying this because we didn't have the union or an outside party tell us what to do, we did this because we want to be in service of our people.'
Schultz said the company is willing to sit down and bargain in person, but those pushing for the union insist on meeting virtually
Starbucks employees are refusing to halt their union efforts as several protest broke out last year.
Workers across 100 stores in the US protested in December as Schultz continued to push back against unionization efforts.
The protest consisted of more than 1,000 baristas and resulted in a three day walkout, according to Starbucks Workers United, the labor group organization.
Employees have blasted Schultz as a union buster and accused him of firing employees involved in the effort and closing stores.
The first store to close was in Seattle after cafe workers voted to unionize.
She adds that even changing names and pronouns is 'not a neutral act'
She says American doctors are 'using the fear of patient suicide' to convince parents their children need gender-affirming treatments
Finland's leading transgender treatment expert said 'four out of five' teens who question their gender come to accept their bodies if they don't receive medical intervention.
Dr. Riittakerttu Kaltiala previously administered gender-affirming treatment only to patients who met restrictive requirements, but after seeing a significant increase in adolescent patients in the 2010s became skeptical that treatment was the solution to the problem.
In a recent interview with the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanoma, Kaltiala laid out a number of points - including that overwhelming evidence showed the desire for gender transitions spiked among female teenage friend groups exposed to social media.
That evidence supported her assertion that far too little is known about the current wave of gender dysphoria to be administering life-altering treatments to children.
She also said physicians often weaponize parents' fears of suicide to push treatments, calling it 'purposeful disinformation, and spreading it is irresponsible.'
Last year, she testified before the Florida Board of Medicine and Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine and said there was no evidence to support prescribing gender-affirming treatments for patients who experience gender dysphoria for the first time as adolescents.
Kaltiala's findings, used as the basis for treatment in much of Europe, are in stark contrast to the United States' approach to gender treatment.
Dr. Riittakerttu Kaltiala began handling youth gender transition treatments in 2011 as the chief psychiatrist of one of Finland's two government-approved pediatric centers
This chart shows insurance claims for diagnoses of gender dysphoria by year. These have doubled since 2017
Kaltiala began handling youth gender transition treatments in 2011 as the chief psychiatrist of one of Finland's two government-approved pediatric centers.
There she initially stuck to a treatment protocol which required patients to have experienced gender dysphoria before puberty and continued into adolescence. Additionally, they could not have had any serious recurring mental health issues, needed to partake in six months of psychotherapy, and have their family's support for hormonal treatment.
After a few years however, Kaltiala found those requirements were not regulating the numbers of patients who came to her and that an increasing number of patients was seeking treatment.
She found the majority were adolescent girls who had never experienced gender dysphoria as a child, and that 75 percent had experienced serious mental health problems before, according to Tablet.
In 2019, Kaltiala and her colleagues published an article saying there was not enough data about the gender crisis teens were experiencing to justify serious body-altering treatments.
'Research on adolescent onset gender dysphoria is scarce, and optimal treatment options have not been established,' she wrote. 'The reasons for the sudden increase in treatment-seeking due to adolescent onset gender dysphoria/transgender identification are not known.'
Her findings resulted in health officials in Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom opening reviews of their processes for administering gender-affirming treatment.
This chart shows insurance claims for puberty blockers in the US by year. It shows claims have doubled since 2017
In her recent interview Kaltiala suggested that the kind of gender-affirming treatments administered in the US were likely to solidify problems patients were experiencing, rather than treat them.
She said doing things like using children's preferred names or pronouns could be as severe an act as altering their bodies, because it solidifies in their psyches that there is something wrong with their body.
'It's a message saying that this is the right path for you,' she said, adding that changing names and pronouns is 'not a neutral act.'
Kaltiala also spoke out against the warning that not giving children gender-affirming treatments might lead to their suicides, which has been employed by many doctors across the US to pressure parents into approving treatment for their children.
'It is not justified to tell the parents of young people identifying as transgender that a young person is at risk of suicide without medical treatments and that the danger can be alleviated with gender reassignment,' she said.
She said the suicide narrative might be pushed by 'adults who have themselves benefited from gender reassignment, have a desire to go out and save children and young children. But they lack understanding that a child is not a small adult.'
Debate about whether to restrict child gender care in the US has intensified in recent months, as a growing number of former patients who regret having irreversible procedures as children say their desire to medically transition was not challenged enough.
The data on how many transitioners change their minds and seek to detransition, or are pressured to do so by relatives or employers, is not reliable, but estimates are in the range of 1 to 8 percent.
These graphs of selected states show gender dysphoria diagnoses heading upwards
The number of Americans identifying as trans has rocketed in recent years.
A report by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found the number of Americans who identified as trans nearly doubled from 2017 to 2020, with 300,000 now identifying as such.
This rise has been strongest among young people, and that is where legislators have so far focused their efforts.
Around 1.5 percent of American teens identify as trans, the highest of any age group.
Many trans-identifying children will undergo hormone treatments, hoping to prevent themselves from developing sex-based characteristics linked to their birth gender.
These often include puberty blockers, which push back the start of the process, and medication that boosts either estrogen or testosterone levels. Puberty blockers are used to pause puberty and consider whether they want to transition.
By stopping the body's production of sex hormones, gendered characteristics like a deeper voice in men or the development of breasts in women can be halted. The long-term effects of these drugs are not fully understood, but it can take years for the body to naturally start producing hormones after stopping the drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the drugs to stop precocious puberty - when a child goes through the process earlier than when is healthy - but they are used off-label for trans care.
Hormone therapy can then trigger desired sexual characteristics in a trans teen. By giving a person born as a female testosterone, or a person born male estrogen, they will instead develop traits that match their wanted gender.
The long-term consequences of taking these drugs in youth has not yet been determined, leaving many experts fearful of the recent increase in their use.
Gender-affirming operations, often called top or bottom surgery, will either make changes to a child's genitalia or chest to match that of their new sex. These are irreversible and can leave a person infertile.
Tories lined up to berate Rishi Sunak over the Channel migrants crisis at PMQs today.
The premier was assailed by a series of his own MPs demanding to know when he will bring forward promised legislation cracking down on crossings.
They included former Cabinet minister Esther McVey, who warned that 'time is of the essence'.
Mr Sunak insisted the government is 'working at pace' on the new laws, and ensuring that 'if someone arrives in our country illegally they will not be able to stay'.
The PM laid out his plan for tackling the Channel crisis at the beginning of the year, making it one of the five 'pledges' that voters should judge him on by the election.
In the Commons, Ms McVey asked: 'The Prime Minister has made fixing illegal immigration across the Channel one of his key top priorities, he's also said that legislation will be required to stop it.
Rishi Sunak was assailed in the Commons by a series of his own MPs demanding to know when he will bring forward promised legislation cracking down on crossings
They included former Cabinet minister Esther McVey, who warned that 'time is of the essence'
The Tory MP for Stafford, Theo Clarke, pressed Mr Sunak to reconsider a proposal to relocate 'approximately 500 single male asylum seekers to Beaconside in Stafford'
'I completely agree, so can he tell us when we can expect to see this legislation coming forward as time is of the essence, and can he explain why sorting out this issue did not feature on the Home Office permanent secretary's stated top three priorities for his department?'
Mr Sunak replied: 'She's right illegal crossings put people's lives at risk, it diverts resources away from those in genuine need and it's unfair on those who migrate here legally and that's why one of our five pledges to the British people is to stop the boats.
'We are working at pace on the legislation, it's important that it works and in the meantime our deals with Albania and France are already yielding benefits, but what I can tell her is that we want a system whereby if someone arrives in our country illegally they will not be able to stay.'
Fellow Conservative Bill Wiggin said: 'I wholeheartedly support my Prime Minister's priority to stop the boats. So could he please bring in the small boats Bill next week?'
Mr Sunak said: 'The Home Secretary and I are working intensely and as quickly as possible to bring forward that legislation, because what I want is what he wants, it's to ensure that those people who come here illegally will simply not be allowed to stay.'
The Tory MP for Stafford, Theo Clarke, pressed Mr Sunak to reconsider a proposal to relocate 'approximately 500 single male asylum seekers to Beaconside in Stafford'.
She asked for an 'urgent' meeting, saying she has received a 'huge amount of objections' from constituents.
Mr Sunak said: 'I know that this is an issue that is concerning her and her constituents, and it's why we must absolutely stop the boats and stem the tide of illegal migrants to relieve this pressure on our local communities.'
She allegedly used victim's head 'as a mop' after the girl urinated on the floor
A woman who claims she suffered a catalogue of abuse at the hands of a couple in the 1970s reported it to police after watching a storyline on Home and Away, a court has heard.
The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police 'something just clicked' when she watched a character in the Australian daytime soap opera go through something similar to her.
Elsie Wheddon, 71, is accused of 13 counts of cruelty against three children, including the now grown-up woman, in Oxfordshire almost five decades ago.
She is accused of having participated in the physical violence against two girls and a boy by her then-husband Stephen Wheddon, who has since died.
Prosecutors say she also knew about, and failed to stop, her husband sexually assaulting the girls.
Elsie Wheddon, 71, is accused of 13 counts of cruelty against three children, including the now grown-up woman, in Oxfordshire almost five decades ago
Prosecutor Matthew Walsh told jurors at Oxford Crown Court that the three children were subjected to a catalogue of abuse while living with the Wheddons
Prosecutor Matthew Walsh told jurors at Oxford Crown Court that the three children were subjected to a catalogue of abuse while living with the Wheddons.
The children were said to have been locked in cupboards, had 'rat-like creatures' run over their bodies, were threatened with guns, and beaten with a belt or punched.
Elsie Wheddon allegedly used one of the girl's heads 'as a mop' after the youngster urinated on the floor.
On another occasion, when both Elsie and Stephen were present, the same girl was 'thrown in the bath in her nightie and dressing gown, pushed under so she could not breathe', Mr Walsh told the jury.
The boy claimed to have been burnt with a cigarette lighter, leaving him with a mark on his back, then locked in the loft after he failed to heed an instruction not to cry, it was said.
Speaking in a video recorded interview, played to the jury earlier this week, one of the women told police: 'It was like we were their personal punchbags. That's what it feels like. I was their punchbag.'
Wheddon (pictured outside Oxford Crown Court), of Northend, Warwickshire, denies 13 counts of cruelty to a child under 16 years. The offences all date back to the 1970s
The second woman described being repeatedly molested by Stephen, telling a detective of hearing 'the lock go' on her bedroom door and the man entering the room.
She claimed he raped her twice. He was said to have called for his wife after injuring the girl and she bathed the child.
The woman said Mrs Wheddon told her husband after the second time: 'You can't do that no more.'
The prosecutor said that Mrs Wheddon, when interviewed by the police, said she thought she had treated the children well and denied the specific cruelty allegations.
She had not seen her ex-husband for 'many years' prior to his death.
Both female complainants suggested that Elsie was a 'different person' when around her husband.
In a written account of her ordeal, read back to her as she was on the witness stand today, one of the alleged victims said: 'It was just like living in a horror movie.
'I did not know what was going on. I quite often used to wet myself on purpose.
'I was always locked in the bedroom. I was very nervous, the hitting became more regular. I got hit every day.
'The door was bolted - I would just curl up in a ball and hope I would be rescued.'
The woman said she was made to strip and run up and down the hallway while being hit.
'It became just fun to them,' she added.
'They used to get their children to hit me as well.'
In one incident she had written about, she added: 'I had just had a bath and was shouting, crying and shaking. I knew I was about to get a beating.
'(The defendant) grabbed my hair and started to mop the floor with it where I had wet myself.
'She wiped my face with it and threw me into a bath, put me underwater.
'I was fighting back but it was no use. I had no energy and totally relaxed my body. She was ducking me under the water and holding me there. My whole body went limp.'
The woman also recalled one incident where she alleges the defendant's husband came to apologise for hitting her, before sexually abusing her.
The court heard she had written her life story but changed names and places as she had wanted her children to see it and understand after she had died.
She added: 'I wanted my kids to realise they could break the circle, not be like any of them and can still be good.'
She also wrote a poem which finished with the line 'I always knew one day I'd care'.
She told the court she meant this as 'one day I'd be strong enough to tell someone what they did to me'.
Wheddon, of Northend, Warwickshire, denies 13 counts of cruelty to a child under 16 years. The offences all date back to the 1970s.
The trial continues.
A detransitioned woman who underwent surgery to remove her breasts and uterus is suing the healthcare providers who are reported to have facilitated her transition.
Michelle Zacchigna, 34, has filed a lawsuit against the eight doctors and mental health professionals who prescribed her testosterone treatments and gave her a bilateral mastectomy and a hysterectomy during what she says was a mental health crisis.
Over a ten year period, she went from seeing a therapist to being referred for hormone therapy by doctors who she had limited interaction with, including one she says she spoke to for less than an hour, to undergoing irreversible surgery and deciding mental health diagnoses better explained her condition than anything else in 2020.
'I will live the rest of my life without breasts, with a deepened voice and male-pattern balding, and without the ability to get pregnant,' she wrote.
'Removing my completely healthy uterus is my greatest regret,'
Zacchigna claims the professionals failed to properly address her mental health needs and allowed her to undergo irreversible procedures to her body and suppress feminizing characteristics with testosterone.
A photo of Michelle she shared of herself on her Twitter account
Michelle was referred for hormone therapy after speaking to a handful of professionals
Michelle is suing eight medical professionals, including doctors and mental health professionals, for their involvement in her transition over ten years.
How Michelle Zacchigna transitioned and detransitioned in 10 years 2008: Michelle starts to see a therapist after a suicide attempt. 2009: Michelle says she started thinking about her gender critically aged 21. She questioned her gender after reading about gender identity on Tumblr. 2010: Zacchigna attends a Toronto support group, where a therapist puts her forward for hormone therapy after just one appointment lasting less than an hour. Mental health professionals, who Zacchigna is seeing following a 2008 suicide attempt, reportedly say she is an 'ideal candidate for hormone therapy'. 2012: Different professionals refer Zacchigna for a bilateral mastectomy, removing her breasts. 2016: Zacchigna stops taking testosterone at this point and identifies as non-binary. 2017: Zacchigna is referred for a full psychological assessment, where she is diagnosed with autism, ADHD, MDD and traits of PTSD. Another professional refers Zacchigna for a hysterectomy to remove her uterus, which is completed in May 2018. 2020: Zacchigna says she reflects on her diagnoses and decides to detransition. Advertisement
After a suicide attempt in 2008, she started seeing Dr Nadine Lulu, who became her regular therapist and put her forward as an 'ideal candidate' for hormone therapy in July 2010.
That spring, she had spoken with a therapist at a Toronto support group for reportedly less than one hour before she was recommended for hormone therapy.
Rupert Raj, one of the therapists running the group, is a defendant in the case, as well as Dr Rick Lindal, who had apparently not met Michelle before recommending her for hormone therapy.
With these recommendations from multiple medical professionals in the space of a year, Michelle started to transition in 2010.
Dr Pamela Lecce, Dr. Cavacuiti and Dr Suzanne Turner apparently did not consult with a psychologist before prescribing Michelle testosterone.
Michelle went back and forth with mental health issues until Lulu sent her for a full psychological exam with a Dr. Rowden, in which a number of diagnoses were made but her gender dysphoria left unexplored.
Two years later, still battling with her identity, a professional refers her for a procedure to remove her uterus, which is completed in May 2018.
But it was the diagnoses in 2015 that she would come back to when deciding to detransition in 2020.
She wrote in a post for the Gender Dysphoria Alliance about a troubled time at school feeding into anxiety and depression: 'As a little girl, I was bullied daily by my peers, by older children, and sometimes even by younger children. It felt like everyone in my elementary school knew that I was different"
'My mom once recalled a time when the school bus was pulling up to my house, and she could hear the entire bus full of children chanting cruel things at me.'
Later in life, she says, she 'began connecting with the LGBT community online' and 'found out that many people who identify as asexual were also gender variant'.
She wrote that she thought more about gender and became convinced she 'had been bullied because I was trans and just didnt know it.'
After transitioning, Michelle found her mental health improved for a while before 'plummeting'.
She said in a crowdfunding video: 'It took me 10 years to figure out why I could have falsely believed something like this, and why so many professionals could have wrongly encouraged it.
'I can imagine that there are a lot of people who will eventually find themselves in my position, some of them vulnerable adults like I was and some of them too young to understand the long term consequences.'
A photo Michelle shared of herself after starting her journey towards transitioning
Detransitioned woman who had her breasts and uterus removed during a mental health crisis
Michelle Zacchigna, 34, has filed a lawsuit against the eight doctors and mental health professionals who prescribed her testosterone treatments
The success of surgery is a contentious topic.
Finland's chief psychiatrist for a state-approved pediatric center said four out of five young people who do not receive intervention from professionals will come to accept their bodies.
She warned there was a problem of 'purposeful disinformation' among American doctors who pressure parents into transitioning young people.
Research has shown that young people are more likely to come out as trans if they have friends who have already come out as trans, though the cause cannot be inferred from correlation.
A 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis of 'the quality of life in people with transsexuality after surgery', looking at 1,099 patients, found quality of life was generally better for people who underwent surgery, but that trans people remain at risk for low life quality and mental health issues.
It noted that '[transexuality] can convert to a source of identity crisis due to the... effects on the personality and behavioral system of the individuals as well as their social adjustment.'
The authors wrote that the subjective experience of quality of life is difficult to report, and that individuals 'may have very different opinions about their quality of life and report it differently', making it hard to decisively review.
Therapeutic hormones and surgical procedures can, it said, improve satisfaction and self-confidence by 'harmonizing' sex and identity, but the study notes that transgender people tend to suffer a lower quality of life in general.
Online rules and regulations have been an integral part of the Internet over the past few years, which is no surprise since it plays a huge part in social networking sites. Implementation or lack thereof can define what kind of information users take in, and so these cases may signify a big change.
Gonzales v Google
This Supreme Court case in particular brings Section 230 in question, which protects social media giants from taking responsibility for what their users post online. It will question whether or not they should answer for the ramifications of the contents circulating on their platform.
The case was prompted by the death of the California college student Nohemi Gonzales, 23 years old at the time, after falling victim to a coordinated series of terrorist attacks in the city that killed 130 people., as mentioned in The New York Times.
Her father, and eventually the rest of her family, is accusing Google as well as other companies of spreading content that shaped its users into becoming terrorists. This makes them legally responsible for the outcome and the aftermath of the attacks.
Although the family blames several tech companies for the tragedy, the case that will be heard by the Supreme Court focuses on Google as its defendant. The plaintiffs claim that the company violated anti-terrorism laws by having ISIS videos appear on YouTube recommendations.
Even if it's merely the results of YouTube's algorithms, the Director of the Program on Platform Regulation at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center Daphne Keller pointed out that YouTube is liable for the algorithms that promoted the content in the first place.
Should the court side with the plaintiffs and deem that the companies should claim responsibility in the hearing this February 21st, it will likely change moderation practices and take down more content to avoid more lawsuits. This could result in hurting the freedom of speech of its users.
Read Also: Twitter Continues Layoffs As Elon Musk Cuts Staff From Global Content Moderation Team
Twitter v Taamneh
Google is not the only company that will be placed under the Supreme Court's spotlight, since the following day will also bring in Twitter. Similar to the Gonzales' case, it also focuses on the US anti-terrorism law being violated by the company.
Jordanian citizen Nawras Alassaf is a victim of a terrorist attack in Istanbul that was allegedly brought by promoted posts from ISIS. The plaintiffs accused the platforms of not controlling the content that spread on their sites, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Those who filed the lawsuit point out that not doing anything to moderate posts provided an infrastructure for the terrorists, therefore supporting their operations. They mentioned that the platforms benefited by profiting from the said ads.
They also said that if the Court finds the companies liable, then greater content moderation policies and restrictions should be implemented. If not, it will "incentivize platforms to apply no content moderation to avoid awareness."
As mentioned in Engadget, it's possible that Congress might determine that Section 230 has caused too much harm and may amend the statute to increase liability for promoted content through algorithms.
Related: House Judiciary Committee Chair Subpoenas Tech Giant CEOs Over Content Moderation Policies
The Alaska Children's Trust estimated that it cost the government $1.5million for every fatal child abuse victim, but only $240,000 in a lifetime for living victims
He questioned if it 'benefited' society due to the children not needing to use 'governmental services' throughout their life
A Republican Alaskan lawmaker made an outrageous claim that child abuse deaths are 'cost saving' to the state because they will not need to use government services.
David Eastman, 41, who represents the City of Wasilla, asked a controversial question at the House Judiciary Committee meeting on Monday, where representatives joined Alaska Children's Trust CEO Trevor Storrs to discuss childhood trauma costs.
The Trust showcased how abuse victims - whether it be physical, sexual, or emotional - are negatively impacted throughout their whole lives and in turn, could use more government resources, such as Medicaid.
It estimated that the lifetime costs per victims - who have a higher probability of having health concerns such as being obese or being smokers - was $240,000, including $167,000 of productivity losses. It is also estimated that it will cost the government $1.5million per fatal victim in their lifetime.
On Monday, Eastman, who has ties to far-right group the Oath Keepers and attended the January 6 rally, asked Storrs about the argument he had heard that fatal child abuse is actually an economic benefit.
'How would you respond to that I've heard on occasion in the case where child abuse is fatal - obviously, it's not good for the child - but it's a benefit to society because there aren't needs for government services and whatnot over the whole course of that child's life.'
Republican David Eastman, 41, who represents Wasilla, asked the Alaska Children's Trust to respond to claims that fatal child abuse is a 'benefit to society because there aren't needs for government services,' which has since caused backlash
Storrs was appalled, responding: 'Can you say that again? Did you say it was a benefit for society?'
The lawmaker replied: 'Talking dollars. Now you've got $1.5million price tag here for victims of fatal child abuse. It gets argued periodically that it is actually a costs saving because that child isn't going to need any of those government services that they might otherwise be entitled to receive and need growing up in this type of environment.'
Storrs said he wasn't 'even sure how to answer that' as he does not subscribe to the analogy of 'if you hit somebody, always back up, because it's cheaper to insurance.'
'I'm not even sure how to answer that there's a costs saving to a death of a child. The impact that that has on a family and us as a society when a child is a loss, especially to child abuse [and] neglect is unmeasurable. It's hugely tragic.'
Anchorage Representative Cliff Groh, who is a Democrat, was visibly taken aback and said he was 'disturbed' by Eastman's line of questioning.
'When I used to prosecute child abuse cases, it was very sad and terrible,' the lawmaker said.
Another Anchorage Democrat, Andrew Gray, later recounted how he and his husband adopted a child from the foster care system and accused Eastman of saying his child, who comes from an abusive background, was better off dead.
He asked the Trust's CEO Trevor Storrs to break down the $1.5million lifetime cost per fatal victim and asked if it was actually an economic benefit as a living victim only costs the state $240,000 over a lifetime
Storrs (pictured bottom right) said he wasn't 'even sure how to answer that' as it is 'hugely tragic' to see a child die from abuse and neglect
His colleague Andrew Gray (both pictured left) said he had an 'intense reaction' to Eastman's questions as his adopted daughter had experienced abuse. 'What I heard - and it may not have been intended - but what I heard was that there would be a costs saving if a child with a high ACEs score didn't survive,' Gray said
'I had an intense reaction to something that was said earlier. I adopted my child through the foster care system [and] my child came with a very high ACEs [adverse childhood experiences] score. That definitely meant that we had resources that needed to be expended to help my child,' he said.
'What I heard - and it may not have been intended - but what I heard was that there would be a costs saving if a child with a high ACEs score didn't survive. And I would just say for me personally, my child is the greatest joy Ive ever had that there is no price tag on that,' he emotionally said.
Although Eastman did not directly respond to Gray's story, the Republican did ask Storrs if the money invested would better benefit society through prevention, which Storrs agreed it would.
Republican Sarah Vine, who chairs the committee, defended Eastman to the Anchorage Daily News, saying he was at the meeting 'at my invitation.'
Eastman has been alienated from every caucus due to his no-compromise approach, according to the Daily News.
'I wished that he asked questions with a little bit more sensitivity to the listeners and how theyre perceived, and I can have that conversation,' Vance told the Daily News. 'But hes there on his own accord and only represents himself.'
Vance also argued she believes Eastman was making a pro-life statement as abortion opponents say the medical procedure is 'child abuse.'
Eastman has ties to far-right group the Oath Keepers and attended the January 6 rally (pictured far left). He did not breach the Capitol
'One of the arguments for abortion has been that its better to terminate that childs life before they become a burden to society,' she said.
Eastman, himself, told the Daily News: 'I was pleased to hear ACT advocating against child abuse, but a childs value comes not from future productivity, but from the fact that every child is made in the image of God.'
Storrs said he would give the Republican lawmaker the benefit of the doubt and that his questions were asked to better understand the topic, he told the Daily News.
This is not the first controversy Eastman has faced in his short career as a representative - he joined the state House in 2017.
The lawmaker recently battled a court case against one of his constituents who claimed his connections to the Oath Keepers made him ineligible for office. A judge ruled in Eastman's favor.
Eastman also attended the January 6 rally, holding an Alaska for Trump flag and was charged under the disloyalty clause in the Alaskan Constitution.
The loyal Trump supporter did not breach the Capitol, but did attend the rally. His group, the Oath Keepers, has seen plenty of members charged and convicted of seditious conspiracy for their violent plot to overthrow the government.
Eastman has not apologized for his involvement on January 6 and was not convicted of disloyal conduct.
Shamima Begum lost the latest stage of her long legal battle with the Government today.
The jihadi bride was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls fled to join ISIS in February 2015, with Ms Begum marrying a 23-year-old ISIS fighter ten days after arriving in Syria.
Her British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by the former home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019.
Ms Begum, now 23, brought a challenge against the Home Office at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), where her lawyers argued she should be allowed to return to Britain on the basis she was 'a victim of child sex trafficking'.
However, the Home Office defended the decision by saying the security services 'continue to assess' that she poses a risk to the UK.
Judges dismissed Ms Begum's challenge today, ruling that while there was a 'credible suspicion' that Ms Begum was trafficked to Syria for 'sexual exploitation' this was not enough for her appeal to succeed.
Here is a summary of the jihadi bride's legal battle and her options now as she remains stranded in Syria.
Ms Begum's British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by the former home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019
How did Begum reach Syria and what happened after she arrived?
Shamima Begum first came to the attention of the authorities when Scotland Yard raised concerns that she and two of her fellow pupils had fled to Syria in February 2015.
She was just 15 when she travelled to Istanbul in Turkey from Gatwick Airport on the 15th to join ISIS with her close friends at Bethnal Green Academy - Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15.
Despite her family's warnings that Syria was a 'dangerous place', the teenager, described as a 'straight A student', crossed the border just days later with the help of a Canadian spy named Mohammed Al Rasheed, according to reports.
Ms Sultana was reported as missing to police on the 18th before the Met named all three girls in a public appeal on the 20th.
In the Shamima Begum Story BBC podcast series, Ms Begum said she was told to 'pack nice clothes so you can dress nicely for your husband'.
Just 10 days after arriving in the city of Raqqa, the schoolgirl was married to a Dutchman named Yago Riedijk, who had converted to Islam.
They had three children together, who all later died from malnourishment or disease. They were a one-year-old girl, a three-month-old boy and newborn son.
Ms Sultana was subsequently killed in a Russian airstrike in August 2016, while Ms Abase's whereabouts remain unknown.
A CCTV grab showing Begum fleeing the UK through Gatwick Airport in 2015
How did Begum end up being stripped of her British citizenship?
Ms Begum spent her life in the ISIS 'caliphate' for four years until the terror group lost all its territories in 2019.
She was eventually tracked down to al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria where she gave an interview on February 13 to Anthony Lloyd of The Times.
'I'm not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago. And I don't regret coming here,' she told the paper .
Two days later on February 15, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he 'would not hesitate' to prevent the return of Britons who travelled to join IS.
On February 17, Ms Begum gave birth to her third child - a baby boy, Jarrah - in al-Hawl.
The Home Office sent Ms Begum's family a letter on February 19 stating that it intended to revoke her British citizenship.
The jihadi bride, speaking a day later, called the decision 'unjust', while Ms Begum's sister, Renu, wrote to Mr Javid asking for his help to bring her newborn son to Britain - calling him a 'true innocent'.
However, the baby died around three weeks after he was born after suffering from ill health.
When did the jihadi bride begin her bid to return to Britain?
Ms Begum was moved to the al-Roj camp in north-eastern Syria in late February, reportedly because of threats to her life made at al-Hawl following the publication of her newspaper interviews.
Back in Britain, the legal campaign began against Mr Javid's decision, with her lawyers filing their first challenge on March 19.
While the ISIS recruit had links to Bangladesh, the country's foreign minister Abdul Momen said she could face the death penalty for involvement in terrorism if she goes to the country, adding that Bangladesh had 'nothing to do' with her.
New Home Secretary Priti Patel was equally adamant she should stay in Syria, saying there was 'no way' she would let her return to the UK.
'We cannot have people who would do us harm allowed to enter our country - and that includes this woman,' she said.
Begum on Sky News in 2019, when she said of ISIS: 'It was nice at first, like in the videos'
On October 22, Ms Begum's appeal against the revocation of her British citizenship began in London, with her barrister barrister Tom Hickman QC saying the decision to render her stateless exposed her to a 'real risk' of torture or death.
In a preliminary ruling on February 7, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled the decision to deprive Ms Begum of her British citizenship was lawful as Ms Begum was 'a citizen of Bangladesh by descent' at the time of the decision.
The tribunal also found that she could not 'play any meaningful part in her appeal and that, to that extent, the appeal will not be fair and effective'.
Ms Begum took her case to the Court of Appeal over whether she could return to the UK for the main challenge.
After the Court of Appeal ruled that she could return to the UK in on July 16, the Home Office challenged this decision at the Supreme Court.
On February 26 2021, the UK's highest court said that Ms Begum should not be granted leave to enter the UK to pursue her appeal against the deprivation of her British citizenship.
On August 31, the BBC trailed a controversial 10-part podcast series, The Shamima Begum Story. This was one of a series of media appearances by Ms Begum which included a magazine cover and several broadcast interviews.
What happened in court today?
In a 76-page public judgment, Mr Justice Jay and the two other members dismissed Ms Begum's challenge on all grounds.
Today ruling was only about her citizenship, and whether the decision to remove it would need to be reconsidered by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, not whether she could return to the UK.
'British citizenship is not an absolute entitlement for everyone,' Mr Justice Jay said. 'It can be removed by the Secretary of State, but not if to do so would render the subject stateless.
'Many citizens of the United Kingdom are immune from deprivation action for that reason, but not Ms Begum.'
Mr Justice Jay said that the tribunal had found it to be 'a case of great concern and difficulty'.
Ms Begum pictured with a Union Flag cushion in 2020. It was the first time she was seen without her usual black burka
The judge also noted that Ms Begum had been 'married off' to an IS fighter when in Syria, and that her three babies had died.
'Whatever the extent of her ideological commitment before she left in February 2015, Ms Begum could not have had any inkling of how much personal suffering she was destined to endure,' Mr Justice Jay said.
The judge also found it was 'arguable' that bodies including the Metropolitan Police, Ms Begum's school and the local authority had failed to take 'reasonable preventative measures' in the months before Ms Begum left for Syria.
'The state may have failed in its duties to Ms Begum before she travelled to Syria, but she is now well beyond the scope of its protection,' he added.
Announcing the decision, Mr Justice Jay said 'the real merits of Ms Begum's case' involved her arguments that she had been the victim of trafficking.
The tribunal found that there was a 'credible suspicion' that Ms Begum was 'recruited, transferred and then harboured for the purpose of sexual exploitation'.
However, they also found that Mr Javid was not required to formally consider whether Ms Begum was, or might have been trafficked when deciding to strip her British citizenship.
Mr Justice Jay said: 'The commission has fully recognised the considerable force in the submissions advanced on behalf of Ms Begum that the Secretary of State's conclusion, on expert advice, that Ms Begum travelled voluntarily to Syria is as stark as it is unsympathetic.
'Further, there is some merit in the argument that those advising the Secretary of State see this as a black and white issue, when many would say that there are shades of grey.'
The judge found it was up to the people advising the Home Secretary, not the tribunal, to assess whether Ms Begum's travel was voluntary, adding that 'many right-thinking people will strongly take issue with the assessment of those advising the Secretary of State'.
What does it mean for Ms Begum?
The ruling means she will not have her British citizenship restored or be allowed to return to the UK.
She will stay in the Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria, where she is effectively stateless after being rejected by both the UK and Bangladesh - where she also has a claim to citizenship.
What do Ms Begum and her lawyers plan to do next?
Ms Begum's legal team will now challenge the judgment and seek to have it overturned in the Court of Appeal. Her lawyer Daniel Furner said the case was 'nowhere near over' and they would be challenging the ruling.
While he refused to give details about the basis for their appeal, it is likely to focus on their insistence she was a victim of child sex trafficking.
Devyani Prabhat, a professor at the University of Bristol Law School, said the ruling in Shamima Begum's case is 'far from the end of the legal issues, as this will be followed by appeals and other proceedings by her team', adding: 'It only highlights the complexity of the issues and is one step in a long journey in Begum's cancellation of citizenship proceedings.'
The 'wide discretion' given to home secretaries to deprive someone of their British citizenship on national security grounds makes it 'quite difficult to challenge this, especially when there is evidence which is secret or not publicly available', she said.
How has the Home Office reacted?
The Home Office said they are 'pleased' the court has ruled against Shamima Begum.
In a statement, a spokeswoman said: 'We are pleased that the court has found in favour of the Government's position in this case.
'The Government's priority remains maintaining the safety and security of the UK and we will robustly defend any decision made in doing so.'
Mr Javid also expressed his support for the decision.
He said: 'I welcome today's court ruling, which has again upheld my decision to remove an individual's citizenship on national security grounds.
'This is a complex case but home secretaries should have the power to prevent anyone entering our country who is assessed to pose a threat to it.'
What does this mean for other ISIS members who've been stripped of their citizenship?
Dozens of other former ISIS members have had their citizenship taken away after being accused of joining ISIS. These include Jack Letts, nicknamed 'Jihadi Jack'.
It is not clear today's ruling will affect their cases because judges based their decision on factors specific to Ms Begum's case.
However, the Independent Reviewer on Terrorism Legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, said he believes Britons stranded in Syrian refugee camps would probably have to return at some point.
'I think that ultimately it's going to be a political decision, I think that although it's hard to predict, the camps will start to empty out,' he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One programme.
'I really don't think the UK would want to find itself in a position where the Belgians for example have brought back all their women and children. If nothing else, it would create this sort of awful spectre of Britain's Guantanamo.
'I'm sure it would be a propaganda coup for Britain's enemies. So I can't believe the UK is going to be a complete outlier... I think ultimately it will be a political decision.
'And you could say that if it's going to happen, particularly with the children who are now growing up, in a way the sooner you do it the better.'
The daughter of a 'paedophile teacher' accused of abusing countless boys at a top Edinburgh boarding school - including BBC presenter Nicky Campbell - has said she 'cannot bear' the fact that his blood is inside her.
Jenny Pearson, 64, said she would have 'some form of transfusion' to remove any trace of her father - Hamish Dawson - if it were possible, before branding him 'disgusting' and an 'abomination'.
Broadcaster Mr Campbell revealed the true horror of Dawson's alleged crimes last summer, when he detailed the abuse he had suffered as a schoolboy at the Edinburgh Academy almost 50 years earlier.
Since then, almost 100 other men have come forward with similar allegations of abuse against Dawson, as well as other teachers, at the fee-paying school throughout the 1970s.
Commenting for the first time about her late father, who died in 2009, Mrs Pearson said it was 'repulsive' and 'shameful' to be his daughter.
She added: 'It's appalling... it's disgusting. I've spent my whole professional life fighting for the rights of children and young people.'
Broadcaster Nicky Campbell says in addition to the abuse he suffered from Hamish Dawson, he witnessed another teacher 'Edgar' abuse male pupils at Edinburgh Academy in the 1970s
Jenny Pearson, 64, said she would have 'some form of transfusion' to remove any trace of her father - Hamish Dawson (pictured together at her wedding in 1980) - if it were possible, before branding him an 'abomination'
Mrs Pearson, who now works as a therapist, reached out to Mr Campbell after he named her father among three teachers who were said to be involved in child abuse.
She has since devoted herself to helping victims who were abused at her father's school, revealing that she has spent hours on the phone with many of them.
Speaking on Mr Campbell's BBC Radio 5 podcast Different, Mrs Pearson said she felt 'morally compelled' to do something and said the conversations were extraordinary.
'It probably sounds bizarre to say - but they were wonderful,' she said.
'We spoke the same language from different perspectives.'
Mrs Pearson moved into the Edinburgh Academy boarding houses when she was seven, before leaving home when she turned 18 and never looking back.
Her father and her family were living in the same building as the dorms where the boarding pupils slept.
Mrs Pearson recalled how her father would go through the fire doors every evening and not return until the next day, adding: 'From 14 to 19 I never saw my father... he was always with the boys.'
During their conversation, Mr Campbell reveals to Mrs Pearson how, when he was 12 or 13, her father would call boys to the front of the class, place them over his knee and stroke their penis.
Another survivor told Mr Campbell that Dawson would brazenly abuse boys in the dorms, stripping them in front of their peers before tying them to the bed and assaulting them.
Mrs Pearson admitted that it did not come as a 'total shock' when she learnt that her father was a sexual and physical abuser of children, although she was not aware of 'the extent'.
The broadcaster, pictured as a child, said he could never talk about the abuse he suffered at Edinburgh Academy while his parents were alive as they 'sacrificed' so much for him to attend
Edinburgh Academy, where dozens of boys were abused in the 1970s, has since issued a public apology and says it is cooperating with police
She added: 'I always knew he used to wallop the boys because he used to walk about with the slipper he used. I now know he used other things.'
She also described the 'terror' of her childhood in which she suffered violent abuse at the hands of her father.
She received emotional abuse from her mother, too, who died five years after him.
Mrs Pearson added that she later found 'horrific' material in relation to women slaves on her father's computer after his death and has since spent hours speaking to his victims.
Mr Campbell first revealed the sexual abuse he had suffered from Dawson in an interview with BBC Breakfast last July.
Now that Dawson is dead, Mr Campbell has been concentrating his efforts on bringing another alleged abuser named 'Edgar' to justice, who is proving difficult to extradite from his home in South Africa.
'I think it's an absolute scandal that the extradition process is kind of like yeah whatever,' he said.
'[Edgar] could well be one of the most prolific paedophiles in British criminal history if you do the maths and look at how long he taught and how many schools he was at.'
He claimed that in 1971, aged ten, he witnessed the man - who is being investigated for more than 20 child abuse allegations under the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry - abusing one of his friends in Edinburgh Academy's showers after rugby training.
'My friend is laughing but I know from the fear in it that it's not a good laugh,' Mr Campbell recounted. 'When we walk to the bus stop we don't even talk about it and we'd never tell.'
The former Watchdog presenter added he 'couldn't have spoken about the school' when his mother and father 'were alive' because of the sacrifices they made to send him to the fee-paying institution.
He also called on a change of the rules for private schools who are not subject to the same safeguarding requirements as state schools.
Mr Campbell spoke about witnessing and experiencing sexual and violent physical abuse as a young schoolboy
Mr Campbell added: 'There is no mandatory reporting in the private sector and you think now with our understanding and sensibilities there would be.
'Schools like that fostered a culture of omerta and not telling and keeping the secrets and these are the people who have been running the country.'
After Mr Campbell went public with the allegations, other former pupils of Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College stepped forward with stories of abuse.
Edinburgh Academy has since issued a public apology and say it is cooperating with police.
In a statement to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, Fettes College - whose alumni include former PM Tony Blair - made a 'full and unreserved apology'.
It said: 'While words of apology may have limited worth, we fully accept and recognise in the past there was sexual, physical and emotional abuse of pupils while at Fettes College.'
Edgar, who lives in a retirement complex in Cape Town, was arrested in South Africa in 2019 by British Police and is due to appear in court on March 17 for a further extradition hearing.
He told a previous court hearing that he moved to Edinburgh from South Africa in 1967 to seek treatment after experiencing 'urges' to touch boys in the school he worked at after graduating, The Times reports.
It would also stop truck owners from transporting unrestrained dogs in the bay
A new bill has been proposed in Florida that would ban drivers from allowing their dogs to stick their heads out of car windows.
The suggested ban is contained in SB932, a sweeping animal welfare bill sponsored by Democratic Senator Lauren Book that would also criminalize 'declawing cats'.
Additionally, it would place restrictions against the transportation of dogs in the bays of pickup trucks and require them to be restrained in a 'dog crate'.
'A person may not allow a dog to extend its head or any other body part outside a motor vehicle window while the person is operating the motor vehicle on a public roadway,' read the bill.
It was filed in the state senate on Friday and would still need to pass through both chambers of the Florida Legislature and could be vetoed by Governor Ron DeSantis.
A new bill SB932 has been sponsored by Democratic Senator Lauren Book in Florida which proposes banning drivers from allowing their dogs to stick their heads out of car windows
'A person may not allow a dog to extend its head or any other body part outside a motor vehicle window while the person is operating the motor vehicle,' states the bill
The bill would also require the Department of Law Enforcement to maintain an online registry of convicted animal abusers.
Sherry Silk, CEO of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, said she had mixed feelings about the bill.
'I have not seen a problem with dogs sticking their heads out of windows and we see 50,000 dogs a year,' she told DailyMail.com.
'We support anything that is going to help animals and the treatment of animals but I don't see how this is a problem in the grand scheme of things. Some vets will say things could fly into their face but I don't see it as a real threat,' she added.
Silk did however say that in Florida traveling on roads can be dangerous for dogs in truck bays.
'I'm more worried about people in Florida having their dogs in the back of pickups as they could see a cat or something and jump out,' she said. 'There are harnesses that people can use.'
The bill also proposes sanctions on people transporting unrestrained dogs in trucks. 'A dog being transported in the open bed of a pickup truck must be restrained by the use of a dog crate that is constructed to prevent the dog from escaping,' it states.
The bill also includes provisions to make it illegal to have a dog transported 'on the running board, fender, hood, or roof of a motor vehicle'. Dogs can also not be transported in a car that is being towed.
The sweeping animal welfare bill would also prevent the declawing of cats, and the sale of rabbits in certain months and places
Another aspect of the bill Silk was happy to see was rules on pet rabbits. Broom's bill would ban the sale of rabbits on streets and in parking lots, as well as in the Easter months.
'People in our community get a rabbit, then they're not an easy pet, so they just turn them loose,' she said. She suggested the problem can be so acute that her organization is simply unable to process all the rabbits that come their way at some times in the year.
Silk said she had seen positive legislative changes in the last decade to protect animals but enforcing them could not be taken for granted. 'We've seen a lot of great laws but nobody to enforce them,' she said.
Local TV station WINK reported that if the bill passed and people get caught they could receive a ticket for a moving violation but the charges would not count as traffic infractions.
The mother-of-two was remembered as a 'beautiful soul' by family and friends
An Oklahoma mother-of-two plunged to her death during a freak solo skydiving accident after she got stuck in a spin and hit the ground, sustaining life-threatening injuries.
Heather Glasgow, 44, had jumped several times with a partner, but was on her first solo jump at the Adventure Skydiving Center in Sallisaw when disaster struck.
Horrified witnesses said her parachute deployed but began spinning uncontrollably in the air and she was unable to recover. She was rushed to a hospital and died shortly after.
Sallisaw Police said 'an unknown issue arose during the skydive' and that they were investigating and working with the FAA and the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office to determine a cause for the incident.
The FAA said in a statement that it is investigating the packing of the main and reserve parachutes, while local authorities are in charge of other aspects of the investigation.
Y.O.L.O This is the beginning of a new chapter called tattoos and parachutes. #besthighever #bucketlist #imhooked Posted by Heather Glasgow on Thursday, January 12, 2023
The 44-year-old victim, Heather Glasgow of Poteau was at the Adventure Skydiving Center in Sallisaw on Saturday afternoon ready for some thrill seeking adventure before the tragic fall that happened near the Arkansas state line about 150 miles east of Oklahoma City
Glasgow was filmed in a prior jump. Before the skydive, when the instructor asked: 'Are ready to jump out of an airplane?' .... 'Why would you want to do that.' She smiled and raised her arms up and said: 'Life... life'
Witness to the fatal fall, Roland Preston was driving along Interstate 59 when he witnessed the terrifying scene. 'The body that was on that parachute was just spinning in circles, and nothing was going on.
He told KFOR News the body he saw was 'completely sideways,' and claimed 'they were already unconscious in the air.'
'If they would have been responsive, they would have been kicking their legs and would have been trying to fight with their arms to control the parachute,' Preston said.
He added: 'It bothered us so badly. I wanted to be able to do something for the individual but there was nothing that I could do at all except call 911. There is no way that individual could have lived through that.'
He was rattled by the sound he heard when Glasgow hit the ground. 'Just hearing the thud, the distinct thud when the person hit - it was traumatizing.'
Preston told the news outlet that he had never heard of an issue at Adventure Skydiving Center before Saturday's tragedy.
Before Saturday's tragic fall, Glasgow had gone on a tandem jump - when a skydiver is connected to an instructor - and had attended two first time jump classes. she took the courses and jumps at the same facility where she perished.
Glasgow's devastated relative, Valori Slaughter, told Oklahoma 4 News that her cousin went skydiving at the same center about six weeks ago and spoke about how it gave her pleasure amid some hardships she was facing.
'She [Glasgow] had just been going through some things and she was like, "No, I need to do something for me," Slaughter said. 'She needed to feel alive and be alive.'
Loved ones described her as a 'beautiful soul.'
'Heather had an infectious laugh that she would call and she would just have you in stitches and she's always full of life, and she's tenacious,' Slaughter said.
'She didn't have quit in her. She had all sorts of things that would go on and she has some hardships that just continue. It just felt like her whole life was hardship after hardship after hardship, and she just didn't have quit in her like she was determined.
'She wasn't just determined to survive. She was determined to survive with a smile on her face.'
Glasgow chats with the instructor before her tandem skydive previous to her fatal jump
Glasgow waits in anticipation as she is high in the skies gearing up for her previous jump
The location where Saturday's skydiving tragedy took place in Sallisaw, OK
Glasgow seen here in this undated photo with her two sons and a friend or family member
Weeks before her death, a video shows Glasgow during a prior jump at the same facility - Adventure Skydiving Center - sharing her enthusiasm before the tandem jump as she was covered in gear from head to toe.
'Are you ready to jump out of an airplane?' the instructor asked. 'Why would you want to do that.'
She smiled and said: 'Life,' as she raised her hands, 'Life.'
After the jumped ended Glasgow was full of giggles and overjoyed. The instructor asked her what was her favorite part- the freefall or the parachute. She replied: 'the parachute... all day!'
'I'm just doing my job, sir,' reporter wrote when she tweeted the video
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed during a walking street interview that he would visit the Ohio train disaster site then asked if he could snap a photo of the reporter who questioned him about it.
The odd encounter happened before it was reported Buttigieg will visit East Palestine on Thursday, 20 days after the initial disaster. That came after Buttigieg just yesterday defended his response and said he wants to make the trip when it can be one of 'action.'
Reporter Jennie Taer asked Buttigieg about the disaster and the administration's response after identifying herself as working for the Daily Caller News Foundation, with dimly lit footage revealed to be in Washington, D.C.'s Eastern Market neighborhood.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asked to take a reporter's photo after a brief interview while walking with husband Chasten
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday morning that he will finally visit the site of the train derailment that released hazardous material into East Palestine, Ohio earlier this month
The intense crash spewed toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water and has led nearby residents to complain of headaches and other symptoms. East Palestine was evacuated two days after the derailment
Biden has not, however, visited East Palestine, Ohio in the aftermath of a massive train derailment that released toxic chemicals into the community on February 3
'Buttigieg smiled when the reporter first asked how he was doing. Then, while Buttigieg and husband Chasten walked briskly at nighttime, the reporter asked him, 'What do you have to say to the folks in Ohio, East Palestine, who are suffering right now?'
'Well, I'd refer you to about a dozen interviews I've given today and if you'd like to arrange a conversation, make sure to reach out to our press office,' Buttigieg replied.
Earlier Tuesday he confirmed that he would be visiting the town, amid growing pressure 18 days after a Norfolk Southern train derailed amid a massive chemical explosion.
He indicated he wasn't going to 'have that conversation with you just walking down the street here.'
'You don't have a message for them?' the reporter asked, as the two walked and talked near the Capitol.
'I do and I've shared it with the press many times today and I refer you to those comments,' Buttigieg responded.
When the reporter pressed again, he declined, saying: 'No I'm going to refer you to the comments I made to the press because right now I'm taking some personal time and I'm walking down the street.'
She asked whether he would visit East Palestine, something he had revealed on ABC's 'Good Morning America' earlier Tuesday.
After pausing, Buttigieg allowed, 'Yup I'm going,' but declined to give a timeframe.
Then Buttigieg, who often represents the administration in combative interviews on Fox News and with other outlets, asked the reporter: 'Can I get a photo of you?'
The reporter agreed. She later posted video of the encounter on Twitter.
'I asked Secretary Buttigieg about the crisis in East Palestine and I guess he didn't like that, so he took a pic of me. I'm just doing my job, sir,' she wrote.
DailyMail.com has sought comment from the Transportation Department on the encounter.
News of Buttigieg's decision to visit the town came on a day when former President Donald Trump was set to visit the small Ohio town and its 4,700 residents.
A day earlier, he had defended the response, saying DOT personnel were 'on the ground from day one' and that he wants the trip to be one of 'action,' not image, CBS reported. He also said he wanted to provide time to the National Transportation Safety Board.
'I have followed the normal practice of transportation secretaries in the early days after a crash, allowing NTSB to lead the safety work and staying out of their way,' he said. 'But I am very eager to have conversations with people in East Palestine about how this is impacted them.'
Buttigieg has called for higher maximum fines for railroad safety breaches but has yet to pay a visit to the small town still reeling from the aftermath of toxic chemicals infiltrating the air, ground and water.
He wrote a letter on Sunday to the president and CEO of Norfolk Southern, which owns and operates the train that derailed carrying the hazardous material.
'Norfolk Southern must live up to its commitments to the people of East Palestine,' Buttigieg wrote in a Monday Instagram post along with images of the letter.
A Transportation Department spokesperson described the apparent turnaround.
'As the Secretary said, he would go when it is appropriate and wouldn't detract from the emergency response efforts. The Secretary is going now that the EPA has said it is moving out of the emergency response phase and transitioning to the long-term remediation phase,' adding that the visit 'also coincides with the NTSB issuing its factual findings of the investigation,' said the spokesperson, Reuters reported.
The migrants - and county prosecutors - say he 'hunted' them with an AK-47
The case against elderly Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly - who is charged with murdering a Mexican migrant by shooting him dead on his land last month - heated up as he and prosecutors presented wildly different versions of their story to a judge today.
Kelly is in custody on a single murder charge for shooting Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, on January 30.
He told police and border patrol agents that he fired warning shots when he saw Cuen-Butimea and at least eight other Mexican men running through his land.
The 73-year-old says he believed they were drug runners, and wanted to scare them away, but took care not to shoot at them directly.
He called border patrol afterwards and the entire ranch was searched immediately but no bodies were found. It was only hours later, when he was trying to find his horse, that he found the man's body and called the authorities again to report the death.
Prosecutors however say Kelly - who has no criminal history and lives alone with his wife Wanda - deliberately 'hunted' the men down with an AK-47, and that he later changed his story multiple times while speaking with police and border patrol.
They say he shot 'innocent man' Cuen-Butimea in the back as he ran 'for his life', and are resting their case largely on the witness statements of two other men who have come forward recently and claim they were there that day.
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George Alan Kelly, 73, says he was defending his land in Arizona when a group of up to 10 Mexican migrants ran through it on January 30, firing shots and carrying backpacks and radios
Kelly was seen leaving court in handcuffs after being charged for the murder of one of the men whose body was found on his property
Those men claim they were all migrants trying to sneak into America but that when Kelly started shooting, they jumped back over his fence and 'made it back to Mexico.'
In court today, a judge agreed to convert Kelly's $1million cash bond to a surety bond, which will allow him to use his 170-acre ranch to get out after nearly a month in custody.
He has also been charged with two counts of aggravated assault against 'Daniel' and 'Ramon' - the two migrants who have now come forward to assist the prosecution.
Prosecutors today said Kelly shot an 'innocent man in the back as he fled for his life.'
In a filing, they said the migrants posed 'no threat to him or his family.'
'This type of unprovoked attack presents a significant danger to the victims and community,' Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hunley said in the filing.
Kelly's attorney said the two men who have come forward have been afforded complete faith by the prosecution - whereas all of the rancher's comments have been scrutinized.
She also pointed to the fact that these men have only now come forward as witnesses, nearly a month after the shooting, after the case gained national and international media attention.
'There is a very large incentive structure for people to come forward - people can obtain immigration benefits for dong so. They can also succumb to pressure from traffickers, who have an interest in blaming this event on Mr. Kelly,' she said.
'Testimony is bought and sold by drug traffickers. It's a commodity and it is used.
'The benefit they are getting here is security for their smuggling route through his property, and they are sending a message to anyone else, that if you defend your property against us, you'll be arrested and there will be witnesses.'
Kelly listens to prosecutors in court on Wednesday. His $1 million bond was converted from cash to security meaning he can use his home to secure release.
Kelly's wife Wanda leaving court on Wednesday. He says he was only trying to protect her
Kelly's 170-acre ranch is a stone's throw from the border. He told police he was having lunch with his wife when he heard gunshots on January 30. He went to the porch with his gun, and says he fired warning shots while watching a group of men run through the trees
Kimberly Hunley, Chief Deputy County Attorney, called Kelly a danger to society in her brief
Kelly's lawyer said that the case was 'decided' before it was even charged, and that he is being unfairly tarnished as a violent racist.
The body of Gabriel Cuen-Butimea was later found on the ranch land
'There was no bullet. There were no witnesses. But the government jumps the gun and decides to charge premeditated, first degree murder,' she said.
'This lit a match over a very intense political powder keg and predictably there was an explosion.
'This case has been highly publicized, highly politicized. People have already prejudged this case very loudly.
'After this giant, political explosion happened, random witnesses start to come forward. They come forward very much after the fact - after the investigation is compromised by all of the publicity - essentially anyone can come forward.
'The state doesn't appear to have vetted any of these witnesses.
'The state does not appear to scrutinize these witness statements the same way they've his there appears to be a double standard and confirmation bias.'
The prosecution, in their own filing, asked the judge to keep Kelly behind bars so that the witnesses - and the victim's family - would feel safe attending court.
KELLY'S VERSION OF THE STORY: GANG OF DRUG RUNNERS IN COMBAT BOOTS AND CARRYING RADIOS WERE HEARD FIRING THEIR GUNS AND RUNNING THROUGH HIS LAND
The following description is taken from a motion filed by George Alan Kelly's attorney in court.
On January 30, George Alan Kelly reported the discovery of a body on his property near Kino Springs, where he and his wife have lived for the past two decades.
Earlier in the day, he had completed chores on his ranch and had come to his house to eat lunch with his wife.
As they ate, Mr. Kelly heard a single gunshot. Next, he saw his horse - who is old - running away scared and at full speed. Finally, he saw a group of men moving through the trees around his home.
They were armed with AK-47 rifles, dressed in khakis and camouflaged clothing, and carrying large backpacks. None of them were known to him. He hadn't given any of them permission to come onto his land. Based on the foregoing, Mr. Kelly was understandably concerned and reasonably feared for his safety.
He called the United States Border Patrol Ranch Liaison to report what he had seen and to summon immediate help. He told his wife to stay inside, away from the windows, and to stay silent so as not to alert the men to her presence.
Mr. Kelly then went to the porch with his rifle. The leader of the armed group of men saw Mr. Kelly and pointed an AK-47 right at him.
Mr. Kelly, fearing for his life and safety, fired several shots from his rifle, hoping to scare them away from his wife, his animals and his home.
Mr. Kelly took care to aim well over the heads of the armed group of men.
In a written defense submitted to the court, Kelly's attorneys described how he was at home having lunch when he heard shots fired outside and then saw his horse running. He called border patrol, and later the sheriff's department. None of them found the victim's body initially
The group then began running into the desert surrounding his home. Once the group had fled, Mr. Kelly walked over to his barn to see if it was safe and secure.
Mr. Kelly had a conversation with Border Patrol again that ended at 2.36pm....while Mr. Kelly was checking his barn, a number of Border Patrol agents and Sheriff's deputies arrived on the property.
[They] walked all over Mr. Kelly's property in search of the group of people and did not find anybody.
Later that day, as the sun was going down, Mr. Kelly went to his pastures in order to check on his horse. He took his dogs with him. After locating the horse, Mr. Kelly noticed that his dogs were focused on something on the ground near a mesquite tree. Mr. Kelly approached his dogs and observed a body lying face down in the grass.
Mr. Kelly then called Border Patrol Ranch Liaison again.
The body was that of a male foreign national. The person did not have any firearms or a backpack on him. The cause of death appeared to be a single gunshot wound and it appeared the body was fresh.
The person had a radio with him and he was wearing tactical boots, indicating that he was possible involved in illegal activity.
Mr. Kelly does not believe that any of his warning shots could have possibly hit the person or caused the death.
All of the shooting that Mr. Kelly did on the date of that incident was in self-defense and justified.
PROSECUTORS & MIGRANTS' VERSION OF THE STORY: KELLY EMERGED 'UNPROVOKED' WITH AK-47 AND STARTED SHOOTING AT 'INNOCENT' MEN WHO 'POSED NO THREAT TO HIS FAMILY'
The following description is taken from a filing submitted by Santa Cruz County Attorney George E. Silva and Chief Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hunley.
On January 30, 2023, at around 2.30pm, a group of approximately 7 to 8 undocumented immigrants were traveling north through the Kino Springs area from Mexico. Contrary to Kelly's account, no one in the group was carrying any weapons.
The group , which included R.F-G and D.R.-R, was within sight of the Kelly residence when out of nowhere, Kelly began to shoot at them with an AK-47. Kelly issued no warnings and made no requests.
He just started shooting at them. D.R-R was just one step behind Gabriel when he heard Gabriel call out in Spanish: 'I'm hit', grab his chest and fall to the ground. He saw Gabriel's eyes roll back in his head and when he could only see the whites of his eyes, he knew that Gabriel was dead.
He felt like they were being hunted. Kelly shot at least 8 rounds at them, Both R.F-G and D.R-R jumped the fence and made it back to Mexico. Are willing and available to testify.
Approximately 6 minutes later, Kelly called Agent Morsell again. This time Kelly said he lost visual of the subjects running toward Kino Springs. When asked if he was being shot at, Kelly claimed he heard a gunshot in his direction. He saw his horse running by and he was inspecting his horse but he didn't appear to be stuck,
Prosecutors have now filed additional charges against Kelly for aggravated assault
Prosecutors asked for Kelly to remain in jail on a $1million so that the victim's family in Mexico could travel over the border and attend proceedings
Kelly said it was 'too far to tell if they had any firearms'. Border Patrol Agents and Sheriff's Deputies responded to the scene and walked the property. They did not locate anything at that time,
Kelly called Agent Morsell again at 4.23pm. By this time, his story had significantly changed. He told Agent Morsell he was sitting in the house with his wife when 'we' heard a gunshot.
He said he saw 10 subjects all loaded down with AR Assault rifles. He said his wife saw it too.
Then at 5.23pm, he tried calling Agent Morsell again. He left a message saying 'you need to call me immediately. This is serious. Call me immediately. I can't say more over the phone.'
Agent Morsell returned his call. At this point, Kelly's tone had completely changed. He sounded nervous or scared. Kelly said: 'This is worse than you can imagine. This is bad.'
Kelly told him that he needed Morsell to send Border Patrol because this is a broader issue.
When Morsell requested the details, Kelly continued to be evasive and said: 'This is bad. I need someone to respond out here.' You know how shots were fired earlier, something was possibly shot. I can't say more over the phone.
One of the deputies turned on the recorder on his phone while they talked and walked with Kelly. Kelly told him that there was a shot fired and he didn't know what it was about. He went out to get his horse.
He said he 'walked all over it' and claimed 'maybe this happened after you left' referring to the earlier visit by deputies.
He said 'there's a body over there, as soon as I saw it I backed away from it.' Later, Kelly spoke with detectives. After initially denying that he shot at the group, he later admitted shooting.
He claimed he directed his shots over the heads of the group.
A conservative legal group is accusing the Biden administration of directing the Internal Revenue Service to audit more white and Asian Americans in an effort to boost 'equity.'
The America First Legal Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to fight executive overreach, filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Tuesday claiming that an executive order President Biden signed last week encourages the IRS to alter its algorithms to audit more white and Asian taxpayers and fewer black taxpayers.
Though the Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government does not specifically mention audits, it directs federal agencies including the IRS to find ways to make their practices more 'equitable' to underserved communities.
Specifically, the order directs agencies to 'prevent and remedy discrimination, including by protecting the public from algorithmic discrimination.'
America First Legal Foundation is now investigating how that could affect the IRS, seeking internal documents from the agency referring to its efforts to improve 'equity' amongst Americans.
Under federal law, the Treasury Department now has just 20 business days to respond to the request.
A conservative legal group claims that a new executive order signed by President Joe Biden last week encourages the Internal Revenue Service to audit fewer black taxpayers and instead audit more white, Asian and mixed-race Americans. The president is pictured on Wednesday in Poland speaking to NATO allies
Biden signed an executive order on February 16 requiring all federal agencies to implement policies that promote racial equity
'Equity' refers to an equality in outcome, rather than equality of opportunities. It has become a woke buzzword over the past few years one that Biden has championed since he took office in 2021.
Supporters say it's important to recognize that some minority groups may need extra help to achieve their potential. Critics say equity policies are often used in an unfair and sometimes even racist way.
Almost immediately after he was sworn in, the president signed an executive order that 'emphasized the enormous human costs of systemic racism and persistent poverty, and provided a powerful and unprecedented mandate for all federal agencies to launch a whole-of-government approach to equity,' according to a recent White House press release.
In response, the Department of Treasury established the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, which provides the agency with recommendations on how to advance racial equity, 'particularly aspects of the domestic economy that have directly and indirectly resulted in unfavorable conditions for communities of color.'
Biden then expanded on the executive order on February 16 by issuing another order that requires all federal agencies to implement policies that promote racial equity.
It says that 'each agency head shall support ongoing implementation of a comprehensive equity strategy that uses the agency's policy, budgetary, programmatic, service-delivery procurement, data-collection process grantmaking , public engagement , research and evaluation and regulation functions to enable the agency's mission and service delivery to yield equitable outcomes for all Americans, including underserved communities.'
Specifically, the executive order directs each agency head to 'prioritize and incorporate strategies to advance equity' and 'identify opportunities, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to incorporate new regulations to modify their respective agency's regulations, internal- and public-facing guidance and other policies to include advancing equity as part of their agency's mission.'
The executive order does not explicitly say that the IRS should alter its algorithms to reduce the number of black households that are audited, but it does say it should 'prevent and remedy discrimination, including by protecting the public from algorithmic discrimination.'
And a recent study from Stanford University found that black taxpayers are audited 2.9 to 4.7 times the rate of non-black taxpayers in the United States under the IRS' National Research Program, which randomly selects tax returns for audit.
America First Legal Foundation is specifically seeking Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's internal communications from January 20, 2021 through the present. She is pictured here last week at the National Association of Counties legislative conference
The conservative group argues that the IRS could change its National Research Program, which randomly selects tax returns for audit but was found to target black households and businesses more frequently than non black taxpayers
Now, the America First Legal Foundation argues that Biden's new directive could encourage the IRS to change that algorithm to underemphasize black households and businesses and overemphasize white, Asian and mixed-race homes and businesses instead.
The organization cites other actions taken by the Biden administration, saying that since the president took office, the Treasury Department has been using 'racial equity' as a 'key factor in the design of tax compliance' and illegally 'examining the tax system through a racial equity lens.'
It says: 'Statements by Deputy Secretary of Treasury Wally Adeyemo, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Lily Batchelder and members of the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity demonstrate that the Treasury Department is committed to imputing race and ethnicity into tax data for the purpose of ensuing that more white, Asian and mixed-race Americans are audited based solely on their race or national origin.'
Stephen Miller, the group's president who previously served as a senior advisor under Trump, vowed that America First will file other legal documents challenging the executive order
'Consequently, there is very strong reason to believe that the Treasury Department is altering the IRS audit algorithms to illegally operationalize racial quotas and/or requiring agents to use imputed race and ethnicity data to ensure "racial equity.'"
As part of its FOIA request, the America First Legal Foundation is seeking all records and communication from specific individuals at the Treasury Department and the IRS 'referring to "discrimination," "discriminatory," "race," "racial," "ethnicity," "color," "BIPOC," "Asian," "Indigenous," "Black," "Brown" or "white."'
It is also asking for documents mentioning '"audit," "enforcement," "NRP," "RAAS," "algorithmic," "selection," "sampling," or "strata."'
America First is specifically asking for records of communication from January 20, 2021 through the time the FOIA request is processed, including communications from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
In a statement, Gene Hamilton, the group's vice president and general counsel, said: 'The notion that race should play any role whatsoever in the IRS operations is absurd, offensive to the American ideal and illegal.
'But the Biden administration is so blinded by its relentless obsession with race that it is wiling to make IRS enforcement decisions based on the race of American citizens.'
Stephen Miller, the president of the group, also said: 'We will not allow the machinery of the federal government, with all its considerable and awesome powers, to be used to categorize and punish Americans based on skin color or to replace our entire constitutional order with race-and-gender based Marxism.'
'Today's investigation is just the very beginning of our battle against this tyrannical executive order,' he added.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Treasury Department for comment.
The move comes as members of Congress debate whether to confirm Danny Werfel to head the IRS
The move comes as members of Congress debate whether to confirm Danny Werfel to head the IRS.
He vowed not to expand tax audits on businesses and households making less than $400,000 a year when he was being questioned by the Senate Finance Committee last week.
Werfel also said he would be 'unyielding in following my true north to increase public trust,' according to the Associated Press.
A 'fixer' who charged 18,500 a head to smuggle people into Britain in lorries and spent illicit cash on 1,000 Louboutin trainers has been jailed for seven and a half years and faces deportation.
Hai Xuan Le, 33, who lived above a nail bar in Birmingham, was jailed on Wednesday after previously being convicted of conspiring with others to assist unlawful immigration.
Le, who himself entered the UK illegally, played a 'leading role' in the global enterprise which was likely his 'sole purpose in being in this country', prosecutors told the court.
The 33-year-old, originally from Vietnam, will serve half his prison sentence in the UK but is likely to face deportation once released, the court heard.
Judge Dean Kershaw, sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, told Le: 'The importance of protecting the country's borders can't be underestimated.'
Hai Xuan Le, 33, originally from Vietnam, has been jailed for seven and a half years and faces deportation after he charged 18,500 a head to smuggle people into Britain in lorries and spent illicit cash on 1,000 Louboutin trainers
Le was arrested after previously being convicted of conspiring with others to assist unlawful immigration
He added that there were risks in bringing people into the country whose backgrounds could not be properly vetted, as well as 'huge risks involved to the individuals' being transported.
'It is sometimes the case they come in - as certainly on one occasion you organised - a refrigerated lorry, if not squeezed into containers or strapped sometimes to the underside of vehicles,' the judge said.
'Whatever the method, it is in a circumstance where their life is at risk.
'You in August and September 2020 arranged for Vietnamese citizens to be brought in clandestinely.'
The judge said 'harm' to those brought into the country illegally was a matter of common sense.
He referenced evidence - not heard by the trial jury - that some Vietnamese citizens had ended up working at a cannabis farm in Redditch, Worcestershire, to work off their debt to the people smugglers.
He compared this with Le's lifestyle, which the offender bragged about on social media, and the 'substantial' amount of money he made from others' suffering.
The judge said: 'You were using proceeds to fund renovations of a property and I am satisfied you had some of the trappings of this enterprise to make purchases, including Christian Louboutin trainers worth about 1,000.
'And you seemed to revel on social media in that.'
The judge added it was a 'sad feature' of the case that the people smuggled into the UK 'seemed to disappear into the ether'.
The 33-year-old will serve half his prison sentence in the UK but is likely to face deportation once released
He said Le helped orchestrate four successful cross-Channel crossings, and three that failed.
In total, all the attempts may have involved between five and 10 people being brought to Britain, although the judge added 'it is clear there were more'.
'When you were in the UK, there must have been people also organising abroad,' he added.
'There is no doubt you were central within this criminal conspiracy, and organised not just the movement of people but also cash.'
The judge also heard that Le's only child was born in the UK while he was still locked up awaiting trial, and he had not seen the boy once.
Le was arrested after a painstaking inquiry - including piecing together messages on temporary so-called burner mobile phones used by the co-conspirators - by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
In December, a Birmingham Crown Court jury convicted him and his co-accused, 42-year-old taxi driver Habib Behsodi - the enterprise's 'courier'.
Behsodi, of Chatham, Kent, narrowly avoided being sent immediately to prison by the same judge on Tuesday when he was given a two-year suspended prison term.
Judge Kershaw heard that Behsodi acted as the 'courier' of a 'conveyor belt' of human cargo, driving Vietnamese people who had just got off the cross-Channel lorries, from Kent to Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
NCA branch commander Mick Pope said Le showed 'complete disregard' for the people involved in the criminal operation, treating them like a commodity and 'happy to risk their lives in return for his own financial benefit'.
'Le was the lynchpin of a wider global criminal network, acting as a fixer to get migrants on to lorries and into the UK,' he said, adding that stopping people smugglers was a 'priority' for the agency.
Scary footage captured the moment a base jumper missed his landing spot high atop a rocky Utah outcrop - and plunged towards the ground after falling over the edge of it.
The clip sees the unidentified daredevil coming in to land on one of the umber-colored rock formations near Moab.
But it isn't big enough for the base jumper to slow himself down properly as he comes in to land.
And moments later, the base jumper can be seen crying out with shock as he overshoots and begins to topple over the edge.
Thankfully, the man's parachute was working, and he was able to land safely a few moments later.
A man soaring through the breathtaking Fisher Towers in Moab, Utah has captured the terrifying moment he misses his landing, plunging off the edge of the rocky formation
Magnificent footage of the nail-biting ordeal, leaves viewer's on tenterhooks as he gracefully glides to atop one of the sandstone capped towers before slipping and falling off the edge
'Touch and go baby! Touch and go!' the man is heard yelling following the near-escape.
The video uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday has had thousands of views with many commenting on how lucky the base jumper was to not have his chute caught.
'Imagine a big rock falling on his parachute after he misses the landing,' said one user.
'No protective gear? I would at least be wearing knee pads. That would hurt,' said another.
In an ominous comment one user said: 'You lucky dog next time you won't be lucky.'
'That was not touch and go! That was God saving a person determined to kill themselves for fun!' said another user.
'Touch and go, more like wtf was that, scraping to hold on, wind finally pulled you off like a cat clawing to hold-on...okay whatever dude@least your [sic] alive...' said one user.
Fisher Towers are a series of towers made of Cutler sandstone capped with Moenkopi sandstone and caked with a stucco of red mud located near Moab, Utah.
While grasping at the slippery rock face, the man appears to start breathing heavily, as he comes to terms with the gravity of the situation
In a lucky escape, the man is seen continuing to soar through the sky with his parachute whooping loudly as viewers are met with a bird's eye view of the potential drop
Fisher Towers are a series of towers made of Cutler sandstone capped with Moenkopi sandstone and caked with a stucco of red mud located near Moab, Utah
The Towers are named for a miner who lived near them in the 1880s.
In a caption for the video the man wrote: 'I was BASE jumping in the Fisher Towers area and attempted to land on top of the tower, but I overshot it.'
Although this base jumper was able to escape without injury, the same can't be said of others who have taken the plunge while taking part in the extreme sport.
In March last year, a base jumper's parachute ripped in mid-air, leaving him clinging to the side of a cliff edge for an hour.
Footage filmed by Johnni DiJulius in Phoenix, Arizona, shows him counting down for BASE jumping before he begins to parachute and loses control, hitting the edge of the cliff.
His leg bends backwards and he fights to regain his balance, soaring down the cliff in an unstable manner.
The terrified thrill seeker then says: 'I've shredded my f***ing canopy!'
Footage filmed by Johnni DiJulius in Phoenix, Arizona, shows him counting down for the jump before losing control and hitting the edge of the cliff
His leg bends backwards and he fights to regain his balance, soaring down the cliff in an unstable manner
In the footage, he glides in the air smoothly for a while but then careers into another part of the cliff at speed as his parachute fails.
Using his upper body strength, he hangs on tightly to the edge and hoists himself up to recover from the traumatic ordeal.
DiJulius shared the death-defying incident on Instagram on January 31, with the caption: 'I was hesitant to show this, but I fortunately walked away with no injuries.'
In 2020, f irst responders in Arizona released incredible footage that shows the moment they rescued a base jumper who became stuck on the side of a mountain.
Scott Frankson was base jumping off Superstition Mountains when his parachute got hooked on a sheer face vertical wall.
Frankson was suspended nearly 300 feet in the air, hanging from his parachute on the north side of Siphon Draw, officials from the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.
First responders in Arizona have released incredible footage that shows the moment they rescued base jumper, Scott Frankson (pictured, before he was rescued), who became stuck on the side of a mountain last week
According to the Superstition Fire and Medical District, Frankson (circled) was approximately '1000ft to the bottom' of the mountains, which are the largest of the mountain ranges surrounding Phoenix
Sunday's incident wasn't the first time Frankson (pictured in 2015) had a dangerous experience while base jumping in Arizona. In 2015, Frankson jumped off a cliff near the Peralta Trail of the Superstition Mountains with some friends when they became tangled
In the footage, Frankson, who works as a carpenter, is seen dangling from the parachute while a trooper was being lowered 267 feet down by a helicopter.
Authorities said the trooper 'secured the subject with a capture strap and cut him free from his parachute lines.'
According to the Superstition Fire and Medical District, Frankson was approximately '1000ft to the bottom' of the mountains, which are the largest of the mountain ranges surrounding Phoenix.
Despite the dramatic rescue, Frankson and some of his friends went back to the area a few days later to retrieve the parachute.
'Parachute recovery mission,' Frankson shared on Instagram with several photos and videos showing them gearing up for the retrieval.
Frankson shared the post on Wednesday, just days after he was rescued.
'Thanks again to my climbing friends. I asked them if they wanted to go 300 feet down a wall to retrieve a parachute and they said 'hell yea',' Frankson says in one of the videos.
The Texan's parachute immediately got caught in a sudden gust after leaping from the roof
Emergency services attended the scene where the adrenaline junkie was still conscious
In 2018, a n American adrenaline junkie crushed both of his legs after his parachute got caught in a sudden wind and skewed his landing.
John Michael, from Texas, crushed both of his legs in a botched base jump attempt after the unexpected winds.
The jump took place in Bryne, Norway, off one of the highest buildings in the city.
Stavenger Aftenblad reported that John Michael was conscious when he was rushed to hospital.
Michael leaped from the Forum Jaeren building after receiving approval from the building manager.
Forum Jaeren is a 222 foot high skyscraper in the southwestern city.
The Texan's parachute immediately got caught in a sudden gust after leaping from the roof of the 20-floor building on the 26th of June.
Kevin Morroun was a skydiving instructor and traveled around the country seeking bigger and better BASE jumps before he died
Friends and family mourned the loss of Morroun, one scrawled this into the side of a local cliff
As a result of his uneasy landing, John crushed both of his legs and was rushed to the hospital 30 km away in Stavenger and is currently recovering at home.
No more base-jumping is allowed on the building after the incident.
Two people died in separate BASE jumping accidents in Utah, in 2014.
Something isn't quite right about China's Mars rover.
The country's space agency recently celebrated the second anniversary of its first interplanetary mission in Mars' orbit, but it didn't give an update about the mission's rover, per Space.com.
China sent its Mars rover to the Red Planet aboard its Tianwen 1 spacecraft on July 23, 2020, and had it land on its surface in May 2021, per the Universities Space Research Association.
China's Zhurong Rover Status Details
China's Zhuring Mars rover has not been heard of for quite some time. According to Space.com, the rover entered hibernation in May 2022 due to declining available solar power during winter in Mars' northern hemisphere.
Although the rover was meant to wake up from its hibernation in December 2022, around the time of Mars' spring equinox, China and its space authorities have since remained silent about Zhurong's status and condition.
Interestingly, China's Tianwen 1 spacecraft had reportedly experienced a communications glitch preventing it from calling home, per an earlier Space News article citing a South China Morning Post report.
China's National Space Administration mentioned that its Tianwen 1 spacecraft was "in good condition" and would continue to perform multiple tasks related to Mars, per Chinese state media Xinhua.
However, it only made passing remarks about its Zhurong Mars rover, with the space agency recounting its landing on Mars and its communications with Tianwen 1 for nearly six months.
Read More: Google Warns It Will Be Using a Different Method to Identify Locations in Google Photos
The space agency never mentioned Zhurong again.
The last time the public heard detailed information about the Zhurong Mars Rover was in late October, a month after it lost communications with Tianwen 1 during the solar conjunction, per Xinhua. Experts received a signal from the rover 400 million kilometers away, stating it is in normal condition.
Zhurong was meant to autonomously wake up from its hibernation when its key components reached a temperature of greater than five degrees Fahrenheit and energy generation of greater than 140 watts. Though it doesn't carry a radioisotope heart unit like other rovers, Zhurong has a pair of n-undecane windows to store heat energy.
This chemical is said to melt and absorb heat during the day while it solidifies and releases at night, per Chinese state media.
As to why Zhurong hasn't sent a signal, nobody knows. However, dust storms in the Utopia Planitia region of the Red Planet may have impacted the rover's ability to generate heat and light, which could explain Zhurong's silence, per CNET.
Zhurong Mars Rover History
China's Zhurong spacecraft landed in Mars' northern hemisphere on May 15, 2021, per Nature.com. During its explorations, it traveled nearly two kilometers from its landing site in a year, exceeding its original three-month mission goal.
The rover helped experts discover evidence of liquid water being on Mars in May 2022, per CNN, while also unearthing hints of catastrophic floods that happened on the Red Planet in the past in late September 2022.
Related Artcle: China's Tianwen 1 Mars Orbiter Snaps New Photo of Phobos
The mother of a murdered 18-year-old who bravely attended court wearing a T-shirt of her daughter's mutilated body has today gained justice as the teenager's killer lost his appeal against a life sentence.
Alessandra Veni's teenage daughter Pamela Mastropietro was murdered by Innocent Oseghale in January 2018 before he dismembered her body in an attempt to get rid of the evidence.
Oseghale, 32, had appealed against additional charges that he had raped Pamela before he killed her - and if successful, his life sentence would be reduced.
But Alessandra, who has been tirelessly campaigning against Oseghale getting a reduced sentence, today got some sense of closure as an Italian appeals court ruled that the Nigerian drug dealer had sexually abused Pamela and upheld his life term.
The Perugia court ruled that Oseghala had raped Pamela after supplying her with heroin.
Alessandra Verni attended court wearing a T-shirt of her daughter's dismembered body last month
Pamela Mastropietro (pictured with her mother) was killed after she left an addiction recovery centre in Macerata in the Marche region in early 2018
Pamela Mastropietro was murdered and dismembered in 2018 by drug dealer Innocent Oseghale (pictured)
Alessandra has fought an uphill battle with the justice system since 2018, as delays and appeals have prevented her from finding closure after her daughter was dismembered and then murdered by Oseghale in the eastern commune of Pollenza.
But this latest ruling will provide her with some sense of closure.
The grieving mother had become so frustrated with the countless number of appeals and delays that she last month attended court wearing a T-shirt showing horrific images of her daughter's mutilated body.
'It was painful to show those images, but I had no choice,' said Alessandra at the time.
Alessandra bravely stood in front of Oseghale in the courtroom wearing the T-shirt so that he could see her daughter's mutilated body.
'I go to bed every night to dream of Pamela,' she told La Stampa at the time. 'That is why I showed that photo.'
The T-shirt showed Pamela's dismembered head. The series of harrowing pictures were also formed so that the detached body parts made up the structure of a body.
The photos on the shirt had not so far been shared with the public.
La Stampa reported they were autopsy images taken by forensics.
Ms Verni told the Italian outlet, 'anyone who saw those images knew that if they were made public they would shake consciences.'
Oseghale (pictured) was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019, with eighteen months in solitary confinement
Mastropietro mutilated and dismembered body was found inside suitcases left in a ditch
Verni is still seeking justice five years after the death of her daughter.
In 2019, she said after a hearing that a fast-track trial would be good so long as 'all the truth comes out'.
'Because it was not only him,' she said, referring to Oseghale.
Four years later, Verni appealed for a search for accomplices.
She told La Stampa, 'there were other people with Osenghale the day he killed Pamela [...] I feel that no one is being investigated. No one is looking for these men.'
In another interview, the distraught mother said: 'No one is looking for the accomplices of the murderer.
'In my battles for justice, I always have my daughter's friends by my side. Watching them grow up is like watching her grow up.'
Oseghale, 32, was found guilty and sentenced to jail in 2019 for murdering 18-year-old Mastropietro, and is appealing against part of his conviction for rape.
Pamela Mastropietro was murdered and dismembered in January 2018 by a drug dealer
Mastropietro's parents Stefano and Alessandra Verni stand by a memorial for their daughter
Pamela Mastropietro (second left) with her family. She was murdered and her body dismembered in January
Mastropietro was killed after she left an addiction recovery centre in Macerata in the Marche region in early 2018.
Investigators understood that she had decided to leave the facility and made the journey to the local train station on foot.
Having left the recovery centre, Mastropietro attempted to find drugs in Macerata. She then met Oseghale, a local drug dealer, then aged 29.
A day later, a passer-by noticed two abandoned suitcases in a small ditch. Mastropietro's mutilated and dismembered body was found inside the case.
Drug dealer Oseghale was accused of selling Mastropietro drugs, before he then detained, raped, and stabbed her.
In 2019, courts heard Mastropietro was still alive when Oseghale 'tried to tear her to pieces'.
Police found Mastropietro's bloodied clothing at Oseghale's home.
Oseghale claimed in his testimony that Mastropietro died from a heroin overdose.
However, an autopsy showed that she died due to successive abdominal stabbings. It also found that her body was dismembered while she was still alive.
Oseghale was accused of murder, sexual assault, concealment, and destruction of a body. He disputed the charges at the trial in February 2019.
He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, with eighteen months in solitary confinement.
Did you see what happened in Bolton? Email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk
A baby girl has been left with 'serious injuries' after a man attempted to snatch the infant from her mother.
The suspected kidnapper allegedly tried to abduct the girl in a residential street in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on Tuesday evening.
But the man was tackled and detained by heroic Good Samaritans as he attempted to escape with the infant, Greater Manchester Police has said.
Police have since arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of kidnap following the alleged attack, which took place in Mayor Street at 6.30pm.
Detective Inspector Tony Lunt of Greater Manchester Police Bolton CID today praised those who stepped in and stopped the suspect.
The incident took place in Mayor Street, Bolton on Tuesday evening. Police have since arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of kidnap (stock image)
Police will be stepping up their patrols of the area following the incident, which has been described as an 'isolated' one
'I'd like to thank the quick work and bravery of members of the public who assisted in detaining a man who was arrested by officers,' DI Lunt said.
Do you know who was involved in stopping the alleged abduction? Did you see what happened or know who was involved in the effort to stop the suspect? Email tom.cotterill@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement
'He has been taken into police custody where he will be questioned.'
It is not known exactly what injuries the girl suffered and how she received them.
However, DI Lunt said: 'This was an incredibly distressing incident during which a child received serious injuries.
'Although these are thankfully not life-threatening, the mother of the child was understandably very shaken by the incident and is receiving support from specialist officers at this time.
'I understand the concerns it will raise in the community but I would like to reassure you that this is being treated as an isolated incident and there is not believed to be any wider threat to the community.'
The suspect remains in police custody.
Detectives have now appealed for witnesses who were in Mayor Street between 6.20pm and 6.40pm to come forward.
They are also urging those with CCTV or dashcam footage in the to area to contact them on 0161 85 65757 quoting 2896 of 21/02/2023 or by calling charity Crimestoppers, anonymously. on 0800 555 111.
A suspended Vanderbilt University associate dean has shared her transformation of a 'white male' student - while failing to acknowledge the 'privilege' that has landed her a $675,000 mansion.
Ultra-woke, Nicole Joseph, 52, was suspended from her position after making the callous decision to use AI software ChatGPT to generate a commiseration letter to students in the wake of a horrific mass shooting at Michigan State University (MSU).
But prior to the AI scandal, the former teacher had been bragging of her prowess at helping a white male student overcome his 'privilege' - while making no mention of the stunning four-bed, four-bath home she calls home.
The December 2021 post starts by describing the student who reached out to her privately to share his thoughts as 'white, male, upper-middle class, heterosexual, and Christian.'
Joseph's progressive politics and positions have come to the fore after she was given the boot for the 'outrageous' email - which she later said was a result of 'poor judgment.'
She has been seen teaching seminars in which she talks to the impact of 'whiteness' on the black community and shared a post applauding her ability to single-handedly 'catalyze change' in the minds of people she deems the pinnacle of 'privilege.'
A suspended Vanderbilt University associate dean has shared her transformation of a 'white male' student but failed to acknowledge her own 'privilege' in the post
While talking to this student's inherited privilege Joseph, who lives in a four bedroom, four bathroom $675,000 mansion did not reflect on her own status
In the post Joseph posted the student's 'reflection' following a course the educator had been running that semester.
Joseph appears to take a swipe at unchangeable characteristics of the student saying the combination of their identities 'cannot get any more privileged.'
'He is white, male, upper-middle class, heterosexual, and Christian,' she wrote in the post.
'One cannot get any more privileged than that combination of identities.
'I share this to remind us that EDI [Equity, Diversity, Inclusion] work is for everyone and we can plant seeds for catalyzing change with ANYONE.'
The earnest letter from the unnamed student launches into a resounding thank you to Joseph who he said 'made him aware of his absurd privilege.'
'You me aware of my absurd privilege, but you did not discredit me or treat me differently because of it (even though I do not think it would have been unnatural to do so),' the letter read.
Despite this, Joseph is seen doing just that, commenting that if it hadn't been for her tireless work that this student would not have been able to 'open their eyes.'
While talking to this student's inherited privilege Joseph, who lives in a four bedroom, four bathroom $675,000 mansion did not reflect on her own status, upbringing or living situation which helped create a platform to make such changes.
It isn't the first time Joseph has deemed herself holier-than-thou attitude, spouting ultra-progressive rhetoric in seminars held in the years before she was 'outed' for being insensitive in the wake of the mass school shooting.
The 52-year-old has built a career at the Nashville, Tennessee University researching how black women and girls develop their identity and how 'whiteness' and 'white supremacy' operate to influence that.
In a 2019 seminar, the embattled professor spoke to the experiences of black women and girls in mathematics and how it remains a 'understudied line of inquiry.'
The two deans who signed off on the email - Nicole Joseph (left) and Hasina Mohyuddin (right) - have temporarily stepped down while the Peabody EDI office 'reviews' the situation
On February 16, the Vanderbilt's Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion sent students an email reminding them to 'take care of each other' after the MSU shooting
Although the email came off as kind and caring, at the very bottom, it revealed it wasn't written by a human. 'Paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023,' it read
Joseph, is a critical race theorist and has lauded the work of 'White Fragility' author Robin DiAngelo (pictured)
She also hailed Robin DiAngelo - the highly-controversial author of ultra-woke 'self-help' book White Fragility - as 'like a sister to me.'
Joseph stepped down from her role with the Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion while it 'reviews' an incident, in which she along with assistant Dean Hasina Mohyuddin, used AI software ChatGPT to write a commiseration letter.
While the letter in the wake of the horrific shooting at MSU was written sensitively, students were outraged to find it wasn't written by a human - despite the persona Joseph projects publicly.
Poising herself as a caring and politically astute educator this shockingly did not translate when writing to students of the Vanderbilt University.
It remains unclear why Joseph along with Mohyuddin and graduate assistant, Chengxi Zhu, chose to generate the letter which was, albeit, heartfelt rather than putting time in to write it themselves.
Following the incident, Joseph sent a follow up apology email to the Peabody community obtained by student paper Vanderbilt Hustler which stated that they'd used 'poor judgment.'
'While we believe in the message of inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College,' it reads.
'As with all new technologies that affect higher education, this moment gives us all an opportunity to reflect on what we know and what we still must learn about AI.'
Just days after the incident Vanderbilt University's Data Science Institute hosted a 'lunchtime information session' titled 'Understanding ChatGPT.'
'ChatGPT marks a groundbreaking step forward in artificial intelligence beyond the impressive technology, the program is generating controversy and conversation about its impact on academia,' the description reads.
'Vanderbilt University's Data Science Institute is hosting a lunchtime information session entitled Understanding ChatGPT from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm on Monday, Feb. 20th, in Alumni Hall, Room 202.'
It remains unclear whether the session was spurred by the recent ChatGPT scandal which has rocked the university campus.
DailyMail.com has approached Joseph, Mohyuddin, Zhu and the University for comment.
It has not been confirmed, who sent the initial ChatGPT prompt, or what wording had been used to generate the email.
On Feb 16, Joseph signed off on an email to students reminding them to 'take care of each other' after the tragedy that hit MSU.
Vanderbilt University has since apologized for using artificial intelligence to write a 297-word email to students after the MSU shooting.
The long letter was signed off by two deans - Joseph and Mohyuddin. But the line at the bottom of the letter caused outrage among students.
'Paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023,' it read.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence software that is capable of producing large amounts of text by giving the generator writing suggestions, where it pulls from ten of thousands of datasets to produce written content.
The email caused disgust among students reeling from the devastating mass shooting.
Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, killed three students on February 13 at MSU before turning the gun on himself.
He terrorized the students for four hours on campus, killing Brian Fraser, 20, Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, and Alexandria 'Alex' Verner.
Anthony Dwayne McRae, 43, killed three students Feb 13 at MSU before turning gun on himself
Alexandria Verner (left), Brian Fraser (middle), and Arielle Diamond (right) were killed in shooting
Alexandria 'Alex' Verner, a 2020 graduate of Clawson High School, was a biology and anthropology junior at MSU and set to graduate in 2024.
Brian Fraser, 20, graduated from Grosse Pointe South and was studying business at MSU.
Flavor of Love reality TV star Deelishis revealed her niece, Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, was the third victim.
The three were killed and five others were injured when McRae opened fire at 8.18pm.
A man dressed as a giant 7ft penis has been arrested by police after women complained he had been harassing them.
Military Police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, arrested the man dressed as the giant phallus in the city centre on Sunday for 'acting suspiciously'.
A picture of the arrest shows the man wearing an inflatable manhood costume and a pair of flip-flops being led away peacefully by an officer.
Just the man's feet and rather glum face can be seen as the officer - with a baton tucked under his arm - takes him into custody.
Carnival goers in the city told police he had been using his costume to chase women taking part in the city's parades, local media reported.
Military Police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, arrested the man dressed as the giant phallus in the city centre on Sunday for 'acting suspiciously'
One Twitter user commented: 'Hard reality.'
Other netizens suggested he looked more like a poo than a penis.
And he was not the only Carnival reveller seized over the weekend.
Police on patrol in Santa Luzia, Minas Gerais State, arrested a 20-year-old dressed as a prisoner as he left his home to join a parade on Saturday.
He was about to board a bus to Belo Horizonte with a pal when officers approached them.
He was wearing a red top, shorts with the acronym of the National Penitentiary Department (DEPEN), and a homemade electronic ankle tag.
Officers seized 15 portions of cannabis and another 15 of cocaine from the bum bag worn by one of the men.
The pair confessed to the cops that they were planning to take some of the drugs and sell the rest at Carnival.
Carnival parades returned to Brazil last weekend for the festival's first full-on edition since the Covid-19 pandemic and Brazil's highly divisive elections
Rio de Janeiro has been home to the parade since the 1980s, and is a symbol of Brazil's Carnival festivities
Carnival parades returned to Brazil last weekend for the festival's first full-on edition since the Covid-19 pandemic and Brazil's highly divisive elections.
The festival was cancelled in 2021 because of the pandemic, which devastatingly swept across the country and claimed up to 700,000 lives.
A reduced version of the carnival was held last year which meant the massive street parties known as 'blocos' were banned.
Rio de Janeiro has been home to the parade since the 1980s, and is a symbol of Brazil's Carnival festivities.
A Metropolitan Police officer has been cleared of sexually assaulting a woman while responding to domestic incident.
Pc Fabian Aguilar-Delgado, 40, was accused of kissing, groping and sucking the woman's breast while in full uniform on a call-out to her home.
He told a jury he was 'disgusted' by the allegations and claimed that his DNA may have ended up on her breast because she shook his hand.
The Spanish-born officer, who worked as cabin crew for Ryanair and Norwegian Airlines before joining the Met in 2019, denied a single count of sexual assault on May 24 2020.
Mr Aguilar-Delgado, who was suspended by the Met, was acquitted by a jury at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday.
(Stock Image) A Metropolitan Police Officer has been cleared of sexually assaulting a woman after being called to her home to search for her abusive ex-partner
The woman told the jury that the officer French-kissed her, put his hands down her top and sucked her breast after offering to search her house for her abusive ex-partner while his colleague was in the car outside.
The court heard that Mr Aguilar-Delgado's DNA was later found on swabs on the woman's right nipple and breast.
Giving evidence last week, he said he was 'shocked' and thought it was 'impossible' when he was first told about the discovery.
Asked how he thought his DNA got onto the woman's breast, the Pc said he had been close to her 'talking loudly' and 'maybe spitting or coughing', as well as 'touching handles' in her house in Croydon, south London.
He also suggested the transfer may have been as a result of her shaking his hand.
He said: 'She came out to say thank you to everyone. She was trying to shake hands. She tried to put her hand into the police car and she grabbed my hand.
'It wasn't like a normal handshake. She just grabbed it.
'She really wanted to shake hands. She was looking for it.'
Southwark Crown Court heard that the officer was 'disgusted' by the allegations and claimed that his DNA may have ended up on her breast because she shook his hand
The officer said that his hands were 'sweaty' because it was a hot day and he had been biting his fingernails.
A video of a reconstruction of the alleged handshake was played in court and Mr Aguilar-Delgado showed his chewed-down nails to the jury.
'I remember that she went back and I don't know if she touched herself to pull her top up,' he said.
The officer also said the woman was under the influence of alcohol when he spoke to her at her home and at one point she raised her voice and told him to 'f*** off'.
They were trapped with four of their wedding guests, and nobody was hurt
After two hours fire fighters hoisted their elevator up and rescued them
A North Carolina bride and groom missed their own wedding reception after getting trapped for two hours in an elevator.
Victoria and Panav Jha were heading up to their reception on the 16th floor of the Grand Bohemian hotel after their wedding ceremony when they found themselves trapped between floors.
Riding in the elevator with the couple was Victoria's sister and three other wedding guests.
The group was eventually rescued by the Charlotte Fire Department after the elevator was hoisted up a few floors, but by then the party had ended.
Nobody was hurt in the incident.
Victoria and Panav Jha trapped in an elevator on their wedding night
Panav and Victoria Jha with members of the Charlotte Fire Department after their rescue
The Jhas became trapped after their elevator stopped between the first and second floors of the hotel.
'When it first happened, I thought it had stopped for a few seconds. It'll restart. And then we noticed that the door was just slightly ajar,' the groom told WJZY.
'We got up maybe five feet, and then boom, the doors kind of stuck,' he told CNN. Then the doors started to open, so I could see the concrete wall right in front of me, and I could see the concrete wall behind me, and I was like, that's not normal.'
The bride was thankful that they were trapped with each other and some guests.
'Elevator had a glitch and here we are. It had to happen with the groom and I both stuck in the elevator. So, at least it wasn't just one of us,' Victoria said.
The fire department finally arrived and determined the best way to rescue the group was from the fourth floor, so they rigged up a winch to hoist the elevator up.
From there the guests were put in harnesses and climbed through an opening in the top of the elevator to safety.
Victoria's sister was pulled out first, and Charlotte Fire said she then turned around and said 'please get my sister out next, she's the one in the wedding dress.'
'They harnessed me up, got me in full gear, and pulled me up four floors with a fireman,' Victoria said.
The Charlotte Fire Department using a winch to raise the elevator up to the fourth floor
Victoria Jha just before she is hoisted out of the stuck elevator on her wedding night
The Grand Bohemian hotel, where Panav and Victoria Jha became stuck in the elevator
The couple posed for a photo with the fire crew after the rescue, and the department posted a congratulations on their Facebook page.
'First, congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Jha on your wedding day,' the department wrote. 'Although Charlotte Fire wasn't formally invited, we weren't exactly wedding crashers either.'
Panav said being hoisted out of the elevator felt like 'James Bond. Maybe Mission Impossible.'
Victoria said while the situation was eventful, she was upset to not be able to say goodbye to her guests.
'We were not able to celebrate or do the last kisses or goodbyes. And that's what put the damper on everything. That's how the wedding night had to end,' she said.
Other parade attendees followed by throwing eggs at the OnlyFans model, but none made contact
The Guayma Carnival grand marshal was dancing on a float when a parade goer threw an egg that bounced off her breasts
Bizarre cellphone video footage shows the moment anOnly Fans model was pelted with eggs at a parade in Mexico.
Karely Ruiz had eggs hurled at her by revelers at the 2023 Guayma Carnival in the northwestern city of Hermosillo on Saturday.
The 22-year-old flew into Hermosillo on a commercial flight and was escorted to the parade site by Navy members dressed in tactical gear.
Ruiz, the event's grand marshal, was dancing on a float and waving at the parade goers when someone from the crowd tossed an egg that hit her over her breasts.
Karely Ruiz, an OnlyFans model who resides in Mexico, had eggs thrown at her, including one that struck her on her breasts, while she was parading aboard a float at the Guayma Carnival in the northwestern city of Hermosillo on Saturday
Mexican OnlyFans model Karely Ruiz did not address the egg attack incident on an Instagram Stories post, instead she thanks parade goers for assisting the 2023 Guayma Carnival and said that 'it makes me very happy to know that I have many good people who support me'
Ruiz gasped and placed her hands over her face while a parade staff member scanned the crowd for the possible perpetrator.
Several more eggs were successively thrown at Ruiz along the parade route, but they all fell short of making contact.
The social media influencer took the attack in stride and mingled with fans, signing autographs and taking photos.
Ruiz, who has more than 8 million followers on Instagram, shockingly did not publicly address the incident on her account, instead thanking parade attendees for their support.
Mexican social media influencer Karely Ruiz is escorted by Navy members prior to her appearance at a carnival in the northwestern city of Hermosillo, where parade goers threw eggs at her, striking her once on her breasts
An egg strikes Mexican influencer Karely Ruiz while she was on a float at the Guayma Carnival in Hermosillo, Mexico, on Saturday
'Thanks to all the people who went to the Guayma Carnival, I really had a great time,' she wrote on her Instagram Stories. 'Very nice people, their support, it makes me very happy to know that I have many good people who support me.'
DailyMail.com reached out to Ruiz for comment.
The egg attack came just days after Ruiz showed off her new hairdo on Facebook and revealed she cut her locks because she is suffering from Alopecia Areata, a condition in which the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes baldness.
'At this point in my life I went through a very difficult process,' she wrote. 'I had to shave my head because I had alopecia problems due to stress. I cried a lot.'
The forewoman on the Georgia grand jury that could indict Donald Trump laughed and said she 'kind of wanted' to subpoena him just to get the chance to swear him in on a bizarre media tour that is already causing headaches for prosecutors.
In just one of her multiple interviews about a usually shrouded process, forewoman Emily Kohrs told MSNBC why she personally wanted to hear from Trump.
'I wanted to hear from the former president, but honestly, I wanted to subpoena the former president because I got to swear everybody in,' she said. 'And so I thought it would be really cool to get 60 seconds with President Trump, of me looking at him and be like, "Do you solemnly swear," and me getting to swear him in,' she continued.
She said she 'kind of just thought that would be an awesome moment,' smiling.
There are now concerns her media tour could jeopardize any potential indictments against Trump and his MAGA allies.
Emily Kohrs, a forewoman of the Atlanta-based grand jury that investigated former President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, has been on a media tour, dropping hints about indictments that could be coming
'I wanted to hear from the former president, but honestly, I wanted to subpoena the former president because I got to swear everybody in,' she said. 'And so I thought it would be really cool to get 60 seconds with President Trump, of me looking at him and be like, "Do you solemnly swear," and me getting to swear him in,' she continued
Former federal prosecutor Elie Hoing told Anderson Cooper Kohr's interviews were a 'horrible idea' and a 'nightmare' for prosecutors.
'Mark my words, Donald Trumps team is going to make a motion if theres an indictment to dismiss that indictment based on grand jury impropriety', he added.
'Shes not supposed to be talking about anything, really.'
Lawyers to witnesses who have appeared before the grand jury, which gets to recommend charges, are already preparing to move to try to quash any indictments, based on her public statements.
Kohrs also gave comments to CNN about the nature of indictments that could be coming.
Fulton County DA Fani Willis has been probing conduct related the effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 elections, including the former president's infamous phone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to just 'find 11,780 votes.'
'Can you imagine doing this for eight months and not coming out with a whole list' of recommended indictments, Kohrs told CNN. 'Its not a short list. Its not.'
'There may be some names on that list that you wouldnt expect. But the big name that everyone keeps asking me about I dont think you will be shocked,' she said in comments that appeared to point to a possible indictment of Trump himself.
She also said in a later interview to the network that indictments could surpass a dozen.
'I believe so. Thats probably a good assumption,' she said.
Former President Donald Trump bashed the interviews and called the proceedings a 'kangaroo court'
Trump again called his phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom he asked to 'find 11,780 votes,' a 'perfect' phone call
Trump posted Wednesday calling the case 'ridiculous' case he called a 'strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time.'
'Now you have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) foreperson of the Racist D.A.s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jurys inner workings & thoughts. This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court. Atlanta is leading the Nation in Murder and other Violent Crimes. All I did is make TWO PERFECT PHONE CALLS!!!'
That was a reference to his call to the top state election official stating, 'I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,' amid a recount and fight over the election results in a state that went for Joe Biden.
He has also used the term to apply to his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky seeking an investigation of Hunter Biden. It was part of his first Senate impeachment.
Former assistant U.S. attorney Elie Honig, speaking of the media tour on CNN, called it 'a prosecutors nightmare.' He said it was a 'horrible idea' and speculated prosecutors are 'wincing.'
The TV hits came after Kohrs said 'one or more witnesses' will be indicted as first reported by the New York Times
'It is not a short list,' the forewoman, Emily Kohrs said, adding that the jury had appended eight pages of legal code 'that we cited at various points in the report.'
Following last week's release of portion of the report, there are still seven sections that remain sealed with indictment recommendations, according to Kohrs.
Those sections are silent on key details, including who the panel believes committed perjury and what other specific charges should be pursued. But it marks the first time the grand jurors' recommendations for criminal charges tied to the case have been made public. And it's a reminder of the intensifying legal challenges facing the former president as he ramps up his third White House bid amid multiple legal investigations.
Former President Donald Trump claims 'Total exoneration,' following the partial release of the report last though it did no such thing and portions having to do with recommended charges are still secret.
Lawyer to former President Donald J. Trump and former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani testified in the Georgia grand jury probe of Trump's election interference attempts
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. said, 'I'm confident I testified openly and honestly' before the Georgia special grand jury about possible election interference
Trump is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for holding classified documents at his Florida estate.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said since the beginning of the investigation two years ago that she was interested in a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump suggested to Raffensperger that he could 'find' the votes needed to overturn his loss in the state.
'All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,' Trump said during that call. 'Because we won the state.'
Trump has said repeatedly that his call with Raffensperger was 'perfect,' and he felt 'very confident' that he would not be indicted.
In fact, he claimed on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the release had given him 'Total exoneration,' though it did no such thing and portions having to do with recommended charges are still secret.
The grand jury, which Willis requested to aid her investigation, was seated in May and submitted its report to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on Dec. 15. The panel does not have the power to issue indictments. Instead, its report contains recommendations for Willis, who will ultimately decide whether to seek one or more indictments from a regular grand jury.
Over the course of about seven months, the special grand jurors heard from 75 witnesses, among them Trump allies including former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Top Georgia officials, such as Raffensperger and Kemp, also appeared before the panel.
Graham recently told reporters that he has not been contacted by authorities regarding his testimony. 'I'm confident I testified openly and honestly,' he said.
McBurney wrote in his order that its not appropriate to release the full report now because its important to protect the due process rights of people for whom the grand jury recommended charges.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pleaded for Governor Hochul to crack down on the more than 1,500 illegal pot shops that have infiltrated the Big Apple.
During a Tuesday press conference at City Hall, Adams slammed illegal weed sellers and state laws that cap fines at $250. 'We go in, we do enforcement,' he said, but added that 'police officers can't take the necessary action' to curb the issue.
'This cannabis stuff is a real problem! And we must make sure that we can't have people [make] a mockery of our system!'
New York legalized recreational marijuana in March 2021 and opened its first legal shop in December 2022.
Shops that don't follow the law get hit with a criminal court summons and a paltry fine. The mayor is now asking Albany to make it easier for city authorities to crack down on illegal shops and increase fines.
New York City Sheriff Officers raid and confiscate products in a store that was illegally selling marijuana and cannabis without a license in the city
The cops raid a shop in Manhattan that was selling illegal weed
Adams also addressed his concerns about young people getting targeted by illegal merchants.
'Children are getting high on their way to school ... children are taking these gummy bears,' he said. 'I must be old-fashioned. People don't realize what's happening in our country and in our city. We have to start refocusing!'
Jungle Boys, an unlicensed weed shop that opened in the fall across from City Hall, was hit with a $50,000 fine and had $175,000 of weed products seized, The New York Post reported.
The landlord said he was unaware Jungle Boys was breaking any laws and said, as per the lease, any 'illegal activity' is prohibited, the news outlet reported.
The store was raided three times in December and January. During one raid a staffer was arrested for allegedly selling weed to a minor.
One of the store's sellers told the Post that 'if we were worried, we wouldn't be selling this product.'
On Wednesday, DailyMail.com saw the store was locked with its sign removed, and its glass shelves sitting empty. It is unclear if the shop was permanently shuttered.
The unlicensed smoke shop, Jungle Boys, was located on Broadway - 278 feet from Mayor Adams' office
On Wednesday, DailyMail.com saw the store was locked and the sign was gone and many items in the glass shelves were empty though it is unclear if the shop was permanently shuttered
The unlicensed smoke shop also sold chips, candy and snacks seen on the shelves
The interior of Jungle Boys Cannabis located near the Mayor's office. Its sign was removed and door was locked on Wednesday
Licensed stores selling cannabis are prohibited from promoting their items with attractive packaging or colors, but many illicit shops have been peddling their products and displaying items with names like 'Cotton Cluster,' according to the Post.
'These children are waking up in the morning, going into the store, getting gummy bears that's laced with marijuana, and then they're going to go in school and learn? And they're opening up all around us?' the mayor said.
'No, no, no! We are losing our grip. And because I say no to that, I got to be the bad guy. No! I just know what it takes to raise healthy children and families and we have created an environment in this city and country where we are harming our children,' he said.
The weed shops have also become prime targets for robberies, with the NYPD responding to a string of shootings across the city in the last month.
'We always talk about build a better planet for our children, we have to build better children for our planet,' Adams said.
The mayor noted that his office is putting a package [of bills] together that will focus on cannabis so the proliferation of illicit shops 'does not get out of hand.'
He also said, 'we need to be targeting these landlords who are knowingly renting the space.'
For his own part, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has vowed to take action against landlords who knowingly lease space to unlicensed weed sellers, and city sheriff Anthony Miranda's office has seized more than $4 million in illegal products.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams begs Governor Kathy Hochul to crack down on illegal pot shops as more than 1,500 pop up in the Big Apple
Mayor Adams speaking at a news conference on Tuesday at City Hall
Housing Works Cannabis Co in the East Village opened in December 2022 as the first dispensary in the state since the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act was signed into law by former Governor Andrew Cuomo in March 2021.
The grand opening drew more than 500 customers, forcing the nonprofit to turn people away, even eager patrons who waited nearly four hours.
There are 66 licensed retail dispensaries - approved by New York's Cannabis Control Board - across the state, Silive reported.
The Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses dictate that dispensaries must be owned by equity-entrepreneurs with a prior cannabis-related criminal offense, who also have a background owning and operating a small business.
Last month, 30 licenses were awarded to individuals in New York City - 15 in Manhattan, six in Long Island, and three in Washington, according to the state.
Of that number 28 went to individuals and two went to nonprofits.
Nearly twice as many young men as women are likely to be single in 2022 - and experts are blaming the rise on the end of traditional male roles, porn and the pandemic.
A Pew Research Center survey of more than 6,000 Americans found that 30 percent of the population identified as single.
But when broken down by age group and gender, that number increased to 63 percent among men between the ages of 18 and 29 - a huge 12 percent increase since 2019.
By comparison, only 34 percent of women in that age group said they were single in 2022, a tiny 2 percent rise from the pre-pandemic era.
Experts put the disparity down to some women dating each other - with research suggesting bisexual women make up a large share of the young-adult queer community - as well as many also dating older men.
Meanwhile, according to the latest US Census Bureau report, the average age a man now gets married is 30, a notable increase from just under 24 back in 1950, while the average age a woman now gets married is 28.
About 63 percent of men between the ages of 18 and 29 reported being single in 2022, a 12 percent increase from 2019. Meanwhile, only 34 percent of women in the same age group reported being single, a small 2 percent rise
A 2022 Pew survey laid out the disparities between men and women who reported being single
The survey also found that, while the average US adult was looking for dates and a relationship less often following the pandemic, women accounted for the least interested group.
According to the data, 49 percent of adults were looking for a committed romantic relationship or casual dates in 2019, but that number fell to 42 percent in 2022.
Men, specifically, made up 61 percent of those looking for love in 2019, and by 2022, only half of men were seeking relationships.
Women, however, only made up 38 percent of the 2019 figure, and in 2022, only 35 percent of women reported that they were looking to date or commit to a relationship.
Experts weighing in on the rise of loneliness among young men said that the trend comes amid changing gender roles in America since the culture revolutions of the 50s and 60s.
Rather than focusing on being homemakers, women are instead continuing to build their careers to close the income gap, said LA family psychologist Greg Matos.
While on average men continue to make more than women in the workplace, women under 30 have closed the gap and actually earn more than their male counterparts in 22 different areas.
Matos, who wrote a viral article about the diminishing opportunities for young men to find dates, said the latest wave of empowered women are not only seeking better wages, but also cutting out men who don't meet their standards - which often leaves lower-earning young men out in the cold.
'Women don't need to be in long-term relationships. They don't need to be married,' Matos told The Hill. 'They'd rather go to brunch with friends than have a horrible date.'
While more Americans overall are getting married later in life, men are now, on average, getting married in their 30s, according to the US Census
Psychologists Greg Matos (left) and Fredric Rabinowitz (right), who have written on the topic of masculinity, said women are not finding ideal partners in young men, and have suggested things have only gotten worse due to the isolation and lockdowns of the pandemic
Fred Rabinowitz, a professor at the University of Redlands who studies masculinity, added that the pandemic was likely to blame for the growing disparity between the number of men and women seeking serious partners.
According to the Pew survey, only 25 percent of male respondents said they were exclusively looking for a committed romantic relationship, whereas 41 percent of women reported wanting the same.
In comparison, 19 percent of men said they were only looking for casual dates, and only 15 percent of women said they sought casual relationships.
'You have to think that the pandemic had an impact on some of those numbers,' Rabinowitz told The Hill, suggesting men had grown accustomed to the social isolation created by the pandemic lockdowns.
'[Young men] are watching a lot of social media, they're watching a lot of porn, and I think they're getting a lot of their needs met without having to go out.
'I think that's starting to be a habit,' he warned.
Ronald Levant, a psychology professor at the University of Akron who has written extensively on masculinity, suggested that the trend of lonelier young men ultimately comes from women being more selective about whom they date.
While previous generations of women typically depended on their husbands to make ends meet, Levant said that mindset is gone, and added that women no longer want to lean in to the stereotypical role of only supporting their husband's needs while ignoring their own.
'Today in America, women expect more from men,' Levant told the Hill, 'and unfortunately, so many men don't have more to give.'
The proportion of American men saying they have at least six close friends has plunged by half since 1990 from 55 percent to 27 percent
Across both sexes Americans report having fewer close friends in 2021 than in the same survey in 1990, but women still faired better than their male counterparts
The Pew Research Center's findings compound with a 2021 Gallup Poll, which found that American men are experiencing a friendship recession, with nearly one in six not having one close friend.
The proportion saying they have at least six close friends has plunged by half since 1990, from 55 percent to 27 percent, while the number without any at all is up five-fold from 3 percent to 15 percent.
Singletons fare the worse, with one in five reporting not having any close friends. The lack of fellowship unsurprisingly has psychological impacts, with more than half of people with three or fewer close friends saying they felt lonely in the last week.
The poll also suggests men find it harder than women to develop strong emotional bonds with their existing friends.
Park Gyu-ri of KARA
By Kim Se-jeong
Park Gyu-ri, a member of K-pop group KARA, was recently questioned by prosecutors as a witness over her ex-boyfriend's alleged business fraud.
Park was a curator of a gallery that belonged to a local art-sharing platform operator, Pica Project, where her ex-boyfriend, Song Ja-ho, was the CEO.
The company issues a crypto token named PicaArtMoney, which it sold primarily to individual investors for use in artwork-related transactions.
Song allegedly spread false information while issuing and promoting the cryptocurrency.
"During the questioning, Park clearly explained that she had not partaken in any illegal activities in relation to his cryptocurrency business and had not gained any unlawful profit. She had nothing to do with the business and she will continue to fully cooperate in the prosecution's investigation," her agency said in a statement, Monday.
Park and Song were together since October 2019 and broke up in September 2021. Song is the grandson of the founder of Dongwon Construction Industries.
Park debuted in 2007 as a member of KARA, which was widely popular in the late 2000s and 2010s. The group went through a disbandment in 2016 but came back together in September last year.
K-pop group KARA / Korea Times file
A woman walking her dog has been viciously trampled by a rogue moose in a freak encounter in Anchorage, Alaska.
Tracey Hansen was left dazed and bloodied after the beast charged up from behind and kicked her in the head while she was out with her pet Gunner.
A motorist driving past captured the horrific moment on camera and could be heard trying to warn Hansen of the danger closing in.
Hansen, who takes Gunner for the same walk three times a day, said she initially thought 'someone had not been paying attention and hit me with a bike or something.'
The delinquent moose is seen about to mow down an unsuspecting Tracey Hansen, who initially thought a careless biker had hit her
Tracey Hansen ultimately received three staples in her head and is still experiencing headaches
'I had put my hands up to my head, and I'm like, 'I'm bleeding,'' she told Alaska News Source.
It wasn't until she sat up and took stock of the situation and saw the animal in front of her that she realized a moose had mowed her down.
Just moments before the moose attacked, Kate Timmons and her family drove up alongside Hansen, who was walking on the side of Old Seward Highway at the time.
Timmons, in addition to recording the incident, attempted to warn Hansen about the moose who was chasing behind her.
Afterwards they shooed off the moose and rushed to help the woman.
'My husband was able to pull her over the snow bank, so we could get her in the truck with her dog and kind of get her out of the way,' Timmons said.
'It definitely seemed unprovoked from our standpoint and it happened so fast it was just like, a matter of getting her out of the situation, getting her help, making sure, you know my big thing was that she didnt have a head trauma, that there wasnt a bleed or something.'
Timmons added she was worried about what could have happened if her family didn't witness the attack and provide aid on the scene.
The moose, whose attack appeared to be unprovoked, was shooed from the scene at Old Seward Highway in Anchorage, Alaska
Hansen says the moose attack will not keep her and her dog Gunner off the road for long
Kate Timmons, who recorded the incident and sprung into action to help Hansen, said she was glad she could help render immediate aid
The high snowbanks may have made it difficult for a different passing car to see Hansen lying on the ground.
Hansen wound up with three staples in her head and is still suffering from persistent headaches after the encounter.
Hansen said she and Kate have since discussed 'that the Lord put her in the right place, at the right time to be able to help.'
She added that despite the delinquent moose activity that appears to be plaguing the area, she and Gunner will be back to their normal walks in no-time.
'The moose won't stop that,' she said.
A teenager has been stabbed at London's 02 Arena hours before a K-pop boy band concert.
Police raced to the venue - where South Korean boy band ATEEZ are performing tonight - at around 2.45pm today.
A teenage male was found with knife wounds outside Cineworld and treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to hospital.
Three boys were arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and taken into custody, according to The Sun.
The cinema is now closed but the concert is still going ahead as planned while nearby shops, bars and restaurants are open as usual.
A teenage boy was stabbed at London's 02 Arena hours before a K-pop boy band concert
Police raced to the venue - where South Korean boy band ATEEZ are performing tonight - at around 2.45pm today
People attending the concert and other visitors have been urged to take extra care if travelling to the area.
A spokesperson for Met Police told MailOnline: 'Police were called by London Ambulance Service (LAS) to The O2, SE10, at 14.46hrs on Wednesday, February 22, to reports of a stabbing.
'Officers attended. A teenage male was found with stab wounds. He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to hospital.
'His condition has been assessed as non life-threatening. Three teenage males were detained at the scene by security staff and then arrested by police on suspicion of causing GBH.
'They have been taken into custody. A crime scene has been put in place. Enquiries continue.'
An O2 Arena spokesperson said: 'This afternoon there was an altercation between a group of individuals in Cineworld at the O2 which resulted in one of the individuals requiring medical attention from the emergency services.
'Cineworld at the O2 will remain closed for the rest of the day.'
'Tonight's arena event is going ahead as planned.'
London Ambulance Service added: 'We were called today (February 22) at 2.44pm to reports of an incident in Peninsula Square, Greenwich.
'We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an incident response officer, two ambulance crews, and members of our tactical response unit.'
A doctor said a 'chill went down my spine' when he found a possible explanation for numerous collapses of babies, the murder trial of Lucy Letby heard.
Dr Ravi Jayaram said a number of 'unusual and 'inexplicable events' at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neo-natal unit led to a meeting of consultants at the end of June 2016.
Nurse Letby, 33, is accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others on various dates between June 8 2015 and June 25 2016.
Today, consultant Dr Jayaram told Manchester Crown Court how he saw 'bright pink' patches that 'flittered around' the abdomen of one infant he treated in April 2016.
Dr Jayaram told the court he had been crash-called to the unit at around 4pm on April 9, 2016 the day Lucy Letby would later win 135 on that years Grand National.
A baby girl allegedly attacked by nurse Lucy Letby as she turned 100-days-old was 'very poorly' after suddenly deteriorating overnight, a court has heard (Pictured, Letby with a baby at the Countess of Chester Hospital)
Jurors were told how he responded to an emergency call from nurses to attend Child M who had stopped breathing as his heart rate and oxygen levels plummeted.
He said it was a prolonged resuscitation that lasted 'close to 30 minutes' and at one point he thought of stopping the efforts to revive him.
However, Child M 'suddenly recovered' as his heart rate rose and he started breathing again, he said.
Dr Jayaram said: 'I was very pleased but I couldn't really explain what had caused it and why he had suddenly got better.'
He later stated to police he witnessed Child M's 'unusual' skin discolouration when he arrived during the resuscitation.
He also confirmed that Letby had continued to work on the unit for a further 11 months after the alleged attack on Baby M.
Dr Jayaram told the court: 'They were patches of very bright pink on his torso that flittered around. They would appear and disappear.
'Once circulation was restored and his heart rate came up above 100 (beats per minute) they vanished.'
Letby is accused of overfeeding Child G with milk through a nasogastric tube (NGT) and/or injecting air into the tube
He said the discolouration was 'very similar' to what he had seen in his treatment of Child A, the first alleged murder victim.
Other colleagues had spoken of seeing skin discolouration in other babies who had also collapsed on the unit, he said.
A meeting of a consultants was held on June 29 2016, the court heard.
Dr Jayaram said: 'After a number of further unusual, unexplained and inexplicable events on the neo-natal unit the whole consultant body sat down and said 'we really need to work out what is going on here'.
He said that 'one thing that came up in our discussion' was air embolism - when gas bubbles enter a vein or artery and can block blood supply.
Dr Jayaram said it prompted him that evening to conduct a literature search in which he found a research paper which described the effects of air embolism.
He said: 'I remember sitting on my sofa at home with the iPad and reading that description, and the physical chill that went down my spine because it fitted with what we were seeing.'
Dr Jayaram emailed colleagues a link to the research paper the next day.
Letby, originally from Hereford, is said to have attacked several of her victims by injecting air into their bloodstream.
She denies all the allegations.
The number of complaints made to Ofcom about Capital Radio DJ Ant Payne's 'insensitive' joke about earthquake-hit Turkey has risen to 1,430.
The presenter, who hosts the 4pm to 7pm slot on the station, said while on-air on Monday February 13 that 'now is actually the best time' to start looking for 'cheap flights' to the country.
He also joked that listeners could 'get your teeth done while you are over there' and 'come back looking 19-years-old', adding: 'You will be on Love Island next year if you are doing that.'
Another 863 complaints were made to the broadcasting watchdog between February 14 and 20, in addition to the 567 made before that point.
Some 45,000 people were killed after two earthquakes struck nine hours apart in south-eastern Turkey and Syria on February 6, before another quake occurred on Monday this week.
The number of complaints made to Ofcom about Capital Radio DJ Ant Payne's 'insensitive' joke about earthquake-hit Turkey has risen to 1,430
Around 45,000 people died two weeks ago when Turkey was hit with three devastating earthquakes close to the Syrian border, with another tremor on Monday
Payne previously apologised after facing criticism on social media, with Liberal Democrat councillor Suzanne Nuri-Nixon urging him to 'read the room'.
He tweeted: 'Hi guys, I want to address the comment I made last night on the show.
'It was insensitive and ill-timed. I would never wish to offend anyone from my shows. My sincere and wholehearted apologies.'
Payne was previously a presenter on Galaxy FM before joining Capital Radio in January 2011.
Capital Radio's parent company Global has been contacted for comment.
On Monday, it was reported a new 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the same parts of Turkey and Syria that were laid waste two weeks ago by a massive tremor that killed around 45,000 people.
Officials said three people are confirmed to have died in today's tremor after more buildings collapsed, trapping occupants, and several people were injured in both countries.
Today's earthquake was centred in the town of Defne, in Turkey's Hatay province, one of the worst-hit regions in the magnitude 7.8 quake that hit on February 6.
It was felt in Syria, Jordan, Israel and as far away as Egypt, and was followed by a second magnitude 5.8 quake.
A number of buildings collapsed in the new quake, trapping people inside, Hatay's mayor Lutfu Savas said.
A member of Turkish police special forces carries a wounded man after an earthquake in Antakya
Members of Turkish police special forces carry another wounded man after today's earthquake in Antakya
The 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Turkish and Syrian border just two weeks after around 45,000 people were killed in a series of tremors
Muna Al Omar said she was in a tent in a park in central Antakya when the latest quake hit.
'I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,' she said, crying as she held her 7-year-old son in her arms.
Two witnesses reported a strong quake and further damage to buildings in central Antakya which was hit by two massive earthquakes two weeks ago, causing tens of thousands of deaths and destroying buildings and infrastructure.
Other witnesses said Turkish rescue teams were running around after the latest quake, checking people were unharmed.
Thousands of Syrian refugees in Turkey have returned to their homes in northwest Syria to get in touch with relatives affected by the devastation.
At the Turkish Cilvegozu border crossing, hundreds of Syrians lined up starting early today to cross.
Mustafa Hannan, who dropped off his pregnant wife and 3-year-old son, said he saw about 350 people waiting.
The 27-year-old car electrician said his family was leaving for a few months after their home in Antakya collapsed, taking up a pledge by authorities allowing them to spend up to six months in Syria without losing the chance to return to Turkey.
'I'm worried they won't be allowed back,' he said. 'We've already been separated from our nation. Are we going to be separated from our families now too? If I rebuild here but they can't return, my life will be lost.'
Civilians in Reyhanli wait in the middle of the streets after a hurried evacuation
A man talks on a cell phone while watching as emergency service workers search a collapsed building for the bodies of three people that were killed
A woman in a wheelchair is evacuated from her home shortly after today's 6.4 magnitude earthquake
A soldier carries a man to safety after he was injured in the latest earthquake in Hatay, Turkey
Emergency workers surround a building destroyed in today's tremor in Hatay
Personnel conduct search and rescue operations inside a collapsed building in Antakya
A man holds his head in his hand as he sits outside the rubble as emergency services conduct a search operation
Members of rescue teams work on a collapsed building after a new 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck in Hatay
A 6.3-magnitude quake struck near the town of Uzunbag in Turkey's Hatay Province and was felt in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt
Emergency workers explore a collapsed building in Antakya district of Hatay following 6.4 magnitude earthquake today
Officers inspect a partially collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck earlier today
The rear of one building caved in as a result of today's earthquake, just two weeks after the region was devastated by tremors killing 45,000 people
Turkan Akbas, 40, a solicitor from Hackney, Greater London, and a spokesperson for the British Turkish Association, based in Luton, said: 'Life will never be the same again.'
Ms Akbas said she lost relatives, including her cousin and her cousin's five-year-old triplets, in the earthquake on February 6.
'I am devastated,' she said after news broke of today's earthquake. 'I am just worried about everyone back home.
'Life will never be the same again... (I have) lost too many loved ones, and sad to see Turkey in the state it is currently in, but we will overcome this with the support of the whole world who have come together to support us.'
Ms Akbas said the BTA will continue to send aid including tents, blankets, baby food and hygiene supplies and is raising money to buy container houses for people who have lost their homes.
'The 6.4 earthquake today followed by 5.8 magnitude aftershock has caused further buildings to collapse and three deaths and 213 injuries are confirmed at this time, which are expected to rise,' she said.
'The earthquake has been felt in other parts of the countries but has mainly impacted Hatay.
'The BTA charity Save1Life has sent a search, rescue and medical team together with medical supplies to Turkey to assist AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority) on the ground.
'They have returned to the UK after one week of deployment.
'The BTA are now trying to raise funds to purchase container houses to those who have lost their homes and are living in dire weather conditions in the regions affected by the earthquake.'
Tom Colley, a member of HelpAge International's humanitarian response team who is in Gaziantep, described today's scene as 'very distressing'.
Mr Colley was in a meeting when the earthquake struck and was advised to stay in his hotel.
'People are very frightened and are leaving the buildings, fearing the worst,' he said.
'Many are still in precarious circumstances after the earthquake a fortnight ago. This is very distressing.'
A gangster's ex-wife who arranged the 'barbaric killing' of her former spouse and then exposed her involvement after a seance was jailed for 13 years today.
Colleen Campbell, 38, implicated herself by sharing graphic information about the injuries sustained by her ex-husband Thomas Campbell - that would only have been known by his killers.
The former Matalan store assistant visited a clairvoyant four days after her former spouse of ten years was tortured to death by a gang following a feud about his new girlfriend.
At the spiritual meeting, she claimed Thomas was summoned by the clairvoyant and said he gave intimate details about both the killing and his injuries as she listened in.
She relayed them to the victim's suspicious mother who alerted police to the bizarre conversation.
Coleen Campbell, 38, was jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of manslaughter. Her ex-husband Thomas Campbell (pictured together outside court in 2019) was ambushed and murdered in July 2022
The cocaine dealer, who played an 'integral' part in an organised crime gang, was dragged around his home and viciously attacked for two hours, into the morning of July 3. Pictured: Coleen (left) and Thomas Campbell (right)
Lynn Campbell (above), told police how Coleen shared intimate details of her son's injuries and information on his attackers after claiming to have been visited by her ex-partner during an encounter with a clairvoyant days after the attack
At the time of the seance, little information had previously been made public by police about the fatal assault - but Colleen fell under suspicion as only the killers could have known the details about Thomas' fatal wounds.
Inquiries revealed the mother of four had been tipping off the killers about her ex-husband's movements in the run up to the killing.
Thomas, 36, who led a lavish lifestyle through drug dealing and laundering dirty money suffered 61 separate injuries during an ambush at his 350,000 townhouse in Mossley, Greater Manchester.
He was stabbed, punched and stamped on before boiling water was poured on his buttocks. Neighbours found his body in the hallway naked except for his socks.
At Bolton Crown Court, Colleen, of Clayton was found guilty of manslaughter, following a five week trial.
Sentencing the judge Mr Justice Julian Goose said: 'Colleen Campbell, as the former wife of Thomas Campbell, was part of the planning and organisation for the robbery.
'She was aware of the use of a vehicle tracker. She provided important information about Thomas Campbell's movement, his vehicle details and where he lived. She was told that he was to be robbed and knew that violence would be necessary.'
Colleen and Thomas initially became notorious over a string extravagant trips abroad funded by their family-run cocaine trafficking racket. The couple who married in 2011 were eventually detained in a police operation in 2018 which culminated in them admitting concealing criminal property.
As Thomas Campbell, 38, opened his front door in Mossley, Greater Manchester, he was ambushed and attacked by three men at around 11pm on July 2 2022
Thomas and his ex-wife Coleen Campbell pictured together on holiday
Colleen was given a suspended sentence but Thomas served two years jail and after his release from jail the couple split up acrimoniously in 2021 when he started an affair with another woman.
Initially Colleen sent messages to friends saying: 'Best thing this man did was sh*g my baggy mate 12 months ago. Roll on new beginnings.'
But others read: 'Never let the actions of a man that cannot be loyal to his own family and a woman with no morals and has to sleep with other women's husbands, change and provoke you. Karma is best served cold - and then tables turn real fast. I be the coldest MF you ever met.'
She later got caught up in the sinister plot after the unnamed mistress' ex-boyfriend John Belfield, 28, also learnt of the romance and decided to rob Thomas of cash, drugs and valuables in a revenge raid on his home.
In texts to his ex, Belfield said: 'You and that helmet will get domed. You will never have a boyfriend. You will have to move country. Give it a week and you will see why and what happens when you take the pi**. Why would I respect you getting sha**** off Tom Campbell.'
The alleged 'mastermind' of the fatal attack John Belfield, 28, who is said to be 'heavily concerned in the large scale supply of class A drugs', is on the run and wanted by police
Later Bellfield met up with Colleen after messaging her on Instagram and despite previously being strangers they subsequently shared 35 phone calls and 68 messages.
She shared key information about her ex, including details of his van's registration plate, his house number and his movements and a tracking device was placed on the vehicle whilst Thomas was picking his daughter up from school.
On July 2 2022, Thomas was ambushed and attacked by two or three men as he unlocked his front door. After being subdued he was dragged around his home and viciously attacked for two hours.
The court heard Colleen went to see the clairvoyant four days later. Thomas' mother Lynn Campbell said in a statement: 'Coleen told me she had visited a psychic in Wythenshawe.
'She told me that Thomas had come through during her visit to the psychic and asked her to come to my house. She said he had told her these lads had hurt him and done something to his face. It was over a girl or girls. While she was saying these words Coleen gestured with her hand across her cheek.
'I told her I don't want to know and told the police about what she said about Thomas' injuries. She said there were only two people involved in the incident and not three, and they were still in the country. Coleen then told me Thomas had said he wasn't bothered about dying young as he had lived a full life. I didn't see Coleen again following this and haven't seen her since.'
Police launched a murder investigation after Mr Campbell's body was discovered by neighbours on July 3
Police outside the home of Mr Campbell in Mossley, Greater Manchester, in July last year
Prosecutor Mr Nicholas de la Poer KC said: 'At this stage, the police had not revealed to the public the injuries to Thomas Campbell's face. So this information could only have come to Coleen Campbell from one of those who were present and participating in the attack. The telephone evidence demonstrates that she spoke to John Belfield within hours of the attack ending.
'The prosecution's case is that this is information that John Belfield gave her, probably before Thomas Campbell had been declared dead by paramedics.'
Coleen denied wrongdoing. Reece Steven, 29, was was convicted of murder and was jailed for life with a minimum of 37 years whilst Stephen Cleworth, 38, was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 12 years.
Karl Murphy, 50, was found not guilty of participating in the activities of an organised crime group. Belfield who is said to be 'heavily concerned in the large scale supply of class A drugs', is thought to be on the run in Spain.
Thomas's father Terry told the court: 'Animals are beautiful things, all I can call these people are creatures. Since Thomas was brutally murdered, every morning when I wake up, the first thing I think about is him alone in the house with those people.
Thomas Campbell (left) suffered 61 separate injuries after being stabbed, punched, stamped on and even had boiling water poured on his buttocks
Thomas' brother Daniel said: 'During the days after Thomas was killed, well-wishers were coming to pay their respects and offering to help but there was one visitor who we welcomed with open arms, and it has haunted us ever since.
'When Colleen Campbell appeared at my mum and dad's front door after the news was passed, we thought nothing of letting her in and consoling her as much as we possibly could. She sat in my mum and dad's house, surrounded by Thomas' closest family and friends, and expressed how much she was upset.
'She shared stories about their marriage and said how much she still loved him. Every single one of my family has hugged her and tried to make her feel better, All along, Colleen knew the part she played in the plot that cost Thomas his life.
'Knowing we hugged her and spent time with her during the worst time of our lives has added an extra burden, an unimaginable pain. She has shown no remorse, in our opinion. She concealed her involvement and watched us all hurt.'
President Joe Biden marked Ash Wednesday by participating in a private mass at his Warsaw hotel with a Polish priest who spent six months in prison for being involved in the anti-communist underground.
Father Wiesaw Dawidowski gave Biden mass at the downtown Marriott hotel where the president was staying, sharing photos on his Facebook page that showed a makeshift altar adorned with a wooden cross and two candles.
'Today is Ash Wednesday. Even the most powerful in this world take ashes - if they belong to the Catholic tradition,' Dawidowski wrote on his post. 'I had the honor today of placing ashes on the forehead of the US President Mr. Joe Biden.'
Biden was seen with a smudge on his forehead during his meeting later Wednesday with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, the final item on his schedule before he headed back to the United States after a three-day European trip.
'Everything took place in great secrecy, but now I can speak: in an improvised chapel, next to the President's apartment,' he wrote in Polish. 'We prayed for peace, the conversion of Russia and the light of the Holy Spirit for Mr. President,' Dawidowski added.
The president gifted the priest one of his challenge coins.
Father Wiesaw Dawidowski (left) gave President Joe Biden (right) mass at the downtown Marriott hotel in Warsaw, Poland where the president was staying
Dawidowski shared photos on his Facebook page that showed a makeshift altar adorned with a wooden cross and two candles at the downtown Marriott hotel in Warsaw, Poland
Biden presented Dawidowski with one of his challenge coin as a souvenir from the special Ash Wednesday service
Dawidowski was jailed for his activism in the early 1980s, when Poland was still under communist rule.
He recalled in a 2010 interview that he started a hunger strike over the conditions women were facing in the prison.
More recently, Dawidowski served as the Christian co-chair for the organization, the Polish Council of Christians and Jews.
He's also been a journalist and TV anchor for Catholic media outlets.
Biden is the country's second Catholic president and regularly attends mass.
He also spent time talking with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday about a meeting he had as a young senator with Pope John Paul II, the world's first Polish pope.
Biden was later seen with an Ash Wednesday smudge on his forehead during his afternoon meetings with the Bucharest Nine leaders in Warsaw, Poland
'I wrote a report saying that Poland would be free within a matter of a year,' Biden said, also mentioning Poland's former communist government. 'And my chief of staff then said, "Please don't write that because you're going to look foolish."'
Biden said he got a call from Pope John Paul, who served in the role from 1978 until his death in 2005, asking to meet. Poland's communist government dissolved in 1989, transitioning into a democratic state.
'And as a practicing Catholic, I joked with him that he was more conservative than my views were. And I went to see him, and we finished the conversation, and it was all about Poland,' the president recalled. 'He never once mentioned anything about Catholicism.'
Biden also vividly remembered what the late pope said to him as they posed for a photograph in the Papal Library.
'And he put his hand under my arm, and he said, "Senator, remember, today I spoke to you as a Pole - a proud Pole. Not as your Pope, as a Pole,' Biden said. 'So, I realized the power of Poland all across the board.'
Donald Trump told residents of East Palestine they are victims of 'betrayal' by President Biden and the federal government, and said his visit finally sparked them to act during a tour of the toxic train derailment site on Wednesday.
The former president greeted crowds furious at the lack of action from the White House, 19 days after the disaster in Ohio, and brought in thousands of bottles of his own water, cleaning supplies and canned food.
He then stopped at a local McDonald's where he ordered Big Macs for first responders and members of his team, and handed out signed MAGA hats to the customers.
'I know this menu better than you do. I probably know it better than anybody in here,' he told the server and demanded they 'knock it out fast' so he could eat it on the plane.
Donald Trump told East Palestine residents they had been victims of 'betrayal' by President Biden and the federal government and said his visit finally sparked them to act in a tour of the toxic train derailment site
Trump stands besides a pallet of his branded water in East Palestine. He brought trucks with his own supplies during his visit to the toxic train derailment site
Trump then stopped at a local McDonald's where he ordered Big Macs for first responders and members of his team, and handed out signed MAGA hats to the customers
Donald Trump's typical order at McDonald's consists of two Big Macs, two Filet-of-Fish sandwiches and a chocolate milkshake. Although he claims to skip the bun when he eats fast-food sandwiches, the order comes in at 2,500 calories - about a day's worth for a man his age.
Hundreds of people lined the streets waving MAGA flags and chanting 'no more Joe' to greet Trump after he landed in the community on his renovated Trump Force One jet.
In a speech in the local fire department he praised the response from law enforcement and the 'strength and courage' of the residents, and said: 'You are not forgotten'.
He promised to return if the community didn't get help from the White House and when a reporter asked what message he had for Biden, Trump said: 'Get over here'.
His visit coincided with Norfolk Southern releasing a statement saying they would take 'full responsibility' for the derailment and Pete Buttigieg confirming he'll visit the site on Thursday.
But residents of East Palestine feel that a visit at this point from Biden or Buttigieg would be largely useless.
'It's a little too late,' East Palestine resident William Hugar, 56, told DailyMail.com while eating breakfast at a local diner when asked if Biden should visit.
'Like he can come, but for what?' he questioned.
'We stand with you,' Trump told the crowd at the East Palestine Fire Department, 'we pray for you, and we'll stay with you in your fight to help answer and [get] accountability that you deserve.'
'Biden and FEMA said they would not send federal aid to [the town] under any circumstances,' Trump claimed. 'We opened up the dam, and we got them to move,' he said referring to his visit the Biden administration has claimed is a photo op.
The crowds lined the streets and some chanted 'no more Joe' as they awaited the arrival of the former president.
He handed out supplies including water to the residents during the visit alongside Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, who has led the backlash to the White House's lack of response to the disaster in the town of 4,700.
'We're bringing thousands of bottles of water - Trump Water, actually. Most of it. Some of it we had to go to a much lesser quality water, you want to get those Trump bottles,' he said in his speech.
Hundreds of people lined the streets waving MAGA flags and chanting 'no more Joe' to greet Trump after he landed in the community on his renovated Trump Force One jet
The former president greeted crowds furious at the lack of action from the White House , 19 days after the disaster in Ohio, and brought in thousands of bottles of his own water, cleaning supplies and canned food
The stack of bottles of water with Trump's logo on the side were wheeled into the East Palestine Fire Department to distribute to the residents reeling from the derailment 19 days ago
Trump also met East Palestine Mayor Trent Conway, who said earlier this week that Biden's secret trip to Ukraine was a 'slap in the face' to his constituents.
If Trump's visit doesn't get Biden to come to Ohio, he said he would come back to try and force the issues.
'We're going to find time to come back, if necessary,' the 2024 candidate and former president said. 'If they don't come back and give you the treatment that you need, we will be back.'
'The Biden administration should have ensured that every family has the option of moving until this thing is straightened out,' Trump added.
Republicans are furious that Biden has not visited Ohio, or at least deployed Pete Buttigieg to survey the damage and speak with local leaders about how the administration can help.
Buttigieg has said he will visit the site - next to the border with Pennsylvania and about 35 minutes from Pittsburgh - on Thursday.
He had claimed he did not want to visit just for the sake of a photo-op, which he suggested Trump is doing.
On February 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed and released large amounts of toxic chemicals into the air, water and ground, forcing evacuations as residents feared for their health. Some complained of headaches and other symptoms.
On February 16, Michael S. Regan, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, traveled to the derailment site to thank first responders for their work and assure that the EPA would have 'boots on the ground' throughout the cleanup process.
'We hear you. We see you. We will get to the bottom of this,' he said. 'All families need to know that they are safe. All families deserve access to clean air and safe drinking water.'
A 50-car freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3 released toxic chemicals into the air, land and water causing the community to evacuate after experiencing some symptoms like headaches. The site is pictured on February 4
Trump praised the response from local law enforcement and the 'strength and courage' of the local residents, and said: 'You are not forgotten'
Trump greets members of the East Palestine community still recovering from the train derailment and waiting on federal aid
Biden's trip to Ukraine and Poland this week caused an uproar with Republicans demanding answers as to why he went to Eastern Europe before addressing issues back at home first.
The president finally broke his silence on the derailment with a Twitter thread on Tuesday following his speech in Poland lambasting Russia and its President Vladimir Putin. He made five calls Tuesday evening from Warsaw, Poland.
The president noted that he spoke with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
'I reaffirmed my commitment to making sure they have everything they need,' Biden wrote in a thread posted to his official Twitter Tuesday evening.
He noted that the EPA ordered Norfolk Southern, the train owner and operator, to fund the clean-up efforts and disposal of the runoff and burn off of hazardous materials.
'This is common sense. This is their mess. They should clean it up,' Biden wrote.
Biden also blamed the disaster on his predecessor, saying that Trump implemented policies that made it hard to strengthen and enforce rail safety.
'For years, elected officials including the last admin have limited our ability to implement and strengthen rail safety measures,' Biden wrote. 'Heck, many of the elected officials pointing fingers right now want to dismantle the EPA the agency that is making sure this clean-up happens.'
'I want affected residents to know that we've got your back,' Biden insisted. 'And as I said to your govs, they'll have every resource that they need.'
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, however, isn't convinced Biden is committed to helping his community instead saying he is 'furious' that Biden chose to visit Ukraine this week before coming to Ohio.
East Palestine is still reeling from the fiery 50-car derailment aftermath, and Conway says Biden's refusal to focus on domestic issues and instead parade around in the war-torn Eastern European country was a 'slap in the face.'
Buttigieg, however, downplayed the need for an administration official to come survey the damage and visit the community disrupted by the toxic crash.
He also suggested that Trump's trip to Ohio on Wednesday is just a photo-op as part of his 2024 campaign.
Trump announced November 15 his third run for the White House. He has not held many public events since announcing his bid during a rally at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Last month he visited early primary contest states of New Hampshire and South Carolina for campaign events that were much more intimate than the usual massive Trump rallies.
Biden's team has repeatedly blamed Trump for the derailment while refusing to do much to get boots on the ground to address the issue as the public calls for a visit from the president to the community.
It's true that some policies were implemented during Trump's presidency that affected rail safety, including withdrawing an Obama-era proposal that required more swift brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials. He also ended regular railroad safety audits.
'Our team is working in lockstep with state and local officials and were on the ground hours after the train derailed,' Biden assured.
He said that the EPA has already screened more than 500 homes in the area and is 'monitoring air and water quality.'
The administration also deployed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chemical assessment personnel and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) resources to East Palestine.
'The Department of Transportation has made clear to rail companies that their pattern of resisting safety regulations has got to change,' Biden wrote in his Twitter thread Tuesday night.'
'Congress should join us in implementing rail safety measures.'
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested Tuesday that Trump's trip to Ohio is just a photo-op and assured that he will also make a visit to East Palestine following backlash for not already going to the community
A tourist who befriended ISIS bride Shamima Begum has urged people not to treat the jihadi as a victim.
Father-of-four Andrew Drury, 56, is a 'danger tourist' from Surrey who has travelled to destinations including North Korea, Chernobyl and Iraq.
He formed a 'strong friendship' with Begum over the last two years, meeting her first in June 2021 at the al-Roj prison camp in Syria, before he spoke to her via WhatsApp and kept visiting her.
The jihadi bride today lost her bid to strike down the Government's decision to revoke her UK nationality for travelling to join ISIS aged 15.
Mr Drury wrote in The Spectator: 'We need to stop saying that Shamima was some kind of teenage victim.
Father-of-four Andrew Drury, 56, is a 'danger tourist' who got to know Shamima Begum over two years
Mr Drury wrote in The Spectator: 'We need to stop saying that Shamima was some kind of teenage victim'
British Jihadi wife Shamima Begum pictured with her week old son Jerah (now deceased) in Al Hawl camp for captured ISIS wives and children in Kurdish Syria, in 2019
Kadiza Sultana (left), Shamima Begum (centre) and Amira Abase going through security at Gatwick airport as they started their journey to join Isis in 2015
'Everyone is an individual, responsible to some degree for their own actions.
'She was certainly mature enough to get herself through airports and over the Turkish-Syrian border.
'This isn't a dumb kid.'
Mr Drury last saw Begum in June 2022 and has since wondered if she was trying to groom him during their time together.
He said while he has 'mixed feelings' about her citizenship being revoked the Isis bride has 'shocked' him by saying she was 'over' the death of her children.
Mr Drury last saw Begum in June 2022 and has since wondered if she was trying to groom him during their time together
The jihadi bride today lost her bid to strike down the Government's decision to revoke her UK nationality for travelling to join ISIS aged 15
Mr Drury also said she was keen to do TV interviews and threw a 'tantrum' ahead of filming before suddenly transforming into someone with 'a confidence I had not expected'.
Poll Should Shamima Begum return to the UK? Yes No Should Shamima Begum return to the UK? Yes 1081 votes
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In the run-up to this morning's court hearing, Ms Begum has made numerous media appearances - including a magazine cover, TV interviews and a ten-part BBC podcast series.
She denied reports in the media that she had sewn suicide vests or been part of ISIL's [ISIS's] morality police and claimed that her activities were limited to being a housewife and mother.
The dim view MI5 took of her publicity campaign was revealed today in the copy of the judgment written by Mr Justice Jay. 'In September and November 2021, Ms Begum was interviewed by Good Morning Britain and Sky News,' it read.
'The MI5 assessment is that many of the comments Ms Begum made in her later interviews are likely to have been self-serving and an attempt to obtain favourable media coverage in the run-up to this appeal.'
Shamima Begum's lawyers gave a statement outside the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber, Field House, on Wednesday
The jihadi bride appearing on Good Morning Britain in an exclusive interview in September 2021
The jihadi bride was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls fled to join ISIS in February 2015, with Ms Begum marrying a 23-year-old ISIS fighter ten days after arriving in Syria.
Her British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by the former home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019.
Ms Begum, now 23, brought a challenge against the Home Office at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), where her lawyers argued she should be allowed to return to Britain on the basis that she was 'a victim of child sex trafficking'.
However, the Home Office defended the decision by saying the security services 'continue to assess' that she poses a risk to the UK.
Judges dismissed Ms Begum's challenge today, ruling that while there was a 'credible suspicion' that she was trafficked to Syria for 'sexual exploitation', this was not enough for her appeal to succeed.
Mr Justice Jay added that whether she posed a threat to national security was a decision for politicians, not the courts.
With Ms Begum's lawyers vowing to appeal the ruling, a legal expert warned the taxpayer would continue to receive a massive bill for legal aid costs.
Paul Fulcher, who runs specialist firm Legal Costs Experts, has predicted the case could end up costing taxpayers more than 5million when all legal costs are accounted for.
He told MailOnline today: 'It's going to go on. Her lawyers have come out and said they're going to keep fighting. Ultimately they get paid win, lose or draw.
'The taxpayer has probably already paid out millions and it's likely to be millions more.
'KCs can charge 5,000 a day, although legal aid doesn't usually pay out at those rates. Then there's the solicitors and a massive team behind them too.
'It's going to keep racking up and racking up. It's a golden egg.
'Ultimately at some point someone needs to call a halt to it so the taxpayer doesn't keep having to pay out.'
The former East London schoolgirl gave an interview to GB News last year
Begum on Sky News in 2019, when she said of ISIS: 'It was nice at first, like in the videos'
Today's ruling has been welcomed by the Government.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: 'My priority is, and always will be, the safety and security of the UK.
'I am pleased with the decision from the court today, who have agreed with the Government's position on every appeal ground.'
Yet the decision drew the ire of Ms Begum's legal team, with her lawyer Gareth Peirce calling it 'an extraordinary judgment delivered in an extraordinary way'.
Speaking outside Field House in central London, she added that the commission 'is clearly deeply troubled by the case it is having to decide and by the limitations placed on it by the Supreme Court'.
She continued: 'The implication, the outcome, that we face is that no British child who has been trafficked outside the UK will be protected by the British state if the home secretary invokes national security.'
Daniel Furner, also part of Ms Begum's legal team, said the case was 'nowhere near over' and they would be challenging the ruling.
He said: 'In terms of the legal fight, that's nowhere near over, we're not going into details about exactly what that means at this stage.
'What else this judgment calls out for though is some courage and some leadership from the Home Secretary to look at this case afresh in light of the clear and compelling factual findings this court has made. We are going to challenge this decision.'
Two thugs have been jailed after a string of lone women were targeted on the street - including a 14-year-old schoolgirl and one victim who escaped being dragged into a car.
Jordan Godfrey, 30, and Brett Parker, 28, drove around in a stolen Ford Focus in Kent stopping random women and asked them for directions in a bid to snatch them off the street.
The pair targeted two women and a child in the space of one morning then crashed into a parked car and threatened two witnesses who started filming the accident.
One incident saw the men grab a woman and try to physically force her inside their car until she fought them off and fled.
Both men were jailed today for more than two years at Maidstone Crown Court, while the judge commented that he saw 'no genuine remorse' from either man during the trial.
Jordan Godfrey, 30, and Brett Parker (pictured), 28, have both been jailed for driving around in a stolen Ford Focus and trying to snatch women off the street
Godfrey (pictured), of Colchester, Essex, denied the allegations but was convicted of attempted robbery and sentenced to two years and six months in prison
Godfrey then dragged one of the women to the floor by the neck before they fled and their vehicle was found abandoned nearby.
Their crime spree began at around 8am on November 6, 2018, when they pulled alongside a woman walking in Swanley, Kent, and offered her a lift.
Minutes later, they pulled up next to a teenage girl and asked her to get into the car to give them directions.
When she refused they followed her and only drove away after she pretended to make a phone call, then fled to a nearby supermarket and called her mother.
Around half an hour later, a 24-year-old woman was heading towards the town's train station when the car was used to block the footpath in front of her.
Father-of-two Parker, who had been taking drugs and drinking earlier that day, opened the back door and told her to get in.
When she refused, he then grabbed her arm and tried to force her inside, but the brave victim fought back and managed to make her way to safety.
Godfrey and Parker then drove to a nearby private car park, where they collided with a parked car.
At Maidstone Crown Court on Monday, Parker was jailed for three years and nine months, to be served concurrently with another prison sentence
Parker was said to have offered 'a score' - only 20 - to pay for the damage, but then began to drive away.
The men saw two women trying to take photos on their phones of the damage and began screaming at them to hand over the devices.
One woman began 'discreetly' recording the car, but it then suddenly stopped and a passenger, Godfrey, got out shouting 'give me that f****g phone, give me that phone'.
Godfrey then put his arm around the neck of one of the women and dragged her to the floor.
They also tried to rob another woman of her mobile after their car was photographed.
Friends of the woman managed to stop the attack by claiming she was pregnant.
They eventually fled and the stolen Ford Focus was later abandoned around 20 miles away near Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
At Maidstone Crown Court on Monday, Parker was jailed for three years and nine months, to be served concurrently with another prison sentence for an unrelated crime.
Parker, of Dagenham, east London, denied the charges but was found guilty after a trial of attempted robbery and attempted kidnap.
Godfrey, of Colchester, Essex, also denied the allegations but was convicted of attempted robbery and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
Forensic examination of the vehicle and clothing identified both offenders and Parker's DNA was also found on a victim's coat who he tried to pull into their car.
Judge Philip Statman told the defendants as he handed down the sentence: 'This court has to ensure that young women are able to walk the streets without being bundled into a car.
'I shouldn't speculate as to what your motives were in trying to bundle your victim into your car. I saw no genuine remorse during the trial.'
The image is presumed to have been taken soon after JFK left Love Field airport
He had been searching through an old thrift store in Ferris, just south of Dallas
A man in a small city just south of Dallas found hidden in an old CD case an unseen original polaroid of John F. Kennedy - taken on the day he was assassinated.
George Rebeles, 53, was searching his local thrift store in Ferris when he found a vintage CD that caught his interest - Bachman Turner Overdrive, The Anthology.
Around a month later he opened the case to find the black and white polaroid face down and dated in pencil, November 22, 1963.
The image inside was of JFK touring Dallas in his motorcade around an hour before his assassination in Dealey Plaza.
According to Davion Dyer, 38, the manager of Souls Harbor Thrift Store where the CD came from, Rebeles 'wouldn't have paid more than 50 cents or a dollar' for it.
A man in a small city just south of Dallas found hidden in an old CD case an unseen original polaroid of John F. Kennedy in his motorcade on the day he was assasinated
Around a month later he opened the case to find the black and white polaroid face down and dated in pencil, November 22, 1963
George Rebeles, 53, was searching his local thrift store in Ferris when he found a vintage CD that caught his interest - Bachman Turner Overdrive, The Anthology
He purchased the CD while rummaging through old cassettes and tape in the Souls Harbor Thrift Store in downtown Ferris.
'It wasn't until I turned it over that I noticed what it was and of course realized immediately that this was an unpublished photograph,' he told WFAA.
'I was shocked, and that's putting it mildly. It just struck me as odd to find it in a CD case and how this could have ended up in a small town thrift store, fascinates me,' he added.
Its manager Dyer said its hard to keep track of what comes in and out of the store.
'We have things that come in all day, every day, everything gets rotated so often it could have been there for a couple of months,' he told DailyMail.com. 'We didn't intentionally sell the picture to him.'
Rebeles also questioned whether the old photo had any monetary or investigative value.
Former FBI analyst and JFK historian Farris Rookstool, however, told the station that the image may not be all that valuable.
'The assessment is while you have a nice photo, it's a nice keepsake, it's a nice heirloom. It's something that meant something to someone in someone's family. I would say that if someone thinks this is of high monetary value, prepare yourself to underwhelmed or disappointed,' he said.
According to Davion Dyer, 38, the manager of Souls Harbor Thrift Store where the CD came from, Rebeles 'wouldn't have paid more than 50 cents or a dollar' for it
Rebeles is from Ferris, Texas - a small city around 20 miles south of Dallas
By referencing a building visible in the background of the photo, thought to be Old Executive Inn hotel, Rookstool suggested that the polaroid was taken as the president was leaving Dallas Love Field airport.
He also noted that Kennedy's car door was firmly closed in the photograph, meaning it was taken before the then-governor John Connally opened the door with a plan to stop the motorcade and greet members of the crowd.
After the plan to stop the limousine was aborted the door remained ajar for the rest of the route, according to Rookstool.
Rebeles said he wasn't sure what he was going to do with the polaroid but Rookstool hoped some day in the future it might be rediscovered and trigger even more intrigue.
'I just hope that someone will look at this and say you know what, this is pretty nice to have something from history to see something that no one has seen in probably 60 years,' he said.
Actors Koo Kyo-hwan, left, and Seohyun have been cast in director Won Shin-yun's sci-fi film, "In Search of the King" (working title) / Courtesy of Wysiwyg Studios
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Actor Koo Kyo-hwan has been cast in the lead role of director Won Shin-yun's sci-fi blockbuster tentatively titled "In Search of the King."
Set in the turbulent 1980s, the film follows the story of an army surgeon named Do-jin (Koo) who stumbles across a giant, mysterious object in a town located inside the demilitarized zone.
Veteran actor Yoo Jae-myung will play the role of righteous town resident Joo-bok. His other credits include "Itaewon Class" (2020) and "Vincenzo" (2021). Seohyun, an actress and member of the K-pop act Girls' Generation, will appear as the town's only nurse, Jung-ae.
Actor Koo Kyo-hwan / Courtesy of Netflix
Alex Murdaugh's alleged murders are just the tip of the iceberg, according to filmmakers who say they have uncovered new crimes and corruption stretching to 'state and federal level.'
In the new Netflix documentary Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, former friends of Alex's late son Paul revealed the legal scion pressured witnesses following his drunken boat wreck in February 2019.
At the time of his wife Maggie and son Paul's deaths, Alex was being sued for up to $30million over the accident, during which his son was driving his boat under the influence of alcohol bought with his older brother Buster's ID.
The new series also examines the deaths of Stephen Smith, a former classmate of Buster, and Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaughs' housekeeper who died in a fall at their home. Their deaths have been the subject of widespread speculation of foul play.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, filmmaker Jenner Furst said: 'There is so much more to tell in this story. There are additional crimes that have occurred that we have the scoop on - corruption that goes far wider than Hampton, South Carolina. That goes to the state and to the federal level.'
Paul, Maggie, Alex and Buster Murdaugh attend a dinner at the Carolina Yacht Club. The legal scion is accused of shooting dead Maggie and Paul on June 7, 2021
Tinsley told the court that Alex tried to 'intimidate and bully' him because he was suing him over his son Paul's drunken boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach (pictured)
The new film also examines the deaths of Stephen Smith (right), a former classmate of Alex's older son Buster, and Gloria Satterfield (left), the Murdaugh's housekeeper who died in a fall at their home. Their deaths have been the subject of widespread speculation of foul play
Furst claims they have uncovered such a breadth of deception that they are hoping the new show 'creates a tidal wave to unlock the rest of the story.'
The release of the documentary comes as Alex's defense lays out its case in the disgraced legal scion's double murder trial at the Colleton County courthouse in Walterboro.
Alex is accused of the brutal murders of his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul at the family's sprawling hunting estate at Moselle in South Carolina's Lowcountry on the night of June 7, 2021.
Maggie was shot five times with a high-powered assault rifle, while Paul was blasted twice with a shotgun.
The defense theory is that Maggie and Paul could have been killed in revenge for Paul's boat wreck.
In the documentary, Paul's former girlfriend Morgan Doughty, 23, broke her silence to reveal that the younger Murdaugh son was frequently drunk and that the family once helped cover up a serious car crash while he was under the influence.
Doughty detailed the events following a 2017 Christmas party, where she alleged a drunk Paul crashed his truck, with his family rushing to the scene to hide guns and beer cans in the vehicle before police arrived.
She also recalled how the family's housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, had found bags of pills belonging to Alex, who was addicted to opioids, and told Paul about it the same year she died from a fall at their estate.
Morgan Doughty broke her silence to discuss her relationship with Paul Murdaugh, claiming he often abused alcohol and crashed his truck full of beer cans and guns in 2017, an event she said his family helped cover up
Doughty, pictured together with Paul, said their romance soured over his alleged heavy drinking and physical abuse, claiming he once grabbed her by the throat and hit her
Photos of the Murdaugh boat, the Sea Hunt, taken by investigators after Paul's drunken boat wreck in February 2019
The three-part Netflix documentary dives into the scandals and suspicious deaths linked to the once-prominent South Carolina legal scion Alex Murdaugh and his family between 2015 and 2021.
Speaking in the documentary, Doughty, who moved to South Carolina with her parents when starting high school, said she had a strong connection with Paul, and the two began going out in their junior year.
During their romance, Doughty said she and her friends would hang around Paul's home, where his parents allegedly offered the minors liquor on a regular basis.
'Whenever I came around the Murdaughs', it was very normal for them to be drinking and have a lot of alcohol always stocked in the house,' Doughty said.
Alex Murdaugh is on trial for the 2021 fatal shooting of his son, Paul, and wife, Maggie, at his hunting lodge
The claims of the Murdaughs' prevalent drinking culture matches what Doughty told police after the 2019 death of her friend Mallory Beach, 19 - who was killed in a boat crash allegedly driven by Paul when he was drunk.
In her affidavit, Doughty provided 25 videos of minors drinking alcohol with Alex and his family present.
But while the fatal boat crash has been heavily scrutinized, Doughty claimed Paul was responsible for another drunk driving incident two years prior.
On December 25, 2017, Doughty claimed she was driving an intoxicated Paul home when he 'aggressively' demanded that he drive his truck.
She said he then lost control and crashed into a ditch, adding that beer cans and guns inside the truck rolled over everywhere.
When she tried to call 911 for help, Doughty said Paul grabbed her phone and hung up, opting instead to call his grandfather, Randolph Murdaugh, and Alex.
Doughty claimed Randolph, Alex and Maggie Murdaugh rushed to the scene, and before checking up on the teens, they cleared the truck of the guns and beer cans.
She added that they chastised her for calling 911 because it would have meant trouble for their youngest son Paul.
Doughty said Alex and Maggie Murdaugh were fully aware of their son's drinking and that they often offered alcohol to minors. Pictured: a picture of Doughty giving Alex a shot in 2018
Doughty said Paul would drink regularly with friends as a minor (left), and would drink alcohol provide to him by his parents (right)
Doughty said there was a prevalent culture of drinking alcohol at the Murdaugh estate
Due in part to Paul's alleged constant drinking, Doughty said their relationship began to sour, with her friends warning her to stay away from him.
In the documentary, her friend Miley Altman said she and Beach would tell Doughty to end things with Paul, saying the couple would break up over the weekends and get back together again.
Describing her relationship with Paul, Doughty said: 'I think that our relationship is just something that I really clung to just because when it was good, it was really good. But when it was bad, it was really bad.'
She said their arguments began getting physical, and it all came to a head one night when they were celebrating Buster Murdaugh's graduation and Paul began kicking her at a hotel they were staying at.
Doughty noted that Paul was drunk, and when he told her to stop, he grabbed her by the throat.
'He got on top of me, and I just remember him screaming, "I told you to shut up,"' she recalled.
'Just holding down my throat. I just remember then he punched me really hard in the knee,' she added as she began to cry.
On the day of the boat crash, Doughty alleged that Paul slapped her and spat at her.
Doughty's parents, Bill and Diane, said they had no idea what their daughter had gone through, but said she was through with him on the day of the accident.
'She was done,' her mother, said. 'That was it.'
'She always said that Mallory saved her, and that's one way, really, she saved her.'
Along with her own inner turmoil, Doughty also offered insight into Paul, saying that he often felt he was a disappointment to his family and that he only got approval from the family's housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
Doughty said Satterfield was 'Paul's second mom,' and that the housekeeper had told him about 'baggies of pills' she found that belonged to Alex.
Alex had been abusing opioids for years, and was often confronted about it by his family, including Paul just a month before he and Maggie were murdered on June 7, 2021.
Doughty noted that Satterfield's discovery occurred in 2018, the same year she fell to her death in Alex's hunting lodge.
Doughty also said that Paul (left) felt like he was a disappointment to his family after his brother Buster (right) sought a career in law like their father
The majority of the first episode in the Netflix series was dedicated to Beach's death and Paul's alleged role in it.
Beach, 19, was thrown from the boat when it crashed into Archers Creek Bridge, in Beaufort South Carolina, in February 2019. Her body was found five days later.
It is believed Paul, 19, was drunk at the time, with brother Buster accused of lending his younger brother his ID in order for him to buy alcohol before the crash.
Also speaking in the Netflix series was Anthony Cook, Beach's boyfriend, and his cousin Connor Cook, Miley's boyfriend.
Connor spoke about his outrage when the Murdaugh family attempted to pin the crash boat crash on him.
'I wanted to beat the sh** out of him because I wasn't driving,' Connor said, adding that he was relieved when Paul was finally indicted over Mallory's death
At the time of his death, Paul was awaiting trial on three felony counts two of boating under the influence and one of causing death and bodily injury.
He had been indicted and released on a $50,000 bond.
According to legal documents seen by DailyMail.com, Murdaugh was 'highly intoxicated,' 'drunk' and 'belligerent,' on the February night two years ago when he sped his boat into a piling on Archer's Creek.
All of the six youths on board that night were under 21, and were ejected from the vessel. But Beach did not make it to shore.
Beach's mother filed a $50million creditors claim against the estate of Paul and his late mother Maggie, while other boat crash survivors - Doughty and Altman - also filed claims against the Murdaugh estates for $10million and $5million.
Creditors claims filed against an estate are legal means for claimants to get money they feel they are owed from someone after they have died.
Doughty's friend, Mallory Beach (pictured) disapproved of her relationship with Paul. Beach, 19, died when an allegedly drunk Paul crashed his father's boat in 2019
Pictured: Blood found on the Murdaugh yacht following the fatal boat crash
Paul was allegedly driving the boat drunk with his friends on board when the boat crashed, sending everyone flying overboard, with all but Beach returning to shore
Pictured: Paul (right) walking with the group of friends to the yacht on the night of the crash
Last month, the family of Mallory Beach reached a tentative settlement with Buster Murdaugh in the $50million lawsuit.
The cost of the settlement has not been made public, but ABC News 4 reported that it had been told it is a 'significant' amount.
Reports say the settlement will mean that Buster and his late mother Maggie Murdaugh - who was accused of knowing her son Paul was drunk when he went out boating that night - are no longer named on the lawsuit.
This would leave just Paul and Buster's father Alex and Parker's Kitchen convenience store (where Paul purchased alcohol underage) as being named.
More than a dozen of the New York Times' top reporters have signed a letter attacking their own union for backing woke staff members who criticized the outlet's coverage of transgender issues.
The latest letter, written by correspondent Jeremy Peters, was sent Tuesday and accused the paper's union - known as its guild - of effectively stifling journalistic independence.
It is the latest chapter in a saga that began last week, when 1,000 current and former writers criticized the Times for its increasingly skeptical coverage of transgender issues in an open letter.
Executive editor Joe Kahn responded to last week's letter by emailing staff that they should not participate in 'protests organized by advocacy groups.'
He noted that participating in 'such a campaign is against the letter and spirit of our ethics policy.' Some unnamed staffers are said to have been disciplined for signing the letter.
News Guild of New York President Susan DeCarava then sent a letter to its members at the Times on a private mailing list saying that the employees who wrote the letter are protected against a 'hostile work environment.'
But in his letter on Tuesday, Peters argued the union was wrongfully getting involved in editorial decisions and was stifling 'journalistic independence.'
New York Times contributor Jeremy Peters, left, published a letter criticizing The News Guild of New York President Susan DeCarava, right, for saying that employees critical of the Times coverage of transgender issues are protected from a 'hostile work environment'
The New York Times was accused by some of its own writers and contributors of a 'bias' approach to reporting on the debate around trans rights
Peters' letter - and the Times' defense of its journalism - marks a remarkable turnaround for a paper whose bosses were once seen as being cowed by woke staff's insistence on covering contentious social stories in a skewed way that matches their own beliefs.
The entire row began last week over two separate letters mailed to the Times.
The first was the one signed by present and former contributors.
Meanwhile, GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and the Human Rights Campaign coordinated a separate public letter signed by celebrities and activist groups condemning the New York Times' 'irresponsible, biased coverage of transgender people'.
They singled out the science team for particular condemnation, arguing they had set about 'undermining support for transgender youth by writing "just asking questions" stories about medically approved best practices for gender-affirming healthcare'.
And they criticized the opinion desk for publishing articles by staff columnist Pamela Paul, insisting The New York Times was wrong to give 'space for her unfounded thoughts about how LGBTQ people should describe themselves'.
Recent stories on whether it is appropriate to give underage transgender children puberty blockers or mastectomies have angered woke Times staffers and their supporters.
Another on whether it was right for teachers to hide students' decision to change gender from parents sparked further fury, as did stories on whether transgender women should be allowed to compete against biological women in some sports.
Management quickly became upset with the protests, with Kahn writing in an email to staff members that 'participation in such a campaign is against the letter and spirit of our ethics policy.
'That policy prohibits our journalists from aligning themselves with advocacy groups and joining protest actions on matters of public policy.
'We also have a clear policy prohibiting Times journalists from attacking one another's journalism publicly or signaling their support for such attacks.'
In the aftermath, DeCarava posted a public letter on the Times' listserv affirming the right of employees to criticize the paper, Semafor reports, saying that 'employees are protected in collectively raising concerns that conditions of their employment constitute a hostile working environment.
'This was the concern explicitly raised in the letter at issue here.,' she claimed.
But some at the paper became irked by the union's response, with one reporter, Stephanie Saul, posting in the union's Slack: 'Criticism of workplace conditions does not include attacking the journalism of other members.
'I strongly object to this letter and I hope of the members of the unit agree with me.'
Joe Kahn, the executive editor of The New York Times, on Thursday wrote to staff telling them it is against the company's ethics policy to participate in protests against the company
GLAAD parked a mobile billboard outside The New York Times' offices in Manhattan last Wednesday
By Tuesday, Peters had penned his letter to DeCarava, claiming the union does not understand 'our responsibility as journalists,' and expressing his desire that the union 'work to advance, not erode, our journalistic independence.'
'Like you, we support the right to a non-hostile work environment where everyone is respected and supported,' he wrote. 'We believe the New York Times should never engage in biased or discriminatory practices of any kind.
'We all strive to be part of a truly diverse news organization where everyone is treated fairly,' Peters continued. 'We welcome robust and respectful critical feedback from colleagues, either in direct conversation or through internal Times channels.
'But your letter appears to suggest a fundamental misunderstanding of our responsibilities as journalists.
'Regretfully, our own union leadership now seems determined to undermine the ethical and professional protections that we depend on to guard the independence and integrity of our journalism,' Peters continued.
'Factual, accurate journalism that is written, edited and published in accordance with Times standards does not create a hostile workplace,' he asserted, noting: 'Every day, partisan actors seek to influence, attack or discredit our work. We accept that.
'But what we don't accept is what the Guild appears to be endorsing: A workplace in which any opinion or disagreement about Times coverage can be recast as a matter of "workplace conditions."
'Our duty is to be independent,' Peters said. 'We pursue the facts wherever they lead. We are journalists, not activists. That line should be clear.'
Peters then went on to say that he and the others who signed the letter 'understand and respect that the Guild has an absolute duty to offer representation to members when they are subject to discipline by management.
'But we do not think it is the role of our union to be engaged in and taking sides in public debate over internal editorial decisions.
'Our hope is that the coming days will bring more constructive internal dialogue among Times employees with Guild leadership that can help unify and improve our news organization,' Peters concluded. 'And we ask that our union work to advance, not erode, our journalistic independence.'
The letter was signed by bigwigs at the New York Times including White House correspondent Peter Baker; Washington correspondent Charlie Savage; media correspondent Michael Grynbaum and national correspondent Kate Zernike.
In a statement to Vanity Fair, the News Guild responded by saying it is 'committed to representing every member equally and fairly regardless of reporting assignment.
'We take no position on the subject of editorial coverage and fight hard for every member's right to work in a healthy and safe environment, free of harassment and discrimination.
'These are principles that are at the core of trade unions and are central to our mission.'
It added that the letter from the New York Times' bosses implied 'that employees of The New York Times who have or are choosing to sign on to a public letter that is, in part, critical of recent employment decisions and historic workplace conditions affecting LGBTQIA employees, could face discipline in doing so.
'It would be a violation of federal law for the New York Times to threaten, restrain or coerce employees from engaging in such activity.
'The journalists we represent at the New York Times, and across all of our union newsrooms understand the difficulty of navigating such rights to speak on different issues, and are aware that protecting those rights often includes defending members expressing a variety of viewpoints,' the union continued.
'It is our collective role to ensure members are protected when they raise concerns at work.'
The New York Times published an op-ed in defense of J.K. Rowling's trans views a day after two open letters, signed by celebrities, campaign groups and hundreds of the paper's own writers, accused the paper of bias in its reporting of trans issues
Meanwhile, editors at the Times do not seem to be giving in to the peer pressure publishing an op-ed defending controversial author J.K. Rowling just one day after receiving the letters criticizing them for their coverage of transgender issues.
Former books editor Pamela Paul wrote the piece, entitled In Defense of J.K. Rowling.
She referred in her article to the new 'The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling' podcast by Megan Phelps-Roper - a former member of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church - based on nine hours of interviews with Rowling which explore her views and the backlash she faced.
The op-ed states: 'As Rowling herself notes on the podcast, she's written books where from the very first page, bullying and authoritarian behavior is held to be one of the worst of human ills.
'Those who accuse Rowling of punching down against her critics ignore the fact that she is sticking up for those who have silenced themselves to avoid the job loss, public vilification and threats to physical safety that other critics of recent gender orthodoxies have suffered.'
A fire 'involving uranium' broke out at a National Security Complex in Tennessee with all staff being evacuated from the site.
The National Nuclear Security Administration said that an emergency response responded to the blaze on Wednesday morning at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.
All of their 200 employees were accounted for, with other buildings next to the site being evacuated as a precaution.
An NNSA spokesperson confirmed that the fire started at 9.15am at the federal facility, and the blaze was limited to the site itself.
They added: 'Emergency Services responded to the event. The site activated the Y-12 Emergency Response Organization and we've been in close contact with local and state officials.
The National Nuclear Security Administration said that an emergency response responded to the blaze on Wednesday morning at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge
The Oak Ridge complex was home to the Manhattan Project for research and development undertaking during World War II
'There are no reports of injury or contamination.'
But they confirmed that they would assess employees, if needed, following the incident.
Building 9212 is listed on the Department of Energy website as a uranium processing building, constructed in 1945.
It serves 'as one of the primary chemical processing and enriched uranium production facilities at Y-12.'
The Oak Ridge complex was home to the Manhattan Project for research and development during World War II, which produced the first nuclear weapons.
It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada.
Authorities confirmed that the material involved in the fire was a metal compound of uranium.
Congressional representatives were notified of the emergency as part of that response and were reportedly 'comfortable' with the response.
Around 1pm, officials announced that the rest of the complex had returned to business as usual but did not confirm if the fire was out.
An NNSA spokesperson confirmed that the fire started at 9.15am at the federal facility, and the blaze was limited to the site itself
The site was instrumental in the United States win over Nazi Germany during WWII because of the development of the atomic bomb
The site was instrumental in the United States win over Nazi Germany during WWII because of the development of the atomic bomb.
Known as the 'Secret City', Oak Ridge was not on any maps and 100,000 workers were brought to the city to work on the then-secret Manhattan Project.
There have been several nuclear accidents in history with the corrosion of a reactor vessel head forcing 24-month outage of Davis-Besse reactor in Ohio, on 16 February 2002.
The most serious to date was the incident on Three Mile Island near Middletown, Pennsylvania, after it partially melted down on 28 March, 1979.
Experts determined that the approximately 2 million people in the nearby area during the accident were exposed to small amounts of radiation.
The accidents exposure had no detectable health effects on the plant workers or surrounding public.
Thorough analysis of the accidents events led to widespread changes across the U.S. commercial nuclear industry.
The NRC implemented new, more stringent regulations related to improved training, emergency response planning, as well as upgrades to plant design and equipment requirements.
Advocates who believe that Bryan Kohberger - the only suspect in the brutal slayings of four University of Idaho students in November - is innocent have set up various groups and amassed over 16,000 fans across social media.
There are at least two supporter groups on Facebook, both titled Justice for Bryan Kohberger, while over on Reddit fans have been leaving sympathetic messages and creepy fantasies about the 'hot suspect' on pro-Kohberger groups, r/BryanKohberger and r/Brynation.
One Facebook group shows a cover image with the quadruple murder suspect pictured alongside Ronald Jones, a Chicago man who was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a mother of three. His conviction was overturned.
'There is just something so magnetic about Bryan. If he really did creep women out, I dont know why. If he stared at me intensely I would have walked over to him,' a Reddit user who frequents the Kohberger pages told Fox News.
The Nov. 13 slayings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chaplain left the rural community in Moscow, Idaho, grief-stricken and afraid. Kohberger, 28, was arrested in December while living at his parents' home in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, some 2,500 miles away.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, is the only suspect in the murders of four University of Idaho college students in November
The four Moscow, Idaho college students that were murdered-Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20
The Reddit poster went on to tell Fox News that she joined the social media site around a month after Kohberger's arrest and insisted that she is not a troll referring to Kohberger as a 'hot suspect.'
'Im a psychopath, and I am drawn to dark triad personalities. If any of the information that has come out about him is true, this would be part of it for me,' the woman identified as Jane Doe said.
She went on to identify herself as having hybristophilia, the official term for lusting after people with a criminal record.
It is colloquially known as 'Bonnie & Clyde syndrome', after the American crime couple immortalized in the eponymous film.
Despite being convicted for a string of murders in the 1970s, serial killer Ted Bundy (pictured) had groupies, and even tied the knot while he was on death row awaiting execution
Despite being imprisoned after being found guilty of the murder of his pregnant wife and their two young daughters, Chris Watts (pictured) has received mail from fans - including photos of women in bikinis
The behavior is best demonstrated in cases of infamous serial killers in the US, such as Charles Manson and Ted Bundy who are widely known to have received fan mail of a sexual nature from women.
The legitimacy of the Facebook groups is debatable. One group, with 13,000 followers, previously went by the names 'Christians against Hocus Pocus 2' and 'Christians Against Buzz Lightyear.' The page was created in 2014.
'What the hell sort of disgusting individuals do you have to be to start this Facebook group? F*** all of you guys. You need to all get actual jobs and quit making up fantasies because you have nothing better to do with your days,' reads one post from the past 24 hours.
'Imagine being such a piece of s*** to stand with Brian Kohberger. I stand with the 4 people who were killed,' reads another.
There are other, smaller groups, most with under 500 followers. All are private.
A quote from Ronald Jones adorns one Facebook group. 'It's about whether or not you can prove you're innocent. If you can't prove you're innocent, then you're considered guilty. It's been flipped: Now it's guilty until proven innocent,' it reads.
Brittney Hislope, 35, a single mother from Kentucky has been writing love letters and sending sultry photos of herself to alleged killer, Bryan Kohberger
Popular posts on the r/Brynation Reddit page include: 'I find Bryan hot but don't want to! Ideas?' and 'What was it about Bryan that got your liking?'
Earlier this month, a Kentucky woman revealed she is 'lovesick' over Kohberger describing him as the 'perfect man for her' and her 'divine masculine counterpart' - and hopes he feels the same way about her.
What is hybristophilia? Hybristophilia is a paraphilia, which is defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) as 'a group of disorders in which unusual or bizarre fantasies or behavior are necessary for sexual excitement'. It is colloquially known as 'Bonnie & Clyde syndrome', after the American crime couple immortalized in the eponymous film. Those with hybristophilia are deemed to have a sexual interest in and attraction to those who commit crimes, according to the APA. In some cases, this may be directed toward people in prison for various types of criminal activities. Advertisement
Brittney Hislope, 35, a single mother of a 16-year-old boy, has been writing love letters and sending sultry photos of herself to the alleged killer.
The lovestruck mom began sharing her infatuation with the alleged killer on January 4 in a lengthy 2,550-word post though she has never spoken or met with him.
In one post she writes 'one way to describe my feelings for him over the last week or so is kind of like being lovesick.'
And in another, she refers to a lovemaking scene in the 1987 vampire film 'The Lost Boys' stating that 'I'd want to be with my love interest Bryan in those ways.'
Kohberger was arrested at his parents home in Chestnuthill Township, Pennsylvania, and extradited to Idaho where he is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.
Before the arrest, Kohberger was working toward a doctorate in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University, located 9 miles west of the University of Idaho in Moscow. He is no longer enrolled at WSU.
Kohberger has not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea, and Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall has placed the attorneys and other people involved with the case under a sweeping gag order.
The suspect is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing where the judge will decide if there is enough evidence to justify the felony charges on June 26.
House Republicans are backing up their vow to probe U.S. support for Ukraine in search of potential waste and fraud with a letter released on the last day of President Biden's to Europe on the eve of the anniversary of Russia's invasion.
A letter by House Oversight and Accountability Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) puts the Pentagon and State Department on notice that investigators want to see documentation of U.S. military and humanitarian assistance to the Eastern European war-torn nation.
'Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Congress has provided more than $113 billion for security, humanitarian, economic, and governance assistance. It is critical that government agencies administering these funds ensure they are used for their intended purposes to prevent and reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse,' Comer wrote.
The push comes after Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Ukraine would not get a 'blank check' from Republicans, after Biden wrapped up a three-day visit to Ukraine and Poland with a dramatic speech that concluded with flag-waving children waving American and Ukrainian flags.
House Oversight and Accountability Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) is pressing the Biden administration to hand over documents about U.S. aid to Ukraine
President Joe Biden walked out beneath a spectacular light show before tens of thousands of Polish and Ukrainians in Warsaw on Tuesday evening. House Republicans are demanding documentation on the U.S. aid sent to Ukraine following Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, 2022
Comer addressed the letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and USAID head Samantha Power.
The letter notes a comment by National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby that, 'We have not seen any signs that our budgetary assistance has fallen prey to any kind of corruption in Ukraine,' and then points to alleged examples of financial malfeasance.
The letter then seeks 'all documents and communications regarding strategies for end-use monitoring of weapons, equipment, direct budgeting assistance, and any other form of economic or security assistance for the Ukrainian people.'
The committee is seeking documents and communications on 'anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine, those on how much money has been disbursed for Ukrainian assistance, economic assistance, funds to multilateral organizations, and information on conditions for assistance and benchmarks.'
It all comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to make impassioned pleas for additional aid, including U.S. fighter jets amid continued Russian bombardments.
Congress has provided $113 billion to Ukraine according to the letter, which came after Biden staged a dramatic visit to Ukraine and a speech in Poland
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to press the U.S. and allies for more military and economic aid
Biden announced the latest $500 million military aid package on his trip.
'Together, we've committed nearly 700 tanks and thousands of armored vehicles. 1,000 artillery systems, more than 2 million rounds of artillery ammunition, more than 50 advanced launch rocket systems, anti-ship and air defense systems, all to defend Ukraine,' Biden said on his surprise wartime visit to Kyiv. 'And that doesn't count the other half a billion dollars we're announcing with you today and tomorrow that's going to be coming your way.'
'Providing security and humanitarian assistance for warfighting and reconstruction purposes comes with an inherent risk of fraud, waste, and abuse,' Comer wrote, before insisting that the U.S. must develop 'oversight mechanisms' to mitigate risks made worse by mandates to spend money 'quickly,' wrote Comer.
Migrants will be granted refugee status on the basis of a 10-page questionnaire
A new scheme will attempt to streamline the process for asylum seekers
Rishi Sunak faces renewed pressure on immigration after a new fast-track scheme for 12,000 asylum seekers - including Channel migrants - was dubbed an 'amnesty in all but name'.
In a bid to begin clearing the massive asylum backlog, the Home Office will launch a streamlined system which will see migrants granted refugee status on the basis of a 10-page questionnaire.
The plan was immediately attacked by critics as the Prime Minister faced demands from his own backbenches to urgently tackle the Channel crisis.
More than 95 per cent of the 12,000 claims are expected to be granted, based on current rates, allowing them to settle permanently in Britain and sponsor relatives to join them here.
Officials said the 'vast majority' of cases will go ahead without an asylum interview - a detailed, one-to-one session with a Home Office caseworker which is designed to show up discrepancies in an applicant's claim.
Rishi Sunak faced renewed pressure on immigration after a new fast-track scheme for 12,000 asylum seekers
The new fast-track scheme will be applied to Libyans, Syrians, Afghans, Eritreans and Yemenis who arrived in Britain before June 28 last year, including those who arrived by small boat across the Channel.
Officials were unable to say how many Channel migrants are in the pool.
It is believed to be the first scheme of its kind in the UK, although a similar backlog-clearing exercise designed to fast-track historic asylum cases was set up by the former Labour government in 2006 and ran until 2011.
Applicants will still undergo security and crime checks under the new programme, officials said.
However, there have been a number of cases of asylum seekers from the five countries covered by the scheme who have committed serious crimes in the UK.
They include Afghan asylum seeker Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai, who stabbed aspiring Royal Marine Tom Roberts to death in a row over an e-scooter in Bournemouth last year.
Abdulrahimzai posed as a 14-year-old boy to gain entry into the UK in 2019, but in reality he was a 19-year-old man wanted by Serbian police for gunning down two people with a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
Last month he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years for Mr Roberts' murder.
The new fast-track scheme will be applied to Libyans, Syrians, Afghans, Eritreans and Yemenis who arrived in Britain before June 28 last year, including those who arrived by small boat across the Channel
In December Mr Sunak committed to clearing 92,000 asylum backlog cases - from an overall pile of just under 149,000 - by the end of this year.
Tomorrow's announcement is the first stage of what is expected to be a widespread streamlining of the asylum system to work through the remaining 80,000 cases in the PM's pledge.
But one senior source said: 'This is an asylum amnesty in all but name. One major issue here is that it will encourage people from these nationalities who are not yet in the UK to come here and attempt to get asylum.
'It will also push up immigration figures because once these 12,000 have been granted refugee status they'll be able to bring relatives here through the family reunion scheme.'
Another well-placed source suggested that dropping interviews with asylum seekers indicated the Home Office was prepared to 'take a bit of a risk in order to get the backlog down'.
Officials denied the scheme amounted to an amnesty because it will not give 'blanket' refugee status by nationality. They insisted each case will be considered 'on its own merits'.
The Home Office source added: The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are clear that we need to clear the backlog in order to be able to detain people and swiftly remove them when we have the new legislation.
There have been a number of cases of asylum seekers from the five countries covered by the scheme who have committed serious crimes in the UK. They include Afghan asylum seeker Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai (pictured), who stabbed aspiring Royal Marine Tom Roberts to death
Most of the 12,000 asylum seekers are believed to be living in 'dispersed accommodation', such as self-catering properties, but the Home Office was unable to rule out whether some are in taxpayer-funded hotels.
The questionnaire which will be sent to eligible asylum seekers is 10 pages long and contains about 40 questions.
It asks them to set out why they believe themselves to be at risk in their home country.
Applicants will have 20 working days to complete the form and return it to the Home Office.
Some applicants eligible for the fast-track scheme will already have been in the backlog for years.
It is unclear what steps the Home Office will take to check the 12,000 asylum seekers have been truthful about their nationality.
Tonight a leaked letter from the Home Office's director of asylum, protection and enforcement, Dan Hobbs, revealed the new system could be rolled out more widely.
He said it could be extended to asylum claims lodged since June 28 last year 'in due course'.
Asylum-seekers living in a Merseyside hotel were targeted by protesters earlier this month
In addition, Mr Hobbs also disclosed that asylum interviews may be dropped for other nationalities of asylum seeker 'where appropriate'.
The new asylum questionnaire could in future be sent to out more widely 'to gather additional information from other claimants awaiting an asylum decision in due course', he went on.
The letter, addressed to Home Office 'stakeholders', also confirmed that failure to return the questionnaire could 'result in an individual's asylum claim being withdrawn'.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, which campaigns for tougher border controls, said the plan was 'dangerous folly' and suggested it could encourage more asylum seekers to claim they are from the five eligible countries.
'This is an amnesty in all but name,' he said. 'The message to the criminal gangs is, if you get your clients to destroy their ID and claim to be from a 'high success' country, they'll be tick-boxed into the UK.
'The triple killer of Tom Roberts came from such a country, and had been denied asylum in Norway before our already-lax system allowed him to con his way in.
'The Government's plan is dangerous folly. The Home Secretary should think again.'
Enver Solomon, head of the Refugee Council, welcomed the Home Office's announcement as a 'welcome first step'.
But he added: 'After living in worry and uncertainty for months and even years without hearing anything about their claims, it cannot then be fair or reasonable to expect people to complete a lengthy form only in English in a matter of weeks especially for those who don't have access to legal advice and don't speak English.
'As it stands, the Prime Minister will fail to meet his commitment to clear the backlog by the end of this year and if he is serious about it there must be a more ambitious, workable, person-centred approach that sees the face behind the case.'
Its CEO Alan Shaw made more in 2021 than it has given in aid to East Palestine
In a call on Wednesday Norfolk Southern told investors it was covered for $1.1B
The train company behind the crash in East Palestine, Ohio, has so far shelled out less to residents than the CEO's annual pay.
Executives say Norfolk Southern has given $3.8 million in aid 'directly to the citizens who are impacted by the incident', while President and CEO Alan Shaw earned a total $4.36 million in 2021.
The figures were given in a company presentation to investors on Wednesday, in which chief financial officer Mark George claimed Norfolk Southern has been a victim of 'disinformation' while revealing their insurance policy gave them coverage of up to $1.1 billion.
George told investors at the Barclays Industrial Select Conference in Miami on Wednesday that the company has 'provided more than $6 million of direct aid to the community, $3.8 million of it so far directly to the citizens who are impacted by the incident'.
His rail freight company operated a train which derailed in the small Midwest town on February 3 spilling toxic chemicals into the surrounding air and water.
The CEO of Norfolk Southern, Alan Shaw, was paid $4.36 million in 2021 - more than the $3.8 million the company said it has given the residents of East Palestine since the crash on January 3
At a company presentation to investors in Miami on Wednesday the company told investors its insurance policy provided coverage of up to $1.1 billion
President and CEO Alan Shaw, who earned a total $4,362,801 in 2021 according to company filings, was slated to give the presentation, but George instead took the reins, saying the boss was still overseeing the cleanup in Palestine.
Shaw is likely to have earned significantly more last year, since he took the company helm after former president and CEO James Squires retired in May 2022. Squires earned $13.3 million in 2021.
George claimed the company has been victim to 'misinformation' though did not specify what that consisted of.
Norfolk Southern CFO Mark George claimed the company has been a victim of 'disinformation' but was not more specific
'There's a lot of misinformation that's out there, a lot of speculation. I'd strongly encourage that all of you get your information from the NTSB [the National Transportation Safety Board], and the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency],' he said.
The CFO sought to reassure investors on the Wednesday call that Norfolk Southern would not be financially impacted by the disaster, revealing details of their huge insurance policies.
'We maintain insurance coverage intended for losses from incidents, such as this one,' he said in a presentation at the Miami conference that was also broadcast online. He described 'third party liability of $75 million of self insurance, and also $75 million of self-insurance related to first party property losses,' adding: 'They're two separate policies.'
'Our liability policy attaches to coverage losses above 75 and up to $800 million, or up to $1.1 billion for specified types,' George said. 'It is intended to protect against legal liabilities for bodily injury and property damage to third parties.'
He added that their insurers may still contest any claims, and that the company wouldn't have any coverage to protect them from government fines or penalties over the derailing disaster.
Workers continue to clean up remaining tank cars in East Palestine, Ohio, on January 21, nearly three weeks after the February 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment
CEO of Norfolk Southern Alan Shaw taking a walk outside of his home in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday
Local waterways are monitored following the derailment of the train which was carrying toxic chemicals. CFO Mark George gave details on the cleanup efforts after vinyl chloride carried on the train leaked into the village's water
The CFO also gave details on the cleanup efforts after vinyl chloride carried on the derailed train leaked into the water.
'We have since removed more than 15,000 tons of soil and debris, and also removed over 1.1 million gallons impacted water,' he said. 'Additionally, we've taken actions installing pumps to redirect the sulfur run stream around the derailment site. We're working with environmental experts to collect samples around the groundwater there and on the stream bank.
'We completed nearly 500 in-home air tests in conjunction with the EPA and other government agencies. The monitoring has indicated that the air quality remains safe. Despite this we've provided air purifiers for residents for use in their homes. But also we purchased air purifiers for the city for use in their buildings.
'We continue to cooperate with the NTSB on its ongoing investigation of the cause of the derailment. And the NTSB, again as the only source of reliable information on this.'
Eight current and former police are accused of participating in the 'toxic' group
A group of police officers who mocked Harvey Price on a WhatsApp group chat did not intend to be racist when they referred to Uncle Ben's rice, a court heard today.
Eight current and former Met police officers are accused of being involved in a 'abhorrent and toxic' secret chat between May 2016 and June 2018.
Today marked the second day of a misconduct hearing into the offensive conduct, revealing further examples of sexism, racism and homophobia.
The former officers accused with misconduct were sergeants Luke Thomas and Luke Allen, as well as PCs Kelsey Buchan, Lee South, Darren Jenner and Carlo Francisco.
An anonymous officer referred to as 'Officer B' was also in the chat, along with PC Glynn Rees. Both PC Rees and Officer B are still serving in the Met, and attended the hearing in Fulham.
Former glamour model Katie Price's disabled son, Harvey, 20, was often the target of cruel jokes. Price was sent a letter detailing the misconduct claims before the hearing, which she shared on her Instagram account on Friday.
A picture of a meme was shown from the WhatsApp group relating to Harvey in the format of the popular 'elf on the shelf' rhyme.
Former glamour model Katie Price's disabled son, Harvey, 20, was frequently mentioned on the group
It read: 'You've heard of elf on the shelf, now get ready for Harvey Price eating Uncle Ben's basmati rice, after trying to read three blind mice, when on spice, saying hello you c***.'
Robert Morris, representing Officer B and former PC Kelsey Buchan, told the hearing today: 'It's not right to suggest that he [officer B] wrote it or had any technical ability to create it.
'He [Harvey Price] had become an internet sensation and responded when asked ''how would you respond to internet trolls'' and used an expletive.'
'It has nothing to do with his disabilities, nothing to do with his race, it was simply on live TV where he had told off internet trolls.'
Mr Morris said the 'elf on a shelf' meme was popular at the time and that all sorts of 'nonsense' rhymes were used online at the time.
'It is nothing about his disability, nothing about his race, it is simply something that was said on live TV. Then the appropriate authority is forced to read into the book of three blind mice being relevant,' he said.
'It is a desperate submission that reference to Uncle Ben's basmati rice was a conscious racist decision. The company changed the name of Uncle Ben's rice in 2020, this was posted in 2017 where in every Tesco and Sainsbury's the shops were stocked with Uncle Ben's rice.
'It is ridiculous that a well-known, if not the most well-known, bag of rice was deliberately racist. It is simply a brand of rice. It was not posted with any discriminatory motivation or prejudice.'
Mr Morris insisted officer B was not engaged in the chat, adding that 'messages are few and far between'.
The misconduct panel heard the group of police officers were attached to a 'safer neighbourhoods' team based in Bexley, in the southeast of the capital
'One can imagine turning on your phone seeing messages from individuals you no longer work with, chatting away and he hasn't given it the attention that it deserves.
'It wasn't as it can appear just the listening of offensive messages, these are messages he often didn't see, he didn't pay attention to.'
Mr Morris argued officer B's failure to challenge or report his colleagues - while serious - is not serious enough to justify his dismissal from the force.
He told the court officer B was a junior at the time of the chat, adding there were other members with supervisory duties who 'should have shut this WhatsApp group much, much earlier'.
'The failures are out of character, the post he made was not written by him and does not support any discriminatory attitude. He would not just let sexist, racist and homophobic behaviour go unchallenged.
'Witness statements describe him as an individual who does stand up and challenge improper conduct.
'This officer is sensitive to issues of diversity, and in particular sexuality. He is an officer considerate of diversity.'
Elsewhere, officer B had referred to a woman as a 'bird' in the chat, but Mr Morris argued it is wrong to suggest the term breached the standards of ethics and diversity within the force.
He said: 'It is an old-fashioned word. It may demonstrate a lack of respect such that you treat an individual differently.
'For example, if an individual goes into a room and says ''sir'' when there are women in the room, that may well be sexist because you are treating individuals differently.
'It is old-fashioned shorthand. If this does breach standards of equality and diversity, then the simple conduct doesn't cause any offence to individuals and is not used in that way. It falls right at the very bottom of the scale of breaches of equality and diversity.
'There is nothing to suggest that it is wrong that simply a breach of equality and diversity means that it has to be assessed as gross misconduct.
'Discrimination is always a serious matter, but that is because they are treating an individual differently and here that's not the case.'
Dan Hobbs, representing the Met Police said: 'For around two years each of the officers concerned were attached to the southeast Command based at Bexleyheath Police Station.
'This was a police team that lacked any effective leadership from PS Luke Thomas. They used sexist, racist and homophobic, transphobic language and profanities.'
Elsewhere in the chat, PC Kelsey Buchan used the words 'm**g' and 'p***y'. But Mr Morris argued a mitigating factor was that she was referring to her own Irish relatives when using the term 'p***y' - a term the travelling community finds deeply offensive.
'The way she was using the word 'p***y' was in a self-deprecating way. She was suggesting that her Irish relatives might be involved in a low social class,' he said.
'Her use of that, and her motivation for using that word, is very important because, although it is offensive to those in the travelling community, it was not discriminatory against anyone in the travelling community.
'She was referencing her own family and she used it in a way that doesn't demonstrate any discriminatory or unsavoury views.
'It is however a term that shouldn't be used, which is why it should be assessed as a breach, but on the low end of the spectrum.
'It would be quite different if this was her referring to someone in the travelling community, but it was simply her referring to her family, not thinking that someone could be affected by her remarks.'
Buchan also made 'nasty' comments about another female officer, referred to as officer A.
Price was sent a letter detailing the misconduct claims before the hearing, which she shared on her Instagram account on Friday
Mr Morris said: 'It's crass, it's not professional but it's not sexist. A female officer talking about another female officer having a relationship with a male officer, there is no discrimination against women there. It is salacious at worst.'
'She makes unkind, crass and nasty comments, but there is nothing to suggest the officer was motivated by homophobia and said it with any prejudice. They are the product of insecurity.
'Since then she has become friends with officer A. One of the best ways of dealing with it is to deal with it head on and apologise.
'Commenting on her looks and her weight are unkind and crass but does not indicate they hold any prejudice. She unwisely did not foresee that any of these messages would be read by anyone else.
'She dismissed the comment as shock-humour comments said in jest. She was a young female police officer and there were sergeants on the team, but she didn't reflect on any of her responsibilities.
'She had this desire to fit in with the team. She is described in witness statements as someone who is kind, patient, and displays the professional standard required of an officer.
'This is simply a young officer whose actions are out of character and do not display the truth.'
PC South also made crass comments about officer A. He has since admitted gross misconduct.
Former PC South compared officer A to Harvey, describing them as 'twin m**gs'.
In another post about the same, new officer - who the panel heard had recently joined the team and 'trying to fit in' - South said: 'Have you ever heard a pug breath? Listen to Officer A going up the stairs'.
In an admission to his wrongdoing following the exposal of the chat in March 2021, former PC South cited the 'dark sense of humour' which prevails in the Met police.
'I look at the images [posted in the chat] and I am ashamed,' he said. 'I accept that the images posted by me are not acceptable for a police officer. I know it was disgusting and toxic.
'Police officers do have a dark sense of humour; but this is not acceptable.'
The misconduct hearing was told South made racist comments about black colleagues in the force.
The panel also heard South made admissions of guilt in the chat by saying he would be 'f**ked' if any of the content in the chat were made public.
In another comment, South referred to having a 'bloke' in for 'sexual touching', adding he 'didn't blame' the criminal for touching the women, whom he described as being 'a seven-and-a-half', presumably on an attractiveness scale of one to 10.
He posted in the chat: 'We've got a bloke in for sexual touching... I don't blame him - she was a seven-and-a-half.'
Former PS Allan and PC South admit gross misconduct in respect to each allegation. PC Rees and PC Buchan admit only misconduct.
Officer B admits misconduct only in relation to allegations two and three but denies allegation one.
PC Francisco admits gross misconduct in relation to allegation one but only misconduct in relation to allegations two and three.
Former PC Jenner has not engaged with or responded to the allegations made against him.
The panel have now risen to give their decision on Friday not before 9:30am.
A six-year-old Australian boy suffering from a genetic disorder was at risk of losing his life after his bone marrow transplant was mistakenly left on the tarmac at a US airport.
Mateoh Eggleton was diagnosed with chronic granulomatous disease in 2019, meaning his white blood cells were unable to fight off certain types of bacteria.
The little boy underwent a transplant for the disease which was successful but the treatment resulted in him being diagnosed with a rare but more severe condition known as haemolytic uraemic syndrome - which can lead to kidney failure.
His mother Shalyn Eggleton desperately tried to find a match for a bone marrow transplant for Mateoh and eventually came across a donor in the US.
The transplant was supposed to be loaded onto a plane leaving the US for Brisbane but Ms Eggleton was told by Queensland Children's Hospital staff that it never arrived.
Shalyn Eggleton is pictured with her son Mateoh. Mateoh requires an urgent bone marrow transplant. The transplant was mistakenly left at a tarmac in the US
'We haven't received any reasons why (this happened), nothing pretty much,' she told The Today Show on Thursday morning.
'I'm going to be doing all that digging myself because it's unacceptable. He's fought three-and-a-half-years as it is for his life and for someone to be so neglectful and naive when it comes to such a thing like this.
'This is what he's been waiting for and someone's just left it behind.'
The Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) is responsible for arranging and transporting bone marrow and blood stem cell donations for patients in need of a transplant in Australia.
A spokesperson for the Queensland Children's Hospital told Daily Mail Australia the transplant is now in transit to Australia.
'Mateoh has been a long-term patient at the Queensland Children's Hospital and his care team understands and shares the family's disappointment at this unforeseen delay in the delivery of his donor cells,' they said.
'Mateoh's donor cells are currently in transit to Australia and their delayed arrival will not adversely impact Mateoh's care.
'At all times our priority has been ensuring the donation remains viable so Mateoh's bone marrow transplant can safely proceed.'
The mother said the transplant was Mateoh's last chance, with the six-year-old previously undergoing gruelling chemotherapy and blood transfusions to keep him alive.
The family had found a previous match in Britain but they decided to decline the transplant - leaving Mateoh and his mother running out of options.
The six-year-old had undergone six weeks of treatment in preparation for the transplant which has now been delayed.
The mother said the transplant was Mateoh's last chance, with the six-year-old previously undergoing gruelling chemotherapy and blood transfusions to keep him alive
Testing will also need to be completed to see if the transplant is still viable, further prolonging the process and putting Mateoh at greater risk.
Ms Eggleton said Mateoh had undergone nine different types of treatment within the past 18 months.
'Every day it's either hospital or medication so we're constantly up at the hospital,' she said.
'I just don't understand how something like this could happen.'
She said Mateoh was due to start conditioning for the transplant next Tuesday.
Ms Eggleton said it was 'hell' watching her son struggle.
'You don't imagine your kid being sick, not for three-and-a-half-years going through all this, trialling transplants and adult chemotherapy drugs,' she said.
'In this world we live in it's like why won't anything work on him, it's frustrating.
'You've got to hold up, it's part of being a mum.'
The Muslim politician tipped to become the next SNP leader admitted yesterday that his religion also opposes gay marriage.
But Humza Yousaf promised Islam would not influence his policies if he became first minister and insisted that he 'celebrated diversity'.
The Scottish health secretary's comments came after early leadership front runner Kate Forbes lost support for saying her Christian faith means she believes marriage should be between a man and a woman and that having babies out of wedlock is wrong.
Asked about her comments on Times Radio, Mr Yousaf said: 'I couldn't come on your programme and tell you that I'm able to change what Islam says about gay marriage, or gay sex or what the mainstream Islamic view is.
'I would be lying to your viewers if I said ... everybody will know what the position on mainstream Islam in that respect is. But the question is, do people use the basis of their faith as legislating? I haven't done so, I wouldn't do so because I don't believe that's the job of legislators or policymakers.
Humza Yousaf promised Islam would not influence his policies if he became first minister and insisted that he 'celebrated diversity'. Pictured: Mr Yousaf speaks during Portfolio Questions in the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, February 22, 2023
Early leadership front runner Kate Forbes (pictured) lost support for saying her Christian faith means she believes marriage should be between a man and a woman
'I believe in a Scotland that celebrates differences, celebrates diversity, celebrates equality.
'I've been a minority my whole life in this country, I know that my rights are interdependent on everybody else's rights. You begin to chip away or regress people's rights, then you do that to my rights too. So I'm somebody who very firmly believes in progression and my track record and supporting issues of equality, including issues that affect our LGBT community are well known.'
In an interview with Channel 4 News, Mr Yousaf described himself as a practising Muslim and said he would soon be observing Ramadan, but insisted he personally supported gay marriage. Critics have pointed out, however, that he missed the key vote in the Scottish parliament on the legalisation of gay marriage in 2014.
Seen as the continuity candidate to succeed Nicola Sturgeon, Mr Yousaf backed her decision to defend the plan to allow people to 'self-identify' as the opposite sex.
He said the Scottish government should go to court to challenge Downing Street's unprecedented decision to veto the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
'Whether you disagree with the GRR Bill or not, whether you agree with the substance or not is in some respects immaterial,' he added.
'It's the principle of, do we cave in the first time the UK Government wields the red pin. And if we cave in, what kind of message does that send to the UK Government?' Meanwhile, Ms Forbes, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, has been criticised by a fellow SNP member for referring to transgender rapist Isla Bryson as a man.
Stewart Duncan said the finance secretary should be 'suspended from the party following her openly transphobic conduct and deliberate misgendering of Isla Bryson' in a TV interview.
Seen as the continuity candidate to succeed Nicola Sturgeon (left), Mr Yousaf (right) backed her decision to defend the plan to allow people to 'self-identify' as the opposite sex
Mr Yousaf has now become the bookies' favourite to lead his party and government as the continuity candidate to Ms Sturgeon (pictured)
Korea's external debt increased $32.1 billion as of end-2022 from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, led by both short and long term loans.
The country's external liabilities came to $664.5 billion as of end-2022, up from $632.4 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the finance ministry.
Of the total, the country's short-term debt that matures in a year increased $2 billion to $166.7 billion, while the long-term debt jumped $30 billion over the period to hit $497.8 billion.
The ratio of short-term debt to foreign reserves moved up 3.8 percentage points on-year to reach 39.4 percent at end-2022. A higher ratio means weaker debt-serving capability.
The ratio of short-term debt to total external liabilities fell 1 percentage point on-quarter to 25.1 percent, the data showed. It was the lowest since 23.3 percent tallied in 1998.
Meanwhile, the country's total external assets shrank $54.7 billion on-year to $1.02 trillion.
Its net external assets assets minus liabilities totaled $361.2 billion as of the end-2022, down $86.8 billion from a year earlier, the data showed.
"As uncertainties in the global financial market continue, including the direction of the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike, we plan to closely monitor the country's external debts under cooperation with related organizations," the finance ministry said. (Yonhap)
Senator Pauline Hanson will still have to pay $250,000 to former senator Brian Burston after she lost a court bid to have the payment scrapped following a Federal Court defamation decision.
The court found Senator Hanson defamed Mr Burston on Channel 9's Today show in 2019 by falsely accusing him of sexually abusing a female staffer.
Justice Robert Bromwich made a ruling in October that Mr Burston's reputation had been 'seriously damaged' by the accusation.
Mr Burston was unsuccessful in proving other accusations by Senator Hanson were defamatory, including that he sexually harassed staff in his office and in doing so brought the Senate into disrepute.
Senator Pauline Hanson (centre) will still have to pay $250,000 to former senator Brian Burston after she lost a court bid to have the payment scrapped
Following the decision, Senator Hanson submitted that there should be 'no order to costs, due to what is said to be equal success by the parties to the proceeding and an assertion that Mr Burston engaged in disentitling misconduct in bringing aspect of the case and in giving evidence'.
Mr Burston said the ordinary rule about costs applied as there was a 'substantial' verdict in his favour.
'Ms Hanson characterises the main factual issue in the case as being that Mr Burston had sexually harassed two of his staff, Ms Vairy and Ms Leach, which she had proved to be substantially true,' Justice Bromwich wrote in his decision on Wednesday.
'She relies upon the finding ... that in Mr Burston's desperation to have his perception and recollection of events accepted, he went beyond giving evidence of merely a different recollection of events and gave an account at key points that he must have known was "not correct".
'That phrase was carefully and deliberately chosen and largely related to his allegation that Ms Leach had sexually propositioned him, which I rejected.'
Justice Robert Bromwich made a ruling in October that Mr Burston's reputation had been 'seriously damaged' by the accusation (Brian Burston pictured)
Justice Bromwich said he was urged by Senator Hanson to make a finding that Mr Burston had deliberately lied on oath and demanded there be no order as to costs.
But he said he was not satisfied and still ordered the costs.
Despite his decision, Justice Bromwich conceded he found Mr Burston to be an unsatisfactory witness and could not accept his evidence on the topic of sexual harassment.
'I am not satisfied that Ms Hanson has advanced any sufficient basis for departing from the usual rule that costs follow the event. To the contrary, I am satisfied that it is appropriate and in the interests of justice that the usual rule apply,' he wrote.
Justice Bromwich found Senator Hanson incorrectly said Mr Burston sexually abused a female colleague and falsely claimed he assaulted One Nation chief of staff James Ashby in the Great Hall of parliament
Senator Hanson has been ordered to pay the filing fee to the Supreme Court, the costs and disbursements incurred from March 17, 2022 including the costs of and incidental to the final judgment.
Justice Bromwich found Senator Hanson incorrectly said Mr Burston sexually abused a female colleague and falsely claimed he assaulted One Nation chief of staff James Ashby in the Great Hall of parliament.
'I find that both (imputations) were seriously damaging to Mr Burston's reputation, being broadcast on a nationally broadcast television program watched by over 290,000 people at the time. They were both false,' Justice Bromwich wrote at the time.
In his decision, Justice Bromwich noted he accepted evidence given by other female staffers who had worked for Mr Burston that his behaviour towards them had at times been 'objectively wrong and inappropriate'.
The court found Senator Hanson defamed Mr Burston on Channel 9's Today show in 2019 by falsely accusing him of sexually abusing a female staffer (Federal Court pictured)
'Mr Burston had apparently not kept up with changes in society in relation to the rights of women, with the tide having turned even more decisively in recent years, most particularly in relation to the conduct of and around elected representatives and their staff,' Justice Bromwich wrote.
Justice Bromwich said he accepted evidence by former staffer Wendy Leach that at one point Mr Burston said to her words to the effect of, 'Oh Wendy, you probably just need a good f**k'.
Ms Vairy gave evidence to the court that Mr Burston would comment on her looks, telling her she looked 'sexy'. She also recalled 'several events' where he allegedly kissed her on the lips.
She said Mr Burston 'cupped' her face and kissed her 'hard' after one particular work meeting.
Justice Bromwich said he strongly preferred the version of events given by the two women to that of Mr Burston, who he said 'crossed an important line' towards 'giving an account that he must have known was not correct'.
Senator Hanson was represented in the case by prominent defamation lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have been issued subpoenas by the special counsel investigating Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election and his role in the January 6 Capitol riots.
Jack Smith summoned the former president's daughter and son-in-law, just two weeks after subpoenaing Mike Pence, showing he is closing in on the Trump inner circle.
Ivanka was in the White House during the Capitol riot and urged her father to address his supporters.
She was also in the Oval Office when her father asked Pence to block or delay the congressional vote to certify the election.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have been issued subpoenas by the special counsel investigating Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election
After Trump left the White House, the power couple relocated to Florida, and have given indications they have no interest in being involved in politics, and have not been involved in the 2024 presidential campaign
News of the move was first reported by the New York Times on Wednesday.
Jared Kushner flew home from the Middle East as Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, and also tried to get his father-in-law to tell them to go home.
Both were featured prominently in hearings by the House January 6 Committee after providing videotaped testimony.
They have since relocated to Florida, and have given indications they have no interest in being involved in politics, and have not been involved in Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
Ivanka made headlines with her comments backing former Attorney General Bill Barr's insistence there was no widespread fraud in the election.
When the former president announced his 2024 White House run, Ivanka said she would not be involved in the campaign.
Ivanka and Jared both served as senior unpaid advisors during his four-year term.
Ivanka had a prominent role in her father's business before he went to the White House. She had a leadership role in negotiating the lease for Trump's luxury D.C. hotel, for which the Trump Organization sold the rights after he left office. It is now a Waldorf-Astoria.
Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor in The Hague, has ramped up his investigation in recent months.
Last week he issued a subpoena to Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and asked for documents and testimony related to January 6.
Trump has repeatedly railed against the probe as a 'witch hunt.' On Wednesday he attacked another probe, by the Fulton County, Georgia DA, as a 'kangaroo court.'
Pence's lawyers are resisting the subpoena, citing his unique role as president of the Senate and separation of powers arguments.
He was not interviewed by the House January 6 panel, although public hearings featured testimony about him waiting in a Capitol garage, and about protesters who chanted 'hang Mike Pence!' that day.
Trump has repeatedly railed against the probe as a 'witch hunt.' Jared and Ivanka served as senior advisors in his White House
Special Counsel Jack Smith is overseeing the probe and has targeted Trump's inner circle
A 'kink and BDSM-inspired' mural has been vandalised in the middle of the night after many called for it to be removed.
The controversial painting on Wynyard Street in Sydney's CBD showed a hairy, overweight man wearing a leather bondage strap across his chest with a teddy bear head as he reclined on a sofa with a beer can and a gay pride flag.
It was designed to promote local shops during the WorldPride festival but sparked outrage and demands for the 'creepy and sexualised' image to be removed from the view of children.
The mural was placed close to one of the city's busiest train and bus stations, also called Wynyard.
A video on social media showed the aftermath of the destruction as a police officer looked at the mural splashed with black and white paint.
A 'kink and BDSM-inspired' WorldPride mural was vandalised overnight (pictured), after many had called for it to be taken down
A caption on the TikTok video read, 'Wow! The people have spoken. Power to the people'.
YCK Laneways - a local retailer who sponsored it - said the mural was created for WorldPride, a global event celebrating queer culture currently being hosted in Sydney.
But many city workers and visitors called the mural 'inappropriate', particularly given the teddy bear image would capture the attention of children.
While most children would have little to no understanding of BDSM or bondage, some felt the mural would trigger uncomfortable conversations.
Catlin Roper, a spokesperson for Collective Shout, an organisation that campaigns against the infiltration of pornography into the mainstream, questioned why the mural was painted.
'Whose idea was it to pair a teddy bear with BDSM for a public audience? This is creepy,' she wrote in an online comment.
The mural in Sydney's CBD depicted a man wearing bondage and a teddy bear head (above)
Poll Should the teddy bear mural have been removed before it was vandalised? Yes, it should never have been allowed No, live and let live Should the teddy bear mural have been removed before it was vandalised? Yes, it should never have been allowed 488 votes
No, live and let live 29 votes Now share your opinion
A second person wrote: 'Why is a teddy bear in bondage meant to represent pride?!
'The gay community worked hard for years to distance themselves from this sort of representation. Small children will be walking past this.'
Another angry commenter said: 'How did YCK Laneways arrive at the conclusion that a furry/BDSM clad male would be suitable for kids to walk by in their own community? This mural need to be removed as soon as possible.'
A fourth person wrote: 'Why would you think this is appropriate to display in public?!
'A fat, hairy, alcohol drinking, bondage wearing teddy bear man on display where people walk past to go to work, and in full view of children.'
Others compared the disturbing correlation between childhood imagery and sexual fantasies to the Balenciaga scandal.
The upmarket fashion house was forced to apologise for an advertising image that included teddy bears dressed in bondage.
One Sydneysider shared his thoughts about the explicit painting on TikTok.
'At what point does inclusiveness pass too far,' user Moeyreacts said.
'You've got a fat man who's naked with a cute teddy bear hat, right in Wynyard.
'This is disgusting, this is Balenciaga vibes.'
More than 1,000 viewers commented under the video with most calling for the mural to be scrapped.
'I saw that on the way to work, was considering getting bucket of black paint and covering it,' one wrote.
However, some people were in favour of the mural and told negative commenters to 'look away' if they have a problem with it.
A YCK spokesperson responded to the outrage, saying: 'YCK Laneways is an inclusive precinct which welcomes and celebrates a variety of communities and sub-cultures from across Sydney.
'The mural is in place to celebrate WorldPride and will be removed on 5 March.'
WorldPride said it was not associated with the painting.
Hundreds of outraged Sydneysiders called for the 'creepy' mural (above) to be removed or painted over
As the reported 249,000 figure for Prince Andrews allowance is the amount he first received in 1992, is it now widely underestimated? It dates from when the Queen began funding the working royals from her Duchy of Lancaster income. The subsequent annual amounts were never made public but, although the Queen was frugal, she did review the grants to Andrew and other working royals every year. Coupled with the Kings reassurance that he wont see his brother penniless, why should he have any desire to force Andrew out of Royal Lodge? It would leave HM with another white elephant along with the 21-room Apartment 1 at Kensington Palace, refurbished for Harry and Meghan before they flounced off in a huff. It now stands empty, not a good look in a cost-of-living crisis.
As the reported 249,000 figure for Prince Andrews allowance is the amount he first received in 1992, is it now widely underestimated, EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE asks
Queen Marys Crown, currently scaffolded in preparation for Camillas coronation, is causing the jewellers a headache with the removal of the contentious Koh-i-Noor centrepiece. It has left an ugly gap requiring more precious stones to be mounted in addition to the three Cullinan diamonds already in place. At least Camillas preference would have pleased Queen Mary who commissioned and paid Garrard & Co for the crown. Her wish that it be worn by all future consorts was thwarted when George VI had a new crown made for the Queen Mother. Camillas choice restores Marys vision.
Queen Marys Crown, currently scaffolded in preparation for Camillas coronation, is causing the jewellers a headache with the removal of the contentious Koh-i-Noor centrepiece
The late Queen often wore smaller Cullinan diamonds including, for Prince Philips 99th birthday, a sparkling diamond brooch with an 18.8-carat heart-shaped stone. She declined, however, to wear a string of the diamonds set in a long platinum chain, complaining that it gets in the soup.
Fuming about Sir Keir Starmers banishment of her former lover Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott rages: Liberals didnt even expel their former leader Jeremy Thorpe when he was put on trial for conspiracy to murder. But Starmer is set on expelling Jeremy Corbyn someone he once called a friend. Deep breaths, Diane!
Commemorating what would be Irish writer Brendan Behans 100th birthday, journalist Mary Kenny recalls meeting the late poet aged 12 when, after planting a toothless, blubbery kiss on her cheek, he wrote an affectionate message in her autograph book. With the self-consciousness of near-adolescence, I was mortified, she remembers. I hated the strong smell of drink off him and I resented the saliva-dripping kiss. Im sorry to say I tore up the autographed page.
Commemorating what would be Irish writer Brendan Behans 100th birthday, journalist Mary Kenny has recalled meeting the late poet aged 12. Pictured: Behan in Dublin in 1959
Helena Bonham Carters TV portrayal of Crossroads matriarch Noele Gordon revives memories of motel housekeeper Amy Turtle appearing in reception crouching, glancing from left to right and swivelling from foot to foot. Because of a script misprint Amy was hovering instead of hoovering.
When Buckingham Palace announced in November that Queen Elizabeth II's most senior lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, was resigning her post after being engulfed in a 'racism' row, there was shock and surprise at her treatment.
Now one senior member of the Royal Family has made a very public display of support for Lady Susan, the Daily Mail can disclose.
When Princess Anne realised she would not be able to attend the memorial service for Dame Frances Campbell-Preston on Tuesday at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, she turned to her mother's friend, 83, for help.
'Lady Susan was formally asked to represent the Princess Royal at the service,' a family friend said. 'She was more than happy to do so. Her official position was recorded in the order of service. It's great to see her back in the royal fold.'
Curiously, however, Lady Susan's important role was omitted from the Court Circular, the daily bulletin recording all official royal duties. It did state that the King and Queen Consort were represented at the service by the Earl of Rosslyn.
Lady Susan Hussey (pictured) has returned to performing official duties for Princess Anne
Royal sources claimed: 'It is usually only those representing the King or the Queen Consort at memorials who are recorded in the Court Circular.'
But this assertion does not stand up to scrutiny. In the past three months, the Court Circular has recorded five examples of members of the Royal Family, apart from the King and Queen Consort, being represented by others at funerals or memorial services. They include Princess Anne being represented by Brigadier Sir Melville Jameson at a funeral in December and by Mrs Timothy Holderness-Roddam at a funeral the previous month.
Adding to the intrigue, Lady Susan was spotted visiting Buckingham Palace yesterday morning. She used the staff entrance.
Many considered that Lady Susan, widow of former BBC chairman Lord (Marmaduke) Hussey, was humiliatingly hung out to dry when she was obliged to 'step aside' from royal duties after her fateful exchange with domestic abuse campaigner Ngozi Fulani at a Buckingham Palace reception. Ms Fulani had published details of their conversation on social media.
Barely had Lady Susan announced her departure from court than a spokesman for Prince William Lady Susan's godson announced that 'racism has no place in our society'.
Lady Susan was spotted visiting Buckingham Palace yesterday morning (pictured). She used the staff entrance
Many considered that Lady Susan, widow of former BBC chairman Lord (Marmaduke) Hussey, was humiliatingly hung out to dry when she was obliged to 'step aside' from royal duties
When Princess Anne realised she would not be able to attend the memorial service for Dame Frances Campbell-Preston on Tuesday at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, she turned to her mother's friend, 83
Ngozi Fulani said she felt she suffered 'a form of abuse' during her encounter with Lady Susan, who repeatedly asked her where she was 'really from', despite her making clear she was British
Ms Fulani had accompanied a friend to the reception, hosted by the Queen Consort, to highlight violence against women and girls. She said she felt she suffered 'a form of abuse' during her encounter with Lady Susan, who repeatedly asked her where she was 'really from', despite her making clear she was British.
A friend of Lady Susan said later: 'Like many people of her age, Lady Susan is rather hard of hearing. It's likely that her deafness contributed to the problems she had that day.'
After Ms Fulani made a string of media appearances, she met Lady Susan again at Buckingham Palace. That arranged encounter, a palace spokesman said, was filled with 'warmth and understanding', with Lady Susan offering 'sincere apologies' for her comments and 'the distress they had caused'. Ms Fulani accepted this and that Lady Susan had intended 'no malice'.
Lady Susan worships at a church in Southwark, south London, where the congregation is 90 per cent black. A wordshipper described her as 'a lovely, beautiful lady'. She served Queen Elizabeth for 62 years before being given the honorary position of Lady of the Household by Charles.
Last month, Lady Susan joined the King and Princess Anne at church in Sandringham. She was a private guest of the King, the palace said.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment last night.
Britain could supply replacement tanks if the ones sent to Ukraine are destroyed in battle, the Defence Secretary suggested yesterday.
Fourteen Challenger 2s will be despatched to the warzone to take part in the spring offensive against Russian occupiers.
They will take their place on the frontline next month and will be joined by hundreds of tanks from Nato allies.
Ukrainian troops are currently being trained in Britain to operate and make essential repairs to the Challenger 2s.
But should any be destroyed by the Russians, the UK could provide replacements.
Fourteen Challenger 2s will be despatched to the warzone to take part in the spring offensive against Russian occupiers
On a visit to Bovington camp in Dorset where the Ukrainians are receiving instruction, Ben Wallace said: Am I open to sending more tanks to Ukraine? Yes, because the key word is sustainability.
We will also be providing recovery vehicles and spare parts. When added to the German Leopard tanks, the Challengers will make a significant impact.
We will continue to provide the capabilities needed to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
He added: President Putins State of the Nation speech on Tuesday demonstrated just how dangerous to our security Russia has become. It is hugely inspiring to witness Ukrainian soldiers being trained on British tanks.
Their resilience and determination to succeed for the liberation of their country sends a powerful message to Russia.
The Ukrainians will spend six weeks practising on Challenger 2 main battle tanks before their return to the warzone. One soldier Sasha, 24, from Zaporizhia said the difference between the Challengers and Russian-made tanks was like sea and land.
He told the Mail: The Challengers are much smoother, the steering is better. It is an excellent tank, 100 per cent better than the T-64s and T-72s.
I am over half way through my training. I cant wait to get back. I am getting bored here. I look forward to driving the Challenger 2 into battle against the Russians.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Putins State of the Nation speech on Tuesday demonstrated 'just how dangerous to our security Russia has become'
Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (pictured: left) met with Ukrainian solders who are training at Bovington Camp in Dorset - a British Army military base
They have garbage tanks, not up to date or that effective, but there are so many of them, that is the problem.
Mr Wallace said he has been reassured following discussions with the Prime Minister and the Chancellor that defence spending will be increased as part of the Budget.
But he remains locked in negotiations with the Treasury over much additional funds the Ministry of Defence will receive. He added: With what you want to achieve in defence you cannot afford to have a bigger appetite than your stomach.
The facts speak for themselves. In recent years the Armed Forces have been hollowed out. Lets see what happens in the Budget.
He was joined at the camp by the head of the Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, who recently warned the UKs military had been left weaker as a result of sending equipment to Ukraine.
In an article for the Spectator magazine published today, historian Andrew Roberts also issued a warning over Britains fading defence capabilities.
He wrote: The British Army is now down to too few operational heavy guns to conduct a foreign war.
Other Nato countries are replacing the equipment they are sending to Ukraine in ways we are not.
President Putins State of the Nation speech on Tuesday demonstrated just how dangerous to our security Russia has become
Next months Budget would be the time to decide whether, a year after the invasion of Ukraine, Rishi Sunak really does intend to fight the Second Cold War on the cheap.
On paper, the UK has 227 of Challenger 2 tanks, which entered service in the late 1990s. In reality the number of tanks which are battle-ready is thought to be around 80 however, the MOD will not release the exact figure citing national security reasons.
Of this number, 14 have already been committed to Ukraine, leaving around 140 Challengers which essentially exist in order to provide spare parts for those tanks required for operations and exercises.
Cannibalising the fleet is necessary because many of the spare parts required for the C2s are no longer manufactured and the companies which made these parts no longer exist.
The number of Uber drivers working in an area of Ukraine does not change after there has been a missile strike, the head of the ride-hailing service in the country has revealed.
You might expect workers to flee dangerous areas as soon as alarms are raised, but according to Kateryna Netymenko, that is not the case.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she said: 'Whenever there is an air alarm, the Metro turns into a a shelter, and all public transport stops as it is too risky to carry passengers. People have no other means to move around, so drivers stay online.'
Figures show that Uber has doubled the number of Ukrainian cities it operates in since the war began exactly a year ago, with its over 25,000 active drivers.
It has also provided an impressive 100,000 free journeys for refugees, medics, patients and essential workers.
The number of Uber drivers working in an area of Ukraine does not change after there has been a missile strike, said head of the ride-hailing service in the country
Uber drivers have delivered hundreds of tonnes of emergency supplies to areas suffering from Russian occupation or missile strikes so far
Drivers are catering to a huge demand for trips - one that increased tenfold between March and December 2022.
When an area experiences a missile strike or power outages, public transport services can be significantly reduced or stopped completely.
This means that a smartphone app that can call for a car within a few minutes, like Uber, turns into a lifeline.
Ms Netymenko has been working for Uber since before the war began, and says that drivers will continue providing mobility to civilians - regardless of Russian threat.
'There was a driver who actually was pretty new to the platform,' she said.
'When he finished his 500th trip he went home to take his rest and the area got occupied by Russians.
'He stayed under the occupation for 35 days, but since he had his car with him he provided internal transportation to families who stayed there.'
Kateryna Netymenko (pictured) has been Uber's Ukraine Country Manager since before the war began, and says that drivers continue providing mobility to civilians regardless of threat
Ms Netymenko (pictured) was forced to leave Ukraine just days before the war started while 34 weeks pregnant, and was not able to return for another year
Uber initially paused its operations when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, but soon restarted when it become clear its services were necessary.
'UBER FOR UKRAINE' - LAUNCHED TODAY Uber is launching a new feature available to users in the UK, allowing them to add 1 to the price of their trip that will be donated to Ukraine. Passengers just need to pick the in-app option 'Uber for Ukraine' when choosing their service in order to contribute to UNITED24 - President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's fundraising platform. This is available to users in London from today, and will be rolled out nationwide over the next week. The option has been available in 15 other countries since March 2022, and has since raised over $3 million (2.5 million), enough for 50 ambulances. Advertisement
The company is currently operating at a loss in order to offer lower prices for customers, and higher wages for drivers.
Ms Netymenko said: 'We were initially thinking about how to help Ukrainians with the essential travel [including] their attempts to flee to safer areas.
'We launched free trips to border of Ukraine, and relaunched Uber Shuttle so they could fit more people in one ride.
'I was actually amazed by how many drivers provided evacuation services, around Kyiv and other areas.'
Drivers also started making journeys without any passengers onboard, as they delivered hundreds of tonnes of emergency supplies to areas suffering from Russian occupation or missile strikes.
This is part of a collaboration with the UN's World Food Programme, and involves using a custom-built version of its business platform, Uber Direct.
Larger vehicles face issues reaching in-need Ukrainians in built-up areas, such as structural damage and high threat of Russian bombardment.
So the initiative uses a fleet of smaller Uber vehicles such as vans to send relief items from warehouses to people in need in densely populated parts of the country.
In May, Uber also partnered with the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to transport teams of conservationists to artefacts of national significance and help evacuate them.
'Uber for Ukraine' has raised over $3 million (2.5 million) so far, enough for 50 ambulances. Pictured: Ambulance in Ukraine funded by Uber
Ms Netymenko herself was forced to leave Ukraine just days before the war started while 34 weeks pregnant, and was not able to return for another year.
When she came back she found she was reliant on the app she manages, allowing her to hear the stories from the drivers about how the conflict had impacted them.
'You wish you would get in a long queue so they could finish their story!' she said,
One driver told Ms Netymenko that he had started driving for Uber as he was unable to continue working at his previous business importing fruits.
'When the war started all the supply chain was lost,' she said.
'But he had some stock in storage so he donated all those fruits to isolated people around Kyiv.
'Many people have lost their business or job and they rely heavily on Uber as a platform to be their source of income.'
Of the 25,000 active drivers in Ukraine, over 15,000 made their first trip after the full-scale invasion.
In May, Uber partnered with the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to transport teams of conservationists to artefacts of national significance and help evacuate them
Uber is launching a new feature available to users in the UK, 'Uber for Ukraine' (pictured), allowing them to add 1 to the price of their trip that will be donated to Ukraine
Now, Uber is launching a new feature available to users in the UK, allowing them to add 1 to the price of their trip that will be donated to Ukraine.
Passengers just need to choose the in-app option 'Uber for Ukraine' in order to contribute to UNITED24 - President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's fundraising platform.
This is available to users in London from today, and will be rolled out nationwide over the next week.
The option has been available in 15 other countries since March 2022, and has since raised over $3 million (2.5 million), enough for 50 ambulances.
Ms Netymenko said: 'It might be tiring to see and hear about war every day, but for us, war is not news; it's our everyday life.
'Every moment we need support, and, although a donation of $1 or 1 can sound small, it adds up to really support Ukrainians.'
Care tasks will see the least, due to the social implications of swapping in robots
Grocery shopping will see the biggest reduction in human input in ten years
Having a never-ending list of household chores is something we could all do without.
But relief is in sight, as experts say we could be spending 39 per cent less time on these tiresome tasks in 10 years.
That's because many household chores will be automated, according to a study led by the University of Oxford.
Grocery shopping is the task predicted to see the largest reduction in human input, with 59 per cent of the effort handed over to algorithms and robots.
But when it comes to physical childcare, humans will still take on most of the responsibility, with tech predicted to take over just 20 per cent of jobs.
The percentage reduction in time we will spend doing different chores due to automation in five and ten years' time, as predicted by experts
Experts say that we could be spending 39 per cent less time on household chores in ten years, because so many of them will be automated (stock image)
Previous research has shown that Brits use about 43 per cent of the total time they spend working and studying on unpaid labour, which includes household tasks as well as caring for children or the elderly.
WHAT DID THE STUDY FIND? Experts say that we could be spending 39 per cent less time on household chores in ten years, because so many of them will be automated. Grocery shopping is the task predicted to see the largest reduction in human input, with 59 per cent of the effort handed over to algorithms and robots. But physical childcare will be the least automatable, as tech is thought to take over just 20 per cent of the job in the next decade. Care work tasks were seen to be less automatable than housework tasks, with time spent doing them predicted to reduce by 28 per cent in ten years Time spent doing housework was predicted to decrease by 44 per cent over the same period thanks to AI. This difference was not pinned to technological limitations, rather lack of demand for it due to the negative social implications of replacing care work with robots. Advertisement
Plus, a study last year revealed that women in the UK do 70 minutes more housework each day than men.
The gender imbalance is even more pronounced in Japan, as 18 per cent of working-age men spend around half as much time on housework than working-age women, compared to 50 per cent in the UK.
For the new study, published today in PLOS ONE, researchers asked 65 AI experts from the UK and Japan to estimate the extent to which everyday tasks will be automated in five and 10 years time.
They claimed that the time we spend doing housework will decrease by 44 per cent over the next ten years, thanks to AI.
While grocery shopping came out on top, robots are predicted to take on a lion's share of the chores inside the house
They will reduce the amount of time we spend washing dishes by 47 per cent, as well as cleaning the house and cooking meals by 46 per cent, according to the experts.
And it's good news if you hate laundry day, as experts predict that AI will also be able to automate 43 per cent of the clothes washing process, and even reduce the time it takes to dry and fold it all up by 44 per cent.
'[AI] could free up additional hours from people's lives for paid work and leisure, especially for women,' the authors wrote.
'It could in principle reduce the demand for domestic and care workers in aging societies like the UK and especially Japan and conversely diminish opportunities for migrant workers from other lower-income countries.'
In contrast, care work tasks were seen to be less automatable than housework tasks, with time spent doing them predicted to reduce by 28 per cent in the same period.
This difference was not pinned to technological limitations, rather lack of demand for it due to the negative social implications of replacing care work with robots.
These include the 'social acceptability of delegating childcare to machines', its 'developmental impacts on the child' and its 'privacy implications'.
Robots that do domestic chores, like the Roomba vacuum cleaner, have become the most widely produced and sold robots in the world (stock image)
Many different robots capable of performing tasks related to elderly care have already been developed, and tested in Japan and the UK. Pictured: A robot that has notified a care worker that an elderly person has fallen
This is despite the boom in educational technologies since the COVID pandemic resulted in school closures.
Indeed, many different robots capable of performing tasks related to elderly care have already been developed and tested in Japan and the UK.
The study authors also aimed to see whether the gender identity of the experts played a part in their predictions.
Male experts from the UK were more optimistic about the level of automation that could be achieved with domestic labour than the female.
However, the opposite was the case for the Japanese experts, which the study authors say could be reflective of the 'stark gender disparities' in labour division in the country.
The authors hope the findings will help to shape the future of work.
'We sought to offer a modest corrective to the lack of attention afforded to unpaid domestic work in analyses of work and labour,' they concluded.
'This matters today, because immense resources, private and public, are being directed towards trying to manage the future of work.'
If you're afraid of spiders, you might want to look away now.
Scientists have revealed footage of a terrifying noble false widow spider feeding on an unsuspecting pygmy shrew for the first time.
The gruesome incident occurred in Chichester, West Sussex, where the small mammal was found entangled in a spider's web.
While the shrew was still alive when it was discovered, the spider's venom soon took effect, allowing it to hoist the shrew into the rafters to be devoured.
Dr Michel Dugon, Head of the Venom Systems Lab at the University of Galway and lead author of the study, said: 'The noble false widow is perfectly adapted to take down large prey, combining potent venom, extremely strong silk, and complex hunting behaviour.'
Scientists have revealed footage of a terrifying noble false widow spider feeding on an unsuspecting pygmy shrew for the first time
The noble false widow is the largest false widow species, with males typically growing to body lengths of up to 0.4 inches (10mm) and females up to 0.5 inches (14mm).
The noble false widow spider The noble false widow is the largest false widow species, with males typically growing to body lengths of up to 0.4 inches (10mm) and females up to 0.5 inches (14mm). 'Noble false widows are not native to the UK, but are thought to have arrived from the Canary Islands in banana boxes in the late 1800s,' the Wildlife Trust explains on its website. 'Populations became established along the south coast and have since spread north, likely aided in their expansion by global warming.' Advertisement
'Noble false widows are not native to the UK, but are thought to have arrived from the Canary Islands in banana boxes in the late 1800s,' the Wildlife Trust explains on its website.
'Populations became established along the south coast and have since spread north, likely aided in their expansion by global warming.'
The extraordinary discovery was made by Dawn Sturgess, who was shocked to find a small creature entangled in a spider's web in a bedroom at her home in Chichester.
While Ms Sturgess was unsure what the creature was, it was later identified as the pygmy shrew, Sorex minutus, by the lengths of tooth rows.
The shrew was still alive, but this didn't last long, thanks to the spider's highly potent neurotoxic venom.
Before long, the shrew was incapacitated enough for the spider to hoist it upwards into the rafters, where is wrapped it in silk and fed off it for three days.
According to the researchers, this is the first time a member of this family of spiders has been recorded preying on a shrew in Ireland or in Britain.
It is also the first time for any species of false widow spider to prey on shrews anywhere in the world.
The extraordinary discovery was made by Dawn Sturgess, who was shocked to find a small creature entangled in a spider's web in a bedroom at her home in Chichester
The noble false widow is the largest false widow species, with males typically growing to body lengths of up to 0.4 inches (10mm) and females up to 0.5 inches (14mm)
Dr John Dunbar, senior author of the study said: 'The noble false widow is a very intriguing spider, and we have much to learn about it still.
'We are very grateful to the members of the public who share their observations with us.
'This allows us to understand better how this invasive species may impact us and our environment.'
While this is the first time a false widow spider has been seen eating a pygmy shrew, that's not to say the species hasn't targeted large animals before.
In 2021, the researchers recorded a false widow spider lifting a gecko off the ground, using its sik threads as a pully system.
'It appears that the noble false widow spider used an identical method to hoist the shrew higher up the web,' the researchers concluded.
It's thought one died within hours or minutes after surgery called trephination
Remains of two brothers with an infectious disease found in Tel Megiddo in Israel
While brain surgery is often thought of as a modern procedure, a new discovery suggests that a gruesome, primitive form was being performed in Israel 3,500 years ago.
Scientists excavating a Bronze Age tomb in Israel have discovered the remains of two high status brothers who lived around 1500 BC and were severely ill with an infectious disease, likely leprosy.
Researchers say the pair were likely elite members of society and possibly even royals.
One of the brothers opted to have a surgery called trephination performed, which involves a piece of bone being drilled and removed from the skull.
It's thought this brother died hours or even minutes after the surgery, although other ancient surgeries of this type were successful.
Trephination or trepanning is one of the oldest surgical procedures known to humanity and involves a piece of bone being drilled and removed from the skull. Images show evidence of trepanning in Individual 1
Facial trauma of Individual 1, the older brother who had trepanning done. Arrows highlight the abnormal shape of the anterior right nasal and the depression in the left maxilla (the bone of the upper jaw)
The analysis of the remains was led by Rachel Kalisher of Brown University, Rhode Island and published today in the journal PLOS One.
What is trephination? Trephination or trepanning is a procedure which was done throughout history. It involves removing a section of the skull and was often done on animals and humans. The first recorded proof of this was done on a cow in the Stone Age 3,000 years ago. It was a process that was still being conducted in the 18th century. The belief was that for many ailments that involved severe pain in the head of a patient, removing a circular piece of the cranium would release the pressure. Advertisement
'We have evidence that trephination has been this universal, widespread type of surgery for thousands of years,' said Kalisher, a bioarchaeologist at Brown University.
'But in the Near East, we don't see it so often there are only about a dozen examples of trephination in this entire region.
'My hope is that adding more examples to the scholarly record will deepen our field's understanding of medical care and cultural dynamics in ancient cities in this area.'
The two skeletons were buried in a tomb beneath an elite residence in the archaeological site of Tel Megiddo in Israel.
The tomb dates to the Late Bronze Age (around 1550-1450 BC) and DNA testing suggests the buried individuals were brothers.
The brothers were buried with fine painted Cypriot pottery, 'other fine wares and precious materials' and even sheep and goat remains suggestive of high society.
Both were shown to have evidence of sustained iron deficiency anaemia in childhood that likely stunted growth.
They had extensive lesions on the bones, evidence of chronic and debilitating disease like tuberculosis or leprosy potentially one of the oldest examples of leprosy in the world.
As they were brothers, the men may have had shared susceptibility to the condition, according the researchers.
'The shared epigenetic landscape may have predisposed them to similar types of disorders and illnesses,' the experts say in their paper.
The two individuals were buried in a tomb beneath an elite residence in the archaeological site of Tel Megiddo in Israel
The two brothers were buried with fine Cypriot pottery, 'other fine wares and precious materials'
But there were some distinguishing characteristics between the two sets of remains that reveal more about their story.
Individual A was aged between 21 and 46 years when he died, while Individual B passed away in his late teens or early 20s.
The two brothers Individual A - Aged 21 to 46 years at death - Healed lesions consistent with lesions of the skull (cribra orbitalia) - Extra molar in one corner of his mouth - Possible congenital syndrome such as Cleidocranial dysplasia - Trephination performed prior to death Individual B - Late teens to early 20s - Minor signs of healed cribra orbitalia - 'Widespread pathological lesions' Advertisement
Individual A has a square hole at the top of the head evidence of trepanning that measures 1.26 inch by 1.22 inch (32mm by 31mm) at its widest point.
It was formed by a series of intersecting notches at each corner, likely with an instrument with 'a sharp beveled edge, leaving clean margins'.
Trephination was used to treat various medical disorders by relieving pressure buildup in the skull, but the lack of bone healing suggests the man died during or shortly after surgery within days, hours or perhaps even minutes.
Researchers 'can't be certain' whether he died of the procedure or because of the disease, but it was certainly performed when he was alive.
'We know that there was no healing of the trephination,' Kalisher told MailOnline.
'But we can't be sure if the trephination was the cause or if the individual was dying anyways and the trephination just didn't help.'
This treatment, although grim, likely wouldn't have been accessible to most citizens of Megiddo, again reflecting the brothers' privileged status in life.
Individual A died after Individual B, who died first at a younger age, decomposed and was then reburied when his brother died.
The advanced state of the pair's lesions indicates that, despite the severity of the condition, they survived many years longer than they would have done, had they not enjoyed the luxury of wealth and status.
Left: Trephination with part of the excised cranial piece from Individual A refitted like a jigsaw. Right: Both extant pieces found during analysis
Kalisher (pictured) is pursuing a follow-up research project that will investigate trephination across multiple regions and time periods, which she hopes will shed more light on ancient medical practices
Archaeologists know that people have practiced cranial trephination for thousands of years, and doctors today perform a similar procedure, called a craniotomy, to relieve pressure in the brain.
Evidence suggests ancient civilizations across the globe, from South America to Africa and beyond, performed the surgery.
The oldest skulls showing evidence of trepanation date back to around 6000 BC and were found in North Africa and Europe, but this case represents the earliest example of trephination found in the Ancient Near East.
'Among the study's multiple findings, we wish to highlight the special type of cranial trephination, the earliest of its kind in the region,' the authors say in their paper.
'This uncommon procedure was done on an elite individual with both developmental anomalies and infectious disease, which leads us to posit that this operation may have been an intervention to deteriorating health.'
Robert Gallucci, a former U.S. nuclear negotiator, is seen speaking during a webinar hosted by the Stimson Center, a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, on Feb. 21, in this captured image. Yonhap
The United States is right in pursuing a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but needs to consider changing methods to achieve its objective, U.S. experts said Tuesday.
They argued the U.S. could, or should, consider removing sanctions on the impoverished North to induce dialogue.
"Let me start with U.S. policy objective. I've given that an A minus," Robert Gallucci said in a webinar, titled "A Mid-Term Report Card for Biden's North Korea Policy."
Gallucci, a former U.S. negotiator in denuclearization talks with North Korea, said there existed an ongoing debate in Washington over whether it would be wise for the U.S. to give up its objective of completely denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
"I think the debate is appropriate and I am glad it's happening, but I think the correct answer is the one the administration came to," he told the webinar hosted by the Stimson Center, a nonprofit think tank based in Washington.
"Complete denuclearization is still the right goal," he added.
U.S. policy or tactics for achieving its objective, however, has not worked, insisted Gallucci, currently a professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
"If the strategy is pressure plus sanctions ... one of the things that comes out of this is that it doesn't work and it hasn't worked. That if the idea of pressure and sanctions together is to drive the North Koreans into negotiations and ultimately a bargain with the United States, it just hasn't been working," he said.
North Korea has stayed away from any denuclearization talks since 2019.
The Joe Biden administration has consistently offered to sit with the North Koreans since coming into office in early 2021, but Pyongyang has shown little, if any, interest in engaging with the U.S.
Robert Carlin, a research fellow at 38 North, argued the U.S. needs to do more to restart dialogue with the North than repeating that it has no hostile intent toward Pyongyang.
"There was a period in the first three months of 2022 when the Russians and the Chinese made a concerted effort, I think, to signal to the Americans that what was necessary was not this repetition of jingles, and jingles is the Chinese term they used to describe what we were doing, but we needed to take practical steps," said Carlin.
"Interestingly, the North Koreans picked that up and began to replay that, which to me meant they were saying, "Yes, let's see some meat on the table first"," he added.
Carlin is said to have visited North Korea more than 30 times as a policy adviser at the now-defunct Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, a project that was designed to build light water reactors in the energy-stricken North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang giving up its nuclear ambition.
Gallucci agreed that the U.S. needs to make the first move.
"They (North Koreans) think we are the stronger part of the two when they are speaking honestly, and they don't understand why we don't do what the stronger party is supposed to do, which is make the first concession," said Gallucci.
To this end, Gallucci said the U.S. may consider two things easing sanctions on North Korea and reducing joint military exercises with South Korea.
"There's a reason to have sanctions in place other than to motivate the North, and it's a demonstration of that serious concern about activity which we regard as illegitimate, even if we don't think the sanctions are going to have that kind of enormous impact, and it's going to change policy in the North," he said.
Susan Thornton, former U.S. acting assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, is seen speaking during a webinar hosted by the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank on Feb. 21, in this captured image. Yonhap
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Is there a more hushed and zen-minded hotel in London than the Prince Akatoki? I doubt it.
Tucked behind stunning Georgian houses in a crescent near Marble Arch, the quietness hits you as soon as you enter.
In the lobby theres cool furniture designed to be both sculptural and comfortable, all in calming neutral tones, and a fire flickers in one corner. Madonnas London home is directly opposite the hotel: her staff have been known to come here to use Prince Akatokis small working space, called the Sanctuary. Perhaps they need the peace.
Formerly the Arch, this privately owned establishment on Great Cumberland Place became Londons only Japanese hotel in 2019, and went straight into the five-star bracket.
Upstairs there are 82 rooms that would make TV Queen of Clean Marie Kondos heart sing. Theres no extraneous design, little decor, simple leather chairs, speakers, bedside lights, white sofas and a screen with a faint outline of Mount Fuji behind the beds headboard.
Sarah Turner stays at Prince Atatoki (pictured), a five-star bolthole that's known as Londons only Japanese hotel
Soothing: Above is one of the 82 rooms, complete with an outline of Mount Fuji behind the bed
'Is there a more hushed and zen-minded hotel in London than the Prince Akatoki?' wonders Sarah
The hotel is tucked behind stunning Georgian houses in a crescent near Marble Arch
Madonnas London home is directly opposite the Prince Akatoki hotel: her staff have been known to go there to use its small working space, called the Sanctuary
In the bathroom, things get a little more high-tech the toilet seat has a remote control that lets you heat it up. It also has lights and the ability to blow warm air, in a helpful way.
Although I could have simply admired our room for ages, we force ourselves downstairs. The bar, Malt, is where the hotels trademark calm is accessorised with cocktails in a clubby, wood-panelled room. I enjoy a tasty drink with citrusy yuzu, rum and Japanese tea bitters, my companion savours a whisky with sesame oil, syrup and Angostura bitters.
One of the joys of going to a Japanese restaurant is that its perfectly acceptable to leave ordering in the hands of the waiters. In the Prince Akatoki restaurant, called Tokii, our waiter suggests nigiri with salmon and tuna, followed by wagyu beef. Its all delightfully fresh, delicately spiced and of course beautifully presented. This includes the pudding, where yuzu and raspberry are matched with a more western concoction: a creme brulee. The sommelier had superb wine, but there was also a full collection of sake.
Back in our room, someone has laid out traditional yukatas Japanese house coats for us, complete with a diagram showing how to tie them. In the bathroom I laugh uproariously as I stare at the remote control for a long time, wondering how it flushes the loo, before I see a notice telling me that flushing is done in the old-fashioned, British way.
Tokii, the hotel's restaurant (pictured), serves Japanese dishes like nigiri with salmon and tuna and wagyu beef
'Its all delightfully fresh, delicately spiced and of course beautifully presented,' Sarah says of her food at Tokii. The restaurant has superb wine, as well as a full collection of sake. Above are the restaurant's tasty dishes
The bar, Malt (above), is where the hotels trademark calm is accessorised with cocktails in a clubby, wood-panelled room
And so to bed, which is a long way from being a futon; its a deep mattress on a proper bedstead that overlooks Madonnas pad but the shutters across the road are closed.
Breakfast in the morning provides the option of British, with eggs and sausage, or Japanese. We opt for the latter, with miso soup, steamed vegetables, tofu and omelette, all served in a lacquer box.
It comes with matcha tea, but theres a limit to how Japanese I can be before 10am and instead opt for a cappuccino.
No sooner do most travellers cross the Channel than they hightail it through northern France, heading to warmer climes in the south or snowier ones in the Alps. But those who zip along the autoroute are missing out this corner of France is home to a city with all the right ingredients for the perfect city break.
Historic Arras is located in the Hauts-de-France region, just 34 miles from Lille and 113 miles north of Paris, both of which are served by direct Eurostar services. Its so easy to get to both places that many French choose to live in Arras and commute to the larger cities by TGV train.
Arras is famous for its architecture, filled with tunnels and caves that pepper the ground beneath the city centre. But thats not the only reason you should make Arras your next weekend getaway. In addition to great food, friendly locals and charming accommodation options, you should, quite simply, get here before everyone else finds out about it.
The history of Arras dates from Roman times but the market squares the Grand Place and the smaller Place des Heros in the historic centre were constructed in the Middle Ages. Standing tall in the latter is the 16th Century town hall and Unesco-listed belfry that soars 250ft skywards, topped with a gilded lion.
An elevator travels almost to the top, where a narrow, wraparound balcony offers views over the city and surrounding countryside, including the Cathedral of Arras and Museum of Fine Arts housed in a majestic abbey (which is also well worth a visit).
Katja Gaskell visits historic Arras, a city in France's Hauts-de-France region that offers great food, friendly locals and charming accommodation options
The picture-perfect squares are so impeccably preserved that its hard to believe 80 per cent of the city was destroyed in the First World War. Thanks to fastidious planning by Philip II of Spain (Arras was under Spanish rule from 1556 to 1714 and Philip decreed that all buildings in the main squares be built uniform in style and design), the city was left with detailed blueprints. In 1919, these were used to help rebuild the city as new.
Today, both the Grand Place and Place des Heros are lined with handsome buildings that house shops, cafes, restaurants and a handful of hotels. Book one of four rooms with a view in the delightful La Cour des Grands. Doubles cost from 71 per night (lacourdesgrandsarras.com).
Visit on a balmy summers evening and the squares buzz with the sound of locals and visitors enjoying dinner and drinks. Try La Passe Pierre (lapassepierre.fr) for tasty local dishes and Chez Marcel (chez-marcel-arras.metro.bar) for an excellent range of local craft beer.
Visit during La Fete de LAndouillette in August and the squares are lined with long wooden tables where diners sit side by side feasting on the local speciality: tripe sausage.
But its not just above ground where the action takes place in Arras. The region is rich in limestone, which was quarried from the 9th Century, resulting in an underground landscape that my guide says resembles Swiss cheese.
Cultural gem: The Museum of Fine Arts, housed in a majestic abbey, is well worth a visit, Katja reveals
Spend the night outdoors at one of the delightful cabins at Domaine Natureza, which includes a cabin suspended in the sky
Book a room with a view in the city's delightful La Cour des Grands hotel (above)
These boves (caves) have played a vital role in the citys history, having been used by Allied soldiers in the First World War. Before the Battle of Arras in 1917, 24,000 soldiers lived in these tunnels. As well as dormitories, there were kitchens, latrines, command centres and a 700-bed hospital. You can visit Wellington Tunnels on a guided tour (carrierewellington.com).
Because of its compact size, you can quickly be in the countryside and verdant landscape around Arras. Its perfect to explore by electric bike, or by kayak along the Scarpe river at Riverside Park. Details of both tours and rentals can be found at the tourist office (arraspaysdartois.com).
Spend the night in the outdoors at one of the delightful cabins at Domaine Natureza, which includes a cabin suspended in the sky. The owners can also help arrange hot-air balloon rides over the city the most magical way to end your visit. Doubles from 195 per night (domainenatureza.fr).
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Budget airline Wizz Air has been named the worst short-haul airline by Which?, coming bottom of a ranking that is topped by Jet2.
The 2023 ranking was produced by a survey the consumer champion conducted of over 8,000 UK travellers, who were invited to rate carriers they'd used on a range of criteria, including customer service, value for money and boarding experience.
Budapest-based Wizz Air received a customer score of 48 per cent, a total that Which? describes as 'dire'.
Which? reveals: 'Travellers gave it merely one star out of five for boarding experience, as well as for cabin environment and seat comfort - unsurprising given the airline has some of the least generous legroom of the airlines [we have] surveyed. The airline's seat pitch, the distance between two rows in standard economy, is a full two inches smaller than even its budget rival Ryanair.'
Wizz Air achieved no higher than two stars in any of the remaining categories, including value for money and customer service.
Plane speaking: Above are the full results of Which?'s short-haul airline survey for 2023
Which? says: 'One unhappy customer reported their flight was "an unpleasant experience" and there were repeated complaints about delays. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data revealed the airline was among the worst offenders for punctuality last year, with just 56 per cent of flights arriving on time. Of the short-haul airlines included in the survey, only Tui fared worse for punctuality, with less than half (45 per cent) of its flights on time.'
Which? notes that Wizz Air has expanded rapidly, but that 'its growth has not come without disruption and uncertainty for passengers, with routes frequently paused or shelved altogether'.
'Just last April,' Which? says, 'it launched a number of new routes from Cardiff Airport, before announcing that most of these would be pulled from the market over the winter period - despite many customers having already booked. The CAA has also previously raised concerns about high volumes of complaints about the airline via the Alternative Dispute Resolution Scheme and the courts.'
Ryanair (52 per cent), Eurowings (53 per cent), British Airways (56 per cent) and Lufthansa (57 per cent) finished just ahead of Wizz Air.
Which? reveals that Ryanair 'received a clutch of one and two-star scores, including just one star for boarding experience, seat comfort, food and drink and cabin environment, with one respondent summing up their experience as "just awful"'.
There is some good news for the Irish airline, though.
Which? continues: 'Customers reported more favourably on both customer service and the value for money offered, awarding three stars in each of these categories, with passengers praising the "good, competitive pricing".'
The consumer rights advocate adds that 'the airline was also notably more reliable than the overall survey average, with just 0.5 per cent of its flights cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice something it had in common with some of the highest-rated airlines'.
Budget airline Wizz Air has been named the worst short-haul airline by Which?
Jet2.com earns its top-of-the-podium spot thanks to a customer score of 80 per cent
Food, delays, lost bags - tell us about YOUR nightmare flights. Email tips@dailymail.com Advertisement
Ryanair didn't perform so well on punctuality, though, with just 65 per cent of flights arriving on time.
Flag carrier British Airways also comes under fire in the survey.
Which? says: 'British Airways, once considered among the country's premium airlines, was widely panned by survey respondents, with one traveller remarking that they felt their experience was "a race to the bottom, providing as little as possible and making cattle class sound like something better". The airline scored only two stars for boarding, seat comfort and value for money, and no more than three stars in any other category. In total, 2.3 per cent of its flights were cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice, making it among the least reliable airlines surveyed.'
The 'worst offender' for last-minute cancellations was Eurowings, according to the survey, with the airline cancelling 3.4 per cent of its flights within 24 hours of departure, followed by Flybe (3.1 per cent), now in administration, and Guernsey-based Aurigny Air Service, which despite rating highly on punctuality, suffered a number of cancellations last year, in part due to bad weather on its remote Alderney route (three per cent).
Jet2.com, meanwhile, earns its top-of-the-podium spot thanks to a customer score of 80 per cent and an impressive haul of stars across the various categories.
Travellers awarded it an 'impressive' five stars for customer service, with multiple customers praising the helpful and friendly staff, Which says?, adding: 'One remarked that the airline "excelled in all areas of customer support", while another claimed it is "the best airline by a country mile".'
The airline, reveals the consumer group, once again achieves Which? Recommended Provider status.
Turkish airlines places second in the Which? survey, but is denied a Which? Recommended Provider badge
Norwegian Airlines is the only other carrier to achieve the coveted Which? Recommended Provider badge in short-haul, with Which? explaining that 'high-scoring Turkish Airlines and Finnair were rejected for having terms and conditions that allow them to cancel passengers' return journeys if they miss their outbound flight through no fault of their own'.
Norwegian achieved a customer score of 74 per cent, and performed 'well above average on both cancellations and delays', with an 'impressive' 80 per cent of its flights on time last year, and just 0.6 per cent cancelled at short notice.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: 'We are extremely proud to be the only (UK-based) short-haul airline to receive Which? Recommended Provider status and to be repeatedly recognised for the way we look after customers and independent travel agents. This coveted badge from the UKs consumer champion demonstrates how our standards of customer care exceed other short-haul airlines.'
The poorly performing airlines defend themselves
Wizz Air said: 'At Wizz Air, we do everything possible to ensure that passengers reach their destination on time and with minimal delay. We invest heavily into time performance, which is key to our ultra-efficient business model. A number of issues affecting the global aviation industry contributed to a worse time performance in 2022. These issues resulted from a widespread shortage in staff, in particular within air traffic control, ground operations and baggage handling, security and across airports. We are committed to constantly reviewing processes to mitigate these issues and are seeing an overall improvement in the on-time performance of our routes.
'Wizz Air operates a fleet of brand new, state-of-the-art Airbus aircraft, with an average age of 4.6 years, which offer passengers comfort, space, and modern interiors. The A321neo features the widest single-aisle cabin configuration with 239 18-inch-wide seats. Every aircraft is cleaned after each flight and deep cleaned every night. The onboard menu is reviewed and updated on a bi-monthly basis and, following customer feedback, a local products range was recently introduced on all Wizz Air UK flights. We welcome all customer feedback, so that we can continuously refine our processes to further enhance customer experience.'
Which? reveals that Ryanair, which comes second from bottom, 'received a clutch of one and two-star scores, including just one star for boarding experience, seat comfort, food and drink and cabin environment, with one respondent summing up their experience as "just awful"'
A British Airways spokesperson said: 'We don't feel this small survey, conducted during one of the most challenging periods in global aviation, accurately represents the views of the tens of millions of customers who've chosen to fly with us over the same period. While we don't claim to get everything right every time, we continue to be recognised for the service we offer, recently winning Best Airline 2022 at the News UK Travel Awards and nine Business Traveller Awards over the past two years.
'Our customers tell us they appreciate being able to choose from a range of cabins, flying to and from central airports at convenient times of the day, plus our investment in new aircraft, new seating, Wi-Fi, new menus, the complimentary snacks and water we offer in our short-haul economy cabin, and the most generous hand baggage allowance of any UK airline.'
A Tui spokesperson said: 'This Which? survey once again only speaks to less than one per cent of our customers, and therefore cannot be used as an accurate reflection.'
Ryanair and Eurowings did not reply to a request for comment.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: 'Travellers have had a torrid time in recent years, with last-minute delays and cancellations an unacceptably common occurrence. While airlines like Jet2.com have distinguished themselves by offering flyers excellent customer care and a reliable service, too many of their competitors continually fail to measure up.
'If alternative carriers are available for your route, avoid Wizz Air, as its poor record on customer care means you're likely to be left high and dry in the event your flight is delayed or cancelled.'
Last year MailOnline Travel reported that a British holidaymaker vowed never to use Wizz Air again after the airline cancelled her flight from Portugal to London with just eight hours' notice and was unable to help with rebooking an alternative flight or finding hotel accommodation.
For the full results visit www.which.co.uk/reviews/airlines/article/best-and-worst-airlines-in-2023.
Food, delays, lost bags - tell us about YOUR nightmare flights. Email tips@dailymail.com
The Costa del Sol has issued a blistering 'leave tourism alone' message as fears grow over a new EU tourist tax.
Tourism leaders have said they are completely against the idea which could force Brits to pay an extra 7 (6.20) every time they want to go on holiday to Spain.
In a clear message to the EU, one of the Costa del Sol's leading politicians has told it to stop meddling and leave Spain to manage its own tourism affairs.
Earlier this week, the tourism organisation Mesa del Turismo sounded an urgent warning about losing millions of Brits if the European Union introduces a new tourist tax later this year.
The group says it could be a major problem for Spain, describing the potential new charge as a 'threat'.
The Costa del Sol has issued a blistering 'leave tourism alone!' message as fears grow over a new EU tourist tax (file pic: aerial view of Costa del Sol, Benalmadena, Malaga, Spain)
In its general assembly, the group expressed concern about the creation of the new tourist tax for non-EU visitors who enter the Schengen Area.
The European Union could begin to apply this rate from November, under the name of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) and would entail the payment of 7 per non-EU tourist.
This would be on top of any local tourist tax in the growing number of Spanish regions which charge 2-5 for each night spent in hotel accommodation.
In a statement on Monday, the board said: '[We are] especially concerned about the impact of this EU tax on British tourism, our main issuing market with 18 million arrivals in 2019.
'It must also be taken into account that the measure - if it goes ahead - will be added to the rest of local taxes that the tourist is already paying to visit certain European cities.'
Francisco Salado, president of Malaga's provincial council, also spoke out against the EU tax.
'Leave tourism alone!' he told a Press conference.
'Tourism works very well on its own through the sector and the agents involved such as Turismo Costa del Sol and Turismo Andaluz.'
Talking to journalists, he said tourism was the economic engine of Malaga and Andalusia and criticised the prospective tax.
He added: 'Stop inventing. Every time we introduce a product, we do it because we improve tourism quality and, in the end, an imposition does not improve the quality.
'What it does is put a cost on the final product and makes us less competitive.
'The EU is always inventing how to put new taxes on the municipalities.
'They legislate up there and we, the city councils and the citizens, pay. I think it is a lack of loyalty that local administrations are not there when making these decisions.'
The president of the provincial council of Malaga, pictured, has spoken out against the tax
Another concern raised by the Mesa earlier this week was over Lufthansa's plan to convert the Rome Fiumicino airport into its new hub for intercontinental routes to Asia, America and Africa.
The group said: 'This move would undermine the Madrid Barajas hub, which currently concentrates air traffic with Latin America and, consequently, would decrease the relevance of the Spain brand.'
The ETIAS will apply to visitors from visitors from 63 countries - including Britain - outside the European Union. It was first confirmed by the EU in August 2021.
The scheme will be similar to the US's Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) system - which allows citizens from 40 countries a 90-day visa-free stay.
Like the US system, the ETIAS will allow people visa-free entry for up to 90 days, during which visitors are not allowed to work or study, but can 'engage in business and tourism activities,' according to the Schengen visa info website.
The EU's version will be valid for up to three years - and will count for multiple entries. Those under 18 and over 70 will be exempt from the fee.
The website states visitors 'can enter the Schengen member states as many times as you want, for as long as your ETIAS is valid, and you have not stayed more than 90 days in a 180-day period.'
Hugo Armstrong and Tayla Winter failed to find a spark on their wedding day and things did not improve between the pair on their honeymoon.
The Married At First Sight intruders slept separately - with the IT account executive, 32, seemingly banished to the couch for the whole experiment.
However footage leaked to an Instagram gossip page on Tuesday showed the nurse, 27, wasn't as harsh as the show made her out to be, revealing she traded places with her 'groom' on the following night.
In the video posted by MAFS Gossip, Winter filmed some behind-the-scenes footage as she and Armstrong turned in for the night.
Viewers could see Armstrong stretched out on the mattress in his pyjamas, half way beneath the covers as Winter asked him how the bed was.
Hugo Armstrong, 32, and Tayla Winter, 27, (pictured) failed to find a spark on their wedding day and things did not improve between the pair on their honeymoon
'Not bad. Good size,' Armstrong responded, as his bride laughed.
She then panned the camera over to the couch which was done up with pillows and blankets.
'And here's my bed. For anyone who's asking,' she said.
The Married At First Sight intruders slept separately with the IT account executive (pictured) seemingly banished to the couch for the whole experiment
The Instagram account captioned the post: 'Leaked behind the scenes footage from Hugo Armstrong and Tayla Winters honeymoon shows he actually slept on the bed. Cant always believe what you see on TV.'
Married At First Sight's producers have long been accused of manufacturing drama.
And another unfortunate editing fail from Monday night's episode of the dating show has appeared to prove this theory.
However, footage leaked to an Instagram gossip page on Tuesday showed the nurse, 27, wasn't as harsh as the show made her out to be, revealing she traded places with her 'groom' on the following night
During Winter and Armstrong's wedding, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the guest walking the bride down the aisle was wearing an earpiece in his left ear.
While the device was hidden, it became visible when he turned his head to the side while walking Tayla towards her new groom.
Reality stars often wear earpieces during filming so they can receive instructions from producers.
Married At First Sight will return to Channel Nine and 9Now on Wednesday night.
He's the lovable larrikin who wowed Married At First Sight viewers with his blue collar charisma.
And Ryan Gallagher visited a specialist this week to erase his tattoos at Extinkt Tattoo Removal in Sydney.
The session appeared to be a success, with the 34-year-old sharing the results on Instagram this week.
While there is still some work to go before his goal is achieved, Ryan was all smiles as he showed off his chest while laying on a bed.
Only a faint outline of some tattoos could be seen, while the majority of his tanned chest appeared to be bare.
Married At First Sight star Ryan Gallagher visited a specialist this week to erase his tattoos at Extinkt Tattoo Removal in Sydney
'Cant believe how much my tattoos have faded, Im so close to the finish line,' he wrote.
He has already reaped the rewards after his tattoo removal journey started two years ago.
'If anyone is over there tattoos, get started as soon as possible,' he added.
Ryan starred on the 2018 season of MAFS, but his 'marriage' to Davina Rankin fell apart when she had an affair.
The session appeared to be a success, with the 34-year-old sharing the results on Instagram this week
He has since appeared on several reality shows, including I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and The Challenge.
Now romantically linked to swimmer Emily Seebohm, they had met while filming the latter series in Argentina.
The couple went public about their relationship after the show finished airing on TV.
They made a glamorous pair posing for photos at St Kilda West Beach in Melbourne for the Twilight Beach Polo earlier this month.
Sister Wives star Kody Brown's 21-year-old daughter Gwendlyn did not hold back as she criticized her father's past behavior during his relationship with ex Meri.
After watching an episode of his hit TLC series, the Northern Arizona University student slammed her dad's decision to string along his former spouse, 52, at the end of their marriage in a YouTube video.
Gwendlyn, who Kody shares with his ex-wife Christine Brown, expressed sympathy for Meri after seeing her father publicly declare that he did not not 'consider' himself married to her and would be fine with the mother-of-one moving on.
'The thing is, he is just leading her on at this point,' Gwendlyn said as she watched the confessional play out.
The reality star, who is engaged to fiancee Beatriz Queiroz, 'It is so unfortunate to see my dad going off on how he and Meri basically have this done relationship.'
Critical: Sister Wives star Kody Brown's 21-year-old daughter Gwendlyn did not hold back as she criticized her father's past behavior during his relationship with ex Meri
'[Meri] doesn't know that. They haven't had a conversation about it. And I think that's what's so important about what my mom [Christine Brown] did with him, because she said, 'We are done.' She told him to his face that they were over and Kody hasn't done anything.'
Gwendlyn then said it felt 'completely manipulative' of him to keep that 'information from her' as the decision trapped her in a 'loveless relationship with this false hope that it's going to be fixed.'
'How does it benefit him to stay with all of these women? Does he consider them trophies?' she wondered aloud. 'Does he consider them his path into heaven? I don't understand why he feels this humongous necessity to be with them still.'
Gwendlyn, who is one of Kody's 17 children, went on to note that she was 'glad' that the wives who wanted out of their relationship with him were able to leave 'that situation.'
Ultimately, Kody's tactless comment on season 17, episode nine prompted Meri to leave him.
On the special Sister Wives: One on One, Meri revealed that Kody had never said to her that he didn't consider them married anymore.
'Even since being in Flagstaff, he has led me to believe that he was trying. Our first anniversary here in Flagstaff, 'cheers to a new beginning' as opposed to this,' she said.
Kody met first wife, Meri, through his sister, who was a mutual friend and introduced them when she was only 19 and he was 22. The pair later described their romance as a 'very short courtship,' as they were married just six months after they met.
Sad to watch: After watching an episode of his hit TLC series, the Northern Arizona University student slammed her dad's decision to string along his former spouse, 52, at the end of their marriage in a YouTube video
Yikes: Gwendlyn, who Kody shares with his ex-wife Christine Brown, expressed sympathy for Meri after seeing her father publicly declare that he did not not 'consider' himself married to Meri and would be fine with her moving on
'The thing is, he is just leading her on at this point,' Gwendlyn said as she watched the confessional play out
'I was just young and in love,' Meri previously recalled on the show of their quick decision to tie the knot.
Kody later reflected on falling for Meri in the family's 2012 memoir, Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage, and he called her his 'soulmate.'
'Meri was so cute and sweet when I met her that I had a hard time suppressing my hopelessly romantic nature,' he wrote.
Meri was no stranger to the world of plural marriages before she met Kody, telling the Las Vegas Sun that she was exposed to it from a young age.
'My family was in the LDS faith but converted [to the Fundamentalist Mormon faith] when I was about six or seven years old, so I grew up in a plural family with five mothers and 25 brothers and sisters,' she explained, adding: 'My parents never pushed me into this lifestyle though.'
Janelle entered the picture three years into their marriage, in 1993, while Christine joined the family one year after that.
Kody then married his third 'spiritual wife' Robyn in 2010 - and all three of Kody's other partners have admitted in the series that if it hadn't been for Meri's willingness to enter into a polygamous marriage, none of them would have gotten with Kody.
Young love: Kody met first wife, Meri, through his sister, who was a mutual friend and introduced them when she was only 19 and he was 22. The pair later described their romance as a 'very short courtship,' as they were married just six months after they met
Janelle entered the picture three years into their marriage, in 1993, while Christine joined the family one year after that.
The split from Meri means that Kody is down to one wife - his only legal bride - Robyn, who he married in 2010.
While only one of his four marriages is technically official - having more than one spouse is not legal in the US - Kody, who has said it's 'God's testimony' for him to have numerous spouses, calls his other partners his 'spiritual wives.'
Kody first rose to fame in 2010, on the show which documented life with his four wives, Meri, Christine, Robyn and Janelle (who was also his stepsister). It also showcased some of the many struggles that come with being married to multiple women at the same time.
For over a decade, the five-some seemed to make their bizarre relationship work, living in four separate homes on the same cul-de-sac in Las Vegas, Nevada, with their joint children.
However, along the way, the Mormon reality star and his four wives faced a series of problems - stemming from jealousy over who Kody liked most, and leading to bitter rivalries between the women over his attention - all of which, was put on display for the world to see throughout the 17 seasons of their show.
Dean Wells has expressed his concerns about finding employment because he identifies as a straight white male.
The former Married At First Sight groom, who was recently dropped by his management company for criticising 'drag queen story time' event, sparked debate on Instagram over the weekend by sharing a screenshot taken from a left-leaning job-seeker website.
The image showed a pop-up that read: 'By ticking this box I explicitly consent to [company name] using the diversity data that I have provided (consisting of my gender, age, ethnicity, nationality and/or sexual orientation.'
The website, which is based in the UK, explained the job-seeker's 'diversity data' would be used when matching them with the particular client.
Dean also shared a screenshot of a drop-down menu allowing applicants to select their gender, with options including male, female, agender, pangender and third gender.
Former Married At First Sight groom Dean Wells, 44, (pictured) has exposes the difficulties he faces applying for job as a straight white male
Another drop-down menu asked applicants to select their sexual orientation from a list including bisexual, demiromantic, gyneasexual/ gynephilc and skoliosexual.
In his caption, Dean suggested that his own lack of 'diversity' may hinder future job prospects.
'Came across these options on a job application yesterday. Does anyone even know what these terms mean? What are my chances as a straight white male?' he lamented.
Den sparked debate on Instagram over the weekend by sharing a screenshot taken from a left-leaning job-seeker website. The image showed a pop-up that read: 'By ticking this box I explicitly consent to [company name] using the diversity data that I have provided (consisting of my gender, age, ethnicity, nationality and/or sexual orientation'
Dean also clarified that he was applying for a remote graphic design job based in the UK, and that he would never meet his employees in real life.
Many of the reality star's fans agreed with his complaint, saying the website wasn't being inclusive at all despite its efforts to promote 'diversity'.
'This looks like they are not being inclusive AT ALL. Their client is deliberately targeting a racial group of a certain gender and age. The fact they named it diversity data is a red flag,' one user wrote.
Dean also shared a screenshot of a drop-down menu allowing applicants to select their gender, with options including male, female, agender, pangender and third gender (left). Another drop-down menu asked applicants to select their sexual orientation from a list including bisexual, demiromantic, gyneasexual/ gynephilc and skoliosexual (right)
Some fans expressed their confusion after reading some of the lesser-known genders and sexual orientations referenced in the application.
'What's next? 'I identify as a horse?'' one joked.
Others questioned whether it is appropriate for employers to request information about sexual orientation as part of a job application.
Some fans expressed their confusion after reading some of the lesser-known genders and sexual orientations referenced in the application
However, others countered Dean's argument by pointing out that he still had the option of selecting 'straight' and 'male' in the drop-down menus.
'Still up the top there buddy. Option 1,' one male critic remarked, adding: 'It's all a bit much for straight white males sure (I'm a straight white male) but doesn't stop you from learning and understanding. Who knows, you may even tick a new box soon'.
Another critic pointed out that asking for diversity data is actually common in Australia, as many local companied ask job applicants to specify whether they are First Nation Australians and TSI peoples.
They arrived in London last week to attend a jam-packed calendar of star-studded events in the city.
But it appears Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have managed to fit in some time for date night too as they were snapped heading out to dinner at LouLou's on Tuesday evening.
The Wednesday actress, 53, looked chic as she wrapped up in a tweed checked coat for the evening.
While her 78-year-old husband kept smart in a grey quarter-zip and blue jeans while a driver got them around the capital.
Catherine opted for a glamorous palette of make-up as she stunned with a smokey eye and glossy plum lip look.
Date night! Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53, looksed glamorous on Tuesday as she headed out for dinner with her husband Michael Douglas, 78, at LouLou's in London
She had her dark tresses pulled away from her face into an up do' while opting for a layered ensemble.
New Jersey native Michael added a leather blazer over his outfit, as he was snapped in the back of a car before heading into a restaurant with his wife.
The couple, who reside across the pond in New York, arrived in the UK last week and headed to the premiere for Michael's new film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
He has also appeared on a number of talk-shows during the visit, including The Graham Norton Show and Lorraine.
While Catherine looked ultra glamorous on Sunday evening as she headed to the BAFTA awards, presenting the Best Picture award to All Quiet On The Western Front during the ceremony.
But they've also been making the most of the little things, as the Welsh actress, who hails from Swansea, took to Instagram on Monday to share a video as she took the tube around London.
Smiling to the camera, she filmed herself sitting on the tube while disguised with sunglasses, a hat and scarf.
It appears the careful cover-up was unnecessary, as the actress was the only person in the carraige, telling the camera: 'When you're the only one on the tube and you're very happy. London, just me, on public transport.'
Ensemble: Michael sported a grey quarter-zip with a pair of blue trousers for the dinner, adding a black leather coat on top
Off: The couple, who live across the pond in the US, were snapped in the back of a car as they headed out
While she captioned: 'Tube Time! London Transport!'
Catherine and Michael, who have been married for 22 years, reside in New York and have two children, Carys, 18, and Dylan, 20. While Michael is also dad to Cameron, 44, from his marriage to Diandra Luker.
Despite both being high-flyers in their careers, Michael insisted that there is no competition between them career-wise as he was interviews by Christine Lampard earlier this week.
The TV personality was filling in for Lorraine on her eponymous show when she spoke to the actor, and probed him on professional rivalry with his wife.
But sharing this isn't the case, Michael explained: 'I don't know about that [competition].. I think we both do our own things.
'We try and do it at different times so when the kids were younger, so we could be there. But no competition, Catherine's going to do another year of Wednesday and a lot of other projects right now.
Glamour: The couple, who reside across the pond in New York, arrived in the UK last week and headed to the premiere for Michael's new film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (pictured at the premiere)
Ariana Grande took to social media on Tuesday to share a music update with her followers.
The 29-year-old pop star created a TikTok showing her in a home recording studio as she added her touch to The Weeknd's 2016 song Die For You.
'Wrote and recorded a verse for my friend after a 14 hour day on set. This certain exception had to be made.' the songstress wrote over the clip.
The Boca Raton, FL native who's working on a film adaptation of Wicked reposted in on Instagram and used star and moon emojis as her caption.
The Weeknd real name Abel Tesfaye was among the first to comment as he added his own string of stars and moons.
New post: Ariana Grande took to social media on Tuesday to share a music update with her followers
The piece of content showed her sitting at a desk in a dimly lit room with a monitor set in front of her.
Ariana only showed the back of her head, which had black studio headphones on it and her blonde hair pulled into a bun.
The petite vocalist donned a baggy, light-colored crew neck sweatshirt as she recorded harmonies.
The Weeknd reshared the snippet on his personal Instagram account, where he entertains 49.2 million followers, and added a crying and smiling emoji.
Neither music artist said when the song will be released or gave any more details about the collaboration.
This latest effort follows the friends' 2021 work on The Weeknd's single Save Your Tears.
Before that, the two worked together on Grande's Love Me Harder back in 2014 from her album My Everything.
Additionally, the Canadian crooner was featured on Off the Table, which was included on Ariana's 2020's project Positions.
New music: The 29-year-old pop star created a TikTok showing her in a home recording studio as she added her touch to The Weeknd 's 2016 song Die For You
Flashback: The Weeknd and Ariana performed onstage at the 2014 American Music Awards
On February 25 Tesfaye will release his HBO concert special The Weeknd: Live At Sofi Stadium.
An evocative trailer recently dropped, offering a few brief clips of the entertainer performing onstage at the Inglewood venue.
He previously played the SoFi Stadium in September but had to abruptly cut his concert short after just 18 minutes when he lost his voice.
In November he returned for a two-show engagement, joking with the audience that they were 'back at the scene of the crime.'
His tour will take him to Europe in June and in the fall he will perform in Latin America.
The Weeknd is also readying the release of his upcoming HBO miniseries The Idol, which he co-created alongside former nightlife entrepreneur Reza Fahim as well as Sam Levinson, the writer behind Euphoria.
With a cast that includes Lily-Rose Depp, the show follows a pop star who falls for a cult-leading nightclub owner, according to Deadline.
Kim Sung-ho, vice minister for disaster and safety management at the Ministry of Interior and Safety, speaks during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held at the Government Complex in Sejong, Wednesday. During the meeting, the government decided to lift the mandatory post-arrival PCR tests for travelers from China beginning March 1. Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Korea will lift mandatory post-arrival PCR tests on travelers entering Korea from China beginning March 1, as the COVID-19 situation has remained stable in both countries in recent weeks.
The government also decided to lift a measure that has restricted all flights arriving from China to land only at Incheon International Airport.
The authorities said, however, that the pre-arrival test requirement and Q-code uploads that visitors entering the country from China need to submit will remain in place until March 10 to monitor the effects of the eased restrictions.
A noticeboard showing information on post-arrival PCR tests for visitors entering from China stands at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport, Wednesday. Yonhap
On Jan. 2, Korea tightened various curbs on arrivals from China amid a surge in coronavirus infections there.
As China's COVID-19 infection wave and virus situation have entered a phase of stabilization, the government has gradually lifted these measures, beginning with a resumption in short-term visas issuances for Chinese visitors on Feb. 11.
The government also lifted a restriction on increasing the number of flights between Korea and China on Feb. 17.
In return, China resumed issuing short-term visas to Koreans on Feb. 18.
"We assessed that the degree of risk of the pandemic situation in China is not high," a Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) official said.
KDCA data showed that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in China has significantly decreased from more than 40 million in the fourth week of December to 149,000 in the second week of February.
The number of deaths in that country has also fallen from 12,000 in the fifth week of December to 1,000 in the second week of February.
The ratio of infected patients among inbound travelers from China has continued to fall for six consecutive weeks and stood at 0.6 percent in the third week of February.
Korea has also seen a decrease in COVID-19 infection cases. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported during the third week of February decreased by 14.4 percent to 81,196 from the previous week.
The number of deaths and seriously ill patients fell by 5.8 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively, during the same period.
Amid the downtrend in both countries, the government is planning to increase the number of weekly flights between Korea and China from 62 to 80 by the end of February and to 100 by March.
Airlines are preparing to resume direct flights between Jeju Island and Chinese cities following the government's decision to allow planes from China to land at airports other than Incheon International Airport.
Korean budget carrier Jin Air's passenger planes are parked on the apron at Jeju International Airport on Jan. 26. Yonhap
Jin Air, Korean Air's budget carrier, said flights between Jeju Island and the Chinese city of Xi'an are expected to begin in March, possibly on March 9 at the earliest.
"We are waiting for approval from the Chinese government," a Jin Air official said.
Hong Kong Express Airways is also preparing to operate flights between Jeju Island and Hong Kong from late March.
Jeju's government and travel industry are anticipating the return of Chinese tourists and the recovery of the tourism market of the southern resort island.
The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province said it will enhance cooperation with the Korea Tourism Organization, the Jeju Tourism Organization and the Jeju Tourism Association to enhance promotions to attract more Chinese tourists.
More angry words are hurled on the next episode of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey.
In a sneak peek, Joe Giudice angrily confronts Luis Ruelas for neglecting to invite Melissa Gorga's parents to his then upcoming wedding to Teresa Giudice.
After the men exchange words over dinner with friends, Joe, 50, is unable to contain his anger as he punches the table and shouts at Luis, 47, 'I'm going to break your f**king balls!'
Luis replies in a somewhat patronizing tone, 'Stop with the theatrics!'
The exclusion of Joe's in-laws is not the only drama he and his wife Melissa are contending with from the wedding - Teresa also chose not to have Melissa in her bridal party, despite being in-laws.
'I'm going to break your f**king balls!' Joe Giudice angrily confronted Luis Ruelas for not inviting his in-laws to his wedding to Teresa Giudice in the next episode of RHONJ
Words are exchanged: Luis attempts to defend his and Teresa's decision to exclude his in-laws
Ultimately, the Gorgas chose not to attend their wedding.
'Melissa's family, they're not invited to the wedding. Everybody's in, but anybody on my side of life - it's f**ked up,' Joe begins the confrontation with.
'It's a lot of past bullshit,' Luis said.
'No matter what happened between Melissa and Teresa - Melissa's family, the way they treated my parents, you've got to give them with respect,' Joe continued.
'It's really a slap in the face not to invite them. This is an Italian family,' someone pointed out.
'It's like (expletive) you. You mean nothing to me,' Joe continued.
'There's a lot of slap in the faces going around, you're not the only one feeling that way,' Luis insisted.
'Who's slapping who?' Joe asked.
Not mincing his words: After the men exchange words over dinner with friends, Joe, 50, is unable to contain his anger as he slams the table and shouts at Luis, 47, 'I'm going to break your f**king balls!'
Snub: The exclusion of Joe's in-laws is not the only drama he and his wife Melissa are contending with from the wedding - Teresa also chose not to have Melissa in her bridal party, despite being in-laws
Not everyone is happy: 'There's a lot of slap in the faces going around, you're not the only one feeling that way,' Luis insisted
The drama continues: The next episode of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey airs on Bravo on Tuesday 9/8c
'Your wife went publicly on social media this week to say that her kids wouldn't be eat food if it wasn't for you and her,' Luis said.
'No one's saying they wouldn't eat,' Joe said. 'What she meant was and what I meant was, I've held my sister, I've called her every f**king day, I took care of my sister, I was there,' he said.
'I live with your nieces, they talk about it at the house!' Luis fired back.
'Oh! Of course! They're talking about one thing!' Joe hit back.
'No they talk about a lot of things,' Luis said.
'You don't know sh*t,' Joe insisted. 'You've been here one f**king minute.'
Eventually, things escalate as Joe finally shouts he is going to break Luis' 'f**king balls!'
'Go ahead!' Luis taunted, prompting Joe to punch the dinner table.
'F***ing right now!' he screamed.
'Stop with the theatrics!' Luis shouted.
The next episode of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey airs Tuesday 9/8c on Bravo.
She's fed a wallaby, chilled out with a koala and let a cheeky meerkat forage through her head for food.
So there's no surprise Danish model Nina Agdal enjoyed her recent holiday to Australia with her boyfriend, wrestler and YouTube sensation Logan Paul.
The 30-year-old reflected on their zoo visit with a sentimental Instagram post on Tuesday which included a selection of her favourite photos from the occasion.
Nina and Logan, 27, arrived in Australia earlier this month, before they took in a number of sights and cuddled native animals.
The couple were also seen stripping down into their swimmers for a boat ride last week when they shared a sweet kiss along the choppy swell.
Danish model Nina Agdal (pictured) shared adorable photos from her trip to Australia with boyfriend Logan Paul
Among a handful of photos was one which showed the couple dining at a restaurant boasting spectacular views of Sydney Harbour.
Together they had been greeted by fans at the airport as they landed in Sydney on Thursday, 9 February.
Logan held an impromptu fan meet-and-greet alongside fellow YouTuber KSI at Perth's RAC Arena two days later.
Nina and Logan, 27, arrived in Australia earlier this month, before they took in a number of sights and cuddled native animals
His earlier scheduled event at Midvale Shopping Centre had been cancelled due to concerns over crowd safety.
Prime, the energy drink created by influencers-turned-boxers Paul and KSI, has become incredibly popular among pre-teens and teenagers across the globe.
Scenes of pandemonium exploded in some stores, and children were captured on video climbing over the aisles to try to get a bottle.
In some Aldi stores, the drink sold out within three minutes.
Lottie Moss gave fans a glimpse of her eye-popping cleavage as she stripped naked for a trio of racy Instagram snaps on Tuesday.
The model, 25, who never shies away from flaunting her incredible figure, posed in little more than a chained belt and a pair of photographic gloves for the sexy images.
Pulling her blonde tresses into straight ribboned pigtails, Lottie covered her chest with her tattooed arm for one sultry image.
Another saw her hide her chest behind the graphic gloves, which were covered with an artistic image of a lingerie-clad model.
Lottie also captioned her post: 'Everybody knows that I'm a good girl officer.'
Racy! Lottie Moss, 25, gave fans a glimpse of her eye-popping cleavage as she stripped naked for a trio of racy Instagram snaps on Tuesday
Sex bomb! The model who never shies away from flaunting her incredible figure, posed in little more than a chained belt and a pair of photographic gloves for the sexy images
She also shared a brief video clad in a skimpy baby pink dress as she seductively reclined on a bed.
The model didn't shy away from documenting her sun-soaked trip to Australia with her new beau Daniel Steel, 25, with an array of sizzling social media posts.
It comes after Lottie spoke out on her new romance and said that while the couple aren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend yet, she 'really likes' Daniel.
Adding that the firefighter is 'sweet and passionate', the star admitted she's 'not very good at relationships' and finds it tough.
In an Instagram Live, she shared: 'We're having fun, he's really sweet. It's a big change from my usual type of man, I usually go for a bad boy.
'We're not official but I really like him. He's really nice, sweet and hot, he's really passionate and nice to me and he makes me laugh,' gushed Lottie.
Lottie has been in Perth, Australia, where Daniel lives, for more than a week as the couple grow closer.
But Lottie further explained that while things are going well between the pair, she has insecurities and isn't used to being in a relationship.
Naughty! Lottie also captioned her post: 'Everybody knows that I'm a good girl officer'
She said: 'Dan told me I have a really square jaw. I know, I have cheek filler but I didn't intend to look like Lord Farquaad! I'm like mega insecure.
'He is not my boyfriend yet... ahh didn't mean to say yet! I'm not very good at relationships, I haven't been in one for six years,' she shared.
According to The Sun, a source said: 'Lottie and Daniel have really hit it off. They have lots in common and he's a great guy just what she was looking for. He has really been spoiling her and she is loving every moment of it.'
Before her new romance, Lottie was last believed to be in a relationship with American music producer beau Cody Colacino but they split in November.
Selma Blair looked stylish on Tuesday evening as she stepped out in London for a family dinner.
The Hollywood actress, 50, sported a two-piece charcoal suit with tailored low-waisted trousers and a matching blazer.
She layered the co-ord over a buttoned up white shirt, adding black boots to the smart look.
Arriving to the UK capital this week for London Fashion Week, Selma spent the day taking in the new trends at the Burberry catwalk show before heading for dinner.
Her cropped blonde locks were brushed up with the wind as they sat in a natural blowdried style, while she added a blushed palette of make-up.
Trendy: Selma Blair showed off her smart sense of style in a charcoal suit on Tuesday night as she enjoyed a family dinner in London after a day at the city's Fashion Week
The star, who is battling multiple sclerosis, held a cream padded handbag with a silver chain strap in one hand, keeping her black cane in the other.
She appeared to be joined by her son, Arthur Saint Bleick, 11, for the outing too - as e walked behind in a blue velvet suit.
Selma appeared in high spirits as she flashed a smile while departing dinner, pulling an animated facial expression while they headed out.
Earlier in the day, the Legally Blonde actress stunned in an all-black ensemble while sitting front row at the Burberry Autumn Winter 2023 show.
Opting for a slicked-back hairstyle for that event, she stunned in the dark ensemble while beaming for snaps before the show began.
Hailing from Michigan, the actress joins a slew of stars as she holidays in the London this week - joining stars such as Naomi Campbell, Jodie Comer and Rosie Huntington Whiteley at the earlier catwalk.
It comes after Selma sparked rumours of a reconcilliation with her ex-boyfriend David Lyons last week, as they were spotted going in for a kiss and sharing a sweet hug in Los Angeles.
In previous months, the pair have been spotted sharing PDA and spending time together after they had briefly dated in 2019.
Ensemble: The two-piece featured a tailored low-waisted trousers and a matching blazer, layered over a white shirt
Happy: Selma appeared in high spirits as she flashed a smile while departing dinner, pulling an animated facial expression while they headed out
For the occasion, the Cruel Intentions star wore a casual and chic outfit with a long, navy cardigan over a black-and-white striped top.
She then sported a pair of wide-leg, light-wash denim jeans rolled up and black Mary Jane shoes.
Later, the pair both put on their shades and took a stroll with Selma's service dog Scout.
The Brown's Requiem star was rumored to have been engaged to David in 2019 during their past romance.
Selma has only married once to 48-year-old musician Ahmet Zappa from 2004 to 2006.
The Michigan native shares son Arthur with her fashion designer ex Jason Bleick, 53.
Kylie Jenner showed off her incredible figure wearing a figure-hugging leather dress in sultry behind-the-scenes videos she shared on her Instagram stories on Tuesday.
The TV personality, 25, could be seen enjoying a few minutes of downtime and took various snaps and clips near a hot pink backdrop placed inside a spacious studio.
The beauty mogul, who recently teased her upcoming Kylie Cosmetics collection to fans, was also spotted enjoying a casual dinner outing with a close friend at a celebrity hotspot earlier Monday evening.
The mother of two had a blast as she treated her daughter, Stormi, and son Aire, one, to an exciting trip to Disneyland earlier last week, along with Kim Kardashian's daughter, Chicago, also five.
In the first reel that Kylie uploaded from her photo shoot showed the star giving a close-up look at her makeup for the day.
Sultry: Kylie Jenner, 25, showcased her slim waist in a tight leather dress in a series of clips and photos uploaded onto her Instagram stories on Tuesday
Glammed up: In the first short reel Kylie uploaded from her photo shoot showed the star giving a close-up look at her makeup for the day
The media star gently shook her head to adjust her long, wavy brunette locks that had fallen onto her face.
Jenner glowed with a layer of mascara added to her long lashes as well as a light, bronze-colored shadow around her eyes.
A rosy pink blush and highlighter was worn to better accentuate her cheekbones while a nude-colored tint bordered with a darker liner was worn on her lips for a finishing touch.
She donned a pair of shiny, silver earrings that offered a bit of contrast against her monochromatic outfit for the shoot.
Kylie showcased her slim waist in a long-sleeved, skintight leather dress that fell down past her knees. She also slipped into a pair of heeled, black boots to coincide with the main color scheme.
She flaunted her look in a Boomerang clip that she filmed while sitting comfortably on a chair placed on the set as she waited to commence shooting.
To keep her energy levels up, the mother of two flashed a small smile in a selfie as she sipped on a delicious iced coffee from a pink straw. On the left side of the frame, the businesswoman added a strew of happy face emojis.
The mogul also gifted her fans a quick look at some other parts of the set, such as a large light pointed in her direction to help create stunning photos.
Glowing: The star glowed with a layer of mascara added to her long lashes as well as a light, bronze-colored shadow around her eyes
Flashy touch: She donned a pair of shiny, silver earrings that offered a bit of contrast against her monochromatic outfit for the shoot
Staying energized: To keep her energy levels up, the mother of two flashed a small smile in a selfie as she sipped on a delicious iced coffee from a pink straw
Special glimpse: Kylie also showed her fans her own personal view of the set, including the bright lights pointed in her direction
Having a blast: To pass the time, Kylie caught up with her makeup artist as the two took a few memorable snaps together
To pass the time, Kylie spent time with her makeup artist as the two took a few memorable snaps together. She puckered her lips towards the camera as she showed off one of her favorite poses.
In a separate photo, the star flaunted her glammed up look once again, and penned the question, 'this was an accident?????'
The last photo she shared was not taken from the set, but instead was a screenshot from a video call she had with close pal, Hailey Bieber.
Earlier Monday night, The Kardashians star was spotted exiting the celebrity hotspot, Sushi Park, located in the heart of West Hollywood.
Rather than dressing up for the outing, Kylie kept her ensemble lowkey by wearing a pair of black denim jeans.
She paired the bottoms with a plain, white shirt and layered her look with a long, leather coat that fell down past her ankles for a stylish flare.
The entrepreneur, who shares daughter Stormi and son Aire with rapper, Travis Scott, slipped into chunky, black boots rather than heels.
The model supported her older sister, Kendall Jenner's, brand by throwing on a green and white, 818 Tequila printed cap on top of her head which partially covered her flowy locks that fell down naturally past her shoulders.
Flaunting poses: She puckered her lips towards the camera as she showed off one of her favorite poses
Flawless: A rosy pink blush and highlighter was worn to better accentuate her cheekbones while a nude-colored tint bordered with a darker liner was worn on her lips for a finishing touch
Showing off the look: In a separate photo, the star flaunted her glammed up look once again, and penned the question, 'this was an accident?????'
Catching up: The last photo she shared was not taken from the set, but instead was a screenshot from a video call she had with close pal, Hailey Bieber
Dinner outing: Earlier Monday night, The Kardashians star was spotted exiting the celebrity hotspot, Sushi Park, located in the heart of West Hollywood
She was seen exiting the popular eatery and quickly made her way to a parking structure nearby.
In her right hand, Kylie easily carried a small, black purse instead of slinging the item over her shoulder.
Also on Monday, the beauty mogul teased her fans with an Instagram post that contained photos and a clip to prepare for the launch of an upcoming Kylie Cosmetics collection.
With a vintage film filter applied to the content, the star could be seen on set as she looked closely into the camera while applying mascara and adjusting her makeup. She additionally wore a figure-hugging, white lace dress that showed off her slim frame.
During an interview with CR Fashion Book last year in September, the star opened up about her beauty brand.
'I have endless ideas, I really draw inspiration from everything around me. When I create my special collections, it allows me to see my ideas come to life, which only inspires me more.'
She also reflected on having the opportunity to create her own beauty brand, which officially launched in 2015. 'I am so blessed to have a job where I genuinely love what I do. Ive always enjoyed makeup.-creating a look is a creative process that I really love.'
Kylie continued, 'Im lucky to have been able to turn my passion into a successful business, and share my favorite products with consumers. It is so much fun, and there are still so many products we havent launched yet that I want to develop.'
Keeping it lowkey: Rather than dressing up for the outing, Kylie kept her ensemble lowkey by wearing a pair of black denim jeans and a plain white shirt
Big supporter! The model supported her older sister, Kendall Jenner's, brand by throwing on a green and white, 818 Tequila printed cap on top of her head
Getting ready: Also on Monday, the beauty mogul teased her fans with a short video on her main Instagram page to prepare for the launch of an upcoming Kylie Cosmetics collection
British star Jodie Whittaker has arrived in Australia to work on her first role since quitting Doctor Who.
The actress, who made her final appearance in the iconic BBC sci-fi series in October last year, suited up in an all-white ensemble while filming at Malabar ocean pool in Sydney last Thursday.
Her blonde hair was neatly styled with a middle part as she held her nude pair of heels in one hand while standing barefoot by the concrete pool.
Whittaker was joined by her Aussie co-star Yael Stone, who was seen taking a dip in the water in a khaki one-piece swimsuit.
Her short brunette hair was damp and she had a minimal makeup palette.
British star Jodie Whittaker has arrived in Australia to work on her first role since quitting Doctor Who
The actress, who made her final appearance in the iconic BBC sci-fi series in October last year, suited up in an all-white ensemble while filming at Malabar ocean pool in Sydney last Thursday
The Orange Is the New Black star later wrapped a colourful towel around her waist as she and Whittaker appeared to be engaging in a tense conversation for the scene.
Stone later shared a selfie at the popular swimming spot to her Instagram account, with a cheeky caption.
'Hard at work on new job. Awful location. Terrible people. Rubbish script. Details coming soon,' she jokingly wrote alongside her photo.
Whittaker was joined by her Aussie co-star Yael Stone, who was seen taking a dip in the water in a khaki one-piece swimsuit
The Orange Is the New Black star later wrapped a colourful towel around her waist
In the upcoming thriller series for Paramount+, Whittaker stars as Tess and reunites with her childhood best friends Hat (Stone) and Simone (Nicole da Silva).
The trio's friendship was destroyed by a traumatic event that took place 20 years ago.
After Simone publishes a novel inspired by what happened to her and her estranged friends that fateful night, Hat and Tess are shocked to hear the author capitalising off a traumatic experience they all endured.
They appeared to be engaging in a tense conversation for the scene
In the upcoming thriller series for Paramount+, Whittaker stars as Tess and reunites with her childhood best friends Hat (Stone) and Simone (Nicole da Silva)
The trio's friendship was destroyed by a traumatic event that took place 20 years ago
The synopsis reads: 'As it becomes harder to prise fact from fiction, one person's memory and story from another's, the book threatens to derail all their friendships, bringing old traumas to the surface of the small coastal community where they grew up, and stirring its perpetrators, who want to make it all go away.'
One Night is a six-part drama series which is being filmed across New South Wales, Australia, from the state capital of Sydney to the coastal region of Illawarra.
Sophia Mogford, Executive Producer, Drama and Comedy, Paramount ANZ said: 'One Night is a fantastic drama, and such a timely, yet timeless story set against the dramatic backdrop of the New South Wales coastline, and brought to life by a great cast of International and local actors.
After friend Simone publishes a novel inspired by what happened to her and her estranged friends that fateful night, Hat and Tess are shocked to hear the author capitalising off a traumatic experience they all endured
One Night is a six-part drama series which is being filmed across New South Wales, Australia, from the state capital of Sydney to the coastal region of Illawarra
'It's a production we are thrilled to be able to champion.'
In 2021, Whittaker confirmed she would be leaving Doctor Who, with the BBC revealing that her departure will play out across a three-part special.
Whittaker, who was the show's first female Doctor, described her four-year stint manning the Tardis as being 'the best job I ever had'.
Ncuti Gatwa was unveiled as the 15th Doctor on the popular sci-fi show in May 2022 after Jodie Whittaker confirmed her departure from the role.
He is the first black actor to take on the leading role as The Doctor, after Whittaker made history as the first permanent female Time Lord in 2017.
Stone later shared a selfie at the popular swimming spot to her Instagram account, with a cheeky caption. 'Hard at work on new job. Awful location. Terrible people. Rubbish script. Details coming soon,' she jokingly wrote
Mindhunter executive producer David Fincher said the show will not return for a third season on Netflix.
The filmmaker, 60, spoke with the French outlet Le Journal du Dimanche about the fate of the Emmy-nominated crime drama that ran from 2017 thru 2019, saying that the streaming service found the show too pricey to proceed with.
'I'm very proud of the first two seasons. But it's a very expensive show and, in the eyes of Netflix, we didn't attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment' for a third season, Fincher told the outlet in the interview, which is translated from French.
He added: 'I don't blame them; they took risks to get the show off the ground it's a blessing to be able to work with people who are capable of boldness.
'The day our desires are not the same, we have to be honest about parting ways.'
The latest: Mindhunter executive producer David Fincher said the show will not return for a third season on Netflix. He was pictured at an event in support of the series in LA in 2018
Members of the cast including Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany and Anna Torv were let go from their contracts following the August 2019 release of the show's second season, TV Line reported.
In January of 2020, just prior to the beginning of the coronavirus, a Netflix rep told the outlet that Fincher 'may revisit Mindhunter again in the future,' but was busy with other projects at the time.
The rep added that Fincher, the director of classics such as Seven, Fight Club and The Social Network, 'felt it wasn't fair to the actors to hold them from seeking other work while he was exploring new work of his own.'
In October of 2020, Fincher told Vulture that the show was probably not going to return to the air, considering the costs involved.
'For the viewership that it had, it was an expensive show,' Fincher said. 'We talked about, "Finish [the 2020 film] Mank and then see how you feel," but I honestly don't think we're going to be able to do it for less than I did Season 2.
'And on some level, you have to be realistic about dollars have to equal eyeballs.'
Fincher has past worked with the streaming service on projects including the series House of Cards, the film Mank and the upcoming action thriller The Killer, which features Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton.
The motion picture is due to hit the streaming service November 10, 2023.
Actors Holt McCallany and Jonathan Groff were pictured on the series in 2017
Andrew Le Page reverted back to the classic black suit as he joined his glamorous girlfriend Tasha Ghouri for the Just Eat Awards at the Londoner Hotel on Tuesday.
The Love Island star, 28, cut a dapper figure as he joined the blonde beauty, 24, for the event, with Tasha putting on an eye-popping display in an edgy grey and black metallic gown.
It comes after Tasha jumped to her boyfriend's defence when he was cruelly mocked by users for donning a bold purple suit to attend London Fashion Week.
The reality stars look included flamboyant flared trousers and a matching jacket but opted to the ditch the shirt and left his blazer open to showcase his washboard abs.
For the awards show, Andrew opted for a far more traditional look by donning a smart black blazer and trousers with a matching white dress shirt.
Looking good! Andrew Le Page reverted back to the classic black suit as he joined his glamorous girlfriend Tasha Ghouri for the Just Eat Awards at the Londoner Hotel on Tuesday
Fuming: Hours earlier, the reality star was quick to jump to her boyfriend's defence after fans mocked his new 'fashion era' look
Meanwhile Tasha continued to showcase her edgy fashion sense by slipping into a form-fitting metallic silver corset and a matching black thigh-split skirt.
The gown also featured 80s-inspired shoulders and satin frilled sleeves, and Tasha teamed the futuristic outfit with a matching sparkly clutch bag.
The coveted Just Eat Restaurant Awards returned for its seventh year, hosted by TV presenter and comedian Joel Dommett.
Gok Wan, Fred Siriex and Andi Oliver were among the celebrity guests celebrating the nation's favourite restaurants and takeaways.
Gok cut a typically stylish figure in a black blazer, matching trousers and a charcoal grey scarf.
While Fred looked dapper in a camel blazer and a white shirt, teamed with a pair of blue jeans.
The First Dates star added a black belt around his middle and a pair of shiny black shoes.
Andi caught the eye in a bright blue dress with voluminous sleeves and white trainers.
Poppy O'Toole looked classy in a black and white floral All Saints dress with a sheer skirt and sleeves.
She teamed it with a pair of high-heeled cream boots and wore her hair in neat waves.
Smart! For the awards show, Andrew opted for a far more traditional look by donning a smart black blazer and trousers with a matching white dress shirt
Daring! Meanwhile Tasha continued to showcase her edgy fashion sense by slipping into a form-fitting metallic silver corset and a matching black thigh-split skirt
Fun! The gown also featured 80s-inspired shoulders and satin frilled sleeves, with Tasha eagerly documenting her outfit on social media
Also in attendance was Oliver and Emma Lou Proudlock who made for a handsome couple.
Oliver looked suave in a black suit with a white shirt underneath and finished with a burgundy patterned tie.
Emma dazzled in a red satin gown that clung to her lithe figure and boasted voluminous sleeves.
She paired it with a brown handbag, gold necklace and a pair of bright green platform high heels.
Tasha was quick to jump to her boyfriend Andrew's defence after fans mocked his new 'fashion era' look.
Andrew showed off his bold style in an eye-catching lilac ensemble while attending London Fashion Week.
The reality stars look included the flared trousers and a matching jacket which he left open to show off his impressive abs.
He donned a pair of white trainers and accessorised with a long silver necklace as he posed for a slew of Instagram snaps.
Host: The coveted Just Eat Restaurant Awards returned for its seventh year, hosted by TV presenter and comedian Joel Dommett
Star-studded: Gok Wan, Fred Siriex and Andi Oliver were among the celebrity guests celebrating the nation's favourite restaurants and takeaways
Peace out! Gok cut a typically stylish figure in a black blazer, matching trousers and a charcoal grey scarf
Handsome: While Fred looked dapper in a camel blazer and a white shirt, teamed with a pair of blue jeans
Sharp: The First Dates star added a black belt around his middle and a pair of shiny black shoes
Turning heads: Andi caught the eye in a bright blue dress with voluminous sleeves and white trainers
Striking: Poppy O'Toole looked classy in a black and white floral dress with a sheer skirt and sleeves
Stunning: She teamed it with a pair of high-heeled cream boots and wore her hair in neat waves
Say cheese! Gok, Andi and Poppy stopped to take a selfie together
Looking good: Also in attendance was Oliver and Emma Lou Proudlock who made for a handsome couple
Sharp: Oliver looked suave in a black suit with a white shirt underneath and finished with a burgundy patterned tie
Lady in red: Emma dazzled in a red satin gown that clung to her lithe figure and boasted voluminous sleeves
Flawless: She paired it with a brown handbag, gold necklace and a pair of bright green platform high heels
But Andrew's followers were left unimpressed with his new look and left negative comments.
One wrote: 'What in the Aladdin is happening'
Another added: 'Not an era you need to return too anytime soon.'
A third said: 'And I'm a fan so don't block me, I just don't like it. You still look handsome though.'
One penned: 'If this is fashion then shoot me. What a generation we are living in'
Tasha responded to the negative comments by penning: 'People not understanding what fashion is in the comments [fuming face emoji] props to you for going outside the box, proud of you.'
She also added: 'I'll never get over this moment,' followed by fire emojis.
Others loved the look, with one fan writing: 'It's literally SO hot when guys are secure enough to experiment with fashion. Sad to see so much retrogressive fragile masculinity nonsense in these comments.'
While another agreed: 'Love this! Women wear "mens" clothes all the time... Why can't men dress more feminine?'
Bold: Andrew showed off his bold style in an eye-catching lilac ensemble while attending London Fashion Week, but was quickly mocked online
Tasha responded to the negative comments by penning: 'People not understanding what fashion is in the comments, props to you for going outside the box, proud of you'
The couple, who found fame on ITV's Love Island last summer, also posed for loved-up snaps together at the fashion event.
Tasha, 23, put on a very leggy display in a plunging green blazer dress, while boosting her height in a pair of black strappy heels.
Andrew and Tasha came fourth place in last year's series and the relationship appears to be going from strength to strength.
Tasha herself also turned heads as she took to the runway at Oxfam's London Fashion Week show.
Desperate Measures
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Panorama: Ukraines War Diaries
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Bank cashiers, remember them? They belong to a lost era when banks had branches in the real world instead of existing as online apps, and shops accepted actual banknotes.
Desperate Measures (Ch5), set 15 years ago, sees Amanda Abbington as a cashier behind a Perspex screen at a bank counter. Customers queue for their turn to pay in a cheque or transfer funds between accounts . . . really, whod have thought the Noughties could seem as distant as the Victorian days?
When cashier Rowan doesnt feel like serving somebody, she can simply turn her name-plaque around, to display the message, Position closed. Thats something I dont miss. Her position is permanently closed when the bank announces it is restructuring and downsizing. And for Rowan, deeply in debt, that is just the start of a very bad day.
Earlier this year, Jason Watkins played a fisherman in The Catch on Ch5, who was being simultaneously blackmailed, stalked, bankrupted and framed. But he was let off lightly, compared to Rowan.
Her teenage son, Finn, got mixed up in a 25,000 drugs deal on his way to college. He fled, chucking the money in a skip. That evening, as Finn and his mum shared a Chinese takeaway, local ganglord Kristof called round with a pistol and a final demand. When Rowan pleaded she didnt have that kind of money, he ate her noodles.
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Desperate Measures (Ch5), set 15 years ago, sees Amanda Abbington as a cashier behind a Perspex screen at a bank counter
Trying to raise some money by pawning her mums engagement ring, she stumbled into an armed robbery. She recognised one of the gunmen as her ex-boyfriend, but they nicked her ring anyway.
And when she tried to flee town, Kristof kidnapped Finn.
The moral of the story? Dont do drugs, kids, and definitely dont star in dramas on Channel 5.
All this melodrama calls for some extreme acting, and Abbington excels at high emotion. She sweats, she shrieks, she sobs, and she always stays convincing. Her Manchester accent is better, too, than the Scouse shes been doing in that patchy sitcom Family Pile on ITV.
Also excellent is Gabor Nagypal as Kristof, in a polo neck and a double-breasted jacket that makes him look like a villain from the superb French crime drama Spiral. Now theres something from the mid-2000s that does give me pangs of nostalgia.
Film of trench fighting in Ukraine also seems to belong to a different era World War I. Its difficult to grasp that the footage in Panorama: Ukraines War Diaries (BBC1), much of it shot with bodycams on the front line as shells exploded all around, documents a war happening in Europe right now.
Those caught up in it struggled to believe it could be happening, too. The sense of unreality was magnified by old-fashioned graphics of maps, with ink blots spreading where the fighting was most intense. We seem to have reverted to the visual language of warfare in the 20th century, as well as the tactics and the tanks.
Families huddled together in the Kyiv underground, like Londoners during the Blitz with the difference that Ukraines Metro is equipped with steel blast doors, designed in the Cold War to withstand a nuclear blast.
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Its difficult to grasp that the footage in Panorama: Ukraines War Diaries (BBC1), much of it shot with bodycams on the front line as shells exploded all around, documents a war happening in Europe right now
For British viewers, the most telling contribution came from teenager Maksym, who abandoned his biology studies to join up. Armed only with a Kalashnikov rifle, he fought bravely but to little effect.
But when rocket launchers arrived from Britain, everything changed. Maksym ceased to look like a scared volunteer. He was a professional soldier no longer fighting with 20th-century weaponry, and convinced he was on the winning side.
They're known to have one of the strongest marriages in Hollywood.
And Hugh Jackman, 54, and his wife of 27 years Deborra-Lee Furness, 67, looked loved-up as ever on Monday as they attended at the Paris premiere of his new film, The Son at Cinema UGC Normandie.
The smitten pair were spotted gazing into each other's eyes while posing on the carpet arm-in-arm.
Proving that couples who dress together really do stay together, both lovebirds sported matching black outfits for the VIP event.
Wolverine star Hugh looked sharp in a Zegna ensemble that featured a black velvet jacket, turtleneck, suit pants and dress shoes, while sporting a five o'clock shadow.
Hugh Jackman, 54, and his wife of 26 years Deborra-Lee Furness, 67, looked loved-up as ever on Monday as they attended at the Paris premiere of his new film, The Son at Cinema UGC Normandie
Proving that couples who dress together really do stay together, both lovebirds sported matching black outfits for the VIP event
His wife meanwhile sported a black T-shirt, blouse, trousers and a pair of drop earrings.
Their outing comes as the couple continue their romantic getaway in Europe.
During their stay in Paris, Hugh and his wife also met up with their friend Laura Dern and her daughter Jaya Harper.
The foursome were spotted on Monday leaving luxury hotel Cheval Blanc before a night out in the city.
Prior to their holiday, Hugh revealed he and his wife had 'very different ideas' about parenting when they first adopted kids.
Speaking to The Radio Times Hugh said: 'You fall in love with someone and you work out your relationship, it's great! All of a sudden, we had kids'.
Wolverine star Hugh looked sharp in a Zegna ensemble that featured a black velvet jacket, turtleneck, suit pants and dress shoes, while sporting a five o'clock shadow
'The way I was parented, the way she was parented all of a sudden whoosh! And it wasn't just Deb and I, it was somehow our pasts coming together,' he said.
Hugh and Deborra-Lee have been married for 27 years and are parents to Oscar, 22, and Ava, 17.
Hugh and Deborah gave their vows just one year after meeting on the set of Australian drama Corelli.
The actor previously said he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life with his beloved after just two weeks of knowing her.
Music director and actress Kolleen Park, third from left, reacts after receiving a Lithuanian passport from Lithuanian Ambassador to Korea Ricardas Slepavicius, center, during a concert celebrating the Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania at Myeongdong Cathedral, Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Embassy of Lithuania in Korea
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Music director and actress Kolleen Park, who is of Korean and Lithuanian descent, attended a concert commemorating the Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul, Monday.
Park, who was born to a Korean father and an American mother of Lithuanian descent, is a well-known figure in the Korean theater industry, gaining popularity through her appearances in musicals such as "Chicago" and "Next to Normal" as well as being a judge for talent shows.
Park, who has applied for Lithuanian citizenship, received a Lithuanian passport from the Lithuanian Ambassador to Korea Ricardas Slepavicius during the event.
Ambassador Slepavicius said Park is an example of the human connection bridging Lithuania and Korea, which might be closer than people think, and that Park's mother, who fled Lithuania at the age of five to escape the Soviet Union's oppression, is still regarded as a cherished person of Lithuania.
The concert celebrated Lithuania's State Restoration Day, which falls on Feb. 16, and the 700th anniversary of the establishment of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania on Jan. 25, with a performance by Lithuanian pianists Sonata Zuboviene and Rokas Zubovas.
Titled "Sounding Seas of Colors: Ciurlionis and Debussy," the duo played works of Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis, one of the most famous Lithuanian composers, as well as French impressionist Claude Debussy and Korean composer Chol-woo David Lee.
Ambassador Slepavicius also highlighted the historical similarities between Korea and Lithuania as well as the shared democratic values and collaborative efforts in upholding the rules-based international order.
Kanye West and his new wife Bianca Censori were spotted on a rare outing as they swung by a gas station in Los Angeles on Tuesday, February 21.
The couple - who tied the knot during a 'private ceremony' in January - drove up in the rapper's black Mercedes Benz and parked at a nearby pump.
Before getting gas, Kanye, 45, and Bianca, 27, made their way into a convenience store to grab the Flashing Lights hitmaker an energy drink.
They then headed back to the car, where Bianca proceeded to place the fuel nozzle into the gas tank.
Bianca looked tense while speaking to her husband next to their vehicle as they waited for the tank to fill up.
Spotted: Kanye West and his new wife Bianca Censori were spotted on a rare outing as they swung by a gas station in Los Angeles on Tuesday, February 21
The couple - who tied the knot during a 'private ceremony' in January - drove up in the rapper's black Mercedes Benz and parked at a nearby pump
Tense? Bianca looked tense while speaking to her husband next to their vehicle as they waited for the tank to fill up
Kanye and Bianca both sported their matching wedding bands for the outing.
Bianca, who is the architectural designer of her new husband's brand Yeezy, showed off her killer curves in a black long-sleeve top and skintight leggings.
Her dyed blonde hair was slicked back and she paraded around in knee-high leather boots.
Meanwhile, Kanye rocked black cargo pants, a plain black tee and an oversized brown bomber jacket.
The Grammy Award-winner was still sporting a grown out beard but his head remains shaved.
They were last photographed out on Wednesday, February 1 as they grabbed dinner at Beauty & Essex restaurant in Los Angeles.
Kanye shocked fans in early January when it was revealed that he had married Bianca, who the general public was unaware that he was dating.
Despite the wedding ceremony, the union isn't legal because the pair do not appear to have filed a marriage certificate, DailyMail.com reported.
According to TMZ, the rapper wears his ring to signify his 'commitment' to Bianca.
The wedding came weeks after his reported split from model Venetria and months after his fling with Instagram sensation Chaney Jones.
Energy boost: Before getting gas, Kanye, 45, and Bianca, 27, made their way into a convenience store to grab the Flashing Lights hitmaker an energy drink
Blonde bombshell: Bianca, who is the architectural designer of her new husband's brand Yeezy, showed off her killer curves in a black long-sleeve top and skintight leggings. Her dyed blonde hair was slicked back and she paraded around in knee-high leather boots
Meanwhile, Kanye rocked black cargo pants, a plain black tee and an oversized brown bomber jacket
At the pump: They then made their way back to the car, where Bianca proceeded to place the fuel nozzle into the gas tank
Kanye has kept the details of his and Bianca's relationship private, despite releasing a song recently titled Censori Overload.
But with her curvaceous body and bleach blonde hair, fans have called out Bianca's similarities to Kanye's former spouse Kim Kardashian - who has since dyed her hair back to brunette.
After the news about Bianca's secret nuptials with Kanye broke, she quickly deactivated her social media accounts, and an abundance of fake accounts have now popped up on Instagram claiming to be her.
The couple met in November of 2020 as Bianca left Australia right after she graduated from university and moved to LA to work for Kanye as the Head of Architecture at his fashion design company Yeezy.
According to friends of Bianca, she is a stylish and smart 'social butterfly' and she had been studying architecture at the University of Melbourne when Kayne offered her a job.
Bianca's friend Kate, told Nova FM's Ben, Liam and Belle: 'Ye slid into her DMs, found her on Instagram, and said, "Come and work for me," and she dropped out.'
She added: 'I'm not actually sure if she's an architect.'
Kanye's latest marriage comes two years after his ex-wife Kim filed for divorce.
They were declared legally single in March 2022 but only just resolved their custody battle in November.
Bianca gazed around the gas station with a furrowed brow
The pair appeared to be in deep conversation
The couple appear to have been joined by a few members of their entourage, who Bianca was seen engaging with
The former couple share four children: North, nine, Saint, seven, Chicago, five, and Psalm, three.
Kim admitted in a candid interview last year that it's been 'really hard' co-parenting with the rapper and that she does her best to shield their kids from the drama.
Kanye has introduced eldest daughter North to his new wife Bianca, but it's unknown if the rest of the children have met the designer.
They were spotted dining with the nine-year-old back in January, less than two weeks after the wedding news broke.
Em Rusciano has taken aim at people calling ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) a 'fad', claiming the uptick in diagnosis is due to its visibility.
The media personality, 43, who has become an outspoken voice for both ADHD and autism in the past year, told Uninterrupted by Womens Health Australia on Wednesday that the rise is due to the diagnostic process is changing.
'It's not because it's a fad or it's popular, it's because we now know more and more. Experts are understanding the female presentation,' she said.
Em explained that she's 'still adjusting' to being neurodivergent but that it explains some of her past behaviour in the radio industry.
'[The diagnosis] shook me to the core. I have had this reputation of being this outspoken, abrasive, firebrand. I hate injustice. I can't keep things to myself,' she said.
Em Rusciano has taken aim at people calling ADHD a 'fad' and 'popular' as she reveals the REAL reason for uptick in diagnosis during an interview with the Australian Women's Health podcast
'You know, all these things that I thought were just faults and personality defects that I've developed great shame around, I now know that's just how I'm wired.'
'It's like asking a blind person to see: I can't change my brain, I cannot change the fact that I am autistic nor do I want to. I'm unlearning the shame around that.'
Em said it was previously picked up in men as the medical fraternity had more familiarity with male presentations - which is now changing.
'The only examples we've seen of neurodivergence is male presentation, it's the bouncing off the walls, it's Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man,' she said.
' It's not because it's a fad or it's popular, it's because we now know more and more. Experts are understanding the female presentation,' Em said. Pictured on The Project
Em was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021, followed by her daughter later that year, then her son Elio (pictured) was diagnosed with autism in 2022, followed by Em being diagnosed with autism months later
'But autistic women mask and we study other people and we learn how to be a human person,' she finished.
Rusciano was diagnosed with autism last November, just one year after being diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).
Last Saturday, Rusciano entered in a war of words with fellow comedian and podcaster Meshel Laurie after Laurie branded her a 'c**t' in a shocking tirade.
The podcaster, 49, accused Em of 'leaping on the bandwagon' for clout and is refusing to back down despite being called out by thousands on social media.
Laurie targeted the Emsolation host after she claimed that she may need to use a 'sensory room' when she attends the Harry Styles concert at Marvel Stadium due to her newly-diagnosed autism.
The sensory room contains noise-cancelling headphones, weighted blankets, and fidget tools so autistic people or those suffering from severe sensory issues have a safe space to go to.
Meshel Laurie (pictured) went ballistic on Em after the star revealed that she may need to use a sensory room for autistic people while attending a Harry Styles concert
The sensory room (pictured) contains noise-cancelling headphones, weighted blankets, and fidget tools so autistic people or those suffering from severe sensory issues have a safe space to go to
'I'm extremely sensitive to light and sound and textures. Sensory overload and burnout happen to me five or six times a week, that's why when I saw that Marvel Stadium had a sensory room, I was excited,' Em explained on Facebook.
'These are only a couple of examples of how my ASD shows up, but I shouldn't have to explain myself. Yet this week I've found myself having to endure people debating if I'm autistic enough or even at all. How is that okay?'
Responding to Laurie's attack, Em uploaded a photo of herself looking relaxed in a floral dress and told her fans to leave 'troubled' Laurie alone.
She wrote: 'Who'd have thought me being grateful for a stadium having a sensory room would turn into what it did.
'I'm exhausted TBH and don't have the heart for a topic reset. I did have to resist the urge to write a song parody to the Kasey Chambers smash hit "Not Pretty Enough" and insert "autistic" - it's a bit too soon for that,' she joked.
'It seems like Meshel is doing it tough at the moment and I've been there. Don't get me wrong, what she wrote was plain wrong and hurt my feelings. I don't want the comments to turn into attacks on Meshel,' she concluded.
Meshel, 49, accused Em of 'leaping on the bandwagon' for clout and is refusing to back down despite being called out by thousands on social media
Meshel has refused to apologise and seemed to take a swipe at Em in this cryptic post (pictured)
Em is one of Australia's most celebrated media figures. She hosts a hugely successful podcast and tours Australia performing music and comedy
Rusciano's followers were quick to praise her for taking the high road during this difficult time.
The star was diagnosed with autism last November, just one year after being diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).
In the same time period, her three-year-old son Elio was diagnosed with autism and her daughter Odette was diagnosed with ADHD.
In a recent Facebook post, the former radio host also explained some of her symptoms.
Her list included struggling to follow recipes, maps and instructions.
'I can't wear a hair tie or scrunchy around my wrist, it makes me feel like I'm suffocating,' she explained.
'I understand I might not fit your preconception of what autism is but that's not my job to do that. I was diagnosed by a specialist in the field,' she said.
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Charlotte McKinney is the epitome of a blonde bombshell in Larroude footwear's latest campaign, which sees the 29-year-old model strip down to promote the new line.
In one sizzling shot, the Florida native posed topless in just a pair of small white underwear with a vinyl copy of the Grease soundtrack protecting her modesty.
She was positioned on the edge of a bed with her pedicured feet on full display in a pair of black sandals.
'Shooting this campaign was extra special because the first time I wore their shoes I fell in love and became such a fan of the line,' Charlotte gushed on Instagram.
She added that she was grateful to have 'had the chance to work with some of the most kindest and bad a** people.'
Sizzling: Charlotte McKinney is the epitome of a blonde bombshell in Larroude footwear's latest campaign , which sees the 29-year-old model strip down to promote the new line
In the buff: In one sizzling shot, the Florida native posed topless in just a pair of small white underwear with a vinyl copy of the Grease soundtrack protecting her modesty
Pool day: To further flaunt the new collection - which ranges from sky-high heels to funky platforms - Charlotte moved the shoot poolside
To further flaunt the new collection - which ranges from sky-high heels to funky platforms - Charlotte moved the shoot poolside.
Her long, lean legs took center stage in a photo of the beauty standing next to a pool railing in a mesh bustier top and a white G-string.
Charlotte's voluminous blonde hair was swept to one side and her lips were a pouty pink.
She stood on blush-toned sandals with a modest heel that had flower-like puffs along the straps.
The lingerie look's soft hues highlighted the Carl's Jr. star's sun-kissed complexion.
Getting a little more pool-appropriate, Charlotte changed into a skintight white one-piece styled with silver platform feels.
She put one leg up on the pool railing and offered the camera a sultry gaze.
Showcasing her more playful side, Charlotte threw on a pair of colorful slip-ons that she pretended to talk into like a phone.
She eventually put on the funky shoes, which gave her ruffled, white two-piece suit a fun pop of color.
Pin-up: Looking like pin-up perfection, Charlotte shows off her tiny waist in strapless pink and white polkadot swimsuit with sky-high espadrilles
Barbie girl: Channeling a Hollywood socialite, Charlotte threw on a skimpy hot pink cut-out dress to pose up against a white Porsche
Playful: Showcasing her more playful side, Charlotte threw on a pair of colorful slip-ons that she pretended to talk into like a phone
Colorful: She eventually put on the funky shoes, which gave her ruffled, white two-piece suit a fun pop of color
Hot stuff: Charlotte switched up her Barbie vibes by rocking a metallic minidress while bending over and strapping herself into a pair of strappy sandals
Channeling a Hollywood socialite, Charlotte ditched the swimwear and threw on a skimpy hot pink cut-out dress to pose up against a white Porsche.
The skintight number was worn with matching platform Mary Janes.
She sat with her legs hanging out of the driver's side and her hand tangled in her voluminous golden hair.
Charlotte switched up her Barbie vibes by rocking a metallic minidress while bending over and strapping herself into a pair of strappy sandals.
Looking like pin-up perfection, Charlotte showed off her tiny waist in a strapless pink and white polkadot swimsuit with sky-high espadrilles.
Last but not least, the shoot took a more casual turn by placing Charlotte inside a laundromat in nothing but a large, white sweatshirt.
For a flirty touch, Charlotte slipped her feet into a pair of pale pink heels with fluffy straps.
She leaned back against a laundry cart for one shot before showing off her rear while checking on her laundry load.
Charlotte first teased the campaign to her Instagram followers last week.
The Fantasy Island actress has 2.1million followers and recently spoke candidly about her platform in an interview with Marie Claire.
'Social media is an interesting part of life, and it's not all it looks like from the outside. Instagram is just an outlet to exude this image of what you deem as a perfect life,' she stated.
Laundry day: Last but not least, the shoot took a more casual turn by placing Charlotte inside a laundromat in nothing but a large, white shirt
For a flirty touch, Charlotte slipped her feet into a pair of pale pink heels with fluffy straps
She leaned back against a laundry cart for one shot
In another snap, Charlotte lifts up her tee to expose her black underwear
'Shooting this campaign was extra special because the first time I wore their shoes I fell in love and became such a fan of the line,' Charlotte gushed in a statement
She added that she was grateful to have 'had the chance to work with some of the most kindest and bad a** people'
Charlotte admitted that although she's not necessarily fond of using social media, she recognizes that it's a necessity in her professional life.
'I have such a love hate relationship with it, being a private person but it plays such an essential part of my career,' she said.
The fashion industry personality concluded by expressing that prospective models should consider utilizing unconventional means while looking for success.
'Now more than ever, there isn't just one path to wherever you want or need to go. Explore as many options as possible, and don't rely on one straight road,' she said
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Cocaine Bear costars Keri Russell and and Elizabeth Banks were joined by costar Kahyun Kim on the red carpet for the movie's Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday.
The 46-year-old Felicity alum and the 49-year-old Charlie's Angels star made respective fashion statements but were upstaged by 33-year-old South Korean actress, who wore a skimpy string dress that exposed her breasts.
The Juilliard School graduate protected her modesty with a pair of sparkly silver bear pasties and a black thong.
Meanwhile, Keri turned heads in a slinky, satin black dress and blazer combination while Elizabeth dazzled in a gold, sequin-covered frock.
The Universal Pictures film, which is based on true events that took place in 1985, comes out on Friday.
Arrivals: Cocaine Bear costars Keri Russell and and Elizabeth Banks were joined by costar Kahyun Kim on the red carpet for the movie's Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday
Wow! Her hair and makeup were no exception to the stunning presentation, as Kim also went above and beyond to pull off her bold look for the night
Kahyun, who's known for her roles on series like 9-1-1 and Mr. Mayor, put on a confident display as she stepped out in thigh-high shiny red boots.
Her netted dress had spaghetti-thin straps and crisscrossed around her neck, with the plunging rock falling at her midsection.
She gave an eyeful in the attention-grabbing outfit, which flashed her belly-button and cropped at the middle area of her thighs.
The sides of the netted metallic silver dress featured keyhole openings that exposed even more of her skin.
The classically trained professional rocked a pair of dangling stone-encrusted earrings, adding more bedazzle to her ensemble.
And her hair and makeup were no exception to the stunning presentation, as Kim went above and beyond to pull off her bold look for the night.
The showstopper pulled her glossy blonde-tipped locks into an intricate updo that included a middle part and two thin, braided pieces left out in front.
She rocked two pigtails on either side of her head that were then braided and folded into wispy buns that created a horn-like effect.
Flashy: Kahyun, who's known for her roles on series like 9-1-1 and Mr. Mayor, put on a confident display as she stepped out in thigh-high red boots
Work friends: Cocaine Bear costars Keri Russell and and Elizabeth Banks joined each other on the red carpet for the movie's Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday
Bond: The women enjoyed each other's company as the posed for photos and shared a laugh
Sexy: Keri bared some skin in her look, which boasted a plunging neckline and a side slit that exposed one of her legs
Keri bared some skin in her look, which boasted a plunging neckline and a side slit that exposed one of her legs.
The longtime entertainer walked the step-and-repeat in a pair of open-toe black heels with a silver-toned buckle on the strap.
She jazzed up her look with sparkly earrings and a long gold chain with a round, coin-like pendant.
Her light brown hair was arranged in an undefined side part as it fell over one side of her face.
The petite, 5ft4in mother-of-three carried a small black clutch and rocked multiple rings.
The silver screen siren looked typically gorgeous with her eyes outlined with black eyeliner.
Keri also took time to pose with another costar at the gathering, actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, 47.
The Modern Family alum looked dapper in a textured deep blue suit that he paired with white sneakers.
Pretty: Her light brown hair was arranged in an undefined side part as it fell over one side of her face
Costars: Keri posed for a photo with actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who is also in the thriller
His ensemble: The Modern Family alum looked dapper in a textured deep blue suit that he paired with white sneakers
Having fun: The two entertainers keeled over with laughter while attending the star-packed event
Elizabeth wowed in her statement-making getup, which boasted an asymmetric hemline.
The Massachusetts-bred performer bared her toned arms in the look, which had a v-neckline.
It featured a short skirt with ruching, and two long floor-grazing pieces that hung from either side of her hips.
The fashion-forward actress added a pair of sheer black leggings and shiny, black, Mary Jane-style platform heels.
The blonde beauty wore her layered locks styled in a side part and soft curls that dusted her shoulders.
One side was tucked behind her ear, revealing her coordinating gold beaded drop earrings.
Looking good: The Massachusetts-bred performer bared her toned arms in the look, which had a v-neckline
Photo opportunity: Aditya Sood, Elizabeth, Christopher Miller and Phil Lord
Say cheese: The mom-of-two had a great time with fellow stars O'Shea Jackson Jr., Aaron Holliday, and Kahyun
Banks mingled with the other attendees who graced the premiere's red carpet on Tuesday night.
The mom-of-two, who's married to Max Handelman, had a great time with fellow stars O'Shea Jackson Jr., Aaron Holliday, Kahyun Kim, and others.
O'shea, who's the son of rapper and actor Ice Cube, arrived to the soiree in a black suit.
The Straight Outta Compton actor, 31, punctuated the outfit with a pair of black sneakers with a white sole.
He looked handsome as he sported a fresh haircut and a neatly trimmed, full beard while stopping for pictures.
Jackson Jr. was all smiles as he threw up peace signs and showed off two fine chains layered around his neck and a flashy gold ring.
Peace: O'Shea threw up two peace signs as he smiled alongside Elizabeth, who affectionately placed a hand on his shoulder
Dapper: The Straight Outta Compton actor, 31, punctuated the outfit with a pair of black sneakers with a white sole
Lovebirds: Jesse and his husband Justin Mikita held hands as they attended the celebrity-packed event
Cast shot: The cast and crew of the film got together at the red carpet premiere in Los Angeles on February 21
Couple style: Samara Weaving and husband Jimmy Warden complemented each other in coordinating black getups
Late actor Ray Liotta's 24-year-old daughter Karsen was present for the premiere, arriving with the actor's fiancee Jacy Nittolo and his sister Linda Matthews.
Karsen, who will accept her father's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this month, stepped out in a black outfit to support one of her father's final films, less than one year after his death at age 67.
Liotta looked beautiful in a simple look that included a plunging satin tank top, matching slacks, and pointed-toe black heels.
The event, which will be live-streamed, will coincide with Friday's release of the action-comedy, which Banks directed.
The Newark, New Jersey native died in his sleep last May while in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, shooting the upcoming thriller Dangerous Waters.
Jacy looked beautiful in leather trousers and a fitted, long-sleeved top with her hair in softly feathered curls.
And his sister Linda looked youthful with a metallic silver off-the-shoulder top tucked into a pair of cinched black pants.
Paying tribute: Karsen Liotta, the late Ray Liotta's daughter, stepped out in a black outfit to support her father's final film less than a year after his death
Her look: Liotta looked beautiful in a simple look that included a plunging satin tank top and matching slacks
Surrounded by loved ones: Karsen was joined by her father's fiancee Jacy Nittolo and her paternal aunt Linda Matthews
Gorgeous: Jacy looked beautiful in leather trousers and a fitted, long-sleeved top with her hair in softly feathered curls
The movie plot is centered around a bear that goes on a murderous rampage searching for 'blood and blow' after guzzling cocaine dropped from a smuggler's plane.
It has a budget of around $30 million, with the drug-fueled bear being brought to life through CGI.
There are dozens of bloody scenes, with Banks telling Variety 'the gore is part of the fun of the ride.'
But the true story that inspired the movie is said to be far less dramatic after medical examiners said it is likely the bear only consumed a very small quantity of the drug.
The bear sourced the drug from a duffel bag, believed to be a 300-pound shipment of Colombian cocaine, that had been dropped out of a plane across eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia, authorities said.
Convicted drug smuggler, Andrew Carter Thornton II, was linked to the shipment after his body was found on a driveway in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 11, 1985, with 77 pounds of cocaine strapped to his waist.
The real-life bear was found dead three months later, lying beside an empty bag and 40 opened bags of blow, with a medical examiner ruling he suffered from cerebral hemorrhaging, respiratory failure, hyperthermia, renal failure, heart failure and a stroke.
Fiery: Brooklynne Webb made a fashion statement in a deep red leather trench coat and a strapless ruffled blouse
Hot! Devyn Winkler and Carolina Adriana Urrea each chose to show off their legs and step out in platform shoes
Looking great: Margo Martindale was in great spirits as she arrived in a black sweater with a statement-making cowl neck
Coming soon: The Universal Pictures film, which is based on true events that took place in 1985 , comes out on Friday
Love Island Australia's Cassie Lansdell is the latest star to join OnlyFans.
Cassie, who appeared on season two of the Channel Nine dating series, shared a link to the adult-only subscription site to her Instagram page.
In her menu, she revealed she was doing hardcore porn, including XXX custom content, girl-on-girl and boy-on-girl explicit content and amateur uncensored explicit content.
She also offers 'feet content' and a 'chat feature' for eager fans.
Her profile photo is a full body image of herself with band-aids covering her nipples.
Love Island Australia's Cassie Lansdell is the latest star to join OnlyFans
'Your spicy Ex Love Islander,' she wrote in her bio. 'Come and see my naughty side you are not supposed to look at.'
The star selling the racy content for $10 per month.
She's offering a sale price at the moment for $3 for 28 days.
Cassie appeared on season two of Love Island. She famously dated co-star Luke Packham, who went on to appear on The Block.
Following news of his Luke's engagement back in 2020, she went on to take a veiled swipe at the star
In her menu, she revealed she was doing hardcore porn, including XXX custom content, girl-on-girl and boy-on-girl explicit content and amateur uncensored explicit content
Cassie shared a meme to her Instagram which read: 'I'm so happy I didn't end up with what I thought I wanted'.
The reality star later clarified she was happy for her ex.
'The only thing I'd say is that Luke and I realised that we weren't really right for each other, but we are still good friends,' she told Daily Mail Australia.
Elsa Pataky was all smiles and legs on Monday as she stepped out to do some shopping in Byron Bay with her daughter India and twin boys, Sasha and Tristan.
The actress, 46, showed off her trim pins and pert derriere in a pair of tiny khaki shorts paired with a blue graphic shirt.
A family of pranksters at heart, the trio appeared to be planning a trick on Elsa's famous husband Chris Hemsworth as they were seen purchasing a whoopee cushion.
Once they were finished having fun, the Fast and Furious franchise star went back into the store to pick up some items for the family's apparent new addition.
Elsa went shopping for their kitten - picking up litter, a scratching post and an enclosed litter tray.
Elsa Pataky was all smiles and legs on Monday as she stepped out to do some shopping in Byron Bay with her daughter India and twin boys, Sasha and Tristan
While India, 10, appeared to be engrossed in a yellow ball she was carrying, one of her twin brothers, eight, was more than happy to help his famous mother.
Unfortunately, he wasn't as careful as he should have been as the litter box fell off the trolley as he pushed it.
Elsa has been married to Hemsworth, 39, since 2010, and they have been living in Byron Bay for almost a decade.
The actress, 46, showed off her trim pins and pert derriere in a pair of tiny khaki shorts paired with a blue graphic shirt
Elsa went shopping for their new kitten, picking up litter, a scratching post and an enclosed litter tray
Pataky appeared to be shopping for a kitten as she picked up kitty litter, a scratching post and an enclosed litter tray, putting some of it onto a trolley
The lovebirds swapped the bright lights of Hollywood for a more relaxed life in Byron Bay nine years ago.
The Spanish actress previously said she enjoys the laid-back vibe of Byron, where she and her husband own a $30million mega-mansion and share their three children.
Chris recently announced he was taking a break from acting to spend more time with his family after discovering he was at risk of Alzheimer's disease.
The Thor star told Vanity Fair he'd decided to take 'time off' after filming a confronting episode about death for his new Disney+ docuseries Limitless.
While India, 10, appeared to be engrossed in a yellow ball she was carrying, one of her twin brothers, eight, was more than happy to help his famous mother
Unfortunately, he wasn't as careful as he should have been as the litter box fell off the trolley as he pushed it
Elsa has been married to Hemsworth, 39, since 2010, and they have been living in Byron Bay for almost a decade
The lovebirds swapped the bright lights of Hollywood for a more relaxed life in Byron Bay nine years ago
A family of pranksters at heart, the trio appeared to be planning a trick on Elsa's famous husband Chris Hemsworth as they were also seen purchasing a whoopee cushion
Loved ones of the late Ray Liotta, including his daughter Karsen Liotta, fiancee Jacy Nittolo and sister Linda Matthews, for the premiere of the film Cocaine Bear, which marks the final film the actor completed before his death last May ay 67.
The trio posed with one another at Regal LA Live in Los Angeles on Tuesday for the premiere of the film, in which the late Goodfellas star portrays a drug kingpin.
Karsen, a 24-year-old actress, donned a black silk spaghetti strap top with black pants and pointy toe shoes.
The actress wore her wavy auburn locks down and parted as she posed with Nittolo and Matthews. Karsen had past worked with her late father on projects such as Hubie Halloween, Black Bird and Shades of Blue.
Nittolo, who began dating the Something Wild actor in 2020, donned a sleek all-black ensemble of a long-sleeved black top with leather pants and shoes.
Legacy: The late Ray Liotta's daughter Karsen Liotta, 24, was pictured in between his fiancee Jacy Nittolo and sister Linda Matthews at the premiere of the film Cocaine Bear at Regal LA Live in Los Angeles on Tuesday
The late Goodfellas star was seen at an event in NYC in December of 2021, less than seven months prior to his death in May of 2022
Nittolo, who honored the anniversary of the actor's birthday in December, wore her brown locks parted and carried a clutch, accessorizing with a necklace and a bracelet.
Liotta's sister Linda Matthews donned a silver one-shoulder top with black silk cropped pants and strappy black heels.
The action comedy movie, which is directed by Elizabeth Banks, is focused on a drug-addled bear on a murderous rampage.
The film is based on the true story of a black bear in 1985 who found and consumed a multimillion dollar package of cocaine smugglers air-dropped into a forest in the state of Georgia.
While the bear in real life died from an overdose near where officials found torn-up packages that contained the drug, the film takes artistic license with the premise, sending the bear on a bloody spree involving multiple people.
In a trailer for the film, Liotta's drug kingpin dispatches two of his underlings (Alden Ehrenreich and O'Shea Jackson Jr.) to find and recover the missing contraband.
'A lot of cocaine was lost - I need you to go and get it,' Liotta's character said.
They encounter the bear and deduce that it had broken into the drug stash, as Ehrenreich tells Liotta's character: 'The bear, it f***ing did cocaine - a bear did cocaine!'
The trio posed with one another on the red carpet of the film, which is directed by Elizabeth Banks
Karsen, an actress, donned a black silk spaghetti strap top with black pants and pointy toe shoes
She wore her wavy auburn locks down and parted at the event in Southern California
Karsen past worked with her late father on projects such as Black Bird and Shades of Blue
Nittolo, who began dating the late actor in 2020, donned a sleek all-black ensemble of a long-sleeved black top with leather pants and shoes
The trio posed with actress Margo Martindale and director Elizabeth Banks at the event
Ehrenreich told UPROXX in a piece published Tuesday that the late star 'really seemed to be having a ball being a part of' the film.
'He loved it,' Ehrenreich said. 'I'm very grateful for the opportunity that I got to work with him, and especially now. Liz had such a great set and he came and he really seemed to be having a ball being a part of this.'
Ehrenreich said of Liotta, 'I mean, he really was having, I think, a really good time. And so it was really nice to be able to work with him and see him have so much fun with it.'
Banks told Variety earlier this month that Liotta 'came to Ireland with the best attitude' to work on the film.
The filmmaker added: 'He had a great time. He came for ADR and saw the film, and was like, "Oh, my God, the bear looks so good!"'
Liotta died May 26, 2022 at the age of 67 in the Dominican Republic, where he was working on the film Dangerous Waters. According to iMDB, other projects he was working on at the time of his passing include The Substance; April 29, 1992; and El Tonto.
The movie also features Isiah Whitlock Jr., Keri Russell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kristofer Hivju, Hannah Hoekstra, Brooklynn Prince, Christian Convery, Aaron Holliday and Margo Martindale.
The motion picture is slated to arrive in theaters February 24.
The movie's Alden Ehrenreich said that the late star 'really seemed to be having a ball being a part of' the film
(L-R) O'Shea Jackson, Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Ayoola Smart and Liotta are pictured in a scene from the film
Liotta is seen in his final completed role in Cocaine Bear, which showcases a drug-addled bear on a murderous rampage
Liotta's character, a drug kingpin, dispatches two of his underlings to find and recover the missing contraband in the film
The bear is seen dripping with blood after a murderous rampage while high on drugs
The bear is seen amid a dust cloud of cocaine after consuming the substance
More than two months after her adoptive father Stephen 'tWitch' Boss' shocking suicide, Weslie Boss returned to social media.
The 14-year-old, who Boss' widow Allison Holker had in 2008 with an unnamed ex-fiance, was adopted by Boss after they tied the knot in 2013.
Weslie hasn't posted to her 152.6K followers on TikTok since December 12, the day before her father died, but she returned to social media on Monday.
The brief video featured the teen holding her phone up to a mirror, set to the 2020 Mac Miller song Surf... released on his posthumous album Circles, two years after his death from an accidental overdose at just 28 years of age.
The phone also featured two small photos of her and Stephen as a tribute to her late father, with the video getting over 221K views and 21K likes.
Return: More than two months after her adoptive father Stephen 'tWitch' Boss' shocking suicide , Weslie Boss returned to social media
Adopted: The 14-year-old, who Boss' widow Allison Holker had in 2008 with an unnamed ex-fiance, was adopted by Boss after they tied the knot in 2013
TikTok: Weslie hasn't posted to her 152.6K followers on TikTok since December 12, the day before her father died, but she returned to social media on Monday
She posted another short but sweet tribute to Stephen in her caption, stating simply, 'I miss u.'
Her mother Allison Holker commented, 'I love you babygirl,' with a red heart emoji, adding, 'always and forever.'
Weslie's post also comes just days after a celebration of life service was held for tWitch in Los Angeles.
Allison and her children Weslie, Maddox, 6, and Zaia, 3, welcomed family friends such as Ellen DeGeneres, Derek Hough, Loni Love, Wayne Brady, Wade Robson, AJ McLean and Robin Antin.
Debbie Allen introduced a video tribute while Mickey Guyton and Andy Grammer performed at the event.
Holker also opened up on Saturday with a touching video, thanking everyone for all of their support.
'I just want to say thank you for all the love and support that you guys have sent to me and my family at this time,' she said.
'It has been very challenging and emotional, but you guys have brought so much hope and inspiration to us by sharing stories and memories and moments and different ways that Stephen impacted your life,' Holker added.
Celebration: Weslie's post also comes just days after a celebration of life service was held for tWitch in Los Angeles
Love: Her mother Allison Holker commented, 'I love you babygirl,' with a red heart emoji, adding, 'always and forever'
'He lived his life from love, and he made you feel a certain way. Joy to peoples homes, you know, from dance or love,' she added.
'And thats not gonna change for us. Its going to feel a little bit different, but we know that thats our purpose and well still do that to this day,' she said.
The dancer and choreographer took his own life in a hotel bathroom on December 13, and he was laid to rest in early January.
Holker penned a heartfelt tribute to her husband of nearly a decade, stating, 'To my husband, best friend, babe, Chee-chalker, Superman and father of my children I LOVE YOU FOREVER and ALWAYS!'
'We will forever remember you as the true beacon of light that you were and we will continue to cast your light and love throughout the world. Thank you for our incredible memories and our beautiful life shared together.'
Boss first came into prominence when he finished second in the fourth season of So You Think You Can Dance.
He would return to the Fox dance competition series as a guest before joining The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2014.
While he initially served as a guest DJ, he was offered a permanent role on the hit show and was elevated to producer as well in 2020.
Joy: 'He lived his life from love, and he made you feel a certain way. Joy to peoples homes, you know, from dance or love,' she added
Savannah Chrisley has revealed that her family is going to do a new reality show while her parents serve their multi-year prison sentences for bank fraud and tax evasion.
In the latest episode of her podcast, Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley, 25-year-old Savannah opened up about her family returning to reality TV and making their comeback.
She was joined by paternal grandmother Nanny Faye and her 10-year-old niece Chloe Chrisley who Savannah is raising while her parents are behind bars.
Grandma Chrisley joked that their new show should be called Nanny Knows Best, leading Savannah to say, 'Well, you do know, we're talking to a few production companies about doing another show.'
Todd and Julie Chrisley, 50, were sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison last November. Julie is serving her seven-year stint in Kentucky, while Todd does 12 years at a minimum-security prison in Florida.
Ready for round two: Savannah Chrisley has revealed that her family is going to do a new reality show while her parents serve their multi-year prison sentences for bank fraud and tax evasion
'Tons of production companies have reached out and networks that want to do a show,' claimed Savannah.
And Nanny Faye is game for another reality show, as the 79-year-old matriarch declared: 'I'm ready to go work. I'm ready to walk down that highway any day...I'm ready.'
Nanny Faye even went on to suggest a potential title for their comeback vehicle: 'Bounce Back Chrisleys.'
Savannah gave the title her full endorsement, saying, 'It's so true. At the end of the day, we're not going to allow this to stop us from moving forward.'
Dusting off some old-school wisdom, Nanny Faye proclaimed, 'The sun's gonna come up, and the sun's gonna come down.
'We have no control over it. What we have control is we're gonna get up and dust our pants off today and get to going.
'And we're gonna let the world see that we're really who we were. We love each other, we're gonna walk this walk and talk this talk.'
From there, Savannah discussed how Chrisley Knows Best was less of a reality show and 'more of a comedy.'
She's game: In the latest episode of her podcast, Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley , 25-year-old Savannah opened up about her family returning to reality TV and making their comeback
Behind bars: Todd and Julie Chrisley, 50, were sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison last November. Julie is serving her seven-year stint in Kentucky, while Todd does 12 years at a minimum-security prison in Florida
'It became more of a comedy than it was reality,' said Savannah. 'We had fun doing it because we all got to work together, so we got to be around each other.'
Savannah laid out the road map for what their future show will look like, saying, 'We're going to touch on where we're at today, Mom and Dad being gone, how we're coping with it, how we get through it.
'Also too, having two kids and all of us stepping in to make sure that they have what they need emotionally, psychologically, physically, all the things, I feel like there's a level of humor to it as well.'
Wrapping up their conversation, Savannah said that 'life goes on' and that getting used to their 'new normal' is something that they must face as a family adding that their new show 'will be heartwarming. It'll break your heart, you'll laugh...'
Savannah recently broke hearts on another episode of her podcast when she opened up about struggling to raise her teenage brother Grayson, 16, and her young niece Chloe, 10.
'It's been hard - it's been hard to understand, to process and also help two kids process what's been going on in our life,' said Savannah.
The podcaster added that Grayson had a breakdown and she had personally 'felt defeated' as she prepared to take Chloe to visit her relatives in prison.
'I don't feel adequate enough for this job,' Savannah said, adding that she finds 'the strength to get through it and do it.'
A lot of interest: 'Well, you do know, we're talking to a few production companies about doing another show,' said Savannah
Fielding offers: The podcaster claimed that 'tons of production companies have reached out and networks that want to do a show'
Savannah referenced her mother Julie, saying: 'I am not my mother, which I wish I was because she is the kindest, most loving, most amazing human being I've ever met.
'I always said if I could be half of her, I would be okay. I guess in moments like these, I realize I'm more like my mom than I realize because I'm getting through it.'
Savannah said that she emailed her father about her 'crappy day,' and he responded with an encouraging message.
In the letter Todd sent, according to Savannah, he told her, 'I want you to give yourself some grace.
'Fall in love with the real Savannah, the one that I raised that radiates a room with her kindness and compassion. Not the one the world wants to see.'
He continued in the letter: 'Remember, to gain the world and lose your soul, then what do you have?
'I've never been more proud of you and the woman you're becoming. You've been cast in the fire and what God burns off will allow you to shine brighter than gold.'
The Chrisley Knows Best couple were sentenced to federal prison on November 22, and they began their respective sentences January 17.
Married At First Sight bride Caitlin McConville may have left the show heartbroken, but she gained herself a brand new job alongside her co-star Melinda Willis.
The makeup artist, 27, wanted to leave her job after participating in the series for something more 'financially stable', and after she left her fellow bride Melinda offered her a position at her Brisbane-based salon.
Caitlin is now a senior technician at Melly's Beauty Parlour where she specialises in lashes and brows, and she's revealed what bride Melinda, 33, is really like as a boss.
'I was working a different job and I was saying how I needed another job, something I can enjoy a little bit more and something a bit more financially stable,' she told Yahoo Lifestyle.
'And Melinda was like, "Babe, get your qualifications and come work for me!" and I was like, "I already have them!". So we just thought why not?
Married At First Sight bride Caitlin McConville (right) may have left the show heartbroken, but she gained herself a brand new job alongside her co-star Melinda Willis (left)
The makeup artist, 27, wanted to leave her job after participating in the series for something more 'financially stable'
Melinda owns Melly's Beauty Parlour in Brisbane and gave her co-star a job
'Were both Brisbane girls and we both have the same qualifications in this industry. Women supporting women vibes.'
Caitlin, who was recently photographed training for her new job on the salon's Instagram page, said her new boss Melinda is 'amazing' to work with.
'Shes so understanding, shes really patient and shes a great boss and a great friend,' she said.
'It's a pleasure to work with her.'
The beautician made a shock exit at the most recent commitment ceremony on MAFS after saying she would no longer be disrespected by her 'husband' Shannon Adams.
The beautician is specialising in lashes and brows at the Brisbane-based salon
But this may not be the last we see of Caitlin, who is tipped to return to the show next year for another shot at love due to the 'unique circumstances' of her exit.
She told Yahoo Lifestyle that if she was single and asked to go back on the show, she would definitely consider it.
'Look, if I was single and I hadn't found somebody yet, I would definitely be open to coming back,' she said.
'But Im hoping to have found somebody by then!'
Hong Kong: Mainland study tours facilitated
The Education Bureau today announced that a one-off facilitation service will be arranged for students and teachers who will soon depart for senior secondary subject Citizenship & Social Development (CS) Mainland study tours to apply for the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong & Macao Residents.
The bureau said following the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, the CS Mainland study tours will start soon. Schools have responded positively to the arrangement with proactive preparation for the tours.
However, certain schools have indicated that some students are unable to make an appointment in time to renew or apply for the Home Return Permit. In view of this, the bureau has co-ordinated with China Travel Service Entry Permit Service Hong Kong (CTS) to arrange a permit application facilitation service for students and teachers in need.
The one-off special arrangement is applicable to Secondary 5 students and accompanying teachers who will depart for the CS Mainland study tours in April or May.
Taking into account that most students need their parents to apply for the permit and the considerable advance preparation such as ticketing arrangements required for the Mainland study tours, CTS will open a designated centre from February 26 to March 19 for four consecutive Sundays to handle permit renewals or applications from students and teachers who need the service.
Students and teachers are required to make an appointment via CTS' online system in advance and to submit their basic personal information and booking reference number to their school.
Upon receipt of the related student and teacher lists from schools, the bureau will arrange time slots for the permit applications. It will send a letter to schools today to inform them of the details.
The bureau announced on February 9 the latest arrangements for the CS Mainland study tours for this school year for current Secondary 4 and 5 students, including providing schools with 22 routes to Guangdong Province from one day to three days starting from April.
The facilitation service will help schools organise and lead students to take part in the Mainland study tours smoothly, enabling principals, teachers and pupils to gain first-hand experience of the country's situation and understand its latest developments and achievements in various aspects.
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
At least 25 million flu illnesses reported in U.S. this season: CDC estimates
Xinhua) 10:05, February 22, 2023
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- There have been at least 25 million flu illnesses, 280,000 hospitalizations, and 18,000 deaths from flu so far this season in the United States, according to the latest estimates of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The number and weekly rate of flu hospital admissions continue to decline in the country.
Five influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported in the week ending Feb. 11, for a total of 111 pediatric flu deaths reported so far this season, according to the CDC.
Nearly 2,000 people were hospitalized with flu in the latest week.
The CDC recommends that everyone ages six months and older get an annual flu vaccine as long as flu activity continues.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, right, and his UAE counterpart, Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi, inspect an honor guard ahead of their talks at the UAE defense ministry in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 21, in this photo released by Lee's office. Yonhap
The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have held talks in Abu Dhabi to discuss bilateral cooperation in the arms industry, cybersecurity and other areas, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday.
During the talks Tuesday (local time), Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his UAE counterpart, Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi, noted the two countries' recent memorandums of understanding on strategic defense industry cooperation and the development of a multirole transport aircraft marked a "great" milestone in their cooperation.
The two arrangements were signed last month when President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Abu Dhabi for a summit with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Building on these arrangements, Lee and the UAE defense chief agreed to explore various options for new cooperation in "joint investment, research and technology development," according to the ministry.
In particular, they agreed to work together to identify weapons systems, which can be jointly developed and produced, and find possible areas for joint research.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in cyber and space domains, and science-based training programs, while "highly" assessing their continued push for cooperation in special warfare training, people-to-people exchanges and other areas.
Al Bowardi called the South Korean military contingent, known as the Akh unit, in the UAE a "symbol" of bilateral cooperation, saying the unit has played a "big" role in reinforcing the UAE military's combat capabilities, according to the ministry.
Launched in 2011, the Akh unit has been carrying out various missions in the country, including training UAE troops and protecting Korean nationals in the region in case of emergencies. Akh means brother in Arabic.
Lee used the talks to explain Seoul's efforts to deter North Korean nuclear and missile threats, and foster peace on the Korean Peninsula, and asked for the UAE's support for the endeavors.
Following the talks, Lee visited a UAE military unit in Abu Dhabi that operates the South Korean-made Cheongung II midrange surface-to-air missile system, and encouraged the troops there, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)
Sam Faiers has come under fire after complaining about her 'exhausting' holiday in Abu Dhabi and 'tough' flight home in first class.
The influencer, 32, spent a week in UAE on a family holiday with sister Billie and mum Suzie on a PR stay to advertise the country through her social media posts.
After spamming her 2.5million followers with bikini-clad snaps on golden beaches and glimpses of her luxury hotel, Sam's post about her flight home had a notable change of pace.
Sharing a selfie cradling nine-month-old son Edward in first class seats, she stressed how 'tough' it had been for herself and partner Paul Knightley going on holiday with their baby, son Paul, seven, and daughter Rosie, five.
She began: 'The truth is going on holiday with small children is tough, especially with a crawling, teething baby.'
'Read the room, we're in a cost of living crisis!': Sam Faiers was slammed by fans for complaining about her 'tough' first class flight home from Abu Dhabi after a free family holiday
Sam continued: 'We have had the most wonderful time in the sunshine, swimming every day, exploring, sightseeing and eating lots of ice cream but it's exhausting, remember nobody said it was easy.'
'As for the flight home Edward slept maybe 1 hour out of 7.5 safe to say I was doing everything I could to keep him entertained without crying.'
She went on to thank the 'accommodating and kind' Etihad Airways staff who had helped her when she felt 'self-conscious' about flying with a baby.
Yet the post immediately riled her followers who were quick to point out that the post seemed tone-deaf when many were struggling with a cost of living crisis.
Other fans noted that it would have been harder flying in economy and asked Sam to 'read the room' and be aware of her 'privilege.'
They commented: 'This post is wrong, you are very privileged to travel business/first class and I acknowledge you work hard, but to post this, saying how hard it is travelling with 3 children is not representative of all you lovely followers, who imagine as I am/are having travelled with young children in economy where until up to the 2 years of age don't even get their own seat';
'just be grateful you weren't in econonmy!'; 'Just don't know how you cope on business!'; 'Yeah really hard when you're in first class seats'; 'oh shut the f**k up about tough omg such a hard life jetting about staying in luxurious resorts';
'maybe try doing it in economy where most of your followers would be then you'll know tough'; 'my heart bleeds. Read the room Sam. The rest of us are exhausted from living during a cost of living crisis. [sic]'
Fun in the sun: The influencer, 32, spent a week in UAE on a family holiday with sister Billie and mum Suzie on a PR stay to advertise the country through her social media posts
Not impressed: The post immediately riled her followers who were quick to point out that the post seemed tone-deaf when many were struggling with a cost of living crisis
Sam also received support from followers who noted that caring for young children is tough in any environment.
They penned: 'looks like you had a lovely time, people are jealous of you never mind'; 'whatever your class we choose babies and children are babies and children wherever they are but it's nice to see money don't always buy happiness it nice to see reality';
'people get a grip if they want to pay their money they can fly whatever seats they like. The post is about flying on general and keeping kids occupied etc. [sic].'
The mother-of-three was quick to edit the post after the backlash, disabling the comments and changing the caption to read: 'Home sweet home @etihad @visitabudhabi #findyourpace #inabudhabi #ad .'
It's not the first time Sam has found herself in hot water on a flight, having previously been scolded by British Airways staff for being too raucous on a trip to New York with her mother and sister.
The former TOWIE star also came under fire during the Covid lockdowns when she was caught breaking travel rules by flying to the Maldives to celebrate her 30th birthday with her family.
In recent months there has been a backlash aimed at 'tone-deaf' influencers complaining about their lives while more and more Britons struggle to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis.
Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague came under fire after she detailed her 'overwhelming' workload in a video tracking her job with PrettyLittleThing - a title that comes with a six figure salary.
Sympathy: Sam also received support from followers who noted that caring for young children is tough in any environment
Meanwhile, influencer Lydia Millen was slammed for boasting about booking into the exclusive Savoy hotel after complaining about the broken heating in her Buckinghamshire home.
Lydia shared a video with her 739,000 TikTok followers showing her getting ready to check into the exclusive five-star establishment - which charges up to 1,000-a-night.
Explaining why she was making the last-minute trip, Lydia said: 'The heating is currently broken in my house so I'm heading down to London.
'I'm checking into the Savoy and I'm going to make full use of their wonderful hot water. So let's get ready for the day!'
Ioan Gruffudd has shared a rare picture with his girlfriend Bianca Wallace amid his messy public split from his estranged ex Alice Evans.
The Welsh actor, 49, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a rare photograph with Bianca, 29, as they promoted their friend Roma Downey's new book.
In the snap, Ioan cut a casual figure in a black T-shirt and was all smiles as he gazed lovingly at his partner while laughing.
He styled his brunette locks in a slicked back style and sported a well-groomed beard to complete his laidback look.
Bianca looked stylish in a blue long sleeved T-shirt and accessorised her look with an array of beaded bracelets and silver earrings.
All smiles: Ioan Gruffudd has shared a rare picture with his girlfriend Bianca Wallace amid his messy divorce with his estranged ex Alice Evans
She styled her glossy dark locks loosely in a straight fashion and bolstered her natural beauty with a high-glamour make-up palette.
The couple appeared to be as loved-up as ever as Bianca placed her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder in the snap.
Bianca also held up actress Roma's new book Be an Angel in her hand as she showed her support for her pal's latest venture.
Ioan captioned his post: '#BeAnAngel comes out today! Our friend @romadowney has released her newest book that will remind you that even the smallest acts of kindness will always make a difference Make sure you order your copy today!'
Bianca also shared the same picture to her own Instagram Grid and said the book reminded her that starting her day with 'gratitude' can 'make a difference'.
She penned: 'Roma's newest book release 'Be An Angel' has arrived! I've been lucky enough to have read Be An Angel.
'Through sharing her own stories and life lessons, Roma reminds you that starting your day with gratitude makes a difference, looking ahead with excitement helps you to see the beauty of life and aging, and that choosing kindness will always matter. I do hope that you will get yourself a copy!'
It comes after Ioan opened up on what it has been like for him to navigate the ramped-up public scrutiny in the wake of his split from estranged ex Alice, 54.
Split: It comes after Ioan opened up on what it has been like for him to navigate the ramped-up public scrutiny in the wake of his split from estranged ex Alice, 54 (both pictured in May 2015)
Speaking to The Radio Times, Ioan was asked about how he dealt with the publicness of their break-up.
He said he was able to handle it because he had been working in showbusiness from the age of 11 and added that dealing with that scrutiny was contractually part of being an actor.
Ioan said: 'It's experience of having lived in the public eye from an early age. I was in the Welsh language soap opera Pobol y Cwm from the age of 11, so people knew who I was in that community.
'You can't train for that scrutiny as an actor, but it's been part and parcel of what it is to be an actor. It's a contract.'
Elsewhere, Ioan's legal battles with Alice, 54, were put on hold by a Los Angeles judge until after her upcoming criminal trial for allegedly violating a restraining order he has against her.
Her attorney, Marie LaMolinara, argued that testimony Alice gives at the custody hearing could be used against her in her later criminal trial, which would violate her right, under the 5th Amendment, not to incriminate herself, according to new court documents obtained by DailyMail.com
'I share in concerns about having Alice submit any written or oral testimony elicited under penalty of perjury in connection with Ioan's pending request until the criminal matter has been fully adjudicated,' LaMolinara wrote.
'As the Restraining Order and the pending allegations of violations thereof must necessarily be considered by the court (the Family Court that's ruling on custody).and because Alice has a 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, the hearing on the pending RFO (Gruffudd's request for a new custody agreement) should appropriately be continued.'
Ioan vehemently opposed any delay, saying in a written declaration: 'I do not believe a continuance of the February 2023 hearing would be in the children's best interests.
'I initially filed the custody RFO because of Alice's ongoing behavior toward me and toward the children, and because I believed she was interfering in my relationship with them.'
Break-up: He said he was able to handle it because he had been working in showbusiness from the age of 11 and added that dealing with that scrutiny was contractually part of being an actor
The warring former couple who met while filming 102 Dalmatians in 1999 were scheduled to appear February 15 at a custody hearing where Ioan intended to request more time with their daughters, Ella, 13, and Elsie, 9, than the one day a week he gets now.
But Alice asked last Wednesday for a postponement because she was charged with two counts of violating a restraining order that prevents her from posting disparaging remarks about Ioan or his girlfriend Bianca on social media.
She's due to stand trial on those charges in March.
'I believe Alice continues to interfere in my relationships with the children to this day, and I believe that further custody orders are imperative at this time to prevent additional damage to the relationships and emotional harm to Ella and Elsie as a result of Alice's continuing behavior.'
Despite Ioan's objection and his attorney's contention that Alice's testimony is 'not necessary for the court to make interim custody orders so she could assert her Fifth Amendment rights if she wishes' LA Superior Court Judge Josh Freeman Stinn sided with Alice.
He granted her request for a continuance and re-scheduled the custody hearing to July 13.
But he encouraged the exes 'to meet and confer to ensure that the proper balance is achieved' between Alice's Fifth Amendment right and Ioan's desire for more time with the children.
Alice pleaded not guilty to two charges of violating a restraining order brought against her last August that bars her for the next three years from making 'any posts on any social media account, including but not limited to Instagram and Twitter, harassing or disturbing the peace of' Ioan or Bianca.
Her appearance at the Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles saved her from being arrested for not showing up to an earlier scheduled court date.
She's due to appear at a pre-trial hearing February 23 and her trial is tentatively scheduled for March. She remains free on her own recognizance.
Ioan filed for divorce in March last year after Evans claimed on social media that her husband of 14 years was walking out on her and their two daughters.
She repeatedly blasted him on social media until he sought the restraining order preventing her from sharing their private messages or bashing him and Bianca online.
Court: Ioan's legal battles with Alice, 54, were put on hold by a Los Angeles judge until after her upcoming criminal trial for allegedly violating a restraining order he has against her
Case: Alice asked for a postponement because she was charged with two counts of violating a restraining order that prevents her from posting disparaging remarks about Ioan or his girlfriend Bianca on social media
Alice had risked violating her restraining order after taking to social media to post about their separation.
Ioan filed for joint custody of his two daughters last July after Alice filed for sole custody amid their acrimonious divorce.
As well as requesting visitation rights, he claimed in the filing that Alice had been purposely trying to cut communication between him and his children.
He also petitioned that the girls attend in-person therapy and reunification therapy via zoom with him pending court-ordered mediation about custody.
Millie Mackintosh's daughter Sienna, two, picked out the Frozen-inspired dress she wore to the EE BAFTAs on Sunday night.
The former Made In Chelsea star, 33, looked like a princess in the NEDO by Nedret Taciroglu blue sequin lace draped gown with lace patchwork sleeves as she dazzled on the red carpet at London's Royal Festival Hall.
The fashionista revealed her eldest daughter helped choose her Disney-inspired look in an adorable video posted to her Instagram page on Wednesday, which showed Millie trying on dresses at home before the big event.
Dressed in her own Elsa fancy dress outfit from the film Frozen, Sienna ran towards her mum with open arms.
Millie then said in the sweet video: 'What do you think? Who does mummy look like? Do you think mummy should dress as Elsa for the BAFTAs?'
Sweet! Millie Mackintosh's daughter Sienna, two, picked out the Frozen-inspired dress she wore to the EE BAFTAs on Sunday night
Sienna then replied: 'Yeah!'
Captioning the cute video, Millie wrote: 'Sienna loved helping me choose my look for this years BAFTA awards. She she is obsessed with Frozen so how could I not choose to wear the Elsa dress?'
Millie looked sensational for the awards in the stunning blue lace gown complete with a racy thigh-high split.
The plunging frock boasted sequins and feathered embellishments as well as a matching belted at her svelte waist.
The TV personality slipped her feet into towering heels by Christian Louboutin and completed the look with gorgeous diamond earrings by Smiling Rocks.
She slicked back her long blonde tresses and opted for a glamorous make-up look with smokey eyes and a nude lip.
Millie has been married to fellow former Made In Chelsea star Hugo Taylor, 36, since 2018 and the couple are parents to daughters Sienna, two, and Aurelia, 15 months.
They've had a famously turbulent road to romance since first meeting as teenagers and then appearing on the E4 reality show show back in 2010.
Incredible: The former Made In Chelsea star, 33, looked like a princess in the NEDO by Nedret Taciroglu blue sequin lace gown as she dazzled at London's Royal Festival Hall
So sweet: The fashionista revealed her eldest daughter helped choose her Disney-inspired look in an adorable video posted to her Instagram page on Wednesday
Hugo proved that he and Millie are stronger than ever as he penned a sweet Valentine's Day post for her via Instagram last week.
The reality star posted a snap of the couple sharing a kiss as he dubbed her 'someone he can't live without' and noted being 'obsessed' since meeting 20 years ago as teenagers.
Despite crossing paths in their youth, the pair spent many years apart after Hugo was unfaithful to Millie with their pal and Made In Chelsea co-star Rosie Fortescue, leading to their 2011 split.
Millie went on to wed rapper Professor Green, 39, in 2013, before splitting just over two years later and reconciling with Hugo shortly afterwards.
Posting the tribute to Millie to his 250K Instagram followers, Hugo wrote: 'Love is pure happiness, obsession, someone you can't live without. I've felt this way about you since the day we met over 20 years ago. Happy Valentine's Day.'
Millie also shared a collection of snaps to her own profile as she dubbed him her 'best friend'.
'Happy Valentine's Day @hugotaylorlondon. You are my partner in love, in life and in parenthood. I don't know what the girls and I would do without you, you're my favourite person, best friend, my moon and stars'.
In love: Millie is married to fellow former Made In Chelsea star Hugo Taylor, 36, who declared he's been 'obsessed' with her for '20 years' in a sweet Valentine's Day post last week
Spencer Matthews was supported by his wife Vogue Williams at the premiere of his powerful new documentary, Finding Michael, on Tuesday.
The couple watched the 'gut-wrenching' Disney+ show - which sees Spencer, 34, attempt to retrace the steps of his older brother Michael following his disappearance on Mount Everest in 1999 - at the Dolby Cinema at Battersea Power Station.
The former Made In Chelsea star turned entrepreneur looked dapper in a navy double breasted blazer which he teamed with matching trousers and a black open collar shirt.
Vogue, 37, looked effortlessly stylish in a white floral patterned maxi dress from Hayley Menzies, which she teamed with towering black open toe boots.
The TV presenter toted her belongings in a black bag with a red heart on the front and accessorised with a pair of silver heart shaped earrings.
Support system: Spencer Matthews was supported by his wife Vogue Williams at the premiere of his powerful new documentary, Finding Michael, on Tuesday
Elegant: Vogue, 37, looked effortlessly stylish in a white floral patterned maxi dress from Hayley Menzies, which she teamed with towering black open toe boots
Emotional: The documentary sees Spencer, 34, attempt to retrace the steps of his older brother Michael following his disappearance on Mount Everest in 1999
The couple were joined by a number of guests including Spencer's former Made In Chelsea co-star and close friend Jamie Laing, 34.
British TV adventurer Bear Grylls, 48, looked smart in a navy blazer, black trousers and coordinated trainers.
Spencer's mother Jane flashed a smile and wore a stunning black long-sleeved dress with red panelling.
She elevated her frame in black pointed toe heels and draped a matching red shawl over her arm while posing with her handsome eldest son.
During the film, Spencer undertook a 'gut-wrenching' mission to climb Mount Everest to find the body of his brother Michael - revealing he retraced the 'exact steps' his sibling took when he died descending the world's highest peak in 1999.
Michael Matthews, 22, had spent around 20 minutes at the summit before he is said to have got into trouble just three hours after beginning to make his way down the south descent through the 'death zone' on May 13, 1999.
He was also the brother of Pippa Middleton's husband, the racing driver turned hedge fund manager James Matthews, 47.
The experienced mountaineer, who had previously conquered Aconcagua, the Pyrenees and the Swiss Alps, was the 162nd person to die on Everest.
Michael's body has never been recovered and his family have never been able to fully understand what happened to him.
All smiles: The couple were joined by a number of guests including Spencer's former Made In Chelsea co-star Jamie Laing, 34
Looking good: The TV personality also posed alongside British TV adventurer Bear Grylls, 48
Family: Spencer's mother Jane flashed a smile and wore a stunning black long-sleeved dress with red panelling
Glamorous: She elevated her frame in black pointed toe heels and draped a matching red shawl over her arm while posing with her handsome eldest son
Project: During the film, Spencer undertook a 'gut-wrenching' mission to climb Mount Everest to find the body of his brother Michael
But in the new documentary with Disney+, Spencer - who was only ten at the time of his death - embarks on a journey to find his brother's body and bring it home.
He was said to have the backing of his parents and his brother James to create the 'emotional' project.
He told Holly Rubenstein's The Travel Diaries podcast: 'I was aching to find out more about his death. I was ten at the time. I remember thinking it was really unfair.
'I always believed that I'd see him again and never took it on the chin that he was dead. I thought it was impossible. It never crushed me in the way it affected my parents and my brother.
'We would read that you could recover bodies from Everest. I know now that you can fly helicopters into Camp 2. For people who don't know Everest, that's quite a big deal.
'From base camp there is the Khumbu Icefall leading up to Camp 1. Then Camp 2 is at the end of a long plain right at the base of what you would think is the beginning of the climb.
'It makes it easier to bring bodies down I mean it is not easy it requires a lot of manpower, but getting them to Camp 2 can be done and then helicopter back down.
'I've always been uncomfortable with him being up there, especially in plain sight. Around 600 people a year summit Everest.
'I've always been uncomfortable that he could be laying up there like some kind of tourist attraction but also on his own, away from us.
'He died up there and his last thoughts will probably have been that he's never going to see his family again. We have not seen his body and I set off to go to Everest and find him and bring him home.'
Spencer trekked to South Base Camp base camp via Namche Bazaar, a town in north-eastern Nepal, often the staging point for expeditions to and other Himalayan peaks.
He made the journey just five days after the birth of his son Otto after a 'weather window' made scaling the mountain feasible.
Brothers: The TV personality was 10 years old when Michael (left next to sibling James) tragically died aged 22 - after becoming the youngest Brit to reach the peak in 1999
Adventurer: Michael Matthews was an accomplished climber who had scaled the Pyrenees, the Swiss Alps and Kilimanjaro before he went on to attempt his fateful Everest trek
Dressed to impress: Spencer and Vogue enjoyed a glamorous date night as they attended the BAFTA Awards at London's Royal Festival Hall on Sunday
Spencer would have otherwise been left facing another year of waiting to begin the search, revealing that he had the backing of his wife Vogue.
The South Base Camp is at an altitude of 5,364 metres.
Describing the trek, he said: 'You don't have to be superman to do it. You come across this town [Namche Bazaar] in the sky. It's amazing. It's above the clouds. It reminded me of Asgard.
'Part of the film is that we retrace the exact steps that Mike and his friends took. We stay in the same places and do the same path as he did. It'll be a really powerful and amazing film'.
Finding Michael starts streaming on Disney+ on Friday March 3
Tom Hanks enjoyed a romantic evening out with his wife Rita Wilson as the couple went to a restaurant in Mayfair, London on Tuesday.
The film star, 66, cut a dapper figure for the outing, sporting a black velvet blazer and matching trousers wtha dark green shirt.
Rita, 66, looked elegant in a black top with a dark purple tassel detail, while she wrapped up in a matching coat.
Also sporting a leather skirt, the actress added height to her frame with a pair of black heels.
Styling her blonde locks into loose curls, Rita completed her look with a pair of silver earrings.
Date: Tom Hanks enjoyed a romantic evening out with his wife Rita Wilson as the couple went to a restaurant in Mayfair, London on Tuesday
Suave: The film star, 66, cut a dapper figure for the outing, sporting a black velvet blazer and matching trousers wtha dark green shirt
The couple looked in good spirits as they linked arms on their way back to their West London hotel.
Tom and Rita, who have been married for 34 years, have been in London for several days, with Tom recently spotted at the Aston Villa v Arsenal game on Saturday.
It coms after Tom recently said he realises he's most identified with movies like Forrest Gump, Toy Story, Splash, Saving Private Ryan, and Philadelphia but there's one film he wishes got more love.
He told CinemaBlend's ReelBlend Podcast recently: 'For one reason or another, no one references Road to Perdition.
'And that was an incredibly important movie for me to go through.'
It's been over a decade since Tom starred as 1931 mob enforcer Michael Sullivan in Sam Mendes' critically-acclaimed crime drama, which went on to amass $183.4M off an $80M budget.
'You have me - "Don Moustache" with a hat on - in it,' Hanks joked about his facial hair.
'But you also have two guys who turned out to be two of the biggest motion picture presences in the history of the industry with Jude Law and [Daniel] Craig. And [my character] killed both of [their characters]!'
Trip: Tom and Rita, who have been married for 34 years, have been in London for several days, with Tom recently spotted at the Aston Villa v Arsenal game on Saturday
Legacy: Tom said he realises he's most identified with movies like Forrest Gump, Toy Story, Splash, Saving Private Ryan, and Philadelphia but wishes Road To Perdition got more love
Tom didn't receive any nominations for the role, but the late Paul Newman received Oscar and Golden Globe nods for playing John Rooney and the late Conrad L. Hall won a posthumous Oscar for best cinematography.
'It's all about logic for me, and the logic of [my character] Michael Sullivan, I think, is impeccable,' Tom explained.
'The logic of everything he does and how he says it and how he experiences things and sees them for the first time, that's high country as far as I'm concerned.
'It doesn't matter if it's been viewed upon as being a quote-on-quote "success," it's in the zeitgeist and that's the only thing that matters.'
They've been in the Big Smoke to attend a jam-packed calendar of star-studded events.
And on Tuesday, Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53, slipped into sexy leather trousers and a textured blazer as she and husband Michael Douglas, 78, enjoyed a date night in London.
The actress looked chic in her form-fitting trousers and boots as she wrapped up in the tweed checked jacket, while carrying her belongings in a quilted clutch.
Her superstar husband kept smart in a grey quarter-zip sweater and leather bomber jacket, worn with blue jeans and suede shoes.
New Jersey native Michael was snapped signing autographs for fans who gathered around him, before heading into Hamyard Restaurant and Grill with his wife.
Iconic couple: On Tuesday, Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53, slipped into sexy leather trousers and a textured blazer as she and husband Michael Douglas, 78, enjoyed a date night in London
Fashionista: The actress wrapped up in the tweed checked jacket, while carrying her belongings in a quilted clutch
Dapper: Her superstar husband kept smart in a grey quarter-zip sweater and leather bomber jacket, worn with blue jeans and suede shoes
The couple, who reside across the pond in New York, arrived in the UK last week and headed to the premiere for Michael's new film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
He has also appeared on a number of talk-shows during the visit, including The Graham Norton Show and Lorraine.
While Catherine looked ultra glamorous on Sunday evening as she headed to the BAFTA awards, presenting the Best Picture award to All Quiet On The Western Front during the ceremony.
But they've also been making the most of the little things, as the Welsh actress, who hails from Swansea, took to Instagram on Monday to share a video as she took the tube around London.
Smiling to the camera, she filmed herself sitting on the tube while disguised with sunglasses, a hat and scarf.
It appears the careful cover-up was unnecessary, as the actress was the only person in the carriage, telling the camera: 'When you're the only one on the tube and you're very happy. London, just me, on public transport.'
While she captioned: 'Tube Time! London Transport!'
Catherine and Michael, who have been married for 22 years, reside in New York and have two children, Carys, 18, and Dylan, 20. While Michael is also dad to Cameron, 44, from his marriage to Diandra Luker.
Gorgeous: Catherine looked chic in her form-fitting trousers and boots
Legend: New Jersey native Michael was snapped signing autographs for fans who gathered around him, before heading into an upmarket restaurant with his wife
Living the life: The Hollywood heavyweights stepped out for dinner in Kensington
Beauty: Catherine had her dark tresses pulled away from her face into an up do' while accessorising with gold disk earrings
Fan-favourite: Michael spent time with fans, signing autographs
Wow! Catherine wore some eye-catching jewels
Despite both being high-flyers in their careers, Michael insisted that there is no competition between them career-wise as he was interviews by Christine Lampard earlier this week.
The TV personality was filling in for Lorraine on her eponymous show when she spoke to the actor, and probed him on professional rivalry with his wife.
But sharing this isn't the case, Michael explained: 'I don't know about that [competition].. I think we both do our own things.
'We try and do it at different times so when the kids were younger, so we could be there. But no competition, Catherine's going to do another year of Wednesday and a lot of other projects right now.
ITV was thrown into chaos on Wednesday morning after Lorraine Kelly was forced to pull out of hosting her show at the last minute.
Bosses brought in Good Morning Britain presenter Ranvir Singh to helm the show at the last minute after Lorraine, 63, had to be sent home due to illness.
Kate Garraway informed viewers of the last-minute line-up change and praised Ranvir, 45, for agreeing to step in and host the morning chat show.
Announcing the news, Kate explained: 'Usually at this point in the show we'd be chatting to Lorraine but I think in almost a first in her 30 year plus history, she's actually gone home, she's not well.
'She's got a bug! We're wishing you well Lorraine. Ranvir is to the rescue, she's on her way in.'
Chaos: ITV was thrown into chaos on Wednesday morning after Lorraine Kelly was forced to pull out of hosting her show at the last minute
Unwell: Bosses brought in Good Morning Britain presenter Ranvir Singh to helm the show at the last minute after Lorraine, 63, had to be sent home
Oh dear! Taking to Twitter, Lorraine revealed that she had been sent home after being 'suddenly attacked by a hideous bug'
Taking to Twitter, Lorraine revealed that she had been sent home after being 'suddenly attacked by a hideous bug'.
She shared her disappointment as she admitted she had been looking forward to interviewing guest Adam Lambert but couldn't due to fears of 'infecting' him.
She wrote: 'When you have to be sent home from work early in the morning because you are suddenly attacked by a hideous bug and were looking forward to interviewing @adamlambert THAT! Beyond disappointed but imagine if I had infected him !!!!!!'
Ranvir also stepped in to host Good Morning Britain alongside Ed Balls on Monday while Susanna Reid is in Ukraine, giving a live interview from the war-torn country.
It comes after Lorraine was left blushing earlier this month when Ben Shephard shared the very racy texts her husband of 30 years sends her during her live shows.
Ben and co-host Susanna Reid were wrapping up GMB before doing a live link to Lorraine, with the presenter unable to resist bringing up an article involving her and Steve Steve.
And Lorraine was clearly blindsided by her partner's saucy messages being revealed as she asked Ben: 'How did they get hold of that?'
During the live link where Lorraine explained what was coming up on her show, Ben, 48, quizzed her about the newspaper article, teasing: 'It would appear he's very generous with his affections while you're on air.
Get well soon! Kate Garraway said: 'Usually at this point in the show we'd be chatting to Lorraine but I think in almost a first in her 30 year plus history, she's actually gone home'
Stepping in: Kate informed viewers of the last-minute line-up change and praised Ranvir, 45, (pictured with Ed Balls) for agreeing to step in and host the morning chat show
'He often likes to say how wonderful you're looking in the morning in an affectionate way.'
To which a red-faced Lorraine responded: 'It depends what I'm wearing. It depends how much I'm showing.'
Going into further detail, she continued: 'Sometimes he does say 'Nice boobs', before asking of the story: 'How did they get hold of that? Where did that come from? Have I been talking too much again?'
And while Ben suggested Steve could be the source, Lorraine did in fact spill the beans herself in an interview with Woman's Weekly magazine.
Meanwhile, Susanna, 52, said of the situation: 'As we're coming up to Valentine's Day, how lovely. Your husband still texts you to say 'Nice boobs'.'
Romantic: It comes after Lorraine was left blushing earlier this month when Ben Shephard shared the very racy texts her husband Steve Smith sends her during her live shows
With Ben piping up, saying: 'Next time Lorraine's on her show and she looks down at her phone, it could be Steve sending a little message.'
However, Lorraine didn't feel so sure at this as pointing to her geometric print shirt dress which was buttoned up to the neck, she said: 'This dress isn't going to get any comments from him this morning though, Ben.'
As Ben replied: 'I'm sure he will send you something lovely regardless.'
Concluding the light-hearted exchange, Susanna said: 'You always look fab Lorraine. There are lots of serious issues, so it's nice to have a moment of joy.'
Former Bachelor star Helena Sauzier married her Australian sailor fiance Tom Slingsby in an intimate ceremony on Sydney Harbour on Wednesday.
The reality star, 27, looked glamorous in a lace gown as the couple exchanged vows on a superyacht Ghost II surrounded by friends and family.
Helena, who rose to fame on Matt Agnew's season of The Bachelor in 2019, stunned in the dress, which featured a lace corset bodice and high slit.
She also wore a long white veil and held a colourful bouquet as she walked down the aisle.
Meanwhile, Tom looked dashing in an always-fashionable grey suit paired with a crisp white dress shirt.
The Bachelor's Helena Sauzier stunned in a white lace wedding dress as she married her Australian sailor fiance Tom Slingsby aboard a superyacht on Sydney Harbour
Helena, who rose to fame on Matt Agnew's season of The Bachelor in 2019, stunned in the dress, which featured a lace corset bodice and high slit
She also wore a long white veil and held a colourful bouquet as she walked down the aisle
He added a touch of flair to his ensemble with a brown bow tie and an ornate boutonniere on the lapel on his jacket.
The Bachelor star was later seen sharing a romantic kiss with Tom after they were declared husband and wife.
Helena's four bridesmaids wore glamorous green halter dresses for the occasion, that would not have looked out of place on the dancefloor of legendary disco, Studio 54.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds stood by the bar as they celebrated the event with family and friends.
Fellow Bachelor alum Brittany Hockley and Chelsie McLeod were also seen at the event.
Brittany stood out in an eye-catching lime green frock with cut outs on the day.
The Life Uncut podcast host wore her raven locks out as she mingled with guests, while clutching her phone.
Elsewhere, Chelsie was also happy to flash the flesh in a lilac crop top and matching pants. At one point she was seen happily greeting the groom.
The Ghost II features, five bedrooms, an expansive exterior deck with an entertaining area, a Jacuzzi, and a state-of-the-art interior with panoramic windows.
The $15million luxury yacht can cater up to 120 guests and also has five luxury suites to accommodate between 10 to 12 people.
The Bachelor star was later seen sharing a kiss with Tom after they were declared as husband and wife
Helena's three bridesmaids wore glamorous green halter dresses for the occasion
After the ceremony, the newlyweds stood by the bar as they celebrated the event with family and friends
Fellow Bachelor alum Brittany Hockley (pictured) and Chelsie McLeod were also seen at the event. Brittany stood out in an eye-catching lime green frock with cut outs on the day. The Life Uncut podcast host wore her raven locks out as she mingled with guests, while clutching her phone
The Life Uncut podcast host wore her raven locks out as she mingled with guests, while clutching her phone
Brittany held a Gucci handbag and was seen chatting to other guests at the event
Helena announced her engagement to Tom, 38, in November last year.
They celebrated their two-year anniversary in September.
'Two very special occasions in the last six days... our two year anniversary and your birthday,' she wrote online at the time about her man.
'Happy birthday my squishy heart. I love you more than words can describe.'
In July last year, Helena and Tom enjoyed a romantic getaway together to Valencia, Spain.
A month earlier, Tom had declared his love for Helena while they enjoyed a boat ride together in Mauritius.
'I have loved my girl @helenasauzier showing me Mauritius. Such a beautiful place. Love you babe,' he captioned an image of the pair shared to Instagram.
Chelsie was also happy to flash the flesh in a lilac crop top and matching pants
Tom looked dashing in an always-fashionable grey suit paired with a crisp white dress shirt
He added a touch of flair to his ensemble with a brown bow tie and an ornate boutonniere on the lapel on his jacket
Helena announced her engagement to Tom, 38, in November last year. They celebrated their two-year anniversary in September
In July last year, Helena and Tom enjoyed a romantic getaway to Valencia, Spain, together
A month earlier, Tom had declared his love for Helena while they enjoyed a boat ride together in Mauritius
Tom is an OAM recipient and competitive sailor who won the 2012 Olympic gold medal for his sailing endeavours.
He also acted as a strategist for the America's Cup winning Team Oracle USA in 2013 as well as winning the 2016 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race skippering the yacht Perpetual LOYAL.
Helena rose to fame on season seven of The Bachelor where she sought to win the heart of Matt Agnew, but only made it to the final three.
She then went on to star on season three of Bachelor in Paradise, but left the show single.
At one point Chelsie was seen happily greeting the groom
Tom is an OAM recipient and competitive sailor who won the 2012 Olympic gold medal for his sailing endeavours
Helena rose to fame on season seven of The Bachelor where she sought to win the heart of Matt Agnew, but only made it to the final three
She then went on to star on season three of Bachelor in Paradise, but left the show single
The Ghost II features, five bedrooms, an expansive exterior deck with an entertaining area, a Jacuzzi, and a state-of-the-art interior with panoramic windows
He's currently soaking up the sun in Australia as he visits Down Under for WorldPride.
And Andy Cohen has revealed he's in no rush to head home to New York as he described Sydney as 'incredible'.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the launch of Hayu's Loud + Proud series, the Bravo star, 54, revealed it's his first time in Australia since 1997, joking he 'had no idea he was famous here'.
Andy Cohen has revealed he's in no rush to head home to New York as he described Sydney as 'incredible'
'I was on Bondi Beach all day yesterday. Australia is so green. Sydney is so beautiful,' he said.
'Bondi is probably the nicest public beach I've ever been to in my life.
'It's just sensational. The vibe is amazing'.
The TV host, who is the brains behind the likes of Real Housewives franchise and Below Deck, also discussed his recent journey into fatherhood.
Andy is a father to four-year-old son Ben and one-year-old daughter Lucy.
The TV host, who is the brains behind the likes of Real Housewives franchise and Below Deck, also discussed his recent journey into fatherhood. Pictured with Justin Hill
Speaking to host Justin Hill, Andy said his kids are 'seeing the world' completely differently to him and praised the women in his life for helping him with parenting advice.
'There's a group that has really elevated themselves in my world, just since I've been a dad of two, which are all the great women in my life who are really close to friends from high school friends from college.
'And friends from my New York period who have really helped me with my kids who just are people that I can lean on and say, "What the hell do?"'.
Andy is a father to four-year-old son Ben and one-year-old daughter Lucy. Speaking to host Justin Hill, Andy said his kids are 'seeing the world' completely differently to him and praised the women in his life for helping him with parenting advice
'My son is four, but the world they're going into is so much more aware of what's going on around us and everyone's joining in so hopefully, you know, they'll grow up into a more caring world than ever.
'Because there's also a lot of divisiveness right now, but my hope is that the level of awareness and clarity about people will guide them in a positive way.
He also discussed how supportive his family were after he came out to them in 1989.
TV personality Andy Cohen (right) couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he mingled with guests at a gay pool party this week
'I came out to my mom, she said I probably would have hated your wife anyway.
'To be fair, she would have. And my wife would have hated her.
'She wanted to kind of get involved in my community and she became on the board of an AIDS hospice in St. Louis'.
When asked which Real Housewife he'd like to see as the Grand Marshall of Sydney pride, Andy said Kenya Moore - from the Real Housewives of Atlanta - would be best as she's the 'supreme Queen'.
He also revealed he thinks Cher, Lady Gaga and Mariah Carey are the 'most iconic guests' he's interviewed.
Andy is in Sydney to support Hayu's 'Be Bold. Be Proud. Be You' campaign for Sydney's WorldPride festival.
'As a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I am beyond excited to come to beautiful Sydney with Hayu,' he said.
'WorldPride in Sydney will no doubt be one of my most amazing Pride experiences yet and I am thrilled to be part of it!'
Loud + Proud with Justin Hill premieres Thursday, February 23 on Hayu.
She's known for flashing her curves in racy outfits.
And Demi Rose looked incredible on Tuesday as she posed in a bikini for some stunning snaps.
The model, 27, who boasts 19million followers, wore a crocodile skin patterned two-piece that showed off her enviable figure.
She posed sitting on the edge of the pool, turned to the side to flash her sideboob and ample bottom.
Her long brown locks flowed down her back in soft waves and she sported a full face of glamorous make-up.
Sensational: Demi Rose looked incredible on Tuesday as she posed in a bikini for some stunning snaps
Stunning: Demi also shared a selfie, showing off her flawless make-up up close and wearing a white lacy bra
Demi also shared a selfie, showing off her flawless make-up up close and wearing a white lacy bra.
A third picture showed her flashing her long legs in a elegant beaded robe as she sat crossed legged on the floor.
Captioning the stunning photos, she wrote: 'More love, more life'.
It comes after Demi was happy to arrive back home in Ibiza earlier this month after her extended trip to Egypt - despite only now sharing these pictures from her trip.
The model shared a series of photos of her last shoot in the Middle East before she headed back to Ibiza, with a quick stop off in London.
She shared one last sizzling snap from her Red Sea stay, fashioning a barely-there outfit out of a piece of fabric as she posed on a balcony.
'Bliss' Demi captioned the photo as she pulled off a seductive pose and perfect pout.
Then it was time to catch a flight, with Demi landing in London where she underwent some cosmetic treatments.
Then finally the star was on her way to Ibiza, which she currently calls home.
After touching down, the social media model couldn't resist a welcome home shoot, stripping down to black lace lingerie.
Sharing selfies in the mirror, Demi flaunted her curves in a strapless bra, playfully pouting for the camera.
'There's no place like home' Demi gushed as she also shared a look at the incredible landscape near her Ibiza home.
Relaxed: A third picture showed her flashing her long legs in a elegant beaded robe as she sat crossed legged on the floor
Captioning the stunning photos, she wrote: 'More love, more life'.
Demi, who was once romantically linked to rapper Tyga, recently opened up about her sexuality and her troubled childhood in a candid Instagram Q&A.
The model has not previously discussed her sexuality but admitted to her followers that she is open to dating women.
Asked 'Boys, girls or both?' by a follower, she responded: 'I went through a phase of liking girls more than guys. Now I'm more into guys. It just depends.'
Detailing what she's looking for in partner she went on to share that she's on the hunt for someone 'inspiring, honest, well put together, a deep soul that's open minded, kind, ambitious and thoughtful'.
South Korea, the United States and Japan conduct a trilateral missile defense exercise in the international waters of the East Sea, Wednesday. Courtesy of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
By Kang Seung-woo
Three warships from South Korea, Japan and the United States carried out a ballistic missile defense drill, Tuesday, in the waters east of Korea in an apparent show of force against a recent North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The Republic of Korea Navy's Aegis destroyer ROKS Sejong the Great held a drill with Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry and a Japanese Atago-class Aegis destroyer.
The trilateral exercise took place shortly after North Korea launched a Hwasong-15 ICBM last Saturday that is believed to be theoretically capable of hitting targets anywhere on the U.S. mainland.
It also fired two short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea, Monday, an act that seemed to simulate targeting South Korean and U.S. air bases in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in consideration of their strike ranges of 390 kilometers and 340 kilometers, respectively.
The South Korean JCS said the latest drill focused on enhancing the interoperability of the three countries' collective forces.
"The drill was carried out, aimed at sharing ballistic missile target information and mastering detection, tracking and interception procedures," the JCS said in a media statement.
"Through the naval exercise, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have strengthened security cooperation and the response system."
South Korea and the U.S. also held joint air drills, involving B-1B bombers and F-35A stealth jets, Sunday, in response to the ICBM launch the day before.
The trilateral missile defense exercise took place for the first time since Oct. 6, 2022, when ROKS Sejong the Great conducted a three-way naval exercise alongside Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, part of the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, and Japan's destroyers JS Chokai and JS Ashigara in response to North Korea's provocations.
She took to the West End stage as Shirley Valentine for the first time last week.
And Sheridan Smith was in good spirits as she beamed from ear-to-ear while leaving London's Duke of York Theatre following the one-woman-show on Tuesday night.
The actress, 41, was greeted by adoring fans, who handed her bouquets of flowers and hugged the star.
One woman appeared so overcome with emotion that she broke down in tears upon meeting the actress.
Over 100 admirers showed up after the show, hoping for an autograph and a closer glimpse of Sheridan.
Plenty to smile about: Sheridan Smith was in good spirits as she beamed from ear-to-ear while leaving London's Duke of York Theatre following the one-woman-show on Tuesday night
It comes after Sheridan received a standing ovation from the full house audience after her first performance in the eponymous role on Friday.
Following the show many also took to social media to laud the star and her 'perfect' performance.
Sheridan swapped her on-stage costume for a casual look as she headed out of the central theatre.
She opted for a pair of blue jeans, an oversized black jumper and a long black coat, teamed with a trendy yellow and black cap.
Keeping the glamour, the actress' bright palette of stage makeup remained in tact - complete with an eye-catching red lip.
Her blonde locks were tucked into a bun as they peeked out from under her hat.
Appearing overwhelmed with the support, a massive smile didn't leave Sheridan's face as she waved to fans and gave a thumbs up signal.
And as fans swarmed the area in the hopes of meeting the woman of the hour, she ensured to stick around to greet them.
Woman of the moment: The actress, 41, was greeted by adoring fans, who handed her bouquets of flowers and hugged the star
Overwhelmed: One woman appeared so overcome with emotion that she broke down in tears upon meeting the actress
Sheridan autographed playbills, beamed for selfies and chatted with guests as they praised her performance.
The actress, who has previously won two Olivier Awards, was also gifted several bouquets of flowers, with her team carrying the gifts back to her car.
The opening performance on Friday night was the first of a 15 week run for Sheridan in Willy Russell's play Shirley Valentine.
Shirley Valentine, which was also made into a 1989 movie with Pauline Collins, is a on-woman-show which tells the story of a working class housewife from Liverpool.
The play is the joyous, life-affirming story of the woman who got lost in marriage and motherhood, the woman who wound up talking to the kitchen wall whilst cooking her husbands chips and egg.
But Shirley still has a secret dream. And in her bag, an airline ticket. One day she may just leave a note, saying: 'Gone! Gone to Greece.'
Shirley Valentine is written by Willy Russell, directed by Matthew Dunster, designed by Paul Wills, with lighting design by Lucy Carter, sound design by Ian Dickinson for Autograph and is produced by David Pugh.
Swarmed: Over 100 admirers showed up after the show, hoping for an autograph and a closer glimpse of Sheridan
Happy: Appearing overwhelmed with the support, a massive smile didn't leave Sheridan's face as she waved to fans and gave a thumbs up signal
Plot: Shirley Valentine, which was also made into a 1989 movie with Pauline Collins, is a on-woman-show which tells the story of a working class housewife from Liverpool
After she took to the stage for the first performance, audience members rushed to social media to gush over the show - dubbing Sheridan's acting 'perfect'.
One penned: '@sheridansmith1 wow what a performance, a true icon and such talent. One woman show, so incredible @shirleyonstage a must see'.
'A well deserved standing ovation for @sheridansmith1 this evening after an incredible opening night performance as Shirley Valentine. Craving chips and egg now,' tweeted another.
As others noted that she 'smashed it out of the park', one simply shared: 'Sheridan Smith as Shirley Valentine in West End: totally utterly divine'.
TOWIE's Yazmin Oukhellou shared a pretty bikini picture on Instagram on Wednesday along with an emotive post.
The 28-year-old wrote: 'Good morning my lovelies I hope you all have the best day. Dont worry about yesterday. Or the day before that.
'Today is a chance for a fresh start and a chance to be whoever it is you want to be. Love Yaz.'
Her bikini top had a gold ring detail at the front and she wore a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet.
The post comes after it emerged Yaszmin suffered a health scare while on holiday in Dubai and showed fans her receiving treatment through an IV in her hand.
Health scare: Yazmin has suffered a health scare while on holiday in Dubai and showed fans her receiving treatment through an IV in her hand
She recently headed back to the celebrity hotspot after spending her Christmas and New Year celebrations in Marrakesh.
Yazmin also splits her time between Essex and Dubai as she works as a real estate broker on the Dubai Marina, and often snaps herself heading off on a flight to the United Arab Emirates in First Class.
But it seems like this most recent trip has taken a turn as she has told fans she 'can't believe this' while getting what appears to be medical treatment through her hand.
The reality star also shared a snap of a gift of cakes from a local company which she admits 'cheered her up' as the business said they hoped she 'got better' soon.
It comes after Yazmin was revealed to have been embroiled in a 'secret feud' with her former TOWIE co-stars Junaid Ahmed and Dani Imbert - which is said to be another reason behind her shock exit from the show.
Last week, it was revealed that the reality star has decided to walk away from the hit ITVBe series almost six years after she first joined the show, according to The Sun.
It was claimed that Yazmin has decided against joining the next series to process the 'trauma' of what she has been through with the loss of her ex boyfriend Jake McLean - and now it is understood a feud with her friends has contributed to her exit.
Yaz has unfollowed Junaid and Dani on Instagram - and they the same to her - amid their bitter dispute.
'Get better': The reality star also shared a snap of a gift of cakes from a local company which she admits 'cheered her up' as the business said they hoped she 'got better' soon
An insider told the publication: 'Yaz has fallen out with Junaid and Dani and no longer follows them on social media, while they have also unfollowed her.
'The reason for their beef is a bit of a mystery, but it's been rumbling for a while and things got pretty toxic.'
'While it wasn't the sole reason for Yaz choosing to leave Towie, it certainly contributed to her decision as she didn't want to film with them.'
'After what she has been through in the last year with the crash and losing Jake, she doesn't want that kind of friendship drama in her life.'
Yazmin's exit comes just seven months after escaping a horror car crash which killed her ex-boyfriend Jake McLean.
Yazmin was caught up in a horror crash in Turkey in July when Jake's blue Mercedes E class saloon plunged down from a mountainous road and into a ravine in Bodrum.
The on-off couple were on holiday together when Jake crashed the car off a cliff in Bodrum and died at the scene.
Yazmin told The Sun that to survive the smash she climbed down a cliff covered in blood with a broken arm and now she has permanent physical scarring.
Feud: It comes after it was revealed that Yazmin has 'been in a secret feud' with her TOWIE co-stars Junaid Ahmed and Dani Imbert which is said to be another reason behind her shock exit from the show
Reveal: Last week, it was revealed that the reality star has decided to walk away from the hit ITVBe series almost six years after she first joined the show, according to The Sun
After being told by doctors that she was lucky to walk away from the devastating accident, Yazmin confessed to experiencing sleepless nights and needing therapy because she couldn't understand why she had been given a second chance at life.
In July last year, she said: 'I severed an artery and a nerve, that's why I bled so much. The doctors called me an angel, a miracle, because it's a notorious spot and people have never survived.'
'Now I'm just wondering how the hell did my partner die while I've survived? It's made me look at life totally differently.'
Yazmin was reportedly banned from attending Jake's funeral after his family blamed her for his sad passing and said the couple had been arguing at the point of the crash.
Jordan Banjo has revealed that he has undergone a vasectomy by posting a light-hearted video of himself hobbling back to his car after the procedure.
The Diversity dancer, 30, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share that he had undergone a vasectomy - a reversible procedure to cut the tubes that carry a man's sperm to prevent pregnancy.
He posted a video of himself walking tenderly back to his car after the procedure as his wife Naomi Courts, who is currently pregnant with their third child, filmed him.
Naomi was heard laughing as Jordan flashed what seemed to be a slightly forced smile before she asked him if he was OK, to which he nervously replied 'yep'.
When Naomi then asked him if he was sure everything was OK, he said 'yes, positive' before insisting that the procedure wasn't 'bad'.
Candid: Jordan Banjo has revealed that he has undergone a vasectomy as he shared a video of himself limping back to his car after the procedure
Ouch: The Diversity dancer, 30, took to Instagram to share that he had undergone a vasectomy - a reversible procedure to cut the tubes that carry a man's sperm to prevent pregnancy
Laughing, he explained: 'The pain's not the problem. The problem is when you're so scared you have a nipple instead of a penis between your legs and then the nurse tries to tape it to your stomach, but there's not much to tape so she basically places a piece of tape over it.'
Looking slightly pained, Naomi then said: 'In you get hun,' as Jordan very carefully lowered himself into the car.
Jordan also shared a black-and-white selfie of himself to his Stories with his hoodie pulled up around his face as he wrote: 'It's a tender morning.'
Taking to the comments section, fans admitted they found the video hilarious but also showed their support for Jordan, who is the younger brother of Ashley Banjo.
One person wrote: 'Had a really s**t day and this has made me laugh out loud. Full respect for being a real man and doing that for your family.'
Another commented: 'Ooooch.. Maybe ease up on the moves for a day or three.'
While a third said: 'He looks totally traumatised,' and a fourth quipped: 'The yep sounded so convincing.'
Another penned: 'This made me laugh. Well done though - I admire any man who takes on this responsibility.'
Honest: Jordan also shared a black-and-white selfie of himself to his Stories with his hoodie pulled up around his face as he wrote: 'It's a tender morning'
Amused: Taking to the comments section, fans admitted they found the video hilarious but also showed their support for Jordan, who is the younger brother of Ashley Banjo
Opening up: Jordan is not the only star who has discussed having vasectomy as Catherine Tyldesley took to Instagram last week to praise her 'hero' husband Tom Pitfield for getting one
Jordan is not the only star who has openly discussed having vasectomy as Myleene Klass recently revealed her fiance Simon Motson had the procedure.
In November, she praised her partner for undergoing a vasectomy in order to 'give her a body a break' after four heartbreaking miscarriages.
The couple tragically lost four children before welcoming rainbow baby Apollo in 2019, with Myleene detailing the toll it took on her physically as well as mentally.
In order to prevent any further pregnancies without Myleene having to take birth control, Simon underwent the reversible surgical procedure.
What is a vasectomy and what are the risks? A vasectomy, or male sterilisation, is a procedure to cut the tubes that carry a man's sperm to permanently prevent pregnancy without further contraception. It can usually be done under local anaesthetic and takes about 15 minutes, according to the NHS. The procedure is only usually carried out on older men, and surgeons are often reluctant to carry it out on people under 30 in case they regret it later. The NHS lists possible complications as being a collection of blood inside the scrotum (haematoma), hard lumps called sperm granulomas (caused by sperm leaking from the tubes) or an infection. Long-term testicle pain is another possible complication, which may need further surgery to deal with. The percentage of men who experience this pain is debated, with different figures cited by various sources. Advertisement
Meanwhile, Catherine Tyldesley took to her Instagram Stories last week to praise her 'hero' husband Tom Pitfield for getting a vasectomy.
The former Coronation Street star, 39, shared a hilarious mirror selfie taken by the photographer, 35, where he pulled a worried expression before the surgery.
He had written in his original post, 'I hope they've turned the heating up [scissors and aubergine emojis],' while she added, 'My hero! Taking one for the team today! [laughing and scissors emojis].'
Catherine shares daughter Iris, 10 months, with the co-founder of Brood magazine as well as their son Alfie, seven.
Britain's Got Talent star Jordan's wife Naomi is currently pregnant with their third child and they revealed their happy news in October.
At the time, he shared an adorable shot with Naomi outside their home as their children Cassius, four, and Mimi, three, cradled her baby bump.
He captioned the shot: 'TRICK OR TREAT! Were expecting 2 (more) tiny little feet! baby number 3 due April 2023.'
The dancer also shared a sweet selfie of the pair holding their sonogram picture as he penned: 'The Banjo Family is growing even more Baby number 3 on the way.'
The couple, who tied the knot in August 2022, are also parents to son Cassius Ashley and daughter Mayowa 'Mimi' Angel.
Jordan announced his engagement to Naomi in January 2020 when he proposed during a trip to the Maldives after almost five years together.
Speaking to The Sun he said: 'Nay loves the idea of Mimi being a little flower girl and Cas being a page boy.
'It will be really nice to have them at the wedding because not everyone has children at the wedding, they normally come after. I'm super excited.
'Everyone in Diversity had kids after they got married, we did that the other way round.'
Jordan and Naomi met at famous Essex nightclub Sugar Hut in 2013, but embarked on a relationship two years later.
Expecting: Britain's Got Talent star Jordan's wife Naomi is currently pregnant with their third child and they revealed their happy news in October
Family: At the time, he shared an adorable shot with Naomi outside their home as their children Cassius, four, and Mimi, three, cradled her baby bump
In January 2018, the couple revealed they were expecting their first child together, with the Essex-based beauty admitting she took 'nine pregnancy tests' out of shock.
She told OK! at the time: 'I wanted to be sure so I went out and bought eight more tests. I sat with them laid out in front of me on the bathroom floor, staring at them in disbelief.
'We always said we wanted kids together, we just didn't think it would happen this soon. We're over the moon, though!'
Jordan rose to fame in 2009 when he won Britain's Got Talent with older brother Ashley as part of their dance troupe Diversity.
Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner wore matching looks when they appeared on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday.
The pair are currently starring in the two-man show Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.
Jenna, 36, cut a stylish figure in a navy blue velvet suit and a white T-shirt as she arrived at the studios in Manchester.
The beauty complemented her look with a pair of chunky black loafers.
Jenna wore her blonde locks in a straightened style, toting her essentials in a burgundy Chanel bag.
Spot the difference: Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner wore matching looks when they appeared on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday
Matching! Jenna, pictured outside the studios is currently starring alongside Aidan in the two-man show Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London
She also added a pair of black Chanel sunglasses to her gorgeous look.
Meanwhile, Aidan, 39, arrived for their appearance in unintentionally matching colours.
The Poldark actor cut a suave figure in a white jumper, navy blue trousers and a matching jacket.
He also wore black shoes for the occasion and carried a brown leather bag alongside him.
The pair appeared in good spirits as they discussed their new show on the channel.
Realising they were in matching ensembles, and even sitting similarly, Aidan joked 'I feel like we are in symmetry with each other'.
Jenna then, realising the same, said 'Oh look!'
'Something happening there maybe', Aidan replied.
Woops! Aidan, 39, arrived for their appearance in unintentionally matching colours in a white jumper, navy blue trousers and a matching jacket
Beauty: Jenna, 36, cut a stylish figure in a navy blue velvet suit and a white T-shirt as she arrived at the studios in Manchester
The play is on stage for a nine-week run and sees Jenna play rule-abiding lawyer Bernadette while Aidan portrays free-spirited musician Oliver.
The official synopsis reads: '"Let's just talk until it goes". You're going to speak more than 123 million words in your lifetime. What will you do when they run out?
'Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons is a tender and funny rom-com about what we say, how we say it, and what happens when we can't say anything anymore'.
The play explores a young couples response to a dystopian world in which words are rationed by 'hush laws'.
Jenna and Aidan take starring roles in the two-hander, which is a West End revival of Sam Steiners debut play of the same name - a huge success following its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2015.
However, despite the talent of the actors, it has received mixed reviews from critics since the play's press night earlier this month.
MailOnline's Patrick Marmion gave the play two out of five stars and described the script as 'gimmicky'.
He said: 'Give [anyone] a gimmicky script like this one by Sam Steiner and they will inevitably wind up sounding like Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, waffling to kill time on This Morning.'
Meanwhile, The Telegraph claimed it was 'tantalising, but limited' despite strong performances from its two stars, writing: 'Plenty for fans to admire, then, but a few syllables short of a humdinger.'
They've appeared on The Block twice and are all set to present the next season of Location, Location, Location.
But TV's glamorous grandpas Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie haven't ruled out going back to the property show a third time.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the launch of Hayu's Loud + Proud series, the couple said they would be open to returning to the series, despite a lucrative new gig hosting Location, Location, Location.
'We watch every season,' Mitch said.
'We feel sorry for the people that didn't make any money. But we've always said you don't go on The Block to make money.
TV's glamorous grandpas Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie haven't ruled out going back to The Block for a third time
'Sometimes you make a lot of money and sometimes you don't. So you can't go in expecting that. You have to value the experience,' he added.
'You have to have fun on the journey. They're going back to Hampton [in Melbourne], so it's going to be interesting to see what it's like.
'We always had a blast on the show,' he continued.
The pair also said it was 'amazing' to see Sydney host WorldPride.
The pair - who go to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in their new series - added they were 'keen' to help Aussies get their dream home
'It really is a diverse country, so many different races and genders and sexualities,' Mitch said.
'So it's a whole celebration, and it's amazing'.
Speaking of their expanding property empire, Mitch added: 'We've been keeping a bit too busy. Once your hands don't work - just buy more houses!'
The pair - who go to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in their new series - added they were 'keen' to help Aussies get their dream home.
'It's your biggest purchase generally, it's a big step to get into the market,' Mitch said.
It was announced earlier this month that The Block winners (pictured with Jack Vidgen) will host lifestyle series, Location, Location, Location
'The market is tough right now, but I believe we can bring some of our knowledge to the show.
'A tough market can be a a great time to buy a house, it's never a good time to not get into the market. Once your on the ladder, in Australia, you're in,' Mark added.
Mitch and Mark are fan favourites after their two stints on The Block - in 2019 and 2021 - and are about to make a comeback to TV screens.
It was announced earlier this month that The Block winners will host lifestyle series, Location, Location, Location.
The show is a revamp of the previous format that aired on the Lifestyle Channel for Foxtel with the pair guiding Aussies to their dream home.
Mitch and Mark said via a joint statement that they want to impart the knowledge that they learned through their own experiences.
'We've learnt a lot from our own experiences of searching, buying, renovating and selling properties,' they said.
'We know how to look through the staging to see what a property is really offering, the good and the bad, and seeing the opportunities that others might not see in an ''ugly duckling'' property that you can transform into a swan!'
The pair finished by saying they are fans of the UK series, with them wanting to add their personal touch to the show.
'It's going to be so much fun sharing our experience and knowledge,' they said.
Loud + Proud with Justin Hill premieres Thursday, February 23 on Hayu.
Kylie Jenner has described Kim Kardashian as her favourite sister currently, saying they have had lots of 'similar experiences lately' after both suffered public splits.
The make-up mogul, 25, broke up with her long-term partner and father of her two children, Travis Scott last month.
Meanwhile, Kim, 42, split from her last boyfriend Pete Davidson in August last year, before finally settling her divorce from ex-husband Kanye West in November.
Kylie covered Vanity Fair Italy, where she posed topless and sported a fresh-faced minimal make-up look to showcase her natural beauty.
Speaking to the publication, Kylie named Kim as her favourite sister, saying: 'It changes over time. Right now its Kim.'
Referencing their mutual breakups, she added: 'Kim has changed so much recently. We are very connected, she is always the first sister I call when I need something. We have been going through a lot of similar experiences lately.'
Cover star: Kylie Jenner has described Kim Kardashian as her favourite sister currently, saying they have had lots of 'similar experiences lately' after both suffered public splits
Single: The make-up mogul, 25, broke up with her long-term partner and father of her two children, Travis Scott last month
Finalised: Meanwhile, Kim, 42, split from her last boyfriend Pete Davidson in August last year, before finally settling her divorce from ex-husband Kanye West in November
Stunning: Kylie covered Vanity Fair Italy, where she sported a fresh-faced minimal make-up look to showcase her natural beauty.
She revealed she and sister Kendall have the least in common, but that 'opposites attract'.
The Kylie Cosmetics founder shares two children with rapper Travis, their daughter, Stormi, 4, and one-year-old son, Aire, who was born last year in February 2022.
They reportedly decided to call it quits for the second time in January after the two stars rekindled their romance in 2020.
'This has happened so many times before, theyre known to be on again off again, but always remain friends and great co-parents,' an insider told Us Weekly.
Meanwhile, Kim and Kanye finally settled their divorce in November 2022 after an ugly public battle that raged on for almost two years since they split.
The pair have now come to an accord on the custody of their four kids, parenting plans and division of their multimillion dollar real estate portfolio.
Kim is getting $200,000 in child support monthly, TMZ reported after reviewing court docs.
Kanye, 45, and Kim share joint custody and have 'equal access' to their four kids North, nine, Saint, six, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three.
Insiders told TMZ that Kim will have custody of the children most of the time.
Under terms of the agreement, Kanye will be responsible for 50 percent of the educational and security expenses for the four kids.
Elsewhere in the interview, Kylie opened up on her post-partum depression, saying she had experienced it with both pregnancies.
She said: 'The first time was very difficult, the second was more manageable. I would tell those women not to over-think things and to live all the emotions of that moment to the fullest. Stay inside that moment, even if it is painful.
'I know, in those moments you think that it will never pass, that your body will never be the same as before, that you will never be the same. That's not true: the hormones, the emotions at that stage are much, much more powerful and bigger than you. My advice is to live through that transition, without fear of the aftermath.'
Kylie has spoken about her 'baby blues' previously on an episode of The Kardashians in October.
Just weeks after giving birth to her second child, she opened up about her emotions postpartum and how she's embracing her body, even her 'saggy t*ts.'
When Kendall asks Kylie how she is and how the baby is, Kylie says it's been, 'really hard for me.'
'I cried non-stop all day for the first three weeks,' Kylie says, which Kendall adds was an, 'emotional roller-coaster.'
Honour: Speaking to the publication, Kylie named Kim as her favourite sister, saying: 'It changes over time. Right now its Kim'
Split: The Kylie Cosmetics founder shares two children with rapper Travis, their daughter, Stormi, 4, and one-year-old son, Aire, who was born last year in February 2022
Really hard: Kendall asks Kylie how she is and how the baby is and Kylie says it's been, 'really hard for me'
No doctor: Kylie reveals in confession, 'I'm not a doctor, but I read on Google they call it 'baby blues' when it doesn't last past six weeks'
Kylie adds, 'It's just the baby blues and then it kinda goes away. I had it with Stormi too,' and that she would cry so much she would just 'lay in bed and my head would hurt so much.'
Kylie reveals in confession, 'I'm not a doctor, but I read on Google they call it 'baby blues' when it doesn't last past six weeks.'
'After about six weeks, I started to feel better, but I definitely had a case of the blues,' Kylie admitted, telling Kendall she's feeling better and not 'crying every day so that's great.'
'I don't have bad days with my body, I have bad days mentally and I need my first night out,' Kylie says.
She's best known for having dated Kanye West and wearing skin-baring ensembles.
And on Wednesday, Julia Fox paraded her washboard abs in a skimpy crop top and low-slung jeans while taking her adorable son Valentino, two, to the Diesel show at Milan Fashion Week.
The Italian-American actress, 33, flaunted her slim physique as she rocked an all-Diesel look as she headed to the runway show in Italy with her baby boy.
Julia slipped into a khaki bandeau bikini-style top, which she teamed with the light wash jeans and pointed denim boots.
Completely her edgy look, the Uncut Gems star layered up with a khaki coloured denim jacket over and carried her belongings into a washed-out denim handbag.
Mama and son: On Wednesday, Julia Fox, 33, paraded her washboard abs in a skimpy crop top and low-slung jeans while taking son Valentino, two, to the Diesel show at Milan Fashion Week
Wow: The Italian-American actress flaunted her slim physique as she rocked an all-Diesel look as she headed to the runway show in Italy with her two-year-old baby boy
Fashionista: Julia slipped into a khaki bandeau bikini-style top, which she teamed with the light wash jeans and pointed denim boots
Strike a pose! Julia stood with her hand on her hip for the sultry shot
Cute: Julia posed with her son Valentino on her hip
Sizzling: Julia carried a small silver bag in her hand
Her son Valentino - who she shares with ex-boyfriend Peter Artemiev - looked cool in denim trousers and a matching jacket, worn with a pin-stripe waistcoat.
The little man had a white T-shirt beneath and stepped out in embroidered cowboy boots, while his sippy cup could be seen in his jacket pocket.
The outing comes after Julia revealed she co-sleeps with her two-year-old son and joked her followers should 'sue her' if they disagreed with the practice.
The sleeping arrangement revelation came as she defended her apartment and discussed her suggested net worth on TikTok, after giving her followers a look at her two-bedroom, one-bathroom home.
Some fans reacted with praise for the normalcy with which Fox led her life while others accosted her for her supposed $30 million net worth.
In the video, she admitted: 'I really wasn't expecting my apartment tour to go so viral, people are really freaking out over it.
'It's really just not that deep. This just happens to be the apartment that I took my son home from the hospital. So it's his home.'
She continued, 'It really is [Fox's son] Valentino's apartment. It's like a sentimental thing. That's kinda why I'm like, even though I could probably afford a bigger place, probably, because I am in New York after all, it's about having that sense of normalcy for.'
Edgy: Completely her edgy look, the Uncut Gems star layered up with a khaki coloured denim jacket over and carried her belongings into a washed-out denim handbag
Cutie: Her son Valentino - who she shares with ex-boyfriend Peter Artemiev - looked cool in denim trousers and a matching jacket, worn with a pin-stripe waistcoat
Sweet: The little man had a white T-shirt beneath and stepped out in embroidered cowboy boots, while his sippy cup could be seen in his jacket pocket
'I don't want him to grow up and be a p***k. I want him to be in touch with the real world. I grew up in the real world. I just want my son to be the same.'
The Uncut Gems star went on to say that she's not worth anywhere close to her suggested net worth on the internet.
'I'm not worth 30 million dollars, not even close,' she said. 'I don't need 30 million dollars; what does one person need 30 million dollars for?
'I've survived on a lot less and I'm doing just fine.'
Apple TV+ has released a sneak peek clip from the series premiere of Liaison starring Eva Green and Vincent Cassel - amid Eva's High Court battle over a doomed sci-fi movie.
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 stars as Alison Rowdy in the series, a London-based agent who works for the British government.
Meanwhile, Vincent stars as Gabriel Delage, a French private contractor who in the clip ends up being tortured by two men for information on some hackers.
Apple TV+ has released a sneak peek clip from the series premiere of Liaison starring Eva Green and Vincent Cassel - amid Eva's High Court battle over a doomed sci-fi movie.
Presuming him to be a member of the Directorate-General for External Security, they pin him down and cut off his toenail.
He is saved from further harm by his friend Mitzia who recognises him and vouches for him.
The series is a high-powered, gripping and emotional thriller in which espionage and political intrigue play out against a story of passionate and enduring love.
'The action hurtles from the Elysee Palace in Paris to the Home Office in London, and to Brussels European Quarter from the ravaged suburbs of Damascus to a refugee camp in Belgium, as one woman must uncover whether she can save her country from catastrophe without losing herself in the process.
It comes amid Eva's High Court battle over the doomed sci-fi film, A Patriot,
Eva 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 last week Eva 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 Eva would 'rather eat tumours' than make the film with another of the producers whom she disliked.
Eva, 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.'
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.'
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.
Meanwhile, Vincent stars as Gabriel Delage, a French private contractor who in the clip ends up being tortured by two men for information on some hackers.
However, the Casino Royale star 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 Eva 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.
Max Mallin, KC, for White Lantern, asked Eva if she remembered sending a different text message suggesting that the film under executive producer Jake Seal would be a 'B-s****y-movie'.
The actress said she remembered the message. Eva 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 Eva say she is being portrayed unfairly as a diva by White Lantern. Edmund Cullen KC, for Eva, 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 Eva 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.
Liaison will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, 24th February 2023.
Italian actress Monica Bellucci and film producer Tim Burton have been secretly dating for four months.
The couple first met 16 years ago but are said to have started dating after seeing one another at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon in October.
Monica, 58, who was an honorary guest at the festival- presented Tim, 64, with the Lumiere lifetime achievement award on stage around the time they went official.
As he was handed the prize, Tim said: 'All my life put together, I have never felt so much love as tonight. Welcome to the best funeral I ever had!'
The pair were also seen heading in to watch the re-production of Silent Documentary Film, directed in 1895 by late French filmmaker Louis Lumiere.
Love: Monica Bellucci, 58, and film producer Tim Burton, 68, have been secretly dating for four months (Tim received the Lumiere lifetime achievement award from Monica in October)
Growing close: Monica and Tim sat alongside one another at the award ceremony
All change: Helena Bonham Carter and long-term partner Tim Burton split in late 2014 after 13 years together, (pictured in 2012)
Paris Match writes that Monica and Tim 'briefly met on the steps of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes in 2006, but it was only sixteen years later, behind the scenes of another festival, that they got closer.'
MailOnline has contacted reps for both Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci for more information.
Monica has been single since she split from artist Nicolas Lefebvre in 2019. She was previously married to Vincent Cassel from 1997-2013.
The former model met Cassel in 1996 on the set of Gilles Mimounis film lAppartement. They have two daughters, Deva, who was born in 2004, and Leonie, who entered the world in 2010.
They were together for three years before marrying in a quiet ceremony in Monaco, on the French Riviera.
Monica spoke about love in an interview with Paris Match back in 2011 when she was still married to Cassel, admitting there is 'no rationality' for her when it comes to relationships.
She said: 'I am carried by the moment and instinct. No rationality, only emotions. You love or you don't.'
'You don't decide sitting around a table: OK, so I have two kids, 16 years of life as a couple, that would be nice if it lasts, but how I am going to make it work?
A sweet moment: Monica looked proudly on as Tim clutched his award, around the time that the pair are said to have gone official
Weekend in Lyon: Monica was pictured with Tim (left) out and about at the Lumiere Festival that October weekend
Hanging out: Vincent Macaigne (left), Vincent Perez, Monica Bellucci and Tim posed for snaps before heading in for the re-production of Lumiere's 1895 film
'I don't think at all that a couple is something "you work out", as we say.'
Tim was famously in a relationship with The Crown actress Helena Bonham Carter, 56. but they sadly split in 2014.
The pair were never married, but were together for 13 years and share two children; son Billy, 20, and daughter Nell, 16.
Helena spoke about the split with Harper's Bazaar magazine in 2016.
She said: 'You go through massive grief - it is a death of a relationship, so its utterly bewildering. Your identity, everything, changes.'
'Just saying: "I'm not myself at the moment, so be careful. Everyone always says you have to be strong and have a stiff upper lip, but its okay to be fragile.'
Ready to party: Monica has been single since she split from artist Nicolas Lefebvre in 2019 (pictured together that year)
Past love: Monica was previously married to Vincent Cassel from 1997-2013 - pictured together in 2008
Helena and Tim got together in 2001 after he cast her as an ape in Planet Of The Apes.
They famously lived in inter-connecting houses during their relationship, with each property decorated to their own his 'n' hers tastes and personal styles.
Now in a relationship with writer Rye Dag Holmboe, 34, Helena told Daily Mail's Richard Eden in 2022 she felt 'very lucky' to have met him.
She said she had made the step of choosing to share a home with her academic boyfriend, even adding to their domestic bliss by adopting house rabbits.
The couple met at a wedding in 2018.
Explaining how they met, she told The Guardian: 'A totally random thing, which both of us nearly didn't go to, so it was one of those moments that was so chance and ended up determining so much. A really happy accident, and it's an amazing thing.'
Addressing the couple's 22-year age gap, the actress previously said in an interview with The Times:
'Everybody ages at a different rate. My boyfriend is unbelievably mature. He's an old soul in a young body, what more could I want?
'People are slightly frightened of older women, but he isn't. Women can be very powerful when they're older.'
Wednesday night's Love Island will see Jessie Wynter and Will Young discuss his antics in Casa Amor, as he admits he 'said a lot of things that night I didn't mean.'
The farmer will open to the Aussie on the terrace, talking about trust in their relationship.
Wanting to know if theres anything else she should know, Jessie says: 'Kissing someone, yeah, not great.
'Lying on the other hand, thats something you can never come back from.'
Will says: 'Im questioning loads of things'.
Honest: Wednesday night's Love Island will see Jessie Wynter and Will Young discuss his antics in Casa Amor, as he admits he 'said a lot of things that night I didn't mean.'
Candid: The farmer will open to the Aussie on the terrace, talking about trust in their relationship
He then adds: 'I would have said a lot of things that night that I didnt mean.'
Jessie replies: 'I feel like I really trust you, but the fact youre doubting yourself is making me feel confused.'
Where does this leave Will and Jessie?
It comes after Will finally won back Jessie during Sunday's episode with a little help from his other Islanders.
The Australian beauty had been left devastated after she found out the farmer had kissed Layla during Casa Amor.
And lovesick Will decided to write a poem to explain exactly how he felt about her, with the other singletons reading out his words for Jessie to hear.
The couple watched from the balcony as Olivia read: 'After 23 years you're the first couple I have wanted to open up to.'
Tanya then said: 'Will wants you to know' before the farmer turned to Jessie and said: 'I do Jessie, I do really love you.'
While one other viewer posted: 'Jessie needs to stop crying over Will. It's enough please.'
The whole villa bursts into cheers as they couple embraced with the farmer whispering in Jessie's ear: 'I am so sorry.'
Taking to Twitter fans were overjoyed by the reunion with one writing: 'Will and Jessie moment is actually really cute.'
Happy boy: It comes after Will won back Jessie during Sunday's episode with a little help from his other islanders
Back together: The Australian beauty had been left devastated after she found out the farmer,had kissed Layla during Casa Amor
While a second added: 'Why am I tearing up at what Will is doing for Jessie?'
And a third said: 'That was the most adorable thing I've seen! Will and Jessie for the win.'
A second agreed writing: 'I don't care just give will and Jessie [the grand prize of] 50K.'
Love Island continues on ITV2 and ITVX at 9pm on Wednesday.
A staff member displays various socks for babies at an exhibition held in Suwon, south of Seoul, Feb. 5. Yonhap
The number of babies born in Korea reached yet another fresh low in 2022, data showed Wednesday, with deaths outpacing births for the third consecutive year.
A total of 249,000 babies were born last year, falling 4.4 percent from the previous record low in 2021, according to the data from Statistics Korea.
The country's total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, came to 0.78 in 2022. It also marked the lowest since 1970, when the statistics agency began compiling related data.
Last year marked the fifth straight year the rate was below one. Experts believe the rate should be at least 2.1 to keep Korea's population stable at 52 million.
Korea has been dogged by a chronic decline in childbirths as many young people delay or give up on having babies in the face of an economic slowdown and high home prices.
Reflecting this, the average age of mothers giving birth came to 33.5 in 2022, up 0.2 from a year earlier.
Women gave birth to their first child at 33 on average, followed by second and third at 34.2 and 35.6, respectively.
The data showed that for every 1,000 Korean women in their late 20s, 24 babies were born in 2022, down 3.5 from a year earlier.
Women in their late 30s, on the other hand, held a comparable figure of 44, up 0.5 on-year.
The report added that 31.5 percent of newly wedded couples had their first child within two years.
The number of deaths, on the other hand, came to 372,800 in 2022, soaring 17.4 percent from a year earlier. Asia's No. 4 economy reported more deaths than births for the first time in 2020.
In 2022, deaths outpaced births by a record-high figure of 120,000, marking a drastic turnaround from 1981, when the country saw a natural increase of 630,000.
Among Korea's 16 major cities and provinces, Sejong, located 120 kilometers south of Seoul, was the only city that had more births than deaths in 2022.
The statistics agency earlier estimated the country's population to suffer a natural decrease of 200,000 or above starting in 2038.
In December, a total of 16,803 babies were born, down 2.2 percent from a year earlier, while deaths advanced 5.4 percent to 33,360.
The number of marriages reached 19,883, up 0.6 percent on-year in December, while divorces shot up 10.4 percent to 7,821, the data showed. (Yonhap)
Kylie Jenner playfully carried Kim Kardashian at the end of a fun TikTok dance routine video as she named the mother-of-four as her favorite sister after they connected over mutual breakups.
The 25-year-old make-up mogul and 42-year-old shapewear mogul showed off their best dance moves in a short choreographed routine in one of their home gyms in a video posted on Wednesday morning.
The number featured plenty of flowy arm movements and ended with the sisters doing their best ballerina impressions.
Kim then leapt into Kylie's arms as she playfully carried her older half sister while spinning around.
Perhaps the biggest surprise came at the end when sister Khloe Kardashian, 38, walked through the frame while waving.
Bond: Kylie Jenner playfully carried Kim Kardashian at the end of a fun TikTok dance routine video as she named the mother-of-four as her favorite sister after they connected over mutual breakups
In sync: The 25-year-old make-up mogul and 42-year-old shapewear mogul showed off their best dance moves in a short choreographed routine in one of their home gyms in a video posted on Wednesday morning
This came after Kylie described Kim as her favorite sister currently, saying they have had lots of 'similar experiences lately' after both suffered public splits.
The make-up mogul broke up with her long-term partner and father of her two children, Travis Scott last month.
Meanwhile, Kim, split from her last boyfriend Pete Davidson in August last year, before finally settling her divorce from ex-husband Kanye West in November.
Kylie covered Vanity Fair Italy, where she posed topless and sported a fresh-faced minimal make-up look to showcase her natural beauty.
Speaking to the publication, Kylie named Kim as her favourite sister, saying: 'It changes over time. Right now its Kim.'
Referencing their mutual breakups, she added: 'Kim has changed so much recently. We are very connected, she is always the first sister I call when I need something. We have been going through a lot of similar experiences lately.'
She revealed she and sister Kendall have the least in common, but that 'opposites attract'.
The Kylie Cosmetics founder shares two children with rapper Travis, their daughter, Stormi, 4, and one-year-old son, Aire, who was born last year in February 2022.
Moving and grooving: The number featured plenty of flowy arm movements
Having fun: It ended with the sisters doing their best ballerina impressions
Lots of love: Kim then leapt into Kylie's arms as she playfully carried her older half sister while spinning around
Twist: Perhaps the biggest surprise came at the end when sister Khloe Kardashian, 38, walked through the frame while waving
They reportedly decided to call it quits for the second time in January after the two stars rekindled their romance in 2020.
'This has happened so many times before, theyre known to be on again off again, but always remain friends and great co-parents,' an insider told Us Weekly.
Meanwhile, Kim and Kanye finally settled their divorce in November 2022 after an ugly public battle that raged on for almost two years since they split.
The pair have now come to an accord on the custody of their four kids, parenting plans and division of their multimillion dollar real estate portfolio.
Cover star: This came after Kylie described Kim as her favorite sister currently, saying they have had lots of 'similar experiences lately' after both suffered public splits
Single: The make-up mogul, 25, broke up with her long-term partner and father of her two children, Travis Scott last month
Finalised: Meanwhile, Kim, 42, split from her last boyfriend Pete Davidson in August last year, before finally settling her divorce from ex-husband Kanye West in November
Stunning: Kylie covered Vanity Fair Italy, where she sported a fresh-faced minimal make-up look to showcase her natural beauty.
Kim is getting $200,000 in child support monthly, TMZ reported after reviewing court docs.
Kanye, 45, and Kim share joint custody and have 'equal access' to their four kids North, nine, Saint, six, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three.
Insiders told TMZ that Kim will have custody of the children most of the time.
Under terms of the agreement, Kanye will be responsible for 50 percent of the educational and security expenses for the four kids.
Sir David Jason was seen taking to the skies in his Robinson R44 helicopter on Wednesday before touching down in Buckinghamshire.
The Only Fools And Horses star, 83, certainly looked the part, as he sported a Robinson Helicopter cap and a HeliAir black jacket.
David, who became a qualified helicopter pilot back in 2005, shielded his eyes with a pair of black sunglasses as he joined his co-pilot for the trip.
The four-seater aircraft is the world's best selling helicopter, priced at 350,000 new, and is often used by the military and government as well as private individuals.
The actor first set his sight's on flying when he was 28, and recalled his disastrous first flying exam in his autobiography Del Of A Life.
Flying high: Sir David Jason, 83, was seen taking to the skies in his Robinson R44 Rave helicopter on Wednesday before touching down in Buckinghamshire
Slick: The Only Fools And Horses star certainly looked the part, as he sported a Robinson Helicopter cap
Confidence: David credited flying for helping kick off his acting career: 'When I started flying, I found you didnt need an academic mind you just needed determination and dedication (pictured as Del Boy with his Reliant Regal in Only Fools and Horses)
In the book he explained: 'I managed to get lost and I had to land in a field to ask a farmer for directions. Poor bloke.
'He was surprised enough to see a helicopter come down on his land and even more surprised to see Del Boy get out of it.
'I failed the exam, needless to say, and by next week the story of the bozo who got lost on his cross-country test was all around the airfield.
David added: 'Still, I passed eventually, and with the need I now had to get to meetings and locations up and down the country, I managed to rationalise buying my own little machine - a four-seater Robinson 44, my mechanical pride and joy.'
David credited flying for helping kick off his acting career: 'When I started flying, I found you didnt need an academic mind you just needed determination and dedication.
'I don't think I would ever have taken on professional acting roles if I hadnt had the ability to fly.
'I had quite low self-esteem and it gave me the self-confidence to believe I could do anything that I put my mind to,' he concluded.
The outing comes after David revealed he would 'never' have thought he'd appear in one of Britain's highest-rated festive specials - especially after getting his start in front of the camera playing a goose.
Up and away: David, who became a qualified helicopter pilot back in 2005, shielded his eyes with a pair of black sunglasses as he joined his co-pilot for the trip
Hobby: He also donned a HeliAir black jacket and a green fleece
In the sky: The four seater aircraft is the world's best selling helicopter and is often used by the military and government as well as private individuals
The actor, made his first TV appearance on Decemver 26, 1965 when he played King Goose in a BBC production of Mother Goose.
31 years later on December 26 1996, 24.3million people watched him as Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter in Only Fools And Horses' Christmas special where he and Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) dressed up like Batman and Robin.
According to the Broadcasters Audience Research Board, it's one of the biggest audiences ever recorded for a single transmission in the UK.
The actor first set his sight's on flying when he was 28, and recalled his disastrous first flying exam in his autobiography Del Of A Life
Oops: In the book he explained: 'I managed to get lost and I had to land in a field to ask a farmer for directions. Poor bloke'
Funny: He continued: 'He was surprised enough to see a helicopter come down on his land and even more surprised to see Del Boy get out of it'
Oh dear: 'I failed the exam, needless to say, and by next week the story of the bozo who got lost on his cross-country test was all around the airfield,' he laughed
Pricey! According to medium.com the helicopter has yearly fixed costs in the tens of thousands of pounds, estimated at 61,554
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, David said: 'It's been a journey. You would never, ever have thought that could possibly happen from playing the King of Goose Land on television... you're lucky if you got another job.'
David, who was raised in North Finchley, London, told how his whole family gathered around to watch his first TV appearance.
He said: 'The thing about it is you've got a poor, working-class family, and because television was still quite new then, it wasn't in everybody's house.
'But then to have one of your own, one of your family actually on the television itself was an amazing achievement.'
Thylane Blondeau flaunted her slender figure as she walked the catwalk during the Diesel show at Milan Fashion Week on Wednesday.
The model, 21, sported a white crop top and jean skirt from the brand as she joined the group of stars showcasing the Autumn 2023 designs.
Her plunging top featured an eye-catching silver clasp around the bust while she opted for minimal makeup.
Thylane wore her brunette locks in a slicked back style and toted a striking silver bag for the show.
The Diesel show was attended by a host of stars, including Romeo Beckham's model girlfriend Mia Regan who nailed the grunge chic look in a vintage denim co-ord.
Stylish: Thylane Blondeau (left) showcased her slender figure in a white crop top and jean skirt as she walked the catwalk during the Diesel show at Milan Fashion Week
Model behaviour: Her plunging top from the brand featured an eye-catching silver clasp around the bust while she opted for minimal makeup
Looking good: Thylane wore her brunette locks in a slicked back style and toted a striking silver bag for the show
Casual cool: Mia nailed grunge chic in an acid wash denim co-ord and matching thigh-high boots while attending the Diesel show at Milan Fashion Week
With a tie-dye acid wash colouring, Mia's oversized jacket featured a distressed design and had silver zip details at the sleeves and down the centre.
She teamed the garment with a matching, distressed hem mini-skirt - with her long legs accentuated by a pair of thigh-high boots in a light denim.
Mia had her creamy blonde locks in a sleek bob as they were pulled away from her face with a silver clip.
She opted for a dewy palette of makeup with a smokey eye make-up look, accessorising with a pair of diamond drop earrings.
Completing the fully-denim look, she clutched onto a dark wash handbag at the event.
Milan Fashion Week kicked off on Tuesday and will run until Monday 27 February, with Thylane and Mia heading out to Italy for the event.
Thylane has thrown herself back into work over the last few years after having multiple surgeries for complications with ovarian cysts in 2020.
The influencer shared an Instagram post detailing her health problems, and posting photos from her hospital bed.
She explained that she had surgery after an ovarian cyst 'exploded in her stomach'.
Health woes: Thylane previously shared an Instagram post detailing her health problems, and posting photos from her hospital bed
She said at the time: 'The day after this I had this appointment with an amazing doctor ( Olivier Kadoch ) who directly saw that I had a kyste of 5,6 cm who was touching my ovary so he sent me to do an IRM and an hour after this , the doctor called me and ask me to go straight to the hospital to do an emergency operation .'
'Today I'm finally feeling better I'm finally feeling free I really thought I was crazy for complaining about my stomach for so long. Happy that I've never gave up,' she gushed.
'From this experience I've learned that when you're body hurts, don't let it slide and take care of it, you must see different doctors until some of them find the problem and heals it. Any pain even the little ones can hide something way more important.'
Thylane went on to thank her doctor 'who literally saved my life,' as well as her mother for travelling from the South of France to be with her. She ended her post by paying tribute to boyfriend Ben Attal 'who helped me since 1 year ago with my belly problems .'
Alexander Skarsgard certainly caught attention at the Infinity Pool premiere during the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on Wednesday.
The actor ditched the standard red carpet poses for a more out-there display as he lay face down on the ground while surrounded by his co-stars.
He was joined by co-star Mia Goth for the appearance, beaming alongside the actress as he got back upright for some snaps.
Infinity Pool has left critics aghast with its scenes of executions, orgies and full-frontal nudity in first reviews of the shocking horror film.
And during it's premiere, star Mia, 29, showed off her incredible figure in a black embellished dress with ruffles and an extravagant design, falling into a ruffle hemmed train.
What a scene: Alexander Skarsgard lay face down on the red carpet on Wednesday at the premiere for his new horror film Infinity Pool at the Berlin International Film Festival
And.. smile: He was joined by co-star Mia Goth for the appearance, beaming alongside the actress as he got back upright for some snaps
The Pearl star opted for a soft glam makeup look as she posed for snaps at the event which was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
Meanwhile Alexander, 46, looked dapper in an all black ensemble which consisted of a blazer, t-shirt and trousers.
He made quite a scene while walking the red carpet with his co-stars, twirling around the area before lying face down.
As others stood around and smiled for snaps, one pal kneeled down beside the actor while letting out a laugh.
They had swapped ensembles from the film's earlier photocall, which saw Mia in a skin-tight ruched white midi dress with a string design.
Alexander had kept a similar look for the event earlier in the day, appearing animated as he wrapped an arm around his co-star for snaps and pulled different faces.
They then took their seats at a conference for the new release inside, with Alexander stopping to grab selfies with fans after speaking at the event.
Got my attention: The actor ditched the standard red carpet poses for a more out-there display as he lay face down on the ground while surrounded by his co-stars
Co-stars: He and Mia smiled for snps together on the carpet, as the latter donned a beaded black maxi dress with a feathered hem for the premiere
Busy day: They had swapped ensembles from the film's earlier photocall, which saw Mia in a skin-tight ruched white midi dress with a string design
Stunning: Mia, 29, showed off her incredible figure in a white skin-tight dress, teamed with a pair of black stilettos
Film promo: They then took their seats at a conference for the new release inside
Popular: While Alexander stopped to grab selfies with fans after speaking at the event
The pair were also joined at the photocall by the film's director Brandon Croenenberg and actor Jalil Lespert.
The film follows writer James Foster (Skarsgard) and Em Foster (Cleopatra Coleman), a couple enjoying an all-inclusive beach vacation in the fictional island of La Tolqa, when a fatal accident exposes the resort's perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism, violence and surreal horrors.
In one of the film's most shocking scenes, MIa, who plays free-spirited tourist and actress Gabi, performs a sex act on Alexander's Foster, with the writer ejaculating and his manhood fully shown on screen.
Other gory scenes show a clone of Alexander being disemboweled and orgies - with the R-rated film branded 'The White Lotus - but for sickos' upon its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
Alexander said himself of the role: 'Fighting a naked version of myself to the death and then being breastfed by Mia that's not something you get to do very often as an actor.'
IndieWire critic Ryan Lattanzio praised the 'terrifically unhinged' performances of the leads but said 'the whole thing feels bloodless, cold and clammy as a speculum.
'Despite the pile-up of blood, guts, holes, and d**ks in a hallucinogenic montage that punctures Infinity Pool's otherwise weirdly sleepy atmosphere, the film is never as appalling as it seems to confidently believe it is.
'There's a psychedelic orgy montage suffused with all manner of body parts, James and Gabi high out of their skulls on some kind of religious drug and pounding each other in ecstasy, that feels very similar to the one in Possessor where Andrea Riseborough suddenly had a penis.
'This is likely one of the moments that originally got Infinity Pool its justifiable NC-17 rating.'
On October 19, Bloody Disgusting reported that Infinity Pool was edited from an NC-17 film to a hard R-rated film.
Cronenberg is the son of iconic body horror director David Cronenberg, known for classic films such as The Fly and The Dead Zone.
Gorgeous: The Pearl star opted for a soft glam makeup look as she posed for snaps at the event which was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel
Looking good: Alexander, 46, looked dapper in an all black ensemble which consisted of a blazer, t-shirt and trousers
Bold: Infinity Pool has left critics aghast with its scenes of executions, orgies and full-frontal nudity in first reviews of the shocking horror film
Plot: In one of the film's most shocking scenes, MIa, who plays free-spirited tourist and actress Gabi, performs a sex act on Alexander's Foster, with the writer ejaculating and his manhood fully shown on screen
Mia, who is being highly praised for her performance in recent horror productions such as Pearl and X: The Mark of Death, is the granddaughter of actress Maria Gladys.
She recently stated in an interview that her grandmother was her biggest inspiration. She said: 'My grandma, my Brazilian grandmother, who is also an actress in Brazil.
'She has an incredible life, has gone through a lot and has always encouraged me to expand my universe to the fullest. I think she is incredible'.
Infinity Pool is released in cinemas UK on 24 March, 2023.
Team: The pair were also joined at the photocall by the film's director Brandon Croenenberg and actor Jalil Lespert
Bette Midler has had a legendary career but she isn't without regrets. In fact, there's one iconic role the Beaches star regrets passing on.
The Hocus Pocus star, 77 - who recently hit back at fans who called her transphobic - was offered a role in 1992's Sister Act and turned it down.
'They came to me with Sister Act, and I said, 'My fans dont want to see me in a wimple,' The Rose actress said on the Just For Variety podcast.
'Can you believe that? How off the wall is that? How crazy is that? Jeffrey Katzenberg called me every day, "Please, please." I stood my ground because I really was afraid of the costume. Isnt that amazing? I can wear anything but a nuns habit?'
The role eventually went to Whoopi Goldberg.
Regrets I have a few: Bette Midler discussed the role she regrets passing on as well as one she keeps thinking about
'Whoopi wore it all the way to the bank,' Midler added. 'So God bless her. And she was perfect for it.'
And there was one more role she turned down that she still thinks about - Misery.
'I just couldnt. It was too violent,' she said. 'The character was so not funny, so without any qualities of redemption. She cut off his foot. Come on. Who does that?'
Midler is being honored with Distinguished Collaborator Award at the Costume Designers Guild Awards in Beverly Hills on February 27 and she dished on her career with Variety ahead of the event.
The First Wives Club actress also would like to star in a current television show: White Lotus.
She'd accept a role in the HBO series, 'In a New York minute.'
'Its a big sendup,' she elaborated. 'Mike White pokes fun at the worst kind of people, the truly entitled and rich people behaving badly. Everybody likes to see them get their comeuppance.
'I really enjoy that. Its the great saga of the haves and the have-nots, which is eternal. I do tend to watch the stuff thats I dont want to say hopeful but I do like to laugh. I love to laugh, but theres just not enough laughter. So I really do look for the stuff that makes me laugh.'
And while she's had a distinguished and more than six decade career - there's one public role she'd never want to take on - being a politician.
Sister Act: The Divine Ms. M revealed she passed on the role in Sister Act that eventually went to Whoopi Goldberg
'Im not smart enough,' the Ruthless People actress said. 'And the difference between me and the people who actually hold office is that Im smart enough to know that Im not smart enough to be in governance, to be in lawmaking.'
'Some of these people, you dont have any idea why in the name of god they got into politics. Theyre so lame and theyre so stupid. And they dont really give a shit about their constituents. Theyre mostly there for a cash grab. I really do believe that. I never thought that way when I was a kid.'
'Oh my god, this country. Oh my god, my country tis of thee, I loved it so much,' she continued. 'But I tell you lately, it makes absolutely no sense that we are being governed by people who are so clueless. Im sorry. Thats it. I have nothing more to say.'
And the Divine Ms. M admitted the last movie she cried over was one of her most popular: Beaches.
'I show it once a week,' she joked. 'No, Im teasing,' she admitted.
Getting serious, Midler did admit, 'I did cry at a book, The School for Good Mothers. I just bawled like a baby. I hadnt cried over a book like that in a long, long time.'
And with biopics being a hot commodity in Hollywood these days, the podcast host asked her if we'd ever get a Bette Midler biopic.
'My daughter [actor Sophie Von Haselberg] and I are two peas in a pod, so if she wants to, she can have it. But I dont think thats what shes aiming for.
Heidi Klum shared steamy snaps with husband Tom Kaulitz to mark their four year wedding anniversary on Wednesday,
The thrice-married supermodel, 49, branded the Tokio Hotel rocker, 33, the 'love of my life' as she shared a clip of the pair kissing and embracing while in their underwear.
The Project Runway alum - who recently said she would consider having children with her beau - celebrated the occasion with an array of heart shaped balloons and two cakes.
Heidi looked sensational in the post as she revealed her honed frame in a black crop-top and wore her tresses in soft waves.
A shirtless Tom kissed his wife in the snaps, with a bouquet of roses seen on the counter.
Everlasting love: Heidi Klum shared steamy snaps with husband Tom Kaulitz to mark their four year wedding anniversary on Wednesday
Clothing optional: The thrice-married supermodel, 49, branded the Tokio Hotel rocker, 33, the 'love of my life' as she shared a clip of the pair kissing and embracing while in their underwear
While appearing on the February 2 episode of the Jennifer Hudson Show, Heidi shared that she has considered expanding her family and having a baby with Tom.
'It depends what day it is, sometimes I'm here [for it], sometimes here [where I am not], you know?' the German beauty said.
Heidi first became a mother in 2004 with the birth of her first daughter and went on to welcome three more children with ex-husband Seal.
'I mean it's a lot. I've done it four times. I breastfed eight months each time [with my four kids] and then I was pregnant again.'
Tom was married once before to model Ria Sommerfeld from 2015-2018, but the pair had no children together.
Heidi had her first daughter, Leni, with Flavio Briatore, 72.
The America's Got Talent judge then went on to marry the musician Seal in 2004 and have her other three kids with him. Seal adopted Leni in 2009.
The pair were married from 2005-2014 and co-parent their kids Henry, 17, Johan, 16, and Lou, 13.
Sweet treats: The couple also had two cakes, one in English and one in their native German
More kids: The Making the Cut host might be open to having more kids with her third husband
Hot couple alert: Heidi first began dating Tom in 2018 (pictured December 2022)
In 2018, the star sparked romance rumors with Tom after they were spotted holding hands on multiple outings.
They got engaged later that year and secretly wed in February 2019.
In 2022 the star gushed to US Weekly about how quickly Tom blended with her family after getting married.
'[Tom's] amazing. I'm sure it's not easy to step into an immediate family, having all of a sudden four kids and teenagers.
'They were easier when they were younger, for sure. Every age comes with its challenges. It's beautiful. It's fun. I mean, so far, so good.'
While on the Jennifer Hudson Show, Heidi also talked about her upcoming 50th birthday and how she expressed to her husband that a big bash is expected.
Heidi told Jennifer, 'So I said to my husband, 'I would love to now have a big birthday party. Do you hear me, my love?''
Tom Hiddleston has been spotted for the first time since he became a father.
The Eton and Cambridge-educated actor, 42, welcomed a baby with Fresh Meat star Zawe Ashton last October.
He and Ashton, 38, have yet to disclose the name or sex of their child.
The couple first met in 2019 when they played husband and wife in a revival of Harold Pinters Betrayal.
Tom was seen pushing a Silver Cross Reef pram as he walked his dog in North London, cutting a casual figure in a blue hoody and shorts.
New father: Tom Hiddleston has been seen for the first time since he became a father to his first child with fiancee Zawe Ashton
Strolls: Tom was seen pushing a pram as he walked his dog in North London, cutting a casual figure in a blue hoody and shorts
He also wore a blue cap, looking pensive as he listened to music on his stroll and later greeted a fan on a high street.
It comes after a source told US Weekly in October: 'Tom and Zawe are loving being new parents and are filled with joy.'
The insider also noted they are 'having the struggles of new parents and aren't sleeping much but are thrilled.'
In June, Tom confirmed he was set to wed the beauty but kept tight lipped about the romance, simply telling the LA Times: 'I'm very happy' and nothing more.
Tom and Zawe set tongues wagging about a possible engagement when they appeared at the BAFTAs last year, after which she was pictured wearing a huge diamond sparkler on her ring finger in a photo shared by host AJ Odudu.
The couple were reportedly congratulated by industry friends at the ceremony - after Zawe hid her hand as she took to the red carpet in a pink cape dress.
The Fresh Meat star concealed her stunning diamond-encrusted ring from photographers on the red carpet, draping her stunning flowing pink gown over her hand.
Couple: Tom is engaged to fellow actor Zawe (pictured at the BAFTAs in 2022)
Casual cool: He also wore a blue cap, looking pensive as he listened to music on his stroll along a road and later a high street
Tom, meanwhile, looked handsome in a black blazer and trousers, as he posed hand-in-hand with Zawe.
Later in the ballroom of London's Grosvenor Hotel the couple caught up with TV personality AJ who snapped a picture, which showed the diamond ring.
Zawe and Tom have worked hard over the years to kept their relationship out of the spotlight.
The couple confirmed their romance during a PDA-filled holiday at the beach in Ibiza in September 2021 before making their red carpet debut together at the Tony Awards in New York City.
Also in 2021, it was revealed the pair had moved in together after months of romance rumors, and they are now said to be living together in Atlanta, Georgia.
Sources close to the duo said The Night Manager star, and the actress are 'very well suited and enjoy the quieter side of life'.
An insider told The Sun : 'Tom and Zawe have stayed quiet about their relationship but she has spent the last few weeks with him in the US.
'They are very well suited and enjoy the quieter side of life away from the glitz and glamour of the showbiz world.'
Tom was also said to be wary of highlighting the romance due to the attention his past relationship with Taylor Swift drew.
A source said: 'Tom really has fallen for Zawe in a big way. But he is so paranoid about his private life since his relationship with Taylor that he has gone to great lengths to keep this under wraps.'
Tom told the New York Times after his romance with Taylor: 'Yes, I'm protective about my internal world now in probably a different way. That's because I didn't realize it needed protecting before.'
Daddy duties: The star tucked his hair into a blue cap, wearing his blonde locks in a ponytail for the trip out
Off we go: The dad toted his essentials below the buggy, including a large blue coat for the winter chill
During Tom's short-lived fling with Taylor the pair didn't shy away from showing off their romance with lots of public outings.
The couple got together shortly after Taylor's split from Calvin Harris after first meeting at the Met Gala in May 2016, and during the first few weeks of their romance they travelled around the world together.
They even took the huge step of meeting one another's parents, with Taylor jetting to the UK to spend time with Tom's mother in Suffolk, while he went to her adopted home town of Nashville, before calling it quits in late 2016.
Along with his highly publicized relationship with Taylor in 2016, Tom also previously dated his Wallander co-star Susannah Fielding, with the pair splitting up in 2011.
Lauren Phillips enjoyed some rest and relaxation in Byron Bay last Saturday.
The TV and radio host, 41, slipped into a bright yellow string bikini for a walk on the beach with her multi-millionaire jet tycoon boyfriend Paul O'Brien.
The notoriously private couple have been dating since early 2020 and now live together in the coastal NSW town.
Lauren, who hosts the Melbourne breakfast show for KIIS 101.1, accessorised her swimwear with a white shirt and blue cap.
Businessman Paul, who previously dated former Sunrise host Samantha Armytage, wore black activewear as he worked up a sweat.
Lauren Phillips enjoyed some rest and relaxation in Byron Bay last Saturday
The pair looked cheerful as they strolled along the shoreline before cooling off in the ocean.
Paul owns the high-end charter group AVMIN.
His private jet business boasts many celebrity clients, including Matt Damon, Luciana Barroso, Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky.
The TV and radio host, 41, slipped into a bright yellow string bikini for a walk on the beach
She was joined by her multi-millionaire jet tycoon boyfriend Paul O'Brien
The notoriously private couple have been dating since early 2020 and now live together in the coastal NSW town
Lauren started dating Paul while she was living in Melbourne at the start of the Covid pandemic in early 2020.
But when Victoria's lockdown took hold in July that year, she relocated to Byron Bay.
There, she reportedly moved in with Paul while continuing to work as the weather presenter for Weekend Today - a role she has since quit to focus on her radio career.
The pair looked cheerful as they strolled along the shoreline before cooling off in the ocean
Lauren, who hosts the Melbourne breakfast show for KIIS 101.1, accessorised her swimwear with a white shirt and blue cap
She started dating Paul while she was living in Melbourne at the start of the Covid pandemic
Before her relationship with Paul, Lauren was married to TV producer Lachlan Spark for a year. They confirmed their split in December 2018.
She later insisted there was no 'scandal' in their break-up, adding she and Lachlan were 'still on great terms' despite their extraordinarily short marriage.
In September last year, Lauren revealed she'd been rushed to hospital after struggling to breathe in the middle of the night.
She said on the Jase & Lauren show her partner Paul had called an ambulance after noticing she could only take very shallow breaths.
Before her relationship with Paul, Lauren was married to TV producer Lachlan Spark for a year. They confirmed their split in December 2018
Paul previously dated former Sunrise host Samantha Armytage
'I'm feeling a little better, but it was scary on Saturday night,' she said. 'I woke up breathless and choking.'
'The [paramedics] tried to get my breathing back on track, but they just couldn't get on top of it so they took me to [hospital],' she added.
Lauren was tested for Covid and influenza after arriving at the Alfred hospital.
'All the tests came back clear, but it turned out to be a severe respiratory virus,' she explained.
Julia Fox turned heads in a barely there outfit on Wednesday night.
The actress, 33, opted for a plunging top and short skirt made entirely of belts as she arrived at the Diesel dinner event at Milan Fashion Week.
Her outfit was formed of patterned red belts and black shiny ones, showcasing her slender figure.
She also wore a large black puffy coat slung off her shoulders as she strolled through the streets of the city
The star toted her essentials in a Diesel bag and added a pair of grey thigh-high boots to the look.
Eye-catching: Julia Fox turned heads in a barely there outfit made of belts as she arrived at the Diesel dinner event at Milan Fashion Week on Wednesday night
Striking: Her outfit was formed of patterned red belts and black shiny ones, showcasing her slender figure
She wore her red locks in a straightened style, opting for eye-catching blue makeup.
It comes after Julia paraded her washboard abs in a skimpy crop top and low-slung jeans while taking her adorable son Valentino, two, to the Diesel show at Milan Fashion Week.
The Italian-American actress flaunted her slim physique as she rocked an all-Diesel look as she headed to the runway show in Italy with her baby boy.
Julia slipped into a khaki bandeau bikini-style top, which she teamed with the light wash jeans and pointed denim boots.
Completing her edgy look, the Uncut Gems star layered up with a khaki coloured denim jacket over and carried her belongings into a washed-out denim handbag.
Her son Valentino - who she shares with ex-boyfriend Peter Artemiev - looked cool in denim trousers and a matching jacket, worn with a pin-stripe waistcoat.
The little man had a white T-shirt beneath and stepped out in embroidered cowboy boots, while his sippy cup could be seen in his jacket pocket.
The outing comes after Julia revealed she co-sleeps with her two-year-old son and joked her followers should 'sue her' if they disagreed with the practice.
Stylish: She also wore a large black puffy coat slung off her shoulders as she strolled through the streets of the city
Mama and son: On Wednesday, Julia Fox, 33, paraded her washboard abs in a skimpy crop top and low-slung jeans while taking son Valentino, two, to the Diesel show at Milan Fashion Week
The sleeping arrangement revelation came as she defended her apartment and discussed her suggested net worth on TikTok, after giving her followers a look at her two-bedroom, one-bathroom home.
Some fans reacted with praise for the normalcy with which Fox led her life while others accosted her for her supposed $30 million net worth.
In the video, she admitted: 'I really wasn't expecting my apartment tour to go so viral, people are really freaking out over it.
'It's really just not that deep. This just happens to be the apartment that I took my son home from the hospital. So it's his home.'
She continued, 'It really is [Fox's son] Valentino's apartment. It's like a sentimental thing.
'That's kinda why I'm like, even though I could probably afford a bigger place, probably, because I am in New York after all, it's about having that sense of normalcy for.'
Sweet: The little man had a white T-shirt beneath and stepped out in embroidered cowboy boots, while his sippy cup could be seen in his jacket pocket
'I don't want him to grow up and be a p***k. I want him to be in touch with the real world. I grew up in the real world. I just want my son to be the same.'
The Uncut Gems star went on to say that she's not worth anywhere close to her suggested net worth on the internet.
'I'm not worth 30 million dollars, not even close,' she said. 'I don't need 30 million dollars; what does one person need 30 million dollars for?
'I've survived on a lot less and I'm doing just fine.'
Paul Mescal has broken his silence on his split from Phoebe Bridgers in an emotional new interview - after previously urging people speculating on the relationship to 'shut the f*** up'.
The 27-year-old Oscar-nominee is featured on the cover of the latest edition of The Hollywood Reporter and opened up about the end of his romance from musician Bridgers, 28.
When asked if he will ever touch on the subject of their split, Mescal said: 'Maybe at some point. But just not now. Its just difficult territory. Yeah.'
It has been rumored for months that Mescal had split from 28-year-old musician Phoebe Bridgers which he has yet to address directly.
This was a much different answer to the one he gave in an interview just last week.
Past: Paul Mescal has broken his silence on his split from Phoebe Bridgers in an emotional new interview - after previously urging people speculating on the relationship to 'shut the f*** up'; the pair are seen together in LA back in November 2021
'Sometimes I can drown it out and then other times it makes me really mad and upset,' he told the latest issue of Vanity Fair.
'People are going to write and say things because theres a certain interest with any person whos in the public eye in how that person lives their life, and who theyre living up with, and what theyre doing and how theyre going about doing it.
'And look, a lot of the time people are really kind about their support for me. Thats my predominant experience.'
Mescal, a self-confessed Bridgers fan prior to their first meeting, began dating the talented musician in 2020 - shortly after the remarkable BBC drama Normal People turned him into a household name.
Bridgers has since been linked to comedian Bo Burnham following a reported split in December, and Mescal admits questions regarding his former relationship are unwanted.
He said: 'I definitely feel the temptation to say the status of my whateverthat will always be there. But I dont think thats a wise thing to do.
'When Normal People came out, I was very forthright in interviews, and it didnt actually serve me. But the temptation still exists to be like, Shut the f**k up. This is my life. This is whats going on. Or this is whats going on.
'But moving forward as much as I can, thats going to be my life that is private. Thats a difficult thing to achieve. But giving strangers an answer about my life doesnt actually help me.
Dapper: The 27-year-old Oscar-nominee is featured on the cover of the latest edition of The Hollywood Reporter and opened up about the end of his romance from musician Bridgers, 28
Split: When asked if he will ever touch on the subject of their split, Mescal said: 'Maybe at some point. But just not now. Its just difficult territory. Yeah' - they are seen at the Met Gala in May 2022
'Its like a quick boost of serotonin, being like, Ive said what I need to say. And then its just Twitter fodder.'
Elsewhere in the chat, Mescal discussed his intimate first meeting with Nicole Kidman.
As Mescal starred in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre in North London, Kidman was in attendance at one of the recent shows where she led a standing ovation.
The Irish actor revealed that his first meeting with the Oscar-winner happened when he was in his underwear.
The hunky actor explained: 'She came to the [mens] dressing room. We were in our pants.'
Banter: Elsewhere in the chat, Mescal discussed his intimate first meeting with Nicole Kidman - which happened when he was in his underwear
Quite the role: As Mescal starred in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre in North London (pictured), Kidman was in attendance at one of the recent shows where she led a standing ovation
The play had a successful run at the Almeida Theater and will now move on to a six-week run in London's iconic West End in March.
While his nuanced role as the loving but deeply troubled Calum in Charlotte Wells' directorial debut Aftersun has created an Oscar buzz, his next project is a major a step onto the international stage.
The actor is set to take a starring role in a planned sequel to Ridley Scott's iconic 2000 film Gladiator.
However he will not be playing Maximus, the Roman general-turned-gladiator, played by Russell Crowe in the original.
Instead, Mescal is rumoured to be playing Lucius Verus, the nephew of evil Commodus and a role originally filled by Spencer Treat Clark.
Watch Paul Mescal in Normal People, available now only on Stan in Australia.
Korean troops carry a coffin with the remains of a U.S. soldier killed during the 1950-53 Korean War during a repatriation ceremony at the Seoul National Cemetery in southern Seoul, Feb. 22. Yonhap
Korea on Wednesday repatriated the remains of a U.S. soldier killed during the Korean War, seven decades after the end of the three-year conflict.
In October last year, the Korean defense ministry's excavation team identified the remains discovered earlier as that of a U.S. soldier through joint analysis with the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). It withheld the identity of the fallen soldier.
A ceremony for the remains' return took place at the Seoul National Cemetery in southern Seoul, attended by Korea's Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul, U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Philip Goldberg and DPAA Director Kelly McKeague.
"The sacrifices our nations shared during the war are the foundation of the values we have shared since the war's end," McKeague said at the ceremony. "Emblematic of our shared values is the steadfast commitment to find, recover and identify those who gave their lives in defense of liberty."
McKeague said that the alliance was made "ironclad" through the blood both sides shed during the war, and reaffirmed that it remains "stronger than ever."
After a three-shot gun salute, Korean troops passed on a U.N. flag-draped coffin with the soldier's remains to their American counterparts, who loaded it onto a black hearse.
The remains will be transported to the U.S. 8th Army's morgue in Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, before they are sent to the DPAA's office in Hawaii for further analysis, according to Seoul's defense ministry.
Korea has repatriated the remains of 26 U.S. soldiers killed during the conflict since 2000, when it launched an excavation project to recover the fallen soldiers. (Yonhap)
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Prosecution officials prepare to enter an office of the Gyeonggi provincial government in Suwon, 34 kilometers south of Seoul, during a raid related to a former Ssangbangwool Group chairman's cash transfers to North Korea, Feb. 22. Yonhap
Prosecutors raided the Gyeonggi provincial government offices Wednesday over a former vice governor's alleged involvement in a tycoon's suspected cash remittances to North Korea.
Investigators from the Suwon District Prosecutors Office in Suwon, 34 kilometers south of Seoul, searched the provincial government's southern and northern regional offices in Suwon and Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, respectively, to secure documents and materials suspected to be related to former Vice Gov. Lee Hwa-young and his former aides.
Lee, known previously as a confidant of Lee Jae-myung, the embattled opposition leader, was arrested in September and indicted the following month for taking bribes from underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group between 2018 and 2022.
The former vice governor has been separately under investigation on suspicion that he asked former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae to pay $5 million to North Korea in 2019 to help promote the province's smart farm project in the North.
Indicting Kim on bribery, embezzlement and other charges early this month, prosecutors designated the former vice governor as an accomplice to the former chairman's foreign currency smuggling charge allegedly linked to the North Korean remittances.
Kim has reportedly told prosecutors that he delivered at least $8 million to North Korea in 2019 to help promote Gyeonggi Province's smart farm project and then Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung's visit to the North.
In addition, Kim reportedly said that the cash remittances to the North were reported to Lee Jae-myung, now the chair of the main opposition Democratic Party, via Lee Hwa-young.
Both Lee Jae-myung and Lee Hwa-young have claimed they did not know about the alleged cash transfers by Kim. (Yonhap)
South Korea's former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon is seen speaking during a North Korea policy forum, hosted by the Institute for Korean Studies, George Washington University, in Washington on Feb. 21, in this captured image. Yonhap
The United States needs to take steps to assure the security of North Korea simultaneously with Pyongyang taking steps to denuclearize, former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Tuesday.
Lee made the assertion based on a premise that survival is more critical to North Korea than the U.S. or others may believe.
"It is not possible to succeed in denuclearization talks with North Korea without addressing its perception of security threat and desire for survival," Lee said at a North Korea policy forum hosted by the George Washington University Institute for Korean Studies.
Lee argued the North had sought to normalize relations with the U.S. and Japan after the end of the Cold War, but failed to do so "as South Korea obstructed it and the U.S. ignored the call."
"On September 8, 2022, Kim Jong-un declared that North Korea would neither give up on its nuclear weapons nor negotiate on denuclearization," he said, referring to the North Korean leader by his name. "Kim's statement shows North Korea's strong victim mentality and perception of security threat."
The former South Korean prime minister also noted that the U.S. and North Korea had agreed to normalize relations "on multiple occasions," but such agreements have not been implemented due to what he called the countries' "entrenched mutual mistrust."
"To increase the chance of successful negotiations, the issue of North Korea's denuclearization should be addressed in parallel with mutually reducing threats and improving relations between the U.S. and North Korea," Lee told the forum.
"Washington and Pyongyang must act towards denuclearization and diplomatic normalization in an incremental, simultaneous, and reciprocal manner to overcome their entrenched mutual mistrust," he added.
Lee insisted that improved relations with North Korea would lead to a greater chance to change the way North Korea behaves.
"With no relations, comes no influence," he said. (Yonhap)
President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, comforts a child patient during a visit to Seoul National University Children's Hospital on Feb. 22, in this photo released by the presidential office. Yonhap
President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a children's hospital Wednesday and instructed the government to push measures to address the shortage of pediatric centers and professionals in the country.
Yoon visited Seoul National University Children's Hospital where he met with patients in the pediatric ward and held a discussion with hospital officials on ways to improve and expand treatment for children.
Korea has seen a lack of pediatric centers and professionals amid falling birthrates and the reluctance of medical residents to apply for the field due to its relatively heavy workload and low pay.
"It is the state's top priority to look after children's health," Yoon was quoted as saying by senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye. "Relevant ministries should not spare any of the necessary resources."
Yoon said it is more important than anything to expand emergency medical services for children and increase the number of pediatric personnel, and promised to push to improve compensation for such services, according to Kim.
He also vowed to look into current legal regulations to remove the restriction on the number of pediatric doctors and nurses hired by national university hospitals, and to include pediatric services as a key metric in evaluations of large general hospitals.
Yoon instructed the health minister and the senior presidential secretary for social affairs to speedily push the measures, act on the recommendations of medical professionals and experts at Wednesday's meeting and report back to him on the results, Kim said. (Yonhap)
The programme will enable employees to avail early care and treatment for children impacted by specific neurodevelopmental, cognitive, behavioral, or physical impairments. (Photo: Twitter/@ProcterGamble)
HYDERABAD: Procter & Gamble India on Wednesday announced "Lead With Care" programme, which offers a holistic support to employees who are caregivers to children with disabilities and special needs.
Effective from April 1, the programme will enable employees to avail early care and treatment for children impacted by specific neurodevelopmental, cognitive, behavioral, or physical impairments. It will also include medical coverage across diagnosis, doctor consultations, treatment, cost of medicines and devices, and builds on top of the existing medical support the company extends to all its employees and their families, including employees of the LGBTQ+ community.
The Company will further facilitate specialized and trained day-care support via certified partners and shall provide an employee assistance program (EAP) available 24x7 to all employees and their families to navigate this journey.
Srinivas P.M. Head, Human Resources, P&G India Subcontinent said,"At P&G, CARE is the cornerstone of our people policy CARE for our people and their families. We have undertaken deliberate efforts to prioritize their health and well-being, which is yielding visible results. Several studies indicate that early diagnosis and treatment of disabilities can positively impact the long term. With Lead With Care our endeavour is to help our people avail early-stage medical and care interventions for their children, which can significantly impact their growth and overall quality of life.
Details of Lead With Care:
UNICEF estimates that 1 in 10 of all children worldwide have disabilities. Early intervention becomes a critical first step as several studies indicate that early detection and early intervention can avoid the precipitation of several of the disabilities and can reduce the impact the disability may have on the child and the family. With this approach, the Lead With Care program includes:
Minister Buggana Rajendranath invites G Summit to Hinduja Group chairman Ashok P Hinduja to Mumbai investors meet on Tuesday. (Photo by arrangement)
VIJAYAWADA: A delegation led by finance minister Buggana Rajendranath has met and invited several top industrialists of India to the Global Investors Summit scheduled in Visakhapatnam on March 3 and March 4.
The delegation met leading industrialists including Ajay Piramal, chairman of Piramal Group, Nadir Godrej, managing director of Godrej Industries, and Ashok P. Hinduja, chairman of Hinduja Group. Rajendranath invited them personally to the global event.
Business and industrial giants Mukesh Ambani and Sajjan Jindal apart from a high-level team from Tata Sons will be seen at the two-day event. The main focus of the summit is on aerospace and defence-related industries, apart from MSMEs and start-ups.
"Last September, Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran called on Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Both discussed investments in Andhra Pradesh in this regard," sources said.
Aerospace industries will come up near Anantapur, as it is closer to Bengaluru, where Indian Air Force Academy and technical college are located. Some units might come up in Kurnool as well.
Chief Ministers main focus will remain on MSMEs and start-ups, which create more employment with less investment, unlike major and heavy industries. Since MSMEs cause pollution, high-end technology will be sourced from Germany to avoid the same.
At the same time, a tower with one lakh square feet of space is being created in Visakhapatnam city to house the activities of start-ups.
While focusing on port-led development, IT and logistic parks will be set up closer to Bhavanapadu Port in the Srikakulam district as well as Machilipatnam and Ramayapatnam ports.
Sources said all proposed development will be spread all over Andhra Pradesh to ensure that the state develops uniformly. They said the size of investments the state is looking for will be 1.87 lakh crore and above.
Buggana Rajendranath has explained to top industrialists during his visits about the potential business opportunities available in AP that make it an ideal destination for investments. AP is one among the three states, which have secured a bulk drug park. He said that such an ecosystem will suit Piramal Groups green-field projects. He thanked Ajay Piramal for educating over 10,000 women from tribal habitations in Araku Valley in antenatal and postnatal care through his groups CSR activities.
The minister highlighted the strength of AP in the farm sector. He highlighted for Nadir Godrej the presence of 10,641 Rythu Bandhu Kendras and farmer assurance centres that help farmers in utilising technology and innovation towards increasing their farm output.
Rajendranath explained to the industrialists how AP has consistently ranked No. 1 in Ease of Doing Business.
The ministers delegation included handloom and textiles principal secretary K. Sunita and head of investment promotion board Y.S.R. Rajeev Kumar.
The next focus of the Buggana Rajendranath-led delegation will be Hyderabad on February 24.
Popular Malayalam actress, television host and stage-show performer, Subi Suresh died at a private hospital (Facebook)
Kochi: Popular Malayalam actress, television host and stage-show performer, Subi Suresh died at a private hospital here on Wednesday, family sources said.
She was 41 and was reportedly under treatment for liver related ailments for some time.
Known for her slapstick roles, and spontaneous on-stage dialogue delivery, Suresh had a huge fan-following among audiences in small and big screens.
Beginning her career as a mimicry artist in the Cochin Kalabhavan troupe years ago, she gradually created a niche for herself in the male-dominated comedy shows on stage and in television.
Within a short span of time, she had become an inevitable presence in the live stage shows, organised by various television channels, and won the hearts of audiences through her hilarious avatars in famous TV series like "Cinemala."
She also proved her mettle as a successful TV host in various channels.
Entering the tinsel town in 2006 through the movie "Kanakasimhasanam", Subi Suresh essayed small but memorable roles in over 20 films, including "Elsamma Enna Aankutty" and "Happy Husbands".
She is survived by parents and a brother.
People from various walks of life expressed shock over the unexpected demise of the actor-anchor.
Condoling her death, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that she won a place in the hearts of Malayalis through reality shows and comedy programmes.
A promising artist, who had a great future ahead, has been lost through the demise of Subi Suresh, he said in his message.
FIle photo of Pradeep with his sister Meghana. (Photo By Arrangement)
HYDERABAD: Eight-year-old Muthyam Meghana tried hard to rescue her brother Pradeep from stray dogs that attacked and killed him, but in vain. As the dogs charged on her, she withdrew her attempt and ran to her father Gangadhar for help.
Gangadhar never took his children to his workplace, but on the fateful day, he took them along with him. He made Meghana sit in a cabin at the entrance of the service centre and she started doing her homework and made Pradeep play for some time. " As he was alone, I made him play for a while, sent him in and continued with my work," Gangadhar told Deccan Chronicle over phone.
Minutes later Gangadhar heard Meghana screaming for help and rushing to him. Alerted by her, he rushed to Pradeeps help, but it was already late and the dogs had badly injured the child. He drove away the dogs and rushed the child to a private hospital, where he was declared dead.
Meghana, studying class 4 told her father that she saw the dogs attacking her brother and ran to help him, but one of the dogs charged towards her and she could do nothing.
"I was doing my homework and saw the dogs attacking my brother. They were very scary," Meghana recollected as she detailed the incident to her parents, even as she is yet to come out of the shock of losing her brother.
Pradeeps mother Janapriya who is yet to come to terms with her sons death said that she still feels that he is in front of her eyes playing. " After bidding him goodbye on Sunday morning as he left home with his father, I saw his ripped body and dripping blood only in the hospital," she said.
Meanwhile, relatives who came to console the family in Indalwai demanded justice for the family and to ensure strict action to control the stray dog menace.
Industries minister K.T.Rama Rao said ahead of the 20th edition of BioAsia which will be held here from February 24 to 26, he claimed that over the last 19 years, Hyderabad had become the world leader in the life sciences industry, attracting investments of Rs 25,000 crore. (File Photo: Twitter)
Hyderabad: Within the next five years, Telangana will be able to grow its life science industry from $50 billion to $100 billion, and Hyderabad will become a major international hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing when Pharma City, the state's biggest manufacturing cluster, is completed, asserted industries minister K.T.Rama Rao.
Speaking ahead of the 20th edition of BioAsia which will be held here from February 24 to 26, he claimed that over the last 19 years, Hyderabad had become the world leader in the life sciences industry, attracting investments of Rs 25,000 crore.
He projected that, compared to the existing four lakh, Telangana would employ four lakh more people in the biological sciences and allied sectors in the next five years. Rama Rao lashed out at the Centre for not offering any support to Telangana's in the sector, where Hyderabad has emerged as the "vaccine capital of the world".
The minister stated that 900 crore doses of vaccines were manufactured in Hyderabad yearly, accounting for 35 per cent of world production, and that this figure is expected to rise to 1,400 crore doses next year, accounting for 50 per cent of global production.
"Vaccines are being exported to more than 150 countries. Telangana has world's largest USFDA approved facilities in a single province at 214 which surpassed New Jersey in the US where there are 189 USFDA units. We made several and repeated requests to the Centre to extend support to Telangana and Hyderabad but unfortunately there has been no response in the last nine years," Rao stated.
Hyderabad Pharma City, the world's largest pharma manufacturing cluster being built on the city's outskirts on approximately 14,000 acres, is nearing completion and would transform Hyderabad into a worldwide pharma manufacturing hub. "There are some cases pending in the High Court against land acquisition for the project. The hearings were concluded and the judgement is expected soon. As of now, no land allotments were made to any company in the Pharma City. Many big pharma companies are eager to set up operations," he noted.
There is a high demand from life sciences companies to set up operations in Genome Valley on the city's outskirts and that the government would soon construct a 20 lakh sqft real estate space to meet the demand. He mentioned that approximately 30 lakh square feet had already been completed and were in use. The Sultanpur medical devices cluster had evoked positive response and that there was almost no spare space in the cluster.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: Environment conservation is a commitment and not a compulsion for India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, asserting he believes development and nature can go hand-in-hand.
India strives to meet an increased portion of its power demand from renewable and alternative sources of energy, he said in a message read out at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) being organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) here.
The country is devising solutions to diverse urban challenges, particularly those related to pollution and cleanliness, through latest technology and innovation, he said.
"Extolling the Earth as Mother, our scriptures say, 'The Earth is our Mother and we are her children'. The sentiment of universal brotherhood has constantly guided the nation and its people. With such a glorious culture and philosophy of lofty traditions of living in harmony with nature, it is only natural for India to remain at the forefront of global efforts for environment protection," he said.
"We firmly believe that development and nature can go hand-in-hand. With the objective of making sustainable development an integral part of everyday life, we launched Mission LIFE. The objective of this Mission is to adopt a lifestyle for the environment. Environment is today not just a global cause, but also a personal as well as collective responsibility for every individual," he said.
Modi said environment conservation is a commitment and not a compulsion for India. Human empowerment is impossible without a better environment and the way forward is through collectiveness rather than selectiveness, the prime minister said.
India's initiative to adopt a healthier and cleaner lifestyle include upgrading infrastructure to encourage electric mobility, increased use of biofuel for transportation, leverage hydrogen as a fuel, convert waste to wealth and water treatment plants to ensure clean rivers, the prime minister said.
The country has adopted a multi-dimensional approach to chart a long-term roadmap for sustainable and environment-friendly lifestyle, be it through measures for upliftment and empowerment of the poor, or encouraging organic farming, or protecting farmers from the vagaries of nature, he said.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India is emerging as an inspiration for countries across the globe under the leadership of PM Modi "particularly on the fact that economic development and conservation of environment can go hand in hand".
He said the country has demonstrated that it has never been a part of the problem and is contributing significantly to become a part of the solution.
The focus on 'green growth' in the Union Budget validates how sustainable development has been mainstreamed in Indian policy-making process through a visionary approach, Yadav said.
Nearly 4,500 registrations done so far out of the expected 5,000 participants. (Image: Twitter)
Vijayawada: APs two-day global investor summit scheduled for March 3 and 4 in Visakhapatnam, is getting an "overwhelming response", with nearly 4,500 registrations done so far out of the expected 5,000 participants.
The organisers are expecting to surpass the targeted number of registrations as more industries are showing their interest to step in. The state government has developed an app for industries to join the summit by registering in it from across the globe.
Sources privy to the developments say that from the time Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy extended an open invite to the diplomats at a meeting he held in Delhi, the response was tremendous.
Meanwhile, ministers started conducting a series of roadshows in metros like Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai etc to draw the attention of industrialists desirous of coming to AP for starting their units.
Arrangements for the event are going on in a brisk manner in a 25-acre land on Andhra University campus. Four large German hangars are being set up for use as lounges for VIPs and other delegates. Huge platforms are also coming up for stalls that would exhibit various products. Big halls are being set up for the conduct of workshops with sufficient space to accommodate nearly 200 delegates at a time.
A senior official from the industries department said, "We are getting a very good response from the industrialists of both national and international." Meanwhile, the police are beefing up the security arrangements.
Leaders of "Refresh Workers' Council" join hands during the council's establishment ceremony in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Yoon Suk Yeol appears to be highlighting the widening generational divide in Korea's labor unions as a strategy to secure a stronger argument for his initiative to reform the country's labor-management relations.
However, calls are growing for the president to avoid exploiting the divide as a tool to tame labor unions, and instead approach it as a chance to blend diversity into Korea's labor culture.
"Labor unions' attempts to protect their vested interests are tantamount to stealing the future from the younger generation," Yoon said during a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday.
Yoon has been criticizing Korea's "militant" labor unions and promoting his plan to overhaul the country's inflexible labor practices. He made these comments against a backdrop of a widening generation gap among unionists in recent years.
In March 2021, LG Electronics' young office workers formed their own labor union in protest of the company's largest labor union's focus on issues related to manufacturing workers only. The new union sought to represent the voices of office workers and distanced themselves from political matters. It quickly gained over 3,000 members.
This inspired a slew of young employees from other big-name companies, including Hyundai Motor, to organize their own labor unions and raise critical opinions about the political campaigns of existing unions.
This resulted in the establishment of a council of such unions on Tuesday. Named the Refresh Workers' Council. It is comprised of minor labor unions from eight companies, including LG Electronics, LG Energy Solution, Seoul Metro, Kumho Tire and Korea Gas Corp. The council now has 6,000 members. Next month, that number will increase to 8,000 when two more labor unions will join.
As the council aims to "focus on the fundamental issues of labor unions, not political slogans that conventional unions have been advocating," criticism has mounted from existing unions.
Seoul Metro's largest union, which is under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), said in a statement that "the claim that labor unions should keep their distance from politics stems from a complete misunderstanding of the history and foundation of labor unions."
Against this backdrop, President Yoon's comments highlighting the generational divide are being interpreted as a tactic to use the younger generations' negative sentiment toward existing unions as a way to weaken the current scheme of two large umbrella unions the KCTU and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions guiding its sub-organizations to engage militant labor movements.
In a Jan. 18-25 survey by the Dong-A Ilbo, a local newspaper, and the Federation of Korean Industries, the country's largest business lobby, 84.7 percent of 600 respondents aged between 20 and 39 said they believe improvements are required for the staging of disputes by labor unions.
President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo attend a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps
However, concerns are growing that Yoon's highlighting of the generational divide may end up being a tool for weakening unions rather than encouraging diverse opinions if Yoon only focuses on suppressing unions.
A month after LG Electronics established a young office workers' union, a group of young office workers at Hyundai Motor Group known for its militant labor union also organized their own union, criticizing the company's labor negotiations as being concentrated on matters related to manufacturing workers.
However, the office workers' union lost its presence after its former head, an employee of Hyundai KEFICO, quit his job last year. He had failed to win the independent status needed to negotiate with the company. While doing so, the union suffered internal conflicts over whether to join the KCTU.
LG Electronics' office worker union is slowly improving its presence by holding a meeting with Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik, but it is yet to hold the legal status needed to negotiate with the company.
As long as those new unions' movements just remain as critical voices to the old unions, it will end up being a feud between unions, far from cultivating a desired labor culture. Furthermore, the president may have to remember that he is criticizing and pressuring labor unions in order to reform the country's labor culture, not to tame unions under his control.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy felicitates Governor BB Harichandan at the farewell function in Vijayawada on Tuesday. (Photo by arrangement)
Vijayawada: Outgoing AP Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan heaped praise on Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday for successfully implementing all the welfare schemes in the state for the disadvantaged sections of the population.
"This cleared my misconceptions over the implementation of the welfare schemes despite various constraints," the governor said at an event held here by the government to accord him a grand send-off marking the end of his tenure in the state.
Harichandan said he asked the CM, some time ago, how he could implement so many welfare schemes in one go. He asked this question by keeping in mind the funds constraints for a state. However, the chief minister replied to him that "God will bless the government in its efforts," the governor noted.
The Governor noted that Jagan Mohan Reddy was following the path laid out by his deceased father YSR for public welfare and development during his term as CM. "The state government has prioritized the Agriculture sector and set up the Rythu Bharosa Kendras, as a one stop centre. I had visited these on a suggestion from the CM and was very much impressed by their functioning."
Governor Harichandan said the respect and affection shown towards him by the chief minister "cannot be forgotten." He added, "Good relationship between the governor and the CM is very important. It was very good and healthy in AP, which is my second home."
The farewell meeting on Tuesday was held at the A Convention Centre here. Harichandan would move to Chhattisgarh soon as its governor. The governor said he was unhappy that he would now be away from the state as he enjoyed the love, affection and honour from the people of AP all these years.
The governor said Andhra Pradesh is among the states implementing both Arogyasri and Ayushman Bharat Yojana of the central government to improve the health of the people.
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy congratulated Governor Harichandan on his appointment as governor of Chhattisgarh and said that the governor showed in practice how mutual cooperation and coordination should exist between different constitutional authorities.
Jagan said Governor Harichandan was like a father figure to him and he, as an elder statesman, upheld the interests of the state and extended his full support to the elected government." He noted that "Governor Harichandan is a legal expert and above all a freedom fighter and wished him good health and success in his new assignment to serve the people for a long time to come."
"At a time when the relations between state governments and governors are marred by controversies, Biswabhusan Harichandan brought more decorum and dignity to the gubernatorial post by facilitating utmost coordination between various constitutional bodies and providing valuable guidance in the development of the state," Jagan Mohan Reddy said.
The CM noted that being an educationist, legal expert, freedom fighter and writer, Biswabhusan Harichandan served as MLA for five terms and functioned as minister for four terms in Odisha. He left an indelible mark on the people there as an efficient administrator," the CM noted.
Chief Secretary Jawahar Reddy, legislative council chairman Moshen Raju, deputy chief ministers, cabinet ministers, MLAs, MLCs, DGP, several public representatives, officials and non-officials have attended the grant event.
Telangana High Court directed the Telangana police not to register any fresh FIR against the content creators and organiser of the Facebook page Telangana Galam' until further orders. (Image: Facebook)
Hyderabad: Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed the Telangana police not to register any fresh FIR against the content creators and organiser of the Facebook page Telangana Galam until further orders. The judge also directed the police not to take coercive action against the organisers of the FB page.
Justice Reddy was hearing a petition filed by Mallu Ravi, former MP and senior vice-president of the Telangana Congress, and four others including Sunil Kanugolu, seeking a direction to the police to divulge the details of pending FIRs and complaints registered against the organisers and manager of Telangana Galam and to restrain them from registering fresh cases.
It was alleged that the organisers of the Facebook page were posting memes and political satire and critiques on the BRS government and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, leading to projecting them in a bad light.
The judge, during the course of the hearing, asked counsel for the home department, Roopender, why the police were registering multiple FIRs against Telangana Galam personnel, when the content was the same.
The police had registered three FIRs, one each at the CCS Cybercrime, Market police and Ramgopalpet police. Justice Vijaysen Reddy gave a blanket order directing the police not to register any fresh case in this matter, until further orders.
C.V. Mohan Reddy, senior counsel, appeared for the petitioners and informed the court that the content creators, who were professionals, were hired by Mallu Ravi. They were frequently being summoned to the police station, though there was no offensive content in the videos posted on Telangana Galam. Moreover, the complainants were not from the BRS but were claiming association with the party.
Justice Vijaysen Reddy refused to stay the investigation and directed the government to file a counter affidavit.
On this day 893 years ago, Sri Vaishnavite saint Bhagawad Ramanujacharya laid the foundation for the Govindaraja Swamy temple, now located in the heart of the city, turning it into a spiritual centre and marking the beginning of the township's growth. (Photo: Dc)
Tirupati: The temple city of Tirupati commemorates its 893rd birthday on Friday, February 24, based on the historical references to its inception on this date in 1130 AD.
On this day 893 years ago, Sri Vaishnavite saint Bhagawad Ramanujacharya laid the foundation for the Govindaraja Swamy temple, now located in the heart of the city, turning it into a spiritual centre and marking the beginning of the townships growth.
City legislator Bhumana Karunakar Reddy brought out ancient inscriptions on Feb 20, last year. These, discovered inside the TTD-run Govindaraja temple, has proof to show that Ramanujacharya laid the foundation stone for the city on Feb 24, 1130.
"Tirupati was founded on Phalguna Pournami of Soumya Nama year, Uttara Nakshatra Somavaram, when Ramanuja enshrined the presiding deity of Govindaraja, performed Nithya Kainkaryams, and began constructing four mada streets with Agraharas. Other communities around the temple grew subsequently and turned into Tirupati, which is today an iconic place of Hindu worship in India and hosts one of the richest shrines in the world," he explained.
Addressing the media here on Tuesday, the MLA said that prior to Ramanuja's arrival, there was no Tirupati. The Srivari Utsavams were celebrated in Tiruchanoor. There were numerous places for festivals, but no other city has a precise date of its establishment," he said.
"Bhagavad Ramanuja, who established Samata Dharma and formulated Puja Kainkaryams at Tirumala temple, was the originator of Tirupati city, and hence it was revered as Ramanuja Puram for a long time. "The town was first called Govindaraja Pattanam, then Ramanuja Puram, and then as Tirupati since the beginning of the 13th Century", he said.
He averred that birthday celebrations are important not only for the people, but also for a city like Tirupati, the gateway to the Tirumala, where Lord Venkateswara Swamy's sacred hill shrine is located.
The Municipal Corporation of Tirupati has planned special rituals for the deity of Sri Ramanujacharya at the shrine located inside the Govindaraja swamy temple precincts, followed by a colourful procession by the people along the four mada streets encircling the temple. A series of events and cultural programmes are also planned by the civic body to mark the occasion.
Advocates felicitate Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy after the YSR Law Nestham funds were released at the camp office on Wednesday. (Photo by arrangement)
Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has appealed to young lawyers to show concern for the poor and stand by them in the same way the government was standing by them.
With the press of a button at his camp office on Wednesday, the Chief Minister released Rs 1,00,55,000 under the YSR Law Nestham to benefit 2,011 eligible junior advocates. He said the amount will be directly credited into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
He said, "The annual scheme would henceforth be implemented two times per annum from this year, extending the help to more junior advocates."
Jagan Mohan Reddy explained that the government has so far released a total of Rs 35.40 crore under the YSR Law Nestham benefitting 4,248 junior advocates in the last three and half years. "Junior advocates face a lot of difficulties during the first three years of their practice as they belong to the self-employed groups and there are no earnings."
The monthly stipend of Rs 5,000 each for three years under the scheme would go a long way in helping them stand on their own.
The Chief Minister recalled that the YSR Law Nestham had been promised in the partys election manifesto to help junior advocates. They had narrated their difficulties to him during his Praja Sankalpa Yatra, he said.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said the government released Rs 25 crore to the needy advocates during the Covid-19 pandemic from the corpus fund of Rs 100 crore sanctioned for AP state advocates welfare trust. The governments efforts to stand by the junior advocates would be a boon to them and at the same time they must also make it a point to help the poor with free legal assistance.
Quoting from the works of Irish-American journalist and writer Alexander Cockburn, Jagan Mohan Reddy said the "Weapon of the advocate is the sword of the soldier, not the dagger of the assassin."
Aspiring junior advocates seeking financial assistance under YSR Law Nestham or the Advocates Welfare Trust may apply online or directly send their requests to the law secretary.
A beneficiary junior lawyer, Ch. Vennela from Guntur, said her father is a small-time employee and mother does tailoring work to sustain the family. The Law Nestham financial assistance is helping her pay the exam fees and the like, and thanked the Chief Minister for the innovative scheme.
Another junior lawyer, G. Amulya from NTR district, said she is a member of the Bezawada Bar Association for the past one year and aims to be a criminal lawyer. She thanked the CM for offering her the Law Nestham benefits.
Law secretary Satya Prabhakara Rao, Bejawada Bar Association president Chandragiri Vishnuvardhan, senior officials and junior advocates participated in the programme.
Corporation officials said on Tuesday they have come across news on social media that RTC will soon fill jobs for which candidates can apply by paying some amount. File Image
Vijayawada: APSRTC has cautioned people against trusting fake news titled "APSRTC Jobs Notification 2023" on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
Corporation officials said on Tuesday they have come across news on social media that RTC will soon fill jobs for which candidates can apply by paying some amount. Officials maintained that they have not released any statement or notification to this effect. It appears like an attempt to defraud public.
RTC officials recalled that in the past, some people had cheated many with fake mails. Now, they are attempting a similar type of fraud through social media. Officials asked people not to pay any fee in advance with Aadhaar cards or bank OTP numbers. They warned that fraudsters may even empty their bank accounts.
Officials said if there is any job vacancy in RTC, the same will be announced through media or newspapers. They said they are lodging a complaint in this regard with police.
Karnataka Forest Department has launched a major operation to capture a wild elephant which killed two people in Kadaba Taluk. (Photo by arrangement)
Mangaluru: Karnataka Forest Department has launched a major operation to capture a wild elephant which killed two people in Kadaba Taluk.
Ranjitha (22) and Ramesh Rai (55) lost their lives on Monday morning after being attacked by the wild elephant in Renjaladi village of Kadaba Taluk in Dakshina Kannada district.
Ranjitha was on her way to work at the local milk society, when the tusker attacked her. Ramesh Rai, a resident of the village who was nearby, rushed to rescue her. But the elephant turned to him.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage among the villagers, who demanded strict measures to ensure their safety.
Responding to the villagers' demands, the forest department sprang into action, bringing in five experienced elephants from Dubare and Nagarahole elephant camps in a truck. The elephants are trained in the operation to capture wild elephants.
The officials formed three teams and initiated the operation to spot and capture the wild elephant. They used a drone to track the animal's movements.
Once captured, the elephant will be transported from the forest to an elephant camp.
The operation is being led by Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) Dinesh Kumar, along with ACF Praveen Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Range Forest Officers N Manjunath R Girish, and Raghavendra. Expert doctors are also part of the team.
"Our teams were able to spot the elephant. But the terrain is hard. The operation was stopped in the evening. We will resume it on Wednesday morning," Dinesh Kumar, told Deccan Chronicle.
Meanwhile Deputy leader of Congress in Karnataka Assembly and Mangaluru MLA UT Khader has asked the state government to provide Rs 25 lakh compensation to the kin of the two victims and also declared bravery award for Ramesh Rai who died while trying to rescue Ranjitha.
State industries director G. Srijana said, We are making all arrangements for the global investors summit by reaching out to the leaders in various industries to invest in AP. (Image: Twitter)
Vijayawada: The two-day Global Investors Summit would host top industrialists like Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Kumar Mangalam Birla and several Union ministers in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Reddy on the inaugural day on March 3 in Visakhapatnam.
The industries department is making hectic arrangements for the two-day summit with its main focus on 15 sectors like pharmaceutical, food processing, information technology, aerospace, infrastructure, logistics, start-ups etc.
Panel discussions will be held with keynote speakers drawn from among the industry leaders present at the event.
On the first day of the summit on March 3, after its inauguration, there will be panel discussions covering all key sectors. Officials would explain about the investment potential of AP and the incentives being offered, as also the advantages to be gained from setting up of industrial units in the state. A cultural programme will be arranged, followed by dinner to culminate the first days session.
On the second day, on March 4, there would be signing of memoranda of understanding involving industrialists and the AP government for setting up industrial units in various sectors. B2B meetings will be arranged to facilitate interaction among potential investors and major players in the industry to facilitate investments.
Ambassadors from 20 countries like the UK, New Zealand etc would attend the summit.
Meanwhile, the global summit so far saw a registration of nearly 5,500 industrialists for their participation, and the number is expected to go up further.
At AP Pavillion, several state government schemes line Nadu-Nedu and several incentives being offered by the state to set up industrial units and start-ups will be showcased.
State industries director G. Srijana said, "We are making all arrangements for the global investors summit by reaching out to the leaders in various industries to invest in AP."
According to reports, a young boy was attacked by street dogs in Chaitanyapuri in Hyderabad. (Representational image)
Hyderabad: A day after a four-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pack of street dogs in Hyderabad on Tuesday, another incident of stray dog attack has been reported from Karimnagar. A stray dog attacked students of Scheduled Caste Welfare hostel in Shankarapatnam in late hours on Tuesday. The dog which entered the the SC hostel campus at midnight attacked two Class seven students Sumanth and Pin Reddy.
Both of them woke up and came out of their rooms to go to the toilet. Seeing them, the stray suddenly pounced on the students. Both of them injured in the unexpected attack. Hearing the screaming of the students, the remaining students switched on the lights and came out and chased the dog. The horrified dog ran away and jumped out of the hostel campus.
Sumanth suffered injuries on his hands and legs while Pin Reddy managed to escape from the bite of the dog.
Upon receiving the information from the locals, the 108 ambulance staff Satish Reddy and Gopi Krishna rushed to the spot. The students were given first aid and the injured student was shifted to the government main hospital where he is undergoing treatment.
In another incident, a young boy was attacked by street dogs in Chaitanyapuri in Hyderabad. The boy was attacked by the strays when he was playing outside his house. He was admitted to the hospital with injuries, according to reports.
The Hyderabad incident has sent shockwaves across the state and public protest is mounting against the failure of authorities in controlling the stray dog menace. The roads have become unsafe with the pack of ferocious stray dogs are roaming around. The increasing number of dog bite incidents has instilled fear among those who go for morning walk and people who start their day early like milk suppliers or garbage pickers.
Meanwhile, after the Hyderabad incident, the civic officials captured roughly 30 dogs from Amberpet, sterilised them, and released them back into the neighbourhood. The corporation officials claimed that the dog-catching drive is held on a regular basis, and that the GHMC was carrying out the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Regulations 2001 as well as the Animal Welfare Board of India's standard operating procedures.
BJP President J.P. Nadda addresses at the launch of a book titled 'Modi: Shaping a Global Order in Flux', in New Delhi, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (Photo: PTI)
NEW DELHI: BJP president J P Nadda said on Wednesday that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership does not shy away from taking a stand on complex issues, asserting that he has changed the way the country is looked at globally.
Releasing the book, "Modi: Shaping a Global Order in Flux", Nadda cited India's stand on the Russia-Ukraine war as a classic example of this. India took a stand which may not be acceptable to all countries but is being appreciated by all that the country has taken a stand and stayed with it, he said.
"Unlike the past, India now does not shy from taking positions. For a long time, India has been shying from taking hard positions. Under Prime Minister Modi, India on international issues would take a stand on complex issues, that too from positions of strength," he said.
Indian government leaders earlier did not "dare" to visit Israel due to domestic vote bank politics while Modi changed it, he said.
"The domestic vote bank politics compelled, and India couldn't develop a relationship with Israel," he said, adding that the prime minister visited Israel as well as Palestine.
This shows India is capable of handling two different countries in the best possible manner, the BJP president said.
Modi has also succeeded in de-hyphenating India with Pakistan which was not the case earlier, he said.
India is now seen as much ahead of Pakistan internationally and the neighbouring country is isolated on the issue of terrorism, he claimed.
Relatively less is written on Prime Minister Modi's contribution in changing how India is looked globally, and this book will start a debate, he said.
Nadda said, "It is necessary to understand what was the image of India before Modi ji came to power. The economy was declining, India had an image of a corrupt state, repeated terrorist attacks and a lack of stable government. The very sad part was that the authority of the PM was eroded."
Modi took over in difficult times and has navigated foreign affairs and international relationships in the best possible manner, he said, crediting him for changing the country's image internationally.
The prime minister visited around 60 countries and he undertook over 100 overseas journeys, he said, adding that he strengthened India's ties with old allies and started new partnerships as well.
Modi visited practically all neighbouring countries and strengthened the relationships, he said.
While India had good ties with countries like the UAE, Sri Lanka and Nepal, efforts were not made by previous dispensations to further strengthen them, something Modi did, he said.
The prime minister's tough decisions like surgical strikes, which targeted terror camps in Pakistan, were appreciated globally, Nadda added.
The book gives a deep insights into how the way India is looked at globally has changed, the BJP president said.
The prime minister also pursued India's civilisational credo of "Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam" (world is one family) as India rushed to help other countries facing humanitarian crisis, he added.
India has also been playing a more effective role in multilateral forums, he said, noting that it is now chairing G20. It has also taken a lead on environmental issues.
BJP's foreign department in-charge Vijay Chauthaiwale, one of the editors of the book, said the Modi government has had many achievements on the foreign policy front.
The biggest of them has been the "democratisation" of foreign policy, with the common man now also talking about India's successes in the field, he said.
People react during a public hearing in the Seattle City Council chambers regarding an ordinance to add caste to Seattle's anti-discrimination laws, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Seattle. Council Member Kshama Sawant proposed the ordinance. (Photo: AP)
WASHINGTON: Seattle has become the first US city to outlaw caste discrimination after its local council overwhelmingly passed a resolution moved by an Indian-American politician and economist to add caste to its non-discrimination policy.
The resolution moved by Kshama Sawant, an upper-caste Hindu, was approved on Tuesday by the Seattle City Council by six to one vote. The results of the vote could have far-reaching implications on the issue of caste discrimination in the US.
It's official: our movement has won a historic, first-in-the-nation ban on caste discrimination in Seattle! Now we need to build a movement to spread this victory around the country, Sawant, a city council member, said soon after the resolution was voted.
This bill is not technically complicated, it's a very simple question: Should discrimination based on caste be allowed to continue in Seattle? Sawant asked, noting that she hopes the decision will be a beacon for other cities to follow suit.
While simple, it is also profound and historic, The Seattle Times newspaper quoted her as saying.
Two council members were absent during the voting.
Council member Sara Nelson cast the sole vote against the ordinance, citing her fear of potential litigation from employers, the report said.
Hours ahead of the vote, Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal lent her support to the move.
"Caste discrimination has no place in society anywhere in the world, including here in America. That is why some colleges and universities have banned it on campuses, and workers are fighting for their rights and their dignity in cases involving caste discrimination, she said.
Equality Labs, the brain behind the anti-caste discrimination resolution in Seattle and which has been spearheading a nationwide campaign said: Love has won over hate as Seattle has become the first in the nation to ban caste discrimination. We have braved rape threats, death threats, disinformation, and bigotry.
It has created a coalition of some 200 organisations in support of its efforts over the issue.
Central to this coalition is a network of more than 30 anti-caste Ambedkarite organisations, Equality Labs said. Among them are the Ambedkar King Study Circle, Ambedkar International Center, Ambedkarite Buddhist Association of Texas and Boston Study Group.
The Hindu American Foundation, which had campaigned against the resolution, said singling out South Asians and the addition of caste' to the non-discrimination policy violates the very policies it now amends.
The City of Seattle has voted to treat South Asians (and Southeast Asians and African) in a manner that no other ethnic or racial community is treated under the guise of non-discrimination. It has voted yes to discriminating against ethnic minorities, repeating the ugliness of nativists in the state nearly a century ago, Suhag Shukla, co-founder and executive director of the Hindu American Foundation said.
In passing this resolution, Seattle is now in violation of the US Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process that prohibit the state from treating disparately people on account of their national origin, ethnicity, or religion, and implementing a vague, facially discriminatory and arbitrary category, Shukla alleged.
Seattle has taken a dangerous misstep here, institutionalising bias against all residents of Indian and South Asian origin, all in the name of preventing bias, said HAF managing director Samir Kalra.
When Seattle should be protecting the civil rights of all its residents, it is actually violating them by running roughshod over the most basic and fundamental rights in US law, all people being treated equally, Kalra said.
Madhu T from Ambedkar-Phule Network of American Dalits and Bahujans said this "ill-intended and rushed" ordinance by a "controversial council member" will only harm South Asians in particular Dalits Bahujans.
"It is traumatising to witness that a propaganda which is no less than a war on Dalits, makes this far, with no data, and with a fraudulent survey, while the real Dalit Bahujan voices continue to go unheard," said Madhu.
"2022 report by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania not only discredited the caste survey referred by Seattle City Council, but it had shown that there are multiple reasons like 'country of origin', gender and 'skin colour' that need to be addressed as cause for discrimination. The ordinance will only increase the instances of hatred against South Asians, including Dalits," said V Kadam from Dalit Bahujan Solidarity Network.
Many Indian-Americans fear that codifying caste in public policy will further fuel instances of Hinduphobia in the US.
Over the last three years, ten Hindu temples and five statues, including those of Mahatma Gandhi and Maratha emperor Shivaji, have been vandalised across the US as an intimidation tactic against the Hindu community. Indian-Americans are the second-largest immigrant group in the US.
According to data from the 2018 American Community Survey (ACS), which is conducted by the US Census Bureau, there are 4.2 million people of Indian origin residing in the United States.
India banned caste discrimination in 1948 and enshrined that policy in the Constitution in 1950.
While the US has never formally recognised the caste system, South Asians have faced discrimination within workplaces and higher education, with a growing number of organisations working to recognise and combat casteism in recent years.
Before the vote on Tuesday, Sawant's office denounced the argument that the policy would harm Hindus, comparing the stance to that of Christians who claim same-sex marriage imposes on the religious rights of those who oppose it.
Everybody understands this is a right-wing argument, Sawant said in a statement published before the vote.
Genuine progressives support freedom of religion, but also understand that that cannot be an excuse to abuse LGBTQ people or discriminate against them, she added.
North Korea's state media on Wednesday slammed Japan for holding an annual event that renewed its claim on South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, calling the event "an undisguised agitation for aggression."
Dokdo, which lies closer to South Korea in the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, has long been a thorn in relations between Seoul and Tokyo. Since 2006, Japan has held an annual event on Dokdo.
In a commentary, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Japan's claim on Dokdo is "a grave challenge to the historical justice and truth, an encroachment upon the Korean nation's territorial sovereignty and an undisguised agitation for aggression."
"Such far-fetched assertion is a reckless act that could be done only by the Japanese reactionaries steeped in the ambition for territorial seizure to the marrow of their bones," the KCNA said.
Earlier in the day, South Korea lodged a strong protest against Japan for its dispatch of a high-ranking government official to the annual event highlighting Tokyo's claim to Dokdo. (Yonhap)
Derry Chamber of Commerce and City Centre Initiative (CCI) have called on businesses throughout the North West to save the date as they launched the 2023 NW Business Awards at the City Hotel.
The annual awards ceremony, which will be held in the City Hotel on Friday, 9th June this year, is recognised as one of the most distinguished events for celebrating local businesses throughout the North West.
Organised jointly by City Centre Initiative and Derry Chamber of Commerce, the event recognises and celebrates the achievements of local businesses and entrepreneurs over the past twelve months and provides a valuable networking and social opportunity for business people.
In a joint statement Jim Roddy, City Centre Initiative and Anna Doherty, Derry Chamber of Commerce said: We are very pleased to launch the 2023 North West Business Awards and will be looking forward to celebrating not only our winners this year but everyone who has kept the economy of the North West striving forward over the past year.
The North West is a unique economy and contributes significantly to the wider Northern Ireland economy.
"With these awards, we want to acknowledge the vitality and spirit of the business sector within the city and region and highlight those who excel in fields such as; innovation, customer service, and creativity among other disciplines.
"The calibre of entries each year represents the best in business and entrepreneurship and we believe it is essential to recognise the efforts and achievements of our local businesses.
"Entries will open for the awards on our brand-new dedicated website, www.nwbizawards.co.uk from Monday, 13th March.
"Our social media channels will also provide points of information and updates. Today wed like to remind everyone to save the date to their diaries - Friday, 9th June, at the City Hotel and stay tuned for further details to follow on how to enter, voting, and tickets.
Further information on the North West Business Awards can be found at the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages @NWBizAwards or via the North West Business Awards website.
Today, Ash Wednesday, is the beginning of the holy season of Lent when, each day, Christians offer prayer, charity and sacrifice.
The beginning of Lent traditionally involves fasting, and the distribution of ashes on the foreheads of church-goers. Many make Lenten promises or resolutions throughout the forty day penitential period leading up to Holy Week and Easter Sunday, when we mark the Crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Ahead of Lent 2023 Archbishop Eamon Martin said, Over the last year people around the world have experienced death and suffering on a large scale caused by wars and natural disasters.
"The effects of climate change continue to impact our most vulnerable sisters and brothers. Now, more than ever, the three pillars of Lent prayer, charity and sacrifice are needed for our own spiritual conversion and to support those in need.
At this time, when homes throughout the country receive their annual Lenten Trocaire box, I encourage families to pray together in a special way, and to fast, for world peace, and for the alleviation of the suffering of refugees who are living amongst us.
"I also invite everyone to follow our daily #LivingLent digital media initiative to grow closer to God during Lent.
Our hearts and prayers continue go out to the suffering people of Ukraine.
"During Lent let our acts of prayer, charity and fasting, each day, be dedicated to the plight of refugees, and for a global peaceful environment. We must always work for peace, pray for peace and make sacrifices for peace.
"All of us have the capacity to build peace by our words, our actions and our attitudes to others.
As we approach the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, we remember that this agreement was not an end in itself, but the beginning of a new way of living our relationships on this shared island.
"We must continue the unfinished work of peace and reconciliation.
"With our words, particularly on social media, we choose to sow peace or conflict, love or hate, to build up, or to tear down, to heal or to hurt, to forgive or to resent, to soothe or to inflame.
"During Lent we should place a guard over our social media use and learn that as Christians working together on this island we should build bridges in a spirit of collaboration for the greater good.
A Derry woman, who stole a vacuum cleaner from a Tesco store, has been fined and ordered to pay compensation.
Katrina Corcoran, of Beraghvale, was convicted of a single count of theft when her case came before Limavady Magistrates Court yesterday (Wednesday).
The court heard that the theft was picked up by the Coleraine supermarket's CCTV on April 10 2022.
The 29 year-old entered the shop and lifted a vacuum cleaner, valued at 149, off the shelf and took it to the customer service desk where she attempted to get a refund for the product.
Staff refused a refund as the defendant did not have a receipt for the item.
Following this, Corcoran left the shop with the item, which she did not pay for.
The court heard that the defendant was identified through the CCTV footage.
District Judge Peter King fined Corcoran 300 and ordered her to pay compensation of 149 to Tesco Coleraine.
A deal that would allow a return of power-sharing in Northern Ireland is still possible in the coming days, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said, but it will require further concessions from Brussels.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that he had been encouraged by the progress that had been made in talks with the UK Government on the Northern Ireland Protocol, saying lines have been crossed by the EU side which it had previously refused to countenance.
However, he said Brussels needed to accept that goods traded within Northern Ireland were subject to UK laws and standards, and not those of the EU, if there was to be an agreement that would allow his party to return to power-sharing at Stormont.
It is possible given the level of progress that has been made and the principles that have already, Im told, been agreed the outstanding issues could be resolved within the next few days, he told reporters at Westminster.
In judging the progress I believe has been made so far, I think lines have been crossed. Therefore, that suggests to me there is the potential to resolve this issue.
He added: We cant have a situation where businesses in Northern Ireland are able to bring goods in from Great Britain and sell them as UK standard products, and make the same product themselves in Northern Ireland but they are required to make them to EU standards.
That is not acceptable.
Sir Jeffrey was speaking after briefing members of the Tory Eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) on his talks last week in Belfast with Rishi Sunak on the latest negotiations with the EU on the protocol.
He said that his party, which walked out of the Stormont executive in protest at the protocol which governs post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland, would need to see a legal text before they could agree to support any new agreement.
He added: We recognise that progress has been made. There is still some way to go. There are still some very key issues that need to be resolved.
We will work with the Government to make sure that we get the right outcome an outcome that respects Northern Irelands place within the United Kingdom and its internal market.
His comments were echoed by ERG chairman Mark Francois, who insisted that they wanted to see a resolution to the long-running dispute over the application of the protocol.
He said: Any MP worth their salt if they are asked to vote on a deal wants to be able to read it first. Thats not unreasonable. That ultimately means a legal text.
A number of members of the ERG have warned that they would not be prepared to support an agreement in a Commons vote unless it is acceptable to the DUP.
If it was not, it could mean that Mr Sunak would have to rely on Labour votes to get it through something that he would almost certainly want to avoid given the damaging impact on his premiership.
Government insiders still believe a deal could be struck in the coming days, but acknowledged it would slip to next week if not concluded by the one-year anniversary of the start of the Ukrainian conflict on Friday.
Earlier Mr Sunak told the weekly Cabinet meeting that intensive negotiations with the EU continue on resolving the issues with the way the protocol was being enforced, Downing Street said.
The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: Negotiations have progressed and that is to be welcomed, but there still remain a number of unresolved issues.
Former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Mr Sunak of imitating Theresa Mays doomed Brexit strategy.
The prominent Brexiteer questioned why so much political capital was being spent on brokering a new deal without ensuring the DUP and the ERG were on board first.
On his ConservativeHome podcast, Mr Rees-Mogg said: There seems to me to be no point in agreeing a deal that does not restore powersharing.
That must be the objective. If it doesnt achieve that objective, I dont understand why the Government is spending political capital on something that wont ultimately succeed.
I dont know why so much political capital has been spent on something without getting the DUP and the ERG onside first.
He said it was very similar to what happened with Theresa May where a policy would be presented in the hope that people would conveniently fall in behind it.
Life doesnt work like that. Its important to get support for it first before you finalise the details and that doesnt seem to have been done here, he said.
The challenge of ending the separation of paramilitary prisoners in Northern Irelands jails should not be underestimated, MPs have been told.
Ronnie Armour, the director general of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, said the number of segregated prisoners had reduced to 36 and that the ultimate ambition would be to end the practice.
Mr Armour also told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee how prison officers continue to live under a severe threat of attack.
The committee is carrying out an inquiry into the impact of paramilitarism. MPs asked about the separation of loyalist and republican paramilitaries from each other and from the general prison population.
Mr Armour said: When I took over as director general in 2017 it was in the aftermath of a number of very significant events. The murder of two outstanding prison officers, David Black in 2012 and Adrian Ismay in 2016, and the difficult Maghaberry inspection report of 2015.
One of the findings that report highlighted was the impact that separation has on the operation of Maghaberry Prison.
I think it is fair to say that less than 3% of the Maghaberry population is in separated accommodation but the then chief inspector of the Criminal Justice Inspectorate concluded that in terms of the deployment of resources, the tail was very much wagging the dog.
He added: Today in our care we have a total of 36 individuals who would be in separation.
That is broken down with 15 who would affiliate to loyalism, 18 males affiliating to dissident republicanism and then we have three females as well.
The numbers in separation are significantly down in recent years.
He added: Bringing separation to an end is something we should all aspire to achieve. That is the ultimate aim of the prison service.
While separation places a significant demand on the resources of the prison service, and it undoubtedly does, the challenge of ending it should not be underestimated.
The NI Affairs Committee in 2004 concluded it was very likely that separation will have to remain in place as long as there are any prisoners in Northern Ireland who can reasonably claim a paramilitary affiliation.
They said that would be a very long time, almost 20 years on I think they have been proven to be correct.
A phased approach would seem to be a more preferable way forward when the time was right.
Conservative MP Sir Robert Goodwill said: You mentioned the two terrible murders.
To what extent do prison officers, and particularly their families, still live with the impact of the Troubles and ongoing threats against their person?
Mr Armour said: Unfortunately, prison staff remain under a severe level of threat. The threat level has been unchanged against prison staff since 2012 following the murder of David Black. That means an attack is highly likely.
Prison staff are living under that cloud and that challenge on a daily basis. There is absolutely no justification for this but sadly the threat is very real to prison staff.
They have seen two colleagues murdered in the last 10 years, others have been targeted and a number of staff have had to move home because of the threat pertaining to them.
Many of my colleagues have been afforded physical home security measures at their home addresses and all prison officers can be issued with a personal protection weapon on application to the (PSNI) chief constable.
The threat remains a very significant concern.
Rishi Sunak promised to be resolute in defending Northern Ireland as he seeks a deal to rewrite the terms of its post-Brexit arrangements.
The Prime Minister indicated that he would put any new deal to a vote in the Commons, risking a showdown with Eurosceptics on the Tory benches.
The Government and the European Union are still negotiating changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol, the arrangements aimed at preventing a hard border with Ireland.
Mr Sunak told MPs: I am a Conservative, a Brexiter and a unionist, and any agreement that we reach needs to tick all three boxes.
It needs to ensure sovereignty for Northern Ireland, it needs to safeguard Northern Irelands place in our union, and it needs to find practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses.
I will be resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.
The Prime Minister spoke to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday night, Downing Street said.
The leaders discussed the good progress made in the negotiations. Intensive discussions continue. They agreed to speak again in the coming days, the spokesman said.
Mr Sunak spoke virtually to Northern Ireland businesses groups on Wednesday afternoon, with Downing Street saying that he promised them certainty, stability and clarity from any deal.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his partys MPs would vote to get a deal through the Commons, suggesting that Mr Sunak should rely on Opposition support rather than trying to win over the irreconcilables, the malcontents and wreckers on the Tory benches.
He said the Prime Minister had to be honest that there would be a continued role for the European Court of Justice and Northern Ireland would have to continue to follow some of Brussels laws.
Being forced to rely on Labour votes to overcome a revolt on his own benches would undermine Mr Sunaks leadership and he is determined to win over potential rebels.
Mr Sunak said he wanted a deal that guaranteed sovereignty for Northern Ireland, Northern Irelands place in our precious union and provided practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses.
He added: I have a good understanding of what is required and I will keep fighting until we get it.
The Prime Minister said Sir Keirs approach was to give the EU a blank cheque and agree to anything they offer. Its not a strategy, thats surrender.
Pressed on whether MPs would get a vote on any changes to the protocol agreed with Brussels, Mr Sunak said: Of course Parliament will express its view.
The protocol, agreed as part of the UKs Brexit deal, effectively kept Northern Ireland in the EUs single market for goods, meaning checks on products crossing from Great Britain.
The situation led to the collapse of powersharing in Northern Ireland, with the Democratic Unionist Party protesting about the barrier to trade with the rest of the UK.
Thank you @MarosSefcovic for another discussion with @chhcalling and me on the NI Protocol. As work continues between teams, we remain laser-focussed on finding a solution that works for the people of Northern Ireland. Looking forward to speaking again soon. James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) February 21, 2023
With the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April, there is symbolic importance in getting a deal which could allow the Stormont administration to be re-established.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told Mr Sunak: It is unacceptable that Northern Ireland has been put in this place with a protocol imposed upon us, that harms our place in the UK.
It must be replaced with arrangements that are acceptable and restore our place in the UK and its internal market.
He warned that it was unacceptable for EU laws to be imposed on Northern Ireland with no democratic scrutiny or consent and said any deal must not involve simply tweaking the protocol but instead rewriting the legally binding treaty text.
Mr Sunak said addressing the democratic deficit was an essential part of the negotiations with Brussels and he had heard the DUPs concerns loud and clear.
Sir Jeffrey addressed Tory Eurosceptics on Tuesday night, and the views of the DUP on any deal will carry significant weight for potential Conservative rebels.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic have held a series of talks in recent days as intensive work to finalise a deal has continued.
Mr Sunaks conversation with Ms von der Leyen on Tuesday night followed talks with her in the margins of a summit in Munich on Saturday.
Mr Cleverly discussed the protocol at a sparsely attended meeting of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives but stuck firmly to his position of not giving a running commentary when fielding questions from MPs.
He told them there remain a number of hurdles to overcome yet, according to MP Michael Fabricant.
Infinix Smart 7 has launched in India at a starting price of 7299 which puts it in competition with similarly specced phones like Moto E13 and Redmi 10A. Moto E13 launched in India on Feb 8 and its 4+64GB variant costs 7,999 while the Redmi 10A launched starts at 7,649 for the 3+32GB model.
Infinix Smart 7 compared against Redmi 10A and Moto E13
1. Design
Moto E13 is the lightest of the lot at just 179.5 grams. Infinix Smart 7 is 207 grams and Redmi 10A is 194 grams. All of them have plastic bodies.
Moto E13 is also the slimmest at 8.5 mm while the Infinix Smart 7 is 9.37mm and Redmi 10A is 9mm.
2. Display
All phones have HD screens with a waterdrop notch. While the other two phones offer IPS LCD panels, the Infinix Smart 7 has got a TFT LCD screen.
3. Processor and Memory
Infinix Smart 7 packs a Unisoc Spreadtrum SC9863A1 SoC whereas the Moto E13 is powered by a 12nm Unisoc T606 chipset, and Redmi 10A carries a 12nm Mediatek Helio G25 processor.
Smart 7 is available in a single 4GB RAM and 64GB storage option. You can grab the Moto E13 with up to 4GB RAM+64GB storage and Redmi 10A with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.
Infinix Smart 7 sticks to Android 12. Redmi 10A ships with Android 11. Its only Moto E13 that gives you Android 13, albeit the Go edition.
4. Battery and Connectivity
Moto E13 and Redmi 10A house a 5000mAh power source and 10W charging capability. Infinix has got a bigger 6000mAh battery. To charge the phones though, the Infinix and Redmi phones feature a somewhat dated micro-USB port. The Moto E13 is the only one with a USB-C socket.
Infinix Smart 7 and Moto E13 offer WiFi ac support while Redmi has got WiFi n only. They all bring Bluetooth 5.0 support and GPS.
Only Infinix Smart 7 and Moto E13 has got FM Radio.
5. Camera
While all phones have a 13MP primary camera, the Infinix Smart 7 has a 0.3MP depth sensor, which should probably be useful for portrait mode. The front camera is also a 5MP shooter on all three.
While the video recording goes up to 1080p 30FPS on Moto and Redmi phones on both front and back, the Infinix Smart 7 has got an FHD video option on the rear only. The front camera is limited to 720p videos.
Price and Availability
Infinix Smart 7 is going to be available via Flipkart at 7,299 starting February 27 at 12 PM.
Moto E13 is currently available via Flipkart at 7,999 for the 4+64GB variant.
Finally, we have the Redmi 10A whose 3+32GB model is currently available at 7,688. Its 4+64GB model retails for 8,599.
TOOFAAN aa gaya hai!
The all new Infinix SMART 7 is here at a special launch day price of just Rs. 7,299.
Sale starts 27th Feb, 12 noon, only on Flipkart
Click here to know more: https://t.co/2ppgbjEylE#Smart7 pic.twitter.com/cHvzdo9fWl Infinix India (@InfinixIndia) February 22, 2023
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Vice Environment Minister Yoo Je-chul, second from left, speaks during a press conference for foreign correspondents in Korea at Press Center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Environment
Vice minister points out measured facts that verify climate change
By Ko Dong-hwan
The vice environment minister, Wednesday, dismissed arguments by climate change denialists, saying various "measured facts" prove that the crisis is real and happening right now.
Yoo Je-chul admitted he was aware of people around the world who refuse to accept that rising ocean temperatures and more frequent extreme natural disasters represent a climate crisis.
"Certainly I have heard that argument, and so I heard as well that there is a prominent Korean scholar who also supports that argument," Yoo said during a press conference with foreign correspondents in Korea.
Yoo disagreed with the denialists, referring to a list of data recorded over the past centuries.
"Before 1850 when the first Industrial Revolution ended and the second one began, the concentration level of carbon dioxide in greenhouse gases across the globe was around 285 parts per million (ppm)," said Yoo, former president of Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute. "That figure has now jumped to about 420 ppm. Methane, nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen fluoride, which float in the air after being generated from polluting activities, also increased throughout the period. These are the found facts that have been measured."
It is also a scientifically proven fact that greenhouse gases stop heat from escaping the atmosphere and thus cause global warming, as is the fact that the present concentration level of carbon dioxide in greenhouse gases has jumped nearly 1.5 times from before the landmark periods of industrial growth, according to Yoo. He said those facts support the existence of greenhouse gases' effects which increased the average temperature of the atmosphere.
Carbon emissions from factories and other industrial sites are believed to be one of the main sources of air pollution. Climate change denialists argue such human activities are being excessively suppressed by governments under false claims that the crisis was caused by humanity's industrial revolutions. Gettyimagesbank
AU health official hails China-Africa cooperation, calling for deepening ties
Xinhua) 10:42, February 22, 2023
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- African Union Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development Minata Samate Cessouma has commended the China-Africa partnership, with particular emphasis on fruitful cooperation in the health sector.
"China is a big partner for Africa, and our wish is to continue this cooperation with China; to exchange experience with them and to see how we can achieve our aspiration, the Agenda 2063 - the Africa We Want," Samate Cessouma told Xinhua in a recent interview.
The AU health commissioner called on strengthening the China-Africa and China-African Union cooperation with the help of cooperation platforms including the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
"The cooperation between China and Africa and between China and the African Union Commission is very important; and important for me as commissioner in charge of health in the African Union Commission," Samate Cessouma said. "I would like to say thank you to China for the cooperation we have with China. As you know, we have FOCAC with China, and this is the occasion to strengthen cooperation between Africa and China."
Samate Cessouma underscored the partnership with China as important in the African Union's quest to realize the continent's socioeconomic development aspirations.
The AU health commissioner, in particular, singled out Sino-African cooperation in the health sector, as she underscored cooperation with China helps reinforce the capacity of the health sector in Africa.
"As you know health is important for all, especially for Africa, because we have a weakness in our health systems and having a partner like China accompanying us to reinforce the capacity to train our people," she said.
Samate Cessouma also commended China's support to Africa in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With regard to COVID-19, we appreciate China's contribution to help our member states. I remember when COVID-19 started, it was difficult for Africa, but we have the cooperation and support of China and we appreciate that," she said.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
Eo Myeong-so, vice minister of land, infrastructure and transport, speaks during an agreement ceremony for the K-UAM Grand Challenge demonstration project at the Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Korea on course to commercialize air taxi in 2025
By Baek Byung-yeul
Hyundai Motor and three mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus are vying for leadership in urban air mobility (UAM) as they prepare to kick off demonstration projects for air taxi service, which is expected to begin commercial operation in 2025, according to the government and the companies, Wednesday.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held an agreement ceremony in Seoul for what it calls the K-UAM Grand Challenge, a demonstration project for the air taxi service.
Companies will participate in the first phase of the demonstration project by building their own consortiums. A total of seven consortiums will demonstrate their abilities in three categories: UAM aircraft, UAM air traffic management and vertiport which are launch bases specially designed for aircraft that take off and land vertically.
Before the commercialization of the service in 2025, the transport ministry will conduct the first phase of the demonstration project at an aircraft performance test station in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, from August to March 2024.
Consortiums that pass the first stage will move on to the second stage, which is conducting verification tests in urban-like environments from July 2024 to June 2025.
Powered by electricity, air taxis will take off and land vertically. The air taxi service is expected to offer a convenient means of transportation in complex urban areas once commercialized.
With the United States, France and the U.K. set to begin their UAM demonstration projects in 2024, the government aims to proceed with its own UAM commercialization project to secure a future growth engine in the emerging business and assure safety of the service.
"Competition among leading countries to preoccupy the UAM business will become fiercer. It is most important for domestic companies to take the lead in the global market," said Eo Myeong-so, vice minister of land, infrastructure and transport.
Among the consortiums, Hyundai Motor Group teamed up with KT and Hyundai E&C. The automotive group will test connections between air taxi passengers, aircraft and various mobility platforms.
KT will be in charge of testing UAM traffic management systems, telecommunications infrastructure and data-sharing platforms while Hyundai E&C will be responsible for verification the building of vertiports.
Together with Hanwha Systems and Korea Airports Corp., SK Telecom will also conduct the verification process. The consortium, called K-UAM Dream Team, will test telecommunication systems as well as traffic management systems and construct vertiports.
LG Uplus will join the test operations along with Kakao Mobility, GS E&C and the British aircraft maker Vertical Aerospace. LG Uplus also joined hands with Busan Metropolitan City for the commercialization of air taxi service in the southeastern port city by 2026.
Primary school pupils from Louth are to participate in ESB Science Blast next week. ESB Science Blast, delivered by the RDS, is a STEM-focused education programme involving whole classes investigating the science behind a simple question, such as "how will climate change affect baby sharks?"
The event will take place in Dublin in RDS Simmonscourt for four days next week, starting next Monday 27 February, with a la speisialta do Ghaelscoileanna agus do scoileanna Ghaeltachta taking place on 2 March 2023.
Participating schools in Louth include Dundalk Grammar Junior School, St Oliver's National School in Dundalk and Sandpit National School in Drogheda.
The questions being investigated by Louth schools are as follows:
Dundalk Grammar JS - How do animals filter/drink dirty water?
Dundalk Grammar JS - Why do some objects fall slower than other objects?
Sandpit NS - Drogheda - Does gender affect speed?
St. Oliver's NS - Drogheda - Which type of sport will raise your heart rate the most?
St. Oliver's NS - Drogheda - Does chewing gum affect your concentration levels when performing a task?
Pupils from each class participating will showcase their experiment and discuss their investigation with a STEM expert (Judge/Moltoir). The judging is non-competitive and aimed at growing pupils' interest and passion for STEM.
Now in its fifth year, over 35,000 children have participated in ESB Science Blast to date, making it the largest primary school programme on the island of Ireland.
ESB Science Blast is a STEM promotional programme developed and delivered by the RDS. It is funded by the RDS, ESB as title sponsor, the Department of Education, Science Foundation Ireland, An Foras Patrunachta, Bristol Myers Squib, COGG, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Foras na Gaeilge, Irish Aid, Irish American Partnership, Jones Engineering, Kainos, and Teagasc.
The British Government is bringing a Court of Appeal challenge against a tribunals conclusion that a UK entry ban could not be imposed on former Defence forces soldier Lisa Smith who was convicted of membership of the Islamic State (IS) terror group.
Lisa Smith, 41, was found guilty in May last year of IS membership but cleared of a separate charge of financing terrorism after a nine-week trial at Dublins Special Criminal Court.
Before her conviction, Smith was made subject of a Home Office-issued exclusion order, preventing her from entering the UK, from December 2019 on the grounds of public security.
However, Smith successfully appealed against the order at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), which concluded in May last year that the enforcement action in her case would be incapable of justification.
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman is now appealing against the SIAC decision, arguing it was wrong to decide Smith had immunity from exclusion.
Smith, a convert to Islam, went to Syria in 2015 after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims to travel there.
The former soldier was handed a 15-month sentence in July.
Smiths father is originally from Belfast and her dispute with the Home Office centres on whether she is entitled to enter the UK as a result.
The UK has a legal right to exclude non-British citizens from EEA (European Economic Area) countries, including Ireland, but that does not cover those of dual nationality.
Smith was born in Ireland, but due to her parents being unmarried at the time, missed out on automatic British citizenship.
Her lawyers argue she is not responsible for this accident of birth and is entitled to be treated as a British citizen under the European Convention on Human Rights.
At a hearing in London on Tuesday, Cathryn McGahey KC, representing the Home Secretary, said: The Secretary of States case is: You are a non-citizen.
We wish to exclude you because you pose a danger to national security and we can do that because you are a foreign national.
We accept that you have the right to apply to be a British national.
If you do that, the Secretary of State can then decide whether to deprive you of the citizenship and exclude you.
Ms McGahey told the court that Smith was a mono-Irish national and claimed she does not want to be a British national nor dual Irish-British citizen.
Smith, previously said she identifies as Irish and believes she is entitled to be treated as British by virtue of my birth rights, the court was told in her legal teams written submissions.
Ms McGahey said what Smith seeks is the status of someone entitled to be treated as if she were a British citizen for the limited purpose only of the UKs exclusion laws, arguing that British nationality is an indivisible package of rights and obligations.
It is not possible as a matter of law for somebody to be treated as though they were British purely to avoid exclusion but to be a foreign national for all other purposes, she added.
The barrister argued that Smith seeks a right that is available only to a British citizen not to a class of persons entitled to be treated as though they were British citizens.
In written arguments, Hugh Southey KC, representing Smith, said the Home Offices appeal should be dismissed and the SIAC decision contains no error of law.
He argued there was no justification for the stark differential and less favourable treatment of Smith based solely on an accident of birth for which she is not responsible.
Ms Smith lives close to the Irish border with the United Kingdom. As a consequence, her ability to move across the border is part of her social identity, he added.
Mr Southey argued it was discriminatory to require Smith to apply for British nationality and take an oath of allegiance because it was not consistent with her right to self-identify as Irish, a right safeguarded by the Good Friday agreement.
Lord Justice Underhill, Lord Justice Lewis and Lady Justice Elizabeth Laing will give their ruling on the case at a later date.
The Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA) has made an appeal to people in Louth to get involved in its upcoming fundraiser and awareness campaign this March to raise awareness of Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
IMDA is looking for support by asking people around the county to organise tea events in their local community, and to "Drink Tea for MND" this March.
MND is a progressive neurological condition that attacks the motor neurones, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. This means messages gradually stop reaching muscles, which leads to weakness and wasting. It can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. However, not all symptoms necessarily happen to everyone, and according to IMNDA, it is unlikely they will all develop at the same time, or in any specific order.
Lily Chen is this years Drink Tea for MND Ambassador. She lives in Termonfeckin in Co Louth with her family where she runs her tea business, Lilys Tea. She was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) three years ago.
Lily Chens first encounter with MND was over 30 years previous, when as a teenager, she read about Prof Stephen Hawkings weird disease. She thought that it was so rare that it must only happen to geniuses like him. In 2016, she noticed her left arm could not lift the cooking pot. Later, she noted her voice slurring and occasionally when out running she stumbled and fell a few times.
All the natural abilities I took for granted such as swallowing, speech and mobility started weakening, like an invisible hand that is turning down my power, said Lily.
Lily shares her story about life with MND in the hope that greater awareness will generate increased support for those living with this degenerative and debilitating condition. Communication is getting difficult; I miss Irish banter. Small things like giving away all my high heel shoes are heart-breaking, said Lily.
IMNDA says that MND is an unforgivable disease, but people's support for Drink Tea for MND will help people like Lily get the simple life changing supports they need. It will provide specialised beds, wheelchairs, and for people like Lily who love the "Irish banter", communication aids when MND takes their voice away.
There are more than 400 people living with MND in Ireland, and every three days another person is lost to this debilitating disease.
So IMNDA are saying, "please, join Lily and all of us any day during March in raising a teacup in support of everyone impacted by MND". It couldnt be easier to host your own Drink Tea event, you can even do all your fundraising online just visit imnda.ie for more.
So here I am, raising the teacup with a small bit of hope and loads of love. Lets all Drink Tea for MND, said Lily. If you cant organise a tea day, why not make a tea donation, just text MND to 50300 and donate 2. (Some network providers charge VAT, meaning a minimum of 1.63 will go to IMNDA. Service Provider LIKECHARITY 0766805278)
The power of the Louth public's support also funds IMNDA's six wonderful MND nurses who visit families in their homes providing expert care and advice. In fact, over 85% of IMNDA's services are funded by events like Drink Tea for MND. See www.imnda.ie for more.
The Unite trade union, which represents over 200 workers at the Cargotec (formerly Moffett Engineering) facility in Dundalk, yesterday announced that a ballot of members had returned a 93 per cent vote in favour of industrial action, starting with a one-day stoppage on 10th March.
The union says the dispute has arisen following what they say is the companys refusal to engage meaningfully at the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court regarding their proposal to transfer workers under what Unite describes as a fake TUPE, which they say could mean established jobs, pay and conditions could come under future attack.
Cargotec is a successful multinational, generating over 4 billion in revenue during 2022.
Also known as Cargotec Engineering Ireland Ltd, MOFFETT produces truck mounted forklifts sold under the same brand.
Invented in Ireland the MOFFETT name has become synonymous with truck-mounted forklifts in many parts of the world.
Commenting on the ballot result, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:
Cargotecs success is due to the commitment and expertise of its workforce in Dundalk and elsewhere.
It has a responsibility to treat this workforce with dignity and respect.
However, Unite members have well-founded concerns that the company is engaging in a fake TUPE process.
This union will not accept any attempt to undermine our members terms and conditions now or in the future.
The Cargotec workers have Unites full and unstinting support in this battle to defend their jobs.
Contacted for comment, the company issued a statement saying:
We were informed through the media that strike action will be taking place at our factory in Dundalk in March.
We await confirmation from Unite that this is the case and the reason for such action.
We have recently completed a TUPE transfer which was carried out following a full consultation process, in addition to engagement with the WRC and the LRC.
Unite was invited to participate in the process. During the consultation process, we duly notified, informed and consulted with employees and/or their representatives in advance of the transfer coming into effect.
The transfer came into effect on 1st January 2023 whereby we transferred part of our business, namely the Fabrication and Paint Plant, to our global partner, FSP For Surface Protection. Under TUPE Regulations the employees terms and conditions, including pay, are fully protected.
As a Company, we always abide by relevant legislation and we will continue to engage with our employees to build meaningful dialogue and address their concerns.
Choi Sung-hwan, SK Networks general executive director, speaks to global investors at the Global Annual General Meeting held at the Walkerhill Hotel Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of SK Networks
By Kim Hyun-bin
SK Networks is accelerating its transformation into a business-oriented investment company with the eldest son of former chairman Choi Shin-won, Choi Sung-hwan, leading efforts as general executive director. Choi personally gathered global investors, held an investment business briefing session and declared the expansion of global innovation and investments, according to the company, Wednesday.
"Based on our successful investment experience in Silicon Valley, we will serve as a gatekeeper for global innovation. We will use our influence to address social and economic inequalities of various kinds that exist around the world," Choi said during the Global Annual General Meeting held at the Walkerhill Hotel Seoul, Wednesday.
SK Networks is investing in technology-based startups to better transform into a business-oriented investment company. About 150 domestic and foreign investment industry officials attended the briefing that was held for the first time this year.
SK Networks started investing in early-stage companies in 2018. The following year, CEO Choi joined and set the direction for the company, transforming it into a business-oriented investment company. Silicon Valley, the heart of innovation has been selected as a focus investment target region.
While working at SK Corp., President Choi was in charge of the group's first U.S. startup investment. Using this experience, the company set up its own network the Hicosystem. It consists of 220 people including founders, investors, technology, economics and legal experts.
Based on this, SK Networks established a local corp., Hico Capital in Silicon Valley, in 2020 and has continued to make full-fledged investments in over 20 companies totaling $176 million.
"In the early stages of investing in the U.S., we mainly invested in global top-tier funds to utilize investment verification channels, which led to direct investment. Currently, as the investment management system is in place, direct investment is increasing," an SK Networks official said.
SK Networks is focusing on digital transformation, Web3 and sustainability investments including Standard Cognition, an AI-based unmanned payment system developer, Savanto, a tractor autonomous driving solution company and MycoWorks, which produces eco-friendly alternative leather from mushroom mycelium. The initial rate of return is also higher than that of global standard funds, the company said.
"Investment is a function that all companies must have to maintain sustainability. SK Networks' global investment business will play a very important role in linking existing and future businesses and increasing the value of the company," Lee Ho-jeong, general president at SK Networks said.
Koo Ja-yeol, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, speaks at the 2023 KITA General Meeting held at COEX in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of KITA
VISITORS to a shipwreck disintegrating off the south coast of Cork are causing local residents to become prisoners in their own homes as they block driveways, heard councillors at a local authority meeting.
Fine Gael Cllr Michael Hegarty called attention to the disintegrating wreckage of the MV Alta at Mondays meeting of the Southern Committee of Cork County Council.
The vessel ran aground near Ballycotton during a storm in 2020, and poses a continuing danger to local residents.
I read recently that following a PQ Question in the Dail, there is a suggestion that some works will take place along the cliffs. Have we any update on what is being considered there, asked Mr Hegarty during a report on Coastal and Flood Projects delivered by Director of Services, Kevin Morey, with Senior Engineer, Gillian Vaughan, of Cork County Council.
The Council has liaised with the Department of Transport to ensure that the wreck doesnt pose a hazard to the environment.
The Department is carrying out an assessment of the safety issues.
Weve met with them subsequently and agreed between both parties, a programme of works that we will organise and deliver, said Mr Morey.
They are not very large scale works. The objective is to prevent access to the vessel, because the wreck itself poses a hazard, but also the means of access where people were making their way down what is essentially a cliff face, or a steep incline to the rocky foreshore.
Mr Morey said measures will be put in place to close off and to restrict any possible access with security fencing, close to the vessel, while putting increased signage on either side of it.
There will be full public awareness of the risks involved, and secondly, that the public are prevented from ready access into a hazardous area, he said.
Those works are being tendered at the moment and they will be delivered in the coming months. Some minor works have been carried out as well on the vessel itself.
Mr Hegarty said the residents and nearby landowners have become quite agitated with the influx of people visiting the wreck, passing through private lands.
A lot of the residents have become prisoners in their own homes at certain times, with cars being abandoned, and access driveways being blocked. Its important that we would be aware of exactly what is being proposed.
Mr Morey said his team has liaised with landowners and there has been good engagement, and local residents will see a benefit from whats proposed".
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.
One major weakness of corporate net-zero plans is that they often rely on carbon offsets that promise more than they deliver.
However, a new report from the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative (ETI) found that five of the countrys high-emission supply chains could achieve net zero emissions by 2050 with minimal use of offsets.
With strong ambition, coordinated action and government support, industry emissions could be reduced by up to 92 per cent by 2050, based on 2020 levels, Australian Industry ETI Chair Simon McKeon AO, who is also the chancellor of Monash University, former Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) chairman and former Australian of the Year, said in a press release. This, with high quality and verifiable offsets for the remaining 8 per cent, would transition industry to net zero emissions in support of the ambition to limit warming to 1.5C.
A new report by @ClimateworksCtr and @CSIRO for the Australian Industry ETI has, for the first time in Australia, outlined possible industry decarbonisation pathways consistent with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5C.
Read more: https://t.co/VU4QBuBskA pic.twitter.com/x0Tgd5sc2x Climateworks Centre (@ClimateworksCtr) February 19, 2023
The report, Pathways to Industrial Decarbonization, was written by the non-profits Climateworks Centre and Climate-KIC with the support of 18 companies that account for around 22 percent of Australias industrial emissions and a third of the market value of the ASX100. The final paper was the result of a three-year process that outlines how five major supply chains can decarbonize in line with the Paris agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels: iron and steel, aluminum, other metals, chemicals, and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
These supply chains account for around 25 percent of Australias total emissions, but they also account for more than 17.3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product and provide around 414,000 jobs, according to PV Magazine. However, following through on an ambitious decarbonization plan could actually generate more than 1.3 million jobs between 2025 and 2050, according to the press release.
The report found it would be possible to reduce yearly carbon dioxide emissions from 221 million tonnes in 2020 to 17 million tonnes by 2050 and still enable steel and iron production to increase by almost 20 percent and aluminum production by more than 30 percent, The Guardian reported. LNG production would need to fall to 20 percent of current levels by 2040.
Reaching this goal would not be cheap. It would require spending $20.8 billion per year and upping the ambition of current Australian policy, according to Perth Now. However, ClimateWorks Centre CEO Anna Skarbek said the expense only amounted to a tenth of the supply chains annual export value of $236 billion, according to The Guardian.
The transition is an investment in modernising Australias industrial regions and energy system, she said, as The Guardian reported.
Significantly, the decarbonization pathway would require major leaps in renewable energy, increasing electricity generation by a factor of two by 2050, Australian Renewable Energy Agency CEO Darren Miller said, as Perth Now reported. In total, the report called for 320 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy generation and storage capacity by mid-century, broken down into 80 GW of utility-scale wind, 90GW of utility-scale solar, 80 GW of rooftop solar, and 70 GW of storage capacity, as Renew Economy reported.
This is the biggest change in our economy since the Industrial Revolution, and we are undertaking it at much greater speed, Australian Minister for Climate and Energy Chris Bowen said at the report launch Monday, as Renew Economy reported. Australia is very well placed to lead the world in many ways and to give Australians jobs right across our county, but we have to be all in to do it.
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.
A video screenshot released by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board shows the site of a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 15, 2023. NTSB / Handout via Xinhua
Following a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken control over the situation, ordering the rail company Norfolk Southern to conduct cleanup actions and cover costs related to the incident.
The EPAs order, which is legally binding, requires Norfolk Southern to identify and clean up contaminated soil and water, reimburse the EPA for cleaning services offered to local residents and businesses, attend and participate in public meetings and provide information online and pay for the EPAs costs for work related to the order.
The EPA is conducting air monitoring at selected locations near the site of the train derailment as part of its emergency response, including at local schools, residential areas, government buildings and upwind of, downwind of and at the site. The agency has measured for lower explosive limits, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrogen sulfide, benzene, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride, phosgene and particulate matter and is collecting air samples for VOCs, vinyl chloride, n-butyl acrylate and ethylhexyl acrylate.
With the EPA taking over the response to the situation, it will approve of an action plan that includes all steps needed to clean up the local environment at the site of the train derailment. Should Norfolk Southern fail to complete any of the actions in the EPAs order, the EPA will complete the work and require Norfolk Southern to pay triple the costs of the plan.
The EPA will offer cleaning services to local residents and businesses to handle potential indoor air pollution related to the train derailment. More information about the available cleaning services will be available later this week.
The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPAs order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma theyve inflicted on this community.
A train carrying hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, was traveling through East Palestine. Despite its cargo, the train was not marked as hazardous. It derailed, likely due to a overheat failure in a wheel bearing, according to initial findings from the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigations of the cause are still ongoing.
Norfolk Southern told NPR that it understands its responsibility in the incident and has committed over $6 million so far to East Palestine. The company also said it plans to improve railroad safety. Officials, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, have criticized the company, noting it already spends over $1 billion annually on safety improvements.
The environment affected by the derailment is still being cleaned up, with 4,600 cubic yards of soil and over 1 million gallons of water removed so far, as NPR reported. The EPA has also helped conduct air monitoring in over 550 homes in the area, and the agency said it has not detected indoor vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride to be above levels of concern.
Ohio officials have opened a local health clinic for East Palestine residents, who have reported health issues including headaches, rashes, difficulty breathing and nausea. The EPA has also announced an East Palestine information line, 215-814-2400, which is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, for concerned parties to call for more information.
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.
Following weeks of no rainfall, and with last summers drought still fresh for Italy, many of Venices celebrated canals are running dry. This time of year, flooding is usually the biggest concern for the City of Water, but abnormally low tides and lack of rain have caused water taxis, ambulances and gondolas to run aground.
Other factors that are being blamed for the famous citys low waters are sea currents, a high pressure system and a full moon.
According to scientists and environmental groups, the Alps have gotten less than half of their usual snowfall this winter, reported Reuters.
We are in a water deficit situation that has been building up since the winter of 2020-2021, said climate expert Massimiliano Pasqui from Italian scientific research institute CNR, as Corriere della Sera reported. We need to recover 500mm in the north-western regions: we need 50 days of rain.
Severely low water levels meant that some of Venices inner canals did not have enough water for boats to operate, but the citys Grand Canal and other main waterways like the Guidecca Canal remained navigable.
This winter, the Alps have gotten 53 percent less snow than normal, and Northern Italys Po River has 61 percent less water, according to environmental group Legambiente.
The group said other Italian rivers and lakes are running low as well, reported Reuters.
Northern Italys Lake Garda the countrys largest lake is at its lowest winter level in 35 years, The Guardian reported.
An exposed pathway now allows access to the lakes small island of San Biagio, reported Reuters.
Last year, during Italys worst drought in 70 years, the country declared a state of emergency in the River Pos surrounding areas, where about a third of the agricultural production in the country takes place.
Western Europe has seen late springlike temperatures for the past 15 days, due to an anticyclone a sweeping circulation of winds around a region of high atmospheric pressure.
The most recent weather reports predict precipitation, including Alpine snowfall, in the near future.
Nothing has changed since 2022, said President of the Italian Meteorological Society Luca Mercalli, as The Guardian reported. We are still in a situation of deficit lets wait for the spring, which is usually the rainiest period for the Po valley. There is a good possibility that rainfall in April and May can compensate its the last hope. If we have no spring rain for two consecutive years then it would be the first time this has ever happened.
Iloilo province in the Philippines looks to chicken and fish amid ASF threat
The provincial government of Iloilo in the Philippines, a major producer of pork in the country, is looking to increase its sources of protein, including not only pork but also chicken meat and fish products, due to the ongoing threat of African swine fever (ASF) in the province, Philippine News Agency reported.
The plan is to source chicken and fish from inland water aquaculture to balance the source of protein, and to replenish the supply of pork by raising swine in regions not yet affected by animal disease.
Arthur Defensor Jr, Governor of Iloilo, said these are agricultural measures to have more protein source options besides only swine, not necessarily ASF measures.
Defensor said pork is the province's main source of protein, so the availability of the meat poses a nutritional challenge.
In Iloilo, 17 of the 22 local government units affected by the ASF are currently in the red or infected zone, indicating that the disease is widespread.
ASF has been documented in 104 barangays as of February 20, in the municipalities of Oton, San Miguel, Alimodian, Leganes, Sta. Barbara, New Lucena, Mina, Barotac Nuevo, Dumangas, Banate, Barotac Viejo, Zarraga, Janiuay, San Dionisio, Batad, Dingle, and Concepcion, according to data from the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian.
Live pigs, pork, pork products (fresh/frozen and uncooked processed pork products, excluding cooked and canned processed pork products), and swine genetic material cannot be brought into or taken out of the affected municipalities.
- Philippine News Agency
Egypt releases 199,000 tonnes of corn and soybeans for poultry feed
Al-Sayyed Al Qusseir, Egypt's Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, said the country has released 199,000 tonnes of corn and soybeans required for poultry fodder worth US$96 million, in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), Egypt Today reported.
The minister said that the quantity of corn and soybeans released between January 26 to February 9 included 156,000 tonnes of corn valued at US$56 million, 43,000 tonnes of soybeans valued at US$32 million, and feed additives valued at US$8 million.
Egypt has been experiencing a nationwide feed shortage since October last year, which has forced farmers to cull chicks.
Mostafa Madbouli, Egypt's Prime Minister, announced that a cooperation will be established with the CBE to expedite the release of the biggest amount of feed possible to support the poultry industry.
- Egypt Today
The Philippines bans imports of Dutch beef and Turkish poultry products
The Philippines Department of Agriculture has temporarily banned imports of Dutch cattle and beef related products, as well as Turkish poultry products, Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.
The bans were implemented following reports of mad cow disease in the Netherlands and of bird flu in Turkey.
Live animals, beef meat, beef byproducts, domestic and wild birds, and their byproducts from the countries covered are all subject to the ban.
The Philippines Department of Agriculture immediately stopped processing, reviewing applications, and issuing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) import clearance for said products once the ban was enforced.
All meat shipments from The Netherlands that have already been loaded, accepted into port, or are in transit will be permitted as long as they were produced or slaughtered on or before January 1.
Poultry products from Turkey will be permitted entry into the Philippines as long as they were produced or slaughtered on or before January 17, including those in transit, loaded, or accepted at port prior to the imposition of the ban.
All shipments of meat, meat byproducts, domestic and wild birds, and their products will be thoroughly inspected by the Department of Agriculture at all major ports of entry.
- Philippine Daily Inquirer
Ukrainian servicemen ride a self-propelled howitzer outside the town of Siversk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine Feb. 20. Reuters-Yonhap
China is "deeply worried" that the Ukraine conflict could spiral out of control, China's foreign minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday, and called on certain countries to stop "fueling the fire".
Beijing, which last year struck a "no limits" partnership with Moscow, has refrained from condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The United States has warned of consequences if China provides military support to Russia, which Beijing says it is not doing.
"We urge certain countries to immediately stop fueling the fire," Qin said during a speech, referring to the Ukraine conflict and in comments that appeared to be directed at the United States.
"We stand firmly against any form of hegemony, against any foreign interference in China's affairs," he said.
Also on Tuesday, China released a paper on the Global Security Initiative (GSI), President Xi Jinping's flagship security proposal which aims to uphold the principle of "indivisible security", a concept endorsed by Russia.
On Monday, China's top diplomat Wang Yi called for a negotiated settlement to the Ukraine war during a stopover in Hungary ahead of a visit to Moscow.
The same day, U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv in a show of solidarity, promising $500 million worth of military aid to Ukraine and additional sanctions against Russian elites to be unveiled in full this week.
Beijing has refrained from condemning Moscow's operation against Ukraine or calling it an "invasion" in line with the Kremlin, which describes the war as a "special military operation" designed to protect Russia's own security.
Xi is expected to deliver a "peace speech" this week on the anniversary of the Feb. 24 Ukraine invasion.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang delivers a speech during the Lanting Forum on the Global Security Initiative: China's Proposal for Solving Security Challenges held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing, Feb. 21. AP-Yonhap
Ukrainian Ambassador to South Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul on Feb. 21, as the Russian invasion of Kyiv marks its first anniversary, Feb. 24. Yonhap
The top Ukrainian envoy here stressed that it's "utter nonsense" to raise the idea of an armistice to end Russia's war in his country with a division similar to that of Korea.
One year into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the war is likely to face a watershed moment in the spring and summer of 2023 with Ukraine's victory possible within the year, Ambassador Dmytro Ponomarenko said during a special interview with Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.
"As far as we are concerned, Russia can delude itself anyway it wants. I think the suggestion of turning Ukraine into some kind of South and North Korea is utter nonsense," he said. "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin will not stop until he is stopped. This is not the time to accept unfavorable cease-fire proposals or peace deals."
He voiced optimism that Russia's "brutal and unprovoked invasion" of Ukraine will come to an end within this year following a "crucial period" in the yearlong conflict in the coming weeks or months.
"The sooner and the more security assistance Ukraine gets now, the sooner the war will end with a comprehensive, just and lasting peace," he said during the interview at the embassy in Seoul held on the occasion of the anniversary of the outbreak of the war.
Despite views that Ukraine would succumb to Russia's invasion soon, "the Ukrainian leadership and Ukrainian people showed to the world that Ukraine will resist, Ukraine will stay, and Ukraine will fight," he said.
Ponomarenko appreciated South Korea's support for his nation so far, especially humanitarian aid, ranging from medicine to power generators, and expressed hope for the provision of "lethal weapons" as well. He pointed out that Ukraine is "in dire need of modern weapons and military equipment."
"We are still waiting for the decision of the (Korean) government to be changed, and it's not a difficult procedure," he said. "Korea could, and has the ability as the sixth-biggest world economy and the leader of the technological world, to provide us with stronger support, including military support."
Ukrainian Ambassador to South Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko speaks during an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul on Feb. 21, as the Russian invasion of Kyiv marks its first anniversary, Feb. 24. Yonhap
Tesco limit sales of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers
Tesco has followed some of its rivals in limiting how many tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers customers can buy.
The supermarket chain's introducing a cap of three packs per customer at its store in Douglas.
Aldi, Asda and Morrisons in the UK have taken similar steps.
Supplies of certain fresh produce are being hit by weather and transport problems in Spain and north Africa.
Iranian-German national and U.S. resident Jamshid Sharmahd attends his trial at the Revolutionary Court, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, in this Feb. 6, 2022 file photo. AP-Yonhap
Berlin on Tuesday condemned the death sentence handed down by a Tehran court to an Iranian-German man accused of being the leader of a "terrorist" group behind a deadly 2008 mosque bombing.
"The death sentence for Jamshid Sharmahd is absolutely unacceptable," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement, promising a "strong reaction" to the court's decision.
"Not only is the death penalty cruel, inhuman and degrading, but Jamshid Sharmahd has never had anything approaching a fair trial," Baerbock said.
The Tehran Revolutionary Court on Tuesday convicted Sharmahd, 67, in connection with the deadly bombing of a mosque in 2008, according to the judiciary's Mizan Online news agency.
Iranian authorities announced in August 2020 that Sharmahd, who is also a German citizen and a U.S. resident, was arrested in what they described as a "complex operation" without specifying how, where or when he was seized.
His family say that he was abducted by the Iranian security services while in transit in Dubai and then brought under duress to Iran.
"The news out of Iran is shocking. To give the death penalty in a trial that does not follow the rule of law goes against all international law and human rights," Baerbock told journalists on the margins of an official visit to Turkey, following the recent deadly earthquakes.
Germany had been "denied consular access and access to the trial dates" despite high-level efforts to assist Sharmahd, Baerbock said in the statement.
"We call on Iran to remedy these shortcomings in the appeals process, correct the verdict accordingly and refrain from the death penalty," she said. (AFP)
The Kindle Store has a prolific new author: ChatGPT The AI bot is credited with authoring or co-authoring at least 200 books on Amazons storefront.
ChatGPT is listed as the author or co-author of at least 200 books on Amazons Kindle Store, according to Reuters. However, the actual number of bot-written books is likely much higher than that since Amazons policies dont explicitly require authors to disclose their use of AI. Its the latest example of AI-generated writing flooding the market and playing a part in ethically dubious content creation since the November release of OpenAIs free tool.
I could see people making a whole career out of this, said Brett Schickler, a Rochester, NY salesman who published a childrens book on the Kindle Store. The idea of writing a book finally seemed possible. Schicklers self-published story, The Wise Little Squirrel: A Tale of Saving and Investing, is a 30-page childrens story written and illustrated by AI selling for $2.99 for a digital copy and $9.99 for a printed version. Although Schickler says the book has earned him less than $100 since its January release, he only spent a few hours creating it with ChatGPT prompts like write a story about a dad teaching his son about financial literacy.
Other examples of AI-created content on the Kindle Store include childrens story The Power of Homework, a poetry collection called Echoes of the Universe and a sci-fi epic about an interstellar brothel, Galactic Pimp: Vol. 1.
This is something we really need to be worried about, these books will flood the market and a lot of authors are going to be out of work, said Mary Rasenberger, executive director of the Authors Guild. There needs to be transparency from the authors and the platforms about how these books are created or youre going to end up with a lot of low-quality books.
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Clarkesworld
Meanwhile, science-fiction publication Clarkesworld Magazine has temporarily halted short-story submissions after receiving a flood of articles suspected of using AI without disclosure, as reported by PCMag. Although Editor Neil Clarke didnt specify how he identified them, he recognized the (allegedly) bot-assisted stories due to some very obvious patterns. What I can say is that the number of spam submissions resulting in bans has hit 38 percent this month, he said. While rejecting and banning these submissions has been simple, its growing at a rate that will necessitate changes. To make matters worse, the technology is only going to get better, so detection will become more challenging.
Clarkesworld currently prohibits stories written, co-written or assisted by AI, and the publication has banned over 500 users this month for submitting suspected AI-assisted content. Clarkesworld pays 12 cents per word, making it a prime target. From what I can tell, its not about credibility. Its about the possibility of making a quick buck. Thats all they care about, Clarke tweeted.
In addition to the standalone ChatGPT tool, Microsofts new version of Bing uses a more advanced version of the tool to help with search queries. JASON REDMOND via Getty Images
Apart from ethical issues about transparency, there are also questions of misinformation and plagiarism. For example, AI bots, including ChatGPT, Microsofts Bing AI and Googles Bard, are prone to hallucinating, the term for spouting false information confidently. Additionally, theyre trained on human-created content almost always without the original authors knowledge or permission and sometimes use identical syntax to the source material.
Starting last year, tech publication CNET used an in-house AI model to write at least 73 economic explainers. Unfortunately, apart from the initially cagey approach that only revealed it was written by AI if you clicked on the byline, it also included numerous factual errors and nearly identical phrasing from other websites articles. As a result, CNET was forced to make extensive corrections and pause its use of the tool however, one of its sister sites has already at least experimented with using it again.
Twitter will now alert you if a tweet you interacted with gets a Community Note You'll know if you possibly retweeted or liked fake news.
Fake news can travel fast on Twitter when amplified by likes and retweets, but now you'll be alerted if you've been an accessory to one of those lies. Starting today, you'll be notified if a tweet you've liked, replied to or retweeted receives a Community Note showing possible misinformation, the company said in a tweet spotted by TechCrunch.
"Starting today, youll get a heads up if a Community Note starts showing on a Tweet youve replied to, Liked or Retweeted. This helps give people extra context that they might otherwise miss," Twitter's Community Notes account tweeted. CEO Elon Musk lauded the effort in a quote tweet, calling Community Notes a "game changer for combating wrong information."
Starting today, youll get a heads up if a Community Note starts showing on a Tweet youve replied to, Liked or Retweeted. This helps give people extra context that they might otherwise miss. pic.twitter.com/LIcGgl2zdJ Community Notes (@CommunityNotes) February 21, 2023
Community Notes launched in 2021 as Birdwatch, a "community-driven approach" that crowdsources fact checks directly from other Twitter users. Twitter now relies on it more than ever, though, as it has laid off a large number of content moderators. Notes are viewable by all users across the globe, but only people from the US, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand can contribute them at the moment.
Since they're crowdsourced, Community Notes are far from reliable. In a recent example, a researcher investigating Twitter Blue noted that a number of high-profile accounts including Tesla had halted their subscriptions to the service. A Community Note insisted that was wrong, because Tesla was already a verified business, so it couldn't also be subscribed to Twitter Blue. However, Twitter's own data via its official API showed that Tesla did indeed unsubscribe from Twitter Blue, and the Community Note was subsequently removed.
Rescue workers stand on a collapsed building in Adiyaman, southern Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 11. AP-Yonhap
Survivors of the earthquake that jolted Turkey and Syria 15 days ago, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving hundreds of thousands of others homeless, dealt with more trauma and loss Tuesday after another deadly quake and aftershocks rocked the region.
The 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Monday evening had its epicenter in the Defne district of Turkey's Hatay province, which was of the area's worst affected by the Feb. 6 magnitude 7.8 quake that killed nearly 46,000 people in the two countries.
Turkey's disaster management authority, AFAD, said the new quake killed six people and injured 294 others, including 18 who were in critical condition. In Syria, a woman and a girl died as a result of panic during the earthquake in the provinces of Hama and Tartus, pro-government media said.
Monday's quake was felt in Jordan, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon and Egypt. A magnitude 5.8 quake followed, along with dozens of aftershocks. The White Helmets, northwest Syria's civil defense organization, said about 190 people suffered injuries in rebel-held areas and that several flimsy buildings collapsed but there were no reports of anyone trapped under the debris.
In Turkey, teacher Zuher Capar, 42, said he was mourning the loss of relatives in the original earthquake and having a meal with his aunt and uncle near the Hatay town of Samandag when they felt Monday's temblor.
"It shook a little, then it grew strong," he said. "The electricity went and there were screams everywhere. There were small children in the house. They were screaming, my aunt was crying."
On Feb. 6, Capar rushed to try to help his cousin, the cousin's wife and the couple's small children out of the rubble of their collapsed home, but they did not survive.
"We had barely overcome the sadness (from the first earthquake)," he said.
While his large family's home withstood the quake earlier in the month, it was damaged on Monday. Capar said they are too frightened to sleep there and plan to stay in a large tent and cars.
Rescue workers continue to clear rubble in the search for the missing, in Antakya, Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 11. AP-Yonhap
"We are trying to stay strong but it is a terrifying process. The cities we knew, the memories we had, have been destroyed," he said. "When we go in the streets, there is only rubble and heavy machinery. It's like a horror movie scene."
Turkish officials warned residents not to go into the remains of their homes, but people have done so to retrieve what they can. Three of the people killed Monday were inside a damaged four-story building when the new quake hit.
Aftershocks and the instability of the structure complicated the rescue effort, and it took several hours for search crews to find the bodies, Turkish news agency DHA said.
Dr. Tahsin Cinar, an anesthesiologist using vacation time to help provide medical care in Hatay as a representative of the Turkish Medical Association, said earthquake survivors need serious help with their mental health.
"They feel so alone, so deserted and very anxious. Even a small tremor leads to a big anxious reaction," he said.
Cinar and other volunteers initially provided emergency care for people with physical injuries. Now, they are seeing more signs of psychological trauma, depression and the stress that comes with a lack of safe housing, winter weather and a pause in education.
"There is nearly nothing to create social well-being," he said.
The U.N.'s World Food Program said Monday's quake frightened employees who were distributing food to hundreds of thousands of people in northwest Syria and Turkey. The employees are sleeping in their cars in freezing temperatures while still trying to do their jobs, the program said.
Kamal Abuhassan's small house in Jinderis, Syria, was damaged in the the first earthquake, but after a few days, he and his family returned. They ran out when Monday's quake hit; the dwelling is now partially collapsed into piles of rubble.
Municipal grave diggers bury the bodies of four people, three of the them not claimed by relatives, in a makeshift cemetery on the outskirts of Elbistan, Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 11. AP-Yonhap
Scientists reveal a key mechanism of a thermoelectric material that could lead to the recovery of the waste heat produced by electronic devices. The results are published this week in Nature Materials.
Transport, household appliances and electronic devices produce waste heat- lots of it. Thermoelectric materials, which can convert a heat gradient into a voltage, are a possible solution for recovering and using waste heat. However, their exact mechanism is still unclear. This is despite decades of applications, including in the power packs of the Voyager space probe and Mars rover, for example.
Now, a team of researchers led by Universite Bourgogne Franche-Comte, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Columbia University, Brookhaven National Laboratory and the ESRF has developed new scattering techniques to address this question for the material GeTe. This is part of a family of so-called IV-VI materials, which are some of the oldest and best performing thermoelectrics.
The thermoelectric effect relies upon a heat gradient; therefore, it requires materials that resist heat flow, while preserving electrical conductivity. In the case of GeTe, this was believed to be due to intrinsic nanoscale disorder, despite its apparently simple table-salt structure.
The team used the brilliant high-energy X-rays of the ESRFs ID15 beamline to investigate GeTe, using the X-ray Pair Distribution Function technique. "The high-energy X-rays available on the ID15 beamline were crucial for this study, as they allowed us to chart the real-space atomic displacements relevant to thermoelectricity in exquisite detail", says Simon Kimber, post-doctoral researcher at the ESRF at the time and first author of the publication. And he adds: "All of the X-ray measurements were performed in collaboration with my peers, and this paper is a testament to the excellent scientific atmosphere and international spirit of collaboration at the ESRF".
At high temperatures (~550 C), which correspond to device operating conditions, researchers observed local structural deviations. At first glance, these seem to break symmetry locally, i.e. to represent static disorder. However, complementary measurements performed with neutrons at ORNL showed that these displacements were actually dynamic, and induced by the high temperature.
To resolve this apparent contradiction, the researchers turned to molecular dynamic simulations performed using the supercomputers at ORNL. This showed that, on average, the atomic structure of GeTe looks highly crystalline. However, snapshots on a picosecond time-sale reveal an intricate pattern of atomic vibrations, which disrupt heat flow.
The X-ray data contained a further mystery: The data showed that the crystal structure of GeTe was much more rigid in certain directions than along others. Theoreticians from Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Chicago, and the University of Costa Rica explained this final piece of the jigsaw. Their model shows that the local fluctuations seen by X-ray scattering actually reinforce chemical bonding in certain directions. This explains the mystery of GeTes properties. Dynamic disorder is found at high temperature, which suppresses heat conduction. However, at the same time it reinforces the overlap of atomic orbitals along the unit cell edges. This favours electrical conduction. The model is surprisingly general, and can be applied to many other materials.
Simon Billinge, professor at Columbia University and co-author of the publication, concludes that "wide adoption of thermoelectrics in devices in households is tantalizingly close, but still out of reach. A better fundamental understanding of the basic science behind what makes current thermoelectrics good will help us take the next step in increasing performance. At that point, every household will have a quiet, efficient solid-state refrigerator, a development comparable to the solid-state lighting revolution we just went through. Advancing this basic understanding is what I find so exciting about this study.
Reference:
Kimber, S.A.J., et al. Nat. Mater. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01483-7
From Fiction to Fact: Gripping trilogy from author Michael Kelley explores the future of chatbot technology.
An Amazon Hot New Release in Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction, Technothrillers and in Metaphysical Science Fiction.
NY, NYThe advent of ChatGPT, aka Chat bot AI, was foretold in the Sci-Fi Thriller The Devil's Calling by Michael Kelley. "The merging of the human mind and the power of artificial intelligence is next step in the evolution or devolution of man," says Kelley.
Michael Kelley's stunning award-winning novel, second in a trilogy, examines and explores the intersections of science and spirituality in the form of an entertaining, literary adventure. Kelley asks the reader to imagine a world where technology allows for direct interface between the human brain and quantum computers. This interface exponentially increases the creative abilities of humanity holding the potential to make war, hunger, poverty, pandemics, and other human suffering obsolete. When human capability is so magnified, how does the human ego resist the temptation toward power and control? Can there be a balance between spirit and ego, between AI and human consciousness? And what happens if this ultimate technological power gets into the wrong hands those who further seek to link minds directly through this quantum computer into an augmented hive-mind?
View the book trailer here: https://bit.ly/TheDevilsCallingTrailer
In Kelley's first book, The Lost Theory, in 2018 the government has an AI Chat bot device that can alter or create any essay or theory to suit its propaganda. This Chat bot program is used to dissemble the lost theory of everything, as a restatement of the standard scientific model, to assure the true groundbreaking theory will never be shared with humanity.
In The Devil's Calling in 2027 Chat bot AI has advanced to the point where our hero literature professor starts receiving AI produced literary frauds in Shakespeare's, Shelley's and finally in his own voice.
In Juno's Song in 2036 the advanced Chat bot AI, now augmented by self-learning, has been implanted in humanoid like robots giving them a distinctly human voice.
"Michael Kelley has delivered a mystical techno-thriller that examines the difficulty of living a peacefuland spiritual life side-by-side with technologies that can strip us of humanity and enable the forces of evil in the world. You'll want to stop reading so you can catch your breath, but you won't be able to. It's that kind of page-turner." Laura Manning Johnson, former CIA WMD analyst and DHS all threats and hazards planner, current adjunct professor at Georgetown University
"I have always loved literature and started writing in college," shares Kelley, "but a lengthy career on Wall Street put my first love on hold. After leaving the financial world, I engaged in studies of quantum physics and the challenges of reconciling the infinitely big with the infinitely small, as well as Eastern mysticism and philosophy that led to me to a theory of everything. That search for an all-encompassing theory inspired the trilogy, serving as a metaphor for the journey of self-realization. In many ways, the story and the writing of the trilogy present the prospect of a second chance at life."
"The Devil's Calling is a brilliant and heart-pounding, epic saga of metaphysical science fiction. It's a journey of self-realization and a cautionary tale for generations to comethe kind of book that hooks you from the start and never let's go until the final sentence of the final page. This sci-fi story pits human-based intelligence against automated thought." John J. Kelly, Detroit Free Press
It's been nine years since Sean Byron McQueen and quantum physics professor Emily Edensaka Mdiscovered his murdered best friend's Theory of Everything. Now, Sean and M live a near-idyllic life on the campus of a college they've established for young women. M's teaching of the new paradigm-shifting theory of constant creation has made her a rock-star scientist. On the eve of M's European tour, Sean receives a disturbing holographic warning that M is in danger, sending him on a quest to protect, at all costs, his beloved partner. He remembers the events of nine years previously and believes that the hand of his nemesis, the Guru, is behind the threat to M.
Sean presumes the Guru is also the mastermind behind Genesis, a super-intelligent Russian computer that will connect humans via a network of direct, brain-to-brain links. Genesis is seen as the next evolutionary step by the wired-in nation (WiN), a group determined to create a New Society. Are the Guru and WiN after M, who is determined to ensure the ethical rollout of the dangerous "hive-mind" technology, or are these threats merely the overactive imaginings of a besotted, overprotective writer? Will the dominoes fall in a way that will threaten not just M, but the very real spiritual potential of all humanity?
"I was inspired to write a trilogy that tracks the adventures and arc of the protagonist over a journey of self-realization," says Kelley. "I quickly realized this labor of love would also serve as a catalyst to my own research and practices of meditation and yoga. If self-realization is real and obtainable in a lifetime or in the momenthow can that not be the primary focus of one's life? By this, I suggest that we should embrace our duty and responsibility to move into a journey of self-discovery."
"Many writers have a daunting task ahead of them to produce a sequel to a complex and involved first novel, especially one as intriguing as The Lost Theory. Michael Kelley has risen to the occasion with The Devil's Callingan equally compelling thriller that finds new and exciting ways to raise the stakes and push the development of established characters in different directions." K.C. Finn, Readers' Favorite
"This book is for readers who are looking to have fun and be challenged," states Kelley. "It won't be interesting if a reader wants cozy, formulaic genre fiction or a politically correct character who has no room to grow or learn from his experiences."
With its sci-fi adventure flavor and emotionally resonant characters, The Devil's Calling invites readers to explore ideas regarding telepathy, consciousness, self-realization, and the implications of emerging technology for humanity. Kelley skillfully wraps deep philosophical concepts in a thrilling, engaging journey of self-discoverypitting spirit against egothat will keep readers in its grip until the last page.
Now an Amazon best seller in Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing, an award winner in Firebird Book Awards in Philosophy, and a recipient of an Honorable Mention for General Fiction at the Paris Book Festival, The Devil's Calling (hardcover) $25.95, ISBN: 978-1626349629, October 2022, Greenleaf Book Group Press, 476 pages, is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble or https://michaelkelleyauthor.com/ The Devil's Calling was ranked an Amazon Hot New Release in Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction, Technothrillers and in Metaphysical Science Fiction.
About Michael Kelley: Michael Kelley, author of The Lost Theory and The Devil's Calling, fell in love with literature and creative writing while at the University of Pennsylvania. He put this passion to the side during a lengthy career on Wall Street, where he worked as a lawyer, built an international business, and founded his own investment management firm. After leaving the financial world, he engaged in studies of quantum physics, Eastern mysticism, and philosophy. From these studies, he developed a "Theory of Everything" which became the basis of his novels.
After years of life in New York City, Michael now lives in the peaceful woods of Dutchess County with his wife and daughter. There, he enjoys meditation, yoga, wine, reading, and hiking, all of which inspire his writing.
Media Contact: For a review copy of The Devil's Calling or to arrange an interview with Michael Kelley, contact Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on twitter @abookpublicist.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk to each other during their meeting in Beijing, China, in this Feb. 4, 2022 file photo. AP-Yonhap
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the plan.
Xi's meeting with Putin will be part of a push for multi-party talks on peace in Ukraine and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used, the report added. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year.
Preparations for the trip at an early stage and the timing has not been finalized, the WSJ said, adding that Xi could visit in April or in early May, when Russia celebrates its World War Two victory over Germany.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi arrived in Moscow on Tuesday as the country appears to be ramping up its diplomatic effort to push for a peace settlement in Ukraine, and just hours after Putin announced Russia was suspending its participation in a landmark nuclear arms treaty with the United States.
Wang will likely discuss Xi's trip while he is in Moscow, WSJ said, quoting people familiar with the summit planning. (Reuters)
As President Biden boarded a European train destined for Kyiv, back in Washington, Rep. James Comer and his team drafted a long-expected letter.
Standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden pledged Monday that the lifeline of economic and military aid to that nation, support already well in excess of $100 billion, would not slack, and that the United States would stand with Ukraine as long as it takes.
Comer, the new chair of the House Oversight Committee, delivered a different message to the Biden administration Wednesday: Save your receipts. All of them.
The committee is calling on the administration to turn over all documents and internal communications regarding any economic assistance programs for the Ukrainian government and to turn over similar material regarding any anti-corruption efforts as they relate to both financial and military aid.
The notice comes on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion. The letter announces the beginning of what promises to be the most comprehensive audit of the war effort to date. It was obtained first and exclusively by RealClearPolitics.
Providing security and humanitarian assistance for warfighting and reconstruction purposes comes with an inherent risk of fraud, waste, and abuse, Comer wrote, before insisting that the U.S. must develop oversight mechanisms to mitigate risks made worse by mandates to spend money quickly.
House Republicans are casting a wide net. The committee wants a comprehensive account of strategies for end-use monitoring of weapons, equipment, direct budgeting assistance, and any other form of economic or security assistance for the Ukrainian people. They are also calling for all materials related to how much federal money has been spent thus far and how much remains in the spending pipeline.
Comer furthermore wants to know about, and calls on the administration to disclose, material related to any benchmarks for success of aid programs as well as any conditions imposed on funds provided as assistance to Ukraine.
The letter was addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Administrator Samantha Powers of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The White House knew it was coming. Speaker Kevin McCarthy said ahead of the midterms that a Republican House wouldnt write a blank check to Ukraine, and it was only a matter of time before the GOP made good on that oversight promise.
There are reasons for concern. While Zelensky rose to power on an anti-corruption platform, the former Eastern Bloc country has a history of struggling with government fraud and graft. They regularly rank toward the bottom of international corruption indexes, a track record that has even ardent supporters of the defensive war worried.
When Sen. Angus King traveled to Ukraine last month, the independent from Maine told RCP he warned Zelensky that misappropriation of funds or misplaced guns could undermine support in the West: I said a scandal would really screw this up.
That message was well received. According to King, He got it immediately. But verbal assurances are not enough to assuage Republican concerns, and according to the Joint Strategic Oversight Plan for Ukraine Response report, the administration has struggled to account exactly for all the billions spent. The Pentagon Inspector General, for instance, warned that the department was unable to provide end-use monitoring in accordance with DoD policy.
One of the specific areas Comer is demanding answers on: The policy requires tracking the serial numbers of weapons and ammunition, as USA Today and others previously noted, to ensure they are used as intended.
Congress has appropriated $113 billion in economic and security aid to Ukraine since Russian tanks rolled across the border. Over the course of two decades, by comparison, the U.S. spent $146 billion to send military and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
The administration insists that they take corruption seriously and have taken steps to guard against it from the beginning of the conflict. They just havent seen any maleficence thus far, according to John Kirby who said last month that neither military nor financial assistance have fallen prey to any kind of corruption in Ukraine.
Correct, Bidens national security spokesman replied without qualification when RCP asked him to confirm that the administration had not yet identified any previous misuse of equipment or misappropriation of funds from the United States.
The Oversight Committee highlighted that exchange in light of reports that Zelensky had fired several senior officials who were allegedly engaged in bribery and misuse of public funds. Based on Mr. Kirbys remarks, Comer wrote in the letter, the U.S. National Security Council appears unaware of this corruption scandal, heightening concerns that U.S. agencies are not conducting oversight of taxpayer assistance to Ukraine.
But responding to those reports directly, Kirby told reporters that the firing of senior Ukrainian officials demonstrated how Zelensky and the U.S. shared concerns over corruption allegations and it is apparent that he takes it seriously. Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs, later echoed that sentiment telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the staffing changes in Kyiv sent a very strong signal to others who would try to rip off this war effort.
If Comer received the signal from afar, he doesnt see anything reassuring in it. The chairman wrote that agencies must work overtime to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars spent in Ukraine are used for their intended purposes to prevent and reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Kentucky Republican is calling on the administration to detail information related to any anti-corruption efforts going back to Feb. 24 of last year, the date of the Russian invasion. His committee expects those materials as soon as possible, but they have given the administration a two-week deadline. The Oversight Committee expects that information no later than March 8, 2023.
A senior administration official told RCP in January that Biden believes oversight is critical and that the administration takes very seriously our responsibility to work with the Ukrainian government to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place so that U.S.-funded assistance reaches those for whom it is intended.
The official reiterated that they have not seen credible evidence of U.S. military aid being used anywhere but the battlefield and pointed RCP to the whole-of-government plan to prevent and counter illicit diversion of weapons and military equipment. That plan was released by the State Department last October, eight months after the conflict began and well after Congress appropriated tens of billions of dollars in aid.
They noted also that economic assistance is administered by the World Bank. The administration contracts with the national consulting firm Deloitte as a third-party monitor to review financial controls and procedures utilized by the Government of Ukraine to track and oversee U.S. funds. USAID administers humanitarian assistance, and according to the official, that agency has internal safeguards to counter fraud while also employing an unnamed third-party contractor to monitor funds.
Republicans say those steps are vague and cold comfort at best in light of the last two decades of prior experience. When it comes to the World Bank and NGOs, they are calling for all material related to how multilateral organizations were employed and want any information regarding any oversight mechanisms.
We learned from efforts in Afghanistan that the World Bank does not always have effective monitoring and accounting of funds, and often lacks transparency, Comer wrote, before adding that unrealistic timelines and expectations that prioritize spending quickly lead to increased corruption and reduced effectiveness of programs.
Conservatives have always been wary of massive government spending. Nothing changes, Comer told RCP last month, just because a war is on. With any massive government spending comes the opportunity for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, he said. Ukraine aid is no different.
While the White House gives Ukraine high marks for steps that theyve taken to root out malfeasance, they insist they are on the lookout. After all, Kirby told reporters last month, corruption remains an ever-present danger in all conflicts. You cant forget that, he said. I mean, its a war.
UPDATE: Feb. 21 at 1:39 p.m.
New information tonight about the incident last Friday night when a man hit a woman with his truck outside Cowboys Bar in Great Falls.
According to charging documents, witnesses said they saw John P. Carr before the crash yelling at the victim about being transgender and verbally expressing anger about that.
During the confrontation, documents said the witness said Carr got into his truck and drove into the victim pinning them against the building.
The witness said she was standing next to the victim and had to move out of the way so she wouldn't get hit.
When officers arrived to the scene, charging documents said the victim was lying on the ground appearing to be is extreme pain with bodily fluids coming out of her mouth.
Benefis Hospital staff said the victim had internal bleeding, a fractured pelvis and an extreme penetrating puncture wound to her left thigh, according to documents.
Carr allegedly fled the scene of the crash and was not identified until the next day after law enforcement received multiple news tips.
Charging documents said when officers located Carr, they saw damage to the passenger-side of the truck's front bumper and a drop of blood near the passenger-side headlight.
In an interview with law enforcement, documents said Carr said he was drinking and was asked to leave bar after "smacking a girl's butt". Documents said Carr said he saw the girl as he was leaving and asked, "Are you one of those transgender people?"
Carr has previous convictions in Nevada for domestic battery in 2014 and in Montana for criminal mischief and disorderly conduct in 2009.
The state of Montana is requesting Carr shall have an alcohol monitoring SCRAM device, the remote alcohol testing device and Soberlink or participation in the 24/7 Program. Carr is responsible for the costs related to alcohol monitoring.
The state requested to set his bond at $75,000.
UPDATE AT 5:32 PM:
The Great Falls Police Department says 57-year-old John P Carr was arrested for the incident at the Cowboys Bar.
Carr has been charged with felony criminal endangerment and misdemeanor leaving the scene of an accident.
The victim is still in the hospital following the incident.
An investigation is still ongoing.
UPDATE:
The suspect has been taken into custody according to the Great Falls Police Department.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Police in Great Falls are looking for a man who reportedly hit another person with his truck and fled.
Around 11:00 pm Friday, officers were called out to the Cowboys Bar on 3rd St. NW and found a man had hit another bar patron with his truck and pinned the victim against the building before taking off northbound.
According to the Great Falls Police Department, before the crash, the man had an argument with the victim and witnesses said it looked like the man purposely drove into the victim.
The victim sustained very serious injuries and was transported to the emergency department for medical care. Their condition at this time is unknown.
The suspect is described as being around 40 years old with shaved/short buzzed hair, short facial hair and a tattoo on the front of his right forearm.
His vehicle is described as an early 2000s silver or metallic Chevy/GMC 2500 4 door truck that is possibly lifted with black fender flares, dark wheels, and a toolbox in the bed.
GFPD says there is some indication the suspect may live outside city limits or even outside of Cascade County.
If you know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect or where the truck is, you are asked to call 9-1-1.
A Liverpool-born new entrant who has started her career in agriculture has told others that it is 'never too late to learn about farming'.
Nadine Evans, aged in her early 50s, has got no farming background whatsoever but where theres a will theres often a way.
Her farming career is off to a start thanks to Square Farm, a family farm in Monmouthshire, who have given Nadine hands-on experience at their 190-acre mixed organic farm.
Nadine has also undertaken a wide range of training through Farming Connect, which is a Welsh government funded scheme.
To boost all the practical skills which I practice every day under the experienced eyes of this very professional and patient farming family, I turned to Farming Connect.
"I wanted to be up to speed on the theory side and to prove my own levels of knowledge," Nadine explained.
She reports directly to Robert Whittall of Square Farm, who is the second generation to farm there, and his son Ryan.
The mixed farm is run on traditional lines and Nadine helps with daily checking and husbandry of all the cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, geese and three ponies, making sure that they have sufficient food and water and keeping a watchful eye for potential issues.
Nadine's farming career is off to a start thanks to Square Farm, a family farm in Monmouthshire
I feel confident I know when everythings fine which it usually is with an outdoor spring lambing flock bred for quality and performance," she said.
"But I also know the signals if a sheep or any other of the farm animals should happen to be in difficulty or showing any early signs of health problems."
Cereal and root crops are grown for animal feed and an increasing number of vegetable crops are produced to stock the popular Square Farm shop.
Nadine has attended Farming Connects animal health and welfare workshops on topics including lambing losses, sheep parasite control and Bovine Viral Diarrhoea and she has also studied more than 20 fully funded e-learning courses on animal health issues.
With each online course taking around 20 minutes and offering a short self-assessment test at the end, Ive built up a huge amount of knowledge," Nadine explained.
She has studied topics ranging from specific diseases and health conditions such as lambing issues, lameness, eye and respiratory problems to body condition scoring, biosecurity and antimicrobial resistance.
Nadine graduated with an environmental degree when she left school because a careers adviser warned her that no agricultural college would give her a place without direct farming experience.
Then after marriage and more than 17 house moves - her husband was in the forces - and a succession of jobs working with horses, in her 40s she decided to read for the bar.
Unfortunately, following changes to the UKs legal aid system, Nadine decided not to pursue a legal career.
In 2012, with her husband by then retired from military life, the couple moved to rural Monmouthshire, where she applied for a job as a volunteer animal checker with the local wildlife trust.
I loved the outdoor work and then became a grassland trainee, which is when I became aware of just how much guidance and training was available through Farming Connect."
When her traineeship ended, Nadine decided it was the perfect time to seek hands-on work experience with a local farm.
She met up with the Whittall family in 2020 and has been almost a permanent fixture ever since.
Calling me a farm worker would be overstating my role, because Im still learning every day," Nadine said.
"But thanks to working alongside this family together with everything Ive learned, Im gradually building up my confidence and have a lot more farming knowledge and skills.
Nadine also obtained her tractor driving certificate through Farming Connects accredited training course funding.
She was recently honoured when the family asked her to drive the 200 horsepower tractor plus 2.5 tonne cultivator and a robotic weeder for newly-planted organic vegetable seedlings.
Mr Whittall had already taught me how to drive, handle and maintain all sorts of tractors and farm machinery," Nadine explained.
"But attending two days of both classroom-based and practical training out in the field, has been a huge boost to my confidence and Ive now got a recognised tractor-driving qualification."
All her Farming Connect achievements and accredited learning certificates have been uploaded on Nadines online Storfa Sgiliau record and she is already planning her next training courses.
She said: Its great to know that Ive finally got a credible farming cv!
A dairy farmer from Cheshire has been honoured at NFU Conference for his dedication and commitment to the UK farming industry.
This years Meurig Raymond Award named after the NFUs former President was presented to Cheshire farmer Phil Smallwood on Tuesday night (21 February).
Farming in Middlewich, he is well known for delivering the award-winning Lets Talk Farming marquee at the Royal Cheshire Show, as well as promoting farming to the public at other events across the county.
He also works closely with local schools to organise educational visits and, over the past 30 years, has hosted hundreds of young children and teenagers on his farm.
A third-generation farmer, Phil is also a dedicated supporter of several farming charities, raising funds for the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) and Farming Community Network.
He said: I feel that as a farmer its really important to be getting out there and promoting the industry, thats why I do what I do. You cant expect other people to be doing it for you .
It started more than 30 years ago when I joined the NFU, and when I got the promotional trailer the idea was to do about half a dozen events every year.
"Last year we went to 29 events and the diarys already full for this year," Phil said.
Commenting on the award, NFU Director General Terry Jones said Phil "really stood out as the worthy overall winner".
Phils one of those unsung farming heroes," he said, "When hes not running his own farming business, hes more than happy to provide an authentic voice as part of NFU campaigns.
Phils commitment and positivity in promoting British food and farming throughout his local community, across Cheshire and the North West, makes him a very worthy winner of this years award.
Phil, representing NFU North West, was selected from eight nominees drawn from each of the NFUs seven English regions and NFU Cymru.
A new guide has been launched today designed to help farmers and landowners to understand and address ash dieback.
Sustainable farming organisation LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) has produced a practical manual with expert guidance.
The Farmers Guide to Ash Dieback outlines six steps to help farmers and landowners identify, assess and manage ash dieback.
The free resource includes sections on identifying and assessing ash dieback, as well as protecting and restoring trees on-farm.
It also looks at wider health and safety issues, legal obligations around felling, ways to reduce the costs involved in managing ash dieback.
Ash dieback is present across the UK and is a pressing problem for an increasing number of farmers and landowners.
Speaking on the launch of the guide, Defra Biosecurity Minister, Lord Benyon said it would support farmers to be proactive in the management of their ash trees and the risks associated with this disease.
"But also in helping to ensure that healthy ash trees remain as a precious and much-loved feature of our landscapes," he said.
Project lead Eleanor Marks, who is technical officer at LEAF, explained how the new guide could benefit farmers and the wider industry.
"After hosting a programme of farmer workshops, it was clear there was a real need to raise awareness around the implications of ash dieback and crucially, to provide farmers with support and guidance on how to manage it.
The feedback from farmers was that a practical, easily accessible guidance book, backed up with a series of explanatory videos, would offer an effective way to help them tackle this devastating disease and protect or restore trees on farm.
We are delighted to have developed this practical resource to enable farmers and landowners to make informed decisions."
The free guide set out to understand farmers knowledge of tree health and how best to improve it.
The guide addresses the needs and expertise of both farmers, tree health experts and land managers.
It was developed as part of the Knowledge to Action Project, a Defra funded research programme involving LEAF, Forest Research and the University of Exeter.
British egg producers have criticised Sainsbury's after the retailer confirmed it is temporarily stocking imported eggs from Italy due to shortages.
The retailer is facing fresh criticism from the sector after eggs imported from Italy were again spotted on shelves this week.
The barn eggs are supplied by Italian supplier Atlante Ingredients and are selling for 1.35 per half dozen.
Sainsbury's makes a point of promoting their strict adherence to stocking 100% RSPCA Assured Eggs, but when they started importing eggs in November, it sparked an angry backlash.
One anonymous producer, quoted on an egg industry forum on the app Telegram, said: Very good of the RSPCA to say nothing on the matter.
"Even better that their website wrongly suggests that all eggs at Sainsburys are RSPCA Assured. That is unless they are now certifying Italian barn eggs?"
He added: "They (RSPCA Scheme) happily take membership fees from pullet readers, laying farms and packers along the way. Every farmer should question why they continue to pay their fees in return for no support.
The RSPCA Assured Scheme has a membership fee, with farmers having to adhere to the RSPCAs detailed animal welfare standards.
Farms are visited regularly by an RSPCA Assessor to ensure good animal welfare. However, the fees more than doubled in the summer of 2021 for members.
The barn eggs, from Italian supplier Atlante Ingredients, are selling for 1.35 per half dozen (Photo: Macs Farm)
There is a one-off joining fee of 36. A site revisit is then charged at 199 and an additional farm livestock officer visit at 325. A fee of 125 is also charged for derogation and exception requests.
At the time, Robert Gooch, BFREPA CEO said: It is always disappointing when producer costs increase, particularly when egg prices are in the doldrums or are in some cases falling.
Last year the RSPCA joined the NFU to launch a new report calling for transparency and consistency in animal welfare standards in the UK's trade policy.
Furthermore, through their post-Brexit poll, they ascertained that the UK public care about what they eat and how it is produced.
The poll showed that more than the majority (80%) of the British public believe that UK animal welfare standards should apply to imports.
The RSPCA are quoted last June as saying: We need to maintain standards on product imports to the UK by stating that produce entering the country should always be produced to those same, important, high standards."
However, the sector has pointed out that imported Italian eggs on Sainsbury's shelves belong to no such assurance scheme.
This was verified by a RSPCA spokesperson, who explained that Sainsburys own-branded eggs are all RSPCA Assured, but they do stock other branded eggs which arent.
The barn eggs are supplied by Italian supplier Atlante Ingredients and are selling for 1.35 per half dozen, which is a departure from Sainsburys policy to stock only free-range eggs.
A Sainsburys spokesperson said: "Currently supermarkets are experiencing some supply challenges with eggs.
"At Sainsburys we are committed to sourcing British as much as possible and continue to work hard with our suppliers across the UK to ensure customers can buy what they need.
"To help maintain availability we are also temporarily sourcing some branded eggs from Italy, which will be clearly labelled on the packaging."
The supermarket chain added: We have a longstanding commitment to only stock cage free eggs, which is why we are temporarily sourcing the Italian eggs.
"100% of our own brand eggs are also committed to being RSPCA assured, our Italian eggs are sold under the Atlanta brand.
Sainsburys has sold RSPCA Assured eggs since 2009 and still remains the largest retailer of RSPCA Assured products.
A RSPCA Assured spokesperson said: We can confirm that all Sainsbury's own-brand eggs are 100% RSPCA Assured, and whether barn or free-range, eggs carrying the RSPCA Assured label are always higher welfare.
However, we are aware that some supermarkets are temporarily stocking imported eggs due to shortages.
"We therefore encourage customers to continue to look for the RSPCA Assured logo to ensure that the eggs they buy meet the RSPCA's market leading higher welfare standards.
Whilst many retailers blamed the shortage on the avian influenza outbreaks, BFREPA CEO Robert Gooch has accused supermarkets of using the outbreaks as an excuse.
Concerns that egg buyers were not doing enough to assist producers facing mounting production costs were made apparent as far back as spring last year, but were largely ignored.
Mr Gooch said in November: "Instead of investing in and managing a proper British supply chain, which is what [the retailers] claim to do for their customers, they have broken that supply chain and they are now importing substandard products.
He also warned that importing eggs would undermine consumer confidence in Sainsburys.
Next Story : Women In Blue Beat Pakistan In Their Opening Encounter in Womens T20 WC
Recently, the Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital in Dhobi Talao opened the state's first dedicated unit for transgender people. The 30-bed facility, which includes gender-neutral restrooms, examination rooms, and a dressing room, is a big step towards delivering healthcare for the third gender.Girish Mahajan, the medical education minister, inaugurated the transgender ward ' on the second floor. The ward number is 13. The minister said that the facility would give comprehensive care to community members suffering from physical and mental illnesses.The UP government announced last year that all district hospitals would set up transgender wards. The second such ward in Maharashtra would be established at Pune's Sassoon Hospital.The GT Hospital administration stated that standard operating protocols for the ward have been prepared. Dr Pallavi Saple, Dean of JJ Hospital, said that there was a need for a separate ward for the third gender because there were concerns about their safety and comfort in the traditional male and female wards.A legal advisor and a counsellor have also been engaged by the institution. During their hospital stay, the hospital will evaluate them for sero-surveillance and mental health issues in addition to treating their present ailment.
Germany imported apparel worth $38.496 billion from the world in January-October 2022, and its full year imports are likely to surpass the inbound shipment of $41.969 billion during 2021. The trade has already exceeded the figures for 2020 and 2021. Imports from China, Turkiye, and India remained bearish in recent years, but the imports from Bangladesh noticed an impressive growth.
Germany imported apparel worth $37.101 billion in 2020, $38.450 billion in 2019, $39.355 billion in 2018, and $36.855 billion in 2017. The imports grew to $12.403 billion in Q3 2022 from $10.750 billion in Q2 2022. The countrys inbound shipment was $11.186 billion in Q1 2022, $11.391 billion in Q4 2021, and $11.155 billion in Q3 2021, according to Fibre2Fashions market insight tool TexPro.
Country-wise imports by Germany reveal an interesting trend in trade. Germanys imports from China have decreased or stagnated since 2019. Chinas supply decreased to $5.337 billion in 2019 from $5.905 billion in 2018 and $5.988 billion in 2017. It further slipped to $5.163 billion in 2020 due to COVID but slightly increased to $5.447 billion in 2021 and $5.402 billion in 2022 (till October). Germanys imports from Turkiye also decreased to $2.621 billion in 2019 from $2.866 billion in 2018. The trade improved to $2.936 billion in 2021 after shrinking in 2020 to $2.612 billion. Germany imported apparel worth $2.961 billion this year until October. The imports from India also declined to $853.088 million in 2020 after recording trade at $1,010.078 million in 2019, $1,089.560 million in 2018, and $1,068.229 million in 2017. The supply from India increased to $988.976 million in 2021 and $983.083 million in 2022 until October, as per TexPro.
Germany imported apparel worth $38.496 billion from the world in January-October 2022, and its full year imports are likely to surpass the inbound shipment of $41.969 billion during 2021. The trade has already exceeded the figures for 2020 and 2021. Imports from China, Turkey, and India remained bearish, but imports from Bangladesh noticed impressive growth.
However, among the major suppliers, Bangladesh was the only country that managed to register an impressive growth in supplies to Germany. Germanys imports from Bangladesh increased to $5.166 billion in 2022 (till October), which was $3.948 billion in 2017. The trade was $4.725 billion in 2021, $4.009 billion in 2020, $4.261 billion in 2019, and $4.441 billion in 2018.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 21, 2023 / GRI
The public comment period for an exposure draft that proposes a significant revamp to the Biodiversity Standard (GRI 304) closes on 28 February. This reporting standard is being revised in response to growing pressures for organizations to do more to demonstrate accountability for their impacts, in the face of a global biodiversity crisis.
During the 12-week consultation, GRI has reached out to stakeholders around the world through a series of events. Following GRI engagements at COP15 (the UN Biodiversity Conference held in Montreal in December), six global webinars attracted high interest. Further sessions were held for Spanish and Portuguese speakers, as well as a dedicated event for the Africa region. Collectively, these events attracted some 2,400 attendees.
Judy Kuszewski, Chair of GRI's Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), said: "I encourage all stakeholders and interested parties to participate in this consultation, and help shape a standard that will be the global focal point for accountability on biodiversity impacts. Improved reporting - across sectors, regions and supply chains - is crucial for addressing information gaps and informing global solutions."
As the public comment period draws to a conclusion, reporting organizations, data users and other stakeholders are asked to review the draft and submit feedback by completing this online form. All contributions will be considered by the multi-stakeholder Technical Committee that is leading the review process, to inform final changes before the revised Biodiversity Standard is expected in Q4 2023.
Th exposure draft puts forward a package of revisions, including:
Broader reporting that reflects impacts throughout the supply chain;
New disclosures to connect with the direct drivers of biodiversity loss, such as climate change;
Requirements for disclosure on biodiversity-related human rights impacts;
Emphasis on site-specific data, reflecting where the biodiversity impacts take place.
Crucially, the revision of GRI 304 builds on the latest authoritative insights in the field, including extensive engagement and alignment with other global biodiversity frameworks and initiatives.
Read the Medium article by GRI's Elodie Chene, reflecting on the Global Biodiversity Framework signed at COP15 and what it means in terms of increased disclosure expectations for the private sector.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent, international organization that helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing the global common language to report those impacts.
The GRI Standards - the world's most widely used sustainability reporting standards - are developed through a multi-stakeholder process and provided as a free public good. Organizations start with the Universal Standards, then use applicable Sector Standard(s) to determine material topics, and report on those with Topic Standards.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from GRI on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: GRI
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/gri
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: GRI
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740291/One-Week-To-Go-in-GRI-Biodiversity-Consultation
TOKYO, Feb 22, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu today announced that it has joined the SAP Regional Strategic Services Partner (RSSP) initiative, established by SAP Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) (1), to support customers' digital transformation (DX) in Japan and across the Asia Pacific region.Through this initiative, Fujitsu aims to offer customers with multinational presence in the Asia Pacific region comprehensive support for the modernization and cloud migration of core systems from implementation to operation.Fujitsu will also scale its ability to develop SAP-enabled solutions adapted to local business practice and legal systems of each country, delivering DX solutions to customers across the APJ region. Through close collaboration with SAP, Fujitsu aims to help customers migrate to cloud infrastructures by adopting solutions such as RISE with SAP (2).Participation in the SAP RSSP initiative represents an important milestone for Fujitsu as part of its vision for "Business Applications" to support more sustainable business transformation under Fujitsu Uvance, Fujitsu's portfolio of global solutions to realize a sustainable world.Delivering on the promise of DX for customers in manufacturing and retail Fujitsu, which has a long track record in the manufacturing and retail sectors, will support customers through this initiative by driving digital transformation of their businesses through modernization of core systems, including the digitalization of management and business processes.1. Consulting services for seamless cloud migrationBased on SAP solutions, Fujitsu will support customers' end-to-end digital transformation by combining its consulting know-how for building business systems and cloud implementation with its portfolio of digital solutions. Fujitsu will further support one-stop system deployment and streamline decision-making processes by offering a comprehensive solution for customers with business bases in multiple countries.2. Development of SAP-enabled solutions tailored to local needsFujitsu will develop new industry solutions such as "Fujitsu Application for SAP Solutions" for the manufacturing industry and "Fujitsu Profit Protection" for the retail industry, both of which can be integrated with "SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)" (3).Together with SAP, Fujitsu aims to deliver new solutions that address the different business practices and legal systems of each region and country in the Asia Pacific region and add high value to customers' business.Paul Marriott, President, SAP Asia Pacific Japan, comments:"Fujitsu has been a long-standing customer and partner of SAP and we are delighted they are taking the next step in becoming our newest partner to join SAP's Regional Strategic Services Partner initiative. Closer collaboration and innovation with our partners, is critical to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our customers and support them on their cloud transformation journeys. Fujitsu's experience implementing RISE with SAP for their own digital transformation demonstrates its commitment to its own and our customers' growth, scaling from Japan through the rest of the region."Shunsuke Onishi, SEVP, Head of Global Customer Success, Fujitsu, comments:"Together with SAP, Fujitsu has been focusing on providing customers with recommendations to extract maximum value from combining technology and applications. Through this RSSP initiative, we will contribute to the creation of a flexible and scalable foundation to meet the diverse needs of our customers. Together we will be providing best practice recommendations to customers who work beyond national and regional boundaries."(1) SAP Asia Pacific Japan :Organization that oversees SAP companies in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan.(2) RISE with SAP :SAP's bundled cloud offering for Business Transformation as a Service, based on SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP Business Technology Platform.(3) SAP Business Technology Platform :Innovation platform optimized for SAP applications in the cloud, that brings together data and analytics, artificial intelligence, application development, and automation, in one unified environment.About FujitsuFujitsu's purpose is to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. As the digital transformation partner of choice for customers in over 100 countries, our 124,000 employees work to resolve some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Our range of services and solutions draw on five key technologies: Computing, Networks, AI, Data & Security, and Converging Technologies, which we bring together to deliver sustainability transformation. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.6 trillion yen (US$32 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 and remains the top digital services company in Japan by market share. Find out more: www.fujitsu.com.Source: Fujitsu LtdCopyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With a global health worker shortage accelerating the demand for internationally educated nurses in industrialized countries, CGFNS International, a global leader in credentials evaluation to support health worker mobility, has established an advisory board of experts to help the organization support the needs of a growing cadre of migrating health professionals.
The Global Advisory Board on Pathways to Mobility for Health Workers- comprising 11 accomplished leaders in health worker credentialing, e-learning systems and digital credentialing technologies - will convene over the next four months to help establish a vision and a roadmap for the future of verifying and promoting the knowledge-based practice competencies of health workers.
Given recent trends identified in the CGFNS Nurse Migration Report 2022: Trends in Healthcare Migration to the United States, applications through the organization's VisaScreen Servicehave more than doubled over the past five years, as the growing health worker shortage has left health systems struggling to fill vacancies. Meanwhile, BMJ Global Health estimated a worldwide shortfall of 15 million health workers in 2020.
In light of this shortage, many health systems are under pressure to accelerate hiring and will turn to internationally qualified health professionals seeking to migrate. At the same time, these highly technically skilled professionals must be properly evaluated, qualified and credentialed to perform the work that is critical to patient safety and quality of care.
"Increasing global mobility among nurses and other health professionals is vitally important to ensuring that they can be hired wherever and whenever they are needed. Verifying previous training and credentials of migrating nurses is a complicated process critically important to patient safety, but amid the nursing shortage there is a growing need to make it quicker, more efficient, more secure and to harden it against fraud," said CGFNS President and CEO Peter Preziosi.
"Fortunately, emerging technologies and practice innovations offer the promise of globally-available digital credentials or badges that are more secure and more easily verifiable across borders," said Preziosi. "Whether it's automating manual verification of licenses and transcripts, or developing online methods of assessing knowledge in both clinical and desktop settings, the challenge is to ensure that these solutions raise the bar for quality of care and patient safety."
"Guided by a commitment to standards, we need to drive our industry toward further developing and adopting these types of solutions as quickly as possible, and with our new advisory board we are bringing together some of the best minds from credentialing, edtech and digital innovation to help point the way on this highly complex issue," he added.
The Global Advisory Board on Pathways to Mobility for Health Workerswill convene three times by mid-year. It will seek ways to expand and support collaborative efforts to build a new framework for testing and credential verification solutions on a global scale, thereby strengthening career development and health systems worldwide.
Members of the board are listed below. Further information about them can be found at cgfns.org/global-advisory-board:
Jay Cannon, Partner, Trinisys
Kathy Chappell, Senior VP, American Nurses Credentialing Center
Rina Desai, Principal/Owner, Eigen X and Trifactor
Paul Diefenbach, Associate Professor, Drexel University Digital Media Department
Cynthia Johansen, Registrar & Chief Executive Officer, British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives
Brigette Lumpkins, Business Development, Stax
Martin Lund, Founder & CTO, RSVP/SM Solutions
Jyllene Miller, Global Growth Executive
Monique Morrow, Senior Distinguished Architect, Syniverse Technologies
Simone Ravaioli, Director, Parchment
Rolf Reinhardt, LinkedIn & International Council on Badges and Credentials
About CGFNS International, Inc.
Founded in 1977 and based in Philadelphia, CGFNS International is an immigration-neutral not-for-profit organization proudly serving as the world's largest credentials evaluation organization for the nursing and allied health professions. For more information, visit www.cgfns.org.
Contact Information:
Mukul Bakhshi, Esq.
Chief of Strategy and Government Affairs
mbakhshi@cgfns.org
(215) 243-5825
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CapitaLand China Data Centre Partners will develop two hyperscale
data centres in Greater Beijing, bringing CapitaLand's data centre portfolio to 26 across Asia and Europe
SINGAPORE, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) has established a China data centre development fund, CapitaLand China Data Centre Partners (CDCP). CDCP has committed to invest in two hyperscale data centre development projects in Greater Beijing, and upon completion of the projects, will add approximately S$1 billion to CLI's funds under management.
Total equity committed to CDCP is S$530 million, with existing and new global institutional investor clients holding an 80% effective stake in CDCP, and CLI holding the remaining 20%. CDCP's establishment is in line with CLI's strategy to grow its portfolio of new economy assets under management and enhance long-term business resilience.
The data centre development projects are expected to be completed in 2025 and will deliver over 100 megawatts (MW) of power to meet growing demand from the world's most populous national capital city. Located close to established data centre clusters and key network nodes of leading Chinese cloud service providers and internet companies, the two data centres are poised to capture strong demand from Beijing.
Mr Patrick Boocock, CEO, Private Equity Alternative Assets, CLI, who also oversees the growth of CLI's global data centre business, said: "As one of the fastest growing new economy asset classes providing critical digital infrastructure for the global economy, data centres present a tremendous opportunity and are a key strategic focus for CLI. We have built core competencies in data centre design, development, commercial sales and operations, with 26 data centres across Asia and Europe that will offer more than 500 MW of power on a completed basis. We are seeing strong investor interest as the surge in demand for cloud computing, 5G technology, and e-commerce are driving growth in this sector. Leveraging our strength in real estate, we are actively building our capabilities in real assets and growing our alternative assets platform. CDCP is our third data centre development fund, following the establishment of two such funds in South Korea. We are excited to bring our capabilities to the China market and advance our ambition of becoming a major global digital infrastructure player."
Mr Puah Tze Shyang, CEO of CLI China, said: "As a leading global real estate investment manager with about 30 years of experience in China, we are able to leverage our wide network and deep expertise to bring quality assets to international investors who are keen to invest in China across different asset classes including data centres. CLI's competitive advantage lies in our position as a vertically integrated group in China with a full range of capabilities, from investment sourcing, development, having a strong customer network to operations. We have S$46 billion[1] of assets under management in China."
Ms Michelle Lee, Managing Director, Private Funds (Data Centre), CLI, said: "CDCP will invest in two highly sought-after data centre projects in prime locations. China's data centre market is currently the second largest in the world and the largest in Asia Pacific[2], and is projected to grow 24%[3] annually until 2025. There is strong interest in CLI's future data centre projects in China and Asia Pacific at large, and we are actively seeking to grow in this sector."
China's rapid digitalisation driving demand for data centres
The accelerated growth of digital usage in China is driving demand for data centres. In 2021, China's data centre market grew 34.6% year-on-year to S$60 billion, following an impressive 43.3% year-on-year growth in 2020 partly due to increased online demand amid COVID-19[4]. In keeping with its 14th Five-Year Plan, China aims to increase the contribution of digital economy businesses to its GDP to 10% by 2025. It is increasing its support for 6G research and development as well as boosting innovation in strategic industries. Against this background, cloud computing has emerged as a critical component of digital technology, with China's public cloud service market growing 35% in 1H 2022[5].
CapitaLand's global data centre portfolio
CapitaLand has a portfolio of 26 data centres in Asia and Europe with total assets under management of S$6 billion on completed basis. Its vertically integrated data centre capabilities in Singapore, China, India, South Korea and Europe enable it to value add at every stage of the asset's life cycle.
Leveraging CLI's fund management capabilities, CLI set up its first data centre fund in October 2020 and a second data centre fund in May 2021 with 100% third-party capital.
Green features of CDCP's assets
The two data centres will be designed, built and certified against Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards. They will incorporate energy-saving solutions, such as high efficiency fan wall cooling systems, adopt temperature management best practices, and recycle waste heat from the servers to heat offices. Together, these eco-friendly solutions and initiatives can achieve over 20% in energy savings when compared to other data centres using conventional cooling and heating systems. The data centres will also feature rooftop solar energy harvesting systems to generate on-site renewable power to reduce carbon footprint, as well as intelligent infrastructure management systems which optimise and improve the energy efficiency of the operating systems.
About CapitaLand Investment Limited (www.capitalandinvest.com)
Headquartered and listed in Singapore, CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) is a leading global real estate investment manager (REIM) with a strong Asia foothold. As at 30 September 2022, CLI had about S$130 billion of real estate assets under management, and about S$86 billion of real estate funds under management (FUM) held via six listed real estate investment trusts and business trusts, and about 30 private vehicles across Asia Pacific, Europe and USA. Its diversified real estate asset classes cover retail, office, lodging, business parks, industrial, logistics and data centres.
CLI aims to scale its FUM and fee-related earnings through fund management, lodging management and its full stack of operating capabilities, and maintain effective capital management. As the investment management arm of CapitaLand Group, CLI has access to the development capabilities of and pipeline investment opportunities from CapitaLand's development arm.
As a responsible company, CLI places sustainability at the core of what it does and has committed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. CLI contributes to the environmental and social well-being of the communities where it operates, as it delivers long-term economic value to its stakeholders.
Follow @CapitaLand on social media
Facebook: @capitaland / facebook.com/capitaland
Instagram: @capitaland / instagram.com/capitaland
Twitter: @capitaLand / twitter.com/capitaland
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/capitaland-limited
YouTube: youtube.com/capitaland
Issued by: CapitaLand Investment Limited (Co. Regn.: 200308451M)
Important Notice
The admission and listing of CapitaLand Investment Limited on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited was sponsored by J.P. Morgan (S.E.A.) Limited. J.P. Morgan (S.E.A.) Limited assumes no responsibility for the contents of this announcement.
[1] As at 30 September 2022
[2] Report by Savills: Asia Pacific Data Centres
[3] Report by Technavio: Data Centre Market in China by Component - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025
[4] KZ Consulting
[5] IDC China
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One year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, current and former CEOs from ISS, Microsoft Poland, PepsiCo, and Unilever join Tent Partnership for Refugees in announcing the Tent European Business Summit
June summit will mobilize European businesses to accelerate the economic integration of Ukrainian refugee women and other refugees
LONDON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of the one-year milestone of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Tent Partnership for Refugees (Tent) - a global network of over 300 companies committed to economically integrating refugees - has announced a summit to bring leading businesses together to accelerate the economic integration of Ukrainian refugee women and other refugees in the UK and across Europe. This occasion comes as eight million refugees - overwhelmingly women - have fled Ukraine into Europe. Taking place in Paris on 19 June, to mark World Refugee Week, the Tent European Business Summit will feature major companies announcing bold corporate pledges and initiatives to hire and train tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine and other parts of the world.
Business leaders including CEO of ISS Jacob Aarup-Andersen, CEO of Microsoft Poland Dominika Bettman, Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo Ramon Laguarta, and former CEO of Unilever Paul Polman join Chobani CEO and Tent Founder Hamdi Ulukaya in co-hosting this summit and issuing an urgent call to action to major employers across Europe to step up with tangible commitments in support of refugees.
"European governments have stepped up to welcome Ukrainian women fleeing the war but businesses must now do their part to help them find jobs and provide for themselves. This is the most important step in helping refugees integrate into their new communities," said Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder of Tent and Chobani CEO. "That is the purpose of the Tent European Business Summit, and alongside the visionary CEOs joining today, I urge other business leaders across Europe to step up, reduce barriers, and hire Ukrainian refugee women. They will strengthen your workforce and deserve to not just survive, but thrive as they rebuild and restart their lives."
Tent has been at the forefront of making the business case for companies to integrate refugees, having previously shown that refugees have higher retention rates and that companies are more attractive for all employees when they hire refugees. Today, Tent broadens that body of work by releasing a new pan-European survey exploring refugee-related company activities.
51 percent of the more than 5,600 European consumers surveyed are more likely to purchase from brands that hire refugees, with only 12 percent less likely, showing 4 times as many consumers support as oppose brands taking this action.
This response actually exceeds the percentage (49 percent) of consumers more likely to buy from brands donating money to refugee-related causes, a dramatic shift from Tent's earlier surveys of European consumers, which showed substantially higher support for brands donating money.
Consumers of all ages exhibit strong support for companies hiring refugees.
While public opinion towards refugees can appear polarised, European consumers of all political views support companies hiring refugees; even those identifying as conservative support, by wide margins, companies hiring refugees, recognising, for example, that when refugees work they pay taxes instead of relying on government support.
"Hiring refugees is one of the smartest things a business can do, but refugees often struggle with steep challenges in their path towards economic integration - language barriers, absence of social and professional networks, lack of understanding of the local labour market, and for Ukrainian refugee women in particular, higher childcare and domestic burdens," said Gideon Maltz, CEO of Tent. "Tent's unique role is helping companies reduce these barriers so that they can hire refugees at scale; we stand ready to support the European business community in these growing efforts."
Helping Ukrainian refugee women overcome these hurdles and helping businesses integrate them into their workforce is the focus of Tent's Sunflower Project, an initiative launched last year. The Tent European Business Summit builds on this work and Tent's new film "To Whom It May Concern" spotlights this population to further rally the business community. The 75-second spot - which features illustrations and voiceover from several Ukrainian female artists - showcases the extraordinary strength, skill, and resilience of Ukrainian refugee women often overlooked by potential employers as they seek to rebuild their lives.
Jacob Aarup-Andersen, CEO of ISS A/S, said: "As one of the world's largest employers, ISS is guided by a steadfast belief that a diverse and inclusive workforce makes for the most creative, productive, and successful business. It also allows your employees, no matter what their background might be, to feel a profound sense of belonging and purpose - and I've been touched to witness this amongst our Ukrainian refugee employees around Europe. At ISS, we are proud to be a partner of Tent and invite other business leaders to join us in embracing refugee talent, foster an inclusive work environment, and offer these resilient individuals the fresh start they deserve."
Dominika Bettman, CEO of Microsoft Poland, said: "With Poland welcoming more Ukrainian refugees than any other country in Europe, we have seen first-hand their plight in exile. As a long-time member of the Tent Partnership supporting refugees, it's been inspirational to see companies in Poland stand up like never before to support the people of Ukraine. Companies across Europe can and must do more, and I urge business leaders across the continent to unite with us and pledge to support Ukrainian refugee women and all refugees with the work and the dignity they deserve."
Ramon Laguarta, Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo, said: "PepsiCo is proud to continue building upon our work with the Tent Partnership for Refugees, which includes our commitment to hire 500 refugees in the United States as well as supporting refugees through mentoring and job opportunities in Europe. We are committed to expanding our impact in the region and know we can effect meaningful change when business leaders join forces to welcome and hire Ukrainians and other refugees into the workforce. Because when we uplift those in need, we can help create stronger communities."
Paul Polman, Business Leader, Campaigner and Former CEO of Unilever, said: "Businesses more than ever must lead with purpose, act responsibly, and come together to solve the biggest challenges of our times. Aside from the moral imperative, it makes clear business sense. With millions of refugees displaced all over Europe and the grim milestone ahead, companies which welcome, integrate and empower refugees will benefit from their talents, support their economic independence and be rewarded by customers and wider society too."
For media enquiries:
Tent Partnership for Refugees - media@tent.org
About the Tent Partnership for Refugees
With more and more refugees displaced for longer periods of time, businesses have a critical role to play in helping refugees integrate economically in their new host communities. The Tent Partnership for Refugees mobilizes the global business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of more than 36 million refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries. Founded by Chobani's founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya in 2016, we are a network of over 300 major companies committed to including refugees. Tent believes that companies can most sustainably support refugees by leveraging their core business operations and hiring, training, and mentoring refugees. Tent currently has presence in ten markets across Europe and the Americas including the United Kingdom, Poland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Visit www.tent.org and contact info@tent.org to learn more.
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COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT NO. 5-2023
22 February 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark
Highlights in FY 2022
Mining service order intake growth of 37% and service revenue growth of 32%
Adjusted Mining EBITA margin of 10.6% 1
Cement service order intake growth of 9% and service revenue growth of 12%
Cement continued its positive trend on improving profitability with a 3.3% EBITA margin
Positive cash flow from operations
Acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK) 2 completed
completed New Non-Core Activities segment established as of Q4 2022 with focus on full exit
Launch of new pure play strategies for Mining and Cement - CORE'26 and GREEN'26
Mining order intake increased 20% organically as a result of improved service activity compared to 2021. Including currency effects and the impact from the acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK), order intake increased by 34%, comprising a 37% increase in service orders and a 30% increase in capital orders. Cement order intake increased 5% organically compared to 2021. Group order intake increased by 16% organically, driven by both Mining and Cement. Currency tailwinds and the acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK) supported order intake in the quarter by 7% and 5%, respectively.
Group CEO, Mikko Keto, commented: "We kickstarted our pure play strategy transformation in 2022, and we have already seen positive effects from some of the implemented changes during 2022. Throughout the year, our legacy FLSmidth Mining business showed a sustained strong growth in order intake and revenue especially due to improved Service activity. Cement has shown a stable performance and continued the positive trend of improving profitability, and thereby returned to positive EBITA. As a result of this, we delivered an improved performance in 2022 with Mining and Cement revenue growth of 29% and 7% over 2021, respectively. Revenue and EBITA margin for the Group, Mining, Cement and Non-Core Activities all ended in line with our latest FY 2022 guidance."
Financial performance 2022
Mining revenue increased organically by 14% and by 29% including currency effects and the additional revenue coming from the acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK). The adjusted Mining EBITA margin was 10.6%*. Including integration costs related to the Mining Technologies (ex-TK) acquisition of DKK 252m and costs of DKK 200m related to the exit of our activities in Russia, the reported Mining EBITA margin was 7.6%.
Cement revenue increased 2% organically and by 7% including favourable currency effects. Cement EBITA continued the positive trend seen during 2022, driven by the increased revenue and higher gross margin. Cement EBITA amounted to DKK 204m in 2022 compared to DKK -19m in 2021. The corresponding Cement EBITA margin was 3.3%, compared to -0.3% in 2021.
Consolidated Group organic revenue increased 11% driven mainly by Mining, while the EBITA margin decreased to 4.3% from 5.9%. Adjusted for the costs related to the exit of our Russian activities and integration costs related to the acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK), the adjusted EBITA margin for the Group was 6.4% in 2022.
1. Adjusted for FY 2022 integration costs of DKK 252m related to the Mining Technologies (ex-TK) acquisition and DKK 200m in costs related to the exit of our Russian activities
2. Mining Technologies (ex-TK) refers to the former thyssenkrupp Mining business (TK Mining)
Acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK) completed
On 31 August 2022, we successfully completed the acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK). With this acquisition, FLSmidth is better positioned than ever before and we are highly dedicated to provide our customers with best-in-class full flowsheet technologies and service solutions to enhance their productivity and sustainability agenda. While the strategic rationale for the acquisition has been reconfirmed, additional cost synergy potential has been uncovered and the pace to realise this has been accelerated.
Highlights in Q4 2022
Strong Mining service revenue growth of 45%
Adjusted Mining EBITA margin of 12.4% 3
Cement EBITA margin increased to 4.3%
Non-Core Activities EBITA loss of DKK 407m, in line with guidance
Mining order intake grew organically 5% compared to Q4 2021. Including currency effects and the impact from the acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK), Mining order intake increased by 27%, equally driven by both a growth in Capital orders and in Service orders. Cement order intake in Q4 2022 decreased by 20% organically. Including currency effects, the Cement order intake in Q4 2022 decreased by 17%, mainly explained by a 37% decrease in Capital order intake compared to Q4 2021.
Mining revenue increased 6% organically and by 32% in total including currency effects and the acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK). Cement revenue decreased by 14% organically compared to Q4 2021, due to supply chain challenges and a strong comparison quarter. Including currency effects, Cement revenue decreased by 11%.
Revenue for Non-Core Activities in 2022 amounted to DKK 503m and EBITA for Non-Core Activities amounted to DKK -407m, both in line with guidance. The EBITA loss included non-recurring exit costs of DKK 270m.
New Non-Core Activities segment (NCA) introduced as of Q4 2022
Following the integration of Mining Technologies (ex-TK), we conducted a planned strategic review of the combined mining product portfolio. As a result of this, it was decided to split our Mining business into two segments: a continuing Mining segment, and a Non-Core Activities segment effective from Q4 2022. This will ensure sharpened strategic focus and stronger execution of the continuing Mining activities that are key to accelerating our long-term profitability and growth. At the same time, we have decided to divest or wind-down non-core and unprofitable mining activities, and dedicated focus and resources will be allocated to ensure effective execution and to minimise losses from these activities.
3. Adjusted for Q4 integration costs of DKK 125m related to the Mining Technologies (ex-TK) acquisition and DKK 80m in costs related to the exit of our Russian activities
New pure play strategies introduced including new long-term financial targets
In connection with our Capital Markets Day, held on 18 January 2023, we officially launched our new pure play strategies for Mining and Cement including new long-term financial targets. Following the acquisition of Mining Technologies (ex-TK), our pure play approach and the establishment of a Non-Core Activities segment, we have gained improved visibility into each of our different businesses. Consequently, we introduced new long-term financial targets for the FY2026 with a core focus on quality of earnings and reduced earnings volatility. For the FY2026, we expect to deliver a 13-15% EBITA margin in Mining and an ~8% EBITA margin in Cement.
Group CEO, Mikko Keto, commented: "With the launch of our new pure play strategies, we have now set clear directions and ambitions for our transformation journey including the long-term financial potential for both Mining and Cement. Key focus is to walk-the-talk to ensure strong strategy execution to the benefit of our employees, customers, society and shareholders".
Financial guidance 2023
The financial guidance for 2023 as set out on 18 January 2023 is maintained. Guidance for full year 2023 reflects continued improvement of the underlying legacy Mining business, integration of Mining Technologies (ex-TK) and the establishment of the Non-Core Activities segment.
Guidance 2023 Mining Cement Non-Core Activities Consolidated
Group Revenue, DKKbn 16.0-17.0 6.0-6.5
0.8-1.0
23.0-24.5
Adj. EBITA margin 9-10%
6-7%*
EBITA margin 4-5%
Loss of
~DKK 250-350m 4-5%
* Consolidated Group adj. EBITA margin is not adjusted for the loss in Non-Core Activities
Mining
Following a strong 2022, we expect market growth in 2023 to remain largely stable versus 2022. The former Mining Technologies (ex-TK) business is expected to contribute with less than DKK 3bn in revenue in 2023 and is expected to have a dilutive effect on the full year 2023 adjusted Mining EBITA margin of around 2%-points. Guidance for Adjusted EBITA margin includes adjustments for integration costs of around DKK 550m for the full year 2023.
Cement
Short-term outlook for the cement industry remains impacted by overcapacity and the potential recession is expected to impact market demand negatively over the coming period.
Non-Core Activities
Non-Core Activities EBITA margin guidance for 2023 reflects the operationally loss-making nature of the business as well as costs related to contract negotiations aimed at reducing the scope of the Non-Core Activities order backlog.
Consolidated Group
Consolidated Group guidance reflects the sum of the guidance for the three business segments. Guidance for Adjusted EBITA margin includes adjustments for integration costs of around DKK 550m for the full year 2023. Guidance for 2023 is subject to uncertainty due to the global supply chain situation, potential recession and geopolitical turmoil.
The Board of Directors will at the Annual General Meeting on 29 March 2023 propose a dividend of DKK 3 per share for 2022, corresponding to a pay-out ratio of 49%, in line with our targeted pay-out ratio, to be distributed in 2023.
Earnings call
A presentation of the results will take place on 22 February 2023 at 11:00 CET. Mr. Mikko Keto
Live audio-webcast
The presentation can be followed live or as replay via the internet here .
Conference call
If you wish to ask questions or just listen to the presentation via telephone, please call one of the following numbers: DK: +45 78 77 41 97, UK: +44 0 808 101 1183 or US: +1 785 424 1738.
Please use the PIN code: 30 87 4 #
Consolidated key figures 2022
(DKKm) Q4 2022 Q4 2021 Change (%) FY 2022 FY 2021 Change (%) Order intake (gross) 6,011 5,084 18% 24,644 19,233 28% - of which service order intake 3,425 2,770 24% 14,458 11,162 30% Service order intake share 57% 54% 59% 58% Order backlog 23,541 16,592 42% 23,541 16,592 42% Revenue 6,495 5,135 26% 21,849 17,581 24% - of which service revenue 3,801 2,796 36% 12,933 10,094 28% Service revenue share 59% 54% 59% 57% Gross profit 1,294 1,151 12% 5,076 4,180 21% Gross profit margin 19.9% 22.4% 23.2% 23.8% Adjusted EBITA* 205 n/a 1,395 n/a Adjusted EBITA margin* 3.2% n/a 6.4% n/a EBITA 0 338 -100% 943 1,030 -8% EBITA margin 0.0% 6.6% 4.3% 5.9% Profit (67) 161 -142% 352 357 -1% CFFO 776 849 968 1,449 Free cash flow 660 752 (1,342) 1,176 Net working capital 1,893 1,058 79% 1,893 1,058 79% Net interest-bearing debt (726) 889 (726) 889
*Adjusted for integration costs related to the Mining Technologies (ex-TK) acquisition and costs related to the exit of our Russian activities
Contacts:
Investor Relations
Jannick Lindegaard Denholt, +45 21 69 66 57, jli@flsmidth.com
Therese Mollevinge, +45 41 37 16 38, tmo@flsmidth.com
Mikkel Johansen, +45 23 30 29 50, mjoh@flsmidth.com
Media Relations
Rasmus Windfeld, +45 40 44 60 60, rwin@flsmidth.com
About FLSmidth
FLSmidth is a full flowsheet technology and service supplier to the global mining and cement industries. We enable our customers to improve performance, lower operating costs and reduce environmental impact.
MissionZero is our sustainability ambition towards zero emissions in mining and cement by 2030. FLSmidth works within fully validated Science-Based Targets, our commitment to keep global warming below 1.5C and to becoming carbon neutral in our own operations by 2030. www.flsmidth.com
Attachments
EQS-Ad-hoc: Majorel Group Luxembourg S.A. / Key word(s): Preliminary Results/Preliminary Results
Majorel Group Luxembourg S.A.: Majorel exceeds its guidance for FY 2022, with like-for-like net revenue growth of +19%
22-Feb-2023 / 08:00 CET/CEST
Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014.
Majorel exceeds its guidance for FY 2022, with like-for-like net revenue growth of +19% Luxembourg, February 22, 2023: Majorel Group Luxembourg S.A. (Euronext Amsterdam: MAJ) ("Majorel" or the ''Company"), a leading global provider of next-generation end-to-end customer experience (CX) solutions for digital-native and vertical leading brands, today reports on preliminary topline results[1] for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 (FY 2022). HIGHLIGHTS Strong topline growth with group revenue of 2,100 million (FY 2021: 1,811 million) and net revenue[2] of 2,080 million (FY 2021: 1,752 million).
Like-for-like[3] net revenue growth was +19% YOY, adjusted for M&A[4], and COVID-19 related business[5]. The reduction in COVID-19 related business (50 million) was mostly offset by the contribution from M&A (47 million)[6].
Continuing momentum in 2022 with strong net revenue growth across all business Segments: EASA (Europe, Africa and South America) delivered net revenue of 1,452 million, an increase of +13% (FY 2021: 1,290 million). Like-for-like, net revenue in EASA increased by +13% in FY 2022. Growth was mainly driven by existing and new clients in Global Internet, as well as the strong development in our near- and offshore locations in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. GEMS (Global English, Middle East and Southeast Asia) net revenue increased +38% to 503 million (FY 2021: 364 million), driven by the strong growth with Global Internet clients, particularly in the Philippines, the US, Malaysia, Egypt, Canada and Kenya. CEA (China and East Asia) delivered net revenue of 124 million, up +27% (FY 2021: 98 million), driven by further expansion of the footprint in China as well as the new countries Japan and South Korea, the continuing growth of digital engagement services, with a focus on consumer products and digital clients.
Continuing successful strategy execution in 2022: Expansion with existing and new clients, with net revenue retention[7] (NRR) of 115% (FY 2021: 116%), and Progress in strategic KPIs: 52% of net revenue was from Global Internet Clients (FY 2021: 45%), including 23% of net revenue from Majorel's Content Services, Trust & Safety line of business (FY 2021: 21%). Tech & Expert Services represented 9% of net revenue (FY 2021: 9%). Offshore[8] represented 43% of net revenue (FY 2021: 39%). Net revenue from the Telco sector represented 9% of net revenue (FY 2021: 12%).
Commenting on the preliminary topline results, Thomas Mackenbrock, CEO of Majorel Group said: "2022 was another successful year for Majorel despite the challenging macroeconomic backdrop. We have grown in key client segments, continued to hone our services mix, and utilized our differentiated geographic footprint to increase our offshore delivery of best-in-class solutions for our clients. I am very proud of what we've achieved by going further for our clients, their customers, our team members, and the local communities where we operate." On March 14, 2023, Majorel will provide more details when the company publishes its audited results for FY 2022 and provides its outlook for 2023. Also on March 14, 2023, Majorel will host a webcasted conference call for investors and analysts at 2pm CET, for which details will be announced on our website closer to the date. Revenue, net revenue and net revenue by business Segment FY 2022 FY 2021 YOY change Revenue 2,100m 1,811m +16% Net revenue 2,080m 1,752m +19% EASA Segment 1,452m 1,290m +13% GEMS Segment 503m 364m +38% CEA Segment 124m 98m +27%
FINANCIAL CALENDAR (INDICATIVE) FY 2022 Audited Results & Report - March 14, 2023 Q1 Trading Update - May 3, 2023
ABOUT MAJOREL We design, build and deliver next-generation end-to-end CX solutions for many of the world's most respected digital-native and vertical leading brands. Our comprehensive east-to-west global footprint in 45 countries across five continents, with more than 82,000 team members and 60 languages, allows us to deliver flexible solutions that leverage our expertise in cultural nuance, which we believe to be essential for true excellence in CX. We have deep domain expertise in tech-augmented front to-back-office CX. Additionally, we offer CX consulting, vertical digital solutions, CX analytics, digital consumer engagement and CX technology transformation services for industry verticals. We are a global leader in Content Services, Trust & Safety. We believe the 'Majorel difference' to be our culture of entrepreneurship. CONTACT Investor Relations
Michele Negen
ir@majorel.com Media Relations
Andrew Slater
media@majorel.com DISCLAIMER This announcement is released by Majorel Group Luxembourg S.A. (the "Company" or "Majorel") and contains information that qualified or may have qualified as inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR). The Company's financial information presented in this announcement has been derived from the management accounts of the Company and are not presented in accordance with IFRS. Such financial measures are not measures of financial performance in accordance with IFRS and may exclude items that are significant in understanding and assessing Majorel's financial results. Therefore, these measures should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to loss for the period or other measures of profitability, liquidity or performance under IFRS. You should be aware that the presentation of these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies, which may be defined and calculated differently. This financial information is subject to updating, revision, amendment, verification, correction, completion and change without notice. It does not purport to contain all information required to evaluate the Company or the Majorel group and/or its financial position. The information does not constitute a recommendation regarding any loans or securities of the Company. In providing access to this announcement, neither the Company nor any other person undertakes any obligation to provide you with access to any additional information or to update the information as part of this announcement or to correct any inaccuracies in any such information. No representation, warranty or undertaking, express or implied, is made by the Company or any other person as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or the opinions contained therein or any other statement made or purported to be made in connection with the Company or any of the Company's respective affiliates, for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to any investment considerations. In addition, no duty of care or otherwise is owed by the Company or any of the Company's respective affiliates to recipients of the information within this announcement or any other person in relation to the information. This announcement include(s) forward looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical or current facts contained in this announcement, including statements regarding the Company's future results of operations and financial position, industry dynamics, business strategy and plans and its objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements represent management's opinions, expectations, assumptions, beliefs, intentions, estimates or strategies regarding the future, which may not be realized. Forward looking statements are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "look forward to," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target" "will," "would" and/or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this announcement are based largely on Majorel's current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that Majorel believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict or are beyond Majorel's control, and actual results may differ materially from those expected or implied as forward looking statements. For a detailed description of these factors and uncertainties, please refer to the "Risk Factors" section of Majorel's Prospectus, available at https://www.bourse.lu/issuer/MajorelGroupSA/105258. Majorel undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward looking statements. Moreover, new risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for the Company's management to predict all risks, nor can it assess the impact of all factors on Majorel's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this announcement may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Majorel cautions you therefore against relying on these forward-looking statements, and Majorel qualifies all of its forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements included in this announcement are made only as of the date hereof. Although Majorel believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Neither Majorel nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements. Moreover, neither Majorel nor any other person undertakes any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement or otherwise. You should read this announcement with the understanding that Majorel's actual future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances may materially differ from what Majorel expects. This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities for sale or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the securities described in this announcement in the United States. In particular, any securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933 (the Securities Act), or under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with any applicable securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States. There will be no public offering of securities in the United States. NOTES [1] All financials are based on preliminary unaudited and non-reviewed management reporting. [2] Net revenue for the Group corresponds to revenues as reported in our management reporting less certain direct, order-related external costs which are part of external expenses and costs of materials and consist mainly of cost of services purchased (subcontracted or outsourced services). Net revenue for each Segment corresponds to the according Segment revenues less certain direct, order-related inter-Segment and external costs. Management reporting data excludes revenues from minor activities (primarily the Sonopress Business) outside Majorel Group's core business which are reported in the Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements (the "Sonopress Business" is defined as certain non-core business activities historically carried out by Arvato de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., which was wound down in 2021). Management believes that the inclusion of supplementary adjustments to Revenue applied in presenting net revenue are appropriate to provide additional information. Management believes that net revenue is a non-IFRS measure representing a core business growth indicator. [3] Like-for-like net revenue growth corresponds to net revenue growth year over year, adjusted for certain specific non-recurring items. For FY 2022 to FY 2021 like-for-like net revenue comparison, the contribution of the first-time consolidation of the acquisition of Mayen, Alembo, Findasense, and IST and COVID-19 related business were adjusted. Management believes that like-for-like net revenue growth is a non-GAAP measure representing a business growth indicator. [4] First time consolidation of Mayen (January 1, 2022), Alembo (June 2, 2022), Findasense (September 1, 2022), and IST (December 1, 2022). [5] Adjusted for the delta of COVID-19 related business in FY 2022 versus FY 2021. [6] The COVID-19 related business and the acquisitions of Mayen, Alembo, Findasense, and IST are fully reported within the EASA Segment. [7]Net revenue retention 2022 is defined as net revenue generated by clients in FY2022 divided by net revenue generated by the same cohort of clients in FY2021 (excluding M&A). [8] We define "Offshore" as net revenue from the following countries (even if some local business is included): Armenia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, North Macedonia, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Suriname, Togo, and Turkey. 22-Feb-2023 CET/CEST The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.eqs-news.com
Service Providers get a first-hand experience of Zyxel Communications' Mesh WiFi 6, 5G FWA, 10G Fiber, Whitebox OLT and future WiFi 7 solutions
Zyxel Communications will showcase its future-proof portfolio and provide a live demonstration of its preliminary WiFi 7 product at this year's Mobile World Congress, 27 February 2 March at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.
Mobile World Congress is known globally for being the mobile industry's largest and most influential connectivity event. The industry's top experts will converge with technology and commerce to become trailblazers and decision-makers while making memorable connections.
"Each year, Mobile World Congress connects the mobile industry's top performers, experts and enthusiasts to address the growing opportunities and challenges faced daily," said Karsten Gewecke, President of Zyxel Communications, "It's a big year for us at Zyxel Communications as we introduce new solutions to address the ever-changing industry demands and elevate the connectivity experience for service providers and their customers."
Leading the pack with WiFi 7
Experience a true WiFi 7 live demonstration that will showcase the immense speeds, bandwidth, and smaller carbon footprint consistent with our most sustainable practices. Zyxel's team of WiFi 7 experts will be at booth 5G4 in Hall 5 to answer questions about WiFi 7 strategies and the implementation of this groundbreaking technology.
Eliminate dead zones and lag with Mesh WiFi 6
Our Dual-Band Mesh WiFi 6 portfolios continue to be among our flagship solutions fully compliant with EasyMesh standards and providing users with super-fast connection and lag-free performance. Zyxel superior whole-home WiFi coverage eliminates dead zones.
No matter where you are, 5G is there
Outfitted with the most advanced technologies and an intuitive app, our 5G NR FWA offerings continue to provide superb connectivity for some of the market's biggest service providers from Bergen to Barcelona and beyond. Experience 1st hand how our solution portfolio is the preferred choice when service providers are looking for a high-capacity, premium-broadband FWA solution.
The future of fiber is here
Zyxel's Fiber Access Solutions enables service providers to integrate active fiber, GPON and XGS-PON into their access network infrastructure. With this end-to-end solution, service providers can greatly speed up time to market while utilizing next-generation technologies to meet the growing bandwidth demand.
For more information about our presence at Mobile World Congress 2023, visit our website or come by the Zyxel booth 5G4 in Hall 5 at the event.
About Zyxel Communications
Zyxel Communications delivers technological innovations and has connected the world to the internet for more than 30 years. Whether establishing access through fixed or mobile broadband solutions, Zyxel Communications offers a comprehensive and flexible portfolio of products that's keeping service providers ahead of the competition.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005010/en/
Contacts:
Birgitte Dolevert Larsen
Zyxel Communications
birgitte.larsen@zyxel.eu
+45 2085 9223
London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - As Holiday Swap Group, the world's largest home exchange platform, continues to grow from strength to strength globally, they are pleased to announce the addition of Tom Stokely as a significant shareholder, along with his new appointment on the company's advisory board.
Mr. Stokely has a successful, long-standing career as a businessman and he will no doubt bring an abundant wealth of experience and knowledge to Holiday Swap Group.
Tom Stokely states:
"I am delighted to be joining the advisory board at Holiday Swap Group. This is a platform that is both extremely scalable and competitive in a high-growth sector requiring continued investment in innovation and efficiencies. I look forward to working with the talented team of investors and management to help drive the business forward."
Holiday Swap is a multi-award-winning home booking platform operating in 187 countries around the world. The Holiday Swap app allows users to swap, or instantly book, their homes with others around the world, significantly reducing one of the largest costs of travel, which is accommodation.
Holiday Swap is an unconventional solution that provides an affordable accommodation option for travellers, whilst continuing to disrupt the travel industry and change how people travel. The company's goal is to eventually reach users in every country by continuously helping innovate the travel industry through social and practical endeavors. The company's vision is to maintain the way things are developing.
Mr. Stokely started his career in banking and later went on to join a major company in 2017 as COO. He is considered a skilful businessman with comprehensive experience, who is qualified in all aspects of business formation, operation, finance, and management, and who also has a keen interest in investment opportunities.
Holiday Swap founder and Chief Executive Officer, James Asquith, states:
"I am delighted to have Tom join Holiday Swap as a shareholder and as a valued member of our advisory board. He is a fantastic addition to our team of experienced investors and advisors and his extensive business knowledge will be invaluable in providing us with guidance and support as our company continues to grow. Tom has a vast skill set and brings on board a wealth of innovative experience. He is a fantastic match for our company, and we look forward to accomplishing some incredible new ventures with his support."
Learn more about Holiday Swap by visiting their website: https://www.holidayswap.com.
Holiday Swap
Emre Kamil Kaya
Digital Marketing and PR Specialist
emre@holidayswap.com
London, United Kingdom
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155430
DeepMaterial is an industrial adhesive manufacturer providing adhesive and film application materials products and solutions.
Shenzhen, China--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - DeepMaterial, a domestic leader in the bonding and protection of high-end materials for semiconductors and electronic products in China, is proud to introduce the BGA underfill epoxy adhesive. The innovative product has ultra-low viscosity suitable for most underfill applications in various fields, from communication terminal companies, consumer electronics companies, and semiconductor packaging and testing companies, to communication equipment manufacturers.
Leading Industrial Adhesive Glue Manufacturer DeepMaterial Launches the BGA Underfill Epoxy Adhesive
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Specializing in industrial epoxy adhesives for semiconductors, home appliances, electronic applications, and surface protection, DeepMaterials provides products for chip packaging and testing. DeepMaterial's underfill epoxy adhesive is a one-component heat-curing epoxy with good adhesion to a wide range of materials, thus, the reusable epoxy primer is designed for CSP and BGA applications.
One component epoxy underfill at DeepMaterial is suitable for manufacturers and suppliers which demand reactive hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive, as well as UV curing adhesives, high refractive index optical, magnet bonding, and the best top waterproof structural glue for plastic. The application can be, for example, metal and glass, electric motors, and micro motors in home appliances.
In addition, DeepMaterial introduces to the industry a solution to innovative capillary flow underfill of BGA Flip Chip Underfill PCB Epoxy. The filler is distributed and applied to the edge of the assembled device, and the "capillary effect" of the liquid is used to make the glue penetrate and fill the bottom of the chip, and then heated to integrate the filler with the chip substrate, solder joints, and PCB substrate. For years, DeepMaterial has offered their customized industrial adhesive glue to a number of manufacturers from all over the world, with global cases from the USA, Turkey, Vietnam, India, Japan, Germany, Canada, Korea and so on.
For more information, please visit: https://www.epoxyadhesiveglue.com/.
About DeepMaterial
DeepMaterial is a leading flip-chip and BGA underfills process epoxy adhesive glue manufacturer and supplier. DeepMaterial manufactures a variety of products, from component epoxy underfill adhesives, hot melt adhesives glue, UV curing adhesives, high refractive index optical adhesive, magnet bonding adhesives, best top waterproof structural adhesive glue for plastic to metal and glass, and electronics adhesive glue for the electric motor to micro motors in home appliances.
Contact Info:
Name: James Yuan
Email: info@deepmaterialcn.com
Organization: DeepMaterial (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd
Address: Building C, Comlong Science & Technology Park, Guanlan High-tech Park, Long-hua District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Phone: +86-13825524136
Website: https://www.epoxyadhesiveglue.com/
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155718
Marlink to leverage SES's ultra-high throughput SES-17 satellite and high-performance O3b mPOWER system to bring high-speed broadband to remote villages and enable demanding business applications
In support of intensifying government initiatives to close the connectivity gap for more than 7,500 households across urban and rural population centres in French Guiana, Marlink has been awarded a Public Service Delegation contract to set up broadband Internet and 4G/5G services via satellite networks covering the entire French region. SES and Marlink today announced they have signed a 15-year agreement leveraging SES's multi-orbit geostationary (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite network to deliver life-changing, high-speed services to more than 30,000 users throughout the overseas territory of France.
Funded in part by the European Union, the French Government and the Collectivite Territoriale de Guyane (CTG), Marlink and SES will deliver high performance internet access of 30 Mbps across the country. The companies will build and manage local gateway infrastructure to enable the delivery of nearly 3.5 gigabits per second of high-powered satellite capacity for access to consumer broadband, fixed and mobile services in French Guiana. This will also allow schools and institutions located in the region to benefit from better speeds and lower latency to ultimately bridge the digital divide. The services will be split roughly evenly between the recently launched SES-17 high throughput satellite stationed over the Americas and the next-generation O3b mPOWER system.
"We are proud to bridge the digital divide and be part of this nationwide digital transformation to support economic and social growth by connecting critical services and remote communities, as well as educational institutions for the next 15 years," said Alexandre de Luca, President, Energy, Enterprise and Government at Marlink. "Our provision of digital services has grown with customer demand, and we are again responding with agility and flexibility to deliver connectivity as a service."
"The digital divide is a challenging reality, especially for small remote villages in places like the Amazonian Forest in French Guiana, and we are partnering with Marlink to enable digital inclusion in some of the most isolated communities in the world," said Simon Gatty Saunt, Vice President of Networks Sales, Europe at SES. "SES is honoured to play a role in bringing the most advanced and empowering broadband connectivity to the towns, villages, businesses and people throughout the region, which will unlock the full potential of French Guiana."
SES-17 is SES's most high-performance GEO satellite and has played a key role in accelerating digital inclusion programmes across the region and improving access to affordable and high-quality satellite-enabled broadband services for business and residential applications. O3b mPOWER is SES's second-generation MEO communications system and delivers unrivalled performance, enabling customers' operations with high throughput, predictable low latency, and high availability.
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About SES
SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world's only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world's leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES's video network carries ~8,000 channels and has an unparalleled reach of 366 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com.
About Marlink
Marlink is the trusted partner in fully managed smart network solutions, based on an intelligent hybrid network and unrivalled digital solutions. The company provides Smart Network Solutions, connecting people and assets around the globe and across all markets where conventional connectivity cannot reach or is not available. Marlink's Intelligent Hybrid Network combines global satcom and terrestrial technologies via a proprietary global infrastructure. The Marlink Smart Edge, an integrated service delivery platform, orchestrates and optimises all network elements and applications, from data handling and IT to application-based routing (SD Wan), cloud and Digital Solutions, including remote data and IT, cyber security as well as IoT/OT solutions. This provides customers with full 'Peace of Mind' that their chosen network solution is fully optimised, integrated and has the security required to operate more profitably and sustainably, increasing their efficiency and safety through operational optimisation, tracking and routing, monitoring and reporting. Marlink's Smart Network Solutions are provided as Managed Services meeting the highest quality standards and service level agreements. The company proactively monitors and supports network solutions, providing alerts, reporting and insights on performance and usage of connectivity, systems, and applications as well as advice and consultancy on how to further optimise customer networks.
www.marlink.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005921/en/
Contacts:
Suzanne Ong
External Communications
+352 710 725 500
suzanne.ong@ses.com
AMSTERDAM (dpa-AFX) - Automaker Stellantis N.V. (STLA) on Wednesday said its revenue for the full year grew 18% to 179.592 billion euros from 152.119 billion euros in the previous year, reflecting strong net pricing, favorable vehicle mix and positive exchange rates. The company has also been authorized a share repurchase of up to 1.5 billion euros, to be bought back by end of 2023. Net profit from continuing operations increased to 16.779 billion euros from 13.354 billion euros last year. Stellantis proposed a dividend of 1.34 euros per share to be paid on May 4, to shareholders on the register as on April 25. Commenting on the results, Carlos Tavares, CEO said, 'In addition to our record financial results and the focused execution of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, we also demonstrated the effectiveness of our electrification strategy in Europe. We now have the technology, the products, the raw materials, and the full battery ecosystem to lead that same transformative journey in North America, starting with our first fully electric Ram vehicles from 2023 and Jeep from 2024.' 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.
Kelowna, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Strathmore Plus Uranium Corporation (TSXV: SUU) (OTC Pink: SUUFF) ("Strathmore" or "the Company") is pleased to announce we are planning a 100-hole drill program for a total of 15,000 feet this summer once the drilling permit is approved. In conjunction with the drilling, Strathmore will conduct near-surface and downhole geophysical research, along with the University of Wyoming to vector into new drilling target locations.
Strathmore has teamed with Dr. Brad Carr, Director of the University of Wyoming's Near-Surface Geophysical Center, and his students on digitizing the available historical drill data utilizing Neuralog software. Dr. Carr recently (see Company press release dated January 25, 2023) received a grant from the University's School of Energy Resources to conduct research to advance Wyoming's uranium industry. Strathmore will contribute to the research by providing access to historical and modern data generated at the Agate property.
In addition, Dr. Carr's University of Wyoming team will apply newly developed geophysical theories and methods to evaluate the uranium mineralization at the properties. Terrence Osier, Strathmore's VP of Exploration commented, "The Kerr-McGee drilling data is extremely beneficial to the company, saving Strathmore both a significant amount of funds and 2 years of exploration time. With over 650 drill sites and 330 geophysical logs, it will give Strathmore an enormous advantage to be able to vector specific targets at Agate. Upon completion of digitizing the historical data, we will model the roll fronts and their projected trends. The drilling is planned to confirm the historical results and extend mineralization into areas sparsely explored in the past. We anticipate receipt of the drilling permit in spring 2023 and look forward to advancing the Agate property through exploration and permitting leading to an operational in-situ recovery project."
The Agate project is wholly owned by Strathmore and was previously explored by Kerr-McGee Corp. in the 1970's. Kerr-McGee was the largest producer of uranium in the United States at the time. They also produced from the Shirley Basin deposits, which were 7 miles east of the Strathmore property. Other uranium companies in the basin include Cameco, enCore Energy, UR Energy, and UEC, whose claims border the Agate property.
About the Agate Property
The Agate property consists of 52 wholly owned lode mining claims covering 1,075 acres. The uranium mineralization is contained in Wyoming-type roll fronts within the Eocene Wind River Formation, an arkosic-rich sandstone. Historically, 55 million pounds of uranium were mined in Shirley Basin, including from open-pit, underground, and the first successful in-situ recovery operation in the US during the 1960s. At the property, the uranium mineralization is shallow, from 15 to approximately 150 feet deep, much of which is below the water table and likely amenable to in-situ recovery. The average thickness varies from several feet to tens of feet, with grades ranging from 0.02% to 0.18% eU3O8 as noted on the historical gamma logs.
About Strathmore Plus Uranium Corp.
Strathmore has 3 uranium projects in Wyoming, including Beaver Rim, Agate, and Night Owl. The Night Owl property is a former producing mine that was in production in the early 1960s. The Agate and Beaver Rim properties contain uranium in Wyoming-type roll front deposits based on historical drilling data. Strathmore received an exploration permit for the Beaver Rim project in October and is now applying for both exploration and drilling permits for Night Owl and Agate.
Cautionary Statement: Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of Canadian legislation. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "has the potential to". Forward looking statements contained in this press release may include statements regarding the future operating or financial performance of Strathmore Plus Uranium Corp. which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may not prove to be accurate. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in these forward-looking statements. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. Among those factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: market conditions and other risk factors listed from time to time in our reports filed with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and Strathmore Plus Uranium Corp. disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation.
Qualified Person
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed on behalf of the company by Terrence Osier, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration of Strathmore Plus Uranium Corp., a Qualified Person.
Strathmore Plus Uranium Corp.
Contact Information:
Investor Relations
Telephone: 1 888 882 8177
Email: info@strathmoreplus.com
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Dev Randhawa"
Dev Randhawa, CEO
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.
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Road Town, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - LBank Exchange, a global digital asset trading platform, listed Marscoin (MARS) on February 22, 2023. For all users of LBank Exchange, the MARS/USDT trading pair is now officially available for trading.
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Kickstarting the effort to decentralize humanity, Marscoin (MARS) explores the idea of leveraging the power of a peer-to-peer, distributed open cryptocurrency to incentivize space exploration. MARS was listed on LBank Exchange at 8:30 UTC on February 22, 2023, to further expand its global reach and help it achieve its vision.
Introducing Marscoin
Derived from the Litecoin fork of Bitcoin, Marscoin is dedicated to supporting the settlement of Mars and other space-related projects intended to get humans living and thriving off of planet earth. Marscoin is a testbed for experimentation with technologies that might help early colonists on Mars build governance, voting, inventory tracking, trading and capital allocation. Simply by using and investing in Marscoin, users are contributing to a serious bootstrapping effort to further a settlement on Mars.
The project donates an initial stack of Marscoins to the efforts of the Mars Society, one of the largest international space advocacy organizations with the goal of kickstarting Mars colonization through non-profit activities and research projects, volunteer work and funding of space related activities, users could start mining and using Marscoins alongside other cryptocurrencies until the first settlement gets established.
The more people that adopt Marscoin and use it in their daily lives, the more Mars colonization efforts will benefit. Marscoin, defined as a sound monetary alternative to Bitcoin would grow in purchasing power and thus quite naturally be able to fund developments directed to the establishment of a first Mars settlement.
Just by utilizing and acquiring Marscoin, private individuals would participate in the biggest Kickstarter project of all time, supporting space outreach efforts while enabling humanity's first foothold on another planet. Just by adopting Marscoin, the first extra-terrestrial base in the Solar System could be bootstrapped or at the very least efforts to do so could be funded. Any growth in Marscoin could bring humans closer to taking a step among the stars.
An increased value of Marscoin will mean increased financial means for the Mars movement. Early adopters will be a part of this history. In addition, everyone who downloads the Marscoin client initially and starts mining and using it and thus supporting the endeavor will have a stake in any future growth of a Martian economy (or Earth-side adaptation) in correlation to their early level of involvement.
On Mars, early colonists will continue to mine Marscoin. Once the first crewed SpaceX Starship heads towards Mars, a copy of the blockchain could be transferred to Mars by some volunteering Martian colonist and setup as the first mining node on Mars. Because Marscoin is derived from Litecoin, its frequent confirmations (2.5 minutes) and script hashing algorithm will make it convenient and secure. There will be no need for expensive and costly mining machinery to keep the network running. Eventually, users can envision exchanges that will allow money conversion from Bitcoin (Earthcoin) to Marscoin on Mars and Earth.
Marscoin is a labor of love and a global experiment in distributed collaboration for space colonization. To fulfill the dream of making humans a multiplanetary species, Marscoin invite everyone to join the project. Purchasing and using Marscoin supports the non-profit Mars Society and allows users to directly contribute to the exploration and settlement of Mars.
About MARS
Marscoin (MARS) is a peer-to-peer Internet currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world. It is an open source, global payment network that is fully decentralized, with mathematics that secures the network and empowers individuals to control their own finances.
Just like Bitcoin and Litecoin, users can simply download the Marscoin wallet to get started. They can mine Marscoin using their computer, send and receive Marscoin to others or buy Marscoin through an exchange. In 2024, the last Marscoin will have been mined bringing the total to ~40 million coins.
MARS was listed on LBank Exchange at 8:30 UTC on February 22, 2023, investors who are interested in the Marscoin investment can easily buy and sell it on LBank Exchange now.
Learn More about MARS:
Official Website: https://www.marscoin.org/
Explorer: https://explore.marscoin.org
Telegram: https://t.me/Marscoinofficial
Twitter: https://twitter.com/marscoinorg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marscoin.official/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marscoin
About LBank
LBank is one of the top crypto exchanges, established in 2015. It offers specialized financial derivatives, expert asset management services, and safe crypto trading to its users. The platform holds over 9 million users from more than 210 regions across the world. LBank is a cutting-edge growing platform that ensures the integrity of users' funds and aims to contribute to the global adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Start Trading Now: lbank.com
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The 15 finalists for the 2022-23 edition of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition have been selected, and now the wait for the Grand Finale begins.
MILAN, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy is pleased to announce that the Grand Finale of the 2022-2023 S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition will be held inMilan on 4 and 5 October. The event identifies and recognises the best young chefs in the world and celebrates the talents that will lead the evolution of the gastronomic sector.
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Between September 2022 and January 2023, a total of 165 young chefs from around the world took part in the fascinating and highly competitive Regional Finals. A local jury of renowned chefs judged the live cooking competitions in 15 different regions. For the first time, the regional events hosted the insightful Brain Food Forum curated by Fine Dining Lovers, to provide stimulating ideas and reflections related to the world of gastronomy. Over 50 renowned chefs, protagonists of the international culinary community, engaged in inspiring conversations where they explored the industry's most relevant themes.
At each Regional Final, four young talents were selected to move on to the Grand Finale and compete for the global prizes. The winner of the main S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Award will be announced at the Grand Finale. The three collateral prizes will be announced before the Grand Finale, starting at the end of June. They are the S.Pellegrino Social Responsibility Award, the winner of which will be chosen by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, the Acqua Panna Connection in Gastronomy Award, selected by the mentors of the competition, and the Food for Thought Award, voted by the readers of Fine Dining Lovers.
Stefano Bolognese, Sanpellegrino International Business Unit Director, said: 'We launched the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Competition in 2015 to nurture the future of gastronomy by discovering young talents from all over the world. The number of applicants for this fifth edition alone - over 4,000 globally - has confirmed the value of the project. The competition is also a pathway to the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy, a global community - more than 2,000 talented chefs strong - with the aim to engage chefs through a series of activities designed to inspire, connect and educate. The Grand Finale, held in October, is a final step and a key moment in our discovery process. Sanpellegrino wishes good luck to all the finalists."
Those competing for the grand prize will have the opportunity to cook their signature dishes again, this time in front of a grand jury composed of seven giants of international gastronomy: Eneko Atxa, Riccardo Camanini, Helene Darroze, Vicky Lau, Pia Leon, Julien RoyerandNancy Silverton. The jurors will evaluate the finalists based on three golden rules: technical ability, creativity and personal belief, and the candidates' potential to create positive change in society through food. On their way to the Grand Finale, the young chefs will continue to work closely with their respective mentors to perfect their recipes.
The 15 regional winners of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Award, at local level, and their mentors are:
Erick Alfredo Bautista Chacon , mentored by Lula Martin Del Campo , with the signature dish ' Oaxaca , its land and its hands' ( Latin America & Caribbean ); Raul Garcia , mentored by Stefan Heilemann, with the signature dish 'Pike perch, mussels, artichoke, vin jaune, barigoule nage' ( West Europe ); Anton Lebersorger, mentored by Daniel Gottschlich with the signature dish 'Bresse chicken, carrot from Schmidener Feld, kimchi, and Thai bearnaise' ( Central Europe ); Marcus Clayton , mentored by Lisa Goodwin-Allen , with the signature dish 'Celeriac, apple and mushroom' (UK); Robin Wagner , mentored by Peter Gilmore , with the signature dish 'Smoked celeriac, Granny Smith apple and crispy taro' (Pacific); Pierre-Olivier Pelletier , mentored by Suzanne Barr , with the signature dish 'Young aged and smoked duck with sweet grass, yellow birch syrup lacquer with crispy cereal, carotene dressing, roasted cereal gravy, and verge d'or'( Canada ); Jet Loos, mentored by Dick Middelweerd, with the signature dish 'Flavour of the sea' ( North Europe ); Daniel Garwood , mentored by Nina Compton , with the signature dish 'Aged duck and persimmon in tak cheongju with banchan through the eyes of a traveller' (US); Yi Zhang , mentored by Stefano Bacchelli , with the signature dish 'A trip to Guangxi ' (Mainland China); Ian Goh , mentored by Dave Pynt, with the signature dish 'Heritage lamb' ( Asia ); Grigoris Kikis , mentored by Georgianna Hiliadaki, with the signature dish 'The story of cod' ( South East Europe & Mediterranean); Nelson Freitas , mentored by Filipe Carvalho , with the signature dish 'Crispy red mullet, sea urchin and homemade black garlic' (Iberian Countries); Mythrayie Iyer, mentored by Johnson Ebenezer, with the signature dish 'Barter - Evolution of Indian cooking through the age of exploration' ( Africa , Middle East & South Asia ); Michele Antonelli , mentored by Andrea Aprea , with the signature dish 'Spin the cauliflower' ( Italy ); Camille Saint-M'Leux, mentored by Christope Bacquie, with the signature dish 'Charcoal Chateauneuf beef, cuttlefish fat and smoked herring eggs' ( France );
Click here to discover more about the finalists.
About S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy
Gastronomy has the potential to transform society, shaping a more inclusive, more sustainable future. But to do so takes talent. That's why S.Pellegrino has created S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy, a platform to attract, connect and nurture the next generation of culinary talents. An environment that will empower them through education, mentoring and networking opportunities, as well as through the renowned global competition.
The Academy opens its doors to members from over 70 different countries, ensuring that talent is not constrained by geography, ethnicity, or gender. It's a place where passionate young chefs interact with the most influential players in global gastronomy, and where together they cultivate an inspiring culinary community.
To discover more please visit: sanpellegrinoyoungchefacademy.com
About S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna
S.Pellegrino, Acqua Panna and Sanpellegrino Italian Sparkling Drinks are international trademarks of Sanpellegrino S.p.A., which is based in Milan, Italy. Distributed in over 150 countries through branches and distributors on all five continents, these products represent quality excellence by virtue of their origins and perfectly interpret Italian style worldwide as a synthesis of pleasure, health and well-being. Founded in 1899, Sanpellegrino S.p.A. is the leading company in the beverage sector in Italy with its range of mineral waters, non-alcoholic aperitifs and drinks.
Sanpellegrino has always been committed to enhancing this primary good for the planet and works responsibly and passionately to ensure that this resource has a secure future.
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A group of investors led by OCTO founder Fabio Sbianchi acquires the entire stake of Nes Investments.
Sbianchi appointed Chairman of OCTO Group with Independent Directors Paul Cronheim, Massimo Michaud and Edmondo Pietranera joining the Board of Directors.
ROME, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following the approval by the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Tennine AG, a newly formed Swiss-based company representing a group of European investors headed by OCTO Founder Fabio Sbianchi, has successfully finalized the acquisition of 48.55% of the OCTO Group shares previously owned by Nes Investments.
Fabio Sbianchi now owns, directly or indirectly through Tennine AG and his previous investments, a combined stake of 23.5% in Octo Telematics.
Mr. Sbianchi commented: "I am really excited to have substantially increased my commitment to OCTO, the company I founded in 2002. OCTO management team will continue to provide innovation and outstanding telematics solutions and services to our customers, partners and consumers."
With the transaction successfully executed, OCTO will further strengthen the quality and independence of its Board of Directors. Sir John Peace will continue to serve on the Board, while three distinguished professionals will join as independents: Paul Cronheim, an experienced lawyer with an impressive pedigree, who has just recently retired from the Amsterdam-based law firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek; Massimo Michaud, a renowned expert in Insurtech and corporate governance, a former CEO of Allianz Italy and Axa Assicurazioni; and Edmondo Pietranera, a sales executive with a proven track record in highly competitive industries such as Telecommunication and Automotive, currently heading Mobilize Italy at Groupe Renault.
Fabio Sbianchi added: "I would like to express our deep appreciation to Sir John Peace, the former Chairman, for his effective leadership during his mandate. We are delighted that Sir John Peace will continue to provide his invaluable experience and leadership in the Board of Directors. It is also our pleasure to welcome three new board members of world-class reputation. We look forward to working with them to further accelerate the amazing success story that is OCTO Telematics."
Tennine AG also extends its appreciation to Maurizio Delfino, Stanislao Chimenti and Massimo Palombi of Delfino e Associati Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP for their legal support throughout the whole process.
OCTO Telematics
OCTO has always been an innovator in connected mobility. A pioneer in telematics for the insurance sector, OCTO is today the leading provider of smart analytics and advanced telematics solutions to insurance, Fleet Management and Smart Mobility, using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to transform data into value added solutions.
The multiple business applications and numerous use cases enable OCTO to bring telematics to the heart of smart cities and usher in a new era of smarter analytics aligned with the global sustainability goals expressed in the company's Vision Zero: zero accidents, zero traffic, zero pollution. OCTO currently has 5.5 million connected users and holds the largest global database of telematics data, with more than 510 billion driving kilometers collected and 501,000 claims and insurance events analyzed with an operational management capacity of more than 400,000 vehicle rentals per month.
www.octotelematics.com
For further information:
OCTO Telematics
Adriana Zambon
+39 339.3995640
press@octotelematics.com
Edelman
Giuseppe Lucido
+39 335 7576143
giuseppe.lucido@edelman.com
Chinese navy to recruit countrys first female carrier-based aircraft pilots
By Wan Hengyi and Guo Yuandan (Global Times) 10:45, February 22, 2023
Soldiers and officers on the Chinese PLA Navy's hospital ship Peace Ark wave goodbye to people seeing them off on November 18, 2022 at the port of Tanjung Priok in Jakarta, Indonesia, after finishing an eight-day visit on "Mission Harmony-2022." Photo: Xinhua
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy will recruit female carrier-based aircraft pilots for the first time, and it's also the first time the navy will select students outside of military colleges for this position, making history for women in China's armed forces.
The 2023 recruiting program has been expanded to include new graduates from science and engineering majors at ordinary universities as well as college students performing military service in the Chinese navy and graduates who have joined the navy. Previously, such recruitment was limited to high-school and military-school graduates.
The cadets who pass the selection criteria, which will test the candidates' physical and mental qualities and flying talent, will have a chance to become China's first female carrier-based aircraft pilots.
One reason for expanding the recruitment process is the accelerated transformation and construction of the Navy, as well as the rapid development of China's aircraft carrier sector, according to media reports. Demand for outstanding carrier-based aircraft pilots with diverse specialties and comprehensive qualities has become more urgent.
On September 25, 2012, a Type 001 aircraft carrier was officially delivered to the PLA Navy and named Liaoning, giving China its first aircraft carrier. Two months later, on November 23, carrier-based pilot Dai Mingmeng piloted the J-15 aircraft on the Liaoningto complete the first takeoff and landing of a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier, giving the PLA Navy a breakthrough of carrier-based fighter aircraft aboard the ship.
Seven years later, the PLA Navy officially entered the era of two aircraft carriers with the domestically built Shandongjoining the combat sequence on December 17, 2019.
"Carrier-based aircraft pilots are at the core of the combat capabilities of aircraft carriers, and the accelerated transformation of the PLA Navy means that the demand for carrier-based carrier pilots is increasingly urgent," one Chinese navy officer said.
Eligible candidates can apply online, according to the detailed recruitment information released by the Navy. The country's first female carrier-based aircraft pilot is expected to be drawn from those who pass the selection process.
A source told the Global Times that the reason for the expansion is that college students have completed four years of education and established a solid foundation for further study, which means they possess the comprehensive qualities needed to become a pilot.
Song Zhongping, a military expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday that China has about 100 carrier-based aircraft and needs about 200 pilots. It takes time to train excellent and experienced pilots, so the expansion of recruitment is aimed at selecting more talent.
More and more women are serving in various positions in the Chinese military, not just in the Navy. Many of them have distinguished educational backgrounds and experience.
A female student surnamed Qi, who became a signaler in the military after completing her freshman year in the summer of 2016, told the Global Times that she chose to drop out of her English major at a top university in Beijing to join the army because of her desire for a military life.
"Many people have long used stereotypical thinking of masculinity when it comes to the military and soldiers," Qi said, adding that neither the recruitment nor the training will be relaxed or less strict because of the gender of the soldier.
More girls are choosing to join the army to give and to discover new things in their lives, said Qi. "Take me as an example, it turns out that my English skills are also one of my advantages in working in the military," she noted.
Demand for female soldiers has become more diverse in the past seven years. "I'm so proud to see that more and more girls with outstanding academic performances and physical condition have joined us, and I can promise that they will have unforgettable experiences in the army," Qi said.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Edible Oils Market is projected to reach USD 268.9 billion by 2027 from USD 212.6 billion by 2022, recording a CAGR of 4.8% from 2022 to 2027 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. With the increasing population across the world coupled with lifestyle changes, there is a growing consumption of processed foods. Edible oils are one of the main ingredients used in processed foods. Moreover, with the ongoing research and development of novel products, such as confectionery and bakery items, ready-to-eat foods, and fast foods the role of edible oils in increasing the taste has become more significant. The constantly evolving food processing sector is further creating a huge demand for edible oils during the study period.
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The soybean oils segment is the fastest growing among the oil type of global edible oils during the forecast period
In a time of growing food costs and concerns regarding the impact of climate change on the world's food supply, soy products could prove to be a bright light. Soybean oil has a neutral flavor and is a popular cooking oil with a variety of uses in the kitchen. It is a multifunctional component that enables home chefs and food service professionals to reduce their food expenses by maximizing its use in different recipes. In addition to being used for frying, sauteing, and baking, soybean oil can also be used as an ingredient in sauces, dressings, and soups. As consumers become more aware of the health benefits of soy, demand for soybean oil is expected to grow.
The United States is the second-largest exporter of soybeans in the world and one of the top producers of the crop. Despite shifting consumer priorities, U.S. Soy is still significant. Foods made from soy, which are already common in Asian cuisines, are currently experiencing increased popularity due to the growing demand for plant-based meals. According to a study conducted in China in 2021 titled "Consumer intention to purchase GM soybean oil in China: effects of information consistency and source credibility," 17.36% of Chinese consumers increased their intention to purchase GM soybean oil as a result of consistent, accurate, and new information about GM soy products.
Advanced biotechnological research, and government policies supporting the growth of GM products aid in persuading consumers to purchase GM soybean oil. In order to fulfil the rising domestic and international demand for soybean oil, the major market players are also boosting their capacity for production. In November 2022, Cargill, Incorporated and Owensboro Grain Company, a fifth-generation family-owned soybean processing facility and refinery, signed a formal agreement in which Cargill included Owensboro Grain Company (OGC) into its North American agricultural supply chain business, providing opportunities for the former's soybean oil business to scale. In April 2022, ADM disclosed a growth investment to expand the capacity of its oilseed facility in Mainz, Germany, to process non-GMO soybeans.
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Europe is projected to hold the second-largest share in the global edible oils market in 2027
In Europe, rapeseed is a crucial oilseed crop. The continent is a world leader in rapeseed oil production. A study titled, 'The Rapeseed Potential in Poland and Germany in the Context of Production, Legislation, and Intellectual Property Rights', published in 2019, highlighted the potential for further rapeseed market development in the European Union (EU) with a focus on Poland (12% of EU production) and Germany (19% of EU production). Increased rapeseed production and cultivation areas are key factors for the expansion. Rapeseed oil is expected to continue to gain market share in Europe owing to investments in research and development (R&D) of the crop, as indicated by the figures for European patent publications and Community Plant Variety Rights.
The key players in edible oils market include Cargill, Incorporated (US); Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM); Bunge Limited (US); Louis Dreyfus Company (Netherlands); Wilmar International Limited (Singapore); and Adani Wilmar Limited (AWL) (India); Associated British Foods PLC (ABF) (UK); Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (Malaysia); and Borges International Group, S.L.U. (Spain).
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Browse Adjacent Reports @ Food and Beverage Market Research Reports & Consulting
Related Reports:
Fats and Oils Market by Type (Vegetable Oils (Palm, Soybean, Rapeseed, Sunflower, and Olive), Fats (Butter, Tallow, and Lard)), Application (Food and Industrial), Source (Vegetables and Animals), Form, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026
Global Vegetable Oil Market (Edible & Industrial), by Types, Application, Geography & Extraction Methods-Forecasts up to 2017
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ASN90, an O-GlcNAcase inhibitor, is a new chemical entity at clinical stage and a promising candidate for the treatment of PSP, a disorder with a high unmet medical need
PSP is a rare neurological condition that causes severe problems with walking, balance, speech, swallowing and vision. As the disease progresses, it causes severe disability within three to five years of onset 1
ASN90 in PSP is ready to start phase II of clinical development
Spanish pharmaceutical company Ferrer and Swiss clinical stage biotechnology company Asceneuron announce the signing of a licensing agreement in which Ferrer obtains the exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize ASN90 in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), an orphan, tau-related disease with a high unmet medical need1
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005097/en/
From left to right: Oscar Perez, Chief Marketing, Pricing Market Access and Business Development Officer (Ferrer), Catherine Moukheibir, Board of Directors (Asceneuron), Mario Rovirosa, CEO (Ferrer) and Dirk Beher, CEO Co-founder (Asceneuron), after signing the license agreement in Asceneuron's Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. (Photo: Ferrer)
Both Ferrer and Asceneuron are pleased that this announcement occurs in close occurrence with Rare Disease Day (February 28). This agreement underscores the commitments both companies have undertaken to improve the lives of patients with a rare disease, such as PSP.
The terms of the agreement include an upfront fee and multiple development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. Asceneuron is also eligible to receive tiered double-digit royalties on worldwide net sales of ASN90.
Mario Rovirosa, Ferrer's Chief Executive Officer, stated: "This is yet another meaningful example of how Ferrer moves forward guided by its purpose of making a positive impact in society. As a B Corp company, we are proud of our people's commitment to delivering the best possible solutions for those in need
Dirk Beher, Chief Executive Officerand Co-Founder of Asceneuron, commented: "This licensing agreement with Ferrer is important news for patients suffering from PSP and their families. Asceneuron, as a neurodegeneration-focused company, will continue expanding the application of OGA mechanism in other diseases in addition to developing further programs in some of the largest unmet medical need indications in neurology.
Oscar Perez, Chief Business Development and Global Alliances Officer at Ferrer, added: "Researching a cure for such a devastating condition that lacks available therapeutic options fits perfectly with Ferrer's mission to develop transformative treatments. We are seeking to generate life-changing solutions for people with PSP. ASN90 is a very promising addition to our growing portfolio in neurological disorders, making Ferrer an increasingly relevant player in the field of neuroscience
Ferrer will now conduct a phase II clinical study to determine the efficacy and optimal dose range of ASN90.
SVB Securities acted as exclusive financial advisor to Asceneuron.
About progressive supranuclear palsy
PSP is a rare neurological condition which typically presents at around 60 years of age and causes severe problems related to walking, balance, speech, swallowing and vision as a result of the accumulation of aggregates of the tau protein in the brain1,2. The disease gets progressively worse, causing severe disability within three to five years of onset. It is estimated that three to six people per 100,0001 will develop PSP and there is currently no known cure for the disease1,2
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1. Coughlin DG, Litvan I. Progressive supranuclear palsy: Advances in diagnosis and management. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2020 Apr;73:105-116. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2020.04.014. Epub 2020 May 25.
2. Lopez G, Bayulkem K, Hallett M. Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP): Richardson syndrome and other PSP variants. Acta Neurol Scand. 2016 Oct;134(4):242-9. doi: 10.1111/ane.12546. Epub 2016 Jan 6.
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Contacts:
For more information:
gortizdez@ferrer.com
+34 936 003 779
QSS enables employees to secure internal documents with legally binding electronic signatures and seals via an API to mitigate risks, enhances secure remote working
BOSTON, MA and London, UK / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / GMO GlobalSign (https://www.globalsign.com/en), a global Certificate Authority (CA) and leading provider of digital signing, identity and security solutions for the IoT, today announced the launch of Qualified Signing Service (QSS), a new cloud-based signing service for qualified electronic signatures and seals. GlobalSign's qualified electronic signatures and seals comply with eIDAS (electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services), an EU regulation for electronic identification and trust services. Only a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) such as GlobalSign can offer qualified signatures and seals.
Built on the foundation of our immensely popular Digital Signing Service, GlobalSign's QSS allows enterprises, as well as service providers, to deploy qualified electronic signatures and seals into their signing application with a simple REST API integration for internal employee signing. In addition, QSS gives enterprises peace of mind for those employees who sign sensitive documents remotely.
A qualified electronic signature is a best-in-class electronic signature backed by a qualified digital certificate. All qualified signatures must meet numerous requirements, such as a signatory which must be linked and uniquely identified to the signature. The data used to create the qualified signature must be under the sole control of a signatory.
In addition, the qualified signature must be able to identify if any data accompanying the signature has been tampered with after the message was signed. Therefore, a qualified signature can also mitigate the risk for specific documents, contracts, and tasks.
"We launched QSS because companies need the ability to issue legally binding electronic signatures for their employees. That is what qualified signatures are, but you can only get them from a QTSP such as GlobalSign," said Mohit Kumar, product manager, GlobalSign. "Another key benefit of using QSS is that it will help companies stay compliant with eIDAS and employees can securely sign critical documents and contracts anytime, anywhere."
Benefits of QSS
Mitigates risks by verifying the signee of the document
Provides legally binding Qualified Signatures and Seals
Compliant with the eIDAS regulation
Cloud-based with no hardware or PKI-expertise required
Easy authentication through a mobile app for employees
QSS will be particularly useful for multiple industries, from fintech, legal, government and education to insurance, recruitment, healthcare and auditors. Powered by GlobalSign's certificate automation platform Atlas, and delivered through API integration and mobile authentication, there is no hardware (such as tokens) or PKI expertise needed. QSS is the signing solution to meet your internal employee signing needs. To learn more about GlobalSign QSS, visithttps://www.globalsign.com/en/qualified-trust-services/qualified-electronic-signatures-seals.
About GMO GlobalSign
As one of the world's most deeply-rooted certificate authorities, GlobalSign is the leading provider of trusted identity and security solutions enabling businesses, large enterprises, cloud-based service providers, and IoT innovators worldwide to conduct secure online communications, manage millions of verified digital identities and automate authentication and encryption. Its high-scale PKI and identity solutions support the billions of services, devices, people, and things comprising the IoT. A subsidiary of Japan-based GMO GlobalSign Holdings K.K and GMO Internet Group, GMO GlobalSign has offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit https://www.globalsign.com.
Media Relations Contact
Amy Krigman
Director of Public Relations - West
Phone: 603-570-7060
Email: amy.krigman@globalsign.com
SOURCE: GlobalSign
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740198/Updated-GlobalSign-Launches-Qualified-Signing-Service-for-eIDAS-Compliant-Qualified-Electronic-Signatures-and-Seals
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / FireFox Gold Corp. (TSXV:FFOX)(OTCQB:FFOXF)("FireFox" or the "Company") is excited to report that Mr. Alexander Davidson has joined the company, effective immediately, in a consulting capacity as Special Advisor to the board of directors. In this role, Mr. Davidson will provide technical and strategic counsel to FireFox's board and leadership team.
Mr. Davidson has more than 40 years of experience in designing, executing, and managing gold and base metal exploration and acquisition programs around the world. He is most well-known for his long-time presence at Barrick Gold Corporation, where he rose to Executive Vice President, Exploration and Corporate Development. At Barrick, Mr. Davidson initiated the company's expansion of exploration out of North America into Latin America and beyond. He was also instrumental in numerous acquisitions, including Lac Minerals, Sutton Resources, Arequipa Resources, Homestake Mining, and Placer Dome, Inc. Most recently, he has served on the board of directors of Yamana Gold Inc., which has recently agreed to the sale of its Canadian assets to Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and the acquisition of its shares by Pan American Silver Corporation.
FireFox's Co-Founder and Chairman, Patrick Highsmith, commented, "We are honoured to have Alex join FireFox as a Special Advisor. He comes to us with an unparalleled career as a geologist and as a leader in this industry. Having helped grow Barrick through so many corporate acquisitions and so much geographic expansion, he understands how to navigate new discoveries in an emerging gold terrane. Alex also has unique insights into corporate finance and transactions. His counsel and enthusiasm are welcome at FireFox, where we are exploring one of the largest portfolios of gold tenements in northern Finland."
Mr. Davidson remarked about joining the FireFox Gold team, "FireFox is in a unique position in Lapland having such a large portfolio of assets, drilling a high-grade discovery at our Mustajarvi Project, and surrounded by neighbours with much bigger capitalizations. I am a shareholder and it's a pleasure to join the leadership who assembled this team and land package. We will work together with the geologists on the ground to maximize the value of FireFox's projects for our shareholders."
Alex is a native of Montreal, Quebec and received B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Economic Geology from McGill University. In addition to the track record of discoveries by his teams and his extensive management experience, he has significant board level experience on technical, sustainability, compensation, audit, and health and safety committees.
Issuance of Share Purchase Options
In association with this appointment, FireFox also reports that its board of directors has approved the grant of 800,000 incentive stock options to certain staff and consultants. This grant of options is subject to the terms and conditions of the Company's incentive stock option plan, which has been approved by shareholders, and approval by the TSX Venture Exchange and regulatory authorities. The options are valid for five years from the date of issuance and exercisable at a price of $0.12 per share, a 9% premium to the closing price of the stock on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.
About FireFox Gold Corp.
FireFox Gold Corp is listed on the TSX Venture Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FFOX. FireFox also trades on the OTCQB Venture Market Exchange in the US under the ticker symbol FFOXF. The Company has been exploring for gold in Finland since 2017 where it holds a huge portfolio of prospective ground.
Finland is one of the top mining investment jurisdictions in the world as indicated by its multiple top-10 rankings in recent Fraser Institute Surveys of Mining Companies. Having a strong mining law and long mining tradition, Finland remains underexplored for gold. Recent exploration results in the country have highlighted its prospectivity, and FireFox is proud to have a Finland based CEO and technical team.
For more information, please refer to the Company's website and profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
"Carl Lofberg"
Chief Executive Officer
CONTACT:
FireFox Gold Corp.
Email: info@firefoxgold.com
Telephone: +1-778-938-1994
Forward Looking Statements
The information herein contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, the extent of work stoppage and economic impacts that may result from the COVID 19 virus, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry.
Forward-looking statements in this release may include statements regarding: maximizing value of the Company's projects; the intent to conduct additional drilling; the belief as to the location of the most prospective gold targets; the location of targets for future drill programs; and the current and future work program, including the extent and nature of exploration to be conducted in 2023. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary.
The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the expectations of FireFox as of the date of dissemination and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking statements and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. FireFox does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.
SOURCE: FireFox Gold Corp
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740268/FireFox-Gold-Welcomes-Alex-Davidson-as-Special-Advisor-to-its-Board-of-Directors
AMSTERDAM, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Freya Pharma Solutions, a late clinical stage company focusing on the development of effective pharmaceutical therapies for women diagnosed with Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD), announced today that participants of the European Society for Sexual Medicine (ESSM) Congress, held 16 - 18 February, 2023, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, showed great interest in Freya's innovative drug candidate LybridoTM.
The ESSM congress was attended by around 700 participants from 59 countries around the world representing a broad range of sexual health practitioners. The design for the confirmatory ALETTA clinical trial was presented by Professor Cobi Reisman, member of Freya's Scientific Advisory Board and urologist, sexologist, lecturer, honorary professor, and currently medical director of Flare-Health institute in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.
Furthermore, during a very well attended round table discussion entitled "Hypoactive Sexual Desire in young women: What women want" conversations took place among key experts in the field. Professor Linda Vignozzi, Professor Annamaria Giraldi, Dr. Shelly Varod, Dr. Giovani Corona, and Professor Cobi Reisman referred to LybridoTM as a promising innovative treatment for women suffering from FSD. From the many questions and discussions that followed the experts' presentations, it can be concluded that there is a high unmet need among women suffering from FSD for effective and safe treatments, which are currently not available in Europe, and that LybridoTM is expected to address such a need.
Dr. Jan van der Mooren, Chief Medical Officer at Freya Pharma Solutions said:
"I was delighted to experience such positive feedback on LybridoTM from so many sexual health experts and practitioners. Even though we must await the results of the upcoming clinical trials in Europe and the United States before women will have access to LybridoTM, the results from the phase 2 clinical trials have already been very promising, showing positive efficacy results without indications for safety concerns. The ALETTA Confirmatory Clinical Study is planned to start soon in Europe, and we hope to receive advice from the FDA on our Clinical Development Plan for the United States in spring this year."
Freya Pharma Solutions is currently preparing the clinical development program of LybridoTM with several studies in Europe, to be followed later by additional trials in the United States. In September 2022, Freya received early scientific advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on its upcoming confirmatory ALETTA clinical trial, providing constructive and valuable elements that will contribute to the successful development of the therapy. The company is highly confident that it is well on track with the clinical development of LybridoTM as a treatment for women suffering from sexual dysfunction and the related distress which often negatively interferes with their quality of life and their relationships.
About Female Sexual Disorders
Among female sexual disorders, low sexual desire is consistently reported as the most common sexual complaint in women. As a result, many women are dissatisfied with their sex lives, which often affects their social and emotional well-being. Currently, several definitions are being used. Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is recommended by ISSWSH and is a sexual dysfunction in which women lack motivation or lose desire to have sex for at least six months, causing significant levels of personal distress. Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) is a sexual dysfunction that is defined in the 2013 version of the DSM-5 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a publication by the American Psychiatric Association, as a persistent lack or significant reduction of sexual interest and/or arousal. Persons can be medically diagnosed after having a well-defined number of symptoms causing clinically significant distress and which have persisted for a minimum of six months. The disorder is specified by severity level and subtyped into lifelong versus acquired, generalized versus situational.
About Lybrido
A total of 20 phase 1 and phase 2a trials and large-scale phase 2b trials in 17 research sites in the US have been conducted to date. These trials have investigated the efficacy and safety of two novel on- demand pharmacological treatments that have been designed to treat two FSIAD subgroups: women with low sensitivity for sexual cues (Lybrido) and women with dysfunctional over-activation of sexual inhibition (Lybridos). Lybrido increases central sexual motivation and physiological sexual responses, such as swelling of genitals and lubrication. The therapy can be taken 'on-demand' and helps to increase central sexual motivation from 3 to 6 hours after intake.
This treatment consists of a novel (dual-route, dual-release, fixed-dose) combination tablet, consisting of a testosterone coating for sublingual administration and an inner-core component containing the phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE 5) inhibitor, sildenafil. The inner-core component is coated with a delayed-immediate-release matrix to ensure that the peak plasma concentration of the PDE 5 inhibitor coincides with the window of increased sexual motivation induced by the sublingually administered testosterone. Thus, this combination enables an increase in genital arousal through an increase in responsivity to sexual stimuli.
About Freya Pharma Solutions
Freya Pharma Solutions is a late clinical stage company focused on developing effective pharmaceutical therapies for HSDD/FSIAD, building upon fifteen years of solid research. The company has two compounds in development, Lybrido and Lybridos, to address the range of potential causes of HSDD/FSIAD. Based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Freya aims to offer patients a convenient, personalized 'on-demand' solution for this recognized unmet medical need.
www.freyapharmasolutions.com
For further information please contact:
Freya Pharma Solutions, Amsterdam
Marcel Wijma, Chief Executive Officer
marcel@freyapharmasolutions.com
For media
LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam Leon Melens
T: +31 6 538 16 427
E: lmelens@lifespring.nl
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1795348/Freya_Pharma_Solutions_Logo.jpg
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Qure.ai, a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) software for medical imaging, today announced that its solutions were awarded the CE Class IIb certification for medical devices under the European Union Medical Device Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/745) (EU-MDR).
Qure.ai now offers one of the most comprehensive, certified portfolios of AI-based detection devices for radiology in the EU, spanning over 31 countries. Qure's AI helps detect abnormalities from multiple radiology modalities including Chest X-rays, Chest CT, Head CT, and Musculoskeletal X-rays. These medical devices are cutting-edge AI software that assist radiologists in interpreting radiological scans in different healthcare settings.
Concerning the newest milestone, Prashant Warier, Co-founder and CEO of Qure.ai, said, "The EU MDR certification demonstrates our commitment to meeting the highest standards of safety and effectiveness of our products. Qure's products have undergone extensive validation and have been actively deployed globally at more than 1000 sites across 75+. Receiving EU MDR certification is a testament to the continued quality of our solutions, and it further strengthens our position as a trusted provider of AI software. The EU MDR certification will allow us to expand our reach in the EU market and enable better patient outcomes with our imaging AI solutions. We will continue to work closely with regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with the EU MDR and other relevant regulations."
EU MDR certification process is rigorous and comprehensive, ensuring that medical devices meet high safety, performance, and quality standards. Qure products are validated in 71 countries.
"Last year, Erasmus MC and Qure.ai launched an AI Innovation Centre for Medical Imaging. This innovation center will evaluate Qure's solutions for their robustness and ability to improve patient outcomes. Gauging the performance of AI solutions in different population cohorts will help create evidence for their adoption in care workflows as clinical decision support tools," says Dr. Jacob J. Visser, radiologist, chief medical information officer, and assistant-professor Value-based imaging AI at Erasmus MC. "This will give detailed insights into their use cases in disease-specific workflows like lung cancer, ER, stroke, etc., and assess the added value for patient care," he added.
The MDR certification recognizes the safety, performance, and quality of Qure.ai's AI software and confirms its compliance with EU medical device regulations. In addition, the certification assures healthcare providers and patients that Qure.ai's AI software has undergone extensive evaluation and is safe, effective, and reliable across global markets.
About Qure.ai
Qure.ai is a breakthrough Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution provider disrupting the radiology status quo by enhancing imaging accuracy and improving health outcomes with the assistance of machine-supported tools. Qure.ai taps deep learning technology to provide automated interpretation of radiology examinations like X-rays, CTs, Ultrasounds and MRI scans for time and resource-strapped medical imaging professionals-enabling faster diagnosis and speed to treatment. Qure.ai is helping to make healthcare more accessible and affordable to patients worldwide.
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Contacts:
Media Queries
Amrutha Joseph Amrutha.joseph@qure.ai +91 8281244284
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Chakana Copper Corp. (TSXV: PERU) (OTCQB: CHKKF) (FSE: 1ZX) (the "Company" or "Chakana"), is pleased to provide this update on the Soledad project, located in the Ancash Province of Peru within the Miocene mineral belt. Soledad is an emerging copper-gold-silver discovery in the active Aija-Ticapampa mining district. An initial Inferred Resource (MRE) of 191,000 ounces of gold, 11.7 million ounces of silver, and 130 million pounds of copper hosted in tourmaline breccia pipes and open at depth was published in Q1 2022 (see news releases dated January 11 and February 23, 2022) contained within 4.8 million tonnes grading 0.72 g/t gold, 61 g/t silver and 0.97% copper assumed to be extractable by underground mining methods, plus an additional Inferred Resource of 1.9 million tonnes grading 1.29 g/t gold, 37.1 g/t silver and 0.65% copper assumed to be extractable by open pit mining methods. This resource reflects only a small portion of the potential of the Soledad mineral system as the tourmaline breccias are just one of several mineralization styles related to a major intrusive center at Soledad that are subject to ongoing exploration. The environmental permit for the southern half of the Soledad project was recently approved and once finalized, will allow exploration drilling on several of our largest exploration targets now defined through systematic multidisciplinary exploration.
"Getting access to the south half of the Soledad project for exploration drilling is an important milestone for the company, as it allows us to explore the complete mineral system with intrusion-hosted copper-gold zones at lower elevations that pass upwards into tourmaline breccia pipes and high-sulfidation epithermal gold-silver zones. These targets are exceptional. We have completed the surface exploration needed to spot drill holes, including detailed mapping and spectral alteration studies; soil and rock geochemistry; heavy mineral stream concentrates; ground magnetic, electromagnetic, gradient-array induced polarization, and offset (3D) induced polarization surveys," stated President and CEO David Kelley.
Exploration Targeting
Three principal target areas have been chosen for drilling once permits are finalized: 1) Mega-Gold target, and 2) La Joya high-sulfidation epithermal (HSE) zone, and 3) the Companero breccia complex and other high-grade tourmaline breccia targets (Figure 1). This new area of exploration covers different geological environments at Soledad, including multiple intrusions centered upon the Lincuna fault, and distal high-sulfidation precious metals mineralization. The Lincuna fault is an important arc-normal structure related to the Querococha Arch, extending to the northeast just north of the Antamina mine. Intrusive phases at Soledad cut Jurassic to Cenozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks and are closely related in space and time to the tourmaline breccia pipes and mineralization (Figure 2). The young intrusive rocks include granodiorite, dacite porphyry, and monzodiorite, ranging in age from 15.2 +/= 0.3 million years. These intrusive rocks are cut by tourmaline breccias, which are probably coeval with the waning stages of intrusive and hydrothermal activity. The late-stage copper replacement mineralization encountered in drilling is believed to have also formed during the waning stages of the Soledad mineral system (Figure 3).
Mega-Gold Target Area
The Mega-Gold target is a very large area occupying 2.5 km2 with anomalous gold in soil overlying pervasive tourmaline-quartz-white mica alteration, overprinted by localized advanced argillic alteration zones and tourmaline breccias. The target area is oriented northeast and is underlain by older andesitic tuff (Calipuy Formation) and a pre-mineral granodiorite, thought to be the first pulse of intrusive activity in the Soledad mineral system. Within the anomaly is a distinct Offset (3D) induced polarization chargeability feature with a similar orientation as the soil anomaly (Figure 4). The chargeability feature is modelled to be a vertical intrusive or pipe-like body on the south side of the Lincuna fault with a sub-horizontal feature extending up the hill to the southwest (Figure 5). Soil gold values over the vertical chargeability body reach up to 0.325 g/t. The vertical body is interpreted to be a blind intrusion cutting the earlier granodiorite. The planned drilling will test these features for gold mineralization and base metal sulfides.
La Joya High-Sulfidation Epithermal Target Area
The La Joya target area is associated with high-sulfidation advanced argillic alteration consisting of vuggy silica, alunite, dickite, zunyite, diaspore, and pyrophyllite. The zone of alteration extends 700 metres in a north-south direction at an elevation of approximately 4,500 metres (Figures 1 and 2). Surface rock samples collected from the alteration zone have silver and gold values up to 1,300 g/t and 0.36 g/t, respectively. An access road from off-property leads to five scattered drill pads on the southernmost 200 metre segment of La Joya, and locals report that Buenaventura completed seven short drill holes over 20 years ago, encountering silver mineralization and some gold. A QP is unable to confirm the Buenaventura history.
Companero Breccia Complex (and other Tourmaline Breccias)
The Companero breccia complex is a cluster of breccia bodies located in the southwest part of the Soledad mineral system (Figures 1 and 4). The breccias include one monument outcrop (BxC1) surrounded by three other breccias (Figure 6). Another additional tourmaline breccia is located about 500 m to the west. All of the breccias are gold-bearing, with one channel sample collected on the top of BxC1 reporting 14.4 g/t Au (see news release dated July 16, 2018). Several of the breccias show copper oxides on the weathered surfaces. The Companero breccias are similar to the mineralized breccia pipes in the MRE on the north side of the project where strongly elevated gold in surface rock channel samples correlate well with underlying mineralization. The Estremadoyro breccia pipe is exposed along the road near the bottom of the valley and has artisanal workings where copper oxides are clearly visible. Rock samples from breccia exposures reported values up to 1.25 g/t gold, 0.57% copper, and 37.6 g/t silver. None of these targets have been previously drilled.
Permitting Update
The Company has received approval of the environmental permit for the modification of the semi-detailed environmental impact assessment (EIAsd) to allow exploration drilling on the south half of the project and has now entered the final Initiation of Activities (AIA) stage. Our permitting team meets regularly with the Ministry of Energy and Mines, who remain attentive in completing the final stage of the permit as soon as possible. Once the AIA is approved, drilling can begin.
Visit Chakana at PDAC
The company will be exhibiting at the PDAC Investor's Exchange in booth #2313, March 5-8, 2023, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building. Please stop by to see the latest polished core specimens and speak with the team.
About Chakana Copper
Chakana Copper Corp is a Canadian-based minerals exploration Company that is currently advancing the Soledad Project located in the Ancash region of Peru, a highly favorable mining jurisdiction with supportive communities. The Soledad Project is notable for the high-grade copper-gold-silver mineralization that is hosted in tourmaline breccia pipes. An initial mineral resource estimate for seven breccia pipes was announced in Q1 2022 (see news release dated February 23, 2022), with an Inferred Resource of 4.8 million tonnes grading 0.72 g/t gold, 61 g/t silver and 0.97% copper assumed to be extractable by underground mining methods, plus an additional Inferred Resource of 1.9 million tonnes grading 1.29 g/t gold, 37.1 g/t silver and 0.65% copper assumed to be extractable by open pit mining methods. The total initial Inferred Resource contains 191,000 ounces of gold, 11.7 million ounces of silver, and 130 million pounds of copper.
In addition, our extensive multidisciplinary exploration has defined 154 exploration targets, 28 of which have been tested to date (18%), confirming that Soledad is a large, well-endowed mineral system with strong exploration upside. Chakana's investors are well positioned as the Soledad Project provides exposure to copper and precious metals. For more information on the Soledad project, please visit the website at www.chakanacopper.com.
Results of an initial inferred mineral resource estimate and additional information concerning the Project, including a technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, are available on Chakana's profile at www.sedar.com.
Stock Option Plan
The Company advises that its shareholders approved the Company's amended 10% rolling stock option plan at the Annual General Meeting held on November 17, 2022. There are currently 11,125,000 stock options issued out of a total of 16,952,925 available to be issued under the plan.
Qualified Person
David Kelley, an officer, and a director of Chakana, and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
(signed) "David Kelley"
David Kelley
President and CEO
For further information contact:
Investor Relations: Info
Email: info@chakanacopper.com
Telephone: 720-233-2166
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-looking Statement Advisory: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Chakana to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements or information relates to, among other things, the interpretation of the nature of the mineralization at the Soledad copper-gold-silver project (the "Project"), the potential to expand the mineralization, and to develop and grow a resource within the Project, the planning for further exploration work, the ability to de-risk the potential exploration targets, and our belief in the potential for mineralization within unexplored parts of the Project. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs but given the uncertainties, assumptions and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements or information. The Company disclaims any obligation to update, or to publicly announce, any such statements, events or developments except as required by law.
Figure 1 - Map showing defined targets by type for the Soledad project. Principal target areas on the south side that are subject to the recent environmental approval includes the Mega-Gold target, La Joya high-sulfidation alteration zone, and the Companero breccia complex. Section line (D-D') for Figure 2 indicated. Breccia pipes included in the initial inferred resource estimate labeled in dark blue.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2172/155694_f00626cd34de6b7e_001full.jpg
Figure 2 - Interpretive cross section showing main geologic features of the Soledad project. Drilled tourmaline breccia pipes on the north half of the project shown in red with the depth of breccia, wall rock, and resource estimate indicated where relevant. All breccias are open at depth.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2172/155694_f00626cd34de6b7e_002full.jpg
Figure 3 - Core photos from previous drilling showing late-stage copper replacement mineralization seen within and adjacent to tourmaline breccia pipes at Soledad: A) massive chalcopyrite replacement of tourmaline breccia from the north blind breccia pipe at Bx 1; B) massive chalcopyrite replacement of monzodiorite wall rock outside of breccia at Bx 1; C) progressive chalcopyrite-pyrite replacement front from Bx 1; D) selective chalcopyrite-pyrite clast replacement from Paloma West; and E) partial to complete chalcopyrite-pyrite replacement of tourmaline breccia (matrix and clasts) in Bx 5. Core diameter is 6.35cm (HQ) in all instances.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2172/155694_f00626cd34de6b7e_003full.jpg
Figure 4 - Map showing soil gold for the southern half of the Soledad project, covering the Mega-Gold and Companero target areas. Outline of the Mega-Gold target based on the 30 ppb soil gold value shown as the dashed black line; maximum value of 0.325 g/t gold; outline of the Offset (3D) induced polarization chargeability feature shown by dotted dark blue line. Section line A-A' for Figure 5 indicated.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2172/155694_f00626cd34de6b7e_004full.jpg
Figure 5 - Section from 3D model showing topography and chargeability feature from the Offset (3D) induced polarization survey underlying the Mega-Gold target area.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2172/155694_f00626cd34de6b7e_005full.jpg
Figure 6 - Photo looking southwest showing the Companero breccia complex.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - HighGold Mining Inc. (TSXV: HIGH) (OTCQX: HGGOF) ("HighGold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the Company has initiated plans to spin-out (the "Spin-Out") its Ontario and Yukon exploration properties into a new Canadian-focused exploration company, to be named Onyx Gold Corp. ("Onyx Gold"). The Company intends to complete the Spin-Out by way of a Plan of Arrangement ("POA") and apply for the listing of Onyx Gold on the TSX Venture Exchange ("Exchange"). Concurrent with the listing, it is intended that Onyx Gold will complete a non-brokered private placement to fund work programs and for general working capital. Full details of the Spin-Out, including anticipated capitalization structure and exchange ratio for HighGold shareholders to receive shares of Onyx Gold, will be outlined in the POA that will be described once finalized in a subsequent news release and in a management information circular to be distributed to HighGold shareholders in the coming months. The transaction will be subject to shareholder, court, and Exchange approval, with the Company targeting completion in time to take advantage of the summer exploration season.
"Since launching HighGold in 2019 we have made great strides in advancing our flagship Johnson Tract Au-(Zn-Cu) project in Alaska," commented President and CEO Darwin Green. "With an Indicated Resource that now exceeds 1 Moz at 9.4 g/t gold equivalent at an average true thickness of 40 meters, and a significant new satellite discovery at the Ellis Zone, the Johnson Tract project is on an excellent trajectory. The Spin-Out allows HighGold to dedicate 100% of management's effort on the important next steps at Johnson Tract of advanced exploration and aggressive exploration drilling to continue expanding the resource base along with initial permitting-related activities.
"At the same time, the Spin-Out is expected to daylight value for our Ontario and Yukon gold assets, which have been overshadowed and underexplored due to our focus and success at Johnson Tract. With more than 500 sq. km of land holdings in two of Canada's top mining and exploration jurisdictions - Timmins, Ontario and east-central Yukon's new Reduced Intrusion-Related (Snowline) Gold district - Onyx Gold will provide existing HighGold shareholders with exposure to a new discovery-focused exploration company with an exciting portfolio of Canadian assets. The intention is for Onyx to continue to maintain an association with HighGold, leveraging the strength and efficiency of our in-house technical teams under one umbrella."
About the Ontario and Yukon Projects
Ontario Gold Projects
HighGold controls a 100% interest in three (3) large properties in the Timmins, Ontario gold camp, Canada's top gold jurisdiction based on total ounces produced. The 34,300 hectares (343 sq km) land package includes the Munro-Croesus, the Golden Mile, and the Timmins South properties (Figure 1). The Munro-Croesus property hosts the historic Croesus Mine (in production 1915 to 1936) that reported an average production grade of 95.3 g/t gold.
Over the past three years, HighGold has executed on a strategy of consolidating large, underexplored sections of the Timmins gold camp that have high geological potential, followed by systematic exploration and targeting. At the Munro-Croesus property, this work has lead to the early-stage drill discovery of new bulk-tonnage style gold mineralization at the Argus Zone, in addition to high-grade vein style mineralization at other targets. Munro-Croesus is located in the eastern half of the greater Timmins gold camp in an area that has recently experienced a resurgence in exploration activity and public profile. Major drilling campaigns and resource updates by neighboring exploration and mining companies include those of Moneta Gold Inc. at the Tower Gold Project, McEwen Mining Inc. at the Black Fox mine and Gray Fox deposit, and Mayfair Gold Corp. at the Fenn-Gib deposit. The recently completed merger between Agnico Eagle Mines Limited and Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. (with neighboring properties to HighGold) highlights the strategic importance of this area as a preferred gold mining jurisdiction.
Yukon Gold Properties
HighGold controls a 100% interest in four (4) separate properties in the Selwyn Basin area of the Yukon Territory, totaling 1075 claims and 21,000 hectares (210 sq. km) (Figure 2). The most compelling of the properties is King Tut, which is in the heart of the emerging new Reduced Intrusive-Related Gold ("RIRG") district in eastern Yukon. Snowline Gold Corp. has made one of the most significant Canadian gold discoveries of 2022 at the Valley Zone, rapidly defining a large RIRG system with gold grades several times that of a typical RIRG system. Past exploration work at HighGold's King Tut property outlined multi-kilometer long gold-in-soil anomalies including an open-ended one-kilometer by one-kilometer high-tenor gold anomaly associated with the upper carapace of an intrusive body with no prior drilling. All four of HighGold's properties (King Tut, RGS, Canol and Stan) are situated in reasonable proximity to the North Canol Road, the main access route to this region of the Yukon.
About the Johnson Tract Gold Project
Johnson Tract is a polymetallic (gold, copper, zinc, silver, lead) project located near tidewater, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, USA. The 21,000-acre property includes the high-grade JT Deposit and at least nine (9) other mineral prospects over a 12-kilometer strike length. HighGold acquired the Project through a lease agreement with Cook Inlet Region, Inc. ("CIRI"), one of 12 land-based Alaska Native regional corporations created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. CIRI is owned by more than 9,100 shareholders who are primarily of Alaska Native descent.
The JT Deposit hosts an Indicated Resource of 3.489 Mt grading 9.39 g/t gold equivalent ("AuEq") for 1.053 Moz AuEq, comprised of 5.33 g/t Au, 6.0 g/t Ag, 0.56% Cu, 0.67% Pb and 5.21% Zn. The Inferred Resource of 0.706 Mt grading 4.76 g/t AuEq for 0.108 Moz AuEq, is comprised of 1.36 g/t Au, 9.1 g/t Ag, 0.59% Cu, 0.30% Pb, and 4.18% Zn. For additional details see NI 43-101 Technical Report titled "Updated Mineral Resource Estimate and NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Johnson Tract Project, Alaska," dated August 25, 2022 (effective date of July 12, 2022) authored by Ray C. Brown, CPG, James N. Gray, P.Geo. and Lyn Jones, P.Eng. Gold Equivalent ("AuEq") is based on assumed metal prices and payable metal recoveries of 97% for Au, 85% for Ag, 85% Cu, 72% Pb and 92% Zn from metallurgical testwork completed in 2022. Assumed metal prices for the Resource are US$1650/oz for gold (Au), US$20/oz for silver (Ag), US$3.50/lb for copper (Cu), US$1.00/lb for lead (Pb), and US$1.50/lb for zinc (Zn).
About HighGold
HighGold is a mineral exploration company focused on high-grade gold projects located in North America. HighGold's flagship asset is the high-grade Johnson Tract Gold-Zinc-Copper Project located in accessible Southcentral Alaska, USA. The Company also controls one of the largest junior gold miner land positions in the Timmins, Ontario gold camp. This includes the Munro-Croesus Gold property, which is renowned for its high-grade mineralization, and the large Golden Mile and Timmins South properties. HighGold also has 100% ownership of a group of properties in Yukon's emerging new Selwyn Basin Reduced Intrusive Related Gold district. HighGold's experienced Board and senior management team, are committed to creating shareholder value through the discovery process, careful allocation of capital, and environmentally/socially responsible mineral exploration.
Ian Cunningham-Dunlop, P.Eng., Senior VP Exploration for HighGold Mining Inc. and a qualified person ("QP") as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release.
On Behalf of HighGold Mining Inc.
"Darwin Green"
President & CEO
For further information, please visit the HighGold Mining Inc. website at www.highgoldmining.com, or contact:
Darwin Green, President & CEO or Naomi Nemeth, VP Investor Relations
Phone: 1-604-629-1165 or North American toll-free 1-855-629-1165
Email: information@highgoldmining.com
Website: www.highgoldmining.com
Twitter: @HighgoldMining
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward looking statements: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively "forward looking statements"). Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "potential", "project", "target", "schedule", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's plans to complete the Spin-Out, the anticipated name of Onyx Gold, the transaction structure of the Spin-Out, the anticipated listing of Onyx Gold on the Exchange, the completion by Onyx Gold of a non-brokered private placement, the distribution of a management information circular relating to the Spin-Out, the anticipated plans for the Company at the Johnson Tract project following the Spin-Out, the expected benefits of the Spin-Out, the timing of the completion of the Spin-Out and any future results at the Company's projects are forward-looking statements that involve various 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. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Company's expectations include actual exploration results, the ability of the Company to obtain requisite approvals for the Spin-Out, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Figure 1. HighGold gold properties (335 sq km) within the Timmins gold camp.
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Figure 2. HighGold's Yukon Gold Properties (335 sq km) within the heart of the emerging new Reduced Intrusion-Related Gold "Snowline" district, eastern Yukon. Other companies active in the immediate area include Snowline Gold Corp. and Fireweed Metals Corp.
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WARSAW (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden has vowed that the United States' support for Ukraine will not waver, and NATO will not be divided.
'The United States has assembled a worldwide coalition of more than 50 nations to get critical weapons and supplies to the brave Ukrainian fighters on the frontlines. The European Union and its member states have stepped up with unprecedented commitment to Ukraine, not just in security assistance, but economic, humanitarian, and refugee assistance.'
He made this statement in his speech in the Polish capital Warsaw; hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his State of the Nation address.
Putin announced he is suspending Russia's participation in the START arms control pact with the United States.
Biden said autocrats understood only one word: 'No, no, no!'
'A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to erase the people's love of liberty. Brutality will never grind down the will of the free. And Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia'.
'When President Putin ordered his tanks to roll into Ukraine, he thought we would roll over. He was wrong,' Biden said, vowing that NATO was more united than ever. .
'America, Europe, a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific - we were too unified'.
'Instead of an easy victory he perceived and predicted, Putin left with burnt-out tanks and Russia's forces in disarray'.
Biden said the U.S. Government is going to announce more sanctions against Russia this week together with its partners.
He narrated the list of 'extraordinary brutality' committed by 'Russian forces and mercenaries' since their invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
'They have committed depravities, crimes against humanity, without shame or compunction. They've targeted civilians with death and destruction. Used rape as a weapon of war. Stolen Ukrainian children in an attempt to steal Ukraine's future. Bombed train stations, maternity hospitals, schools, and orphanages'.
Biden said Ukrainian fighters have reclaimed more than 50 percent of the territory Russia held last year.
Replying to Putin's accusation that the West provoked the war against Ukraine and escalated the conflict, Biden said, 'The United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia. The West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today. And millions of Russian citizens who only want to live in peace with their neighbors are not the enemy'.
He thanked Poland for hosting more than 1.5 million refugees who fled the war in Ukraine.
Biden earlier met Polish President Andrzej Duda at the Presidential Palace. Biden arrived in Warsaw on Monday after his surprise visit to Kyiv, where he announced the latest tranche of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Biden will meet with the leaders of the Bucharest Nine, a group of the United States' eastern flank NATO Allies.
He is also scheduled to meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to reaffirm the United States' unwavering support for the security of the Alliance, the White House said.
Biden will fly back home later in the day.
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The smart grid sensors market is expected to grow steadily owing to the supportive regulatory framework of governments worldwide to promote deployment of smart grids along with surge in need for energy-efficient and sustainable solutions across the globe.
PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Smart Grid Sensors Market by Type (Voltage & Temperature Sensors, Outage Detection and Others), Application (Advanced Metering Infrastructure, Smart Grid Distribution Management, Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition, Smart Energy Meter and Others), And Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2031" According to the report, The global smart grid sensors market was valued at $364.7 million in 2021, and is projected to reach $2 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 18.9% 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.
Request PDF Brochure: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/5845
Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities
Growing need for energy-efficient and sustainable solutions drives the growth of the global smart grid sensors market. However, security concerns and the lack of awareness in respect of the availability of smart grid solutions might hamper growth of the market. On the contrary, the ongoing smart city projects in developing countries set potential growth opportunities for the smart grid sensors market.
Covid-19 Scenario
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to supply chain disruptions leading to supply shortages or lower demand in the smart grid sensors market. Moreover, the lack of awareness in respect of the availability of smart grid solutions lowered the market demand, thus impacting the growth of the smart grid sensors industry negatively.
However, rise in organic growth strategies by the major key players has helped the market recover post-pandemic.
The Voltage & Temperature Sensors Segment to Rule the Roost
By type, the voltage & temperature sensors segment held the major share in 2021, garnering around half of the global smart grid sensors market revenue. However, the outage detection segment would showcase a faster CAGR of 20.2% during the forecast period. The voltage & temperature sensors segment is expected to grow steadily owing to the growing investments of major players in this technology to gain a competitive edge in the market.
The Smart Energy Meter Segment to Maintain its Dominance During the Forecast Period
By application, the smart energy meter segment contributed to the highest share in 2021, accounting for around one-third of the global smart grid sensors market revenue. The advanced metering infrastructure segment would showcase the fastest CAGR of 23.6% throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to the fact that smart energy meters allow utilities to collect and analyze data on electricity usage in real-time and can provide customers with detailed usage information to help them manage their energy usage more effectively.
Buy This Report (330 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3kdAFG9
Asia-Pacific Garnered the Major Share in 2021
By region, Asia-Pacific garnered the highest share in 2021, holding nearly half of the global smart grid sensors market revenue in 2021, and is projected to retain its dominance by 2031. The same region would also portray the fastest CAGR of 21.2% during the forecast period. Rapid surge in population and rise in the economy of Asia-Pacific have propelled the market growth.
Leading Market Players
ABB
Ge Grid Solutions
Siemens
Landis+Gyr
Trilliant
Itron, Inc.
Sandc Electric Company
Sentient Energy, Inc.
Aclara Technologies Llc
Echelon Corporation
The report analyzes these key players in the global smart grid sensors 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.
Want to Access the Statistical Data and Graphs, Key Players' Strategies: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/smart-grid-sensors-market/purchase-options
Key Benefits For Stakeholders:
This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the smart grid sensors market analysis and smart grid sensors market outlook from 2021 to 2031 to identify the prevailing market opportunity.
The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities.
Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network.
In-depth analysis of the digital film cameras market segmentation assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities.
Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market.
Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players.
The report includes the analysis of the regional as well as global smart grid sensors market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies.
Smart Grid Sensors Market Key Segments:
Sensor
Voltage and Temperature Sensors
Outage Detection
Others
Application
Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Smart Grid Distribution Management
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
Smart Energy Meter
Others
By Region
North America (U.S., Canada , Mexico )
(U.S., , ) Europe (UK, Germany , France , Rest of Europe )
(UK, , , Rest of ) Asia-Pacific ( China , Japan , India , South Korea , Rest of Asia-Pacific )
( , , , , Rest of ) LAMEA ( Latin America , Middle East , Africa )
Buy this Research Report @ https://bit.ly/3m1iXGs
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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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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Fury Gold Mines Limited (TSX:FURY)(NYSE American:FURY) ("Fury" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has appointed Brian Christie as an Independent Director, effective immediately.
Mr. Christie served as the Vice President of Investor Relations at Agnico Eagle Mines Limited ("Agnico Eagle") for over 9 years until June 2022, and is currently retained by Agnico Eagle as a Senior Advisor, Investor Relations. During his tenure at Agnico Eagle, the company was consistently recognized as having one of the top Investor Relations programs across all industries in Canada. From 2016 until 2021 he served as an Independent Director (including 2 years as Board Chair and Compensation Committee Chair) of the Denver Gold Group, a Colorado based not-for-profit association owned by its member gold companies who control most of the world's precious metal output and mineral assets. Before joining Agnico Eagle, he worked for over 17 years in the investment industry, primarily as a precious and base metals mining analyst with Desjardins Securities, National Bank Financial, Canaccord Capital and HSBC Securities. Prior to this, Mr. Christie spent 13 years in the mining industry as a geologist for a variety of mining companies, including Homestake, Billiton, Falconbridge Copper and Newmont Mining. Mr. Christie holds a BSc. in Geology (University of Toronto) and an MSc. in Geology (Queen's University) and is a member of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI) and the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI). He currently serves as an Independent Director of Wallbridge Mining Company Limited.
"On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are delighted to welcome Brian Christie to Fury, strengthening our overall Board's diversified skill set. Brian's extensive experience in the capital markets and the mining industry will be a meaningful and complementary addition, as we continue to grow as a high-grade gold exploration company. Brian comes to us not only having been a trained geologist, and a well-recognized former senior analyst, but also having run one of the top-ranked investor relations teams in the industry at one of the largest and well-managed growing senior gold mining producers in the world," stated Jeffrey Mason, Board Chair of Fury.
"Fury is in an incredibly unique position with under-valued gold assets, a robust gold exploration portfolio and pipeline, and a very strong financial position with C$65 million of combined cash and current marketable securities, as we enter a prospective exploration year for Fury by building on and realizing on our high drill hit ratio. I am looking forward to continuing to work closely with the Board in executing our strategy to generate and realize value," commented Tim Clark, CEO of Fury.
About Fury Gold Mines Limited
Fury Gold Mines Limited is a well-financed Canadian-focused exploration company positioned in two prolific mining regions across the country and holds a 59.5 million common share position in Dolly Varden Silver Corp. (23.5%). Led by a management team and board of directors with proven success in financing and advancing exploration assets, Fury intends to grow its multi-million-ounce gold platform through rigorous project evaluation and exploration excellence. Fury is committed to upholding the highest industry standards for corporate governance, environmental stewardship, community engagement and sustainable mining. For more information on Fury Gold Mines, visit www.furygoldmines.com.
For further information on Fury Gold Mines Limited, please contact:
Margaux Villalpando, Investor Relations
Tel: (844) 601-0841
Email: info@furygoldmines.com
Website: www.furygoldmines.com
No regulatory organization has approved the contents hereof.
SOURCE: Fury Gold Mines Limited
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Partnership with one of California's largest nurseries to identify promising new genetics
SAN DIEGO, CA and TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / StateHouse Holdings Inc. ("StateHouse" or the "Company") (CSE:STHZ)(OTCQX:STHZF), a California-focused, vertically integrated cannabis enterprise, today announced it has entered into cultivation partnership with Refined Genetics LLC. , an industry leader in genetic development and commercial propagation of world class cannabis cultivars.
Through its strategic investments in plant genomics, breeding technologies, and commercial propagation, Refined Genetics is able to develop and deliver superior cultivars for the future of the cannabis industry. The purpose-driven, community-oriented company separates itself from other nurseries by unifying legacy cannabis operators and emerging businesses.
"The relationship between grower and breeder should be strongly symbiotic and built on mutual benefit, trust and collaboration," said Travis Higginbotham, Vice President of Cultivation at StateHouse. "Refined Genetics is unique because its partnerships reflect the successful, long-lived breeder-grower relationships found throughout horticulture. We believe this proven and traditional approach will enable both companies to confidently forge ahead together in this ever-evolving market."
The process of enriching and controlling flower quality through effective and efficient methods will begin at Refined Genetics' nursery in California. StateHouse and Refined Genetics will conduct quarterly performance trials before selecting promising, new genetics to participate in the Company's Genetics Trialing program. The innovative program will ramp stock of these genetics alongside a commercial-scale flower crop. Once harvested, greenhouse crop performance and finished flower will be evaluated by StateHouse's sales and marketing teams. StateHouse will then select and self-propagate the highest-performing genetics while honoring a royalty on every plant harvested.
"Continued innovation in genetics is pivotal to the advancement of the cannabis industry," said Elan Goldbart, Chief Executive Officer of Refined Genetics. "Through this partnership, we have the privilege of working alongside a high-performing cannabis enterprise that is equally committed to exploring new ways in which cultivation and finished quality can be enhanced, resulting in better product consistency and yield predictability."
About StateHouse Holdings Inc.
StateHouse, a vertically integrated enterprise with cannabis licenses covering retail, major brands, distribution, cultivation, nursery and manufacturing, is one of the oldest and most respected cannabis companies in California. Founded in 2006, its predecessor company Harborside was awarded one of the first six medical cannabis licenses granted in the United States. Today, the Company operates 14 dispensaries covering Northern and Southern California and one in Oregon, distribution facilities in San Jose and Los Angeles, California and integrated cultivation/production facilities in Salinas and Greenfield, California. StateHouse is a publicly listed company, currently trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") under the ticker symbol "STHZ" and the OTCQX under the ticker symbol "STHZF". The Company continues to play an instrumental role in making cannabis safe and accessible to a broad and diverse community of California and Oregon consumers.
About Refined Genetics LLC.
Refined Genetics is a genetic development company and commercial nursery driven to transform the way cannabis is grown globally. Refined Genetics operates two licensed facilities in the Santa Cruz and Monterey counties of California, utilizing 160,000 square feet of climate controlled greenhouses and labs for research, breeding, and production. The company is focused on building genetic solutions that provide its trading partners a leading edge in a market that is becoming increasingly competitive across the world. Through the use of molecular and traditional breeding technologies, Refined Genetics has developed an accelerated pipeline for improved cultivars in the form of stable F1 Hybrid seeds and clones. The company is focused on solutions that increase cultivation profitability through enhanced agronomic traits while improving the consumer experience with a world-class finished product.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements' (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. To the extent any forward-looking information in this news release constitutes "financial outlooks" or "future-oriented financial information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. 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 involves discussions with respect to 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. In this news release, forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements relating to the potential rescheduling or de-scheduling of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act, and the potential benefits of this change to StateHouse.
These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as 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 materially differ from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's operations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; expectations regarding the size of the cannabis markets where the Company operates; changing consumer habits; the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives; plans for expansion and acquisitions; political and social uncertainties; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; employee relations; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on cultivation, production, distribution, and sale of cannabis and cannabis-related products in the markets where the Company operates; and the risk factors set out in the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the period ended March 31, 2022 and the Company's listing statement dated May 30, 2019, which are available under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
The Company, through several of its subsidiaries, is directly involved in the manufacture, possession, use, sale, and distribution of cannabis in the recreational and medicinal cannabis marketplace in the United States. Local state laws where the Company operates permit such activities however, investors should note that there are significant legal restrictions and regulations that govern the cannabis industry in the United States. Cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under the United States Controlled Substances Act, making it illegal under federal law in the United States to, among other things, cultivate, distribute or possess cannabis in the United States. Financial transactions involving proceeds generated by, or intended to promote, cannabis-related business activities in the United States may form the basis for prosecution under applicable United States federal money laundering legislation.
While the approach to enforcement of such laws by the federal government in the United States has trended toward non-enforcement against individuals and businesses that comply with recreational and medicinal cannabis programs in states where such programs are legal, strict compliance with state laws with respect to cannabis will neither absolve the Company of liability under United States federal law, nor will it provide a defense to any federal proceeding which may be brought against the Company. The enforcement of federal laws in the United States is a significant risk to the business of the Company and any proceedings brought against the Company thereunder may adversely affect the Company's operations and financial performance.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States. The Company's securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For the latest news, activities, and media coverage, please visit https://www.statehouseholdings.com, https://shopharborside.com and https://urbnleaf.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
For further information:
StateHouse Holdings Inc.,
Angela Pih
Head of Marketing
800-892-4209
MATTIO Communications
Clare Redlick
statehouse@mattio.com
SOURCE: StateHouse Holdings Inc
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740251/StateHouse-Enters-Cultivation-Partnership-with-Refined-Genetics
JAXA accredited space venture Tenchijin collaborates with Toyota City Water Supply and Sewerage Bureau and Fuji Chichu Joho, Inc to determine potential leakage zones using space satellite Big Data. This pilot project started in February 2022. In July 2022, this project was selected as the "Advances Satellite Remote Sensing Data Application Model Demonstration Project for Problem Solving" by the Secretariat of the Strategic Secretariat for Space Policy, Cabinet Office.
Background and goal of the project
Toyota City has been facing challenges caused by the water pipeline leakage such as water outages, water quality, turbidity, etc that affect the lives of citizens. To effectively investigate the risk of water leakage and optimize time, resources and budget to improve the current situation, Tenchijin and its product Tenchijin Compass was selected as a partner to work together with Toyota City.
By using Tenchijin Compass alongside with the satellite data and road surface acoustical survey data, Tenchijin will analyze and improve the accuracy of leakage risk estimation. The goal of this demonstration project is to reduce the cost of aging pipe countermeasures, improve their efficiency, develop a leakage assessment method and a support tool to expand throughout the local government in Japan.
Interim report
By this experiment, approximately 65% of the cost of investigation and 80% of the time to investigate the water leakage issue decreased.
Perspectives
In March 2023, the demonstration experiment will be completed. By leveraging the results of the project, we aim to embed into Tenchijin COMPASS innovative and transparent performance indicators. We aim to continuously support public and private water utilities supplying clean, safe fresh water and reducing significantly their non-revenue water, their water leakage sourcing and network maintenance costs.
Subsequently, we aim to have a customized COMPASS product which can be expanded to other local governments.
Tenchijin COMPASS can be used for free by creating an account on the Tenchijin website.
URL: https://tenchijin.co.jp/compass/?hl=en
Language: English, Japanese
Browsers: Google Chrome (recommended), only PC
If you are interested in customizing Tenchijin COMPASS or consulting on data analysis, please contact us at info-compass@tenchijin.co.jp
Access here for the details: https://tenchijin.co.jp/?hl=en
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005064/en/
Contacts:
Tenchijin, Inc.
Yasuhito Sakuraba
info@tenchijin.co.jp
Anaergia Inc. ("Anaergia" or the "Company") (TSX:ANRG) today announced it has sold its Envo Biogas plant in Tnder, Denmark to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' (CIP) Advanced Bioenergy Fund I, which is developing biogas projects in Europe and North America. While the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, Anaergia expects to recognize a positive impact on the completion of the transaction. Anaergia plans to deploy capital from the sale towards facilitating additional growth, mainly in Italy and Germany.
Anaergia acquired and began construction on the Tnder project in late 2021 and injected the facility's first biomethane into Danish pipelines in November 2022, which allowed the facility to qualify for a 20-year Danish Energy Agency biogas subsidy program.
When fully operational, the Tnder facility is expected to become one of Europe's largest biogas plants, processing up to 900,000 tons of organic waste to produce up to 1.4 million MMBtu (40 million Nm3) of renewable natural gas annually. In addition, the Tnder plant will produce biogenic carbon dioxide that will be used by European Energy to produce green e-methanol to fuel container ships.
"Having advanced the Envo Biogas Tnder project and adding substantial value, the timing is now right for Anaergia to divest of this facility and use the proceeds to advance other new and existing projects in Europe," said Andrew Benedek, Chairman and CEO of Anaergia. "We look forward to helping Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners complete construction on this project and collaborating with them in the future."
"We are very pleased to have made our first investment into a large-scale and modern biogas project in Denmark, creating not just green energy, but also jobs and investments in the local community," said Thomas Dalsgaard, partner with CIP. "We look forward to working with local stakeholders and farmers and to continue the construction of the plant that once in full operations will make a significant contribution to the green transition in the municipality of Tnder and in Denmark."
About Anaergia
Anaergia was created to eliminate a major source of greenhouse gases by cost effectively turning organic waste into renewable natural gas (RNG), fertilizer and water, using proprietary technologies. With a proven track record from delivering world-leading projects on four continents, Anaergia is uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end solutions for extracting organics from waste, implementing high efficiency anaerobic digestion, upgrading biogas, producing fertilizer and cleaning water. Our customers are in the municipal solid waste, municipal wastewater, agriculture, and food processing industries. In each of these markets Anaergia has built many successful plants including some of the largest in the world. Anaergia owns and operates some of the plants it builds, and it also operates plants that are owned by its customers.
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflects the Company's current expectations regarding future events, including statements relating to the ability of our technologies and projects to address about two-thirds of all point source methane emissions and our business plans, growth strategies and ESG initiatives. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated March 28, 2022, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Actual results could differ materially from those projected herein. Anaergia does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required under applicable securities laws.
For further information please see: www.anaergia.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005583/en/
Contacts:
For media relations: Melissa Bailey, Director, Marketing Corporate Communications, Melissa.Bailey@Anaergia.com
For investor relations: IR@Anaergia.com
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd. (TSXV: GMG) ("GMG" or the "Company") is pleased to advise of the receipt of regulatory and local council approvals for the commercial scale manufacturing of batteries at its existing Richlands site in Brisbane Australia. To date GMG has been adhering to a research and development regulatory approval to make battery cell prototypes. In addition, this site already has council approvals that allow GMG to manufacture its graphene.
These regulatory approvals are an important step in GMG's consideration at an appropriate future time to build and operate a battery manufacturing plant at the GMG Headquarters at Richlands.
To that end, GMG continues to advance its Battery Development Roadmap, including:
Further develop, engineer, design and test battery prototype components to achieve the user-required performance data for potentially either coin cell or pouch cell battery.
Further design engineering and production testing of manufacturing systems to enable the manufacture of the prototypes in a semi or fully-automated process.
Solidification of necessary supply agreements.
Full constraints analysis of the existing building - ensuring existing warehouse and electricity supply are adequate for the final plant design and fit within the constraints of the development approval.
Delivery of the Graphene Expansion Project and review of further expansion projects as required.
Full battery prototype testing and quality assurance to international standards, regulations and approvals where required.
Work towards securing battery sales agreements.
An organisational team and financial funding requirements.
GMG's Managing Director and CEO, Craig Nicol, commented: "This is another milestone in the maturation of the Company. This allows GMG to take its battery development roadmap further with reassurance that government approvals have been granted to build and operate a plant at our existing location."
This milestone aligns with GMG's 4 critical Business Objectives, namely
Produce Graphene and improve/scale production process Build Revenue from Energy Savings Products Develop Next-Generation Battery Develop Supply Chain, Partners & Project Execution Capability
About GMG
GMG is an Australian based clean-tech company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: GMG) that produces graphene and hydrogen by cracking methane (natural gas) instead of mining graphite. By using the company's proprietary process, GMG can produce high quality, low cost inputs, scalable, 'tuneable' and no/low contaminant graphene - enabling demonstrated cost and environmental improvements in a number of world-scale planet-friendly/clean-tech applications. Using this and other sources of low input cost graphene, the Company is developing value-added products that target the massive energy efficiency and energy storage markets.
The Company is pursuing opportunities for GMG graphene enhanced products, including developing next-generation batteries, collaborating with world-leading universities in Australia, and investigating the opportunity to enhance the performance and energy efficiency of engine oils.
www.graphenemg.com
For further information, please contact:
Craig Nicol, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of GMG at craig.nicol@graphenemg.com, +61 415 445 223
Leo Karabelas at Focus Communications Investor Relations, info@fcir.ca, +1 647 689 6041
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 news release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends", "expects" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or will "potentially" or "likely" occur. This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding: the Company's plans to build and operate a battery manufacturing plant at the Company's Headquarters at Richlands; the expectations regarding the growth and development of the Company, and; the Company's ability to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to complete its current growth and development strategy.
These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to the deployment of the Company's resources, including its personnel; the intention of the Company to research, develop and produce certain products; the ability of the Company to build and operate a battery manufacturing plant at the Company's Headquarters at Richlands; the ability of the Company to recognize its expectations regarding the growth and development of the Company, and; the ability of the Company to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to complete its current growth and development strategy.
In making the forward looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, assumptions regarding the Company's ability to research, develop and test its products within anticipated timelines; the ability of the Company to build and operate a battery manufacturing plant at the Company's Headquarters at Richlands; the ability of the Company to recognize its expectations regarding the growth and development of the Company, and; the ability of the Company to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to complete its current growth and development strategy.
Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155739
NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Pfizer Inc. (PFE) announced the FDA has granted Priority Review for the company's Biologics License Application for elranatamab for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The FDA decision is expected in 2023. Chris Boshoff, Chief Development Officer, Oncology and Rare Disease, Pfizer Global Product Development, said: 'We believe that elranatamab, if approved, has the potential to become the next standard of care for multiple myeloma given its favorable clinical results and convenient subcutaneous route of administration.' The company noted that the European Medicines Agency has also accepted elranatamab's marketing authorization application. For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com. 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.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Huntsman Exploration Inc. (TSXV:HMAN); (OTC PINK:BBBMF) (the "Company" or "Huntsman") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement (the "Option Agreement") to divest the lithium and any other pegmatite-related metal rights at the Company's 100% owned Canegrass Nickel Project to London listed Corcel Plc (London AIM: CRCL) ("Corcel").
Corcel has agree to pay the Company a non-refundable deposit of 20,000 for an exclusive 30-day option to acquire the lithium rights at the Canegrass. In the event Corcel chooses to exercise the option to proceed to acquire the lithium rights, it will issue to the Company 50,000,000 new ordinary shares at a deemed issue price of 0.4p for total value of 200,000.
About Huntsman Exploration Inc.
Huntsman is a mineral exploration company focused on the exploration and development of the Canegrass Nickel Sulphide Project and Western Yilgarn Projects in Western Australia under the Company's Huntsman Nickel division, and the exploration and development of the Company's gold project under the Huntsman Gold division, specifically the Baxter Spring historical gold discovery in Nevada.
On Behalf of the Board of Huntsman Exploration Inc.
Scott Patrizi
President and Chief Executive Officer
For more information, please contact 1-855-584-0160 or info@huntsmanx.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange nor their Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward Looking Statements: Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainness and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements
SOURCE: Huntsman Exploration Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740264/Huntsman-to-Divest-Pegmatite-Rights-at-Canegrass
12 outstanding business leaders were recognized at the 2022 Best PR Leaders Awards in 6 top market world regions
DAVOS, Switzerland, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The most outstanding communications experts in the world were revealed in the Best PR Leader Regional Awards 2022, hosted by the World Communications Forum Association (WCFA). The top-ranked professionals were recognized in 6 categories - the world's key market regions Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North and South America. Entries were received from Brazil, Colombia, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Mimi Kalinda from South Africa won the first award for Africa Best PR Leader of 2022. In the category Asia-Pacific Best PR Leader of 2022 were recognized Illka Gobius from Singapore, Assel Kozhakova from Kazakhstan, and Mohd Said Bani C.M. Din from Malaysia. For Europe Best PR Leader of 2022 were awarded Daniele Salvaggio from Italy, Matias Rodsevich from Netherlands, and Lisa O'Sullivan from the United Kingdom. Mina Nazari from Iran and Pelin Kocaalp from Turkey took the Middle East Best PR Leader of 2022 award. For North America Best PR Leader of 2022 was awarded Jason Mudd from the United States. And the winners of South America Best PR Leader of 2022 were Roger Darashah from Brazil and Fabian Motta from Colombia.
"We are delighted to recognize the achievements of such a diverse group of PR professionals across six key world regions. The quality of nominations received this year was exceptional and this is a proof that the WCFA awarding program has grown every year, showing the vast amount of innovation and creativity in the communications industry", said Maxim Behar, President of WCFA.
The big winners were announced during a special virtual Awards Ceremony. High-profile professionals from all over the world joined the event to celebrate the world's best Public Relations leadersfor 2022, who managed to stay on the top at a time of consecutive international crises and economic challenges. The ceremony kicked off with a keynote presentation from the WCFA President Maxim Behar and the PRCA Deputy Director GeneralRenna Markson, who revealed the winners of the total six categories.
The Best PR Leader Regional Awards 2022 are the first location-specific awards hosted by the WCFA and aim to reward the visionaries who improve the communications industry from each corner of the world.
Among the international judges are the Jury Chair - Francis Ingham, Director General of PRCA and Chief Executive of ICCO; Afua Foriwaa Boafoh, Head of Media Relations at GIHOC Distilleries Company; Catalina Rousseau, Senior Partner, President & CEO of BDR Associates Communication Group; Claudia Dare, Director Partner of LatAm Intersect PR; James Wright, Global CEO of Red Havas & Global Chairman of Havas PR Global Collective; Mariam Safaryan, PR Director of SPRING PR Company; Paul J. Oyier, Senior Communications Advisor & Alternate Director to Cabinet Secretary of National Treasury & Planning; Sergii Bidenko, Co-founder and Chairman of UPRA, Board Member of ICCO and Director & Owner of Bayka.Agency, and Sherine Zaklama, CEO and Managing Director of Rada Research & Public Relations.
Partners of the Awards are PR Newswire - a part of Cision Group Ltd. and O'Dwyer's Public Relations News.
During the ceremony the President Maxim Behar also announced the newest business global platform WCFA Speaker Bureau and the association's upcoming events - the third edition of Davos Communications Awards 2023, the Davos Communications Forum in Davos and the monthly WCFA PR Masterclasses. All events can be followed on www.wcfaglobal.com.
For more information, visit www.davosawards.com or contact Maxim Behar, WCFA President, at mainoffice@wcfaglobal.com or +359 888 50 31 13.
About Best PR Leader Regional Awards:
The Best PR Leader Regional Awards, launched by the World Communications Forum Association in 2022, are location-specific awards to celebrate exceptional professional work by Public Relations experts from all over the world. The Awards recognize strong leadership skills, creativity and innovation, valuable contribution to society, high business performance, adaptability in the face of unforeseen challenges, and the development of talent and the industry. Winning a Best PR Leader Regional Award is an opportunity for professionals to pitch themselves as the best, to stand out from the competition, increase their credibility, and strengthen business relationships.
About World Communications Forum Association:
The World Communications Forum was founded in 2010 in Davos, Switzerland, where the Association was registered in 2014. The WCFA is a n organization committed to active global discussions and exchanges focused on the development of communications expertise of its members and be an active voice in its key role in business, society, and politics. Every year the forum gathers prominent representatives of the communication and public relations sector from around the world, who, through dialogue and discussion, exchange experiences and ideas to shape the art of global communications. In 2021, the WCFA organized its 'Global Communications Summit' on Zoom, bringing together more than 450 top communications experts globally.
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Key Agreement is Critical Step in Implementation of AP1000 Reactor Project
Westinghouse Electric Company and state-owned Polish utility Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe (PEJ) today signed a contract to advance Poland's new nuclear energy program. The agreement moves the country one step closer to deploying multiple AP1000 reactors, the most advanced Generation III+ nuclear reactor available today.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005591/en/
(standing L to R): David Durham, Westinghouse Energy Systems President, Tomasz Stepien, Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe President, and Miroslaw Kowalik, President of Westinghouse Poland, complete a contract signing ceremony to advance Poland's Nuclear Energy program as witnessed by U.S. and Polish government officials. (Photo: Business Wire)
The contract covers front-end engineering, early procurement work, and program development.
United States Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski, Pawel Jablonski, Polish Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Polish Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa, and Polish Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Mateusz Berger, witnessed the historic signing.
"Our cooperation on nuclear energy is an essential part of the U.S.-Polish strategic relationship. It is only fitting that our joint project advance during President Biden's historic second visit to Warsaw in less than one year," said Ambassador Brzezinski. "This is a clear and important milestone in our energy security partnership. Although much hard work remains ahead of us, I know that by redoubling our commitments, and by working together, we will deliver the promise of clean, safe, and secure nuclear energy."
"Today's great progress enables PEJ and Poland to move forward with deploying the most advanced nuclear technology available to deliver affordable and clean electricity, while reinforcing Poland's energy security," said Patrick Fragman, Westinghouse President and CEO. "We're all working hard, together, to reach the next milestone agreement for the people of Poland."
Polish industrial companies will play a key role in the supply of these nuclear plants. Westinghouse has already signed agreements with 35 companies in Poland and 75 throughout the region. Westinghouse has planned to establish a major engineering center in Poland and is planning additional industrial investments to support training and development of Poland's nuclear power talents, workforce and supply base.
The AP1000 nuclear reactor is the only operating Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and has the smallest footprint per MWe on the market. It is intended to produce clean electricity, steam and hydrogen, and operate seamlessly with renewables in the grids of the future. In addition to two AP1000 units nearing completion at the Vogtle site in the United States, four AP1000 units are currently setting operational performance records in China, which decided in 2022 to deploy six more units. Westinghouse AP1000 technology also has been selected for nine units in Ukraine, and is under consideration at multiple other sites, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, and in the United States.
Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear and other clean power technologies globally. Westinghouse supplied the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957 and the company's technology is the basis for nearly one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants. Over 135 years of innovation makes Westinghouse the preferred partner for advanced technologies covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle. For more information, visit www.westinghousenuclear.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005591/en/
Contacts:
Media@Westinghouse.com
Agreement to Explore and Earn an 80% Interest in the Project
White Hill Hosts Verified Copper-Skarn Mineralization and Porphyry Copper-Molybdenum Potential
Ivanhoe Electric will Deploy its Proprietary Typhoon Technology to White Hill
PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE American:IE)(TSX:IE) President and Chief Executive Officer Taylor Melvin is pleased to announce that Ivanhoe Electric has entered into an earn-in and joint venture agreement (the "Agreement") with privately-owned Exiro Minerals to acquire up to an 80% interest in the White Hill Copper Project in Nevada.
White Hill is located in the Gillis Range, Mineral County, Nevada, approximately 20 miles east of Hawthorne and 100 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada. The Project is situated within the Fitting Mining District and comprises 1,016 federal mineral claims covering 20,992 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Project hosts demonstrated copper-bearing skarn-style mineralization.
Mr. Melvin commented: "The White Hill earn-in agreement expands Ivanhoe Electric's portfolio of high-quality, copper-focused exploration projects in the US. We believe White Hill offers excellent prospectivity for a large-scale porphyry copper discovery in a state with a prolific mining history. We are excited to deploy our Typhoon technology and utilize our team's extensive experience at White Hill."
The White Hill Project is in the World-Class Mining Jurisdiction of Nevada
According to the US Geological Survey ("USGS"), Nevada ranks in the top five for US copper production, with approximately 163 million pounds produced in 2021. The White Hill Project is located in western Nevada, which is considered prospective for large-scale copper discoveries and has seen a recent increase in interest from major mining companies. The Yerington porphyry-skarn district, located 55 miles northwest of the White Hill Project, produced approximately 1.75 billion pounds of copper from 162 million tons of ore with an average grade of 0.54% copper between 1953 and 1996 (source: USGS).
Figure 1. Map showing the White Hill Project location and USGS listed porphyry copper systems of Nevada.
Historical Exploration and Development Potentially Indicative of a Larger Mineralized System Located at Depth
Local prospectors discovered copper mineralization at White Hill in the late 1800s. By 1910, the London, UK-based Copper Hills Mining Corporation had sunk a 220-foot shaft, driven a 310-foot adit, and developed a 340-foot sub level to exploit the shallow, skarn-hosted, copper oxide mineralization. Copper oxide mineralization extended to a depth of 200 feet, beyond which copper-molybdenum sulfide mineralization was reported.
The observed calc-silicate skarn-hosted copper mineralization is associated with anomalous silver, lead and zinc which are all dominantly present as oxide minerals in the near surface environment. The observed mineralization is interpreted as distal expressions of a buried hydrothermal system, such as a potential concealed porphyry at depth. Skarn alteration and mineralization on the property are spatially associated quartz monzonite intrusions and thin porphyritic quartz-feldspar dykes.
Potential for a Typhoon Discovery
Ivanhoe Electric has recognized the potential for buried porphyry, skarn and carbonate-replacement mineralization to exist at the White Hill Project, as well as possible extensions to the areas of currently known copper-skarn mineralization. Initial exploration will include geological mapping, sampling and airborne electromagnetic surveying to refine exploration targets at depth. Subsequently, Ivanhoe Electric will deploy its proprietary geophysical surveying system TyphoonTM to explore for anomalies at depth to help pinpoint future exploration drilling.
Typhoon has demonstrated its effectiveness at identifying significant mineralized bodies located below the basin fill cover of the US Southwest - notably at the Company's flagship Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona (refer to Ivanhoe Electric's news release dated November 29, 2022).
Key Terms of the Earn-In and Joint Venture Agreement
Ivanhoe Electric has the right to earn an 80% interest in the White Hill Copper Project by incurring $10.0 million of expenditures on the Project and making payments to Exiro totaling $4.95 million ($3.55 million in cash and $1.4 million in Ivanhoe Electric common shares) within six years of signing the Agreement. During the earn-in period, Ivanhoe Electric has the exclusive right to operate, control and direct all exploration and mineral development activities at the Project. There are no minimum expenditures required in any given year, and Ivanhoe Electric has the right to cease making payments at any time, resulting in it earning no interest in the Project.
Should Ivanhoe Electric earn into 80% of the Project, the joint venture will form, and Ivanhoe Electric will then be obligated to fund the next $30 million of development expenditures to advance the Project. After that expenditure, each joint venture partner will contribute pro rata to the joint venture or be subject to standard dilution provisions related to its Project interest. In the event that Exiro is to be diluted to less than 10%, it will retain a 10% Project interest and Ivanhoe Electric will carry Exiro's funding obligation through to commercial production. At commercial production, Exiro will become obligated to repay such funded amounts within 12 months of commercial production. No royalties are to be granted as part of this agreement. Ivanhoe Electric is also being granted a right of first refusal over Exiro's interest in the joint venture.
Qualified Persons
Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature regarding the White Hill Project included in this news release have been reviewed, verified, and approved by Shawn Vandekerkhove (P.Geo), a Qualified Person as defined by Regulation S-K, Subpart 1300 promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("S-K 1300") and by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). Mr. Vandekerkhove is an employee of Ivanhoe Electric and is not considered independent for purposes of S-K 1300 or NI 43-101.
About Ivanhoe Electric
Ivanhoe Electric is an American technology and mineral exploration company that is re-inventing mining for the electrification of everything by combining advanced mineral exploration technologies, renewable energy storage solutions and electric metals projects predominantly located in the United States. Ivanhoe Electric uses its Typhoon transmitter, an accurate and powerful geophysical survey system, together with advanced data analytics provided by its subsidiary, Computational Geosciences, to accelerate and de-risk the mineral exploration process as well as to potentially discover deposits of critical metals that may otherwise be undetectable by traditional exploration technologies. Through its controlling interest in VRB Energy, Ivanhoe Electric also develops and manufactures advanced grid-scale vanadium redox battery storage systems. Finally, through advancing its portfolio of electric metals projects located primarily in the United States, headlined by the Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona and the Tintic Copper-Gold Project in Utah, as well as projects in Montana, Oregon and North Carolina, Ivanhoe Electric is also well positioned to support American supply chain independence by delivering the critical metals necessary for electrification of the economy.
Contact Information
Investors: Valerie Kimball, Director, Investor Relations 720-933-1150
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this news release.
Such statements include without limitation statements regarding Ivanhoe Electric earning into 80% of the White Hill Project; the potential for a larger mineralized system to be located at depth at the White Hill Project; the conduct of a geophysical surveying system Typhoon at the Project; and statements regarding the timing and success of future exploration activities.
Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including changes in the prices of copper or other metals Ivanhoe Electric is exploring for; the results of drilling and exploration activities and/or the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations; the significant risk and hazards associated with any future mining operations; the failure of plant and/or equipment to operate as anticipated or to be subject to unanticipated breakdowns; extensive regulation by the U.S. government as well as local governments; changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to fulfill contracts with the company or to perform as agreed; and the impact of political, economic and other uncertainties associated with operating in foreign countries, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economy. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements described in Ivanhoe Electric's registration statement on Form S-1, as amended, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and base PREP prospectus filed with Canadian securities commissions.
No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Ivanhoe Electric cautions you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release, and Ivanhoe Electric expressly disclaims any requirement to do so.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Electric Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740247/Ivanhoe-Electric-Adds-the-White-Hill-Copper-Project-in-Nevada-to-its-Portfolio-of-Highly-Prospective-Critical-Metals-Exploration-Projects
The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) will partner with African Hidden Championsin support of its efforts to promote the growth of African companies and aid their transformation into global champions.
African Hidden Champions, co-founded by Africa Foresight Group (AFG) (www.AfricaForesight.com) and the German Investment Corporation, DEG Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (https://apo-opa.info/3IlgZIr), identifies African firms that are involved in building capacity for global leadership in their sector. It helps the firms on their growth journey by telling their stories, exposing them to new markets and networks, and providing technical assistance.
The African Development Bank is proud to become a partner of the African Hidden Champions initiative, which perfectly fits our strategy of driving and financing the industrial development of Africa, said Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, Director of Industrial Development at the Bank. He said the initiative would receive an amount of $390,000 toward its activities to enable its expansion and coverage into new sectors and markets within Africa, and to provide more benefits and assistance to AHC members.
The African Hidden Champions initiative has become a leading international platform for showcasing and connecting Africas most promising companies. In September 2022, executives and founders from the first cohort of African Hidden Champions met for an inaugural summit outside Frankfurt, Germany to discuss how Africas fastest growing and most inspiring companies could forge a path to global success.
Roland Siller, CEO of DEG said: The African Hidden Champions are setting new standards for business excellence on the continent with their remarkable achievements and unwavering commitment to growth. Its a privilege to collaborate with the African Development Bank to expand the Africa Hidden Champions initiative and empower more companies to realize their potential and transform the African business landscape.
AFG CEO and Co-Founder of AHC, Yasmin Kumi, spoke of the initiatives future transformative impact on Africas private sector. It is time to change the narrative on African business and expose how big multinational companies are growing from within Africa, challenging their peers in global markets, and in doing so bolstering Africans pride in their homegrown businesses, she noted.
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Skeena Resources Limited (TSX:SKE)(NYSE:SKE) ("Skeena" or the "Company") is pleased to announce drilling results from the 2022 regional and near mine exploration and delineation campaigns at the Eskay Creek gold-silver Project ("Eskay Creek" or the "Project") in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia. This release completes the reporting for remaining drill holes from the 2022 program. Analytical results and reference images are detailed in this release as well as on the Company's website.
2022 Near Mine Exploration Drilling Highlights:
18.18 g/t Au, 130.2 g/t Ag over 9.26 m (SK-22-1132) - 21A West Zone
14.90 g/t Au, 2.5 g/t Ag over 5.70 m (SK-22-1177) - 21A West Zone
0.95 g/t Au, 1,003.3 g/t Ag over 6.42 m (SK-22-1187) - 23 Zone
1.11 g/t Au, 19.7 g/t Ag over 26.10 m (SK-22-1187) - 23 Zone
4.96 g/t Au, 14.6 g/t Ag over 25.98 m (SK-22-1171) - 21E Zone
3.39 g/t Au, 34.4 g/t Ag over 23.77 m (SK-22-1160) - 21E Zone
2.78 g/t Au, 59.0 g/t Ag over 20.49 m (SK-22-1173) - 21E Zone
True widths and zone geometries cannot be definitively determined at this time. Grade-capping of individual assays has not been applied to the Au and Ag assays informing the length-weighted composites. Samples below detection limit were nulled to a value of zero.
New Mineralization Expands 21A West Zone
Situated at a vertical depth of 25 metres below surface, drill hole SK-22-1132 has vertically extended the 21A West Zone to near-surface with an intersection of 18.18 g/t Au, 130.2 g/t Ag over 9.26 m. This new intercept occurs in a portion of the 21A Zone that is devoid of historical drilling and 75 metres vertically up-dip of previously reported Skeena drill hole SK-22-1031, which intersected 2.21 g/t Au, 4.6 g/t Ag over 50.00 m.
An additional extension to the south end of the 21A West Zone just beyond the Feasibility Study pit limits and only 10 metres below surface was completed by drill hole SK-22-1177, averaging 14.90 g/t Au, 2.5 g/t Ag over 5.70 m. This new expansion occurs 100 metres vertically up-dip of previously reported drill hole SK-22-1028, which intersected 1.74 g/t Au, 1.7 g/t Ag over 46.77 m. The space between the two drill holes remains untested.
The 21A West Zone has been defined by 2022 drilling over a 350 metre strike length from surface to 200 metres below surface. Horizontal widths of the zone vary and range from thicknesses of 1 to 50 metres. The 21A West Zone remains open for expansion along strike as well as at depth.
23 Zone Continues to Develop
New rhyolite and dacite hosted mineralization analogous to that observed in the 23 Zone has been discovered south of the 21E Zone. Drill hole SK-22-1187 intersected two noteworthy horizons, the first of which is argentiferous and occurs at surface grading 0.95 g/t Au, 1,003.3 g/t Ag over 6.42 m. The second occurrence, averaging 1.11 g/t Au, 19.7 g/t Ag over 26.10 m, is situated 65 metres vertically below surface in a previously untested northern extension of the 23 Zone.
To date, the mineralized horizons comprising the 23 Zone have been traced by variably spaced exploratory drilling from the 21E Zone south for approximately 800 metres. Drilling has outlined mineralization from surface to more than 300 metres below surface and remains open for expansion.
21E Zone Exploration and Delineation
Exploration and delineation drilling within the area surrounding the 21E Zone was targeted at mineralization analogous to that observed along strike in the 23 Zone. New dacite hosted mineralization was encountered by SK-22-1170, averaging 1.01 g/t Au, 37.9 g/t Ag over 21.21 m, located 35 metres below the Feasibility Study pit shell.
Previously defined 21E Zone resources were corroborated by the 2022 drill holes in this area as they tested mineralization below and along strike of the known resources. Highlights include 4.96 g/t Au, 14.6 g/t Ag over 25.98 m, 3.39 g/t Au, 34.4 g/t Ag over 23.77 m and 2.78 g/t Au, 59.0 g/t Ag over 20.49 m in drill holes SK-22-1171, SK-22-1160 and SK-22-1173, respectively.
Expected Timing of Mineral Resource Estimate
The 21A West Zone and 23 Zones were discovered by Skeena in 2021 and represent rhyolite-dacite hosted synvolcanic feeder style mineralization that has not yet been included in any Mineral Resource Estimates ("MRE") or economic analyses. With all analytical results now received from the 2022 drilling program, the Company will be incorporating all drilling data from after September 2021 into an updated MRE scheduled for completion in H1 2023.
About Skeena
Skeena Resources Limited is a Canadian mining exploration and development company focused on revitalizing the past-producing Eskay Creek gold-silver mine located in Tahltan Territory in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada. The Company released a Feasibility Study for Eskay Creek in September 2022 which highlights an after-tax NPV5% of C$1.4B, 50% IRR, and a 1-year payback at US$1,700/oz Au and US$19/oz Ag.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Skeena Resources Limited,
Walter Coles Jr.
Executive Chairman
Randy Reichert
President & CEO
Contact Information
Investor Inquiries: info@skeenaresources.com
Office Phone: +1 604 684 8725
Company Website: www.skeenaresources.com
Qualified Persons
Exploration activities at the Eskay Creek Project are administered on site by the Company's Exploration Managers, John Tyler, P.Geo., Raegan Markel, P.Geo. and Vice President of Exploration, Adrian Newton, P.Geo. In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Paul Geddes, P.Geo. Senior Vice President Exploration and Resource Development, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has prepared, validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting and reporting the exploration activities on its projects.
Quality Assurance - Quality Control
Once received from the drill and processed, all drill core samples are sawn in half, labelled and bagged. The remaining drill core is subsequently securely stored on site. Numbered security tags are applied to lab shipments for chain of custody requirements. The Company inserts quality control (QC) samples at regular intervals in the sample stream, including blanks and reference materials with all sample shipments to monitor laboratory performance. The QAQC program was designed and approved by Lynda Bloom, P.Geo. of Analytical Solutions Ltd., and is overseen by the Company's Qualified Person, Paul Geddes, P.Geo, Senior Vice President Exploration and Resource Development.
Drill core samples are submitted to ALS Geochemistry's analytical facility in North Vancouver, British Columbia for preparation and analysis. The ALS facility is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard for gold assays and all analytical methods include quality control materials at set frequencies with established data acceptance criteria. The entire sample is crushed and 1 kg is pulverized. Analysis for gold is by 50 g fire assay fusion with atomic absorption (AAS) finish with a lower limit of 0.01 ppm and upper limit of 100 ppm. Samples with gold assays greater than 100 ppm are re-analyzed using a 50 g fire assay fusion with gravimetric finish. Analysis for silver is by 50 g fire assay fusion with gravimetric finish with a lower limit of 5 ppm and upper limit of 10,000 ppm. Samples with silver assays greater than 10,000 ppm are re-analyzed using a gravimetric silver concentrate method. A selected number of samples are also analyzed using a 48 multi-element geochemical package by a 4-acid digestion, followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) and also for mercury using an aqua regia digest with Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) finish. Samples with sulfur reporting greater than 10% from the multi-element analysis are re-analyzed for total sulfur by Leco furnace and infrared spectroscopy.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements and information contained or incorporated by reference in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). These statements relate to future events or our future performance. The use of words such as "anticipates", "believes", "proposes", "contemplates", "generates", "targets", "is projected", "is planned", "considers", "estimates", "expects", "is expected", "potential" and similar expressions, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "might", "will", "could", or "would" be taken, achieved, or occur, may identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Specific forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the results of the Feasibility Study, processing capacity of the mine, anticipated mine life, probable reserves, estimated project capital and operating costs, sustaining costs, results of test work and studies, planned environmental assessments, the future price of metals, metal concentrate, and future exploration and development. Such forward-looking statements are based on material factors and/or assumptions which include, but are not limited to, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and the assumptions set forth herein and in the Company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2021, its most recently filed interim MD&A, and the Company's Annual Information Form ("AIF") dated March 31, 2022. Such forward-looking statements represent the Company's management expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances on the date the statements are made, and are necessarily based on several estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date hereof, are not guarantees of future performance. Actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein, and are subject to significant operational, business, economic, and regulatory risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others: the inherent risks involved in exploration and development of mineral properties, including permitting and other government approvals; changes in economic conditions, including changes in the price of gold and other key variables; changes in mine plans and other factors, including accidents, equipment breakdown, bad weather and other project execution delays, many of which are beyond the control of the Company; environmental risks and unanticipated reclamation expenses; and other risk factors identified in the Company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2021, its most recently filed interim MD&A, the AIF dated March 31, 2022, the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated January 31, 2023, and in the Company's other periodic filings with securities and regulatory authorities in Canada and the United States that are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
Readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and the Company does not undertake any obligations to update and/or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Estimates of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources
Skeena's mineral reserves and mineral resources included or incorporated by reference herein have been estimated in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") as required by Canadian securities regulatory authorities, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. The terms "mineral reserve", "proven mineral reserve", "probable mineral reserve", "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") "CIM Definition Standards - For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" adopted by the CIM Council (as amended, the "CIM Definition Standards"). These standards differ significantly from the mineral property disclosure requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Regulation S-K Subpart 1300 (the "SEC Modernization Rules"). Skeena is not currently subject to the SEC Modernization Rules. Accordingly, Skeena's disclosure of mineralization and other technical information may differ significantly from the information that would be disclosed had Skeena prepared the information under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules.
In addition, investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of Skeena's mineral resources constitute or will be converted into reserves. These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to assume that any "measured", "indicated", or "inferred" mineral resources that Skeena reports are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource" will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates of "inferred mineral resources" may not form the basis of feasibility or prefeasibility studies, except in rare cases where permitted under NI 43-101.
For these reasons, the mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates and related information presented herein may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements under the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Table 1: Eskay Creek Project 2022 Exploratory Drilling Length-Weighted Drill Hole Composites:
Hole-ID From (m) To (m) Sample Length (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) SK-22-1073 13.00 14.50 1.50 1.75 5.8 SK-22-1077 50.00 51.00 1.00 4.93 4.4 SK-22-1077 60.00 64.50 4.50 1.03 1.8 SK-22-1077 103.50 105.00 1.50 0.79 4.5 SK-22-1098 51.15 57.46 6.31 1.32 1.2 SK-22-1098 71.77 73.95 2.18 0.97 10.7 SK-22-1098 81.00 103.00 22.00 1.24 2.3 SK-22-1098 160.00 161.00 1.00 0.38 64.0 SK-22-1099 105.00 109.00 4.00 16.27 0.5 Including 105.00 106.00 1.00 10.55 <0.50 and 106.00 107.50 1.50 26.50 <0.50 SK-22-1099 115.00 116.54 1.54 1.18 1.5 SK-22-1099 192.50 200.50 8.00 1.32 1.0 SK-22-1099 209.50 214.00 4.50 1.01 1.0 SK-22-1100 182.00 182.53 0.53 0.70 33.1 SK-22-1101 97.75 100.50 2.75 1.67 3.1 SK-22-1101 134.50 136.00 1.50 0.65 3.6 SK-22-1101 143.50 145.00 1.50 0.60 10.6 SK-22-1101 152.50 190.00 37.50 0.88 13.4 SK-22-1101 207.00 208.50 1.50 1.10 5.8 SK-22-1102 114.79 116.29 1.50 0.70 3.4 SK-22-1102 159.50 161.00 1.50 1.16 11.8 SK-22-1102 193.50 195.00 1.50 0.64 33.1 SK-22-1105 NSA SK-22-1106 133.00 134.50 1.50 1.88 2.0 SK-22-1106 172.50 173.50 1.00 0.73 17.2 SK-22-1106 178.34 178.92 0.58 0.14 114.0 SK-22-1106 183.70 191.40 7.70 1.00 9.0 SK-22-1106 210.48 232.00 21.52 1.25 9.2 SK-22-1106 237.75 239.06 1.31 1.01 5.8 SK-22-1106 252.50 263.90 11.40 1.03 9.1 SK-22-1106 270.00 272.00 2.00 0.69 6.0 SK-22-1106 300.00 301.70 1.70 0.59 3.2 SK-22-1107 273.50 278.00 4.50 0.49 11.2 SK-22-1107 288.50 303.00 14.50 2.29 6.1 SK-22-1107 335.92 337.25 1.33 0.19 119.3 SK-22-1107 345.50 350.00 4.50 0.78 14.8 SK-22-1107 389.58 390.50 0.92 0.74 0.7 SK-22-1108 102.00 106.00 4.00 2.68 1.0 SK-22-1108 115.00 118.00 3.00 1.30 1.8 SK-22-1108 192.58 193.90 1.32 0.59 0.9 SK-22-1108 246.50 252.50 6.00 0.64 8.2 SK-22-1108 268.58 274.50 5.92 1.36 5.2 SK-22-1108 298.00 299.50 1.50 0.82 0.5 SK-22-1109 80.50 83.50 3.00 1.32 48.8 SK-22-1109 168.76 173.50 4.74 1.47 52.2 SK-22-1110 137.00 141.50 4.50 2.02 8.3 SK-22-1110 188.00 196.50 8.50 0.67 2.2 SK-22-1111 36.50 37.50 1.00 0.64 7.4 SK-22-1111 52.50 54.00 1.50 1.30 24.1 SK-22-1111 70.50 74.00 3.50 1.32 34.7 SK-22-1111 78.00 80.00 2.00 0.34 192.2 SK-22-1111 110.00 112.50 2.50 1.11 11.7 SK-22-1111 117.00 118.12 1.12 0.75 2.6 SK-22-1111 130.00 131.50 1.50 0.85 0.7 SK-22-1114 25.50 29.20 3.70 2.29 113.4 SK-22-1114 80.50 86.00 5.50 0.50 8.3 SK-22-1114 185.00 186.00 1.00 0.73 7.5 SK-22-1114 205.50 218.00 12.50 0.83 7.4 SK-22-1114 271.19 272.50 1.31 0.67 2.5 SK-22-1115 16.50 21.00 4.50 1.11 65.7 SK-22-1115 39.00 42.00 3.00 1.32 12.6 SK-22-1115 49.10 51.50 2.40 0.72 12.7 SK-22-1115 64.50 66.00 1.50 0.39 21.2 SK-22-1115 162.60 163.20 0.60 0.76 43.0 SK-22-1115 171.00 175.05 4.05 0.59 4.8 SK-22-1115 203.50 205.00 1.50 0.52 7.4 SK-22-1116 NSA SK-22-1117 49.96 72.27 22.31 0.68 3.6 SK-22-1117 97.00 97.95 0.95 0.79 1.4 SK-22-1117 140.00 153.50 13.50 0.57 14.7 SK-22-1117 161.00 162.50 1.50 0.55 14.0 SK-22-1117 173.00 174.50 1.50 1.68 2.6 SK-22-1117 188.00 194.00 6.00 2.55 1.8 SK-22-1117 198.50 200.00 1.50 0.76 1.1 SK-22-1118 259.50 266.50 7.00 6.46 12.5 Including 263.65 265.12 1.47 14.50 17.5 and 265.12 266.50 1.38 11.70 4.0 SK-22-1118 280.83 285.00 4.17 0.85 9.9 SK-22-1118 314.55 319.00 4.45 0.74 25.6 SK-22-1119 43.02 48.50 5.48 0.84 93.0 SK-22-1120 42.50 47.00 4.50 0.80 39.1 SK-22-1120 52.90 64.90 12.00 0.28 62.9 SK-22-1120 120.00 130.50 10.50 3.14 40.6 SK-22-1120 135.65 136.15 0.50 0.90 5.5 SK-22-1121 NSA SK-22-1123 81.00 91.71 10.71 0.83 2.8 SK-22-1123 124.50 126.00 1.50 1.45 2.8 SK-22-1123 168.30 184.00 15.70 0.82 34.6 SK-22-1123 203.00 206.00 3.00 0.63 5.0 SK-22-1124 71.50 73.00 1.50 0.98 6.2 SK-22-1124 87.50 89.00 1.50 1.44 13.6 SK-22-1124 143.00 172.00 29.00 1.09 4.5 SK-22-1125 NSA SK-22-1126 NSA SK-22-1127 NSA SK-22-1128 113.00 117.00 4.00 0.57 19.0 SK-22-1129 72.50 74.00 1.50 0.81 45.0 SK-22-1130 NSA SK-22-1132 46.35 55.61 9.26 18.18 130.2 Including 48.25 49.16 0.91 20.30 665.0 and 49.16 50.50 1.34 25.60 60.3 and 50.50 51.80 1.30 27.20 45.8 and 53.12 54.40 1.28 44.80 58.3 SK-22-1133 123.50 126.50 3.00 1.01 2.7 SK-22-1133 140.00 155.50 15.50 0.87 8.4 SK-22-1133 161.50 163.00 1.50 0.75 2.0 SK-22-1133 169.00 183.50 14.50 0.66 11.3 SK-22-1134 55.60 58.56 2.96 0.89 5.1 SK-22-1134 67.50 87.00 19.50 1.31 11.3 SK-22-1134 94.50 97.50 3.00 0.24 154.2 SK-22-1134 115.50 118.50 3.00 0.71 10.1 SK-22-1134 130.50 138.71 8.21 2.06 6.2 SK-22-1134 147.50 153.50 6.00 0.56 91.7 SK-22-1135 48.28 52.00 3.72 4.13 0.5 SK-22-1135 105.00 108.00 3.00 1.03 577.2 Including 106.00 107.00 1.00 1.22 969.0 SK-22-1135 113.32 117.00 3.68 0.79 1.2 SK-22-1135 126.00 127.50 1.50 0.20 45.4 SK-22-1136 112.50 114.00 1.50 0.71 2.9 SK-22-1136 167.50 173.50 6.00 0.62 6.6 SK-22-1137 129.60 131.38 1.78 0.83 9.7 SK-22-1137 137.84 138.34 0.50 0.50 10.9 SK-22-1137 159.92 161.00 1.08 1.28 26.7 SK-22-1137 169.40 170.62 1.22 0.96 0.7 SK-22-1138 80.00 81.50 1.50 0.19 40.8 SK-22-1138 115.50 117.00 1.50 0.62 0.8 SK-22-1138 129.20 133.50 4.30 0.69 3.9 SK-22-1138 162.50 171.50 9.00 0.76 2.5 SK-22-1138 176.00 177.50 1.50 0.59 1.7 SK-22-1139 104.55 106.00 1.45 0.40 27.7 SK-22-1139 151.50 152.20 0.70 0.47 12.8 SK-22-1139 160.50 186.50 26.00 1.56 4.6 SK-22-1139 194.50 199.21 4.71 0.20 15.5 SK-22-1139 203.49 205.65 2.16 1.16 6.2 SK-22-1140 95.10 96.69 1.59 2.29 9.8 SK-22-1140 119.28 136.20 16.92 0.97 37.6 SK-22-1141 88.32 89.70 1.38 0.37 20.9 SK-22-1141 102.98 106.70 3.72 0.66 10.8 SK-22-1141 112.50 114.00 1.50 0.23 39.3 SK-22-1141 145.90 148.25 2.35 0.82 89.9 SK-22-1141 158.50 164.50 6.00 0.32 16.1 SK-22-1141 180.50 182.00 1.50 0.47 11.7 SK-22-1141 187.75 195.27 7.52 0.38 30.0 SK-22-1142 1.00 7.54 6.54 0.71 9.5 SK-22-1142 30.00 32.00 2.00 0.78 11.9 SK-22-1142 38.00 42.04 4.04 0.33 69.3 SK-22-1142 66.63 67.15 0.52 0.23 41.7 SK-22-1142 91.00 92.50 1.50 1.25 1.3 SK-22-1143 2.50 5.50 3.00 0.68 25.9 SK-22-1143 11.50 13.50 2.00 0.69 14.2 SK-22-1143 18.53 36.00 17.47 0.67 25.9 SK-22-1143 50.00 51.00 1.00 0.52 31.0 SK-22-1143 80.00 84.00 4.00 0.55 5.2 SK-22-1143 87.50 89.00 1.50 0.60 4.6 SK-22-1144 4.50 14.51 10.01 0.83 16.1 SK-22-1144 26.93 39.66 12.73 2.41 24.0 Including 29.28 29.78 0.50 44.00 50.6 SK-22-1144 51.00 57.50 6.50 0.72 30.5 SK-22-1144 61.50 72.00 10.50 0.44 26.3 SK-22-1144 76.50 80.00 3.50 0.80 50.8 SK-22-1144 86.00 87.50 1.50 0.66 24.7 SK-22-1144 105.50 108.50 3.00 0.47 13.5 SK-22-1145 38.00 38.50 0.50 0.40 53.0 SK-22-1145 46.00 47.50 1.50 0.68 1.4 SK-22-1145 55.60 57.30 1.70 0.72 21.1 SK-22-1145 66.00 67.50 1.50 1.82 9.3 SK-22-1145 98.90 100.70 1.80 1.24 5.7 SK-22-1145 104.50 110.50 6.00 0.73 1.0 SK-22-1145 122.50 127.00 4.50 1.64 0.8 SK-22-1145 144.00 145.50 1.50 0.84 0.5 SK-22-1146 14.18 17.00 2.82 0.48 7.6 SK-22-1146 21.50 40.75 19.25 0.96 11.5 SK-22-1146 45.00 49.50 4.50 1.99 12.9 SK-22-1146 118.58 119.50 0.92 0.55 7.6 SK-22-1147 78.74 90.00 11.26 0.88 3.4 SK-22-1147 97.50 100.50 3.00 1.15 4.7 SK-22-1147 109.50 112.50 3.00 0.63 0.6 SK-22-1147 117.00 123.00 6.00 0.59 0.6 SK-22-1147 129.00 130.50 1.50 0.82 0.8 SK-22-1147 138.83 141.50 2.67 0.94 1.8 SK-22-1148 43.50 75.00 31.50 1.44 34.8 SK-22-1148 97.50 98.30 0.80 0.44 20.2 SK-22-1148 124.00 131.50 7.50 0.69 1.3 SK-22-1148 139.00 147.50 8.50 0.84 0.9 SK-22-1148 156.50 159.50 3.00 1.02 0.5 SK-22-1149 15.50 23.00 7.50 0.52 18.7 SK-22-1149 32.00 36.50 4.50 0.75 5.3 SK-22-1149 150.50 151.50 1.00 0.92 11.0 SK-22-1149 180.24 187.20 6.96 0.98 2.9 SK-22-1149 197.40 200.28 2.88 0.97 49.1 SK-22-1149 209.00 210.50 1.50 0.82 7.5 SK-22-1149 220.00 221.12 1.12 0.72 10.7 SK-22-1150 36.00 37.00 1.00 0.70 2.9 SK-22-1150 56.29 57.00 0.71 1.88 42.4 SK-22-1150 62.06 78.87 15.49 0.99 16.7 SK-22-1150 82.42 88.13 5.71 0.79 9.1 SK-22-1150 94.50 95.72 1.22 1.01 1.4 SK-22-1150 100.97 104.00 3.03 1.78 4.0 SK-22-1150 117.04 119.34 2.30 0.67 0.6 SK-22-1150 123.30 136.88 13.58 0.60 5.1 SK-22-1150 144.19 145.00 0.81 0.83 4.9 SK-22-1150 157.93 163.05 5.12 0.56 0.5 SK-22-1151 11.02 12.50 1.48 0.67 1.8 SK-22-1151 18.75 19.75 1.00 0.60 57.4 SK-22-1151 24.42 25.25 0.83 0.62 35.0 SK-22-1151 31.00 32.22 1.22 0.42 28.2 SK-22-1151 51.50 52.24 0.74 1.10 7.9 SK-22-1151 65.40 68.00 2.60 0.68 13.6 SK-22-1151 71.51 79.00 7.49 0.54 7.9 SK-22-1151 175.00 178.15 3.15 0.52 2.6 SK-22-1151 194.00 195.00 1.00 0.84 3.2 SK-22-1151 204.00 208.93 4.93 1.59 8.7 SK-22-1151 247.03 247.60 0.57 0.51 18.1 SK-22-1152 20.50 22.00 1.50 0.64 1.7 SK-22-1152 36.77 42.08 5.31 0.56 6.1 SK-22-1152 45.19 47.00 1.81 0.75 183.0 SK-22-1152 53.08 68.82 15.74 0.86 35.5 SK-22-1152 72.64 97.00 24.36 0.91 2.2 SK-22-1152 103.00 129.00 26.00 0.89 9.6 SK-22-1152 135.82 138.86 3.04 2.29 16.8 SK-22-1152 154.50 176.31 21.18 0.61 30.6 SK-22-1152 190.22 190.97 0.75 0.60 7.4 SK-22-1152 197.10 199.04 1.94 0.54 19.3 SK-22-1152 210.33 213.98 3.65 0.56 8.8 SK-22-1153 196.40 199.00 2.60 0.66 1.0 SK-22-1154 84.00 86.00 2.00 0.61 121.4 SK-22-1154 139.45 140.43 0.98 0.31 34.4 SK-22-1154 145.50 147.00 1.50 0.63 2.2 SK-22-1154 177.90 179.55 1.65 1.39 3.6 SK-22-1154 187.00 188.50 1.50 0.74 1.4 SK-22-1155 82.58 93.50 10.92 0.31 189.8 SK-22-1155 98.00 99.50 1.50 0.54 68.4 SK-22-1155 108.50 110.00 1.50 0.12 64.7 SK-22-1155 189.80 196.66 6.86 0.83 7.0 SK-22-1155 200.35 201.50 1.15 0.60 2.0 SK-22-1155 228.50 230.00 1.50 0.91 1.4 SK-22-1156 7.00 9.50 2.50 3.05 795.4 Including 7.00 8.35 1.35 5.08 1390.0 SK-22-1156 96.00 108.50 12.50 0.95 2.2 SK-22-1157 5.00 11.00 6.00 0.62 96.0 SK-22-1157 93.50 95.00 1.50 0.90 1.8 SK-22-1157 101.00 111.50 10.50 0.88 26.3 SK-22-1157 144.00 155.61 11.61 0.52 36.6 SK-22-1158 6.50 12.00 5.50 0.34 70.2 SK-22-1158 95.50 100.00 4.50 0.57 27.9 SK-22-1158 152.00 152.70 0.70 0.45 13.2 SK-22-1158 181.00 184.00 3.00 0.62 3.6 SK-22-1158 196.00 197.00 1.00 0.55 4.4 SK-22-1159 15.68 20.69 5.01 0.94 13.8 SK-22-1159 29.00 32.00 3.00 0.79 7.9 SK-22-1159 109.04 115.50 6.46 3.12 59.0 SK-22-1159 160.00 164.00 4.00 0.93 2.3 SK-22-1160 2.50 8.30 5.80 0.74 39.7 SK-22-1160 20.05 43.82 23.77 3.39 34.4 INCLUDING 35.00 36.50 1.50 9.96 32.3 SK-22-1160 50.77 66.00 15.23 0.73 11.5 SK-22-1160 70.50 84.79 14.29 0.79 31.1 SK-22-1160 88.50 104.80 16.30 1.45 17.6 INCLUDING 94.46 95.40 0.94 8.92 100.0 SK-22-1160 114.60 119.17 4.57 0.74 11.4 SK-22-1160 123.00 124.00 1.00 0.52 7.5 SK-22-1160 179.50 184.41 4.91 0.53 8.5 SK-22-1160 189.12 205.00 15.88 0.58 11.4 SK-22-1160 215.00 230.65 15.65 0.99 7.5 SK-22-1161 5.24 33.15 27.91 1.54 40.4 SK-22-1161 38.72 47.43 8.71 0.97 19.1 SK-22-1161 51.67 53.15 1.48 0.68 15.6 SK-22-1161 158.50 160.00 1.50 0.54 10.1 SK-22-1161 170.50 207.50 37.00 0.56 22.0 SK-22-1161 222.76 223.50 0.74 0.43 17.8 SK-22-1161 235.00 247.24 12.24 0.76 9.9 SK-22-1161 256.15 257.64 1.49 0.68 31.8 SK-22-1162 12.00 35.50 23.50 1.91 19.4 Including 31.91 33.00 1.09 21.10 42.4 SK-22-1162 96.61 99.00 2.39 0.76 3.4 SK-22-1162 106.50 113.00 6.50 0.52 5.8 SK-22-1162 125.00 126.47 1.47 0.35 34.4 SK-22-1162 140.58 143.83 3.25 1.46 9.3 SK-22-1162 152.00 157.50 5.50 0.86 6.3 SK-22-1162 170.50 172.00 1.50 0.52 7.0 SK-22-1162 190.00 196.00 6.00 0.81 4.0 SK-22-1162 230.00 231.43 1.43 0.59 13.3 SK-22-1163 9.00 10.50 1.50 0.76 1.3 SK-22-1163 15.00 16.42 1.42 0.62 21.5 SK-22-1163 31.50 42.25 10.75 0.29 26.2 SK-22-1163 52.50 54.00 1.50 0.42 72.9 SK-22-1163 62.60 73.00 10.40 0.82 8.4 SK-22-1163 98.50 105.50 7.00 0.54 23.4 SK-22-1163 120.33 121.00 0.67 1.37 31.3 SK-22-1163 132.00 133.50 1.50 0.36 173.0 SK-22-1163 182.50 183.35 0.85 0.62 6.2 SK-22-1164 22.00 25.00 3.00 0.41 32.6 SK-22-1164 38.50 39.90 1.40 0.36 47.8 SK-22-1164 43.80 55.00 11.20 0.84 19.4 SK-22-1164 87.67 106.45 18.78 0.56 28.4 SK-22-1165 17.00 19.75 2.75 0.57 15.4 SK-22-1165 32.00 42.35 10.35 0.93 7.6 SK-22-1165 47.10 48.50 1.40 0.40 18.2 SK-22-1165 53.00 54.50 1.50 0.54 22.7 SK-22-1165 72.11 76.50 4.39 1.56 13.5 SK-22-1166 4.00 8.00 4.00 0.48 9.2 SK-22-1166 37.71 44.00 6.29 0.69 7.7 SK-22-1166 47.50 57.70 10.20 0.54 14.9 SK-22-1166 81.98 84.00 2.02 9.19 24.5 Including 83.00 83.50 0.50 34.90 9.3 SK-22-1166 88.50 93.00 4.50 0.62 2.5 SK-22-1166 108.00 109.50 1.50 0.91 0.8 SK-22-1167 11.00 17.54 6.54 0.61 7.9 SK-22-1167 27.50 28.50 1.00 1.47 13.8 SK-22-1167 110.50 112.00 1.50 0.73 7.7 SK-22-1167 116.25 121.82 5.57 1.11 9.1 SK-22-1167 131.40 134.00 2.60 0.66 5.2 SK-22-1168 NSA SK-22-1169 NSA SK-22-1170 2.34 17.00 14.66 0.56 20.4 SK-22-1170 25.04 33.50 8.46 1.89 112.8 SK-22-1170 59.75 74.50 14.75 3.22 98.4 INCLUDING 62.50 64.00 1.50 3.60 761.0 SK-22-1170 108.50 110.00 1.50 0.22 69.6 SK-22-1170 133.79 155.00 21.21 1.01 37.9 SK-22-1170 159.50 164.00 4.50 0.63 11.3 SK-22-1170 185.11 188.50 3.39 0.52 33.6 SK-22-1170 192.49 200.00 7.51 0.82 3.6 SK-22-1171 2.10 15.55 13.45 0.60 18.5 SK-22-1171 21.96 29.00 7.04 0.80 39.1 SK-22-1171 54.50 80.48 25.98 4.96 14.6 Including 73.31 74.50 1.19 24.40 26.1 SK-22-1171 83.89 93.00 9.11 3.60 11.0 Including 83.89 85.00 1.11 11.90 5.0 and 85.00 85.68 0.68 15.65 15.2 SK-22-1171 124.50 126.00 1.50 0.98 1.2 SK-22-1171 137.15 141.00 3.85 0.81 7.5 SK-22-1171 184.00 185.14 1.14 0.70 0.5 SK-22-1172 3.93 5.00 1.07 0.93 3.7 SK-22-1172 13.00 14.50 1.50 0.56 44.3 SK-22-1172 40.66 52.00 11.34 0.50 26.7 SK-22-1172 57.08 61.55 4.47 2.57 71.9 SK-22-1172 77.00 90.18 13.18 1.82 54.2 SK-22-1172 139.54 167.00 27.46 1.18 12.4 SK-22-1172 174.50 194.00 19.50 0.90 21.0 SK-22-1172 238.00 239.10 1.10 0.68 0.5 SK-22-1173 27.57 52.00 24.43 1.68 113.8 SK-22-1173 74.00 94.49 20.49 2.78 59.0 SK-22-1173 111.00 112.50 1.50 0.60 1.7 SK-22-1173 123.00 124.50 1.50 0.53 9.7 SK-22-1173 128.72 152.50 23.78 0.60 15.5 SK-22-1173 160.00 161.50 1.50 0.54 8.0 SK-22-1173 180.50 182.00 1.50 0.62 3.8 SK-22-1173 189.83 198.00 8.17 0.82 8.5 SK-22-1173 202.50 218.00 15.50 0.58 9.2 SK-22-1173 226.00 238.52 12.52 0.93 10.9 SK-22-1173 245.50 249.53 4.03 0.89 14.9 SK-22-1174 14.34 15.87 1.53 5.98 100.0 SK-22-1174 23.00 36.50 13.50 0.81 64.9 SK-22-1174 54.00 70.47 16.47 3.17 41.9 Including 68.50 69.50 1.00 10.40 53.0 SK-22-1174 115.50 117.00 1.50 0.63 0.9 SK-22-1174 138.71 141.00 2.29 0.97 2.4 SK-22-1174 148.50 150.00 1.50 0.86 1.8 SK-22-1174 159.50 161.00 1.50 0.60 0.5 SK-22-1175 13.70 16.00 2.30 4.79 135.9 INCLUDING 13.70 15.07 1.37 7.76 215.0 SK-22-1175 22.50 34.50 12.00 0.69 66.8 SK-22-1175 54.20 57.50 3.30 0.99 1.1 SK-22-1175 63.00 78.50 15.50 1.62 167.8 Including 65.50 66.75 1.25 6.50 1465.0 SK-22-1175 86.00 89.00 3.00 1.01 0.9 SK-22-1175 99.15 112.08 12.93 2.10 18.8 SK-22-1175 135.00 143.00 8.00 0.64 8.0 SK-22-1175 154.00 166.35 12.35 1.68 18.6 SK-22-1175 171.00 172.50 1.50 0.97 2.7 SK-22-1176 7.12 8.00 0.88 0.75 9.6 SK-22-1176 19.50 23.84 4.34 2.35 48.0 SK-22-1176 32.50 55.50 23.00 0.85 40.2 SK-22-1176 60.50 70.00 9.50 0.63 5.5 SK-22-1177 22.30 28.00 5.70 14.90 2.5 Including 23.28 24.70 1.42 44.20 5.4 and 24.70 25.80 1.10 12.00 2.1 SK-22-1177 63.00 64.00 1.00 0.97 1.4 SK-22-1177 69.00 70.50 1.50 0.63 1.3 SK-22-1178 24.62 25.45 0.83 0.73 3.0 SK-22-1178 48.50 50.00 1.50 1.20 1.3 SK-22-1178 173.90 185.60 11.70 3.78 16.0 Including 176.10 177.42 1.32 11.75 52.3 SK-22-1178 210.33 219.50 9.17 1.14 2.8 SK-22-1178 229.00 233.50 4.50 0.65 1.4 SK-22-1179 16.70 18.00 1.30 0.65 1.9 SK-22-1179 118.00 119.00 1.00 0.94 3.6 SK-22-1179 166.78 179.97 13.19 1.90 13.3 SK-22-1180 4.35 7.35 3.00 0.56 8.2 SK-22-1180 53.50 55.00 1.50 0.88 2.0 SK-22-1180 87.68 92.00 4.32 0.68 0.9 SK-22-1180 185.35 187.90 2.55 2.22 10.4 SK-22-1180 193.50 194.64 1.14 1.07 6.6 SK-22-1180 206.00 210.50 4.50 0.52 2.4 SK-22-1180 228.25 229.50 1.25 0.91 0.5 SK-22-1180 242.00 251.25 9.25 0.68 0.9 SK-22-1180 265.81 266.96 1.15 0.78 3.7 SK-22-1180 275.00 276.16 1.16 0.65 0.5 SK-22-1181 11.50 32.50 21.00 0.95 85.4 SK-22-1181 80.23 81.23 1.00 0.56 6.2 SK-22-1181 124.46 129.00 4.54 1.16 0.8 SK-22-1183 9.00 15.50 6.50 1.40 65.0 SK-22-1183 20.00 21.50 1.50 0.66 34.3 SK-22-1183 35.00 38.00 3.00 0.75 1.5 SK-22-1183 48.50 50.00 1.50 0.83 0.9 SK-22-1183 54.50 56.00 1.50 0.70 3.7 SK-22-1183 80.00 82.04 2.04 0.86 2.6 SK-22-1183 89.19 90.50 1.31 0.69 5.1 SK-22-1183 110.00 111.29 1.29 0.67 1.6 SK-22-1183 114.50 119.00 4.50 0.54 2.9 SK-22-1183 122.85 147.50 24.65 1.13 7.0 SK-22-1184 13.00 23.50 10.50 0.76 16.3 SK-22-1184 28.00 29.50 1.50 0.57 27.6 SK-22-1184 83.60 87.06 3.46 1.74 17.0 SK-22-1184 100.50 134.10 33.60 1.17 14.2 SK-22-1184 148.25 152.20 3.95 0.53 13.6 SK-22-1184 155.50 158.50 3.00 1.03 7.0 SK-22-1184 163.00 166.00 3.00 1.10 4.9 SK-22-1184 171.60 176.50 4.90 0.51 2.5 SK-22-1185 26.00 48.50 22.50 1.37 1.6 SK-22-1185 94.85 95.90 1.05 1.04 52.1 SK-22-1185 121.00 122.50 1.50 0.49 13.8 SK-22-1185 171.00 180.00 9.00 0.78 4.2 SK-22-1185 183.20 197.00 13.80 1.04 9.3 SK-22-1185 245.50 246.00 0.50 1.14 17.3 SK-22-1186 5.20 6.00 0.80 0.51 451.0 SK-22-1186 25.00 29.00 4.00 0.58 10.3 SK-22-1186 32.93 38.50 5.57 0.57 2.4 SK-22-1186 91.50 96.00 4.50 0.37 18.9 SK-22-1187 1.45 7.87 6.42 0.95 1003.3 Including 2.00 4.20 2.20 1.27 2180.0 and 4.20 5.50 1.30 0.75 1245.0 SK-22-1187 15.57 17.00 1.43 0.63 5.9 SK-22-1187 26.50 28.00 1.50 1.16 0.7 SK-22-1187 32.00 33.00 1.00 0.56 5.2 SK-22-1187 37.00 38.00 1.00 0.50 11.8 SK-22-1187 43.00 44.50 1.50 0.54 5.4 SK-22-1187 48.97 50.45 1.48 0.94 9.4 SK-22-1187 54.94 57.50 2.56 0.40 129.1 SK-22-1187 61.40 87.50 26.10 1.11 19.7 SK-22-1187 106.40 107.50 1.10 0.65 1.9 SK-22-1187 135.50 137.00 1.50 1.02 0.5 SK-22-1188 57.00 60.00 3.00 0.75 2.3 SK-22-1188 87.40 99.00 11.60 1.00 4.6 SK-22-1188 106.50 127.11 20.61 0.66 7.6 SK-22-1188 176.00 177.40 1.40 0.67 1.3 SK-22-1189 32.50 43.00 10.50 0.74 1.4 SK-22-1189 47.50 50.50 3.00 0.82 1.4 SK-22-1189 167.46 168.46 1.00 0.55 13.6 SK-22-1190 94.10 95.50 1.40 0.15 105.0 SK-22-1190 133.50 135.00 1.50 0.47 21.3 SK-22-1190 165.00 165.69 0.69 0.54 7.8 SK-22-1190 177.50 179.00 1.50 0.93 6.2 SK-22-1191 14.00 15.00 1.00 0.49 10.0 SK-22-1191 71.50 74.03 2.53 0.54 28.8 SK-22-1191 83.00 90.00 7.00 0.44 2.3 SK-22-1191 107.50 115.00 7.50 0.67 2.9 SK-22-1191 123.50 133.90 10.40 1.26 5.0 SK-22-1191 139.15 149.82 10.67 0.79 1.3 SK-22-1192 16.00 19.34 3.34 0.60 7.6 SK-22-1192 101.27 102.50 1.23 0.42 32.8 SK-22-1193 12.00 13.50 1.50 0.72 5.5 SK-22-1193 18.50 25.27 6.77 1.48 12.8 SK-22-1193 58.00 59.50 1.50 0.67 1.9 SK-22-1193 87.00 91.50 4.50 0.94 0.5 SK-22-1193 111.50 112.60 1.10 0.87 0.5
True widths and zone geometries cannot be definitively determined at this time. Grade-capping of individual assays has not been applied to the Au and Ag assays informing the length-weighted composites. Samples below detection limit were nulled to a value of zero. NSA - No Significant Assays.
Table 2: Mine Grid Drill Hole Locations and Orientations:
Hole-ID Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (m) Length (m) Azimuth () Dip () SK-22-1073 9966.8 9094.6 965.6 130.0 66.9 -50.1 SK-22-1077 9979.1 8837.4 998.4 127.5 316.8 -50.1 SK-22-1098 9976.5 9445.7 1020.7 161.0 302.1 -50.0 SK-22-1099 9683.5 10155.3 1009.0 226.0 97.0 -55.0 SK-22-1100 9766.6 9344.1 1099.5 291.0 56.9 -50.1 SK-22-1101 9767.5 9342.8 1099.4 291.0 97.3 -50.4 SK-22-1102 9768.5 9340.8 1099.3 300.0 137.1 -49.9 SK-22-1105 9670.5 9485.1 1133.7 199.0 66.7 -49.7 SK-22-1106 9670.4 9484.4 1133.7 331.0 77.2 -70.0 SK-22-1107 9539.4 10238.3 965.5 399.4 67.0 -50.0 SK-22-1108 9683.6 10155.5 1009.0 316.0 116.5 -55.3 SK-22-1109 9685.6 9749.9 1071.7 249.0 36.9 -69.9 SK-22-1110 9684.4 9753.7 1071.0 250.9 137.5 -55.2 SK-22-1111 9801.9 9693.3 1057.2 181.9 265.0 -82.1 SK-22-1114 9541.3 8535.6 1100.8 291.1 86.9 -65.0 SK-22-1115 9543.8 8534.3 1099.9 259.1 100.0 -50.0 SK-22-1116 9612.2 10614.2 880.2 398.0 95.1 -71.1 SK-22-1117 9638.7 8487.5 1051.2 241.0 72.1 -50.0 SK-22-1118 9539.4 10237.3 965.6 452.0 82.0 -50.0 SK-22-1119 9634.7 10014.3 1008.5 200.2 77.2 -65.2 SK-22-1120 9634.2 10013.0 1008.5 200.2 127.0 -55.2 SK-22-1121 9631.0 10018.7 1007.1 151.0 327.4 -60.3 SK-22-1123 9704.6 9953.1 1036.7 225.9 51.0 -72.0 SK-22-1124 9705.7 9949.0 1037.6 183.8 112.0 -52.0 SK-22-1125 9733.0 9989.5 1056.3 41.4 77.0 -45.0 SK-22-1126 9729.8 9987.3 1056.0 82.1 147.0 -56.0 SK-22-1127 9727.6 9987.5 1056.2 147.1 237.0 -60.0 SK-22-1128 9726.5 9989.0 1056.2 131.7 267.0 -56.0 SK-22-1129 9763.8 9916.8 1066.5 82.0 337.0 -45.4 SK-22-1130 9763.4 9916.1 1066.7 138.0 310.0 -45.0 SK-22-1132 9761.1 9876.9 1066.8 120.0 312.2 -45.0 SK-22-1133 9688.1 9816.1 1068.6 205.1 92.0 -69.0 SK-22-1134 9741.8 9762.5 1067.8 193.2 70.0 -77.0 SK-22-1135 9734.3 9676.5 1085.8 136.1 65.0 -44.8 SK-22-1136 9733.1 9673.6 1085.4 231.7 71.9 -75.9 SK-22-1137 9733.7 9674.8 1085.7 201.6 77.0 -73.0 SK-22-1138 9733.8 9673.7 1085.7 201.0 85.0 -66.0 SK-22-1139 9735.3 9674.0 1086.3 225.0 87.2 -51.0 SK-22-1140 9962.2 9910.1 980.5 189.5 2.2 -67.2 SK-22-1141 9963.4 9911.1 980.4 210.0 36.7 -59.9 SK-22-1142 10072.9 9941.8 969.2 144.4 167.1 -62.1 SK-22-1143 10071.8 9941.4 969.4 150.6 215.0 -72.0 SK-22-1144 10070.3 9943.4 969.1 144.0 278.9 -68.0 SK-22-1145 10105.8 10088.6 972.4 163.3 67.6 -75.1 SK-22-1146 10108.4 10087.5 972.5 150.5 101.7 -45.5 SK-22-1147 10107.1 10083.7 972.0 171.0 147.1 -45.0 SK-22-1148 10103.2 10083.8 971.9 187.2 206.9 -70.4 SK-22-1149 10099.2 10087.1 970.7 234.5 261.3 -45.1 SK-22-1150 10101.9 10086.2 971.5 177.3 276.6 -87.0 SK-22-1151 10100.7 10087.1 971.2 256.0 291.9 -57.1 SK-22-1152 10101.8 10087.1 971.5 223.4 307.1 -68.1 SK-22-1153 9699.3 9633.6 1092.7 241.3 79.2 -67.2 SK-22-1154 9699.5 9633.3 1092.8 239.0 95.1 -58.8 SK-22-1155 9700.8 9633.7 1093.4 239.0 96.0 -47.3 SK-22-1156 9742.2 9597.2 1093.8 150.0 58.0 -45.0 SK-22-1157 9742.5 9591.6 1095.6 181.8 89.2 -45.2 SK-22-1158 9739.8 9588.2 1097.0 221.4 97.3 -55.9 SK-22-1159 10137.2 10380.3 970.9 211.0 93.0 -79.0 SK-22-1160 10133.0 10381.4 970.6 279.0 275.1 -52.1 SK-22-1161 10133.6 10382.6 970.8 265.0 275.9 -67.2 SK-22-1162 10134.4 10381.0 970.7 250.0 294.1 -82.7 SK-22-1163 10055.8 9996.9 959.9 189.0 337.0 -59.9 SK-22-1164 10056.0 9995.9 960.3 142.3 307.1 -64.9 SK-22-1165 10081.1 10000.7 960.5 140.1 152.0 -82.1 SK-22-1166 10080.1 10000.3 960.3 157.5 186.0 -54.1 SK-22-1167 10079.0 10002.5 959.8 155.5 297.1 -77.3 SK-22-1168 9777.8 9593.9 1101.2 114.9 35.4 -45.1 SK-22-1169 9776.8 9595.3 1100.9 102.4 96.7 -45.3 SK-22-1170 10100.8 10332.3 973.9 245.3 57.1 -89.0 SK-22-1171 10101.4 10330.7 973.3 242.1 97.2 -76.0 SK-22-1172 10097.7 10331.8 974.7 286.6 267.7 -59.0 SK-22-1173 10103.4 10333.9 973.4 280.9 282.0 -75.2 SK-22-1174 10081.8 10293.1 971.7 220.3 107.0 -56.9 SK-22-1175 10081.3 10293.7 971.7 229.7 107.1 -75.0 SK-22-1176 10077.6 10294.8 971.5 169.6 286.9 -84.9 SK-22-1177 9762.5 9651.6 1074.1 75.0 71.7 -45.4 SK-22-1178 10078.9 10127.4 964.0 282.2 271.1 -45.0 SK-22-1179 10079.2 10127.9 964.0 240.7 280.3 -54.1 SK-22-1180 10079.6 10128.2 964.0 282.3 283.1 -45.0 SK-22-1181 10107.0 10220.8 959.6 150.5 112.2 -61.0 SK-22-1183 10106.4 10220.5 959.5 170.0 132.0 -79.6 SK-22-1184 10103.8 10222.4 958.5 201.6 292.3 -77.9 SK-22-1185 10103.7 10222.7 958.4 266.9 294.8 -60.1 SK-22-1186 10114.0 10159.3 967.9 161.9 114.0 -52.0 SK-22-1187 10112.7 10160.9 968.0 163.4 117.1 -72.0 SK-22-1188 10109.3 10160.2 969.1 205.7 282.1 -75.3 SK-22-1189 10087.5 10176.0 962.9 255.7 288.1 -58.0 SK-22-1190 10088.3 10176.4 962.9 198.5 282.2 -70.0 SK-22-1191 10110.8 10161.3 968.5 181.9 292.0 -88.0 SK-22-1192 10150.9 10044.9 985.4 118.1 125.0 -45.1 SK-22-1193 10151.4 10045.2 985.5 112.6 124.9 -72.2
SOURCE: Skeena Resources Limited
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740284/Skeena-Bolsters-21A-West-Zone-Intersecting-1818-gt-Au-1302-gt-Ag-over-926-metres
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Delivra Health Brands Inc. (TSXV: DHB) (OTCQB: DHBUF) (formerly, Harvest One Cannabis Inc.) ("Delivra Health" or the "Company"), a consumer packaged goods company uniquely positioned in the health and wellness sector, is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the three and six months ended December 31, 2022.
Management Commentary
"The second quarter of fiscal 2023 ("Q2 2023") reflects the start of a new phase in our history as Delivra Health has now become a profitable business," said Gord Davey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Delivra Health. "In Q2 2023, the Company reported positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA")(1). Since the start of our strategic reorganization in March 2020, the Delivra Health team has worked diligently on its customer mix, margins and achieving a responsible level of selling, general and administrative expenses ("SG&A"). These positive Q2 2023 results demonstrate that our business model is effective and scalable without burning significant cash going forward. With the sale of our Lucky Lake facility, Delivra Health's balance sheet is now well positioned for future growth. The Company will be increasing its investment in further innovation projects, customer programs and marketing campaigns."
Financial Highlights for the Quarter Ending December 31, 2022
Net revenue: The Company reported total net revenue from continued operations of $2.39 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2023 as compared to $1.74 million in same period last year, representing an approximate 37% increase. This increase was primarily due to higher sales of Dream Water in US to international distributors and higher sales of the Company's licensed LivRelief cannabis-infused topical creams in Canada.
Gross profit and gross profit margin: The Company reported for the 3 months ended December 31, 2022 gross profit of $0.98 million and a gross profit margin of 41% from continued operations as compared to $0.64 million and 37% in same period last year. The increase in gross profit and gross profit margin was the result of increased sales volume of the Company's licensed 2.0 LivRelief products and higher margin sales from the US and international distributors.
Expenses including SG&A and excluding non-cash items: For the three months ended December 31, 2022, the Company reported expenses of $0.96 million as compared to $1.75 million in the same period last year, representing a 45% reduction. The reduction was mainly driven by the implementation of certain operational improvements and cost reduction measures identified in the Company's strategic review, which was completed on March 29, 2021 (the "Strategic Review"), and which resulted in lower sales and marketing expenses.
Adjusted EBITDA(1): For the three months ended December 31, 2022, the Company reported Adjusted EBITDA of $0.14 million as compared to $(0.95) million in the same period last year, representing a $1.09 million year over year improvement from continued operations. This increase in EBITDA resulted from management's focus on customer mix, gross profit margin improvement and efficient administrative and selling support functions.
Financial Highlights for the Six Months Ending December 31, 2022
Net revenue: The Company reported total net revenue from continued operations of $4.12 million compared to $3.87 million in same period last year which is approximately a 6% increase. This increase was due to higher sales of Dream Water in US to international distributors and higher sales of the Company's licensed LivRelief cannabis-infused topical creams in Canada as a result of the timing of customer ordering patterns experienced and expressed by management in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.
Gross profit and gross profit margin: The Company reported year-to-date gross profit of $1.86 million and a gross profit margin of 45% from continued operations as compared to $1.35 million and 35% in same period last year. The increase in gross profit and gross profit margin was the result of increased sales volume and improved customer mix supported by well-controlled operational costs.
Expenses including SG&A and excluding non-cash items: For the six months ended December 31, 2022, the Company reported expenses of $2.01 million compared to $3.24 million in the same period last year, representing a 38% reduction. As noted previously, the reduction was mainly driven by the implementation of certain measures identified in the Company's Strategic Review, which resulted in lower sales and marketing expenses to conserve cash.
Adjusted EBITDA(1): For the six months ended December 31, 2022, the Company reported Adjusted EBITDA of $(0.015) million compared to $(1.73) million in the same period last year, representing a $1.74 million year over year improvement from continued operations. This increase in EBITDA was driven by management's efforts in focusing on the right customer mix, margin improvement supported by efficient administrative and selling support functions.
Summary of Key Financial Results
For the three months ended
December 31 For the six months ended
December 31 ($000's, except share and per share amounts) 2022 2021 2022 2021 Continued operations: $ $ $ $ Net revenue 2,392 1,746 4,121 3,876 Cost of sales 1,284 941 2,124 2,362 Inventory write-down 121 161 132 161 Gross profit 987 644 1,865 1,353 Expenses excluding non-cash expenses 968 1,759 2,012 3,246 Depreciation and amortization and share based compensation 410 614 781 1,300 Total Expenses 1,378 2,373 2,793 4,546 Loss from Operations (391) (1,729) (928) (3,193) Other (expense) income 1,281 99 1,434 110 Net gain (loss) from continued operations 890 (1,630) 506 (3,083) Net gain (loss) per share - basic and diluted 0.004 (0.01) 0.002 (0.01)
Adjusted EBITDA(1) (non-IFRS measure)
For the three months ended
December 31 For the six months ended
December 31 ($000's, except share and per share amounts) 2022 2021 2022 2021 Loss from operations (391) (1,729) (928) (3,193) Inventory write-down 121 161 132 161 Depreciation and amortization 332 527 664 1,064 Share-based compensation 78 87 117 236 Adjusted EBITDA(1) 140 (954) (15) (1,732) (1) Defined as loss from operations before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and adjusted for share-based compensation, common shares issued for services, asset impairment and write-downs, discontinued operations and other non-cash items, and is a non-IFRS measure discussed in the "Adjusted EBITDA" section.
Expenses excluding non-cash items
For the three months ended
December 31 For the six months ended
December 31 ($000's, except share and per share amounts) 2022 2021 2022 2021 General and administration 888 1,157 1,853 2,232 Sales and marketing 80 602 159 1,014 Total 968 1,759 2,012 3,246
About Delivra Health Brands Inc.
Helping people take control of their health with alternative wellness solutions is what energizes the Delivra Health team! The Delivra Health portfolio features innovative brands like Dream Water and LivRelief, which deliver relief from common everyday issues like chronic pain, anxiety, and sleeplessness. Delivra Health products have allowed millions of customers to reclaim their mobility, energy, and in turn, quality of life. The websites of the Company's two subsidiaries are Dream Water and LivRelief TM . For more information, please visit www.delivrahealthbrands.com.
Non-IFRS Measures, Reconciliation and Discussion
This press release contains references to "Adjusted EBITDA" which is a non-IFRS financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is a measure of the Company's loss from operations before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization and adjusted for share-based compensation, common shares issued for services, fair value effects of accounting for biological assets and inventories, asset impairment and write-downs, and other non-cash items, and is a non-IFRS measure.
This measure can be used to analyze and compare profitability among companies and industries, as it eliminates the effects of financing and capital expenditures. It is often used in valuation ratios and can be compared to enterprise value and revenue. This measure does not have any standardized meaning according to IFRS and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.
There are no comparable IFRS financial measures presented in Delivra Health's financial statements. Reconciliations of the supplemental non-IFRS measure are presented in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended December 31, 2022. This non-IFRS financial measure is presented because management has evaluated the financial results both including and excluding the adjusted items and believes that the non-IFRS financial measure presented provides additional perspective and insights when analyzing the core operating performance of the business. The Company believes that the supplemental measure provides information which is useful to shareholders and investors in understanding the Company's performance and may assist in the evaluation of the Company's business relative to that of its peers.
The non-IFRS financial measure should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for, or as an alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with the IFRS financial measures presented in the Company's financial statements. For more information, please see "Adjusted EBITDA (non-IFRS measure)" and "Non-IFRS Measures" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended December 31, 2022, which is available under the Company's System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") profile on www.sedar.com.
Notes:
This is a non-IFRS reporting measure. For a reconciliation of this measure to the nearest IFRS measure, see "Adjusted EBITDA (non-IFRS measure)" and "Non-IFRS Measures" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended December 31, 2022.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (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 involves discussions with respect to 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. In this news release, forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements with respect to the Company's growth objectives, planned investment activities, management of expenses, increasing revenues and profitability, growth in new markets, and new distribution partners.
These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as 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 materially differ from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's operations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; expectations regarding the size of the cannabis markets where the Company operates; changing consumer habits; the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives; plans for expansion; political and social uncertainties; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; employee relations and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on cultivation, production, distribution, and sale of cannabis and cannabis-related products in the markets where the Company operates. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
Additional information regarding this and other risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's business are contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated March 2, 2021, and under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's management's discussion and analysis dated February 22, 2023, for the year ended June 30, 2022, filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Investor Relations:
Jack Tasse
Chief Financial Officer
IR@delivrahealth.com
1-877-915-7934
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155687
Massachusetts bank rounds out its adoption of SimpleNexus' digital mortgage toolset with the implementation of Nexus Closing
LEHI, Utah, Feb. 22, 2023), an nCinohas implemented Nexus Closing to offer its customers the convenience of "from anywhere" home financing tools.
A mutual savings bank with $2.3 billion in assets under management, Avidia Bank provides financial services to Massachusetts communities across eight branch locations. Leading with its Honest to Goodness brand promise, Avidia Bank seeks to provide customers with efficient financial solutions and exceptional customer service.
Nexus Closing is a comprehensive closing solution with the flexibility to support traditional, hybrid and fully remote eClosings. Its collaborative tools, automatic status updates and mobile eSign capabilities provide borrowers with the resources and guidance to confidently navigate the mortgage closing process. Since implementing Nexus Closing to support hybrid closings, nearly all Avidia Bank borrowers have opted to review and eSign closing documents that do not require notarization before the closing ceremony.
Avidia Bank's implementation of Nexus Closing rounds out its adoption of the SimpleNexus lending software product line. In 2019, the financial institution implemented SimpleNexus' pre-application borrower engagement solution, Nexus Engagement , and point-of-sale product, Nexus Origination . Used together, the three products facilitate a single-sign-on home financing experience from application to close.
"SimpleNexus enables Avidia Bank to support our customers with a top-of-the-line mortgage tool set that transforms a complex financial transaction into a straightforward and accessible process," said Laura Hughes, vice president, CRA officer at Avidia Bank. "We prioritize partnerships that let us make things easier for our customers, and SimpleNexus does just that."
"Avidia Bank is an example of a financial institution that puts the communities it serves at the forefront of all it does," said Ben Miller, CEO of SimpleNexus. "We're honored to assist Avidia Bank in bringing more joy to the homebuying experience."
About SimpleNexus
SimpleNexus, an nCinoor follow @SimpleNexus.
Media Contacts
Leslie Colley
DepthPR for SimpleNexus
+1 678.622.6229
leslie@depthpr.com
Ryan Kelly
nCino
+1 732.770.5942
ryan.kelly@ncino.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally include actions, events, results, strategies and expectations and are often identifiable by use of the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "projects," "may," "will," "could," "might," or "continues" or similar expressions. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon nCino's historical performance and its current plans, estimates, and expectations, and are not a representation that such plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent nCino's expectations as of the date of this press release. Subsequent events may cause these expectations to change and, except as may be required by law, nCino does not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially including, among others, risks and uncertainties relating to the market adoption of our solution and privacy and data security matters. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect nCino's business and financial results are included in reports filed by nCino with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available on our web site at www.ncino.com or the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov). Further information on potential risks that could affect actual results will be included in other filings nCino makes with the SEC from time to time.
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX: MIN) (FSE: 3XS) (OTCQB: EXMGF) ("Excelsior" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") on the Johnson Camp Mine Heap Leach, located in Cochise County, southeastern Arizona. The PEA considers the results of the drill program completed in 2022 and the implementation of sulfide leaching technology to improve recoveries. As part of the PEA, the combined report (the "Report") will also include a republishing of the Prefeasibility Study Update ("PFS") on the North Star Deposit of the Gunnison Copper Project. The Gunnison Project is designed as a copper in-situ recovery ("ISR") mine using solvent extraction-electrowinning ("SX-EW") to produce copper cathode and the Johnson Camp mine is a conventional open pit and heap leach operation. Results of the PFS and PEA disclosed in this press release are in United States dollars.
JOHNSON CAMP HEAP LEACH PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT
Economic Analysis
The Johnson Camp Mine ("JCM") has historically been an open pit, heap leach operation since Cyprus Minerals opened the property in the 1970's. The operation includes two open pits, a two-stage crushing-agglomerating circuit, a fully functioning SX-EW plant capable of producing 25 million pounds of cathode copper per year, a complete set of PLS and raffinate ponds, and full infrastructure (ancillary facilities, access, power, water, and communications).
Heap leaching of sulfide copper with accelerated pyrite oxidation is proposed in this PEA. The Project plans include mining oxide, sulfide, and transition material from the Burro and Copper Chief pits for 20 years and heap leaching for an additional year to produce copper cathode at a capacity up to 25 million pounds per annum (mppa).
To restart JCM for heap leaching, two developments need to take place simultaneously: pre-stripping and mine development, and the construction of a new heap leach pad, Pad 5. Both are considered to require between six and nine months to complete before irrigation of the new leach pad could commence. Piping of PLS and raffinate lines from Pad 5 to the JCM ponds also fits within this time frame. A PEA has been completed by M3 with respect to this planned re-opening.
Mining of JCM would be by traditional open pit and the highlights of the PEA financial model are tabulated below assuming a copper price of $3.75/lb.
Mine Life and post mining processing ~20 years Heap Leach Material Mined 85.2 M ton Total Copper Grade (CuT%) 0.37% Average LOM Total Copper Recovery* 77% Cu Produced 492 M lb Total Tonnage Mined 196 M ton Initial Mine Capital $58.9 million Total Operating Cash Cost ($/lb Cu)** $2.24 After-Tax NPV/IRR (7.5% discount rate) $180.0M / 30.4% * Total copper recovery includes a combination of oxide, transition and primary sulfide mineral recoveries.
** Includes all operating costs, site G&A, royalties, non-income taxes, salvage, reclamation and closure.
The table below sets out the sensitivities of the After-Tax NPV and IRR to copper price:
Sensitivity Analysis Sensitivity -20% -10% 0 +10% +20% Cu Price $3.00 $3.375 $3.75 $4.125 $4.50 IRR After-Tax 11.5% 20.9% 30.4% 39.9% 49.2% NPV* After-Tax $32 $107 $180 $251 $321 *million $ at 7.5% discount rate
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Mineral Resources
The JCM Mineral Resources are provided in the table below.
Johnson Camp Mineral Resources
(0.1% CuT cut-off)
Classification Tons % Cu lbs CuT Measured 20,771,000 0.31 127,545,000 Indicated 87,166,000 0.32 550,118,000 M&I 107,932,000 0.32 677,663,000 Inferred 50,998,000 0.32 322,656,000
The Effective Date of the mineral resources is July 13, 2022. The project mineral resources are comprised of all model blocks at a 0.1 % CuT cut-off that lie within optimized resource pits. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by geology, environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent discrepancies between tons, grade, and contained metal content.
The JCM copper resources were modeled and estimated using information provided by Excelsior under Mr. Bickel's supervision. The information is derived from historical core holes drilled by Cyprus Mining, Arimetco, Summo USA Corp., and Nord Resources Corp, and new drilling completed by Excelsior in 2022. The drill hole database also includes analyses performed by Excelsior on the historical core. These data, as well as digital topography of the project area, were provided to RESPEC Company LLC ("RESPEC") by Excelsior.
Total copper grades, as well as soluble copper ratios, were interpolated using inverse distance, ordinary kriging, and nearest-neighbor methods. The mineral resources reported herein were estimated by inverse distance interpolation as this method led to results that most appropriately reflected the drill data and geology of the deposit. This is particularly true with respect to the estimation of the lowest-grade areas in the model, where potential over-estimation of volumes could materially impact the resource estimation at grades close to potential open-pit mining cut-offs. The nearest-neighbor estimation was completed for the purposes of statistical checking of the various estimation iterations.
The JCM mineral resources have been estimated to reflect potential open-pit extraction and potential processing by heap leaching. To meet the requirement of the resources having reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction, a pit optimization was completed using the parameters summarized in the table below.
Parameter Value Unit Copper Price $3.75 $/lb Sold Contract Mine Cost $2.30 $/ton Mined Technical Services $0.25 $/ton Processed Heap Management $0.30 $/ton Processed Heap Capital Cost $0.80 $/ton Processed Crushing/Agglomeration Cost $1.10 $/ton Processed G&A Cost $0.05 $/lb Cu Produced SX-EW Cost $0.25 $/lb Cu Produced Recovery 95% Acid Soluble Cu Recovery 95% Cyanide Soluble Cu Recovery 70% Sulfide Cu Royalty (incl. Stream) 17.90% NSR Acid Cost $150 $/ ton Acid Consumption and Costs by Formation Formation Acid Cons.
lb/ton Acid Cost
$/ton Processed Pioneer Shale 20 $1.20 Bolsa Quartzite 25 $1.50 Diabase 30 $1.80 Middle Abrigo 55 $3.30 Upper Abrigo 45 $2.70 Lower Abrigo 40 $2.40 Martin 70 $4.20
The pit shells created using these optimization parameters were used to constrain the project resources for comparison purposes. An exclusion line was used to limit the pit optimization on the west side of the Burro Pit to prevent the pit optimizations from encroaching on the existing process plant and the historical leach pad. The in-pit resources were further constrained by the application of a cut-off of 0.1% CuT to all model blocks within the optimized pits.
Mr. Jeffrey Bickel, C.P.G., with the independent firm RESPEC of Reno, Nevada, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and is responsible for this mineral resource estimate. He has verified, reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this section of the news release. Mr. Bickel has verified the data underlying the results by reviewing the drilling, sampling, assay, and quality assurance and quality control data, as well as the geologic interpretations completed by Excelsior. Mr. Bickel is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other issues which may materially affect its estimate of mineral resources.
PEA Assumptions
The JCM plan has been developed based on a new mineral resource estimate for the Burro and Copper Chief deposits. The mine plan targets the full resource at Johnson Camp over a 20-year period. A contract miner will be executing the mining of the pits and delivering material to the primary crusher.
Mining of the deposit is expected to be accomplished with 100-ton haul trucks and front-end loaders. Mining is planned on 20-ft bench heights. The pit configuration is double-benched with catch benches every vertical 40 ft. An annual schedule was developed for the mine plan. Crushed and agglomerated material will be processed by placement on the newly permitted leach pad. This tonnage production is limited by the copper production capacity of the existing SX-EW plant of 25 million pounds of copper per year.
The mining contractor is expected to be responsible for mine supervision, equipment operation, equipment maintenance, and blast hole drilling and loading. The reference to specific equipment manufacturers is to illustrate equipment size and is not to be considered a recommendation. Production drilling is expected to be accomplished with Epiroc DM45 class drills or similar. Loading is expected to be accomplished with 14-yard CAT 992 class front-end loaders. Haul trucks are planned to be CAT 777 class 100-ton trucks.
The existing leach pads (Pads 1, 2 & 3) will not be used for future mining for new material extracted from the Burro and Copper Chief pits. The new leach pad area, Pad 5, is to be located northeast of the existing plant facility and is to be designed such that leach solutions flow by gravity into the new combined ILS-PLS pond located down slope of the new leach pad. The PLS solution will be pumped back to the existing JCM SX-EW plant. A storm water pond is also provided.
The Johnson Camp Mine is currently covered under Aquifer Protection Permit P-100514. Excelsior has obtained a significant amendment to the existing APP to accommodate mining at JCM from the Burro Pit. A new facility, Leach Pad 5, with associated impoundments has been added to the existing APP to accommodate resumption of mining at JCM.
The full capital cost for restarting the JCM heap leaching operation including mining pre-production, first fills/Owner's costs, leach pad construction, new leach pad stacking system, crusher and agglomeration refurbishment and haul road construction is approximately $58.9 million. Staffing for the JCM project is mostly in place however several new hires will be needed to augment the existing staff.
JCM Opportunities
Additional infill and step-out drilling, including drilling focused on deeper sulfides, could yield increased tonnage and/or grade in some areas within the mineral resource. Detailed mine planning and scheduling may result in higher production rates and reduced mining unit costs. Mine plan optimization could bring higher grade material closer to start for better initial cash flow and could reduce waste tons. Planned metallurgical test work on sulfides and transitional mineralization in 2023 could generate higher recoveries or lower acid consumptions than presently estimated and demonstrate that less crushing is required. The estimated capital required for the JCM Project has been prepared to a PEA level. Additional detailed engineering work may reduce this cost. Relocating the existing waste rock stockpile could be performed with smaller, cheaper equipment as well as timed later in the mine schedule to increase near-term revenue. The copper price used for this study is $3.75/lb. Current copper spot copper prices are above this price level and may continue to increase, given the continued emphasis by the US and other governments towards renewable energy sources and electrification of transportation. Copper has a large role to play in these "green" initiatives. Expansion of the current SX-EW facility to a production capacity of 50 mlbs per annum could be evaluated in a trade-off study to evaluate whether it would improve the project economics by increasing the cash flow. Demonstration of successful leaching of sulfide and transitional material could provide opportunities for mining additional satellite deposits that are known to exist in the Johnson Camp District, including the Strong and Harris and Gunnison deposits. Integration of planning efforts for the Johnson Camp, Strong and Harris, and Gunnison deposits could reveal synergies or development strategies for improving financial returns and increasing the mine life.
JCM Risks
Metallurgical test work to be performed on sulfides and transitional mineralization in 2023 could generate lower recoveries or higher acid consumptions that presently estimated. This testing could also indicate that finer crushing is required to achieve high copper recoveries. The acid price could remain high in the short term and could increase the operating cost of heap leaching. Other reagent costs, principally diluent and extractant, could increase materially, increasing SX-EW operating costs. The current increased price of natural gas which is used by the local generating company could impact the long-term cost of power needed for the Project. The selected PEA copper price of $3.75/lb could be subject to volatility due to external factors. More detailed engineering designs could result in higher costs. Increased lead times for construction could materially delay the start of leaching and generation of revenue. The cost of financing capital for the JCM heap leach could become prohibitive. Obtaining the necessary environmental permit amendments could take longer than anticipated. Changes to the new Pad 5 permit may be required to optimize sulfide leaching which could delay mine start-up.
Recommendations
Excelsior should complete the current metallurgical program and, if warranted, proceed to a feasibility study and then detailed engineering for the leach pad and crusher refurbishment.
GUNNISON PROJECT PREFEASIBILITY STUDY
Highlights of the PFS (United States dollars)
Net Present Value ("NPV") of $1,167 million after-tax at 7.5% discount rate using a life of mine ("LOM") average copper price of $3.75/lb;
Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 37.5% after-tax;
Pre-production capital costs of $47.6 million includes 15% contingency, EPCM, freight, mobile equipment, owner's costs and capital spares;
Payback period for pre-production capital of 6.7 years after-tax;
Average life of mine operating costs of $0.945/lb;
Total Operating Cash Cost (including royalties, non-income taxes, salvage, reclamation and closure) of $1.225/lb
All-In Cost (LOM capital costs plus operating costs) of $1.727/lb;
Life of Mine: 2,154 million pounds of commercial production over 24 years;
Staged production profile: initial production rate of 25 million pounds of copper cathode per annum, followed by an intermediate expansion stage to 75 million pounds per annum and final expansion stage to full production of 125 million pounds per annum (includes the construction of an acid plant at full production). The staged production profile makes possible the funding of future expansions out of cash flow;
Approximately 15 months of wellfield pre-conditioning (additional operations) to dissolve and remove calcite, along with the addition of a raffinate neutralization plant to assist with the flushing and removal of accumulated CO2 gas;
Requirement for some additional work to reduce risk and optimize process and production.
A detailed sensitivity analysis to copper price is set out below under the heading "Financial Analysis". In addition, the risks and opportunities associated with the Gunnison Project are discussed below.
The PFS was completed by M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation ("M3") of Tucson, AZ and is effective as of February 1, 2023. The Technical Report (the "Report") summarizing the results of the PFS and prepared in accordance with National Instrument ("NI") 43-101, will be filed on SEDAR and Excelsior's website within 45 days of this news release. The PFS was updated because of the need to update the JCM PEA, which is contained in the same report.
Financial Analysis
The PFS base case generates an after-tax NPV of approximately $1,166.5 million (at a cash flow discount of 7.5%) and an IRR of 37.5%. This financial analysis is based on a number of assumptions which will be fully set out in the Report.
The base case uses the following parameters over the 24-years of production:
Copper selling price of $3.75/lb
Total copper recovery of approximately 48% (based on a combination of metallurgical recovery and estimated sweep efficiency);
Average of approximately 9.5 pounds of acid consumed for every pound of copper produced;
Acid plant construction in year 7 with the price of sulfuric acid prior to that of approximately $150/ton and the price of sulfur of $130 per ton delivered after that:
Combined state and federal tax rate of 25.9%;
Staged production commencing at 25 million pounds per annum, ramping up to 75 million pounds in year 4, and then to 125 million pounds per annum in Year 7.
The introduction of an additional year of pre-production calcite removal and neutralized raffinate flushing for every well to address CO2 flow restrictions.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS SUMMARY Pre-Tax Post-Tax IRR 40.6% 37.5% Pre-Production Capital Payback (years) 6.5 6.7 NPV (million $) @7.5% 1,434.8 1,166.5 COST METRICS Cost/lb Copper Direct Operating Costs 0.945 Royalties, Taxes, Recl. & Salvage 0.274 Total Cash Cost 1.225
Total initial (pre-breakthrough) capital expenditures (including 15% contingency, EPCM, capital spares, owner's costs, mobile equipment and freight) are estimated at $47.6 million for Stage 1 initial production of copper cathode at approximately 25 million pounds per annum. Total sustaining capital costs over the life of the mine are $1,080.8 million, which includes production wellfield expansion, SX-EW expansion, acid plant construction and water treatment facilities. The average life of mine Direct Operating Cash Cost is $0.945/lb and the average life of mine Total Operating Cash Cost (including royalties, non-income taxes, salvage, reclamation, and closure) is $1.225/lb.
The Company has also evaluated an Alternate case without an Acid Plant. This case generated a pre-tax NPV@7.5% of $1,177.8 million and an IRR of 41.0% (after-tax: NPV@7.5% of $975.5 million and IRR of 38.1%). Total initial capital expenditures remain the same as the "Acid Plant" scenario. Total sustaining capital costs over the life of the mine are $879.7 million, which includes production well-field expansion, SX-EW expansion and water treatment facilities. Average life of mine Operating Direct Cash Costs are estimated at $1.35/lb for the "No-Acid Plant" option with an average life of mine Total Operating Cash Cost of $1.63 per pound.
Sensitivity analysis is shown in the table below.
Base Case After - Tax Sensitivities ($millions)
Copper Price NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $1,167 37.5% 6.7 20% $1,697 50.4% 4.3 10% $1,433 44.0% 6.2 -10% $898 30.8% 7.3 -20% $627 24.2% 8.0 Operating Cost NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $1,167 37.5% 6.7 20% $1,031 33.2% 7.1 10% $1,099 35.3% 6.9 -10% $1,233 39.7% 6.5 -20% $1,299 41.9% 6.3 Initial Capital NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $1,167 37.5% 6.7 20% $1,160 36.1% 6.7 10% $1,163 36.8% 6.7 -10% $1,170 38.2% 6.7 -20% $1,173 39.0% 6.6
The Alternate Case economic after-tax sensitivities are shown in the table below.
Alternate Case After - Tax Sensitives ($millions)
Copper Price NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $976 38.1% 6.0 20% $1,505 51.7% 4.3 10% $1,241 45.0% 4.8 -10% $706 30.8% 6.7 -20% $432 23.0% 7.5 Operating Cost NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $976 38.1% 6.0 20% $790 32.7% 6.5 10% $883 35.4% 6.2 -10% $1,066 40.8% 5.4 -20% $1,157 43.4% 5.0 Initial Capital NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $976 38.1% 6.04 20% $969 36.6% 6.08 10% $972 37.4% 6.06 -10% $979 38.9% 6.02 -20% $982 39.8% 6.00
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
Mineral Resource Estimate
The mineral resource estimate for the North Star Deposit is based on results from 122 drill holes totalling 158,785 feet and is effective as of October 1, 2016 (unchanged from the original 2016 Feasibility Study on the Gunnison Project). The estimate is classified as a measured, indicated or inferred mineral resource, consistent with the CIM definitions referred to in NI 43-101. Excelsior is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other issues which may materially affect its estimate of mineral resources.
Total Resources (Oxide + Transitional + Sulfide) Resource Class Short Tons (millions) Total Cu (%) Cu Pounds (billions) Measured 200.7 0.36 1.439 Indicated 710.8 0.27 3.875 Measured + Indicated 911.6 0.29 5.315 Inferred 240.9 0.22 1.070 0.05% TCu Cut-off for Oxide + Transitional; 0.30% TCu Cut-off for Sulfide
Notes:
Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Oxidized + Transitional Mineral Resources are reported at a 0.05% total-copper cut-off in consideration of potential mining by in situ recovery.
The North Star mineral resources were modeled to reflect the detailed lithologic, structural, and oxidation modeling completed by Excelsior. Copper mineral domains were interpreted on east-west vertical cross sections on 100-foot spacing, which encompass the 2.3-mile north-south and 1.3-mile east-west extents of the deposit. These domains were then used to explicitly constrain the estimation of copper grades into 50 x 100 x 25-foot (x, y, z) model blocks using 20-foot composites and inverse-distance interpolation. The grade estimation is further controlled by the incorporation of search ellipses that reflect the orientations of modeled structural zones, as well as those of favorable stratigraphic units in areas unaffected by the structures.
All samples were prepared from manually split half-core sections on-site in Arizona. Split drill core samples were then sent to Skyline Assayers & Laboratories ("Skyline") in Tucson, Arizona, an independent laboratory, for Total Copper and Sequential Copper analyses. Skyline is accredited with international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories. Analytical results for Total Copper, Acid Soluble Copper, and Cyanide Soluble Copper were reported. Excelsior has no relationship with Skyline Labs other than Skyline being a service provider. Standards, blanks, and duplicate assays are included at regular intervals in each sample batch submitted from the field as part of an ongoing Quality Assurance/Quality Control Program.
Mr. Jeffrey Bickel, C.P.G., with the independent firm RESPEC of Reno, Nevada, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and is responsible for this mineral resource estimate. He has verified, reviewed, and approved the technical disclosure contained in this section of the news release. Mr. Bickel has verified the data underlying the results by reviewing the drilling, sampling, assay, and quality assurance and quality control data, as well as the geologic interpretations completed by Excelsior. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Mineral Reserve Estimate
The PFS mineral reserve is based on an economic analysis of the mineral resource using a copper price of $2.75/lb and key parameters developed from prior test work. The economic optimization was performed on Measured and Indicated Resources at a cut-off grade of 0.05% Total Cu ("CuT"). EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) was calculated on a resource block-by block-basis using the key economic and technical parameters. For a column of resource blocks to be included in the reserve, the capital costs of establishing the wells for those blocks would have to be less than the combine EBIT for the same blocks. The mineral reserve was estimated after applying engineering and operational design parameters which removed the thinner and deeper portions of the mineral resource. Internal dilution has been included in the final mineral reserve estimate. RESPEC is of the opinion that the mineral reserve estimate derived in this PFS reasonably quantifies the economical mineralization of the North Star Deposit. The reserve estimate is as of October 1, 2016 and the mineral reserves presented in the table below are included in the mineral resource estimate set out above.
North Star Mineral Reserves (Oxide and Transition at 0.05% cut-off)(1) Category Short Tons (million) Total Copper (%) Pounds of Cu (million) Probable 782 0.29 4,505
48% of the total copper reserve is considered recoverable.
Mr. Neil Prenn, with the independent firm RESPEC of Reno, Nevada, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and is responsible for reviewing and approving this mineral reserve estimate. He has verified, reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this section of the news release. Mr. Prenn has verified the data underlying the results by reviewing the drilling, sampling, assay, and quality assurance and quality control data, as well as the geologic interpretations completed by Excelsior.
Risks
A number of risks are highlighted in the Report. Those that are more specific to in-situ mining include:
Potential for lower than predicted (modelled) sweep efficiency.
Potential for mineral precipitates to restrict flow paths, porosity, and permeability.
Potential for gas bubbles to restrict flow paths, porosity, and permeability.
Flushing with neutralized raffinate to remove CO2 may be less effective than modelled.
The observed CO2 attenuation could be masking other wellfield problems.
Short circuiting can occur through very permeable structures, reducing overall sweep efficiency and affecting modelled parameters.
Opportunities
Opportunities at Gunnison are also highlighted in the Report. Those that are related to in-situ mining include:
Well stimulation has the potential to alleviate or solve CO2 gas blocking and greatly improve porosity, permeability, sweep efficiency and flow rates.
Grouting, down-hole packers, and down-hole flow control valves have the potential to minimize short circuiting.
Wellfield optimization including well spacing, pump sizing, borehole diameter, hole configuration and down-hole differential flow control have the potential to greatly improve wellfield performance.
Anticipated copper recoveries could be higher than the estimate of 48 percent of total copper, which would increase total revenue during the life of the mine.
The conversion of the 187.2 million tons of inferred mineral resources to measured or indicated categories has the potential to increase mineral reserves.
The Project has high quality limestone resources that could be used to supplement imported lime in the water treatment process.
Recommendations
A number of recommendations included in the report are aimed at improving wellfield performance, reducing risk, and tightening up engineering and design prior to construction of the raffinate neutralization plant. Excelsior intends to investigate and implement these recommendations prior to further development which include:
Well Stimulation Trials : Well stimulation trials should be undertaken to determine if the technique(s) have the potential to alleviate or solve CO2 blocking, improve connectiveness, and increase flow rates and sweep efficiency. Given that the results of well stimulation have the potential to reduce the need for raffinate neutralization or change the design criteria for the neutralization plant, it should be undertaken before or in parallel with design activities on the water treatment plant. Well stimulation is allowed under Class III Underground Injection Control permits but requires EPA approval of the stimulation programs.
: Well stimulation trials should be undertaken to determine if the technique(s) have the potential to alleviate or solve CO2 blocking, improve connectiveness, and increase flow rates and sweep efficiency. Given that the results of well stimulation have the potential to reduce the need for raffinate neutralization or change the design criteria for the neutralization plant, it should be undertaken before or in parallel with design activities on the water treatment plant. Well stimulation is allowed under Class III Underground Injection Control permits but requires EPA approval of the stimulation programs. Metallurgical Testwork Recommendations: Investigating in situ leaching with different lixiviants as opportunities to leach metals without the formation of gypsum.
Investigating in situ leaching with different lixiviants as opportunities to leach metals without the formation of gypsum. Wellfield Recommendations: Conducting experimentation to ensure that neutralized raffinate is effective in dissolving CO2 in the subsurface while the engineering, procurement, and construction is at an early stage to enhance the water treatment design criteria.
Conducting experimentation to ensure that neutralized raffinate is effective in dissolving CO2 in the subsurface while the engineering, procurement, and construction is at an early stage to enhance the water treatment design criteria. Water Treatment: A scope of work and bid package should be assembled to select a water treatment vendor to design the water treatment system. Selection criteria should favor rapid, low-cost solutions to demonstrate that the technology is effective in solving the wellfield challenges.
TECHNICAL REPORT AND QUALIFIED PERSONS
The Report will be filed on SEDAR and on Excelsior's website within 45 days of the date of this news release. The Report will consist of a summary of the PFS. The Report is being prepared under the supervision of Richard Zimmerman, SME-RM of M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation, Tucson, Arizona, who is a Qualified Person that is independent of the Company. The Report will also receive contributions from the following additional Qualified Persons, who are also independent of the Company:
Mr. Richard Zimmerman, of M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation, Tucson, Arizona (recovery methods, capital and operating costs, and economic analysis).
Mr. Jeffrey Bickel of RESPEC of Reno, Nevada (geology and mineral resource).
Mr. Neil Prenn, of RESPEC of Reno, Nevada (mineral reserve).
Mr. Thomas Dyer, of RESPEC of Reno, Nevada (mining methods).
Dr. Robert J. Bowell of SRK Consulting, Cardiff, UK (wellfield).
Dr. Terence P. McNulty of T.P. McNulty & Associates of Tucson, Arizona (metallurgy).
Mr. R. Douglas Bartlett, of Clear Creek and Associates of Phoenix, Arizona (hydrology, mining method, permitting and environment).
Each of these Qualified Persons has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release that is relevant to their area of responsibility and verified the data underlying such technical information.
About Excelsior Mining
Excelsior "The Copper Solution Company" is a mineral exploration and production company that owns and operates the Gunnison Copper Project in Cochise County, Arizona. The project is a low cost, environmentally friendly in-situ recovery copper extraction project that is permitted to 125 million pounds per year of copper cathode production. Excelsior also owns the past producing Johnson Camp Mine and a portfolio of exploration projects, including the Peabody Sill and the Strong and Harris deposits.
For more information on Excelsior, please visit our website at www.excelsiormining.com.
For further information regarding this press release, please contact:
Excelsior Mining Corp.
Concord Place, Suite 300, 2999 North 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85018.
Shawn Westcott
T: 604.365.6681
E: info@excelsiormining.com
www.excelsiormining.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events that may occur in the future. Forward-looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) expectations for the resolution of carbon dioxide issues and increased flow rates; (ii) the future development plans for the Gunnison Project; (iii) operating and capital costs estimates, along with the economics of the Gunnison Project and JCM; (iv) the intention to mine Johnson Camp and future production therefrom; and (v) the results of the PFS and PEA.
In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be achieved" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, expectations and anticipated impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, copper and other metal prices, the timing and amount of future development expenditures, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs (including the price of acid), the availability of labour, material and acid supply, receipt of and compliance with necessary regulatory approvals and permits, the estimation of insurance coverage, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.
Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks inherent in the construction and operation of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined including the possibility that mining operations may not be sustained at the Gunnison Copper Project, risks relating to variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates, risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in copper and other commodity prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of copper and related products, risks related to increased competition in the market for copper and related products, risks related to current global financial conditions, risks related to current global financial conditions and the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business, uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources, access and supply risks, risks related to the ability to access acid supply on commercially reasonable terms, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the risk of delays or increased costs that might be encountered during the construction or mining process, regulatory risks including the risk that permits may not be obtained in a timely fashion or at all, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interests, environmental risks and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's reports and filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155611
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Arnoud Star Busmann
CEO, MineHub Technologies Inc.
For further information regarding MineHub, please email info@ minehub.com or visit our website at www. minehub.com
Cautionary Note Regarding 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.
This news release contains statements that are considered "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation ("forward-looking statements") with respect to MineHub including, but not limited to, statements with respect to MineHub's future operational plans, the timing of such plans and anticipated customers. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts are generally, but not always, identied by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although MineHub 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 operations, applications and for general working capital purposes, changes in economic conditions or nancial markets, changes in laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, dependence on its key management personnel and market competition. Other risk factors are identified in the Company's management discussion and analysis, available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. There may be other risk factors not presently known that management believes are not material that could also cause actual results or future events to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements.
Although the Company has attempted to identify risk factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in the forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Also, many of the factors are beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date included herein, and the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, estimates and opinions of MineHub's management on the date the statements are made. However, 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.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155709
Shape Memory Medical Inc., developer of shape memory polymer for peripheral and neurovascular markets, announced the first patient treated in Germany as part of the EMBO-Post Market Surveillance Registry, the Company's prospective, multicenter, registry study of its IMPEDE and IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plugs when used for peripheral vascular embolization.
The patient was treated by Professor Dr. Gotz Martin Richter, Chairman of the Clinics for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the Center for Minimally Invasive Medicine, Klinikum Stuttgart, Germany, in cooperation with the Clinic for Vascular Surgery, Endovascular Medicine and Transplant Surgery in the Klinikum Stuttgart. Ted Ruppel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Shape Memory Medical Inc. said, "We would like to congratulate Professor Richter and the clinical study team at Klinikum Stuttgart for the first EMBO-PMS case in Germany. The addition of German sites accelerates our ability to evaluate the IMPEDE and IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plugs in a variety of uses within the peripheral vasculature."
The EMBO-Post Market Surveillance Registry (EMBO-PMS) initiated at two centers in the United Kingdom and has now expanded to include up to ten centers in Germany, with a goal of treating up to 125 patients. Results thus far in the United Kingdom reflect treatment for conditions including Iliac artery aneurysm, type II endoleak after TEVAR, type Ib endoleak after EVAR, gluteal artery aneurysm, and splenomegaly. "We are pleased to participate in this important study and look forward to the follow-up from our treated patients," said Professor Richter, Principal Investigator for EMBO-Post Market Surveillance German Registry.
Both the IMPEDE and IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plugs incorporate Shape Memory Medical's novel shape memory polymer, a porous, radiolucent, embolic scaffold that is crimped for catheter delivery and self-expands upon contact with blood, that enables conversion to organized thrombus followed by gradual healthy tissue formation. Pre-clinical and clinical studies have shown that shape memory polymer offers effective and predictable space filling, stable clot formation for embolization, and progressive healing as the material is absorbed.
"We look forward to collaborating with colleagues from Germany to add to the experience within EMBO-PMS," said Professor Robert Morgan, Consultant Vascular and Interventional Radiologist, St. George's NHS Trust, London, UK and Principal Investigator, EMBO-Post Market Surveillance UK Registry. "We're continuing to obtain data to support the safety and effectiveness of the IMPEDE devices across a variety of peripheral vascular anatomies with technical success and target vessel thrombosis achieved in all cases," continued Morgan. Preliminary experience in EMBO-PMS is published in CVIR Endovascular 2021 Mar 9;4(1):29.
About Shape Memory Medical
Shape Memory Medical Inc. is dedicated to developing innovative therapeutic solutions with its proprietary shape memory polymers. Neurovascular embolization products include the TrelliX Embolic Coil, which is CE marked for use in the EU. Peripheral embolization products include the IMPEDE and IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plugs and IMPEDE-FX RapidFill Device. In countries recognizing CE marking, the IMPEDE and IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plugs and the IMPEDE-FX RapidFill are indicated to obstruct or reduce the rate of blood flow in the peripheral vasculature. In the United States, the IMPEDE Embolization Plug is indicated to obstruct or reduce the rate of blood flow in the peripheral vasculature, and the IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plug is indicated for use with the IMPEDE Embolization Plug to obstruct or reduce the rate of blood flow in the peripheral vasculature. The IMPEDE and IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plugs are PMDA approved in Japan. The TrelliX Embolic Coil and IMPEDE-FX RapidFill Device are not available in the United States or Japan.
For more information, visit www.shapemem.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005206/en/
Contacts:
Mary Dennehy
m.dennehy@shapemem.com
TOKYO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services ("Aji Bio-Pharma"), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing services, is pleased to announce the development of a new enzyme for double strand oligonucleotide formation with high productivity.
In collaboration with researchers from the University of Shizuoka, Aji Bio-Pharma succeeded in developing a highly functional artificial RNA ligase using the ancestral design method. It was found that this artificial RNA ligase has higher thermostability than natural RNA ligase as well as superior ligation activity for RNA fragments containing xenonucleic acid.
When using the natural RNA ligase for RNA fragments (including xenonucleic acid) as reaction substrates to synthesize a marketed siRNA drug substance, the yield was only 20% after 24 hours of reaction. In contrast, when using the highly functional artificial RNA ligase, the reaction yield improved to 80% under the same conditions, confirming that it has properties suitable for enzymatic synthesis of nucleic acid medicines. This approach attains more productive and environmentally safe oligonucleotide synthesis when compared to the conventional method.
"We are excited to provide new research to our partners and support them in their efforts to supply lifesaving therapeutics," said Yusuke Hagiwara, Senior Researcher, Ajinomoto Bioscience & Fine Chemicals Research Laboratories. "This discovery for siRNA is a great example of Aji Bio-Pharma continuing to provide reliable and innovative solutions to our clients."
The RNA fragments used as reaction substrates can be produced by not only conventional solid phase synthesis, but also by Ajinomoto Co.'s AJIPHASE technology, especially in large quantities and with high purity. This achievement is expected to be applied as one of the technologies that enables the mass production of nucleic acid drugs with high efficiency and high purity. This result was presented in the journal "Applied and Environmental Microbiology" published by the American Society for Microbiology.
About Ajinomoto Co. and Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services
Based on the corporate message "Eat Well, Live Well.", Ajinomoto Co., Inc. has been scientifically pursuing the possibilities of amino acids to aim for future growth by creating new value through sustainable and innovative solutions for communities and society. For additional information about Ajinomoto Co. (TYO: 2802), please visit www.ajinomoto.com.
As its pharmaceutical arm, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services is a fully integrated contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with sites in Belgium, United States, Japan, and India, providing comprehensive development, cGMP manufacturing, and aseptic fill finish services for small through large molecule APIs and intermediates. For more information about Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, please visit www.AjiBio-Pharma.com.
In addition, Ajinomoto Co. and Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services offer a broad range of innovative platform technologies and capabilities for pre-clinical and pilot programs to commercial quantities, including AJIPHASE oligonucleotide manufacturing technology, CORYNEX and TALAMAX protein expression systems, AJICAP site-specific conjugation and linker technologies for ADCs, and continuous flow manufacturing. For additional information on the platform technologies, please visit https://ajibio-pharma.ajinomoto.com/.
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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / EQ Inc. (TSXV:EQ) ("EQ Works" or the "Company"), a leader in geospatial data and artificial intelligence driven software, is pleased to announce that it has been recognized by the TSX Venture Exchange as one of the top 10 performing technology stocks in the 2023 TSX Venture 50.
The TSX Venture 50 is the Exchange's flagship program, ranking the top performing companies from over 1,600 companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange across five different sectors.
"Our focus of combining data and artificial intelligence ("AI") to drive impactful results for our clients is working" said Geoffrey Rotstein, President, and CEO of EQ Works. "I am very proud of how our team has continued to execute and we are honored to have been selected by the TMX Group as one of the top 10 performing technology companies. The ranking is a strong acknowledgement of the work and commitment of the entire EQ team and sets a solid foundation as we strive to deliver even stronger results in 2023."
About EQ Works
EQ Works (www.eqworks.com) enables businesses to understand, predict, and influence customer behaviour. Using unique data sets, advanced analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, EQ Works creates actionable intelligence for businesses to attract, retain, and grow the customers that matter most. The Company's proprietary SaaS platform mines insights from movement and geospatial data, thereby enabling businesses to close the loop between digital and real-world consumer actions.
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations and are subject to known and unknown uncertainties and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Corporation is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or otherwise.
EQ Inc.
Peter Kanniah, Chief Financial Officer
1235 Bay Street, Suite 401| Toronto, Ontario |M5R 3K4
press@eqworks.com
www.eqworks.com
SOURCE: EQ Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740270/EQ-Inc-Named-as-a-Top-Performing-Company-in-the-TSX-Venture-50-List
LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Methes Energies International Ltd. ("Methes" - http://www.methes.com) announced today that it has finalized the acquisition of Celebration, Florida based EarthFriendly Products Inc., the manufacturer and marketer of b2 biOil and other bio-lubricants. This acquisition will combine efforts and build upon Methes' current platform in which to launch an increased assortment of bio-renewable solutions.
"After an intensive three-year search to find a synergistic partner to continue promoting our bio-renewable solutions while bolstering shareholder value, I am pleased to announce this seamless transition with EarthFriendly Products;" said Michel G. Laporte, past Chairman and CEO of Methes. "Their branding and go-to-market strategies will help the Company further penetrate the bio-lubricant marketplace within multiple channels."
According to FORTUNE Business Insights, the bio-lubricant marketplace is to reach $4.26 billion by 2029 as government initiatives govern oil-based lubricants to stimulate market growth with a CAGR of almost 4.7%, 2022 - 2029. While this segment is less than 1.5% of the total global finished lubricant market, its growth is significantly faster than the others. Government policies and socially responsible end-users are projected to increase demand to drive the market during this period.
"We are delighted to finalize this transaction and expand our environmentally charged agenda;" said Carol Loch, President of EarthFriendly Products Inc., now appointed Chairwoman and CEO of Methes Energies International Ltd. She added; "Environmentally concerned and socially responsible consumers and customers alike should not have to sacrifice value or performance when selecting an earth friendlier product over their traditional product choicesas it is our mission to make our GREEN choices a logical choice!"
ABOUT
Methes Energies International Ltd., which trades under the symbol "MEIL" on OTC Markets (https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/MEIL/quote), is a totally green "CLEAN TECH" renewable energy company that manufactures and markets an assortment of bio-lubricants, by combining domestically sourced farm grown bio-derived feedstocks with proprietary technologies for superior performance, all molded around and supporting the four ideologies of being GREEN: renewable, biodegradable, recyclable and non-toxic (earth-friendly).
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain forward-looking statements (Safe Harbor Statements) covered within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, plans and timing for the introduction or enhancement of our services and products, statements about future market conditions, supply and demand conditions, and other expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact and involve risks and uncertainties. Our expectations regarding future revenues depend upon our ability to develop and supply products and services that we may not produce today and that meet defined specifications. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "expect," "believe;" and, similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in technology and changes in pervasive markets. This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of1933 and Section 27E of the Securities Act of 1934. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Actual performance and results may differ materially from that projected or suggested herein due to certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, ability to obtain financing and regulatory and shareholder approval for anticipated actions.
CONTACT:
James Ray
goodkarmaray@gmail.com
602 315-4995
SOURCE: Methes Energies International Ltd.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740244/Methes-Energies-International-Ltd-Acquires-Florida-based-EarthFriendly-Products-Inc
Red Light Holland will release its financial and operational results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, prior to the opening of the financial markets on Monday, February 27, 2023
Red Light Holland looks forward to holding its AGSM on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 11am EST
Brad J Lamb, Chairman of the Board of Directors, will Chair the AGSM
CEO Todd Shapiro, CTIO Sarah Hashkes and CFO David Ascott of Red Light Holland will conduct a live Q&A immediately after the AGSM
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - 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, is pleased to announce that it will release its financial and operational results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, prior to the opening of the financial markets on Monday, February 27, 2023. The Company's third quarter 2023 financial and operational results will be available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.redlight.co/investors.
The Company is also excited to have registered shareholders, as of February 6, 2023, attend the Company's annual general and special meeting on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 11am EST. Please refer to the notice received for access to the meeting. Brad J Lamb, Chairman of the Board of Directors will Chair the AGSM.
Following the AGSM, Red Light Holland will be hosting a live Q&A session, with Chief Executive Officer, Todd Shapiro, Chief Technology Innovation Officer, Sarah Hashkes and Chief Financial Officer, David Ascott.
"The AGSM will take place in person at the offices of the Company located at 1 Adelaide Street East, Suite 801, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 2V9 on March 23rd at 11am and we hope to see you there! For the last few years it's been difficult to meet Shareholders due to Covid-19, however; we are truly looking forward to meeting and shaking hands with as many of our Shareholders as possible - as we are grateful and truly appreciative of your support. We look forward to answering all of your questions and sharing some food and drinks with you. For those who can't make it, we hope to see you online as well," said Todd Shapiro CEO and Director of Red Light Holland
The Company will provide an online link for the AGSM and live Q&A in the coming weeks.
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 on the Company:
Todd Shapiro
Chief Executive Officer & Director
Tel: 647-643-TRIP (8747)
Email: todd@redlight.co
Website: www.RedLight.co
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING 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 timing of the release of the Company's financial and operational results; the date, time and location of the AGSM and Q&A session; Mr. Lamb chairing the AGSM; and the Company providing an online link for the AGSM and Q&A session.
Forward-looking information in this press release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: the Company will release financial and operational results on the date and time outlined herein; the date, time and location of the AGSM and Q&A session will be as outlined herein; Mr. Lamb will chair the AGSM; and the Company will provide an online link for the AGSM and Q&A session.
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: risks that the Company will not release financial and operational results on the date and time outlined herein; the date, time and location of the AGSM and Q&A session will not be as outlined herein; Mr. Lamb will be unable to chair the AGSM; and the Company will not provide an online link for the AGSM and Q&A session.
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/155720
New Partner Program Enables Partners to Expand Their Cybersecurity Practices With the Industry's Leading MXDR Service; Tim Wheatley Joins as Vice President of Channel and Alliances
Ontinue, the managed detection and response (MDR) division of Open Systems and winner of the 2022 Microsoft Security MSSP Partner of the Year award, today launched its new partner program to team up with strategic partners focused on helping Microsoft customers in their digital transformation journeys. This announcement follows the launch of Ontinue's new ION managed extended detection and response (MXDR) service, which is exclusively focused on supporting Microsoft security solutions. Together, Ontinue and partners can build a predictable and profitable business that drives customer loyalty and high renewals, with the industry's first MXDR provider delivering automation, collaboration and prevention. Leading the program is veteran channel executive Tim Wheatley, who has joined Ontinue as Vice President of Channel and Alliances.
"The strategic relationships we have with Microsoft and many of their top cyber partners have contributed greatly to our success. The launch of this new program tailored specifically for Microsoft partners allows us to engage with a focused set of partners, giving them new opportunities to expand their cyber business," said Chris Raniere, Ontinue's Chief Revenue Officer. "To help drive our channel-first initiatives, we brought on Tim Wheatley, a seasoned channel executive and Microsoft veteran, to run it. Tim brings more than 20 years of experience within the channel, and I have full confidence in his leadership to take our program to new heights."
The Ontinue Partner Program is committed to ensuring the success of partners by delivering deep security expertise and an AI-based, cloud-delivered MXDR service that is simple to deploy and manage. The newly launched partner program offers the following benefits:
Unrivaled cybersecurity and Microsoft Expertise: Ontinue is the winner of Microsoft's Global MSSP Award, has been MXDR verified by Microsoft and has achieved Microsoft Advanced Specializations in Threat Protection and Cloud Security
Ontinue is the winner of Microsoft's Global MSSP Award, has been MXDR verified by Microsoft and has achieved Microsoft Advanced Specializations in Threat Protection and Cloud Security Accelerated Microsoft Sales: Ontinue helps drive predictable Azure consumption while minimizing or eliminating investment in a partner-owned SOC while simultaneously extending the Microsoft 365 E5 Security stack with the Ontinue ION MXDR platform
Ontinue helps drive predictable Azure consumption while minimizing or eliminating investment in a partner-owned SOC while simultaneously extending the Microsoft 365 E5 Security stack with the Ontinue ION MXDR platform Increased Customer Renewals: Ontinue maximizes the value customers realize from Microsoft Sentinel and the Microsoft 365 E5 Security stack, ensuring renewals and customer satisfaction
Ontinue maximizes the value customers realize from Microsoft Sentinel and the Microsoft 365 E5 Security stack, ensuring renewals and customer satisfaction Rewards and Incentives: Partners receive incentives, enablement and joint marketing initiatives that help drive revenue
"I'm excited to be part of the Ontinue team and for the opportunity to create a partner program from the ground up that is designed for partners to succeed," said Wheatley. "Partnering with companies offering complementary products, technologies and services focused on Microsoft is vital to our mission of becoming the most trusted 24/7 security partner for mid-sized companies, empowering them to operate more strategically with less risk. Our new ION service is the MXDR service of choice for Microsoft customers and represents an outstanding opportunity for our channel partners. Our partner-friendly program provides our referral, reseller and systems integrator partners with opportunity protection, enablement, joint selling and marketing to grow our security practices together."
Wheatley is responsible for driving Ontinue's Channel Go-to-Market strategy as well as enhancing the strategic Microsoft alignment and engagement. Prior to joining Ontinue, he was the Global Channel Chief at Zimperium, a leader in mobile device and application security. He is also a Microsoft veteran, and his last role was serving as Global Strategy Business Development for the Cybersecurity Solutions Group. In this role, he worked with Microsoft's strategic Security Partners globally, crafting solution offerings and landing them with their customers. Wheatley has also held channel-related positions with organizations such as Okta, Oracle and boutique system integrators.
Ontinue ION sets the new standard for MXDR services. It uniquely delivers Nonstop SecOps with 24/7, always-on protection while increasing overall security program maturity, efficacy and scalability. The ION service brings together the cloud-native ION platform and the ION Cyber Defense Center, a 24/7 globally distributed security operation staffed by experts including the company's teams of Cyber Advisors and Cyber Defenders. The ION platform integrates advanced automation and real-time collaboration capabilities from the recent acquisition of Tiberium, a highly automated managed security services provider based on Microsoft security solutions. These capabilities power several innovations that elevate ION over other MXDR services.
Microsoft Security Experts
Ontinue offers unrivaled cybersecurity and Microsoft expertise that makes it an ideal partner for other Microsoft-focused vendors. Ontinue is a five-time Microsoft Gold Partner, one of the original MSSPs to join the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA), a Microsoft Design Partner involved in developing Microsoft Security Experts and was honored in 2022 as the Microsoft Security MSSP Partner of the Year.
Becoming a Partner
Companies interested in joining the Ontinue partner program can find more information at www.ontinue.com/partners
RSA attendees can also visit the Ontinue booth #5152 to learn how to build their own MXDR service practice. Go to https://get.ontinue.com/rsa-2023/ to schedule a meeting at the show.
About Ontinue
Ontinue, the MDR division of Open Systems, is on a mission to be the most trusted, 24/7, always-on security partner that empowers customers to embrace the future by operating more strategically and with less risk. Grounded in an intelligent, cloud-delivered SecOps platform, Ontinue offers superior protection that goes well beyond basic detection and response services.
Continuous protection. Always-on prevention services. Nonstop SecOps. Learn more at www.ontinue.com
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005304/en/
Contacts:
Ontinue PR contact:
Ontinue
John Giddings
mediarelations@ontinue.com
US PR contact:
Bospar
Matt Culbertson
PRforOpenSystems@bospar.com
UK PR contact:
Liberty
James Meredith
opensystems@libertycomms.com
Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Newsfile Corp., a leading newswire and regulatory filing team, recently launched its SEDAR+ filing service and onboarded its 100th client to the new system last week.
The new system goes live on June 13, 2023, to replace the current SEDAR system which will be retired. All entities currently reporting via SEDAR must onboard with SEDAR+ by April 14, 2023, to be able to file on the launch date. Newsfile anticipates onboarding over 1,000 Issuer profiles before the deadline in April.
"Now that we've onboarded over 100 clients, we've streamlined the process and have set an internal goal of ensuring every client is ready to go on day one of SEDAR+," said Faheem Dean, Newsfile Operations Manager. "With 24/7 service and over 25 years of experience, Newsfile is uniquely positioned to provide clients with SEDAR+ filing services when the new system launches in June."
Newsfile was chosen by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) as a SEDAR+ Pilot Program member and participated in testing of the new system. This provided an opportunity for Newsfile staff to gain the knowledge and readiness needed to support clients with expert SEDAR+ services.
For more information about SEDAR+, including FAQs, forms, and tips, please refer to Newsfile's SEDAR+ onboarding page.
About Newsfile
Newsfile is a customer-focused newswire and regulatory filing team that delivers corporate press releases and filings to the global financial community. With accurate and timely services, proactive customer care, and affordable pricing, Newsfile makes it easy for companies to tell their story to the audiences they need to reach.
Contact:
Newsfile Corp.
office @newsfilecorp.com
(416) 806-1750
Website:
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155242
Surface samples assayed up to 1,218 g/t AgEQ, and three of five target areas have never been drill tested
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Silver Dollar Resources Inc. (CSE: SLV) (OTCQX: SLVDF) ("Silver Dollar" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its new target development work at the underexplored Noria portion of the La Joya Silver Project (the "Property") located in the state of Durango, Mexico.
Figure 1: Coloradito-Noria Mineralized Targets.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7232/155717_6f3e4af1047e79e3_001full.jpg
"Our field crew has done a great job locating additional hot spots for drilling," said Mike Romanik, president of Silver Dollar. "It's intriguing to find such high-grade assays in and around some of these areas which have never seen a drill hole."
Geological mapping has now been completed to cover all of the Coloradito-Noria ground at a 1:1,000 scale. A total of 125 rock samples were collected from outcrop and rock dumps and submitted to the lab for analysis. Results for all samples have now been received, 79 sample assays were previously reported (see news release of December 15, 2022), and the balance of the sample results are reported herein.
The mapping and sampling program has identified five mineralized areas (see Figure 1): the Verde and El Hueco areas were partially drilled by a previous operator, and the Dyke North, Dyke South, and South-East areas have never been drill tested. A summary of each area follows:
Verde Area:
Verde (see Figure 2) is a historical surface occurrence with visible copper mineralization and where three historical holes were drilled at 045 (LJ-DD-11-11, 12 & 13). The best assay results from this area were chip sample #120 (see Photo 1) that returned 415 grams per tonne (g/t) silver equivalent (AgEQ) over 0.3 metres (m), and chip sample #121 that returned 1,218 g/t AgEQ over 0.3 m. Both samples strike north and north-northwest dipping to the west. Historical hole LJ-DD-11-11 was collared near these samples but missed the surface mineralization as it was targeting a deeper area. A better understanding of this structure down dip to the west and its relation to the nearby "Dique Viejo" dyke, could provide better guidance to justify follow-up drilling of this target.
El Hueco Area:
Hueco Grande (see Figure 3) is a significant historical working on a structure with a true width of at approximately 3 m wide and mined to a depth of 15 m (see Photo 2). Grab sample #16 was a composite sample taken over 5 m of dump material that assayed 391 g/t AgEQ. Assuming safe access into the workings can be established, proper mapping and sampling will be done. The extension of these workings could be targeted from an existing drill pad 55 m to the northeast.
Dyke North Area:
Dyke North mineralization (see Figure 4) is located within and around the northern extension of the Central Dyke Zone. Here mineralization has been identified in three parallel zones: within the dyke, 70 m to the east of the dyke in the foot wall, and 20 m to the west in the hanging wall.
The North Hanging Wall is defined by a series of small pits (see Photo 3) over a 105 m strike length where six samples assayed 474 g/t AgEQ (dump #91), 148 g/t AgEQ over 1.5 m (chip #92), 82 g/t AgEQ over 0.6 m (chip #93), 96 g/t AgEQ over 1 m (chip #90), 113 g/t AgEQ (dump #24), and 50 g/t AgEQ over 0.6 m (chip #25). These pits all have poor and sloughed-in conditions that will be investigated further.
Mineralization within the intrusive dyke has been identified in dumps and an outcrop (see Photo 4) where a dump material sample (#80) assayed 267 g/t AgEQ, and a 0.3 m chip sample (#81) assayed 53 g/t AgEQ. Gold is elevated within the intrusive with a high of 1.88 g/t Au in sample #80. Again, exposure is limited here that will be followed up.
At the North Foot Wall, there are three pits over approximately 50 m paralleling the dyke where grab sample #83 assayed 46 g/t AgEQ, chip sample #82 assayed 453 g/t AgEQ over 1.7 m (see Photo 5), and grab sample #23 assayed 682 g/t AgEQ. These showings are 400 m north of and on strike with Hueco Grande, with samples from three showings in between returning assays of 518 g/t AgEQ (dump #85), 165 g/t AgEQ over 1.6 m (chip #84), and 73 g/t AgEQ over 2 m (chip #22).
Dyke South Area:
In the South Dyke area (see Figure 5), there is the southward extension of the mineralized trace from Hueco Grande 350 m to the north. Chip sample #35 was taken from a small working (see Photo 6) and assayed 305 g/t AgEQ over 1.8 m.
The "South Dyke Au Zone" is defined by six grab samples (#42 through #47) that returned assays of 0.40, 0.26, 0.35, 0.85, 0.56, and 0.31 g/t Au, respectively, over a 25 x 25 m area. These occur within three east-west trending shear zones exposed in a series of low-lying outcrops (see Photo 7). Further mapping and trenching are recommended.
South-East Area:
The "South-East" area (see Figure 6) consists of two parallel structures approximately 100 m apart. The eastern structure is poorly exposed, with the best result coming from a chip sample (#78) that assayed 401 g/t AgEQ over 0.8 m (see Photo 8). The western structure is defined by two collapsed prospect pits with no exposed outcrop. Hand and/or backhoe trenching across both structures could improve the understanding of this area.
Drilling:
In late January, two widely-spaced holes were drilled to target the untested southern extension of the Brazo structure, coincident with the S-3 MAG anomaly (see Figure 7) and near the intersection of major structures. Hole NOR-23-029 was drilled to a total depth of 336 m and intersected a broad >100 m hornfels zone with local concentrations of sulphides. Hole NOR-23-030 was drilled to a total depth of 549 m and cut through a very wide alteration zone with local sulphides throughout the entire 200-m zone. All drill core has been logged with samples from both holes shipped for assay.
Procedure, Quality Assurance / Quality Control, and Data Verification
The diamond drill core (HQ size) was geologically logged, photographed, and marked for sampling. Core designated for sampling was sawn in half with a diamond blade core saw. One-half of the core was sealed in plastic bags and shipped for analysis. The remaining half was returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical testwork.
The sealed and tagged sample bags were transported to the ActLabs facility in Zacatecas, Mexico, where the samples were crushed and 200- to 300-gram pulp samples were prepared with 90 per cent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106 micrometres). The pulps were assayed for gold using a 30-gram charge by fire assay (Code 1A2 and/or FA450) and overlimits greater than 10 g/t were reassayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 1A3 and/or FA550). Silver and multielement analysis were completed using total digestion (Code 1F2 total digestion ICP). Overlimits greater than 100 g/t silver were reassayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 8-Ag FA-GRAV Ag).
Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and include the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks, and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this news release have passed Silver Dollar's QA/QC protocols.
Mike Kilbourne, P.Geo., an independent Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release on behalf of the Company. Grab samples are selected samples and not necessarily representative of the mineralization hosted on the Property.
About the La Joya Project:
The La Joya Property is situated approximately 75 kilometres directly southeast of the state capital city of Durango in a prolific mineralized region with past-producing and operating mines including Grupo Mexico's San Martin Mine, Industrias Penoles's Sabinas Mine, Pan American Silver's La Colorada Mine, and First Majestic's La Parrilla and Del Toro Silver Mines.
Silver Dollar previously reported analytical results for its Phase I drill program, which consisted of 2,424 metres completed over 11 holes (See news releases of March 24, 2022 and May 4, 2022); and for its Phase II program, which consisted of 3,428 metres of drilling completed over 17 holes (See news releases of June 13, 2022, August 17, 2022, and October 25, 2022).
For additional information, click on the Property location map below to watch a short video.
Figure 8: Location of the La Joya Project along with past-producing and operating mines in the area.
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About Silver Dollar Resources Inc.
Silver Dollar is a mineral exploration company that completed its initial public offering in May 2020 and is fully funded with approximately $6.5 million in the treasury. The Company's projects are located in two of the prolific mining jurisdictions in the world. They include the advanced exploration and development stage La Joya Silver Project in the state of Durango, Mexico, and the discovery-stage Pakwash Lake and the Longlegged Lake properties in the Red Lake Mining District of Ontario, Canada. The Company has an aggressive growth strategy and is actively reviewing potentially accretive acquisitions with a focus on drill-ready projects in mining-friendly jurisdictions.
For additional information, you can download our latest presentation by clicking here and you can follow us on Twitter by clicking here.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Signed "Michael Romanik"
Michael Romanik,
President, CEO & Director
Silver Dollar Resources Inc.
Direct line: (204) 724-0613
Email: mike@silverdollarresources.com
179 - 2945 Jacklin Road, Suite 416
Victoria, BC, V9B 6J9
Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release may contain "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this news release 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.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155717
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Wedgemount Resources Corp. (CSE: WDGY) (OTCQB: WDGRF) ("Wedgemount" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce additional updated production results from the Willowbend light oil project, located in the Permian Basin of Central Texas (the "Project" or "Willowbend").
As of February 16, 2023, the five-day average Willowbend field production was 104 boepd, which represents a significant increase from the Q4 2022 average of 25 boepd. To date, three of eleven wells on the Project have undergone both well and formation chemical treatments with the balance anticipated to be treated prior to the end of March 2023.
"The initial production results from Willowbend continue to track above corporate expectations", commented Mark Vanry, President and CEO of Wedgemount. "Our next three well and formation treatments are scheduled to start next week. The Company anticipates well workovers and surface optimizations will commence in April 2023, which Wedgemount is optimistic will continue to add incremental production to the field."
All fieldwork continues to be under the direction of Wedgemount's San Antonio based partner, Petrosaurus Inc.
About Wedgemount Resources Corp.
Wedgemount Resources is a junior natural resources company focused on maximizing shareholder value through the acquisition, discovery and advancement of natural resource projects in North America.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
WEDGEMOUNT RESOURCES CORP.
Mark Vanry, President and CEO
For more information, please contact the Company at:
Telephone: (604) 343-4743
info@wedgemountresources.com
www.wedgemountresources.com
Reader Advisory
This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company and the Transaction. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Project, the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements made in this news release include the Company's plans for the Project and anticipated results. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, availability of funds, personnel and other resources necessary to conduct exploration programs, successes of the Company's exploration programs, availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155721
Peer-reviewed article demonstrates effectiveness of company's technology in major disease area with global application for the detection and monitoring of disease
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Cognetivity Neurosciences Ltd. (CSE: CGN) (FSE: 1UB) (OTCQB: CGNSF) (the "Company" or "Cognetivity") today announced the publication of its latest peer-reviewed scientific paper on its Integrated Cognitive Assessment (ICA) technology in the journal 'Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders'. The paper provides further significant evidence of Cognetivity's technology's validity and clinical utility for cognitive assessment in patients with neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS).
The study investigated the link between subjects' performance on ICA test, the technology that drives Cognetivity's CognICATM clinical cognitive assessment tool, and brain imaging markers of the disease. The effects of changes in brain volume (in particular deep grey matter) in patients with early relapse-remitting MS (RRMS) were related to brain performance in the form of information processing speed, as measured using CognICA.
The results showed that compared to healthy subjects, people with RRMS had lower accuracy in the ICA test and higher amounts of thalamic atrophy (loss of brain volume). This means that CognICA is capable of detecting lowered brain volume and predicting the extent of disease-related damage without having to use more invasive and expensive techniques.
These results further demonstrate the advantage of the CognICA platform in providing accurate and repeatable measures of cognition in MS, a disease that has nearly 1 million sufferers in the USA alone. Earlier detection at scale allows for more effective treatment and better patient outcomes. CognICA's use of machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence also allows the continuous monitoring and improvement of clinical decision making, leading to more personalised healthcare.
"Brain health is the biggest healthcare challenge of our time. We are extremely excited to see the impact that CognICA can have on the lives of people living with MS and other brain health issues. CognICA, with its unique characteristics of being able to detect the earliest signs and progression of such disorders will play a hugely important role in tackling this public health crisis." Said Dr Sina Habibi, Cognetiviy's CEO.
"By using CognICA," Dr Habibi continued, "we have the potential to bring about a new paradigm in monitoring the progression and treatment of MS in clinical care. We encourage physicians and researchers alike to come forward and partner with us to make the most of this powerful digital tool in the new age of telehealth."
About Cognetivity Neurosciences Ltd.
Cognetivity is a technology company that has created a cognitive testing platform for use in medical, commercial and consumer environments. Cognetivity's ICA uses Artificial Intelligence and machine learning techniques to help detect the earliest signs of cognitive impairment by testing the performance of large areas of the brain. The ICA is currently available for clinical use in the USA, UK, Europe and the Middle East, with regulatory approval for other regions planned for 2023.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Sina Habibi"
Sina Habibi
Chief Executive Officer and Director
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking information or statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), including those identified by the expressions "anticipate", "assume" "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "should" and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect current expectations regarding future results or events. This news release contains forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Such statements are based on current expectations and various estimates, factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. 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. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. Readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements.
The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For further information: Please visit: www.cognetivity.com or contact: info@cognetivity.com; for media inquiries please contact pr@cognetivity.com
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155726
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Japan Gold Corp. (TSXV: JG) (OTCQB: JGLDF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce results from 2022 work programs completed over the Kitano-o Gold District within the Ikutahara Project, northern Hokkaido. 2022 work programs included completion of an extensive soil geochemical survey covering 1,710 hectares and three scout drill holes on the east side of the Kitano-o prospect.
Highlights
Analytical results from the recently completed soil survey have identified several significant gold anomalies with supporting pathfinder element and alteration signatures up to 1.5 km in length, which remain open ended.
Clay alteration interpreted from spectral analysis along with geological mapping supports the soil generated anomalies and indicates full preservation of up to three epithermal systems across the district.
Drilling to date has targeted depth extensions of gold-rich eluvial placer and sub-sinter veins but has not yielded a source for the significant amount of gold precipitated at the paleo-surface. It is now interpreted that these gold-rich paleo-surface expressions are de-coupled from boiling zones developed at depth.
Gravity defined structures, CSAMT, geological mapping and drill core have provided a structural foundation supporting the new soil results and define new un-tested zones for further advancement to drill targeting.
"We are pleased with the results and conclusions from the extensive soil grid and additional drilling across the Kitano-o District. Critical gaps in the data set have now been filled and define three open-ended anomalous zones up to 1.5 km long that mimic the structural setting of the large Konomai veins located along the same graben to the northwest. We now have a clearer interpretation which is guiding the targeting of boiling zones that generated the gold-rich paleo-surface placers at Kitano-o and Ikutahara", commented John Proust, CEO of Japan Gold Corp.
Kitano-o Gold District soil survey program:
Three campaigns of soil sampling were completed over the Kitano-o Gold District between 2020 and 2022 covering a prospective 1,710 hectare area, (Figure 1). A total of 1,597 composite soil samples were collected along a 7 km long section of a major deep-seated graben fault which bounds the east side of the district. The district hosts numerous historical mines and workings, the most notable of which include the Kitano-o mine which produced more than 96,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 5.9 g/t Au1, 2, and the Showa and the Ikutahara mines which produced 6,600 ounces of gold at an average grade of 16.8 g/t and, 16,200 ounces of gold at an average grade of 5.2 g/t gold, respectively1,2. These deposits host both hot-spring sinter-level, eluvial-placer mineralization, and shallowly developed sub-sinter banded chalcedonic quartz veins. The abundance of gold in these eluvial placer style deposits, particularly at Kitano-o is believed to represent surficial out-flow or leakage from a deeper boiling zone source. The presence of both sinter material at Kitano-o and of numerous areas of steam-heated clay alteration represent the preserved paleosurface and support an interpretation for at least three fully preserved epithermal systems developed at depth within the district.
Drilling to date has targeted depth extensions of surficial gold-rich eluvial-placer and sub-sinter veins which have not yielded a source for the significant amount of gold precipitated at the paleo-surface. With a more complete geochemical coverage, it is now interpreted that these gold-bearing paleo-surface expressions are de-coupled from structures hosting the boiling-zone vein systems developed at depth.
Multi-element geochemical and alteration coverage from the soil survey, geological mapping, and prospect scale CSAMT and gravity surveys support delineation of the new anomalous zones. These anomalous zones are aligned along northeast and east-southeast trending structures akin to the orientation of those which host the 2.35-million-ounce Konomai vein deposits1,2 located 25 km to the northwest.
Soil Results:
Due to the significant gold leakage at the paleosurface and disturbance by historical mining activities, a careful screening of the soil geochemical data combined with other data sets was required to define deeper boiling-zone targets. Three new targets areas have been defined based on their supporting multi-element pathfinder signatures which are up to 1.5 km in strike length and remain open off the soil grid to the west (Figures 2-4). The two highest priority anomalous zones are located to the southwest of east Kitano-o mine workings and the northwest of the Ikutahara-Showa mines and lie along linear strike extensions of known veins sets mapped at surface. A third more subtle anomalous zone, in the northern part of the district, lies along the southern edge of a large rhyolite dome, and is further supported by fine grained chalcedonic vein and sinter float trains.
The high-priority Kitano-o and Ikutahara-Showa multi-element anomalies are interpreted to represent de-coupled boiling zones that lie down-plunge from gold enriched paleo-surface leakage zones. The two anomalous zones show elevated gold supported by a pathfinder element suit typically associated with leakage along structures in the upper portions of low-sulphidation epithermal systems and include arsenic, antimony, selenium, thallium, and mercury. This pathfinder assemblage is also validated from sampling of mineralized and altered surface rock and drill core from the Kitano-o prospect by the Company. Unusual are an addition of pathfinder elements more typically associated with alkaline gold systems, which include vanadium, bismuth, and weakly elevated tellurium. Alkaline epithermal gold systems are generally associated with alkaline intrusions, not yet identified in the district, and tend to be productive over a more extensive vertical distance than typical low-sulphidation epithermal systems.
Forward plans for the new anomalies:
The Company plans to expand the soil grid over areas where anomalies lie open ended, both to the west and the south, towards the Saroma prospect. Focussed CSAMT and gravity surveys are planned to cover the new anomalous zones to add additional information on the geometry of alteration and structure to support drill targeting.
Outcomes from the 2022 Drilling on the east side of the Kitano-o prospect:
Three diamond drill holes were completed on the east Kitano-o prospect in 2022 for a total of 2,035.3 m, (Table 1 & 2, & Figure 5). The scout drill holes targeted coincident soil, gravity and CSAMT anomalies below historic workings and adjacent to major graben faults and rhyolite domes.
Drill hole IDDD22-008 was located on the eastern edge of the Kitano-o mine workings, targeting a large CSAMT resistivity anomaly at depth within the cretaceous metasedimentary basement. From a depth of approximately 420 m down hole, the drill hole intersected silica and clay altered rhyolite corresponding with the CSAMT anomaly, some narrow crystalline quartz veins were encountered adjacent to the rhyolite, but these did not carry any significant gold anomalism.
Drill hole IKDD22-015 drilled south to test the depth extensions of veins mapped in the historical workings with highly anomalous gold and pathfinder element geochemistry in rock float, mine dumps, and soils coincident with a vertical CSAMT defined resistivity anomaly. A gold and pathfinder element anomalous interval was recorded over a length of 7.2 m with 0.33 g/t gold in the upper portion of the drill hole adjacent to an altered rhyolite intrusion which corresponded with the CSAMT resistivity anomaly. The lack of significant mineralization in the drill hole again further supports the conclusion that a deeper boiling zone gold source is de-coupled from the gold-enriched paleosurface. There is also a possibility that the vein system dips south, and it would be conceivable for IKDD22-15 to have missed the larger structure it was targeting. A north oriented drill hole in this area is still warranted based on the new interpretations.
Drill hole IKDD22-016 targeted a major northeast structure which controlled the emplacement of the Maruyama rhyolite dome located to the north of the Kitano-o mine workings. CSAMT mapped the structure along the SE edge of the dome, where soils exhibit anomalous gold, arsenic, and antimony. The drill hole cut the dome margin as mapped by the CSAMT, but the contact zone hosted no significant vein mineralization.
CSAMT and gravity have proven to be a useful tool in the district successfully mapping out lithologies, structures and notably rhyolite domes complexes and the cretaceous basement rocks. This information will be carried into ongoing drill targeting for high-grade vein targets.
Table 1: East Kitano-o drill detail summary table
Hole ID Easting Northing Dip Azimuth Depth IKDD22-08 707936.0 4866241.0 -50 333 691.5 IKDD22-015 707241.0 707241.0 -45 180 702.5 IKDD22-016 706662.0 706662.0 -45 345 641.3
Table 2: Significant intercepts from 2022 east Kitano-o drill program
Hole ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) IKDD22-08 No Significant results IKDD22-015 24.2 31.4 7.2 0.33 0.98 IKDD22-016 No Significant results
References
1 Garwin, Hall, Watanabe, (2005). Tectonic Setting, Geology, and Gold and Copper Mineralization in Cenozoic Magmatic Arcs of Southeast Asia and the West Pacific. Economic Geology 100th Anniversary Volume, pp. 891-930.
Metal Mining Agency of Japan, March 1990, Geological Survey Report for Fiscal Year 1989, Northern Hokkaido Area B - Metalliferous Deposits Overview.
On behalf of the Board of Japan Gold Corp.
"John Proust"
Chairman & CEO
Qualified Person
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Japan Gold's Vice President of Exploration, Andrew Rowe, BAppSc, FAusIMM, FSEG, who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
Sampling Techniques and Assaying
The drilling results discussed in this news release are from drill core samples obtained by PQ, HQ and NQ-size triple-tube diamond core drilling using a PMC700 and PMC-400 man-portable drill rigs owned and operated by the Company. The drilling program was fully supervised by Company senior geologists at the drilling site.
Drill core was collected in plastic core-trays at the drill site and transported by road in Company vehicles to its core shed storage facility in the nearby Ikutahara Village, located centrally within the project area. The drill core was carefully logged, photographed and sample intervals marked-up along predicted mineralized and selected unmineralized intervals by Japan Gold KK senior project geologists.
Sample lengths varied from 0.15 to 1.0 m; depending on the positions of geological contacts and variations in vein texture and composition. The core was split by diamond rock saw supervised by project geologists. Half-core sample was collected from the entire length of each designated sample interval and placed into individual-labelled, self-sealing calico bags for secure packaging and transport to the laboratory. The half-core samples weighed between 0.25 to 5 kg depending on the sample length and core size. A Chain-of-Custody was established between the Company and receiving laboratory to ensure the integrity of the samples during transportation from site to the lab. The samples were sent in batches to ALS Laboratories in Vancouver, Canada for sample preparation and assaying.
Samples were crushed, pulverized and assayed for gold 50 g charge Fire Assay / AAS Finish (Au-AA24; 0.005 ppm lower detection limit) and a 48 multi-element by 4-acid digest with ICP-MS determination (ME-MS61L; Ag 0.002 ppm lower detection limit). Over-limit Au and Ag samples were re-assayed by fire-assay and gravimetric finish (GRA-22, LDL of 0.5 and 5 ppm for Au and Ag respectively).
Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) were inserted by Japan Gold KK at every 20th sample to assess repeatability and assaying precision of the laboratory. In addition, the laboratory applied its own internal Quality Control procedure that includes sample duplicates, blanks & geochemical standards. They report these results with the certified Assay Report. Laboratory procedures and QAQC protocols adopted are considered appropriate. The CRMs and internal QC-QA results fall within acceptable levels of accuracy & precision and are considered to lack any bias.
The soil geochemical results discussed in this news release are taken from hand augered pits excavated to the base of soil top of the C-bedrock horizon. Samples were collected on 200 m spaced lines, along the soil line two samples are collected at 25 m spaced intervals, sieved of organic material and composited into a single sample to provide a composite sample at every 50 m interval along the line. Samples collected in the field are then carried to the Ikutahara field base by Company geologists and field technicians and placed into individual-labelled, self-sealing calico bags for secure packaging and transport to the laboratory. The soil samples weigh between 1 and 2 kg. A Chain-of-Custody was established between the Company and receiving laboratory to ensure the integrity of the samples during transportation from site to the lab. The samples were sent in batches to ALS Laboratories in Brisbane, Australia for sample preparation and assaying.
Samples were crushed, pulverized and a 50 g charge was digested by aqua-regia and analyzed for gold and a 52 multi-element suite by ICP-MS at super-low detection limits. Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) were inserted by Japan Gold KK at every 20th sample to assess repeatability and assaying precision of the laboratory. In addition, the laboratory applied its own internal Quality Control procedure that includes sample duplicates, blanks & geochemical standards. They report these results with the certified Assay Report. Laboratory procedures and QAQC protocols adopted are considered appropriate. The CRMs and internal QC-QA results fall within acceptable levels of accuracy & precision and are considered to lack any bias.
About Japan Gold Corp.
Japan Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused solely on gold exploration across the three largest islands of Japan: Hokkaido, Honshu, and Kyushu. The Company holds a portfolio of 32 gold projects which cover areas with known gold occurrences, a history of mining and are prospective for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization. Japan Gold's leadership team represent decades of resource industry and business experience, and the Company has an operational team of geologists, drillers and technical advisors with experience exploring and operating in Japan.
Japan Gold has a country-wide alliance with Barrick Gold Corporation to jointly explore, develop, and mine certain gold mineral properties and mining projects. The Barrick Alliance has completed a successful two-and-a-half-year country-wide screening program of 29 projects and has selected 6 with the potential to host Tier 1 or Tier 2 gold ore bodies for further advancement and 3 more recently acquired project areas and one recently acquired project, for initial evaluation.
More information is available at www.japangold.com or by email at info@japangold.com.
For further information, please contact:
John Proust
Chairman & CEO
Phone: 778-725-1491
Email: info@japangold.com
Cautionary Note
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results related to future partnerships and the Company's 2023 gold exploration program. These statements are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that include, but are not limited to, the timing and granting of prospecting rights; the Company's ability to convert prospecting rights into digging rights within the timeframe prescribed by the Mining Act; general economic, market and business conditions; competition for qualified staff; the regulatory process and actions; technical issues; new legislation; potential delays or changes in plans; working in a new political jurisdiction; results of exploration; the Company's ability to execute and implement future plans, arrange or conclude a joint-venture or partnership; and the occurrence of unexpected events. Actual results achieved may differ from the information provided herein and, consequently, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein speaks only as of the date of this News Release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information or to explain any material difference between such and subsequent actual events, except as required by applicable laws.
Figure 1: Ikutahara and Kanehana Project areas with simplified geology, main prospects, and the Kitano-o District soil grid outline
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Figure 2: Kitano-o District, geology, gold in soil and combined anomalous zones.
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Figure 3: Kitano-o District, geology, antimony in soil and combined anomalous zones.
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Figure 4: Kitano-o District, geology, vanadium in soil and combined anomalous zones.
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Figure 5: Kitano-o prospect, geology, with gold soil and rock and 2019 and 2022 drill holes.
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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Silver Elephant Mining Corp. (TSX: ELEF) (OTCQX: SILEF) (FSE: 1P2) ("Silver Elephant" or "the Company") announces that, further to its news release dated February 1, 2023, two separate rail shipments totaling 3,771 tonnes of coal have departed for China from its Ulaan Ovoo mine in Mongolia.
"The Company has consistently demonstrated its capability to export quality thermal coal to China from Mongolia since December 2022. The Company is planning to expand Ulaan Ovoo operation as we continue to receive inquiries from major Chinese coal buyers," commented John Lee, CEO of the Company.
Further coal shipment will resume after Mongolian lunar new year (February 21 to February 24). The Company expects to fulfill the 15,000-tonne sales and purchase contract with Hong Kong based coal buyer by March 31, 2023.
About Mega Thermal Coal Corp.
Mega Thermal Coal Corp. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Silver Elephant, which owns and operates the Ulaan Ovoo mine. Mega Thermal Coal Corp. also owns and operates Chandgana Khavtgai and Chandgana Tal coal mines in Mongolia.
Further information on Mega Coal can be found at www.megacoal.ca.
About Silver Elephant Mining Corp.
Silver Elephant Mining Corp. is a premier silver mining and exploration company, with its flagship Pulacayo silver project in Bolivia. It also owns 100% of Mega Thermal Coal Corp and 39% of Oracle Commodity Holding Corp. ("Oracle"). Oracle has equity and royalty investments in nickel and vanadium mining companies.
Further information on Silver Elephant can be found at www.silverelef.com.
SILVER ELEPHANT MINING CORP.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
John Lee
CEO
For more information about Silver Elephant, please contact Investor Relations:
+1.604.569.3661 ext. 101
info@silverelef.com / www.silverelef.com
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Reader Advisory
Certain statements contained in this or other news release, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the debt settlements, the terms of the debt settlements, and the completion of the debt settlements, among other things, and statements which may contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", "targets", or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts, are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations regarding either of Silver Elephant's future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on Silver Elephant's forward-looking statements. Silver Elephant believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable based on information available to it, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, although Silver Elephant has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Silver Elephant undertakes no obligation to release publicly any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155740
Anderson, South Carolina--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - JZZ Technologies, Inc., (OTC Pink: JZZI) ("JZZ" or the "Company") has entered into a non-binding Letter Of Intent ("LOI") to acquire the Colorado-based mortgage company 02 Mortgage LLC. DBA Oxygen Mortgage ("Oxygen Mortgage"). Under the terms of the proposed agreement, Oxygen Mortgage will become a wholly owned subsidiary of JZZ Technologies, Inc.
Oxygen Mortgage is a Colorado-based mortgage broker with offices in Boulder, Colorado and Chicago, Illinois. The company offers home loans and a variety of mortgage financing products to consumers. Its founder, Robert Egeland, brings 30 years of experience in the mortgage business having closed on more than 28,000 loans through his business ventures with an aggregate value of over $80 million. Oxygen Mortgage is his newest vision of mortgage financing.
Oxygen Mortgage was responsible for over $10 million in home loans during FY2022 and anticipates that it will ramp-up revenues as it scales its growing residential clientele, as well as the new projects being launched through JZZ. Oxygen Mortgage management is forecasting the potential for a four-fold increase in revenues for FY2023.
Management expects that Oxygen Mortgage will become the primary provider of mortgage products for JZZ Technologies' rapidly growing real estate development division. Robert Egeland, as President of the Real Estate Division, will head up acquisitions and Real Estate development. The focus will be on integrating all aspects of the existing businesses and subsidiaries. The vision is to create an integrated real estate project development, sales, financing and marketing business that creates outstanding value for the Company.
The LOI provides that Robert Egeland will also become a director and member of the board of directors of JZZ Technologies, Inc.
Charles Cardona, CEO of JZZ Technologies, Inc., stated, "The acquisition of Oxygen Mortgage brings an important part to our new real estate development ventures. With Robert Egeland at the helm, we will now be able to offer mortgages as part of our service offerings for the many new projects we are developing in the Carolinas, Florida, and elsewhere. Oxygen Mortgage has a strong foundational base and an outstanding track record in the industry. We believe that it will add a tremendous asset to JZZ Technologies, Inc."
Robert Egeland, President and Founder of Oxygen Mortgage, added, 'It's exciting to be joining with JZZ Technologies and their growing opportunities in real estate ventures. We share a vision of providing quality products for families and strategic growth in areas that are seeing major migration, such as Florida and the Carolinas. All my years of experience have led me to this point to be able to contribute at the highest level to help JZZ develop and build some amazing neighborhoods and communities that people will be proud to call home."
About Oxygen Mortgage
O2 Mortgage LLC DBA Oxygen Mortgage (oxygenmortgage.net) is a private mortgage broker based in Colorado, with offices Boulder and Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in 2022 by Robert Egeland, a veteran with more than 30 years' experience in the residential and commercial lending business with Fortune 500 companies including Keller Williams, and US Bank Corp. Oxygen Mortgage offers home loans, reverse mortgages, and refinancing options with licences in multiple states and growing rapidly nationwide.
About JZZ Technologies, Inc .
JZZ Technologies, Inc. is a diversified company engaged in several business sectors. Its Active Lifestyle Real Estate Development division is engaged in acquiring, managing, and operating commercial and residential real estate and housing development projects. Its Active Lifestyle Digital media business includes online media and apps (activelifestylemedia.com), content creation, and digital marketing targeted to active adults 55+.
For more information, please visit jzztechnologies.com.
Press Contacts:
JZZ Technologies, Inc.
Charles Cardona, CEO
ceo@jzztechnologies.com
DISCLAIMER and FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such Forward-Looking Statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the viability of the Company's business plans, the effect of acquisitions on our profitability, the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of the Company's products; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; and the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial condition. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the Company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, management cannot assure the public that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.
Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such Forward-Looking Statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the viability of the Company's business plans, the effect of acquisitions on our profitability, the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of the Company's products; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; and the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial condition. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the Company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, management cannot assure the public that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155671
Google Cloud will become a validator on Tezos
The Tezos Foundation, which promotes the Tezos blockchain protocol's adoption and development, announced today that it is working with Google Cloud to accelerate Web3 application development on the Tezos blockchain. The collaboration includes Google Cloud becoming a Tezos network validator (or "baker"), and Tezos helping Google Cloud's corporate customers deploy Tezos nodes to support Web3 innovation on the Tezos blockchain.
The Tezos Foundation will provide new and existing Google Cloud customers access to its corporate baking program. Through the program, Tezos will offer Google Cloud customers that are interested in building Web3 applications, easy deployment of nodes and indexers on the Tezos protocol. Through this collaboration, companies and developers can easily host and deploy RPC nodes for Web3 applications, leveraging both the strength of the Tezos blockchain and the scale and resilience of Google Cloud infrastructure. The Tezos Foundation program has been successful in helping major brands, banks, and institutions enter the Web3 space, thanks to its corporate baking program.
Through the collaboration, select Tezos incubator startups will also be eligible to receive Google Cloud credits and mentorship via the Google for Startups Cloud Program, providing even more resources to the next generation of innovators in Web3.
Mason Edwards, chief commercial officer, Tezos Foundation, said: "To achieve institutional adoption and mass-market opportunities, technology that's reliable, scalable, and secure is essential. We see exciting synergies in working with Google Cloud, and look forward to accelerating development and innovation on the Tezos blockchain together."
"At Google Cloud, we're providing secure and reliable infrastructure for Web3 founders and developers to innovate and scale their applications," James Tromans, Engineering Director, Web3 at Google Cloud, said. "We look forward to bringing the dependability and scalability of Google Cloud to power Web3 applications on Tezos."
The collaboration is also driving forward a mutual goal of creating environmentally sustainable computing environments. Tezos is recognized as a pioneer of proof-of-stake, an energy-efficient alternative to more traditional proof-of-work blockchains. This collaboration reaffirms the Tezos Foundation's commitment to a sustainable blockchain future by collaborating with Google Cloud, the cleanest cloud in the industry.
About TEZOS
Tezos is smart money, redefining what it means to hold and exchange value in a digitally connected world. A self-upgradable and energy-efficient Proof of Stake blockchain with a proven track record, Tezos seamlessly adopts tomorrow's innovations without network disruptions today. For more information, please visit www.tezos.com.
About TEZOS FOUNDATION
The Tezos Foundation is a Swiss non-profit foundation that supports the development and long-term success of the Tezos protocol, an energy efficient blockchain with the ability to evolve by upgrading itself. For more information, please visit www.tezos.foundation.
About Google Cloud
Google Cloud accelerates every organization's ability to digitally transform its business. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005123/en/
Contacts:
Randall Woods
tezos@sbscomms.com
High School and University Students to Compete for $20,000 in Prizes in Water Innovation Challenge
Global water technology company Xylem (NYSE:XYL) is calling on students worldwide to join its mission of solving water challenges by signing up to the 2023 Global Student Innovation Challenge. The initiative invites high school and university students between the ages of 13 and 25 to compete for prizes by developing innovative solutions to the world's top water challenges. The registration deadline for this year's challenge is March 1.
"From devastating storms and floods to droughts and pollutants, local communities and economies everywhere are feeling the impacts of escalating water challenges," said Patrick Decker, President and Chief Executive Officer at Xylem. "By engaging students and fostering innovation, we have the power to turn the tide on the global water crisis. Our Student Innovation Challenge is an opportunity to bring together the brightest young minds from around the world and tap into their shared passion for innovation to help us shape a brighter future."
Under the initiative, which is part of Xylem's global youth program Xylem Ignite, students and their teams can win cash prizes for their project while receiving support from leading water sector experts. Students compete in either high school or university categories, with $5,000 awarded to the top project in each.
The 2023 challenges are focused on: The Water Impact of Green Hydrogen Production, Awareness to Action, Waterways Pollution Prevention Using Data Science, and Water-Energy-Emissions Nexus in Buildings. The deadline for project submissions is April 22, and the winners will be announced later this summer.
Last year, more than 800 high school and university students from more than 50 countries participated. Team SWiFT from Santa Clara, California, was awarded the 2022 grand prize in the high school category for their project to improve the life span of hand-powered water pumps which are commonly used to access water in rural communities.
Team AquaFlo from Canada won the 2022 grand prize in the university category for their design of two technical solutions to notify users when a water hand pump is out of service. Their concepts included a mobile app and an automated message service system.
"The students that have come through the Xylem Global Student Innovation Challenge are some of the best and brightest," said Austin Alexander, Vice President, Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem. "Their ideas have the potential to transform the impact of water on our society. We're privileged to be able to nurture and encourage their talent so that future generations can benefit from their innovative thinking and ideas."
To learn more and to register for Xylem's Global Student Innovation Challenge visit innovationchallenge.xylem.com.
About Xylem
Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company committed to solving critical water and infrastructure challenges with innovation. Our more than 17,000 diverse employees delivered revenue of $5.5 billion in 2022. We are creating a more sustainable world by enabling our customers to optimize water and resource management, and helping communities in more than 150 countries become water-secure. Join us at www.xylem.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005607/en/
Contacts:
Houston Spencer, Xylem
+1 (914) 240-3046
Houston.Spencer@xylem.com
Workload, Stress Among Reasons Cited for Job Dissatisfaction
LONDON, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the midst of what industry analysts are calling a "workforce crisis" in UK community pharmacy, 81% of pharmacists said they had considered leaving their job in the 12 months leading up to October 2022, according to a recent industry survey.
Other key survey findings include:
Of 392 pharmacists employed by a high-street community pharmacy, 42.6% said they had actively looked for another job.
75% of 204 pharmacy support staff respondents, including pharmacy technicians and counter assistants, said they had considered leaving their job in the 12 months leading up to October 2022.
A combined 79% of 596 pharmacy workers said they had considered leaving their job in the 12 months leading up to October 2022.
Of these, 44.2% said they had actively looked for other work
The survey was conducted by Chemist+Druggist(C+D), the leading source of news commentary and analysis for the UK community pharmacy industry, between Oct. 25, 2022 and Jan. 20, 2023, and was completed by 1,480 pharmacists and pharmacy staff.
"These statistics highlight a sector in crisis," said C+D Editor Beth Kennedy. "Mounting stress, an untenable workload and lack of financial support from the government have culminated in a mass exodus from community pharmacy. This cannot be allowed to continue."
Additional findings attribute job dissatisfaction to understaffing, workload and stress:
Increasing workloads were a major problem, with 92.2% of employed pharmacists saying their workload had increased over the 12 months prior to the survey.
There were widespread reports of inadequate staffing levels in pharmacies, with 70.7% of 410 employed pharmacists saying staffing levels were either "quite low" with 17% reporting they were "so low they are dangerous." Employed pharmacists include community pharmacist branch managers, community pharmacist area managers, second or non-manager community pharmacists and superintendent community pharmacists.
Unrealistic workloads were also of concern, with 65.4% of 417 employed pharmacists reporting that their workload was often or always unrealistic. Of these, over one in five (21.5%) said their workload was always unrealistic.
"Many respondents to the C+D Salary Survey 2022 revealed they were thinking of giving up salaried work to become locum pharmacists, or even moving away from pharmacy entirely," Kennedy said.
Primary care networks have been accused of luring pharmacists and pharmacy technicians away from communities and into emerging roles within their ranks. This in turn has led to speculation that unfilled posts and rising locum rates are adding to a growing pattern of temporary pharmacy closures, with community pharmacies being forced to shorten their hours, typically due as a result of being short-staffed.
"Community pharmacies are a vital resource for the most vulnerable in our society," said Kennedy. "The government must act now to fund pharmacy fairly, allowing employers to retain their staff with better pay and working conditions, ensuing a community pharmacy workforce that is fit for the future."
About Citeline
Citeline (a Norstella business) powers a full suite of complementary business intelligence offerings to meet the evolving needs of life science professionals to accelerate the connection of treatments to patients and patients to treatments. These patient-focused solutions and services deliver and analyze data used to drive clinical, commercial, and regulatory-related decisions and create real-world opportunities for growth.
Citeline's global teams of analysts, journalists and consultants keep their fingers on the pulse of the pharmaceutical, biomedical and medtech industries, covering it all with expert insights: key diseases, clinical trials, drug R&D and approvals, market forecasts and more. For more information on one of the world's most trusted health science partners, visit Citeline .
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Kingfisher Metals Corp. (TSXV:KFR)(FSE:970)(OTCQB:KGFMF) ("Kingfisher" or the "Company") announces drill results from the 100% owned 511 km2 Goldrange Project. Goldrange is located approximately 25 km south of the town of Tatla Lake in the Chilcotin region of Southwest British Columbia.
Highlights
Diamond drilling at eastern Cloud Drifter Zone intercepted anomalous near surface gold mineralization over 400 m of strike including 1.93 g/t over 25 m from 32 m.
The Cloud Drifter Zone's Pad 400 Area continues to return high grade intercepts that infill previous gaps between diamond drill holes such as 15.17 g/t Au over 1 m and 10.49 g/t Au over 1 m.
Several mineralized shear zones were identified at Langara Zone through diamond drilling including 9.45 g/t Au over 1 m and 7.26 g/t Au over 1 m.
A new style of polymetallic sulfide breccia was intercepted at Langara returning 7.41 g/t Au, 81.90 g/t Ag, 0.23 % Cu, 2.22 % Pb, and 7.63 % Zn over 0.5 m.
The RAB drill at Langara Zone located the historical Langara adit in hole GRR22-033 where the hole graded 1.3 g/t Au over 7.6 m and bottomed in a void.
Deep penetrating IP survey in Cloud Drifter Zone identified two large intense chargeability anomalies at depth.
Dustin Perry, CEO of Kingfisher, states "Drilling in 2022 at the Cloud Drifter Trend identified a large hydrothermal gold system stretching close to 3 km in length. Drilling identified corridors where gold grades are markedly increased and likely represent the tops of feeder zones to the hydrothermal system. The IP survey in the eastern Cloud Drifter Zone shows two large intense chargeability anomalies at depth - one below the area of drilling and another below the historical Standard adit. These anomalies represent high priority drill targets."
The Goldrange Project covers a significant deformation zone with numerous precious metal veins across the project. Mineralization at Goldrange occurs within the orogenic Yalakom Gold Belt, which is host to the Bridge River District that includes the past-producing Bralorne Mine. Several areas of historical hand mining are located within the project that date back to the 1930s.
The 2022 drill program (Figure 1) at the Goldrange Project was designed to follow up on the initial 2021 program as well as test a much broader area across the Cloud Drifter Trend. The 23 diamond drill holes (Tables 1-4) and six RAB drill holes (Tables 5 and 6) of the 2022 program included within this release are located at the Langara Zone of the Cloud Drifter Trend soil anomaly.
Figure 1: Diamond and RAB Drill Hole and Section Locations in the Cloud Drifter Trend
Cloud Drifter Zone Drill Results
Pad 400 Target
Ten drill holes (Figure 2) were completed at the Pad 400 target, with the results from six of those drill holes previously released , and with four included in this release. The four holes included in this release (Table 1 and 2) were completed from a single drill pad and included highlight intercepts from of 15.17 g/t Au over 1 m (Figure 4) and 10.49 g/t Au over 1 m.
Eastern Target
Ten drill holes (Figure 3) were completed at the Eastern Target totalling 1986 m. Drilling was completed from four drill pads covering 400 m in strike length. Drilling consistently intercepted shallow broad zones of low-grade gold mineralization with a highlight intercept returning 1.9 g/t Au over 25 m (Figure 5) from 32 m depth. Drill collar information and intercepts are found within Table 1 and 2.
Table 1: Diamond Drill Collars (NAD 83 - Zone 10), Cloud Drifter Zone
Hole Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (m) Depth (m) Azimuth Dip GR22-021 388953 5705970 1450 200.3 130 55 GR22-022 388944 5705922 1478 145.1 322 56 GR22-028 388944 5705922 1478 202.4 323 71 GR22-029 388944 5705922 1478 297.2 22 56 GR22-031 388858 5705887 1492 246.9 50 55 GR22-032 388858 5705887 1492 237.1 320 65 GR22-034 388858 5705887 1492 223.0 320 85 GR22-036 388709 5705912 1464 146.1 311 56 GR22-038 388709 5705912 1464 150 301 76 GR22-039 388709 5705912 1464 137.5 30 55 GR22-040 388529 5705815 1508 223 234 77 GR22-041 388529 5705815 1508 198 333 86 GR22-042 388529 5705815 1508 202.6 238 85 GR22-043 388529 5705815 1508 250.7 232 70
Table 2: Diamond Drill Highlights, Cloud Drifter Zone
Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % GR22-021 no significant intercepts GR22-022 28.0 67.0 39.0 0.36 - - incl. 28.0 51.0 23.0 0.45 - - GR22-028 34.4 39.4 5.0 0.45 - - GR22-028 44.4 49.4 5.0 0.31 - - GR22-028 119.4 121.4 2.0 0.41 - - GR22-029 24.2 34.2 10.0 0.28 - - GR22-031 27.0 41.0 14.0 0.26 - - GR22-031 94.0 109.0 15.0 0.21 - - GR22-031 129.0 130.0 1.0 2.67 - - GR22-032 32.0 57.0 25.0 1.93 - - incl. 34.0 43.0 9.0 4.18 - 0.13 incl. 40.0 41.0 1.0 24.57 23.27 0.65 and 54.0 56.0 2.0 3.77 - - GR22-032 90.0 111.0 21.0 0.31 - - incl. 99.0 100.0 1.0 3.52 - - GR22-034 27.0 45.0 18.0 0.33 - - incl. 37.0 42.0 5.0 0.85 - - GR22-034 50.0 51.0 1.0 0.58 - - GR22-034 92.0 94.0 2.0 1.94 - - GR22-034 98.0 113.0 15.0 0.61 - - GR22-034 104.0 105.0 1.0 6.99 14.20 0.13 GR22-034 132.0 142.0 10.0 0.24 - - GR22-034 156.0 157.0 1.0 0.81 - - GR22-036 41.0 84.0 43.0 0.32 - - incl. 53.0 60.0 7.0 0.89 - - GR22-038 46.0 65.0 19.0 0.54 - - incl. 56.6 65.0 8.4 0.97 - - GR22-039 41.0 56.0 15.0 0.17 - - GR22-040 169.0 171.0 2.0 3.63 - - Incl. 169.0 170.0 1.0 6.42 - - GR22-041 152.0 157.0 5.0 3.75 - 0.11 incl. 155.0 156.0 1.0 15.17 15.17 0.37 GR22-042 172.0 176.0 4.0 2.68 - - incl. 172.0 173.0 1.0 10.49 - - GR22-042 182.0 192.0 10.0 0.71 - 0.12 incl. 187.0 188.0 1.0 4.43 14.61 0.78 GR22-043 129.0 135.0 6.0 0.35 - - GR22-043 230.0 232.0 2.0 0.85 - -
*True widths are not known at this time. All widths reported are drilled widths. Values <10 g/t Ag, <0.1% Cu, Pb and Zn not displayed
Figure 2: Cross section view of Pad 400 Target Area, View North
Figure 3: Cross section view of Eastern Target Area, View North
Figure 4: Photograph of Drillhole GR22-041, Pad 400 Target Area (15.2 g/t Au over 1 m from 155.0 m)
Figure 5: Photograph of Drillhole GR22-032, Eastern Target Area (24.6 g/t Au over 1 m from 40.0 m)
Langara Zone Diamond Drill Results
Diamond drilling at the Langara Zone was completed from one pad location near the top of the ridgeline. Four holes were completed over 1594 m. Drill hole GR22-030 was aimed towards the location of the historical adit and failed to hit similar mineralization with a highlight of 3.96 g/t Au, 60.22 g/t Ag and 0.63% Cu over 1 m.
GR22-033, -035, and -037 were completed to test for down dip extensions of a vein outcrop at surface on the eastern slopes of the Langara Zone. Sulfide breccia (Figure 8), narrow veins, as well as a 12 m wide deformation zone (Figure 9) were intersected. Collar information and highlight intercepts are found within Table 3 and 4 below. Highlight intercepts are displayed on Figure 6 and 7.
Table 3: Diamond Drill Collars (NAD 83 - Zone 10), Langara Zone
Hole Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (m) Depth (m) Azimuth Dip GR22-030 390266 5705334 1891 505.0 307 58 GR22-033 390266 5705334 1891 362.0 25 45 GR22-035 390266 5705334 1891 353.0 25 53 GR22-037 390266 5705334 1891 374.0 25 62
Table 4: Diamond Drill Highlights, Langara Zone
Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % Pb % Zn % GR22-030 207.0 208.0 1.0 3.96 60.22 0.63 - - GR22-033 157.0 158.0 1.0 3.74 17.99 0.10 0.18 - GR22-033 202.0 205.0 3.0 3.28 - - - - incl. 204.0 205.0 1.0 9.45 25.17 0.10 - - GR22-033 321.3 321.8 0.5 7.41 81.90 0.23 2.22 7.63 GR22-035 154.0 156.1 2.1 1.22 - - - - GR22-035 195.0 197.0 2.0 3.71 - - - - Incl. 196.0 197.0 1.0 7.26 - - - - GR22-035 322.0 330.0 8.0 0.93 - - - 0.12 Incl. 322.0 326.0 4.0 1.80 11.94 - 0.11 0.24 GR22-037 360.9 363.0 2.0 0.59 - - - 0.26
*True widths are not known at this time. All widths reported are drilled widths. Values <10 g/t Ag, <0.1% Cu, Pb and Zn not displayed
Figure 6: Section from Langara Zone
Figure 7: Section from Langara Zone with both RAB and diamond drill holes
Figure 8: Drill Core Photo Langara Zone, Hole GR23-033 (7.4 g/t Au over 0.5 m from 321.5 m
Figure 9: Drill Core Photo Langara Zone, Hole GR23-035 (1.2 g/t Au over 2.1 m from 154.0 m)
Langara Zone RAB Drill Results
Six RAB drill holes were completed from one drill pad with the goal of intercepting the historical Langara adit as well as testing sheeted sulfide veins in the area of the pad. GR22-033 intersected the adit at 9.14 m and was unable to advance any further.
Table 5: RAB Drill Collars (NAD 83 - Zone 10), Langara Zone
Hole Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (m) Depth (m) Azimuth Dip GRR22-033 390144 5705445 1767 9.1 240 55 GRR22-034 390144 5705445 1767 89.9 240 65 GRR22-035 390144 5705445 1767 88.4 197 57 GRR22-036 390144 5705445 1767 77.7 55 60 GRR22-037 390144 5705445 1767 71.6 30 60 GRR22-038 390144 5705445 1767 62.5 330 60
Table 6: RAB Drill Highlights, Langara Zone
Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % Pb % Zn % GRR22-033 0 7.6 7.6 1.30 29.39 0.26 - - GRR22-034 No significant intercepts GRR22-035 0 4.6 4.6 0.28 - - - - GRR22-036 No significant intercepts GRR22-037 No significant intercepts GRR22-038 No significant intercepts
*True widths are not known at this time. All widths reported are drilled widths. Values <10 g/t Ag, <0.1% Cu, Pb and Zn not displayed
Cloud Drifter Geophysical Survey Results
Seven line-km of IP-resistivity surveying was completed on the eastern portion of the Cloud Drifter Zone over five separate lines. Two of the five lines were surveyed at wider spacings to allow for deeper penetration. Line 1450, presented in Figure 10, is one of the deeper penetrating lines, and delineates two significant IP anomalies. One of the IP anomalies is centered at depth below the GR22-036, -038, and -039. The other IP anomaly lies under the Standard Zone, which was hand mined historically, and is where Kingfisher backpack drilled 6.9 m of 10.84 g/t Au during their 2020 exploration program.
Figure 10: Chargeability along section 1450, view to east
About RAB Drilling
Kingfisher is using RAB drills as a cost effective and efficient first pass exploration tool. The RAB is a heli-portable, track mounted drill that can drill a wide range of dips (50-90) to depths of up to 100 meters. Rock cuttings from the drill hammer are returned to surface between the outside of the rods and the open hole. Under certain conditions, cross contamination between samples is a concern. The assay results from the RAB drill provide a strong indication of the grade and thickness of gold intercepted in a given hole. Kingfisher intends to follow up encouraging RAB assay results with a diamond drill to fully quantify the grade and thickness of these mineralized intercepts.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QAQC)
All diamond drillholes in this release are NQ sized (47.6 mm diameter). A continuous series of one-metre-long half-split core samples was taken down the entire length of each drill hole. Sample lengths were reduced to a minimum of half a meter to avoid crossing lithologic contacts or other features deemed important by Kingfisher geologists.
Unlabelled certified reference materials (CRM) were inserted systematically throughout the sample sequence along with blanks and duplicate samples. In addition to the systematic insertion of duplicates, duplicates were also collected from conspicuously mineralized samples. Half-split core samples for duplicates were further split into quarter core samples before submission for analysis. Upon receipt of duplicate analyses, the results from each of the quarter cores were averaged before integration into the assay database. The total number of blanks, duplicates and CRM samples equals approximately 5% of the total samples taken.
RAB drill holes at the Goldrange Project are NWJ sized (2 5/8"). Samples are collected continuously from surface from each 5 ft (1.52 m) rod length. Collected sample material is put through a 1:8 riffle splitter, with the smaller portion of the sample bagged to be sent to the lab for Au Chrysos PhotonAssay TM and Au Fire Assay checks. Certified reference materials and blanks are inserted into the sample sequence every 20 th sample. Duplicates were collected from every 40 th sample by running the 7:8 reject material through the riffle splitter again, and collecting the 1:8 split for submission to the lab. The total number of blanks, duplicates and CRM samples equals approximately 5% of the samples submitted to the lab for analysis.
Core samples were shipped to MSALABS, located in Langley, British Columbia for preparation and analysis. MSALABS is an ISO17025 and ISO9001 accredited laboratory and is independent of Kingfisher Metals and its Qualified Person. Drill core and RAB samples were prepped using the SPL430, CRU-220 and analyzed for 48 major and trace elements with ICP-MS after a four-acid digestion (method code IMS-230). Following sample preparation, a 500 g split from each sample was sent to MSALABS Val-D'Or location for Au analysis using Chrysos PhotonAssay TM (method code CPA-Au1). Selected samples were also subjected to Au fire assay and gravimetric check assays. A 30 g split from each check assay sample was analyzed for Au using a lead collection fire assay fusion that was digested and analyzed using AA (method code FAS-111). A 30g split from the check assay samples that assayed >10 ppm Au was analyzed using a lead collection fire assay fusion with a gravimetric finish (method code FAS-415).
Qualified Person
Dustin Perry, P.Geo., Kingfisher's CEO, is the Company's Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects , and has prepared the technical information presented in this release.
About Kingfisher Metals Corp.
Kingfisher Metals Corp. ( https://kingfishermetals.com/ ) is a Canadian based exploration company focused on underexplored district-scale projects in British Columbia. Kingfisher has three 100% owned district-scale projects that offer potential exposure to high-grade gold, copper, silver, and zinc. The Company currently has 103,057,272 shares outstanding.
For further information, please contact:
Dustin Perry, P.Geo.
CEO and Director
Phone: +1 778 606 2507
E-Mail: info@kingfishermetals.com
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's property. This news 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: formulation of plans for drill testing; and the success related to any future exploration or development programs.
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; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour- related disruptions; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled construction and production; 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: risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic; fluctuations in gold prices; fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar); operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mineral exploration; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; 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 in Canada (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.
SOURCE: Kingfisher Metals Corp.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740227/Kingfisher-Reports-Final-Diamond-and-RAB-Drill-Results-from-Cloud-Drifter-Trend
Capital for Colleagues plc - Result of Annual General Meeting
Capital for Colleagues plc / EPIC: CFCP / Market: AQSE / Sector: Financials
22 February 2023
CAPITAL FOR COLLEAGUES PLC
('Capital for Colleagues', 'C4C' or the 'Company')
RESULT OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Capital for Colleagues, the investment vehicle focused on opportunities in the Employee Owned Business ('EOB') sector, is pleased to announce that all the resolutions were duly passed at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held today.
The Directors of the Company are responsible for the contents of this announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit www.capitalforcolleagues.com or contact:
CAPITAL FOR COLLEAGUES PLC
Richard Bailey, Chairman
Alistair Currie, Chief Executive
John Lewis, Finance Director
01985 201 980 PETERHOUSE CAPITAL LIMITED
Mark Anwyl 020 7469 0930
Capital for Colleagues plc
Capital for Colleagues is an investment company focused on the UK EOB sector. The Company has a proven management team, with a wide network of contacts and affiliates, as well as established access to investment opportunities, enabling the Company to execute its strategy and capitalise on EOB-focused investment opportunities. In addition, the Company educates and assists companies that are looking to launch employee ownership schemes, advising them, amongst other things, on how to secure investment and achieve their objectives.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation EU 596/2014 as it forms part of retained EU law (as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).
Amman, Jordan--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - On Feb. 22, 2023, Jasmine Wang and Robin J. Lewis, Co-Chairs of Worldview Global Impact (WGI), a New York-registered non-profit committed to promoting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around the world, met with representatives of the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development (QRF), established by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah to improve educational outcomes for children and young people in Jordan and the Middle East.
During the meetings, WGI and QRF discussed important social issues of mutual interest, including plans for the expanded early childhood development program supported by WGI and GEMO - the leader of science-backed anti-aging technology. Wang lauded Her Majesty and QRF's contributions to education and Arabic literacy.
For its part, QRF expressed its appreciation for both organizations and their contributions towards effective social impact initiatives. WGI and GEMO's support has further enabled QRF to move towards a multi-year campaign to empower parents as their children's first educators. This partnership will have a direct impact on supporting parents and their children in the first years of their life.
QRF - Transforming Education
QRF believes every child and young person in Jordan and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) deserves a quality education. It works to identify and address gaps in the education system, particularly in the area of Arabic literacy. The foundation develops innovative, evidence-backed, and often technology-driven programs that are designed to accelerate and improve the learning outcomes . By partnering with subject matter experts and using a rigorous strategy of piloting, evaluating, and improving project implementations before scaling deployments, QRF is focusing on system-changing initiatives for the MENA region.
WGI - Working Toward the SDGs Around the World
WGI was established to help bring the world's most promising social impact initiatives to life. By promoting new visions of sustainability and positive social impact via forums, conferences, impact investing, training, education, art exhibitions, and other innovative pathways, WGI aims to raise young people's awareness of the SDGs, create local youth communities and networks that work toward achieving the SDGs, and promotes the global scale-up of best practices while also cultivating the sustainable development leaders of the future.
Jasmine Wang actively seeks organizations, institutions, and individuals around the world that are dedicated to promoting sustainability and social impact programs. GEMO has been recognized by Wang as a major contributor to social advancement for years, which is why this support to the Queen Rania Foundation was deemed appropriate.
GEMO and the Science of Anti-Aging Therapy
GEMO is a pioneer in the medical cosmetology and regenerative medicine spaces, whose anti-aging technology delivers exceptional results and more youthful skin. Created in collaboration with subject matter experts, scientists and researchers, it is rewriting the anti-aging script by helping women around the world stay younger for longer.
GEMO's breakthroughs in anti-aging therapy and youth treatment systems are rooted in European imperial anti-aging technology and have led the European market for more than half a century. Incorporating the long-lasting anti-aging technologies of the Switzerland-based Clinic Lemanic, founded in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1998 by Darrell Jacobs and Dr. Veronique Emmenegger, these have had a long-lasting impact on anti-aging and youth technologies for several decades.
To learn more about this news or for more stories on how high-impact social causes are changing lives around the world, please reach out to Jasmine Wang at info@worldviewglobal.com.
Resources
WGI: https://www.worldviewglobal.org/about-us-1
QRF: https://www.qrf.org/en
GEMO: http://www.gemoglobal.com/index.php/brand
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155743
Fidelity China Special Situations PLC
(the "Company")
Renewal of Bank Loan Facility
The Company is pleased to announce that, on 14 February 2023, it entered into a new loan facility agreement with The Bank of Nova Scotia, London Branch for USD $100,000,000 with a termination date of 13 February 2024 (the "New Facility Agreement"). The New Facility Agreement replaces the Company's previous USD $100,000,000 loan facility agreement originally dated 14 February 2020.
Under the New Facility Agreement, the Company shall repay the loan balance, together with all interest accrued and unpaid in full on the termination date. The rate of interest is at a fixed rate of 6.335% per annum.
The New Facility Agreement will be used with the intention that the proceeds of the facility will be invested in a manner consistent with the Company's investment objective.
The above transactions leave the gearing and equity exposure levels of the Company unchanged.
Enquiries:
Rachel Orebote
FIL Investments International, Company Secretary 01737 834547
22 February 2023
LEI: 54930076MSJ0ZW67JB75
NEW DELHI (dpa-AFX) - The Seattle City Council has passed a landmark ordinance to ban caste discrimination, making it the first U.S. city to outlaw the social evil.
The legislation was drafted and introduced by Council member Kshama Sawant, who is the chair of the Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee.
Presenting the legislation, Sawant said, 'Caste discrimination doesn't only take place in other countries. It is faced by South Asian American and other immigrant working people in their workplaces, including in the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities around the country. That's why my office is proud to bring forward first-in-the-nation legislation for our city to ban caste-based discrimination, in solidarity with our South Asian and other immigrant community members, and all working people.'
The legislation will prohibit businesses from discriminating based on caste with respect to hiring, tenure, promotion, workplace conditions, or wages. It will ban discrimination based on caste in places of public accommodation, such as hotels, public transportation, public restrooms, or retail establishments. The law will also prohibit housing discrimination based on caste in rental housing leases, property sales, and mortgage loans.
Seattle is one of the regions in the United States where a large number of South Asian community is concentrated. More than 167,000 people from South Asia are living in Washington, largely concentrated in the Greater Seattle area.
Seattle is one of the cities where caste discrimination 'remains a largely hidden and unreported issue,' as noted in a recent report.
'We know that caste discrimination has been growing in the United States across many industries, including technology, construction, restaurants and the service industry, and in domestic work,' says Sawant, who is the only Indian American on the Seattle city council.
Caste discrimination is increasingly a grave contributor to workplace discrimination and bias in the U.S. Data from Equality Labs show that one in four caste-oppressed people faced physical and verbal assault, one in three faced education discrimination, and 67 percent faced workplace discrimination.
By passing the ordinance on Tuesday, the City of Seattle joins the NAACP, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, the California State University, and Brandeis University in banning caste discrimination.
The Alphabet Workers Union has said that the 'fight for the civil rights of caste-oppressed people is a workers' fight.' Alphabet is the parent company of Google.
Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Arcadis DPS Group, a global engineering, procurement, construction management and validation firm serving high-tech process industries, is proud to welcome Chris Oldham as Director of Project Management. Reporting to Senior Vice President of Project Operations Paul DePriest, Chris will be responsible for all operations and projects while managing the DPS Boston office's expanding team of project management professionals. He will ensure Arcadis DPS Group projects are executed according to industry best practices and in compliance with Arcadis DPS Group procedures and guidelines.
"Chris brings a broad knowledge of the design and construction process, and a solid understanding of complex mechanical and electrical systems," said Paul. "Like Arcadis DPS Group, he strives to remain at the forefront of both design and construction technology and builds long-term relationships with clients. We are thrilled to welcome him to the team."
Prior to joining Arcadis DPS Group, Chris spent 30 years with JM Coull where he was the COO and Executive Vice President. He played a key role in the management of the company's most challenging projects for clients in the medical, commercial, advanced tech, and life sciences markets, including those with stringent ISO Cleanroom (Classes 4 - 8) and cGMP / cGLP requirements.
Chris received a Healthcare Construction Certificate from the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), and he is a Construction Safety Technician Instructor with the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). He attended Indian Valley Technical Collage and Eastern Nazarene College.
Serving high-tech industries around the world, Arcadis DPS Group delivers full-service engineering across a range of disciplines, including project management, procurement, design, construction management, health and safety management, commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV), and facility start-up.
About Arcadis DPS Group
Arcadis DPS Group is a global engineering, consulting, and project management company, serving high-tech industries around the world. Arcadis DPS delivers services for clients across the complete engineering and construction value chain including feasibility studies, concepts, consulting, architecture, engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning, qualification and validation; as well as contingent staffing solutions.
Arcadis DPS applies its extensive process engineering expertise built over 48 years, as well as significant Lean construction experience to assist clients in high-end process sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biotech, and semiconductors to deliver manufacturing facilities speedily, safely and cost effectively. What sets the firm apart are the partnerships it builds with clients through a fundamental understanding of their businesses and its own agility, flexibility, original thinking, and high-caliber people.
On December 2, 2022, DPS Group joined Arcadis, the leading global design & consultancy organization for natural and built assets. The acquisition comes after five years of successful collaboration between both organizations. DPS (renamed as Arcadis DPS Group) is now part of Arcadis' Places GBA, providing clients with a one-stop, full-service provider across the entire spectrum of built environment facilities. For more information, visit www.dpsgroupglobal.com.
Media Contact
Susan Shelby, FSMPS, CPSM
Rhino PR
978.985.4541
dps@rhinopr.com
SOURCE: DPS Group - Boston
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740204/Arcadis-DPS-Group-Welcomes-Chris-Oldham-as-Director-of-Project-Management
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Human activity. It's so often the culprit in the climate change story, and rightly so. Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric levels of harmful greenhouse gasses have increased by as much as 50%.
In the climate change debate, we tend to pit progress and prosperity against the environment, as if humanity and the planet can only flourish at each other's expense. As if less human activity would be a good thing.
But the world doesn't need less human ingenuity or less human creativity. Especially now, we need more.
This is the story of our greatest natural, renewable resource. Of the human capacity to innovate. Of the people who are out there right now reimagining how the world could work, making a difference in the fight against climate change. This documentary provides hope for a better farming system that can heal the soil, balance our climate, and feed people all at the same time.
Episode 1: Pulling fertilizer out of thin air
We tapped scientists, innovators and partners to explain how leaps in human ingenuity are helping them confront climate change. In the first episode, plant scientist Howard-Yana Shapiro, Ginkgo Bioworks CEO Jason Kelly, and Jessica Christiansen, Head of Sustainability at Bayer Crop Science, explain why harnessing the power of plants and microbes could help to reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizers, decrease the impact on the environment and revolutionize agriculture.
// WATCH EPISODE 1
Episode 2: Beneath the Surface
In the second episode, Illinois farmers Mindy and Justin Jefferson, explain why they are not a typical conventional farm and how their practices help fight climate change and conserve their land for the next generation. CoverCress geneticist Ratan Chopra and plant scientist Mark Messmer discuss how plant science and traditional breeding are creating new crops that hold great potential for protecting soil health and generating low-carbon biofuel.
// WATCH EPISODE 2
View original content here.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bayer on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Bayer
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/bayer
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: Bayer
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740332/Human-Activity--Climate-Change-and-the-Power-of-Human-Potential
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / U.S. Bank
Employees from U.S. Bank presented the Invested in Diversity Award to Alston & Bird in Atlanta on Feb. 16.
Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog
The U.S. Bank Law Division has named Alston & Bird the recipient of the 2022 "Invested in Diversity" Award. Now in its fourth year, the award recognizes one of the Law Division's close outside counsel partners for measurably advancing diversity in the legal profession.
"Alston & Bird has leveraged its distinct practice strengths and firm culture in partnering with the Law Division of U.S. Bank to develop its diverse legal talent working on U.S. Bank litigation matters," said Jim Chosy, senior executive vice president and general counsel for U.S. Bank. "Together we have created, managed, and followed up on action plans that have advanced the careers of talented team members who bring sharp legal minds and rich perspectives to every assignment."
While the U.S. Bank Law Division works with many Alston & Bird lawyers on a range of matters, this award recognizes recent efforts by Alston & Bird's corporate trust litigation team, led by Alex Lorenzo, as part of the bank's Diversity Dividends Collective program.
The Dividends Collective program was created and is supported by Diversity Lab to focus on the inclusion, equity, and diversity of legal departments' outside counsel teams - including who has access to high-quality work, who interacts with in-house counsel, and who receives credit for developing the work. Colleagues from both organizations jointly developed specific individual action plans designed to engage diverse associates in key projects with clearly defined steps, stretch opportunities, and leadership roles.
"We feel profoundly grateful to U.S. Bank for their relentless focus, innovation, and close collaboration in the advancement of diverse lawyers who are emerging as leaders in their fields," said Richard Hays, Chairman & Managing Partner of Alston & Bird. "It's a tremendous honor for my colleagues and me to accept an award that celebrates the advancement of diversity, equity, inclusion, and other important values we hold in common with U.S. Bank; this honor marks an important milestone in Alston & Bird's long-standing commitment to advancing diversity in our profession."
In bestowing the accolade, Chosy also cited Alston & Bird's Mansfield 5.0 Certification and progress toward earning Mansfield 6.0 Certification, programs that encourage law firms to consider historically underrepresented lawyers when promoting attorneys into key roles. Notably, U.S. Bank also recognized the diversity of Alston & Bird's Partners Committee members and local office leaders.
U.S. Bank, its affiliates, and Alston & Bird have more than 20 years of collaboration between them on both complex legal matters and diversity efforts. In 2017, Alston & Bird was the first firm featured in the U.S. Bank Spotlight on Talent program, which invited a collection of diverse Alston & Bird associates to present in-person continuing legal education programs to the U.S. Bank Law Division.
The U.S. Bank Law Division "Invested in Diversity" award statue, presented to Alston & Bird at a ceremony in Atlanta on February 16, was designed by Minnesota artist and bronze sculpting specialist Kimber Fiebiger. To represent unity and the fight against inequities, the original sculpture depicts the Little Rock Nine - a group of Black students who challenged public school segregation in 1957 and played a significant role in the civil rights movement.
About Alston & Bird
Alston & Bird LLP has grown to become a leading international firm while remaining steeped in a culture with client service and teamwork as the cornerstones of all that it does. The firm develops, assembles, and nurtures the strongest and broadest array of legal talent and expertise necessary to meet its clients' needs in an ever-changing and fast-paced environment. More information is available at www.alston.com.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from U.S. Bank on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: U.S. Bank
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/us-bank
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: U.S. Bank
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740334/US-Bank-Law-Division-Honors-Alston-Bird-with-Invested-in-Diversity-Award
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Though the traditional holiday season of giving has wrapped up, the new year presents a variety of opportunities for keeping that sentiment alive. In a recent Q&A with Children's National Hospital, Brad Knox, senior vice president and counsel, Aflac Federal Relations, shared his thoughts on what it means to be an advocate for a cause near and dear to him - children's health. Aflac and Children's National have worked together for more than 10 years, aligning on a common goal: supporting the treatment and research for pediatric cancer and blood disorders.
Brad, now a member of the Corporate Advisory Council, began his relationship with Children's National Hospital when one of his own children was treated for an injury. He saw firsthand the level of care they provided for his family and quickly learned about all they do for kids - including the incredible work they do for sickle cell disease patients.
"The work Children's National does to ensure that all children in the Washington, D.C., area are healthy and prospering is vital to the families and vibrance of our region," said Knox. "I've also been impressed with their sickle cell research, especially given the diverse population of the community. It's amazing to see the impact locally, nationally, and around the globe."
In 2022, Aflac announced $100,000 donation to Children's National Hospital for research and treatment enhancements for sickle cell disease. This relationship is an extension of Aflac's 27-year and more than $165 million commitment to helping those diagnosed with cancer and various blood disorders, including sickle cell disease. One way Aflac does this is through its My Special Aflac Duck program, originally created in 2018 for children with cancer and expanded in 2022 with a version for kids with sickle cell. My Special Aflac Duck is a robotic duck that is provided to children above the age of 3, free of charge and helps them cope with their cancer or sickle cell diagnosis and treatments. Children and caregivers use the ducks for medical play to help kids better understand their treatments and communicate their feelings, which is sometimes difficult.
"I am incredibly fortunate to work for a company that is deeply rooted in caring for others and aligns with my personal values," said Knox. "Serving on the Corporate Advisory Council at Children's National is such a privilege and inspiration - meeting with patients and their families and learning about their lives and dreams, their excitement and joy is contagious, and I'm amazed by staff at Children's National who make that future possible for them."
How can you become an advocate for a mission that's important to you? Brad offers a few ways to get started:
Be hands-on. Sometimes the best thing you can do is show up and be there for those in need and for your community. Is there a food bank in your area that needs help sorting donations? Or a kids' organization that needs excellent storytellers to read books to neighborhood children? Maybe a nonprofit facility that needs cleaning services? If you are able, there are endless opportunities for hands-on service to organizations in your community. Make it even more fun by gathering a group of friends to volunteer together. Find a local cause and donate. It's simple, but it's also impactful. Find organizations in your area and research what their greatest needs are. While that may look different in each location, it's about giving back and bettering the places you call home. Whether it's a certain dollar amount per month or collection of needed items, give, and give regularly. You can also stretch your contribution further by checking with your employer to see if they offer a donation matching program.
Serve. If you want to take your commitment to the next level, are able to commit the time and an opportunity presents itself, consider becoming a board member of your local children's hospital or nonprofit organization. Everyone has a special skill set, and by serving on a board, you get to help shape the future for organizations and the communities they support.
Learn more about Aflac's commitment to supporting children with cancer and blood disorders at https://www.aflacchildhoodcancer.org/.
Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.
Aflac | WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999
Z2300074
Brad Knox, senior vice president and counsel, Aflac Federal Relations, offers tips for getting involved with the causes you care about.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Aflac Incorporated on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Aflac Incorporated
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/aflac-incorporated
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: Aflac Incorporated
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740335/How-To-Be-an-Ambassador-for-Childrens-Health
Company Announcement
No. 10/2023
Copenhagen, 22 February 2023
Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S to Acquire Alec Bradley Cigar Business
Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S ("the Company") has today agreed on the terms and conditions for the acquisition of substantially all assets of Alec Bradley Cigar Distributors Inc. and associated companies ("Alec Bradley"). The transaction is valued at USD 72.5 million (about DKK 500 million) on a debt and cash free basis (the Enterprise Value) and is expected to be closed shortly. The acquisition will be fully financed by cash at hand and debt.
The Alec Bradley brand is a material addition to the Company's portfolio of premium cigars and brings Scandinavian Tobacco Group one step closer to becoming the undisputed and sustainable global leader of cigars. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Alec Bradley reported annual net sales in 2021 of USD 25 million and an EBITDA margin before special items of 24%. Both net sales and EBITDA margin improved during 2022.
CEO of Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S, Niels Frederiksen commented:
"The acquisition of the Alec Bradley cigar business is another important step toward our ambition of becoming the undisputed and sustainable global leader in cigars. Through this bolt-on acquisition, we will expand our portfolio of highly regarded premium cigars in the US and international markets, delivering material value to our shareholders. We will also leverage the Alec Bradley brand portfolio to deliver increased excitement to the handmade cigar category through product innovation and brand activations, benefitting both the cigar enthusiasts and our trade partners".
The transaction is expected to be margin-, EPS- and ROIC accretive when fully integrated. The Company leverage ratio (net interest-bearing debt/EBITDA) will, when the transaction proceeds to completion, increase by less than 0.2x. At the end of the third quarter 2022, the Company's leverage ratio was 1.9x. Further details of the expected financial impact of the acquisition will be communicated in connection with the announcement of Scandinavian Tobacco Group's full year 2022 results on 8 March 2023.
About Alec Bradley
Alec Bradley is a family-owned business established in 1996 by entrepreneur Alan Rubin. The business model is asset-light with outsourcing of the cigar production and with approximately 30 full-time employees in the US and Canada. In 2022, Alec Bradley sold almost 10 million cigars - an increase of 5% versus 2021 - primarily in the US and Canada, but also in international markets.
Brands within the Alec Bradley portfolio include among others Prensado, Kintsugi, Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf, Fine and Rare and Black Market.
JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - NASA will launch Israel's first space telescope mission, the Ultraviolet Transient Astronomy Satellite (ULTRASAT), in early 2026.
ULTRASAT, an ultraviolet observatory with a large field of view, will investigate the secrets of short-duration events in the universe, such as supernova explosions and mergers of neutron stars.
Led by the Israel Space Agency and Weizmann Institute of Science, ULTRASAT is planned for launch into geostationary orbit around Earth. In addition to providing the launch service, NASA will also participate in the mission's science program.
'We are proud to join this partnership, an international effort that will help us better understand the mysteries of the hot, transient universe,' said Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 'ULTRASAT will give the global science community another important capability for making new observations in the nascent field of time domain and multimessenger astrophysics programs,' he added.
ULTRASAT's wide field of view will allow it to quickly discover and capture ultraviolet light from sources in the cosmos that change on short timescales. Researchers will combine ULTRASAT's observations of these short-term events with information from a variety of other missions, including those studying gravitational waves and particles - a field known as time domain and multimessenger astronomy. The results will shed light on the workings of everything from black holes and gravitational wave sources to supernovae and active galaxies.
NASA said that through an agreement with the Israel Space Agency, it will provide the launch opportunity, Flight Payload Adapter, and other launch-related responsibilities for ULTRASAT. The Israel Space Agency will deliver the completed observatory to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch.
Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Lenovo has been listed in the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the fourth year. The Bloomberg Gender-Equity Index framework tracks the progress of 484 companies, in 11 sectors and 45 countries and regions around the world in women's empowerment and equality in the workplace.
Across the five pillars used to rate the companies measured in the index, Lenovo scored particularly well for building an inclusive culture; anti-sexual harassment policies; and leadership and talent pipeline.
"Lenovo has always pursued a path of inclusion, and we've built a culture where all can belong - and while it's an honor to once again be recognized on the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index our work is not done", said Calvin Crosslin, Lenovo's VP of Human Resources, Chief Diversity Officer Lenovo and Lenovo Foundation President. "By measuring our progress through the Bloomberg GEI, we continue to evolve our approach of building inclusive leadership behaviors and fostering diverse and inclusive systems through increased accountability and training"
Lenovo has a global employee base of over 82,000 employees, operating in more than 180 markets around the world, with women comprising 36% of the workforce, and is working hard to address its commitment to move female representation in the executive leadership team from 21% in 2020 to 27% by 2025.
Read more about Lenovo's diversity and inclusion efforts in our most recent Environmental, Social and Governance Report .
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$70 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #171 in the Fortune Global 500, employing 82,000 people around the world, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, Lenovo has built on its success as the world's largest PC company by further expanding into key growth areas including server, storage, mobile, solutions and services. This transformation together with Lenovo's world-changing innovation is building a more inclusive, trustworthy, and sustainable digital society for everyone, everywhere. To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com , and read about the latest news via our StoryHub .
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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / PNC | Insights
PNC established the Minority Business Development Group in an effort to deliver products, solutions and resources for the fast-growing area of minority-owned small businesses and to promote their effective growth, development and sustainability.
Minority businesses account for more than 50% of the 2 million new businesses started in the United States in the past 10 years. Despite that growth, minority-business ownership represents only 18 percent of total U.S. businesses, and the businesses face huge disparities when it comes to access to capital, contracting opportunities and other entrepreneurial development.1
"Small businesses are the fabric of our communities, and it's our privilege to help and support them." says Marshalynn Odneal, PNC's national sales executive for minority business. "Through this work, we hope to become a true partner to minority business owners and arm them with the tools and support they need to be successful."
Watch More Conversations About Minority-Owned Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Building a Winning Team of Partners: Insights for Black-Owned Businesses
PNC Presents Minority-Owned Businesses: Overcoming Financial Challenges
HBCUs: Catalysts for Economic Empowerment
Deepening Community Relationships
Led by Odneal, the Minority Business Development Group offers business owners the expertise of dedicated bankers, advocacy partners and technology designed to empower, educate and accelerate entrepreneurial success. She and her team of bankers will work in close collaboration with PNC's Community Development Banking team, the Corporate Responsibility Group, as well as the bank's regional presidents across the country.
"By making this investment, we are further reinforcing our local market commitment to small businesses, and in particular ensuring we are doing all that we can to help minority-owned businesses succeed and grow," says Marc McAndrew, head of Small Business at PNC. "Marshalynn has dedicated her career to being an advocate and champion, so I'm excited to see her leadership help the team bring this commitment to life in communities across the country."
Odneal believes helping minority-owned businesses goes beyond reaching out to business owners. She says it will take establishing and deepening relationships and strategic alliances with external organizations that support business development and offer technical support to foster business growth opportunities.
"When I think about the role of the Minority Business Development Officer (MBDO), it's no different than a core business banker. They need to have that credit acumen, but they also need the ability to communicate effectively internally and externally while networking with nonprofit and community leaders," Odneal says. "The MBDO is really someone who loves to operate outside of the four walls of their office. They need to feel the pulse of the communities we serve."
A portion of the bank's $88 billion Community Benefits Plan will support the Minority Business Development Group's work to bolster economic opportunity. PNC plans to originate at least $26.5 billion in loans to small, low- to moderate-income, minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses through 2025.
"PNC's Community Benefits Plan will have a direct impact on the work we're able to do in these communities, including our ability to leverage and expand upon alternative lending options through external partners for Black and Brown business owners in low-and moderate-income communities," Odneal says.
Tools to Make a Difference
Under the new group, PNC also launched its Certified Minority Business Advocate program, a voluntary advocacy training program available to all PNC employees interested in providing enhanced support for minority business decision-makers. The new certificate program focuses on helping PNC employees understand the distinct challenges facing diverse businesses.
The certified advocates will serve as PNC ambassadors within their communities and strengthen community engagement through volunteerism, mentorship and technical support. They also will be empowered to educate and guide these business owners toward valuable community resources.
"In a perfect world, there would be no need for the Minority Business Group. But because we're working to solve known disparities among minority-owned firms, we know that we have to be intentional about providing the tools necessary to help these businesses thrive," Odneal says. "It takes me back to our brand purpose, which is to help all move forward financially."
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from The PNC Financial Services Group on 3blmedia.com.
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NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As per Zion Market Research study, The global AEC market size was worth around USD 8.9 Billion in 2022 and is estimated to grow to about USD 16.5 Billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 10.20 percent over the forecast period of 2023-2030.
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AEC Market: Overview
For successful project life cycle management, real estate businesses, construction firms, surveyors, interior designers, and mechanical & electrical piping engineers employ architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) software. The primary goal of AEC software is to improve project performance and results. Construction managers benefit from AEC's assistance in gathering data and information from many disciplines and communicating more efficiently. Increased construction efficiency is combined with improved data transmission and coordination among numerous stakeholders, architects, and construction supervisors to provide AEC users with a competitive advantage.
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Key Industry Insights & Findings of the Architectural, Engineering and Construction Market Reports:
As per the analysis shared by our research analyst, the global Architectural, Engineering and Construction market is expected to grow annually at a promising CAGR of around 10.20% during the forecast period 2023-2030.
In terms of revenue, the global AEC market size was valued at around USD 8.9 billion in 2022 and is estimated to grow to about USD 16.5 billion by 2030
in 2022 and is estimated to grow to about by 2030 Rise in urbanization and industrialization, rise in the standard of living, growth in the economy, and prevalence of advanced technologies give rise to the increase in construction activities in the last few decades. Thus, growth in the real estate sector and growing initiatives towards the construction of smart cities propel the growth of the market.
Based on deployment mode, the on-premise segment held the largest market share in 2022.
Based on enterprise size, the large enterprise segment held the dominating market share in 2022.
Based on region, the North American region held the largest market share in 2022.
Zion Market Research published the latest report titled "AEC Market By Component (Solution and Service), Deployment Mode (On-Premise and Cloud), By Enterprise Size (Small & Medium Scale Enterprises and Large Scale Enterprises), By Application (Construction & Architecture Companies, Education, and Others), and By Region - Global and Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, and Forecasts 2023 - 2030" into their research database.
Industry Dynamics:
AEC Market: Growth Drivers
Surge in infrastructure projects is likely to offer better growth opportunities.
As the world's population grows, so does the need for new buildings, malls, and workplaces, thanks to the advent of initiatives like smart cities and high-speed roadways. As a result, important stakeholders are using AEC software to run these projects smoothly and effectively. In the Middle East and most growing Asia Pacific nations, such as India and China, the building sector has grown rapidly.
For example, in 2017, Saudi Arabia launched a slew of major projects, including the King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh, which is expected to cost roughly USD 27 million. In contrast, the Abu Dhabi Development Authority declared a budget of USD 6.8 million for Airport Expansion and a USD 500 million project for the Presidential Palace in Al-Ras Al-Akhdar in the United Arab Emirates. These forthcoming projects are predicted to increase end-user usage of engineering software such as CAM, CAD, BIM, and AEC, boosting the AEC market growth.
AEC Market: Restraints
High initial costs likely to hamper the growth of the global market
Despite the numerous advantages and cost reductions connected with architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) software, the initial cost is substantial. For example, Autodesk's Revit software costs between USD 3,000 and USD 5,000. Aside from the cost of the program, the cost of training and services is also rather significant. As a result, the high initial cost of AEC may stifle market expansion.
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AEC Market: Opportunities
Increasing trend of IoT in the construction industry is likely to project great opportunities for market expansion.
Modeling and ordering procedures can become simpler with the use of IoT in construction, and the appropriate material can be supplied straight to the building site, eliminating the time needed for ordering. Also, prefabrication can benefit from IoT technologies. Using prefabricated building components instead of traditional building methods can result in better and more cost-effective solutions, as well as reduced construction waste. On the other hand, employing prefab for major commercial construction projects might be difficult to coordinate with the entire construction lifecycle. As a result, the Internet of Things (IoT) can assist in resolving this issue.
AEC Market: Challenges
Lack of trained professionals poses a great challenge to the market growth
The construction industry still lacks trained technical professionals in many parts of the world. Companies are facing difficulties to get trained when they are dealing with two of the most challenging, fast-paced sectors imaginable. Also, it is much more difficult when staff is compelled to use obsolete technology that reduces productivity. Plus, it's not only architects and engineers that are in short supply in the AEC business, the gap between available employment and available talent is much larger.
Global AEC Market: Segmentation
The global AEC market is categorized based on deployment mode, component, enterprise size, application, and region.
Based on the deployment mode, the market is bifurcated into on-premise and cloud. Based on deployment mode, the market is bifurcated into the on-premise and cloud segment. The on-premise segment held the largest market share in 2022 and is further predicted to occupy a dominant market share during the forecast period. The major reason for the growth of this segment is the growing concerns related to the security of data on various projects. Thus, the maintenance of data security in construction projects is paramount as they are very valuable for companies. Various prominent companies in the AEC sector offer functional on-premise software for their wide range of customers in the infrastructure, industrial, and residential sectors. These factors drive the growth of the on-premise segment during the forecast period.
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List of Key Players in Architectural, Engineering and Construction Market:
Autodesk inc.
Bentley system inc.
Aveva Group plc.
Trimble inc.
ACCA Software
4M Group
Group Esri India Technologies Private Limited
Procore Technologies Inc.
Construsoft B.V.
Ansys Inc.
Dassault systems
Nemetschek
Ansys
Newforma
Hexagon AB
Innovaya.
Key questions answered in this report:
What are the growth rate forecast and market size for AEC Market?
What are the key driving factors propelling the AEC Market forward?
What are the most important companies in the AEC Market Industry?
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Report Scope:
Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2021 USD 8.9 Billion Revenue forecast in 2030 USD 16.5 Bllion Growth Rate CAGR of almost10.20 % 2022-2030 Base Year 2020 Historic Years 2016 - 2021 Forecast Years 2022 - 2030 Segments Covered By Component, By Deployment Mode, By Enterprise size, By Application, And By Region Forecast Units Value (USD Billion), and Volume (Units) Quantitative Units Revenue in USD million/billion and CAGR from 2022 to 2030 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 Autodesk inc., Bentley system inc., Aveva Group plc., Trimble inc., ACCA Software, 4M Group, Esri India Technologies Private Limited, Procore Technologies, Inc., Construsoft B.V., Ansys Inc., Dassault systems, Nemetschek, Ansys, Newforma, Hexagon AB, and Innovaya. 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.zionmarketresearch.com/custom/6972
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Recent Developments
In March 2022 , ACCA Software, a dominant international developer of Architectural, Engineering and Construction software, announced the launch of its edition of Edificius, which is a 3D building design software. The newest 3d building design software from ACCA is equipped with a point cloud that favors performance improvement management, import, and variant viewing capabilities. In this software, the material texture management is also optimized which saves a great deal of time.
ACCA Software, a dominant international developer of Architectural, Engineering and Construction software, announced the launch of its edition of Edificius, which is a 3D building design software. The newest 3d building design software from ACCA is equipped with a point cloud that favors performance improvement management, import, and variant viewing capabilities. In this software, the material texture management is also optimized which saves a great deal of time. In March 2022 , Egnyte, a pioneer in cloud content security and governance, expanded its Egnyte for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction product offering with many new features. The Architectural, Engineering and Construction -specific capabilities, which include improved integration with Procore, a major construction management software, were unveiled at Egnyte's AEC Leadership Forum, a virtual gathering focused on information management in the AEC industry.
Regional Dominance:
North America to maintain its dominance over global market during forecast period.
North America held the major share of the global AEC market in 2021. This is owing to a significant expansion in the building and infrastructure industry, such as artificial intelligence adoption and an increase in the need for automation in the construction and architectural sector. On the other hand, the market in the Asia Pacific is growing at a rapid rate.
The Worldwide Building Report predicted that in the next few years, emerging Asian countries will account for 13.5 percent of global construction development. Furthermore, the construction sector in India is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 15.7 percent, which is expected to be a major influence on the region's adoption of Architectural, Engineering and Construction software. Furthermore, several of the government of India's important programs, such as Make in India and the creation of smart cities, are projected to boost the construction sector in this region. China is also predicted to contribute significant revenue to the regional market over the forecast period.
Global AEC Market is segmented as follows:
AEC Market: By Component Outlook (2022-2030)
Solution
Service
AEC Market: By Deployment Mode Outlook (2022-2030)
On-premise
Cloud
AEC Market: By Enterprise size Outlook (2022-2030)
Large enterprises
Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs)
AEC Market: By Application Outlook (2022-2030)
Construction & Architecture Companies
Education
Others
AEC Market: By Region Outlook (2022-2030)
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
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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) piloted an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled control and machine learning application to help its customer, Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), save energy, reduce costs, and improve quality.
EMWD serves nearly one million people living and working within 558 square miles in Riverside County, California. A growing population and an expanding service area put increased demands on the district, and its four reclamation plants treat about 48 million gallons of wastewater a day removing impurities.
Earlier this year, Rockwell implemented an AI solution that learns the current state of aeration operations and, with minimal staff intervention, continuously and automatically adjusts the control system as conditions change.
The goal of the pilot was to improve efficiency and optimize aeration basin performance, conserve energy, reduce chemical use and reduce operational costs. As a result of the AI application remotely programmed and installed on the existing plant automation network, EMWD:
Reduced airflow delivered to the aeration basin by as much as 31%
Will realize estimated savings of 2,330 kWh of electricity per day and more than $100,000 per year
Improved process control and effluent quality
Reduced the need for disinfectant and staff interventions to maintain aeration
Learn more about how EMWD tackles sustainability goals with AI.
Rockwell Automation recently published its 2022 Sustainability Report. Learn more about how this provider of industrial automation and digital transformation solutions is helping to enable sustainability for manufacturers worldwide. Read the report.
Rockwell Automation piloted a new artificial intelligence solution at the Eastern Municipal Water District in California.
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ROSEMONT, IL / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Risk Culture: How to Balance Risks for the Safety of Consumers, Team Members, and the Environment will be the focus of the keynote presentation taking place on Wednesday, May 10 during the 25 th annual Food Safety Summit in Rosemont, IL. Michael Eckhardt, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and Secretary, Wawa Inc.; Randy Huffman, Ph.D, Chief Food Safety and Sustainability Officer, Maple Leaf Foods; and David McDonald, President and Chief Operating Officer, OSI Group will join Lone Jespersen, Ph.D., Principal, Cultivate SA, who will lead this important conversation. To access the full education program, visit www.foodsafetysummit.com.
"Managing risk is such an important topic for food safety professionals at all levels of business, and we look forward to Lone Jespersen leading this conversation with these three dynamic panelists who are committed to balancing risk and safety," said Gillian Kelleher, CEO of Kelleher Consultants LLC and Chair of the Summit Educational Advisory Board (EAB). "We are confident that attendees to the Food Safety Summit will gain practical perspectives they can share with their senior leaders at organizations of all sizes."
"The keynote session will focus on a conversation with forward-thinking executives on the topic of balancing risks for the safety of consumers, team members, and the environment. Participants will hear how successful food companies manage risks that sometimes compete for investments and leadership attention," explained Lone Jespersen, PhD, Principal at Cultivate SA and member of the Food Safety Summit EAB. "Learning how to partner with colleagues from human safety and sustainability is a must for a company to improve food safety performance and mature a company's food safety culture. The executives will also share specific challenges and wins from their respective organizations, along with the cultural solutions that help them successfully manage risk." The panel will include:
Michael Eckhardt , Senior Vice President, Chief Legal and Risk Officer, and Secretary for Wawa Inc. Michael has responsibility for the Company's Internal Audit, Enterprise Risk Management, Legal, Loss Prevention, Quality Assurance, Risk Management and Safety teams. Michael joined Wawa in 2005 and became General Counsel in 2011. He previously held the position of Associate General Counsel at Wawa Inc.
Randy Huffman, Ph.D. , Chief Food Safety and Sustainability Officer at Maple Leaf Foods. His role encompasses leadership of Food Safety and Quality, Occupational Health, Safety and Security, Environmental Sustainability, and Animal Care. Randy leads a team that has developed and is executing world-class strategies to deliver on Maple Leaf Foods' commitments to produce safe, great-tasting food produced in a safe work environment and to become the most sustainable protein company on earth.
David G. McDonald , President and Chief Operating Officer of OSI Group. David joined OSI Group, a multinational food processing company with nearly 60 facilities in 17 countries, in 1987. Over the years, after serving in a number of capacities, he became President and Chief Operating Officer. He serves on the Board of Managers for OSI Group and many of its companies. In addition, David was formerly the Chairman of the American Meat Institute and the first Chairman of the North American Meat Institute.
"I look forward to having this important conversation with Michael, Randy, and David and to share with the attendees of the Food Safety Summit how all food safety professionals can work with their senior management teams on balancing risk for consumers, employees, and the environment," added Jespersen.
Attendees will have access to three days of education sessions including an opening workshop on Got Root Cause? featuring a panel of leaders from FDA, Cargill, Dole Food Company, USDA, Yum Brands, and J&J Snack Foods, who will review how getting to the root cause is a cost-effective approach to management/operations in any organization. In addition, the 11 th annual Town Hall: A Conversation with Top Regulators and Advisors will be held on Thursday, May 11, with insights from FDA, CDC, USDA, and AFDO.
The Summit's closing session on Thursday afternoon will focus on Legal Insights to Sharpen Your Food Safety Focus-and Stay Out of the Courtroom. The panel discussion will feature prominent attorneys who work on behalf of consumers and industry-with all advocating on the side of food safety. These internationally recognized expert lawyers will discuss the common gaps or weaknesses they see in company operations, culture, and regulatory adherence that lead to adverse events, such as foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls.
For access to the full program and for attendee registration, visit https://www.food-safety.com/food-safety-summit. For information on sponsorship or exhibiting opportunities, contact Kim Hansen at hansenk@bnpmedia.com or Adam Haas at haasa@bnpmedia.com. For updates on the 2023 event, visit www.foodsafetysummit.com or follow the event on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
The Food Safety Summit is owned and produced by Food Safety Magazine (www.food-safety.com) and BNP Media (www.bnpmedia.com), one of the country's leading business-to-business media companies serving industry professionals across 60+ industries through magazines, custom media, e-newsletters, webinars, events, and market research.
# # #
For further information, contact:
Amy Riemer, Media Relations
978-475-4441 (office) or 978-502-4895 (cell)
amy@foodsafetysummit.com
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CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Threat Modeling Tools Market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 0.8 billion in 2022 to USD 1.6 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 14.9% from 2022 to 2027, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Factors driving market growth include the rising need for visualization and reporting occurring threats, adherence to strict regulatory guidelines, and increased usage of cloud technology and IoT devices in enterprises.
Browse in-depth TOC on "Threat Modeling Tools Market"
270 - Tables
40 - Figures
221 - Pages
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By platform, the cloud-based segment to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period
Cloud-based threat modeling tools are platforms hosted on cloud infrastructure and accessed through a web browser or API. These tools take advantage of the scalability, reliability, and security of cloud-based infrastructure to provide organizations with the ability to conduct threat modeling remotely and from multiple locations. Cloud-based threat modeling tools are often subscription-based and can be easily integrated with other security tools and services to provide a more comprehensive view of an organization's security posture. The IriusRisk platform provides a web-based interface for creating threat models, identifying and categorizing threats, and evaluating their likelihood and impact. It also includes a library of pre-built threat models, which can be customized to suit specific organizations or systems.
By organization size, the SMEs segment to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period
The adoption of threat modeling tools in SMEs is driven by the need to protect against cyber threats and maintain compliance with industry regulations. These tools allow organizations to identify potential security risks and vulnerabilities in their systems, applications, and networks and take appropriate measures to mitigate or prevent them. Additionally, they provide real-time threat intelligence, automate security workflows, and integrate with other security tools, which ultimately improve the organization's overall security posture. An example of a threat modeling tool commonly used by SMEs is the OWASP Threat Dragon. This free, open-source threat modeling tool helps organizations identify and prioritize potential security threats and vulnerabilities in their systems, applications, and networks. It uses a simple, visual approach to identify potential attack scenarios and allows organizations to create customized threat models based on their specific needs. The tool also guides how to mitigate or prevent identified security risks and vulnerabilities, making it accessible for SMEs with limited resources.
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By region, Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period
The Asia Pacific region, which includes countries like China, Australia, Japan, and Singapore, has seen a significant increase in the exchange of sensitive data, making it a prime target for cyberattacks. As the region undergoes rapid digitization, complex cyberattacks have become a major concern. Compared to SMEs, large enterprises are more prevalent in this region, with several established SMEs that are rapidly growing to meet the needs of a broad customer base. However, due to their limited budgets, SMEs tend to view cybersecurity as an added cost rather than a necessity, making them more susceptible to cyberattacks. As a result, enterprises in the region are expected to require robust security solutions, such as threat modeling tools infrastructure, to counter the rise in complex attacks and the associated costs. Although awareness of security was previously low in the region, ransomware attacks like WannaCry have increased the need for cybersecurity solutions, which has led to the widespread implementation of threat modeling tools.
Key Players
Major vendors in the global Threat Modeling Tools Market include Cisco (US), IBM (US), Synopsys (US), Intel (US), Microsoft (US), Varonis Systems (US), Sparx Systems (Australia), Kroll (US), Mandiant (US), Coalfire (US), Securonix (US), Security Compass (Canada), IriusRisk (Spain), Kenna Security (US), ThreatModeler (US), Toreon (Belgium), Foreseeti (Sweden), Tutamantic (UK), Cymune (India), Avocado Systems (US), Secura (Netherlands), qSEAp (India), VerSprite (Georgia) and IMQ Minded Security (Italy).
Browse Adjacent Market: Information Security Market Research Reports & Consulting
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Data Security as a Service Market - Global Forecast to 2027
Penetration Testing Market - Global Forecast to 2027
Web Application Firewall Market - Global Forecast to 2027
Extended Detection and Response Market - Global Forecast to 2027
Decentralized Identity Market - Global forecast to 2027
About MarketsandMarkets
MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.
Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.
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Record revenue in Q4 (110.1m) and FY 2022 (314.0m), total annual growth of 10.0% or stated at constant scope and exchange rates, 5.5% organic1
? Solid ARR growth up 12.5% vs. Q4 2021, supported by both upfront and recurring revenue
? Profit on operating activities at 46.3m or 14.7% of revenue, up significantly compared to last year (+320 basis points)
? Product portfolio refocusing operations executed as planned
Regulatory News:
Axway Software's (Paris:AXW) Board of Directors today conducted an in-depth review of the consolidated and annual financial statements2 for the year ended December 31, 2022. As a consequence, Axway's management announces:
Axway Software: Resultats annuels 2022 Principaux elements du compte de resultat* 2022 2021 (M) (% CA) (M) (% CA) Chiffre d'Affaires 314.0 285.5 Croissance organique + 5.5% Croissance changes constants + 4.1% Croissance totale + 10.0% Resultat Operationnel d'Activite 46.3 14.7% 32.9 11.5% Resultat Operationnel Courant 37.4 11.9% 19.9 7.0% Resultat Operationnel -46.4 -14.8% 17.3 6.1% Resultat Net part du Groupe -40.0 -12.8% 9.6 3.4% Resultat de base par action (en ) -1.85 0.45 * Les indicateurs alternatifs de performance sont definis dans le glossaire disponible en fin de document
Patrick Donovan, Chief Executive Officer, declared:
Axway achieved a remarkable performance in Q4 2022. This success is attributable in particular to the effectiveness of the operational changes deployed during the year and the exemplary execution of our teams, who turned the tables on the field. The value we create for large enterprises through the management of their data flows continues to grow, and naturally translates into a new all-time high in the satisfaction of our solid customer base. While we initially envisioned organic growth of between 1 and 3% in 2022, we have far exceeded our target. The increase in total contract value and average length of subscription signatures played a key role in this success and bodes well for the future. We now enter 2023 confident that these positive trends will continue. Our strategic choices, while sometimes difficult, are always aimed at strengthening the foundations of our project, and in this respect, I am extremely proud of the commitment and efforts of Axway's employees, which are rewarded by these good results."
Comments on business activity in 2022
In 2022, in a complex economic and geopolitical environment, Axway continued to focus on the strategic needs of its customers. There were a number of important developments throughout the year:
Axway is back to its highest revenue levels in history thanks to the development of its technologies and offerings, as well as to the continued strengthening customer satisfaction (NPS up 21% at 35). After several years of significant investments, the company as a whole is strengthening its efficiency and is more focused on its customers. The organisational adjustments around General Managers and streamlining of the product portfolio executed in 2022 reinforce the focus on Axway's core offerings: Managed File Transfer (MFT), B2B Integration, Amplify API Management and Axway Financial Accounting Hub.
Once again praised by the most influential analyst firms in 2022 (learn more), Axway's products and vision, combined with the commitment of its employees, were two key elements in the company's performance over the year. Axway's business model is driven by its ability to deliver best-in-class products and services to establish as a reference partner for its customers, and the Q4 performance confirms the relevance of this strategy.
The growth in annual revenue was largely driven by the subscription offerings that Axway provides to its customers. Managed by Axway in the cloud or by the customer directly on their own infrastructures, the contractual and technological flexibility of these offerings has both met with great success. In 2022, more than 150 customers committed for a 5 years subscription contract, making Axway a long-term partner in their digital transformation.
In anticipation of future customer needs, the acquisition strategy was re-engaged with a first transaction completed at the end of June 2022. Axway acquired the India-based start-up, DXChange.io, which offers a cloud integration platform that will be leveraged across the entire core portfolio. This strategic technological acquisition will enable Axway to respond effectively to the convergence of the API Management and IPaaS markets, which are rapidly evolving towards a common framework for integration and management of hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
During the year, Axway rationalized its product portfolio in line with its strategy to focus on its core products and divest from businesses that are no longer aligned with its growth and profitability ambitions. Thus, the company has disposed of or discontinued several specialized products in 2022.
Comments on operational performance in 2022
In 2022, Axway generated revenue of 314.0m, up 5.5% organically and 10.0% in total. The consolidation scope changed following the different product portfolio rationalization operations carried out, representing a negative scope effect of 4.1m. Exchange rate fluctuations positively impacted revenue by 16.1m, mainly due to the appreciation of the US dollar against the euro. Profit on operating activities improved for the third year in a row, finishing at 46.3m for the period, or 14.7% of revenue, compared to 11.5% in 2021. Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue have significantly decreased thanks to optimized cost management.
Axway Software: Revenue by business line Full-year 2022 (m) 2022 2021
Restated* 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth License 11.6 19.6 18.6 37.6% 40.8% Subscription 154.0 117.6 114.2 + 34.8% + 31.0% Maintenance 111.2 125.0 119.0 6.6% 11.1% Services 37.3 35.4 33.8 + 10.3% + 5.4% Axway Software 314.0 297.6 285.5 + 10.0% + 5.5% * Revenue at 2022 scope and exchange rates
In line with the company's forecasts, revenue from the License activity has further contracted to 11.6m in 2022, representing 4% of Axway's total revenue, an organic decline of 40.8%. With most of the activity now based on specialized products that are not available for subscription, licenses sales should start stabilizing from 2023 onwards.
As in the previous three years, the Subscription activity showed very strong growth in 2022. With full-year revenue of 154.0m, the activity's growth rate reached 34.8% in total and 31.0% organically. The Subscription activity now represents 49% of Axway's total revenue. While revenue recognized from Axway Managed contracts continued to increase at a dynamic but linear pace, with growth of around 20%, revenue from Customer Managed contracts rose by a very strong 52%. For the year, the annual value of new subscription contracts (ACV) signed reached 49.3m, up 44% compared to 2021. Additionally, upfront revenue from Customer Managed subscription contracts accounted for 78.7m in 2022 (51.5m in 2021).
Maintenance revenue was 111.2m in 2022, down 6.6% overall and 11.1% organically. With a very good renewal rate of 95% over the year, the planned decline in business was mainly due to the drop in license signatures and the migration of customers to subscription contracts. The annual trend was consistent with forecasts and should continue at a similar pace in 2023.
At the end of December 2022, Axway's ARR (Annual Recurrent Revenue) was 196.5m, up 12.5% at constant scope and exchange rates compared to the end of 2021. This indicator which combines recurring revenues from all active Maintenance and Subscription contracts, including, where applicable, upfront subscription revenue recalculated monthly, gives a clear vision of Axway's business model predictability. Revenue from renewable contracts reached a high of 84% of total revenue in 2022.
The readjustment of the activity level in Services compared to the previous year continued in late 2022 and resulted in annual revenue of 37.2m, or 12% of Axway's total revenue. Good control of average selling prices and employees allocations enabled the company to generate organic growth of 5.4% for the year. For 2023, Axway anticipates the Services activity revenue to remain around 12% to 13% of total revenue.
Axway Software: Revenue by geographic area Full-year 2022 (m) 2022 2021
Restated* 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth France 91.6 81.2 81.4 + 12.5% + 12.8% Rest of Europe 68.4 66.6 67.4 + 1.5% + 2.7% Americas 133.3 131.1 119.4 + 11.6% + 1.6% Asia/Pacific 20.8 18.6 17.3 + 19.8% + 11.8% Axway Software 314.0 297.6 285.5 + 10.0% + 5.5% * Revenue at 2022 scope and exchange rates
France reported revenue of 91.6m in 2022 (29% of total revenue), an organic increase of 12.8%. This excellent performance was made possible by the signing of 15 migration deals worth more than 1m each to MFT and Axway Financial Accounting Hub subscription offers, as well as by the stability of the Services activity.
The Rest of Europe region achieved organic growth of 2.7% in 2022, with revenue of 68.4m, representing 22% of total revenue. Axway's performance in Germany was particularly strong thanks to the establishment of a new team that was instrumental in securing several key contracts with Axway's customer base and generated more than 15% of revenue from new customers.
The Americas (USA Latin America) generated revenue of 133.3m over the year (42% of total revenue), with an organic growth of 1.6%. Axway's activity grew strongly in Latin America, driven by strong demand for its Amplify API Management offering, which resulted in the signing of several major new customer contracts. In North America, Axway's subscription-based B2B managed services offerings were also up sharply and will generate revenue growth in the coming months as customers consume the services.
Asia/Pacific achieved annual revenue of 20.8m (7% of total revenue), with organic growth of 11.8%. In 2022, the activity, heavily focused on APIs and MFTs in the region, was driven by new customer business which increased by 28% year-on-year.
Comments on 2022 net profit
Profit from recurring operations was 37.4m in 2022, or 11.9% of revenue, compared to 7.0% the previous year. It includes amortization of allocated intangible assets of 5.5m and a share-based payment expense of 3.4m.
Operating profit for the year was -46.4m, or -14.8% of revenue, including the previously announced non-cash charge of 82.1m related to the write-off of unamortized intangible asset value or goodwill following the product portfolio rationalization operations carried out in 2022.
In line with this, net profit for the year was -40.0m, representing -12.8% of revenue. Basic earnings per share were -1.85. Restated for the impact of the disposals, basic earnings per share would have reached 1.47.
Financial position at December 31, 2022
At December 31, 2022, Axway's financial position was solid, with cash of 18.3m and bank debt of 87.8m.
Free cash flow was 2.2m in 2022, compared to 2.9m a year earlier. The accumulation of annual billed subscription contract signatures will be the base for sustained continuous improvement in net cash from operating activities and thus in free cash flow in the years to come.
Shareholders' equity stood at 327.8m at December 31, 2022, compared to 372.2m at the end of 2021.
Change in the workforce
At December 31, 2022, Axway had 1,525 employees compared to 1,712 at December 31, 2021. This includes the transfer of 53 employees that accompanied the product portfolio rationalization initiatives during the year.
Proposed dividend for fiscal year 2022
At its upcoming Annual General Meeting scheduled for May 11, 2023, Axway will ask shareholders to approve the distribution of a dividend with a value of 0.40 per share.
2023 Targets Outlook
For 2023, Axway's objective is to maintain organic revenue growth of between 0% and 3%, the company also intends to further improve profit on operating activities to reach 15 to 18% of revenue.
Consequently, Axway's medium-term ambitions will be:
to achieve revenue of 500m through organic growth and acquisitions
> to deliver an operating margin on business activity approaching 20% of revenue
Today, Wednesday, February 22, 2023, 6.30 p.m. (UTC+1): 2022 Full-Year Results Virtual Analyst Conference
> Virtual conference registration: Click here
Or join by phone by dialing one of the numbers below and announcing "Axway" at the operator's request:
International: +44 (0) 33 0551 0200
France: +33 (0) 1 70 37 71 66
USA: +1 786 697 3501
Please note that the meeting will be held in English.
Financial Calendar
Friday, March 24, 2023: Filing of the 2022 Universal Registration Document
Thursday, April 27, 2023, before market opening: Publication of Q1 2023 Revenue
Thursday, May 11, 2023, 2:30 p.m. (UTC+1): Annual Shareholders' Meeting
Wednesday, July 26, 2023, after market closing: Publication of 2023 Half-Year Results
Tuesday, July 26, 2023, 6:30 pm (UTC+2): 2023 Half-Year Results Virtual Analyst Conference
Glossary and Alternative Performance Measures
ACV: Annual Contract Value Annual contract value of a subscription agreement.
ARR: Annual Recurring Revenue Expected annual billing amounts from all active maintenance and subscription agreements.
Employee Engagement Score: Measurement of employee engagement through an independent annual survey.
Growth at constant exchange rates: Growth in revenue between the period under review and the prior period restated for exchange rate impacts.
NPS: Net Promoter Score Customer satisfaction and recommendation indicator for a company.
Organic growth: Growth in revenue between the period under review and the prior period, restated for consolidation scope and exchange rate impacts.
Profit on operating activities: Profit from recurring operations adjusted for the non-cash share-based payment expense, as well as the amortization of allocated intangible assets.
Restated revenue: Revenue for the prior year, adjusted for the consolidation scope and exchange rates of the current year.
TCV: Total Contract Value Full contracted value of a subscription agreement over the contract term.
Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements that may be subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning Axway's growth and profitability, notably in the event of future acquisitions. Axway highlights that signature of contracts, which represent investments for customers, are more significant in the second half of the year and may therefore have a more or less favorable impact on full-year performance. In addition, Axway notes that potential acquisition(s) could also impact this financial data. Furthermore, activity during the year and/or actual results may differ from those described in this document as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties set out in the 2021 Universal Registration Document filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (Autorite des Marches Financiers, AMF) on March 24, 2022, under number D.22-0145. The distribution of this document in certain countries may be subject to prevailing laws and regulations. Natural persons present in these countries and in which this document is disseminated, published, or distributed, should obtain information about such restrictions, and comply with them.
About Axway
Axway enables enterprises to securely open everything by integrating and moving data across a complex world of new and old technologies. Axway's API-driven B2B integration and MFT software, refined over 20 years, complements Axway Amplify, an open API management platform that makes APIs easier to discover and reuse across multiple teams, vendors, and cloud environments. Axway has helped over 11,000 businesses unlock the full value of their existing digital ecosystems to create brilliant experiences, innovate new services, and reach new markets. Learn more at axway.com
Appendices (1/5)
Axway Software: Revenue by business line 1st Quarter 2022 (m) Q1 2022 Q1 2021
Restated* Q1 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth License 3.7 4.0 3.8 -3.2% -7.4% Subscription 26.4 24.4 23.7 11.4% 8.2% Maintenance 27.9 30.8 29.8 -6.3% -9.5% Services 9.0 9.3 9.0 -1.0% -4.0% Axway Software 66.9 68.6 66.3 0.9% -2.4%
2nd Quarter 2022 (m) Q2 2022 Q2 2021
Restated* Q2 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth License 2.6 5.8 5.4 -51.9% -55.0% Subscription 29.5 29.7 28.1 4.9% -0.8% Maintenance 28.1 32.0 30.2 -7.0% -12.2% Services 9.3 8.7 8.3 11.8% 6.3% Axway Software 69.5 76.3 72.1 -3.6% -8.9%
3rd Quarter 2022 (m) Q3 2022 Q3 2021
Restated* Q3 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth License 2.3 5.3 4.7 -51.7% -56.7% Subscription 27.4 30.2 27.8 -1.7% -9.5% Maintenance 28.3 31.8 29.5 -4.2% -11.1% Services 9.6 8.3 7.7 23.9% 15.8% Axway Software 67.5 75.6 69.8 -3.3% -10.7%
4th Quarter 2022 (m) Q4 2022 Q4 2021
Restated* Q4 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth License 3.0 4.5 4.6 34.9% 33.8% Subscription 70.7 33.2 34.6 + 104.6% + 113.2% Maintenance 26.9 30.3 29.4 8.8% 11.4% Services 9.5 9.1 8.8 + 8.5% + 4.6% Axway Software 110.1 77.1 77.3 + 42.4% + 42.8% * Revenue at 2022 scope and exchange rates
Appendices (2/5)
Axway Software: Revenue by geographic area 1st Quarter 2022 (m) Q1 2022 Q1 2021
Restated* Q1 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth France 18.1 18.8 18.8 -3.4% -3.4% Rest of Europe 13.2 16.7 16.7 -20.7% -21.0% Americas 30.3 28.5 26.5 14.3% 6.2% Asia/Pacific 5.3 4.5 4.4 21.0% 16.2% Axway Software 66.9 68.6 66.3 0.9% -2.4%
2nd Quarter 2022 (m) Q2 2022 Q2 2021
Restated* Q2 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth France 19.6 20.6 20.6 -4.8% -4.8% Rest of Europe 14.0 17.2 17.3 -19.0% -18.8% Americas 30.5 34.6 30.6 -0.2% -11.6% Asia/Pacific 5.4 4.0 3.6 48.1% 36.1% Axway Software 69.5 76.3 72.1 -3.6% -8.9%
3rd Quarter 2022 (m) Q3 2022 Q3 2021
Restated* Q3 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth France 15.1 19.3 19.3 -21.8% -21.8% Rest of Europe 14.7 14.0 14.0 4.5% 4.8% Americas 32.8 37.5 32.2 1.8% -12.6% Asia/Pacific 5.0 4.8 4.3 15.9% 3.5% Axway Software 67.5 75.6 69.8 -3.3% -10.7%
4th Quarter 2022 (m) Q4 2022 Q4 2021
Restated* Q4 2021
Reported Total
Growth Organic
Growth France 38.8 22.6 22.8 + 70.2% + 71.6% Rest of Europe 26.5 18.7 19.4 + 36.5% + 42.2% Americas 39.6 30.6 30.1 + 31.9% + 29.7% Asia/Pacific 5.1 5.3 5.0 + 1.5% 2.8% Axway Software 110.1 77.1 77.3 + 42.4% + 42.8% * Revenue at 2022 scope and exchange rates
Appendices (3/5)
Axway Software: Consolidated Income Statement Full-year 2022 2022 2021 2020 m Rev. m Rev. m Rev. Revenue 314.0 285.5 297.2 of which License 11.6 18.6 25.8 of which Subscription 154.0 114.2 97.3 of which Maintenance 111.2 119.0 138.2 Sub-total Products 276.7 251.7 261.3 Services 37.3 33.8 36.0 Cost of sales 91.4 83.3 87.6 of which License and Maintenance 26.4 24.6 24.9 of which Subscription 29.4 27.0 28.3 of which Services 35.6 31.7 34.4 Gross profit 222.6 70.9% 202.3 70.8% 209.7 70.5% Operating expenses 176.4 169.4 178.8 of which Sales and marketing 93.2 89.0 92.9 of which Research and development 57.3 55.3 60.4 of which General and administrative 25.9 25.0 25.5 Profit on operating activities 46.3 14.7% 32.9 11.5% 30.8 10.4% Stock option expense -3.4 -4.4 -5.1 Amortization of intangible assets -5.5 -8.6 -8.2 Profit from recurring operations 37.4 11.9% 19.9 7.0% 17.6 5.9% Other income and expenses -83.8 -2.7 0.0 Operating profit -46.4 -14.8% 17.3 6.1% 17.6 5.9% Cost of net financial debt -2.1 -1.3 -1.4 Other financial revenues and expenses 1.0 0.5 -2.7 Income taxes 7.4 -6.9 -5.1 Net profit -40.0 -12.8% 9.6 3.4% 8.5 2.9% Basic earnings per share (in ) -1.85 0.45 0.40
Appendices (4/5)
Axway Software: Simplified Balance Sheet Full-year 2022 12/31/2022 12/31/2021 12/31/2020 (m) (m) (m) Assets Goodwill 297.8 348.3 330.3 Intangible assets 8.7 15.1 23.4 Property, plant and equipment 12.5 14.3 15.4 Lease right-of-use assets 20.1 23.5 28.9 Other non-current assets 34.9 23.4 24.9 Non-current assets 374.0 424.6 422.9 Trade receivables 148.1 105.1 88.1 Other current assets 30.6 27.8 32.2 Cash and cash equivalents 18.3 25.4 16.2 Current assets 197.1 158.3 136.4 Total Assets 571.1 582.9 559.3 Equity and Liabilities Share capital 43.3 43.3 42.7 Reserves and net profit 284.5 328.9 312.8 Total Equity 327.8 372.2 355.5 Financial debt long-term portion 84.6 60.1 37.3 Lease liabilities long-term portion 23.5 27.2 32.2 Other non-current liabilities 11.7 13.6 13.1 Non-current liabilities 119.8 100.9 82.5 Financial debt short-term portion 3.2 1.7 2.9 Lease liabilities short-term portion 5.8 6.2 5.6 Deferred Revenues 55.6 55.8 54.7 Other current liabilities 58.9 46.0 58.1 Current liabilities 123.5 109.8 121.4 Total Liabilities 243.3 210.7 203.9 Total Equity and Liabilities 571.1 582.9 559.3
Appendices (5/5)
Axway Software: Cash Flow Statement Full-year 2022 2022 2021 2020 (m) (m) (m) Net profit for the period -40.0 9.6 8.5 Net charges to amortization, depreciation and provisions 16.5 20.2 19.9 Other income and expense items 85.3 3.9 4.4 Cash from operations after cost of net debt and tax 61.8 33.7 32.8 Change in operating working capital requirements (incl. employee benefits liability) -41.0 -26.2 -23.7 Cost of net financial debt 2.1 1.3 1.4 Income tax paid net of accrual -10.0 4.1 1.6 Net cash from operating activities 13.0 12.9 12.1 Net cash used in investing activities -11.1 -2.8 -8.1 Proceeds from the exercise of stock options 2.0 0.6 Purchases and proceeds from disposal of treasury shares -13.7 -9.5 -0.2 Dividends paid -8.5 -8.6 0.0 Change in loans 20.7 21.5 -2.4 Change in lease liabilities -7.2 -6.7 -4.4 Net interest paid -1.2 -0.6 -0.7 Other flows 0.6 0.1 -0.9 Net cash from (used in) financing activities -9.4 -1.7 -7.9 Effect of foreign exchange rate changes 0.7 0.7 -1.1 Net change in cash and cash equivalents -6.9 9.0 -4.9 Opening cash position 25.2 16.2 21.1 Closing cash position 18.3 25.2 16.2
Axway Software: Impact on revenue of changes in scope and exchange rates Full-year 2022 (m) 2022 2021 Growth Revenue 314.0 285.5 + 10.0% Changes in exchange rates +16.1 Revenue at constant exchange rates 314.0 301.7 + 4.1% Changes in scope -4.1 Revenue at constant scope and exchange rates 314.0 297.6 + 5.5%
Axway Software: Changes in exchange rates Full-year 2022
For 1 Average rate
2022 Average rate
2021 Change US Dollar 1.053 1.183 + 12.3%
1 Details of this computation are available on page 10.
2 Audit procedures have been carried out on the financial statements. The Statutory Auditors' report is in the process of being issued.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005697/en/
Contacts:
Investor Relations: Arthur Carli +33 (0)1 47 17 24 65 acarli@axway.com
Press Relations: Sylvie Podetti +33 (0)1 47 17 22 40 spodetti@axway.com
Adelaide is examining three low-phonon energy glasses that have large-scale manufacturing potential for Coretec's 3D volumetric display technology
The Coretec Group (OTCQB: CRTG), developers of silicon anode active materials for lithium-ion batteries and cyclohexasilane (CHS) for EV, cleantech, and emerging tech applications, today provided an update on its partnership with The University of Adelaide, one of the top universities in the world in the field of glass science and photonics, to develop a glass display to be used in The Coretec Group's CSpace, a 3D static volumetric display technology.
Coretec's CSpace technology controls two invisible infrared lasers to generate visible, 3D image pixels in an imaging chamber. The imaging chamber relies on rare earth ions that are dispersed within the chamber material to create visible pixels at the locations where the two lasers intersect. 3D images are created by scanning the two lasers across the imaging chamber material.
The Adelaide team is examining three types of alternative low-phonon-energy glasses that have a greater potential for mass manufacturing with high optical quality. As an initial, proof-of-concept step, the team fabricated four small-scale (1 inch) glasses, doped with the same amount of the rare earth ion Er3+ that can generate green image pixels using a dual-infrared laser system.
According to preliminary results, the team found:
TZN tellurite glass was dimmer than the reference ZBLAN fluoride glass, when both infrared lasers had continuous wave output. However, TZN was similar to or even brighter than ZBLAN when one or both of the infrared lasers had a pulsed output.
Other glass types are far dimmer than ZBLAN under any cw/pulsed dual infrared laser scheme.
From here, further investigation to understand the brightness change for TZN and ZBLAN under different cw/pulsed dual infrared laser schemes will be conducted. This will open a new pathway to advance the dual infrared laser-based 3D display concept and could broaden the selection of imaging chamber materials.
"The results of our work with tellurite glass are very promising," said Dr. Yunle Wei, at the University of Adelaide's Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), working on the project. Professor Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem, IPAS Deputy Director, who leads this research, said, "We are excited to continue our work with the Coretec Group. This work has the potential to address the limitation in producing large size and high-quality 3D displays."
After identifying the potential following initial development, the Adelaide team produced a ~2-inch Er-doped TZN cube of high optical quality for further prototype demonstration, using the CSpace system. The next steps for the Adelaide team include upscaling the imaging chamber toward a more practical, useful size of over 10 inches, advancing the dual infrared laser concept and system, along with the development of multi-color imaging chambers.
"The findings from Adelaide underscore the potential for CSpace technology in 3D imaging, especially if we're able to scale the technology during its next phase of development," said Matthew Kappers, CEO of The Coretec Group. "While our Endurion battery program is a priority, Coretec continues to advance its proprietary technologies that have applications across a wide range of industries that are considered high-growth markets ripe for disruption."
Professor Nelson Tansu, the University of Adelaide's Head of School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME), who works together with the team, said, "It is fantastic that we bring experts from IPAS, Physics, Chemistry, and the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering to advance Coretec's technologies in 3D volumetric display. This multidisciplinary work will accelerate the translational research and commercialization of high-performance and affordable 3D tabletop displays to the marketplace."
A full research report will be published in the coming months and the Company will make it available through its website.
About the University of Adelaide's Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS)
The Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) fosters excellence in research in materials science, chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering and develops disruptive new tools for measurement. IPAS was created to bring together experimental physicists, chemists, material scientists, biologists, experimentally driven theoretical scientists, engineering scientists, and medical researchers to create new sensing and measurement technologies.
About The Coretec Group
The Coretec Group, Inc. is developing a portfolio of engineered silicon to improve energy-focused verticals, including electric vehicle and consumer batteries, solid-state lighting (LEDs), and semiconductors, as well as 3D volumetric displays and printable electronics. The Coretec Group serves the global technology markets in energy, electronics, semiconductor, solar, health, environment, and security.
For more information, please visit thecoretecgroup.com.
Follow The Coretec Group on:
Twitter @CoretecGroupInc
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/24789881
YouTube www.youtube.com/channel/UC1IA9C6PoPd1G4M7B9QiZPQ/featured
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release that relate to The Coretec Group's expectations with regard to the future impact on the Company's results from operations are forward-looking statements and may involve risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. Such risks and uncertainties are described in greater detail in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Since the information in this press release may contain statements that involve risk and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results may differ materially from expected results. We make no commitment to disclose any subsequent revisions to forward-looking statements. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to buy any securities of any entity.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005786/en/
Contacts:
Corporate Contact:
The Coretec Group, Inc.
Lindsay McCarthy
info@thecoretecgroup.com
+1 (866) 916-0833
Media Contact:
Spencer Herrmann
FischTank PR
coretec@fischtankpr.com
+1 (518) 669-6818
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / In the world of philanthropy, businesses and corporations are uniquely positioned to make a positive impact. They often have practice in uniting a team around a mission, using existing resources to increase capacity, and spreading the word about their work. For companies looking to leverage their strengths to better the community, corporate giving is a great tool to make change.
A corporate giving program is an initiative that allows businesses to invest in social good. There are a variety of options when it comes to program design, and each offers its own advantages. For inspiration, check out what other companies are doing.
No matter what kind of corporate philanthropy programs you choose, the time, money, and effort you invest will benefit not only the community at large, but will strengthen your organization.
The benefits of a corporate giving program giving
Become a trusted brand
These days consumers want to support businesses and corporations that invest in causes they care about. In fact, over 75% of consumers polled said they are more likely to buy from a company that supports environmental, social, or governance causes.
Kristin Kenney, Senior Associate at Carol Cone ON PURPOSE, explains, "Consumers are much more savvy today. They're asking, how are employees treated? Where are products coming from? Who are products made by? And they're really good at research."
Corporate giving builds positivity around your brand and allows you to align your outreach with your community's values. This provides your customers new, meaningful ways to engage with your business. It'll also help you build a reputation as a company that does more than talk the talk. You show up.
Though in the past corporate giving has been viewed as an optional program, today it's imperative that organizations get engaged with this work.
If the social, health, and environmental crises of this past year are not enough to compel business leaders, then leaders need to hear this: You need a social impact strategy not just to do some good, but to remain relevant and competitive. - Mark Horoszowski, CEO at MovingWorlds
Engage employees
A corporate giving initiative can also inspire your employees. Everyone wants to engage with a company that incorporates doing good into its mission-whether that means buying their products or being part of the team.
Giving back allows you to connect with your employees on a deeper level, helps them feel more fulfilled, and empowers them to make a difference. Plus it's a great tool for recruiting. According to a recent survey, more than two-thirds of respondents said they're more likely to apply for and accept a job with a socially responsible company.
Boost revenue
Using donations to create a loyal customer base and a strong company culture can help you boost revenue in the long run.
Corporate giving provides a great story for your marketing and recruitment team. It allows you to get your name out into the community in a new way and gives you the opportunity to build partnerships with other organizations. These connections can translate into more sales and they create a strong foundation for future growth.
Support sustainability
Beyond your bottom line, this form of corporate philanthropy supports long-term sustainability. Your business doesn't exist on an island. It is part of a complex system that relies on the health and wellbeing of the planet, the people, and the social structures that connect them.
Investing in nonprofits that sustain the community and protect resources means you're ensuring sustainability for your business and the world at large.
6 types of corporate giving programs
1. Community Grants
Awarding grants to nonprofits doing work in the community is a great way to leverage your resources and their expertise. Rather than picking a charity, you can set aside a designated amount of money to fund grants and invite organizations to apply.
If your team has a specific cause or population in mind, you can create targeted grant programs around an issue. Only organizations engaged in that specific work will be eligible to apply. For instance, you could create a grant dedicated to helping disadvantaged communities address climate change. In your grant application, you could ask applicants to explain how they are engaged in this work and what a grant will allow them to do.
Community grants allow your business to support the organizations already doing good work in the community. Forming relationships with these nonprofits helps you build trust with community members and shows that you're willing to be humble in your approach to giving.
This model also fosters internal and external collaboration. By uniting around a common purpose, you can work together with the organizations you fund to make change. You can determine the program focus and help guide outcomes. Plus these connections can become long-term partnerships.
Meet community members where they are
As you build your grant program, be sure to center the people you're aiming to support. Start by involving them in the conversations early. Get their input about what problems the community faces and what kind of solutions might do the most good. Remember: the people closest to a problem usually have the best insight about how to solve it.
Structure your grant application so that it is easy to access and complete. Nonprofits are busy. They don't have time for a complicated application process. Choose a grant management software that streamlines the application experience and makes it easy on your internal team to review applications and communicate with grantees.
2. Charitable donations
A charitable donation allows your organization to give money or resources directly to a nonprofit. Structuring your giving this way allows your business to have an immediate impact.
This approach to corporate giving lets you minimize the time and effort your team puts into structuring and executing the program. All you have to do is choose a cause, identify charities that align with your values, and make a donation.
You can choose to write a check or you can make an in-kind donation. Giving goods or services is great if you have the means and capacity and the community has a need for what you can offer.
Consider the timing of your gift. Do you want to align with a global giving event such as Giving Tuesday? Or perhaps you want the gift to coincide with an event you're planning or a product launch you're preparing. Adding a charitable component to business programs can be a great way to drum up more interest in both initiatives.
Root your giving in trust
When you make a charitable donation, you can choose to designate your gift for specific programs or you can make the funding unrestricted. Unrestricted funding allows the nonprofit to decide how best to use the resources they receive. It offers more flexibility for the charities as they seek to cover the costs of running programs.
Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott has become known for making unrestricted donations to nonprofits. She explains the decision: "Because we believe that teams with experience on the front lines of challenges will know best how to put the money to good use, we encouraged them to spend it however they choose. Many reported that this trust significantly increased the impact of the gift."
3. Matching gifts
Matching employee contributions to nonprofits gets the whole team engaged in giving. A matching program allows employees to choose the causes they want to support. An employee donates to a nonprofit and the companies will match or double the donation to create a bigger impact.
This method gets employees involved by letting them determine how the company's charitable funds will be distributed. They can choose the causes they care about most or those they have a personal connection to. By putting the decision in the employees' hands, you ensure that company donations align with employee values.
For example, Related Group, an urban developer based in South Florida, has created a matching gifts program for their employees. This helps them get folks involved and boosts the assistance provided to nonprofit organizations.
Make giving quick and easy
These days, most employees expect companies to have some form of corporate giving and matching. According to the latest report from Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, 85% of companies surveyed offer year-round matching gifts programs.
Despite matching gift programs being incredibly popular, participation can be a struggle. It turns out, one of the main reasons employees don't participate in corporate giving programs is because the process is too complex. This is where technology comes in. One study found that nearly half of employees said an easy-to-use, online technology platform was a top motivating factor to donate. Choose a corporate giving platform that makes it easy for employees to get excited about giving and helps them track their impact.
4. Volunteering
When it comes to corporate giving, it's easy to overlook one of your greatest resources: people. Your company has taken time to assemble a great team. The talent and enthusiasm each employee brings to the table is unique. Channeling these skills to help local nonprofits pursue their missions is a great way to leverage your resources and get employees engaged.
As part of a volunteer program, your employees donate hours to a local nonprofit. This can entail simple, non-specialized work that the charity determines. For example, your company could donate volunteer hours to a local food bank. Employees would go during their normal working hours to help the food bank with tasks such as packing boxes or sorting food. You can also find opportunities that encourage employees to use their professional skills in their volunteer efforts.
No matter how you structure your volunteering, this kind of program helps keep employees invested. It provides opportunities for folks to connect with team members they don't often get to work with directly, enhancing cohesion and connection across the company.
Other forms of corporate giving can help employees feel a sense of purpose, but volunteering allows them to get their hands dirty and to truly get engaged in the work. This has countless benefits for morale and engagement. Plus it can actually improve employee mental and physical health.
Let employees lead the way
Volunteering is most impactful when employees get to choose the causes they give their time to. Rather than making your volunteer program feel like a top-down initiative, put employees in the driver's seat. Seek out employee feedback to help you organize volunteer opportunities. And empower employees to create volunteer events and invite their coworkers.
Taking this approach lets you build on the relationships that already exist within your company. It's much more powerful to get an invite from someone on your team who's excited about a cause rather than a company-wide email from HR.
5. Scholarships
Channeling your corporate giving into a scholarship program means you will be helping students further their education by providing money for tuition, books, or other living expenses.
For example A+ Federal Credit Union has a scholarship program for high school and college students in Central Texas. In 2021, they awarded a total of $100,000 to 50 students chosen based on academic achievements and community involvement. The scholarship money goes towards college tuition.
Funding scholarships is a valuable investment in the future. You're helping students access education and easing the financial burden on them and their families. Of course, this can have an immediate impact on when and where they attend college, but it also has long-term effects on their job prospects, earning power, and financial stability.
Investing in education connects you with the up-and-coming generation. Showing up for them will help your brand stay relevant. These are your future customers and employees.
Recruit top talent
Some companies focus their scholarship programs on disciplines related to their businesses. This approach can create relationships with a strong pool of candidates for the future. It also gives you the ability to reach out and support a wide range of students and, in turn, help diversify the pool of talent you can draw from.
For example, Acxiom is a customer data management firm. Each year, they offer $5,000 scholarships to students from diverse backgrounds who are enrolled in a full-time post-secondary degree program such as computer science or computer information systems. Through this program, the company is supporting diversity across the sector and connecting with potential applicants.
6. Sponsorships
In a sponsorship, a business helps financially support a community group, event, or activity. Often in exchange for the support, the company is featured in promotional materials. By affiliating with a beloved event or group, a business can build goodwill in the community. This form of outreach gives you a chance to subtly market your brand while spotlighting important community activities.
For example the Alaska Humanities Forum sponsors events that bring Alaskans together and encourage civil discussion. They support events such as the Blueberry Arts Festival and in return their logo is featured on the event website.
Sponsorships often entail funding, but you can also provide support through in-kind donations. Perhaps the goods or services you offer would be useful to organizers.
Align sponsorships with your mission
As you look for an event to sponsor, try to find one that aligns with your business mission. Think about your target customers and what kind of interests they might have. Not only will this give you a natural point of connection with the folks you most want to reach, but it will also make it easier for you to show up in an authentic way.
A great way to approach your search is by starting with the events and causes that your employees are already involved in. Perhaps you can include their input as you create your giving plans.
Create your corporate giving program today
Creating an effective corporate giving program is not so different from launching other business initiatives. You want to ensure success by building from strategy, setting clear objectives, and prioritizing transparency.
As Alnoor Ebrahim, author of Measuring Social Change: Performance and Accountability in a Complex World explains, "In the social sector, we tend to think a lot about impact but don't necessarily give enough attention to strategy-and the two are completely intertwined."
As a corporate social responsibility platform, Submittable can help you create a program that works for your whole team. Whether you're managing grant applications, accepting sponsorship requests, or promoting a scholarship, Submittable makes it easy to launch, manage, and measure your program.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Submittable on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Submittable
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/submittable
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: Submittable
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740355/How-to-Structure-Your-Corporate-Giving-Program
MEMPHIS, TN / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) continues to support those affected by the catastrophic earthquakes that have devastated Southern Turkey and Northern Syria, committing more than $1,000,000 (USD) worth of in-kind shipping so far. Overnight, the company chartered a FedEx MD-11 of dedicated relief from Dubai, UAE, to Istanbul, Turkey. This was the fifth consecutive flight taking place from February 17 to 21 delivering approximately 230 metric tonnes of relief supplies including tents, blankets, baby items, household supplies, and hygiene kits from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
"FedEx is committed to helping the many communities impacted by the earthquakes during this incredibly difficult time," FedEx President and CEO Raj Subramaniam said. "We are inspired by the heroic work of first responders and humanitarian organizations and grateful to use our global network to donate flights, logistics support, and aid to advance recovery, rebuilding, and relief in the region."
To date, FedEx has also been able to help other non-profit organizations and governments respond during this crisis by utilizing its global network and logistics expertise.
- FedEx donated $100k on February 8 to the Red Cross to aid recovery efforts in Turkey and Syrian communities. The donation will provide support and aid, such as distributing essentials like first aid, food, water, and blankets; setting up temporary shelters; and providing psychological support and medical aid.
- On February 8, FedEx delivered critical humanitarian supplies from Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport to Malatya, Turkey on behalf of the Istanbul Governorship and local municipality, including food supplies from Umursan Un Ltd. and clothing donated by local residents.
- During the week of February 13, FedEx provided shipping support for Canadian disaster-relief organization GlobalMedic, including the delivery of AquaResponse3 Water Purification Units to feeding centers in the impacted area of Turkey.
- FedEx worked with U.S.-based World Central Kitchen to ship aid from Madrid, Spain and Capitol Heights, Maryland, U.S. to Adana, Turkey. The flights included a deployable kitchen unit, kitchen supplies, and operations kits.
FedEx continues to provide relief to regions impacted by natural disasters. FedEx relief moved for IFRC, GlobalMedic, and World Central Kitchen was a part of the company's FedEx Cares "Delivering for Good" initiative, in which FedEx lends its global network and unparalleled logistics expertise to organizations with mission-critical needs and helps communities before, during and after crises. Learn more at FedExCares.com.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from FedEx Corporation on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: FedEx Corporation
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/fedex-corporation
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: FedEx Corporation
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740360/FedEx-Delivers-Critical-Aid-Commits-More-Than-1-Million-Amid-Earthquake-Crisis-Impacting-Turkey-and-Syria
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares
For immediate release
22 February 2023
FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC
(the "Company")
MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES
The Company announces that it has today purchased 92,000 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 889.96 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 15,015,215; 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 209,976,088.
The figure of 209,976,088 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
Quantum Genomics announces reorganization of its Board of Directors and staff restructuration in order to focus on new projects
Quantum Genomics (Euronext Growth - FR0011648971 - ALQGC), a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the development of a new class of medications that directly target the brain, announces a reorganization of its Board of Directors, a staff restructuration and renews the review of its strategy discussions.
Reorganization of Quantum Genomics' Board of Directors
On February 21, 2023, Quantum Genomics' Board of Directors, formed by Lionel Segard (President), Jean-Philippe Milon (CEO), Francois Durvye (CEO of Otium Capital), Francois Pelen (Independent Administrator) and Carole Wassermann (Independent Administrator), acknowledged the resignation of Frederic Duchesne from its Independent Administrator's mandate, whose past experiences in the Pharma industry should have supported firibastat's market access in cardiology.
The Board of Directors has then decided to revoke Lionel Segard, President and Founder of Quantum Genomics.
As a replacement for the revoked President, the Board of Directors has proposed and decided the appointment of Jean-Philippe Milon (CEO of Quantum Genomics) has President of the Board of Directors, in addition to its CEO's mandate. This proposal has been accepted by the Board of Directors. Jean-Philippe Milon is now President and CEO of Quantum Genomics.
The Company adds that the President of the Board of Directors' mandate will be free of compensation.
Changes in the Quantum Genomics' organisation chart
Following the negative results of the phase III FRESH study in resistant hypertension and the decision to prematurely discontinue the second phase III study (REFRESH) in this same indication, and on a wider scale, to stop all development of firibastat in cardiology, Quantum Genomics is implementing a plan to restructure its workforce which will involve the suppression of those functions related to the marketing and the market access of firibastat in cardiology.
"I wish to extend my warmest thanks to all the colleagues and of Quantum Genomics who have worked unstintingly for the success of firibastat and also to those whose efforts continue to enable the Company to develop a new corporate development plan" comments Jean-Philippe Milon, President and CEO of Quantum Genomics.
Discussions proceeding with Biotech / Medtech
Quantum Genomics has entered into discussions with several Biotech and Medtech companies, listed and non-listed, and is studying all opportunities and methods of possible joint ventures to build a new corporate development plan.
After having analysed over twenty dossiers, the Company has selected two projects, a Biotech company and a Medtech company, both non-listed. Advanced discussions with their management teams and due diligence procedures concerning operations are in progress.
These strategic discussions are being conducted in close collaboration with Otium Capital, the Company's major shareholder.
About Quantum Genomics
Quantum Genomics is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the development of a new class of medications based on brain aminopeptidase A inhibition (BAPAI). Quantum Genomics is the only company in the world exploring this innovative approach that directly targets the brain. It relies on over twenty years of research conducted in the Paris-Descartes University and the INSERM laboratory directed by Dr. Catherine Llorens-Cortes at the College de France.
Based in Paris and New York, the company is listed on Euronext Growth in Paris (FR0011648971- ALQGC) and trades on the OTCQX Market in the United States (symbol: QNNTF).
For more information on www.quantum-genomics.com, please visit our Twitter and LinkedIn sites.
Contacts
Quantum Genomics contact@quantum-genomics.com Edifice Communication (EUROPE) Financial and media communication
quantum-genomics@edifice-communication.com LifeSci (USA) Mike Tattory
Media communication
+1 (646) 751-4362 - mtattory@lifescipublicrelations.com
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Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-78670-cp-22-fevrier-2023-version-anglaise.pdf
22 February 2023
HYDRO HOTEL, EASTBOURNE, PLC
("Hydro Hotel" or the "Company")
FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2022
HIGHLIGHTS
The profit for the financial year after taxation was GBP336,700 (2021 profit of GBP362,660). Turnover from the Hydro Hotel operation increased during the year by 57.7% (2021 increased by 25.0%). Earnings per share were 56.12p compared to 60.44p for the previous year.
The Company's operating activities generated cash of GBP597,959 (2021 generated cash of GBP829,213) and it invested GBP149,666 in new fixed assets (2021 GBP39,987). During the year the Company paid ordinary dividends of GBP204,000 (2021 GBP Nil). At the year end the Company had net current assets of GBP1,459,345 (2021 GBP1,254,405).
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Results for year ended 31 October 2022
I report on the company's results for the year ended 31 October 2022.
It was another challenging trading year for the Company with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the general effects of Brexit on supply sources. However, I am pleased to announce that sales recovered in the year totalling 4,402,288, an increase of 57.7% on the 2,791,482 sales for the previous year (2021 25.0% increase). Operating profit for the year was 429,300 (2021 461,312). After interest receivable and the corporation tax charge, the post-tax profits for the year were 336,700 (2021 362,660). Taking into account the level of post-tax profits for the year and with the company having strong reserves and assets, the Board decided to pay a dividend of 14p per share in October 2022 absorbing 84,000, reinstating the second interim dividend based on the results for the year ended 31 October 2019, declared for payment in April 2020 and then cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Board also decided to declare a dividend of 23p per share (2021 20p per share) absorbing 138,000 (2021 120,000).
The trading environment for the company continues to be challenging. Despite careful monitoring of food and drink costs the gross profit percentage was slightly down on the previous year but increased sales meant that overall profitability was up. Repair costs increased in the year reflecting the implementation of window replacement and general maintenance and refurbishment projects which were delayed during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Capital improvements at the hotel during the year included the refurbishment of the Orangery, the Crystal Restaurant and Wedgewood patio, as well as general refurbishment of some bedroom interiors.
There have been no periods of closure since last financial year but the Board and management are mindful that future restrictions may be imposed by Government to curb the spread of new variants of the Coronavirus and all necessary action will be undertaken at the appropriate time to protect and maintain the company's business.
Developments since 31 October 2022
New marketing techniques will continue to be developed during the year to further encourage direct bookings at the hotel, which show an increase, year on year.
Further updating of the decor and furniture of the Crystal Restaurant will be undertaken in the coming year and it is planned to instal solar panels at the hotel, in keeping with the company's green policy and to save energy costs. Refurbishment of bedrooms and public areas will continue.
Our Staff
I would like to congratulate our General Manager, Jonathan Owen, on the results achieved for the hotel this year, despite ongoing challenges for the hotel and tourism industry.
I wish also to record our thanks to our management team and all our staff for their dedication to the hotel during these challenging times. All staff continued to deliver a high quality of service to the hotel's customers in difficult circumstances.
Graeme C King, MA, CA 21 February 2023 Chairman of the Board
STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2022 2022 2021 GBP GBP Turnover Continuing operations 4,402,288 2,791,482 Cost of sales (3,694,357) (2,444,700) Gross profit 707,931 346,782 Administrative expenses (285,729) (237,241) Other operating income 7,098 351,771 Operating profit 429,300 461,312 Interest receivable and similar income 15,911 5,000 Interest payable and similar expenses - (9,286) Profit before taxation 445,211 457,026 Taxation (108,511) (94,366) Profit for the financial year GBP 336,700 GBP 362,660 Earnings per share - continuing operations 56.12p 60.44p
Earnings per share have been calculated using 600,000 shares, being the weighted average number of shares for both years. The company has no potential ordinary shares, therefore basic and diluted earnings per share is the same figure.
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 OCTOBER 2022 2022 2021 GBP GBP Fixed assets Tangible Assets 2,456,700 2,500,211 Current assets Stocks 36,645 36,657 Debtors 214,131 115,672 Investments 453,924 451,014 Cash at bank and in hand 1,585,647 1,328,353 2,290,347 1,931,696 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year (831,002) (677,291) Net current assets 1,459,345 1,254,405
Total assets less current liabilities 3,916,045 3,754,616 Provisions for liabilities (123,109) (94,380) Net assets GBP 3,792,936 GBP 3,660,236 Capital and reserves Ordinary Shares - Authorised and Issued: 600,000 Shares of GPB1.00 each fully paid 600,000 600,000 Revaluation reserve 398,372 402,651 Profit and loss reserves 2,794,564 2,657,585 Total equity GBP 3,792,936 GBP 3,660,236
STATUS OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The financial information set out above does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. This has, however, been extracted from the statutory accounts for the year ended 31 October 2022. These accounts have not to date been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The Company's auditor, UHY Hacker Young LLP, has issued an unqualified audit report which does not contain a statement under section 498 of the Companies Act 2006 in respect of these accounts.
DIVIDEND ANNOUNCEMENT
An interim dividend of 23.0 pence per share (2021 20.0 pence paid) is to be paid on 4 April 2023 to shareholders on the register on 17 March 2023. The directors do not propose the payment of a final dividend.
The Directors of Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne, plc accept responsibility for this announcement.
For further information please contact:
Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne, plc Sally Gausden Telephone: (+44)(0) 1323 431200
Peterhouse Capital Limited Mark Anwyl Telephone: (+44)(0) 2074 690930
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation EU 596/2014 as it forms part of retained EU law (as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).
The Agreement Covers All Existing Territories in Europe and Any Future Launches Across the Region
Pharmanovia Will Also Lead All Activities to Support the Launch of Sunosi (solriamfetol) Across Middle East North Africa (MENA)
Pharmanovia Is Responsible for All Ongoing and Future Clinical Studies in Europe and MENA
FOR TRADE AND BUSINESS MEDIA ONLY
Pharmanovia, a global pharmaceutical company that revitalises, extends and expands the lifecycle of already established medicines, has today announced the expansion of its neurology portfolio through a new licensing agreement with US-based biopharmaceutical company, Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.
The agreement gives Pharmanovia the exclusive marketing rights to Sunosi (solriamfetol), a first in class medicine used to improve wakefulness and reduce excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in adults with narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)1, in Europe and MENA regions. Pharmanovia will continue researching solriamfetol's potential in children. A pivotal Phase III study and longer-term extension study, exploring the safety and effectiveness of solriamfetol in children with narcolepsy, will be initiated by Pharmanovia, with the aim of bringing this breakthrough therapy to young people affected by this debilitating disease. The agreement also allows Pharmanovia to explore solriamfetol's potential in other neurological conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Global estimates using five or more events per hour suggest rates of 936 million people worldwide with mild to severe OSA, and 425 million people worldwide with moderate to severe OSA, between the ages of 30 and 69 years of age.2 EDS can have a huge impact on an individual's quality of life and ability to function day to day, with common signs and symptoms including brain fog, frequent tiredness and unrefreshing sleep.
Pharmanovia CEO, James Burt commented; "We are delighted to have been recognised by Axsome as the right overseas partner both for the expansion in Europe and in bringing this important medicine to MENA. In addition to our focus on lifecycle management of iconic brands, a key pillar of our strategy is to utilise our extensive technical and commercial platform to bring novel, complementary medicines to patients in the therapeutic settings we support. In-licensing a novel, first-in-class neurological medicine is a great demonstration of delivering on this strategy.
"We're especially excited to initiate the paediatric trials in narcolepsy. Clinical research in children is inherently more sensitive and, as a result, there are countless medical interventions with the potential to bring life-changing benefits to young people that have simply not been tested and, therefore, cannot currently be used."
Dr. Herriot Tabuteau, CEO of Axsome Therapeutics, added: "Solriamfetol is an important medicine with demonstrated clinically meaningful efficacy and a unique mechanism of action. This partnership builds on Pharmanovia's established neurology footprint across Europe and MENA and facilitates solriamfetol reaching as many patients that could benefit from it as possible. Partnering with Pharmanovia is a natural choice for us, given their alignment with us on the value that solriamfetol presents and their plans to expand access."
-Ends-
Notes to editors
About Pharmanovia
Pharmanovia is a global lifecycle management healthcare company. Our purpose is to make medicines fit for tomorrow, to improve the lives of patients globally.
We do this by rediscovering, repurposing or re-engineering established medicines to improve patient outcomes and experiences.
With a diverse and growing team in over 140 countries across the globe, we deliver high-quality solutions, ethically and sustainably, across our four core therapeutic areas Endocrinology, Neurology, Cardiovascular and Oncology.
About Axsome Therapeutics
Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing and delivering novel therapies for central nervous system (CNS) conditions that have limited treatment options. Through development of therapeutic options with novel mechanisms of action, it is transforming the approach to treating CNS conditions. Axsome is committed to developing products that meaningfully improve the lives of patients and provide new therapeutic options for physicians.
About Sunosi (solriamfetol)
Solriamfetol is the first and only approved, dual-acting dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (DNRI) indicated to improve wakefulness in adult patients with EDS associated with narcolepsy or OSA.
In patients with OSA, both in patients who were adherent to their primary OSA treatment and those who were non-adherent, solriamfetol was shown to:3
Increase wakefulness in a dose dependent fashion at Week 12, as measured by the MWT
Decrease sleepiness in a dose dependent fashion at Week 12, as measured by the ESS
Increase patient reports of feeling better at Week 12, as measured by the PGI-C
Similarly in patients with narcolepsy, solriamfetol was shown to:4
Significantly improve wakefulness as early as week 1, which was maintained through 12 weeks
At week 12, significantly increased wakefulness as early as 1 hour; with effects maintained through 9 hours post-dose
References
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/sunosi Last accessed 21.2.23 PLOS One, 2021, Mandereau-Bruno et al., Obstructive sleep apnea: A sharp increase in the prevalence of patients treated with nasal CPAP over the last decade in France, accessed here: https://uk01.z.antigena.com/l/Cd3ygbEm88lHtCKPjqjPtRfBnH~JIn_BbvAm07Uwym~AKBTOm3hRsjrPhYpYM0phFCee4qPFzoVjIVs90kIsPzSHJ9uftESuHSV3aCzLe2tAH3ffv7tNPypv-58xEo44TdGJzsbyyOVIbGe_rEE18gNNe6_Ey_w~TVB21_BXvr4_2guD6e8ZXw7W24_XBjnMH__
UpToDate, 2023, Kline, Clinical presentation and diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in adults, accessed here: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/clinical-presentation-and-diagnosis-of-obstructive-sleep-apnea-in-adults#:~:text=Global%20estimates%20using%20five%20or,OSA%20also%20varies%20by%20race
Eurostat, accessed here: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Population_and_population_change_statistics
https://www.uptodate.com/contents/clinical-presentation-and-diagnosis-of-obstructive-sleep-apnea-in-adults/print#:~:text=Global%20estimates%20using%20five%20or,OSA%20also%20varies%20by%20race. Schweitzer, PK, et al. Randomized Controlled Trial of Solriamfetol for Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in OSA: An Analysis of Subgroups Adherent or Nonadherent to OSA Treatment. Chest. 2021; 160(1):307-318 Thorpy MJ, et al. A randomized study of solriamfetol for excessive sleepiness in narcolepsy. Ann Neurol. 2019; 85(3):359-370. doi: 10.1002/ana.25423
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005717/en/
Contacts:
Alison Dyson, Director of Communications, Pharmanovia
07442 256310/ Alison.dyson@pharmanovia.com
Or pharmanovia@67health.co.uk
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN OR TO U.S. PERSONS
Abivax announces successful oversubscribed EUR 130M cross-over financing at market price with top-tier US and European biotech investors
This financing was led by TCGX, with participation from existing investors Invus, Deep Track Capital, Sofinnova Partners, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, as well as from new investors Great Point Partners, LLC, Deerfield Management Company, Commodore Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Boxer Capital and others
Proceeds to be primarily used for further advancing the obefazimod pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial program in ulcerative colitis, expanding the cash runway until the end of the second quarter of 2024
PARIS, FRANCE / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Abivax (Euronext Paris: FR0012333284 - ABVX) (the "Company"), a Phase 3 clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics that modulate the immune system to treat patients with chronic inflammatory diseases, today announced the successful pricing of an oversubscribed EUR 130M financing with high-quality US and European biotech specialist investors (the "Investors"), led by TCGX, with participation from existing investors Invus, Deep Track Capital, Sofinnova Partners, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, as well as from new investors Great Point Partners, LLC, Deerfield Management Company, Commodore Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Boxer Capital and others, by way of a reserved capital increase of EUR 130M through the issuance of 20,000,000 newly-issued ordinary shares with a nominal value of EUR 0.01 per share (the "New Shares"), representing 89.6% of its current share capital, at a subscription price of EUR 6.50 per share (the "Capital Increase").
Prof. Hartmut J. Ehrlich, M.D., CEO of Abivax said: "We are excited to announce today's successful pricing of Abivax's oversubscribed capital increase of EUR 130M, with a balanced mix of top-tier existing and new investors, mostly US biotech specialists. We believe these new financial resources will allow us to move full steam ahead with our ongoing global clinical Phase 3 program of obefazimod for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. The recruitment of patients for this program is ongoing in the U.S. and the study centers in Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific are expected to start including patients in the weeks and months to come. Based on our consistent Phase 2a and Phase 2b data, we expect that the Phase 3 studies will support the short- and long-term efficacy and safety profile of obefazimod. The Abivax team is fully focused on making obefazimod rapidly accessible to all the patients in need."
Didier Blondel, CFO of Abivax, added: "We are extremely pleased to announce our successful EUR 130M capital increase at market price. Abivax, once again, could attract new top-tier US and European biotech investors, including Great Point Partners, LLC, Deerfield Management Company, Commodore Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Boxer Capital and a few additional great names, as well as most of our existing US and European biotech investors. We believe this proves that Abivax and obefazimod are not only recognized within the scientific and medical communities, but also among very specialized financial investors who believe in the potential of obefazimod as an effective treatment option for chronic inflammatory diseases, starting with ulcerative colitis. Based on our current assumptions, our cash runway has been extended until the end of the second quarter of 2024. These new financial resources will be mainly used to continue our Phase 3 clinical program. Besides our ambition to confirm obefazimod's potential as a long-lasting and effective treatment for patients in need, we continue to give particular attention to the maximization of shareholder value. We are committed to securing the full funding of our Phase 3 clinical program in due course through additional non-dilutive and dilutive financial resources."
Reasons for the issuance and use of the net proceeds of the Capital Increase, equal to EUR 123M
The Company plans to use the net proceeds of the Capital Increase for the following (on an indicative basis):
Launch and continuation of the clinical programs of obefazimod (ABX464), the Company's lead drug candidate in clinical development:
For ulcerative colitis (" UC "): continuation of the pivotal Phase 3 program, which was initiated in the first half of 2022 with the first patient enrolled in October 2022, and of the Phase 2a and 2b maintenance trials. The Phase 3 program will combine two induction trials and one single maintenance trial, involving a total of 1,200 patients and over 600 clinical study centers, mainly in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.
"): continuation of the pivotal Phase 3 program, which was initiated in the first half of 2022 with the first patient enrolled in October 2022, and of the Phase 2a and 2b maintenance trials. The Phase 3 program will combine two induction trials and one single maintenance trial, involving a total of 1,200 patients and over 600 clinical study centers, mainly in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Continuation of the research and development (" R&D ") work on the compound's mechanism of action, nonclinical work, chemical and pharmaceutical development work, regulatory and pharmacovigilance activities for obefazimod, and the remaining clinical activities for obefazimod outside the ulcerative colitis indication (Phase 2a maintenance trial in rheumatoid arthritis (" RA ") and various current and future Phase 1 trials necessary to prepare potential submissions for marketing authorizations for obefazimod);
") work on the compound's mechanism of action, nonclinical work, chemical and pharmaceutical development work, regulatory and pharmacovigilance activities for obefazimod, and the remaining clinical activities for obefazimod outside the ulcerative colitis indication (Phase 2a maintenance trial in rheumatoid arthritis (" ") and various current and future Phase 1 trials necessary to prepare potential submissions for marketing authorizations for obefazimod); Approximately 80% of the net proceeds of the Capital Increase will be allocated to the development of obefazimod as per the above aspects (and primarily for the Phase 3 UC program);
Financing of R&D and working capital and other general purposes of the Company, accounting for approximately 10% of the proceeds; and
Redemption of (and payment of amounts payable pursuant to) existing indebtedness, accounting for approximately 10% of the proceeds (approximately EUR 12.7M split between EUR 8.9M paid under the Kreos loans, EUR 1.6M paid under the OCEANE convertible bonds, EUR 2.1M paid under the Societe Generale state guaranteed loan, and EUR 120K paid as reimbursement linked with the Ebola program financed by BPI).
The Company expects that the proceeds from the Capital Increase will provide the Company with financial resources to fund its operations until the end of Q2 2024, based on a prioritization of its UC program.
The Company certifies that, in its view, following the settlement-delivery of the new shares issued in the framework of the Capital Increase, the Company's financial resources will be sufficient to cover its net financing needs for the upcoming twelve months.
The Company specifies that the additional financing needs required to complete its Phase 3 clinical program for obefazimod in UC until the end of 2024, which corresponds to the period during which the clinical results of the induction phase are expected, amount to approximately EUR 154M, thus requiring additional financing estimated at EUR 31M beyond the EUR 123M obtained in the framework of the Capital Increase. In addition, EUR 70M will be required to obtain clinical results for the maintenance phase of treatment planned for the end of 2025. Thus, the total amount of additional financing required to cover the Company's financial needs until the completion of the entire Phase 3 program for obefazimod in UC at the end of 2025 amounts to approximately EUR 224M before the completion of the Capital Increase, i.e., EUR 101M in addition to the amounts financed by the Capital Increase.
The above amounts also take into account the amounts required for the continuation of long-term maintenance studies for the Company's various programs (Phase 2a and 2b in UC and Phase 2a in RA), other R&D expenses, general expenses, as well as the repayment of the Company's existing loans over the periods considered.
The financing requirements for the development of obefazimod in the treatment of UC detailed above are based solely on clinical and regulatory work. They do not include investments relating to the preparation of market access or the establishment of marketing and commercial resources necessary for the commercialization of the drug candidate. These costs have not been quantified by the Company at this stage.
In order to meet the above-mentioned short- and medium-term financing needs, the Company is seeking to obtain, as soon as possible, one or more dilutive or non-dilutive financings that are the most favorable for the Company, depending on market conditions. In particular, the Company is considering the following alternatives:
Carrying out one or more new capital increases, Entering into loan or issuing bonds; in particular Abivax has received a non-binding indicative offer from lenders, which is currently being evaluated by the Company, for the implementation of dilutive and non-dilutive financing for a total amount of up to EUR 45M. The implementation of this financing would be, in particular, conditional upon the prior repayment of the existing Kreos loans (approximately EUR 11M on the date hereof), and/or Conclusion of regional licensing agreements for obefazimod, specifically targeting Asia.
Key characteristics of the Capital Increase
The New Shares are being issued through a capital increase, without existing shareholders' preferential subscription rights, reserved to a specified category of investors (investors in the pharma sector) pursuant to the 4th resolution of the Annual General Shareholders' Meeting held on November 9, 2022.
In accordance with the internal rules of the Company's Board of Directors, the representatives of Sofinnova Partners and of Sante Holding did not participate in the deliberations of the Board of Directors authorizing the Capital Increase.
The number of New Shares to be subscribed, the subscription price and the list of investors that may subscribe were decided by the Company's Chief Executive Officer (Directeur General), in accordance with a sub-delegation granted by the Company's Board of Directors on February 20, 2023.
The subscription price of the New Shares was set at EUR 6.50 per share, i.e., with a 5.05% discount to the last 15-day VWAP preceding the date the issue price was set (i.e., from February 6, 2023, to February 21, 2023).
Sofinnova Partners, which previously held a 11.3% stake in the Company, subscribed to the Capital Increase for an amount of EUR 9.98M corresponding to 1,535,000 New Shares. After the Capital Increase, Sofinnova Partners will hold 9.6% of the share capital of the Company. Sante Holding, which previously held a 3.2% stake in the Company, subscribed in the Capital Increase for an amount of EUR 0.25M corresponding to 38,461 New Shares. After the Capital Increase, Sante Holding will hold 2.3% of the share capital of the Company. Funds managed by Truffle Capital, which previously held a 22.8% stake in the Company, did not participate in the Capital Increase. After the Capital Increase, funds managed by Truffle Capital will hold 12.0% of the share capital of the Company.
Settlement and delivery of the New Shares is expected to occur on or around February 27, 2023. Upon delivery, the New Shares will be fungible with the Company's existing shares.
The New Shares will be admitted to trading on Euronext Paris with ticker symbol ABVX on February 27, 2023, and bear ISIN FR0012333284.
Lock-up agreements
In the context of the Capital Increase, the Company has agreed to a lock-up undertaking on the issuance or sale of shares or of securities giving access to the share capital, among other things, for a period of 90 calendar days following the execution of the subscription agreements entered into with the Investors, subject to certain customary exceptions.
Certain of the Company's shareholders, board members and key officers who own shares of the Company have also agreed to a lock-up undertaking on the sale of shares or of securities giving access to the share capital, among other things, for a period of 90 calendar days following the execution of the subscription agreements entered into with the Investors, subject to certain customary exceptions.
Investors participating in the Capital Increase have not taken any lock-up undertakings relating to the shares subscribed in the framework of the Capital Increase.
Impact of the Capital Increase on the share capital
Following the completion of the Capital Increase, the New Shares will represent 47.2% of the share capital of the Company and the Company's total share capital will be EUR 423,315.85 divided into 42,331,585 shares. For illustration purposes, a shareholder holding 1% of the Company's share capital prior to the Capital Increase, will hold 0.5275% of the Company's share capital upon completion of the Capital Increase (or 0.5060% on a fully-diluted basis).
Ownership interest (%) On a non-diluted basis On a fully diluted basis(1) Before the issuance of the New Shares 1.0000% 0.9253% After the issuance of the New Shares 0.5275% 0.5060%
(1) After issuance of 1,803,850 new shares resulting from the exercise of all the existing dilutive securities (warrants, founder warrants (BSPCE), free share allocations, and convertible bonds).
Evolution of the shareholding structure following the Capital Increase
The shareholding structure of the Company prior to the issuance of the New Shares is set forth below:
Shareholders Number of shares on a non-diluted basis % of capital on a non-diluted basis % of voting rights on a non-diluted basis % of capital on a fully-diluted basis % of voting rights on a fully-diluted basis Holding Incubatrice 210,970 0.94% 1.19% 0.87% 1.12% Truffle Capital 5,094,579 22.81% 33.16% 21.11% 31.19% Sofinnova Partners 2,529,739 11.33% 14.10% 10.48% 13.26% Invus 2,041,422 9.14% 7.14% 8.46% 6.72% TCG Crossover 1,688,000 7.56% 5.90% 6.99% 5.55% Venrock 1,463,000 6.55% 5.12% 6.06% 4.81% Deeptrack 1,126,000 5.04% 3.94% 4.67% 3.70% Sante Holding 703,080 3.15% 2.46% 3.31% 2.63% Management 156,371 0.70% 1.03% 3.00% 2.83% Board (except Truffle Capital, Sofinnova Partners and Sante Holding) 275,000 1.23% 0.96% 1.48% 1.17% Employees 6,914 0.03% 0.03% 0.20% 0.16% Consultants 400 0.002% 0.003% 0.19% 0.15% Others* 630,561 2.82% 2.61% 6.64% 5.66% Treasury shares 13,334 0.06% 0.00% 0.06% 0.00% Float 6,392,215 28.62% 22.36% 26.48% 21.03% Total 22,331,585 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
*Other: long-standing minority shareholders or stock subscription warrant (BSA)/founder warrant (BCE) holders, Kepler Cheuvreux (based on the ownership disclosure thresholds declared on July 3, 2019) and former employees of the Company, former Board members and certain committee members.
The issuance of the New Shares will have the following impact on the allocation of the share capital and the voting rights of the Company:
Shareholders Number of shares on a non-diluted basis % of capital on a non-diluted basis % of voting rights on a non-diluted basis % of capital on a fully-diluted basis % of voting rights on a fully-diluted basis Holding Incubatrice 210,970 0.50% 0.70% 0.48% 0.67% Truffle Capital 5,094,579 12.03% 19.51% 11.54% 18.81% Sofinnova Partners 4,064,739 9.60% 11.45% 9.21% 11.04% Invus 4,191,422 9.90% 8.63% 9.50% 8.32% TCG Crossover 4,338,000 10.25% 8.93% 9.83% 8.61% Venrock 2,578,000 6.09% 5.31% 5.84% 5.12% Deeptrack 3,126,000 7.38% 6.43% 7.08% 6.20% Sante Holding 953,080 2.25% 1.96% 2.38% 2.08% Management 156,371 0.37% 0.61% 1.64% 1.71% Board (except Truffle Capital, Sofinnova Partners and Sante Holding) 275,000 0.65% 0.57% 0.81% 0.71% Employees 6,914 0.02% 0.02% 0.11% 0.10% Consultants 400 0.001% 0.002% 0.10% 0.09% Others* 630,561 1.49% 1.54% 3.63% 3.41% Treasury shares 13,334 0.03% 0.00% 0.03% 0.00% Investors in the Capital Increase (other than Investors listed above) 10,300,000 24.33% 21.20% 23.34% 20.44% Float 6,392,215 15.10% 13.16% 14.48% 12.68% Total 42,331,585 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
* Other: long-standing minority shareholders or stock subscription warrant (BSA)/founder warrant (BCE) holders, Kepler Cheuvreux (based on the ownership disclosure thresholds declared on July 3, 2019) and former employees of the Company, former Board members and certain committee members.
Advisors
SVB Securities, LifeSci Capital, and Bryan, Garnier & Co acted as financial advisors for the Capital Increase.
Dechert LLP acted as legal advisor to the Company in connection with the Capital Increase.
Cooley LLP and Gide acted as legal advisors to the financial advisors.
Update on Company activities
The Company has developed a portfolio of drug candidates targeting various inflammatory diseases. Its most advanced drug candidate, obefazimod, is in clinical development for the treatment of UC. The Company also plans to advance the clinical development of obefazimod in Crohn's disease ("CD") and RA, subject to the availability of resources and funding.
Historically, the Company's research programs were organized into three distinct platforms (a "Modulation of RNA Biogenesis" platform, an "Immune Stimulation" platform and a "Polyclonal Antibodies" platform). To date, the Company is focusing its resources on the development of its Modulation of RNA biogenesis platform. In particular, the Company is focused on the anti-inflammatory field, from which its lead drug candidate, obefazimod (formerly named ABX464), and the new drug candidate, ABX711, an active metabolite of obefazimod in early-stage development, have resulted. In the absence of progress on partnership research in the second half of 2022, the Company has decided to put the ABX196 program on hold.
At this time, priority is given to the Phase 3 program in UC, which consists of an international trial of 1,200 patients suffering from moderate to severe UC at 600 investigator sites covering North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The Phase 3 program was initiated in the first half of 2022 and the first patient in the United States was enrolled on October 11, 2022. Enrolment of the first patients in the other jurisdictions will take place during 2023.
To the Company's knowledge, obefazimod is the only small molecule drug candidate in clinical development with a mechanism of action that is designed to specifically induce the intracellular production of a microRNA called miR-124, a potent anti-inflammatory agent. In its Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of UC, which included 252 patients across 17 different countries, obefazimod met the primary endpoint of a statistically significant reduction in the Modified Mayo Score, the standard measure of disease severity, as well as the secondary endpoints of endoscopic improvement, clinical response, clinical remission and reduction in fecal calprotectin, compared to placebo. Durable clinical remission was observed in the one-year maintenance studies, as well as clinical activity in patients already refractory to advanced therapies: of the 222 patients who completed the Phase 2b induction trial, 217 (97.7%) participated in an open-label maintenance trial to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy profile of obefazimod for up to two years. After the first year of oral administration of obefazimod 50 mg once daily: (i) 119 patients (or 54.8%) of the 217 patients enrolled in the maintenance trial) were in clinical remission; and (ii) of the 124 patients with a clinical response after induction, 82 (66.1%) achieved clinical remission. In addition, the safety and tolerability profile of obefazimod has been favorable to date, after more than 1,000 subjects have been treated as per November 30, 2022, of which more than 200 subjects have been treated for at least one year, including over 150 subjects who received treatment for two years or more.
The next steps envisaged for the Phase 3 program for obefazimod for the treatment of UC are (i) obtaining the first results of the induction trials at the end of 2024, (ii) obtaining the first results of the maintenance trial at the end of 2025, and (iii) submission of marketing authorization applications in Europe and the United States by 2026. At this stage, the Company's programs for obefazimod for the treatment of CD and RA are suspended until the necessary financing is obtained. The Company will seek such financing once it has been able to complete the financing of the entire Phase 3 program for UC. Therefore, the Company does not currently have an established timetable for the advancement of its programs for obefazimod for the treatment of CD and RA.
The Company's primary objective is to develop and commercialize obefazimod for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including UC. To achieve its objective, the key elements of the Company's strategy are as follows:
Advance obefazimod through pivotal Phase 3 program for the treatment of UC,
Advance the clinical development of obefazimod in other inflammatory diseases, including CD and RA, subject to the availability of resources and funding,
Further develop relationships with manufacturing partners to continue to rapidly expand obefazimod manufacturing capabilities, and
To discover, develop and scale up future new drug candidates for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.
Update on December 31, 2022 equity and indebtedness position
The following table, based on the Company's unaudited financial information, presents the position of the Company's equity and net financial debt as of December 31, 2022, prepared under French generally accepted accounting principles.
The lines "Current liabilities" and "Non-current liabilities" in the table show all current and non-current liabilities of the Company. Lines A to M of the table show current and non-current financial liabilities.
Net equity and indebtedness (in thousands of euros / unaudited) December 31, 2022
(unaudited) Total current liabilities (including the current portion of non-current liabilities) 13,809 - secured 1,239(1) - guaranteed 8,252(2) - unsecured / unguaranteed 4,318 Total non-current liabilities (excluding the current portion of non-current liabilities) 39,700 - secured 3,761 - guaranteed 4,883 - unsecured / unguaranteed 31,057 Net equity - Share capital 223 - Legal reserve 0 - Other reserves(3) 41,952 Total 42,175
(1) The Societe Generale loan subscribed by the Company is guaranteed by the French State.
(2) In connection with the Kreos loans, security interests have been granted over the Company's main tangible and intangible assets, in particular its goodwill, the intellectual property rights relating to its main drug candidates, and a pledge of the Company's bank accounts and receivables.
(3) Calculated as of June 30, 2022, in accordance with the data provided in the 2022 half-year financial report.
Net debt of the Company (in thousands of euros / unaudited) December 31, 2022
(unaudited) A - Cash and cash equivalents 26,944 B - Cash equivalent 6 C - Other current financial assets 0 D - Liquidity (A + B + C) 26,950 E - Current financial liabilities (including bonds, but excluding the current portion of non-current financial liabilities) F - Current portion of non-current financial debts 13,809 G - Current financial debt (E + F) 13,809 H - Net current financial debt (G - D) -13,140 I - Non-current financial debt (excluding the current portion and bonds) 39,700 J - Debt instruments 0 K - Non-current trade and other payables 0 L - Non-current financial debt (I + J + K) 39,700 M - Total net financial debt (H + L) 26,560
Information available to the public and risk factors
Detailed information regarding the Company, including its business, financial information, results, prospects and related risk factors are contained in the Company's 2022 Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorite des marches financiers (the "AMF") on April 28, 2022 under number D.22-0372, as amended by the first amendment filed with the AMF on September 2, 2022 under number D.22-0372-A01 and the second amendment to be filed with the AMF. This document, as well as other regulated information and all of the Company's press releases, are available on the website of the Company (www.abivax.com).
Your attention is drawn to the risk factors related to the Company and its activities presented in chapter 3 of its 2022 Universal Registration Document, as amended by its first amendment filed with the AMF on September 2, 2022, under number 22-0372-A01. These documents are available on the websites of the Company (www.abivax.com) and the AMF (www.amf-france.org).
The Company will file, in connection with the Capital Increase, a prospectus to the AMF for the purposes of the listing of the New Shares, which will include a securities note (note d'operation) and a second amendment to the 2022 Universal Registration Document. The second amendment to the 2022 Universal Registration Document will include an update of the liquidity risk and the dilution risk. Additionally, the securities note will include specific risks related to the instruments issued in the context of the Capital Increase.
This press release does not constitute a prospectus under the Prospectus Regulation (as defined below) or an offer of securities to the public.
About Abivax (www.abivax.com)
Abivax is a Phase 3 clinical stage biotechnology company, focused on developing therapeutics that modulate the immune system to treat patients with chronic inflammatory diseases. Abivax, founded by Truffle Capital, is listed on Euronext compartment B (ISIN: FR0012333284 - Mnemo: ABVX). Based in Paris and Montpellier, Abivax's lead drug candidate, obefazimod (ABX464), is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. More information on the company is available at www.abivax.com. Follow us on Twitter @ABIVAX_.
Contacts
Abivax
Communications
Regina Jehle
regina.jehle@abivax.com
+33 6 24 50 69 63 Investors
LifeSci Advisors
Ligia Vela-Reid
lvela-reid@lifesciadvisors.com
+44 7413 825310 Press Relations & Investors Europe
MC Services AG
Anne Hennecke
anne.hennecke@mc-services.eu
+49 211 529 252 22 Public Relations France
Actifin
Ghislaine Gasparetto
ggasparetto@actifin.fr
+33 6 21 10 49 24 Public Relations France
Primatice
Thomas Roborel de Climens
thomasdeclimens@primatice.com
+33 6 78 12 97 95 Public Relations USA
Rooney Partners LLC
Jeanene Timberlake
jtimberlake@rooneypartners.com
+1 646 770 8858
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, all statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release about future events are subject to, without limitation, (i) change without notice, (ii) factors beyond the Company's control, (iii) clinical trial results, (iv) regulatory requirements (including, among other things, the ability of the Company to obtain regulatory approval for its products), (v) increased manufacturing costs, (vi) market access, (vii) competition and (viii) potential claims on its products or intellectual property. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as "target," "believe," "expect," "aim," "intend," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "objective," "project," "will," "can have," "likely," "should," "would," "could" and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control that could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the expected results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. A description of these risks, contingencies and uncertainties can be found in the documents filed by the Company with the AMF, including the 2022 Universal Registration Document, as well as in the documents that may be published in the future by the Company. Furthermore, these forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates are made only as of the date of this press release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to, and will not, update any forward-looking statements, forecasts or estimates to reflect any subsequent changes that the Company becomes aware of, except as required by law.
This press release has been prepared in French and English. In the event of any differences between the texts, the French language version shall supersede.
Disclaimer
This press release may not be released, published or distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America, Australia, Canada or Japan or to U.S. persons. This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute either an offer to sell or purchase, or the solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase, securities of Abivax (the "Company").
No communication or information in respect of the offering by the Company of any securities mentioned in this press release may be distributed to the public in any jurisdiction where registration or approval is required. No steps have been taken or will be taken in any jurisdiction where such steps would be required. The offering or subscription of the Company's securities may be subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. None of the Company and SVB Securities LLC, LifeSci Capital LLC, Bryan, Garnier & Co. Limited and Bryan Garnier Securities SAS (the "Financial Advisors") takes any responsibility for any violation of any such restrictions by any person.
This press release does not, and shall not, in any circumstances, constitute a public offering, a sale offer nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer, of securities. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.
This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of the Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended (the "Prospectus Regulation").
With respect to the Member States of the European Economic Area (including France) (the "Member States"), no action has been or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of the securities referred to herein requiring a publication of a prospectus in any Member State. As a result, the securities of the Company may not and will not be offered in any Member State except in accordance with the exemptions set forth in Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, or under any other circumstances which do not require the publication by the Company of a prospectus pursuant to Article 1 of the Prospectus Regulation and/or to applicable regulations of that relevant Member State.
For the purposes of the provision above, the expression "offer to the public" in relation to any shares of the Company in any Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any securities, as the same may be varied in that Member State.
This document does not constitute an offer to the public in France and the securities referred to in this press release can only be offered or sold in France pursuant to Article L. 411-2, 1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code (Code monetaire et financier) to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifies) acting for their own account, as defined in Article 2 point (e) of the Prospectus Regulation. In addition, in accordance with the authorization granted by the general meeting of the Company's shareholders dated November 9, 2022, only the persons pertaining to the categories specified in the 4th resolution of such general meeting may subscribe to the offering of New Shares.
This document may not be distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States. This document does not constitute an offer of securities for sale nor the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction where such offer may be restricted. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The securities of the Company have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, and the Company does not intend to make a public offering of its securities in the United States.
The distribution of this document (which term shall include any form of communication) is restricted pursuant to Section 21 (Restrictions on financial promotion) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FSMA"). This document is only being distributed to and directed at qualified investors as defined in Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("EUWA") who (i) are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) have professional experience in matters relating to investments and who fall within the definition of investment professionals in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) (the "Financial Promotion Order"), (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the Financial Promotion Order or (iv) are persons to whom this communication may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons referred to in (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) above together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This document must not be acted on or relied on in the United Kingdom by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to Relevant Persons, and will be engaged in only with such persons in the United Kingdom.
The securities referred to in this press release may not and will not be offered, sold or purchased in Australia, Canada or Japan. The information contained in this press release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in Australia, Canada or Japan.
Prohibition of sales to European Economic Area retail investors
No action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make available any securities to any retail investor in the European Economic Area. For the purposes of this provision:
the expression "retail investor" means a person who is one (or more) of the following: a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, "MiFID II"); or a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97, as amended, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or not a "qualified investor" as defined in the Prospectus Regulation; and the expression "offer" includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the Company's securities.
Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the New Shares or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the European Economic Area has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Shares or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area may be unlawful under the PRIIPS Regulation.
Prohibition of sales to UK retail Investors
No action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make available any securities to any retail investor in the United Kingdom. For the purposes of this provision:
the expression "retail investor" means a person who is one (or more) of the following: a retail client, as defined in Article 2(8) of Regulation (EU) - 2017/565, as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; or a customer within the meaning of the provisions of the FSMA and any rules or regulations made under the FSMA to implement Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client, as defined in point (8) of Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) - 600/2014, as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; or not a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the EUWA; and the expression "offer" includes the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the Company's securities.
Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) - 1286/2014, as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the EUWA (the "UK PRIIPs Regulation"), for offering or selling the New Shares or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Shares or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the UK may be unlawful under the UK PRIIPs Regulation.
MIFID II product governance / Professional investors and ECPs only target market - The manufacturers' target market assessment in respect of the New Shares has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the New Shares is eligible counterparties and professional clients, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) all channels for distribution of the New Shares to eligible counterparties and professional clients are appropriate. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the New Shares (a "distributor") should take into consideration the manufacturers' target market assessment; however, a distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the New Shares (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers' target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels.
SOURCE: ABIVAX
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740369/Abivax-Announces-Successful-Oversubscribed-EUR-130M-Cross-Over-Financing-at-Market-Price-with-Top-Tier-US-and-European-Biotech-Investors
Westchester, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Ali Weiss Jewelry has made its mark on the fine jewelry scene with jewelry that is stylish and wearable. The founder of Ali Weiss Jewelry, Ali Weiss, has had a soft spot for jewelry from a young age. A speech therapist by training, Ali embarked on her journey as an entrepreneur selling jewelry for her mentor, Helen Ficarola, before going on to design and sell her own custom pieces. Thanks to her flair for sourcing and designing jewelry that is simple, elegant and stylish, the pop-up events at which she sold her jewelry became highly successful. Today, Ali Weiss Jewelry participates in pop-up events across the United States, is known for its luxury piercing experiences, has one retail store in Westchester County and has ambitious plans to set up another store in the coming quarter.
Ali Weiss
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Commenting on the success of her collection, Ali Weiss said, "I firmly believe that jewelry should not be hidden away, but should be worn, enjoyed and admired. At Ali Weiss Jewelry, we offer a wide range of options so that women can express their own unique personal style through their jewelry. We have jewelry that goes just as well with sweatpants as it does with fine couture. We are one of the few jewelry stores in New York to offer a luxury piercing experience with medical grade sterilization and our own, in-house, highly experienced piercer who is almost always fully booked. We only use real 14k gold jewelry, so quality is never an issue. We specialize in jewelry that you can wear daily but has its own signature style. Our collection has more than 1000 unique styles that I have personally designed and curated. People have different tastes when it comes to jewelry, but there is something for everyone in our collection."
One notable aspect of Ali's collection of designs is that she has an entire range of designs featuring words and phrases like "Love You", "Grateful" and "Be Here Now" as well as some very edgy contemporary designs that appeal to millennials and those belonging to Generation Z. Ali also believes strongly in giving back to the community through profits from certain pieces. For example, 20 percent of the profits from a dog bone piece is given to the North Shore Animal League. The brand is also looking at expanding its charity partnerships in the near future.
Concluded Ali, "For our pop-up events, we collaborate with high-end retailers and fun fitness classes that attract a similar audience but do not offer fine jewelry. We take our jewelry, bring our piercer and offer clients a luxury complimentary piercing experience on-site. Earlier, we used to do this mostly in the Tri-state area but now we are planning to do this across the country." The new store that the brand is planning to open as well as the expansion of pop-up piercing parties will enhance the brand's growth story.
Through her jewelry Ali is not only giving women jewelry that they can use to express their style, but also an outlet to express their very own individuality. In a world where women are often at a disadvantage due to their gender, Ali Weiss Jewelry is all about empowering women to break the mold and create their own unique look and style.
About Ali Weiss Jewelry
Ali Weiss Jewelry is a fine jewelry and luxury piercing showroom that specializes in simple but elegant jewelry that is all 14k gold. The collection offers a wide range of designs to suit all tastes, ranging from classic to contemporary.
Media Contact:
Name: Cooper Weiss
Email: cooper@aliweissjewelry.com
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155766
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of Siniora Food Industries Company's strategic plan and its efforts to expand in regional and international markets, Mr. Tarek Omar Aggad, chairman of the Board of Directors of Siniora Food Industries Company- Saudi Arabia, a subsidiary of Siniora Food Industries Company - Jordan, signed an agreement with Engineer Majid bin Rafid Al -Arqoubi, CEO of the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON) that will see MODON allocate a piece of land with an area of 25,000 square meters for long-term use in the second industrial area in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for Siniora to build a factory to produce all types of cold cuts and frozen meat. The estimated cost of this investment is about 140 million Saudi riyals, equivalent to USD 37 million. This announcement was made during Siniora's participation in the Gulfood exhibition, the largest annual food and beverage sourcing event in the world, held in Dubaibetween February 20 and February 24, 2023.
Eng. Al-Arqoubi welcomed the partnership, which will enable Siniora to establish its first factory in Saudi Arabia. He added that this aligns with MODON's efforts to contribute to enhancing food security and engaging with the Kingdom's aspiration in this regard. He also emphasized the importance of such partnerships in developing the economy, transferring knowledge, and creating new job opportunities in the Saudi market.
Aggad stated that this step comes in line with the company's expansion strategy in regional markets, particularly in Saudi Arabia, the largest in the region, with the aim of boosting the company's sales and increasing its market share. This, in turn, will enhance Siniora's position, revenues, and profits in the future by increasing the company's production capacity through the construction of a new state-of-the-art factory in Saudi Arabia. Aggad added that Siniora currently occupies the largest market share in the Jordanian and Palestinian markets and aims to attain a dominant position in regional markets, particularly in the Gulf, as one of the leading industrial companies in the food industries sector in the region.
Also speaking about the agreement, Siniora CEO Majdi Al-Sharif said that with more than a century of experience in the food industry, Siniora aims to share its expertise with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by creating more than 200 job opportunities. He added that the first phase of the project is anticipated to conclude in the second half of 2024, noting that the factory, once completed, is expected to have an annual production capacity of approximately 20,000 tons and an anticipated export rate of around 20% of the production capacity.
Siniora is a public shareholding company listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE: SNRA). It is a leader in the meat manufacturing industry in the region through four factories equipped with state-of-the-art technologies in Palestine, Jordan, UAE and Turkey. Siniora produces over 100 types of cold cuts, canned luncheons, and frozen meat. The company also produces the plant-based product Badeel, which is the vegan meat alternative, a soy-free and gluten-free product that comes in four categories - burgers, minced, sausages, and nuggets. For more information: www.siniorafood.com
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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / In 1972, a handful of hunters in Nassau County, Florida asked Rayonier for exclusive access to hunt a parcel of its land, where there were growing numbers of deer, turkeys, and quail.
Wildlife populations that had declined because of habitat loss at the turn of the century were starting to make a comeback in Rayonier's pine forests, planted in the 1930s. Rayonier was already leasing some of its lands to the state for public recreation, but these hunters wanted a place where they could get away from the crowds and competition for wild game.
Rayonier accepted the group's offer, launching a hunting business that today has more than 23,000 customers hunting on about 2 million acres of active timberlands throughout the U.S.
Mike Edwards, a lifelong Florida resident and 34-year veteran of the Fish and Wildlife Commission, says he saw positive changes for the land and wildlife as Rayonier began working directly with hunters. He was a game warden assigned to Rayonier land for 27 years of his career. When it was open for public recreation, it was tough to enforce regulations.
Because the property was not gated and few officers were assigned to the area, people dumped household garbage, stole expensive forestry equipment, and even poached wildlife. But as Rayonier started granting exclusive access to hunters, Mike saw less criminal activity on the land and improvements in wildlife numbers.
In contrast to the public areas, the hunters who paid for access took a management approach to the land, setting limits on the animals they harvested. Mike says the result was "a tremendous increase in whitetail deer and turkeys, which gave a sense of ownership to the hunters because their actions actually improved numbers."
The initial group of hunters in Nassau formed a hunting club that has maintained its relationship with the company to this day. Their children and grandchildren are now members and the group's stewardship ethics have grown even stronger over the past 50 years.
For Rayonier's part, hunters all over the U.S. have become crucial partners serving as the company's eyes and ears on the land, helping to protect its assets. As one member of the land resources team, which manages the hunting program, says, Rayonier and its hunting customers have a "symbiotic relationship" not unlike those between many wild species in the forest.
Hunters are the company's first line of defense
With more than 2 million acres of forest land in the U.S., the company has an extensive land base to monitor. Rayonier Resource Unit Leader Jeremy Flood says hunting customers quickly report issues like road and bridge washouts, bug damage to pine trees, and trespassers.
Because hunters are paying for access, they expect to be able to navigate the land efficiently and safely. They want the habitat to remain healthy enough to support wildlife populations. And they want to report potential poachers and deter them from returning. Jeremy says this is great for his team, as it helps them act swiftly to protect Rayonier's valuable assets.
While forestry operations teams and contractors are on the land during working hours, hunters spend early mornings, evenings, and weekends hunting the properties, creating a 24/7 presence.
"It's really neat to see that our hunting customers create a first line of defense for the land base on a whole host of issues," says Rayonier's Senior Manager of Business Development Matt Gelston. "We have been able to successfully fight wildfires early. When we have an incident like a major theft or commercial dumping, we can interview hunting customers, retrieve game camera photos and piece together a fact pattern to prosecute criminal cases."
Recently, a hunting club member in Washington State was camping out on Rayonier land when he spotted a trespasser trying to steal cedar early one morning. The hunter quickly contacted a Rayonier team member and the suspect is now facing felony charges.
Hunting Rayonier land is a generational legacy for outdoor families
While isolated trespass events do happen, Mike Edwards (the Florida game warden who was around during the early days of the hunting business) says it is much less common than on open-access public land. Now retired, he serves as president of his Rayonier hunt club.
Mike says it has been the perfect place to teach his kids to hunt in a safe and controlled environment. It's also given them a spot to spend time outdoors, away from the crowds on public land. Outside of hunting season, kids in his club scout the property for wildlife, go fishing in its creeks, and help maintain food plots. He says there is always something to be done in terms of management, which gives families a chance to enjoy the outdoors together, making memories that will last a lifetime.
"I don't even know how much it's meant to me that I could bring my kids and teach them to walk and hunt the ground where my dad killed his first turkey," Mike says.
Clyde Davis, another hunting customer and member of Mike Edwards' hunt club, has cherished the time spent hunting Rayonier land, where his father and grandfather hunted and he later taught his own children to hunt. Last year, he and his son-in-law took one of the biggest bucks harvested by the hunt club.
"It's good connectivity with my daughter and son-in-law to have this experience," Clyde said. Together, they processed the deer and tried methods of cooking that were new to Clyde. Though his parents and grandparents cooked wild game, he says his son-in-law is a "foodie" and more sophisticated in his culinary style. "They're teaching me about brining and preparation that I didn't grow up learning. It's a generational experience in reverse because I'm learning from my kids too," he said.
Clyde, whose father worked for Rayonier, has an appreciation for the benefits Rayonier's forestry operations give to hunters.
"In biology and game management, there is something called the 'edge effect,' he explains. "When Rayonier comes in and harvests a tract with timber, it creates an edge between the harvested tract and adjoining tracts. That edge between the two and the exposure of the ground to sunlight creates a smorgasbord of food for wild game."
"Hunting clubs get the benefit of the environment that Rayonier has created."
Rayonier's core values promote healthy hunting culture
Clyde, Mike, and others are proud of the ties they've strengthened with the land. This legacy began with previous generations, but these hunters know that if they want future generations to benefit, they must focus on core values that promote a healthy relationship between their clubs and Rayonier, as well as with the land itself.
When Mike's hunt club has an opening for new members, he interviews applicants to ensure their values are aligned. He only extends invitations to hunters with responsible outdoor ethics and a sense of stewardship.
Clyde says he appreciates Rayonier's emphasis on safety, outlined in its Hunting Code of Conduct:
"Rayonier has been very active in establishing the safe practices that they require of hunting clubs.
For example, Rayonier encourages the use of sign-in boards in which members pick specific areas within a parcel of land that they will hunt on a particular day. This communication tool, he says, prevents hunters from putting one another at risk in the woods and allows the club to make sure everyone makes it out of the woods at the end of the day. The company also has guidelines for deer stand and feeder placement to ensure a safer hunting environment.
When he was club president, Clyde suspended members for violating safety rules and says Rayonier's Code of Conduct helped hold members accountable.
Building for future generations
In the 50 years since the hunting business began, Rayonier and hunters have built a strong relationship, based on a mutual appreciation for the abundant natural resources in Rayonier's forests.
"It's a partnership with our customers, to manage the land," says Rob Fancher, Director of Land Resources and Development. "It's a huge business, over 2 million acres. Our team can't do it by ourselves. It takes forestry operations, the Land Resources team and our hunting and rec customers to do it all."
While many properties are booked year after year by the same hunt clubs, there are some properties available for new groups. If the past is any indication of the future, we expect to see more hunters and their families enjoying the outdoors together, enjoying all that Rayonier land has to offer and helping to protect its forests.
To learn more about the hunting and recreation program, visit rayonierhunting.com .
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Rayonier on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Rayonier
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/rayonier
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: Rayonier
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740388/Rayonier-and-Hunters-Work-Together-for-Healthy-Forests
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with Sitka Gold, RevoluGROUP and Skyharbour 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.
Sitka Gold (CSE:SIG) expands extent of gold mineralization at the Alpha Gold Project
Sitka (SIG) released results from the final drill holes of the 2022 drill program at the Alpha Gold Project. The results confirm all elements of a large Carlin-type gold system at the project. Mapping has identified, and drilling is confirming a north-northwest anticline broadly controlling gold mineralization just like at Goldrush 40 km to the north-northwest. Mike Burke, Director and VP of Corporate Development, sat down with Coreena Robertson to add further context to the results.
For the full interview with Mike Burke and to learn about Sitka, click here.
RevoluGROUP Canada (TSXV:REVO) equity investment reaches final stages
RevoluGROUP has signed an addendum to a binding MOU ratifying the completion of its obligations under a proposed equity investment. On February 21st, 2023, RevoluGROUP signed an addendum to a binding MOU regarding a share equity investment by a European entity allied with a UAE-based financial consultancy firm. CEO Steve Marshall met with Coreena Robertson to discuss the agreement.
For the full interview with Steve Marshall and to learn about RevoluGROUP, click here.
Skyharbour Resources (TSXV:SYH) announces exploration agreement with English River First Nation
Skyharbour Resources (SYH) has signed an agreement with English River First Nation (ERFN) for the exploration of the Russell Lake and Moore Uranium Projects in Saskatchewan. ERFN will support Skyharbour's exploration of the projects, and Skyharbour will support ERFN's interests in community development and environmental protection. Skyharbour CEO Jordan Trimble sat down with Coreena Robertson to discuss the agreement.
For the full interview with Jordan Trimble and to learn about Skyharbour Resources, 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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SOURCE:?The Market Herald
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740397/The-Power-Play-by-The-Market-Herald-Releases-New-Interviews-with-Sitka-Gold-RevoluGROUP-and-Skyharbour-Resources-Discussing-Their-Latest-News
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Enbridge
Germany, Japan, South Korea . . . they're knocking on our door. The world wants Canada's energy, specifically Canadian liquified natural gas (LNG), as countries shift away from Russian imports.
To be sure, an energy crisis driven by the need for energy security is well underway. But there's much more to consider as global demand for energy grows and Canada's important role comes into focus.
Such was the emphatic message Wednesday at the Rideau Club in Ottawa from Greg Ebel, President and CEO of Enbridge, who along with fellow panelists offered insights during a Policy Magazine-hosted discussion titled LNG and Net Zero.
Ebel, recently appointed top executive at North America's largest energy infrastructure company, sat alongside fellow panelists Karen Ogen-Toews, CEO of the First Nations LNG Alliance, Ed Greenspon, President and CEO of the Public Policy Forum, Policy Magazine Editor and Publisher Ian MacDonald, and award-winning broadcast journalist Don Newman.
Yes, Europe and Asia want our energy to protect their economies and to displace fuel like coal to combat climate change. But there is also another side of the energy crisis that doesn't get enough attention, Ebel noted. Consider this. According to the World Health Organization last year:
733 million people still had no access to electricity.
2.4 billion people were still cooking using unclean fuels such as plastic materials and dung detrimental to their health.
By 2030, the number of people without access to electricity will be 670 million - a population 20 times that of Canada's.
Canada, which leads in reducing the 1.5% of global emissions created within our borders thanks to government, industry and individual efforts, could set its sights on the 98.5% of global emissions created outside of Canada. This can be done with LNG, Ebel said, describing the Canadian LNG advantage that comes from the use of hydroelectricity to power facilities; a cold climate that requires less energy to produce LNG; and shorter shipping distances to key markets in Asia.
A further strength of Canadian LNG comes from Indigenous equity partnerships, which not only allow projects to tap into environmental expertise that is second to none but help Indigenous partner communities prosper.
While the business and ethical cases for more Canadian LNG now are strong, Ottawa luncheon-goers heard there's a roadmap, complete with its share of roadblocks, for industry, government and Indigenous communicates to follow.
First, as a nation, we need to align and rally around the belief there's more that Canada needs to do on the world stage. "We should embrace this responsibility, not shirk from it," Ebel said.
We then need to focus on attracting investment and on fixing the single biggest obstacle standing in the way. Canada's regulatory system, which impedes action, slows development and erodes confidence among proponents and international LNG customers, and has to be turned on its head, said Ebel. We need to show that projects-built the right way-can actually get built.
"Canada definitely has a business case for LNG, and we have an obligation to help and to do so in a truly Canadian way, which is to say, to do the right thing, for the right reasons, in the right way-and to do it now," Ebel said.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Enbridge on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Enbridge
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/enbridge
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: Enbridge
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740398/The-Case-for-Canadian-Liquefied-Natural-Gas
Portland, Oregon--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Portland Leather Goods, the go-to for high quality leather bags at an affordable price, has been named in the Top 100 Digital Growth Companies for 2022 by SimilarWeb. Each year, SimilarWeb releases a Top100 List for the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer fashion brands globally, and to be named on this notable list is a great honor for Portland Leather Goods. The leather company has been growing rapidly due to its ability to provide high-quality leather bags at a reasonable price, and their massive popularity has led them to be named on the SimilarWeb D100 list as one of the Top 100 growing companies making waves in the global industry.
Portland Leather Goods
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"To be named on the SimilarWeb Top 100 List of Digital Growth Companies for 2022 is an incredible accomplishment for our brand," stated Curtis Matsko, CEO of Portland Leather Goods. "Seven years ago, we started this company in a garage with only an exacto knife and a scrap of leather, but it appears our dedication and hard work have paid off."
About: Portland Leather Goods has quickly become the go-to for high quality leather bags at an affordable price. Their commitment to quality, sustainability, and community have set them apart from the rest, and their products will continue to make people feel good about their purchases. The company's commitment to eco-friendliness has also earned them a cult-like following. Their hides are sourced from the U.S. beef industry, and the tanneries they partner with are award-winning and meet the highest standards for eco-forward practices. In addition to their commitment to quality, Portland Leather Goods also values community. They own and operate their artisan workshop, The Studio, located in the heart of Leon, Mexico. This close proximity to the two most award-winning tanneries in North America reduces environmental impact and fosters building relationships.
To learn more about Portland Leather Goods, go to www.portlandleathergoods.com.
Contact: Curtis Matsko
hello@portlandleathergoods.com
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155785
2023 Drilling Program Announced
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Bear Creek Mining Corporation (TSXV: BCM) (OTCQX: BCEKF) (BVL: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of recent drilling from the Marianas and Rey de Oro deposits at the Mercedes gold mine in Sonora, Mexico. The results highlighted below demonstrate the continuation of gold and silver mineralization at both Marianas and Rey de Oro outside of the currently estimated mineral resources and mineral reserves and provide the basis for an expanded exploration program in 2023. Importantly, much of this drilling has returned intercepts with gold grades that are several times the current head grades being mined at Mercedes.
The Marianas and GAP drilling represent step-outs from the existing underground mining operations along the main Mercedes vein zone. The Rey de Oro drilling represents extensions downdip and along strike of the existing reserves and underground operations. See Figures 1 & 2 below. Significant results include:
Deposit Hole ID From
(meters) To
(meters) Length
(meters) True Width
(meters) Au
(grams/tonne) Ag (grams/tonne) Marianas UG-MR22-105 205.9 208.9 3.1 2.8 5.68 6.00
212.0 215.0 3.1 2.8 12.43 12.00 UG-MR22-106 215.2 216.0 0.8 0.8 41.00 24.00 UG-MR22-107* 130.5 135.0 4.6 4.3 5.15 91.33
225.6 229.2 3.6 3.2 13.14 8.72 UG-MR22-113 162.7 166.1 3.4 3.0 8.47 32.09
242.2 245.4 3.3 3.0 5.02 6.55 UG-MR22-114* 125.7 126.5 0.8 0.7 89.10 192.00
141.3 144.3 2.9 2.8 15.79 151.44 Rey de Oro R22-215D* 381.9 382.8 0.9 0.9 26.20 23.00 UG-RDO23-075 66.3 70.2 3.9 3.5 10.23 182.00 UG-RDO23-077 62.4 63.5 1.1 1.03 15.35 109 GAP M22-934D 126.0 130.0 3.9 2.2 6.47 58.06
* previously reported. See Bear Creek news releases dated November 29, 2022 (UG-MR22-107) and January 4, 2023 (UG-MR22-114 and R22-215D).
The Marianas and Rey de Oro definition drill program returned other low- and medium-grade mineralized intercepts which, while not presently material, establish the locations of mineralized structures that are in many cases proximal to known mineralized bodies and as such represent high priority targets for follow up. See https://bearcreekmining.com/site/assets/files/4544/2023-02-22_full_results_table.pdf for a table of full results.
"Mercedes once again delivers on our expectations and we continue to be very confident in the long-term potential for this operation," states Andrew Swarthout, Director of Bear Creek Mining and the Company's Qualified Person (see NI 43-101 Disclosure, below). He continues, "Our success in intersecting high grade gold mineralization on strike and down dip of established mineral resources and mineral reserves at both Marianas and Rey de Oro has exciting implications for the Mercedes district and the potential for extending the mine life for years to come. We look forward to unlocking the economic potential of recent drill results at Marianas which include high gold grades over mineable widths proximal to existing workings."
2023 Drilling Program
Based on the results generated since acquiring the Mercedes mine in April 2022 Bear Creek sees tremendous exploration, delineation and resource-conversion potential at Mercedes. The Company has allocated US $4.4 million to drilling targets at the mine in 2023 to build on this exploration success and our evolving view of the mineral controls in the district. Plans call for approximately 33,000 meters of surface and underground drilling in the following target categories listed in order of best probability for near-term impacts (see Figure 3 for deposit locations).
Extension and definition drilling - 14,200 meters in 65 drill holes focusing on expansion of mineral resources, and conversion of mineral resources to mineral reserves. Principle targets for this program are the Marianas Rey de Oro, Diluvio and GAP deposits. Additional underground drill stations at Marianas will provide platforms from which to drill at least thirty drill holes collared from positions that provide excellent drill angles to newly discovered high-grade mineralized structures. Drilling at Rey de Oro will test down-plunge of the mineralized corridor from underground drill stations with at least 15 drillholes planned. Drilling at the Diluvio deposit will define the borders of current resources and test the potential of secondary veins. The GAP holes will be drilled from an underground platform to follow up on past surface drilling results. The extension and definition drilling campaigns are expected to have the most immediate and positive impact on mining operations.
Brownfield targets - 11,500 meters in 17 drill holes designed to identify new resources in structurally offset targets near current operating zones. Primary targets include Marianas Deep, San Martin and Klondike Displacements, Neo, and Diluvio North. The brownfields targets provide outstanding potential for medium-term impact owing to the known presence of mineralization and their location proximal to existing workings.
Greenfield targets - 7,000 meters in 12 drill holes exploring the projections of two important highly mineralized trends in the Mercedes district;
the Margarita East structural zone that extends up to 4 kilometers east from the Diluvio - Lupita area, where 2022 drilling identified a blind target within the shallowly dipping Lupita fault.
the northwest projection of the Mercedes structural trend from Marianas to the concession boundary. The potential for continuation of mineralization in this prolific structure is supported by the results of limited prior surface drilling below the post mineral cover and known mineral occurrences on trend but outside of the Mercedes concession.
The greenfield targets are supported by the presence of structural and alteration indicators in past drilling that are typical of mineralized zones elsewhere in the Mercedes district. These indicators are important because a majority of the deposits discovered at Mercedes in recent years, including Lupita and Diluvio, were blind targets.
The critical role of low angle, listric/detachment faulting on mineralization at Mercedes has become increasingly evident and provides a new exploration perspective. These mineralized low angle structures, coupled with the near-vertical veins that dominate the district, allow for broader structural preparation and bulkier ore bodies. These prospective structures become more prevalent approaching areas of post-mineral cover and point to the potential for additional blind discoveries.
Shares for Services
Subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, Bear Creek will issue 176,827 common shares at a deemed price of CAD $0.80 per share to Unison Mining Consulting Pte. Ltd. ("Unison") for work on the Mercedes Gold Mine operating improvement program completed as of January 27, 2023. Following this share issuance, no further shares for services will be issued to Unison in respect of the Mercedes improvement program, which is now completed. Details regarding the improvement program and the terms of the Unison engagement agreement are provided in the Company's news release dated September 6, 2022.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Anthony Hawkshaw
Chief Executive Officer
For further information contact:
Barbara Henderson - VP Corporate Communications
Direct: 604-628-1111
E-mail: barb@bearcreekmining.com
www.bearcreekmining.com
Subscribe to Bear Creek Mining news
Figure 1: Mercedes trend long section
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Figure 2: Rey de Oro long section
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Figure 3: Mercedes Workings and Targets
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NI 43-101 Disclosure
The scientific and technical information presented in this news release is based on work programs and initiatives conducted under the supervision of, and has been reviewed and approved by, Andrew Swarthout, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist, a director of the Company who is a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined in NI 43-101.
All Bear Creek sample and assay results are independently monitored through a quality control / quality assurance ("QA/QC") program that includes the insertion of a minimum of the following for each assay batch of approximately 84 samples: two certified standards, one certified fine blank, one coarse blank and pulp and reject duplicate samples. Logging and sampling at the Mercedes Mine are completed at a secure onsite facility. Drill core is sawn in half on site and half drill-core samples are securely transported to ALS Chemex sample preparation facilities in Hermosillo, Mexico. Sample pulps are sent to ALS Chemex lab in Vancouver, British Columbia for analysis. Gold content is determined by fire assay of a 30-gram charge and silver content is determined by four acid digestion, sample preparation and assay labs are independent from Bear Creek. Bear Creek is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data referred to herein.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding: the prioritization of targets for follow-up drilling; the potential to expand the Mercedes mineral resources, mineral reserves and mine life; the number, distribution and total meterage of planned drilling at Mercedes during 2023; the projected 2023 drill campaign budget; and the potential continuation of mineralization at known deposits and trends within the Mercedes concessions. These forward-looking statements are provided as of the date of this news release and reflect predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events based on the Company's expectations at the time the statements were made, as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to the assumptions: that the location, scope and cost of the Company's planned 2023 drilling will not differ materially from expectations. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and the risk exists that estimates, forecasts, projections, and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions expressed above do not occur, but may include additional risks as described in the Company's latest Annual Information Form, and other disclosure documents filed by the Company on SEDAR. The foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155789
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Visit World Travel Protection at Booth #7029N at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) Convention at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) from Sunday, March 5 to Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
About World Travel Protection
Protecting travellers - and supporting those responsible for their safety - is our business. By helping travellers prevent and mitigate risks - and get the help they need whenever and wherever they need it - our travellers and their risk managers feel empowered, supported, and safe.
About PDAC
PDAC 2023: The World's Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention is the leading event for people, companies and organizations connected to mineral exploration.
This annual convention in Toronto, Canada is known for attracting up to 30,000 attendees from over 130+ countries for its educational programming, networking events, outstanding business opportunities and fun. Since it began in 1932, the PDAC Convention has grown in size, stature and influence. Today, it is the event of choice for the world's mineral industry hosting more than 1,100 exhibitors and 2,500 investors.
For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://www.pdac.ca/convention/attend/registration.
We look forward to seeing you there.
For further information:
World Travel Protection
Dana M Mills
416-996-9538
dana.mills@wtp.ca
www.worldtravelprotection.com
What's the T? by Juno Dawson and Soofiya takes home the UK's sole award for creative educational writing
LONDON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The winner of the 2022 ALCS Educational Writers' Award is WHAT'S THE T?, written by Juno Dawson and illustrated by Soofiya.
Published by Wren & Rook and created for young people aged 14+, WHAT'S THE T? is a no-nonsense guide to all things trans and/or non-binary written by award-winning YA author and former PSHE teacher, Juno Dawson, with drawings by visual artist and illustrator, Soofiya. From identity and expression to coming out and dating, it aims to guide young people (and their parents and carers) through the modern transgender experience, and help them live their best lives, true to who they are.
The independent 2022 judging panel - children's author, Sita Brahmachari; secondary school science teacher, Sean Chuhan; and secondary school librarian, Melissa Craig - praised the winning book for being hugely informative and written in a way that will appeal to a wide audience.
They commented: "Juno Dawson and Soofiya have produced something incredibly special with this book. It is a fantastic guide, not just for young people who may be exploring their own identity and sexuality, but for anyone seeking to understand transgender and non-binary issues. With a powerful charge of optimism and lived experience, it is witty and funny without being flippant, and practical without being dull. We can see it becoming an influential book indeed, with the power to open minds and hearts".
The result of this year's ALCS Educational Writers' Award - the UK's only award for creative educational writing - was announced this evening by poet Karl Nova at the ALCS Annual Awards ceremony at the Goldsmiths' Centre in London. Juno Dawson and Soofiya share prize money of 2,000.
Two runners-up were also announced at the ceremony. MUSICAL TRUTH: A MUSICAL JOURNEY THROUGH MODERN BLACK BRITAIN, by Jeffrey Boakye and illustrated by Ngadi Smart, was praised as, "an extraordinary read, which made our hearts sing" by the judges. THE PLACE FOR ME: STORIES ABOUT THE WINDRUSH GENERATION, by KN Chimbiri, Kevin George, Salena Godden, Judy Hepburn, Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Jermain Jackman, Kirsty Latoya, Katy Massey, EL Norry, Quincy the Comedian, Dame Floella Benjamin, and illustrator, Joelle Avellino. The judges called the collection "an invaluable resource which encourages young people to consider the power of their own voices".THE PLACE FOR ME was produced in partnership with the Black Cultural Archives so as a prize for being a runner-up, ALCS donated 500 to the Black Cultural Archives.
Further information about the winning author and illustrator can be found below. The 2022 award focused on books for children within the 11-18-year-old age bracket, published in 2020 and 2021. WHAT'S THE T?beat off strong competition from the five other titles shortlisted for this year's award. They are:
MUSICAL TRUTH: A Musical Journey through Modern Black Britain, written by Jeffrey Boakye and illustrated by Ngadi Smart (Faber & Faber)
written by and illustrated by (Faber & Faber) A REBEL IN AUSCHWITZ: The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Fought the Nazis From Inside the Camp, written by Jack Fairweather (Scholastic)
written by (Scholastic) THE ART OF DRAG, written by Jake Hall and illustrated by Sofie Birkin , Helen Li & Jasyot Singh Hans (Nobrow)
written by and illustrated by , & Jasyot Singh Hans (Nobrow) SILENCE IS NOT AN OPTION: You Can Impact the World for Change, written by Stuart Lawrence and designed by Richard Smith (Scholastic)
written by and designed by (Scholastic) THE PLACE FOR ME: Stories About the Windrush Generation, written by KN Chimbiri, Kevin George , Salena Godden , Judy Hepburn , Ashley Hickson-Lovence , Jermain Jackman , Kirsty Latoya , Katy Massey , EL Norry & Quincy the Comedian; illustrated by Joelle Avellino and designed by Richard Smith
The ALCS Educational Writers' Award was established in 2008 by ALCS and the Society of Authors, "to celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity, encourages students to read widely and builds up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications".
EWA22 ALCSAwards
22 February 2023
EDITOR'S NOTES
About the winning author
Juno Dawson is a novelist, screenwriter, journalist, and a columnist for Attitude Magazine. Her books include the global bestsellers, THIS BOOK IS GAY and CLEAN. She won the 2020 YA Book Prize for MEAT MARKET, and her first adult fantasy trilogy HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL COVEN launched in 2022, becoming an instant best-seller.
Juno, who grew up in West Yorkshire also writes for television and has multiple shows in development both in the UK and US. Her debut short film was THE BIRTH OF VENUS (BBC 2020) and she created the first official Doctor Who scripted podcast DOCTOR WHO: REDACTED (BBC Sounds 2022). An occasional actress and model, Juno had a cameo in the BBC's I MAY DESTROY YOU (2020), and a recurring role in HOLBY CITY (BBC 2021).
Juno lives in Brighton and is a part of the queer cabaret collective known as CLUB SILENCIO. In 2014, she became a School Role Model for the charity STONEWALL.
About the winning illustrator
Soofiya's design practice centres around illustration, visual identity and book design, with clients in the arts, cultural and activist sectors. Soofiya's art practice and writings aim to articulate a commentary on gender, race, politics and bodies through a DIY and therapeutically informed approach.
Soofiya has worked as a lecturer in design and arts at Universities and HE institutions nationally and internationally in the UK and Xiamen, China. Soofiya is currently an associate lecturer at UAL on their MA Internet Equalities course as well as a sessional lecturer at Ravensbourne and Brighton University.
About the 2022 judges
Sita Brahmachari is an internationally award-winning author of numerous novels, short stories and plays for children and young adults. She has been Writer in Residence for Book Trust and is currently resident writer at Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants.
Sean Chuhan has been teaching science in the northeast since 2007, working in schools across the region. He is currently Assistant Head of 6th Form at Nunthorpe Academy in Middlesborough, and a firm believer that books inspire students to explore and expand their horizons.
Melissa Craig was born into a house full of books and was a student librarian at school. Today she is a secondary school librarian, and as well as her traditional role of inspiring students to read, she believes that the librarians' role is also to promote and develop information literacy skills.
Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS)
ALCS is a not-for-profit organisation started by writers for the benefit of all types of writers. Owned by its members, ALCS collects money due for secondary uses of writers' work. It is designed to support authors and their creativity; ensure they receive fair payment and see their rights are respected. It promotes and teaches the principles of copyright and campaigns for a fair deal. It represents over 118,000 members, and since 1977 has paid over 600million to writers.
alcs.co.uk
Society of Authors (SoA)
The Society of Authors is the UK trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators, at all stages of their careers. They have more than 12,000 members and have been advising individuals and speaking out for the profession for more than a century. In 2021, they awarded over 900,000 in grants and prizes (for fiction, non-fiction, poetry and translation). In all the Society of Authors administers twenty-one prizes, including the ALCS Educational Writers' Award and the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award.
societyofauthors.org
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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Pentair
Dr. Keith Mayes (seated left) joins members of Pentair's Black Employee Network at the event in Golden Valley, Minnesota.
As published on the Pentair blog
By: Lori-Ann Harrington and Kristina Foster, co-leaders of the Pentair Black Employee Network
Black History Month is a time to recognize, learn about and celebrate the contributions of African Americans. In acknowledgment of the critical role that education plays in the advancement of Black people, Pentair's Black Employee Network (BEN) is highlighting the historical and current importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other cultural organizations in shaping future innovators and leaders.
As part of our Black History Month celebrations, we were proud to host Dr. Keith Mayes, a professor in the Department of African American & African Studies at the University of Minnesota, for a discussion centered on equity in education and its impact on inclusion, diversity and representation across various professional fields and industries. Pentair employees gathered in-person and virtually for his presentation, "The Color of Achievement: Black Education as the Foundation for Freedom and Equality."
With more than 100 HBCUs across the United States, Professor Mayes spoke about the importance of these institutions from not only the academic perspective, but also the cultural experience. HBCUs provide an environment for young Black people to discover their unlimited potential as they are immersed with other Black scholars and intellectuals. This sentiment was supported by several of our BEN members who are HBCU alumni, and who shared that they emerged from their college experience with a greater sense of pride and confidence in both themselves and their culture.
According to Professor Mayes, creating a cultural connection for employees is essential for companies that are looking to cultivate an inclusive workplace. At Pentair, our employee-led business resource groups such as the BEN work to help foster a sense of belonging across the organization, and provide an opportunity for employees to develop connections and share experiences and perspectives while also supporting each other in professional and personal development.
The BEN has also been focused on collaborating with Pentair's talent acquisition team to attend recruiting events at HBCUs as well as other organizations to connect with students as we work to attract, engage and develop up and coming talent for career opportunities at Pentair. Through these efforts and more, the BEN strives to strengthen and enhance the relationship of Pentair's Black employees with each other and with the broader organization.
Read more about Pentair's business resource groups and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Pentair on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:
Spokesperson: Pentair
Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/pentair
Email: info@3blmedia.com
SOURCE: Pentair
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740409/Celebrating-Black-History-Month-The-Color-of-Achievement
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - NuGen Medical Devices Inc. (TSXV: NGMD) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has appointed Richard Buzbuzian as President, CEO and Director.
"InsuJet, our needle-free injection device has tremendous sales opportunity globally and is approved for sale in 42 countries with active sales distribution agreements in 11. I look to complement our existing business with an expanded plan to monetize InsuJet sales with an ecommerce model, primarily B2C," commented Mr. Richard Buzbuzian, NuGen's President and CEO. "A particular region of initial interest for us is Europe where InsuJet is already approved for sale and a large TAM (total addressable market) is present, estimated to be upwards of 13B Euro for the diabetic market. Demand in this region could easily be met through an ecommerce model employing online purchasing with 3rd party shipping and fulfillment. A new method of deliver of care for diabetic patients using a historically proven ecommerce business model known for high volumes and high margins. I look forward to reporting more granularity on the roll out of this plan in the coming weeks ahead."
The Company wishes to thank Derek Lindsay who has resigned as interim CEO and as a director effective today. Mr. Lindsay has agreed to assist the Company in its transition period as a consultant until April 14th, 2023.
Bio: Richard Buzbuzian
Richard Buzbuzian is a capital markets executive with over 25 years of experience in Canada and Europe. Previously, Mr. Buzbuzian was President of Drone Delivery Canada (TSXV: FLT), which he cofounded, took public, and raised over Cdn$120M in equity financings achieving market capitalization in excess of $550M. Mr. Buzbuzian sits on the boards of several public, private, and non-profit organizations including Give-A-Mile and the Richard and Jacob Buzbuzian Family Foundation. He holds a degree from the University of Toronto.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements.
About NuGen Medical Devices
NuGen is an emerging specialty medical device company developing the next generation of needle-free technologies and other innovative medical delivery products. The Company's products, which include the InsuJet and PetJet needle-free injection systems, are designed to improve the lives of millions of people. NuGen continues to receive approval in numerous countries, including Canada. NuGen's products are designed for use in several important areas including, but not limited to, diabetes, veterinary medicine, and vaccines.
For further information, please visit:
Website: www.nugenmd.com
Twitter: @NuGenMD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nugenmd/
For further information, please contact:
Richard Buzbuzian
President & CEO
(647) 501-3290
richard@buzbuzian.com
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Information:
Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (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 involves discussions with respect to 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. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155790
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Chesapeake Gold Corp. (TSXV: CKG) (OTCQX: CHPGF) ("Chesapeake" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for its world class, Metates gold-silver project located in Durango State, Mexico.
The updated MRE is described in Table 1 below and includes:
16.77 million ounces of gold at 0.57 grams per tonne ("g/t") and 423.2 million ounces of silver at 14.3 g/t within 921.2 million tonnes in the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource category.
2.13 million ounces of gold at 0.47 g/t and 59.0 million ounces of silver at 13.2 g/t within 139.5 million tonnes in the Inferred Mineral Resource category.
Analytical results from 23 recently drilled PQ (85mm diameter) holes completed since March 2021
4.81 million ounces of gold at 0.76 g/t and 83.8 million ounces of silver at 13.3 g/t within 195.7 million tonnes in the Measured and Indicated Mineral resource category for intrusive-hosted material.
Completed umpire duplicate check assaying on historic assay results increasing confidence in the accuracy of the analytical results.
Alan Pangbourne, CEO, commented "We are very pleased to announce our updated MRE for Metates following the addition of assay results for 5 metallurgical and 18 infill drill holes to the existing drill hole database. Particularly encouraging is the confirmation of an increase of 15.8% higher gold grade for the intrusive and intrusive breccia portions of the measured and indicated category of the MRE. The grade increase together with the previously released metallurgical results of our proof of concept further support the PEA development case."
This updated MRE together with on-going metallurgical work will form the basis of a new Pre-Feasibility Study.
Table 1: Metates Mineral Resource Statement
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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/752/155775_img.jpg
Notes:
1. The Mineral Resources have an effective date of January 28, 2023, and the estimate was prepared using the definitions in CIM Definition Standards (May 10, 2014).
2. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate and therefore numbers may not appear to add precisely.
3. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
4. Mineral Resources are constrained within a Lerchs-Grossman pit shell based on prices of US$1600/oz gold and US$20/oz silver.
5. Mineral Resources are based on a gold equivalent cut-off grade of 0.26 g/t.
6. The gold equivalent ("AuEq" or "Gold Eq") value is calculated as follows:
Gold Equivalent (g/t) = Gold (g/t) + Silver (g/t) / 74.67, based on gold recovery of 70% and silver recovery of 75%.
7. "Mt tonnes" = million metric tonnes; "g/t" = grams per metric tonne; "moz" = million troy ounces contained.
Updated Mineral Resource Estimate
The updated MRE incorporates an additional 23 holes drilled by Chesapeake since the previous MRE statement was provided in a NI 43-101 technical report effective August 30, 2021 titled "Metates Sulphide Heap Leach Project Phase I", as amended December 15, 2022 (2021 MRE").. In total, the updated MRE comprises a total of 245 drill holes. For the updated MRE, assays were composited to a regular length of 3 metres (m) as approximately 95% of the assays are originally sampled on that interval length. A total of 29,786 composites resulted from the compositing process with 19,012 composites located within a gold equivalent grade envelope at a 0.2 g/t AuEq cut-off.
A new geologic model incorporating interpreted controls on mineralization associated with each of the lithologies (intrusive, intrusive breccia, and sediments) was also developed for this update.
High-grade gold and silver outliers from composited assays were examined and capped based on various statistical utilities (probability plots, cutting statistics and decile analysis). The capping thresholds selected are as follows: mineralized intrusive: 10 g/t Au, 150 g/t Ag; mineralized intrusive breccia: 6 g/t Au, 200 g/t Ag; mineralized sediments: 10 g/t Au, 500 g/t Ag.
A variographic analysis was conducted on the 3m composites for gold and silver. Directions of best grade continuity were found to be along strike (130 Azimuth) and down dip (40 Azimuth / -40 Dip) of the mineralized intrusive with ranges of gold grade continuity between 53m to 67m along strike, 58m to 69m down dip, and 31m to 57m across strike and dip. For silver, the ranges of continuity vary between 65m to 69m along strike, 66m to 95m down dip, and 51m to 55m across strike and dip.
An orthogonal block model was discretized over the area of interest with blocks of 10m x 10m x 10m in size. The ordinary kriging technique was utilized to estimate block grades for gold and silver. A minimum of 2 samples and maximum of 12 samples with search ellipsoids dimensioned to the second range of the variograms were applied for the grade interpolation process. The grade estimation consisted of a three-pass strategy with search ellipsoids of increasing dimensions: search equal to second ranges of variograms (first pass), 1.5 times the ranges (2nd pass), and 3 times the ranges (3rd pass). Overall, 91% of the estimates were generated from the first pass, 8% from the second pass, and 1% from the third pass.
The gold and silver grade estimates were visually and statistically validated for any global or local bias, and for the level of smoothing/variability.
The mineral resource was classified as measured, indicated, and inferred in a two-step process. The first step consisted in classifying the estimates according to the average sample distance calculated from the grade estimation process. For such, measured estimates were identified as having an average sample distance of 20m or less, indicated as having an average sample distance greater than 20m and less than 55m, and greater than 55m for inferred. From this exercise, the measured, and indicated classes were smoothed to remove the "spotty" effect observed from the initial classification.
To satisfy the NI 43-101 requirement for reporting a mineral resource that provides "reasonable prospects for economic extraction" a pit shell was optimized with the Lerchs-Grossman algorithm to constrain the mineral resources. The pit shell was optimized with the following parameters: Au price of US$1600/oz, Ag price of US$20/oz, mining cost of US$2.00/t, processing and G&A costs of US$9.25/t, Au recovery of 70%, Ag recovery of 75% and an overall pit slope of 45. These are the same parameters as used in the 2021 MRE.
It should be noted that mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resources estimated will be converted into mineral reserves. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by future changes in environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.
The CIM definitions were followed for the classification of measured, indicated, and inferred mineral resources. The inferred mineral resources have a lower level of confidence and must not be converted to mineral reserves. It is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with continued exploration.
The five-hole PQ diameter core drill program completed in June 2021 (NR11-2021) for metallurgical test work returned on average, a 19% increase in gold equivalent grade compared to the then current 2021 block MRE grades. In November 2021, two core rigs commenced an 18-hole infill program that drilled both up and down dip as well as along strike from the June 2021 holes. The Company released the drilling results from this infill program in early 2022 (NR01- 2022 & NR02-2022) and noted the continued positive grade variance in the drill results compared to the 2021 block MRE grade (see news releases dated February 15 and April 27, 2021).
Following significant analysis to determine the potential reasons for the higher grade encountered in drilling compared to the 2021 MRE gold grade, several conclusions were drawn:
The intrusive and intrusive breccia is a higher-grade portion of the resource and the estimation variance compared to recent drilling is highest in this domain compared to the sediments.
Previous analytical quality control from 1990's era umpire lab analyses detected a positive bias in the original gold assays for the grouped 1993-1994 holes, which was resolved at the time by factoring down the results from those two years using a constant.
Recent review of the umpire pairs from the 1990's era by year and field duplicate assays collected in 2022 from the 1993 and 1994 remaining core has determined that only the 1994 historic data requires the reduction factor and that original 1993 assays can be used.
Reverting to the original 1993 assays affects 1,556 analyses accounting for a 1.4% increase in the estimated gold grade within the intrusive.
We have now incorporated all the 2021 and 2022 drilling results reviewed and updated the geological model and interpretation, generated and applied new grade estimation and resource classification methods and developed a new pit constrained MRE as reported above.
It is anticipated that the increases in grade outlined above should have a positive impact and result in improved project economics.
Mr. Pangbourne also stated, "Going forward we are now focusing on optimizing the oxidation rate to release the targeted gold and silver recoveries and compiling all the other data required to prepare a Pre-Feasibility Study."
About Chesapeake
Chesapeake Gold Corp. is focused on the discovery, acquisition, and development of major gold-silver deposits in North and South America. Chesapeake's flagship asset is the Metates project ("Metates") located in Durango State, Mexico. Metates hosts one of the largest undeveloped gold-silver deposits in the Americas with over 16.77 million ounces of gold and 423.2 million ounces of silver in the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource and a further 2.13 million ounces of gold and 59.0 million ounces of silver in Inferred Mineral Resource. See the Technical Report titled "Metates Sulphide Heap Leach Project Phase I" effective August 30, 2021 and amended December 15, 2022.
Qualified Persons
Mr Marc Jutras P.Eng., M.A.Sc, Principal, Mineral Resources of Ginto Consulting Inc, is the independent qualified person responsible for the MRE in this news release in accordance with NI 43-101. Mr. Carl Edmunds P.Geo., M.Sc. technical consultant to Chesapeake and is the qualified person who supervised the preparation of the technical information relating to the MRE in this release. Dr. Art Ibrado, P.E., of Fort Lowell Consulting PLLC, is the independent qualified person responsible for the scientific and metallurgical technical information in this news release. All of the above qualified persons have reviewed and approved the contents of this release.
Further Information & Upcoming Webinar:
For more context, please join CEO Alan Pangbourne for a live event on March 1, 2023 at 1 pm EST / 10 am PST. Q&A will follow the presentation. Click here to register: https://my.6ix.com/LN-btxMf
Alternatively, please visit our website at www.chesapeakegold.com or contact Alan Pangbourne at invest@chesapeakegold.com or +1 778 731 1362.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. These include, without limitation, statements with respect to the updated MRE, the strategic plans, timing and expectations for the Company's exploration and drilling programs at the Metates Property, including metallurgical testing, mineralization estimates and grades for drill intercepts, permitting for various work, and optimizing and updating the Company's resource model and preparing a pre-feasibility study; information with respect to high grade areas and size of veins projected from underground sampling results and drilling results; and the accessibility of future mining at the Metates Property. Such forward looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: the reliability of mineralization estimates, metallurgical recovery estimates, the conditions in general economic and financial markets; the price of gold and silver; availability and costs of mining equipment and skilled labour; timing and amount of expenditures related to drilling programs; and effects of regulation by governmental agencies. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors including: the timing and content of work programs; results of exploration activities; the interpretation of drilling results and other geological data; receipt, maintenance and security of permits and mineral property titles; environmental and other regulatory risks; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; and general market and industry conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this news release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155775
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Resouro Gold Inc. (TSXV: RAU) ("Resouro" or the "Company") today announces a non-brokered private placement ("Private Placement") of up to 2,000,000 Common Shares of the Company ("Shares") at a price of C$0.15 per Share for gross proceeds of up to C$300,000.
The net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used to advance exploration on the Company's gold projects and titanium-REE project and for general working capital purposes.
In accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws, all securities issued pursuant to the private placement will be legended with a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance.
The Private Placement is expected to close on or around March 10, 2023. Completion of the Private Placement remains subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including approval of the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange (the "TSXV").
The securities offered have not been registered under the United States 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 absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States.
The Company also announces appointment of Namrata Malhotra as its Corporate Secretary, following the resignation of Leah Hodges. Ms. Malhotra has an extensive background in corporate governance management and regulatory compliance, including as Assistant Vice-President, Corporate Secretarial and Compliance at a fintech start-up in India. Currently, as part of the Toronto-based firm Grove Corporate Services, Namrata acts as a Corporate Secretary for several public companies.
About Resouro Gold Inc.
Resouro is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company focused on the discovery and advancement of economic mineral projects in Brazil, including the 100%-owned Novo Mundo Gold Project in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Resouro is currently in the process of acquiring a stake in the titanium-REE project in Brazil. Learn more about the Company on its website: https://resouro.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
RESOURO GOLD INC.
For further information, please contact the Company at:
Chris Eager, CEO
chris.eager@resouro.com
Iryna Zheliasko, Investor Relations
iryna@grovecorp.ca
647-249-9298
Disclaimer
This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the completion of the titanium-REE project acquisition, closing of the placement, expected terms of the placement, the number of securities of Resouro that may be issued in connection with the transaction, and the parties' ability to satisfy closing conditions and receive necessary approvals. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.
Forward-looking information is 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 anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada and globally; industry conditions, including governmental regulation and environmental regulation; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; liabilities inherent in the mining industry; competition for, among other things, skilled personnel and supplies; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; geological, technical, processing and transportation problems; changes in tax laws and incentive programs; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and dispositions; and the other factors. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.
The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE 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/155795
As the first healthcare institution in Europe to do so, UKB and the Faculty of Medicine will provide medical students with personal, state-of-the-art, whole-body Butterfly iQ+ devices and implement Butterfly's Blueprint platform throughout UKB to further improve medical education, research and patient care.
The collaboration will include clinical integration at UKB and also evaluate impacts on care processes.
For the first time in Europe, the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Medical Faculty Bonn are using the advanced ultrasound system Butterfly Blueprint from the U.S.-headquartered digital health company, Butterfly Network, Inc., to teach medical and midwifery students at the UKB. The innovative, semiconductor chip-based Butterfly iQ+ can enable more informed diagnosis and treatment directly at the patient's bedside and support complex ultrasound training integrated into studies throughout the UKB campus.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005861/en/
Prof. Wolfgang Holzgreve, two students, Prof. Bernd Weber and PD Dr. Valentin Schafer examining a patient with the Butterfly iQ+ system. Photo credit: University Hospital Bonn (UKB)/A. Winkler
Ultrasound diagnostics is one of the most important imaging procedures in medicine. It can be used to inform clinical assessment by nearly every medical specialty, and carries no side effects for patients. "However, ultrasound images are often not easy to interpret which is why the UKB and the Medical Faculty promote early training and practical experience for medical and midwifery students," says PD Dr. Valentin Schafer, head of rheumatology and the internal sonography center at the UKB. As the first healthcare institution in Europe to do so, UKB and the Faculty of Medicine will provide medical students with personal, state-of-the-art, whole-body Butterfly iQ+ devices and implement Butterfly's Blueprint platform throughout UKB to further improve medical education, research and patient care.
The medical school first engaged with the U.S. provider of this mobile ultrasound system in early 2020, becoming one of the largest contingents in Europe at the time, with more than 30 devices. The use of the portable devices has since proven successful: Numerous studies have been published from Bonn, which above all demonstrate the benefits in medical education. Butterfly is the only supplier to date to provide a single-probe, whole-body transducer with unique Ultrasound-on-Chip technology that converts a compatible smartphone or tablet into an imaging instrument, enabling the practical application of ultrasound information in the clinical workflows of medical staff. For that reason, the collaboration will now be expanded to include clinical integration at UKB and also evaluate impacts on care processes. The device fits in a pocket and is powered by a combination of cloud-connected software and hardware technology in a privacy-compliant manner that can be accessed via a mobile app.
"We are pleased that the Butterfly portable devices, with their combination of whole-body ultrasound probe, software, cloud connectivity, and integration into clinical and administrative systems and workflows, will be used at our UKB, further optimizing ultrasound diagnostics in teaching and patient care," said Prof. Wolfgang Holzgreve, Medical Director and CEO of UKB.
"Point-of-care ultrasound, i.e. ultrasound diagnostics close to the patient, will certainly be essential for our students in the future," says Prof. Bernd Weber, Dean of the Medical Faculty at the University of Bonn. "We accompany the personal equipment of our students with personal Butterfly devices with a specific curriculum, initially in the practical year, which incorporates ultrasound knowledge across disciplines and even more comprehensively." At UKB and the Medical School, Butterfly Network's portable imaging devices will be introduced as early as next summer semester and will be available to students in the practical year from then on.
"We are proud to collaborate with UKB and the Faculty of Medicine to further embed our technology into its healthcare system with enhanced access to training and education, affordable equipment, and practical encounter-based workflows that are uniquely offered with the Butterfly Blueprint system. Through this collaboration, students at this premier European medical institution will access state-of-the-art healthcare technology and educational assets to ultimately become proficient in using ultrasound information directly at the bedside," said Niki Montgomery, Sr. Vice President, Commercial Development at Butterfly Network, Inc.
PD Dr. Schafer and Dr. Florian Recker, specialist in obstetrics and prenatal medicine at the UKB, are in charge of the project at the UKB and will provide scientific support. The start of the rollout begins with the new curriculum, which will be known as the BI-POCUS project (Bonn Internship Point-of-Care-Ultrasound) in the students' practical year.
About the University Hospital Bonn: The UKB cares for about 500,000 patients per year, employs 8,800 people and has a balance sheet total of 1.5 billion euros. In addition to the more than 3,300 medical and dental students, a further 580 people are trained each year in numerous healthcare professions. The UKB is ranked number 1 among university hospitals (UK) in NRW in the science ranking as well as in the Focus clinic list and has the third highest case mix index (case severity index) in Germany.
About Butterfly Network: Founded in 2011 by Jonathan Rothberg, Ph.D., and listed on the New York Stock Exchange through a business combination with Longview Acquisition Corp, Butterfly created the world's first handheld, single probe whole-body ultrasound system using semiconductor technology, the Butterfly iQ+. Butterfly's mission is to democratize medical imaging and contribute to the aspiration of global health equity, making high-quality ultrasound affordable, easy-to-use, globally accessible and intelligently connected, including for the 4.7 billion people around the world lacking access to ultrasound. Through its proprietary Ultrasound-on-Chip technology, Butterfly is paving the way for earlier detection and remote management of health conditions around the world. Butterfly iQ+ can be purchased today by trained healthcare practitioners in areas including, but not limited to, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America; to learn more about available countries, visit: butterflynetwork.com/choose-your-country.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005861/en/
Contacts:
Press contact:
Viola Roser
Press Officer at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB)
Communications and Media Office at Bonn University Hospital
Phone: +49 228 287- 10469
E-mail: viola.roeser@ukbonn.de
Liz Learned
Butterfly Network
Media@butterflynetwork.com
Ocean Genomics, a Pittsburgh, PA-based technology and AI company that has developed computational platforms to assist biopharma companies, received an investment from Accenture (NYSE: ACN).
The amount of the investment, made via Accenture Ventures, was not disclosed
The investment will accelerate the AI-driven drug discovery and the development of personalized medicines.
Led by Carl Kingsford, Ocean Genomics creates software that provides modeling and an understanding of changes and variants in mRNA to enable an accurate prediction of a patients biological response to a drug.
Its Intelligent Transcriptome computing platforms extract extensive gene expression features and analyses from raw RNA-Seq files (TxomeAI), and automatically integrate those features with clinical and other -omics to produce accurate, actionable models, and discover drug targets and biomarkers (DiscoverAI). The vast database (DeepSea) provides deeply characterized transcriptomes, curated metadata, and pre-trained AI models to add power to discovery and analyses.
Biopharma companies use the technology in in-silico drug discovery to develop treatments based on an individuals personal biology.
FinSMEs
21/02/2023
Chaos Labs, a New York and Tel Aviv, Israel-based provider of an automated economic security system for crypto protocols, raised $20M in Seed funding.
The round was led by Galaxy and PayPal Ventures, with participation from Coinbase, Uniswap, Lightspeed, Bessemer, Hashkey and angels such as Balaji Srinivasan and Naval Ravikant.
The company intends to use the funds to expand its offerings and build out its suite of risk and security products.
Led by Omer Goldberg, Founder & CEO, Chaos Labs is a provider of an automated economic security system for crypto protocols utilizing monitoring and simulations. The company aims to scale crypto adoption by providing protocols with custom and automated economic security tooling that verifies a protocols durability and stability in any market condition. Its tooling allows core teams and community members to monitor protocol health and risks in real-time to execute mainnet changes before a potential vulnerability is exploited. With Chaos Labs, teams can protect user funds from market-based attacks and optimize capital efficiency.
In its first year of operations, Chaos Labs has partnered with major Decentralized Finance (DeFi) customers, including Aave, Chainlink, Uniswap, BENQI, and Osmosis, to secure and optimize the protocols against manipulation and black swan market events, while also offering capital optimization recommendations.
FinSMEs
21/02/2023
DrDoctor, a London, UK-based healthtech company providing digital care solutions, raised 10M in funding.
The round was led by YFM Equity Partners.
The company intends to use the funds to further expand the sales and development teams, make investment in the product and continue to scale across the NHS.
Led by CEO Tom Whicher, DrDoctor provides digital care solutions to increase communication and engagement between patients and clinicians. Clinicians all over the UK use the DrDoctor Patient Engagement Platform to make data driven decisions, activate patients through self-booking and provide remote care. This is primarily via patient-led booking, waitlist management and digital access to clinicians, improving provider productivity and helping the NHS tackle the backlog of patients.
FinSMEs
22/02/2023
Global investors are upbeat on growth of Chinese equities in 2023
(Global Times) 10:47, February 22, 2023
Chinese stocks edged up on Tuesday despite recent fluctuations, as overseas investors continued to pour money into A-share market in a sign of confidence in the nation's broader economic recovery this year, in stark contrast to the negative sentiment hyped by some foreign media.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.49 percent to close at 3,306.52, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.12 percent to 11,968.60. The CSI 300 index, which tracks the largest listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, rose 0.26 percent to 4,144.35.
While Tuesday's equities gain on the Chinese mainland were minor, they were better than the performances elsewhere in Asia. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7 percent to near six-week lows. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.21 percent on Tuesday.
"Since the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit, the A-share market has experienced some volatility, and the sharp rebound before the Spring Festival did not continue, as some stocks that saw major gains are correcting. However, judging from various factors, the market's upward trend will not change in the medium term," Yang Delong, former chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund Management Co, said in a note sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.
Chinese stocks trended down starting at the end of January before reversing course on Friday. For example, the CSI 300 index fell as much as 3.97 percent between January 30 and Friday, but it gained 1.38 percent over the past three trading sessions.
Rising foreign capital inflows have sent another positive sign. On Tuesday, net inflows of overseas capital via northbound trading regime between the mainland and Hong Kong bourses reached 1.854 billion yuan ($269.6 million). This came on the heels of a record high monthly net inflow of foreign capital in January, at 141.2 billion yuan, according to Yang.
Despite the positive trends, some foreign media outlets have continued to hype negative sentiment about Chinese equities and the Chinese economy as a whole.
The Chinese unit of the Voice of America (VOA), the propaganda arm of the US government, claimed in an article that expectations for a strong economic rebound in China have "drawn a blank" and foreign investors have reduced their holdings of Chinese assets and adopted a wait-and-see attitude.
The VOA piece drew most of its conclusions from an article in the Japanese media outlet Nikkei Asia, which asserted "Chinese reopening rally stalls as foreign investors cut purchases."
The article focused on recent fluctuations in A-share indexes, including the fall in the CSI 300 earlier this month and the slower growth in foreign capital inflows this month, compared with a record high in January.
However, such reports miss the broader picture for Chinese equities this year, experts noted.
"There is a small group of foreign investors who are negative about Chinese stocks, but upbeat sentiment prevails among the vast majority," Yang said, pointing to continued foreign capital inflows as well as improving forecasts by foreign financial institutions.
On Monday, US-based investment bank Goldman Sachs said it predicts that China stocks may rise 24 percent this year. "We believe the principal theme in the stock market will gradually shift from reopening to recovery," strategists at the bank said in a note.
Rapid growth in foreign capital inflows this year has helped lift Chinese stocks, according to Li Daxiao, chief economist at Shenzhen-based Yingda Securities.
Li told the Global Times that various factors and developments will help drive up Chinese stocks this year, including the recently launched pilot program for privately offered funds in the real estate industry.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission said the pilot would improve the function of the capital market, help the real estate sector better deal with inventories, and support the privately offered funds in serving the real economy, the Xinhua News Agency said.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
Greg was born in the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado. The first of three Storms children. His parents were William & Eleanor (Kotewa). Both had met while serving in the Army Air Corps in WWII. William was stationed at Lawry Field at the time, the first of many locations Greg was to experience through out high school. In 1948 sister Kathleen (Kate) joined the Storms clan and in 1951 sister Margaret (Peggie) completed at threesome of siblings all of whom have remained in loving contract to this day. A series of moves followed, first to Germany, then the Mojave Desert in Southern California, then to France, and back to Germany, finally settling back in the Mojave Desert. Greg graduated in the Desert High School class of 1964. After attending several of California's institutions of higher learning, Greg graduated from The University of California, Berkley in 1969.
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Data Bridge Market Research recently conducted a qualitative study titled " Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market " which involved extensive analysis and reporting. The study was supported by a plethora of market data tables, pie charts, graphs, and figures, which were thoughtfully presented across multiple pages for easy comprehension. The full analysis provided insights into the market that were informative and actionable. A wide-ranging Breast Cancer Diagnostics advertising report gives details about the top players and brands that are driving the market. This market report is a synopsis about how is the market status right now and how will it be in the forecast years for Breast Cancer Diagnostics industry. Also, this market report gives in-depth knowledge of recent developments, and product launches are, while also keeping the track of recent acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, and competitive research in the global market industry. The report provides awareness of all the drivers and restraints which are derived through SWOT analysis. Breast Cancer Diagnostics is a professional and detailed market report that highlights primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments, and geographical analysis.
Data Bridge Market Research analyzes that the global breast cancer diagnostics market is expected to reach a value of USD 8,651.50 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 9.2% during the forecast period. Test type accounts for the largest diagnostic type segment in the market due to rising breast cancer patients and technological advancements in the treatment of breast cancer globally. This market report also covers pricing analysis, patent analysis, and technological advancements in depth.
Get a PDF Sample of the Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-breast-cancer-diagnostics-market
Breast cancer is a disease in which the uncontrolled growth of malignant cells in the breast tissue occurs more often in women than in men. Breast cancer is the uncontrolled cell division of breast cells, which are the most common cells in the mammary glands and ducts. Some symptoms of breast cancer include a lump or lump in the breast, bloody discharge from the nipple and a change in the shape of the nipple or breast. Breast cancer treatment depends on the stage of cancer. Its treatment consists of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and surgery.
Breast cancer is another type of cancer that is more common in women than in men. A number of the symptoms of the sickness hold bleeding secretion from the reproductive organ, a lump or block within the breast, and variations in the texture or form of the breast or nipple. Breast cancer treatment depends on the stage of cancer. In addition, its treatment includes radiotherapy, therapy, hormone therapy and surgery. Early detection of carcinoma is essential for the effective treatment of the disease. Early detection of the disease also leads to better outcomes, including many treatment options, better survival and better quality of life. Increasing pressure and demand for new forms of treatment or methods of treatment are due to the rapidly increasing spread of diseases.
Fundamental Aim of Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market Report
In the Breast Cancer Diagnostics market, every company has goals, but this report focus in on the most important ones, allowing you to gain insight into the competition, the future of the market, potential new products, and other useful information that can boost your sales significantly.
Factors influencing the Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market Size and growth rate.
Major alterations to the Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market in the near future.
Notable Market rivals around the world.
The Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market's Future Scope and Product Outlook
Future-promising emerging markets.
The Market Presents Difficult Challenges and Threats.
Sales data and profiles of the world's leading Breast Cancer Diagnostics Players
Opportunity
Initiatives are taken by the government
Government is focusing on increasing the initiative for breast cancer treatments with advanced techniques to improve the health of patients. Providing he number of insurances, such as benefits, has been increased so that ordinary people can choose treatment and take advantage of available medicines and treatments to improve their quality of life. In developing countries such as China and India, the government has launched several programs and initiatives to raise awareness about the disease. This has greatly increased the demand for breast cancer diagnosis and disease management therapies. Increasing mergers and acquisitions between pharmaceutical companies and government agencies are among the main trends in the global breast cancer market.
Rates of new breast cancer cases have risen 0.6% per year from 2010-2019, and death rates have risen an average of 1.7% per year for the same time frame. As the breast cancer patient rate is increasing, the use of treatments and advanced technologies for the diagnosis of cancer will increase, which is an opportunity for market growth.
The Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market is Dominated by Firms Such as
F-Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.,
Siemens Healthcare GmbH,
General Electric,
Koninklijke Philips N.V.,
FUJIFILM Corporation,
Abbott,
Hologic, Inc.,
OncoStem,
Provista Diagnostics,
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.,
Myriad Genetics, Inc.,
Illumina, Inc.,
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.,
BD,
NanoString.,
Cepheid,
BIOMERIEUX,
Exact Sciences Corporation,
Biocept, Inc., and
Abacus ALS.
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Recent Development
In November 2022, Koninklijke Philips N.V., announced the global launch of a next-generation compact portable ultrasound solution at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting to bring the diagnostic quality associated with premium cart-based ultrasound systems to more patients. It is portable and versatile with good image quality or performance. It is Compatible with Philips ultrasound systems Affiniti and EPIQ transducer. This has helped company to expand its product portfolio.
In November 2022, Siemens Healthineers and Atrium Health, a leading not-for-profit healthcare provider known for leading pediatric, cancer and cardiac care programs, have announced a multi-year value partnership1. This strategic agreement focuses on improving access to care in Atrium Health's service area in the southeastern United States, improving health equity and increasing economic mobility. Atrium Health is acquiring more than $140 million in equipment and devices from Siemens Healthineers, including advanced imaging technology, radiation oncology and precision endovascular robotics. This has helped the company to expand their business.
Key Market Segments Covered in Breast Cancer Diagnostics Industry Research
Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market, By Test Type
Imaging
Genomic Test
Blood Test
Others
Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market, By Type
Ductal Carcinoma In Situ
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Metastatic Breast Cancer
Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market, By End User
Hospitals
Clinics
Research & Academic Institutes
Diagnostic Centers
Others
Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market, By Distribution Channel
Direct Tender
Retail Sales
Others
Key Growth Drivers:
Launch of technologically advanced diagnosis & therapeutics to aid growth
Breast cancer is the most common disease in the population, occurring mainly in women with proliferative disease. Breast cancer develops in the breast tissues. Symptoms of breast cancer include lumps in the breast, differences in the size and shape of the breast, discharge from the nipples, and itchy, scaly red patches on the skin. This disease spreads in body with increasing symptoms such as bone pain, swollen lymph nodes, difficulty in breathing and many others. Increasing research and development with new technologies and treatments developed for breast cancer will significantly contribute to market growth.
Moreover, Technological advances in imaging are creating new opportunities for improvements in both screening and early detection. One technology advance is 3-D mammography, also called breast tomosynthesis. This procedure takes images from different angles around the breast and builds them into a 3-D-like image.
In the recent times, several advancements in technology is changing the fate of cancer diagnostics, as mentioned above some of the recent advancements, several other technologies are currently under trial phase which are on the limit of changing the process of breast cancer diagnostics. These technological advancements in the field are acting as a major drivers for global breast cancer diagnostics market.
Increasing prevalence of breast cancer
One of the major factors driving the growth of the global market is the increasing prevalence of breast cancer worldwide, which is expected to lead to a large number of patients in need of accurate and effective treatment options. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, and better diagnostics are expected to increase the number of patients diagnosed in the future.
In addition, the growing demand for preventive care and early treatment has led to many cancer screenings, which would also increase the number of patients with a high need for treatment during the forecast period.
Thus, increasing prevalence of breast cancer leads to more diagnosis of cases and hence it is expected to drive the market growth during the forecast period.
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Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market Regional Analysis/Insights:
In 2023, North America is dominating due to the presence of key market players in the largest consumer market with high GDP. The U.S. is expected to grow due to its latest advanced cancer diagnostic technology and inventions in the breast cancer diagnostics.
North America is dominating the market due to the increasing investment in R&D of breast cancer is expected to boost the market growth. The U.S. dominates North America region due to strong presence of key players are F-Hoffmann La Roche Ltd., Siemens Healthcare GmbH, General Electric, Koninklijke Philips N.V., ABBOTT and others.
U.K. dominates Europe region due to the mass production of breast cancer diagnostics drugs and increasing demand from emerging markets and expansion of cancer treatment industries. China dominates Asia-Pacific region due to rise in breast cancer mainly among the women population as well as men.
This Market Intelligence Report Analyses Some of the Most Crucial Concerns:
How will the major segments of this international market develop over the next few years?
Who are the major players that will dominate the market in the future?
When it comes to this industry, who are the top suppliers and producers?
How have the most successful companies in the industry planned for future growth and expansion?
In what sectors might we expect to see the greatest increase in demand over the coming years?
How many distinct subsets of buyers make up this market?
Which regional powerhouse do you foresee as becoming the largest player in the international market?
Does a new coronavirus pandemic have any consequences?
In what ways are established actors stymied by the entry of newcomers, and how may they be overcome?
Table of Contents:
Introduction Market Segmentation Executive Summary Premium Insights Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market : Regulations Market Overview Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market, By Test Type Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market, By Type Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market, By End User Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market, By Distribution Channel Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market, By Region Global Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market: Company Landscape SWOT Analyses Company Profile Questionnaires Related Reports
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Europe Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market , By Test Type (Imaging, Biopsy, Genomic Test, Blood Test, and Others), Type (Ductal In Situ Carcinoma, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and Metastatic Breast Cancer), End User (Hospitals, Clinics, Research and Academic Institutes, Diagnostic Centers, and Others) Distribution Channel (Direct Tender, Retail Sales, and Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/europe-breast-cancer-diagnostics-market
Middle East and Africa Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market , By Test Type (Imaging, Biopsy, Genomic Test, Blood Test, and Others), Type (Ductal In Situ Carcinoma, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and Metastatic Breast Cancer), End User (Hospitals, Clinics, Research and Academic Institutes, Diagnostic Centers, and Others) Distribution Channel (Direct Tender, Retail Sales, and Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/middle-east-and-africa-breast-cancer-diagnostics-market
North America Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market , By Test Type (Imaging, Biopsy, Genomic Test, Blood Test, and Others), Type (Ductal In Situ Carcinoma, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and Metastatic Breast Cancer), End User (Hospitals, Clinics, Research and Academic Institutes, Diagnostic Centers, and Others) Distribution Channel (Direct Tender, Retail Sales, and Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/north-america-breast-cancer-diagnostics-market
Asia-Pacific Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market , By Test Type (Imaging, Biopsy, Genomic Test, Blood Test, and Others), Type (Ductal In Situ Carcinoma, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and Metastatic Breast Cancer), End User (Hospitals, Clinics, Research and Academic Institutes, Diagnostic Centers, and Others) Distribution Channel (Direct Tender, Retail Sales, and Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/asia-pacific-breast-cancer-diagnostics-market
Breast Cancer Drug Market , By Type (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), Tubular Carcinoma of the Breast, Medullary Carcinoma of the Breast, Mucinous Carcinoma of the Breast, Papillary Carcinoma of the Breast, Cribriform Carcinoma of the Breast, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC), Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS), Male Breast Cancer, Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer, Paget's Disease of the Nipple, Phyllodes Tumors of the Breast, Metastatic Breast Cancer and Others), Stage (T: Primary Tumor Size, N: Lymph Node Involvement, M: Cancer spread beyond the breast and lymph nodes), Treatment Type (Chemotherapy, Targeted Therapy, Immunotherapy, Surgery, Medication and others), Mechanism of Cation Type (HER2 Inhibitors, Mitotic Inhibitors, Anti-metabolites, Aromatase Inhibitors, CDK 4/6 Inhibitors, Hormonal Receptor and Others), Drug Type (Herceptin Hylecta, Atezolizumab, Talazoparib, Ribociclib, Abemaciclib, Neratinib, Palbociclib and Others), Route of Administration (Oral and Injectable), End Users (Hospitals, Homecare, Specialty Clinics and Others), Country https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-breast-cancer-drug-market
HER2 Positive Breast Cancer Treatment Market, By Treatment Type (Chemotherapy, Targeted Therapy, Immunotherapy, Others), Route of Administration (Oral, Parenteral, Others), End-Users (Hospitals, Homecare, Speciality Centres, Others), Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacy, Online Pharmacy, Retail Pharmacy) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-her2-positive-breast-cancer-treatment-market
Hormone Refractory Breast Cancer Market , By Treatment Modality (Hormone Receptor-Based Therapy, Tumor Markers Therapy, Gene Therapy, Others), Route of Administration (Intravenous, Subcutaneous, Intramuscular, Others), End-Users (Hospitals, Homecare, Speciality Centres, Others), Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacy, Online Pharmacy, Retail Pharmacy) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-hormone-refractory-breast-cancer-market
Triple Negative Breast Cancer Market , By Treatment Type (Chemotherapy, Targeted Therapy, Immunotherapy Others), Route of Administration (Oral, Parenteral, Others), End Users (Hospitals, Homecare, Specialty Clinics, Others), Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacy, Online Pharmacy, Retail Pharmacy) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-triple-negative-breast-cancer-market
Breast Cancer Metastatic Market , By Treatment Type (Chemotherapy, Targeted Therapy, Immunotherapy, Hormone Therapy, Others), Route of Administration (Oral, Parenteral, Others), End-Users (Hospitals, Homecare, Speciality Centres, Others), Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacy, Online Pharmacy, Retail Pharmacy) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-breast-cancer-metastatic-market
Breast Cancer Diagnostics Market , By Test Type (Imaging, Biopsy, Genomic Test, Blood Test, and Others), Type (Ductal In Situ Carcinoma, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and Metastatic Breast Cancer), End User (Hospitals, Clinics, Research and Academic Institutes, Diagnostic Centers, and Others) Distribution Channel (Direct Tender, Retail Sales, and Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-breast-cancer-diagnostics-market
Familial Breast Cancer Treatment Market , By Treatment (Chemotherapy, Radiation Therapy, Genetic Counseling, Medication, Others), Diagnosis (Genetic Testing, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Mammography, Others), Route of Administration (Oral, Parenteral, Others), End-Users (Hospitals, Specialty Clinics, Homecare, Others), Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacy, Retail Pharmacy, Online Pharmacy, Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-familial-breast-cancer-treatment-market
Smart Biopsy Devices Market , By Application (Breast Cancer, Skin Cancer, Liver Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Others), Product (Needle-Based Biopsy Instruments, Procedure Trays, Localization Wires, Other Products), Guidance Technique (Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy, Stereotactic-Guided Biopsy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Biopsy, Other Guidance Techniques), End User (Hospitals, Academic and Research Institutes, Diagnostic and Imaging Centers) Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherland, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia- Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-smart-biopsy-devices-market
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Image-Guided Biopsy Market , By Technology (X- Ray, Ultrasound, Mammograpy, CT, MRI), Process (Fine Needle, Core Needle, Vacuum- Assisted Biopsy), End-User (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Clinics, Research and Academic Institutes), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherland, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East & Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-image-guided-biopsy-market
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PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With a global health worker shortage accelerating the demand for internationally educated nurses in industrialized countries, CGFNS International, a global leader in credentials evaluation to support health worker mobility, has established an advisory board of experts to help the organization support the needs of a growing cadre of migrating health professionals.
The Global Advisory Board on Pathways to Mobility for Health Workers - comprising 11 accomplished leaders in health worker credentialing, e-learning systems and digital credentialing technologies - will convene over the next four months to help establish a vision and a roadmap for the future of verifying and promoting the knowledge-based practice competencies of health workers.
Given recent trends identified in the CGFNS Nurse Migration Report 2022: Trends in Healthcare Migration to the United States, applications through the organization's VisaScreen Service have more than doubled over the past five years, as the growing health worker shortage has left health systems struggling to fill vacancies. Meanwhile, BMJ Global Health estimated a worldwide shortfall of 15 million health workers in 2020.
In light of this shortage, many health systems are under pressure to accelerate hiring and will turn to internationally qualified health professionals seeking to migrate. At the same time, these highly technically skilled professionals must be properly evaluated, qualified and credentialed to perform the work that is critical to patient safety and quality of care.
"Increasing global mobility among nurses and other health professionals is vitally important to ensuring that they can be hired wherever and whenever they are needed. Verifying previous training and credentials of migrating nurses is a complicated process critically important to patient safety, but amid the nursing shortage there is a growing need to make it quicker, more efficient, more secure and to harden it against fraud," said CGFNS President and CEO Peter Preziosi.
"Fortunately, emerging technologies and practice innovations offer the promise of globally-available digital credentials or badges that are more secure and more easily verifiable across borders," said Preziosi. "Whether it's automating manual verification of licenses and transcripts, or developing online methods of assessing knowledge in both clinical and desktop settings, the challenge is to ensure that these solutions raise the bar for quality of care and patient safety."
"Guided by a commitment to standards, we need to drive our industry toward further developing and adopting these types of solutions as quickly as possible, and with our new advisory board we are bringing together some of the best minds from credentialing, edtech and digital innovation to help point the way on this highly complex issue," he added.
The Global Advisory Board on Pathways to Mobility for Health Workers will convene three times by mid-year. It will seek ways to expand and support collaborative efforts to build a new framework for testing and credential verification solutions on a global scale, thereby strengthening career development and health systems worldwide.
Members of the board are listed below. Further information about them can be found at cgfns.org/global-advisory-board:
Jay Cannon, Partner, Trinisys
Kathy Chappell, Senior VP, American Nurses Credentialing Center
Rina Desai, Principal/Owner, Eigen X and Trifactor
Paul Diefenbach, Associate Professor, Drexel University Digital Media Department
Cynthia Johansen, Registrar & Chief Executive Officer, British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives
Brigette Lumpkins, Business Development, Stax
Martin Lund, Founder & CTO, RSVP/SM Solutions
Jyllene Miller, Global Growth Executive
Monique Morrow, Senior Distinguished Architect, Syniverse Technologies
Simone Ravaioli, Director, Parchment
Rolf Reinhardt, LinkedIn & International Council on Badges and Credentials
About CGFNS International, Inc.
Founded in 1977 and based in Philadelphia, CGFNS International is an immigration-neutral not-for-profit organization proudly serving as the world's largest credentials evaluation organization for the nursing and allied health professions. For more information, visit www.cgfns.org.
Contact Information:
Mukul Bakhshi, Esq.
Chief of Strategy and Government Affairs
mbakhshi@cgfns.org
(215) 243-5825
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PRESS RELEASE
22 February 2023, 07:00 CET
BIOCARTIS ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN BOARD COMPOSITION
Mechelen, Belgium, 22 February 2023 Biocartis Group NV (the Company or Biocartis), an innovative molecular diagnostics company (Euronext Brussels: BCART), today announces that Mr. Roald Borre has resigned as Director of the Company, and that upon the recommendation of the Companys Remuneration and Nomination Committee, the Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Bryan Dechairo as new independent Board member and member of the Audit Committee of the Company.
Mr. Bryan Dechairo is the chief executive officer of Sherlock Biosciences, and also serves on its Board of Directors. He has more than 25 years of experience developing and commercializing revenue generating clinical innovations that improve patient lives. Prior to joining Sherlock Biosciences, Mr. Dechairo served as executive vice president of clinical development at Myriad Genetics, where he oversaw the development portfolio, delivering business-critical evidentiary data for value-based reimbursement and market acceptance of commercial and novel diagnostic products across six business units globally. Before joining Myriad Genetics, he was chief medical officer, chief scientific officer and senior vice president of research and development at Assurex Health, which was acquired by Myriad in 2016. During his extensive career, Mr. Dechairo held roles of increasing responsibility at Medco, Pfizer, Oxagen, Sequana and Roche, where he established a proven track record of funding and scaling businesses from venture backed start-ups to profitable fortune 50 public companies. He also authored more than 50 academic and research-based publications, and earned a Ph.D. in Common Complex Human Genetics from the Institute of Child Health at University College London and a B.A. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Herman Verrelst, Chief Executive Officer of Biocartis, said: We are very pleased that Bryan is joining our Board, and look forward to benefitting from his extensive experience. His appointment takes place in the framework of our continuous strive for a diverse Board of Directors which has all required skills and experience to support Biocartis as a commercial-stage innovative molecular diagnostics company that operates internationally. We are sure that Biocartis will benefit tremendously from his skills and deep knowledge of the US market. Of course, we wish to thank Roald for his enormous contribution to the Company over the past eight years.
Following this change in Board composition, the Board now consists of five independent directors out of a total of six directors. Mr. Dechairos appointment will be submitted to the confirmation by the Companys annual shareholders meeting which will be held on 12 May 2023.
--- END ---
More information:
e-mail: ir@biocartis.com
@Biocartis_
www.linkedin.com/Biocartis
About Biocartis
With its revolutionary and proprietary Idylla platform, Biocartis (Euronext Brussels: BCART) aspires to enable personalized medicine for patients around the world through universal access to molecular testing, by making molecular testing actionable, convenient, fast and suitable for any lab. The Idylla platform is a fully automated sample-to-result, real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) based system designed to offer in-house access to accurate molecular information in a minimum amount of time for faster, informed treatment decisions. Idylla's continuously expanding menu of molecular diagnostic tests address key unmet clinical needs, with a focus in oncology. This is the fastest growing segment of the molecular diagnostics market worldwide. Today, Biocartis offers tests supporting melanoma, colorectal, lung and liver cancer, as well as for COVID-19, Flu, RSV and sepsis. For more information, visit www.biocartis.com or follow Biocartis on Twitter @Biocartis_ , Facebook or LinkedIn.
Biocartis and Idylla are registered trademarks in Europe, the United States and other countries. The Biocartis and Idylla trademark and logo are used trademarks owned by Biocartis. Please refer to the product labeling for applicable intended uses for each individual Biocartis product.
This press release is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in any jurisdiction where to do so would be unlawful. Any persons reading this press release should inform themselves of and observe any such restrictions. Biocartis takes no responsibility for any violation of any such restrictions by any person. This press release does not constitute an offer or invitation for the sale or purchase of securities in any jurisdiction. No securities of Biocartis may be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company's or, as appropriate, the Company directors' or managements' current expectations and projections concerning future events such as the Company's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, performance, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which the Company operates. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities are not guarantees of future performance and should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. In addition, even if actual results or developments are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in future periods. No representations and warranties are made as to the accuracy or fairness of such forward-looking statements. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based, except if specifically required to do so by law or regulation. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person's officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Aalst, Belgium, February 22, 2023 Ontex Group NV, a leading international provider of personal hygiene solutions, will release its Q4 and FY 2022 results at 07:00 CET / 06:00 GMT on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Management will host a webcast for investors and analysts on the same day at 13:00 CET / 12:00 GMT. Click on the link below to attend the presentation from your laptop, tablet or mobile device.
https://channel.royalcast.com/landingpage/ontexgroup/20230301_1
A replay of the webcast will be available at the same link shortly after the conclusion of the live presentation, and remain available on the same link for one year.
Would you wish to participate to the Q&A session at the end of the call, please contact investor.relations@ontexglobal.com prior to the date of publication. Note that the Q&A session is restricted to professional investors and analysts only.
Enquiries
Investors Geoffroy Raskin +32 53 33 37 30 investor.relations@ontexglobal.com
Media Maarten Verbanck +32 53 33 36 20 corporate.communications@ontexglobal.com
About Ontex
Ontex is a leading international provider of personal hygiene solutions, with expertise in baby care, feminine care and adult care. Ontexs innovative products are distributed in more than 110 countries through leading retailer brands, lifestyle brands and Ontex brands. Employing some 9,000 people all over the world, Ontex has a presence in 21 countries, with its headquarters in Aalst, Belgium. Ontex is listed on Euronext Brussels and is part of the Bel Mid. To keep up with the latest news, visit ontex.com or follow Ontex on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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Dublin, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Middle East & Africa Green Data Center Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The Middle East and Africa green data center market is expected to reach a value of $1.58 billion by 2027 from $690 million in 2021, growing at a CAGR of 14.81% during 2022-2027
Major cloud service providers in the region expect to expand their presence during the forecast period, which enhances the demand for wholesale colocation services in the region. The Middle East and Africa green data center will witness investments from cloud service providers, such as Google, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Oracle, and Tencent.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey, Israel, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria witnessed commercial investments in deploying the 5G network.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
The Middle East and Africa green data center market account for around 10% of the overall data center market in the region. The region, primarily Africa-based countries, has been slow in adopting efficiency in operations due to lower fund availability. However, investment is expected to grow with more funding flowing into the industry and global operators entering the market.
Colocation operators in the Middle East and Africa green data center market, such as Equinix, Moro Hub, Digital Realty, Gulf Data Hub, and Rack Centre, have been investing in efficient operations to achieve their sustainability goals.
Innovations in green operations are also being explored. For instance, Saudi Arabia is exploring free cooling using salt and sunlight, wherein this electricity-free cooling technique is being developed at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
The increased hyperscale data centers in the region and the need to power the facilities with renewable energy will also be a significant revenue boost for renewable energy suppliers and energy companies.
PUE of Data Centers is Decreasing?
Data centers operators in the Middle East and Africa region are increasingly targeting a PUE of < 1.5, using innovative design, power, and cooling technologies such as hybrid cooling, advanced UPS systems, smart DCIM solutions, and the adoption of renewable energy sources.
Government Interest In Curbing Carbon Emissions Will Drive Middle East And Africa Green Data Center Market Developments
Several regional governments are driving the requirement for sustainable data center operations to ensure a reduced carbon footprint. Several countries have announced plans to become carbon neutral between 2030 and 2050.
The Saudi Arabia government aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2060. It is conducting the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit and the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) in November 2022 to chart actionable plans to combat climate change.
UAE has planned to reduce its carbon emissions by 31% by 2030.
As per the National Determined Contribution (NDC) 2020, South Africa announced that its range of GHG emissions will be between 398 million tonnes of CO2 to 440 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030.
Governments are also partnering with renewable energy companies to develop renewable energy projects like wind and solar farms.
ELEMENTS OF GREEN DATA CENTERS
Innovations In Power Technologies
As Lithium and Nickel are essential innovations in batteries, the gulf countries, primarily Saudi Arabia, are investing in mining. It has planned to attract investment of around USD 32 billion in the minerals and mining sectors.
Lepidico, an Australian company, collaborates with Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) for lithium production in the Middle East. It has acquired over 600,000 square feet of land, aiming to invest around USD 95 million to set up its plants in Abu Dhabi.
To grow the usage of green energy, in August 2021, an investment of over USD 1 million was made by I-G3N, a battery manufacturer in South Africa.
In March 2022, Siemens announced that it would provide the first microgrid in Qatar, mostly for industrial use. It has collaborated with Qatar Solar Energy for its establishment. It will ultimately lessen the electricity cost and control greenhouse emissions at its facility in Doha.
Innovations In Cooling Technologies
The use of free cooling reduces the usage of water and power to cool IT infrastructure. For at least part of the year, free cooling can be explored in various countries that witness colder climates.
Owing to the hotter climate in most Middle Eastern and African countries, liquid cooling will be one of the better and more efficient techniques to ensure better cooling in data centers operating in the region.
Increasing Modular Data Center Design & Deployment
Modular data center buildouts tackle challenges such as a high PUE, high operational costs of traditional data centers, and high environmental impact.
The Middle East and Africa have both witnessed significant investments in modular data center deployment, which offers several efficiency-related benefits, including the opportunity for expansion based on business requirements, and lesser use of cement, among other things.
MDX-I's (Equinix) Lekki Data Center in Lagos, Nigeria, which opened in April 2022, has been built as a modular data center facility according to Tier III standards.
Hyperscale Operators Stacking Up On Renewable Energy PPAs
Google, AWS, Microsoft, Alibaba Cloud, and Oracle are some hyperscale operators in the Middle East and Africa region. They are all aggressively pursuing the adoption of renewable energy to meet their sustainability goals. For instance, in July 2021, AWS signed a deal with TotalEnergies to power its renewable energy operations and expanded its partnership in various regions, including the Middle East.
Renewable Energy Adoption by Colocation Service Providers
Equinix, Africa Data Centres, Rack Centre, Moro Hub, Gulf Data Hub, Khazna Data Centers, and Digital Realty are some significant data center service providers operating using renewable energy and aiming to be carbon neutral in the Middle East and Africa green data center market.
For instance, Moro Hub, a DEWA's digital arm Digital DEWA subsidiary, is constructing a facility at Dubai's Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The carbon-neutral green data center, with a more than 100 MW capacity, will be powered exclusively by renewable energy.
Key Metrics
Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 255 Forecast Period 2021 - 2027 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2021 $690 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2027 $1580 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 14.8% Regions Covered Africa, Middle East
VENDOR LANDSCAPE
Prominent Data Center Investors
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Africa Data Centres
Equinix
Future Digital Data Systems (FDDS)
Gulf Data Hub
Digital Realty
IXAfrica
Moro Hub
Meeza
Microsoft
Ooredoo
Paratus Group
Rack Centre
Raxio Data Centres
Turkcell
Google
Renewable Energy Providers
MASE
Enerwhere
SolarWind Middle East
Yellow Door Energy
Masdar
Canadian Solar
SirajPower
ACWA Power
EDF Renewables
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)
ENGIE
AMEA Power
TotalEnergies
ACCIONA Energia
Scatec
Green Data Center Metrics
Policy Drivers
the Paris Agreement & Science Based Targets Initiative (Sbti)
Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact
Long Duration Energy Storage (Ldes) Council
Re100
Circular Economy
Energy Certifications
It Infrastructure Efficiency
E-Waste Disposal
Market Opportunities & Trends
Establishment of Green It Solutions
Server Virtualization
Converged & Hyperconverged Infrastructure
Advanced Risc Machine (Arm) Servers
Data Storage Administration
Governments' Carbon Neutrality Pledge
Adoption of Innovative Power Technologies
Ecodiesel Generators
Natural Gas Generators
Fuel Cells
Hvo Fuel
Nuclear Energy Generation
Microgrids
Grid Interactive Ups
Adoption of Advanced Ups Batteries
Green Construction & Urban Maintenance Techniques
Modular Data Center Deployment
Other Construction Techniques
Innovative Data Center Cooling Technologies
Market Growth Enablers
Renewable Energy Initiatives by Hyperscale & Cloud Operators
Renewable Energy Initiatives by Colocation Operators
Automated & Intelligent Monitoring Solutions
Deployment of Modular Data Centers
Market Restraints
Increased Carbon Emissions from Data Centers
Water Consumption by Data Centers
Lack of Skilled Data Center Professionals
Location Constraints for Green Data Centers
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5f4ztf-east-and?w=12
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ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
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Westford, USA, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North America is a leading contributor to the global emergency medical services (EMS) products market . The region's dominance can be attributed to several factors, including the rising incidence of trauma injuries and the growing need for robust medical emergency management systems. In addition, the rising incidence of injuries resulting from accidents, natural disasters, and other emergencies has led to a growing demand for high-quality emergency medical services products. Moreover, the rapid growth in demand for emergency response, expanding demand for accurate patient health condition tracking, and improved and safe treatment due to the preparedness of the healthcare workforce are anticipated to boost the market growth.
As per SkyQuest's global research, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a prevalent medical emergency, with an incidence ranging from 26.4 per 100,000 in Asia to 52.3 per 100,000 population in North America. The high incidence of cardiac arrests highlights the critical need for timely and effective emergency medical services to save lives.
Browse in-depth TOC on "Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Products Market"
Pages - 243
Tables - 69
Figures - 68
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Emergency medical services (EMS) are a system that provides timely and critical healthcare services during an emergency. This active service is offered to patients who require immediate medical attention due to an injury or sudden illness. The primary objective of EMS is to provide emergency medical care to patients and transport them to the nearest healthcare facility for further treatment.
Prominent Players in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Products Market
Stryker (US)
Asahi Kasei (Japan)
Medtronic (Ireland)
Smith & Nephew (UK)
Ziqitza Health Care Limited (India)
Philips (Netherlands)
Cardinal Health (US)
GE Healthcare (US)
Smiths Medical (UK)
3M (US)
Johnson & Johnson (US)
Convatec Group (UK)
Becton, Dickinson (US)
C. R. Bard (US)
B. Braun (US)
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ECG Monitor Segment to Remain the High Growth Contributor owing to Its Crucial Role in Diagnosing and Monitoring Heart Conditions
The ECG monitor segment accounted for the largest share of the emergency medical services (EMS) products market in 2021. With the rising demand for high-quality medical care and increased healthcare spending, the ECG monitor segment is expected to gain high momentum from 2022 to 2028. According to industry research, ECG monitors have gained significant traction in recent years due to their ability to provide quick and accurate monitoring of patients' heart conditions in emergencies. In addition, the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and the rising demand for advanced medical technology have driven the growth of the ECG monitor segment.
The North American region dominated the emergency medical services (EMS) products market in 2021 due to its well-established healthcare and hospital sectors and integrated emergency medical response systems. According to SkyQuest's research, over 300,000 females and 250,000 males were admitted to the emergency department in Canada during 2020-2021. The high number of critical patient admissions creates a significant need for effective emergency medical services, which is expected to grow the market.
Hospital Segment to Attain Significant Growth Rate Thanks to Growing Demand for Emergency Medical Care and Need for Well-Equipped Healthcare Facilities
The hospital segment was the leading revenue generator for the emergency medical services (EMS) products market in 2021. According to regional research conducted by SkyQuest, approximately 7 million surgeries were performed in registered hospitals in the United States in 2020. In hospitals, it is much easier to handle emergencies during critical care or post-treatment complications, making it a primary source of revenue for the EMS products market globally. Hospitals are crucial in providing medical care, and emergency medical services are no exception. The increasing number of surgeries and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases are expected to drive the demand for emergency medical services in hospitals.
The Asia-Pacific region is predicted to experience rapid growth and profitability by 2028, driven by the increasing demand for high-quality medical care and rising healthcare spending. With developing nations like China, India, and Japan leading the way, the region is poised for significant expansion in the coming years. As a result, healthcare companies are investing heavily in research and development to develop new products and services that can meet the unique needs of the Asia-Pacific market. This focus on innovation is expected to fuel the growth of the healthcare industry and create new opportunities for businesses and investors.
The emergency medical services (EMS) products market is an industry that has been experiencing significant growth in recent years. This market has gained considerable traction due to the increased demand for medical supplies and services during emergencies. To better understand this market, SkyQuest has published a comprehensive research report which provides valuable insights into its size, share, and key players. The report offers a complete overview of the EMS products market, including its growth prospects, challenges, and opportunities. In addition, it includes an in-depth analysis of the market's current state, as well as its future outlook.
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Key Developments in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Products Market
The Spokane Fire Department has recently collaborated with Handtevy, a medical technology company, to develop a new pediatric emergency medical care system. The Handtevy pediatric resuscitation system and mobile app have been created to provide critical treatment information in seconds. The system includes dosing information and tools to help with CPR, defibrillation, and document care. The Handtevy pediatric resuscitation system and mobile app are designed to aid first responders in providing the best possible care to children in emergencies.
AmeriPro Health LLC, a portfolio of healthcare companies, has recently announced the acquisition of CareMed EMS, an emergency and non-emergency ambulance service provider based in Mississippi. CareMed EMS offers its services in Mississippi and Tennessee. The acquisition will allow AmeriPro Health to significantly expand its capabilities and increase its presence in the Southeast, in addition to Georgia and Florida. In addition, the acquisition will provide CareMed EMS with access to additional infrastructure and capital resources that will enable them to support their current growth and meet the growing demand for services.
Siyata Mobile Inc. has recently announced that it has received an order worth $750,000 from an independent emergency management service provider for its next-generation MCPTT solution. Siyata Mobile is a global provider of innovative Push-to-Talk over Cellular and cellular signal booster solutions. The order includes the Company's SD7 devices and related accessories. The MCPTT solution is an advanced Push-to-Talk technology designed for mission-critical communications. It allows instant communication between teams, which is crucial for emergency services.
Key Questions Answered in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Products Market Report
What factors can affect a target market, and how do they differ across different segments and products?
How can market players effectively analyze and track the impact of various factors on their target market, and what tools and techniques can they use to do so?
How to effectively deal with the development of regulations and policies that benefit their industry, and what strategies can they use to achieve this?
How can market players effectively identify and evaluate emerging technologies and innovations that could disrupt their industry, and what steps can they take to respond proactively?
Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:
Global Healthcare BPO Market
Global Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Market
Global Dental 3D Printing Material Market
Global Plasmapheresis Market
Global Palliative Care Market
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Dublin, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "GCC Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The GCC data center market is expected to reach a value of $5.5 billion by 2028 from $3.44 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 8.14%
This report analyses the GCC data center market share. It elaboratively analyses the existing and upcoming facilities and investments in IT, electrical, mechanical infrastructure, general construction, and tier standards. It discusses market sizing and investment estimation for different segments.
DRIVING FACTORS FOR INVESTMENT IN THE REGION
The increased demand for the facilities is driven by the presence of smart cities, 5G and its applications, and the adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud-based services.
The increase in the adoption of cloud-based services in the region is growing the establishment of cloud regions by major cloud service providers such as Microsoft, Tencent cloud, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, and Alibaba Cloud. Microsoft Azure is opening its new cloud region in Qatar, a global data center facility. The region is also witnessing the adoption of cloud services as the governments adopt policies for implementing cloud services in the region. For instance, the Saudi Arabian government implemented the Cloud first policy to adopt cloud services in the region.
Telecom operators such as Saudi Telecom Company (stc), Mobily, Zain, Atlas, Sirius Telecom, Ooredoo, Nokia, Ericsson, and Vodafone are the major companies that deploy 5G connectivity in the GCC data center market. In the GCC region, around five submarine cables are currently under development. In terms of existing submarine cables, United Arab Emirates has the largest network of Submarine cables, with more than 15 submarine cables connected.
DRIVING FACTORS FOR AREA IN THE REGION
The government initiatives for developing the GCC data center market include the steps taken to reduce the price of the land to promote investment in the country. For instance, the Oman government reduce the cost of the land to facilitate the investment of the data centers in the country.
The presence of industrial parks, the availability of land, and the government's support motivate the operators to develop facilities in GCC countries. For instance, the Government of Bahrain announced the launching of its first data center park, which includes the development of its first data center by stc Bahrain through collaboration with the ministry of transport and Telecommunications.
The majority of the GCC countries have the availability of Free Trade Zones (FTZs). For instance, Oman has free trade zones such as the Al Mazunah Free Zone, Salalah Free Zone, Sohar Free Zone, and Duqm SEZ. These zones provide multiple benefits to investors, including corporate tax exemption, full exemption of import and export taxes, and local labor recruitment.
DRIVING FACTORS OF THE POWER CAPACITY IN THE REGION
In terms of renewable energy, GCC countries produce renewable energy majorly from solar, geothermal, and wind energy sources & aim to be carbon neutral. For instance, the UAE announced its plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 with an investment of over USD 160 billion towards renewable energy.
The GCC countries make initiatives for the development of renewable energy. For instance, the Bahrain government took National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEFAP), and the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) was formed to increase the renewable energy addition by 10% in 2035.
In addition, the GCC region is witnessing a rise in investments in solar parks and renewable energy sources, which facilitate increasing renewable energy usage during the forecasted period. For instance, Shagaya renewable-energy park plans to expand its generation capacity of 4 GW by developing concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, solar PV farms, and wind farms by 2027.
The region also witnessed the power purchase agreement for powering the data centers. For instance, Khazna Data Centers formed a new Joint Venture (JV) with BEEAH Digital and planned to build a new 9 MW data center that will likely be powered by solar power. In terms of IT load, Saudi Arabia is dominating the GCC data center market with the addition of IT load by upcoming facilities during the forecast period. The UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain follow Saudi Arabia.
SUPPLY & DEMAND IN THE GCC DATA CENTER MARKET
Government support and initiatives in digitalization are expected to boost the GCC data center market. For instance, the Arab League Digital Economy Federation (AFDE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ATDXT, a UAE-based digital transformation company, to build a new regional facility to promote digital transformation across the Gulf region.
The UAE is the most advanced technology market among GCC countries in the GCC region due to the presence of two smart cities, such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which drives the demand for data center investments. The expansion of cloud regions by hyperscale operators and internet service providers is fuelling the region's significant demand for data center investments.
The major colocation service providers in the GCC data center market include Ooredoo, Khazna Data Centers, Equinix, Gulf data hub, Zajil Telecom, Moro Hub, Oman Data Park, Mezza, Etisalat, and Saudi Telecom Company (stc). In addition, the region is also witnessing investments from new entrants such as ZeroPoint DC, EDGNEX, and Quantum Switch.
The migration of the on-premises data centers to colocation is increasing in the GCC region. For instance, the Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA) was the first government entity to migrate its workloads from the on-premises data center to the G42 (Group 42) cloud.
In the GCC region, several sectors, such as BFSI, healthcare, education, hospitality, government, and transport, have observed data migration to the cloud. For instance, the educational institutions in the GCC region migrated their core applications, such as Student Information System (SIS) and Correspondence Management System (CMS), to the AWS cloud.
WHY SHOULD YOU BUY THIS RESEARCH?
The GCC market investments are classified into IT, power, cooling, and general construction services with sizing and forecast.
A comprehensive analysis of the latest trends, growth rate, potential opportunities, growth restraints, and prospects for the industry.
Business overview and product offerings of prominent IT infrastructure providers, construction contractors, support infrastructure providers, and investors operating in the industry.
A transparent research methodology and the analysis of the demand and supply aspects of the market.
Key Metrics
Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 178 Forecast Period 2022 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $3.44 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $5.5 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 8.1% Regions Covered Middle East
Coverage
Facilities Covered (Existing): 78
Facilities Identified (Upcoming): 44
Coverage: 6 Countries
Existing vs. Upcoming (Area)
Existing vs. Upcoming (IT Load Capacity)
VENDOR LANDSCAPE
Major Vendors
IT Infrastructure Providers
Arista Networks
Atos
Broadcom
Cisco Systems
Dell Technologies
Fujitsu
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Hitachi Vantara
Huawei Technologies
IBM
Juniper Networks
Lenovo
NetApp
Oracle
Data Center Construction Contractors & Sub-Contractors
AECOM
Al Latifia Trading & Contracting
Aldar Properties
Arup
Ashi & Bushnag
Atkins
Capitoline
Dar
DC PRO BV
Direct Services
Edarat Group
EGEC
Egis
HATCO
HHM Building Contracting
Hill International
ICS Nett
INT'LTEC Group
JAMED
James L. Williams (JLW)
Laing O'Rourke
Linesight
M+W Group
Mace
Marafie Group
McLaren Construction Group
Red Engineering
RW Armstrong
SANA Creative Systems
Specialist Technical Services (STS Group)
Turner & Townsend
Support Infrastructure Providers
ABB
Airedale
Alfa Laval
Canovate
Caterpillar
Cummins
Delta Electronics
Eaton
Enrogen
Envicool
Grundfos
Honeywell International
Johnson Controls
Legrand
Mitsubishi Electric
Rittal
Rolls-Royce
STULZ
Schneider Electric
Siemens
Vertiv
Data Center Investors
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Batelco
Etisalat (e&)
Equinix
Gulf Data Hub
Google
Khazna Data Centers
MEEZA
Mobily
Moro Hub
Oman Data Park
Ooredoo
Saudi Telecom Company (stc)
Tencent Cloud
Zain
Zajil Telecom
New Entrants
EDGNEX
Quantum Switch
ZeroPoint DC
EXISTING VS. UPCOMING DATA CENTERS
Existing Facilities in the region (Area and Power Capacity)
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Oman
Kuwait
Qatar
List of Upcoming Facilities in the region (Area and Power Capacity)
REPORT COVERAGE:
The segmentation includes:
IT Infrastructure
Servers
Storage Systems
Network Infrastructure
Electrical Infrastructure
UPS Systems
Generators
Transfer Switches & Switchgears
PDUs
Other Electrical Infrastructure
Mechanical Infrastructure
Cooling Systems
Racks
Other Mechanical Infrastructure
Cooling Systems
CRAC & CRAH Units
Chiller Units
Cooling Towers, Condensers & Dry Coolers
Other Cooling Units
General Construction
Core & Shell Development
Installation & Commissioning Services
Engineering & Building Design
Fire Detection & Suppression Systems
Physical Security
Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM)
Tier Standard
Tier I & Tier II
Tier III
Tier IV
Geography
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Oman
Kuwait
Qatar
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/q4m0fy-data-center?w=12
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ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
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Pune, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The report published by Maximize Market research, on the Aluminum Foil Market , covers an extensive regional analysis and competitive landscape, which is a combination of both primary and secondary data. Over the forecast period, Maximize Market research expects the market to grow from USD 25.66 Bn in 2021 to USD 42.47 Bn in 2029 at a CAGR of 6.5 percent. As per the report, the North America region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5 percent during the forecast period. To estimate the Aluminum Foil market size, the bottom-up approach was used.
Aluminum Foil Market Report Scope
Market Size in 2021 USD 25.66 Bn. Market Size in 2029 USD 42.47 Bn. CAGR 6.5 percent (2022-2029) Forecast Period 2022-2029 Base Year 2021 Number of Pages 294 No. of Tables 118 No. of Charts and Figures 116 Segment Covered Type, Form, Product, Application and End-User Regional Scope North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, South America Report Coverage Market Share, Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20222029, Market Dynamics, Growth Drivers, Restraints, Investment Opportunities, and Key Trends, Competitive Landscape, Key Players Benchmarking, Competitive Analysis, MMR Competition Matrix, Competitive Leadership Mapping, Global Key Players Market Ranking Analysis.
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In 2021, the Aluminum Foil Market in the Asia Pacific region dominated the global market by holding the largest revenue share of about 55 percent
The Asia Pacific region is expected to retain its dominance during the forecast period. The growth of the Aluminum Foil Market is majorly attributed to the high demand for aluminum foil in the region due to the huge consumption of it in China for the manufacture of aluminum packaging products. In the region, the demand for aluminum foil is also increasing for the storage of food products. Major industries such as pharmaceutical , food and EV battery manufacturers are expected to drive the market growth.
During the forecast period, the Aluminum Foil Market in the North America region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5 percent
In the North America region, the market is growing majorly due to the increasing use of Aluminum Foil for insulation purposes in white and brown goods. The increasing consumption of food and grocery products is also expected to drive the Aluminum Foil Market growth during the forecast period.
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Aluminum Foil Market Segmentation
By Type
0.007 mm - 0.09 mm
0.09 mm - 0.2 mm
0.2 mm - 0.4 mm
By Form
Printed
Unprinted
By Product
Wrapper Foils
Containers Foils
Foil Lids
Pouches
Blister Packs
Others
By Application
Food
Dairy
Bakery
Confectionary
Ready-to-eat
Others
By End-User
Packaging
Industrial
By Product, the blister packs segment is expected to contribute largely to the Aluminum Foil market growth because blister packs are commonly used for packing medicine tablets and capsules in the pharmaceutical sector. During the forecast period, the food segment is expected to be the largest contributor to the Aluminum Foil market growth. The growth of the segment is mainly due to the increasing sales of dairy products and packed food, which is driving the Aluminum Foil Market growth. The demand for these products and food is increasing because of the growing population and health awareness. The rising environmental concerns and use of sustainable materials is also expected to drive market growth.
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By the End-User, the largest Aluminum Foil market share was held by the packaging segment. The segment dominated the market in 2021 and is expected to retain its dominance by the end of the forecast period.
Aluminum Foil Market Key Competitors include:
China Hongqiao Group Limited (China)
Hindalco Industries Ltd. (India)
RusAL (Russia)
Amcor (Australia)
Eurofoil, Pactic LLC (Luxembourg, Europe)
Zhejiang Zhongjin Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd (China)
Hulamin Ltd (South Africa)
Alcoa Corporation (US)
Novelis Inc. (US)
Ess Dee Aluminum Ltd (India)
Penny Plate (US)
Wyda Packaging (Pty) LTD. (South Africa)
Alufoil Products Pvt. Ltd (India)
Xiashun Holdings Limited (China)
EP Group. (UK)
Carcano Antonio S.p.A. (Italy)
Assan Aluminyum (Turkey)
All Foils. Inc. (US)
Loften Foils. Inc. (China)
CONSTANTIA (Austria),
Coppice Alupack Ltd. (UK),
Tetra Pak International S.A. (Switzerland),
Arnold Magnetic Technologies (US),
Zenith Alluminio Srl (Italy),
TOYO ALUMINIUM K.K. (Japan),
Danpak (Pakistan),
Plus Pack AS (Denmark),
Alfipa (Germany),
Wrisco Industries Inc. (US),
PECTEC Corporation (US).
Aluflexpack AG (Switzerland)
Henan Huawei Aluminium Co., Ltd (China)
Key questions answered in the Aluminum Foil Market are:
What is Aluminum Foil?
In what segments the Aluminum Foil Market is divided?
Which segment is expected to contribute largely to the Aluminum Foil Market growth?
What are the global trends in the Aluminum Foil Market?
What are the upcoming industry applications of the Aluminum Foil Market?
What are the factors contributing to the final price of Aluminum Foil?
What are the recent industry trends that can be implemented to generate additional revenue streams for Aluminum Foil Market?
What growth strategies are the players considering to increase their presence in the Aluminum Foil Market?
Who are the leading companies and what are their portfolios in the Aluminum Foil Market?
What are the major challenges that the Aluminum Foil Market could face in the future?
Who held the largest market share in the Aluminum Foil Market?
Key Offerings:
Past Market Size and Competitive Landscape (2018 to 2021)
Past Pricing and price curve by region (2018 to 2021)
Market Size, Share, Size & Forecast by different segment | 20222029
Aluminum Foil Market Dynamics Growth Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Key Trends by region
Aluminum Foil Market Segmentation A detailed analysis by Type, Form, Product, Application, End-User and Region
Competitive Landscape Profiles of selected key players by region from a strategic perspective Competitive landscape Market Leaders, Market Followers, Regional player Competitive benchmarking of key players by region
PESTLE Analysis
PORTERs analysis
Value chain and supply chain analysis
Legal Aspects of business by region
Lucrative business opportunities with SWOT analysis
Recommendations
Maximize Market Research is leading Material & Chemical research firm, has also published the following reports:
Copper Foil Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 22.42 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 8.67 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand for electronic products and the high demand for lithium-ion batteries in the automotive industry.
Plastic Films and Sheets Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 178.19 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 4.5 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand for bi-axially oriented films in the world.
Cast Acrylic Sheets Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 4.70 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 5.18 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by its excellent properties such as clarity, lightness, strength and glare reduction because of which the cast acrylic sheets are utilized as a substitute for materials such as ceramic, glass and wood in architecture, sanitary ware and signs and display industries.
Blister Packaging Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 42.49 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 8.82 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by increasing healthcare spending and the increasing demand for blister packaging from pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical sectors.
BOPET Packaging Films Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 11 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 5.2 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand for clean and quality food along with the increasing population and their changing lifestyle.
About Maximize Market Research:
Maximize Market Research is a multifaceted market research and consulting company with professionals from several industries. Some of the industries we cover include medical devices, pharmaceutical manufacturers, science and engineering, electronic components, industrial equipment, technology and communication, cars and automobiles, chemical products and substances, general merchandise, beverages, personal care, and automated systems. To mention a few, we provide market-verified industry estimations, technical trend analysis, crucial market research, strategic advice, competition analysis, production and demand analysis, and client impact studies.
Dublin, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Domestic Tourism Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Tour Type (Adventure, Spiritual/Cultural, Sports, Weekend Getaways), By Tourism Type, By Mode Of Booking, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The global domestic tourism market size is expected to reach USD 5,858.27 billion by 2030. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 17.0% from 2023 to 2030.
The market is anticipated to expand further as disposable income rises, travel preferences among all age groups increase, and new tourist sites and touristic themes emerge. Many nations adopt the worldwide trend of spending more on leisure travel than on business travel, which is aiding the market thrive.
Domestic and international travelers have been drawn to both traditional and new tourism themes, such as nature, heritage and culture, religion, adventure, health and wellness, MICE, and weddings, among others.
Future industry development will be fueled by substantial domestic demand and economic growth, price-competitive services, infrastructural development, the introduction of new travel destinations, and specialized tour packages.
The adventure-based tourism segment of the domestic tourism market is dominating, and it is anticipated that it would hold the largest market share during the forecasted period. Adventure tourism initiatives open doors to new commercial possibilities. Numerous businesses focus on assisting new adventure tourism entrepreneurs in marketing their goods. Every new adventure tourism activity brings with it a fresh market potential.
Europe held the largest market share in 2022, owing to the continuous expansion of the residential sector on account of the increasing number of people. Owing to the internet-based economies, trends toward globalization in culture and communication, and the growing accessibility of travel for ever-larger segments of the population. Additionally, Europe has emerged as the greatest "source region" for tourists that travel abroad.
The tourism business was severely impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. During the holiday season, many operators reported an upsurge in cancellations for outward travel, although domestic travel plans have not yet been impacted. In this way, tourism fosters a sense of European identity and raises awareness of the continent's cultural and natural legacy, as well as regional and potentially sustainable development.
Domestic Tourism Market Report Highlights
Domestic Tourism was valued at USD 1,670.32 billion in 2022 and is expected to register a CAGR of 17.0% over the forecast period. Domestic tourism is a tool that governments use to address local poverty, create jobs and economic growth, upgrade infrastructure, and relieve the strain of overpopulation. Instances of such strategies include discretionary pricing policies and the provision of non-wage tourism benefits
Adventure segment was valued a USD 551.8 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 1,846.2 Billion by 2030. A trip that involves adventure tourism comprises at least two of the three elements of physical exercise, exposure to the outdoors, and cultural immersion. Risk and some skill from the visitor are frequently involved
Interstate travel segment is expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period with a CAGR of 17.5% from 2022 to 2030. The non-leisure routes connecting major metro cities to II or III-tier locations continue to show more demand as people return to or after celebrating holidays with their relatives or loved ones. Interstate passengers are seen to be lured to less travelled areas
Online segment is expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period with a CAGR of 18.1% from 2022 to 2030. Online mode of operations is the recent trend in tour and travel industry. Online mode helps tour operators to increase their reach to the customers; online operation leads to cost reduction because of which tour operators can provide the discount to their customers
Europe region was valued a USD 650.91 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 2,247.2 billion by 2030. The European Union (EU) aims to promote tourism in order to maintain the region's position as a leading destination, and maximize the industry's contribution to growth and employment
Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 80 Forecast Period 2023 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $1670.32 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $5858.27 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 17.0% Regions Covered Global
Key Topics Covered:
Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope
Chapter 2. Executive Summary
Chapter 3. Domestic Tourism Market Variables, Trends & Scope
Chapter 4. Consumer Behavior Analysis
Chapter 5. Domestic Tourism Market: Tour Type Estimates & Trend Analysis
5.1. Tour Type Movement Analysis & Market Share, 2022 & 2030
5.2. Adventure
5.3. Spiritual/Cultural
5.4. Sports
5.5. Weekend Getaways
5.6. Others (Business, Organized Tours)
Chapter 6. Domestic Tourism Market: Tourism Type Estimates & Trend Analysis
6.1. Tourism Type Movement Analysis & Market Share, 2022 & 2030
6.2. Local Travel
6.3. Interstate Travel
Chapter 7. Domestic Tourism Market: Mode of Booking Estimates & Trend Analysis
7.1. Mode of Booking Movement Analysis & Market Share, 2022 & 2030
7.2. Online
7.3. Offline
Chapter 8. Domestic Tourism Market: Regional Estimates & Trend Analysis
Chapter 9. Competitive Analysis
Chapter 10. Company Profiles
Companies Mentioned
Abercrombie & Kent USA LLC
Expedia Group
Cox and Kings Ltd
Kensington Tours
Micato Safari
Scott Dunn Ltd.
Tauck, Inc
Thomas Cook India Ltd
La Vacanza Travel
Butterfield & Robinson
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pu0935-tourism?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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Ashburn, Virginia, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CODAN Communications US is proud to announce the appointment of John Cremins as President of DTC Government Solutions which operates under a Special Security Agreement (SSA). In this role, John will be responsible for leading DTC's efforts to deliver essential mission critical equipment to end users in the government sector.
John is a United States Naval Academy graduate and former Navy SEAL with an MBA from Georgetown University. He has over 20 years of experience in finance, sales, and government solutions, and a proven track record of success in the industry. John's passion for delivering the best technology to end users aligns perfectly with DTC's mission and values.
"John is the ideal candidate to lead DTC Government Solutions," said CODAN Communications President, Paul Sangster. "His extensive experience in the government sector, combined with his leadership skills and commitment to excellence, make him the perfect fit for this position. We are thrilled to welcome John to the DTC team."
"I am excited to join DTC and lead the Government Solutions team," said John Cremins. "DTC is known for its commitment to innovation and its ability to deliver reliable, mission critical equipment to end users. I look forward to working with the talented team at DTC to continue this tradition of excellence."
About DTC, Domo Tactical Communications
Domo Tactical Communications (DTC) has been at the forefront of innovation for over 50 years, developing leading edge communication technologies for successful operations in demanding environments, where COFDM technologies provide longer range and penetration. As a global leader of wireless communication, DTC works with military, law enforcement, counter-terror units, governments, robotics and autonomous operations and system integrators on key surveillance and communication challenges.
DTCs mission critical solutions secure, share, and communicate real-time video, voice, and data to enable Shared Situational Awareness (SSA) on land, on sea, in the water and in the air. DTCs Cutting-edge Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET) Mesh radio solutions deliver ultra-low latency, end-to-end encryption and are used globally on-board USV, UAV and UGV platforms to support mobile, long range semi-autonomous and autonomous operations.
DTC was acquired by Codan in 2021. DTC consists of Spectronic, Corp Ten International, and Domo Broadcast Systems. Backed by an award-winning engineering team, DTCs trusted technology is at the heart of everything we do.
DTC has a global reach, with regional offices based in the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Dubai, Singapore, and Australia.
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Dallas, TX, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Dickey Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Dickeys Barbecue Pit, is spending Q1 providing generous grants, totaling over $18,500, to first responder teams up and down the west coast.
The Dickey Foundation recently headed west to deliver two grant donations. First, they visited the Cal-Fire Riverside County Fire Departments in Rancho Mirage, CA, and then on to the Huntington Beach Fire Department. In Rancho Mirage, the Dickey Foundation provided funding for an automobile extrication combo tool, which is a battery powered tool allowing firefighters to extricate occupants quickly and safely from a vehicle. Over in Huntington Beach, they generously provided a grant of eight carbon monoxide detectors for the Huntington Beach Fire Departments Hazardous Materials Team to outfit each of their eight fire engines with portable carbon monoxide detectors.
On February 27th, The Dickey Foundation will head to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for a presentation of twelve Level III shields for the Las Vegas Metro Police Departments K-9 Officers. The presentation will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the William Fortye K-9 Training Facility located at 2725 W Pyle Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89183.
At The Dickey Foundation we are so grateful for the brave first responders across our country. said Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickeys Barbecue Pit. We are thrilled to have the opportunity and means to provide these men and women with equipment to help make their jobs safer and easier.
Join us as we proudly support those who protect and serve every day in our communities. Any generous donation you make to The Dickey Foundation will help continue to support our first responders. Donate today to help save a life! You can also support the Dickey Foundation by purchasing a Big Yellow Cup or by making a donation at your local barbecue restaurant.
To learn more about The Dickey Foundation, you can follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
To learn more, follow Dickeys Barbecue Pit on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Download the Dickeys Barbecue Pit app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
To learn more about Dickeys Virtual Concepts follow: Wing Boss on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok , Trailer Birds on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok and Big Deal Burger on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok
About Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.
Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the worlds largest barbecue concept, was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. For the past 80 years, Dickeys Barbecue Pit has served millions of guests Legit. Texas. Barbecue. At Dickeys, all our barbecued meats are smoked onsite in a hickory wood burning pit. Dickeys proudly believes theres no shortcut to true barbecue and its why they never say bbq. The Dallas-based, family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and wholesome sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. The fast-casual concept has expanded worldwide with international locations in the UAE and Japan. Dickeys Restaurant brands have over 550 locations nationwide. In 2016, Dickeys won first place on Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list, was named a Top 500 Franchise by Entrepreneur in 2018 and was named to Hospitality Technology Industry Heroes in 2021. Led by CEO Laura Rea Dickey, who was named among the countrys 50 most influential women in foodservice in 2020 by Nations Restaurant News and was recognized as one of the top 25 industry leaders on Fast Casuals 2020 Top 100 Movers and Shakers list, Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Fox News, Forbes Magazine, Franchise Times, The Wall Street Journal and QSR Magazine. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com.
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San Francisco, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Like an oversized playground of happiness, Taiwan is an alluring vacation destination, a dramatically beautiful island thats teeming with outdoor adventures and outstanding cultural experiences.
Dip into a paintbox of natural colors, outdoor adventures await. Explore the islands diverse terrain on foot, on a moped or bicycle, by train, and even in a canoe. Between the bright blue sea and sky with a verdant green backdrop of mountains, hike Bitoujiao Trail, known as the Taiwanese Great Wall. In Taroko National Park, marvel at one of the Eight Wonders of Taiwan, where Qingshui Cliff above Chongde Beach rises vertically from the Pacific Ocean. Take a five-minute ferry ride to swim, surf, or sunbathe at Kaohsiungs black sand beach on Cijin Island. Visit Golden Waterfall, tinged with orange and yellow from precious metal deposits; see the panoramic Shifen Waterfall, Taiwans version of Niagara Falls; admire the unmissable Longgong Waterfall with its double pools, a wonderful discovery among the towering cypress and pines in splendid Alishan Forest Recreation Area.
Delve into Taiwans temple arts, festivals, street foods, and traditions. Enjoy an authentic Taiwanese theater, orchestra, or opera performance at the National Center for Traditional Arts. Admire exquisite carvings and offer incense to the goddess Mazu at Lukang Tianhou Palace, a national monument founded during the Ming Dynasty at the end of the 16th century. In Taipei, jump ahead to the 20th century with a visit to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Liberty Square and get a 21st century birds-eye view from the towering Taipei 101 Observatory atop the worlds tenth tallest skyscraper. As the sun sets, stroll dozens of bustling street stalls and sidewalk vendors, known collectively as night markets, come to life as an integral part of the Taiwanese social scene. With 70 night markets all over the island 30 in the capital city alone nobody goes hungry at any hour of the day or night.
This summer, Taiwan extends a warm welcome to visitors from California, served daily by direct flights to and from both San Francisco and Los Angeles international airports. Visit Tourradar Taiwan Travel Guide to explore more and book your next trip to Taiwan.
About: Taiwan Tourism Bureau is the official government agency responsible for domestic and international tourism policy development and execution. There are three North American tourism offices located in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Ready to go to Taiwan? vacationtaiwan.com
Contact: Beth Schnitzer | beth@spritzsf.com | 917.287.7064 Social: Facebook @TourTaiwan | Instagram @TaiwanTourism.na | YouTube @anytimefortaiwan Photos: Dropbox
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BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boise Valley Habitat for Humanity (BVHFH)s launch of its childrens Playhouse Program supports small businesses, like Amisas childcare business. Through partnership with Economic Opportunity (EO) by Jannus, Inc., BVHFH collaborates with individuals and small businesses in need of a childrens playhouse. BVHFH Childrens Playhouse program empowers small businesses by providing a service for expanding operations.
The Playhouse Program is a unique volunteer opportunity that gives groups and individuals a meaningful, creative and hands-on day of building playhouses that are then donated to local children or child-serving organizations or businesses. Amisas business is one such place.
When asked why Amisas family was chosen as the first playhouse recipients, Jenny Hay, child care business development project manager for EO by Jannus, Inc., said that she is extremely resourceful and is both deserving of the playhouse and extremely appreciative of it.
We've already seen the children who were there at the time that Boise Valley Habitat for Humanity and Wells Fargo gifted the playhouse to them, said Hay. The level of appreciation and utility for Amisa and also just the quality of the play environment, I knew that she could benefit from it and would also use it very enthusiastically and that the children she's caring for would use it very actively.
By partnering with Amisas small business through the donation of a childrens playhouse, Amisa can serve more children and expand her operations.
The funds raised through the Playhouse Program support Habitat's mission of building homes, communities and hope. To sponsor a build, companies make a minimum donation of $2,500 per playhouse to support the cost of their groups build day and benefit Habitats affordable homeownership programs and services.
Groups or businesses interested in sponsoring the Playhouse Program may contact Jim Phelps at jphelps@hfhboise.org or (208) 331-2916.
About Boise Valley Habitat for Humanity
Boise Valley Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical, Christian housing ministry serving Ada County as a 501 (c)3 non-profit charitable corporation. Utilizing a nearly all-volunteer organization and donations of money, land and materials from individuals, organizations and businesses, we build simple, decent affordable homes in partnership with those in need. For more information, visit www.hfhboise.org.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.5 million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org .
Contact
Kenzie Lauritzen
Development and Communications Coordinator
Boise Valley Habitat for Humanity
(208) 331-2916
English French
REGULATED RELEASE
INFORMATION REGARDING THE TOTAL VOTING RIGHTS AND SHARES OF KLEPIERRE SA AS OF JANUARY 31, 2023(1)
Paris February 22, 2023
NUMBER OF SHARES AS OF JANUARY 31, 2023
Date 01/31/2023 Company name Klepierre Trading place Euronext Paris (Compartment A) Mnemonic LI Symbols EPA:LI / LI:FP / LOIM.PA ISIN FR0000121964 Total number of shares 286,861,172 Total number of voting rights Number of theoretical voting rights(2) 286,861,172 Number of exercisable voting rights(3) 285,500,851
AGENDA May 11, 2023
May 11, 2023 Annual General Meeting
First quarter 2023 business review (before market opening)
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 19.8 billion at December 31, 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 CAC SBT 1.5, 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
(1) Provided pursuant to article l. 233-8-II of the French commercial code and article 223-16 of the general regulation of the the Autorite des marches financiers.
(2) Theoretical voting rights correspond to the total number of voting rights attached to all shares, including those deprived of voting rights (article 223-11 of the General Regulations of the Autorite des marches financiers). As of January 31, 2023, Klepierre SA owns 1,360,321 of its own shares.
(3) Exercisable voting rights correspond to the number of voting rights net of shares deprived of voting rights.
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Corruption fight key to economic recovery Dr Valentin Mensah
Maxwell Akalaare Adombila Business News Feb - 22 - 2023 , 10:54
Ghana needs to deal decisively with corruption to help reduce its expenditures and cut debt accumulation for the economy to recover from the effects of the perennial large deficits and debts, a retired auditor and chartered accountant has said.
Dr Vanletin Kwasi Mensah said at a virtual lecture at the weekend that it would also help boost taxpayers confidence in the government, leading to increased revenue collection.
Addressing the lecture by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) via Zoom, the Audit Committee Chairman of the Board of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) proposed the review of the 1992 Constitution, the asset declaration regime (ADR) and the strengthening of anti-graft institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to make it more deterrent for people to fleece the state.
Theme
The lecture was organised by the Accra West District of the ICAG on the theme Ghanas economic challenges: Is the domestic debt exchange the best option?, and was broadcast to members across the country via Zoom and other social media platforms.
Addressing the participants, Dr Mensah said corruption was a number one cause of the economic challenges that the country found itself in.
He said the practice fuelled high expenditures, majority of which were unproductive.
With revenues underperforming, he said government officials normally engaged in borrowing, leading to the accumulation of high debts that then affect economic growth.
This, he said, created a vicious cycle where high debt was used to finance unproductive expenditures and corrupt practices.
Because the regime against corruption was less effective, he said, offenders went unpunished, resulting in increased losses to the state.
Corruption has to be dealt with. If not, we will always have high expenditure.
Most of the office holders go for projects not in the interest of the state or citizens but in search of opportunities to make money, he said.
That is why shoddy work abounds and projects that should last 10 to 20 years end up lasting for just two to three years before starting to deteriorate, he said.
Tax payment
He said high corruption also discouraged compliance with tax laws by the citizens.
The perception that officials and politicians are corrupt reduces the legitimacy of the government in the eyes of ordinary people and undermines the sense of trust that is critical to the smooth running of state.
It has been shown that taxpayers are more likely to evade taxes when they believe their governments are corrupt, he said, noting that in the least corrupt countries, revenue authorities collect four per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) more in tax revenues than similar countries with the highest levels of corruption.
These are the things that an effective anti-corruption system can help us stop, he noted.
Ghana asks devt partner creditors to freeze interest payment on $8.5bn
Maxwell Akalaare Adombila Business News Feb - 22 - 2023 , 16:30
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has appealed to Ghanas development partners (DPs) to allow the country to suspend the payment of interests on about $8.5 billion owed to them for a minimum of three years.
Mr Ofori-Atta also pleaded with the bilateral and multilateral creditors to assure the country that they will support its development efforts with grants for the period that it will be unable to borrow from the international capital market.
In attendance at the meeting today were ambassadors and high commissioners of the countrys top creditor nations and representatives from international development agencies, a source in government told Graphic Online.
The source said China and its agencies, which hold more than 30 per cent of the countrys bilateral debt, was not in attendance.
A special meeting has been scheduled in Beijing for Mr Ofori-Atta and Chinese creditors later this month on the same issue, it said.
Cancellation
The source also explained that the country was not requesting debt cancellation from any of its creditors but was asking for suspension and a reduction in interest to be able to pay up.
It described the meeting as well attended and positive towards securing a pathway for Ghana to restructure its external debt of about $28.4 billion to be able to secure approval for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
Accra High Street loses lustre, congestion, security, modernity push companies away
Kester Aburam Korankye Feb - 22 - 2023 , 15:24
The once famous Accra High Street, a much sought-after business address in the capital city, is fading away in glory, as insecurity, lack of space and modernity have combined to unsettle a lot of companies, leading to their relocation to more vibrant areas in the city.
Now known as John Evans Atta Mills High Street, named after the late President Atta Mills about a decade ago, the High Street, a testament to the city's past prospects, has lost its lustre and prestige, as blue chip companies such as Shell, now franchised to Vivo Energy, Cadbury, Vodafone, Standard Chartered Bank, Absa, formerly Barclays (which has maintained its head office there for over 100 years), an CFAO, which operated Multi Stores, have all moved away and relocated in more modern and vibrant locations such as the Independence Avenue, the Airport City and Cantonments, leaving behind a trail of abandoned structures.
Cadbury, now Mondelez International, for instance, has turned the building that was once its head office on the High Street into a warehouse.
Even the eateries and the Cathedral Clinic, all of which had been a part of the High Street, were out of business at the time the Daily Graphic monitored activities in the area.
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) which had its offices along a street adjoining the High Street has also relocated to the Independence Avenue.
A Daily Graphic team that studied the activities on the street and the movement to the new locations, especially those settling on the Independence Avenue, for more than five weeks, observed that the shift in allegiance was largely due to the fact that the Independence Avenue offers more spacious and appealing spaces for businesses to flourish, as well as a wider selection of amenities and facilities for customers.
The offices on the avenue are also relatively easier to access than the High Street which has become prone to congestion and dullness.
Past glory
A high street must have a complement of some buildings and facilities to obtain its name. The must-have buildings and facilities include a Lighthouse, a Cathedral, a central bank, commercial banks, an insurance company, post office, shopping malls and many retail outlets and so on.
The JEA Mills High Street was once the epicentre of the city's economy because of its regal buildings such as the Bible House, the MCMXXVI Customs office, the Jamestown Lighthouse and grandiose shops such as the City Mall, as well as its proximity to the bustling Makola market.
However, the High Street is still the address of the head office of GCB Bank, Absa, which has started the construction of a new and modern head office building on the Independence Avenue.
Having shed its former glory, the JEA Mills High Street is now taking on a rather drab and lackluster appearance, with some of the iconic buildings which once housed multinational and indigenous companies left, seemingly, to the dust.
Relocation
The Corporate Communications Manager of Vivo Energy Ghana (Shell Licensee), Shirley Tony Kum, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said Vivo had to relocate from the High Street due to the growth in the number of its employees, which required a bigger space for business operations.
She said there were also challenges with parking space as there was little or no room left in the area for a car park, raising safety concerns, with employees parking their vehicles across the streets.
In the view of Samuel Quaye, 70, who has been selling office cabinets in one of the abandoned structures on the Street, the High Street started to lose its commercial value when the road was converted into a one way lane about a decade ago.
He said many of the businesses that operated from the area had relocated, leaving the area slow and stagnant with little to no commercial activities.
In the past, when it was a double lane, people found the place suitable to do business but now all the people are leaving because the place is slow and not many commercial activities goes on there, he said.
Mr Quaye, who was reading the Daily Graphic newspaper when the team approached him for an interview, explained that the businesses had to move from the area to seek opportunities elsewhere.
New address
The Independence Avenue, on the other hand, is a bustling and energetic location that is gaining traction among entrepreneurs and businesses.
The area is quickly becoming a hotbed for commercial activities, with businesses flocking there in search of new opportunities.
As businesses continue to migrate to the Independence Avenue, it has fast become the premier business address for banks in the capital city.
For instance, Standard Chartered Bank has its modern office on the Independence Avenue.
Absa Bank, which still operates from the High Street, is also constructing its latest office complex at the Independence Avenue.
A statement from the bank indicated that finally, after 104 years of operating its head office on the Accra High Street, Absa was now preparing to relocate.
The real estate that will be occupied by the bank is in a vibrant financial hub of the capital city, along the Independence Avenue, close to the Ako-Adjei interchange, it stated.
The Managing Director of Absa, Abena Osei-Poku, was forthright in her remarks about the underlining reason behind the decision.
The time is right for us to chart a new direction in our relationship with Ghana, which will hopefully last beyond another 100 years. The dynamism of the global workplace makes it difficult for our old head office at High Street to rhyme with the evolving digital ecosystem, she said.
Our new building will be designed with only the latest trends of the digital workplace and innovation for the benefit of our employees, customers and stakeholders, she said.
Ecobank, Republic Bank, Cal Bank, Zenith Bank, Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank all have impressive structures on the Independence Avenue.
Meanwhile, Ghana Re, World Trade Centre, MTN Ghana, Shippers House of the Ghana Shippers Authority, and the GNAT Heights have all contributed to the area's impressive growth into a business hotbed in the capital.
In addition, the Accra Financial Centre, located in majestic proximity to the National Theatre, the National Theatre, the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel also provides an extensive selection of possibilities to enterprises in the vicinity.
Accra skyline
Once a city with low-rise buildings, Accra is now characterised by a skyline of modern high-rise office complexes, residential towers and shopping malls.
This transformation has been powered by rapid urbanisation, a growing middle-class and the influx of foreign direct investment.
The construction of high-rise buildings in Accra has been driven by a combination of factors such as the influx of foreign investors, which has
resulted in an increase in real estate development.
In addition, the government has allocated large sums of money to infrastructural projects throughout the city, including the construction of roads and interchanges.
This has enabled the development of new residential and commercial buildings in and around Accra.
The new developments have brought a sense of modernity to the city, while also providing a much-needed boost to the local economy.
Marine drive project
Terry Davidson, an acclaimed developer of high-end, luxurious spaces in prime locations, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, expressed regret about the High Street's slump from a bustling business centre into an antiquated shadow of what it once was.
However, he expressed the hope that the multibillion dollar marine drive project planned along the shores of Victoriaborg would reinvigorate the
corridor.
The Accra Marine Drive project is a 241-acre urban redevelopment scheme of Accras seafront.
The project origins can be traced back to the era of the first Republic when the government sought to establish Accra as a major tourism destination.
According to the Project Coordinator of the Marine Drive Project, Dr Kwame Nyantekyi-Owusu, the prime beachfront tourism enclave would provide essential infrastructure to support the countrys developing cultural and creative industries.
Deputy Lands Minister tours Ankobra River
Dotsey Koblah Aklorbortu Feb - 20 - 2023 , 07:53
The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in charge of Mines, George Mireku Duker, has noted that the return of the Ankobra River and other water bodies to purity status is a reflection of the strides made by the government to fight illegal mining.
He said the progress made in improving the turbidity level of the waterbodies was indicative that the anti-galamsey fight was yielding results.
Speaking after the tour of the Ankobra River, which is fast regaining its clean status, Mr Mireku Duker commended the various stakeholders for their respective roles in the fight against illegal mining.
He maintained that the government would not take its foot off the pedal but would press on with the measures that had resulted in the gains made so far.
River wardens
Mr Mireku Duker noted that the training and deployment of river wardens to compliment the Operation Halt II task force was another laudable initiative by the government that had contributed significantly to the liberation of waterbodies from galamsey operations.
The deputy minister urged all individuals, especially chiefs, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) and the public to join forces with the government in its bid to protect the waterbodies.
The deputy minister reiterated the governments determination to ban small-scale mining, and expressed the hope that the government through the Community Mining Scheme and other innovations would transform the small-scale mining sector.
We should take full responsibility for protecting Ghanas river bodies. We have roles to play, including MMDCEs, and we must all commit to protecting our waterbodies, Mr Mireku Duker said.
There are suggestions for the government to close down small-scale mining activities but we are aware of the number of job opportunities created in the small-scale mining sector, he stated.
Local assemblies
The DCE for Ellembelle District, Kwasi Bonzo, said the people of Ellembelle would not sit down and watch others destroy their livelihoods.
The DCE for Nzema East, Dorcas Amoah, commended the government for the Community Mining Scheme in the area, revealing that many lives had been impacted positively by the innovative mining scheme.
Beige Bank collapse: Nyinaku siphoned 10,000 customers deposits Witness
Justice Agbenorsi Feb - 22 - 2023 , 10:01
A Chartered Accountant with accounting and auditing firm, KPMG, Julius Ayivor, has told the Accra High Court that the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of defunct Beige Bank, Mike Nyinaku, siphoned funds of over 10,000 customers of the bank to himself and companies related to him.
That, according to the witness, caused the government to settle the affected customers with taxpayers money.
Mr Ayivor is currently on secondment to the Office of the Receiver of the defunct Beige Bank Limited, and the principal witness in the trial in which Nyinaku is in the dock on 43 counts of stealing, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering involving a total of GH1.3 billion from the defunct bank between 2015 and 2018.
He told the Court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, that reviews conducted into the affairs of the defunct Bank identified a number of transactions that were suspicious and unusual in nature.
Customers
The Principal Prosecution witness noted in his witness statement that deposits of over 10,000 customers of the defunct Beige Bank totalling GH449 million were siphoned out of the accounts of the said customers to the account of Beige Capital Asset Management Limited (BCAM), a company that is wholly owned by Nyinaku.
Out of the GH449 million siphoned out of the accounts of the affected customers, he said GH320 million were moved into a fictitious bank account opened in the name of one of the defunct Banks customers - First Africa Savings and Loans Limited (FASL), without the knowledge of FASLs management.
The witness stated that the fictitious bank account was opened in the name of FASL in March 2018 on the instructions of Mike Nyinaku, and a total of GH21 million was transferred out of the FASL account to the accounts of two individuals and ten companies held with the defunct bank on the instructions of Mike Nyinaku.
Nine out of the 10 companies that benefitted from the GH21 million transfer, he said, were owned by Nyinaku.
The companies are Alberry Limited, DYI Limited, Legacy Pensions Trust Limited, Adelia Limited, Beige Academy, Beige Assure Limited, Beventure Limited, Beige Care Limited and Beige Capital Limited, all of which received amounts totalling GH18 million.
Other deposits
Mr Ayivor also stated that other deposits amounting to GH141 million, placed with the defunct bank by 23 customers, were siphoned out of the accounts of the customers, between 2016 and 2018, into the account of The Beige Group Limited, a company wholly owned by Nyinaku, on his instructions.
The witness also spoke about how the banks funds amounting to GH282 million were siphoned out of the bank on the instructions of Nyinaku for his own benefit.
He stated that the amounts siphoned were recorded in four other assets ledger accounts in the banks records.
These are Directors account, Shareholders account, Beige Group Account and Prepayments Project Works account.
Statement
Mr Ayivor, who read his witness statement to the court, said Nyinaku gave approval for an amount of $200,000 to be released from the Cash Management Unit of the bank to Mike Nyinakus office in July 2017 for no work done.
The witness also noted that investments made by the bank with eight financial institutions, totalling GH62 million, were transferred to one of Mike Nyinakus companies - The Beige Group Limited- on the instructions of Mike Nyinaku, on August 17, 2017.
Cross-examination
Under the cross-examination of Nyinakus lawyer, Thaddeus Sory, the witness told the Court that there was evidence to support the claim that Government of Ghana, through its bailout package, paid all the over 10,000 customers whose fixed deposits were siphoned by Nyinaku for his benefit and companies related to him.
The witness also stated that payment of the affected customers was done by Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG), in collaboration with the office of the Receiver, after a validation, exercise to ascertain and confirm the total amount involved.
Asked if evidence was available to the court to prove that indeed the alleged customers have been paid out of the Government of Ghana bailout package, Mr Ayivor answered in the affirmative and stated that he would make the data available to the Court.
Counsel for Nyinaku asked the witness to confirm whether some of the amounts he alleged were siphoned out of the banks account into BCAMs account with the Bank were in the sums of GH5million, GH2million or less. The witness, in his response, stated: Yes, there are various amounts.
There were even instances where GH1,000 was siphoned out of customer accounts, the witness added.
Brief facts
Per the brief facts of the case narrated by Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, Deputy Attorney General, Mr Nyinaku was the former Chief Executive Officer of the Beige Bank and on August 1, 2018, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked the banking licence of Beige Bank and placed it in receivership.
He said a review of the financial and other records of the Bank conducted by the receiver and his team showed several suspicious and unusual transactions, which were subsequently reported to the law enforcement agencies for investigation.
The Attorney General said investigations conducted revealed that between 2015 and 2018, the accused person, as CEO of the Bank,had allegedly used various means to transfer huge sums of monies to companies related to him and for his personal benefits.
Chieftaincy succession: Only 6 of 300 areas documented - Asamoah Boateng
Nana Konadu Agyeman Feb - 22 - 2023 , 08:22
Only six out of the 300 traditional areas in the country have validly completed the documentation of their lines of succession, about 20 years after the National House of Chiefs initiated moves to have lines of succession to stools and skins codified to help address chieftaincy disputes.
The six traditional areas are Offinso, Tepa, Awutu, Berekum, Hwidiem and Kwahu.
The Minister-designate for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, who made this known when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament last Monday, said: This is woefully inadequate as the Volta Region alone has about 100 traditional areas and the Ashanti Region has 57.
Mr Asamoah Boateng therefore called for the intensification of the codification exercise to address the numerous chieftaincy disputes across the country.
He said a well-resourced research must be carried out to codify and itemise succession family lineage to stop people from circumventing or distorting chieftaincy succession plans.
Chieftaincy institutions are the custodians of traditional values and norms that should be upheld. Chieftaincy lineage and succession plans must therefore be well-documented and published in the chieftaincy bulletin, he said.
House of Chiefs mandate
Article 272 (b) of the 1992 Constitution, on the functions of the National House of Chiefs, mandates the House to undertake the progressive study, interpretation and codification of customary with a view to evolving, in appropriate cases, a unified system of rules of customary law, and compiling the customary laws and lines of succession, applicable to each stool or skin.
In the early 2000s, the National House of Chiefs, acting in concert with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), embarked on a project to codify lines of succession to stools and skins in the country.
Funded by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Ghana Government, the project was aimed at building a good database to end enstoolment and enskinment disputes.
Saboteurs
Answering questions during his vetting , Mr Asamoah Boateng said there were areas where people circumvented succession plans because they did not come from the royal lineage.
Therefore, the valid nomination, enstoolment, enskinment and installment of chiefs must be properly put together, he stated.
The challenge
The nominee told the committee that there were many chieftaincy cases pending in the National House of Chief and the Regional Houses of Chiefs.
He attributed the development partly to financial constraints on the part of the research department of the Chieftaincy Ministry to undertake thorough research of succession lines.
Furthermore, he said many lawyers were unwilling to offer their services to various Houses of Chiefs due to low remuneration.
If you look at the number of divisional chiefs and paramountcies, it is very significant and we need to move faster so that people do not circumvent the process because that is where the conflicts come in.
Somebody usurps the power of the chief and he wants to be enstooled. It is a question of getting resources, he said.
Second Chamber
On the question of whether he supported the creation of a second chamber for queenmothers, he said he agreed that women must play crucial roles in the chieftaincy institution.
He, therefore, urged chiefs to come on board to support the idea so that as a people we can work together.
Same sex marriage
When the NDC MP for Awutu Senya West, Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui, asked him his position on same sex marriage being legalised in the country, Mr Asamoah Boateng said: I am opposed to it.
On what he would leave as a legacy for the Chieftaincy Ministry, the nominee said it was his wish to see the ministry assume its rightful position as the custodians of our traditions.
I will make sure our traditional authorities are lifted higher to a dignified and noble status that we revere them, he stated.
He opined that the Christians and Muslim leadership must also be given the necessary support so they could get their congregation to understand that we are one nation and there is a sovereign state.
On the chieftaincy conflict in Bawku, the former Local Government Minister described it as unfortunate and stressed the need for dialogue to be used to broker peace in the area.
He also pledged to consult a lot with religious authorities as well as traditional authorities to come up with solutions to most of the problems.
I am talking to the players as the issue needs jaw-jawing, he added.
Im not for merger
When the nominees view was sought on whether it would be prudent to merge the ministries of Tourism, Arts and Culture, and the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, he said: From where I sit
I will rather do more of the collaboration than advocate merging now.
It is the prerogative of the President but I see the need for a lot of collaboration for heritage sites visits and local pilgrimages to promote tourism, he said.
SOEs performance
Sharing views on the health of state-owned enterprises, Mr Asamoah Boateng, who is the immediate past Director-General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), said those entities were supposed to bring profit and not to dissipate state assets.
If we are in economic difficulties, we should look after them and focus on them a lot more as businesses to provide more for the sustainable development of the nation, he said.
He acknowledged that some of the SOEs were insolvent and were struggling to survive, a reason that there was a programme to float some of them on the stock exchange to help them get private capital and shareholding to improve.
He, however, expressed delight that some of the SOEs, such as Ghana Gas, and the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company had currently cleared their debts, becoming more profitable entities due to the governments intervention.
Consultative meeting on Burkinabe refugees takes place
Mary Anane-Amponsah Feb - 22 - 2023 , 08:02
Stakeholders handling issues of asylum seekers have held a consultative dialogue aimed at developing an effective action plan to deal with the influx of Burkinabes seeking asylum in the country.
Over the past few weeks, more than 4,000 Burkinabes have arrived in the country, mostly in border towns in the Upper East Region, fleeing for their safety following Jihadist attacks in their country.
Stakeholders
The stakeholders at the meeting in Accra yesterday discussed strategic plans to put in place, with adequate human and financial resources as well as the logistics to deal with the challenges of reception, registration, health screening and the provision of food and shelter for the refugees.
Participants in the meeting included high-level representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB), the Ghana Immigration Service, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, regional ministers of the locations affected.
Currently, the Refugee Board has registered about 1,045 Burkinabes as asylum seekers in the country but are yet to be given refugee status.
They will remain asylum seekers until they go through the process to be recognised as refugees as a result of security reasons.
In a speech read on his behalf to open the event, the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, stated that the consultative dialogue was timely due to the increasing reports of attacks and other military actions in the southern part of Burkina Faso that had exacerbated the influx of Burkinabes into Ghana.
He said it was important for the country to be alert while receiving the refugees as movement of asylum seekers worldwide had its attendant security risks.
"More so, given the situation we have in the Upper East and Upper West regions of our beloved country, it is of utmost importance that we continue to be conscious of the risks that exist in the areas hosting Burkinabes.
We must ensure at all cost that extremists do not infiltrate the asylum system and pose a threat to our national security," the Interior Minister stated.
The inter-relationships that existed between residents of the host areas, the minister said, had resulted in fluid movements across the border between Ghana and Burkina Faso.
"Even at a time when there have been attacks on civilian populations in Burkina Faso, they continue to travel in both directions, a situation which has resulted in a reported significant reduction in the persons who have remained in Ghanaian territory," he indicated.
Mr Dery said true to the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality, the host communities in the Upper East and Upper West regions had given up part of their already scarce resources to ensure that the visitors lived comfortably.
The Interior Minister urged the Refugee Board and the UN Refugee Agency to ensure that appropriate interventions were made for the Burkinabes to ameliorate the situation of their Ghanaian hosts.
"I am confident that adequate attention will be paid to all host communities in order to maintain harmony between the two groups of people," Mr Dery said.
Situation
The Country Representative of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Esther Kiragu, disclosed that the High Commission last week elevated the Burkina Faso situation into level one emergency to amplify the need for better preparedness, given the escalating security situation there.
She said the situation in Burkina Faso was escalating and that not only had the attacks from non-state armed actors increased, but those that were providing aid were no longer able to gain access to them.
The current arrivals, Ms Kiragu said, held on as long as they could in Internally Displaced Person (IDP)-like situations but now had no choice but to flee to safety into Ghana.
"In terms of statistics, we have almost 1.88 million people in IDP camps and 74,500 people who had fled across the borders into neighbouring countries to seek asylum," she said.
Ghana, the UNHCR Country Representative said, must prepare itself to receive more asylum seekers as experience in UNHCR had taught them that when people start fleeing from IDP camps across International borders, they had to expect more because that was a sign of a deteriorating security situation at where they were coming from.
"We need to be ready to receive and manage this situation as the numbers are likely to increase, Ms Kiragu said.
She commended the country for having a long tradition of hosting refugees and being a shining light with a progressive asylum system that enabled refugees in the country to contribute to the local economy.
"We have just closed the Ivorian situation after 10 years in exile. It was the same for Liberians and Sierra Leoneans. They came, sought asylum and finally returned in safety and dignity, the Country Representative of UNHCR indicated.
Board
The Executive Director of GRB, Tetteh Padi, said the Burkinabe asylum seekers were largely being housed by Ghanaians in the communities they were located in the Upper East and Upper West regions.
"There have been few reports of some Burkinabe asylum seekers wanting to move south. Some of them were restrained and asked to stay in the Upper regions but a significant number of them have returned to Burkina Faso," he stated.
Ghana voted against Russia on principle President
Donald Ato Dapatem Feb - 22 - 2023 , 08:10
Ghanas vote at the United Nations (UN) against Russias invasion of Ukraine is in consonance with its long-standing principled stand against hegemonic tendencies of big countries that believe they can do whatever pleases them, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated.
Coming on the first anniversary since Russia invaded Ukraine of the latters attempt to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the President explained that Ghana as a founder member of the Non-Aligned Movement had consistently resisted the idea that the big powers have the freedom to do what they like on this planet. We have never accepted that principle, whether it is the Americans, Russians, Germans, the French or whatever.
President Akufo-Addo stated this when the German Ministers of Economic Cooperation and Development, and Labour and Social Affairs, Huberus Heil, as well as the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Gilbert F. Houngbo, paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House last Monday.
Also at the meeting were the Ministers of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta; Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, and Gender, Children and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu.
Principle
This is something I need to put on record, President Akufo-Addo stated, and added that the countrys history had been against great power domination of the affairs of the world and that was the reason why Ghana led the fight for independence in Africa.
He explained that it was the same principle that made the country vote against Russias invasion of Ukraine and it is a position we will continue to hold. Great powers trampling on small nations is not something that we welcome. Within our modest means we will register our disapproval of that.
President Akufo-Addo said there might be other considerations for Germany, Europeans and other countries but these are the considerations that are of significance to us.
The President also indicated that the country held the position that the planet existed for all people, the big powers as well as the small, and that hegemonic tendencies and roles of the world should be curbed as much as possible and it was a principle to do with the countrys history.
President Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that the war in Ukraine was going to end soon because it has had a pernicious impact on the countrys economy and many aspects of its national life.
Relations, migration
President Akufo-Addo described Germany as a country that had become closer with Ghana and that it was a relationship that was built on concrete measures.
He said migration would continue for some time until countries got their house in order, especially how well African countries were governed and created opportunities for the young were critical for the young people to stay at home.
The President added that it was for that reason that his administration since its inception in 2017 had come up with policies and programmes geared towards providing education and skills training for the youth as well as creating a flourishing economy.
History
The German Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Huberus Heil, commended President Akufo-Addo for leading the country to stand on the right side of history when the country voted against
Russias invasion of Ukraine. He described it as a very important statement.
That, he explained, put Ghana on the side of the countries that believed and supported the Rule of Law and the fight for the respect of internal law.
Background
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014.
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion which was adopted on March 2, 2022.
It deplored Russia's invasion of Ukraine and demanded a full withdrawal of Russian forces and a reversal of its decision to recognise the self-declared People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The resolution was sponsored by 96 countries, and passed with 141 voting in favour, including Ghana, with five against, and 35 abstentions.
The invasion has caused tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and instigated Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.
About eight million Ukrainians were displaced within their country by June last year, and more than eight million have fled the country as of this month.
Condemnation
The invasion began on the morning of February 24, 2022 upon Russian president Vladimir Putin's announcement of a "special military operation" seeking the "demilitarisation" and "denazification" of Ukraine.
The invasion has been met with widespread international condemnation. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to suspend military operations and the Council of Europe expelled Russia.
Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia, and on its ally Belarus, and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.
Adansi North NDC elections: Four convicted for disrupting polls
Esther Lamiokor Mills Oct - 25 - 2022 , 21:09
The four people arraigned for disrupting last Sunday's electoral process of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Fomena during the election of new officers for the Adansi North have been convicted and fined an amount of GH6000 each or serve a 3-month sentence in default.
A Bekwai Circuit Court handed them the sentence.
They are Kingford Anku, Adjei Evans, Francis Amoah and Akwesi Aquah.
They were arraigned Tuesday after they were arrested last Sunday [October 23, 2022] for disrupting the electoral process at Fomena.
The four were said to have destroyed chairs and other properties belonging to the Nana Abu Bonsra Primary School where the election was held.
The incident happened at the time the ballots were being counted.
Ghana needs complete new Constitution to replace 1992 one - Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso
Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson & Elizabeth Konadu-Boakye Politics Feb - 22 - 2023 , 19:53
Professor Vladimir Antwi-Danso, an international relations and security expert, is advocating for a completely new constitution to replace the 1992 Constitution.
At the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Constitutional Review Series in Accra last Tuesday (Feb 21, 2023), Prof Antwi-Danso said a review of the 1992 constitution as advocated by many experts was not far enough.
What was needed, he said, was for the constitution to be completely rewritten.
A committee of constitutional experts, he said, must rewrite the constitution to help resolve the myriad of challenges facing Ghanas democracy.
According to him, among other reasons, the constitution needed to be rewritten because it was incomprehensible for the supreme law of the land to allow all portions except the transitional provisions to be amended.
Prof. Antwi-Danso, who is also the Dean of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, was particularly critical about Section 34 of the transitional provisions, which granted indemnity from prosecution for members of the various former military regimes that were in place before the promulgation of the constitution.
As stated in the constitution, the transitional provisions cannot be amended or changed in any way. It is one of the bases that I am going to be very controversial, I do not believe in amendment of portions of the constitution anymore, I believe the whole constitution should be rewritten, he said.
Not necessary
However, a former Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, and a member of the Council of State, Sam Okudzeto, who were at the event, disagreed with Prof. Antwi-Danso and posited that a completely new constitution was not necessary.
For Justice Akuffo, the best approach was to maintain the constitution and amend the parts not fit for purpose.
I believe in picking the parts that are not working to ensure that we continue with our constitution, she said.
Justice Akuffo, however, agreed with Prof. Antwi-Danso that Section 34 of the transitional provision should be scrapped, describing the provision as ridiculous.
With regard to Mr Okudzeto, he said the fact that the constitution had defects was not a basis for writing an entirely new constitution.
He was also of the opinion that adopting a new constitution would not be an easy process and it was likely not to have enough support.
The event, which was on the theme a seminar on amending Ghanas 1992 Constitution: Views and Reflection, forms part of a series of lectures by notable individuals on the need to review the constitution.
Transitional provisions
The transitional provisions, which are contained in the first schedule of the constitution, give a framework of how laws, public officials and state institutions that were in existence before the promulgation of the constitution could gain validity under the constitution.
The provisions further bar courts and judicial bodies from entertaining legal actions against persons for their actions and inactions during the military juntas in 1966, 1972, 1979 and 1981.
Most importantly, unlike other parts of the constitution that can be amended either straightforward by Parliament or by Parliament after a referendum, the constitution does not give Parliament the power to amend the transitional provisions, with specific emphasis on Sections 34 and 35 of the provisions, which deal with the immunity for those involved in the activities of the former military juntas, and actions taken by those regimes.
After thoughts
Prof. Antwi-Danso said the rationale behind the transitional provisions was laudable as it helped in the immediate transition from military rule to democracy.
He was, however, of the opinion that the immunity granted to the coup makers was an afterthought meant to protect certain persons and not hold them accountable for their deeds.
Duffuor, Kojo Bonsu to pick NDC presidential nomination forms Thursday
Getrude Ankah Nyavi Politics Feb - 22 - 2023 , 14:50
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and Kojo Bonsu who have both expressed interest in leading the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as flagbearers into Election 2024 will pick their nominations forms for the presidential primary on Thursday, February 23, 2022.
Nominations opened today (Feb 22) and already John Mahama has picked his forms.
Dr Duffuor, a former Finance Minister and Governor of the Bank of Ghana and Bonsu, also a former Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) have been moving round the country canvassing votes from party members.
The Chairman of the Internal Elections Committee of the NDC, Kakra Essamuah explained on Wednesday that Dr. Duffuor would be the first to pick followed by Kojo Bonsu in the afternoon.
The NDC opened nominations for the election of its Presidential and Parliamentary candidates for the 2024 General Elections today.
The three-day exercise kick-starts the processes for the final leg of the partys internal elections to elect a presidential and parliamentary candidates for the NDC on May 13, 2023.
Aspiring parliamentary candidates are to pick nomination forms via the NDC website at a cost of GH5000 which must be paid via Mobile Money while the presidential aspirants are required to pick nomination forms directly from the office of the General Secretary of the party and pay a fee of GH30,000 via bankers draft.
However, female aspirants and persons with physical disabilities would be required to pay only 50 per cent of the fee charged.
The exercise, which started today, would end on Friday, February 24, 2023.
Joe Ghartey launches campaign for presidential bid
Daily Graphic Politics Feb - 22 - 2023 , 08:37
Former Attorney - General and Minister of Justice and a New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential hopeful, Joe Ghartey, has said with careful and deliberate interventions in the education sector of the country, Ghana could earn more than $2 billion annually.
That, he said, coupled with other sectors of the economy could turn the fortunes of the economy around within the short to medium term.
He used the United Kingdom to buttress his point where that country earned approximately 28.8 billion a year from international students, saying if Ghana could attract just 10 percent of that it would earn the country almost the same amount it was seeking to borrow from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annually.
Mr Ghartey, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado-Ketan in the Western Region and a former Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament stated this at the launch of his Hope and Unity tour in Sekondi Takoradi, the Western Regional capital.
Education
He emphasised that wherever educational institutions where situated, the environs experienced increased economic activity.
He stated further that the foundation had already been laid in the education sector and therefore a careful and deliberate intervention in that sector could help turn around the fortunes of the economy.
Mr Ghartey noted that when he was in the university in the 1980's, there were hardly any international students and only three universities.
Today, Ghana has over 60 universities which has considerable numbers of international students, he said.
Vision
A Joe Ghartey government will take the steps that will make the countrys universities internationally competitive to attract more international students, he stated.
These steps, he said, would include increased regulation, targeted scholarships for lecturers and some financial interventions.
Meanwhile, Joe Ghartey has taken his nationwide campaign tour of Hope and Unity to the Western North Region.
Ignore NDC comments about govt, economy - NPP tells citizenry
Dickson Worlanyo Dotse Politics Feb - 22 - 2023 , 18:34
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has advised the citizenry to turn a deaf ear to the negative commentary from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) concerning the government and the economy.
That, the party said, was because the NDC was deliberately engaging in lies and smear campaigns against the government while knowing very well that the current woes of the country were a result of external factors and not mismanagement.
Unfortunately, for far too long, matters about the economy have been mischaracterised by the NDC concerning the governance of the NPP, the National Communications Director of the NPP, Richard Ahiagbah, said at a press conference held in Accra yesterday.
It was to update the public about the state of the economy.
Statistics, bad mangers
Mr Ahiagbah noted that on the performance of the larger economy, which was measured in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the NDC supervised a perpetual decline from 2013 to 2016 in the growth of the economy.
In 2013, when former President John Mahama took over, the GDP was 7.3 per cent and contracted it to four per cent in 2014. In 2015, the same trajectory continued, from four per cent to 3.7 per cent in 2016, he explained.
Mr Ahiagbah, therefore, stated that in terms of per cent change in GDP under former President Mahama and the NDC, they managed the economy so badly that it shrank by 42 per cent compared to 2013.
All these show you that the NDC has not really done right and they have not managed this economy any better than they would like to claim, the numbers dont support that, he added.
Mr Ahiagbah maintained that the NDC had no solutions to the problems of the country and was only focused on regaining power through deceitful and false narratives.
NPPs performance, commitment
He, however, noted that contrary to the NDCs grim performance, the NPP from 2017 grew the GDP by 8.1 per cent.
In the Real Sector, industry recorded its highest growth of 16.7 per cent in 2017, Agriculture 8.4% and the Services sectors 4.3 per cent and industry grew from a mournful negative 0.5 per cent in 2016 to 16.7 per cent in 2017, he added.
He, therefore, reiterated the governments commitment to mitigating the socio-economic difficulties the country was currently facing through the implementation of numerous interventions such as the Gold4Oil policy, among others.
Through these innovative measures, the government is demonstrating its resolve to build back the economy quickly and restore fiscal rectitude, he stressed.
Mahama declares intention to contest NDC flagbearership position
Graphic.com.gh Politics Feb - 22 - 2023 , 07:14
Former President John Dramani Mahama has declared his intention to contest the National Democractic Congress (NDC) flagbearership position as the party opens nominations for the party's presidential primary.
Mr Mahama made this known Tuesday when the Minority Caucus in Parliament called on him at his office.
The Minority Caucus was led by the leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
Nominations opened
The national headquarters of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Adabraka in Accra will be scenes of activities as the party opens nominations for its presidential and parliamentary elections.
The two-day exercise would kick-start the processes for the final leg of the partys internal elections to elect a presidential and parliamentary candidates for the NDC slated for May 13, 2023 to contest on the ticket of the party in the 2024 general election.
Aspiring parliamentary candidates would pick nomination forms via the NDC website at a cost of GH5000 which must be paid via Mobile Money while the presidential aspirants are required to pick nomination forms directly from the office of the General Secretary of the party and pay a fee of GH30,000 via bankers draft.
However, female aspirants and persons with physical disabilities would be required to pay only 50 per cent of the fee charged.
The exercise, which begins today, would end on Friday, February 24, 2023.
Submission
Per the timetable of the elections issued by the party last month, aspiring presidential and parliamentary candidates are to submit the completed nomination forms from March 20 to 22 before vetting on March 27 to 29.
There would also be a window for appeals on the outcome of the vetting process from March 30 to April 6 before the election on May 13.
The two elections would be held on the same day on Saturday, May 13, 2023 in all the voting centres in all the 276 constituencies including Santrokofi-Apkafu-Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) in the Oti Region, and the NDC headquarters would also constitute a voting centre.
Qualification
To qualify to become a parliamentary candidate aspirant, a person must first satisfy the 1992 constitution requirements for Members of Parliament.
The individual must also be a paid up member of the NDC in good standing and must not be a dual citizen or owe allegiance to any other country aside from Ghana.
With regard to flag bearer aspirants, according to the party, persons interested must be member of the NDC for at least 10 years and in good standing and also satisfy the 1992 constitutions requirement for a President.
Presidential
It is expected that the various presidential aspirants accompanied by their supporters would troop to the partys headquarters to pick their nomination forms which would be made available at the office of the General Secretary.
A statement signed by the General Secretary of the party, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, said every nomination must be proposed by one person and seconded by five persons all of whom must be members in good standing of the party in different constituencies in different regions.
Completed nomination papers must be delivered to me with the required deposit of GH500,000.00 (Bankers draft) between March 20 and 22, at the party headquarters for the presidential, it said.
So far, the names of three personalities former President John Dramani Mahama; a former Minister of Finance, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, and a former Metropolitan Chief Executive for Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu, have come up for the flagbearer contest.
In 2018, ahead of the 2020 general election, the NDC pegged its filing fee for presidential aspirants at GH400,000 and sold nomination forms for GH20,000.
NDC opens presidential, parliamentary nomination
Samuel Duodu Politics Feb - 22 - 2023 , 07:25
The national headquarters of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Adabraka in Accra will be scenes of activities as the party opens nominations for its presidential and parliamentary elections.
The two-day exercise would kick-start the processes for the final leg of the partys internal elections to elect a presidential and parliamentary candidates for the NDC slated for May 13, 2023 to contest on the ticket of the party in the 2024 general election.
Aspiring parliamentary candidates would pick nomination forms via the NDC website at a cost of GH5000 which must be paid via Mobile Money while the presidential aspirants are required to pick nomination forms directly from the office of the General Secretary of the party and pay a fee of GH30,000 via bankers draft.
However, female aspirants and persons with physical disabilities would be required to pay only 50 per cent of the fee charged.
The exercise, which begins today, would end on Friday, February 24, 2023.
Submission
Per the timetable of the elections issued by the party last month, aspiring presidential and parliamentary candidates are to submit the completed nomination forms from March 20 to 22 before vetting on March 27 to 29.
There would also be a window for appeals on the outcome of the vetting process from March 30 to April 6 before the election on May 13.
The two elections would be held on the same day on Saturday, May 13, 2023 in all the voting centres in all the 276 constituencies including Santrokofi-Apkafu-Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) in the Oti Region, and the NDC headquarters would also constitute a voting centre.
Qualification
To qualify to become a parliamentary candidate aspirant, a person must first satisfy the 1992 constitution requirements for Members of Parliament.
The individual must also be a paid up member of the NDC in good standing and must not be a dual citizen or owe allegiance to any other country aside from Ghana.
With regard to flag bearer aspirants, according to the party, persons interested must be member of the NDC for at least 10 years and in good standing and also satisfy the 1992 constitutions requirement for a President.
Presidential
It is expected that the various presidential aspirants accompanied by their supporters would troop to the partys headquarters to pick their nomination forms which would be made available at the office of the General Secretary.
A statement signed by the General Secretary of the party, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, said every nomination must be proposed by one person and seconded by five persons all of whom must be members in good standing of the party in different constituencies in different regions.
Completed nomination papers must be delivered to me with the required deposit of GH500,000.00 (Bankers draft) between March 20 and 22, at the party headquarters for the presidential, it said.
So far, the names of three personalities former President John Dramani Mahama; a former Minister of Finance, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, and a former Metropolitan Chief Executive for Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu, have come up for the flagbearer contest.
In 2018, ahead of the 2020 general election, the NDC pegged its filing fee for presidential aspirants at GH400,000 and sold nomination forms for GH20,000.
Nippon Steel Corporation and Canada-based Teck Resources Limited, the second largest producer of high-quality steelmaking coal in the world, have executed an investment agreement with certain other affiliates of each of Nippon Steel and Teck, pursuant to which Nippon Steel has agreed to acquire indirectly up to 10% of common shares, preferred shares and royalty interest in Elk Valley Resources Ltd. (EVR), which will be spun-off from Teck as an independent publicly-listed Canadian company and will own and operate the steelmaking coal business previously conducted by Teck.
The remainder of Tecks business will be spun-off as the independent company Teck Metals, which will focus on base metals production. EVR will have an annual production capacity of 25~27 million tons in total from four mines.
Nippon Steel and EVR have agreed that concurrently with the completion of the Investment, they will enter into long-term coal offtake rights agreement, under which EVR will supply steelmaking coal to Nippon Steel.
Nippon Steel is striving to achieve carbon neutrality by multi-track technological developments, including hydrogen injection in blast furnaces, high-grade steel production in large size electric arc furnace, and DRI production by hydrogen (shaft furnace etc.).
Nippon Steel has conducted technological development to reduce CO 2 emissions by injecting hydrogen into blast furnaces since 2008. To reduce CO 2 emissions while securing stable and efficient iron production, the use of high-quality steelmaking coal is essential, because it is required to make high-strength cokes, which play important roles such as reducing CO 2 emissions by improving reduction efficiency, securing enough space for hydrogen gas to penetrate in blast furnaces, and generating enough heat to melt and take iron out of blast furnaces in the hydrogen reduction process.
Top: Nippon Steel has been promoting R&D of three technologies to realize carbon neutral steelmaking process: Hydrogen Injection into blast furnace (BF) (outlined in red), high-grade steel production in large EAFs, and direct reduction with hydrogen. Bottom: To reduce CO 2 emissions while securing stable and efficient iron production in hydrogen injection into the BF, it is essential to procure a stable supply of high-quality steelmaking coal
In order to address a concern that steelmaking coal production capacity may shrink in the future, since capital investment for fossil fuels, including coal, has been decreasing in a trend of pursuing carbon neutrality, Nippon Steel has decided to increase its investment in high-quality steelmaking coal, which it deems essential in pursuing its own carbon neutral strategy.
In addition to securing high-quality steelmaking coal, following completion of the investment and the acquisition by Nippon Steel of additional common shares of EVR to increase its interest, Nippon Steel will be able to consolidate EVR as an equity-method affiliate.
Through the investment, Nippon Steel expects to diversify its business portfolio to be more resilient to the changes in the external business environment. Furthermore, diversification of Nippon Steel business portfolio by increasing its interest in raw materials is also expected to contribute to higher consolidated earnings.
Toward the realization of carbon neutrality, Nippon Steel will focus on research and development and commercializing innovative technology ahead of other countries. For securing essential funds for R&D and capital investment, Nippon Steel will seek to continue to build a more resilient business portfolio ranging from raw materials to steel production and trading, and to improve consolidated earnings by strengthening the profitability of each business.
Average age of first-time mothers in Shanghai reaches 30
(Global Times) 10:49, February 22, 2023
The proportion of the population who have one child reached more than 73 percent among the household registered residents in Shanghai, while the rate of those who have two children stood at 24.34 percent in 2022, according to the latest data released by the Shanghai municipal health commission.
According to official data released on Monday, in 2022, 1.86 percent of the population with household registration in Shanghai had multiple children. Among the population with household registration, the number of women of childbearing age exceeded 2.93 million and the number of married women of childbearing age exceeded 1.85 million.
The number of births is affected by the number of women and the order-specific fertility rates, Song Jian, a demographer from the Center for Population and Development Studies of the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Shanghai's total fertility rate for the population with household registration is 0.7, with the mean age at first birth being 30.36 and the average childbearing age being 31.18, according to official data.
The total fertility rate is at a low level in the city, which is not surprising as Shanghai is facing a serious challenge of population aging, Song said.
Official data shows that in 2020, the rate of one-child households among registered residents was over 71 percent, up 1.14 percentage points from 2019, while the rate of two-child households reached more than 27 percent, down 1.31 percentage points from 2019, and the rate of households with three or more children was 1.30 percent, up 0.16 percentage points from 2019.
Several other regions, including Central China's Henan Province, have recently released relevant population data. According to the provincial Bureau of Statistics, the total number of permanent residents in Henan Province decreased in 2022, with the natural growth rate of the population dropping for the first time in 62 years.
Chinese mainland saw the population with negative growth for the first time in 61 years, decreasing by 850,000 in 2022, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed. Song noted that the negative population growth is the inevitable result of the country's long-term low fertility rate.
To encourage birth rates, the country has implemented various policies covering sectors such as insurance, housing, education, employment, and tax deductions.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
Realme introduced the GT Neo 5 with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and the worlds fastest charging for a smartphone earlier this month. Reports from China suggest the company is working on a phone, probably called GT Neo 5 SE or GT Neo 5 Lite, which will have slightly downgraded specs.
According to the credible leakster Digital Chat Station, the phone will pack the still-unannounced Qualcomm SM7475 SoC, rumored to be a Snapdragon 7 Gen 2. It will also skip the 50MP camera with Sony IMX890 sensor and the RGB notification light on the back, which will enable a signficant price reduction.
The new GT Neo 5 variant will have a 64MP camera with an Omnivision OV64M sensor that is also yet to be announced. Design-wise, the camera island will also get rid of the transparent window, showing the Snapdragon chipset and will make room for basic setup.
Charging is the biggest selling point of the Realme GT Neo 5 duo (there is one with 240W and another with 150W). The upcoming version would have a 5,500 mAh battery with just 100W charging, which may be slow in the context of GT Neo 5 phones but is still among the fastest standards on the market.
Source (in Chinese) | Via
Back in November, Samsung announced three limited-edition Pokemon themed accessories that sold out in about a days time. In Honor of Pokemon Day, on February 27 (the day that the video games Pokemon Red and Green were released in Japan in 1996), Samsungs Pokemon accessories for the Galaxy Z Flip4, Galaxy Watch5, and Galaxy Buds2 Pro are all being restocked.
On Pokemon Day, Nintendo is expected to make a software-related announcement. Theres some speculation that a DLC for the recently released Pokemon games Scarlet and Violet could be announced then.
Samsung's Pokemon accessories
In any case, the Samsung accessories include Pokemon Cover with Ring for Galaxy Z Flip4 ($50), Pokeball Cover for Galaxy Buds ($40), and Poke Ball Band for Galaxy Watch ($40). Although theyre listed, you cannot purchase them until they go back on sale on February 27.
Source
Each Liberation Day, villages around the island have the chance to rep their pride and showcase what makes them unique. A new Village Bookshelf Competition from UOG Press is offering the islands mayors the opportunity to rise to the occasion and show off what makes their village special just in time for Mes CHamoru. Like Liberation floats, but bookshelves.
Last year, the Press invited the Mayors Council of Guam to compete in the contest and build or decorate a bookshelf representing their village identity. The Press is providing each mayors office with a collection of local literature, and offering cash prizes and a youth workshop event for winners.
The Village Bookshelf Competition is part of our Youth Empowerment grant project here at the Press. We partnered with the Mayors Council of Guam to set up collections of local literature in every village. And the idea is that we want to empower the village mayors, their staff and the community in each village to really create a space for literacy, for reading, for activities around all of our books, said Kiana Brown, the literacy project manager at the Press.
Weve all heard that Yona rules, but why? The competition allows village communities to get creative about expressing what makes their village stand out.
To get a better idea of it, think of it as a Liberation float, but stationary, within the village. We also have examples of repurposing materials within the village. Say a mayor is trying to get rid of a refrigerator. You can totally use the refrigerator as a bookshelf and smack your village on top of it. Even like, Im from Yigo, so you can go make a shelf and then just put a nice Yigo sign on it or something, and have a totot bird there. We just want the villages and the mayors offices to feel like they can be creative with it, said Pedro Blas, the Presss distributions manager.
First-prize winners will get $500, second-prize winners will get $300, and third-prize winners will get $150. The Press has asked each mayor to document the process of building the bookshelf, and any activities organized around the bookshelf. Winners will be announced during the last week of Mes CHamoru.
The criteria for judging will be on how well the bookshelf is decorated, how well the bookshelf tells the story of the village, how well it represents the village, how easy it is for village residents to borrow or read books from the shelf, and how well the mayors offices engage youth and their families with the bookshelf, Blas explained.
The competition is ultimately a community effort, so interested individuals can contact their village mayor if they want their village to participate. The prize money will be awarded to the winning mayors offices, which can then determine how the funds will be used within the village.
One simple idea is they can use it for gas money, for their boys who cut grass around the village. But it can go wherever they feel that their money should be dispersed to, Blas shared.
The bookshelf competition is just one part of UOG Presss ongoing youth empowerment projects.
Our youth empowerment grant project really encompasses 11 different initiatives, and theyre all literacy initiatives. They either involve distributing books that weve already published or creating new books for youth. So the village bookshelf is one example of us putting books out into the community by creating collections in different villages where residents or our community can have easy access to them, Brown said.
Could the $500 power bill rebate that residents are due be backpedaled due to a procedural error at the Legislature? What about a law lowering the retirement age for public safety officials? Or one closing a loophole in the criminal code that let sex offenders walk free?
Thats the question posed by freshman Sen. Will Parkinson, who believes that bills passed by the 36th Guam Legislature during their December 2022 session and beyond may be void because lawmakers failed to comply with the Open Government Law.
Senators in the previous term passed what is now Public Law 36-34, which was enacted in June of 2021. It mandates that any action made during a public meeting of a government agency is null and void if adequate public notice is not provided.
Two notices have to be posted ahead of time, according to the Open Government Law, via a newspaper, radio, or television and on the Guam Public Notice Website.
The government website is the key issue, according to Parkinson, as the December session of the Legislature, along with a number of sessions and hearings, were not posted on the website.
Parkinson raised the concern during an emergency session Tuesday. Less than an hour later, Vice Speaker Tina Muna Barnes, acting speaker as of Wednesday, wrote Attorney General Doug Moylan for his opinion on the matter.
Parkinson said the issue came to light when he was working on rescheduling a hearing and was informed that it could not be done as notice was not posted on the government website.
I was talking to our veteran staff and theyre like, Thats so strange. We never used it at all last term, Parkinson said, which raised a red flag for him.
The Legislatures use of the website, notices.guam.gov, was sparse during the last term, an internet search reveals. Only 10 notices were posted before Jan. 1 of this year.
Slow adoption of the website is not an issue unique to the Legislature. In fact, the website, first mandated by law in 2013, was never funded and did not get stood up until 2021. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero announced the administration would be funding the construction of the site using federal American Rescue Plan money when she signed off on Public Law 36-34.
Thirty days after she signed the measure on June 11, 2021, it took effect. Any agency that failed to comply would have the actions it took voided.
Some agencies did not immediately start using the website. The Mayors Council of Guam did not post a notice until Feb. 23, 2022, while the Guam Election Commission first used the site on July 1, 2022.
Others, like the Guam Regional Transit Authority, Commission on Decolonization, Department of Parks and Recreation, and Hagatna Redevelopment and Restoration Authority dont appear to have ever posted on the website.
Parkinson called the potential implications of the unfollowed law spooky.
As for the Legislatures issue, he raised the matter to Speaker Therese Terlaje, an email dated Feb. 14 shows. The public notice website shows that Terlajes Chief of Staff, Jocelyn de Guia, had posted session notices when they did appear.
Parkinson said the speakers office and legislative legal counsel have not addressed his concerns as of Wednesday morning. Both he and the vice speaker opposed Terlajes bid for the speakership in January.
The speaker was not on island Wednesday, according to her Communications Director Andre Pellacani. A memo showed she would be absent until Feb. 28.
More than any other prior Legislature or committee, Speaker Terlaje has ensured that notices for all her committee hearings and for sessions during the 36th Guam Legislature were published through newspaper ads or radio announcements, and also sent email notifications to all senators, media and anyone subscribed to the Legislatures email listing, a news release stated, along with the Guam Legislature and the Speakers website.
Terlaje began using the governments website when she had indirectly learned of it, but a few session notices were not published on the site due to inadvertent errors. The standardized policy was put in place to minimize errors in the 37th Guam Legislature, the release stated.
Notice requirements would be implemented while an opinion from the AG was awaited.
I want to assure the public that I will continue to take great efforts to make the Legislatures information more accessible and invite greater participation by the public in their government, including regular improvements to our public hearings, website, and YouTube and TV channels, Terlaje said in a statement.
Moylan skeptical
Attorney General Doug Moylan, meanwhile, said he is hoping to have an opinion for the Legislature within 30 days.
As for whether a multitude of laws would be deemed void, Im skeptical, but we need to give it the proper legal analysis, he said.
Moylan, who served as legislative legal counsel in the past, said the question of the validity of legislative action has come up numerous times in the past.
If the legislature by their action is saying that we hereby certify that this law should be this bill should be transmitted to governor to become law. It trumps, arguably, any prior legislatures trying to tie their hands, he said.
As for the bigger question of compliance with the open government law?
Our office is looking at criminally prosecuting government officials who failed to follow the open government law. To your question right now. I welcome anyone that feels that the open government law was challenged. I welcome anyone who feels the open government law was violated to submit a complaint with the Attorney Generals office, he said.
Fixing Guams drug crimes, failing public school facilities and pandemic learning losses requires uncomfortable but necessary conversations, Sen. Chris Barnett told the Guam Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.
Weve kind of come to this point where its a perfect storm of government neglect, aging facilities that are really unmanageable, mismanagement. Ill go ahead and say it, and also just a lack of dedication, Barnett, chairman of the legislative Committee on Public Safety, Education and the Arts, said about Guam Department of Education schools.
Public education and public safety are far behind the curb, he said.
The unchecked meth epidemic, he said, has been a major factor for the crime on Guam, but theres not been a strong education and awareness campaign similar to the war on ice in the 1990s.
Recently unsealed court documents talked about drug houses, such as one in Malojloj, Barnett said, but they remain open.
Now whats happening is youre seeing alleged known drug lords, careful how I phrase this but to me, theyre known drug dealers. Guam is so small. Lets be real. We know who the three or four big meth kingpins are, Barnett said.
What these drug lords were able to do through the pandemic, he said, was get rich.
You look around and you see whos opening up new businesses all over the place, right? These meth dealers have enriched themselves by poisoning our island and I just cant as a public safety chair just stand by and not talk about it. We have to have these uncomfortable conversations, the senator said.
Stepping on toes
Barnett said he would be stepping on a lot of toes in his first term in office.
Its not about blaming past and present leaders, he said, but its about doing something now that may be uncomfortable such as shutting down schools like Simon Sanchez High School with failing health and sanitary standards to be able to fully fix them and maintain them or making criminals uncomfortable.
GPDs strategy for combating meth is basically wake up and see what the day brings. Lets see what happens today. Lets see what crackhead with an expired license plate we pull over and maybe that will give us a piece of information about a mid-level drug dealer, Barnett said.
High, low standards
Barnett is pushing for the passage of his Bill 29, which seeks to require GDOE schools to comply with sanitation rules by the start of the next school year.
While restaurants with large rats going from table to table are immediately shut down, public schools where theres mold, rat and flea infestation and falling ceilings remain open.
Private sector businesses are held to a higher standard than the schools, he said.
Funding has always been an issue, he said, but GDOE now is talking about $100 million to $120 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to use for school capital improvement projects or facility repairs.
Learning loss is something that we definitely have to address but Im not sure how adequately we can address learning loss if our students classrooms are rat infested, flea-infested or if the ceiling is falling down, he told Pacific Daily News.
For weeks, Barnett visited public school campuses.
Being a public school parent I knew right off the bat that the rhetoric doesnt match the reality, that this rosy picture that has been painted with education and also with public safety is actually pretty far from reality, he said.
Its unfortunate, he said, that even while the Guam Department of Education and Adelup talked about a whole of government approach to address failing school facilities, the schools that require fixing such as D.L. Perez Elementary School in Yigo look to private businesses for help from seeking donations of toilets to free plumbing and electricians services.
The senator also said the government should not lower any further the standards for hiring police officers, corrections officers and other law enforcement.
The biggest impediment is that the people who are trying to become police officers or corrections officers or officers in customs and quarantine, theyre simply not smart enough to get the job. They cant even pass a high school equivalency exam, Barnett said. People exiting our public school system cant even pass a 10th-grade test. And thats because of our education system.
Barnett said it seems the local government has kind of checked out when it comes to dealing with criminality.
Who are they waiting on? Theyre waiting on the federal government. Thats where we are now, adding that the excuses about lack of funding or lack of expertise to deal with money laundering, for example, have been used for a long time. We just got to do more.
Guam Chamber of Commerce Board Chairman Ed Untalan thanked Barnett for raising these issues on education which, he said, affects all our businesses and our life.
Untalan, of First Hawaiian Bank, said Barnetts right about pointing out that partisan politics should not have a place in education or public safety. He said the Chamber has been trying to reach out to elected leaders, given the friction between the business sector and politicians.
Do what is right. Thats what we are asking political leaders, Untalan said.
United Airlines on Wednesday said its Guam/Saipan-Japan flights will increase to 59 weekly flights, effective March 26, raising the seat capacity by 17% compared to the pre-pandemic 2019 summer schedule, according to a statement from the company.
This was part of Uniteds announcement of its 2023 Japan and Guam summer flight schedule, which also includes new and increased trans-Pacific routes from Japan that offer more convenient and quicker connections for Asia-Pacific travelers.
United will significantly increase its flights on all routes between Guam and Japan Narita/Tokyo, Chubu/Nagoya, Kansai/Osaka, and Fukuoka to a total of 56 flights a week.
In particular, United continues to strengthen the Narita-Guam route and will increase its flights from 18 to 25 flights per week, and plans to operate up to four daily flights to meet strong passenger demand.
Looking promising
The summer travel demand from Japan to Guam is looking promising right now, which is positive news for the island, Sam Shinohara, Uniteds Managing Director of Airport Operations, Asia-Pacific, said in a statement.
Looking back to the start of the pandemic when tourism came to a halt, Shinohara said United Airlines continued to fly its Guam routes with the commitment to supporting the local community as well as the return of tourism to the region.
With the new summer schedule, we are another step closer to our goal of restoring a full Guam-Japan schedule, he said.
The Japan to Guam/Saipan summer flight schedule, which becomes effective on March 26, is listed below:
NRT-GUM UA827/UA873, Daily
NRT-GUM UA197/UA196, Daily
NRT-GUM UA865/UA864, Daily (effective April 9)
NRT-GUM UA874/UA828, Four times weekly
NRT-SPN (Saipan) UA825/UA824, Three-times-weekly
NGO-GUM UA136/UA137, Daily
NGO-GUM UA172/UA171, Daily
KIX-GUM UA150/UA151, Daily
KIX-GUM UA177/UA178, Three-times-weekly
FUK-GUM UA166/UA165 Daily
United will be celebrating 55 years as Guams hometown airline in 2023, and we understand how increasing capacity between Japan and Guam is vital to Guams tourism industry, Shinohara said. I thank our Japan team for continuing to promote Guam as a top destination for Japanese travelers and our tourism stakeholders in Guam for working together for the benefit of the island.
Summer travel
As travel to and from Japan continues to increase, United also announced that Japan will launch two new trans-Pacific flights and increase frequency to a total of 10 daily flights, significantly expanding connectivity options for customers through 70 weekly flights.
Capacity increases in Japan benefit our customers throughout Asia-Pacific by providing more convenient flight options to connect. This will mean fewer stops to make and shorter travel times overall, Shinohara said.
Japan is Uniteds largest station in Asia that provides connections from three of Japans major airports on 10 routes to the U.S.: four routes from Narita/Tokyo, one from Kansai/Osaka, and five from Haneda/Tokyo.
The Japan trans-Pacific flight schedule, also effective March 26, is listed below:
NRT- SFO (San Francisco) UA838/UA837, Daily
NRT-EWR (Newark) UA78/UA79, Daily
NRT-DEN (Denver) UA142/UA143, Daily
NRT-IAH (Houston) UA6/UA7, Daily
HND-ORD (Chicago) UA882/UA881, Daily
HND-SFO (San Francisco) UA876/UA875, Daily
HND-EWR (Newark) UA130/UA131, Daily
HND-LAX (Los Angeles) UA38/UA39, Daily (new)
HND-IAD (Washington D.C.) UA804/UA803 Daily, (new)
KIX-SFO (San Francisco) UA34/UA35, Three times weekly (Daily effective April 24, eastbound)
Due to ongoing travel restrictions, flight schedules are subject to change without advance notice.
Customers are encouraged to visit united.com to check the latest flight schedules and book flights through the United website or app, local travel agents, or Uniteds City Ticket Office in Tiyan.
United reminds customers that early check-in service is available for all Guam travelers who are leaving on early morning flights. Passengers can check in the night before their flights to avoid long lines at the airport.
Early Check-in service is offered daily from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the United counter at the A. B. Won Pat International Airport.
A University of Guam partnership program with the University of Hawaii since 2012 has been producing social workers to help military veterans on Guam with their health care needs.
The UOG Division of Social Work reacted to a recent Government Accountability Office report on the shortage of nurses, other health care workers and social workers to address the health care needs of veterans on Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, cited Veterans Health Administration officials statements that education institutions in the Pacific territories dont offer graduate degree programs in social work and therefore severely limits the pool of potential applicants for VHA clinics.
UOG, however, said it has a distance education partnership with the University of Hawaii that could address the need for Master of Social Work graduates on Guam given current limitations.
Tressa P. Diaz, associate professor of social work at UOGs School of Health, said the UOG Division of Social Work has had an agreement with the Thompson School of Social Work at the University of Hawaii since 2012 that provides the opportunity for UOG graduates with a bachelors degree in social work to stay on Guam and earn a masters degree in social work through distance education technology.
Classes are delivered via online computer-based platforms and students attend class in real-time, she said.
By May 2023, the (distance education) program will have graduated 40 Master of Social Work students from Guam and another 14 applicants have applied to the program this year, Diaz said.
The Feb. 16 GAO report said Guam had as many as 76 vacancies, mostly for nurses and social workers to serve veterans in the last four fiscal years.
It said to be eligible to be appointed to a social work position at VHA, candidates must hold a masters degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
As a result, the GAO report said, VHA social workers hired in the U.S. Pacific territories such as Guam must receive graduate degrees elsewhere, typically in Hawaii or the U.S. mainland.
Diaz said UOGs partnership with the University of Hawaii is the most creative way that we could address the need for MSW graduates in Guam given that our circumstances at UOG Division of Social Work did not meet the Council on Social Work Education accreditation standards for an MSW program at UOG.
The UOG associate professor said the Department of Veterans Affairs Pacific Region has agreed to open up MSW field placements at the VA here in Guam, citing recent information from Theresa Kreif, the lead coordinator and assistant to the dean at the University of Hawaiis Thompson School of Social Work.
She said the UOG-UOH partnership program gives students with a bachelors degree in social work the opportunity to stay on Guam while getting their masters degree in social work, and provides for lower student tuition, among other benefits.
This program and partnership are at no cost to UOG. All costs are handled through UH, Diaz added.
Kreif visits Guam annually to promote the program, meets with students and facilitates, and maintains MSW field placement sites, Diaz said.
The Guam Department of Education this month will solicit bids from contractors to repair F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School, according to acting education Superintendent Judith Won Pat, who said the department is taking steps to address repairs at other schools.
The F.B. Leon Guerrero campus was closed in January because of water-related structural damage, and students and staff currently are sharing the Okkodo High School campus on a double session schedule.
It is one of several public schools which are either partly or completely closed or which failed health inspections in recent months.
Southern High School has a D public health rating, which is bad enough to close the campus, but Guam law gives schools a grace period, until July 2024, to comply with public health requirements.
Oceanview Middle School also received D ratings during several public health inspections last year, but will remain open until at least the end of this school year.
The gymnasium at George Washington High School has been closed for more than 16 months because structural damage noted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2021 has not been repaired.
I met with the management team and all of the division heads to get them to support the priorities that we have set, Won Pat said during Tuesday evenings school board meeting. On top of that priority list would be facilities.
I asked the team to reallocate American Rescue Plan (funds) so we can maximize whatever dollars we can get to use to support (capital improvement projects) and facilities, she said.
Won Pat said DOE increased the amount of ARP funding available for school improvements from $79 million to about $120 million by shifting some ARP-funded projects to other federal funding sources. She said DOE must spend the ARP funding within the next 18 months.
Guam Power Authority General Manager John Benavente said the power agency will assist the public schools by providing engineering services to prepare the scope of work for repair, renovation and capital improvement projects.
We are helping them invest the funds into school facility infrastructure, Benavente said.
Won Pat said she asked the governors office to help restart the adopt-a-school program and also met with the GCA Trades Academy to possibly get its students to perform supervised maintenance work in the schools.
Won Pat said the school system also should consider hiring a construction manager to ensure the contracted work at the schools is completed.
The scope of work for F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School is complete and the project will go out to bid this month, Won Pat said.
She said a request for quotes to repair the George Washington High School gym was issued Feb. 16.
Won Pat said Guam lawmakers have introduced eight bills related to the public schools. Among other things, the bills would speed the procurement process for school repairs by shortening the window for procurement protests and requiring the public schools to develop standard operating procedures for dealing with maintenance problems and hazards.
Bill 29, by education committee chairman Sen. Chris Barnett, would require public health to conduct immediate sanitation inspections of all public schools and would shorten the grace period to correct violations, with schools required to pass sanitary inspections before the start of next school year. It also would require public health to reinspect all schools every year. Public health currently inspects only school cafeterias on a regular basis. It inspects school campuses for sanitation violations only if it receives a complaint.
If that bill passes that would mandate the inspection of our schools on an annual basis, our schools are going to be shut down, school board member Angel Sablan said Tuesday, adding he would like to see an updated timetable at each board meeting which shows the progress on the school improvements.
Julian Janssen is the Chapter Leader of the Progressive Democrats of Guam and a resident of Tamuning.
Ron McNinch is a longstanding member of the Guam community and frequently gives his opinion on a wide range of topics.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero explains her experience with traditional medicine at the launch of the Yo'Amte Project on Feb. 22, 2023.
Published on 2023/02/21 | Source
New poster and trailer added for the upcoming Korean movie "Soulmate"
Main Trailer
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"Soulmate" (2020)
Directed by Min Yong-keun
With Kim Da-mi, Jeon So-nee, Byeon Woo-seok, Nam Yoon-su, Park Ji-yeon-II, Ryu Hae-jun,...
Starts filming: 2020/08
Formerly known as "Hello, My Soulmate" (, , an-nyeong, na-eui so-ul-me-i-teu)
It is a remake of a Chinese film directed by Peter Chan.
Synopsis
Age of 12, Mi-so, who transferred from Seoul to Jeju Island, meets Ha-eun, who is different from herself, and they promise never to separate.
Age of 18, Ha-eun's first love, Jin-woo breaks in two girls' friendship. Age of 23, the two girls are in pain because of their unfamiliar changes.
Age of 27, the two girls meet again. They missed each other living in a world that everyone changes. It takes 15 years to confirm their friendship. The two girls exchange their lives and truly understand each other's lives.
Release date in Korea : 2023/03/15
The Nordic countries submitted their bids to join the defence alliance in May 2022, a couple of months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
FINLAND and Sweden may be moving hand in hand toward Nato, but Finland is prepared, if necessary, to let go and enter the alliance without its western neighbour, confirm statements made last weekend in conjunction with the Munich Security Conference, according to Helsingin Sanomat .
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto (Greens) told YLE last weekend that Turkey has signalled that Finland has satisfied the conditions it had imposed for its support for the membership application but that further negotiations are necessary with Sweden. President Sauli Niinisto stated on Sveriges Radio, the national radio broadcaster of Sweden, that if Turkey ratifies Finland but not Sweden as a member of the alliance, Finland will not withdraw its application.
You must understand our position. Its very difficult, he was quoted saying by Helsingin Sanomat.
Minister of Defence Mikko Savola (Centre) stated to the Associated Press that Finland will not wait for Sweden if its bid is ratified. No, no. Then we will join, he remarked on the sidelines of the security conference.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato, has similarly left the door open for the possibility of separating the two membership applications while assuring that the alliance continues to work toward welcoming the two new members at the same time.
But if only Finland is ratified, then Finland will come, he said to the Swedish public television company, SVT, on Sunday.
The main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together, he was quoted saying to reporters last week by the New York Times. The main question is that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible.
Helsingin Sanomat on Monday reminded that some uncertainty persists around the process, as neither of the two pending membership applications has been ratified by the two holdouts, Hungary and Turkey.
The Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in June has been identified as a critical junction for the process. President Niinisto suggested last week that if the applications have not been ratified by then, it is difficult to imagine why the process would move forward after the summit.
Aleksi Teivainen HT
Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP), the chairperson of the Parliaments Commerce Committee, on Tuesday stated in a press release that all members of the committee are pleading with electricity companies to adjust their highest-priced fixed-term contracts.
POLICY MAKERS in Finland have urged electricity retailers to adjust the contracts they sold to customers early this winter amid widespread concerns about electricity prices, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
In Finland, there is freedom of contract and signed contracts are binding, but companies have the opportunity, as well as a responsibility, to proactively exercise corporate social responsibility and meet people halfway, she argued.
Roughly 130,000 Finnish households entered into a new electricity contract at a time when electricity prices exceeded 30 cents per kilowatt hour, according to a study presented to the Commerce Committee. With many households thinking at the beginning of the winter that an expensive fixed-term contract was better than an exchange-electricity contract, many committed to what now seem as expensive contracts for a year if not two.
As Central European countries have replenished their natural gas reserves, the winter has proven more moderate than feared and consumers have succeeded in slashing energy use, the continent has avoided both electricity outages and outrageously high prices.
In Finland, fixed-term electricity contracts are currently available for around 11 cents per kilowatt hour, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
The Commerce Committee mulled over electricity contracts as part of its discussion on a government proposal to compensate households for electricity costs incurred this winter.
Pekka Salomaa, the director of electricity markets at Finnish Energy, told Helsingin Sanomat that electricity retailers are unlikely to adjust the prices in their contracts mid-term because such a move could be devastating for their finances.
Companies, he explained, have largely committed to paying a certain price for the electricity they supply to fixed-term customers through futures contracts, an instrument they use to guarantee their ability to supply electricity. As Finnish households were agreeing to expensive electricity contracts amid widespread concerns, also futures prices were high.
A company lowering the price of a contract before expiry would in many case mean it is supplying electricity at a loss, said Salomaa.
The price is protected when the contract is signed [by buying futures]. Especially electricity retailers without their own electricity production dont have the opportunity to make major concessions.
He also reminded that no adjustments have been made when retailers have been under pressure to raise prices, such as during the price surge witnessed early this winter. Some consumers were consequently able to enjoy noticeably budget-friendly fixed-term contracts at the peak of the energy prices.
Members of the Commerce Committee also expressed their hope that electricity companies always offer fixed-term contracts as an alternative to exchange-electricity contracts. Some retailers stopped offering fixed-term contracts late last year amid surging futures prices and significant uncertainty about winter prices.
Grahn-Laasonen reminded that exchange-electricity contracts are not suitable to all consumers: That is why it is important that electricity contracts with fixed prices are available also in future. Consumers alone cannot be left to carry the price risk for electricity.
Aleksi Teivainen HT
ChatGPT, the new AI chatbot developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, is generating a lot of hype worldwide because of the high degree of "intelligence" it has showcased, which has made many worry that they will soon lose their jobs to AI, according to The Bhutan Live.
ChatGPT , a small step for generative AI, is still in the very early stage of verifying its industrial value. It is more like an electronic pet at this moment and not a leap forward as many people might think, The Bhutan Live reported.
The chatbot which interacts with users in a conversational way, has demonstrated its capabilities in writing poems, essays and research papers, programming computers and even taking master-level exams.
Generative AI describes AI algorithms that can be used to create new content, including text, image, video, audio, code and synthetic data.
The excitement around ChatGPT shows that the hype circle over generative AI is peaking, which is being sold to investors as the tech world's next big thing.
Over the past couple of years, the tech world has witnessed several rounds of hype over quite a few things, including the metaverse, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), blockchain and cryptocurrencies. And just as Silicon Valley is seeing a slowdown that has led to massive layoffs by tech giants such as Microsoft and Google, the buzz around ChatGPT quickly grabbed global attention, according to The Bhutan Live.
Microsoft on January 18, announced that it is planning to cut 10,000 jobs due to low software demand as a result of the weakening economy. This affected upto five per cent of Microsoft's global workforce.
Microsoft a few days later said that it is making a "multiyear, multimillion-dollar" investment in OpenAI, without disclosing a specific number. But multiple media quoted a person familiar with the matter who said the investment totals USD ten billion.
ChatGPT's global popularity gave tech giants a new bright spot to grab public attention.
Generative AI actually has far more value in the real economy, basic scientific research and digital economy rather than in the internet sector, according to The Bhutan Live.
According to the media, just over a week after Microsoft unveiled its new Bing search engine powered by the technology behind the ChatGPT artificial-intelligence chatbot, The Wall Street Journal reported that early testers were calling out mistakes and disturbing responses generated by the technology.
Microsoft said that the search engine is still a work in progress, describing the past week as a learning experience that is helping it test and improve the new Bing. So far, only a select set of people have been given access to it. The company said in a blog post late Wednesday that the Bing upgrade is "not a replacement or substitute for the search engine, rather a tool to better understand and make sense of the world."
HT
Source: ANI
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a warning on Tuesday that if the West decides to supply Ukraine with longer-range advanced weapons, it will force Russia to push the threat further away from its borders. In his annual address to parliament, Putin accused the West of using Ukraine as a battering ram against Russia and a training ground. He stated that it is obvious that the longer the range of Western systems that arrive in Ukraine, the further Russia will be forced to push the threat away from its borders.
Western countries, including the US and the UK, have already supplied Ukraine with heavy weapons, including US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and M777 howitzers.
Putin also announced that Moscow is temporarily withdrawing from the last remaining nuclear treaty between Russia and the US, the New START Treaty. He noted that the agreement was initially drawn up under completely different circumstances and that the US is now issuing ultimatums to Russia, while NATO itself has essentially made an application to become part of the treaty as well. The bloc members are now demanding an inspection of Russias strategic facilities, Putin said, noting that Moscows requests to inspect Western nuclear facilities under the treaty are systematically denied.
During the same address, Putin accused the West of playing with a stacked deck while simulating diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Donbass, Ukraine. He noted that Western countries had admitted that the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements were nothing more than a diplomatic spectacle, a bluff. Putin also accused the West of using this despicable method of deceit during campaigns in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and Syria.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reiterated that the Minsk agreements signed in 2014-15 to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine were intended to give Kiev time to strengthen its military. In an interview with the Italian magazine Sette, she said that the 2014-15 Ukraine of the time was not the same as it is now and doubted that NATO could have helped Ukraine as much as it can today. The failure of Kiev to implement the Minsk agreements has been cited by Russia as one of the reasons for Moscow launching its military operation in February 2022.
Senator Konstantin Kosachev, the vice speaker of Russias upper house of parliament, has earlier said that thousands of lives have been lost in eastern Ukraine since 2014 because the West has treated the Minsk agreements as scrap paper. Kosachev reacted to an admission by former French President Francois Hollande that the Minsk agreements were a ploy to buy time for Kiev to strengthen its military. The senator claimed that the only co-author of the Minsk agreements that genuinely tried to act as a guarantor was Russia and that the Wests approach to Ukraine contradicts so-called European values.
Putin's comments come nearly a year after Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine, citing the need to protect the people of Donbass and Kiev's failure to implement the Minsk accords. The conflict has resulted in around 5,000 deaths in Donbass since 2014, according to Aleksandr Bastrykin, the head of Russias Investigative Committee, with almost 9,000 wounded.
HT
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was protesting "the growing involvement of the United States in hostilities on the side of the Kiev regime."
On Tuesday, Russia issued a formal protest, known as a demarche, to US ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy over continued US efforts to arm Ukraine. The move came shortly after US President Joe Biden's visit to Kiev on Monday, where he pledged another $500 million in military aid to Ukraine, including artillery ammunition, rockets, and anti-armor systems.
It accused the US of "pumping the Ukrainian military with arms and providing it with targeting information for strikes on Russian military and civilian infrastructure," adding that such policies prove that US assertions of not being a party to the conflict are "inadequate and false."
Moscow also reminded Tracy that both Western-supplied weapons and personnel operating them, including US citizens, are legitimate targets for Russia's military. The ministry noted that if the US wanted to de-escalate the situation, it should take steps to withdraw US-NATO military and equipment and cease hostile anti-Russian activities.
The ministry also urged the US to offer an explanation for the explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines last September and not to "hinder an objective investigation to identify the culprits." This follows an earlier report by American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, which laid blame on Washington for orchestrating attacks on the infrastructure, which the US has denied any involvement in.
Since Russia started its military operation against Ukraine almost one year ago, the US has committed some $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including heavy artillery, air defence systems, and other equipment, according to the Pentagon.
HT
Last year as we gathered here in Munich , the world was standing at the brink of a large-scale war. Russian troops stood at the border of Ukraine, talks had proven futile and the writing was on the wall. In his speech at the Conference, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky talked about the eight-year-long war that Ukraine had endured. He pleaded for action and asked, if we would be able to hear him now.
Just four days after the conference, Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine. A year later, the war is still raging on with no end in sight. Russia continues and escalates its aggression. It targets civilian infrastructure causing unspeakable suffering and devastation.
And our answer to President Zelensky is: We hear you loud and clear. And we are with you.
The Western response to Russias aggression has been swift, strong and unified. We are united in our support and solidarity to Ukraine. We are united in our opposition to Russias illegal acts. And we are united in our resolve to strengthen our own defence and resilience.
***
In his speech in 2010 in front of the Reichstag building, Ewald von Kleist described Central Europe of the past decades as an Oasis of happiness. But he added a word of warning: this oasis is not to be taken for granted. Von Kleist had experienced war in Europe. He knew what he was talking about.
Europe has indeed been fortunate to enjoy decades of relative peace and prosperity. Before February 24th last year, it was tempting to think that this state of affairs will continue indefinitely. Many of us had started to take peace for granted. Many of us had let our guard down. That all changed.
The German language has given us many wonderful, incredibly descriptive words that capture the spirit of the age. The word that has emerged to describe this era is apt Zeitenwende. To quote Federal Chancellor Scholz: that means that the world afterwards will no longer be the same as the world before.
European countries are now rapidly ramping up defence spending and improving their capabilities. It has become very clear that peace, security and rules-based international order are something that we have to actively uphold, and be prepared to protect. The renewed focus on security and defence in Europe will benefit transatlantic security as a whole. It will make us better partners, and stronger Allies.
***
For Finland, Russias invasion brought back echoes of our own history. We had not forgotten our past. Throughout the years, we had continued to invest in our security. We had held on to conscription as the backbone of our national defence. We had developed international partnerships and become a trusted partner for NATO.
We had not let our guard down. But we, too, needed to rethink. Russias attempt to bring back spheres of influence and, finally, its attack on a sovereign neighbour prompted us to take one more step in increasing our security: applying for NATO membership.
We made this decision in close coordination with our friend and closest partner, Sweden. I believe I speak for both Finland and Sweden when I say that we are deeply grateful for all the support that we have gotten in this process.
Twenty-eight NATO countries moved fast to ratify our memberships. Many offered their support and intensified cooperation. The application period the so-called grey period has not been cold and grey. On the contrary. The warmth and the sense of unity have been overwhelming.
Our NATO memberships are still two ratifications short of completion. I want to stress that it is very important that at the Vilnius Summit in July, we will both sit at the table as full NATO members. In these critical times, Finland and Swedens memberships will strengthen the whole Alliance.
And truly, these times require a strong Alliance. As the late Senator John McCain put it in a letter beautifully read by his wife in this very ceremony in 2018: we come to Munich because sustaining our vision of world order, though it requires wealth and power and realism, is not merely a material struggle. It is a moral struggle. It is about the values that will govern our world. That is why we are allies.
With these words, I want to thank the Munich Security Conference for granting us the Ewald von Kleist award.
HT
Source: Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
Last weekend , Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC for the March Against the War Machine rally, which featured several prominent speakers including former US presidential candidates. The speakers accused President Biden of pushing the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust by supporting Ukraine militarily and called for an end to such support in favour of diplomacy.
Former US Congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard warned that the proxy war in Ukraine against Russia could turn into a direct conflict between the United States/NATO and Russia, with catastrophic consequences. She criticized those who speak of how we gonna fight and win as if a war with a nuclear-armed country could ever be won. Whether intentional or accidental, there is only one destination for such war, and that is a nuclear holocaust, she said.
Former Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein called for slashing the Pentagons enormous budget, arguing that the $100 billion spent to support war in Ukraine could help mitigate a whole range of domestic problems, including lack of health insurance, homelessness, student debt, and medical debt.
Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich demanded accountability from the US government for its alleged illegal and unconstitutional means to destroy the energy resources needed to protect millions of people in Europe during the winter and then profit from its illegal actions by selling energy to Europe at a markup. He also criticized the US governments misinformation and disinformation campaigns to incite fear and hatred among people, exciting partisan divisions at home, and stirring ancient hatreds abroad.
Veteran US Congressman and former US presidential candidate Ron Paul claimed that a simple way to stop wars is to end the Fed! and not send people to war unless they vote for it. He also criticized the middle class and poor for paying for wars that only benefit the wealthy.
The March Against the War Machine rally was held almost one year after the start of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. The speakers called for an end to the war, an end to military support for Ukraine, and a redirection of the Pentagon budget towards domestic issues.
10 000 people demonstrate against war and NATO in Munich
As world leaders gathered at the luxury Bayerische Hof hotel in Munich, pledging to step up military support for Ukraine, thousands of demonstrators gathered outside to call for an end to the war. The crowd of around 10,000 included a mix of far right and far left and supporters of peace. The most prominent on signs was the anti-NATO and anti-American sentiment. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tried to assure Germans who might feel unease about arming Ukraine, saying "It is not our arms deliveries that are prolonging the war." Meanwhile, despite relentless pro-Ukraine and anti-Russia messaging in the media and by political leaders, only a slight majority of Germans support the war in Ukraine, with almost every other German opposing the government's decision to give arms to Ukraine in December, according to polling.
One of the speakers, Jurgen Todenhofer, a former Christian Democrat parliamentarian known for his criticism of the United States, questioned NATO's value for Germany, saying, "We ask ourselves whether NATO is really still good for Germany. We have to serve peace and not the Americans." Prior to Todenhofer's speech, the crowd sang a refrain with the chorus "Ami Go Home!" - a slogan that opposes the American post-World War II presence in Germany, which has recently seen a resurgence in demonstrations. These sentiments reflect the deep-seated concerns of some Germans about the country's relationship with the United States and their role in global conflicts.
Rally in Helsinki
The anti-war and anticensorship rally in Helsinki on Saturday was organized by WWD. Several demonstrators wearing white overalls held up anti-NATO signs. The event titled "mediakriittinen ihmis- ja perusoikeuksia puolustava tapahtuma" (media-critical event defending human and fundamental rights) was part of the World Wide Demonstration
The event aimed to raise awareness about the crisis in journalism that is happening worldwide, with many people losing trust in mainstream media. According to one organisers, "The role of the media is to be a watchdog for those in power, but increasingly, mainstream media is seen as a lapdog, with its ultimate mission being to influence citizens' thinking.
"This type of media behaviour does not represent open and enlightened journalism, which should be present in a democratic Western society," said the statement. "As more and more people lose faith in mainstream media, they begin to seek the truth from alternative media outlets, where there is, unfortunately, also misleading or false information. "The truth about any matter is challenging to achieve, but every responsible journalist should strive to reach this goal in their work."
HT
ASH trees at Warburg nature reserve are being cut down due to a fast-spreading disease.
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, which owns the Bix woods, is removing thousands of ash trees across all its reserves which have been infected with ash dieback.
The dying trees pose a risk to walkers, buildings and road users as the disease causes branches to fall.
The trust, which manages more than 80 reserves, is facing a bill of more than 1 million to tackle the problem and has launched a fundraising appeal. It relies on voluntary donations to continue its work.
Ash dieback, a fungus, was first detected in the UK in 2012. It originated in Asia and spread to Europe 30 years ago.
It is expected to kill up to 95 per cent of our ash trees, which make up a third of all British trees.
Chief executive Estelle Bailey said: To all of the visitors who come to our reserves, we want to say thank you. We know this work can look drastic and we are grateful for your understanding and your patience while we tackle this terrible disease.
As we launch our ash dieback fundraising appeal, we also want to thank everyone who is able to spare any amount to help us.
We are in the midst of a nature and climate crisis and, sadly, ash dieback disease is a part of that.
We are tackling the effects of this disease in order to keep our reserves as safe places that can inspire peoples love of nature and to provide safe havens for wildlife. We hope that one day we will have a new generation of ash trees that are resistant to this dreadful disease ripping through our reserves.
Mark Vallance, lead officer for managing ash dieback, said: This is one of the most heart-breaking projects we have ever undertaken.
However, it is absolutely vital we ensure that everyone who visits our nature reserves continues to have safe access to these beautiful and beloved sites and we have carried out all of this work in the most sensitive way possible.
Population in Hainan up by 65,600 in 2022
(Global Times) 10:51, February 22, 2023
The permanent population in South China's Hainan Province had increased by 65,600 by the end of 2022, compared with the end of the previous year, making it one of the eight provinces in the country with positive permanent population growth.
By the end of 2022, the province's permanent resident population was 10.27 million, an increase of 65,600 or 0.64 percent, compared to the number at the end of 2021, according to the Hainan provincial statistical bureau.
According to data provided by the bureau, 12 out of 19 cities and counties in the province recorded positive growth in 2022.
The birth rate in the province decreased further in 2022, with 88,100 new births and a birth rate of 8.6 per thousand. This is 1.83 per thousand higher than the national rate of 6.77 per thousand.
Compared to 2021, the number of new births was 10,900 fewer, and the birth rate decreased by 1.14 per thousand year-on-year, a drop that was 0.52 per thousand points higher than the previous year.
At least two reasons result in population declines in a region, said experts. The first one is that the natural population growth rate is negative, that is, the birth rate is lower than the death rate. The second is that as the outflow of population is greater than the inflow, the migration of a population is negative, experts noted.
Several provinces and regions, including Jiangxi in East China, Guangxi in South China, Guizhou in Southwest China, Gansu and Qinghai in Northwest China, Chongqing in Southwest China, and Anhui in Central China, have released their population data for 2022, all of which have shown positive growth in terms of permanent population.
Notably, the permanent populations of Anhui, Jiangxi, and Guangxi increased by 140,000, 105,800, and 100,000 respectively.
However, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed that the overall population of the Chinese mainland experienced negative growth in 2022 for the first time in 61 years, decreasing by 850,000.
Observers believe that negative population growth is the inevitable result of the country's long-term low fertility rate, but they also note that the country's demographic dividend will not disappear, contrary to some pessimistic claims.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
The high-design, extended-stay hotel brand will introduce an 81-room apartment hotel to the waterfront neighborhood.
Today, the Baltimore Peninsula development team, led by MAG Partners and MacFarlane Partners, and Method Co., the nationally-acclaimed development and design company rooted in hospitality, announced plans for a new design-centric, 81-room ROOST Apartment Hotel, the concept known for bridging the boutique hotel experience with apartment-style living. The new ROOST Apartment Hotel in Baltimore will be located within Baltimore Peninsula at 2400 Terrapin Way, a 235-acre mixed-use waterfront neighborhood. The team, together with its joint venture partners Sagamore Ventures and the Urban Investment Group within Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Goldman Sachs), is scheduled to open ROOST Baltimore Peninsula in Summer 2023.
The multi-million-dollar project, designed by architecture firm Hord Coplan Macht, will feature a mix of furnished studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment hotel units with interiors designed in collaboration between interior design firm Aumen Asner Inc. and Method Studios, Method Co.'s in-house design firm.
Each apartment hotel unit will feature full-size kitchens with modern-day appliances and full-wall windows and balconies to take advantage of the stunning waterfront views. The apartment hotel units, amenity space and lobby feature custom and curated furnishings from designers such as Lawson-Fenning, Gubi, TON, Pedrali, &Tradition, Interior Define, Noguchi, Santa and Cole, Dumais Made, O & G, and Lumas. The furniture curation throughout the space, also designed by Method Studios, draws inspiration from the industrial and maritime heritage of Baltimore as a premier port city. The space is populated with vintage designer pieces, with a color palette of blues and greens accented by blackened steel and rich walnut wood. The property includes a 24-7 concierge, an on-site fitness center with Peloton bikes, and 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor resort-like amenity space including an open-air pool lined with cabanas and an outdoor fireplace centered around a full-service hybrid bar and lounge. Additionally, Method Co. will be leasing out 40 apartment units for long-term residents who will also have access to all of the building's amenities.
The ROOST Apartment Hotel will be Baltimore's first high-design, extended-stay hotel concept, blending the comfort and space of an apartment with the amenities and design of a boutique hotel, creating a temporary living environment ideally suited for today's travelers away for a few days and long-term guests alike. Considered a pioneer in the high-design apartment hotel movement, Method Co.'s ROOST Apartment Hotel brand is significantly expanding its portfolio with recent openings outside of its home base of Philadelphia, including Cleveland and Tampa with plans to open additional locations in Detroit this Spring and Charleston in 2024.
Method Co. has combined its expertise in design, placemaking and operations to lead the development of the new property, building upon its robust portfolio of successful brands and hotel property launches, including five open locations of the ROOST Apartment Hotel brand, Whyle, Wm. Mulherin's Sons Restaurant & Hotel, HIROKI, Charleston's newest luxury boutique hotel, The Pinch, along with its adjacent oyster bar and cocktail lounge, The Quinte, and the recent opening of Wilmington, Delaware's first, luxury boutique hotel, The Quoin along with its craft cocktail lounge, Simmer Down.
The Baltimore Region is the 20th largest metropolitan population in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents and encompasses more than 2,500 square miles of diverse land. With its premier geographic location, the region provides overnight access to one-third of the U.S. consumer market. For residents, business, or leisure travelers, it's a short trip from Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. The new ROOST Apartment Hotel will further support Baltimore Peninsula's ability to accommodate the high volume of travelers, as well as residents moving to the area.
This addition of the ROOST Apartment Hotel follows a string of announcements the development team has recently made, including the start of residential leasing; welcoming CFG Bank as the area's largest office tenant; renaming of the neighborhood to Baltimore Peninsula; and the launch of a new strategic partnership with Sweeten to bring transparent, data-driven decision making to the construction industry, resulting in increased participation by local minority and women-owned businesses. To date, Baltimore Peninsula has committed more than $132 million in contracts to Baltimore City-certified MBE/WBE firms, exceeding its initial goals with 35 percent participation for MBEs and 13 percent for WBEs.
Hotel website
Clermont Hotel Group, one of the largest hotel owner-operator in London, has announced the appointment of Gavin Taylor as Chief Executive Officer.
Gavin Taylor started his career in the finance sector, working for Arthur Andersen, Noble Fund Managers and Ernest Young. He joined the hospitality industry in 2011 when he became Director of Prime Hotel Limited in the UK.
In the meantime, from 2006 to 2013, Gavin Taylor was appointed Partner of Addax Capital where he was responsible for all financial and operational aspects from start-up. In 2010, he joined Bulgari Hotels & Resorts as Board Finance Director.
Four years later, he was named Chief Financial Officer of Jupiter Hotels Limited, a company owned by a joint venture between Thailand-based Singha Estate Public Company Ltd and FICO Group. Jupiter Hotels operates hotels in the UK under a franchise agreement with Accor.
He finally joined Clermont Hotel Group in 2021, first as interim CEO before being appointed Chief Financial Officer, leading the group's finance, procurement and IT functions, and lately CEO.
As chief executive, he will oversee the group's growth strategy, with plans for further investment across the portfolio in the coming months, following an initial 18m refurbishment of the Clermont properties in Charing Cross and Victoria.
Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach announces the appointment of Seth McDaniels as general manager of the upscale resort, located on Florida's gulf shore. In his new role at Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach, McDaniels will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the resort, enhancing the brand, managing staff, and ensuring a quality guest experience.
McDaniels joins Wyndham from Davidson Hospitality Group where he served as Vice President of Openings & Experience. During his tenure at Davidson, McDaniels directed the largest growth of hotels in Davidson's history, converting and opening more than 35 hotels since 2021. Prior to joining Davidson, he worked at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, where he served as Director of Openings, Transitions & Brand Experience. McDaniels worked for Two Roads Hospitality, before Hyatt bought the company in 2018.
Previously, Seth was General Manager at The Epiphany which he repositioned to launch Nobu Hotel in Palo Alto, California, where he oversaw all operational departments and stewarded the success of the property. He also held several leadership positions with Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, including The Goodland in Santa Barbara, California and EPIC Hotel in Miami, Florida. He received a B.S. in Hospitality Management from Florida International University, Chaplin School of Hospitality Management.
Accor's Gaurav Bhushan reports a positive outlook for the current year compared to the first quarter of last year. The company is forecasting a growth of 5-10% this year, with the UK and France expected to be strong. Accor recently underwent a corporate reorganization, dividing the business into two divisions: Premium, Midscale & Economy division and Luxury & Lifestyle division. The latter division will focus on elevating the experience of the guests and making hotels community hubs. The company is also investing in its "Working from_" co-working brand, with upcoming openings in London, Chicago, Brussels, and Dubai. He emphasizes that Accor is focused on driving the business around the hotel, not just travelers, and differentiating product types through their existing brands.
Andrew Sangster: How is current trading?
Gaurav Bhushan: I feel more positive than I did a couple of months ago. Last year, the first quarter wasnt as strong but trading bounced back; RevPAR for the end of the year was a double-digit growth vs 2019 in line with Q3. We are forecasting positive RevPAR growth for the year. We are currently focused around elevating the experience piece [of our offer].
Where is trading strongest?
Last year most of the growth came from increased room rates, without being a forecast or a guidance, expecting a RevPAR growth more balanced between occupancy and price could be fair.
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Hotel Yearbook 2023
As we have embarked on 2023, it is evident that the hotel industry has made a robust recovery from the pandemic. Occupancy and pricing have returned to their pre-pandemic levels. However, the future of our industry is contingent on how nimble the hospitality sector can be in adapting to ongoing innovation, changing market conditions, evolving consumer preferences, new staffing challenges, and sustainability realities. These uncertainties are the new normal in an unpredictable world.
www.hotelyearbook.com/edition/2023.html
Rachel J. Roginsky, ISHC, is a principal, owner, and founder of Pinnacle Advisory Group, a premier hotel consulting firm with offices in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, DC and Tampa. Over the past 31 years, Pinnacle Advisory Group has provided advisory and asset management services for the hospitality industry throughout the United States and the Caribbean. These services include market and economic feasibility studies, operational analysis, appraisals, litigation support, due diligence, and asset management Clients include pension funds, insurance companies, lenders, REITS, private equity funds, government agencies, and hotel owners and developers. She has written numerous articles in business and hospitality industry periodicals, and is quoted regularly in newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and the NY Times. She has co-authored five editions of Hotel Investments, a book written for the Educational Institute of the AHLA.
DALLAS - With nearly 100 days between President's Day and Memorial Day weekend, Americans are entering the longest stretch of the U.S. calendar without a federally sanctioned day off. This 3-day weekend drought leaves people parched for a getaway. New search data from Hotels.com shows a new trip type is quenching our thirst this spring: Thirst Trips, or short weekend stays that satisfy our desire for a day off by the pool.
We've hit a point in the year when there's no 3-day weekend on the office calendar, so many Americans have sort of conditioned themselves to hold out on making travel plans until Memorial Day weekend. The trend is not waiting more than a quarter of the year to vacation. People are creating their own drought-breaking mini-vacations. Melanie Fish, head of Expedia Group brands public relations
Searches Soar While Travelers Plunge
Hotels.com is predicting that shorter, more frequent 23-day trips will gain popularity throughout the spring and summer. The majority of reservations on its mobile lodging app currently occur within a week or less of travel, and searches for long weekends are surging.
Americans' vacation interests steadily increase after the start of the year. Searches on the travel brand's site and app increase 10% month-over-month from January through April 1 , during the height of the travel holiday drought.
, during the height of the travel holiday drought. Google search trends confirm the trend, which show that interest in "weekend getaways" over the past two years hit their high point during the first few weeks of March 2022 2 .
. Average daily hotel rates on weekends during the upcoming 98-day holiday drought are 10% lower than the summer's highs 3 .
. Daily rates are the lowest during the first weekend in March, just before spring break season gets into full swing.
A deeper dive into search data on Hotels.com reveals a clear preference for one amenity in particular this spring: pools. Searches for hotels with pools increased by 35% or more from February through April on the Hotels.com app compared with the start of the year4. And poolside properties hit peak popularity the first week of March.
There's some irony in the fact that the longest holiday drought of the year sends us searching for relief by infinity pools, lazy rivers and swim-up bars, said Fish.
When and Where to Take a Thirst Trip
The following list from Hotels.com includes 14 Thirst Trips one for every weekend at destinations with below-average hotel rates ($260 or less)5 and stunning pools.
1
Data based on US Hotels.com monthly search traffic from January 1, 2022 June 30, 2022.
2 Data based on Google search trends for the term "weekend getaway" from January 1, 2021 January 26, 2023.
3 Data based on average daily rates on US Hotels.com from February 24-May 21, 2023 and July 1-31, 2023, as of January 25, 2023.
4 Data based on US Hotels.com monthly and weekly searches from January 1, 2022 June 30, 2022.
5 Data based on average daily rates on US Hotels.com from February 24-May 21, 2023, as of January 18, 2023
About Hotels.com (or Hotels.com)
Hotels.com makes it easy to find your perfect somewhere with hundreds of thousands of places to stay around the world. So, whether you're looking for value in Vegas, treehouses in Thailand or villas with views, it's all just a click away. Booking just got smarter too. With over 25 million real guest reviews and an app so easy to use that it's been downloaded 70 million times, you can be sure to find the perfect place for you.
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London UK/Spokane WA - Magnuson Hotels has announced the opening of Studios & Suites 4 Less Charlotte, the latest addition to the Magnuson Independent Collection portfolio.
Studios & Suites 4 Less Charlotte is located near Charlotte Douglas International Airport and provides easy access to The Billy Graham Library, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and the Levine Museum of the New South. Additionally, being at the interchange of I-85 and Billy Graham Parkway, the hotel is well-positioned for business travelers and features free high-speed Wi-Fi, flat screen TVs, and free parking.
The hotel is the sixth hotel added to the Magnuson Hotels Independent Collection by owner Ray Patel of Charlotte. When Ray Patel called us in 2005, he wanted to build his own brand called Studios & Suites 4 Less, and that is exactly what Ray did, states company CEO Thomas Magnuson. Magnuson Hotels provides the technology, distribution, and marketing, while Rays team manages the Studios & Suites 4 Less brand and operations.
Ray Patel comments on the business relationship by saying We appreciate our partnership with Magnuson Hotels, which is now entering its 17th year of consecutive increases. It is a pleasure and privilege to continually add new properties in our home market of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The hotel looks to draw a 52-week non-seasonal business base from the regional banking, finance, software, and biotech sectors. Charlotte is also home to the Research Triangle Park (RTP), a globally prominent research center home to over 170 companies and federal agencies, and the largest and oldest continuously operating research and science park in the United States.
The Magnuson Hotels Independent Collection has now seen an average growth of 29.8% per year over the past 5 years, compared to the USA STR average of 1.7%.
About Magnuson Hotels
Magnuson Hotels has championed the cause of fair franchising for hotel owners since its inception in 2003, helping over 2000 hotels in the USA and UK succeed against some of the biggest brands in the hospitality industry. Magnuson Hotels offers three platforms that do not require mandatory renovations and procurements, long-term contracts or excessive commissions. Magnuson Hotels offers hotels a platform to achieve a non-seasonal 52-week occupancy strategy with comprehensive human support and an OTA-alternative distribution.
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Tambourine, the Fort Lauderdale-headquartered digital marketing technology company serving hotels, resorts, and tourism destinations worldwide, has been named a 2023 Premier Partner in the Google Partners program, a status awarded to only the top 3% of partners.
Tambourine met the Google Premier Partner requirements for Performance, Spend, and Certifications.
As a Premier Partner, Tambourine has access to Googles training and support resources, as well as exclusive program benefits which are outlined below.
Google Premier Partner benefits include:
Product Betas | Receive access to the most current product betas through ongoing, summarized reports.
| Receive access to the most current product betas through ongoing, summarized reports. Insights Briefing | Get the latest insights from Google to stay ahead of changing consumer behaviors and industry trends.
| Get the latest insights from Google to stay ahead of changing consumer behaviors and industry trends. Advanced Google Ads Support | Access 24-hour advanced ads support to help quickly and efficiently resolve issues.
| Access 24-hour advanced ads support to help quickly and efficiently resolve issues. Executive Experiences | Attend invite-only industry events, such as roundtable discussions with Google leaders, sessions with other Premier Partners, and opportunities to hear from industry thought leaders.
It is an honor to be named a Google Premier Partner again. This is something the team has earned through diligence, testing, and expertise. Being a Google Premier Partner provides great value to Tambourines in-house team as well as our hotel partners. Christina Davis, Vice President of Media & Analytics, Tambourine
About Tambourine
Tambourine continues to shake up the hospitality industry with custom-integrated marketing solutions for hotels, resorts, and destinations worldwide. The company's emergence as the market leader for both branded and independent hotels is a testament to its core values: putting customer service center stage, setting the standards for hotel website design, and making performance digital marketing easier and more profitable for its valued partners.
Thomas McDermott
Vice President of Corporate Marketing
+1 954 975 2220
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5 legal ways to get more Spotify streams
From ways to customize your profile to collaborating with artists, here are 5 tips on how to get more Spotify streams this year without getting yourself in trouble.
by Collin Steinz of Bandzoogle
If youre trying to promote your music in 2023, its no secret that you need to have your music available on Spotify. With over 489 million active users, its become the go-to platform for music fans to discover new music.
Spotify pays $4 USD for every 1,000 streams. While you may not make life-changing money at first, , it can definitely be a jumping off point for your career as a whole. Ive been part of projects and surrounded by bands who have secured record deals, publishing deals, booking agents, festival dates and more, all based on their Spotify profile.
Im going to share some tips and insights on how you can build your Spotify streams to help take the next step in your music career.
1. Customize Your Spotify Profile
Your Spotify profile is the space where you shine, the space where you express yourself. With an estimated 60,000 songs submitted to Spotify each day, you want to make sure that when a listener comes across your Spotify profile, it catches their attention.
To customize your profile, youll need to get set up with Spotify for Artists. This will allow you to claim the music you release on Spotify and get insights and data on how your music is performing. It also allows you to update your header image, avatar image, add a bio, add links to social media, and set an artist pick which you can use to promote a new release.
When youre dressing up your Spotify profile, keep in mind the idea of no plot holes. If youre being 100% your authentic self, then there will be no plot holes in your storyline the one that your fans will be following across social media and to your music..
As an example, Bandzoogle member Edwin Raphael took a trip to Costa Rica to film footage for his new album Warm Terracotta and wanted to share his journey with his fans. His Spotify header image highlights a journey he took travelling through the Costa Rican jungle by river.
This imagery certainly pops when you land on his page and is definitely unique to Edwin as an artist. Remember no plot holes. If its you, embrace it. Itll keep fans coming back to see where else the journey will take you.
2. Releasing Music
To get your music on Spotify, youll need a digital distributor. There are many to choose from, and its worth mentioning that Bandzoogle members get free distribution coupons with CD Baby. But once youve secured your distributor, and you have your mastered track(s) in hand along with some great artwork well, what next?
Here are a few rules to follow when preparing your music for release.
Submit your music to distributors at least 4 weeks in advance. For distributors that do additional pitching to DSPs (digital streaming providers), this is essential.
For distributors that do additional pitching to DSPs (digital streaming providers), this is essential. Pitch your lead single to Spotify editors within Spotify for Artists. Once your music has been delivered by your distributor youll see it in your Spotify for Artists under Music > Upcoming Releases. Youll also see the option to pitch it to editors. Youll need to do this 7 days in advance (minimum) for the song to be included in your Release Radar and submitted for editorial playlist consideration. Its important to highlight your genre, instrumentation, and release plan. If youre hiring PR, going on tour, or running ads include it! Spotify wants to see what youre doing to promote your music on your end. Dont rely only on getting editorial playlisting to get your release out to a wider audience.
Once your music has been delivered by your distributor youll see it in your Spotify for Artists under Music > Upcoming Releases. Youll also see the option to pitch it to editors. Youll need to do this 7 days in advance (minimum) for the song to be included in your Release Radar and submitted for editorial playlist consideration. Its important to highlight your genre, instrumentation, and release plan. If youre hiring PR, going on tour, or running ads include it! Spotify wants to see what youre doing to promote your music on your end. Dont rely only on getting editorial playlisting to get your release out to a wider audience. Upload a canvas for your tracks. Spotify loves to see you using their tools. This was told to me by the head of marketing for a renowned indie label in Canada. A Canvas is a 8 second visualizer that listeners can look at while they listen to your music and is another way for you to share your journey and creativity with listeners.
Spotify loves to see you using their tools. This was told to me by the head of marketing for a renowned indie label in Canada. A Canvas is a 8 second visualizer that listeners can look at while they listen to your music and is another way for you to share your journey and creativity with listeners. Release with consistency. Have a game plan for your releases. If youre releasing a 7 song album, think about how you can get the most out of it. You spend a lot of time creating all of those songs, and they deserve to be heard.
The label Favourite Library (Bandzoogle members since 2022) had a strategy in place with their first artist Nicholas Cangiano. Before the release of his album New Occasion, he had great music, but less than 200 monthly listeners. Favourite Library outlined a release plan for the rollout to see if they can help grow Nicks Spotify reach.
They released 4 singles leading up to the album, each 6-8 weeks apart, and always making sure to include the promotion strategy in their pitch to Spotify for Artists. The first tracks did not perform so well, but by the time the album was released, it caught traction in the algorithm and was placed on several Spotify editorial playlists. Within the first 4 months of the albums release, it accumulated over 120,000 streams, close to 1,500 followers, and Nick has been hovering around 10,000 monthly listeners.
3. Promoting your music
There are two factors to consider when promoting your music: Pre-Release & Post-Release.
Pre-Release: You will be able to request a pre-save link through your distributor. A pre-save campaign is a great way to get your audience excited about your new release. Theyll be presented with a page with your album cover, a countdown to the release date, and the option to save the track to their Spotify library before its even out.
In 2021, a friend of mine had a song go viral on TikTok. She had shared the idea of a song which got traction and her audience grew and became a part of the creation of the track. When she announced the pre-save, she received over 80,000 pre-saves and was featured on Spotify editorial playlists across the world. While the payout of $4 per thousand streams is not ideal, that traction led to a record deal and worldwide tours opening for some of the biggest artists on the planet.
Post-Release: Not everyone will get a viral track prior to its release, so its important to know that once your track is out, the promotion is just beginning.
Now its time to get creative with promoting your song. Maybe its a music video, a TikTok campaign, or something more DIY depending on your genre. The key here is to make sure that its easy for new fans to find your music, and heres where Bandzoogle can play a major role.
Bandzoogle offers two features which can be incredibly useful our Landing Page feature and Smart Links feature. Landing Pages are a great way to convert potential fans from social media to your music. Its a page on your site that is stripped of site-wide branding, so you can focus attention on whats important getting new ears on your music.
Using our Smart Links feature, you can direct new fans to Spotify directly with just one click at the same time giving them insight to who you are as an artist.
Share and sell more music on your own mobile-ready website. Try Bandzoogle today!
4. Collaboration
Collaboration is a great way to get more streams to your music. Spotify allows for up to three primary artists- this means that if you release a track with three primary artists, your track is delivered to three different artist radars, can be pitched to editors by each of the three artists, and all the streams are shared across profiles.
Bandzoogle members Saint Zenon have embraced this entirely. The band is made up of 11 different artists from Montreal, who collectively have over 2 million monthly listeners. When they release a track, all 11 are included as artists, and the three most prominent voices on the track are added as primary artists. This allows each track to reach a wider audience and get more streams.
Bandzoogle members Flara K used this same approach in 2021 to help gain traction to their upcoming EP. They collaborated with a UK based producer to remix one of their tracks. The producer had been getting attention due to a remix of a popular track that was getting traction on Spotify, and when it came time to release the track, both artists were added as primary artists and pitched the track through Spotify for Artists. The track to date has amassed over half a million streams.
I also believe that when youre part of a music scene that supports and collaborates with one another, it allows for the most creative music to be made. It also creates a healthy environment where if one of the artists starts to get attention, everyone around them wins. One artist in Montreal signed a record deal and publishing deal and as a result, his collaborators who were songwriters on his tracks were able to secure publishing deals for themselves and now perform and tour in the band.
5. Create Unique Experiences
I think its important to say there is a difference between passive listeners who will stream your music once, and fans who will be playing your album on repeat. The music youre writing has come from a unique place and its important to share that with your fans.
In Montreal, Favourite Library hosts intimate secret shows that are invite only. It started out as a way for a few artists to share the songs they were working on, but has since grown into something bigger. The vibes are warm, the instruments are unplugged, and everyone is there to listen and soak in the experience. Now the shows sell out, have been getting bigger, and the people who were there early on, are coming out in bigger groups and know all the music. Theyre involved in the artists journey and when the artist asks if the audience can follow them on Spotify, they do without hesitating. The audience is part of a unique experience that creates a fan for life.
For his new album, Edwin Raphael embraced AI and even created a 3D world for fans to venture through to discover his new music and see where the inspiration for his tracks had come from. As you venture through each section of the 3D world, tracks from his album play and you can click a link to stream the released tracks on Spotify, and pre-save each unreleased track.
Building your streams on Spotify in and of itself may not be a lucrative money-maker, but it can open the door to more listeners and greater musical opportunities. Start small, customize your profile, and work your way into creative and authentic endeavours to support your musics reach online.
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How independent and D.I.Y. musicians can partner with local brands
Here is an easy-to-follow guide on how independent and D.I.Y. musicians can dip their toes into other markets and expand their reach by partnering with local and regional brands and businesses,
by Angela Tyler from SoundFly
As a DIY musician, one of the most crucial things you must do to create a sustainable career in music, is to find new, creative ways to share and monetize your art.
Without the ability to rest on your laurels with a small, dedicated fanbase (although that will totally help too), youre going to have to find new avenues for attracting completely new audiences ideally, who are already primed to get what you do, understand you, and who are eager to hear more.
Marketing your own music is one of the most popular ways to get your music and message out there; things like press, influencer partnerships, playlist spots, advertising, and so on. But theres another way thats often overlooked in the indie music scene especially for artists that are just starting out because you dont have to spend all that time, energy, and money convincing them that youre worth listening to. Instead, you get in front of them through a source they already trust, a brand they already love and support.
This is what brand sponserships are made for. While you might think that these partnerships are reserved for huge artists partnering with household names, partnering with other local or indie brands even if youre a brand new artist is 100% possible. Its also a lot easier than you think.
This is how to get started.
Identify Your Brand
First, you need to know what your brand is. We have a whole article on uncovering your brand that you can check out here, but the short version is that you need to know who you are and what you stand for.
Deciding what your brand is will always be the first step. After all, how else are you going to discover which partnerships make the most sense or get you in front of your ideal fan? You need to know who that is, and that starts with knowing who you are.
So, take your time with this one. Dont rush it. If you need an example of a bad brand partnership, think back to that time Kendall Jenner caused a stir by appearing in a commercial where she offered a police officer a Pepsi at a protest. That was a disaster; it was considered to be done in poor taste and the fact Kendall Jenner was involved was not a great look for her.
On the other hand, a match made in branding heaven was Lizzo and Fabletics. As someone who has been unapologetic in standing up to body shaming, and has made it her mission to ensure women feel good in their bodies, the partnership made perfect sense. It was a perfect compliment to the message shed already been sharing with fans through her music.
In fact, Soundflys brand new course with drummer, producer, and social media influencer The Pocket Queen, dives deep into how to develop ones core brand and pursue a content marketing approach around serving that to a growing fanbase. Check that out here!
But, as we said, those are big artists with big brand contracts. The next step is to take your relative potential and look local for it. Read on!
Make a List of Local Brands You Admire
This is the fun part! Once you know your brand, start to look at companies, shops, and brands in your area or even beyond that are growing just like you.
If youre new to brand partnerships, its best to start out with some smaller companies that are still in the early stages, especially if thats where you are as well. Then, as you grow and create more and more opportunities for the brands you work with, you can start to reach out to bigger brands.
So start small. Initially, just start making a list of any local brands you can think of. After that, start searching online for even more ideas. A few places to search:
Look on Instagram to sort results by location. Youll often find brands tagging the city you live in. And sometimes a brand will like one of your photos if youve tagged the location (which sends a message, hint hint!).
Youll often find brands tagging the city you live in. And sometimes a brand will like one of your photos if youve tagged the location (which sends a message, hint hint!). Hashtags are another great way to find and target local or indie brands. #BostonBusiness, #BestofCleveland, #Chicagoindie
are another great way to find and target local or indie brands. #BostonBusiness, #BestofCleveland, #Chicagoindie When youve exhausted social media, start to search places in your area by the city or town youre in with different keywords such as Boston local coffee shops or Burlington thrift store.
such as Boston local coffee shops or Burlington thrift store. Check out local flea markets and street fairs. Even if its not in season, you can look up lists of vendors and those that have participated. I know that in Boston, we have at least 30+ local brands at every single one of the markets and its a great place to start.
Even if its not in season, you can look up lists of vendors and those that have participated. I know that in Boston, we have at least 30+ local brands at every single one of the markets and its a great place to start. Ask around. Your friends and family are probably the best place to start! Make posts on social media asking for peoples favorite indie brand. You may even find some outside your local area!
These are just a few ideas. The more you start thinking about it, the more youll see these opportunities popping up!
Tell the Brands Exactly What They Get From Working With You
With brand partnerships, its best not to leave too much to the imagination. Keep it short, keep it personalized (detail why you like the brand and think youd be a great fit to work together), and give specifics on how you see the partnership working.
The point here is to pique their interest in a project without asking them to spend time developing it. If you leave it up to a partner to figure out how to work with you, odds are they simply wont have the time to do their research on you and theyll end up never responding. So, outline what you can offer.
You can suggest that:
They use your song in an IG Reel about (topic that aligns with your brand and theirs),
You wear their shirt in an upcoming video shoot, and then mention and link to it,
You use their product in a music video or post,
You donate your time to an upcoming event or auction in exchange for your songs on their event playlist or brochure,
You do a performance residency at their space, in return for a product or special being named after you. (For example: a local brewery and one of the beers gets named after your band or one of your songs.)
If you have a stronger following or an existing relationship you can also approach brands about sponsoring an entire tour, a record release show, or some other opportunity where you are provided monetary compensation for their name appearing in front of a wider audience.
So this is something to work towards as well as you grow!
Final Thoughts
Brand partnerships are an incredibly lucrative way for bands to build their brand, and even if youre new to it, I highly recommend taking the time to just begin to brainstorm different brand partnerships for now, as well as some to work towards over the next year or so.
While they might start off as simply an exchange of postings, they can lead to monetary deals as you grow. In the meantime, youre building your fanbase and expanding your network, which only means more opportunities.
Dont forget to think outside the box with these partnerships as well. If you see a brand that makes sense for the audience youre trying to reach or the message youre trying to convey, go for it! Over time, youll continue to grow, and youll be seeing partnerships everywhere you look.
Our brand new course with The Dillinger Escape Plans Ben Weinman teaches how to make a living in music without making sacrifices. Check out The Business of Uncompromising Art, out now exclusively on Soundfly.
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Lenox Library Lecture: The Hidden People of the Berkshires
LENOX, Mass. The Lenox Library will continue its Distinguished Lecture Series on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023 at 4:00 p.m., when the leaders of Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity; Construct; and Western Massachusetts Labor Action will discuss housing issues in the Berkshires.
Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity is an independent affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Founded in 1992, Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity provides homeownership opportunities for people. They serve Central and Southern Berkshire County
Construct exists to help people inand outof crisis. To that end, their mission is to provide neighbors in the Southern Berkshires of low and moderate incomes with affordable housing solutions through rental assistance and related support services.
Established in 1972, Western Massachusetts Labor Action (WMLA) is an all-volunteer organization of the working poor and their allies.
MassWildlife Biologist to Speak at Berkshire Green Drinks
DALTON, Mass. Wildlife biologist Nathan Buckhout will present at the March Berkshire Green Drinks gathering on Wednesday, March 8, at 6:00 PM in person at Shire Breu-Hous inside The Stationery Factory, 63 Flansburg Ave. and online via Zoom.
Buckhout will talk about Mustelids, otherwise known as the weasel family, and go over some common characteristics of the diverse group.
Mustelids are a family of carnivorous mammals, which include weasels, minks, otters, fishers, martens, and wolverines, among others. Buckhout will briefly discuss each species presently in Massachusetts, as well as species that have disappeared from the region. He will also discuss some common misconceptions and human-mustelid-related issues that commonly occur.
Additionally, Buckhout is an expert on bears and enjoys discussing all types of wildlife; he welcomes all questions about any wildlife during the Q&A session.
The in-person gathering begins at 5:00 PM at Shire Breu-Hous. The presentation will take place upstairs in a venue space of The Stationery Factory at 6:00 PM. RSVP to the in-person event at https://March-2023-Berks-Green-Drinks.eventbrite.com
Pre-registration is required to attend the virtual presentation. Register at https://tinyurl.com/March-2023-Berks-Green-Drinks
Berkshire Green Drinks (formerly Pittsfield Green Drinks) is an informal gathering on the second Wednesday of the month. A guest speaker talks for about 30 minutes beginning at 6 PM, and the presentation is followed by a discussion and Q&A. These nights are free and open to everyone with any environmental interest.
London-based Persian-language broadcaster, Iran International announced on 18 February plans to move its operations to the United States, after escalating threats from Tehran and safety concerns against its journalists. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and Ireland in urging the government to act swiftly and robustly to secure the safety of journalists working across the UK and to safeguard media freedom.
Acting on advice from the police, Iran International has closed its London offices and will move its operations to the United States due to mounting threats against its staff, according to a statement published on 18 February.
The IFJ and its UK-affiliate, the NUJ, have long been campaigning for the protection of journalists and their families at Iran International and BBC Persian Service who have been subjected to long-standing harassment and intimidation from the Iranian regime for their critical reporting on the country. The situation has escalated since the nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022.
NUJ General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet called for efforts to be stepped up to support those media outlets impacted and to protect staff and freelance contributors. As the domestic pressures have ramped up in Iran, so has that regimes interest in closing down the scrutiny and attention that independent journalism and reporting brings and deterring the work that journalists do day in day out.
Ms Stanistreet insisted that such behaviour and threats cannot be tolerated. This cannot be allowed to happen with impunity, and those who threaten journalists and journalism should not be allowed to achieve the outcomes they seek. [...] The NUJ wants to see practical measures put in place by the UK government that provide appropriate security and guidance is provided to all affected journalists [...] with guarantees of sufficient funding that police and employers can do this swiftly and properly.
IFJ Secretary General Anthony Bellanger declared: The forced shut down of Iran International offices in London and its relocation to Washington demonstrate the chilling effect the Iranian regimes behaviour can have on media freedom if they are allowed to silence journalists in a foreign country. We stand in solidarity with journalists and media workers who have long been persecuted by the Iranian authorities, and call on the UK government to act urgently to protect journalists on UK soil and guarantee media freedom.
SECTION I: Title and Headquarters 1. The name of the organisation is the International Federation of Journalists. Its headquarters is based in Residence Palace, International Press Center, Block C, Rue de la Loi 155, 1040 Brussels, Belgium at the time when this Constitution was approved.
SECTION II: Character 2. a) The International Federation of Journalists is a confederation of journalists' trade unions. It has been created to deal with matters related to trade unionism and the practice of the profession of journalism. It is established in the context of support for pluralist democracy and fundamental human rights. It is independent of all ideological, political, governmental and religious bodies. It represents and assists its member organisations in education and research in protection of core labour rights and all professional matters and has and promotes continental and regional groups made up of those member organisations. b) The International Federation of Journalists is an Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif as defined under Belgian law. The Administrative Committee is responsible for meeting the Federations obligations as an AiSBL.
SECTION III: Objectives 3. The aims and objectives of the Federation are: (a) To protect and strengthen the rights and freedoms of journalists; (b) To respect and defend freedom of information, media freedom and the independence of journalism particularly through research and monitoring of violations and taking action to defend journalists and their work; (c) To uphold and improve professionalism and to promote high standards of journalism and journalistic education; (d) To improve and defend the social and working conditions of all journalists, and to encourage and support member unions in collective bargaining; (e) To promote co-operation between member unions, and to support trade union development, by means of the organisation of continental and regional groups; (f) To promote and maintain editorial democracy; (g) To promote the social role of journalists and the profession of journalism, particularly its contribution to democracy and freedom; (h) To encourage the provision of professional and trade union education and training for journalists; (i) To co-ordinate action to ensure the safety of journalists and to incorporate safety training in collective agreements between member unions and employer organisations; (j) To encourage member unions to provide goodwill and assistance for members of other member unions who may be working in their territories; (k) To establish and maintain close relations with relevant international, government and non-government organisations in pursuit of these objects; (l) To fight for authors' rights and international reimbursement systems; (m) To promote mainstreaming equality in journalism and to encourage member unions to pursue this objective in particular in collective workplace agreements. (n) To fight against hate speech and all discrimination. (o) To fight for the protection of sources and against all kinds of data retention by governments and corporations
SECTION IV: Membership 4. The Federation may admit to full membership national trade unions whose constitutions and activities are consistent with the character and objects of the Federation and which conform to the following definitions: (a) It is a journalists' trade union; that is, a representative, democratic organisation whose primary functions are to defend, maintain and advance (particularly by collective bargaining) the professional, ethical, moral and material rights of journalists. For the purposes of this definition, a journalist is one who devotes the greater part of his/her working time to the profession of journalism and who derives from it most of his/her income being employed or working as a freelance. (b) It is devoted to media freedom; that is, in accordance with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom in the collection and dissemination of information by all forms of media, and freedom to express opinion and comment, including the freedom to criticise and oppose governments, political and economic bodies whether public or private. 5. Membership of the Federation is not open to journalists' unions which include employers in their regular membership, nor to non-union organisations which operate in specific sectors of the profession. 6. When a union admitted to the Federation is organised on an industrial basis its membership shall be recognised only in relation to the number of its members who are journalists. 7. National organisations of journalists which are not journalists' trade unions as defined in paragraph 4(a), but which are devoted to media freedom as defined in paragraph 4(b), may be admitted as associate members. 8. Except as specified by this Constitution, associate members may participate in all Federation activities. They may be represented at Congress by one delegate but shall not have the right to vote, to nominate or to be nominated for office. With the assistance of the Federation, associate members shall do all in their power to attain and conform with the conditions of full membership and shall, when appropriate, seek full membership. Any associate member that has no sought within 3 years of the date of the adoption of this amendement, or their acceptance (whichever is the later) to upgrade their membership into full membership shall be reported to the IFJ Executive Committee for the consideration of whether they should continue in membership. 9. Member unions have the right of access to all working documents of the Federation and to receive all information upon request at any time. (Only exception: sensitive personal data).
SECTION V: Application for Membership 10. An application for membership of the Federation shall be made to the General Secretary in the prescribed form and shall be accompanied by the Constitution of the applicant organisation. The General Secretary shall advise all member unions of membership applications that will be considered by the Executive Committee. 11. The Executive Committee shall consider each application. It may, provided two-thirds of Executive Committee members present vote in favour, admit an applicant to full membership or associate membership. It may reject an application or defer an application for further consideration at its next meeting. 12. An applicant whose application is rejected by the Executive Committee may appeal against that decision to the next Congress. Any three member unions who disagree with an Executive Committee decision to admit an applicant to membership may appeal against that decision to the next Congress. In either case the appeal must be lodged in writing with the General Secretary within three months of the decision being notified. 13. The procedure for changing the status of an associate member to full membership shall be the same as that prescribed in the preceding articles. 14. Membership of the IFJ becomes effective once the successful applicant has paid the amount of the subscription due covering the year of admission. Unions shall pay an amount for the remaining part of the year following the date of admission.
SECTION VI: Expulsion and Resignation 15. A member union may be expelled from membership by decision of Congress if: (a) It no longer meets the conditions of membership as set out in Article 4 of this Constitution; or (b) It acts in a manner contrary to the principles or objects or in a manner likely to damage the interests of the Federation; or (c) It is more than 12 months late in paying its membership fees. Any member union that has been duly expelled by Congress from membership for non-payment of fees cannot be accepted again into membership until it agrees arrangements to pay the arrears it accrued at the date of its expulsion. 16. A provisional decision to expel a member may be made by the Executive Committee after a proper investigation of the circumstances and provided two-thirds of committee members present vote to do so. Any such decision shall be notified immediately to the member in question. The member may appeal against the decision to the next Congress, which shall confirm or reverse the decision, but in the meantime the member shall be suspended from membership. If a provisional decision of suspension of a member union has been taken according to Section VI, 15 (c), the IFJ Executive Committee shall reverse the suspension immediately if the suspended unions debt is settled and the membership fees are paid in full. 17. Any member may resign from the federation by giving six months' notice in writing to the General Secretary.
SECTION VII: Congress
18. Congress shall be the supreme governing body of the Federation.
19. Congress shall be composed of delegates from the full member unions and the associate members. Full members shall be entitled to appoint delegates on a national basis and shall have votes at Congress, according to the following scale: Up to 100 members 1 delegate/vote Up to 600 members 2 delegates/votes Up to 1.200 members 3 delegates/votes Up to 2.400 members 4 delegates/votes Up to 4.800 members 5 delegates/votes Up to 8.000 members 6 delegates/votes Up to 12.000 members 7 delegates/votes Up to 15.000 members 8 delegates/votes Up to 26.000 members 9 delegates/votes Over 26.000 members 10 delegates/votes b) Gender equality for delegations: Affiliates shall aim to ensure that the number of women/men delegates shall be at least proportional to their share of the unions membership. Nevertheless each delegation consisting of more than three delegates shall aim to include at least one man/woman delegate and each delegation consisting of more than five shall aim to include at least 2 men/women delegates.
20. Congress shall normally meet every third year. The Executive Committee may convene an extraordinary Congress at any time if two-thirds of its members vote in favour. The Executive Committee shall convene an extraordinary Congress if half of the Federation's full members make such a demand in writing.
21. Member unions shall be advised of the place and dates of the normal Congress meeting not less than 8 months in advance of the start of the meeting. Invitations and a provisional agenda shall be sent to members not less than six months in advance, and working documents not less than one month in advance, of the start of the Congress.
22. Proposals from member unions, the Executive Committee and regional organisations of the IFJ, must be submitted to the General Secretary not less than five months before the start of Congress, except where this Constitution specifically provides otherwise. Proposals to amend this Constitution or to dissolve the Federation may be submitted only in accordance with the procedure set out in Section XI. Proposals submitted out of time may be considered by Congress only if a majority of voting delegates agree.
23. Notice of an extraordinary Congress shall be sent to member unions not less than six weeks before the opening of such Congress.
24. The Congress at its normal meetings shall: (a) Elect a Congress Presidium; (b) Adopt the Working Rules for Congress including the allocation of proxy votes, upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee, and establish a quorum; (c) Establish such Congress Commissions, working groups and/or procedures as are necessary for the efficient conduct of Congress and to assist the participation of delegates; (d) Receive, discuss and vote on a report from the General Secretary on behalf of the Executive Committee, and a report from the Honorary Treasurer in the finances of the Federation; (e) Decide on appeals on matters of membership; (f) Decide on proposals to amend the Constitution; (g) Determine financial strategy for the next three-year Congress period; (h) Decide on full membership and associate membership fees for the next three-year Congress period; (i) Determine policies and the working programme for the following three-year period; (j) Decide on proposals submitted for the agenda by member unions; (k) Elect the Officers of the Federation and the other members of the Executive Committee as provided in Section VIII
25. Decisions of the Congress shall be made by a simple majority of votes cast, except that a two-thirds majority of votes cast shall be required (a) To adopt a proposal to amend this Constitution; (b) To determine the financial strategy; (c) To decide membership fees. A proposal to dissolve the Federation shall be carried only if it is supported by two-thirds of the votes cast. The quorum required for voting on the dissolution of the Federation shall be 50% of votes represented at Congress.
26. All elections at Congress shall be by secret ballot and shall be conducted by the Congress Presidium in accordance with the Working Rules.
SECTION VIII: Executive Committee, Officers and Administrative Committee
27. Between Congresses the Executive Committee shall be the governing body of the Federation. It shall consist of the Officers and 16 other members and shall be elected by Congress for a period of office ending at the conclusion of the following Congress. It shall meet at least twice a year. A quorum of 11 voting members shall be required for decisions to be valid. The Committee shall establish its own working rules and procedures within the framework of the Constitution. The Executive Committee shall ensure that at the headquarters of the Federation there is a register of all decisions of the Executive Committee and all decisions of the Congress.
28. The Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring that the policies and the working programme of the Federation are carried out in line with Congress decisions, and shall report on its work to Congress. The Executive Committee shall agree Working Rules for its meetings and shall define establish a quorum.
29. The first meeting of the Executive Committee each year, shall constitute the annual general meeting to approve the audited accounts and budget plan. Members will be informed of the date of the meeting at least 4 months in advance. Provided they are not in arrears, they have the right to send motions at least 2 months in advance and to send an observer. Observers can attend the meeting digitally. The minutes of that meeting will be distributed to all member unions. The Executive Committee determines the internal rules of the Federation including compliance regulations for its officers, staff and the conduct of the federation. These rules will be made available to all member unions.
30. The Officers of the Federation shall be the President, the Senior Vice-President, two VicePresidents and the Honorary Treasurer. They shall be elected by Congress from nominations made by full member unions. Candidates must be part of their unions delegation. No more than one Officer may be elected from any member union or nation. For the positions of Vice Presidents Congress must elect one man and one woman. 31. In addition to the Officers, the Congress shall elect 16 members of the Executive Committee in accordance with the following provisions: (a) Nominations may be made by full member unions, and candidates must be part of their union's delegation; (b) No fewer than two members shall be elected from each of the Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America regions; and no fewer than one member from each of the North America and Oceania regions; (c) No more than one member may be elected from any member union or nation.
32. Congress shall also elect two reserve committee members from each region and two further reserves not bound by any geographical criteria, and one Gender Council Chair. The Gender Council Chair shall be a member of the Executive Committee with voice and vote. The reserve receiving the greater number of votes in each case shall be considered the first reserve. If a member is unable to participate in a meeting of the Executive Committee he/she must inform the General Secretary at least four weeks before the meeting. The General Secretary shall then call the appropriate reserve to participate in the meeting in the following order: First regional reserve, second regional reserve, first general reserve, second general reserve. In such circumstances the reserve shall have all the rights, duties and powers of a member of the Executive Committee.
33. If following their election any Officer or member of the Executive Committee (a) dies; or (b) resigns from the Executive Committee; or (c) in the opinion of four-fifths of the Executive Committee has become ineligible to hold office in terms of this Constitution; Within the provision of Rule 28, he/she shall be succeeded as a member of the Executive Committee by the appropriate reserve in the following order: First regional reserve, second regional reserve, first general reserve, second general reserve (the second reserve thereby becoming the first reserve). If there is no appropriate reserve a replacement shall be selected in a manner determined by the Executive Committee; provided that the Executive Committee may decide not to fill a vacancy if it occurs within a year of the next Congress. In the event that the position vacant is of an officer, the Executive Committee shall then determine what action to take to fill the position from among the members of the Executive Committee.
34. The General Secretary shall be a non-voting member of the Executive Committee. The General Secretary participates by right of office, without voting rights, in the work of the Administrative Committee and Executive Committee.
35. The Executive Committee shall appoint members of working parties established by Congress to further the activities of the Federation. At least one Executive Committee member shall serve on each working party, and shall be responsible or effective liaison between the working party and the Executive Committee.
36. The President, the Senior Vice-President, the Vice-Presidents and the Honorary Treasurer shall together with the General Secretary constitute the Administrative Committee. The Administrative Committee shall a) supervise the Federation activities of the General Secretary and deal with financial matters, management and administrative policies, membership questions, matters of concern and prepare wider policy issues for discussion by the Executive Committee; and b) otherwise act for the Federation between meetings of the Executive Committee within the policies established by the Congress and the Executive Committee. Actions of the Administrative Committee shall be confirmed at the following Executive Committee meeting.
37. The President shall be the leading representative of the Federation. He/she shall convene and chair meetings of the Executive Committee and the Administrative Committee.
38. The Senior Vice-President and the Vice-Presidents shall assist the President in carrying out his/her duties and shall, in order, replace the President if he/she is prevented from carrying out those duties.
39. The Honorary Treasurer shall supervise the financial policies and performance of the Federation and shall report to the Executive Committee and Congress on those matters.
40. The General Secretary shall be the Chief Executive officer of the Federation. He/ she shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and be responsible to that committee. The competent persons to act in legal matters on behalf of the Federation are the President, the Honorary Treasurer and the General Secretary. When authorised to do so by the Administrative Committee, any two may sign on behalf of the Federation.
SECTION IX: Continental and Regional Groups 41. Continental and regional groups may be set up by affiliate and associate members of the Federation. Such groups may regulate their own activities provided they are in accordance with this Constitution and are consistent with policies established by Congress. 42. There shall be a Finance Commission whose objective is to review the IFJ accounts. The Finance Commission shall be elected by congress and report to Congress. The Finance Commission consists of three lay auditors. None of them belong to any other elected body of the IFJ. 43. There shall be a gender council whose mission is to advise on and coordinate the gender work of the IFJ. It shall have the right to set its working rules, composition and policies under the authority of the Executive Committee, and financed accordingly. The chair of the Gender Council shall be a de facto member of the Executive Committee with voice and vote.
SECTION X: Finance 44. Congress shall determine the basis for the calculation of membership fees and shall decide the membership fees payable by full members and by associate members of the Federation. Membership fees shall be paid in the currency of the nation in which the headquarters of the Federation is situated. 45. The financial year of the Federation shall be from January 1 to December 31. The Executive Committee shall adopt and approve the accounts and budget of the Federation annually. 46. Membership fees for a financial year are due and payable by April 30 of that year unless the Executive Committee decides otherwise. Members admitted to the Federation during a year shall pay membership fees for that year on a pro rata calculation for the unexpired period of the year. 47. Membership fees shall be paid according to the number of regular members declared by unions up to a maximum figure, which shall be determined by Congress. 48. Any member union which is more than six months in arrears with the payment of its membership fees shall be reported to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may direct that the services of the Federation be withdrawn from any such member union. 49. Any member union, which is more than 12 months in arrears with the payment of its membership fees, or with money due for the supply of International Press Cards, shall have no voting and attendance rights at Congress. Any such member union may also be expelled from the Federation by Congress or by the Executive Committee. 50. The Executive Committee may in exceptional circumstances exempt member unions from paying all or part of membership fees. Such exemptions to be reviewed at each Executive Committee. 51. The expenses of delegates to Congress and of members of the Executive Committee and working parties shall be paid by their member unions unless otherwise decided by the Executive Committee. 52. Accounts shall be subjected to external audit. Their report, shall be distributed to Executive Committee members and member organisations of the IFJ 53. A Safety Fund shall be deemed to be held on trust, kept in a separate account and administered according to its rules and subjected to external audit.The Executive Committee shall present a special report to the congress. Here shall be given detailed account of income, cash flow and reserves.
SECTION XI: Amendment of the Constitution and Dissolution 54. Proposals to amend this Constitution must be submitted in writing to the General Secretary no later than six months before the opening day of Congress. Every such proposal must specify precisely the amendment sought, and must be accompanied by a brief explanation of the reason for the amendment. The General Secretary shall immediately forward copies of the proposal and explanatory material to all member unions. 55. A proposal to amend the Constitution shall be carried only if it is supported by two- thirds of the votes cast at Congress. The quorum required for voting on a constitutional amendment shall be 50% of votes represented at Congress. 56. A proposal to dissolve the Federation must be submitted and dealt with in the same manner as a proposal to amend the Constitution. However, such a proposal shall be carried only if it is supported by two-thirds of all the votes represented at Congress. 57. In the event that Congress decides to dissolve the Federation, all liabilities of the Federation shall be discharged. Any remaining assets shall then be divided among the unions which are members at the time equivalent to the proportion of their contributions to the Federation during the current year. If there are insufficient assets to meet the Federation's liabilities, the outstanding liabilities shall be met by the member unions in similar proportion.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) continue to expand their Paleng-QR Ph initiative as they roll out the program in South Luzon, piloting in Naga City, in partnership with the countrys leading e-wallet, GCash.
Photo shows (from left to right) Hon. Councilor Sonny Ranola, Hon. Councilor Joe Perez, Hon. Vice Mayor Nene de Asis, BSP Deputy Governor Berna Romulo-Puyat, Hon. Mayor Nelson Legacion, GCash Chief Marketing Officer, Neil Trinidad, GCash Chief Compliance Officer, Atty. Cef Sison, and GCash Head of Growth Marketing, Fe Olivia Mir.
With the launch, vendors, and tricycle drivers in the Naga City Peoples Market can now easily transact with their customers and passengers using QR payment.
Through this partnership, the merchants of the Naga City Peoples Market and the rest of the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Naga City are encouraged to display their GCash QR code at their stores with the statement We accept GCash here. This way, we are empowering our small vendors to adopt cashless transactions in our efforts to boost digitalization in how they do business towards financial inclusion, said Martha Sazon, chief executive officer of GCash.
In total, there over 500 public market stalls and 535 vendors in the city who can accept GCash transactions. In addition, GCash has also onboarded 411 vendors in the city as GCash Pera Outlet (PO) partners. This feature on the app allows small merchants to earn extra income and grow their businesses by offering customers in the community convenient access to various GCash services such as Cash-in, Cash-out, Pay Bills, and Claim Padala.
To further promote cashless transactions in the market, GCash is also introducing its GTreats promo wherein customers can get a whole bundle of market products for only P30 when they pay with GCash.
Our small merchants and consumers can now enjoy not only a safe and hassle-free payment experience for their everyday transactions, but also easy access to convenient financial services and products. We look forward to more strategic collaborations with GCash to enable more Filipinos to thrive in the new normal. Naga City Mayor Nelson S. Legacion said.
To further promote digital payment adoption nationwide, the BSP and DILG has now on-boarded more vendors and tricycle drivers for the Paleng-QR initiative in various public markets nationwide including the Baguio City Public Market, Bangkerohan Public Market in Davao City, Dao Public Market in Tagbilaran City, Pasig City Mega Market, Antipolo Market and Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (AMTODA), and Lapu-Lapu Public Market, all of which now accept GCash cashless payments using QR codes.
Recently, GCash also partnered with the City Government of San Fernando, Pampanga, to enable digital payments and educate its employees and constituents on the features and benefits of using e-wallets such as GCash.
On top of digitalizing public markets across the country, GCash continues to democratize financial services by making them easy to access, easy to afford, and easy to understand, especially for the unbanked and under-served communities amid the new normal, and beyond.
The GCash app is available for free on Google Play or the App Store. For more information, visit www.gcash.com.
Data leakages of internal systems caused either by cyberattacks (29%) or employees (25%) are the most concerning security issues encountered by SMBs and enterprises, Kaspersky IT Security Economics survey respondents from Asia Pacific (APAC) claim. Heightened concerns over data protection increasingly also turn business leaders attention to the transparency policies of their suppliers.
Global digitalization has inevitably led to massive amounts of data being shared and stored online. According to the latest estimates, the volume of data generated, consumed, copied, and stored is projected to reach more than 180 zettabytes by 2025. However, more and more people question companies ability to keep their data secure which leads to a decline in confidence in business.
Kasperskys global research, conducted among 834 IT decision-makers from APAC, shows a loss or exposure of corporate and customer information because of a data breach is a major headache for companies 59% of respondents from organizations of all sizes named this issue the most challenging aspect related to IT security. Among others, the most common concerns are the cost of securing increasingly complex technology environments, and issues with cloud infrastructure adoption with 50% and 44% share respectively.
Graph 1: Which of the following do you regard as the most concerning business issues related to IT security in your organization?
Thinking more specifically about the most disturbing security challenges, APAC respondents mostly indicated leakage of data from internal systems caused by cyber-attacks (29%) and by employees (25%). Most decision-makers are also concerned about incidents affecting IT infrastructure hosted by a third-party noted by 28% and managing security across different computing platforms (25%).
The uniqueness of IT infrastructure in APAC is highlighted by this latest survey. Globally, identifying vulnerabilities in internal IT systems is among the top three concerns of decision-makers. Here in APAC, we see that third-party inflicted incidents are actually second-most concerning for local executives. This is driven by the interconnectedness of businesses here and we see outsourcing and managed services to continue to be preferred due to the efficiencies and cost-saving opportunities they bring to the table, comments Chris Connell, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky.
Given that data protection has turned into the most alarming business security issue, companies are now attaching considerable importance to their suppliers and contractors transparency policies. Of those questioned, almost all (98%) in APAC consider the presence or absence of transparency policies as important for going into business with a supplier or contractor. And while 88% of surveyed organizations here already have transparency policies in their organizations, 91% confirmed their readiness to invest resources in developing it further.
Today, we see organizations are being more conscientious when it comes to data security and that a responsible approach towards data management is becoming essential when considering suppliers and contractors. To help their customers and partners ascertain that the required standards for ensuring data security are applied, more and more companies are adopting transparency policies. Kaspersky has been one of the industrys pioneers in building digital trustwe have provided our stakeholders with a number of instruments to validate the trustworthiness of our solutions and business operations, and were determined to further work with our partners to turn transparency into an industry-wide standard for the sake of greater cyber resilience, comments Yuliya Shlychkova, Head of Public Affairs at Kaspersky.
To minimize the risk of any attacks and data breaches for businesses, Kaspersky recommends using endpoint protection with a proven track record providing capabilities for threat detection and response. In addition, managed protection services will help organizations with their attack investigation and expert response. Comprehensive cybersecurity awareness training teaching how to avoid common security threats is also required to reduce the likelihood of incidents caused by employees.
Kaspersky in Southeast Asia also has launched a Buy 1 Free 1 promo to help SMBs and midrange enterprises in beefing their cybersecurity capabilities. Businesses can now enjoy two years of enterprise-grade endpoint protection for the price of 1 with Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business or Cloud or Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum, with 24x7 phone support. Interested customers can reach out to sea.sales@kaspersky.com.
To gain more insights about IT security costs and budgets in businesses in 2022 visit the interactive Kaspersky Calculator. The full report IT Security Economics 2022 is available to download here.
Last January 30 and 31, the Department of Education (DepEd) administered the National Achievement Test for Grade 12 (NATG12) as part of their K to 12 Basic Education Program national assessment framework. It aims to determine and identify the gaps in the curriculum and gauge the graduating student's preparedness for higher education.
Quipper shares some tips for educators on how to improve their pedagogy and help learners elevate their future test scores
Now that it is over, teachers are left waiting for the exam results, hoping that they achieved their number one goal; to make students attain the learning objectives prescribed by the curriculum.
But after a big exam like this, what must teachers do with the results? Quipper is here to guide educators on using exam scores as data for assessment to improve the teaching-learning experience and potentially elevate their students' future test scores.
Gather test scores and other students' data for analysis. Data is always present in a classroom and can be gathered in various ways. It can be Formative Data that teachers can collect from learners through raising hands, drills, recitations, and short quizzes, or Observational Data, where they observe students' behaviors and characteristics when doing a solo task or working with a student.
Lastly, teachers can assess the data from Summative and Standardized Tests (like the NATG12), Projects, and Performance Tasks gathered quarterly or at the end of the academic year. This type of data is necessary because it gauges the learner's capability to apply and retain the knowledge they learned in the classroom.
It is crucial to differentiate and categorize data to ensure that teachers adequately address each student's unique needs. Once these data are assessed, teachers can conduct different strategies to improve their classroom teaching and, later on, improve students' performance.
Study data to modify teaching strategies. After studying data, teachers should now prepare to alter their teaching strategies according to it. The modification should focus on learners' individual needs and the overall class condition.
For example, suppose a student suddenly had low scores compared to their previous exam. In that case, a teacher may want to assess if the student is having problems that are non-classroom-related that may influence the student's low performance. Or maybe, the teacher placed test questions that are too focused on memorization, which may not be a suitable strategy to use. Teachers must remember that assessing the data is all about identifying the learning barriers or overall curriculum problems to ensure that the learners will always give their best performance on their exams.
Establish realistic student goals and design/adjust lesson plans according to them. After students see their exam results, they might feel burdened and pressured to do better. But a teacher should always remind students that whatever the outcome, what matters most is that they are learning.
Students were always taught to think that scores and numbers are equivalent to their worth; that is why educators must gear away from this mindset and help the students establish realistic goals by designing or adjusting their lesson plans according to them. May it be changing how the lessons were taught or giving a fresher take on summative assessments.
More than anything, teachers should encourage the student's individual growth inside and outside the classroom, even if it means getting a score of 10 or 15 points higher than before.
These strategies are not here to make things complicated for teachers. Instead, it treats learning as a process that cannot be accomplished without proper assessment. Yes, an improvement in performance starts with the student, but they cannot do it without the teacher's help.
To learn more about how teachers can use data from test scores and students performance to improve teaching, they can access Quippers Basic Education Exit Assessment (BEEA) assessment package, that includes a module which can be used as their go-to guide on doing proper assessments in the classroom.
Indeed, Quipper is here to tirelessly assist teachers through its innovative teaching and learning technology that can adapt to the changing landscape of education.
To learn more about Quipper Philippines and its other programs and initiatives, visit www.quipper.com/ph.
WASHINGTON, D.C. As a public health and environmental disaster unfolds following the derailment and explosion of a toxic-chemical cargo train in East Palestine, Ohio, advocacy groups renewed their challenge to the U.S. Department of Transporta...
BY RPM ADMIN
Reprinted with permission of Real Peoples Media
https://realpeoples.media/
Today, with sadness, I leave Peru to head back to other parts of the world. I had planned on staying longer to report on the mass protests, but must leave...
The Six Nations of the Grand River Band is suing the governments of Canada and Ontario in a court case that started in 1995. The Band says that under the 1784 Haldimand Proclamation, which it considers a treaty, the British Crown set aside about 9...
By Doug George-Kanentiio.
On February 10 the US news station WWNY reported that Canada has agreed to pay $2,000,000,000 (billion) to settle a case involving the kidnapping and placing of Native children in residences off Indigenous Territory.
Als...
Microsoft really wants the Activision acquisition to go through successfully. For quite some time now, Microsoft has been trying to convince Sony that Call of Duty would be available on all platforms if its Activision takeover is approved.
Unfortunately, Sony and Microsoft have failed to make any deal yet. So Microsoft has moved on to other partners, including Nintendo and Nvidia.
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Microsoft's new deals with Nvidia and Activision
Microsoft's President Brad Smith, speaking at a special press event in Brussels described Sony as a "super dominant company" that not only outsells Xbox consoles but also doesn't want competition.
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While gaming moguls and antitrust bodies observe the Microsoft-Activision deal, the Xbox maker has struck a deal with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo products on the same day as Xbox. "Weve now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendos gamers. This is just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms," said Smith.
Weve now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendos gamers. This is just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms. pic.twitter.com/JmO0hzw1BO Brad Smith (@BradSmi) February 21, 2023
Also read: Sony Has More Exclusive Games, Which Are Better Quality, Claims Microsoft
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Microsoft's deal with Nvidia (the operator of GeForce Now cloud gaming service) might eliminate some fears about the future of cloud gaming.
It appears that Microsoft initially offered Sony a deal to keep Call of Duty on Playstation for "several more years" beyond an existing deal, The Verge reported. Last year, Sony called Microsoft's offer "inadequate on many levels." Call of Duty has become the point of contention between Microsoft and Sony, with the possibility of the latter losing COD rights in the future, but Microsoft claims that it is committed to keeping COD accessible to all.
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Also read: Sony Updates Playstation Plus Subscription With Three Xbox Game Pass-Like Plans
Even with all this noise, it all boils down to regulators in the US and EU. Regulators in the EU have set April 11 as the deadline for a final decision on Microsoft's proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision.
For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
Is polar ice melting? The sobering answer is yes, and its the number one contributor to sea level rise. NASA scientist Dr. Brooke Medley explains how NASA studies the relationship between ice sheets and sea level to better understand our changing planet.
The polar ice is melting
RSC Education
Dr. Brooke Medley says, "The simple and straightforward answer is yes, it is in fact melting. But it's a bit more complicated than that. You can think of ice sheets or Antarctica and Greenland as a bathtub full of water. And we want to know how much is going into that bathtub and how much is coming out. So for instance, snow falling over the ice sheet is like running the faucet. You turn on the faucet, it fills up with water. And then melting when you get a warm atmosphere or a warm ocean, it's opening up the drain and letting water out. So it's not just about melting, it's also about how much snow falls and what the balance is there."
NASA monitors both Antarctica and Greenland from space
NASA
She continues, "At NASA, we are able to monitor both Antarctica and Greenland really easily from space. And we have satellite lasers that actually measure the thickness of the ice through time. So we can actually monitor where the ice sheets are thinning and most rapidly losing mass into the ocean."
Polar ice melting is the number one contributor to sea level rise
Dr. Brooke concludes, "So is polar ice melting? The answer is yes. And at present, it is the number one contributor to sea level rise. And that's why NASA has scientists like myself studying the relationship between ice sheets and sea level every day."
For more about the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
Snowflake on Wednesday said it was making another industry-specific product available in the form of managed Telecom Data Cloud, nearly a year after launching Retail Data Cloud and the Healthcare and Life Sciences Data Cloud offering.
With Snowflakes proprietary cloud data warehouse at its heart, the Telecom Data Cloud combines Snowflakes data warehousing, analytics and compliance tools, with access to third-party data sources and resources through a data marketplace, and various partner consulting services from the likes of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cognizant, SDG Group, Prodapt Consulting, and Wipro. The Telecom Data Cloud, which is designed to accelerate cloud deployments, also has partnerships with several other technology firms including Alteryx, CARTO, H2O.AI, Informatica, and ThoughtSpot.
Different partners bring in different capabilities to the Telecom Data Cloud. Snowflake partner Flywheel, for instance, enables live access to third-party data sources including satellite, geospatial, and customer demographic data to build out new products or applications.
The new offering comes with prebuilt templates to build industry-focused solutions, the company said. The acceleration of cloud computing deployments is expected to help telecommunications service providers boost their digital transformation efforts by enabling superior customer experiences, maximizing operational efficiency, and monetizing new data services.
With the Telecom Data Cloud, Snowflake now has a portfolio of five industry-specific versions of its Data Cloud.
Industry clouds target accelerating cloud deployments
While vertical-specific industry solutions are nothing new for software vendors, cloud-enablement for legacy enterprises via industry clouds brings deployment agility and networking and collaborative advantages that are not there when deploying conventional solutions on-premises, said Doug Henschen, principal analyst at Constellation Research.
The common appeal of industry solutions has always been accelerating deployments with expertise and pre-built content geared to a specific industry and its common use cases, Henschen explained.
For data platform providers, such as Snowflake, this would mean providing industry data models, connectors to common applications and data sources, and knowledge of frequent integrations and query patterns that support common use cases, Henschen said.
The cloudification of vertical solutions adds the element of bringing in data providers for enrichment, and the opportunity to share and monetize data as cloud services, Henschen said.
The Telecom Data Cloud, according to the analyst, will aid SQL-centric data engineers and analysts, by accelerating deployments with pre-built content geared to a specific industry and its common use cases.
ChatGPT, the next-generation chatbot from OpenAI, has drawn a lot of attention to conversational AI. Now, Altostra, which provides a no-code infrastructure platform for cloud application development, has built a template intended to quickly launch ChatGPT-like AI applications on Amazon Web Services.
Applications can be built in fewer than five minutes, the company said. The company has developed an open source GTC-3 app template for deploying applications based on OpenAIs GPT-3 text models on AWS. The open source, serverless web application integrates any of OpenAIs four GPT-3 models with a web UI. Altostra on February 7 posted instructions on its website, with the process requiring a signup for Altostra.
OpenAPIs GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3) models are advanced language message models that can generate human-like text, Altostra noted. They serve as a type of transformer neural network, a deep learning model for natural language processing. ChatGPT is an OpenAI model designed to respond to text inputs in a human-like fashion. It is based on the GPT-3 language models and utilizes training to generate responses in a natural language format.
Altostras GPT-3 applications draw on a number of AWS services. These include Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) to store the web UI, Amazon CloudFront to host the web UI, Amazon API Gateway, and three AWS Lambda functions to process user requests and generate text using GPT-3. Amazon Simple Systems Manager is used to securely store the GPT-3 API key.
All things considered, Demotech believes that catastrophe reinsurance coverage associated with policies covered by the June 1 and July 1, 2023, renewals will reflect and benefit from these cumulative reforms. It was projected that by September at the height of hurricane season about two-thirds of the residential property insurance policies in Florida will have been issued after January 1, 2023, and thus be subject to all recent reforms.
The Client Advisory Council is a strategic global forum to develop innovative solutions to the most challenging issues that our network and industry is facing, Collins said. Sharing and learning from industry insights firsthand is invaluable in ensuring the needs of our clients remain front and center of everything we do in 2023 and beyond. The group also provides a networking opportunity for our clients who face complex global issues in their everyday business operations.
Accuracy of the language used in ESG statements is also important, Sedilekova said. In most legal systems, words like green and sustainable do not yet have legal definitions despite being widely used by market players. As a result, if a green claim is challenged, the courts look at how ordinary people would understand such a word in the context in which it is used. So, it is always advisable for a company to either avoid unclear terms or define them for its own purposes in a clear, precise and easily accessible way.
Presenter and podcaster Angela Scanlon has opened up about still feeling guilty about the difficulties she experienced after giving birth to her first child.
In a vulnerable chat on Deliciously Ellas Wellness with Ella podcast, the Irish presenter said her world imploded after the birth of her first child Ruby in 2018, admitting she still struggles with guilt surrounding that time.
It's still hard to admit that it wasn't perfect for me, the Meath native said, noting that there is a lot of expectation around what becoming a mother will be like.
The 39-year-old said she remembers sitting with her baby thinking oh, my god, what am I doing?
Angela Scanlon on the set of Ask Me Anything
The fear of having this tiny, beautiful little soul completely dependent on me, and the fear that I would not be able to deliver for her what she deserved or what she expected or what she needed.
Scanlon, who now has two children with her Cork eco-entrepreneur husband Roy Horgan, recalled one particular moment as her rock bottom.
I was pumping and it became such a fixation for me.
The emotion of being a mother was so overwhelming to me. But if I could focus on the mechanical side of being a mother, I didn't have to really delve into need and limitations and space and room for messiness...
I was so green, she said, I was pumping like a crazy woman. I had a fridge full of breast milk.
And then I thought oh shit, I've got loads, I can take a few days off. That's obviously not how it works and suddenly I had no milk.
I remember walking the street one Sunday morning, weeping, leaving a voice memo to a friend going 'I'm just waiting for the health food shop to open so I can buy some Brewer's Yeast, because my milk supply has gone down and the milk in the fridge has run out and I now have no breast milk...
I remember pumping and getting a miniscule amount, and my husband was like 'you need to get some rest'. I was so wired that I couldn't.
I spent an hour pumping 50mls. I put it in a bottle, I handed it to him, I kissed her goodnight. I went upstairs. Then I heard, as I was leaving the room, the teat in the bottle hadn't been popped. The 50mls was all over her baby grow.
That was it, she recalled.
[My husband] was like we're done. He went to the local petrol station and bought some formula.
I remember weeping as I went up the stairs. I was like, I can't look at you doing this, she said. But the presenter said she also felt a sense of "relief".
Angela Scanlon with baby Marnie. Picture: @angelascanlon/Instagram
"I felt a relief that he had kind of taken it into his own hands and been like "enough is enough".
I ended up breastfeeding for nine months and somehow managing to get it back on track. But it was a moment where I thought, that is so manic, and so out of proportion for what's happening.
At that point, Scanlon said she contacted a therapist and said the words I need help.
"It was the first time I had said that to anybody where I was like ...something needs to change, whatever it is I don't care, I don't have the answers anymore.
I've read all the self help books, I've read everything. Since I was 15 years of age, I've been trying to consume all of these things and nothing is working for me please, please help me.
"My hope for people is that they don't get to that point where they're literally falling apart to say, 'Can somebody help me, the Ask Me Anything presenter shared.
Asking for help
Scanlon, who welcomed her second daughter Marnie in February 2022, said becoming a mother meant she couldn't be a "lone wolf" anymore.
"I had to depend massively on my husband. I had to depend on a nanny, I had to depend on people.
I had never done that. I prided myself on being able to go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, pay with money I'd earned myself, I was completely independent.
It was a shock to the system in so many ways, and to the way I had constructed my life.
Angela Scanlon attending the ELLE List VIP Party. Picture: Ian West
"Having to reach out and ask for help and be dependent on other people. That was a big issue for me.
The Irish presenter, who published her first book Joyrider in May, said the experience of becoming a mother for the first time also put her in touch with her "inner child which she found very overwhelming".
"I had compassion for myself in a way that was hard to handle, she shared. I thought, I've actually been quite relentless with myself forever.
Then suddenly, I have this baby and I think, oh my god, I was a baby. I was completely dependent on a mum who was probably struggling in a similar way.
"I had compassion for my own mother - that was new for me," she said, adding that her "expectations around what perfection looks like as a parent" began to change.
The Thanks A Million podcaster said it was the moment where she thought "whatever I've been doing up until now, I don't want to continue.
Whatever habits I've gotten into, whatever behaviours I have built my life around, I've gotten to this point, and it's not right. This is not how I want to be. And I don't want my daughter to learn that this is the way to be.
That was the kick up the arse for me. I need to fix stuff so she doesn't end up like this.
Gratitude was one of the practices that I started to lean on really, really heavily, she shared.
It was something I dipped in and out of for a long time before that, she said, [but] I completely took it for granted because it was easy and free.
And something that I had to do every day rather than just a pill that I could swallow and that would fix me.
Offering some advice to listeners, the mother-of-two said its helpful to look back and see what you were doing when you were in a good place.
"Taking note of the things you're doing when you are in a good place is invaluable when those cycles or periods happen when you're not feeling so good, she said.
And gratitude was the thing that was a recurring theme for me.
The new citizens' assembly on liberalising Irelands drugs laws will be a difficult debate, but it needs to happen, the Dail has heard.
Sinn Feins Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould said he welcomed the movement on this citizens' assembly motion.
He said it was of the utmost importance that the assembly convene as soon as possible and operate efficiently.
Addiction and drug-use can be highly emotive topics, and for families and individuals affected by addiction, this assembly may be difficult, Mr Gould said.
I want to know that their voices will be heard. I acknowledge and appreciate the Minister of State's comment that the voices of those families at the coalface and who have suffered the most will be heard, he said.
Mr Gould tabled two amendments to include recognition of an addicts recovery.
It is a journey, and one of the bravest journeys on which a person can embark. It is not linear and is often complex. It is a journey that requires support and involves many difficult choices and tough decisions, he said.
The second part of the amendment allows the citizens' assembly to explore the role of taskforces and emphasises the importance of localised community-based approaches to addiction.
The timeline for the Governments citizens' assembly on the legalisation of drugs is ambitious, but achievable, Chief Whip Hildegarde Naughton has said.
She said the controversial assembly will hold its first meeting in April but will conclude its work this year.
Introducing the motion in the Dail, Ms Naughton said across the length and breadth of Ireland, individuals, families and communities were grappling with the harmful impact of illicit drug-use.
She said some of the harmful effects of drug-use are hidden and opaque. More often, they stare us in the face.
We see the devastating toll that addiction takes on people's lives. We see the needless and often preventable loss of life, through overdose and disease transmission, she said.
Ms Naughton said there was a strong consensus in the Oireachtas and among the public that the State and society generally needed to respond far more effectively to the problems caused by illicit drug-use.
We need more lives saved, more people in treatment and rehabilitation, more people in recovery. We need to reduce harm, reduce supply, reduce demand, and increase resilience, health and well-being in society, she added.
There is no one better capable of spin than an Irish politician. But the recently published Draft Planning and Development Bill is far from the Governments forty shades of green and positive spin.
It is more like fifty shades of grey, merging into very black storm clouds of litigation that will invariably and regrettably delay the delivery of homes and critical infrastructure. That is an unacceptable outcome.
Grey is a lawyers favourite colour, for in the grey areas of words and law they wield their craft. The obstacle course of provisions in this bill which propose to make it more difficult to pursue judicial review of public authorities, is a lawyer fest.
If they are enacted, those awaiting homes and critical infrastructure will suffer, as arguments on the legality of these restrictions add further layers of legal arguments to cases. Uncertainty and delay will be the result, rather than the bills PR spin of certainty and speed.
The changes are based on a false narrative painting judicial review as a bogeyman. It is a shameful attempt to use the housing, energy and climate crises as a reason to curtail rights and paint those who have pursued judicial review as being the villains, without any supporting evidence.
The Government is driving an autocratic agenda where public accountability is put out of reach.
However, as highlighted in the recent Overview of the Planning System from the Office of the Planning Regulator, in 2021 only about 3% of An Bord Pleanalas decisions were being subject to judicial review when measured against decisions made, and the vast majority of judicial reviews have been justified.
Kate Corcoran and Linda Fitzpatrick of Chase protesting at the oral hearing into the proposed incinerators for Ringaskiddy in 2009. The proposed new planning bill would prevent groups like Chase from taking judicial reviews over planning decisions. Picture: Darragh Kane
A recent Construction Industry Consultant report from Mitchell McDermott indicated 91% of housing units challenged were entirely vindicated by the courts.
It has never been more important to ensure the safety mechanism provided in judicial review and the oversight of our courts can be effectively accessed.
Everyone will be grappling with major changes from this legislation. Errors are inevitable. That risk is compounded by a deficit of at least 541 resources in planning in local authorities and a lack of resources in An Bord Pleanala.
All is compounded by new concerns on the independence of An Bord Pleanala. Part 9 of this current planning bill is, in my view, worse than the infamous 2019 bill on judicial review.
There are multiple barriers to locus standi for the public and eNGOs limiting their rights to take challenges, and a deeply controversial replacement of special cost rules for environmental cases.
Provisions allow authorities to change their decisions after they are made, undermining their focus on making good decisions, apart from other legal issues. Failures of a whole range of bodies, including the minister, now fall subject to these changes with the very tight limit of eight weeks to challenge them.
The changes will have profound impacts on local environmental groups like Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment, Chase who have been vindicated in the judicial review it took on decisions for the Ringaskiddy incinerator.
Avenues that community groups like them previously relied upon are closed off, or made very uncertain, difficult and costly.
Restricting access like this creates the phenomenon of satellite litigation. You end up arguing against the legitimacy of the restrictions first, before you can argue your case. That causes more delays and additional costs and burden to the courts.
Irish people and environmentalists who are convinced they are right dont walk away, they fight for whats right. Its in our DNA.
Similarly, the bill proposes groups like GreenPeace and also ClientEarth, the rock stars of the eNGO world, will have serious issues with legal standing as eNGOs in Ireland. I wonder how Green MEP, and former GreenPeace activist, Grace OSullivan will explain that to former colleagues.
Serious practical issues arise for national eNGOs. The bill has ridiculously narrow and complicated views of what types of cases they will have standing on, together with onerous and intrusive administrative requirements, meaning some will have to convene extraordinary general meetings of their members within the short eight week window for judicial review.
The issues with its new proposals on costs are best viewed against the current system.
Ireland has currently implemented special cost rules for environmental cases to comply with its legal obligations. Put simply, you are generally not liable for the other side's costs if you lose. You can be awarded some of your costs if you are successful, used to pay your legal team.
This system has the added advantage that lawyers naturally screen out ridiculous cases as they will have little chance of being paid for them.
Now, instead, the bill proposes that the courts cannot make any order on costs for a range of environmental litigation, except where it wishes to punish you. So while the public will not be exposed to the other side's costs, they also cannot be awarded costs anymore. So how will you pay your legal team?
The bill indicates a new aid scheme is to be devised for costs, but provides no detail on it. Also as published, this scheme is limited to planning cases only.
That makes litigation on a range of environmental cases unaffordable for most people as you will have to cover your own costs regardless of whether you win or lose.
But there are even more profound issues of principle with this.
There is no use in trumpeting about this new scheme to cover legal costs if the public cannot get in to the court in the first instance given the obstacles in the bill;
The cost scheme is transferring control of who can or cannot afford to go to court on environmental cases to administrative control by a Government which has a clear agenda to limit litigation not just in environmental cases;
That power transfers to future Governments, which could be even worse;
Control over access to the courts will be effectively subject to political control, and determinations by Government of where public interest lies.
This cannot be cheap and cheerful access to justice it is also legally required to allow you to have a fair and equitable review so you need to be able to engage a legal team capable of taking on the State and big corporate lawyers.
The practicalities of administering such a scheme would mean delays up front as people will need to have certainty on costs before they start a case. That means stopping the eight-week clock allowed to advance your case, creating delays.
If, alternatively, you are obliged seek cost aid after the case (none of which is clear in the bill), you will be beset with chilling uncertainty on what aid you may or may not get.
That will just lead to legal challenges against legally uncertainty on costs, and more delays. It is naive to believe the courts can be insulated from the fights on this. They are an emanation of the State and are obliged to disapply national laws that are in breach of EU law as the EU Court of Justice has clarified.
The legal obligations on Ireland in respect of providing for legal aid are infinitely more complex than just costs. So any legal aid scheme must be additional to the current system and not a replacement for it.
Now is the time to say no to the judicial review changes in this bill.
As the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine approaches on Friday, the picture looks very different to the first weeks of the war, when hundreds of Russian tanks poured over the border and airborne forces attempted to capture Hostomel airfield, outside Kyiv, as a springboard to take the capital.
Here we look at the status of the conflict and what might happen next.
Is Russia already conducting a new offensive?
There have been contradictory assessments of Russias ability to conduct a significant new offensive. Although senior Ukrainian officials have warned repeatedly since before Christmas that Russia was planning a big new effort this year, evidence of preparations for a push similar to that of February 2022, involving a large-scale armoured attack, remains thin.
Recent claims, sourced to Nato officials, that Russia was amassing aircraft, were also largely discounted by the UKs Ministry of Defence. And while Russia has greatly increased infantry numbers some estimates suggest more than 300,000 troops are in Ukraine there is no evidence of hundreds of tanks mustering in a region heavily surveilled by spy satellites.
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has pointed to increased Russian efforts in the east as evidence that a new offensive has begun, but others see it as a continuation of efforts that have been going on for months. Russian shelling is less intense than it was in the summer around Sievierodonetsk, when Moscow was expending 60,000 shells a day.
Despite last years mobilisation, analysts such as Phillips OBrien of St Andrews University believe Russian capabilities are degraded by the war and that those expecting a rerun of the initial invasion last year are wrong.
What has happened since February 24 is that Ukraine has got stronger and has acquired better systems and is about to get more, OBrien says.
The Russians have been getting weaker. They have more soldiers but their equipment is worse, their soldiers are less well-trained than they were, and their ammunition supplies are getting lower.
OBrien and others say there is little evidence Russia is any more capable of conducting complex combined arms operations, integrating air power, armour and other elements, than it was a year ago.
What is going on in the east?
One view of fighting in the east the hottest sector in the conflict is that increased Russian efforts around the city of Bakhmut amount to so-called shaping operations for a future offensive, perhaps in the spring.
Another is that Russia fears a major new Ukrainian offensive and has increased the tempo of attacks at an extremely high cost to tie down Ukrainian forces. A third view is that Russia wants to capture Bakhmut before the 24 February anniversary for propaganda purposes, rather than anything meaningful.
There is probably a little truth in all these views. One caveat is that Russian efforts are not focused solely on Bakhmut but at points along the eastern front, from the border with the Kharkiv region down to the occupied south, perhaps to probe for weakness.
Michael Kofman, the head of Russia studies at the Center for Naval Analyses in Virginia, US, underlined this point on Twitter recently, tweeting: The Russian offensive consists of about 5-6 axes of attack focused on the Donbas. Rather than a major push along one part of the front, it is instead a series of distributed battles running north-south from Luhansk, to Bakhmut, and southern Donetsk.
The RU offensive consists of about 5-6 axes of attack focused on the Donbas. Rather than a major push along one part of the front, it is instead a series of distributed battles running north-south from Luhansk, to Bakhmut, and southern Donetsk. 2/ Michael Kofman (@KofmanMichael) February 19, 2023
At this stage it doesnt seem that Russia has employed reserves, and is likely using those units to replace casualties, or perhaps waiting for a breakthrough to exploit. That said, theres not much evidence of a larger additional Russian force in the waiting.
What is clear is that the current Russian efforts show the poor leadership, logistics and tactics that have been the hallmark of its operations over the past year, with high casualties for very modest territorial gain.
What about a Ukrainian offensive?
Since its offensives last summer in Kharkiv and Kherson provinces, the pace of Ukrainian operations has been subdued, although Ukraine is continuing to attempt to make progress on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River opposite Kherson city.
Moscow has also long anticipated further Ukrainian efforts, especially a push south in the area of Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraines political leadership has made no secret of its ambitions to retake Ukrainian territory, including occupied Crimea, and much of its recent diplomacy to secure western arms has been aimed at that.
It has been reasonably effective at misdirecting Russia about its objectives, but it is clear Ukraine has been amassing material, including fighting vehicles, and training forces for its own anticipated operations, while looking for tanks to spearhead some of those assaults.
Ukrainian soldiers ride atop a tank in Bakhmut on Monday. Photo: AP/Libkos
While Kyiv has made much of its need for 300 main battle tanks, it is worth noting that it conducted effective offensives during the summer that took back large areas without them.
However, some in the West have questioned the advisability of Kyiv committing so much to the defence of Bakhmut and potentially limiting its abilities to conduct a counteroffensive.
That was reflected in briefings to the Washington Post earlier this month expressing concerns that it was unrealistic to simultaneously defend Bakhmut and launch a spring counteroffensive to retake what the US views as more critical territory.
Who is winning?
There are different ways to assess this. Neither Russia nor Ukraine is close to achieving its stated war aims, which in Ukraines case involves liberating all occupied territory.
However, during the past 12 months Moscow has had to repeatedly retreat from its maximalist ambitions not least deposing the Ukrainian government and imposing a puppet regime to focus on capturing all of the Donbas, in the east.
Moreover, Russian losses have been huge. A recent estimate by the IISS suggests it has lost 40-50% of its pre-war tank fleet. Casualties have also been enormous, with claims last week that Russia was losing 2,000 soldiers for every 100 metres gained in the east. While these figures should be treated cautiously, anecdotal evidence does suggest Ukraine has a lower rate of attrition.
Americas top general, Mark Milley, recently said Russia had already lost tactically and strategically but suggested it was unlikely either side was close to achieving its stated objectives.
It is probably safe to say that the current trajectory of the conflict is going much better for Ukraine than for Russia and that the continuing influx of new weapons from the West will maintain that trajectory.
The owners of a house and their neighbors clear rubble from their home that was destroyed by a Russian rocket in Maxymilianivka village in Ukraine on Tuesday. Photo: AP/Evgeniy Maloletka
But Ukraine, as the EUs head of foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, warned recently, is heavily dependent on the West for arms, including artillery ammunition, which has exposed a potential vulnerability for Kyiv in the east, where artillery has dominated the battles.
What is also unclear is how much of a gamechanger weapons such as main battle tanks are likely to be in bringing the war towards a close, or how quickly.
So for now, the war grinds on.
Read More A year on from the Russian invasion: How Ukraine endured
Guardian
Pope Francis ushered in the annual Christian Lenten period of sacrifice and reflection by encouraging people on Ash Wednesday to cast off what he called the dictatorship of heavy agendas and superficial needs.
Due to a knee problem, Francis did not join in the traditional Ash Wednesday procession between two churches on Romes Aventine Hill.
Instead, he presided over an early evening mass after the procession in hilltop St Sabina Basilica, where faithful gathered for the Catholic Churchs ritual distribution of ashes that are meant as reminders of peoples mortality.
Lent marks a period that can include fasting, prayer and works of charity in preparation for Easter, which this year is on April 9.
Pope Francis, left, presides over a mass in the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome on Ash Wednesday (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
During the service, ashes were sprinkled on Francis bowed head while a choir sang hymns.
Lent is the time to drop the pretence of being self-sufficient and the need to put ourselves at the centre of things, to be the top of the class, to think that by our own abilities we can succeed in life and transform the world around us, the Pope said in his homily.
The ashes we receive this evening tell us that every presumption of self-sufficiency is false and that self-idolatry is destructive, imprisoning us in isolation and loneliness, he said.
Instead, Lent serves to remind ourselves that the world is bigger than our narrow personal needs, and to rediscover the joy, not of accumulating material goods, but of caring for those who are poor and afflicted, Francis said.
Let us take stock of ourselves, to free ourselves from the dictatorship of heavy schedules, crowded agendas and superficial needs, and choose the things that truly matter, the pontiff said.
In his homily, Francis circled back to an overarching theme of his nearly 10-year-old papacy attention to the individuality of those in need, particularly the poor.
Alms-giving is not a hasty gesture performed to ease our conscience, the Pope said. Rather, it is a way of touching the sufferings of the poor with our own hands and heart.
Holy Week services, starting on April 2 with Palm Sunday and including the traditional Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum, draw large crowds of pilgrims and tourists to Rome and the Vatican.
The Russian military has denied that it was planning to test its new Zircon hypersonic missiles during naval drills off the coast of South Africa this week that will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
Chinas navy also is participating in the Indian Ocean exercises, which come at a time when Russias relationship with the West is at its lowest point since the Cold War, and ties between China and the United States are under serious strain.
As Russian and Chinese warships prepared in South Africa for their joint drills on Wednesday, Russian president Vladimir Putin hosted Chinas most senior foreign policy official at the Kremlin.
Those meetings showed the strengthening of Russias relationship with China and raised concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support for its war in Ukraine.
The vessel that came to the shores of South Africa basically brought a piece of the war to this peaceful land through having the letters Z and V, which they are using as a marking on their military equipment while bombing Ukrainian cities
Russias aims for the naval exercises came under scrutiny because of the involvement of the Admiral Gorshkov, a frigate which is armed with hypersonic missiles and has served as the main testbed for them.
The ship arrived in Cape Town last week emblazoned with the letters Z and V, letters also seen on Russian weapons on the front lines in Ukraine and which are used as patriotic symbols in Russia.
Russia has said the Zircon missiles can penetrate any missile defence systems by flying at an astounding 7,000 miles per hour about nine times the speed of sound to strike targets at sea and on land.
They have a range of more than 620 miles, Russia claims.
The visit by the Russian navy frigate has been the subject of protests in Pretoria (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Mr Putin sent the Admiral Gorshkov on a trans-ocean cruise last month in a show of force as tensions with the West escalated over Ukraine.
But a Russian navy officer in South Africa said on Wednesday that the exercises would focus on maritime security, including the fight against piracy, and the Zircons would not be fired.
The drills will involve mutual manoeuvering of the three sides, assistance of the suffering vessel in a disaster, liberation of a captured vessel by the pirates, and artillery fire which, according to our schedule, does not include the firing with the hypersonic missiles, Captain Oleg Gladkiy said. He spoke through a translator.
The Admiral Gorshkov and a Russian oil tanker for refuelling, a Chinese destroyer, frigate and a support vessel, and a South African frigate will be involved in the exercises, according to a South African military statement released last week.
Ukraines ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, criticised the timing of the drills, which will overlap with Fridays one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine.
Ms Abravitova noted that China, Russia and South Africa, which are partners in the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) bloc of emerging economies, have undertaken joint naval drills before but said it is a concern for us that they are happening at the time of the anniversary of the brutal Russian invasion.
The vessel that came to the shores of South Africa basically brought a piece of the war to this peaceful land through having the letters Z and V, which they are using as a marking on their military equipment while bombing Ukrainian cities, Ms Abravitova said in an interview with the Associated Press.
Last week, a small yacht flying Ukraines flag sailed by the Admiral Gorshkov in Cape Towns harbour in protest. On Wednesday, a group of protesters gathered outside the Russian Embassy in the South African capital, Pretoria.
They criticised the presence of the Russian warship and South Africas decision to host it.
One protester held up a placard that read: Dont play with bullies.
South Africa, a key partner of the West in Africa, has come under criticism for holding the naval exercises but has defended itself by saying they were planned two years ago, well before Russias invasion of Ukraine.
The exercises are to be held around the Indian Ocean port cities of Durban and Richards Bay. Media access was restricted.
Burma Myanmar Junta Launched 307 Airstrikes on Civilian Targets: KNU
Htaut Htee Pal village in Hpapun district, Karen State, after being bombed by three junta jets on February 15. / CJ
Myanmars junta has conducted 307 airstrikes targeting civilians in Karen National Union (KNU) territory over the past two years, killing 36 people and injuring 57, the KNU said on Tuesday.
The airstrikes since the 2021 coup have destroyed 258 houses, 12 schools, six hospitals and 13 religious buildings in Bago and Tanintaryi regions and Mon and Karen states.
On February 13, three junta fighters dropped six bombs on Htaut Htee Pal village in KNU Brigade 5 territory in Hpapun District, Karen State, said the KNU.
Six civilian houses, a school, three shops and other buildings were burned and destroyed by the airstrikes. No civilian casualties were reported.
The two junta jets bombarded KNU Brigade 3 territory in Bago Region on February 15.
KNU, the countrys oldest ethnic-minority revolutionary group, has been attacking the regime since several hundred peaceful demonstrators were killed across the country.
The rebel group also trains and arms many activists who want to fight the regime.
The KNUs two armed wings, the Karen National Liberation Army and Karen National Defense Organization, have been fighting with newly formed resistance groups.
The KNU this month reported 8,038 clashes with regime forces in its territory since the coup.
In the clashes, 6,876 junta troops were killed and 5,515 injured while 219 resistance fighters were killed and 605 injured.
The KNU has vowed to uproot the dictatorship in 2023, agreeing with four other revolutionary groups, Myanmars civilian National Unity Government and many resistance groups to accelerate attacks against the junta.
Burma NLD's Ex-Yangon Chief Let Off With Fine After Testifying Against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
U Phyo Min Thein (right) as Yangon Region chief minister with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (center) in Yangon in 2016. / The Irrawaddy
Myanmars military regime has let former Yangon Region chief minister U Phyo Min Thein off with a fine after he testified against ousted State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a corruption case. The former Yangon chief was fined 100,000 kyats, or about US$40, for alleged electoral fraud by a junta court.
U Phyo Min Thein testified in October 2021 that, as Yangon chief minister, he gave seven viss (around 11.4kg) of gold and US$600,000 to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in 2017 and 2018. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has dismissed his claims as totally absurd, and was quoted as saying: The allegations are completely false. I had no reason to take it, no reason to accept it.
While Suu Kyi and other senior members and ministers of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government were jailed by the regime on an array of false charges, U Phyo Min Thein was only fined.
The Dagon Township court in Yangon imposed the fine last Friday after finding him guilty of abusing his power to influence the 2020 general election under Section 130(a) of Penal Code.
Though he was not imprisoned, his political career is over, said a Yangon resident, adding he regretted ever supporting U Phyo Min Thein.
U Phyo Min Thein once shone as the NLD governments Yangon chief minister and senior member of the partys Youth Affairs Committee, but was a subject of controversy in his political career.
He founded Union Democracy Party to contest the sham election in 2010 organized by the previous military regime. He then joined the NLD ahead of the 2012 by-elections, and became a lawmaker on the NLD ticket.
As a lawmaker, he served with the secretary of the militarys proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), U Aung Thaung, on the parliamentary committee on banks and finance. He also enjoyed close ties with U Aung Thaung.
He was hand-picked to become the Yangon Region chief minister following the 2015 general election after the NLD won a landslide victory.
In his early days as chief minister, he sued local outlet Eleven Media for publishing a report about him accepting a Patek Philippe watch from a businessman.
He also called the rank of military chief a post similar to that of director-general in the government, and then had to issue an apology to its holder, Min Aung Hlaing.
He had close ties with the grandsons of Myanmars first military dictator, General Ne Win, under whose rule Myanmar declined from a top economy in Southeast Asia to one of the worlds least developed nations.
He attracted criticism when, as chief of the Yangon Region government, he paid respect to former military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt.
The ex-general was notorious for masterminding deadly interrogations and the persecution of thousands of Myanmars pro-democracy activists. He locked up many dissidents in the countrys most remote prisons. Many died in detention due to lack of proper medical treatment, among other reasons. And U Phyo Min Thein himself was a former political prisoner of the previous regime.
As the chairman of the COVID-19 Control and Emergency Response Committee, U Phyo Min Thein broke the law by attending a Botataung Pagoda festival while the country was observing a ban on religious gatherings.
He was even impeached from the Yangon Region Parliament. The NLD did not choose him as a candidate for the 2020 general election.
War Against the Junta Myanmar Resistance Mounts Daring Spy Mission in Magwe Region
A Pyu Saw Htee group in Sagaing Region.
When Myanmars military regime formed and armed Pyu Saw Htee militias to combat the Peoples Defense Forces (PDF), Magwe Regions Pakokku District swiftly became a stronghold of the pro-regime groups.
Late last year, two young resistance fighters carried out a dangerous spying mission on a notorious Pyu Saw Htee group in Pakokku District, which is made up of eight townships.
In October 2022, PDF fighters Ko Khaing Zaw Win, 23, and Ko Phoe Chit, 19, decided to spy on the biggest Pyu Saw Htee militia in Pakokku District by signing up as new recruits.
The militia, which is named Myokhintha, consisted of around 60 Pyu Saw Htee members. The two young men, who are childhood friends and Pakokku natives, witnessed the group terrorizing residents of villages targeted by the junta forces, stealing from or destroying properties, physically and verbally abusing women and girls, and extorting money.
Myokhintha is led by U San Thaw, a hardcore member of the Myanmar militarys proxy Union and Solidarity Development Party (USDP) who is in his late 40s. Usually, the militia works alongside the militarys infantry Battalions 254 and 259.
When Ko Khaing Zaw Win and Ko Phoe Chit joined the group they had to be extra careful not to call the group by the name Pyu, which is used by regime opponents. Instead, they had to refer to the militia as Pyithu Sit, or the peoples militia, the term used by regime supporters to make it sound like the militias are defending civilians.
As we were already rebelling against the dictatorship, we were not afraid of them [the militia], Ko Phoe Chit told The Irrawaddy.
Ko Phoe Chit had already spent several months fighting against junta troops on the border between Sagaing Region and Chin State.
Ko Khaing Zaw Win had also been involved in several operations against the Myanmar military, taking part in missions in Magwe to seize military and police outposts. He trained with the Kachin Independence Army, as well as training as a commando.
When they joined the Pyu Saw Htee, they assumed they would be given basic military training. But they discovered that most new pro-regime militia recruits dont receive any training. After two weeks, they were provided with weapons.
As PDF members who wanted to spy on the group, the pair sought to avoid having to fight the resistance. However, they did have to accompany junta military columns on two occasions during their month-long stay with the Myokhintha group.
We told them in advance that we are still not yet ready to join. When we said that, the Myokhintha leaders told us that when we raided a village, we could take whatever we wanted, especially from the houses of the Red [a term for members or supporters of the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD)], said Ko Phoe Chit.
The men witnessed Pyu Saw Htee members and regime troops torturing detained PDF fighters and NLD supporters. In their one month with the group, Myokhintha detained at least eight PDF fighters.
They also saw Pyu Saw Htee members arresting civilians and accusing them of being PDF fighters, and extorting money from their families in return for their release.
Although the pair couldnt release detainees, they were able to give them food and medicine secretly.
Above all, they were able to provide the resistance with operational details and plans of the junta forces and Pyu Saw Htee groups operating in the district.
While spying on Myokhintha, they learned of another Pyu Saw Htee militia in Pakokku, also led by a USDP member, whose members committed rapes and sexual violence against women and children, said Ko Khaing Zaw Win.
The Tingat Pyu Saw Htee militia led by U Myint Kyi has been committing sexual violence. While we were spying on Myokhintha, a member of Tingat raped a 14-year-old girl from a family of garbage collectors right in front of her parents, said Ko Khaing Zaw Win.
The case has not been reported in any media, as it was only known to the Pyu Saw Htee groups, he added.
In April 2022, a 52-year-old farmer and his 14-year-old daughter from Gangaw Township in Pakokku District were arrested by junta soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee militia. The daughter was raped, before she and her father were killed. Their bodies were burned, according to local media reports.
At least four villages in Pakokku District, including Kan Taw and its neighbors, were torched by regime troops and Pyu Saw Htee members while Ko Phoe Chit and Ko Khaing Zaw Win were with the Myokhintha group.
During operations, members of two or more Pyu Saw Htee groups normally accompanied columns of around 50 junta soldiers.
However, the Pyu Saw Htee members always had to march at the front of the column.
Seeing that, Ko Phoe Chit and Ko Khaing Zaw Win realized that the military was using the Pyu Saw Htee as human shields. Despite the fact that the militias are armed, most of their members have not received any proper military training.
Pyu Saw Htee groups use different methods to recruit people. Sometimes, USDP members or ordinary members are given incentives to join. Criminals freed in regime amnesties are also targeted. Sometimes, villagers are simply forced to join the militias.
Bo Letyar, leader of Myaing PDF in Pakokku District, said that there are many Pyu Saw Htee members who want to leave, but who are forced to stay or risk losing their lives.
I want to call on all Pyu Saw Htee members to leave and join hands with us and stand with the people bravely. I know that some of them have been forcibly recruited. However, we cannot avoid fighting them, said Bo Letyar.
After a month with Myokhintha, Ko Phoe Chit and Ko Khaing Zaw Win decided to leave the group before their spying mission was discovered.
On November 22, while 15 Myokhintha members were in a camp on a hill between Kan Hla and Tin Gat villages along with a Myanmar military captain, sergeant and two other soldiers, the pair said that it was Ko Khaing Zaw Wins birthday and that Ko Phoe Chit was treating them all to dinner in celebration.
A couple of days before, Ko Phoe Chit had bought 40 sleeping pills and had ground them up. He put the powder in fried rice and served it to the militia and soldiers.
The pair had planned to kill the soldiers and militia, but two of the junta forces didnt fall asleep, so they changed their plan and slipped out of the camp at 10.30pm, taking two assault rifles, a carbine and ammunition with them.
Myaing PDF leader Bo Letyar said that resistance groups in Pakokku District had learned much from the two mens spying mission.
We learned their [junta forces] operational plans and movements, so we can avoid their columns if we dont want to confront them, or launch better-prepared attacks, he noted.
Ko Phoe Chit and Ko Khaing Zaw Win are now at the frontline in Yaw Region, which is part of Pakokku District, working on joint operations with the Yaw Defense Force and continuing to fight for the revolution.
Ko Khaing Zaw Win said that since the spying mission he is even more determined that the revolution succeeds, so that democracy and liberty can be restored to the people.
As we spied on them we witnessed the atrocities committed by the junta upon the people, and it made me more determined to keep fighting to win the revolution, he said.
War Against the Junta Over 20 Myanmar Junta Forces Killed in Three Days of Resistance Attacks
Karenni Revolution Union troops during an operation / KRU
At least 21 Myanmar junta forces including pro-regime militia members were killed in the last three days as Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) stepped up their attacks on regime targets across the country.
In one case, PDF battalions of Myanmars civilian National Unity Government (NUG) shelled the bases of three military battalions in northern Shan State.
Incidents were reported in Shan and Kayah states and Sagaing and Mandalay regions.
The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs.
Some military casualties could not be independently verified.
Military battalions shelled in northern Shan State
PDF fighters fire mortar shells at a military base in northern Shan State on Monday. / Thabaikkyi PDF Battalion 1222
Thabeikkyin PDF Battalion 1222 said it and four other NUG PDF battalions used mortar shells to attack the bases of military battalions 223, 276 and 348 based in Mongmit Township, northern Shan State on Monday.
The PDF group said some mortar rounds exploded near the gate and military strategy office in the compound housing the battalions bases. Details of the damage and military casualties were unknown.
Six junta troops killed in resistance attack in Kayah
The Karenni Revolution Union (KRU), which comprises several Karenni resistance groups, claimed to have killed six junta troops in Demoso Township, Kayah State on Sunday when it ambushed regime forces stationed in Konethar Village.
The regime forces were ambushed while patrolling in the area. In the clash, a weapon and ammunition were seized from them.
All resistance forces retreated without casualties despite junta troops responding with heavy explosives.
Junta-run village administration office raided in Mandalay
Resistance forces raid a junta-run village administration office in Patheingyi Township on Tuesday. / Peacock Soldiers Madaya
A pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia member was killed and other militia members were injured in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Region on Tuesday morning when three PDF groups raided the junta administration office in Sin Ywar Gyi Village, said Peacock Soldiers Madaya, which joined the raid.
In the raid, a weapon and rounds were seized.
Regime forces ambushed in Mandalay
At least four regime forces including Captain Nandar Min were confirmed killed and six others injured in Ngazun Township, Mandalay Region on Monday night when eight PDF groups ambushed regime forces stationed in Tharkyin Village, claimed Ngazun PDF, which coordinated the attack.
Regime forces were attacked while patrolling in the village. A military weapon was seized along with a mobile phone, the PDF group said.
The PDFs video shows a shootout occurring in the dark.
Pro-regime militia leader assassinated in Mandalay
Natogyi Regional Defense Forces claimed to have killed Win Soe, a pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia leader, at his farm in Lay Ywar Sone Village in Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region on Tuesday.
A grenade, slingshot and a mobile phone were seized from the victim.
The militia leader was notorious for oppressing residents in the village.
Three regime forces killed in three days of PDF attacks in Sagaing
Minkin PDF troops shell regime targets on Monday. / Minkin-PDF
At least three regime forces were killed and 10 others injured in three days of clashes in Mingin Township, Sagaing Region as Mingin PDF attacked 70 regime forces including pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia members between Saturday and Monday, the PDF group said.
After facing the series of PDF attacks, regime forces stationed at Pahtoelone Village retreated to the town of Mingin on Monday.
A PDF video shows PDF fighters firing mortar shells at regime targets.
Military checkpoint attacked in Sagaing
Two regime personnel were killed or injured in the town of Monywa in Sagaing Region on Tuesday when combined PDF forces attack a military gate, said Monywa Natsoe PDF group, which joined the attack.
The PDFs video shows PDF fighters in a moving vehicle attacking regime forces in a bunker.
Regime forces at the military checkpoint have been extorting money from drivers of vehicles and motorbikes.
Four regime troops killed in PDF urban attack in Sagaing
At least four regime forces were killed in Kale Township, Sagaing Region on Monday when Kale Urban Underground Group attacked a military checkpoint on a road in Kale town, the PDF said.
PDF forces retreated without any casualties when 50 military reinforcements arrived in the area.
Regime forces bombed in Sagaing
Local resistance group Black Wolf Army said it used a drone to drop bombs on regime forces stationed in Hanlin Village in Wetlet Township, Sagaing Region on Monday.
Military casualties were unknown.
World Why China's Military Support for Russia Would Be a 'Game Changer'
A local resident rides his bicycle past heavily damaged residential buildings in Izyum, Ukraine on Feb. 20, 2023. / AFP
The United States has said China is considering providing lethal support for Russias war in Ukraine.
Beijing quickly rebuffed the claim this week but experts say it may have some merit and, if China did give support, could be a game changer in the year-old conflict.
Here are some key questions about Washingtons claim, and its implications:
What is behind the US claim?
Since Russian tanks rolled over the border into Ukraine, China has offered Putin diplomatic and financial support, but refrained from overt military involvement or sending caches of lethal arms.
Chinese state-controlled firms have sold non-lethal drones and other equipment to both Russia and Ukraine, but Moscow has been forced to turn to Iran for much-needed supplies such as unmanned aerial vehicles. The United States has said North Korea has also provided rockets and artillery shells.
Washington believes that might be about to change, and on Sunday Secretary of State Antony Blinken made those fears public.
Based on information we have theyre considering providing lethal support, he said of the Chinese.
Blinken provided no evidence to back up the claimand critics will point to past US intelligence failuresbut it follows the pattern of Washington releasing sensitive information to preempt and disrupt Russian war plans.
The fact that Mr. Blinken has chosen to make his concerns public suggests that the US has robust intelligence, said Richard McGregor, a senior fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.
Beijing did not comment directly on any closed-door deliberations, but accused Washington of spreading false information and shifting blame.
Why is Washington concerned?
Throughout the war, Russia has struggled to muster enough personnel, munitions and weapons to overpower fierce Ukrainian resistance, forcing Putin to turn to mass conscription, mercenary groups and imports.
Meanwhile, Ukraine managed to halt the Russian juggernaut and even gain an upper hand. But some experts believe the war is at an inflexion point, with each side clamoring for resources and eying decisive gains as winter moves into spring.
Against this backdrop, an influx of Chinese weapons would be a game-changer, Mick Ryan, a strategist and retired Australian army major general, told AFP.
This is a war of industrial systems. At the moment Russia is overmatched by the West. If China comes along, any advantage Ukraine had because of the industrial capacity of the West disappears instantly.
Chinese munitions would make life very difficult for the Ukrainians, whether its artillery ammunition, whether its precision munitions or longer-range strike weapons which Russia is running out of.
Why would China get involved?
Chinese military commentator Song Zhongping insisted China would not send arms, but said political, trade and military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing had deepened before the Ukraine war and would continue.
China will not listen to the United States demands. China will strengthen cooperation with Russia in accordance with its own national will and national security concerns, he said.
Many experts believe there is a bigger game at hand, and see Ukraine becoming a Cold War-style proxy conflict.
The war in Ukraine is crunch time for the international security environment, for the world order, said Alexey Muraviev a professor of security and strategic studies at Perths Curtin University.
A Chinese decision to export weapons would be a huge step that risks Western sanctions, burns remaining bridges with Washington and scuttles ties with Europe.
But Muraviev believes the prospect of a Russian defeat is at least as worrying for Beijing.
If Russia is to lose in Ukraine politically or militarily, China will be left alone, he said. Russia is the only major power which supports China.
Conversely, a Russian victory would mean inflicting a strategic defeat on the United States, he said, helping resuscitate President Xi Jinpings narrative that the West is in decline, an idea damaged by Russias poor showing in Ukraine.
For the Chinese, Russias failure to achieve victory last year was a bit of a cold shower, he said. They began reassessing their own capacity to run a similar campaign.
The war in Ukraine shows that you can have lavish military parades, shiny large-scale exercises, but the real test of whether your military is up to the task comes on the battlefield.
Muraviev believes that China may try to thread the needle between risk and reward in Ukraine by supplying weapons via state-controlled companies, North Korea or to the Wagner Group rather than directly to Russian military regulars.
I think their approach will be more clandestine, he said.
Analysis Chinese Envoys Visits Signal Growing Tensions With US Over Myanmar
Deng Xijun is welcomed by EAO representatives in Mong La on Feb. 20.
Chinese special envoy Deng Xijun recently traveled to the China-Myanmar border and met with representatives of seven of Myanmars ethnic armed organizations (EAOs). It was his second trip in three months, following a visit to the border and Naypyitaw in December.
He was seen visiting the Mong La areaofficially known as Shan State Special Region 4and also met with leaders of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in eastern Shan State on Monday. The special envoy reportedly also visited camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in that area.
Border-based ethnic sources confirmed that the envoy met separately with representatives of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), the Arakan Army (AA), the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
Three of the EAOsthe KIA, TNLA and MNDAAare actively fighting the regime. The KIA is based in Kachin State in northern Myanmar, while the TNLA and MNDAA are based in northeast Myanmars Shan State.
Before succeeding Sun Guoxiang as Chinas special envoy to Myanmar, Deng served as Beijings special envoy for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) affairs from 2020 to November last year.
During his December visit, he held talks with Myanmar coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing after visiting EAOs in the north.
Dengs second visit was intended to cement ties with those EAOs as well as to persuade them to reach some form of ceasefire with the regime in Naypyitaw. China is increasingly worried about the instability in Myanmar and the Wests support for the anti-regime opposition led by the shadow National Unity Government (NUG).
Some observers see the flurry of activity by Deng as an effort to counter the Burma (Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability) Act, part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was passed by the United States Congress in December.
The Burma Act authorizes funds and technical assistance for anti-junta forces in Myanmar, including EAOs. The US has pledged to continue to support Myanmar opposition forces inside and outside of Myanmar.
US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet recently told The Irrawaddy in an interview, Our policy has been rooted in three lines of effort. First was to isolate and punish the junta and to make it harder for the junta to generate revenue and acquire resources and weapons. Second has been to help support the pro-democratic opposition within Myanmar.
He also pledged to work with the NUG, which recently opened an office in Washington.
Chollet said the US has been engaging with EAOs and the NUGs armed wing, the Peoples Defense Force (PDF). We have been engaging with them, he said.
Given Beijings influence over several EAOs in the north, any effort by the West to step up engagement and support for EAOs and PDF forces operating in ethnic territories would be of concern to China.
In a recent op-ed for Nikkei Asia, former US ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel called on the US government to provide substantial funding to the NUG and its partners, as envisioned in the Burma Act.
He wrote, The US also should consider providing equipment to help the resistance improve communications and build on nascent efforts to supply internet access to the public. Washington can also gather military experts to consider ways to help the resistance counter the regimes air power, mindful of concerns about supplying sophisticated anti-aircraft systems.
He urged the Biden administration to take a leadership role, as regional grouping ASEAN has faltered on Myanmar. Absent a viable ASEAN strategy, the Biden administration should assert leadership by offering much more support to the resistance campaign to force the military out of power, or at least to weaken it sufficiently that it looks for a way out, he wrote.
Provision of substantial arms directly to the resistance is both unlikely to happen and would be difficult logistically, but channeling funds would free up resources that the NUG could use to purchase weapons, the former ambassador wrote.
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Investigative journalist terms Nord Stream bombing "dumbest" act from Washington: Indian media
Xinhua) 10:56, February 22, 2023
NEW DELHI, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has termed the Nord Stream bombing, which he says was done by the United States, the "dumbest" act from Washington in years, an Indian news website Firstpost reported.
Hersh reported that the United States planted the bombs on the Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic sea, which carried Russian gas to Germany, during the Baltops joint military drill in June last year, and the Nord Stream pipeline was blown apart in a series of explosions in August, the news website said.
"I think the consequences politically for us (the United States) are enormous," Hersh was quoted in an interview as saying.
He said the long-term effect of the sabotage would be "horrific" for Europe, adding that the act "cut into the notion that they can depend totally on America, even in a crisis," the website said.
Hersh noted that the United States always wanted to isolate Russia to prevent it from selling oil and gas to the European Union.
According to the website, Hersh feels that the United States saw energy alternatives for Europe as a "threat," and the Biden administration feared that Europe would "walk away" from the Ukrainian crisis if it felt the need for Russian fuel carried by the pipeline, which was under sanctions.
"The fear of losing European support in the Ukraine conflict made the U.S. to take out the only option Europe had should it want to restart buying fuel from Russia," Hersh argued.
The White House has denied Hersh's claim as "complete nonsense" but Hersh said that his information was accurate, said the website.
The American journalist slammed the U.S. mainstream media for looking the other way on his expose. Hersh singled out the New York Times and Washington Post for refusing to "run a word" on the story and ignoring calls for an international investigation into the Nord Stream blasts, said the website.
He said that he would carry on his expose on how the United States blew up the fuel lines without considering the adverse effect it would have on Europe in the winters, the website said.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Landmines and unexploded munitions injured or killed more than one person every day in Myanmar last year, the United Nations said, pointing to a 40 percent spike in casualties compared to 2021.
The military's toppling of Aung San Suu Kyi's government in 2021 sparked renewed fighting with ethnic rebel groups and the formation of dozens of "People's Defence Forces" in areas previously untouched by decades of conflict in Myanmar.
The Southeast Asian nation is not a signatory to the United Nations convention that prohibits the use, stockpiling or development of anti-personnel mines.
The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, on Tuesday reported 390 people had been wounded or killed by landmines or unexploded ordnances in 2022, an almost 40 percent spike compared to the previous year.
Around two-thirds of the incidents were reported in border areas where ethnic rebels have battled the army and each other for decades over autonomy and control of resources like timber, jade and the drugs trade.
And almost one-fifth of the casualties were reported in northern Sagaing region, an area that was largely peaceful before the coup but has since emerged as a hotspot of resistance to military rule.
In 2020, the year before the coup, there were 254 victims, according to UNICEF.
Myanmar's military has been repeatedly accused of atrocities and war crimes during decades of internal conflict.
Last year Amnesty International said its troops were laying landmines on a "massive scale" as they battled anti-coup fighters, including around churches and on paths to rice fields.
The UNICEF figures did not include casualties resulting from the targeting of "local administrations and security forces" by anti-junta fighters, the agency said.
More than 5,000 people were killed by anti-coup fighters and allied ethnic rebels between the coup and January this year, according to the junta.
A local monitoring group says more than 3,000 people have been killed by junta security forces, while over 19,000 arrested in the military's crackdown.
President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday Russia was fighting for its "historical" lands in Ukraine, at a state-organised patriotic rally in Moscow in support of the Ukraine offensive.
"I just heard from the top military leadership of the country that a battle is ongoing right now, for our historical lands, for our people," Putin said.
In a short address to the tens of thousands gathered at Moscow's main Luzhniki stadium, Putin also praised Russian servicemen in Ukraine who are "fighting heroically, courageously, bravely: we are proud of them".
All those who supported the Russian army were "to a certain extent also a defender of the fatherland", he added.
"This includes healthcare workers, employees of the defence and transport sectors... and you all, who came today to support our fighters."
The audience, waving Russian flags, braved cold winter temperatures of -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), to come watch patriotic performances and speeches.
Among them was Ulyana, a 47-year-old lawyer, who told AFP she came for "our president, our men who are defending our country.
"What is happening right now, the consolidation of national unity, reminds us of the Great Patriotic War," she said, using the Russian term for World War II.
- 'Great Patriotic War' -
The concert, dubbed "Glory to the Defenders of the Fatherland", was held on the eve of the eponymous Russian public holiday, and two days before the anniversary of the Ukraine offensive on February 24.
Rock star Grigory Leps opened the show with a song in honour of Russia. Displayed on screens around the stadium, were images of "The Motherland Calls" statue in the city of Volgograd, scene of the World War II battle for Stalingrad, as it was then called.
Putin, when he launched what he described as the special military operation in Ukraine, argued that the treatment of Russian speakers there was comparable with the actions of Nazi Germany.
As the offensive dragged on, the Kremlin whipped up support by characterising its campaign as a wider conflict against the West, the equivalent of the "Great Patriotic War" against Nazi Germany.
Also present in the crowd was the Kremlin-appointed leader of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, who repeated Moscow's claims of "Nazi ideology" in the Ukrainian government.
"The West is an accomplice to (Ukrainian) war crimes" Pushilin said.
Organisers brought on stage children from the Ukrainian Donbas, including from the port city of Mariupol in Donetsk, which was devastated by a long siege before Russia captured it.
Ukraine has accused Russia of kidnapping thousands of Ukrainian children from the territories it controls, something Moscow has denied, insisting it organised legal adoptions.
Park Hyung Sik and Jeon So Nee's new K-drama "Our Blooming Youth" episode 2 showcase a confrontation between the Crown Prince and Min Jae Yi.
As Jae Yi, played by Jeon So Nee, find the truth about her family's death, she figures out something about the royal's curse.
On the other hand, "Our Blooming Youth" episode 2 sees a slight dip in viewership.
'Our Blooming Youth' Episode 2 Viewership
After kicking off with a promising start, Park Hung Sik and Jeon So Nee's historical K-drama encounters a minimal decline in rating.
According to Neilsen Korea, "Our Blooming Youth" episode 2 garnered an average nationwide rating of 3.6 percent. It is a minor decrease from its pilot episode of 4.219 percent.
'Our Blooming Youth' Episode 2' Recap
The episode continues with Crown Prince Yi Hwan aiming an arrow at Han Sung On.
He thought that the secret message might be true after it says that a close friend will betray him.
However, Ha Sung On saved him from being hit by a flying arrow.
Meanwhile, Min Jae Yi, who is disguised as one of the royal guards gets away from the scene after she thought that someone was trying to kill the royal.
Instead, she came face to face with the Crown Prince and was, later on, recognize as the daughter of the late Governor of Gaesong, Min Ho Seung, who was the royal's former master.
Min Jae Yi confessed that she is following the Crown Prince in hopes of finding out the reason behind his father's death.
Moreover, she also spoke about the secret letter that he sent to her father.
After hearing this, the Crown Prince was confused and tells her that he never sent a letter to the governor.
In "Our Blooming Youth" episode 2, the Crown Prince has to prove that he is capable to be the next King.
At the royal hunt, Left State Councilor Han Joong Eon feels proud that the Crown Prince will shut down rumors regarding his disability.
With this, Chief State Minister, Kim An Jik requested the Crown Prince to write down a celebratory letter; however, everyone was surprised after finding out that the royal's hand was bleeding but there were no open wounds.
The Crown Prince requested his right hand to conduct an investigation to see who among his officials plans to betray him.
On the other hand, Mi Jae Yi tells the Crown Prince that it is a trick used by shamans to extort money from wealthy people.
Furious at what he found out, he ordered his men to another round of investigation to see who among the officials is planning to ruin him.
As for Jo Won Bo, he tells one of his men that he was the one who planned the bleeding rick against the royal as he wanted to frighten him and would not continue with his plans.
In the last part of "Our Blooming Youth" episode 2, the Crown Prince gave Min Jae Yi passes to go out of the palace.
However, she was angered by the royal's action after he expressed that he will not help her with her plans of finding out the person behind the death of her family as well as clearing her name.
Min Jae Yi calls him cold and arrogant and blames him for the death of her family.
That is because his father tried to protect the Crown Prince even if it means his death.
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I have been fortunate in my forty-five-year medical career never to have been sued for the care I delivered to a patient. I attribute this, in part, to being a family physician and having ongoing relationships with my patients and, in part, to being willing to admit to my mistakes if I make them and things turn out badly. I see how gut-wrenching going to court is for doctors so it gave me no pleasure a few years ago to have to sue two of them, an orthopedic surgeon and an anesthesiologist, who performed a laparoscopic rotator cuff repair on my wife. Before her scalene nerve block had worn off, she experienced severe pain in her right thumb and index finger. Nothing they did fixed it. Frustrated, in pain, and unable to use her dominant hand for the things that gave her pleasure in life, she self-referred to a pain clinic, where it was eventually determined that the culprit was likely an errant scalene nerve block and prolonged traction during surgery.
When confronted with the reports, the doctors wouldnt communicate with us any further. A request for a case review on my part failed to find them at fault by their colleagues. I was left with a wife in chronic pain whose doctors had obfuscated, stonewalled, and refused to take responsibility or apologize for the injury they had caused. Wanting them to feel our pain, I decided to sue.
It took calls to five different attorneys before I found one who was willing to give us advice but not take the case.
Why wont you take our case? I asked William, a malpractice lawyer.
For the same reason none of the other lawyers you called would take it, William said. There just isnt enough money to cover my expenses, so we cherry-pick our cases and hope they settle out of court.
William was willing to give us pro bono advice, and I began my education about how the legal system works in med mal.
First of all, William counseled, you have a one-year statute of limitations from the date of your wifes surgery to file a lawsuit, after which any claim may be barred. Since its been almost a year, you can file a formal notice of intent to commence a civil action for professional negligence. Its in section 364 of the California Code of Civil Procedures. That will buy you another 90 days to file a formal complaint.
I was awash in confusion and felt like it was my first day of medical school, and I was being asked to take care of a complicated patient.
Sorry, but I have no idea how to do that, I said. William must have taken pity on me because he volunteered to draw up the document.
Some doctors get away with murder, he said. He then told me stories about his clients who had been harmed during procedures and lost in court, doctors who refused to settle though they were at fault, and doctors who wanted to settle but their insurance companies wouldnt let them. I was agape. I always thought the lawyers who defended doctors were the good guys. Less than 10 percent of the cases that go to trial in California are decided for the plaintiff, William said.
By the way, William asked, You didnt sign an arbitration agreement, did you? I admitted that I had. That was a mistake, William said. The arbitrators are usually retired judges and lawyers who depend on doctors for work. If they go against them, theyre unlikely to get called upon again to arbitrate. There is a built-in bias to side with the doctor. You would have been much better off with a jury trial.
My ninety-day notice got no response, so I filed a formal suit before the time expired. William again helped me with this as I had no idea what I was doing. We were plaintiffs in a Propria Persona complaint, meaning that we were representing ourselves. Their lawyers threatened a protracted legal battle with us losing and having to pay all the court costs. I felt like David going against Goliath, except that I didnt have a slingshot. It was me versus experienced, high-priced lawyers who had been there many times before. These guys are the reason there are lawyer jokes, I thought. Before the court date, we dismissed the case. William again helped me with the paperwork.
It was more than disheartening that fellow physicians lawyered up and hid instead of allowing that they were only human, made mistakes, had a bad result, and a patient suffered. Our health care and legal systems do not readily accommodate apologies or admissions of carelessness or wrongdoing from us. Confessions of accountability for untoward results are not on the agenda, only limitations of monetary losses by the medical insurance industry. It was enough to have made me hang up my stethoscope before I had to apologize to a patient for harming them and leaving them little recourse to be financially compensated for the damage I may have caused. Isnt that, after all, what our malpractice insurance is for? We carry it not only because we have to for hospital privileges but also because we owe it to our patients when we cause them injury. Getting rightfully sued may not mean we are bad doctors, just responsible ones who are not perfect and may sometimes be negligent. If being so caused our patient harm, we should be grateful they can gain some solace from remuneration.
The author is an anonymous physician.
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As we spend February reflecting on Black Americans history, humanity, and contributions, lets also consider how to improve the systems and structures that impact Black lives moving forward.
We can start with health care. Retention and recruitment are challenging, especially for nurses from underrepresented groups in nursing, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
As a Black, Chicago-based nursing researcher, I see first-hand the changes needed to make the medical field more equitable for the people who are served by it and those who work within it. One way to do that is to truly listen to Black nurses and learn from their experiences.
While real-time data provide a means to understand the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on Black communities, I find qualitative data collection invaluable in gaining insight into the lived experience of affected communities. We must prioritize listening to people within vulnerable populations and their nurses if we are to address systemic inequities and achieve better health outcomes effectively.
As the leading qualitative nursing scientist of a large-scale study recently published through the Maternal Child Health Initiative, my research team and I explored the experiences of Black nurses practicing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that they face a dual pandemic.
Our findings revealed that social support was inadequate for Black nurses, meaning they did not work in a supportive environment with proper infrastructure or resources. Specifically, Black nurses reported limited emotional support, appraisal support, informational support, and instrumental support to counteract the contemporary challenges brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic.
These challenges play out even as COVID-19 disproportionately affects members of their own Black communityin the severity of illness, hospitalizations, and the number of deaths.
My research is dedicated to reducing health disparities in underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
In my work, I call for a deep reflection on how some populations life expectancy is shortened due to the disproportionate impact of chronic diseasesthe very diseases that can make COVID-19 more deadly for people who experience it.
But these disparities in health care pre-date, and transcend, the COVID-19 pandemic as reinforced by the Healthy People 2030. In eliminating health disparities and advancing health equity, we must provide opportunities for people to live healthy lives. And evidenced by the tireless efforts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in developing the science on strategies for reducing disparities.
The CDC indicates chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, disproportionately impact Black individuals, shortening this populations life expectancy due to adverse health outcomes. According to the CDC, maternal mortality among Black women is also a growing health crisis, highlighting the racial and ethnic inequities in obstetrics and gynecology health services. These adverse health outcomes are social determinants of health (SDOH)environmental conditions where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect health and quality of life, according to Healthy People 2030. SDOH includes five areas: economic stability, education access, and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context. Given the nurses holistic approach to care, social and environmental factors are considered in the provision of patient care. Many Black nurses work and live within populations that experience health disparities.
In a recent statement, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists declared: Racial and ethnic inequities in obstetrics and gynecology cannot be reversed without addressing all aspects of racism and racial bias, including sociopolitical forces that perpetuate racism. The actualization of an equitable health care system which serves all people can only occur through acknowledgment of the historical context from which modern health inequities grew, including reproductive injustices.
With proper support, Black nurses can be a crucial part of the work necessary to address and alleviate those inequities and injusticesacross all medical specialties. Black nurses personal experiences should be elevated and considered in developing strategies that make these impactful, overdue changes.
To be sure, Black nurses are not alone in facing challenges during the pandemic, as revealed in our larger qualitative study. In the qualitative examination of the interviews with Black nurses, Black nurses told us they feel vulnerable and expendable. When asked what meaningful social support would look like, they described emotional support from their organizations, family, friends, and other nursing colleagues. Our findings reinforce evidence of the integral role of a supportive work environment in providing quality patient careand how vital good communication skills for staff nurses and nurses in leadership roles is.
In recent weeks, thousands of nurses went on strike in New York City. This was on the heels of similar protests or strikes in California, Oregon, Minnesota, and elsewhere. In fact, nurses led a quarter of the top 20 major work stoppages tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2022, according to the Washington Post. Nurses cite understaffing, stress, burnout, long shifts with no breaks, and unsafe working conditions as some of the reasons for striking.
With the critical role of nurses in coordinating care, as noted in the American Nurses Associations position statement, addressing the nursing workforce shortage is necessary to meet the needs of the growing diverse patient populations.
Given the nursing workforce shortage in the United States and the invaluable insights, knowledge, and expertise that nurses bring to the fight against health care disparities, we cant afford to keep turning a blind eye to their needs. Moreover, understanding how to optimize the health and well-being of Black nurses will be critical to ensuring the industry becomesand remainsa healthier place. Collaborative efforts must focus on ensuring all voices are incorporated in developing policy solutions.
Shared governance is crucial, as revealed in a recent study where interviews were conducted among six senior leaders in a U.S. hospital. Examples of effective strategies as modeled by these leaders included effective communication, nurse recognition, and instrumental support such as sign-on bonuses, preceptor incentives, and tuition reimbursement are highly recommended.
Nursing leaders must create healthy work environments to reduce stress and its adverse effects. Identifying and removing institutional barriers and more intentional, equitable recruiting, hiring, and retention practices should be prioritized.
Although the findings from my recent study are not generalized for all Black nurses during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, they nonetheless sound an alarm. We must obtain a greater understanding of the unique experiences of Black nurses and how to support them to obtain better health outcomes adequately. This worthy undertaking must last far beyond February.
Kashica J. Webber-Ritchey is an assistant professor of nursing.
126th joint patrol of Mekong River begins
Xinhua) 11:05, February 22, 2023
KUNMING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Law-enforcement authorities from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand joined forces on Tuesday for the start of the 126th Mekong River joint patrol.
Three Chinese vessels departed Tuesday from Jingha Port and Guanlei Port in southwest China's Yunnan Province for the mission.
The commanders from China, Laos and Thailand will jointly conduct the patrol from the command office set up on a Chinese vessel, while Myanmar is participating in the mission via video link.
The patrol will focus on tackling cross-border crimes to ensure safety and stability along the river.
The Mekong River -- known as the Lancang River in China -- is a vital waterway for cross-border shipping. The four countries have been conducting joint patrols on the river since December 2011.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
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A Kilkenny man is spearheading a trade mission of 32 Mexican companies, along with chamber and government officials from Mexico and Ireland, here this week.
The Irish Mexican Chamber in Mexico, whose president is Graignamanagh native Blaine Oliver Doyle, leading the mission.
The delegation comprises senior executives from industries such as finance, technology, services, agro-industrial, chemical, real estate, and creative sectors, as well as leaders from the Chamber and the Mexican Council of Foreign Trade.
The purpose of the mission is to achieve various objectives, including exploring opportunities for expansion into the European market by some Mexican companies, establishing partnerships, and securing funding for new projects.
During their visit, the delegation have meetings with key players in the Irish Government, promotional agencies, and international firms like Indeed.com, Stripe, BakerTilly, Deloitte, Accenture, HSBC, Jaguar Landrover, WP Engine, and Kilkenny fintech, TransferMate, as well as the academic sector and capital funds.
President of Dublin City University (DCU), Prof Daire Keogh, will host the delegation on campus, with the support of Tecnologico de Monterrey, to welcome them in collaboration with Irish business leaders and legislators, including DCU alum, Mr Doyle.
Describing the mission as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between Ireland and Mexico, Mr Doyle, said: At a time of global uncertainty, Ireland and Mexico can once again build and grow together, as we have done over history.
Our overall aim is to showcase Ireland as a launchpad into the EU single market, with an innovative and highly skilled workforce.
With a population of over 450 million, the European Union represents a significant market, and Ireland, with its favorable business climate, serves as a strategic access point for companies from all around the globe, including Mexico.
An appeal to young people to stay off the streets during the Votes at 18 campaign and to avoid all forms of activity in which there is a potential for violence was made by a Kilkenny curate at the weekend.
Speaking in Liberty Hall, Dublin, Fr Jerry Joyce of the National Federation of Youth Clubs told a meeting of young people that any such activity could destroy the massive public support which had been built up.
He pointed out that any action which gave credence or even importance in the public mind to the violence issue did a grave injustice to the national and community importance which need to be explained by the parties if the electorate is to make a comprehensive and mature judgement.
Our whole campaign has been a determined effort to fully integrate young people into the democratic process, he said.
All our efforts are being directed towards this end on a non-party political basis.
Youth must be encouraged to look at the politics of the various parties and then, having opted for the one which reflects their own aspirations, get out and canvass.
Iverks best show
The 1972 agricultural show of the Iverk Farming Society was the best ever, it was reported at the annual meeting of the society in Piltown.
Mr Tom Fielding, Co Council vice-chairman, congratulated the members on the good attendance and spoke highly of their efforts in 1972, which was the best year ever.
New records were established under all headings, he said. Entries were at a new high and gate takings of close on 600 reflected the drawing power of the fixture.
Cops and Robbers for Richard
From New York this week comes news of a Kilkennyman who is currently making life tough for New Yorks lawbreakers.
He is Richard Buggy, a 29-year-old policeman formerly of Ardloo, Threecastles.
Richards main aim at the moment is to trap criminals who roam the streets waiting to mug innocent passers-by and rob them of their valuables.
So far he has lured 39 muggers and received 11 commendations. His skill has made him the Police Departments most successful decoy.
The decoy patrol is well known among the citys muggers, he said.
They have to think twice - are they mugging an old man or are they walking into a trap? If you get one to lay off a victim, then youve won.
Two young Kilkenny women will be travelling to New York to take part in the St Patricks Day parade and perform in Carnegie Hall.
They will play to a host of invited guests from the Irish American diaspora.
The local women are Laura ONeill (Dunmore) and Cait Whelan (Shellumsrath).
Both are currently attending college in DCU and UCC respectively, and have been members of the Kilkenny Youth Orchestra in their school years.
The renowned Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland has begun a sell-out 17-concert series, starting in Limerick and moving to Dublin, Waterford and Belfast before flying to New York for the landmark concert at the worlds most iconic music mecca, Carnegie Hall, on St Patricks Day.
The concert series celebrates their work and achievements in promoting peace, unity and tolerance on the island of Ireland since their foundation in 1995. Significantly, the concerts will also mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
The CBOI is now composed of over 130 exceptionally talented young musicians from all over Ireland and Northern Ireland who travel to Colaiste Chu Chulainn, Dundalk for weekly rehearsals.
A further 200 children and teens receive free music tuition through the CBOIs extraordinary music education programmes. CBOI recently won a National Rural Impact Award for their work.
Performances in Ireland and the US will showcase some of the most talented young musicians on our island.
Under the direction of internationally-acclaimed conductor Maestro Greg Beardsell, the orchestra, led by Dundalk violinist Richie Dunne, will be joined by the massed Childrens Peace Choirs.
The concert in Carnegie Hall will feature many of the above along with Irish dancers from Rockland county, New York, the multi-award winning 100-strong Fairfield County Childrens Choir from Connecticut, and the Pipe Corps from Xavarian High School, Brooklyn.
Approximately 30 therapy staff positions in primary care services in Carlow and Kilkenny, including 13 speech and language therapist posts, were vacant last year.
Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that there were 30.1 whole time equivalent (WTE) vacancies in therapy services in Carlow and Kilkenny at the end of August 2022.
HSE data shows that around 13 speech and language therapist posts were vacant in the two counties at the end of August last year, along with 11 physiotherapy posts, three psychology posts and 2.5 occupational therapy posts.
The FOI request was sent in September, 2022 and a reply was received in December.
Meanwhile, almost 1,500 children were on waiting lists for an initial contact from therapy services in Community Health Area 5, which encompasses Carlow/ Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford, at the end of September last year.
Some 518 children had been waiting for an initial contact in the region for more than a year.
Local councillor Eugene McGuinness said staff on the ground are snowed under as a result of large waiting lists and staff vacancies.
I get dozens of phone calls all the time from parents trying to get access to these services only to be told they could be waiting more than a year or up to two years, Cllr McGuinness said.
The independent councillor called on the Government to do more to support staff on the ground to allow them to do their jobs effectively.
The level of staff vacancies comes as no surprise to me, he said.
I dont think Ive had a phone call from someone saying they were able to get services in a timely fashion, whichever service they require. Theres a huge backlog across the entire spectrum of therapy services and Im sick and tired of listening to the government on it, he added.
Its up to the government to help staff to do their job.
Cllr McGuinness explained that he understands therapists seeking careers elsewhere.
If I was a young person starting out now in this sector, Id be looking at moving to Australia or New Zealand, where they value their staff, pay them properly and provide suitable and proper working conditions and back-up services, he said.
If one of my children was to enter any of those professions tomorrow, Id tell them to go to Australia, go to New Zealand because your back is going to be broken in Ireland. As soon as you take on a job like that, you take on a lot of responsibility and I think a lot of the younger people working in these services are snowed under with work and struggling to cope, and that can lead to health issues for the very staff the HSE is trying to get to deal with the waiting lists.
South-East Community Healthcare was contacted for comment.
All flights at Dublin Airport were temporarily suspended on Tuesday evening following drone activity in the area.
A post on the airports Twitter feed shortly before 9pm said: Due to illegal drone activity in the vicinity of Dublin Airport, all flight operations are currently suspended.
A message sent out some minutes later said: Flight operations at Dublin Airport have now resumed after a suspension of 30 minutes.
A third message from the airport said: We would remind drone users that it is illegal to fly a drone within 5km of the airport.
Due to illegal drone activity in the vicinity of Dublin Airport, all flight operations are currently suspended. Further updates will follow Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) February 21, 2023
Severe punishments must follow for anyone found guilty.
A statement from daa, the operator of Dublin Airport, said there were no flight diversions.
The statement said: daa, the operator of Dublin Airport can confirm flight operations were suspended for 30 minutes this evening between 20.22 and 20.52 in line with our safety protocols, due to a confirmed drone sighting.
An Garda Siochana was immediately advised. There were no flight diversions.
The state must consider counter-drone technology for use by the Department of Defence to take down drones that threaten passengers and aircraft activity in such a reckless manner.
This is the latest in a series of drone incidents at Irelands biggest airport in recent weeks.There were several days of disruption to flights earlier this month.
Two people have faced court this month accused of disrupting flights at Dublin Airport by flying a drone.
A spokesperson for Irish airline Ryanair said the Government needed to protect the airport from drone disruptions.
The spokesperson said: It is unacceptable that more Ryanair flights and hundreds of passengers have again suffered disruptions and delays as Dublin Airport closed for a fifth time in four weeks.
Government ministers have vowed to tackle the recurring issue.
The new governments in Mali and Burkina Faso accuse the French of both bringing these wars into their territory from Libya and exacerbating these conflicts by making deals with the armed groups to prevent attacks on French military bases.
by Vijay Prashad
On February 9, 2023, around 100 armed men drove to Dembo, Burkina Faso, on motorcycles and in pickup trucks. They opened fire on a militia group called Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), which works with the Burkinabe military to protect the areas of northwest Burkina Faso near its border with Mali. These men killed seven members of the VDP. Three days later, on February 12, at the other end of Burkina Faso near the border with Ghana and Togo, armed men entered Yargatenga and killed 12 people, including two VDP fighters. Meanwhile, in another incident that took place from February 9 night until the next dayfurther north of Burkina Faso near the border with Malimen on motorcycles arrived at the Sanakadougou village and killed 12 people, burning homes, and looting the few goods and livestock of the villagers, reported a survivor to Agence France-Presse. These are not isolated incidents. They have become commonplace in Burkina Faso, where about 40 percent of the country is now largely controlled by a wide range of armed groups who began to target the Sahel after 2012.
Violence in the Sahel region of Africa has been continual for more than a decade. [Credit: Photo by Maeva Bambuck/AP/Shutterstock]
Captain Ibrahim Traore, who leads the Burkinabe government, came to power through a coup detat in September 2022. He ousted Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had himself come to power through a coup in January 2022. Neither of these coups was a surprise. Both followed after the two coups in neighboring Mali (in 2020 and 2021), where the military took over out of frustration with the civilian governments inability to quell the armed violence. Much of the same dynamics that propelled Malis interim President Colonel Assimi Goita to power pushed Damiba and Traore to their successive coups. Pressure has been mounting on the military establishment in Mali and Burkina Faso, which are controlled by men in their late 30s and early 40s, to defeat the armed violence that has wracked their region for the past 10 years. Part of the motivation for these coups was the desire to remove the presence of the French military, which intervened in the Sahel region in 2013 to end the violence, but insteadit is widely believedactively participated in inflaming the violence further. In May 2022, Malis Goita told the French to leave the country, a move repeated by Traore in January 2023.
Armed Men
When the Algerian civil war (1991-2002) ended, members of the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) fled southward and set up bases in Mali, Niger, and southern Libya. Attempts to restart a war by GIA failed, since the Algerian population was exhausted after the decade-long civil war. In 2007, some hardened former elements of the GIA formed Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), whichas I experienced firsthand in the northern Sahelbecame an integral part of the trans-Sahara smuggling networks. AQIM members began to work with a group called Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA), led by Hamada Ould Mohamed El Khairy. Everything changed for these groups with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) war on Libya in 2011, which destroyed the Libyan state and provided Al Qaeda-aligned groups free rein in the region (many of them are now being armed by NATOs Arab allies in the Gulf). By 2012, AQIM joined hands with many of the Arabs who had been brought to Libya during the war as well as with Tuareg groups from the northern Sahel who had been pursuing their own territorial aims against the government in Mali.
France, which had driven the NATO war against Libya, intervened militarily in Mali to block the rapid movement of these jihadist forces south toward Bamako, Malis capital. Operation Serval, the name of the first French mission, pushed these forces out of the major cities of central Mali. Then-French President Francois Hollande went to Bamako to celebrate these gains in 2013, but said, the fight is not over. France established Operation Barkhane thereafter, which expanded through the Sahel region and operated alongside the massive U.S. military presence in the region (which includes one of the worlds largest military bases in Agadez, Niger, not far from Frances garrison at the uranium mine in Arlit, Niger). The inability of France to halt the onrush of these armed groups into the heart of the Sahel has ledlargelyto the anti-French sentiment in the region.
Rooted in the Countryside
In March 2017, many of these armed Islamic groups affiliated to Al Qaeda formed the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), whose leader Iyad Ag Ghali participated in the Tuareg fight against the Malian state (in 1988, he founded the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad). The JNIM rooted itself in the local struggles in the region, capitalizing on the separatist sensibility of the Tuareg people and in the Fulani clashes with the Bambara people of the center of the country. A year after the founding of the JNIM, one of its emirs, Yahya Abu al-Hammam, released a video message that Frances retreat into the cities left the countryside in the hands of the JNIM and its allied forces, who will win with patience.
By rooting themselves in the smuggling networks and in the local conflicts over land and resources, the various armed groups affiliated to Al Qaeda made themselves a difficult target. The new governments in Mali and Burkina Faso accuse the French of both bringing these wars into their territory from Libya and exacerbating these conflicts by making deals with the armed groups to prevent attacks on French military bases. Rather than break the insurgency, the French war in the region has resulted in the creation of the Islamic State Sahel Province in March 2022 with the group extending its operations in Burkina Fasos Oudalan and Seno provinces, Malis Gao and Menaka regions, and Nigers Tahoua and Tillaberi regions. Now, France departs, leaving behind military governments ill-equipped to deal with what appears to be an unending war.
Russia
In December 2022, Burkina Fasos Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela visited Moscow to apparently seek assistance from Russia in the war against the Al Qaeda insurgency. During his visit, he told RT that he visited the Soviet Union in 1988 and regretted that Russian-Burkinabe relations have weakened. It is likely that more Russian aid will enter these countries, provoking a reaction from the West, but this aid by the Kremlin is unlikely to help the Sahel in breaking away from the entrenched set of conflicts that trouble the region, set in motion under Frances colonial supervision.
Source: Globetrotter
Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is an editor of LeftWord Books and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is a senior non-resident fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. He has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations. His latest books are Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism and (with Noam Chomsky) The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power.
Retired Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan has paid tribute to the pioneering women who were among the first to join An Garda Siochana.
Ms OSullivan was speaking at an event at Garda Headquarters to launch the book The Women Of An Garda Siochana: A Reflection On Their Journeys In Irish Policing.
Twelve women joined An Garda Siochana in 1959, at a time when women who were married were not allowed to work.
Sarah OSullivan was among the first group of women who joined the Gardai in 1959, and would go on to become one of the first three women to become Garda Sergeants.
When asked why she first joined, she said for a job.
At the time, the only Gardai she knew were the men logging agricultural statistics and school attendances.
The emphasis when we went into Pearse Street at the time was on traffic, not on crime, she said.
I did everything. I was investigating very serious crime, but I loved street work.
I loved being on the street. I think I laughed my way around it. Loved talking and meeting the people, I was very much involved in plainclothes as well and quite successful, I think, sometimes.
She added: Id say it took me two years just to get used to it. And I remember distinctly the day it happened all of a sudden Im comfortable. Before that, I wasnt.
I could wear my uniform like a glove, before that it was awkward. And from that on that day I never looked back.
Chief Superintendent Margaret Nugent said Mrs OSullivan was a fantastic boss with a very strong work ethic.
Phyllis Nolan, who became the first female Superintendent, said that not much was known about An Garda Siochana when she joined.
I heard it advertised, it was only the second time (they were recruiting), so there was very little known about it, because there was only one group (of women), they were in training when I went in to train.
So there was very little known about it, she said.
She said that the involvement of women is important as Gardai should be embedded in their communities.
The vast majority of people that we deal with are not involved in crime, they might be the victim of a crime. But the vast majority of people we deal with have no involvement with crime, but you must serve everybody in the community, irrespective of their status in society, she said.
Its a very fulfilling profession. I believe I was extremely happy in it.
Speaking at Garda headquarters on Wednesday, Ms OSullivan praised the worthy endeavours and achievements of women who first joined An Garda Siochana and took up senior positions.
I know I join former and serving colleagues in expressing our gratitude to all of you who have gone before us in showing us it could be done, she said.
In my case, it inspired me to pursue an extraordinarily exciting if not frightening career that expands over 36 years and I am truly thankful for the opportunities I was given to do that.
Im very proud through all of my achievements throughout my career, made possible by those who inspired and encouraged me and all of us to keep going and follow our dreams, and supported us in achieving many firsts, most memorably in my case, being appointed the first Deputy Commissioner and subsequently the first female Commissioner.
She said she hoped womens experiences had paved the path for other female Gardai and encourage the new generation to become the new torchbearers.
Detective Garda Vanessa Stafford of the human trafficking investigation unit at the Garda National Protective Services Bureau and Inspector Jane Ryan at Portlaoise Garda Station, Co Laois, said it was inspiring to see the history of women in the Gardai.
Jane and I worked on the historical section (of the book) and it was very interesting for us to see how these women paved the way for women like Jane and I in the guards, Ms Stafford said.
They had so many challenges that we were not aware of, such as the marriage ban. The first 12 who entered the Gardai were seen as an experiment, as mentioned in the Dail, and we always say, Didnt the experiment work out very well?.
They both agreed that more work was needed to integrate women further into An Garda Siochana.
Its really important that we continue to attract women into the job because there is still an imbalance, and we do need more women in the job, Inspector Ryan said.
One of the reasons we put this book together is to encourage more women to join, and through the stories of women who have joined, we hope that people will be inspired.
Earlier today (Wednesday), as a result of routine operations, Revenue officers examining parcels at a premises in Athlone seized over 17.9kgs of herbal cannabis worth almost 359,000.
The illegal drugs were discovered in two parcels which had originated in Spain and Italy and were destined for addresses in Dublin and Louth.
Separately, on Monday (20/02/2023) at Dublin Port, in the course of routine checks, and with the assistance of Revenues mobile x-ray scanner and detector dog Milo, Revenue officers seized 12.3kgs of roll your own tobacco.
The tobacco was branded Golden Virginia and Sopianie and has an estimated retail value of over 9,300, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer in excess of 7,000.
The smuggled tobacco was discovered in a consignment manifested as food which had originated in Poland and had arrived in a van via Cherbourg.
Finally, last Friday (15/02/2023), as a result of routine operations, and with the assistance of Revenues x-ray mobile scanner, Revenue officers seized approximately 6,000kgs of roll your own tobacco and 2,400 cigarettes at Dublin Port.
The smuggled tobacco and cigarettes, of multiple brands, have an estimated retail value of over 4.5 million, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of almost 3.5 million.
The contraband was discovered in a consignment manifested as PVC Resin Floor Sealer which originated in Belgium and had arrived in an unaccompanied trailer via Zeebrugge.
Investigations into all seizures are ongoing.
These seizures are part of Revenues ongoing operations targeting the shadow economy and the supply of illegal tobacco products and drugs.
If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on the free phone number 1800 295 295.
A year of fighting in Ukraine has left the Russian army defeated, depleted and demoralized. Most of the army personnel available before the invasion have been killed, wounded or missing (captured, deserted or body not found). About half the troops were conscripts untrained for combat. Conscripts only serve for a year and are called up twice a year (spring and fall) and, by the time they have acquired useful skills, they are discharged and placed in the reserves. In Russian the government has your last known address and will try to notify you if there is a national emergency and all veterans of the military are needed quickly.
Few conscripts were prepared for the intensity of combat encountered in Ukraine. The other half of Russian military personnel joined voluntarily to serve longer and receive higher pay. These somewhat more experienced troops are what passed for NCOs, since Russia has not been able to recreate the NCO Corps it had a century ago but destroyed because the new communist government believed (with some justification) that sergeants are more likely to lead a revolution than more carefully selected and trained officers. Using junior officers to supervise the troops and lead them in combat did not work as well as the Western system of having sergeants supervising the troops and a junior officer to command and lead them in combat.
Junior officers in combat units, who arent already veterans, require years more of training and dutifully try to carry out their orders. In Ukraine that got them and most of their troops turned into casualties, or prisoners of war. Russian combat zone medical care was also a mess and not able to handle the large number of wounded. As a result, most of the wounded died or developed conditions that rendered them unfit for further military service. Russia still has not solved this medical problem, even after trying to improvise by taking over local civilian hospitals and their staffs to just treat military casualties.
There was an officer reserve (men who had served as officers for a few years and then left the military). They were also on a reserves list and many were called up to replace combat losses. Many of these former officers could not be found, usually because they had moved and left no forwarding address for the army to use. Many more of these men were aware of the bad state the army was in and the heavy losses to junior officers in Ukraine. These former officers often avoided government efforts to contact them and mobilize them for active service. This was a problem the government handled by sending all mobilized reserve officers to combat units. Many of these officers were not trained combat officers, and many were doctors or other non-combat specialists. Mobilized doctors got themselves killed trying to lead a combat unit while the Russian medical support units needed all the doctors they could get.
All this made the combat officer shortage worse, to the point where newly mobilized men were sent into combat with little or no training and rarely saw an officer for very long because there were not enough officers to supervise and lead troops in combat. As a result, combat operations often failed, with troops panicking and fleeing the battlefield. This included the crews of armored vehicles, which is how Ukrainian forces acquired over a thousand tanks and other armored vehicles intact. These had their Russian army markings painted over with Ukrainian symbols. One problem with this was that the Ukrainians did not have sufficient spare parts to keep many of these vehicles operational. Neither did their previous Russian users, who often had these vehicles long enough to make them vulnerable to problems if spare parts and mechanics were not available. This was long a problem in the Russian army where the doctrine was that, in combat, armored vehicles would not last long and so were not expected to need spare parts and mechanics.
The loss of officers and combat vehicles was made worse by the mobilization of equipment and instructors from military training centers. These instructors also quickly became casualties and this slowed down efforts to provide training for newly mobilized troops. The army is slowly trying to rebuild and expand its training establishment. New training camps are being built and the shortage of officers in combat units is made worse by pulling experienced troops and officers out and assigning them to the new training schools. It will take about a year for this new training establishment to show results and the government expects to have better trained newly mobilized troops to show for it.
Replacing combat unit officers required a different approach. Soldiers with combat experience and demonstrating some leadership abilities were offered promotions to officer rank. This meant higher pay, prestige and risk of getting killed in combat. Many contract soldiers, and a few conscripts who qualified, accepted the promotions. This was not enough to make up for all the officer combat losses but did prevent utter chaos among the many newly mobilized troops. The Russian army is trying to rebuild itself with such improvisations.
One problem with this is that the Ukrainians have no similar problems. Thats because between 2015 (when NATO forces began assisting the Ukrainian army) and 2021, the Ukrainian forces were reformed and that meant training lots of veteran NCOs and officers who were competent and did not take as long to train. All those NCOs made a big difference in combat because NCOs are trained to take over if there are no officers available. The NCOs provided the needed leadership that so many new Russian troops lacked in or out of combat. Ukrainian units took few casualties compared to the Russians and were more capable of treating combat wounds quickly and returning more wounded men to service. As the war went on the differences between Ukrainian and Russian troops became more of a factor. The Russians were mobilizing anyone that seemed physically capable of carrying a rifle. This eventually led to the army officially mobilizing men in prison who had military experience. These policies put a lot of older men into uniform as well as a lot of men with families. As long as these newly mobilized men stayed in the army the government paid them and sent additional money to any family members. There was also a relatively large payment to families of soldiers killed in combat. This reduced desertions somewhat. Many men left the country or tried to disappear inside Russia to avoid mobilization.
While most Russians still supported the war in Ukraine, they also realized that no one was invading Russia and that was often enough justification to avoid mobilization. Another incentive was the high number (over 100,000) of soldiers killed in Ukraine so far. That was more combat deaths than the Russian army has suffered in all its wars or sundry operations since 1945. In that respect the war in Ukraine was an unprecedented disaster for the Russian army. The government noted this and quickly passed laws prohibiting any public discussion of the war losses or how the war was being waged. That did not stop Internet-based commentators and critics. This group not only reported on the war but often did so faster and more accurately than the military itself.
That failure of government intel agencies was another scandal the government has still not learned or recovered from. The government depended on the FSB (successor of the communist KGB) to accurately report on the ability of the Ukrainians to resist a Russian invasion. The FSB failed, just as the KGB had failed to predict the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since the Ukraine war began the FSB has been more active inside Ukraine and suffered lots of casualties without much to show for it. Their Ukrainian counterparts were quick to go after FSB operatives inside Ukraine. That was also bad news for the Russian military GRU (military intelligence) which, while smaller, often competed with the FSB in operations outside Russia. Ukraine proved to be a very hostile environment for both FSB and GRU operatives. The FSB and GRU reports were secret while the Russian Internet commentators were not. Some of these commentators went to Ukraine and spoke to troops and junior officers as well as Russian civilians in Russian occupied Ukraine. Some Russian government officials admitted that these Internet-based reporters were providing more timely and accurate information than the government concerning what was going on in Ukraine. While nearly all these reporters were pro-Russia and most supported the Russian war effort, they were not afraid of reporting what was actually going on. The Russian government tolerated these Internet reporters, even when they were critical of government policies. It turned out that the government was not always united when it came to some war-related policies.
An example of this is the January 2023 Russia announcement of increasing the legal maximum number of its active-duty military personnel from 1,013,628 to 1,150,628. The problem was that the original million-man force was never achieved and Vladimir Putin soon discovered that this increase was an empty gesture. For example, at the end of 2021 the Russian military had 700,000 personnel on duty. The 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 that heavy Russian losses since the invasion began, and failure to mobilize sufficient replacements, reduced the army to about 250,000 personnel. Ukraines ground forces now outnumber the Russian army by over two to one, and Russias total ground forces in general. Not just in Ukraine, but in all of Russia and Ukraine.
Russias airborne forces and marines as well as special operations (spetsnaz) also suffered heavy losses but more of them are still in service. Since 1991 Russia has sought to maintain about ten percent of the army as an elite force of airmobile, special operations and marine force. The reason for this was simple and practical. Russia, even after the 1991 losses, was still the largest (in terms of territory) country in the world. Russia has over 22,000 kilometers of land borders and barely enough border guards to man the official crossings. The military provides ground forces for some key border areas. For example, the short Norwegian border with Russia is guarded by two brigades of marines because that border is adjacent to some of the largest and most important naval bases and shipyards in Russia. Since the war in Ukraine began the Norwegians have noticed there are far fewer Russian marines guarding the border. Military-age men seeking to leave Russia illegally are often getting across this border, where they asked the Norwegians for asylum. Most of the Russian marines were killed or wounded in Ukraine and the survivors returned to their Norwegian border duty and the additional chore of replacing their losses. It takes a long time to train a Russian marine.
There were token Russian army forces in many other parts of Russia, including NATO nations. This land border was only 1,240 kilometers at the end of 2021. This included the 196-kilometer Norwegian border. Since then, the border with NATO nations tripled to over 3,000 kilometers. Thats because the war in Ukraine prompted neutral Finland to join NATO and add its 1,340-kilometer Russian border. Ukraine wanted to join NATO, which Russia used as an excuse to invade. Suddenly Ukraine was an unofficial member of NATO, where Ukrainian troops were fighting with the help of NATO supplied weapons, munitions and much else. Everything except NATO troops were sent to Ukraine where the frontline between Ukrainian and Russian forces is over a thousand kilometers long.
Russia also keeps somewhat more than token forces on portions of its 4,200-kilometer Chinese border. There Russia faces, for the first time, a larger, better armed, trained and led Chinese army. China has unresolved claims on most of the Russian Pacific coast territories. Russia also has a 17-kilometer border with North Korea and Russian troops are sometimes seen here as well. Since the Ukraine War began, fewer Russian troops have been seen on other foreign borders. Thats because the crisis in Ukraine demanded more troops to replace losses.
Something else Russia lost was most of its sparse combat logistics forces. Heavy combat losses reduced 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 military transportation. Such a mobilization would disrupt the entire economy but is seen as necessary t0 defend Russia. During World War II Russia received lots of trucks, combat vehicles, ammunition, food and other much needed items from the United States. 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 who were receiving the military aid in quantities to what Russia received in World War II. This time the Russians are playing the invaders and not doing as well as the Nazis.
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 using information supplied by Ukrainian and NATO aerial and satellite surveillance. Russian forces inside Ukraine are chronically short of ammunition, food, fuel and much else because of these Ukrainian tactics.
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 trained and experienced junior officers were killed or disabled during the first months of the war and replacements take months to train to minimal standards. 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.
The scale and scope of Russian army losses in Ukraine is unprecedented. While air forces and navy losses were relatively minor, the SRF (Strategic Rocket Forces) and their thousands of nuclear warheads were not hurt at all, so the Russian State is still secure. Neighboring China also has lots of nukes, with more of them aimed at Russia than ever before. That is not the major Chinese threat to Russia. Rather it is the Russian dependence on Chinese economic and military cooperation. China remains on good terms with Russia economically and militarily. China warned Russia to back off on nuclear threats over the Ukraine War and made it clear that China considered the Ukraine War a major mistake. Before 2022, Russia and China were seen as a powerful military and economic alliance. Now the Russian military is revealed to be much less capable than previously thought. Western sanctions have devastated the Russian economy and China will benefit from that at the expense of Russia. What happened to Russia in Ukraine also caused China to review its own military policies in the South China Sea, against Taiwan and, less obviously, the Russian Far East territories.
The NATO nations that supported and supplied Ukraine also learned much from the Ukraine War. How many of those lessons will be acted on is still unclear.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)
Today
Mostly cloudy with occasional light rain...mainly this evening. Low near 35F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Higher wind gusts possible..
Tonight
Mostly cloudy with occasional light rain...mainly this evening. Low near 35F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Higher wind gusts possible.
Iran remains obsessed with destroying Israel though no one else in the region has agreed with that for many years. Irans presence in Syria is Israels chief threat, so Israeli efforts to make a peace deal with the Syrian Assad government depend on convincing the Assads that with Israeli help they can survive declaring their independence from Iranian domination. Israel has long recognized this opportunity and in mid-2022 sent Basher Assad an ultimatum that, if he did not cease cooperating with the Iranians (especially the movement and storage of Iranian missiles to Syria), Israeli airstrikes would go after Assad and family members by bombing the many luxury residences (palaces'') used by the Syrian family in and around Damascus. The Assads had earlier denied this degree of cooperation but this time Israel pointed out it was sharing intel with Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies and that means it is a lot more difficult for Assad to get away with lying to the Israelis. Arab nations and Israel were trying to get the Assads to switch sides and the Assads made a decision to stick with Iran without telling the wealthy Gulf Arab states he was hoping would invest in rebuilding the Syrian economy once the war was finally over. The Israelis did not follow through on their threat and it was believed that the Iranian threat to kill Assad and his family was a more compelling offer. The Assads are survivors and apparently continuing their negotiations with Arab nations and Israel. The Iranians are increasingly preoccupied with problems inside Iran as well as their new military alliance with Russia, This makes Iran a participant in the Ukraine war on the Russian side. That makes Iran even more unpopular internationally. Despite that, Iran is determined to hold onto its current power in Syria.
Israel treats Iran as a major threat, especially because of the Iranian presence in Syria though Irans nuclear program is starting to rival that. Israel has been at war with Iran in Syria for nearly a decade, during which Israel carried out hundreds of airstrikes and a few commando operations against Iranian operations in Syria. This cost Iran a lot of lives and money, and is one of the things restive Iranians want to halt by pulling Iranian forces out of Syria and Lebanon. But first the Iranians have to shut down the Iranian religious dictatorship, which, as expected, resists efforts to shut down operations in Syria.
Iran controls irregular forces in Syria along with the more organized Hezbollah in Lebanon and the inept Hamas in Gaza. Iran also has short-range ballistic missiles that can reach Israel and keeps trying to smuggle guided rockets and short-range ballistic missiles into Syria and Lebanon. Hundreds of Israeli air strikes have prevented the guided weapons buildup and formidable Israeli BMD (ballistic missiles defense) systems neutralize the use of missiles launched from Iran. So far the defenses have worked. Israel has offered to sell BMD systems to their new Arab allies and help them use whatever BMD systems they obtain to keep the Iranian missiles out.
February 19, 2023: In the south (Damascus) an Israeli airstrike at night damaged a ten-story building in a residential neighborhood that was being used as the headquarters for Iranian and Hezbollah operations in Syria. Iran believed that a building in a residential area would discourage Israel from carrying out an air strike. The upscale residential area is where a lot of senior government officials and their families live. Israeli aircraft used at least two air-to-surface guided missiles for the attack. The building was not completely destroyed, but much rubble fell into surrounding streets and windows in some adjacent buildings were broken. The airstrike took place after midnight when February temperatures are near freezing and not many people are on the streets in residential neighborhoods. Iran tried to use civilians as human shields by placing this headquarters in a residential area and it is unclear if the Syrian government agreed with this policy or were forced to go along. In Gaza the Hamas government regularly puts key military facilities in residential areas and Israel attacks them, usually after first hacking the telephone system to call all the civilians who might be and danger and warning them to leave their building. This reduces civilian casualties and annoys Hamas. The situation is different in Syria where Iranians are an unwelcome guest the Assad government cannot refuse.
February 17, 2023: In the east (Homs province) ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) carried out an attack on Syrian soldiers in the city of Homs, leaving 53 dead, most of them civilian bystanders to an ambush of a military convoy.
February 16, 2023: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) American and Kurdish forces carried out an airborne (via helicopters) raid on an ISIL safehouse and killed Hamza al-Homsi, an ISIL leader who supervised ISIL operations in eastern Syria. The surprise raid hoped to capture Homsi alive but, as with most ISIL leaders, he killed himself with explosives to avoid capture. The explosion wounded four American soldiers and a military dog that accompanied them. These dogs can locate hidden people and attack on command anyone who appears willing to put up a suicidal resistance. Arabs are generally not fond of dogs.
February 15, 2023: In the northwest (Idlib province) fighting resumed in the northern part of the province where there was much damage and over 20o deaths as a result of the February 6 earthquake. There was also damage to local housing and buildings used by relief agencies. The families of the Islamic terrorists depend on food aid trucked in from Turkey. The road has been closed because the quake damage most much more severe in Turkey. The informal truce in Idlib province was a day-to-day thing and was not expected to last long.
February 14, 2023: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) American troops shot down an Iranian UAV that was collecting information on an American base.
February 6, 2023: A massive earthquake registering 7.8, on a scale where anything over six is considered major, devastated the Turkish-Syrian border in northeast Syria. Iran ordered its Islamic terrorists support units (Quds Force) in the area to provide any quake relief they are capable of. Some other Islamic terrorist groups did the same. This has long been a major combat zone on the Syrian side of the border. Most of the earthquake damage took place on the Turkish side. Total deaths are expected to exceed 50,000 and the total won't be known until the massive numbers of collapsed structures, especially in residential areas, are searched. The quake brought a halt to combat in Syria and Turkish military operations in the area as well as the food and other aid for the many civilians trapped in the Syrian Idlib province combat zone. This disrupts the operations of Islamic terror groups in the area. Islamic terrorists in other parts of Syria, particularly near the Israeli and Iraqi borders, reduced or suspended operations because of fears they would be subject to more attacks as a result of the temporary neutralization of Islamic terrorist operations in northern Syria. Israel and Iraq have both sent rescue and relief aid to Turkey.
February 5, 2023: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) Hezbollah forces left the province and headed back to Lebanon on, where this group comes from. Hezbollah was organized in the 1980s with help from Iran and has been supported by Iran ever since. Increasingly, most Lebanese saw this support as Iranian interference in Lebanese affairs.
In Russia the Israeli prime minister met with Vladimir Putin to discuss their arrangement in Syria. Russia does not use its air defense systems against Israeli airstrikes against Iranian targets and Israel does not supply Ukraine with weapons. Before Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, Ukraine was a regular customer for Israeli military equipment and weapons. That stopped because Russia began buying weapons from Iran and Russia would only maintain their informal ceasefire with Israeli airstrikes in Syria if Israel halted weapons shipments to Ukraine. The Ukrainian was not happy with this change and diplomatic relations with Israel were disrupted for a while until Israel and Ukraine agreed that both nations were under attack by Iran and had the right to defend themselves any way they could. This apparently included Israel quietly advising Ukraine on the methods Israel developed to block Iranian UAV attacks or reconnaissance efforts.
January 29, 2023: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) unidentified armed UAVs attacked a convoy of trucks that had just left Iraq and were moving towards a nearby base used by Iran-backed militias. Many of these militiamen are from Iraq or Lebanon (Hezbollah). Sometimes the UAVs are American but sometimes they are Israeli, which has UAVs capable of doing this and intelligence assets (photo satellites and local informants) to detect and track such Iranian supply convoys. Iraq doesnt care who does it as long as the attacks take place on the Syrian side of the border.
January 26, 2023: ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) is still active in adjacent portions of Syria and Iraq where the group was founded in 2014, but its affiliates in other parts of the world are the sources of more attacks and casualties. After its founding in 2014, ISIL violence and casualties grew until their peak in 2018, when there were 3,7oo attacks (80 percent in the Middle East) and then progressively fell with 2022 seeing 1,400 attacks with only 26 percent in the Middle East while most were elsewhere, most of (45 percent) them in Africa. The number of dead and wounded declined even more between 2018 and 2022.
Despite all this, the major American counter-terrorism effort is still in the Middle East, especially Syria and Iraq. While ISIL no longer controls any territory in these two nations, that area still contains the largest concentration of ISIL members and is thus a target rich environment for counter-terror operations. This area is still where the senior ISIL officials live (and more frequently die) because of 3,400 American troops and even more from local organizations that are very good at finding, fighting and killing or capturing ISIL members. In 2022 that amounted to 1,100 ISL members killed or captured. Nearly 60 percent were killed because even when cornered, ISIL members tend to fight to the death.
While most of the ISIL losses were suffered by ISIL affiliates, none were as concentrated as the ISIL activity and losses in Syria and Iraq. There are over a dozen ISIL affiliates outside Syria-Iraq, most of them in Africa (from North Africa to Mozambique and South Africa). There are affiliates in Arabia, Israel (Palestinian territories), Afghanistan and South East Asia. In short, ISIL is becoming small but more dispersed and much less active.
January 25, 2023: During 2022 Turkey became a major player in Syria, which previously depended heavily on Iran for assistance. Back in the 1980s Iran became a patron of the Shia minority government of Syria. It was only natural for Iran to come to the aid of the Shia Assad government when most of the Syrian population (Sunnis) went to war with the Assads. In 2015 Russia got involved too as the Assads were its reliable partner in the Middle East. Then there was Israel, which Iran wanted to destroy but the Russians wanted to protect and Turkey was somewhere in the middle. Now Turkish and Russian mercenaries in Syria are fighting each other. Iran has become a major ally of Russia because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Turkey is trying to exploit this, if only because Turkey and Russia have been rivals for centuries. Reviving diplomatic and economic ties with Israel is part of that. Historically, what is going on in Syria is an unnatural act. Russia, Turkey and Iran have centuries of mutual hostility and frequent wars defining their relationship. That made their alliance in Syria unusual and now things are returning to the usual state of mutual hostility and competition. Russia and Turkey want Israel on their side while Iran only wants to destroy Israel.
The Ukraine War has further damaged the frail Russian military aircraft production industry. Economic sanctions and loss of many export customers resulted in Russia building only 27 aircraft in 2022. China was producing much more than that and the United States was delivering about 150 F-35s a year, in three models. Most of this was for American forces but more and more are going to export customers. The F-35 is a combat proven success and very popular with pilots. A thousand have been built so far and there are orders for 2,000 more, to be delivered at the rate of about 150 a year to American and export customers.
Russia used to be a major producer of military aircraft. Late in the Cold War the Soviet Union was still producing several hundred combat aircraft a year. The Soviet Union collapsed and dissolved in 1991. So did Russian production of combat aircraft. During the 1990s, production of a hundred combat aircraft a year was only possible by obtaining many export sales. Twenty years after the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian warplane production was increasing because exports were still strong and Russia could afford to buy more aircraft for itself. The Soviet Air Force had 10,000 warplanes in 1991 and most of those went to the fourteen new countries where they were based. Russia could not afford to maintain the few thousand combat aircraft it was left with after 1991 and, by 2000, found it could not maintain more than a thousand combat aircraft. Another loss during the 1990s was the ability to design and build new aircraft. Most Russian defense firms went out of business in the 1990s while some managed to switch production to items that were still sold. In the last decade most Russian producers of military aircraft were merged into one state-owned United Aircraft Corporation. A similar merger created a similar company for helicopters.
UAC had a lot of work to do producing new model aircraft as well as older designs that were still popular, especially with export customers. UAC could produce over a hundred aircraft a year and until 2014 it looked like the Russian demand for military aircraft would keep growing along with export sales. UAC had to be profitable and achieved that by shutting down many of the facilities it acquired via all those mergers. Aircraft design and production was concentrated in three facilities and MiG finally disappeared, leaving only Sukhoi (Su) warplanes in production. The Su-27 and MiG-29 appeared late in the Cold War and while the Su-27 kept evolving and improving, the MiG-29 did not. That eventually put MiG out of business.
The United States still has two major producers of war planes and there are several in Europe. Japan and South Korea have begun designing and producing modern combat aircraft. Japanese and European firms have formed a consortium to design and build Tempest, a next generation (after the F-35) warplane. China has two firms producing modern warplanes. All this is more competition for Russia,which, because of sanctions and canceled export orders, was able to deliver only 27 aircraft (four Su-30SM2s, ten Su-34Ms, seven Su-35Ss, and six Su-57s) last year. That was below average for UAC but not by much. From 2008 to 2021 UAC delivered about 40 aircraft a year. Production was disrupted in 2022 because of the sudden and massive economic sanctions imposed on Russia after Ukraine was attacked. Export sales were hurt by the poor performance of UAC aircraft in Ukraine. So far Russian forces have lost 302 military aircraft in Ukraine. This includes transports and helicopters as well as modern combat aircraft. These losses include seventeen Su-34s, eleven Su-30SMs, one Si-35S, twenty-five Su-25s and nine Su-24s. Ukraine has lost 142 combat aircraft. The higher Russian losses were due to the unexpectedly effective Ukrainian air defense system. The Russian air force was unable to shut down the Ukrainian air defenses and had to halt operation of Russian aircraft inside Ukraine. The Ukrainians were using older models of Russian designed air defense systems and combat aircraft to defend their air space. Some Western air defense systems were available at the start of the war and more kept arriving to supplement and then replace Ukrainian losses. Russian occupied Ukrainian territory is defended by Russian anti-aircraft systems which have proved effective enough to reduce Ukrainian air operations in these areas. The air war in Ukrainian was a revelation because, if both sides use modern warplanes and air defense systems, the result was expected to be stalemate rather than air superiority for the side with more combat aircraft and lots of air defense systems. The American air forces have maintained air dominance wherever they have fought since World War II. A lot of American aircraft lost over Vietnam in the 1960s into the early 1970s but American air superiority was still achieved.
During the Cold War the NATO alliance, especially the United States, expected heavy aircraft losses if the Russians attacked. The Americans and their NATO allies expected to prevail but that battle was never fought. That had to wait until 2022 when a version of that NATO/Russia air campaign took place in Ukraine.
Warplane production is only one of several types of weapons production that Russia is trying to sustain and increase under all the sanctions. This includes tanks and other armored vehicles as well as artillery and electronic warfare systems and UAVs. Russia ended up buying UAVs from Iran and artillery ammunition from North Korea. Cut off from key Western suppliers of components, Russia has to set up production of some of these items or smuggle some of them in. No matter how energetic these Russian efforts are, it takes time to restore pre-war production levels and that may not be possible for anything requiring sophisticated Western electronics.
Weather Alert
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 138 REMAINS VALID UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN MISSOURI THIS WATCH INCLUDES 8 COUNTIES IN CENTRAL MISSOURI AUDRAIN BOONE CALLAWAY COLE MONITEAU OSAGE IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI GASCONADE MONTGOMERY THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF COLUMBIA, FULTON, JEFFERSON CITY, AND MEXICO.
Albion, IN (46701)
Today
Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 59F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..
Tonight
Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 59F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Kendallville, IN (46755)
Today
Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 59F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..
Tonight
Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 59F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
by Austin Bay February 21, 2023
During its North American aerial odyssey, The Big Chinese Balloon passed within intel-gathering distance of ICBM silo fields, strategic bomber bases, key global logistics hubs (Charleston for example) and major Army and USAF headquarters.
The balloon wasn't just blowing in the wind. Its calculated military itinerary tells reasonable Americans and Canadians -- reasonable being a qualifier that excludes media influencers and politicians bribed or blackmailed by communist China -- that the balloon was spying on critical North American defense installations.
Which means it had a War Mission. Note I did not write "pre-War"; I wrote "War."
I'll explain why in a moment, but first due praise for The Wall Street Journal's February 20 article titled: "China's Newest Weapon to Nab Western Technology -- Its Courts."
According to the report, U.S. and EU officials "accuse China of using its courts and patent panels to undermine foreign intellectual-property rights and help Chinese businesses. They say China is focusing such efforts on industries it deems important, including technology, pharmaceuticals and rare-earth minerals."
Beijing has weaponized its legal system to steal technology.
Beijing's lawfare is calculated and synchronized. According to the Journal the EU is suing China for attempting to bar European companies from protecting their patents in courts outside China. One company official lamented: "It is puzzling that so many cases went wrong at the same time."
Actually -- it isn't puzzling at all.
At the bottom line, communist China is fighting a war to dominate the world. In pursuit of that goal the Chinese state has weaponized every technology, media and means of personal and organizational interaction,
Informed minds assure us the study titled "Unrestricted Warfare" and published by the People's Liberation Army in February 1999 isn't a war plan. I'll agree it isn't a step-by-step plan, but it is a thoughtful and deadly intellectual guidebook China's communist leaders are using to defeat the U.S. and establish a Chinese-mandated international order.
The authors are Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui. When they wrote "Unrestricted Warfare," both men were People's Liberation Army Air Force colonels. Qiao later made major general.
Chapter 2 discusses full-spectrum warfare. Its title in English: "The War God's Face Has Become Indistinct."
Translation: In China's long war with the U.S., weather balloons and lawyer jargon are weapons that can degrade American capabilities.
The chapter lists several types of warfare that China can use to attack and harm the U.S. without risking a military counterattack.
Start with Drug Warfare. The authors add this comment on pushing drugs: "obtaining sudden and huge illicit profits by spreading disaster in other countries." In 1999 it was one of Qiao's and Wang's speculative options. In 2023 fentanyl is savaging American society. Beijing's delivery system for this weapon in Drug Warfare? Mexican cartels.
Here are some other Qiao and Wang options with their comments in parentheses.
--Psychological warfare ("spreading rumors to intimidate the enemy and break down his will").
--Smuggling warfare ("throwing markets into confusion and attacking economic order").
--Media warfare ("manipulating what people see and hear in order to lead public opinion along").
--International law warfare ("seizing the earliest opportunity to set up regulations"). The use of courts to steal technology is another wrinkle.
--Resources warfare ("plundering stores of resources"). China's attempt to gain control of Congo's cobalt reserves involved crooked contracts and bribery. That is white collar plundering.
--Economic aid warfare ("bestowing favor in the open and contriving to control matters in secret"). Controlling matters in secret hints at bribery, blackmail and intimidation. The concept goes hand in glove with resources warfare.
--Cultural warfare ("leading cultural trends along in order to assimilate those with different views"). Beijing has spent billions influencing Hollywood and social media. American teenagers love the China-sourced TikTok app. But TikTok and similar apps are potentially routes for spying and disseminating psychologically and socially destructive propaganda.
TikTok is being banned by some states. We can fight back.
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THE BOYZ poses at the showcase for their 8th mini-album "BE AWAKE," held at Yes24 Live Hall in Seoul on the 20th, looking like fallen angels in their black coats.
Libya may not have an internationally recognized government yet, but one member of Libyan Presidential Council that is leading the effort to hold national elections is already seeking to make lucrative deals with other African governments. Abdullah Al Lafi is a deputy of the Presidential Council and attended a summit meeting of African leaders in Ethiopia on February 19th and discussed Libyan making investments in CAR (the Central African Republic) with CAR president Faustin Touadera. Libya has lots of cash from its oil and natural gas exports and CAR needs some outside investors. Touadera was interested and invited Al Lafi to visit CAR to discuss the matter further. Al Lafi also met with UN officials at the Ethiopia summit. The UN sees Al Lafi as playing an important role in organizing elections to finally form a united Libyan government. This UN support for Al Lafi at the Ethiopian Summit meeting reassured other African leaders that Libya may finally be putting years of internal disputes behind them and forming a stable national government.
Until this new government is actually in power, Libyan unity is still a work in progress. The United States and European countries, as well as neighbors like Egypt and Algeria continue to actively support the reconciliation process in Libya. The primary obstacle to unity is the difficulty in establishing voting rules that will ensure elections accepted as fair by the two main factions in Libya. Both major factions, and several minor ones, fear that an elected government could turn into another dictatorship. The decades-old Kaddafi dictatorship was overthrown in 2011 and creating an acceptable democratic government to replace Kaddafi has been creeping closer to reality ever since. The only agreement achieved so far is to keep the oil and natural gas exports going because that is the main source of income, employment and necessities for most Libyans. The UN backed a 2020 ceasefire agreement that was supposed to lead to national elections by the end of 2021. That failed because the Turks refused to withdraw their forces unless certain illegal conditions were met. These Turkish demands are the reason the Russian Wagner Group still maintains some troops in Libya. Most of the other foreign mercenaries are gone while the Turks remain.
That means the primary obstacle to national unity is the continued presence of Turkish military and mercenary forces in Libya which block efforts to hold national elections and bring an end to over a decade of civil war. They do so to enforce an illegal treaty signed by one of the Libyan factions in 2019. This treaty, backed only by the Tripoli based GNA (Government Of National Accord) faction, granted Turkey some of Greeces offshore oil and natural gas rights in an area between Libya and Turkey that ignores existing, and internationally recognized, claims on that area. Turkey and Greece are both NATO members and NATO backs Greece in this matter. Turkey wont withdraw its forces from Libya until a new national Libyan government assures the Turks that the illegal agreement is confirmed by a national Libyan government.
This Turkish interference in Libyan internal affairs is making the formation of a Libyan national government even more difficult. The UN agrees that the Turkish demands are illegal but refuses to do much about it. That is actually normal for the UN. The United States and European governments are demanding that the UN act but the UN refuses without admitting that it is simply impossible for the UN to obtain enough international support to pressure the Turks to get out of Libya. UN efforts in Libya to help establish a national government have failed and are now seen as part of the problem. The UN still considers its efforts as a positive force in Libya. While most Libyans are ready to form a national government, the UN and Turkey remain the primary obstacles to achieving that. There are other obstacles, like Egypt, which has long been a major factor in Eastern Libya politics because the Egyptians want to look after the many Egyptians who work in Libya as well as keeping Islamic terrorists in Libya from getting into Egypt or smuggling weapons into Egypt.
February 21, 2023: Britain is one of the countries where cash from Libyan oil wealth is banked as part of the Libyan Sovereign Wealth Fund. This keeps it away from Libyan money managers who are still notoriously corrupt. Corruption was always a major problem inside Libya. The Annual Transparency International Corruption reports track Libyan corruption on an annual basis. These annual reports have never been good news for Libyans because Libya has been one of the ten most corrupt nations in the world for decades. One of the major problems is the Libyan inability to clean up its own massive internal corruption. In 2018 there was some progress, driven by the increasing poverty caused by years of civil war. That has since reversed as the UN backs the Islamic factions. In 2022 Libya ranked 171 out of 180 nations. That means Libya continued to be one of the ten most corrupt nations. In 2020 Libya ranked 173 out of 180 nations. In 2018 it was 170 out of 180. Thats up from 175 in 2017 and 170 out of 176 countries in 2016. Progress, or lack thereof, can be seen in the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index where countries are measured on a 1 (most corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt) scale. Libyas current score is 17, down from 21 in 2021, as Libya began trying to form a new, democratic government. The nations with the lowest score are currently Syria, South Sudan and Somalia with scores of 14 or 15. The least corrupt nations are currently Denmark and New Zealand, each with a score of 88. Most European nations are in the top ten or twenty least corrupt. That has made Europe a relatively safe place to park Libyan Sovereign Wealth Fund cash. That has proved to be the case, but there are occasional problems. That was the recent case in Britain where three bankers were convicted of stealing $8.5 million of Libyan money via a complex scheme that survived annual audits for several years until the theft was finally detected and the guilty parties identified, prosecuted and sent to prison. That rarely happens back in Libya where the guilty will usually find corrupt officials in the judicial system that makes it possible to bribe your way out of a prison sentence. That, along with corrupt practices in general, is less likely to happen in Europe. There is corruption in Europe but it is not as common or blatant as what takes place in Libya and the Middle East in general.
February 11, 2023: Russia is taking advantage of the deadlock in Libya because it presents opportunities to disrupt oil and natural gas exports to Europe, mainly Italy. Without those energy imports, Italy is less interested in opposing Russia in Ukraine. Italy believes Russia has sent operatives to Libya to disrupt oil exports to Italy. Russia is not doing this openly but Russian mischief is seen as yet another disruptive influence in Libya. Russia still has Wagner Group personnel stationed near some Libyan oil fields where there are still occasional disruptions in production. Russia says it will withdraw the Wagner Group personnel once the Turks agree to leave. The Russians enjoy the irony of this because Turkey is a NATO member and technically supports the Ukrainians in their fighting against Russian invaders in Ukraine. The Turks still sell weapons to the Ukrainians and assist in getting grain ships out of the Black Sea. In return the Turks expect some support for their position in Libya.
February 10, 2023: In Tripoli, two local police were wounded when attacked by one of the many armed gangs that continue to operate in the city. Tripoli was long occupied by several local militias that were recognized as local government security forces. In fact many of these militias were outlaws themselves and this was more common after the Turks entered Tripoli in 2019.
February 7, 2023: A Day after a major earthquake near the Syrian border, the extent of the Turkish losses became clear. Over 40,000 died and many more were injured. Several hundred Turks were left homeless and the financial cost was estimated at over $80 billion. This disaster puts more pressure on the Turkish government to pull their forces out of Libya. While most nations sent emergency aid to Turkey, international pressure is still on to get the Turks out of Libya. The Turks never had many Turkish troops in Libya because if any of these were killed it would cause a political crisis back in Turkey. The actual combat in Libya took place during the first ten months of 2020 and caused about 2,000 deaths, most of them Libyans. Since then, a handful of Turks and several thousand Arab mercenaries have, at a cost of over five million dollars a year, remain in Libya. With the earthquake, just having these expensive forces in Libya is a problem. National elections in Turkey this year mean that if current leader Erdogan fails to get reelected, that would probably lead to the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Libya. Even before the earthquake, Turkish voters were angry with Erdogans economic failures. Maintaining troops in Libya is not only expensive but has produced no economic benefits for Turkey and caused growing international criticism, including disputes with NATO allies and Western economics in general.
February 6, 2023: The British ambassador to Libya met with Libyan officials in Tripoli to discuss British assistance in training Libyan officers and enlisted personnel as part of an effort to unite all the military forces of various Libyan factions. This effort has been underway for several years. If a large enough force of Libyan troops can be created, they might be able to force the Turks out. Most of the Turkish forces in Libya are Syrian Arab mercenaries who are there for the money and are capable enough to intimidate Libyan civilians and irregular Libyan gunmen.
January 21, 2023: Turkish president Erdogan is accused of using Turkish firm SADAT PMC (Private Military Contractors) t0 threatened or otherwise disrupt and weaken political opposition (individuals, political parties or media) to Erdogan in the upcoming presidential elections. Erdogan and SADAT deny the accusations. Nevertheless, Erdogan and SADAT are closely linked. SADAT was founded in 2012 by a pro-Erdogan retired Turkish army general Adnan Tanrverdi. who saw business opportunities supplying training services for Middle Eastern and other Moslem majority nations. Training, usually conducted by Turks with police or military experience, covered police work, special operations and military training in general. This included weapons training as well as training on the use of just about any weapons. If you could afford the fees, SADAT would take care of your training needs. During the 2016 attempted coup against Erdogan Tanrverdi ordered SADAT personnel to actively oppose the coup, often with physical violence. After this, Tanrverdi was appointed a presidential advisor. That led to SADAT getting a lot of government contracts for things like training Syrian Arab mercenaries working for Turkey inside Syria and Libya. The SADAT work in Libya was criticized by the UN for violating military sanctions. Now SADAT is thought of as Erdogans private army.
SADAT leader Tanrverdi was not the first one to found an independent contractor that operated in Libya. The first was Major Vladimir "Popski'' Peniakoff who worked for the British, not Turkey 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 his name correctly. All this began 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 leading his group 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. Now SADAT, a private army led by a retired Turkish general has become a major factor in Libyan politics. At the same time there are still some Russian Wagner Group mercenaries in Libya. Private armies are nothing new in Libya.
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New Delhi, Feb 22 (PTI) India and China on Wednesday discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh in an "open and constructive manner" and agreed to hold the next round of military talks at an early date.
The two sides discussed the proposals at an in-person meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) in Beijing, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
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"The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of India-China border areas and discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining areas in an open and constructive manner, which would help in restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in Western Sector and create conditions for restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations," the MEA said.
"To achieve this objective in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols, they agreed to hold the next (18th) round of the senior commanders meeting at an early date," it said in a statement.
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The MEA said the two sides agreed to continue discussions through military and diplomatic channels.
"The 26th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held on 22 February 2023 in person in Beijing," the MEA said.
"This was the first WMCC meeting since the 14th meeting held in July 2019, to be held in person," it said.
Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs led the Indian delegation.
The Chinese delegation was led by the Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(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, Feb 22 (PTI) Environment conservation is a commitment and not a compulsion for India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, asserting he believes development and nature can go hand-in-hand.
India strives to meet an increased portion of its power demand from renewable and alternative sources of energy, he said in a message read out at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) being organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) here.
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The country is devising solutions to diverse urban challenges, particularly those related to pollution and cleanliness, through latest technology and innovation, he said.
"Extolling the Earth as Mother, our scriptures say, 'The Earth is our Mother and we are her children'. The sentiment of universal brotherhood has constantly guided the nation and its people. With such a glorious culture and philosophy of lofty traditions of living in harmony with nature, it is only natural for India to remain at the forefront of global efforts for environment protection," he said.
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"We firmly believe that development and nature can go hand-in-hand. With the objective of making sustainable development an integral part of everyday life, we launched Mission LIFE. The objective of this Mission is to adopt a lifestyle for the environment. Environment is today not just a global cause, but also a personal as well as collective responsibility for every individual," he said.
Modi said environment conservation is a commitment and not a compulsion for India. Human empowerment is impossible without a better environment and the way forward is through collectiveness rather than selectiveness, the prime minister said.
India's initiative to adopt a healthier and cleaner lifestyle include upgrading infrastructure to encourage electric mobility, increased use of biofuel for transportation, leverage hydrogen as a fuel, convert waste to wealth and water treatment plants to ensure clean rivers, the prime minister said.
The country has adopted a multi-dimensional approach to chart a long-term roadmap for sustainable and environment-friendly lifestyle, be it through measures for upliftment and empowerment of the poor, or encouraging organic farming, or protecting farmers from the vagaries of nature, he said.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jammu, Feb 22 (PTI) The Jammu chapter of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association on Wednesday announced a one-day suspension of work against the decision of the administration to impose property tax in the Union Territory.
Bar association president M K Bhardwaj said the decision to suspend work on Thursday was taken at a meeting which was convened to discuss the anti-people decisions of the Lt Governor-led administration.
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We strongly condemn imposition of property tax on the people, who are reeling under financial distress owing to wrong policies of this administration. We have an anti-encroachment drive where the people in possession of land for over decades together are deprived of their land," Bhardwaj told reporters here.
"Such important decisions should have been left for an elected government rather than by the Lt Governor administration. The government should immediately restore statehood and hold assembly elections, Bhardwaj said.
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The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday issued a notification for imposition of property tax in the Union Territory which will come into effect from the next financial year.
Demanding immediate withdrawal of the notification, he said the bar would not hesitate in calling for a general strike against the tax terrorism and challenge the anti-people measures in the people's court.
He claimed that the people are upset with the wrong policies of the administration.
Democratic Azad Party Corporator Gourav Chopra also voiced his resentment against the imposition of property tax calling it a "financial burden" on people.
He said the Jammu Municipal Corporation had passed a resolution in December last year against the imposition of the tax.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rajinder Sharma said the imposition of the property tax is a decision of the Lt governor administration and not of the JMC.
"We have decided to convene the general house on Saturday to hear the public opinion (on the property tax) and will accordingly take up the issue with Lt Governor as well as BJP state and National presidents, he said.
Mission Statehood president Sunil Dimple also led a protest against imposition of property tax here and threatened to intensify the agitation if the notification was not immediately withdrawn.
(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, February 22: Delhi's Dwarka court on Wednesday remanded Sahil Gahlot to 12 days of judicial custody after his police custody ended. He was produced before the court after his police custody ended today. He was arrested on February 14 in the Nikki Yadav murder case.
Later on other accused were arrested by the Crime Branch of Delhi police. They are already in judicial custody. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Archana Beniwal remanded Sahil Gahlot to judicial custody till March 6. All accused are to be produced on March 6. Nikki Yadav Murder Case: Victim Threatened Sahil Gehlot To Share Wedding Certificate on Social Media, Say Sources.
The CMM heard the submission of police in her chamber. The Court on February 20, 2023, extended police custody of Sahil Gahlot for two days. The court remanded 5 other accused including the father of Sahil in judicial remand after police custody of three days.
Dwarka court in the evening of February 18 granted 3 days remand of 5 accused including Virender, Father of Sahil, in the Nikki Yadav murder case. Delhi Police had arrested these accused after interrogating Sahil in police custody.
According to sources, Delhi police on February 18 produced the father, two cousins Ashish and Naveen and two friends Amar and Lokesh of Sahil at the residence of the Duty Magistrate.
According to the police during interrogation, Sahil disclosed that the deceased was asking him not to marry another girl because both (Sahil and deceased) had already solemnised their marriage in the year 2020. She was actually his wife and not a live-in partner. Nikki Yadav Murder Case: Victim and Accused Sahil Gahlot Not Just Live-in Partners but Married, Reveals Delhi Police; Constable Among Five Arrested.
Therefore she was pleading him not to go ahead with the marriage fixed by his family with another girl on February 10, 2023, police said. Thereafter, they hatched the conspiracy and planned to remove the deceased from their way, police alleged.
Accordingly, Sahil Gahlot executed the plan and murdered her and informed the other co-accused persons about it on the same day on February 10, 2023, and then all of them went ahead with the marriage ceremony.
The Court on February 15 granted five days' remand of Sahil Gahlot to the Crime Branch of Delhi police to interrogate him and to ascertain the route where he went after the commission of an alleged crime. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Archana Beniwal granted five days of police custody.
The investigation officer (IO) had submitted before the court that the place of the alleged offence is to be ascertained. The route he adopted after the crime is also to be ascertained. The court asked why five days of police custody is required.
The IO submitted that the accused to be taken to places where he went with the deceased. He also submitted that some searches are also to be made and recovery of CCTV footage has to be made.
Sahil was arrested on February 14 by the crime branch. He allegedly murdered Nikki, his live-in partner. It is alleged that he allegedly murder her as she was pressurising him to marry her. It is also alleged that he married another girl after the alleged crime.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bhubaneswar, Feb 22 (PTI) Amid the BJP's raucous demands for a CBI probe into the murder of Odisha minister Naba Kishore Das, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday pulled a rabbit out of the hat, stating he has asked the Centre to get FBI's analysis of the self-confessed killer's behaviour.
The CM assured the assembly that the Odisha Crime Branch investigation into the case was being performed transparanetly.
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The assembly was adjourned for an hour after members of the BJP and the Congress created a ruckus in the House, demanding a CBI probe into the murder of Das.They also sought a discussion on the matter, but Speaker B K Arukha did not allow it, leading to the din in the House.
As soon as the House re-assembly at 11.30 am, Patnaik said, We have requested the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India to facilitate an evaluation of the behaviour of the accused by the Behavioral Support Unit of the FBI of the United States of America.
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Patnaik also said that the investigation undertaken by the Crime Branch of the Odisha Police was on track. I want to reassure the House that no stone will be left unturned in ensuring a full, fair and open investigation in the case with the assistance of the best forensic experts in India and abroad, the CM said.
However, the CM pointed out that the manner in which this very sensitive case is being politicised has shocked him.
It is disturbing to see the baseless and malicious allegations that are being made. Independent judiciary is one of the strongest pillars of our democracy. After the High Court has appointed a retired HC judge to monitor the investigation into the case, the whole police investigation will be subjected to judicial scrutiny, he said.
What is the need to do politics in the case and make baseless and malicious allegations?, Patnaik asked.
We should all respect and have faith in our independent judiciary, the chief minister said, targeting the BJP which has been demanding a CBI probe into the Naba Kishore Das murder case.
Das, 60, breathed his last on January 29 evening, hours after he was shot by a policeman at Gandhi Chhak in Brajrajnagar area of Jharsuguda district, where he had gone to attend an event.
Noting that he was disturbed by the statements made by some leaders of the opposition, especially the state BJP on the entire police force, Patnaik said, I pity, the opposition, especially the state BJP that has no other agenda except politicising heinous crimes and demoralising our police force which is the pride of Orissa (Odisha).
Such unfortunate incidents, involving an individual in the uniformed service, happened in the past but it has never led to defaming of the entire force, he said.
Unfortunately the state BJP has tried to defame the entire police force of Odisha. The state BJP has insulted the youth of Odisha, the chief minister said.
However, opposition BJP and Congress attacked Patnaik's attempt to seek FBI's help in the probe into the slain minister's assassination case. The CB has been taking help of central forensic laboratory and also help of Gujarat forensic laboratory and other helps from the centre. But, we are unable to understand what is the difficulty in going for a CBI probe, said Leader of Opposition Jaynarayan Mishra.
Alleging that Patnaik was misleading the people over the investigation, Mishra said that CBI was one of the best investigating agency in the world. When we have CBI, why should one go to a foreign country (for help)? Are we (in India) not capable to investigate this matter, he asked.
BJP MP from Bargarh, under whose Lok Sabha constituency slain minister Naba Das's Jharsuguda assembly segment falls, said Patnaik has insulted India by attempting to seek FBI's support instead of having faith on our own CBI. In federal system, one should have faith and trust on central agencies.
However, BJD MP Sasmit Patra in a statement defended Patnaik's decision: The state CB has now sought the help of FBI of USA for doing the Behavioural Analysis of the accused. There are instances when the CBI had also referred cases earlier to FBI.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Shillong, Feb 22 (PTI) Star campaigners of various parties who are coming to Meghalaya are not well-versed in the affairs of the state and the presence of several players in the electoral field will help the NPP win the February 27 election, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said.
On the charges of corruption in the Conrad Sangma government by the BJP which snapped ties with the National People's Party (NPP) ahead of the assembly polls, Tynsong told PTI in an interview that the party did not complain of anything during the five years.
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With several opposition parties such as the BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the United Democratic Party (UDP) contesting in at least 48 seats in the election to the 60-member assembly, the NPP thinks the situation will help it.
Asked whether the division of opposition votes will be of help to the NPP, Tynsong said, It will definitely be an advantage.
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As election fever grips Meghalaya, big leaders from various parties -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of the BJP, Rahul Gandhi and Pawan Khera of the Congress and Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress -- are coming to the state from outside for campaigning.
The NPP does not bother about them, said Tynsong.
"It's just like a car rally show; so many people want to take a ride, but ultimately they don't get votes," the senior NPP leader said in an interview to PTI.
Stating that Conrad Sangma is the NPP national president and he himself is the national vice president, Tynsong said they are the star campaigners of the party.
We are from the state. We don't need any other people to come from outside because they don't know anything about it. We were born and raised in Meghalaya and know the issues which really matter to the people of Meghalaya," the deputy chief minister of the outgoing government said.
He said he is confident that the party will win a minimum of 32-33 seats.
In the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the NPP expects to bag 19 seats and 13-14 in the Garo Hills region.
To a question, Tynsong claimed the TMC will not get more than six seats as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has made a mistake in inducting former CM and Congress leader Mukul Sangma into the party.
She thought that Mukul Sangma is still a popular leader in Meghalaya, but he is not," he said.
Peeved at allegations of corruption against the NPP-led dispensation by its former coalition partners, he said that these people were with them from 2018 and never complained about anything till the elections were announced in 2023.
Claiming that there was never any misunderstanding, be it in the cabinet or coalition meetings, he said "The moment the election notification came, they started making allegations which ultimately means the NPP is growing."
Regarding discontent among a section of people over mining rights of coal in the eastern parts of the state, he said that following a National Green Tribunal ban on rat hole mining, the NPP-led government had moved the Supreme Court, which gave certain directions for safe and scientific mining of coal in Meghalaya.
The unscientific rat hole mining had led to several accidents and deaths of people in the past few years.
Tynsong said that several applications have been received for resuming coal mining, which have been sent to the ministry of Coal and Mines for approval.
"Once that is done, they can restart mining operations," he said.
Admitting that smaller landowners are not happy with the new rules for minimum land holding to get permission, he said that it cannot be helped.
"For mining activities, you need to work as per the prescribed norms," the deputy chief minister said.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Hathras, February 22: Four people were killed, while over a dozen others were injured in a collision between a mini-truck and tractor on the National Highway-93 in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, late on Tuesday night, the police said.
Officials said that the accident took place in Ruheri village near the Hathras Gate area on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. Uttar Pradesh Road Accident: Teenage Boy Dies After Truck Hits E-Rickshaw on on the Lucknow-Varanasi Highway.
Four people were killed in the accident, and over a dozen others are injured. Out of the, four are seriously injured and have been referred to Aligarh for treatment, while the others are undergoing treatment at the district hospital, the officials said.
According to police, around one and a half dozen people were travelling in mini-truck and were returning to their village after participating in a wedding engagement ceremony at Khandauli in Agra. Upon receiving the information of the accident, the police rushed to the spot and took the injured victims to the hospital. Uttar Pradesh Road Accident: Car Rams Into Vehicle Due to Dense Fog on Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Kannauj; Three Killed (Watch Video).
The DM and SP of the district along with other police administrative officers also came to the hospital and inquired about the well-being of the injured and about the accident. The police said that the bodies of the four deceased have been sent for post-mortem, and further investigation is underway in the case. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Lucknow, February 22: The Yogi Adityanath government has focused on women's welfare in its budget for the financial year 2023-24 to ensure all-round empowerment and uplift of women. In the budget, the UP government has allocated funds specifically for girls. Provision of over four thousand crore rupees has been made by the Yogi government for destitute widows. In the budget, a provision of Rs 1050 crore is proposed for the financial year 2023-24 under the Kanya Sumangala Yojana.
At the same time, a provision of Rs 600 crore has been made for the Chief Minister's Mass Marriage Scheme. Rs 4032 crore is provided for the maintenance of destitute widows. In the Yogi government's budget, a provision of Rs 150 crore has been proposed for the marriage grant scheme for the daughters of poor people belonging to other backward classes. Similarly, an arrangement of Rs 63 crore has been made in the financial year 2023-24 for the Mahila Samarthya Yojana while a provision of Rs 4032 crore has been allocated for maintenance and nutrition grants for destitute widows. UP Budget 2023-24: Yogi Adityanath Government's Annual Budget to Focuses on Youth and Development Activities in Uttar Pradesh.
The Yogi government has made a budgetary provision of Rs 56 crore in the financial year 2023-2024 for financial and medical assistance to women and girls who are victims of heinous violence under the Uttar Pradesh Rani Laxmibai Mahila and Bal Samman Kosh Yojana. Similarly, the plan of distribution of supplementary nutritious food to the children of the age group of six months to six years, pregnant women and lactating mothers in the form of "take home ration" through the nutritious food production units established by the Uttar Pradesh Rural Livelihood Mission and NAFED has been implemented. Rs 291 crore has been allocated in the budget for this.
The government has made a provision of Rs 25 crore in this budget for health insurance for Anganwadi workers under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Apart from this, with the aim of reducing malnutrition of children up to six years and reducing the level of anemia in pregnant and lactating women, a national nutrition campaign will be conducted. An allocation of Rs 455 crore 52 lakh has been made for this. Uttar Pradesh Budget 2023: Government Allocates Rs 2,500 Crore for Maha Khumb Mela 2025.
At the same time, the Atal Residential School is being constructed for the education of the children of the construction workers. The operation of these schools will start from the session 2023-2024. A provision of Rs 63 crore for the remaining construction and about Rs 50 crore for the purchase of equipment etc. has been made.
Similarly, in the case of institutional delivery of registered women labourers under the "Maternity, Child and Child Support Scheme", the Yogi government gave an amount equivalent to three months' minimum wage and a medical bonus of Rs 1,000 and Rs 6,000 in a lump sum to the wives of registered male workers.
(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], February 22 (ANI): Danish envoy to India Freddy Svane said on Tuesday that he is happy with the Indian government's decision on making the green energy sector its main priority.
"After three summits between our two PM 2020, 2021, 2022 and then we have 23...Of course, it's a very important part of our relationship and of course, we have high hopes that this visit will also be productive," Svane said in an interview with ANI.
Also Read | Ireland: Elderly Man Loses Life in Rooster Attack, Suffers Cardiac Arrest After Massive Blood loss.
He also stated that along with the Danish royal family, who is scheduled to visit India from February 26 - March 02, three ministers and 38 Danish companies will also come.
"We bring in three ministers, we bring in 38 Danish companies who will be part of the Green strategic partnership. So this is about inspiring India. And now I'm so happy that the Indian government has now also started talking about green growth as a main priority for India towards Bixit Barrack," Denmark's envoy said.
Also Read | Ramadan 2023 Date in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh: As Countdown To Holy Month of Fasting Begins, Know Tentative Dates for Ramzan 1444 Here.
During their visit, the Crown Prince of Denmark Frederik Andre Henrik Christian and Crown Princess, Mary Elizabeth will visit Tamil Nadu next week to discuss the green energy sector, Envoy Freddy Svane said.
During an exclusive interview with ANI, Svane said, "As I've said early on, Tamil Nadu is a prime destination for Danish or private investments. And we have many, many Danish companies down there, especially with the energy sector and much of the global supply chain for the wind industry. Meaning the wind turbines, the plates and all that and cables, whatever you need have been, let's say, concentrated and consolidated in Tamil Nadu."
"So it makes sense for us with a focus on the green transition, energy transition, renewables, that we also pay a visit with our royals, the ministers, but also our companies to Tamil Nadu," he added.
The visit of the Royal Couple will be the first ever from the Danish Royal family in two decades. His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince had last visited India in 2003. Earlier, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II visited India in 1963 as Crown Princess. They are visiting India at the invitation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, read the Ministry of External Affairs press release.
While answering a question about the agenda behind the Tamil Nadu visit, Denmark's envoy said, "Of course, we are going to discuss with our Indian partners at all levels, of course, how can we do more, how can we be a strategic partner in the green growth that India is now opting for leading up to the 2047 anniversary."
Apart from Tamil Nadu, the Crown Prince will meet the Vice President and will address the opening session of the India-Denmark: Partners for Green & Sustainable Progress, organized by CII. He will also call on President, Droupadi Murmu.
India and Denmark as vibrant and open democracies, share common values of a rules-based international order and convergence of views on significant multilateral issues.
The visit is expected to further strengthen and enhance the close and friendly ties between India and Denmark added the release. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, Feb 22 (PTI) A high-level Pakistani delegation led by Defence Minister Khwaja Asif on Wednesday met with Afghanistan's Taliban regime's acting deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and discussed security-related matters including counter-terrorism measures, amidst the worsening of ties between the two neighbours.
Asif is accompanied by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan, Charge d'Affaires to Afghanistan Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani and Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq.
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"A high-ranking delegation led by the Minister for Defence is in Kabul today to meet with officials of the Afghan Interim Government to discuss security-related matters including counter-terrorism measures, the Foreign Office said in a brief statement.
A statement from the Afghan Council of Ministers (prime minister) said the two sides discussed economic cooperation, regional connectivity, trade, and bilateral relations.
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It said that the Afghan deputy prime minister asked the Pakistani delegation to release Taliban prisoners detained in jails across Pakistan. He also asked for more facilities at the two key border crossing points of Torkhan and Chaman.
"Pakistan and Afghanistan are neighbours and should have cordial relations. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants expansion of commercial and economic relations with Pakistan as such relations are in the interest of both countries," the statement quoted Baradar as saying.
He noted that political and security issues should not affect trade and economic matters between the two countries and be kept separate from political and security problems.
The Pakistani side assured Afghanistan to resolve the problems, adding that the concerned ministries and committees would be asked to step up efforts for solutions to these problems, according to the statement.
The visit by the delegation comes as the Torkham border trading and crossing point between the two countries remained closed for the third straight day after a deadlock over starting a dialogue prevailed between border officials.
The Afghan side had shut the border crossing, accusing Pakistan of reneging on its commitments, including those related to unhindered movement of people from Afghanistan seeking treatment in Pakistan.
There was mention of the security issues discussed in the Afghan statement but it is believed that Pakistan highlighted the issue of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants using the Afghan soil for attacks inside Pakistan.
TTP has increased the attacks in recent months and apparently it has become stronger since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban who asked Pakistan to hold talks with the group. But the talks have failed as Islamabad was not ready to accept the demands by the rebels.
In November, the TTP called off an indefinite ceasefire agreed with the government in June and ordered its militants to carry out attacks on the security forces. Since then, Pakistan has seen a rise in terrorist attacks across the country.
The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban and also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007. Its main aim is to impose its strict brand of Islam across Pakistan.
Pakistan had hoped that the Afghan Taliban after coming to power would stop the use of their soil against Pakistan by expelling the TTP operatives but they have apparently refused to do so at the cost of straining ties with Islamabad.
The TTP, 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 2012, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was attacked by TTP. She suffered bullet injuries and was admitted to the Military Hospital (CMH) Peshawar and then taken to London for further treatment. The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Yousafzai was a "Western-minded girl".
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.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Nairobi, Feb 22 (AP) Trends in a historic Horn of Africa drought are now worse than they were during a the 2011 drought in which at least a quarter-million people died, a climate center said on Wednesday.
The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center said below-normal rainfall is expected in the rainy season over the next three months.
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This could be the sixth failed consecutive rainfall season in the region that includes Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, the center said.
The drought, the longest on record in Somalia, has lasted almost three years, and tens of thousands of people are said to have died. More than 1 million people have been displaced in Somalia alone, according to the United Nations.
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Last month, the UN resident coordinator in Somalia warned that excess deaths in Somalia will almost certainly surpass those of the famine declared in the country in 2011.
Close to 23 million people are thought to be highly food insecure in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, according to a food security working group chaired by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
Already, 11 million livestock that are essential to many families' health and wealth have died, Wednesday's statement said.
Many people affected across the region are pastoralists or farmers who have watched crops wither and water sources run dry.
The war in Ukraine has affected the humanitarian response as traditional donors in Europe divert funding to the crisis closer to home. The head of IGAD, Workneh Gebeyehu, urged governments and partners to act before it's too late.
The IGAD climate center is a designated regional climate center by the World Meteorological Organisation.(AP)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, February 22: Islamabad's Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akbar Nasir Khan has issued strict orders to keep security on high alert to maintain law and order situation in the capital, a police spokesman said, The News International newspaper reported.
The IGP Islamabad directed all officers to be present in their respective areas and briefed the officials regarding the duty. The officials on duty should be equipped with full safety gadgets and keep a close watch on government and private vehicles, ambulances and suspicious persons. Strict action should be taken against unregistered vehicles/ motorcycles and the ongoing crackdown against professional beggars and their facilitators across the city should be intensified, Akbar said, according to The Express Tribune newspaper. Pakistan: Five Taliban Terrorists Killed in Attack on Police Chiefs Office in Karachi City.
According to the IGP, the campaign for the registration of domestic workers and tenants should be made more effective and legal action should be taken against the elements who do not register. He further said that the security of red zones and diplomatic enclaves should be made more effective and the entry of vehicles having non-pattern number plates and tinted glasses should be banned as well as legal action would be taken against such violators.
Checking of uniformed personnel and security guards should be made mandatory at pickets or entry points. The IGP said that Islamabad Capital Police is always engaged to protect the life and property of the citizens, and maintaining law and order in the federal capital Islamabad is the utmost priority of the Islamabad Capital Police, according to The News International newspaper. Pakistan Terror Attack: Four Soldiers Killed After Terrorist Attack on Security Forces in Balochistan.
Amid Pakistan's economic crisis and the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has re-emerged as a potential threat to Islamabad, Dawn reported citing the US Institute of Peace's (USIPs) report.
"Amid Pakistan's economic crisis and the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, the TTP has re-emerged as an increasingly potent threat," warned the report, released in Washington by the US Institute of Peace (USIP).
USIP argued that the Taliban's response to being confronted about their support for the TTP has been to level counter-accusations. USIP report fears Pakistan's deteriorating economy will limit its ability to act against terroristsSuch rhetorical signals are matched by anecdotal reports from UN officials and other observers -- quoted in the USIP report -- of TTP individuals moving freely and conducting business in Afghan cities.
Interlocutors with access to Kandahar report that the Taliban emir and his close advisers were "unlikely to waiver in supporting the TTP on ideological grounds," the USIP report noted.
Referring to Kabul's recent criticism of Islamabad's policies, the report argued that "this undiplomatic rhetoric underscores the Taliban's determination to continue supporting the TTP, even in the face of intensified pressure from Pakistan".
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
By Ayushi Agarwal
New Delhi [India], February 22 (ANI): Russia-Ukraine conflict and China will be "high on agenda" of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's first bilateral visit to India this weekend, since taking the charge, German envoy Philipp Ackermann said here on Wednesday.
Also Read | India Buying Russian Oil Is None of Our Business, Says German Ambassador Dr Philipp Ackermann.
Stating that 'geopolitics' will be a key element of Chancellor Scholz's talk with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the envoy said that there is an ample opportunity to discuss the difficult international environment where "we see India as a very influential and extremely valuable partner" in discussing these questions.
"The Chancellor will talk geopolitics with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We will see Russia and Ukraine very high on the agenda. We have seen US President Joe Biden in Ukraine and we have listened to Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech yesterday. So, this will be a very important item on the agenda," Ackermann said in a press briefing.
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"But I think it shouldn't be restricted to that. Your northern neighbour China certainly be on the agenda. Everything which is linked Indo-Pacific will be on the agenda and I think that there is an ample opportunity to discuss a very difficult international environment where we see India as a very influential and extremely valuable partner in discussing these questions", added the German envoy.
Speaking about the Russia-Ukraine conflict and answering about if Europe has reached out to Putin ever to stop the war, the envoy said that there is not regular but uninterrupted communication between Kremlin and some European capitals.
"The Chancellor is every now and then on the telephone with Putin. And so is the French President Emmanuel Macron. I would not say very regular but uninterrupted communication between the Kremlin and some European capitals. We have to be honest. This communication so far has delivered basically nothing. But I think we believe in diplomacy and we believe that at the end of the day, this crisis must be solved diplomatically but it must be solved in a way both sides can accept it," he said.
"We will continue to help Ukraine to defend its territory. It's clear that our aim is to sustain the international order that comprises the safety of borders. It is unacceptable that a country just moves into other countries", he added.
On India buying Russian oil, the ambassador stressed the fact that "India buying oil from Russia is none of our business. That's something that the Indian Government decides and as you get it at a very low price."
Speaking about if there will be any defence pacts signed during the Chancellor's visit, the envoy said that 'Defence will be on the agenda.'
"It will be the item that will be discussed between PM Modi and Chancellor Scholz. I am not sure as of yet that we will conclude some defence deals, but there are a couple of projects that German sides find very interesting," said the envoy.
Calling the agenda of the visit very open, the envoy said that "there will be talking about the internal situation in India" as well.
The envoy said focus will also be on areas like business and trade, climate change, skilled labour and migration.
Ahead of Chancellor's visit, the envoy highlighted the high value and partnership that India and Germany have.
"Chancellor attaches high value to the fact that there are regular and intense discussions going on with PM Modi. Germany and India are long-time partners and you wouldn't be surprised how deep and how detailed the relations are by now", said Ackermann.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will pay a State visit to India from February 25-26. He will be accompanied by senior officials and a high-powered business delegation. He is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on February 25th and will proceed to Bengaluru on February 26th.
Chancellor Scholz will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prime Minister and Chancellor will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues. The two leaders will also interact with CEOs and business leaders of both sides. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Actor Akshay Kumar has broken a Guinness World Record for the most self-portrait photographs (selfies) taken in three minutes at a meet-and-greet with fans in Mumbai for the promotion of his upcoming movie Selfiee. The superstar is the title holder with 184 selfies. Akshay Kumar has broken the previously held world record of 168 self-portrait photographs (selfies) taken in three minutes by James Smith (USA) aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship on 22 January 2018. Earlier to this, in 2015 global icon and Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson held this record with 105 self-portrait photographs (selfies) in three minutes at the premiere of San Andreas in London. Hera Pheri 3: Check Out the First Picture of Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal From Their Upcoming Film Promo Shoot!
Watch Video:
Akshay said: "I am ecstatic at breaking this unique World Record and sharing this moment with my fans! Everything that I have achieved so far and where I am at this moment of my life, is due to the unconditional love and support of my fans everywhere. This was my way of paying a special tribute to them, of acknowledging how they have stood by me and my work in my entire career." Selfiee is all set to release on February 24.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 22, 2023 04:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Pune, February 22: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday that the BJP's attempt to form a government with his nephew and NCP leader Ajit Pawar had one benefit as it ended the President's Rule in Maharashtra in 2019.
His remarks prompted Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to assert that the NCP chief should also explain why the President's Rule was imposed in the state in the first place after the 2019 assembly polls. Sharad Pawar Gets Death Threat, NCP Chief's Silver Oak Residence Receives Threatening Call.
Addressing a press conference at Pimpri-Chinchwad, Sharad Pawar said that had the exercise not happened, the President's Rule would have continued in the state. He was replying to a question about Fandavis's claim that the formation of the government with Ajit Pawar had the backing of the NCP chief. Sharad Pawar Flies to Shirdi from Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital for NCP Meet; Says BJP Rejected in Many States, Targets PM Modi.
There was an attempt to form a government. One benefit of that exercise was that it helped to lift the President's Rule in Maharashtra and everyone has witnessed what happened after that, he.
Asked if he was aware of the formation of such a government and why Ajit Pawar is tight-lipped on the issue, the NCP chief wondered if there was a need to speak about it.
I just said that had this kind of exercise not happened, would the President's Rule have been lifted? Had the President's Rule not been lifted, would Uddhav Thackeray have been sworn in as the chief minister? he asked.
In one of the biggest political surprises in Maharashtra, then Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had sworn in Fadnavis as chief minister and Ajit Pawar as deputy CM in an early morning ceremony on November 23, 2019. But the government lasted just three days, after which Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as chief minister with the backing of the NCP and Congress.
Asked if he was hinting that he was aware of the developments, the NCP chief quipped, A person recently said that one person (Sharad Pawar) is responsible for anything that happens in Maharashtra.
Speaking on the Election Commission's decision to recognise the Eknath Shinde-led group as the real Shiv Sena, Pawar said differences are common in politics but it has never happened in the country that a party's name and symbol were snatched away by misusing power.
When there was a split in the Congress, two entities named Congress (I) and Congress (S) emerged. I was the Congress (I) president and Indira Gandhi was the chief of Congress (I). That time, I had the right to use the Congress' name. In today's scenario, the party's name and its symbol have been given to others.
Such a thing never happened in the history of India, said the veteran politician.
Citing his experience, the NCP chief said that whenever there is excessive misuse of power and attempts are made to suppress a party, the public stands by that party.
I recently travelled to many districts and found that though leaders have left the Shiv Sena, the staunch Shiv Sainiks (party workers) are still with Uddhav Thackeray and it will be proved in the elections, he said.
Who took the decision? Was it (Election) Commission, or someone who is guiding the Commission? Such decisions were not made in the past. The role of a big power behind this cannot be ruled out, he said. The NCP refused to comment on what could be the Supreme Court's decision in the matter, saying,
It is the judiciary, and we believe in the judiciary. On former governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's interviews, which sparked controversies, Sharad Pawar said he is happy that Koshyari has quit. In Maharashtra, several governors came and everyone elevated the dignity of the governor's position but there is only one exception to that list and that is Koshyari, he said.
Asked about Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut's 'threat to life' allegation and Congress leader Ashok Chavan's spying claims, Pawar said the prevailing situation in the state is not good.
Those who have the responsibility of the state's law and order should keep a watch on the situation and conduct a thorough investigation, he said. About the National Investigation Agency's claim in the Bombay High Court that Gautam Navlakha, one of the accused in the Elgar Parishad case, was in touch with Pakistan's spy agency ISI, Pawar said he cannot speak on the issue as the matter is sub judice.
I have read about the case. According to me, there can be ideological differences, but I do not think it is good to term someone anti-national just because the person's ideology is opposite, he said.
Before the press conference, Pawar took part in an election meeting in Pimpri-Chinchwad in support of NCP's candidate Nana Kate, who is contesting the bypoll in the Chinchwad constituency against BJP's Ashwini Jagtap.
Referring to the NCP chief's remarks, Deputy CM and BJP leader Fadnavis said he should also explain why the President's Rule was imposed in Maharashtra in the first place after the 2019 assembly polls.
The Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray and the BJP had fallen apart after the 2019 state polls over the post of the chief minister. Thackeray then joined hands with the NCP and Congress to former the government under the banner of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Fadnavis said, If Pawar has explained about the lifting of the President's Rule, then he should also explain on whose instructions it was imposed in the first place. Who asked to impose it, why it came into effect are the questions he should also answer.
The deputy CM added, If he (Pawar) can clarify these issues, then all links will be connected and people will come to know the exact timeline of events. He himself should reveal more details.
Center of Chinese and Greek Ancient Civilizations inaugurated in Athens
Xinhua) 11:09, February 22, 2023
ATHENS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Center of Chinese and Greek Ancient Civilizations was inaugurated here on Monday. Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan attended the ceremony, read a reply letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to five Greek scholars, and gave a speech.
Xi's reply letter spoke highly of the great significance of establishing the center, and once again advocated strengthening exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, Sun said, adding that Xi has called for making good use of the essence of all civilizations, and resolving outstanding contradictions and problems faced by human civilization.
It will surely guide the symbiosis of multiple civilizations under changed global situation and promote the building of a human community with a shared future, said Sun.
The joint establishment of the center by the universities of the two countries is a landmark achievement in the development of bilateral relations and exchanges among world civilizations, Sun said.
Sun said the two sides should take the establishment of the center as a new opportunity to promote broader and deeper exchanges and mutual understanding between the two ancient civilizations, and create a model of mutual understanding and learning among different civilizations.
On behalf of the Greek government, Greek Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos on the occasion congratulated the establishment of the center, adding that Greece is looking forward to strengthening the comparative study between the two great ancient civilizations, tightening ties between students and scholars of the two countries, promoting better understanding between their people, and facilitating the development of practical cooperation in various fields.
After the inauguration ceremony, Sun met with the five Greek scholars who jointly sent a letter to Xi and handed Xi's reply letter to them.
Excited by receiving the reply, the Greek scholars said that they would devote themselves to the exchange of civilizations between Greece and China and contribute to the development of the center.
The universities which jointly established the center held the first summit meeting of Chinese and Greek civilizations in dialogue after the ceremony.
On the same day, Sun met with the speaker of Hellenic Parliament Konstantinos Tasoulas, introduced the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and raised expectations for future cooperation between China and Greece.
Sun also held talks on Monday with Pikrammenos on China-Greece relations and deepening mutual learning between Chinese and Greek civilizations, and witnessed the signing of three cooperation agreements including on education and sports.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
Chennai, February 22: After reports of mild tremors at Royapettah in Chennai on Wednesday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and the National Centre for Seismology, New Delhi said they have not recorded any earthquake. Residents of Royapettah and Anna Salai complained of mild tremors in their localities but the Meteorological department observatories at Meenambakkam and Kodaikkanal reported that the observatories did not record any seismic activity on Wednesday. Earthquake in Chennai? Residents Say Felt Tremors, Panic-Stricken Employees Seen Leaving Office Buildings Amid Concerns on Quakes.
Tirupati station is the closest station to Chennai and the observatory there also did not report any seismic activity. National Centre for Seismology scientist, Ravikant Singh in a statement said that the national network did not report any seismic activity or tremor signals near Chennai. The scientist also said that a mild tremor in Sri Lanka would not have any impact in Chennai. Earthquake To Hit India Soon? NGRI Chief Scientist Issues Stark Warning, Says 'Indian Plate Moving 5 cm Every Year, Raising Possibilities Earthquakes'.
Scientists said that some ongoing civil activities could have led to minor tremors in isolated pockets. However, the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd has clarified that it is not conducting any work at the Anna Salai area at present. Sadasivan Nair, a resident of Royapettah, told IANS that for quite some time there were tremors in the Royapettah area and added that some of his friends who stay in Anna Salai area had also complained of mild tremors.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 22, 2023 06:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
The United States has charged a Mexican law enforcement official who once served as Mexico's drug czar with bribery charges. Genaro Garcia Luna was once the country's top drug enforcement official, but now he is facing charges of being bribed by El Chapo and the Sinaloa Cartel.
According to federal prosecutors in New York City, Garcia Luna accepted bribes from El Chapo and the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for protection from being arrested, as well as safe passage for the cartel's cocaine shipments. Garcia Luna also tipped Sinaloa Cartel members about any upcoming law enforcement operations.
After three days of deliberations, the former drug czar was found guilty of all five counts he was charged with. Reuters reported that among those five charges included continuing criminal enterprise and conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the United States.
He is now the highest-ranking Mexican official to be convicted in the United States. His sentencing is scheduled on June 27, with Garcia Luna facing up to 20 years in prison.
Who Is Genaro Garcia Luna?
According to NPR, Garcia Luna previously headed Mexico's Federal Police before becoming the country's top public safety official from 2006 to 2012. He used his position to collude with the Sinaloa Cartel, and this included raiding their rivals, as well as other favors, in exchange for the bribes he was charged with.
He was supposed to crack down on the El Chapo-led criminal empire but instead helped them behind the scenes. He was accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes from them, and he pleaded "Not Guilty" on those charges.
READ MORE: Notorious Sinaloa Cartel Trafficker El Flaco Sanctioned by U.S.
However, during the trial, several drug traffickers testified that the former Mexican drug czar was on the payroll of Mexico's most powerful drug syndicate, with some of them testifying that he tipped off drug traffickers about upcoming raids himself.
U.S. Court Decision Vs. Genaro Garcia Luna Gets Praise From President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
Before taking Mexico's highest office, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) was one of then-Mexican President Felipe Calderon's biggest critics. With the conviction of one of his biggest political rivals' most trusted officials, AMLO praised the U.S. court decision while also taking a shot at his former rival.
AMLO spokesperson Jesus Ramirez Cuevas took to social media and posted that the "former squire of Felipe Calderon" finally met justice, adding, "The crimes against our people will never be forgotten."
Meanwhile, the U.S. court decision itself could also have a big effect back in Mexico. According to Ioan Grillo, a Mexico-based British author and expert on Mexico's criminal underworld, this could encourage more Mexican prosecutors to go after other cases of corruption.
The expert on drug cartels spoke with the BBC and stated that his conviction could help Mexican officials be dissuaded from being "openly corrupt" and working with the cartels. "If you're a Mexican agent, you'll be thinking about how much you expose yourself to the Americans," he told the British outlet.
However, this could still complicate things, as Alejandro Hope, a former Mexican intelligence official, stated that this could "complicate some parts" of US-Mexico cooperation as Mexican officials will now know that the United States has its eye on them.
READ MORE: El Chapo Son Not Extradited to U.S.
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WATCH: Mexico's former anti-narcotics chief on trial in U.S., accused of protecting cartels - PBS News Hour
An alligator attack killed an 85-year-old Florida woman on Monday when she was out with her dog, according to authorities.
Gloria Serge was walking her tiny dog near the neighborhood retention pond at Spanish Lakes Fairways, a 55+ community in Fort Pierce, a city located roughly 67 miles north of West Palm Beach, when the incident happened, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated.
The 10-foot Florida alligator came out of the water and attacked Serge's dog, so she tried to fend off the alligator, but it knocked her over and dragged her into the lake with her foot, according to the report.
Witnesses dialed 911, according to a commission spokesperson.
Authorities found Serge, and a "contracted nuisance alligator trapper" reportedly captured and killed the reptile that weighed around 600-700 pounds, NBC News reported.
Robert Lilly, the alligator trapper, told the news station of trapping the alligator: "It was definitely a fight. [We] snagged him on the bottom. He never surfaced. He stayed down the whole time. We were able to get a second hook in him and a hard line in him so we could get him up."
READ NEXT: Florida Man Bitten by Alligator
Florida Alligator Attack Is Rare, According to Authorities
Severe injuries from Florida alligator attacks are rare, according to FWC.
"The organization places the highest priority on public safety and administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) to address complaints concerning specific alligators believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property," said the FWC in their statement to PEOPLE.
There are approximately 1.3 million Florida alligators, and almost 9,500 nuisance alligators were killed in 2021. These alligators were at least 4 feet long and were a danger to humans, domestic animals, and property, according to the FWC website.
The FWC has a program called the Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) that proactively manages alligator hazards in developed areas while conserving alligators in places where they naturally reside.
Florida residents experiencing problems with a nuisance alligator are encouraged to contact the FWC at their toll-free number, (866) 392-4286.
Meanwhile, the Florida woman's dog survived the attack.
Surviving an Alligator Attack
Suppose the gator is trying to pull you under the water. In that case, you must assume at this point that you are fighting for your life, said Kimberly Andrews, an expert on gators and snakes with a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Georgia's Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, who runs the Coastal Ecology Lab.
It is recommended to try poking them in the eye, hitting the top part of their skull or the side of the jaw, as those parts are sensitive to alligators just like they are on us, she claimed.
Moreover, the risk in a water attack is greater from drowning than from biting, so get to land if you can. After all, we are better on land compared to them, but they are better in the water, according to Andrews.
However, while you may be on dry land, that does not mean you are out of danger as the alligator also possesses weapons other than a terrifying set of teeth, CNN noted.
Like other alligators, a Florida alligator can whip its tail and skull around, causing injuries to its target.
Someone can pound on the alligator with a pole and divert its attention.
Another person attempting to help should stay away from the water or go after you and the alligator. They can help you most by being on the ground and helping you get to the ground, Andrews said.
READ MORE: Did Anyone Win the $87 Million Powerball Jackpot
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WATCH: Florida woman, 85, killed in alligator attack - From CBS Miami
President Joe Biden has revealed a new policy to limit access to asylum for migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. This means that migrants would have to apply for protection in another country or else be denied asylum.
There would be a public comment period for this new policy to take place, and it would last for 30 days. However, according to USA Today, the Biden administration has not yet set a specific date for it to go into effect.
It is expected to replace the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention policy, known as Title 42, that allowed the U.S. government to expel migrants and suspend the right to seek asylum under U.S. law and international treaty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Critics of the move have pointed out that this new policy is similar to the one that required migrants seeking asylum in the United States to first apply for these protections in three Central American countries. That previous policy was implemented by Donald Trump. and critics are calling this new one a "Trump era policy."
Joe Biden Wants Migrants To Seek Legal Pathways To Get Asylum in the United States
The Biden administration knew that this would get a lot of backlash from migrant groups and announced that they were doing this measure out of "necessity," with an administration official saying, "To be clear, this was not our first preference or even our second."
The new proposed regulation stated that it would "encourage migrants to avail themselves of lawful, safe, and orderly pathways into the United States, or otherwise to seek asylum or other protection in countries through which they travel, thereby reducing reliance on human smuggling networks that exploit migrants for financial gain,"
READ NEXT: Migrants at the Border Can Now Apply for Asylum Online
According to CNN, administration officials are now saying that this new policy will aim at having migrants seek legal pathways for asylum. This includes a recently-implemented parole program for Venezuelans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Cubans that saw a huge dip in the numbers of migrants coming in from those countries.
Hispanic Caucus, Migrant Groups, Criticize New Joe Biden Policy
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus stated that they were blindsided by this new policy and criticized Biden for the lack of engagement. Other members of congress also slammed the move, including Democrats Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York and Pramila Jayapal of Washington. They released a joint statement expressing their disappointment at the proposal.
Several migrant groups are now threatening to sue the Biden administration policy. Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center, stated that just as they did with the similar Trump policy, they would seek to block it as it would "unlawfully deprive access to asylum based on the manner of entry and/or transit route."
However, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas denied that it was like the Trump-era proposal, which was proposed by hard-liner Stephen Miller. "This is not a Trump era-policy," the secretary told MSNBC, as this was not a transit ban because they "provided a lawful path for individuals to try to seek entry."
READ MORE: Venezuelan Migrant Numbers at U.S.-Mexico Border Drop by 90%
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WATCH: Biden administration faces possible lawsuit over plan to block migrants - NBC News
U.S. President Joe Biden urges Russia's President Vladimir Putin to put an end to the war they are waging against Ukraine, warning that the United States and its allies will continue to back up Ukraine as it pushes new sanctions against Kremlin.
Biden made the statement from Warsaw, Poland, a day after making a surprise visit to Ukraine, which White House officials described as "unprecedented in modern times."
The U.S. president noted that Putin is faced with a "more united and more unified" NATO, which he noted as something the Russian president did not think was possible a year ago, as reported by Fox News.
Biden said that Putin does not have any doubt about the strength "of our coalition," but still has skepticism on the alliance's conviction, with the president saying, "he doubts our staying power."
The president clarified that the United States and Europe are not seeking "to control or destroy Russia," adding that the war was "never a necessity."
READ NEXT: Joe Biden Under Scrutiny as Another Batch of Classified Documents Found at New Location
Russia and U.S. Nuclear Deal
Putin announced that he will be suspending Russia's involvement in a nuclear deal as Biden vowed that the U.S. and its allies will not be backing down.
The Russian president said that he was taking action because of the U.S. and NATO but did not specify anything more, as cited by USA Today.
New START is the nuclear arms reduction deal between the U.S. and Russia, which was signed in 2010 and extended for five years in 2021. The deal limits Russia and the United States to 1,550 long-range nuclear warheads.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented on Putin's decision and described it as "deeply unfortunate and irresponsible." Blinken said that the U.S. will be watching "carefully" to see Russia's actual decision.
Putin argued that NATO allies had helped Ukraine launch drone attacks on Russian air bases, which were home to nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
Pres. Joe Biden Visits Ukraine
Biden has scheduled to fly out from the U.S. to Warsaw on Monday for a two-day trip. The president then spent 10 hours on a train to get to Kyiv, according to BBC News.
Conservative Republicans have criticized the president's travel to Kyiv, an active foreign war zone, without any military presence. The Republicans argued that it would have been better off being seen at the border with Mexico or Ohio, which was affected by toxic waste spilled from a train.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said on Twitter that the U.S. president "chose Ukraine over America" while making the American people pay for Ukraine's government and war.
East Palestine's mayor Trent Conaway said that the president's visit to Ukraine shows that "he doesn't care about us," describing it as the "biggest slap in the face."
Biden was seen beside Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the sound of air raid sirens.
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield noted that it was "risky and should leave no doubt in anyone's mind" that Biden takes commitment seriously.
READ MORE: Classified Documents Found in Joe Biden's Former Office as U.S. Vice President Being Reviewed by DOJ
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WATCH: Biden and Zelenskiy walk in Kyiv as air raid sirens blare - from Guardian News
Donald Trump faced various legal challenges, from a rape case to various other lawsuits. How did he pay for them? It seems that he used donor money from his Super PAC, Save America, to pay all those legal fees and fund his lawyers.
Political Action Committees or PACS are often raised with money from donors so that candidates can campaign and win an election or used to defeat a certain candidate. However, according to the New York Times, Trump's Save America PAC spent over $16 million of its money to pay his legal fees.
These payments were between 2021 and 2022, according to the PAC's own filings. Some of that money was for lawyers representing witnesses in investigations regarding the former president's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential elections, which he lost to Joe Biden.
However, a big majority of those payments, amounting to around $10 million, went to various investigations and lawsuits that the president and his company, the Trump Organization, faced.
The outlet noted that before Trump even became president, the New York-based real estate mogul had been infamous for refusing to pay his bills to a wide range of service providers and contractors, including lawyers. The former president often noted that they received "free advertising" by working with him.
How Much Did Donald Trump's Lawyers Get From the Save America PAC?
The money from Save America looks like it was used to represent Trump and his business and family interests. It showed the PAC paying over $12.5 million to 16 law firms that represented him in various cases.
Trump defense attorney Alina Habba, who represented the former president in various court cases last year, received almost $2 million from Save America in 2022. Meanwhile, another law firm, van der Veen, Hartshorn and Levin, was paid $1.4 million, as was reported in federal election records.
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The firm represented Trump in his 2021 impeachment proceedings, as well as the Trump Organization in various New York lawsuits, according to CNN.
The PAC also paid the legal fees for close Trump allies, including former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Large law firms such as McGuireWoods and Squire Patton Boggs received around $900,000 and $250,000, respectively, when they represented former White House Staff, including Meadows.
Donald Trump in a Fundraising Battle With Ron DeSantis
Just as it was revealed that the Trump PAC money was going to his legal battles, the former president is now also trying to woo in more donors to his side as he prepares for a primary showdown with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
According to The Independent, Trump is holding a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago private club in West Palm Beach for the first fundraiser for his new political action committee. Several top donors are expected, and it is scheduled to happen on Thursday evening, a day before DeSantis is scheduled to host his own fundraiser just four miles away at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach.
So far, only Trump and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, have announced their intent to seek office. DeSantis, while currently the favorite, has not yet announced his candidacy but is expected to formally announce soon.
READ MORE: Trump Lawyers Scolded by Judge
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WATCH: Trump's "Save America" PAC Under Grand Jury Investigation - CBS Miami
A teen from Tennessee high school visiting St. Louis, Missouri for a volleyball game lost both of her legs after a driver who did not have a license rammed through an intersection, hitting another car and the girl, according to local reports and the teen's volleyball organization.
Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis shared surveillance footage of the car crash, which shows a speeding vehicle rolling over through the intersection with a booming sound of an impact in the background.
Earlier in the evening, before 9 PM, this vehicle sped through 11th ST at St. Charles ST, flipping the vehicle and hitting multiple other vehicles. Occupants or pedestrians appeared to lay in the street and at least one appeared pinned under a vehicle. @JasonHallSTL https://t.co/afabv2gWFs pic.twitter.com/5MJXCEpaXH Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis (@Citizens4STL) February 19, 2023
Fox News reported that the incident happened on 11th Street near the intersection with St. Charles Street at around 9 p.m. on Saturday.
Suspect Daniel Riley, 21, was being held at the St. Louis City Justice Center on five charges, including driving without a license and felony assault. The Mid-Tennessee Volleyball Club identified the 16-year-old victim as Janae Edmondson.
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What Happened During the Car Crash That Took the Tennessee Star Teen Volleyball Player's Legs?
According to New York Post, Janae Edmondson was walking back to her hotel with her parents after finishing the first day of her volleyball tournament in St. Louis, Missouri, when the unlicensed driver rammed toward her.
"A driver drove through a yield sign and struck a car. That car struck Janae," the teen's team, Mid-Tennessee Volleyball Club, said on Facebook.
Janae reportedly suffered life-threatening wounds and needed immediate medical attention. Sadly, Mid-Tennessee Volleyball Club's Assistant Director Jeff Wismer told KMOV4 that both of the teen athlete's legs had to be amputated.
"She has lost both limbs below her waist, so for us, how do you find words to explain our sorrow? We really can't," Wismer noted.
"The road in front of Janae is tough. There's going to be a lot of challenges ahead, financial challenges, emotional challenges that we're hoping that the community can embrace this family as she goes through this unique time in her life that you can never imagine. This is an unthinkable situation that she has to encounter right now," he added.
As seen in the video released by Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis, an organization dedicated to pedestrian safety, a grey Audi crashed through a yield sign at an intersection before crashing into another car.
The crash reportedly sent the second vehicle airborne, and it hit Janae as it flipped and rolled onto its roof before it flew down the street.
Unlicensed Driver in Missouri Allegedly Violated GPS Monitoring Over 40 Times
Daniel Riley was in court to go to trial for armed robbery last July. The suspect's alleged victim, witnesses, and the defense were reportedly present. The robbery happened in 2020.
But according to court documents, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's Office was not ready. So, Gardner's staff dismissed and refiled the charges the same day, KSDK reported.
Riley was on house arrest with a GPS bracelet until July 18, 2022. He was supposed to stay that way until his next day in court. However, he reportedly violated the terms of his GPS monitoring system more than 40 times after July 18 last year, the most recent of which occurred on February 13.
Police then said Riley struck a car that pinned Janae between another vehicle five days later. According to Mid-Tennessee Volleyball Club, the star teen volleyball player was already in stable condition.
A GoFundMe account was created to help the teen's family with medical expenses. Reports said more than $25,000 has already been raised.
READ MORE: Washington Avalanche Kills 3
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WATCH: Tennessee Teen Loses Legs After Being Hit by a Car in Downtown St. Louis - From KSDK News
Bryan Kohberger has earned admirers who praised his looks and even questioned whether the accused Idaho murder suspect is guilty of the allegations against him.
According to Fox News, there are several social media groups sympathetic to Kohberger, with one Facebook group with 3,000 members created days after his arrest. There was also a Reddit sub with a thread entitled, "What was it about Bryan that got your liking?"
Another subreddit named r/BryanKohberger has a thread titled "Why Bryan Kohberger Is Not Guilty," which has earned hundreds of comments. A Facebook user also reportedly wrote dozens of love notes to Kohberger, describing him as her "divine masculine."
One pro-Kohberger Reddit commenter told Fox News that there was "something so magnetic" about the Idaho murder suspect. She added that if Kohberger really did creep women out, she did not understand why.
Kohberger's former Pennsylvania attorney, Jason LaBar, previously said his client was "shocked, a little bit" by the accusations against him. LaBar represented Kohberger in his extradition process, but he was not the lawyer for the criminal case.
The alleged Idaho murder suspect waived an extradition hearing in Pennsylvania to face murder charges in Idaho and get closer to exoneration, according to LaBar.
READ NEXT: Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger's Motive Not Important to Be Convicted
Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger
A record showed that Bryan Kohberger was called to a meeting with faculty members to discuss growing concerns regarding his behavior less than two weeks before the Idaho murders in November.
The Washington State University faculty's concerns led to the termination of Kohberger from his teaching assistant role in December, shortly before his arrest, sources told The New York Times.
The sources were three individuals familiar with Kohberger's time at the university. The Times also cited a formal letter informing the Idaho murder suspect that he failed to meet the conditions required to maintain his funding.
Before he was charged with four murders, Kohberger reportedly had a verbal altercation with a professor. She was also investigated over his behavior around female students.
Multiple female students had complained of Kohberger making them feel uncomfortable, which was brought to the knowledge of the university professors. Two people familiar with the incident noted that one incident had Kohberger following a female student to her car.
Idaho Murders
Bryan Kohberger was arrested on December 30 and was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary for the November 13 killings of Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21.
He allegedly stabbed the four college students to death inside their off-campus home in the town of Moscow. Mogen, Kernodle, and Gonclaves had two other roommates in the six-bedroom home, while Chapin was dating Kernodle at the time and was staying that night.
The four victims were all stabbed using a fixed-blade knife between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on both the second and third floors. The murder weapon was not recovered, but its sheath was found at the crime scene.
Moscow residents, students, and victims' families complained about the limited and contradictory information released by public officials. Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt previously confirmed that the students' cause and manner of death were homicide by stabbings.
Mabbutt added that the victims were likely ambushed in their sleep, and each had multiple stab wounds.
READ MORE: Idaho Murders: Surviving Roommate Did Not Call 911 After Chilling Encounter With Killer Suspected to Be Bryan Kohberger
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WATCH: Sources: Bryan Kohberger Remains Confident He'll Be 'Exonerated' - From NewsNation
A Chicago man was arrested after he allegedly held a woman he met on a dating app against her will and beat her. Police believed that the woman may have also been sexually assaulted.
Dolton police said the man had been holding the woman against her will in his mother's house since Sunday, Fox 32 Chicago reported. Police noted that the suspect's mother had no idea the woman was tied up in her basement.
Due to speculations that the woman was raped, police conducted a rape kit on the woman. The suspect is facing pending charges against him. Dolton Police Chief Robert Collins confirmed that the woman met the Chicago man "on some kind of dating app."
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Chicago Man Kidnapped Woman He Met on Dating App
Police said the suspect and the woman went to an Advanced Auto Parts store on Sibley Boulevard in Dolton on Sunday. The Chicago man sent the woman into the store to buy something.
Police noted the woman in a surveillance photo walked into the store and asked for help. ABC 7 Chicago reported that the clerk said he saw visible bruises on the woman, adding that the injured victim seemed to be a "little distraught."
It was just after 5 p.m. when the two arrived at the auto parts store in the same car, according to the police. The victim walked in first, then the Chicago man followed.
Police said the woman approached the cashier and told them the situation, including that the suspect had a gun. At that point, the Chicago man reportedly went inside the store and told the woman that was enough, and they were leaving.
Robert Collins said the store personnel tried to stall as long as they could while they called the police. However, he noted that the suspect became impatient and took the woman out of the store.
The two employees said after the pair took off, they wrote down their vehicle's license plate and then called the police. Police noted that the vehicle the pair were traveling in was located Monday, but there was still no sign of either the man or the woman.
Dolton put out a critical alert to surrounding area police departments, together with the pair's pictures, and enlisted the Federal Bureau of Investigation's help in the search.
Other Dating App Crime
Last month, a man was accused of torturing a woman he held captive in Oregon. He was already convicted in Nevada for kidnapping another woman. Authorities said the man was using dating apps to find people who could help him avoid the police or to find new victims.
The 36-year-old suspect, identified as Benjamin Obadiah Foster, was the subject of a round-the-clock search by police after a woman was found unconscious. The woman was reportedly hospitalized in critical condition and was near death in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Foster managed to evade authorities, who managed to arrest a woman identified as Tina Marie Jones. Jones reportedly gave Foster a ride and transported Foster to a hiding place while the police were looking for him.
Grants Pass police said the suspect was using online dating apps to contact individuals who may be "lured into assisting with the suspect's escape," or possibly become another victim.
The reward for Foster's capture was $2,500 for anyone with information leading to his arrest. Foster is facing charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault in connection with the attack on the Grants Pass woman.
READ MORE: Rafael Caro Quintero's Wife Denies Legal Battle With Guadalajara Cartel Founder Over Alimony Demand
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WATCH: Cops Say Chicago Man Met Woman on Dating App, Tied Her Up And... - From Fox 32 Chicago
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal against a decision that the long-time partner of a woman who died from Covid-19 is not entitled to the Widower's Pension.
Granting a direct or leapfrog appeal against a judgment of the High Court, a three-judge Supreme Court panel said that John O'Meara, and his three children's challenge against the Minister for Social Protection's refusal to grant him the pension raises points of general public importance in the area of social welfare law.
Mr O'Meara claim for the Widowers Contributory Pension (WCP) arose after his partner of over twenty years Ms Michelle Batey died after contracting Covid19 in January 2021.
In his action Mr O'Meara, and the couple's three minor children, had claimed that sections of the 2005 Social Welfare Consolidation Act which excluded him from receiving the pension, because he was not married to nor had entered into a formal civil partnership with his late partner, despite their long relationship together amounted to discrimination.
Their action was against the Minister for Social Protection, Ireland and the Attorney General which had opposed the claim.
Last October Mr Justice Mark Helsin, who said that while he had enormous sympathy for the applicants, dismissed their claim against the Minister's refusal.
Mr Justice Heslin said that the challenge centred on the constitutionality of parts of the 2005 Act and the entitlement of the children, through their father Mr O'Meara, were entitled to the payment.
The judge held that they were not entitled to the payment and rejected their claims that the State's refusal to make the payment amounted to a form of discrimination.
He said that the legislation concerning who is entitled to be paid this particular pension is extremely wide, however, it does not apply to persons in the applicants' situation.
It was the role of the Oireachtas to decide exactly who should benefit from this pension, the judge said, adding that the making of such decisions "is not a role which this court can legitimately play."
Cohabitation he said was not a qualification requirement for the entitlement of the payment.
The case, he said, was ultimately about the State's decision to support not families but for those who make a choice to enter into a marriage contract whose spouse has died.
The payment, the judge also held is not a benefit for any child paid through a parent and is not a payment directed at supporting families with children.
It is directed, he said, at supporting a bereaved spouse and is a payment to which a person is entitled if they were married to the deceased.
It is, the judge added, payable irrespective if the said couple had any children or not.
Mr O'Meara sought to have his appeal against that decision heard directly by the Supreme Court.
The state respondents had argued that the payment is for persons who have entered into a civil partnership and who have therefore entered into a legally recognised relationship that confers rights and obligations on the contracting partners.
The Act provides for certain supports to be provided to the surviving spouse or civil partner including assistance in dealing with the economic hardships of that loss, the state submitted.
The establishment of the payment is one of the mechanisms by which the State supports the institution of marriage, and the fostering of the legal and social bands which derive from that institution, the respondents said.
The respondents opposed O'Meara's application to the Supreme Court and argued that no issue of public importance had been raised.
In a written determination the Supreme Court panel made up of Mr Justice Peter Charleton, Mr Justice Seamus Woulfe and Mr Justice Maurice Collins said the appeal raised difficult, complex, and important issues of general public importance.
The judges said that they were of the view that it was appropriate to grant permission allowing a direct or leapfrog appeal to be heard by the Supreme Court.
The court said it was granting leave in respect of certain issues including if the non-payment of the WCP in the O'Meara's circumstances is consistent with the Constitution, and articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The court said that the issue concerning the nature and the purpose of the WCP, and if it is to be regarded in any way as a benefit for children, may be addressed within the appeal.
A date for the hearing of the appeal will be fixed at a later date.
In his claim Mr O'Meara said that he had planned to marry Ms Batey.
Tragically she was cruelly taken away before the couple could get married.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and had been recovering well following treatment including chemotherapy.
However, her condition made her vulnerable to Covid19, which she contracted in December 2020. Following her death Mr O'Meara, an agricultural plant contractor of Grawn, Toomervara, Nenagh Co Tipperary applied for the widower's pension, in respect of him and his three children, on the basis the children reside with him.
In April 2021 deciding officers on behalf of the Minister refused the application, on the grounds that there was no civil marriage between Mr O'Meara and Ms Batey.
He sought to revise that decision claiming that he and Ms Batey had lived together full time, in effectively a marital relationship for twenty years.
He also submitted that the couple had been cohabiting together for many years and qualified for the pension under the 2010 Civil Partnership laws.
That application was also unsuccessful.
Mr O'Meara claimed he was told that the Minister was bound by legislative provisions in the 2005 Act restricting the payment of survivor benefits to those who were married or in a formal civil partnership.
As a result of that refusal the applicants brought judicial review proceedings challenging the Minister's decision.
It is claimed that the Minister's refusal, and the contents of the Act amount to discrimination against both Mr O'Meara and the children.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland has called on the Oireachtas to recognise Russia as a terrorist state.
Speaking to the Dail Foreign Affairs committee just days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Larysa Gerasko thanked the Irish state for opening its borders to Ukrainian refugees. The committee is chaired by Laois Offaly TD Charlie Flanagan.
Ireland is providing accommodation to tens of thousands Ukrainian refugees who have fled their homes in the past 12 months.
Ms Gerasko attended the committee to give an update on the Russian invasion of her country.
She said: Let me, on behalf of the people of Ukraine, extend the words of appreciation for Irelands unwavering support that we are receiving at this unprecedented and challenging time for our country and our people.
In three days, Ukraine will mark one year since Russia began its full-scale invasion of our country.
The only reason for this unprovoked aggression was the Russian state and its leaderships imperial and expansionist ambitions.
Russia continues to deny our legitimacy as a sovereign state and retains its goal to destroy Ukrainian statehood and nation.
The ambassador said the Russian actions had led to a refugee crisis, with millions of Ukrainians having been displaced.
She said: In this respect we are very grateful to Ireland for being one of the first to open its borders to the Ukrainians, providing temporary protection to tens of thousands of them, as well as accommodation, access to education and healthcare, language courses and many other things. Thank you for that.
The ambassador continued: Russia is obviously a terrorist state and we call on the Oireachtas to recognise it in a corresponding motion.
Also every Russian war criminal must be punished. The establishment of a special tribunal will enable Russias political and military leadership to be prosecuted for the gravest crime, the crime of aggression.
And we call on Ireland to support its establishment.
Ms Gerasko concluded: We will not accept peace at any cost.
We will not agree to anything which keeps Ukrainian territories occupied and puts our people at the aggressors mercy.
Russia must be stopped now because appeasing the aggressor will lead to more atrocities elsewhere.
On one hand Russia pretends to be ready for peace talks, on the other it keeps ramping up its efforts on the battlefield in an attempt to turn the tide of war in its favour.
Ukraine reiterates its demand that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraws all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine and calls for a cessation of hostilities.
This war must end with the triumph of international law and the UN charter. Justice must be restored for Ukraine, Europe and the whole world.
Committee chair Charles Flanagan assured the ambassador of the unwavering support for her country from people in Ireland.
He said: We are very keen here as a parliamentary committee to reassure your government and your people of our support and solidarity, and the importance of your engagement this afternoon shouldnt be underestimated.
Sinn Fein TD John Brady added: It is a harrowing anniversary.
It is hard to believe that it is nearly one year on from the full illegal invasion by Russia into Ukraine.
Laois Chamber Alliance CEO has welcomed the announcement of the 1.2 billion cost-of-living support package, and the measures benefiting businesses.
The measures include the temporary reduction in VAT on Tourism and Hospitality from 13.5% to 9% will be extended to 31 August 2023. The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) will also be extended to 31 May 2023. The scheme will also be enhanced by reducing the threshold for qualification from a 50% increase in electricity or gas costs, to a 30% increase. This will apply retrospectively from 1 September 2022.
From 1 March, the level of relief will be increased from 40% to 50% of eligible costs, subject to a monthly limit. This will also be increased from March to 15,000 per month per trade or profession, subject to an overall cap of 45,000 where the business is carried on from more than one location. These changes are subject to state aid approval from the European Commission. The cost of this extended scheme will be met from the allocation provided in Budget 2023.
Laois Chamber Alliance CEO Caroline Hofman welcomed the announcement, and said, Having lobbied extensively for the extension of business supports, we very much welcome the signing off of this significant package. It is positive to see the extension of the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector, and this is positive news for our members in the sector for the time being, although there will be concerns if the lower VAT rate is not extended beyond 31 August.
"The extension and change in criteria for the TBESS is significant, as the scheme in its initial form saw a far lower uptake than anticipated and was simply not fit for purpose. I would envisage that the enhanced scheme will allow more businesses to avail of it, particularly at a time when soaring energy costs are one of the biggest challenges faced by businesses.
"A phased restoration of the rates of excise on petrol, diesel and marked gas oil will take place in three stages over the coming eight months. This will see rates restored on 1 June by 6 cent per litre of petrol, 5 cent per litre of diesel and 1 cent per litre of marked gas oil. On 1 September these rates will increase by a further 7 cent for petrol, 5 cent diesel, 1 cent for marked gas.
"Rates will then be fully restored on 31 October with a final increase of 8 cent for petrol, 6 cent for diesel, and 3 cent for market gas oil.
Caroline Hofman added, The restoration of the rates of excise on diesel and petrol on a phased basis will have a negative impact for our members and the wider community. Transport costs have increased considerably, and this will continue having a knock-on effect on products and services as businesses can only absorb a certain level of costs before having to pass these on to customers. It is something we are all feeling in our pockets.
The temporary reductions in VAT on gas and electricity, from 13.5% to 9%, will be extended to 31 October 2023. There will also be a new grant for businesses using LPG or kerosene.
One of the busiest junctions on the main road linking Laois and Offaly needs traffic lights, a Laois councillor has demanded.
Just weeks after human waste spewed all over the streets and buildings in Mountmellick, Cllr Paddy Bracken, wants action at the offending junction that could radically change the town's traffic flow.
The Fianna Fail councillor wants Laois County Council to work with Transport Infrastructure Ireland on a new plan for the N80 junction of Market, Pearse and Parnell streets.
He tabled a motion at a recent meeting in County Hall call on the council to work with TII to provide traffic lights to control on the N80 at what is known locally at Glanbia/Smyths Corner.
The bypass is not listed on the TII capital investment plan. In the abscence of a commitment to deliver an n80 bypass, Cllr Bracken insisted something else has to be done.
I raised this issue because there is a huge volume of traffic at the N80. It is chaotic from midday on and especially at evenings. There is also a road safety issue for pedestrians, he said.
Paul McLoughlin, Senior Engineer Roads, replied in writing.
Laois County Council will review the current operation of this junction and consult with TII with regard to the appropriate measures to best serve the operation of this key junction within the town of Mountmellick, he said.
Commenting on the reply, Cllr Bracken said he hoped there would be progress.
Apart from chronic traffic problems, there have been numerous traffic incidents at the junction. The most recent of these happened in early 2023 when human waste escaped from a sewage truck travelling through the town. The faeces ended up on the walls of buildings and was strewn on the street surface.
Cllr Bracken made the traffic light proposal at the recent Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District Meeting.
Portarlingtons streetscape has come on leaps and bounds, a recent council meeting was told.
The issue was discussed in a motion at the latest Portarlington Graiguecullen Municipal District meeting.
Cllr Aidan Mullins asked that Laois County Council underground the overhead lines on French Church Street and Upper Main Street in Portarlington between Bank of Ireland and Kilnacourt Roundabout."
In a written response, Senior Engineer Roads Department Paul McLoughlin said: The undergrounding of overhead lines at the suggested locations will be considered in the context of future public realm / footpath improvements works at the respective locations. To inform potential future works, a design and associated costing will be sought from ESB Networks.
Cllr Mullins said he would view the work as phase two of the public realm upgrade, which he praised.
The whole streetscape of the town looks a hell of a lot better. The staff are to be complimented for the work that was done there, he said.
He said the undergrounding would greatly enhance the entire streetscape of the centre of the town. He asked if it was possible to include the work in plans for the town for this year.
Director of Services Gerry Murphy said the proposals for the town of Portarlington were being considered but the council would have to work out how much it was going to cost and then when it would be possible.
https://www.leinsterexpress.ie/video/schools/1043058/watch-laois-school-wins-at-the-oscars-of-school-movie-making-in-ireland.html
Cllr PJ Kelly, who seconded the motion, said Portarlington was his local town where he would have attended school.
It has come on leaps and bounds as far as work is concerned. I suppose the Market House now, that will be the cherry on the cake really, he said.
Cllr Kelly told the meeting that the undergrounding of cables would really tidy up the area.
Laois rail commuters will soon be able to avail of onboard coffee, tea and snacks as catering returns in April.
It comes as Iarnrod Eireann/Irish Rail has confirmed that it will resume onboard catering services from early April, on the Cork to Dublin route which services Laois.
Laois rail users have been without the much valued service for a number of years, although many have always prefered to bring their own provisions on rail journeys.
Catering services were stopped when Covid restrictions were introduced in February 2020. When restrictions were lifted, the previous provider RailGourmet, were not in a position to resume services due to costs and staffing issues, and withdrew from the contract in May 2022 leaving Laois rail users without a service.
Now Iarnrod Eireann says Carriage Food Services will provide a trolley service on selected services on the Cork to Dublin route from early April, building to all Cork-Dublin services within weeks. They are also planning to trial some vending machine options on trains.
With Cork to Dublin also serving the vast majority of customers travelling to/from Kerry (changing at Mallow) and Limerick (changing at Limerick Junction), Iarnrod Eireann says 50 percent of Intercity customers will have on-board catering available, including Dublin-Belfast Enterprise.
In time, Iarnrod Eireann says it will proceed with a full procurement process for catering services across the InterCity network and progress a pilot for catering vending machines on selected trains.
If successful, vending machines would be introduced alongside onboard trolley services.
We have been as keen as our customers to see on-board catering resume, and are delighted to be in a position to do so with this interim provision. We also believe that the success of the interim service will ensure that some of the inflated costs being quoted for full catering provision across our Intercity network will be reduced through the full procurement process, an Iarnrod Eireann spokesperson said.
Primary school pupils from Laois will participate in ESB Science Blast next week.
Two Laois schools are sending pupils to the four day celebration of science in the RDS in Dublin.
Scoil Naomh Padraig boys NS in Mountmellick are amongst three of the five Laois teams.
They will exhibit fascinating projects called "Why do we see the lightning before we hear the thunder?", "How do fizzy drinks affect the corrosion of money?" and "Are budget friendly meals as nutritional as more expensive options."
Gaelscoil Phort Laoise is sending the other two Laois teams.
One of their studies is titled "Cen saghas eifeacht ata ag cluichi riomhaire ar ar n-intinn?" which when translated asks what sort of effect do computer games have on our minds.
The second project is "Cad e an tsli is eifeachtai chun gluaistean a rith? Peitreal diosal no leictreach?" or what is the most efficient way to run a car, petrol, diesal or electric.
Pupils from each class participating in ESB Science Blast will get to showcase their experiment and discuss their investigation with a STEM expert (Judge/Moltoir).
The judging is non-competitive and aimed at growing pupils' interest and passion for STEM.
Now in its fifth year, over 35,000 children have participated in ESB Science Blast to date, making it the largest primary school programme on the island of Ireland.
ESB Science Blast, delivered by the RDS, is a STEM-focused education programme involving whole classes investigating the science behind a simple question, such as "how will climate change affect baby sharks?".
ESB Science Blast will take place in Dublin in RDS Simmonscourt for four days next week, starting next Monday 27th February, with a la speisialta do Ghaelscoileanna agus do scoileanna Ghaeltachta taking place on 2u Marta, 2023.
A Naas District Court judge said that one mans road traffic conviction record may be the worst he has ever seen.
Judge Desmond Zaidan made the comments at the courthouse on Thursday, February 16, in relation to Michael Lynch, with an address listed as 442 Ballyfermot Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, County Dublin.
It was heard that on March 19 last, the 38-year-old was caught driving while drunk and driving dangerously at Bride Street in Kildare town.
Gardai told Judge Zaidan that Mr Lynch had a total of 162 previous convictions, which included 35 convictions for road traffic offences.
Other convictions he has relate to robbery, drunk-driving, theft, assault causing harm and false imprisonment offences.
It was also heard that he had been serving a 30-year driving disqualification (DQ).
After being informed of Mr Lynchs record, the judge remarked: "I think this may be the worst record for road-traffic convictions I have ever come across."
He then asked Mr Lynch why he was behaving this way, to which Mr Lynch replied: "Lots of things growing up; it just spiralled out of control. I am trying to turn a corner now," he added.
Defending solicitor Seamus Boyle also told the judge that his clients behaviour 'was disgraceful,' he has been taking part in a drink-awareness programme.
Judge Zaidan said that he would impose a ten-month custodial sentence on Mr Lynch: five months for the dangerous driving offence and five-months for the drink-driving offence.
He also imposed a 15-year driving ban on Mr Lynch, which will run concurrent to his current DQ.
A Fine Gael councillor has urged Kildare County Council to meet with the East Midlands Regional Authority (EMRA).
Last December, following a Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District (MD( meeting, the Leinster Leader reported that councillors from the MD would write to the Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications, and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, to clarify the reason why the MD was excluded from the Territorial Just Transition Plan and Programme, a fossil fuel transition programme worth 169 million.
Fine Gael Cllr Mark Stafford and Fianna Fail Cllr Rob Power made the recommendation, while at the latest MD meeting, held on Wednesday, February 15, Cllr Stafford followed up on this enquiry.
He said that he still does not understand why the MD was excluded.
"I don't think the figures gathered reflect the real situation," he explained.
He was supported in his comments by his party colleague Cllr Kevin Duffy, who said: "We (the MD) are losing a huge opportunity for funding."
Speaking to the Leinster Leader after the meeting, Cllr Stafford further elaborated: "The (government) report identified County Offaly as the most heavily impacted county but went on to say that places such as Rathangan in County Kildare would be just as heavily impacted given its proximity to the former power plant in Edenderry and the Bord na Mona bogs but Rathangan and also Monasterevin and Newbridge are excluded from the plan."
"I have sought further clarification on the report. The Kildare-Newbridge MD has the highest area of Bord na Mona bog of those areas excluded."
He continued: "Some of the areas included have no bog but due to other economic factors are included.
"I have concerns over findings of a zero score for the Kildare-Newbridge District in terms of loss of employment and zero scores for economic and social themes.
"I have sought a detailed breakdown from the consultants in order to understand the anomalies."
Cllr Stafford also said that the Director of Services has also undertook to seek a meeting with the Chief Executive of the EMRA, who is the lead authority for the implementation of the EU Just Transition Fund.
A woman was banned from keeping animals as pets for five years by a Naas District Court judge.
Siga Zelvyte, with an address given as 3575 Lakeside Park in Newbridge, was banned from keeping animals by Judge Desmond Zaidan on Thursday, February 16.
Gardai told the judge that the 39-year-olds unmuzzled Staffordshire Bull Terrier dog had gotten loose from its lead and attacked a Labrador dog at Lakeside Park on February 29, 2020.
A Staffordshire Bull Terrier is one of the dog breeds on the restricted list in Ireland.
Other breeds listed include German Shepherds, Rottweilers, American Pit Bull Terriers and Akita dogs.
It was heard that the Labrador sustained a 'two or three centimetre' cut to its ear, which required stitches.
In addition, the court was told that Ms Zelvyte did not have a licence for her dog.
Defending barrister Aisling Murphy told Judge Zaidan that the incident 'was a freak accident', and noted that her client paid all vet bills for the Labradors owner.
She added that Ms Zelvytes dog was euthanized shortly after the incident.
Judge Zaidan told Ms Murphy that while he would not impose a fine on her client, he would ban her from keeping animals for five years.
He explained: "God forbid, the dog could have attacked a child. Over the last couple of months, there have been so many stories of dog attacks in the UK and Ireland."
Primary and secondary school teachers in Kildare are being asked to bring the world of engineering to life in their classroom during STEPS Engineers Week.
Taking place from March 4 to 10, STEPS Engineers Week provides primary and secondary school children with to opportunity to explore the creative world of engineering and the diverse opportunities a career in the sector can offer.
The week-long celebration of the engineering profession in Ireland is managed by the Engineers Irelands STEPS programme and funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and industry leaders Arup, the EPA, ESB, Intel and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
Encouraging teachers to get involved in this years STEPS Engineers Week, Damien Owens, director general of Engineers Ireland, said: "Engineers play a critical role in shaping the world around us and play an important role in addressing some of societys biggest challenges.
"Through participation in STEPS Engineers Week, students can explore the limitless opportunities a career in the engineering sector can offer by engaging in fun activities, online events and much more."
He added: "We encourage all primary and secondary school teachers to get involved and to bring the exciting and dynamic world of contemporary engineering to life in classrooms across Kildare."
FURTHER DETAILS
With free resources available in both English and Irish on Engineers Irelands website, primary and secondary school students and their teachers are encouraged to download free engineering challenge packs, sustainability challenges, and quizzes, and to sign-up for free, on-demand virtual engineering shows by Explorium and Scientific Sue.
New resources for 2023 have also been made available, including a series of heritage resources linked to ten feats of engineering excellence at OPW sites across Ireland.
The STEPS programme has also partnered with Green-Schools Ireland to provide a Safe Routes to School Engineers Week resource which encourages students to understand the design of our streets and roads, and to create alternative solutions and designs for their route to school.
Primary school teacher and blogger, Muinteoir Valerie, has also created a free resource for children with autism to get involved in Engineers Week and to gain an insight into the world of engineering in a highly visual and accessible way.
The 'Visual Approach to Engineering and Vocabulary Development' resource focuses on repetition of key words associated with engineering, matching games, and activities based on developing vocabulary.
In addition to resources and interactive shows, secondary school teachers can also utilise free documentaries, such as The Story of Water by Uisce Eireann and Engineers Irelands Engineering Excellence Digital Series.
Held in association with ESB, this five-part video series showcases Irelands talented engineers and some engineering projects completed in 2022.
To download free resources, including engineering activities, on-demand shows and documentaries, visit: https://www.engineersireland.ie/schools/engineers-week.
A Turkish barber living in Kildare is handing over the proceeds of all haircuts on this Sunday to earthquake victims in his homeland.
Ibrahim Kurta of the "Paddy the Turk" premises in Naas has already collected 45 tonnes of humanitarian supplies such as tents and blankets which were delivered to the Turkish embassy in Dublin.
Now the barber, who has lived in Ireland for 18 years, is donating a day's takings to the quake appeal.
He said: "100% of proceeds taken on Sunday, February 26 will be donated to the victims of the earthquake.
"Please come along and get your hair done or simply leave a donation if you don't want a cut at the moment.
"Free tea and coffee will also be on offer, so pop in on Sunday for a cuppa and a cut for a good cause."
Ibrahim, who is also running a GoFundMe fundraising page, said: "Funds will be used for medical supplies, and to rebuild the lives of people whose lives are in ruins."
He previously told the Leinster Leader of the impact of the earthquake on his fellow citizens.
He said: "I looked into travelling there in order to help, but unfortunately I cant get there, as the roads are all ripped up, so I am now here trying my best to do all I can to help. I would go in a heartbeat."
He continued: "I have friends in the affected area, who woke up in the middle of the night, and just got out of their home when it collapsed in front of them."
"There is despair in their voices. They are seeing family, friends, and neighbours trapped, and in some cases, feared dead.
"The relief effort is now about getting people to safety and providing them with warmth, as it is extremely cold over there at the moment."
The first stage of an inquest into the fatal shooting of a GAA official in Co Derry 26 years ago is set to open next month.
Sean Brown, 61, was abducted in Bellaghy by loyalist terrorists and shot dead in May 1997.
He was taken by a Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) gang as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GA Club in May 1997.
No-one has been convicted of his murder.
A preliminary hearing at Belfast Coroners Court, on Wednesday, heard that a date is to be set is to be set in March to hear some available evidence, including a statement from Mr Browns elderly widow, and a penned portrait about him by his daughter.
Desmond Fahy KC, for the Brown family, described a most welcome development.
A date for the opening of this inquest is one for which they have waited a long time and we are very heartened to hear that that date will now be identified in March, he said.
However, coroner Patrick Kinney heard of a number of challenges to preparing other aspects of the inquest.
These include around the disclosure of sensitive material from police and the Ministry of Defence, as well as a lack of response from an Irish Government department.
Mark Robinson KC, for the PSNI, outlined demands on police resources from a number of legacy inquests taking place and being prepared, as well as other litigation demands.
He said a five-year plan to hear legacy inquests has been significantly compressed due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as proposed legislation to deal with Northern Irelands troubled past.
While (in this case) the material has been reviewed and directions have been issued, there are a number of outworkings from those notes that will indeed generate further sensitive material for review, and indeed create further documents that will have PII (public interest immunity) contained within those documents, he said.
Asked about a timeframe, Mr Robinson said that given the number of variables, its impossible to give a timeframe.
Meanwhile, counsel for the coroner described another disclosure matter in terms of a request for assistance to the Irish department of foreign affairs.
It is around an advisory committee during the second police investigation into Mr Browns murder, which included representatives from that department.
He said they had written a number of times to the department but, to date, have had no substantive response.
We will look at what the formal process is to see if we can take that any further, he said.
The coroner is also set to consider whether potential suspects in the case will be engaged with for the inquest.
A number of individuals were considered suspects by the police service during the various investigations, one of the issues (the coroner) will have to determine is whether, and to what extent, the inquest wishes to engage with those individuals, the counsel for the coroner said.
Citing the growing number of elective vehicles (EVs) on the road and noting the greater need for charging stations as a result, Cllr Paddy Farrell has called on the Council to put in place additional charge points in Carrick-on- Shannon and Mohill.
While he acknowledged the need for charging docks in these two towns he said that charging points are needed in all towns and villages in the Carrick-on- Shannon MD area.
A written response from the Director of Services for Economic Development, Planning, Environment and Transportation noted that the Faster Project was leading the installation of high speed chargers along the border region in the country.
As part of this project there will be two high speed chargers provided in the new town centre car park in Carrick-on-Shannon, it was noted.
These are expected to be installed towards the end of this year.
It was noted that additional charging points in Mohill can be considered as part of planned regeneration works in should the opportunity arise and funding is available.
However, Cllr Farrell said that more chargers are needed noting EV sales are up 30% and stressing that if we want tourists to come here it is important we have more charges as soon as possible.
Cllr Finola Armstrong McGuire backed the call noting that at least 4 fast chargers are needed in the town centre car park in Carrick-on-Shannon while Cllr Des Guckian also backed the motion observing there should be more (high speed chargers) if we are serious about encouraging the use of EVs.
Cathaoirleach, Cllr Sean McGowan said there is a real nee for five or six high speed chargers in the county town and further chargers in Mohill.
Head of Finance, Vincent Dwyer said the provision of high speed chargers is not a local authority service in the conventional sense.
He said previously ESB networks were allocated significant funding nationally and said that the Faster Project is a regional project.
He said smaller local authorities don't have the resources at 50-60,000 a pop (for chargers). We need financial support (from central government).
Somali security forces secure the scene of a militant attack at a building in Abdias district of Mogadishu, Somalia February 21, 2023. FEISAL OMAR / REUTERS
Al-Shabaab fighters attacked a house in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, February 21, killing 10 civilians, the government said. The raid took place around 12 pm GMT in the northern district of Abdiaziz, the government said, adding that three civilians had been wounded. "The security forces rescued and extracted many other civilians from that house and other nearby buildings during the attack," it said.
The attack was claimed by Al-Shabaab, which is linked to Al-Qaeda. A soldier named Mohamed Ali, who was present at the scene, said the attackers "stormed the building after blasting the main gate with explosives". He said they "resorted to attacking the houses occupied by civilians after they are being defeated in the frontlines".
In recent months, the Somali army and local clan militias have retaken chunks of territory from the militants in an operation backed by US air strikes and an African Union force known as ATMIS. But Al-Shabaab, which has been fighting the government since 2007, still control parts of the countryside from where they have carried out numerous retaliatory attacks both in Somalia and in neighboring countries.
Read more Somali forces capture strategic port town Haradhere from Al-Shabaab
The jihadists, who were forced out of the capital by African Union troops in 2011, have frequently retaliated against the latest offensive with bloody strikes. In the deadliest Al-Shabaab attack since the offensive was launched last year, 121 people were killed in two car bomb explosions at the education ministry in Mogadishu in October.
Le Monde with AFP
The feminist network Kadin Savunmasi has set up a "women's cafe" where women come to collect basic necessities. In Antakya (Turkey), February 17, 2023. CERISE SUDRY-LE DU POUR M LE MAGAZINE DU MONDE
Antakya is no more. Only pieces of buildings remain in the ancient city once called Antioch, located in southern Turkey, where excavators are now clearing debris all day. Hearses and trucks loaded with the last pieces of furniture that the luckiest people managed to save cross paths all day between the mountains of rubble. All are fleeing the region affected by the February 6 earthquake that killed more than 44,000 people in Turkey and Syria, as well as its many aftershocks, like the February 20 earthquakes.
"Since the earthquake, violence is increasing. Women come to tell us that their husbands beat them in the car or in the tent where they now live." Volunteer Cigdem Serin
Nearly 1.4 million people are housed in tents, while others sleep in cars, parks or on the street, according to AFAD, the government's disaster management agency. Dozens of tents, food distribution stands, and mobile kitchens managed by NGOs are lined up along Sevgi Park. A white curtain hanging from a pergola reads, "Female solidarity space."
Behind the fabric are three tents and a "women's cafe" with cardboard boxes for seats and an oven improvised from a trash can, where clementine peels are burning and a teapot is steaming. Half a dozen women are having tea, some wearing purple vests with the symbol for women, others with veils on their heads and slippers on their feet. Created by the feminist network Kadin Savunmasi, this space welcomes disaster victims.
Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes 'The Turkish government has avoided taking responsibility for the destruction and losses'
"I would like extra-large pads," Furuzan said, a large beige and purple scarf covering her entire head. Since the earthquake, the 50-year-old lives in her car with her husband. Her house is still standing but she is afraid to go inside. "For the first five days, we couldn't change our underwear," she said with an embarrassed smile. "We didn't dare ask the NGOs for some, and when a woman told us they were giving out pads or panties at such and such a place, we went there. We would whisper with our heads down so no one would hear us."
A country where menstruation is taboo
On February 10, the American company Kotex announced a donation of 1 million sanitary pads to the affected regions. In a country where menstruation is taboo, men criticized the gesture on Twitter. Women who mentioned the shortages of such products online received messages asking them to show some decency. In the female solidarity space, two hundred women order sanitary pads every day not daring to do so elsewhere.
To avoid a rush, the organization writes down each person's list of needs and calls when it receives the products. Under the big tent, where sanitary pads and underwear are stored, volunteers talk to them about intimate hygiene, because vaginal and yeast infections are increasingly common. "This is not only a distribution point but also a place of discussion and solidarity for women. They are more affected by this disaster than men because they are the ones in charge of finding food, blankets, and taking care of the children," said Cigdem Serin, in her 40s, who came from Mersin, three hours away, the day after the earthquake.
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At the Russian-Georgian border crossing in North Ossetia (Russia) on September 28, 2022. PAVEL MIRNY
Dmitri, "Dima" to his friends and family, has become accustomed to traveling with a small bag containing the essentials: a few changes of clothes, a toilet bag, his laptop. "It arouses less suspicion," he said, with a bitter laugh. This 35-year-old Moscow-based computer engineer is now a familiar face for the border police. "I tell them, 'tourism' or 'business trip'." Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, Dima has become an itinerant. Over the course of one year, he has traveled thousands of miles between Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Israel, and back again.
He is one of the hundreds of thousands of Russians who fled their country after February 24, 2022, initially for fear of border closures. They then returned, only to pack up again seven months later when Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the mobilization of 300,000 men in September 2022.
Two massive waves of departures, with, between them, the return journeys of those who, like Dima, wander from one country to another without managing to settle down. Some come back to see relatives, to settle some business, to sell a property or because in spite of everything, they are homesick and the fear of being mobilized has faded. Refugee status, which is difficult to obtain, is also equivalent to an impossible return. These temporary exiles, who come from educated social categories and are able to buy airplane tickets that are often very expensive, distort the statistics.
Hatred of the authorities
By November 2022, the European border and coast guard agency Frontex estimated that 1,458,158 Russian nationals had entered the EU space since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine - including more than 500,000 in Finland - while 1,421,876 Russians had made their way back.
It is important to remember that Finland is a destination that requires a visa. Elsewhere, the trend is the same but is even more complex to assess, especially in the former Soviet republics, such as Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Russians can travel freely there. As a result, the most massive Russian exodus for political reasons since the Bolshevik revolution is difficult to accurately measure.
Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes 'The Russian population is declining at a dizzying rate, and the war will only exacerbate this trend'
How many "no returns" are there? One million? The Russian website The Bell put the figure at 500,000 in December, based on data that is all the more difficult to analyze since sometimes the host country is not the desired destination, which implies further travel. Russian authorities have not released any study on departures, which mostly concern intellectuals, journalists, graduate students, company executives and qualified employees, motivated by the same hatred of the authorities.
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PLANS are being put in place for an around-the-clock bus service in the city, the Limerick Leader can reveal.
This morning, the National Transport Authority (NTA) will unveil details of its proposed new bus network for Limerick.
The authority says the strategy, put together by metropolitan transport design experts Jarrett Walker and Associates will "transform" the city's bus system and make "public transport more useful to more people."
One of the measures being proposed as part of this will be the introduction of a 24-hour bus service on the route connecting University of Limerick, Castletroy, Raheen and University Hospital Limerick in Dooradoyle with the city centre.
The service would reflect the route of the 304 which will continue to operate at a high frequency during the daytime hours.
It's anticipated the night service will travel once every hour.
Dublin and Cork already have a number of night bus services, but it will be a first for Limerick, if the strategy is ultimately approved.
The move will no doubt be popular with late night revellers in the city centre, many of whom often will struggle to source a taxi at closing time.
For more details of the new bus strategy, stay with www.limericklive.ie for coverage throughout the day.
A RESEARCHER at University of Limerick has been investigating to see if there is any advantage for students who attend single-sex schools.
The major new study carried out by Kemmy Business School economics lecturer Dr Darragh Flannery and Prof Jose Clavel of University of Murcia in Spain has interviewed nearly 5,000 15-year-old Irish students to examine the association between attending a single-sex school and mathematics, reading and science literacy performance for boys and girls respectively.
And their paper - published in the British Educational Research Journal - reveals that there is no advantage to only studying alongside students of the same gender.
Dr Flannery said: "The topic of single-sex versus mixed-sex schooling continues to be a source of debate within education policy in many countries, including Ireland. However, there is limited evidence around the relationship between attending a single-sex school and academic performance."
He pointed out that relative to other countries, there is a higher proportion of post-primary students attending single-sex schools.
"For this reason," he added, "the Irish educational system provides an interesting setting for exploring the outcomes of single-sex schooling.
The analysis shows significant raw gaps in reading, science, and maths performance with pupils in single-sex schools performing better than those in mixed-schools.
However, once the researchers applied a range of individual and school level factors such as the economic background of the student, the school student-staff ratio, the quality of teaching material available to the school and whether or not the school is disadvantaged, these gaps did not present as statistically significant.
It reveals, on average, that there is no difference in maths, science or reading performance for 15-year-olds after adjusting for the background of the student and other school-level factors and this result was found for both boys and girls.
"Our analysis shows no evidence of an academic advantage to attending a single sex school for boys or girls in Ireland," Dr Flannery confirmed.
AN APPEAL has been filed with An Bord Pleanala in relation to the multi-million euro student village which is due to bring over 200 bed spaces to Limerick.
One appeal, originally recorded with Limerick Council from a member of the public has now also been received by An Bord Pleanala, in relation to the development proposed for the Old Dublin Road.
Primary concerns for the site included; density and size, location and height in relation to existing properties, provision for parking, applicant title description, and a note in relation to existing water mains supply.
Reasons for the appeal included; proposal not in fitting with surrounding neighbourhood, apartment blocks too high, potential structural impact on homes and water supply from construction, and an insufficient provision for parking.
A decision on the appeal is due to be decided by May 23, 2023.
The infill site was due for the development of 26 new apartments which would bring a total of 202 beds over three blocks, each rising up to five storeys.
The developers, Kearock Investments, previously warned that even with other developments under way, Limerick is facing a deficit of 2,200 student bed spaces by the academic year 2024/25.
Previously, planning consultant Adam Kearney told the Limerick Leader: The scheme provides for much-needed purpose-built student accommodation in close proximity to the UL campus.
Dedicated facilities like this one will serve to free up traditional housing for the private rented sector, he said.
LIMERICK train users will be once again able to purchase a cup of tea and a snack on the Limerick to Dublin rail line after Irish Rail suspended on-board catering in 2020.
The catering services will be available on the Limerick to Dublin line only but Irish Rail will proceed with a full procurement process for catering services across the Intercity network.
They also intend to progress with a pilot for catering vending machines on selected trains.
Catering services were suspended arising from COVID-19 restrictions for two years from February 2020 to February 2022.
Upon the lifting of face-covering regulations in February 2022, the company sought a restoration of services from the incumbent supplier RailGourmet.
Ultimately, RailGourmet were not in a position to resume services due to costs and staffing issues and withdrew from the contract in May 2022.
Since then, Irish Rail has engaged extensively with market providers to restore an onboard service.
Unfortunately, costs and staffing issues resulted in providers quoting prices to Irish Rail of many multiples of the previous contract to restore full services. Within Irish Rails current funding profile, and under public procurement regulations, this was not possible to achieve.
Irish Rail then engaged with suppliers on interim, partial options to conform with funding and procurement requirements.
While a partial service across all routes was considered, the requirement for multiple catering base facilities and a more dispersed workforce across all routes again saw this exceed available funding.
The interim measure of resuming Cork/Limerick to Dublin on-board catering ensures that Irish Rail maximises the number of customers who can avail of catering within the funding profile and procurement regulations.
Catering aboard the Limerick to Dublin rail line will commence in April 2023.
A total of 240 jobs are set to be cut from from Google's Irish-based workforce as part of global layoffs announced last month.
Staff are understood to have been informed by email today (Wednesday) with a collective consultation process due to begin tomorrow.
Of those layoffs, 85 will be in sales, technology and engineering will see 80 jobs go, while the remaining 75 job cuts will be in support functions.
It is estimated that the 240 job losses represent around 4% of Google's 5,500 Irish-based headcount.
Google's parent company Alphabet announced last months that it was cutting 6% of its global workforce., with 12,000 jobs expected to go.
Minister Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney told RTE News in the wake of this that they would have to wait an see the full scale of jobs losses at the time.
"But I can assure you, that people who are working for Google today, who are impacted by this, will not have a difficulty in finding tech jobs in other areas of the economy, and we will work with them to make sure that happens," the minister said.
The British bullion company Auronum has increased their buy-back rates to the highest they have ever been as demand for physical gold bars and coins soars. Savers who hold cash in the bank have seen a dramatic fall in what their money can buy given how fast consumer goods prices have risen. Gold is seen as a safe asset to own during periods of high consumer price inflation which is causing investors to buy gold bars and coins.
The founder of Auronum confirmed demand for gold coins has reached levels that we have not seen for some years, especially the smaller fractional gold coins such as British gold sovereigns. We have increased our buy-back rates to the highest they have ever been to attract sellers. The gold market is very tight at the moment".
The World Gold Council recently reported that central bank gold buying reached a record in Q4 last year, meaning the gold price is likely to continue higher. Shrewd investors are aware of this and are scrambling to get their hands on any physical gold bullion that they can which has led to a lot of pressure on bullion companies to pay sellers a higher rate in order to source enough stock.
With the gold prices reaching record highs in many of the worlds main currencies, many gold investors are holding onto their bars and coins in the hope that prices keep increasing. With the central banks also buying in large volume, the availability of gold coins and bars is low compared to recent years.
Auronum is offering market leading selling rates which is helping to keep their website well-stocked for savers looking to buy gold coins or bullion bars. The company is a leading supplier in bullion and very rare gold numismatic coins which are difficult to source. Auronum offers investors instant live prices to sell bullion and numismatic gold coins which are displayed on their websites selling pages.
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. This information does not constitute a financial advice.
We are a generation of impatient people, who want everything on tap of a few buttons on their mobile phone. Thats exactly why convenience appeases us. Who would have thought ordering food or booking a cab could happen within a few taps on our smartphones? But here we are. Its almost natural for us to turn to services that promise quick delivery.
This philosophy also extends to our financial habits. In case we undergo a financial crunch due to a medical emergency or a sudden holiday, its almost instinctive for us to lean on unsecured loans or credit cards. Often, we also tend to liquidate our long-term investments in mutual funds and shares, sacrificing or prolonging our goals. In dire needs we even liquidate bearing a loss.
But why do we liquidate or go for unsecured loans & credit cards? Answer is straight forward - because it is convenient. What other option do we have?
A simple and better option is Loan against Mutual Funds and Loan against Shares from Mirae Asset Financial Services (MAFS). We are recommending this product, considering below key advantages:
Quick & Convenient
Mirae Asset Financial Services is one of the first NBFCs to offer an end-to-end digital and paperless loan against securities. You can avail loan against mutual funds in just 15 minutes and loan against shares on the same day. You can avail the loan quicker than getting the funds by selling mutual funds or shares.
There is no need of visiting branch, RTA & AMC office, or waiting for days for your application to process. Also, all your services are online too. You can make payments, withdraw money, top-up loan, withdraw securities or foreclose your loan account completely online without visiting branches.
Like ordering food online or ordering from an e-commerce app, now you can avail loan against your mutual funds and shares within few taps via the mobile app.
You just need to follow these simple steps to avail the loan:
1. Download the mobile app and register yourself,
2. Select type of loan & apply,
3. Complete one-time KYC with PAN & Aadhar details,
4. Enter bank account & additional details,
5. Pledge mutual funds or shares as collateral via CAMS/ K-fintech/ NSDL,
6. Create NACH mandate for payment of monthly interest,
7. Read & E-sign loan agreement online with OTP authentication,
8. Your loan account is ready with an overdraft limit.
9. Withdraw/ repay any amount within your loan limit.
Economical than Unsecured Loans
Mirae Asset Financial Services offers both loan against mutual funds and loan against shares at just 9% p.a. The interest is charged only on the utilized amount and for the period it is utilised. There is a flat processing fee of 999/- plus GST.
If you have a great track record & credit score, then most banks/ NBFCs will offer a personal loan starting 11% onwards and often processing fee is around 1% or more of the loan amount. Most of the time, we miss accounting for the processing fee which is very high in case of personal loans.
Other charges of pre-payment or foreclosure charges are applicable in case of personal loans which are NIL in case of loan against securities from Mirae Asset Financial Services.
When you compare with credit cards, it offers interest-free period of 20-50 days max depending on the transaction date and your statement date. Post which interest charged are way too high, touching as high as 40% p.a. Use of credit card is not an ideal option if you want the funds for more than 20-50 days.
Flexible Repayment
Mirae Asset Financial Services provides loan against securities as an overdraft facility. You will be charged only on the utilized amount and for the duration you utilize the money.
Personal loans are generally available as a term loan wherein, you will be liable to pay an EMI (principal plus the interest amount) every month.
Unlike a term loan, in loan against securities you are liable to service only the interest amount on monthly basis. Principal amount can be paid anytime during the loan tenure or at maturity (if not renewed) or on loan closure.
This reduces your monthly burden and gives you flexibility to make principal repayment at your convenience. You also dont have to pay any pre-payment charges.
Protect Your Investments
If you have invested in mutual funds or shares for a long-term goal like buying a house, retirement, childs education, marriage etc. then it is important for you to give time to your investments to grow with compounding effect.
Often, we tend to sell mutual funds and shares first as it is easier to redeem compared to other assets like gold, property, etc.
If you assume a 10% CAGR, then it takes less than 9 years for your investments to double.
View Full Image If you have invested in mutual funds or shares for a long-term goal like buying a house, retirement, childs education, marriage etc. then it is important for you to give time to your investments to grow with compounding effect.
In such case it is ideal you avail a loan against securities to manage short term liquidity needs instead of redeeming them.
Avoid Costs & Taxes of Selling
Selling mutual funds and shares also incurs cost that you should be aware.
Short-term capital gain tax is higher than long-term capital gain tax.
You also will have to account for brokerage charges/ commissions, exit loads, expense ratios and other taxes. All these add to costs you will incur over and above the loss or reduced returns based on the market value at which you are selling.
The last word
So, if you are looking to generate liquidity, redeeming your mutual funds or selling your shares is not the only option. Mirae Asset Financial Services provides a good solution for all your short-term needs/emergency funds which is economical, convenient, quick, provides repayment flexibility and is hassle-free.
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Do not redeem it, Lien it.
Disclaimer: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by HT Brand Studio.
New Delhi: Coca-Cola India-owned Coca Cola Zero Sugar variant has released its latest campaign Best Taste Ever? for which it has signed actor Tiger Shroff. The company said Shroff will aid the brand in establishing resonance with the youth and millennials in India.
The integrated marketing campaign aims at sparking conversations around this, while highlighting that the taste of the beverage is so good that its hard to resist. The campaign is live across television, digital, outdoor, social media and retail.
Kaushik Prasad, director, marketing at the company said, "Shroff, in the new campaign, brings his own exuberance and freshness to the brand, he is a fitness icon and like most youngsters, would not want to compromise on experiencing great taste."
The actor said, I am ecstatic to partner with them. The beverage is a perfect amalgamation of fantastic taste without many calories, making it irresistible.
Sukesh Nayak, chief creative officer, Ogilvy India said, It was super fun to collaborate with Tiger to bring this fun idea to life. We will see way more things on this idea in the near future, so stay glued to the great taste."
According to a report, Indias non-alcoholic beverages market could grow to 1.47 trillion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7%. Economic policy think tank ICRIER said in 2019, the size of the overall beverages market that includes carbonated soft drinks, juices, bottled water, and fruit-based beverages was 67,100 crore.
Kotak Special Situations Fund (KSSF) on Wednesday announced an investment of a whopping RS 1,070 crore in Indian biopharmaceutical major, Biocon. The Bangalore-based pharma company plans to utilise the proceeds for financing its subsidiary Biocon Biologics' acquisition of the biosimilars business of its partner Viatris to create a global vertically integrated biosimilars player.
In a statement, Srini Sriniwasan, managing director, of Kotak Investment Advisors Limited said, This investment in Biocon comes at a pivotal point when Biocon is forward integrating its biosimilars business. Going forward Biocon will realize full revenues and profits from this business."
Sriniwasan added, "With this, the USD 1 billion Kotak Special Situations Fund is fully committed. India continues to offer unique and attractive risk-adjusted opportunities for hybrid funding strategies."
Further, Eshwar Karra, CEO of Kotak Special Situations Fund at Kotak Investment Advisors Limited said, We are delighted to partner with Biocon and this acquisition financing supports Biocons journey of becoming a world-leading, fully integrated biosimilars enterprise."
On BSE, Biocon's share price closed at 222.15 apiece down by 2.16%. The downside came in amidst a broader bearish market. The company's market cap is over 26,671 crore by end of February 22nd.
In Q3FY23, Biocon registered a net loss of 42 crore as against a profit of 187 crore in the same quarter last year, due to an exceptional item of 271 crore owing to Viatris deal-related expenses. On the other hand, Biocon's revenue from operations climbed 35% to 2,941 crore in Q3FY23, compared with 2,174 crore a year ago same quarter.
On February 14, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon and Biocon Biologics in Q3 financial report said, "Q3 FY23 has been an eventful quarter which saw the completion of the global acquisition of our partnered Biosimilars business from Viatris on Nov 29, 2022. We are now implementing country-wise integration of the business to maximize the value of the combined entity to propel growth. Biosimilars as a business segment offers differentiated growth to Biocon Biologics based on vertical integration and a unique portfolio of Insulins and antibody-based immunotherapeutics. This quarter captures a fraction of the acquired business, but from Q4FY23 onwards, the financials will recognise the entire Biosimilars business."
While Biocon Biologics MD Shreehas Tambe said, the company recorded its highest-ever quarterly revenue of 1,507 crore, reflecting a growth of 54% on the back of its acquisition of Viatris' biosimilars business and continued growth in BBL-led markets.
Last year, in November, Biocon Biologics successfully completed its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of the global biosimilars business of its partner Viatris. This acquisition gives Biocon Biologics direct commercial capabilities and supporting infrastructure in the advanced markets and several emerging markets, bringing it closer to patients, customers, and payors.
Biocon is an innovation-led global bio-pharmaceuticals company that has developed and commercialized novel biologics, biosimilars, and complex small molecule APIs in India and global markets and, generic formulations in US and Europe.
While Biocon Biologics (BBL), a subsidiary of Biocon, is a fully integrated global biosimilars company that has commercialized eight biosimilars in key emerging and advanced markets such as the US and Europe and has a pipeline of 20 biosimilar assets across diabetology, oncology, immunology, and other non-communicable diseases. It has many firsts to its credit in the biosimilars industry.
Kotak Special Situations Fund (KSSF) is an Alternative Investment Fund under SEBI regulations managed by Kotak Investment Advisors.
Currently, KSSF manages a $1 billion fund and is uniquely positioned to be a provider of customized solution capital to corporates. KSSF has been targeting value propositions across a spectrum of opportunities, from growth to credit situations and stressed assets.
Mahindra and Mahindra on Tuesday announced that it has entered into an asset transfer agreement with its wholly owned subsidiary EV subsidiary for transfer of certain identified assets (capital work in progress) pertaining to the four-wheeler passenger electric vehicles.
The wholly-owned subsidiary is Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd. (MEAL) , was incorporated in October 2022.
The remaining assets will be transferred to the subsidiary by June 2026.
The total investment of the company in the said assets, classified as "capital work in progress" for financial year 2022 is approximately 230 crore, which is 0.6 percent of the company's net worth.
The total Investment of the Company in the said assets classified as capital work in progress as per the audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March, 2022 is approximately Rs. 230 crores, which constitutes 0.6% of the total net worth of the Company as of 31st March, 2022," said Mahindra and Mahindra in its filing.
Mahindra & Mahindra had announced in July last year that the company intends to hive off assets related to the four-wheel passenger EVs business of the company to a new unit, which will be incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary, called MEAL .
The company had signed a share purchase agreement with British International Investment Plc for investments of 1,925 crore in MEAL.
Both, Mahindra and Mahindra and British International Investment (BII) are to invest 1,925 crore each in Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd. (MEAL).
The investments were supposed to be made in two tranches and according to it the first tranche of 1,200 crore was to be invested by June 2023. It has now been extended to March 31, 2024.
The second tranche of 725 crore, will now be completed by July 1, 2024, subject to the milestones achieved.
The company had earlier said that the second tranche would be completed in financial year 2024 without specifying the date.
The investment of upto Rs.1,925 crores in EVCo by the Company and BII each would take place in two or more tranches i.e. investment of upto Rs. 1,200 crores will happen on fulfilment of conditions precedent and is expected to be completed not later than 31st March, 2024 and the balance investment of upto Rs. 725 crores would be based on the milestones being achieved by 1st July, 2024," the filing added.
The company's scrip was trading 0.44 per cent down at 1,345.85 on BSE.
Tesla Inc. directors misrepresented a $55 billion pay package they recommended for Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, a lawyer for shareholders said in closing trial arguments in a suit challenging Musks compensation.
Board members filled proxy disclosures with half-truths" about the package, which would be the largest-ever awarded to a CEO, the lawyer, Greg Varallo, said Tuesday in Delaware Chancery Court. Chancery Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick will decide the case without a jury.
The incomplete disclosures forced investors to launch a scavenger hunt" to get proper context on board conflicts tainting the plan and the performance goals Musk was supposed to meet, Varallo told McCormick.
The trial stems from shareholder Richard Tornettas claims Teslas board failed to exercise independence from Musk as it drew up a new pay package for its charismatic CEO based on still-unvested stock options. If McCormick sides with the investor, she could cancel the options and order the board go back and come up with a new compensation plan.
Musk took the stand in the trial in November, testifying that he he had no role in setting his compensation and no understanding of the process by which the amount was calculated. Though testimony wrapped in November, McCormick received months of briefing before holding closing arguments.
The judge requested further briefing at the hearing on Tuesday, suggesting a ruling wasnt imminent.
A lawyer for Teslas directors countered Varallo by arguing that the boards 26-page proxy disclosure about Musks pay was fulsome" and accurately described the give and get" underlying the plan.
The details disgruntled investors said the company were withheld werent material to the average shareholder," Daniel Slifkin, the boards lawyer, told McCormick. He said a broad swath of investors understood that Musk would only get the full package if he got the results."
Part-Time CEO
Slifkin said shareholders also benefited from the $50 billion increase in Teslas value that resulted when Musk met his compensation goals in the plan.
But Varallo noted the peripatetic Musk amounted to a part-time CEO" at Tesla over the last few years, especially after his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter last year, and didnt deserve the most lucrative compensation plan in history.
Besides Twitter, Musk also spends considerable time on his other startups, including aeronautics firm Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Boring Co. and Neuralink Corp, Varallo argued. There were no disclosure about the billionaires divided attention in proxy statements about his pay, Varallo added.
Musk has acknowledged he had little to fear from the Tesla boards review of his pay proposal, according to court filings. Me negotiating against myself" is how he described the process of tweaking the pay packages details in a pretrial deposition. The board pushed to come up with the plan because of fears Musk may leave as its top executive.
McCormick noted on Tuesday that Tornettas lawyers are arguing that finding a single flaw in the proxy disclosures would be the kill shot" allowing the judge to invalidate Musks compensation plan.
Slifkin argued that Delaware law doesnt require a perfect board process in deciding executive compensation. Theres no requirement of a play-by-play description" everything the board considered in setting Musks pay, he said.
Its the boards position that whatever the process was, the plans give and get was fully disclosed" and thats the crucial issue in the case, Slifkin said.
The case is Tornetta v. Musk, 2018-0408, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).
Vasant Vas Narasimhan completed five years as the CEO of Novartisthe $50 billion Swiss pharma giantthis month. He has calibrated the companys focus by exiting a number of businesses and focussing on its core as an innovation-driven drugmaker, leveraging data science and digital technologies to bolster R&D and aid the drug discovery process. The US-born physician-turned-CEO, whose parents migrated to the US from Tamil Nadu, sat down with Sruthijith K.K. for a conversation on The Sketch podcast. He discussed the strategic direction Novartis has taken under his watch, the companys presence in India and his expectations from the market, his agenda for the next five years, the evolution of cancer therapies, the future of Indian pharma sector and his thoughts on Indias drugs regulatory regime. Edited excerpts:
You completed five years as Novartis CEO this month. What were your focus areas when you took over and how much of your agenda have you gotten through?
When I took over as CEO, we set out a strategy to become a pure play innovative medicines company over time. And its really taken us five years to realize that journey. We began by spinning out some of our businesses like consumer health and Alcon, our eyecare device company, as well as exiting some other businesses. Five years ago, when I started at Novartis, we saw that there was really a need to focus ourselves as a pure play innovative medicines company. Technology was moving so quickly in the external environment and we needed to get to a place where we could create the most value, which is in high-end technologies, high-end medicines. So, over the last five years, weve done about $100 billion in transactions to focus Novartis into one of the largest pure play innovative medicines companies in the world. And whats exciting now is that we are well positioned for this next era of medical innovation.
What kind of monies do you invest in research and development (R&D) every year and how critical is that?
Every year, we invest almost $10 billion in R&D. Thats one of the highest among companies in any sector. Its very traditional for a pharmaceutical company to invest a lot in R&D. But whats unique about Novartis is our consistency in that investment over time. You know, our history goes back 250 years. We started in the dye making industry, moved to the chemicals industry. And its evolved since then now into a global healthcare and global pharmaceuticals giant. What weve learned over that time is you have to be consistent in your commitment to innovation and make that consistent R&D investment to really find breakthrough medicines and breakthrough innovation. So thats what weve tried to do. And whats exciting is that a lot of that happens here in India, at our corporate centre in Hyderabad, where we now have over 9,000 people.
What were the hardest trade off decisions you had to make in that journey of becoming a focused, innovative drug maker?
A decade ago, Novartis was in areas as broad as vaccines and animal health, eye care devices, consumer health, generics. So, that gives you a broad portfolio but it means you cant focus and really become leading edge in any one of those areas. Making that transition to a pure play, you go to a different risk profile. So that was the first decision to make in that kind of transition. The second part of our journey has been to decide where we really wanted to focus. And we used to be a company that was in over 10 different therapeutic areas. That is down to five technology areas where you can win and create the most value. Thats the next transition.
Youre a trained physician; your DNA is that of a scientist and an R&D person. It sounds like youve had to do a lot of deal structuring and related finance. Has it been a lot of learning?
As a CEO youre always learning. Thats the one thing you have to accept. And I think the longer you do this role, the more you realize you dont have the answers but you have to ask the best questions you can and try to explore and figure out the right way forward. Ive learned a lot about the world of corporate finance. You have to learn to speak many different languages. I was trained in the language of science, the language of medicine. You have to speak the language of investors, that of the business community, politicians, and the policy makers. You need to learn as a CEO to be able to communicate your narrative to the external stakeholders.
Pharma companies make a lot of high-risk investments in drug discovery. How do you assess and hedge that sort of risk?
It is an extraordinary industry in that people sometimes forget we live in this era of so many medicines, vaccines and diagnostics. You know 99% of the things we do in research dont work. Actually, its even worse. I mean, when you really look at it in early stage research, its one out of a thousand. Thats what we are doing. And I like to tell our people, were unpacking billions of years of evolution of life on this planet as we try to understand the 20,000 genes and 20,000 proteins and trillions of transcripts, try to figure out how it pieces together to impact a disease. The odds are long. Its like sending a rocket to the moon. Thats what we try to do.
You have to have a really strong comfort with failure. We fail a lot. That failure cant dissuade you from trying again. I think the reason were able to do it is that most people in our company, and in our sector, are deeply passionate about improving human health. And theyre willing to take these long odds. Because, its such an incredible thing to improve peoples ability to live longer, healthier lives. And when you make a scientific discovery, its extraordinary. And, of course, then you can hopefully generate the returns down the line. The biggest thing Ive learned about portfolio management, the business element of this, is you can pick the losers. So, the art of this is to keep screening and say here are the things which are unlikely to really make a big difference in medicine. And stop those and then hope among all the rest, you might get a hit and accept the fact you might go years without getting a big hit. And thats when you have to have tremendous courage to stay the course. And thats why I think in the end, while our sector has been around for 150 years, you really only have 10-12 giant players. Those are companies that had the courage to stay the course.
The other element is you make an investment and you dont know if its going to pan out for eight to 10 years. So you make this portfolio of bets and you hope that you make the right ones with great scientists, great thinking. And that, in eight to 10 years, this ultimately pans out.
What do shareholders in a pharma company look for and expect from a CEO?
The most important is the concept of what we call replacement power. And thats really the ability of your innovation to replace your sales over time. Because theres multiple challenging dynamics in our industry. All of our innovative products go generic at some point. We have to replace all of our sales with new innovations. So not only do we have long odds at the baseline, but we dont keep those innovations forever. Other sectors might be able to hold their innovation for long periods of time. We have to replace it over and over. Investors want to see growth. Thats standard across sectors. They want to see replacement power as evidenced by R&D productivity and the ability to launch medicines consistently. And then, of course, all the other things you would expect, such as financial discipline, strong and free cash flows. But its that growth pipeline replacement power that really is the most important thing in our sector.
Tell us a little bit about your presence in India, your operations in the Indian market. Is it an exciting market for Novartis?
Were very proud of our presence in India. We believe were the largest of the multinationals in India with our total presence of over 10,000 people that spans our business, including our large corporate centre in Hyderabad where weve had a presence since 2005. And weve built that consistently over time. It is an extraordinary centre where we house everything from a lot of our operations for drug development, patient safety, manufacturing, AI, IT capabilities, finance etc.and is really at the heart of Novartis. Its unique that weve been able to build that here. And thats really a testament to the talent we find in India, and the ability for that talent to integrate with our global company. So thats been an extraordinary story from a business standpoint. We try to mirror the journey that we have globally in India.
We have plans to exit generics. Weve exited consumer health, were exiting older brands. And the same thing happens in our Indian affiliate here at Novartis, where we focus on bringing the next wave of innovations to the Indian market consistently over time. India, for a global biopharmaceutical company, is kind of a mid-tier market, and thats driven by a few things. One, of course, the reimbursement environment here is much more geared towards generics. And then theres limited reimbursement for innovative medicines. But thats improving consistently, but still not at the level you have in many global markets. The other part of the journey for India now is to make the transition from a more generics commodity-oriented, bio biotechnology environment to an innovation powerhouse.
Do Indian government officials consult you on some of these matters? Are there conversations about what India could do that youre pitching in on?
Our India team is very closely involved with the government and providing advice, and perspectives. Not me personally, but there are very strong links between Novartis and the government. And we do our best to provide that feedback.
What role should the state play in securing healthcare for its citizens?
The state should ensure people can get basic healthcare--the very basic elements, if you think about childhood vaccination and really improving childhood mortality. Around the world, over the last 30 years, childhood mortality is down 50%. We have to remind ourselves the gains weve had are simply extraordinary and improving health around the world, regardless of income level. That basic level is the key. And then as countries get better and better from an income standpoint, there should be more support for innovation and how the state can enable that. Now, I think it is very context specific. Should that be private public insurance? Probably a mix is.
Novartis Indias December quarter sales were down 19%. In terms of scale, it seems quite dwarfed by what you have in China. Is that limited by market size? How do you see this playing out? Can it be a lot bigger here?
As for our Indian business over the next five years, we expect it to grow in double digits and continue with very solid growth. India is a longer term play for us to really build a globally sized market that could be one of our top 10 markets over time. And thats really dependant on the continuing growth of insurance, private insurance, innovation and reimbursement in many of the various sectors. I think Indias done well to really provide the basic services and the basic healthcare. But I think as a reimbursement environment improves, you could look at a very, very different narrative for India and global biopharmaceuticals.
When you look at China, what they were able to do is modernize their regulator. They provided strong IP and strong data protection. They put in place a national reimbursement for innovative medicines, where they provide the access to the population. And that led to it becoming the second largest biopharmaceutical market in the world. And, it also created a burgeoning biotechnology sector in Shanghai and Beijing. That took a decade, but they were able to do it. And you could certainly see India on that path over time.
The implication of what you said in some ways is that India has not modernized its regulator. Is the drug price control regime in India an obstacle to innovation?
As India becomes an innovation powerhouse, there is a moment now to really rethink many of these regimes to create a pro-innovation environment and the government has to provide for a very large lower income population but I think you can do both. And I think its finding the balance now to really create a pro-innovation environment so that you can keep investing in the leading edge. And, actually you raise the overall level of healthcare for the broader population when you do that. So, there is an opportunity to further modernize all these elements, regulatory IP and reimbursement in India.
Where would you say Indias drug regulatory regime stands?
I would say its kind of in the middle of the grouping of countries that is certainly consistent with global middle income countries. But I think the difference that India has is this extraordinary innovation capability. Theres an opportunity for the biotech sector to become a powerhouse in India, but you have to get these other elements right, and you have to stay consistent over a long period of time to make that happen.
If youre a biotechnology company in India, you need to know that your innovations are protected in India. So, you can access the Indian market and then go global. Second, you need a regulator that is efficient, clear and transparent and has modernized its regulatory framework. Thats absolutely critical. And then you need reimbursement support in the local market, which then gives a first market for any biotech company. And then you can go global from there.
Is there far too much uncertainty about the protection of your IP in India?
I think the situation has improved substantially, and I certainly give the Indian government tremendous credit for that. But we have to continue to look at ways, and I think the Indian government is looking at this too, to get your IP instituted in India. And that can take me a long process.
And then in our sector, theres an additional complexity because the IP covers one part of the story, which is the compound and how we produce this molecule, this medicine. But then along the way, we generate a tremendous amount of data, and its the data plus the medicine together that creates the medical product that we provide. And that data also has to be protected. Right now, in India, there is no regulatory data protection.
So, we need not only the IP framework to continue to strengthen, but also regulatory data protection to be instituted in India. The other thing is that signals matter in our sector and in global businesses. And I think India can send more signals to say its pro-innovation, trying to support the next wave of technologies and companies.
How has your Indian heritage influenced your life and your work?
Its influenced me tremendously. And as time passes, the things Ive learned or were taught by my parents and grandparents, and being raised reading the Bhagavad Gita and the great Indian epics, it has a bigger impact.
Id say the practices of yoga, pranayama and meditation are ways that help me navigate the complexities of being a CEO. So those were tremendous gifts. So, I do meditation and pranayama every day, yoga a few times a week. I try to be very consistent about it.
LUCKNOW : With an aim of making the Uttar Pradesh atmanirbhar state, the Yogi Adityanath government on Wednesday presented a Rs6.9 trillion budget for fiscal year 2023-24. The budget was presented by UP finance minister Suresh Khanna in the state assembly.
Infrastructure projects, welfare schemes for youth and women, and development of pilgrimage centres were the main focus areas of the budget.
In fiscal year 2022-23, the state's budget estimate was at Rs6.15 trillion.
In the budget, Rs21,159 crore has been allocated for the construction of roads and bridges and Rs6,209 crore for their maintenance.
To address the issue of stray cattle, the state government will spend Rs750 crore under different schemes.
To provide smartphones and tablets to eligible students under the Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme, the government has proposed to spend Rs3,600 crore.
Under the Chief Minister Kanya Sumangala Yojana, which offers financial aid to the guardians or parents of two girl child, Rs1,050 crore was allocated. The budget has allocated Rs4,032 crore for destitute widows, Rs600 crore for Samuhik Vivah scheme for the marriage of girls of all classes and Rs150 crore for marriage grant scheme for poor girls belonging to other backward classes.
After the presentation of the state budget, chief minister Yogi Adityanath told mediapersons, This budget was for atmanirbhar Uttar Pradesh.
He also called the budget a milestone" in turning Uttar Pradesh into a $1 trillion economy.
Khanna said that 16.8% growth rate in state GDP was recorded. For the financial year 2023-24, the nominal rate of increase in gross state domestic product (GSDP) is estimated at 19%, he added.
The budget has allocated Rs585 crore for the Kanpur Metro Rail project and Rs465 crore for the Agra Metro Rail project for this year. Rs1,306 crore was earmarked for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Corridor Regional Rapid Transit System. The government will also spend Rs100 crore for the implementation of metro rail projects in Varanasi, Gorakhpur and some other cities.
In the budget, the farmers pension scheme has been granted Rs7,248 crore.
The Yogi government has allocated Rs2,500 crore for putting in place arrangements for the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj in 2025. Rs1,000 crore has been granted for the development of Dharmarth Marg, Rs50 crore for development of Shakti Peeth Maa Shakumbhari Devi temple, Rs40 crore for integrated development of Prayagraj, Rs40 crore for Buddhist circuit and Rs2.5 crore for Naimisharanya Dham Teerth Vikas Parishad.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be addressing his maiden election rally in poll-bound Meghalaya on Wednesday.
The rally for the former Congress president will take place in Shillong at Malki Ground. After the Bharat Jodo Yatra, this will be Rahul Gandhi's first public appearance.
Notably, the Wayanad MP did not participate in the party's campaign in Tripura, where voting took place on February 16.
With the exception of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, who only addressed an election rally in Nagaland on Tuesday, the top Congress leadership has been absent from the campaign scene in the three northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, which are all headed for elections.
However, Kharge was also absent from the Tripura campaign.
Addressing a gathering in Nagaland's Chumoukedima, Congress president Kharge on Tuesday launched a series of attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that the party and its allies looted the state.
"For the last 20 years, Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and BJP looted Nagaland. It's high time that the people get justice and a govt that works for the people," Kharge said. "The BJP's politics is aimed at destroying the indigenous and unique culture of the Nagas. The people of Nagaland must stand against this attack on the culture of Nagaland and the politics of polarization and hatred," Kharge said.
The 10th Meghalaya Assembly's term is set to expire on March 15, 2023. In February of 2018, the previous elections for the assembly were held. Conrad Sangma was elected chief minister following the election, and the state government was formed by a coalition led by the National People's Party.
Polling will be held in both the states of Meghalaya and Nagaland on February 27 while the counting is scheduled on March 2.
Only one stock has been put under the ban for trade on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 under the futures and options (F&O) segment by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The counter has been put on ban under the F&O segment as it has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit (MWPL), as per the NSE.
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) stock is the one that is part of the F&O ban list ban by the stock exchange for today. The NSE updates the list of securities in F&O ban for trade everyday.
The derivative contracts in the mentioned securities have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit and are therefore have been currently put in the ban period by the stock exchange, said NSE.
It is hereby informed that all clients/members shall trade in the derivative contracts of said securities only to decrease their positions through offsetting positions," the stock exchange said. "Any increase in open positions shall attract appropriate penal and disciplinary action," NSE added.
No fresh positions are allowed for any of the F&O contracts in that particular stock when it is under the F&O ban period. The MWPL (market-wide position limit) is set by the stock exchanges which is the maximum number of contracts that can be open at any time (Open Interest), therefore, the F&O contracts of that stock enter a ban period if the open interest crosses 95% of the MWPL.
Meanwhile, for Wednesday, Indian indices may witness a lower start as SGX Nifty, Singapore Nifty that is the Indian Nifty traded in the Singapore Stock Exchange, indicates a gap-down opening for the Indian stock market today.
Axis Bank has enabled cross-border transactions in real-time via the UPI Network following the move by India and Singapore to link their quick payment systems, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow, easing the process of fund transfers between individuals in the two Asian nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong virtually launched this cross-border connectivity on Tuesday.
Axis Bank will act as the settlement bank for peer-to-peer foreign inward remittance transactions initiated through PayNow by the Liquid Group in Singapore. A remitter in Singapore using the mobile application of Liquid Group can initiate a remittance by entering the UPI ID of the intended recipient in India.
The partnership will allow users from both countries to make seamless money transfers. The transactions settled through the UPI PayNow network are available 24X7 on a real-time basis. Currently, Axis Bank will settle these transactions to beneficiaries holding an account with or are registered on the UPI App of the six banks - SBI, IOB, Indian Bank, ICICI, DBS and Axis Bank, as per the press release.
We are delighted to collaborate with Axis Bank to offer a robust and simplified cross-border remittance experience using UPI. At NIPL, we aim to facilitate the establishment of new payment infrastructure around the world while enhancing the consumer experience. We are confident that this partnership will play an important role in driving our vision of scaling globally thereby taking Indias digital payment solutions to the world," Rina Penkar, head - Product Development, NIPL, said.
Sanjeev Moghe, President & Head Cards and Payments, Axis Bank, said, There is no doubt that this is a milestone moment for cross border transfers. We all know how UPI revolutionized domestic payments and we are now going to see a similar revolution in the cross-border payments space as well."
Consider this scenario: Your bank relationship manager (RM) approaches you with a great investment idea. A debt product with face value of 10 lakh maturing in May is available at a premium. You can buy the product for 12.2 lakh now and redeem it three months later for 12.6 lakh. The difference of about 40,000 is your gain!
Dont I have to pay any tax on the gains?" is what you would have instantly sought to know.
Theres a capital gains tax at the applicable slab rate, which, in your case, is 20%. But, even after paying the tax, you pocket 2.6% on your investment in just three months!" the RM informs.
View Full Image Graphic: Mint
What is this product?"
Its an MLD or market linked debenture. It was among the favourite debt products of high net-worth individuals (HNIs) but has lost its sheen since the budget announced capital gains tax at slab rates effective FY 2024-25. But, it doesnt concern you. In fact, you must use this opportunity to snag this sweet 2.6% offer. Thats a 10.4% annualised post-tax return!"
Sounds like a good bargain? Well, it certainly is. But, here is what your RM wont tell you. The issuer will deduct tax at source, or TDS, of 10% on the total interest of 2.6 lakh. So, you have to part with 26,000 from the maturity amount of 12.6 lakh that was promised to you. This was of the important announcement made in the budgetlisted bonds issued by a company will attract 10% TDS effective FY2023-24. Earlier, only unlisted bonds were subjected to TDS.
So, in place of the 12.6 lakh maturity amount , you will get 12.34 lakh at the time of redeeming the debenture. You will also have to pay capital gains tax of 8,000 (20% of 40,000). Of course, you can claim the TDS back while filing your income tax return.
But, heres the catch. The full interest of 2.6 lakh and not just the gains that you, as an intermediary buyer, have made will reflect in your Form 26AS. This could mean that the tax officer may refuse the TDS refund, claiming that your tax statements show an interest income and so the TDS is valid. In fact, the officer may ask for additional tax as per your tax slab.
If you are a retail investor and are being suddenly offered MLDs as a good alternative to fixed-income products, you must understand the TDS puzzle before signing up for the deal.
TDS puzzle
The budget changed taxation on MLDs from 10% long-term capital gains tax (after one-year holding) to short-term capital gains (STCG) at slab rates, irrespective of the holding period. This will come into effect from April. HNIs and wealth managers are rushing to sell their MLD holdings before 31 March to unsuspecting retail buyers.
Some would argue that retail investors can snag a good deal by negotiating a high premium from HNIs. But, introduction of TDS on listed bonds will dilute gains.
TDS outgo for the intermediary buyer in proportion to the capital gains he has made will be huge. He will pay TDS on his as well as the first buyers interest income," says Feroze Azeez, deputy chief executive officer, Anand Rathi Private Wealth Management. In the above example, TDS outgo is close to 80% of the capital gains made. The shorter the holding period for the intermediary buyer, the higher will be the TDS deduction.
While the same can be claimed back at the time of filing ITR, the TDS amount will be locked for a long duration, creating cash flow concerns for small investors.
Thats not all. Investors could also be looking at a marginal increase in credit risk, says Azeez. A company that was able to raise capital until now using this route would find it a little difficult to raise funds," he says.
Additionally, the taxpayer may have to face the hassle of tax notices at the time of claiming TDS refund.
There will most likely be a tax notice as the nature of this transaction cant be understood electronically. But, it can be easily resolved digitally and wont lead to litigation," says Karan Batra, founder, charteredclub.com.
Such tax notices are not a matter of concern, but a tax notice inadvertently stresses out taxpayers. We advise our clients to not get into such hassles if the gains are not substantial," he adds.
On being asked what a retail investor should do, Ashish Khetan, founder, Serenity Wealth, says ,Given the nuances around taxation, it is advisable that investors consult their CAs before taking any decision. Representations have been made by industry bodies to the ministry of finance and hopefully there will be more clarity soon."
The Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC), a representative body of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), has in a white paper made recommendations to the finance minister that as the returns on MLDs is now in the nature of STCG, tax should not be withheld on these. Withholding tax should ideally be applicable only for distribution of interest incomeas is the case with regular bonds to avoid any ambiguity," the white paper said.
India is likely to propose forming an expert G20 group to look into reforms at the World Bank and to increase the lending capacity of the institution for climate financing in middle and low income countries, three sources told Reuters.
The proposal is expected to be tabled at a G20 meeting this week at Nandi Hills summer retreat near India's tech hub Bengaluru, where financial chiefs from the bloc have gathered for the first major event of India's G20 presidency.
The development comes as World Bank President David Malpass held a discussion with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday on addressing debt vulnerabilities, India's finance ministry said.
"India is writing a proposal to form a group for reforms to World Bank," one of the sources said, requesting anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media.
India's finance and foreign ministries and the World Bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.
"Democratisation of World Bank has been a long term line pursued by India and other countries. Differential financing terms for least developed and developing countries is desirable," a second source said.
India's chief economic adviser on Tuesday said reforms at multilateral development banks would be at the top of the agenda for discussion during the G20 financial chiefs meet.
Sitharaman told Malpass on Wednesday that climate finance was a focus area during India's G20 presidency and multilateral development banks "can play a major role in incentivising private capital, de-risking instruments, and providing greater concessional finance".
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is also expected to press for consensus on reforming multilateral development banks to vastly expand their lending to tackle pressing global challenges such as climate change and conflict.
The World Bank Group's climate change action plan for 2021-2025 has set a target to deploy an average of 35% of the institution's financing in support of climate action.
The Group said in September that it delivered a record $31.7 billion financing in fiscal year 2022 to help countries address climate change, a 19% increase from the $26.6 billion all-time high in the previous fiscal year.
A New York short seller has forced India to stare at a reflection of its long-simmering frustration with shabby, inadequate infrastructure and its impatient urge to fill the gaps overnight.
The target of Hindenburg Researchs attack is the Adani Group, which aggressively marshaled capital from around the world into Indias unmet aspirations. The conglomerate has strongly denied the activist investors allegations of stock-price manipulation and accounting fraud.
For some Indians, the loss of more than $130 billion of market value has come as an assault on nationalist pride. But even those who refuse to equate Adani with India are forced to acknowledge the larger point of the debacle: The countrys hunger for nicer airports, wider roads, faster rail journeys, more efficient ports, more reliable power supply and cleaner air is not backed by the purchasing power of the masses. Stratospheric equity values might lure debt into asset-owning firms for a while. Ultimately, though, misallocated capital wont end the infrastructure deficit.
When it comes to channeling capital efficiently, Indias stock market offers plenty of choices. Yes, domestic savings are low, and only now getting deployed by asset managers beyond the traditional havens of gold, real estate and bank deposits. But for foreigners willing to take the risks that come with emerging markets, a 30%-plus return on capital employed (1)is par for the course. Except that these opportunities are usually not available in infrastructure outside of telecom. And thats where the Adani Group operates.
Some of Indias more efficient firms are consumer multinationals that have been around a long time, such as Unilever Plc and Colgate-Palmolive Co. They rub shoulders with the likes of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Infosys Ltd. and Wipro Ltd., homegrown software exporters that are now multinationals in their own right. Ditto for scooter- and autorickshaw-maker Bajaj Auto Ltd., which sells half of its two-wheelers in other developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is now almost twice as large by market value as its Japanese parent.
The one thing common to all of them? They all generate reasonably high returns on capital employed, which is what you would expect in a youthful country of 1.4 billion people, teeming with cheap labor.
Look deeper into the Adani meltdown, and youll see the opposite pattern: Most of the groups stocks that have crashed this year never did boast of superior capital efficiency. Adani Enterprises Ltd., the flagship, has a sub-10% return on capital employed, as does Adani Green Energy Ltd., one of Indias largest producers of solar power. Even the elevated profitability of Adani Total Gas Ltd. may be a function of its city-gas business winning tenders to supply an ever-bigger geographical area in line with the governments desire to provide 90% of the population with a cleaner energy source than diesel, coal, and cow-dung patties. Post-tax profit in nine months through December was flat; shares have collapsed by nearly three-fourths since the short sellers attack.
This is the hard reality facing most of Adanis business: It has a sprawling portfolio ranging from ports and airports to coal mines, power stations, solar farms, gas pipelines, wind turbines, warehouses, and a lot else besides. But the capital stuck in them is hard to sweat. Users cant, or wont, pay enough for natural monopolies whose size and quality is dictated by the aspirations of a small but vocal middle class, but pricing must be decided by a large swathe of less affluent users. No wonder, state-owned electricity distribution companies keep sinking into a vortex of losses and debt despite many attempts to revive them. They cant settle power producers bills on time.
No gloss of stock-market valuation can hide the wrinkles in the underlying economics. The group says refinancing its $24 billion in net debt should pose no problems. However, if capital turns more expensive, the Adani juggernaut could stumble.
While high valuations have enabled the group to borrow aggressively, equity investors themselves have been less than convinced by Adanis meteoric rise. The phenomenal gains of the last three years were underpinned by the former centi-billionaires acquisitive zeal and a spectacular runup in shares with low free-floats. They propelled founder Gautam Adani to near the very top of the global wealth league.
That fortune, however, was perched on wobbly foundations. Even before the short sellers Jan. 24 note, the group wasnt exactly a darling of institutional investors. Equity analysts actively track only the ports and the recently acquired cement businesses, and even mutual-fund managers in Mumbai have largely stayed away. Barring TotalEnergies SE, Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Co., Qatar Investment Authority, Warburg Pincus LLC and Indias state-owned Life Insurance Corp., the behemoth hasnt succeeded in persuading many investors of its long-term capital efficiency. And now Frances Total has put a green hydrogen partnership with Adani on hold. Norways largest pension fund, KLP, has dumped its entire shareholding in Adani Green.
Even though the businessmans proximity to the Indian prime minister is well known, Adani has denied seeking or receiving any political favors. Whats true, however, is that the tycoon has aligned his expansion with Narendra Modis priorities.
In a developing country with low living standards, the government lacks the tax base to commit itself to expensive, long-gestation projects. To emulate a Chinese-style infrastructure boom, Modi wants to monetize existing state assets. But wheres the eager private-sector buyer of old state-owned infrastructure and the creator of new facilities, such as a second airport in Mumbai? A previous champion, the IL&FS Group, went bankrupt in 2018. Even if the IL&FS model of shadow banking didnt work, global equity investors pour billions of dollars into India each year for mouth-watering returns. Why couldnt the same apparatus be used by the countrys entrepreneurs to also create infrastructure?
Adani showed it could be done. He came to straddle Indias traditional, coal-based energy supply-chain and made a bold bet on renewables, including green hydrogen. He bought six state-run airfields in one fell swoop, and is now constructing a second Mumbai airport to decongest the one he already operates. From one seaport in the 1990s, he has come to own a network of 13 ports and terminals encircling Indias coastline. The 60-year-old recently acquired the Haifa Port in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a great friend of Modis. Adani is also a 51% owner of the new western Colombo port terminal in debt-ravaged Sri Lanka, where India wants to counter Chinas influence. Bangladesh, which is supposed to start buying power from Adani, has recently asked for a review of the purchase agreement.
Overall, the group has talked in the past about investing $107 billion over a decade, music to the ears of politicians who want to spend $1.4 trillion on infrastructure but have no idea how to do it.
Before Adani could become synonymous with India at home and abroad, Hindenburg Research dropped its bombshell: A 106-page report alleging that the billionaire was trying to pull the largest con in corporate history. The Adani Group countered with a 413-page rebuttal, but failed to save a crucial stock sale. Since then, the groups shares have plunged, even as the battle for corporate reputation has acquired political overtones. Ahead of Modis reelection bid in next years general election, the opposition is trying to pin him down on his relationship with the businessman from his home state of Gujarat.
Whatever the outcome of the gladiatorial contest, one thing is clear: From airports and roads to green hydrogen, data centers and mining, the five companies that the conglomerate was planning to float in the public markets between 2026 and 2028 may have to be incubated by the flagship a lot longer. That will cost. Bondholders and banks may be appeased if they see enough hard assets as collateral, but equity investors have been burnt once. Now, they will want evidence of solid underlying profitability. Since thats harder to demonstrate than unbridled ambition, India may eventually have to look elsewhere. The country deserves superior infrastructure. It just needs to find a better way to afford it.
(1) Calculated as what a company earns for its shareholders and creditors, divided by the capital it deployed in the business.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services in Asia. Previously, he worked for Reuters, the Straits Times and Bloomberg News.
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the signing of the air services agreement between India and Guyana.
The Air Services Agreement will come into force after the exchange of diplomatic notes between the parties confirming that each party has completed the necessary internal procedure for entry into force of this agreement," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.
Indians have a sizeable presence in Guyana and are the largest ethnic group comprising about 40% of the population as per 2012 census.
The signing of the agreement with Guyana will enable a framework for provision of air services between the two countries.
In view of the growing aviation market and developments such as liberalization of aviation sector in India, air services agreement has been signed with many countries to pave way for International air connectivity.
According to the ministry, the air services agreement provides the legal framework for air operations between two countries which is based on the principles of sovereignty of nations, nationality of carriers and reciprocity in terms of commercial opportunities for the designated airlines of each side.
At present there is no air services agreement (ASA) between the between Indian government and Guyana government.
India and Guyana are signatories to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).
Officials of the Indian government and Guyana government met in Nassau, Bahamas on 6 December 2016 during the ICAO Air Services Negotiations event where both countries had initialed the text of an ASA for scheduled air services between the two countries.
The new air services agreement between India and Guyana will provide enabling environment for enhanced and seamless connectivity while providing commercial opportunities to the carriers of both the sides, it added.
With an aim to enhance the India's role in global civil aviation matters, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday backed amendments to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, reaffirming India's commitment to the principles behind the convention. It will provide better chances and opportunity for India to become more instrumental in matters related to international civil aviation, said an official statement.
The Convention outlines the privileges and obligations of all contracting states and promote the norms of international air transport.
MUMBAI : Many engineering students from the batch of 2022 are seeking jobs in startups they had earlier spurned to take up offers from IT service firms, which have delayed onboarding until May 2023, citing a demand slowdown.
The prospects of the 2022 batch have darkened further as many companies may now choose to recruit from the new 2023 batch.
As a global recession looms, IT service firms are delaying onboarding and altering programme offers, leaving engineering graduates in a state of uncertainty. A tight job market has added to the challenges faced by the graduates.
To facilitate this advantage for you and to better align the start of your career with the most relevant projects, we are rescheduling your employment start date to 22 May 2023," said Infosys in an email to one of the engineering students who was offered a job in March last year. Despite being told initially of an August start date, the computer science graduate faced multiple postponements. In the correspondence in December, Infosys conveyed a further delay, setting the joining date for May.
We understand that this may alter some of your plans, but we are keen to best position you for success as you start your career with Infosys," the email said.
After a year of aggressive hiring from engineering colleges, the possibility of a global recession has hurt margins and forced IT firms to reschedule hiring plans.
Hiring at Infosys is always aligned to client requirements through the year, and consequently, we spread the joining dates of various batches to align with changes in project schedules and to also ensure employees have access to the right training," Infosys had told Mint last year.
Large IT service companiesTata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Tech, Infosys and Tech Mahindraprojected a combined hiring figure of 180,000 freshers for the year at the start of FY23.
Freshers joining Wipro are also facing delays. The company told campus hires that they would need to join an alternative programme to their chosen one, accompanied by a 46% salary reduction. Wipro cited the need to adjust onboarding plans" in response to macro-environmental changes.
But this decision has led to graduates asking why their onboardings are getting delayed if the company has place to accommodate graduates selected for other programmes.
Wipro came to my campus in September 2021 and made offers to us in December. I was shortlisted for the Elite programme and have not been onboarded yet. I have waited for more than a year, and now there is no communication on our dates," said a computer science engineer from Chennai.
Wipro hired students under the Elite programme (salary of 3.5 lakh), and some of them were trained in Java and full stack technologies, and made to join the Turbo programme (salary of 6.5 lakh). Now, the company has asked the latter to take up roles under the Elite programme, which means a salary cut. Those under the Elite programme are questioning their future with Wipro.
If Turbo lot comes into our profiles, then where do we go? Other firms have a freeze," said the Chennai-based engineer.
In light of the changing macro environment and, as a result, our business needs, we had to adjust our onboarding plans," Wipro responded.
A spokesperson for TCS did not respond to Mints queries.
Engineering graduates continue to face mounting challenges as the global slowdown persists.
Rajya Sabha MP and former diplomat Jawhar Sircar has taken a dig at Foreign Minister S Jaishankar after he blatantly criticised the Congress party in a podcast by ANI news agency.
Recently, Jaishankar said his father Dr K Subrahmanyam was removed as Secretary, Defence Production, by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi soon after she came back to power in 1980 and he was superseded during the Rajiv Gandhi period with someone junior to him becoming the Cabinet Secretary.
"In 1980, he was Secretary, Defence Production. In 1980 when Indira Gandhi was re-elected, he was the first Secretary that she removed. And he was the most knowledgeable person everybody would say on defence," he added.
Jaishankar said his father was also a very upright person, "may be that caused the problem, I don't know".
"But the fact was that as a person he saw his own career in bureaucracy, actually kind of stalled. And after that, he never became a Secretary again. He was superseded during the Rajiv Gandhi period by somebody junior to him who became a cabinet secretary. It was something he felt...we rarely spoke about it. So he was very, very proud when my elder brother became secretary," said Dr Jaishankar.
Following these remarks, Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar tweeted a quote said by Jaishankar's father in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Sircar wrote on Twitter, "S Jaishankars father, K Subramanyam said, 'Dharma was killed in Gujarat (2002 Riots). Those who failed to protect innocent citizens are guilty of adharma. Ramawould have used his bow against the Asura rulers of Gujarat...Shame on son serving Asura!'
Further, the former diplomat added, "Strange that Jaishankar discovered his angst against the Gandhis after serving them most loyally and taking the best of postings under them? Is it Amnesia or is he just cuddling up to BJP for his unprecedented promotion as Foreign Minister?"
During the ANI podcast, Jaishankar spoke about how he became the foreign minister of India. He said the political opportunity as a union minister came as a bolt from the blue in 2019.
Reflecting on the phone call from the Prime Minister inviting him to be part of the 2019 Narendra Modi-led cabinet, Jaishankar said that it did come as a surprise. "It had not crossed my mind, I don't think it had crossed the mind of anybody else in my circle," he said referring to his induction in the union cabinet.
"Once I entered, I must say in all honesty I myself was very unsure. I had watched politicians all my life. One of the things you get to do in foreign service by the way is you actually perhaps much more than the other services is, you see politicians up close because you see them abroad, you are kind of working with them closely, counselling them. So, it's one thing to watch but to actually join politics, to become a cabinet member, to stand for Rajya Sabha, you know when I was selected, I was not even a member of Parliament. So each of these things happened one by one. I slid into it, sometimes without knowing it. You learn by watching others," he added.
Jaishankar, who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1977, said he looks "very carefully at what people are doing both in my party and other parties". He is a BJP member of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat.
India held disengagement talks with China in Beijing regarding the remaining friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in an "open and constructive manner", but there was no indication of any breakthrough.
This was the first in-person talks between the two countries since 2019. This was held under the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) framework, wherein both sides agreed to hold the 18th round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The framework was set-up in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas.
"The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of India-China border areas and discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining areas in an open and constructive manner, which would help in the restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in Western Sector and create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations," the MEA said.
"To achieve this objective in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols, they agreed to hold the next (18th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date," it said in a statement.
In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a separate statement, saying the two sides reviewed the positive progress made in the early stage of China-India border control, affirmed the results of the disengagement of the two border troops in the Galwan Valley and other four locations. They had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the approach for the next stage of consultation, it added.
The MEA said the two sides agreed to continue discussions through military and diplomatic channels.
"The 26th meeting of the WMCC was held on 22 February 2023 in person in Beijing. This was the first WMCC meeting since the 14th meeting held in July 2019, to be held in person," it said.
The Chinese statement said that the two sides agreed to actively implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries to further stabilise the border situation.
The two sides agreed to consolidate the achievements of the negotiations, strictly abide by the agreements reached between them and the spirit of relevant consensus, avoid repeated situation on the ground and ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, it said.
They agreed to meet each other halfway on the basis of the previous consensus, to speed up the resolution of issues related to the western sector of the China-India border, and to reach a solution acceptable to both sides at an early date, it added.
The two sides discussed other measures to further ease the border situation, and agreed to work further to push the border situation into a stage of normalised management, the Chinese statement added.
The WMCC meeting in Beijing came a week before the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Delhi. Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang is expected to attend the meeting on March 1 and 2.
India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.
The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in 2021 on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.
(With inputs from PTI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's remark on India's relationship with China "look they are the bigger economy. What am I going to do? As a smaller economy, I am going to pick up a fight with the bigger economy?," has faced severe criticism from the Opposition Congress. In a blistering attack the Mallikarjun Kharge-led party said that Jaishankar's remark ended up hurting the Indian Defense Forces instead of the Grand Old Party.
Jaishankar has attempted to answer whether the PM Narendra Modi-led government is reactive or proactive when it come to the Chinese aggression along the border. It's not a question of being reactionary, it's a question of common sense," Jaishankar had said
In an interview with news agency ANI, Jaishnakar had said, "I won't say we are fortifying the border. We are legitimately building our border infrastructure because they are building their border infrastructure. In my view, we should have done it 25 years ago,"
Following this the interviewer had asked ,"we are reactive that means?"
To this Jaishankar had elaborated that India is a much smaller economy as compared to the larger Chinese economy.
"When you say this, you hurt the valour and the pride of the Army. Going by this, no one will fight the superpowers of the world. No one has given such a controversial statement on China so far. And he is the longest serving ambassador in China," Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said to the foreign minister.
Shrinate posed six question for the foreign minister.
-What are those photos of Chinese aggression?
-What is his reaction that our patrolling points now have become buffer zone?
-What about the bridge being built?
-Did you advise PM Modi to claim in front of the world that there has been no Chinese incursion?
-Is this your advice to the government to divert attention from this, Jaishankar ji?
-Are you suffering from Stockholm syndrome?
"I am not saying this in a humorous way. But Stockholm syndrome is real when someone falls in love with it kidnapper. Instead of showing lal ankh, your government extends the red carpet wearing a red shirt to Xi Jinping," the Congress leader said.
"You also have to keep in mind that we had an agreement that you are not supposed to bring the military to the border. Please understand, why do we reach an agreement. It is to stabilise the situation. It's not for love and affection," Jaishankar added.
Jaishankar also took on Rahul Gandhi as he asked: "Who sent the Army to the LAC? Rahul Gandhi didn't. PM Modi did," Jaishankar said.
'Is this your foreign policy?' Congress had asked the EAM.
If everything that is happening in the country is "foreign conspiracy', then what the foreign ministry is doing, the Congress asked.
"Bangladesh is drawing close to China, Bhutan has distanced itself from us," Shrinate said adding that foreign policy is not a tool to allocate foreign projects to Adani.
After three failed attempts, Aam Aadmi Party leader Shelly Oberoi had now been elected the Mayor of Delhi. The elections took place after three failed attempts, with Oberoi defeating BJP's Rekha Gupta by a margin of 34 votes. Earlier election attempts had been stalled amid ruckus over voting rights being given to nominated members.
An assistant professor with Delhi University, Oberoi had won the civic polls from ward no 86 on December 7. She had defeated Deepali Kumari by 269 votes in the high-stakes contest.
Also read: 'The goons lost': AAP cheers as candidate Shelly Oberoi wins Delhi mayor polls
The 39-year-old holds a doctorate degree in philosophy from the Indira Gandhi National Open Universitys School of Management Studies and has won several academic laurels. Oberoi had held the highest grade point average among students in college - being awarded the the Miss Kamla Rani Prize and a scholarship.
She is also a lifetime member of the Indian Commerce Association and had previously been honoured at various conferences. Oberoi won a Gold medal (Prof Manubhai Shah Award) at one such event.
Shelly Oberoi's political career began nearly a decade ago after she joined the AAP. She had been the the vice president of the women's wing of the Delhi AAP till 2020.
As political bickering between the AAP and BJP halted the elections on three separate occasions, Oberoi had approached the Supreme Court
(With inputs from agencies)
MUMBAI : India and Singapore on Tuesday linked their quick payment systems, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow, easing the process of fund transfers between individuals in the two Asian nations.
Initially, the UPI-PayNow link will feature only a handful of banks and can be used only for person-to-person transactions. Customers of State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank and ICICI Bank will be able to both send and receive money, while those of Axis Bank and DBS India can only receive money in their accounts. More banks will be added over time.
To begin with, an Indian user can remit up to 60,000 a day (equivalent to around SGD 1,000). At the time of making the transaction, the system shall dynamically calculate and display the amount in both currencies for the convenience of the user," the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement.
The transactions can only be made over the banks mobile app or internet banking. For users in Singapore, the service will be made available through DBS Singapore and the Liquid Group (a non-bank financial institution).
RBI governor Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon initiated the UPI-PayNow linkage by making token transactions in a virtual event witnessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.
The plan to connect the payments systems was announced in September 2021 and was initially slated to be operationalized by July 2022.
DBS Bank said in a statement that PayNow-UPI would be progressively rolled out to familiarize its customers with the new service. Selected customers can use PayNow-UPI to transfer funds of up to SGD 200 per transaction, capped at SGD 500 per day, it said. By 31 March 2023, DBS Bank said, the service will be extended to all customers who can transfer funds of up to SGD 1,000 a day.
With India being one of DBS biggest markets for overseas remittances, this is a welcome addition to our wide-ranging suite of payment solutions for SMEs, retail customers and especially migrant workers, who now have another convenient option to send money to their loved ones back home," said Shee Tse Koon, Singapore country head, DBS Bank.
According to RBI, the linkage resulted from a collaboration between RBI, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and payment system operators of both countries, NPCI International Payments Ltd and Banking Computer Services Pte Ltd, along with participating banks and non-bank financial institutions.
Indias retail payments umbrella body NPCI has been attempting to take UPI overseas and recently allowed non-resident Indians to use UPI even if their domestic bank accounts are linked to their foreign mobile numbers.
It will significantly benefit migrant workers, tourists, small businesses, and enterprises. This will also establish a significant foundation for cross-border payments between India and Asean countries," said Akash Sinha, chief executive and co-founder of Cashfree Payments.
Another American of Indian origin has joined the race for the US presidency. Vivek Ramaswamy, a health and tech sector entrepreneur, has declared his candidacy for the 2024 election. The 37-year-old, whose parents moved to the US from Kerala, grew up there and is the author of Woke, Inc: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam. He takes on Nikki Haley, also of Indian descent, and former president Donald Trump among others, for the Republican bid for the White House. This isnt just a political campaign," he said, this is a cultural movement to create a new dream for the next generation..." While the odds seem against him, given his formidable opponents, his ambition speaks well of diasporic confidence in US glass ceilings on ethnicity lying shattered. Call it the Obama effect. Whether the same holds for gender, however, remains doubtful. This is a letdown for the countrys vaunted soft power. Would, say, a Nikki Haley versus Kamala Harris contest unfold some day? That would be significant. Not for their respective India links, the irrelevance of which testifies to a creditably open polity, but for this male bastion getting breached at long last.
The UK government on Tuesday invited 2,400 visa applications for Indians under the UK-India Young Professional Scheme. According to an update shared by the British High Commission in India, Indian citizens between 18 and 30 years of age can enter the ballot if they meet other relevant criteria.
"This is an excellent opportunity for India's brightest young people between the ages of 18-30 to experience the best of the UK," said the British High Commission in New Delhi as it released the detailed eligibility criteria for the new scheme.
Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants must also have the relevant educational qualifications - bachelor's degree level or above - and possess Pound 2,530 (approximately 2.6 lakhs) in savings. They must also not have any dependent minor children.
You can enter the ballot if youre an Indian citizen and youre eligible for the India Young Professionals Scheme visa. Check youre eligible before entering the ballot.
You must enter the ballot online. You will need to provide your:
name
date of birth
passport details
a scan or photo of your passport
phone number
email address
The successful entries will be picked at random. You will be sent the results by email within 2 weeks of the ballot closing.
Its free to enter the ballot. You should only enter if you plan to apply for the visa, which costs 259, and are able to meet the financial, educational and other requirements.
Successful entries
There are 2,400 visas available in the February ballot.
If youre successful in the ballot, you will be invited to apply for a visa.
You will have 30 days from the date of the email to apply online, pay the visa application fee and immigration health surcharge.
If youre successful in the ballot but choose not to apply for the visa, you do not need to notify us.
Unsuccessful entries
The first Young Professionals Scheme ballot will be open from 14:30 IST on 28 February to 14:29 IST on 2 March.
Read more about eligibility and how to apply: https://t.co/1XQoE66dAV #IndiaYPS #LivingBridge pic.twitter.com/zR4pnYo8PO UK in India (@UKinIndia) February 21, 2023
The results of the ballot are final. You cannot appeal if youre unsuccessful.
You can enter future ballots if youre unsuccessful. The next ballot is likely to be held in late July. Details will be announced on this page closer to the time.
If you do not enter the February ballot, you can enter future ballots if you meet the requirements.
"You must be selected in the India Young Professionals Scheme ballot before you can apply for this visa. To enter the ballot you must declare that you're eligible for the visa - check if you're eligible before you enter," read the British government announcement.
Those looking to obtain this visa must pay the application fee of Pound 259 (approx 26,000) and a healthcare surcharge of Pound 940 (approx 94,000). They will also have to prove they have Pound 2,530 in personal savings.
"You will need to have had the money available for at least 28 days in a row. Day 28 must be within 31 days of applying for this visa. You'll need to show proof of this when you apply," the British government explained.
The successful candidate must travel to the UK within 6 months of applying for your visa.
"You'll be given a visa to live and work in the UK for up to 24 months. You can enter the UK at any time while your visa is valid, and leave and come back at any time during your stay," read the eligibility criteria.
Eligible candidates can enter the India Young Professionals Scheme ballot by filling out their details online. They will need to provide details such as name, phone number, email address and date of birth. They will also have to share passport details and a scanned image of their passport.
"The successful entries will be picked at random. You will be sent the results by email within 2 weeks of the ballot closing. It's free to enter the ballot. You should only enter if you plan to apply for the visa which costs Pound 259," read the UK government site.
Chosen candidates will then receive an invitation to apply for the visa. They will have 30 days from the date of the email to apply online, pay the visa application fee and immigration health surcharge.
The launch of the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme was dubbed a significant moment" for the bilateral relationship and the UKs wider commitment to forging stronger links with the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen both Indian and British economies. It was also seen as an effort to propel the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, which are now set to enter the eighth round of talks next month.
I know first-hand the incredible value of the deep cultural and historic ties we have with India. I am pleased that even more of Indias brightest young people will now have the opportunity to experience all that life in the UK has to offer and vice-versa making our economies and societies richer," said Sunak, as he green-lit the scheme in November last year.
The Supreme Court declined to grant a stay on the Election Commission's order, stating that the court cannot stay an order at this stage", days after the Election Commission issued an order recognising the Eknath Shinde-led bloc as the real" Shiv Sena and also allotted the bow and arrow" symbol to it. The Supreme Court further clarified that if any action is taken that is not based on the EC order, the Uddhav Thackeray camp has the option to pursue other legal remedies.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Thackeray, and sought response of the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde.
The Supreme Court has also issued a notice to the Eknath Shinde camp regarding the petition filed by Uddhav Thackeray against the Election Commission's order. The court has instructed the Shinde camp to submit a response to the petition.
The counsel for the Shinde faction told the bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, that it will not issue any whip or initiate process to disqualify the lawmakers of the Thackeray faction in the meantime.
All right, issue notice. The counter affidavit will be filed within two weeks," the bench said.
The Supreme Court of India refused to stay EC order which recognised the Eknath Shinde faction as real Shiv Sena.
The Election Commission of India last week recognized the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena, and allotted it the poll symbol of the party, bow and arrow. The rival factions led by Shinde and former CM Uddhav Thackeray have been locked in legal battles over the control of the Shiv Sena.
Shinde's revolt against Thackeray's leadership last June brought down the Thackeray-led Sena-Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra. Thackeray camp has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of Shinde group's defection and the way the Shinde-led government was formed with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
(With agency inputs)
The British government has strongly defended the BBC and its editorial freedom in Parliament after the Income-Tax department's survey operations on the UK-headquartered media corporations New Delhi and Mumbai offices over three days last week.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) junior minister responded to an urgent question raised in the House of Commons on Tuesday to say that the government cannot comment on the allegations made by the I-T department over an ongoing investigation" but stressed that media freedom and freedom of speech are essential elements of robust democracies".
David Rutley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of the FCDO, pointed to a broad and deep relationship" with India which meant the UK was able to discuss a wide range of issues in a "constructive manner".
We stand up for the BBC. We fund the BBC. We think the BBC World Service is vital. We want the BBC to have that editorial freedom," said Rutley.
It criticises us (government), it criticises the (Opposition) Labour party, and it has that freedom that we believe is so important. That freedom is key, and we want to be able to communicate its importance to our friends across the world, including the government in India," he said.
Updating the Commons on the issue, the minister said Indias I-T department conducted what has been described as a survey on the BBCs offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, beginning on February 14 and finishing after three days, on February 16.
Highlighting that the BBC is operationally and editorially independent", the minister said the public broadcaster plays an important role and the FCDO funds services in 12 languages, including four Indian languages: Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi and Telugu.
"It will continue to do so, because it is important to ensure that our voice and an independent voice, through the BBC is heard throughout the world," he said.
Pressed on by Opposition MPs on the "deeply worrying raids" and asked about discussions with the Indian government, the minister added: It is because of our broad and deep relationship with India that we are able to discuss a wide range of issues in a constructive manner with its government. As part of those conversations, this issue has been raised and we continue to monitor the situation."
The urgent question was raised by Northern Ireland MP Jim Shannon, who branded the action a deliberate act of intimidation following the release of an unflattering documentary about the countrys leader" and sharply criticised the UK government for failing to make a statement on the issue.
The raids happened seven days ago. Since then I say this respectfully there has been silence from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. No government statements have been issued, and it has taken an urgent question to encourage the government to condemn this blatant attack on press freedoms," said Shannon, a member of Parliament for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
British Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi expressed his concerns that "India, a nation with which we have shared values of democracy and press freedoms, decided to conduct a raid on the BBC offices after the airing of a documentary critical of the Indian Prime Ministers actions".
These issues have absolutely been raised as part of those conversations," the minister responded.
Other Labour MPs pointed out that it was not the first time that the authorities in India had undertaken such "investigations into media organisations that are critical of the current government".
We need to ensure that our views on media freedom are communicated clearly with other governments. We have those conversations not only with the government of India, but across the world. We think these are very important principles and, as I said, they are essential elements for robust democracies," the minister said.
Our broad and deep relationship, guided by the comprehensive strategic partnership and the 2030 road map for India-UK future relations, allows us to discuss a wide range of issues in a constructive manner with the government of India. We continue to follow the matter closely," he added.
Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman, a vocal supporter of the Indian government, asked the minister to confirm if the I-T authorities in India have been investigating the BBC for seven years.
The minister, however, declined to comment on an ongoing investigation that the BBC is actively engaged in".
The I-T department said in a statement following the survey that the income and profits disclosed by the organisation's units were "not commensurate with the scale of operations in India".
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
WARSAWPresident Biden met with the leaders on Europes eastern flank Wednesday, demonstrating his administrations renewed focus on allies on the front lines of Washingtons great power competition with both Russia and China.
WARSAW/MOSCOW : US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday Ukraine "stands strong" a year after Russia's invasion and that Moscow would never defeat it, speaking hours after the Kremlin suspended a landmark nuclear arms control treaty over the West's support for Kyiv.
Biden's remarks, in a speech at Warsaw's Royal Castle in Poland following a surprise visit to Ukraine, countered an address shortly before by Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he vowed that Moscow would achieve its objectives in Ukraine and accused the West of plotting to destroy Russia.
Alleging that the United States was turning the Ukraine war into a global conflict, Putin said Russia was suspending participation in the New START treaty, its last major arms control treaty with Washington.
Putin, upping the ante in Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, also announced that new strategic systems had been put on combat duty and threatened to resume nuclear tests.
With the anniversary of the invasion coming on Feb. 24, Biden declared "unwavering" support for Kyiv and a commitment to bolstering NATO's eastern flank facing Russia, while rejecting Moscow's contention that the West was planning to attack Russia.
"One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv," Biden said. "I can report: Kyiv stands strong, Kyiv stands proud, it stands tall and, most important, it stands free.
"When President Putin ordered his tanks to roll into Ukraine, he thought we would roll over. He was wrong," he said.
Biden added: "Appetites of the autocrat cannot be appeased. They must be opposed. Autocrats only understand one word: no, no, no. No, you will not take my country."
He did not mention Russia's START suspension in his speech, but said Washington and its allies did not seek to control or destroy Russia through their solidarity with Kyiv.
"The West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today ... This war was never a necessity. It's a tragedy. President Putin chose this war," Biden said.
NATO allies and other supporters have sent Ukraine tens of billions of dollars worth of increasingly heavy war weaponry and ammunition, with modern battle tanks promised and some mulling Kyiv's appeals for fighter jets and longer-range missiles.
Russia suffered three major battlefield reverses in Ukraine last year but still controls around a fifth of its neighbour and appears to be inching forward in an offensive in the east.
'IRRESPONSIBLE'
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Putin's New START suspension "deeply unfortunate and irresponsible". NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it made the world a more dangerous place, and urged Putin to reconsider.
Russia's foreign ministry said later that Moscow intended to continue abiding by restrictions in the treaty on the number of warheads it could deploy. Washington left room for Moscow to change course, with Blinken saying it would be watching to see what Moscow actually did.
Signed by then-U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in 2010, the treaty caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads the countries can deploy.
Due to expire in 2026, it allows each country to physically check the other's nuclear arsenal, although tensions over Ukraine had already brought inspections to a halt.
Putin said, without citing evidence, that some in Washington were considering breaking a moratorium on nuclear testing and if that happened, Moscow would do the same.
He added that a week ago he had signed a decree on "putting new ground-based strategic systems on combat duty". It was not immediately clear which systems he meant.
NUCLEAR THREATS
Putin, who has over the past year repeatedly hinted that Russia could use a nuclear weapon if threatened, was in effect saying that he could dismantle the architecture of nuclear arms control unless the West backs off in Ukraine.
"They intend to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation," he said. "This is exactly how we understand it all and we will react accordingly, because in this case we are talking about the existence of our country."
Putin said the conflict had been forced on Russia, particularly by NATO's eastward expansion since the Cold War.
"The people of Ukraine have become the hostage of the Kyiv regime and its Western overlords, who have effectively occupied this country in the political, military and economic sense."
Kyiv and Western leaders such as Biden reject that narrative as an unfounded pretext for a Russian land grab in a fellow former Soviet republic that Putin calls an artificial state, and say he must be made to lose his gamble on invasion.
A senior aide to Ukraine's president said Putin's speech showed he had lost touch with reality.
As Putin was speaking, at least one Russian rocket slammed into a busy street in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, killing six people. Ukraine's military and city authorities said 12 others were wounded in the attack.
Local authorities said Kherson came under fire from multiple rocket launchers while Putin portrayed the West as the aggressor in Ukraine and Russia as not waging war on the Ukrainian people. Russia did not immediately comment on the incident.
Moscow has denied deliberately targeting civilians in its "special military operation".
In Geneva, the U.N. human rights office said it had recorded more than 8,000 civilian deaths, 90% from explosive weapons, and described the figure as only the "tip of the iceberg" with thousands more thought to have died.
With around 300 passengers, Air India Newark (US)-Delhi flight (AI106) experienced a technical problem and had to make an emergency landing in Stockholm, Sweden. Every passenger is secure. As the plane made an emergency landing, there were numerous fire engines stationed at the airport.
An oil leak was discovered in one of the engines of the flight, according to a senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official. Once the engine was turned down due to the oil spill, the aeroplane safely landed in Stockholm, PTI reported while citing the official.
Oil was observed dripping from engine two's drain mast during the ground inspection, the official reported, noting that the inspection was still in progress. According to a representative of the airline, a technical issue caused the flight from Newark, New Jersey, to be diverted to Stockholm.
Air India Newark (US)-Delhi flight (AI106) with nearly 300 passengers made an emergency landing at Sweden's Stockholm airport after it developed a technical snag. All passengers safe. A large no.of fire engines were stationed at the airport as the flight made an emergency landing pic.twitter.com/VZTNnhNxEu ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2023
This comes after an onboard medical issue caused an Air India flight (AI-102) from New York to Delhi to be diverted to London on February 20. "Air India AI-102 John F. Kennedy International Airport to Delhi flight diverted to London due to a medical emergency," said an official.
Also Read: Air India buys 540 planes, in biggest ever deal
After the flight was delayed by more than four hours, passengers and airline workers of an Air India flight headed for Mumbai got into a violent altercation at the Delhi airport on February 21 late at night.
Flight AI-805, according to a passenger on the Delhi-Mumbai route, was delayed from its planned departure time of 8 PM to 10:40 PM, then 11:35 PM, then 12:30 AM (February 22), and finally took off at 1:48 am from Delhi's Terminal 3 airport.
Also Read: IndiGo watchful of Air India; its arrogant to ignore rivals
The managers kept inventing stories about how the staff was late for the trip and that they were actually "fooling" the passengers, the passenger told ANI. Another employee claimed that it was because the pilot, who was scheduled to fly, unexpectedly became ill.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
Elon Musk, known for his controversial comments, has just called Twitter worlds largest non-profit". As usual, his tweet has gotten a massive response as it has gotten 36 million views and around 380,000 likes.
Say what you want about me, but I acquired the worlds largest non-profit for $44B lol," Musk wrote. When American video game designer Derek Smart responded, Now open source it, then we'll be truly impressed", Musk was quick to reply. Prepare to be disappointed at first when our algorithm is made open source next week, but it will improve rapidly!" the Twitter CEO wrote.
Say what you want about me, but I acquired the worlds largest non-profit for $44B lol Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2023
One of the users thanked Musk as being the only person in the world who could have returned free speech to the worlds most important platform". But saving Free Speech and Truth is priceless," wrote another user.
Also Read: Twitter deploys new code to force-feed Elon Musks tweets to users
Twitter has the potential to make money if only most of the users were replaced with non annoying people", Dogecoin creator Billy Markus, known on Twitter as Shibetoshi Nakamoto, said.
Financial adviser Ankur Warikoo, known for sharing funny memes from his official accounts, responded to Musk calling Twitter worlds largest non-profit" by sharing a meme featuring Akshay Kumar. In the meme, Akshays celebration gradually turns into tears.
Musks comment comes shortly after attorneys for a Tesla shareholder asked a Delaware judge to void a 2018 pay package given to CEO Elon Musk by the organisation's board of directors that might be worth more than $55 billion.
Also Read: Elon Musk: Teslas main competition will come from China
The compensation package, according to the shareholder's attorneys, should be thrown out because Musk dictated it and forged agreements with directors who were not impartial to him. They further claim that false and deficient information in a proxy statement led shareholders to approve it.
Twitter users received an ultimatum from Twitter on February 19 as they were asked to subscribe to the platform's new premium service or lose two-factor authentication. Users who don't pay $8 a month and subscribe will be locked out of their accounts starting on March 19 until they disable the security feature.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
Israel's handing over of the strategic port of Haifa to the Adani Group is a reflection of the trust that it has on India, said its Ambassador to India Naor Gilon on 22 February.
"It was a very important move from our point of view because Haifa Port is our strategic asset. Adani Group has the potential to make the Haifa Port the port it needs to be and to increase trade between Israel and India," Gilon said.
Revealing more, Gilon said that the Adani Group was looking to invest in more projects in Israel and hopes or success in the conglomerate's ventures in Israel.
"The fact that we are giving to an Indian company, I think from our point of view, it is a symbolic or sign of deep trust of handing the strategic asset in an Indian group," Gilon said while addressing a press conference.
ALSO READ: Adani isnt India, but its troubles mirror the nations woes
He added that Adani Group is looking for more projects in Israel.
"We have about 80 joint ventures with Indian companies, including TATA, Kalyani, BHEL... ports are the core business of Adani Group. I see ports working very well. Adani Group is looking for more projects in Israel & I hope they succeed," he added.
On Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Gilon said both India and Israel are keen on finalising the proposed free trade pact and endorsed that India is on course to becoming a global superpower from a regional superpower.
"We want our friends to remain close to us. We feel very comfortable with India. As I said before, Indian-controlled ports in Israel is something that we're welcoming," he added.
Earlier, the Adani Group acquired the strategic Israeli port of Haifa for $1.2 billion and vowed to transform the skyline of this Mediterranean city. Apart from this, the Adani Group also vowed opening an artificial intelligence lab in Tel Aviv.
On the lines of Centres of Excellence, Gilon said, "We have completed 30 years of full diplomatic relations and recently just inaugurated the Centre of Excellence in agriculture."
"We have in the pipeline 10 CoEs more and we have more in the pipeline. There is one in Karnal in Haryana. These CoEs are doing a wonderful job in outreaching to farmers by giving them technologies which can be adapted to their capacity," the envoy said, adding, "These lower-end technologies are lower in cost."
He said what is unique about this new CoE in Haryana, which is the fifth in the state, is that it was 90 per cent made in India. "Everything is done here in India. Technology is now here: Manufactured here and done here," he added.
With agency inputs.
NEW DELHI : In order to further the existing cooperation in the realm of maritime safety and security, IFC-IOR signed an MoU on 21 February 2023 with Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC), Seychelles.
The MoU signed by Captain Rohit Bajpai, Director, IFC-IOR and Capt Sam Gontier, Director, RCOC aims to promote collaboration between the two Centres towards enhancing maritime domain awareness, information sharing and expertise development.
IFC-IOR, hosted by the Indian Navy, was established by the Government of India at Gurugram on 22 Dec 2018 to enhance collaborative maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean Region in line with Indias vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).
To enable better correlation, compressed information cycles and timely inputs, IFC-IOR also hosts International Liaison Officers (ILOs) from partner nations.
To date the Centre has hosted ILOs from 12 partner nations - Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
The Maritime Security Architecture in the Western Indian Ocean, implemented by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) is supported by the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC), the Regional Operations Coordination Centre (RCOC) and the national centres of the seven signatory countries (Comoros, Djibouti, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles).
Since inception, IFC-IOR has established linkages with several multinational maritime security centres and the current initiative will enable deeper collaboration between the IFC-IOR and RCOC.
This approach will allow the Centres to effectively develop a common maritime understanding to counter non-traditional maritime security threats such as piracy and armed robbery, human and contraband trafficking, Illegal Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing, arms running, poaching, maritime terrorism, etc with a special focus on the Western Indian Ocean.
During the MoU signing both the Directors of RCOC and IFC-IOR were unanimous on the need to enhance information sharing and analysis to cue actions at sea.
They also highlighted that this MoU will enhance trust and improving synergy between the Centres towards furthering collaborative maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean Region. The event was attended by the Secretary General and delegates from IOC, High Commissioner of India to Seychelles and senior officers of the Indian Navy.
Seattle passed a law banning caste-based discrimination on Tuesday - becoming the first city in the United States to have such a rule in place. The legislation was introduced by Indian-American council member Kshama Sawant in January this year.
"It's official: our movement has won a historic, first-in-the-nation ban on caste discrimination in Seattle!" Mumbai-born Sawant tweeted after the city council vote.
The city council of Seattle, in the northwest state of Washington, voted 6-1 in favor of the ban, which applies to employment, housing, public transport and retail establishments.
Also read: Seattle becomes first US city to ban caste discrimination
According to details uploaded onto the Seattle City Council website, Sawant was born and brought up in India - working as a computer engineer for some time before she travelled to the US to study economics.
She is not a career politician, having worked extensively as a teacher and activist. Sawant had moved to the city after earning her doctorate and taught at the Seattle Central Community College, Seattle University, and the University of Washington Tacoma.
She belongs to the Socialist Alternative political party - a group that describes itself as a Marxist organisation and is the first socialist leader to be elected to power in any major US city in decades. She came to power after defeating a 16-year incumbent Democrat, running upon campaign promises such as fighting for a $15/hr minimum wage, rent control and taxing the super-rich to fund mass transit and education".
Sawant had joined the party in 2006, and has since helped organise demonstrations for marriage equality, participated in the movement to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was a visible presence in the Occupy Movement". As a member of the teachers' union she has also fought against budget cuts and tuition hikes.
She only accepts the average workers' wage and donates the rest of her six-figure salary to building social justice movements," her official bio adds.
(With inputs from agencies)
President Vladimir Putin said Russia will suspend its observation of the New START treaty with the US, dealing a blow to the last accord limiting their nuclear arsenals, as he vowed to press on with his faltering invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is fighting for its historic lands" in Ukraine and will fulfill the tasks set step-by-step, carefully and consistently," Putin told lawmakers and top officials in Moscow on Tuesday. Russia wont be the first to resume testing of nuclear weapons as a result of its suspension of New START, though it will do so in response to any US test, he said.
The Foreign Ministry later said Russia will continue to observe the treatys limits on weapons until it expires and participate in the exchanges of data it mandates. Russias decision to suspend the treaty can be reversible," the ministry said in a statement on website.
Russias suspension of the treaty is deeply unfortunate and irresponsible," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Athens. Putins decision makes the world more dangerous" and means the entire infrastructure of arms control has been dismantled, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, urging Russia to reconsider.
US President Joe Biden extended the nuclear treaty by five years to 2026 as one of his first acts upon taking office in 2021 shortly before it was due to expire, after Putin had pressed his predecessor Donald Trump without success to agree to a deal.
The Biden administration will be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does" and ensure the US is postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies," Blinken said. The extension of New START was in the security interests of both countries and we remain ready to talk about strategic arms limitations at any time with Russia, irrespective of anything else going on, in the world or in our relationship."
The US and its NATO allies want to inflict a strategic defeat on us and crawl into our nuclear facilities" by demanding inspections under the treaty, Putin said, describing the requests as absurd.
EXPLAINER: Why US-Russia New START Nuclear Treaty Is in Peril
The State Department accused Russia last month of breaching the terms of the treaty by refusing to allow inspectors on its territory and stonewalling US efforts to discuss the issue. Russia dismissed the criticisms and blamed the US, saying difficulties with New START were a direct result of the hybrid war unleashed by the West against our country."
Putin gave his first state-of-the-nation address in nearly two years as Russias war in Ukraine nears the 12-month mark on Feb. 24. He spoke on the anniversary of his decision to recognize Russian-backed separatists in Ukraines Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent, whose defense he used as the excuse to mount the full-scale invasion.
Despite the anticipation, the speech lasting nearly two hours covered mainly Putins usual efforts to shift the blame for the conflict to the US and its allies, where he claimed godlessness and pedophilia have become the norm." Much of the address also focused on domestic issues, with new benefits offered for veterans and their families, as well as defense workers.
Russias suspension of New START means the US could lose access to inspections and monitoring data about the number of deployed Russian nuclear warheads, as well as the land- and sea-based vehicles used to launch them. About 200 inspectors drawn from the Department of Defense, intelligence community and State Department are assigned to carry out verification under the treaty, according to Steven Pifer, the former US ambassador to Ukraine who conducted arms-control negotiations with Russia.
What the Pentagon values most about the treaty isnt the numbers, its the transparency," said Pifer, whos now a fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Even after last years mutual accusations between Moscow and Washington that the other side was hindering inspections, nuclear-arms data continued to flow, according to Pifer. The US receives about 2,000 notifications a year, informing security officials about the status of Russian forces. Sides update and exchange bilateral data every six months.
The suspension of participation in the New START treaty is a very hostile signal," said Andrey Kolesnikov, a political analyst at the Carnegie Center. Theres no hope for restoring relations with the West and he intends to continue the war at any price."
Putins speech is an address to the good West (society and the pragmatic elites) and friendly countries about how the policies of the bad West is leading to the complete destruction of the old architecture of global security and puts the whole world at risk," said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of R.Politik, a political consultant.
RUSSIA INSIGHT: Putins Puts - Why Sanctions Didnt Crush Russia
Ukraines US and European allies want to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation," Putin said in a speech repeatedly interrupted by applause. We understand this and will respond accordingly because in this case were talking about the existence of our country."
Having failed with initial plans to seize Ukraines capital, Kyiv, within days, Russias military has suffered repeated defeats and massive casualties at the hands of Ukrainian forces backed by US and European weapons supplies.
As intense battles of attrition go on in eastern Ukrainian regions with neither side making much progress for months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed at a security conference in Munich at the weekend for the US and its allies to speed up weapons deliveries to help counter a Russian spring offensive and allow his forces to take the initiative in the fight.
Putin gave his address a day after Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv to underline continued American support for Ukraine. The US president is due to make a speech in Poland later Tuesday.
The Kremlin leader has shrugged off rising Russian casualties and is steeling the country and its economy for a long war. He called up 300,000 troops in a partial mobilization in September and has sought to convince Russians that his unprovoked attack on Ukraine is an existential struggle with the collective West" for their countrys survival, repeatedly comparing it to the Soviet Unions victory in World War II.
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For the first time in the US, a city has expanded its anti-discrimination laws to include caste. The Seattle City Council, on February 21, took the historic decision while caste prejudice was adopted by a 6-1. Supporters argue it transcends national and religious lines, and those who experience caste discrimination in the US won't have any rights without such regulations.
Socialist Kshama Sawant, the lone Indian American on the City Council, is the one who proposed the legislation. She took into account how caste discrimination transcended national and religious boundaries rather than targeting any particular population.
The South Asian diaspora in the US is especially divided over the ordinance. Proponents claim that it is necessary because caste is not protected by current civil rights laws. Opponents claim that it will defame a group that is already the object of hostility.
Also Read: Why caste, gender inequality worsen Indias public health crisis
Many activists lined up outside City Hall early on February 21 to face the chilly weather and strong winds so they could address the council before the vote. Nonetheless, the council limited audience participation during the meeting.
Many days in advance of the city council meeting, activists from various sides of the controversy started to arrive in Seattle. More than 100 people had submitted requests to speak at the gathering as early as last week. Dalit activists from Seattle and elsewhere demonstrated in support of the ordinance at Seattle City Hall.
Also Read: Caste cant be brushed aside as a global worry
In the United States, populations of South Asian ancestry have become more vocal in their calls to abolish caste-based discrimination. Some college and university systems have taken action to forbid caste discrimination over the last three years.
However, some Hindu Americans are opposing the movement, claiming that the measure unfairly targets their community. Organisations like the Hindu American Foundation and the Alliance of Hindus of North America opposed the legislation, arguing that it unnecessarily singles out a population that is already subject to discrimination in the United States.
The first American university to incorporate caste in its nondiscrimination policy was Brandeis University in the Boston area in December 2019. Similar policies have been implemented by the California State University System, Colby College, Brown University, and the University of California, Davis. As part of its agreement with the graduate student union, Harvard University implemented caste protections for student employees in 2021.
(WIth AP inputs)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
Seattle has become the first city in the United States to ban discrimination based on caste, following a city council vote on Tuesday.
"It's official: our movement has won a historic, first-in-the-nation ban on caste discrimination in Seattle!" tweeted Indian American council member Kshama Sawant, who introduced the legislation.
"Now we need to build a movement to spread this victory around the country."
The city council of Seattle, in the northwest state of Washington, voted 6-1 in favor of the ban, which applies to employment, housing, public transport and retail establishments.
India's Hindu caste system, which dates back thousands of years, divides society into a rigid hereditary hierarchy based on a belief in so-called upper-caste purity, with Dalits on the lowest rung facing discrimination and even violence.
Activists say caste-based discrimination has followed the South Asian diaspora to the United States.
"Caste discrimination doesn't only take place in other countries. It is faced by South Asian American and other immigrant working people in their workplaces, including in the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities around the country," said Sawant, when her office introduced the legislation in January.
"With over 167,000 people from South Asia living in Washington, largely concentrated in the Greater Seattle area, the region must address caste discrimination, and not allow it to remain invisible and unaddressed," she said.
In California's Silicon Valley, tech giant Cisco is facing a caste discrimination lawsuit brought by a former worker, who alleged bias against him due to his low caste status.
Dalit rights groups have lauded the ban.
"Love has won over hate as Seattle has become the first in the nation to ban caste discrimination," tweeted Thenmozhi Soundararajan, director of Dalit rights group Equality Labs.
"We have braved rape threats, death threats, disinformation, and bigotry."
The Hindu American Foundation, however, voiced opposition to Seattle's move to outlaw caste discrimination, arguing it singles out the South Asian community.
The foundation "has maintained that caste discrimination is wrong... At the same time, we maintain that the singling out of South Asians and addition of 'caste' to non-discrimination policy violates the very policies it now amends," co-founder Suhag Shukla said.
"Seattle has voted to treat South Asians in a manner that no other ethnic or racial community is treated under the guise of non-discrimination."
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
Six people were killed in the latest earthquake to strike the border region of Turkey and Syria, authorities said on Tuesday, two weeks after a massive quake killed more than 47,000 people and damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes.
Monday's quake, which struck just as the rescue work from the initial devastating earthquake was winding down, was centred near the Turkish city of Antakya and was felt in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon.
The magnitude of the quake was measured at 6.3 by U.S. and European seismological agencies, and at 6.4 by Turkish monitors.
It was followed by 90 aftershocks, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said, adding fresh trauma to Antakya residents left homeless and living in tents by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Feb 6.
"To me this is one of the signs of the apocalypse. I felt that we were going to die, that we would be buried here," said 47-year-old blacksmith Murat Vural.
He called his friend shortly after Monday's quake to tell him they should leave town. "This is no longer a place we can remain," he said. "We are mostly worried for our lives."
Also Read: Earthquake cuts Turkey village into two, houses sink 13 ft | shocking images
More than 41,000 people were killed in Turkey in the initial quake, officials say, while the toll in neighbouring Syria stands at around 6,000.
President Tayyip Erdogan said 865,000 people are living in tents and 23,500 in containers, while 376,000 are in student dormitories and public guesthouses outside the earthquake zone.
With so many buildings destroyed, up to 210 million tonnes of rubble will need to be cleared, United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP) Turkey representative Louisa Vinton said.
"It would take an area of 7 million square metres (75.5 million sq feet) to dispose of that rubble. It's a huge task ahead," Vinton said.
Erdogan's government has faced criticism about what many Turks said was a slow response, and over construction policies that meant thousands of apartment buildings collapsed, trapping victims under rubble.
"It is our duty to hold the wrongdoers accountable before the law," Erdogan said in the southern province of Osmaniye.
In power for two decades, he faces presidential and parliamentary elections in May, although the disaster could prompt a delay in the vote. Even before the quakes, opinion polls showed he was under pressure from a cost of living crisis, which could worsen as the disaster has disrupted agricultural production.
SWIFT REBUILD PROMISED
Erdogan has promised a swift reconstruction effort, although experts say it could be a recipe for another disaster if safety steps are sacrificed in the race to rebuild.
Also Read: Turkey: Couple saved 296 hours after quake, but children die
"We won't run away from the ballot box or disregard democracy," said Devlet Bahceli, an Erdogan ally and leader of the nationalist party MHP, adding that the opposition was "obsessed and delusional" for criticising the government's earthquake response and for discussing the election timing.
"Turkey ... will bury you at the ballot box soon," he said.
In Antakya, one man hugged and consoled another who was crying after news about people killed in the already shattered city after they had entered a building to retrieve possessions when the latest earthquake struck, bringing the structure down.
A rescue team lowered one of the dead, covered in a yellow bag, down a ladder from the destroyed apartment block, before it was placed in a coffin to be transported in a municipal van.
In Syria, already shattered by more than a decade of war, most deaths have been in the northwest, where the United Nations said 4,525 people were killed. The area is controlled by insurgents at war with President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria said 1,414 people were killed in areas under government control.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
WASHINGTON : The Biden administration said Tuesday that it will generally deny asylum to migrants who show up at the US southern border without first seeking protection in a country they passed through, mirroring an attempt by the Trump administration that never took effect because it was blocked in court.
The measure, while stopping short of a total ban, imposes highly severe limitations on asylum for any nationality except Mexicans, who dont have to travel through a third country to reach the US.
The measure wont take effect immediately and is almost certain to face legal challenges. President Donald Trump pursued a similar ban in 2019 but a federal appeals court prevented it from taking effect. It will also be subject to possible revisions after a 30-day period for public comment.
Administration officials expect the rule will take effect when a pandemic-era rule that denies asylum on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19 ends. That rule, known as Title 42 authority, is set to expire May 11 but has been delayed twice by legal challenges from Republican-led states.
The Homeland Security and Justice Departments argued that surging numbers of migrants left them with little choice. They anticipate illegal crossings to climb to between 11,000 and 13,000 a day if no action is taken after Title 42 ends, up from from an already extraordinarily high daily average of 6,500 in the government's fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.
Title 42 was scheduled to end in late December until the Supreme Court ordered that it stay in effect. Administration officials said daily crossings climbed to 7,700 a day in early November and to 8,600 by mid-December as anticipation spread among migrants and smugglers that the rule was about to end.
The proposed rule establishes a rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility" for anyone who passes through another country to reach the U.S. border with Mexico without first seeking protection there, according to a notice in the Federal Register. Exceptions will be made for people with an acute medical emergency," imminent and extreme threat" of violent crimes such as murder, rape or kidnapping, being a victim of human trafficking or other extremely compelling circumstances."
U.S. officials insist that the measure is different from Trump's, largely because there is room for exemptions and because the Biden administration has made other legal pathways available, particularly humanitarian parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Ukrainians.
We are a nation of immigrants, and we are a nation of laws. We are strengthening the availability of legal, orderly pathways for migrants to come to the United States, at the same time proposing new consequences on those who fail to use processes made available to them by the United States and its regional partners," said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
For asylum seekers traveling north through Central America and Mexico to the U.S. border, Costa Rica and Mexico have the most robust asylum systems. Both countries, however, have been overwhelmed by the surging number of asylum applications in recent years.
Costa Rica, a country of only 5 million residents, trailed only the United States, Germany and Mexico in the number of asylum applications it received in 2021. In December, President Rodrigo Chaves decreed changes to the asylum system, alleging that it was being abused by economic migrants.
Most of those seeking asylum in Costa Rica in recent years are Nicaraguans fleeing repression in that country. In 2012, Costa Rica received barely 900 asylum applications. Last year, the total was around 80,000.
That has created a tremendous backlog and lengthened the process, something that led more Nicaraguans to look north to the United States last year.
Mexico has been facing increased asylum applications for years and last year received 118,478, mostly from Honduras, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. Many migrants lacking other options had used the asylum system as a way to legally cross Mexico while in process and then to try to cross the U.S. border.
Other countries along the migrant route north have very limited capacity for receiving asylum seekers. Some, like Mexico, suffer from high levels of violence, others have struggling economies and few resources available to offer.
Indian air travel saw an unexpected bump in February thanks to a rush of post-covid conferencing and events, among other reasons. While this demand may eventually flatten, what is not in question is the size and potential of the Indian air travel market. Reflecting this reality, former state-owned carrier Air India recently announced orders for 470 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, with an option to buy more than 800 planes in total.
The implications of the deal, however, go beyond commerce. That the Tatas, the current owners of Air India, and the Indian government are on the same page about the larger strategic implications of this deal should be self-evident. Like the Chinese have done for several decades now, the Indian government has begun to use the economic capacity of its expanding middle class as leverage in foreign policy.
Whatever its business logic, Air India splitting its large order between two rival companies on either side of the Atlantic suggests smart balancing from a larger political perspective.
Indo-US relations have grown closer in recent years. However, while India has signed all four foundational military agreements with the US, it remains careful about maintaining its strategic autonomy and not being seen as an alliance partner of the US. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this task has become harder but New Delhi has stuck to its guns, refusing to sanction Russia or stop buying oil from it.
The Airbus-Boeing deals can be seen as both a case of India making it up to the US and underlining its bargaining power in international relations. The importance of the Boeing deal to the Americans is evident from US President Joe Biden immediately noting that the purchase will support over one million American jobs across 44 states". It is also a subtler intervention in American politics by New Delhi (Biden recently telegraphed his intention to run for a second term) than Prime Minister Narendra Modis stadium shows with Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, the European sense of self has come under pressure given its inability to respond effectively to the war in Ukraine, its dependence on Russia for energy, and the realisation that the US remains central to its security. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has met regularly with Modi, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is soon to arrive in New Delhi following his visit to China at the end of last year. All of these are efforts to boost European visibility on the world stage.
But there are also domestic fissures within many European countries that undermine these efforts. French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, has been facing the ire of protesters across the country for over a month, following his decision to raise the retirement age itself a response to structural economic problems that several major European economies are facing.
The multibillion-euro Airbus deal from India is, therefore, a significant boost for the European project and, one could argue, another example of New Delhis subtle intervention in European politics to achieve its own foreign policy goals. Airbus is the worlds second largest maker of commercial aircraft after Boeing, and is co-owned by the German-French-Spanish European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), with an 80% interest, and Britains BAE Systems, with 20%. It is a European rather than a national corporation. Its registered headquarters is in Leiden, Netherlands, but its head office is in Toulouse, France.
The Europeans are major defence suppliers to India, and France has a significant presence in the Indian Ocean and offers a useful counter to American dominance there. The bumper aircraft deal, therefore, is another example of India not just exercising its strategic autonomy but also gathering supporters even as Russia is no longer able to have New Delhis back as it once did.
As Russia bleeds itself dry in Ukraine, China becomes entrenched as the primary economic, military and ideological challenger to the West, and the US and its European allies remain riven by internal discord, India is in a position to derive tangible benefits from its historical preference for non-alignment. But non-alignment or multi-alignment, as some call it these days does not mean non-intervention.
Indias greater economic heft and political attention on the global stage alone will not suffice in the pursuit of national interests. Choices must be made and cards played with greater felicity if it is to make the most of this period of strategic opportunity.
TO CHINAS RULERS, and many ordinary citizens, their country has never been so admirable. Hundreds of millions have escaped extreme poverty. Its trains run on time, and fast, along 40,000km of high-speed rail. Though costly, zero covid" has, given the weakness of Chinas health-care system, probably saved millions of lives. Provoking Chinawith its growing nuclear arsenal and a third aircraft-carrierhas never been so perilous.
Yet China faces ever-louder criticism from liberal democracies. Its leaders see no innocent explanation for surging Western suspicion. After all, their political system has not changed. The Communist Party declares certain goals as in Chinas collective interestorder, national security and economic development among themand chooses how to achieve them. The party pays no heed to dissenting individuals or unhappy minorities, any more than a helmsman (a title increasingly bestowed on Xi Jinping) debates with passengers the safest course through a storm.
Chinas elites detect a plot to keep them down. America cannot handle a China that is so different, so strong and rising so fast," suggests Zhou Bo, a retired senior PLA colonel at the Centre for International Security and Strategy of Tsinghua University. The natural response is a kind of panic, followed by overreaction."
Chinese leaders are frustrated, says Zhu Feng of Nanjing University. They see Western powers as blind to Chinas great achievements" and viciously" bent on stigmatising their country as authoritarian. That mood is shared by many educated Chinese who once admired the West, he adds. Once, the unipolar era dominated by America after the cold war seemed to some Chinese a benign hegemony. That now looks delusional," he says.
A European diplomat in Beijing makes a provocative comparison. He is dismayed to hear Chinese officials complain that whatever China does, the West will never accept it". That language is the same as we heard from Japan in the 1920s and 1930s. There is this atmosphere of xenophobic resentment."
Chinese officials are more willing to spell out the ways in which the current world order is intolerably unfair. Their complaints fall into two broad schools, one that is essentially confrontational, and a second which at least sounds more constructive. The confrontational school starts from the belief that winners make the rules. Its organising principle is that the West was for too long a rulemaking hegemon, and now stands exposed as sanctimonious and hypocritical. This school would welcome a might is right" order, as long as China holds the whip hand.
This demand is disruptive for many, including Asian neighbours that must put economic interests above qualms about Chinese bullying. It is harder still for liberal democracies. Addressing French ambassadors in September, Emmanuel Macron called it problematic" that China-US rivalry so dominates geopolitics, because it incites" China to dismiss universal values as a tool of American power. For France, a defender of Enlightenment values which aims to keep some distance from America, Chinas attacks on the West are clarifying. Choices must be made.
The second school seeks a form of bargain with the West. It wants China and the democratic world to focus on common interests while avoiding quarrels about values. Foreigners have a right to opinions about Xinjiang, says Jia Qingguo of Peking University. Some policies are harsh and tough", he concedes, though he claims they have ended years of terrorist violence. But instead of taking a balanced view on this, the US and Western countries imposed sanctions." American gun violence is intolerable", and Afghanistan suffered terribly under 20 years of American occupation, he says. But China does not think it has a right to impose sanctions on America. Mr Jia suggests that if China becomes a superpower, on some issues it will converge with the West. He cites Chinas split identity" over climate change. He sees his country defending its right to develop like the poor and backward country" that it used to be, while worrying about global emissions like a developed nation.
He does not expect China to follow the Soviet Union down a path of autarky and confrontation with the West. Unlike the USSR, he explains, China is fully integrated into the world economy. He worries about those who take a darker view. Domestically, we have people who exaggerate the external threat, and argue that China has to be self-sufficient in everything." Externally, he sees hostile forces from the West, especially from the US, trying to decouple with China." Alas, he says, the hardliners on each side tend to boost one another.
Da Wei, director of Tsinghua Universitys Centre for International Security and Strategy, does not accept that China and America are doomed to a black and white" struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. China does not have a clear and completely different vision. China has some dissatisfaction, some unhappiness in its interactions with neighbouring countries and the US," he says. He worries about anger that he hears from Chinese officials and the public, and about oversimplified Western views, but still sees chances to avoid a spiral of confrontation.
The confrontational school is too chauvinist to have universal appeal. The contrast between this China-first world-view and the post-war order is instructive. For decades after 1945, American leadership involved magnanimity and idealism as well as self-interest. Importantly, openness to immigration meant outsiders could join Team USA, making American swagger more bearable.
Mr Xis China is an ethno-nationalist project, and increasingly inward-looking. As for magnanimity, consider a dinner Angela Merkel hosted for Mr Xi in Berlin in 2014. Germanys chancellor observed to her guest, pointedly, that her country was obliged by its history to be generous to smaller neighbours, recalls an adviser. Mr Xi replied that Chinas history teaches a different lesson, remembers the adviser: that when China was a nice guy" neighbours and enemies took advantage, so it must never give ground.
A dilemma looms. Even seemingly measured, constructive Chinese complaints about the rules-based order are disruptive. In this scenario, coexistence with China would involve governments coldly weighing their national interests, like so many 19th-century statesmen, while stifling concerns about individual rights. But if a core of liberal democracies resists that bargain and defends universal rights, then Chinas ambitions will divide the world.
2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved.
From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.
A case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, Gonzalez v. Google, challenges this law namely whether tech companies are liable for the material posted on their platforms.
Justices will decide whether the family of an American college student killed in a terror attack in Paris can sue Google, which owns YouTube, over claims that the video platforms recommendation algorithm helped extremists spread their message.
A second case, Twitter v. Taamneh, also focuses on liability, though on different grounds.
The outcomes of these cases could reshape the internet as we know it. Section 230 wont be easily dismantled. But if it is, online speech could be drastically transformed.
What is section 230?
If a news site falsely calls you a swindler, you can sue the publisher for libel. But if someone posts that on Facebook, you cant sue the company just the person who posted it.
Thats thanks to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which states that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."
That legal phrase shields companies that can host trillions of messages from being sued into oblivion by anyone who feels wronged by something someone else has posted whether their complaint is legitimate or not.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have argued, for different reasons, that Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms have abused that protection and should lose their immunity or at least have to earn it by satisfying requirements set by the government.
Section 230 also allows social platforms to moderate their services by removing posts that, for instance, are obscene or violate the services own standards, so long as they are acting in good faith."
Where did Section 230 come from?
The measures history dates back to the 1950s, when bookstore owners were being held liable for selling books containing obscenity," which is not protected by the First Amendment. One case eventually made it to the Supreme Court, which held that it created a chilling effect" to hold someone liable for someone elses content.
That meant plaintiffs had to prove that bookstore owners knew they were selling obscene books, said Jeff Kosseff, the author of The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet," a book about Section 230.
Fast-forward a few decades to when the commercial internet was taking off with services like CompuServe and Prodigy. Both offered online forums, but CompuServe chose not to moderate its, while Prodigy, seeking a family-friendly image, did.
CompuServe was sued over that, and the case was dismissed. Prodigy, however, got in trouble. The judge in their case ruled that they exercised editorial control so youre more like a newspaper than a newsstand," Kosseff said.
That didnt sit well with politicians, who worried that outcome would discourage newly forming internet companies from moderating at all. And Section 230 was born.
Today it protects both from liability for user posts as well as liability for any claims for moderating content," Kosseff said.
WHAT HAPPENS IF SECTION 230 GOES AWAY?
The primary thing we do on the internet is we talk to each other. It might be email, it might be social media, might be message boards, but we talk to each other. And a lot of those conversations are enabled by Section 230, which says that whoevers allowing us to talk to each other isnt liable for our conversations," said Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University specializing in internet law. The Supreme Court could easily disturb or eliminate that basic proposition and say that the people allowing us to talk to each other are liable for those conversations. At which point they wont allow us to talk to each other anymore."
There are two possible outcomes. Platforms might get more cautious, as Craigslist did following the 2018 passage of a sex-trafficking law that carved out an exception to Section 230 for material that promotes or facilitates prostitution." Craigslist quickly removed its personals" section, which wasnt intended to facilitate sex work, altogether. But the company didnt want to take any chances.
If platforms were not immune under the law, then they would not risk the legal liability that could come with hosting Donald Trumps lies, defamation, and threats," said Kate Ruane, former senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union who now works for PEN America.
Another possibility: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other platforms could abandon moderation altogether and let the lowest common denominator prevail.
Such unmonitored services could easily end up dominated by trolls, like 8chan, a site that was infamous for graphic and extremist content.
Any change to Section 230 is likely to have ripple effects on online speech around the globe.
The rest of the world is cracking down on the internet even faster than the U.S.," Goldman said. So were a step behind the rest of the world in terms of censoring the internet. And the question is whether we can even hold out on our own."
"Old Photos from Secret City, Oak Ridge TN 6974" by bobistraveling is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
More than half of all US states have partially or fully banned TikTok from government devices, according to a CNN analysis.
Intangible cultural heritage inheritors bask in the spotlight
People's Daily Online) 11:27, February 22, 2023
A young spectator admires a dough figurine during the first China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Annual Meeting. (Xinhua/Zou Jingyi)
The first China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Annual Meeting was held in Yulin, northwest China's Shaanxi Province from Feb. 16 to 20. More than 200 intangible cultural heritage projects were displayed and over 500 inheritors showcased their techniques at the event.
Tian Sheng, an inheritor of the Jiaonan New Year painting from Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, attracted crowds with his drawing techniques at the event.
Jiaonan New Year painting is an intangible cultural heritage item in Qingdao. It resembles folklore New Year paintings and draws inspiration from Gongbi, an ancient style of Chinese painting characterized by neat and meticulous strokes and the paper cutting art.
Jiaonan New Year paintings are well-composed, colorful and have a simple yet exaggerated style, while cultural and creative products inspired by the paintings are adorable and exquisite.
Chai Zhanzhu, a 58-year-old inheritor of "Jiaotai Ci," a national intangible cultural heritage in China, believes that the vitality of intangible cultural heritage lies in innovation.
"Jiaotai Ci," which originated from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), involves porcelain clay of two or more colors and is known for its unique twisting and firing techniques.
Chen Yanfen (left), a paper cutting artist, shows paper cutting works she made. (Xinhua/Zou Jingyi)
"In the past, there were only a small number of patterns on the porcelain, such as patterns of feather and chrysanthemum. Now, images of landscapes, figures, flowers and birds can also be seen on the porcelain. We have worked with universities to upgrade our clay and glaze techniques and have obtained a number of patents," Chai said.
According to Chai, Dangyangyu village in central China's Henan Province where he comes from, has six enterprises, one professional cooperative and more than 20 family workshops engaged in the production, processing, sales and technological research of "Jiaotai Ci," with annual sales of 300,000 pieces (sets) of porcelain.
In recent years, young inheritors are becoming a major force in promoting and popularizing traditional skills. Chang Yangyang from central Henan is a paper-cutting art inheritor and a vlogger with over 340,000 followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
"Social media serves as a bridge between traditional culture and young people, who show keen interest in traditional culture," Chang said.
(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will not be allowing a man accused of being a high ranking member of an "extremely sophisticated" eastern European crime gang behind the alleged theft of 300,000 of stolen property to go forward to the Circuit Criminal Court on a signed plea.
Andrius Parfionovas (39), 34 Oldbridge Park, Griffeen Valley, Lucan, Dublin, has been in custody since the beginning of November after being arrested in Granard, Co Longford.
The Lituanian national was charged with ten counts of handling and possession of stolen property at various commercial and residential properties in Granard, Co Longford and Dublin.
They included 14 outboard Yamaha engines. 14 Hummingbird fish finders, four marine radios, 4 propellers, 8 GPS systems, two wave boards, and 3,115 in cash, amounting to a total of 48,000.
Those items, the court heard, had been allegedly stolen from a house in Omagh, Co Tyrone barely 12 hours before the accused was arrested by gardai at a property he had been renting in Granard, Co Longford.
Parfionovas was further charged with handling a stolen Renault Master Van valued at 20,000 which had been fitted with false plates after it had also been allegedly stolen from a property at Edenderry, Co Offaly on July 25.
The accused was further charged with handling a string of alleged stolen car components, among which included parts belonging to a BMW M5 181 registered car valued at 90,000 after it too was allegedly stolen in Navan, Co Meath on July 5.
A bank account containing 65,000 Parfionovas shared with his partner was also frozen.
Last December, Parfionovas applied for, but was denied High Court bail by Mr Justice Paul Burns.
Senior gardai objected to bail given the nature and seriousness of the offence and likely sentence that would be imposed on conviction.
In defence, Keith Branagan BL, acting on behalf of Baxter Mimnagh Solicitors, Longford, said his client was in a position to put forward an independent surety and an address in Longford in order to satisfy any concerns the State may have.
Mr Justice Burns denied bail under both Section 2 of the Bail Act and O'Callaghan Rules.
At a district court sitting last Tuesday, Sgt Mark Mahon, for the State, said directions from the DPP had been returned with a request being made for Mr Parfionovas to be produced before the court in person.
The DPP won't consent to (Parfionovas) going forward on a signed plea, he said.
The matter will be going forward on indictment.
Mr Parfionovas was remanded in custody to a sitting of Longford District Court yesterday (February 21).
Lithuanian interpeter was also certified for ahead of that sitting.
A new study has found there is no significant difference in academic performance between children attending single sex or mixed schools in Ireland.
The research from the University of Limerick showed there is no significant variation in performance for girls or boys who attend single-sex schools compared to their mixed-schooling peers in science, maths or reading.
The research was a joint project between Dr Darragh Flannery, senior lecturer at the Department of Economics in the Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, and Professor Jose Clavel, from the Department of Quantitative Methods at the University of Murcia in Spain, and has been published in the British Educational Research Journal.
The study used a sample of nearly 5,000 15-year-olds from the 2018 Irish wave of the OECDs Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) dataset to examine the association between attending a single-sex school and mathematics, reading and science performance for boys and girls.
The data is designed to examine what students can do with what they know in each of the three subject areas by testing how well they apply their knowledge in everyday life situations.
The dataset includes extensive information about individual students and the schools they attend.
Dr Flannery said: The topic of single-sex versus mixed-sex schooling continues to be a source of debate within education policy in many countries, including Ireland.
However, there is limited evidence around the relationship between attending a single-sex school and academic performance.
In Ireland, relative to other countries, a high proportion of secondary school children roughly one third attend a single-sex secondary school.
For this reason, the Irish educational system provides an interesting setting for exploring the outcomes of single-sex schooling.
The analysis showed significant raw gaps in reading, science and maths performance, with pupils in single-sex schools performing better than those in mixed-schools.
However, once the researchers applied a range of individual and school level factors such as the socioeconomic background of the student, the school student-staff ratio, the quality of teaching material available to the school and whether or not the school is disadvantaged, these gaps did not present as statistically significant.
It revealed, on average, that there is no difference in maths, science or reading performance for 15-year-olds after adjusting for the background of the student and other school-level factors and this result was found for both boys and girls.
Our analysis shows no evidence of an academic advantage to attending a single-sex school for boys or girls in Ireland, said Dr Flannery.
The differences we see in the raw scores seem to be driven by what is known as selection effects.
In other words, the fact that children in single-sex schools tend to come from households with higher socioeconomic backgrounds who tend to perform better in school in any case helps explain the gaps we see in performance between the different school types.
Bono made a surprise appearance at the Berlin international film festival to present Steven Spielberg with a special lifetime achievement award.
The U2 frontman described Spielberg as one of the biggest big shots in Hollywood, as he presented the Oscar-winning director with the honorary Golden Bear award on Tuesday.
Members of the Irish rock band attended the International Berlinale festival for the premiere of documentary Kiss The Future, in which Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton all star.
The band, who recently announced a new 2023 Las Vegas residency, gave a special performance ahead of the screening and were later joined on stage by actor Matt Damon.
Later, while presenting the award to Spielberg, Bono told audiences that Spielberg was out of this world.
Hes not really a celebrity, is he? Thank God for that, he said, per US outlets who attended the event.
We know hes one of the biggest of the big shots in Hollywood, but we get the sense he doesnt quite belong there and were kind of relieved.
He added: Tonight youre giving the Golden Bear to Steven Spielberg for the right reasons.
But his lifetime achievement is not just his work. It is his actual life, his actual family.
Past recipients of the honorary Golden Bear award include Dustin Hoffman, Kirk Douglas and Meryl Streep.
Spielberg, 75, is known for Hollywood blockbusters including ET, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and Jaws.
His most recent film The Fabelmans tells the mostly true story of his own childhood and introduction to filmmaking in post-war America.
The film, starring Paul Dano and Michelle Williams, has already received wide critical acclaim, picking up top nods and wins at the 2023 Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.
It is also nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture at the Oscars next month.
Hauppauge Woman Arrested for Using Fake ID to Pawn Stolen Property, Cops Say
Crime
By Chris Boyle Published: February 22 2023
Nollman Hubbard, 40, was charged with multiple counts of Criminal Personation 2nd Degree, Forgery 3rd Degree, and Petit Larceny.
Suffolk County Police have arrested a woman for utilizing another individuals identification to pawn items several times in Lindenhurst this month.
Property/Auto Crime Unit detectives began an investigation after discovering suspicious pawn activity by an individual selling new items to a pawn store in Lindenhurst between February 8 and February 14.
Following an investigation by Property/Auto Crime detectives with assistance from First Precinct Crime Section officers, Jacqueline Nollman Hubbard was arrested near the Lindenhurst pawn shop with stolen property.
Nollman Hubbard, 40, of Hauppauge, was charged with five counts of Criminal Personation 2nd Degree and five counts of Forgery 3rd Degree for using a Pennsylvania womans identification and forging her signature during the transactions. She was also charged with one count of Petit Larceny.
She was issued a Desk Appearance Ticket and will be arraigned on a later date.
Local News
By Chris Boyle Published: February 22 2023
This project not only improves our resiliency in the event of a future storm, it helps the environment while assisting the Town in its emergency readiness, said Supervisor Saladino.
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino announced that the installation of solar lighting backup energy panels throughout John Burns Park in Massapequa has been completed. Funded entirely through a New York State grant through the New York State Office of Storm Recovery, lighting along the walking path and throughout parking lots at the facility have been retrofitted to LED with solar power and battery backup. The project was selected as part of the New York Rising Community Construction Program, through which the community identified areas of the community heavily impacted by severe weather events such as Superstorm Sandy.
Through the New York State Office of Storm Recovery, the Massapequa community was identified as being eligible for reconstruction funding, to help rebuild and improve resiliency. Residents came together to gather public input, strategize and implement an effective plan to establish a stronger and better future, said Supervisor Saladino. This project not only improves our resiliency in the event of a future storm, it helps the environment while assisting the Town in its emergency readiness.
John Burns Park is often heavily utilized as a command center during weather events, whether it be for gathering of equipment, drop off and pickup of supplies, or temporary location of storm debris. These newly retrofitted lighting fixtures, which will also be installed in other areas of the community, collect and store power from sunlight, going into effect in the event of a power outage.
This lighting, which is also being installed along local roadways in the southern area of Massapequa, will help the community maintain functionality during power outages, said Supervisor Saladino. In the event of a power outage, this project will help make it safe for residents to traverse the area and evacuate when necessary.
MBABANE Registration for the local government elections has been extended to March 10, 2023.
The registration had been opened from January 16, 2023 and was due to close on February 24, 2023. The new date was revealed by Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Clifford Mamba, during the registration by Cabinet ministers, yesterday. Mamba said the Minister, Prince Simelane had approved the extension of the registration process after considering a number of factors. He said some people tended to be busy and forgot about the registration.
Registration
He said the ministry had brought closer the registration sites to make it easy for residents to register. Mamba said ministers also owned properties within the various town centres, hence the importance for them to register. This, he said, would encourage the nation to do the same in order for them to elect councillors of their choice.
On the other hand, Elections Co-ordinator Melusi Hlanze said registration dates were extended because the voter education process was slow and some wards had not been reached. He said the wards were still interested and wanted to be taken through the process. He said the bad weather conditions also disturbed the process for the voter education as some places could not be reached. Hlanze mentioned that a case in point was the voter education which had to take place at Mahwalala in the past two weeks, but had to be cancelled due to bad weather. He said Mahwalala did not have an enclosed area.
We are considering visiting Mahwalala but have to ensure the weather conditions are favourable, said Hlanze.
He said some of the residents had challenges with the proof of residence and could not register, especially those in informal settlements.
MBABANE Lutsango council has urged its members to seek permission from their husbands before attending the upcoming Marula Festival.
The event has been scheduled for this weekend, from Friday at Buhleni Royal Residence. Speaking on national radio programme Iyatfutfuka imiphakatsi Joyce Vilane and Indvuna Velabahleke Masuku, who form part of the council, said Lutsango should not deprive their husbands of respect in the name of the cultural event.
Married
The duo defined Lutsango as any woman married or not, who had given birth to a child. However, they stated that the status of Lutsango was defined by the traditional attire they donned, which gave the idea of whether they were married or not. They said married Lutsango did not don the same tradition attire as unmarried women. For example, the duo mentioned that married women donned sidziya made out of goat skin, with sidvwaba while unmarried womens attire was complete without the goat skin. They stated that the traditional attire was crucial in the sense that it helped emaSwati to accord married women respect during cultural activities.
Culture goes with respect, so women are expected to seek permission from their husbands before leaving for the event. Widowed women are urged to seek permission from their families and inform their children before leaving. They should not just pack up and leave without permission or informing their families, said Masuku.
She also touched on expected conduct of Lutsango during the course of the upcoming event. She warned Lutsango against excessive drinking before the delivery of the marula brew. Masuku said it was embarrassing to see Lutsango moving from side to side with marula containers before Their Majesties.
She also warned members of Lutsango against conducting themselves as Imbali. She made an example of some kind of dances such as ingadla, which she said was not expected from Lutsango. Ingadla is a kind of dance that requires a person to lift her leg.
Imbibing
Masuku reminded the nation that the event was not just about imbibing marula but was aimed at affording women an opportunity to share life skills. She said women also had the opportunity to sell their products such as oil, petroleum jelly, butter and buns, among other products made out of the marula.
Health motivators from the Ministry of Health assured Lutsango that they would be present to provide counselling during the course of the event.The health motivators stated that they would be focusing on depression, which had appeared to be common among most women. The health motivators encouraged Lutsango and vendors to ensure hygiene as they conducted their businesses.
MBABANE Siphofaneni Member of Parliament (MP) Nomalungelo LaZwide Simelane has told the DPM, Themba Masuku, where to get off.
She was of the view that the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Masuku, was undermining her because she was a woman. MP Simelane was responding to Masukus sharp criticism of her absence from the official opening of the last session of the 11th Parliament, where His Majesty King Mswati III delivered the Speech from the Throne.
Masuku had said, during an interview with the Times of Eswatini, that Simelane was arrogant in her reasons for deliberately missing last Fridays event. He accused Simelane of having failed to live up to the oath she had taken - to pay allegiance to His Majesty King Mswati III, his heirs and successors.
The DPM had also wanted to know from Simelane whether she was serious about representing the people who elected her or she was doing things according to what her husband said. Simelane, who is wife to Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) President Mduduzi Gawuzela Simelane, retorted by saying the DPMs comments were defamatory to her. Akangicolele nje lomuntfu lomdzala. Akaphume kimi, said Simelane, interpreted as: This old man must leave me alone.
Simelane said she found the utterances made by the DPM to be a personal attack on her character and reiterated that the DPM had exceeded his limits. I was never taught that the DPM upholds the parliamentary code of conduct, said MP Simelane. She stated that to her, the most arrogant leader was the one who banned peaceful petition deliveries that led to ugly massacre of people, including children and women. Following the DMPs statement that MPs who did not show up in Parliament were expected to give reasons for missing the big day, Simelane said she was never told that she was answerable to the DPM or the Executive.
Undermining
It is the Speaker who could probably ask that question, not an appointed Member of Parliament. I think umuntfu lomdzala is acting outside the boundaries of the executive and stepping on the separation of powers and is undermining the Speaker. He is out of order, stated the Siphofaneni MP. She said DPMs assertions of insinuating that she was doing what her husband told her to do and that she had sidelined the people who elected her, was not only undermining her but also defamatory as there was no sound basis behind such. She said this was not a fair comment, coming from the DPM.
She argued that for a veteran politician like the DPM to utter such words, was undermining her, just because she was woman. She then accused him of actually looking down upon women because he felt they were not capable enough, unless there was a man involved.
Undermines
Surely, his sense of reasoning undermines the very same efforts of gender parity. My husband never stood for and won the recent elections, but I did. If he has an issue with my husband, he should address himself to him. My husband still uses the same old WhatsApp number. I think he is capable enough to handle him, she narrated.
She then made emphasis on the fact that the DPM had no authority over MPs. She said other MPs were currently in prison and could not represent their constituencies because the government had arrested them.
If there is someone who must be reminded about the electorate, it is the DPM, who has denied the people of Ngwempisi and Hosea the right to be represented by the people they elected into Parliament, highlighted Simelane.
Furthermore, the Siphofaneni MP accused the DPM of being a gossiper. She said she thought he was old enough not to associate himself with anything which was a lie.
Respectable
Babe DPM bengitsi ngumuntfu lomdzala longeke umhlanganise nenhlebo. I never knew that even respectable people like him can be so petty and become active rumour mongers. I am sorry I was elected by the people of Siphofaneni, bengingakatjelwa nga DPM in my constituency, said Simelane. Above all, the Siphofaneni MP said she never knew that the government viewed the elections as a means to get groceries.
The issue of gossip mongering and groceries was raised by the MP after the DPM had said; Some of the people in her political camp told us that her plan to get into Parliament was to raise money for groceries. In this regard, Simelane said Masukus assertions seemed to suggest that the elections were a sham and also hijacked for personal reasons. It sounds so weird for a proponent of the same system to view the elections in this manner. Typical of appointees, though - detached from the pain of the people, she said.
Simelane said she heard Masuku suggesting that she would not be going to Parliament. She said the DPM might have been dreaming when he heard her saying such. He doesnt scare me at all, stated Simelane. Worth noting is that MPs such as Timothy Myeni of Nkilongo inkhundla, Simelane of Siphofaneni and Manzi Zwane of Nhlambeni, did not show up for the State opening of Parliament last Friday.
WASHINGTON A handful of congressional Republicans met Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a signal of continued U.S. support even as hard-right members of the party vow to block future aid to the embattled country.
The newly appointed chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee led a small delegation to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy for the first time since the start of the war a year ago and since Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives in November.
Chairman Mike McCaul and four other Republican lawmakers said they discussed at length what Ukraine's military needs to fight off Russian aggression. Zelenskyy provided them with a list of weapons, including longer-range artillery and air-to-surface missile systems.
The meeting came one day after President Joe Biden made an unannounced trip to Kyiv to reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine as the war heads into its second year.
Biden has been trying to keep the allies unified in their support for Ukraine as the war is expected to intensify with spring offensives. The biggest hurdle facing the president is House Republicans. McCaul's visit Tuesday is the latest in a series of efforts by the Texas Republican to make the case to his party for why the U.S. should continue spending billions of dollars on the war effort.
We have seen time and again the majority of Republicans and Democrats support our assistance to Ukraine. But the Biden administration needs to layout their long-term strategy, McCaul said in a statement. There are some Members who would be more supportive if they saw a long-term strategy that was based on a Ukrainian victory rather than sending just enough support to prolong the war but not win it.
A spokesperson for McCaul noted the delegation has been focused on oversight and ensuring there are guardrails in place for any future aid to Ukraine.
A far-right faction of the Republican Party has been expressing its opposition to continued U.S. support to Ukraine since last spring. That campaign intensified this month when a group of 11 House Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida put forward a Ukraine Fatigue resolution. It stated that the U.S. must end its military and financial aid to Ukraine and urged the combatants to reach a peace agreement.
America is in a state of managed decline, and it will exacerbate if we continue to hemorrhage taxpayer dollars toward a foreign war, Gaetz said.
Thus far, the U.S. has provided four rounds of aid to Ukraine in response to Russias invasion, totaling about $113 billion, with some of the money going toward replenishment of U.S. military equipment that was sent to the front lines.
Congress approved the latest round of aid in December. While the package was designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, much depends upon events on the ground.
For his part, Zelenskyy has been working with both Democrats and Republicans to ensure their support once the country runs out of aid, likely to happen in late summer. Its really very important. Were thankful for the U.S., for its people, Zelenskyy said in an video posted by his office after the meeting.
In comments later on social media, Zelenskyy added, Thank you, American congressmen, for supporting Ukraine and understanding the importance of stepping up aid to help us achieve victory over the aggressor.
___
Associated Press reporter Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
A commander of a special operations squadron in Florida has been removed from his role after he was arrested and accused of driving under the influence, hitting a vehicle, and leaving the scene after causing damage to a person or property.
Lt. Col. Collin Charlie Christopherson, the commander of the 1st Special Operations Maintenance Squadron, was arrested Saturday by the Shalimar Police Department and later booked into the Okaloosa County Jail, according to jail logs and an arrest report reviewed by Military.com. Tech. Sgt. Michael Charles, a spokesman for the 1st Special Operations Wing, said Christopherson's removal from his command stemmed from the arrest incident.
"The Air Force has a strict zero-tolerance policy for illegal activity conducted by its members on or off base and holds commanders to the highest standards," Charles told Military.com. "Lt. Col. Christopherson has been removed from command of the 1st Special Operations Maintenance Squadron."
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Christopherson, 37, had been the commander of the squadron for nine months, according to Charles. The unit, based out of Hurlburt Field in Florida, is in charge of maintenance on the AC-130U Spooky and AC-130J Ghostrider gunships, according to its website.
Shalimar Police Department, patrolling a small town near Fort Walton Beach and Eglin Air Force Base, detailed the incident in an arrest report provided to Military.com.
Around 4:42 p.m. on Feb. 18, police responded to a call reporting that a blue Toyota truck was driving recklessly down a local road and couldn't stay in one lane. Prior to an officer arriving on the scene, dispatch reported that the truck collided with a white car at a traffic light and then departed the scene, according to an arrest report.
An officer later located the truck and pulled the driver over. The driver told the police officer he had "messed up," according to the arrest report. He gave the officer his military ID, which identified him as Christopherson.
The arrest report said the officer smelled a "strong odor of Alcoholic beverage emanating" from Christopherson and that the service member "lost his balance and almost fell to the floor" when asked to exit the vehicle.
The arrest report also detailed an open container of Jim Beam on the passenger front floorboard.
Christopherson was then taken away from his vehicle by another officer while a deputy located a white Kia sedan that had allegedly been hit by the truck. The sedan had also collided into another vehicle as a result of the crash.
Christopherson requested an attorney and refused to answer any questions; he also declined to take a Breathalyzer test.
It is not clear from the arrest report whether anyone suffered bodily injury as a result of the crash, but Shalimar Police Department Chief John Cash told Military.com that "no one was transported, per that report."
Christopherson was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail around 10 p.m. Feb. 18 and released the next day around 1:30 p.m., according to Okaloosa Department of Corrections booking logs, after posting a total of $15,000 in bond money related to the charges.
Christopherson did not respond to calls and messages left by Military.com at several numbers listed in public records tied to him. It is not yet clear whether he has retained an attorney.
The 1st Special Operations Wing said it is cooperating with the local police department's investigation and did not disclose any additional details.
"The allegations are currently under investigation by local authorities; in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation, we cannot discuss the details," Charles told Military.com. "Driving under the influence is a serious crime that is not tolerated in the Air Force. When an allegation is brought to our attention, we will investigate it promptly, and if the allegation is substantiated, we will take appropriate disciplinary action."
-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.
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The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a case filed by a Navy SEAL and veterans advocates over new regulations put in place in 2020 by the Department of Veterans Affairs that led to families being told they were being removed from the agency's caregiver program.
The high court announced Tuesday that it would not accept the case Veteran Warriors, Inc., et. al. v. McDonough, upholding a U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals' decision that favored the VA's decision to change the eligibility rules for its Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.
The changes to eligibility meant that hundreds of families received notifications that they would no longer be able to participate in a program that provides financial support for family members who offer assistance to veterans. The VA has since suspended the eligibility reviews that were leading to those notices.
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Veterans Warriors Inc., former SEAL Andrew Sheets and wife Kristie had filed the lawsuit arguing that new rules, published in 2020, conflicted with the law that created the program and extended restrictions beyond what was intended when the program was opened to combat veterans of all eras.
The program initially was created to support post-9/11 combat-injured veterans, providing additional compensation and benefits to a veteran who relied on a spouse or family member for care rather than hire a home health aide or live in a nursing facility.
The new rules introduced prior to program expansion were more restrictive than previously, requiring that a veteran must have sustained a serious injury, was in need of in-person personal care, and was 100% unable to perform at least one or more activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating or getting around.
The suit took issue with the VA's definition of "serious injury," as well as a new requirement that caregiver duties be performed in person. The Sheetses also rejected the criterion that the veteran must need complete assistance for at least one routine daily activity.
"The Final Rule does not account for any assessment by the family caregiver of the needs and limitations of the veteran, nor does it consider the amount and degree of personal care services provided, or the amount of time required for the family caregiver to provide any necessary supervision, protection or instruction to the veteran," the plaintiffs wrote in their argument to the appeals court.
In taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, Veteran Warriors Inc., working in partnership with the National Veterans Legal Services Program, said the court should intervene because legal precedence indicated that any decision should have favored the veteran, not the federal government.
Known as the Pro-Veteran Canon, the plaintiffs said that decisions on benefits for members should be "construed in the beneficiaries' favor."
Attorneys for the VA maintained that the department has the authority to make rules, and the law allowed it to consider how the program would work in the larger benefits landscape in forming the new regulations.
In 2018, Congress voted to expand the Family Caregiver program to veterans of previous conflicts, starting first with the oldest veterans. To prepare for the influx of new caregivers, the VA changed the eligibility criteria, with the idea that the neediest of veterans, including legacy participants and new beneficiaries, would be helped without radically increasing the cost of the program.
Under the new rules, roughly 19,700 legacy participants were to be assessed for continued participation. While the previous eligibility rules were similar, the VA used a different evaluation scoring system and based stipends on the amount of time required to provide care, with those in the lowest tier needing 10 hours of care a week. Those in the highest tier -- at least 40 hours of care a week -- receive the largest amount.
From the outset, VA officials estimated that most of the participants in the lowest tier would lose eligibility, as would some in the middle tier, or roughly 6,000 veterans.
As the assessments started, however, it became clear that many more would be booted from the program -- 90% by VA estimates. The department paused the process to review the entire program, extending benefits to all participants until 2025.
On Tuesday, Veteran Warriors Inc. Executive Director Holly Ferrell said the justices were wrong in rejecting the petition, not understanding that even veterans needing the highest level of assistance were being kicked out of the program under the new rules.
"This is a ruling against the veteran and caregiver community," Ferrell said in an interview with Military.com. "It's clear they either didn't have an understanding of what was at stake or that it was not relevant to them, which is concerning."
The chance of any case getting accepted to the U.S. Supreme Court, however, was a long shot: More than 7,000 petitions are filed each year ,and the court accepts roughly 80.
Despite the legal roadblock, Ferrell said she is more hopeful than she's "ever been" about the future of the program.
"With the new leadership, [Executive Director] Colleen Richardson and [Deputy Director] Tim Jobin, VA has shown a lot of positivity. They are gaining the trust of the community and, through their actions, are doing things the community has never seen before. They will hopefully turn this around."
The lawsuit was not the first filed over the program. In 2019, six caregivers sued the VA, saying they were improperly denied benefits or kicked out of the program after VA providers determined their veterans no longer needed help with daily activities.
Several of the plaintiffs argued that their benefits were arbitrarily downgraded, their applications were denied or they were removed from the program based on decisions the lawsuit called "arbitrary and capricious." That case was dismissed later that year.
The plaintiff in the Supreme Court petition, Sheets, has been in the program since 2011. He became eligible after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, panic attacks and depression related to participating in 33 combat missions in Afghanistan.
-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime
Related: VA Caregiver Program Needs Better Outreach and Data to Serve Disabled Vets, Panel Says
Air Force officials are now investigating whether service members in a wide assortment of jobs who have served at any of the nation's intercontinental ballistic missile bases are at risk for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other cancers. The news comes about a month after a senior officer circulated a briefing about a possible link between service and cancer risks.
The Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine will take "a comprehensive look across multiple Air Force Specialty Codes, locations and possible additional cancer" concerns raised by the missileer community at bases in North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, according to a Wednesday press release.
"While we continue to work through this process, service members, their family members and former service members who may have concerns or questions are encouraged to speak with their health care providers," Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, said in the press release.
Read Next: Trading on Patriotism: How Extremist Groups Target and Radicalize Veterans
Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana; F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming; and Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, maintain and operate more than 400 missile silos from which the country's nuclear-capable Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles can be fired.
At these duty stations, missileers are exposed to a variety of chemicals and toxins, ranging from paint in small spaces to fumes from burning classified documents to aerial asbestos and radon exposure.
Last month, a Space Force officer detailed those exposure risks and various cancer diagnoses received by veterans who served at Malmstrom in a briefing, warning of a possible link between their service and cancer.
The Space Force officer detailed 36 cases in which missileers who had been stationed at Malmstrom during their careers were diagnosed with a type of cancer.
Ten of the airmen who have received cancer diagnoses, according to his briefing, developed Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Two developed Hodgkin lymphoma, and 24 developed another form of cancer. Overall, eight of the 36 missileers with cancer diagnoses, the majority of whom served at Malmstrom sometime between 1997 and 2007, have died.
This is not the first time the military has investigated a link between missileer service and cancer clusters.
In 2001, the Air Force Institute for Operational Health did a site evaluation and sampled for potential chemical and biological contaminants at Malmstrom after cases of various cancers from missileers were reported -- including cervical cancer, thyroid cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma and two cases of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which those patients died, according to a report issued in 2005.
The Air Force said in 2005, following the release of the report, that "there is not sufficient evidence to consider the possibility of a cancer clustering to justify further investigation" and that "sometimes illnesses tend to occur by chance alone."
But the Air Force Medical Service, which is conducting the new "Missile Community Cancer Study," now says those conclusions may be outdated. Under a frequently asked question section on the service's website, the office says that the findings from two decades ago may have changed.
"We acknowledge time has passed and have the responsibility to investigate any potential service-related risks to Airmen, Guardians or their dependents' health," the website says. "We take this responsibility seriously."
The issue is of great concern to the newly created Space Force, as more than 400 of the service's current officers are former missileers.
Retired Col. Jim Warner, a former missileer and the executive director of the Association of Air Force Missileers, wrote that his group has been closely following the issue and is helping the Air Force with its investigation in a note on the association's Facebook page. He also wonders how far back the link to cancer clusters may go.
"Is it limited to operators or does the impact go into the maintenance, security forces, and support career fields? Is this a Minuteman problem or does it go back to Atlas, Titan, and Peacekeeper?" Warner wrote Feb. 3. "I will defer to the Air Force to provide the answers. Sadly, this issue will be with us for many years to come."
The Titan II missile was housed in 54 sites at four military bases across the country, including the former Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, and McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, from 1962 through the mid-1980s.
From 1975 to 1979, there were 125 leaks of propellant or oxidizer -- a substance used in the launch process -- on Titan II missiles that caused major health problems among crew members, according to the Air Force.
In 1978, a leak of an oxidizer used during launch killed two airmen and forced the evacuation of 1,345 residents of Rock, Kansas, near McConnell, according to an Air Force investigation into the accident.
In an interview with Military.com last month, Randy Shircel, a former Air Force facilities technician who served twice in missile silos for the Minuteman's predecessor, Titan II, said former service members whose workspaces were in the silos were exposed to highly toxic propellants and have developed non-cancerous tumors, lung and thyroid cancer, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Parkinson's disease. Spills or leaks of propellant occurred frequently, contaminating silos for up to six weeks -- a period in which the missiles were manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
"The only thing the Air Force was worried about was that our missiles stayed on alert and were ready to fire," Shircel said.
The Air Force Global Strike Command Surgeon General, Col. Lee D. Williames, said it is too early to tell how long this new study will take, according to Wednesday's press release. The first phase of the investigation will examine Department of Defense medical data, DoD and Department of Veterans Affairs Cancer Registry data, as well as VA medical data.
The next phase of the study will examine mortality data and cancer registries. The Air Force has also created a website that addresses concerns for current and former missileers and their families and allows users to send information to the Air Force Surgeon General's Office.
"It is my personal pledge to all Strikers, Airmen, Guardians and family members -- past and present -- to remain transparent throughout this process, and we will continue to maintain an open dialogue," Bussiere said in the press release. "This is my priority."
-- Patricia Kime contributed to this report
-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.
Related: Missileers Worry About New Signs of Link Between Service and Cancer, Latest in Toxic Exposure Concerns
MBABANE The Swaziland Consumer Forum (SWACOF) is calling for the reversal of the 10.8 per cent electricity hike.
SWACOF Chairman Mandla Ntshakala said the timing to effect the hike was not favourable due to many reasons.
Ntshakala urged the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authourity (ESERA) to consider the consumers in their decision to approve the electricity hike, which is expected to come into effect on April 1, 2023. ESERA is the regulator for the electricity industry and recently approved the 10.8 per cent hike, following a request of over 20 per cent by the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC). According to Ntshakala, ESERA workers were also consumers of electricity, hence the forums request for a halt of the hike, especially in consideration of the current financial situation in the country. He said the hike should be halted until the financial situation improved.
Reasons
Ntshakala said having considered the reasons for the hike, they came to the conclusion that the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) could be able to stop the increase for a certain period. He said looking at the companys (EEC) profit margin, it was still healthy compared to the poor working class, who were the consumers.
The chairman said ESERA should consider that the 10.8 per cent hike be stopped immediately. He said hiking electricity was similar to an increase in fuel prices, which influenced prices for other commodities, including food.
Ntshakala stated that EEC forwarded a request to be granted the tariff increase, while consumers on the other hand had never made a request for the reduction of same. This is why as consumers we have decided to peacefully visit ESERA to forward a request for the reduction of the tariffs, he said. Consumer forum member Mphandlana Shongwe said as consumers, they had registered their concerns during the public hearings but they were not regarded. Shongwe said it was painful that a decision to effect the hike was made and would come into effect.
Disregarding
He wondered why ESERA made a joke of the members of the public by disregarding their concerns, which were made in black and white that they were against the tariff hike. Shongwe said the hike should stop until such a time where salaries were reviewed and the economy had improved. Another member, Themba Mabuza, said they were not cry-babies but the issue of the electricity hike really cut deep. He added that the decision by ESERA to hike the tariff would lead to a situation whereby the installation of electricity would be useless as people would not afford it.
He said it did not benefit anyone if EEC would brag about profits at the expense of the poor people.
In response, ESERA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sikhumbuzo Tsabedze said they were not able to reverse the decision to increase the tariff hike. Tsabedze said they reached the decision and stated the reasons, of which they were of the view that they considered members of the public when reaching the resolution. He mentioned that the law gave them powers to take decisions as a regulator. Furthermore, he said they welcomed the concerns by the consumer forum, which was also made with respect and was equally important.
He said as the regulator, they had what was known as a quasi judiciary authority, meaning they were given specific authority, which they needed to apply guardedly. Tsabedze said the issue of electricity was complicated, especially because it was imported from a foreign country. He said they acknowledged the fact that they went to the communities during the public hearings and listened to the concerns that were raised. As a regulator, he said they recorded reports from individuals and the responses. The CEO said ECC had forwarded a request for 21.31 per cent average, with 26 per cent for domestic tariffs and explained the reasons on the need for the tariff increase.
Increase
He stated that the tarrif price increase at Eskom was over 18 per cent. Tsabedze said such made it very difficult for them as the regulator when considering concerns from consumers and weighing in the need for the request for a hike by EEC. You end up being an enemy to everyone as the consumer thinks they were disregarded and EEC as well (is of the same view), he added. Tsabedze said their hands were clean considering the rationale on how they had reached the decision to grant the tariff hike.
Following the public hearings, Tsabedze said they made a promise to go back and give feedback to the people about how the decision was reached. He said they would be going back to give the feedback next month. Tsabedze said the feedback was already uploaded on their web page but they would also engage with the public as it was their responsibility to do, in particular because other consumers had no access to the internet.
An artificial intelligence has controlled a U.S. F-16 fighter jet in fights against other aircraft in tests.
The series of AI-powered flights took place in December 2022, but have only just been revealed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research and development branch of the US Department of Defense.
DARPA had already tested AI control of jets on a simulator as part of its Air Combat Evolution programme. That research has now progressed to using a modified F-16 fighter jet. This jet, known as the X-62A, flew from the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, several times during a single week.
A few AI algorithms were tested, attempting take-offs, landings and using simulated weapons in aerial battles. A human pilot was on board in case of emergency.
Autonomous military aircraft are being researched by countries around the world because they can be used in dangerous situations without risk to human life at least on the aggressor's side and can operate at g-forces that would incapacitate or kill a human pilot.
Notable as the achievement might be, Kenneth Payne at King's College London says the tests aren't that important in the overall progress of autonomous vehicles.
"There's relatively not a lot of complexity. In some respects, dare one say, it's easier as a challenge than autonomous cars," says Payne. With cars, you are in a complex environment, especially in a city with narrow streets and lots of humans around, he says. "A lot of these problems are stripped back in aerial combat."
In some respects, dare one say, it's easier as a challenge than autonomous cars
Having AIs control combat also raises ethical issues about whether an algorithm can make the right decisions in complex, high-stakes scenarios, says Payne. But given that many countries are working on such technology, AI warplanes are likely to be developed and used anyway, he says.
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.
Matthew Brazil is the co-author, with Peter Mattis, of Chinese Communist Espionage, An Intelligence Primer.
In 1976, I spent the summer in Taiwan studying Chinese, living with the family of an officer in Taiwans defense forces. The colonel commanded a political warfare battalion on Quemoy, one of the Nationalist-held island redoubts just 10 kilometers from mainland China. His principal weapon: balloons. Their payload: anti-communist propaganda leaflets.
The colonel remained mum about the details, and politely rebuffed my requests to travel along with him to the island (known locally as Jinmen) for a visit. All this came back to me earlier this month, when a news photographer in Billings, Montana captured the image of a mysterious high-altitude object, which was soon tagged as a Chinese spy balloon. Hysteria, as Beijing called the furor (and not so wrongly) ensued.
And there was befuddlement. Why, people asked, did China float balloons over the U.S. when it (like other major powers) has hundreds of spy satellites in Near Earth Orbit? As it turned out, the answer was available in plenty of open source information by outlets ranging from the Union of Concerned Scientists to China itself.
How High?
First, the altitude of the Chinese spy balloon was estimated as 60,000 feet (18.3 kilometers). At such a height it was flying ten times closer than the lowest Earth-orbiting satellites. A surveillance platform on a balloon at 18 km can see more and intercept faint signals that would be reflected back to earth by the top layer of the atmosphere between it and the edge of space.
There was no small irony, meanwhile, in Beijings outrage that we shot down its balloon once it cleared the continental U.S. Back in the day China regularly shot down even manned U.S. and Taiwanese overflights (and probably tried without success many other times). But balloons were a constant annoyance.
In May, 1974, for example, an angry Premier Zhou Enlai ordered an alleged American spy balloon to be blasted out of the sky, according to an article by the retired U.S. diplomat David Cowhig, who referenced a report on the Chinese news site Baidu. According to these sources the balloon had drifted across China from Xinjiang in the west almost all the way across the mainland to its east coast before being downed by a J-6 fighter in Hebei province, not far from Beijing.
Zhous aggravation may have stemmed from previous American and Taiwan aerial incursions.
In the 1960s American U-2 pilots overflew Chinas far west to spy on Chinas nuclear program, apparently without casualties. Taiwans pilots had less luck: Five U-2s flown by pilots from Taiwan were shot down between 1962 and 1967, years after Francis Gary Powers was downed over the Soviet Union. In an eerie parallel with this months scuttling of a meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, that May 1960 calamity derailed a planned summit meeting between President Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
Still Flying
Washington monitors China with every tool at its disposalincluding, today, it seems, balloons, according to a definitive 2021 article in Popular Mechanics. Code names for the hot air recon ops, according to author and aerospace expert David Hambling: COLD STAR (COvert Long Dwell STratospheric ARchitecture), CICADA (Close-in Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft) and TRIPPWIRE (Tactical Responsive Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Platforms and Payloads Watching Isolated Remote Environments).
An axiom of espionage services the world over is to do whatever works, without getting caught, to accomplish the mission, whether via dispatching agents to eyeball ground facilities, sending divers into the ocean to attach eavesdropping devices to undersea cables, or flying specially equipped aircraft and sailing ships off the coast of an adversary to intercept its radio and other signals.
And vice-versa. According to articles in the New York Times on February 9 and 13, Beijings balloon program is extensive and probably run by Chinas Strategic Support Forcewith some unintended technical help from firms in the West, according to the Defense One newsletter. Nor is China shy about it. Beijings advances in the development of spy balloons have even been touted on Chinese domestic television, as highlighted by exile dissident Fengsuo Zhou on Twitter.
People didnt make such a fuss about it until this month, when that big white orb, dangling a surveillance apparatus the size of three school buses (we were told again and again) loitered over Montanas missile bases. Previous Chinese balloon incursions, during the Trump administration, didnt earn a peep, or allegedly were missed.
Back to the Future
There was a time when duck-and-cover school drills, and nuclear bomb shelters, were commonplace. They were just part of the nuclear age social landscape. But balloongate was unnerving for millionsdespite the craft posing no danger to Americans. Or as former CIA and NSA director and retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden put it to SpyTalk in the opening hours of the furor, Really, its not a big deal. We can neutralize it so I dont think its a danger either.
We may have to get used to them, like so many other features of the bygone Cold War, however unsettling.
During the 1960s, Navy P-3 Orion aircraft from Californias Moffett Field flew west every morning at recess over my grade school in nearby Campbell, in the San Francisco Bay area. Even as children, we were told over the dinner table and in the classroom that they were heading for the ocean to observe Russian submarines and trawlers that were actually spy ships.
We also learned that, a decade before, a kid our age had found a hollow nickel from his newspaper route with microfilm inside, leading years later to the apprehension of a deep-cover Soviet agent (an incident dramatized in the film Bridge of Spies).
Yet somehow the sky did not fall and there was less partisan finger pointing accompanying every revelation about espionage against the U.S. Our society was, in short, much more mature about these things. And not to put too fine a point on it, that society won the Cold War.
Whether or not we are entering another period with threads reaching back to that time, we would benefit from a bit more sobriety in our public debate about espionage and counterespionage. Since our political leaders seem to have trouble disciplining themselves to stick to facts and find solutions, a better-informed voting publicbetter educated without hyperbole about foreign espionage threatsmay offer a remedy to alleviate, if not solve, our current condition.
We could start with a public discussion about how, as the late CIA operative and diplomat James Lilley used to say, everybody spies. And how sober public awareness, with enough trained people to do solid counterespionage work for government and for our industries that Beijing so assiduously targets, catches more spies than does the heated rhetoric on Capitol Hill.
Or as Taylor Swift puts it, You need to calm down.
Hong Kong: Promoting high-quality development
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said Hong Kong will pursue high-quality development by growing its digital economy and ensuring the city is at the forefront of the third generation Internet (Web3) development.
As Hong Kong advances towards a new stage of stability, Mr Chan said the city must think about how to attain better forms of development. Hong Kong has penned many success stories, but also faced development bottlenecks in some areas.
In his 2023-2024 Budget, the Financial Secretary stressed the need to persistently drive development through innovation and technology; create new growth impetus through institutional enhancements and policy innovations; and progress towards green transformation by vigorously promoting the development of green and low-carbon technology and industries.
To speed up the process of developing the digital economy in Hong Kong, the Digital Economy Development Committee, chaired by the Financial Secretary, will undertake in-depth studies in four major areas to explore. These include looking at the digital infrastructure needed to promote the development of the digital economy, examining ways on ensuring the transfer of cross-boundary data in a convenient, efficient and secure manner, and the digital transformation of enterprises and human resources support. The four sub-groups under the committee will provide specific recommendations to the Government this year.
The Government will conduct a feasibility study on the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) Supercomputing Centre as part of efforts to promote the development of AI industries in the city. The study will be completed in 202324.
Mr Chan said the Government will earmark a sum of about $200 million to enhance the operation of the iAM Smart platform, so as to provide members of the public with more convenient onestop digital services and improve user experience. The wider use of iAM Smart will further promote Smart Government and the digital transformation of the whole society.
The Financial Secretary also advocated the development of an advanced and more comprehensive telecommunications infrastructure. He said the Government would encourage telecommunications network operators to invest in infrastructure to provide better services to companies and the public, and proposed tax deductions for spectrum utilisation fees to be paid by the future successful bidders of radio spectrum.
Additionally, to accelerate the pace of digital transformation of enterprises, Mr Chan said the Government would set aside $500 million for Hong Kong Cyberport to launch a Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme, under which subsidies will be provided on a one-to-one matching basis to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in applying ready-to-use basic digital solutions.
The Financial Secretary said the Government will spare no effort in supporting enterprises to use technology to enhance productivity and upgrade or transform their business processes. For example, the Technology Voucher Programme, which is widely received by industries, has supported over 20,000 applications since its launch.
Then there is the Governments commitment to ensuring Hong Kong is at the forefront of Web3 development. Mr Chan said the city must keep up with the times and seize this opportunity to spearhead innovation in this field. He pledged to allocate $50 million to expedite the Web3 ecosystem development by, among other things, organising major international seminars, to enable the industry and enterprises to grasp frontier development and to promote cross-sectoral business co-operation.
Mr Chan also talked about virtual assets (VA) as a vital component of spearheading the development of the Web3 ecosystem. He noted over the past few months, a large number of innovative enterprises with potential have been considering setting up business in Hong Kong. For the next step, the Financial Secretary said he would establish and lead a task force on VA development, with members from relevant policy bureaus, financial regulators and market participants, to provide recommendations on the sustainable and responsible development of the sector.
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
2 dead, 3 injured in explosion at U.S. welding company
Xinhua) 13:19, February 22, 2023
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and three others injured following an explosion and fire at a welding company in Florida on Tuesday.
The welding company is located in Medley, a town in Miami-Dade County. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and three others were hurt in the fire, officials said.
Miami-Dade Police Department's Homicide Bureau, along with the arson unit, is investigating what caused the combustion.
The incident came only a day after one person was killed and more than a dozen others were injured in a fiery explosion at a manufacturing plant in Ohio.
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Mammoet, a global market leader in heavy lifting and transport, has announced that it has successfully delivered the first batch of modularly-constructed 'overwater villas' for Red Sea Globals Sheybarah Island Resort in Saudi Arabia.
The company had been awarded the contract by Red Sea Global - the developer behind two of the world's most ambitious regenerative tourism destinations, The Red Sea and Amaala - for the transportion and installation of all 73 villa pods back in May last year.
To support the shipment of the villas from the UAE to Saudi Arabia, it had teamed up with P&O Maritime Logistics, a leading provider of critical logistics and marine solutions.
Mammoet pointed out that it had achieved a new milestone with the installation of the first prefabricated, stainless steel overwater villa orb on its foundation.
A total of four villas were loaded in at the Port of Hamriyah in Sharjah, and were shipped to the island for installation at the site, it stated.
Located on the southeast of the archipelago on the Red Sea, the 73-key Sheybarah Island resort, designed by Dubai-based architectural firm Killa Design, comprises uniquely shaped overwater and beach villas, arrival, front of house and F&B buildings and other facilities.
It embraces the latest sustainable technologies in all elements of its design; an eco-friendly and sustainable design that not only preserves but enhances the biodiversity and the surrounding natural habitat, while offering a luxurious experience that will attract visitors from around the globe and elevating Saudi Arabia as a top tier marine eco-tourism destination.
The approach to the facade design was to minimize visual impact of the architecture on the environment by employing a highly reflective polished stainless-steel cladding that reflects the natural surroundings: the ocean, the sky, sand dunes and the reef below, it stated.
For the installation, Mammoet said it had used a 650 tonne capacity Demag CC3800 crawler crane positioned on top of its modified barge, ALE 250. The shallow draft of the barge meant that there would be minimal disturbance to the sensitive marine environment of this unique and picturesque archipelago in the Red Sea.
Sheybarah Island is home to a highly diverse environment with mangroves, white sand dune beaches and some of the most beautiful and pristine coral reefs in the world hosting many species of fish and other marine animals.
Robert van Tinteren, Lead Project Engineer for Mammoet said: "We have welcomed the start of 2023 with the delivery of the very first batch of modularly constructed villas for Red Sea Globals Sheybarah Island Resort."
Elaborating on its key operation, the top official said at the construction jetty, the crane loaded and placed the first orb (an object shaped like a sphere or globe) on the barge deck and sailed to the installation area. Once at the location, the barge was positioned using a hyper-accurate GPS system and the barges own winches, for precise alignment with the foundation.
The barge was then stabilized using a retrofitted 300 tonne spud jacking system provided by Combifloat - Mammoets partner for floating and self-elevating marine equipment suitable for nearshore operations.
Safe and efficient lifting, lowering and (re)positioning of the barge was achieved through a locally controlled jacking mechanism and a 4-point mooring system.
"The crane was raised to lift the orb into place - its superlift was replaced by a system designed specifically for the project where the back mast of the CC3800 is tied back to the barge. This gave the crane enough capacity to skillfully place the orb onto the foundation without requiring the additional mass of a superlift tray," he explained.
Tinteren, while dubbing the whole operation as 'creative engineering' at its best, said: "It has been an exciting nine months building up to this point, but it never gets tedious to see the incredible things we at Mammoet can do when we put our minds to it!," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Popular Nigerian actor and politician, Yul Edochie, has advised Nigerian youths against electoral violence.
The filmmaker noted that it is wrong for the youths to be engaged in any kind of disturbance by any candidate.
Mr. Edochie told the youths to reject calls to be used for violence and let those who call for controversy use their own family members and children.
In a tweet seen by Modernghana News, the actor told his countrymen to frown on anything violent and place the country above anything else.
"Any candidate who wants to engage you to cause mayhem on election day, tell him to bring his children to lead the squad.
"Say 'NO' to election violence. Vote peacefully," he wrote.
Meanwhile, the Federal Republic is set to go to the polls on Saturday, February 25.
21.02.2023 LISTEN
Madam Vera Yayra Yawa Hayibor, a PhD student at the University of Glasgow Law School, UK, has declared her intention to contest the upcoming parliamentary primaries of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Hohoe Constituency.
She said she had high chance of winning the election and as a youth, she was confident that the youth were behind her for the task.
Madam Hayibor, who is a former Research Assistant interacting with the media, said the NDC was the best Party in developing the Hohoe Constituency as well as the nation in general and she was ready to carry the mantle.
Having more women in decision-making rooms such as parliament had significantly improved our economy and the world.
Decision-making is always better when women are at the table, and this is also essential for functioning and effective democracy.
She said she had served the Party in the Constituency, region and national, while also an active party member abroad.
Madam Hayibor said she had fulfilled all her financial obligations to the Party in the quest for her development of the Party at home.
She noted that politics was a tool for development, and it was time for the youth to be part of the development and must play active roles to support the adults.
Madam Hayibor said contributing her quota to the Party in the Constituency was borne out of the experiences she acquired through her political life.
She said she believed the economic empowerment of women, which could be secured through laws, can help solve the global economic crisis especially in Ghana and the world at large.
Madam Hayibor said her position as a Women Organiser of the Party in Scotland led to the adoption of party Branches in the Hohoe Constituency for support as well as played key roles in the 2020 general elections in Hohoe.
I believe one of the ways to stand up for the marginalised in societies is to join the discussion tables and represent the views of the minorities and be the voice for the voiceless in society.
GNA
The Majority Caucus in Parliament is appealing to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) as well as the Minority caucus to rescind the decision not to approve the new ministers appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Prior to the vetting of the newly nominated ministers on Monday, February 20, 2023, the NDC directed the Minority group not to approve them, describing their appointments as an insensitive move that would increase governments expenditure in the midst of an economic mess.
Addressing the media, the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh appealed to the NDC and its members in Parliament to support the approval of the ministerial nominees.
I just want our colleagues to understand that for the sake of unity, and the desire for us to forge a working relationship, this is their major decision. In terms of the fact that they are coming into leadership, this is the first time more or less they are going to make such a significant decision.
On the floor of the house, I made an appeal that they [Minority] should tamper justice with mercy. They should just let go and support the nominees, lets pass them. The nominees are all our colleagues, Im just appealing to them for them to remember that today will be a very significant day in our body politics. Im only appealing I hope they listen, he appealed.
Meanwhile, the Minority is urging the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin to apologise to the group over his comments on their decision not to approve the nominees.
The Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, who spoke to journalists said, we will not descend in the gutters with Afenyo-Markin, we have a reputation to protect, I will ask Afenyo-Markin to look at the minority leadership. These are the people who have gone through vetting and served as ministers and deputy ministers. I pray he can go through that process. The statement he made is becoming unparliamentary of a leader, we urge him to apologise.
The nominated ministers include the Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, K.T Hammond as the Minister for Trade and Industry with the Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso, Dr. Stephen Amoah serving as his deputy.
The Member of Parliament for Abetifi, Bryan Acheampong was also appointed as the Minister for Food and Agriculture.
Stephen Asamoah Boateng was appointed as the Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs among others.
-citinewsroom
The leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced the date for the opening of nominations for persons who want to contest the Presidential and Parliamentary primaries.
In the release signed by General Secretary Fifi Kwetey, the NDC said nominations for the Presidential and Parliamentary primaries will be opened on Wednesday, February 22.
The National Democratic Congress wishes to announce for the information of the public that all is set for the opening of nominations for the election of its Presidential candidate and Parliamentary Candidates for the 2024 General Elections.
As such, effective, midnight of 22nd February, 2023, Nomination Forms for Parliamentary Candidates will be accessible to all persons for purchase on the official website of the party; www.ghanandc.com , part of the NDC press release issued on Tuesday said.
The release added, nomination forms for Presidential aspirants can be obtained from the Office of the General Secretary at the Partys Headquarters at Adabraka, Accra effective 8am tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Functional Executive Committee of the party has put some 23 constituencies including Ayawaso Central and Amasaman on hold.
The press release further explains that the Functional Executive Committee will in due course announce the date for the opening of nominations in those Constituencies.
Below is a copy of the NDC press release:
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
21st February, 2023
NDC TO OPEN NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENTIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY PRIMARIES TOMORROW.
The National Democratic Congress wishes to announce for the information of the public that all is set for the opening of nominations for the election of its Presidential candidate and Parliamentary Candidates for the 2024 General Elections.
As such, effective, midnight of 22nd February, 2023, Nomination Forms for Parliamentary Candidates will be accessible to all persons for purchase on the official website of the party; www.ghanandc.com.
Nomination forms for Presidential aspirants can be obtained from the Office of the General Secretary at the Partys Headquarters at Adabraka, Accra effective 8am tomorrow.
The Functional Executive Committee of the party has however put the opening of nominations for parliamentary primaries in some constituencies on hold. These constituencies are:
1. Ayawaso Central
2. Amasaman
3. Afram Plains South
4. Akwatia
5. Efutu
6. Gomoa Central
7. Amenfi East
8. Evalue Gwira
9. Assin North
10. Pusiga
11. Tarkwa Nsuaem
12. Ayensuano
13. Adansi Asokwa
14. Offinso North
15. Ahafo Ano North
16. Sekyere Afram Plains
17. Ahafo Ano South West (Aduagyman)
18. Bosome Freho
19. Asante Akim Central
20. Manso Adubia
21. Manhyia South
22. Subin
23. Fomena
The Functional Executive Committee will in due course announce the date for the opening of nominations in the above Constituencies.
Signed.
Comrade Fifi Fiavi Kwetey
General Secretary
At 61, former governor Peter Obi is the youngest of the three frontrunners for Nigeria's top job in this weekend's presidential election.
With a message that he is the only candidate offering real change, Obi, a wealthy businessman from southeast Nigeria's Anambra state, has emerged as an unexpectedly powerful force in the race.
He challenges ex-Lagos governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, 70, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and 76-year-old ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The two old warhorses -- Tinubu and Abubakar -- have dominated the Nigerian political landscape since the return of democracy in 1999.
Tinubu, a Muslim from southwest Nigeria, has been a senator, two-term governor of Lagos and long-professed political kingmaker.
Abubakar, a northern Muslim, was vice president between 1999 and 2007 and is on his sixth attempt at the presidency.
For supporters of Obi, a 61-year-old Christian from the Igbo-speaking region and candidate of the Labour Party, his background is the starting point for what sets him apart.
With a reputation for frugality and integrity, Obi's tenure as Anambra state governor is a reference point for his accountability in public service.
His supporters see that as a departure from endemic corruption that has marred the nation's public life, endearing him to younger Nigerians who represent a large portion of registered voters.
Obi's growing popularity and social media appeal are unprecedented in modern Nigeria where PDP and APC have dominated politics since the end of military rule in 1999.
For the first time, Obi is rallying the younger electorate -- mostly in their 30s -- into a popular movement nicknamed 'Obidients', despite the Labour Party's lack of a national structure.
He joined the Labour Party last year after failing as vice presidential candidate for the PDP in 2019.
Obi and his supporters believe old-school politicians should step aside and this election is the opportunity for Nigerians to vote them out.
"It's time to take your country back," Obi often says at campaign rallies.
Analysts see Saturday's ballot as a three-horse race among Tinubu, Abubakar and Obi.
"We need a change and with Obi we will get that change," said food seller Lorita Unegbu, attending an Obi rally at a Lagos stadium last week.
Some opinion polls forecast an Obi victory but critics say his popularity is only on social media and among young Nigerians, many of who don't have voter cards.
They argue that the former governor and his party lack the geographical spread and political structure to win the vote, especially in the mostly Muslim north.
Under Nigerian electoral law, a candidate must win the most votes along with at least 25 percent of votes in 24 of Nigeria's 36 states and in the federal capital, Abuja.
Nasir El-Rufai, ruling party governor of northern Kaduna state, said Obi's momentum on social media "cannot translate" into votes for him to win the election.
Obi has also been accused of failing to declare offshore accounts and assets as well as investing state funds into a family company -- charges he dismisses.
His opponents also point to the activities of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) separatist group seeking an independent homeland for ethnic Igbo people of southeast Nigeria.
IPOB has been accused of attacking election offices and police, and critics say Obi has not done enough to condemn the group.
Despite the misgivings, Obi and his running-mate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, a northern Muslim, have had strong showings at campaign rallies, even in the north.
Even in Tinubu's southwest stronghold, Obi has attracted large crowds, drawing support from the large population of Igbo traders and residents, especially in Lagos.
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo and his fellow Yoruba leader Ayo Adebanjo, have publicly endorsed Obi's bid, insisting it is the turn of the Igbo to get the presidency since other regions have had their chance at the top job.
The Mamprugu Traditional Council has cautioned the Akufo-Addo's government never to disrespect their King again.
The caution comes after soldiers were deployed to the North East regional capital of Nalerigu to effect the arrest of the Nayiri, Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, and the newly enskinned Bawku Naaba, Naa Bohagu Mahami Abduali Sheriga, following a warrant issued by the Bolgatanga High Court.
Government had considered the enskinment of the new Bawku Naaba illegal and issued the threat of arrest of the king makers and the new king.
The court has since revoked the warrant of arrest after the youth of the town clashed with the soldiers to prevent them from carrying out the court orders.
Unhappy with the action by the central government, the Mamprugu Traditional Council in a statement observed that chieftaincy matters are the preserve of traditional authorities and government and state institutions are only required to mediate in times of disputes with recourse to history, traditions and culture in accordance with the laws of Ghana.
The council is calling for an unqualified apology from government and a public withdrawal of the statement issued by the Minister of Information stating that the enskinment of the Bawku Naba was illegal and threat to national security.
The council noted that any attempt to arrest the Nayiri will be fiercely resisted using every legal avenue. Also, they consider the call for the arrest of the Bawku Naaba as a direct challenge of the authority of the Nayiri which they said they take a strong exception to.
The council, however, called on citizens of Mamprugu Kingdom to remain calm and avoid provocative comments as the chiefs and elders work towards attaining lasting peace in Bawku.
Classfmonline.com
A presidential candidate hopeful of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyei Agyapong has kicked against the state financing of the national cathedral.
He doesnt understand why the project which was supposed to be funded privately will now become the state responsibility.
He argued that the cathedral is supposed to be sponsored by the Christian fraternity just as the Islamic community sponsored its national mosque located at Kanda.
The NPP stalwart in an interview maintained that the project must not be financed with state funds.
I'm surprised about issues about the National Cathedral. I thought it was a private project... when the president said that I thought he was going to call on us Christians to make contributions.
We (Christians) have been building our own Cathedrals... So, think that if the president calls on us Christians, we can make contributions so that we don't need to take money out of our budget.
We are stressed enough, dealing with the difficulties that we are facing," the former NPP General Secretary said.
He stressed, I will like to see a National Cathedral, there is a National Mosque but by we the Christians. I want to call on the adherents of the Christian faith to contribute to that (the Cathedral) so that the government can take itself out of it."
Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso constituency and Deputy Minister-designate for Trade and Industry, Stephen Amoah has opined on why he will never reject a ministerial appointment despite calls for government to downsize.
He said ministerial appointment is an opportunity for a citizen to render his or her services to the countrys development.
By that, the legislator said he will honour the appointment given to him to serve the Ghanaian citizens as a Deputy Trade and Industry Minister.
He made the statement before the appointment committee of Parliament during his vetting on Tuesday, February 21, in response to the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forsons question on whether he can sacrifice his appointment to back the calls for government downsize.
Can you consider rejecting or refusing the president's appointment as a contribution to addressing Ghana's current problem?" the Minority Leader asked.
The MP responded, "Mr. Chairman, I am not a lawyer, but I know Article 78 mandates the President with the approval of the Parliament, to do as such. I don't think if I am asked to serve this country, I will deny the good people of Nhyiaeso and this country by doing that.
22.02.2023 LISTEN
After publicly declaring his intention to take another shot at the presidency, former President John Dramani Mahama has picked nomination forms.
The forms was picked today Wednesday at the partys Adabraka office by Mahamas 2020 campaign manager Joshua Alabi.
Joshua Alabi was also accompanied by some executives of the Greater Accra Region and some party members.
Mr Mahama on Tuesday declared to run for President in the 2024 general election on the ticket of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He was said to have made the formal announcement when he met with the Minority caucus at his Cantonments office on Tuesday.
Already, NDC MPs in Parliament have unanimously endorsed him as their flagbearer.
Present at the meeting were former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, former NDC Campaign Manager for the 2020 general elections, Professor Joshua Alabi and former Information Minister, Kofi Totobi Quakyi.
It is expected that the former President will officially make a public declaration in the coming days about why he wants to be elected President again.
This was after leadership of four unions Motor Riders Union, True Drivers Union, Concerned Drivers Union and Abossey Okai Spare-part Dealers Association petitioned John Dramani Mahama, urging him to contest for the Presidency on Monday.
Presenting the petition to the office of the former President, the Public Relations Officer of the Motor Riders Association, Setsofia Quashie said Ghanaians are desirous of a change in administration that will result in the transformation of the economy.
Constituency Chairmen of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Greater Accra Region had earlier declared their support and endorsement for former President John Mahama, should he decide to contest the party's presidential primaries.
The Greater Accra Chairmen Caucus during a courtesy call on Mr. Mahama asked him to lead the party to the 2024 election.
According to the 33 chairmen, it is only former President John Mahama who can lead and win the elections for the NDC in 2024.
The caucus, led by Dome Kwabenya Chairman, Isaac Lamptey, also promised that they will raise and pay the filing fee of GH500,000 for Mr. Mahama to contest the NDC primaries.
NDC youth in the Volta Region also want John Mahama to run unopposed for the flagbearership race of the party ahead of the polls.
New Delhi, Feb 22 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the environment is not just a global cause, but the personal and collective responsibility of every individual.
In a message shared at the inaugural session of the 22nd edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) here on Prime Minister said, "the way farward is through collectiveness rather than selectiveness.
Environment conservation is a commitment and not compulsion for India, he noted.
The Prime Minister said the transition towards renewable and alternate sources of energy, and the adoption of technology and innovation measures to find solutions to urban challenges.
We have adopted a multi-dimensional approach to chart a long-term roadmap for sustainable and environment friendly lifestyle, he added.
At the Inaugural address of the Summit, being held on the theme of Mainstreaming Sustainable Development and Climate Resilience for Collective Action from February 22-24 by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, Vice President of Guyana, made a clarion call to significantly focus on the principles of equity and justice at forums such as the G20 and the COPs.
He pointed out that it is impossible for many developing countries to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without financing.
The small countries not only need climate finance, but they also need a reform of the global financial system to achieve sustainable development, said Dr Jagdeo.
He also pointed out that climate resilience and sustainable development are interlinked. Most of the countries in the Caribbean are fiscally and debt stressed.
Unless these issues are addressed now by some of the multilateral agencies, these countries will never be able to have a sustainable, medium-term economic framework, leaving much less to address the catastrophic damage of weather-related events, Dr Jagdeo added.
In his welcome address, Mr Nitin Desai, Chairman Governing Council, TERI, underlined the link between conserving resources and promoting sustainable livelihood.
The idea of a sustainable lifestyle has to become an important component of the global dialogue on sustainable development, said Desai.
With the world approaching the crucial midpoint of the 2030 Agenda and the sustainable development goals, Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General said.
It has been more than 50 years since the 1972 Stockholm Conference. Since then, the world has made many strides in bringing to the forefront the issues related to the environment, biodiversity loss, climate change, and has achieved many milestones".
Earlier, in the day, speaking at the Opening Session of the Summit, Mr Jeffrey D Sachs, Professor, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, urged the developing world to be the leaders of sustainable development.
We need the whole world in the lead. We need India to be in the lead, we need China to be in the lead, we need Brazil to be in the lead, he said.
The three-day Summit will have ministers from across the world, top government representatives, political leaders, and chiefs of international organizations deliberating on critical themes of G20 leadership and Green Development Pact; equity and climate justice; driving and financing sustainable development.
UNI JA GNK
Stephen Amoah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Nhyiaeso clashed with Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson during vetting.
The Minority Leader questioned if the Deputy Trade and Industry Minister nominee acknowledges the current financial crisis in the country which he replied affirmatively.
In a follow-up question, Dr. Ato Forson asked if his colleague can ever sacrifice part of his salary to cushion the nation in the face of the heightened economic crisis.
In a sarcastic tone, the deputy minister nominee said the only difference between himself and the Ajumako Enyan Essiam lawmaker is the height, noting that he will do so if his colleague also chooses to do it.
Dr. Ato Forson quizzed, "Will you sacrifice your salary to reduce that expenditure?"
The Nhyiaeso MP responded, "Mr. Chairman, I think I said something here, my knowledgeable Dr. Ato Forson and I, the only difference is the height, so the way we are brothers if he sees me in the corridor and he says brother let us cut [our salaries] and he cuts him, I will cut mine."
Coming Friday, February 24, 2023, will mark exactly 57 years since Ghana experienced its first military coup detat.
The military led by Joseph Arthur Ankrah deposed Dr. Kwame Nkrumahs government through the gun in an attempt to end an alleged dictatorial rule.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah left Ghana for Hanoi, the Democratic Republic of North Vietnam, on February 21, 1966, at the invitation of President Ho Chi Minh, to help resolve the Vietnam War.
Among those in his entourage were his foreign affairs minister, Alex Quason Sackey, and his trade and industry minister, Ambassador Kwesi Armah.
In his absence, the country was led by a three-man Presidential Commission.
However, after only four days in Vietnam, the US CIA allegedly backed the conspirators to overthrow the first Republic, who later renamed their organisation the National Liberation Council (NLC) and established West Africa's first military government.
Citizens of Gold, now Ghana, took to the streets in jubilation over what they deemed a liberation from Nkrumahs dictatorial rule.
However, some survivors say the 1966 coup was the biggest setback in Ghanas socioeconomic development.
Following the coup in Ghana, code-named "Operation Cold Chop," Guinean President Sekou Toure came to the aid of Kwame Nkrumah, who was still in doubt after being informed by a Chinese Ambassador.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah arrived in Guinea on March 2, 1966, with his bodyguards and a few remaining civil servants.
President Kwame Nkrumah was greeted as Head of State by Toure, who ordered a 21-gun salute for his close friend.
Toure announced at the airport that Kwame Nkrumah would accompany him as "the head of state and secretary-general of the Guinean Democratic Party."
Nkrumah revealed in his book "Dark Days in Ghana" that the coup d'etat was the handiwork of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.).
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah served as the leader of government business after winning the 1951 elections and later became the first Prime Minister and subsequently Ghanas first Republican President in 1960, three years after the nations independence from the British Monarchy.
RoseFabricsGh, a Ghana-based fabric store, in collaboration with Creative Impulse, has extended charity to the Accra Psychiatric Hospital as part of its corporate social responsibility.
They donated essential items to patients and staff at the health facility on Friday, February 17.
The donation included bags of rice, packs of bottled water, toiletries, and fabrics, among others, to support the patients and the hard-working staff of the hospital.
The Accra Psychiatric Hospital is one of the major hospitals in Ghana that provides mental health services to patients.
Speaking on the donation, Philip Afflu, Head of Administration and Finance, said, "We are delighted to have the opportunity to give back to the community and to support the patients and staff of Accra Psychiatric Hospital."
He continued, "As a business, we believe it is our responsibility to support our community and make a positive impact wherever we can."
The donation was well received by the patients and staff of the hospital, who expressed their gratitude to RoseFabricsGh and Creative Impulse for their generosity.
The collaboration between RoseFabricsGH, Creative Impulse and Smile for Hope foundation is a testament to the commitment of local businesses to give back to communities and make a positive impact in the lives of others.
The donation is a reminder that in times of need, it is important to come together and support one another.
The donation was a success, and both RoseFabricsGh and Creative Impulse look forward to future collaborations to make a difference in the community.
Tanzania has approved the construction of a pipeline that would allow Ugandan oil to be delivered to international markets, dismissing environmental concerns about the project as propaganda.
Tanzania's government on Tuesday approved the construction of the East African Crude Oil pipeline (Eacop) that would transport crude from oil fields being developed in Lake Albert, in northwestern Uganda to a Tanzanian port on the Indian Ocean.
The $10 billion (9.4 billion euro) oilfields and pipeline project, which is being jointly developed by France's TotalEnergies, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, along with the state oil companies of Uganda and Tanzania, required approval from both countries with Uganda issuing a license to the project operator last month.
The underground heated pipeline is set to become the longest of its type when completed, expected in 2025, and has been held up as an economic opportunity for both countries.
But the Lake Albert region is one of the world's most biodiverse, and rights groups and environmental campaigners say the project threatens the region's fragile ecosystem and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people.
Tanzanian Energy Minister January Makamba rejected the environmental and rights concerns as "propaganda".
"There are a lot of noises in opposition to the project, Makamba said, adding that the country has complied with all the environmental, safety and human rights standards."
"We are proud of the pipeline because it will increase Tanzania's influence in the world."
(with AFP)
22.02.2023 LISTEN
Businessman Seidu Agongo has said in his recusal application to the High Court that I was simply terrified to have read the sentiments expressed and the threat issued by Justice C.J. Honyenuga a Justice of the Supreme Court who has been hearing the GHS217-million financial loss case about his (Mr Seidu Agongos) recent absence from the trial over ill health.
Mr Agongo argued that Justice Honyenuga, obviously did not care whether or not I was unwell because he must, by all means conclude this matter, and considers my ill health as an impediment to his goal.
About a week ago, Justice Honyenuga said the medical excuses of Mr Agongo (second accused person) who is being tried with the ex-chief executive officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Dr Stephen Opuni (first accused person), for criminal offences, were delaying him from concluding the case within the limited time granted him by the Chief Justice.
Justice Honyenuga reached the mandatory constitutional retirement age of 70 in September 2022 but was granted limited time by the Chief Justice, per the 1992 Constitution, to wrap up the almost-five-year-old trial.
Mr Agongo, whose company, Agricult (the third accused person) supplied Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser to Cocobod during the tenure of Dr Opuni as CEO, was absent from the trial for a few days over ill health.
He presented two excuse duties to the court from two hospitals within a space of about two weeks.
The situation compelled Justice Honyenuga, who started hearing the case in May 2018, to adjourn the hearing on a few occasions, much to his chagrin.
While adjourning the matter to 20 February 2023 due to Mr Agongos medical excuse, Justice Honyenuga told the court on Tuesday, 14 February 2023: Yesterday [Monday, 13 February 2023], I adjourned the matter on the medical report to await the Registrars report. Now, as I indicated yesterday, the second accused has caused this court to adjourn proceedings for some time now. A reference to his medical report from the National Cardiothoracic Centre indicates that: Assessment was done and a diagnosis of stress-induced anxiety was made, for which treatment was commenced. He reported for a review on 30 January 2023 with complaints of difficulty in sleeping, easy fatigue and worrying thoughts of over two weeks duration and high blood pressure readings.
Now, the second accused, again, has brought a medical report which now indicates that he is diagnosed with acute lumbago and radiculopathy from the 37 Military Hospital and was given an excuse duty for one whole week, Justice Honyenuga said.
He added: At the last adjourned date, I expressed my difficulty in having to adjourn the case because of the absence of the second accused on medical excuse duty.
As I indicated, I have limited time to conclude this matter but such medical excuses are delaying the trial of this case, he complained, warning: I must state emphatically that this court has the discretion to accept or reject medical evidence and I must also add that the second accused is on bail and he is still subject to this courts discretion. And, I must also add that this court has enormous powers to deal with any situation in this court.
Mr Agongo, in his application, said apart from feeling threatened by Justice Honyenugas words on Valentines Day, he also sees the whole trial as a charade.
Its a sham of a trial! Honyenugas court has already sealed our fate, predetermined our guilt by rejecting copious evidence Agongo
He argued that by rejecting several pieces of exculpatory evidence tendered by his lawyers during the trial and marking them as rejects, the trial judge ensured that we can never rely on the said exhibits at the trial while, at the same time, calling on us to open our defence in respect of the very same matters.
This, Mr Agongo noted, means that this court has already sealed our fate and only wants us to go through a sham of a trial when it has already predetermined our guilt even before we were heard, especially when similar evidence tendered by the prosecution was spared the wrath of this court.
In the application, Mr Agongo said: The court dismissed our submission of no case and ordered us to open our defence in respect of counts 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 25, 26 and 27, as, according to the court, the prosecution had proved the ingredients of the offences so charged in those counts and also because the case is a sensitive one.
In order to arrive at its said decision, the trial court, presided over by Justice C J Honyenuga (JSC), rejected and marked as rejects, exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75, being exculpatory evidence and which were police caution statements provided to the accused persons by the prosecution on the orders of the very same court and were tendered at the trial through the police investigator without any objection from the prosecution, on the ground that this court was wrong in admitting the said exhibits, as the said exhibits violated the hearsay rules of evidence, Mr Agongo argued.
However, he pointed out, similar documents, also being police caution statements, tendered by the prosecution at the trial, through the same investigator, were, curiously not rejected but actually relied on by the said court in concluding that a case was made against us, for which reason, we needed to open our defence; and there was no explanation whatsoever as to why this court discriminated against us.
For example, he cited: Exhibits 69 and PP were police investigative caution statements obtained from the only farmers spoken to by the investigators during the investigations and were tendered through the investigator while the defence, on 11 March 2021,tendered exhibit 69 in which the farmer confirmed that he found the Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser very good for young and old cocoa, the prosecution tendered exhibit PP in which the other farmer complained that he harvested only 52 bags of cocoa after applying the said fertiliser instead of the 50 bags of cocoa he used to harvest and, as such, he did not find the fertiliser as good as the extension officers had claimed.
He said while the court rejected the marked exhibit 69 as reject, it preserved exhibit PP, which was tendered by the prosecution through the same police investigator, without any explanation.
Further, he said another key evidence that was rejected by this court was exhibit 67 tendered without objection on 1 March 2021 through the police investigator, which exhibit is also a police caution statement taken form Dr Baah, the head of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division of Cocobod (CHED) at the time, who confirmed that, through a farmer perception survey conducted by CHED, farmers had expressed preference for the Lithovit Fertiliser that CHED had distributed to them, so, he asked that this be documented.
Also rejected by this court and marked as reject is exhibit 63, a police caution statement obtained from the then-Chairman of the Board of Cocobod, which was, again, tendered without objection through the police investigator on 1 March 2021, wherein the said Board Chairman had confirmed to the investigators that all purchases and contracts carried out at the material time, were approved by the Board of Cocobod and that all the necessary rules and procedures for the procurement of chemicals and fertilisers by COCOBOD, were strictly adhered to.
Again, he mentioned that: A vital piece of evidence rejected by this court is exhibit 75, which is a handing-over statement made by the head of the investigative team at the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the entity which commenced the investigations into the matter at the time when the investigations were being handed over by EOCO to the Ghana Police to continue, wherein the EOCO official confirmed that we (the applicants herein) new nothing about the source of the sample of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser used to conduct the first tests at the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and the Chemistry Department of the University of Ghana but that the only sample of the Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser picked from Cocobods warehouse jointly by the investigators together with the officers of Ghana Cocoa Board in my presence and used for a second test at the GSA, confirmed that the second sample tested was, indeed, fertiliser.
Mr Agongo continued: This court also rejected and marked as rejects, exhibits 71 and 72 tendered through the police investigators on 15 March 2021 without objection, being police caution statements obtained from the head of the Material Science Department of the GSA, who were the persons who actually carried out the test on the second sample of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser received from EOCO at the GSA and concluded that it was, indeed, a fertiliser; a material piece of evidence which the trial court has now put beyond our use at the trial by the singular act of marking same as rejects at the submission of no case stage while finding that the prosecution has proved that we had sold adulterated fertiliser to COCOBOD.
He stressed that the exhibits rejected and marked as rejects by this court at the submission of the no case stage were police caution statements relating to key matters, were exculpatory in nature and their rejection by the trial court at this stage without having [accorded] us the opportunity to be heard before doing so, has, no doubt, prejudiced our case and hampered our ability to make any meaningful defence to the charges we face at the trial.
I am advised by counsel, and I verily believe the same to be true that this court could not have come to the conclusion that the prosecution had proved the offences so charged without curiously rejecting and marking as rejects, exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75.
He added: I am further advised by counsel, and I verily believe the same to be true, that this court exceeded its jurisdiction by acting contrary to constitutional and statutory provisions when it rejected exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 on the ground that they offended the hearsay rules when those exhibits were, in fact, tendered with the consent of the prosecution signified by the prosecution not objecting to their tendering and, therefore, and exception to the hearsay rules.
He continued: I am, again, advised by counsel, and I verily believe the same to be true, that this court exceeded its jurisdiction by acting contrary to constitutional provisions when it unfairly, capriciously, discriminately and prejudicially purported to apply the hearsay rules only against the accused persons in not rejecting the police caution statements tendered by the prosecution, which were similar in character to exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 at the trial.
I am further advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true, that the court acted erroneously and contrary to statutory provisions in rejecting exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75, which were, otherwise, admissible, as an exception to the hearsay rules being police caution statements taken by investigators during their official duties in investigating this matter, thereby, exceeding its jurisdiction.
I am advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that for this court to have to reject exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 in order to be able to come to the conclusion that we have a case to answer, means that the said court failed to exact the appropriate burden of proof from the prosecution contrary to the constitutional and statutory provisions, Mr Agongo indicated.
I am advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that a fair-minded trial court in a criminal matter must be interested in evidence that [inures] to the benefit of an accused person and not seek to capriciously put such evidence beyond the use of an accused, as this court had done in rejecting and marking as rejects, all these documents, to the effect that we cannot rely on them in our defence at the trial.
The businessman noted: I am advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that when this court, presided over by Justice CJ Honyenuga (JSC) suo moto decided to reject the exhibits, all of which had been admitted at the trial with the agreement of the prosecution, in not objecting to their being tendered, the said court ought to have given the accused persons, including the applicants herein, a hearing on the matter prior to making a decision, which the said judge failed to do.
In his view, for the trial court on its own to exclude all the exculpatory evidence without giving us a hearing is clearly and assault [on] our constitutional rights to fair trial and against the rules of natural justice, and, as a result, disqualifies the said trial judge from continuing with the further conduct of the proceedings in this matter.
He noted: While this court did not explain what it meant by saying in its ruling that because the matter is a sensitive one, we should open our defence, I am advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that the sensitivity of a criminal case is not a legally recognised ground on which to call upon an accused person to open a defence in a criminal matter and to that extent, the trial judge has shown that he is clearly being influenced by extrajudicial considerations in this matter.
Mr Agongo said apart from having unlawfully excluded those exhibits, as this court did, this court, in its ruling of 7 May 2021, also made sweeping, definitive, final and conclusive findings against us, the applicants, at the stage of submission of no case, to answer as though the said ruling was the final judgment of this court after full trial, when the said court was yet to hear us; demonstrably leaving no room in this courts mind for the statutory reasonable doubt that we are required to raise, as to our guilt on the charges laid against us.
For instance, quoting from page 54 of that ruling, Mr Agongo said Justice CJ Honyenuga (JSC) stated that: All these were perpetuated to facilitate the 2nd and 3rd accuseds [applicants herein] business and defraud COCOBOD. Indeed, these acts were all perpetuated to facilitate and intentionally, voluntarily, to aid the 2nd and 3rd accused [applicants herein] to perpetrate fraud on COCOBOD by supplying a different product from what was tested approved However, the 1st accused, although he knew the correct state of affairs and knowingly facilitated and aided the 2nd and 3rd accused [applicants herein] to defraud COCOBOD there was no way COCOBOD would have been defrauded of such huge amounts.
I am convinced beyond any doubt that with the above categorical and determinative statements made by Justice CJ Honyenuga (JSC) even before we could be heard, after he found ways of putting very vital evidence that would have assisted us to raise any doubts as to our guilt beyond our use at the trial by marking them as rejects, at the submission of no case stage, we [applicants] stand no chance before him, no matter what manner of evidence we adduce before the said court, for all practical purposes, our fates are sealed and any further trial proceedings before the same judge will just be an academic exercise.
Source: Classfmonline.com
MP for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George, said the country lacks the principles of separation of powers.
Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews AM show on Wednesday, February 22, the opposition lawmaker said Parliament has now been forcefully attached to the Executive due to the appointment of MPs as ministers.
He stressed that legislators should be made to operate independently without conflicting other arms of government.
We don't have separation of powers in Ghana, he said.
The MP added, Parliament is[now] an appendage of the Executive. Members of Parliament must be independent.
Ghana has been practising the hybrid system of government where Members of Parliament are sometimes appointed as cabinet ministers unlike the sole Presidential and Parliamentary systems.
Meanwhile, Ghanas Parliament is marking its 30th anniversary today since its inception on January 7, 1993.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has finally picked his nomination forms to contest in the upcoming NDC presidential primaries.
The party has opened nomination forms today, Wednesday, February 22. It plans to conduct its parliamentary and presidential primaries in May 2023.
Picking the forms on behalf of the one-time president, his 2020 campaign manager Mr. Joshua Alabi addressing the media said Mr. Mahama is destined to solve the current economic crisis.
To him, the nations ailing economy will be restored to levels where Ghanaians will no longer want to set their eyes on NPP again.
"We are here to pick up the forms for HE John Dramani Mahama. As you are aware, we are in very difficult times in this country; the economy is in shambles, people are suffering, and the summary here is that people are crying for the NDC to come back.
"The NDC has gone through all its structures and elections; it is time for the flagbearer to deliver the 2024 elections," he said.
Mr. Alabi further said, "Ghanaians are asking for a well-experienced leader; leadership counts.
"If leadership counts, then experience is the keyone who has done it before and one who is very humble, one who loves the people, and one who believes in people-centered policies. Fortunately for us in the NDC, as a country, we have somebody like that.
"We are here to pick his form and to work for him, and work for the NDC, and work for the people of Ghana.
"On January 2025 the NDC will be forming the new government under the leadership of HE John Dramani Mahama," he emphasized.
A Chartered Accountant with the KPMG, Julius Ayivor, who is currently on secondment to the Office of the Receiver of the defunct Beige Bank Limited, has testified that reviews conducted into the affairs of the defunct bank identified a number of transactions that were suspicious and unusual in nature.
Mr Ayivor, who is acting as the principal witness in the trial of the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of defunct bank, Mike Nyinaku, said the suspicious and unusual transactions involved the siphoning of funds that had been deposited by customers of the defunct bank by the former CEO to himself and companies related to him.
This, he said caused the Government of Ghana to settle the affected customers with taxpayers' money, following the collapse of the bank.
He made the allegation when he testified in court as part of the trial.
In providing examples to support the basis for the allegations made, the Principal Prosecution witness noted in his witness statement that, deposits of over 10,000 customers of the defunct Beige Bank totalling GH449 million were siphoned out of the accounts of the said customers to the account of Beige Capital Asset Management Limited (BCAM), a company that is wholly owned by Mike Nyinaku.
Out of the GH449 million siphoned out of the accounts of the affected customers, GH320 million were moved into a fictitious bank account opened in the name of one of the defunct Bank's customers First Africa Savings and Loans Limited (FASL), without the knowledge of FASL's management.
The witness stated that the fictitious bank account was opened in the name of FASL in March 2018 on the instructions of Mike Nyinaku and a total of GH21 million was transferred out of the FASL account to the accounts of two (2) individuals and ten (10) companies held with the defunct Bank on the instructions of Mike Nyinaku. Nine (9) out of the ten (10) companies that benefitted from the GH21 million transfer are owned by Mike Nyinaku.
The companies are Alberry Limited, DYI Limited, Legacy Pensions Trust Limited, Adelia Limited, Beige Academy, Beige Assur Limited, Beventure Limited, Beige Care Limited and Beige Capital Limited, all of which received amounts totalling GH18 million.
Mr Ayivor also stated that other deposits amounting to GH141 million placed with the defunct Bank by twenty-three (23) customers of the defunct Bank, were siphoned out of the accounts of the customers, between 2016 and 2018, to the account of The Beige Group Limited, a company wholly owned by Mike Nyinaku on his instructions.
The witness also spoke about how the defunct Bank's funds amounting to GH282 million were siphoned out of the Bank on the instructions of Mike Nyinaku for his own benefit. He stated that the amounts so siphoned were recorded in four (4) other assets ledger accounts in the defunct Bank's records Director's account, Shareholder's account, Beige Group Account and Prepayments Project Works account.
In paragraphs 26(b), 26(c) and 26(d) of Mr Ayivor's witness statement, Mr Ayivor cited three (3) examples, out of the many transactions that amounted to the GH282 million siphoned. In one of those examples noted in paragraph 26(c) of the witness statement, the witness reported that approval was given by Mike Nyinaky for an amount of US$200,000 to be released from the Cash Management Unit of the defunct Bank to Mike Nyinaku's office in July 2017 for no work done.
The witness also noted in paragraph 26(d) of his witness' statement that investments made by the defunct Bank with some eight (8) financial institutions, totalling GH62 million were transferred to one of Mike Nyinaku's companies The Beige Group Limited, on the instructions of Mike Nyinaku, on 17 August 2017.
During cross-examination of the witness by Thaddeus Sory, the Lawyer for Mike Nyinaku, the witness told the Court that there was evidence to support the claim that Government of Ghana, through its bailout package, paid all 10,000+ customers whose fixed deposits were siphoned by Mike Nyinaku for his benefit and companies related to him.
The witness also stated that payment of the affected customers was done by Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG) in collaboration with the office of the Receiver, after a validation exercise to ascertain and confirm the total amount involved.
Asked if evidence was available to the court to prove that indeed the alleged customers have been paid out of the Government of Ghana bailout package, Mr Ayivor answered in the affirmative and stated that he would make available to the court evidence that supports the fact that the 10,000+ depositors have been paid. Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, consequently ordered the witness to submit, at the next adjourned date, the evidence to prove that the 10,000+ affected customers have been paid.
When counsel for Mike Nyinaku asked the witness to confirm whether some of the amounts, he alleges were siphoned out of the Bank's account into BCAM's account with the Bank were in the sums of GH5million, GH2million or less, the witness, in his response stated, Yes, there are various amounts. There were even instances where GH1,000 was siphoned out of customer accounts.
When also asked by Counsel for Mike Nyinaku why the balance held in BCAM's bank account of GH59 million as of 16 April 2018 was not migrated to CBG after the defunct Bank's license was revoked, the witness answered, My lady, this is because BCAM was confirmed as a related company. In fact, BCAM is 100% owned by The Beige Group, which is also 100% owned by Mike Nyinaku.
Migrating those balances to CBG to be paid out of Government's bailout package would have meant giving BCAM access to funds they did not own. Those funds belonged to various customers and had been siphoned from the accounts of the customers on the instructions of Mike Nyinaku.
The witness stated that the amounts siphoned out of the accounts of the affected customers for the benefit of Mike Nyinaku and companies owned by him, have to date not been repaid to the defunct Bank or to the Receiver.
The facts of the case as narrated by Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, Deputy Attorney General were as follows: Mike Nyinaku was the former Chief Executive Officer of The Beige Bank Limited and on 1 August 2018, Bank of Ghana revoked the banking license of Beige Bank and placed it in receivership.
A review of the financial and other records of the Bank conducted by the Receiver and his team revealed several suspicious and unusual transactions, which were subsequently reported to law enforcement agencies for investigation.
The Deputy AG said the investigations conducted revealed that between 2015 and 2018, the accused person as CEO of the Bank had allegedly used various means to transfer huge sums of monies to companies related to him and for his personal benefit.
Mike Nyinaku is standing trial on forty-three (43) counts of stealing, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering, involving the siphoning of a total of GH1.3 billion from the defunct Beige Bank between 2015 and 2018, in a case presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting with additional responsibilities as a High Court Judge. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Source: Daily Graphic
Court proceedings in the case involving Dr Wilberforce Aggrey, the husband of the Ashanti Regional Lands Commission staff who went missing, scheduled to come off at the Kumasi High Court on Tuesday, 21 February 2023, did not happen as planned.
This is because the trial Judge, Justice Daniel Obeng, was absent from court.
Hearing, therefore, had to be adjourned.
A witness in the case who was scheduled to testify and Friends of Rhoda, a group made up of classmates and work colleagues of the missing lands commission officer, were all in court.
Dr Aggrey who is standing trial over the disappearance of his wife and a staff of the Lands Commission, Rhodaline Amoah-Darko, was granted a bail of GHS300,000.
The Kumasi High Court granted the KNUST lecturer bail with one surety to be justified.
Dr Aggrey who was initially unable to meet the bail conditions, however, met it eventually.
Meanwhile, three Teaching Assistants (TAs) from the KNUST have so far mounted the witness box to testify against him.
Dr Aggrey has been charged with kidnapping.
The KNUST lecturer was invited for interrogation by the police following incoherent statements he made when his wife went missing on Monday, 30 August 2021.
The husband made a report to the police on Thursday, 2 September 2021, after the wife allegedly left home at Gyenyase in Kumasi and did not return.
Per police investigations, communication from the KNUST lecturers phone reporting the incident to family members and that from the alleged kidnappers using the missing ladys phone to demand a ransom were from the same location close to the residence of the couple.
The prosecutor for the case told the court that the lecturer had admitted to sending messages from the wifes phone under threats from the alleged kidnappers that his family would be harmed if he failed to do so.
He revealed that the messages that had been sent from Mrs Aggreys phone to her husbands phone and later from her husbands phone to relatives were all sent from the same location near the couples residence, according to their investigations.
He further revealed that the lecturer explained that he had to send his wife to a location near the Volta Lake to ensure her safety.
The Lands Commission staff left home for Sunyani on Monday, 30 August 2021, and has since not been found.
Source: classfmonline.com
Eighteen political parties are contesting for Nigeria's presidential elections scheduled for 25 February. Yes, 18 parties. But that's not the highest number of parties in Nigeria's election history. The record was in February 2019, when 73 political parties presented presidential candidates.
In the 2023 elections, the Nigerian media have devoted most of their attention to four parties and their candidates. This leaves an information gap about the others. And the presidency is just one position being filled. There are hundreds of other political posts that will be determined.
To fill the gaps, a new election tool has been launched which will help voters decide who to cast their ballot for and where.
The tracker
The tool, called My Candidate Nigeria , is an initiative that falls under the Africa Data Hub . Its aim is to inform voters and strengthen democracy.
The tool helps voters in Nigeria identify candidates for the elections based on their location address.
You can try it and discover who the candidates are and where to vote.
Focus on a few
The tool is important because the media has tended to focus on just a few candidates and their parties:
Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress
Peter Obi of the Labour Party
Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party
Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People's Party.
Some of the other candidates vying for presidency include former student leader Omoyele Sowore , contesting under the banner of the African Action Congress, and Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party. Kola Abiola is contesting on the ticket of the People's Redemption Party. We also have Hamza Al-Mustapha flying the flag of Action Alliance, and Dumebi Kachikwu of the African Democratic Congress. Chichi Ojei of the Allied Peoples Movement is the only female presidential candidate.
Hundreds of choices
There are 1,101 candidates for the Senate and 3,122 candidates vying for federal constituencies in the House of Representatives. The elections will be conducted across 176,606 polling stations.
In terms of gender, 3,875 candidates are male , made up of 35 for presidential and vice-president, 1,008 for Senate and 2,832 for House of Representatives.
Meanwhile 381 women are contesting: one for president, 92 for Senate and 288 for House of Representatives. There are also 11 people with disabilities in the race.
A total of 1,265,227 officials have been trained and will be deployed for the elections. They include presiding, collation and returning officers, as well as 530,538 polling unit security officials. The electoral commission will deploy over one million personnel and large quantities of election materials to 774 local government areas, 8,809 electoral wards and 176,846 polling units across the country.
The increased participation of young Nigerians is noticeable. Seventy-one million young Nigerians registered to vote in the elections, out of the total of 93.5 million registered voters. Young here means those who are under 50 years. Nearly 40% of those who registered are under 35 while over 33 million and 35.75% are between the ages of 35 and 49. It follows that those between 18 and 49 years could determine these elections if enough of them turn out to vote.
And that is why this tracker might help as young Nigerians are more technologically driven. They should be able to navigate their way through the electoral maze using it. It's intended to help voters make better and more informed choices.
MyCandidate Nigeria is an initiative of Open Cities Lab in collaboration with Orodata Science, Accountability Lab Nigeria and OdipoDev. Orodata Science, based in Lagos, is leading the project. Their mission is to establish a data-literate world. Open Cities Lab is a non-profit organisation that creates tools to improve trust and accountability in the civic space. And Odipodev is a market research and data journalism lab based in Kenya.
Hakeem Onapajo ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possede pas de parts, ne recoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a declare aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.
By Hakeem Onapajo, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Nile University of Nigeria
Shillong, Feb 22 (UNI) Describing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are like a class bully, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday appealed to the people to fight against them collectively through non-violence.
Drumming up support for the Congress here in poll-bound Meghalaya, Gandhi also alleged that the Trinamool Congress idea in Meghalaya was to ensure that the BJP is strengthened.
"The BJP-RSS is like a class bully who thinks he knows everything, understands everything and has no respect for anybody else. We have to fight them collectively," he said.
Calling on people to fight against the BJP and RSS through non-violence, and love and respect for each other's traditions, cultures, language and religions, the Congress leader appeal to the religious sentiments of the Christian-majority tribal state, saying that his party would protect their religion, even as he mentioned about huge rise in prices under the present regime at the Centre.
Campaigning for his party in the previous assembly elections in Meghalaya in 2018, the former Congress president had similarly raked up the issue of alleged atrocities on Christians in the country.
Donning a traditional black Jymphong (waistcoat traditionally worn by Khasi men, particularly during important ceremonies and festivals, Gandhi said he was wearing it as a sign of respect to the culture and tradition of the people of Meghalaya, which is also reflected in his actions.
The Congress leader however claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the other hand, puts on the jacket and goes on to attack your religion, culture, history and language.
We are here to defend your culture, to defend your language, to defend your religion, and I am here as a partner, as a friend, and I come here with humility to learn and to understand from your history and tradition and your culture, Gandhi said.
Alleging the BJP of indulging in communal polarisation, the Congress leader said, The anti-conversion bill in Karnataka, you see in television the mob lynching taking place. You understand exactly what they are trying to do.
The RSS has captured all the state institutions and they are attacking the people and their faith each passing day. They do not respect the culture and faith of minorities and tribal, Gandhi said, asserting the anti-conversion bill passed in Karnataka in January 2021 has put the entire Christian community and minorities in fear. Gandhi also fired salvos at TMC and termed it as B team of the BJP.
Is TMC a silent partner of the BJP? Was the entry of TMC in Goa only a charade done to divide the votes against the Congress? Is TMC attempting something similar in Meghalaya? Is it intentionally going to cheat the people of Meghalaya also?, Gandhi asked, asserting that TMC must clarify why is it silent about the BJP in Meghalaya.
Urging the electorates of Meghalaya to support his party and vote for our young and experienced candidates to ensure a thumping majority for the Congress in the coming assembly elections.
Elections are scheduled on February 27 and the counting would be held on March 2 to form the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly.
He mentioned that 47 of the 50 candidates that Congress has fielded in the State were fresh and young and below the age of 45, which reflected a Youthful party.
The Congress leader promised Rs 3000 every month to single mothers and one job per household in Meghalaya if his party was voted by the majority and also said about taking action against illegal coal scam.
We will make sure that the people of Meghalaya get uninterrupted power supply to their houses and to industries. We will fight the menace of drugs and try to provide a drug-free Meghalaya and take strict action against peddlers and set up de-addiction centres, the Congress leader promised if his party is voted to power.
Gandhi also cast aspersions on all media organizations in the country saying, The media of this country is completely controlled by two or three large industrialists, who have a relationship with the prime minister. So we cant even express ourselves in the media anymore. And that was one of the reasons we decided to do the Bharat Yodo Yatra to listen to the people of the country and we expressed what this country is going through.
Gandhi also mentioned about his asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha recently about the latters relationship with Adani, even as he alleged that there was corruption in Meghalaya at a scale that has never been seen.
UNI RRK ARN
Nairobi, February 17, 2023 Authorities in Ethiopia should reverse the recent suspensions of more than a dozen news outlets and let members of the press and journalist advocacy groups work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.
Since late January, authorities have suspended 15 foreign media outlets operating in Somali Regional State, and also revoked the license of a regional journalists association, according to news reports and people familiar with the cases.
The recent suspensions of 15 media outlets the ban on a media association in Ethiopias Somali Regional State have eroded reporting in the region, and paint a picture of a government unwilling to make room for dissenting voices, said CPJ Sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo. Authorities should allow journalists from these outlets to resume their jobs, ensure that enforcement of licensing regulations is not used to muzzle the media.
On January 28, the Somali Regional State Communication Bureau, a government office that oversees the regions media, indefinitely suspended the 15 media outlets and their representatives from operating in the state, saying that they did not have the licensing required for foreign media outlets, according to a letter from the bureau reviewed by CPJ and multiple media reports.
Those outlets, all of which broadcast in the Somali language and have their headquarters outside of Ethiopia, include BBC Somali, Kalsan TV, Universal TV, Horyaal TV, Eryal TV, CBA TV, Horn Cable TV, Star TV, RTN Somali TV, STN TV, Goobjoog TV, Saab TV, Sahan TV, MM TV, and Five Somali TV, according to those sources.
In the letter, the communication bureau said it was complying with an earlier directive from the federal Ethiopian Media Authority to enforce federal licensing requirements. Federal regulations on foreign media registration, which came into force in May 2022, require foreign broadcasters opening a branch in the country to register with the media authority and prohibit journalists from contributing to foreign outlets without a registration certificate.
Abdulrazaq Hassan, chair of the Somali Region Journalists Association, a local media rights group, told CPJ via messaging app that most of those outlets did not have offices in Ethiopia, but instead worked with correspondents in the country.
The SRJA was quoted in those media reports saying that licensing was being used as pretext to shutter independent outlets, and that journalists from the 15 media companies had previously operated with permits from the regional communication bureau.
Abdulkadir Reshid Duale, the head of the Somali communication bureau, told CPJ in a statement that his office had issued temporary permits to the outlets in 2018, which had since expired. He said the media outlets had been warned about the need for federal licensing, and would be allowed to resume working once they had the federal license.
Journalists and managers from eight of the suspended outlets told CPJ that they had been previously granted permission to operate by regional authorities, that the steps to receive a federal license were not clear, and that the suspensions were enforced without adequate warning.
Also, on January 31, the Somali Region Justice Bureau, which oversees the registration of civil society organizations in the region, revoked the SRJAs license and accused it of having acted inappropriately, according to a letter from the bureau reviewed by CPJ and a statement by the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy, an Ethiopian nongovernmental organization.
In a February 3 letter reviewed by CPJ, the communication bureau asked police and state security to take appropriate action against the SRJA, which it accused of operating illegally and spreading incorrect and misleading messages.
Separately, regional police detained Muhiyadin Mohammed Ali, a reporter with the U.K.-based broadcaster Kalsan TV, after he published a video on his personal Facebook page protesting the suspensions. He was released on February 2 without charge, according to news reports, a statement by the SRJA, and a person familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation. In his statement, Abdikadir said Muyihadin threatened a government official in the video.
The Ethiopian Media Authority did not respond to CPJs queries sent via messaging app and email.
Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Anyaa-Sowutuom constituency, Dickson Adomako Kissi, claims parliament lacks independence.
The lawmaker noted that the situation is caused by inadequate funding.
Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews AM show on Wednesday, February 22, the MP said the lack of resources is what has been hindering its independence.
"Our independence as a legislative body has been largely impaired by the lack of resources," he said.
This comes as Ghanas Parliament marks its 30th anniversary today since its inception on January 7, 1993.
Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850 when the country was a British colony known as the Gold Coast.
The body, called the Legislative Council, was purely advisory, as the Governor exercised all legislative and executive powers.
Reforms were introduced in 1916 and 1925, although the governor's power remained extensive.
In 1946, a new constitution was introduced that allowed for an unofficial member of the Legislative Council to become its president while the governor ceased to be the ex officio president of the body.
This system continued until 1951 when the Legislature elected its first Speaker, Sir Emmanuel Charles Quist.
Ghanas 8th Parliament is currently led by Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament. Hon. Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker; Hon. Andrew Asiamah Amoako, the Second Deputy Speaker; caucus leaders, committee-level leaders and ranking members.
22.02.2023 LISTEN
Following the opening of nominations for Presidential and Parliamentary primaries of the National Democratic Congress ahead of the 2024 general elections, Lawyer Baba Sadique Zankawah has declared his intention to contest the Damongo Constituency primaries on the ticket of the NDC.
The young Lawyer said his main motivation to avail himself to lead the party in the Damongo constituency at this critical moment in opposition was to recapture the seat from the NPP.
In a declaration of intent statement copied to this reporter, the Secretary of the Savannah Regional Disciplinary Committee of the NDC said there was enormous confidence in his bid to lead the party with dozens of NDC faithfuls who hitherto were on the fence now eagerly waiting for him to get the chance of the delegates so they can join the fight to snatch the seat.
"The news of my intention to contest in the primaries has sent shivers and shock waves through the spines of our arch opponents the NPP.
"They pray the story was never true. But we are sorry to inform them that it is indeed true, that In Shaa Allah Lawyer Zankawah is coming and he shall prevail.
"My intention to contest the forthcoming primaries was not borne out of sheer pursuit of popularity or recognition or crave for relevance, but it is borne out of a strong desire to salvage the constituency and put it back on track of real development pursued by previous NDC regimes," he said.
The Coordinator of NDC Lawyers in Savannah said Damongo was the political and traditional capital of Gonjaland and with HE John Mahama as the President in waiting, cannot afford to lose the seat again.
He recounted his past contributions to the party in the Damongo constituency and beyond, even after, he failed in his bid twice to become the DCE for West Gonja, pledging to run a clean campaign devoid of name-calling and mudslinging, stressing that," I shall focus on mending the cracks and building bridges".
The Tamale Technical University branch of the Dagbon Students Association (DASA) has donated dustbins to the school and its sister campus, the Tamale Technical Institute as part of its social responsibilities.
Receiving the dustbins on behalf of the two educational institutions, a tutor and the patron of the Association Chief Andani lauded the initiative undertaken by the leadership of DASA.
According to him, the gesture is the first of its kind since the formation of the Association at the educational institution.
As a tutor and patron of the Association, this is the first time we're getting such a donation, the only thing we normally hear from the Association leadership is an excursion, but this time around it has taken a different dimension which is remarkable. On behalf of the teaching staff I congratulate all members of DASA for looking beyond their usual dealings, he stated.
Vice Principal of the Tamale Technical Institute (TTI), Mr. Alhassan S Adam also added his voice by urging the leadership of the Association to continue with the impactful initiative.
According to him, any form of donation from the Association and other groupings on campus would be appreciated but was quick to advise members of DASA to be law-abiding and peace-loving.
President of the Association, Mr. Fuseini Hassan Nantogma said the donation is geared towards improving sanitation and preventing the reckless disposal of unwanted materials on campus.
We observed that students throw rubbish haphazardly on campus, so as an Association we thought it necessary to procure dustbins for the school in our own small way, we aim to add our effort to the progress of this institution, he stated.
Mr. Hassan appealed to individuals and cooperate bodies to support the Association in carrying out its projects and programs.
The President of the Students Representative Council at the Technical Institute, Mr. Alhassan Ibrahim thanked the leadership of the Association for the support.
According to him, the gesture would go a long way in improving the sanitation situation at both institutions, adding that the items came at the right time.
However, the leadership of the Association used the opportunity to express gratitude to their immediate past leaders led by Chief Iddrisu Ibrahim (Sapashini) for paving the way for the procurement of the dustbins.
In attendance at the handing over ceremony included the Senior house master of TTI, TaTU chief, Naa Nurudeen, TTI chief, Naa Alhassan, Organizer Damba, Vice President Hardi, Wulana Zulkanain, Sapashini Hafiz, TTI DASA President and many more.
Former Finance Minister under the erstwhile John Evans Atta Mills government, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, has proposed an effective way to redeem Ghanas economy from the current quagmire.
The NDC flagbearer hopeful said he is the best person who is committed with good policies to solve Ghanas problems.
Interacting with the media on the state of the nations economy in Accra on Monday, February 20, Dr. Duffuor revealed that Ghana needs to partner with foreign investors rather than the current system where most national resources are extracted and exchanged for peanuts.
According to the financial expert, his next NDC government will see to it that the country restrategize its financial systems to change the current narrative.
I believe that a different and new approach is imperative if Ghana is to manage its way successfully from the current economic situation.
These problems call for deep commitment and leadership, and I believe that I am the one to fulfil that as such I will pick forms when nominations are opened, Dr. Duffuor stated.
I believe in partnership rather than the current system where most national resources extracted belonged to foreigners, he added.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor is set to compete with former President John Dramani Mahama in the NDCs upcoming presidential primaries.
22.02.2023 LISTEN
The Chairman of the Internal Elections Committee of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Mr Kakra Essamuah has expressed surprise at the newcomer in the presidential primaries who picked forms to contest.
He said he does not know him however, the party welcomes everybody who is qualified to contest.
"I dont know him, yes it is a surprise but the party is a very large, vibrant national party and we expect more surprises, why not?
Being the leader of this country is a very distinguished position and I think that there are many people who are fertile and better than what we have experienced in the past six years. So we expect them to come along, if they satisfy our conditions, they satisfy the provisions under the 1992 Constitution, why not, they will participate in our primary slated for 13 May 2023. If by the Grace of God any one of them is able to win we shall present that person in the general elections, he said on the mid day news on TV3 Wednesday, February 22.
He further revealed that Tomorrow morning Dr Kwabena Dufuor will come and pick his forms and then Kojo Bonsu later in the afternoon."
Anybody who thinks he is qualified can come forward, he stressed.
One Earnest Kwaku Kobeah has picked the nomination forms to enable him to contest for the flagbearer position of the NDC.
He picked up his forms on Wednesday, February 22 in Accra. He expressed confidence of a victory.
Asked what victory margin he is expecting, he told journalists that I don't have a comment on that
I am here to stand and build the new Ghana, I am not here for the future, I am here for now, he further responded to a question of whether he is only making his presence in the NDC felt by picking up the forms.
A former Rector of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Professor Joshua Alabi also picked the nomination forms on behalf of former President John Dramani Mahama to enable him to contest in the internal elections.
Prof Alabi picked up the forms in Accra on Wednesday, February 22.
He said We are here to pick up the forms for his HE John Dramani Mahama. As you are aware we are in very difficult times in this country, the economy is in shambles, people are suffering and the summary here is that people are crying for the NDC to come back.
The NDC has gone through all its structures, and elections, it is time to come for the flagbearer to deliver the 2024 elections, he said.
He further indicated that Ghanaians are asking for a well-experienced leader, leadership counts. If leadership counts then experience is the key, one who has done it before and one who is very humble, one who loves the people and one who believes in people-centered policiesFortunately for us in the NDC, as a country, we have somebody like that.
We are here to pick his form and to work for him and work for the NDC and work for the people of Ghana.
On January 2025 NDC will be forming the new government under the leadership of HE John Dramani Mahama, the former contestant for the flagbearer post said.
Mr Mahama made his intentions to contest known to the Minority caucus at a meeting in his office in Accra on Tuesday, February 21.
The NDC announced that all was set for the opening of nominations for the election of its Presidential candidate and Parliamentary Candidates for the 2024 General Elections.
As such, effective, midnight Wednesday 22nd February 2023, Nomination Forms for Parliamentary Candidates will be accessible to all persons for purchase on the official website of the party; www.ghanandc.com, the main opposition party said in a statement on Tuesday, February 21.
The statement said nomination forms for Presidential aspirants can be obtained from the Office of the General Secretary at the Party's Headquarters at Adabraka, Accra effective today Wednesday, February 22.
The Functional Executive Committee of the party has however put the opening of nominations for parliamentary primaries in some constituencies on hold.
-3news.com
Another aspirant, Ernest Kwaku Kobeah, has expressed his interest to contest the flagbearership race of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The flag bearer aspirant picked up his nomination forms on Wednesday, 22 February 2023.
Mr Kobeah is confident of his victory in order to lead the NDC into the 2024 general elections.
Speaking to journalists, the flagbearer aspirant noted: I am here to stand and build the new Ghana, I am not here for the future.
"I am here for now.
Mr Kobeah is a member of the NDC in the UK. He is a sewage system specialist.
Meanwhile, former Greater Accra Regional Minister under the erstwhile Mahama-led administration, Professor Joshua Alabi, has also picked up Presidential nomination forms on behalf of his former boss.
Prof. Alabi, picked up the nomination forms for former President John Mahama today, Wednesday, 22 February 2023 at the offices of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) office.
Mr Mahama by this will be seeking re-election to become flagbearer for the party in the lead-up to the 2024 Presidential elections.
NDC has opened nominations for the election of its Presidential candidate and Parliamentary Candidates for the 2024 general elections.
The nomination forms for Parliamentary Candidates according to the Party will be accessible to all persons for purchase on the official website of the party; www.ghanandc.com.
Nomination forms for Presidential aspirants can be obtained from the Office of the General Secretary at the Partys Headquarters at Adabraka, Accra effective 8 a.m. today.
Source: classfmonline.com
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Muhammadu Buhari has opined about his party, the All Progressives Congress' chance of winning the upcoming general elections.
The outgoing president has averred that his party is going all out for victory this coming Saturday, February 25, to retain power.
To him, the final APC rally in Lagos on February 21 showed that Nigerians will keep them in power.
He also rallied the people of Lagos State to keep Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the current Governor, in office for the second time.
"The Grand Finale Rally of the Presidential Campaign of our great party, APC, took place in Lagos yesterday. We are going into Saturday confident of victory," he said.
President Buhari continues, "Vote Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the next President of Nigeria and Babajide Sanwo-Olu for a second term as Governor of Lagos State!"
The Nigerian presidential elections, per several surveys, is a fierce contest between three candidates: Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, opposition leader Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the newly formed Labour Party.
Camille fixes her gaze on her fingers, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. Her gestures are anxious, and her tender features betray her 15 years of age.
At the end of September, a few weeks before she returned to school, her cousin raped her, she says.
In the Central African Republic, the world's second least developed country and ravaged by civil conflict since 2013, sexual violence against women, children and even men is constantly rising, says Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Many are victims of rebels or the security forces, but around half know their attackers, the aid group says.
But taboo, fear and stigma are powerful tools in enforcing silence, and a rickety justice system means few assailants are ever prosecuted.
In the capital Bangui, an aid group called the Tongolo Centre said it recorded more than 3,420 victims of sexual violence between January and November 2022.
"Half of the victims were attacked by someone within their intimate circle," said the centre's leader, Thomas Gaudriot.
Of these, "more than a quarter were minors, and 10 percent were men," he said.
"It's just the tip of the iceberg," he said, stressing that detailed and reliable figures about the scale of sexual assault in the CAR were impossible to find.
Tongolo -- its name means "star" in the Sango language -- was founded by MSF in 2017.
Tucked away in a discreet back alley, the centre has nearly 80 employees, offering free medical care, therapy and consultations to victims of sexual abuse.
When necessary, the centre locates alternative accommodation, aids in reintegration and offers legal follow-up for criminal complaints.
Blame
Camille -- whose name, like those of other witnesses, has been changed for the purpose of this article -- struggled to put her ordeal into words.
"I was in a room with my brothers and sisters... My cousin came in and asked everyone to leave," she explained, overwhelmed by the pain of the memory.
Central African Republic. By (AFP)
Once the door was closed, he put his hand over my mouth," she says, imitating the gesture.
"I wanted to scream but he wouldn't let me," she whispers.
Struggling in silence and plagued by the fear of being rejected or punished by her relatives, Camille was raped again by her cousin.
He was far older than her, she said, adding that she did not know his age.
"After a few days, I understood that if I didn't speak up, he would continue," she told AFP.
Camille's cousin's parents blamed her for the attack. Her aunt forced her to take a pregnancy test and when it turned out positive she went to the Tongolo Centre for an abortion.
"The medical staff understood it wasn't my fault," said Camille, "the midwife who looked after me after my attack helped me a lot, I could confide in her. Without her, I might never have told anyone."
In most cases of family or community-based rape, the victim "does not come to report what she has suffered, but merely to abort", said a Tongolo midwife, Sylvie Gonekra.
"She's always held to blame by members of her family or neighbours," Gonekra said.
No justice
A former French colony, the CAR spiralled into civil war along sectarian lines following a coup in 2013.
The scourge of rape is not directly linked to the conflict, which has decreased in intensity in recent years, Gaudriot said.
Even so, "the conflict has led to an increase in precariousness, which, among other things, encourages these crimes," he said.
Around one in 10 victims are men, say experts. By Barbara DEBOUT (AFP)
All too often if a rape case does come to court, the charge is reduced to indecent assault, said Magalie Besse, director of an NGO called the Louis Joinet Francophone Institute for Justice and Democracy.
The CAR's penal code does have a classic definition of rape but its implementation is skewed by a "patriarchal mindset", she said.
"For many people in the judiciary, if the victim is over 15 and she was not a virgin at the time of the incident, then she hasn't been raped," said Besse.
Judges "readily grant bail or rule in favour of a plea of mitigating circumstances".
"Often these matters are settled out of court," a lawyer said, referring to forced marriage or monetary payment to bring any dispute to a close.
UNESCO and the African Union urge governments in Africa to place equity at the heart of education policy, to ensure that all children and youth on the continent have access to quality education.
A new report entitled Education in Africa - Placing equity at the heart of policy published jointly by UNESCO and the African Union, reveals that although many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are taking significant steps to provide quality education for all, the region has the worlds largest out-of-school population.
One in five children of primary school age and well over half of upper secondary school-age adolescents do not attend school. In about half of African countries, the out-of-school rate among primary school-age children stands at just under 10%, and at over 50% for upper secondary school age students. This rate is increasing in several countries.
The massive disparities in African education systems require urgent action. We need to provide all African children and youth with a safe, stimulating, and healthy environment in which they can attain their full potential. Transforming education must at the heart of countries efforts to build meaningful and sustainable development and economic growth, said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
African children lose out because of multiple factors
The report, which examines education in Africa from early childhood to upper secondary level, sets out the interconnected factors which prevent children from accessing a quality education, among them geographical location, poverty, gender, disability, crises, conflict, and displacement. It shows that in most countries there are wide gulfs in opportunities between children from the wealthiest and poorest households, between children in urban and rural areas, and between boys and girls. About 80% of children in sub-Saharan Africa are still not taught in a language they speak at home, an approach which significantly impedes learning outcomes.
The concept of equity must become the guideline for African education policies. We need to ensure that every child in rural and disadvantaged urban centres, and in other fragile countries and contexts, is able to receive the education and training they require, said H.E Professor Mohamed Belhocine, Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union Commission.
Fragile education systems aggravated by COVID-19
African education systems were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effects on educational attainment, learning outcomes, and disparities in education are still unfolding. Even before the pandemic, only a handful of countries in Africa were on track to meet the UN sustainable development goals on education.
The report calls on governments to strengthen education systems resilience to future crises, by developing flexible forms of teaching, by scaling up the use of digital technology, and by improving data collection to better inform policy planning.
It proposes a series of recommendations to address the barriers to inclusion, such as making secondary education compulsory, building more schools, developing adapted curricula, improving the quality of teachers, and providing financial and academic assistance to children.
This first joint publication builds on a study conducted by UNESCOs International Institute for Educational Planning to review the advances made by African countries to reach the goals set out in the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025 and SDG4. The launch of the report was held at the African Unions Heads of States Summit, during a high-level discussion co-hosted by the African Union and UNESCO on Saturday 18 February 2023. The event was honoured by the participation of the of Presidents of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Republic of Sierra Leone, as well as the Ministers of Education of Republic of Kenya and Sierra Leone (the latter as moderator).
Full report Education in Africa - Placing equity at the heart of policy https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384479
Executive summaries https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384497
Q&A: How are African countries improving the quality of their education?
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/qa-how-are-african-countries-improving-quality-their-education?hub=343
All is set for the induction ceremony of the new General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Ghana, Rev. Dr. Stephen Yenusom Wengam.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Rev. Dr. Stephen Yenusom Wengam said: What we are going to do on Saturday is the spiritual aspect. We wanted to familiarise ourselves with the work first before we hold the spiritual aspect of the takeover where the church will gather with the clergy to celebrate Gods goodness, he added.
Though he admitted the journey will not be easy, he said he is ready for the challenge, with the help of God.
The responsibility is huge considering the times we are in now. I am going to superintend over 6,000 churches, 3,800 pastors, 690,000 members on administrative and spiritual issues.
The Reverend Minister said the induction is part of a series of programmes.
The General Secretary of the World Assemblies of God fellowship, Reverend Dominic Yeo, Reverend Greg Johnson, Barnabas Mtkambali, Bishop Charles Agyinasare and former Chief Justice, Georgina Wood will be speaking on the role of ADR in resolving conflicts in the church.
The maiden edition of a transformational leadership conference takes place this Thursday and Friday. It is open to all. We have international speakers.
He further highlighted some initiatives he is going to bring on board to make the church gain the prominence it deserves.
We have launched our vision paper christened the transformation agenda anchored on Micah 4:1,2 which says in the last days the mountain of the Lords temple will be the highest and that the nations will flood in. We want to reposition the Assemblies of God church to walk in this vision.
We have thus divided the vision into 6 thematic areas; reach, rebuild, reform, restore, reposition and rebrand. Under reach, we said there must be no village in Ghana where the people do not hear the word of God. Under rebuild, we are going to invest in human capital, the welfare of our pastors, and infrastructure. Under reform, we are targeting major administrative restructuring, reposition will look at the leadership aspect and then under rebrand, we will work on appealing to the younger generation. Under restore, we will seek after the early church revival.
The Assemblies of God, Ghana will on February 25, 2023, induct into office Rev. Wengam as the new General Superintendent at the Grand Arena, Accra International Conference Centre.
New Executive Presbytery Officers of the church will also be outdoored at the event.
Reverend Stephen Yenusom Wengam, who is also the lead Radio Pastor at Citi FM was elected as the General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Ghana at the 30th biennial General Council meeting of the church.
Rev. Wengam, 50, is the lead pastor of Cedar Mountain International Church in Accra.
He takes over from Rev. Professor Yaw Frimpong-Manso who was General Superintendent of the church for 12 years.
Rev. Wengam took office on Monday 5th September 2022 at a handing-over ceremony held at the headquarters of the church in Accra.
By Citi Newsroom
Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has called for a new constitutional order that would place a cap on the number of ministers appointed by the President.
His call follows demands by the Minority caucus in Parliament for President Nana Akufo-Addo to downsize his government in the wake of the economic challenges.
Speaking at the launch of the 30 years of parliamentary democracy, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu outlined a series of benefits to be achieved with the consideration of constitutional reform.
We need a constitutional order that would mitigate the winner takes all attitude and prevent the do-or-die combat associated with our elections. We need a new constitutional order that would prevent the constant increase in the number of seats in Parliament.
We need a new constitutional order that would put a cap in the number of ministers of state. We need a new constitutional order that would ensure that the Speaker of Parliament is a serving member of Parliament, the Suame MP said.
The Dean of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso has also called for an entirely new constitution contrary to calls for the 1992 constitution to be amended.
Prof. Antwi-Danso holds the view that a new constitution written by a committee so established will repair any defects that currently plague the country's democratic dispensation.
I believe that if we have something new (new constitution), politicians will jump to it to serve a better purpose, he stressed.
On proportional representation, he believes it will be the best for a true representation of the people in parliament, but fears implementing it may be fraught with challenges.
The Juaso circuit court on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 remanded into police custody, ten alleged national security operatives who were arrested for alleged extortion at Asiwa in the Ashanti region.
The 13-member syndicate was said to have been illegally operating within the Asiwa enclave, extorting monies from small-scale miners.
At around 12pm on Friday, the main Kumasi-Konongo high street was blocked by a Police patrol team to halt speeding land cruisers occupied by the syndicate.
The suspects were bolting with their booty when the Konongo police patrol team nabbed them.
A rifle, single-bar guns, and some gold stones were retrieved from them.
The suspects were initially moved into military custody, but on Monday 10 were handed over to the Konongo police command to continue investigation and press charges.
At a court hearing today, the ten suspects were charged with unlawful possession of military accoutrements and stealing.
Lawyer for the suspects, Maurice Ampaws bail application for his client was turned down the court says we should properly file a written application through the Attorney General he told William Evans-Nkum.
The case has been adjourned to March 7.
-3news.com
DR Congo and the UN's humanitarian arm on Wednesday appealed for $2.25 billion in aid this year for the central African country, which is impoverished and wracked by conflict in the east.
In a statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the funds would meet the "critical needs" of 10 million people, in the country of about 100 million.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world, despite having vast reserves of copper, cobalt and other minerals.
Much of the east of the country is also plagued by militias. One rebel group, the M23, has seized swathes of territory since late 2021, prompting hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
Over 26 million people in the DRC suffer from food insecurity, according to OCHA, while conflict has displaced 5.7 million people -- the largest number in Africa.
OCHA humanitarian coordinator Bruno Lemarquis called the crisis one of the largest in the world, as well as one of the oldest and most complex.
"The needs are enormous," he told AFP, noting that the DRC's plight tended to go "under the radar"
Nigerians go to the polls on 25 February to elect a new president, vice-president, 109 members of the Senate and 360 members of the Federal House of Representatives. Eighteen political parties have presented candidates for the various offices and over 93.5 million adult Nigerians are registered to vote.
The elections will be conducted at 176,606 polling stations spread across the 774 local government areas of the country. It is Africa's biggest election and presents huge logistical challenges for the Independent National Electoral Commission, the electoral umpire.
Working with our academic experts, The Conversation Africa has published a number of articles on the elections. Here are five essential reads.
10 factors that could affect the outcome
The 2023 general election in Nigeria is the seventh since the current wave of liberal democracy formally started in 1999. In the last 24 years, Nigeria's democracy has witnessed some growth. But there have been challenges too. These challenges often affect the way voters react at the polls. Ethnicity, religion, money, history and insecurity have been identified as some of the forces that will be at play as voters elect the next set of leaders on 25 February.
Political scientist Jideofor Adibe itemises these factors and the role they may play in the election outcome.
Read more: Nigeria's 2023 presidential election: 10 factors that could affect the outcome
How to poll 93.5 million voters
There are 18 political parties fielding candidates for the presidential election, 1,101 candidates for the Senate and 3,122 candidates vying for federal constituencies in the House of Representatives.
The elections will be conducted across 176,606 polling stations. To make this happen, the electoral commission is deploying 1,265,227 trained officials, among them 530,538 polling unit security officials.
To move electoral materials and officials, over 100,000 vehicles and about 4,200 boats, accompanied by naval gunboats, are required. To cap it all, this is all happening at a time when the country is in a state of insecurity and there is a scarcity of fuel and cash.
Political institutions and governance expert Emmanuel Remi Aiyede breaks down the logistical challenges.
Read more: How to poll 93 million voters the challenge of pulling off Nigeria's presidential elections
Atiku Abubakar: a 6th time contender
Although it is a crowded contest, one of the leading contenders for the office of the Nigerian president is Atiku Abubakar. The former vice-president (1999-2007) is the candidate for Nigeria's main opposition party, the People's Democratic Party.
Abubakar is not new to the race for Nigeria's presidency. He has been running since 1992 this is his sixth attempt. He was on the ballot in 2007 and 2019, and lost in party presidential primaries in 1993, 2011 and 2015.
Political scientist Hakeem Onapajo identifies hurdles on Abubakar's way to the presidential villa this time around.
Read more: Atiku Abubakar: Nigeria's perennial presidential candidate is back on the stump
Bola Tinubu: Kingmaker wanting to be king
Another major contender is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is a first time contender for the number one office in Nigeria, but Tinubu is widely believed to have been the political kingmaker responsible for the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
The former governor of Lagos State, Nigeria's commercial nerve centre, between 1999 and 2007, Tinubu also nominated Yemi Osinbajo into his current role as vice-president. He is sometimes described as the godfather of politics in Lagos and, by extension, in other parts of Nigeria.
But can the kingmaker become the king?
Journalist and communications scholar Olayinka Oyegbile analyses controversies surrounding Tinubu and his chances at the polls.
Read more: Bola Tinubu: Nigeria's kingmaker who wants to be king
Peter Obi: from underdog to a leading candidate
Leader of what is described as the Obidient movement, Peter Gregory Obi is a businessman and former governor of Anambra State, in the south-east region of Nigeria.
Obi's supporters coined the word Obidient and have used it to maximum effect in the 2023 campaign for this first-time contender.
With a largely youthful and internet-savvy support base, Obi started off the campaign as an underdog, especially as he is contesting on the platform of the lesser known Labour Party.
Midway into the campaign, he had made quite an impact and was considered one of the leading contenders for the occupancy of Aso Rock villa, Nigeria's presidential residence and office.
Political scientist Kester Onor describes the enigma called Peter Obi.
Read more: Peter Obi could be the force that topples Nigeria's two main political parties
By Adejuwon Soyinka, Regional Editor West Africa
To read the history of times before writing, scholars have traditionally used excavated evidence. Remains like dwellings, burials and pots can reveal a lot about how people lived long ago. In southern Africa, there is another archive to read too: rock art. Rock art is primarily a record of spiritual beliefs but also reflects the events that these beliefs made sense of.
Hunter-gatherers in the region, ancestors of today's San or BaTwa, made rock art for thousands of years before African herders and farmers arrived from the north 2,000 years ago and European colonists followed by sea 350 years ago.
As a result of these contacts between groups of people, ethnic and economic boundaries became increasingly blurred. Rock art changed too, in technique and subject matter.
Rock art tells a tale of people meeting, negotiating, fighting, trading with and marrying one another. The tale is told not in simple narrative, but in spiritual beliefs. Our recent paper in Current Anthropology outlines the nature, scale and effects of contact between people in southern Africa, and the ways in which indigenous people produced images that engaged with change. It shows that contact and colonisation, in time, created a disconnect with the past that can be understood by looking at changes in rock art.
The disconnect apparent in the rock art reflects the disconnect in indigenous society more generally. It reveals the mixing and changing and survival of different people's beliefs about the universe. It charts southern African history and, although it is written in terms of spiritual beliefs, it is the only record that shows what happened from the San perspective.
It often shows the struggle to resist subjugation, and it depicts beliefs about the forces that could be summoned to resist.
Shifts in rock art
What the San painted or engraved on rock was their vision of what happened in a trance state. The artists entered this trance state in order to establish connections with animals and spirits in the landscape , to influence their movements, and to derive the power to make rain and heal the sick.
Rock art was never unchanging, but new traditions and styles appeared when African farmers arrived in southern Africa from about 2,000 years ago, and when pastoralism was later introduced. Further changes came with the arrival of Khoe-speakers about 1,000 years ago . These Khoe-speaking herders were themselves descended from earlier mixing between hunter-gatherers and east African pastoralists.
Changes appeared in the rock art's content for example the animals and materials portrayed and in the artistic techniques used. Eland antelope, painted (probably) before and after contact between San and other groups. Courtesy of Sam Challis
Eland antelope (the one with the most spiritual power for the San) were once lovingly drafted and shaded. Later they appeared in bright, chalky and vivid colours, rendered in a posterlike and blocky fashion. The drop in pigment quality was likely due to the breakdown of trade networks brought about by marginalisation, then slaughter , of indigenous people, but still they called on the power of the eland to help them.
We see pictures of cattle and sheep appearing in rock art, and finger-painted and engraved patterns associated with girls' initiation, common to pastoralist and hunter-gatherer societies. The images show that people's identity (ethnicity) and the way they survived (economy) weren't divided into clear groups. Hunters were not necessarily all San, and all San were not necessarily hunters. The blurring of boundaries between groups increased with time.
As time went on, all these people became subject to extermination policy, slavery and marginalisation. But rather than being passive receptors of change, they used their religion, comprising multicultural beliefs, to survive. This can be seen in the rock art they created.
Spiritual concepts of water
Conceptions of the rain, in the form of images of water bulls and water snakes, are particularly useful for examining cross-cultural influences.
For African farmers, snakes were associated with water. Hunter-gatherers and herders with whom they came into contact acknowledged this because they, too, already had beliefs about water and the animal entities embodied by it.
People from different language groups may have gathered together for girls' initiation ceremonies at sites where the great water snake emerged. At these locations, this spiritual creature's body, the undulating rock , is covered with markings to appeal to it the markings that also appear on the initiates' tattoos, face paint, clothing and bags.
The control of water, to make rain for pasture and crops, was traded (bartered for cattle) between groups, very likely for centuries. Rock art images of water snakes, water bulls and domestic cattle intertwine and superimpose one another; sometimes water snakes have cattle horns. Often, water bulls or water snakes were depicted being killed to make their blood the rain fall.
Water was also extremely important to those wishing to combat the encroaching colonists. By this time the people of southern Africa, regardless of background, held many beliefs in common . The people or entities that lived underwater could be called upon to influence situations: torrential rain to wash away the tracks of stolen animals, for example.
Raiding and escape
By the time colonists arrived, hunter-gatherers had sheep, and isiNtu-speakers (African farmers) had adopted aspects of hunter-gatherer beliefs, and vice versa. Xhosa warrior painted in the Windvogelberg mountains of the Eastern Cape, possibly as a 'commission' including war medicine obtained from the San. Courtesy of Brent Sinclair-Thomson
San were increasingly marginalised from well-watered pasture suitable for domestic herds of African herders and farmers. Some became herders themselves, some mixed with farmers and some became raiders. Then, with the expansion of settler farms in the 18th century (which they also raided) they were decimated, hunted and enslaved .
In the rock art, baboons became a symbol of protective power to enable raiders to escape unharmed. The root of a powerful medicine, so-|oa or mabophe closely associated with baboons enabled stock thieves to pass unnoticed, and turned bullets to water . We see this in the paintings of people taking on the power and features of baboons, appearing alongside horses and cattle.
Read more: South Africa's bandit slaves and the rock art of resistance
Horses, the magical vehicles of violence, passage and escape, were kept and cared for by their new owners the raider groups. They painted themselves in scenes before, during and after raids, not as a diary entry but as part of the [ ritual ] of ensuring the outcome was favourable and the memory made positive.
We can now see changes in rock art, from traditional animals like rhebok and eland, to those showing rain bulls being killed, rain snakes captured, people with shields and spears, or riding horses alongside baboons, in a new light .
Sam Challis receives funding from the South African NRF African Origins Platform and is a member of the Bradshaw Foundation Rock Art Network
Brent Sinclair-Thomson received funding for this research from the South African National Research Foundation African Origins Platform.
By Sam Challis, Senior Researcher, University of the Witwatersrand And
Brent Sinclair-Thomson, Support staff, University of the Witwatersrand
In 2015 the United Nations General Assembly adopted universal health coverage as one of the sustainable development goals. The aim of universal health coverage is to ensure that every person and community, irrespective of their circumstances, has access to the health services they need, at the time and place they need it, without the risk of financial devastation. Many countries have committed to the concept, which has resulted in numerous health reforms. The World Health Organization recognises Rwanda as one of the countries that are performing well on the goal of universal health coverage. The Cochrane Centre summarises and disseminates information on what works and what doesn't in health care. Professor Charles Shey Wiysonge, director of Cochrane South Africa and senior director at the South African Medical Research Council, spoke to Rwanda's health minister, Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, about the road map for universal health coverage in the country.
Charles Wiysonge: What does universal health coverage look like in Rwanda?
Sabin Nsanzimana: In the last decade, calls for increased efforts to achieve universal health coverage have grown. Many countries have committed to universal health coverage particularly in Africa. This has resulted in numerous health reforms.
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame was appointed by other African heads of state as the leader on domestic health financing in the AU Assembly Declaration in February 2019. The aim of the declaration was to increase investment in health and have member states spend efficiently and effectively to achieve better health outcomes.
In the last couple of decades Rwanda has improved the health and well-being of all its people. This was done through a combination of evidence-based and people-centred strategies and interventions. The country has been able to make the following substantial progress:
On the supply side, the country has built a healthcare delivery system on primary healthcare. Individuals and communities are at the centre of our actions. The increased number of health facilities (from 1,036 in 2013 to 1,457 in 2020) has improved the geographical accessibility of care. It's also contributed to the reduction of the average time used by a Rwandan citizen to reach a health facility. The average time used to reach the nearest health facility has fallen from 95.1 minutes in 2010 to 49.9 minutes in the past 10 years.
On the demand side, the risk pooling has been greatly improved as a result of the extension of Community-Based Health Insurance schemes . These give the majority of the population access to healthcare services, and improve access to quality services. Insurance has also reduced out-of-pocket expenditures (which are 4% as a share of total health expenditure) in particular for the poor and most vulnerable people. Community-based health insurance covers over 85% of the population. The percentage of the population with some kind of health insurance has increased from 43.3% in 2005 to 90.5% in 2020. This has helped to protect households against financial risks associated with sickness.
The government spending on health (15.6% as of the 2019/2020 financial year) has surpassed the 15% required under the 2001 Abuja Declaration. This shows the country's high commitment to the development of health sector financing.
Charles Wiysonge: Where are the gaps and why do they exist?
Sabin Nsanzimana: Progress towards universal health coverage is a continuous process. It responds to shifts in demographic, epidemiological and technological trends as well as people's socio-economic status and expectations. If Rwanda is to meet the goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2030, we need to be far more ambitious to leave no one behind.
Additional health financing reforms and actions to maintain achieved gains and improve further health outcomes are needed. The fact that the country has achieved close to universal population coverage is in itself a great achievement. But there are still some people who are uninsured. We need to identify policy options to expand coverage to the hard-to-reach population in the informal sector. Health insurance has positively affected the use of services and equity. But further improvements are needed. We must extend the service coverage based on the need and reduce cost-sharing, especially for secondary and tertiary care.
Sustainability of health financing is also a critical issue. It requires finding innovative ways to mobilise domestic resources, adopting better resource pooling mechanisms and an effective strategic purchasing mechanism. These must ensure equity and efficient use of available resource and value for money.
Charles Wiysonge: What else is needed?
Sabin Nsanzimana: To move further and deeper towards universal health coverage calls for evidence-based policy reforms that would provide direction for a long-term model for service delivery (focusing on the primary healthcare level) and health financing in Rwanda. This will require adequate awareness among policy decision makers, and increased capacity in those areas and shared understanding of universal health coverage to support the necessary reforms.
Charles Wiysonge: What can other countries on the continent learn from Rwanda's experience?
Sabin Nsanzimana: Strong leadership that sets a clear vision for the future is imperative. Countries need a development model that is inclusive. Such a model must consider gender equality, pro-poor policies, unity and solidarity.
Most important are robust institutions and legal frameworks driven by good governance, with:
accountability, citizen participation, decentralisation
results orientation performance contracts
investment in human capital mainly capacity building.
Charles Shey Wiysonge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
By Charles Shey Wiysonge, Director, Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council
Obi-dient is the word in town for the Nigerians who support Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, south-east Nigeria. To them, Obi is the best candidate for the country's presidency.
A look at the development of Obi's character reveals discipline, responsibility, prudent management of resources and a positive impact on society.
In secondary school, he was engaged in trading to make money. He is known for his egg principle : that even one egg for sale should be carefully guarded because losing it meant the loss of his profit in that venture. Now he is renowned for prudence and financial discipline.
Obi's emergence
Obi represents the aspirations of the teeming but marginalised Nigerian youth population. He symbolises the voice of the underprivileged who yearn for a better Nigeria where justice, equity, fairness and respect for human rights will be sacrosanct.
As a political scientist, I think Obi's candidacy represents a total departure from the old order to people-centred leadership oriented towards development and national rebirth.
The unwillingness of the Peoples Democratic Party to cede its presidential ticket to the south-east region of Nigeria and the acrimonious relationship among the party's leaders propelled Obi's defection to the Labour Party in May 2022.
His emergence as Labour Party's presidential candidate has attracted young people to rally around the Obi-dient call. There is a distinct possibility that Obi's candidacy could be the third force that upstages the two dominant political parties. These are the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party.
His entrance on the platform of a relatively unpopular party took many Nigerians by surprise. Past presidents have emerged from the two major parties. But disunity has deepened under the Muhammadu Buhari government. Insecurity remains a challenge and there's a shortage of essential goods and services.
His early days
Obi was born on 19 July 1961 in Onitsha, south-east Nigeria . He attended Christ the King College, Onitsha, where he completed his secondary school education. He was admitted to the University of Nigeria in 1980 and graduated with a BA (Honours) in philosophy in 1984. He concentrated on his businesses, which grew to make him an influential player in the corporate world. He also sharpened his entrepreneurial and managerial competencies at Columbia, Harvard, London School of Economics and Oxford.
Seeking a wider platform to serve society, he contested the governorship of Anambra State in 2003 but was denied victory. He challenged his loss in court, shunned all manner of settlements and intimidation and regained his electoral mandate through the courts .
Barely six months in office, he was impeached by the Mike Balonwu-led House of Assembly. The first charge was that he had gone against the constitution and renovated the destroyed Government House for far less than was in the budget. The court later reinstated him .
He did not offer his friends appointments.
Among his achievements as governor were extensive road construction, and the return of schools to missionaries who had established them. Building on the foundations laid by Chris Ngige , his predecessor, Obi gave the state the best road network in Nigeria. His resolve also ushered in a rebirth of education and improved health care facilities in Anambra State.
Read more: Bola Tinubu: Nigeria's kingmaker who wants to be king
Anambra is not Nigeria
Obi's critics say that his Anambra State governance experience is not enough for him to seek Nigeria's presidency. They point to the state's size 21 local government areas unlike the behemoth called Nigeria. Anambra was created in 1991 by the military junta in power then. Nearly all its people speak the Igbo language.
The small scale of operations in Anambra State could have been a factor in his government success, and he will need greater dexterity in leading Nigeria if elected. His micro-management of affairs in the state is impossible at the federal level and this might make things tough for him as president.
His youthful supporters might also be his candidacy's weakness. While 71 million young Nigerians (under 50 years old) registered to vote in the elections, out of the total of 93.5 million, they will only favour Obi if they vote massively in the election.
This is the first time in Nigeria's contemporary political history that young people are driving a person's presidential quest. Nobody knows how it will turn out. Political movements driven by young people like Y'en a Marre in Senegal , Balai Citoyen in Burkina Faso , or Filimbi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have met with relatively little success. However, the recent emergence of President William Ruto in Kenya's presidential election has shown that some of Africa's youth are making their mark on the continent.
Whatever happens, Nigerian youth have written their names boldly in the political annals of their country by establishing the Obi-dient political movement.
Read more: Atiku Abubakar: Nigeria's perennial presidential candidate is back on the stump
Kester Onor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
By Kester Onor, Lecturer, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Covenant University
22.02.2023 LISTEN
I wish to render a heartfelt apology, to all the individuals and organisations, who feel terribly let down, because they have not been hearing from Nigel Guy Stonham - whom I introduced to them as someone who could make a difference for them.
The fault does not lie with Nigel Guy Stonham - it is mine entirely: because I completely misunderstood Nigel's plan to spread happiness in the Global South.
To make up for the disappointment felt by: Madam Cynthia Kampoe; Pastor Emmanuel; Reverend Deku; Madam Victoria Bampoe-Addo; Sam Goba; Miracle; Esther Osei Poku and Wilmot Dweh, I humbly suggest that they write to the French Embassy in Ghana, to see if they qualify for funding, from their Small Grants Initiative.
They should also consider joining the Facebook Group administered by the ever-helpful Ms. Mary Smith: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LetsLearnGroup/permalink/743092029717765/?app=fbl
UN chief Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that 2022 was the deadliest year for civilians in Somalia since 2017, largely because of an increase in mass-casualty attacks by the Al-Shabaab jihadist group.
The troubled Horn of Africa nation -- also confronting a calamitous drought -- has witnessed a surge in attacks as government forces and allied militias wage an "all-out" war against the Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
"The continued attacks by Al-Shabaab, which have resulted in human rights violations, conflict-related sexual violence and a sharp increase in civilian casualties, are alarming," Guterres said in a report to the UN Security Council.
During the period under review from late August 2022 to early February, he said the UN mission in Somalia had recorded a 153-percent jump in civilian casualties to 1,059, including 382 deaths, most of them blamed on Al-Shabaab.
"The increase in casualties makes 2022 the deadliest year for civilians in Somalia since 2017," Guterres said.
In recent months, the Somali army and local clan militias have retaken chunks of territory from Al-Shabaab in an operation backed by US air strikes and an African Union force.
But the group, which has been waging a deadly insurgency against the fragile central government for about 15 years, still controls parts of the countryside and continues to carry out numerous retaliatory strikes.
In the deadliest attack since the government offensive was launched last year, 121 people were killed in two car bomb blasts at the education ministry in Mogadishu in October.
But Guterres also urged the Somali authorities to ensure that its "counter-terrorism" measures do not infringe on freedom of expression and said he was "deeply concerned" about arbitrary arrests of journalists and media workers.
Somalia. By (AFP)
He said ongoing conflict and insecurity had driven more than 600,000 people from their homes last year and "continue to be major impediments to humanitarian operations".
Another 1.3 million, 80 percent of them women and children, have been internally displaced in Somalia by the drought sweeping the Horn of Africa.
While famine thresholds have not been reached, Guterres said, 8.3 million people -- more than half Somalia's population -- will need humanitarian assistance this year.
After five consecutive poor rainy seasons, the ongoing drought has already become the longest and most severe in Somalia's recent history.
Guterres said the cumulative levels of excess mortality could be as high as the last famine in Somalia in 2011 when 260,000 people -- half of them children under the age of six -- died of hunger.
Activists in Paris Wednesday called out two banks involved in the financing of a controversial fossil fuel project in East Africa, part of a coordinated protest across a dozen cities worldwide.
About 30 young campaigners from the Stop Total collective demonstrated in front of the French offices of Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Britain's Standard Chartered.
They demanded the banks pull back from the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a 1,443-kilometre (900-mile) heated pipeline being jointly developed by France's TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), along with the state oil companies of Uganda and Tanzania.
TotalEnergies owns 62 percent of the company which holds the licence for the pipeline. SMBC are financial advisors to EACOP's operators, together with South Africa's Standard Bank.
Standard Chartered has reportedly expressed interest in financing the project, which is expected to cost $10 billion, including the development of oilfields.
"We are here to push these banks into disclosing internal reports, which we know have been drafted, assessing the environmental and societal risks of the EACOP project," said Ulysse Vassas, the member of Stop Total who coordinated the international day of action alongside NGO 350.org.
"They say that EACOP is aligned with the Equator Principles, but we have no proof."
The Equator Principles are a set of guidelines requiring banks to take into account the social and environmental impact of projects they finance. SMBC and Standard Chartered are among the 138 signatories of the voluntary scheme.
Drawing a red line
A report by three NGOs in July highlighted the non-compliance of EACOP with a host of criteria set forth in the Equator Principles, challenging the commitment of the project's financial advisors and lenders.
Map showing the oil fields and pipeline route of the EACOP project in Uganda and Tanzania. By (AFP)
Contacted by AFP, Standard Chartered said it "cannot comment on individual clients." SMBC has not responded to a request for a comment.
The pipeline project has run into strong opposition from rights and environmental campaigners who say the oil fields being developed around Lake Albert threaten the region's fragile ecosystem and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people.
Positioned in front of the bank, demonstrators fashioned a red line made of sticky tape to symbolise the Equator Principles.
"Which side are you on?" said a sign held by one of the protestors.
Twenty-four other major banks have already committed not to support the EACOP project, according to 350.org.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has announced that he will be seeking re-election.
In a statement on his social media pages on Wednesday, February 22, he said he is humbled that members of his constituency are calling for him to serve for another time.
As NDC parliamentary & presidential nomination processes begin today, it is with a deep sense of duty, dedication, humility & respect for the overwhelming calls by my beloved North Tongu constituents to continue serving them that I announce my decision to seek re-election as MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa noted in a Facebook post.
This comes after the leadership of the NDC announced on Tuesday that nomination is open for Presidential and Parliamentary primaries effective today.
The National Democratic Congress wishes to announce for the information of the public that all is set for the opening of nominations for the election of its Presidential candidate and Parliamentary Candidates for the 2024 General Elections.
As such, effective, midnight of 22nd February, 2023, Nomination Forms for Parliamentary Candidates will be accessible to all persons for purchase on the official website of the party; www.ghanandc.com .
Nomination forms for Presidential aspirants can be obtained from the Office of the General Secretary at the Partys Headquarters at Adabraka, Accra effective 8am tomorrow, part of the NDC press release issued on Tuesday said.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is now expected to officially pick forms to contest the Parliamentary primaries of the NDC in North Tongu.
If he is retained, he will be the Parliamentary candidate for the NDC in the 2024 general elections.
22.02.2023 LISTEN
The eviction or removal of Informal Workers from the street over the period has become rampant of which government must adopt preventive measures to curb the menace.
Accra Focal Cities Coordinator for Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), Dorcas Ansah has said, indicating categorically that her outfit is not in support of the manner in which informal workers are being sacked from the street.
The eviction of these informal workers she said is not the solution to keep the cities clean but rather putting in place strategic measures that will be followed.
According to her, the workers are relatives of families and breadwinners therefore, removal from the street without a second thought will affect their business and family as a whole.
"In Ghana, about 87% fall within the informal sector; already there is no job within the formal sector and thus create employment. We believe that if the government can have a social dialogue with them and put strategic measures in place rather than destroying their goods and abusing them the cities will be clean as we want".
Madam Ansah asserted the public dialogue on the use of public spaces by informal workers which was organized by the Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) focal cities project with its partners Greater Accra Markets Association (GAMA), Informal Hawkers and Vendors Association of Ghana, Kayayei Youth Association in Accra.
Sally Roever, International Coordinator WIEGO, mentioned that the government must invest in the understanding of the Informal Economy.
She added that there is a whole science in the informal economy.
"We have been working with cities all over the world, governments trying to use eviction to make the streets cleaner and what we see over many years in many countries of the world is that after an eviction happens, the traders always come back. What we are trying to say is that there are other ways to get cities clean. Everyone wants a clean city including the traders themselves, no one wants to work in a space that's not clean or dangerous. Evictions do not work, there are other ways to clean cities with a lot of jobs and we have to be creative and work with reality to finger out how to do it. Creating a dialogue structure that is regular space where all the interested stakeholders meet each other so have the street traders, market traders, you have the residential associations maybe government".
"Sending excavators and bulldozers to the market and area to be demolished cost a lot and they do not work .people who are at great risk in whatever they are doing. Stop evictions because they don't work but rather put the traders at great risk in what they are doing", she explained.
On her part, Mercy Naa Afrowa Needsam, President of Greater Accra Markets Association expresses disappointment on how these hawkers and informal workers are sacked from the street. The act according to her is disrespectful since these people are denied their daily bread in the country.
She, therefore, calls on the need to intensify education at all levels for the betterment of informal workers.
A member of NPPs Ashanti Regional Communications Team, Kweku Yeboah has backed calls for President Akufo-Addo to downsize his government.
The NPP man says for the first time, he supports the minority in its calls for government to scrap some ministries.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Sompa TV, Mr. Yeboah said it is totally unacceptable for a nation to run a fisheries ministry separately from the ministry of agriculture.
What is very worrying about it, according to him is the fact that the fisheries ministry has been running separately with no positive results.
He noted that the nation has been importing fish from abroad while there is a ministry assigned to boost the sector.
As for this one, I agree with NDC because there is a Ministry of Fisheries but we kept importing fish... the Agric Ministry also has a substantive minister and a lot of deputies. How much fish do we harvest in this country for us to have a whole ministry for it? he quizzed
Mr. Yeboah noted that government shouldnt have appointed new ministers to the vacant ministries.
For the Trade and Agric ministries, one of the deputies could have been elevated to replace the ministers who resigned. There is no need to appoint new ministers," the NPP communicator argued.
Meanwhile, the main opposition party in its effort to get President Akufo-Addo to downsize his government has asked the minority caucus on the appointment committee not to approve the new ministerial nominees.
22.02.2023 LISTEN
Special aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Felix Ofosu Kwakye has expressed optimism in the chances of his boss leading the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to victory in the 2024 general elections.
Speaking to Citi News on Wednesday, February 22, he said the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) must pack and get ready to be kicked out when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's tenure ends.
They [the NPP] are the ones who should pack out and leave us alone after their abysmal performance in government. The very idea that they will even put up candidates for the 2024 election is offensive given what they have done in the last six years.
If government has performed abysmally as they have done it does not lie within their mouth to come and purport to teach the NDC any lesson on who we should or should just bring to represent us in the election, Felix Ofosu Kwakye said.
He was reacting to allegations that ex-President Mahama may not be the right candidate to lead the NDC in the next general elections.
According to Ofosu Kwakye, John Dramani Mahama has a better track record than President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
In his view, the coming of Mahama is now inevitable.
The truth is that if you compare the track record of President Mahama and what the incumbent has done there is a difference. Its like day and night. President Mahama is light years ahead of anything that the NPP will offer in the upcoming elections.
They should simply disappear from the surface of the earth for such an abysmal performance, Felix Ofosu Kwakye said.
Today, John Dramani Mahama has picked forms to contest the Presidential primaries of the largest opposition party.
Inusah Fuseini, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central has said Parliament is not living up to the task.
The former lawmaker said the country lacks constitutionalism, which should have aided and hastened its efforts towards socio-economic development.
Speaking on the Accra-based JoyNews Upfront programme on Wednesday, February 22, which was dedicated to the celebration of Parliaments 30th anniversary, Mr. Fuseini said Parliament and other institutions responsible for guaranteeing constitutionalism are now corrupt and weak.
"The institutions that are supposed to guarantee constitutionalism and ensure that we are put on a sustainable path of development are weak and corrupt, including Parliament," he stated.
He cited the situation where the Bank of Ghana allegedly printed some amount of money illegally as a sign of weakness in parliaments role.
The legislative body, according to the former legislator, is failing in holding institutions accountable due to incessant partisanship amongst members.
"If the Governor of the Bank of Ghana is misbehaving, who calls him to order? It is Parliament, but it is the incessant partisanship that is killing our institutions," he asserted.
The Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah has indicated that the party is not shaken in any way after learning that John Dramani Mahama has picked forms to contest the Presidential primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, February 22, Ahiagbah indicated that his party is particularly interested in how Mahama plans on building the Ghanaian economy when his track record is nothing to write home about.
We are ready for him, we are interested in how we can build the economy. What we are interested in is whether or not he has the solution because we saw him vanquished gains that he got, we saw him collapse our economy, we saw him collapse our banking sector, we saw him cause Ghanaians to live in absolute difficulties in this country without electricity, Richard Ahiagbah told journalists.
The press conference followed reports that ex-President John Dramani Mahama picked forms to contest the NDC Presidential primaries.
Although the nominations for the NDC presidential primaries only opened today, John Mahama has already made his intentions clear.
He is now set to contest the likes of Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and any other person who will seek to run in the partys presidential elections.
John Dramani Mahama is currently on a trip to Nigeria and will return to Ghana after the country's general elections which come off on February 25.
22.02.2023 LISTEN
The Government of Ghana, the United Nations Network on Migration (Network) and the European Union (EU) on Wednesday, February 2023 launched the flagship project Building Migration Partnerships (BMP) in Ghana.
The project is being implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), on behalf of the United Nations Network on Migration and in collaboration with the Migration Unit of the Ministry of the Interior.
The project aims to build the capacity of key stakeholders in the migration sector, including the Government of Ghana, for effective implementation of the countrys National Migration Policy towards safe, orderly, and regular migration with the goal of making migration work for sustainable development.
It also seeks to strengthen and leverage whole-of-UN expertise to support good migration governance in the country.
Speaking at the launch of the project, Mrs. Adelaide Anno-Kumi, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Interior representing Minister Ambrose Dery assured that government is keen on building the needed partnerships to improve migration with a focus on achieving the SDGs.
As Ghana has signed up to the Global Compact for Migration, we, as policymakers, are working to put in place measures to manage our migration programmes effectively to derive migration benefits for the countrys social and economic development. This project is crucial in supporting Ghanas migration governance.
It reflects a true commitment to building migration partnerships which is also geared towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Mrs. Adelaide Anno-Kumi said.
In the speech, she expressed appreciation to the International Organisation on Migration and the European Union for their massive support, insisting that she has no doubt the EU-UN BMP Project will promote safe migration while helping Ghana to stay on course toward achieving the objectives of the Global Compact for Migration.
Mrs. Adelaide Anno-Kumi added that the Ministry of Interior is geared up and looking forward to collaborating to build mechanisms with all stakeholders to implement the National Migration Policy.
In his speech at the launch, the EU Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Irchad Razaaly, underscored the significance of the EU-UN BMP Project, emphasising that addressing migration problems are very crucial.
This project highlights the linkages between migration and all sectors, such as agriculture, finances, and health. This is why I am glad that it will contribute to building migration-related capacities in the different ministries and in various UN agencies, .E. Irchad Razaaly noted.
He further indicated that the project will also help develop a national action plan on migration in order to bring a clearer direction to Ghanas already exemplary steps in migration and governance.
Let me conclude by commending the Ministry of Interior for its role in the design of this project, I will like to also thank Charles Abani, the UN Resident Coordinator for his support of this project, and let me commend IOM, a trusted partner to the EU for implementing this project on behalf of the Network. By working together I truly believe that we will strengthen the partnership towards safe, orderly, regular migration, .E. Irchad Razaaly said.
On his part, the UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Charles Abani, said Partnership and coordination is the goal for the UN. In whatever we do, we must ensure there is a joined-up approach to our actions that leverages all expertise to deliver lasting and sustainable outcomes.
This is especially true for cross-cutting issues such as migration. With this project, and through the UN Network on Migration, we can demonstrate our intentional approach to deliver as one and be more responsive to the needs of the Government of Ghana as far as migration is concerned.
Charles Abani noted that his organisation acknowledges the important role the EU plays and as a result, sees the EU as a true partner in the project and not just a donor giving funds.
The project, according to Charles Abani will also promote sustainable development by providing direct technical and financial support to strengthen migration coordination in Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior.
He argued that the increasingly complex migration phenomenon and its obvious effects on development clearly make the case for a robust national migration governance that is able to not only respond to the needs of vulnerable migrants but also make use of the immense potential for socio-economic development migration and migrants represent.
In his concluding remarks, the UN Resident Coordinator reiterated the commitment of the UN system in Ghana to the EU-UN Building Migration Partnerships project.
He further expressed gratitude to the European Union Delegation for its continuous support in improving migration governance in Ghana as well as the Ministry of the Interior, for the collaboration with the UN system through the IOM.
Ghana has made important strides in recent years toward improving its migration policy framework, notably through the development of a National Migration Policy.
In addition to supporting the implementation of this policy, the project will help the government of Ghana achieves the 23 objectives set under the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, through the formulation and development of a comprehensive five-year Plan of Action.
The launch of the EU-UN BMP Project was attended by several stakeholders from various organisations including Ms. Fatou Diallo Ndiaye, the Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration.
At the launch of the project, she said the IOM knowing how the government of Ghana prioritises migration governance will also continue providing the needed assistance.
Ghana has voluntarily agreed to serve as a champion country for the Global Compact on Migration (GCM).
Ghana's role as a champion country for GCM implementation is critical in demonstrating support for the GCM, including galvanizing support for a productive process of GCM regional reviews.
The launch of the EU-UN BMP Project was preceded by a media briefing attended by national editors and journalists who play a key role in contributing to balanced migration reporting and in positively changing the narrative on migration.
The project is made possible with funding from the European Commissions Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) under the global Building Migration Partnerships Programme implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as coordinator and secretariat of the Network, in close collaboration with Network members - made up of UN entities - and stakeholders.
February 22, 2023 How The U.S. (And UK) Sabotaged Peace In Ukraine The Washington Post provides another of those lame flattering portraits of the Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelinski: A year in the trenches has hardened Ukraines president
Volodymyr Zelensky came into office thinking peace with Putin was possible. He now believes victory is the only answer. The piece is contradicting itself in certain manners but it also provides new evidence that the U.S. had set out to sabotage the Minsk agreement. The headline is of course wrong. Zelenski has not been in the trenches but continued his pampered life near a bunker in Kiev. It is not Zelenski's 'hardening' that prevents peace negotiations with Russia but the blockage of any negotiation attempts by the U.S. government. But first a look at the contradiction: Not long after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, a year ago this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky found himself in a safe room beneath Kyivs government complex with the voice of the Belarusian president booming over the phone. Alexander Lukashenko, one of the Kremlins key allies, was inviting a delegation of officials to Minsk to negotiate an end to the war that Russia had launched just three days earlier, according to Andriy Sybiha, the deputy head of Ukraines presidential office, who was in the room for the call. Zelensky was incensed at the invitation to another negotiation recalling talks over the conflict in Ukraines east, known as Minsk 1 and Minsk 2, that took place in the Belarusian capital in 2014 and 2015 in which Kyiv was forced to make concessions to the Kremlin under the threat of battlefield losses. There will be no Minsk, Zelensky said, according to Sybiha. There will be no Minsk 3. The claim is that Zelenski was rejecting negotiations. But that claim is false and contradicted by the following events. Many paragraphs later we learn: Zelensky remained adamant that Ukraine would not enter another Minsk-type negotiation with Russia, but emissaries from the Ukrainian government still held talks with the Russians in Belarus and Turkey throughout March, until the discovery of Russian atrocities in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. When Zelensky visited Bucha on April 4, he looked visibly stricken, telling reporters it was very difficult to talk when you see what they have done here. Arakhamia said he called the leader of the Russian negotiating team and explained that Ukraine could no longer participate in any negotiations. How can I fly in and sit down at a table and speak to them? Arakhamia said. I simply dont understand. That is fake history. Whatever happened in Bucha did not stop Zelenski from negotiating with Russia. As the BBC reported on April 4 2022: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said peace talks will continue with Russia despite accusing Moscow of war crimes and genocide. Mr Zelensky was speaking in Bucha, near the capital Kyiv, where bodies of civilians were found strewn on the streets after Russian troops withdrew.
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Responding to a question from the BBC on whether it was still possible to talk peace with Russia, Mr Zelensky said: "Yes, because Ukraine must have peace. We are in Europe in the 21st Century. We will continue efforts diplomatically and militarily." It was only days later, after a phone call and then a visit by the British prime minister Boris Johnson, that the Ukraine ended the negotiations with Russia. The Ukrainian Pravda reported in May 2022: According Ukrainska Pravda sources close to Zelenskyy, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, who appeared in the capital almost without warning, brought two simple messages. The first is that Putin is a war criminal, he should be pressured, not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not. Johnsons position was that the collective West, which back in February had suggested Zelenskyy should surrender and flee, now felt that Putin was not really as powerful as they had previously imagined, and that here was a chance to "press him." Three days after Johnson left for Britain, Putin went public and said talks with Ukraine "had turned into a dead end". Boris Johnson made his unannounced visit to Kiev on April 9 2022. The Ukrainian Pravda account has been confirmed by Fiona Hill, Russia specialist in the National Security Council under the Trump administration. In a piece for Foreign Affairs Fiona Hill and Angela Stent wrote in August 2022: According to multiple former senior U.S. officials we spoke with, in April 2022, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement: Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries. In an interview with an Israeli outlet (vid), former prime minister of Israel Naftali Bennett, who was personally deeply involved in the negotiation process, also alleged that the 'West' blocked them: Reports at the time reflect Bennets comments and said Russia and Ukraine were softening their positions. Citing Israeli officials, Axios reported on March 8 that Putins proposal is difficult for Zelensky to accept but not as extreme as they anticipated. They said the proposal doesnt include regime change in Kyiv and allows Ukraine to keep its sovereignty. Discussing how Western leaders felt about his mediation efforts, Bennett said then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took an aggressive line while French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were more pragmatic. Bennett said President Biden adopted both positions. But ultimately, the Western leaders opposed Bennets efforts. Ill say this in the broad sense. I think there was a legitimate decision by the West to keep striking Putin and not [negotiate], Bennett said. When asked if the Western powers blocked the mediation efforts, Bennet said, "Basically, yes. They blocked it, and I thought they were wrong." Again, the end of the negotiations between Russian and Ukraine in early April 2022 had nothing to with Bucha, but was caused by 'Western', the U.S. and UK's, unwillingness to support a peace agreement. Washington's resistance against any Ukrainian agreement with Russia can also be seen in an anecdote the Washington Post piece provides from Zelenski's first year as president: William B. Taylor Jr., the top official at the U.S. Embassy at the time, recalled finding Zelensky in his office in the summer of 2019 expressing curiosity about the Steinmeier Formula, an interpretation of the Minsk accords named after Germanys former foreign minister that the Ukrainian president hoped might lead to a deal with the Kremlin. No one knows what it is, Taylor recalled replying. Steinmeier doesnt know what it is. Zelensky, according to Taylor, grabbed his phone and pointed to a document explaining the formulation, thinking that somewhere in the details of the legalese a workable compromise with Moscow might be found. Its a terrible idea, Taylor replied, though Zelensky went on to endorse it in the coming months, trying to land a face-to-face with Putin. The Steinmeier formula determined the sequencing of the steps the Ukrainian government and the Donbas authorities had to take under the Minsk agreements: Specifically, Steinmeier's formula calls for elections to be held in the separatist-held territories under Ukrainian legislation and the supervision of the OSCE. If the OSCE judges the balloting to be free and fair, then a special self-governing status for the territories will be initiated and Ukraine will be returned control of its easternmost border. The formula was vocalized and had not been put to paper until it was signed on October 1 by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the separatist territories of Luhansk and Donetsk, and the OSCE in Minsk. It was a simple and clear agreement. But the top U.S. envoy in Ukraine tried to prevent Zelenski from implementing it. Multiple times along the line of events the Ukraine had tried to come to peace with Russia. Each time we know of the 'West', i.e. the U.S. and UK, successfully sabotaged the peace efforts. Posted by b on February 22, 2023 at 11:04 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page
February 22, 2023 The Buildup To War In Ukraine - Tuesday, February 22, 2022 To provide a legal framework for Russian military support to Donetsk and Luhansk the Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed executive orders to recognize the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lunhansk People's Republic as independent countries: In this regard, I consider it necessary to take a long overdue decision and to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic. I would like to ask the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation to support this decision and then ratify the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance with both republics. These two documents will be prepared and signed shortly. On Tuesday, February 22, 2022 the Federal Assembly held an extraordinary session and did as Putin had ask: In a session held on Tuesday, the Duma, the lower house of Russias parliament, unanimously backed the deals, with 400 MPs voting in favor. Earlier that same day, the parliaments of the two regions simultaneously ratified the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Russian Federation. This was sufficient reason for the U.S. and EU to implement their long planned fireworks of sanctions against Russia: The European Union agreed to new sanctions on Russia that will blacklist more politicians, lawmakers and officials, ban EU investors from trading in Russian state bonds, and target imports and exports with separatist entities.
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Russias formal recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine was an unacceptable breach of Ukraines sovereignty, Borrell said. This package of sanctions that has been approved by unanimity by the member states will hurt Russia, and it will hurt a lot, Borrell told a news conference alongside Frances foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian at a meeting in Paris. Separately, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told Reuters that further Russian aggression in Ukraine would result in more sanctions, in coordination with the United States. The package of sanctions includes all members of the lower house of the Russian parliament who voted in favor of the recognition of the breakaway regions, freezing any assets they have in the EU and banning them from traveling to the bloc. U.S. sanctions on Russia were imposed in a coordinated manner. Germany halted the approval for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Later that day Putin signed the Federal Law On Ratifying the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance Between the Russian Federation and the Lugansk Peoples Republic and a similar treaty with the Donetsk Peoples Republic: The Federal Law was adopted by the State Duma and approved by the Federation Council on February 22, 2022.
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The Treaty provides for broad cooperation in the political, economic, social, military and humanitarian areas. After recognizing the independence of the LPR/DNR Russia all three could claim a right of collective self-defense in analog to Article 51 of the UN Charter. Sticking to the necessary legal formalities Putin then asked the Federal Council to authorize the use of Russian Armed Forces abroad: On the basis of Paragraph d, Part 1, Article 102 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and under the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Donetsk Peoples Republic, and the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Russian Federation and the Lugansk Peoples Republic, I am submitting a proposal that the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation approve a resolution authorising the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation abroad on the basis of the generally accepted principles and norms of international law. Putin then took media questions. He made some interesting points. Russia recognizes the republics in their constitutional borders, i.e. their original borders in Ukraine before the conflict there started.
He compares Crimea, where a referendum was held and people voted to became part of Russia, with Kosovo, where only a parliament vote was held to declare itself independent.
He lays out what the conditions for peace had been before: Recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, no NATO membership for Ukraine, fulfillment of the Minsk agreements and a certain extend of demilitarization of Ukraine.
Being asked about Ukraine's intend to build and deploy nuclear weapons (as announced by Zelenski on Feb 19 in Munich) Putin responded that the Ukraine has the means to do that. This would be a strategic threat to Russia. Last but not least he is asked about the length and extend of the potential military deployment: Andrei Kolesnikov, Kommersant newspaper: Mr President, do you think it is possible in todays world to resolve problems with force and remain on the side of good? This is my first question. The second one is more technical, if you will. In your view, how far might troops advance: up to the contact line, to the administrative borders of the DPR and LPR, or somewhere else? Thank you. Vladimir Putin: First, I did not say our troops would enter right away, after our meeting here. That is first. Second, it is absolutely impossible to predict the detailed path of possible actions. It depends on the concrete situation that is unfolding on the ground, as they say. Regarding the question if all issues can and must be resolved by force or if it is possible to remain on the side of good. Well, why do you think that good must always be frail and helpless? I do not think that is true. I think good means being able to defend oneself. We will proceed from that. The OSCE Special Observer Mission at the ceasefire line in southeast-Ukraine reported of Tuesday, February 22 2022. In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded 528 ceasefire violations, including 345 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 703 ceasefire violations in the region. In Luhansk region, the Mission recorded 1,182 ceasefire violations, including 1,075 explosions. In the previous reporting period, it recorded 1,224 ceasefire violations in the region. The OSCE reported slightly less incidents than the day before.
bigger Both sides moved further equipment towards the ceasefire line: In violation of withdrawal lines, in government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the SMM saw 13 tanks near a residential area of Karlivka (25km north-west of Donetsk), eight towed howitzers, including four in a residential area of Novotroitske (36km south-west of Donetsk), as well as four surface-to-air missile systems and two towed anti-tank guns. In non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk region, the SMM saw two surface-to-air missile systems and eight towed howitzers, of which four were moving south on road T-0508 near Bessarabka (85km south of Donetsk), in a zone within which deployment of heavy armaments and military equipment is further proscribed according to Point 5 of the Memorandum of 19 September 2014.
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The SMM saw five armoured combat vehicles in government-controlled areas of Donetsk region, including one in a residential area, and a self-propelled anti-aircraft system near a residential area, as well as eight armoured combat vehicles in non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including two near Novomykhailivka (52km south of Donetsk), in a zone within which deployment of heavy armaments and military equipment is proscribed according to Point 5 of the Memorandum of 19 September 2014. The map shows ceasefire violations in yellow, orange to red colors. The most appear on the side of the Donbas republics. The source of most of the ceasefire violations, like noise of shooting or explosions recorded by cameras, drones or heard by the observers, is listed as 'undetermined'. The map shows explosions, as small black dots, on both sides of the ceasefire line. While only a part of the hundreds of explosions were located and marked on the map a count of the black dots shows that a great majority of those happened on the side of the Donbas republics. I count 68 impacts marked on the Donbas side and 34 on the government controlled side of the ceasefire line. This was no longer an artillery duel or exchange of harassment. From a military standpoint this looked like artillery preparations for an attack along roads that could then be used as future lines of attack for a mechanized force.
bigger Posted by b on February 22, 2023 at 16:05 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page
Fort Polk, LA (71446)
Today
Thunderstorms, some heavy this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 53F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..
Tonight
Thunderstorms, some heavy this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 53F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Beatriz Gonzalez and Jose Hernandez, the mother and stepfather of Nohemi Gonzalez who was fatally shot in the 2015 Paris attacks, stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court after justices heard arguments in Gonzalez v. Google in Washington, D.C., Feb. 21, 2023.
Reinvestigation: WSJ report on China-built mega-projects untrue, biased
13:26, February 22, 2023 By Xinhua writers Zhao Bochao, Li Li ( Xinhua
A recent report by The Wall Street Journal, targeting several China-built global mega-projects, was filled with distorted facts, one-sided stories, and unfounded accusations -- an attempt to discredit the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.
What's the real picture of these projects? Are they really "falling apart" as sensationally claimed by the WSJ? Xinhua reporters traveled there, studied the cases and talked to authorities, experts and engineers.
Here is what we found.
QUITO/ISLAMABAD/KAMPALA/LUANDA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Adriana Carranza, a resident in the San Luis village in northern Ecuador, has fond memories of her days working with a Chinese company at the Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) hydroelectric project from 2012 to 2015.
"Thanks to the work I had done for (a subcontractor of) the Sinohydro Corporation, I was able to save money," the former cook at the company told Xinhua. The job was well paid with good working conditions.
Carranza is among the thousands of Ecuadorians who have worked at the Chinese-constructed project, some 150 km east of the capital Quito. As the country's biggest hydropower project, the 1,500-megawatt CCS has been running smoothly for over six years, generating around 42 billion kWh of clean and renewable hydroelectricity, becoming the largest power source for Ecuador.
However, a recent report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which also spoke to Carranza, painted a gloomy picture of the CCS project with distorted facts and unfounded accusations.
This undated aerial photo shows the intake dam of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant between Ecuador's provinces of Napo and Sucumbios. (Sinohydro/Handout via Xinhua)
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). With infrastructure construction a key priority, 81 Chinese central state-owned enterprises have been involved in over 3,400 projects in countries along the Belt and Road by January 2021. The cumulative amount of China's direct investment in these nations reached 161.3 billion U.S. dollars from 2013 to 2021. A World Bank report estimated that when fully implemented, the BRI could help nearly 40 million people in relevant countries leave poverty behind.
Turning a blind eye to such achievements, the WSJ article dated Jan. 20 criticized several Chinese-built mega-projects in Latin America, Asia and Africa in an attempt to smear the China-proposed initiative.
FALSEHOODS &MISREPRESENTATION
"The 14-hour days were long, and her Chinese boss didn't speak Spanish," wrote the WSJ about Carranza's experience working for Sinohydro's sub-contractor.
Contrary to what was described in the report, Carranza told Xinhua she was well paid for working extra hours. During her pregnancy, her boss and colleagues treated her "as if I was their daughter."
"We usually want to work (extra hours)" and "I'm satisfied with my salary," said Graciela Quirina, who also worked in a Sinohydro kitchen.
The WSJ's misrepresentation went further. Citing unnamed government engineers, the U.S. daily alleged that the CCS plant has thousands of cracks in its "eight turbines" due to "faulty steel imported from China" and boldly speculated that it could soon "break down."
Miguel Calahorrano, Ecuador's former Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, receives an interview with Xinhua in Quito, Ecuador, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Guorong)
In an interview with Xinhua, Miguel Calahorrano, Ecuador's former Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, said the WSJ article lacks veracity and "has a political intention."
"How can a plant that is of no use to us have come to produce almost 42,000 gigawatt hours of energy? I'm sure these people don't even understand what 42,000 gigawatt hours of energy means," the former minister said.
"It clearly has the political intention of trying to devalue the relationship" between China and Latin American countries, he said.
Regarding the cracks, Sinohydro and the Ecuadorian State Electricity Company hired the German testing agency TUV SUD in 2018 as an international independent third party, which concluded in its risk assessment report that these cracks will not affect the operation and safety of the plant for its design life of 50 years.
This undated photo shows the hydroelectric power generators of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant between Ecuador's provinces of Napo and Sucumbios. (Sinohydro/Handout via Xinhua)
As to the suitability of the steel, the TUV SUD report indicated that the base materials are within the values required by the specifications.
Furthermore, the WSJ associated erosion along a section of the Coca River and the disappearance of a waterfall with the Chinese-built project to hype up its environmental consequences.
Ecuadorian government-commissioned research conducted by Swiss consulting company Lombardi concluded that the disappearance of the waterfall was a natural phenomenon and had nothing to do with the construction of the CCS -- a view shared by many geologists, local media reports said.
Ecuador has never lodged the issue with Sinohydro, which was tasked with the construction, according to the Chinese company.
Calahorrano said that the CCS plant has managed for the first time in the country's history, together with other hydropower plants, to raise hydroelectricity in the electrical matrix to more than 93 percent, reducing the use of fossil fuels, saving the country about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars a year from fossil fuel imports and cutting carbon dioxide by about 18 million tons a year.
ONE-SIDED STORY
Under the sensational headline "China's Global Mega-Projects are Falling Apart," the WSJ article went on to bring in Pakistan's Neelum Jhelum hydroelectric project, and again blamed "flaws" in Chinese construction for its shutdown in July 2022.
The accusation is far from the truth. The quality of the Chinese construction, as evaluated by local authorities during its handover in 2018, was impeccable and up to standard.
Sajjad Ghani, chairman of the Pakistan Water &Power Development Authority, told Xinhua that the WSJ report is unjustifiable.
"The quality of construction of the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project has been fair," said Ghani.
The engineers of CGGC work at Pakistan's Neelum Jhelum hydropower project on Jan. 3, 2023, under a new contract between NJHPC and CGGC to repair the tunnel. (CGGC/Handout via Xinhua)
There is no doubt that the China Gezhouba Group Co, the main contractor for the project's civil work, "has done all these things successfully," said Muhammad Irfan, CEO of the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Company, which now operates the plant.
The root cause for the shutdown, Irfan told a parliament meeting in November, was pressure from a mountain on the underground tunnel, resulting in partial collapse and a blockage.
This photo taken on Jan. 3, 2023 shows a construction site at Pakistan's Neelum Jhelum hydropower project, under a new contract between NJHPC and CGGC to repair the tunnel. (CGGC/Handout via Xinhua)
The problem emerged when Pakistan was ravaged by floods seen as the "worst in history," while earthquakes were recorded in the surrounding areas of the plant. Irfan said Neelum Jhelum has signed a new contract with the Chinese constructor to repair the tunnel, with the civil work contract already completed.
In Uganda, another Chinese-constructed project -- the Karuma hydropower plant -- also came under harsh criticism from the WSJ, which blamed "cracked walls" for delays.
This photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows the Karuma dam at Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station in Kiryandongo, Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
The Chinese constructor Sinohydro told Xinhua that the problem was discovered in 2016 but not substantial enough to compromise the stability of the structure, and has been dealt with properly to the satisfaction of all parties.
"In order to provide a standard power plant, we are always liaising with experts in all fields of the power plant construction to achieve high quality standard plant," said Bless Ayebazibwe, head of the Ugandan technical team at Sinohydro, adding that they have worked with an architectural expert from Canada, manufacturers from all over the world who always visit the site when called upon, as well as local experts.
People work inside the main switchyard at Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station in Kiryandongo, Uganda, on Feb. 4, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
Local and international engineers who supervise the construction of the 600-megawatt plant along the River Nile said the project is being built to international standards, despite insurmountable challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and "rampant vandalism" which have impacted the project's timeline, according to Sinohydro.
Vandalism has been a threat to Uganda's electricity infrastructure. More than 300 tons of parts have been stolen from the Karuma plant and more than 50 km of conductors cut off and stolen, according to Sinohydro. Delays in compensating landowners affected land acquisitions, impacting the project's timeline.
This photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows the Karuma dam at Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station in Kiryandongo, Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
The Chinese company said it would overcome all these challenges and hand over a high-quality plant to Uganda.
The Isimba Hydro Power Plant in Uganda, built by China International Water &Electric Corporation, was also targeted. The company said the WSJ report was "misleading."
There is "a lack of inquiring first-hand information" in the report, said Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistani civil engineer working at the project site.
Niu Hongtao (L), assistant project manager of Isimba Hydro Power Plant, and Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistani civil engineer working at the project site, interact during a tour at Isimba Hydro Power Plant in Kayunga, Uganda, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
"We can see that this is just to exaggerate the scenario whereas the project is running well, generating power, heading to the national grid," he said, calling the project "a successful commission."
Meanwhile, the WSJ reported that the Chinese side "failed to build a floating boom to protect the dam from water weeds and other debris, which has led to clogged turbines and power outages." The company dismissed the accusation, given that the problem never occurred at Isimba.
"The WSJ report is pure slander," it added.
This photo taken on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Isimba Hydro Power Plant switchyard in Kayunga, Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
Also in Africa, the vast Social Housing Project Kilamba Kiaxi, built by China's CITIC Construction outside the capital of Luanda, Angola, was criticized by the WSJ for alleged poor construction quality.
However, Fan Juntao, general manager of the Chinese company's Angolan division, told Xinhua that there is no construction problem, as the issues of cracked walls and humidity mentioned in the WSJ report are quite rare and result from some tenants' improper renovations.
The substandard renovations have destroyed the original water and electricity pipelines, leading to water leakage in some houses, Fan said.
"The Kilamba Kiaxi (project) has been completed with good quality," said Carlos Augusto, an Angolan engineer who is working on Phase II of the project, adding that the apartments are at full occupation and no major complaints have been lodged by the residents.
Niu Hongtao (L), assistant project manager of Isimba Hydro Power Plant, and Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistani civil engineer working at the project site, tour the switchyard at Isimba Hydro Power Plant in Kayunga, Uganda, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)
ENORMOUS BENEFITS
Overcoming power shortages is critical if Uganda is to grow its economy and industrialize. The 183-megawatt Isimba plant now accounts for roughly 14 percent of the East African country's total installed capacity. The Karuma plant is expected to increase capacity by 40 percent upon completion.
Solomon Acaye (R) employed by the Karuma project works with his colleagues at Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station in Kiryandongo, Uganda, on Feb. 5, 2023.
Solomon Acaye is one of around 15,000 Ugandans employed by the Karuma project. He joined it as a mason but now leads a construction team.
"I came with only the skill of house construction, but as soon as I joined here, I've learned a lot -- carpentry, steel fixing," he told Xinhua, noting that his newly acquired skills would prove helpful once the project ends.
As part of the projects, roads were paved and widened, and schools and health service buildings were constructed. Hamis Muzinga, who lives near the Isimba project, noted that workshops are mushrooming in nearby towns, "basically set up by former workers of Isimba."
Neighboring communities near the Karuma plant are happy to have the large project in their area, said Ismail Bongomin, chairman of the Karuma Town Council. "Because this one is going to (benefit) generation after generation. It's not just like a thing for today only," he said.
With a total of 20,002 housing units and the support of municipal works, the Angolan Kilamba Kiaxi project has become home to around 120,000 residents in Luanda.
Costa Sebastiao, a Kilamba Kiaxi resident for seven years, said the condominium has changed his life in many ways.
The Chinese company has brought positive changes to the city, especially for young people, he said, adding "a good number of young people did not have homes, and with the construction of the project, they managed to get a house."
From the China-Laos Railway that transformed the landlocked Laos into a land-linked hub to Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Railway contributing more than 0.5 percent to the African nation's economic growth, the Belt and Road Initiative has helped many developing nations embrace fast development.
Kenyans sing and dance beside one of the first batch of locomotives for the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Mombasa, Kenya, Jan. 11, 2017. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)
But the initiative has fallen prey to a Western-led smear campaign. Denis Mwaba, lecturer in Civil Engineering at the University of Zambia, noted that U.S. media have been publishing "damaging" reports to "blacken the efforts of China." The WSJ article is heavily biased and "not a proper articulation of the facts," he said.
Mwaba said the ubiquitous success of the global infrastructure program has gained Africa's favor.
Projects under the Initiative are meeting the continent's needs, revolutionizing infrastructure and shifting the African development landscape, said Gideon Chitanga, associate researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
This photo taken on May 8, 2022 shows a section of the Nairobi Expressway built by China Road and Bridge Corporation in Nairobi, Kenya. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)
Belt and Road cooperation is also in full swing in Latin America. "China currently offers an alternative to traditional financing schemes, which has led to more prosperous and realistic development aid," said Argentine economist Pablo Levinton, who believes there is a vast difference in how the Chinese invest compared to the West.
"Any Western investment is based on a simple calculation of expected profit that results from subtracting planned expenses from expected revenues," he explained. "In China's case, while that is the basis for any type of investment, it is not summed up as a mere profit margin, but rather as a 'win-win' concept."
Photo taken on Aug. 24, 2018 shows the Punta Sierra wind farm in Coquimbo region of Chile. (Xinhua/Wang Pei)
The best proof that the CCS plant works is the production of clean energy and its economic, social and environmental benefits for Ecuador, which have yet to be evaluated by those who criticize the project and try to disqualify it, said Calahorrano, the former Ecuadorian minister.
The hydroelectric plant has also bolstered the country's energy sovereignty and sustainability, with Ecuador no longer depending on imported energy. On the contrary, it has become an energy exporter in significant quantities to Colombia and Peru.
Speaking with Xinhua, Nancy Chicaiza, a shopkeeper in San Luis who was also quoted in the WSJ report, said she missed the days when the Chinese company was present.
"I am grateful because Sinohydro has helped us a lot," she said. Enditem
(Li Guorong in Quito, Jiang Chao, Tariq Hameed and Ali Jaswal in Islamabad, Ji Li, Ronald Ssekandi and Patrick Onen in Kampala, Lv Chengcheng in Luanda, Jin Zheng in Nairobi, Yan Liang in Mexico City, and Chen Weihua and Xie Zhao in Rio de Janeiro contributed to the report.)
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Yves here. This post points out how parties and candidates on the outside, even in countries that routinely from coalition government and thus have some familiarity with power sharing, in practice dont play well enough together pre-election to slay incumbents. Perhaps readers can highlight important counter-examples.
By Kevin Dano, PhD candidate in Economics University of California, Berkeley; Francesco Ferlenga, PhD candidate in Economics Brown University; Vincenzo Galasso, Professor of Economics Bocconi University; Research Fellow Centre for Economic Policy Research; Caroline LePennec, Assistant Professor Hec Montreal; Vincent Pons, Associate Professor Harvard Business School; Faculty Research Fellow National Bureau Of Economic Research (NBER); and Vestal McIntyre, editor and writer at the Economic Growth Center at Yale University, and other organizations Yale University. Originally published at VoxEU
The advantages of incumbency in political campaigns are well established. This column examines the interplay of incumbency and coordination, another force that influences election outcomes. Failures to coordinate can allow multiple candidates with similar platforms to split the vote, benefitting candidates with less representative positions and resulting in suboptimal officeholders. The authors show how the two forces compound one another in French elections, with coordination failures increasing an incumbents advantage, and encourage policymakers to keep the combination in sight when reforming the electoral process.
Incumbents tend to have an advantage in elections. This has been shown by a large literature, and is a concern since it may prevent the best candidate from winning.
When we say best, we are using a broad definition of candidate quality, encompassing personal characteristics (for instance, how qualified they are and how impervious to corruption) as well as how closely their positions align with their constituents. Ideally, democratic systems will allow the best candidate to win, regardless of whether they currently hold office or have name recognition with voters. Democratic systems are weaker when incumbents enjoy advantages that allow them to get re-elected regardless of quality.
When incumbents are harder to remove, electoral turnovers are less likely, which is also a concern. Using data from national elections conducted worldwide since 1945, Marx et al. (2022 and 2023) find that turnovers lead to improvements in governance, economic performance, and other measures of national health. So, to the extent that the incumbency advantage prevents turnovers from taking place, it may further weaken democracy and governance.
Evidence of an incumbency advantage in the US House of Representatives goes back decades (Erikson 1971, Gersbach 2012). A number of papers use quasi-experimental methods to measure the advantage. Lee (2008) uses a regression discontinuity design (RDD) in close US elections, comparing parties that barely win to those that barely lose. The paper shows that the incumbent party is upwards of 40 percentage points more likely to win elections than the non-incumbent party. The method and results of that study were replicated in other contexts with similar results (e.g. Fowler and Hall 2014), as well as in other countries, from Canada (Kendall and Rekkas 2012) to Norway (Fiva and Rohr 2018).
In a new paper (Dano et al. 2022), five of us examine for the first time the intersection of incumbency and another potential advantage: the ability to coordinate and clear the field of ideologically similar candidates who could potentially split the vote.
The Coordination Effect
In elections with more than two candidates, it is important to solve coordination problems, lest the outcome undermine the representativeness of the election. This is particularly relevant in countries with multiparty systems.
To understand the importance of coordination, consider an election with two candidates on the left, each of them supported by 30% of voters, and one candidate on the right, supported by 40% of voters. If the two parties on the left do not coordinate and agree to ask one of their candidates to drop out and voters on the left do not manage to coordinate on their end to rally behind only one of the two candidates then the right-wing candidate may end up winning, even though they are clearly the least representative of the electorate.
From a theoretical standpoint, it is unclear who stands to benefit more from coordination. The incumbent may use the political power of being in office to prevent ideologically close candidates from running. Or the challengers may have learned a lesson from their defeat in the previous election, and coordinate to win the next.
The literature has less to say about the coordination effect than the incumbency advantage. A study by Anagol and Fujiwara (2016) shows that parties and voters in elections in Brazil, India, and Canada tend to coordinate on behalf of candidates who barely placed second in the previous election, so that these candidates are more likely than barely third-place candidates to contest, and win, subsequent elections. Pons and Tricaud (2018) document coordination failures in French elections: they show that when a third candidate makes it into the second round, their presence harms the candidate ideologically closest to them and causes their defeat in one fifth of the races a result driven by voters who value voting expressively (for the candidate they genuinely prefer) over coordinating. Using a method resembling Anagol and Fujiwara (2016), we show (in Granzier et al. 2022) that past rankings can be a powerful coordination device both for parties and voters.
Our new paper is the first to bring the incumbency advantage and coordination effects together.
Coordination Failures Compound the Incumbency Advantage but How?
Our study focuses on French local and parliamentary elections, which use a two-round plurality voting rule and feature a large number of candidates in the first round. We employ an RDD in a sample of more than 20,000 of these races, comparing candidates who just win or just lose an election, and the pool of candidates they face in the next election, as well as their own chances of winning.
First, we find that a large incumbency advantage exists.
Then, in our main finding, we show that a close victory reduces competition from ideologically similar candidates and leads the victor to a stronger performance in the next cycle. Incumbents are 33 percentage points more likely than their closest challenger to compete again in the next election, and they face (on average) 0.43 fewer competitors who share their orientation. Overall, a candidates victory increases their likelihood of winning the next election by 25.1 percentage points.
So, coordination is taking place, and more effectively on the side of the incumbent, compounding the incumbency advantage. But is coordination on the part of the campaigns meaning the parties and candidates or on the part of voters? The answer appears to be both.
Evidence that Parties and Candidates Coordinate
We find that the reduction in competition from challengers who share the incumbents political orientation is driven by the dropout rate of candidates affiliated with political parties, not by unaffiliated challengers. We interpret this as evidence of communication between the parties, rather than the incumbent exerting pressure on others to drop out; otherwise, we would see the same frequency of dropouts among unaffiliated candidates.
Once the campaigns have coordinated on a field of candidates, it is the voters turn. Will voters coordinate to the incumbents advantage (rallying behind someone familiar) or to the advantage of challengers?
Here, we have two pieces of evidence, both of which point to an advantage for the incumbent.
Incumbents Are Able to Run More Original Campaigns
Incumbents might have more resources and run better campaigns. We explore this first by looking at campaign expenditures, and find no solid evidence; and second, by using text analysis to examine and compare the content of digitised two-page candidate manifestos mailed by the state to all registered voters. We find that incumbents manifestos are more original, where manifesto originality is defined relative to other candidates from the same party. The latter result suggests that incumbents communication strategies are more personalised and better tailored to their voters preferences.
Candidates Gain Name Recognition That Benefits Them in Future Elections
We run a separate RDD that measures the impact of qualifying for the runoff on the next elections results, using the same sample of elections. Unlike winning the election (and becoming the incumbent), qualifying for the runoff has no effect on the number of competitors with the same orientation in the next election. However, it does increase candidates future vote share. This effect indicates that candidates who do well in an election gain name recognition for voters, and is consistent with the hypothesis that incumbency advantage is driven by voters behaviour as well.
Conclusion
Our results may weigh into decisions made by policymakers, candidates, and voters.
Policymakers in many countries discuss which voting rules are best, and sometimes change rules to make elections more representative (Cantoni et al. 2022). To inform such decisions, scholars design election overhauls that might overcome the incumbency advantage (Gersbach 2016). The fact that coordination gives incumbents yet another advantage may weigh in policymakers decisions to even the playing field for challengers.
For candidates and parties, particularly on the losing-side, it is important to note that coordination gives incumbents a leg up, and perhaps be more proactive in communicating about when to bow out of a contest for the good of the partys ideals.
Finally, voters supporting challengers in multi-party systems may face the choice to vote with their heart or with their head. They should be aware that the incumbent has a hidden advantage, and that it can be overcome through coordination.
See original post for references
A Wiser Sympathy Laphams Quarterly. Anthony L: Plant intelligence.
Stop Eating Poppy Seeds or You Might Fail a Drug Test, Pentagon Warns Military.com. News you can use!
Anaximander and the Nature of Science by Carlo Rovelli review the ancient master of the universe Guardian. Anthony L: Not quite right. To get science you also need Calabrian medicine, but still OK.
The New Irrationalism Monthly Review (Chuck L)
#COVID-19
But look at the last four months.
Testing has been mostly flat.
Something is making covid infections more dangerous here. pic.twitter.com/vT9vvFBF3D tern (@1goodtern) February 21, 2023
Climate/Environment
China?
European Disunion
Old Blighty
New Not-So-Cold War
Syraqistan
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Imperial Collapse Watch
Biden
GOP Clown Car
Nikki Haley: Bernie Sanders is exactly the reason mental competency tests are needed The Hill. Amateurish and gutless. She picks independent Sanders as opposed to the obviously cognitively challenged but powerful Dems Feinstein and Pelosi. And Sanders was and likely still is popular with young people. DeSantis and Haley highlight 2024 chasm on Ukraine Washington Post
Supremes
Texas Is Planning To Make a Huge Public Investment In Space ars technica. Will they start conducting their own foreign policy too?
California, There We Went City Journal (Kevin W). On public education.
Norfolk Southern Chemical Bomb
Police State Watch
Malcolm Xs family plan to sue FBI, CIA, NYPD for his death BBC (furzy). Unless the plaintiffs have a documentary smoking gun in hand, this will be a very difficult case to win. In general, delay favors the defense because memories fade, so witnesses are easily impugned.
Woke Watch
AI
Vanderbilt apologizes for using ChatGPT to write MSU email to students Daily Mail (BC)
The Bezzle
How a depression test devised by a Zoloft marketer became a crutch for a failing mental health system STAT
Is This Painting a Raphael or Not? A Fortune Rides on the Answer Wall Street Journal (Anthony L)
Mortgage Rates Near 7% for Spring Selling Season: Prices of Existing Homes Fall 13% from Peak, on Lowest Sales since 2010 Wolf Richter. Not in my tiny market, which wasnt bubbly in the good time and has a school district not only that is best in the state but in the top 1% in the US. We have a chronic shortage of inventory. Goes from terrible to moderately bad.
How Have Swings in Demand Affected Global Supply Chain Pressures? Liberty Street Economics
Class Warfare
Antidote du jour:
And a bonus (Dr. Kevin):
This really puts humpback whales' true size into perspective. Video by Cassie Jensen.pic.twitter.com/JyCBGGeUYG Fascinating (@fasc1nate) February 21, 2023
See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
(Natural News) Dozens if not hundreds of government operatives infiltrated the protests at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
(Article by Jim Hoft republished from TheGatewayPundit.com)
This is a list of government operatives we identified working inside the crowd at the US Capitol on January 6 was started in 2021. The Gateway Pundit continues to add to this list as we learn more.
FACT 1: The FBI infiltrated the Proud Boys and their informant exonerated the Proud Boys of any conspiracy
In July 2022 TGP contributor Cara Castronuova released whistleblower documents, text messages, and audio transcripts of FBI informant James Knowless communications with his FBI handlers on January 6. The evidence exonerates Trump supporters and the Proud Boys of any conspiracy or planning to storm the US Capitol, to enter the US Capitol, or to overthrow official proceedings.
The evidence reported by Cara at The Gateway Pundit was explosive.
IT DID NOT HAPPEN as we all know.
Now we have the proof!
The FBI had the evidence that there was no conspiracy or plans made by the Proud Boys and others to invade and take control of the US Capitol. The FBI ignored this information from their own operative. They ran with lies about an insurrection instead.
FACT 2: The FBI was recruiting men and women to infiltrate the crowds and work as operatives prior to January 6
On Thursday afternoon, September 30th, at 3:45 PM Eastern the FBI raided Jeremy Browns home and arrested Jeremy. The charge is trespassing. The FBI sent 20 vehicles for his arrest. DHS and Pinellas County law enforcement were also present. The FBI was in Jeremys home for 5-and-a-half hours looking for evidence.
The FBI searched his house, RV, and trailer. Then they arrested Jeremy and took him away.
Jeremys family contacted The Gateway Pundit the next morning.
** You can support Jeremy Browns fundraising effort here.
Jeremy Brown is a Green Beret and former Republican candidate for Congress in Floridas 14th Congressional District. Brown served in the United States Army from 1992 to 2012 and reached the rank of Special Forces Master Sergeant.
Jeremy Brown NEVER entered the US Capitol on January 6. His actual crime was refusing to be an FBI informant as we describe below.
Not only did Jeremy refuse to work as an FBI informant on January 6th, he went public with photos and audio of the conversations he had with agents.
As we reported months ago, Jeremy Brown refused to be an informant for the dirty FBI They wanted him to be one of their operatives at the Jan. 6 Trump rallies.
According to an earlier TGP report:
The FBI called Jeremys cellphone and asked for a meeting after trying to contact him at his house. Jeremy then met with the FBI agents at a restaurant in Ybor City in December. He told Brandon Gray that 38 seconds into the interview the FBI attempted to recruit him to spy on the Oath Keepers.
Jeremy refused to be an FBI informant so they stormed his home and arrested him on bogus misdemeanor charges months after the Jan. 6 protests.
Jeremy Brown still sits in jail today a year later an innocent man who committed no crimes.
FACT 3: FBI wiretapped friends and family members, including children, to spy on January 6 protesters.
FACT 4: Luke Robinson the armed J6 protester with earpiece dropped from FBI most wanted list.
FACT 5: AT LEAST 20 undercover FBI and ATF operatives and 3 undercover police officers were running operations in the crowd on January 6
The FBI finally admitted in September 2021 to The New York Times that they were running informants and operatives inside groups attending the January 6 rallies in Washington DC.
In fact, one of the first protesters inside the US Capitol was an FBI informant.
What a surprise!
There is also evidence that the US Capitol Police were also running informants and operatives inside the Trump crowd including members who entered the US Capitol with the protesters.
Hmmmm. Capitol Police had at least 3 officers working undercover wearing suits on January 6. If the building was closedwhy? pic.twitter.com/ps7QFmZeHi Julie Kelly ?? (@julie_kelly2) September 30, 2021
Now we learn that at least 20 assets from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives were embedded in the crowds at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
FACT 6: Ray Epps
FACT 7: Disappearing Feds from FBI Listt.
Why has the FBI not followed up on several violent protesters who were caught on video?
FACT 8: DOJ finally admits they were running Confidential Human Sources inside the Oath Keepers organization on January 6th
We discovered this less than a week before their sham trials in Washington, DC where they are already determined to be guilty as charged.
FACT 9: Former DEA Agent was PRESSURED to go inside US Capitol on January 6th by an Informant friend he was with.
We may never know how many confidential human sources the government was running in the massive crowd on January 6th.
We know there were dozens of operatives in the crowd.
FACT 10: The FBI admitted in November 2022 that they were running at least 8 informants inside the Proud Boys in the months leading to January 6.
The FBI had as many as eight informants inside the Proud Boys in the months around the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, recent court papers indicate, raising questions about how much federal investigators were able to learn from them before and after it took place. https://t.co/vfMPExBNW3 The New York Times (@nytimes) November 14, 2022
Was the FBI leading the insurrection?
So if the #2 in the Proud Boys was working with the FBI, and the lead militia guy in the Whitmer kidnaping plot was working with the FBI (along with numerous agents & informants in the group) one legitimate question is: How much was the FBI driving vs. investigating the plots? Sharyl Attkisson ??????? (@SharylAttkisson) November 15, 2022
FACT 11: At least 3 FBI operatives or cutouts were speaking on the Oath Keepers walkie-talkie app used by the Oath Keepers on January 6th. They were THE ONLY ONES calling for violence!
We now know their names from the app: The government expressed little interest in identifying those behind the screennames on this chat-including 1% Watchdog, General Mark Davis CFA, and iWatchDirectorLaureen.
For some reason they were never questioned and the DOJ did not identify them at trial.
FACT 12: The tactical commander for the US Capitol Police admitted under oath that agitators who were highly trained ripped down fencing prior to the protest at the US Capitol on January 6.
FACT 13: Several (6 or 7) undercover police were filmed flashing their badges to other DC police in bodycam footage on January 6.
FACT 14: Capitol Hill police officer tells fellow police the undercover cops have thin wristbands on. Hes not sure what color they are.
This was a highly coordinated government operation.
FACT 15: January 6th was a highly coordinated and planned intelligence operation run by the US government against the people of the United States.
Read more at: TheGatewayPundit.com
(Natural News) Doctors are now disappearing from emergency rooms (ERs) as hospitals cut costs, thanks to private equity firms dipping their fingers into the healthcare industry.
Kaiser Health News (KHN) zoomed in on the case of a Tennova Healthcare facility in Clarksville, Tennessee. The hospital had outsourced its ERs to American Physician Partners (APP), a medical staffing company backed by private equity investors. A confidential company document obtained by KHN and National Public Radio revealed that APP employs fewer doctors in ERs as a cost-saving measure to increase earnings.
APP has numerous cost-saving initiatives underway as part of the companys continual focus on cost optimization, said the document. Among these initiatives was a shift of staffing between doctors and mid-level practitioners, such as nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs). Mid-level practitioners can perform many of the same duties as doctors and generate much of the same revenue, but for less than half of the pay.
APP defended the staffing shift in a statement, saying it serves to ensure all ERs remain fully staffed. It touted this blended model that allows doctors, NPs and PAs to provide care to their fullest potential.
Dr. Robert McNamara, chief medical officer of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, blasted APP and other medical staffing firms as the most aggressive entities in replacing physicians to cut costs.
Its a relatively simple equation, he said. Their No. 1 expense is the board-certified emergency physician, so they are going to want to keep that expense as low as possible.
KHN elaborated that private equity companies pool money from wealthy investors to buy their way into various industries, often slashing spending and seeking to flip businesses in three to seven years. While this business model is a proven moneymaker on Wall Street, it raises concerns in health care, where critics worry the pressure to turn big profits will influence life-or-death decisions that were once left solely to medical professionals. (Related: Nonprofit hospitals in New Jersey paying CEOs millions per year.)
Cost-cutting measures leave patients worse off than before
Critics say, however, that the cost-cutting measures leave patients vulnerable to misdiagnoses, higher medical bills and inadequate care with various papers attesting.
One such paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which was published in October 2022, looked at roughly 1.1. million visits to 44 ERs throughout the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). NPs with the VHA can treat patients without physician oversight.
The study authors found that treatment by an NP resulted in a seven percent increase in the cost of care on average and an 11 percent increase in length of stay. Moreover, it found that ER patients treated by a nurse practitioner were 20 percent more likely to be readmitted to the hospital for a preventable reason within 30 days.
KHN also cited the most blatant reminder of the dangers of outsourcing care to less-trained practitioners in its piece. It shared the ordeal of Natasha Valle, who visited the same Tennoval Healthcare hospital for a miscarriage.
She first visited in January 2021 as she was bleeding, but was sent home after an examination. Valle returned when her cramping became very painful, only to be sent home once more. It ultimately took three ER trips, with three separate bills, before a doctor was finally able to look at her blood test results and confirm that she indeed miscarried.
At the time I wasnt thinking, Oh, I need to see a doctor,' Valle recalled. But when you think about it, its like, Well, why didnt I see a doctor?'
It remains unclear whether the repeat visits were due to delays in seeing a physician, but the experience worried her. KHN reported that Valle is still paying the bills for those ER visits as of writing. Meanwhile, Tennova Healthcare declined to discuss her case citing patient privacy.
Watch whistleblower AJ DePriest disclose how Tennessee hospitals are being paid whenever a patient is admitted for Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infection on The HighWire.
This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Hospitals raking in cash from unnecessary surgery for dying seniors.
Doctors speak out: healthcare has been reduced to a making money factory.
Hospitals intentionally inflating COVID cases to collect financial incentives, whistleblower says.
Unnecessary surgery exposed! Why 60% of all surgeries are medically unjustified and how surgeons exploit patients to generate profits.
Sources include:
KHN.org
Brighteon.com
(Natural News) During the discovery phase of Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against the Fox News Channel over its coverage of figures who claimed that the machines were prone to counting errors, the broadcast company has apparently found evidence that the reports were true.
According to a Substack piece by The National Pulse editor-in-chief Raheem Kassam, Fox News lawyers have uncovered admissions from some Dominion staffers who say that, yes, they have concerns about the security of the machines.
He noted that some of the most crucial examples of FNCs findings include:
Discovery in this case has revealed that Dominions own employees expressed serious concerns about the security of its machines. Mark Beckstrand, a Dominion Sales Manager, confirmed that other parties have gotten ahold of [Dominions] equipment illicitly in the past.
Beckstrand identified specific instances in Georgia and North Carolina and testified that a Dominion machine was hacked in Michigan. Beckstrand confirmed that these security failures were reported about in the news. And just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, Dominions Director of Product Strategy and Security, Eric Coomer, acknowledged in private that our shit is just riddled with bugs. Indeed, Coomer had been castigating Dominions failures for years. In 2019, Coomer noted that our products suck.
He lamented that [a]lmost all of Dominions technological failings were due to our complete f up in installation. And in another instance, he identified a *critical* bug leading to INCORRECT results. He went on to note: It does not get much worse than that.
And while many companies might have resolved their errors, Coomer lamented that we dont address our weaknesses effectively!
These were recent (2019) messages, which dont just provide justification for a news network covering potential exploitation of voting machines, but are enough to warrant a wider investigation of Dominion, State Street Capital, and their products and services, Kassam wrote.
He went on to point out that, two days after the findings became public, only The Associated Press made any mention of the bombshells, but even then, just barely. The AP noted in the 10th paragraph of a story on the subject: [Fox lawyers] also point to an email from Oct. 30, 2020, just days before the election, in which Dominions director of product strategy and security complained that the companys products were just riddled with bugs.'
So long as Foxs corporate media competitors continue to take victory laps over filings their correspondents have clearly not read, nor reported accurately on, they will find themselves guilty of precisely what they want Fox fined $1.6bn for: making routine editorial news decisions, Kassam continued.
This is wanton endangerment and disregard of a so-called free press and Americas First Amendment. But then again, no one ever accused Oliver Darcy of believing in those things in the first place, he added, a reference to CNNs media reporter.
During the 2020 presidential election cycle, as a reminder, some supporters of former President Donald Trump made claims of voting irregularities and fraud involving Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion is a company that provides voting technology and services to many states and counties across the United States.
Claims included the suggestion that the software had switched votes from Trump to Joe Biden, that the voting systems were connected to Venezuela and China, and that the company had ties to high-level Democrats. Dominion has denied these claims.
A lot of Americans believe this election was rigged. Theyre not saying that because theyre crazy and theyre not just saying it because theyre mad. They mean it, and thats a potentially fatal problem for this country, Fox News host Tucker Carlson noted in a monologue on Nov. 19, 2020, less than two weeks after the election. Elections arent merely central to democracy, elections are democracy. Voting is the way the public expresses its will. Its all people have. If elections dont work, our entire system doesnt work.
Sources include:
FoxNews.com
CBSNews.com
RaheemKassam.Substack.com
Fortune.com
(Natural News) Emails obtained and reviewed by the independent media show that Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) assistant secretary Rachel Levine, a prominent transgender, was busy plotting new ways to subject young children to sex change procedures before getting hired by the Biden regime to mainstream such wickedness at the federal level.
Pediatrician Dr. Rollyn Ornstein, who works at Penn State Hershey Childrens Hospital, conversed with Levine about how the hospitals gender clinic could generate lots of new potential revenue to pay for a new social worker if only more children would cut of their body parts and take gender-bender pharmaceuticals.
Even with age restrictions, the emails state, children could be prodded through the trans pipeline as young as possible for every procedure they are eligible for, and later receive even more procedures after becoming adults at age 18.
These emails were exchanged back in 2018 before being obtained by parental rights activist Megan Brock, who forwarded them to the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF). They reveal a sinister plan by which social workers are being trained to groom young children into transgenderism, which is a high-dollar profit machine for mutilators like Ornstein and Levine.
Levine recommended a contact for Ornstein to reach out to and said that, while surgical referrals might be limited to only mastectomies for minors, the position would still pay for itself, a DCNF report explains.
(Related: In early 2021, Levine stated that she would like to see babies get sex changes without parental consent.)
Grooming children to go trans generates lots of cash for gender clinics
At the time, Levine was still the acting secretary of health in Pennsylvania. Ornstein had written to Levine explaining that she was aggressively trying to hire someone with a Masters in Social Work (MSW) to help funnel more business into the gender clinic.
The info from the 2015 report is great but I believe insurance has changed since then, with more coverage (? For surgery) than previously, Ornstein wrote, again referencing money and her desire to bring in more of it by butchering childrens bodies.
Levine responded that she was confident the hospital would be able to fund a social worker in such a position, noting that the age restrictions for gender surgeries would limit eligible procedures to FtM [female to male] top surgeries, also known as mastectomies, only.
You should be able to fund a MSW for evaluation and therapy for pediatric and adolescent patients in a program such as you do for the ED program and is done at CHOP, Levine wrote.
Pre surgical consult for patients under 18 will most likely be limited to FTM Top surgery and that might be a rather limited group of patients.
Ornstein responded back that this is okay since those children could be groomed into getting more procedures later after they turn 18 procedures that would generate gobs of cash for her gender clinic.
I am trying to give them some numbers to help them realize the eventual ROI (return on investment) for this necessary position, Ornstein said.
Even if the patients under 18 who go for surgery might be limited, the patients we start with will eventually be over 18 so I still think its worthwhile. Of course, I think its worthwhile no matter what.
Johns Hopkins Medicine is reportedly also trying to generate more income by lobbying the state of Maryland to extend Medicaid coverage to transgender cosmetic procedures. A professional association of plastic surgeons is likewise fighting to allow young children to get sex changes with enhanced insurance coverage.
More news about Rachel Levine and other child-mutilating perverts can be found at Evil.news.
Sources for this article include:
WND.com
NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is urging the federal government to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets.
Graham made these demands while responding to comments from Vice President Kamala Harris at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where she said that the United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
According to Graham, it is insincere for Harris to talk about Russia perpetrating crimes against humanity while refusing to support Ukraine with even more advanced weapons systems, including American combat aircraft. (Related: Matt Gaetz introduces House resolution urging Biden to end all taxpayer-funded aid for Ukraine.)
How can she say that and she is correct and not give the victim of the crime against humanity the defensive weapons they need to stop the crime? he said.
You label Putins Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism [and] you create international tribunals so we actually can try [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his cronies in the international court like we did after World War II, said Graham during an interview.
So we need to do two things quickly: Make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law, which would make it harder for China to give weapons to Russia, and we need to start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 now, he added. They need the weapons system.
Grahams stance contradicts the prevailing opinion among Republicans that the current administration should limit its military aid to Ukraine to avoid depleting the countrys arsenal.
Even Biden is not interested in giving Ukraine F-16s and declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism
Interestingly, even President Joe Biden a staunch Ukraine supporter is not ready to commit F16s to the Ukrainians.
When asked late last month whether the White House would begin providing Ukraine with F-16s, he answered with a firm and simple no. But the president was quick to add that he would remain in discussions with Ukraine about its weapons requests.
In a more recent statement, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that the decision regarding sending fighter jets to Ukraine is still being negotiated.
We have to ensure, and I think [Secretary of State Antony Blinken] said this as well, that they have the training necessary and the capacity to use weapons systems that we provide to them, said Greenfield. Discussions will continue over the course of the next few weeks and months, as we determine how best to support them.
Last September, Graham introduced a bill along with Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. If this bill had passed during that session, it would have made Russia the fifth country currently placed under that designation, after Syria, Iran, North Korea and Cuba.
With the designation, Russias sovereign immunity before U.S. courts would be eliminated and the country would see significant reductions in foreign assistance and exports from the United States.
Biden himself has stated that he does not want to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, saying that such a move could hamper diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between the two countries.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added during a press briefing that the designation would not be the most effective or strongest path forward to holding Russia accountable. But the Biden administration is interested in labeling Russia as an aggressor state.
Were working with Congress right now on legislation that would help us get around some of the challenges of using the state sponsor of terrorism designation, which has some unintended consequences, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Watch this clip from the War Room: Battleground as host Steve Bannon talks to Boris Epshteyn about how the administration of President Joe Biden is blindly throwing away money and weapons for Ukraine.
This video is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
US, NATO using discredited domino theory to justify sending even more taxpayer-funded arms shipments to Ukraine.
Defense Department to boost production of artillery ammunition by 500% for Ukraine but will take two years just to build the new factories.
UN secretary-general warns: World is heading toward wider war due to escalating conflict in Ukraine.
Russia to deploy robot tanks to counter American and German tanks in Ukraine.
Ukraines defense minister claims his country is a de facto member of NATO.
Sources include:
TheEpochTimes.com
TheHill.com
TheGuardian.com
Brighteon.com
(Natural News) A new study published in The Lancet confirms that natural immunity to the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) is far superior to the artificial immunity generated by the so-called vaccines.
The paper includes a systematic review and meta-analysis of 65 other studies conducted worldwide. All of them provide overwhelming support for what many scientists and doctors have been saying about natural infection versus synthetic injection.
According to the studys funding, acquiring and recovering from covid naturally provides strong, lasting protection against severe health outcomes at a level as high, if not higher than the temporary-at-best protection conferred by the experimental shots.
The Lancet is finally acknowledging what doctors and scientists have been gaslit for saying for years that natural immunity provides superior protection to experimental vaccines, said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., chairman and chief litigation counsel for Childrens Health Defense (CHD).
Only the tsunami of propaganda and censorship from the pharma / government biosecurity cartel and the controlled media persuaded the public that Pfizer and Moderna were better at protecting the human immune system than God and evolution.
(Related: Remember when The Lancet published, then retracted, a paper mocking the lab origin theory for covid?)
CDC now admits covid jab immunity barely lasts at all before turning negative
Even when compared to the immunity allegedly provided by two doses of mRNA (messenger RNA) from either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, natural immunity from infection lasts much longer and provides much better protection, the study found.
Natural immunity, the researchers found, was at least 88.9 percent effective against severe disease, hospitalization, and death for all covid variants 10 months after infection. It also provides 78.6 percent protection against reinfection for all variants except omicron BA.1, for which only 45.3 percent protection occurs.
Back in October, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met to discuss data on so-called vaccine-acquired immunity, which the authorities have been touting all this time as preferable to natural immunity.
What the CDC found and discussed is that after two or even three injections of a covid shot, jab-induced immunity drops to zero after just six months before turning negative. Negative efficacy, just to clarify, means ones immune system is worse off, and is basically now attacking itself like AIDS.
Even though all protection from reinfection wanes over time to some degree, jab-induced protection is the worst kind of protection in that it is not protection at all but rather a temporary bandage that destroys the immune system in the end.
Amazingly, the new study was funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its authors include Dr. Christopher Murray, director of The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), which is also funded by billionaire eugenicist Bill Gates.
IHME, by the way, was largely responsible for the notoriously exaggerated mortality calculations that overestimated COVID deaths by 20-fold at the COVID pandemics outset, according to Kennedy.
The study comes as some authorities in some areas mull restricting peoples access to travel, venues, and even workplaces based on their jab status. If the jabs do not even work, then how can anyone require them as a condition of living (not that any form of compulsory medicine is legitimate, no matter how effective it supposedly is)?
While framing this as an acknowledgment that natural immunity confers protection, what it is also doing is providing tacit agreement that government-imposed policies restricting travel are acceptable, commented Dr. Meryl Nash, an internist and epidemiologist, about the findings.
It furthermore provides tacit approval of vaccine passports.
More of the latest news about covid injections can be found at Immunization.news.
Sources for this article include:
ChildrensHealthDefense.org
NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Perhaps NATO is starting to wake up. They now realize that they may have to wage war on two fronts simultaneously. NATO is considering what they call a defensive move which is an Article 5 conflict but also an out-of-area battle. This is showing that NATO is no longer what it was supposed to have been the defense of Europe against a Soviet invasion that never took place. The out-of-area is none other than China invading Taiwan. NATO is simply usurping power that it was never authorized to carry out. This, Article 5 event is an attack on a NATO member, whereas the out-of-area is a non-NATO member.
(Article by Martin Armstrong republished from ArmstrongEconomics.com)
Clearly, we are witnessing how once power is taken, it is always abused. NATO has always billed itself as a defensive alliance but it has embarked on an offensive posture with Ukraine and now even Taiwan. Dont forget, NATO joined the hostilities in Yugoslavia during the 1990s and again with Libya in 2011. Many have viewed that NATO has been usurped by the American Neocons to further their agenda of manipulating US foreign policy. That is becoming self-evident by even considering war with China and Russia.
All our sources confirm that the US has demanded that Brussels increase its defense expenditures. Everyone is expected to chip in 2% of GDP ASAP. The US is now also expecting that it will have to fight on two fronts against both China and Russia. The Neocons are demanding higher Pentagon budgets now. They simply want war and we have no right to vote on any of this confirming once again, we do not live in a democracy, but in a dictatorship masquerading as a republic.
You NEVER go to war without weighing the gains against the losses. What is taking place is the very same bankers that tried to take over Russia I wrote about in the 2000 Plot to Seize Russia, are back after 23 years and they are pleading to wage war and are licking their lips once again at seizing all the natural resources of Russia from gold and diamonds, to energy and uranium. The problem, they may not survive their own greed this time.
Read more at: ArmstrongEconomics.com
(Natural News) The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is investigating the discovery of an 18-inch pipe bomb, or explosive device, near railroad tracks in the northeastern Philadelphia neighborhood of Holmesburg.
The discovery comes after train derailments shook the country after these supposed accidents released hazardous and cancerous chemicals into the local environments, particularly in Ohio. (Related: ANOTHER ONE: Norfolk Southern train with one car carrying hazardous chemicals CRASHES outside Detroit.)
The PPD found the explosive device on Sunday, Feb. 19, at around 1:30 p.m., behind St. Dominics Catholic Church in Holmesburg. Google Maps images of the area show that there is a rail line behind the churchs massive cemetery, and that the area is right next to an elementary school.
PPD officials who spoke with local media outlets noted that a passerby found the pipe bomb and that the device was made with a PVC pipe filled with black powder and with capped ends.
Police immediately responded by shutting down a nearby road and calling in the Philadelphia Police Bomb Squad to safely take the pipe bomb away. They further noted that the device is now under analysis and bomb techs are working to disassemble it.
Pipe bomb could have endangered rail line
Father Edward T. Kearns, the parish priest of St. Dominic Church, noted that he does not believe the pipe bomb was directed at the church or against Catholics. More likely, he believes the person who placed the pipe bomb there was attempting to target the rail line itself.
I dont think it was in connection to us, said Kearns. It was behind us, not on our property, [but] on the other side of the railroad tracks. Kearns noted that, if the pipe bomb hadnt been a dud, it would have directly threatened the freight line that ran behind the church and the wider impact that would have caused following the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
With other railroad-related accidents around the nation, some people are starting to believe these are not accidents but rather a well-planned attack upon America, wrote Hal Turner on his website. A bomb would certainly qualify. The fact that it was apparently placed on freight railroad tracks lends credence to the notion that we are being attacked from within.
Many other locals are deeply concerned about the discovery, including Alan Serge, who lives across from the churchs cemetery and school and whose neighbor made the discovery. He noted that the pipe bomb was found within walking distance from his front porch.
My neighbor always takes his dog every day for a walk in the graveyard and he said he saw something that looks like a PVC pipe with two ends on it. He touched it and he moved it out of the walkway and he said, Oh God, that looks like a pipe bomb. So, he called 911, said Serge. Its pretty scary. I mean, Im not letting my kids go over there. I know that. Thats for a fact.
Brian Boedecker, another Holmesburg resident who has lived in the area for over 20 years, noted that he has never heard of anything like this happening in his neighborhood. There are many things, but not pipe bombs, no, he said, adding that he is now very worried for his children.
We used to be okay with, like just monitoring them inside, letting them play out here and run in and out of the house. But when stuff like this is going on, hey, you never know.
Learn more about the recent spate of train derailments in the United States at Collapse.news.
Watch this episode of the Health Ranger Report discussing how the pattern of so-called accidents in American railway points to a deliberate sabotage operation by foreign actors.
This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Employee of rail company involved in East Palestine disaster makes stunning revelation after accident.
Train that derailed causing massive chemical spill in eastern Ohio broke down days earlier because of weight.
Trains carrying hazardous materials continue to derail around the country is the US under attack?
DIOXINS releasd after Ohio train derailment PERSIST in the environment and collected in lipids, meaning they will contaminate milk, cheese, eggs and meat from farms and ranches.
East Palestine residents are seething over authorities downplaying extent of train derailment chemical release; dont tell me its safe.
Sources include:
HalTurnerRadioShow.com
Fox29.com
CBSNews.com
DetroitCatholic.com
Brighteon.com
(Natural News) A study conducted by a research team from the Tokyo University of Science found a new cathode material with higher energy density for magnesium batteries, a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
In a paper published in the Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, the researchers focused on how to improve the performance of cathode materials based on the magnesium-vanadium system. The team explained that they worked with the Mg1.33V1.67O4 system, but substituted some amount of vanadium a hard, silvery-gray and malleable transition metal with another transition metal, manganese.
Accordingly, the researchers studied the composition, crystal structure, electron distribution and particle morphologies of the compounds using X-ray diffraction and absorption, as well as transmission electron microscopy. The analyses showed that Mg1.33V1.67?xMnxO4 has a spinel structure with a remarkably uniform composition.
They also observed a high discharge capacity of these cathode materials. It appears that the particularly stable crystal structure along with a large amount of charge compensation by vanadium leads to the superior charge/discharge properties we observed for Mg1.33V1.57Mn0.1O4, lead researcher Yasushi Idemoto said in a media statement, explaining that Mg1.33V1.57Mn0.1O4 could be a good candidate cathode material for magnesium rechargeable batteries.
As per Idemoto, through further research and development, magnesium batteries could surpass lithium-ion batteries because the former has a higher energy density.
Magnesium is considered a promising candidate for rechargeable batteries because the metal is safer for battery chemistries than lithium and is more abundant.
Woman in critical condition as lithium-ion batteries catch fire
Lithium-ion batteries can be a fire hazard. A 67-year-old woman is in critical condition after an intense fire in Brooklyn on Feb. 14. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) reported that the woman was trapped at the top floor of an apartment building.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said they found a total of 50 e-bike batteries, also known as lithium-ion batteries, inside the home after the fire. A resident was allegedly running a battery repair operation, which they said is a major hazard.
There were also many that were charging at the time that nobody was watching them charge, so they had charged them overnight, Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn said. CBS News wrote that experts advised never try to repair batteries, never use a refurbished battery and never charge your batteries overnight.
According to the fire department chief, the lithium-ion batteries burst into flames when they catch fire. The FDNY noted that such batteries caused 220 fires in 2022 and killed six people. The latest one is already the 24th caused by the batteries so far this year. (Related: Hurricane Ian exposes EV weakness: Lithium batteries are prone to catching fire.)
It seems like the number is doubling year by year, Flynn said.
Kavanagh already wrote to the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission urging it to seize more substandard batteries at ports, ban universal battery chargers and push e-bike and scooter companies to make their devices work only with approved batteries.
The FDNY is on the front lines of this fight against deadly fires involving batteries and we are grateful for every tool available to help, she wrote.
The recent fires posed serious threats to the delivery people using electric vehicles, people using battery-powered devices in houses and apartments and firefighters themselves. In one incident last year, FDNY firefighters had to use ropes hanging out of the 20th floor of a building to save people trapped by a blaze.
NBC News reported earlier this month that the rapidly expanding use of lithium-ion batteries is posing new challenges for firefighters across the country. When the batteries fail or overheat, they release flammable, toxic gases that can spark a fast-spreading fire that is extremely difficult to extinguish, it said.
The source of the gases that are creating the flames is confined within a cell battery that will not allow water in, said Ofodike Ezekoye, a fire scientist and a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. When firefighters are responding to these types of incidents, it takes a lot longer to be able to control the fire because it requires so much more water.
Watch the video below where a lithium battery caught fire during a commercial flight earlier this year.
This video is from TestimonyOfTheTwoWitnesses.com channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Biden regime issues $200 million grant to battery manufacturer based in China.
Lithium batteries used in EVs and other green technology are anything but clean.
Ticking time bombs: Biden administration does not have a concrete plan for recycling or reusing EV battery packs.
Lithium supply not large enough to not meet ambitious global EV deadlines, mining CEO warns.
Sources include:
Mining.com
ScienceDirect.com
CBSNews.com
NBCNews.com 1
NBCNews.com 2
Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Precious metals and finance expert Andy Schectman denounced banking giant JPMorgan as the most nefarious group of traders for hoarding silver on a massive scale.
I really do believe that JPMorgan understands as maybe the most sophisticated yet nefarious group of traders on the planet that silver, more so than gold even, is the value play of a generation, he told Liberty and Finance podcast host Dunagun Kaiser during a Feb. 15 appearance on the show.
Its an asset that is depleting so rapidly in nature, yet so needed in industrial applications not just its monetary explosion. This is how they do it: by suppressing the price, suppressing the narrative and accumulating the physical.
Kaiser commented on the last point Schectman brought up, stating that JPMorgan has amassed the largest physical hoard of silver in world history. Based on the assessment of precious metals analyst Ted Butler, the New York-based bank had approximately one billion ounces of silver in its possession. Given this, Kaiser a licensed broker with Miles Franklin Precious Metal Investments (MFPMI) said JPMorgan stands to benefit greatly from a rising silver market.
Schectman, the founder and president of MFPMI, commented on the observation. Based on the companys COMEX holdings, it currently possesses 150 million ounces of silver. He added that Butlers assumption is that 90 or 80 plus percent of the silver accumulated by JPMorgan has been done in a less than a transparent or opaque way.
Schectman also noted how JPMorgan was fined $920 million for suppressing the metals market, commenting that the financial giant is very adept at playing the paper game. He said: If they really wanted to play that game, they would not have gone to such overt lengths to accumulate physical and to do it in a very opaque way, in a clandestine way because I think what that really speaks to is the ultimate value of the physical commodity. (Related: JPMorgan Chase busted by DoJ, forced to pay nearly $1 BILLION fine for trying to rig GOLD markets.)
JPMorgan a cats paw of Washington to acquire silver
The MFPMI president also expressed belief that if JPMorgan truly accumulated a massive silver stockpile, it must have done so for a purpose. He then postulated that it could be a possible play by the U.S. to accumulate silver and replenish its stockpile of the metal, using the banking firm as an instrument.
Had JPMorgan hoarded silver to make a profit, it would have done things differently, said Schectman.
This isnt just about making money and then shedding the position and going somewhere else. I think this is about accumulation of a vital asset, a strategic element that is disappearing in nature, is being accumulated massively in an expansion of uses industrially and has experienced a renaissance monetarily. I dont think this is just black and white, I think this goes a lot deeper.
With America exhausting its stockpile of silver, it wont be shedding its silver anytime soon just to make a small profit.
Schectman also said silver is the most undervalued asset on the planet, and he thinks it is immeasurably important to the powers that be and elites who are going to great lengths to accumulate it and to make people believe that there is nothing to see with the suppressed pricing.
Ultimately, he told Kaiser that the only way to beat these market manipulators is to do what JPMorgan itself is doing which is to use the suppression in the peoples favor and accumulate the metal.
Follow Metals.news for more about silver being sold in the global market.
Watch the conversation between Andy Schectman and Dunagun Kaiser about JPMorgan hoarding all the silver below.
This video is from the Liberty and Finance channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
Nearly 300 million ounces of physical silver have been drained from the market.
Cargo ship busted with over a billion dollars worth of cocaine was owned by JP Morgan Chase.
Health Ranger Report: John Perez highlights the importance of having silver and gold as crypto collapses.
Precious metals expert predicts new silver bull market in the next 3-5 years.
US Mint postpones silver coin pre-orders amid global silver shortage.
Sources include:
Brighteon.com
LibertyandFinance.com
MilesFranklin.com
(Natural News) Thanks to the brave work of medical watchdog organization Do No Harm, the BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation has changed its policy to start allowing white-run groups to apply for grants.
Previously, the BCBSNC Foundation only offered grant opportunities to non-white-run groups, which Laura Morgan, Do No Harms program manager, says promotes divisiveness at a new level.
Do No Harms mission is to investigate and spotlight discriminatory practices within medical institutions. In this case, the BCBSNC Foundation got caught red-handed when they tried to inject ugly racial politics into their grant-making process.
Discrimination should have no place in our society, yet they were prepared to reject grant applications from nonprofits led by white CEOs just because of their skin color, Morgan is quoted as saying.
Do No Harm, along with BCBS customers and North Carolina state policymakers, will be watching very closely how the foundation updates the grants eligibility criteria.
(Related: Did you know that your tax dollars are being used by the government to fund this kind of anti-white racism?)
Only non-whites are considered poor enough to qualify for help whites are all rich and privileged, according to the BCBSNC Foundation
The $300,000 grant program in question is known as Advancing Healthy Food Equity (AHFE). It started out as automatically disqualifying all organizations with white directors or CEOs from applying.
In order to qualify for an AHFE grant, an applying organization also had to be serving a community that is non-white, meaning blacks and browns only.
This opportunity is specifically designed to support community-rooted organizations that are led by, serving, and accountable to American Indians, black, Latino, other people of color, and members of immigrant communities, to increase their ability to engage in advocacy to address the root causes of inequitable access to healthy food, a spokesperson from the program revealed in a promotional video.
The AHFE website further explained that the reason for excluding all things white from the program is because non-white communities are supposedly disproportionately affected by food insecurity, which the BCBSNC Foundation says is caused by systematic racism.
The only reason the BCBSNC Foundation altered its policy to now include whites is because of all the negative press coverage generated by Do No Harms investigatory work. In order to preserve the program, which started in 2000, the BCBSNC Foundation relented to Do No Harms work in exposing its racist policies.
Since we released this funding opportunity in early January, we have received inquiries from potential applicants and others working in the community whose work aligns with the goals of this opportunity, yet whose organizations dont quite match all aspects of the stated eligibility criteria, the BCBSNC Foundation announced.
After careful consideration, we have decided to expand both the number of organizations being supported by this grant funding, as well as the eligibility criteria for those seeking an award.
Thanks to the change, the number of organizations funded with grant money from AHFE has reached 14 rather than the previous 10. The new eligibility has been expanded to include a focus on rural communities, and an applying organizations CEO no longer has to be a member of the community being served.
We are excited about this opportunity to broaden the impact of this work and look forward to partnering with many great organizations as we work together to expand access to healthy food across the state, the foundation added in a statement.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, founder and chairman of Do No Harm, chastised the BCBSNC Foundation for ever thinking it was okay to exclude white applicants from the program.
Even having a leader of an organization who is white is enough to prevent the entity, which apparently serves minority communities, from participating in a grant program, he said. Do Americans really want this sort of apartheid?
If you enjoyed reading this story, you will find more like it at Wokies.news.
Sources for this article include:
TheEpochTimes.com
NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Vice President Kamala Harris continued to spout the regimes narrative about the Russian boogeyman during a speech at a globalist retreat, claiming that Moscows soldiers have committed crimes against humanity.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, according to CNBC, Harris stated that the international community has a moral obligation to pursue and address the crimes. In addition to this, she noted that it is also of strategic importance to hold those responsible accountable. The VP further emphasized that a failure to uphold international rules and standards could potentially lead to other authoritarian governments taking advantage of the situation.
Russian forces have pursued a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation, Harris said, also claiming that Russian troops have engaged in execution-style killings, beatings, and electrocution.
Russian authorities have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people, from Ukraine to Russia, including children, she added. They have cruelly separated children from their families.
The outlet noted further:
The Biden administration formally determined last March that Russian troops had committed war crimes in Ukraine and said it would work with others to prosecute offenders. A determination of crimes against humanity goes a step further, indicating that attacks against civilians are being carried out in a widespread and systematic manner. Harris said that, as a former prosecutor and former head of Californias Department of Justice, she knows the importance of gathering facts and holding them up against the law.
In the case of Russias actions in Ukraine, we have examined the evidence, we know the legal standards, and there is no doubt, she said. These are crimes against humanity.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was present at the Munich conference, issued a statement while Vice President Harris spoke, stating that we reserve crimes against humanity determinations for the most egregious crimes. He further highlighted that the recent determination underscores the staggering extent of suffering endured by Ukrainian civilians and demonstrates the United States firm commitment to holding members of Russias forces and other officials accountable for their atrocities. The secretary of state also noted that this determination also highlights the United States unwavering support for Ukraine and its sovereignty.
Harris went on to address the annual gathering of security and defense officials by stating: Let us all agree on behalf of all the victims, both known and unknown, justice must be served.
Such is our moral interest. We also have a significant strategic interest, she said. No nation is safe in a world where one country can violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another, where crimes against humanity are committed with impunity, where a country with imperialist ambitions can go unchecked.
If Russian President Vladimir Putin is successful in disregarding international rules and norms, other nations could feel emboldened to follow his violent example, the VP noted further. Other authoritarian powers could seek to bend the world to their will, through coercion, disinformation, and even brute force.
It should be noted that there were no Russian officials who attended the conference.
Russia Today reported that, according to a report by Politico on Tuesday, officials in Kyiv are concerned that the U.S. may seek to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine. Although President Joe Biden has vowed to support the country for as long as it takes to overcome Russia, the officials fear that this could change.
As some Republican lawmakers are becoming more hesitant to financially support Ukraine, this could potentially be used as a reason to decrease military and financial assistance and push Kyiv into making concessions. An adviser to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy speculated on this scenario during an interview with Politico, but chose to remain anonymous.
Sources include:
CNBC.com
RT.com
(Natural News) Ed Dowds Phinance Technologies has released a new analysis comparing the rate of reported serious adverse events caused by Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines in clinical trials to the rate of disabilities reported following the launch of Operation Warp Speed by the Trump regime.
It turns out that disabilities in the United States spiked immediately after the first messenger RNA (mRNA) injections were unleashed, which corresponds to high rates of serious adverse events during Big Pharmas clinical trials for the experimental injections.
When looking at changes in disabilities on a wider time frame (since 2008) we observe that the disability rates rose or fell from month to month but tended to be relatively stable over time, Phinance Technologies reported.
the change in behaviour since early 2021 is clearly an abnormal occurrence with high level of statistical significance. It happens to be highly correlated to the cumulative Covid-19 vaccine rollout, but we cannot state that the correlation is statistically meaningful as it is based on a cumulative plot with obvious autocorrelation.
(Related: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has changed the way it regulates covid vaccines to allow for endless reformulations with no required clinical trials.)
Rate of estimated serious adverse events underreported by a factor of 2.6
Phinance Technologies did compile evidence showing that the most likely cause behind the rise in disabilities is, in fact, covid injections that were rushed to market at warp speed with inadequate and conflicted safety and efficacy testing.
The group modeled the expected rise in disabilities due to the jab rollout by using rates of serious adverse events obtained via the safety analyses conducted by Pfizer and Moderna as part of their clinical trials.
Our results provide a stronger case for establishing a causal relationship between disabilities and the Covid-19 vaccines, tweeted Dowd, along with a link to his groups analysis see below:
??Our anaysis of a peer reviewed paper on Serious Adverse Events in the mRNA Clinical Trials https://t.co/kUrdNwab3h
reveals the following conclusions:
?Our results provide a stronger case for establishing a causal relationship between disabilities and the Covid-19 vaccines. pic.twitter.com/0zvSSbo25D Edward Dowd (@DowdEdward) February 18, 2023
The time series of SAEs that were computed based on the rates estimated during the mRNA clinical trials are shown to be of the same magnitude as the rate of increase in disability rates in the 16-64 Civilian Labor Force.
The recorded rise in disabilities post-Operation Warp Speed is substantially higher than the estimated rate of serious adverse events, which Phinance Technologies says are underreported by about 2.6 times.
the coincidence of the rise in disabilities with the start of the Covid-19 vaccination rollout in conjunction with the similar magnitude of the rate of SAEs (from the clinical trials) & changes in disabilities (from the BLS data) leads to a stronger case for asserting causation, Dowd further tweeted.
We believe that a comprehensive investigation needs to be performed, either in the form of new phase III clinical trials for at least a 3-year period, or a programme of forensic autopsies in a large sample of deceased individuals where the Covid-19 vaccines were not suspected as a co-factor for cause of death.
The bottom line is that there were plenty of safety signals early on in clinical trials to show that covid injections are dangerous at best, but government regulators ignored them while handing a get-out-of-jail free card to the criminal drug companies behind them.
The trials should have been halted, one report states about Dowd and his teams findings.
Want to learn more about the dangers and ineffectiveness of covid injections? You can do so by visiting ChemicalViolence.com.
Sources for this article include:
ZeroHedge.com
NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Pentagon investigators have recently interviewed multiple veterans about their experiences allegedly witnessing UFOs tampering with American military equipment, including the nuclear arsenal.
(Article by Kelen McBreen republished from Infowars.com)
According to a Daily Mail report, a pair of Air Force vets testified to the U.S. militarys All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) about their encounters.
Robert Salas, who was a US Air Force ICBM launch officer, told the Pentagon he witnessed an orange flying disc disarm 10 nuclear warheads at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana in 1967.
The other Air Force officer, Dr. Robert Jacobs, showed AARO a 35mm film reportedly showing a UFO shooting a test missile out of the sky in 1964 on a U.S. base.
Salas, who is now 82 years old, was happy to finally have the government reach out, telling Daily Mail, Ive been wanting to tell a government agency my story for over 50 years. It was a great big relief.
Following his interview with AARO, a representative sent Salas a letter thanking him and telling him, Im hopeful the collective contributions of patriots like you and the current level of government interest and investment will provide answers to the questions the citizens of our country have demanded for such a long time.
Jacobs was part of a team operating telescopic cameras to film test missile launches at Californias Vandenberg Air Force Base in the 1960s.
In 1964, a flying object was allegedly filmed flying into the frame shooting a warhead with a beam of light.
He told Daily Mail, Now remember, all this stuff is flying at several thousand miles an hour. So this thing fires a beam of light at the warhead, hits it, and then it moves up fires another beam of light goes down and fires another beam of light, and then flies out the way it came in. And the warhead tumbles out of space.
The object, the points of light that we saw, the warhead and so forth, were traveling through subspace about 60 miles straight up, Jacobs added. And they were going somewhere in the neighborhood of 11,000 to 14,000 miles an hour when this UFO caught up to them, flew in, flew around them, and flew back out.
The Air Force officers boss wrote before his death that he had witnessed the footage four times before CIA agents shipped it off to an undisclosed location.
Upset about being kept quiet, Jacobs said, I dont give a goddamn what anybody else says about it. I saw that on film. I was there.
The Pentagon group will speak with nine other military veterans who claimed to have seen similar things.
Read more at: Infowars.com
(Natural News) Sickness is spreading throughout East Palestine, Ohio, following the Norfolk Southern train derailment earlier this month.
Locals say they continue to suffer from burning skin and constant headaches, and they worry about the risk of longer-term health problems like cancer. (Related: Check out our earlier coverage about how the controlled explosion of train cars in East Palestine created the largest dioxin plume in world history.)
According to Gov. Mike DeWine, a creek near East Palestine is still severely contaminated despite repeated claims by officials that air and drinking water quality are just fine. The Biden regime is also deploying a team of toxicologists to assess the site.
One resident named Nadine Lucie Straile who does not live in East Palestine says she developed a horrible headache and burning skin not long after eating at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on February 7 near the site of the controlled explosion.
That night my eyes started burning like never before and then a horrible headache came on, Straile told Sputnik. My lips, tongue and throat, nasals were burning a day later I started tingling all over my body.
Strailes neighbors, who live about 20 miles away from the site of the wreckage, are experiencing similar symptoms, possibly due to wind spreading the toxic chemicals far beyond the town into the greater region.
This was not a neuropathy tingling. A different type, even my breast. My neighbors are experiencing some of the same symptoms, Straile added. My blood pressure went sky high, probably from the pain, the ER said.
Is East Palestine unlivable?
Another local resident named Heather Ann who lives about four miles from East Palestine says she, too, is suffering from constant headaches, a burning skin sensation, difficulty breathing, and sinus issues ever since the derailment.
The smell is gone now but it was noticeable the week it happened and the air felt difficult to breathe, she said. My dog was also coughing the day it happened.
Ann is skeptical about the governments claims that everything is a-okay in East Palestine, a very limited area of which was evacuated and for just a very short time following the incident.
They only evacuated 1 mile and then two miles out but we are four miles away and had symptoms, Ann explained to the media.
I dont understand why they didnt evacuate a further radius. Or why they are saying its all safe. I noticed the water in town no longer looks as clean and had a strange film on top.
Luke Galvan, another local resident, added that the whole experience has felt like a movie. This is hardly surprising, seeing as how the 2022 Netflix movie White Noise predicted all of this, almost verbatim.
Filmed almost entirely in Northeast Ohio, White Noise is set in East Palestine, but in 1985. It features a train derailment, explosion, and toxic release scenario that is an almost carbon copy of what actually occurred there in real life this month and some East Palestine residents even participated as extras in the film.
My wife and I were like everybody from town, kind of looking at the spectacle of the train burning, Galvin said. Nobody thought that it was going to be as big as what it was.
When Galvin evacuated his mothers house about six miles away from the site of the explosion, his symptoms went away but only temporarily.
We went back into town a few times to try to take care of the cats and stuff, and I get the same deal my eyes burning, kind of the same thing that I felt, he said.
The latest news about the situation in East Palestine can be found at Disaster.news.
Sources for this article include:
SputnikNews.com
NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Exactly one week before a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying noxious, cancer-causing chemicals derailed and subsequently exploded in a controlled release, residents of East Palestine, Ohio, were told to sign up for a MyID tracking device from the local fire department.
An announcement from the East Palestine Fire Department explained that MyID provides an easy method to provide valuable medical information to first responders in the event of an emergency.
Roll out [sic] is scheduled to begin in November, 2022, it further reads. The base service will be free to residents of East Palestine as an added service of the Fire Department.
Bob Moore, a local 70-year-old farmer and longtime East Palestine resident, told the independent media that he ignored local news reports prior to the disaster urging residents like himself to sign up for MyID, allowing them to receive a biometric tracking device capable of relaying updates to first responders about their health conditions amid an emergency or major disaster not unlike the one that occurred in real life a week later.
The timing of the MyID rollout, Moore explained, is nothing short of suspicious almost like the whole thing was planned as a false flag event.
It was exactly a week before the derailment happened, Moore explained. The people were asked to go to the local fire department in downtown East Palestine to get that MyID.
They began monitoring your physical activity, your heart rate, your respiration, anything you might be exposed to. I see this as the kind of sensor you would put on an astronaut or on an athlete that you wanted to track to see how hed react to stress or being winded, or in this instance chemical exposure. Its a monitoring device.
(Related: The company hired by Norfolk Southern to conduct toxicology assessments on the train derailment chemical release has a history of questionable and potentially fraudulent behavior.)
Was East Palestine a test town for the release of biometric tracking bracelets?
On January 26, WKBN, a local Ohio news affiliate, announced that East Palestine would begin making an important medical device available to all 4,700 residents starting on January 29, just five days before the derailment.
The MyID program is ready to roll out in East Palestine. Its a medical information system that helps first responders provide care, WKBN reported watch the news report below.
MyID provides wearable devices or key FOBs that have QR codes. Emergency responders use a camera phone to access important medical information.
The announcement upset Moore, who said it reminded him of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine rollout under Operation Warp Speed.
I completely ignored it, Moore said about the announcement.
But the way the media played it up it was like East Palestine was a test town that they volunteered to be part of, that they were chosen and were going to implement it right after Jan. 23. I do find it odd. I find it a coincidence that we are having coincidences pile up around here.
Moore further speculated about the rise in disasters at food factories and egg farms on top of the train explosion and MyID rollout. He believes the biometric bracelets are possibly a way for the government to track people in the midst of a major disaster.
The fact that the program exists indicates that somebody somewhere knows something and wants to get data, he said.
Every piece of data that the government collects, that DARPA, large corporations, and multinational corporations collect, can always be turned against the citizen. Everything is vulnerable to weaponization and the most sacred thing in any weaponizing is data.
The latest news about the East Palestine incident can be found at Disaster.news.
Sources for this article include:
TheGatewayPundit.com
NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The Group of Seven nations (G7) and the European Union (EU) are discussing ways to track the trade of Russian diamonds outside the countrys borders. If successful, the West could soon implement sanctions against the Russian gem trade.
According to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, established in the early 2000s, a diamonds origin must be clear from the very start of the supply chain when it is issued a certificate. This process was designed to end the sale of so-called blood diamonds mined during conflicts to continue financing wars. However, these diamonds can still be very difficult to track.
Cut and polished diamonds can often intermingle at trading houses, and the certificates that clearly state their origin can be replaced with mixed origin documentation, disguising their true origin and making it nearly impossible to keep track of where Russian diamonds eventually end up.
Insiders with knowledge about possible Russian diamond sanctions said a solution is not imminent because tracing polished diamonds in a global market is extremely complicated, if not nearly impossible.
But the G7 could still issue some kind of statement on the matter in the next few days as part of an approach by the West to keep international economic pressure on Russia for continuing its special military operation in Ukraine, especially as the conflict approaches the one-year mark.
Furthermore, the latest data show that Russian diamond sales in the EU have increased since the beginning of the conflict.
The numbers which have not yet been made public reveal that Russia sharply increased diamond exports to the EU, noted Rob Bates of the gem and jewelry industry-focused news website JCK Online.
In the second quarter of 2022, Russian rough diamond exports surged to $1.11 billion from $1.01 billion in the previous quarter, and $1.09 billion during the second quarter of 2021.
Previous attempts to sanction Russian gems have failed due to difficulty in tracking diamonds
The attempt to track Russian diamonds comes as previous Western attempts to sanction the Russian gem trade have run into resistance from major importer nations such as Belgium, which is home to the worlds biggest diamond trading hub in Antwerp.
Around 85 percent of the worlds rough diamonds pass through Antwerp before making their way to consumers all over the world. An estimated 10,000 people rely on the diamond trade for their employment. Belgian officials have repeatedly blocked EU embargo plans, warning that the move could cost the nation thousands of jobs.
Furthermore, Brussels has argued that the effort to sanction Russian diamonds would be futile because transactions for these precious stones will simply shift to other nations, like China and India, without a proper mechanism to trace them. (Related: Russia boosts gold stock to cushion impact of US, EU sanctions.)
As an example, the United States has already sanctioned the Russian mining giant, Alrosa PJSC, which accounts for about a third of the $80 billion global trade in rough diamonds. The effectiveness of this sanction has been very limited at best because much of the diamond trade flows only start in Russia before flowing through multiple other markets, including nations not participating in anti-Russian sanctions like India, and Western-allied nations like Belgium.
Brussels even noted that the only way to properly sanction companies like Alrosa would be if every single allied Western nation including those outside of the G7 and the EU signed up for a ban and supported a watertight traceability system. Such a prospect would be near impossible to achieve.
Watch this clip from Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News as host Tucker Carlson discusses how anti-Russian sanctions have not negatively affected the country at all.
This video is from the Son of the Republic channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
DUMPING THE DOLLAR: Russian ambassador confirms Russia and Bolivia are now trading in national currencies.
Russia to shift 75-80% of oil exports to friendly nations.
Russia to cut oil output by 500,000 barrels per day in response to Western price cap.
SUPPLY CHAIN SILLINESS: Biden to slap 200% tariff on Russian aluminum to commemorate Ukraine invasion anniversary.
EU undermining its own sanctions against Russia by buying as much Russian diesel as it can before ban begins.
Sources include:
Mining.com
IDEX.com
BigNewsNetwork.com
Brighteon.com
(Natural News) A video that went viral on TikTok showcased a safe and clean campus in Indiana, which was achieved without the need to shell out huge amounts.
Revolver News reported on the viral video featuring Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana. Several students toured viewers throughout the campus, which includes a fresh market cafeteria, [a] massive [swimming] pool, a state of the art gym, [an] in-house radio station and a yearbook facility that makes the New York Times look mediocre.
The piece described the pristine-looking campus that had no graffiti on the walls, no dilapidated lockers and no litter to be found, highlighting how Carmel High looks like the perfect place to get a great education.
Incidentally, the clean and organized-looking campus of Carmel High a part of the Carmel Clay Schools was achieved without needing a lot of funds. According to school comparison website SchoolDigger, the high school only spends $9,629 per student. The site also ranked Carmel High as No. 5 among 397 schools in the Hoosier State.
Its remarkable that Carmel [High] successfully created a pristine and safe environment for kids to learn and keep their bodies toned and healthy, and did it all for less than the U.S. average cost per student, said the Revolver News piece.
Based on data showing the average cost per student in all 50 states, the state of Indiana led by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb only shelled out $10,300 per student. Most GOP-led states also spent minimal amounts per student, with Idaho and Utah being the two lowest spenders per student.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania led by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro shelled out the largest amount per student at $24,900. Washington, D.C. tailed behind at $22,800, while New Jersey landed at the No. 3 spot with $21,300 spent per student.
Blue areas shell out huge amounts of cash for students, yet still struggle
A September 2022 report by NBC 4 revealed that schools in the federal capital were experiencing a dramatic decline in student learning since the pandemic began.
Based on assessment results released by the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), there was a decline in math and reading scores across the board. Dr. Christina Grant, superintendent of D.C. Public Schools, said: We saw declines across all eight wards, and we saw more declines in the elementary school grades than we did in the higher grades.
According to Grant, math scores for students testing at grade level dropped from 31 percent in 2019 to 19 percent in 2022. A slight drop was observed in reading scores for students testing at grade level. From 37 percent in 2019, it dropped to 31 percent in 2022.
Even worse were the results of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP), which were released this month by the Maryland State Department of Education. It found several Baltimore schools where not a single student was proficient in math at grade level. Moreover, it found that only seven percent of children in the third to eighth grades tested proficient in math.
Project Baltimore, the investigative reporting group of Baltimore channel FOX 45, further combed through the scores of all 150 Baltimore City Public Schools where the MCAP math test was given. It discovered that 23 schools in the city had zero students who tested proficient in math. Of the 23 schools there were 10 high schools, eight elementary schools, three middle and high schools and two elementary and middle schools.
It is worth noting that Baltimore spends $15,900 per student. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. spends $22,800 per student. Thus, the reports of students failing to pass standard assessment examinations come as a surprise. (Related: Public schools are collapsing fast as teacher says they are now indoctrination centers, not places of education.)
The Revolver News piece pointed out: But how can that happen with such a large per- student budget? Where is the money going? Parents must demand an audit so they can see where the money is going because clearly its not being spent to properly educate their kids.
Visit PublicEducation.news for more stories about public schools.
Watch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defend his decision to trash woke math textbooks, saying that math is about getting the right answer.
This video is from the SecureLife channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
No more flunking: California school districts drop D, F grades for high schoolers.
Katie Petrick and David Fiorazo discuss study that says majority of students find college too difficult.
Faulty education system, abandonment of traditional Western values, causing U.S. collapse, says expert.
College entrance test scores collapse across America as dumbed-down liberal education system teaches social justice instead of thinking skills.
Sources include:
Revolver.news
NBCWashington.com
FoxBaltimore.com
Brighteon.com
(Natural News) In the 1960s Europe was European. Germany was German. France was French. Italy was Italian. The Netherlands were Dutch. Sweden was Swedish. Spain was Spanish. The distinct ethnic nationalities gave Europe a lot of diversity. Today all of these countries are towers of babel like the US and Canada. Even as recent as the beginning of the 21st century, immigrant-invaders accounted for only 1.6% of the Spanish population. Twenty years later immigrant-invaders are 15% of the population. Immigrant-invaders make up 26% of the German population ( https://www.dw.com/en/german-population-of-migrant-background-rises-to-21-million/a-54356773).
(Article republished from PaulCraigRoberts.org)
The immigrant-invaders concentrate in cities. According to this report https://qz.com/337508/london-has-more-people-than-ever-and-44-are-ethnic-minorities in 2015 44% of Londons population consisted of black and ethnic minorities, up from 29% in 2001. By 2020 the percentage had grown to 55% immigrant-invaders. The capital of Great Britain no longer has a British ethnic majority population.
A report from migrationwatchuk.org reports that the foreign born population of Britain doubled between 2001 and 2020. A majority of inhabitants of London (55%), Slough (69%), Leicester (58%) and Luton (57%) are of ethnic minority (EM) background. The EM share in inner London was 60% in 2016, 48% in Birmingham,, and 42% in Manchester.
Many other formerly British cities have experienced major demographic transformations (https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefing-paper/493/immigration-and-population-change-in-the-uks-towns-and-cities ).
The demographic change in formerly ethnic European countries has had a dramatic effect. The English now have Sadiq Aman Khan of Pakistani descent as Mayor of London. The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is of Indian descent. Both men might be more British than the ethnic British themselves, but nevertheless the highest positions are ceasing to be held by ethnic British.
The real changes come at the neighborhood and city level. For example, Rotherham, population 265,000, formerly a prosperous British industrial powerhouse, has been overrun by Pakistani immigrant-invaders.
Theodore Dalrymple reports in the City Journal (Winter 2023) and the BBC reports here https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-28939089 that during the 21st century a minimum of 1,400 young white ethnic British girls as young as 11 were lured, abducted, held in captivity, and gang-raped by gangs of Pakistani men. The children were beaten, doused with gasoline and threatened to be set on fire, and trafficked to other towns and cities. Some were murdered and others died from heroin overdose. One 16 year old girl, pregnant from her multiple rapes, was stabbed 40 times and thrown into a canal by two young Pakistanis. One was acquitted of the killing. The other received a 17.5 year prison sentence. Julian Assange, convicted of no crimes has been imprisoned in Britain for a decade. British justice treats truth-tellers harsher than murderers of children.
As the years rolled by nothing was done by the police or authorities. Dalrymple says the real problem for the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, it turns out, was how to cover up the situation. Authorities were afraid that if word got out it would discredit the governments immigration policy. The police were afraid of being charged with racism for protecting white girls from people of color. Like white women in Sweden, Rotherhams white British population live in terror in their own country. The Camp of the Saints foretold the story of Rotherham.
It is the same in many European and American cities. There are areas into which no white people will go. As fear of racist charges hampers law enforcement, even upper class white neighborhoods, such as Buckhead in Atlanta, are plagued with home break-ins. The horror and the terror are papered over by white liberals and commercial advertisements as joyous diversity and multiculturalism. Governments in diminishingly white countries are no longer capable of realism. White people everywhere are too intimated to organize and protect themselves. They realize that the governments of their countries are against them and that any attempt by white people to organize will be branded a white supremacist insurrectionist group and its leaders and members will be arrested. Today demonized and unprotected white people are in the same position as Jews were in Nazi Germany. The fact that whites are still a majority of the overall populations of the countries doesnt matter as they are prevented from organizing. They cannot even protest their plight without being labeled racist. In fact, many white people are incapable of recognizing their predicament. Social Darwinism is real after all, and whites have proven that they are not the fittest to survive.
Read more at: PaulCraigRoberts.org
In New Mexico, wild cows have been causing damage to rivers, so authorities have ordered their killing. Next week, a shooter-equipped helicopter will fly over a section of the expansive Gila Wilderness in southwest New Mexico in search of rabid cows to kill.
The plan to safeguard sensitive areas in the country's first dedicated wilderness area was approved by US Forest Service managers on Thursday. The action prepares the ground for legal disputes over how to manage unbranded livestock as well as other stray cows as the West's drought worsens.
150 Feral Cows at Gila Wilderness
In response to pressure from environmental organizations who voiced concerns about 150 cattle whose mouths and hooves are endangering streams and rivers, the Gila National Forest made the decision. Meanwhile, ranchers have disagreed with the plan to shoot cattle from a helicopter as being cruel to animals. They claimed that doing so is against federal regulations and will cause issues if carcasses are left to rot.
Beginning on Monday, a portion of the Gila Wilderness will be off-limits to visitors. A helicopter will take off on Thursday, and shooters will spend the next four days scouring rough terrain, including the Gila River, for feral cattle.
The choice, according to forest supervisor Camille Howes, was challenging but necessary.
Hoves pointed out that the feral cattle grazing in the Gila Wilderness have indeed been aggressive toward visitors to the wilderness, graze all year long, and tramp stream banks and springs, starting to cause erosion and sedimentation.
As more grazing parcels are becoming vacant throughout the West, ranching industry groups as well as other rural advocates are worried that the New Mexico decision may serve as a precedent for such a trend.
Challenges for Ranchers
Ranchers in New Mexico and Arizona are facing multiple challenges, including a lack of help in maintaining fences, a worsening drought leading to scarce water for cattle, and rising costs of supplies. These challenges have resulted in many grazing parcels being left vacant, with increased use of public lands also contributing to the problem by damaging fences.
The committee chair sought solutions to avoid shooting feral cattle, suggesting that neighboring permittees could gather and herd them out, citing a new directive.
Limited access due to snow has prevented ranchers from assessing the effectiveness of a new directive by federal officials to manage cattle grazing in Arizona's Tonto National Forest, which has been criticized by the ranchers' organization for not following its own regulations.
Environmentalists Agree on Shooting
Environmentalists who have filed lawsuits against cattle grazing in the West for damaging the land and water have welcomed the US Forest Service's decision to shoot cattle in Tonto National Forest.
According to Todd Schulke, the co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, immediate benefits such as the restoration of wildlife habitat, clean water, and a healthy river can be expected.
The US Forest Service's decision to shoot feral cattle in Tonto National Forest marks a change from the environmental community's usual position on shooting other wildlife, including bison at the Grand Canyon, coyotes, wolves, and other animals. Environmentalists have recently filed lawsuits in Montana and Idaho, accusing the US Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services of violating environmental laws through their predator-control activities.
The Center for Biological Diversity argues that unauthorized grazing by 50 to 150 cows in the Gila Wilderness, which is home to endangered species like Mexican gray wolves, elk, and deer, will worsen water quality issues if left unaddressed.
Also Read: Polar Bear Shot Dead After Killing Mother and Son in Alaska
50 Years of Cattle Problem
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association requested a one-year delay on lethal action by the Forest Service after an agreement was reached between the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association and federal officials.
The feral cattle problem has been ongoing for 50 years, stemming from a suspended grazing permit after a cattle operation went out of business, according to the Forest Service.
Despite the fact that numerous cows have been taken out of the forest over the years after a cattle operation went out of business 50 years ago, it has been impossible to get the cows all out, according to Green Matters.
Over the years, hundreds of unauthorized cattle have been removed, and in 2022, 65 cows were killed in an aerial gunning operation, similar to the one scheduled for next week. To prevent environmental and cultural harm, the carcasses must not be left near waterways, hiking trails, or culturally sensitive areas, and the operation must not disrupt the breeding season for endangered species, AP News reports.
Related Article: Germany Orders Shoot-to-Kill for Hybrid Wolf-Dog Pups to Protect Local Wolf Populations
An unusual day shocked people after an abandoned alligator was found near Brooklyn lake in New York City last weekend.
Alligators live in tropical temperatures, and the chilly weather conditions in New York City might have made it more difficult for the abandoned alligator.
Abandoned Alligator in New York City
According to Associated Press (AP), the abandoned alligator was four-foot, as authorities discovered the alligator from Prospect Lake in Brooklyn, NYC.
The alligator was then brought to the nearest animal shelter to monitor the impact of cold and immediate rehabilitation.
When the alligator was discovered, it was in public near the lake.
Authorities explained that animals could not be released without proper measures, especially in public areas.
Due to the incident, police are investigating how the alligator was left in the area.
Flightless Bird 'Emu' in Massachusetts' street
Furthermore, Nature World News and NBC Boston reported that a big flightless bird emu escaped from its owner's house in Massachusetts.
The reports explained that the big bird walked on the streets of Massachusetts, evading recaptures from authorities.
Motorists who were on the streets witnessed the bird roaming the city.
Fox News added that the missing emu managed to walk across East Bridgewater, Massasoit Community College and Brockton Hospital.
Also Read: Flightless Large Bird 'Emu' Returns Home After Escaping, Running on Streets of Massachusetts
After many tries, authorities finally caught the missing bird and returned it to its owner.
Meanwhile, the Australia Museum explained that Emu species is considered native to Australia, thriving in Savanna or arid parts.
Missing rare Eurasian Eagle Owl 'Flaco' in Central Park
Recently, The Guardian reported that a rare Eurasian Eagle named Flaco escaped from its cage.
The Eurasian eagle-owl managed to roam around in Central Zoo Park in NYC. Authorities and birdwatchers tried to locate the bird after it escaped.
Flaco was spotted in parts of Hallet Nature Sanctuary. However, the bird is still large until now.
According to reports, experts explained that Flaco would find adapting to a free life more challenging, especially with no hunting skills.
Experts were worried that Flaco would likely starve.
However, the latest report from Central Park Zoo said they would pause recapturing Flaco, but authorities noted they would closely monitor the eagle's situation.
The report explained that they would continue recapturing if the Flaco suffered from survival difficulty.
Furthermore, recent reports added that Flaco successfully caught rats and other prey in the park.
As Flaco could roam around the city, it would be able to hone skills in hunting. Eurasian eagle owls are known as experts in hunting, especially at night.
This February, New York City and nearby states witnessed fascinating animal events, from an abandoned alligator, to a missing flightless bird and a rare owl.
Ultimately, protecting animals has been essential to parks, especially rare birds.
New Yorkers who find a missing animal should immediately report it to nearby authorities.
Related Article: Flightless Large Bird 'Emu' Returns Home After Escaping, Running on Streets of Massachusetts
For more weather news in the U.S., don't forget to follow Nature World News.
Sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) will arrive into the United Kingdom in the coming weeks. It will bring snow and blizzards, as well as relatively colder temperatures.
This is according to the latest UK weather forecast by the Meteorological Office (Met Office), the UK's national weather service, last week. However, the weather agency clarifies what is SSW and polar vortex snow and blizzard warnings.
Sudden Stratospheric Warming
The Met Office defines SSW as an event pertaining to the rapid warming that occurs in the stratosphere, and clarifies such warming can lead to changes in our weather on the surface, including colder temperatures.
In recent years, some extreme cold and winter snow events have been connected to the surface effects of SSW, including the events in 2009, 2010, 2013, and in 2018 wherein "the Beast from the East" transpired. The weather service explains why the phenomenon is called warming if it leads to cold conditions, just like the SSW forecast issued earlier February 2023.
SSW, in particular, refers to the warming up to about 50 degrees Celsius in just a matter of days in the stratosphere, located between 10 kilometers and 50 kilometers above the Earth's surface. This layer of the atmosphere is high enough that humans do not feel the said rapid warming, the UK weather agency explains.
The distance where SSW occurs and the surface makes it harder to observe in the first place. However, we can see its knock-on effect on the jet stream a few weeks later, which in turn affects our weather in the lower tier of the stratosphere.
Also Read: Sudden Stratospheric Warming at 122 Degrees Disrupts Start of Spring
UK Weather Forecast
There were unconfirmed reports that the SSW event could trigger the "worst snowfall in five years" as earlier as this week, but mild temperatures forecasted by the Met Office on Tuesday, February 21, across the UK and sunny spells in the east proves otherwise, as reported by the Independent.
After being asked about whether the so-called 'Beast from the East' cold snap could occur once again, the UK weather forecasting agency says the occurrence of such extreme cold is currently unlikely, but it cannot be ruled out later in the long-term period.
The UK media outlet cites maps and separate forecasts that show the first snowfall will occur on March 3 and lead to a 24-hour snow blitz in the North Sea. In addition, there is a growing threat of colder than average temperatures developing as the month progresses, based on the long-term forecast up to March 20 by the Met Office.
Meanwhile, the SSW and polar vortex disruption could also entail in colder weather for the Eastern United States as Arctic air outbreaks continue, causing different regions of Earth to experience significant cold air, according to FOX Weather meteorologists.
If these phenomenon continues, the UK weather could experience 18 hours of snow as the massive blizzard is expected to hit the country in two weeks, according to Plymouth Herald news. Other regions in the Northern Hemisphere could also be affected, including Canada.
Related Article: The Met Office Issues Major Sudden Stratospheric Warming for the United Kingdom; Snow, Freezing Temperatures Expected
Champaign, IL (61820)
Today
Thunderstorms this evening will give way to steady rain overnight. Low 46F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%..
Tonight
Thunderstorms this evening will give way to steady rain overnight. Low 46F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
A recent study published in the journal Medical Clinics of North America discussed the diagnosis, treatment, and pathophysiology of alcoholic hepatitis (AH).
AH is characterized by aggravating or new-onset jaundice due to heavy alcohol use with less than two months of abstinence before jaundice onset. Moreover, the risk of progression to cirrhosis increases, particularly with continued alcohol consumption. A 28% increase in AH hospitalizations has been recorded during 2007-14.
This growing disease burden elevates healthcare costs, morbidity, and mortality. In addition, these trends are disproportionate among specific demographic groups. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the situation with increased alcohol consumption, alcohol-associated liver disease, and alcohol use disorder.
A Canadian study has reported higher average monthly hospitalizations for AH during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, there is a need for a better understanding of how to manage and evaluate AH patients. As such, the authors in the present study reviewed the recent progress in diagnosing, pathophysiology and treating AH patients.
Study: Alcoholic Hepatitis: The Rising Epidemic. Image Credit: Billion Photos / Shutterstock
Diagnosis
The clinical syndrome of AH in the setting of heavy alcohol use includes jaundice, fever, malaise, anorexia, and tender hepatomegaly. The clinical presentation varies from mild jaundice to acute/chronic liver failure. Patients not meeting the clinical criteria proposed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Alcoholic Hepatitis Consortia would require a liver biopsy for diagnosis. The histologic characteristics of AH include neutrophilic lobular inflammation, hepatocellular ballooning, megamitochondria, and Mallory-Denk bodies.
Determining prognosis
The Model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) and Maddrey Discriminant Function (mDF) scores are commonly used to classify disease severity. An international study reported that the MELD score had a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve in predicting 28- and 90-day mortality compared to mDF, Glasgow Alcoholic Hepatitis Score (GAHS), and serum creatinine scores.
Lille score (0 to 1) is used in the first week to determine treatment response in patients receiving corticosteroids. A Lille score of 0.45 or lower at week 1 indicates a response to treatment. Several non-invasive biomarkers have been studied to improve diagnostic accuracy and predict AH prognosis but have not been applied for use in clinical practice.
Treatment
Corticosteroid treatment is the first-line therapy for patients with severe AH. Nonetheless, its efficacy remains conflicting across studies. One study with severe AH patients randomized to receive prednisolone or placebo revealed a modest survival benefit at 28 days among those treated with the corticosteroid. Two independent meta-analyses concluded that prednisolone augments 28-day survival without any benefit at three or six months.
Notwithstanding, 30%-40% of patients remain ineligible for corticosteroids due to contraindications. Moreover, only about 50% of corticosteroid-treated patients complete the 28-day regimen. Corticosteroid use can be optimized with biomarkers for personalized use in those likely to respond. Given the limitations of available treatment approaches, several therapeutic strategies focusing on multiple targets are under investigation.
Emerging therapeutic approaches
Alcohol use is associated with the overgrowth of intestinal bacteria with decreased alpha diversity, impaired Kupffer cell clearance of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and tight junction disruptions. Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) appears promising for improving alpha diversity and modulating the gut-liver axis.
A randomized controlled trial evaluating the combination of Anakinra (interleukin 1 receptor antagonist), zinc oxide, and pentoxifylline relative to corticosteroids in severe AH found no survival benefit at one, three, and six months in the intervention arm. In a phase 2 study of moderate/severe AH patients, DUR-928 (an endogenous sulfated oxysterol), which regulates lipid metabolism, reduces proinflammatory cytokine expression and stimulates cell survival, was safe and well-tolerated.
In one study, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), combined with corticosteroids, effectively reduced one-month mortality and the risk of hepatorenal syndrome and infection but failed to achieve the primary outcome of six-month survival. Conventionally, until a decade ago, transplant centers required at least six months of alcohol abstinence before liver transplantation (LT). However, recent studies concluded that this minimum period was a poor predictor of alcohol use recurrence after LT.
Early LT (eLT) in 26 patients with severe AH offered survival benefits at six months, and alcohol use recurrence was acceptable at two years in three patients. Subsequently, other studies have demonstrated eLT benefits in severe AH patients. As such, eLT is recommended in select patients with severe AH.
Alcohol abstinence is the most critical determinant of patient survival among survivors of the initial episode of AH. A prospective study concluded that alcohol relapse was associated with an increased mortality risk six months after the initial AH diagnosis. Nonetheless, alcohol abstinence is difficult to maintain, with only 37% of patients abstaining at one year of follow-up.
Concluding remarks
The mounting healthcare burden associated with AH in the past decade and subsequent acceleration during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to its emergence as an epidemic in the young population. Several therapeutic options are being examined, with some showing potential. While efforts are underway to develop newer therapies/strategies targeting alcohol use, it is essential to develop and promote integrated care models to regulate alcohol consumption and improve long-term outcomes in AH patients.
A long-acting antiretroviral treatment (LA-ART) given every four to eight weeks, and delivered with comprehensive support services, suppressed HIV in people who were previously not virologically suppressed. This is according to an ongoing demonstration study of 133 people with HIV in San Francisco, funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study focused on reaching people who have historically had decreased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), including people experiencing housing insecurity, mental illnesses, and substance use disorders. The study findings indicate that long-acting injectable ART can benefit people who face many treatment barriers and are historically underserved.
The findings were presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) by Monica Gandhi, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and associate division chief at the University of California, San Francisco, and medical director of the Ward 86 HIV clinic at San Francisco General Hospital. The research was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), both part of the National Institutes of Health.
ART has been a medical gamechanger for saving lives as treatment and as a potent prevention tool with Undetectable=Untransmittable, or U=U. Yet, we have substantial gaps that remain for people who face co-occurring health, housing, and other socio-economic challenges. Making progress against the HIV pandemic necessitates that societies prioritize reaching those who have historically been left behind, yet stand to benefit the most from making newer, easier formulations of ART available." Carl W. Dieffenbach, Ph.D., Director of the NIAID Division of AIDS
Although there are highly effective options for daily oral ART to treat HIV, there are many barriers to adherence, including housing or food insecurity, untreated mental illnesses, substance use disorders, transportation challenges, legal system involvement, and other factors.
Long-acting injectable medications, which are given every four or eight weeks, could help people overcome some of these day-to-day treatment barriers. However, the only LA-ART combination regimen approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people with HIV, injectable intramuscular cabotegravir and rilpivirine, is approved only for patients who have already achieved viral suppression and are currently on oral ART. As such, people who face challenges adhering to daily oral ART also face barriers to accessing LA-ART.
To address this gap, Dr. Gandhi and her team sought to enroll patients in their study who have historically been underserved, including those with high rates of unstable housing, mental illnesses, and substance use disorders. Participants did not have to be on daily oral ART or have viral suppression to be eligible for the study and to start treatment with the long-acting injectable.
Between June 2021 and November 2022, 133 study participants with HIV started on LA-ART, including 57 people (43%) with untreated or unsuppressed HIV and 76 people (57%) who were virologically suppressed on oral ART. The researchers performed biweekly review of each participant's health status, and pharmacy staff conducted regular outreach to remind patients of their injection appointments.
Among participants who began the study with virologic suppression, all (100%) remained suppressed over the period of follow-up. Among participants who did not begin the study with virologic suppression, at a median of 33 days, 55 out of 57 (96.5%) had achieved virologic suppression. Only two of the 133 study participants did not achieve or maintain viral suppression, a rate of 1.5%, in line with findings from previous clinical trials that studied LA-ART in people with HIV who had achieved viral suppression on daily oral ART.
Participants had a median age of 45, and 88% identified as cisgender men, 68% identified as non-white, 58% reported having unstable housing, 8% reported experiencing homelessness, 38% reported having a mental illness, and 33% reported substance use.
"Our patient population does not look like the patient population that got enrolled in the clinical trials to determine the approval criteria for long-acting ART," said Dr. Gandhi. "It is the role of researchers to help address disparities through intentionally and proactively including diverse groups in our studies, and for this population to have the same successful outcomes as those in the other clinical trials was very important and exciting. We want to have the ability to offer these drugs to patients who stand to benefit the most, including those who face challenges adhering to daily treatment."
Together, results from three landmark NIAID-funded clinical trials-START, SMART, and HPTN 052-conclusively demonstrated that starting antiretroviral treatment promptly after HIV diagnosis, and continuing it without interruption, protects the health of the person living with HIV while preventing transmission of the virus to sexual partners. Yet persistent barriers, including stigma, often delay the start of ART and reduce adherence among people who face significant health and social challenges.
Further clinical trial data on the effectiveness of LA-ART in achieving and sustaining virologic suppression among people who face treatment barriers are needed. An ongoing NIAID-supported clinical trial (The LATITUDE Study) conducted in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group network is using a randomized design to directly compare the efficacy of LA-ART and oral ART regimens among people experiencing adherence challenges.
The study authors also note that reaching patients and following up with them requires intensive resources, a limitation that should be addressed to make LA-ART more widely available.
"The most effective treatments are those that fit into the lives of people who need them. These findings show that with the right support, long-acting ART can make it easier for people with HIV who face barriers in adhering to daily oral treatment to keep the virus under control," said NIMH Director Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D.
"Dr. Gandhi and her team have made state-of-the-art HIV treatment finally available to people with unique challenges, like those who use drugs, and have found success," said Nora Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "This is the sweet spot for addressing HIV-thinking outside the box to deliver care in a way that meets people's needs, even when that means it happens outside the clinic walls, by phone, or on neighborhood streets. This can be done-but it requires creativity and resolve."
A study from researchers at the University of Bath and the University of Cape Town suggests psychological and physical violence experienced by women from their partners during pregnancy can shape baby brain development.
Exposing pregnant women to intimate partner violence can affect infant brain structure. Image Credit: University of Bath
Domestic abuse against women during pregnancy can potentially have a significant impact on how the unborn babys brain develops, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Bath, working in collaboration with researchers from the University of Cape Town, analysed brain scans of 143 South African infants whose mothers had been subject to intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy. Intimate partner violence includes emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse or assault. Brain MRI scans were taken when infants were just 3 weeks old on average so any changes that were observed are likely to have developed inside the womb.
Publishing their findings in the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, the research team report that maternal exposure to IPV during pregnancy is associated with alterations in brain structure in young infants identified shortly after birth. This was evident even when the researchers took into account maternal alcohol use and smoking throughout pregnancy as well as pregnancy complications.
Importantly, the effects of IPV exposure may differ by the babys sex. For girls, their mothers exposure to IPV during pregnancy was linked to a smaller amygdala, an area of the brain involved in emotional and social development. For boys, IPV exposure was instead associated with a larger caudate nucleus, an area of the brain involved in multiple functions including the execution of movement, learning, memory, reward, and motivation.
Early changes to brain structures may explain why children whose mothers experience high levels of stress during pregnancy are more likely to have psychological issues in childhood or later life. Sex differences in brain development may also help explain why girls and boys often develop different mental health problems. However, the researchers cautioned that the study did not analyse emotional and cognitive development in children.
Our findings are a call to act on the three Rs of domestic violence awareness: recognise, respond, and refer. Preventing or quickly acting to help women escape domestic violence may be an effective way of supporting healthy brain development in children. Dr Lucy Hiscox, Lead Researcher, Department of Psychology, Bath.
Whilst previous studies have looked at the impact of maternal stress in pregnancy and its impacts on childrens brain development, this is the first to examine domestic abuse. The children involved in this study are now aged 8-9 years and follow-up research is testing whether the differences in brain structure seen at 3 weeks old persist, or are altered, as they age.
For this study, the team from Bath worked with researchers at the University of Cape Town (UCT) to analyse data from a major South African cohort study, the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), led by South African paediatrician Professor Heather Zar. The DCHS has been tracking 1143 children since birth with data collection ongoing.
Strategies that help identify and support pregnant mums for multiple potential risks to their unborn babies will require an integrated health system approach and should be considered a public health priority. Professor Kirsty Donald, Co-author, A Paediatric Neurologist and Head of the Division of Developmental Paediatrics, UCT.
More schools urged to take part in Jump Rope for Heart program to boost student fitness levels.
Jump Rope for Heart: Image Credit: Heart Foundation
More Australian schools are being urged to sign-up for Jump Rope for Heart in a bid to improve the physical fitness of school aged kids.
The call from the Heart Foundation comes as the organisation supports a new study which aims to understand whether staying fit in childhood reduces the risk of heart disease later in life.
Jump Rope for Heart this month celebrates its 40th anniversary. The program is a cultural icon for Australian school kids dating back to its beginnings in 1983. It has long been a way for schools to encourage kids to take up physical activity while learning about fundraising for heart health.
Despite the programs success, data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that kids spend more time sitting or lying down with digital devices than they do playing outside.
Consequently, one in four Australian kids is either overweight or obese, and only a quarter of all kids aged 5 to 14 undertake the required 60 minutes of physical activity each day.
The Heart Foundation is supporting Dr Brooklyn Fraser from the University of Tasmanias Menzies Institute for Medical Research to measure the long-term benefits to heart health of greater child fitness, and investigate ways for parents and teachers to identify at-risk children.
Dr Frasers research may lead to helping schools implement fitness programs with the view of helping students avoid heart disease later in life.
There is growing evidence that child fitness levels are in decline, and that this may contribute to poor heart health in the future. This is what has motivated me to investigate this further and identify children who may be at risk and to find new ways to increase their physical fitness levels. My advice in the meantime is that schools shouldnt wait: programs like Jump Rope for Heart will help to increase fitness levels among students, thereby potentially reducing their risk of heart disease into adulthood. Dr Brooklyn Fraser, The University of Tasmanias Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Jump Rope for Hearts 40th Anniversary
Jump Rope for Heart offers schools a chance to encourage physical activity among students and to teach them about fundraising. Since 1983, Jump Rope for Heart has:
Been skipped in by more than 10 million Aussie kids;
Seen 90 percent of Australian schools take part at some point in time
Helped to raise more than $111 million for the Heart Foundation to support vital heart research.
The Heart Foundations head of physical activity, Elizabeth Calleja, said Jump Rope for Heart was a great way for schools to play an important role in keeping kids active.
Participating schools receive all the information and support they need to help students and teachers to take part in Jump Rope for Heart. This includes everything from education resources about heart health through to guidance on how to raise money." Ms Elizabeth Calleja, said Jump Rope for Heart
For more information about Jump Rope for Heart visit www.jumprope.org.au
Background Jump Rope for Heart
In 1982 Mr Kelly Andrews, Director of Special Events from the American Heart Association attended a Heart Foundation seminar in Australia where he discussed Jump Rope.
He described this skipping program as a rapidly growing, healthy activity particularly among school children in his country.
With strong support from the Australian Council for Health Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER), the Heart Foundation launched Jump Rope for Heart in 1983.
The US Hot Dog demonstration team visited Australia to launch the program which was promoted to schools (primary and secondary), tertiary institutions and community groups.
As a major national health, fitness and fundraising project it was an outstanding success.
Jump Rope for Heart was received positively by government, departments of education, physical educators, schools and community groups and, despite initial teething problems, it was the most profitable fundraising project for 1983 raising $1,417,247.
All states and territories began their participation in 1983 except the Northern Territory who joined the program in 1984.
All day and sometimes into the night, buses and vans pull up to three state-funded medical screening centers near California's southern border with Mexico. Federal immigration officers unload migrants predominantly from Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, and Peru, most of whom await asylum hearings in the United States.
Once inside, coordinators say, migrants are given face masks to guard against the spread of infectious diseases, along with water and food. Medical providers test them for the coronavirus, offer them vaccines, and isolate those who test positive for the virus. Asylum-seekers are treated for injuries they may have suffered during their journey and checked for chronic health issues, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
But now, as the liberal-leaning state confronts a projected $22.5 billion deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state can no longer afford to contribute to the centers, which also receive federal and local grants. The Democratic governor in January proposed phasing out state aid for some medical services in the next few months, and eventually scaling back the migrant assistance program unless President Joe Biden and Congress step in with help.
California began contributing money for medical services through its migrant assistance program during the deadliest phase of the coronavirus pandemic two years ago. The state helps support three health resource centers two in San Diego County and one in Imperial County that conduct covid testing and vaccinations and other health screenings, serving more than 300,000 migrants since April 2021. The migrant assistance program also provides food, lodging, and travel to unite migrants with sponsors, family, or friends in the U.S. while awaiting their immigration hearings, and the state has been covering the humanitarian effort with an appropriation of more than $1 billion since 2019.
Though the White House declined to comment and no federal legislation has advanced, Newsom said he was optimistic that federal funding will come through, citing "some remarkably good conversations" with the Biden administration. The president recently announced that the United States would turn back Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico illegally a move intended to slow migration. The U.S. Supreme Court is also now considering whether to end a Trump-era policy known as Title 42 that the U.S. has used to expel asylum-seekers, ostensibly to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Already, one potential pot of federal money has been identified. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement to KHN noting that local governments and nongovernmental providers will soon be able to tap into an additional $800 million in federal funds through a shelter and services grant program. FEMA did not answer KHN's questions about how much the agency spends serving migrants.
We're continuing our operations and again calling on all levels of government to make sure that there is an investment," said Kate Clark, senior director of immigration services for Jewish Family Services of San Diego, one of two main migrant shelter operators. The other is run by Catholic Charities for the Diocese of San Diego.
While health workers and immigration advocates want the state to continue funding, Newsom appears to have bipartisan support within the state for scaling it back. He promised more details in his revised budget in May, before legislative budget negotiations begin in earnest. And, he noted, conditions have changed such that testing and vaccination services are less urgent.
San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, a Democrat, agreed that the burden should be on the federal government, though local officials are contemplating additional assistance. And state Senate Republican leader Brian Jones of San Diego, who represents part of the affected region, said that California is set to end its pandemic state of emergency on Feb. 28, months before the budget takes effect in July.
"The pandemic conditions no longer warrant this large investment from the state, especially since immigration is supposed to be a federal issue," Jones said in a statement.
California began its migrant assistance support soon after Newsom took office in 2019 and after the Trump administration ended the "safe release" program that helped transport immigrants seeking asylum to be with their family members in the United States. It was part of California's broad pushback against Trump's immigration policies; state lawmakers also made it a so-called sanctuary state, an attempt to make it safe from immigration crackdowns.
California, along with local governments and nonprofit organizations, stepped in to fill the void and take pressure off border areas by quickly moving migrants elsewhere in the United States. The state's involvement ramped up in 2021 as the pandemic surged and the Biden administration tried to unwind the Trump administration's "remain in Mexico" policy. While some cities in other parts of the country provided aid, state officials said no other state was providing California's level of support.
In a coordinated effort, migrants are dropped off at the centers by federal immigration officers, then are screened and cared for by state-contracted organizations that provide medical aid, travel assistance, food, and temporary housing while they await their immigration hearings.
Both Catholic Charities for the Diocese of San Diego and Jewish Family Service of San Diego coordinate medical support with the University of California San Diego. The federal government covers most of the university's costs while the state pays for nurses and other medical contractors to supplement health care, according to Catholic Charities.
It often takes one to three days before migrants can be put on buses or commercial flights, and in the meantime, they are housed in hotels and provided with food, clothing, and other necessities as part of the state's program.
Many of them come hungry, starving," said Vino Pajanor, chief executive of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of San Diego, who described the screening and testing process at the centers. "Most of them dont have shoes. They get shoes.
Officials said about 46,000 people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus through the program. They said the figure is significantly lower than the number of migrants who have come through the centers because some were vaccinated before reaching the U.S. and younger migrants were initially ineligible, while others refused the shots.
According to the California Health and Human Services Agency, the state plans to phase out some medical support, but the sheltering operations are expected to continue "for the near term" with their future determined by the availability of federal funding. Of the more than $1 billion spent by the state, $828 million has been allocated through the Department of Public Health, according to the governor's office.
The agency said that while the state has not adopted specific plans to cut the sites' capacity, it will put a priority on helping families with young children and "medically fragile individuals" if the shelters are overwhelmed by arrivals.
Some immigration advocates said the state was making the wrong choice.
Nows the time for the state of California to double down on supporting those individuals that are seeking relief from immigration detention, said Pedro Rios, who directs the U.S.-Mexico border program at the American Friends Service Committee, which advocates on behalf of immigrants. I think it sends an erroneous message that the issues are no longer of concern."
This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
One of the ironies of old age is that the more care and support we need, the harder it can be to access it, given increasing limitations in mobility and independence. Now, research from Japan reports that a governmental initiative to shift healthcare from hospitals into the community is alleviating this burden for an increasing number of patients, as well as the health care system.
In a study recently published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers from the University of Tsukuba have revealed that home healthcare clinics provide better end-of-life care than general clinics.
To meet the increasing demand for home healthcare in Japan, the national healthcare system introduced home care support clinics/hospitals (HCSCs) in 2006. HCSCs were designed to provide emergency house calls in case a patient's condition suddenly deteriorates and to play a central role in end-of-life care at home.
"Despite this innovation in home healthcare, a study in 2012 found that roughly 10% of HCSCs in the Tokyo prefecture did not provide adequate in-home care, and almost half had never provided end-of-life care at home," says lead author of the study Assistant Professor Yu Sun. Yet multiple physician practice HCSCs were more successful in achieving these goals. Thus, the government introduced enhanced HCSCs in 2012. "We sought to assess the current effectiveness of the three types of home care services (general clinics, conventional HCSCs, and enhanced HCSCs) at a national level," continues Assistant Professor Sun.
To do this, the researchers compared the outcomes of home healthcare services among the three models of care, focusing on emergency house calls (as opposed to visits to the emergency room), hospitalizations, and end-of-life care. The analysis included more than 150,000 elderly patients whose information was retrieved from a national database.
"The results were very encouraging," explains Associate Professor Masao Iwagami, second author of the study. "Compared to general clinics, the use of HCSCs was associated with an increased likelihood of emergency house calls and a decreased likelihood of hospitalizations."
In addition, HCSCs provided support for more in-home deaths with a physician present compared to general clinics. The rates of emergency house calls and in-home end-of-life care were slightly higher for enhanced HCSCs than conventional HCSCs.
"These results suggest that HCSCs (especially enhanced HCSCs) are more successful at supporting home healthcare than general clinics," says Professor Nanako Tamiya, senior author of the study.
While more than half of Japanese people would prefer to die at home than in the hospital, only 13% achieved this goal in 2017, suggesting that measures to increase the number of HCSCs are required. Given that more than 70% of physicians at conventional, single-physician HCSCs feel burdened by the 24-hour system, policymakers should consider strategies to increase the number of enhanced HCSCs, which employ three or more full-time doctors.
Life was upended for LaShonia Ingram over the past year, and a shadow still follows her around.
Search her name online, and the first result includes the words fraud and most wanted.
It was horrible. I couldnt get a job, said the 42-year-old mother from Memphis, Tennessee. All doors were being closed in my face.
Ingram resorted to selling purses out of her trunk to support her family. She said even DoorDash and Uber wouldnt allow her to work with a felony charge. Her alleged crime? Fraud.
The state of Tennessee accused Ingram of living in nearby Horn Lake, Mississippi, while still enrolled in the state's Medicaid program, known as TennCare. It all turned out to be a mix-up, but the damage to her reputation and finances was done.
Every state has an office to investigate Medicaid fraud committed by doctors and other health care providers, since thats usually where the most money can be recovered. Few states crack down on patients as Tennessee does. Tennessee posts the names and photos of people arrested for alleged fraud on a government website and social media. Some even wind up on a most wanted list.
The list is maintained by Tennessees Office of Inspector General. The office was launched in 2005 when most of the cases involved drug diversion: People were accused of using TennCare benefits to acquire massive quantities of narcotics to sell on the street. But as federal rules have slowed the illegal prescription drug market, arrests related to Medicaid are instead sweeping up people accused of moving out of state often within the same community without canceling their benefits.
Ingram was one of 28 Medicaid beneficiaries in Tennessee charged in 2022, according to the Tennessee OIG; more than a third of them were accused of not being a Tennessee resident, with many cases originating in the Memphis area, where suburbs extend into Mississippi.
In Ingrams case, Tennessee announced her arrest in a press release, which said she eluded authorities for nearly a year. Ingram said she didnt have a clue about the charges until she got a ticket for not wearing her seat belt.
They pulled me over, and they said, You have a felony warrant. And I said, Quit lying,' she recalled. Ive never been in trouble a day in my life.
It took $2,000 to bond out of jail and even more to hire an attorney. Not until more than six months later did prosecutors show her the evidence so she could refute the charges and clear her name.
The explanation ended up being pretty straightforward. During the time she was on Tennessees Medicaid program and living in Memphis, she filed for divorce from her husband who lived nearby in Mississippi. Ingram said they had been separated for years, but her drivers license still had the outdated Mississippi address.
After her arrest, Ingram showed her Tennessee lease and electric bills, and the Shelby County district attorney dropped the felony charges.
We try to apply the law compassionately, Chad Holman, who leads the TennCare OIG, told KHN.
Other states have fraud investigation units focused on patients, but they dont necessarily name the accused publicly, which happens in Tennessee. For example, South Carolina keeps the accused anonymous even after theyve agreed to reimburse the state.
Holman defends Tennessees practice of posting a most wanted list for its Medicaid program. He said its supposed to be a deterrent: Its not to blast anyone or defame anyone. Its to simply take care of the business thats at hand, hold people accountable, and do what were here to do, he said.
As drug-related cases have diminished, enforcement has increasingly focused on ensuring that people enrolled in TennCare live in the state. In Memphis, 20 of the 27 Medicaid fraud cases since 2019 involved questions of state residency, according to the Shelby County district attorney. And prosecutors have dropped at least a half-dozen of those cases because the evidence was so weak.
Holman said his office wont overlook low-level offenses.
This is not murder, he said. But the legislature classified it as a felony, and thats the law that Im here to enforce.
Holman acknowledged it costs far more to run the TennCare fraud unit than the office will ever recoup from people on Medicaid, who are usually low-income. Even if the state recovered every dollar from charges brought against beneficiaries in 2022, the total would amount to less than $900,000. The office has a budget of $6.4 million a year. Since its creation in 2005, the OIG has brought in less than $10 million and charged nearly 3,200 people with fraud, according to its press releases.
The rate of arrests has slowed dramatically. It now arrests fewer people in a year than it previously did in a single month.
About 1 in 4 Americans are on Medicaid or CHIP the Childrens Health Insurance Program. The number of people enrolled increased by more than 20 million since early 2020. And for the first time since the start of the pandemic, states will resume verifying income and addresses over the next year. Millions of Americans could lose their Medicaid coverage as a result. Its up to each state to determine who is eligible and how to deal with potential fraud in the program.
Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, said policing fraud among TennCare beneficiaries takes time and money that otherwise could be spent on something more helpful.
Itd be great if our leaders would get out of the 'gotcha game' and get into the 'getting people healthy game,' she said.
As Medicaid programs restart checks on eligibility, Johnson said, recipients shouldnt have to worry that a mistake could eventually get them arrested.
Despite her ordeal, Ingram is bouncing back. Still, she has legal bills to pay and has grown more frustrated at being ensnared by the states Medicaid dragnet.
"They made a big mistake, she said.
This story is part of a partnership that includes WPLN, NPR, and KHN.
Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, new variant outbreaks continue to fuel economic disruptions and hospitalizations across the globe. Effective therapies remain unavailable in much of the world, and circulating variants have rendered monoclonal antibody treatments ineffective. But a new analysis shows how convalescent plasma can be used as an effective and low-cost treatment both during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the inevitable pandemics of the future.
In astudy published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, an international team of researchers analyzed clinical data and concluded that among outpatients with COVID-19, antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 given early and in high dose reduced the risk of hospitalization.
If the results of this meta-analysis had somehow been available in March of 2020, then I am certain that millions of lives would have been saved around the world." Dr. Adam C. Levine, study author, professor of emergency medicine at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School
While several other early treatments for COVID-19 have had similar results, including antivirals like Paxlovid and monoclonal antibodies, only convalescent plasma, the researchers concluded, is likely to be both available and affordable for the majority of the world's population both now and early in the next viral pandemic.
"These findings will be helpful for this pandemic, especially in places like China, India and other parts of the world that lack access to antiviral medications like Paxlovid," Levine said. "And because it provides information on how to more effectively use convalescent plasma as a therapy, this will be even more helpful in the next pandemic. This study is essentially a roadmap for how to do this right the next time."
Blood plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 and contains antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was used as a treatment early in the pandemic, Levine said -; months before monoclonal antibody treatment or vaccines became available, and more than a year before an effective oral drug therapy was clinically available.
Although convalescent plasma seemed promising, outpatient research was limited, and studies that did exist showed mixed results. One problem was that most studies were conducted in patients already hospitalized with COVID-19, Levine said, largely due to the convenience of conducting research with this population. The objective in the new study was to review all available randomized controlled trials of convalescent plasma in non-hospitalized adults with COVID-19 to determine whether early treatment can reduce the risk of hospitalization.
The analysis included data from five studies conducted in four countries, including Argentina, the Netherlands, Spain, and two in the United States. Levine previously supervised enrollment at Rhode Island Hospital in a clinical trial led by Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Across the five studies, a total of 2,620 adult patients had received transfusions of convalescent plasma from January 2020 to September 2022. The researchers conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis to assess how the transfusion timing and dose impacted the patient's risk of hospitalization during the 28 days after infection.
In their analysis, the researchers found that 160 (12.2%) of 1,315 control patients were hospitalized compared with 111 (8.5%) of 1,305 patients treated with COVID-19 convalescent plasma -; 30% fewer hospitalizations.
Notably, the strongest effects were seen in patients treated both early in the illness and with plasma with high levels of antibodies. In these patients, the reduction in hospitalization was over 50%.
For future pandemics, the goal is to use plasma from donors who have high levels of antibodies, said corresponding study author Dr. David J. Sullivan, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine. "This research suggests that we have been underdosing convalescent plasma for many previous pathogens, which impacts effectiveness," Sullivan said. "It bears repeating: Early and high levels of antibodies increased the beneficial efficacy."
Levine explained that because convalescent plasma was the only treatment available at the beginning of the pandemic, it was used widely -; and often incorrectly, on hospitalized patients who were already experiencing severe symptoms late in the course of COVID-19. Those symptoms were due to a ramped-up immune response to the virus, not the virus itself, Levine explained.
"By the time the patient was at the point where they'd reached the inflammatory phase that caused severe symptoms, it was too late for treatments like convalescent plasma or even monoclonal antibodies to work," he said.
What is now known is that convalescent plasma works best when given early in the course of illness. That's when it can neutralize the virus and get ahead of the body mounting an intense immune response, thereby preventing hospitalization and death, Levine said.
The five drug treatment trials in the analysis took place at a variety of global health care sites, he noted, including nursing homes, outpatient clinics and emergency departments. The diversity across the studies is a sign that the data is likely generalizable to many other types of populations and settings around the world, said Levine, who also directs the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown.
Levine cited another recently published study in JAMA Network Open that showed that convalescent plasma is effective in reducing mortality in immunocompromised patients. This new meta-analysis provides evidence that convalescent plasma can also be effective in the larger population of adults who are not immunocompromised.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed early convalescent plasma use in December 2021 for those patients with COVID-19 who were also immunocompromised, but not yet for patients with COVID-19 who are not immunocompromised. The authors said they hope the new study will push the FDA, and other countries around the world, to make early treatment with COVID-19 convalescent plasma available to a much larger group of patients at risk for hospitalization.
A treatment that evolves with the pandemic
The findings come at a time when monoclonal antibodies, the most commonly used treatment for COVID-19, have been shown to be ineffective against new variants of the virus. In November, the FDA revoked emergency authorization of the last monoclonal antibody treatment because it wasn't expected to have much of an effect against Omicron sub-variants.
In contrast to monoclonal antibody therapies, Levine said, convalescent plasma donated by patients who have recovered from the virus is a treatment that evolves with the pandemic. Because it has antibodies that attach to multiple different parts of the virus, there are still opportunities to attach to a receptor even after the virus mutates and morphs some of its receptors. It's also less expensive to produce than pharmaceutical antivirals.
In the first year of the pandemic, Levine said, before the development of vaccines and effective treatments, researchers tried many treatment strategies in order to quickly find something that worked to save lives.
"When the next big pandemic hits, we're going to be in a very similar situation," Levine said. "Yet at least next time, we'll have research like this to inform our strategy."
Xi stresses basic research for self-reliance in science and technology
Xinhua) 13:51, February 22, 2023
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has called for strengthening basic research to consolidate the country's self-reliance and strength in science and technology.
Xi made the remarks when chairing the third group study session of the Political Bureau of the 20th CPC Central Committee on Tuesday.
Xi said that strengthening basic research is an urgent requirement for achieving greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, and it is the only way to become a world leader in science and technology.
He said that the Party and the country have always attached importance to basic research.
At present, a new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation is advancing by leaps and bounds, interdisciplinary integration is growing, the paradigm of scientific research is undergoing profound changes, the integration of science and technology with economic and social development is accelerating, the application cycle of basic research is significantly shortened, and international competition in basic research is moving to the forefront, Xi said.
To cope with international sci-tech competition, achieve greater self-reliance, foster a new development pattern, and promote high-quality development, there is an urgent need to strengthen basic research and address key technologies from the source and from the bottom, Xi added.
He stressed efforts to strengthen the forward-looking, strategic and systematic layout of basic research.
He said that the frontier science and technology in the world should be integrated with the major national strategic needs and economic and social development goals.
Xi urged efforts to coordinate frontier questions raised in light of the law of science development with theoretical questions drawn from major applied research, and sum up key scientific questions in basic research.
He also called for strengthening the feasibility studies and the selection and evaluation of major basic research projects, fully respecting scientists' advice, and grasping the general trends to make an early start.
Xi noted that it is necessary to strengthen the country's strategic strength in science and technology; promote strategic, frontier and market-oriented basic research in an organized way; and give full play to the role of national laboratories, national research institutions, high-level research universities and leading sci-tech enterprises.
The country will optimize the layout of basic disciplines, support the development of key, emerging, less-popular, and weak disciplines, and promote interdisciplinary integration and research, so as to build a high-quality discipline system with comprehensive and balanced development, he added.
Xi called for the institutional reform of basic research to be deepened, and for the value-driven and strategy-directed role of systems and policies to be given full play.
Fiscal investment in basic research should be steadily increased, enterprises should be motivated to invest more through measures such as tax incentives, input from social forces should be encouraged, and the efficiency of the national natural science fund and its joint funds should be improved, he said.
Xi stressed the need to improve the organization, application, review and decision-making mechanisms for basic research projects, and coordinate efforts to tackle major scientific issues.
He urged efforts to handle the relationship between the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide and the market mechanism well, and efforts to improve the evaluation and incentive system, the achievement application and transformation system and the salary system in response to the long cycle of basic research. He also called for long-term and steady support for a batch of innovation bases, competitive teams and key directions for basic research.
Xi stressed the need to establish a national laboratory system with Chinese characteristics, set up research centers for basic disciplines, build new research information platforms, and form a leading basic research backbone network.
He also urged efforts to draw up scientific plans for major sci-tech infrastructure facilities that are forward-looking, strategy-oriented and application-supporting.
Xi urged support for various basic research talent programs to be strengthened, adding that strategic scientists should be trained and used, young sci-tech talent should be supported to play a key role, and leading sci-tech and innovative talent teams should be continuously expanded.
He said that it is essential to improve the style of study and work in the scientific research field; and called for adhering to the path of independent training for basic research talent, optimizing the basic discipline education system, and giving full play to the leading role of colleges and universities in the training of basic research talent.
Xi stressed that international cooperation, opening-up and sharing are needed more than ever for humanity to tackle common development challenges.
It is necessary to build a platform for international cooperation on basic research, establish a global scientific research fund, increase the opening-up of national sci-tech programs to the outside world, and expand and deepen joint scientific research between China and other countries on global issues such as climate change, energy security, biosecurity and the use of outer space, he said.
Xi urged efforts to plan ahead and participate deeply in global sci-tech governance, participate in or initiate international sci-tech organizations, and support domestic universities, research institutes and sci-tech organizations to connect with the international community.
Xi also noted that efforts should be made to enhance openness, trust and cooperation in the international sci-tech community to make new and greater contributions to the progress of human civilization and also effectively safeguard China's sci-tech security and interests.
He urged efforts to carry forward the scientific spirit of pursuing truth and scaling new heights, widely publicize the advanced models and actions in basic research and other sci-tech fields, and guide the majority of sci-tech workers to carry on the tradition of the older generation of scientists who committed themselves to the country and cared for the people.
Xi called for strengthening the country's ability to popularize science, pushing forward the campaign to improve the scientific literacy of the public, spreading scientific knowledge widely, showing scientific achievements online and offline through multiple channels, and fostering a social trend of promoting science.
Efforts should also be made to inspire young people's curiosity, imagination and desire to explore, and cultivate young people with the potential to become scientists, he said.
Xi urged officials at all levels to gain sci-tech knowledge, carry forward the scientific spirit, take the initiative to solve problems and relieve burdens for sci-tech workers, and put into practice a series of strategic plans on sci-tech innovation made by the CPC Central Committee.
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com
His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has affirmed his pride in the long-standing relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Sudan, noting that he is looking forward to bolstering bilateral cooperation to meet the aspirations of the two countries.
HM the King was speaking as he received yesterday a written message from the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of the Republic of the Sudan, HE Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan. HM King Hamad was handed over the letter by the Sudanese Foreign Affairs Minister designate, Ali Al Sadeq, whom he received at the Gudaibiya Palace.
The letter focused on solid relations between the two brotherly countries, as well as ways to enhance them in various fields, in addition to the latest regional and global developments of mutual concern.
Al Sadeq conveyed to HM the King greetings and appreciation from the Chairman of Sudans Transitional Sovereignty Council, as well as wishes for further progress and prosperity to Bahrain. His Majesty requested the minister to convey his greetings to Lieutenant-General Al Burhan, as well as his wishes for abundant health and success to him, and further progress to the brotherly Sudanese people.
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com
Report by Ashen Tharaka
The US EXIM Bank is looking to expand its reach in Bahrain, according to its top executive.
At a round-table discussion with local journalists at the US Embassy in Manama yesterday, US EXIM President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis said that the bank is looking to provide more financing in the region, and is now speaking directly with regional leaders to ascertain what type of financing it can provide. I am excited to see the growth and the prosperity that has been brought in this region, Lewis said.
One of my biggest priorities is to help expand US exports, and we are particularly interested in engaging in renewable energies, 5G telecommunication and transportation sectors, and many more.
We are very capable of financing technology specially for the phone buyers, and looking forward to more collaboration with the parties in Bahrain.
According to recent conversations Lewis had with government officials and businessmen from the private sector, both groups are interested in the same sectors, and the EXIM is eager to collaborate with other partners in Bahrain.
The minimum financing capacity for Bahrain is merely $2 million, and the EXIM bank chose renewable energy as their top priority during discussions with government leaders.
In the meantime, they realised that American companies truly needed 5G development to better understand this market and the opportunities it presents, and they are prepared to work on this aspect in partnership with the US Embassy.
They are the advocates for American Business. I being true to our mandate, we cannot pick winners and losers.
We cannot discriminate against any side or any sectors as it relates to, said Lewis.
In response to a question regarding the budget allocation, Lewis noted that Congress can give EXIM permission to make funding available up to a specific percentage, but we are still looking for opportunities for American businesses.
She claimed that out of a total budget of $135 billion, 20% was allocated to small and medium-scale businesses (SMEa), but EXIM is requesting a 30% allocation.
They reportedly completed $5 billion worth of transactions in the previous year. Lewis said: Were attempting to prioritise our participation.
We think that continuing to orient as many people is in both our countrys and our own interest.
Our private sector organisations on both sides are aware of the opportunities present as well as the value that we think American businesses can add in a variety of these different fields.
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain's first electric car plant will be opened by Bahraini business and project development firm Marson Group.
To carry out this project, the group has partnered with "Gauss Auto," a major American manufacturing company.
The agreement was signed in the presence of officials from both parties during a special ceremony that took place in Bahrain.
The new facility, known as "Gauss Auto Bahrain," will be situated in Salman Industrial City in the American Trade Zone and have a 10-month development and operating schedule.
The factory will produce a range of electric vehicles, including two-wheelers, three-wheel electric tricycles, and passenger vehicles, to be marketed primarily in Bahraini and American markets, as well as other countries throughout the world.
Construction and management will be handled by Marson Group, and GAUSS AUTO will provide technical know-how and practical knowledge based on its extensive experience in the worldwide electric vehicle sector.
"We are delighted to share this joyful news with our dear Kingdom, as well as our numerous partners and customers, and to open this high-quality and ambitious plant in Bahrain. "Through this project, we strive to fulfill the directives of our wise leadership and esteemed government in strengthening the national economy, diversifying its sources of income, and providing more job opportunities for our national cadres, said Marson Group Board of Directors Ali Al Mattar.
"Through the Gauss Auto Bahrain factory, we are looking forward to establishing Bahrain as one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of electric vehicles and localizing this advanced industry," he added.
This project emphasizes our leadership role and primacy in innovative project implementation. It will also be a conducive environment for building national expertise and will support Bahrain in achieving its ambitious goals outlined in its Industrial Strategy for the years 2022 to 2026 as well as the Kingdom's objective to having zero carbon emissions by the year 2060.
Mr Al Mattar extended his thanks and gratitude to all government and private entities that provided facilities for the launch of this project, including the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and the Economic Development Board. He welcomed the partners from the American company Gauss Auto, who will showcase their expertise and innovations through the project.
Mr. Al Mattar expressed his appreciation and thanks to all public and private organizations, such as the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Economic Development Board, for providing space for the start of this initiative.
He welcomed the Gauss Auto partners, who would use the initiative to demonstrate their knowledge and ideas.
In this video, we embark on a three-day trip to Gifu Prefecture - following in the footsteps of samurai warlords while delving into some of the most compelling events of Japan's Warring States Period.
Yellow sand observed across much of Japan, effects likely to continue in east
NHK - Apr 13
Japanese weather officials say yellow sand from China's deserts has blown across much of Japan from the northern to western regions. The dust was observed in central Tokyo on Thursday. Japanese weather officials say yellow sand from China's deserts has blown across much of Japan from the northern to western regions. The dust was observed in central Tokyo on Thursday.
Annual Tokyo fireworks festival to be held for 1st time in 4 years
Kyodo - Apr 12
A major annual firework festival in Tokyo will be held this summer for the first time in four years after the display was repeatedly canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event's organizer said Tuesday. A major annual firework festival in Tokyo will be held this summer for the first time in four years after the display was repeatedly canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event's organizer said Tuesday.
'Out of season snow' competing with cherry blossoms in full bloom
NOJ - Apr 10
Snow fell for the first time in three weeks in Yamagata Prefecture while cherry blossoms were in full bloom. Snow fell for the first time in three weeks in Yamagata Prefecture while cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
Is It Cultural Appropriation To Wear A Kimono In Japan? | Photoshoot In Kyoto
Alina Mcleod - Apr 09
The beauty of the kimono is known worldwide and is an integral part of Japanese culture, but is it socially acceptable for a tourist to wear one? The beauty of the kimono is known worldwide and is an integral part of Japanese culture, but is it socially acceptable for a tourist to wear one?
Narita airport to build 3rd runway and consolidate 3 terminals
NHK - Apr 09
The operator of Narita Airport near Tokyo has compiled an interim plan to consolidate its three terminals to improve efficiency and convenience for users. The operator of Narita Airport near Tokyo has compiled an interim plan to consolidate its three terminals to improve efficiency and convenience for users.
Cherry Blossoms Scenes 2023
TV Asahi - Apr 08
Carefully selected footage shot by TV Asahi news. Carefully selected footage shot by TV Asahi news.
Annual cherry blossom viewing starts at Japan Mint in Osaka
Japan Today - Apr 07
An annual cherry blossom viewing event began Thursday at the Japan Mint in Osaka, with elderly and disabled invitees enjoying the sight a day before the famous springtime fixture opens to the general public. An annual cherry blossom viewing event began Thursday at the Japan Mint in Osaka, with elderly and disabled invitees enjoying the sight a day before the famous springtime fixture opens to the general public.
Skyscraper to open in Tokyo's Kabukicho nightlife area
NHK - Apr 07
One of the latest editions to Tokyo's skyline is set to open in the capital's Kabukicho district next Friday. One of the latest editions to Tokyo's skyline is set to open in the capital's Kabukicho district next Friday.
Touring a Tranquil Japanese-Style Home
Dabl - Apr 06
George Clarke is feeling at peace touring this home built with minimal and tranquil Japanese design cues. George Clarke is feeling at peace touring this home built with minimal and tranquil Japanese design cues.
How To Rent Bikes in Japan - Docomo Bike Share, Hello Cycling, LUUP
GaijinPot - Apr 06
Heidi goes over the cost and process of renting bicycles in Japan from Docomo Bike Share, Hello Cycling, and LUUP. Heidi goes over the cost and process of renting bicycles in Japan from Docomo Bike Share, Hello Cycling, and LUUP.
Japan's Most Advanced Station | Face-Recognition Ticket Gate in Operation
travelgeek - Apr 03
Osaka Station has installed the Japan's first facial-recognition ticket gate (hands-free ticket gate) in their new entrance. Osaka Station has installed the Japan's first facial-recognition ticket gate (hands-free ticket gate) in their new entrance.
Travelers from China to Japan no longer required to have negative test from Wed.
NHK - Apr 03
The Japanese government says that starting on Wednesday it will not require travelers from China to show a negative coronavirus test result if they have been vaccinated three times. The Japanese government says that starting on Wednesday it will not require travelers from China to show a negative coronavirus test result if they have been vaccinated three times.
Why Nara should be on your bucketlist
Alina Mcleod - Apr 03
Nara is absolutely magical and has the most adorable welcome greeters! Cute Deer, Amazing Temples + Traditional Japanese Food Nara is absolutely magical and has the most adorable welcome greeters! Cute Deer, Amazing Temples + Traditional Japanese Food
A Journey to Mino, The Beautiful and Traditional Town in Japan
Ninja Walking - Apr 03
Mino, is a town with a traditional and beautiful Japanese townscape. This town is also the birthplace of a well-known hero. More details in the video. Mino, is a town with a traditional and beautiful Japanese townscape. This town is also the birthplace of a well-known hero. More details in the video.
Cherry Blossoms in Japan (Tokyo) 2023
NOJ / TV Asahi - Apr 01
A 4K high-definition video of famous cherry blossom spots in Tokyo shot by the TV Asahi team. A 4K high-definition video of famous cherry blossom spots in Tokyo shot by the TV Asahi team.
TORONTO, Feb. 21, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, the BlackNorth Initiative, the first Black-led non-profit to close the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), will be joined by Eliza Casinather, Head of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at TMX Group, to close the market in celebration of Black History Month and to recognize the outstanding success of their inaugural BlackNorth Excellence gala. The event was an evening that celebrated Black Excellence in Canada.
As a response to the urgent need to end systemic racism against Black Canadians, the BlackNorth Initiative is committed to utilizing a business-first mindset to eliminate anti-Black systemic barriers affecting Black Canadians. The organization is on a mission to end anti-Black systemic racism throughout all aspects of people's lives.
Dahabo Ahmed-Omer, Executive Director of BlackNorth Initiative, spoke about the importance of Black History Month and shared her thoughts on the success of the BlackNorth Initiative Excellence gala and what it means for the BlackNorth Initiative. "We celebrate Black History Month to recognize and honour the contributions of Black people in Canada and to acknowledge the ongoing struggle for equity and justice. The Inaugural BlackNorth Excellence gala was an unforgettable evening that celebrated Black excellence in Canada. It was an incredible opportunity to recognize Black Canadians' contributions and inspire future generations. We are proud to be the first Black-led organization to close the market today and partner with TMX Group."
Eliza Casinather, Head of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at TMX Group, also spoke about the significance of Black History Month and the importance of recognizing Black Excellence in Canada. "At TMX Group, we are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion across our organization, and Black History Month is an important opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Black Canadians. We are proud to stand with the BlackNorth Initiative in their mission to end anti-Black systemic racism throughout all aspects of people's lives."
About BlackNorth Initiative
The BlackNorth Initiative is on a mission to end anti-Black systemic racism throughout all aspects of our lives by utilizing a business-first mindset. We are committed to the removal of anti-Black systemic barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians. For more information, visit: https://blacknorth.ca/ and follow us on social media @blacknorthca.
About TMX Group (TSX: X)
TMX Group operates global markets, and builds digital communities and analytic solutions that facilitate the funding, growth and success of businesses, traders and investors. TMX Group's key operations include Toronto Stock Exchange , TSX Venture Exchange , TSX Alpha Exchange , The Canadian Depository for Securities , Montreal Exchange , Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation , and Trayport which provide listing markets, trading markets, clearing facilities, depository services, technology solutions, data products and other services to the global financial community. TMX Group is headquartered in Toronto and operates offices across North America (Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver and New York), as well as in key international markets including London, Singapore and Vienna. For more information about TMX Group, visit our website at www.tmx.com . Follow TMX Group on Twitter: @TMXGroup .
SOURCE BlackNorth Initiative
For further information: Media Contact: Shelton Mpala Manager of Marketing and Communications, BlackNorth Initiative, 437-997-7110, [email protected]
The All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday drew the curtain on his campaign rally in Lagos State, with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo not attending any of them.
It was observed that Osinbajo did not attend any of Tinubus presidential campaign rallies across the country.
This might not be unconnected to their differences prior to the APC presidential primaries in 2022.
Osinbajo had endured a frosty relationship with Tinubu during the APC presidential primaries in 2022, as followers of the latter believed that the Vice President should have backed his political godfather.
During the APC primaries, some staunch supporters of Tinubu had tagged Osinbajo a traitor, a betrayer and Judas, for daring to stand against the former Governor of Lagos State.
One of such supporters, Joe Igbokwe, the Special Adviser for Drainage and Water Resources to Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu, subscribed to the notion of Osinbajo being a betrayer.
The Vice President, who hails from Ogun State, had worked as the Attorney General of Lagos State while Tinubu was governor.
Amid the alleged frosty relationship with Osinbajo, Tinubu has visited almost all the states of the country for his presidential campaign rallies.
Commenting on Osinbajos absence, the spokesman of the Tinubu/Shettima campaign, Festus Keyamo, said the Vice Presidents absence was due to Buharis directive.
Speaking with newsmen, Keyamo recalled issuing a statement where Buhari directed Osinbajo and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, to stay off APC presidential campaigns.
According to Keyamo: There was an official statement where the president directed Osinbajo and Boss Mustapha to stay off the campaign and work while he campaigned for APC.
We issued a statement to this effect last year.
The Anambra State Police Command has received an Assistant Inspector General of Police and three commissioners of police in the state ahead of Saturdays election.
Anambra State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga who stated this in a press statement said the officers were received by Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng.
Ikenga said: Anambra State Police Command today 22/2/2023 received the newly deployed Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Eboka Friday, and three Commissioners of Police posted to Zone 13 headquarters, Ukpo.
AIG Eboka Friday, before his posting as the election supervisor of Zone 13, comprising of Anambra and Enugu commands, was the AIG in charge of Zone 16.
He shall supervise the three commissioners of police deployed to the states three senatorial districts [and also] the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Police Command, Echeng Echeng, for the 2023 General Elections.
The commissioners deployed to the state include DCP Yusuf A. Apaje for Anambra North, CP Julius A. Okoro for Anambra South and CP Selem V. Amachere for Anambra Central.
The command, according to Ikenga, urged the people of the state to come out en masse to exercise their franchise and vote for candidates of their choice, as adequate deployments have been made to ensure that elections are peaceful, hitch-free and secured.
The command also released the phone numbers of strategic commanders and the control/situation room to checkmate any disruptive situation.
Mrs Cesnabmihilo Nuhu-Akenova, a former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, on Wednesday defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Nuhu-Akenova, who announced her defection at a news conference in Abuja, said she was joining the APC to give support to the party and its presidential flagbearer, Bola Tinubu.
Nuhu-Akenova, also the national coordinator of the All-inclusive Movement for Ahmed Tinubu, said she believed Tinubu, by his antecedent, is the right man to be the countrys next president.
She added that the group was therefore endorsing and giving its support to Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima, his running mate in the Feb. 25 presidential election.
Addressing newsmen, she said: I and my support group are calling on the electorate to endorse and vote for Tinubu to be elected as the countrys next president.
We are here because we have found someone who sees what we see and feels how we feel. This is evidenced in the way he reacted to the cash crunch we are currently experiencing.
He is no other person than Bola Tinubu, the Jagaban, APC presidential candidate and hopefully the incoming president of the country.
She added: We endorse Tinubu because of his exceptional qualities and capabilities. I was a presidential hopeful of the SDP before I exited to join this moving and unstoppable train, the APC.
Nuhu-Akenova added that Tinubus achievements when he served as Lagos State governor as well as his innate ability to build men and utilise resources are there for all to see, adding that Nigeria will be great under his presidency.
The Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu, has said the G5 governors would work for Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu in the February 25th presidential election.
He disclosed this on Wednesday in a Channels Television interview monitored by newsmen.
He said, The G5 Governors came together and realized they must work together. And they are working together. I dont believe the Governor of Benue State is working for the Labour Party; he wants to use that to win the election.
The G5 Governors have made up their minds that they will not work for any other person other than Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Party, APC.
It was reported that the former governor of Abia State made a similar claim.
The G5 governors are aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP: Nyesom Wike of (Rivers), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Seyi Makinde(Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has denied supporting the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
Ikpeazu was reacting to claims by the Senate chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, that he was backing Tinubus presidency.
He spoke while addressing journalists after inspecting the ongoing final asphalt overlay on Faulks Road, Aba.
Appearing on Channels Television on Monday, Kalu said Ikepazu will support Tinubu and his senatorial district will give the APC flag bearer the 34, 35 per cent to be on the ballot.
However, Ikpeazu described Kalus remark as mere speculation and wishful thinking.
According to Ikpeazu: No member of G5 can railroad another member into supporting anyone against his will as suggested by Senator Kalu.
Ahead of the presidential elections starting on Saturday, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has warned Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and some prominent political leaders against causing insecurity in the state.
IPOBs spokesman, Emma Powerful, warned Uzodinma, ex-Governor Emeka Ihedioha, senator Rochas Okorocha, and Senator Ifeanyi Ararume to stop fueling insecurity in the state.
Powerful said Ihedioha, Okorocha and Ararume should stop giving Uzodinma the power to use Ebubeagu to kill people of Imo State.
A statement by Powerful reads: The global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led the great and indefatigable liberator Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu KANU call on Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Rochas Okorocha, and Senator Ifeanyi Ararume to resist the fight between them and the supreme the Court Administrator of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, because the state belongs to all of us if they destroy it completely, who would they aspire to rule in the future? IPOB has nothing against anybody, but anyone working to murder our people will not be a friend of IPOB.
The situation in Imo State under the rulership of Hope Uzodinma has not only made it the centre of crime in Biafraland but a wicked place for sons and daughters of Chukwu Okike Abiama to live. How could our people not sleep in their homes with two eyes closed? Instead, our people cry red tears every day because of Uzodinma and his APC system of government who are killing our politicians and traditional rulers when they venture to ask questions about what is going on in Imo State against the citizens.
We know that Chief Engineer Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu is in a cage under Hope Uzodinma. Other elders cannot talk because the vampire is on the throne.
Since the formation of Ebubeagu in the two states of Imo and Ebonyi, we have not seen them chasing Fulani terrorists out of our farms and bushes but they are busy kidnapping for ransom, killing, and snatching cars from our people.
Therefore, we call on the big political actors in Imo State such as Emeka Ihedioha, Ifeanyi Ararume, and Rochas Okorocha to stop fueling the insecurity in Imo State to avoid giving the Vampire, Hopeless Uzodinma more opportunity to keep using Ebebuagu militia to terrorise and kill our people.
Labour Party, LP in Rivers State has criticized Governor Nyesom Wike, over speculations about his support for the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC Bola Tinubu.
National Vice Chairman, South South, Labour Party, Favour Reuben, during a briefing with newsmen in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, said Wikes actions and decisions were from a place of selfish interest.
Reuben stated that Governor Wike, who previously described the APC as cancer and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as malaria, should have rather looked for the cure to these deadly diseases, who he said is Peter Obi.
We are hearing that our Governor (Wike, who few years back declared our state as a Christian State because he was running for election, has made a U-turn overnight and suddenly decided to form an alliance with Muslim Muslim ticket because of his personal interest.
The Wike we all know is not a coward that will surreptitiously ask his PDP followers to work for Tinubu of the APC without coming out openly, but if this is true, then we are in trouble and our PVCs should speak for us, being the only tool at our disposal to usher in a Government that will ameliorate our suffering, both at the State and Federal level.
Secondly, our Governor (Wike) said APC is cancer, while PDP is malaria, so I will be expecting the Governor to look for the cure of these deadly diseases and the only cure is the Labour Party driven by Peter Gregory Obi, who has been tested and trusted in Governance.
The South South Vice Chairman of LP also said Governor Wikes support for a man, whose region in the South has produced a president and currently the Vice President of the country, questions his principle of equity, fairness and justice.
He challenged Wike to come out openly and tell the people his preferred presidential candidate.
As a man, we know who Wike is. He should come out and tell Rivers people that the man we are supporting is Tinubu.
He should not take it through the back door; we want him to come out openly.
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has likened All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate Bola Tinubu to Nigerias founding fathers.
The Ondo helmsman made the comparison on Tuesday at the launch of a book on the former Lagos governor, NAN reports.
The book centred on Tinubu alongside the late Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, among others.
Akeredolu, represented by deputy Lucky Aiyedatiwa, described the APC co-founder as the best presidential candidate.
The governor noted that the party was blessed to have a courageous leader who remains an inspiration to many people.
Tinubu has similar attributes with the late Obafemi Awolowo and other founding fathers which the book has done justice to.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has continued to inspire other people, both old, young and the corporate environment, Akeredolu said.
The author, Omofunmilewa Adejombo said Tinubus efforts in ensuring that true democracy is enthroned in Nigeria were highlighted.
Candidates from 18 political parties participating in the presidential election scheduled for February 25 have signed a peace accord in Abuja.
Present at the signing of the peace accord were members of the National Peace Committee, as well as President Muhammadu Buhari.
Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party were among the presidential candidates present.
By the text of the peace accord, a presidential candidate makes a commitment to accept and abide by the outcome of the 2023 presidential election and if issues should arise, to deploy constitutional means and appeal to the courts rather than other unconstitutional means.
In his remarks, Goodluck Jonathan, the immediate past president, said the peace accord is needed to help deter candidates and their allies from using instruments of misinformation to influence the election.
The former president, who was represented by Matthew Kukah, Catholic bishop of Sokoto, charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to ensure that the election is credible.
This is aimed at mitigating disinformation, and misinformation during the election and in the time of the social media era, Jonathan said.
There is no other time than now given the considerable tension in the country as a result of the election. The election is not war. The country needs a stable democracy. The world looks up to us to get our leadership right and leadership recruitment right.
Yakubu Gowon, former military head of state, advised the candidates to be civil in their engagements, adding that Nigeria is in need of a leader who is capable of bringing and ensuring dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of the people.
I appeal to those who are bent on disrupting the election to reconsider their actions, to give an opportunity for just and fair resolution to the problems at hand. I wish all Nigerians a peaceful election and smooth transition of government as we had last time, he added.
Chelsea co-owners, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have held an emergency meeting with manager Graham Potter, according to The Evening Standard.
This comes amid the Premier League teams disastrous run of form.
Potter was appointed as Thomas Tuchels replacement in September.
But the former Brighton boss has been under immense pressure in recent weeks with Chelsea struggling in all competitions despite splashing over 600m on players since the summer.
The Blues have recorded just one win in their last 10 matches and lost 1-0 to 20th-placed Southampton last weekend.
That result means they are currently 10th in the table 11 points off the top four following early exits from the Carabao Cup and FA Cup. They are still in the Champions League but lost their first-leg tie to Borussia Dortmund in the last 16.
Boehly and Eghbali who have repeatedly backed Potter have now called an emergency meeting on Tuesday.
The Americans were keen to understand how Potter plans to turn Chelseas fortunes around and it is understood that the Englishmans job is safe for now.
Olakunle Churchill has given ex-wife, actress Tonto Dikeh 24 hours to retract defamatory posts against him or face a lawsuit.
Olakunle made the threats on Tuesday in a legal document put out by his lawyers over their ongoing altercation on social media.
According to his counsel, among the allegations is the claim that Churchill is a fraudster, thief, blackmailer, and irresponsible father. False statements have been made public to tarnish our clients image all because of the simple fact that the romantic relationship between you and our client came to an end.
You have continuously defamed our client and shared false information/accusations on the YouTube Platform to make money at our clients expense.
Recall that Tonto Dikeh had a few days ago on her Instagram page slammed Churchill for celebrating their son on his 7th birthday to give the impression of trying to be in the childs life.
The duo have since then been in a social media battle, with both parties flooding their social media pages with shreds of evidence against each other.
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is a former governor of Edo State and in this interview responded allegations that he sponsored the recent violent anti-CBN protests in Benin and other issues.
Allegation of sponsoring riots in Benin City and being declared wanted by the state government
I think the Media has a duty to interrogate those making allegations at least it will not be too much of a reporter to ask a Governor or anybody making allegations to at least attempt to show evidence or some kind of logical basis to arrive at such a conclusion.
I had the privilege of being a governor in this state for eight years and I have sufficient interest in the peace and stability of this State. As you can see from my own experience governors will come and go but the people remain and if there is one man who has enjoyed the trust and confidence of Edo people I think it is my humble self because I am on record as the only person in our history who won election across the 18 Local Government Area of Edo State scoring 75.6 percent of total vote cast even as I ran that election against a retired General who is said to have deep pockets.
But let me also say that I have led protests in Edo State even before I became a governor on at least two occasions. I led massive protests to Osadebey Avenue, the seat of Edo State Government when I was President of the NLC, we had tens of thousands of people buying into that protest but it is on record that not one person was injured nor one person having his or her property destroyed. I am on record that I have been a victim of the PDP rigging machine in the election that was conducted on the 14th of April 2007, I led a protest across Benin in which tens of thousands of people protested and there was no violence. So I think it is not in the mouth of Obaseki, with all due respect to his very high office, to throw allegations without attempting to show any proof.
I think we all have a duty to pray for the repose of souls if those who died and whatever anybody has suffered I think it is unfortunate because most of the people who were fell either by the police bullet or those banks that were destroyed or any other properties destroyed belonged to people who are also victims of these policies because as far as I know the banks are also victims so destroying the banks is not a solution, but I am a believer in the right of citizens to protest, there is difference between protest and rioting.
So when I read it initially in the Social Media and later I saw it in a section of the media that Obaseki had ordered the Police to arrest me I had a very good laugh. First because Obaseki does not know that he does not have the power to order the arrest of a citizen and that is the reason why some people have reservations about when people like Obaseki talk about State Police because the law is clear, if a crime has been committed it is up to the security agencies to investigate and if they find someone who they think may have had the need to invite the person for questioning. The police have not and I will be surprised if they have now degenerated to taking orders from a politician who is faced with the crisis of confidence and the people have been voting against him there are huge issues of the legitimacy of his government and he thinks that he can order police to arrest whoever he considers to be his political opponent.
So it is unfortunate, but I thought that you Media people would have asked him and if you did not remember it is no not too late to ask him, Mr. Governor so Comrade also caused the riot in Warri where Okowa is the sitting governor, Comrade also caused the riot in Ibadan, Oyo State, Oshiomhole also went to Kwara State to organize protest in an APC State? So but if you did not ask him maybe you have your reason. But let me say that Obaseki is a victim of his own double standard. He says one thing in the morning he does another the following day.
I think Obaseki after embarrassing the Central Bank Governor, Emefiele, when he accused him sometime last year or the year before of printing hundreds of billions of Naira to share for states by way of Federation Account and that Emefieles policies are going to destroy the Naira even as he admitted that the money was being shared to state Governments, I think he realized that election is coming, Obaseki needs cash and who will give him this cash, o yes the person who has given him before, he took billions from the Central Bank in the name of Agriculture. Ask Obaseki to show you where the farms are. A man who has been abusing the Federal Government, abusing Buhari, abusing anything Federal suddenly decided that a policy that I have denounced even as a former chairman of APC and I did not denounce it secretly, I denounced it on national television is now what he supports.
In the course of campaigning when I hear people complain to me about the challenges they had I have never hesitated in denouncing it and I will continue to denounce it because it is not the Policy of APC and I cant be afraid to say the truth. So Obaseki wanting to make money out of this hardship suddenly become pro CBN Governor defending anti- people policy where your people are groaning and he has made the wrong assumption that Edo people do not know their right from their left after all it is part of his misdemeanor and MoU and all the other stuff that he uses to divert the peoples attention which they are manifesting now and even degenerating to a level where he is trying to re-loot the Artefact that the Oba of Benin has been struggling for years to have repatriated to Edo State, back to the Palace where they were looted many years ago.
He even went to Court to challenge the decision of the Supreme Court which had ordered that this suffering, this sudden withdrawal of, confiscation of currencies and the bank refusal to release money that people toiled to earn and the Supreme Court rightly gave an injunction. But for the rule of law what will protect Obaseki from Osadebey Avenue given his crimes against Edo people but because of the Rule of Law he is enjoying himself there even though people have lost confidence in him.
Assuming that I was the one who ordered the protest, without conceding, those huge numbers of people that came out even if they were taking orders from me who have left government since 7 years ago and incidentally if I have that power to move those market women, elderly people like I saw in those videos, boys and girls, if I have those powers to order them and they respect my orders, it just means that Obaseki is no longer the governor of the State, he may be governor in the eyes of the law but the legitimacy to govern, he has lost it.
A governor that benefited by votes casted for him by people who queued under sun and rain to vote for you, your reward for them is that the moment like this when they are in distress, when their businesses, small businesses; many of these people there is no presence of government in their lives, it is they, God and weather, they toiled to make 5,000 and they were told it is safe to keep money in the bank, some of them their total savings in a year is not up to 100,000, they want to take 20,000 that even Governor Emefiele promised, they cant take and they are saying the banks are holding the money but they have not named any bank, no bank MD is known to have been invited for questioning, they say it is an unknown banker, Nigerians are not stupid. So let me be very clear, I said nobody should misunderstand me, I, Adams Oshiomhole, I believe Nigerians have a right to protest against anything that they are not happy about but I also want Nigerians to understand that there is a huge difference between protest and rioting. And that the problem of rioting is like shooting a gun into the market, you dont know who it will hit but when you peacefully decide to protest that is what distinguishes a free people from slaves. I have no hand in it my position is very clear it has not changed, I still believe the Supreme Court has sensibly made a decision that in terms of balance of convenience you cannot confiscate our currency or refuse to give to us the currency that we gave to the bank to keep, it does not belong to the bank, it does not belong to the Central Bank, I hold those views very seriously, I am on tape I can send it use it as generously as you can.
Supreme Court injunction
The issue that led to the Supreme Court injunction was filed by APC governors so when I say it is not APC policy I mean it. I spoke to the evil, the dehumanizing implication of this policy, Nigerian Government including its agencies cannot superintend over official extortion of citizens. It is extortion when a citizen goes to a POS Operator and is asked to part with 1,000 if he wants 5,000, if the POS operators tell you their own story you will also be sympathetic with them, even the POS operators are victims the real culprit is the CBN, you dont pursue policies before you put necessary infrastructures. Even when making a transfer from your bank sometimes it takes some time.
This means CBN did not plan nor did it encourage the banks to put the necessary infrastructure in place to take the massive traffic that will result in the transfers. The huge Nigerias informal sector is what is being wiped off by this senseless policy. And you have an Obaseki who somehow manages to tell people that he is an economist and says there will be long term benefit, what is long term about it, after death what next.
Everywhere I go I am in circulation and I am very grateful for that. There are lots of Nigerians who live on what they call tips, they are not employed they go to markets, motorparks, Airports, if they see you have load to carry they help you then you give them money, now you cant even give tips to this army of people who on account of their being unemployed have resorted to this way of life, some have wives and children, they do pay rent I wonder how some people can justify this.
On Election
Everywhere I go when I hear and the people talk about the hardships arising from this policy and the twin evil of scarcity of PMS what I tell them always and all our security agencies are present when we do those rallies my message has been clear, my people may this pain you are going through be the incentive you need to insist to vote, dont play into their hands have something to protest because what many of them want, people like Emefiele is for this Election not to take place because if there is massive uprising there will be no elections what does that mean for the poor people. Now you have the opportunity to vote and choose who you want, in my own case the Jagaban of the universe Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu if you prefer another person that is your choice but the right to exercise that choice dont let anybody provoke you into doing things to postpone the election.
This situation is a major setback to our journey towards cashless policy because by denying people access to their money you are sending a message and that message is dont keep your money in the Bank because one day they can wake up and say dont take your money again. They assume that because the masses are not PhD holders they dont have native intelligence.
President Muhammadu Buharis broadcast
My position is I associate myself with the injunction by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the ultimate Court if there are disputes between government and citizens or between citizens and citizens. So the pronouncement by the Supreme Court in my view I abide by Law and having had the opportunity in the course of being a Governor to swear to uphold the Nigerian Constitution that oath is still binding on me.
The way forward
My advice is that when there is a policy that is designed to provoke you, resist provocation because the timing alone brings politics into it, and when you hear analysts now saying it is meant to prevent vote buying, they are the ones who are now publicizing the issue.My appeal to Nigerians is that first there is a huge difference between peaceful protest and violence or rioting. No society benefits from rioting, innocent people will always be the victims.
Culled from Vanguard Newspapers
The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has denied that governors are against the naira redesign because it would prevent them from inducing voters during the forthcoming elections.
According to El-Rufai, governors kicked against the policy as a result of the hardship it had brought upon the citizens, adding that the policy had pitched the All Progressives Congress against the citizens.
The governor, who spoke in an interview with BBC Hausa on Monday, stressed that the currency redesign was not enough to stop voter inducements.
He said, We reviewed this policy and the hardship it put people into and the feeling of hatred Nigerians developed for the APC because Nigerians are putting the blame on the APC and the people who introduced the policy did it to make our party lose in the election.
After we finished our review, we agreed that the judgment of the supreme court should be followed, which is that the old and new notes should be used until the case is over.
Did vote-buying start today? Why was the money not redesigned before? Why now? Secondly, is vote-buying only done with naira? It can be bought using Dollar, Euro, CFA, and you can give the voters food.
There are several ways through which you can buy votes. You cannot take money out of politics, but you can reduce it.
He maintained that the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, in connivance with opposition party members sold the policy to the president.
El-Rufai said, We are not against this policy because of vote buying. I swear to God, we are against it because of how we saw people suffering, not the elections.
The people who pushed for the naira redesign are not members of the APC. You see Godwin Emefiele, it was the PDP that brought him. The others with whom the decision was taken with them know them and when the time comes, will expose them because they are not members of our party.
God willing on Saturday the masses will retaliate against those who want to drag our party to the ground. whom the APC gave an opportunity to get money more than what will be sufficient for them to do the shopping because some of them knew that shopping in their homes was difficult for them eight years ago, but now, they have more money than you could imagine.
El-Rufai said the president had refused to reverse the policy because he had been told governors are thieves.
He said, Because a president is a person who believes in people, and we (governors), our image has been tarnished. He has been told that governors are thieves which is why we are against the naira redesign policy. Even if we go to him and say our leader you have been lied to in this place, and he says I understand and will take action on it, the moment we depart, he will be told not to take any action. Every person is a nine out of ten. In this regard, we believe the president made a mistake.
The Former Vice Chairman and Zonal Liaison Desk Officer, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West, Dr Eddy Olafeso, has said that the outcome of the Saturday election would free Nigerians from the ruling All Progressive Congress, eight years of hardship and hopelessness.
According to him ln Nigeria, our lives have gone from bad to worst. I never imagine in my entire life that the country can be like this. They have buried our country. And we have to let them know, we have to tell them, let our people go
Our lives are like the lives the Israelites lived in Egypt. APC must let our people go. I will tell you the reasons, the economy has gone south, and people living in IDP, the number rises every day, and the number of children out of school has gone to 3,000,000.
Do your fact-check, every human index of development, none has been part of Nigeria within the last 7 years. They have destroyed our sensitivity to negative reports.
In Nigeria, people are being killed for no reason. A driver killed his boss, wife and child, wiping out his generation. It doesnt matter how these young children get money.
They call it Yahoo -Yahoo, they are celebrated. When they get to every venue, they are the reign of the moment. We cant just leave Nigeria to continue to drift like this.
I looked around and I see that if care is not taken and the truth is not told, we all will be victims. Now, the country is not free any more. People are kidnapped and disappeared. Nobody asks questions.
Herdsmen come in and around destroying peoples means of livelihood. I was one of the victims and I am still leaking my wound.
When I saw the 30 hectares of land that I put together for one and half years being plundered with cows taking over my farms and the bastards, illiterates, and idiots even uprooted my cassava to feed their cows without thinking about me. Thats cruelty at its highest definition. Yet society permits it.
So, going back to what I have said, these people (APC) must let our people go. The event of the last few weeks is enough for all of you to be on the rampage.
The party in government fighting the government they put in place. Taking each other to court and coming from the court to the public domain, creating havoc.
Olafeso said the PDP is ready for a new beginning, adding that true leadership has nothing to do with tribes.
I want to tell you that the Peoples Democratic Party is ready for a new beginning. By the 25th of February, by the grace of God, we will try, we will triumph. Our debt profile rose with nothing to show for it. Its about $40b now.
So this election is not about the tribe. Its not about Yoruba lokan or emilokan. In all honesty, se Yoruba lokan ni? The southeast is yet to produce a president since the coup era and ditto the northeast.
The history of our party (PDP) is not the history of APC. No nation has ever developed under the sick mentality that when you share power by the tribe that there will be cohesion and unity in a nation.
When you see an ailing old man, missing his words, stumbling and falling everywhere and you think that is when Nigeria will be led out of its problems, it means something is wrong with all of us. Leadership is not about tribe. Our choice of Waziri is born out of our knowledge of him.
Olafeso, who lamented the bad state of the economy, which he said has had a negative effect on the cost of living and price of goods across the country, however, said the APC had no solution to the woes bedevilling the country hence the need to vote for the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
He said, We must dislodge APC in this country, APC is unknown to modern politics.
Having gone through all the faces, it is for us to consulate, consolidate and work for our candidate, we will work so hard to defeat APC come February 25th presidential election in this country.
On the chances of the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, the PDP chieftain said I found it very interesting that he has been able to come this far and what we are actually clamouring is that may the best candidate wins come Saturday.
Politics requires a lot of structure, people, money and others. Our party contribute money from the units to the states, now who does that for Labour Party? And by Saturday we will know who owns the land. It is not about social media opinion polls.
So, his ambition will not affect the vote of Atiku at all.
For us in the South-West, how can we ignore the fact that the headquarters of APC is Lagos state, but our strategy is to win across the country, our own desire is to do very well on Saturday, we are confident that we will win in Oyo, Osun, Ogun will do far better, in Ondo we will pull our weight despite the challenges we have here. So Im confident that we are going to do very well in the South-West.
Olafeso, who also spoke on the Integrity Group (G-5), led by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State said, it would have been better if all of us are on the same page. But it is never late to retrace your journey. It is the same thing they promoted they are rejecting now but tomorrow belongs to God.
I think there must be a love of Carma behind the G-5, these people started disrespecting the constitution of the party because they brought in Ayu in the last convention and suddenly they want Ayu out.
The question is are they fair with this? The mindlessness of their quest will end in total disaster for them.
Olafeso said that Atiku is a financial member of the PDP, he made everything possible that the party to capture entire Nigeria and he is a founding father of the part.
Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the coming election, has promised to train youths with skills to address unemployment in Nigeria.
Speaking on a courtesy visit to the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, at his palace in Zaria, the presidential candidate lamented that the north has not been adequately harnessed despite its vast fertile land.
He assured, I will priortise agriculture to address unemployment to give you the ample opportunities to showcase their talents for their development and that of the country.
Obi also promised to revive industries that had been moribund in Kaduna and Kano states to give thousands of unemployed youths employment to contribute to the countrys development.
He assured that if elected, Nigerians would no longer be deceived to vote along ethnic, sectional and religious lines, but steps would be taken to ensure divisive politics engaged by some politicians is completely ignored for politics of issues and credibility.
LPs vice-presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba Ahmed, an indigene of Zaria, urged the electorate to vote massively for the party, assuring that they would work hard to justify the conference of Nigerians.
The presidential candidates of 18 political parties signed a pact towards a peaceful election this Saturday.
All the candidates converged on the International Conference Centre, Abuja on Wednesday for the landmark occasion.
Among the presidential candidates present were Bola Tinubu (APC); Peter Obi (LP), Atiku Abubakar (PDP), Rabiu Kwankwaso (NNPP), and Dan Nwanyanwu (ZLP).
Peter Obi signing the Peace Accord
Unlike elections prior to 2015 when the the National Peace Committee came into existence, presidential candidates for the the 2023 polls were made to sign the Peace Accord twice.
The first one was signed in September last year, prior to the commencement of campaigns. That accord was signed to oblige the candidates to a peaceful Campaign.
This signing is the second at last to be signed by the candidates and is to enlist their commitment to a peaceful conduct of the 2023 presidential election.
President Muhammadu Buhari, in his address, reiterated his commitment to allowing the rule of law to take its course.
The President called on those saddled with the responsibility of conducting the election to allow the electorate to chose who governs them.
He also appealed to the candidates to accept the outcome of the election, and seek legal redress if dissatisfied.
Some of the peace committee members present included General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Bishop Matthew Kukah, and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III.
Other attendees were the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba, and former president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, who leads the Commonwealth Election Observer Group to Nigeria.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) restated its commitment to conducting the elections as scheduled.
The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, also assured Nigerians of a transparent exercise.
The IGP, in his remarks, decried the lack of compliance with the spirit of the September peace accord, which committed the candidates to issue based Campaign.
Chairman of National Peace Committee, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd.), arriving at the venue
Baba appealed to political parties to rein in their supporters to ensure that the election is peaceful.
He also called on the candidates to emulate former President Goodluck Jonathan who accepted the outcome of the 2015 elections and helped keep the countrys peace.
In her remarks, the European Union (EU) ambassador to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi, urged Nigeria to lead by example and send a strong message to the world about consolidating democracy.
She called on all candidates to accept the results of the elections and seek legal redress when dissatisfied.
The Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Scotland, underscored the importance of the 2023 general elections, stressing the significant position Nigeria occupies on the continent.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday wished the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its Presidential Candidate, Sen. Bola Tinubu luck in Nigerias general elections billed for Saturday.
Buhari made this remark at the grand finale of the APC Presidential Campaign held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos State.
l hereby raise the hand of the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Congratulations and l wish APC the very best of luck, the President said.
In his remarks, Tinubu thanked Buhari for his support and encouragement in his bid to become the next president of Nigeria.
The former two-term governor of Lagos state said that for anybody to succeed Buhari, he or she must work hard and follow the law.
You follow all the procedure during the party primaries, votes were cast, and l won.
You did not ask them to reverse it based on my tribe or religion, not minding being from your village in Daura.
Leadership is for growth, independence of mind and capacity to perform which you encouraged me to inculcate, he said.
He, therefore, gave his assurance to work hard if elected and promised to sustain democracy.
The APC presidential candidate said: I will renew the hopes of the hopeless and all the goals and agenda set in our manifesto will be fulfilled.
Tinubu also urged the people to come out en masse to vote for him if they wanted him to become the next president of Nigeria as well as all other APC candidates.
Gunmen suspected to be terrorists have carried out an operation along Zamfara-Funtua highway, kidnapping scores of commuters traveling to various locations in the country.
According to an eyewitness, Mr. Nura Ola Tsafe, the terrorists conducted the operations on Friday and Saturday at various locations between Gusau- Gidan Dawa-Yandoto Daji in Tsafe Local Government Area of the State.
He said that the operations started on Friday and the bandits continued their nefarious activities till Saturday, saying that the kidnapped victims were taken to the forest.
Innocent passengers on their way to attend the annual Islamic Maulud were abducted by the notorious bandits. Passengers of two commercial vehicles were kidnapped by the terrorists in between Yandoton Daji and Kwatarkwashi, he said.
He further stated that some residents of Tsafe were also attacked by the bandits on Friday along Yandoton Daji-Gidan Dawa, adding that the victims narrowly escaped as a result of the quick intervention of the military operatives.
Nura Tsafe lamented that such operations along Gusau-Funtua road had become so worrisome, especially now that the nation is heading for the scheduled 2023 general elections.
Recall that the State Police Commissioner, Mr. Kolo Yusuf with his Tactical team, had conducted a mop up operation at the Zamfara-Funtua highway in order to further secure the road and build the confidence of commuters.
Babagana Monguno, national security adviser (NSA), says there are plots to use the naira scarcity to cause civil unrest during the general election.
Monguno, who was represented by Sanusi Galadima, a deputy director, spoke on Tuesday during a meeting of the inter-agency consultative committee on election security (ICCES).
He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its determination to ensure free and credible elections.
The NSA said his office has observed with serious concern, the escalation of violence during electioneering campaigns across the country, despite the peace accord endorsed by all the presidential flag bearers.
This ugly trend is created largely by the attitude of political actors, their sponsored thugs and other unpatriotic elements. This has further hampered the efforts of security and intelligence agencies to effectively neutralise the prevailing security situation across the country, terrorism, banditry, he said.
It is instructive to state that the government is very much aware of plots by domestic subversive elements and their external collaborators to use the current socio economic climate in the country due to well intended government policies to organize civil unrest during the election.
In this vein and in line with Mr. Presidents commitment to ensure a peaceful transition of political power to a democratically elected government through free, fair and credible election, security agents have been charged to ensure lawful deployment to deal decisively with any individual or group involved, no matter how highly placed.
Also speaking at the meeting, Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, said he was confident that the security agencies would do all it takes to ensure the security of lives and property, during and after the elections
The commission is aware that security agencies are going to protect not only our officials and facilities but also accredited observers, journalists, service providers and above all, the voters themselves, he said.
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Another Mardi Gras is in the books. Whos ready to eat seafood?
Below, I have a 40-day supply of ideas for your next outing. That number is not coincidental; its of course based on the 40 days of Lent, not including those Sunday feast days.
Also no coincidence: None of these dishes is fried.
That says nothing about my fondness for fried seafood, which Ill happily prove with the next shrimp po-boy, catfish platter or oyster wrapped in bacon, swaddled in batter, passed through the fryer and tossed down my gullet.
But this time of year I hear a lot of requests specifically for non-fried seafood, which I think comes from a hunger for new flavors as much as going a tad lighter after the excesses of Carnival (and before the impending excesses of spring festival season).
Finding different preparations and styles of seafood apart from the familiar fried and true is easier and more rewarding now too, so drawing up these parameters feels timely.
What follows is a mix of traditional and creative dishes, old classics and newer arrivals, a lot of local seafood, some visiting fish, many rare or raw options and a lot of butter.
Crudo at Bar Brine, 3200 Burgundy St. The particular fish is always changing, the ethos behind it does not. Bar Brine (the dinnertime sibling to Sneaky Pickle under the same roof) sources at small scale and from arms length to the fisherman. The crudo shows the result beautifully.
Mar mitmita shrimp at Addis NOLA, 422 S. Broad St. Gulf shrimp meets Ethiopian spice for this house specialty, with a glaze of locally-produced honey giving an earthy-sweet balance to the chiles and cloves and other spices pulsing through them.
On a piece of the lakefront famous for traditional seafood dishes, Station 6 has built a following by serving the local catch a bit differently. Now it has new owners who say theyre intent on keeping Station 6 just the same.
Local chef Aaron Burgau and a group of business partners have purchased the Bucktown restaurant from founders Allison Vega-Knoll and Drew Knoll.
For that husband-and-wife team, the time was right to sell, Vega-Knoll said, and Burgau and his group emerged as potential buyers they were confident could move Station 6 forward.
Burgau said hes always admired the Station 6 approach and is excited to take the reins.
Its all about fresh seafood and being an alternative to the places around it, where theres a lot of fried seafood, he said.
Burgau made his name with his Uptown bistro Patois, which opened in 2007 as part of wave of new restaurants to emerge in the years after Hurricane Katrina.
With a combination of different partners, hes now a key player behind a wide-ranging collection of restaurants.
That includes Central City BBQ, which he developed with partner Marc Bonifacic. The two are also partners on the forthcoming Las Cruces Tex-Mex, a patio-style restaurant taking shape at 2935 Airline Drive by Causeway Boulevard (slated to open in the summer).
In 2020, Burgau joined with a number of partners, including Sadie and Brian Stewart and Jamie and John Cangelosi, to buy and reopen Charlies Steak House, the vintage Uptown classic that closed following the death of owner Matthew Dwyer that year.
The name Lena Richard may no longer be familiar in New Orleans, but in 1949 before Julia Child was on PBS or Emeril Lagasse was a twinkle in the Food Networks eye, there was Mama Lena, who taught New Orleans how to cook on her twice weekly television show on WDSU-TV.
Thats right, a Black woman had her own live cooking show in 1949. Not that you can watch it anymore.
You cant find any tapes of her cooking show because the technology just simply didn't exist back then, explains Smithsonian historian Ashley Rose Young. The only images that remain are photos taken on set.
But during her relatively brief run on TV, she definitely had peoples attention in south Louisiana and not just Black people.
WDSU-TV had become New Orleans first TV station only one year earlier, so if you had a TV, you werent changing the channel. That meant families from all backgrounds around southeast Louisiana glued their eyes to the screen to watch Lena Richards New Orleans Cookbook'' every Tuesday and Thursday.
It aired on the local NBC affiliate for approximately a year. Not only did Richard share her cooking skills and recipes, but she also highlighted the Black origins of Creole food.
She led Creole cuisine, Young says.
Theres not a lot known about Richard according to Young, who has a forthcoming book about New Orleans food history and has done extensive research on Richards life since 2011. Despite her success and notoriety, Richards story is not very well remembered.
There were not many recordings of her life, Young says. I started my oral history project to try and better understand her story through people who watched and worked beside her. I learned how dynamic chef Lena Richards was.
Richard was born on Sept. 11, 1892, in New Roads, Louisiana, during the rise of the Jim Crow era and just decades removed from the end of slavery. Soon after, her family moved to New Orleans, where her mother worked as a domestic servant for the Verin family.
As a little girl, Richard would go to work with her mother and help prepare food, Young says. Eventually, the Verins chef retired and the family hired Richard at just 14 years old to take over the position.
Richard cooked for the Verins during the day, attended school in the evenings and was sent to local cooking classes. After years of learning her way around the kitchen, at 26 years old she started attending Fannie Farmer Cooking School in Boston, Massachusetts.
The school was known for teaching its students to use exact measurements when applying ingredients. It also offered white women more formal culinary training at a time when women were primarily seen as homemakers. It was years before integration, and Richard was required to ask every single white woman in the class for permission to attend the school.
Think about what she physically had to do to find all these women to ask for permission to go to class, says New Orleans chef Dwynesha Dee Lavigne, who runs Deelightful Roux School of Cooking at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. There was no technology like we have now. That's the difference between determination and grit.
Lavigne, who frequently appears on WWL-TV, was heavily inspired by Richards life and legacy. She found out about Richard in 2016 and says shes thought about Richard as she has pursued some of the same accomplishments in her own career.
For me to find out about Lena Richard so late in life, I felt disadvantaged, Lavigne says. To know that this lady was a trailblazer, how do you not feel disadvantaged that you don't know anything about her and you're living in the same city that she once did before?
Despite the gender and racial barriers of the era, Richard advanced quickly. While attending Fannie Farmer Cooking School, she quickly realized she was too advanced for the eight-week program. Many of her white counterparts scrambled to her for advice and feedback on their work.
She formed education and public programs she was more than just a chef, Young says. They referred to her as Mama Lena.
Through her passion for cooking, Richard also helped others in her community. She was a strong believer in equity, equality and the advancement of Black people, Young says.
In 1937, Richard and her daughter, Marie Richard, opened a cooking school to teach young African Americans culinary skills that would give them opportunities for employment and earning higher wages. It was a 10-week course held at the Holy Ghost Catholic Church Uptown. According to Young, Richard wanted attendees to learn a skill they would be able to use.
Young says Richards cookbook and classes changed the narrative for Black chefs by helping them gain respect and acknowledgment as skilled chefs. Black chefs began being seen as respected professionals rather than domestic laborers.
In 1938, Richard started a frozen food company. Working with Bordelon Fine Foods Co. located in Metairie, she created dishes that could be shipped internationally. The following year, she published Lena Richards New Orleans Cook Book with more than 300 recipes. It was the first Creole cookbook by an African American.
The book has been reprinted several times, but Lavigne has an original copy. She decided to make Richards shrimp bisque recipe, which she says came out great but took some time to get there.
I did her recipe but it didn't work, Lavigne says. I stopped myself, and I did the recipe again from start to finish and it didn't work again. I realized they used typewriters to write this book. They would omit things they felt were common sense at the time. Finally, I filled in the blanks on my own and it came out fantastic.
Her palette was off the wall, Lavigne adds. She was excellent. The flavors she was able to put together came out great. For example, she said to use onion juice, not onions. This was so strange. I had never seen anything like that before, but I did it and it added such a delicate onion flavor.
Following the publication of the cookbook, Richard went to Garrison, New York, in 1940 to become the head chef at Bird and Bottle Inn. She was its first female and Black executive chef. The restaurant gained popularity due to Richards Creole cooking. Her influence over the venue still remains today, as Bird and Bottle continues to offer some of her classic dishes.
In 1941, Richard returned to New Orleans to open her own restaurant. She opened her first restaurant, Lenas Eatery at 2720 La Salle St., which once was referred to as the most talked about place in the South. In 1949, she opened her second restaurant, Lena Richards Gumbo House.
I am intrigued by the amount of things she did, Lavigne says. She accomplished all these things in the Jim Crow South during segregation. It just seems crazy. She did whatever she wanted to do I believe she was not this docile and silent character. She had to be vocal and very bold.
Ultimately, Richards career was unexpectedly cut short when she died of heart attack in 1950, at the age of 58. Her family continued to run Lena Richards Gumbo House until 1958.
But cultural historians and even Richards descendants are still working on securing her place in history. Young is writing a book about her life with Richards surviving granddaughter, Paula Rhodes. Its due out next year.
We want to share her story but also talk about her impact on generations of people more in depth, Young says. I want to share more of her personal and family stories. It has been so awesome seeing this manuscript come together.
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.
SOUTH BEND A car carrying two men that fled a northern Indiana traffic stop crashed into a tree less than 30 seconds later, killing both men, police said.
Rashaun Mason, 21, and Jurrell Fedrick, 26, died early Sunday after the crash in South Bend, the St. Joseph County Fatal Crash Team said Tuesday. Mason was pronounced dead at the scene, Fedrick died at a hospital.
The crash team said in a news release that Mason was driving the car, which officials say accelerated away from a South Bend officer who tried to stop the vehicle for having a headlight that was out.
South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski said Tuesday that he and other department command staff have reviewed the footage from the officer's in-car camera and believe the incident was "not even a pursuit," the South Bend Tribune reported.
Ruszkowski said the vehicle, a Kia, also turned its lights off completely when the officer approached. He said the officer tried to make a U-turn to make the traffic stop, but by the time that happened, the Kia was out of sight, effectively stopping the pursuit before it started. Police said the Kia crashed less than 30 seconds later.
The Regions biggest, wildest and most metal craft beer festival will return this spring.
3 Floyds is bringing back Dark Lord Day on May 20.
Craft beer connoisseurs from all over the world will flock to the craft brewery in a quiet suburban industrial park, 9750 Indiana Parkway, in Munster in search of the demonic Russian-Style Imperial Stout brewed with coffee, Mexican vanilla and Indiana sugar that defies description. The potent 15% ABV beer is typically available to the masses once a year.
After three long years without a festival, we are beyond excited for the return of Dark Lord Day, 3 Floyds marketing manager Taylor Dawson said. Our crew is looking forward to bringing the party back to Munster with lots of beer, metal and the typical Dark Lord debauchery.
Dark Lord has often been rated one of the best beers in the world by RateBeer. 3 Floyds releases the thick, malty, big-bodied Russian Imperial stout every spring, along with a few unique variants.
Typically, a ticket will get a person two bottles of Dark Lord, two bottles of variants and admission to the festival. It features a daylong lineup of heavy-metal bands, food trucks, many 3 Floyds beers, and craft beer aficionados swapping rare bottles from around the world, a practice that dates back to when craft beer was far less common and harder to come by.
Tickets will go on sale at noon at noon March 18.
Additional details on Dark Lord packages, bands and guest breweries will be announced in the upcoming weeks, Dawson said. All information will be listed on darklordday.com.
3 Floyds held Dark Lord Day virtually for the past few years, having people place orders online and drop by to pick up their beers. More than 6,000 people typically flock to the festival, which serves as a pilgrimage of sorts.
The craft brewery started in 1996 and is known for its heavy-metal aesthetic, Its Not Normal attitude and aggressively hopped beers like Alpha King and Zombie Dust. RateBeer says its one of the best breweries in the world.
Originally launched in Hammond, the brewery has attained a loyal following and become a fixture at bars, restaurants, supermarkets and liquor stores in Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area. It closed its beloved brewpub during the pandemic in 2020 but remains a production brewery that has expanded its distribution to 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Its Dark Lord Beer is highly coveted. A bidder recently spent $300 in an auction to buy a three-pack that included the RyeBADL and Lounge Against the Macromachine variants. Its held in such esteem among fans of craft beer that people even sell the Dark Lord empties on eBay, asking $15 apiece.
The Chesterton Art Center is again offering summer art camps to kids of all ages.
During summer break from school, kids can learn artmaking, art techniques and media at the camps at the Chesterton Art Center at 115 S 4th St. in downtown Chesterton. The seven-week courses include discussions of modern artists, unique themes and fine art projects students take home at the end of the week.
With additional weeks of camp being offered this summer, theres more opportunity for students to spend their whole summer creating with CAC, said Jillian Bridgeman, the program director of Chesterton Art Center.
Camps are offered for ages 5 through 9 in the morning and over 10 years old in the afternoon. The only exceptions are Creating with Clay and Makers + Thinkers, which are ages 9-12 in the morning and 13 years old and up in the afternoon.
Tuition ranges from $120 to $140 per camp. Scholarships are available.
Jen Aitchison will instruct Discover the Dunes from June 5-8, Animals Around Us from June 12-15, Summer of Superheroes from June 19-22 and Creating with Clay from June 26-30.
Liz Cowan will teach Creating with Clay from June 26-30
Aitchison will teach World of Mario from July 10-13 and Exploring Marine Life from July 17-20.
Emily Casella will teach Makers + Thinkings from July 24-28.
For more information, visit chestertonart.org or call 219-926-4711.
HAMMOND A Gary man with a knack for getting into trouble with guns is going back to prison.
U.S. District Court Judge Philip P. Simon imposed a 37-month sentence Tuesday on 26-year-old Khalil A. Swader, who pleaded guilty Nov. 10, 2022, to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
His case is one of hundreds the U.S. attorneys office prosecutes each year.
Swader has several prior convictions for firearms violations beginning in 2015 for carrying a handgun without a permit.
The following year, county police arrested him for firing gunshots outside Hammond apartments near St. Michaels Cemetery in Hammond.
His difficulties compounded in 2017 after he pleaded guilty to the Hammond firearms violation, was placed on probation, violated terms of his probation and then had to serve 154 days in jail.
Shortly after his release from county jail, Swader got into more trouble that landed him in federal court.
He went October 13, 2019, to Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus in Merrillville to be treated for a diabetes attack.
While in the hospitals waiting room, another patient noticed Swader was packing a gun.
Police were called and confiscated a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol and ammunition from Swaders pants pockets. A federal grand jury indicted Swader for being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Swader pleaded guilty to that firearms violation, served a 20-month federal prison sentence and was freed in April 2021.
He was under the federal courts supervised release program last year when, according to his defense attorney, Peter L. Boyles, he relapsed into marijuana use.
Swader was driving through Gary on July 11, 2022, when police stopped him for speeding.
Officers said they recovered a loaded semi-automatic Smith & Wesson near where Swader threw something out of his vehicle just before pulling over.
VALPARAISO A 38-year-old Portage man will serve three years on home detention rather than go to prison as requested by prosecutors after being found guilty of molesting a young girl in 2017.
Tyron Pearson will spend an additional three years on formal probation upon his release from home detention, is labeled as a sexually violent predator and is required to register as a sex offender, and must undergo sex offender treatment, according to Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer.
He is prohibited from having any further contact with the young victim during the term of his sentence, the judge said, but was cleared to be with his own biological children.
Pearson faced two to 12 years behind bars on the Level 4 felony count of child molestation.
The sentence came after numerous family members took the witness stand in defense of Pearson and spoke about the loss and hardship that would be created if he were sent to prison. There were also 35 letters submitted in defense of Pearson, the court said.
Pearson told the court Tuesday he was still devastated by the ordeal and angry and hurt by the girl making the accusations against him.
Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Hammer requested prison time for Pearson, referring to the "heinous" nature of the crime.
"He sat in a position of trust," Hammer said of the young girl, who knew Pearson. "He violated that trust."
When the defense began referring to injustice in the case, they were stopped by Clymer, who said he respected the guilty verdict by the jury in September.
Defense attorney Susan Severtson said she was baffled by the sentence sought by prosecutors, arguing Pearson has no prior criminal history.
The jury in the case deliberated for about three and a half hours in September before returning with its guilty verdict on one count of child molesting.
Portage police say they were notified Aug. 24, 2017, that the alleged victim in the case, who was younger than 14, had told a friend that Pearson touched her inappropriately several times between May and August of that year at her home.
"(The alleged victim) later told us that she told her friend because she knew she could trust her," according to a charging document.
The friend reportedly took the alleged victim to a school counselor, and police were notified of the allegations.
The girl claims Pearson first touched her after sending the younger children in the home to bed and then again sometime later while she slept on a couch.
The third incident allegedly occurred Aug. 22, 2017, after the girl fell asleep in her bedroom and involved Pearson forcing the girl to touch him inappropriately, police said.
The girl said her mother was not home during any of the incidents, charges say.
VALPARAISO Just moments after helping break up a fight involving her 19-year-old son nearly two years ago outside her Valparaiso home, Mikalene Stoker told jurors Wednesday morning, she watched Keith Blake pull out a gun and shoot her son.
"Mom, I'm shot," Noah Beller said to Stoker.
Upon seeing Beller's right shoulder bleeding, Stoker testified she assumed he would be fine but then ran to him when she saw him lie down.
"I held him," she said as crying broke out across the courtroom during the first day of testimony in Blake's murder trial.
"His eyes are glazing over," Stoker said, crying as she described watching her son draw his last breath in her arms.
Blake, 34, who sat just a short distance away in the courtroom, showed no obvious reaction to the emotional testimony.
The Michigan City resident is charged with murder and carrying a handgun without a license, according to instructions read to the jury.
Porter Superior Court Judge Mike Fish has said firearm enhancements filed in the case would add five to 20 years to a murder conviction, which carries a sentence of between 45 and 65 years, and up to six additional years to the one year already faced for the handgun charge.
Blake is accused of shooting Beller on March 3, 2021, outside the young man's home on Valparaiso's north side during a dispute over a paternity test, according to court records.
Beller demanded his money back for the test because it was determined he was not the father of the child in question, records show. However, a woman present at the residence continued to claim that he was the father, and the dispute became physical.
"At some point, Keith Blake drew a weapon and shot Noah Beller in the chest," according to charging documents.
Blake and others got into a vehicle and fled the area, court documents said.
Stoker testified Wednesday that the DNA test results clearing her son as a potential father in the case had arrived by email earlier on the same day as the fatal shooting.
She said the young woman claiming Beller was the father had arrived with Blake on the night in question and was carrying multiple knives.
In response to a question from prosecutors, Stoker said a man rushing out of her house in response to the disturbance was not armed.
"He didn't have a gun," she said. "'Cause, well, we don't use guns."
Gary's new redistricting plan
The new legislative maps approved by the Gary Common Council on Friday would bring the city's total population deviation to about 7.34%, even lower than the 10% target.
The changes include: moving precinct 10 from the 1st District to the 4th District, adjusting the southern border of precinct 1, which is in District 2, so that it stops at 9th Avenue, moving all the residents affected by the border change into precinct 10, which is in District 6, and moving precincts 22 and 28 from the 4th District to the 5th.
The new district populations are:
District 1: 11,669
District 2: 11,675
District 3: 12,009
District 4: 11,326
District 5: 11,164
District 6: 11,250
The objects were turned over to the custody of the National Museum of Asian Art on Tuesday afternoon during a ceremony at the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in Washington, with officials from the U.S. departments of Homeland Security, State and Justice.
With the current situation in Yemen, it is not the right time to bring the objects back into the country, Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, Yemens ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.
According to the initial two-year custodial agreement, which Yemen can request to extend, the museum will store, document and care for the objects and will be able to exhibit the collection to foster a greater understanding of ancient Yemeni art, the museum said in its announcement.
As museums have increasingly embraced the repatriation of objects stolen from other countries or acquired under disputed circumstances, the Smithsonian has sought to be a prominent voice in the debate about how and when objects should be returned.
Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian, has said he wants the institutions museums to update their collections practices, and last year adopted an ethical returns policy that holds that issues of fairness could trump any legal title to objects it might possess.
Following that announcement, it said that it would return 29 Benin Bronzes from its own collections to Nigeria, though nine remained on loan at the Smithsonian.
A lawsuit challenging the pay package that made Elon Musk the worlds wealthiest human, at least for a while, moved a step closer to conclusion on Tuesday as lawyers for aggrieved Tesla shareholders and for the carmakers board made last-ditch attempts to sway a judge in their favor.
The suit was filed in Delaware, where Tesla is incorporated, and focuses on whether the board gave shareholders enough information about Mr. Musks compensation before approving it. But the case also raises many other issues swirling around Mr. Musk, including his management of Tesla, his acquisition of Twitter and whether the board can effectively monitor and control his behavior.
A group of shareholders challenged an options package that ended up giving Mr. Musk the right to acquire Tesla shares worth over $70 billion before the stock began to lose value last year. For Mr. Musk to receive the award, which was one of the largest of its kind and later widely imitated by other corporations, Tesla had to meet certain revenue, profit and share price goals that were considered tough to achieve at the time.
In their suit, the shareholders asserted that Tesla provided materially misleading information to investors when it asked them to approve the package. They have asked the Delaware court to void the deal.
Im John J. Lennon, a prison journalist serving a 28-years-to-life aggregate sentence for selling drugs and murder. Today Im a contributing editor at Esquire, I write frequently for The Times and Im working with Emily Bazelon, a staff writer at the magazine, on the Prison Letters Project. This is the second installment of the projects newsletters for the magazine.
Bazelon started the Prison Letters Project to answer correspondence she receives from incarcerated people and amplify the voices of the writers. In 2021, The New York Times Magazine published her cover story about the exoneration of Yutico Briley, who had written to her from prison in Louisiana. After that story came out, Bazelon began receiving even more letters from people in prison. A group of students at Yale Law School (where she is a lecturer) started logging portions of them into a public database (hosted by Freedom Reads, an organization that takes libraries and literary programs to prisons) with the permission and participation of the people who wrote them. Many letters claim innocence, and others raise difficult questions about punishment for people who commit serious crimes.
Occasionally, Emily, her students and I will select a letter and dive more deeply into the facts of the case. We did this with our first entry on Tim Young, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in California (he claims innocence). Young now has representation on appeal. A couple of years ago, Bazelon began receiving letters from Ivie DeMolina, who was convicted for her part in the 1994 murders of one man in New York and another in New Jersey, though she says she did not directly participate in the actual killings. She was sentenced to 25 years to life in New York and has been in prison there for 28 years. If she receives parole in that state, she faces a consecutive sentence of 30 years to life in New Jersey.
I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence, DeMolina, who is 56, wrote in one of her letters. I am someone who was not wrongfully convicted, but wrongfully represented.
At the start of his pandemic film, The First Fallen, the Brazilian director Rodrigo de Oliveira stakes a claim to the elegiac: A soldier steps through a jungle ruminating in voice-over about those who die early in battle. The significance of this scene which cuts to Suzano (Johnny Massaro) watching his nephew, Muriel (Alex Bonin), in the surf is made clearer later. But the meaning of the blood trickling from Suzanos nose is a given from the beginning.
When Suzano, a biologist, returns from Paris to a small city in southeast Brazil to visit his sister, a nurse named Maura (Clara Choveaux), the first wave of H.I.V. and AIDS is on the horizon. It is the last day of 1981, but Suzano doesnt feel like celebrating. He looks haggard, Maura tells him. He has a dry cough.
Three pandas at Japan's Wakayama park return to China
Xinhua) 13:51, February 22, 2023
SHIRAHAMA, Japan, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Eimei, a giant panda that has lived in Japan for 28 years, left western Japan's Wakayama park along with his twin daughters to fly back to China on Wednesday morning .
The 30-year-old male panda, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at the Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama in Wakayama prefecture.
Later in the day, the three giant pandas were scheduled to take a flight from the Kansai International Airport to a facility in southwest China's Sichuan province.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday, where about 2,000 visitors said goodbye to the three pandas.
Eimei, or Yong Ming in Chinese, is a 30-year-old male panda and the oldest giant panda living in Japan. Coming from China in 1994, it is the father of 16 giant panda cubs born at the Adventure World, setting the world record for being the oldest giant panda to have successfully bred in captivity.
Last year, Eimei was appointed as a special envoy for Sino-Japan friendship.
Thanks to the friendly cooperation between the Adventure World and the research base of giant panda breeding in China's Sichuan province, Wakayama and Sichuan forged a prefecture-province friendship relationship in January 2022, said Shuhei Kishimoto, governor of Wakayama prefecture.
Upon the pandas' return, only four giant pandas will be living at the Adventure World in Japan.
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
The whole family is a walking advertisement for how America has been enriched by immigration.
And as governor, Haleys best known and most courageous political act came in the aftermath of a white gunman killing nine Black parishioners during a June 2015 prayer session inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. After it was discovered that the gunman had posed for numerous photos with Confederate symbols and was linked to a racist manifesto, Haley called for legislation that led to the removal of the Confederate flag that had flown on the State Capitol grounds since 1962.
We are not going to allow this symbol to divide us any longer, Haley declared.
Good on her. Now fast forward to Haley announcing her run for the presidency. Imagine all the ways she could have differentiated herself from Trump and Ron DeSantis.
She could have said: Friends, in the last two years, Congress passed bills to upgrade our infrastructure, our capacity to make advanced microchips and advanced clean energy systems. The first two were passed with bipartisan majorities. This legislation constitutes a launching pad that could enable America to dominate the 21st century. And I know how to get the most out of those launching pads.
During my time as governor, Greenville, S.C., became one of the nations most important hubs of wind energy innovation. As South Carolinas Upstate Business Journal recently wrote, According to a new study from the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank, inventors in Greenville were responsible for 172 wind energy patents over the past five years, more than any other metro area in the country. You bet! Thats because we made Greenville home to General Electrics Power & Water energy engineering team.
Haley could have added, I also know a lot about building infrastructure for high-tech manufacturing, because during my time as governor I helped to make South Carolina one of the nations most active hubs of advanced manufacturing from advanced aircraft to cars to tires.
Haley could have then pivoted to explain that every one of those manufacturers today is telling us that to realize their full potential they need workers schooled in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). But they cant find them. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2025 America could need one million more engineers and other STEM professionals than we can produce at home at our current rate. She could have said the only way to fill that gap is by welcoming the worlds most energetic and high-skilled immigrants.
Legal immigrants grow our pie and invent things that enhance our national security. As the daughter of two such immigrants, Haley could have committed to forging a long needed compromise that would truly halt illegal immigration while expanding legal immigration. As a governor who dared yank down the Confederate flag, she could boast that she had the spine to pull the country together to do big, hard things.
When Celeste Polanco amassed 100,000 followers on TikTok, she started thinking about money.
I knew I was in the position to get brand deals, said Ms. Polanco, a lifestyle content creator in Brooklyn. I just didnt know anything about the business side of things.
So Ms. Polanco, 30, was intrigued when a representative of the Carter Agency, a talent agency for TikTok creators, contacted her in 2021. She liked the energy she got from Ben Popkin, an agency representative, during their first meeting, which was via video. I told him my boundaries and how much I think I am of value as an influencer new in the space, Ms. Polanco said, adding that Mr. Popkin indicated her value was higher than what she thought.
She signed a contract.
Ms. Polancos story is not uncommon for many people who have embraced TikTok in the last few years and found themselves blessed by the mysterious algorithm that serves up their videos to vast numbers of users. The path from fame to fortune on the platform is being charted in real time, often on TikTok itself. Most users make no money; the ones who do typically earn it by promoting brands and products. Talent agencies can help negotiate those deals.
Now, more than a year after signing with the Carter Agency, Ms. Polanco says it never paid her for several deals she completed while working with the agency. According to documents provided to The New York Times, the Carter Agency negotiated deals on her behalf for at least $10,000, none of which, Ms. Polanco said, she has received. Ms. Polanco is one of two dozen creators who recounted similar allegations against the agency to The Times, including withholding money and concealing the rates of brand deals.
For most who attempt it professionally, playwriting is a hopeless job, with few opportunities to break in and fewer to advance. So its a pleasing irony that the playwright Samuel D. Hunter, the reigning bard of American economic dead-endism, has managed such a vibrant career.
His trophy case is crowded with prizes: Obie, Whiting, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, MacArthur. The film adaptation of his 2012 play The Whale is up for three Academy Awards at next months ceremony. Even more impressive is that, at just 41, hes had 11 New York City stage premieres in 12 years, from the jumbly satire of Jacks Precious Moment, his local debut in 2010, to the sublime heartbreak of A Case for the Existence of God in 2022.
A Bright New Boise, also from 2010, was the first of Hunters plays to achieve widespread notice, and with good reason. It introduced the radical sympathy of his voice and the quietly despairing people who evoked it. These were characters that few playwrights paid attention to: low-wage earners, many working at local branches of national chains, mostly in Hunters native Idaho. They struggle with the fallout of economic devastation and the emotional kind so tied up with it. Searching for faith, they must face its insufficiency.
So interpret with caution the title of A Bright New Boise, which opened on Tuesday in a taut Signature Theater revival directed by Oliver Butler. It takes place in the break room of a local Hobby Lobby, on a deadly accurate set by Wilson Chin featuring a malfunctioning microwave on the counter and soporific motivational programming on the closed-circuit television. That the programming is occasionally interrupted by surgery-cam videos a scalpel probing an ear is how this production begins baldly warns us that we are in for something deeper and more upsetting than mere corporate uplift can obscure.
In the 1960s and 70s, with the establishment not only of Trinity but also of houses like American Repertory Theater in Massachusetts, the Guthrie in Minneapolis and Steppenwolf in Chicago, the regional theater movement that had begun a generation earlier under Margo Jones in Dallas and others solidified. Mr. Hall and his counterparts championed bold works innovatively staged.
His work was rooted in the work of the founders of the movement who came before him, especially Margo Jones, but then burst it wide open, Kevin Moriarty, executive director of the Dallas Theater Center, said by email. Like them, Adrian was deeply committed to creating a body of work with a company of actors who were resident in a community, rather than pick up actors for hire.
But, he continued, his unique approach to theatrical narrative and design was a significant aesthetic departure. Fusing the European influences of Brecht and Grotowski with a deep American sensibility (even more specifically, that of a gay Texan maverick), Adrian created theater in which actors confronted the audience directly.
In the early days of Trinity, that audience often consisted of high school students. In 1966, Mr. Hall received federal funding for a three-year program he called Project Discovery, which bused students from throughout Rhode Island to Providence to experience theater. In the first season, he mounted shows like A Midsummer Nights Dream, thinking that the students would be interested in seeing plays they might be reading in class.
They werent. They slashed seats, vandalized the bathrooms, threw things at the actors.
It was my moment of truth, Mr. Hall told The Los Angeles Times in 1989. Even though I was frightened of them, I knew it was a battle unto the death with me. I had to make them listen.
An 85-year-old woman who was walking her dog by a pond near her home in Fort Pierce, Fla., was killed when an alligator dragged her into the water on Monday, the authorities said.
Witnesses called 911 when they saw the 10-foot alligator grab the woman, Gloria Serge, after it went after her small dog, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement.
Ms. Serge died as a result of the encounter, the commission said. The dog was unharmed. A trapper captured and killed the alligator, the commission said.
Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, the commission said, although this was at least the third fatal encounter in the past year.
In a bid to prevent a surge of migrants at the southern border when a pandemic measure is lifted in May, the Biden administration on Tuesday announced its toughest policy yet to crack down on unlawful entries.
The proposed rule, which has been opened for 30 days of public comment before taking effect, would presume that migrants are ineligible for asylum if they entered the country unlawfully, a significant rollback in the countrys traditional policy toward those fleeing persecution in other countries.
It would allow rapid deportation of anyone who had failed to request protection from another country while en route to the United States or who did not notify border authorities through a mobile app of their plans to seek asylum.
Administration officials said the policy would take effect on May 11 with the expected termination that day of Title 42, a Trump-era health emergency rule that has allowed border authorities to swiftly expel migrants back to Mexico. The new rule would then remain in place for two years.
MILWAUKEE The general election for the swing seat on Wisconsins Supreme Court, a momentous contest that will determine whether Republicans maintain or lose their iron grip on the states politics, will feature a liberal Milwaukee County judge against a conservative former justice of the states high court.
Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal from the Milwaukee suburbs, and Daniel Kelly, a former Supreme Court justice who lost his seat in a 2020 election, advanced in a Tuesday primary to the April 4 general election, according to The Associated Press. The winner of the race, the most consequential American election on the 2023 calendar, will serve a 10-year term.
While Judge Protasiewicz (pronounced pro-tuh-SAY-witz) sailed to a first-place finish in the officially nonpartisan primary, Justice Kelly placed second, ahead of Jennifer Dorow, a Waukesha County judge known for presiding over the trial last fall of a man who killed six people by driving through a 2021 Christmas parade. Late Tuesday, Judge Protasiewicz had about 46 percent of the vote, Justice Kelly had 24 percent and Judge Dorow had 22 percent.
If Judge Protasiewicz prevails in six weeks, it would tip the balance of the states seven-member Supreme Court, which has been controlled by conservatives since 2008.
The Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday decided to expel one of its largest and most prominent churches, Saddleback Church in Southern California, over the churchs installment of a woman as pastor.
The move is largely symbolic: Saddleback still operates as a church, and its members will not be overtly impacted.
But the Southern Baptist leaderships ejection of such a high-profile member church underlines the denominations internal struggles with gender, sexuality, abuse, politics and race, including criticisms from an energetic right flank that the group is drifting to the woke left. The convention also removed several other churches over their placement of women in certain leadership roles, as well as a Florida church over its handling of a sex abuse case.
The convention, with 13 million members and 47,000 churches, has long served as a bellwether for American evangelicalism.
Putin tried to starve the world, he said.
The speeches came at a critical moment. While the European allies have held together far more effectively than anyone expected a year ago, there were signs at the Munich Security Conference, which concluded on Sunday, that many European leaders are wondering whether they will be able to sustain the current level of spending on arms, government support and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Mr. Biden praised the spirit of the people of Moldova, a former Soviet republic, for having the resolve to live in freedom, and he recalled how Poles endured for decades under the iron fist of Communist rule. He suggested that Moldova, Poland and pro-democracy dissidents in Belarus, Russias authoritarian ally, represent the thirst for freedom in the face of oppressive regimes.
Mr. Biden acknowledged that there were real questions when the war started about whether the democratic nations of Europe and the world would rise to the challenge. Those questions, he said, have now been answered.
Yes, we would stand up for sovereignty and we did, Mr. Biden told the crowd, which stood bathed in lights aimed at the centuries-old castle. Yes, we would stand up for the right of people to live free from aggression and we did. We would stand up for democracy and we did.
The presidents speech followed meetings with President Andrzej Duda of Poland. Mr. Biden called the relationship between their countries a crucial part of the success of NATO, which he called maybe the most consequential alliance in history.
6 TIMES WE ALMOST KISSED (And One Time We Did), by Tess Sharpe. (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99.) In this young adult romance, two teenage girls in a complicated friendship bordering on romance are forced to confront their feelings as they try to help their mothers (who are best friends) through a health crisis.
RETRO, by Sofia Lapuente and Jarrod Shusterman. (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99.) Can you live without modern technology? Luna Iglesias, the protagonist of this new Y.A. thriller, is taking the Retro Challenge to find out, and maybe win a scholarship, but what at first seems like a lifestyle experiment turns out to be more sinister than meets the eye.
PROMISE BOYS, by Nick Brooks. (Holt, $19.99.) Brookss new Y.A. novel follows three teenagers of color who become the prime suspects, and must fight to clear their name, when the principal of their prestigious prep school is murdered.
THE BLACK QUEEN, by Jumata Emill. (Delacorte, $18.99.) When the first Black homecoming queen of a Mississippi high school is killed in this debut Y.A. thriller, it opens both a frantic search for the murderer and also an overdue reckoning about race and privilege.
Biden and Putin build up alliances
President Biden met with leaders from NATOs eastern flank in Warsaw, while President Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinas top diplomat, Wang Yi, in Moscow. As Russias war in Ukraine appears set to drag on, both are trying to shore up allegiances.
Biden reminded Eastern European leaders that they know whats at stake in this conflict, not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world. He vowed to defend Americas NATO allies, which are most at risk from Russias aggression.
In his talks with Wang, Putin noted that President Xi Jinping of China was expected to visit Russia, but indicated that the meeting had yet to be confirmed. The Kremlin is working to keep China in Russias corner amid a flurry of diplomacy across Europe by Beijing. The threat of U.S. sanctions looms if China were to increase its economic support for Russia.
A pro-war rally: Putin told a crowd of tens of thousands of people gathered at a Moscow stadium that there is a battle underway on our historical borders, for our people. It was probably the most public celebration of war that Russia has mounted since the invasion.
The case for fighting E.S.G. gets messy
Many Republicans have made railing against the environmental, social and corporate governance investing movement a cornerstone of their political success. (Indeed, Vivek Ramaswamy, the financier who rose to fame battling against woke capitalism, announced a long-shot bid for the 2024 G.O.P. presidential nomination yesterday.)
But that stance is growing increasingly complicated especially given new revelations that lawmakers who have publicly berated companies for pursuing E.S.G. strategies have also taken big donations from those same businesses.
Bashing E.S.G. and left-leaning companies has been highly fruitful for Republicans. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, widely considered a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has scored political points for picking a fight with Disney over its opposition to his states so-called Dont Say Gay law.
And he and other G.O.P. state officials have taken on investment giants like BlackRock, one of the biggest proponents of E.S.G. policies, and Vanguard, threatening to pull billions in state money from those firms over their support of environmental and social considerations in investing. Mike Pence, who may also run for president, last year accused a few Wall Street financiers of pushing a left-wing agenda that Democrats hadnt been able to get approved at the ballot box.
Headliner
Gair
The inspiration for this bar and restaurant is Robert Gair, a Scotsman who emigrated to New York, became a printing and packaging magnate and, in the late 1800s, opened factories and warehouses in what is now Dumbo, Brooklyn. He is credited with having created the efficient folded cardboard box. The owner here, Kevin Cimini, a partner in the design firm March, has hired Gabe McMackin, formerly the executive chef at Troutbeck in the Hudson Valley and the Finch in Brooklyn, to assemble a menu of bar snacks like deviled eggs with a twist and charcuterie and spreads. More substantial smashburgers, fish and chips, and lamb chops will also mollify the hungry. Sandblasted concrete defines the interior, including a 36-seat central bar. There are tables for 20 and outside seating for 30. (Opens Friday)
41 Washington Street (Water Street), Dumbo, Brooklyn, 718-233-2595, gair-dumbo.com.
Opening
Duomo 51
A seventh-floor setback in the DoubleTree Hotel in Rockefeller Center is the site of this new Italian restaurant with an indoor-outdoor terrace and views of St. Patricks Cathedral. No wonder theyre calling it Duomo, Italian for cathedral. The executive chef, Vilfredo Hodai, also works at Ramerino Italian Prime in Manhattan, and was formerly at La Giostra in Florence, Italy. Though billed as Tuscan, the menu is more generally Italian, with dishes like grilled octopus, tomato soup with burrata, pappardelle with truffle oil, linguine with clams, and veal scaloppine with mushrooms in a brown sauce. Dessert options include cannoli Siciliana. Super Tuscan wines are well-represented. (Thursday)
Seventh floor, DoubleTree Hotel, 25 West 51st Street, 646-398-8098, duomo51.com.
Ueki
You might associate Bruce and Eric Brombergs restaurants, notably the Blue Ribbons, with fried chicken, but Japanese food, cue the sushi, is also their thing. This omakase counter, seating 12, is the latest example, $195 per person. Its named for the sushi expert Toshi Ueki, a founder of the companys sushi restaurants, who died in 2018.
34 Downing Street (Bedford Street), 212-691-0404, uekisushi.com.
Creamline
The ice cream parlor and burger counter in Chelsea Market has opened an offshoot in Long Island City, Queens. Like the parent location, this one is also in partnership with Ronnybrook Farm in Ancramdale, N.Y., which provides the dairy products used in the spots ice creams and milkshakes. But unlike the original, the food here is strictly for takeout and delivery. Burgers, sandwiches, fries and chili are available, in addition to milkshakes.
40-05 Skillman Avenue (40th Street), Long Island City, Queens, creamlinenyc.com.
This teaching idea was submitted by Jade McDaniel, who teaches Technical Reading and Writing at the Dayton Regional STEM School in Dayton, Ohio.
Do you teach with The Times? Tell us about it here, or browse our full collection of reader ideas.
Project Overview
As a subscriber to The Learning Networks newsletter, I discovered last spring the Word Field Note Challenge, an activity inspired by the work of Rebekah ODell that tasked students with creating field notes for vocabulary words from The New York Times. The challenge invited students to create a one-page guide that illustrated and deeply explored the meaning of a word of their choice, like naturalists recording notes on their discoveries in nature.
Seeing the combination of vocabulary, graphs and creative formatting in this project, I saw potential connections between language arts and math classes. At the Dayton Regional STEM School, where I teach, we collaborate across content areas and grade levels using a Project Based Learning model. My class, Technical Reading and Writing (T.R.W.), is the 11th-grade language arts requirement, and it focuses on preparing students for reading and writing in the real world. In this course, students create and design resumes, cover letters, proposals and instructions, among other documents that communicate information clearly and concisely.
To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.
The stunning failure of the Democratic Party on election night was nowhere more apparent than at Il Bacco, an Italian restaurant on the boulevard where Queens bleeds into Nassau County. That was where a soon-to-be-infamous 34-year-old political neophyte walked out to a cheering throng of Republicans and declared victory in one of Americas most important House contests. Only in this country can the kid who came from the basement in Jackson Heights , George Santos began, before he was momentarily overwhelmed. To everybody watching, I want you to know that the American dream is worth fighting for. Its worth defending, and thats why I jumped into this race.
In another era two or four years ago, perhaps the Santos saga, with its absurd cascade of lies, would have been an amusing sideshow for many Democratic politicians, who would have been able to mock the chaos and move on, comfortably sure that Santos, who fabricated much of his personal and financial biography, would only further hobble a neutered Republican minority. But the new congressman, now under investigation by local and federal authorities, was instead a crucial cog in Kevin McCarthys House majority, having flipped the redrawn Third Congressional District in New York, an area that had been represented by Democrats for decades, by eight points.
These days, New York is known as the deep-blue state where Democrats lost four seats on the way to losing the House of Representatives and effectively halting President Bidens domestic agenda for the next two years. Kathy Hochul, who served as Andrew Cuomos lieutenant governor before accusations of sexual harassment and assault forced him from office in 2021, won the narrowest race for governor in 28 years, beating Lee Zeldin, a Trump-supporting congressman from Long Island, by less than six points. While forecasts for a national red wave didnt materialize Democratic candidates for governor and the Senate were largely triumphant in tossup races across the country, and Chuck Schumer of Brooklyn remained the Senate majority leader Democrats stumbled in territory on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley that Biden won handily just two years earlier.
These disappointments have cast into sharp relief both the divisions within the party and the peculiar void of the states Democratic organization itself. Few New Yorkers cared, until late 2022, that the statewide Democratic apparatus operated, for the most part, as a hollowed-out appendage of the governor, a second campaign account that did little, if any, work in terms of messaging and turnout. New Hampshire, a state with roughly half the population of Queens, has a Democratic Party with 16 full-time paid staff members. New Yorks has four, according to the state chairman, Jay Jacobs. One helps maintain social media accounts that update only sparingly. Most state committee members have no idea where the party keeps its headquarters, or if it even has one. (It does, at 50 Broadway in Manhattan.)
Why are we so fascinated by stories about sentient robots, rapacious A.I. and the rise of thinking machines? Faced with that question, I did what any writer on deadline would do and asked ChatGPT.
The answers I got a helpfully numbered list with five chatty entries were not surprising. They were, to be honest, what I might have come up with myself after a few seconds of thought, or what I might expect to encounter in a B- term paper from a distracted undergraduate. Long on generalizations and short on sources, the bots essay was a sturdy summary of conventional wisdom. For example: Sentient robots raise important moral and ethical questions about the treatment of intelligent beings, the nature of consciousness and the responsibilities of creators.
Quite so. From the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea to the medieval Jewish legend of the golem through Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and beyond, we have grappled with those important questions, and also frightened and titillated ourselves with tales of our inventions coming to life. Our ingenuity as a species, channeled through individual and collective hubris, compels us to concoct artificial beings that menace and seduce us. They escape our control. They take control. They fall in love.
In The Imagination of Disaster, Susan Sontags classic 1965 essay on science-fiction movies, she observed that we live under continual threat of two equally fearful, but seemingly opposed, destinies: unremitting banality and inconceivable terror. As Turing-tested A.I. applications have joined the pantheon of sci-fi shibboleths, they have dutifully embodied both specters.
A young white woman revisits Cameroon and remembers an idyllic childhood in a French colonial outpost. Her name is France.
Released in 1988, Claire Deniss quasi-autobiographical Chocolat is the brilliant prelude to a great career, as demonstrated by the new 4K restoration revived for a week by Film at Lincoln Center.
Denis served a distinguished apprenticeship, an assistant director to Jacques Rivette, Dusan Makavejev, Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch; she made her debut as a filmmaker in her early 40s with a confident, fully formed style. More visual than literary, Chocolat is at once open and elliptical, austere and vivid.
France (the country as well as the child played by Cecile Ducasse) may be the nominal protagonist of the film, but its central character is Protee (Isaach de Bankole), the colonial familys handsome, fiercely self-contained house boy. His name is also allegorical, suggesting the shape-shifting Greek sea-god Proteus.
You shot The Whale in early 2021, not long after you had given birth to your first child. Was it an easy yes?
I was fully anticipating not working for the first year while I was a mother, so I was surprised when my agent sent me the script for The Whale. I almost didnt want to read it, because I didnt want to get attached, and then when I read the script, I felt even more strongly that this wasnt the right time in my life to tackle something like that because it would take so much work. Also, everything that Id done had been a specifically Asian character, and because this character wasnt, I thought the casting net for it must be so wide. I just didnt want to throw my hat in the ring.
About a week passed and my agent came back to me and was like, They really want to see you. Is this something you want to let go? During that time, I had thought about it, like, Oh my gosh, it is a really amazing story and script. I dont know, can I do it? They asked for three scenes on tape for the audition. I told my agent, Heres one scene. Thats all I had time to do. I think he should know after one scene whether Im the right girl for him or not.
Thats a flex, Hong!
I dont have time to do anything else! My baby is crying in the background [she told the agent]. But Darren called me right after he saw it, somehow my baby cooperated, and we were able to put another scene on tape very quickly.
Once you accepted the role, how did you feel?
Honestly, I felt like I wanted to barf. I was thinking, Wow, Im so tired. How can I possibly be on set and say all these lines? Oh my God, this is more dialogue than Ive had in all of the things Ive done combined. Thankfully, my husband really stepped up and took care of our baby while I was at work and allowed me to do it. And he was the one who also really pushed me to throw my hat in the ring and said that he would be there to support me.
With more than one million viewers in its first month in theaters, a movie called Tirailleurs, or Riflemen, has touched a nerve in France by bringing attention to a neglected aspect of the nations history: the decisive role played in two World Wars by African soldiers, many forcibly conscripted in French colonies.
Heated debate and public soul searching has surrounded the movie. Much of the action unfolds during World War I in the cold, muddy trenches of northern and eastern France, a climate and a culture utterly foreign to the disoriented African conscripts who take orders from white officers. (In the United States, the movies title is Father and Soldier.)
In scenes of mist, mire and mayhem, countless lives are lost for the gain of a few hundred yards or a single hill. The grotesqueness of the sacrifice seems compounded for the Africans dragooned into fighting somebody elses war. From 1914 to 1918, more than 30,000 of the tirailleurs, as they were known, were killed.
Released last month, the movie, directed by Mathieu Vadepied, stars Omar Sy, a French actor propelled to international fame through his leading role in Lupin, a Netflix thriller series.
A Bronx woman has been charged with stabbing her 7-year-old granddaughter, who remains in critical but stable condition, the police said on Wednesday.
The woman, Maritza Yauger, 65, was charged with attempted murder, attempted manslaughter, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child, according to a New York Police Department spokeswoman.
On Tuesday, around 8 a.m., Ms. Yauger was at her apartment on Clinton Avenue near East 169th Street in the Bronx neighborhood of Morrisania when she stabbed the girl, according to the police and public records.
At 8:17 a.m., emergency service workers received a call about the stabbing, and arrived at Ms. Yaugers residence about five minutes later, according to a New York Fire Department spokesman.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. When Gov. Kathy Hochul laid out her plan for accelerating the development of New Yorks offshore wind industry a year ago, she promised thousands of jobs for state residents.
Today, New Yorks first wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean is under construction. Crews in hard hats are assembling platforms for giant turbines and building boats that will ferry technicians onto the water to ensure the massive blades keep rotating.
But the work is not being done in New York. It is happening more than 150 miles away in Rhode Island.
States and cities all along the East Coast are vying with New York to be hubs for the fast-growing business of harnessing wind power offshore. But Rhode Island took the lead by building the first offshore wind farm in the United States several years ago. Centrally located among projects planned from New York to Massachusetts, the nations smallest state has held on to many of the jobs and economic benefits that go with being first.
For years, Lawrence V. Ray manipulated and exploited a group of young people who had lived with his daughter in a dormitory at Sarah Lawrence College. He didnt do it alone, prosecutors say: Among them was an enforcer.
Isabella Pollok became Mr. Rays trusted lieutenant, prosecutors have said, helping abuse her onetime roommates. Descriptions of how she played a part in keeping Mr. Rays followers compliant and terrified emerged last year as former students testified at his trial, which led to a 60-year sentence for extortion, sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and other charges.
Ms. Pollok ran the accounts and meted out discipline, prosecutors said, pushing group members to serve and fund Mr. Ray across a decade and several states. One former student testified that Ms. Pollok and Mr. Ray showed up to a hotel room where she had been earning money for them by working as a prostitute. Ms. Pollok taunted her, the former student, Claudia Drury, said, and Mr. Ray assaulted her for as long as eight hours, placing a plastic bag over her head and threatening to kill her.
On Wednesday, a judge in Manhattan sentenced Ms. Pollok, who pleaded guilty last fall to a single count of conspiracy to launder money, to four and a half years in prison. That ends a case that began on the campus of an elite college in Westchester County with a progressive intellectual tradition then devolved into squalid scenes of abuse and domination played out in hotel rooms and homes in New York City and beyond.
I think I know why artificial intelligence is breaking our all-too-human brains. Its coming at us too fast. We dont understand whats happening inside the black boxes of A.I., and what we dont understand, we understandably fear. Ordinarily we count on lawmakers and regulators to look out for our interests, but they cant keep up with the rapid advances in A.I., either.
Even the scientists, engineers and coders at the frontiers of A.I. research appear to be improvising. Early this month, Brad Smith, the vice chair and president of Microsoft, wrote a blog post describing the surprise of company leaders and responsible A.I. experts last summer when they got their hands on a version of what the world now knows as ChatGPT. They realized that A.I. developments we had expected around 2033 would arrive in 2023 instead, he wrote.
There are two potential reactions. One is to slam on the brakes before artificial intelligence subverts national security using deep fakes, persuades us to abandon our spouses, or sucks up all the resources of the universe to make, say, paper clips (a scenario some people actually worry about). The opposite reaction is to encourage the developers to forge ahead, dealing with problems as they arise.
Adam Thierer, an innovation and technology policy analyst at the free-market R Street Institute, labels the cautious approach as anticipatory ethics and the less cautious one as evasive entrepreneurism. He leans toward the latter camp, which sometimes goes by the slogan, Better to seek forgiveness than permission.
The result? In terms of income, Podhorzer writes. the respective caucuses have become mirror images of each other and of who they were from Reconstruction into the 1960s.
The shift is especially glaring when looking at majority-white congressional districts:
From 1994 through 2008, Democrats did about equally well with each income group. But, beginning with the 2010 election, Democrats began doing much better with the top two quintiles and much worse with the bottom two quintiles. In 2020, the gap between the top two and the bottom two quintiles was 50 points. Since 2016, Democrats have been doing worse than average with the middle quintile as well.
The income shift coincided with a deepening of the urban-rural partisan schism.
As recently as 2008, Podhorzer writes, 40 percent of the Democratic caucus represented either rural or sparse suburban districts, and about a fifth of the Republican caucus represented majority-minority, urban or dense suburban districts. Now, the caucuses are sorted nearly perfectly.
As if that were not enough, divergent economic trends are compounding the urban-rural split.
In his socioeconomic polarization essay, Podhorzer shows how median household income in white-majority districts has changed.
From 1996 to 2008, in majority-white districts, there was virtually no difference in household income between districts represented by Republicans and Democrats. Since then, the two have diverged sharply, with median household income rising to $80,725 in 2020 in majority-white districts represented by Democrats, well above the $62,163 in districts represented by Republicans.
Podhorzer ranks congressional districts on five measures:
1) Districts in the lowest or second-lowest quintile (the bottom 40 percent) of both income and education, 2) districts in the lowest or second-lowest quintile of income but in the middle quintile or better for education, 3) districts that are not in the other four measures, 4) districts that are either in the fourth quintile on both dimensions or in the fourth for one and the fifth for the other and 5) districts that are in the fifth quintile for both dimensions.
For a forgotten moment, at the very start of the United States half-century-long war on drugs, public health was the weapon of choice. In the 1970s, when soldiers returning from Vietnam were grappling with heroin addiction, the nations first drug czar appointed by President Richard Nixon developed a national system of clinics that offered not only methadone but also counseling, 12-step programs and social services. Roughly 70 percent of the nations drug control budget was devoted to this initiative; only the remaining 30 percent went to law enforcement.
The moment was short-lived, of course. Mired in controversy and wanting to appear tough on crime, Nixon tacked right just months before resigning from office, and nearly every president after him from Reagan to Clinton to Bush followed the course he set. Before long, the funding ratio between public health and criminal justice measures flipped. Police and prison budgets soared, and anything related to health, medicine or social services was left to dangle by its own shoestring.
The results of that shift are clear: Drug use is soaring. More Americans are dying of overdoses than at any point in modern history. Its time to reverse course.
Drug use and addiction are as old as humanity itself, and historians and policymakers are likely to debate whether the war on drugs was ever winnable, or what its true aims even were. In the meantime, its clear that to exit the current morass, Americans will have to restore public health to the center of its approach.
Based on a study done for a British nonprofit, Cochrane, his column states with assurance that masks, including N-95 respirators, made no difference in people contracting Covid and other respiratory diseases.
I read the Cochrane report, and it states in its conclusions: There is uncertainty about the effects of face masks. The low to moderate certainty of evidence means our confidence in the effect estimate is limited, and that the true effect may be different from the observed estimate of the effect.
Alan Dynner
Boston
To the Editor:
Bret Stephens vilified and applauded the wrong people. Mr. Stephenss conclusion, based on the Cochrane study, that mask mandates were a bust may be true. I dont know. But I do know that the C.D.C. and other medical professionals recommending mask wearing were not acting out of incompetence, negligence or for any sinister reason. Based on the best available science these men and women were doing their best to protect the health and safety of the American people.
On the other hand, most of those opposing the mandates were not doing so based on an evaluation of the science, but rather on a misguided interpretation of American individualism rooted in right-wing ideology that was reinforced by Donald Trump and amplified on the internet.
Intent and motive matter. So, even if it turns out that masks are ineffective against the spread of Covid, before calling for an apology from the people who were on the front lines fighting the pandemic, as Mr. Stephens does, lets remember who was working for the welfare of the country and who was objecting to the precautions for political, not health, reasons.
On the eve of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, its leaders expected a quick success. The Russian military, modernized in the past decade and emboldened by campaigns in Ukraine and Syria, was confident using force abroad. As Russia moved nearly 200,000 troops, missile launchers and combat aviation apparatus into place early last year, many feared the worst.
But Russian victory never came. Instead, the Russian military has sustained staggering losses: Senior U.S. officials place Russian casualties at well over 100,000. The army has lost thousands of pieces of armored equipment and several squadrons of fighter jets and helicopters, and expended a large proportion of its precision strike munitions and artillery shells. Any finesse or operational art in doctrine has given way to brute force and repetitive attacks. Russias army is becoming unrecognizable from what it was one year ago.
But thats not stopping it. In fact, Russian leaders are preparing for a protracted conflict. To replace lost personnel, Russia mobilized 300,000 men last September, and to replace equipment losses, the military is withdrawing older equipment from strategic reserves. The Kremlin, for its part, increased defense budgets and ordered accelerated production of defense equipment. The military may be battered and bruised, but Russia is still intent on fighting.
The danger of that determination is plain to see. In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces are waging attritional battles as part of a new offensive that may last through the spring or early summer. In the face of Ukraines strong will to fight and continued Western support, the gains have been minimal and the losses steep. But the attacks are relentless.
A century after oil barons scoured Texas for prime plots from which to extract black gold, another boom is underway: the plugging of thousands of abandoned oil wells. Its an oil rush in reverse, spurred by the promise of federal money.
In 2021, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which released $4.7 billion to states and federal agencies for plugging fallow oil and gas projects known as orphan wells if they lacked an owner.
There has never been federal money made available to plug these wells, said Adam Peltz, a lawyer with the Environmental Defense Fund, an advocacy group.
Each leaky well could pose a grave environmental danger to surrounding areas in the form of a methane plume or groundwater contamination. Yet closing a single orphan well can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Perhaps what recently happened to Jenn Stimple, a wardrobe stylist for TV and film, has also happened to you. Ms. Stimple said that after a colleague complimented her shoes a pair of Chelsea boots from Blundstone she pointed out that several people on set were wearing the same style. If you look around, that person has them on, and that person has them on, and that person, she said she told her colleague.
On a flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles in December, I had a similar experience: Three people in my row (including me) were wearing Blundstone boots.
Ms. Stimple, 40, who lives in New York, owns two pairs from the brand: one in brown leather with a round toe, which she bought in 2015, and another in faded black leather with a square toe. Theyre just really easy to pull on and take off at home after a long day, she said.
Boots, like other clothes, every so often become characteristic of particular moments in time. In the early 1990s, there were Timberlands; in the early 2000s, Uggs; and in the early 2010s, Red Wings. After years of an unpredictable pandemic in which many people sought comfortable, versatile clothes that didnt compromise style, it seems that Blundstones Chelsea boots a shoe free of laces and buckles may be what fashion historians point to as the boot of the early 2020s.
LONDON Farms arent normally a source of stylistic inspiration for the upper echelons of fashion. But at London Fashion Week, it felt as if some designers had barnyards on the brain.
Simone Rocha had hay fever she packed her sheer layered skirts with similar-looking stuff and Christopher Kane offered tops and column gowns with kitschy AI-generated prints of pigs, chicks and rats. S.S. Daley presented knits with one of his favorite recurring motifs the duck as did Daniel Lee, whose debut collection for Burberry was filled with wacky mallard prints, feathery fronds and a knitted duck bonnet with a beak and legs. Why?
Because ducks are so British and associated with rain, Mr. Lee said after the show.
As Britain continues to grapple with its ongoing national identity crisis, the turn to familiar terrain think English eccentricity and the green and pleasant land should perhaps not feel surprising. But there was also more to this season than that.
The producers and star of Parade, a Broadway musical about an antisemitic lynching in Georgia a century ago, condemned a small neo-Nazi demonstration that took place outside the shows first preview performance on Tuesday night.
The show centers on the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager in Atlanta who was convicted in 1913 of raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl. Responding to an outcry about whether Frank had been wrongfully convicted in a trial tainted by antisemitism, the Georgia governor commuted his death sentence. Months later, Frank was lynched by a mob.
Ben Platt, the Tony-winning actor who plays Frank, had already described the musical revival as a timely story to tell at a moment when antisemitic incidents and hate speech have been a part of political and cultural conversations in America.
But the appearance of about a dozen demonstrators outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, some holding a sign linking them to the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi organization, further underlined the current cultural relevance, the shows producers said in a statement on Wednesday morning.
The first time I came to London, I was 17, the violinist Joshua Bell, now 55, told me. We were at dinner together following a recent performance of his at Wigmore Hall, a small but renowned concert hall. I came with my parents to make my first album, he continued. This was in the 80s, and I remember thinking there wasnt a lot of variety in food. Now, of course, its great.
Mr. Bell estimates hes been to London around 70 times since then.
Image One of the problems with classical music is that its developed a reputation of formality, Mr. Bell said. In fact, classical music can be the most exciting thing to watch.
So no, the virtuoso and onetime child prodigy doesnt live in London. But you could say hes a professional visitor. His London is one of exquisite taste, uncommonly good food and a handful of tiny places youd breeze right by if you didnt know they were there with, of course, a measure of music.
Mr. Bell tends to favor lesser-known places, with one very notable exception: the Royal Albert Hall. The Royal Albert Hall has this thing called the Proms. They take out the seats on the lower level, and people line up down the street to get in, he said. All these people are standing up like its a rock concert, and its Beethoven symphonies. Its incredible.
WASHINGTON President Biden and his top officials vowed this week to introduce additional sanctions aimed at impeding Russias war efforts against Ukraine. But the administrations focus is increasingly shifting to the role that China has played in supplying Russia with goods that have both civilian and military uses.
As one of the worlds biggest manufacturers of products like electronics, drones and vehicle parts, China has proved to be a particularly crucial economic partner for Russia.
Beijing has remained officially unaligned in the war. Yet China, along with countries like Turkey and some former Soviet republics, has stepped in to supply Russia with large volumes of products that either civilians or armed forces could use, including raw materials, smartphones, vehicles and computer chips, trade data shows.
Administration officials are now expressing concern that China could further aid Russias incursion by providing Moscow with lethal weapons. While there is no clear evidence that China has given weapons and ammunition to Russia, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken warned in recent days that China may be preparing to do so.
WASHINGTON The Bureau of Prisons has rejected the early release of a female inmate who said she had been sexually abused by male employees at a notorious California penitentiary, reflecting a broader struggle by the Justice Department to free inmates abused in federal custody, when appropriate.
In late January, the general counsel of the prison bureau denied an application filed by Aimee Chavira, 43, who claimed her experience at the Federal Correctional Institution Dublin, near Oakland, Calif., made her eligible for immediate release on humanitarian grounds. She is among a number of women who have detailed pervasive misconduct during their incarceration at Dublin, and five former employees, including the warden, have been charged with sexual abuse.
Ms. Chaviras case the first of its kind to make its way through the system is seen by prisoners rights groups as a key test of the departments commitment to use so-called compassionate release protocols for victims of abuse.
But doing so represents a shock to an institution more focused on locking up inmates than letting them go. Prison officials, and judges who are the ultimate arbiters have been reluctant to support early release unless an inmate is ill, dying or incapacitated by age, and more than four-fifths of compassionate release requests are rejected in court.
Former President Donald J. Trumps daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have been subpoenaed by the special counsel to testify before a federal grand jury about Mr. Trumps efforts to stay in power after he lost the 2020 election and his role in a pro-Trump mobs attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to two people briefed on the matter.
The decision by the special counsel, Jack Smith, to subpoena Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner underscores how deeply into Mr. Trumps inner circle Mr. Smith is reaching, and is the latest sign that no potential high-level witness is off limits.
The disclosure about the subpoena comes two weeks after it was revealed that Mr. Smith had subpoenaed former Vice President Mike Pence to testify before the grand jury. Mr. Pence plans to fight the subpoena, invoking his role as the president of the Senate to argue that it violates the speech or debate clause of the Constitution.
It is unclear whether Mr. Trump will seek to block Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner from testifying on the grounds of executive privilege, as he has tried with some other witnesses. Both of them served as White House officials in the Trump administration. Mr. Trump declined to try to stop them from testifying before the House special committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack and what led to it.
WASHINGTON As a gang of Proud Boys stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Jeremy Bertino, one of the leaders of the far-right group, was at home in North Carolina, watching livestreams of the riot and offering advice to his compatriots on the ground.
Recovering from stab wounds he sustained during an earlier pro-Trump rally, Mr. Bertino was trying his best to aid his fellow Proud Boys in what he believed was another American Revolution. In a barrage of messages, he told his friends to form a spear, encouraging them to move en masse toward the Capitol.
I was excited, he testified Wednesday. I thought I was watching history and watching the guys about to go into the building.
Appearing for a second day of testimony at the seditious conspiracy trial of five members of the Proud Boys in Federal District Court in Washington, Mr. Bertino gave the proceeding a sudden burst of drama by taking the stand against his former associates. After nearly six weeks of arcane arguments about evidence and often lackluster testimony, Mr. Bertino offered jurors an insiders glimpse of the growing sense of desperation within both the Proud Boys leadership and rank and file in the weeks leading up to the Capitol attack.
WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of an inmate in Arizona who was sentenced to death by a jury that was not told that a life sentence would ensure that he remained in prison for the rest of his days.
The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh joining the courts three liberal members Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson to form a majority.
The ruling will allow the inmate, John Montenegro Cruz, to press his argument in state court that he is entitled to a new sentencing hearing at which jurors would be informed that any life sentence they imposed would not include the possibility of parole.
Mr. Cruz was convicted of the 2003 murder of Patrick Hardesty, a Tucson police officer. At his trial in 2005, his lawyers tried to inform the jury that he would not be eligible for parole were he to receive a life sentence. A 1994 Supreme Court decision, Simmons v. South Carolina, had ruled that capital defendants have a constitutional right to do so.
Wisconsins conservatives, who have controlled the court since 2008, fear a rollback not just of their favorable maps but also of a host of Republican-friendly policies that were ushered in while Scott Walker was governor, including changes to the states labor and voting laws.
Shes going to impart her values upon Wisconsin regardless of what the law is does that seem like democracy to you? said Eric Toney, the district attorney for Fond du Lac County, who was the Republican nominee for attorney general last year. This isnt Republicans and Democrats. Its democracy and the rule of law that is on the line.
There is also the question of how Wisconsin Republicans coalesce after their second bruising primary contest in six months. Throughout the campaign, Justice Kelly declined to say that he would back Judge Dorow in the general election, while her supporters flatly said that he would lose the general election.
It was a bit of a replay of the governors race last year, when bitter intraparty feelings remained after Tim Michels, with former President Donald J. Trumps endorsement, defeated former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the primary. Ms. Kleefisch then did little to encourage her supporters to back Mr. Michels, who later lost the general election to Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat.
With Michels and Kleefisch, there wasnt that come-together-to-Jesus moment, said Stephen L. Nass, a Republican state senator from Whitewater. I think people realize now that was a mistake. It should have happened. And now weve got to do it.
The Defense Department has advised service members to avoid eating poppy seeds because officials are concerned they could cause misleading drug test results.
The warning reflects longstanding concerns that people who eat a poppy seed bagel or lemon poppy seed loaf sometimes have drug tests come back positive for codeine or morphine, even if they are not using the drugs.
The Defense Departments under secretary for personnel and readiness, Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., issued a memorandum last week directing military departments to advise service members to avoid foods and baked goods containing the seeds out of an abundance of caution.
Mr. Cisneros acknowledged that the concerns about poppy seeds were not new. He said the departments thresholds for a positive drug test aimed to distinguish morphine and codeine use from poppy seed ingestion.
WASHINGTON The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday over whether internet platforms may be sued for aiding and abetting international terrorism by failing to remove videos supporting the Islamic State.
The case, which concerns a federal law allowing suits for knowingly providing substantial assistance to terrorists, was linked to one argued Tuesday that considered the separate question of whether platforms are immune from lawsuits under a 1996 law that shields them from liability for what their users post.
As a practical matter, the courts ruling in Wednesdays case, Twitter v. Taamneh, No. 21-1496, could effectively resolve both cases and allow the justices to duck difficult questions about the scope of the 1996 law, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
The argument on Wednesday was technical. The justices teased apart elements of the law before them, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, parsing its provisions and posing hypothetical questions about what sort of conduct it covered. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that the discussion this morning has really taken on a very academic tone.
The superintendent of a Texas school district has resigned a month after a child found his gun in an elementary school bathroom, a school district official said.
Robby Stuteville had worked for the Rising Star Independent School District for more than three decades, serving as its superintendent for about the last two years, said Monty Jones, the districts high school principal.
On Jan. 20, Mr. Stuteville accidentally left his gun in a bathroom at Rising Star Elementary School, where it was found by a third-grade student, Mr. Jones said. While he called the incident a grave mistake, Mr. Jones emphasized that it was a sad situation because Mr. Stuteville was beloved in Rising Star, a small town southeast of Abilene.
Rising Star lost a good person, Mr. Jones said. He was a heck of a superintendent.
Mr. Stuteville could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday. In an interview with KRBC, he said that his gun was left unattended for about 15 minutes before the student found it.
Last week, the Carter Center announced that former President Jimmy Carter had decided to stop receiving medical interventions and had transitioned into hospice care at home. The cause of Mr. Carters decline was not revealed, but the 39th president, who is 98, has been public about health issues he has faced in recent years, including melanoma a skin cancer that spread to his brain and his liver and numerous falls.
Hospice provides end-of-life palliative care with a focus on the patients comfort and dignity. Pain relief is a priority, while treatments intended to prolong life are discontinued. Hospice agencies offer access to physicians, nurses, health aides, social workers and chaplains who assist patients and their families with everything from symptom management to funeral arrangements. The care is typically provided where the patient lives, whether thats at a private home or in an assisted living facility.
When people are close to the end of their lives, going to the hospital does not make them feel better anymore, because theres not necessarily something that we can do to address their underlying illness, said Dr. Carly Zapata, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who specializes in palliative care. Hospice is really focused on caring for people and their caregivers or loved ones to help them have the best quality of life possible for the time that they have left.
Heres what hospice care entails and how to decide if and when its right for you or your loved one.
A surprising way to reduce violent crime
Brazils electronic voting system has made headlines around the world with the false claims by Bolsonaro, as president, that it was rife with fraud.
But Nieto-Matiz and Skigin began studying the system years earlier, when Brazil first began rolling it out to districts across the country. They noticed that it seemed to be having a surprising effect: When electronic voting was introduced into a particular area, violent crime there quickly fell.
That was really puzzling, Nieto-Matiz told me when we spoke last week. They had expected to perhaps find a relationship between electronic voting and particular policies: perhaps a benefit to illiterate citizens, whose votes were more likely to be counted under the new electronic system than the old paper one. But the decrease in violence seemed to happen almost immediately, before any new policies had a chance to take effect. What could account for that?
When they dug a little deeper, they found that the new voting system seemed to make it slightly less likely for political parties that gain votes by promising goods or resources in exchange for support what political scientists call clientelistic parties to win elections. Those parties may have been more likely to rely on ballot fraud to win, the researchers hypothesized, which became harder once electronic voting was introduced.
By contrast, so-called programmatic parties, which tend to mobilize support by promising to enact certain policies for example the leftist agenda of the Workers Party, the party of the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva did slightly better under the new system. (Programmatic parties can have right-wing agendas, too. And no party is exclusively one model or another, but they tend to skew in one direction.)
A high court in South Korea on Tuesday ordered the national health insurance service to provide spousal coverage to same-sex couples, a ruling that was seen as a welcome victory, but one that supporters said highlighted how far the country has to go in protecting the rights of sexual minorities.
Despite the growing social acceptance of sexual minorities in South Korea, a bill that would prevent discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people is being blocked in the National Assembly, decades after such a measure was first introduced.
A powerful Christian conservative lobby has been a crucial factor in opposing the bill. Politicians in the governing conservative People Power Party rely on churchgoers as an important voting bloc. But even when the center-left Democratic Party held power, lawmakers in both parties acceded to the demands of this vocal group.
No other bill has been attacked more fervently than this one, said Kwon In-sook, a lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party and a sponsor of the legislation in 2021.
WARSAW If Russian President Vladimir V. Putin were to order tanks into other European countries, the nine nations along NATOs eastern flank would be the likeliest targets.
So on Wednesday, President Biden will meet with the leaders of those countries, offering reassurance that the United States is prepared to defend the most vulnerable members of the alliance from the kind of assault now taking place in Ukraine.
The meeting, slated to take place just hours before Mr. Biden concludes his three-day visit to Ukraine and Poland, is meant to underscore his administrations determination to confront Mr. Putin and prevent him from intimidating some of the worlds more fragile democracies.
These are largely the group of eastern flank NATO allies who are basically and, quite frankly, literally on the front lines of our collective defense right now, John Kirby, a senior spokesman for the National Security Council, told reporters before the presidents trip.
PARIS A teacher at a Catholic high school in a town in southwest France died on Wednesday after a 16-year-old student stabbed her, a spokesman for the French government, Olivier Veran, said.
A local prosecutor, Jerome Bourrier, said his office had opened a homicide investigation and that the student, who was not previously known to the police, was in custody. His office ruled out any link to terrorism, he later said.
The deceased teacher, identified as Agnes Lassalle by local and national media and confirmed by a former colleague and student, had taught at the school for decades. She was strict and demanding but fair and caring, the student, Michel Hiribarren, who studied in her class for two years about a decade ago, said in an interview.
French politicians from all parties expressed horror and shock on social media, and two government ministers rushed to the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, near the Spanish border, to offer moral support.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy vowed to continue to provide Ukraine with military, financial and humanitarian support, but said supplying military planes was not on the table.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy met with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in Kyiv on Tuesday, and pledged to continue to provide military, financial and humanitarian support. She also said she backed Ukraines entry into the European Union and that she would ensure that any peace agreement with Russia would be brokered on Ukraines terms.
Those who support Ukraine militarily are working for peace, Ms. Meloni said Tuesday evening, during a joint news conference with Mr. Zelensky.
Supplying military planes to Ukraine was not on the table, but Italy was considering sending more air defense systems, she added.
Ms. Meloni said that her coalition government, which has been in power since October, had remained compact in its support of Ukraine despite some declarations a pointed reference to comments made recently by one of her allies, the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Last week, Mr. Berlusconi, a longtime friend of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, blamed Mr. Zelensky for the invasion of Ukraine, saying he should have stopped attacking the contested Donbas region, playing into Mr. Putins false pretext of invading Ukraine to stop a genocide against ethnic Russians.
Another of Ms. Melonis allies, Matteo Salvini, built part of his populist career out of opposing sanctions on Russia and once said he preferred Mr. Putin to his own president.
Mr. Zelensky, addressing Mr. Berlusconis criticism at the news conference on Tuesday, said the former prime minister never had to deal with tanks arriving in his backyard or Russian airstrikes bombarding his home.
I think Mr. Berlusconi has not had to get up at three in the morning because of blackouts to start washing clothes, making food for his children two days in advance because there may not be power for the next two, three days, because of the great love of the brotherly Russian people, he said, according to Reuters.
Condemning the Russian invasion, Ms. Meloni said on Tuesday that the fate of the European Union and Western democracies also depends on Ukraines victory in the face of those who want to trample international law by force.
The only peace possible would be one agreed to by Ukraine, she said, and could not involve Ukrainian surrender just as a victory of Russia would not be peace but a prelude to the possible invasion of other European states.
Ukraines interests coincide with those of Europe, she said.
Ms. Meloni arrived in Kyiv by train earlier on Tuesday, traveling from Poland, where she had met with Polish officials and reiterated Italys unwavering support for Ukraine.
It was the first time in Kyiv for Ms. Meloni, a hard-right leader who so far has governed in a far less vitriolic and ideological and more practical way than her detractors had predicted after she took office in October.
Ms. Meloni also said that Italy was planning to host an international conference in April on the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Rebuilding a destroyed building is a sign of hope, she said. And because speaking of Ukraines reconstruction means betting on the victory of Ukraine.
Before meeting with Mr. Zelensky, Ms. Meloni visited Bucha a suburb of Kyiv where retreating Russian soldiers massacred civilians in the early weeks of the war and Irpin, one of the first Ukrainian cities to be destroyed and liberated. In Irpin, she distributed aid to civilians and signed a Ukrainian flag with the words, At your side.
KYIV, Ukraine As Ukrainian forces battle Russian attacks along the 600-mile front line and warn of an imminent large-scale missile bombardment, Kyiv is also casting an anxious eye on Russian threats via Belarus and Moldova that officials say pose minimal immediate risks but cannot be ignored.
While military analysts have expressed doubt about Russias ability to open and sustain a new front in the war, Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that Moscow could try and divert Ukrainian resources through feints and deceptions, which could come from anywhere.
This week, Ukraine deployed more troops to its border with Moldova, and the Ukrainian military has in recent months increased military drills near its border with Belarus and in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Ukrainian officials and military analysts have said that there is no evidence suggesting Russian forces are planning a ground assault from Belarus, a steadfast Kremlin ally that shares a 665-mile border with Ukraine. But military activity there has been a constant source of concern.
An immigration court in London on Wednesday upheld a 2019 decision by the British government to strip citizenship from Shamima Begum, whose case has been the subject of intense debate since she left the country in 2015 and traveled to Syria from London with two friends to join the Islamic State terrorist group.
The decision, made by a special immigration tribunal and read out in court, comes after Ms. Begum appealed the British Home Offices citizenship ruling in 2019, arguing that it left her stateless. In 2021, she petitioned unsuccessfully to be allowed to travel to Britain from Syria to challenge the decision in person.
In the written judgment, the tribunal dismissed Ms. Begums appeal on all of the grounds raised by her lawyers, who had argued, among other things, that she was a victim of trafficking and sexual exploitation. Ms. Begums lawyers have said they will seek to challenge the decision.
Ms. Begums case set off a fierce debate in Britain after a reporter with The Times of London found her in February 2019 in a refugee camp in Syria, where she told him that she wanted to return home. In response, the British home secretary at the time, Sajid Javid, revoked her citizenship, citing national security risks.
Italians have rules about coffee. Cappuccino, for instance, is a morning drink, so dont try ordering it for an afternoon pick-me-up. In most cafes, coffee is consumed standing at the counter, and variations are few, usually involving only the amount of water and/or milk to be added.
Still, Starbucks, which breaks all those rules with its long menu of options that are served at any time of day, opened here in 2018 and has amassed a following. On Wednesday, the company bet on Italy once more with a combination of two ingredients at the heart of this countrys food pyramid: coffee and olive oil.
The new beverages, branded Oleato, debuted this week at an invitation-only dinner (co-hosted with the National Chamber of Italian Fashion) at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan on Tuesday, the first day of Fashion Week. Lizzo performed. Vogues top editor in America, Anna Wintour, attended.
On Wednesday, Oleato, which can mean oiled, oleate or greaseproof in Italian (and which is now trademarked by Starbucks), was introduced to the masses at the companys flagship Italian venue in downtown Milan. Five olive oil-infused beverages were on the menu, including the golden foam espresso martini, which concluded the dinner.
KYIV, Ukraine Ukraine found a way to hit deep behind enemy lines with a series of mysterious explosions in Russian-held territory early Wednesday, even as Ukrainians themselves were warned that Moscow appears poised to unleash a new barrage of attacks.
Half a year after the southern port city of Mariupol fell to a fierce Russian siege, nearly a dozen explosions were reported there overnight into Wednesday. Russian-occupied areas of the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson regions were also hit, according to reports and video.
What targets were struck was perhaps less intriguing than how Ukrainian forces had managed to hit them.
Lajamanu, a remote community in the Australian outback, near the Tanami Desert, recently experienced its fourth rain of fish in the last 50 years.
They say lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but apparently the same cannot be said about raining fish. The arid town of Lajamanu, in the Northern Territory outback, sees very little normal rain, but somehow it has experienced no less than four fish rains in the last half-century once in 1974, another in 2004, again in 2010, and last Sunday. Although the nearest fish-containing body of water is many miles away, locals swear that live fish started falling from the sky during a powerful storm, and they even have photos to back up those claims.
Photo: pietro caspani/Unsplash
Weve seen a big storm heading up to my community and we thought it was just rain, Lajamanu local and Central Desert councilor Andrew Johnson Japanangka told ABC News. But when the rain started falling, weve seen fish falling down as well.
We saw some free-falling down to the ground. And some falling onto the roof, Japanangka added. It was the most amazing thing weve ever seen. I think its a blessing from the Lord.
Such unusual natural phenomena have been reported in the past, but Michael Hammer, a curator of fishes who have investigated such incidents in the past, claims that many times people just come out after the rain and see the fish scattered everywhere. They dont actually see it falling out of the sky, but prefer to believe it rained from the clouds, rather than a more logical explanation like the fish being flooded out of a waterhole.
However, in the case of Lajamanu, there is plenty of reason to believe that the fish did rain down during a storm. There are no watering holes near the remote town, and the fish picked up from the streets were identified as spangled perch, or spangled grunters, common freshwater fish that had no business being in Lajamanu.
They are a relatively large fish and theyre not able to be drawn up out of the water and held up in the sky for very long, ichthyologist Jeff Johnson said. But clearly thats what has happened.
Another baffling thing about this most recent case of raining fish is that the people of Lajamanu insist that at least some of the fish were alive. Dr. Hammer admits that, as long as they were not lifted too high and frozen mid-air, it would not be impossible for fish to remain alive as they are carried by the storm, even over long distances.
While uncommon, raining fish isnt unheard of. In places like Honduras, for example, its a yearly occurrence. However, in dry places like the Australian outback, its definitely something you dont expect to see, ever.
Powerhouse+Co. is engaged to lead consumer and industry PR and influencer relations efforts for fast casual restaurant brand Bruxie. Powerhouse will develop and execute communications programs focused on launching the brand in new markets, as well as working to drive brand awareness and reinforce the brands reputation as an elevated fast casual brand. Bruxie currently operates five locations throughout Southern California, with plans to add four more locations in the coming months, including the brands debut in Georgia. We are extremely passionate about Bruxies next chapter, which is why we turned to an established agency thats well-known for impactful storytelling and crafting compelling brand narratives that increase awareness and propel restaurants to new heights, said Bruxie CEO Scott Grinstead.
MZ Group signs on with AppTech Payments Corp. to lead a comprehensive strategic investor relations and financial communications program. The campaign will highlight AppTechs Commerce Experiences-as-a-Service (CXS) platform, a first-to-market, cloud-based program backed by AppTechs mobile commerce patents, core partner technology and other related internal intellectual property. Michael Kim, managing director at MZ North America, will advise AppTechs IR team in all facets of investor relations, including the coordination of roadshows and investment conferences across key cities and building brand awareness with financial and social media outlets.
Gaffney Austin is named agency of record for Outamation, an automation and digital transformation-based service provider. The agency will handle all media and public relations activities for the company. Their experience in the mortgage, real estate and fintech industries, coupled with the necessary contacts to build relationships with members of the news media, will accelerate our brand and promote our thought leadership, said Outamation founder Sapan Bafna.
A KILCORMAC man was given a suspended prison sentence for drugs possession during a recent Tullamore Court sitting.
Before the court was Roy Dunican, 25 Mooney Terrace Kilcormac, and he was charged with being in possession of a controlled drug, Amphetamine, on December 12, 2020 at 25 Mooney Terrace, Kilcormac.
The defending solicitor Donal Farrelly told the court that his client was contesting the case.
A Detective Garda told the court that in July 2020 he applied for a drugs search warrant from Judge Staines and received it.
On December 20, 2020 I put the warrant into effect, he said.
The front door of 25 Mooney Terrace was open. We entered and found the defendant and a woman in bed. Beside the bed was a table and on the table were two bags containing a white powder. The woman told us she knew nothing about the bags or their contents. The defendant said the powder was paracetamol. I put this statement in my notebook but he refused to sign it.
On May 17, 2022 the bags were delivered to the FSI (Forensic Science Ireland) in Garda Headquarters in Dublin where they were analysed. Up until the bags were delivered to FSI they were kept in our safe in the station and no one else had access to them. The FSI analysis revealed that the bags contained 50 of Amphetamine.
Mr Farrelly asked the Garda how many people were living in 25 Mooney Terrace on December 12. The Garda said Mr Dunican's brother and father were also living there.
Did you ask the brother and the father if the drugs in fact belonged to them? Mr Farrelly asked, adding that both his client and his client's girlfriend denied being in possession of the drugs.
I didn't ask the brother or father, said the witness. I asked Roy Dunican if it was an illegal drug in the bags. He said it wasn't. I asked, who owns the bags? He said, 'No'. On the day we searched the house both the brother and the father were uncooperative, therefore we felt there was no point asking them if they owned the bags.
Mr Farrelly said his client had no case to answer because he didn't own the bags. The evidence is circumstantial. A Detective Garda went into the house on December 12 and couldn't ascertain who actually owned the drugs. Judge John O'Leary disagreed. I feel your client has a case to answer.
Giving evidence Roy Dunican told the court that the bags didn't belong to him.
Having listened to Mr Dunican Judge O'Leary said he believed the defendant's evidence was unreliable to say the least. How did he know it was paracetamol in the bags if the bags weren't his? There is no doubt in my mind that the bags were his. I therefore convict.
Sgt James O'Sullivan said Mr Dunican had 14 previous convictions, two of them for possession of illegal drugs.
Mr Farrelly said his client is 28 years of age and is presently in custody awaiting a sentence in the Circuit Court.
Judge O'Leary sentenced to three months imprisonment, suspended for six months.
Your client is on a slippery slope Mr Farrelly, the Judge warned. He is now in the imprisonment zone.
An Offaly social media star celebrated her engagement on a night out in Tullamore last weekend.
Killeigh native Chelsea Henchy and Cork native Tadhg O'Donovan celebrated their engagement with a party in The Phoenix last Saturday.
The now engaged couple are well known for their exploits on various social media platforms with their 'The Ts and Cs Apply Podcast' while Chelsea shot to fame on TikTok with her version of a Kevin Hart sketch that garnered millions of views including a comment from Kevin Hart himself.
More recently, Chelsea and Tadhg have bought a house but, as they say themselves, they now need to fix it up. And of course the renovations will be televised... or podcast in this case.
You can follow how they and 'Bossman John' are getting on on YouTube by CLICKING HERE and it's well worth a watch! You might even learn a thing or two along the way....
Roscrea's Community Development Councils sub-committee under the Chairmanship of Shane Lee are finalising plans for Roscreas 43rd annual successive St. Patricks Day Parade, which begins at 3.30p.m. on Friday, March 17, our National Feast Day.
The organising committee are seeking your participation and support and hope this year to have representation from all community groups in the town to make the 2023 parade a truly community event.
The Parade Organisers extend a welcome to all those who wish to enter a float in this years parade. Float entries are free and while floats are welcome to turn up on the day at the assembly point for the parade which is on the old Tesco car park on Lourdes Road.
The organisers request that if possible floats would give details beforehand to Parade Secretary Marie on (086) 0755680 to facilitate the parade narrative and thus give the float and its organisers due exposure and publicity.
Cash Prizes
The Organising Committee have decided to give out a cash prize to each winning entry in the following categories:- Best Overall Entry: Chamber of Commerce Perpetual Trophy and 200 sponsored by Roscrea Chamber of Commerce, Best Business Float Lupton & Associates Perpetual Trophy and 100, Best local community group/sports club Roscrea Tidy Towns Trophy and 100, Special Recognition Award - Roscrea Credit Union Perpetual Trophy and 100, Special Merit Award St. Patricks Day Parade Committee and 100.
Therefore the committee are urging all entrants to make a special effort in the hope of winning the cash prizes.
Adrian Hewson Perpetual Trophy
In addition to the above prizes the Adrian Hewson Perpetual Trophy will commence to be awarded this year in honour of one of the founders of the Roscrea Parade Committee, and who chaired many of the Roscrea Parade Committees and was involved in all 43 of the Parades and for a number as Chairperson, Narrator and as Parade Judge.
Adrian Hewson (RIP) pictured in Roscrea. Photo: D. Keegan
Adrian Hewson passed away suddenly on October 1st last. Adrian was part of the Organising Committee of Junior Chamber Roscrea who organised the first St. Patricks Day Parade in 1979 and it has been held every year since with the exception of the Covid years of 2020 and 2021.
Adrians fellow Junior Chamber member of past years and his friend Anne Ralph is donating a Perpetual Trophy to the Parade Committee in his honour, whom they will award to one of the Parade participants each year.
This years parade in Roscrea will be particularly poignant for many on the Parade Committee, as it will be the first of the 43 consecutive St. Patricks Day Parades in Roscrea without Adrians physical presence, but each of the organisers are quick to point out that Adrian will be with them in spirit for this years parade.
Shop Window Competition
The organising committee are also this year holding its annual Shop Window competition with 1st , 2nd and 3rd prizes, the winners of which will be announced from the Review Stand.
Entry to the parade is free and the Organising Committee are inviting individuals, groups, organisations, clubs, businesses, novelty items and community interest groups to enter floats and add to the diversity of the parade.
For further information or an entry form contact Shane Lee (086) 3296667 or Marie Tooher (086) 0755680.
There was great delight in Roscrea as news emerged recently that nearly half-a-million euro was secured for a new cycle and pedestrian way along the middle bypass in Roscrea.
The route is between the Parkmore and Nenagh road roundabouts and is a popular location for evening walkers, joggers and cyclists. The stretch of road also services several large industries and is used by walkers in the very dark early morning hours and late at night - which prompted an upgrade to enhance safety.
However, the initial delight for the funding has quickly turned to dismay and great disappointment for many local people following the clear felling of hundreds of native 30 year-old trees stretching for almost half a kilometre and ranging between 15 and 20 metres in length which lined the road.
In a time when the focus is on planting and replenishing Ireland's native trees, the decision has been described as incomprehensible by locals.
Minister Eamon Ryan surely can't condone this? one Roscrea person pointed out to the Tribune. Money to provide an amenity at a great loss to the environment. Is this what the Green Party are about? they asked.
Thinning the trees to create a wonderful natural corridor was suggested as a better solution. It is hoped that any further removal of trees for these project will be more enlightened, they said.
Xinhua News Agency, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the government of People's Republic of China. A State Council's ministry-level institution founded in 1931, Xinhua is the largest media organ in China.
Artifacts belonging to a 19th century Plains Cree chief who was known as a peacekeeper are expected to be returned to his descendants in a repatriation ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Before the tanks rolled into Ukraine, liberal values were spreading fast in Russia. That, some observers say, was more threatening to Putin than his neighbour.
The Victorian Electoral Commission said residents in Melbournes northern suburbs should not be forced back to the polls, despite arguing Milad El-Halabi was elected through voter fraud in 2020.
The Supreme Court will be weighing whether Facebook, Twitter and YouTube can be held responsible for a 2017 terrorist attack on a nightclub in Turkey. Thirty-nine people died, and plaintiffs claim Islamic State terrorists used the online platforms to spread their message. What the justices decide to do in the case being heard Wednesday and a related case it heard Tuesday is important particularly because the companies have so far been shielded from liability on the internet, allowing them to grow into the giants they are today.
Donald Trump bragged about his 'good relationship' with Vladimir Putin as the war between Russia and Ukraine rages on.
The Iranian diplomats have been ordered to leave the country immediately. The decision came after a German-Iranian national was handed a death sentence in Tehran.
A former speechwriter for Vladimir Putin tells DW he believes the Russian leader has no "plan B" in Ukraine. Meanwhile, US President Biden is meeting with leaders from NATO's eastern flank. Follow DW for the latest.
Germany's data protection authority has been calling for the government to shut down its Facebook pages. Now the dispute could drag on into the courtroom.
US President Biden underlined his support for the security of NATO's most eastern member countries. Fears there a possible Russian threat have been heightened since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Malcolm X's family plans to sue the FBI, CIA and New York City police for $100m (82.6m) in damages over his assassination exactly 58 years ago.
Former president Alejandro Toledo Manrique was arrested in the US in 2019. He will be extradited for "crimes of collusion and money laundering."
Following is the transcript of US President Joe Biden's address made in Warsaw, Poland as released by The White..
Eurasia Review 21 Feb 2023
Canada's pre-war training mission helped Ukraine abandon the old Soviet playbook for fighting wars a fact that could help explain why the war has gone so badly for Moscow.
The United States could bar tens of thousands of migrants from arriving at the US-Mexico border under a proposed plan which would require some asylum seekers to book a meeting with US officials first.
The former Pink Floyd member has raised eyebrows in the past with his comments on the Ukraine war and alleged antisemitic propaganda. Now politicians in Cologne are pushing for a planned May concert to be nixed.
Eurasia Review 28 Feb 2023
Most expert observers agree that the Ukraine war has resulted in much of a military stalemate. The Russians appear to have the..
The new measures for asylum-seekers proposed by the Biden administration are similar to the migrant ban attempted by former President Donald Trump in 2019.
A special tribunal said there were insufficient grounds to reinstate Shamima Begum's citizenship. UK authorities stripped her of her British citizenship after she joined the "Islamic State" terror group in 2015.
Russian President Putin and China's top diplomat have met in Moscow saying they would deepen the already "limitless" ties between the two countries. Beijing has said it wants to play a role in ending the war in Ukraine.
A Russian ship loaded with hypersonic missiles will take part in joint naval drills with China off South Africa's eastern coast this week. But a Russian commander denied there were plans to fire the weapons.
Joe Biden has said the US will defend "literally ever inch of NATO" in the face of Russian aggression - as Moscow welcomed China having a more active role in "resolving" the Ukraine war.
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According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ideas were considered by the two parties during a face-to-face meeting of the WMCC on India-China Border Issues in Beijing.
A good VPN provides you with extra security when browsing online, watching Netflix, torrenting, or surfing the web in China. We've written extensively about VPNs in the past, giving recommendations on the fastest and cheapest services, but what about the most secure?
**What is a VPN?**
Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, are...
Shamima Begum left London in 2015 and traveled with two friends to Syria, where she married an IS fighter and had three children, all of whom died as infants.
Rishi Sunak has indicated that he would put any new Brexit deal on Northern Ireland to a vote, in a move that risks a showdown with Eurosceptics on the Tory benches.
Al-Hammam Crossing , Syria (AFP) Feb 19, 2023
The group Doctors Without Borders called Sunday for the "urgent scaling up" of earthquake aid to northwest Syria as it delivered a convoy laden with emergency assistance. Aid has been slow to reach Syria's rebel-held areas since the February 6 quake killed a combined total of more than 44,000 people across Turkey and Syria. "An urgent increase in the volume of supplies is needed to matc
Ukrainian tanker Igor bemoaned that old tanks like the T-64 are a legacy MBT from the past struggling in combat with modern Russian armor.
The head of the Scottish Prison Service denied she was leant on by SNP ministers to ensure trans rapist Bryson was transferred to a men's prison following public outrage.
Chinese envoy demands convincing explanations on Nord Stream incident
Xinhua) 14:00, February 22, 2023
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday demanded convincing explanations from relevant parties on the destruction of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in September 2022 and called for an international investigation.
"Recently, we have come across a lot of details and relevant information concerning the Nord Stream incident, which are alarming," said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.
"Faced with such detailed materials and comprehensive evidence, a simple statement of 'utterly false and complete fiction' is obviously not enough to answer the many questions and concerns raised around the world. Finding a way to dodge today's meeting does not mean that truth can be concealed," he said, referring to Tuesday's Security Council briefing on the Nord Stream issue. "We expect convincing explanations from relevant parties. Such a request is entirely legitimate and reasonable."
It is increasingly clear that what happened to the Nord Stream pipelines was by no means an accident, but rather a deliberate act. From the perspective of physical conditions, it is hard to imagine that any non-state actor would be capable of carrying out such destruction alone, said Zhang.
At a Security Council meeting last September, many countries called for an investigation into the incident to uncover the truth and identify those responsible. This is also China's position. China supports speeding up the investigation, so as to swiftly find out the truth, he said.
In an era of globalization, when cooperation among countries in energy, transportation, and communication is increasingly close, and transboundary construction spans across continents and oceans, any deliberate sabotage of transboundary infrastructure is a malicious act. Failure to find out why it happened and who is behind the destruction will send a wrong signal to those with ill intentions and make them believe that they can get away, said Zhang.
"An objective, impartial and professional investigation into this matter, releasing the findings and pursuing accountability as soon as possible are not only for the sake of the incident itself, but also bear on the security of global transboundary infrastructure. Moreover, they are also closely related to the interests and concerns of every country," he said.
As the most authoritative and representative international organization, the United Nations can play an active role in conducting an international investigation and ensuring the security of transboundary infrastructure. China welcomes the Security Council draft resolution tabled by Russia, and believes that it is of great significance to authorize an international investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, he said.
The Nord Stream incident reminds us that security threats in the modern world are increasingly interlinked, transboundary and diversified. This calls for the establishment of a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security concept and concerted efforts to explore multiple channels and develop a holistic solution to meet various security challenges, said Zhang.
China is willing to work with all parties to firmly support the core role of the United Nations in security governance, strive to promote coordination and sound interaction among major countries, actively support dialogue and peaceful resolution of hot-spot issues, effectively respond to traditional and nontraditional security challenges, and continuously strengthen the global security governance system and capacity-building, in order to create a better future for humankind, he said.
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Thousands of migrants could be denied asylum if they pass through another country such as Mexico on the way to the U.S. border under a proposed regulation published by the Biden administration.
The US claims that China has the intent to provide arms to Russia in its war with Ukraine, which the Chinese FM spokesman denies.
U.S. President Joe Biden hails the solidarity of the Bucharest Nine nations. "Today, as we approach the one year anniversary of Russia's further invasion, it's even more important that we continue to stand together," he said. (Feb. 22)
AutoMotions 27 Feb 2023
"Stellantis Spotlight" is a weekly recap of some of the major stories at Stellantis. The top stories for the week ending February..
Garcia Luna, who led Mexico's federal police, was convicted of receiving millions in cash to help some of the most violent drug cartels.
An accused extremist recruiter is returning to the Ontario Superior Court on Thursday and is expected to plead guilty to terrorism offences, eight years after he was first charged.
The Seattle City Council has added caste to the citys anti-discrimination laws, becoming the first U.S. city to specifically ban caste discrimination. Calls to outlaw discrimination based on caste, a division of people based on birth or descent, have grown louder among South Asian diaspora
#seattlecitycouncil #southasian #hindu #council #kshamasawant #indianamerican #citycouncil #muslim #seattle #seattlecityhall
Congratulations everyone, we made it through the first and most depressing month of 2023. While "Blue Monday" isn't actually a..
Mashable 01 Feb 2023
Turkey launched a temporary wage support scheme and banned layoffs in 10 cities on Wednesday to protect workers and businesses from the financial impact of the massive earthquakes that hit the south of the country earlier this month.
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a "mistake by suspending his country's participation in the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. In his first comments since Putin's announcement Tuesday, Biden, who is in Poland to meet with Nato's eastern flank allies, condemned the Russian decision to pull back from the treaty, known as New START.
In their first trip to the EU since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Russian MPs are due at an international meeting in Austria on Thursday despite sanctions and a planned boycott by Kyiv.
The Supreme Court seemed skeptical Wednesday of a lawsuit trying to hold social media companies responsible for a terrorist attack at a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people. "We need batteries. Literally everywhere." (From Investing Trends) During arguments at the high court several justices
#supremecourt #turkish #twitter #google #istanbul #islamicstate #turkey #amyconeybarrett #neilgorsuch #nawrasalassaf
Deutsche Welle 13 Apr 2023
Germany will have to decide whether to give its permission for old East German fighter jets to be sent on to Ukraine. German..
Upworthy 21 Feb 2023
Suncor Energy Inc. SU-T has gone outside the company to choose a new chief executive officer, appointing oil and gas veteran Rich..
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba, Wednesday stressed the need to complete the issuance of financial authorisations for the projects of the 2022 development plan, in line with the plan approved by the Court of Accounts
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said has identified three peacekeepers who died when their their convoy hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the centre of the West African country on Tuesday
Photo: (Photo : Pexel/Pixabay)
Minnesota lawmakers are currently solving a good problem as they weigh in on what to do with the state's budget surplus.
Minnesota households may receive good news in the coming days, and as much as $2,600 worth of stimulus checks in their hands as part of the "ambitious" disbursement plan to spend the money from the state's "huge budget surplus" amounting to $17.6 billion.
Around two and a half million families will get this rebate check, just one of the many other things they will receive from Gov. Tim Walz's $65 billion two-year budget plan.
Last January, the governor committed to the residents of Minnesota to implement the "largest package of tax cuts in state history," along with increased spending on housing, health, public safety, and education.
"Today, we lay out the full picture of how this budget will lower costs, cut taxes, and improve lives for Minnesotans. For a middle-class family of four, the One Minnesota Budget could put $10,000 back in their pocket. We are delivering a transformational budget for Minnesotans, and I look forward to getting this done," Walz declared, as quoted by the Minnesota Legislature.
Budget plan features
The amount of stimulus checks will be structured. Single filers with an annual income of up to $75,000 will receive $1,000, while married couples with a yearly income of up to $150,000 can expect a rebate worth $2,000.
Further, parents will receive a rebate per child amounting to $200 for up to three children. Thus, for a family of five, the household can expect a benefit worth $2,600.
In summary, the following are what Minnesotians would enjoy, aside from the stimulus checks, once the two-year budget plan is approved by the lawmakers, as enumerated by The Ascent.
Social Security benefits state tax reduction for 350,000 recipients.
$1.1 billion budget for child tax credits.
$670 million funding for a paid family and medical leave program.
$300 million budget to support public safety agencies.
Over $4.4 billion budget for extra public school spending.
$458 million budget for a carbon-free Minnesota in 2040.
Increase in the state's capital gains tax.
Creation of a new payroll tax that will fund a paid family and medical leave program.
Increased vehicle tab fees.
Legalization of marijuana for recreational use.
Read also: State-Level Stimulus Checks: Chicago Provides $500 Financial Assistance to Domestic Workers, Undocumented Citizens
DFL vs. Republicans
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party leaders in the House have fully supported Waltz's "bold" proposal.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman of DFL-Brooklyn Park declared in a statement that the governor's two-year budget plan reflects the values of the people of Minnesota - a value for great public schools, available low-cost health care, and an economy that works "better" for all the residents.
However, the Republicans disagree. Forceful criticisms about the plan were said during a press conference. They were not at all satisfied with how the governor is planning to spend the $54 billion current budget and with how he is unwilling to utilize the $17.6 billion surplus for the total elimination of state taxes on the Social Security benefits of residents at all income levels or to cut tax rates permanently, US News reported.
Republican leaders were quick to blast the governor's plan for its big jump in overall spending from the $54 billion in the current budget, which runs through June.
Mark Johnson, Senate Minority Leader from East Grand Forks, expressed to reporters that Walz' plan does not only spend all the budget surplus but also "grows government" by 25 percent.
House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring emphasized the cruciality of using the surplus to cut taxes here and now because if the state government cannot do it now, then it cannot be done at any other time.
Related Article: State Stimulus Checks Arriving to Americans in October 2022: Which States Are Sending Payments?
Photo: (Photo : Getty Images/Michael Loccisano)
A new bill in Indiana has been proposed, giving parents or guardians the right to complain about books from school libraries that are inappropriate for their children.
Senate Bill 12 is making a lot of noise as librarians, and book lovers try to digest how it can allow school librarians to be criminally punished based on the available collections of books kept in the libraries and offered to students.
Further, it can indict school librarians if the materials in their libraries are viewed as harmful to kids and minors.
Chad Heck, a school librarian for 15 years, expressed that it is great that parents have unique ways of introducing books and materials and building book-child relationships.
They respect parents who want their kids to have access to diverse materials and those who are conservative and want to have a different conversation. Thus, he thinks it is unfair if one parent decides for everyone what book or material is appropriate or inappropriate for the children of the entire school.
Every parent has the right to how they would want to raise their children, and one's opinion or beliefs should not look down upon that right.
No pornography in school libraries
Further, Heck is concerned that the bill can limit the availability of diverse books and materials for students, as well as their learnings and knowledge about many things.
But he is making one thing clear. He assured parents that pornography has no space in their libraries' bookshelves, WRTV reported.
"We don't have pornography in school libraries; I want to be very clear about that. The books in our collection don't meet that definition. I'm sure that we have books in our library that we don't all agree with. There are books in my library that I don't agree with; that's what libraries are for. We have lots of different perspectives, and if you don't want your child to read books from a certain perspective, you can have that conversation with your child," Heck proclaimed.
Read also: Florida School Bans the Rhyming Book 'Everywhere Babies'
How do librarians decide on books
Moreover, he expressed that parents can guarantee that their concerns and issues are taken seriously and that each school library has in place and is following the strict process.
Librarians do not choose the books they place on the school's bookshelves. Heck, who is also Indiana Library Federation's co-chair of the Advocacy Committee, stated that they always check review sources such as School Library Journal, Book List, and Kirkus to help them identify if a book is worth collecting and placing in the library, if the books are appropriate and of what age group, and even the placement of the book in the collection.
These review sources give them an "unbiased standpoint" toward the books added to the library's collection.
These sources are legitimate as they have been around for decades and have continually provided lists of well-reviewed and updated books. The School Library Journal was established in 1954, while the industry has used Book List and Kirkus since 1905 and 1933, respectively.
Related Article: Parents Debate Over What Books to Read to Children at Lincolnwood Library
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Apple sent out a press release yesterday afternoon touting the importance of Apple Watch as it relates to monitoring a user's heart. Coincidentally or not, Apple's press release was issued as the news came to light that the Biden Administration wouldn't overturn the U.S. International Trade Commission's ruling that Apple Watch infringed several AliveCor patents.
Apple's press release began by noting that in a single day, the heart of an average, healthy adult beats more than 100,000 times. Beat by beat, day by day, a picture begins to emerge an image that goes largely unseen. Apple Watch can help make the invisible, visible. With heart health features including high and low heart notifications, Cardio Fitness, irregular rhythm notifications, the ECG app, and AFib History Apple gives users an ever-developing view of their health with actionable insights.
The same advanced technology that provides insights to help users better understand their health also has the potential to open the door to discovery for the research and medical communities. Since Apple launched ResearchKit and CareKit in 2015, researchers, clinicians, and developers have found innovative new ways to study, track, and treat a broad range of conditions.
To further drive discoveries that improve health at scale, Apple launched the Investigator Support Program. Through this program, Apple provides researchers with Apple Watch devices, enabling them to break new ground in health research, including the scientific understanding of the heart.
Apple is spotlighting the cutting-edge work of health researchers around the world who are using Apple Watch to study the heart like never before.
On Apple Watch Series 4 or later, the ECG app can record heartbeat and rhythm using the electrical heart sensor. The ECG waveform stored in the Health app can be shared as a PDF.
Associate professor Rachel Conyers and Dr. Claudia Toro are senior pediatric oncologists from Melbourne, Australia, primarily spending their days caring for children in a tertiary pediatric oncology clinic and researching toxicities related to childrens cancer therapies within the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. Together they are looking at how treatment can impact heart rhythm and are trying to identify innovative ways to intervene. The inspiration for their work comes from their patients both success stories and heartbreak.
Toxicities in cancer treatment can lead to heart rhythm disturbances, such as prolonged QT syndrome, which can be potentially life-threatening. Prolonged QT creates an irregular heart rhythm, increasing the time needed for blood to flow through the heart.
Because of their susceptibility to long QT, children receiving cancer treatment are routinely screened at least once per week with a 12-lead electrocardiogram, according to Dr. Conyers. However, outpatients still need access to monitoring.
ECGs from Apple Watch are securely shared with researchers using an app developed by WeGuide in collaboration with the research team at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute.
I read about the Apple Heart Study and I thought this could be important for pediatrics, said Dr. Conyers. We used to think of cardiac toxicity as something that happened 10 years after treatment. But now we know that new cancer therapies (like specific inhibitors or immune therapy) can cause arrhythmias within 48 hours of medication so theres a big gap in terms of what we know about the toxicities at the moment.
In the coming months, Dr. Conyers and her team at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute will begin with researching the sensitivity of the Apple Watch ECG app in 40 children and adolescent patients.1 From there, the team will look for ways for patients to take their ECGs wherever they are, whenever theyre able. With those insights, the team hopes to better understand the reality of cardiac toxicity and identify potential opportunities for intervention.
Researchers at Texas A&M and Stanford Medicine will review a number of data types from study participants enabled by Apple Watch, including heart rate and rhythm, blood oxygen, activity, and more.
Every Bay Area resident remembers the day the sky turned orange. It happened September 9, 2020. Dr. So-Min Cheong, an associate professor in the Public Service & Administration Department at the Bush School, Texas A&M University, was in Palo Alto, California.
I still have photos of that day on my iPhone, said Dr. Cheong.
California experienced a series of devastating wildfires in 2020 and 2021. Dr. Cheong, who researches the social and health consequences of environmental disasters and climate change, saw an opportunity to study the personal impact of wildfire smoke on cardiac health in firefighters.
General health recommendations or off-the-shelf interventions werent good enough for me, Dr. Cheong explains. People are unique. Each individual is different when it concerns their health, and I wanted to learn more.
Through her connections in the research community, Dr. Cheong learned that Apple Watch could help capture the kind of health data she needed. A colleague of mine at Stanford had shared their experience using Apple Watch, and its known for its heart rate accuracy, she adds. I had always wanted to be able to do more noninvasive, sensor-based analysis on individuals to get at more precise health measurements.
Next month, Dr. Cheong at Texas A&M University and Drs. Brian Kim and Marco Perez at Stanford Medicine will begin equipping firefighters with Apple Watch to study the impact of wildfire smoke on heart health. Wildfire season begins in spring in Texas and summer in California, and up to 200 firefighters in these locations will join the study.
From Apple Watch, the study plans to monitor heart rate and rhythm, sleep, blood oxygen, activity data, and more. Firefighters will also wear an air quality monitor and complete surveys related to sleep, activity, and wildfire smoke-related symptoms.
Users can enable high and low heart rate notifications from Apple Watch.
Firefighters are bound to benefit from the study, Dr. Cheong shares. We know wildfire smoke directly affects their health and with a study like this, theyll be able to see their results in real time.
But she doesnt want to generalize what the studys potential findings are at this point, particularly when the core focus of the research is looking at the kind of individualized and precision health data that Apple Watch can provide.
Studies like this one havent been done before, so its not a matter of proving or disproving a hypothesis, said Dr. Cheong. Its more exploratory and the outcomes will help us understand the accuracy of an analysis like this to generate tailored interventions. I also think a study of this nature could help us understand high risk groups better.
At the Cardiology Centers of the Netherlands, researchers are exploring ways to detect AFib earlier in a randomized control study using Apple Watch features, including irregular rhythm notifications.
According to epidemiology experts in Europe, the estimated rate of atrial fibrillation (AFib) in the European Union is expected to double by 2060. AFib is a common heart arrhythmia that can have serious impacts such as a higher risk of stroke or heart failure if left untreated.
At the Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Dr. Sebastiaan Blok, director of eHealth at the Cardiology Centers of the Netherlands, and his colleagues are exploring ways to detect AFib earlier. The researchers have developed a randomized controlled study as part of a larger initiative called HartWacht, the first reimbursable eHealth concept.
In the Netherlands, There are about 300,000 people who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, said Dr. Nicole van Steijn, an investigator on the research team. But theres also an estimated 100,000 people who have it but dont know, likely because they havent experienced symptoms.
As part of their study, they plan to enroll more than 300 patients over the age of 65 who meet a risk threshold for AFib. Half of the participants the intervention group will wear Apple Watch for at least 12 hours per day.
Apple Watch is such a widely used, reliable consumer wearable that we thought it would be a great device for us to integrate into our research to better understand how we could potentially integrate it into the larger health system, Dr. Blok shares.
As part of the groups study design, participants are expected to take an ECG once every three weeks, or if they begin feeling symptoms. If the participant receives an irregular rhythm notification, the researchers will connect with the participant and instruct them to take an ECG and share the results.
Within three weeks of the study, researchers were able to identify a participant with AFib in the intervention group who wasnt experiencing any symptoms.
This study marks the beginning of what they hope to understand using Apple Watch. In the future, they plan to explore ways to identify possible opportunities to use the ECG app to monitor patients from home, as certain medications can alter a heart rhythm. Theyre also considering how Apple Watch could possibly be used to monitor heart failure patients from home, given its a costly disease, and identify predictive biomarkers for exacerbations.
We are continuing to grow and innovate with new opportunities, based in science and technology, said Dr. Blok.
Twitter is a wild, wild place these days. From massive data leaks to banning third-party clients, it seems like its going to implode at any moment. Now, Twitter has something else up its sleeve. Unless you pay for the monthly subscription service (aka Twitter Blue), the social media site will turn off your SMS-based two-factor authentication after March 20. You need to act fast to stay protectedbut you dont need to pay for Blue.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) offers additional protection to your online accounts by requiring a password and a one-time code via text or app. Its the first line of defense in keeping unwanted hackers out of your social media account. The fact that Twitter is stripping away SMS (text) 2FA (unless you pay up) might be annoying, but it doesnt mean you are without recourse
Getting 2FA codes via SMS isnt the most reliable option anyway, as the code could be potentially intercepted by hackers. Thats why we recommend opting for an authentication app like Authy or Google Authenticator. If youre not sure how to add these apps to Twitter, dont worry. The team at PCWorld put together an easy step-by-step guide below.
How to add an authentication app to Twitter
Adding an authentication app to Twitter is easier than youd think. There are quite a few options to choose from. In our roundup of the best 2FA software and hardware, the Google Authenticator app nabbed the top spot, as its simple to use and it doesnt require an internet connection.
Google Authenticator is a free smartphone app thats available for Android and iOS. The app generates a fresh code every 30 seconds, which reduces the likelihood of a nefarious hacker getting their hands on it. You can also add as many accounts as youd like, which is pretty darn cool.
So, without further ado, heres how to add an authentication app to your Twitter account. This only works on desktop, not mobile.
Open your Twitter profile and select More, which lives on the left side of the screen.
IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo
Select the following: Settings and Support > Settings and privacy > Security and account access > Security > Two Factor Authentication.
IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo
Click on the Authentication app box.
IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo
A new window will pop up. Peruse the instructions and select Get started.
IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo
Open your authentication app of choice and scan the QR code.
IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo
When your authentication app produces a code, enter it in the box and select Confirm.
IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo
Youve now added an authentication app to Twitter. Huzzah!
This story was published February 22 but updated ahead of Twitters March 19 disabling of accounts still using SMS 2FA.
Microsoft is tightening its restrictions on its Bing chat AI chatbot in an attempt to limit its atypical use cases and loosening them, too.
Last Friday, Microsoft said it would limit the number of individual chats per session to five, and cap interactions with the chatbot at 50. On Tuesday, Microsoft expanded that to six per session, or 60 per day, and said it hoped to move to 100 chats per day, soon.
The reason? Microsoft said that it found that prolonged interactions with the Bing Chat AI produced some of the interactions that have been broadly characterized as weird: professions of love, vaguely threatening responses, and so on. Microsofts goal seems to be to maximize its utility, without dialing up the crazy.
These long and intricate chat sessions are not something we would typically find with internal testing, Microsoft said Tuesday. In fact, the very reason we are testing the new Bing in the open with a limited set of preview testers is precisely to find these atypical use cases from which we can learn and improve the product.
Microsoft sems to have returned Bing to its primary role as a search engine. Mark Hachman / IDG
Users complained, however, that the restrictions made Bing too bland, and the small window of interaction in a typical session was too small to allow much interaction, and that a typical search generated a small chat window in the traditional list of linkswhich counted against a users quota. Executives said on Twitter that counting chats generated in the search results against a users limit was a mistake.
Microsoft said that its also trying to strike a balance between facts and creativity.
We are also going to begin testing an additional option that lets you choose the tone of the Chat from more Precisewhich will focus on shorter, more search-focused answersto Balanced, to more Creativewhich gives you longer and more chatty answers, Microsoft added. The goal is to give you more control on the type of chat behavior to best meet your needs.
Is Bing boring? Mark Hachman / IDG
The problem is that Microsoft also appears to be drastically reeling Bing in. A quick few queries asked of the Bing Chat on Tuesday produced the same response: Im sorry but I prefer not to continue this conversation. Im still learning so I appreciate your understanding and patience.
When asked why Bing kept declining to answer, Bing didnt respond.
Microsoft is bringing Bing Chat, its copilot for the web, to Skype and Bing Mobile, where youll have a chance to add Bing Chat to your group chats and let its AI features help you out.
Specifically, Bing Chat will be added to the Bing mobile app, where youll be able to orally dictate or type a chat to the Bing AI chat on both iOS and Android. The same features will be available on the mobile version of Microsoft Edge. Finally, youll be able to invoke Bing (via @Bing) from Skype group chats with your friends, and ask Bing for recommendations, jokes, advice, and so on.
However, youll still need to sign up for the Bing Chat waitlist to see the new Bing Chat in action, in whatever app. You can join the waitlist at bing.com/new, where Microsoft will advise you to tweak your browser to the Microsoft-approved defaults to move higher up the queue.
Microsoft may be proceeding a bit slower than expected with its Bing Chat deployment. Instead of rolling it out first to Microsoft Teams, for example, the feature is being added to the somewhat-less-utilized Teams app. Statista reported that Microsoft Teams had 270 million daily users as of 2022, while Microsoft said Wednesday that 36 million people around the world use Skype.
The new Bing Chat can be invoked via Skype chats. Microsoft
As we learn and fine-tune this amazing new capability, we envision bringing it to other communications apps, like Teams, in the future, Microsoft said in a blog post.
While Microsoft appears to be making Bing available to mobile users with the same capabilities (and limitations) as the desktop application, theres apparently one key difference: Microsofts version of Edge with Bing inside allows you to craft ideas and summarize documents from the sidebar in the desktop browser. It doesnt appear that that capability is within Edge, at least not yet. Microsoft is treating both the updates to the Edge and Bing apps as previews, however, leaving room for future updates.
In a quick hands-on, Bing appeared to be the same chatbot as on the desktop. Bings speech recognition, however, was abysmal. A query, Where in Hawaii should I visit, was interpreted as where at the vet. Since Bing only allows limited queries per session as well as daily, you may want to type chats into the mobile app for now.
This story was updated at 10:13 AM with a hands-on.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Tuesday, 21st February 2023, presented 100 pick-up vehicles, 600 motorbikes and 6 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) vehicles to the Police Service, in addition to commissioning the National Police Headquarters facelift project.
According to the President, the presentation of these equipment, are evidence, if any were needed, of Governments commitment to the continuous retooling of the Police, a responsibility my government takes very seriously. It is borne out of the fact that the Police plays a critical role in the development of our country, hence the need to ensure that the Police Service is adequately resourced to discharge its duties for the safety and security of all of us, as well as for the growth of economic activity.
The one hundred (100) pickup vehicles, six hundred (600) motorbikes and six (6) APC vehicles handed over by the President are to be used by the Formed Police Units (FPUs) in all regions of the country.
Until recently, the FPU was only stationed in Accra. However, through support from government, the Unit was extended to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, and is and now being formed in all the other regions, President Akufo-Addo said.
He continued, All regions across the country are soon going to benefit from the services of this specialised unit. These Regional FPUs will be spread across one hundred and forty (140) bases in various communities in all the regions. Without any doubt, their presence will enhance greatly security, law and order in the country.
President Akufo-Addo urged the officers, men and women from the FPUs to undertake their duties with utmost professionalism, adding that Show love and civility to the communities you will be in, but, at the same time, do your work without fear or favour. Always remember that you are accountable to the good people of Ghana.
The President acknowledged the numerous renovations and changes that have been carried out on the frontage and the immediate surroundings of the Police Headquarters the reconstruction of the walls around the headquarters, the remodelling of the gates and the renovation of the CID building.
The landscaping around the entire building and on your premises will not go unnoticed. I dare say, if we were to rank all public buildings now, the Police Headquarters will most likely emerge as one of the best in terms of the appearance of the surroundings. I must say when an environment looks this beautiful and put together, it creates a sense of orderliness and discipline in the minds of its patrons. I commend the leadership of the Service for embarking on this renovation and facelift project, he added.
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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Meandering through the bustling traffic in Nigeria's main city, Lagos, Oyewumi Azeez Olawale makes his way to a visa appointment.
Just a year ago, the Nigerian medical student was scrambling to find safe passage out of Ukraine after the Russian bombardment began on 24 February.
But with other studying options effectively closed off, he returned to Ukraine later in the year for another term. Now, he wants to travel there again.
"I am going back to Ukraine because I need to finish my final year, sit my exams and collect my certificate," said the 28-year-old.
"There are no options for me in Nigeria," he added.
Ukraine was home to more than 80,000 foreign students in 2020, nearly a quarter were from Africa.
Some are considering returning to Ukraine as they struggle to find somewhere to finish their studies.
For Mr Olawale, the choice was easy.
In July 2022, the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council (MCDN) said it would no longer accept degrees from Ukrainian universities awarded online. It was a move that Ghana's medical council copied two months' later.
"I needed to finish my degree in person," Mr Olawale said.
He was fortunate that the place where he was studying was a long way from the frontline.
Mr Olawale is in his final year at the National University in Uzhgorod, which has been largely shielded from the destruction of the war as it is in western Ukraine near the border with Slovakia.
"My city is safe and it's the best option for me," Mr Olawale told the BBC.
Others have not been as lucky.
Ukraine was a hotspot for those seeking affordable education in Europe, known for its straight-forward visa processes, low tuition fees and high standard of schooling.
After spending years saving up for their degrees, returning home empty handed was simply not an option for many students.
But finding a new country to finish their studies has not been easy.
Jessica Orakpo, the Nigerian medical student whose experience of racism while trying to flee Ukraine last year gained widespread coverage, is among those considering returning.
She initially fled to Hungary and then moved to the Netherlands where she now lives with a host family.
Her temporary visa expires in a month unless she gets a skilled job.
Having graduated in 2022, she is now a qualified doctor, but says job hunting without Dutch language skills has been a challenge.
"My only options are to stay here or go back to Ukraine.
"Some people say why don't you just go back to Nigeria? But they don't understand, that's easier said than done," Dr Orakpo said, citing the country's worsening economic and healthcare systems.
"I have a goal in life, I want to practice medicine," she said, adding that the security situation in Nigeria makes that a challenge.
Getting a visa to return to Europe would be near impossible if she returned to Nigeria as having lived outside the country since 2016 she has no permanent address or bank account, she said.
Source: BBC
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The UN says tens of thousands of civilians have fled the self-declared republic of Somaliland and crossed the border into neighbouring Ethiopia following fighting between regional government forces and local militias.
The number of people who have left Somalilands Las Anod district and arrived in Ethiopias Doole area in the past month could be as high as 80,000, the UNs refugee agency, the UNHRC, has said.
Most of those arriving are women, pregnant and lactating mothers as well as children - including some who are separated from their families - according to the agency.
Last week the UN said that an average of 1,000 people were crossing into Ethiopia each day fleeing the violence.
This has increased humanitarian needs in the hosting areas which themselves are among the worst hit by a severe drought affecting East Africa following five consecutive failed rainy seasons.
Additionally, more than 180,000 people are believed to have been internally displaced and settled in 66 camps within Somaliland.
Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in the early 1990s but has not been internationally recognised.
It had been a relatively stable region in the volatile Horn of Africa.
Tensions have however been fermenting in recent months after elections were delayed. Scores were killed earlier this month when fighting broke out in Las Anod.
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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Vodafone Ghana has offered all customers free international calls and SMS to Turkey and Syria. The telecommunications company will also refund customers all charges on calls that were made to Turkey and Syria from 1st February.
The initiative is meant to help customers stay in touch with loved ones who have been affected by the recent disaster. The offer is free for all Vodafone Ghana customers until the end of February.
The earthquakes, which struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 this year, caused severe damage and loss of life and left many families in distress. Vodafone Ghana hopes that this initiative will alleviate some of the burdens on affected customers and help them stay connected during this difficult period.
Preba Greenstreet, Legal and External Affairs Director at Vodafone Ghana, stated, We understand how important it is for our customers to stay in touch with their loved ones, especially during times of crisis. We are committed to supporting our customers in any way we can. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the earthquakes.
She encouraged Vodafone Ghana customers to take advantage of this free service and stay connected with friends and family in Turkey and Syria.
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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Minister-designate for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong has said that he is impressed with the results of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme.
According to him, the programme has been relatively successful since its implementation because it has given the Ghanaian populace access to an abundance of food products.
During his vetting session on Monday, February 20, 2023, he said that since the introduction of the programme, there has been a tremendous increase in the yields of maize, rice, and soyabeans.
Its a solid programme that was conceptualised and implemented by this government. Ranking, you will realize that on maize our yield was about 1.6 metric tons per hectare in 2016.
Today the yield is around 4 metric tons. For rice, we were producing around 2.7 metric tons. Today weve about 4.5 metric tons. And for soyabeans we were about 2.7 and today we are about 4.
. . these are some of the things that planting for food and jobs have done. Theyve improved the yields such that the sector growth rate in 2016 which was hovering around 2.7 percent, today is averaging about 6 percent.
So, if you look at all the metrics under the planting for food and jobs and all the grains except for rice, weve been achieving surpluses from 2016 to datebut in terms of contributing to ensure that food is available, the planting for food and job has been relatively successful.
And I want to go and continue by supporting the various modules under the planting for food and jobs if given the opportunity to ensure that it achieves its full objective, he said.
The Planting for Food and Jobs policy, which has been in existence for about six years, is to boost local production and reduce the importation of foodstuff.
The ultimate aim is also to help reduce the impact of imports on the cedis performance as it will reduce the high requirement for dollars for such purposes.
Under the Planting for food and jobs, every district or local authority is expected to select a crop that it has a comparative advantage in, where the government will support the cultivation of such crops with fertilizer, improved seeds as well as other improved technology.
Source: ghanaweb.com
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Dr Clement, Member of Parliament for Builsa South, has responded to the criminal complaint filed against Rev. Kusi Boateng by the Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA).
The group has filed a criminal complaint against Rev. Victor Kusi Boateng, also known as Kwabena Adu Gyamfi, and has requested that the Criminal Investigation Department look into him.
According to Dr Apaak, the man of God would have been arrested for these alleged charges in any serious democracy.
The group wants the man of God investigated for allegedly violating various provisions of the Criminal and Other Offenses Act 1960 (Act 29) specifically Sections 251, 215 and 132.
They claim that Rev. Kusi Boateng has allegedly engaged in crimes including deceiving a public officer, the deceit of a court by personation and defrauding by false pretences.
We believe that the respondent perpetrated a criminal offence under Section 251 of Act 29 obtained two different passports from the State, two different drivers licenses from the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Authority, two different tax identification numbers, two different voters ID cards by knowingly providing false and conflicting information to these public officers to obtain these documentations.
In his response, Dr Apaak stated that the man of God is not above the law and should have been arrested for the alleged crimes.
He stated that he could not wrap his head around the ongoing situation because there is clear evidence that requires answers, and yet the one who blew the whistle on the alleged saga surrounding the man of God is the one being attacked.
He characterised the man of God as duplicitous and questioned why he had not been arrested, adding that this is a test case for the country, and Ghanaians are waiting to see what happens.
Such a duplicitous character, two: mothers, days of birth, dates of birth, names, TIN numbers, passports, Ghana cards, still walks freely? Do security agencies need a prompt to arrest him? Is he above the law? This is a test case, we are watching.
Source: ghanaweb.com
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Osei Bonsu Amoah, Minister of State-Designate, Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, says the creation of six additional regions in 2018 was to fast-track development.
He said the Government decided to add the six new regions to the original 10 to deepen democracy, to fast track their development and bring governance to the doorstep of the people.
OB Amoah, who is also the outgoing Deputy Minister of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development, said this on Tuesday when he appeared before the Appointment Commitment of Parliament to be vetted.
Henry Quartey, a Member of the Appointment Commitment of Parliament and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso Central, asked the Minister-Designate whether the Regional Coordinating Councils of the six newly created regions had offices.
OB Amoah, in his response, noted that in the previous administration of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, they used to have the Ministry of Regional Reorganization and Development with Dan Botwe as Minister.
He said under the second term of President Akufo-Addo the Ministry had been absorbed into the Ministry of Local, Decentralization and Rural Development with Dan Botwe as the Minister.
You could see that a lot has been done, the statistics showed that indeed, for the six regions, theyve become very fortunate, fortunate in the sense that the kind of drive that the Minister led in getting these regions created, which indeed, is phenomenal, it is history, Mr Amoah said.
He said so much had gone into the creation of the six new regions, stating that as of the last count about 50 projects, which they had earmarked, about 33 of them had been completed and the rest were at various stages of completion.
He cited the Regional Coordinating Council Office building in the Western North Region as an ultramodern edifice.
He said the regional officers of the various agencies of the Government had been posted to all the six newly created regions
He said a lot had been done in three Regions, which were carved out of the former Northern Region; saying and I think if we continue and have more resources, a lot more can be done.
Touching on the role of District Chief Executives, Amoah said the first thing they need to know was to know what the law says.
This is what the law says you can do, these are your powers under the law, if you are not able to execute your mandate, it means you are not doing your work well.
He said when it comes to the unauthorized citing of structures, the law mandates Chief Executives to give notice, ask offenders to update, to even ask for modification and to serve notice and then to go ahead and if possible demolish the structures.
Even for public spaces, you dont need to go through all these, for public spaces you just go ahead and demolish because that structure is not required to be at that place.
He said this was because the land in question did not belong to the offender and therefore, he could not site the structure there.
The Minister-Designate lauded Quartey, who is also the Greater Accra Regional Minister, for championing the efforts to get rid of illegal structures within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.
Source: GNA
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Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has reacted to the outcome of his first 'meeting' in court with Kwabena Adu Gyamfi alias Victor Kusi Boateng, the secretary to the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral.
Adu Gyamfi filed a contempt suit against Ablakwa accusing the lawmaker of disrespecting the courts after he was videoed kicking two court documents that were being served on him earlier this month.
The court ruled on February 21 after the first hearing that the lawmaker was not served with the summons and that service should be done through the Speaker of Parliament as required by law.
The case was subsequently adjourned sine die.
Ablakwa was in court in the company of members of his party, the National Democratic Congress and scores of his constituents, but he was whisked away after the sitting without saying a word to the press.
In his first reaction on the outcome of Day 1 of proceedings, he posted on social media: "Nobody fights the Truth and the People and wins.
"I am profoundly thankful to everyone for the amazing support and strong solidarity. Ghana First!"
Nobody fights the Truth and the People and wins.
I am profoundly thankful to everyone for the amazing support and strong solidarity.
Ghana First! pic.twitter.com/cpvkjCEQXf Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) February 21, 2023
Source: ghanaweb.com
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Bryan Acheampong, a former Minister of State at the National Security Ministry, has said the violence that characterised January 31, 2019, a parliamentary by-election in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency has been his waterloo.
Mr Chairman, Ayawaso has been my waterloo. It is something that, in the performance of the duty of the state, an individual has been unjustifiably held liable for something that, that individual knows nothing about, he said.
Bryan Acheampong, the Minister-Designate for Food and Agriculture, stated this on Monday when he appeared before the Appointment Committee of Parliament in Accra on Monday for vetting.
.I must add that the Ayawaso violence is a blot on our democracy, we pray that it doesnt happen again. I sympathise with those who were wounded on that day.
He said the Government ensured that the wounded were treated at the 37 Military Hospital and their medical bills were paid for by the state.
Bryan Acheampong said he had perused the over 500-page report of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Commission of Enquiry, and that his name was not mentioned anywhere as having done anything wrong.
He said the report indicated that persons from the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) Team were deployed under the command of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Samuel Azugu, under the authority of the Director of Operations of the National Security Secretariat and with the ultimate responsibility of the Minister of State at the Ministry of National Security.
He admitted that while he was then the Minister of State at National Security, he was responsible for the SWAT Team.
So, if the findings were that the people were sent to Ayawaso under the command of a police officer, and the Police Officer was under the command of the Director of Operations, and the Director of Operations was at the command of the Minister of State at the Ministry of National Security and the Minister of State was at the command of a Minister of National Security and so on and so forth, where does it end? Mr Acheampong questioned.
And why would they end it at my doorstep? Not being part of the operation, not being part of the command on that day. No evidence was given to that.
He said that the Commission did not recommend his prosecution, because there was no fact to support that; saying it, however, placed an individual liability on him.
The Commission recommends that Mr Bryan Acheampong be reprimanded for his ultimate responsibility as Minister in authorising an operation of that character on a day of election in a built up area, the nominee said.
Mr Chairman, even in the unlikely event that I was the Minister of State and authorised that operation, what Im being asked to be reprimanded for is not a crime.
Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Appointment Commitment, asked the minister-designate whether he authorised the operation.
Acheampong: Mr Chairman, I did not authorise that operation. And that is why it was easy for the (Government) White Paper to say that they reject the recommendations because it is without basis.
Following the unfortunate incident the House had passed the law to address political vigilantism, he said, adding; Today we no longer hear about vigilantism the way we used to hear about it in the past.
He said the violence that characterised the by-election was unfortunate but where the liability is being placed is where I think it is misplaced.
The nominee told the House that no one died in the violence.
Touching on agriculture and food production, the Minister-Designate said Ghana was self-sufficient in food production and, given the nod, he would ensure that improved seeds were made available to farmers to increase productivity.
Source: GNA
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The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, together with the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) has organized a dialogue on the Burkinabe asylum seeker situation in Ghana to take stock of the evolving situation.
Regional Ministers, Stephen Yakubu and Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, gave updates on the humanitarian situation at a high-level consultative dialogue in Accra.
To them the number of Burkinabes who fled their country to seek asylum in Ghana have reportedly reduced from more than 4000 to 1000 due to their gradual and voluntary return to their home country.
Some of them are shuffling between their home countries and communities in the Upper East and Upper West of Ghana where they have lived since coups and terrorist attacks in their country displaced them.
About the situation in the Upper East, Dr Salih said, on December 5 last year, the Chetu community in the Lambussie and Sissala West districts received a total of 3148 displaced people, 222 Ghanaian nationals who had settled in Burkina Faso.
Although the departure of the majority of the asylum seekers had restored calm, Dr Salih said concerns in the Sissala area were the pressure on social amenities and fear of terrorist groups infiltrating the territories within the Region.
There is a possibility of the return of people of concern if the situation in Burkina Faso persists, he said.
In the Upper East, Dr Yakubu said the Region hosted 6,620 Burkinabes but many have left, leaving 1,064.
He called on the GRB to grant them refugee status to enable them access more benefits from Ghana.
The Minister for Interior, Ambrose Dery, in a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Adelaide Annor-Kumi, said the GRB had registered about 1000 of the asylum seekers.
He urged the Refugee Board and UNHCR to ensure that appropriate interventions are made for the Burkinabes to ameliorate the situation of their Ghanaian hosts and maintain harmony between the two groups of people.
He urged stakeholders to ensure that extremists do not infiltrate the asylum system to threaten national security.
The Board Chairman of the GRB, Prof. Ken Attafuah, called for cooperation between national and international agencies on the situation by finding a balance between the sovereign interests of Ghana and the fundamental human rights of the asylum seekers and refugees.
The UNHCR Country Representative, Esther Kiragu, said as the situation in Burkina Faso where there are about 1.8 million internally displaced people keeps worsening, there is the possibility that more people would seek asylum in Ghana.
Commending Ghana for her hospitality, she said, more hospitality will be needed stressing hosting refugees is an obligation due to international conventions and domestic laws.
The UN Resident Coordinator, Charles Abani, said the UN would support efforts to manage the humanitarian situation.
Attended by institutions like the National Disaster Management Organisation, Social Welfare and Security Agencies, the participants would produce a contingency plan to address the situation.
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 Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has for the second year been adjudged the best performing Minister for outstanding performances over the past year.
The award presented by FAKS Investigative Service, a research organisation, takes into account a survey on the performance of Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Regional Ministers, opinions from the public, assessments from the ministries and agencies, as well as information from the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs).
The annual award, presented by FAKS Investigative Services, after a survey, takes into consideration the work of ministers over a one-year period by assessing their contributions to national development.
The annual survey also assesses the performance of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the State-Owned Enterprises in the country.
The survey gives Ghanaians the opportunity to rate the performance of the various government appointees within the year.
Yaw Sarpong, leader of FAKS Investigative Services, presenting a plaque to Mr. Dame said the selection of the Attorney General was as a result of his donation of 91 vehicles to some agencies under his Ministry, the setting up of the Legal Aid Commission Fund, and the Law Reform Commission.
He said the AG was also selected because of Ghanas victory at the Norway Court of Appeal in a case filed against the country by Messrs Jongsbru AS.
Mr. Sarpong added that the award is to encourage Mr. Dame to continue to do what he did last year and more in his service to the country.
Receiving the plaque, the Attorney General attributed his success to the hardworking staff of his office who he said worked tirelessly to keep the Ministry running.
Quite surprised because last year, I received a similar award and little did I know that there would be a repeat as it were in this field, there are a lot of high performances on the part of Ministers. So, for us to consistently be adjudged as one of the best among our peers is quite humbling, the AG said.
Mr. Dame indicated that the award will serve as a reminder for the Ministry to do more, adding that this will spur me on to do more as the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. The AG cannot be afraid of the people and if we receive this award its a boost for me.
Source: Daily Guide
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An Accra High Court last week deleted the defence mounted by Kofi Nyame, one of the 14 persons accused of killing the late Major Maxwell Mahama at Denkyira Obuasi (New Obuasi) in the Ashanti Region in 2017.
The accused had opened his defence and began his testimony before the court and claimed he was drank when he threw a stone at the deceased and could therefore, not tell if it hit the late soldier.
The accused was expected to continue his testimony but his lawyer, Theophilus Donkor, prayed the court to adjourn the case to enable him have conference with his client because the prison officers could not allow him access to the accused.
The court presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu, a Court of Appeal Judge sitting as an additional High Court Judge, declined the request for an adjournment on the ground that the counsel had been representing the accused this whole time and had had several conferences with the accused even before he opened his defence.
There was a back and forth between the court and counsel and the court decided to stand the case down for one hour to allow counsel have conference with his client before the case was recalled.
Mr. Donkor declined the offer and after another back and forth told the court the accused wished to discontinue his defence.
The court, therefore struck out Kofi Nyames defence, meaning he will not be mounting any defence against the allegations made against him by the prosecution.
The court then adjourned the matter to yesterday for the fourth accused to open his defence but the case was once again adjourned to February 23, 2023, because a member of the jury was absent on health ground.
The Office of the Attorney General on May 16, 2022, closed its case in the trial of the 14 persons who allegedly lynched the late Major Maxwell Mahama at Denkyira Obuasi (New Obuasi) in May 2017.
Major Mahama was brutally lynched while on detachment duties with some military officers in Denkyira Obuasi.
He was the captain of the 31-member military team sent to the town to guard the properties of C&G Mining Company as a result of illegal mining activities in the area.
The 14 persons all pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them although state prosecutors say the accused persons, except the then Assemblyman of the area, William Baah, were captured in a video during the crime.
The prosecution during the presentation of its case called 14 witnesses who gave various accounts of what happened on the day and what they witnessed.
Frances Mullen Ansah, a Chief State Attorney, during one of the proceedings led the case investigator in evidence when the court played the horrifying video which captured the accused persons lynching the deceased.
Source: Daily Guide
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The Ghana Post Company Limited has honoured the Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Rita Akosua Dickson, for her contributions to academia and the company.
The company also praised the university for being one of its topmost clients in the postal services in the country.
At a short ceremony to present a painted portrait of the Vice-Chancellor to her during this years Valentines Day, the Managing Director of the company, Bice Osei Kuffour, indicated that the university had remained a loyal client of the company over the past 15 years.
He explained that the company had been selling the admission forms, as well as delivering transcripts of the university to its students in the past 15 years, a partnership he sad had been a win-win situation for the two institutions.
He said the university had also remained the top customer of the company in the Ashanti Region.
Mr Kuffour said many students had had a smooth process buying admission forms at Ghana Post, as well as the trusted source to receiving their transcripts.
Appreciation
In response, Prof. Dickson expressed gratitude to the company for the gesture, noting that Ghana Post had been an important ally of the university.
She said the university had not regretted its partnership with the company, stressing that the company had served as a bridge between the university and the public.
She, however, urged the company to continue to innovate in order to attract new businesses and customers.
Vals on Wheels
In a related development, the company also used its Vals On Wheels initiative to deliver painted portrait to the wife of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Lady Julia.
The Vals On Wheels initiative was first given expression on February 14-15, 2022, as part of innovative measures by the company to woo Ghanaians to do business with the company, particularly in the areas of deliveries.
The initiative used influencers and top-management members of the company to deliver items at the doorsteps of its customers during Valentines Day.
In this years exercise, the company used Kumawood stars, including Ebenezer Akwasi Antwi, aka Dr Likee, and Matilda Asante to deliver the portrait to Lady Julia.
The delivery team also showed love in branded Ghana Post costumes to Ejisuhemaa, Nana Yaa Asantewaa; Asante Mamponghemaa, Nana Agyakomaa Difie; mother of Dr Osei Kwame Despite, Nana Akua Amako; Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful; businessmen Ibrahim Mahama and Ernest Ofori Sarpong; Paramount Chief of Asogli Traditional Area, Togbe Afede; broadcaster Kwame Sefa Kayi; staff of the company, as well as other distinguished customers of the company.
Source: graphiconline.com
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Naa Alhaji Abuba Nasimong, Paramount Chief of the Bunkpurugu Traditional Area in the North East Region maintains that he will send the newly enskinned 15th Bawku Chief to Bawku if the Nayiri gives him the go-ahead.
Naa Alhaji Abuba Nasimong made this statement at the forecourt of the Nayiri Palace in Nalerigu after a press conference, where 21 Chiefs in the Mamprugu traditional area endorsed the enskinment of Alhaji Seidu Abagre (Naa Sherigah) as the 15th Bawku Naaba by the Nayiri.
The 21 Chiefs who were congregated at the Nayiri palace on Tuesday (21 February 2023) for the press conference have all agreed that the decision of the Overlord of the Mamprugu Kingdom to enskin Alhaji Seidu Abagre as the Bawku Naaba is in the right direction and cautioned the government to respect the traditional authorities executed by the Nayiri for peace to reign in the area.
Speaking to the media after the press conference, the Paramount Chief of the Bunkpurugu traditional area, Naa Alhaji Abuba Nasinmong reiterated that he will send the newly enskinned Bawku Naaba to Bawku if the Nayiri gives him that assignment.
"I have already heard one Kusaasi man even talk and mention my name but he doesn't know what he is saying. Nayiri is my father, Nayiri is the overlord of Mamprugu and I want to tell my Overlord Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sherigah II that if he calls me to send me anywhere, I will go neither talking of sending the chief to Bawku, that one is easy for me.
"Nobody should expect that. Nayiri does not want to fight. He has been telling his people that he doesn't fight but when the Mamprusis wake up to fight, is going to be a big terrible situation for the whole of Ghana.
"The land of Ghana is going to face consequences for so many years. The fighting spirit, the fighting power, is with the Mamprusi. So I am telling everybody in Ghana including our security to stop threatening the Overlord and his land," Naa Alhaji Abuba Nasimong said.
He urged the government to exercise patience and take a cursory observation of the history of the Mamprugu kingdom and handle the case well for peace to return to Bawku.
"I am saying this for the sake of peace of this our Mother land, Ghana. They should exercise patience and look at this case very well. When Nayiri enskins someone and you didn't agree with that person, and you are not happy, go to court and face the Nayiri peacefully and show him your royal lineage of chieftaincy," he added.
He concluded that "we pray for peace to prevail in our country-Ghana so that our president can be able to manage everything so our economy and businesses will move on well," Naa Alhaji Abuba Nasimong concluded.
Meanwhile, the high court in Bolga has rescinded and exempted the Nayiri and his King Makers from its initial arrest warrant issued on 18th February 2023 against the Overlord, his King Makers, and the newly enskinned Bawku Naaba.
However, the arrest warrant issued by the court on Tuesday (21st February 2023) has still not exempted the newly enskinned Bawku Naaba from being arrested.
The Overlord, Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sherigah and his King Makers were exempted from being arrested by the court in its latest arrest warrant application issued yesterday (21 February 2023).
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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Minister-designate for Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond has hit back at persons calling into question the competence of the elderly in society when it comes to national leadership.
Addressing Parliaments Appointment Committee during his vetting on Monday, February 20, 2023, the nominee argued that whereas the youth can have a place in the governance of the country, it cannot be said that the elderly are useless and must therefore be relegated from national leadership.
My argument is that, you dont rule a country without the adults. I maintain it, the youth alone cannot run a country. It's not possible. There can be a mixture of the youth its never been my argument that they cannot have a say in the running of the country. I said they should be tamed, they should be temperate in the kind of things that they say and the suggestion that every adult is useless. You look at me, you think I am useless? the nominee questioned members of the committee.
The Adansi Asokwa MP was recently the subject of public criticism after he questioned the competence of the Ghanaian youth relative to solely leading the country.
K. T. Hammond in September 2022, lashed out at some patrons of the Global Citizens Festival who hooted at President Akufo-Addo when he addressed attendees at the concert.
Lets exercise restraint a little. Akufo-Addo is the executive President overseeing all the affairs of the country. When he arrived on the stage, he didnt say anything untoward. Besides, it wasnt even a political platform. He was only expressing his satisfaction with the event, he said.
We will continue to admonish you the young men and women to be patient. When theres an issue to be addressed, society always consults the elderly. Not you the young ones, whose heads are like coconuts, K. T. Hammond who described the action of the Global Citizens Festival patrons as disrespectful added.
But appearing before the Appointment Committee on Monday, February 20, 2023, K. T. Hammond clarified that his statement was not to undermine the youth of the country.
Weve been young before, so its not for anybody to try and castigate the youth unreasonably. What I have been saying is this, and lets get it right; the youth have all the reason to say what they want to say. They have the right and the entitlement to participate in the governing of the country. What I said was that there is a limit to how these matters are to be handled.
There has been this whole business and I if youd recall, I think the communist revolution or so. What it is was that when we come to government the first thing we will do, all the lawyers we will chain them together and then dump them under the sea, we kill all of them. It is in one of the communist manifestos, he said.
Meanwhile, catch the latest GhanaWeb TV Election Desk interview with Francis Addai-Nimoh, as he discusses his plans to become the NPP's flagbearer, below:
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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Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has taken a dig at the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing the party of attempting to obstruct government work.
It comes after the Minority Leader, Dr. Ato Forson, acting on the instruction of the partys General Secretary, indicated that the Minority MPs would not support a consensus vote at the Appointments Committee level for the nominees of the President.
This will ensure that the matter is brought before the full House for a vote to be taken in secret, the Minority Leader stated at a press conference prior to the vetting of the ministerial nominees.
We are calling for the immediate reduction in the number of Ministers from the current 86 to 65; the merger of Ministries. For example, Information and Communication; Transport and Railways; Chieftaincy and Tourism; Sanitation and Local Government; the immediate reduction in the number of political appointees at the Office of the President, he announced.
But responding to the demand of the Minority, Mr. Afenyo-Markin said the directive by the NDC to its lawmakers to reject nominees of the President meant putting obstacles in the work of the government.
He stated that the interests of the country and society are always more important than ideologies and partisanship.
One would have thought that the NDC Minority will give respect to the orders of the Speaker which is part of the constitutional imperative. When nominees are announced, the Appointments Committee will vet them in accordance with the constitution, he stated.
He stated unequivocally that a nominees rejection or acceptance is constitutional, and that a political partys General Secretary cannot sit in his party office and issue a press statement directing MPs to reject the Presidents nominees for political reasons.
It is a sign of disrespect to Parliament and to the Speaker. Clearly, what the NDC is telling Ghanaians is that they dont respect the constitution, and that the new leadership [of the Minority] they just announced is not the type of leadership with the ability to respect the constitution.
That they have no thinking caps such that they will be acting on the dictates of the partys headquarters? he quizzed.
He asserted that history is watching what the NDC is doing, and that this action would be remembered in the future, noting, We believe they are clearly attempting to obstruct due process and the work of this government.
If you believe that the government should downsize, there is a way to go about it. You dont stampede the government.
We have a vacancy at the Ministry of Agric. Is the NDC saying that the Agriculture Ministry is not important? We have vacancies at the Ministries of Trade and Industry as well as the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, he said.
You may have your views. It is expected that in a democracy we should have disagreements. But you dont use such disagreement to stampede the government.
I dont know why they have come to sit here. When you have a prejudiced mind, what are you going to do; to ask questions to embarrass them and go ahead to say that we have failed you of what they are yet to do? he asked rhetorically.
Minority
Meanwhile, the Minority Leader has announced that they remain committed to ensuring greater scrutiny and will spare no effort to protect the public purse.
In line with this, we are taking part in the vetting process so that at the very minimum, we can scrutinise the Presidents decision in bringing up those nominees, he said.
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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Trade and Industry Minister-designate, KT Hammond, has disclosed that the country loses more than $164,570,000 a year to the importation of animal products such as guts, bladders, and stomachs (other than fish).
Why is it that everything that you can think about is being imported to this country, which has a terrible effect on our currency? he quizzed and added, It is about time we took a serious look at this particular issue.
Responding to questions from the Appointments Committee of Parliament, Mr. Hammond stated that the cabinet had discussed the issue of import substitutions for some of these products.
In October last year, a committee was put together by the cabinet to specifically deal with these matters and when I looked at some of the issues raised, I was scandalised.
It has been decided at that level that we should look at 50 specific areas where it is important to look at the issue of import substitution, he asserted.
Mr. Hammond, who is the NPP MP for Adansi-Asokwa, explained, What I found scandalised is what appeared in paragraph 4 of the items they have listed. We are importing guts, bladders, stomachs of animals to Ghana to complement our food, and that alone in that year in question about $164,570,000.
I thought this was a little bit of a scandal, but a committee was put together and a decision has been made that we should, as a country, seriously consider as much as possible to institute some policies to ensure that we have some substitution for some of these items, he said.
According to him, other food items such as rice and beverages that are on the list of items being considered for import substitution are also scandalous, noting that rice alone is costing the nation millions of dollars.
The minister-designate said he also discovered that some people smuggled rice into the country, asserting that if one subtracts how much is produced locally from how much the nation consumes, there is a gap of approximately 600 metric tons that have been consumed but not accounted for through the system.
In addition, the government believes that there should be some sanity in the system when it comes to used vehicles, clothing, and other items, he stated, and added, I have a very clear view in my own mind on what should be done. I am obviously encouraged by what I have read in the governments document.
KT Hammond said it is a sad state of affairs regarding Ghanas imports, but indicated that based on what he had read, he was encouraged that he would be in exceptional company to change things for the better.
He revealed that cabinet had already taken clear decisions on what should be done in the area of import substitution at the textile front, intimating that Juapong Textile Company and Akosombo Textile Company have almost collapsed.
The committee has been tasked to ensure that whatever is immediately available, financially possible and reasonable should be done by those responsible especially the Ministry of Trade to ensure that these companies are brought back to life, he said.
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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Audio Attachment: Listen to Kwesi Pratt Jnr.
Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has said government must be serious in tackling the "total lawlessness and recklessness" of the youth in Bawku in their longstanding Chieftaincy conflict.
"Some of these disputes doesn't make sense . . . what is that? When you say they say tradition, as if tradition is a permanent feature of life . . . it is so annoying," he told Kwami Sefa Kayi during a discussion on Peace FM's 'kokrokoo' programme.
"We deal with them in their own terms . . . we can't have this forever, everyday people are dying and getting injured, it must come to an end. That is how state power is supposed to be used to settle matters once and for all . . ." he said in response to how to deal with the Bawku situation.
According to him such crime perpetrators must be charged with murder when they commit such atrocities.
"I don't understand this . . . If we charge some of these people for murder may be we will be a little relieved," he added.
"Total lawlessness and recklessness," he fumed.
Youth Attacks
Some youth have attacked a police station at Nalerigu in the North East Region.
Reports say the youth were not happy with an attempt by the security agencies to arrest some chiefs in the area in relation to last weeks enskinment of a new Bawku Naba.
This has created some tension in the Mamprugu Traditional Area in the North East Region as the youth are fiercely resisting attempts by the security agencies to allegedly arrest the Overlord of the Mamprugu, Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga II and a purportedly new Bawku Naba, Alhaji Seidu Abagre.
The attempt by the soldiers followed a warrant issued by a High Court in Bolgatanga for the arrest of the two traditional leaders for their involvement in the enskinment of a new chief for Bawku on Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
The youth had taken over the palaces of the two chiefs, leading to a standoff and subsequent retreat by the soldiers.
Subsequently, they vandalised the police station and a New Patriotic Party (NPP) office in the town.
Demonstration
Following the incident, the youth on Monday blocked all major roads in the area and burnt lorry tyres to register their displeasure at the action of the security personnel.
They had blocked the Walewale section of the main Tamale-Bolgatanga highway which created a heavy vehicular traffic on the busy ECOWAS trunk road.
Attempts by the police to control the situation proved futile as they were chased away by the aggrieved youth.
Subsequently, they vandalised the police station and a New Patriotic Party (NPP) office in the town.
Purported Enskinment
On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, the Overlord of Mamprugu enskinned a new Bawku Naba despite the recognition of Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the legitimate ruler of the area.
The enskinment of Alhaji Seidu Abagre as the new chief for the Bawku Traditional area, raised concerns over a possible escalation of the conflict in the area.
The action of the Nayiri, who is the kingmaker for Mamprugu, Bawku and other areas in the Upper East Region, is considered a disregard for the current Bawku Naba and could lead to more problems in the conflict-prone town.
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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An aspiring Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, has asked the Eastern Regional delegates of the party to throw their weight behind him at the forthcoming presidential primary.
That, he said, would enable him win the primary to lead the party to the 2024 general election in which he would ultimately be elected as President of the country.
Mr Kyerematen made the call when he toured some parts of the region to solicit support from the party's delegates. He first paid a courtesy call on the Omanhene of New Juaben, Daasebre Kwaku Boateng III, at his Yiadom Hwedie Palace, where he introduced himself to him.
After that, Mr Kyerematen went to the Koforidua Central Market, waving to the traders, before proceeding to the main taxi rank where he also introduced himself to the taxi drivers.
From the taxi rank, he got down from his vehicle and walked through some portions of the main street amid cheers from the crowd.
He later met the delegates and the party's communicators at a close-door meeting.
80 per cent
Mr Kyerematen said he was suitable to lead the party to victory in the 2024 polls and that he would secure 80 per cent of the presidential votes in the party's stronghold, Ashanti Region, and cap it with majority votes in the Eastern Region, which is also NPP's second stronghold.
He indicated that apart from that, he stood tall among all the other presidential aspirants of the party and that it was his time to be given the diadem.
Volta support
With regard to securing votes in the NDC's Volta Region stronghold, Mr Kyerematen said his popularity in that region, especially in the Kpando area, where he had relatives, was obvious that he would be able to secure significant votes.
He added that with majority votes in the Ashanti and Eastern regions, and significant votes from the Volta Region, he would definitely emerge victorious at the 2024 presidential elections.
Mr Kyerematen explained that Voltarians, according to his research, had indicated that it was not that they disliked the NPP but all depended on the personality of the presidential candidate, which suited him, and that they would, this time, change their mind and vote for him and the NPP as a whole.
Good works
Earlier, Daasebre Kwaku Boateng, who welcomed Mr Kyerematen to his palace, said judging the humility and good works of the aspirant, it was possible he would win the presidential primaries of NPP.
The Omanhene said he, together with the traditional council, would support him with prayers to achieve his dream.
Source: graphiconline.com
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Presidential Candidate hopeful for the ruling NPP, Hon Alan Kyerematen, on Sunday received massive endorsement for his presidential ambition as he began a tour to the Oti region.
The former Trade and Industry Minister was welcomed on arrival to the region by a swarm of ecstatic party faithfuls and industry players.
Hon Kyerematen is visiting the Oti region as part of his regional engagements with party party faithfuls and loyalists throughout the country.
The regional engagements offer him the opportunity to sell his presidential ambition and explain his agenda of transformation of the country to party executives, leadership delegates, as well as the general membership, when given the nod to lead the party and Ghana at large in 2024.
Hon Alan Kyerematen, noted for his industrial revolution and expertise in trade, has already confirmed his readiness to contest in the upcoming Presidential Primaries within the ruling NPP in a broadcast to nation soon after he left office last month.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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The Minority Caucus in Parliament said it was not boycotting the two-day vetting of six new ministerial nominees but was participating to ensure greater scrutiny and to protect the public purse.
However, it would not subscribe to a consensus vote at the level of the Appointments Committee as has been the practice, but would ensure that the matter was brought before the full House for a vote to be taken in secret.
The action according to the Minority group, was to insist that government cut down on its appointments and merge some of the ministries to demonstrate leadership in these difficult times.
Directive
On Sunday, the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) directed that the Minority in Parliament should not approve any of the new ministerial nominees.
A statement signed and issued by its General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, said the party had long expressed concern over the large size of the current government and shared the views of most Ghanaians, including civil society organisations, that it must be reduced, bearing in mind the current economic crisis the country has been plunged into by the government.
Presser
At a press conference yesterday, minutes before the vetting process commenced, the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, called for the immediate reduction in the number of ministers from the current 86 to 65.
He suggested the merger of ministries including Information and Communication, Transport and Railways, Chieftaincy and Tourism, Sanitation and Local government.
Job
Also, the Minority Leader, flanked by the leadership of the caucus and other members, called for the immediate scrapping of all amorphous creations and "waste-pipe, job-for-the-boys" appointments since the assumption of office of President Akufo-Addo in 2017.
Some of the amorphous creation pointed out by the Minority Leader included Youth Ambassador for Diaspora Affairs, Policy Associate, Chief Executive of Public Sector Reforms, Overseer of the National Cathedral, Church Relations Manager, Diaspora Church Mobilisation Officer, Policy and Coordinator Analyst and Focal Person, La Francophonie.
Expenditure
Dr Forson said it was unconscionable to note that government has added a whopping GH82 billion to its expenditure for 2023 compared to 2022.
He alleged that between January and September of 2022 (nine-months), the presidency saddled Ghanaians with a number of operational cost, including the fuel bills paid at the presidency within the nine-month period under review cost Ghanaian taxpayers a colossal GH 51.1 million (51,109,137.86).
Also, he said the President's regional tours last year cost the country a staggering GH16.9 million (16,906,272.45).
Majority reaction
Reacting to the Minority press conference, the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, told the media that the nomination by the President was part of the constitutional imperative.
He indicated that the rejection or otherwise of a nominee was in line with the Constitution, adding that a general secretary of a political party could not sit in a party office and issue a press statement for the purpose of political expediency.
Mr Afenyo-Markin insisted that for the general secretary to direct Members of Parliament to reject a nominee was a sign of disrespect to the House, the Speaker and, indeed, the President.
"And clearly, what the Minority is telling Ghanaians is that they don't respect the Constitution and that the new Minority leadership is not the type of leadership with the ability to respect the Constitution and that they don't have the thinking capability," 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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Seasoned Journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr. has described the vetting of ministerial appointees as 'useless' and of no essence.
According to him, the culture where ministerial appointees are subject to vetting and televised to the nation used to be very exciting but has absolutely lost its relevance and value today.
Speaking to Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme in relation to the vetting of the Ministers designate for Ministries such as Trade Ministry, Food and Agriculture Ministry among others, Mr. Pratt stated that the vetting is no longer appealing to the Ghanaian masses because it has now become unduly unserious.
To him, the vetting has turned into a comic relief instead of a serious business to assess the appointees.
He cited an instance where an appointee was once asked to sing hymns which he found to be unacceptable.
"How vetting started is not how it is going today. During the time when vetting of Ministers begun, it was difficult to leave your Television set because we all wanted to know if the Ministers could indeed execute their tasks effectively and what about their attitudes. Frankly, we have ruined it. Today, it is of no value; a lot of people don't watch it again ...This time, the vetting is not exciting as it started. I don't the usefulness of the vetting today," he said.
President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed Kobina Tahiru Hammond as the new Minister of Trade and Industry, taking over from Alan Kyerematen who recently resigned from his position to contest for NPP Flagbearer position for election 2024.Bryan Acheampong, MP for Abetifi Constituency, is also going to head the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.Former Director-General of SIGA Stephen Asamoah Boateng is to head to the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Mohammed Amin Adam is now the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance while Osei Bonsu Amoah is the Minister of State for Local Government.The Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso and head of MASLOC, Stephen Amoah, is to serve as a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry and Herbert Krapa, a Deputy Trade Minister has been moved to the Energy Ministry as Deputy Minister.Mr. K.T Hammond and Bryan Acheampong took turns yesterday before the Parliamentary Appointments Committee with the members vetting them before they can be approved for their new positions.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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Former President John Dramani Mahama has formally declared his intention to contest for President in the 2024 general election on the ticket of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The two-time defeated Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress announced his third coming on Tuesday when he met with the Minority caucus at his Cantonments office in Accra.
In attendance at the meeting were former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, former NDC Campaign Manager for the 2020 general elections, Professor Joshua Alabi, and former Information Minister, under the late President Jerry Rawlings, Kofi Totobi Quakyi.
Already, the majority of the NDC MPs have unanimously endorsed Mr. Mahama as their choice.
Mr. Mahama will be seeking probably his last attempt to become president again after failing in his previous two attempts.
The former President suffered two humiliating defeats in 2016 and 2020 to incumbent President, Nana Akufo-Addo.
On Monday, the leadership of four unions Motor Riders Union, True Drivers Union, Concerned Drivers Union, and Abossey Okai Spare-part Dealers Association, petitioned John Mahama, urging him to contest for the Presidency.
The NDC Greater Accra Regional Chairmen, Ashie Moore has also endorsed Mr. Mahama, and promised to pay his GH500K filing fee as well as the Constituency Chairmen in the Greater Accra Region also declaring their support and endorsement for Mr. Mahama.
Meanwhile, some NDC youth in the Volta Region also want John Mahama to run unopposed for the flagbearership race of the party ahead of the polls.
The group believes that there is no need for flagbearer elections, but instead, the party should directly endorse the former president as flagbearer of the party for the 2024 presidential elections.
Mr. Mahama is expected to contest the presidential primaries of the NDC with the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana and Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, and former Kumasi Mayor, Kojo Bonsu who is also lacing his boot to join the race.
Source: Daily Guide
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Former President John Dramani Mahama has picked his nomination forms to contest the NDC flagbearer race.
The NDC opened its presidential and parliamentary nomination today, Wednesday, 22nd February 2023.
Professor Joshua Alabi, a former rector of the University of Professional Studies on Wednesday (22nd February) picked forms on behalf of Mr Mahama at the partys headquarters.
Mr Mahama has already declared his intention to contest again after the Minority Caucus paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra.
We are here to pick up the forms for John Dramani Mahama, Alabi said at the partys headquarters after picking up the forms.
As you are aware we are in very difficult times in this country, the economy is in shambles, people are suffering and the summary here is that people are crying for the NDC to come back.
The NDC has gone through all its structures, and elections, it is time to come for the flagbearer to deliver the 2024 elections.
Ghanaians are asking for a well-experienced leader, leadership counts. If leadership counts then experience is the key, one who has done it before and one who is very humble, one who loves the people and one who believes in people-centred policies. Fortunately for us in the NDC, as a country, we have somebody like that, he added.
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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Yuliia Kleban, from Ukraine, poses for a photograph near her work in Toronto on Wednesday, February 8, 2023. Kleban along with other Ukrainian refugees are living in Canada as the first anniversary of the Russian war nears. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
It was a busy day in the conference room of the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile in the heart of the French capital, which was bursting with poker enthusiasts from all over the world. The second and final starting day of the 5,300 Main Event at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris surpassed the attendance of the previous flight and attracted 909 entries, bringing the total field size so far up to 1,570 entries for a prize pool of 7,612,800.
Another 16 players have already pre-registered to enter the competition prior to the start of Day 2 on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at noon local time. That's the cutoff time for everyone wishing to join as the late registration will close at the start of level 11. All late entrants at the very last minute will enter with 20 big blinds at 1,000-1,500 and a big blind ante of 1,500.
During the ten 60-minute levels of Day 1b, a new overall chip leader was crowned in Teun Mulder. The Dutchman already had a successful series so far as he won an 25,000 Single-Day High Roller a few days ago after knocking out all opponents on his final table. Nobody could beat the 347,000 of Mulder today either, as Oshri Lahmani (301,000) and Marcin Jaworski (275,000) finished behind the Dutchman on the leaderboard.
Other notables in the overnight top ten include Benjamin Chalot, Niklas Astedt, and Bogdan Berinde.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 1b
Place Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds Day 2 1 Teun Mulder Netherlands 347,000 231 2 Oshri Lahmani Israel 301,000 201 3 Marcin Jaworski Poland 275,000 183 4 Sebastian Gahl Germany 250,000 167 5 Justus Held Germany 247,000 165 6 Benjamin Chalot France 230,500 154 7 Nikolaos Lampropoulos Greece 230,500 154 8 Niklas Astedt Sweden 227,500 152 9 Bogdan Berinde Romania 220,500 147 10 Alexis Lucarini France 219,500 146
Several PokerStars ambassadors were also involved in the action throughout the day. Parker Talbot advanced with 153,500, Sam Grafton (78,500), Alejandro Lococo (78,000) and Benjamin Spragg (30,000) on his second bullet also made it through as well. Not as fortunate were Team Online's Sebastian Huber, Ramon Colillas, and Lex Veldhuis, as they were among hundreds of casualties during an action-filled day.
Some EPT Main Event champions such as Manig Loeser, Hossein Ensan, Roberto Romanello, and Dimitar Danchev retained their chances of becoming the third two-time champion of the popular live poker series whereas Antonio Buonanno, Jordan Saccucci, and Remi Castaignon saw their attempts come up short of reaching Day 2. Steve O'Dwyer was eliminated by the very same opponent who also claimed his chips at the EPT Prague Main Event as well.
Chris Brewer experienced a very successful day at the poker tables as he first took down the 50,000 EPT Paris Super High Roller for his biggest score on the live circuit to then late register Day 1b and claim an above-average stack of 134,500.
Chris Brewer
Berinde joined the big stacks during the late stages when he was part of a spectacular three-way all-in during which pocket kings held up against the pocket queens of Jonathan Fhima and the flush draw of Ankit Ahuja. Neither short stack could improve and the Romanian finished the day inside of the top 10.
Another memorable all-in showdown brought the elimination of Omar Lakhdari, who came up short with pocket aces against a flopped set. Many notable casualties took advantage of the single re-entry to try and run up a stack once more. Numerous WSOP bracelet winners and EPT regulars came up short as the Day 1b field was cut into more than half.
All those who have not exhausted their maximum of two entries yet can take another shot before the cards go in the air at noon local time. The live stream action from Paris will commence as of Day 2 on the PokerStars Twitch and YouTube channels and the PokerNews live reporting team will continue to deliver updates from the floor in the flagship tournament of the stop.
Make it two EPT titles for Chris Brewer here at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris, as the High Roller regular took down the 50,000 Super High Roller for a massive 959,520.
Brewer defeated Jules Dickerson heads-up to earn his biggest-ever career tournament score, which when converted to U.S. dollars equates to more than $1,000,000 Brewers first seven-figure score.
After seven hours of play to get to heads-up, the match lasted less than half an hour, despite Brewer and Dickerson having virtually identical 40 big blind stacks. Brewer won the only significantly-sized pot of heads-up play, which was a massive one, as the champion made quad eights versus Dickersons full house, leaving his opponent with crumbs before completing the victory one hand later.
It feels great," said Brewer after the win. "It was a pretty tough field. I mean, I ran amazing, and it was really fun to get to win twice this week.
When asked just how much better his second win this week felt, he noted the significance of this event.
Yeah, this one feels better. I mean, the other one is a single-day 25K. This is a big one. It's also the biggest cash I've ever had by a pretty big margin.
That cash indeed far surpasses Brewers previous largest of $442,213, which was for a fourth place finish in a 2022 WSOP $25,000 High Roller. He earned 357,180 for his 25,000 High Roller win just four days ago.
50,000 EPT Paris 2023 Super High Roller Results
Place Name Country Payout 1 Chris Brewer United States 959,520 2 Jules Dickerson United Kingdom 623,800 3 Nick Petrangelo United States 443,000 4 Pedro Marques Portugal 340,700 5 Gregoire Auzoux France 262,300 6 Dimitar Danchev Bulgaria 201,500 7 Steve O'Dwyer Ireland 155,100 8 Thomas Muehloecker Austria 120,000 9 Juan Pardo Spain 92,800
Chris Brewer
The Days Action
When play began Tuesday, 11 players returned, with just nine of them guaranteed a slice of the 3,198,720 prize pool from the tournaments 68 entries.
The bubble burst within 15 minutes of the days start, as the Canadian contingent of Sam Greenwood and Timothy Adams were the two players to bust short of the money.
Greenwood lost with an inferior ace to Dickerson, and then Adams ran his kings into the aces of Thomas Muehloecker preflop just a couple of hands later. From there, the remaining nine had locked up 92,800 each, but the big money still lay ahead.
It took about an hour and a half to see the first elimination in the money, as Juan Pardo was sent to the rail by Pedro Marques just before the first break of the day.
Once the players returned from break, it wasnt eliminations that were the story, it was the slide of Dickerson, who had extended his chip lead from the start of the day to nearly 5,000,000 chips at one point. After the break, however, a series of lost pots saw him relinquish the lead, making it anyones tournament to win.
It appeared for a while as though this may have been Pedro Marques day, as he scored the next elimination by catching a three-outer against Muehloecker to send the Austrian home in eighth place, then flopped a full house in a huge pot with Steve ODwyer which led to the EPT legends ouster in seventh place.
Following Dimitar Danchevs exit in sixth, Marques scored another knockout by busting Frenchman Gregoire Auzoux in fifth place to take the chip lead with four players left.
From that point though, the stacks evened again and it was actually Marques who was the next to hit the rail as he jammed his king-ten into Nick Petrangelos ace-king to end his day in disappointing fashion.
While Petrangelo had grabbed a solid chip lead with that elimination, the level times were cut in half three-handed, leading to some huge swings, including a horrible beat for Petrangelo, when his pocket nines got rivered by Dickersons pocket deuces to flip the lead back to Dickerson. Petrangelo couldnt regain his footing from there and he was ousted in third by Brewer to get the tournament heads-up.
Dickerson entered heads-up with a slight lead, but Brewer quickly closed the gap before their massive confrontation that led directly to Brewers victory.
Chris Brewer's European Poker Tour Victories
EPT Series Event Payout Paris 2023 50,000 Super High Roller 959,520 Paris 2023 25,000 Single-Day High Roller 357,180 Prague 2022 10,000 High Roller 155,830
This concludes our coverage of the 50,000 Super High Roller here at EPT Paris 2023. Congratulations to Chris Brewer for his second title of the series and his third EPT High Roller title overall.
Chris Brewer
Stay tuned to PokerNews for continued coverage, including the Main Event, and more High Roller Events all week long here at the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile.
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Polling shows Gov. Ron DeSantis running close to Donald Trump, but a look at who is supporting each candidate and which voters turn out in GOP primaries signals trouble ahead for the Florida governor in 2024.
The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll provides an inkling of who is supporting each top GOP presidential primary candidate:
A majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (54%) continue to say they would have a better chance in 2024 with someone other than Trump.
Trumps favorable rating among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents is just 68%/25%, far lower than Biden is with Democrats and Trumps lowest score in seven years with the group.
DeSantis comes in at 66%/11%, far less disliked, but with almost a quarter (23%) not sure yet.
Whats notable is that Trump and DeSantis are like mirror images of each other when it comes to who likes them the most among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
Trump does best with white evangelical Christians, whites without degrees, those who live in small towns or rural areas, and lower-income voters.
DeSantis, on the other hand, is best liked by college grads, those who make more than $50,000 a year, people who live in big cities or the suburbs, and Republican-leaning independents.
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The reason why DeSantis went to New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago suburbs on his book tour is that that is where his voters are in the primary. DeSantis will have to rely on wealthy, college-educated, urban and suburban Republicans if he has any chance to beat Trump.
The problem is that even in the high turnout primary year of 2016, only 14.8% of Republicans voted in primaries. Those voters tend to be white evangelical, rural, non-college-educated, older Republicans. In other words, more of Trumps voters are likely to vote in a primary. While 54% of the Republican Party think they would e better off with someone who isnt Trump, that number isnt high enough to compensate for the intensity of Trumps support.
Ron DeSantis is going to have to out-debate Trump and win in the early 2024 GOP primary states. If he gets off to a bad start in the debates, or Trump rolls through the early contests, DeSantis could be too far behind to catch up.
DeSantis is in the position of being the anti-Trump option for Republican primary voters in the polls, but he is also not a candidate yet. The Florida governor should have resources to run a long campaign against Trump, but unless he can change who votes in Republican primaries, he may get trounced by Trump.
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Trump has been making it very clear in his social media postings that he wants free coverage from cable news, but he got no live coverage from any of the three cable networks.
CNN has talked about Trumps trip, but Trump held a media availability, and none of the cable networks covered it.
Aaron Rupar noted that Trump was only carried live by Newsmax and OAN:
notable that Newsmax and OAN carried the Trump East Palestine event, but Fox did not. I expect we'll see a lot of that throughout the year. Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 22, 2023
Trump made it very clear why he was going to East Palestine, OH, when he basically begged CNN to give him more free coverage just like in 2016.
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Donald Trump got rid of the safety rules on trains like the one that derailed in Ohio which Obama put in place. It could be argued that Trump is trying to capitalize on a crisis he helped to cause.
The failed former president is only in Ohio to get free media coverage for his 2024 presidential campaign, that is, by all metrics struggling.
If this stunt had worked, it is certain that Trump would have started showing up at the scenes of natural disasters, house fires, or even when a cat is stuck in a tree.
Trump knows that he cant win without massive free publicity from the corporate media. Since the cable news networks ignored it, the return to the scene of the crime in East Palestine has been a total failure.
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Donald Trump praised the Georgia special grand jury investigating him last week when he thought he was off the hook, but now he is freaking out.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, This Georgia case is ridiculous, a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time. Now you have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) foreperson of the Racist D.A.s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jurys inner workings & thoughts. This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court. Atlanta is leading the Nation in Murder and other Violent Crimes. All I did is make TWO PERFECT PHONE CALLS!!!
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The former president is likely freaking out because he finally found out that the released pages of the special grand jury report dont mean what he thought they meant. Trump isnt exonerated. He is potentially facing a criminal indictment.
Trumps post on Truth Social was straight out of his standard playbook. No matter how many times he gets investigated or potentially indicted, the investigations or indictments will always be part of a witch hunt or a vast conspiracy to get him.
The foreperson of the special grand jury didnt say anything, but since Trump saw someone on television getting more media attention than he does, he had to discredit that person.
Donald Trump seems to finally understand that the special grand jury and the Fulton County District Attorney might not let him off of the hook, and that he might soon be indicted.
The look of the oldest building in downtown Aiken may have been changed but it still serves the same purpose it did when it was built in the 1870s.
Linda Johnson, president of Historic Aiken Foundation, provided an overview of the oldest buildings in downtown Aiken during a lecture titled "The Evolution of Downtown Aiken" at the Aiken County Historical Museum on Sunday.
Johnson said the oldest building in downtown Aiken is located at 155 Laurens St. that houses the Toole and Toole law firm and the Durban-Laird Insurance offices.
She showed a fire insurance map of the block of Laurens Street surrounded by Richland Avenue and Park Avenue with a few blue squares representing brick buildings.
"This little one right here was the Henderson Law Office," Johnson said. "It was built in the 1870s and we still have it today. It's the very first brick building. We have several other [brick] buildings, most of which we still have today. They don't look the same as they did back then."
Johnson showed a photo of the building from the 1890s and today. The 1890s photo shows a brick building with three windows on the second floor. The building lost one of its second floor windows and the two remaining windows moved closer together. Also, the brick exterior has been covered in stucco.
"As part of what we were doing in the 1940s and 1950s, all that elaborate decoration was torn off so that we could have simpler streamlined buildings," Johnson said.
Johnson said the next oldest building in downtown is the one where Prime Steakhouse is located.
She said the building began as Dr. R.H. Teague's dentist office. She said she believed the building had been torn down until she walked downtown one day and noticed that the Prime Steakhouse resembled the building. She said she did the research and determined Prime Steakhouse was in the second oldest building downtown.
"I don't even know if they know that," Johnson said.
Johnson said the next oldest building in downtown is 122 Laurens St., home of the Aiken Center for the Arts. She said the building began as the Powell Brothers' hardware store and still has the original floors.
The next oldest building downtown is the Croft Block which is the home of Three Monkeys Fine Gifts, Johnson said. She said the building was constructed in 1884.
Johnson said the next oldest building downtown would have been the building destroyed in a 1953 explosion.
"Y'all know the pink building downtown that says Aiken Drug and looks really cool," Johnson said. "I've always thought that was one of the oldest buildings because it had that cool Aiken Drug. It was built after 1953."
Johnson said the next oldest building is the Beckman Building, also known as the Palmetto Block, which is the home of Vampire Penguin, Ginger Bee Boutique and Beyond Bijoux. She said the building was built in 1886.
Johnson's lecture was the first of a five-part series hosted by the Friends of the Museum titled "Preservation and Restoration of Aiken's Treasures."
The next lecture is scheduled for 3 p.m. next Sunday, Feb. 26. Luis Rinaldini will speak about new ideas in downtown development and how preservation could affect the community in the future.
On March 5, Rob Johnston and Dacre Stoker of Streetscapes will speak about preserving the great trees of Aiken. On March 12, Aiken County Historical Museum Executive Director Lauren Virgo will speak about preservation and conservation at the museum. On April 2, Bill Tucker will speak about the creation of the Whitney Trust and the people who have stewarded the organization.
Series tickets can be purchased online at achmfriends.org for $60. Single lecture tickets can be purchased at the door for $15.
For more information, visit achmfriends.org.
Once it is up and running in the mid-2030s, the mission to produce plutonium pits at the Savannah River Site could last 30, 40 or even 50 years, according to the principal deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Frank Rose, NNSA Savannah River Field Office Manager Jason Armstrong and NNSA Savannah River Field Office Deputy Manager Jeff Allison recently spoke with the Aiken Standard about plans to produce around 50 plutonium pits per year at SRS beginning in the mid-2030s.
Rose said the pit production mission was a long-term mission for the Department of Energy because reestablishing pit production in the United States the United States has been without a permanent pit production facility since the end of the Cold War is a top priority of the Department of Energy. He said that's because, for the first time, the country faces a threat from two powers, Russia and China, armed with a large amount of nuclear weapons.
"As you probably saw yesterday, the State Department declared Russia non-compliant with their obligations under NEWSTART," Rose said. "And then there's China ... We estimate by 2035 they will have 1,500 warheads. I don't know what's changed there, but something definitely has."
The Foundation of American Scientists estimated in early 2022 Russia has 5,977 nuclear warheads the United States is estimated to have 5,428 and China has around 350. The Pentagon reported Nov. 29, 2022 China plans to increase its number of warheads from 350 to as many as 1,500 by 2035.
Also, Russia and China appear to be more aggressive in their foreign policy dealings.
In 2008, Russia became involved in a dispute between two separatist regions of Georgia and that country.
In 2014, Russia retook the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine following the ouster of a pro-Russia government and its replacement by a pro-western one.
In 2022, Russia began a special mission in Ukraine to "denazify" the country. It has annexed four Ukrainian oblasts but does not control the whole of the land it claims to control.
China has become more belligerent toward Taiwan, in the South China Sea and in its dealings with Hong Kong.
Rose said Russia, China and other countries like North Korea and Iran pose a threat to the global security that arose after the Cold War ended in the late 1980s and early 1990s and that the United States needs to maintain its nuclear deterrent to protect its interest and the interests of its allies. Thus, he said, establishing the ability to maintain the nuclear arsenal is of the utmost importance.
Pit production at SRS, Rose said, prevents the United States from relying on a single-point for pits.
The NNSA also plans to produce 30 pits per year at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The need to start pit production at SRS establishes a tremendous need for workers.
After the meeting, a spokesman said the site workers who fear the transition from Office of Environmental Management landlord-ship to NNSA landlord-ship will cost them their jobs have nothing to worry about. He added all the workers at the site will be needed, plus many more, for years to come.
The transition is expected to be completed within a couple of years.
Aiken, SC (29801)
Today
Partly cloudy skies during the evening giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low around 60F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..
Tonight
Partly cloudy skies during the evening giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low around 60F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
The Charleston Literary Festival has named a new executive director leading up to this November's event.
Sarah Moriarty, who grew up on the northside of Dublin in Castleknock, Ireland, has stepped up from the marketing director position into the role.
The Post and Courier linked up with her for a Q&A after the announcement to learn more about Moriarty and her plans for the festival.
Q: Were you a big reader growing up? What made you fall in love with literature?
A: As a child, I always had my nose in a book. I had a book with me wherever I was going. If you asked me then, I think Id say that I was reading to escape, and that was definitely the case; its easy to be transported to new places thanks to a book. But I think I was also reading to understand: myself, the people around me, the world around me and the parts of the world Id never seen.
Q: What did you study and how did your school experience shape and expand your mind and interests?
A: I had a great English teacher, Mrs. OCallaghan, in high school that taught me about the importance of literature and writing. I was focused on going to law school until she told me that I had a great flair for English, and suddenly that seemed enough to switch directions. I decided to pursue English literature instead, much to my parents confusion. Im pretty happy with that decision in the long run.
I studied English literature and film studies at Trinity College in Dublin. I did a masters in literature at the Freie Universitat in Berlin, where I wrote about Samuel Beckett in my final MA thesis.
My background in literature has given me a decent foundation when it comes to who wrote what and when. I mainly attribute my background in literature with my ability to think critically and creatively through problems as they arise.
Q: How did you first get involved with the Charleston Literary Festival?
A: Diana Reich, the artistic director of Charleston Literary Festival, reached out to me when she heard that I was moving to Charleston and that I have both a background in literature and a career in branding and marketing with an app, Blinkist, that deals with nonfiction books. We had a few exploratory calls.
In parallel, I met Charleston Literary Festivals Director of Development Suzanne Pollak through a mutual friend from Berlin, and then things took off. I began working with the festival on an advisory basis with relation to marketing.
I paused for a few months as I had my baby, Banbha, in April 2022, then was back in action to help with the festival that year. Thats how it started!
Since then, Ive had the honor of working with a great, hands-on team and a really proactive and inspirational board. Its incredibly exciting for me to inherit a festival that is thriving thanks to the passion of a few people who love books and want to make a difference.
Q: What are your goals with this years festival? Ideas for the future?
A: Over the past two years, as were all bouncing back from the pandemic, the festival has been carving out a position as a must-attend destination event on Charlestons cultural calendar. As it continues to grow and evolve, we will keep excellence in writing and diversity of subjects and speakers at the forefront, while creating public value for the next generation of thinkers and writers.
These efforts and upcoming enhancements will continue to build Charleston Literary Festival as an internationally-recognized forum for perspective-altering books, ideas and conversations.
IRMO The Police Department here will offer new hires a bolstered salary as law enforcement agencies across South Carolina struggle to fill vacancies.
Council members unanimously agreed Feb. 21 to increase base pay for police officers from $40,000 to $44,000 in Irmo, a 12,000-person town just west of Columbia that straddles Richland and Lexington counties.
"State agencies and some of the other Midlands agencies, like Columbia, they recently raised their starting pays," Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale said. "So in order for us to be competitive in that aspect, we need to be able to start out way more than $40,000."
The Richland County Sheriff's Department and the Columbia Police Department, which both have jurisdictions that border Irmo, increased base salaries in 2022. The Columbia Police Department's salary now starts at $45,000, Richland County sheriff's deputies' pay starts at $42,000 and Lexington County Sheriff's Department starts pay just under $44,000.
The national median pay for police and sheriffs patrol officers was $64,610 a year as of May 2021, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. South Carolinas median salary was $48,380 for the same time period.
Irmo has known it needed to increase wages to compete with other law enforcement agencies for a while, Mayor Barry Walker said. The Police Department is currently down three officers, about 10 percent of its force, and needs the raise to help recruitment efforts, he said.
Officer recruitment also concerns police and sheriff's departments across the state.
As of the end of 2022, the Richland County Sheriff's Department had 3 percent of its positions open. Greenville County, the states most populous county, had about 6 percent of its Sheriff's Department positions open. Despite paying more than any of the state's other 10 largest counties, Beaufort County's Sheriff's Department still had 5 percent of its positions open.
GEORGETOWN A Feb. 20 dinner at Between the Antlers raised money for Keith Holland of Joint Task Force K9s to start a kennel for service dogs in training to work with veterans.
The fixtures above Between the Antlers' dining room already were hung with yellow, green and purple beads to ring in Mardi Gras the following day. The Wood Street restaurant is normally closed on Mondays, but for Shrove Monday, Chef Danny Smith and four other area chefs worked to make an exception.
"(PTSD) and this mental health issue that we have going on with our veterans and our police forces, these dogs help these guys to be able to go out in their communities," Smith said. "They give them a sense of security. It's pretty awesome to hear them talk about it."
Smith said he hoped the event would raise $10,000 at $100 a head for a five-course meal. As a veteran, the cause is important to him.
"If we can just save one person through this program, that's the goal," Smith said. "Keith Holland's goal is saving lives one dog at a time."
It's not the first time Smith has worked together with fellow chefs for a good cause. Between the Antlers Head Chef Chelsea Cribb said a previous fundraiser was held to assist a worker from Frank's and Frank's Outback in Pawleys Island.
That fundraiser, Smith said, stretched seven courses.
"That's his nature," Cribb said of Smith. "He does a lot for the community, all kinds of events. This is just one of them. I can't really name everything he does, but he's pretty into community involvement."
Smith said his training plays into the fundraisers, as he was taught that giving back to your community is one of the most important things that you can do as a chef.
"Through the love of food, you can feed a lot of people, you can raise a lot of money in a short period of time and make a lot of people happy, also," Smith said.
The next fundraiser is planned for June. Named the John Shaw Jones Avenue Park Fundraiser, the event will raise funds for rehabilitation of Jones Avenue Park in Andrews. Robert Pipkin, a line cook at Between the Antlers, is an Andrews native.
"Robert's dream, as that's where he grew up at, is to bring that park back to life," Smith said. "He's done a couple small fundraisers, but I'd really like to have this one be really special for him."
GEORGETOWN Students will continue to attend classes at Plantersville Elementary School.
Georgetown County School District Superintendent Keith Price said at the Feb. 21 board meeting there hasn't been any formal discussions to close the school, which has the smallest elementary school in state with 67 students. Georgetown County 's nine elementary schools have 375 students on average, according to state data.
Plantersville residents flocked to the Feb. 21 board meeting to support the elementary school because Price was making a presentation on the school's per-pupil cost and proximity to the students it serves.
Price said the presentation was only informational and made in response to questions raised last fall by the board of trustees. The trustees asked why Plantersville Elementary School's per-pupil costs were nearly twice the district's average.
"I'm not going to speculate on a closing or anything, this is right now just information that the board's asking questions about," Price said.
Plantersville Elementary serves students in preschool through fifth grade. The school's enrollment zone straddles U.S. Highway 701 and stretches from the Horry County line nearly to Georgetown. Enrollment has dwindled into the double digits in recent years.
The school served less than 10 students in three of its seven grade levels at the time of the 45-day count, including just three in the second grade.
An additional 19 students requested and received transfers from Plantersville Elementary for various reasons this school year. Maryville Elementary School took in the most transfers at nine, closely followed by Kensington Elementary School with eight.
In 2021-22, the per-pupil costs at Plantersville Elementary were $27,695, slightly down from 2019-20 but up from the previous school year. That figure was nearly double the district's average cost for an elementary student.
Price said schools with smaller enrollments have higher per-pupil costs, as they also require teachers, administration and janitorial staff like larger schools.
"We have to allocate more resources to a smaller school to be able to offer as close to a balanced experience as we do in the others," Price said.
The board also heard from Price on the school's proximity to its students. Price said Plantersville Elementary students live within a 10-minute drive from the school.
The nearest elementary school to Plantersville Elementary is Kensington Elementary, about 12 miles away via U.S. Highway 701. Brown's Ferry Elementary School is 16 miles away via U.S. Highway 701 and S.C. Highway 51.
Georgetown County Council Chairman Louis Morant, a Plantersville resident and alum of Plantersville Elementary, attended the Feb. 21 school board meeting. Morant said Plantersville has had concerns for years about the elementary school closing, but preserving it is key to the area's culture, especially for its children.
"We are losing the cultural aspect of our community by our students going (to other schools)," Morant said. "You may have some going to Brown's Ferry, some going to Kensington, some going to Maryville, some come to McDonald. So when they come to get back within their community, they don't know each other."
In October, Price announced the district received $15 million to turn its Carvers Bay-area schools into magnet schools. Plantersville Elementary, whose students are zoned into Carvers Bay middle and high schools, was included in the program. The magnet program will begin this fall.
Principal Darryl Stanley said the school would become Plantersville Elementary Digital Immersion School under the magnet program, using collaboration with Coastal Carolina University and Boeing to continue the schools technology education.
The magnet school program has not received unanimous acclaim in the Carvers Bay area. Residents told the board in November they felt the district did not engage enough with the community prior to choosing a magnet school program director.
Price said one of the goals of the magnet school program is to increase district enrollment. It could attract students to Plantersville who haven't considered it before, and bring back students who transferred from the school, he said.
School board trustee Keith Moore, who represents Plantersville, thanked residents for attending the Feb. 21 meeting and said he hopes to share more with the community as the board discusses the school's outcomes.
FOUNTAIN INN A laser technology manufacturer plans to move its corporate headquarters to Greenville County from Florida.
Erchonia Corp. announced this week it plans to build a new facility at Greenville's Southchase Industrial Park near Fountain Inn to serve as its new home base in place of its former central office in Melbourne, Fla.
The low-level laser technology company expects to invest $6.7 million and add 51 new jobs. Operations are anticipated to start in October 2023.
"Greenville County is centrally located and is ideal for Erchonias planned growth and expansion as a world leader in low-level laser technology," Steven Shanks, president, said in a written statement.
The nearly three-decade old company began as a small family business and has since grown to have an international reach. It manufacturers technology that uses lasers "at specific wavelengths to provide powerful therapeutic effects at the cellular level," according to a statement. Its products can be used by chiropractors, physical therapists, physicians, podiatrists, health clinics and veterinarians.
Erchonia is joining of South Carolina's life sciences industry, which has more than a $25 billion annual economic impact and employs more than 87,000 workers.
The state approved tax credits the that company can claim based on the number of jobs it creates.
Town Attorney G.W. Parker recently received the go-ahead from Summerville Council to sign agreements pertaining to the 2023 distribution of dollars from a slew of chain drug stores and pharmaceutical brands/companies resulting from an opioid lawsuit settlement. Read moreOpioid monies, new signs headline Town meet
Jaime Tenny serves customers in the new tasting room at Coast Brewing Co. that is now open at the old Navy base in North Charleston, on Jan. 12.
To celebrate World Autism Awareness Month, Mount Pleasant Towne Centre and local nonprofit Just Bee are teaming up for a special event for families with children on the spectrum. Read moreLights & Love returns to Towne Centre for Autism Awareness Month
Nothing has been announced or finalized, but the early word is that one of Charleston's most high-profile projects might not get built because the bids are in and are (not shockingly) much higher than expected. Read moreBehre: We don't really need stand-alone West Ashley bike-ped bridge; this will do instead
NEV engineers indispensable to China's soaring NEV development
15:05, February 22, 2023 By Han Xin ( People's Daily
China's production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 7.06 million and 6.89 million units respectively in 2022, up 96.9 percent and 93.4 percent year-on-year, and NEV exports grew 120 percent from a year ago.
During the past decade, China has witnessed a rapid development of its NEV industry, ranking first in the world for eight consecutive years in terms of NEV sales. The country holds over 30,000 relevant patents, or 70 percent of the world's total. It is making constant progress in the development of NEV technology.
The Chinese NEV industry has grown big and strong in just a few years. This couldn't have been achieved without NEV engineers, a group that's gradually expanding.
Electric vehicles are assembled in a manufacturing base in Runan county, Zhumadian, central China's Henan province, Feb. 8, 2023. (People's Daily Online/Sun Kai)
NEV engineer Zheng Shuhao of a Chinese carmaker returned to work just after the Chinese New Year holiday. "We delivered 34 percent more NEVs last year than a year ago, and our sales will hit new highs after the mass production of two new models this year," Zheng told People's Daily.
Motor control unit, or MCU, is like the central nervous system of NEVs. Optimizing MCU's algorithm can make the motor run at lower cost and thus extend the range of the vehicles.
Zheng and his team has upgraded their MCU for over 100 times, extending the range of an NEV from 500 kilometers to 510 kilometers.
"Every effort contributes to the competitiveness of a product. Even a single kilometer of range extension is worth the effort," Zheng said.
Vehicles are turning not only electric but also connected. Over-the-air update of MCU makes electric vehicles more intelligent and functional.
Different from the cabin and in-vehicle infotainment systems that are appreciable, MCU software is like a "backstage hero" that, through deep learning, better connects drivers and passengers with the vehicle, Zheng explained.
Thanks to the increasingly robust development of MCUs, the ecology of NEVs is getting better and better.
New energy vans are being assembled in a workshop in Jialing district, Nanchong, southwest China's Sichuan province, Feb. 9, 2023. (Peoples Daily Online/Li Xiangyu)
"A new model we launched at the end of last year was equipped with a series of smart connection functions, as well as a second-generation MCU that we developed. This has not only further optimized the vehicle's energy consumption but also created a better experience for drivers and passengers," Zheng said.
Chinese NEVs are being exported at a faster pace. According to statistics, one in every 10 NEVs in Europe comes from China.
Zheng told People's Daily that his company has started presales of multiple new models in Germany and the Netherlands, built a 10,000-square-meter battery plant in Hungary, and installed 10 battery swapping stations in Europe.
Zheng attributed the big sales of Chinese NEVs in the overseas market to their competitiveness, though cheap and cheerful products are an advantage of "made in China."
He believes that only world-leading MCUs can help China gain an edge in global competition.
"We finally received international safety certification for our second-generation electric-drive platform after experiencing dozens of rounds of validation in the past two years," said Zheng, adding that the new products of the company will surely set new records in the overseas market.
The engineer is committed to his career in the NEV industry. "Developing NEVs is the only way for China to upgrade from a big vehicle-manufacturing country to a strong one. With strong supportive policies and a vigorous market, we are in the best era of NEV development. " Zheng noted.
(Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming)
A few months ago, it was largely a hypothetical that the next leader of South Carolina's third-largest city could be chosen by as few as a fifth of the people who vote in the mayor's race and an even smaller percentage of all its voters. Read moreEditorial: North Charleston must fix its flawed city elections while it still can
COLUMBIA A bill allowing up to $55 million in tax credits to help parents pay for private K-12 tuition is advancing in the South Carolina Senate, potentially setting up two ways for families to use taxpayer help to leave public schools.
The measure approved 16-4 by the Senate Finance Committee Feb. 21 offers an indirect way to help families afford private schools through tax-credit-funded scholarships.
It was sent to the floor three weeks after the Senate approved a separate bill offering a direct route through vouchers.
Opponents of the voucher bill said the latest measure using tax credits is a much better alternative since it doesn't involve taking money out of public coffers for private education. Rather, donors can get a tax credit for giving to a nonprofit that doles out scholarships, so the money is never collected by the state.
The taxpayers who get the credit just pay less in tax liability.
But even Democrats who supported the indirect approach worried about ending up with both options becoming law.
"Im in a pickle on this. I truly believe this is the right way to do it," said Sen. Mike Fanning, D-Great Falls, who co-sponsored the tax-credit method as a substitute for vouchers during that floor debate.
"If I supported this and it passed, I'd end up going from no voucher program to two?" asked Fanning, who was among the four Democrats who voted "no."
Sen. Sean Bennett, R-Summerville, offered his own perspective on the dual pathways: "Yes, you would have a robust educational system in South Carolina public, private and otherwise."
The author of the tax-credit bill, Sen. Tom Davis, said he believes his version guarantees that a broad private school choice program actually becomes reality. He supports vouchers, too, but suspects they won't survive a court challenge.
He pointed to the state Supreme Court's 2020 unanimous ruling that Gov. Henry McMaster had violated the state constitution's ban against public money directly benefiting private schools when he tried to spend $32 million of federal COVID aid on K-12 private tuition vouchers.
"I hope it works," Davis, R-Beaufort, said about GOP senators' attempt to work around that ruling in the voucher bill by first sending the money to a separate fund.
"But it would be helpful to have a parallel bill with no problems in that regard," he said.
His bill would greatly expand an existing tax-credit program limited to students with disabilities, which legislators initially approved in 2012. That program has never been challenged.
It's also "an abject failure," Davis said.
Since oversight of the program was transferred to the state Department of Revenue, it hasn't been promoted and has fallen far short of the $12 million in total credits state law allows, he said.
For tax year 2021, taxpayers claimed $5.5 million total in credits, up from $4.1 million in 2020, according to the tax-collection agency.
Davis' bill would again allow nonprofits to collect donations and dole them out as scholarships but with stricter rules for eligibility, governing and annual audits designed to prevent the problems that caused legislators to end the nonprofits' role.
The $55 million of total allowed credits would break down into four pots: $15 million each for poor students, children with disabilities, and any other student enrolled in a public school, then $10 million for homeschoolers.
Students who are poor or have a disability could get a bigger scholarship than what the bill calls a "general child."
The exact amounts would depend on the state's per-pupil average funding to public schools.
This year, the percentages would equate to students who qualify for Medicaid or who have been diagnosed with a special need qualifying for scholarships of $9,850 toward private tuition, tutoring, textbooks and/or transportation. Other students who don't fit those categories would qualify for $7,040. And homeschooled students could get $1,400 scholarships.
Davis contends his bill does a better job than the voucher version of benefiting students who most need the help.
The measure approved by the Senate on Jan. 31 starts out providing up to 5,000 Medicaid-eligible children $6,000 each the first year. But once the law is fully phased in two years later, the number of participating students could rise to 15,000, and income eligibility would reach 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
Under current guidelines, that means a qualifying family of four could have an income up to $111,000, and every eligible student would qualify for the same amount.
The House is expected to debate that bill in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the House will take up its own attempt to guarantee a voucher program meets constitutional muster. A resolution up for floor debate this week would ask voters in 2024 whether the prohibition against direct benefits to private schools should be repealed.
Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Hopkins, said he supported the tax-credit approach as the "lesser of two evils."
He also hopes it helps in future negotiations with House Republicans, so voucher opponents aren't stuck with what they consider the worst potential compromise.
But Sen. Kevin Johnson, D-Manning, said he doesn't accept the argument the tax-credit approach doesn't result in public taxes going to private schools.
"It's still a $55 million hit to me," he said about the reduction in state revenue. "You still dont have access to that $55 million."
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to South Carolina next week, appearing alongside the state's most high-profile Democrat to promote the Biden administration's ongoing work to expand affordable high-speed internet to communities nationwide.
A White House official confirmed to The Post and Courier the Feb. 27 trip will take Harris to Columbia, where she will share some of the progress on national efforts to close the digital divide and help Americans online regardless of income or where they live.
Harris will be joined by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House. The time and location will be announced closer to the event.
Clyburn has long fought for greater internet access nationwide, regularly filing his Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act that sought to provide rural communities across the country with affordable high-speed internet.
When Harris was in the U.S. Senate, she was a sponsor of the companion bill in the upper chamber.
The upcoming trip will be Harris' fourth visit to South Carolina as vice president, and her first trip to the Palmetto State this year.
The last time Harris was in South Carolina was Sept. 20, 2022, when she met with students at two historically Black colleges before addressing S.C. State University students about the importance of voting ahead of the 2022 midterms.
This time, Harris will be touting the efforts of the Biden administration to make sure internet access is within reach, regardless of ZIP code.
Alongside traditional public works projects like building roads and bridges, the Bipartisan Infrastructure package included $65 billion to help ensure that every American has access to reliable high-speed internet. Biden signed it into law in 2021.
"No parent should have to drive to a McDonalds parking lot so their kid can do their homework online," Biden said last month when he highlighted the issue in his State of the Union address.
The administration launched GetInternet.gov to help families sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Program benefit and to find participating providers that can offer coverage plans as low as $30 a month to low-income families.
According to an estimate by Jim Stritzinger, the director of the state's Broadband Office, about 137,000 homes in South Carolina remain without broadband access.
INMAN With the help of a statewide technical assistance program, Inman will host two community meetings to gain input on ways to move forward with revitalizing its downtown.
The city was the only municipality in Spartanburg County selected to be a part of the Main Street South Carolina program this year.
The downtown revitalization program is a Main Street America Coordinating Program that gives cities the skills, tools and organizational structure necessary to revitalize their downtowns.
We have our unique charm and appeal, and people all over the state are now recognizing the value of our city, said April Williams, the city's planning director.
The first meeting will take place on Feb. 28 at 12 Mill St. It will be an input session.
Another meeting will be held March 1 at 10 S. Main St. where the Main Street South Carolina Resource Team will give a presentation based on data collected from the previous community input session, and from a community survey and stakeholder meetings. Both meetings are at 5:30 p.m.
Williams said the goal of the meetings is to create a communitywide vision for Inmans transformation.
The meeting locations are significant because they are downtown in businesses that will open in the near future, and they allow people to see Inmans growth, Williams said.
One goal is to become an accredited Main Street program.
The resource team consists of a director, design expert and a former Main Street director who has become an independent consultant.
Someone with marketing skills will give Inman ways to rebrand and promote itself as a tourism destination. Two other Main Street directors will serve as mentors to city officials guiding the revitalization process.
Last month, Inman was accepted into the Main Street South Carolina program as an Aspiring Community. At the aspiring level, communities receive three years of hands-on guidance. After the three-year period, a community can decide if it wants to work toward becoming an accredited Main Street program.
The program will help develop a marketing strategy so that the city can repair some of its downtown buildings and help existing businesses in the area. The city will look at ways to increase downtown programming and promote existing programming, along with looking at the design of downtown Inman and how to make it more attractive with new signage, lighting and landscaping.
This is a group effort, so we're always wanting people to be involved from start to finish, Williams said.
Williams said shes hoping that being a part of the program will help the city build onto its revitalization plan that was created in 2020.
This year, the city is planning to fill up more of its downtown spaces.
A new Inman library opened last December, and Holliday Brewing is set to open a second location in downtown soon. The city will be building a pavilion and restroom downtown on Mill Street, and in June it is planning to launch a scavenger hunt during its Music on Mill concert series.
Oil theft and vandalisation of petroleum assets are a threat to the nations economy and security, Nigeria Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has said.
Mr Osinbajo disclosed this at the stakeholders conference of the special investigative panel on oil theft and losses in Nigeria, held in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Oil theft and sabotage of oil and gas assets are a clear and present danger to our economy and national security.
Not only do they pose a serious threat to all exploration and our energy economy, but they also impact negatively on what is accrued to the federation and the business prospects on investors in the oil and gas sector, Mr Osinbajo said.
In recent years, Nigeria has recorded an increase in the rate of oil theft in its oil-rich Niger Delta region.
In April 2022, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, disclosed that Nigeria lost $4 billion to oil theft at the rate of 200,000 barrels per day in 2021. Last September, the NNPC said that the country lost 470,000 barrels of crude oil monthly amounting to $700 million to oil theft.
The federal government in its draft fiscal strategy paper for 2023 through 2025 said that oil revenue underperformed due to significant production shortfalls such as shut-ins resulting from pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft.
On Tuesday, Mr Osinbajo said if left unchecked, the menace will fuel crises that will paralyse the government and leave the country extremely vulnerable to shocks and other unexpected consequences.
He explained that large-scale theft of crude oil undermines government efforts to optimise its intended vision.
Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) put the audited figure of oil theft and losses at something in the order of 619.7 million barrels of crude oil daily. This is valued at $46 billion or N16.25 trillion, and all of these losses occurred between 2010 and 2020.
In addition, Nigeria lost about 4.2 billion litres of petroleum products from refineries, which were valued at over $1.4 billion at the rate of 140,000 barrels per day from 2009 to 2018.
This is just an average because there are peaks where we see losses between 200,000 to 400,000 barrels in a day, the Vice President said.
So grievous a crime cannot simply be a subject of summary; people must do their jobs and if they are unable to do them, then there must be an accounting for such failures.
Institutional and personal reputations are at stake. I think that is the cardinal reason we are here. I employ us to exhaust decisions on this matter, he added.
He noted that once host communities, especially the individuals who are involved in oil theft, are sensitised on the importance of ensuring that legislation works to their benefit, the situation may improve.
On his part, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, noted that the problem of oil theft has developed to disturbing levels.
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This is because the criminals have now increased the level of sophistication, considering the various methods they employ to tap primary pipelines with illegal secondary pipes to load on barges and sell to international collaborators or to process locally for illicit domestic sale, he said.
83 oil tankers involved in various crude oil and product theft have been arrested, while the theft of over 3 million barrels of crude oil was prevented and 11 million litres of petrol and diesel were recovered.
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Nigeria has often been described as a country of promise and potentials. UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Matthias Schmale, in this exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES echoed the same point.
Mr Schmale also talks about Nigerias journey to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the general elections, and other matters.
Excerpts
PT: How long have you been in Nigeria?
Mr Schmale: I arrived in early December 2021. I have been here a little over a year.
PT: What do you like about Nigeria? What were your first impressions about the country?
Mr Schmale: Nigeria as you probably know has a bad reputation around the world. My first positive surprise, and that continues till date, is that there are many intriguing positive sides to life in Nigeria. And I am thinking of the many young entrepreneurial people I have met. Every day, I meet colleagues working in the UN, working in the private sector, including working for the government, who really have an incredible entrepreneurial constructive forward looking spirit.
I am taken by so many others like Nigerias rich culture and history. You have great poets and writers, you have great filmmakers, great musicians. My sons, when I told them I was going to Nigeria, they listed a number of musicians I have never heard about; it is very clear that for younger people around the world, Nigerian musicians set standards. So, there are a lot of positive sides to what goes on in Nigeria despite huge challenges.
PT: Before arriving here in 2021, had you visited Nigeria before?
Mr Schmale: I used to work for the International Federation of Red Cross, I visited the Nigerian Red Cross about 20 years ago when its headquarters was still in Lagos.
PT: Has any of the Nigerian culture or music you mentioned had a lasting impression on you? Could you accompany this with names?
Mr Schmale: One name that comes to mind is Chimamanda. I heard her speak at last years UN-Female Ambassadors sponsored international womens gala. She spoke very eloquently. I have had the privilege of hearing Wole Soyinka at one event, challenging, strong. I have heard the privilege of hearing younger poets at various events we have been holding with the UN and government jointly. I do not remember their names, (they will be very angry with me), but very impressive young poets who speak very eloquently and directly about positives and negatives of their country.
Musicians as I indicated earlier, I am not so much into the music thing I have not met him sadly but BurnaBoy is the name that comes to mind.
PT: What role does the UN office in Nigeria play, historically, in line with the founding objectives of the larger UN?
Mr Schmale: My understanding of the reason the UN historically came to Nigeria is like in many countries, development. The government asked us to support their development efforts for the benefits of vulnerable citizens, that is one aspect.
A lot of our work, my office as Resident Coordinator but primarily the 21 resident UN agencies, is focused on working with the government to improve the development prospects for ordinary Nigerian citizens.
The second part is humanitarian, a number of agencies like the food programme. For example, the office for humanitarian coordination came in in 2015 when the government asked us to assist in addressing humanitarian needs in the North-east. So there is humanitarian work focused primarily on the North-east.
And then the third bit is the original mandate of the UN, to help create and maintain peace. We also have a peace component to our work and takes the shape, primarily so far, of helping build local peace coordination and peace building structures We have done some work on the farmer-herder conflict. As we are sitting here, there is a regional workshop on this topic going on.
Around the current elections and building on the past efforts, we are building on the national peace committee to get national actors to sign peace accords. They did so in September with us witnessing. A few days ago, I was in Cross River where a state level peace accord was signed by governorship candidates (some of them); so that is another aspect of our peace mission.
So, the UN work spans across development work, humanitarian work where the government asks us to support and then we try to remember that we are all about peace and human rights
PT: When you talk about peace, human rights, humanitarian support for Nigeria, it quickly reminds me of the concern raised a few days ago by the UN on the worsening security situation in Nigeria. Beyond raising concerns, what action has/is the UN taken/taking to see that there is peace in Nigeria?
Mr Schmale: I have referred to one of them, which is working with local actors at state level and sometimes even the local government level to establish local peace coordination and peace building structures. As an example, a few months ago, I was in Benue State and in the presence of the governor, a local peace committee was set up. The idea behind this is that at the end of the day, challenges concerning human rights, threats to peace are better solved by the people themselves. We cannot solve Nigerias problems as the UN, we can facilitate, we can convene. Having people come together at the table where they need to discuss and agree on ways forward, that is one bit.
The second bit is communication and media work. An important aspect of that is to work against hate speech. As you mentioned earlier, we were together at an event a few days ago to commemorate International Holocaust Day. That for me as resident coordinator was an opportunity to remind all of us and remind Nigeria as a country that often, genocides and serious violation of peace starts with statements that are disrespectful of others, intolerant of others. We are trying to contribute also through public statements, media events, capacity building workshops to ensure that people understand that violence does not often start with violence, it starts with spoken words and expressions of intolerance and prejudice and we are working massively on that.
A third bit I want to say is what we call quiet diplomacy. You referred to the statement of the Secretary-Generals adviser on preventing genocide, some of the work is public statements when we see something that is wrong but a lot of it is behind closed doors.
As UN, we are here to work and support the government and shouting from the rooftops will not always help or will not be any help in addressing problems, so a part of it is behind closed doors. It is really building relationships and when we see problems, it is to take key stakeholders, including senior government representatives, and we have a talk on this.
Nigeria has signed up to many international conventions; Nigeria believes in the International Declaration of Human Rights, which we will be commemorating 75 years this year. Because Nigeria is such a proud citizen of the globe and the UN, we have a basis where, behind closed doors, we can say for example, here are laws you are violating, so can we work together in ensuring that you live up to the standards which you have signed up for internationally.
PT: When you talk about violation of human rights, what comes to mind is the #EndSARS protests and that protest saw human rights violations with peaceful protestors being beaten up. We did not hear a lot of what the UN had to say in line with human rights violations. What did the UN do during this period?
Mr Schmale: An easy answer related to #EndSARS specifically would be that it was before my time here. But on a serious note, I do not know all the details. What I have been told by colleagues who were here at the time and what I have read is indeed that most of that was quiet diplomacy. So we felt at the time that public statements could inflame the situation, could block access for us to key people. So, indeed, it was mostly quiet diplomacy.
Triggered by that, let me mention another example where there are serious allegations of human rights violations and that is the recent Reuters report alleging that the military systematically had a programme that led to 10,000 forced abortions and other claims and allegations. That is an example where in addition to quiet diplomacy, what we are doing is supporting the Nigeria Human Rights Commissions investigation. Our secretary-general immediately publicly said these are serious allegations that need to be independently investigated and we have ever since been working with the NHRC who recently launched the investigation
PT: Can you provide a general overview of what UN is doing for the upcoming Nigerian elections?
Mr Schmale: There are two main areas of involvement for the UN in Nigerias elections. The first one is to provide technical support and that is led by our colleagues at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Women as well.
What our colleagues in UNDP are doing is working with INEC to support them in better preparation for and administering the election process. There is a lot of capacity building and we are seeing results already, not just because of UN involvement but there are other partners, member states. In our view, over the years, not just since last years election, over the last couple of elections, INEC has been making, with our support and that of others, steady progress.
An element of this is the BVAS, better control of verifying voters. It is in our understanding a significant progress in ensuring that the results cannot be easily manipulated as they are being transmitted
These are technical assistance we offer in ensuring that INEC is in a better place as an organisation preparing for and managing the election, capacity building of INEC officers.
A second bit of what the UN does is what we call offering the good offices of the secretary-general. We have a special representative of the secretary-general who is based in Dakar, who regularly comes, working closely with me as resident coordinator. And what that means is two things; we are trying to build relations and we are trying to meet all the key candidates of political parties to impress on them the importance of conducting themselves in a way that will lead to a peaceful, credible, inclusive and transparent elections.
There is a lot of messaging going to the key players involved; avoid violence, settle your disputes in nonviolent ways, avoid hate speech. So it is back to what we just touched on earlier, quiet diplomacy and you only do quiet diplomacy if you have built relationships with key actors. In 2019, the good offices of the secretary-general through its representative, Mr Chambers, at the time proved very valuable in my understanding, when the election was postponed by one day, which in my understanding led to significant tensions. Mr Chambers was on ground, had access to key players including INEC and was able to contribute to keeping things fairly calm and not letting them get out of control. So we are preparing to be ready if there is crisis moment, to intervene.
A sort of a mix between technical support and good offices support is the work our colleagues at UN Women are doing in particular but others at UNFPA as an example and that is to enhance the role in public life. We all know that is a major challenge; women are subject to a lot of violent and aggressive behaviour and it is so sad to see that Nigeria has produced so many women of excellence across the world and private sector but in public life, Nigeria lags behind many African countries.
We are also involved as UN to ensure that, over time, women have the chance and opportunity they more than deserve to participate fully. Those are key areas of our work around the elections.
You asked in terms of involvement, we are under strict instructions from the secretary-general to remain neutral, so you will never hear me come out in favour of one candidate or one party. Our focus is really on ensuring there is a process that is fair, inclusive, that meets international standards, and transparent.
We need to trust the Nigerian citizens to produce a result through elections that is good for the country.
PT: You spoke about the past elections postponement and if you have seen news or feeling the pulse of Nigerians, you will see that there is also fear that the elections may be postponed again. Is there an ongoing conversation between the UN, INEC and FG on why there is a need to keep the date?
Mr Schmale: The hope clearly is that we will stick to the dates. We remain optimistic that that will be possible.
We can see one scenario where a postponement will be justified and that is if preparations are not finalised. I mentioned earlier the BVAS machines that are needed for verification of registered voters. Of course, they need to be in place at the polling stations and we know because of the fuel crisis and currency related crisis, INEC is having some challenges to ensure that all things are prepared, including having all the materials at the polling stations and having their officials at the polling stations.
From our point of view, what will be justified is if there is evidence that things are not ready and need another week or so. We do talk about scenarios where this is justified, we very much hope that will not be necessary but we need to entertain it as one scenario.
We are concerned about elections being postponed due to violence. We hope and get regular assurances from the police and the military as complementary to the police that they are doing the best they can to ensure that polling stations, citizens are protected and that the elections will not be impacted by violence.
I think like many of the international community and indeed what I am hearing from Nigerians, that is a real fear and worry. Again, we hope that this will not become a scenario that the election will have to be postponed because of violence.
PT: Although you touched on this in the previous question, what are your specific concerns for the upcoming elections?
Mr Schmale: There are a couple. I think violence is clearly one and it is not just the North-east, it is the South-east and other places in the North-west. There are country-wide pockets of violence that could negatively affect the running of and the outcome of the elections.
That remains a concern and that is why we regularly talk with others, talk for example to the Inspector-General of Police. I have mentioned some challenges around preparations being far enough advanced in terms of getting materials, the BVAS machine, officials and so on to the polling stations and that is directly linked with the fuel crisis and also the currency related crisis.
As much as we have heard public assurances from the CBN governor for example, that INEC will have access to the cash they need to make this happen, you have assurances from the security forces that they will protect and make sure materials get to the polling stations but we have to remain open-minded, we have to continue to work with INEC, support them to make sure that, from an administrative point, the elections are ready.
A third thing of worry is hate speech, I touched on this earlier. We have heard from all candidates and parties, it is not always the candidates, sometimes it is the parties and other times their followers, statements that are not acceptable.
Behind closed doors mostly, we work with all involved to ensure that the language is toned down and the campaigns are conducted in a respectful and peaceful manner. In this respect, we work very closely with the National Peace Committee I must say I think the national peace committee deserves some credit for what they are doing to try and ensure it is free and fair.
A final point of concern is ensuring there is a level playing field. We have heard allegations that at times, those in power do not provide public institutions for opposition candidates. That is an issue that is being addressed through various channels, including the national peace committee, to ensure that all sitting governors ensure that all key candidates have the opportunity to present their case to voters.
PT: Do you have any concerns on the recent overturning of the outcome of the Osun State election and the BVAS?
Mr Schmale: We are well aware of that case. In fact, together with some senior diplomats headed by the EU ambassador to Nigeria met with the president of the Court of Appeal and some of her eminent judges. We asked them the same question and they said, which I think is right, that they do not want to publicly comment while it is being looked into.
It is a concern that it took six months to achieve this ruling, whether it was right or not, I cannot personally judge. It is worrying that it took so long and the important point in this aspect is that the court of appeal president mentioned to us that there are over 600 pre-election appeals and that there is no way they will adjudicate that massive volume of appeals before the elections and then we can expect appeals about the elections themselves.
They are a little overburdened and one worry is that we need to ensure that political parties settle some of their internal disputes in their own party constitutions and mechanisms. It is not every time that you feel something has gone wrong inside your party or with another party that you run to the court. We need to protect the court so that it can deal with any appeal in a timely and efficient manner. Osun again is an example of where it took too long.
Indeed, it is extremely important that all the materials are in place, including the BVAS machines and the officials overseeing the elections know what the rules are. As an example, we would know that BVAS depend on electricity, so what happens if there is no power supply? There are clear provisions that the elections can be repeated the following day if there are technical problems. So, it is crucial if we want to avoid appeals like the one around Osun, that really what has been set up works.
That is why I said earlier, the only scenario we can see justifies postponement is if technically the elections are not ready It is critical that there is a BVAS machine in each polling station, the officials are there and that a credible and transparent process can be.
PT: Where is Nigeria in terms of achieving the SDGS by 2030?
Mr Schmale: Sadly, as things stand, Nigeria lags far behind achieving the SDGS on almost all of them. Nigeria is not alone there but because of Nigerias size population wise, economy wise, it matters.
I have heard many Nigerians tell me that if Nigeria sneezes, the rest of the continent gets a cold. I think that is true for the SDGS; if Nigeria does not make significant progress on the SDGs, this will not only show itself in Nigeria but for the rest of the continent. It is an engine that pulls everyone , so we are very worried and regularly express that to the government.
According to the governments own statistics and data, 130 million people are affected by multidimensional poverty, (not) a report that our UNDP and UNICEF colleagues have put together but these are government data. You can see from that alone that you cannot just make the case that Nigeria is making the progress it needs to make on the SDGs agenda.
What we have agreed with the government is a series of transformative agenda. We need to accelerate the pace. There are some good stories and good achievements but the impact and scale need to accelerate. To give one specific example, is the economy; we are convinced within the UN that Nigerias challenges of poverty and unemployment will not be solved by international aid increase, it has to do with increasing domestic resource mobilisation. We are focused very much as the UN system to work with those in power, the next government of course, the central bank to ensure that the potential that is there to increase domestic resource will be increased, that there is a critical review of how money is spent. And that of course brings in the sensitive topic of fuel subsidy.
What I am trying to express with this is a sense of optimism that Nigeria has the potential and resources to turn things around, it just needs credible, good leadership; it needs continuous strengthening of public institutions; it needs the elections to hold. I want to be clear that I am not trying to paint a dooms day scenario, Nigeria has what it takes, it can turn the slow progress around and maybe not achieve all the SDGs by 2030 but make significant visible progress.
PT: What happens when Nigeria, like some other countries, does not meet up?
Mr Schmale: I think ultimately, the test of all of these is what it means for ordinary citizens. Probably as UN, we will complain and say you are not doing enough, the international community and institutions will have things to say, but I think the measure of it all is how it translates into meaningful progress for a majority of the citizens and that is what it will boil down to.
It will boil down to where the citizens will have the patience to say, we have not achieved it yet, I cannot see the fruit of country-wide labour yet in my life in terms of my children having access to education as an example, having enough food on the table and so on.
I really think we need to be very sensitive to citizens and that is why this multidimensional poverty index is important because it gives us details for the whole country around several dimensions of how citizens are doing.
Governance is important, we need to ensure that citizens can vote if they are unhappy and are assured accountability that way. And that there are mechanisms where citizens can bring to the attention of those in power where things are going wrong
PT: The UN has been described as basically a talk shop with no actions, When will the UN restructure itself and become more inclusive?
Mr Schmale: I must say I heard two questions or comments. One is about, are we a talk shop? I think that is a justified question because we run many meetings, hold the general assembly each year so I am not surprised that there may be a perception out there that we are a talk shop.
Now having said that, what I think is important to understand is that the value of the UN is primarily its convening power, we are a global network that can mobilise technical expertise, knowledge, good practices and share it with different countries.
We do not run government services, we are here to support the government and that is where the challenge is. It is not whether we talk much but are we effective in helping governments improve the services for the benefit of citizens? I think what we should be measured on is this and I have been challenging my colleagues here in Nigeria, not having five capacity building workshops, will enforce the notion that we are a talk shop. What we need to prove is that building capacity translates into better service delivery for citizens and that is not just an Africa-wide issue for the UN, that is a global issue and we need to demonstrate that convening people, experts together, talking at meetings, translates into meaningful changes in the day to day life of citizens. That is one bit.
The other bit is really about power and inclusiveness in the UN. Our secretary-general, when he visited last May at the press conference with Mr President acknowledged that there is progress to be made. The security council needs to change and have a different, more inclusive set up.
My understanding is that at last years General Assembly, momentum was gathering, including from some of the powerful security council members themselves, to look seriously at getting to a more inclusive structure to the UNs various decision making bodies.
PT: In line with those reforms, the UNSC is really important because of the kind of veto power that members wield. Is the UN looking to reform the UNSC in a way that it does not appropriate so much power to a country?
Mr Schmale: Allow me to first of all underline that it is important that we understand what we mean by the UN. The UN is in the first instance the more than 190 member states. The UN is not me, I am a civil servant serving member states. So, when we are talking about reforms to the UN, we are talking about member states needing to agree amongst themselves and we would facilitate; needing to agree within themselves that things need to change and that is why I referred to the general assembly.
Our colleagues in New York say for the first time in a long time, there was a positive momentum among member states including the most powerful ones to initiate serious reforms.
You are absolutely right, and as civil servants of the UN, I think we at leadership levels, including myself here in Nigeria, are fully supportive of the notion that veto rights need to be revisited and an inclusive way of governing the UN must be reflected in form of each member state feeling their voice is heard and their vote mattering. I do not know what the concrete answer to that is, I am not an expert on this but I can tell you, we are very sympathetic to the concern and I know that my leadership in New York is pushing for revisiting the system of veto and taking decisions to make it more inclusive.
PT: A quick veer off will be to ask about the migration challenge all over the world but especially Africans who are exiting the continent in small boats. What action is the UN through the IOM taking to make sure that migrants have their human rights preserved and respected? Take the Italy and Spain example.
Mr Schmale: I will give you an answer that reflects what I said earlier about how we work in Nigeria, because this is the way we work to influence the human rights agenda, development agenda, it is not unique to Nigeria.
It is about trying to use our convening power, our moral authority to influence states. Just as I was telling you, in Nigeria we try to build relations with those in power and other key stakeholders to try and influence them. Same is happening in Spain, in Italy and other European countries. A part of is that trying to influence, trying to get governments of the receiving countries of migrants to do their bit in living upto the global standards they signed up to.
A second bit is indeed service delivery and you have mentioned IOM, UNHRC, WHO. There are a number of agencies that are trying to accompany migrants both leaving and returning, including to Nigeria. So we work with governments, civil society and others to address the humanitarian needs that vulnerable migrants have on their journeys. So, there is the influencing political work and there is the service delivery work to ensure that vulnerable migrants have access to services that every citizen should have.
PT: Is there any concern around the volume/ level/degree of migration in Nigeria, Africa and all over the world?
Mr Schmale: The numbers are increasing every year so, of course, we are concerned about this and regularly issue statements. There is a global compact for migrants that we have tried to get member states to agree to standards and ways of approaching migration.
Some of these are, we know that some refugees, some migrants flee because of desperate situations in their country and I mean in particular, wars and conflict. The international discussion around the ideal is for people to be able to return if they want to. For those who cannot, another option has to be to settle where they have arrived. We are also working with host countries to ensure that where it is appropriate, migrants can stay and settle.
A third option that is being looked at globally, is the third country option. You may have arrived in Spain, you cannot go home but there may be better opportunities in a third state. We are also working on this.
I want to come back to the development agenda, we sincerely believe as UN civil servants that a lot of migration that is causing problems elsewhere (not all migration does, I am a migrant but I am not complaining) but vulnerable migrants and migration due to vulnerability, due to poverty, wars and conflicts, refugee issues, need to be addressed through development work.
Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Nigeria, the majority of that in my understanding is because of misdevelopment, failing development, so I think the biggest contribution we can make as a globe and as UN supporting member states is really to accelerate progress in achieving the SDGs.
The SDGs are a blueprint for countries, ensuring that their citizens have more fulfilled lives and do not need to flee and seek opportunities elsewhere.
PT: Going back to the talk shop conversation, there have been a number of resolutions at the general assembly in respect to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. What have these resolutions translated into?
Mr Schmale: I think it is a fair question and fair observation that political efforts within the UN system to end the war in Ukraine have not yet shown demonstrable results. That is clear, I cannot claim we are closer to peace in between Ukraine and Russia than we were 10 months ago because of resolutions and meetings, that is just objectively not the case.
Having said that though, there has been some progress though if our secretary general were sitting here instead of me, he would rightfully point to the global grain initiative. It has been possible in the middle of the war to get the two parties to agree to a mechanism where grain gets re-exported and other goods for the benefit of vulnerable people around the world. I am using that because the secretary general has said this very publicly when he is being asked the same question, the glass is some full. There is some progress in terms of benefits for affected people in the war zone but also it is impacting the globe and we are working to try and mitigate the negative impact of this war.
But back to your question in terms of resolution and talk shops, I think the UN as in the member states, the security council, remain with a significant challenge to find a way of ending the war. We know from history, wars cannot be won and the price is too big for all citizens involved so the UNs credibility on the peace side of things will stand and fall with can a more effective way be found to end the war rather than just mitigating the impact of it.
PT: And Russias membership of the human right council?
Mr Schmale: I do not know the latest on that, whether they are still suspended or not. I do not really have a clear opinion and view on whether suspensions from international bodies is a useful step and the reason I am saying that is, I used to work with the Red Cross before joining the UN, I have very much, as an individual, believe you can only end wars if you talk to people. That is why the deputy secretary general recently went to Afghanistan as a woman given all the challenges and I think that was an expression of what I am trying to say excluding people from dialogue, I am not sure is always an effective tool. Sanctions, exclusion, we all know there have been examples in history.
I am thinking of apartheid, excluding South Africa at the time and the sanction regime did contribute massively to ending apartheid but there is no one solution that fits all and so to your specific question, I do not know enough to judge whether that is an effective measure or not.
PT: Mediation appears to be significantly absent in the Russia-Ukraine war. Is the UN averse to mediation? If not, why are we not seeing mediation happening?
Mr Schmale: The UN is not at all averse to mediation and talking. Infact the secretary general was meant to come to Nigeria a bit earlier last year, he postponed the trip because he offered mediation services to Russia and Ukraine and they took him up on it.
So, his priority at the time was to let me first go there and start the negotiations and then he came to Nigeria To the best of my knowledge, the secretary general alongside other senior UN leaders are continuing in quiet diplomacy behind closed doors to try and get the two parties to talk about how to end the war. I am not privy to exactly what progress is being made on those talks, it is not public.
Some of our efforts to get people to talk are behind closed doors, that makes it sometimes frustrating I think for the media because I cannot tell you exactly what is going on because we firmly believe if we start talking publicly about confidential processes, it will undermine them.
There will come a time where you deserve more clear answers to the questions you are asking.
PT: The war in Ukraine will be one year by 24 February. What action is the UN taking to see that we do not have a repetition of the war in Ukraine elsewhere?
Mr Schmale: You will not be surprised if I tell you a part of that is the quiet diplomacy bit but a part of it is very public. I do not know if you have had a chance to see the secretary generals statement to the general assembly, I think it was a week or two ago outlining his priority for this year and he spoke very eloquently and very powerfully I think about the risk of the world sleepwalking into further disasters like the Ukraine war.
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The secretary-general as our CEO is using his power and moral authority to regularly remind member states that we must at all costs avoid the kind of crisis we are seeing in Ukraine because it is not just destructive and detrimental to the citizens of those two countries, but for the globe and we cannot afford with all the other challenges we have around climate change and so on further wars like that.
So, there is both private and public diplomacy trying to use the convening power of the UN to get member states together to resolve the crisis, to prevent the crisis from escalating before it is too late.
PT: In your opening statement at the beginning of this interview, you talked about how much of a bad reputation Nigeria has. Having lived here for over a year, does the bad impression of Nigeria persist?
Mr Schmale: No, it has been modified if I am honest and allow me to use an expression I have used in this interview that I heard from our deputy secretary general. What I have really understood and I am firmly convinced that the glass is some full, maybe it is not half full, maybe it is three-quarters. I do not know, how you measure that.
But it is not a failed state and I have seen enough over this year and not just in Abuja. I think I have travelled to up to 15 states by now, I have seen enough people. It is all about people at the end of the day who have an entrepreneurial, peace-building mindset that is about improving their lives to remain hopeful and optimistic it is not a rosy picture. What I am trying to say is that despite the massive challenges, a part of why it has a bad reputation, there is enough in this country to turn this around. And I see it as my job as a senior UN official to not be a prophet of gloom, to say let us build on what is working and try and expand and accelerate that.
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The Supreme Court resumed sitting on the naira redesign suit on Wednesday.
It is the courts first sitting since President Muhammadu Buhari violated the courts 8 February order for continued use of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.
A seven-member panel of the court had ordered that the 10 February deadline set for the ending of the validity of the old banknotes be suspended.
The court also ordered that the old N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes should circulate alongside their newly redesigned versions pending further hearing in the case.
But in direct affront to the Supreme Court, Mr Buhari, on 16 February directed in a national broadcast that only the old N200 notes would remain valid, while the old N500 and N1,000 currency notes had ceased to be legal tender.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that three states Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara that initiated the legal action against the federal government over the controversial policy have commenced contempt proceedings to redress Mr Buharis violation of the courts order.
Given the immunity Mr Buhari enjoys as sitting President, he cannot be sued for contempt.
The plaintiffs have, therefore, chosen to target the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who is sued in the suit as the federal governments representative, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, who enforces the policy.
The issue of Mr Buharis violation of the court order is expected to feature during Wednesdays proceedings.
At the last sitting on 15 February, two states Edo and Bayelsa joined the side of the federal government in the suit, while seven others joined the side of the original three plaintiffs.
The newly-joined co-plaintiffs are Cross River (South-south), Sokoto (North-west), Lagos (South-west), Ogun (South-west), Katsina (North-west), Ondo (South-west) and Ekiti (South-west) states.
This makes the total number of co-plaintiffs 10. The predominantly APC side has Sokoto as the only PDP state.
The court, after joining the states to be parties to the suit, had adjourned until Wednesday for further hearing.
PREMIUM TIMES will be reporting live as events unfold at the Supreme Court today (Wednesday).
Supreme Court panel members:
1. John Okoro
2. Amina Augie
3. Mohammed Garba
4. Ibrahim Saulawa
5. Adam Jauro
6. Tijanni Abubakar
7. Emmanuel Agim
The separate suits field by the Rivers and Abia states to challenge the naira redesign policy also came up on Wednesday.
At the commencement of hearing, the Rivers States lawyer, Emmanuel Okala, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), moved an application for the consolidation of his clients suit with that of the main suit which already has 12 states as parties.
Similarly, Udochi Iheanacho, who appeared for Abia State Attorney-General, applied to have his clients suit consolidated with the main one.
Both applications were granted.
Appearances
Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN) Plaintiffs
Acting Director, Civil Appeals, Tijanni Gazali (SAN), for the AGF.
Gazali:
We have no objection to the application but we are filing our preliminary objection
Section 20 (3) of the CBN Act.
Court:
This suit is hereby consolidated for hearing.
Main suit
Ten States as plaintiffs in the suit.
Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), Lagos AG:
We have an application filed on 20 February.
The application seeks to prohibit the defendant (AGF) from continue to defendant this matter while being in contempt of the Supreme Court order.
John Okoro (Presiding Justice):
Reacting to Mr Onigbanjos application, Johh Okoro said, people are looking for a scapegoat, so that they can blame the judiciary. But we will hear this matter today by all means. No matter the obstacles (in terms of multiplicity of applications).
We dont want to keep this case any longer, Mr Okoro told the various lawyers in the suit.
10:55 a.m: Mustapha (lawyer to Kaduna) says plaintiffs affidavit of defendants non-compliance with the order of the Supreme Courts 8 February was filed on 22 February.
10:58am: Mustapha: Wwish to adopt all the processes in urging my noble Lords to dismiss the notice of preliminary objection filed by the defendants, and given that they are in contempt of this court.
11:02a.m: Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN) for Zamfara State: On 17 February, we filed an application seeking to set aside a directive issued on 16 February by President Buhari.
We are urging the court to set aside the directive in President Buharis speech made on 16 February.
I am urging the court to allow the plaintiffs suit and dismiss the defendants preliminary objection.
11:07 a.m: S.T Ologunorisa SAN for Katsina State: We adopt the processes filed by the 1st to 3rd plaintiffs, in urging the court to dismiss the defendants preliminary objection.
11.10 a.m.: Moyosore Onigbanjo, Attorney-General of Lagos:
We seek an order prohibiting the defendants from being granted audience before this court until the defendants or their principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, in this matter until the comply the order made by this court on 8 February, directing that old 200,500 and 1000 banknotes remain legal tender pending the determination of this suit.
11:13 a.m: Onigbanjo (Lagos):The (naira redesign) policy being implemented by the defendant is impacting Lagos State government negatively in carrying out its functions as a government.
There no response from the three defendants to our originating summons.
We urge the court to grant the reliefs prayed for by the 5th plaintiff (Lagos).
The court should deny the defendants the right of audience.
11:19 a.m: Ogun States lawyer: We align ourselves with all the submissions by Plaintiffs and urge the court to grant all our reliefs.
11:22a.m. O.O Olowolafe for Ekiti State: On 20 February, we filed a written address.
We urge the court to dismiss all the preliminary objections by the Plaintiffs
11:25 a.m: Ondo States lawyer: We filed a written address in respect of the suit. We adopt the arguments canvassed therein.
We urged the court to grant all the reliefs and dismiss all the preliminary objections
11: 28a.m: Sokoto State: We align ourselves with the processes filed by the plaintiffs in this suit. We urge the court to dismiss the preliminary objections filed by the defendant.
11:29 am. Kanu Agabi for AGF, the federal government: on 8 February, we have a memorandum of conditional appearance and notice of preliminary objection filed on 20 February.
Our counter-affidavit in opposition to motion for interlocutory injunction was filed on 21 February.
11:32 a.m: Agabi: We have a counter-affidavit in response to the plaintiffs motion to set aside the Presidents directive. It was filed on 20 February.
We have a written address in support of the 1st defendants counter-affidavit in opposition to the plaintiffs motion to set aside the Presidents directive of 16 February.
We also have the 1st defendants motion asking for the dismissal of the plaintiffs Form 48 (contempt proceedings).
We have filed an affidavit showing why Form 48 should be set aside. It was filed on 20 February.
We crave the courts indulgence to adopt these processes.
We urge the court to dismiss all the plaintiffsoriginating processes.
11:35am: Agabi: If your Lordships hold that all the reliefs are rooted in Section 20 of the CBN Act, then it holds that this action cannot be commenced in the Supreme Court. They are in a wrong place; the plaintiffs are crying in a wrong place.
The Supreme Court has no original jurisdiction.
11:37a.m. Agabi: The reliefs they are seeking are against the CBN, yet the plaintiffs did not deem it fit to bring the CBN into the matter.
Even before the president gave the directive, Nigerians were already rejecting the old banknotes. So, the President directive Nigerians to deposit the notes at the CBN.
So, the President is not in violations of the Supreme Court order.
Under the constitution, the President is empowered veto a legislation.
11:44 a.m:
Bayelsa State: We filed a counter-affidavit in opposition to the plaintiffs motion on notice for an order setting aside the presidential directive delivered on 16 February.
That counter-affidavit was filed on 21 February.
The counter-affidavit in response to the originating summons of the plaintiffs was filed on 21 February.
We crave the courts indulgence to adopt the processes.
We urge the court to decline jurisdiction to entertain this suit. It should be dismissed on the merit.
11:50 a.m.:
Edo State: We have a notice of preliminary objection to the plaintiffs originating summons.
We urge the court to dismiss the substantive suit.
12:03 p.m:
Rivers State represented by Emmanuel Ukala SAN: We filed our suit on 13 February.
We urge that my Lords grant all the reliefs sought in this matter.
12:07pm: Gazali for AGF: We filed notice of preliminary objection and counter-affidavit.
We urge my Lords to strike out this suit and dismiss this suit on its merit.
12:20 a.m:
Kano State: President Buhari sidelined members of the National Economic Council and only relied on the advice of the CBN governor in the implementation of ths monetisation policy.
The president decided to exercise his powers without consulting with the state governments as required by the law.
We have security report that there will be breach of law and order if nothing is done to address the issue of cash scarcity.
12:39 p.m:
Supreme Court panel rises for five minutes break.
When the panel returns, the court will take submissions from three more states Jigawa, Nasarawa and Abia.
12:52 p.m:
Court resumes sitting.
Jigawa State: Section 148 of the Nigerian constitution compels the president to seek the advice of the Jigawa State government as a federating unit, but the president did not do so before embarking on the implementation of the naira redesign policy.
12:57:
Nasarawa State: The governor of Nasarawa state is a victim of the federal governments monetary policy.
1.01pm:
Nasarawa State: We urge that the defendants preliminary objection be dismissed and the Plaintiffs reliefs be granted.
1.03pm:
The Supreme Court has fixed 3 March for judgement in a suit filed by some state governments challenging the federal governments naira redesign policy.
All the suits adjourned until 3 March for judgement, the presiding justice of the seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, John Okoro, said.
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The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has denied the partys flag bearer Rabiu Kwankwaso will drop out of the race for Nigerias top job.
Folashade Aliu, Mr Kwankwasos campaign secretary said her principal is on course to victory and will not step down for any other presidential candidate. Specifically, she disclaimed reports that Mr Kwankwaso will end his presidential candidacy for Atiku Abubakar of Nigerias main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In his widely watched interview last month, Mr Abubakar told BBC Hausa that he is discussing with Kwankwaso and its possible that the former Kano State governor steps down for him in the presidential race.
Mr Kwankwaso was quick to rubbish the former vice presidents claims saying he was disappointed and that he has not set his eyes on the PDP candidate for one year. Kwankwaso described his NNPP as a viable alternative to the ruling APC and the PDP.
Ms Aliu, the NNPP campaign secretary, said: Atiku is synonymous with non-performance. He is desperate and he cannot lay his hand on anything he has done successfully for the country and thats why hes initiating this discussion of Kwankwaso stepping down for him.
A former minister of defence, Mr Kwankwaso, was in the PDP until he took over the NNPP last May. The former Kano governor ran for the APC ticket in 2014, shortly after defecting with other PDP governors to the then-new party. By 2018, he had returned to the PDP and again ran unsuccessfully for the presidential ticket of the party.
He got the ticket of the NNPP on the first try and his supporters expect him to sweep the poll, at least in the North.
The NNPP has been campaigning vigorously, Ms Aliu told PREMIUM TIMES, adding, they will not be distracted by what is being said in the media.
She accused the PDPs candidate of using surrogates to send propaganda and attempts to manipulate their supporters. Its a deliberate attempt to incite our supporters and trigger violence, Ms Aliu said. Some of our supporters are committed and dedicated to the Kwankwaso presidential project and some of these claims can be a trigger.
Its three days to the much-awaited 2023 general elections, one that many consider to be the most consequential since Nigerias return to democracy in 1999. The ballot on election day 25 February will have the symbols of 18 parties, down from the 79 that stood in the previous poll of 2019.
The media long dubbed it a four-horse race. This assessment put the candidates of the two major parties, APC and PDP as well as Peter Obi of Labour Party and Mr Kwankwaso as the only contestants who can win the election. The 14 other candidates have not been visible in the campaigns and only on Friday, five of their parties announced their endorsement of Atiku of the PDP.
However, Ms Aliu of the NNPP, alleged that Mr Abubakar has run out of ideas and energy to carry out the job for the highest office of the land. The former vice president was the PDP flag bearer in 2019 and retained the ticket at the partys primary in May 2022. This is his sixth presidential race in 30 years.
Atiku is a serial contestant who does not have anything to offer other than manipulating the minds of Nigerians, Ms Aliu said.
Some members of Mr Abubakars team believe Mr Kwankwaso has no pathway to victory but his voters may inadvertently hand APC the election.
A lot of them didnt expect that we are going to do as much as we are doing in NNPP, Ms Aliu explained. Now, they figure out we are going places then the next thing is to be on the psyche of our supporters.
Recent polls by different organisations have also removed Mr Kwankwaso of the NNPP from contention and are now projecting a three-horse race.
But, Ms Aliu said: Our supporters are in the grassroots and they dont want to give us the recognition we deserve. But we know where we are in the realms of this election.
We have visited over 600 local governments in the country and most of our programmes are not in the media. We are focused on improving lives and putting Nigeria on a global platform it deserves with the status and respect it deserves.
We will take back this country. Our fate is in the hands of God and the voters.
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The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed 3 March for judgement on the suits filed by some state governments challenging the federal governments naira redesign policy.
All the suits adjourned until 3 March for judgement, the presiding justice of a seven -member panel of the Supreme Court, John Okoro, said.
Mr Okoro adjourned the suit for judgement after his panel heard arguments for and against it on Wednesday. The proceedings lasted for over three hours.
The date of judgement is about a week after Nigerias presidential election which holds Saturday (25 February), and a week ahead of state elections scheduled to come up on 11 March.
The controversial monetary policy, which has led to cash crunch across the country, bringing hardship to millions of Nigerians, has been a major issue in the lead-up to Saturdays election.
The presidential candidate of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, had said he was the target of the policy that is defiantly backed by President Buhari, the leader of the party.
But with the postponement of the judgement on the matter till 3 March, it means there would be no judicial resolution of the monetary policy before Saturdays election.
PREMIUM TIMES ran a live update of the courts proceedings.
The suit, filed on 3 February by some state governments, seeks the reversal of the federal governments naira redesign policy.
The policy, announced late last year by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari, had introduced newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes. It sought to end the use of the old versions by 10 February.
On 8 February, two days before the deadline, a seven-member panel of the court granted an interim order suspending the deadline set for the ending of the validity of the old banknotes.
The court also ordered that the old N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes should conctinue to circulate alongside their newly redesigned versions pending further hearing in the case.
The court also ordered that the old N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes should circulate alongside their newly redesigned versions pending further hearing in the case.
But in direct affront to the Supreme Court, Mr Buhari, on 16 February, directed in a national broadcast that only the old N200 notes would remain valid, while the old N500 and N1,000 currency notes had ceased to be legal tender.
Number of plaintiffs jumps to 16
The number of plaintiffs rose to 16 after six new states were added to them at Wednesdays proceedings.
The suit was originally filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states on 3 February to challenge the 10 February deadline set to end the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes.
The plaintiffs number, however, rose to 10, with seven joining them at the previous sitting on 15 February.
The 16 states now on the list of plaintiffs include: the original plaintiffs Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara and the seven that were joined on 15 February Cross River, Sokoto, Lagos, Ogun, Katsina, Ondo, and Ekiti states.
The rest are the six others that were joined on Wednesday Nasarawa, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, Rivers and Abia states.
Rivers and Abia states had filed separate suits that were consolidated with the main one.
The opponents of the suit are the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, representing the federal government alongside two other states that were joined as co-defendants, based on their requests, on 15February.
The two states are Edo and Bayelsa.
Arguments
The plaintiffs, through their respective lawyers, toed the same lines of argument, urging the Supreme Court to grant their prayers on Wednesday.
In its argument against the federal government, the Kano State government, represented by Musa Sanusi, urged the Supreme Court to reverse the monetary policy.
Mr Sanusi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), told the court that There are security reports that if the naira redesign policy is not reversed, there might be breakdown of law and order due to the hardship it has brought on the citizens.
The Attorney-General of Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo, a SAN, and Kaduna States lawyer, Abdulahakeem Mustapha, also a SAN, argued that Mr Buhari, by his 16 February broadcast, and the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, had violated the courts order.
But the federal governments lawyer, Kanu Agabi, a SAN, said the president only intervened in the (currency) crisis by asking Nigerians to deposit the old naira notes with the CBN.
Mr Agabi, an erstwhile Attorney-General of the Federation, argued that Nigerians were already rejecting the N200, N500 and N1,000 old notes before Mr Buharis made his 16 February nationwide broadcast, directing the CBN to recirculate the old N200 notes.
The defence lawyer contended that it was not true that Mr Buhari was in contempt of the court.
After listening to all the lawyers to the parties in the case, the court adjourned the suit until 3 March for judgement.
Well do justice
The Supreme Court earlier on Wednesday assured that it would do justice in the suit.
In an impassioned tone on Wednesday when the case came up, Mr Okoro, the presiding justice of the courts seven-man panel, said everybody is looking for a scapegoat.
This court will not continue to be a scapegoat, the presiding justice told Lagos State Attorney-General, Moyosore Onigbanjo, when he drew the courts attention to President Buharis violation of its order halting the monetary policy.
We will hear this case and give our decision. The (Nigerian) public can then decide who should be the scapegoat, Mr Okoro said, apparently referring to the atmosphere of disobedience to court decisions that pervades Nigeria.
Lending her voice to the necessity of hearing the case, a member of the courts panel, Amina Augie, roared, We will gear this case today, in response to the obstinate Lagos Attorney-General who was insisting the federal government has no right of audience before the court for being disobedient to its order of 8 February.
We seek an order prohibiting the defendants from being granted audience before this court until the defendants or their principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, in this matter until the comply the order made by this court on 8 February, directing that old 200,500 and 1000 banknotes remain legal tender pending the determination of this suit, Mr Onigbanjo argued.
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The United Kingdom High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, says there is no striking difference between the manifestoes of Nigerias four leading presidential candidates, especially in the area of policy.
She also said her countrys government is not backing any of the 18 presidential candidates and is ready to work with any of them that emerge president in the 25 February election.
Ms Laing stated this during an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday.
Although there are 18 political parties in the race, the 2023 presidential election is shaping to be a four-horse race between the candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
The four leading candidates have released their manifestoes.
Mr Tinubu has the Renewed Hope 23, while Mr Atiku released a manifesto titled My Covenant with Nigeria. For Mr Obi, he is counting on his Our Pact with Nigeria while Mr Kwanwaso released My Pledges To You.
Ms Laing said observers are buoyed by the pledge of the candidates to take some hard decisions on the economy because there is a nexus between economy and security.
They have all published their manifestoes. What is quite striking is how similar they are. I did not see huge policy differences among the big four. They have all told us how important it is to take those difficult policy decisions. But are there differences? In terms of policies, I did not see much differences.
We have engaged with the big four and I have met with some of the smaller parties as well. We know them well and like Channels TV, we are not backing any candidate. We can work with anybody who wins this election because that will be the choice of the people. Whoever comes in will have a lot of challenges, on security and the economy.
We urge all the candidates to take early action on the economywhen the economy functions, the security environment will also improve. The security we see is related to joblessness and lack of alternative livelihood, she said.
Threat of sanctions, visa ban
The envoy stated that the most important thing is that voters must accept the outcome of the election, noting that the UK and its allies are ready to deploy necessary sanctions.
She refused to disclose Nigerians that are under visa ban or watch because that would be a data breach.
When people do their research and ask which candidate best represents their interest and who will do more for them in future Nigeria, and they make their choice and they accept the result, that is the most important thing.
One thing we need to worry about Nigeria is the flip side of a very close election where there is a lot of engagement and there is a lot at stake. There is no predetermined outcome, that is the beauty of democracy.
Where the UK is aware of the intent to subvert the democratic process, we are prepared to take action against those prepared who engage in or incite electoral violence or indeed other anti-democratic behaviour. We have two tools in our toolbox. We have a visa ban. We have refused visas to travel to the UK for people undermining the democratic process or for more serious behaviour, we have sanctions. We are watching closely, this is not targeted at any political party or individual. It could be applied to anyone, Ms Laing said.
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The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has restated its commitment to support the federal governments efforts to preserve the heritage of Oloibiri in Bayelsa State.
Oloibiri is where SPDC first struck oil in commercial quantity in 1958.
Managing Director, SPDC, Osajie Okunbor, made the pledge at the historic site of Oloibiri Oil Well No.1 during the groundbreaking ceremony for Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre (OMRC) in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa.
The Oloibiri oil fields currently fall under Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29, now operated by indigenous oil firm, Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production, following SPDCs divestment from the asset in 2015.
Aiteo acquired SPDCs interest in OML 29, which includes the 97 kilometre Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL) for $2.4 billion.
Speaking at the event, Mr Okunbor said, This is history in the making and the SPDC Joint Venture is proud to be associated with it. Indeed, the energy story of Nigeria has come home! It was here in 1958 that Shell opened the first pages of the history of energy in Nigeria.
The first commercial find of hydrocarbons was here in Oloibiri and the subsequent first export of oil which launched Nigeria into the league of oil producers was also from here, he said.
He said over six decades later, the social investments of Shell in Oloibiri, both as a sole sponsor and in collaboration with its joint venture partners, has been a testament to the importance of the historic event that occurred in Oloibiri.
The Shell Group, in recognition of the pivotal place of Oloibiri in Nigeria, he said, commissioned, in 2019 and later in 2022 one of the biggest Shell health interventions programmes in Nigeria.
This intervention involved the commissioning of a fully remodeled and equipped general hospital at Kolo, fully equipped laboratories in the College of Health Technology, Otuogidi, solar-powered water treatment facilities for the communities, the Oloibiri Health Campus at Oloibiri town, and the Ogbia Safe Maternal and Infant Care Programme, among other health interventions within Oloibiri and its environs, Mr Okunbor said.
Shell lauds federal governments effort
The SPDC lauded the effort of the Federal Executive Council in the step-by-step approach that has culminated in the approval for construction and the contract award to develop the Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre.
Mr Okunbor said the groundbreaking ceremony reflected the collaborative effort and tenacity of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, SPDC Joint Venture and the Bayelsa State Government.
I, therefore, congratulate us all again on this seminal and highly important event. There is no doubt in my mind that, when concluded, this museum and research centre will be a one-stop shop in the heart of the Niger Delta for the development of technologies for the energy of today and the energy of tomorrow.
I expect that the centre will grow to collaborate with relevant academic institutions in the Niger Delta and beyond, to further the much-needed handshake between the energy industry in Nigeria and academia, he said.
He urged the community to see the Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre as their own and not another project implemented by the government and multinationals.
The groundbreaking was performed by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that dignitaries who witnessed the occasion includes Bayelsa Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Wabite and community representatives.
NAN reports the Federal Executive Council on 8 February approved the award of contract for the project to Julius Berger Nigeria PLC for N17 billion.
(NAN)
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MONROVIA Civilian 72 as coded by the Finnish Appeals Court, started her testimony to the court in a very emotionally shaky voice.
Her eyes were visibly red. She claimed she witnessed the opening of a pregnant womans belly by Gibril Massaquoi, a former commander of Sierra Leones Revolutionary United Front (RUF) after an argument ensued between him and his men over the sex of the unborn child.
The chief name was Angel Gabriel, said Mr Massaquoi, who other witnesses have identified as such. He said, I myself, Angel Gabriel, will open the womans stomach and took out the child. It was a girl child. They call started celebrating over the womans child. He started saying, I, Angel Gabriel, said it was a girl child, I won, I won.
Civilian 72 also alleged one of her friends whom she went down Waterside with was also slaughtered by Mr Massaquoi right before her.
She told the court she and her friends used to sell at ELWA Junction, Paynesville and had decided to go Waterside to buy some goods to sell on that fateful day.
When we got to Waterside, people were running helter-skelter, said the witness. When my friends and I tried to run, we heard the voice that Dont run, if you move, Ill kill you. They tied us and took us under the bridge where they had their checkpoint.
She said the soldiers used human intestines as checkpoints tying them together to form a rope. The witness claimed that they also used human heads as flags. When you get to the checkpoint, youre forced to salute that human head.
Civilian 72 recalled the horrible scenes at Waterside, noting that there were bodies all over the place some without heads, or arms, and some were split open like meat. They treated human beings like dogs.
She said she and others captured and taken beneath the bridge were kept there until that evening. They were later placed in a pickup and taken to ELWA. The males were separated from the females. They were told by those they met there that the place was not safe. She said they were informed that the soldiers took one person out every night, and that person never returned. They began to cry and make loud noises. She explained that they escaped with the help of one of the soldiers, who opened the back gate and asked them to leave.
After her testimony, she told the court: Before I leave, my heart is really burning. I want to see that man in a place where hell never do such wickedness again.
Tuesdays first witness was Soldier 13. He claimed he lost a leg in an exchange of fire with Mr Massquois fighters over the killing of one of Benjamin Yeatens bodyguards. Mr Yeaten headed the elite presidential guard, Special Security Service, now Executive Protection Service. This incident, according to him, occurred on the Waterside Bridge.
I got crippled by one of Angel Gabriels bodyguards called bodyman.
He explained that Bodyman and others loyal to Massaquoi killed some civilians around Water Street, which brought some misunderstanding among the fighters, and they started firing.
Roland Duo sent Gray D and others to come and put things under control. When we came 50 was already there on the scene. After it was settled, they ordered us to head towards the bridge. Angel Gabriel passed an order that anyone who retreats, they should open fire on the person.
When the enemies were coming, his other bodyguards crossed. Bodyman opened fire on the bridge when I was crossing to the bridge. He used AK Dragon, 9 rounds on this my foot, and it cut. He wanted to kill me, but luckily, my other friends who were coming said no, yall cant kill this man here.
They took me and carried me across to the hospital.
He told the court that Mr Massaquoi carried out many atrocities in Waterside, which was his control area.
I came here today because Massaquoi did a lot of wickedness to our people. He carried out a lot of nasty killings. I want to see justice; thats why I came here.
He said Massquoi and others entered Liberia in 2001 when the RUF fighters were driven from Sierra Leone.
According to him, several RUF fighters, including Cow Pupu, Angel Gabriel, Agba alia One Way to Death crossed into Liberia through Lofa County.
Soldier 13 told the court that though he witnessed several massacres in Lofa County, he could not remember seeing Mr Massaquoi involved.
He highlighted the massacre in Susumolahun, where people were placed in a building and set ablaze. He, however, told the court that Joseph Zizar Marzah carried out that.
During cross-examination, Soldier 13 admitted to being told by the contact person of the Finnish Police in Liberia he could benefit from a new prosthetic leg if he explained what he knew about the Waterside incident to the Finnish Police.
The appeal hearings continue on Thursday.
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.
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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has accused Rotimi Amaechi of being a member of a vicious cabal that has inflicted pain and suffering on Nigerians, including residents of Rivers.
Mr Amaechi, a former minister of Transportation, is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.
The PDP challenged Mr Amaechi to deny that he has no hand in the naira crisis and the fuel scarcity in the country.
Director of Publicity and Communications of the Rivers PDP Campaign Council, Ogbonna Nwuke, made the allegation against Mr Amaechi in a statement on Monday.
He said Mr Amaechi recently reconciled with members of the PDPs Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State and has been secretly working with the partys presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and others in the cabal to starve Nigerians of much-needed funds in the name of politics.
Nigerians have been forced to go through the eye of the needle in search of money with which to meet their daily needs and feed their families.
Unknown to most Nigerians, the vicious cabal that has made it a duty to inflict pain and much-neededon the rest of us has done so deliberately to influence the outcome of the forthcoming elections.
As a political party, we have gathered credible intelligence which supports the view that the leader of the APC, Rt Hon. Rotimi Amaechi is a member of the cabal that has caused the naira crisis as well as the fuel scarcity and brought untold hardships on ordinary Rivers people and other Nigerians, Mr Nwuke said in the statement.
We challenge the former Minister of Transportation to deny this fact. Let him deny that he is not one of those that are working with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar at this time to undermine the genuine aspiration of the people of Southern Nigeria.
Wike not joining APC
The PDP refuted claims made by the APC governorship candidate Tonye Cole that Governor Nyesom Wike was trying to join the APC through the back door.
The statement said the comment attributed to Mr Cole showed he knows very little about politics.
Mr Nwuke said Governor Wike would have deserted the PDP a long time ago if he had wanted to.
The Governor has maintained a principled position that he will not leave a party that he helped to build, he added.
The stance of Governor Nyesom Wike since the crisis erupted in the party at the national level is well known. He has publicly maintained a principled position that he will not leave a party that he helped to build. That position has not changed.
Wike has insisted that he and members of the G5 would remain in the PDP to ensure that the tenets which made the party a destination of choice are not destroyed by power mongers and selfish politicians who have little faith in the unity and stability of Nigeria.
Pastor Tonye Cole has no reason to waste his saliva. Governor Nyesom Wike is going nowhere. He has no plan today, tomorrow or in the near future to join the APC through the front or back door.
In trying to curry cheap popularity and catch a few mentions in the press, Cole is exposing his underbelly and making a great mockery of himself.
Continuing, Mr Nwuke said: The Rivers PDP is fielding candidates from the governorship through the Senate and the House of Representatives to the House of Assembly. This means that we are deeply rooted in our political party, differences at the national level notwithstanding.
Our decision not to support the candidate of the party in the presidential elections is something Nigerians understand. If Tonye Cole is unwilling to support the candidate of his own party, he should say so.
Rather than peeping at a political crystal ball that is sending confusing signs about people that he cannot decode, Cole should retire home and face the reality of his impending defeat at the forthcoming poll.
From all indications, candidates of the Rivers PDP are poised to win on February 25th and again on March 11, 2023. And Rivers people who support our great party and its leadership are working tirelessly to ensure that victory is won, he said.
David Iyofor, the spokesperson for Mr Amaechi, declined comment when PREMIUM TIMES contacted him on Monday.
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The human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, says the statutory power of the Nigerian president to pardon convicts does not include persons jailed for corrupt practices.
Mr Falana said Nigerias development had been stunted by corruption.
He spoke on Tuesday at an event tagged: 29th Anti-Corruption Situation Room in Abuja.
The event, which was organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre, had anti-graft activists from across the country in attendance.
In his keynote speech focussing on a presidential pardon for corrupt politicians, Mr Falana faulted President Muhammadu Buharis pardon of two former governors who were jailed for corrupt acts.
In April 2022, Mr Buhari pardoned Jolly Nyame and Joshua Dariye former governors of Taraba and Plateau states, respectively.
Messrs Nyame and Dariye were convicted of stealing billions of naira from their states. Their conviction had been affirmed by the Supreme Court and they were still serving their jail time when Mr Buhari granted them a pardon last year.
Buttressing his position, Mr Falana cited Section 175 of the Constitution which empowers the president to grant clemency to persons convicted of federal offences.
But he argued, Even though the president has the power to grant pardon, it cannot be extended to people who have been convicted of corruption.
Referencing the case of the Attorney General of Ondo State and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Falana drew his audiences attention to the Nigerian Supreme Courts comment on why financial malfeasance must be fought to a standstill.
The Supreme Court made a comment that corruption had become a cankerworm in Nigeria and all hands must be on deck to exterminate it.
He noted that money meant for fixing public facilities is being criminally diverted.
Power to withdraw criminal matters being abused
Mr Falana, a constitutional lawyer, decried the abuse of the power of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to discontinue a criminal case in the public interest.
He said the AGF, exercising his power under Section 174 (3) of the constitution, may take over a case to continue or discontinue it in the public interest.
So, it cannot be in the public interest to terminate the case of a man who has stolen money meant for the development of the country, he said to the cheering of his audience.
Citing the case of Danjuma Goje, a former governor of Gombe State and current senator, whom the AGF, Abubakar Malami, discontinued his N25 billion corruption trial in 2019, Mr Falana said that was unacceptable.
He urged judges to aim at substantial justice rather than giving in to technicalities in striking out corruption suits.
A judge is supposed to look at the justice of a case, and not strike them out on technical grounds.
He contended that the governments corruption fight is a class matter.
Drawing comparisons, Mr Falana said ordinary Nigerians were being jailed and sentenced to death for armed robbery, while the rich who have been mistakenly jailed and imprisoned by the system are being pardoned.
Recalling an old law Recovery of Property Act enacted by Mr Buhari when he was military head of state, Mr Falana said the law prescribes that anybody who steals more than N1 million shall be sentenced to life imprisonment, not five years.
But that law is not being applied and will not be applied because fighting corruption is a class matter.
Duties of anti-corruption activists
The lawyer advised anti-graft campaigners to be involved in monitoring corruption cases in courts.
Non-governmental organisations should engage the services of lawyers to hold a watching brief in those cases. If you do, judges will be more circumspect.
Mr Falana said effective monitoring of corruption suits would ensure proper prosecution and adjudication.
In a welcome address, Olanrewaju Suraj, Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, said fighting corruption was not restricted to law enforcement agencies alone.
It requires the efforts of citizens and the media engaging with the process and monitoring implementation.
Citizens need to monitor, evaluate the implementation of anti-corruption laws, Mr Suraj advised.
He said corruption was worse at the subnational levels, calling on CSOs to beam their searchlights on atrocities being perpetrated by state governors.
The event was chaired by Sadiq Radda, a professor and Secretary of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).
It was attended by Kole Shettima of the MacArthur Foundation and a representative of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Hadiza Gamawa, amongst other dignitaries.
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The Nigerian Army has approved a list of Hotlines to report any suspicious act of violence by unscrupulous persons during the forthcoming general election.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, a brigadier General, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.
Mr Nwachukwu said the hotlines were to afford members of the public, the opportunity to support efforts of security agencies in ensuring peaceful elections across the country.
He said the hotlines were also released to report the conduct of troops deployed to provide security during the election.
This, according to him, is part of Nigerian armys move to support the police, which is the lead security agency, to ensure successful conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the army had earlier produced and circulated Codes of Conduct and Rules of Engagement for Operation Safe Conduct to its formations and Units.
The manual is to provide guidance and ensure that troops operate within the provisions of the law.
Members of the general public are please enjoined to call the phone numbers below in their various states including the Federal Capital Territory Abuja to report any security breach during the elections:
ABIA STATE 08031113129 ADAMAWA STATE 08022750987 AKWA-IBOM STATE 07034470916 ANAMBRA STATE 07035891185 BAUCHI STATE 08128063675 BAYELSA STATE 08033241005 BENUE STATE 08080754339 BORNO STATE 09099616160, 08086987079 CROSS RIVER STATE 08037084192 DELTA STATE 07035070797 EBONYI STATE 08158274048 EDO STATE 09066325953 EKITI STATE 08037851448 ENUGU STATE 09032102212, 08023097458 GOMBE STATE 07063908779, 08082557782 IMO STATE 07034907427 JIGAWA STATE 07017791414, 08100144363 KADUNA STATE 07031544227, 08028580978, 08035242633 KANO STATE 08038432656 KATSINA STATE 08108854061, 09012998054 KEBBI STATE 09130213661 KOGI STATE 08033217964 KWARA STATE 09060001270 LAGOS STATE 08034025825, 08023190487, 09024409000 08033709434 NASSARAWA STATE 09051009404 NIGER STATE 07031346425 OGUN STATE 09116589494 ONDO STATE 08036130535 OSUN STATE 09019683922 OYO STATE 07047703000 PLATEAU STATE 08037116395, 07031260622 RIVERS STATE 08064274222 SOKOTO STATE 07069084570, 07052693532, 08136913284 TARABA STATE 08136728969, 08060902363 YOBE STATE 08061397656 ZAMFARA STATE 08140075541 FCT 09114913164, 08186690471, 08079153860, 08034276240, 08164304255, 09159793968.
(NAN)
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The African Union (AU) Observation Mission says it is on ground to support Nigeria through a peaceful, credible, transparent election and transition of power.
The AU Mission urged Nigerians to remain faithful to its democracy.
Head of the AU Observation Mission, Uhuru Kenyatta, made this known on Tuesday when he led the AU Observation mission on a visit to Nigerias Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, in Abuja.
Mr Kenyatta, who is a former president of Kenya, said that the eyes of the world and Africa is keenly on Nigeria at the moment.
He said that the AU Observation Mission and the world is with hope that the outcome of the elections will bring all parties together to build a better Nigeria.
We are here to work together with you as members of the African Union observer team for the upcoming Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship as well as State Assembly elections. We are here as members, and brothers and sisters.
One thing which I have noted in particular is President Buharis personal commitment towards a free, fair and transparent election. This is something he has been talking about at various intervals.
We are here today to see that those words turn into reality in the next few days.
We are here to work together with our brothers and sisters of Nigeria, as they exercise that fundamental right, which is the democratic right to choose freely, the leaders without hindrance.
There are many challenges and we all know that. And those challenges are not peculiar to Nigeria, said Mr Kenyatta.
He noted that there are challenges that for one reason or another affect various parts of the world and not just Africa.
But at the end of the day, what we want is that the eventual outcome of these elections reflects the will of the people of this great country of Nigeria, Mr Kenyatta said.
He said that elections are not the beginning and the end, urging candidates and political parties to put the interest of the country and citizens first.
We are looking forward to working with all candidates, we are looking forward to working with the Electoral Commission, we are looking forward to working with Nigerians.
I repeat, Nigeria is the largest democracy on the African continent and the outcomes will send a signal to the rest of the continent and the world of Africas commitment to democracy.
And Africas commitment to respecting the free will of people to elect leaders of their choice.
We appeal to every single citizen to let peace reign throughout the process and for people to understand that there is life after an election, Mr Kenyatta advised.
Responding, Mr Onyeama thanked the AU Observation Mission for their support through a peaceful transition of power in the upcoming general elections.
He said that Nigeria, the government and people are ready for peaceful and credible polls, a legacy Mr Buhari will want to be remembered for.
We thank you enormously for your role as an African leader, and what you did during your mandate for Africa. So, Mr President, really, thank you very much indeed.
And Africa owes you and I think Kenya owes you a big debt of gratitude for truly what you have done, and we are extremely proud of you.
And also the way you have really respected the principles of democracy and practiced it. So thank you very much (for being) a great model for Africa, and for our people.
And thank you very much indeed again on behalf of Nigeria for agreeing to come to Nigeria to help us also to strengthen democracy, the minister said.
(NAN)
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Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has denied supporting Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 25 February election.
He was reacting to a comment by the Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, that he was supporting Mr Tinubu.
Mr Ikpeazu dismissed the comment as mere speculations and wishful thinking.
The governor, who spoke to reporters on Tuesday while inspecting a road construction project in Aba, said no member of G5 can railroad another member into supporting anyone against his will as suggested by Senator Kalu.
Senator Kalu, in an interview with Channels TV on Monday, said: Tinubu is well liked by the north and is from the South-west and is going to get a (sizeable) vote in Imo, Ebonyi, Abia, Anambra and Enugu. And hes going to have the support of Governor Wike of Rivers State, so were on track.
My governor here, Okezie Ikpeazu, will also support Tinubu. My senatorial district is going to give Tinubu the vote, the puncher to give the 34, 35 per cent to be on the ballot, he said.
Governor Ikpeazu said Senator Kalus statement was the usual political speculation associated with the (election) season.
In an earlier statement, the Director of Strategic Engagement, Abia State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council, John Kalu, said there was no truth in Senator Kalus statement.
He said there were similar mischievous speculations around Mr Ikpeazu in the run up to the 2019 general elections because of the governors accommodation of different political views and orientations.
Governor Ikpeazu is a democrat and even as he frowns at some decisions of his party, the PDP, he remains a committed member of the PDP family.
Ikpeazu is in touch with Abians and will not derail from the decision of a majority of his people which does not presently incline towards APC or its presidential candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu, Mr Kalu, the PDP chieftain, said, adding that the APC in Abia South District had collapsed its structures into the PDP during the party (PDP) rally at Ahiaba, Obingwa Local Government Area.
For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Ikpeazu has not endorsed Tinubu and will not endorse him because he is a leader that is guided by the feelings of his people.
PDP remains formidable and all our candidates in the forthcoming elections hold very strong prospects of winning in Abia, he said.
PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Kalu, the PDP chieftain, if Mr Ikpeazu would support the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the election.
Governor Ikpeazu is a PDP member, and that is the most I can say to you at this time, he responded.
Backstory
The G5 (a group of five PDP governors) was formed shortly after Nigerias former Vice President Atiku Abubakar defeated Governor Nyesom Wike and 11 others in the May 2022 primary to emerge as the PDP presidential candidate.
The group believes the next Nigerian president ought to come from the south, since the current President Muhammadu Buhari is from the north.
Besides, the G5 had also campaigned unsuccessfully to have a southerner replace the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, in order to achieve a regional balance since both Atiku and Ayu are from the north.
Mr Wike, who leads the G5, appeared to have sealed a political deal with the APC candidate, Mr Tinubu, and had concluded it was impossible for him and the group to have any more peace negotiation with Atiku.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, who is another member of the G5, has openly endorsed Mr Obi, saying the LP candidate is Gods opportunity for Nigeria.
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The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos State, has issued an order of interim forfeiture of 14 properties in Lagos, Abuja and the United Arab Emirates linked to the Kogi State Government, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said.
EFCCs spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement that the court issued the interim order on Wednesday.
The judge, Nicholas Oweibo, according to the commission, also ordered the preservation of the sum of N400 million recovered from one Aminu Falala.
EFCC said the interim order of forfeiture of the money was issued on the ground that it is reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activity and intended to be used for the acquisition of Plot No. 1224 Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island Lagos.
The judge issued the order following an ex parte application filed by the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC.
The application was supported by an affidavit deposed to by Adekunbi Mojibola, an investigating officer with the commission.
Moving the application today, counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, stated that the properties, including Hotel Apartment Community, Burj Khalifa lying, being and situate at, Plot 160 Municipality NO 345-7562, Sky View Building No 1, Property No 401, Floor 4, Dubai U.A.E., were reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activity.
In his ruling on the application, Mr Oweibo granted the application, as prayed and directed the commission to publish the interim order within 14 days for any interested party to show cause why the forfeiture order should not be made permanent in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The judge then adjourned the case until 28 March.
It will be recalled that the EFCC recently arraigned a nephew of Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello.
The governors relation, Ali Bello, was on 8 February, arraigned alongside Abba Adauda, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege and Iyada Sadat on money laundering charges. The offences, according to the anti-graft agency, involved alleged misappropriation of over N3 billion.
Mr Bellos wife, Rashida Bello, who is allegedly involved in the alleged crimes, is said to be on the run.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the remand of the defendants in prison after their arraignment on 8 February.
The trial judge, Obiora Egwuatu, granted them bail on 20 February.
Mr Egwuatu then adjourned until 16 April for trial.
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Some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom North-West District have urged the former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, to withdraw from Saturdays election in the district.
Mr Akpabio is the APC candidate for the senatorial election in the district, which is otherwise known as the Ikot Ekpene District.
The leaders of the APC in the district were part of a meeting held on Tuesday in Ikot Ekpene city under the auspices of the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District Leaders Forum, where a decision was taken against Mr Akpabio and others who are also affected by it.
A communique issued after the meeting said candidates from three areas in the district, including the one where the former minister hails from, should not contest the election. Their decision, according to them, is because the three affected areas in the district had produced senators, while there is a part that had not yet produced any for 56 years, since 1963.
Based on the foregoing, and in the interest of the peace, unity, progress and harmonious co-existence of the Senatorial District, we hereby urge no one from the other three federal constituencies to contest the 2023 Senatorial election, the communique said.
Akwa Ibom North-West District comprises four federal constituencies (Ikot Ekpene Federal Constituency, Ukanafun-Oruk Anam Federal Constituency, Abak Federal Constituency, and Ikono-Ini Federal Constituency).
Mr Akpabios Ikot Ekpene Federal Constituency has produced a senator five times, from 1963 till date, and that includes Mr Akpabios election as senator in 2015.
Christopher Ekpenyong, the current senator representing the district, is from Mr Akpabios constituency.
Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency has produced a senator twice, while Ukanafun/Oruk Anam has produced a senator three times.
The Abak Federal Constituency is the only constituency in the district that had not yet produced a senator.
Our stance
When it was the turn of Abak Federal Constituency in 2007, they were persuaded to allow our Ibibio brothers from Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency have a shot, as a sacrifice and balance, to enable the then Governor, Godswill Akpabio, win the elections for the two terms he served.
In 2015, when it was the turn for Abak Federal Constituency, again, they sacrificed their turn to Ikot Ekpene Federal Constituency as compensation to the former Governor Godswill Akpabio, the communique said.
Those who attended the meeting said they despised Mr Akpabios refusal to take into cognisance the political history of the district, and that his taking part in the election would only show his arrogance and ungratefulness.
This is why we, the political leaders of the Senatorial District have unanimously, irrespective of political party affiliations, endorsed and adopted Barr Emmanuel Enoidem of Abak Federal Constituency to be voted for in the District to win and become our Senator in the February 25th Senatorial election.
We implore all eligible voters of the District to heed this stance of the Senatorial District Leaders and vote for Barr Emmanuel Enoidem, found to be the strongest of all the candidates from Abak Federal Constituency, the communique said.
Emmanuel Enoidem, who has been adopted as the sole candidate for the senatorial election by the district leaders, is a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Don Etiebet, a former minister of Petroleum and a BoT member of the APC, attended the meeting.
Mr Etiebet, earlier this month, chaired a similar meeting where Mr Akpabios candidature was rejected by some APC leaders from the district.
A former state Chairman of the APC in Akwa Ibom, Amadu Attai, and a former member of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Uwem Udoma, were among the APC leaders who attended the Tuesday meeting.
Mr Attai told PREMIUM TIMES, Wednesday, that the leaders from the district rose above partisanship to decide on the interest of the district.
I have been a state chairman of the APC for more than eight years, so I know what I am doing. It is for the sake of the community. We had leaders from PDP, APC, LP, NNPP and other parties at the meeting. I am in politics to protect the interest of my people, he said.
Akpabio wanted to be president, not senator
Mr Udoma, a former state lawmaker, said he and others took part in the meeting as community leaders, not political leaders, and that the essence was to correct the injustice that had been done to the Abak Federal Constituency which had not produced a senator for over 50 years.
Besides, Mr Udoma said Mr Akpabio wanted to contest for the presidency of Nigeria, and not the Senate, in 2023.
I did not nominate Godswill Akpabio as a candidate of the APC, he got it from the Supreme Court. We nominated DIG Udom Ekpoudom to go for the Senate. Godswill wanted to be president of Nigeria. He was at Eagle Square, contesting to become president and that same night he contested the senatorial primary and became a candidate.
Is Nigeria going to move forward with this kind of scenario? Have you seen someone contesting two elections on the same day? he said.
Inibehe Ottoho, one of the APC chieftains in the district who attended the meeting, told this newspaper that the APC had been terribly divided in Akwa Ibom.
If somebody is entrenched in the party and he decides to make sure there is division and that is his political goal, you cannot achieve anything, he said.
Akpabio reacts
Akpabio campaign organisation has, however, dismissed the meeting as a gathering of the unrighteous, saying that those who took part in it were blinded by hate against Mr Akpabio.
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The campaign described the APC members who attended the meetings as renegades who should be sanctioned by the party leadership.
We wish to assure our people to remain steadfast and gear up for Saturday, 25 February, when they would step out in full majesty and grandeur to cast their votes for Senator Godswill Akpabio and Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other candidates of the party, the campaign said.
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The Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, on Wednesday narrated how he survived an alleged attempt to assassinate him in Ilesa.
Sources in the town said assailants, armed with guns and other dangerous weapons invaded Groove Hill Hotel owned by Mr Owoeye in Ilesa where he was lodged, around 2 a.m., shooting sporadically.
Although the police said they were not aware of the incident, Mr Owoeye said in a statement that the attack was repelled by his security details.
In the early hours of today 22nd February, an assassination attempt was made on my life. If not for divine Providence, the story would have been different. I want to salute the security men who stood their ground to prevent my assailants from carrying out their aim, he said.
The speaker also said an electrification project he executed in his constituency was also damaged by the assailants.
I was also informed this morning that an electrification project, which I have expended over N15 million on in Oke Aga, has been destroyed and riddled with bullets. I sympathise with the community who will be thrown into darkness because of this senseless politics, the speaker added.
The recent happening in Osun is becoming worrisome and needs proper attention from every well-meaning citizen. The return of political thuggery after about 12 years of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Administration in the state now gives residents and citizens sleepless nights, he said.
Mr Owoeye accused the state government being run by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of fueling the insecurity crisis in the state.
It will not be wrong to say that the change of baton in the government in the state has actually encouraged the return of that dark era of when citizens cannot sleep with their two eyes closed, he said.
The Speaker called for a proper investigation into the incident and other attacks in the state.
I, therefore, called on the police to investigate the assassination attempt on my life, the gruesome murder of Alaro and others with a view to ensuring that those involved are brought to Justice, he called.
I want to believe that such heinous crime if not quickly investigated and perpetrators docked could aggravate an already tense situation that will lead to the breakdown of law and order in the States before and during the forthcoming election, he added.
The Nigerian police and other relevant security Agencies must be seen to be alive to order constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and properties. A quick investigation into the attempted murder, murder and other hooliganism will serve as a deterrent to people who are hell-bent on distrusting the peace of our society.
However, the police spokesperson in the state, Yemisi Opalola, said the agency was not aware that Mr Owoeye was involved in the incident.
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We are not aware that the speakers residence was attacked. The command is only aware of the attack on the leader of the House of Assembly, we are not aware of the speakers attack, she said.
One of the members, the leader of the House of Assembly was attacked but the speakers name was not mentioned. I am not aware, the speaker has not called me in regards to that.
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A hunter has discovered a bag filled with thousands of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in a forest in Anambra State.
The discovery of the PVCs comes barely four days before the presidential and National Assembly Elections, which will be held this Saturday, 25 February.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered the hunter stumbled on the bag containing the PVCs during his hunting exercise on Tuesday in a forest in Akamili, Umudim, which is a community in the Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra.
He took the PVCs to the premises of Authority FM, a local radio station in the community, apparently to publicise the discovery to the owners of the PVCs for collection.
The manager of the Authority FM, Charles Ede, confirmed this to PREMIUM TIMES, Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Ede said he and some officials of the radio station took the PVCs to the Nnewi North council headquarters, but that the council officials did not allow them inside the premises or speak with them.
He said they later took the PVCs to the palace of the traditional ruler of the community in the council area.
Residents are there now collecting the PVCs, Mr Ede said.
Ikenna Okonkwo, another official of the radio station, in a viral video clip circulating on Facebook, said they had checked about three per cent of the entire PVCs brought by the hunter and noticed that the cards belong to people mainly from the council area.
This is wickedness. Thousands of PVCs here, he said, dipping his hands in a bucket where some of the cards were kept.
These guys (residents) have looked for their PVCS. They have lost hope (that) they have PVCs, Mr Okonkwo lamented.
The official said the discovery was a confirmation that people were working to sabotage the elections in the South-east.
We have heard this rumour of people trying to cut out the South-easts voting strength. We heard this rumour that they were discarding PVCs of those who are from the South-east. We saw that in Lagos (State) some months ago and we never believed it. But seeing this now is a testament.
Of course, there is large voter apathy in the South-east, but then, with this wickedness that we are seeing here, it is quite obvious, Mr Okonkwo added.
Kingsley Ikechukwu, INEC spokesperson in Anambra State, did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comments from him about the incident.
Police begin investigation
Reacting to the viral video clip, the police in Anambra State said they were yet to receive the report from the concerned authority about the discovery of the PVCs in the state.
Tochukwu Ikenga, the spokesperson of the police in the state, in a statement on Wednesday, said the State Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng, had ordered investigations into the video to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident and possibly arrest the suspects behind the act.
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Anambra is the home state of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who is among the major contenders in the 25 February presidential election.
The others are Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and former Nigerias Vice President, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The South-east is considered a stronghold of the LP candidate, Mr Obi.
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President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja said time and history will no doubt speak more eloquently of his stewardship.
Mr Buhari stated this at an event tagged Preserving PMB Legacy, organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture to conclude its Scorecard Series.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the event witnessed the inauguration of the PMB Legacy Portal, Testimony Series, Documentary and a Compendium of the Buhari Administrations achievements.
Represented by his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo, the president said he could confidently say that his administration had given as much as it could and impacted positively on the lives of the citizens.
He said the scorecard series, legacy portal, testimonies series, documentary and the compendium put together by the ministry were the documented pieces of evidence of the achievements of the administration.
According to him, they will be reliable historical records of what transpired in the eight years of his administration.
He said the works, being kept in many different forms, would help to reinforce their accuracy and authenticity.
The president noted that the five works would also provide a useful source of materials for researchers and historians in the future whether they are for or against his administration.
Speaking on the content of the works, Mr Buhari said the testimony series featured the testimonials of actual beneficiaries of the Social Investment Programmes (SIP) of the administration.
He said the testimonial series practically presented SIP as the largest social investment programme in Africa as well as its impacts.
Hearing from citizens themselves; the petty trader who was able to expand her business because of TraderMoni; the unemployed graduate who benefitted from the N-Power programme discovers a new and profitable path.
We see and hear recorded for history, the passengers who could not hide their excitement at the seamless operation of the modern railway system or the state-of-the-art airport terminals.
We also see the president of the rice farmers association who told us how rice production in the country has increased exponentially under the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
These are real people provided with a springboard to do more for themselves and their communities; real people inspired to hope and believe that Nigeria can be positively transformed in our lifetime, he said.
The president said the scorecard series provided a platform for ministers to highlight their achievements, and challenges as well unfold plans for their respective ministries.
Mr Buhari urged that the accounts should be given the widest possible reach across traditional and new media channels.
According to him, the Documentary and Testimony Series should resound on radio, television, and across social media.
He added that the Compendium should be circulated, in hard and soft copies, far and wide, to engage, provoke and inspire Nigerians and others who would come across it.
The president said that government is a continuum, he desired that the unfinished business of his administration found continuity and fulfilment in his successor as he did to his predecessor.
He said the administration considered it a privilege and an honour to serve the people of Nigeria.
Mr Buhari congratulated the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and his team for putting together the impressive, innovative and robust archival materials.
He said they would provide a veritable template for future administrations.
Earlier, the minister said the scorecard Series was introduced to consolidate all the ministry had been doing since 2015 to propagate the policies and programmes of the administration.
He said the forum provided a counter to the pushback by the opposition and the naysayers, who contended that the Buhari administration had achieved nothing.
Mr Mohammed said the scorecard series also provided campaign materials for the ruling All Progressives Congress and its candidates in the run-up to the 2023 general elections.
We have now shown that not only do we have a lot to campaign with, we are spoilt for choice!
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We also went beyond the moment by creating the Legacy Portal, which, as I said earlier, is an electronic storehouse of the achievements.
This is unprecedented in the history of our country, he said.
The minister assured that in the same way, the scorecard series was a success, the other four variants launched by the president would attain the same level of success.
(NAN)
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Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the National Political Committee set up by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed workers to vote for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and other candidates on the LP ticket.
The NLC National Secretary-National Political Commission, Chris Uyot, conveyed the message in a statement to workers on Tuesday.
Vanguard newspaper reported last year how an organised group comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) declared their support to campaign for the LP presidential candidate.
However, Mr Uyot in his statement urged workers to come out en masse to perform their civic duties by voting in Saturdays election and taking decisive steps to safeguard their votes.
The statement urged all committee members in states to intensify their work in mobilising workers and the Nigerian people both at the local, ward and polling unit levels to vote for the LP presidential candidate and the other candidates of the party.
The committee also vowed to work with allies in civil society organisations and students to take all necessary steps to safeguard the peoples votes by ensuring that the electoral process is transparent, free and fair.
This is a clarion call to all workers and working people that as we approach the final push towards the forthcoming presidential election come February 25, 2023, we should ensure a massive turnout of voters for the success of the Labour Party in line with an earlier resolution of the National Executive Council (NEC).
Towards this end, all Labour Political Committee members in the states are to intensify their work in mobilising workers and the Nigerian people both at the local, ward and polling units to vote for the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi and all candidates of the Labour Party contesting the elections.
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To accomplish these significant tasks to save our democracy, all affiliate unions and State Councils of Congress are to give maximum cooperation and support to the political committees to strengthen their work at the state, local government, wards and polling unit levels by ensuring that they provide at least 10 ward coordinators and canvassers to not only mobilise but defend the peoples votes.
This election promises to be the most decisive in our country. It offers an opportunity to transform our political, social and economic policy direction to be peoples-oriented as espoused in the Workers Charter of Demands.
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Canadian-Nigerian actor, screenwriter, film producer and director Pascal Atuma has called on Nigerian electorates not to make themselves tools for politicians to commit atrocities.
The socially-conscious Nigerian filmmaker, based in Canada, said this in a statement on Wednesday.
The filmmaker said that seeing Nigeria decay and collapse to this level because of the selfishness and self-centeredness of a few people holding the country to ransom, is heartbreaking.
Do not die for any Nigerian politician or allow yourself to be used to commit their atrocities; they should bring their children back from their safe havens overseas to die for them and do their dirty jobs.
They loot the country, transfer Nigerias wealth overseas with their children and come during elections to use children from poor and less privileged homes for thuggery, election malpractice, and destruction, he wrote.
Economic divide
Mr Atuma, whose most recent film, Clash, topped the Netflix charts in July 2021, said it is not uncommon for children with low socioeconomic status to be used to eliminate individuals who constitute a nuisance to greedy politicians.
In his statement, Mr Atuma, the CEO of TABIC Record Label, insisted that the politicians should bring back their children from abroad to do their dirty and evil deeds in this election.
Let Nigerians wake up and understand that the suffering in Nigeria today is artificial. The politicians systematically created poverty and are using it to control the masses to retain power and control.
It is time for Nigerians to rise and deliver the country from the wicked hands of these politicians and corrupt leaders, he added.
Naira scarcity
Speaking further, Kevin Harts Laugh Out Loud Competition winner recalled how he was recently in Nigeria to film a new project, The Imported Wives and had to use Naira to buy Naira to carry out the production.
According to him, the ruggedness and understanding of his executive producer, Joy Madubuike, was the only reason it was easy to justify spending additional Naaira to purchase Naira.
Unfortunately, permit me to say Nigeria is a total mess now. Something has to give; Nigeria cannot continue this way; the country is literally at war, and all the characteristics of war-torn nations have already manifested to the fullest!
Hunger, insecurity, fuel and electricity scarcity, bad roads, dilapidated hospitals, run-down public schools, etc. We will continue to pray for the intervention of the almighty God, Mr Atuma added.
Mr Atuma, whose breakout directorial debut, My American Nurse, premiered in the United States at the 2006 Pan African Film Festival, however, stated that Nigerians must rise and use their Permanent Voters Card to ensure that greedy and obsolete politicians do not find themselves in the corridors of power in Nigeria.
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As a director, Mr Atuma has helmed most of his movie productions.
As an actor, he starred in several of his productions, as well as other projects, including Sweet Revenge (Winner 2018, Kevin Harts Laugh Out Loud, Just For Laughs Eat my Shorts Lions Gate Competition). Bloodlines, LAPD African Cops, The Other Side of Love, My American Nurse, Faithfulness, and Secret Past, Amongst others
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The major presidential candidates and parties taking part in Saturdays presidential election in Nigeria have violated the Peace Agreement they signed, an official has said.
The Chairman of the National Peace Committee, Abdulsalami Abubakar, disclosed this Wednesday at the signing of another Peace Accord by presidential candidates in Abuja.
Mr Abubakar, a former military head of state, expressed concern about the lack of compliance by major political parties to the National Peace Accord signed in September 2022.
44 per cent of the violations were carried out by the spokespersons of the political parties; 26 per cent by party members; 19 per cent by the presidential candidates themselves; 11 per cent by the hardcore supporters and 4 per cent by the chairmen of the parties, the retired general was quoted as saying by presidential spokesperson Femi Adesina.
Although a total of 18 candidates are taking part in the presidential election, four are considered the major contenders. They are Bola Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP.
The peace accord, led by the peace committee, is supported by the Nigerian government and its international partners including the European Union and the United Nations. It contains clauses that commit candidates and political parties to engage their supporters and ensure a violence-free electioneering process that is also devoid of other vices such as hate speech.
Mr Abubakar did not, however, elaborate on the specifc candidates and parties that violated the agreement.
At Wednesdays event, President Buhari admonished all candidates to accept the result of the elections or channel their grievances through the appropriate judicial processes.
Any aggrieved candidate should resort to the established judicial processes, and we must have the confidence to trust our legal systems, Mr Buhari said.
Read the full statement by Mr Adesina below.
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday urged candidates contesting elections at all levels to respect the choice of voters and accept the result of the elections as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The president, who witnessed the signing of the Second Peace Accord for the 2023 presidential elections at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, reminded the political class and their supporters that INEC is the agency empowered by law to announce the results.
Any aggrieved candidate should resort to the established judicial processes, and we must have the confidence to trust our legal systems.
I once again ask the candidates to abide by the spirit and letter of the Accord they have signed today.
Let me remind all Nigerians not for the first time that this is the only country we have, and we must do everything to keep it safe, united and peaceful.
There should be no riots or acts of violence after the announcement of the election results. All grievances, personal or institutional, should be channelled to the relevant courts, he said.
The president acknowledged that deep concerns have been raised about the conduct of the 2023 general elections and the outcomes they may throw up.
He, however, assured Nigerians that his administration will continue to do the utmost to deliver a free and fair election.
Since my assumption of office, we have worked so hard to ensure that we pass on a legacy of free, fair, credible, safe, and peaceful elections.
We will continue to act with neutrality and allow the rule of law to take precedence over political expediency.
We have demonstrated that with the off-circle elections in Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States. We allowed Nigerians to decide who should govern them. We are committed to that legacy in this administration.
President Buhari, therefore, assured INEC, security agencies and all relevant institutions saddled with the responsibility of conducting the elections, of his administrations continuous support.
He asked them to be firm and courageous, abiding by the laws and constitutional provisions in conducting the elections.
We must constantly improve our electoral process using technology and all the positive elements it brings to consolidate the integrity of the elections.
President Buhari thanked the Chairman and members of the National Peace Committee, led by Abdulsalami Abubakar, for their commitment and sacrifices to support peaceful elections in Nigeria.
He recalled that in September 2022, the chairman had respectfully asked him to deliver a goodwill message in support of issue-based and peaceful campaigns and political rallies devoid of insults and personal attacks.
I readily agreed because this is my personal belief and conviction; that we need to dwell more on issues that are fundamental to Nigerians.
Despite having no financial support from the government, the Peace Committee has remained steadfast, working with relevant agencies to provide moral compass and serve as an independent agency for alternative dispute resolution on the electoral process.
I commend the Committees commitment and loyalty not only to the electoral process but to peace generally in Nigeria, President Buhari said, adding that the committee has made a name for itself, at home and abroad, he said.
The president pledged that the federal government would give the Peace Committee all the necessary support needed to make their work more impactful and successful.
He called on all other agencies and the International Development Partners to give them all the support in facilitating peaceful elections in the country.
Mr Abubakar expressed concern about the lack of compliance by major political parties to the National Peace Accord signed in September 2022.
44 per cent of the violations were carried out by the spokespersons of the political parties; 26 per cent by party members; 19 per cent by the presidential candidates themselves; 11 per cent by the hardcore supporters and 4 per cent by the chairmen of the parties, he said.
The Chairman of the Peace Committee stated that the since the start of official campaigning on 28 September 2022, there have been 60 attacks recorded on political rallies, resulting in nine fatalities, with the highest numbers in the south-west and south-east and lowest in the northeast and north-central, according to data collated by the National Election Violence Tracker.
He, therefore, called on all political actors, key stakeholders and Nigerians to support a peaceful transition, promote the ideals of peace and a violent free post-election period.
I urge all politicians who will sign the accord to fully commit themselves to the letter and spirit of the Accord, he said.
INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu assured the nation that the presidential election will hold on Saturday, 25 February, saying INEC is ready.
According to him, INEC has already commenced the movement of sensitive materials to the various local government areas (LGAs) nationwide.
By Friday we will activate the registration area centres so that at first light on Saturday, polling units will open on time.
The commission is committed to free, fair, and credible elections in compliance with the electoral framework and the spirit of the peace accord.
All political parties and candidates are hereby reassured of the commissions neutrality. INEC is not a political party. We have no candidate in the election. Our allegiance is to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and our loyalty is to Nigerians.
Therefore, Nigerians should feel confident that their votes will count, he said.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
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To you, dear reader, as you go to the polls this weekend, ask yourself which of the candidates has demonstrated that they will value your life? Vote in line with those sentiments, and then post-election, lets be ready to hold them accountable.
Elections always come with significant safety concerns as the risk of violence and injury escalates, and this year is no different. The lack of access to reliable emergency response across the country only heightens this risk, and it raises important questions that you and I should ask as we approach the polls: Which of the presidential candidates will value the lives of Nigerians? And more importantly, who will take the necessary steps to put a stop to the over one million preventable deaths in the country each year? The answer to these questions lie in the investments that each candidate will make in key sectors like health.
Nigerias current administration delivered the landmark National Health Insurance Authority Act (NHIA) 2022, which holds enormous potential for extending financial protection from healthcare challenges and emergencies for even the most vulnerable. The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 100 million people are pushed into poverty globally by having to pay for healthcare out of pocket. In a country where more than 70% of healthcare expenditures are out of pocket, the positive implications of universal health coverage will be enormous. Increasing access to both preventive and curative care will have profound effects on our life expectancy.
The National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) is one aspect of the new Act that holds significant promise for increasing the life expectancy of Nigerians, but which is receiving little attention. Today, most states lack any formal or tangible emergency medical services system. Efforts to deliver emergency services are often plagued by three core challenges: low public health literacy on what to do in an emergency; shortage of trained prehospital healthcare professionals and abandoned ambulance assets; and broken communication between patients, response providers and hospitals. Underpinning these issues is, of course, the lack of catalytic, sustainable financing to ensure successful health outcomes in the short and long terms.
The private sector has indeed stepped in to fill some of the gaps, but that level of intervention still leaves the emergency response highly fragmented, in part due to the variability of service and the cost being far too expensive for most Nigerians. What this means practically, is that if you or I should slump today, we probably will not survive it. How else can we explain the untimely death of the woman who slumped and died at an airport in Abuja last year? Or the man in Delta who collapsed after waiting in a bank line for hours earlier this month? Who can forget the viral videos of the man dancing at a party, the pastor on the pulpit, the politician at a campaign? All died needlessly. Often, the only difference between those who die and those who survive is that they received help before it was too late. So, how can we ensure that in the next four years, it wont be too late for us?
The proposed model is right for Nigeria. The system will leverage existing ambulances and hospitals, bringing the public and private sectors together to ensure free access to citizens at the point of care. State governments will own service delivery and be equipped to finance the system sustainably through health insurance schemes and funds for the vulnerable.
The new NHIA Act provides an opportunity for transformation by restructuring the delivery of emergency medical services and sustaining it through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund. The NEMSAS mission statement is inspiring: To establish an ICT enabled Emergency Medical Service that is effective, efficient, timely and at no cost to the patient at the point of care, thereby increasing access to care, reducing mortality and morbidity rates and improving health care outcomes for all Nigeria.
The proposed model is right for Nigeria. The system will leverage existing ambulances and hospitals, bringing the public and private sectors together to ensure free access to citizens at the point of care. State governments will own service delivery and be equipped to finance the system sustainably through health insurance schemes and funds for the vulnerable. Most exciting for the booming technology sector, the system will require a robust technology and data strategy at its core to drive efficiency and impact. If implemented successfully, the programme will address multiple Sustainable Development Goals by saving as many as 1.2 million lives every year, creating job opportunities for paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), and fostering partnerships.
To our state Ministries of Health, NEMSAS presents an extraordinary opportunity to transform a long-overlooked but critical part of our healthcare system. While elections and new leadership can stall or even terminate programs like this, it can also be an opportunity to renew commitment to its success. Many are watching this space, ready to partner with you to move emergency medical services in Nigeria forward.
To you, dear reader, as you go to the polls this weekend, ask yourself which of the candidates has demonstrated that they will value your life? Vote in line with those sentiments, and then post-election, lets be ready to hold them accountable.
Folake Owodunni is the co-founder and CEO of Emergency Response Africa (ERA), a healthcare technology company that is changing how medical emergencies are managed in Africa, beginning in Nigeria.
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Throughout the Channels TV interview, Odinkalu demonstrated that El-Rufai is living rent-free in his head. He is obsessed with the governor, which he needs to cure himself of. This brings me back to the issue of the two groups in the CLO that Agbakoba called the Crazy Right and the Loony Left. It is necessary to learn, unlearn and relearn, if one is to be useful to our country and the world. Being stuck in the early 1990s, while the world has undergone remarkable changes, will not get anyone anything.
Old habits can be hard to change, even as we mature and acquire more education. Some habits seem to stick with us, and that seems to be the case with my old friend, Chidi Odinkalu, who cant seem to quit his incessant rants against Governor Nasir El-Rufai. While Odinkalus rantings could be seen as comical behaviour not to be taken seriously, there are times when such behaviour requires a response that encapsulates a teaching moment, not only for the person engaging in it but for others who may consider them to be taken seriously.
Full disclosure is necessary here: Odinkalu and El-Rufai are my good friends. I have known Odinkalu for around thirty years, having worked with him at the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), led by Olisa Agbakoba back in the day. While Odinkalu was head of CLOs Legal Division, I was head of the Human Rights Education and Empowerment Programme.
In those days, Agbakoba would joke that CLO staff were either on the Loony Left or the Crazy Right. Those of us who came to the CLO from the radical students movement of the 1980s did not see the human rights NGO as an end in itself but as a means to an end. We were immersed in the struggle against military dictatorship and the restoration of democracy. We embraced our Loony Left label because it signified our focus on fundamental political change in Nigeria, unlike the Crazy Right careerists, with Odinkalu as their de facto leader, and who were preoccupied with tokenism and maintaining the status quo. Their primary strategies were legal advocacy through the courts, the issuance of press statements, and always staying in the news. While many of us were in the trenches confronting the military, Odinkalu left the CLO to join Interights in London to further his career. In contrast, those on the left convinced CLOs Board to get involved in the struggle for democracy, giving birth to the Campaign for Democracy, which led the fight against the annulment of the 12 June, 1993, presidential election won by MKO Abiola.
During the struggle to enthrone democracy in Nigeria, the leadership and left-leaning staff of the CLO, including myself, were harassed, tortured, and detained by the military. While we suffered persecution in the hands of the military and security agents, Odinkalu pursued his career in London, occasionally issuing press statements and traveling around European capitals in the name of supporting the democratic struggle in Nigeria. It was a rather comfortable way to change society!
I have no problem with people pursuing their career objectives in life. However, presenting a public face that is different from what one does privately is problematic. When one only seizes every opportunity to be in the news to appear as a representative of those fighting for democracy and human rights, one falls into the category of what one might call careerists and celebrity activists.
Before anyone says that I also left the country in the thick of the struggle or wonders how I am different from celebrity activists, let me say that my case was different. I left for South Africa on the basis of a collective decision of left-leaning activists who saw the new democratic South Africa, led by President Nelson Mandela, as an ally and a model from which we could learn. So, I was seconded to South Africa to build an international face for the movement in that country.
Why have I gone into the past like this? Its to show that Odinkalus obsessive ranting against El-Rufai is not borne of any altruism, but is just the continuation of a pattern that I have observed in him for almost three decades. His every calculation is about career advancement and personal interest. I have known El-Rufai for almost fifteen years, and we have developed a friendship since then. Currently, I am his Special Adviser on Research and Special Programmes in a cabinet that former President Obasanjo described as mini-Nigeria, because it is made up of people from all parts of the country.
Odinkalu also claims that El-Rufai is his friend, and indeed, it was in that capacity that he reviewed his book, The Accidental Public Servant, which was published in 2013. Thus, on the surface, one might say that we are all friends.
In the days leading up to the 2019 general elections, Odinkalu launched a public rant against the governor. This stemmed from the gruesome killing of 66 Fulanis (our fellow citizens) in Kajuru, Kaduna State, two weeks before the elections. As the governor of the state, El-Rufai addressed the media to inform the world about the killings and called on the people of the state to remain peaceful. To Odinkalu, this was a mortal sin by the governor. He then went on Channels TV to launch verbal assaults on the governor, using unprintable words to describe him.
According to Odinkalu, the killings never happened because the police and SSS were not present when the governor made the announcement, and that the announcement was made on the eve of an election. His logic seemed to be that governments should hide information about the killing of their citizens if they took place on the eve of an election. Odinkalu claimed that he did not sleep the whole night, calling his contacts in Kajuru, but that none could verify the story. He did not deem it fit to call his friend, El-Rufai, or any security agency in the area, yet he went on air to dispute the report. In our days in the human rights movement, we would have found a way to confirm the story from one of the security agencies. But in what has become the typical Odinkalu fashion, he knows more than all the security agencies in the country. In his words,
Let us all go because this is too serious for anybodythis is too serious for any governor to say and get away with at this election. I will not let this Kajuru matter go. Im sorry but when you say 66 people were killed, you must produce them. I will not let this Kajuru matter go.
He went further to ask, Why would the governor who is running for office, on the eve of these elections go and allege the killing of members of one community 66 of them in one location without telling INEC, without telling SSS, without telling the police, without telling any security agency is it a PR affair that 66 of your people have been killed?
The fact that Odinkalu did not bother to consider is how he would know about the conversations and briefings the governor had with security agencies? Do the security agencies in Kaduna State report to the governor through him?
During his self-indulgent posturing on the Kajuru killings, I tried to reach out to him. I was unable to speak to him, but I passed a message across to him through mutual friends, that he should refrain from speaking about issues he knows nothing. But the feedback I received was that he was adamant. Odinkalu claimed that for him, speaking out was not a public relations exercise; but that was exactly what he engaged in a self-serving PR exercise to gain media attention. If that wasnt his motive, why didnt Odinkalu apologise to the Governor and the people of the State when the army later confirmed that 66 people were indeed killed and showed the mass graves where they were buried? The killings were reported by reputable media houses, including Al Jazeera, Premium Times, and the Daily Trust newspaper. However, Odinkalu did not have the humility to retract his previous statement.
Although Odinkalu claimed that his denial of the killings wasnt politically motivated, discerning observers may think otherwise. Even if he wasnt a card-carrying member of the PDP, he was a sympathiser and was appointed by the President Jonathan-led PDP government as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission. He also served as a member of the Transition Committee of the short-lived PDP administration of Governor Emeka Ihedioha. (I must declare that I support Tinubu for two reasons: he was with us in the pro-democracy movement, and his record as Lagos State Governor was commendable. In my view, Tinubu is the best presidential candidate to address the countrys crises).
My response to Odinkalu stems from the fact that, with less than two weeks to the 2023 presidential election, he engaged in yet another outburst. This time, Odinkalu, operating from London, launched a different unwarranted attack against El-Rufai. He insulted the governor in a tweet, which is against the culture of human rights activism. Odinkalus immaturity is evident in resorting to personal abuse, distracting from any point he may have wanted to make. This is one thing that Odinkalu didnt learn from working at the CLO. Let me ask the careerist activist this question: What advantage does your size give you over El-Rufai?
In his recent claim that Governor El-Rufai and others have collected public money and want to launder it in the election to buy votes, Odinkalu continues to spread disinformation, as he has always done. During an interview on Channels TV on 17 February, he alleged that:
Some governors, including El-Rufai, who have collected money that should have been used to develop their people, have locked it up to use it to buy votesand they are getting the Supreme Court involvedand those Governors including El-Rufaiand people like El-Rufai want to buy votes.
When challenged by the Channels TV anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, to provide evidence to support his claims, Odinkalu responded that his allegation is justified by El-Rufais frequent appearances on various media platforms. His claims are baseless, and as a lawyer, he is aware that his statements are defamatory. In an immature display, he told Seun that he would not show good manners and would not stop being offensive. He also threatened that this matter is going to get ugly. No authentic human rights activist would speak like that on national television.
If the self-proclaimed activist had taken the time to follow the developments in Kaduna State under Governor El-Rufais administration, he would not have gone about spreading disinformation that the governor has locked up money meant for the development of the people to buy votes. It is easy to sit in the comfort of ones London home and pontificate on issues about which one has no knowledge, but that is what Odinkalu seems to do best. Many observers have attested to the fact that El-Rufai has transformed Kaduna State. To paraphrase President Buhari when he came to launch various projects in the state last year, he told the governor, You have written your name in gold.
Despite the numerous challenges of insecurity, a recession, and a decline in global oil prices, the El-Rufai administration has achieved tremendous transformation through efficient management of public finances, measures to increase internally generated revenue (IGR), and the appointment of capable individuals from all parts of the country. I invite Odinkalu to come to Kaduna State and see for himself the significant strides that have been made. Spreading disinformation from London will not diminish the governors developmental achievements.
When he reviewed El-Rufais book, Odinkalu was effusive in his praise for both the book and the author then, stating that: By this book, this author (El-Rufai) says in effect that Nigeria is bigger than any one person and he cares more about Nigeria than any temporary benefits from partisan politics The Accidental Public Servant is also a passionate advocacy for firm, equal and non-discriminatory application of rules to everyone, irrespective of status or other irrelevancies. It makes a solid case for the normalisation of processes in governance.
I wonder what has changed for Odinkalu that he has now made it his mission to be El-Rufais public enemy.
In the same interview on Channels TV, Odinkalu alleged that the insistence of the governors who took the Federal Government to the Supreme Court and argued that the old and new naira notes must co-exist amounts to treason. While I will not venture into legal arguments, as I am not a lawyer, I will refer to some of Odinkalus senior colleagues at the Bar who argued otherwise. For example, citing several Supreme Court judgments, Mike Ozekhome (SAN) argued that once a court, including the Supreme Court, has issued an order, it must be obeyed until it is set aside.
But Odinkalu wants El-Rufai to be hanged merely because he called on the Federal Government to obey the Supreme Courts interim order.
As part of his disinformation campaign, Odinkalu also claimed in his Channels TV interview that El-Rufai says nothing when innocent people in Southern Kaduna are killed. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The Governor cares about the lives and properties of all residents of the State and takes action in that regard. Odinkalu should know that the administration of El-Rufai is the only state government in the country that publishes data quarterly on insecurity, including the number of victims of murder and kidnapping. It is also one of the few states that established a Peace Commission to promote harmonious relations among people in the state.
Throughout the Channels TV interview, Odinkalu demonstrated that El-Rufai is living rent-free in his head. He is obsessed with the governor, which he needs to cure himself of. This brings me back to the issue of the two groups in the CLO that Agbakoba called the Crazy Right and the Loony Left. It is necessary to learn, unlearn and relearn, if one is to be useful to our country and the world. Being stuck in the early 1990s, while the world has undergone remarkable changes, will not get anyone anything. In this regard, Odinkalu needs to be more reflective and learn to control his temper and the language he uses in public discourse.
Omano Edigheji is special adviser (Research and Special Programmes) to Governor El-Rufai, and a visiting associate professor of practice, University of Johannesburg. He writes in his personal capacity.
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Access to safe abortion is a matter of reproductive rights and a crucial step towards empowering women to control their future. Nigeria must step up if it wants to stand on par with other advanced countries in a world that is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of human rights.
Data from Nigerias Ministry of Health says the country accounts for about 512 maternal mortalities per 100,000 births one of the worst in the world. Of this figure, death from unsafe abortions constitutes roughly 40%. A string of restrictive abortion laws in the country is forcing young girls to resort to crude methods to take out unplanned pregnancies.
The situation is ironic for a country that is a signatory to many international treaties and laws that protect womens rights. If Nigeria wants to improve its health outcomes, it must provide women freedom over their bodies. One such way can be by changing the restrictive abortion laws.
The situation surrounding Nigerias abortion laws is ironic. The British colonial government instituted the current abortion laws in the 19th century. Well over 100 years later, the law still binds. Even more satirical is how abortion is unconditionally legal in the country that imposed the restrictive abortion laws in Nigeria.
It is also interesting to know that while sections 228-230 of the criminal code roll out strict punishments for flouters of the abortion rule, a different part of the law allows the act. Section 297 permits abortion if it is done in good faith to preserve the mothers life, after considering her state. But the law is questionable. It does not say clearly who is fit to perform the procedure and who determines the state of health. Questions like, if the threatened health condition is only physical or encompasses mental and psychological issues are open-ended. Such vagueness in interpreting the law opens up debates.
Opposition groups also use ideological attacks like preying on emotions and religious sentiments to sway unsuspecting people. Propaganda portraying abortion as dangerous, even when done safely, is another tactic used. Sometimes, they use intimidation approaches, such as exaggerating the psychological effects of abortion, to scare young girls away from the thought.
The legislature must revise the constitution to speak clearly about womens choices over their bodies. A century-old law is long overdue for a change and has no business functioning in modern times.
Typical of many African countries, moral grounds form the basis of many norms and social outlooks in Nigeria. This stance is not different from the view on abortion. Many opposition groups centre their arguments on abortion being an immoral act. But they intentionally ignore it as the fastest way out of an unintended pregnancy.
Opposition groups also use ideological attacks like preying on emotions and religious sentiments to sway unsuspecting people. Propaganda portraying abortion as dangerous, even when done safely, is another tactic used. Sometimes, they use intimidation approaches, such as exaggerating the psychological effects of abortion, to scare young girls away from the thought. Such a method is wrong. Those who indulge in these tactics must know that every human has the right to decide on the basis of their values. If a woman decides she is not ready to carry on a pregnancy, she must be allowed to make that choice.
Civil society organisations should intensify awareness and sensitisation programmes. These enlightenment programmes can be in the form of training and capacity-building workshops for human rights advocates and the media. That way, the attitudes and beliefs which are the primary reasons for restrictive abortion laws can be modified. Organisations like the IPAS Nigeria Health Foundation are examples of successful advocacy initiatives that reframe the narrative on abortions.
Efforts by the Federal Ministry of Health to produce a policy on the safe termination of pregnancies are laudable. The approach shows the governments intent to build the capacity of medical professionals to identify pregnancies for which the abortion law speaks.
Studies have continuously proven that a thriving health system will positively affect a nations economy. The link is simple. A country with frail citizens will not operate at the total capacity needed to contribute to national growth. Some may argue that, in this case, the health benefits only favour women and may be overlooked. But how does a nation catering to only mens well-being produce growth?
Only equal attention to both men and women will unlock benefits for the country. These benefits include macroeconomic growth, employment, antipoverty efforts and societal well-being all of the areas where Nigeria is experiencing stunted growth.
Efforts by the Federal Ministry of Health to produce a policy on the safe termination of pregnancies are laudable. The approach shows the governments intent to build the capacity of medical professionals to identify pregnancies for which the abortion law speaks. For context, the law permits the abortion of pregnancies that threaten the mothers health. The policy also allows for the safe and ethical management of abortions. But national health agencies must do more. The Ministry must realise that reviewing the abortion laws will have positive health outcomes and economically strengthen the country.
Access to safe abortion is a matter of reproductive rights and a crucial step towards empowering women to control their future. Nigeria must step up if it wants to stand on par with other advanced countries in a world that is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of human rights.
Claire Mom is a writing fellow at the African Liberty.
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In his welcoming remarks, Tella identified Nigerias internal and external challenges, such as insecurity, political corruption, high levels of unemployment and poverty, and a declining influence in international politics. He added that the incoming president will have to tackle these challenges in order to strengthen Nigerias democracy and enhance its international profile.
On 25 February, Nigeria will head to the polls to elect its president. The main candidates: Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, will represent the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), respectively. Given Nigerias status as the largest economy and one of the most important peacemakers on the continent, the results of the election will have wider implications for Africa and beyond. It is against this backdrop that the University of Johannesburgs (UJ) Institute for the Future of Knowledge (IFK) in South Africa and UJs Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC), South Africa held a meeting on 16 February in the form of a webinar titled The 2023 Presidential Election and the Future of Nigerian Democracy.
Dr Oluwaseun Tella, Head of the Future of Diplomacy at IFK opened the lively discussion. Ms Idayat Hassan, Director, Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja, Nigeria, chaired the event. The speakers comprised Professor Remi Aiyede, Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Professor Kayode Eesuola, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of African and Diaspora Studies, University of Lagos, Nigeria; and Professor Eghosa Osaghae, Director-General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos, Nigeria. Dr Adeoye O. Akinola, Head of Research and Teaching at IPATC closed the meeting.
In his welcoming remarks, Tella identified Nigerias internal and external challenges, such as insecurity, political corruption, high levels of unemployment and poverty, and a declining influence in international politics. He added that the incoming president will have to tackle these challenges in order to strengthen Nigerias democracy and enhance its international profile.
Hassan noted that the election would be determined by 4Is: identity, insecurity, information and institutions. She highlighted that the frontrunners represent the three major ethnic groups in the country Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and IgboRegarding insecurity, she noted that Nigeria is bedevilled by insecurity across the country, ranging from Boko Haram terrorism to banditry, kidnapping and separatist agitation that can potentially undermine the capacity of the electoral body
In her opening remarks, Hassan noted that the election would be determined by 4Is: identity, insecurity, information and institutions. She highlighted that the frontrunners represent the three major ethnic groups in the country Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo. While Tinubu and Abubakar are Muslims, Obi is a Christian. Regarding insecurity, she noted that Nigeria is bedevilled by insecurity across the country, ranging from Boko Haram terrorism to banditry, kidnapping and separatist agitation that can potentially undermine the capacity of the electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct credible elections. She added that the integrity of information (including traditional and social media), as well as the role of institutions, most especially INEC, are critical.
Focusing on party politics, Aiyede described how the Nigerian party system a majoritarian system had engendered the emergence of two dominant political parties since 1999. He reflected on how the 1993 botched electioneering process also produced two candidates MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRP). However, in the lead up to this weeks election, voters are confronted with the emergence of a third force in the form of Peter Obis Labour Party (LP), igniting the buzzword a three-horse race in the electioneering campaign. He noted several factors that have enabled the LP to gain traction, including some citizens sympathy for the South-East, given that it remains the only zone in the South that has not occupied the seat of the president, as well as some citizens dissatisfaction with the performances of both the PDP and APC. He, however, noted that in terms of experience, resources, and national reach, Tinubus and Abubakars credentials dwarf those of Obi.
Eesuola engaged the topic from the prism of ethnic and religious identities using an analogy of a coffin or a straitjacket, which underscores how ethnicity and religion have overshadowed critical national questions. This has constrained successive Nigerian presidents to deliver on their electoral promises. Indeed, ethnic and religious cleavages have stiffened the political space and created coercive electoral and political systems. He added that efforts by successive Nigerian governments to address the situation, such as the establishment of the National Orientation Agency, the Federal Character Commission, and the Public Complaints Commission, have yielded minimal results. It is thus imperative for the incoming government to create legislation to manage ethnicity and make religion a private affair.
Akinola noted that the election would be held despite the countrys economic challenges, social alienation, and pervasive insecurity. These bottlenecks have been compounded by the ongoing fuel scarcity and cash crunch, which have put the citizens on the edge of violent protests. This has ignited political participation among the youth as they account for 48 million out of 93.5 million eligible voters.
Osaghae examined the implication of the election on Nigerias external affairs, noting that the three major candidates have largely ignored Nigerias foreign policy during their electoral campaigns. However, he noted that there would be no radical departure from the Afrocentric nature that forms the fulcrum of Nigerias external relations. Indeed, Nigerias foreign policy will continue to be determined by concentric circles that reflect the geopolitics of the countrys location. This implies that Abuja will continue to prioritise West Africa, Africa, the Global South and the Global Community, in that order. Nigeria will continue to promote multilateralism through the United Nations (UN) and regional organisations such as the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of African States (ECOWAS) as the platforms for global governance and security. He added that the line between Nigerias domestic and international affairs is increasingly blurred, as addressing the countrys domestic challenges such as Boko Haram terrorism, kidnapping and banditry require collaborative efforts with other actors including African states, the European Union (EU), Russia, China and the United States.
In his closing remarks, Akinola noted that the election would be held despite the countrys economic challenges, social alienation, and pervasive insecurity. These bottlenecks have been compounded by the ongoing fuel scarcity and cash crunch, which have put the citizens on the edge of violent protests. This has ignited political participation among the youth as they account for 48 million out of 93.5 million eligible voters. However, it remains to be seen if they will take the bull by the horns and vote en masse for the candidate whose programmes resonate with their aspirations.
Oluwaseun Tella is the Head of the Future of Diplomacy at the University of Johannesburgs Institute for the Future of Knowledge, South Africa, while Adeoye O. Akinola is the Head of Research and Teaching at the University of Johannesburgs Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation, South Africa.
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Many who seek to reflect on these candidates find it difficult to see the differences between the three. As we say, in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. The point to reflect on is whether the hope of a better life in Nigeria is indeed possible among any of these candidates. The tradition of sharing optimism that Nigeria is at the brink of change is here again with the upcoming election..andthe only thing Nigerians want more than ever is that individual who will amaze them with feats of legerdemain.
As the Nigerian presidential election approaches, political contenders are still distributing promises of a better Nigeria, like they are handing out Agege bread. In a country where basic amenities remain a campaign promise, year in and year out, promise also comes wrapped in souvenirs and cash gifts, or to use the language of Ayo Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti State, many Nigerians also like political promises that come with stomach infrastructure. Yet even though many citizens are reduced to collecting bribes to vote for a candidate, the expectation is that this 2023 elections will bring a leader with the magic touch. Consequently, it is not surprising that the nations focus is again drawn to the presidential candidates; as with previous candidates, this election seasons political landscape has proven to be yet another one of a comedy of errors. Still, Nigerians hope that things will get better for them this time.
Many of us choose to believe that Nigeria is a country of optimists. Or, how or else does one explain that in spite of the trail of violence and loss of lives in the country, the average citizen, mindless of being a walking trauma shouldering the burdens of the nations economic and political insecurities, knows only to hope for a better Nigeria. Hope, however, does not always promise survival, even though ensuring a means to survive is at the root of the increasing problems for many Nigerian lives, which sometimes succumb to political judgment shaped by conditional obligation. For example, it is not uncommon to hear arguments that a political candidate can be voted in, because of personal help offered in the past, or that he, at least, shared stolen public funds.
While I wont go into the extent or meaning of help here, my main concern is how people have become inherently deaf to the subject of corruption once they stand to gain something. My point is, there is nothing collective about the way Nigerians want change, except there is something for individuals to gain in the process. The result is how these political candidates use this as a leverage for their political ambitions, calling in favours from those they offered personal help to in the past. The question is, what happens to those who are not close to these political aspirants and who rely solely on a functioning structure to realise their dreams? They hope. They hold on to blind optimism, rested in the one considered the magician for the year. The thing is, in every election, Nigerians place their hope in a particular aspirant to bring about the much-needed change.
Increasingly, the country is also losing some of its youngest citizens to take the option of flight. In popular culture, japa has become the terminology of flight or movement, representing the increasing physical and psychological migration of Nigerians from their country. The consequence of this unending movement, as aptly captured in this recent PREMIUM TIMES editorial, is nothing more than another enactment of Nigerian lives as a confluence of losses. While the idea of japa is an intriguing subject on its own, this piece does not intend to reflect on migration as a condition of poor governance. Instead, I want to think of japa as suggestive of an anticipated political change that never materialised. For those who cannot japa, getting a Permanent Voters Card (PVC) to vote is always the only form of hope and optimism that things will change, and most focus on the presidential election, sometimes ignoring their grassroots leaders, like councillors and local government chairmen.
Usually, many of those who voted, end up joining the japa train once their optimism in the government crashed. In fact, should one use the rising number of professionals migrating overseas as a criterion for assessing dashed hopes, a consequence of the failed promises of the present administration, the question to ask is: Whether the presidential elections keep Nigerians from having a chance at a good life? By living a good life, I am thinking of where citizens do not wallow in anxiety, knowing that there are opportunities to thrive, and basic amenities like shelter, good roads, electricity, hospitals, transportation, free spaces for gathering etc., that are available and provided by the government of the day. While this appears a rather simple way to approach things, it is how many Nigerians express what they want from their country. Therefore, it is not unusual for the presidential elections to be salient to the shape of survival or success for many Nigerians, which is why it is held as a source of optimism for a better life.
As Nigerians prepare to vote, the underlying issues that have always accompanied our elections return. While looking for a magician-cum-messiah, Nigerians consider one who can be moulded into the image of their identity. The echo of ethnicity resounds on social media, and those on the streets say they hear reverberations of the pre-war sentiments and tensions.
Hence, presidential candidates in Nigeria have found it significant to push their political agendas around these sentiments of hope and push emotions to generate controversies among one another. In fact, the emotional breadths of optimism played a significant role in President Goodluck Jonathans and later President Muhammadu Buharis presidential elections during the last electoral season in 2015, with the former riding on his name as a source of solace and the latter, now the incumbent president, promising change to Nigerians. If Nigerians have seen any change from Buharis government, it is about being shortchanged on the hope they placed on his shoulders. Yet, the optimism from which hope is produced is also a source of distress for many Nigerians. The optimism that things would be different after the election is a narrative that circulates before elections. In most instances, there exists a presidential figure on whom Nigerians place their hope for a magical transformation of their lives and country.
I have found Laurent Berlants Cruel optimism, which supplies my titular opening, useful in framing this state of affairs in Nigeria. Berlant describes the cruelty of optimism as a double bind in which attachment to an object holds out the promise of flourishing, while simultaneously wounding. She explains that: optimism is cruel when the object/scene that ignites a sense of possibility actually makes it impossible to attain the expansive transformation for which a person or a people risks striving; and, doubly, it is cruel insofar as the very pleasures of being inside a relation have become sustaining regardless of the content of the relation. For our purposes, if we consider Nigerias presidential elections as the object of optimism, it becomes legible how it offers the promise of a good life for Nigerians. But optimism in Nigeria is also not synonymous with gullibility or co-optation by the administration or political players. Rather, it is an ongoing endeavour to repair what may be constitutively broken.
As Nigerians prepare to vote, the underlying issues that have always accompanied our elections return. While looking for a magician-cum-messiah, Nigerians consider one who can be moulded into the image of their identity. The echo of ethnicity resounds on social media, and those on the streets say they hear reverberations of the pre-war sentiments and tensions. In fact, the eminent professor, Toyin Falola, in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune last year, mentioned that the conditions that created the civil war are prevalent in Nigeria. This is not to say that Nigeria will go to war; rather, it is to highlight the unresolved divides that continue to dictate Nigerias electoral practices and, more importantly, its governance.
In fact, while there are several presidential candidates, the spotlight falls on three of them all members of the larger ethnic groups in Nigeria. There is Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, contesting on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Ahmed Tinubu, who was once a sitting governor of Lagos State; and Peter Obi, contesting on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), and also a former governor of Anambra State. As in most Nigerian presidential elections, the political parties are in no way seen as places from which ideologies emerge, and the emphasis is usually on the individual, hence the perception that we need an individual who can do it. In fact, during the primaries of the APC, the partys flagbearer Tinubu had claimed, emilokan, saying it was his turn to become the president of Nigeria because he had been instrumental to President Buharis presidency.
There have been rumours that Atiku Abubakar and Senator Ahmed Tinubu, two of the most well-known presidential candidates right now, are not in good health and that Nigeria will again have to pay for their bad health if they succeed in their aspirations. This is not a case of ageism, I think the fear is about installing a dotard as president. None of the accused candidates has agreed to rumours of his poor health
Each of the candidates is also quick to criticise any form of ethnic sentiment, even though these sentiments are not ignored at campaign grounds or wherever they prove useful. Whether it is ethnicity, youth, or acclaimed political experiences that are people-focused, the presidential aspirants are pushing their brands into peoples faces as the place where change for the people will emerge from. It is therefore not unusual for supporters of these presidential candidates to argue on social media or in public spaces about which candidate is the least corrupt, young, and healthy to lead the nation. But then, Nigerian society projects a rather vague understanding of judging values regarding their favoured political candidates.
Going by the news stories, the three prominent presidential candidates have at different times been accused of trading in narcotics, money laundering, and global tax avoidance. While no one has been charged, it speaks volumes about the calibre of candidates on whom Nigerians hopes are pinned. Most supporters of Peter Obi, for example, argue that he is the healthiest and youngest of the three, and possibly the best. The emphasis on young and healthy has resulted from the recent poor health of our countrys helmsman, including the late President Umaru Musa YarAdua, who became Nigerias president despite rumours of a kidney condition. President Buhari of Nigeria has raised concerns about his health for the majority of his presidency.
There have been rumours that Atiku Abubakar and Senator Ahmed Tinubu, two of the most well-known presidential candidates right now, are not in good health and that Nigeria will again have to pay for their bad health if they succeed in their aspirations. This is not a case of ageism, I think the fear is about installing a dotard as president. None of the accused candidates has agreed to rumours of his poor health, rather their public relations teams have /come up with one statement or another to argue that their candidates are in good form. Yet, I wouldnt consider the problem of voters to be a case of ageism, if one should go by the perpetual drama of garbled or slurred speeches, captured in the videos from the campaign grounds of these candidates, one may worry about the state of these candidates.
Many who seek to reflect on these candidates find it difficult to see the differences between the three. As we say, in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. The point to reflect on is whether the hope of a better life in Nigeria is indeed possible among any of these candidates. The tradition of sharing optimism that Nigeria is at the brink of change is here again with the upcoming election, and with the unceasing news of tragedies from insecurities, the drama of new naira notes, corruption, and several others, the only thing Nigerians want more than ever is that individual who will amaze them with feats of legerdemain. There is a part of me that wants so much to believe that one of these presidential candidates who may end up as the countrys president indeed has the magic, but this time I want to be a skeptic. Therefore, while movement and migration will always be a part of our lives, and some of the choices Nigerians make about existence and survival may also go against the values many of us hold as standard, the consensual aspiration is that whatever form of conditional moral and japa movement lies in the future of Nigerians, following a disappointment with their presidential aspiration, may it not be a forced migration.
Jumoke Verissimo is the author of five books, her latest is A Small Silence (Novel). She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Toronto Metropolitan University, in Canada.
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The Bauchi State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has vowed to reclaim the state it lost to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) four years ago after the 11 March governorship election.
The APC said it would take back the state because the incumbent has failed to deliver on his campaign promises and failed to unite residents of the state.
The APC lost Bauchi after the 2019 governorship contest. The governor at the time, Mohammed Abubakar, was defeated y the incumbent Bala Mohammed.
In this years governorship contest, the APC candidate is a former Chief of Air Staff of the Nigerian Air Force, Abubakar Sadiq.
The party said it would win both the Presidential and the governorship elections in the state.
Speaking exclusively to PREMIUM TIMES, the spokesperson of the APC, Adamu Jalla said the people of Bauchi State will cast their votes for the party.
Because at the moment all the citizens of Bauchi state have suffered a lot in the past four years of the PDPs administration. There was a lack of salaries of the state civil servants, pension, gratuities of the retirees and other social amenities.
The present state governor under the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mohammed Bala has failed to execute developmental projects across the entire state as he did in the Bauchi south region of the state.
He did not execute any tangible project anywhere across the state. All the projects he executed are within the southern region which revealed his tribalistic and sectionalism attitude toward other parts of the state, Mr Jalla told PREMIUM TIMES.
He said state residents have become poorer in the last four years of the PDP government.
The money belongs to the entire Bauchi state, but all the contracts being executed by this government were awarded to outsiders. None of the indigenes enjoyed any contract or welfare. From the top engineer down to the ordinary labourer are brought from outside Bauchi state.
The example is the works going on at the government house, is being done by outsiders, the present renovation of the Banquet hall at the same government house is not done by the indigenous company, Mr Jalla lamented.
Mr Jalla also accused the wife of the governor of violation of government protocol.
She sold her house to the state government, yet she rented out the same house to the students of Kangere institute.
Since Governor Bala was elected, all the welfare used to be given to Bauchi citizens stopped. He failed to pay for students, and the National Examination Council (NEC)s registration.
Most of the students in the boarding schools were de-boarding and sent back to day schools, which led to so many young girls getting unwanted pregnancies, which terminated their educational career, the complaint goes.
Therefore we will take power from the incumbent governor very soon, Mr Jalla alleged.
Efforts to reach the states chapter of the PDP chapter proved abortive as the State Chairman, Hamza Akuyam, did not return multiple calls made to his mobile phone number. He also did not respond to text messages sent to him.
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The governorship candidate of the Accord in Rivers State, Dumo Lulu-Briggs, on Tuesday, unveiled what he calls a robust plan to make Rivers State one of the largest economies in Africa within the next two decades.
Mr Lulu-Briggs vowed to increase Rivers Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from the present N9 billion to N25 billion a month in four years.
The manifesto, titled Prosperity For All My Binding Covenant, was unveiled before a Pan Rivers Town Hall Meeting. It contained Mr Lulu-Briggs agenda for each of the 23 local government areas in the state.
Mr Lulu-Briggs said Rivers State was created to offer prosperity for her people, but that unfortunately 98% of our people have been left behind.
We need a government to create a level playing field, a refreshing new direction, a period of peace, prosperity and progress.
I have offered myself to serve as the governor of Rivers; there is work to be done and we in the Accord are concerned, we want to make a difference.
Mr Lulu-Briggs said his vision for Rivers matches with that of its founding fathers, which is to make the state the economic hub of the Niger Delta region and the rest of Nigeria, a developed and innovative state, and a continental destination for business and tourism.
I come to you with a deep sense of patriotism and commitment, a true understanding of the wishes and aspirations of the people of our state. Our people crave a stable and caring government, a government of integrity, dignity, and serenity; a government of honour, candour and valour.
I am determined to creatively address the high rate of unemployment of 42% and the poverty index of 24% in the state; the economy would witness a quick recovery and replace unemployment and poverty with good jobs and social property.
How Ill make it happen
The candidate explained how he intended to actualise such a vision for the state.
I aim to expand IGR from the current N9 billion to about N25 billion monthly by the end of the first term in office. My mission is to restore prosperity to all in Rivers by laying the foundation for an exponential increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), from its current annual value of $ 20 billion to about $ 350 billion in 12 to 15 years.
I have set out the 23 local government-specific mini-development plans, which will deliver accelerated growth and development to every council in the state. There will be specialised industrial clusters in all local governments, producing along various value chains for local and export markets.
The government that I shall lead will have zero tolerance for insecurity. My multiple strategies for securing the state shall include the creation of a public/private sector-driven Security Trust Fund; I shall also ensure increased investment in intelligence-gathering technology and intensification of collaboration with state security institutions and neighbouring/congruent states in a project to be named Rivers Watch.
Tourism, education
Mr Lulu-Briggs promised to invest heavily in tourism to connect all parts of the state to the Atlantic Ocean and harness culture. He also promised to improve the educational system to give children access to the best education, while attracting students from parts of the country and the world to the schools in Rivers.
The wealth of Rivers State is covered in the underdevelopment of Andoni and other local government areas. We can make huge revenue from tourism in Andoni and other areas. We only need to come together and work assiduously towards achieving our dreams.
This whole vision can only happen in a safe and secure state. Therefore, my first priority is to ensure excellent security levels in Rivers before the end of 2023 and to boost global investor and tourist confidence in the safety and boundless business potential in the state.
The economic destiny of Rivers State is to bring prosperity to the people of the state first and, by extension, to the whole of Eastern Nigeria from the South-South of Nigeria (Delta and Bayelsa states), through eastern Nigeria and all the way to Borno State in the north-east.
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This is akin to the role of Lagos in bringing prosperity to Western Nigeria, but the historic motive for the creation of our State seems to have been lost to previous administrations of Rivers States plan to realise our untapped fortune by making Rivers State the economic hub of Eastern Nigeria, he stressed.
Speaking at the event, the National Chairman of Accord, Mohammed Lawal, described Mr Lulu-Briggs as a man of his word, saying he possessed the qualities to become the countrys president someday.
He urged Rivers people to elect Mr Lulu-Briggs, to experience prosperity in the state, saying the candidate had impacted positively on the lives of the people.
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DUBLIN, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Level I ITAR/EAR Boot Camp" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
An intensive two-day learning experience focused on the basics of the ITAR and EAR. Seminar Level I focuses on the basic principles of defense trade controls with practical examples, case studies, and small group discussions and provides attendees with unparalleled insight into the application of export controls.
Topics include State/DDTC and the Regulations, The Order of Review: Specially Designed & Commodity Jurisdiction, Understanding ITAR-Controlled Technical Data, How to Complete a DSP-5, Licensing Non-U.S. Persons, Utilizing ITAR Exemptions, Recordkeeping, and Violations.
This comprehensive seminar also focuses on licensing in the 600 Series with case studies and classification exercises. Topics include Understanding Commerce/BIS & the Regulations, The Ten General Prohibitions, Classification & Reading the ECCN- (Country Charts & Reasons for Control,) Preparing License & Classification Requests using SNAP-R, License Exceptions & the Strategic Trade Authorization (STA), Recordkeeping & Compliance.
Two-day seminar fee includes breakfast and lunch each day, a seminar manual, and a current copy of the ITAR. Space is limited. Registration will close once capacity is reached.
Key Topics Covered:
DAY 1 ITAR: Wednesday, April 26th
Test Your Knowledge
Understanding State/DDTC and the ITAR
The Order of Review, Specially Designed & the Commodity Jurisdiction Process
How to Complete an Electronic DSP-5 License
Understanding Technical Data & the Public Domain
Licensing Requirements for Foreign Person Employees (FPE)
ITAR Exemptions
Violations & Lessons Learned from Consent Agreements
DAY 2 EAR: Thursday, April 27th
Understanding Commerce/BIS and the Regulations
The Ten General Prohibitions & Red Flags
Classification & Reading the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN)
BIS Registration, Applying for a License, Preparing a Letter of Explanation (LOE) and U.S. Government Staffing Points
License Exceptions & the Strategic Trade Authorization
EAR & ITAR Recordkeeping & Compliance
Due Diligence: Preventing Violations
Speakers:
Suzanne Palmer
President
Export Compliance Solutions
Suzanne Palmer, President of Export Compliance Solutions, has 15 years of experience within the State Department and as a Licensing Officer, and over 10 years direct experience with the U. S. defense industry. After leaving the State Department she joined Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems in Baltimore and then went on to work at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
Combining U.S. Government and defense industry experience, Ms. Palmer specializes in training, interpreting the ITAR and the EAR Export Control Reform initiative and applying U.S. export control regulations. She has served on the Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) and as a Special Compliance Official (SCO) for a company operating under a Consent Agreement.
Lisa Bencivenga
Various
Lisa Bencivenga has has over twenty years of varied experience in export/import licensing and compliance issues with major defense contractors. She has had the leading role in developing and implementing internal compliance programs, providing regulatory guidance, instituting license databases, training personnel at all corporate levels, conducting audits requested by clients and/or directed by the U.S. Department of State, coordinating investigations and working closely with legal departments while administering the full spectrum of corporate international export/import activities.
She has several years of experience in space-related export issues which includes obtaining and implementing complex licensing arrangements related to spacecraft and launch activities as a result of her employment with Orbital Sciences Corporation and The Boeing Company.
For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k51477-i-itarear?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
[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
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Prepare for a transformative Lenten season with 40 daily lessons on the Mass from Relevant Radio, perfect for a quick listen and watch. Father Rocky's Lenten Lessons on the Mass offers a unique video glimpse into the central celebration of the Catholic faith, from the moment you arrive to the final blessing.
Perfect for Christians curious about the Catholic Mass, catechumens, ministers and educators, these lessons are sent straight to your inbox every day for free, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday.
Relevant Radio white logo alongside "Lenten Lessons on the Mass" title in gold text; includes image of Father Rocky elevating the host in the Consecration.
These bite-sized videos welcoming for all ages, from elementary-aged children to lifelong Catholics and converts! Relevant Radio listener and longtime Catholic Annette wrote in gratitude: "I am refocusing my life to better understand the Catholic faith I was baptized into as a baby. I think that all Catholics should watch and learn the real reason why we do what we do during Mass!"
Transform your 40 days with 40 insightful and joyful lessons, perfect for the whole family and all walks of faith. "You're going to learn things you've always wondered about but never had anyone to ask," Fr. Rocky promises curious listeners. "We're going to explain it all to you because the more you learn about your faith, the more likely you are to live it. If you live it, you'll love it, and if you love it, you'll never leave it."
Find more information and sign up for Father Rocky's Lenten Lessons on the Mass today at relevantradio.com/lent and try out a video today. See why this series had over 1 million video views in the 2022 Lenten season!
Relevant Radio brings Christ to the world through the media with informative, entertaining, and interactive programming twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. The Relevant Radio network is currently serving the Church by broadcasting coast-to-coast on over 200 owned and operated and affiliate stations, reaching over 270 million souls. Programming can be heard worldwide via streaming audio at relevantradio.com and on the free mobile app.
SOURCE RELEVANT RADIO
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Active Minds, the nation's leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for youth and young adults, and UNCF (United Negro College Fund) are proud to announce the release of their latest report - Lessons from Black Colleges on Mental Health and Wellbeing: Practical Approaches for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to Support Student Belonging and Mental Health.
This new report provides actionable strategies that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) can use to address their campus's mental health needs, while celebrating the unique strengths of HBCUs by showcasing their comprehensive and proactive approaches toward mental health promotion.
Best practices and recommendations in the report include:
Create systems-level campus strategies
Build and leverage partnerships
Increase access to mental health supports
Effectively promote campus mental health resources
Center student voices
Create a culture of caring between students and faculty/staff
Educate campus community members
Assess campus needs
"There is not a one-size fits all approach to the youth mental health crisis. Institutions need tailored support and recommendations to best serve their unique populations. That's why I'm so inspired by the solutions that are highlighted in our latest report with UNCF," said Alison Malmon, founder and executive director of Active Minds. "Implementing the strategies laid out in this report will help ensure that all members of HBCUs campus communities can contribute to the creation of a caring and productive learning environment that helps students thrive."
"HBCUs, both historically and in the present, have been spaces of inclusion and belonging for a group of students that are not well served in higher education," said Julian Thompson, director of strategy development of UNCF's Institute for Capacity Building. "We launched our national mental health campaign Unapologetically Free to build on the types of promising mental health practices included in this report, and hope it starts conversations about solutions that can increase an institution's capacity to support student success."
The full report is available at activeminds.org/UNCF .
To explore the recommendations further, Active Minds and UNCF will host a webinar on Tuesday, March 14 at 11 a.m. EST. "Lessons from Black Colleges on Mental Health and Wellbeing: A Panel Discussion," will feature a panel of leaders from HBCUs as they discuss successful strategies for promoting mental health on campus. Learn more and register here .
About Active Minds: Active Minds is the nation's leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults. Active Minds has a presence at more than 1,000 campuses, schools, communities, and workplaces nationwide, and is powered by a robust Chapter Network, the nationally acclaimed Send Silence Packing display, and inspiring Active Minds Speakers. The organization is dedicated to ending the silence and changing the culture around mental health for everyone. To learn more, visit www.activeminds.org.
About UNCF and the Institute for Capacity Building: UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization, supports students' education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for minority education. UNCF's Institute for Capacity Building partners with Black higher education institutions to support their transformation and continual innovationall to propel student success, community advancement and the fight for educational equity and racial justice. Each year ICB organizes UNITE, the most influential gathering on Black higher education. Learn more at uncficb.org . Join us at uncfunite.org .
Contact:
Amanda Horn, Active Minds, [email protected]
Roy Betts, UNCF, [email protected]
SOURCE Active Minds, Inc.
ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 6, Ada Developers Academy (Ada) officially opens their brick and mortar campus doors for class in Atlanta, Georgia. The tuition-free coding school for BIPOC, women and gender-expansive adults is celebrating its entrance into the Atlanta tech mecca with an exclusive reveal held for members of the press. Media will have an opportunity to tour the premises and interview Ada's executives among select corporate partners.
Ada Developers Academy students hard at work in the classroom Inside the Ada Developers Academy Atlanta Campus
"The future of technology exists beyond Silicon Valley. Atlanta is redefining what this industry looks like. What better place to continue to bring to life Ada's vision of an industry where Black and brown women and trans people are included," Alexandra Holien, VP of Revenue and Strategy at Ada explains.
The Cognizant Foundation and the Equality Can't-Wait Can't-Wait Grant from Philanthropic leaders Mackenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates catapulted Ada's expansion. They were awarded $10 million to expand economic opportunities for Ada's target market. Ada welcomes organizations to share in their mission by becoming a partner. The non-profit has already joined forces with tech heavyweights like Amazon, Google, Uber, and Microsoft.
"Companies are finally seeing the positive impact diversity has on productivity and the bottom line. DEI has steadily and rightfully become a priority for big tech. We are giving them direct access to the most diverse pool of talented coders that will transcend the next generation. Some of them are hard to find and may not have had access otherwise. It's a powerful message to send," Holien continues.
Ada's Atlanta campus is just minutes away from the Georgia Institute of Technology. The neighboring 4-year university's tuition is between $30-50k per year. Aspiring software engineers will have access to apply to the next tuition-free Ada Core Program (a free 11-month intensive training) in September 2023 through the organization's official website . Some companies where Ada's students will complete their required internships include Indeed, Salesforce, Lyft, Pinterest, Convoy, Redfin, and Nordstrom, among many others.
Atlanta has seen 15% growth in tech jobs, comparable with other notable tech cities, 16% for the San Francisco Bay Area, and 10% for Austin, Texas, according to CBRE. "Our aim is to change the face of tech by building accessible pathways into the industry in diverse cities. We believe our impact in Atlanta will ensure that the wealth generated by tech growth benefits the whole community, not just a select few. In this way, we will build more resilient communities and a more just and inclusive economy for everyone, " says Ada CEO Lauren Sato.
About Ada Developers Academy
Ada Developers Academy is a non-profit, cost-free coding school for women and gender-expansive adults. We primarily serve Black, Latine, Indigenous Americans, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander, LGBTQIA+, and low-income people. Ada's immersive training and internship program create pathways for thousands of people from disinvested communities to become impactful software developers.
Media Contact:
Macy Harrell
[email protected]
224-225-5232
SOURCE Ada Developers Academy
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Belmond, an LVMH Maison, and the Cipriani family announce that they have reached an agreement which puts an end to all litigations between them around intellectual property. These legal issues go back several decades, well before LVMH acquired Belmond.
The new agreement establishes once and for all the respective rights of the parties around the Cipriani marks in difference regions of the world. This will allow the development of these formidable brands within a well-defined and clear legal frame.
The Hotel Cipriani of Venice, a flagship property of Belmond, will be the only one in the world with that name.
The Cipriani Group, on their side, will be able to continue to expand their hospitality activities and restaurants in the most inspiring destinations of the world. Some of their projects will be developed with Belmond as partners.
"The agreement with Giuseppe Cipriani and his family marks the start of a new era for both Belmond and the Cipriani Group. We are very proud of the Hotel Cipriani, our mythical hotel in Venice, its magical location and the unique experiences it delivers to our guests. We wish the Cipriani family continued success in high quality hospitality" declared Roeland Vos, President and CEO of Belmond.
"We are grateful to Belmond and Mr Arnault for their openness to find a solution to longstanding litigations. Our family has been in luxury hospitality since my grandfather started in Venice in 1931. My father Arrigo, myself and my two sons have built on the Venetian heritage and the exceptional Italian gastronomy giving them worldwide desirability. We are happy to be able to continue the development of our family business within an appeased context" added Giuseppe Cipriani, President and CEO of Cipriani Group.
ABOUT BELMOND
Belmond has been a pioneer of luxury travel for 46 years, building a passion for authentic escapes into a portfolio of one-of-a-kind experiences in some of the world's most inspiring destinations.
Since the acquisition of the iconic Hotel Cipriani in Venice in 1976, Belmond has continued to perpetuate the legendary art of travel, taking discerning global travellers on breathtaking journeys. Its portfolio extends across 24 countries with 50 remarkable properties that include the illustrious Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train, remote beach retreats like Cap Juluca in Anguilla, Italian hideaways such as Splendido in Portofino, or unrivalled gateways to world natural wonders such as Hotel das Cataratas inside Brazil's Iguazu National Park. From trains to river barges, safari lodges to hotels, each unique property offers an incomparable experience with its own story to tell. The essence of the Belmond brand is built upon its heritage, craftsmanship and genuine, authentic service. Belmond sees its role as custodians of timeless heritage, dedicated to preserving its assets through sensitive ongoing restoration plans. Belmond is part of the world's leading luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Belmond.com
ABOUT CIPRIANI
On May 13 1931, Giuseppe Cipriani opened Harry's Bar on the first floor of an abandoned rope warehouse off a dead end in Piazza San Marco, Venice. At 50 square meters, it appeared to be a typical "cozy" Venetian restaurant, but with the careful attention to detail and perfectly proportioned furniture, glasses and cutlery Harry's Bar was anything but typical. Unchanged since 1931 and now a National Landmark, its famously relaxed atmosphere, great food and warm service have catered to a very eclectic clientele that has included through the years Hollywood legends, royalty, artists and people from all over the world. It has been constantly imitated but never reproduced.
In the 92 years since and with three generations of Cipriani family members leading the growth, Arrigo, Giuseppe and his sons Ignazio and Maggio, Cipriani has developed into an international hospitality brand, with restaurants, landmarked event spaces, luxury residential, hotels and private membership clubs around the world including Venice, Milan, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Monte Carlo, Ibiza, Riyadh, Las Vegas, Istanbul, Doha and the upcoming Marbella, Manama, Jeddah and Punta del Este.
The timeless values of love for service, lack of imposition, quality of products and luxury in simplicity are still valid today as they were in 1931.
Contacts:
Belmond - Nicolas Streff - [email protected] - Michele Calcaterra, Matteo Steinbach - + 39 02 624 9991
Cipriani - Stefania Girombelli - [email protected] - Melissa Nathan - [email protected]
SOURCE Cipriani
Wall, Pinckney add more than 50 combined years of patent expertise to firm roster
HOUSTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The trial lawyers at Houston-based Alavi Anaipakos are welcoming two proven attorneys who have joined the firm with extensive track records in high-stakes business lawsuits and intellectual property trials.
Ken Wall joins the firm as Of Counsel with more than 35 years of experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courtrooms throughout Texas and nationwide. Mr. Wall has worked alongside Alavi Anaipakos' attorneys in significant lawsuits on behalf of franchise owners, oil and gas shareholders, and prominent families, among others.
Ryan Pinckney joins Alavi Anaipakos as an associate with more than 15 years of patent litigation experience in federal courts in Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Carolina, in addition to the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C.
"Ken and Ryan have exactly the type of trial skills and business sensibilities that our clients can rely on when it counts," says firm co-founder Demetrios Anaipakos. "We knew when we launched our firm less than a year ago that we wanted true trial lawyers, which perfectly describes these two excellent attorneys."
Mr. Wall's legal background includes his prior work for large corporate entities such as Hoechst Celanese, Exxon Mobil, and General Electric. He is licensed to practice in multiple state and federal jurisdictions throughout Texas and Louisiana, where he previously focused on national class actions. He focuses his practice on complex business disputes involving companies of all sizes.
Mr. Wall additionally serves as a Constitutional Law Instructor at the University of Houston Law Center, where he has helped prepare future generations of lawyers for more than 30 years.
Mr. Pinckney's trial expertise includes cases involving a broad spectrum of intellectual property disputes covering telecommunications and wireless technologies, system networking, payment systems, computer graphics, home appliances, and many others.
Houston-based Alavi Anaipakos is home to high-stakes trial lawyers known for solving complex problems. The firm's attorneys have handled some of the world's largest patent infringement disputes and significant commercial cases across various industries, from oil and gas, energy, software, high-tech, financial services, and beyond. Our team members have been in the trenches in marquee legal battles across the nation and the world for nearly 30 years. For more information, visit www.aatriallaw.com.
For more information, contact Bruce Vincent at 214-763-6226 or [email protected].
SOURCE Alavi Anaipakos PLLC
"Oversubscribed Altai Ventures Fund II, LP Exceeds Target with $53M in Total Commitments from Leading Financial and Institutional Limited Partners"
WESTPORT, Conn., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Altai Ventures ("Altai"), an early-stage venture capital firm, today announced the closing of Altai Ventures Fund II, LP ("Altai II" or the "Fund"). The fund closed with $53 million in total commitments surpassing its goal of $50 million.
Investors of Altai's latest fund consisted of leading financial and institutional Limited Partners (LPs), including Bain Capital Ventures, Century Equity Partners, and LPs across property and casualty insurance, life insurance and retirement, insurance brokerage, and commercial banking.
"One of the things that attracted us to Altai is that our investment philosophies are very much aligned. At Bain Capital Ventures, we help build iconic companies, not just back them. The same can be said for the team at Altaithey like to roll up their sleeves and work alongside startup founders," said Matt Harris, Partner, Bain Capital Ventures. "What also attracted us to Altai was their operating experience and knowledge of the InsurTech space. We're looking forward to collaborating with them on early-stage opportunities and incubations in this area."
Altai Ventures, which has offices in Westport, CT, and New York City, specializes in InsurTech, FinTech, and enterprise software for financial services. The mission of Altai is to empower extraordinary founders to reinvent financial services through technology. Altai Ventures mainly invests in Series Seed and Series A rounds, where it can leverage its operating expertise, deep industry knowledge, and strategic LPs to drive immediate, meaningful value creation.
"We deeply believe in a principles driven business model with customer centricity at the heart of it and, as a result, have constructed a platform that can drive substantial and differentiated value for our founders and strategic partners," said Oleg Ilichev, Founder and Managing Partner of Altai Ventures. "Financial institutions represent a multi-trillion dollar industry that is still at the early stages of technological transformation. Now that we've closed on this new fund, we're looking forward to working with inspiring entrepreneurs and our strategic LPs to solve some of the biggest challenges in financial services."
Altai's investments are primarily focused on the North American market, with investments in the range of $200K - $500K for Seed rounds and $1M - $3M for Series A rounds. Some of the companies Altai has backed and has provided strategic guidance to include:
EvolutionIQ , a leader in AI-driven claims guidance that helps injured and disabled individuals return to the workforce (tripled its revenue three years in a row)
, a leader in AI-driven claims guidance that helps injured and disabled individuals return to the workforce (tripled its revenue three years in a row) LULA , an integrated suite of insurance infrastructure tools used to build and maintain insurance programs (recorded over 900% year over year revenue growth in 2022)
, an integrated suite of insurance infrastructure tools used to build and maintain insurance programs (recorded over 900% year over year revenue growth in 2022) Newfront , a tech-enabled commercial insurance and benefits brokerage, which raised $200M in its Series D round ( $2.2B Valuation )
Along with its core venture capital strategy, Altai also incubates businesses focused on pain points not addressed in the marketplace. Last year, Altai partnered with Accelerant, Bain Capital Ventures, and Runyon Design to launch Reserv , a third-party claims administrator (TPA) using AI and automation technology to bring efficiency and simplicity to the labor-intensive claims handling process.
For more information about Altai Ventures, visit https://www.altaiventures.com/ .
About Altai Ventures
Altai Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in InsurTech, FinTech, and enterprise software for financial services. Altai's mission is to empower extraordinary founders to reinvent financial services by using its operating expertise, deep industry knowledge, and strategic LPs to drive immediate, meaningful value creation.
SOURCE Altai Ventures
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Creator/ Producer Alex Ayzin and Writer/Producer Spencer Cadigan have created a cinematic satire of the Donald political life, complete with the most hilarious buffoonery imaginable. Oscar nominee Eric Roberts stars in "American Comedy" eliciting his own brand of contemptuous humor.
Peter Allman's portrayal of Donald is calamitous, and Dan Lauria as the Pope was stupendous. From Nancy Pelosi to Vladimir Putin, you will lose yourself in the half-hitch hilarity as Trump boldly leads us through predictable unpredictability.
With no fear or hesitation, he finds himself learning on the job as he plods along his collision course with other political leaders creating one comical debacle after another. Watch politics become comedy as each character offers their own set of idiosyncratic circumstances.
This side-splitting film has already garnered rave reviews after a limited streaming release debuted on Eric EZ' Zuley's eZWaynetwork.com February 19th, the eve of Presidents Day. EZ' has also created the eZWay TV pay-per view interactive chat system which is up and running.
"Your film is funny. Your guy (Peter Allman) does a good job portraying Donald.
This comedy film should be made into television series"-
-- David Zucker, Director/Producer of Airplane, The Naked Gun, Top Secret, Scary Movie.
"I am very happy with this first showing. Our audiences really loved this comedy.
This is the movie that creates Peace through Humor". Eric Zuley, Founder/ CEO eZWay TV
"Great movie, man!... Great movie!" - Flash Bugatti, Actor/ Producer
Ukrainian born Alex Ayzin says: "Our mission is to make America and the World laugh, not fight. Make laughter not war!"
You can watch the trailer on www.americancomedyfilm.com
Contact:
Brando Keenan
702-265-9099
310-210-7800
[email protected]
SOURCE AMCO FILMS
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ING announced today that Andy Schaeffer is appointed Regional Head & CEO of ING Americas, effective July 1. Andy will also become a member of the Wholesale Banking management team and will report to Andrew Bester, head of Wholesale Banking for ING. Andy will succeed Gerald Walker who will continue to lead the region through the end of June. Andy and Gerald will work closely together over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition.
Andy joins ING from Lloyds Bank where he was CEO and Country Manager of North America and a member of the Executive Committee for Lloyd's Bank Corporate Markets. He joined Lloyds Bank in 2014 to lead and develop the Financial Markets team. He was then promoted to Head of Markets North America, transforming the Capital Markets and Financial Markets teams into one operation. Andy brings 30 years of banking experience to the role, having also held leadership roles at Natixis Securities, Credit Agricole and a number of US and international banks.
Andrew Bester, member of ING's Management Board Banking and head of Wholesale Banking said: "Andy is a strong and effective leader who brings a collaborative mindset, strong client relationships and great insight into the markets. I would like to thank Gerald for his leadership over the last 6 years. During his tenure, the Americas has become a growth engine for our Wholesale Banking business."
Andy Schaeffer said: "I am looking forward to joining ING at this exciting time for the business. ING continues to set itself apart in the customer experience that it provides which includes access to a significant global network, sector-level expertise and unmatched leadership in areas like sustainable finance. I view this as an opportunity to join a strong and established team and work together to further grow the franchise."
About ING Americas
ING Americas is the brand name of ING's wholesale business in the Americas region, and a part of ING Group N.V. ("ING"), a global financial services company of Dutch origin with a network spanning 40 countries. ING has more than 58,000 employees offer financial services to customers in over 40 countries.
ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).
Sustainability is an integral part of ING's strategy, evidenced by ING's leading position in sector benchmarks. ING's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating by MSCI was affirmed 'AA' in September 2022. As of August 2022, Sustainalytics considers ING's management of ESG material risk to be 'strong', and in June 2022 ING received an ESG rating of 'strong' from S&P Global Ratings. ING Group shares are also included in major sustainability and ESG index products of leading providers Euronext, STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell. ING Americas offers a full array of wholesale financial products, such as commercial lending, corporate finance and as well as financial markets, products and services.
Press enquiries:
Melissa Kanter
[email protected]
+ 646 424 7021
SOURCE ING Americas
Informational Webinar Scheduled for April 10, 2023
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 ABMS Visiting Scholars Program. This one-year, part-time program positions early-career physicians and research professionals as active contributors and future leaders in health care. Applications must be received by 11:59 pm CT on June 18, 2023.
The ABMS Visiting Scholars Program allows participants to:
Conduct research of value to their home institutions and the larger certification community.
research of value to their home institutions and the larger certification community. Strengthen research methodologies, data analytics and overcome barriers in consultation with research mentors, scholar peers and alumni, ABMS leaders and subject matter experts.
research methodologies, data analytics and overcome barriers in consultation with research mentors, scholar peers and alumni, ABMS leaders and subject matter experts. Develop a robust professional network of national health care thought leaders, from specialty Member Boards, national thought leaders across the medical education curriculum, research mentors, peers, and alumni scholars.
a robust professional network of national health care thought leaders, from specialty Member Boards, national thought leaders across the medical education curriculum, research mentors, peers, and alumni scholars. Engage with the ABMS Community through participation in ABMS Committee Meetings, Member Board Executive Forums, ABMS Stakeholder Council Meetings, ABMS-sponsored symposia and other professional forums.
with the ABMS Community through participation in ABMS Committee Meetings, Member Board Executive Forums, ABMS Stakeholder Council Meetings, ABMS-sponsored symposia and other professional forums. Disseminate research nationally across the certification, medical education, and quality improvement community.
Visiting Scholars' research projects align with the priorities of the ABMS Research and Education Foundation, including:
Supports diagnostic excellence within and across medical specialties.
Advances the adoption of competency-based medical education and assessments across certification programs.
Measures the impact of physician burnout on the health care continuum.
Assesses the impact of the clinicianpatient relationship on behavioral changes and health outcomes.
Supports physicians' engagement and impact on multidisciplinary quality improvement and patient safety initiatives.
The program can also support projects that advance the research priorities for the following co-sponsoring ABMS Member Boards:
American Board of Ophthalmology(ABO)
American Board of Orthopedic Surgery (ABOS)
American Board of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (ABOHNS)
American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS)
American Board of Radiology Primary Specialties (ABR)
Diagnostic Radiology
Interventional Radiology
Medical Physics
Radiation Oncology
American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS)
American Board of Urology (ABU)
During the program year, the Visiting Scholars remain at their home institutions, work with self-selected mentors, and participate in monthly interactive webinars that engage current scholars with research project updates to their peers and a select panel of subject matter experts and scholar alumni who collectively provide guidance, support, and solutions to barriers they may be experiencing in their respective research projects. Scholars traditionally attend in-person leadership meetings and present their research findings before a national audience at the annual ABMS Conference.
Early career physicians, junior faculty, fellows, and residents are eligible, as well as individuals holding master or doctorate degrees in public health, health services research, educational evaluation and statistics, public health policy and administration, or other relevant disciplines. Veterans Affairs trainees and staff are also welcome to apply. Visiting Scholars will receive a $15,000 grant to support the direct costs of research and travel expenses associated with program participation.
A free, hour-long informational webinar to learn more about the ABMS Visiting Scholars Program will be held on April 10, 2023 at 5:00 pm CT. Learn more about the upcoming webinar and application process on the website. For additional questions contact [email protected].
ABMS Visiting Scholars are selected based on the rigor of their proposed research project, the impact of their research to the ABMS mission and the certification community, and the alignment to the identified 20232024 research priorities. Applications developed in collaboration with one or more ABMS Member Boards are encouraged. Selected individuals will be notified in August 2023 and the program begins in September 2023.
About ABMS
Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is responsible for the creation of standards overseeing physician certification in the United States. Dedicated to improving the quality of care to the patients, families and communities they serve, the 24 ABMS Member Boards develop educational and professional standards and programs of assessment to certify physicians and medical specialists. More than 940,000 physicians and medical specialists are certified by one or more of the ABMS Member Boards in one or more of 40 specialties and 88 subspecialties. For more information about ABMS, visit abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.
SOURCE American Board of Medical Specialties
Leading Home Service Franchise Group Achieved Strong Development in 2022, Acquiring Four New Home Service Brands and Experiencing a 15% Increase in System-Wide Revenue
COLUMBIA, Md., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Authority Brands announced today that it achieved significant success in 2022, acquiring four strong home-service brands and experiencing a jump in year-over-year growth across its entire brand portfolio. With the addition of Woofie's, DRYmedic Restoration Services, The Junkluggers, and Color World Painting, Authority Brands celebrated its fifth year in business by continuing to build a portfolio of brands that perfectly complement each other and are committed to being the best in their industry.
"At Authority Brands we firmly believe in supporting each franchisee's growth. We offer unparalleled marketing programs and support, top-of-the-line technology in each brand's respective industry; playbooks and formulas for operational and financial success and other resources aimed at driving strong returns for our franchisees. Our success in 2022 is a strong testament to these efforts," said Craig Donaldson, Chief Executive Officer of Authority Brands. "Our team is looking forward to building on this incredible momentum as we venture through 2023. We have big plans that include looking for new opportunities that will expand our footprint with up-and-coming home service brands."
Highlights of the success and milestones these brands achieved include:
America's Swimming Pool opened 12 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 13% YoY growth
opened 12 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 13% YoY growth Benjamin Franklin Plumbing opened 8 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 8% YoY growth
opened 8 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 8% YoY growth The Cleaning Authority opened 14 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 16% YoY growth
opened 14 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 16% YoY growth Color World Paining opened 10 new franchises and broke previous same store revenue records with 8% YoY growth
opened 10 new franchises and broke previous same store revenue records with 8% YoY growth Homewatch CareGivers opened 10 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 10% YoY growth
opened 10 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 10% YoY growth The Junkluggers opened 16 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 14% YoY growth
opened 16 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 14% YoY growth Mister Sparky opened 8 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 21% YoY growth
opened 8 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 21% YoY growth Monster Tree Service opened 6 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 19% YoY growth
opened 6 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 19% YoY growth Mosquito Squad opened 4 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 13% YoY growth
opened 4 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 13% YoY growth One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning opened 14 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 16% YoY growth
opened 14 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 16% YoY growth STOP Restoration broke previous revenue records with 16% YoY growth
broke previous revenue records with 16% YoY growth Woofie's opened 10 new franchises and broke previous revenue records with 40% YoY growth
Combined, the Authority Brands franchise brands operate more than 2,000 locations with an expansive network of more than 1,000 franchise owners. Authority Brands' family of franchise companies include leading home service brands America's Swimming Pool Company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Cleaning Authority, Color World Painting, DoodyCalls, DRYmedic Restoration Services, Homewatch CareGivers, The Junkluggers, Mister Sparky, Monster Tree Service, Mosquito Squad, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, Screenmobile, STOP Restoration, and Woofie's.
Authority Brands is looking to expand with qualified franchisees across the United States. To learn more about franchising opportunities within the Authority Brands portfolio, please visit: https://www.authoritybrands.com/franchising/.
About Authority Brands
Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, Authority Brands' companies include 14 leading home service franchise brands: America's Swimming Pool Company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Cleaning Authority, Color World Painting, DoodyCalls, DRYmedic Restoration Services, Homewatch CareGivers, The Junkluggers, Mister Sparky, Monster Tree Service, Mosquito Squad, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, Screenmobile, STOP Restoration, and Woofie's. Together, these brands provide home services through more than 2,000 territories operated by more than 1,000 franchise owners. Authority Brands is dedicated to supporting individual franchise owner growth by providing strong marketing, technology, and operational support. See www.authoritybrands.com for more information.
Contact:
Sarah Guffey
Fish Consulting
954-893-9150
[email protected]
SOURCE Authority Brands, LLC
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Autonomous Mining Truck Market size was valued at USD 6.8 Billion in 2022 and is projected to be USD 10.3 Billion by 2030 growing at a CAGR of 24.2 % from 2023 to 2030, as per a recent market analysis report published by Cognitive Market Research. Rising demand for smart mining and technologically advanced mining equipment is expected to drive the growth of the global autonomous mining trucks market. For instance, in October 2022, Scania and Rio Tinto jointly developed more flexible autonomous haul trucks at a mine in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
Major findings during the study of the Autonomous Mining Truck Market:
Rising concerns about carbon emissions and demand for passenger safety and comfort through effective integration of new technologies are expected to drive market growth over the forecast period
In addition, government initiatives to promote the use of autonomous trucks in mining are contributing to the growth of the market. Nonetheless, growing awareness about the advantages of autonomous mining trucks is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the players in the global market
The need for automation of mining equipment and the growth of interconnected infrastructure will bring new opportunities in the future
Based on the size, the market is segmented into small, medium, and large. Compared to other size segments, the autonomous mining truck market holds the highest revenue share at 36.4% and is expected to register a significant CAGR in the global market. This is attributed to the increased demand for automated mining trucks due to their advantages of better productivity, reduced operating costs, and lower accident rate
In propulsion, the market is segmented into electric, hybrid, and diesel. The electric and hybrid segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 28.2% over the forecast period, owing to increasing development of autonomous electric mining trucks, enabling emission-free mining
Based on the level of autonomy, the market is divided into Level 1 and 2, Level 3, and Levels 4 and 5. The level 1 and 2 segments are expected to register the largest share of 58.2% in the global market. This is attributed to the incorporation of automation technology in vehicles to maintain a safe distance between vehicle and traffic ahead without driver intervention
Based on market type, the market is segmented into OEM and aftermarket. The OEM segment is expected to increase its revenue share by 64.2% over the forecast period owing to the increasing demand from OEMs for autonomous mining trucks
Based on type, the market is segmented into underground LHD loaders, autonomous hauling trucks, and others. The underground LHD loader segment is expected to lead the global autonomous mining trucks market owing to low noise electric LHD, zero-emission, durable, fast, and easy maintenance
View Detailed Report Description:
Autonomous Mining Truck Market by Size (Small, Medium, Large), By Propulsion (Electric and Hybrid, Diesel), By Level of Autonomy (Level 1 and 2, Level 3, and Level 4 and 5) By Market Type (OEM, Aftermarket), By Type (Underground LHD Loaders, Autonomous Hauling Trucks and Others) and By Region - Global and Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, and Forecast 2023 2030
Autonomous Mining Truck Industry Statistics :
Global Autonomous Mining Truck Market 2022 Global Revenue 2022 (USD Billion) 6.8 CAGR (2023 to 2030) 24.2 % Key Size Share Large: 36.4% Key Propulsion Share Diesel: 48.3% Key Level of Autonomy Share level 1 and 2: 58.2% Key Market Type Share OEM: 64.2% Key Type Share Underground LHD loaders: 41.2% Key Regional Share North America:38.4%
What are the Growth, Drivers, and Opportunities for the Autonomous Mining Truck Market?
The increasing need for smart mining and rising demand for technologically advanced mining equipment is one of the factors driving the growth of the global market. The growing integration of technologies such as IoT and artificial intelligence with various mining automation equipment and software is a factor expected to fuel the growth of the global market. Increasing demand for metals, minerals, coal, ores, etc., from various processing and discrete industries, is another major factor contributing to the growth of the autonomous mining trucks market. Nonetheless, growing awareness about the advantages of autonomous mining trucks is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the players in the global market. The need for automation of mining equipment and the growth of interconnected infrastructure will bring new opportunities.
Check Full Report including Global, Regional and Country Level Analysis:
https://www.cognitivemarketresearch.com/autonomous-mining-truck-market-report
How the COVID-19 impacted Autonomous Mining Truck Market?
The global COVID-19 outbreak, and lockdown restrictions have affected industrial activity around the world. Some of the effects of the lockdown include supply chain disruptions, insufficient availability of raw materials used in the manufacturing process, labor shortages, price fluctuations that can cause final product production to inflate and exceed budget, transportation issues, etc. The outbreak of COVID-19 has triggered the demand for automation and is expected to increase in the long run, mainly in response to labor shortages and rising costs.
Autonomous Mining Truck Market Report Scope
Autonomous Mining Truck Size Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 2030)
Small
Medium
Large
Autonomous Mining Truck Propulsion Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 2030)
Electric and Hybrid
Diesel
Autonomous Mining Truck Level of Autonomy Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 2030)
Level 1 and 2
Level 3
Level 4 and 5
Autonomous Mining Truck OEM and Aftermarket Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 2030)
OEM
Aftermarket
Autonomous Mining Truck Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 2030)
Underground LHD Loaders
Autonomous Hauling Trucks
Others
Autonomous Mining Truck Market Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 2030)
North America (U.S., Canada , Mexico )
(U.S., , )
Europe ( Germany , France , UK, Italy , Spain , Russia , Rest of Europe )
( , , UK, , , , Rest of )
Asia Pacific ( China , Japan , India , South Korea , Australia , Southeast Asia , Rest of APAC)
( , , , , , , Rest of APAC)
Latin America ( Brazil , Argentina , Columbia , Rest of Latin America )
( , , , Rest of )
Middle East & Africa (GCC, Saudi Arabia , Turkey , Egypt , Rest of MEA)
List of Key Players in Autonomous Mining Truck Industry
Scania
Caterpillar Inc.
Autonomous Solutions Inc.
Hitachi, Ltd
Komatsu Ltd.
AB Volvo
Daimler AG
Aptiv
Bosch Ltd.
CONTINENTAL AG
DENSO CORPORATION
EMBARK
MAN SE
Nvidia
PACCAR Inc.
QUALCOMM
Tesla
TUSIMPLE
WAYMO
Related Reports on Autonomous Mining Truck Industry:
Global Industrial Automation Services Market is projected to reach USD 112.4 billion by 2030.
The global industrial automation services market is expected to reach USD 112.4 billion by 2030 growing at a CAGR of 9.2%. The need for industrial automation in manufacturing is increasing because organizations are increasingly concerned about worker safety. However, high implementation cost is expected to hamper the growth of the global market. However, the growing development of industrial robotics and the adoption of Industry 4 is expected to fuel the market growth in the coming year. Also various industries are expected to offer lucrative growth opportunities to players in the target market.
Global Process Automation and Instrumentation Market is expected to reach USD 6,454.2 million by 2030.
The global process automation and instrumentation market is expected to reach USD 6,454.2 million by 2030 growing at a CAGR of 6.1%. Increasing adoption of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, industrial internet of things, and machine learning, along with increasing emphasis on industrial automation, is one of the significant factors contributing to the growth of the global market. Also, the increasing importance of cost optimization, energy efficiency, increased productivity, better scalability, and reduced errors support the development of the global market. Furthermore, the focus on reducing time to market and achieving zero waste production is boosting the growth of the global market.
Similar Industry Reports:
Cargo handling equipment market value is USD 24.8 billion by 2030 at 4.2% CAGR .
value is at . Truck-mounted crane's market value is registered at USD 11,214.6 million by 2030 at 7.2% CAGR.
Explore All Automobile & Transportation Industry Reports Published by Cognitive Market Research
About Cognitive Market Research
Cognitive Market Research has evolved as one of the leading market research and consulting firms providing services across multiple domains. Our team of researchers gathers and analyzes data about customers, competitors, distributors, and other market actors and forces operating across the value chain. As a market research company, we gather information about the target market and end-use industries to verify the complete journey of the product or service in the global market. It helps our readers understand the demand and viability of their product/service and how it might perform in the real world and help them to build business strategies accordingly.
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SOURCE Cognitive Market Research
Ten years after launching, Beautycounter further expands its reach and continues its commitment to leading the clean beauty movement.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Beautycounter, the leader in clean beauty, today announced a new partnership with Ulta Beauty, the nation's largest beauty retailer. Beginning February 26, Beautycounter products will be available on Ulta.com and in 500 Ulta Beauty stores across the U.S. on March 5. The launch into Ulta Beauty comes as Beautycounter celebrates its 10-year anniversary, marking a decade of pioneering the clean beauty movement.
Beautycounter's Hero Products Beautycounter's All Bright Collection Beautycounter's Cheeky Clean Cream Blush The Beautycounter community lobbying in D.C. Beautycounter Raise Up Beauty Campaign
Beautycounter will continue to leverage its innovative omnichannel business model to achieve its mission of getting safer products into the hands of everyone. Beautycounter products are now available through the brand's website, its retail locations in New York and Denver, its community of Brand Advocates, and through retail partnerships including with Ulta Beauty.
"Our partnership with Ulta Beauty is an exciting step toward achieving Beautycounter's mission of getting safer products into the hands of everyone," said Marc Rey, Chief Executive Officer, Beautycounter. "We're looking forward to introducing new consumers to our award-winning products. We believe that this partnership and the resulting growth of our community will allow us to have an even greater impact on the future of beauty as we lead the industry beyond clean where all beauty is uncompromising."
"At Ulta Beauty, we believe in the power of transparency and are proud of the limitless possibilities our clean and conscious beauty offerings unlock for our guests," said Monica Arnaudo, Chief Merchandising Officer, Ulta Beauty. "As pioneers in this space, we're delighted to welcome Beautycounter to our growing conscious beauty assortment and provide greater access to their award-winning products, and together help to drive meaningful change in our industry and world."
A selection of Beautycounter's best-selling skin care and cosmetics will be available at Ulta Beauty, including community favorites like All Bright C Serum, Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer, and Reflect Effect Overnight Resurfacing Peel. Beautycounter also certifies within the pillars of Conscious Beauty at Ulta Beauty, a curated assortment of products featuring clean ingredients that are cruelty free and sustainably packaged, leaving a positive impact and more.
Over the past decade, Beautycounter has been the pioneer of clean beauty, creating products with unparalleled efficacy and proven results, unmatched ingredient safety, and more sustainably designed packaging. The company has also been one of the most impactful brands advocating for safety and transparency in the cosmetic and personal-care industry, contributing to the passage of more than 11 laws that have enhanced consumer safety. Activating a collective community effort, Beautycounter has sent 240,000 emails, made over 16,000 calls, and held over 2,200 meetings with lawmakers in the U.S. and Canada. Most recently, Beautycounter supported the passage of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) in December 2022, which marks the first meaningful change in cosmetics regulation since 1938.
Continuing this momentum, Beautycounter will launch its largest brand campaign to date, Raise Up Beauty, to commemorate its 10-year anniversary and look ahead to the next chapter of clean. Raise Up Beauty celebrates what makes Beautycounter the undisputed leader in clean: community, commitment to innovation, and relentless focus on advocacy. The campaign encourages Beautycounter's community of Brand Advocates, consumers, employees, and the industry-at-large to drive real change.
About Beautycounter
Founded by Gregg Renfrew in 2011 and launched in 2013, Beautycounter is the leader in cleaner skin care and cosmetics whose mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone. A certified B Corporation, the Santa Monica, CA-based brand leads the way for improved transparency and accountability in the beauty industry, including advocacy efforts to update regulations governing the beauty industry. Beautycounter is an omnichannel brand and is available today online, in physical retail stores, through strategic partnerships including Ulta Beauty, and through its community of Brand Advocates across North America. Beautycounter offers more than 100 products that have earned numerous awards, including Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, Allure's Best of Beauty, Glamour's Beauty Awards, Refinery29's Innovators List, WWD's Best-Performing Beauty Company, and CNBC's Disruptor 50. For more information, visit www.beautycounter.com.
SOURCE Beautycounter
Hisense's new promotion offers exclusive deals on popular Hisense products at the end of each month giving you the best bang for your buck when payday arrives.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hisense is excited to unveil its new regular month-end promotion in South Africa For the Love of Payday.
This promotion will include exclusive deals on popular Hisense products at the end of each month giving you the best bang for your buck when payday arrives.
There will be different deals every month-end, so you should always keep an eye out for great specials when payday comes around.
Why the promotion rocks
Hisense is running this promotion because it understands that South Africans are facing tough economic times.
Many South Africans are living paycheque to paycheque, so when payday comes around, they immediately go out and buy all the products they need.
This reduces their ability to bargain hunt, as they do not have the luxury of staying patient for a great deal.
Through Hisense's For the Love of Payday promotion, the popular brand is bringing the bargains to you at the exact time you need them.
Hisense's epic products
Hisense's month-end deals will cover its full range of exciting technology products and appliances that are loved by thousands of South Africans.
Whether you're in the market for a breath-taking 4K TV or need a new fridge to upgrade your kitchen, Hisense has what you're looking for thanks to its world-class selection of products that are available at affordable prices.
When you combine these great prices with the discounts from Hisense's month-end promotion, there is no better way to get the appliances or technology products you need at the best prices.
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007505/banner_copy_2.jpg
SOURCE Hisense SA Sales Holdings (Pty) Ltd
Groundbreaking program works to welcome and empower Black entrepreneurs in hospitality
PARSIPPANY, N.J., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world's largest hotel franchising company with approximately 9,100 hotels in over 95 countries, today announced the rapid expansion of its groundbreaking BOLDSM by Wyndham program. In just over six months, the program has signed deals for 18 hotels across the U.S., including 10 under its newly launched ECHO SuitesSM Extended Stay by Wyndham brand.
Based on data provided by the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD), Black employment in the hotel industry represents nearly 20 percent of all team members in the industry, though less than two percent of hotel owners are Black. BOLD by Wyndham, which stands for Black Owners and Lodging Developers, was established to engage and advance Black hoteliers by addressing the unique challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs through the scale, relationships and resources of Wyndham. The program is built around two key pillars: promoting hotel ownership as a vehicle for potential wealth creation and accelerating the path to hotel ownership.
"There's an immense gap when it comes to the representation of Black hotel owners, which is why it's crucial that players like Wyndham find and champion new opportunities to drive diversity," said Galen Barrett, vice president, Strategic Development, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. "With agreements for nearly 20 hotels in our pipeline, BOLD by Wyndham is proving there is opportunity in our industry for Black entrepreneurs and that our industry will be all the better for it."
Twin Brothers Enter Extended-Stay with BOLD by Wyndham
Among the hotels currently in the BOLD by Wyndham pipeline, 10 are affiliated with Wyndham's newly launched ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham brand, which was specifically created to help hotel developers tap into the rapidly growing extended stay segment. Twin brothers Dubi and Chuchu Ajukwu, Co-Managing Partners of VANA Partners and graduates of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, respectively, are the developers behind the deal. While the brothers had a brief stint as hotel waiters in their younger years supporting their parents' small independent hotel in Nigeria, it was never their intent to invest in hospitality. The entry point into the growing extended-stay sector with ECHO Suites and the opportunities presented by BOLD changed that.
"Chuchu and I are well-versed in the worlds of residential and commercial real estate and for years, our vision was to build a company leveraging our institutional experience in those sectors," said Dubi Ajukwu. "That vision still holds true but has since evolved to have extended stay and hospitality at its center. Participating in BOLD by Wyndham has not only enabled us to break into competitive markets with immense growth potential but also allowed us to leverage the scale and resources of the world's largest hotel franchising company."
Pivotal to the Ajukwu brothers' selection of Wyndham was the Company's commitment and flexibility in working with them to identify and develop hotels in the markets that matter most to them. Working toward a long-term goal of an established footprint throughout Florida and beyond, the brothers anticipate breaking ground on their first hotel in Daytona Beach later this year.
To learn more about BOLD by Wyndham, including details around upcoming events, visit www.boldbywyndham.com. For additional details on franchising opportunities with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, visit www.wyndhamdevelopment.com. To learn more about VANA Partners, visit www.vanapartners.com.
About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world's largest hotel franchising company by the number of properties, with approximately 9,100 hotels across over 95 countries on six continents. Through its network of approximately 843,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in the economy and midscale segments of the lodging industry. The Company operates a portfolio of 24 hotel brands, including Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, Microtel, La Quinta, Baymont, Wingate, AmericInn, Hawthorn Suites, Trademark Collection and Wyndham. The Company's award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers approximately 99 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com.
SOURCE Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru is infused with renowned Fino lemons known for their bright, bold notes and intensity of flavor delivering an elegant and refined taste.
Launching now in select markets and available nationwide later this spring, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru is available at BombaySapphire.com.
HAMILTON, Bermuda, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today BOMBAY SAPPHIRE unveils BOMBAY SAPPHIRE PREMIER CRU MURCIAN LEMON - a new super premium expression created to celebrate the region of Murcia in Spain and the stunning citrus that it produces. Representing the absolute best quality ingredients, craftsmanship, sustainable sourcing and flavor, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru shines a light on the long-standing relationships BOMBAY SAPPHIRE has forged with its dedicated suppliers and farmers in Spain and beyond. Murcian Fino lemons are at the heart of this exquisite gin with their bright, elegant flavor notes that are complemented by mandarins and sweet navel oranges for a subtly sweet yet balanced taste to be enjoyed by cocktail lovers everywhere.
COURTESY OF YUXI LIU/ BOMBAY SAPPHIRE
With at home mixology booming post pandemic, people want to elevate classic cocktails and everyday moments by using quality premium ingredients while leaning into brands they trust. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru, indicating 'best growth,' brings together carefully sourced 100% sustainable botanicals including Murcian citrus, for a beautifully balanced taste profile that provides a unique citrus foundation for a variety of classic cocktails, from the quintessential martini to elevated cocktails such as the French 75. Produced from a single late harvest, these perfectly ripened Murcian Fino lemons are matured in the Mediterranean sun and left to ripen in the winter months. They are hand-picked, and hand peeled when they are ripest to ensure the most intense citrus aromas and flavors are harnessed.
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru is the perfect example of the craftsmanship and care that goes into every single drop of BOMBAY SAPPHIRE and celebrates the signature lemon peel found in the original iconic BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin. Like all BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gins, the elevated notes of the botanicals are unlocked and then captured by the signature Vapor Infusion process at the home of BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, Laverstoke Mill, in Hampshire, England. Each small batch is personally and precisely cut by Master Distiller, Dr. Anne Brock, to showcase the best of the late harvest and to ensure every bottle is consistent year after year. In tandem, Master of Botanicals, Ivano Tonutti works closely with suppliers and farmers across the globe to source the highest quality ingredients to create a fitting tribute to Murcia and beyond. This London Dry Gin contains no artificial flavors or essences and draws all its flavor solely from the botanicals and the distillation process alone, capturing the best flavors that nature has to offer.
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Master of Botanicals, Ivano Tonutti, said: "I am delighted to showcase the work of our suppliers and farmers in Murcia, many of whom I've known personally for over 20 years, in a truly remarkable gin. Each lemon has been hand-picked at its ripest moment in small quantities during the late Fino harvest season, using skillful techniques passed down from generation to generation. Murcian citrus is particularly special due to the exact region where it is grown. Sitting in a basin between mountain and sea, it is the perfect micro-climate for growing citrus that slowly ripens in the winter months for the best tasting fruit and impactful flavor."
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Master Distiller, Dr Anne Brock said, "We are delighted that gin fans will soon be trying this stunning new expression from BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, which is a multifaceted celebration of renowned Murcian citrus. I am incredibly proud of the meticulous processes used to produce BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru from the skilled sourcing and preparation of botanicals to my role in carefully adapting every small batch of gin to bring out the nuances of the late harvest during distillation, amplifying the unique characteristics and finest flavors into a consistent flavor profile every year."
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru is elegant, yet bold and bright while remaining remarkably smooth and refined. Rolling out in select markets now and available nationwide later this spring, this new expression is available for purchase on BombaySapphire.com, SRP $34.99.
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru Martini
2 oz BOMBAY Premier Cru
1 oz NOILLY PRAT Original French Dry Vermouth
Lemon twist
Method: Stir ingredients and ice together in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled martini glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru French 75
1.5oz BOMBAY Premier Cru
0.75oz Lemon Juice
0.75oz Simple Syrup
2 oz Champagne
Garnish with a lemon twist
Method: Add the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Premier Cru, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a shaker. Shake, strain, and top with champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.
ABOUT BOMBAY SAPPHIRE:
Based on a 1761 recipe, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin is created by perfectly balancing a unique combination of 10 hand-selected exotic botanicals from around the world. The design of the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE distillery at Laverstoke Mill has won a BREEAM award for sustainability and is the home of the unique Vapor Infusion process, where the natural flavors of the botanicals are skillfully captured, resulting in the fresh and vibrant taste with which BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is synonymous. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is on a mission to be the world's most sustainable gin, with all 10 botanicals being certified sustainably sourced, by the For Life certification from Ecocert S.A. The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.
ABOUT BOMBAY SAPPHIRE AND CREATIVITY:
With its 'Stir Creativity' campaign, launched in 2018, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is leading a global mission - a call to arms for everyone to engage with their creativity and unlock their creative potential. From advocacy programs including the World's Most Imaginative Bartender competition, which has run in the US for over a decade, to hosting The Glasshouse Project, which brings together the world's top bartenders in a series of creative workshops designed to push the boundaries of cocktail creativity. For eight years, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE ran The Artisan Series, an art competition created by the brand to provide emerging artists with an international platform.
www.bombaysapphire.com
www.instagram.com/bombaysapphire
www.facebook.com/BombaySapphire
ENJOY
RESPONSIBLY.
BOMBAY
SAPPHIRE IS A
TRADEMARK
Contact: [email protected]
SOURCE BOMBAY SAPPHIRE
Former secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and reputed Biotechnologist joins the Advisory Board to provide strategic guidance to the project portfolio of Bugworks Research
BANGALORE, India, SARATOGA, Calif. and ADELAIDE, Australia, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bugworks Research, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has engaged Dr. Renu Swarup as a honorary member of the Global Advisory Board. Dr. Swarup is the former Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and brings in more than three decades of experience in the biotech sector.
Dr. Renu Swarup
As the Member Secretary of the Expert Committee, Dr. Swarup oversaw the formulation of Biotechnology Vision in 2001, National Biotechnology Development Strategy in 2007 and Strategy II, 2015-20. She was the Founding Managing Director, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a Public Sector Company with special focus on supporting Start-ups and SMEs. By strengthening biotechnology translational research and industry-academia partnerships, she has supported more than 5000 Start-ups and nearly 500 small companies to pursue innovative research and product development. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI). She has actively supported women scientists as a member of the Prime Minister's Scientific Advisory Committee's task force on women in science and is part of The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World. She played a critical role in DBT's response to create technological solutions to tackle COVID-19 in India.
Speaking on her appointment, Dr. Anand Anandkumar - CEO, Bugworks Research states, "Bugworks is pleased to welcome Dr. Renu Swarup as a member of its Global Advisory Board. Dr. Swarup, an accomplished geneticist, was formerly the Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, India. She was one of the key architects to formulate India's Biotechnology Vision and Strategy including the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out initiatives. Under her inspirational leadership, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has ushered in a new wave of biotech SMEs and start-ups, of which Bugworks was an early benefactor. We look forward to working closely with Dr. Swarup to help us reach our goal of enabling equitable global access to Bugworks' innovative products."
On joining Bugworks Research, Dr. Renu Swarup said, "I am pleased to be associated with Bugworks in my capacity as an Honorary Advisor and member of their Global Advisory Board. The vision of Bugworks on combating critical unmet health priorities of AMR and cancer is of global importance. Their work on new broad-spectrum antibiotics and novel immuno-oncologic small molecules targeting several solid cell tumors, to make these affordable and accessible to humanity, is of special significance. The company occupies a niche area in their effort to enable patients especially from LMICs to gain access to cutting-edge therapies in infection and cancer."
About Bugworks
Bugworks Research Inc, (Bugworks), is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company founded in February 2014, that is developing novel therapeutic assets in the anti-infectives and immuno-oncology (IO) areas using innovative science from the frontiers of computational biology, pharmacology, structural-biology, and medicinal chemistry. BWC0977 is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial and is targeted to address unmet needs of serious hospital & community infections, and bacterial biothreats. Its asset for IO is in the late pre-clinical stage, targets multiple cancers and is expected to be used either standalone or in combination with immune checkpoint therapies.
For further information, please visit www.bugworksresearch.com
Media Contact Information :
Concept Public Relations
Archana Jain, [email protected], +91 98455 41244
Aditi Nair, [email protected], +91 9071949810
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007532/Renu_Swarup_photo.jpg
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1491889/Bugworks_Logo.jpg
SOURCE Bugworks
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cell Culture Consumables Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2023-2027 report has been published by Technavio. Market growth is estimated to accelerate at a CAGR of 22.3% and register an incremental growth of USD 23,729.7 million 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. The report includes historic market data from 2017 to 2021. In 2017, the cell culture consumables market was valued at USD 5,036.90 million. Download a PDF sample report
Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Cell Culture Consumables Market 2023-2027
Company profiles
The cell culture consumables market report includes information on the key products and recent developments of leading vendors, including:
Agilent Technologies Inc.: The company offers cell culture consumables such as Agilent seahorse XF24 analyzer consumables, assay kits, FluxPacks, microplates, and assay media.
The company offers cell culture consumables such as Agilent seahorse XF24 analyzer consumables, assay kits, FluxPacks, microplates, and assay media. Corning Inc.: The company offers cell culture consumables such as cell culture flasks, cell culture dishes, cell culture plates, cell culture roller bottles, and cell culture Mab medium under its brand BD Falcon.
The company offers cell culture consumables such as cell culture flasks, cell culture dishes, cell culture plates, cell culture roller bottles, and cell culture Mab medium under its brand BD Falcon. Eppendorf SE: The company offers cell culture consumables such as permeable supports, surfaces and ECMs, cryogenic storage, multiwell plates, dishes, plates, and scraps, filters, and culture sides.
The company offers cell culture consumables such as permeable supports, surfaces and ECMs, cryogenic storage, multiwell plates, dishes, plates, and scraps, filters, and culture sides. General Electric Co.: The company offers cell culture consumables such as plates, flasks, and dishes.
The company offers cell culture consumables such as plates, flasks, and dishes. HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.
InvivoGen Corp.
Lonza Group Ltd.
Merck KGaA
To gain access to more vendor profiles available with Technavio, buy the report!
Regional analysis
Based on region, the global cell culture consumables market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest Of World (ROW). North America is estimated to account for 46% of the growth of the global market during the forecast period. North America accounted for the largest market share in 2022 and is expected to retain its market-leading position through the forecast period. This can be attributed to the growing research on stem cells and cancer, increasing healthcare expenditure in the region, and the presence of key vendors in the region. Several key vendors of the market, including Danaher, Thermo Fisher, General Electric, and Corning, have their headquarters in North America, which drives the market.
Market dynamics
The market is driven by factors such as the rise in the production of cell culture-based viral vaccines, growing demand for monoclonal antibodies, and growing focus on stem cell research. However, the high risk of cell culture contamination is hindering the market growth.
Competitive analysis
The competitive scenario provided in the cell culture consumables market report analyzes, evaluates, and positions companies based on various performance indicators. Some of the factors considered for this analysis include the financial performance of companies over the past few years, growth strategies, product innovations, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Request a sample
Market segmentation
Based on application, the market is segmented into advanced (biopharmaceutical production, cancer research, and others). The biopharmaceutical production segment accounted for the largest share of the market in 2022.
segment accounted for the largest share of the market in 2022. Based on geography, the market is segmented into North America , Europe , Asia , and Rest Of World (ROW). North America held the largest share of the market in 2022.
Related Reports:
The cell culture market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 11.3% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecasted to increase by USD 17.74 billion. This report extensively covers market segmentation by product (consumables and equipment), end-user (pharma and biotech companies, hospitals, research and academic institutes, and others), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World).
The 3D cell culture market size is expected to increase by USD 1.28 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 15.69%. This report extensively covers market segmentation by application (cancer and stem cell research, drug discovery and toxicology testing, and tissue engineering and regenerative medicine) and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW)).
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What are the key data covered in this cell culture consumables market report?
CAGR of the market during the forecast period
Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the cell culture consumables market between 2023 and 2027
Precise estimation of the cell culture consumables market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market
Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior
Growth of the industry across North America , Europe , Asia , and Rest of World (ROW)
, , , and Rest of World (ROW) Thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors
Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of cell culture consumables market vendors
Cell culture consumables market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 154 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 22.3% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 23,729.7 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 21.6 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW) Performing market contribution North America at 46% Key countries US, Germany, UK, China, and Japan Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Agilent Technologies Inc., Corning Inc., Danaher Corp., Eppendorf SE, Euroclone SpA, General Electric Co., HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., InvivoGen Corp., Lonza Group Ltd., Merck KGaA, PromoCell GmbH, Sartorius AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Becton Dickinson and Co., Bio Techne Corp., LGC Ltd., Standard BioTools Inc., Tecan Trading AG, FUJIFILM Corp., and Miltenyi Biotec B.V. and Co. KG 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.
Table of contents:
1 Executive Summary
1.1 Market overview
Exhibit 01: Executive Summary Chart on Market Overview
Exhibit 02: Executive Summary Data Table on Market Overview
Exhibit 03: Executive Summary Chart on Global Market Characteristics
Exhibit 04: Executive Summary Chart on Market by Geography
Exhibit 05: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Application
Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth
Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth
Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning
2 Market Landscape
2.1 Market ecosystem
Exhibit 09: Parent market
Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics
3 Market Sizing
3.1 Market definition
Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition
3.2 Market segment analysis
Exhibit 12: Market segments
3.3 Market size 2022
3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027
Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
4 Historic Market Size
4.1 Global cell culture consumables market 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 17: Historic Market Size Data Table on Global cell culture consumables market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
4.2 Application Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size Application Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
4.3 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
4.4 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
5 Five Forces Analysis
5.1 Five forces summary
Exhibit 21: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027
5.2 Bargaining power of buyers
Exhibit 22: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027
5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers
Exhibit 23: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027
5.4 Threat of new entrants
Exhibit 24: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027
5.5 Threat of substitutes
Exhibit 25: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027
5.6 Threat of rivalry
Exhibit 26: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027
5.7 Market condition
Exhibit 27: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027
6 Market Segmentation by Application
6.1 Market segments
Exhibit 28: Chart on Application - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 29: Data Table on Application - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
6.2 Comparison by Application
Exhibit 30: Chart on Comparison by Application
Exhibit 31: Data Table on Comparison by Application
6.3 Biopharmaceutical production - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 32: Chart on Biopharmaceutical production - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 33: Data Table on Biopharmaceutical production - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 34: Chart on Biopharmaceutical production - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 35: Data Table on Biopharmaceutical production - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.4 Cancer research - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 36: Chart on Cancer research - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 37: Data Table on Cancer research - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 38: Chart on Cancer research - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 39: Data Table on Cancer research - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.5 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 40: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 41: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 42: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 43: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.6 Market opportunity by Application
Exhibit 44: Market opportunity by Application ($ million)
7 Customer Landscape
7.1 Customer landscape overview
Exhibit 45: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria
8 Geographic Landscape
8.1 Geographic segmentation
Exhibit 46: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 47: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)
8.2 Geographic comparison
Exhibit 48: Chart on Geographic comparison
Exhibit 49: Data Table on Geographic comparison
8.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 50: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 51: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 52: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 53: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
8.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 54: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 55: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 56: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 57: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
8.5 Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 58: Chart on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 59: Data Table on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 60: Chart on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 61: Data Table on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
8.6 Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 62: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 63: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 64: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 65: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
8.7 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 66: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 67: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 68: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 69: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
8.8 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 70: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 71: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 72: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 73: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
8.9 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 74: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 75: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 76: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 77: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
8.10 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 78: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 79: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 80: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 81: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
8.11 Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 82: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 83: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 84: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 85: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
8.12 Market opportunity by geography
Exhibit 86: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)
9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends
9.1 Market drivers
9.2 Market challenges
9.3 Impact of drivers and challenges
Exhibit 87: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027
9.4 Market trends
10 Vendor Landscape
10.1 Overview
10.2 Vendor landscape
Exhibit 88: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation
10.3 Landscape disruption
Exhibit 89: Overview on factors of disruption
10.4 Industry risks
Exhibit 90: Impact of key risks on business
11 Vendor Analysis
11.1 Vendors covered
Exhibit 91: Vendors covered
11.2 Market positioning of vendors
Exhibit 92: Matrix on vendor position and classification
11.3 Agilent Technologies Inc.
Exhibit 93: Agilent Technologies Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 94: Agilent Technologies Inc. - Business segments
Exhibit 95: Agilent Technologies Inc. - Key news
Exhibit 96: Agilent Technologies Inc. - Key offerings
Exhibit 97: Agilent Technologies Inc. - Segment focus
11.4 Becton Dickinson and Co.
and Co. Exhibit 98: Becton Dickinson and Co. - Overview
and Co. - Overview
Exhibit 99: Becton Dickinson and Co. - Business segments
and Co. - Business segments
Exhibit 100: Becton Dickinson and Co. - Key news
and Co. - Key news
Exhibit 101: Becton Dickinson and Co. - Key offerings
and Co. - Key offerings
Exhibit 102: Becton Dickinson and Co. - Segment focus
11.5 Corning Inc.
Exhibit 103: Corning Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 104: Corning Inc. - Business segments
Exhibit 105: Corning Inc. - Key news
Exhibit 106: Corning Inc. - Key offerings
Exhibit 107: Corning Inc. - Segment focus
11.6 Danaher Corp.
Exhibit 108: Danaher Corp. - Overview
Exhibit 109: Danaher Corp. - Business segments
Exhibit 110: Danaher Corp. - Key news
Exhibit 111: Danaher Corp. - Key offerings
Exhibit 112: Danaher Corp. - Segment focus
11.7 Eppendorf SE
Exhibit 113: Eppendorf SE - Overview
Exhibit 114: Eppendorf SE - Product / Service
Exhibit 115: Eppendorf SE - Key news
Exhibit 116: Eppendorf SE - Key offerings
11.8 Euroclone SpA
Exhibit 117: Euroclone SpA - Overview
Exhibit 118: Euroclone SpA - Product / Service
Exhibit 119: Euroclone SpA - Key offerings
11.9 FUJIFILM Corp.
Exhibit 120: FUJIFILM Corp. - Overview
Exhibit 121: FUJIFILM Corp. - Business segments
Exhibit 122: FUJIFILM Corp. - Key news
Exhibit 123: FUJIFILM Corp. - Key offerings
Exhibit 124: FUJIFILM Corp. - Segment focus
11.10 General Electric Co.
Exhibit 125: General Electric Co. - Overview
Exhibit 126: General Electric Co. - Business segments
Exhibit 127: General Electric Co. - Key news
Exhibit 128: General Electric Co. - Key offerings
Exhibit 129: General Electric Co. - Segment focus
11.11 HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.
Exhibit 130: HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 131: HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service
Exhibit 132: HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings
11.12 InvivoGen Corp.
Exhibit 133: InvivoGen Corp. - Overview
Exhibit 134: InvivoGen Corp. - Product / Service
Exhibit 135: InvivoGen Corp. - Key offerings
11.13 Lonza Group Ltd.
Exhibit 136: Lonza Group Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 137: Lonza Group Ltd. - Business segments
Exhibit 138: Lonza Group Ltd. - Key news
Exhibit 139: Lonza Group Ltd. - Key offerings
Exhibit 140: Lonza Group Ltd. - Segment focus
11.14 Merck KGaA
Exhibit 141: Merck KGaA - Overview
Exhibit 142: Merck KGaA - Business segments
Exhibit 143: Merck KGaA - Key news
Exhibit 144: Merck KGaA - Key offerings
Exhibit 145: Merck KGaA - Segment focus
11.15 Miltenyi Biotec B.V. and Co. KG
Exhibit 146: Miltenyi Biotec B.V. and Co. KG - Overview
Exhibit 147: Miltenyi Biotec B.V. and Co. KG - Product / Service
Exhibit 148: Miltenyi Biotec B.V. and Co. KG - Key news
Exhibit 149: Miltenyi Biotec B.V. and Co. KG - Key offerings
11.16 Sartorius AG
Exhibit 150: Sartorius AG - Overview
Exhibit 151: Sartorius AG - Business segments
Exhibit 152: Sartorius AG - Key news
Exhibit 153: Sartorius AG - Key offerings
Exhibit 154: Sartorius AG - Segment focus
11.17 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
Exhibit 155: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 156: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. - Business segments
Exhibit 157: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. - Key news
Exhibit 158: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. - Key offerings
Exhibit 159: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. - Segment focus
12 Appendix
12.1 Scope of the report
12.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist
Exhibit 160: Inclusions checklist
Exhibit 161: Exclusions checklist
12.3 Currency conversion rates for US$
Exhibit 162: Currency conversion rates for US$
12.4 Research methodology
Exhibit 163: Research methodology
Exhibit 164: Validation techniques employed for market sizing
Exhibit 165: Information sources
12.5 List of abbreviations
Exhibit 166: 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
Ready to Hire from Cengage Work Brings Employers, Educators and Learners Together to Address Key Workforce Training and Talent Needs
BOSTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the U.S. today there are more open jobs than qualified workers to fill them, and many critical sectors like healthcare face even higher competition for talent. Cengage Work, the adult online skills training business of Cengage Group, is addressing the current skilled labor gap and opening up access to quality skills training with Ready to Hire. This solution creates new talent pipelines for employers through dedicated train-to-hire programs, upskilling of current talent and connecting employers to pre-qualified candidates from a network of local workforce and academic partners. With the ability to scale across industries and regions, Ready to Hire will meet the need at the local level where talent shortages are most acute.
Ready to Hire from Cengage Work creates new talent pipelines for employers through dedicated train-to-hire programs, upskilling of current talent and connecting employers to pre-qualified candidates from a network of local workforce and academic partners.
"We're excited to launch Ready to Hire to help employers close critical skills gaps while expanding access to quality training and sustainable jobs for learners," said Michael E. Hansen, CEO of Cengage Group. "Learners today want a choice of different education pathways to reach their goals, but they all want confirmation that what they're learning will result in a job. Meanwhile, employers, particularly in sectors like healthcare and cybersecurity, are faced with unprecedented skilled labor challenges that leave some healthcare institutions with hundreds of openings for entry-level roles. Our unique position at the center of educational institutions, workforce organizations, students and employers, means we can build a program that truly delivers proven job outcomes for learners and employers."
Ready to Hire will address talent shortages in the most in-demand industries, starting with healthcare and IT/cybersecurity where the need is most critical. Healthcare jobs are expected to grow by 13 percent over the next decade, much faster than all other industries; in cybersecurity there are currently more than 700,000 open positions. Employers cannot rely on traditional hiring methods to quickly close these labor gaps.
Cengage Group has supported learners for more than 100 years and over time has established partnerships with thousands of academic institutions, workforce organizations and corporations. Working directly with employers and Cengage's network of hundreds of community college partners, Ready to Hire will help employers build local repeatable, predictable pipelines of talent through services to:
Create New Talent identify and train new talent through dedicated train-to-hire programs, tailored for employer needs
identify and train new talent through dedicated train-to-hire programs, tailored for employer needs Upskill Current Talent train current employees to earn certification and professional skills, and
train current employees to earn certification and professional skills, and Access Local Talent be the first to reach untapped talent pools by connecting with students at a network of local workforce and academic partners.
One of the first partners for Ready to Hire is Northwell Health, New York State's largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals, 850 outpatient facilities and more than 16,600 affiliated physicians.
"One of the key challenges in sourcing healthcare talent is determining whether candidates have the appropriate skill sets needed for the job," said Lisa Mulloy, Chief Pharmacy Officer at Northwell Health. "At Northwell we are launching a Pharmacy Technician Trainee Program utilizing Ready to Hire to more quickly and affordably provide a steady pipeline of pharmacy technicians who can fulfill the department's needs."
In addition to helping fill critical labor demands, Ready to Hire can help employers:
Expand and diversify their talent pool with hands-on train-to-hire programs that bring in more underrepresented groups than traditional application programs.
with hands-on train-to-hire programs that bring in more underrepresented groups than traditional application programs. Reduce long-term hiring costs , including lower recruiting and screening costs as well as lower reskilling and turnover costs.
, including lower recruiting and screening costs as well as lower reskilling and turnover costs. Increase retention with role-specific training that boosts employee engagement and retention in hard to fill roles. According to Cengage Work customer feedback, nearly seven in 10 learners say their education played a role in staying longer with their current organization 1 .
For learners and current and potential employees, train-to-hire programs also have important benefits:
Clear path to employment : with employer sponsored programs, learners gain the right skills for the most in-demand roles and have a direct path to job placement or advancement. Ninety-four percent of trainees in "earn and learn" pathways are hired soon after completing their training.
: with employer sponsored programs, learners gain the right skills for the most in-demand roles and have a direct path to job placement or advancement. Ninety-four percent of trainees in "earn and learn" pathways are hired soon after completing their training. Individual growth and advancement: 81 percent of employees feel they are gaining skills that help them in their current role and 88 percent expect their training or new credential to lead to internal advancement opportunities 1 , according to Cengage customer feedback.
For employers looking to find and develop talent and learners looking to expand their career opportunities, please visit the Cengage Work website at www.CengageWork.com.
About Cengage Work
Cengage Work provides flexible, affordable online courses and programs to help adults rapidly gain the skills needed to be job ready. Our programs have already helped more than 3.5M people develop new skills, and this year more than 250,000 people will access Cengage Work products and services to gain employable skills, complete required training or pursue a new skillset in high demand fields such as allied health and cybersecurity. To learn more about Cengage Work, visit cengagework.com.
About Cengage Group
With more than 100 years serving learners, Cengage Group is a global edtech company that enables student choice. No matter how, where, when or why someone wants to learn, our portfolio of education businesses supports all students, from middle school through graduate school and skills education, with quality content and technology. Collectively, our three business units Cengage Academic, Cengage Work and Cengage Select help millions of students each year in more than 125 countries achieve their education and career goals and lead choice-filled lives. Visit us at www.cengagegroup.com or find us on LinkedIn and Twitter .
1 Data from Cengage Work customer survey
Media Contact:
Kristina Massari, Cengage Group
[email protected]
SOURCE Cengage Group
In addition to welcoming Dr. Seif Sadek, the Central Florida fertility leader launches
a new website to enhance the patient experience
ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Center for Reproductive Medicine (CRM), part of the global fertility network, The Prelude Network , announces the addition of Dr. Seif Sadek to its team of leading fertility providers. The fertility leader also launches today a new website designed to enhance the patient experience and better educate patients on their reproductive options.
Based in Central Florida with locations in Celebration and Winter Park, CRM has been providing state-of-the-art fertility care to aspiring parents since 1985. Its team of reproductive endocrinologists and fertility specialists (REI), embryologists, and support staff provide individualized treatment plans for a full spectrum of female- and male-related fertility services, including diagnostics, intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), fertility preservation, genetic testing and screening, and LGBTQ+ fertility services, among others.
Dr. Sadek, a reproductive endocrinologists and fertility specialist (REI), received his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha, Qatar and completed his residency and fellowship at Eastern Virginia Medical School-The Jones Institute in Norfolk, Virginia. He is an award-winning fertility provider recognized in 2018 by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) with a Best Research Award. Dr. Sadek's research is published in numerous journals, including the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. He is a member of ACOG, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and the Society of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (SREI).
"I am honored to join the CRM team and become part of this established medical practice where I can contribute my research, skills, and passion in fertility medicine to help every aspiring parent build their family," says Dr. Sadek. "I look forward to working alongside my esteemed colleagues, learning their best practices, and imparting my own insight into fertility care to help reach our collaborative goal of patient success."
In addition to expanding access to quality fertility services through the addition of Dr. Sadek, today CRM launched its new website. IVF-Orlando.com enhances the patient experience through a more user-friendly interface, easier navigation and functionality, and a brand-new design that underscores a patient's reproductive options and the services available to help them become parents.
"CRM's goal is to ensure that every aspiring parent who interacts with us, whether through our website or directly with our dedicated medical team, can access premium care," says Dr. Randall Loy, REI and Managing Partner at CRM. "The expansion of our physician team with the addition of Dr. Sadek and the launch of our enhanced online platform deliver on these goals. We look forward to the contributions Dr. Sadek will make to our clinic and, most importantly, our patients."
About the Center for Reproductive Medicine
Center for Reproductive Medicine is committed to helping patients achieve their dreams of parenthood by offering uncompromising clinical excellence and truly compassionate care.
Since 1985, CRM providers have helped thousands of Central Florida patients build their families. Combining decades of experience with state-of-the-art technology, CRM is known for providing individualized treatment plans and the most cost-efficient options to give our patients every chance of conception.
From helping to conceive central Florida's first IVF baby to leveraging the latest robotic and minimally invasive reproductive techniques, CRM has always been on the leading edge of technology.
About The Prelude Network
The Prelude Network (Prelude), the fastest-growing network of fertility clinics and largest provider of comprehensive fertility services in North America, is the clinic network of Inception Fertility a family of fertility brands that touches every part of the fertility journey, including diagnostics and treatment to financial accessibility.
Each clinic, as part of the Prelude Network, is committed to delivering the highest level of personalized fertility care by the nation's leading reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists, and practitioners by focusing on an excellence in science, medicine, and the patient experience. The growing Prelude Network has over 40 total locations nationwide, offering a wide range of fertility services including egg freezing, IVF, genetic testing, and egg/embryo storage, among others.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Mia Humphreys
Krupp
239-297-6592
[email protected]
SOURCE The Prelude Network
The new network will provide high-speed, reliable connectivity to residents and businesses in underserved areas outside the greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota market
RICHARDSON, Texas, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceragon Networks Ltd., the global innovator and leading solutions provider of 5G wireless transport, today announced that Ceragon Networks Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, has signed a contract with Hometown Internet for the rollout of a high-capacity, reliable Fixed Wireless network. The new network will provide never-before seen speeds to rural, underserved areas that fall outside the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area and have historically suffered from a lack of high-speed broadband connectivity.
Ceragon is providing Hometown a multi-technology, multi-vendor solution that includes wireless access as well as wireless transport. Additionally, Hometown opted for a five-year Managed Services contract which not only includes the planning, configuration, and deployment, but also provides ongoing maintenance, management, and operation. Using proprietary, powerful network optimization tools, Ceragon will be tracking, analyzing, and responding to real-time data to ensure that Hometown continuously receives the highest performance level. To date, Hometown has been able to deliver consistent speeds of 350 Mbps to residences and 1 Gbps to business customers.
Ronen Rotstein, President of Ceragon North America, commented, "We're excited to kickoff this project with Hometown Internet. This is an example of how we build partnerships to take on the digital divide and bring connectivity to their communities. Ceragon is proud to be working with Hometown and other small and large ISPs by providing them with the most advanced wireless technologies and supporting their efforts to deliver reliable, affordable, quality broadband services to underserved areas across North America."
Sam Ashkar, General Manager, Hometown Internet, related his experience on the Ceragon network solution, stating "Ceragon has designed a multi-technology solution that considered all our needs, our assets, our geography, and our community. I'm grateful that Ceragon experts will be managing the network moving forward, eliminating our burden and need for additional resources, while ensuring the highest levels of network uptime and service continuity. This network will help us reach residents and businesses with affordable access to high-speed, reliable broadband. We not only serve this Minnesotan area, but also live, work, study, and play here as well. Many of us have had no, or spotty, coverage in the past, so this new network will tremendously benefit our community. We look forward to working with Ceragon long-term and to continue to leverage their expertise."
In addition to a comprehensive, end-to-end network, Ceragon has also provided Hometown support for their application to receive funding being made available by a government program. Hometown hopes to receive this funding to enable them to further expand into additional unserved or underserved areas in Minnesota.
A historic and remarkable amount of government funding, over $73 Billion, is being made available for broadband expansion to underserved areas across the United States. Out of which, the IIJA bill alone has earmarked $65 billion. Ceragon is providing free IIJA network assessments to interested ISPs, helping them to understand and prepare for IIJA or other funding applications. Visit this page for more information.
About Ceragon Networks
Ceragon Networks Ltd. is the global innovator and leading solutions provider of 5G wireless transport. We help operators and other service providers worldwide increase operational efficiency and enhance end customers' quality of experience with innovative wireless backhaul and fronthaul solutions. Our customers include service providers, public safety organizations, government agencies and utility companies, which use our solutions to deliver 5G & 4G broadband wireless connectivity, mission-critical multimedia services, stabilized communications, and other applications at high reliability and speed.
Ceragon's unique multicore technology and disaggregated approach to wireless transport provides highly reliable, fast to deploy, high-capacity wireless transport for 5G and 4G networks with minimal use of spectrum, power, real estate, and labor resources. It enables increased productivity, as well as simple and quick network modernization, positioning Ceragon as a leading solutions provider for the 5G era. We deliver a complete portfolio of turnkey end-to-end AI-based managed and professional services that ensure efficient network rollout and optimization to achieve the highest value for our customers. Our solutions are deployed by more than 400 service providers, as well as more than 800 private network owners, in more than 150 countries. For more information please visit: www.ceragon.com
Ceragon Networks and FibeAir are registered trademarks of Ceragon Networks Ltd. in the United States and other countries. CERAGON is a trademark of Ceragon Networks Ltd., registered in various countries. Other names mentioned are owned by their respective holders.
Ceragon Marketing Contact:
Tanya Solomon
Ceragon Networks
Tel. +972-52-428-6626
[email protected]
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1704355/Ceragon_Networks_Ltd_Logo.jpg
SOURCE Ceragon Networks Ltd
Chartis and DES Health Consulting form the Chartis Center for Burnout Solutions to support caregivers in increasingly tenuous work environments.
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Chartis, a comprehensive healthcare advisory firm, announced it has established the Chartis Center for Burnout Solutions in conjunction with welcoming DES Health Consulting to the firm. DES Health Consulting works with multi-hospital healthcare systems to reduce burnout and improve retention, safety, quality, and physician and nurse satisfaction.
"By establishing the Chartis Center for Burnout Solutions, we will be able to help clients gather deep insights on their workforce, then implement proactive, data-driven solutions that improve wellness and resiliency," said Dr. Roger Ray, Chartis Chief Physician Executive. "The healthcare workforce is a vital part of our communities, and addressing their health is key to helping our clients materially improve healthcare."
The Chartis Center for Burnout Solutions is led by psychologists with deep healthcare and leadership experience. Their industry-leading assessment tool with more than 12.5 million data points measures the metrics that matter to a client's workforce and provides hierarchical dashboards to help an organization move from data to action. Results include significantly reduced turnover, suicide ideation, burnout gender gap and improved perceptions of safety, along with improvement in many other key workforce metrics.
"Our clients want to be the workforce destinations of choice," said Dr. Dan Shapiro, Director and Head of the Chartis Center for Burnout Solutions. "Health professionals who contribute at their fullest ability for their patients perform better from a strategic, financial, and clinical quality perspective. My team and I are eager to bring enhanced capabilities to Chartis that will make an immediate and positive difference for our clients and communities."
Shapiro earned his PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Florida and went on to Harvard Medical School where he completed an internship and an endowed post-doctoral fellowship. In 1995, he began treating physicians and nurses at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. A prolific author, Random House published his landmark memoir in 2003 about one physician's burnout. Shapiro was also a tenured faculty with an endowed professorship at Penn State University, most recently serving as Vice Dean. He has a longstanding interest in systematic approaches to improving the well-being of health professionals.
The establishment of the Chartis Center for Burnout Solutions advances Chartis' desire to help hospitals, health systems, and medical groups resolve complex healthcare workforce challenges.
ABOUT CHARTIS
Chartis is a comprehensive healthcare advisory firm dedicated to helping clients build a healthier world. We work across the healthcare continuum with more than 600 clients annually, including providers, payers, health services organizations, technology and retail companies, and investors. Through times of change, challenge, and opportunity, we advise the industry on how to navigate disruption, pursue growth, achieve financial sustainability, unleash technology, improve care models and operations, enhance clinical quality and safety, advance health equity. The teams we convene bring deep industry expertise and industry-leading innovation, enabling clients to achieve transformational results and create positive societal impact. Learn more.
SOURCE The Chartis Group
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chenery Compliance Group (CCG), a leading and independent institutional quality boutique provider of Chief Compliance Officer solutions to wealth managers, institutional managers, private funds, registered funds and series trusts, today announced the addition of three senior compliance professionals to the firm's team. DeeAnn Dempsey, Mahin Golden, and Kimberly Radtke will lead and support client engagements. Joining the accomplished leadership team at CCG, they will assist the firm in meeting the robust demand for its compliance outsource services and in fulfilling its mission to protect clients from regulatory risks, allowing them to focus on investing and business building.
DeeAnn Dempsey joins Chenery with nearly 10 years of experience. Prior to joining Chenery Compliance Group, Ms. Dempsey served as a Senior Principal Consultant at ACA Compliance Group (formerly Foreside) where she provided strategic and regulatory guidance to investment advisers in accordance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and state securities laws. Ms. Dempsey assists investment advisers in creating and maintaining a culture of compliance, while providing continuous advisory support to address the various regulatory complexities inherent to investment advisers. Ms. Dempsey is a graduate of Stetson University and received her JD at Florida A&M University, College of Law. She has been a member of the Florida Bar since 2010.
Mahin Golden has over 15 years of experience in the investment management industry after serving as Chief Compliance Officer for the jointly owned Forefront Analytics, a multi-product alternative investment manager, and for GKFO, an UHNW multi-family office, with a combined $1 billion in assets under management. Previously, Ms. Golden supported the CCO at Hirtle, Callaghan & Co., an institutional and UHNW OCIO, where she was responsible for key components of their compliance program as well as compliance and operational due diligence reviews of specialist alternative private fund managers. Ms. Golden began her career at Goldman Sachs in their Compliance Testing Group. She is a graduate of Saint Joseph's University.
Kimberly Radtke joins Chenery as a Regulatory Administrator and has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry working for an investment adviser, FINRA and a broker dealer. Before joining Chenery, Ms. Radtke served as a Principal Investigator in the Department of Enforcement and as an Assistant Director in the Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence, both at FINRA. Ms. Radtke graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mount Saint Mary's University.
"Adding DeeAnn, Mahin, and Kimberly to our team represents a win for our clients, who depend on our world-class compliance programs, which include Chief Compliance Officer services. They will enable us to continue delivering exceptional value to our clients." said Thomas De Cain, CCG's Co-Founding Partner. "Our new team members possess a wealth of regulatory and operational expertise, having served at both consultants and in-house roles at investment firms. Their in-depth knowledge of both the regulatory landscape and the business impact of compliance programs make them a valuable addition to our team."
Stefanie Little, CCG's Co-Founding Partner, added "As our reputation and client base has grown, we've attracted and retained seasoned compliance professionals. We appeal to those professionals who thrive in our institutional quality boutique model. We are independent, hands-on and collaborative, technically and practically forward-looking, and passionate about delivering superior support for all of our long-term client relationships."
"With the growth of our reputation and client base, we have been successful in attracting and retaining experienced compliance professionals who are a great fit for our institutional-quality boutique model. Our independence, hands-on approach, collaborative spirit, forward-looking technical expertise, and unwavering commitment to delivering superior support make us an ideal destination for compliance professionals who seek to build long-lasting client relationships."
About Chenery Compliance Group, LLC
Chenery Compliance Group (CCG) is an independent institutional quality boutique that delivers customized Chief Compliance Officer services, support CCO services and regulatory compliance consulting for private wealth advisers, institutional investment advisers, registered fund managers, private fund managers, series trusts and commodity trading advisers. CCG was founded with the sole purpose to help protect our clients from regulatory risk, enabling them to focus on investing and business building. We power cultures of compliance.
www.chenerycompliance.com
Contact:
Thomas De Cain
[email protected]
SOURCE CHENERY COMPLIANCE GROUP
- New Product Distribution Partnership with Amerus
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens, Inc. ("Citizens" or the "Company") (NYSE: CIA), a diversified financial services company providing life, final expense, and limited liability property insurance, today announced that it has expanded its white-label program by entering into a new distribution agreement with Amerus Financial Group, an independent insurance agency specializing in senior solutions. Under this partnership, Amerus will sell Citizens' life and final expense insurance products marketed with the Amerus Silver Shield brand. These products will be sold through CICA Life Insurance Company of America, a Citizens company.
This partnership advances Citizens' goal to be the industry leader and first-choice partner in tailor-made white-label products while allowing Amerus to add another valuable product for their clients. With Citizens' product expertise, support, and ability to quickly develop new products in multiple languages it lends itself to being a strong partner in the white-label space. Together with Amerus' established history and commitment to their senior clients, Citizens' white-label product, Amerus Silver Shield, will serve the life and final expense market.
"Our partnership with Amerus represents a tremendous opportunity to leverage our unique strengths and shared drive to deliver on the life insurance promise," said Company Vice Chairman and CEO, Gerald W. Shields. "Both companies are passionate about preparing people for the uncertainty of tomorrow with solutions for today. It is very exciting to work with the top IMOs and agencies to meet the needs of this underserved population. We look forward to working with Tim and his team to develop tailor-made product solutions that address the unique needs of clients."
Tim Baggott, Amerus CEO shares, "Citizens, Inc. is the perfect partner with whom to white label our own suite of life and final expense products which fill an ever-widening gap in the market. Beginning with our Silver Shield final expense product offering, Amerus will now be able to offer outstanding coverage for seniors who would otherwise not be able to afford to leave a financial endowment for their loved ones. We are looking forward to expanding our offerings even more going forward as our partnership with Citizens develops."
About Citizens, Inc
Citizens, Inc. (NYSE: CIA) is a diversified financial services holding company providing life, final expense, and limited liability property insurance and other financial products through its insurance company subsidiaries to individuals and small businesses in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia. Through its customer-centric growth strategy, Citizens offers innovative products to address the evolving needs of its customers in their native languages of Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin. The company operates two primary segments: Life Insurance, where the Company is a market leader of U.S. dollar-denominated whole life cash value insurance policies in Latin America, and Home Services, which operates primarily in the U.S. Gulf coast region. For more information about Citizens and CICA Life Insurance Company of America, please visit www.citizensinc.com.
About Amerus
Amerus Financial Group is an independent insurance agency headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. The company has provided customized Insurance Solutions to families and businesses for over 20 years. With over 4,000 clients nationwide, Amerus Financial has become a go-to resource to help solve the complex problems created by the ever-changing dynamics of the insurance market. For more information about Amerus Financial, please visit www.amerusfinancial.com.
For further information contact:
Marketing Department
[email protected]
SOURCE Citizens, Inc.
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CMIT Solutions, the leading service provider in cybersecurity and information technologies for businesses, announced today it has been named by CRN , a brand of The Channel Company , to the 2023 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Elite 150 category.
CRN's annual MSP 500 list identifies the industry-leading service providers in North America who are driving a new wave of growth and innovation for the channel through forward-thinking approaches to managed services, helping end users increase efficiency and simplify IT solutions, while maximizing their return on investment. MSPs have become a vital part of the success of businesses worldwide. MSPs not only empower organizations to leverage intricate technologies but also help them keep a strict focus on their core business goals without straining their budgets.
"It's a remarkable honor to be recognized by CRN again this year," said Roger Lewis, CEO of CMIT Solutions. "Our channel partnerships make it possible for us to serve our clients with groundbreaking IT and cybersecurity solutions that accelerate their business growth and help them achieve their goals. Together with our partners, we're making a positive impact in the business community. As business technologies continue to evolve, we see more opportunities for innovation and service ahead."
The annual MSP 500 list is divided into three sections: the MSP Pioneer 250, recognizing companies with business models weighted toward managed services and largely focused on the SMB market; the MSP Elite 150, recognizing large, data center-focused MSPs with a strong mix of on- and off-premises services; and the Managed Security 100, recognizing MSPs focused primarily on off-premises and cloud-based security services.
"Managed services offer a path for businesses of all sizes to remain efficient and flexible as they grow," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "The solution providers on our 2023 MSP 500 list are bringing innovative managed services portfolios to market, helping their customers win by doing more with the IT budgets they have and freeing up resources to focus on mission-critical activities to drive future success."
2023 marks CMIT Solutions' third time receiving this recognition, further situating the brand as a top IT managed service provider on its way to becoming a $200 million MSP. With more than 250 franchise locations, the company is known for offering locally based, customized assistance to businesses strengthened by a nationwide network of IT expertise and technology partnerships. CMIT Solutions delivers a full suite of solutions that includes proactive IT maintenance and monitoring, advanced cybersecurity, future-focused infrastructure, remote workforce enablement, and quick, personalized response services.
The MSP 500 list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/msp500 .
For more information about CMIT Solutions and the services it offers, visit cmitsolutions.com
About CMIT Solutions
CMIT Solutions LLC (CMIT) is a leading Managed Services Provider (MSP) franchisor delivering information technology (IT) and cybersecurity solutions to businesses. Through a large network of enterprise-class technology resources, the company supports businesses anywhere in the United States and Canada, and its locally owned franchise model enables CMIT to serve customers through high-trust, direct relationships. CMIT offers a wide variety of services and products, including IT management and maintenance, cybersecurity monitoring, help desk support, data backup and recovery, and more. The organization has ranked in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 list for eight consecutive years and is designated as a World Class Franchise by the Franchise Research Institute. For more information on CMIT, please visit cmitsolutions.com.
About The Channel Company
The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com
Follow The Channel Company: Twitter , LinkedIn , and Facebook .
2023 The Channel Company LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
SOURCE CMIT Solutions
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VRMNY is opening a new office at 110 Lafayette Street in Manhattan in March 2023. The new location is high-tech and will provide the latest in eye care technology to the community. The office is designed to provide a comfortable and convenient experience for patients.
"It is at the crossroads of Soho, Chinatown, Tribeca, and the Financial District. By any measure, it is an underserved area for retina care, even though it is in the most populous city in the United States. We have many patients from that area come to our office on the Upper East Side, but this is a difficult trip for older patients. Often a family member must take off from work to accompany them. With a downtown location we can offer care for a large portion of the city, without undue transportation problems for them." Dr. Richard F. Spaide
The office will be equipped with the latest technology and staffed with experienced and knowledgeable doctors who specialize in the treatment of eye diseases. VRMNY will also have staff on site who speak mandarin to serve the diverse community in the NY downtown area.
VRMNY physicians have devoted their time and resources to research and the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The physician group made the decision to expand this year to create access to all NYC residents and it's why they continue to accept most insurance plans including Medicare and community plans.
"We believe that sight and the independence that comes from it is indelible to every person. We deal with truly sight threatening diseases on a daily basis, and will fight with everything in our armamentarium to preserve this most precious sense" says Dr. Michael Engelbert.
About Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York
The group of ophthalmologists at Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York are internationally known leaders in diagnosing and treating retinal diseases, known as the top New York experts and among the best-rated retina specialists in NYC. In our private practice, physicians prioritize high-quality, individualized eye care while utilizing cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. VRMNY doctors are proud to be on Newsweek's list of 350 best ophthalmologists and optometrists in the USA. For more information: https://www.vrmny.com/
For Media Inquiries: NB Talent Services, [email protected], 917-690-6161
SOURCE Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York
The integration of Amazon Connect will ensure enterprises can deliver quality customer experiences across digital channels with one-stop-shop platform that includes both voice and automated messaging
BOSTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CommBox , a SaaS-based omnichannel autonomous customer communications platform, announced today its expansion into the US market with the opening of an office in Boston, MA. Additionally, CommBox has integrated Amazon Connect into its AI-driven omnichannel communication platform that will enable enterprise customer service centers to manage both voice and textual assistance across digital channels, including SMS, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, and other channels on the same platform.
Enterprises have slowly begun shifting to digital communication but are still hesitant to reduce their call center loads, as alternative solutions still often don't meet customer needs and expectations. Solutions such as bots or FAQs on websites often alienate users due to a lack of understanding of a user's intent, and struggle to answer the most basic of questions.
CommBox's AI-powered autonomous customer communications platform enables enterprise customers a one-stop-shop solution that not only provides a better end-user experience for their customers, but also maximizes call center employee output by fielding the questions that can be answered by the automated system, thereby freeing up valuable time for employees to focus on more urgent or complicated customer inquiries.
Now, with the integration of Amazon Connect for voice-based communication, enterprises will control all customer communications via the same platform, have the ability to make and record calls, and communicate on messaging channels. Moreover, the sophisticated auto-assignment mechanism that helps prevent agent overload and redirects conversations to the most available agents will now apply to both forms of communication, text-based and voice. This will free up backlogs that often occur at call centers and lower caseloads for agents.
"CommBox is expanding its footprint into the US at a time when an aggregated full-service communication platform is needed by companies dealing directly with consumers," said Tom Reardon, Managing Director at PSG. "CommBox's solution has proven itself in other markets and now with the company expanding to the US, we are confident that the company will continue its growth and commercial success."
CommBox's new office in Boston, MA will focus on sales and development and will be led by Josh Newall, Head of Sales, Americas at CommBox.
"We are thrilled to be launching CommBox in the US at such a critical time for global businesses," said Yaniv Hakim, CEO and co-founder of CommBox. "With our AI-powered communications platform, now integrated with Amazon Connect, we are able to provide customers with an automated solution that combines voice and messaging capabilities into their service representative offering, significantly increasing efficiency in call centers and easing the burden on customer service teams."
About CommBox
CommBox is revolutionizing how brands connect with customers by eliminating the old paradigm of live agent intervention for every customer engagement, replacing it with improved automated CX.
With the first and only AI-driven autonomous customer communication platform, CommBox enables hundreds of the world's leading brands to deliver a complete, smart, and personalized experience, using their suite of digital channels, and to automate human-driven operations and the bulk of repetitive inquiries with powerful AI and deep automation. The result is greater customer satisfaction and loyalty, increased agent productivity, higher conversion rates, and a unique opportunity to grow the business like never before.
With a global presence and headquartered in Israel, CommBox was founded in 2013 and is proud to drive innovation serving over 50 million experiences every day, setting the new standard for customer communications in the new digital age. CommBox is backed by the American equity fund PSG. To learn more, visit us at https://www.commbox.io/
Media Contact:
Chaya Zabihi
GKPR for CommBox
[email protected]
SOURCE CommBox
In Collaboration with the White House Conference on Hunger, Health and Nutrition, Campaign Aims to Foster Physical Activity and Fitness and Ensure that all Americans Know that Fitness is Essential for both Physical and Mental Health
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Community Gyms Coalition (CGC), representing more than 15,000 community gyms and fitness facilities across the U.S. that serve over 25 million members, today announced the launch of its Fitness is Essential campaign.
Building on the CGC's commitments to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, the Fitness is Essential campaign will educate Americans about the broad, profoundly positive effects of physical activity and fitness on mental and physical well-being. CGC members will enable increased access to resources including free day passes, and/or consultations about fitness goals and participants' body intelligence. In addition, CGC members will raise awareness with community leaders and policymakers about steps they can take to encourage physical activity and fitness in communities across the country. These efforts will augment and reinforce the Department of Health and Human Services' Move Your Way campaign, the goal of which is to help people live healthier lives through increased physical activity based on the recommendations of the second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.
"Fitness is Essential is about joining forces to make it easier for Americans to get active, fit and healthy" said Dale King, owner of PSKC CrossFit in Portsmouth, Ohio. "More than 40 percent of American adults are obese and are at higher risk of developing chronic diseases. More than 1 in 4 Americans are living with a mental illness. These can seem like overwhelming issues that don't have a one size fits all solution. But regular exercise has been irrefutably proven to help with a range of mental and physical conditions. It's a surefire way of improving people's lives."
Copious research indicates that regular exercise can prevent or alleviate chronic diseases and mental health conditions. But during the COVID pandemic, physical activity diminished and negative public health outcomes, like weight gain, increased. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity increases the risk of severe a COVID infection and may triple the risk of hospitalization. Regular exercise, however, can reduce the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, and significantly improve depression and anxiety.
"There are a lot of lessons to be learned from our recent health crises, and it's clear that there needs to be a much stronger focus on how we enable all Americans to become physically active and fit. We can no longer afford to neglect the mental and physical health of our nation. Tens of millions of Americans depend on it," said King.
Serving as a central hub for public outreach, FitnessisEssential.org will share information to raise awareness about why fitness is essential for overall physical and mental health. The CGC, comprising well-known brands including Anytime Fitness, CrossFit, Orangetheory Fitness and Planet Fitness, invites all gyms across the country to offer their own commitments to support physical activity and fitness for all. It's time for all Americans to recognize that Fitness is Essential.
Contact:
Brett Ewer
508-560-2738
SOURCE Community Gyms Coalition
Leveraging the benefits of the Microsoft Cloud, Comviva CPaaS makes it simpler for Telcos to offer secure, scalable and open communication platforms to enterprises
NEW DELHI, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Comviva, a subsidiary of Tech Mahindra, and a global leader in customer experience and data monetization solutions today announced the availability of its Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solution powered by Microsoft Azure.
Comviva's Ngage is an intelligent omnichannel Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solution that enables real-time communication capabilities, helping enterprises enhance and personalize their end-user customer experience seamlessly across channels. With a cloud-based delivery model, Ngage CPaaS seamlessly integrates with business applications and enables secure real-time customer interactions serving all customer engagement use cases from marketing to operations to customer service. It enables enterprises to communicate with their end customers through the appropriate context and channels over a secure, scalable and open cloud communication platform.
Comviva is empowering Telecom operators to offer a modern, modular and open communication platform for their enterprise customers, combined with the security and scalability of Microsoft Azure.
Manoranjan (Mao) Mohapatra, Chief Executive Officer at Comviva said, "We are intensely committed to delivering integrated modern customer experiences and monetization capabilities and investing in new technologies to set ourselves up for future success. With Comviva CPaaS, Communication Services Providers shall monetize and accelerate innovation with agility. This shall empower them to meet the growing demands of enterprises where every campaign requires personalized variations, tighter consistency across channels, and shorter turnaround times."
Marianne Roling, Vice President, Global Systems Integrators, Microsoft said: "We're pleased that Comviva's innovative Ngage CPaaS solution takes advantage of Azure's secure and scalable AI and natural language services. The modern digital experiences that CPaaS is delivering will enable Telcos to bring secure communication channels and services to customers."
Comviva's CPaaS is a full-stack platform to empower telecom service providers to drive real-time customer interactions for enterprises. The platform supports messaging services and chats powered with conversational AI capabilities across the industry verticals. Its cognitive automation and Natural Language Processing capabilities empower enterprises to deliver enriched customer experiences by automating user interactions in a human-like language. It is one of the most scalable platforms in the industry handling over 80+ billion messages in a year.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Sundeep Mehta
[email protected]
+91-9910030732
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/995982/Comviva_Logo.jpg
SOURCE Comviva
Innovator and entrepreneur honored for his fundamental contributions to mobile sensing, networking, and distributed systems
NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Marconi Society is proud to award the 2023 Marconi Prize to Hari Balakrishnan in recognition of the broad impact to society of his fundamental discoveries in wired and wireless networking, mobile sensing, and distributed systems. By focusing his research on the application of technology to solve large societal problems, Balakrishnan's work has made millions of people safer and has made the Internet and wireless communications more efficient and robust.
Hari Balakrishnan - 2023 Marconi Prize Recipient
Hari Balakrishnan is the Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence in the Department of EECS at MIT. He is also the Founder, Chief Technology Officer, and Chairman of Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT).
"Hari's unique contributions have shaped the course of research and discovery in multiple fields, saved lives, and enabled users to have better experiences with network-based services," said Vint Cerf, Chair of the Marconi Society and 1998 Marconi Fellow. "His focus on scientific excellence that creates positive impact at scale, along with his humanitarian contributions, makes him a perfect choice for the Marconi Prize."
Balakrishnan's discoveries frequently set the stage for major shifts in the scientific and technological trajectory of networking systems. "I like to be among the first to open a new area, rather than be the last word in an area," says Balakrishnan. "I want our world to be safer, more resilient, and more sustainable and am inspired by how people use applications and the network. This helps me think about new research directions in networked systems and ways in which they can help solve societal problems."
Balakrishnan's significant contributions include his influence in mobility and wireless through both his research and entrepreneurship. His pioneering research at MIT on the CarTel mobile sensing system to collect and draw inferences from sensors on mobile devices led to Balakrishnan's latest successful entrepreneurial endeavor, CMT, which he founded with Bill Powers and Sam Madden. With a mission to make the world's roads and drivers safer, CMT helps millions of people around the world drive more carefully and reduces road crashes, which are the leading cause of death for children and young adults worldwide.
Balakrishnan was among the first to deeply understand the interactions between wireless and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which helps applications exchange data, at a time when wireless and mobility were nascent research disciplines. His research explaining the causes of poor wireless TCP performance established the gold standard for understanding the topic and led to improved performance that billions of network users enjoy today.
Balakrishnan's research on wide-area networks is also highly influential. His foundational work in scalable distributed architectures, overlay networks, and Internet congestion control has been key to building out the robust network and web infrastructure that billions rely on today.
Hari Balakrishnan will be honored at the Marconi Society's annual awards Gala on October 27, 2023 in Washington, DC. For more information on this celebration, please sign up to receive event updates from the Marconi Society. Nominations for the 2024 Marconi Prize are being accepted through June 30, 2023. More information is here .
About the Marconi Prize
The Marconi Prize is the flagship award of the Marconi Society, given annually to innovators who have made significant contributions to increasing digital inclusivity through the advancement of information and communications technology.
About the Marconi Society
The Marconi Society envisions a connected world where information and communications technologies empower everyone to reach their full potential. The organization encourages and celebrates innovators who push the technical, creative and entrepreneurial boundaries of Information and Communications Technology for the benefit of humanity.
Contact: Paula Reinman, [email protected], 4152542004
SOURCE Marconi Society
With new partnership Cyberbit and Deloitte ECC usher in a new era of cyber readiness
MADRID, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte EMEA-LATAM Cybersphere Center (ECC), which provides end-to-end security operations services for the EMEA region, and Cyberbit, provider of the world's leading cybersecurity skills development and readiness platform, have announced a strategic partnership that will drive cyber readiness across industries by focusing on the human element of cybersecurity.
Cyberbit delivers a holistic approach to developing cyber readiness that emphasizes the human element of cyber defense, not just the technology and tools. The platform includes the world's leading hyper realistic cyber range, which gives cyber defense teams the opportunity to practice against simulated real-world cyber-attacks in a virtual security operations center. Teams practice in enterprise-grade networks using real-world security tools, giving them the hands-on experience they need to successfully respond to cyber threats.
The enhanced services enabled by the Cyberbit platform cover the entire cyber readiness life cycle: experiential learning in cyber labs and ranges, team and individual performance assessment in real-world scenarios, and a crisis simulation experience that allows the executive suite and the defense team to collaborate incident response in simulated real-world crises. With the crisis simulator, Deloitte can better prepare management teams, including CEOs CFOs, CISOs, CIOs, legal and public relations departments and more, for cyber crises by improving their decision-making skills and testing their crisis response playbooks.
As a result of the Deloitte ECC-Cyberbit partnership, Deloitte ECC will bring greater value to its customers in cyber strategy services with focus on cyber skills development and training, cyber resource ramp-up, assessment capabilities, and end-to end threat readiness testing. Deloitte is dedicated to delivering innovative skills development to its clients that reduces risks and strengthens cyber readiness. The Cyberbit platform supports this strategy by allowing Deloitte to offer an advanced, forward-looking solution that meets the complex and varied cyber risk management challenges of today.
"We are very excited to partner with Deloitte ECC as its cybersecurity skill development solution in its powerful portfolio of solutions offerings," said Adi Dar of Cyberbit. "The partnership will allow Deloitte to help its customers leverage the Cyberbit platform to better protect their assets, improve their cyber readiness levels, and reduce business risks."
About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit and assurance, tax and legal, consulting, financial advisory, and risk advisory services to nearly 90% of the Fortune Global 500 and thousands of private companies. Our professionals deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in capital markets, enable clients to transform and thrive, and lead the way toward a stronger economy, a more equitable society, and a sustainable world. Building on its 175-plus year history, Deloitte spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 415,000 people worldwide make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.
About Cyberbit
Cyberbit provides hands-on cybersecurity skills development and addresses the global cybersecurity skill gap through its world-leading cyber range platform. The Platform empowers security leaders to make the most of their cybersecurity investment by boosting the impact of the human element in their organization. Cyberbit delivers hyper-realistic attack simulation mirroring real-world scenarios, enabling security leaders to dramatically reduce MTTR, dwell time and cybercrime costs, improve hiring and onboarding, and increase employee retention. Cyberbit delivers over one million training sessions annually across 5 continents. Customers include Fortune 500 companies, MSSPs, system integrators, higher education institutions and governments. Cyberbit is has offices in the US, Europe, and Asia.
For more information, contact [email protected] for media inquiries, or [email protected] for sales inquiries.
SOURCE Cyberbit
Major capital investment helps expand production capabilities and scale key U.S. brands, including International Delight creamers, Silk plant-based creamers and StoK ready-to-drink coffee
BROOMFIELD, Colo. and WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Danone North America, a leading food and beverage company, today announced it will invest up to $65 million over the next two years to create a new bottle production line in Jacksonville, Florida. The investment will support Danone North America's long-term growth strategy and will deliver key benefits across the U.S. business, including advancing operational excellence, enabling flexibility in bottle design, accelerating the company's sustainability goals, and driving cost efficiencies.
"We are delighted to announce this investment in our North American business, which will allow us to capitalize on consumer demand in key beverage categories including coffee creamers, plant-based creamers, and ready-to-drink coffee, while also supporting our long-term growth agenda," said Shane Grant, Group Deputy CEO, CEO Americas. "This investment will help us keep our products on our customers' shelves and give more American consumers the Danone products they love."
This multi-million-dollar investment will increase production of several of Danone's coffee and creamer brands in the U.S., including International Delight, Silk and SToK. It also serves to meet consumer demand in these categories while supporting the company's sustainability goal by reducing overall water consumption, decreasing carbon emissions and accelerating the company's goal of packaging circularity.
The expansion will also create up to 40 new full-time jobs with competitive wages and benefits. New employees will be eligible for Danone North America's parental bonding leave policy, enabling all manufacturing employees with one year of tenure to take up to 18 weeks of paid time off after the birth or adoption of a child.
Mike Sloboda, Danone North America's Chief Operations Officer commented, "We are thrilled to be investing in the people and economy of Jacksonville, creating 40 new jobs in addition to supporting our approximately 110 existing employees, all with competitive wages and benefits. This investment will allow us to better serve our customers and operate our business in an even more efficient and sustainable way."
"This expansion of Danone North America goes to show that Jacksonville continues to be the place to be," Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said. "I want to thank Danone North America for recognizing the strength and commitment of our community and investing in the Jacksonville campus, our people, and our region. This $65 million will create jobs and help us all work towards sustainable and responsible economic growth."
"Advanced manufacturing is key to a winning strategy for Northeast Florida and we are thrilled that Danone North America will remain and expand its facility here," said Aundra Wallace, president of JAXUSA Partnership. "Our region is known worldwide for its depth of skilled talent, lower operating costs and business friendliness all of which will bear fruit for both Danone and our community at large."
Danone North America is committed to bringing health through food to as many people as possible through purpose-driven, market-winning growth. As a B Corp, Danone North America leverages its business as a force for good to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy through its family of brands.
About Danone North America:
Danone North America is a purpose-driven company and an industry leader in the food and beverage category. As a Certified B Corporation, Danone North America is committed to the creation of both economic and social value, while nurturing natural ecosystems through sustainable agriculture. Our strong portfolio of brands includes: Activia, DanActive, Danimals, Dannon, evian, Happy Family Organics, Honest to Goodness, Horizon Organic, International Delight, Light + Fit, Oikos, Silk, So Delicious Dairy Free, SToK, Two Good, Wallaby Organic and YoCrunch. With more than 6,000 employees and 16 production locations across the U.S. and Canada, Danone North America's mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. For more information, visit www.danonenorthamerica.com/.
Danone North America is a Danone subsidiary.
Press Contact:
Erin Brooks
Danone North America
[email protected]
SOURCE Danone North America
Through its new Bid Efficiency feature, DeepIntent has effectively reduced its bid data
processing by one-third
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DeepIntent , the leading healthcare advertising technology company built to influence better patient health and business outcomes, today announced the platform-wide launch of Bid Efficiency, as well as its commitment to reducing its overall carbon footprint by a proportion equal to 168 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) per year. This number roughly translates to 417,011 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle.
Carbon dioxide levels are the highest they've been in recorded human history. According to the Shift Project, a French think tank advocating the shift to a post-carbon economy, the Internet is responsible for 3.7% of global emissions. This number, equivalent to all the world's air traffic, is set to double by 2025. Every 1 million ad impressions collectively generate approximately 1 MTCO2e, about the same as a drive from New York City to Phoenix, according to supply side platform Sharethrough.
The vast majority of advertising technology emissions are generated by the storage, processing, and transmission of data. Programmatic bidding is among the largest data sources for DeepIntent. Bid Efficiency optimizes the way the company processes bid requests to reduce the overall energy it takes to deliver against a campaign's objectives. While improving clients' win rates, this free feature has helped DeepIntent increase the efficiency of processing bid requests, effectively reducing its processing of bid data by one-third as compared to in-platform campaigns not using Bid Efficiency. DeepIntent also plans to integrate real-time metrics into its demand side platform that reports the MTCO2e energy savings attributed to Bid Efficiency for every campaign on the platform.
DeepIntent is furthering its decarbonization efforts by forging strategic partnerships with like-minded advertising technology companies. Earlier this year, DeepIntent began listing all of its Green Media Products partners on its website. Partners' products include GreenPMPs from Sharethrough and ad exchange OpenX, both of which leverage Scope3, a leader in supply chain emissions data, to measure and compensate for ad campaigns' carbon emissions. DeepIntent also exclusively works with data centers and cloud providers that have initiatives in place to become carbon neutral if they aren't already, such as Amazon, Google, and Equinix.
"Climate change is the defining issue of our time and as an organization, DeepIntent is committed to doing our part to mitigate that. Optimizing our programmatic bidding has significantly decreased the amount of data we process, greatly reducing the energy it takes to power our platform. Coupling smarter, more energy-efficient software implementations with ironclad commitments from our vendors to reduce their energy usage will be foundational tools for achieving our commitment to lowering our carbon footprint," said Anton Yazovskiy, Chief Technology Officer at DeepIntent.
"At Sharethrough, we are really excited to play our part in supporting DeepIntent in their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint from digital advertising, as we believe that the role of ad tech companies is critical to building more sustainable media solutions," said Ben Skinazi, Chief Marketing Officer at Sharethrough. "Facilitating the use of Sharethrough's Green Media Products to the DeepIntent users is an easy, yet impactful, way of lowering carbon emissions from programmatic campaigns."
For more information about DeepIntent, visit https://www.deepintent.com/
About DeepIntent
DeepIntent is leading the healthcare advertising industry with data-driven solutions built for the future. Built purposefully for healthcare marketers, DeepIntent's platform is proven to drive higher audience quality and script performance. It enables marketers to plan, activate, measure, and optimize their campaigns all within a single platform. Conceived by former Memorial Sloan Kettering data scientists, DeepIntent empowers all of the top ten pharmaceutical companies and the leading healthcare advertising agencies to improve patient outcomes through the artful use of advertising, data science, and real-world health data. For more information, visit DeepIntent.com or find us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
Press Contact
Mike O'Brien
[email protected]
SOURCE DeepIntent, Inc.
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Delve Health and UW Medicine are announcing a collaboration to provide new insights into endemic Type 2 Diabetes research, through artificial intelligence and machine learning (i.e., AI/ML) and remote data capture via Delve Health's digital healthcare platform.
Delve Health's Clinical StudyPal, a mobile and web-based platform that enables decentralized clinical trial research and remote patient monitoring, has been configured to capture patient data, 24-hours a day, through a wearable device (i.e., smart watch), procured and delivered via Delve Health's extensive network of services. The app will not only gather quality data, such as the collection of the patient's heart rate at 15 second intervals, activity level and SpO 2 levels at those same intervalssimultaneously. Delve Health's digital health solution will monitor, track, analyze and report the patient's data analytics to the clinical study staff team.
An NIH-funded clinical study on diabetes at the University of Washington School of Medicine, powered by Delve Health Tweet this
"This endeavor with UW Medicine, focused on AI/ML, will provide clinical insights captured through remote patient monitoring and, therefore, will advance diabetes research," said Wessam Sonbol, CEO & Founder, Delve Health. He continued, "we are excited to collaborate with UW to increase, not only the amount of data collected, but improve the quality of data collected. Having real-world evidence (RWE) in near real-time will not only assist our collective efforts to ultimately improve diabetes clinical research trials and the overall patient experience, but we will also retain actionable data that additional diabetes studies can learn from and build upon."
The UW Medicine researchers hope to use AI to identify factors that promote and preserve wellbeing, an approach to health called salutogenesis from the Latin salus (meaning health) and the Greek genesis (meaning origin).
"Our NIH-funded Bridge2AI project called Artificial Intelligence Ready Equitable Atlas for Diabetes Insight (AI-READI; award project number 1OT2OD032644-01) will collect and release a flagship medical dataset for salutogenesis that will hopefully accelerate machine learning applications and generate novel hypotheses about Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus," said Dr. Aaron Lee, an associate professor in Ophthalmology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. "As part of this dataset, we are collecting wearable fitness tracking data along with continuous glucose monitoring to build a biophysical profile of each participant. The smart watches used in this study will hopefully provide both activity monitoring and heart rate measurements that will be critical for achieving this aim."
UW Medicine's approach to this novel clinical trial is to collect a cross-sectional dataset of more than 4,000 people across the United States, with dual-balancing for self-reported race/ethnicity (e.g., White, Black, Asian-American and Hispanic) and four stages of diabetes severity (e.g., no diabetes, lifestyle controlled, oral medication controlled, and insulin dependent). Building balanced training datasets is critical for the development of unbiased ML models. Thus, rather than targeting the demographic distribution of the U.S. population, we intentionally will recruit equal numbers of four racial/ethnic groups. The same rationale applies for balancing diabetic severity.
Due to the large number of patient participants volunteering for this study, and the goal of equal numbers, patient recruitment will be key. Delve Health's Clinical StudyPal platform will help decentralize the study, allowing UW Medicine to recruit patients from all over the United States, regardless of a patient's geographical locationalso allowing historically underrepresented patient populations access to participate.
About Delve Health
Delve Health works to innovate digital healthcare and decentralized clinical trials (DCTs) with a multi-modal platform to provide a customizable, end-to-end solution that fits every trial. Our unified platform is fully-configurable, which allows sponsors to pick and choose the necessary components for each individual study. This could be a mix of digital recruitment; patient engagement; eConsent with facial recognition; TeleHealth and in-person visits; ePRO/eCOA; remote data capture via integration with smart devices; biosensors; medical devices; and data analytics; all deployable in multiple languages allowing for research in emerging markets (i.e., Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East). Our global team is committed to improving virtual, hybrid, and traditional clinical studies with technology solutions for patients and clinical researchers. Delve Health is a privately held company, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN with remote offices in Florida, Washington, DC, the United Kingdom, Belize and Pakistan.
For more information, visit: www.delvehealth.com
Follow our LinkedIn updates: www.linkedin.com/company/delve-health
About UW Medicine
UW Medicine is an integrated clinical, research and learning health system with a single mission to improve the health of the public.
Dr. Aaron Lee, Ophthalmology at UW Medicine, will be the principal investigator of the data generation projects, AI Ready and Equitable Atlas for Diabetes Insights (AI-READI). The goal of AI-READI is to develop a multi-modal atlas of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by collecting data from a diverse population, while simultaneously creating a roadmap for ethical and equitable research that focuses on the diversity of the research participants as well as the workforce involved at all stages of the research process (collection, curation, and analysis). For more information, visit: https://comp.ophthalmology.uw.edu/
CONTACT:
+1.952.200.6228
[email protected]
SOURCE Delve Health
TSX.V: DME
U.S. OTC: DMEHF
Frankfurt: QM01
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - DESERT MOUNTAIN ENERGY CORP. (the "Company") (TSXV: DME) (U.S. OTC: DMEHF) (Frankfurt: QM01) From the President of the Company. The Company is pleased to announce that it has signed a letter of agreement to purchase raw or crude helium gas from PetroSun, subject to approval by the Company and available processing capacity at the anticipated date of delivery. The agreement calls for pricing to be set based on market pricing conditions at the time of purchase and the gaseous chemical composition of the raw or partially processed gas. This agreement does not call for nor shall it be interpreted as a dedication of helium percentages or volumes from any PetroSun well(s) to any specific current or future Desert Mountain Energy processing facility. The Company has agreed to consider opportunities to explore for hydrogen on PetroSun leaseholds.
The Company has further agreed to cooperate and assist PetroSun with future exploration for both helium and hydrogen, where feasible for seismic testing and other geophysics, in order to lower overall costs. The Company feels that when applicable, it will assist in securing rig availabilities, and trucking, coupled with other testing and operational aspects.
"We look forward to working with PetroSun in their areas along with maximizing, when possible, our existing trucking, personal, and processing facilities," says Robert Rohlfing, CEO of DME. "In our discussions with the CFO & President, they were desirous of looking for ways to adapt some of our drilling and completion procedures to ensure the protection of the environment going forward. Our Company is committed to conducting our business activities in an environmentally sound manner."
DME will continue to actively pursue gas purchase agreements with other operators to purchase raw gas or crude helium that conforms to the Company's stated operational guidelines. The company plans to build and operate additional plants, based on our primary McCauley Helium Processing Facility, with features to handle a wide variety of noble gas mixtures. This strategy permits the Company to maximize throughputs by adding additional wells not owned and operated by DME for the benefit of our shareholders.
PetroSun is an Arizona-based company with over 250,000 acres of land in Arizona. It trades on the OTC pink sheets and is in the process of completing its newest well.
ABOUT DESERT MOUNTAIN ENERGY
Desert Mountain Energy Corp. is a publicly traded resource company primarily focused on exploration, development and production of helium, hydrogen and noble gases. The Company is primarily looking for elements deemed critical to the renewable energy and high technology industries.
We seek safe harbor
"Robert Rohlfing"
Robert Rohlfing
Exec Chairman & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in polices of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The statements made in this press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward looking statements and information herein include but are not limited to statements regarding the Company's anticipated performance in the future the planned exploration activities, receipt of positive results from drilling, the completion of further drilling and exploration work, and the timing and results of various activities.
Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company and its operations to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, changes in national and local governments, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and the United States; financial risks due to helium prices, operating or technical difficulties in exploration and development activities; risks and hazards and the speculative nature of resource exploration and related development; risks in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, and challenges to the Company's title to properties.
Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to the continued operation of the Company's exploration operations, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company does not intend to, and nor does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.
SOURCE Desert Mountain Energy Corp.
The new location provides dog waste removal services to residents and communities of all sizes
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DoodyCalls, a nationwide leader in pet waste removal services, is growing its footprint in the pooper scooper industry with the opening of an office in Kansas City, Missouri. DoodyCalls currently cleans up in over 80 territories across 26 states and has been named the number-one pet waste removal franchise in the United States by Entrepreneur Magazine's annual Franchise 500 list.
Jerron and Melanie Batts, an active member of the Army Reserves with a career in Human Resources and a law student respectfully, were looking for a new challenge and a way to build a local legacy. As recent Kansas City transplants, the Batts family officially open their DoodyCalls doors on March 1, 2023, and know their big business can offer the community a way to outsource the dirty work of having pets while giving the Batts team a chance to further integrate into their new stomping grounds, even when the work is messy.
"My wife and I are so excited to embark on our new business journey with DoodyCalls and become a bigger part of the Authority Brands franchise family and know there are invaluable resources that will help propel us to success right in our own neighborhood," said Jerron Batts, co-owner and operator of DoodyCalls of Kansas City. "We are looking forward to growing deep roots in our community by offering our neighbors a valuable and reliable service that can give them back some meaningful time with their beloved pets."
The Batts were originally attracted to the simple structure, fun branding, and valuable service DoodyCalls provides their customers around the country. Looking to find a franchise option that felt like family and offered support, Jerron Batts found a solution in DoodyCalls and parent company Authority Brands' franchise network where the pair felt welcomed and like they had the top-down support at every level.
"Our team at DoodyCalls welcomes the dynamic Batts team into our franchise fold and we are happy to expand our offerings to the Heart of America in Missouri," said Larry Amos, Vice President of DoodyCalls. "With the Kansas City team's tenacity and passion for providing top-level customer service, we are optimistic about their future success in the community and look forward to continuing to support the team as the grow in the coming years."
The Kansas City DoodyCalls franchise will service the following areas: Lees Summit, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Kansas City, and the surrounding areas
The scoop on what DoodyCalls offers:
For residential dog owners, DoodyCalls provides dog waste pickup, and deodorizing services.
DoodyCalls provides dog waste pickup, and deodorizing services. For communities and parks, DoodyCalls designs, sells, installs, services and maintains common areas, pet waste stations, equipment and supplies.
To learn more about the new franchise location, please visit https://www.doodycalls.com/kansas-city. DoodyCalls is currently seeking poop scoop franchise operators who align with the brand's values of humility, ethical leadership, integrity, respect, and providing the best service experience possible. To learn more about franchise opportunities or to find a local service technician, visit https://www.doodycalls.com/locations/ .
About Doody Calls
DoodyCalls was founded in 2000 by Jacob and Susan D'Aniello in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington DC. In 2004, the company began franchising its pet waste removal business nationwide and established corporate headquarters in Charlottesville, VA. DoodyCalls provides service to 26 states and the District of Columbia with dog waste pickup with consumer and industrial services. For more information about DoodyCalls, visit www.doodycalls.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sarah O'Connor-Guffey
Fish Consulting
815-630-9557 | [email protected]
SOURCE DoodyCalls
- MSP's First New York Location is World-Renowned Dermatology Center -
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - MedSpa Partners Inc. ("MSP") is proud to welcome Dr. Doris Day and her team to its top-tier North American medical aesthetics platform. Located in Manhattan's Upper East Side, Day Dermatology & Aesthetics is a world leader in providing the highest degree of personalized care to their discerning patients.
A true multidisciplinary professional, Dr. Day wears the hats of board-certified dermatologist, author, radio show host, medical journalist, and clinical researcher just to name a few. Driven by a relentless passion for learning, she has spent decades studying anatomy and the aging process, developing a deep understanding of both the physical and emotional factors of beauty. Translating this knowledge into practice, Dr. Day emphasizes a personalized and balanced treatment approach that helps patients look and feel rejuvenated at all ages, without compromising their uniqueness.
Speaking on her reasons for joining MedSpa Partners, Dr. Day shared, "I had felt for a while that having to spend so much time as a business owner was limiting my creativity and growth as a dermatologist. And while I hadn't really been looking to partner with an acquisition group, when a trusted colleague joined MSP and told me how happy he was with his decision, I decided to talk to them. Meeting Dominic helped me realize that having the support of the right group can help me grow further than I could on my own, while allowing me to focus on being the doctor that I want to be. All of my conversations with the team at MSP have been focused on understanding how I want to grow, how I want to practice, and on how they can help me get there. MSP gets high-value cosmetic medicine, and they want to support doctors that want to deliver that."
MSP CEO Dominic Mazzone commented, "Even after consistent announcements of some of the biggest names in the world of medical aesthetics joining MedSpa Partners, I still get excited every time a new partner joins MSP. But today's announcement is particularly exciting. Dr. Doris Day is a phenomenon. There aren't many people who can effortlessly switch back and forth between being one of the most influential thought leaders in cosmetic dermatology and giving Kelly Ripa laughing gas on live national TV. This is what makes Dr. Day so truly unique not only has she spent decades at the forefront of her field, but she also has a remarkable talent for being able to communicate her knowledge in ways that all of us can understand and benefit from. And even with this unparalleled list of accomplishments, Dr. Day continues to be one of the most genuine people I have ever met. It has been such a pleasure getting to know her, and we are excited and inspired by the vision that she brings to MSP."
About MedSpa Partners Inc.
MedSpa Partners is acquiring North America's leading Medical Aesthetics clinics, with the goal of allowing our industry-leading partners to achieve their personal and professional aspirations by creating world-class customer experiences through support, collaboration, and community. MSP is a portfolio company of Persistence Capital Partners, the leading private equity fund exclusively focused on high-growth opportunities in the healthcare field. Additional information on MSP is available at www.medspapartners.com.
SOURCE MedSpa Partners Inc.
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electronic Health Records Market by Deployment, Component, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2023-2027 report has been published by Technavio. Market size is forecast to grow by USD 32.27 billion between 2022 and 2027. However, the growth momentum will be decelerating at a CAGR of 12.91%. The report includes historic market data from 2017 to 2021. In 2017, the market was valued at USD 21.76 billion. 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. Download A PDF Sample Report
Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Electronic Health Records Market 2023-2027
Regional Analysis
By region, the global electronic health records market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW). North America will account for 41% of market growth during the forecast period. Factors such as an increase in the prevalence of acute and chronic diseases, including several heart diseases, diabetes, cancer, and high awareness regarding the benefits of EHR are driving the growth of the electronic health records market in North America. To know about regional and country-wise contributions - Buy the report
Company Profiles
The electronic health records market report includes information on the key products and recent developments of leading vendors, including:
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - The company offers electronic health records for various purposes, ranging from independent medical professionals to large adminstrative health records in the hospitals.
- The company offers electronic health records for various purposes, ranging from independent medical professionals to large adminstrative health records in the hospitals. CareCloud Inc. - The company offers athenaClinicals which is designed to help medical experts research documents more efficiently and accurately as well as providing high quality care of documents.
- The company offers athenaClinicals which is designed to help medical experts research documents more efficiently and accurately as well as providing high quality care of documents. CureMD.com Inc. - The company offers EHR solutions through American HealthTech for post acute care facilities.
- The company offers EHR solutions through American HealthTech for post acute care facilities. Dedalus Group - The company offers CureMDs cloud based Electronic Health Record with complete access to appointments, clinical reviews, patient notes, medical histories, and document manager, all bundled in one app.
Market Dynamics
The market is driven by factors such as benefits of EHR leading to rise in adoption, government initiatives supporting EHR adoption, and growing digitization of healthcare industry. However, rising data security and privacy concerns are hindering the market growth.
Competitive Analysis
The competitive scenario categorizes companies based on various performance indicators. Some of the factors considered include the financial performance of companies over the past few years, growth strategies, product innovations, new product launches, investments, and growth in market share among others. Request a Sample
Market Segmentation
By deployment, the market is segmented into on-premise and cloud-based.
By geography, the market is segmented into North America , Europe , Asia , and Rest of World (ROW).
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What are the key data covered in this electronic health records market report?
CAGR of the market during the forecast period.
Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the market between 2023 and 2027
Precise estimation of the size of the electronic health records market and its contribution to the parent market.
Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior.
Growth of the market across North America , Europe , Asia , and Rest of World (ROW).
, , , and Rest of World (ROW). A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors.
Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of electronic health records market vendors.
Electronic Health Records Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 166 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Decelerate at a CAGR of 12.91% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 32.27 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 13.53 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW) Performing market contribution North America at 41% Key countries US, Canada, UK, Germany, and China Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., CareCloud Inc., Computer Programs and Systems Inc., CureMD.com Inc., Dedalus Group, eClinicalWorks LLC, Epic Systems Corp., EverCommerce Inc., General Electric Co., Global Payments Inc., Greenway Health LLC, KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd., McKesson Corp., MEDHOST, Medical Information Technology Inc., Oracle Corp., Siemens AG, Tebra Technologies Inc., Athenahealth Inc., and Dell Technologies Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, 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 Deployment
Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Component
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 electronic health records market 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size Data Table on Global electronic health records market 2017 - 2021 ($ billion)
4.2 Deployment Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size Deployment Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion)
4.3 Component Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size Component 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 Deployment
6.1 Market segments
Exhibit 30: Chart on Deployment - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 31: Data Table on Deployment - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
6.2 Comparison by Deployment
Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Deployment
Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Deployment
6.3 On-premise - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 34: Chart on On-premise - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 35: Data Table on On-premise - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 36: Chart on On-premise - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 37: Data Table on On-premise - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.4 Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 38: Chart on Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 39: Data Table on Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 40: Chart on Cloud-based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 41: Data Table on Cloud-based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.5 Market opportunity by Deployment
Exhibit 42: Market opportunity by Deployment ($ billion)
7 Market Segmentation by Component
7.1 Market segments
Exhibit 43: Chart on Component - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 44: Data Table on Component - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
7.2 Comparison by Component
Exhibit 45: Chart on Comparison by Component
Exhibit 46: Data Table on Comparison by Component
7.3 Services - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 47: Chart on Services - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 48: Data Table on Services - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 49: Chart on Services - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 50: Data Table on Services - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
7.4 Software - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 51: Chart on Software - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 52: Data Table on Software - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 53: Chart on Software - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 54: Data Table on Software - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
7.5 Hardware - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 55: Chart on Hardware - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 56: Data Table on Hardware - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 57: Chart on Hardware - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 58: Data Table on Hardware - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
7.6 Market opportunity by Component
Exhibit 59: Market opportunity by Component ($ billion)
8 Customer Landscape
8.1 Customer landscape overview
Exhibit 60: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria
9 Geographic Landscape
9.1 Geographic segmentation
Exhibit 61: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 62: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)
9.2 Geographic comparison
Exhibit 63: Chart on Geographic comparison
Exhibit 64: Data Table on Geographic comparison
9.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 65: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 66: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 67: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 68: 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 69: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 70: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 71: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 72: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.5 Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 73: Chart on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 74: Data Table on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 75: Chart on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 76: Data Table on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.6 Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 77: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 78: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 79: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 80: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.7 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 81: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 82: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 83: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 84: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.8 Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 86: Data Table on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 87: Chart on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 88: Data Table on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.9 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 89: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 90: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 91: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 92: 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 93: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 94: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion)
Exhibit 95: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 96: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.11 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 (%)
9.12 Market opportunity by geography
Exhibit 101: 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 102: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027
10.4 Market trends
11 Vendor Landscape
11.1 Overview
11.2 Vendor landscape
Exhibit 103: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation
11.3 Landscape disruption
Exhibit 104: Overview on factors of disruption
11.4 Industry risks
Exhibit 105: Impact of key risks on business
12 Vendor Analysis
12.1 Vendors covered
Exhibit 106: Vendors covered
12.2 Market positioning of vendors
Exhibit 107: Matrix on vendor position and classification
12.3 Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc.
Exhibit 108: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 109: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Business segments
Exhibit 110: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Key news
Exhibit 111: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Key offerings
Exhibit 112: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Segment focus
12.4 Athenahealth Inc.
Exhibit 113: Athenahealth Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 114: Athenahealth Inc. - Product / Service
Exhibit 115: Athenahealth Inc. - Key offerings
12.5 CareCloud Inc.
Exhibit 116: CareCloud Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 117: CareCloud Inc. - Business segments
Exhibit 118: CareCloud Inc. - Key news
Exhibit 119: CareCloud Inc. - Key offerings
Exhibit 120: CareCloud Inc. - Segment focus
12.6 Computer Programs and Systems Inc.
Exhibit 121: Computer Programs and Systems Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 122: Computer Programs and Systems Inc. - Business segments
Exhibit 123: Computer Programs and Systems Inc. - Key offerings
Exhibit 124: Computer Programs and Systems Inc. - Segment focus
12.7 CureMD.com Inc.
Exhibit 125: CureMD.com Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 126: CureMD.com Inc. - Product / Service
Exhibit 127: CureMD.com Inc. - Key offerings
12.8 Dedalus Group
Exhibit 128: Dedalus Group - Overview
Exhibit 129: Dedalus Group - Product / Service
Exhibit 130: Dedalus Group - Key offerings
12.9 Dell Technologies Inc.
Exhibit 131: Dell Technologies Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 132: Dell Technologies Inc. - Business segments
Exhibit 133: Dell Technologies Inc. - Key news
Exhibit 134: Dell Technologies Inc. - Key offerings
Exhibit 135: Dell Technologies Inc. - Segment focus
12.10 eClinicalWorks LLC
Exhibit 136: eClinicalWorks LLC - Overview
Exhibit 137: eClinicalWorks LLC - Product / Service
Exhibit 138: eClinicalWorks LLC - Key news
Exhibit 139: eClinicalWorks LLC - Key offerings
12.11 Epic Systems Corp.
Exhibit 140: Epic Systems Corp. - Overview
Exhibit 141: Epic Systems Corp. - Product / Service
Exhibit 142: Epic Systems Corp. - Key offerings
12.12 EverCommerce Inc.
Exhibit 143: EverCommerce Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 144: EverCommerce Inc. - Product / Service
Exhibit 145: EverCommerce Inc. - Key offerings
12.13 General Electric Co.
Exhibit 146: General Electric Co. - Overview
Exhibit 147: General Electric Co. - Business segments
Exhibit 148: General Electric Co. - Key news
Exhibit 149: General Electric Co. - Key offerings
Exhibit 150: General Electric Co. - Segment focus
12.14 Global Payments Inc.
Exhibit 151: Global Payments Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 152: Global Payments Inc. - Business segments
Exhibit 153: Global Payments Inc. - Key offerings
Exhibit 154: Global Payments Inc. - Segment focus
12.15 Greenway Health LLC
Exhibit 155: Greenway Health LLC - Overview
Exhibit 156: Greenway Health LLC - Product / Service
Exhibit 157: Greenway Health LLC - Key offerings
12.16 KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Exhibit 158: KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 159: KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service
Exhibit 160: KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings
12.17 Oracle Corp.
Exhibit 161: Oracle Corp. - Overview
Exhibit 162: Oracle Corp. - Business segments
Exhibit 163: Oracle Corp. - Key news
Exhibit 164: Oracle Corp. - Key offerings
Exhibit 165: Oracle Corp. - Segment focus
13 Appendix
13.1 Scope of the report
13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist
Exhibit 166: Inclusions checklist
Exhibit 167: Exclusions checklist
13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$
Exhibit 168: Currency conversion rates for US$
13.4 Research methodology
Exhibit 169: Research methodology
Exhibit 170: Validation techniques employed for market sizing
Exhibit 171: Information sources
13.5 List of abbreviations
Exhibit 172: List of abbreviations
About Us
Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.
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SOURCE Technavio
Firm promotes Cory Ellison to President and hires Brady Harris as Executive Vice President
TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellison Construction, formerly EWI Construction, a leading construction management firm in the Tampa Bay area, is proud to announce Cory Ellison as President and Brady Harris as the company's new Executive Vice President and partner of the firm.
Left to Right: Casey Ellison, Sam Ellison, Cory Ellison, Brady Harris
Cory Ellison has been with Ellison Construction since its inception in 2007. Starting as a project manager, Cory has grown his role within the company and was most recently Chief Operating Officer. As President, he will be responsible for the firm's operations, oversee budgets, and provide high-level oversight across Ellison's projects.
"Cory has been an integral part in the growth of Ellison Construction, working in all aspects of the business from the field to the office," said Casey Ellison, now CEO of Ellison Companies. "I look forward to watching him continue to grow into the leader of the construction sector of the company."
Brady Harris has over 27 years of experience in the construction industry in the Tampa Bay market. Harris will be tasked with executing the company's daily operations and will oversee business administration and construction activities. In addition, he will be accountable for ensuring that Ellison Construction projects are successfully delivered and with the exacting quality that is standard on all Ellison projects.
Before joining Ellison, Harris recently served as the Area Leader and Senior Project Executive for Gilbane Building Company following his 21 years of project leadership with Batson-Cook Construction
"In a time of positive change and growth for Ellison, now was the perfect time to add Brady's deep knowledge and industry experience to our growing team." Said Cory Ellison. "We're lucky to bring him on board as EVP and partner. Beyond his experience, Brady aligns with our core values and is highly respected in the Tampa community."
Harris serves as Treasurer of the executive board of directors for the Associated Builders and Contractors Florida Gulf Coast Chapter and Leadership Tampa Bay as the immediate past chair. In addition, he is a program member of the MacDill Air Force 927th Honorary Commander Program.
"I've known the Ellisons for a long time and could not be more excited to take the next step in my career with them," says Harris. "No other company could be a better fit for me. Not only is Ellison the most innovative, agile builder in the market, but they're built on a foundation of family which was essential for me."
The Construction firm, founded in 2007 by Casey Ellison, has grown revenues to over $100 million annually. In addition to the promotion of Cory and the hiring of Harris, Casey will be shifting his focus to establishing and growing the new development arm of the company as CEO of Ellison Companies, which includes Ellison Construction and Ellison Development. Sam Ellison will remain CEO of Ellison Advisors
"While my focus might be shifting to launch Ellison Development, I'll still be active in the Construction business," explains Casey. "The relationships I have with our clients are so important to me. I'll continue to support Cory and Brady in any way I can to continue the success of Ellison Construction; after all, that's where the whole dream started."
Their portfolio consists of many of Tampa's iconic destinations, including Oxford Exchange, Armature Works, Sparkman Wharf, and Hotel Haya. Currently, Ellison is the construction manager for The Nolen, a luxury 23-story condominium tower in downtown St. Pete which will feature 31 residences and many other projects throughout Tampa Bay.
About Ellison Construction
Founded in 2007, Ellison Construction is a leading commercial construction company in Florida. Ellison is a leader of high-quality construction, adaptive reuse, and placemaking projects in Tampa Bay. The company was built on the foundation of unparalleled customer service, a deep understanding of the Tampa Bay market, and an appreciation for exceptional design. Recently named AIA Florida's Contractor of the year, the firm has earned a reputation for doing all things with integrity and getting the job done right. Find out more about the company and its projects at: www.ellisonbuilds.com
About Ellison Development
Ellison Development is a real estate development firm based in Tampa, FL. Founded by Casey Ellison, the firm is focused on acquiring, developing, and constructing architecturally significant mixed-use projects that aim to build timeless projects that embrace and enhance their local community.
About Ellison Advisors
Ellison Advisors is an owner's representative firm with an understanding of the design and building processes like no other. Serving clients in the complex and ever-changing construction world, Ellison Advisors provides industry expertise to guide the building process, support ownership, and ensure projects run smoothly. Ellison Advisors have completed landmark projects across the US, most recently completing Bishop's Lodge in Sante Fe, NM, and the Tampa Museum of Art's Phase One Renovation.
SOURCE Ellison Construction
Following the hiring frenzy of the pandemic, leaders are focused on total value creation by empowering their teams to learn, grow and be ready for any contingency.
ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Randstad Enterprise today launched its 2023 Talent Trends Report , which surveyed over 900 C-suite and HR leaders in 18 markets on their talent and career development priorities for the year ahead. Now in its 8th year, this year's report finds that despite an uncertain economic environment, business leaders are focused on driving long-term value and business impact by increasing talent engagement, satisfaction, productivity, and retention, following the hiring frenzy of the last two years.
Focus returns to value creation vs. cost savings
This year, nearly twice as many talent leaders (77%) say their talent acquisition strategies are more about total value creation for the company than achieving cost savings compared to 45% of respondents in the 2022 edition of the Talent Trends Report.
"With the tumult of the pandemic behind us, employers are returning to focus on the opportunity to transform how they retain their people and attract new talent through a more people-focused, mission-driven work experience," said Mike Smith, Chief Executive of Randstad Enterprise.
Moreover, 80% of leaders say the goal of their company's talent strategy is to have a measurable impact on business performance, the highest level since before the pandemic, representing a shift in thinking to business value. This year, 77% of organizational leaders also recognize the importance of workforce agility, an increase of 11 points over 2022.
Growing concerns over the increasing talent shortage
Acquiring the right talent is still challenging. Nearly half of all respondents (42%) say talent scarcity remains one of their biggest pain points or is having a negative impact on their business the highest number in the history of the Talent Trends Report.
Given ongoing talent shortages, especially for those with high-demand skills, many companies seek to re-train existing resources to move into those crucial roles. More than three-quarters (76%) of leaders are increasing their focus on skilling and career engagement, while 56% plan to increase spending on internal talent mobility platforms.
HR's return on investment
All of these factors point to another key trend: the need for businesses to differentiate by delivering an outstanding talent experience, spanning initial attraction and engagement, hiring, development, internal mobility, career transition and retirement.
Overall, 81% say their organizations are more focused on the talent experience and are investing in several areas to improve how they attract and retain talent. These include making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a central part of their talent strategy as cited by 74% of respondents, using technology to improve engagement (72%), creating talent communities and content plans to engage and nurture future talent (71%) or conducting internal audits to map the candidate experience (69%).
"Many leaders are taking a more people-centric approach, focusing on the talent experience to ensure their teams have the support and resources to grow professionally, while evolving their organizations to be well equipped to address any business fluctuations or other obstacles. Their ultimate goal is to be a more agile organization where people are empowered to reach their full potential, in turn delivering a better return for the business due to a greater alignment between workforce strategies and business priorities," said Smith.
Tech: a boost, but not the boss
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, technology plays a crucial role in enhancing the employee experience. However, the report shows technology is a recognized enabler, not the primary focus. Companies that prioritize their employees above all else are experiencing the greatest success in large HR tech initiatives. According to industry expert Josh Bersin, the employee experience has taken center stage as the core of human capital systems, recognizing its significance in the enterprise talent strategy. Bersin states, "Every company should have the talent experience at the forefront of their talent strategy. This is the most impactful way to differentiate themselves in the highly competitive market for specialized skills."
Randstad Enterprise 2023 Talent Trends Report Key Findings More C-suite and HR leaders believe their talent strategies are becoming more aligned with business strategies through enhanced value creation, impact, and agility.
80% say the purpose of their talent strategy is to make a measurable impact on the business.
77% agree that talent acquisition is more about value creation than cost savings, an increase of 32 points since 2022.
77% say their strategy is more focused on agility, 11 points higher than last year.
The challenge of finding critical talent hasn't gone away, with 42% of respondents the highest percentage ever in a Talent Trends Report saying talent scarcity remains one of their biggest pain points.
To help overcome talent scarcity, 76% of respondents plan to focus more on skilling and career development, while 56% plan to increase their spending on internal talent mobility platforms.
82% report talent acquisition is changing, and they're now expected to think about mobility, development, career pathways, and skilling in addition to recruitment.
Recognizing the importance of a highly positive talent journey in attracting and retaining talent, the vast majority of leaders (81%) continue to be more focused on the talent experience than other competing priorities.
Additional resources
About the Randstad Enterprise Talent Trends Report
The Talent Trends Report was launched in 2016 and now covers 18 markets around the world. It includes the views of more than 900 C-suite and human capital leaders. This survey was conducted by a third party on behalf of Randstad Enterprise during Q4 of 2022 in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nordics, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, U.K., U.S.
About Randstad Enterprise
Randstad Enterprise is the leading global talent solutions provider, enabling companies to drive business agility by putting people at the center of their business strategies. As part of Randstad N.V. the world's largest HR services provider and driven to become the world's most valued "worklife partner" with revenue of 27.6 billion we combine unmatched talent insights and innovative technologies with global delivery capabilities. Our integrated talent solutions talent acquisition, management, and transition help drive intentional and inclusive talent-centric strategies that create sustainable business value and support people to unleash their worklife possibilities.
For more information, visit randstadenterprise.com .
SOURCE Randstad
MADRID, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eternalplanet is a consumer-oriented independent brand of energy technology under Canadian Solar, a leading provider of solar energy solutions. On February 21 at the Genera 2023: International Energy and Environment Fair held in Spain, Eternalplanet launched EP Cube, a residential energy storage system for the European market. This marks a new step for EP Cube's global strategy since its successful landing in the American market last year.
EP Cube residential energy storage system
EP Cube is an integrated residential energy storage system. The system integrates a hybrid inverter and modular lithium iron phosphate batteries, allowing users to manage energy production, consumption, and storage at home in a smart manner. Besides, the system boasts an attractive and compact design, easy installation, customizable storage capacity, remote control, and safe and reliable operation. "After the release at the fair in Spain, EP Cube will be available successively in Italy, UK and Germany", said Eternalplanet GM Andy Yin.
Flexible Expansion of Storage Capacity
With a stackable and modular storage design, the capacity of a single battery module is approximately equal to 3.3kWh, weighing 35kg. This design makes the product easy to transport and install. Each unit can stack with 2-6 battery modules. The whole unit is available in five sizes offering with capacities ranging from 6.6kWh- to 19.9kWh in total. The modules are available in five sizes and can meet various residential energy demands.
Stylish and Compact Appearance
Different from traditional storage units in the form of a thick, heavy, and big ironmetal box, EP Cube is thin and compact, taking up less space. Its gray metal shell looks streamlined and stylish, making the product more appealing, and a perfect match for different home decor styles.
Safe and Reliable Battery Technology
EP Cube has always placed safety at the top of its agenda. The system focuses on delivering long-term energy solutions that meet high safety standards. Its batteries are made with lithium iron phosphate that which has excellent thermal and chemical stability, and has acquired a series of certificates from IEC. The product is IP65 rated with a ten-year warranty.
Perfect Compatibility
EP Cube integrates a hybrid inverter and supports 2 MPPT connections and max. 16 Amp photovoltaic (PV) DC input. It can also store DC electricity from existing PV systems and the grid. In addition, EP Cube can be connected with max. 7.4kW EV chargers. This strong compatibility will reduce the cost of home rewiring.
APP Smart Monitoring
The operation and management of EP Cube is highly intelligent. It can connect to WiFi and Ethernet. EP Cube APP allows you to monitor your residence's energy production, storage, and consumption of your residence remotely. When harsh weather is coming, EP Cube's APP will remind you to store energy in advance. In addition, it also allows OTA(Over-the-Air)firmware upgrade.
Facilitate a Greener Life
EP Cube can make full use of solar power to store energy, thus relying less on the grid, helping users to save electricity bills, and effectively cutting carbon emissions. The integrated design, modular batteries, and strong compatibility lower the cost of installation and management cost, and therefore reducing the waste of resources.
As many regions in Europe face challenges brought by energy transition, such as constantly rising electricity bills, and unstable power supply caused by extreme weather, more and more home owners are eager to seek more economical, reliable, and cleaner home energy solutions. "Using solar power and home energy storage batteries to produce and manage energy is one of the best solutions to realize home energy independence. We hope, in the future, every house can be energy self-sufficient and people can use clean energy for free," said Eternalplanet GM Andy Yin.
Angel.Fung
Public Releationship Manager
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: https://eternalplanetenergy.com
SOURCE Eternalplanet Energy
MADRID, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eternalplanet is a consumer-oriented independent brand of energy technology under Canadian Solar, a leading provider of solar energy solutions. On February 21 at the Genera 2023: International Energy and Environment Fair held in Spain, Eternalplanet launched EP Cube, a residential energy storage system for the European market.
EP Cube
EP Cube integrates a hybrid inverter and modular batteries, allowing users to manage energy production, consumption, and storage at home in a smart manner. Besides, the system boasts an attractive and compact design, easy installation, customizable storage capacity and remote control. "After the release at the fair in Spain, EP Cube will be available successively in Italy, UK and Germany," said Eternalplanet GM Andy Yin.
Flexible Expansion of Storage Capacity
With a stackable and modular storage design, the capacity of a single battery module is approximately equal to 3.3kWh, weighing 35kg. This design makes the product easy to transport and install. Each unit can stack with 2-6 battery modules. The whole unit is available in five sizes offering with capacities ranging from 6.6kWh- to 19.9kWh in total. The modules are available in five sizes and can meet various residential energy demands.
Safe and Reliable Battery Technology
Its batteries are made with lithium iron phosphate that which has excellent thermal and chemical stability, and has acquired a series of certificates from IEC. The product is IP65 rated with a ten-year warranty.
Perfect Compatibility
EP Cube integrates a hybrid inverter and supports 2 MPPT connections and max. 16 Amp photovoltaic (PV) DC input. It can also store DC electricity from existing PV systems and the grid. In addition, EP Cube can be connected with max. 7.4kW EV chargers. This strong compatibility will reduce the cost of home rewiring.
APP Smart Monitoring
EP Cube APP allows you to monitor your residence's energy production, storage, and consumption of your residence remotely. When harsh weather is coming, EP Cube's APP will remind you to store energy in advance. In addition, it also allows OTA(Over-the-Air) firmware upgrade.
"Using solar power and home energy storage batteries to produce and manage energy is one of the best solutions to realize home energy independence. We hope, in the future, every house can be energy self-sufficient and people can use clean energy for free," said Eternalplanet GM Andy Yin.
Angel Fung
Public Releationship Manager
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: https://eternalplanetenergy.com
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2006414/EP_Cube.jpg
SOURCE Eternalplanet Energy
SINGAPORE and CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EVERSANA, a pioneer of next-generation commercial services to the global life sciences industry, today announced its strategic consulting arm EVERSANA CONSULTING, has been named to Vault's 2023 Top Consulting Ranking in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
EVERSANA CONSULTING APAC has been ranked as a top consulting firm in several categories across the Asia Pacific region.
The EVERSANA CONSULTING APAC team ranked in the Top 10 for several individual categories, including quality of life and diversity. This is the first year the team has participated in the regional rankings and follows the recent announcement that EVERSANA's North America team was also named a Top 50 Boutique Consulting firm by Vault in early February.
"Our consulting team across the Asia Pacific region continues to grow and create tremendous impact for our clients in helping solve their most complex commercialization challenges," said Jim Lang, CEO at EVERSANA. "Vault's ranking is a testament to our team's commitment to world-class work, a vibrant culture and career growth opportunities for experts in the region."
Vault's Asia-Pacific Consulting listing is based on a survey of more than 90 firms and 1,000 professionals who anonymously shared rankings on workplace topics including firm culture, compensation, work-life balance, business outlook and more.
Vault's Firsthand Findings note that EVERSANA CONSULTING is "growing quickly in the region and suggest that opportunities abound for any consultant who is willing to put in the time and take on new responsibilities and stretch roles." To view the profile, click here.
EVERSANA CONSULTING is the global consulting services arm of EVERSANA, serving a broad range of large and small biopharma, med tech and digital therapeutics companies. The team combines business strategy, launch excellence and commercial execution to provide end-to-end advisory services to clients. To learn more, visit https://www.eversana.com/global/asia-pacific/consulting/.
About EVERSANA
EVERSANA is the leading independent provider of global services to the life sciences industry. The company's integrated solutions are rooted in the patient experience and span all stages of the product life cycle to deliver long-term, sustainable value for patients, prescribers, channel partners and payers. The company serves more than 650 organizations, including innovative start-ups and established pharmaceutical companies, to advance life sciences solutions for a healthier world. To learn more about EVERSANA, visit eversana.com or connect through LinkedIn and Twitter.
Media:
Matt Braun
[email protected]
+1 414-434-4830
SOURCE EVERSANA
Award from the leading defense industry association recognizes outstanding contributions and support of the Defense Industrial Base
NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Exiger, a global leading third-party and supply chain management software company, today announced that President of Government Solutions Carrie Wibben is the recipient of the National Defense Industrial Association's Dr. Desmond G. Newman Award for Supply Chain Excellence. The award honors the year's most meaningful contributions to supply chain management, particularly in support of the Defense Industrial Base.
"We celebrate Carrie's commitment to upholding the highest standard of supply chain excellence," Brandon Daniels, CEO Tweet this Carrie Wibben, President of Government Solutions at Exiger
"Carrie is incredibly deserving of this honor and we're pleased to celebrate her commitment to upholding the highest standard of supply chain excellence," said Exiger CEO Brandon Daniels. "She's a passionate trailblazer who's dedicated much of her career to supporting our National Security mission and protecting our most critical supply chains in our Defense Industrial Base."
Wibben has been at the frontlines of Exiger's efforts to help the U.S. Federal Government solve today's most complex supply chain, third party risk and compliance challenges. She has brought Exiger's innovative technology and expertise to the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the General Services Administration, as well as the entire Defense Industrial Base.
"It's truly humbling to receive this honor," said Wibben, who previously served as Deputy Director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, and as the Pentagon's Principal Deputy for Counterintelligence, Security, and Law Enforcement. "Now more than ever, there's a growing consensus around the vital need to equip both government agencies and the Defense Industrial Base alike with the technology they need to identify and address vulnerabilities in their supplier ecosystem, such as foreign ownership, control, or influence (FOCI). This award is also a testament to the contributions of my amazing team at Exiger who work tirelessly to protect our Industrial Base supply chains from adversarial exploitation and ensure only trusted suppliers can conduct business with the U.S. government."
Exiger's proprietary real-time supply chain management technology is transforming the supply chain management discipline. Responding to growing demands on companies and governments alike, Exiger's platform allows users to rapidly surface, understand and mitigate critical threats and delivers unparalleled transparency to manage complex global supply chains.
Exiger was recently awarded a first-of-its-kind, $74.5 million multi-year contract by the U.S. General Services Administration as its trusted partner to deliver a supply chain risk and third-party risk management enhanced capability, made available to the entire U.S. Federal Government. As part of the contract, Wibben's team is working closely across agencies to create a common community of interest and an unprecedented supplier risk information sharing capability. Over 40 government organizations have deployed Exiger's enterprise solution to strengthen resiliency in the sub-tier supplier ecosystem while bolstering national defenses against adversarial targeting and intellectual property (IP) theft.
Wibben's team was also involved in the U.S. Federal Government's COVID-19 response in early 2020, during which Exiger's platform was deployed to rapidly discover and conduct deep due diligence on tens of thousands of global medical suppliers to enable the safe and reliable procurement of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and PPE.
About NDIA
The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) is America's leading defense industry association promoting national security. NDIA provides a legal and ethical forum for the exchange of information between industry and government on national security issues. NDIA and its members foster the development of the most innovative and superior equipment, training, and support for warfighters and first responders through its divisions, local chapters, affiliated associations, and events. For more information, visit NDIA.org
About Exiger
Exiger is revolutionizing the way corporations, government agencies and banks manage risk and compliance in their third-parties, supply chains and customers through its software and tech-enabled solutions. Exiger's mission is to make the world a safer and more transparent place to prosper. Emboldening its 550 customers across the globe, including 150 in the Fortune 500 and over 40 government agencies, with award-winning AI technology, Exiger leads the way in ESG, cyber, financial crime, third-party and supply chain management. Its work has been recognized by 35+ AI, RegTech and Supply Chain partner awards. Learn more at Exiger.com and follow Exiger on LinkedIn.
For more information, please contact:
Articulate Communications for Exiger
[email protected]
1.212.255.1198
SOURCE Exiger
Explorance will contribute decades of knowledge, proven technologies and active guidance on talent management, learning and development, measurement and addressing global skills gaps
MONTREAL and CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Explorance , the leading provider of People Insight Solutions, today announced the company has joined the World Economic Forum New Champions Community. This opens the door for Explorance to collaborate with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and a group of purpose-driven, high-growth companies that are championing new business models, emerging technologies and sustainable growth strategies to create a better future.
According to WEF, closing the global skills gap could add US$11.5 trillion to global GDP by 2028. Both academic and professional education and training systems need to keep pace with the new demands of labor markets that are continually challenged by technological disruption, demographic change and the evolving nature of work.
As part of WEF's New Champions Community, Explorance brings expertise and best practices for capability insights management that identifies, measures and addresses skills gaps while reshaping academic and professional learning and development. By measuring the needs, expectations, skills, knowledge and competencies of over 20 million employees and students daily, the opportunity to strengthen reskilling and upskilling initiatives is at the core of Explorance's mission of continuous improvement.
"Joining the World Economic Forum New Champions Community will enable us to further connect with organizations who are committed to uplifting global society through learning, upskilling and inspiration, while measuring effectiveness and outcomes throughout growth journeys," said Samer Saab, Explorance Founder and CEO. He added, "By sharing our years of experience addressing organizational skills gaps, talent management and measuring the effectiveness of learning and development, we can help reshape education and training for the future and add a fresh point of view on how to solve global workforce challenges."
"We are excited to welcome Explorance to the World Economic Forum's New Champions Community," said Julia Devos, Head of the New Champions Community, World Economic Forum. "With decades of expertise and a strong technology suite, Explorance is strongly positioned to support our overall efforts in reskilling, upskilling and training global workforces with essential skills to future-proof careers and advance human innovation. Their values strongly align with the World Economic Forum's wider mission to improve the state of the world. We look forward to engaging with Explorance and developing our partnership in the long term."
To learn more about Explorance, please visit www.explorance.com .
About Explorance
Founded in 2003, Explorance supports more than 20 million people in their individual journeys of purpose, growth, and impact. As the leading provider of People Insight Solutions, Explorance empowers organizations with actionable decision-making by measuring students' and employees' needs, expectations, skills, knowledge, and competencies. Explorance facilitates continuous improvement and accelerates the insight-to-action cycle leading to personal growth and organizational agility. Headquartered in Montreal with business units in Chicago, Chennai, Melbourne, Amman, and London, Explorance works with 25% of the Fortune 100 and 25% of the top Higher Education institutions, including 8 of the world's top 10 business schools. The company has clients in more than 50 countries.
About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation committed to changing the state of the world. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation, and is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests. The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance. The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change. Please visit https://www.weforum.org/about/new-champions for more information on the New Champions Community.
Media Contacts
U.S. Inquiries
Jon Stone
FINN Partners
[email protected]
+1 312-766-5520
Canada Inquiries
Pauline Lazarus
Sid Lee
[email protected]
+1 514-655-0427
SOURCE Explorance
Sixty-Five Percent of Survey Respondents Said Older Adult Tools Helped Them Understand Healthcare Costs
Shared Decision Making Seen as a Vehicle for Patient Empowerment
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- An initiative undertaken by FAIR Healtha national, independent nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costsrevealed the need for cost information in shared decision-making discussions for adults aged 65 and over with serious health conditions. Shared decision making is the discussion between patient and/or caregiver and healthcare provider, balancing clinical options and patient preferences and values to make healthcare decisions. The initiative, generously funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, offered actionable insights regarding the challenges older adults face when making healthcare decisions and tools with cost information to help facilitate shared decision making among older adults, family caregivers and care partners. These insights and more are included in a brief released today by FAIR Health, Advancing Shared Decision Making among Older Adults with Serious Health Conditions: Lessons from FAIR Health's Grant-Funded Initiative.
Related Documents View PDF Advancing Shared Decision Making among Older Adults with Serious Health Conditions: Lessons from FAIR Healths Grant-Funded Initiative, A FAIR Health Brief, February 22, 2023
Over 18 months, the initiative resulted in the development and September 2022 launch of five new shared decision-making tools geared toward adults with serious health conditionsfast-growing prostate cancer, early-stage breast cancer, hip replacement, hip osteoarthritis and spinal stenosis. FAIR Health's decision aids combine clinical information from EBSCO's OptionGrid decision aids and cost data from our private healthcare claims database comprising over 40 billion claim records from 2002 to the present. In addition, FAIR Health also launched three new FH Total Treatment Cost scenarios, which show approximate healthcare costs for a health condition over the course of a year. The new FH Total Treatment Cost tools feature major depression, heart failure and Alzheimer's disease/dementia. To offer these tools in an easy-to-access, centralized location for older patients and family caregivers, FAIR Health developed a dedicated Older Adults section for its free, award-winning website FAIR Health Consumer (fairhealthconsumer.org). The Older Adults section features the tools as well as educational content, resources, checklists with questions for patients and/or caregivers to ask their providers, and links to salient FH Insurance Basics articles, which explain diverse topics related to the healthcare system. The tools, content and dissemination were informed by a needs assessment, which included a nationwide survey that examined how older adults navigate the healthcare system; the results were published in a February 2022 white paper.
FAIR Health promoted the tools through a dissemination campaign aimed at a wide variety of stakeholders in four key market regions (New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago): patients, providers, caregivers, state and federal departments of health, age-friendly organizations, offices for the aging and social workers, among others. The campaign also utilized social media such as Facebook to reach healthcare consumers and providers. Key findings from the initiative, which can be found in this brief, are summarized below.
Key Program Findings
To evaluate the initiative, FAIR Health gathered data from surveys and website analytics and conducted focus groups with patients, caregivers and providers.
A majority of older adults, family caregivers and care partners found the content, resources and tools useful. From the September launch of the Older Adults section through the end of the grant period in December, Older Adults tools and resources received 10,312 unique visitors. Of those surveyed, 74 percent found the tools, resources and content "useful" or "very useful"; 67 percent felt that the Older Adults section increased their knowledge and understanding of shared decision making; and 65 percent of respondents agreed that the section helped them understand how to manage their healthcare costs.
From the September launch of the Older Adults section through the end of the grant period in December, Older Adults tools and resources received 10,312 unique visitors. Of those surveyed, 74 percent found the tools, resources and content "useful" or "very useful"; 67 percent felt that the Older Adults section increased their knowledge and understanding of shared decision making; and 65 percent of respondents agreed that the section helped them understand how to manage their healthcare costs. Shared decision making is perceived as a vehicle for patient empowerment. Providers, patients, family caregivers and care partners alike believed that the tools, content and resources empowered individuals to become more active participants in their health and healthcare decision making.
Providers, patients, family caregivers and care partners alike believed that the tools, content and resources empowered individuals to become more active participants in their health and healthcare decision making. Patients, family caregivers and care partners voiced frustrations around healthcare costs, billing and a lack of transparency in the healthcare system. Healthcare costs, confusing billing systems and a lack of general transparency in the healthcare system were cited as barriers to accessing care and services.
Healthcare costs, confusing billing systems and a lack of general transparency in the healthcare system were cited as barriers to accessing care and services. Checklists and links to external resources were popular among older adults, family caregivers and care partners . Forty-eight percent of survey respondents stated that links to the external resources were most helpful in decision making, with an additional 39 percent saying the checklists were most helpful.
Forty-eight percent of survey respondents stated that links to the external resources were most helpful in decision making, with an additional 39 percent saying the checklists were most helpful. Barriers to shared decision making exist at the point of care and at home. Barriers to shared decision making cited by the focus group participants included lack of access to technology, low health literacy and time constraints in appointments.
FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd said: "We are grateful for the support of The John A. Hartford Foundation in this important endeavor. There is a demonstrated appetite among older adults and family caregivers for cost information and resources to make healthcare decisions. Access to these tools and resources will help empower older adults to take charge of their healthcare choices."
The John A. Hartford Foundation Vice President of Program Rani E. Snyder said: "The John A. Hartford Foundation is proud to support FAIR Health in this effort to advance age-friendly care. These shared decision-making and healthcare engagement tools show promise for empowering older patients and their care partners when it comes to dealing with challenging healthcare issues and costs."
To read the brief, click here.
Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth
About FAIR Health
FAIR Health is a national, independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code. It is dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 40 billion claim records and is growing at a rate of over 2 billion claim records a year. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data productsincluding benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indicesto commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health includes among the private claims data in its database, data on Medicare Advantage enrollees. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish, which enables consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offers a rich educational platform on health insurance. An English/Spanish mobile app offers the same educational platform in a concise format and links to the cost estimation tools. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Dr. Marty Makary's book The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Careand How to Fix It and Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal's book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.
Contact:
Rachel Kent
Senior Director of Marketing
FAIR Health
646-396-0795
[email protected]
SOURCE FAIR Health
COLUMBUS, Ohio , Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Consensus Digital Media presents episode #10 of Made In America: American Innovators, featuring the Ohio State University (OSU) EcoCar Team. OSU's EcoCar Team is an award-winning group of students working together to convert donated GM vehicles into hybrid-electric vehicles (EVs).
Tune in for an under-the-hood look into the team's award-winning engine conversion methods and hear from automotive leaders about how this workforce development program is having a reverberating impact on EV advancement and the entire automobile industry.
The EcoCar Team at OSU allows students to gain hands-on engineering experience, while also affording the opportunity to help the U.S. future-proof the automotive industry. The Department of Energy partners with GM and Argonne National Laboratory to put on the national collegiate EcoCAR EV challenge, and the OSU team has won the competition almost every year. Given consistent growth in consumer demand for EVs, this program provides an important venue to showcase engineering expertise, spark innovation for others, and train the next generation of automotive engineers and manufacturing talent.
"Consensus is thrilled to highlight the OSU EcoCar Team's high-tech engineering team and the program's goal of helping students propel the automotive industry forward," said Consensus publisher and CEO Conor Gaughan. "The sustainable innovations that come from this program and the talent that is bred through these competitions are both going a long way toward helping America win the global race to lead on emerging automotive technologies."
View this episode of Made In America at https://youtu.be/pYlsXLiU8Cc .
About Consensus Digital Media
Consensus Digital Media highlights and produces uplifting and relevant stories that spotlight the communities, leaders, and businesses achieving a sustainable future through innovative and pragmatic solutions.
About Made In America
Produced by Consensus Digital Media, Made In America is a documentary series that tells the stories of small towns, family farms, and local businesses doing good. These are uplifting stories of American innovation and strength.
CONTACT: [email protected]
SOURCE Consensus Digital Media
Company adds key leadership hires in marketing, operations, people operations, and planning and analysis, and three C-suite promotions, including its first chief product officer and chief legal officer
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas-based on-demand delivery company, Favor , today announced the appointment of Keith Duncan as chief executive officer. With over two decades of leadership experience across several technology companies, Duncan joins Favor from Orchard, the vertically integrated real estate tech platform, where he served as chief revenue officer and was responsible for revenue optimization and leading the company's sales and service teams. He succeeds Jag Bath, who has stepped down due to health reasons and will remain on the board.
Favor Delivery names Keith Duncan as chief executive officer. Duncan previously worked at Favor as chief revenue officer and other leadership roles from 20152021. As part of the leadership team, he was instrumental in Favor becoming the first US on-demand delivery company to achieve profitability in 2017, which ultimately led to Favor becoming the first company to ever be acquired by H-E-B. Favor's executive team at the company's headquarters in Austin, Texas. Front (L-R): Daniel Guzmanchief legal officer, Steve Romneychief technology officer, Cristina Schneider head of people, Santiago Spraggon vice president of operations Middle (L-R): Jason Lepeschief operating officer and president, Rachel Loshchief product officer, Austen Moede head of planning and analysis Back (L-R): Erin Forsythsenior vice president of marketing, Keith DuncanCEO
Duncan previously worked at Favor as chief revenue officer and other leadership roles from 20152021. As part of the leadership team, he was instrumental in Favor becoming the first US on-demand delivery company to achieve profitability in 2017, which ultimately led to Favor becoming the first company to ever be acquired by H-E-B.
"I am honored to rejoin Favor and for the opportunity to lead as we further build out our business across Texas," said Duncan. "I am thrilled to once again work alongside our incredibly talented, passionate and community-driven team that has consistently driven Favor's remarkable growth while continuing to navigate the ever-evolving on-demand space over the years."
Duncan's appointment comes on the heels of several promotions to strengthen Favor's C-suite, as well as several key hires to its executive team in response to and in support of Favor's continued growth across Texas.
Favor's new executive hires bring over 75 years of collective industry experience across marketing, operations, people operations, and planning and analysis:
Erin Forsyth joins as senior vice president of marketing, leading Favor's marketing strategy and execution with a focus on growing brand awareness, acquisition, and loyalty among customers, Runners, and merchant partners. Before joining Favor, Erin led B2B and B2C marketing teams for a variety of technology companies, including Redfin and Vrbo, where her contributions resulted in significant increases in market share, conversions, brand sentiment, and customer loyalty.
joins as senior vice president of marketing, leading Favor's marketing strategy and execution with a focus on growing brand awareness, acquisition, and loyalty among customers, Runners, and merchant partners. Before joining Favor, Erin led B2B and B2C marketing teams for a variety of technology companies, including Redfin and Vrbo, where her contributions resulted in significant increases in market share, conversions, brand sentiment, and customer loyalty. Austen Moede joins as head of planning and analysis, leading a team that drives data-backed decision making in support of the company's strategic initiatives to grow Favor's reach and volume and to optimize service and user experience. He brings nearly 15 years of leadership experience in planning and analysis, and was most recently a managing director of planning and analysis supporting H-E-B's store operations.
joins as head of planning and analysis, leading a team that drives data-backed decision making in support of the company's strategic initiatives to grow Favor's reach and volume and to optimize service and user experience. He brings nearly 15 years of leadership experience in planning and analysis, and was most recently a managing director of planning and analysis supporting H-E-B's store operations. Cristina Schneider joins as head of people, leading the people operations, talent acquisition, and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) functions that support Favor's team of over 400 team members. She brings nearly two decades of experience in people development with an emphasis in leadership development, recruitment and retention strategies, DEIB and implementation of technology solutions to support HR processes. Most recently, she served as senior HR advisor on H-E-B Digital's HR team.
joins as head of people, leading the people operations, talent acquisition, and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) functions that support Favor's team of over 400 team members. She brings nearly two decades of experience in people development with an emphasis in leadership development, recruitment and retention strategies, DEIB and implementation of technology solutions to support HR processes. Most recently, she served as senior HR advisor on H-E-B Digital's HR team. Santiago Spraggon joins as vice president of operations, leading Favor's sales and operations planning, quality, market, and delivery operations, and trust and safety functions. He will work with Favor's chief operating officer and president, Jason Lepes , to continue improving Favor's capacity, quality and productivity processes. Bringing over 20 years of experience in global operations, supply chain, continuous improvement, process and project management across both e-commerce and manufacturing, he has held operations leadership roles at Amazon and Capsule, the nation's largest independent digital pharmacy.
Additionally, Favor strengthens its c-suite with three promotions:
Daniel Guzman has been promoted to chief legal officer from managing counsel. Guzman joined Favor in 2018 to provide counsel and build out the legal functions needed to support the rapid growth of Favor's platform, market operations and workforce. As Favor's first chief legal officer, he serves as principal counsel to leadership and is responsible for overseeing all legal matters and the strategic alignment of the company's legal and compliance functions.
has been promoted to chief legal officer from managing counsel. Guzman joined Favor in 2018 to provide counsel and build out the legal functions needed to support the rapid growth of Favor's platform, market operations and workforce. As Favor's first chief legal officer, he serves as principal counsel to leadership and is responsible for overseeing all legal matters and the strategic alignment of the company's legal and compliance functions. Rachel Losh has been promoted to chief product officer from vice president of product. She joined Favor in 2018 to oversee Favor's consumer apps and to implement iterative, agile product development methodologies. In her new role as Favor's first chief product officer, she leads the company's overall product strategy, design and development for Favor's customers, Runners and merchant partners.
has been promoted to chief product officer from vice president of product. She joined Favor in 2018 to oversee Favor's consumer apps and to implement iterative, agile product development methodologies. In her new role as Favor's first chief product officer, she leads the company's overall product strategy, design and development for Favor's customers, Runners and merchant partners. Steve Romney has been promoted to chief technology officer from vice president of engineering. He joined Favor in 2019 to oversee the company's technology operations, as well as build and manage Favor's engineering team, spanning web, data, mobile and infrastructure. In his elevated role as chief technology officer, he is responsible for setting the company's technical direction in support of Favor's product development initiatives.
In addition to its several executive hires, Favor is seeking a vice president of sales and is actively hiring for several roles across its engineering and product teams with more positions across other departments being added frequently. More information on open career opportunities can be found on favordelivery.com/careers .
"Focusing on smart growth and having the very best team in place has been, and continues to be, crucial to Favor's success," said Duncan. "Further investing in our team remains a priority as we position the company for the future to continue growing and serving Texas."
About Favor
Favor is the easiest way to get anything delivered in under an hour. Whether it's lunch at the office, a household shopping list or those errands you just don't have time for your delivery driver (we call them Runners) can deliver it in just a few taps. Founded in 2013, in Austin, Texas, Favor currently operates in more than 400 cities across Texas with over 100,000 Runners, who have delivered more than 70 million Favors to-date. For more information, visit favordelivery.com and follow Favor on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram and TikTok .
Contact- [email protected]
SOURCE Favor
Flywheel's Customer Segmentation Platform enables joint customers to launch intelligent audiences from their customer data within Snowflake to drive revenue growth and customer lifetime value no SQL required, so marketers can self-serve for the first time.
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Flywheel Software today announced the launch of its Customer Segmentation Platform as a pre-built solution for the Telecom Data Cloud, launched by Snowflake , the Data Cloud company. The Telecom Data Cloud unites Snowflake's platform, Snowflake- and partner-delivered solutions, and industry-specific datasets.
With the Telecom Data Cloud, Snowflake and its ecosystem of partners can help telecommunications service providers accelerate digital transformation, enable superior customer experiences, maximize operational efficiency, and monetize new data services.
"Enabling our Telecom customers to benefit from leading-edge technologies with valuable industry and business experience is our primary focus," said Phil Kippen, Telecom Global Head of Industry, Telecom at Snowflake. "Bringing Flywheel Software's Customer Segmentation Platform to Snowflake's Telecom Data Cloud will help power the wave of growth and innovation coming out of the Telecom industry by allowing our customers to drive revenue growth and customer lifetime value."
Within the Telecom Data Cloud, telecommunications service providers can access industry-specific solutions from Snowflake's ecosystem of partners to leverage best practices, reduce time-to-value, and increase overall impact.
Flywheel Software's Customer Segmentation Platform for Telecom enables telecommunications service providers to launch effective cross-channel campaigns for customer acquisition, upsell, retention and win-back efforts.
"We're excited to witness our efforts in accelerating the digital transformation of the Telecom industry by being a partner in the launch of Snowflake's Telecom Data Cloud," said David Joosten, co-CEO. "Flywheel Software is focused on enabling our joint customers to drive revenue from their raw data sets in their Snowflake Telecom Data Cloud."
Learn more about Snowflake's Telecom Data Cloud launch here and partner-tailored solutions for the telecommunications industry here .
About Flywheel Software
Flywheel's Customer Segmentation Platform is the fastest way to activate customer data from data cloud platforms directly to marketing and sales platforms for cross-channel targeting. Flywheel's no-code interface democratizes access to source of truth data, empowering marketing teams to self-serve audience creation, activation across channels and measure results on any metric. Flywheel has offices in New York, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, and is hiring for several Engineering and Sales roles. For more information, visit: https://www.flywheelsoftware.com
Media Contact
[email protected]
SOURCE Flywheel Software
Iran slaps "retaliatory" sanctions on EU, British individuals, entities
Xinhua) 15:12, February 22, 2023
TEHRAN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry imposed Tuesday new sanctions on several individuals and entities of the European Union and Britain for "supporting terrorism and inciting violence."
The "retaliatory" move targets those supporting terrorism and terrorist groups, encouraging terrorist acts and violence against Iranians, interfering in Iran's domestic affairs, spreading false information about Iran and escalating "economic terrorism" against the country, the ministry said in a statement.
The sanctions, covering 13 entities and 15 individuals from the EU and eight British individuals, include blocking accounts and transactions under the Iranian financial and banking systems, freezing their assets inside Iran, and prohibiting their visa issuance and entry into Iran's territory, it said.
On Monday, the EU imposed further restrictive measures against 32 Iranian individuals and two entities over Tehran's response to the recent protests in the country, taking the total number of Iranian individuals and entities on the sanctions list to 196 and 33, respectively. Britain and the United States also slapped new sanctions on Iran.
Iran had imposed "tit-for-tat" sanctions before its latest move on Tuesday.
In September 2022, 22-year-old Iranian girl Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran's morality police, who said she failed to properly wear the Islamic headscarf known as the hijab. Amini's death triggered nationwide protests in Iran.
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Company recognized for the eighth consecutive year
WORCESTER, Mass., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE: THG) today announced it has been named one of "America's Best Mid-Size Employers" for 2023 by Forbes magazine. This is the eighth consecutive year the company has received this recognition.
"Being named a best employer once again is a testament to our collaborative, inclusive culture where our employees can build meaningful careers," said Denise M. Lowsley, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at The Hanover. "We are proud to be recognized for our commitment to fostering a workplace where employees enjoy what they do and have the support necessary to succeed."
Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to compile the list by surveying 45,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees in the U.S. Participants were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their own employers to friends and family, and to nominate organizations other than their own. The final list ranks the mid-size employers that received the most recommendations.
The Hanover offers a work environment that fosters innovation while providing career development opportunities for employees to meet their full potential. The Hanover was also named one of America's Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek, a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and one of the top 125 'JUST' Companies by JUST Capital.
A leading property and casualty insurance carrier, The Hanover has more than 4,400 employees in the U.S. and provides insurance protection for individuals, families, and businesses. To find out more about employment opportunities at The Hanover, please visit https://www.hanover.com/careers.
About The Hanover
The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. is the holding company for several property and casualty insurance companies, which together constitute one of the largest insurance businesses in the United States. The company provides exceptional insurance solutions through a select group of independent agents and brokers. Together with its agent partners, the company offers standard and specialized insurance protection for small and mid-sized businesses, as well as for homes, automobiles, and other personal items. For more information, please visit hanover.com.
SOURCE The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.
Leading franchise software service provider and franchisor looks to partner with emerging franchisors and sets brand growth goals for 2023
HOUSTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FranchiCzar , a developer of world-class software and services designed to help franchise brands scale their growth and operations and the parent company of multiple brands, including Valhallan and Iron 24 , announced its attendance at the 2023 International Franchise Association's (IFA) Annual Convention (booth #600) at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada from February 26 to March 1, to find emerging franchisors needing franchise software to help scale their business.
Year in Review Photo
"We're looking forward to gaining valuable insights into the world of franchising at IFA and meeting with some great emerging brands poised for growth," said David Graham, FranchiCzar CEO. "We're excited to tell them more about how our technology makes it easier to manage their entire franchise without spending a fortune."
The FranchiCzar Operating System (FCOS) is an end-to-end technology platform for emerging franchisors to manage virtually everything including franchisees, customers, payments, royalties, support tickets, and more. FCOS also differentiates itself by having no upfront cost to get started or ongoing costs to franchisors or franchisees.
FranchiCzar's presence at IFA will also showcase the brand in its role as a franchisor following the launches of the youth esports franchise Valhallan and the technology-enabled gym concept Iron 24. The last year saw each brand have major accomplishments that project for an even stronger year of growth in 2023 and beyond.
Accomplishments include:
Valhallan:
Iron 24:
Opened its first gym location in Conroe, TX , with several announced locations coming soon in Texas and Florida .
, with several announced locations coming soon in and . Created partnerships with top fitness and recovery equipment manufacturers, including Matrix, Free Motion, LifeFitness, Core, Sunlighten and Hydro Massage;
And announced plans to open at least ten additional Iron 24 gyms coming soon in markets across the U.S.
Building on their momentum from the past year, Valhallan and Iron 24 are targeting aggressive growth strategies in 2023. Valhallan plans to sign at least 100 new franchisees and open 75 arenas worldwide. Iron 24 is looking to acquire existing gym brands to convert them into Iron 24 locations, sign 60 new franchisees and open 75 locations nationwide.
The initial investment for a Valhallan franchise is approximately $52,950 to $201,400 in the U.S. Prospective franchisees in the U.K. can contact Valhallan for pricing information. More information on Valhallan and how to inquire about franchise opportunities nationwide is available at valhallan.com/franchise and valhallan.com/franchise-UK for the U.K.
The initial investment for an Iron 24 franchise is approximately $91,950 to $288,850 in the U.S. Prospective franchisees should visit iron24.com/franchise to learn more and request additional information.
For more information about FranchiCzar at IFA, visit ifa.franchiczar.com .
To book a 15-minute meeting with FranchiCzar CEO David Graham at IFA, visit https://bit.ly/Franchiczar_IFA .
More information about FranchiCzar can be found at franchiczar.com .
More information about Valhallan can be found at valhallan.com .
More information about Iron 24 can be found at iron24.com .
About FranchiCzar
FranchiCzar, the parent company of Valhallan and Iron 24, is a leading developer of world-class software services designed to help franchise brands scale their growth and operations. Based out of Pearland, TX, FranchiCzar brings together world-class franchise software with a suite of services designed to scale a franchise with a team of franchising and vertical industry experts. By offering franchising as a service, FranchiCzar empowers franchisors to succeed with its simple and unique integrated approach to franchise software and services.
SOURCE FranchiCzar
AMSTERDAM, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Freya Pharma Solutions, a late clinical stage company focusing on the development of effective pharmaceutical therapies for women diagnosed with Female Sexual Disorders (FSD), announced today that participants of the European Society for Sexual Medicine (ESSM) Congress, held 16 18 February, 2023, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, showed great interest in Freya's innovative drug candidate LybridoTM.
The ESSM congress was attended by around 700 participants from 59 countries around the world representing a broad range of sexual health practitioners. The design for the confirmatory ALETTA clinical trial was presented by Professor Cobi Reisman, member of Freya's Scientific Advisory Board and urologist, sexologist, lecturer, honorary professor, and currently medical director of Flare-Health institute in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.
Furthermore, during a very well attended round table discussion entitled "Hypoactive Sexual Desire in young women: What women want" conversations took place among key experts in the field. Professor Linda Vignozzi, Professor Annamaria Giraldi, Dr. Shelly Varod, Dr. Giovani Corona, and Professor Cobi Reisman referred to LybridoTM as a promising innovative treatment for women suffering from FSD. From the many questions and discussions that followed the experts' presentations, it can be concluded that there is a high unmet need among women suffering from FSD for effective and safe treatments, which are currently not available in Europe, and that LybridoTM is expected to address such a need.
Dr. Jan van der Mooren, Chief Medical Officer at Freya Pharma Solutions said:
"I was delighted to experience such positive feedback on LybridoTM from so many sexual health experts and practitioners. Even though we must await the results of the upcoming clinical trials in Europe and the United States before women will have access to LybridoTM, the results from the phase 2 clinical trials have already been very promising, showing positive efficacy results without indications for safety concerns. The ALETTA Confirmatory Clinical Study is planned to start soon in Europe, and we hope to receive advice from the FDA on our Clinical Development Plan for the United States in spring this year."
Freya Pharma Solutions is currently preparing the clinical development program of LybridoTM with several studies in Europe, to be followed later by additional trials in the United States. In September 2022, Freya received early scientific advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on its upcoming confirmatory ALETTA clinical trial, providing constructive and valuable elements that will contribute to the successful development of the therapy. The company is highly confident that it is well on track with the clinical development of LybridoTM as a treatment for women suffering from sexual dysfunction and the related distress which often negatively interferes with their quality of life and their relationships.
About Female Sexual Disorders
Among female sexual disorders, low sexual desire is consistently reported as the most common sexual complaint in women. As a result, many women are dissatisfied with their sex lives, which often affects their social and emotional well-being. Currently, several definitions are being used. Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is recommended by ISSWSH and is a sexual dysfunction in which women lack motivation or lose desire to have sex for at least six months, causing significant levels of personal distress. Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) is a sexual dysfunction that is defined in the 2013 version of the DSM-5 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a publication by the American Psychiatric Association, as a persistent lack or significant reduction of sexual interest and/or arousal. Persons can be medically diagnosed after having a well-defined number of symptoms causing clinically significant distress and which have persisted for a minimum of six months. The disorder is specified by severity level and subtyped into lifelong versus acquired, generalized versus situational.
About Lybrido
A total of 20 phase 1 and phase 2a trials and large-scale phase 2b trials in 17 research sites in the US have been conducted to date. These trials have investigated the efficacy and safety of two novel on- demand pharmacological treatments that have been designed to treat two FSIAD subgroups: women with low sensitivity for sexual cues (Lybrido) and women with dysfunctional over-activation of sexual inhibition (Lybridos). Lybrido increases central sexual motivation and physiological sexual responses, such as swelling of genitals and lubrication. The therapy can be taken 'on-demand' and helps to increase central sexual motivation from 3 to 6 hours after intake.
This treatment consists of a novel (dual-route, dual-release, fixed-dose) combination tablet, consisting of a testosterone coating for sublingual administration and an inner-core component containing the phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE 5) inhibitor, sildenafil. The inner-core component is coated with a delayed-immediate-release matrix to ensure that the peak plasma concentration of the PDE 5 inhibitor coincides with the window of increased sexual motivation induced by the sublingually administered testosterone. Thus, this combination enables an increase in genital arousal through an increase in responsivity to sexual stimuli.
About Freya Pharma Solutions
Freya Pharma Solutions is a late clinical stage company focused on developing effective pharmaceutical therapies for HSDD/FSIAD, building upon fifteen years of solid research. The company has two compounds in development, Lybrido and Lybridos, to address the range of potential causes of HSDD/FSIAD. Based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Freya aims to offer patients a convenient, personalized 'on-demand' solution for this recognized unmet medical need.
www.freyapharmasolutions.com
For further information please contact:
Freya Pharma Solutions, Amsterdam
Marcel Wijma, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]
For media
LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam Leon Melens
T: +31 6 538 16 427
E: [email protected]
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1795348/Freya_Pharma_Solutions_Logo.jpg
SOURCE Freya Pharma Solutions
DUBLIN, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Automated Suturing Devices Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The Automated Suturing Devices Market is projected to register a CAGR of 9.2% during the forecast period (2022 - 2027).
Companies Mentioned
Medtronic
Smith & Nephew, Inc.
Apollo Endosurgery, Inc
Suture Limited
Boston Scientific Corporation
EndoEvolution, LLC.
LSI Solutions, Inc.
B. Braun Melsungen AG
Johnson & Johnson (Ethicon, Inc. )
Mellon Medical B.V.
Key Market Trends
The Disposable Segment is Expected to Hold a Major Market Share in the Automated Suturing Devices Market.
The disposable automated suturing devices hold the major segment in the automated suturing devices market. An article titled "Automated Suture Fastener Gaining Complete Commitment: Cumulative Propensity-Matched Comparison with Hand-Tied Knot in Heart Valve Surgery" published in the journal of Innovations in June 2021 discussed the advantages of using automated suture fasteners over manually tied sutures.
The study indicated that the use of a disposable automated suture fastener, COR-KNOT, resulted in shorter Cardiopulmonary Bypass and Aorta Cross Clamp times, which can greatly help the surgeons. The increasing use of such disposable devices is expected to add to the growth of the disposable automated suturing devices segment in the studied market during the forecast period.
Another article presented in the journal of Annals of Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgery in January 2020 titled "Emerging surgical robotic technology: a progression toward microbots" focused on the prominence of robotic-assisted surgery in the laparoscopic surgical domain. The article discussed the tool, Endomina, a single-use over-the-scope suturing device that helps in performing large plications in the stomach with transmural anterior-to-posterior endoscopic sutures. The article indicated that the use of such devices help overcome the visualization and ergonomic shortcomings of laparoscopy while improving the advantages of conventional laparoscopes, which will add to the market growth over the forecast period.
Several research and devlopment programs are being made on the automated suturing devices, which are useful in the growth of the market. In December 2021, researchers at the University of New South Wales Medical Robotics Lab developed smart sutures to speed up wound recovery, which donot need any human intervention and automatically tighten the wound opening. Such innovations are likley to boost the growth of the automated suturing devices market over the forecast period.
North America is Expected to Hold a Significant Share in the Market and Expected to do Same in the Forecast Period (2022 - 2027).
The rise in the adoption of highly advanced techniques and systems in the manufacturing of automated suturing devices and the technological advancements made in robotic assisted surgery is expected to boost the growth of the market in the North American region. The high prevalence of innovative automated suturing devices in the market contributes to the high market growth in the region.
The rising number of accidents and injuries in the North American region is adding to the growth of the automated suturing devices market.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States Department of Transportation article on Traffic Safety Facts 2020 Data, in 2020, there were around 189,950 young drivers in the United States who were injured in traffic crashes. The United States Center for Disease Prevention and Control in its WISQARS Injury Data 2020 indicated that an estimated number of 2,885,545 cases of nonfatal transport-related injuries were recorded in 2020. A large number of accidents and injuries in the United States region is expected to the market growth during the forecast period.
The United States also has a large number of population affected by chronic diseases, majority of which requires surgery as primary means of treatment. Cancer is one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States. According to the GLOBOCAN 2020 report, the total number of people in the United States affected by cancer in 2020 accounts to around 2,281,658 cases. The number is estimated to rise to 3,123,452 cases by 2040. The large population affected by the chronic diseases and the increase in the necessity of automated suturing devices for the ease in the surgical treatment of such diseases is expected to propel the growth of the automated suturing devices market.
In April 2021, Cynosure entered into an agreement to acquire MyEllevate Surgical Suture System, expanding the Company's portfolio of minimally invasive facial rejuvenation solutions. MyEllevate Surgical Suture System uses patented ICLED light guided suture system, enabling easier suture support system. Such activities by market players are adding to the growth of the market in the United States.
Thus the increasing necessity for automated suturing devices coupled with increasing developments ny market players is known to propel the growth of the market in this region.
Key Topics Covered:
1 INTRODUCTION
2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4 MARKET DYNAMICS
4.1 Market Overview
4.2 Market Drivers
4.2.1 Increased Number of Surgical Procedures
4.2.2 Increase in Accidents and Trauma Cases
4.3 Market Restraints
4.3.1 Low Product Availability and High Cost of the Devices
4.3.2 Lack of Skilled Professionals
4.4 Porter's Five Force Analysis
5 MARKET SEGMENTATION (Market Size by Value - in USD Millions)
5.1 By Product Type
5.1.1 Disposable
5.1.2 Reusable
5.2 By Application
5.2.1 Cardiovascular
5.2.2 Gynecological
5.2.3 Gastrointestinal
5.2.4 Orthopedic
5.2.5 Others
5.3 Geography
6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
6.1 Company Profiles
7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5sxn5g
About ResearchAndMarkets.com
ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
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Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
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Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg
SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Power Tools Market Size, Segments, Outlook, and Revenue Forecast 2022-2028 by Product, Mode of Operation, End-User, and Region" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
According to publisher estimates, the Global Power Tools Market -grew from approximately US$ 30 Billion in 2017 to approximately US$ 35 billion in 2022 - is forecasted to grow further into approximately US$ 50 Billion opportunities by 2028, owing to the growing automotive industry, and rising adoption of power tools in households as an increasing trend towards do-it-yourself (DIY).
In car production over 55 different types of power tools are used including torque wrenches, impact drivers, air wrenches, power drills, polishing machines, air compressors, spray guns, and others. According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), a semi-government trust formulated by the department of commerce mentioned that India's passenger car market was valued at US$ 32.70 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach a value of US$ 54.84 billion by 2027. The increasing production of vehicles is likely to boost the demand for the power tools market.
Steel, aluminum, zinc, and others are the key material used in manufacturing power tools. Apart from this, batteries, motors, and other electronic components are used in the production of power tools. During the COVID-19, the prices of materials have declined significantly but as the demand surged and supply reduced, the prices of these materials have soared to an all-time high, due to which the prices of power tools are also fluctuating and act as a restraint for the growth of the market.
COVID-19 has decelerated the growth of the power tools market. This is because of the temporary shutdown of assembly lines, disruption of the supply chain, restriction on manufacturing and construction activities, and decline in the sale of automobiles. But as the market is recovering and restrictions are easing down, it is estimated that the power tools market will recover within the forecasted period.
Scope of the Report
The Power Tools market is segmented by Product, Mode of Operation, and End-User. In addition, the report also covers market size and forecasts for the four regions in the power tools market. The revenue used to size and forecast the market for each segment is US$ billion.
By Product
Drills
Saws
Wrenches
Grinders
Sanders
Others
By Mode of Operation
Electric
Pneumatic
By End-User
Industrial
Residential
By Geography
North America
USA
Canada
Mexico
Europe
Germany
UK
France
Spain
Italy
Rest of Europe
Asia Pacific
China
Japan
South Korea
India
AustraliaRest of Asia Pacific
LAMEA
Latin America
Middle East
Africa
Key Players
Robert Bosch GmbH
Makita Corporation
Hilti Corporation
Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd
3M
Ingersoll Rand
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc
& Decker, Inc Snap-On Incorporated
Atlas Copco
KYOCERA Industrial Tools Corporation
Key Trends by Market Segment
By Product: The Drills segment held the largest market share of the global power tools market in 2021. Automotive production, assembly lines, and automobile repair shops are driving the demand for drill power tools.
In January 2022, Bosch Power Tools, the global leader in power tools and power tool accessories, launched a new hammer drill/driver under the PROFACTOR system. The hammer drill/driver includes Bosch Power Tools BITURBO Brushless technology to help energize the next generation of high-powered cordless tools.
By Mode of Operation: The electric segment accounted for the largest market share in 2021, owing to the rising demand from the automotive and construction industry.
Corded electric power tool runs on electricity and is less expensive to buy. The cordless power tool is an electric or electronic device that operates through a battery or battery pack and usually costs higher than corded tools.
As per the European Power Tool Association (EPTA), which represents power tool manufacturers, stated that cordless power tools (CPT) account for approximately 50% of the power tool market. CPT is lightweight, low voltage, and requires no electric cables while in production.
By End-User: The industrial segment held the largest market share in 2021, owing to the rising demand from construction, manufacturing, automobile production, and assembly lines.
Multiple power tools are used in the manufacturing industry such as impact wrenches, electric screwdrivers, handheld portable grinders, sockets, pliers, and others.
According to IBEF, In December 2021, Hyundai announced plans to invest US$ 530.25 million in R&D in India, with the goal of launching six electric vehicles by 2028. Surging investment in the automobile industry, is likely to fuel the power tool market.
By Geography: Asia Pacific accounted for the largest market share within the global power tools market in 2021, owing to the emerging automotive industry, and houses most of the power tools companies.
According to the International Trade Association (ITA), a USA agency that promotes trade and investment. China continues to be the world's largest vehicle market by both annual sales and manufacturing output, with domestic production expected to reach 35 million vehicles by 2025.
The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), stated that Asia region vehicle production increased by 4,67,73,2785 in 2021 from 4,42,76,549 in 2020. Owing to the rising vehicle numbers, it is likely to boost the growth of the power tools market.
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes
Key Players
Robert Bosch GmbH
Makita Corporation
Hilti Corporation
Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd.
3M
Ingersoll Rand
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc
& Decker, Inc Snap-On Incorporated
Atlas Copco
KYOCERA Industrial Tools Corporation
Bulk MRO Industrial Supply Pvt. Ltd
Dartek Power Tools Co.
ToolSense
Green Air Link Corporation
Phoenix Handels- und Development GmbH
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ftzhtv-power?w=5
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SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --The "Global Remote Patient Monitoring Market Size, Segments, Outlook, and Revenue Forecast 2022-2028 By Component Type, Product, Application, End-User and Region" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
According to this analysis, the Global Remote Patient Monitoring Market was valued at ~US$ 20 billion in 2017. Furthermore, it is estimated to be ~ US$ 35 Billion in 2022 and is forecasted to reach a market size of ~ US$ 75 Billion by 2028 at a CAGR of ~12%, owing to the rising usage of digital technologies in the healthcare sector.
Remote patient monitoring services are predicted to become more prominent as the occurrence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and hypertension rises, among other conditions. By providing early warning signs and progress indicators, remote monitoring systems support medics in initiating treatment as soon as feasible for chronic diseases.
Patients and doctors frequently struggle with inexperience with new procedures and are reluctant to abandon their current (traditional) procedures. The inexperience with technology that elderly persons may have hinders them from using telehealth and telemedicine services.
Scope of the Report
The Global Remote Patient Monitoring Market is segmented by Component Type, Product, Condition, Application, and End-user. In addition, the report also covers market size and forecasts for the four regions. The revenue used to size and forecast the market for each segment is US$ Billion.
By Component Type
Devices
Software & Services
By Product
Vital Sign Monitors
Special Monitors
By Application
Cancer
Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD)
Diabetes
Sleep Disorder
Weight Management & Fitness Monitoring
Bronchitis
Infections
Virus
Dehydration
Hypertension
Others
By End-user
Hospitals and Clinics
Home Care Settings & Long Term Care Centers
Ambulatory Care Centers
Passive Exoskeletons
Payers
Patients
Others
By Geography
North America
USA
Canada
Mexico
Europe
Germany
UK
France
Spain
Italy
Rest of Europe
Asia Pacific
China
Japan
South Korea
India
Indonesia
AustraliaRest of Asia Pacific
LAMEA
Latin America
Middle East
Africa
Key Players
Aerotel Medical Systems (1998) Ltd
Koninklijke Philips N.V
Boston Scientific Corporation
General Electric Company
Nihon Kohden Corporation
Medtronic Plc
Masimo
Abbott
Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc
OMRON Healthcare, Inc
Key Trends by Market Segment
By Component Type- The device segment dominated the market in 2021, the high growth rate is attributed to the rise in chronic diseases like diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), blood pressure, and mental health along with the rising need for home monitoring devices.
The device segment dominated the market in 2021, the high growth rate is attributed to the rise in chronic diseases like diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), blood pressure, and mental health along with the rising need for home monitoring devices. The versatility of the devices, specifically the monitor's section, to track clinical data prior to and following surgery, diagnose symptoms, and prevent complications, contributes to their dominance of the market
Advanced features additionally enable early diagnosis and broader applicability of the devices, such as wireless communication and iPad compatibility
By Product Type- The vital sign monitors witnessed the highest market share in 2021, due to the extensive adoption of these monitors in recent years.
With the help of a vital sign monitor, a patient's Electrocardiogram (ECG), non-invasive blood pressure, body temperature, respiration rate, and brain activity can be properly monitored. This product's popularity is anticipated to expand throughout the forecast period as a result of the integration of many vital sign monitors into a single system, which will result in higher adoption
Since devices are frequently used, vital sign monitors are predicted to expand at the fastest rate during the projected period. Due to the rising prevalence of cardiac disorders worldwide, the heart rate monitor product sub-segment has been designated as the market leader. The rising use of these monitors is a result of the rise in the number of people with heart conditions
By Application Type- Cardiovascular diseases are likely to witness the highest growth during the forecast period, owing to the rising incidence of chronic diseases and growing patient visits.
Cardiovascular disease has emerged as the main application category as a result of the disease's increased occurrence. During the projected period, it is anticipated that the aging population and the prevalence of chronic diseases will have a substantial impact on growth globally
According to the World Health Organization, in 2019 estimates that there were 17.9 million deaths worldwide which were directly related to cardiovascular illnesses. This is only explained by the increased frequency of CVD in the general population and the rising number of CVD-related deaths worldwide
By End-user- Hospitals and Clinics segment accounted for the highest market share in 2021,owing to advancements in RPM monitoring technology, and an increase in the number of RPM services offered by hospitals and clinics.
This is primarily due to medical facilities that can utilize remote monitoring to cut back on the use of expensive services like the Emergency Department (ED) and to lower expenditures associated with healthcare
The solutions may also contribute to broadening the range of hospital services, which will increase demand for them in the upcoming years
By Geography- North America dominated the market during the forecast period owing to the demand for remote patient monitoring devices from hospitals and clinics, the rising prevalence of cardiovascular disease and home healthcare in the USA, and an increase in the country's elderly population.
With a renewed perspective on remote patient monitoring, the COVID-19 epidemic has transformed the landscape of healthcare delivery in the North American region
The main drivers of the RPM market's growth in North America are the rising geriatric population, rising prevalence of various chronic diseases among the populace, increased consumer disposable income, increased adoption rates of cutting-edge technologies in the healthcare sector, presence of developed healthcare infrastructure, and increased awareness of RPM systems
Conclusion
The market for remote patient monitoring is anticipated to continue growing at a substantial rate of ~12% owing to the advantages of RPM to lessen the strain on medical resources, monitoring advantages of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services, technological advancements in telecommunications, rising geriatric population, and the growing need to increase healthcare access are the main factors influencing the market growth.
The demand for the latest advancements in the healthcare sector is escalating as a result of growing government initiatives and investments to create a strong and advanced healthcare infrastructure. The adoption of RPM systems across various market is also being driven by rising investments in the digitalization and automation of healthcare units in order to improve the operational efficiency of the healthcare units.
Though the market is highly competitive with ~300 participants, few global players control the dominant share and regional players also hold a significant share.
Key Topics Covered in the Report
Snapshot of Remote Patient Monitoring Market
Industry Value Chain and Ecosystem Analysis
Market size and Segmentation of Remote Patient Monitoring Market
Historic Growth of the Overall Remote Patient Monitoring Market and Segments
Competition Scenario of the Market and Key Developments of Competitors
Porter's 5 Forces Analysis of the Remote Patient Monitoring Market Industry
Overview, Product Offerings, and Strengths & Weaknesses of Key Competitors
COVID-19 Impact on the Overall Remote Patient Monitoring Market
Future Market Forecast and Growth Rates of the Total Remote Patient Monitoring Market and by Segments
Market Size of Application/End User Segments with Historical CAGR and Future Forecasts
Analysis of the Remote Patient Monitoring Market in Global Regions
Major Production/Supply and Consumption/Demand Hubs in the Region
Region-wise Historic and Future Market Growth Rates of the Total Market and Segments
Overview of Notable Emerging Competitor Companies within the Region
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Study Period of this Market Report?
The Remote Patient Monitoring Market is covered from 2017 - 2028 in this report, which includes a forecast for the period 2022-2028
What is the Future Growth Rate of the Remote Patient Monitoring Market?
The Remote patient monitoring Market is expected to witness a CAGR of ~12% over the next 6 years
What are the Key Factors Driving the Remote Patient Monitoring Market?
The market for remote patient monitoring (RPM) systems is primarily driven by the rising utilization of digital technologies in the world's healthcare sector
Which is the Largest Component Segment within the Remote Patient Monitoring Market?
Devices held the largest market share of the Remote Patient Monitoring Market in the Component Segment in 2021
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rwc6al-remote?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
[email protected]
For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470
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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
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Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg
SOURCE Research and Markets
BEIJING, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In early February, the National Art Museum of China is filled with art admirers. Along with the arrival of spring comes visitors' growing enthusiasm for Chinese and foreign art works.
As exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations further deepen, the enthusiasm for Chinese culture has been increasing around the world. How can we more profoundly understand Chinese culture and better present it to the world, and at the same time continually inject energy and vitality into this splendid ancient culture?
With these questions in mind, the Global Times held an exclusive interview with renowned sculptor Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum of China, to explore his approaches to combining sculpting with Chinese aesthetics and presenting the beauty of Chinese civilization to the world.
This is the first issue of our Cultural Influencer series.
Two of China's greatest philosophers, Confucius and Lao Tzu, will travel thousands of kilometers to Montevideo, capital of the South American country Uruguay, as part of Chinese artist Wu Weishan's representative sculpture Wendao, or Confucius Asking Lao Tzu about the Rites.
At the invitation of the Municipal Government of Montevideo, the 7.8-meter-tall figures of Confucius and Lao Tzu will soon be erected in Parque Batlle in the capital's city center as part of the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Uruguay and the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the Municipal Government of Montevideo.
"It is my largest work and is traveling so far to the southern part of the world," Wu, also director of the National Art Museum of China, told the Global Times. His more than 50 sculptures have been collected by different museums and other institutions in nearly 30 countries and regions for millions of people overseas to enjoy.
Made of bronze and stone, these figures don't speak, but their smiles, postures and looks "deliver the Chinese image of being humble, respectful, and gentle and constantly striving to become stronger, which will have a far-reaching and wide-ranging impact in the world."
From Western theories to 'xieyi'
Born in 1962 in Dongtai, an ancient town in East China's Jiangsu Province, Wu grew up in a family with several acclaimed artists. Under his father's influence, he became fond of Chinese painting and calligraphy Brazil when he was young. After his college graduation in the 1990s, like many art students of his time, Wu traveled to Europe and the US to attain artistic inspiration.
However, the more he traveled, the more he realized how important China's traditional culture was. With his Western learning experience, Wu rediscovered his roots and began heading in a new direction in his sculpting career.
"We used to learn from Europe, the Soviet Union and then the US, but that left our own culture and tradition marginalized," said Wu.
"Instead, we should focus on our own traditional culture while absorbing the essence of other civilizations. So I proposed the art form known as xieyi sculpture."
Xieyi, or freehand brushwork, has been the most prominent feature of traditional Chinese painting for thousands of years. For Wu, freehand sculpture is not only a method but also a way to show the love and respect for Chinese culture that he has developed as a result of his deep understanding of it. This artistic philosophy has also become his highly recognizable signature style.
In Wu's eyes, xieyi not only solves the problems of Chinese people's worldview, way of thinking and view of Heaven and humanity, but also creates a Chinese-style expression and artistic conception as well as a representation of Chinese aesthetics.
Since coming up with the style, Wu has devoted himself to sculpting prominent Chinese figures from ancient and modern times such as Confucius, Lao Tzu, Li Bai and more.
In Wu's sculpture of Li Bai (701-762), a famous Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the poet's face can hardly be seen. Yet Chinese people were able to recognize the poet the moment the work was unveiled.
"Outstanding figures like Li Bai and Confucius mirror the spirit of their times whether they lived in the Tang, Song (960-1279) or other dynasties," Wu said.
Cultural dialogue
Earning a reputation around the world with his various sculpture works ever since his first commissioned sculpture for Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 1996, Wu has won the hearts of international academy circles and audiences, who consider his xieyi sculpture style to be one of the symbols of Chinese contemporary art.
Then United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said Wu's sculptures "embody not just the soul of a nation but of all humanity." Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands commented that the historical notable characters he sculpted looked like they were "walking out of a 5,000-year history."
Wu explained to the Global Times that the three important elements in telling China's stories are "a face, the characteristic face of Chinese culture; a heart, as we treat each other with a sincere and peaceful heart; and a soul that loves peace, cherishes peace, maintains peace and advances toward the goal of peaceful, prosperous development."
The best way to make that happen is to build a platform for exchange and dialogue just like Wendao and others did.
One of his best-known works, A Dialogue Across Time, consists of two bronze sculptures depicting Italian Renaissance figure Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and modern Chinese artist Qi Baishi (1864-1957) engaged in a sort of hypothetical conversation transcending time and geographical distance, symbolizing cultural and artistic exchanges between China and Italy across time and space. A smaller version of the work was installed at the Accademia Delle Arti del Disegno in 2019. It was the first time an Italian art academy has commissioned and displayed a work by a Chinese sculptor. Wu was also the first Chinese sculptor to receive the title of honorary academician and win the Michelangelo Prize presented by the academy.
When Greece's culture minister visited Wu and hoped to commission a series of sculptures for the country, where European civilization originated and which is known to the whole world for its ancient sculptures, Wu picked a dialogue between Confucius and Socrates, the two wisest philosophers, as they stand together in Athens, the center of Greek culture.
If Confucius had the chance to visit Greece, he would "feel happy and honored, as if he were riding the spring wind of building a community with a shared future for mankind. So his clothing was sculpted in a way of xieyi to make it look as if he is lecturing on his concepts," recalled Wu.
Socrates' wisdom and resolute personality reminded Wu of the stone pillars of the ancient Greek temple that stands between Heaven and Earth and highlights the country's profound philosophy. So he decided to portray Socrates by including the image of the sacred pillar to express a powerful, energetic and talkative Socrates with realist ancient Greek aesthetics.
"I can see they are having a dialogue," said Maria Lagogianni, the former director of National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Continued mission
During his art career, Wu has completed statues of many outstanding figures of modern Chinese history including ones of Mao Zedong, the chief architect of China's reform and opening-up Deng Xiaoping, and China's first premier Zhou Enlai.
Starting in 1919, thousands of progressive young Chinese went to France, where they worked in factories in Paris, Lyon and Montargis to pay for their studies in the European country. Some of them became interested in Marxism and established one of the earliest Chinese Communist Party groups in France.
The movement also promoted cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
A sculpture of a group of Chinese revolutionaries, including Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping, that Wu made, now stands in Montargis, a Southern French city where many of those revolutionaries worked and studied.
From ancient figures to modern people, Wu has continued his mission and wished to sculpt an era and present the broadness and profoundness of the Chinese nation, as "the thickness of Chinese culture is not just in a certain field or a certain period."
"It is a running river, which connects the ancient source to the modern development and then rushes to the seas of human civilization," Wu said.
SOURCE Global Times
Shares Outstanding: 325,303,261
Trading Symbols: TSX: GGD
OTCQX: GLGDF
6,490 g/t AgEq over 0.8m within 16.3m of 605 g/t AgEq
HALIFAX, NS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - GoGold Resources Inc. (TSX: GGD) (OTCQX: GLGDF) ("GoGold", "the Company") is pleased to announce additional drilling results from Los Ricos South, within the Eagle and Main Deposits. Hole LRGAG-22-113 intercepted 16.3m of 605 g/t silver equivalent ("AgEq"), containing 6,490 g/t AgEq over 0.8m, and. The hole also intercepted an additional 12.3m of 462 g/t AgEq. See Table 1 for breakdown of silver and gold values. A cross section of hole LRGAG-22-113 is included as Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Cross Section LRGAG-22-113 (CNW Group/GoGold Resources Inc.) Figure 2: Eagle + Main Area Grade Thickness Longitudinal Section (CNW Group/GoGold Resources Inc.) Figure 3: Eagle Longitudinal Section (CNW Group/GoGold Resources Inc.) Figure 4: Los Ricos District Overview (CNW Group/GoGold Resources Inc.)
"Impressive drill results continue to come in for the Eagle," said Brad Langille, President and CEO. "We expect these holes, along with our previously released drilling results, will provide a very positive impact when we update our Mineral Resource Estimate and Preliminary Economic Assessment at Los Ricos South later this year. "
Table 1: Drill Hole Intersections
Hole ID Area / Vein From To Length1 Au Ag AuEq2 AgEq2
(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) LRGAG-22-101 Eagle 196.1 198.0 1.9 1.00 11.3 1.15 86.6 LRGAG-22-102 Eagle 203.6 205.2 1.6 2.39 67.9 3.29 247.0
and 218.4 219.4 1.0 2.36 3.4 2.41 180.4 LRGAG-22-104 Eagle 182.0 184.0 2.0 4.71 12.6 4.87 365.5
including 182.0 183.0 1.0 9.04 18.0 9.28 696.0 LRGAG-22-105 Eagle 309.0 318.5 9.5 0.46 55.7 1.20 90.3
including 313.0 315.5 2.5 1.12 117.5 2.69 201.7
and 335.4 349.4 14.0 0.91 35.7 1.38 103.8 LRGAG-22-106 Eagle 192.2 205.2 13.0 0.69 71.8 1.65 123.4
including 189.2 192.2 3.0 0.93 162.1 3.09 231.8 LRGAG-22-108 Eagle 130.5 138.0 7.5 0.44 78.7 1.49 111.8
including 132.0 133.0 1.0 1.35 179.0 3.74 280.3 LRGAG-22-110 Eagle 62.0 124.4 62.4 1.43 42.8 2.00 149.7
including 98.7 114.7 16.0 4.57 70.7 5.52 413.6
including 102.6 103.9 1.4 17.05 189.0 19.57 1,467.7 LRGAG-22-112 Eagle 322.6 331.1 8.5 0.80 114.5 2.33 174.8
including 323.6 324.6 1.0 1.64 365.0 6.51 488.0 LRGAG-22-113 Eagle 132.8 149.0 16.3 3.29 357.7 8.06 604.8
including 133.8 135.6 1.8 20.05 2,000.0 46.72 3,503.7
including 134.8 135.6 0.8 40.00 3,490.0 86.53 6,490.0
and 160.5 190.0 29.5 2.32 57.8 3.09 231.7
including 165.1 177.4 12.3 5.20 72.1 6.16 462.4
including 169.0 170.0 1.0 21.10 170.0 23.37 1,752.5 LRGAG-22-115 Eagle 180.1 211.6 31.5 1.44 75.1 2.45 183.4
including 191.6 202.6 11.0 3.38 147.2 5.34 400.4
including 200.6 201.6 1.0 12.85 64.0 13.70 1,027.8 LRGG-22-224 Main area 97.6 102.8 5.2 1.51 145.0 3.44 258.3
including 99.8 102.8 3.0 2.32 193.0 4.89 366.8 LRGG-22-225 Main area 254.4 260.2 5.8 0.50 91.0 1.71 128.2 LRGG-22-226 Main area 136.5 137.9 1.4 1.10 153.1 3.14 235.8 LRGG-22-227 Main area 124.0 153.0 29.0 1.28 105.2 2.68 200.9
including 130.6 137.0 6.3 4.84 352.0 9.54 715.2
including 132.0 132.7 0.7 24.00 335.0 28.47 2,135.0
1. Not true width 2. AgEq converted using a silver to gold ratio of 75:1 at recoveries of 100% 3. Holes LRGAG-22-103, 107, 109, 111, 114 did not intercept significant mineralization
The Eagle Deposit adjoins the Main Deposit and represents a northern extension of the previously defined Mineral Resource Estimate in the Los Ricos South PEA. The Eagle concession covers 1,107 hectares, including the area between the Main Deposit and the Company's Jamaica concession located 3km to the northwest, where the Company holds the rights to additional concessions. Drilling at the Eagle has returned the highest grade intercepts to date in the district. These wide high grade intercepts are consistent with geophysical targets on the new concession.
The LRGG holes contained in the results above are part of a new drilling program at the Main Deposit. The purpose of the program is to better define the very high grade portions of the current deposit that may be amenable to bulk underground mining. The Company is carrying out a trade-off study to better define what portion of the deposit could be mined in a lower strip ratio pit and what portion would best be mined in more selective bulk underground mining. These holes are in addition to those drilled in 2019 and 2020 which formed part of the initial resource upon which the Los Ricos South Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") was based upon when it was released on January 20, 2021.
A summary of Eagle zone drilling highlights is included as Table 2 below.
Table 2: Eagle Deposit Drill Intercept Highlights
Hole ID Area / Vein From To Length1 Au Ag AuEq2 AgEq2
(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) LRGAG-22-118 Eagle 95.6 150.6 55.0 7.80 2,152.7 36.51 2,737.9
including 95.6 120.6 25.0 16.07 4,664.2 78.26 5,869.3
including 104.6 119.6 15.0 26.74 7,755.8 130.15 9,761.3
including 107.6 114.6 7.0 55.87 16,524.6 276.19 20,714.5
including 107.6 110.6 3.0 121.97 36,953.0 614.67 46,100.5
including 108.6 110.6 2.0 145.25 52,764.5 848.78 63,658.3 LRGAG-22-035 Eagle 69.0 179.6 110.6 1.64 264.6 5.17 387.5
including 129.0 140.5 11.5 11.31 2,198.3 40.62 3,046.7
including 130.4 133.8 3.5 30.24 6,392.5 115.48 8,660.8
including 130.4 131.9 1.5 63.24 12,729.3 232.96 17,472.0
including 131.0 131.9 0.9 104.50 13,742.5 287.73 21,580.0 LRGAG-21-014 Eagle 144.3 216.9 72.6 5.13 76.0 6.14 460.6
including 198.8 210.7 11.9 28.58 115.9 30.13 2,259.8
including 208.6 210.7 2.1 146.03 176.8 148.39 11,128.9
including 208.6 209.3 0.7 266.00 319.0 270.25 20,269.0 LRGAG-22-031 Eagle 58.0 126.0 68.0 4.25 109.4 5.71 428.4
including 78.0 113.9 35.9 7.83 184.9 10.29 771.8
including 80.0 95.0 15.0 15.61 273.3 19.26 1,444.4
including 84.0 86.0 2.0 46.80 272.5 50.43 3,782.5 LRGAG-22-032 Eagle 48.1 113.8 65.8 1.36 107.7 2.79 209.6
including 85.8 113.8 28.1 2.96 216.6 5.85 439.0
including 88.5 92.9 4.3 7.17 1,012.8 20.68 1,550.7
including 88.5 89.1 0.6 25.00 3,020.0 65.27 4,895.0 LRGAG-22-041 Eagle 109.5 145.5 36.0 1.46 134.5 3.26 244.3
including 134.0 143.5 9.5 4.55 389.9 9.75 731.1
including 134.0 134.8 0.8 6.01 577.0 13.70 1,027.7
also including 137.0 143.5 6.6 5.62 453.6 11.67 875.3
including 141.0 142.2 1.2 17.10 1,345.0 35.03 2,627.5 LRGAG-22-113 Eagle 132.8 149.0 16.3 3.29 357.7 8.06 604.8
including 133.8 135.6 1.8 20.05 2,000.0 46.72 3,503.7
including 134.8 135.6 0.8 40.00 3,490.0 86.53 6,490.0
and 160.5 190.0 29.5 2.32 57.8 3.09 231.7
including 165.1 177.4 12.3 5.20 72.1 6.16 462.4
including 169.0 170.0 1.0 21.10 170.0 23.37 1,752.5 LRGAG-21-018 Eagle 127.6 163.0 33.6 1.57 85.5 2.71 203.5
including 156.9 159.3 2.4 10.51 436.5 16.33 1,225.0
including 156.9 157.6 0.8 15.00 1,155.0 30.40 2,280.0
and 177.9 178.6 0.7 36.20 1,500.0 56.20 4,215.0 LRGAG-22-030 Eagle 42.9 79.5 36.7 1.77 156.2 3.85 289.0
including 51.9 61.0 9.1 6.00 553.3 13.38 1,003.2
including 54.1 54.8 0.7 14.00 1,260.0 30.80 2,310.0 LRGAG-22-029 Eagle 74.0 94.6 20.6 1.52 217.5 4.42 331.3
including 75.5 77.5 2.0 8.00 1,865.5 32.87 2,465.5
including 75.5 76.5 1.0 14.15 3,520.0 61.08 4,581.3 LRGAG-21-007 Eagle 148.5 191.0 42.5 1.64 137.5 3.47 260.6
including 188.6 190.2 1.6 6.83 1,269.5 23.76 1,781.8
Figure 4, which follows, provides a summary of the Los Ricos District, including both the Los Ricos North and Los Ricos South projects. The map includes an outline of the concession areas and a summary of the current Mineral Resource Estimates ("MRE") on the projects, as well as stars locating each of the deposits included within the current MREs.
Table 3: Drill Hole Locations
Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Length LRGAG-22-101 609964 2328357 1252 0 -90 327 LRGAG-22-102 609942 2328282 1272 50 -67 273 LRGAG-22-103 609823 2328439 1231 50 -50 306 LRGAG-22-104 609822 2328438 1231 50 -65 351 LRGAG-22-105 609942 2328282 1272 0 -90 386 LRGAG-22-106 610034 2328128 1317 50 -55 274 LRGAG-22-107 609820 2328437 1231 0 -90 386 LRGAG-22-108 610126 2328072 1310 50 -45 184 LRGAG-22-109 610126 2328072 1310 50 -65 239 LRGAG-22-110 610062 2328411 1283 50 -60 170 LRGAG-22-111 610126 2328072 1310 50 -85 296 LRGAG-22-112 609931 2328050 1326 50 -55 377 LRGAG-22-113 610060 2328410 1282 0 -90 266 LRGAG-22-114 609404 2328744 1247 50 -45 310 LRGAG-22-115 610035 2328259 1306 50 -63 308 LRGG-22-224 610410 2327788 1276 50 -45 138 LRGG-22-225 610220 2327768 1233 50 -70 320 LRGG-22-226 610306 2327803 1254 50 -56 185 LRGG-22-227 610440 2327718 1270 50 -56 177
VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation
VRIFY is a platform being used by companies to communicate with investors using 360 virtual tours of remote mining assets, 3D models and interactive presentations. VRIFY can be accessed by website and with the VRIFY iOS and Android apps.
The VRIFY 3D Slide Deck for GoGold can be viewed at: https://vrify.com/companies/gogold-resources-inc and on the Company's website at: www.gogoldresources.com.
Los Ricos District Exploration Projects
The Company's two exploration projects at its Los Ricos Property are in Jalisco state, Mexico. The Los Ricos South Project began in March 2019 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on July 29, 2020 which disclosed a Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource of 63.7 million ounces AgEq grading 199 g/t AgEq contained in 10.0 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 19.9 million ounces AgEq grading 190 g/t AgEq contained in 3.3 million tonnes. An initial PEA on the project was announced on January 20, 2021 indicating an NPV 5% of US$295M. The Eagle Concession was acquired in October 2022 and is adjacent to the Main Area which contains the initial Mineral Resource.
The Los Ricos North Project was launched in March 2020 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on December 7, 2021, which disclosed an Indicated Mineral Resource of 87.8 million ounces AgEq grading 122 g/t AgEq contained in 22.3 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 73.2 million ounces AgEq grading 111 g/t AgEq contained in 20.5 million tonnes. The Company has a drill program for an additional 100,000 metres of drilling for 2022 in place.
Procedure, Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification
The diamond drill core (HQ size) is geologically logged, photographed and marked for sampling. When the sample lengths are determined, the full core is sawn with a diamond blade core saw with one half of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining half portion is returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical test work.
The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the ALS Chemex facility in Guadalajara, Mexico. ALS Chemex crushes the samples and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106m). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 30-gram charge by fire assay (Code AA23) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code ME-GRAV21). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code ME-ICP61 Total Digestion ICP). Over limits greater than 100 grams per tonne silver are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (ME-GRA21).
Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this announcement have passed GoGold's QA/QC protocols.
Mr. David Duncan, P. Geo. is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information of this release.
About GoGold Resources
GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD) is a Canadian-based silver and gold producer focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring high quality projects in Mexico. The Company operates the Parral Tailings mine in the state of Chihuahua and has the Los Ricos South and Los Ricos North exploration projects in the state of Jalisco. Headquartered in Halifax, NS, GoGold is building a portfolio of low cost, high margin projects. For more information visit gogoldresources.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:
The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy of any of GoGold's securities in the United States.
This news release may contain "forward-looking information" as defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Los Ricos South and North projects, and future plans and objectives of GoGold, including the intention to undertake further exploration at Los Ricos North, and the prospect of further discoveries there, constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such information but which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions in connection with the continuance of GoGold and its subsidiaries as a going concern, general economic and market conditions, mineral prices, the accuracy of mineral resource estimates, and the performance of the Parral project. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from GoGold's expectations include exploration and development risks associated with GoGold's projects, the failure to establish estimated mineral resources or mineral reserves, volatility of commodity prices, variations of recovery rates, and global economic conditions. For additional information with respect to risk factors applicable to GoGold, reference should be made to GoGold's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with securities regulators, including, but not limited to, GoGold's Annual Information Form. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date of this release.
SOURCE GoGold Resources Inc.
DESIGNATED NEWS RELEASE
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Gold Royalty Corp. ("Gold Royalty" or the "Company") (NYSE American: GROY) will release its quarterly financial and operating results for the three months ending December 31, 2022 on Monday, March 27, 2023, after market close. As previously announced, the Company is changing its fiscal year end to December 31 commencing in 2023 to better align with the reporting cycle of our peers.
An investor webcast will be held on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 starting at 11:00 am ET (8:00 am PT) to discuss these results. Management will be providing an update to interested stakeholders on the Company's quarterly results including key recent catalysts that have been announced on the assets underlying the Company's royalties. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session where participants will be able to ask any questions they may have of management.
To register for the investor webcast, please click the link below: https://www.bigmarker.com/vid-conferences/GoldRoyalty-Mar-2023-Results-Webcast
About Gold Royalty Corp.
Gold Royalty Corp. is a gold-focused royalty company offering creative financing solutions to the metals and mining industry. Its mission is to invest in high-quality, sustainable, and responsible mining operations to build a diversified portfolio of precious metals royalty and streaming interests that generate superior long-term returns for our shareholders. Gold Royalty's diversified portfolio currently consists primarily of net smelter return royalties on gold properties located in the Americas.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:
Certain of the information contained in this news release constitutes 'forward-looking information' and 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws ("forward-looking statements") which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Such statements can be generally identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "believe", "plans", "anticipate" or similar terms. Forward-looking statements are based upon certain assumptions, other important factors, and subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and other factors set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended September 30, 2022 and its other publicly filed documents under its profiles at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
SOURCE Gold Royalty Corp.
GSF's Top-Performing Global Facility of 2022 Earns Highest Company Honor for Second Consecutive Year
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, Golden State Foods (GSF) celebrated the 2022 Chairman's Challenge Award winner, GSF's Opelika, Alabama Protein Products manufacturing facility, a repeat winner and only the second facility in GSF history to win the company's highest honor for two consecutive years. A highly anticipated annual tradition for 23 years, the prestigious award recognizes the Opelika team's exemplary performance in the areas of people, quality, growth, financial results, and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG).
Golden State Foods Chairman's Challenge Award 2023
"Congratulations and sincere thanks to all of our phenomenal Opelika associates on their tremendous success in earning the Chairman's Challenge honors for two years in a rowa remarkable accomplishment that has only happened one other time in this award's more than two decades in existence," said Mark Wetterau, chairman and chief executive officer, Golden State Foods. "Our extraordinary Protein Products team joins a highly exceptional circle of multi-year Chairman's Challenge achievers!"
Highlighting the award-winning facility's numerous achievements throughout 2022, GSF Corporate Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Brian Dick announced the Chairman's Challenge Award at GSF's Global Leadership Conference in Las Vegas. During the company's annual awards ceremony, GSF Board Member Conrad Wetterau joined Dick in congratulating the 2022 Chairman's Challenge winner on the award, which resulted from Opelika's many accomplishments throughout the past year. These accomplishments include: performing to the highest standards in quality audits conducted internally, externally, and with customers; successfully supporting customer demand, while overcoming supply chain challenges; servicing customers through innovative solutions that increase equipment efficiencies; excelling in cost management; delivering financial results; improving associate experience survey scores; earning an industry safety award; and sustaining active GSF Foundation associate participation and community involvement.
"What an incredible, historic honor for our well-deserving Protein Products associates, as we have tirelessly pursued excellence together and driven this two-year winning streak with dedication and perseverance," said Nate Murphy, Group Vice President, Operations Protein Products. "What sets this outstanding Opelika team apart is the passion we share to consistently put people first, to innovate, and to live out our GSF Creed and Values in all we do for our customers, our community, and our company."
In addition to its second consecutive Chairman's Challenge Award, the Opelika team earned GSF's 2022 Quality Focus Award and Safety Excellence Award, as well as its third consecutive GSF "Best in Class" Platinum Award in the food processing category. Comprising the finalists for Chairman's Challenge, the company's annual "Best in Class" awards honor large facilities (Platinum Awards) and small facilities (Diamond Awards) in distribution and food processing.
For 2022, GSF Fresh! China won the "Best in Class" Diamond Award in the food processing category for its third consecutive year. The distribution category winners include first-time honoree, Quality Custom Distribution (QCD) Chicago West, for the 2022 "Best in Class" Platinum Award and another repeat winner in its category, QCD Phoenix, Arizona, for the 2022 "Best in Class" Diamond Award.
About Golden State Foods
Golden State Foods (GSF), one of the largest diversified suppliers to the foodservice and retail industries, feeds 1 billion people every day! Headquartered in Irvine, California, the multi-national company is values-based with proven performance in superior quality, innovation, and customer service. Established in 1947, GSF and its family of companies currently service 100+ leading brands (125,000+ restaurants/stores in more than 50 countries) from its 50+ locations on five continents. Its core businesses include: manufacturing of liquid products, protein, produce, dairy/aseptic, and provides custom distribution services. The company employs approximately 6,000 associates and is 100 percent management-owned and run. Golden State Foods also operates a national non-profit organization, the GSF Foundation.
Media Contact:
Emma LaPalermo, Porter Novelli
[email protected]
(630) 818-7620
SOURCE Golden State Foods
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GSI Group Holdings, a US-based holding company of leading branded laboratory consumables and benchtop equipment for the scientific, academic, and industrial communities has announced the promotion of Dennis Hoeft from Chief Sales & Marketing Officer to the role of President, Globe Scientific.
Dennis Hoeft, President, Globe Scientific
Dennis Hoeft has served as a senior executive in the laboratory industry for over 30 years. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated excellence in leadership development, building winning sales teams, sales strategy, and sales and business operations. He brings a wealth of knowledge and industry experience to the position, having worked for Globe Scientific for 7+ years. Over that time, he has served in several capacities, most recently as the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, and worked collaboratively with the GSI Group of companies to expand the Globe Scientific product offering.
Prior to joining Globe Scientific, Dennis Hoeft held key positions at industry leading companies including Thomas Scientific, Avantor/VWR and Becton Dickinson. He recently served as a Board Member of the Independent Laboratory Distributors Association. Throughout his tenure at Globe Scientific, Dennis Hoeft has demonstrated dedication and excellence in his roles. He shares the vision of the company and is excited to lead Globe Scientific into the next phase of its strategic journey. He said: "Globe Scientific has established a strong reputation for quality, honesty, and integrity within the industry. I feel deeply honored and humbled to be the new president of such a remarkable company and look forward to leading our team members and dealer partners to new levels of success."
Touted as a trusted name in Lab Supplies, Globe Scientific is renowned for its innovative products and excellent customer support. The company is also a subsidiary of the GSI Group Holdings a collection of leading brands that serve the biotech, clinical diagnostics, life sciences, education, and industrial sectors with laboratory supplies and accessories.
About GSI Group Holdings
GSI Group Holdings is a US-based holding company of leading branded laboratory consumables and benchtop equipment for the scientific, academic, and industrial communities. GSI Group has an unmatched geographic footprint with distribution locations on both the east and west coasts of the US as well as offices in Holland, Spain, and China, supporting sales in over 100 countries. Our mission is to leverage our unmatched supply chain and award-winning customer service to offer our partners in distribution and end users the most comprehensive product portfolio of laboratory consumables, benchtop equipment and accessories at competitive prices. For additional information, please visit www.GSIgroupholdings.com
About Globe Scientific
Exceeding expectations since 1983, Globe Scientific delivers exceptional "wow" products and service. We produce premium quality laboratory plasticware, glass and equipment for a global dealer network and laboratory professionals in markets including clinical, research, education, veterinary and industrial. Our mission is to enhance and expand our broad product portfolio through a family-oriented culture that delivers 5-star service and value to our partners. We strive to be the most responsive company and exceed expectations of our customers. Globe Scientific is an ISO certified organization. www.globescientific.com
Contact: Erin Hankforth
Phone: 8473314807
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Globe Scientific
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) grants School full approval, a major milestone
NUTLEY, N.J., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) has been granted full accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), a major milestone capping a robust seven-year review process that affirms the highest standards in the training of future physicians. The school admitted its first class in 2018 and has graduated two classes, many of whom are serving residencies in Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals.
"This is the culmination of years of work that started with a vision to reinvent medical education to create a physician workforce to thrive in a new state of medicine," said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health. "We are reaching our goals to keep physicians in New Jersey, to diversify the physician workforce and graduate doctors who will humanize healthcare."
The LCME is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Medical Association (AMA). The LCME is the accrediting body for all institutions conferring medical doctorate (MD) degrees in the United States and Canada. LCME accreditation is a voluntary, peer-reviewed process of quality assurance that determines whether the medical education program meets established standards, according to the organization. All aspects of the institution undergo rigorous review, including the entire curriculum, finances, infrastructure, and faculty. The full accreditation by the LCME confirms the high quality of the program.
"This tremendous accomplishment is a testament to the talent and perseverance of our faculty, staff, and students," said Jeffrey Boscamp, M.D., dean of the School. "We are meeting every standard required of us while pioneering, among a small cadre of other institutions, an accelerated medical education program, fully embracing an active learning pedagogy, and pioneering an award-winning investment in our local communities through the Human Dimension course."
Medical education programs leading to the MD degree must first hold institutional accreditation to be eligible for initial full accreditation and for continuing accreditation by the LCME.
"We have spent long hours making this dream become a reality," said Miriam Hoffman, M.D., a vice dean of the School. "We have been driven from the start to build a school that creates outstanding physicians who are ready to tackle our most pressing challenges. We are gratified to be fulfilling the mission and vision laid out for us from the outset by the founding dean, Dr. Bonita Stanton."
"This is a huge accomplishment - and it is a testament to the terrific community of professionals which we have built over the last five-plus years," added Stanley R. Terlecky, Ph.D., a vice dean of the School.
Bonita Stanton, M.D., helped shape HMSOM's curriculum and focus from the outset. Dr. Stanton unexpectedly passed away in January 2022. Dr. Boscamp took over on an interim basis, and was subsequently named the permanent dean in December 2022.
HMSOM has grown quickly in the seven years since its founding. In 2018, the School admitted 60 students; the latest two cohorts surpassing 160 students apiece. The first 18 students on an accelerated three-year track entered HMH residencies in 2021, and another 63 graduated in 2022, including students graduating after 3 years and after 4 years.
HMSOM's innovative 3+1 curriculum includes a three-year core curriculum and an individualized fourth year, where students build an individualized educational plan that meets their professional goals and developmental needs. Students build a program from a variety of options including HMSOM curriculum is the Determinants of Health - the many factors that we know impact health outcomes, including the biologic/genetic, but also critically the behavioral, social, healthcare, and environmental determinants. At the heart of the curriculum is the innovative Human Dimension course.
This immersive community-based experience links pairs of students to families in the community, with a focus on the domains of the social determinants of health: social, environmental, psychological, and medical. Throughout their stay at HMSOM, students in the Human Dimension follow the health trajectories of individuals and families, in locations including Hackensack, Garfield, Paterson, Passaic, Bloomfield, Clifton, Nutley, Union City, and West New York.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Hackensack Meridian Health assumed financial responsibility for the School in July 2018, and the School established its independence as a freestanding Institution of Higher Education in July 2020. The first cohort of doctors graduated in 2021. The school's vision is that each person in New Jersey, and in the United States, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, will enjoy the highest levels of wellness in an economically and behaviorally sustainable fashion. The School's unique curriculum focuses on linking the basic science with clinical relevance, through an integrated curriculum in a team-oriented, collaborative environment. The school prides itself on outreach, through programs like the Human Dimension, which is active in communities across New Jersey. To learn more, visit www.hmsom.org.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit healthcare organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. The network has 18 hospitals and more than 500 patient care locations, which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers, physician practice locations, and a fitness and wellness center. With more than 35,000 team members and 7,000 physicians, Hackensack Meridian Health is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy and committed to the health and well-being of communities throughout New Jersey.
The network's notable distinctions include having more U.S. News-ranked hospitals than any other health system in New Jersey, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, 2022-23. Hackensack University Medical Center is nationally-ranked by U.S. News & World Report in four specialties, more than any other hospital in New Jersey. Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, and K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, are ranked #1 in the state and top 20 in the Mid-Atlantic Region by U.S. News & World Report's 2022-23 Best Children's Hospital Report. Additionally, their combined nephrology program ranks in the top 50 in the United States. To learn more, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org.
SOURCE Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Industrial software company releases HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 to simplify complex data processing and enterprise scalability for Industrial DataOps
PORTLAND, Maine, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HighByte, an industrial software company, today announced the release of HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 that simplifies scalability and complex data processing to meet the evolving needs of industrial companies in their digital transformation journey. The latest release includes core functionality to build, deploy, and manage a Unified Namespace (UNS), enable complex data pipeline processing, simplify project management through tagging, and much more.
Statement from Jan EK, SKF Group Technical Strategy Leader for Manufacturing
"The user experience of HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 is seamless and intuitive, with a modern and well-designed interface," said Jan Ek, technical strategy leader for manufacturing at SKF Group in Sweden. SKF is a world-leading provider of innovative rotating shaft solutions and services, represented in more than 130 countries. "The new Pipelines feature brings an abundance of possibilities to build models and execute transformations with ease, and the added tagging capabilities truly elevate the deployment process to a whole new level."
According to independent research firm Verdantix, the demand for Industrial DataOps platforms and data aggregation solutions will surge in 2023, owing to data management challenges. In the firm's 2022 global corporate survey, 97% of respondents stated that expanding data acquisition capabilities related to cleaning, contextualization, and visualization are important to their operations in 2023. To succeed, the ability to scale across sites and the diverse, infinite amount of data they produce is critical. HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 enables this scale by providing a digital infrastructure solution capable of curating, contextualizing, and preparing industrial data for use across the enterprise.
"HighByte customers have had early success deploying HighByte Intelligence Hub as the Industry 4.0 data architecture solution to meet their initial digital transformation requirements," said HighByte CEO Tony Paine. "Building on the success of preparing operational data through standardization, contextualization, and normalization and transforming it into usable information for the entire enterprise, customers are now looking to solve more advanced use cases by further centralizing OT-IT intelligence. HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 introduces the necessary capabilities and user experience required to further simplify complex data processing at scale with the agility of meeting an organization's future needs."
The Intelligence Hub version 3.0 includes an MQTT broker tightly integrated with the hub's core data integration and contextualization capabilities. The MQTT v3.1.1 and v5 compliant broker is a critical component to rapidly deploying a local UNS and was built from the ground up by HighByte. A UNS is the fastest growing design pattern for integrating industrial data into a highly scalable and accessible structure to provide a real time view of the state of the business. The latest release also includes a graphical data Pipelines builder to configure and curate complex data payloads for object storage systems like Amazon S3. The builder includes steps to buffer, transform, and format payloads and the ability to track the transformation of data through the pipeline. This provides customers a holistic approach to processing files and other bulk data.
HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 is now commercially available. Please contact HighByte or an authorized distributor to request a trial or purchase an annual subscription license.
Additional Resources
About HighByte
HighByte is an industrial software company in Portland, Maine USA building solutions that address the data architecture and integration challenges created by Industry 4.0. HighByte Intelligence Hub, the company's award-winning Industrial DataOps software, provides modeled, ready-to-use data to the Cloud using a codeless interface to speed integration time and accelerate analytics. Learn more at https://www.highbyte.com.
HighByte is a registered trademark of HighByte, Inc.
Media Contact
HighByte
Torey Penrod-Cambra
Chief Communications Officer
+1 844.328.2677 x701
[email protected]
SOURCE HighByte
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HinduPACT, the Hindu Mandir Executives' Conference (HMEC), prominent Hindu organizations and over 200 concerned Hindus are calling on the Seattle City Council to Reject CB 120511. The proposed legislation is Hinduphobic and disproportionately targets Hindus by adding the word "caste" to the protected classes thereby perpetuating racist colonialist stereotypes and misconceptions about people from the Indian Subcontinent.
HinduPACT
The proposed ordinance's "Whereas" section falsely states that "caste is found in communities of religious practice." No credible evidence is presented to support this and this statement is based on fabrications driven by hatred against Hindus. There has not been any proven so-called caste based discrimination reported in the US. The word "caste" (lineage in Portuguese and Spanish) was invented and used as a tool of racial discrimination against converted Jews and to maintain racial and genetic purity of Spanish and Portuguese Christians. There is no reference to the concept of "caste" in any of the religious or philosophical teachings that originated from the Indian subcontinent.
Another "Whereas" section quotes a non-scientific survey by Equality Labs. This survey has been discredited by a scientific survey conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Equality Labs has received funding from the Open Society Foundation, which is founded by George Soros; a billionaire that has funded many anti-Hindu initiatives and publicly committed $1 billion to dismantle the Government of India which he perceives as pro-Hindu.
Deepak Tickoo, HinduPACT Seattle said, "As a concerned Hindu from the Seattle area, I am concerned about the effect this ordinance will have on Hindus working and living in my community. The funding request for an FTE using my tax dollars will be wasted in a solution looking for a problem that has not been demonstrated to exist in Seattle."
"The proposed ordinance is overwhelmingly Hinduphobic and seeks to perpetuate negative stereotypes about Hindus," said Ajay Shah, Convenor of HinduPACT. "It unfairly targets the Hindu community and leaves people of Indian Subcontinent descent vulnerable to bullying in schools and subjecting them to a hostile work environment."
"This ordinance is driven by hatred against Hindus," said Tejal Shah, Convenor of the Hindu Mandir Executives' Conference (HMEC) and Jt. General Secretary of the World Hindu Council of America (VHPA). "Hindus have lived in local communities harmoniously for decades, and the intent of this ordinance is to divide Americans in Seattle. Passage of this ordinance will promote further vandalism of Mandirs which we are already witnessing in several countries."
Rakhi Israni, HinduPACT Executive Director, Legal said, "Federal, Washington and Seattle laws protect against religious, ethnic, or racial discrimination under the existing categories of national origin and ancestry, both of which have been interpreted as inclusive of the various characteristics that might be associated with what is presented as 'caste'."
Deepti Mahajan, Executive Director of CHINGARI said, "Seattle city council will be rubbing salt on age old wounds of the Hindu community because caste has been imposed and shaped by centuries of colonial rule and exploitation. This ordinance only fuels Hinduphobia."
Media Contact:
Adelle Nazarian
[email protected]
201-207-8505
SOURCE HinduPACT
Record global TV shipments in 2022 represent a historical high in Hisense history
QINGDAO, China, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The rapid recovery of China's leading industrial companies and their competitive strength in the global consumer home appliance sector in particular, has been reinforced by the latest data from leading market research institute Omdia, showing that the global shipments of Hisense TV, for the full year 2022, hit a yearly total of 24.5 million, ranking Hisense No. 2 overall in the global market, with a year-on-year growth of 16.1%.
2022 Global TV Shipments Volume
The record shipments in 2022 represent a historical high in Hisense history, demonstrating the company's increasingly global dominance within China's TV industry, with Hisense's year-on-year growth placing it in the top five of all global companies in the sector.
As the technology and market leader in the field of the Laser TV industry, Hisense's 2022 global shipments share of 53.5% also placed the company in the No.1 ranking within the Laser TV category.
In an increasingly competitive market, the company has placed a key focus on ever-evolving customer needs with continuous innovation to develop high quality products and services, increasing the domestic TV market while expanding market share of the overseas market. The company has also placed an emphasis on overseas sales and investing in innovation-driving research and development.
As a key component of its future strategy for growth, Hisense will reinforce its commitment to delivering premium solutions to ensure consumers experience next-level enjoyment.
About Hisense
Hisense is headquartered in Qingdao, China. In the past 54 years, Hisense has always been adhering to the core values of "Integrity, Innovation, Customer Focus, and Sustainability" and the development strategy of "Sound Technological Foundation and Robust Operation". The business covers areas including multimedia, home appliances, IT intelligent information and modern service industries. With the rapid development in recent years, Hisense business is expended to more than 160 countries and regions. Smart TV, which is the core of Hisense B2C business, has always been at the forefront of the global industry. Besides B2C, Hisense is also in the global leading place in B2B industries including Intelligent Transportation, Precision Medicine and Optical Communications.
SOURCE Hisense
DAYTON, Ohio, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe will command the #14 car this weekend in Fontana, CA, and he is bringing his favorite bike brand, Huffy, with him to the track. This partnership that started in 2020 during the pandemic and virtual racing continues during Chase's third Cup season and what Huffy believes will be his best yet.
"Chase continues to be the best of brand ambassadors for Huffy, our employees, and our riders," said Kris Parlett, Vice President of Brand and DTC Marketing, United Wheels. "Chase is a great embodiment of what Huffy stands for -- family, fun, and living the ride."
"Chase is a great embodiment of what Huffy stands for -- family, fun, and living the ride." Tweet this
Whether Chase is piloting the #14 Cup Car or the #14 Huffy Motoric Fat Tire E-Bike around the track, it is less about the mode of transportation and more about the thrill of the ride. Huffy is asking fans to help celebrate Chase and the joy of the ride by using the hashtag #ChasetheRide on social media. Huffy is also offering a special promotion code (ChasetheRide14) for 14% off eligible products on Huffy.com.
About Chase Briscoe:
Chase Briscoe will drive the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, his third season in the Cup Series. Briscoe earned his first Cup Series victory at Phoenix Raceway in the Spring of 2022, qualifying him for his first Cup Series Playoff run. Briscoe previously drove the No. 98 Ford in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Briscoe won his ninth Xfinity race of 2020 at Kansas Speedway, giving him 11 career Xfinity victories overall.
About Huffy Corporation:
Huffy Corporation is a privately held company celebrating more than 130 years in the bicycle business. The instantly recognized brand is sold at thousands of retail locations, shipping millions of bicycles annually throughout the U.S. and more than 40 countries internationally. Huffy products are known for durability, comfort, style, and the fun memories made on trikes, scooters, bikes and ride-ons for every member of the family. For more information, visit: www.huffy.com
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kris Parlett, United Wheels
[email protected]
937-865-2827
SOURCE Huffy Bicycles
RENO, Nev., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - i-80 GOLD CORP. (TSX: IAU) (NYSE: IAUX) ("i-80", or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of the previously announced upsized "best efforts" private placement offering (the "Offering") of US$65,000,000 principal amount of secured convertible debentures (the "Convertible Debentures") of the Company (see press releases dated February 2, 2023 and February 3, 2023).
The Convertible Debentures will bear a fixed interest of 8.00% per annum and will mature on February 22, 2027, being the date that is four years from the Offering closing date (the "Maturity Date"). The Convertible Debentures will be the senior unsecured obligation of the Company, and will be secured on a limited recourse basis by Premier Gold Mines USA, Inc., the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, with recourse limited to a pledge of all present and future limited liability company units issued by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Au-Reka Gold LLC ("Au-Reka"). The Convertible Debentures will be guaranteed on a full recourse basis by Au-Reka which is secured by a first ranking security over all of AuReka's present and future real and personal property (including the McCoy-Cove project).
The Convertible Debentures are not redeemable prior to the Maturity Date; provided, however, that, if the Company has not executed the security documents relating to the security being provided in connection with the Offering within 90 days from the date hereof, the Company shall be obligated to repurchase the Convertible Debentures, by the date that is 120 days from the date hereof, at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Debentures then outstanding plus any accrued and unpaid interest thereon up to and including the date of redemption.
Ewan Downie, John Seaman and Matthew Gollat, each of whom is a director and/or officer of the Company, subscribed for US$150,000, US$50,000 and US$25,000, respectively, in principal amount of Convertible Debentures under the Offering (the "Insider Participation"). Each of the subscriptions by Ewan Downie, John Seaman and Matthew Gollat is considered to be a "related party transaction" for purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Insider Participation is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder requirements under MI 61-101 in reliance upon the exemptions contained in section 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a), respectively, of MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing date of the Offering as the details of the Offering and the Insider Participation was not settled until shortly prior to the closing of the Offering, and the Company wished to close the Offering on an expedited basis for sound business reasons.
All securities issued under the Offering are subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the date hereof. The Offering is subject to final acceptance of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, unless an exemption from such registration is available.
About i-80 Gold Corp.
i-80 Gold Corp. is a well-financed, Nevada-focused, mining company with a goal of achieving mid-tier gold producer status through the development of multiple deposits within the Company's advanced-stage property portfolio with processing at i-80's centralized milling facilities that include an autoclave.
Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including but not limited to, completion of refurbishment and development activities at the Lone Tree project and commencement of mining operations at the Lone Tree project or the Ruby Hill mine. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release.
Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to: the failure to obtain the final acceptance of the Offering from the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American, the failure to execute the necessary security documents within 90 days from the date of the closing of the Offering, material adverse changes, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration, refurbishment, development or mining programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations.
SOURCE i-80 Gold Corp
NEW YORK and TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. ("iAnthus" or the "Company") (CSE: IAN) (OTCPK: ITHUF), which owns, operates and partners with regulated cannabis operations across the United States, announces that Zachary Arrick has resigned from the board of directors of the Company (the "Board"), effective February 21, 2023. Mr. Arrick joined the Board on June 24, 2022 upon completion of the Company's previously announced recapitalization transaction.
"On behalf of the entire iAnthus team, we thank Zach for the valuable contributions and strategic insights he brought to the Board after closing the Recapitalization Transaction. We wish Zach the best in all his future endeavors," said Robert Galvin, iAnthus Interim Chief Executive Officer.
Pursuant to the Investor Rights Agreement dated June 24, 2022 by and among the Company, iAnthus Capital Management, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and certain Investors (as defined therein), the Investor who nominated Mr. Arrick is entitled to designate a successor nominee for appointment to the Board, and the Company is required to cause such nominee to be appointed to the Board. As of the date hereof, such Investor has not nominated a successor nominee, and the Company has not appointed a replacement for Mr. Arrick. A copy of the Investor Rights Agreement is available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC's") website at www.sec.gov.
About iAnthus
iAnthus owns and operates licensed cannabis cultivation, processing and dispensary facilities throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.iAnthus.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this news release contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of management, are not guarantees of performance and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. These forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various important factors, including those set forth in Company's reports that it files from time to time with the SEC and the Canadian securities regulators which you should review including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. When used in this news release, words such as "will," could," plan," estimate," expect," intend," may," potential," believe, "should" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements relating to the Company's financial performance, business development and results of operations and the nomination and appointment of a replacement/successor director to the Board.
These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as predictions of future events, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or circumstances discussed or reflected in these statements will be achieved or will occur. If such forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. You should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by the Company or any other person that it will achieve its objectives and plans in any specified timeframe, or at all. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the SEC has reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.
SOURCE iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc.
Report outlines multi-pronged attack that attempts to acquire highly-valuable PII and gain unauthorized access to district systems via student accounts
HOUSTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Identity Automation , the digital identity platform for education, and PIXM , a computer vision cybersecurity startup, today announced the release of a report that illustrates the prevalence of student-targeted phishing attacks in K-12 and outlines the anatomy of such hacking attempts. The full report is available for download here .
Examining threat data from a 30-day period in a U.S. school district, experts at Identity Automation and PIXM uncovered more than 73 malicious sites that where clicked on by students and staff, including new phishing attacks and dangerous proxy services specifically targeting students all in an attempt to gain highly-valuable Personal Identifiable Information (PII). Most districts are rightfully focused on preventing account takeovers leading to ransomware attacks, but those that target PII and leave students and districts unaware are also causing ever-increasing headaches for notable swaths of the country's communities.
"The reasons cybercriminals find K-12 environments so appealing is clear they include huge numbers of students with 'blank slate' credit histories and potentially easily obtainable PII to go along with it," said Jim Harold , CEO at Identity Automation. "When attackers take time to customize their attacks and appear like school-related content, you know they find it worth their time. This Identity Automation-PIXM report provides an excellent opportunity for school leaders to see what attacks actually look like, learn the tactics criminals are using, and recommendations to fight them."
"We're pleased to work with Identity Automation to spotlight this increased targeting of student information for purposes of large-scale theft," said Chris Cleveland, Founder and CEO of PIXM. "PIXM sees these types of threat reports as an important tool for keeping awareness of high surrounding potentially dangerous phishing attacks involving some of our most vulnerable citizens."
Quickly deployed web applications, proxy aware connections, URL cloaking, tab cloaking and multi-factor authentication (MFA) gaps help attackers circumvent detection and content filters entirely. In June of 2022, Identity Automation announced its partnership with PIXM to launch PhishID , a powerful anti-phishing solution integrated into Identity Automation's RapidIdentity IAM platform offered specifically to thwart these types of K-12 attacks. For more information, contact Identity Automation here .
About PIXM
PIXM, a cybersecurity startup that stops zero-day phishing attacks with AI Computer Vision, is led by artificial intelligence experts focused on cyber security. It is advised by cyber security pioneers, intel community leaders, and successful entrepreneurs. PIXM CEO and Founder Chris Cleveland studied machine learning applications in cyber security at Columbia's SEAS graduate school. Its backers include Tenable Networks Founder Ron Gula and Veracode Founder Chris Wysopal. Visit www.pixmsecurity.com .
About Identity Automation
Identity Automation provides identity and access management (IAM) solutions for K-12 and higher education. Its flagship platform, RapidIdentity, safeguards learning environments, maximizes instructional time, and minimizes the load on Information & Educational Technology teams. Technology leaders turn to RapidIdentity for its best-in-class security capabilities, time-saving automation, and flexible approach to managing digital identities. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Identity Automation is trusted by Chicago Public Schools, Miami-Dade County School Districts, Dallas ISD, Houston Community College, and hundreds of other institutions. To learn more about partnering with Identity Automation, visit www.identityautomation.com .
SOURCE Identity Automation
Executive appointments announced to drive growth, as Mark Arena steps away from CEO role
WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Intel 471, a premier provider of cyber threat intelligence solutions across the globe, today announced that Mark Arena has made the decision to transition from his role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to Strategic Advisor. Jason Passwaters, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) will become the new CEO effective March 1, 2023. Mark Arena will retain his seat on the Board of Directors.
"After nine years and a record-setting 2022, it was the right time to step away from my position as CEO," said Mark Arena. "It's a bittersweet moment for me but knowing that Jason would be taking over the CEO role gave me confidence in the continued success of Intel 471." Mark continued, "Jason has my full commitment and support of his success and that of the organization."
Jason Passwaters, newly appointed CEO of Intel 471 shared, "I am excited to be chosen to lead this company that I helped to build, particularly as we scale to meet the ever-increasing cybersecurity demands of our global customer base. It is humbling to be handed the leadership reins from Mark Arena, with whom I co-founded Intel 471. His vision and relentless drive to create a great company with an enviable culture resulted in being widely recognized as a premier cyber threat intelligence provider when Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm, made a strategic investment in the company in September 2021. This was the precursor to Mark leading the organization to a stellar performance in 2022."
Jason Passwaters announced a second executive appointment, "Dena Timm, CFO for Intel 471 has been recognized for her stewardship of Intel 471's finance and business operations by being named COO/CFO of Intel 471." Jason shared, "Employees across the organization see Dena's guidance and influence in every facet of the business. We will continue to benefit from her leadership, particularly in the execution of our mission."
"We were excited to partner with the management team of Intel 471 when we made the investment in September of 2021. Mark has done a tremendous job building the company to the leadership position it is currently in. He has earned the right to take a step back. We are comfortable with Jason and Dena stepping into their new roles and are confident the company will continue to thrive," said David Weiss, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
About Intel471
Intel 471 empowers enterprises, government agencies, and other organizations to win the cybersecurity war using near-real-time insights into the latest malicious actors, relationships, threat patterns, and imminent attacks relevant to their businesses.
The company's TITAN platform collects, interprets, structures, and validates human-led, automation-enhanced results. Clients across the globe leverage this threat intelligence with Intel 471's proprietary framework to map the criminal underground, zero in on key activity, and align their resources and reporting to business requirements. Intel 471 serves as a trusted advisor to security teams, offering ongoing trend analysis and supporting their use of the platform.
Learn more at https://intel471.com/
Media Contacts
For Intel 471:
John Kreuzer / Justin Finnegan
Lumina Communications for Intel 471
[email protected]
SOURCE Intel 471
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "I wanted to able to help people find a different means of getting fresh water to help with the water shortage around the world," said an inventor from Sikeston, Mo., "so I invented HYDRO53."
The invention serves as a means of producing safe, clean, and sanitary water wherever needed for basic human hydration. This would be helpful for those suffering in a drought and/or from dehydration and may potentially save lives in some parts of the world. It provides useful drinking water, which is safe, clean, and sanitary. The convenient and efficient machine could offer a wide range of possible applications.
The original design was submitted to the National sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 21-MHO-235, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com.
SOURCE InventHelp
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "I love practicing with acrylic nails on the weekends but have to remove them before returning to active military duty. I thought there should be an accessory to practice without damaging my nail beds," said an inventor, from Eatonon, Ga., "so I invented the ACRYLIC NAIL EASY GLOVE. My design would effectively protect nails while improving extravagant nail application techniques."
The patent-pending invention provides a specially designed glove for practicing with acrylic nail applications. In doing so, it offers a protective barrier between the nail and skin and the acrylic application. As a result, it prevents damage to the natural nail and it enhances safety and convenience. The invention features a practical and lightweight design that is easy to use so it is ideal for professional nail technicians in salons, students and others who practice acrylic nail applications. Additionally, it is producible in design variations and a prototype model is available upon request.
The original design was submitted to the National sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 21-MHO-241, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com.
SOURCE InventHelp
DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Italy Elevator and Escalator - Market Size & Growth Forecast 2023-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The Italy elevator and escalator market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.41% during 2023-2029. The increasing demand for high-rise structures and the government's focus on infrastructure in key economic cities have propelled the Italy elevator and escalator market to new heights.
The Italy elevator market by the installed base is expected to reach 1,126,423 units by 2029. In 2022, elevators used in the residential sector accounted for the largest share of around 38.6%, applicable to Italy's steadily increasing urban population. The rising use of elevators in apartment buildings significantly impacts their adoption in the residential sector.
Growth Rate Of Digitalization And Increasing Developments In Buildings To Drive The Italy Elevator And Escalator Market
Home transactions have witnessed an increase of 43.1% in 2021. It is observed that housing purchases rose in smaller cities, towns, or the countryside in 2021 by 46.6% and in major cities by 36.1%. Increasing sales growth in smaller towns/cities or suburbs is contributed by the pandemic, which has stimulated demand for better access to living spaces, according to ANCE (Associazione Nazionale Costruttori Edili).
An investment of USD 41.7 million was invested in meeting the demand of Milan for developing long-term rental and social housing. Further, a residential project of 200 apartments project was planned in the Sarpi Area of Milan.
Nearly USD 30.8 million was allocated to energy efficiency projects and building redevelopment as a key investment in saving 0.98Mt CO2 by anticipating reduction through energy efficiency in public and private buildings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Unity of Japanese engineer Hitachi and Italian contractors Webuild and Astaldi had been awarded a contract worth USD 2.8 billion in August 2020 to begin initial works on Verona-Padua high-speed/high-capacity railway project in Italy with an allocated fund of USD 5.4 billion. The project is anticipated to be finished by 2027 and will enhance the development of the infrastructure sector in Italy.
Ministry of Infrastructure had allocated USD 8.4 million towards mobility, water resources, housing, and urban renewal. In addition, another USD 661 million was financed for the "Caput Mundi" project, which was initiated by the Ministry of Tourism.
An estimated investment of around USD 312.6 million for a new logistics project is planned for Verona, Italy. The project is located in Vigasio and will be in two phases; an investment of USD 12.5 million is estimated to construct four buildings in an area of 200,000 m2. The project's second phase will involve an additional investment of USD 18.8 million. The initial phase is expected to be finished by 2023.
To promote increased tourist flows and enable the area's commercial fabric and community centers to resume, a moving walkway, also known as a sliding sidewalk, was installed in the tunnel between Rome's Via Nazionale and Via del Tritone. The Termini-Vatican-Aurelio tramway will pass across Via Nazionale on the Jubilee of 2025. The authority anticipates that increased pedestrian and tourist traffic will result from the upgraded infrastructure.
Under Italy's Budget Law 2021, funding of USD 33.3billion was allotted to Infrastructure 4.0 investment, USD 29.5billion for high-speed railway and road maintenance, and USD 38.5 was funded to intermodal transport and integrated logistics for the development of non-residential and infrastructure construction in Italy.
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are the city's next major international event and are expected to be a successful operation, a fundamental demonstration for Italy. It's an opportunity to enhance Cortina's infrastructure, which is one of its drawbacks, and to attract international tourists.
Three million tons of carbon dioxide per year will be reduced by the Turin-Lyon railway by 2030. The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is building a railway between Turin and Lyon under the Alps. Webuild and its joint venture (JV) partners have been awarded a contract for excavating a section of the base tunnel for the Turin-Lyon high-speed train worth USD 1.69 billion (1.43 billion).
SEGMENTATION
Governments Effort To Expand Infrastructure Across Nation To Increase Demand For New Installations
Italy will likely invest USD 7.8 billion to modernize and increase capacity at its docks until 2026. The funding is mainly focused on increasing the size of the ships that Italy's leading container ports can handle through dredging, new breakwaters, and improved connections to road and rail links.
will likely invest to modernize and increase capacity at its docks until 2026. The funding is mainly focused on increasing the size of the ships that leading container ports can handle through dredging, new breakwaters, and improved connections to road and rail links. The government of Italy allocated USD 4.1 billion towards mobility in 2022. Out of this funding, USD 2.1 billion will be utilized for local lines and high-speed rail and around USD 1.7 billion for rapid mass transport such as metros and subways, also upgrading the bus fleet in Rome .
allocated towards mobility in 2022. Out of this funding, will be utilized for local lines and high-speed rail and around for rapid mass transport such as metros and subways, also upgrading the bus fleet in . The train run time between the Brescia-Verona-Vicenza line will be reduced by 2026 as the line between Liguria , and Alpi will compete. The upgradation of the Verona to Brennero line will also be witnessed with a value of USD 8.9 billion .
, and Alpi will compete. The upgradation of the Verona to Brennero line will also be witnessed with a value of . In Bentivoglio, part of the Bologna Freight Village complex, Italy , to design and construct three new turnkey logistics buildings. Three structures with floor areas of 12,340 m2, 18,200 m2, and 16,700 m2 are involved. Each building will have functional office space, a warehouse, and technical facilities. Since the corporation is committed to sustainability, these buildings will be LEED Silver certified.
Regulation-Driven Maintenance And Modernization of Elevators And Escalators In Italy To Create Demand
The maintenance and modernization of Italy elevator and escalator market accounted for 67.9% and 32.1%, respectively, for 2022.
elevator and escalator market accounted for 67.9% and 32.1%, respectively, for 2022. According to ThyssenKrupp Elevator Italia, around 40% of the total building stock has crossed the threshold age of 30 years. Various technological advancements have made machine users more functional and economical from an energy perspective. They also need to satisfy EU regulations by sector, which is essential.
SMI (Scale Mobili Italia) is focused on the maintenance and service of mobility equipment, including elevators, escalators, and moving walkways. In 2018 it introduced training sessions and courses on the maintenance of escalators for technicians in elevator companies where they get to explore procedures for maintenance, modernization, and replacement of multi-brand escalators. This is expected to support the Italy elevator and escalator market growth during the forecast period.
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
The completion of metro line C will mark Rome's infrastructure revival with a budgeted price of USD 7 billion has been set out for this project. The line, built by a group of businesses that includes the Webuild Group, is one of the significant essential infrastructures in the capital because it runs from the edge of the city into the historic center.
infrastructure revival with a budgeted price of has been set out for this project. The line, built by a group of businesses that includes the Webuild Group, is one of the significant essential infrastructures in the capital because it runs from the edge of the city into the historic center. Milan will be one of Europe's most modernized cities, with more public and private developments and an anticipated USD 13 billion investment by 2030 (including USD 2 billion for public urbanization projects). Additionally, the housing industry in Milan will add 33,000 units by 2030, accommodating 100,000 people. Such investment initiatives are expected to support the Italy elevator and escalator market.
VENDOR LANDSCAPE
The top 4 prominent vendors, including Otis, KONE, Schindler, and TK Elevator, account for 60% of the Italy elevator and escalator market share.
elevator and escalator market share. In June 2021 , Otis Elevator introduced the next-generation Gen3 elevator at the Alexander tower, Germany . The smart Gen3 elevator adds built-in Otis ONE Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity to the proven flat-belt technology of the Gen2 elevator.
, Otis Elevator introduced the next-generation Gen3 elevator at the Alexander tower, . The smart Gen3 elevator adds built-in Otis ONE Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity to the proven flat-belt technology of the Gen2 elevator. TK Elevator launched its global spare parts strategy with the inauguration of its first Smart Data technological warehouse; a new state-of-the-art warehouse in Spain reduces waiting times for elevator spare parts by 20% and saves 10% of all trips by service technicians.
reduces waiting times for elevator spare parts by 20% and saves 10% of all trips by service technicians. Continue rolling out digital products like MAX and implementing dedicated initiatives such as SPBE(Spare Parts Business Excellence) to enhance efficiency and help reduce emissions remain Mitsubishi Electric's strengths.
Elevator Market Segmentation by
Machine Type
Hydraulic and Pneumatic
Machine Room Traction
Machine Room Less Traction
Others
Climbing
Elevators
Industrial Elevators
Carriage Type
Passenger
Freight
Capacity
2-15 Persons
16-24 Persons
25-33 Persons
34 Persons and Above
End-User
Commercial
Residential
Industrial
Others
Public Transit
Institutional
Infrastructural
Escalator Market Segmentation by
Product Type
Parallel
Multi Parallel
Walkway
Crisscross
End-User
Public Transit
Commercial
Others
Institutional Sector
Infrastructure
Industrial
Key Vendors
Otis
KONE
Schindler
TK Elevator
Mitsubishi Electric
Fujitec
Other Prominent Vendors
Stannah Lifts Holdings Ltd
GMV Lifts
Cibes Lift Group
Giovenzana
Wittur
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hlpnoi-elevator?w=5
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Miller Lite and J Balvin are teaming up for the third year to give back to Latino communities.
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Miller Lite and J Balvin are back for another round and this time they are picking up the tab for fans and supporting Latino business owners through their continued work with Accion Opportunity Fund .
Fans will be able to enter for the chance to have global superstar and entrepreneur, J Balvin and Miller Lite pick up their tab by visiting www.millerlite.com/jbalvin. Starting March 1st - April 30th, Miller Lite and J Balvin will be giving away up to 10,000 beers per week as well as the chance to win other prizes like signed merch."
Miller Lite partners with J Balvin to support Latino business owners
In addition to J Balvin's Tab, Miller Lite is bringing back the Balvin-inspired limited-edition pints as a continuation of their mission to support and empower the Latino community. Miller Lite will donate a portion of proceeds from the limited-edition pints purchased during the program, up to $150,000, to Accion Opportunity Fund . This donation can help provide funding for up to 50 Latino business owners across the country. The refreshed limited-edition pints will be available nationwide in the coming weeks and feature the same great taste Miller Lite fans know and love.
"From the very beginning, we have shared J Balvin's love for real moments and creating a positive impact, whether that's with friends and family or the Latino community nationwide." said Elizabeth Hitch, Senior Director, Miller Lite. "In our latest collab, we have the same mission- making more moments taste like Miller Time while also giving back".
This is the latest initiative that Miller Lite and J Balvin have collaborated on to support the Latino community. Last year, Miller Lite and J Balvin created a bodega-inspired merch collection, aptly named BodegaWear , and gave the proceeds to Accion Opportunity Fund to help support bodegas, corner stores, and other Latino businesses. In 2021, they announced their partnership with the release of a limited edition can . As a result of their partnerships, Miller Lite and J Balvin have donated a total of $275,000 to the Accion Opportunity Fund in support of Latino business owners.
"I'm excited Miller Lite and I could collaborate again to not only bring some new cool can art to shelves but also make a real impact in the Latino community," said Balvin. "So many Latino businesses were devastated over the past few years, and I'm glad Miller Lite was excited to team up and give them a boost. So pick up some Miller Lite because the next round's on me!"
The limited-edition Balvin pints that will be sold nationally in 15 and 9-packs starting on March 20th. Fans can enter for their chance to win a beer on Balvin or other great prizes starting March 1 by visiting www.millerlite.com/jbalvin . For more updates on Miller Lite and J Balvin's partnership, fans should follow @MillerLite on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
About Miller Brewing Company
Miller Brewing Company was founded in 1855 by Frederick J. Miller when he purchased the Plank Road Brewery in Milwaukee, a city he chose as the best place for a brewery given its access to great water. Miller Lite, the original great-tasting light pilsner beer, (MillerLite.com, Facebook.com/MillerLite, @MillerLite on Twitter, YouTube.com/MillerLite) was introduced nationally in 1975 and is among the top-five selling beers in the United States. The brewery's oldest enduring beer is Miller High Life (MillerHighLife.com, Facebook.com/MillerHighLife, @MillerHighLife on Twitter). Known as the Champagne of Beers, it was introduced in 1903 and still is brewed with the same yeast strain that Miller carried in his pocket from Germany. Miller Genuine Draft (MGD.com, Facebook.com/MillerGenuineDraft, @Miller_Global on Twitter), introduced in 1986, is the original cold-filtered, packaged draft beer. Miller Brewing Company is part of the North America business unit of Molson Coors Beverage Company. Learn more at MolsonCoors.com, at Facebook.com/Molsoncoors or Instagram and Twitter through @MolsonCoors.
About Accion Opportunity Fund
Accion Opportunity Fund works to create an inclusive, healthy financial system that supports the nation's small business owners by connecting entrepreneurs to affordable capital, educational resources, coaching, and networks. Through innovative partnerships and outreach strategies, we reach entrepreneurs of color, low-income entrepreneurs, and women, who often lack access to the financial services they need to build and grow their businesses.
SOURCE Miller Lite
The US is Klarna's largest market by revenue (Dec '22) with 8 million monthly active users of the Klarna App
More of the top 100 US retailers now partner with Klarna for marketing than for payments
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Klarna, the global leader in the generational shift away from credit cards, today announced strong momentum in the US, with a 71% YoY increase in GMV, while improving credit loss rates by 37%. Now with 34 million consumers in the US, the market has become Klarna's largest market by revenue as of December 2022. Klarna's US growth is fuelled by surging demand for the Klarna App, recently named Best Overall BNPL App of 2023 by Forbes, which now has over 8 million monthly active app users and 30 million downloads.
"We're thrilled at the growth and momentum we've achieved in the US, and are confident in our path towards profitability," said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO, Klarna. "Consumers choose Klarna as a trusted, fair and more sustainable alternative to antiquated banks and high-cost credit options because we're solving problems for them everyday. Whether they're using the Klarna App for a smoother all-in-one shopping experience or checking out with our interest-free payment solutions, we're saving consumers time, money, and making Klarna essential in today's economy."
In addition to its popular suite of payment options enabling consumers to Pay Now, pay later, or pay over time, the Klarna App is a shopping destination of choice to 150 million consumers globally, covering all phases of the shopping journey from discovery to checkout.
Over the last year, Klarna has expanded and strengthened the app experience, launching new features including a rich and unbiased search and price comparison tool, dynamic and curated shoppable video content, and an upgraded CO2e tracker offering deeper insights into the environmental impact of consumer purchases. The Klarna App also offers popular features like money management tools, delivery tracking, digital receipts, price drop notifications and more, making it an indispensable, superior one-stop-shop for consumers' shopping needs.
Klarna's retailer network in the US continues to grow across multiple verticals including grocery, electronics, fashion and beauty, with leading partners such as Instacart, Tractor Supply Company, Groupon, Samsung, Etsy, and Fossil Group joining the company's network of over 500,000 retailers globally. Klarna is a strategic growth partner for retailers, offering payment options that increase consumer trust, loyalty, and conversion alongside unique marketing and advertising solutions that drive measurable growth. Today, more of the top 100 US retailers partner with Klarna for consumer acquisition and marketing (49 out of 100) than for payments.
"Klarna's marketing revenue is our fastest growing revenue stream, creating over 600 million leads for our retail partners to drive shared growth," said David Sandstrom, CMO, Klarna. "At Klarna, we understand that in today's fast-paced retail environment, simply offering consumers great products is no longer enough. Retailers need partners to help them cut through the noise and connect with consumers in new, exciting ways. That's where Klarna comes in."
Over the past year, Klarna has launched several new marketing solutions embraced by retailers worldwide, including a Creator Platform, enabling retailers to connect with over 500,000 creators to scale and optimize campaigns, and Virtual Shopping, a tool bringing the best of in-store to the online experience that is live today across brands including Levi's, Hugo Boss and Herman Miller. Additionally, with Klarna's latest shoppable video content, brands such as Haus Labs By Lady Gaga have seen average click-through rates up to 3x higher than other social media channels.
Contact
Adaline Colton
[email protected]
+1 (614) 429-9125
The following files are available for download:
https://news.cision.com/klarna-bank-ab--publ-/i/chesscafe-apphome,c3147072 Chesscafe AppHome
SOURCE Klarna Bank AB (publ)
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- KU is launching a new Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) with a concentration in Applied Data Analytics in the School of Professional Studies (SPS). It will be offered online through the KU Edwards Campus beginning in fall 2023, giving students with an associate degree or equivalent hours, who have a strong interest in information technology, an opportunity to enter this growing field.
Bachelors of Professional Studies with a concentration in Applied Data Analytics
Stuart Day, dean of the KU Edwards Campus and School of Professional Studies, believes a BPS with a Concentration in Applied Data Analytics program addresses a growing demand for employees with these skill sets across the Kansas City area.
"The Applied Data Analytics concentration offers practical and applied training in data analytics, operational analytics, research analysis, big data, and data management," said Day. "It provides students with highly valued and relevant skills to help them achieve their career goals."
According to Heather McCain, interim director, Information Technology, who helped develop the new program, this concentration will give students a strong foundation in professional management as well the opportunity to develop their data science skills while solving real-world problems.
"Courses will provide students with fundamental concepts of designing and maintaining database projects as well as storytelling concepts to best communicate the information that data is trying to tell," Cain said.
The job market for data analysts is growing rapidly, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with jobs in a variety of sectors and at very competitive salaries.
The new BPS with a Concentration in Applied Data Analytics is supported by the Johnson County Education Research Triangle (JCERT) and aims to graduate professionals ready to fill in-demand jobs in the Kansas City area and beyond.
About The University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. The KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park, KS, brings the high-quality academic, professional, and continuing education programs as well as research and public-service benefits of KU to the Greater Kansas City community to serve the workforce, economic and community development needs of the region.
For more information contact:
Susan Motley at [email protected] or 913-897-8573
SOURCE University of Kansas Edwards Campus
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The LA Art Show, LA's largest and longest-running art fair, wrapped up its 28th iteration following a triumphant return to the Los Angeles Convention Center on February 15 through 19, 2023. Guided by the leadership of LA Art Show producer and director Kassandra Voyagis, the fair kicked off the City's art season, uniting galleries, curators, collectors, and celebrities alike. LA Art Show 2023 saw a larger global presence than ever before with over 120 galleries and 35% higher attendance than last year's show, bringing the total attendees to around 60,000 people.
LA Art Show
The fair debuted with a successful Opening Night Premiere Party hosted by actress Ashley Tisdale, raising funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the show's charitable partner of 9 years, who received 15% of all ticket proceeds. Visitors gathered to see iconic LA artist Robert Vargas live painting a powerful mural as part of the series, The sacRED Project. "Protect The Life Givers," was on view throughout and is the third mural in a three-city series Albuquerque, New York City and now Los Angeles addressing the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and the #MMIW movement.
The European Pavilion returned along with an increased presence from Asia marked by the launch of the Japanese Pavilion as well as 15 galleries from South Korea, a testament to the country's thriving arts scene, which was celebrated with an opening night reception for Korean dignitaries.
"I spent much of 2022 traveling to scout international participants and it was inspiring to see attendees blown away by the scope of the work represented at this year's show. It was an honor to help bring it all together and we will continue to expand our international presence," says LA Art Show producer Kassandra Voyagis.
A few LA Art Show 2023 highlights included:
Ramona Otto's Holy Cow : Pray For Peaceful Coexistence made its debut at LA Art Show (bG Gallery). As a call for peace in a divisive world, Holy Cow combines thousands of religious artifacts from major religious groups, human rights leaders and iconic peace symbolism.
: made its debut at LA Art Show (bG Gallery). As a call for peace in a divisive world, combines thousands of religious artifacts from major religious groups, human rights leaders and iconic peace symbolism. First-time exhibitor Markowicz Fine Art showcased pioneering artist Carole Feuerman's hyper-realistic sculpture of a swimmer "Bibi on the Ball," which captured the attention of visitors and the local networks alike.
hyper-realistic sculpture of a swimmer "Bibi on the Ball," which captured the attention of visitors and the local networks alike. Song-Word Art House's exhibit was based on the song "LA Woman" by The Doors, which featured an original artwork by legendary guitarist Robby Krieger inspired by the mysterious words "MR MOJO RISIN" an anagram to the name " Jim Morrison ."
exhibit was based on the song "LA Woman" by The Doors, which featured an original artwork by legendary guitarist inspired by the mysterious words "MR MOJO RISIN" an anagram to the name " ." Artist MARCK's "GEGENSTROM XXL" at Licht Feld Gallery attracted the crowds, showing a woman trapped in a box filled with water, searching for a way out, seemingly unaffected by the hopelessness of her situation yet never losing faith. The power of MARCK's work is enhanced by his choice of materials, transforming an ordinary appliance into a stunning video sculpture.
Artwork by actor Val Kilmer at Fabrik Projects included works from his Icon painting series in which Kilmer investigates the nature of Icons and explore themes of identity and American mythic archetypes.
The fair's non-commercial platform DIVERSEartLA, curated by Marisa Caichiolo, inspired dialogue through art, featuring 9 interdisciplinary projects examining the climate crisis, including The Museum of Latin American Art's "When God Was A Woman, 1980-2021" a double-sided mural - by artist and ecofeminist, Judy Baca. Thirteen women represent Latina, Chicana and all women with their naked bodies shown in the volcano synonymous with life while the other side depicts a goddess possessing vital energy, Mother Earth. Korean artist HanHo's "Eternal Light," showcased a massive nine-part multimedia work presented by ReflectSpace Gallery (City of Glendale Library). The work, inspired by Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment," re-imagined an apocalyptic scenario for the 21st century.
LA Art Show 2023 ended with DIVERSEartLA presenting their inaugural Museum Acquisition Award - created and chosen by Spain's La Neomudejar Museum - to artist Hogan Brown at Arcadia Contemporary who will now be part of the Museum's collection.
Mark your calendars for next year's show at the LA Convention Center from Feb 14-18 2024. Visit: www.laartshow.com
Media Contact:
Emma Haber
9178924700
[email protected]
SOURCE LA Art Show
Limited-Edition Bracelet Commemorates Annual Power of Love Gala
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Master jeweler Steven Lagos delighted guests at Keep Memory Alive's Power of Love gala, with a limited-edition ceramic Caviar bracelet, especially designed to support Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
Commemorative LAGOS Caviar bracelet
100 percent of the bracelet purchase supports research and programs dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by brain disorders. Available in lilac ceramic and sterling silver, this collectible piece reflects the official color of the Alzheimer's movement and features the brand's iconic Caviar beading with commemorative engraving on the clasp.
In addition, a curated selection of styles totaling more than $50,000 was featured as part of LAGOS' annual contribution to the event's silent auction. The brand also auctioned off an 18K gold and diamond Smart Caviar bracelet for the Apple Watch as part of the event's live auction. In total, LAGOS has raised more than $1 million for Keep Memory Alive to date.
"Each year, we look to expand our commitment to this important cause," said LAGOS Founder and Creative Director Steven Lagos. "Jewelry helps build memories, and our collectible pieces act as mementos for future reflection. We're honored to contribute to Keep Memory Alive in this way, to help support their on-going work."
The 2023 exclusive Power of Love bracelet is the newest addition to a comprehensive collection devoted to the cause. The LAGOS Keep Memory Alive collection is available at LAGOS.com and features a suite of jewelry that follows the same design inspiration as the organization's Frank Gehry-designed headquarters. This collection is available for purchase year-round and donates 100 percent of the sale to the organization.
More than six million Americans are affected by Alzheimer's. Without a cure, it's a disease that touches so many people across the country. LAGOS brand friend, television personality and entrepreneur, Heather Thomson, attended the event as a guest of LAGOS, in memory of her grandmother who suffered from this debilitating disease.
"It was my pleasure to join the LAGOS team at this year's Keep Memory Alive Power of Love gala," said Thomson. "I watched as my grandmother developed Alzheimer's and I became her advocate at age 17. It's a disease that affects the whole family patient and caregiver. I'm glad I can help draw attention to a cause that means so much to me personally."
For over 25 years, LAGOS has supported Keep Memory Alive and its efforts to research and care for those in need. Steven Lagos became intimately involved with the foundation through his friendship with Co-Founder and Vice Chair Larry Ruvo and his personal connection to the cause. Steven's grandparents suffered from Alzheimer's, and he watched as the disease took a toll on the patients as well as their families and caregivers. He realized just how difficult the experience is for everyone involved and has been committed to Keep Memory Alive ever since.
"This organization began, and continues to thrive, thanks to the dedication of wonderful friends and colleagues," said Ruvo. "The commitment and contributions from Steven Lagos go beyond our expectations and add immeasurable value to our cause."
About LAGOS: Since 1977, LAGOS has been a pioneer in designer fine jewelry, combining precious materials and strong design to offer modern, iconic styles. LAGOS was founded by designer and master jeweler Steven Lagos, who developed the brand's signature Caviar design in 1984. Each Caviar collection has a bold, feminine design that encourages personal expression. LAGOS' national campaign, MY LAGOS MY WAY, was created to reinforce these core values and inspire the LAGOS woman. LAGOS is available at LAGOS.com, its flagship boutique in Philadelphia, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and independent jewelers around the country. For more information, inspiration and latest styles follow @lagos_jewelry on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Visit www.LAGOS.com to learn more about the history of the brand and to shop the entire collection.
CONTACT:
LAGOS
Jamie Harris
973-536-6709
[email protected]
SOURCE LAGOS
NEWARK, N.J., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Network Assured shared the results of a recent data study on cybersecurity, that looked at which U.S. states had suffered the most data breaches in 2022. The study looked at data breaches from all industries, to rank the states where businesses faced the highest risk of cyberattack to the lowest. It also reported the number of data breaches relative to each state government's investment in cybersecurity initiatives.
Study Methodology
Network Assured Network Assured
Network Assured compared data from State Attorneys Generals and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Civil Rights' (OCR), along with public reporting of state budgets for cybersecurity.
It also compared data breach statistics with the number of registered business entities in each state to establish a "breaches per 1000 business entities" value that helped rank each state's relative cybersecurity performance.
Cybersecurity Risks in America: Neither Big State nor Small State is Safe.
While expectedly, California, with its high concentration of businesses in technology and healthcare recorded the highest number of data breaches at 1,338, the relatively small state of Maryland ranked 5th worst in the nation with 343 breaches.
Other study results indicated that:
3 of the worst 10 data breaches of 2022 were against companies in California . 2 of those 3 data breaches were against the same company: Twitter.
. 2 of those 3 data breaches were against the same company: Twitter. Despite being the nation's worst state for data breaches, the state government of California spends less on Cybersecurity than New York , Texas , Florida , and even Maryland .
spends less on Cybersecurity than , , , and even . In 2022, Florida had more than 4 times the number of data breaches per 1000 registered healthcare entities than any other state in the country. It recorded 4.73 breaches per 1000 healthcare entities, compared to New York's 1.15.
had more than 4 times the number of data breaches per 1000 registered healthcare entities than any other state in the country. It recorded 4.73 breaches per 1000 healthcare entities, compared to 1.15. Texas was the 3rd worst state in the country for data breaches despite having the highest state government budget for cybersecurity endeavors, at $800 million dollars .
Is Government Spending on Cybersecurity Effective?
The study suggests that a state government's investment in cybersecurity programs does not correlate with a reduction in the risk of data breaches in that state. Texas committed more to cybersecurity initiatives in 2021 than any other state, at $800 million. Despite this, it ranked 3rd worst in the nation for its number of data breaches.
Other states have taken a more proactive approach to their cybersecurity risk. After suffering a number of high profile breaches, Maryland committed more than $200 million to cybersecurity initiatives in 2022, more than the cybersecurity investments of California and New York combined.
Lack of Transparency Around Data Breaches Puts Americans at Risk
The study revealed that certain states - New York is one - does not maintain a public record of data breaches, even though it requires companies to report them. According to study author Aaron Weissman, "This harms the residents of a state. If there are no transparent records of security incidents or data breaches supported by state laws, there is no straightforward way for individuals to be certain they haven't been impacted by a breach, and take the necessary measures to protect themselves."
Other states have a much better reporting system for data breaches, like Texas, that publicly records all reported breaches, including the type of information that was compromised and the number of Texans affected.
To see the complete findings, including the states that incurred the least data breaches, along with full color charts, please see visit the study here .
About Network Assured
Network Assured is a free, independent advisory that helps businesses price cybersecurity services, perform due diligence, and find better vendors. Learn more at www.NetworkAssured.com .
Media Contact
Andrew Hansen, Founder
7867885865
[email protected]
SOURCE Network Assured
"It warms my heart that during these tough economic times, people are still willing to make sure that children are warm and taken care of!" said Sherry William, principal of PS 179. "We are extremely grateful to the Greater NY Automobile Dealers Association for these wonderful brand-new coats," said Sherry William, Principal of P.S. 179.
For the past 10 years, GNYADA and its members have held this annual event, which is supported by local new car retailers. This year, GNYADA, expanded its reach and provided even more coats to those who need them most in downstate New York.
"Local new car retailers understand that a warm coat can make a world of difference, and our Association members are doing their part to ensure that children in our community have access to the warmth they need to stay safe and healthy this winter," said GNYADA chairman Oliver Brodlieb (pictured right).
GNYADA is proud to bring this event to the community and demonstrate the commitment of local new car retailers to the well-being and safety of children in need.
"Today, as we end this year's Coat Drive, I'm so happy that we are at this great school with all of these wonderful young people. I would especially like to thank Principal Sherry Williams and all the teachers and staff here at PS 179. You are here day in and day out supporting, nurturing, and encouraging these amazing kids to be the best that they can be. I am so pleased that we are able to support the great things you do," said GNYADA president Mark Schienberg.
ABOUT OPERATION WARM
Operation Warm is a national nonprofit that manufactures brand-new, high-quality coats and shoes for children in need. Operation Warm partners with compassionate individuals, community organizations, and corporations across North America to provide emotional warmth, confidence to socialize and succeed, and hope for a brighter future by using the gift as a catalyst for community connection.
www.operationwarm.org
ABOUT GNYADA
Headquartered in Whitestone, N.Y, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association represents 444 franchised automobile dealerships in the metro area of New York, generating $62.2 billion in new vehicle sales, $2.7 billion in taxes and supporting 65,500 New Yorkers. The Association was established in 1910 and has continued to serve the needs of the industry ever since. GNYADA organizes the New York International Automobile Show the largest auto show in North America each spring, in Manhattan's Jacob Javits Convention Center. www.gnyada.com
SOURCE Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association
First of its kind federal judicial order interfaces with next generation, legally-compliant blockchain
CHICAGO, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal court today issued a restraining order to freeze accounts on the JuratBTC blockchain containing the cryptocurrency JTC. The accounts subject to today's court order are controlled by 16 individuals and criminal organizations who have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for crimes ranging from ransomware extortion to proliferating weapons of mass destruction.
Breaking news
The defendants include Hydra Market , North Korean hackers, CHATEX - a Russian ransomware extortion operation, and a top South Sudanese official involved in human rights violations, among others. Other defendants include Blender.IO, the cryptocurrency mixer used by the notorious, cyber-crime organization, Lazarus Group ; Anton Andreyez , a Russian hacker who worked to interfere in American elections; and Jiadong Lee , aka "Blackjack1987," a member of a crime ring that laundered over $100mm in cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers.
The order was made possible by a next-generation blockchain technology called "Jurat" which connects blockchain nodes with court dockets to enforce court orders. The suit was filed by the JuratBTC blockchain miners, seeking to prevent their network from being misused by criminals.
"This is a first, precedent-setting step for bringing blockchains into compliance with regulatory requirements and criminal laws" said Mike Kanovitz, an attorney who mines JTC and is CEO of Jurat LLC, the company that designed the technology.
"As miners, we operate the blockchain and want to protect our users from blockchain crimes. It is also important to us to be in full compliance with laws like sanctions issued by the Treasury Department's Office of Financial Assets Controls. That's why we created this blockchain and the Jurat technology."
JTC is designed as a consumer protection version of bitcoin. It is held by all bitcoin blockchain accounts as of January 8, 2022, meaning everyone who owned bitcoin on that date also owns a corresponding amount of JTC coins. JTC was created by a fork of the bitcoin blockchain that updated the bitcoin software with court connection technology.
The Jurat technology is unique in that it allows blockchains to remain decentralized while still complying with court orders. The nodes reach consensus about the meaning of court orders so that they can continue to operate autonomously.
By incorporating the due process restrictions of court procedures, the Jurat technology offers regulators and law enforcement a means to govern blockchain transactions while ensuring that no government official has control over the blockchain. Similarly, the technology allows users to enforce their own legal rights.
"With Jurat technology, users can take steps in court to recover coins that have been stolen or which they can no longer access because they lost their private keys," Kanovitz noted. "These are hard problems that the blockchain community and government officials have struggled with since the early days of blockchain. We hope that this innovation can become part of the solution for protecting consumers and help make blockchain technology and Web3 friendly for a new generation of everyday users."
Industry estimates of crypto currency crimes range above $20 billion annually.
The Plaintiff, The JuratBTC Blockchain, is represented by its attorney, Jon Loevy, of Loevy & Loevy Attorneys at Law. A copy of the suit, The JuratBTC Blockchain v. Andreyev et al., case no. 1:23-cv-00779 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, is available here .
Loevy & Loevy has won more multi-million dollar jury verdicts over the past decade than any other civil rights law firm in the country. As one of the nation's largest and most successful civil rights law firms, we are dedicated to seeking justice for people whose civil rights have been violated, and for whistleblowers.
For more information, contact:
Loevy & Loevy Attorneys at Law, 312.243.5900
Mike Kanovitz, [email protected]
Andy Thayer, Loevy & Loevy Attorneys at Law, 773.209.1187 [email protected]
SOURCE Loevy & Loevy Attorneys at Law
As instances of layoffs in the industry increase, one firm is focused firmly on expansion.
DALLAS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, leading Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm, The BLVD Group, announced the opening of its new office in Dallas, Texas. The move marks a significant milestone in the firm's continued growth and expansion efforts, further solidifying its presence in a strategic growth market where it will actively pursue investments in market rate, middle-income and affordable multifamily assets.
We are in the unique situation of expanding while many in our industry are contracting or slowing down. Tweet this Jake Walker
The new Dallas office will be led by Jake Walker, who has been named a new Managing Principal of the firm, joining Rob Budman and Patrick Luke. Mr. Walker brings a sixteen-year track record of success in real estate investment and extensive experience building and scaling alternative investment platforms. Prior to BLVD, he served as head of acquisitions for several investment firms and most recently as Chief Operating Officer of a private equity firm focused on investments in healthcare, real estate, and technology. During this time, he has closed over $1.2 billion in investments across multiple asset classes.
"We're excited to be expanding our reach and presence in Texas. It has long been a target for growth and more broadly serves as a strategic geographic hub for our nationwide portfolio," said Rob Budman, founder and Managing Principal. "Due to our discipline and investment performance, we are in the unique situation of expanding while many in our industry are contracting or slowing down. We are fortunate to have Jake on board to help lead the next phase of BLVD's growth."
The move marks a reunion of sorts for BLVD's three Managing Principals. They have known each other for 15 years and last teamed up working for another Los Angeles based investment firm, before then Partner & Director of Acquisitions Rob Budman left to start BLVD in 2010.
BLVD's new Managing Principal, Jake Walker, states, "Our alignment on investments, culture and people enables us to channel all our efforts towards growth and execution. As part of our commitment to grow our portfolio and the Texas office, we are pursuing several immediate hires, including a senior member who will join BLVD's leadership team."
The BLVD Group has established a reputation for its investment expertise in market rate, middle income, and affordable multifamily assets. The new Dallas office will provide the firm with a strong local presence and access to a deep talent pool, allowing it to execute current growth plans and drive value for its investors.
About The BLVD Group:
The BLVD Group is a leading multifamily investment and development firm focused on providing market rate, middle income, and affordable housing. BLVD and its principals have a proven track record of successfully investing in over $3 billion of properties across multiple strategies and currently own and operate a nationwide portfolio of over $1 billion in assets.
SOURCE The BLVD Group
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global luxury e-tailing market size is estimated to grow by USD 27,533.22 million from 2022 to 2027 at a CAGR of 8.44% according to Technavio.In 2017, the luxury e-tailing market was valued at USD 43,915.80 million. From a regional perspective, APAC held the largest market share, valued at USD 17,842.99 million. For more insights on the historic market data from 2017 to 2021 request a sample report
Luxury e-tailing market insights -
Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Luxury E-tailing Market 2023-2027
Vendors : 15+, Including ASOS Plc, Authentic Brands Group LLC, Bed Bath and Beyond Inc., Burberry Group Plc, Charms and Chains, Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, Crate and Barrel, Harrods Ltd., Hennes and Mauritz AB, Hermes International SA, Hudsons Bay Co., Inter IKEA Systems B.V., Kering SA, Luxuryperfume.com Inc, Moda Operandi Inc., Nordstrom Inc., Ralph Lauren Corp., SDI (Brands 2) Ltd., CHANEL Ltd., LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, among others
: 15+, Including ASOS Plc, Authentic Brands Group LLC, Bed Bath and Beyond Inc., Burberry Group Plc, Charms and Chains, Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, Crate and Barrel, Harrods Ltd., Hennes and Mauritz AB, Hermes International SA, Hudsons Bay Co., Inter IKEA Systems B.V., Kering SA, Luxuryperfume.com Inc, Moda Operandi Inc., Nordstrom Inc., Ralph Lauren Corp., SDI (Brands 2) Ltd., CHANEL Ltd., LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, 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: Product (Personal luxury, Food and wine, and Home accessories) and Geography (APAC, North America , Europe , Middle East and Africa , and South America ) , For insights on global, regional, and country-level parameters with growth opportunities from 2017 to 2027 download a sample!
The luxury e-tailing 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.
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Luxury e-tailing market - Vendor Insights
The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Technavio report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors including -
ASOS Plc: The company offers luxury E-tailing of men's and women's clothing.
The company offers luxury E-tailing of men's and women's clothing. Authentic Brands Group LLC: The company offers luxury E-tailing through its brands Ted baker and Van Heusen .
The company offers luxury E-tailing through its brands Ted baker and . Bed Bath and Beyond Inc.: The company offers luxury E-tailing of Household items.
The company offers luxury E-tailing of Household items. Burberry Group Plc: The company offers luxury E-tailing of clothing and accessories.
Luxury e-tailing market Market Dynamics
Major Drivers -
Rise in online spending and smartphone penetration
Social media and celebrity endorsement
Premiumization through product design and innovation
KEY Challenges -
Strict competition from offline channels
Lack of touch-and-feel element
Availability of counterfeit products
Drivers and challenges have an impact on market dynamics and can impact
businesses. Find some insights from a sample report!
What are the key data covered in this luxury e-tailing market report?
CAGR of the market during the forecast period
Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the luxury e-tailing market between 2023 and 2027
Precise estimation of the luxury e-tailing market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market
Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior
Growth of the luxury e-tailing market across APAC, North America , Europe , Middle East and Africa , and South America
, , 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 luxury e-tailing market vendors
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Luxury E-tailing Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 162 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8.44% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 27,533.22 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 7.76 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 49% Key countries US, China, Japan, Italy, and France Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled ASOS Plc, Authentic Brands Group LLC, Bed Bath and Beyond Inc., Burberry Group Plc, Charms and Chains, Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, Crate and Barrel, Harrods Ltd., Hennes and Mauritz AB, Hermes International SA, Hudsons Bay Co., Inter IKEA Systems B.V., Kering SA, Luxuryperfume.com Inc, Moda Operandi Inc., Nordstrom Inc., Ralph Lauren Corp., SDI (Brands 2) Ltd., CHANEL Ltd., and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE 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 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 ($ 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 luxury E-tailing market 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size Data Table on Global luxury E-tailing market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
4.2 Product Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size Product Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
4.3 Distribution channel Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size Distribution channel 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 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 Personal luxury - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 34: Chart on Personal luxury - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 35: Data Table on Personal luxury - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 36: Chart on Personal luxury - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 37: Data Table on Personal luxury - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.4 Food and wine - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 38: Chart on Food and wine - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 39: Data Table on Food and wine - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 40: Chart on Food and wine - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 41: Data Table on Food and wine - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.5 Home accessories - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 42: Chart on Home accessories - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 43: Data Table on Home accessories - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 44: Chart on Home accessories - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 45: Data Table on Home accessories - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.6 Market opportunity by Product
Exhibit 46: Market opportunity by Product ($ million)
7 Market Segmentation by Channel
7.1 Market segments
Exhibit 47: Chart on Channel - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 48: Data Table on Channel - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
7.2 Comparison by Channel
Exhibit 49: Chart on Comparison by Channel
Exhibit 50: Data Table on Comparison by Channel
7.3 Multibrand - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 51: Chart on Multibrand - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 52: Data Table on Multibrand - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 53: Chart on Multibrand - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 54: Data Table on Multibrand - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
7.4 Monobrand - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 55: Chart on Monobrand - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 56: Data Table on Monobrand - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 57: Chart on Monobrand - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 58: Data Table on Monobrand - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
7.5 Market opportunity by Channel
Exhibit 59: Market opportunity by Channel ($ million)
8 Customer Landscape
8.1 Customer landscape overview
Exhibit 60: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria
9 Geographic Landscape
9.1 Geographic segmentation
Exhibit 61: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 62: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)
9.2 Geographic comparison
Exhibit 63: Chart on Geographic comparison
Exhibit 64: Data Table on Geographic comparison
9.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 65: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 66: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 67: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 68: 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 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 (%)
9.5 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 (%)
9.6 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 77: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 78: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 79: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 80: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.7 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 (%)
9.8 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 86: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 87: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 88: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.9 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 (%)
9.10 Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 93: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 94: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 95: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 96: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.11 Italy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on Italy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 98: Data Table on Italy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 99: Chart on Italy - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 100: Data Table on Italy - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.12 France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 101: Chart on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 102: Data Table on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 103: Chart on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 104: Data Table on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.13 Market opportunity by geography
Exhibit 105: 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 106: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027
10.4 Market trends
11 Vendor Landscape
11.1 Overview
11.2 Vendor landscape
Exhibit 107: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation
11.3 Landscape disruption
Exhibit 108: Overview on factors of disruption
11.4 Industry risks
Exhibit 109: Impact of key risks on business
12 Vendor Analysis
12.1 Vendors covered
Exhibit 110: Vendors covered
12.2 Market positioning of vendors
Exhibit 111: Matrix on vendor position and classification
12.3 ASOS Plc
Exhibit 112: ASOS Plc - Overview
Exhibit 113: ASOS Plc - Business segments
Exhibit 114: ASOS Plc - Key news
Exhibit 115: ASOS Plc - Key offerings
Exhibit 116: ASOS Plc - Segment focus
12.4 Authentic Brands Group LLC
Exhibit 117: Authentic Brands Group LLC - Overview
Exhibit 118: Authentic Brands Group LLC - Product / Service
Exhibit 119: Authentic Brands Group LLC - Key offerings
12.5 Bed Bath and Beyond Inc.
Exhibit 120: Bed Bath and Beyond Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 121: Bed Bath and Beyond Inc. - Product / Service
Exhibit 122: Bed Bath and Beyond Inc. - Key news
Exhibit 123: Bed Bath and Beyond Inc. - Key offerings
12.6 Burberry Group Plc
Exhibit 124: Burberry Group Plc - Overview
Exhibit 125: Burberry Group Plc - Business segments
Exhibit 126: Burberry Group Plc - Key offerings
Exhibit 127: Burberry Group Plc - Segment focus
12.7 CHANEL Ltd.
Exhibit 128: CHANEL Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 129: CHANEL Ltd. - Business segments
Exhibit 130: CHANEL Ltd. - Key offerings
Exhibit 131: CHANEL Ltd. - Segment focus
12.8 Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA
Exhibit 132: Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA - Overview
Exhibit 133: Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA - Business segments
Exhibit 134: Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA - Key offerings
Exhibit 135: Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA - Segment focus
12.9 Crate and Barrel
Exhibit 136: Crate and Barrel - Overview
Exhibit 137: Crate and Barrel - Product / Service
Exhibit 138: Crate and Barrel - Key offerings
12.10 Harrods Ltd.
Exhibit 139: Harrods Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 140: Harrods Ltd. - Product / Service
Exhibit 141: Harrods Ltd. - Key offerings
12.11 Hennes and Mauritz AB
Exhibit 142: Hennes and Mauritz AB - Overview
Exhibit 143: Hennes and Mauritz AB - Product / Service
Exhibit 144: Hennes and Mauritz AB - Key offerings
12.12 Hermes International SA
Exhibit 145: Hermes International SA - Overview
Exhibit 146: Hermes International SA - Business segments
Exhibit 147: Hermes International SA - Key offerings
Exhibit 148: Hermes International SA - Segment focus
12.13 Hudsons Bay Co.
Exhibit 149: Hudsons Bay Co. - Overview
Exhibit 150: Hudsons Bay Co. - Product / Service
Exhibit 151: Hudsons Bay Co. - Key offerings
12.14 Inter IKEA Systems B.V.
Exhibit 152: Inter IKEA Systems B.V. - Overview
Exhibit 153: Inter IKEA Systems B.V. - Product / Service
Exhibit 154: Inter IKEA Systems B.V. - Key offerings
12.15 Luxuryperfume.com Inc
Exhibit 155: Luxuryperfume.com Inc - Overview
Exhibit 156: Luxuryperfume.com Inc - Product / Service
Exhibit 157: Luxuryperfume.com Inc - Key offerings
12.16 Moda Operandi Inc.
Exhibit 158: Moda Operandi Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 159: Moda Operandi Inc. - Product / Service
Exhibit 160: Moda Operandi Inc. - Key offerings
12.17 SDI (Brands 2) Ltd.
Exhibit 161: SDI (Brands 2) Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 162: SDI (Brands 2) Ltd. - Product / Service
Exhibit 163: SDI (Brands 2) Ltd. - Key offerings
13 Appendix
13.1 Scope of the report
13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist
Exhibit 164: Inclusions checklist
Exhibit 165: Exclusions checklist
13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$
Exhibit 166: Currency conversion rates for US$
13.4 Research methodology
Exhibit 167: Research methodology
Exhibit 168: Validation techniques employed for market sizing
Exhibit 169: Information sources
13.5 List of abbreviations
Exhibit 170: List of abbreviations
About Us
Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.
Contact
Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
Media & Marketing Executive
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UK: +44 203 893 3200
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.technavio.com/
SOURCE Technavio
WATERLOO, ON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Mappedin, the leading platform for creating and maintaining indoor maps, is excited to announce it has raised a Series A round of funding led by Channel Equity Partners, a San Diego-based growth equity firm specifically focused on emerging category leaders in B2B SaaS.
The investment funds will be used to support Mappedin's growth mission, enabling the business to scale its team, bolster its go-to-market efforts, expand into new industries, and continue investing in its cutting-edge technology and products. Whether leveraged directly by end-customers or through its technology partners, Mappedin is a digital foundation for the "built environment". It provides best-in-class solutions for malls, offices, stadiums, campuses, airports, and many other venues to tackle a variety of indoor mapping use cases, including wayfinding, asset and facility management, public safety, private security, and logistics.
"We have been building a relationship with Mappedin for years and have deep conviction that, while outdoor mapping is largely "spoken for" already, the indoor mapping space is now at a critical inflection point and Mappedin is strongly positioned to execute amidst these market tailwinds. The company's extensible platform and pre-built applications are currently helping solve key challenges across numerous venue types and use cases and are applicable to countless more," said Andrew Albert, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Channel Equity Partners.
Mappedin is on a mission to enable "One Map Everywhere". Whether it's facilitating back-to-office initiatives, optimizing brick-and-mortar retail operations, helping travelers through complex airports, delivering fan experiences at stadiums, or powering IoT, the built environment requires accurate digital maps. Mappedin's solutions uniquely serve this need by automating and simplifying the traditional mapping process, allowing customers to create, maintain, publish, and utilize their indoor maps at scale.
Mappedin is also delighted to announce that James Killick has joined Mappedin's board of directors. James' career in the geospatial industry stretches almost 40 years, 9 of which he spent running Apple Maps' Global Partnerships team. He got his start at Etak (the first in-vehicle navigation system), was on the executive team that sold MapQuest to AOL, and also spent 9 years at Esri (one of the largest privately held software businesses in the world and the largest GIS company). His insights and guidance will be invaluable as Mappedin continues to scale and navigate the geospatial landscape.
"With CEP and James Killick at the table, I've never been more excited to go to work every day and build towards One Map Everywhere. The team at Mappedin has done a lot with relatively little historically now it's time to show what we can really do," said Hongwei Liu, CEO and Founder of Mappedin.
About Channel Equity Partners
Channel Equity Partners ("CEP") is a growth equity firm based in San Diego, California. CEP invests in B2B software and software-enabled services businesses in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit www.channelep.com.
About James Killick
With extensive experience in business development, product management, and product strategy, James Killick's career spans almost 40 years working for industry pioneers throughout the geospatial industry. He currently consults as a strategic advisor and focuses on the mapping industry in his blog, Map Happenings. For more information, visit www.maphappenings.com.
About Mappedin
Headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Mappedin is the leading platform for digitizing indoor venues, managing spatial data, and building indoor mapping experiences. Engineered for scale and ease-of-use, Mappedin's flexible platform and pre-built applications enable it to work with world-class venue developers, owners, operators, and tenants around the globe. For more information, visit www.mappedin.com.
SOURCE Mappedin, Inc.
Win your office team the ultimate perk of free lunch for a year1
ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With some companies cutting back on free perks this year, McAlister's Deli is here to help. To show one lucky team how much they are appreciated, the fast casual restaurant chain is launching a $24,000 Catering Giveaway ahead of Employee Appreciation Day on March 3, 2023 giving one office the chance to win free catering for a year.1
McAlisters Celebrates Employee Appreciation Day with a $24K Catering Giveaway
"We are seeing more and more employees returning to the traditional office workplace on a regular basis," said Mike Freeman, Chief Brand Officer of McAlister's Deli. "With this $24K Giveaway on Employee Appreciation Day, our hope is to inspire employers to continue finding ways to show their employees they are appreciated and valued. As the year continues, McAlister's Deli is excited to be able to offer even more ways to say, 'thank you'."
According to WeGift , half of Americans (51%) surveyed said they would be happy to receive food as a gift from employers. So, if your office's budget has been feeling the pinch, now is your chance to score some free food for you and your colleagues.
Enter to Win McAlister's Deli $24K Catering Giveaway
Employees around the country can visit McAlistersDeli.com/WinLunchOnUs for a chance to win $2,000 for 12 months. For example, that's enough for up to four catering orders every month for companies with 20 employees!2 From fresh sandwich trays to spud bars or boxed lunches, McAlister's catering offerings are perfect for every occasion and are available for in-store pick up or delivery. The giveaway will go live on February 22, 2023, at 7:00am ET all entries must be made before March 3, 2023, at 11:59pm ET.
McAlister's offers the convenience of same day ordering and delivery for catering orders placed two hours in advance. Last-minute meeting? Break the monotony and give your crew something to look forward to. From customized box lunches to full spreads, we'll take care of the details.
First-Time Users Always Save
If your team is not selected, first-time McAlister's catering customers can access immediate savings on catering with $25 off $200 (excluding taxes and fees) 3 using the promo code APPRECIATE24 on mcalistersdeli.com/catering.
To learn more about this giveaway and on how to enter, please visit McAlistersDeli.com and connect with McAlister's Deli on Facebook (@McAlistersDeli), Twitter (@McAlistersDeli), and Instagram (@mcalistersdeli).
1"For a year" means $2,000.00 credit to McAlister's Deli per month for twelve months.
2Based on McAlister's Catering average monthly spend for orders.
3$25 off offer valid for first time catering orders at participating locations from 2/20-5/17/23 for catering orders fulfilled through mcalistersdeli.com/catering that total $200 or more in one transaction excluding taxes and fees. Must use promo code APPRECIATE24 at checkout. Service Fee applies. Single use only. No cash value. Not valid with any other offer or reward, or third-party delivery. Fees and taxes may apply see checkout for details. Void where prohibited.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 18 years of age or older. Promotion Period: 2/22/23 7:00 am ET 3/03/23 at 11:59 pm ET. To enter: fill out the form available at mcalistersdeli.com/winlunchonus . See the Official Rules for additional eligibility restrictions, how to enter, prize descriptions/restrictions, odds, entry periods and complete details. Sponsor: McAlister's Franchisor SPV LLC.
About McAlister's
Founded in 1989, McAlister's Deli is a fast-casual restaurant chain known for its genuine hospitality, sandwiches, spuds, soups, salads, desserts and McAlister's Famous Sweet Tea. In addition to dine-in and take-out service, McAlister's Deli also offers catering with a selection of sandwich trays, box lunches, desserts, a hot spud bar and more. With numerous industry accolades, the McAlister's Deli brand has more than 470 restaurants in 27 states. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. For more information, visit McAlistersDeli.com, and find McAlister's on social media at www.Facebook.com/McAlistersDeli , www.Twitter.com/McAlistersDeli and www.Instagram.com/McAlistersDeli .
Media Contact: Public relations inquiries, please email [email protected]
SOURCE McAlisters Deli
One of the narrowest battery-powered, stand-on mowers available in market
WAUKESHA, Wis., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mean Green, a leading battery-powered, commercial-grade turf care manufacturer and a Generac Power Systems (NYSE: GNRC) company, today announced the FURY, a compact stand-on mower designed to allow access to areas that most other commercial mowers are too wide to enter. With a 32- or 36-inch mowing width, the FURY is designed to easily move through gates and navigate tight spaces for quick and efficient mowing.
Mean Green FURY
"We're excited to expand our line of commercial-grade mowing solutions and give landscape professionals a perfect option to complete their fleets with the FURY," said Matt Bieber, president of Chore Products for Generac. "Small gateways, tight spaces and narrow pathways are quick and easy to navigate thanks to the compact FURY, one of the narrowest battery-powered, stand-on mowers available in the market."
The FURY joins Mean Green's full-sized mower the VANQUISH (52- or 60-inch mowing width), to complete the line of commercial, electric-powered, stand-on mowers that can run all day on a single charge. The FURY is available with either a side- or rear-discharge mulching deck and uses the same patented zero-turn technologies found in all Mean Green mowers.
The FURY features an 11kWh fixed battery (24 HP equivalent) that runs for up to 7 hours on a single charge at speeds up to 9mph, and recharges in as little as 5 hours. A 5-year or 1500-hour commercial battery warranty is standard with purchase.
About Mean Green
Mean Green, founded in 2009, designs and manufacturers an innovative commercial line of zero-turn and walk behind, battery powered turf care products that provide quiet operation, zero emissions and minimal maintenance options as compared to traditional commercial mowers. Mean Green commercial-grade mowers are designed to run continuously for up to 8 hours on a single charge using patented technology and lithium battery power. Mean Green proudly manufactures in the towns of Ross and Hamilton, Ohio and is a Generac Power Systems company.
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.
Media Contact: Stephanie Rodgers
[email protected]
Phone: 262.544.4811 Ext. 4456
SOURCE Mean Green
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - REX Shares, LLC ("REX") today announced the launch of two new MicroSectors Exchange Traded Notes ("ETNs") issued by Bank of Montreal ("BMO"), linked to the performance of the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (ticker: GLD). MicroSectors Gold 3x Leveraged ETNs (ticker: SHNY) and MicroSectors Gold -3x Inverse Leveraged ETNs (ticker: DULL) will start trading tomorrow on NYSE Arca.
The demand for hedging and trading tools tailored to specific market sectors, including gold, tech, energy, travel, and financials, is constantly changing. Now, the MicroSectors lineup of ETNs will include 3X leveraged and -3X leveraged inverse exposure to both physical gold, through these new ETNs, and gold miners, through its GDXU and GDXD ETNs.
"We are excited to expand our gold related offerings beyond the pair of gold miner ETNs with a new pair of leveraged and inverse leveraged exchange-traded notes linked to an exchange traded fund that invests in physical gold," said Scott Acheychek, CEO of REX. "The new gold ETNs will offer investors 3x leverage and -3x inverse leverage exposure to physical gold. We hope that sophisticated investors will use these trading products as a way to tactically trade gold."
About REX Shares
Founded in 2015, REX is an independent provider of ETPs based in Miami, Florida. REX Shares provides investors with access to innovative and diversified investment products that make it easier to access the market. Our team is rooted in decades of experience in the exchange traded product industry and dedicated to building inventive exchange-traded product solutions.
For more information, please visit www.rexshares.com or www.microsectors.com.
Twitter: @REXShares and @MSectors
About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $1.14 trillion as of October 31, 2022, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.
Bank of Montreal ETNs
[email protected], +1-877-369-5412
Internet: www.bmo.com
The ETNs are senior, unsecured obligations of BMO.
Investment suitability must be determined individually for each investor, and the ETNs may not be suitable for all investors. This information is not intended to provide and should not be relied upon as providing accounting, legal, regulatory or tax advice. Investors should consult with their own financial advisors as to these matters.
The ETNs are intended to be daily trading tools for sophisticated investors to manage daily trading risks as part of an overall diversified portfolio. They are designed to achieve their stated investment objectives on a daily basis. The returns on the ETNs over longer periods of time can, and most likely will, differ significantly from the return on a direct long or short investment in the benchmark.
BMO, the issuer of the ETNs, has filed a registration statement (including a pricing supplement, a prospectus supplement and a prospectus) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") about each of the offerings to which this press release relates. Please read those documents and the other documents relating to these offerings BMO has filed with the SEC for more complete information about BMO and these offerings. These documents may be obtained without cost by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Bank of Montreal, any agent or any dealer participating in these offerings will arrange to send the applicable pricing supplement, prospectus supplement and prospectus if you so request by calling toll-free at 1-877-369-5412.
MicroSectors and REX are registered trademarks of REX. The trademarks have been licensed for use for certain purposes by Bank of Montreal. The ETNs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by REX or any of its affiliates or third-party licensors (collectively, "REX Index Parties"). REX Index Parties make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the ETNs or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the ETNs particularly or the ability of the Index to track general market performance. REX Index Parties' only relationship to Bank of Montreal with respect to the Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of REX Index Parties. REX Index Parties are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the ETNs or the timing of the issuance or sale of the ETNs or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the ETNs are to be converted into cash. REX Index Parties have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the ETNs. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by REX Index Parties to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.
SOURCE BMO Financial Group
Significant increase in number of community members as well as user engagement
SINGAPORE, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Trip.com, the global travel agency, is pleased to announce the winners of its Most Valuable Creators Award 2022.
This award recognises the outstanding contributions of members who have engaged with Trip Moment's Community platform and shared their experiences, stories, and insights about travel and exploration during the past year.
For Trip.com, content creators are an integral part of the travel industry and play a key role in creating engaging, informative, and inspiring content that motivates and encourages travellers to plan and book journeys.
Thanks to the contributions of these creators, the Trip Moment Community has witnessed phenomenal growth in the past year.
Overall, the number of global community members who had posted content in 2022 increased by 287% compared to the previous year. This figure has risen by 183% and 108% for the UK and US community members, respectively. Data reveals that this growth has been more robust in Asia, including Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand, where the number of community members who posted content last year registered a year-on-year increase of 323%, 430%, 194%, and 524%, respectively.
Since the pandemic, Trip.com has continued to host and promote inspiring and valuable content for travellers all around the world, as the data attributes. Trip.com is committed to further growing this community and the functions available on Trip Moments to best serve travellers and creators worldwide.
Trip.com's Most Valuable Creators Award 2022 seeks to acknowledge the work of these passionate content creators and reward their contributions. This year, 50 winners, ten from five key markets, were selected.
Rafael Osorio is a travel creator from Columbia and a winner of the 2022 award for his contributions to the Trip Moments Community.
"Trip.com has allowed me to develop my creative skills. It is great motivation to get awarded with Trip Coins for every post featured; these coins helped me save money whilst enjoying the most amazing adventures around the globe. Participating in the campaigns has encouraged me to improve my picture and video editing skills."
Rafael currently resides in China and is constantly inspired by the country's stunning landscapes and rich culture. He embraces new experiences by tackling thrilling activities and capturing the essence of the destinations for his audience.
Second-time award winner Paigunmai, who previously won Trip.com's Most Valuable Creator Award in 2021, showcased her commitment and dedication to the platform. Paigunmai is a professional creator and a passionate traveller who has been contributing content to Trip.com for over two years and contributes to the Trip Moments Community platform in Thailand.
Paigunmai said, "I am so happy to receive the award from Trip.com for the second year! I use the Trip.com app regularly, whether travelling in the country or overseas, as there are various services for everything you need. Customer service responds to chat quickly, so if you are stuck in any problems, no matter how late, they can always help."
Activity on the Trip Moments Community platforms has also increased over the past year. This includes comments, likes, shares, and saved content by users on the platform. User engagement has increased by 140% and 45% for the UK and US markets. User engagement in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand increased significantly by 375%, 203%, 277% and 355%, respectively, during the past year.
Victor Li, Content Product Director, Trip.com, said, "The awards programme recognises creators from around the world based on their number of contributions, duration of use, quality of content, and the number of views, likes, and comments.
"These remarkable individuals have demonstrated extraordinary dedication and creativity, and it is with great pleasure that we celebrate their hard work and success. Since the platform was launched in 2020, it has been the home of traveller content on Trip.com, where users can engage in a passionate community about reviews, recommendations, pictures, and travel inspiration. We look forward to welcoming more content creators onboard our platform, and inspiring other travellers as we embark on new and enriching travel experiences in a post-COVID world."
About Trip.com
Trip.com is an international one-stop travel service provider, available in 24 languages across 39 countries and regions in 31 local currencies and sites. Trip.com has an extensive hotel and flight network consisting of more than 1.2 million hotels and flights from over 480 airlines covering 2,600 airports in 200 countries and regions around the globe. Trip.com's world-class 24/7 multilingual customer service as well as additional centres in Edinburgh, Tokyo and Seoul, help to 'create the best travel experience' for its millions of customers worldwide. To book your next trip, visit trip.com.
SOURCE Trip.com
ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of the devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria the international community has come together to provide critical humanitarian aid to the thousands affected and displaced. National Airlines and National Air Cargo partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) teams to airlift aid and relief materials to the affected regions. Immediately after the deadly earthquakes, USAID dispatched Disaster Assistance Response teams to the regions to assess the situation and needs of the survivors. Later, relief and aid including plastic tarpaulins, hygiene supplies, medical equipment, kitchen sets, toiletries, protective gear, and other necessary household items were airlifted to the regions.
Aid Relief Loading on National Airlines B747-400F Aircraft National Airlines B747-400F Aircraft with Humanitarian Aid Departing from DWC Airport, Dubai to Adana, Turkey Emergency Aid Relief Onboard the Aircraft Aid Relief Materials Offloading at Adana Airport, Turkey
National Airlines B747-400 freighter aircraft were immediately ready for transport of the USAID relief from the Middle East to Adana, Turkey, which was later trucked to affected regions for distribution. The aircraft was positioned in Dubai where the relief materials were organized and loaded onboard for airlift. Consecutive airlifts in coordination with USAID representatives were successfully completed under the mission.
"Our global teams, crew members, and aircraft were immediately at disposal for the USAID humanitarian relief missions to Turkey. Over the last three decades, National teams have actively partnered with USAID and other international agencies to airlift immediate aid and relief to disaster-affected regions", remarked Christopher Alf, Chairman National Air Cargo Holdings, Inc.
USAID is working closely with local partners and relief organizations to ensure that airlifted aid is delivered immediately to those in dire need, facilitating a retrieval effort in affected communities. Recurring earthquakes in the region and unfavorable weather conditions have led to a long and challenging road to complete recovery. Sustained coordinated efforts between global airline companies, local support groups, and USAID will continue to ensure the timely availability of aid and relief to the affected regions in the coming days too.
About National
National Airlines is a U.S. FAA-certificated Part 121 air carrier, with a fleet of B747-400Fs, along with A330-200 and B757 200 which are used to provide global cargo and passenger solutions. National Air Cargo provides international freight forwarding, sea-to-air multi-modal transportation, and logistics solutions worldwide. Established in 1991, the global reach of National is maintained via strategically located offices around the world; these locations include the U.S., Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, and China. Learn more about National at www.GoNational.com.
SOURCE National Airlines
According to Wolters Kluwer Health, patients with spinal stenosis experience narrowing of the spinal canal and compression of spinal nerves, causing back pain, leg pain, and other symptoms. In some patients, stenosis is related to degenerative spondylolisthesis, referring to "slipped" vertebrae often resulting from spinal degeneration. "We are committed to leveraging predictive models and advanced analytics to generate these types of comparative effectiveness insights to help patients, providers, and payers understand their options as they face ever more complex healthcare decisions." says Nassib Chamoun, CEO of HDAI.
The paper is one of the first real-world-evidence studies that links spine surgery to lower mortality and lower costs among Medicare patients with spinal stenosis. For those without spondylolisthesis, costs are lower with laminectomy and higher with fusion. The researchers point out some limitations of the study, including the possible effects of unrecognized confounding factors.
These findings may have important implications for clinical practice, especially considering recent increases in the use and costs of lumbar fusion surgery. Based on the observed mortality and cost reductions, "The current study suggests that this trend may be justified within the Medicare population" for well-selected patients, Dr. Hwang and coauthors conclude.
In the accompanying editorial, Daniel G. Torbert, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital states that "These results will surely need replication with data that are prospectively collected over longer time frames with more granular clinical variables On balance, however, the finding of improvement in all-cause mortality and health-care utilization associated with surgical treatment is a step toward a more comprehensive understanding of the optimal treatment for lumbar stenosis."
The study was published in the February issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The full report and an accompanying editorial can be viewed here: JBJS and here: JBJS editorial
About HDAI
HDAI is a care optimization and provider enablement company powered by big data, proprietary predictive analytics, expert insights and point of care technology solutions. We partner with leading health systems, ACOs, MA plans, and payers to improve care delivery, population health and cost. Our integrated capabilities help organizations understand every dimension of performance and provide a direct path to patient specific actionability. For more information, please visit: www.hda-institute.com.
Company contact: Carola Endicott, [email protected]
Press contact: Erik Milster, [email protected]
SOURCE Health Data Analytics Institute
Akos Maroy has joined the pioneering TradeTech company Nexxiot in a move that takes digital client services for cargo transportation to the next level.
ZURICH, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Akos Maroy, who has been at the forefront of digital deployments, strategy, and innovation for over 20 years, working with some of the largest technology companies in the world, has now joined the Nexxiot team. In the role of CDO (Chief Data Officer), Maroy will oversee the leveraging of asset and cargo data gathered by Nexxiot's Asset Intelligence technology. The Switzerland headquartered company serves asset owners, carriers, shippers, and cargo transport stakeholders across the logistics network.
Nexxiot Accelerates AI Development for Asset Intelligence Tweet this Akos Maroy, Chief Data Officer at Nexxiot
Maroy has been working in the past as a CTO and innovation leader with a focus on deploying AI in various fields. With multiple successes in Cloud-based SAAS architectures in a B2B environment, Maroy is a hands-on leader who strongly believes in creating new value from an R&D-based approach - especially with trending technologies like Machine Learning and AI. With recent experience at both Google and Meta as a manager in software engineering, Maroy joins Nexxiot to support its clients' growth.
"It's an exciting moment for our clients, with so many opportunities to transform their core business processes and convert uncertainty into clear actionable insights," said Maroy. "Nexxiot's fast-paced environment, dynamic international culture and values-driven approach resonate with me well." He added.
In his new role, Maroy will bring his long-standing expertise in pushing the boundaries across multiple sectors like tech, media, aviation, and biotechnology, to deliver new services to rail, maritime, and diverse logistics clients. He will lead a team in gathering, sanitizing, processing, and presenting predictable analytics to improve logistics processes and remove the uncertainty around freight transportation.
Stefan Kalmund, Nexxiot's CEO said, "We greatly value the knowledge and experience of Akos Maroy who brings deep expertise in delivering Cloud-based platform technologies and leveraging data to drive business advantage. He brings outstanding credentials in terms of value creation and has a track record of taking ideas forward into successful implementation. It's an important step for Nexxiot as we demonstrate our commitment to making sure we have the world's best talent to address our clients' needs and remove uncertainty in freight."
TradeTech pioneer Nexxiot develops Asset Intelligence technology - sensor gateways and Intelligent Cloud that digitalize mobile assets such as railcars, shipping containers, and ISO tank containers- so clients can improve processes, gather insights, and make decisions based on real-time data to deliver cargo in time.
About Nexxiot:
Nexxiot is a TradeTech pioneer for Asset Intelligence with a mission to enable easier, safer, and cleaner global transportation.
Nexxiot's trusted integrated technology provides essential operational intelligence and visibility for shipping lines, cargo owners, and railcar operators in the supply chain. Clients and partners such as Hapag-Lloyd and Knorr-Bremse are now able to monitor their assets in real-time from anywhere in the world.
Headquartered in Zurich, Nexxiot operates throughout Europe and the U.S., with an international team of employees from 30 countries. For more information, visit www.nexxiot.com .
SOURCE Nexxiot
SHANGHAI, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NIO Capital officially launched our ESG Initiative "Mission Blue" in February 2023. The first offsite event "Ocean Plogging", a public action for beach clean-up, took place in Sanya, Hainan province, in cooperation with Blue Ribbon Ocean Conservation Association. The move marked a milestone in NIO Capital's ESG practice in that it expanded the varieties of our ESG practices.
Mission Blue, the brand name of NIO Capital's ESG initiative, shows the firm's commitment to environmental protection and expectation for a better world. The brand name, on the one hand, echoes NIO's slogan Blue Sky Coming; On the other hand, we hope the team will raise environmental awareness and contribute to a sustainable future.
At the Ocean Plogging Event, NIO Capital volunteers teamed up and picked up the trash along the coastlines. Marine debris is one of the most urgent environmental problems in society. An estimated 8-10 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year. Without urgent action, the social cost of plastic pollution could reach $7.1 trillion by 2040, as its economic damage continues to mount, a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report showed.
As a leading ESG investor, NIO Capital is dedicated to investing in innovations that sustain and advance humankind. Since its establishment, NIO Capital has actively performed ESG investment and built a complete ESG investment system to facilitate low-carbon transformation and sustainable development.
We believe that a grand vision can be achieved via little actions we can build a sustainable future with small daily practices.
On the work front, we invest in companies with an ESG implication, aiding them to grow into leading companies with sound business canniness, technological advances, and sustainability awareness.
In daily life, we encourage "green" travel, less use of disposable tableware and overpacked food. As small actions grow into habits, they will provide a continuous impetus for big revolution.
In addition, we provide ESG consultation for portfolio companies. In 2022, NIO Capital joined the International Climate Initiative (iCI) and joined discussion at COP27, the United Nations climate change conference.
Each individual has the opportunity and responsibility to solve the major challenges in the world. We hope "Mission Blue" will inspire environmentally conscious people to take action and protect our homeland.
SOURCE NIO Capital
The company's first nut-forward product boasts a healthier nutritional profile, better flavor, and more macadamia nuts per serving than leading competitors.
KAUAI, Hawaii, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PlantBaby, the innovative nutrition company developing a portfolio of the purest plant-based products to support the nutritional journey from infancy into adulthood, announces its newest product launch Mac Nut Kiki Milk.
Mac Nut Kiki Milk
"Since launching Kiki Milk in December of 2021, we've seen a consistent rise in demand for products that are free of gums, inflammatory oils, and fillers while boasting whole-food and nutrient-rich ingredients," said Alex and Lauren Abelin, Co-Founders of PlantBaby. "We realized no true, all-organic and real tasting mac nut milk has existed on the market so we wanted to change that and create a wildly delicious and nutritious product free of gums and fillers for everyone to enjoy. We can't wait for everyone to taste it!"
Mac Nut Kiki Milk will be available in shelf-stable 32oz cartons. Mac Nut Kiki Milk is made exclusively with organic whole food ingredients and nourishing superfoods like organic macadamia nuts, organic cashews, organic Brazil nuts, organic sprouted pumpkin seeds, organic oats, organic coconut sugar, organic coconuts, and organic Aquamin. Like all PlantBaby products, Mac Nut Kiki Milk ingredients are non-GMO and rigorously third-party tested to verify they are free from glyphosate and heavy metals. Additionally, Mac Nut Kiki Milk does not contain seed oils, gums, refined sugars, natural and artificial flavors, or common allergens like soy or gluten. Mac Nut Kiki Milk is also a carbon-neutral beverage.
"When we were given a bag of local mac nuts from a friend's Big Island farm, we naturally made some mac nut milk," said Lauren Abelin. "We were shocked how incredible this milk tasted, especially when compared to the common macadamia nut milk you can find in many stores. It's creamy, a little nutty, a bit buttery, a tad sweet, and actually tastes like real macadamia nuts."
According to recent studies* of the macadamia nut market, over 80% of macadamia nuts are grown conventionally with the use of pesticides. The widely used practice of spraying nuts with pesticides generally occurs when nuts are picked and shelled as opposed to during the growing process. Because nuts have such high fat and oil contents, they readily absorb these pesticides chemicals. This is why it is so important to consume organic nuts, such as the ones found in Mac Nut Kiki Milk, especially those high in fat.
"When it comes to flavor and real, clean, and organic ingredients, we're proud that Mac Nut Kiki Milk surpasses others on the market," said Alex Abelin. "Chocolate, Original, and now Mac Nut Kiki Milks are just the start - we're on a mission to create the purest plant-based products to support the nutritional journey from infancy into adulthood and we're excited for what's to come."
Mac Nut Kiki Milk will be available in a 6-pack of shelf-stable 32oz cartons and retail for $52, which includes free shipping to the continental U.S. Visit www.plantbaby.co, www.kikimilk.com and @kikimilkco to learn more.
* (Source: Grand View Research, Macadamia Nut Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Processing (Conventional, Organic), by Product (Raw, Coated, Roasted), by Distribution Channel (Offline, Online), by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2021-2028)
About PlantBaby
PlantBaby is a future-forward nutrition movement developing a portfolio of clean-label, organic, plant-based foods, beverages, formulas, and supplements to support children on their nutritional journey from infancy into adulthood. Founded in 2020 on Kauai, Hawaii, PlantBaby is dedicated to restoring harmony in our food and agricultural systems by supporting regenerative agriculture and sourcing climate-friendly crops. In December 2021, PlantBaby launched Kiki Milk in Original and Chocolate flavors, and has since been working to expand its portfolio. PlantBaby is proud to partner with Farmer's Footprint and Planet FWD, two organizations committed to building a healthier Planet Earth. For additional information, visit www.plantbaby.co, www.kikimilk.com and @kikimilkco.
Press Contact:
AMC Consulting
Annmarie Mercieri Colonna
8607293323
[email protected]
SOURCE PlantBaby
SOLANA HILLS, Calif. and NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NYC Alliance (NYCA), a leading privately owned, global, multi-platform apparel conglomerate (licenses brands including Juicy Couture, Frye, and Tretorn) announces a game-changing partnership with trailblazing NFT project Solana Hills. The deal cements the organization's status as a key player in bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3 by bringing its innovative branding and omni-channel strategies to the world of NFTs.
By licensing the Solana Hills IP for product creation, NYC Alliance becomes the first vertically-integrated global apparel company to acquire, re-mint and expand an NFT collection for its designs. The partnership with Solana Hills will allow NYCA to offer a new level of engagement within the NFT space by leveraging the speed, efficiency, and scalability of the Solana blockchain while forging unprecedented opportunities for consumer participation. For NYCA Group President, Suzanne Silverstein, the decision was a no-brainer thanks to three solid pillars on which the teams agreed:
"NYC Alliance is the first global apparel company to acquire and re-mint an NFT collection for its designs." Tweet this
ART: Solana Hills offers some of the most dynamic artin any chain. Layered and diverse, the project was designed to stand out on any platform and we believe there is truly something for everyone, even beyond the digital space. Playful details, characters boasting cult-followings and unique traits that correspond to varying degrees of rarity are a designer's dream as creative fuel and certain to ignite consumer frenzy.
BUSINESS MODEL: Partnering with global fashion conglomerate NYCA will propel Solana Hills into a leading global brand, shoppable online and IRL, with community involvement all along the way. Our unmatched portfolio which boasts more than 1,000 retailers and partners spans the market, from major department stores and boutiques to discount and big-box stores. NYCA's vertically-integrated model allows for quick turnaround of product with in-house design and sales teams, showrooms and a direct line to many of the world's largest retailers.
UTILITY: While the utility of NFT projects has primarily been limited to Web3, we see IRL opportunities for sustainable scaling and expansion thanks to our vast retail network and distribution channels. Creating value through innovative utilities is essential to the growth, success and sustainability of Solana Hills as we aim to connect, support and reward both Web3 and Web2 communities through the establishment of a new revenue share model.
Committed to long-term and sustainable growth, both organizations are confident that the partnership will be transformative for the space while also raising the bar for NFT- associated merchandise.
We invite you to join us on this exciting journey, as we help to shape the future of digital assets together. Join our Discord and follow @SolanaHills on Twitter and Instagram for the latest developments as we usher in a new era of innovation in the NFT space.
SOURCE NYC Alliance
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Optometry Software Market in Europe by End-user, and Type - Forecast and Analysis 2023-2027 report has been published by Technavio. Market size is forecast to grow by USD 291.95 million between 2022 and 2027 at a CAGR of 6.68%. The report includes historic market data from 2017 to 2021. In 2017, the market was valued at USD 631.12 million. 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. Know about the scope of the report Download A PDF Report Sample
Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Europe Optometry Software Market 2023-2027
Regional Analysis
By end-users, the optometry software market in Europe is segmented into hospitals, nursing homes, and others. The hospitals segment was valued at USD 395.33 million in 2017 and continued to grow by 2021. The segment is driven by the growing adoption of EHR systems in hospitals. Get detailed insights into the growth contribution of all business segments. Buy the report
Company Profiles
The optometry software market report includes information on the key products and recent developments of leading vendors, including:
DoctorConnect - The company offers optometry software namely, DoctorConnect.
- The company offers optometry software namely, DoctorConnect. DrChrono Inc. - The company offers optometry software namely, DrChrono RCM.
- The company offers optometry software namely, DrChrono RCM. Evolutio Care Innovations Ltd. - The company offers optometry software namely, Evonnect Optometry.
- The company offers optometry software namely, Evonnect Optometry. First Insight Corp. - The company offers optometry software namely, MaximEyes.com.
Market Dynamics
The market is driven by factors such as the growing ophthalmology market, the increasing prevalence of eye disorders, and the benefits associated with optometry software. However, complexities associated with integration are hindering the market growth.
Competitive Analysis
The competitive scenario categorizes companies based on various performance indicators. Some of the factors considered include the financial performance of companies over the past few years, growth strategies, product innovations, new product launches, investments, and growth in market share among others. Get highlights on the market study, Request a Sample
Market Segmentation
By end-user, the market is segmented into hospitals, nursing homes, and others. The hospitals segment accounted for the largest share of the market in 2022.
By type, the market is segmented into cloud-based and web-based. The cloud-based segment held the largest share of the market in 2022.
Related Reports:
The optometry software market in North America is estimated to grow/decline at a CAGR of 6.5% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 526.96 million . The increasing prevalence of ophthalmic diseases is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as the rising medical data privacy concerns may impede the market growth.
is estimated to grow/decline at a CAGR of 6.5% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by . The increasing prevalence of ophthalmic diseases is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as the rising medical data privacy concerns may impede the market growth. The cerebral and tissue oximetry devices market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.77% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 73.7 million . The growing use of cerebral and tissue oximetry devices in cardiac surgical procedures is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as the high cost of cerebral and tissue oximetry devices may impede the market growth.
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What are the key data covered in this optometry software market report?
CAGR of the market during the forecast period.
Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the market between 2023 and 2027
Precise estimation of the size of the optometry software market and its contribution to the parent market.
Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior.
Growth of the market across Europe .
. A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors.
Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of optometry software market vendors.
Optometry Software Market in Europe Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 144 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.68% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 291.95 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 5.91 Key countries Germany, UK, France, Italy, and Rest of Europe Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Accra Solutions Inc., Avebury Computing Ltd., DoctorConnect, DrChrono Inc., Evolutio Care Innovations Ltd., First Insight Corp., Generation.NET Ltd., iTRUST, LiquidEHR Inc., Ocuco Ltd., OD Link, OD Online, Optinet Ltd., Optisoft Ltd., Optix Software Ltd., Smart Optometry Ltd., Thomson Software Solutions, Vision Plus PMS Ltd., XEYEX Ltd., and Yocale Network Corp. 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.
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 Country 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 Market Segmentation by Type
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 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 15: Data Table on Regional - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 16: Chart on Europe : Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 17: Data Table on Regional - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
4 Historic Market Size
4.1 Optometry software market in Europe 2017 - 2021
2017 - 2021 Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size Data Table on Optometry software market in Europe 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
4.2 End-users Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size End-users Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
4.3 Type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size Type Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
4.4 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021
Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)
5 Five Forces Analysis
5.1 Five forces summary
Exhibit 22: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027
5.2 Bargaining power of buyers
Exhibit 23: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027
5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers
Exhibit 24: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027
5.4 Threat of new entrants
Exhibit 25: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027
5.5 Threat of substitutes
Exhibit 26: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027
5.6 Threat of rivalry
Exhibit 27: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027
5.7 Market condition
Exhibit 28: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027
6 Market Segmentation by End-user
6.1 Market segments
Exhibit 29: Chart on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 30: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
6.2 Comparison by End-user
Exhibit 31: Chart on Comparison by End-user
Exhibit 32: Data Table on Comparison by End-user
6.3 Hospitals - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 33: Chart on Hospitals - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 34: Data Table on Hospitals - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 35: Chart on Hospitals - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 36: Data Table on Hospitals - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.4 Nursing homes - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 37: Chart on Nursing homes - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 38: Data Table on Nursing homes - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 39: Chart on Nursing homes - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 40: Data Table on Nursing homes - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.5 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 41: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 42: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 43: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 44: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
6.6 Market opportunity by End-user
Exhibit 45: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million)
7 Market Segmentation by Type
7.1 Market segments
Exhibit 46: Chart on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 47: Data Table on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)
7.2 Comparison by Type
Exhibit 48: Chart on Comparison by Type
Exhibit 49: Data Table on Comparison by Type
7.3 Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 50: Chart on Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 51: Data Table on Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 52: Chart on Cloud-based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 53: Data Table on Cloud-based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
7.4 Web-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 54: Chart on Web-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 55: Data Table on Web-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 56: Chart on Web-based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 57: Data Table on Web-based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
7.5 Market opportunity by Type
Exhibit 58: Market opportunity by Type ($ million)
8 Customer Landscape
8.1 Customer landscape overview
Exhibit 59: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria
9 Geographic Landscape
9.1 Geographic segmentation
Exhibit 60: Chart on Market share by geography - 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 61: Data Table on Market share by geography - 2022-2027 (%)
9.2 Geographic comparison
Exhibit 62: Chart on Geographic comparison
Exhibit 63: Data Table on Geographic comparison
9.3 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 64: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 65: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 66: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 67: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.4 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
Exhibit 68: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 69: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 70: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 71: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.5 France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 72: Chart on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 73: Data Table on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 74: Chart on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 75: Data Table on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.6 Italy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 76: Chart on Italy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 77: Data Table on Italy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 78: Chart on Italy - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 79: Data Table on Italy - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.7 Rest of Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 80: Chart on Rest of Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 81: Data Table on Rest of Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 82: Chart on Rest of Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
Exhibit 83: Data Table on Rest of Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)
9.8 Market opportunity by geography
Exhibit 84: 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 85: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027
10.4 Market trends
11 Vendor Landscape
11.1 Overview
11.2 Vendor landscape
Exhibit 86: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation
11.3 Landscape disruption
Exhibit 87: Overview on factors of disruption
11.4 Industry risks
Exhibit 88: Impact of key risks on business
12 Vendor Analysis
12.1 Vendors covered
Exhibit 89: Vendors covered
12.2 Market positioning of vendors
Exhibit 90: Matrix on vendor position and classification
12.3 Accra Solutions Inc.
Exhibit 91: Accra Solutions Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 92: Accra Solutions Inc. - Product / Service
Exhibit 93: Accra Solutions Inc. - Key offerings
12.4 Avebury Computing Ltd.
Exhibit 94: Avebury Computing Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 95: Avebury Computing Ltd. - Product / Service
Exhibit 96: Avebury Computing Ltd. - Key offerings
12.5 DoctorConnect
Exhibit 97: DoctorConnect - Overview
Exhibit 98: DoctorConnect - Product / Service
Exhibit 99: DoctorConnect - Key offerings
12.6 DrChrono Inc.
Exhibit 100: DrChrono Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 101: DrChrono Inc. - Product / Service
Exhibit 102: DrChrono Inc. - Key offerings
12.7 Evolutio Care Innovations Ltd.
Exhibit 103: Evolutio Care Innovations Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 104: Evolutio Care Innovations Ltd. - Product / Service
Exhibit 105: Evolutio Care Innovations Ltd. - Key offerings
12.8 First Insight Corp.
Exhibit 106: First Insight Corp. - Overview
Exhibit 107: First Insight Corp. - Product / Service
Exhibit 108: First Insight Corp. - Key offerings
12.9 Generation.NET Ltd.
Exhibit 109: Generation.NET Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 110: Generation.NET Ltd. - Product / Service
Exhibit 111: Generation.NET Ltd. - Key offerings
12.10 iTRUST
Exhibit 112: iTRUST - Overview
Exhibit 113: iTRUST - Product / Service
Exhibit 114: iTRUST - Key offerings
12.11 LiquidEHR Inc.
Exhibit 115: LiquidEHR Inc. - Overview
Exhibit 116: LiquidEHR Inc. - Product / Service
Exhibit 117: LiquidEHR Inc. - Key offerings
12.12 OD Link
Exhibit 118: OD Link - Overview
Exhibit 119: OD Link - Product / Service
Exhibit 120: OD Link - Key offerings
12.13 OD Online
Exhibit 121: OD Online - Overview
Exhibit 122: OD Online - Product / Service
Exhibit 123: OD Online - Key offerings
12.14 Optix Software Ltd.
Exhibit 124: Optix Software Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 125: Optix Software Ltd. - Product / Service
Exhibit 126: Optix Software Ltd. - Key offerings
12.15 Thomson Software Solutions
Exhibit 127: Thomson Software Solutions - Overview
Exhibit 128: Thomson Software Solutions - Product / Service
Exhibit 129: Thomson Software Solutions - Key offerings
12.16 Vision Plus PMS Ltd.
Exhibit 130: Vision Plus PMS Ltd. - Overview
Exhibit 131: Vision Plus PMS Ltd. - Product / Service
Exhibit 132: Vision Plus PMS Ltd. - Key offerings
12.17 Yocale Network Corp.
Exhibit 133: Yocale Network Corp. - Overview
Exhibit 134: Yocale Network Corp. - Product / Service
Exhibit 135: Yocale Network Corp. - Key offerings
13 Appendix
13.1 Scope of the report
13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist
Exhibit 136: Inclusions checklist
Exhibit 137: Exclusions checklist
13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$
Exhibit 138: Currency conversion rates for US$
13.4 Research methodology
Exhibit 139: Research methodology
Exhibit 140: Validation techniques employed for market sizing
Exhibit 141: Information sources
13.5 List of abbreviations
Exhibit 142: List of abbreviations
About Us
Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.
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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
Leaders and Influencers Call for Public-Private Support to Ensure Continued Legacy of Accredited HBCU
AUGUSTA, Ga., Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Paine College, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU), today announced the launch of "Growing Paine," its 2023 Annual Capital campaign to raise $6 Million in 60 days. The kick-off also marks the start of the institution's new era of quality education, restructured finances and innovative leadership. Funding will be used to expand the college's educational curriculum, upgrade student housing, refurbish campus buildings and invest in new technology.
Paine College Launches Campaign to Raise $6 Million in 60 Days
To support the aggressive fundraising effort, a growing roster of community advocates and influencers has been engaged. This includes five-time Grammy Award-winner CeeLo Green, who has served as a Visiting Professor and Distinguished Artist-in-Residence since 2021 at no cost to the College. In addition to lectures, Green has headlined several live performances to help raise money for Paine's UNCF Campus Campaign.
Founded in 1882 by Methodist church leaders, Black and white, with donations including pennies from former slaves, the college currently employs 112 residents and has served as a community hub. Paine generates over $33 million in total economic impact for its local and regional economies. Last year, Paine enrolled 250 students, a significant decline compared to the prior academic year, which education leaders attribute to the coronavirus pandemic. In fall 2022, the College enrolled 314 students which is a 25% increase in the student population.
"This moment in history is challenging, but we are resilient and determined to protect and preserve Paine's 140-year legacy of educating Black scholars. Today, we call upon alumni, corporate donors, civic leaders, and the community to help raise much-needed funds," said Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones, President, Paine College. "We won't ever, ever give up our fight to educate this next generation of leaders, while also being innovative, intentional, and sustainable. With the right support, I am confident that we will not only survive but also thrive and continue to positively impact this community."
Paine College also recently announced its updated strategic roadmap, which is focused on five major areas including:
Enrollment growth
Increasing scholarship awards
Curriculum expansion and realignment
Faculty growth and development, and;
Improving student housing to support and facilitate a modern living and learning community.
"With some muscle and some hustle, Paine College's future is bright, " said CeeLo Green. "I believe in the mission, the vision and the soul that lives here. Today, I encourage everyone to support the work of this amazing institution and strengthen a pillar in the community."
Paine's accreditation application was approved by the Virginia-based Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, which ensures students can receive federal financial aid. Now, under new leadership, the College has established a master plan to support its mission goal of becoming a leader in the area of undergraduate liberal arts education.
"Paine College has been a pillar of the Augusta community since its founding in 1882," said Garnett Johnson, Mayor of the City of Augusta. "Not only has Paine been educating the next generation of Black scholars for decades, but it is also a key driver of our local and regional economies as it creates numerous jobs for our residents and those of surrounding communities. The Mayor's Office is dedicated to assisting Paine in meeting their fundraising goals, and our team is diligently working to determine how we can best contribute to this cause."
HBCUs are institutions that were founded predominantly after the Civil War to educate Black students who had been shut out from the rest of higher education.
According to a recent study by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF ), approximately 70 percent of students attending HBCUs come from low-income backgrounds. Nearly 40 percent are also first-generation college students. HBCUs, like Paine, only represent 3 percent of all four-year nonprofit institutions but enroll 10 percent of all Black students. They also confer 15 percent of bachelor's degrees and 25 percent of STEM bachelor's degrees received by Black Americans.
To donate, volunteer or learn more about the "Growing Paine" campaign, please visit https://www.paine.edu .
About Paine College
Paine College, founded in 1882, is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine remains a liberal art, coeducational institution, committed to providing educational opportunities to all students in a diverse, caring, and inclusive campus community. Voted among Georgia's best Christian Colleges, Paine is accredited by Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). Paine has a history of educating the best and brightest, but intentionally seeks out students who would otherwise not attend college. Paine is known for creating opportunities for students to be better prepared for the college experience through its Upward Bound Program, Dual Degree Program, and free Summer STEM Enrichment Programs. For more information, visit https://paine.edu.
Press Contact:
Lalohni Campbell
for Paine College
4045937145
http://www.paine.edu
SOURCE Paine College
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Palm Tree LLC ("Palm Tree"), the modern M&A advisor providing integrated investment banking, transaction support, and strategic finance services to private equity firms and businesses worldwide, today announced the firm has been recognized by leading M&A industry groups with numerous prestigious awards.
These awards showcase the variety of solutions Palm Tree provides to guide companies through strategic growth events. Tweet this Steven Richards, Senior VP of Investment Bank (L) & Alex Jiang, Senior Associate of Investment Bank (R)
M&A Advisor, the world's premier leadership organization for mergers and acquisitions, awarded Palm Tree the Restructuring of the Year ($100MM to $250MM) award for the firm's role as financing advisor to Detroit Manufacturing Systems, a large-scale contract manufacturer supplying the automotive, defense, and aerospace industries. Palm Tree was also recognized with the Refinancing of the Year ($10MM to $100MM) and Restructuring of the Year ($25MM to $50MM) awards for the firm's work with CST Industries, a global manufacturer of industrial storage tanks and covers.
Palm Tree was also honored at the 21st annual M&A Advisor Awards last November, taking home awards for Industrials Deal of the Year ($10MM - $25MM) and Restructuring Deal of the Year for the firm's work with Coaster Cycles, a manufacturer of bicycles for urban last-mile deliveries.
"These awards showcase the variety of solutions Palm Tree provides to guide companies through strategic growth and milestone events," said Pardis Nasseri, CEO and President of Palm Tree. "We are proud to be recognized by the industry for our teams' hard work on multiple transactions across varied industries. Economic uncertainty remains a concern to middle-market companies, and Palm Tree will continue to deliver the insights, expertise, and guidance to succeed through it all."
Earlier this year, Palm Tree was honored with the Cross-Border M&A Deal of the Year award at the 14th Annual Americas M&A Atlas Awards. The firm was recognized for investment banking services supporting the successful sale of The Creme Shop, a consumer beauty products company, to LG H&H, the Household & Health Care division of South Korea's LG.
"M&A activity in the consumer sector remains high as brick-and-mortar companies look to strategic add-ons for smart, measured growth," said Stephen Rossi, Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking at Palm Tree. "Palm Tree stands ready to help these companies reach their goals, and our industry awards highlight our expertise in this sector."
About Palm Tree
Palm Tree is the modern M&A advisor. It provides integrated investment banking, transaction support, and strategic finance services that power strategic events and drive business. The analytical intelligence it delivers enables businesses to better prepare for and execute on transactions, transitions, and transformations. Founded in 2010, Palm Tree was born out of private equity, and its team comes from private equity, Big-4 accounting, investment banking, and business operations experience. Its processes and deliverables enable clients to efficiently make critical business decisions and to realize advantageous outcomes in strategic events.
Securities products and services are offered through Palm Tree Securities LLC, member of FINRA, SIPC.
More information in our corporate video, on PalmTreeLLC.com, and on LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
Charlyn Lusk
646.502.3549
[email protected]
SOURCE Palm Tree LLC
WILMINGTON, N.C., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors of North Carolina is hosting its second annual Road Show Event, complete with Continuing Education, Trade Show, and Happy Hour. On March 8, PHCC of NC will make its first stop in Wilmington, NC. We will kick off the event by signing an alliance with the NCDOL/ OSH division, where NC Labor Commissioner, Josh Dobson, will address local Plumbing and HVAC professionals and sign the alliance. The event will kick off at 11:00 am at Cape Fear Community College, Union Station Building, with the Alliance, lunch, and Continuing Education classes for those who register. After classes at 4:30 pm, the Trade Show and Happy hour, free for all HVAC and Plumbing professionals, will kick off one block away at Flytrap Brewing.
Road Show 2022 Road Show Stops
In 2022 the Road shows hosted more than 200 people across the state, and the association had requests from dozens of trade professionals to bring it back in 2023 and add an educational component to help business owners further invest in their employees. The Association and its partners offered a list of educational options to its members who made selections to help prioritize the continuing education needs of Plumbing and HVAC professionals in the area.
The education offered in Wilmington includes Intro to OSHA, Heat Illness Protection course, Fall Protection course, and Lock Out Tag Out. Registration for the half day of courses, taught by an NCDOL/ OSHA trainer, Andy Sterlen, lunch, and access to the tradeshow and happy hour is $90 and is being offered for half off to Association Members. Register for the event at phccnc.com/meetinginfo.php
Contact PHCC of NC Executive Director Stephanie Blazek for more information or if you would like to exhibit at the trade show/ happy hour. [email protected]
PHCC of North Carolina is dedicated to advancing and educating plumbing, heating, and cooling professionals throughout the state for their growth, protecting the health, safety, and comfort of our communities, and protecting our environment.
The fundamental purpose that drives PHCC of NC is the desire to serve its members for their benefit and growth. To fulfill that purpose, we envision being the leading resource provider for education, expertise, and business enhancement services for the plumbing, heating, and cooling contractors in North Carolina and serving as the voice of these industries on a local, state, and national level. Our service to the plumbing, heating and cooling industries is evident as we encourage and facilitate the education, expertise, and professionalism of our contractors and associate members and the industry at large for their benefit and the safety and well-being of the industry and the general public.
Media Contact:
Stephanie Blazek
Executive Director
[email protected]
919.532.0522
phccnc.com
SOURCE PHCC of NC
100% growth in team over last six months, with 25% now US-based, focus on $3.8 billion annual market opportunity in Conversational AI
NEW YORK and LONDON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a recent round of $40m Series B funding , customer-led conversational assistant provider, PolyAI today announced a number of major initiatives and leadership appointments to support growth in key US and European markets. This includes the opening of a new R&D facility in New York, focusing on US customer projects and global initiatives around machine learning, as well as the appointment of a new SVP Marketing, Michelle Schroeder who will be based in the US and lead the marketing function. This follows a period of significant recruitment globally as PolyAI doubled its team over the last six months, with a quarter now based in the US, and moved into larger HQ offices in London.
Sample PolyAI Phone Call Table Reservation at a Restaurant
According to a report, "Gartner estimates the market size for conversational AI to be at $3.8 billion globally (software and services included) growing at 55% annually." This report also states that "the average deal size increased by 28% in the last year, as implementations scale while expansion into new use cases realizes greater business value1."
Indeed, voice support in conversations has recently been mentioned as an area that will gain investment and drive acquisitions by Arup Roy , Research Vice President at Gartner who said: "The conversational AI platform market is likely to see increased investments in R&D in developing and furthering voice support in conversations. The market may also witness many vendors striking strategic partnerships and/or acquisitions to augment voice tech capabilities."
PolyAI's new US-based R&D team will focus on both customer-specific development in the US, as well as global innovation. A major US hotel and gaming customer has already benefited from the team, who identified issues associated with local accents and developed a solution ahead of the deployment across the continental US. This made the PolyAI conversational assistant more effective from day one by allowing it to understand a broad variety of local accents. In effect, one agent that is able to cater for multiple regional customer bases.
"We are extremely excited about what we have achieved over the past year. As we continue to grow rapidly in the US and other markets, we believe investing in talent, such as our new US R&D team and our new marketing leader Michelle, will help us further accelerate the footprint of our conversational assistants in the market," commented Shawn Wen , CTO at PolyAI, "Giving customers the freedom to lead and be in control of the conversation creates a more natural experience. This establishes confidence in the technology and makes it a game changer for our customers. Indeed, Gartner predicts2 that Enterprise Conversational AI Platforms with be transformational for customer service within the next two years."
Michelle Schroeder, PolyAI's new SVP Marketing and team lead, joins from Ometria at the end of January to continue building out the marketing team and a wider-ranging value proposition.
"It's an incredible time to join PolyAI, with the momentum it is experiencing both in the market and its product development," added Michelle Schroeder , SVP Marketing and marketing lead at PolyAI, "For so many businesses, achieving Zero Touch Resolution is a lofty and potentially fraught goal, particularly for those where conversation is the preferred method of customer communication. This is what PolyAI provides, and I look forward to continue spreading the message with the team!"
Gartner Competitive Landscape: Conversational AI Platform Providers | Published 31 October 2022 | ID G00774810 Gartner Hype Cycle for Customer Service and Support Technologies, 2022 | Published 19 July 2022 | ID G00770253
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, HYPE CYCLE is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
About PolyAI
PolyAI builds customer-led conversational assistants that conduct natural conversations with customers to solve their problems. Our voice assistants understand customers, regardless of what they say or how they say it. We serve enterprises where customer conversation is an important part of doing business. Our customers include some of the leading names in banking, hospitality, insurance, retail, and telecommunications.
Our enterprise clients deploy PolyAI voice assistants to cut down on wait times and free up live staff to focus on calls requiring empathy and judgment. As a result, our enterprise clients see improved customer satisfaction, employee retention and operational efficiency.
PolyAI was born in the same University of Cambridge lab that pioneered speech recognition. Together, we have published over 200 papers which have been cited over 14,000 times, and registered 7 patents with 4 more pending. PolyAI has offices in London, New York and San Jose.
Supporting information:
Request a demo at poly.ai/request-demo
Media pack includes sample call, company logo and team photo
SOURCE PolyAI
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Power Device Analyzer Market is projected to reach USD 600 million in 2027 from USD 470 million in 2022 at a CAGR of 5.0% according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Power device analyzers measures electrical power in devices that generate, transform, or consume electricity. They have been used in electrical product testing equipment as they provide accuracy, frequency ranges, and functions necessary to meet industry test and measurement standards. They are utilized for measuring different aspects of power such as current, voltage, peak, voltage, mean, RMS parameters harmonics, and phase. The power device analyzers are categorized into three types as AC, DC and Both AC and DC. A DC power analyzer is a high-performance instrument that includes up to four sophisticated DC power sources or electronic loads, as well as a digital multimeter (DMM), oscilloscope, arbitrary waveform generator (AWG), and datalogger. The AC power analyzers make more accurate power measurements.
Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=259267665
Browse in-depth TOC on "Power Device Analyzer Market"
173 - Tables
43 - Figures
193 - Pages
Power Device Analyzer Market Scope:
Report Coverage Details Market Size USD 600 million in 2027 Growth Rate 5.0% of CAGR Largest Market Asia Pacific Market Dynamics Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities & Challenges Forecast Period 2022-2027 Forecast Units Value (USD Million) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Type, Current, and End user Geographies Covered Asia Pacific, North America, Middle East & Africa, South America, and Europe Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Growing market for IoT devices to boost the demand for power device analyzers Key Market Drivers Increasing adoption of power-efficient devices across various industries
The Power Device Analyzer Market is expected to be dominated by Both AC and DC segment, by type, during the forecast period.
In the Power Device Analyzer Market, by type, in 2021 the Both AC & DC type segment accounted for the greatest share of 78%. This is due to the increasing government mandates and initiatives for implementing energy audits. The growing demand for Electric Vehicles and the growing market for Internet of Things are also positively influencing the growth of both AC & DC type segment. Furthermore, the increasing energy audits and mandates from governments globally is likely to boost the demand for power analyzers.
The Power Device Analyzer Market is expected to be dominated by the below 1000A current segment, by current, during the forecast period.
In the Power Device Analyzer Market, by type, in 2021 the below 1000A segment accounted for the greatest share of 67%. Most of the projects are taken in the below 1000A segment, and it is used in various end use industries such as Energy, Automotive, aerospace & defense, healthcare equipment manufacturing, and wireless communication. Products such as PWM Inverters, high frequency power electronics, AC/DC converters, Solar arrays and UPS widely used in automotive and energy industries requires power device analyzers for the purpose of testing the quality of the power supplied and other parameters which are related to power supply. Some of the major products used in the automotive and energy sectors are PWM Inverters, AC/DC converters, solar arrays, UPS (uninterrupted power supply), and high frequency power electronics. These products need power device analyzers for testing the quality of power supplied and various other parameters related to power supply.
The Power Device Analyzer Market is expected to be dominated by the automotive segment, by end user, during the forecast period.
Among the end use industries, the automotive segment accounts to have the largest share of 21% in the estimated year 2022 in the Power Device Analyzer Market. Consumer electronics and appliances account for the second largest share of the Power Device Analyzer Market with 19.8% in the same estimated year of 2022. Power analyzers are widely used for testing power electronics, power supplies, inverters, motors and drives, home appliances, lighting, office equipment and industrial machinery by measuring many aspects of electrical power. The increased demand for Electric Vehicles in the automotive sector has increased the installation of power device analyzers in this sector as it is used in various applications such as testing of the components like electric motors, navigation systems, battery management systems and electrical charging systems to ensure the quality, safety, and reliability of automotive systems. Presently China, Japan, and South Korea dominate the Electric Vehicles market.
The Power Device Analyzer Market is expected to be dominated by Asia Pacific region has it is having a strong demand for power device analyzer.
Power device analyzers are progressively being deployed in North America and Asia-Pacific, and the market is expanding rapidly. Asia Pacific region accounts for the largest share of 54.3% in the year 2021. The Asia-Pacific market is divided into China, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the rest of Asia. Asia- Pacific's growth is being driven by an increase in demand for electric vehicles and a rise in government restrictions. The China government has made a mandate to have a few percentages of Electric Vehicle sales for the automotive manufacturers in their overall sales. Later China has set a target of sales of Electric Vehicles to be 40% of their overall sales. This has made the manufacturers to increasingly invest in electric vehicles to avoid penalties. Global manufacturers such as BMW, Volkswagen, and Tesla are establishing their manufacturing sites in Asia-Pacific region as they are finding more profitable opportunities. The increased interest of automotive industry in this region is driving the Power Device Analyzer Market in this region.
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Power Device Analyzer Market Dynamics:
Drivers:
Rising focus on energy savings Increasing adoption of power-efficient devices across various industries Growth of electric vehicles market
Restraints:
Expanding gray market
Opportunities:
Growing focus on energy audits and regulations Increasing adoption of power device analyzers by renewable energy sectors Growing market for IoT devices
Challenges:
High initial cost of installation Requirement of skilled personnel
Key Market Players:
The major players dominating the Power Device Analyzer Market are Keysight Technologies (US), Yokogawa (Japan), Hioki E E Corporation (Japan) and Fluke Corporation (US). These players are adopting various strategies such as new product launches to increase their share globally in the market.
Recent Developments
In May 2021 , Iwatsu launched Curve Tracer CS-8000 series. The series can test up to 5kV, 2000A.
, Iwatsu launched Curve Tracer CS-8000 series. The series can test up to 5kV, 2000A. In December 2020 , Keysight introduced N6705C DC power analyzer. For greater convenience, all sourcing and measuring functions are available from the front panel. Keysight now offers a recessed binding post (RBP) option with the N6705C for added safety when using banana plugs.
, Keysight introduced N6705C DC power analyzer. For greater convenience, all sourcing and measuring functions are available from the front panel. Keysight now offers a recessed binding post (RBP) option with the N6705C for added safety when using banana plugs. In October 2020 , Yokogawa Electric Corporation was awarded a contract by Oman government to supply an analyzer package solution for Liwa Plastics Industries Complex that is being built for Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company.
, Yokogawa Electric Corporation was awarded a contract by government to supply an analyzer package solution for Liwa Plastics Industries Complex that is being built for Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company. In March 2019 , ROHDE & SCHWARZ was awarded a contract by University of Aalborg to supply test equipment for the Electronic Engineering IoT living laboratory which includes oscilloscope, power analyzer, and radio scanner.
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The 34th Annual Conference Will be Held from February 23 to 25
ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Volato , the most efficient way to own a private jet, today announced its participation in the 2023 Women in Aviation Internal Conference in Long Beach, California. The conference will take place February 23 - 25 at the Long Beach Convention Center.
The conference is a leading event that promotes women business aviation professionals, pilots, owners, manufacturers and others involved in the industry. The event includes keynote speakers from across the aviation industry, as well as professional development seminars, education sessions, exhibit halls, scholarship awards and the 2023 Pioneer Hall of Fame inductions.
The Volato team will be recruiting top industry talent, meeting potential customers and connecting with flight departments throughout the course of the event.
To meet with the Volato team at the Women in Aviation International Conference between February 23 and 25, visit booth #613 or email [email protected] to make an appointment.
The team's attendance at the conference comes on the tail of recent announcements, including a new Broker Rewards Program and the appointment of National Aviation Hall of Fame Member Joan Sullivan Garrett as a Board Member.
About Volato :
Volato is a full-service aviation company providing modern ways to enjoy luxury private jets through innovative, friendly, and sustainable solutions. Volato provides a fresh approach to fractional ownership, aircraft management, jet card and charter programs. Volato's fractional program uniquely offers flexible hours and a revenue share on every live mission for owners in a fleet of bespoke HondaJets , which are optimized for missions of up to four passengers, and Gulfstream G280's which are optimized for missions of up to ten passengers.
For more information, visit https://www.flyvolato.com .
All Volato flights are operated by its DOT/FAA-authorized air carrier subsidiary (G C Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Volato) or by an approved vendor air carrier.
Media Contact:
Teddy Burnette
+1 (619) 888-5217
[email protected]
SOURCE Volato
ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Revenue Grid, a Revenue Intelligence platform that automatically captures sales activities to help you identify and fix revenue leaks, is integrating with Salesforce Genie, the real-time Customer Data Service, to help sales teams instantly bring an unprecedented level of personalization to their customers with actionable Revenue Signals.
Salesforce Genie integrates data from every step of the customer experience into a unified customer profile record. Analyzing this data in real-time, Revenue Grid creates contextual and actionable AI-driven Revenue Signals to empower sales teams in their communication with customers.
Revenue Grid integrates with Salesforce Genie Customer Data Cloud to bring a magical experience to sales teams Tweet this
Revenue Grid and Salesforce Genie have created a unique platform for actionable Revenue Signals within the Salesforce ecosystem that allows sales teams to get real-time AI-driven tailored recommendations. The integration uses customer data across all Salesforce's industry solutions, including Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Financial Services Cloud.
Here are a few scenarios of how Revenue Grid and Salesforce Genie integration can empower sales teams with real-time actionable AI-driven Revenue Signals:
Proactive sales based on website analytics sales reps receive actionable Revenue Signals about key customer website activities, enabling them to generate sales through tailored follow-ups and targeted messaging, such as reaching out when a customer views a pricing page.
sales reps receive actionable Revenue Signals about key customer website activities, enabling them to generate sales through tailored follow-ups and targeted messaging, such as reaching out when a customer views a pricing page. Improvement of the sales process for customers on a free trial sales reps receive actionable Revenue Signals about a user's behavior during a trial, such as completing a certain task, reaching a specific milestone, or showing interest in a particular product function. This can help the sales rep to offer the relevant product features that will guide the customer to the final purchase.
sales reps receive actionable Revenue Signals about a user's behavior during a trial, such as completing a certain task, reaching a specific milestone, or showing interest in a particular product function. This can help the sales rep to offer the relevant product features that will guide the customer to the final purchase. Upselling sales reps proactively upsell specific services based on the actionable Revenue Signals they get. For example, in the automotive industry, sales reps will receive an immediate notification to schedule a service after the client's vehicle reaches a certain number of kilometers.
"With Revenue Grid and Salesforce Genie integration, sales teams can identify which customers to engage with in real-time, what are the individual requirements of each customer, and what is their next best action to win the deal," said Vlad Voskresensky, co-founder and CEO of Revenue Grid. "Actionable Revenue Signals is a powerful instrument to help sales teams close gaps, follow the process, and address a deal at risk before it falls through."
About Revenue Grid
Revenue Grid is a revenue intelligence platform that helps businesses identify and prevent revenue leaks at any stage of the revenue generation process. Revenue Grid fights revenue leaks by automatically capturing all relevant sales activities, analyzing data with AI, implementing changes to sales processes with Revenue Signals, and measuring the effectiveness of those changes. Organizations as diverse as Hilton, Western Union, Moody's, Trip Advisor, Red Cross, and Robert Half have chosen Revenue Grid, thanks to its customizability and enterprise-readiness. Revenue Grid is a private company headquartered in Atlanta, GA. To learn more, visit revenuegrid.com.
About Salesforce Genie Customer Data Cloud
Salesforce Genie is a new, hyperscale real-time data service that turns data into customer magic, delivering seamless, highly personalized experiences across sales, service, marketing, and commerce that continuously adapt to changing customer information and needs in real time.
Company Contact
Maria Gordienko
Head of Global Communications
[email protected]
SOURCE Revenue Grid
Urges Ritchie Bros. Shareholders to Vote "FOR" All Proposals on the WHITE Proxy Card
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE: RBA) (TSX: RBA) ("Ritchie Bros.") today released a presentation regarding its acquisition of IAA, Inc. (NYSE: IAA) ("IAA") and the reasons Ritchie Bros. shareholders should vote to approve the transaction at the March 14, 2023 Special Meeting of Shareholders. The presentation has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is available at www.RBASpecialMeeting.com.
Ann Fandozzi, CEO of Ritchie Bros., said, "The IAA transaction is expected to unlock substantial value that neither Ritchie Bros. nor IAA could achieve on its own, and we are confident in our ability to realize it. This confidence is grounded in the extensive due diligence we conducted before entering the IAA agreement, the complementary nature of the IAA asset, management's experience in the auto industry and our Board and management team's record of execution both in M&A integration and driving successful transformation."
"We urge our shareholders to put aside Luxor Capital Group LP's ("Luxor") misleading claims and flawed analysis by voting 'FOR' the IAA acquisition on the WHITE proxy card. The compelling strategic and financial benefits we can create with IAA affirm our strong belief that the IAA acquisition is the most value maximizing opportunity for the Company," continued Ms. Fandozzi.
Highlights of the presentation include:
Significant value creation and upside potential beyond Ritchie Bros.' standalone strategic plan i : The transaction with IAA positions Ritchie Bros. to unlock up to $76 in incremental value per share. This includes at least $100 to $120 million in expected cost savings as well as approximately $250 to $780 million of incremental EBITDA growth opportunities, which together could translate to an additional $21 to $61 per share of value i . The potential re-rating on these opportunities would provide approximately $5 to $15 per share of incremental upside i . The transaction is also expected to result in strong free cash flow, providing financial flexibility to continue investing in the business and enabling rapid deleveraging to 2.0x ii adjusted EBITDA within 24 months post close. Ritchie Bros. remains committed to returning excess capital to shareholders.
The transaction with IAA positions Ritchie Bros. to unlock up to in incremental value per share. This includes at least to in expected cost savings as well as approximately to of incremental EBITDA growth opportunities, which together could translate to an additional to per share of value . The potential re-rating on these opportunities would provide approximately to per share of incremental upside . The transaction is also expected to result in strong free cash flow, providing financial flexibility to continue investing in the business and enabling rapid deleveraging to 2.0x adjusted EBITDA within 24 months post close. Ritchie Bros. remains committed to returning excess capital to shareholders. A step-function accelerant of the Company's strategic vision: IAA is a critical accelerant to Ritchie Bros.' strategic vision. For example, the addition of IAA's 210 yards, which have approximately 45% of excess capacity, will accelerate the Company's satellite yard expansion strategy and result in significantly higher ROI. Plugging IAA into the Ritchie Bros. marketplace is expected to deepen IAA customer relationships and double GTV as IAA customers access more value-added services and solutions, such as financing and parts sourcing.
IAA is a critical accelerant to Ritchie Bros.' strategic vision. For example, the addition of IAA's 210 yards, which have approximately 45% of excess capacity, will accelerate the Company's satellite yard expansion strategy and result in significantly higher ROI. Plugging IAA into the Ritchie Bros. marketplace is expected to deepen IAA customer relationships and double GTV as IAA customers access more value-added services and solutions, such as financing and parts sourcing. IAA expands Ritchie Bros.' reach into the attractive, adjacent vertical salvage vehicle market with a growing, countercyclical business. IAA is a key player in this market and has shown counter-cyclicality and resilience through economic cycles. IAA has delivered 13% revenue CAGR from 2004 to 2022 and growth in every year except 2020. The IAA team continues to build on this momentum, achieving approximately $541 million in adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2022, above consensus expectations of approximately $528 million iii .
IAA is a key player in this market and has shown counter-cyclicality and resilience through economic cycles. IAA has delivered 13% revenue CAGR from 2004 to 2022 and growth in every year except 2020. The IAA team continues to build on this momentum, achieving approximately in adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2022, above consensus expectations of approximately . A deliberate, thoughtful process led by Ritchie Bros.' independent Board of Directors: The acquisition was the culmination of a multi-year assessment by the Ritchie Bros. Board of Directors and management as well as rigorous negotiation with IAA. After extensive shareholder engagement, Ritchie Bros. delivered enhanced deal terms, including a reduction in the price paid per IAA share and a special dividend to Ritchie Bros. shareholders, resulting in $115 million iv of incremental value for Ritchie Bros. shareholders.
The acquisition was the culmination of a multi-year assessment by the Ritchie Bros. Board of Directors and management as well as rigorous negotiation with IAA. After extensive shareholder engagement, Ritchie Bros. delivered enhanced deal terms, including a reduction in the price paid per IAA share and a special dividend to Ritchie Bros. shareholders, resulting in of incremental value for Ritchie Bros. shareholders. Luxor's claims are misleading and based on flawed analysis: Luxor's criticisms of the IAA transaction ignore the upside potential created through the combination, and Luxor's standalone valuation of Ritchie Bros. is either replete with mathematical errors or purposefully deceptive. Luxor's claims regarding the Starboard investment also show a profound misunderstanding of the actual terms and structure of this investment. In fact, the Starboard preferred does not meaningfully impact the IAA deal value, but does enhance the value upside for all Ritchie Bros.' shareholders. Simple math so long as it is accurate shows that the $115 million iv of additional value provided to Ritchie Bros. shareholders as a result of the Starboard investment and amended IAA agreement outweighs the value of the Starboard preferred.
Ritchie Bros. shareholders of record as of the close of business on January 25, 2023 are eligible to vote at the Special Meeting. The Ritchie Bros. Board of Directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote "FOR" all proposals listed on the WHITE proxy card and discard any green proxy card sent by Luxor.
Visit www.RBASpecialMeeting.com for more information about the meeting and how Ritchie Bros. shareholders can vote to protect their interests and realize the value created by the IAA transaction.
Any shareholder with questions about the Special Meeting or in
need of assistance in voting their shares should contact:
Laurel Hill MacKenzie Partners, Inc.
North American Toll Free: 1-877-452-7184 North American Toll Free: 1-800-322-2885
Outside North America: 416-304-0211 Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
About Ritchie Bros.
Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a number of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, mining, and forestry, the company's selling channels include: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial auctioneer offering live auction events with online bidding; IronPlanet, an online marketplace with weekly featured auctions and providing the exclusive IronClad Assurance(R) equipment condition certification; Marketplace-E, a controlled marketplace offering multiple price and timing options; Ritchie List, a self-serve listing service for North America; Mascus, a leading European online equipment listing service; Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty, offering privately negotiated sales; and sector-specific solutions GovPlanet, TruckPlanet, and Ritchie Bros. Energy. The company's suite of solutions also includes Ritchie Bros. Asset Solutions and Rouse Services LLC, which together provides a complete end-to-end asset management, data-driven intelligence and performance benchmarking system; SmartEquip, an innovative technology platform that supports customers' management of the equipment lifecycle and integrates parts procurement with both OEMs and dealers; plus equipment financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. For more information about Ritchie Bros., visit RitchieBros.com.
Photos and video for embedding in media stories are available at rbauction.com/media.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains information relating to a proposed business combination transaction between Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated ("RBA") and IAA, Inc. ("IAA") in addition to information relating to the investment into RBA by Starboard Value LP and certain of its affiliates (together, "Starboard"). This communication includes forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and 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 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements may include statements relating to future events and anticipated results of operations, business strategies, the anticipated benefits of the proposed IAA transaction, the anticipated impact of the proposed IAA transaction on the combined company's business and future financial and operating results, the expected or estimated amount, achievability, sources, impact and timing of cost synergies and revenue, EBITDA, growth, operational enhancement, expansion and other value creation opportunities from the proposed IAA transaction, the expected debt, de-leveraging, cash flow generation and capital allocation of the combined company, the anticipated closing date for the proposed IAA transaction, other aspects of RBA's or IAA's respective businesses, operations, financial condition or operating results and other statements that are not historical facts. There can be no assurance that the proposed IAA transaction will in fact be consummated. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "can," "intends," "target," "goal," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates," "opportunity" or other words or phrases of similar import.
It is uncertain whether any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on the results of operations and financial condition of the combined companies or the price of RBA's common shares or IAA's common stock. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. While RBA's and IAA's management believe the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, these forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the parties' control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the possibility that shareholders of RBA may not approve the issuance of new common shares of RBA in the transaction or that stockholders of IAA may not approve the adoption of the merger agreement; the risk that a condition to closing of the proposed IAA transaction may not be satisfied (or waived), that either party may terminate the merger agreement or that the closing of the proposed IAA transaction might be delayed or not occur at all; the anticipated tax treatment of the proposed IAA transaction; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed IAA transaction; the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues; the response of competitors to the proposed IAA transaction; the ultimate difficulty, timing, cost and results of integrating the operations of RBA and IAA; the effects of the business combination of RBA and IAA, including the combined company's future financial condition, results of operations, strategy and plans; the failure (or delay) to receive the required regulatory approval of the transaction; the fact that operating costs and business disruption may be greater than expected following the public announcement or consummation of the proposed IAA transaction; the effect of the announcement, pendency or consummation of the proposed IAA transaction on the trading price of RBA's common shares or IAA's common stock; the ability of RBA and/or IAA to retain and hire key personnel and employees; the significant costs associated with the proposed IAA transaction; the outcome of any legal proceedings that could be instituted against RBA, IAA and/or others relating to the proposed IAA transaction; restrictions during the pendency of the proposed IAA transaction that may impact the ability of RBA and/or IAA to pursue non-ordinary course transactions, including certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; the ability of the combined company to realize anticipated synergies in the amount, manner or timeframe expected or at all; the failure of the combined company to realize potential revenue, EBITDA, growth, operational enhancement, expansion or other value creation opportunities from the sources or in the amount, manner or timeframe expected or at all; the failure of the trading multiple of the combined company to normalize or re-rate and other fluctuations in such trading multiple; changes in capital markets and the ability of the combined company to generate cash flow and/or finance operations in the manner expected or to de-lever in the timeframe expected; the failure of RBA or the combined company to meet financial forecasts and/or KPI targets; any legal impediment to the payment of the special dividend by RBA, including TSX consent to the dividend record date; legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting the business of RBA and IAA; general economic and market developments and conditions; the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which RBA and IAA operates; unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, pandemics, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as RBA's or IAA's response to any of the aforementioned factors. These risks, as well as other risks related to the proposed IAA transaction, are included in the Registration Statement (as defined below) and joint proxy statement/prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities in connection with the proposed IAA transaction. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors presented in the Registration Statement are, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties.
For additional information about other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to RBA's and IAA's respective periodic reports and other filings with the SEC and/or applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the risk factors identified in RBA's most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K and IAA's most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K. The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date hereof. Neither RBA nor IAA undertakes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information, future events, changes in its expectations or other circumstances that exist after the date as of which the forward-looking statements were made, except as required by law.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of securities 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. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, such registration requirements.
Important Additional Information and Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed IAA transaction, RBA filed with the SEC and applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities a registration statement on Form S-4 to register the common shares of RBA to be issued in connection with the proposed IAA transaction on December 14, 2022 (the "Initial Registration Statement"), as amended by Amendment No. 1 and Amendment No. 2 to the Initial Registration Statement filed with the SEC and applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on February 1, 2023 and February 9, 2023, respectively (together with the Initial Registration Statement, the "Registration Statement"). The Registration Statement was declared effective by the SEC on February 10, 2023. The Registration Statement includes a joint proxy statement/prospectus which will be sent to the shareholders of RBA and stockholders of IAA seeking their approval of their respective transaction-related proposals. Each of RBA and IAA may also file other relevant documents with the SEC and/or applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities regarding the proposed IAA transaction. This document is not a substitute for the proxy statement/prospectus or Registration Statement or any other document that RBA or IAA may file with the SEC and/or applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-4 AND THE RELATED JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC and applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED IAA TRANSACTION OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT RBA, IAA AND THE PROPOSED IAA TRANSACTION.
Investors and security holders may obtain copies of these documents (when they are available) free of charge through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov, SEDAR at www.sedar.com or from RBA at its website, investor.ritchiebros.com, or from IAA at its website, investors.iaai.com. Documents filed with the SEC and applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities by RBA (when they are available) will be available free of charge by accessing RBA's website at investor.ritchiebros.com under the heading Financials/SEC Filings, or, alternatively, by directing a request by telephone or mail to RBA at 9500 Glenlyon Parkway, Burnaby, BC, V5J 0C6, Canada, and documents filed with the SEC by IAA (when they are available) will be available free of charge by accessing IAA's website at investors.iaai.com or by contacting IAA's Investor Relations at [email protected].
Participants in the Solicitation
RBA and IAA, certain of their respective directors and executive officers and other members of management and employees, and Jeffrey C. Smith and potentially other Starboard employees, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of RBA and IAA in respect of the proposed IAA transaction under the rules of the SEC. Information about RBA's directors and executive officers is available in RBA's definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for its 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC and applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on March 15, 2022, and certain of its Current Reports on Form 8-K. Information about IAA's directors and executive officers is available in IAA's definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for its 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on May 2, 2022, and certain of its Current Reports on Form 8-K. Other information regarding persons who may be deemed participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, including information with respect to Mr. Smith, are contained or will be contained in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials filed or to be filed with the SEC and applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities regarding the proposed IAA transaction when they become available. Investors should read the joint proxy statement/prospectus carefully before making any voting or investment decisions. You may obtain free copies of these documents from RBA or IAA free of charge using the sources indicated above.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This communication contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted EPS and free cash flow. These non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP and may exclude items that are significant in understanding and assessing a company's financial condition or operating results. Therefore, these measures should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to financial measures under GAAP. In addition, these measures may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures used by other companies. Further information regarding non-GAAP financial measures is included in the respective SEC filings of RBA and IAA.
Ritchie Bros. Contacts
Investors
Sameer Rathod Vice President, Investor Relations & Market Intelligence
(510) 381-7584
[email protected]
Media
Barrett Golden / Lucas Pers / Haley Salas
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
(212) 355-4449
_________________________ i Potential opportunities and related information included in this communication are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply future targets, expectations or guidance. Estimates do not incorporate potential costs to achieve or specific timeframes. Reflects illustrative EV / NTM EBITDA range, based on pre-transaction blend at the low end and illustrative ~3.0x re-rating at the high end, informed by both (i) observed historical average blended multiple since IAA spin and (ii) blend of top decile observed EV / NTM EBITDA multiples for RBA and IAA over last twelve-month period ending 4-Nov-2022. Figures are illustrative and un-discounted ii Leverage ratio represents net debt, calculated as pro forma debt less cash, divided by Adj. EBITDA per company's reported definition, which includes add-backs for share-based payments expense, acquisition-related costs, loss / (gains) on disposition of property plant and equipment, change in fair value of derivatives, and non-recurring advisory, legal and restructuring costs. ~2.0x targeted leverage ratio assumes $110mm run-rate cost synergies iii Based on mean FactSet consensus as of February 17, 2023 iv Represents value recaptured from amended transaction, comprised of $70mm reduced consideration and $45mm special shareholder dividend
SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - RIV Capital Inc. ("RIV Capital" or the "Company") (CSE: RIV) (OTC: CNPOF), an acquisition and investment firm with a focus on building a leading multistate platform with one of the strongest portfolios of brands in key strategic U.S. markets, will report its financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2022 before markets open on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. The Company's unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the quarter will be available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.rivcapital.com/investors .
Following the release of its third quarter 2023 financial results, an audio-only recording of RIV Capital's conference call will be available on the Company's website at www.rivcapital.com/investors .
About RIV Capital
RIV Capital is building a leading cannabis packaged goods company, with a focus on establishing one of the strongest portfolios of brands in key strategic U.S. markets. Backed by in-house expertise and cannabis domain knowledge, RIV Capital aims to grow its own brands and partner with established U.S. cannabis operators and brands to bring them to new markets and build market share. RIV Capital established the foundational building blocks of its active U.S. strategy with the previously announced acquisition of Etain. Through its strategic relationship with The Hawthorne Collective, Inc. ("The Hawthorne Collective"), a subsidiary of ScottsMiracle-Gro, RIV Capital is The Hawthorne Collective's preferred vehicle for cannabis-related investments not under the purview of other ScottsMiracle-Gro subsidiaries.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of RIV Capital and its portfolio companies with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding the timing and availability of the financial results of the Company and the Company's earnings call.
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical fact but instead reflects management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although RIV Capital believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of RIV Capital or its portfolio companies. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information are the following: regulatory and licensing risks; changes in cannabis industry growth and trends; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; the global regulatory landscape and enforcement related to cannabis, including political risks and risks relating to regulatory change; risks relating to anti-money laundering laws; compliance with extensive government regulation, including RIV Capital's interpretation of such regulation; public opinion and perception of the cannabis industry; divestiture risks; and the risk factors set out in RIV Capital's annual information form for the year ended March 31, 2022 filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available on RIV Capital's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although RIV Capital has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. RIV Capital does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law.
SOURCE RIV Capital Inc.
Expands Geographic Coverage, Adds Capabilities in Facilities Management, and Builds Scale in Process, Automation, and Project Engineering Services
BOSTON and SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequoia Consulting Group (Sequoia), a leading provider of technical and full life-cycle services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients, announced the acquisition of 42 North Solutions (42 North). Based in Scituate, MA and founded by Robert DeCoste and Daniel Ramsey, 42 North supports capital project execution and management, technical operations, and facilities management needs of pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. Sequoia is a portfolio company of Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm.
Sequoia and 42 North provide a broad range of services to help clients manufacture life enhancing and lifesaving therapeutics. The acquisition of 42 North expands Sequoia's geographic presence to the East Coast, adds facilities management capabilities, and brings additional depth to Sequoia's process, automation, and project engineering service offerings.
"We are very excited to support the combination of Sequoia and 42 North," said Craig Stern, a General Partner at Riverside Partners. "Each company has an outstanding reputation, a blue chip customer base, and a highly qualified and dedicated team of technical professionals. By bringing them together, we are creating a leading player with a strong presence in the most attractive markets in the U.S. for pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing."
"Sequoia has grown organically since Riverside's original investment about a year ago, and now we are delighted to add 42 North to the Sequoia family," said David Belluck, a General Partner at Riverside Partners. "We are extremely impressed with Rob and Dan and know they will be excellent additions to Sequoia's senior leadership team and Board of Directors. We look forward to supporting Sequoia's next phase of growth."
"I am thrilled to welcome the 42 North team to Sequoia," said Sequoia Consulting Group CEO Brandy Bullen. "42 North has deep expertise in technical operations and facilities management, a strong presence on the East Coast, an impressive list of clients, and a talented and dedicated employee base it is an outstanding fit with Sequoia. I am extremely excited to work with Rob, Dan, and the rest of the 42 North team during the combined company's next chapter."
"Our clients have come to expect a broad range of services offered by a highly technical team of professionals with a deep commitment to solving their most challenging projects," said Daniel Ramsey, Co-Founder of 42 North. "We know that's exactly what they will continue to receive from the combined company." Robert DeCoste, Co-Founder of 42 North, added, "We could not be more eager to join forces with Sequoia in order to create a leading national player with a broader suite of services that will allow us to provide more value to clients."
Financial terms of the transaction, which closed in February 2023, were not disclosed.
About Sequoia Consulting Group
Based in San Diego, CA, Sequoia Consulting Group is a functional and strategic partner for life sciences, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, and medical device companies. Sequoia supports organizations of all sizes from start-up to large enterprise by assembling fit-for-purpose teams to build and implement solutions that drive timely, cost-effective, and successful outcomes for their partners. Sequoia's team of over 250 expert consultants has extensive experience in successfully managing complex, highly technical projects and specializes in project and program management; quality management; process, automation, and project engineering; facilities management; scientific operations; and business transformation. For more information, visit www.sequoiabiotech.com.
About 42 North Solutions
Based in Scituate, MA, 42 North specializes in capital project execution and management, facilities engineering, commissioning and qualification, process engineering, and facilities management for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. For more information, visit www.42northsolutions.com.
About Riverside Partners
Founded in 1989, Riverside Partners is a middle market private equity firm with total capital commitments of $1.6 billion raised since inception. The firm focuses on growth-oriented companies in the technology and healthcare industries. Riverside Partners is particularly experienced at partnering with founders, owners and management teams, and it brings substantial domain expertise and operating experience to its portfolio companies. For more information, visit www.riversidepartners.com.
SOURCE Riverside Partners
ATLANTA, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RMS Titanic, Inc. (RMST), Venture Smart Financial Holdings Ltd (VSFG), the first virtual asset manager in Hong Kong approved by HKSFC, and Artifact Labs, a Web3 company on a mission to 'Preserve and Connect History on the Blockchain', today announced a partnership that will bring the RMS Titanic and its physical artifacts into Web3 and fully unlock the intrinsic value of the associated intellectual property by tokenizing the assets.
This creative project will place the legacy of the Titanic in the hands of the global public by preserving assets from the ocean liner as immutable NFTs and by allowing inclusive participation in RMST, which holds the exclusive rights to recover artifacts from the wreck site. RMST's affiliate, Experiential Media Group (E/M Group), operates Titanic exhibitions that have been visited by over 30 million people worldwide.
VSFG will take the lead in structuring the tokenization of the intellectual property and also develop tokenized instruments for accredited investors, drawing on its expertise as a licensed virtual asset manager. This will enable compliant capital raising for the ongoing research, recovery, preservation, exhibition, and licensing of RMST's assets.
Artifact Labs will immutably preserve the approximately 5,500 recovered physical artifacts from the Titanic with its NFT standard for historical assets on the blockchain. Newly recovered relics from future expedition dives will also be minted as 'ARTIFACTs'. The Titanic NFTs will expand an engaged community of collectors who will contribute to the preservation of maritime history while unlocking exclusive benefits, including VIP events at exhibitions, seminars with historians, and privileged access to one-of-a-kind experiences. Additionally, Titanic NFTs will provide an opportunity for Titanic enthusiasts to digitally interact with RMST's content outside of the physical exhibitions.
The debut collection will feature ultra-limited edition NFTs and its buyers will form the first of the Titanic's Web3 community.
Artifact Labs will also launch the Titanic DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) whose members will participate in select RMST and E/M Group initiatives, including proposals on future dive expeditions to the Titanic site, development of education programming, digital content and documentaries, research initiatives, partnerships, hosted events, and the strategic direction for the preservation and exhibition of recovered artifacts. The DAO treasury will be managed by members through governance tokens and will be funded by proceeds from Titanic NFT sales.
Commenting on the partnership, the President of RMS Titanic, Inc., Jessica Sanders said, "We remain dedicated to sharing the legacy of the Titanic, her passengers and crew, with people around the world. As the salvor-in-possession of the Titanic wreck site, we are determined to ensure that the Ship's artifacts are preserved in perpetuity and accessible to future generations. We believe that moving into the digital space allows us to reach a broader audience with quality programming that educates and inspires. We are excited to have found the expertise and partners to help us reach those goals."
Lawrence Chu, Founder and Chairman of VSFG, shares this passion; "The Titanic's artifacts have been highly sought after for over a century because of what they represent. Many people in the international community care deeply about preserving the integrity of the original artifacts. We believe this partnership with RMST and Artifact Labs can further this purpose by bringing in Web3 and virtual assets solutions."
Gary Liu, Founder of Artifact Labs, said, "The Titanic is one of the most treasured pieces of history in the world, and we are privileged to be part of its story. This incredible project will forever preserve the ocean liner on the blockchain and further expand its impact and importance to a global audience. This partnership exemplifies the mission of Artifact Labs and we are delighted to now be among the Titanic's guardians."
Media requests:
Wendy Perez ([email protected])
Natalie Ko ([email protected])
Henry Chan ([email protected])
RMS Titanic
RMS Titanic, Inc. (RMST), a subsidiary of Premier Acquisition Holdings, LLC and an affiliate of Experiential Media Group 'EMG' LLC serves as the exclusive steward of RMS Titanic which tragically sank on April 15, 1912. The Company is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Ship, wreck site and all her passengers and crew. Since 1987, RMST has honorably conducted eight expeditions to the wreck of RMS Titanic exclusively recovering and conserving more than 5,500 artifacts as well as creating comprehensive maps and imaging of the wreck site.
VSFG
Venture Smart Financial Holdings Limited (VSFG) is a global financial services platform headquartered in Hong Kong. In 2020, Venture Smart Asia Limited (VSAL), subsidiary of VSFG, became the first virtual asset manager in Hong Kong approved by Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (HKSFC) to manage portfolios that may invest up to 100% of virtual assets. VSFG is dedicated to the research and development of products and services that can integrate traditional and virtual assets under a compliant regulatory framework, helping individuals and institutions to allocate their assets in an orderly manner in both traditional and virtual worlds, particularly in the areas of Web 3.0 and metaverse. In addition, VSFG is committed to proactively developing and delivering relevant services to support the development of Hong Kong as a global Virtual Assets Centre; the future of finance starts now.
Artifact Labs
Artifact Labs is an independent Web3 and NFT company building blockchain strategies, products, and platforms that serve organizations with historical IP. The company is on a mission to 'Preserve and Connect History' on the blockchain, and enable all guardians of history to maximize the impact of their most valuable assets by tokenizing them as 'ARTIFACTs'. Artifact Labs is a one-stop solution for partners looking to launch unique NFT projects and build in Web3, providing support through advisory services, product development, blockchain engineering, and community management. All 'ARTIFACTs' are connected via a proprietary metadata standard that is governed by the non-profit Artifact Foundation, which allows for the verifiable authentication and global discovery of historical NFTs.
SOURCE Artifact Labs; RMS Titanic, Inc.; Venture Smart Financial Holdings
NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) resulting from allegations that Goldman Sachs may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Goldman Sachs securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=11359 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On January 20, 2023, during trading hours, The Wall Street Journal published an article entitled "U.S. Fed probes Goldman Sachs consumer business." The article stated that "The U.S. Federal Reserve is probing whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc's consumer business had appropriate safeguards in place as the bank ramped up lending." Further, the article stated that "The central bank is concerned the Wall Street giant did not have proper monitoring and control systems inside Marcus, its consumer unit, as it grew larger." The article added that "The probe, which grew out of a standard Fed review of the business in 2021 and intensified into an investigation last year, is also examining instances of customer harm and whether they were properly resolved."
On this news, Goldman Sachs's price fell $8.91, or 2.54%, to close at $341.84 on January 20, 2023.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.rosenlegal.com
SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
Baltimore-based healthcare research, strategy and marketing firm
further strengthens national capabilities with new hires
BALTIMORE, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sage Growth Partners (SGP), a Baltimore-based healthcare research, strategy, and marketing firm, is pleased to announce recent staff hires and promotions that are designed to provide expanded support for continued national growth and client success.
Promotions
Emily Cohen has been named senior director of content services. In this role, she is responsible for leading the creation and development of comprehensive positioning, messaging and thought-leadership content for clients. Previously, she was a senior account group director for the firm. During her career, she has been recognized for being an inquisitive and resourceful writer that is able to connect with audiences.
John Gonda has been named vice president of PR and media relations. Previously, he served as the firm's senior director of PR and media relations since joining SGP in April, 2021. In his new role, John will lead the firm's expanding earned media and public relations practice. Prior to joining SGP, John held leadership positions with several hospitals, health systems and medical groups throughout Ohio, Florida, and Michigan.
Jeanne Ross has been promoted to senior engagement manager. Since joining SGP in 2016, she has previously held positions as a consulting associate, senior consultant and engagement manager. Prior to that she was employed with IDX Systems Corporation in a variety of product, and executive roles. She earned her master's degree from Northeastern University in Information Technology. Jeanne is known for her strong experience in healthcare, IT and software development and deployment.
New Hires
Bari Cener has recently joined SGP as a senior account group director. In this role, she will lead cross-functional account teams to serve the marketing and communications needs of clients. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Bari is known for her highly strategic, creative and data-driven abilities. Prior to joining SGP, she served as an agency director for New York-based Blonde Sheep Marketing and as an account director for Hero Digital in Austin, Texas.
Benjamin Kovalick has joined the firm as a business analyst, supporting SGP's strategic research clients. Early in his career, he also previously served as an associate consultant for the firm. With a background in conducting secondary research, he is experienced in assessing an industry's competitive landscape to develop go-to-market strategies and engagement workstreams. Ben is a graduate of the University of Maryland where he earned his bachelor's degrees in both psychology and finance.
Susan Krieger has joined SGP as a public relations strategist. Prior to joining SGP, she served as a media relations consultant and internal communications manager with Spectrum Health (now Corewell Health), the largest integrated health system in Michigan. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and is currently based in Montana, where she provides communication and proactive media relations support to the firm's healthcare clients.
Amelia Rocchi has been hired as a senior account group director. Most recently, she was a senior business marketing manager for Philips where she helped to develop, position, and execute end-to-end solutions for the Philips patient interface mask portfolio across B2B, B2C, and B2B2C audiences. She has also previously held marketing manager roles with Eliza Corporation, a registered trademark of Cotiviti, Inc. and InsideTracker. She is a graduate of Northeastern University, where she earned her master's degree in corporate organizational communication and leadership.
"Providing outstanding counsel and exceptional marketing execution in healthcare's highly competitive marketplace requires a talented team that works well together," said Boh Hatter, Sage Growth Partners' Chief Marketing Officer and one of the firm's managing partners. "That's what we have built at Sage. It is especially gratifying to see Emily and John take on expanded roles. And in adding Sue, Bari, and Amelia, we have materially strengthened our ability to help clients grow."
"Research by itself is interesting, but conducting research with a defined purpose is a very powerful asset for healthcare organizations," said Stephanie Kovalick, Chief Strategy Officer and managing partner, SGP. "Our research and strategy teams are highly experienced in many areas including pricing strategies, segmentation, targeting, and opportunity assessments. Our team members are the strength of our firm and provide us with a valuable point of differentiation within the market."
About Sage Growth Partners
Sage Growth Partners is a healthcare advisory firm with deep expertise in market research, strategy, and communications. Founded in 2005, the company's extensive domain experience ensures that healthcare organizations thrive amid the complexities of a rapidly changing marketplace. Sage Growth Partners serves clients across the full healthcare spectrum, including GE Healthcare, ProgenyHealth, Kyruus; Best Buy Health, the National Minority Health Association, and Philips Healthcare. For more information, visit sage-growth.com.
For More Information
John Gonda
616-309-4888
[email protected]
SOURCE Sage Growth Partners
Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to Be Held as Physical Event
SAP Supervisory Board Proposes Changes to Executive Compensation System
WALLDORF, Germany, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Supervisory Board and Executive Board of SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) have decided to recommend that shareholders approve a dividend of 2.05 per share for fiscal year 2022. This is an increase of 0.10, or 5% compared to the regular dividend paid for fiscal year 2021. The dividend for 2021 consisted of a regular dividend of 1.95 and a special dividend of 0.50 in celebration of SAP SE's 50th anniversary for a total dividend of 2.45. If approved by shareholders and assuming the same level of treasury shares, the total amount distributed in dividends would be approximately 2.4 billion (2021: 2.865 billion including the special dividend), representing a pay-out ratio of 140% (2021: 53% total dividend, 43% excluding the special dividend).
SAP believes that its shareholders should benefit appropriately from the profit the Company made in 2022. The Company's dividend policy is to pay a dividend totaling 40% or more of profit after tax.
2023 Annual General Meeting to be Held as Physical Event
The Executive Board, with the approval of the Supervisory Board, has decided to hold the 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders as a physical event in the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany on May 11, 2023. The whole event will be webcast on the Company's website and online voting options will be available. Further details will be published at https://www.sap.com/agm in late March.
SAP Supervisory Board Proposes Changes to the Executive Compensation System
The SAP Supervisory Board has proposed changes to the executive compensation system, addressing investor feedback. Points addressed in the proposal include: increased alignment of pay for performance, expanded non-financial indicators in both the short-term incentive and long-term incentive, lowered caps, and increased share ownership guidelines. Shareholders' approval will be sought for the new system at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. Further details will be published at https://www.sap.com/agm in late March.
Note to holders of SAP ADRs (American Depositary Receipts):
One SAP ADR represents one SAP SE share. The final dividend amount per ADR is dependent upon the euro/US dollar exchange rate. Since SAP SE pays cash dividends on the ordinary shares in euro, the exchange rate fluctuations will affect the US dollar amounts received by holders of ADRs. The final dividend payment by SAP SE to the depositary bank is scheduled for May 16, 2023. The depositary bank will then convert the dividend payment from euro into US dollars as promptly as practicable.
Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.
About SAP
SAP's strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people's lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com.
This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP's 2021 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
2023 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
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.
For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)
Please consider our privacy policy. If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list please contact [email protected] and write Unsubscribe in the subject line.
SOURCE SAP SE
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. William Bedingham, a successful, dedicated 3M employee for over 35 years, has sued 3M in Ramsey County alleging he was selected for termination based on his age. Dr. Bedingham, who was 63 years old at the time of his termination, is represented by Lead Counsel Larry Schaefer at Schaefer Halleen, LLC, a Minneapolis-based Firm recognized nationally for its depth of experience in this field.
Read the Complaint
According to Mr. Schaefer, 3M knowingly and intentionally required Dr. Bedingham to exclusively work in a business area it knew would be eliminated to ensure that Dr. Bedingham would be impacted by a reduction-in-force ("RIF") at great cost savings to 3M through reduced pension payments and salary. 3M engaged in this egregious action despite Dr. Bedingham's uniformly positive performance reviews and prolific accomplishments over the course of his career. His accomplishments include being principally responsible for over 100 patents in a variety of business areas, as well as being awarded the prestigious "Minnesota Inventor of the Year" and "Corporate Circle of Excellence" awards.
While 3M assured that younger, less qualified employees were insulated from the RIF by assigning them fabricated "critical maintenance" roles the day prior to the RIF was implemented, Dr. Bedingham was not afforded such protections. Despite such blatant discrimination, 3M continued to benefit from Dr. Bedingham's expertise, even after he was terminated, by requesting his signature on multiple patentable inventions that Dr. Bedingham had developed in recent years.
"We intend to hold 3M fully accountable for its treatment of Dr. Bedingham, and any other older workers who have been treated similarly by 3M," asserts Schaefer. "Every worker deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, especially when they near retirement age. We will not allow 3M to force workers into retirement in violation of Minnesota law," he added.
CONTACT:
Lawrence P. Schaefer
Schaefer Halleen, LLC
612.294.2601 (direct)
612.816.5388 (cell)
[email protected]
SOURCE Schaefer Halleen, LLC
Leading Bathroom Remodeling Franchise Expands Footprint in Virginia and Maryland with Seasoned Entrepreneur
WASHINGTON , Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Re-Bath, the nation's largest complete bathroom remodeling franchise, has announced a single territory signed agreement for the greater D.C. market. The territory spans northeast Virginia, from Leesburg to Fredericksburg, and officially opened on January 13. With large retailer partnerships contributing to the brand's growth and market share gains driving nearly an 31% YOY increase in systemwide sales, existing and new franchisees are flocking to the franchise opportunity.
Growing Re-Bath's presence on the East Coast is Raj Kapoor, a self-starting entrepreneur and longtime Virginia native. Kapoor began his entrepreneurial journey after opening his first restaurant at age 19. Since then, he has opened more than 15 restaurants having completed the construction himself and running the operations for each one. When the business started doing well, Kapoor would sell it and start over on a new endeavor. While he still runs one deli-style restaurant in D.C., Kapoor sought after a change and wanted to get into a business with a franchise model.
"I came across Re-Bath after getting my deck done with Lowe's and was impressed with the streamlined process," said Kapoor. "My past experiences were never like this I am used to having to chase after the contractors. With my Re-Bath opened and operating, I hope it becomes a business that customers can rely on, which is important for home remodeling. I've lived in Virginia for 32 years so I see there's a need for bathroom remodeling services and I look forward to being a dependable business for my community and beyond."
Re-Bath has grown into a trusted and respected service provider known for expert, affordable, and effortless bathroom remodeling solutions that transform homeowners' bathrooms in days, not weeks. Whether seeking a tub or shower area update, better accessibility and safety in your bathroom or a complete bathroom remodel, Re-Bath makes bathroom remodeling easy. The company's exclusive remodel process removes old materials and fixtures and replaces them with beautiful new options in a wide variety of colors and styles.
"When bringing on a new franchisee, you want that partner to align with the brand's vision and Raj is exactly that person," said Sharon Villegas, Chief Revenue Officer of Re-Bath. "He values the franchise model, and even with his vast entrepreneur experience, he knew he needed to first understand our model. We are excited to have a passionate franchisee brought onboard who is fully invested in our brand."
As the largest bathroom remodeling company in the United States, Re-Bath has established a proven business model, unparalleled franchise office support, and an infrastructure for growth as it continues to seek strategic franchise partners to expand its footprint nationwide. The executive leadership team has seen consistent new development across the East Coast with 24 territories still available for growth, three specifically in the D.C. market. Collectively, the D.C. territories boast a population count of 4.5 million and 11 retail partner stores.
Per Re-Bath's Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees with territories between 1.25 and 2.5 million people had average revenues of over $2.8 million in 2021, up over 21% from 2020*.
The success achieved by the brand has not gone unnoticed as Re-Bath recently earned the No. 283 spot on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2023 Franchise 500, the world's first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking. Re-Bath also ranked No. 2 on Qualified Remodeler's Top 500 Nationals List and was recognized as No. 1 in the "Best Bathroom Renovations" category on Bob Vila's 2022 Best Home Improvement Contractors of 2022 Ranking. The franchise is building off this momentum for repeated success throughout 2023, with a goal of awarding 25 franchise agreements while strengthening performance and same-store-sales.
For more information on Re-Bath and franchise opportunities, visit www.rebathfranchise.com/ or call 888-454-8842.
*The figures reflect average and median sales revenue and average gross profits for 36 Re-Bath franchised businesses with territories of between 1.25 million and 2.5 million residents, and which were in operation for at least one year. These averages and medians are based on a 52-week fiscal period from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. Of these 36 franchised businesses, 11 (or 31%) attained or exceeded the average sales revenue and 15 (or 42%) attained or exceeded the average gross profit. Some outlets have sold this amount. Individual results may vary. There is no assurance that you will sell as much as the average. See the Re-Bath 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document for details.
About Re-Bath
Re-Bath is the nation's largest complete bathroom remodeling franchise that has grown to more than 100 locations across the country. The parent company's first entry in the bathroom remodeling industry occurred in 1978 and focused on the hospitality sector. In 1991, Re-Bath launched its first franchise location to focus on the residential market. The company offers complete bathroom remodels, tub and shower updates, plus aging and accessibility solutions. From simple bathtub replacements to complete bathroom redesigns, Re-Bath makes bathroom remodeling effortless, convenient and affordable, all with professional, friendly and factory-trained installers. Re-Bath is a one-stop service that covers the entire process from design to done in three easy steps: consultation, removal, and installation. Re-Bath assembles its own exclusive line of products at its headquarters located in Phoenix, Ariz., and offers best-in-class products from national brands for its customers. For more information, please visit www.rebath.com or www.rebathfranchise.com for more details on the franchise opportunity.
Media Contact: Marisa Beaumont, Fishman Public Relations, (847) 945-1300 or [email protected]
SOURCE Re-Bath
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ShardSecure, a leading provider of cloud data security and resilience software, is pleased to welcome Joe Sorial as its new VP of Product. With extensive experience in the field, Sorial will help continue ShardSecure's significant momentum in the cloud data security market.
Sorial joins ShardSecure from his most recent position as VP of Product Management at Gurucul, a global cybersecurity and analytics company. Prior to that, he worked as a security solutions executive for global VAD, MSP, and solution provider ePlus, and in several VP and leadership roles at Lumeta Corporation, acquired by FireMon in 2018.
With additional experience as a product manager at companies including Sirius XM Radio, ALK Technologies, and Motorola Mobility, Sorial will bring significant management expertise to ShardSecure. He will be responsible for leading the company's product vision and technology roadmap at ShardSecure.
"I'm excited to join ShardSecure at this pivotal point in the company's growth," Sorial said. "ShardSecure is tackling many of the complex challenges of today's cybersecurity landscape, while putting control of critical data back in the hands of its customers. I look forward to being part of this great team and overseeing the product as it continues to evolve."
ShardSecure's mission is to help companies regain control of their data. Its technology provides strong file-level protection, strengthens data privacy, mitigates ransomware, and supports cross-border regulatory compliance and cost savings in the cloud. Its self-healing data also helps companies maintain high availability and provides robust data resilience in the face of outages, attacks, and other disruptions.
"Joe is a seasoned product leader with invaluable knowledge in our field," said Bob Lam, CEO and Co-Founder of ShardSecure. "We're looking forward to his help with leading product strategy and working with the team to further develop our technology vision and capabilities. His presence will help us continue our rapid progress as we become a major cloud data security partner for Fortune 1000 enterprises and beyond."
About ShardSecure
Regain control of your data with ShardSecure. Our innovative technology lets companies enjoy the flexibility and cost savings of securing their data wherever they want: on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid-cloud architectures. With ShardSecure, companies can enjoy stronger security and resilience without surrendering control of their data, putting their confidentiality at risk, or redesigning their workflows. To learn more, visit www.shardsecure.com.
Media Contact
[email protected]
SOURCE ShardSecure
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE: HMC), and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and docketed under 23-cv-00794, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Honda American Depository Shares ("ADSs") between June 20, 2018 and September 28, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Honda ADSs securities during the Class Period, you have until April 3, 2023 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
Honda is a multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment. The Company's U.S.-based operations are conducted through its North American subsidiary, American Honda Motor Company, Inc. ("American Honda").
Certain of Honda's vehiclesincluding the 2018-2020MY Honda Odyssey, 2016-2020MY Honda Pilot, 2019-2020MY Honda Passport, 2015-2020MY Acura TLX, and 2015-2020MY Acura MDXinclude a so-called "Idle Stop" engine feature, purportedly to enhance fuel efficiency. In marketing these vehicles, Honda and/or its subsidiaries have highlighted the Idle Stop system's purported capacity to automatically shut off a vehicle's engine to save fuel when the vehicle brakes to a stop for at least two secondsfor example, at a traffic lightand to automatically restart the engine when the driver releases the vehicle's brake pedal.
The complaint alleges that, Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Honda had overstated the safety and effectiveness of the Idle Stop engine feature; (ii) Honda maintained deficient disclosure controls and procedures with respect to product quality and safety; (iii) as a result of the foregoing deficiencies, Honda failed to prevent American Honda from marketing and selling thousands of vehicles that contained a defective Idle Stop feature; (iv) the foregoing conduct subjected the Company and/or its subsidiaries to a heightened risk of litigation, as well as financial and/or reputational harm; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On September 28, 2022, a putative class action was filed against American Honda alleging that it had sold thousands of vehiclesincluding the 2018-2020 Honda Odyssey, 2016-2020 Honda Pilot, 2019-2020 Honda Passport, 2015-2020 Acura TLX, and 2015-2020 Acura MDXequipped with a flawed Idle Stop feature.[1] Per the allegations in the class action complaint, after initially shutting off a vehicle's engine, the Idle Stop system in the affected vehicles routinely fails to restart the engine as designed, leaving drivers unable to move their vehicles. The lawsuit further alleges that American Honda was fully aware of the defect before marketing the vehicles. [[1] Cooper et al v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., No. 1:22-cv-05299 (N.D. Ill.)]
On this news, Honda's ADS price fell $0.74 per share, or 3.23%, to close at $22.19 per ADS on September 29, 2022.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
[email protected]
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
BEIJING, HOHHOT and ORDOS, China, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (HKG: 0386, "Sinopec") held launching ceremonies of its first hydrogen demonstration project in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Inner Mongolia Erdos Wind-Solar Green Hydrogen Project (the "Project"), on February 16 in Beijing, Hohhot and Erdos.
Sinopec Launches the Worlds Largest Green Hydrogen-Coal Chemical Project in Inner Mongolia.
The Project will utilize the rich solar and wind energy resources in the Erdos region to produce green hydrogen directly, projecting to reach an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons of green hydrogen and 240,000 tons of green oxygen, which will be used for the carbon reduction initiatives of the adjacent ZTHC Energy intensive coal processing pilot project in Erdos.
A milestone in Sinopec's hydrogen development roadmap following its green hydrogen pilot project in Kuqa Xinjiang in 2021, the Project, the world's largest in the green hydrogen coal-chemical field, will further expand China's and global green hydrogen production capacity, promote the development of the green hydrogen industry chain and advance China's green energy goals.
The Project's scope covers wind and photovoltaic power generation, power transmission and transformation, hydrogen production by water electrolysis, hydrogen storage and transport. The installed power-generating capacity of wind and PV power will reach 450 megawatts and 270 megawatts respectively; the hydrogen production by water electrolysis will achieve a capacity of 30,000 tons annually, and the hydrogen storage capacity will reach 288,000 standard cubic meters.
With a 5.7-billion-yuan (USD 828.04 million) investment, the project is estimated to reduce carbon emission by 1.43 million tons annually, contributing 600 million yuan (USD 87.17 million) in GDP and 30 million yuan (USD 4.36 million) of tax.
"The Project is of great significance to guaranteeing China's energy security, building new energy systems and advancing green energy and low-carbon development in Inner Mongolia, leading towards a new, high-quality development roadmap that prioritizes ecological conservation and green development," said Ma Yongsheng, Chairman of Sinopec.
The Project has achieved numerous technological breakthroughs including hydrogen production under renewable fluctuating power conditions. Leveraging advanced clean energy production technologies (wind, power, and hydrogen production by water electrolysis), Sinopec has lowered hydrogen production costs and improved system efficiency while guaranteeing safety and reliability.
Looking ahead, Sinopec, as China's largest hydrogen production enterprise, will continue advancing hydrogen energy industry chain development in China with the R&D of innovative technologies, a forward-looking roadmap and comprehensive industry layout.
SOURCE SINOPEC
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Breathing practice as well as gradual aerobic exercise may help improve concussion symptoms in teens experiencing slow recovery, according to a preliminary study released February 21, 2023, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 75th Annual Meeting being held in person in Boston and live online from April 22-27, 2023. The study found that while the two therapies are each beneficial separately, when combined they resulted in even greater improvement in thinking and memory skills, depression and mood.
Slow recovery was defined as taking more than one month for concussion symptoms to resolve. Symptoms can include headache and dizziness, depression and mood problems as well as problems with memory and concentration.
"When someone has a concussion, it can affect the body's autonomic nervous system, and it is increasingly clear that this underlies the inability to tolerate exercise, problems with thinking skills and mood issues in those with persisting symptoms," said study author R. Davis Moore, PhD, of the University of South Carolina in Columbia. "Our study used a handheld biofeedback device to help people train their breathing to match their heart rate patterns. This can help balance the autonomic nervous system and manage symptoms."
Heart rate variability represents the range in the amount of time between heartbeats. For example, a person may have a range of 60 to 100 beats per minute. Like brain function, all people have changes in their variability after a concussion, which usually return to normal within a few weeks. However, for those with persisting symptoms, these changes continue as if they are stuck in the time period around the injury.
The study involved 30 teenagers who were injured during sport and recreation and experienced symptoms for more than a month. Participants were divided into three groups and matched on age, gender, physical activity level, and body mass index. The biofeedback group practiced breathing at a slow rate with a computer program for 20 minutes a night, four nights a week. The exercise group completed three workouts a week, starting at 20 minutes of low intensity aerobic activity, which gradually increased in intensity and duration. The third group did both biofeedback and exercise.
Researchers assessed concussion symptoms, heart rate variability, sleep, mood and thinking and memory skills for all participants at the start of the study and again six weeks later.
Researchers found that although all groups experienced improved sleep, mood, cognition, and autonomic function, those in the combined biofeedback and exercise group reported greater improvements than those in the groups with exercise or biofeedback alone.
Those in the combined biofeedback and exercise group experienced a two times greater reduction in symptom severity compared to people in the exercise group, as well as a 1.3 times greater reduction in symptom severity compared to people in the biofeedback group.
Similarly, the combined group experienced a 1.2 times greater reduction in symptoms of depression compared to the exercise group, and 1.3 times greater reduction than the biofeedback group.
The combined group also experienced more than 1.4 times the reduction in total mood disturbance than exercise or biofeedback alone.
In addition, the combined group had significantly greater improvements in attention and working memory, as well as greater changes in metrics of heart rate variability than the exercise or biofeedback groups alone.
"Managing persistent concussion symptoms is particularly challenging as there are no standard therapies," said Moore. "These therapies are inexpensive, easy to implement, and can be self-administered, making them feasible and accessible for everyone with persistent symptoms."
A limitation of the study was that it did not include a control group of people who received no intervention. Furthermore, the current results are preliminary and future studies are needed with larger groups of people.
The study was supported by the nonprofit Woodcock Institute at Texas Woman's University.
Learn more about concussion at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting hashtag #AANAM.
The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 38,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
SOURCE American Academy of Neurology
TOLEDO, Spain, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Robotican's hybrid drone system, the Rooster, successfully performed a building scan-and-clear mission for the Spanish armed forces during an exercise that simulated a hostile urban environment, efficiently providing vital information and real-time video for intelligence assessment.
Robotican's semi-autonomous ISR system
Telefonica Ltd. collaborated with Robotican during the Foro 2E+i - Fuerza 2035 military exercise (Foro 2E+i - Fuerza 2035 2022 in Toledo, Spain). The event included the Spanish armed forces executing ground drills against enemy positions in a building while using the Robotican Rooster. The SPF company scanned and cleared the buildings as part of a breaching maneuver to penetrate the compound while keeping forces out of harm's way.
While the company physically secured the bottom floor, the Rooster, controlled by a Robotican operator located two kilometers away, scanned the upper floors and relayed real-time intelligence to the forces on the ground. In a second scenario, the team deployed the Rooster through a hole in the building's roof and scanned the building while the company waited for the signal to begin its assault.
The Rooster is a revolutionary, safe and easy-to-operate hybrid system for indoor and underground unmanned reconnaissance missions. The combination of ground robotics and drone capabilities provides a rapidly deployable platform with long-endurance capabilities to support indoor missions. Mesh communication increases effectiveness in underground and communication-denied areas. Additional payloads can be mounted on the Rooster to meet the diverse end-user requirements of modern militaries, special forces, first responders, HLS (homeland security) forces, and commercial organizations. Thanks to its flexible cage, the Rooster is capable of rolling over all types of terrain and flying over obstacles, staircases, furniture, or through windows. The cage prevents any damage to the drone caused by in-flight collisions with structural obstacles.
Robotican specializes in developing and manufacturing autonomous robotics and drones for challenging operational needs, with proven results. Since 2013, the company has supplied unique, creative robots and drones to the defense, HLS, and civilian sectors.
PR Contact:
Shmaya Bender
Business Development
[email protected]
Johnny Carni
VP Marketing
[email protected]
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2006745/Robotican.jpg
SOURCE Robotican
Investors will choose income, growth or debt fund based on personal wealth journey, risk-adjusted return
GOLDEN, Colo., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Spartan Investment Group (Spartan), a Colorado-based privately held real estate investment firm specializing in the self-storage industry, announced today the launch of the Spartan Storage Funds. Spartan Chief Investment Officer, Ryan Gibson, made the announcement.
The three funds are categorized by income, growth and debt. Each fund provides optionality to accredited investors to choose how to invest in the growing self-storage industry based on their wealth journey, goals and risk-preference. The funds are focused on building, maintaining or acquiring self storage facilities in key growth markets across the U.S.
Spartan Investment Group launches three self storage funds categorized by income, growth and debt for investors. Tweet this
"We're thrilled to launch our next series of self storage investment funds for accredited investors looking for passive investing opportunities that are fit for their specific wealth goals," said Gibson. "There is a fund option for every investor persona, whether you're just starting out on your passive investing journey or a veteran investor with an established portfolio, the self storage industry continues to be a strong bet to build wealth."
The Spartan Storage Income Fund is a $75M equity fund that welcomes accredited investors to invest in value-add self-storage facilities in key markets throughout the U.S. The Spartan Storage Income Fund will purchase well-vetted self-storage investment opportunities. The fund allows investors to spread out risk, potentially earn better returns, and reduce investment complexity. The fund will open in early March.
The Spartan Storage Growth Fund is a $45M equity fund that welcomes accredited investors to invest in opportunistic self-storage facilities in key markets throughout the U.S. The Spartan Storage Growth Fund will purchase well-vetted ground-up development and lease-up investment opportunities. The fund allows investors to spread out risk, potentially earn better returns, and reduce investment complexity. The fund will open in early March alongside the Spartan Income Fund.
The Spartan Storage Debt Fund is a $60M debt fund that welcomes accredited investors to invest in notes for Spartan Investment Group self-storage projects in key markets throughout the U.S. The Spartan Storage Debt Fund will provide debt to well-vetted ground-up, lease-up, and value-add investment opportunities that Spartan controls. The fund allows investors to spread out risk and reduce investment complexity. The fund will open at the end of March.
Those who invest into The Spartan Funds within the first 45 days of launch will receive elevated investor positioning or a higher share class leading to higher potential splits and returns. The minimum investment required to invest into any of the three Spartan Storage Funds is $50,000. The waitlist is now open, and hundreds have already joined. For more information, visit www.spartan-investors.com/2023-funds .
About Spartan Investment Group: Founded in 2014 and based in Golden, Colorado, Spartan Investment Group is a privately held real estate investment firm specializing in the self-storage industry. With an unwavering commitment to creating value through values, Spartan's network of over 9K investors have raised $250M+, to acquire nearly 60 facilities totaling 30K+ units and $500M AUM across the United Statesall in under a decade.
SOURCE Spartan Investment Group
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1988 Dr. Leon Steinberg, Dr. David Steinberg, and Dr. Mark Winkler watched as the construction of the very first Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI) building was finalized. As SDMI remembers the life of Dr. Leon Steinberg, they look back at what has grown from his dreams. SDMI may have opened its doors 35 years ago, but Dr. Leon saw the potential of a dedicated outpatient radiology practice long before that. "My father often reminded us that it takes hard work and dedication, but he knew what SDMI could become and gave us the vision to build on," says Dr. David Steinberg.
Left to Right: Dr.'s Mark Winkler, David Steinberg and Leon Steinberg breaking ground at Steinberg Diagnostic first location on Maryland Parkway in Las Vegas.
On February 28, 2023, Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI) will celebrate its thirty-fifth anniversary as one of the most successful outpatient radiology providers in the Las Vegas Valley healthcare system. A company-wide staff celebration will occur from 12 pm to 1 pm on February 22. SDMI will be closed during this time so employees can enjoy a hosted party. Regular business hours will resume at 1 pm. Patients with appointments on February 28 will receive a party favor.
Upon the 35th anniversary of SDMI, the future looks bright as they expand their community reach with a new location in Summerlin, opening in April. Soon having 11 locations across southern Nevada makes SDMI more convenient and accessible than ever. They invite you to follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates and announcements.
SDMI's mission to invest in the community is most evident by offering cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment procedures and providing an exceptional patient experience. They aim to serve patients' radiology needs with dignity, compassion, and attentive care. Always greeting patients with a smile and striving to make their visits as stress-free and comfortable as possible. SDMI prides itself on providing highly qualified and medical professionals. Further, SDMI offers outpatient radiology services focusing on timely and accurate results utilizing state-of-the-art technology for modalities which include MRI, PET/CT, 3D Mammography, Nuclear Medicine, Ultrasound, Dexa Scan, Interventional Radiology, Fluoroscopy, and X-Ray.
Steinberg's facilities provide the most advanced imaging technology available in a community-based setting. All facilities offer modern and comfortable waiting rooms with free Wi-Fi and convenient free parking.
SDMI has no plans of slowing down in the years to come. You can continue to expect the same exceptional standards of patient care, top-notch equipment, and community involvement.
SOURCE Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sweetwater Investment Management ("Sweetwater" or "Sweetwater Private Equity" (dba)) is holding its fourth annual investor meeting at Torrey Pines Lodge where it will announce Priya Abani, CEO of AliveCor, as the 2022 recipient of the Sweetwater Leadership and Innovation Award. Each year, Sweetwater selects one of the most innovative and inspiring leaders from its portfolio companies for this honor. Prior recipients include Chad Robbins (2019), CEO of Adaptive Biotechnologies, James Rodgers (2020), Founder & CEO of Apeel Sciences, and Adam Goldenberg (2021), Co-Founder and CEO of Fabletics.
"We thank everyone for supporting the growth of our company and especially our existing investors." --Priya Abani, CEO of AliveCor Tweet this Sweetwater is recognizing Ms. Abanis accomplishments in advancing AliveCor to become the largest AI-driven consumer subscription service in the world for cardiovascular care.
Sweetwater is recognizing Ms. Abani's accomplishments in advancing AliveCor to become the largest AI-driven consumer subscription service in the world for cardiovascular care. Since joining AliveCor as CEO in 2019, Ms. Abani has led the growth into enterprise markets with reimbursed monitoring services for healthcare providers, partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations for remote cardiac safety testing and is overseeing the development of a comprehensive condition management service offering for cardiology. Under her leadership, the world's first and only six-lead personal EKG device KardiaMobile 6L was brought to market, followed by KardiaCare Membership options which offers subscribers a suite of enhanced features, including evaluations of their heart data by board-certified cardiologists.
"We thank everyone for supporting the growth of our company and especially our existing investors. This support is helping us to evolve into a full-stack cardiological solution for providers, payors, employers, and patients, with offerings that go beyond our devices," said Ms. Abani.
About Sweetwater Private Equity
Sweetwater Private Equity (www.sweetwaterpe.com) is a boutique private equity manager that specializes in niche secondary opportunities. Sweetwater is a leader of Buyer-led direct and fund restructure secondary transactions transactions where the buyer drives the asset selection and fund restructure process. Sweetwater focuses on venture capital, growth equity and small buyout opportunities with an emphasis in the healthcare, technology, and consumer sectors.
SOURCE Sweetwater Investment Management
HOUSTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sewa International has raised $60,000 to help Turkey and Syria earthquake victims till now. Sewa has $45,000 through its website and $15,000 in its Facebook fundraising campaign. Volunteers from Sewa International's partner organization, Food For Life (FFL), have started relief work in the earthquake-hit areas, serving about 800-1200 meals daily in villages near Antakya, the capital of Hatay Province.
Sewa's partner ISKCON's Food For Life volunteers (right) serving earthquake survivors (left) near Antakya, Turkey. Sewa International's partner organization ISKCON's Food For Life volunteer preparing food in a village near Antakya
FFL is an International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) initiative and the world's most extensive vegetarian food distribution program serving millions of meals daily, serving people in 65 countries.
In addition, Sewa Houston's AmeriCorps team organized a donation drive on February 18 and collected food, clothes, hygiene items, tents, hand warmers, shoes, and baby necessities. The team is working with the National Association of Christian Churches (NACC) to deliver more than 200 boxes containing these items to Turkey and Syria through a Turkish Airlines flight.
Meanwhile, FFL volunteers from Hungary and Turkey drove a giant truck filled with cooking equipment, rice, beans, fresh vegetables, 5,000 liters of water, and other essential supplies and arrived in Antakya on February 12. They worked with the local community to identify Harbiye and two other adjoining villages to start their relief work, according to Swadesh Katoch, Sewa International's Vice President for Disaster Relief.
According to Katoch, the Turkish Ministry of Interior's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidenty (AFAD) has requested FFL to serve in Hatay. Three FFL volunteers from Turkey and four Hungarian FFL cooks, including the FFL Director from Budapest, drove about 15 hours from Istanbul to Antakya.
"ISKCON Turkey Food for Life is incredibly grateful for the generous support of Sewa USA. Our partnership with Sewa is providing much needed relief to the people who have been left with nothing. Sewa USA was one of the very first organizations to get actively involved in offering funds to keep the wheels rolling," said Caitanya Chandra Das, coordinator of Turkey earthquake relief efforts from ISKCON's Food For Life.
"We are working with Sewa Canada, Sewa Europe, and ISKCON's FFL to assist the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. We endeavor to provide relief to people during disasters and work with them to help them rebuild their lives. With support from our donors, partners, and volunteers, Sewa can make a real impact, as it has done so in response to many other disasters worldwide," Arun Kankani, Sewa International's President said. He appealed for donations to help Turkish and Syrian communities in need.
https://www.sewausa.org/turkeysyriaearthquakeappeal
About Sewa International
Sewa International (www.sewausa.org) is a 501 (c)(3) Hindu faith-based charitable nonprofit that works in the areas of disaster recovery, education, and development. Sewa has 43 Chapters across the USA and serves regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin.
CONTACT:
Vidyasagar Tontalapur 1 - 720-526-9939
Viswanath Koppaka 1- 404-304-0563
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.sewausa.org
SOURCE Sewa International
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Saudi-based Tanmiah Food Company ("Tanmiah" or the "Company", 2281 on the Saudi Exchange) and US-based Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) met this week in Jeddah to recognize their strategic partnership made in 2022 including the potential growth opportunities across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East.
Ahmed Osilan, Executive Board Member & Managing Director of Tanmiah Food Company and Amy Tu, President, International and Chief Administrative Officer of Tyson Foods
The event was held by the Chairman of Tanmiah Food Company H.E. Amr Al-Dabbagh and joined by esteemed Saudi government guests including Vice Minister, H.E. Eng. Mansour bin Hilal Al Mushaiti, of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and Deputy Eng. Albader bin Adil Foudah of Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, in addition to U.S. Consul General in Jeddah, Faris Asad and Commercial Counsul, Julie LeBlanc.
The partnership is well positioned to help sustainably meet the growing demand for poultry in the Kingdom, while also supporting the Kingdom's food security goals and economic growth. As one of the world's leading food companies, Tyson Foods is committed to providing protein to a growing population across the Middle East.
The companies discussed the growing Halal food market and the opportunities it presents to unlock future growth for the partnership. Both companies also discussed future expansion plans to increase the processing capacity of the Supreme Foods Processing Company. As per the partnership agreement, Tyson Foods and Tanmiah will be jointly investing in the expansion of further processing capacity. The expansion is anticipated to increase the total production capacity of Supreme Foods Processing to nearly 100,000 metric tons annually.
Zulifqar Hamadani, CEO, Tanmiah Food Company, said, "It was an honor to welcome our partners at Tyson Foods to the Kingdom as we build momentum following the recent signing of our strategic partnership that will unlock growth across the Kingdom and improve access to high-quality processed poultry products. We also believe the partnership strengthens our commitment to supporting the Kingdom's food security and self-sufficiency goals."
Ahmed Osilan, Executive Board Member & Managing Director, said, "This partnership will contribute to food security goals and bring global expertise, standards and technology to the Saudi poultry market, supporting the Kingdom's non-oil economy while also generating hundreds of jobs."
Amy Tu, President, International and Chief Administrative Officer, Tyson Foods, said, "Tyson Foods is pleased to be partnering with Tanmiah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to address the importance of food security. A key part of our strategic plan is to meet the growing global demand for protein and to serve customers and consumers with products tailored to the local market and region. Our partnership with Tanmiah Food will allow us to address that plan, especially the growing demand for Halal food. We are excited to build a long-term partnership and drive future economic activity in the Kingdom."
TAN Sun, President, Tyson Foods Asia Pacific, said, "We are committed to working together to drive operational excellence and deliver high-quality poultry products across the region. We are aligned on the need for future expansion across the value chain and improvements to production processes. We look forward to further collaboration."
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007589/Tanmiah_Food_Company.jpg
SOURCE Tanmiah Food Company
The leading mobile operator in Indonesia with its 170 million subscribers - enterprises and consumers, relies on SoftAtHome's Eyes'ON solution to enhance its mobile's quality of experience and services.
PARIS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SoftAtHome (Mobile World Congress stand 5i59), an independent software company for experience analytics, home connectivity, and services, is enabling Telkomsel in Indonesia to improve its end-user's quality of experiences at home and on the go.
Supporting the telecommunication service provider since 2018, Eyes'ON Mobile enables Telkomsel, the 6th biggest mobile operator in the world, to monitor the Quality of Experience and Services in a massive, automated, and transparent way for the end-users.
Answering Telkomsel's need for a constant provision of the best subscriber experience, SoftAtHome has delivered an innovative and versatile technology embedded in end-user's mobile applications, empowering them with self-care tools and complete diagnosis of their network. Such applications as My Telkomsel or ByU host the Eyes'ON Mobile SDK for accurate and complete individual Quality of Experience (QoE) and Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring directly from GPS-located smartphones.
Beyond transparent and dynamic monitoring of connected mobile experience, Eyes'ON technology simplifies communication between Telkomsel and its subscribers: instead of calling the hotline when the end-user experiences an issue, an easy-to-use in-app ticketing feature allows instant notification to Telkomsel, resulting in faster more cost-effective problem resolution. Indeed, the voice of the customer has never been closer, enriched with valuable technical insights and through a channel controlled by the operator.
This feature has been deployed since mid-2021 and is widely recognised as innovative and effective in enhancing Telkomsel's subscriber experience.
"Nowadays, a great quality of mobile experience, from anywhere, is part of the service our subscribers expect from us," explains Mr Alvo Ismail, General Manager of the Service and Experience Quality Division of Telkomsel. "We have an excellent collaboration with SoftAtHome's experts in QoE and QoS, and we extensively use the Eyes'ON mobile application, whether for our enterprise or b2c customers. Since we launched the service, we have seen our customer satisfaction increase".
"For many years, we have been working with Telkomsel, and with the support and expertise of our local partner GMI, we endeavour to ease their day-to-day missions to improve the quality of experience for their end-users," adds David Viret-Lange, CEO of SoftAtHome. "Our Eyes'ON solution allows fixed and mobile operators to improve and guarantee the best possible QoE and QoS, thanks to an end-to-end connected experience monitoring solution. We are happy to see that thanks to our solution, Telkomsel subscriber satisfaction has increased at home and on the go."
Meet SoftAtHome in Barcelona in Hall 5, stand I59, from February 27th to March 2nd, 2023.
About SoftAtHome
SoftAtHome is an independent software provider with six different solutions for broadband (Connect'ON), Wi-Fi (Wifi'ON), Security (Secure'ON), Smart Home (Things'ON), video (Watch'ON), analytics and QoE monitoring (Eyes'ON). The company's products are deployed by Telecom and Broadcast operators in over 25 million home networks and millions of mobile devices. The company, owned by operators, has over 300 employees, mainly software engineers committed to open-source communities such as prpl or RDK. SoftAtHome's hybrid products uniquely leverage the best from Cloud-based software components and software embedded in multiple mobile and fixed devices.
For more information: www.softathome.com or [email protected]
For Press Information Contact:
Marta Twardowska for SoftAtHome
E: [email protected]
T: @SoftAtHome
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2006786/SoftAtHome_Telkomsel_Logo.jpg
SOURCE SoftAtHome
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BestMarijuanaGuide.com, a comprehensive directory for cannabis products and suppliers, has recognized The Canna CPAs as the top Marijuana & Cannabis Accounting Firm.
As a renowned national speaker on cannabis tax and accounting, Suchoff has been a speaker numerous times in states all over the country for CWCBE, MJBizCon, USCC, Lucky Leaf, Canna One, CannaTech and more.
According to Founder and principal Sandy Suchoff, CPA, "This accolade is a testament to our team's hard work and dedication, and we are incredibly proud to be recognized in this way. At The Canna CPAs, we understand that the success of our clients is of the utmost importance. That is why we take a proactive approach to our work by consistently investing in learning and staying up to date with the latest cannabis financial and tax regulations. Our dedication to exceptional customer service and technical expertise sets us apart from others in the industry."
The Canna CPAs understand the unique challenges that businesses in the cannabis industry face, particularly regarding tax compliance under IRC 280E. Their cannabis CPA services are tailored to address these specific needs and help their clients save significant sums of money each year. Additionally, their services for the cannabis industry provide protection for clients in the event of a tax audit. They are dedicated to offering the highest level of service and expertise to their clients and are constantly looking up for ways to improve and help them achieve their financial goals. They strive to go above and beyond the status quo to ensure the success of their clients.
At The Canna CPAs, they see themselves as the financial navigators for their cannabis accounting clients. As part-time cannabis CFOs for many companies, they work hand-in-hand with business owners to chart a course toward financial success. They pride themselves on taking the time to fully understand the unique needs and goals of each client and then using their expertise in financial forecasting, budgeting, and modeling to chart a path forward. As a firm, they are always on the lookout for new revenue opportunities and ways to help clients stay ahead of the curve. They serve as a personal financial compass, guiding clients toward a brighter financial future.
"All of our hard work pays off," Suchoff added. "We are proud to get this recognition from BestMarijuanaGuide.com, and we will continue to strive to provide the best-needed service to our cannabis clients. Thank you to all our clients for entrusting us with your financial needs and to BestMarijuanaGuide.com for this prestigious recognition."
The Canna CPAs is an experienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated team of cannabis and hemp accounting and tax experts. Established in 1997, the firm specializes in the cannabis and hemp space, catering to all verticals, such as cultivators, processors, and retailers. Their team strategically counsels and advises owners, managers, and investors in all legal cannabis states, assisting them with key financial activities.
As a renowned national speaker on cannabis tax and accounting, Suchoff has been a speaker numerous times in states all over the country for CWCBE, MJBIZCON, USCC, Lucky Leaf, Canna One, CannaTech, NJ Canna Business, NECANN, Athletes In Cannabis, CannaCon and more.
Visit The Canna CPAs website to learn more, reach the firm at 833.272.2262 or email at [email protected].
Contact:
Sandy Suchoff
(833) 272-2262
[email protected]
SOURCE The Canna CPAs
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Bearings Market 2023-2027
The analyst has been monitoring the bearings market and is forecast to grow by $13022.13 mn during 2022-2027, accelerating at a CAGR of 2.97% during the forecast period. Our report on the bearings market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors.
Source: ReportLinker
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p01045480/?utm_source=PRN
The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by strong demand for high-quality bearings, growing adoption of automation in the manufacturing process, and APAC acting as a market enabler.
The bearings market is segmented as below:
By Product
Anti-friction bearings
Magnetic bearings
Other bearings
By End-user
Automotive industry
Heavy industry
ARS industry
Others
By Geographical Landscape
APAC
Europe
North America
South America
Middle East and Africa
This study identifies the increasing adoption of electric vehicles as one of the prime reasons driving the bearings market growth during the next few years. Also, OEMs enhancing production activities to achieve higher performance levels and increase in adoption of additive manufacturing will lead to sizable demand in the market.
The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our report on the bearings market covers the following areas:
Bearings market sizing
Bearings market forecast
Bearings market industry analysis
This robust vendor analysis is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading bearings market vendors that include AB SKF, ASAHI SEIKO Co. Ltd., Bharat Forge Ltd., C and U Americas, HKT BEARINGS Ltd., JTEKT Corp., Luoyang JCB Bearing Technology Co. Ltd., LYC Bearing Corp., MinebeaMitsumi Inc., myonic GmbH, NACHI FUJIKOSHI Corp., NBI Bearings Europe SA, NSK Ltd., RBC Bearings Inc., Regal Rexnord Corp., Schaeffler AG, THB Bearings Co. Ltd., The Timken Co., Wafangdian Guangyang Bearing Group Co. Ltd., and NTN Corp. Also, the bearings market analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage all forthcoming growth opportunities.
The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors.
The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research - both primary and secondary. Technavio's market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast accurate market growth.
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p01045480/?utm_source=PRN
About Reportlinker
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
Contact Clare: [email protected]
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Intl: +1 339-368-6001
SOURCE Reportlinker
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Wind Turbine Bearing Market 2023-2027
The analyst has been monitoring the wind turbine bearing market and is forecast to grow by $9287.77 mn during 2022-2027, accelerating at a CAGR of 10.82% during the forecast period. Our report on the wind turbine bearing market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors.
Source: ReportLinker
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p04213410/?utm_source=PRN
The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by decreasing levelized cost of electricity of wind energy, favorable government policies, and growth in the wind turbine market.
The wind turbine bearing market is segmented as below:
By Application
Onshore
Offshore
By Product
GBMB
BBYBGB
By Geographical Landscape
APAC
Europe
North America
South America
Middle East and Africa
This study identifies the rise in demand for wind turbine bearing with increasing onshore wind power installations as one of the prime reasons driving the wind turbine bearing market growth during the next few years. Also, rising number of offshore wind farm installations and rising environmental concerns will lead to sizable demand in the market.
The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our report on the wind turbine bearing market covers the following areas:
Wind turbine bearing market sizing
Wind turbine bearing market forecast
Wind turbine bearing market industry analysis
This robust vendor analysis is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading wind turbine bearing market vendors that include AB SKF, Dalian Metallurgical Bearing Co. Ltd., Defontaine SAS, Fersa Bearings SA, Groupe Legris Industries, ILJIN Co. Ltd., IMO Holding GmbH, JTEKT Corp., Liebherr International AG, LYC Bearing Corp., NRB Bearings Ltd., NSK Ltd., NTN Corp., Schaeffler AG, Scheerer Bearing Corp., TFL BEARINGS Co., Ltd., The Timken Co., thyssenkrupp AG, Wafangdian Guangda Bearing Manufacturing Co., Ltd, and Zhejiang Tianma Bearing Group Co. Ltd. Also, the wind turbine bearing market analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage all forthcoming growth opportunities.
The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors.
The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research - both primary and secondary. Technavio's market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast accurate market growth.
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p04213410/?utm_source=PRN
About Reportlinker
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
Contact Clare: [email protected]
US: (339)-368-6001
Intl: +1 339-368-6001
SOURCE Reportlinker
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest research report, the US alternative legal service providers market will grow at a CAGR of 20.91% during 2022-2028. Focus shift to delivery, injection of investments, a rise of self-service functions, blurring lines between traditional and alternative, and adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud technology are trends in the U.S. alternative legal service provider's market.
U.S. Alternative Legal Service Providers Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2023-2028
Alternative legal service providers leverage low overheads and technology to offer their services with added advantages, i.e., efficiency at a low cost, simplicity, speed, flexibility, and a strong client focus. These businesses typically pick up and enhance legal processes to improve performance, leading to new service categories emerging over the years. Alternative legal service providers do not operate as law firms but as legal services firms. Apart from performing high-volume tasks, the U.S. alternative legal service providers market provides key functions like financial management, client engagement, strategic planning, knowledge management, and leveraging technology and data.
The U.S. Alternative Legal Service Providers Market Report Scope
Report Attributes Details Market Size (2028) USD 23.04 Billion Market Size (2022) USD 7.37 Billion CAGR (2022-2028) 20.91 % Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023-2028 Market Segmentation Analysis Service, Provider, and End-user Geographic Analysis United States Page Number 205 Key Vendors Allen & Overy, Axiom Law, Elevate Services, UnitedLex, Clifford Chance, Consilio, Epiq Systems, Everlaw, Exigent, Greenberg Traurig, Integreon, KLDiscovery, LegalZoom, Lawyers On Demand, Mindcrest, Reed Smith, Lumen Technologies, Morae, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, QuisLex, and Thomson Reuters Customization Request If our report does not include the information you are searching for, you may contact us to have a report tailored to your specific business needs https://www.arizton.com/customize-report/3722
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The US alternative legal service providers market remains fragmented as vendors expand their business units due to the high demand for ALSP services. Mergers and acquisitions have emerged as a prominent growth strategy in the market. The market continues to experience investment activities in mergers and acquisitions as service providers seek new opportunities, new client engagement, and new capabilities to build a reputation and position themselves in the market.
Trends & Opportunities
Adoption of AI & Cloud Technologies: AI and cloud technology will enable alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) to work remotely and make legal processes easy and smooth. Law firms benefit from adopting AI and robotic process automation to produce highly standardized documents and confidential agreements. The advent of cloud technology allows applications to run smoothly on third-party servers without extensive in-house storage. ALSPs invest in cloud technologies, AI, and cybersecurity solutions to make their work easy. However, consumers across the globe are now spending more time on digital services, such as taking legal advice online. Modern-day customers are tech-savvy. With significant technological developments, customers seek convenient ways to procure legal services in less time. Therefore, ALSPs must focus on cloud-based technologies and AI-based automation solutions to enhance their services across the US.
Blurring Lines Between Traditional and Alternative Law Firms: The alternative legal service providers (ALSP) space is expected to mirror this as clients increasingly look to new players offering services once sought by these law firms. These services can be integrated with the client's existing infrastructure and are powered by innovative technologies. This reflects a shift in the overall buy/sell dynamic of legal services, which is expected to come to a point where ALSPs will be tagged as standard and not a substitute or alternative option in the coming years.
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Analysis of competitor's performance.
Competitive Landscape
With the phasing out of the concept of a full-service law firm, several privately-owned non-legal companies have increased the US legal services market, which conventional legal service providers once dominated. Such developments have had significant consequences on the legal field regarding socio-political dynamics and power relations, including cultural, organizational, and societal implications for law practice. Consequently, most US legal firms focus on reshaping their organizational structure and business models to ensure a sustainable presence and gain a competitive edge.
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Key Company Profiles
Allen & Overy
Axiom Law
Elevate Services
UnitedLex
Clifford Chance
Consilio
Epiq Systems
Everlaw
Exigent
Greenberg Traurig
Integreon
KLDiscovery
LegalZoom
Lawyers On Demand
Mindcrest
Reed Smith
Lumen Technologies
Morae
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
& Sutcliffe QuisLex
Thomson Reuters
Market Segmentation
Service
Investigation and Litigation Support
eDiscovery
Contract Management
Document Review and Coding
Legal Research
Regulatory Risk and Compliance
Others
Provider
New Law Companies
Staffing/Recruiting and Contract Lawyer Companies
Captive LPOs
Other Providers
End-User
Law Firms
Large Firms
Mid-Sized Firms
Small Firms
Corporations
To find out more, visit www.arizton.com or follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn , and Facebook
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U.S. Corporate Wellness Market - The corporate wellness market will reach USD 22.65 billion by 2027. The US is the leading country in the North American corporate wellness market. Due to increasing industry competition, employees are working under high pressure to address business challenges. Therefore, stress has an adverse impact that disrupts the work-life balance for the employees. Increasing awareness of mental and physical health management due to the initiatives taken up by employers will positively impact the U.S. corporate wellness market.
U.S. Employee Assistance Program Services Market - The U.S. employee assistance program services market is expected to reach $3 billion by 2027 from $1 billion in 2021. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a confidential program that assists employees in overcoming various life difficulties that may negatively impact job performance, health, or personal well-being to maximize an organization's success. Employees with personal and work-related concerns include stress, financial, legal, family, and workplace conflicts, and alcohol and substance use disorders. EAP services majorly include assessments, counseling, and referrals. EAPs also frequently collaborate with upper management and supervisors to provide prior planning for organizational changes, legal issues, emergency preparedness, and traumatic event reaction.
U.S. IT Staffing Market - The U.S. IT staffing market is expected to reach USD 43.68 billion by 2027. The trend of a rising contingent workforce driven by the need for scalability, flexibility, and minimized risk is fueling the US IT staffing market's growth. The IT staffing industry continues to be an integral part of the overall staffing industry in the US. The US temporary staffing market remains positive due to consistent IT sector investments, economic stability, and technological advancements. Further, high billing rates and increasing use of social media recruitment platforms drive millennials towards top-notch IT jobs.
U.S. Workplace Stress Management Market - The U.S. workplace stress management market is projected to reach USD 3.7 billion by 2027. The pandemic aggravated stress, driving demand for therapeutic intervention and demonstrating the need for equitable and accessible mental health benefits. The disaster distress helpline, a federal crisis hotline operated by the substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, has increased by over 300% in calls since February 2020. The U.S. workplace stress management market is particularly growing, with vendors such as ComPsysch, LabCorp, ActiveHealth, CuraLinc Healthcare, and Marino Wellness offering services at workplaces.
Table of Content
1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
3 RESEARCH PROCESS
4 SCOPE & COVERAGE
4.1 MARKET DEFINITION
4.1.1 INCLUSIONS
4.1.2 EXCLUSIONS
4.2 BASE YEAR
4.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
4.3.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY SERVICE
4.3.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY END-USER
4.3.3 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PROVIDER
5 REPORT ASSUMPTIONS & CAVEATS
5.1 KEY CAVEATS
5.2 CURRENCY CONVERSION
5.3 MARKET DERIVATION
6 PREMIUM INSIGHTS
6.1 MARKET DEFINITION
6.2 REPORT OVERVIEW
6.3 STATE OF THE US ECONOMY
6.3.1 IMPACT OF COVID-19
6.3.2 IMPACT OF RECESSION
6.4 SUCCESS FACTORS
6.5 OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGE ANALYSIS
6.6 SEGMENT ANALYSIS
6.7 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
7 MARKET AT A GLANCE
8 INTRODUCTION
8.1 OVERVIEW
8.2 STATE OF THE US ECONOMY
8.2.1 IMPACT OF COVID-19
8.2.2 IMPACT OF RECESSION
8.3 SUCCESS FACTORS
8.4 TRENDS IN US LEGAL INDUSTRY
9 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES & TRENDS
9.1 SHIFT OF FOCUS TO DELIVERY
9.2 INJECTION OF INVESTMENTS
9.3 RISE OF SELF-SERVICE FUNCTIONS
9.4 BLURRING LINES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE LAW FIRMS
9.5 ADOPTION OF AI & CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES
10 MARKET GROWTH ENABLERS
10.1 LEGAL DEPARTMENTS IN OVERDRIVE
10.2 SURGE IN LEGAL SPENDING
10.3 HIGH DISSATISFACTION WITH LAW FIRMS
10.4 INTENSIFYING FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION
11 MARKET RESTRAINTS
11.1 DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY CONCERNS
11.2 LACK OF PROPER ARTICULATION OF CLIENT CHALLENGES
11.3 MISPLACED PERCEPTIONS ABOUT CUSTOMER VALUE
11.4 RESISTANCE AND LACK OF RECONFIGURATION TO ALSPS
11.5 GREAT RESIGNATION IN THE LEGAL INDUSTRY
12 MARKET LANDSCAPE
12.1 MARKET OVERVIEW
12.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
12.3 FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS
12.3.1 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS
12.3.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS
12.3.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS
12.3.4 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES
12.3.5 COMPETITIVE RIVALRY
13 SERVICE
13.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE
13.2 MARKET OVERVIEW
13.3 EDISCOVERY
13.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW
13.4 INVESTIGATION AND LITIGATION SUPPORT
13.4.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
13.5 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
13.5.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
13.6 DOCUMENT REVIEW AND CODING
13.6.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
13.7 LEGAL RESEARCH
13.7.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
13.8 REGULATORY RISK AND COMPLIANCE
13.8.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
13.9 OTHER SERVICES
13.9.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
14 PROVIDER
14.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE
14.2 MARKET OVERVIEW
14.3 NEW LAW COMPANIES
14.3.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
14.4 STAFFING AND CONTRACT LAWYER COMPANIES
14.4.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
14.5 CAPTIVE LPOS
14.5.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
14.6 OTHER PROVIDERS
14.6.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
15 END USER
15.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE
15.2 MARKET OVERVIEW
15.3 LAW FIRMS
15.3.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
15.3.2 LARGE FIRMS: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
15.3.3 MID-SIZED FIRMS: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
15.3.4 SMALL FIRMS: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
15.4 CORPORATIONS
15.4.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST
16 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
16.1 COMPETITION OVERVIEW
17 KEY COMPANY PROFILES
17.1 ALLEN & OVERY
17.1.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW
17.1.2 SERVICE OFFERINGS
17.1.3 KEY STRATEGIES
17.1.4 KEY STRENGTHS
17.1.5 KEY OPPORTUNITIES
17.2 AXIOM LAW
17.3 ELEVATE SERVICES
17.4 UNITEDLEX
18 OTHER PROMINENT VENDORS
18.1 CLIFFORD CHANCE
18.1.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW
18.1.2 SERVICE OFFERINGS
18.1.3 KEY STRATEGIES
18.1.4 KEY STRENGTHS
18.2 CONSILIO
18.3 EPIQ SYSTEMS
18.4 EVERLAW
18.5 EXIGENT
18.6 GREENBERG TRAURIG
18.7 INTEGREON
18.8 KLDISCOVERY
18.9 LEGALZOOM
18.10 LAWYERS ON DEMAND
18.11 MINDCREST
18.12 REED SMITH
18.13 LUMEN TECHNOLOGIES
18.14 MORAE
18.15 ORRICK HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE
18.16 QUISLEX
18.17 THOMSON REUTERS
19 REPORT SUMMARY
19.1 KEY TAKEAWAYS
19.2 STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS
20 QUANTITATIVE SUMMARY
20.1 SERVICE
20.2 PROVIDER
20.3 END USER
21 APPENDIX
21.1 ABBREVIATIONS
About Us:
Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovative and quality-driven firm that offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients worldwide. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.
We offer comprehensive market research reports on consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals, materials, I.T. and media, logistics, and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.
Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.
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SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence
While Famine Looms, War in Ukraine Reduced the Percentage of Fully-Funded Hunger Programs in 2022, According to Action Against Hunger
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Only 47% of hunger funding needs through the UN humanitarian system are met, leaving a hunger funding gap of 53%, according to the Action Against Hunger 2023 Hunger Funding Gap Report. Released today, the analysis also found that countries experiencing the worst hunger crises received less hunger funding (by the percentage of appeals filled) than countries with lower rates of hunger.
As famine looms, the world faces a hunger funding gap of 53%. Tweet this The Action Against Hunger 2023 Hunger Funding Gap report found that countries experiencing the worst hunger crises received less hunger funding (by the percentage of appeals filled) than countries with lower rates of hunger.
While overall funding rose slightly in 2022, support was spread even thinner as needs grew. In 2022, only 3% of hunger program needs were fully funded and the majority (65%) of appeals were not even fulfilled to the halfway point. In 2021, 7% of hunger programs were fully funded and 57% of were not funded halfway. Zero nutrition-related appeals were fully funded in 2022, down from 15% in 2021.
The Action Against Hunger 2023 Hunger Funding Gap report was issued shortly before the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, which increased the cost of food, fertilizer, and energy. One in three households in Ukraine are estimated to be food insecure, and the war also has had far-reaching ripple effects. Approximately 828 million peopleone in ten worldwideare undernourished and as many as 50 million people in 45 countries are on the verge of famine.
"Before the war, all of Somalia's wheat imports came from Russia or Ukraine. By raising prices for food and fertilizer, the war in Ukraine is killing Somali children, too," said Ahmed Khalif, Country Director for Action Against Hunger in Somalia. "Our team looked at the percentage of funder-related appeals fulfilled by the global community and found that countries with lower hunger rates received more funding than countries experiencing the worst hunger crises. I see the impact, as the needs here keep growing every day."
For the report, Action Against Hunger identified 13 countries that experienced "crisis" levels of hunger or worse in 2021 and analyzed how much funding those countries subsequently received, both for ongoing and emergency hunger-related programs in 2022. The analysis draws on food insecurity data from 2021 to show what funding decisions are made after donors see where hunger is greatest. This approach controls for the potential that hunger levels would be lower in countries that receive more funding.
"Hunger is a complex issue and funding is just part of what it will take to end hunger in our lifetimes. Yet, after working for more than 40 years across 50 nationsincluding all of the countries analyzed in this reportwe know that closing the hunger funding gap is a critical step," said Eric Bebernitz, Director of External Relations, Action Against Hunger. "While some donors gave more last year, needs rose even faster than support from the global community. It's short-sighted, since according to a USAID study, each dollar invested in resilience reduces later humanitarian spending by up to $3."
The report is the result of Action Against Hunger's analysis of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Humanitarian Response Plan funding data, as well as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Population Tracking Tool (IPC).
About Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger is a nonprofit leader in a global movement to end hunger in our lifetimes. It innovates solutions, advocates for change, and reaches 24 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 50 countries, its 8,300 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. It strives to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.
SOURCE Action Against Hunger USA
Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast States Offer the Best Business Climate for Black Entrepreneurs
These Are the Top States for Black Entrepreneurs in 2023
ORANGE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As Northerners shake off the last effects of Winter, many are planning Spring trips to the mid-Atlantic or the Gulf Coast. If any of those potential vacationers are aspiring Black entrepreneurs, they might want to consider permanently relocating. Besides warm weather, the two regions offer a great business climate for business owners, according to MerchantMaverick.com's annual ranking of "The Top States for Black-Owned Businesses in 2023" report. The full study is available HERE:
MerchantMaverick.com's map of the Best States for Black Business Owners 2023
MerchantMaverick.com, the business product comparison site for business owners, discovered some intriguing regional differences corresponding to the warm Atlantic current. Mid-Atlantic states continue to be a haven for Black entrepreneurs. Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina rank at 1, 4 and 9 respectively on the state list. And, each of these state's governments have made a concentrated effort to nurture Black-owned businesses within its borders.
The Gulf Coast doesn't only share Atlantic waters, it also boasts an enticing business climate. Of the five states in that region, Louisiana, Texas and Florida, all made the top ten, appearing at #6, #8 and #10, respectively. The other two states, Alabama and Mississippi, were ranked #10 and #12 on last year's list, demonstrating that they have a generally positive environment for Black-owned businesses.
This is not to imply that Black entrepreneurs do not still face real difficulties. For example, while there was an overall decline in venture capital funding of 36 percent, VC funds for black business owners dropped 45 percent.
Key Findings
The Mid-Atlantic remains a popular region for Black entrepreneurs . This is due, in part, to a proportionally large Black population, which would tend to reduce barriers to the success of a new business.
. This is due, in part, to a proportionally large Black population, which would tend to reduce barriers to the success of a new business. Louisiana and Florida both climbed dramatically in the rankings, rising 14 and 16 spots respectively . This rise, along with the strong showing of nearby states, raised the profile of the Gulf Coast for Black-owned businesses.
. This rise, along with the strong showing of nearby states, raised the profile of the Gulf Coast for Black-owned businesses. Northern states continue to underperform . Ohio was the most highly ranked state, and only came in at number 12. New York , which has the highest number of Black-owned businesses, barely avoided the bottom half of the list at number 23 .
. was the most highly ranked state, and only came in at number 12. . Many of the trends appearing in the report may be due to hidden factors. For example, Gulf states: Florida and Texas , both of which saw a big jump in population, are performing very well.
THE TOP 10 STATES FOR BLACK ENTREPRENEURS IN 2023:
#1. Maryland
#2. Tennessee
#3. Nevada
#4. Virginia
#5. Georgia
#6. Louisiana
#7. Indiana
#8. Texas
#9. North Carolina
#10. Florida
Methodology
Researchers analyzed data from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 Annual Business Survey, the US Census Bureau's 2019 5-year American Community Survey, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and taxfoundation.org - to bring you this list. To best determine the best states for Black entrepreneurs, the researchers selected and weighted the following metrics:
These four metrics equally accounted for 75% of the overall score:
Black-owned employer businesses per capita
Percent of the workforce employed by Black-owned businesses
Average annual payroll of Black-owned businesses
Average annual income of Black business owners
And the next three metrics equally accounted for 25% of the overall score:
Cost-of-living
Unemployment rate
State income rate
"It's hard to draw a single conclusion from a study juggling so many factors," says Chris Motola, Special Projects Editor, MerchantMaverick.com. "But there must be something special about a warm Atlantic breeze."
About MerchantMaverick.com :
With more than 700,000 page views per month, MerchantMaverick.com is an online publication devoted to providing business owners with accurate, unbiased reviews for their businesses. The company's goal is to provide the most honest, accurate, and useful reviews of business products and services to empower entrepreneurs with businesses of all sizes.
For more information on this list and this topic, please contact Sarah Johnson, [email protected].
SOURCE MerchantMaverick.com
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Threat Modeling Tools Market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 0.8 billion in 2022 to USD 1.6 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 14.9% from 2022 to 2027, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Factors driving market growth include the rising need for visualization and reporting occurring threats, adherence to strict regulatory guidelines, and increased usage of cloud technology and IoT devices in enterprises.
Browse in-depth TOC on "Threat Modeling Tools Market"
270 - Tables
40 - Figures
221 - Pages
Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=37955932
By platform, the cloud-based segment to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period
Cloud-based threat modeling tools are platforms hosted on cloud infrastructure and accessed through a web browser or API. These tools take advantage of the scalability, reliability, and security of cloud-based infrastructure to provide organizations with the ability to conduct threat modeling remotely and from multiple locations. Cloud-based threat modeling tools are often subscription-based and can be easily integrated with other security tools and services to provide a more comprehensive view of an organization's security posture. The IriusRisk platform provides a web-based interface for creating threat models, identifying and categorizing threats, and evaluating their likelihood and impact. It also includes a library of pre-built threat models, which can be customized to suit specific organizations or systems.
By organization size, the SMEs segment to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period
The adoption of threat modeling tools in SMEs is driven by the need to protect against cyber threats and maintain compliance with industry regulations. These tools allow organizations to identify potential security risks and vulnerabilities in their systems, applications, and networks and take appropriate measures to mitigate or prevent them. Additionally, they provide real-time threat intelligence, automate security workflows, and integrate with other security tools, which ultimately improve the organization's overall security posture. An example of a threat modeling tool commonly used by SMEs is the OWASP Threat Dragon. This free, open-source threat modeling tool helps organizations identify and prioritize potential security threats and vulnerabilities in their systems, applications, and networks. It uses a simple, visual approach to identify potential attack scenarios and allows organizations to create customized threat models based on their specific needs. The tool also guides how to mitigate or prevent identified security risks and vulnerabilities, making it accessible for SMEs with limited resources.
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By region, Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period
The Asia Pacific region, which includes countries like China, Australia, Japan, and Singapore, has seen a significant increase in the exchange of sensitive data, making it a prime target for cyberattacks. As the region undergoes rapid digitization, complex cyberattacks have become a major concern. Compared to SMEs, large enterprises are more prevalent in this region, with several established SMEs that are rapidly growing to meet the needs of a broad customer base. However, due to their limited budgets, SMEs tend to view cybersecurity as an added cost rather than a necessity, making them more susceptible to cyberattacks. As a result, enterprises in the region are expected to require robust security solutions, such as threat modeling tools infrastructure, to counter the rise in complex attacks and the associated costs. Although awareness of security was previously low in the region, ransomware attacks like WannaCry have increased the need for cybersecurity solutions, which has led to the widespread implementation of threat modeling tools.
Key Players
Major vendors in the global Threat Modeling Tools Market include Cisco (US), IBM (US), Synopsys (US), Intel (US), Microsoft (US), Varonis Systems (US), Sparx Systems (Australia), Kroll (US), Mandiant (US), Coalfire (US), Securonix (US), Security Compass (Canada), IriusRisk (Spain), Kenna Security (US), ThreatModeler (US), Toreon (Belgium), Foreseeti (Sweden), Tutamantic (UK), Cymune (India), Avocado Systems (US), Secura (Netherlands), qSEAp (India), VerSprite (Georgia) and IMQ Minded Security (Italy).
Browse Adjacent Market: Information Security Market Research Reports & Consulting
Related Reports:
Data Security as a Service Market - Global Forecast to 2027
Penetration Testing Market - Global Forecast to 2027
Web Application Firewall Market - Global Forecast to 2027
Extended Detection and Response Market - Global Forecast to 2027
Decentralized Identity Market - Global forecast to 2027
About MarketsandMarkets
MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.
Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.
MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.
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Roambee's Supply Chain Intelligence Platform, recently extended for third-party logistics (3PL) provider use, is empowering five of the world's largest 3PLs to increase toplines by offering visibility and AI-powered insights to customers
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Roambee, the global supply chain visibility and intelligence company with record growth in 2022, is pleased to announce the extension of its platform's power to third-party logistics (3PL) providers. The company's Supply Chain Intelligence Platform is equipping five of the world's largest 3PL firms to offer their customers with three-dimensional supply chain transparency around On-Time, In-Full, In Quality and automated sensing of shipment milestones.
Roambee's AI-powered platform works by combining sensor and non-sensor intelligence and is instantly deployable on any 3PL's tech stack in days. 3PLs can plug their existing tracking devices to the platform. In addition, they can leverage Roambee's ecosystem of more than 13 pre-integrated tracking devices for purpose-built applications such as condition or security intelligence. The result is accurate, actionable, real-time visibility into shipment milestones defined by the 3PL, the customer, or based on pre-defined industry standards such as IATA-supported Cargo iQ to include pick-up, delivery, storage, loading, unloading, departure, arrivals, and customs clearance.
According to a KPMG report on "Supply chain transparency: creating stakeholder value," industry executives indicated that only 13% of companies have complete visibility into their end-to-end supply chain operations. Such a result not only emphasizes the ongoing demand for transparency, but also the need for 3PLs to deliver higher order value through vendor managed services to match demand and supply. With Roambee's Supply Chain Intelligence Platform, 3PLs can gain full visibility into their supply chain, automate their supply chain orchestration, and monetize it by offering their customers value-added services.
"To meet growing market demands, delight customers, and stay competitive, large 3PLs have digitized their order management, tracking, and control-tower operations by building their own digital platforms, but they lack the visibility piece a critical component for effective orchestration," said Sanjay Sharma, CEO of Roambee. "Five of the top 10 global 3PLs have white labeled and integrated our platform to their information management applications for full transparency into their logistics operations, automating indoor, outdoor and in-transit milestones, and monetizing visibility and intelligence as a value-added service."
Curated sensor-driven signals such as ETA, delays, temperature excursions, Time Out of Refrigeration (TOR), Mean Kinetic Temperature (MKT), Door Open/Close, and more enable effective orchestration for 3PLs. 3PLs can also make their operations efficient and increase customer value through higher-order business signals such as delivery window scheduling, order fulfillment, revenue recognition, quality control, security risk, cargo handling, anomalies at ports/airports, and more.
Sharma added, "Roambee's secure Supply Chain Intelligence Platform supports the rapid building of web and mobile applications by 3PLs and system integrators to solve specific challenges such as dock door scheduling, load/unload verification, proof of delivery confirmation, and dwell time management. In addition, our intelligence platform is cloud agnostic with an industry-grade build to meet guidelines such as 21 CFR Part 11 and has an uptime of 99.99%. One such successful application enabled one of the largest returnable packaging 3PLs serving the Food & Retail industries to reduce idle time at their processing facilities by 34%, increasing revenue per asset."
About Roambee
Roambee is a supply chain intelligence provider, offering in-depth visibility on demand, for on-time in-full (OTIF), in-quality delivery of shipments and assets anywhere in the world. 300+ enterprises are improving customer experience, service levels, product quality, cash cycles, business efficiencies, sustainability, and automating logistics with Roambee's real-time insights and foresights. More than 50 of them are within the top 100 global companies in the Pharma, Food, Electronics, Chemicals, Automotive, Packaging & Containers, and Logistics sectors. Roambee's innovative AI-powered platform and end-to-end monitoring solutions deliver curated and highly accurate supply chain signals built on item-level, first-hand IoT sensor data and non-sensor inputs. Outcomes include optimized multimodal ETAs, OTIF deliveries, 80%+ cold chain compliance and more, including 4X+ ROI on supply chain assets by optimizing utilization and inventory levels.
Media Contact
Susana Leiser
Warner Communications
[email protected]
+1 (786) 403-8393
SOURCE Roambee
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for the upcoming Women's History Month, triple Daytime Emmy-winning journalist, bestselling author, and speaker Gaby Natale has joined the roster of keynote speakers for the Women Entrepreneurs Forum in Georgetown University.
Picture credit: JuanFher Garzia Photography
The Women Entrepreneurs Forum (WEF) is a three-day platform of collaboration, motivation, business opportunities, and personal growth. This year's speakers include Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Nobel Peace Prize Ouided Bouchamaoui and French presidential candidate Segolene Royale along representatives from the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, IMF and Vital Voices, among other institutions.
"Breaking barriers and creating tools that would allow women to become PIONEERS in their own fields has always been at the core of my work as speaker, journalist, author and entrepreneur. That's why I am happy to join this powerful lineup of inspiring business leaders, mentors, changemakers, investors and social entrepreneurs from around the world", said Natale.
Women Entrepreneurs Forum (WEF) takes place annually in Washington D.C. with the purpose of connecting and bringing together renowned role models to give talks on various key issues. This event fosters learning, inspiration, and thought-provoking conversations.
"We are excited to welcome Gaby Natale at the Women Entrepreneurs Forum. She is a role model for all female entrepreneurs. Natale knows how to move the world forward with her voice and her actions", said Yanire Brana, director and founder of WEF.
The Women Entrepreneurs Forum (WEF) will take place March 29-31 in Washington DC at Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. For additional information, please visit: https://wefdc.org/ .
SOURCE AGANARmedia
DOGE is a popular cryptocurrency among investors. It is traded not only on exchanges, but also some large brokers, such as Webull. TU analysts prepared a guide on buying Dogecoin on Webull.
LIMASSOL, Cyprus , Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DOGE is a meme cryptocurrency that despite being created as a 'joke' has grown extremely popular in the crypto community. Therefore, even some large stock brokers, such as Webull, offer the coin. Traders Union analysts prepared an answer to the question " Can you buy Dogecoin on Webull" . The article discusses the broker's trading conditions for cryptocurrency and also provides a detailed instruction on how to buy it.
Why is Webull suitable for buying Dogecoin?
Webull is a stock broker that has been in the market since 2007. The platform offers 10+ cryptocurrencies. In addition to Dogecoin, the following digital coins are available:
Bitcoin .
. Ethereum .
. Ethereum Classic.
Classic. Litecoin .
. Stellar, and others.
Webull is regulated by the U.S. regulatory authorities. The company holds a SEC license and is a member of FINRA. The broker offers commission-free cryptocurrency trading.
How to buy DOGE on Webull?
In order to buy Dogecoin on Webull, you need to register and install the broker's mobile app. Webull operates in compliance with the U.S. regulators, which means that only verified users can trade on it. The broker's mobile app is available on Google Play and App Store. In the Webull app, select Dogecoin by using filters and the search option. Investors can view the Dogecoin chart, price history, and data of fundamental and technical analysis. Traders can buy the coin by creating the order on the app. Also, Traders Union analysts conducted a study to find out who the owner of Webull is.
About Traders Union
Launched in 2010, Traders Union has grown into one of the largest international financial portals. The website focuses on providing unbiased, professional information about financial markets and cryptocurrencies, ratings and educational information for beginners and professional traders. Company's experts are professional traders with 5+ years of experience. Only the companies that were fully assessed and evaluated by experts are included in ratings. Reviews of brokerage and financial companies are written on the principles of objectivity based on expert evaluations and objectively checked information. Learn more about the company here - https://tradersunion.com/
Media contact details
Company name - Traders Union
Company Email [email protected]
Website https://tradersunion.com/
Contact person Name - Peter Halt
Phone number +35725060055
SOURCE Traders Union
Technology tuck-in enhances industry's broadest XDR security platform
DALLAS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, has announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Anlyz, a leading provider of security operations center (SOC) technology. The acquisition will extend Trend's orchestration, automation and integration capabilities and will enable enterprises and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) to improve operational efficiencies, cost effectiveness and security outcomes.
The deal encompasses intellectual property, industry expertise and more than 40 technical employees all focused on bolstering Trend's security platform strategy. With this acquisition, the company will expand its engineering team of over 3000, adding a new research & development center in Bangalore, India.
"We are happy to welcome the Anlyz team into the Trend family together we are increasing SOC effectiveness." Tweet this
Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) will be empowered to grow their strategic SOC services while minimizing the complexity of the underlying security stack by reducing the number of technology vendors needed. Trend's enterprise customers will benefit from a comprehensive extended detection and response (XDR) and incident response orchestration platform that can maximize analyst productivity and help relieve resource constraints.
Gartner research stated, "As buyers, both end customers and service providers, continue to consolidate vendors/providers, buyers will seek best-of-suite and integrated solutions over best-of- breed point solutions. Preferred technology vendors will be those that ease integration with other IT and security technology and tools within the environment, supporting efforts toward use-case-based outcomes."[1]
"We are happy to welcome the Anlyz team into the Trend family together we are increasing SOC effectiveness and reducing both the technology and resources burdens," said Kevin Simzer, Chief Operating Officer at Trend Micro. "Due to market pressure, we see organizations moving past security point-solution experiments in preference for platform breadth that allows for vendor consolidation, maximized return on investments and efficiencies."
Trend Micro and Anlyz have been technology alliance partners since 2021 and share more than 30 joint customers that are positioned to move forward quickly to capitalize on the opportunities ahead.
[1] Gartner, Emerging Trends: Future of Security Services, Shawn Eftink, John Collins, November 2021 GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Eventus TechSol is one of the many MSSPs powering joint customers delivering measurable "XDR Powered SOC" improvements for clients. "We have reduced the mean-time-to-detect and mean-time-to-respond ratio, down from weeks to hours for incidents," said Jay Thakker, Practice Head at the company. "We use playbooks for log enrichment and automated response as well as threat intelligence and threat hunting capabilities provided by the platform to proactively hunt for known and behavioral attacks."
Anlyz has primarily focused on security orchestration and case management delivering powerful SOAR capabilities for MSSPs to manage the incident response process across multiple clients. It also offers intelligent log aggregation enabling data ingestion and enrichment across a range of data sources and security solutions, using a high performance, scalable architecture. Trend will leverage Anlyz's SOAR solution and rich set of product connectors to broaden its platform and enable additional integration and automation options across customers' IT ecosystems.
Trend's MSSP channel customers will benefit from:
An anchor technology platform to manage the SOC function for their clients
A reduced requirement to architect individual custom solutions for their customers, thanks to an integrated core stack and multi-tenant view out of the box
Visibility, analysis, and automation across Trend, third-party products, and customer instances, making it easier to manage XDR across multiple customers
A scalable, flexible, and feature-rich platform to appeal to all types of customers no matter the size and complexity of their IT environment
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are sometimes accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would," "plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," "outlook" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the future plans or prospects for the acquisition. These statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know whether our expectations will prove correct. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, even if subsequently made available by us on our website or otherwise. We do not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
About Trend Micro
Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro's cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.TrendMicro.com.
The Gartner Report(s) described herein, (the "Gartner Report(s)") represent(s) data, research opinion or viewpoints published, as part of a syndicated subscription service, by Gartner, Inc. ("Gartner"), and are not representations of fact. Each Gartner Report speaks as of its original publication date (and not as of the date of this Prospectus) and the opinions expressed in the Gartner Report(s) are subject to change without notice.
SOURCE Trend Micro Incorporated
Implementation of Chainlink Proof of Reserve adds first-ever Secure Mint control to a USD-backed stablecoin smart contract, ensuring automatic verification of US dollar reserves prior to any new minting
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TrueUSD (TUSD) today announced it is using Chainlink Proof of Reserve (PoR) to help secure the minting of TUSD, its fully collateralized stablecoin backed by the US dollar. As the first stablecoin to programmatically control minting with real-time on-chain verification of off-chain reserves, TUSD is demonstrating a new paradigm of decentralization, transparency, and independent verification.
TrueUSD implements Chainlink 'Proof of Reserve' to add first-ever Secure Mint control to a USD-backed stablecoin smart contract, ensuring automatic verification of US dollar reserves prior to any new minting.
Reserve data for TUSD is aggregated by The Network Firm LLP ("TNF"), an independent, industry-specialized accounting firm in the U.S. TNF aggregates all reserves data (US Dollars held at financial institutions) in real-time and serves that information on-chain through Chainlink's industry-leading decentralized oracle network. With this 'Proof of Reserve' data feed, the TUSD smart contract will automatically check whether the total supply of TUSD would exceed the total amount of US dollars held in reserve before any new stablecoin is minted. This automated workflow is transparent in the smart contract code, and supported by open and independent data feeds, thus reflecting TUSD's commitment to ensuring both stability of the TUSD system as well as the redeemability of underlying dollars for customers and users.
"We're excited to be using Chainlink Proof of Reserve to enhance the transparency and verifiability of our stablecoin," said Ryan Christensen, CEO of Archblock (Originally known as TrustToken, once the issuer of TrueUSD). "As the industry-standard decentralized oracle network, Chainlink helps ensure that TUSD is always collateralized by off-chain fiat reserves, furthering TUSD's commitment to trust and transparency."
With this integration of Chainlink's decentralized infrastructure, TUSD users can feel confident that they have an accurate, highly available, and transparent source of information regarding the reserves backing TUSD. The end result is TUSD becoming a more reliable form of collateral and payment across DeFi and other smart contract verticals.
"We are proud to support TUSD in its efforts to bring new layers of transparency, risk management, and security to its stablecoin minting process," said Sergey Nazarov, Co-Founder of Chainlink. "With Chainlink Proof of Reserve, TUSD is able to provide greater levels of assurance and confidence to its users, and help bring greater stability to stablecoins and the broader crypto industry."
TUSD is a regulated stablecoin fully backed by the US dollar. TUSD is available on 70+ cryptocurrency exchanges across 160+ markets, and 20+ OTC desks across five continents. TUSD is currently deployed on Arbitrum, Avalanche, Binance Chain, BNB Chain, Cronos, Ethereum, Fantom, Polygon, Aurora, Optimism, and TRON.
To learn more, please visit https://trueusd.medium.com/ .
About Chainlink
Chainlink is the industry-standard Web3 services platform that has enabled trillions of dollars in transaction volume across DeFi, insurance, gaming, NFTs, and other major industries. As the leading decentralized oracle network, Chainlink enables developers to build feature-rich Web3 applications with seamless access to real-world data and off-chain computation across any blockchain and provides global enterprises with a universal gateway to all blockchains.
Learn more about Chainlink by visiting chain.link or reading the developer documentation at docs.chain.link . To discuss an integration, reach out to an expert .
About TrueUSD
TUSD is the first digital asset with live on-chain attestations by independent third-party institutions and is backed 1:1 with the U.S. dollar (USD). So far, it has been listed on more than 100 trading platforms such as Binance and Huobi and is live on 11 mainstream public chains, including Ethereum, TRON, Avalanche, BSC, Fantom, and Polygon. TUSD is attested to in real-time by an independent third-party institution in the U.S., to ensure the 1:1 ratio of its USD reserve to the circulating token supply and the 100% collateral rate. Users can access the publicly available audit results via the official website tusd.io at any time. TUSD is granted statutory status as authorized digital currency and medium of exchange in the Commonwealth of Dominica, a country in the Caribbean, effective on October 7th 2022.
Website | Twitter | Medium | Discord | Telegram | YouTube | Instagram
About The Network Firm LLP
The Network Firm's founders have pioneered the development of crypto-native accounting and attestation services as well as traditional tax and audit capabilities since 2016. The Network Firm is 100% focused on the professional service needs of the crypto and digital asset industry and maintains a suite of proprietary technologies to enable real-time reserves, proof of reserves, oracle services, and other auditing and attestation services.
SOURCE Chainlink; TrueUSD
ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson // Becker, PLLC is a nationwide products liability law firm with extensive experience representing victims of product liability cases.
The third and fourth plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against the manufacturer of Tepezza, a drug prescribed for the treatment of thyroid eye disease, alleging that taking the medication caused long-term hearing issues.
Donna Walker, a resident of Arizona, and Meredith Albrecht of Illinois allege in their Complaints that patients and doctors had "no warning and had no knowledge of the serious risk of permanent hearing loss and/or tinnitus posed by Tepezza." The lawsuits are filed in Illinois, where Tepezza manufacturer Horizon Therapeutics USA, Inc. is headquartered.
Walker received doses of Tepezza from June to November of 2020, beginning her course of treatment about five months after Tepezza was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Albrecht took infusions of Tepezza from July through December of 2021.
According to the Complaints, clinical testing submitted to the FDA for Tepezza consisted of just two trials, with only 84 patients taking the brand-new compound. Reports of hearing loss in the trials were represented as "temporary and generally of limited duration."
A subsequent study, documenting usage after Tepezza had hit the market and capturing the experience of thousands of patients, found 10 percent of recipients reported either hearing loss, tinnitus, or both. Meanwhile, numerous studies conducted by doctors, most recently in August 2022, have discussed the association of those side effects with the use of Tepezzaa.
According to the Complaints, "[Horizon's] fraudulent and illegal conduct with respect to Tepezza caused thousands of individuals, including [Walker], to develop severe and permanent hearing loss."
The suits are filed by Timothy Becker and Stacy Hauer. Timothy Becker is a founding partner of Johnson // Becker, PLLC.
Questions about a Tepezza lawsuit? Contact a Johnson//Becker lawyer today for a free case review.
If you or a loved one has suffered hearing loss or tinnitus after being prescribed Tepezza, you may be entitled to financial compensation.
We offer a free case evaluation. To learn more about Johnson // Becker's product liability cases, or to arrange a free, no obligation Tepezza lawsuit review, please visit Johnson // Becker at https://www.johnsonbecker.com/drug-injuries/tepezza-lawsuit/ or contact Johnson // Becker directly at (800) 279-6386.
SOURCE Johnson // Becker, PLLC
SEATTLE, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UltronGlow, an emerging Web3 protocol offering decentralized storage for the sharing economy, announced today that it is launching the next phase of its rapidly growing decentralized file storage network.
This public beta follows a highly successful Alpha test period where the UltronGlow Network saw available storage steadily grow over time as more miners began to realize the benefits of providing decentralized storage, and people began to use it in place of traditional centralized solutions. Starting now, this novel solution is available to anyone who wants to join the beta.
This public beta is open to individuals seeking an alternative to the cloud storage oligarchy currently in possession of roughly half of all data in the world. Those looking to make available their spare storage need only to have 1TB of free space to rent out, and can do so on a wide variety of operating systems and personal devices that meet minimum tech requirements.
Additional benefits of the UltronGlow Network include but are not limited to:
A robust incentive structure for those participating in the beta
Protection from service failure, censorship, and data theft
Lower fees for renters than incumbent decentralized file storage providers
A recent survey found that cloud storage subscriptions rank among the most popular, and profits for the companies providing them are hitting new highs with each passing quarter. Additional research found that total revenues for cloud storage providers will nearly triple in size by 2028 to more than $236.4 billion, as the total amount of data stored online increases from 76 zettabytes to 185 zettabytes by 2025.
This expected growth in cloud storage use presents a massive opportunity as Web3 enables individuals to earn income by making available their extra storage space for on-demand use by others. Also, UltronGlow Network is bringing to market an industry first - the ability to mirror storage instances across multiple devices.
"The Web 2.0 model of companies making money off of people for sharing content, data, and more, will soon change with advent of Web3," said Jason Anderson, chief technology evangelist at Ada Byron Foundation. "UltronGlow is leading the charge, enabling people to take the power back from companies and put it back into the hands of the individual."
Additionally, the decentralized nature of UltronGlow means that it not only is more secure than leading cloud storage providers, because it does not have a centralized point of failure that can fall victim to various attack vectors, but it also is less prone to the downtimes that have plagued incumbents.
Gone are the days when you might lose access to your files for hours at a time. UltronGlow's many redundancies means it will always be online, and ownership of this data will always be yours. There's no need to sign pages-long agreements drafted by lawyers who care only about the parent company, and not about you.
To learn more about UltronGlow and join the public beta, head to www.ultronglow.io.
About UltronGlow Network
UltronGlow is a decentralized storage network that is a combination of four consensus mechanisms referred to as the GLOW consensus. Together, this technology enables individuals to earn income by making available their spare storage space to others, and earning rewards for doing so.
Based in Singapore, UltronGlow is part of the Ada Byron Foundation and is led by serial entrepreneurs and veteran software engineers with decades of previous experience at companies including Microsoft, Consensys, and elsewhere.
Media Contact
Ryan Gorman
Principal, Gorman Strategies
[email protected]
SOURCE UltronGlow Network
MERIDEN, Conn., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "We're pleased to announce that the ITComplete team at UNAPEN has received recognition for their hard work, client dedication and superior performance. Thank you to UpCity for recognizing us as a 2022 Best of Award winner and thank you to our amazing clients."
David Gemma, CEO/CMO, UNAPEN
The UpCity "Best of" Awards commemorate the top B2B providers in each U.S. state and Canadian province, and highlight the tremendous work being done in their local area. We are proud to reveal that UNAPEN, Inc. has been recognized as a Best of Connecticut Award winner by UpCity!
Awards are based upon the UpCity Recommendability Rating , which determine a B2B service provider's credibility and trustworthiness, giving UpCity the confidence to recommend and connect businesses with high-quality service providers.
UpCity is a B2B online marketplace connecting businesses to trustworthy service providers. With 70,000+ listed providersfrom IT Service providers, consulting firms, software development specialists, and many moreover 1.5 million businesses have used UpCity to find exceptional partners for their needs.
Joe Banks had this to say about UNAPEN, Inc.:
"The UNAPEN team embraces their unique skillset of in-depth business knowledge, combined with unparalleled technological expertise and service delivery capability. This is an extremely talented team, and we're thrilled to present them with a 2022 Best of Award."
Joe Banks, SVP of Engineering, UpCity
This recognition was driven in large part by UNAPEN's 4.9-starred reviews on UpCity. Here is some feedback we've received from UNAPEN's incredible clients:
"We've been with UNAPEN for over a decade and their team never fails to help us. Not only are they quick at rectifying problems with our computers, they are on top of issues like cybersecurity threats. When we need to acquire additional equipment, they are very helpful in advising us on the best equipment for our needs and where to find the best prices. Also, management is always available to discuss any issues. I receive frequent invitations to switch firms but I can't think why I would."
Ralph DiFiore, CFA, Senior Managing Director, Chatsworth Securities LLC
August 2022
ABOUT UNAPEN, INC.
Since 1991, UNAPEN, Inc. has been the premier provider of IT services, custom software solutions, systems integration and software products tailored for Investment Managers involved with Private Client, Institutional and Wrap/SMA/UMA business. Our MSP experts also specialize in Non-Profit Organizations, Educational Institutions, Attorneys, HealthCare and Manufacturing. UNAPEN is a long-standing Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.
The expertise of UNAPEN's seasoned IT, Business Analyst, and Software Development professionals uniquely positions them to advise clients on the value of technology. Our goal is to solidify and protect your IT infrastructure, perform cloud migrations, enhance cyber security, streamline operations and workflow, centralize data, and automate highly complex manual tasks to make your firm more successful and competitive. For more information, visit https://unapen.com.
David Gemma
CEO/CMO, UNAPEN, Inc.
203.303.6002
[email protected]
SOURCE UNAPEN, Inc.
United flight 863 on Feb. 22 will be operated entirely by United LGBTQ+ pilots, crew and allies and will connect U.S. travelers to the world's largest celebration of Pride in Sydney
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines is partnering with Virgin Australia to connect U.S. travelers to the world's largest celebration of Pride in Sydney with a special flight staffed entirely by members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community. Departing on Wednesday, February 22 from San Francisco International Airport, the festivities will kick off with a celebration at the gate, continue with giveaways and activities onboard the flight and culminate with a welcome party upon arrival in Sydney. While Virgin Australia has offered special domestic flights in Australia for Pride since 2021, this is the first time United is joining this effort.
"As a proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community and the leading carrier from the U.S. to Australia, United is thrilled to join the party and help people celebrate the upcoming Pride events in Sydney," said Lori Augustine, Vice President of Operations for United in San Francisco. "At United, we recognize, embrace and celebrate the differences that make our customers and employees unique. We're committed to creating an inclusive work environment while supporting the diverse communities we serve. Our Pride Flight is yet another example of how at United, Good Leads the Way."
"Virgin Australia launched our initial Pride Flight in the middle of the pandemic and fast forward to today, we have flights all over Australia, and our very first international Pride Flight from San Francisco with our wonderful partner, United Airlines," said Jayne Hrdlicka, CEO for Virgin Australia Group. "It's so important that we use our voice to promote diversity and inclusion in the communities in which we live, work and fly. Our partnership with United Airlines is incredibly important and it's so wonderful to witness the collaboration between the airlines, and the joy we have brought our guests in spreading pride right across the Pacific and throughout Australia."
United has an ongoing commitment to LGBTQ+ equality, including a proud history of firsts. United was the first U.S. airline to fully recognize domestic partnerships in 1999 and was the first U.S. airline to offer non-binary gender options throughout all its booking channels in 2019. Also in 2019, the airline became the first public company to be inducted into Pride Live's Stonewall Ambassador program in recognition of the airline's commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. Through EQUAL, the airline's LGBTQ+ Business Resource Group, more than 4,500 members work together to advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community, working with members and leaders companywide to develop ways to deliver resources, education and advocacy.
United continues to be committed to inclusion and supporting employees to be their full selves at work, which is why in 2021, the airline updated its appearance standards, moving away from gender-specific guidance and allowing customer-facing employees to represent themselves authentically through visible tattoos, nose piercings, hair, make-up, nails and more.
United is the Bay Area's global airline, with more flights to more destinations around the world than any other airline in Northern California. United operates more than 200 daily departures from San Francisco International Airport, taking customers to more than 100 destinations around the globe, including the most international service with flights to 26 different international cities.
United is the country's leading carrier to Australia and operates flights to three destinations in Australia through SFO including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. United provides more service to Australia than ever before and offers more seats from the U.S. to Australia than any other airline.
United's partnership with Virgin Australia gives customers new connecting options to Australia's most popular destinations, and MileagePlus members have the ability to earn and redeem miles/points across both airlines' networks.
United Flight 863 will depart SFO at 10:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and arrive at SYD at 9:05 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 24.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." From our U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers. United is bringing back our customers' favorite destinations and adding new ones on its way to becoming the world's best airline. For more about how to join the United team, please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
SOURCE United Airlines
- Kwait will oversee people operations and focus on scaling UPSIDE's culture and team as the company enters its next phase of growth.
- Kwait brings decades of experience building cultures of excellence across leading organizations in food, hospitality, retail, education, and financial services.
BERKELEY, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UPSIDE Foods , the leading cultivated meat, poultry and seafood company, has appointed Michelle Kwait as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). This news comes as the company enters its next phase of growth, and reinforces the emphasis UPSIDE Foods places on scaling its mission-driven culture alongside its business and technology.
Michelle Kwait, CHRO, UPSIDE Foods
Kwait joins UPSIDE Foods on the heels of the company receiving a historic "green light" from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and as the company continues on its path toward commercialization. She will lead all aspects of people operations, including talent acquisition, learning and development, leadership training, reward and recognition, talent management and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) programming.
"Our team has always been at the heart of UPSIDE. Their courage, creativity and grit have moved the field of cultivated meat from science fiction to reality," said Dr. Uma Valeti, Founder and CEO of UPSIDE Foods. "Michelle will play a key role in fostering our team's growth, success and well-being as we move into the next phase. Her deep expertise in empowering people to bring out their best work and embrace an enterprise growth mindset is a must-have for us as we move towards our northstar of making our favorite food a force for good."
Kwait will play an instrumental role in maintaining and building a culture of excellence across UPSIDE Foods' growing teams and locations. She most recently served as CHRO at Tysers, a global private equity-backed insurance broker based in London, where she built the company's HR organization from the ground up, led the integration of several transformational acquisitions and assisted in the sale of the business. Prior to that, Kwait led HR for the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company and worked in both HR leadership and learning and development roles at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Kwait also spent more than eight years in higher education institutions, including Stanford University.
"I was particularly drawn to UPSIDE Foods because of its mission to change the world for the better. It's clear that the company has attracted a passionate and talented group of people, and I'm looking forward to helping grow this incredible team," added Michelle Kwait. "UPSIDE cares deeply about its employees, and I'm excited to celebrate and enhance the culture as we take the company to the next level."
This announcement comes as UPSIDE Foods prepares to bring its first product, UPSIDE Chicken, to market, following USDA inspection and label approval. For UPSIDE Foods' press kit, please see here .
About UPSIDE Foods
Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods grows meat, poultry and seafood directly from animal cells. These products are not vegan or vegetarianthey are delicious meat, made without the need to raise and slaughter billions of animals. Founded as the world's first cultivated meat company in 2015, UPSIDE Foods has achieved numerous industry-defining milestones, including being the first company to produce multiple species of meat (beef, chicken and duck), and to receive a greenlight from FDA for cultivated meat. The company believes that people shouldn't have to choose between the foods they love and a thriving planet, and is working to build a better food system with access to delicious, humane, and sustainable meat, poultry, and seafood. UPSIDE Foods has won various industry awards, including New York Times' Good Tech Awards, FastCo's Next Big Thing in Tech, and the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources. UPSIDE Foods has raised a total of $608 million, including from the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), Baillie Gifford, Bill Gates, Cargill, Future Ventures, John Doerr, John Mackey, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Norwest, Richard Branson, Softbank, Temasek, Threshold, Tyson Foods, and others. For more information, please visit www.upsidefoods.com.
Media Contact
Brooke Whitney
[email protected]
SOURCE UPSIDE Foods
750-Unit State-of-the-Art Jersey City Waterfront High-Rise Achieves Milestone Three Months Ahead of Schedule
JERSEY CITY, N.J., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Veris Residential, Inc. (NYSE: VRE) (the "Company"), a forward-thinking, environmentally- and socially-conscious real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily owns, operates, acquires, and develops Class A multifamily properties, today announced that it has stabilized Haus25, a 750-unit luxury apartment tower located in downtown Jersey City.
Haus25 received strong demand from renters with nearly 150 leases signed during appointment-only previews prior to the launch of general leasing in April 2022. Demand continued to outpace expectations, enabling the property to stabilize in just 10 months (three months ahead of schedule). As of February 22nd, the property was 95.47% leased and nearly 93% occupied.
"The rapid stabilization of Haus25 speaks to our commitment to building innovative spaces that align with the needs of our residents, employees and the communities we serve while generating value for our shareholders," said Mahbod Nia, Chief Executive Officer of Veris Residential. "Achieving this milestone well before anticipated, is a testament to Veris Residential's experienced team and investment in environmentally friendly design features and community-centric, responsible, and holistic living concepts that meet the lifestyle preferences of residents."
Globally-recognized firm Elkus Manfredi Architects designed the 56-story tower with LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council top of mind. The high-rise features interiors by award-winning Fogarty Finger and outdoor space design by landscape architecture firm Melillo Bauer Carman. These world-class features, coupled with the Veris Residential leasing and marketing team's expertise, enabled the Company to achieve asking rents nearly 14% over initial underwriting.
"Over the past 10 months, our Haus25 team has proven its ability to execute on our strategic action plan to successfully stabilize the property while maximizing rents despite an everchanging market environment," added Jay Minchilli, Senior Vice President of Operations and Asset Management of Veris Residential. "We are thankful for their hard work and look forward to building upon this leasing momentum in the months and years ahead as a pure-play multifamily REIT."
Haus25 is located at 25 Christopher Columbus Drive in Paulus Hook, close to downtown Jersey City. Leasing and marketing are handled by Veris Residential. For more information about living at Haus25, please call the leasing office 551-316-2150 or visit LiveHaus25.com.
About Veris Residential, Inc.
Veris Residential, Inc. is a forward-thinking, environmentally- and socially-conscious real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily owns, operates, acquires, and develops holistically-inspired, Class A multifamily properties that meet the sustainability-conscious lifestyle needs of today's residents while seeking to positively impact the communities it serves and the planet at large. The company is guided by an experienced management team and Board of Directors and is underpinned by leading corporate governance principles, a best-in-class and sustainable approach to operations, and an inclusive culture based on equality and meritocratic empowerment. For additional information on Veris Residential, Inc. and our properties available for lease, please visit verisresidential.com.
For Veris Residential:
Amanda Shpiner/Grace Cartwright
Gasthalter & Co.
212-257-4170
[email protected]
SOURCE Veris Residential, Inc.
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VizExplorer is pleased to announce that it has closed a Purchase Agreement with Dry Line Partners, LLC ("DLP") whereby DLP has acquired all the assets of VizExplorer's parent company, VizExp., Inc.
"We seek to expand VizExplorer's competitive moat to build a business that will last forever." -Matt Morris, Partner DLP Tweet this Dry Line Partners LLC & VizExplorer
VizExplorer, the leading provider of business intelligence to the casino gaming industry, providing critical technology to hundreds of properties in the US and abroad that generate over $10B in annual revenue. VizExplorer's advanced solutions provide visualizations, reporting, and recommendations, for operators to make better decisions that enhance profitability across the Gaming floor, Player Development, and Marketing.
DLP, based in Austin and San Antonio, was formed in late 2020 by Bret Piatt, Michael Girdley and Matt Morris to acquire and operate market-leading recurring revenue technology companies. VizExplorer is DLP's second platform investment.
"We are thrilled to have DLP as our new financial partner. We have been working with the DLP team for several months and have found a great fit for our team and our business. DLP will help facilitate continued innovation and investment in the critical strategic areas of the business," said VizExplorer President and CEO David Patent.
"We are excited to partner with the industry veterans at VizExplorer to further expand their dominant market position in casino gaming software. Our investor base is comprised of leading technology entrepreneurs/operators, multi-generational family offices and some of the brightest minds from global investment firms. We all recognize that VizExplorer provides a compelling value proposition to customers and has numerous avenues for growth. We seek to expand VizExplorer's competitive moat to build a business that will last forever," said Matt Morris, Partner at Dry Line Partners, LLC.
VizExplorer will exhibit in booth 2117 at the upcoming Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention, held March 27-30 in San Diego at the San Diego Convention Center. Request a product demonstration and learn more about VizExplorer at www.vizexplorer.com.
About VizExplorer
VizExplorer is the leading provider of business intelligence to the casino gaming industry. Viz helps power over $10B in annual casino revenue with the most comprehensive solution set in the industry. Viz offers Cloud or On Prem installation, an intuitive UI, dynamic reporting, recommendations, and real-time updates. Check out our new platform, VizOnDemand for our most flexible, economic, and easy-to-use tools. Viz backs all of our solutions with rapid installation and the best support and Customer Success team in gaming.
Please contact [email protected] with any questions or inquiries.
About Dry Line Partners
Dry Line Partners LLC ("DLP") was formed in late 2020 by Bret Piatt, Michael Girdley and Matt Morris. DLP's team leaders have acquisition and operations experience at Constellation Software, Dura Software and Rackspace, along with possessing deep public and private market investment experience. Dry Line seeks to invest in durable, recurring-revenue technology businesses and implements operational best practices utilizing its playbooks and immense professional networks.
Please contact Matt Morris with any questions or inquiries.
SOURCE VizExplorer
WESTON, Fla. and RENO, Nev., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Drone automation technology leader, VOTIX, is excited to join forces with safety avionics technology innovator, Iris Automation . The partnership enables safe BVLOS flights through the seamless integration of Iris Automation's Casia G ground-based detect and alert system into the VOTIX cloud-based drone operating system.
Clockwise: Cockpit, Operations Map, Dashboard, Multi-Streaming VOTIX Partners with Iris Automation to Bring Comprehensive Drone Management for Safe BVLOS Operations
This integration makes remote operations a reality for enterprises that need effective and flexible drone BVLOS deployments, from routine automated inspections of critical infrastructure to rapid mobilization seen in Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs.
This hardware-software solution will feed data from the Casia G system into the VOTIX platform to provide a complete picture of the operational airspace in real-time. A key requirement to obtaining BVLOS regulatory approvals is the ability to detect non-cooperative aircraft at distance. The Casia G system fulfills this by monitoring the airspace and providing precise location and classification data of intruder aircraft, enabling automated conflict resolution via the VOTIX platform. This brings a new level of safety and mission capability to customers looking to expand their operations at scale.
VOTIX, with its pioneering "Drone Orchestration" approach, integrates all processes and systems required for a BVLOS operation. Its drone-agnostic solution enables and tracks effective C2 and live video stream, including use of cellular connectivity, integrates Casia G for Detect-and-Avoid technology, automates conflict resolution, integrates weather tracking and traffic management, controls operational limitations, automates fail-safe measures to increase safety, performs autonomous flights, enables precision landing and drone-in-a-box integration.
Casia G creates a stationary perimeter of sanitized, monitored airspace without the need to add additional sensors or payload to the drone. Using patented computer vision technology, Casia G alerts the Remote Pilot in Command (RPIC) if a risk of collision is present and allows the drone to maneuver to safe zones. This eliminates the need for the pilot to maintain visual contact with the drone or to have Visual Observers (VOs) in place to monitor the skies.
Quote from VOTIX CEO, Ed Boucas
"Our mission is to make BVLOS easy. We have integrated every aspect of drone operation in a single pane of glass so pilots can easily perform safe and secure BVLOS flights."
A good example is the drone inspection provider AviSight which, using VOTIX platform, obtained two ground-breaking waivers for recurrent BVLOS inspections over several miles of Shell pipelines in the U.S. The FAA approved the first waiver in just nine days of receiving the application with VOTIX reports.
Quote from Iris Automation VP of Product, Jason Hardy-Smith
"To safely advance unpiloted operations, technology companies across our industry need to collaboratively deliver their innovative technologies in seamless solutions that are easy for customers to consume. Our partnership with VOTIX is a terrific example of that, delivering a complete platform for RPICs to safely and efficiently execute their missions."
In December, Iris Automation received a third FAA BVLOS waiver without the need for VOs based on a network of two separate Casia G nodes. Connecting additional nodes can significantly extend the UAS operational area while still giving customers the flexibility to move their operations to a different location quickly if needed.
About VOTIX
VOTIX is an American drone software company that developed the first platform capable of truly delivering drone automation, orchestration and remote operation, while being hardware agnostic. VOTIX expands drone capabilities and productivity by enabling BVLOS operations, autonomous flight, precision landing and drone-in-a-box integration. VOTIX is a cloud platform that automates drone operations so you can MANAGE missions, resources and data, STREAM real-time flight videos to anyone and FLY drones remotely and autonomously from anywhere. VOTIX is the most powerful platform to support your drone operations. VOTIX, Go Beyond! www.votix.com
About Iris Automation
Iris Automation is dedicated to creating an aviation environment where no two aircraft ever collide in mid-air. We leverage innovative AI-based vision technology that enables uncrewed and crewed aircraft to mitigate the risk of airborne collisions - vital for safe, scalable, and efficient operations across countless industries. Iris' onboard and ground-based Casia systems give operators the situational awareness and automation needed to safely navigate an increasingly complex and congested airspace. We work closely with civil aviation authorities globally as they implement regulatory frameworks to advance safety and efficiency in aviation. www.irisonboard.com
Contacts:
Iris Automation
[email protected]
P: +1 650 996 0778
Follow us:
LinkedIn: @iris-automation
Twitter: @iris_automation
SOURCE Iris Automation
Dr. Lalonde has pioneered key advancements in enzyme engineering and biocatalysis that has revolutionized chemical production, protein engineering for food and nutrition, as well as drug discovery and development leading to new routes to pharmaceutical actives behind blockbuster drugs
CALGARY, AB and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Willow Biosciences Inc. ("Willow") (TSX: WLLW) (OTCQB: CANSF), a leading biotechnology company focused on revolutionizing industrial manufacturing of pure, consistent and sustainable functional ingredients announced today the appointment of Jim Lalonde, Ph.D. as its newest independent member of the Company's Board of Directors, effective February 21, 2023.
"We are very pleased to welcome Jim to our Board," said Dr. Peter Seufer-Wasserthal, Willow's President and CEO. "Jim has developed stellar R&D teams behind some of the most key advancements in enzyme engineering and biocatalysis and, in the process, revolutionized a host of industries and processes while driving increased valuations for the businesses he has been associated with over his successful career. "His guidance will be valuable to Willow as we continue to diversify our portfolio with new partners and customers, expand our R&D capabilities, and grow revenue further to support improved company valuation."
Dr. Lalonde previously served with Inscripta, a global leader in genome engineering technology, as Lead of its Microbial Digital Genome Engineering Business. Prior to that, Dr. Lalonde was Senior Vice President of R&D at Codexis, Inc., a leader in protein engineering. In his nearly 15 years at Codexis he oversaw development of more than 50 enzymes for drug manufacturing, nutrition, biotherapeutics, and molecular diagnostics. He also led development of the company's pioneering CodeEvolver protein engineering technology which was licensed to major pharmaceutical companies. Prior to Codexis, Dr. Lalonde held leadership roles in biocatalysis and chemical development at Altus Biologics and in scientific research at Vista Chemical Company. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Lakehead University and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Texas A&M University.
"I am excited to join the Willow Board at such a pivotal time when I believe the Company is on the cusp of significant growth with the ability to leverage a best-in-class precision fermentation technology platform to revolutionize the health and wellness, food and beverage and personal care markets," said Dr. Lalonde. "Willow's R&D team and platform capabilities are impressive, represent high value to partners seeking innovation in their portfolios, and I look forward to participating in the Company's success in wielding it to bring sustainable products to market."
Lalonde also serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Bota Biosciences, a global industrial biotechnology company advancing sustainable biomanufacturing; Curie Co., which is utilizing state of the art protein engineering to replace petrochemical-based preservatives with biobased alternatives within personal care; and Invizyne, a pioneer in streamlining synthetic biology with cell free enzyme cascades, to produce a wide variety of high value and difficult to make target molecules.
About Willow Biosciences Inc.
Willow develops and produces precision fermented functional ingredients for the health and wellness, food and beverage and personal care markets. Willow's FutureGrownTM biotechnology platform allows large-scale production with sustainability at its core. Willow's R&D team has a proven track record of developing and commercializing bio-based manufacturing processes and products to benefit our B2B partners and their customers. For more information, visit www.willowbio.com.
FutureGrown is a registered trademark of Willow Biosciences Inc. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective holders.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may include forward-looking statements including opinions, assumptions, estimates and the Company's assessment of future plans and operations, and, more particularly, statements concerning: the ability to accommodate new programs and to expand R&D capabilities with new partners and customers; the demand and market size potential of the synthetic ingredients industry; revenue and growth and an improved valuation; and the business plan of the Company, generally, including becoming a leader in precision fermentation, research and production of functional ingredients. When used in this news release, the words "will," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intent," "may," "project," "should," and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made by the Company which include, but are not limited to: the success of Willow's strategic partnerships and customer relationships, including the development of future strategic partnerships and customer relationships; the financial strength of the Company; the ability of the Company to fund its business plan using cash on hand and existing resources; the market for Willow's products; the ability of the Company to obtain and retain applicable licences; the ability of the Company to obtain suitable manufacturing partners and other strategic relationships; and the successful implementation of Willow's commercialization and production strategy, generally. Forward-looking statements are subject to a wide range of risks and uncertainties, and although the Company believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will be realized. Any number of important factors could cause actual results biotechnology industry in general; the success of the Company's research and development strategies; infringement on intellectual property; failure to benefit from partnerships or successfully integrate acquisitions; actions and initiatives of federal and provincial governments and changes to government policies and the execution and impact of these actions, initiatives and policies; import/export and research restrictions for cannabinoid-based operations; the size of the medical-use and adult-use cannabinoid market; competition from other industry participants; adverse U.S., Canadian and global economic conditions; adverse global events and public-health crises, including the evolving COVID-19 outbreak; failure to comply with certain regulations; departure of key management personnel or inability to attract and retain talent; and other factors more fully described from time to time in the reports and filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities. Please refer to the Company's most recent annual information form and management's discussion and analysis for additional risk factors relating to Willow, which can be accessed either on Willow's website at www.willowbio.com or under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
SOURCE Willow Biosciences Inc.
WorkforceQA continues to grow by acquiring Corporate Medical Services for unparalleled service and technology in occupational testing!
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WorkforceQA (WFQA), the industry leader in employee compliance screening solutions, is thrilled to announce that Corporate Medical Services is now part of the WorkforceQA family! Corporate Medical Services (CMS) is a premier, full-service Third-Party Administrator (TPA) that has been helping companies manage the complexities of regulations and requirements for over 25 years. CMS, located in Chattanooga, TN, serves over 4,000 companies, managing their drug testing programs with concierge-level service.
CMS offers comparable services to WFQA, including drug & alcohol testing, physical management, MRO, and a sleep apnea management program. In addition, CMS and WFQA have a similar culture and approach to employees and clients with a dedicated focus on client service. This strategic partnership will enable CMS's customers to leverage WorkforceQA's robust technology, software solutions, and in-house team of Medical Review Officers to provide unparalleled support for regulated and non-regulated drug/alcohol testing services.
"We are excited to be adding CMS to the WorkforceQA family! CMS's knowledge and commitment to serving their clients aligns well with WFQA's products and services," commented Eric Quilter, CEO of WFQA. "We are particularly excited to broaden our service offerings and provide more depth and experience to our team's strength. This allows us to build on our solid foundation to deliver the services our customers and the industry have come to expect from WorkforceQA.
Grady Phillips joins WFQA as their Sr. Director of Strategic Accounts. "CMS is incredibly excited to join WorkforceQA and eager to help build upon the strong reputation that the team has created," said Grady Phillips. "We want clients to know that the customer obsession they've received from CMS is the same customer-centric experience they will receive from WorkforceQA".
About WorkforceQA
WorkforceQA is a leading tech-enabled full-service Third-Party Administrator (TPA) offering professional, compliant, cost-effective employee compliance solutions, including drug and alcohol testing, physical exam management, background check services, medical review officer (MRO) services, online training, and driver/employment file management. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, the company serves many of the largest trucking, airline, logistics, and rail companies in the U.S., assisting them in managing their entire employee screening programs. A partnership in late 2021 with Hamilton Robinson Capital Partners, a private equity firm, has accelerated WorkforceQA's ability to expand rapidly.
For more information on WorkforceQA's service offerings, visit: https://www.wfqa.com/
CONTACT:
Eric Quilter
[email protected]
SOURCE WorkforceQA
HOUSTON and CALGARY, AB, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- An agreement has been reached with CAM Industrial Solutions LLC (CAM Industrial), whereby Worley will sell its maintenance and turnaround business in North America, which is part of Worley's Americas Field Services, for a cash consideration of USD 125 million (approximately AUD180 million). Worley's construction and fabrication business in North America is not included in the sale. The sale also includes Worley's power operations and maintenance business.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closure conditions and is expected to close in the second half of FY2023.
The North America maintenance and turnaround business is Worley's operating and shutdown maintenance craft work (non-professional services) in the USA and Canada, which supports refineries, petrochemical plants, and other industrial facilities.
On today's announcement, Worley Chief Executive Officer Chris Ashton said Worley was delighted to be entering into this agreement with CAM Industrial and was looking forward to seeing the company continue to successfully service its many loyal customers across its markets.
CAM Industrial is a new company, formed by an investor group, led by Cross Rapids Capital L.P. (Cross Rapids Capital) and including strategic partner The Baupost Group. Cross Rapids is an operationally driven investment firm, focused on acquiring industrial and services companies in North America.
The existing management team will join and manage CAM Industrial and will be led by Mick Kaefer as its President. Donovan Boyd, Executive Partner with Cross Rapids Capital, will be appointed Chief Executive Officer of CAM Industrial. Mr Boyd is a highly successful and tenured executive in industrial services, having previously served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hydrochem LLC, Director of The Brock Group, Executive Chairman, Chairman of B&G Crane, and Director of Brand Energy.
Mr Kaefer said, "We thank our employees for their dedication and our customers for their business and support. Under our new name, CAM Industrial, our team will continue to be focused on safely and reliably operating our business, without interruption. We are very excited about this transaction and the growth prospects ahead."
Mr Boyd added, "CAM Industrial welcomes our newest employees and is thrilled to partner with them to grow the company into the preeminent provider of hard craft maintenance and turnaround services in the industry. CAM Industrial will continue to operate with the values of safety, high-quality service, and responsiveness to customers."
Cross Rapids Capital Partner, Kyle Cruz, concluded, "We look forward to completing the transaction and investing in new processes, tools, and systems in order to better serve our customers and to pursue new growth initiatives."
UBS Securities LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Worley, and Reed Smith LLP is acting as Worley's legal advisor. Greenberg Traurig, LLP is acting as Cross Rapids Capital's legal advisor.
For further information, please contact: Worley Melissa O'Neill Senior Group Director, Corporate Affairs Ph: +61 467 555 175 [email protected] www.worley.com CAM Industrial Mark Feirman Ph: +1-212-301-7711 [email protected] www.camindustrialsolutions.com
About Worley: Worley is a global company domiciled in Australia with a purpose of delivering a more sustainable world. Worley is a leading global provider of professional project and asset services in the energy, chemicals, and resources sectors. As a knowledge-based service provider, we use our knowledge and capabilities to support our customers to reduce their emissions and move towards a low carbon future. Worley Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: WOR).
About CAM Industrial Solutions LLC: At the closing of the transaction, CAM Industrial Solutions LLC will provide maintenance and turnaround services to refineries, chemical plants, natural resource extraction and processing, and other industrial facilities across the U.S. and Canada, as well as operations and maintenance services to utilities. CAM Industrial operates with the values of safety, high-quality service, and responsiveness to customers. For more information, please visit camindustrialsolutions.com.
About Cross Rapids Capital L.P.: Cross Rapids Capital L.P. is an operationally driven investment firm, dedicated to North American middle-market industrial and services companies. We partner with owners and management teams to accelerate companies, and we bring decades of sector, operational, and investing expertise and a hands-on, collaborative approach to empower their business success. For more information, please visit crossrapids.com.
About The Baupost Group: The Baupost Group is a Boston-based investment manager with a long-term, value-oriented approach. Since 1982, the firm has been thoughtfully stewarding and compounding capital on behalf of families, foundations and endowments, as well as employees who collectively are the firm's largest client. Baupost manages roughly $25 billion with a broad and flexible charter, investing in a wide range of asset classes, including significant holdings in publicly traded debt and equity securities, private debt, real estate, and private equity. CEO and Portfolio Manager Seth Klarman has overseen Baupost's investments from the company's inception.
SOURCE CAM Industrial Solutions LLC
The Wurth 400 is the centerpiece of Dover Motor Speedway's April 28-30 NASCAR tripleheader weekend
The Wurth 400 is the 105th NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover . The series has raced at the Monster Mile every year since 1969
Visit DoverMotorSpeedway.com to order NASCAR tickets
DOVER, Del., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the world's preeminent names in manufacturing and distribution is partnering with Dover Motor Speedway on a multi-year sponsorship of the Monster Mile's signature event of 2023, track and company officials said today.
The Wurth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, April 30 (2 p.m., FS1, PRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio) is the centerpiece of Dover Motor Speedway's April 28-30 NASCAR tripleheader weekend, which also includes the A-GAME 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race (1:30 p.m., FS1, PRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio) on Saturday, April 29 and the General Tire 125 ARCA Menards Series East race (5:30 p.m.) on Friday, April 28.
Wurth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on April 30 is the centerpiece of Dover Motor Speedway's NASCAR tripleheader weekend. Tweet this
Wurth, the global leader in development, production, and sale of fastening and assembly materials, is a longtime partner of Team Penske in the NASCAR Cup Series and will be a proud sponsor of the No. 12 Ford driven by Ryan Blaney at the Monster Mile in April. Check out www.wurthracing.com to learn more about Wurth's partnerships.
"As a proud partner of Team Penske since 2012, NASCAR and motorsports has been synonymous with Wurth for many years," said Thomas O'Neill, executive vice president of the Wurth Group. "We are ecstatic to be able to partner with Dover Motor Speedway for the upcoming April NASCAR Cup Series race in Delaware. We look forward to bringing an exciting event to the fans and a memorable experience to our business partners. We've always had an excellent experience at the Monster Mile and look forward to celebrating in Victory Lane with this year's Wurth 400 winner."
The Wurth 400 is the Monster Mile's 105th NASCAR Cup Series race and comes during NASCAR's 75th anniversary season. Dover Motor Speedway is one of only 10 tracks in the country to host 100 or more NASCAR Cup Series events.
"Wurth is a successful, worldwide brand and to have them on board as a partner of Dover Motor Speedway provides a great opportunity for us to collaborate and enhance our entire race weekend while delivering on their objectives," said Mike Tatoian, Dover Motor Speedway's president and GM. "Our team can't wait to see all of our fans back in Dover in late April for another unforgettable and energetic NASCAR weekend at the Monster Mile."
In addition to Blaney, drivers expected to compete in the Wurth 400 are defending Dover champion Chase Elliott, two-time NASCAR champion Joey Logano, and three-time Monster Mile Cup Series winners Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.
The centerpiece of one of the best Fan Zone's in all of NASCAR, Big Bounce America, the world's largest bounce house experience, will be FREE for all fans during race weekend. Certified by Guinness World Records, Big Bounce America's bounce house, 12,000-plus square feet of colors, inflatables and adventure is the world's largest bounce house. Along with "The Giant," a 900-foot long course containing more than 50 obstacles to pass through, the Big Bounce America experience will be FREE for race fans before the Wurth 400 as well as before and after Dover's Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29 races.
NASCAR TICKETS:
Dover Motor Speedway's 2023 race schedule includes:
Sunday, April 30 , 2 p.m. : Wurth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race
Wurth 400 NASCAR Cup Series race Saturday, April 29 , 1:30 p.m. : A-GAME 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash race
A-GAME 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash race Friday, April 28 , 5:30 p.m. : General Tire 125 ARCA Menards Series East race
Call 800-441-RACE to discuss your ticket and camping options with an account representative or visit DoverMotorSpeedway.com.
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About Wurth
The Wurth Group based in Kunzelsau Germany, is a world leader in automotive and hardware solutions. The core philosophy is offering customers the highest quality products at reasonable prices. Wurth combines German engineering with innovative and sustainable manufacturing processes. For over 50 years, the Wurth Companies of North America have been providing customers with everything they need to succeed in the Automotive, Industrial and Woodworking Industries. From body shops to fleet garages, Wurth USA and Wurth Canada are the leading suppliers of high-quality products and services for the automotive aftermarket, transportation maintenance and repair industry. Wurth's North American Wood Division companies build strong partnerships for the cabinetry and woodworking professional by providing premier manufacturer brands combined with superior delivery systems through their own fleet. Coast to coast between Canada and the USA, Wurth has your building material needs covered between Wurth Baer Supply, Wurth Louis and Company, Wurth Wood Group, Dakota Premium Hardwoods, and McFadden's Hardwoods and Hardware. Wurth Industry of North America specializes in the creation and management of vendor managed inventory programs for industrial production. With 420,000 line items available, Wurth Industry of North America is the most complete C parts supplier in the industry. The Wurth Group's 400 companies throughout 84 countries proudly serve over 3 million professional customers every day, and now in 2023 will be offering select products in North America's largest retail stores.
SOURCE Dover Motor Speedway
BEIJING, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Beijing Review:
The past decade has seen big changes in Xinjiang, the Uygur autonomous region in northwest China where over 50 percent of locals hail from ethnic minority groups. Kurbanjan Samat, Uygur native and well-known documentary maker, honored his own commitment to publishing a series of documentaries and accompanying books on the people of the region to battle the external bias against his hometown.
Kurbanjan Samat, Uygur native and well-known documentary maker (WEI YAO)
Perception and preconception
The series' latest literary installment, entitled Jiang Lai (The Future of Xinjiang), appeared on shelves in March, 2022, presenting an overarching conclusion to Samat's Xinjiang trilogy: I Am From Xinjiang on the Silk Road (2014), I Am Going to Xinjiang (2018), and I Am From China (2019).
Samat launched his series around 2012 against the backdrop of a general global misunderstanding of Xinjiang following several terrorist attacks in the region. People with little-to-no knowledge of the region tended to get nervous when coming face to face with Xinjiang residents, particularly after the attack in the capital of Urumqi on July 5, 2009, which caused 197 deaths and injured over 1,700.
The first book and accompanying documentary I Am From Xinjiang on the Silk Road (2014) present life through local eyes, digging into the stereotypes that color people's preconceived notions on the region. The film garnered 20 million hits online within the first week of its release and won Samat several "outstanding documentarian" awards across China.
"We all come into the world as crying babies and we will all return to nature after we die, only in different ways," Samat told Beijing Review. "We need to think about human natureregardless of ethnicity and skin tone."
He decided to write his second book, I Am Going to Xinjiang, as he strongly felt the Uygur alone could not possibly represent a region that is home to all of China's 56 ethnic groups. This work included the 26 stories of both Chinese living in and foreigners moving to Xinjiang, a developing region that had been receiving financial aid and talent from other provinces for decades at that timeand a key feature along the Silk Road since ancient times.
"I wanted the second book to deliver the message that Xinjiang is a safe and appealing place for many who would like to study, or settle down, here," Samat said.
In the last book of the series, he took his search worldwide, looking for Xinjiang people across the continents. Having visited dozens of countries himself, and with a few accolades to his name, Samat met more and more Xinjiang people living abroad, willing to share their stories with him. His third book, I Am From China, came into being in 2019, some 40 years after China had opened its doors to the world.
Between 2012 and 2022, Samat became father to two boys and lost his own father, yet diligently continued his self-designated task to shoot Xinjiang and its people through his lens.
Samat considers Jiang Lai the "summarization" of his trilogy. He revisited a dozen of interviewees from the first book some 10 years after their lives first crossed paths, and life had indeed changed a lot over the decade. These new stories reflect their individual transformationand that of Xinjiang by large.
The region has seen no terrorist incidents since 2017, and many people would now like to go and take in the charisma of Xinjiang themselves thanks to millions sharing visual tales of its beauty and uniqueness online.
SOURCE Beijing Review
Philippines looks forward to benefiting from RCEP mega-trade deal
Xinhua) 15:14, February 22, 2023
MANILA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Philippine officials expressed optimism on Wednesday that the Philippines will reap the benefits from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement after the Philippine Senate ratified the mega-regional trade deal.
The government economic managers said RCEP, which entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022, is a timely tool to foster regional integration and economic growth as the Asia-Pacific region and the world recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan lauded the Senate for taking the "bold and game-changing move" of approving the pact, which "will provide another engine for growing the Philippine economy and making it part of a rapidly rising Asia."
Balisacan likened RCEP to "a vehicle that would drive (the Philippine) economy's sustained growth through regional and global trade as well as through greater investment in strategic sectors."
He said being part of RCEP will further enhance the Philippines' market access, placing the country at par with other RCEP-participating countries and the world's largest economies, such as China, Japan and South Korea.
"With the country's participation in RCEP, the Philippines has further strengthened its position as an ideal investment hub in the region as we expand market access, facilitate trade, and align our rules and procedures with participating economies," he said.
In line with the overall goals of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the minister said robust business expansion and investment will lead to more, higher quality and more resilient jobs that will be key to rapid and sustained poverty reduction.
RCEP is a massive free trade agreement (FTA) involving Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It is the world's largest free trade area representing 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).
Philippine officials said RCEP covers roughly 50.4 percent of the Philippines' export markets, 67.3 percent of the country's import sources, and 58 percent of foreign direct investment.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said joining RCEP will result in a stable and predictable business environment to attract more investments in the Philippines and safeguard the country's investments abroad. "The agreement will also support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) development and drive participation in the global value chain."
According to Diokno, zero or lower import tariffs for Philippine exports such as agricultural products, automotive parts and garments would give the Southeast Asian country more access to bigger product markets.
Philippine manufacturers would also benefit from wider sources of raw materials due to zero or lower import duties on their inputs and more flexibility in the rules of the FTA on product manufacturing.
Skilled Filipino professionals and business persons in legal, construction, engineering, and banking services will be given preferential treatment to practice their professions in participating nations.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said participation in RCEP is expected to lead to a 2.02-percent increase in real GDP, according to a study by Francis Quimba, research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, said the Philippines' ratification is "a welcome positive development," adding the trade deal "will yield tangible benefits" for the country.
"Most importantly, RCEP will provide the Philippine exporters with sources from 14 countries, including the country's top import sources of raw materials, China and ASEAN. RCEP will also allow Philippine traders to source intermediate goods from any of the 14 RCEP members-countries with only one certification of origin and will significantly improve the overall business environment of the Philippines," she added.
In September 2021, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ratified the RCEP Agreement and brought it to the Senate for concurrence. But the Senate failed to ratify the agreement in December 2021 before the free trade deal took effect on Jan. 1 last year.
In the Philippines, treaties or international agreements entered into by the government require Senate concurrence.
On Tuesday night, the Senate approved the a resolution ratifying the RCEP agreement. Senate Resolution No. 485 was approved on the third and final reading, with 20 affirmative votes, one negative vote and one abstention.
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Istanbul, Feb 22 : The major twin earthquakes that struck southern Turkey this month have raised serious concerns about the country's agricultural capacity as the 10 hardest-hit provinces are home to about 3.58 million hectare of agricultural land, or 15 per cent of the nation's total.
The provinces are responsible for 15.5 per cent of all planted grains and crops, 15.2 per cent of vegetables and 25.2 per cent of fruit and spices in Turkey, with nearly a fifth of the $34.2-billion agricultural exports last year coming from the region, according to a report by the financial daily Dunya.
Agricultural drought had already been causing concern in Turkey even before the disaster, as the government released a five-year action plan for agricultural drought just a week before the devastating earthquakes, Xinhua news agency reported.
"Drought is something we are going to have to accept ... We need to take certain precautions to minimise it immediately," Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirisci said.
The massive earthquakes have only exacerbated the problem.
"With years of climate change, widespread drought, and serious risks faced by agricultural production during summer months ... we will reach their maximum level in the wake of the earthquakes," Yusuf Demir, a professor of the Faculty of Agriculture of the Ondokuz Mayis University, told daily Birgun.
"Farmers need to get hold of seeds, fertiliser, pesticides. Meanwhile, people are struggling to survive, their houses are destroyed, and their tractors don't work," he warned.
Toward this end, Kirisci, the Agriculture Minister, announced last week that nearly 50 million Turkish liras ($2.6 million) in agricultural support were being paid out to farmers.
Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN issued a flash appeal "seeking $25 million to reach 900,000 rural people in all 10 affected provinces (in Turkey) ... over the next three months."
Kiev, Feb 22 : The Ukrainian military conducted exercises in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the 30-km-radius territory around the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Command of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian army (JFU) said on Facebook.
The exercises are part of the tactical and special manoeuvers codenamed "Oxymoron-2023", which are underway in Ukraine's northern operational zone.
During the drills, the military personnel honed their skills in conditions similar to combat, Xinhua news agency reported.
Serhiy Nayev, the Commander of the JFU, who supervised the training, said on Tuesday that the exercises aimed at strengthening the army's ability to react promptly to possible actions of the enemy.
At the same time, Nayev emphasised that currently the threat from the north against Ukraine is minimal.
The Chernobyl plant, nearly 110 km north of the Ukrainian capital, suffered one of the worst nuclear accidents in human history on April 26, 1986.
In February 2022, Russian forces captured the Chernobyl plant and had been in control of it for five weeks.
Los Angeles, Feb 22 : There have been at least 25 million flu illnesses, 280,000 hospitalisations, and 18,000 deaths from flu so far this season in the US, according to the latest estimates of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The number and weekly rate of flu hospital admissions continue to decline in the country.
Five influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported in the week ending February 11, for a total of 111 pediatric flu deaths reported so far this season, according to the CDC.
Nearly 2,000 people were hospitalised with flu in the latest week, Xinhua news agency reported.
The CDC recommends that everyone aged six months and above get an annual flu vaccine as long as flu activity continues.
Baghdad, Feb 22 : Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid has emphasised the importance of expanding cooperation between Iraq and Lebanon in various fields.
Rashid made the remarks during a meeting with visiting Lebanese caretaker Labour Minister Mustafa Bayram in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, according to a statement released by the Iraqi presidency on Tuesday.
"The President highlighted the need to upgrade the relations between the two countries in economic, commercial and cultural fields," the statement said.
Rashid also underlined the importance of strengthening the cooperation with Lebanon through the exchange of visits and experiences, especially in the fields of employment, social protection and vocational education, it added.
For his part, Bayram noted that the relations between Lebanon and Iraq had developed through communication and demonstrated their depth under difficult circumstances, Xinhua news agency reported.
During Bayram's meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Monday, the two sides discussed various issues of common interests, including cooperation in the trade of agricultural products and prevention of double taxation, said a statement issued by the Iraqi Prime Minister's media office.
Tunis, Feb 22 : Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar has voiced his country's readiness to support Libya in reaching a political settlement to end its crisis.
Ammar made the remarks during a meeting with visiting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily to discuss the Libyan crisis, said the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Tuesday.
The Tunisian top diplomat said Tunisia is determined to "provide all the necessary support to the Libyan people and to the efforts of the UN in order to restore peace, security and development in the neighbouring country," according to the statement.
Ammar reiterated Tunisia's firm stance on Libya's situation, which is based on supporting a peaceful Libyan-led and -owned solution free of foreign interference, Xinhua news agency reported.
For his part, Bathily praised Tunisia for its constructive stance and its central role in supporting the process of settling the Libyan issue.
Bathily reviewed the UN's efforts made in collaboration with various Libyan parties, neighbouring countries and international partners to promote dialogue between the Libyan factions, "so as to lead to the organisation of elections as soon as possible, in accordance with the will of the Libyan people."
United Nations, Feb 22 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the US and Russia to resume the full implementation of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).
Asked about Guterres' reaction to Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that his country will suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that the Secretary-General's position is that the US and Russia should resume the full implementation of the treaty without delay, Xinhua news agency reported.
"The New START and successive bilateral treaties on strategic nuclear arms reduction between the two countries have provided security not only for Russia and the US, but (also) for the entire international community," Dujarric added.
A world without nuclear arms control is a far more dangerous and unstable one with potentially catastrophic consequences. Every effort should be taken to avoid this outcome, including through an immediate return to dialogue, he told a daily press briefing.
Asked whether Guterres has plans to talk to Putin on the issue of the New START or the conflict in Ukraine, Dujarric said he had nothing to share with reporters at this point.
United Nations, Feb 22 : The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan dispatches patrols to support the 2018 revitalised peace agreement among competing factions, a UN spokesman said.
"In Eastern Equatoria, the mission reinforced the capacity of community members, particularly youth, to peacefully resolve conflicts," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Tuesday.
"They engaged with state and county officials, as well as with the South Sudan Council of Churches to help prevent intercommunal violence." Peacekeepers also patrol the area between Tseretenya and Ikotos to reduce tensions among communities and improve security, Dujarric added.
In the greater Tonj area, the mission, known as UNMISS, launched the second phase of a project funded by the South Sudan Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Reconciliation, Stabilisation, and Resilience. The aim is to restore peaceful coexistence through dialogue on local priorities, he said.
The spokesman also added that in preparation for the coming rainy season, UNMISS deployed all-terrain vehicles in Jonglei state to ensure a nimble and robust response to possible emergencies, including in flood-prone areas that were previously inaccessible, Xinhua news agency reported.
Separately, the UN Refugee Agency, with 108 humanitarian and development partners, has appealed for $1.3 billion to protect and assist the 2.2 million South Sudanese refugees living outside their homeland, said Dujarric.
The funds support South Sudanese refugees and their local host communities in Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda, he added.
He said the agency noted that the appeal comes amid a worsening economic outlook across the region. The long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ripple effects of the conflict in Ukraine have pushed up fuel and food prices and increased unemployment.
"This support will be crucial in meeting refugees' most immediate needs in host countries, including shelter, education, health and food assistance," the spokesman added.
Muzaffarnagar : , Feb 22 (IANS) In a bizarre incident, former Uttar Pradesh Minister, Sudhakar Kashyap carried a basket of shoes on his head and appealed to the Kashyap community to unite.
A video clip of the incident has now gone viral on the social media.
The purported video belongs to Lakadsandha village in Muzaffarnagar where an event of Kashyap Samaj was held.
The Samajwadi Party leader collected the shoes of the members of the Kashyap society and put them on his head.
Thousands of members of the Kashyap society had gathered at the event. During the event, Kashyap while giving a speech on the stage, put the shoes on his head and made the appeal to stay united.
The former Minister said, "I want my community to get SC status. It should be noted that Kashyap at present has OBC status, but we want SC reservation."
Fatehpur, Feb 22 : The Uttar Pradesh government has cancelled the allotment of 72 plots to MSME Minister Rakesh Sachan in Fatehpur.
The plots were allotted 11 years ago during the SP rule when Sachan was SP MP from the district.
A resolution to this effect was adopted and unanimously approved at the district Udyog Bandhu meeting on Tuesday.
General manager (industries) Ajinesh Kumar Singh mooted the resolution for the cancellation of the allotments to Sachan, his NGOs 'Abhinav Seva Sansthan' and 'Seema Shikshan Sansthan' in 2012-2013.
The plots would be allotted again to the eligible people and the department would ensure that the land is used for the purpose it has been sought for, said Singh.
The allotments were found when the industries and MSME department looked for vacant land in industrial estates across Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the Global Investors Summit.
A body of entrepreneurs, Laghu Udyog Bharti, which supports small businesses, had on February 11 complained to the government about the allotment of plots to Sachan.
Satyendra Singh, president of this body, said the cancellation was welcome and the land be given to the worthy entrepreneurs.
"Industrialisation of Fatehpur, which is one of most backward districts, should be a priority," he added.
Sachan, on his part had, said the land was allotted to him and the NGOs for setting up educational institutions in line with the government policy.
"The schools were not established as the area was not developed and industries were not coming. I have returned the plots formally to the industries and MSME department," he said.
But he did not say as to why he and his NGOs did not deposit 10 per cent of total cost as minimum allotment fee.
Lucknow, Feb 22 : An army jawan, whose wife died in a mysterious fire incident earlier this week, has been arrested.
Police suspect that Manish, the accused army jawan posted in Bihar regiment, killed Tanu Kumari, 22, allegedly for dowry.
Tanu married Manish a year back. The victim's father Virendra Kumar Rai of Vaishali, in his complaint, explained in detail the torture Tanu was undergoing and exposed Manish and his family who told police that they did not know how Tanu was engulfed in flames.
"We married Tanu to Manish with the consent of both the families and gave adequate gifts to him. A few days after the marriage, Manish and his brother Anish and their mother Suman demanded Rs 10 lakh and dowry and a plot in Hajipur locality in Vaishali district of Bihar," he said.
He further said Tanu called him on February 19 informing that she was being beaten by Manish's brother and his mother since Manish returned home.
"She also told me to come immediately and take her back. It was not possible to reach Lucknow so quickly," he said.
He said that he got a call from Tanu's mother-in-law Suman who told him that Tanu had run away from the house.
"A little later Suman phoned me again and told me that Tanu died in a fire," he said.
Washington, Feb 22 : The US said that it had issued 36 per cent more visas to Indians so far this year than in pre-Covid-19 pandemic times because of "number one priority" being accorded to cutting of wait-time that has included unprecedented steps such as remote processing of applications from India, sometimes all the way in Washington D.C.
The longest wait-time, typically for first-time visitors, is down from over 1,000 days to about 580, as a result of such measures that also include interview waiver for repeat visitors, additional staffing at consular operations in Indian missions and "Super Saturdays" when mission staff just process visas all day.
From summer stateside renewal of visas will be allowed in some categories on a pilot basis.
"It is the number one priority that we're facing right now," said Julie Stufft, the senior official of the State Department's consular operations, told reporters while referring to the extraordinary delays in the processing of US visas in India.
"We are absolutely committed to getting us out of the situation where people -- anyone in India -- seeking a visa appointment or a visa would have to wait a lengthy time at all. That's certainly not our ideal." As a result of these efforts so far this year, Stufft said further" "We've issued 36 per cent more visas than we did before the pandemic in India. Just to say that again, 36 per cent more visas processed now than during the before the pandemic in normal times and that is a huge percentage increase and I think it will actually go up as the year goes on. It's only February." Long waiting times for US visa processing post-pandemic, specially for first-time visitors, have become a key issue in the bilateral relationship and it was raised by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the last 2+2 meeting between the two countries' Foreign and Defence Ministers in Washington D.C. last September.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had assured him then that the US had a plan to address the issue.
Frustration over these visa delays had led many in India to ask if they were symptoms or manifestation of deeper problems in the bilateral relationship. And there was a perception that the delay was intentional.
"We are keenly aware of the public perception this has generated and created in India and in part, what we're doing today is to try and address that misperception that somehow the US is no longer welcoming of Indian students or Indian businessman or Indian visitors writ large and this really is a systemic problem," said Nancy Jackson, a senior official of the state department's South and Central Asia bureau, in response to question.
The delays were caused by the closure of consular operation for more than a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
All US operations were impacted around the world. But the situation in India was the worst of all because of the sheer volume of visa applications that the US receives from Indians for all categories -- from B1/B2 tourist visas to H-1B and L work visas to others.
Delays in most of these categories have been addressed to a large extent the officials said because of interview waiver for repeat visitors.
Their applications are processed remotely at US missions around the world.
"So right now today we have dozens and dozens of officers around the world and here in Washington right down the street doing Indian thesis on behalf of our mission in India," Stufft said.
This frees up the consular staff in India to focus on first-time visitor interviews.
Indians are also being encouraged to apply for visas at US missions in other countries, the officials said, who acknowledged this was far from an ideal situation.
More than 100 US missions around the world have processed Indian applications.
Mathura : , Feb 22 (IANS) A sub-inspector and two constables have been suspended for allegedly assaulting the brother of Etah MP Rajveer Singh's private secretary.
According to the complaint filed by the victim, Veer Bahadur Singh, he had taken a lift in a cantor passing nearby his residence in Andarey village, under the Naujheel police station to reach the city on February 17.
The police stopped the cantor near the Mant toll plaza on Yamuna expressway and had an altercation with the driver and started beating him.
When Singh tried to intervene, three policemen and an unknown person attacked him with a stick and butt of the gun. Later he was made to sit at the police station for the entire night. Police booked him for breach of peace.
"Following primary investigation on the basis of the complaint received, three policemen, including Mant police outpost in-charge SI Rajat Dubey, constable Shivam and Kuldeep have been suspended. An FIR will be registered into the - entire matter," DSP Ravikant Parasar said.
Etah MP's private secretary Man Singh Fuazadar said, "Cops brutally beat my brother, even took Rs 1,280 from him. He has sustained injuries on his legs, back, and face. Later when the MP apprised the SP of the entire matter, he was released from the police station. On the basis of the medical examination, my brother had filed a formal complaint." Rajveer Singh is the son of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. His son Sandeep Singh is the cabinet minister of Uttar Pradesh and also the minister in-charge of Mathura.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 22 : CPI(M) which has been vociferously opposing the "gaging" of press freedom by the Narendra Modi government ironically finds itself in the same path today.
With the scheduled appearance of one of the most popular Malayalam TV anchors Vinu V.John before the police on Thursday, the issue of "stifling" of media once again takes a centrestage.
John told IANS that he will appear as asked by the Police.
The incident took place on March 28, 2022 when John was anchoring the news bulletin at Asianet News- the most popular Malayalam news channel.
A case was filed against him on April 28 and an FIR registered under various sections of the IPC.
His 'crime' according to the complainant- Elamaram Kareem, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member and one of the top most trade union leader in the state is John expressed his ire as Kerala witnessed a total bandh (shut down) and workers taking part in the protests literally took over the streets of the state with citizens running for shelter.
Presenting his part of the story, John said that he was peeved when a patient who was being moved in an auto-rickshaw drew the ire of the protesters in north Kerala.
In the news hour debate, he made a statement that if anyone did such a thing to Elamaram Kareem, what would have happened.
The cyber wing of the CPI(M) soon latched on to it and it turned out to be a free for all with John coming under attack.
Kareem said he will register a complaint with the police chief and also before the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
Soon after this incident in March, the local CITU unit pasted posters at the house of John.
The posters were in the name of the CITU Peroorkada Area Committee which gave a call for protests against John and to isolate him.
A few days later, trade union workers of various political parties except the BJP marched to the Malayalam TV news channel Asianet to register their protest against the comment made by John.
The Kerala unit of the CPI(M)'s attempt to "gag" the media here comes at a time when the CPI(M) condemned the attack on the Freedom of Press by the Centre against BBC and its general secretary Sitaram Yechury's tweet on it reads, "We condemn searches conducted by the Income Tax department at BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai. This is a blatant attempt to intimidate and harass the television channel for having telecast the documentary, 'The Modi Question'. This standard tactic of the Modi govt won't wash,".
Washington, Feb 22 : A former American envoy to Moscow has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in negotiating before he launched the invasion of Ukraine and "he's still not interested in negotiating" nearly a year into the ongoing war.
John Sullivan, who was the US Ambassador to Russia from February 2020 to September 2022, had conversations with Russian officials about trying to prevent a war.
But "there was no engagement", he told the BBC on Tuesday.
"They demanded security guarantees for Russia but wouldn't talk constructively about security for Ukraine. They never moved beyond their talking points... it was a charade," the former envoy added.
When queried if the US should work harder to at continuing those conversations to try to end the war, Sullivan told the BBC that President Putin "wasn't interested in negotiating before the war. He's still not interested in negotiating".
Despite the failures of Moscow's self-declared "special military operation" in Ukraine, Sullivan said the goals initially declared by the Kremlin remain the same -- to "de-Nazify" and "demilitarise" Ukraine.
The former diplomat interprets that as "removing the government in Kiev and subjugating the Ukrainian people".
"He (Putin) can't have a democratically elected government, particularly one led by President (Volodymyr) Zelensky, in Kiev. He will never be satisfied as long as that government exists because he considers it a threat to Russia and to his vision of this larger Russian state he's trying to create.
"He has to be convinced that he can't win. He's going to double down until he's convinced that there's just no way he can win. I'm not sure how significant the battlefield setbacks have to be for him to reach that point, but he's nowhere near that today," Sullivan told the BBC.
He went on to say that neither Putin will surrender easily nor the the Ukrainians.
"The Ukrainian people aren't going to forgive and forget," he says.
"Even if President Zelenksy wanted to end the war, wanted to make territorial concessions, basically wanted to surrender, the Ukrainian people wouldn't let him." On a grim note, Sullivan concluded by saying that he does not expect the war to end this year.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : After three adjourned meetings of the MCD House, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is set to make its fourth attempt to elect a mayor on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court on Friday had said that nominated members cannot vote in the election for the Mayoral poll, the reason for the tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following the MCD election result.
The top court had on February 17 ordered the issuance of a notice within 24 hours for convening the first meeting of the MCD to fix the date of elections for the mayor, the deputy mayor and the members of the standing committee of the civic body.
The previous three meetings held on January 6 and 24 and February 6 were adjourned following a ruckus between the BJP and AAP councillors over the issues of nominated councillors' right to vote in the election.
The last meeting of MCD councillors held on February 6 was adjourned until the next date amid sloganeering and ruckus over the issues of aldermen voting rights. MCD Presiding Officer had said that the polls to elect mayor, deputy mayor and Standing Committee members will be held simultaneously. She also had said that as per the DMC Act aldermen are eligible to vote in the mayor, deputy mayor polls.
However, after the court made it clear that the nominated members cannot vote, Delhi is likely to get a mayor, deputy mayor and members of standing committee on Wednesday.
For second time in 3 weeks, a major fire engulfed several buildings and hutments having small businesses and godowns, NO casualties. Image Source: IANS News
For second time in 3 weeks, a major fire engulfed several buildings and hutments having small businesses and godowns, NO casualties. Image Source: IANS News
Mumbai, Feb 22 : A major fire broke out in several small business establishments in Kamala Nagar and Shahu Nagar areas of Dharavi, early on Wednesday, the BMC Disaster Control said.
The blaze was reported around 4.15 a.m. and quickly engulfed three buildings and some hutments in the area having a garment factory, a bakery, godowns and other businesses.
The conflagration was confined to electrical wiring, installation, cloth, papers, sewing machines, stored there, said the BMC.
Around 25 fire tenders and ambulances rushed to fight the blaze which was brought under control after more than four hours, and there are no casualties in the incident.
This is the second fire that was reported from the Dharavi garment units in the past three weeks. On February 1, a 62-year-old woman was killed in a similar blaze that spread through the small cloth units operating there.
London, Feb 22 : An Indian-origin former Metropolitan Police officer has accused the UK's largest police force of victimising her for exposing alleged racism within the ranks in her book.
Parm Sandhu, who joined the Met in 1989 and served for 30 years, said she has been targeted after the Met Police threatened her with a legal action over her tell-all, which she doesn't regret writing.
Sandhu has been forced to start paying back half of the 120,000 pounds she received in a settlement from the Met after the latter said it would otherwise sue her, The Times reported.
The Met claimed that Sandhu had broken a confidentiality agreement asking her not to make "disparaging" or "derogatory" comments about the Met or former Met commissioner, Cressida Dick.
According to The Times, the deal was signed in 2020 when Sandhu's claim of discrimination was settled before an employment tribunal.
She had launched a discrimination lawsuit in 2019 against the Metropolitan Police alleging that she was denied promotion and work opportunities on the basis of her race and gender.
In her memoir titled 'Black and Blue', Sandhu said she had endured "regular episodes" of discrimination in an "institutionally racist" organisation for 30 years.
She said the incidents included "commonplace" low-level sexual and racial abuse and efforts to hinder promotion.
The Times report stated that Sandhu had agreed to return 60,000 pounds to the department to avoid the Met seeking to injunct publication with a court order.
But it emerged in 2022 that Sandhu refused to give the money following which the Met started a legal action, seeking 60,000 pounds plus 8 per cent interest.
Sandhu consequently started paying in instalments after facing the challenges of expensive court proceedings.
"I lost 60,000 for the privilege of speaking out. And if I could get it back, I would. But I don't regret writing the book," The Times quoted Sandhu as saying.
Lawrence Davies, who represents Sandhu, said it should not be legal to put into tribunal settlements confidentiality clauses or non-disclosure agreements.
"The public has a right to know about racism and sexism in the Met Police," he told The Times.
"To be clear, the Met has made no admissions of liability in respect of the allegations made. The agreement was signed voluntarily by Ms Sandhu and part of that agreement was a clause against publication of derogatory statements," Scotland Yard was quoted as saying by The Times.
Sandhu was honoured in 2006 with an Asian Women of Achievement public sector award for her work in the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings.
New York, Feb 22 : A second Indian-American, Vivek Ramaswamy, has joined the fray for the Republican Party's presidential nomination taking on former President Donald Trump as well as Nikki Haley with a campaign focused on culture wars.
The conservative entrepreneur made the announcement for a longshot bid in a video and on a talk show on Fox News cable channel on Tuesday.
"This isn't just a political campaign; this is a cultural movement to create a new dream for the next generation of Americans" in a nation facing an "identity crisis", he said in his video.
He took on affirmative action, the "woke" left's culture agenda, the burgeoning bureaucracy and the "new culture of fear" that he said has acecompletely replaced our culture of free speech in America".
Ramaswamy, whose family is from Palakkad in Kerala, is the co-founder of two technology companies and a financial management firm, as well as the founder of a pharmaceutical company, which made him a multimillionaire at age 37.
According to Politico, he has a net worth of $500 million which can fund his campaign.
Ramaswamy is the fourth Indian-American to make a bid for a presidential nomination, and the third in the Republican Party after former Louisiana Governor Piyush Bobby Jindal, who ran unsuccessfully in 2016, and Haley, who was the first from the community to serve on the US cabinet and is in the 2024 race.
Kamala Harris sought the Democratic nomination for 2020, but dropped out and was picked by President Joe Biden to be the vice president.
Ramaswamy made his mark as a writer of two best-sellers that blasted what he calls the "woke" culture.
He is appealing to the same crowd as Trump that sees the US being undone by liberal policies and the power of what they see as an elite.
"Faith, patriotism and hard work have disappeared, only to be replaced by new secular religions like aCovidism', aclimatism' and gender ideology," Ramaswamy said in his video.
He stressed his opposition to affirmative action programmes for minorities that have some similarities to the reservations in India.
"The American dream means you believe in merit, that you get ahead in this country, not on the colour of your skin, but on the content of your character and your contributions," he said.
He also took on the "cancel culture" that targets people opposing the politically correct dogmas exposing them to media attacks and even punitive actions that he called the "culture of fear".
Haley, who announced her run for the nomination last week, also had a strong element of opposition to the "woke" culture of what the American right perceives as extreme liberalism on social issues.
Trump, who Ramaswamy says inspired him, ran his presidential campaign on these premises, which have been adopted by other Republicans like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to be the front-runner to challenge the former President.
With Trump and more entrenched Republican expected in the race besides Haley, Ramaswamy told Politico about his maverick campaign, "You know, maybe all of this is ill-advised and I'll fall flat on my face".
But he added: "I don't think that's gonna happen." Paradoxically for a campaign based on culture wars, Ramaswamy said in his video that he is running to be a national unifier to revive "the Pluribus Unum from many, one" which is the American motto found on the national seal.
"I have a dream that we can be one people" although acewe have obsessed so much over our diversity and our differences, that we've forgotten all the ways we're really just the same as Americans," he said.
(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
Kochi, Feb 22 : The Kerala High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition by Malayalam actor Mohanlal challenging the Perumbavoor Judicial First Class Magistrate Court order nixing the state's plea to withdraw the proceedings against the actor in a decade-old illegal ivory possession case.
Though the court dismissed the actor's plea for want of locus, it partially allowed the state's plea and asked the Magistrate court for fresh consideration bringing some respite to him.
However, the actor was relieved as the court asked the Magistrate to consider the state's plea afresh.
This would mean that the actor still has a chance for reprieve if the Magistrate decides the state's plea in favour of the hugely popular actor.
The case relates to the alleged illegal possession of two pairs of ivory tusks which resulted in the registration of a first information report (FIR) alleging commission of offences under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Mohanlal has always claimed that the ivory tusks were obtained legally and that in 2015, at the direction of the Central government, the Kerala government had issued a certificate of ownership to him.
Following which, the State government had issued a no objection certificate for withdrawing the case against him.
However, in June 2022, the Magistrate court dismissed the State's application to withdraw the case, following which the actor and the Kerala government moved the High Court against the same.
During the hearings, the High Court had observed that Mohanlal may not have locus standi to challenge the order of the Magistrate Court and only the State could have challenged the order.
Later, the state approached the High Court with its revision petition contending that the order of the Magistrate was issued without considering the facts and circumstances of the case.
The court finally dismissed the actor's plea for want of locus but partially allowed the state's plea and asked the Magistrate court for fresh consideration.
Bhubaneswar, Feb 22 : Speaking for the first time on the brutal murder of Odisha Minister Naba Kishore Das, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said the state crime branch is seeking the help of the US' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as they have the best expertise in behavioural analysis in such cases.
Patnaik made the announcement following a ruckus by the Opposition BJP and Congress in the state Assembly.
"We have requested the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to facilitate an evaluation of the behavior of the accused by the behavioral support unit of the FBI of the US," the Chief Minister said.
On January 29, Naba Kishore Das, then Health Minister was fired at by an ASI Gopal Das.
Despite best efforts, the Minister could not be saved.
The accused officer was immediately dismissed from service.
In view of the sensitive nature of this incident, a crime branch investigation was ordered immediately.
To ensure transparency in the investigation, Patnaik said on request of his government, the Orissa High Court has nominated one retired judge Justice J.P. Das to monitor the investigation of this case.
The crime branch has been asked to do a thorough and scientific investigation to establish the truth in the case.
It has taken services of the best forensic experts in the country in this case, the Chief Minister said, adding, the State Forensic Science Laboratory, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in New Delhi and the Gujarat State Forensic Science Laboratory are assisting the crime branch.
To examine whether the accused is telling the truth or is being deceptive, several tests including psychiatric evaluation, narco-analysis, forensic psychological assessment and layered voice analysis of the accused were conducted, Patnaik informed.
He assured the Assembly that no stone will be left unturned in ensuring a full, fair and open investigation in the case with the assistance of the best forensic experts in India and abroad.
The Chief Minister, however, strongly criticised the Opposition, especially the BJP, for politicising the sensitive case.
"In the aftermath of this terrible incident, the manner in which this very sensitive case is being politicized has shocked me as well as the people of Odisha. It is disturbing to see the baseless and malicious allegations that are being made," he said.
Stating that the whole police investigation will be subjected to judicial scrutiny, the Chief Minister questioned the need to do politics in the case and make baseless and malicious allegations.
He alleged that the Opposition has no other agenda except politicising heinous crimes and demoralising state's police force which is the pride of Orissa.
"Assaulting a lady police officer on duty by a person holding high constitutional post is deplorable and disgraceful. Odisha has always respected its women and will never forgive this shameful behaviour," he said.
The Chief Minister said his government's only aim will be to bring the perpetrators of such crime to justice and give the strictest punishment.
However, Patnaik has not informed the Assembly about the motive behind the murder of the Minister.
The BJP and Congress continued to create ruckus in the Assembly over the murder case from the beginning of budget session on Tuesday.
Due to the protest by Opposition members, the first half of Wednesday's session was completely washed away.
Even after the Chief Minister's statement, they continued their agitation in the well forcing the Speaker to adjourn the proceedings till 4 p.m and convene an all-party meeting to bring normalcy in the House.
Hyderabad, Feb 22 : Sukesh Gupta, one of the owners of MBS Jewellers, on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in a money laundering case.
The jeweller appeared before the ED officials at the agency's regional office here.
The Telangana High Court on Monday had directed Gupta to appear before the ED and answer queries on information he had furnished. The court had refused to further stay the ED proceedings.
The court had earlier stayed the ED case and appointed a senior counsel as amicus curiae.
The central agency had commenced investigation against Gupta based on an FIR filed by the CBI in 2014 on alleged irregularities committed by him in operating provisions of the gold import scheme.
Gupta had entered into an MoU with Metals Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC), a public sector enterprise, under provisions of the scheme. He allegedly received gold on credit from MMTC Ltd to maintain forex positions without paying an additional five per cent tax. The agency reportedly identified fake invoices and vouchers pertaining to jewellery sales to customers.
The ED investigated their bank transactions and reportedly found that they deposited demonetised currency in banks and exchanged them for new notes.
The alleged irregularities by MBS Jewellers and other sister companies in buying gold in collusion with the officials of MMTC allegedly caused a loss to the tune of over Rs 504 crore including interest to the MMTC.
In August 2021, the ED had attached properties worth Rs 363.51 crore of MBS Jewellers, MBS Impex and other group entities under PMLA.
The action was taken on the basis of an FIR registered by the ACB and the CBI against Sukesh Gupta and his companies for defrauding MMTC. The CBI had filed the chargesheet in 2014.
In October last year, the ED had arrested Sukesh Gupta after searches at MBS Jewellers Private Limited and Musaddilal Gems and Jewels India Private Limited. The agency had seized gold jewellery stock worth Rs 149.10 crore and an amount of Rs 1.96 crore.
New Delhi, Feb 22 : A 75-year-old man was found dead at his house in South Delhi and the police suspect a robbery bid behind the murder, officials said on Wednesday.
The deceased has been identified as Satish Kumar Bhardwaj, a resident of Freedom Fighter Enclave, Neb Sarai.
A senior police official said that the Neb Sarai police station received a PCR call at around 8.15 a.m. on Tuesday morning about the man not opening his door, following which a team was immediately rushed to the spot.
"The team found Bhardwaj lying in a pool of blood with a head injury. Rooms in the house were ransacked," he said.
According to the official, the victim lived alone in the house and his two sons lived out of Delhi.
"The family members have been informed. Prima facie, it seems a robbery angle."
New Delhi, Feb 22: Pakistan has bad news coming in from all directions.
Sindhi nationalists, seeking an independent Sindhudesh nation from Pakistan submitted a petition to the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday requesting him to press upon Pakistan to stop enforced appearances of the Sindhi community and release missing persons.
The Sindhi human rights campaigners also held a protest in London over the State-sponsored kidnappings of Sindhi and Baloch people by Pakistan's security and spy agencies. They demanded the release of hundreds of missing persons in Sindh who have been abducted by the Pakistani security forces.
Speaking about the issue of enforced disappearances of people of different ethnicities, chairperson of the World Sindhi Congress (WSC) Rubina Shaikh said: "We have to show solidarity with our Baloch brothers in this grave cause. The issue of abductions is not only about human rights but is actually about environmental justice and resources." Shaikh said that since the "so-called independence of Pakistan, hundreds or thousands of people have gone missing in both sides of the country - Balochistan and Sindh." She added that both the provinces will get their freedom one day.
Speaking at the protest, Lakhu Luhano, general secretary of the WSC said that the missing people in Sindh should not feel alone. "They should know that we are with them." He appealed to the world to stop Pakistan from kidnapping people - an act that is happening in broad daylight and which has been recorded by cameras as well.
The WSC also highlighted the forced abduction of Nazia Khoso and her daughter in Kandhkot, Sindh, a fortnight back and asked Pakistan to release them.
Balochistan province borders Afghanistan and Iran to Pakistan's west while Sindh province borders India in the east. The two regions of Pakistan harbours different ethnicities of people who have been waging a struggle for independence from Pakistan. The Baloch and Sindhis have been collaborating with each other in battling Pakistan, including rebel groups joining hands to attack Pakistani and Chinese projects in the two regions.
Two days before the WSC protest, the Baloch National Movement (BNM) UK held a protest near Sunak's residence at 10 Downing Street in the heart of London. The focus of their protest was the enforced disappearances of Baloch youth, women and children - which the Baloch allege has increased after the Shari Baloch suicide bombing incident.
The BNM alleged that last year 629 people were forcibly disappeared, 195 killed extrajudicially and 187 people tortured by various Pakistani agencies.
The recent abduction of Baloch nationalist Mahal Baloch by Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) from the house of a relative Bibi Gul - the chairperson of the HR Council of Balochistan (HRCB) - a human rights group based in Europe and Balochistan, has added duel to the Baloch fire. Protests have broken out in all of Balochistan against her abduction on suspicions of Mahal being a suicide bomber.
Pakistan finds itself in the global limelight not only due to the activities of Baloch and Sindhi nationalists but also because of its state of affairs - rising terrorism, food shortages, massive fuel price hikes as well as a collapsing economy. Industries are shutting down over power shortages while its foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to import goods for barely three weeks.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
San Francisco, Feb 22 : Apple has armed global researchers with Apple Watch devices to help explore new frontiers in heart health, the company said on Wednesday.
Using Apple's newly launched Investigator Support Programme, researchers can pioneer understanding of the heart with Apple Watch devices.
Apple Watch is currently known to provide heart health features such as high and low heart notifications, cardio fitness, irregular rhythm notifications, the ECG app, and atrial fibrillation (AFib) history.
With the new programme, Australia-based paediatric oncologists Associate Professor Rachel Conyers and Claudia Toro are looking at how treatment can impact heart rhythm.
"I read about the Apple Heart Study and I thought this could be important for paediatrics," Conyers said in a statement.
"We used to think of cardiac toxicity as something that happened 10 years after treatment. But now we know that new cancer therapies (like specific inhibitors or immune therapy) can cause arrhythmias within 48 hours of medication -- so there's a big gap in terms of what we know about the toxicities at the moment," she added.
Conyers and her team at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne will begin with researching the sensitivity of the Apple Watch ECG app. The study on 40 children and adolescent patients aims to better understand the reality of cardiac toxicity and identify potential opportunities for intervention.
Further, So-Min Cheong from Texas A&M University and Brian Kim and Marco Perez at Stanford Medicine in the US plan to use Apple Watch to study the impact of wildfire smoke on heart health.
Using Apple Watch, the team plans to monitor heart rate and rhythm, sleep, blood oxygen, activity data, and more in up to 200 firefighters.
"Firefighters are bound to benefit from the study," said Cheong. "We know wildfire smoke directly affects their health and with a study like this, they'll be able to see their results in real time." Similarly, researchers at the Amsterdam University Medical Centers in Europe also aim to use Apple Watch to detect AFib earlier.
The randomised controlled study will enrol more than 300 patients over the age of 65 who meet a risk threshold for AFib.
AFib is a common heart arrhythmia that can have serious impacts -- such as a higher risk of stroke or heart failure -- if left untreated.
"Apple Watch is such a widely used, reliable consumer wearable that we thought it would be a great device for us to integrate into our research to better understand how we could potentially integrate it into the larger health system," said Sebastiaan Blok, director of eHealth at the Cardiology Centers of the Netherlands.
Jaipur, Feb 22 : The war of words between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat appears to be intensifying over the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam as Gehlot has openly declared Singh as "culprit like the others".
A day after Shekhawat attacked Gehlot accusing him of trying for his "political assassination", the Rajasthan Chief Minister retaliated by claiming that like the rest of the culprits in the Sanjivani scam, the crime against Gajendra Singh has also been proved.
Taking a dig at Shekhawat, Gehlot said, "The Union Minister is trying to mislead the public in the case of Sanjivani Co-operative Society Limited scam. In the investigation of the Special Operation Group (SOG), the crime has been proved against him under the same sections as the other arrested accused.
"He himself knows this very well. Singh knows that Sanjivani Society has looted the life time deposits of more than one lakh victims amounting to more than Rs 900 crore. Even the properties of the accused in the Sanjivani scam have not been attached.
"In this case, the right to attach property is with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and not with the SOG. SOG has requested the ED to attach properties belonging to Sanjivani Society five times in the last two years. Despite this, the ED, which raided the houses of opposition leaders across the country, has not even attached the properties of the accused in the Sanjivani scam," he alleged.
Taking a dig at Gajendra Singh, Gehlot said, "You yourself are a Union Minister, if you are innocent then why don't you come forward to get the money back from the poor." "The Central Registrar has appointed a liquidator in this matter, but he will be able to return the money to the victims only when the property of Sanjivani Society is attached and the money is recovered from there. The central government should take strict action in this matter, in which the Rajasthan government will cooperate fully," said the Chief Minister.
Gehlot said, "Sanjivani Scam Victim Sangh people met me at the Chief Minister's residence in Jaipur about six months ago and two days ago at Jodhpur Circuit House.
"I also got emotional listening to their words that how they were cheated and looted of their hard earned money. Crores of rupees of many victims have been drowned in this scam.
"I have video recordings of all the victims in which their pain is coming out. If there is moral standing, then Gajendra Singh should listen to them and understand what a big crime he has committed.
"Being a Union Minister, why haven't you been able to get the ED to take action yet? The public will have to answer this. The Rajasthan government will continuously contact the ED to ensure justice to the victims.
It needs to be mentioned here that Gajendra Shekhawat had retaliated on Gehlot's allegations a day earlier. Shekhawat said that the CM was trying his "political assassination".
Shekhawat had said that Gehlot terming him as an 'accused' in the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam is akin to his "political assassination to settle scores".
He said, "The SOG presented three charge sheets, but there is neither my name nor my family's name anywhere. Still the Chief Minister called me an accused, he said while talking to the media at the state BJP headquarters on Monday evening.
Amritsar, Feb 22: Pakistan's notorious spy agency ISI is exploiting the poverty of India's border villagers some of whom are desperate to make quick money despite the high risk involved in the cross-border drug smuggling that runs into crores of rupees.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Swapan Sharma who looks after 104 border villages falling on the main smuggling route said, "Our investigations into drug smuggling cases establish that a trafficker has no other concern but to make a fast buck, his socio-economic position comes later." Sharma explains there are 5 stages in the present day drug smuggling racket. At the top is the ISI-linked handler based abroad in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK or Italy who has contacts in Punjab. He arranges supplies of heroin, known as 'Chitta' (meaning white in Punjabi) locally, from Afghanistan via Pakistan.
Interestingly, the police have learnt from experience that on Fridays (Juma) smuggling is paused for a day as the Muslims pray on this day. All the drone intrusions occur on days other than Fridays.
In the second stage of the smuggling network is a Pandhi (foot traveller) who receives directions on the telephone, using virtual internet numbers, from the handler. The Pandhi is asked to go to a particular site to retrieve the specified quantity of heroin from near the international border. A Pandhi is paid between Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 per one-kilogram packet of the drug he retrieves.
In the third stage comes the carrier having a vehicle who does not know the antecedents of the Pandhi and vice versa but collects the consignment from a pre-decided place as conveyed by the handler. He gets about Rs 50,000 per packet of one kilogram. The carrier is responsible for carrying and delivering the contraband to the wholesaler stationed at a far-off city kije Delhi or Mumbai. If caught mid-way, the handler abandons him.
In the fourth stage, the wholesaler is responsible for the onward retail distribution of the drug on a cash basis. The buyers include individual consumers or traffickers from other cities or regular big-time customers in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow etc. The money thus earned gets shared between the wholesaler and the NRI handler. In case of any dishonesty on the part of anyone down the line, the handler delivers a secret message to the police to expose the cheat.
Tejbir Singh Hundal, Superintendent of Police, says the money generated is sent by the wholesaler to the handler, using 'hawala' channels. In some rare cases internet banking is also used that is linked to dummy bank accounts opened in and operated from some banana republics.
SSP Sharma says that drones have now replaced the conventional methods of smuggling. The delivery and distribution method remains the same. At times ISI sends modern pistols and revolvers as special gifts to the wholesaler and carrier along with the contraband consignment. They may retain the weapon or sell it in the grey market to make money.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative
Srinagar, Feb 22 : The Jammu and Kashmir Police's State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Wednesday raided four premises of narco terror suspects and arresting three persons who ran the syndicate.
In a statement, the SIA said: "Targeting the financial networks of terror outfits with an aim to destroy its ecosystem and support structure completely, SIA Kashmir conducted searches on Monday at multiple locations in districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam and Baramulla.
"About 4 premises of narco terror suspects in different districts of Kashmir were searched on Tuesday viz residential premises of Abdul Rashid Bhat R/O Padgampora, Awantipora, Danish Farooq R/O Nasrullapora, Budgam, Abdul Rashid Mir R/O Amargrah, Sopore and Ovais Gul Bhat R/O Hardu Akad Anantnag in compliance to search warrant obtained from the Court of Special Judge, designated under NIA Act (TADA/POTA) Srinagar in connection with investigation of case FIR No. 19/2022, U/S 8/21,29 NDPS Act, 13,17, 18, 39,40 UA (P) Act read with section 120-B, 121, 121 A IPC of P/S CI/SIA Srinagar, registered in Police Station CIK (SIA) Kashmir.A "The investigation of the case has so far unearthed a narco terror module that was being operated by proscribed terrorist organisations across the border in coordination with Central Jail Srinagar based handlers.
"The investigations established so far that the syndicate had succeeded in smuggling around 24 kg of narcotics worth crores of rupees from Pakistan, transported it to different places through human couriers, sold it to dealers at different places, collected the sale proceeds, and used a large portion of the proceeds for prohibited activities for supporting and nurturing terror activities.
"The narcotics proceeds were used for personal financial enrichment of members of the syndicate besides, huge narcotic proceeds were channelized to support and finance terror activities in the valley.
"Three members of the syndicate including a lady have been arrested so far."
New York, Feb 22 : A US judge has ruled that victims of the 9/11 terror attacks were not entitled to seize $3.5 billion in assets belonging to Afghanistan's central bank.
In his 30-page ruling, Judge George Daniels said he was "constitutionally restrained" from approving access to the funds, which are frozen in the US, as this would amount to a ruling that the Taliban were Afghanistan's legitimate government, reports the NNC.
He noted that President Joe Biden's administration did not recognise the Taliban, which meant US courts did not have the power to do so either.
"The judgment creditors are entitled to collect on their default judgments and be made whole for the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history, but they cannot do so with the funds of the central bank of Afghanistan.
"The Taliban, not the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan or the Afghan people, must pay for the Taliban's liability in the 9/11 attacks," Daniels added.
At the time of the attacks in 2001, the Taliban had allowed Al Qaeda militants to operate from Afghanistan.
The judge's ruling is a defeat for those who had claimed some of the $7 billion of Afghanistan's central bank funds frozen at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, the BBC reported.
"This decision deprives over 10,000 members of the 9/11 community of their right to collect compensation from the Taliban," said Lee Wolosky, a lawyer who argued for victims' compensation.
"We believe it is wrongly decided and will appeal." The 9/11 suicide plane attacks claimed 2,977 lives.
Mumbai, Feb 22 : Actress Kaveri Seth, who is set to make her debut with the upcoming film 'Gulmohar', was in awe of her co-actors Manoj Bajpayee, Sharmila Tagore, Amol Palekar and BAFTA award nominee Suraj Sharma.
She said that Manoj treated her like his own student and shared anecdotes from his experience as an actor.
The debutante plays Divya in the film, an accomplished and determined young woman from Delhi who rises above the challenge to strike a balance between her thriving career and her loving marriage with Aditya, played by Suraj Sharma.
The actress said: "'Gulmohar' has been a dream project in every way. It's a beautiful story that has been told with such honesty, and will resonate across generations. It was surreal walking onto a set where there were veterans like Sharmila ma'am, Manoj sir, Amol sir and Simran ma'am. They all have such different approaches to their craft, I was constantly amazed and learning." She continued: "To think I've shared screen space with them is just wild! We also spent so much time together off set that I've had an experience of a lifetime, I am beyond grateful. It's been beautiful." Talking about her experience of working with Manoj, she said: "Manoj sir treated us like his own students while filming 'Gulmohar'. He'd share so many anecdotes from his vast experience in film and theatre. I even got the opportunity to attend his acting workshops at NSD." Directed by Rahul Chittella, 'Gulmohar', which is based on the final few days of the Batra family as they pack up and move out of their 34-year-old family home, will drop on Disney+ Hotstar on March 3.
Kochi, Feb 22 : The Kerala High Court on Wednesday allowed Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the 2017 actress assault case, to be physically present in the trial court to witness the proceedings in his trial.
The court directed the state prosecution to ensure that the same is done.
Justice K. Babu observed that permitting the accused in a case to directly witness the trial against him, is to ensure a fair trial.
Suni has been in judicial custody for around six years in connection with the case when a prominent female actor was allegedly abducted, driven around in a car, photographed and sexually assaulted on the instructions of Malayalam actor Dileep, who is also an accused and presently out on bail.
The trial is currently underway at the Principal District and Sessions Court here.
Wednesday is the second day in which Dileep's first wife Manjju Warrier is being examined as a witness in the case.
Suni, in his petition, pointed out that for over two years of trial proceedings, he was not produced before the trial court due to Covid-triggered restrictions.
He said despite the curbs now being lifted, he was not being produced before the court.
Instead, the trial court has only been ensuring his presence through video conference for very little time during the hearing.
After hearing the arguments made on behalf of Suni, the prosecution submitted it would produce him before the trial court every day if the High Court issues a direction in that regard and the Court gives its nod.
Mumbai, Feb. Feb 22 : Ahead of the auspicious Gudi Padva festival on March 22 and Bharat Ratna Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's 132nd birth anniversary on April 14, the Maharashtra government will gift Rs 100 food kits to around 1.63 crore ration card holders, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced here on Wednesday.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by Shinde, to give the benefits of the subsidised ration kits under the Antyodaya Food Scheme to the poorest sections of society, for the second time after a similar scheme was implemented in Diwali 2022.
Accordingly, the festive season largesse will be given to priority families, farmers under various categories from different districts of Aurangabad and Amravati Divisions, besides Wardha of Nagpur Division, suicide-prone districts and farmers falling below the poverty line.
The food kit will comprise 1 kg each of semolina, chana dal, sugar and palm oil from Gudi Padva for a month, through both online and offline systems.
The government has also decided to complete the tendering process within 15 days instead of 21 days through an online method to procure the required rations for the upcoming scheme in time, the Chief Minister said.
February 22 : Filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor pens a heartfelt note as his directorial Kai Po Che clocks 10 years of its release and expresses his gratitude to entire team of the film.
Released in 2013, the film was adapted from Chetan Bhagat's novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life, the film starred Sushant Singh Rajput, Rajkummar Rao and Amit Sadh as the three main protagonists while Amrita Puri plays the female lead.
Wen a movie hits a decade & still finds a place in peoples hearts it gets termed a Classic I had the good fortune 2 work with some of the most exceptional actors @itsSSR @RajkummarRao , #amitsadh #manavkaul #amritapuri Thank u from the bottom of my heart #10yearsofkaipoche pic.twitter.com/GbU8AX4agV Abhishek Kapoor (@Abhishekapoor) February 22, 2023
Abhishek Kapoor even shared candid pictures from Berlin Film Festival.
I remember our 2013 @berlinale premier and the audiences reaction to it. At the end of the screening there was a minutes silence and then a standing ovation that felt like it lasted forever. @RonnieScrewvala #SiddharthRoyKapur (2/9) pic.twitter.com/1e6icwgI0A Abhishek Kapoor (@Abhishekapoor) February 22, 2023
Kai Po Che! received six nominations at the 59th Filmfare Awards, including Best Director for Kapoor, Best Supporting Actor for Rao, Best Male Debut for Rajput, and Best Story. The film won two awards, including Best Screenplay for Kapoor and Best Background Score for Hitesh Sonik.
February 22 : Superstar Akshay Kumar takes the promotion to whole new level, sets a new Guinness World Record for taking maximum number of Selfiees under 3 minutes.
Akshay Kumar has today broken the Guinness World Records title for the most self-portrait photographs (selfies) taken in three minutes at a meet and greet with fans scheduled at Mehboob Studio in Mumbai.
The superstar who is known for his disruptive stunts and distinctive records is now the Guinness World Records title holder for this special feat with 184 selfies.
Akshay Kumar has broken the previously held world record of 168 self-portrait photographs (selfies) taken in three minutes by James Smith (USA) aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship on 22nd January 2018.
Earlier to this, in 2015 global icon and Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson held this record with 105 self-portrait photographs (selfies) in three minutes at the premiere of San Andreas in London.
Talking about movie Selfiee, which is directed by Raj Mehta and produced by Dharma Productions, Magic Frames, Prithviraj Productions, Cape of Good Films and Star Studios.
A remake of the 2019 Malayalam film Driving License, the film stars Akshay Kumar along with Emraan Hashmi with Diana Penty and Nushrratt Bharuccha as the lead roles.
It is scheduled to be theatrically released on 24 February 2023.
Fund managers Real I.S and Charter Hall have underwritten another high-profile deal in Canberra: For A$ 290m, the headquarters of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is changing hands. In October, the Australian fund manager from Real I.S. already acquired the Geoscience headquarters for A$ 363.5m.
Photos: Real I.S. AG
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India Womens Expedition Photo By: Intrepid Travel
Traveling with a group of women can be an empowering experience for a number of reasons. It is a way to strengthen and create lasting friendships while connecting with both the destinations culture and each other through shared moments. And a tour is a perfectly planned vacation that provides ease of planning, VIP access to sights and experiences, and showstopping encounters that add up to memorable getaway. In celebration of International Womens Day on March 8, the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) has curated a selection of women-only trips provided by members: SmarTours
Marvel under the spectacular Aurora Borealis on a six-day, women-only departure to Iceland. Travelers journey through the countrys stunning landscapes while learning about local women and Icelandic traditions along the way. Highlights include a visit to the home of a local storyteller, experiencing the power of geothermal energy while baking fresh bread, discovering waterfalls and hot springs, and hunting for the Northern Lights. Prices start at $2,499 per person. For more information, visit https://smartours.com.
Intrepid Travel
On a 12-day womens expedition to India, travelers will get to know Northern India through the lives of native women while exploring with a female tour leader. Activities include taking a jeep safari into the Thar Desert, enjoying an exclusive Kalbeliya dance performed by local women at a desert camp, visiting a local woman's home, and selecting a saree and accessories to wear on a visit to the Taj Mahal. Prices start at $1,585 per person. For more information visit https://www.intrepidtravel.com.
Trafalgar
Travelers will visit two countries and two cities, all within nine days on an all-womens trip to Europe. Highlights from this trip include a scenic train ride from Avignon to Paris, viewing the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, climbing aboard a scenic cruise to St. Tropez, visiting the sun-kissed shores of the French Riviera, viewing the Pont d'Avignon and walking the medieval narrow streets of the Old Town to the Palais des Papes. Prices start at $2,888 per person. For more information visit https://www.trafalgar.com.
SITA World Tours
Guests will have the opportunity to admire the diverse ecology and colorful culture of Chile on SITA World Tours Chile: Patagonia, Easter Island, and Buenos Aires 11-day tour. Travelers will start their vacation in Santiago and visit Santa Lucia Hill, where the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded the city in 1541 and take a guided tour of the Pre-Columbian Art Museum. After Santiago, guests will stop at the Veramonte Vineyard for a wine tasting, visit Valparaiso, a UNESCO World Heritage site where stairways and old funicular lifts lead up to the hills on which the city is built, and loads more. Prices start at $4,340 per person.
For more information visit https://www.sitatours.com. Editors Note: Information was correct at the time of writing. All tours/packages are subject to availability. Prices may vary from the time of writing, based on currency fluctuations.
About USTOA:
Representing $16 billion in revenue, the member companies of U.S. Tour Operators Association provide tours, packages, and custom arrangements that allow six million travelers annually unparalleled access, insider knowledge, peace-of-mind, value, and freedom to enjoy destinations and experiences across the entire globe. Each member company has met the travel industrys highest standards, including participation in the USTOAs Travelers Assistance Program, which protects consumer payments up to $1 million if the company goes out of business. As a voice for the tour operator industry for 50 years, USTOA also provides education and assistance for consumers and travel agents.
Contact:
Gina Dolecki/Alice Phillips
Redpoint
212-229-0119
dolecki@redpointmarketingpr.com/phillips@redpointmarketingpr.com
Karen Bowery (center) will turn leadership of Ankrom Moisan Interiors over to Alissa Brandt (left) and Leah Wheary Brown (right) One of Karen Bowerys lasting influences that she fought for from day one is how she helped move interior designers from being viewed merely as decorators, into having a seat at the table as an integral part of the overall project design process."
Karen Bowery, Executive Vice President and Director of Interiors of Ankrom Moisan Architects, having forged the path for interior designers since 1978, will retire from the firm and her role in The Society on February 28, 2023.
Bowery launched the Interiors group at Ankrom Moisan when the firm was first founded in 1983. Her unwavering attention to the lifestyle and behavior patterns of the end user, combined with her keen understanding of consumer trends and future-focused insights, has cultivated a reputation for the firm as having one of the best Interiors groups in the country. Along with her leadership role with Ankrom Moisan, in 2016, Bowery launched The Society to focus exclusively on interior design for the hospitality industry. In six short years, The Society has secured a coveted spot on the shortlist for the most prestigious hotel brands in the world and is a three-time international award nominee.
What Karen created with her dedication and hard work is unparalleled, says Dave Heater, Ankrom Moisan president. This includes what shes built and how deeply she cares about the company and the people she has hired and helped nurture in their careers.
Bowery will turn over leadership of Ankrom Moisans Interiors group to Alissa Brandt and Leah Wheary Brown, who have worked alongside her for 22 and 19 years, respectively. Brandt, Vice President of Interiors, and Wheary Brown, Vice President of Interior Design Strategy, will build upon Bowerys lasting imprint while cultivating their own vision for the firm. Casey Scalf, a Design Principal and founding member, will become the Director of The Society when Bowery retires.
One of Karen Bowerys lasting influences that she fought for from day one is how she helped move interior designers from being viewed merely as decorators, into having a seat at the table as an integral part of the overall project design process, says Wheary Brown.
Im extremely excited to further the legacy that Karen created, says Brandt. This is a time of constant change and staying stagnant isnt an option. Thats what is most exciting about interior design its never going to be the same, even when youre working with the same client. Theres always an evolution, and Karen has consistently kept Ankrom Moisan at the forefront.
Since graduating from what was then the new Interior Design program at University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1978, Bowery has influenced the practice of interior design on a monumental scale. She helped pioneer the fields best practices and lay the foundation for todays designers and interiors firms to flourish.
Tapped by legendary developer John Gray, Bowery led Ankrom Moisan in designing the interiors for Skamania Lodge in the Columbia River Gorge. From the groundbreaking through renovations, updates, and new additions, the firm has played a key role in helping to shape this iconic Pacific Northwest resort and surrounding property. It was also the launch pad for Bowerys focus on the hospitality industry and her work at The Society, which now includes as clients the worlds top hoteliers: Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, and the International Hospitality Group (IHG).
Working with developers like John Carroll and Homer Williams beginning in the 1990s, Bowery was instrumental in the transition of Portlands Pearl District from abandoned rail yards and warehouses to vibrant neighborhoods. She also created a unit customization program and pushed for staffing the sales offices of Pearl District projects in Portland and South Lake Union projects in Seattle with Ankrom Moisan designers to help buyers customize their units, a practice that was not being used previously but which has now become the norm.
Under her leadership at both Ankrom Moisan and The Society, Bowery and her teams have received numerous awards from the American Institute of Architecture, and the International Interior Design Association Oregon and Pacific Northwest chapters, along with Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design, TopID Awards from The Hospitality Industry Network, Senior Housing News Architecture & Design Awards, DJC Oregon Top Projects Awards, and Environments for Aging Design Showcase Awards, among others. Additionally, The Society has ranked on Interior Design Magazines Top 100 Rising Giants list for the past two years.
Karen has designed a self-sustaining model and has been the gasoline in the tank for our Interiors team, says Michael Stueve, Ankrom Moisan Principal, UX Strategist. When she transitions to her next chapter in retirement were not going to run out of gas. The energy she has put in is a renewable resource for the department. Ive heard her say, My greatest purpose is to give people wings to soar. Im going to miss her a ton, she brings so much here, and she has empowered us for the future.
Bowery has established a protocol in which the Interiors team of any given project invests expertise at the forefront to fully understand the end user, consumer trends, the uniqueness of the locale and, in particular, what the return on investment will be for the client.
When guests walk into a space, they should feel like they are meant to be there, that it is a place that defines them, supports their unique perspective, and honors their lived experience, says Bowery. Ultimately, this deep background helps us bring designs to life and infuse projects with the unique details that help our clients stand out in the marketplace.
About Ankrom Moisan Architects
Ankrom Moisan Architects, Inc., was founded in 1983 by Stewart Ankrom and Tom Moisan, two colleagues who quickly learned from their clients that they could build a different kind of architectural firm. Since those beginnings the firm has flourished, and today, with more than 250 employees, and offices in Portland, Seattle and San Francisco, the firm ranks among the largest architectural firms in the western United States and serves an international client base. With a diverse portfolio that includes award-winning mixed-use developments, condominiums, market rate apartments, affordable housing, senior living communities, student housing, healthcare, workplace, and hospitality projects, the mission of Ankrom Moisan remains simple: Create Places Where People and Communities Thrive. For more information, visit ankrommoisan.com.
About The Society
Born out of the Pacific Northwest, this team of ten has worked all over the world, but there is no place like home. The Societys interior designers are among the most talented youll find on the West Coast. The Collective includes A Duchess of Mischief, a Unicycle Mechanic, and a Competitive Eater but dont let that fool you, this team is all business okay, maybe a little bit of play.
The Society is comprised of audacious designers and brand strategists with an insatiable desire to create moments that alter perspectives. We work with hotels, resorts, and restaurants who embrace bold moves and unexpected details. welcometothesociety.com
ClearBlade is a game changer for our rail operations. Their platform and edge softwares flexibility and ease of use will allow us to monitor critical rail infrastructure and improve efficiency. -Alan Bakotic, Senior Director PTC and Engineering at Metra.
Chicago Metras board approved a $3.9 Million contract with ClearBlade, an industry leading IoT Platform and Edge AI company, to deliver Grade Crossing and Equipment Monitoring at hundreds of locations across their transit network.Metra is one of the largest and most complex commuter rail systems in North America. The agency provides service to and from downtown Chicago with 242 stations over 11 routes totaling nearly 500 route miles and approximately 1,200 miles of track. Metra operates 646 weekday trains, and is responsible for 24 railyards, 565 grade crossings, 12 fuel facilities, and 847 bridges.
On May 10, 2022, Metra published a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking qualified firms to provide an essential safety solution for rail crossings. Metra is required to maintain, inspect and test grade crossing warning devices and all signals at interlockings periodically. The grade crossing remote monitoring solution will deploy a real-time Grade Crossing notification and warning solution for Grade Crossing anomalies and events, so critical devices can be monitored and repaired quickly.Metras requirements included a flexible and modular Edge and back-office platform for monitoring all wayside assets including:
Grade crossings
Positive train control wayside systems
Snow melter systems
Track circuits
Switch machines
Power systems
ClearBlade was awarded the contract to implement Metras required grade crossing monitoring systems due to the companys prior experience in implementing IoT technologies into rail systems. ClearBlades Edge software is being used by multiple rail operators to process field equipment data and stream events to ClearBlades back-office Platform.
"ClearBlade is a game changer for our rail operations. Their platform and edge softwares flexibility and ease of use will allow us to monitor critical rail infrastructure and improve efficiency, said Alan Bakotic, Senior Director PTC and Engineering at Metra. "Since 2007, ClearBlade has been delivering the most flexible, secure, and scalable software available for IoT and Edge. Our award-winning, patented approach is built differently and proven at scale," said Eric Simone, Co-Founder and CEO of ClearBlade. "The rail industry is one of our primary verticals and we are extremely excited to be selected by Chicago Metra to provide this critical functionality."
About ClearBlade
ClearBlade, Inc., is a privately held Internet of Things (IoT), Edge computing, and AI software company headquartered in Austin, Texas. ClearBlades award-winning software is connecting millions of assets worldwide, across multiple industries including energy, transportation, and industrial. For more information about ClearBlade, Inc. visit the company's website at http://www.clearblade.com.
Health Connect America (HCA), a provider of mental and behavioral health services, plans to hire additional staff in recognition of its growth and increased service offerings in Columbia Tennessee. HCA is planning an expansion of programs to include Parenting and Anger Management classes, and Therapeutic Level Foster Care. The addition of these services allows treatment to be individually tailored to client needs, legal requirements for individuals, and overall community enhancement.
On March 8, 2023, at 3 PM Central Standard Time, HCAs Columbia office is partnering with the Chamber of Commerce to celebrate its growth and variety of new services with a ribbon cutting and hiring event at their new location of 1121 Trotwood Avenue Suite 4, Columbia, TN.
Southeast Tennessee is an important market area for HCA, says Kristi Shain, president, and chief executive officer, of Health Connect America. Services designed for the needs of each community we serve are the key to delivering on our commitment to support underserved populations with a higher level of care. This will be a great opportunity for those seeking employment or our wide range of services celebrating this new chapter for the Columbia Community!"
The wide range of HCA programs help adults, children, adolescents, and families find hope and healing from traumatic events. These programs are designed to address issues like grief, anger management, family issues, and substance use. Individuals are offered the support they need to help improve the lives of children, adults, and their families.
HCAs projected growth not only benefits the community by serving more clients but also creates jobs in the area. HCA is hiring direct support professionals with High School Diploma/Equivalent and a health care coordinator with a Bachelors in the Human Services Field.
Our projected growth not only benefits the community by serving more clients but also creates more jobs in the area, says Brandi Haws, regional vice president of operations with Health Connect America. The variety of programs available will allow treatment to be individually tailored to client needs, and legal requirements, and deliver overall community benefit.
More about Health Connect America services programs are listed here. Another important outreach feature of HCA is its foster program. Visit here to learn more.
About Health Connect America
Health Connect America (HCA) provides mental and behavioral health services to children, families, and adults across 56 locations across five states impacting the lives of nearly 10,000 people daily. The organization is honored to be a part of the communities served walking with clients as they embark on a journey to self-improvement and more fulfilling lives. Health Connect America provides services where clients need them within the community, the home, or in one of the organizations many locations.
Through a vast network of direct care professionals, HCA is readily available to meet the needs of both clients and their families. The services delivered include one-on-one or family counseling, case management, autism services, or medication management for children, adults, and families. These services promote positive personal growth, develop healthy coping skills, and preserve and repair relationships and natural support systems. For more information see https://healthconnectamerica.com
The Forum Real Estate Income Fund is a welcome addition to the Axos platform, giving wealth managers entry to the hard-to-access private real estate asset class and the ability to scale private real estate investments across their book of business with a simple ticker symbol.
Axos Advisor Services, a hybrid custodian and financial services company with powerful, integrated custodial and banking solutions, has teamed up with Forum Capital Advisors LLC(Forum) to expand investment offerings for its advisors by adding the Forum Real Estate Income Fund (the Fund) to the Axos investment platform.
Forum is a Denver-based, investment adviser registered with the SEC and serves as investment adviser to the Fund, a 1940 Act interval fund providing access to institutional commercial real estate debt investments typically unavailable to individual investors.
Now available on the Axos platform with ticker symbol FORFX, the Forum Real Estate Income Fund is focused on maximizing current income, preserving investor capital, and realizing long-term capital appreciation by utilizing floating-rate debt and targeting investments backed by hard assets with quality sponsors.
Axos advisors now have a simple point-and-click solution for exposure to institutional real estate debt securities one with competitive investment minimums, no subscription documents, and no investor restrictions, said Darren Fisk, Forum Founder & CEO. Since first launching the Fund in October 20191, we have built a diverse portfolio of 36 investments across 48 states with gross AUM of $72.8 million, (net AUM of $58.9 million) since inception. Forum, together with our sub-advisor Janus Henderson Investors, US LLC provides the Fund greater visibility and access to hard-to-source institutional debt investments that it wouldnt otherwise see.
The Forum Real Estate Income Fund is a welcome addition to the Axos platform, giving wealth managers entry to the hard-to-access private real estate asset class and the ability to scale private real estate investments across their book of business with a simple ticker symbol, said Rob Hellmann, Vice President of Product Management at Axos Advisor Services.
We are excited to expand distribution of the Forum Real Estate Income Fund to independent RIAs and believe that the Axos platform will not only give Forum greater exposure to this wealth management audience but also provide Axos advisors with a portfolio differentiator when talking with their clients, said Tyler Bain, Managing Director Business Development at Forum. This partnership supports our overall strategy to offer ease of access to institutional commercial real estate debt investments.
About Axos Advisor Services
At Axos Advisor Services our focus is solely on RIAs. As a hybrid custodian and nancial services company, our powerful, integrated custodial and banking solutions enable RIAs to offer a wider range of services to their clients. Advisors have access to our intuitive Liberty Platform, designed and built specically for RIAs. Axos Advisor services is offered by Axos Clearing LLC, a licensed broker-dealer. For more information, please call Axos Advisor Services 866-776-0218 or visit http://www.axosadvisorservices.com.
Forum Capital Advisors and Axos Advisor Services are separate and unafliated companies. No information presented constitutes a recommendation by Forum Capital Advisors or Axos Advisor Services or its afliates to buy, sell, or hold any security, nancial product, or instrument discussed therein or to engage in any specic investment strategy.
1 The since inception return figure is a cumulative net return to investors. As of September 28, 2022, the Fund converted to a registered closed-end interval fund in accordance with Rule 23c-3 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act). The Fund commenced investment operations as a registered closed-end tender fund on April 16, 2021, after the conversion from a limited partnership private fund exempt from registration under the 1940 Act, Forum Integrated Income Fund I, L.P., Which commenced operations on October 24, 2019, (the Private Fund).
Information portrayed prior to April 16, 2021, reflects the Private Fund. The Private Fund was not registered under the 1940 Act, and therefore was not subject to certain restrictions imposed by the 1940 Act on registered investment companies and by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 on regulated investment companies. If the Private Fund had been registered under the 1940 Act, the Private Funds performance may have been adversely affected. Furthermore, the fees and expenses of the Private Fund were substantially different from the Funds fees and expenses. The fees and expenses of the Fund in the tender fund structure differ from the fees and expenses of the interval fund structure. Please see important information on fees and expenses in the current prospectus.
2 As of November 30, 2022.
__________
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This material is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as and may not be relied on in any manner as legal, tax or investment advice, a recommendation, or as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to purchase or a recommendation of any interest in any fund or security offered by Forum Capital Advisors LLC or its affiliates ("Forum"). Past performance is not indicative of future results. Private market investments are complex, speculative investment vehicles and are not suitable for all investors. An investment in a private market investment entails a high degree of risk and no assurance can be given that any private market investment objectives will be achieved or that investors will receive a return of their capital. The information contained herein is subject to change without prior notice and is also incomplete. This industry information and its importance is an opinion only and should not be relied upon as the only important information available. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed, and Forum assumes no liability for the information provided. Past performance is not a guarantee nor a reliable indicator of future results. With this investment, there are risks. There is no assurance that it will achieve its investment objective.
I cant believe it has been 10 years already. I am incredibly thankful for everybody that has been a part of this journey. We cannot do this without our amazing team, partners, and clients. The most exciting part is that we are just getting started. - Santee Hathaway
Xite Realty (Xite), a premier healthcare real estate and business brokerage, is celebrating a milestone anniversary this month of 10 years in business. Founded by four commercial real estate brokers in 2013, Santee Hathaway, Tommy Newton, Michael Tatum and Patrick Valentz, Xite has grown to five offices throughout Texas and Florida while serving thousands of clients nationally across a diverse range of healthcare focused specialties including, dentistry, optometry, veterinary, dermatology, physician groups, free-standing emergency rooms, aesthetics and more.
Growing Xite over the past decade has been an incredible journey. Weve provided a successful foundation for both our team members careers and clients practices to be built upon, and its beyond rewarding to have the opportunity to celebrate this milestone with all of them. Michael Tatum
Over the past decade, Xite has developed a wide range of services to assist practice owners in every stage of their career. These include, but are not limited to start ups, lease negotiation, real estate acquisition, staffing and the list and sell medical practices.
Additionally, one of the key areas in which Xite has excelled is helping clients with multi-location expansions. By carefully selecting and securing new properties, Xite has been able to assist specialized medical practices in maintaining the highest quality of care while also increasing patient accessibility to these important services.
The Xite team has a wealth of experience negotiating favorable leases and contracts for clients, whether looking to rent space for a small storefront or a large freestanding building. Xite takes the time to thoroughly understand clients' needs and work to secure terms that meet unique requirements. With clients nationwide, Xite has a track record of consistently delivering a unique scope of services across all market types.
It has been a very rewarding experience. I love the opportunity to help our clients achieve their dreams of practice ownership and grow into successful entrepreneurs. Patrick Valentz
Since 2013, the professionals at Xite have grown to be experts at helping businesses launch and expand. Whether looking to start a new business from scratch or in the process of buying real estate for an existing operation, Xite has the knowledge and resources to guide doctors or business owners through the process every step of the way.
I cant believe it has been 10 years already. I am incredibly thankful for everybody that has been a part of this journey. We cannot do this without our amazing team, partners, and clients. The most exciting part is that we are just getting started. - Santee Hathaway
Xite has proven to be best in class in practice sales and understands selling a practice can be a complex and emotional process.
Thats why today and for years to come, the goal of Xite remains the same to be a value-add resource for clients during the entire life cycle of their business and ensure they get the best possible price for their practice. Assistance with lease negotiation, starting a business, or selling a practice, Xite is committed to its client's success.
It has been an honor to work with my partners, staff, and clients over the last 10 years. It is a special moment to be able to help a doctor transition their practice, patients, and employees to the right doctor that will continue to provide first class care to their community. Looking forward to the next 10 years! Tommy Newton
To learn more about Xite, visit xiteco.com
Employer demand for microcredentials is on the rise, according to a new study released today by Collegis Education and UPCEA, the association for college and university leaders in online and professional continuing education. The report, The Effect of Employer Understanding and Engagement on Non-Degree Credentials, includes the viewpoints of leaders from 500 organizations on their perceptions of the value of non-degree and alternative credentials.
Ninety-five percent of those surveyed said they saw benefits from microcredentials, particularly because they show an employees willingness to develop their skills (76 percent); demonstrate initiative (63 percent) and are an easy way to communicate employee competencies and skills (60 percent). Organizational leaders were particularly interested in stackable credentials leading to a degree with 80 percent saying that increased their appeal.
UPCEAs mission is to support colleges and universities as they evolve their programs to meet the changing needs of employers and adult students. Microcredentials can play a critical role in the new economy. However, similar to how online degrees were perceived two decades ago, some are critical about the quality of non-degree programs, despite a lack of evidence to support a systematic problem, said Jim Fong, Chief Research Officer, UPCEA. The findings from the Collegis/UPCEA research show that organizational leaders value microcredentials and non-degree programming but are often unaware of them. Those that are aware agree that quality can be addressed with greater collaboration between employers and higher education.
Although many employers recognize the value of alternative credentials in todays workforce, a pervasive issue lies in their standardization and how to properly assess the validity and applicability of courses and certifications. Although 20 percent of survey respondents had little or no concern that non-degree or alternative credentials will have an adverse effect on the workforce, 17 percent were concerned about wrong/not relevant credentials/lack critical skills/training, 12 percent cited quality of education/validating credentials, and 11 percent specified a lack of educational/professional experience.
When choosing a college or university to collaborate with to develop a microcredential program, organizational leaders said they are incentivized by proof of program effectiveness (65 percent) and more than 50 percent want to play a role in the programs development. While the report reveals a significant microcredential market opportunity for higher ed, only 44 percent of organizations reported having been approached by a college or university about a potential program.
At Collegis, we have helped many colleges and universities develop successful microcredential programs for the last decade. Most recently with Saint Louis Universitys Cannabis Science and Operations microcredential program where our partner identified an emerging industry and the opportunity to develop a program to support an expanding fields workforce, said Tracy A. Chapman, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer at Collegis. We worked with UPCEA on this study because we wanted broader insights into how the business world perceived microcredentials and if there are untapped opportunities for higher ed to leverage these types of programs to create a steady stream of enrollments and new revenue streams. The answer is, unequivocally, yes.
The complete study is available for download at: Microcredentials from Higher Ed Institutions - What Employers Want (collegiseducation.com)
About UPCEA
UPCEA is the leading association for professional, continuing, and online education. Founded in 1915, UPCEA now serves most of the leading public and private colleges and universities in North America. For 100 years, the association has served its members with innovative conferences and specialty seminars, research and benchmarking information, professional networking opportunities and timely publications. Learn more at upcea.edu.
About Collegis Education
Using a proactive and data-driven approach, Collegis Education empowers institutions to make a broader impact by providing insights that help grow enrollments, improve student outcomes and optimize expenses. Currently, Collegis Education works with more than 40 institutions nationwide.
For more information, visit CollegisEducation.com and follow Collegis on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Today, the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles welcomed the James Dyson Foundation for a day of tinkering to encourage exploration of a future in engineering. The James Dyson Foundations mission is to inspire young people to pursue a career in engineering and regularly hosts workshops for students of all ages in the hopes of sparking interest in STEM fields. The workshop was led by Samantha Kuderna, US Manager of the Foundation, and Kate Craft, Dyson engineer, for students in 7th and 9th grade. After an overview of the history of Dyson and the companys approach to invention, Craft led a teardown of Dysons Supersonic hairdryer. As students followed step-by-step instructions to strip away parts of the machine, they learned about the innovative technology that powers the revolutionary hairdryer.
Craft and Kuderna also responded to students questions about working in engineering and nonprofit during a lunchtime panel open to Middle and Upper School students.
The James Dyson Foundations collaboration with The Archer School for Girls seeks to empower young women in a field where they are generally underrepresented. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, while female representation in STEM is increasing from 8% of STEM workers in 1970 to 27% in 2019 men still make up the majority of the field (73% of all STEM workers). In 2019, women represented only about a quarter of computer workers and 15% of those in engineering occupations.
The James Dyson Foundation introduces young people to the exciting world of engineering, encouraging them to think differently, make mistakes, and realize their engineering potential.
We enjoyed having the opportunity to work with the students of The Archer School for Girls to get them hands-on with an engineering challenge. I personally was impressed by their creative thinking and determination to solve the problem at hand, attributes that will go a long way as they continue their education, said Kuderna. Our hope is that students leave today inspired to consider all their potential career paths, including engineering.
Source: The Archer School for Girls
Related Links
http://www.archer.org
https://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/
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The Archer School for Girls
The Archer School for Girls is for the ambitious and joyful. At the forefront of all-girls education, Archer is dedicated to empowering the next generation of female leaders. A contemporary girls school in Los Angeles, Archer sustains a collaborative, student-centered teaching and learning community that explores and contributes to the research on how young women learn and thrive. Since 1995, Archer has been inspiring young women to become confident, ethical changemakers by strengthening their voices and capacity to contribute positively to society and the world.
For more information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter, or visit our website http://www.archer.org.
The James Dyson Foundation
Founded in 2002, the James Dyson Foundation supports design, technology and engineering educational work in the UK and internationally in America, Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia. To date, James Dyson and the James Dyson Foundation have donated over 140m to charitable causes, including 12m to Imperial College London to create the Dyson School of Design Engineering, and 8m to Cambridge University to create the Dyson Centre for Engineering Design and the James Dyson Building. At school level, the James Dyson Foundation offers engineering workshops and provides free educational resources. These include its most recent launch, Engineering Solutions: Air Pollution, introducing young people to air pollution and engineerings role in finding solutions. The Foundation also supports the James Dyson Award, an annual international design award that inspires, encourages and celebrates budding inventors new, problem-solving ideas. The competition has supported 390 inventions with prize money, and is run by the James Dyson Foundation, an engineering-education charity funded by Dyson profits.
For more information, please visit https://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/.
Zuza nation is taking over; this is only the beginning!
Zuza, an industry-leading, omnichannel software, and super app, was recently announced as an ETA Top 10 Payments ISV. With this award, ETA is recognizing the Top 10 Payments Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) that are offering unique software solutions and are making a recognizable impact.
Zuza will be recognized for this award at ETA Transact on April 24-26, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is a premier trade association for the payments industry, boasting a membership comprising over 500 companies from around the world that work in electronic transaction processing. ETAs mission is to steer the payments industry by providing guidance through education, support, and the sharing of knowledge.
Candidates for this award are ISVs who are integrating payments solutions that disrupt and drive the payments industry forward, said ETA. The unique software used by organizations adds significant value and deepens the relationship between the user and the chosen platform."
Zuza has continued to grow and evolve in the fintech space; and that has not gone unnoticed. We are honored to receive this prestigious award and could not be more excited for ETA Transact 2023. As always, we are grateful for our partners and merchants because we would not be here without them, said Zuza Founder and CEO Danny Mikhail. Zuza nation is taking over; this is only the beginning!
About Zuza
Zuza is an innovative one-stop shop for all your software needs, whether you're a large enterprise or a small startup. With thousands of features, customizable configurations, and full white-label capability, Zuza is revolutionizing software.
The company known for its super app has rapidly become an industry leader in solutions for e-Commerce, Point of Sale Systems, Smart Terminals, Online Appointments, Online Ordering, Inventory Management, Realtime Reporting, Invoicing Tools, Marketing Management, Gift & Loyalty Programs, Customer Management, and much more.
Elevated CX for Brands That Care VIPdesk is continuing its rapid growth pace by adding yet another premium brand to its mix of customer service focused clients. As a major provider of BPO solutions to the Beauty Industry, VIPdesk is proud to add Covet & Mane to its portfolio of iconic, industry defining brands.
VIPdesk is continuing its rapid growth pace by adding yet another premium brand to its mix of customer service focused clients. As a major provider of BPO solutions to the Beauty Industry, VIPdesk is proud to add Covet & Mane to its portfolio of iconic, industry defining brands.
Sally Hurley CEO of VIPdesk commented on the new partnership: As a CEO of a women owned and led company, I applaud Dafina for what she has created with Covet & Mane! The customers and stylists of this most beautiful brand deserves only the best service, and we are honored to implement a service solution which will allow Covet & Mane to continue its fast growth and excellent reputation while offering an elevated service experience.
Founded in 2019 by CEO Dafina Smith, Covet & Mane disrupted the industry from its inception with the worlds first line of customizable hand-tied hair extensions giving stylists unparalleled control over color and texture. VIPdesk and Covet & Mane are working closely together to deliver an elevated, authentic, and efficient customer service experience.
Dafina Smith CEO of Covet & Mane expressed her excitement about the new partnership: At Covet & Mane, were dedicated to providing unparalleled customer support to our stylists. Im so excited to expand our Client Success team and partner with a best-in-class agency thats committed to offering our stylists personal touch connections. We look forward to continuing to serve our mission of offering luxury hair extensions to leading salons and stylists through our partnership with VIPdesk
VIPdesk delivers elevated and authentic outsourced customer experiences for brands who truly care about providing the highest standards of customer service. The companys unique remote customer service model has allowed the company to flourish with four placements on the Inc. 5000 List of Americas fastest growing companies. With employees in 40+ US States, Europe, and Asia, VIPdesk offers elevated services to customers around the world. With its latest AI-driven Quality and Conversational Insights solution, VIPdesk allows brands to reduce low-value interactions while gaining a vast amount of valuable insights about their customers sentiment about the brand experience. VIPdesks elevated Customer Service approach has delighted millions of customers producing measurable ROI for its clients.
VIPdesk is one of only a few B-Corp BPOs in the world, operating with inclusive, equitable and sustainable business practices. As a certified B-Corp, VIPdesk enthusiastically embraces the philosophies of this purpose-driven community which works to reduce inequality, contribute to a healthier environment, build stronger communities, and create more high-quality jobs with dignity and purpose. VIPdesk is on a mission to elevate the human experience. We are - More Human.
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About VIPdesk
VIPdesk, a premium provider of outsourced customer experience solutions, utilizes a select team of remote work-at-home Brand Ambassadors (customer service professionals), located throughout the U.S., to provide elevated and efficient customer experiences for luxury and premium brands. As a certified B-Corp, Women-Owned-Corporation and Best Workplace winner, VIPdesk is on a fast mission to elevate the human experience with its team members and its partners. Talented team members of VIPdesk not only excel in delivering superior customer service but are passionate ambassadors of the brands they serve. VIPdesk's suite of services include Omni-Channel Customer service handling including all traditional and digital contact channels, full AI and assisted AI solutions, social media management, back-office support, and customer experience consulting. Visit http://www.vipdesk.com for more information or @VIPdesk on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
About Covet & Mane:
Founded in 2019 by Dafina Smith, Covet & Mane is the worlds first line of customizable hand-tied hair extensions. With over a decade experience in the hair extension industry, Dafina recognized its flaws with hard-to-use products paired with improperly trained hair stylists. Dafina saw the importance of experienced artists representing Covet & Mane, leading her to launch the brand with the ultimate goal of creating luxury hair extensions for the exclusive stylists. Knowing the transformational power hand-tied hair extensions can have in the hands of the right artists, we meticulously evaluate each Covet & Mane stylist to ensure they are experts in their craft and provide their clients with an elevated experience.
CONTACT:
Othmar Mueller von Blumencron
703-348-2236
Ronald A. Murphy DMD I believe that children and young adults who are shown whats possible through literature can achieve their dreams. Whats more, receiving the gift of reading really makes them happy and ignites their imagination.
Dr. Ronald Murphy joined the Boys and Girls Clubs in their area to attack illiteracy. According to Reading is Fundamental, there is a literacy crisis in America today with twenty-five million children in the U.S. who cannot read proficiently (analysis of NAEPNational Assessment of Educational Progresstest scores).
Dr. Murphy, having served his community for many years, was quoted as saying, This is an outrage! Only someone who doesnt care about this city and our children would keep this quiet. Something should be done about this!
During a special leadership event held in Florida, several business owners joined forces and decided to band together to do something about this.
They started by sending over 1,000 books to Boys and Girls Clubs in their communities. The mission of Boys and Girls Clubs is to enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens, especially those in need. These leaders support the vision of this national network of world-class clubs putting hope and safety within reach of every young person, and putting them on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, learning good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle.
Reading is a cornerstone skill for our youth!
Dr. Murphy said, We want to do our part. And we want everyone in this city to know about this program and support it. Boys and Girls Clubs are leading the way in showing us that something can be done about it; something can be done about illiteracy by everyone pitching in. and further stated I believe that children and young adults who are shown whats possible through literature can achieve their dreams. Whats more, receiving the gift of reading really makes them happy and ignites their imagination. I love making giving them this opportunity.
About the Doctor
Dr. Murphy graduated from SIU Dental School in Alton, IL in 2002. He did his undergraduate at Bradley University graduating in 1998.
His practice is located in Batavia, IL where he has been practicing since January of 2005. He resides in Batavia with his wife and three young girls. During dental school, Dr. Murphy went to Jamaica on a humanitarian trip where the team of doctors and students performed extractions, cleanings and basic restorative procedures. Furthermore, when he graduated from SUI Dental School, he received an award from The Academy of Operative Dentistry.
He is currently a member of American Dental Association, Illinois Dental Society (http://www.isds.org), Fox Valley Dental Society, Chicago Dental Society, and the Academy of General Dentistry. He has received an award for Top Doc organization in 2011.
Dr. Murphy enjoys spending time within the community. He has been a member of Batavia Rotary since 2005 and severed as Secretary of the club for 2 years. Furthermore, he is member of Batavia Chamber of Commerce and served on Batavia Access Fireworks Committee.
Dr. Murphy likes to spend his free time traveling to warm places. Furthermore, he enjoys deep sea fishing. He is still looking for the blue marlin that got away from him on his honeymoon in 2002. He enjoys spending time with his family. The three girls keep him hopping.
To this day, he still gets tremendous satisfaction with every patient he is able to help. A smile brings happiness and he is proud to be a provider that can help spread health and happiness to the world.
Contact for more information:
Ronald A. Murphy, DMD
General & Cosmetic Dentistry
1605 W Wilson Street #114
Batavia, IL 60510
(630) 793-0729
info@murphydentistry.com
https://www.murphydentistry.com/
"The goal of the trade mission is to raise awareness about Vermont as a leading domicile for captive insurance, no matter where in the world you are headquartered."
The State of Vermont and the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) will send a delegation of government, regulatory, and industry representatives to Mexico to highlight Vermonts leading captive insurance industry. The trade mission was originally planned for March 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The delegation will lead a captive insurance educational forum in Mexico City on March 1, 2023. The trade mission is a collaborative effort with the U.S. Commercial Service, the trade and promotion arm of the U.S. Department of Commerces International Trade Administration, and Vermonts Department of Economic Development via its State Trade and Expansion Program, a program funded by the Small Business Administration.
The trade mission is a great example of Vermonts mutually beneficial trade relationship with Mexico, said Governor Phil Scott. We want to make it clear that Vermont is a global industry leader, and we welcome companies from around the world.
The educational forum is expected to bring in about 80 participants, and will include informative panel discussions, educational content and networking opportunities designed for Mexican-based companies that are interested in forming a captive insurance company.
The goal of the trade mission is to raise awareness about Vermont as a leading domicile for captive insurance, no matter where in the world you are headquartered, said Sandy Bigglestone, Deputy Commissioner of Captive Insurance, Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. We are looking forward to meeting with prospective captive owners and insurance industry professionals during our time in Mexico.
Vermonts experience and reputation as a captive insurance domicile extends well beyond its borders, said Kevin Mead, President of the VCIA. While awareness of captive insurance has been increasing, there is great opportunity in Latin America in particular. We are happy to start this type of intentional education and collaboration, the first of its kind in the region.
Panelists will include Vermont staff and industry service providers, but participants will also hear from a Mexican-based captive insurance company licensed in Vermont in 2008, America Movil, the largest telecom operator in Latin America and the third largest in the world, headquartered in Mexico City. Captive insurance has been a great tool for our company in managing our risk and achieving our broader company goals, said Santiago Dawson, Head of Corporate Development for America Movil. I am looking forward to sharing our story with other Mexican companies so they can benefit from this great tool and consider Vermont as their captive insurance domicile.
The opportunity for captive insurance growth is even greater now than it was three years ago in Latin America, said Alejandro Santos, Latin American Leader for Risk Analytics & Captive Solutions, Marsh Latinoamerica. Its important that companies understand that there is a possible solution for the increasingly complex insurance challenges they face.
Vermont currently has 66 companies licensed with foreign ownership from 23 different countries outside of the United States. In November 2022 Vermont was named International Domicile of the Year by captive insurance publication Captive Review for its reputation as a leading domicile worldwide. Vermont remains one of the top three leading captive insurance domiciles in the world.
We hope this is the start of great collaboration between Vermont and the region and will create a ripple effect in the broader understanding of captive insurance in Latin America, said Brittany Nevins, Captive Insurance Economic Development Director, Vermont Department of Economic Development.
For more information on Vermonts captive insurance industry, visit http://www.vermontcaptive.com, call Brittany Nevins at 802-398-5192 or email brittany.nevins@vermont.gov.
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About Vermont Captive Insurance
Captive insurance is a regulated form of self-insurance that has existed since the 1960s and has been a part of the Vermont insurance industry since 1981, when Vermont passed the Special Insurer Act. Captive insurance companies are formed by companies or groups of companies as a form of alternative insurance to better manage their own risk. Captives are commonly used for corporate lines of insurance such as property, general liability, products liability, or professional liability.
It's great to see how many opportunities are left untapped for this industry, and I couldn't be more fortunate to be a part of the growth SPOTIO is about to continue to see.
SPOTIO, the leading field sales engagement provider, has strengthened its leadership team by adding a new Chief Revenue Officer, Scott Shapiro, and Vice President of Sales, Neil Arsenault.
The new sales leaders were brought on board to accelerate SPOTIO's rapid growth, product innovation, and market expansion plans.
"Since 2020, SPOTIO has been experiencing tremendous growth, and we've surpassed some pretty ambitious goals year after year. We're thrilled to take our team to the next level by bringing on top talent to continue providing the best to our customers and the field sales industry," said SPOTIO Founder and CEO Trey Gibson.
Scott Shapiro has been instrumental in leading high-growth SaaS businesses to record revenue and profitability. Before SPOTIO, Scott was the CRO at Igloo and PowerDMS, where he was instrumental in developing the go-to-market strategies that delivered record ARR growth. Before that, Scott was VP of Sales at Paycor, leading field sales initiatives that consistently exceeded revenue growth targets and achieved significant company milestones.
"I am very excited to join the SPOTIO team," said Scott Shapiro. "We have a great business model with a talented leadership team that is well-positioned to transform the way field sales teams operate in the future. It's great to see how many opportunities are left untapped for this industry, and I couldn't be more fortunate to be a part of the growth SPOTIO is about to continue to see."
Scott Shapiro has appointed Neil Arsenault as Vice President of Sales. In this role, Neil will drive the company's sales strategy and oversee all sales operations. He joined the team after serving as the CRO at ListenFirst, where he helped the company transition to financial stability. Before ListenFirst, Neil and Scott worked closely at Paycor and PowerDMS, building teams, driving growth, and creating excellent outcomes for shareholders and customers.
"SPOTIO is modernizing field sales and what sales organizations think about it," said new VP of Sales Neil Arsenault. "We're providing a solution to a part of the sales industry that has been neglected for a long time from a technology and innovation standpoint. It's a pivotal time to join SPOTIO as field sales organizations accelerate their transformations into those led by tech-enabled selling. I'm excited to see the other accomplishments SPOTIO will enjoy in the coming years as the industry leader."
If you'd like to hear more about SPOTIO and its massive impacts on the field sales industry, learn more about them at SPOTIO.
About SPOTIO
SPOTIO is the leading field sales engagement platform built for field sales teams to grow pipelines, improve productivity, and close more deals. SPOTIO centralizes field sales team activities and gives sales organizations the visibility and insight needed to drive revenue. Thousands of customers worldwide rely on SPOTIO to accelerate growth with their field sales teams. SPOTIO is a privately held company based in Addison, Texas.
HIGHLANDER
HIGHLANDER, the world's leading global long-distance hiking event series, announces continued U.S. expansion in 2023 with the return of its Big Bear Lake Adventure, providing participants with the opportunity to explore the breathtaking unworldly landscapes of Californias natural wonder.
Following the success of its inaugural U.S. event in 2022, the San Bernardino National Forest will once again host the world-class journey from May 24 - 28, 2023, offering hikers a hassle-free, life-changing outdoor experience.HIGHLANDER is set to expand across the nation this year with all-new brand partnerships, starting with its second installment of the Big Bear Lake adventure. Designed for both beginners and advance seasoned hikers, HIGHLANDER was founded in Croatia in 2017 when three friends decided to share their love and passion for long-distance hiking, and has since gained global recognition for its unparalleled hiking experiences.
With more than 100 events in over 20 different countries, HIGHLANDER has become a go-to adventure for those looking to explore some of the most stunning landscapes across the globe.This is just the beginning for us as we continue expanding our footprint across the US market and make our return to the lush green forests, snow-capped mountain peaks, and picturesque meadows of Big Bear Lake in 2023, said HIGHLANDER CEO, Jurica Barac.
Were committed to making HIGHLANDERs hiking experiences attainable and more accessible than ever before, while improving the lives of our participants and bringing transformative experiences to more people, in more places.With a focus on creating an optimal environment for self-discovery, HIGHLANDER helps participants leave with a sense of achievement, enlightenment, and a new perspective on life. In an effort to make the journey even more accessible and stress-free, HIGHLANDER has formed partnerships with Spot Insurance and RightOnTrek, providing participants with insurance at no additional cost, and allowing them to easily rent all the necessary gear.
This year, theyve also teamed up with Croatian-based company, Podravka, to provide participants with nourishing meals during all U.S. hikes. These collaborations allow HIGHLANDER to offer a fully immersive and worry-free experience for all participants.HIGHLANDER is designed for all levels of hikers, with three different formats to choose from: Hercules, a 60-mile (approx.) five-day journey; Pegasus, a 30-mile (approx.) three-day journey; and Orion; a 15-mile (approx.) weekend adventure.
During the day, participants will have the opportunity to fully disconnect, immerse themselves in nature and embody physical and mental resilience as they hike through stunning landscapes, but it's the night-time experience that truly sets HIGHLANDER apart. With a carefully curated lineup of activities, participants come together to connect, unwind, and make new friends under the stars. From sleeping under the open sky, to fully immersing themselves in nature, HIGHLANDER offers an otherworldly experience that will stay with participants long after their journey is over.
With everything from gear to experienced guides taken care of, participants can focus solely on the journey ahead, leaving all their worries behind.
0The Big Bear Lake Adventure is the first of many HIGHLANDER events this year across the US, in addition to scheduled events in the United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Spain, Slovenia, and the United Arab Emirates.
HIGHLANDER is committed to sustainability and prioritizes educating its participants on how to effectively preserve nature for future generations. Following the Leave No Trace and Erase The Trace philosophies, the company promotes responsible and environmentally-friendly practices during the event, encouraging participants to leave nature better than they found it.Registration for the Big Bear Lake Adventure is now open, but space is limited.
For more information, please visit https://highlanderadventure.com/big-bear-lake/en-us.
To watch a recap of the 2022 HIGHLANDER Big Bear Lake Adventure, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7qjD5Chzuc
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About HIGHLANDER
Every great journey starts by taking one small step.
Three friends, united by a shared passion for adventure, brought their idea for a global hiking community to life in 2017 seeking to share the life-changing benefits of long-distance hiking with people around the world. The trio searched far and wide for the best trail in Croatia, curated an itinerary for the ultimate mountain experience, and with their first hiking event, HIGHLANDER was born. In just five years, the non-competitive, multi-day hiking event series has grown to become the largest hiking club in the world, with events in some of the most breathtaking and iconic mountains across the globe.
Designed to unite people through a common journey, HIGHLANDER gives participants the opportunity to test their physical and mental limits while living in perfect harmony with nature. With sustainability at the forefront of all events, HIGHLANDER prioritizes educating all participants on effectively preserving nature to safe keep it for future generations. From advanced seasoned hikers to novice young adventurers, HIGHLANDER appeals to all walks of life, offering different formats ranging from 60-mile 5-day journeys to 15-mile weekend adventures.
For more information, visit http://www.highlanderadventure.com.
Deployment of AML RightSource is an integral part of our strategy to integrate innovative and intuitive technology into our compliance program to efficiently reduce risk and prevent financial crimes across our operations. -Alba Prestamo, Banesco USA EVP, Chief BSA and Compliance Officer.
AML RightSource, the leading provider of Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance solutions, announced today that Florida-based bank Banesco USA has selected its Automated EDD (Enhanced Due Diligence) solution for efficient, compliant customer risk reviews with streamlined, AI processes that deliver detailed assessments and reporting.
AML RightSources AI-powered Automated EDD solution assists Banesco in efficiently conducting periodic risk reviews using Bank customer and corporate registry data. Focal entities and their counterparties are evaluated across a broad array of risk-bearing characteristics, including adverse media, PEP/SOE, watchlists, cryptocurrencies and more. The solution also characterizes related transactions using multiple criteria including transaction type, jurisdiction, and line of business to spot anomalous activity. The solution uses this information to produce algorithmic risk scores and dynamically determine customer risk segmentation based on definitions established by Banesco.
Our deployment of the AML RightSource Automated EDD solution is an integral part of our strategy to integrate innovative and intuitive technology into our compliance program to efficiently reduce risk and prevent financial crimes across our operations, explained Alba Prestamo, Banesco USA Executive Vice President, Chief BSA and Compliance Officer.
The AML RightSource EDD solution not only automates data-intensive research required to accurately assess risk, but also presents its findings to AML/BSA investigators in detailed High-Risk Entity Reports (HRERs) that provide scored risks with key details auto-generated case narratives for fast, consistent reporting and decisioning. Additionally, the Compliance and IT teams at Banesco benefit from AML RightSources secure cloud-based environment, ensuring full implementation in less than 90 days.
Historically, experienced AML/BSA investigators spend an average of 12 to 15 hours conducting comprehensive EDD reviews. The AML RightSource Automated EDD solution has proven to cut this time to only three to four hours, providing an efficient, time-saving solution that collects and analyzes two to five times more case-related data than manually intensive EDD processes.
Financial institutions are plagued by lengthy EDD refreshes that demand significant time from even the most experienced investigators, explained David McLaughlin, Executive Vice President of Technology Sales at AML RightSource. Our Automated EDD solution offers an improved experience for a banks compliance team by enabling investigators to focus on adjudicating and evaluating a case without spending hours collecting and compiling data.
About Banesco USA
Founded in 2006 and based in Miami, Banesco USA is an independent Florida state-chartered bank with $3 billion in assets as of December 31, 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. Visit BanescoUSA.com for additional information.
About AML RightSource, LLC
AML RightSource is the leading technology-enabled managed services firm focused on fighting financial crime for our clients and the world. AML RightSource provides custom solutions to financial institutions, FinTechs, money service businesses, and corporations. Using a blend of highly trained anti-financial crime professionals, cutting-edge technology tools, and industry-leading consultants, AML RightSource assists clients with their AML/BSA, transaction monitoring, client onboarding (KYC), enhanced due diligence (EDD), and risk management needs. We support clients in meeting day-to-day compliance tasks, urgent projects, and strategic changes. Our global staff of more than 4,000 highly trained analysts and subject matter experts is the industrys largest group of full-time compliance professionals. AML RightSource is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. With our clients across the globe, we are Reimagining Compliance. For more information, visit http://www.amlrightsource.com.
"We are incredibly grateful for (Jim's) partnership as CEO over the last 12 years and we look forward to his continued leadership and involvement as Executive Chairman, " said Aaron Cohen, AssuredPartners Board member and Managing Director at GTCR.
AssuredPartners, Inc. (AssuredPartners or the Company) today announced that the Companys Board of Directors has appointed Randy Larsen as Chief Executive Officer and Paul Vredenburg as President and Chief Operating Officer. Their appointments are effective September 1, 2023. Jim Henderson, the current CEO and Chairman of AssuredPartners, will remain active with the Company as he assumes the role of Executive Chairman. Mr. Henderson will also work closely with Mr. Larsen, Mr. Vredenburg, and the rest of the executive team, to help continue to execute on the Companys long-term strategy.
Mr. Henderson commented: Randy is a proven leader. He has excelled at every level of our organization. From producer and agency leader to Regional President and President of Retail, Randy has been intimately involved in all aspects of our growth strategy since 2012. This experience will serve him well as AssuredPartners continues its record-setting growth with Randy at the helm.
Paul has been a key contributor to the success of AssuredPartners since the very beginning, Mr. Henderson continued. His skills in acquiring and integrating businesses have been, and will continue to be, instrumental to our success. Whether in business development or operations, Paul is always willing to roll up his sleeves, understand the challenge, and lead a team to success. I cant wait to see his talents and leadership applied in this expanded role.
Aaron Cohen, AssuredPartners Board member and Managing Director at GTCR, shared the following about the transition: Jim led AssuredPartners from a startup into one of the largest and most respected insurance brokers in the country. We are incredibly grateful for his partnership as CEO over the last 12 years and we look forward to his continued leadership and involvement as Executive Chairman. We are confident that Randy and Paul are the right leaders to succeed Jim and continue the unparalleled growth trajectory at Assured. It was important to the board and Jim that the succession plan focus on leveraging the best and brightest leaders inside the Company. Randy and Paul bring different and complementary skillsets to an already exceptional and well-balanced group of executives. We are confident that this group will continue to provide our customers best-in-class insurance services.
Randy Larsen added, I am truly honored to follow in Jims footsteps as the CEO of AssuredPartners. Together, we have built an amazing organization, and we will continue our success by supporting our regional and local leaders, helping them execute strategies to grow organically and through acquisition.
Paul Vredenburg commented, With Jim at the helm, we have created an organization like no other in our industry. I love the people of this Company. I am humbled and excited to assume this new role and to continue working with this group as we grow and evolve AssuredPartners to even greater success.
ABOUT ASSUREDPARTNERS, INC
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, AssuredPartners is a full-service insurance broker providing commercial insurance, risk management, employee benefits through consulting and services. With over 9,200 employees located in offices throughout North America, London, Belgium and Scotland, AssuredPartners is in the business of building relationships. While cementing powerful, lasting relationships built on trust earned from working openly and honestly with our partners. Thats what we call, Power through Partnership. For more information, visit http://www.assuredpartners.com.
It is important for medical device companies to understand the latest requirements in the EU MDR, to minimize the risk of non-compliance and inability to certify products in the EU.
Companies attempting to comply with Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (MDR), introduced in May 2021 for medical device certification in the EU are challenged by the complexity and scope of the requirements. It is important for medical device companies to understand the latest requirements in the EU MDR, to minimize the risk of non-compliance and inability to certify products in the EU.
Register to gain a clear understanding of the essential EU MDR requirements for medical device registration and vigilance.
Join Aarekh Shrestha, Sr. Manager and Head of Drug Safety/Device Vigilance, Veranex DM&A; and Garima Tripathi, Sr. Drug Safety Physician, Veranex, for the live webinar on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at 2pm GMT (3pm CET/EU-Central).
For more information, or to register for this event, visit EU MDR: Compliance Requirements From a Vigilance Perspective.
ABOUT XTALKS
Xtalks, powered by Honeycomb Worldwide Inc., is a leading provider of educational webinars to the global life science, food and medical device community. Every year, thousands of industry practitioners (from life science, food and medical device companies, private & academic research institutions, healthcare centers, etc.) turn to Xtalks for access to quality content. Xtalks helps Life Science professionals stay current with industry developments, trends and regulations. Xtalks webinars also provide perspectives on key issues from top industry thought leaders and service providers.
To learn more about Xtalks visit http://xtalks.com
For information about hosting a webinar visit http://xtalks.com/why-host-a-webinar/
Contact:
Vera Kovacevic
Tel: +1 (416) 977-6555 x371
Email: vkovacevic@xtalks.com
FHU Director of the M.S. in Counseling Programs and Graduate Certificates in Counseling James H. Dalton speaks about symbols of hate during Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Loyd Auditorium. We have to learn how to unite, really engage and interact with one another, even when we disagree.
In celebration and recognition of Black History Month and international cultures, Freed-Hardeman University continues to host several events this month to promote unity, empathy and awareness. International Student Day will be held Thursday, Feb. 23, at 10:30 a.m. in Loyd Auditorium. Students representing 19 countries will enter the auditorium carrying the flags of their homelands. The student body will also listen to the unique national anthems as well as a brief history about the countries. After chapel the students will have several international meals provided in Wallace-Gano Dining Hall.
Professors on Poetry will include poems about Emmett Till Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m. in the ARC room 150 and will be the last event of the month. Till was the subject earlier this month, as the university offered two screenings of the film Till. It is the true story of the murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Chicago teen killed in the Mississippi Delta in 1955. His death further ignited the Civil Rights Movement. The film tells the story of Mamie Till-Bradleys social justice activism following her sons death. After the screening, FHU held a discussion to challenge the campus community to hold uncomfortable conversations about racism and how all people from different backgrounds can embrace another. It is not an easy movie to watch, FHU Director of Social Work Nadine McNeal said. But it is our hope that from this we challenge ourselves to take action, and it should not stop here in this room.
FHU freshman Campbell Scott attended the Feb. 3 screening to learn more about Tills story. He stayed for the follow-up discussion and was surprised that the Emmett Till Antilynching Act was just approved as a federal hate crime in 2022. I wondered why it took 60 years for it to pass, Scott said. The hour-long discussion that followed covered several topics including the barriers that prevented the law from passing swiftly, the role of the church in difficult times and the varied levels of willingness to get involved in the Civil Rights movement.
We have to learn how to unite, really engage and interact with one another, even when we disagree, McNeal said. TJ Kirk, FHUs vice president of student services, said during the discussion that it begins with love of one another. Love is an action; listening is an act of love, Kirk said. Getting together is an act of love, to empathize and to consider someone else.
Holding uncomfortable conversations was also the topic during chapel Feb. 17. FHU Director of the M.S. in Counseling Programs and Graduate Certificates in Counseling James H. Dalton spoke about symbols of hate. He asked the student body, How can I, as a Christian, hold on to something that causes so many others pain? During his presentation, Dalton displayed many symbols from the innocuous restaurant logos to the confederate flag and the swastika. Instead of embracing the symbols of hate, Dalton said students should show empathy, evaluate themselves and encourage those around them. Evil wins when good people stand by silently. Lets not be silent but encourage people to make peace and not be divisive.
Dalton also promoted FHUs BRIDGES committee and its efforts to foster diversity and inclusion on FHUs campus. BRIDGES is an acronym for Belonging to the FHU Community, Reinforcing Gods love for all, Integrating an inclusive learning environment, Developing a kingdom culture, Growing together, Embracing diversity and Strengthening our communities.
FHU President David R. Shannon discussed BRIDGES and the combined efforts of the FHU Cultural Diversity Committee and Point Team for the University Strategic Bridge plan 3.1, which seeks to increase the understanding of racial diversity and unity in order to better reflect the kingdom. We will be a family in pursuit of peace through genuine Godly love and not be afraid of the tension that may be created while doing that, Shannon said. We will listen, learn and love.
The university began Black History Month with chapel speaker Larry Ivery, who gave a presentation about Marshall Keeble and his devotion to the Lord's church, baptizing more than 40,000.
The mission of Freed-Hardeman University is to help students develop their God-given talents for His glory by empowering them with an education that integrates Christian faith, scholarship and service. With locations in Henderson and Memphis, FHU offers associate, bachelors, masters, specialist and doctoral degrees.
Were thrilled to expand our presence overseas in Europe with the launch of our new franchise in Mallorca, said Mauricio Umansky, CEO and Founder of The Agency.
Global real estate brokerage The Agency proudly announces the launch of its new franchise office in Mallorca, Spain. The new locale is the firms third office in Europe, following Lisbon, Portugal and The Netherlands. The office joins the brokerages growing network of more than 70 offices in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe. The Mallorca office will be led by industry veteran and Managing Partner, Alby Euesden.
Were thrilled to expand our presence overseas in Europe with the launch of our new franchise in Mallorca, said Mauricio Umansky, CEO and Founder of The Agency. Our partner Alby Euesden is one of the most respected real estate professionals in Mallorca, and we know he will be an incredible steward of our unique brand and culture.
The Agency has rapidly expanded its presence across the globe throughout the past year, making it one of the fastest-growing luxury boutique brokerages in the world. The Agencys independent-owned brokerages are referred to and integrated as true global partners. Every Managing Partner, from both corporate or independently-owned offices, operates cohesively as one true global network. Rather than simply using brand likeness in their marketing, The Agencys global partners enjoy the same access to leadership, marketing, public relations, training, tools, and technology as our corporate offices. In Q1 of 2023 alone, The Agency has launched four new offices, including the new office in Mallorca, with more on the horizon in the coming weeks.
Our strategic expansion in Europe has been phenomenal as we continue to feed the demand around the world for a luxury brand like The Agency, said Jim Ramsay, Executive Vice President of Franchise Sales at The Agency. Were thrilled to work with Alby Euesden as we showcase our world-class offerings to buyers and sellers in beautiful Mallorca.
A widely respected real estate professional with more than a decade of exceptional client service, Alby Jack Euseden serves as Managing Partner of The Agency Mallorca. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Alby confidently navigates every aspect of purchases and sales, from initial viewings and searches to tactical negotiations and the signing of closing documents. Born in Essex in the United Kingdom, Alby moved to Mallorca, Spain at the age of four, and grew up on the Balearic Island. Today, Alby lives in Mallorca full-time and is fluent in Spanish, English, and the local Mallorcan dialect. While Alby has a wide range of experience with real estate throughout the island, he specializes in properties in the coveted southwest region, particularly Bendinat. Known for his patience, calm demeanor, and thoughtful approach to the process, Alby is a reliable guide for clients looking to invest, purchase or sell in Mallorca. In his free time, Alby participates in endurance events for charity; he recently completed a 150 kilometer triathlon that benefited Cancer Support Group Mallorca.
I am delighted to expand The Agencys brand throughout Europe with our first office in Mallorca, said Alby Euesden. With its rich culture and history, great climate, and scenic coastlines, I am honored to help bring The Agencys white glove service and world-class brand to this unparalleled destination.
With solid infrastructure, The Agency has a renowned brand that is featured on international television shows including Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Buying Beverly Hills, which debuted on Netflix on November 4, 2022. The Agency has grown to more than 70 corporately-owned and franchise offices across the globe, making it one of the fastest-growing luxury boutique brokerages in the world. Poised for further expansion with like-minded partners in strategic markets, The Agency is noted by The Financial Times as one of Americas Fastest Growing Companies and has ranked among Inc. 5000s list of fastest-growing private companies in the country for six consecutive years. Recently, The Agency ranked 21st on the 2022 RealTrends 500 list, and led the top 50 firms in average sales price by sides with a $2.5 million average sales price. In August 2022, Inman named The Agency Luxury Brokerage of the year.
The Agency Mallorca is located at Calle Oratori 9A, Portals Nous, Mallorca, Spain. For more information on The Agency, please visit http://www.theagencyre.com.
The Agency
The Agency is an agent-first, tech-driven boutique luxury global brokerage representing clients worldwide in a broad spectrum of classes, including residential, new development, resort real estate, luxury leasing and vacation rentals. Breaking away from the traditional brokerage model, The Agency takes a collaborative approach to the business, fostering a culture of partnership in which all clients and listings are represented in a collaborative environment. Agents and clients benefit from the shared resources and networks of the entire global team, including in-house creative, public relations and cutting-edge technology divisions. The Agency has closed more than $57 billion real estate transactions since 2011, comprising over 70 offices in ten countries, and counting, as one of the fastest-growing boutique, luxury real estate brands in the world. Watch The Agency on Buying Beverly Hills, a new real estate occu-soap highlighting the high-stakes world of luxury real estate in Los Angeles, currently streaming on Netflix.
When faced with economic headwinds, learning how to do more with less is vital. Maximizing efficiency, especially in onboarding processes, enables teams to push against those headwinds, gain positive momentum, and ultimately reap growth and success from their efforts.
On February 23 at 1:30 ET/10:30 PT, Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta and GUIDEcx Founder/CEO Peter Ord will be guests on Customer Success Collectives (CSC) webinar, How to prepare for economic headwinds and the role of customer onboarding. Mehta and Ord will share tips on how to navigate softer economic situations and maybe even gain some positive momentum during the year.
Hosted by CSC, the webinar will provide listeners with actionable tips on how to survive this current economic condition by focusing on customer success and establishing a seamless client onboarding process to drive efficiencies in your business. Registration is required. Participants can register here.
Key topics will include the following:
Why 2023 is the year to think about efficiency metrics.
The importance of gross and net revenue retention.
The relationship between customer success and onboarding.
When faced with economic headwinds, learning how to do more with less is vital, says Peter Ord. Maximizing efficiency, especially in onboarding processes, enables teams to push against those headwinds, gain positive momentum and ultimately reap growth and success from their efforts.
Ord and Mehta will also discuss how to manage the pressure to do more with less during this economic climate and how you might be able to scale during a recession.
Its time to change the narrative behind doing more with less. It should be about accomplishing more with less effort. Thats why onboarding programs are so critical. When CS teams incorporate digital, tech-supported superpowers, they can streamline the onboarding process so customers get even faster time-to-value, says Nick Mehta. And time-to-value means less waste, which gets me fired up!
As the CEO of Gainsight, Mehta oversees a platform that helps companies of all sizes and industries drive durable growth through customer- and product-led strategies. Gainsight has been ranked by Glassdoor as the #1 Best Place To Work in 2023 and is a five-time Forbes Cloud 100 recipient. Mehta has been named the #2 CEO by the Software Report, has a 99% approval rating on Glassdoor and received the Northern California Award for Entrepreneur of the Year.
Ord has worked to revolutionize the client onboarding and implementation process by creating the most advanced tools for delivering value faster for SaaS clients. GUIDEcx is the top choice for SaaS project managers and client success teams to invite, guide and engage their customers. Ord is driven to help companies create a customer-centric onboarding experience thats unforgettable and makes the right impression.
The Customer Success Collective is a global community of customer experience advocates and professionals. Their ultimate goal is to collaborate, learn and develop top-notch methods for ensuring seamless customer experiences in industries worldwide. This upcoming webinar with Peter Ord and Nick Mehta is just one of many resources they use to empower customer success teams worldwide. See more CSC resources here.
About GUIDEcx
GUIDEcx is a client onboarding and project management platform that keeps your clients at the center of every project by providing complete visibility into the work. Guide each step and stay on track with automated tasks, reminders and updates. Engage teams by enabling them to interact with the project in the way they prefer. They can complete tasks, view status, send updates, make notes and more through the portal, email or mobile app. GUIDEcx helps you deliver projects faster with fewer issues and accelerate time to value for your customers.
For more information, visit guidecx.com and follow on LinkedIn.
About Gainsight
Gainsights innovative platform helps companies of all sizes and industries drive durable growth through customer-led, product-led, and community-led strategies. It offers a powerful set of customer success, product experience, and community engagement solutions that together enable businesses to scale efficiently, create alignment, and put the customer at the heart of innovation. With Gainsight, its never been easier to drive acquisition, increase product adoption, prevent churn, and grow with renewals and expansion. Learn how leading companies such as GE Digital, SAP Concur, and Box use Gainsight at http://www.gainsight.com.
For the second year in a row, HMP Global has earned a New Jersey Top Workplaces award based solely on the feedback from employees.
HMP Global, the leading healthcare events and education company, earned a Top Workplaces 2023 award from NJ Advance Media and NJ.com for the second straight year, a recognition based solely on feedback from its employees. It is one of only 83 companies statewide to earn the designation this year.
The anonymous survey administered by employee engagement technology company Energage, LLC measures 15 workplace culture drivers that are critical to organizational success, including alignment, execution of goals, and connection. Of the hundreds of companies that participated this year, only a limited number of companies earned the Top Workplaces designation due to the awards rigorous high standards.
Headquartered in Pennsylvania, HMP Global also operates a New Jersey office and produces nearly 500 conferences and educational events virtually and in-person throughout the United States and the world. Additionally, HMP Global Learning Networks provide clinically relevant, evidence-based content to keep healthcare professionals up to date in a range of therapeutic areas.
Jeff Hennessy, HMP Global Chairman and CEO, said the Top Workplaces award is one indicator of the companys concerted efforts to foster a positive work culture, and will help the company continue to attract top-tier talent as it grows.
Receiving the Top Workplaces award for the second year in a row is a testament to our dedication to employee satisfaction, Hennessy said. We strive to be the employer of choice in our industry, and we actively use our employee feedback to address any issues as they arise. HMP Global has a 38-year history of excellence, and we continue to focus on outcomes as we grow.
The company recruits locally and virtually, seeking out candidates from a broad talent pool. HMP Globals workforce is largely remote, with employees located in 30 different states, but it hosts in-person networking events for employees multiple times a year. Among its retention efforts, HMP Global also offers both live and virtual management training programs to help employees grow and develop leadership skills. Its record of employee retention is strong, with a 7-year average length of service.
The importance of a positive work environment for worker recruitment and retention cannot be overstated, said Anthony Mancini, Chief Human Resources Officer and EVP of Operations at HMP Global. Our hard work in creating and sustaining a culture that fosters professional growth and learning, coupled with recognitions of the efforts our employees make, has been recognized through this award. The Top Workplaces award highlights the dedication of our leadership and our devoted team.
For more information about careers at HMP Global or to apply for open positions, visit hmpglobal.com/careers.
About HMP Global
HMP Global is the force behind Healthcare Made Practical and is an omnichannel leader in healthcare content, events, and education, with a mission to improve patient care. The company produces accredited medical education events in person and online via its proprietary VRTX virtual platform and clinically relevant, evidence-based content for the global healthcare community across a range of therapeutic areas. Its brands include the HMP Global Learning Network, healthcare's most comprehensive source for news and information; Psych Congress, the largest independent mental health meeting in the U.S.; the Evolution of Psychotherapy, the worlds largest independent educational event for mental health professionals; the Leipzig Interventional Course (LINC), the leading, global gathering for interdisciplinary cardiovascular specialists; EMS World Expo, North America's largest EMT and paramedic event; and the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), the largest wound care meeting in the world. For more information, visit hmpglobal.com.
Courtesy of IFC Financial My role with IFC will allow me to celebrate Wisconsin agents and their businesses, help them find and retain more clients, while providing individualized concierge support to agents.
IFC National Marketing, the Midwest's fastest-growing insurance marketing organization (IMO), announced today that Zachary R. Munger has joined the company as regional sales director for the state of Wisconsin. IFC National Marketing provides business development, sales tools, and marketing support that independent insurance agents and financial advisors need to grow their businesses.
Our mission is to help independent agents succeed by delivering the policies, products, tools, and support they need to protect the health and financial wellbeing of clients, said Todd Villeneuve, co-founder and managing partner, IFC National Marketing. Zach is an established insurance expert in Wisconsin who understands the local market and needs of individuals and employers. He will be instrumental to growing our business as we work to contract with agents across the state.
Headquartered in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, IFC National Marketing has offices throughout Minnesota. Munger, who is located in Little Chute, WI, will be responsible for introducing IFC National Marketing to independent insurance agents in Wisconsin who sell insurance and financial products to individuals, families, and employer groups. IFC National Marketing enables agents to write insurance policies through more than 110 national carriers for individual health and Medicare, life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability coverage, annuities, and more.
I look forward to bringing the resources of IFC National Marketing to agents across Wisconsin, said Munger. My role with IFC will allow me to celebrate Wisconsin agents and their businesses, help them find and retain more clients, while providing individualized concierge support to agents. In addition to helping agents grow their book of business, I am committed to helping agents improve coverage for their clients.
Munger has 15 years of experience selling health insurance, life insurance, long-term care, disability income insurance, and property casualty insurance to individuals and families in Wisconsin. Prior to joining IFC National Marketing, Munger worked for corporate insurance companies, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Mass Mutual, and Northwestern Mutual, and for independent agents before opening his own agency. Munger is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
To learn more about IFC National Marketing, visit IFCNationalMarketing.com. To connect directly with Zach Munger, call 920-305-7043 or email zach@ifcnationalmarketing.com.
National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP)
NCPDP announced today Robin Farmanfarmaian, speaker, author, and tech entrepreneur, will give an important closing keynote address about the future of healthcare, technology, and patient empowerment at NCPDPs 2023 Annual Technology & Business Conference, The Great Race to Close Gaps in Care, May 8-10, 2023, at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. NCPDPs national annual 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.
As a patient who has a particularly difficult and unique story to tell, Robin Farmanfarmaian embodies what it means to take charge of one's own health with sheer determination and force of will, says Lee Ann Stember, President & CEO of NCPDP. She offers an inspiring picture of the future of healthcare, one that empowers patients and explores new technologies to expand our knowledge and capabilities beyond what we ever thought possible. Her keynote address is sure to resonate with our conference attendees who are passionate about patient empowerment, and how technology and interoperability will shape and support innovations in healthcare and healthcare delivery to close gaps in care.
Robin Farmanfarmaian, who lives, breathes, and works on the cutting edge of all things medical technology, has an incredible story to share. After overcoming years of suffering due to a misdiagnosed illness, undergoing dozens of painful and extreme treatments and surgeries culminating in the removal of her large intestine, and facing a permanent spinal morphine pump at 26 years old, Robin took her health into her own hands and fought to gain a corrected diagnosis. Overnight she saw a complete shift in her well-being and quality of life, a shift which launched her passion for improving patient care and healthcare delivery.
As an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, Robin works with companies on ground-breaking healthcare technology, including more than 20 early-stage startups focused on state-of-the-art biotechnology and cutting-edge technology for pharmacy, medical devices, and digital health. She co-founded five startups, including the Organ Preservation Alliance, where she worked with the White House and Department of Defense (DoD) to fund scientists in cryopreservation and tissue engineering for organ transplants. Robin has worked on multiple early-stage pharmaceuticals, including small molecules found through AI for drug discovery on the p53 and AhR pathways, inhaled insulin, and a vaccine. Robin serves in an advisory role to Luxsonic, a radiology reading room in VR and Alacrity Care, which provides remote patient monitoring and data analytics for oncology.
As a professional speaker, Robin has inspired more than 180 audiences in 15 countries with her incredible journey of self-healing and is the author of four books, including, The Patient as CEO: How Technology Empowers the Healthcare Consumer and her latest, How AI Can Democratize Healthcare: The Rise in Digital Care with Michael Ferro.
NCPDPs 2023 Annual Technology & Business Conference is open to all healthcare industry stakeholders. To register for the conference visit https://ncpdp.org/ac/register.aspx. The Early Bird rate is available through February 27, 2023.
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.
Journalists: Click here to download a photo of Robin Farmanfarmaian.
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.
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Source: PathFactory first-party data "Teams must gobeyond traditionallead scoring andMQLs to growrevenue. The newworld of B2B buyingneeds advancedpersonalization,conversion andbuying signalcapabilities that onlya content intelligencesolution can provide.- ChristinePolewarczyk, SVPProduct Marketingand Research
Today PathFactory announced the release of its Content Intelligence Report 2023: The Rise of the Anonymous B2B Buyer. The report, which looks at data across 1.3+ million accounts and three timelines (pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic), aims to understand the main differences between how anonymous and known buyers consume content throughout their B2B buyer journeys. The full report can be found here.
Among the key findings in the report, PathFactory data showed:
Highly-engaged buyers are staying anonymous. The average number of anonymous visitors engaging per account has skyrocketed to 31-96 visitors, depending on segment size.
Mobile-friendly websites are crucial for anonymous visitors. 39% of anonymous buyers consume content on mobile, an increase from 25% in 2019.
Buying committees continue to get larger. The average number of known contacts per account has increased from 10 to 17 for companies with over 1,000 employees.
Content engagement remains high. Content engagement overall is slightly lower than during the pandemic but still much higher than pre-pandemic levels.
The tried and true formulas for capturing and closing B2B deals now contend with increasingly complex buying groups, longer sales cycles, and a strong buyer preference for digital-first, self-service journeys, said Christine Polewarczyk, SVP Product Marketing and Research at PathFactory. With the sharp rise in anonymous ABM engagement also in play, revenue teams have to look beyond traditional lead scoring models and MQLs to identify opportunities and grow revenue. The new world of B2B buying requires advanced known and anonymous personalization, conversion and buying signal capabilities that only a content intelligence solution can provide.
Leading enterprise and mid-market B2B companies use PathFactorys content intelligence to activate campaigns, accelerate nurture, improve win rates, and understand content performance by delivering personalized content experiences across the buyers journey for known and anonymous audiences. Using content AI, automation and analytics to connect B2B buyers with right content at the right place and at the right time, PathFactory helps B2B revenue teams generate more opportunities, accelerate deals, and capture better buying signal data to unlock more revenue.
PathFactorys content intelligence platform is currently being used by several enterprise and mid-market customers, including Adobe, Cisco, and Anthology.
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About PathFactory:
PathFactory was recently recognized by Deloitte as one of North Americas Technology Fast 500 and Canadas Technology Fast 50 companies. It was also named the winner of Oracle CXs inaugural visionary ISV partner of the year 2020, 2022 Top-Rated Content Marketing Software by TrustRadius, a 2022 Content Experience Leader by G2, and a 2019 Cool Vendor in Technology Marketing by Gartner. Learn more about PathFactorys Intelligent Content Platform and the companies that use it at PathFactory.com.
Patriot Software now serves large businesses with up to 500 employees As Patriot has grown to over 200 employees, and with continued growth expected, we experienced first-hand the importance of accurate and powerful payroll that completes calculations in seconds, says Laura VanBrocklin, Product Manager.
Patriot Software, an accounting and payroll software company, has announced its online payrollincluding both Basic and Full Service productswill now support companies with up to 500 employees.
Small, medium, and now large employers can run payroll using Patriots simple three-step process. Patriots Full Service Payroll also files and deposits federal, state, and local payroll taxes with guaranteed tax filing accuracy.
Patriot is a leader in accounting and payroll software industries. It regularly receives the highest reviews and awards for providing exceptional USA-based customer support. The payroll provider serves over 55,000 customers nationwide across all industries and is gearing up for rapid expansion through this new announcement.
It was always our intention to expand our market to larger companies. As Patriot has grown to over 200 employees, and with continued growth expected, we experienced first-hand the importance of accurate and powerful payroll that completes calculations in seconds, says Laura VanBrocklin, Product Manager. This initiative was truly born from using our own software. We felt the same pain points many large companies feel. Were excited to support a seamless experience for larger companies, so they can join the small and mid-sized businesses who trust Patriot to handle their payroll.
This payroll capability enhancement further propels Patriots mission of making accounting and payroll fast, simple, and affordable for millions of American businesses and their accountants.
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About Patriot Software
Patriot Software, located in Canton, Ohio, provides award-winning online accounting software and online payroll for American businesses and their accountants. For information on all of Patriots products servicing the United States, contact Patriot Software, LLC at 877-968-7147, or visit http://www.patriotsoftware.com.
Contact:
Patriot Software, LLC
Michele Bossart
Marketing Manager
877-968-7147
mbossart@patriotsoftware.com
Waterproofing by Penetron: The first students arrived at St. Josephs College in Hunters Hill in 1881. An independent Roman Catholic school for boys, today it has over 1,000 students. Even when topically applied, the crystalline growth generated by the PENETRON application penetrates deep into the concrete structure and grows throughout the concrete matrix from the point of application.
St Josephs College in Hunters Hill (NSW), Australia, inaugurated the schools new Olympic class 50m swimming pool and two-story pool house to the campus at the commencement of the 2023 school year in January. Penetron crystalline technology was applied to provide a permanent waterproofing solution to seal hairline cracks and protect concrete pool structures against water penetration.
Approximately 7.5 km (4.6 miles) northwest of Sydneys Central Business District, Hunters Hill is a suburban community known as the French Village, thanks to its heritage of Frenchmen first settling the area, with grand homes, public buildings and a beautiful sandstone boarding school for boys. The story of the school began in 1872, when four Marist Brothers arrived from France to open Australias first Roman Catholic boarding school.
St. Josephs College Hunters Hill accepted its first students in 1881 when a steamer dropped 44 boys at the Fig Tree Wharf, which was a mere four-minute walk up the hill to the new school. Since then, the school has seen Hunters Hill grow from a bushranger refuge in the 1840s to a uranium refinery early in the 20th century, and now, to a beautiful tree-lined suburb. Today, St Joseph's College is an independent Roman Catholic school and Australia's largest boarding school for boys, with over 1,000 students and over 200 staff and teachers.
"In addition to a tradition of academic excellence, physical education plays a central role in the development of St Josephs College students," explains Steve Hodkinson, General Manager of Penetron Australia. "To enhance this aspect of the school's curriculum, the school recently decided to replace its existing outdoor pool originally built in 1957."
The St Josephs College Memorial Pool Redevelopment project to upgrade the schools ageing 50m swimming pool to an Olympic class facility began in 2020. The $30 million project included construction of an 8-lane, 51.5m pool ranging from 1.1m deep to 2.0m deep, which can be converted to a 25m outdoor recreation pool and FINA-standard water polo pool (with a dividing movable boom), a pool perimeter deck, a two-story building (to accommodate multi-purpose areas, offices, storage rooms, and basement pool plant), and landscaping.
A standard Olympic size swimming pool holds about 2.5 million liters (660,430 gallons) of water, which translates into 2,500 tons of weight. That creates an immense level of hydrostatic pressure on the pools concrete structure, adds Steve Hodkinson. Obviously, the sheer amount of pressure demanded an equally robust waterproofing solution to keep water and moisture out of the pools concrete structures and enhance durability.
Penetron Australia was asked by FDC Construction, the general contractor, to provide a durable waterproofing solution for the outdoor, below-grade concrete pool structures. PENETRON, a topical crystalline waterproofing material, was mixed into a layer of slurry and applied over the concrete pool surfaces by Firmstone Flooring, a specialist flooring company and Penetron-approved contractor, to seal hairline cracks and protect concrete against water penetration. The pools construction joints and penetrations were also treated with PENECRETE MORTAR, a crystalline waterproofing repair grout, to complete the waterproofing system.
Once applied to the prepared concrete surface, the proprietary chemicals in the PENETRON slurry (and PENECRETE MORTAR) react in a catalytic reaction with the moisture in concrete to generate a non-soluble crystalline formation throughout the pores and capillary tracts of the concrete. This formation becomes an integral part of the concrete matrix during the service life of the concrete to self-heal and seal micro-cracks, pores, and voids (up to 0.5 mm / 1/51 wide) against the penetration of water from any direction.
Even when topically applied, the crystalline growth generated by the PENETRON application penetrates deep into the concrete structure and grows throughout the concrete matrix from the point of application. This protects the concrete from the enormous hydrostatic pressure of the pool water and will last for the service life of the structure, concludes Steve Hodkinson. Its a permanent and cost-effective protection for the pool structure.
The Penetron Group is a leading manufacturer of specialty construction products for concrete waterproofing, concrete repairs, and floor preparation systems. The Group operates through a global network, offering support to the design and construction community through its regional offices, representatives, and distribution channels.
For more information on Penetron waterproofing solutions, please visit penetron(dot)com or Facebook(dot)com/ThePenetronGroup, email CRDept(at)penetron(dot)com or contact the Corporate Relations Department at 631-941-9700.
EPI, the leading display specialist and North America brand license partner for Philips monitors is diversifying the gaming world with its presence and technical features, Philips newest brand, Evnia, is set to release its latest monitor, the Philips Evnia 34M2C8600, this May 2023. The new addition focuses on giving its customers an immersive experience thanks to its curved display and crystal-clear imagery.
Introducing Philips Evnia
Philips Evnia was launched in October 2022 with the intention of reinventing the rules in the gaming industry. The brands motto, Reinvent the Rules, is a representative message about spreading inclusiveness in the gaming industry and Philips Evnia bases its manifesto on creating an environment for everyone through its products. With their newest product, Philips Evnia 34M2C8600, they aim to do just that.
Evnias new gaming monitor is designed for everyone. One of the features that makes this monitor stand out is the Ambiglow feature; it showcases what Evnia is all about: innovation, friendliness, openness, and a touch of playfulness, says Xeni Bairaktari, Global Marketing Lead of Philips Monitors and IT Accessories. The Ambiglow feature allows each gamer to set the mood, or the ambiance, of the room. This allows each gamer to feel comfortable and personalize their gaming experience.
Evnia 34M2C8600
Along with Ambiglow, the Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 features Display HDR True Black 400 for shadowing, UltraWide QHD 3440 X 1440 pixels for crystal clear imagery, and 0.1ms response time for smooth gameplay. In addition, the new curved monitor is equipped with a USB-C port, a KVM switch, and a height-adjustable stand.
However, the most notable feature of the new monitor is the quantum dot OLED. This feature enables top-notch coloring and vibrant visuals through a merge of two technologies: OLED panels and quantum dot technology. By combining these two technologies into one feature, the new Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 monitor displays an unmatched and immersive gaming experience.
Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 Availability
The Philips Evnia 34M2C8600 will be available in North America starting April 23, 2023 exclusively at B&H for $1,499.99. It will be available on Amazon starting May 2023.
For additional information on Philips Evnia models visit https://www.evnia.philips or 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.
Every day, we live the PrideStaff Mission, to 'Consistently provide client experiences focused on what they value most,' working harder than ever to be a true partner in our clients' and candidates' success.
Recognizing the exceptional performance and dedication for inside sales, Owner/Strategic-Partner, Michael Troyer, is pleased to announce that his Houston (Northwest) office was named the winner of PrideStaff's 212 Degrees Award. Presented at PrideStaff's Annual Conference, an in-person, three-day event held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, this annual award is presented to the PrideStaff office that continually goes above and beyond, providing extra effort and contributions to deliver the highest level of client service while expanding the reach of their local office.
Despite the challenges of a tight candidate market and an increasingly complex regulatory environment, the Houston (Northwest) team had a fantastic year and received multiple awards at this year's event. In addition to the 212 Degrees Award, Troyer also won the Ambassador Award, for graciously giving his time and energy to help franchise candidates understand the proven PrideStaff model, and a coveted President's Circle Award, for exceeding revenue objectives for the year. Finally, Jermaine Rogers, an outstanding field associate working with the Houston (Northwest) office, was recognized with the Temporary Employee of the Year award. This award recognizes the associate who best represents PrideStaffs core values and continuously lives the PrideStaff Mission.
Following the awards ceremony, Troyer shared the credit of the offices success with his entire team. "I'm thrilled to receive this award on behalf of my incredibly talented and hardworking staff," said Troyer. "Every day, we live the PrideStaff Mission, to 'Consistently provide client experiences focused on what they value most,' working harder than ever to be a true partner in our clients' and candidates' success. Im humbled to lead such a dedicated team that consistently goes above and beyond for employers, job seekers, and field associates in our market. This year, our focus on creating long-term solutions for our clients resulted in growth that required us to relocate to a larger location that will help us better serve our valued partners and propel our office to even greater heights in 2023."
"I'm extremely proud of Michael and the entire Houston (Northwest) office for sustaining exceptional performance levels, acting as true brand ambassadors, and continually raising the bar for customer experience," said Co-CEO, Tammi Heaton. "Their dedication and teamwork have helped them achieve exceptional levels of financial performance during a tumultuous year. The Houston (Northwest) office has built a great reputation in their market by adding a PrideStaff Financial division to their location and by always looking for new ways to strengthen relationships, add greater value, and better support employers and job seekers. I'm honored to present this well-deserved award to the Houston (Northwest) office, and Im excited to see their future accomplishments."
By investing in the client and talent experience, PrideStaff has become the only staffing firm in the U.S. and Canada with over $100 million in annual revenue to earn ClearlyRated's coveted Best of Staffing 10-Year Client and Talent Diamond Awards for five consecutive years. The 10-year Diamond Award is earned by fewer than 1% of all staffing firms, placing PrideStaff in a truly elite group of companies that lead the industry in satisfaction.
For more information about PrideStaff Houston (Northwest), please contact Michael Troyer at
832.604.2255.
About PrideStaff
PrideStaff was founded in the 1970s as 100% company-owned units and began staffing franchising in 1995. They operate over 80 offices in North America to serve more than 5,000 clients and are headquartered in Fresno, CA. With 40 plus years in the staffing business, PrideStaff offers the resources and expertise of a national firm, with the spirit, dedication, and personal service of smaller, entrepreneurial firms. PrideStaff is the only nationwide, commercial staffing firm in the U.S. and Canada with over $100 million in annual revenue to earn ClearlyRateds prestigious Best of Staffing Diamond Awards ten years in a row, highlighting exceptional client and talent service quality.
For more information on our services, or for staffing franchise information, visit our website.
Project InnerSpace Its time to go big or go home in building this massive clean energy source beneath us into a major player in our future energy mix. I am excited to support Dr. Fuchs and his supporting global team of scientists to help us push aggressively toward that goal.
Project InnerSpace, a non-profit organization whose core objective is to advance geothermal development into terawatts of output at a cost competitive with other renewables, today launched a two-year collaboration with the International Heat Flow Commission (IHFC) and the German Research Centre for Geoscience GFZ, Potsdam (GFZ) to accelerate the Global Heat Flow Database assessment for geothermal analyses. The effort, supported by a global team of scientists, is funded by a $700K Project InnerSpace grant and led by Dr. Sven Fuchs of GFZ, the custodian of the IHFCs heat flow database.
The collaboration supports the ongoing systematic revision of the Global Heat Flow Database, currently performed by a network of voluntary scientists. Since 2020, researchers have been updating incorrect, inconsistent, and missing data entries according to a new modernized metadata scheme, and categorizing each data entry based on data quality. Project InnerSpaces support will expand and accelerate these efforts to maximize the database's potential for geothermal assessment. A majority of work on continental data will be complete by 2024, and work on oceanic data will be complete by 2025. The data will be publicly released by the IHFC after its completion. Concurrently, Project InnerSpace is working with a large technology partner to incorporate the results into a freely accessible spatial platform, the goal of which is to inform and accelerate decisions on advancing geothermal exploration and development.
"The substantial financial support provided by Project InnerSpace enables us to achieve the necessary revision of global heat-flow data much faster, and also facilitates the sustainable development of geothermal energy applications all over the world, commented Dr. Sven Fuchs of GFZ. We very much appreciate the strong support for our mission by Project InnerSpace."
Work will commence in March 2023, funded by the $700K ( 640K) Project Innerspace grant. The grant supports two full-time scientists and a team of ten collaborating senior scientists, who will act as supervisors for a global network of 10 15 students and approximately 25 visiting scientists supported by the Heatflow Fellowship Program.
Funding and supporting this collaboration is one of several initiatives associated with Project InnerSpaces two-phase strategic plan for catalyzing the deployment and growth of geothermal energy worldwide. The primary objective of Phase I, which this collaboration will support, is to create an interactive global geothermal platform, free and accessible to all, that can inform, de-risk, and accelerate decisions in the early stages of geothermal project development. In Phase II of its strategic plan, Project InnerSpace will support first-of-their-kind geothermal pilots in strategic locations across the globe. By removing the major barriers to geothermal development by the end of this decade, Project InnerSpace hopes to unlock significant private investment in geothermal projects and accelerate the global energy transition.
As the world struggles to find a viable path toward a just, abundant, and efficient decarbonized future, geothermal is a beacon, said Jamie Beard, Project Innerspace's Founder and Executive Director. Its time to go big or go home in building this massive clean energy source beneath us into a major player in our future energy mix. I am excited to support Dr. Fuchs and his supporting global team of scientists to help us push aggressively toward that goal.
About Project InnerSpace: Project InnerSpace is a 501(c)3 non-profit focused on expanding the use of geothermal energy globally. We combine the voices of visionaries, entrepreneurs, and disruptors with the breakthrough expertise of geologists, drilling experts, and well engineers to build a future where geothermal will enable the world to meet its climate and energy goals. http://www.projectinnerspace.org
This new office will support an existing client base, as well as focusing on new opportunities.
RoviSys, a global provider of control systems integration, building automation, information management solutions, and enterprise and industrial networks announced today the continued expansion of operations in Europe with a new office located in Dublin, Ireland. This new location allows RoviSys and RoviSys Building Technologies to better support existing customers across the EU, while developing new relationships. The office is conveniently located and provides space for a growing group of engineers, managers, and support staff.
"We are excited to announce the expansion of operations to Ireland. The Dublin office will support an existing client base, with a focus on developing new opportunities, and working closely with our European headquarters in The Netherlands, said Matthew Wise, European Director. The Irish office and engineering team will be supported by our staff of 60 engineers in The Netherlands and will expand to 10+ engineers by 2023 year end."
RoviSys and RoviSys Building Technologies solutions are designed for transparency and sustainability, and include design, control, analytics, and audits with a focus on Life Sciences, Data Centers, Food and Beverage, and Industrial Manufacturing. Through professional partnerships and a commitment to vendor and platform independence, RoviSys services customers from eight office locations in North America, four office locations across Southeast Asia, and over 1000 employees with experience and knowledge to improve operational and financial results for any organization.
About RoviSys
The RoviSys Company is a leading independent provider of information management solutions, manufacturing automation solutions, control systems integration, building automation, and enterprise and industrial networks. Since 1989, we have built a reputation of quality and continuity, technical expertise, and attentive customer service. We are distinctly qualified to deliver solutions that drive productivity, improve product quality, increase asset utilization and integrate technology for the Chemical, Petrochemical, Life Science, Consumer Packaged Goods, Glass, Metals, Power & Energy, Data Center, Building Management, Water & Wastewater, Paper & Wood and Oil & Gas industries.
For more information visit http://www.rovisys.com.
"Sunlight Shines In," the new album by saxophonist/composer Mark Lewis. I heard [the Ron Kobayashi Trio] play and thought this is the sound I'd like to have. I just called them up and we arranged some gigs, including at the Lighthouse [in Hermosa Beach].
Veteran alto saxophonist/flutist Mark Lewis convenes a West Coast jazz summit on "Sunlight Shines In," set for a March 24 release on the Audio Daddio label. Recorded in 2019, the album teams Seattle-area-based Lewis with the superb Southern California pianist Ron Kobayashi and his trio (bassist Baba Elefante and drummer Steve Dixon) on a set of Lewiss original compositions, with ace trumpeter (and the albums recording engineer) Nolan Shaheed joining in on two tracks.
Born and raised in Washington State, Lewis has built a career on making music with whomever, and wherever, his musical instincts lead him. In this case, they led him to encounter Kobayashis trio, quickly engaging them for some gigs at the legendary Lighthouse club in Hermosa Beach, California, and elsewhere.
I heard them play and thought this is the sound Id like to have, Lewis says. Once the live dates were complete, he documented that sound with the band on "Sunlight Shines In," recorded at Shaheeds studio in Pasadena.
Lewis is legally blind, perhaps leading one to wonder how he came to such a visually loaded album title. Any such questioning will end, though, when the listener encounters the luminous, gentle warmth of tracks like the lithe opener Lunar Escape or the waltzing title track. Ghost of a Chance is positively gleeful in its swing, and even Rain, ironically enough, manages to generate a sunny disposition. Of course, where theres sunlight theres also shadow, and the band takes a mellower and moodier tack on the delicate Julies Butterfly and the haunting flute/trumpet feature Leaving Fall Behind, composed in response to news of Miles Daviss death. Shaheed contrasts his exquisite muted horn on the latter track with a bright, open tone on Swamis Song, a sensuous tenor feature for Lewis. Mikes Tango, a vehicle for Lewiss gorgeous flute work, is a pure expression of affection for the late pianist Mike Renzi. Sunlight Shines In is a true meeting of creative minds, apardon the punshining example of the magic that can happen when a group of like-minded, creative, and empathetic musicians find each other.
Mark Lewis was born January 26, 1958 in Tacoma, Washington, and raised on a farm in the surrounding area. Profoundly visually impaired, he made sense of the world through musicespecially the jazz records in his parents sizable collection. At the age of nine, he began playing music himself, starting on his grandfathers C melody saxophone and switching to his uncles old alto a year later.
Starting his first band while still in middle school, Lewis was leading several by the time he finished high school (in addition to playing in the schools stage and concert band and performing music for school plays). He studied composition, flute, piano, and electronic music at Western Washington University and at Seattles Cornish Institute of Allied Arts.
Even big-city Seattle could not keep him, however, and in 1978, at 20 years old, Lewis flew to Europe. He made a home in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where he made himself a force on the local, national, and international jazz scene. He led three working bands as well as creating a highly regarded record label, Audio Daddio, with Lewis himself as the house producer.
At the same time, Lewis made frequent trips to back to the United States, continuing to work in Seattle and also establishing himself firmly on the Bay Area jazz scene, where he settled after returning to North America for good in the mid-1990s. He worked with the likes of Mark Levine, Randy Brecker, Donald Bailey, Ted Gioia, Bobby Hutcherson, and Larry Grenadier before returning to Washington to be closer to his family. Hes remained based in the Puget Sound area ever since, though Lewis frequently steps into the wider world to make musicwhether around the Pacific Northwest, with his connections in Europe and California, or in jazzs capital city, as on 2018s hard-swinging "New York Session."
Lewis is a dizzyingly prolific musician, with more than 20 albums and an astounding 1,700-plus compositions to his name. The material on "Sunlight Shines In" draws from all across that staggering repertoire, with pieces from the 1980s to the present day reinterpreted by Lewis and his crack ensemble.
CD Release Shows for "Sunlight Shines In":
Sat. 3/25 (5pm), Medicine Creek Winery, Olympia, WA
Sat. 4/1 (6pm), Westside Pizza, Kingston, WA
Thu. 4/6 (7:30pm), Sacred Grounds Jazz Coffeehouse, Scottsdale, AZ
Thu. 4/13 (7:30pm), Jazz at the Merc, Temecula, CA
Sat. 4/15 (7pm), Les Amis, Fullerton, CA
Fri. 4/21 (7:30pm), The Sound Room, Oakland
Sat. 5/13 (7pm), F. Holmes & Co. Art Gallery, Seattle
Fri. 5/19 (12:30pm), Lake Chelan (WA) Wine & Jazz Festival, Siren Song Winery
Sat. 5/20 (2:15pm), Lake Chelan (WA) Wine & Jazz Festival, Sigillo Cellars
Sun. 5/21 (4pm), The Jazz Project, Firehouse Arts & Events Center, Bellingham, WA
The FMIs mission is to promote awareness, excellence and discipline in financial modeling globally through its world-class accreditation programs. FMI provides accreditation unlike any other finance qualification, it sets the standard in financial modeling because it teaches candidates to elegantly structure, efficiently build, and clearly communicate," said Reza Ali, Director of Learning and Commercial at ACCA.
The Financial Modeling Institute (FMI), the only financial modeling accreditation body in the world, serving candidates in over 50 countries, announced today its collaboration with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) based in the UK. The new partnership highlights both organizations commitment to provide the most relevant, cutting-edge education in the field. ACCA members will have the opportunity to obtain FMIs Level 1 Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) accreditation, enabling them to differentiate themselves by demonstrating that they have the advanced financial modeling skills most valued by employers worldwide. FMI is recognized globally for providing the most respected accreditations in financial modeling.
Financial modeling has never been more important for accountants, and our new partnership with FMI provides our members with the ability to further strengthen their value to any company or organization, said Reza Ali, Director of Learning and Commercial at ACCA. FMI provides accreditation unlike any other finance qualification, it sets the standard in financial modeling because it teaches candidates to elegantly structure, efficiently build, and clearly communicate. This collaboration will have an important role in leading our members into the future of the accounting profession.
Were thrilled to be able to partner with ACCA to provide them with a new accreditation that allows its members to clearly demonstrate their hands-on abilities, said Ian Schnoor, Executive Director of the FMI. We are committed to developing and delivering accreditation programs that allow candidates to significantly advance their careers. The Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) program covers the design and creation of a best-in-class three-statement model of a company that adheres to industry best practices. To be able to offer our programs to ACCAs 241,000 members in 178 countries and regions is an honor.
ACCA Chief Executive Helen Brand said: This exciting accreditation marks the global gold-standard for financial modeling, so were delighted to be working with FMI on this. Through this partnership and by offering this qualification were supporting our members career success as well as opening the door to connections with fellow professionals.
ACCA members interested in obtaining FMIs AFM accreditation can find more information and enroll at the ACCA Learning website.
About ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants.
Were a thriving global community of 241,000 members and 542,000 future members based in 178 countries and regions, who work across a wide range of sectors and industries. We uphold the highest professional and ethical values.
We offer everyone everywhere the opportunity to experience a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. Our qualifications and learning opportunities develop strategic business leaders, forward-thinking professionals with the financial, business and digital expertise essential for the creation of sustainable organizations and flourishing societies.
Since 1904, being a force for public good has been embedded in our purpose. In December 2020, we made commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals which we are measuring and will report on in our annual integrated report.
We believe that accountancy is a cornerstone profession of society and is vital helping economies, organizations and individuals to grow and prosper. It does this by creating robust trusted financial and business management, combating corruption, ensuring organizations are managed ethically, driving sustainability, and providing rewarding career opportunities.
And through our cutting-edge research, we lead the profession by answering todays questions and preparing for the future. Were a not-for-profit organization. Find out more at accaglobal.com
About The Financial Modeling Institute (FMI)
The FMIs mission is to promote awareness, excellence and discipline in financial modeling globally through its world-class accreditation programs. Through research and testing, the FMI has developed exams that set the bar high with regards to modeling skills and validation. The FMI provides learning resources to support candidates, and offers proctored, rigorous financial modeling exams.
The FMI offers the Level 1 Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) accreditation, the Level 2 Chartered Financial Modeler (CFM) accreditation, and the Level 3 Master Financial Modeler (MFM) accreditation. The FMI also offers an introductory program to financial modeling called FMI Foundations.
The FMIs accreditations are relevant for professionals working in accounting, asset management, banking, business development, credit, private equity, venture capital, and other areas. Find out more about The Financial Modeling Institute at https://fminstitute.com/
Media Contact for The Financial Modeling Institute
Ria Romano, Partner
RPR Public Relations, Inc.
Tel. 786-290-6413
Were appreciative to be recognized as an Elite 150 in the prestigious MSP 500 list, said Lauren Wickstead, CMO, TPx. For more than two decades, TPx has helped businesses navigate a complicated IT landscape that continues to become more complex each year.
TPx, a leading nationwide managed services provider (MSP) delivering cybersecurity, managed networks, and cloud communications, announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named TPx to its Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Elite 150 category for 2023 for the sixth consecutive year.
CRNs annual MSP 500 list identifies the industry-leading service providers in North America who are driving a new wave of growth and innovation for the channel through forward-thinking approaches to managed services, helping end users increase efficiency and simplify IT solutions, while maximizing their return on investment.
MSPs are a vital part of the success of businesses worldwide. MSPs empower organizations to leverage intricate technologies and help them keep a strict focus on their core business goals without straining their budgets.
The annual MSP 500 list is divided into three sections: the MSP Pioneer 250, recognizing companies with business models weighted toward managed services and largely focused on the SMB market; the MSP Elite 150, recognizing large, data center-focused MSPs with a strong mix of on- and off-premises services; and the Managed Security 100, recognizing MSPs focused primarily on off-premises and cloud-based security services.
In the past year, TPx has made several updates to its systems and processes to improve the customer experience and help its customers navigate the evolving business landscape. The company also rolled out new services like 5G and penetration scanning and plans to continue to broaden its security offerings to address customers security needs.
Managed services offer a path for businesses of all sizes to remain efficient and flexible as they grow, said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. The solution providers on our 2023 MSP 500 list are bringing innovative managed services portfolios to market, helping their customers win by doing more with the IT budgets they have and freeing up resources to focus on mission-critical activities to drive future success.
Were appreciative to be recognized as an Elite 150 in the prestigious MSP 500 list, said Lauren Wickstead, CMO, TPx. For more than two decades, TPx has helped businesses navigate a complicated IT landscape that continues to become more complex each year. The recognition from CRN highlights our commitment to making IT easy for our customers.
The MSP 500 list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN and online at http://www.crn.com/msp500.
About TPx
TPx is a leading nationwide managed service provider focused on the success of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with approximately 18,000 customers in more than 49,000 locations across the U.S. For more than two decades, TPx has offered managed services and solutions to help customers across every business sector address the growing complexity of their IT environments. For more information, visit http://www.tpx.com or follow TPx on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
About The Channel Company
The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. http://www.thechannelco.com
Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
2023 The Channel Company LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
Villas of Distinction's free air promotion is valid for any airline to any destination. It is no secret that airline prices have increased and its also no secret that we strive to provide our guests with the most value on their villa vacation.
Villas of Distinction is offering a booking deal like no other in the industry with its free air promotion. Guests who book a Villas of Distinction villa valued at $50,000+ from now through March 26, 2023, for travel between now to December 31, 2024, can earn two free airline tickets*. The valuation on two round trip tickets is based on the Bureau of Transportation's U.S. average flight price for 2022.
It is no secret that airline prices have increased and its also no secret that we strive to provide our guests with the most value on their villa vacation, said Steve Lassman, vice president villa product & agency relations for Villas of Distinction. We dont want airfare to stop anyone from enjoying their luxury villa experience.
This offer is combinable with many other offers including up to 25 percent off Grand Cayman villas, and free nights in the British Virgin Islands, St. Martin, and South Carolina.
Villas of Distinctions expert villa specialists and award-winning concierge teams work with each guest every step of the way, from selecting a villa to arranging every detail, taking the guesswork out of vacation planning, and creating an effortless experience. While the breathtaking views are usually the highlight, the villas in Villas of Distinctions portfolio provide privacy; are spacious; and feature amenities like private gyms, pools, game rooms, yoga studios, and more. Villa getaways are by far the best value in luxury. Villas of Distinction offers a five-star experience and provides a better value than a luxury resort and include private spaces, added amenities, and personalized concierge services.
For more information about the free air promotion, visit the Villas of Distinction homepage or call 1-800-289-0900.
*Terms and Conditions: Free air promotion is valid for new bookings only. Receive up to a $1,000 reimbursement check within 15 business days after presentation of a flight receipt. Minimum booking value of $50,000 applies. The booking value applies to the villa cost only and does not include any additional services or fees. This offer is valid for bookings made 2/20/2023 through 3/26/2023 for travel now through 12/31/2024. The offer is non-transferable, has no cash value, and cannot be redeemed for any other service. All offers are subject to availability. We reserve the right to modify or cancel this promotion at any time without notice.
About Villas of Distinction
Villas of Distinction, as part of World Travel Holdings, is an award-winning, full-service villa experience creator with a portfolio of thousands of privately-owned villas in more than 52 destinations worldwide including the United States, Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Central America, and beyond. Many villas feature excellent staff and state-of-the-art amenities like private pools, home theaters, in-villa game rooms, and fitness centers. The luxury villa provider has gained its guests trust by ensuring every villa meets strict standards so that each home exceeds expectations. Since 1989, the Villas of Distinction team have made vacation planning effortless by pairing travelers find their perfect vacation home and curating one-of-a-kind getaways at the worlds top villas. Travel Advisors have named Villas of Distinction as the Gold winner for Best Villa Rental Company Overall in the annual Travvy Awards since 2015. http://www.VillasofDistinction.com.
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If you would like to know more about the IHOP 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 Palmdale 794 Inc. DBA IHOP 794 ("IHOP") for allegedly failing to provide employees with timely, off-duty meal and rest periods. The IHOP class action lawsuit, Case No. 23STCV02326, 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, IHOP allegedly violated California Labor Code Sections 201, 202, 203, 204, 226, 226.7, 246, 510, 512, 558, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 1198 and 2802 by failing to: (1) pay minimum wages; (2) pay overtime wages; (3) provide required meal and rest periods; (4) reimburse for required business expenses; (5) provide wages when due; (6) provide accurate itemized wage statements; and (7) provide gratuities.
The lawsuit also alleges IHOP violated the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), which gives rise to civil penalties as a result of IHOP's 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 IHOP 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-
A new publisher aims to celebrate women authors over 50, with plans to publish six new novels and memoirs this fall.
Headquartered in Grass Valley, Calif., Sibylline Press is the brainchild of four women in publishing who noticed that older women writers often go unseen or experience a lack of opportunities to have their books published. The publisher is named after the ancient Greek oracles the Sibyls and the Sybilline Books, books collecting oracular utterances by the Sibyls that were consulted during great crisis points in Roman history.
We believe women, our Sibyls, are formidable especially when collaborating," said publisher Vicki DeArmon. "Sibylline is a traditional publisher, but were giving our authors unheard of support and access in producing and collaboratively promoting their books. Were a team. We also know that the better an author understands the industry, the better she can work within it and with us to achieve success for her book.
DeArmon is the former publisher of San Franciscos Foghorn Press, which she started at age 25. (She sold it 13 years later to Avalon Books, which is now owned by Hachette.)
DeArmons partners are novelist and journalist Julia Park Tracey, who serves as executive editor and has helmed multiple newspapers and magazines in California; Alicia Feltman, design director for the press and the go-to web designer for the American Booksellers Association (ABA), IndieCommerce, and CALIBA; and Connecticut-based Anna Termine, who serves as rights and special sales director. Termine has been in the book industry for more than 30 years, working in both trade and academic publishing and specializing in rights and licensing.
Sibylline is distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West, and plans to publish twelve books annually starting next year. Titles to be published in fall 2023 by Sibylline include:
These Broken Roads: Scammed and Vindicated: One Womans Story by Donna Marie Hayes (memoir). The story of a Jamaican immigrant who overcomes hardships to find American success, only to be scammed and robbed of her lifes savings by the love of her life met on an online dating site. When Hayes vindicates herself, she overcomes a lifetime of bad romantic choices. (Pub Oct. 3, 2023)
The Bereaved: A Novel by Julia Park Tracey (historical fiction). A grieving widow tries to support her children in the squalor of 1859 New York City, losing them to the Home of the Friendless and the Orphan Train, before setting out to reclaim them. (Pub Aug. 8, 2023)
Maeve Rising: Coming Out Trans in Corporate Americaby Maeve DuVally (memoir). The story of a top public relations executive coming out transgender in one of the most high-profile financial institutions in America, Goldman Sachs. (Pub Aug. 15, 2023)
The Rotting Whale: A Hugo Sandoval Eco-Mystery by Jann Eyrich (mystery). An old-school San Francisco building inspector, with his trademark fedora, is a media darling, reluctant bachelor and peoples hero fighting the good fight in a modern era. In his first case in the series, Sandoval must find his sea legs before he can solve the mystery of how a 90-ton blue whale became stranded twice in a remote inlet off the North Coast. (Pub Sept. 12, 2023)
Unsettled: A Novel by Patricia Reis (historical fiction). Upon the death of her cold father, a repressed woman begins an ancestral quest through the prairies of Iowa in the late 1800s, awakening secrets and herself. (Pub Oct. 10, 2023)
Reading Jane: A Daughters Memoir by Susannah Kennedy (memoir). After the calculated suicide of the authors domineering and narcissistic mother, Kennedy discovers diaries spanning 45 years that challenge and upend long-held truths. (Pub Sept. 5, 2023)
A look at womens roles in the early Christian church, how the Enneagram can be applied to marriage, and more new books are coming from religion and spirituality publishers in March.
Nonfiction
March 1
Im a ChristianNow What? A Guide to Your New Life with Christ by Aaron Armstrong (Lexham, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-68359-671-4) is geared toward adult converts to Christianity looking for answers to questions such as how to read the Bible, pray, and find the right church.
Meister Eckharts Book of Darkness & Light: Meditations on the Path of the Wayless Way by Jon M. Sweeney, Mark S. Burrows, and Meister Eckhart (Hampton Roads, $16.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64297-045-6) highlights the spiritual insights of the Christian mystic and his comments on finding God through darkness.
Touch the Wounds: On Suffering, Trust, and Transformation by Tomas Halik, trans. by Gerald Turner (Univ. of Notre Dame, $25, ISBN 978-0-268-20489-1) uses Jesuss wounds as a metaphor to reflect on Christian concepts of suffering.
March 7
Finish Line: Dispelling Fear, Finding Peace, and Preparing for the End of Your Life by Robert Wolgemuth (Zondervan, $27.99, ISBN 978-0-310-36489-4) aims to comfort readers with biblical promises about heaven while offering tips for determining end-of-life preferences such as funeral planning, preparing a will, and decluttering.
My Body and Other Crumbling Empires: Lessons for Healing in a World That Is Sick by Lyndsey Medford (Broadleaf, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-5064-8431-0) explores issues such as medical, environmental, and economic factors linked to statistics that indicate over 60% of adult Americans suffer from chronic illness, while arguing for a path to healing rooted in faith.
The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives by Jennifer Michael Hecht (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $29, ISBN 978-0-374-29274-4). A poet and historian offers up poetry as a way to find meaning in a society thats becoming more secular.
Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day by Kaitlin B. Curtice (Brazos, $21.99, ISBN 978-1-58743-571-3) suggests methods of individual and communal resistance to build a more connected world.
Turning Words: Transformative Encounters with Buddhist Teachers by Hozan Alan Senauke (Shambhala, $18.95 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-64547-131-8). A Zen priest shares the life-changing phrases of friends and Buddhist teachers, including the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, to deliver insights into faith and social action.
March 14
God the Bestseller: How One Editor Transformed American Religion a Book at a Time by Stephen Prothero (HarperOne, $29.99, ISBN 978-0-06-246404-0) recounts Eugene Exmans tenure at Harper, during which he published culture-shifting works by Harry Emerson Fosdick, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, and others. 35,000-copy announced first printing.
Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church by Nijay K. Gupta (IVP Academic, $24 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5140-0074-8) looks at evidence in the New Testament that women were actively involved in the early Christian churchs ministries.
Dont Hold Back: Leaving Behind the American Gospel to Follow Jesus Fully by David Platt (Multnomah, $25, ISBN 978-0-7352-9144-7) challenges Christians to take risks and love everyone around them rather than focusing on comfort, politics, and prosperity.
March 21
Sensual Faith: The Art of Coming Home to Your Body by Lyvonne Briggs (Convergent, $17, ISBN 978-0-593-44321-7) encourages women to develop sex-positive attitudes toward their bodies and fortify their spirituality in the process.
Armageddon by Bart D. Ehrman (S&S, $27.99, ISBN 978-198214-799-0) analyzes the Book of Revelations and critiques popular interpretations of the end times.
The Enneagram and Your Marriage: A 7-Week Guide to Better Understanding and Loving Your Spouse by Jackie Brewster (Baker, $18.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5409-0257-3) applies the ancient personality typing system for increasing awareness to marriage in a seven-week workbook.
March 28
Safe All Along: Trading Our Fears and Anxieties for Gods Unshakable Peace by Katie Davis Majors (Multnomah, $25, ISBN 978-0-593-44511-2). A mother of 15 and wife of a missionary, Majors explores instability and difficult circumstances, revealing how she reached inner peace through a connection with God.
Fiction
March 1
Letters of Trust (Friendship Letters #1) by Wanda E. Brunstetter (Barbour, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63609-334-5). Newlyweds Vic and Eleanor Lapp are blissfully happy on their Pennsylvania Amish farm until a family death drives Vic to alcohol, imperiling the marriage and prompting Eleanor to write to her friend Doretta seeking advice.
March 7
Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem (Tyndale, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-4964-6066-0) is set in 1933 and follows Jewish lawyer Leon Lewis who conscripts reluctant German-born Liesl Weiss as a spy to track a wave of Nazism spreading through Hollywood.
March 14
The Metropolitan Affair by Jocelyn Green (Bethany House, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-7642-3963-2). Childhood friends Laura Westlake, an Egyptology expert, and detective Joe Caravello reunite as adults to hunt down the culprit behind a spate of artifact forgeries in 1920s Manhattan.
March 21
After the Shadows by Amanda Cabot (Revell, $16.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-8007-4064-1). Shortly after Emily Leland returns to her Texas hometown, her father dies suspiciously. She and schoolteacher Craig Ferguson work to unravel the mystery, which may relate to a pattern of recent accidents around town.
US 'top disrupter' of global order, FM spokesman says
By WANG QINGYUN (China Daily) 15:41, February 22, 2023
China is a defender of international order, while the United States is its "top disrupter", Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday, as he urged the US to give up its "hegemonic "approaches toward global affairs.
Criticizing US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman's claim that China is a growing challenge that has the ability to challenge the rules-based international order, Wang said. China has always safeguarded the international system centered on the United Nations as well as the international order based on international laws.
"It is the US, not China, that undermines and tramples on international rules," Wang said at a news conference, citing a report which details how the US has developed and clung to its hegemony in politics, military matters, economy, technology and culture.
The "US Hegemony and Its Perils" report, issued by Xinhua News Agency on Monday, has exposed the harm US hegemony has done to world peace and international rules, Wang said.
"From the 'Neo-Monroe Doctrine' to 'color revolutions', from the Five Eyes to the Quad, the US has been creating divisions and stoking confrontation all over the world," the spokesman said.
The report refers to the US assembling "exclusive clubs" such as the Five Eyes and the Quad. It also listed instances of US interference in other countries' internal affairs abound. In the name of "promoting democracy", the US practiced a "Neo-Monroe Doctrine" in Latin America and instigated "color revolutions" in Eurasia.
Since 2001, the wars and military operations launched by the US in the name of fighting terrorism have claimed over 900,000 lives, according to the report, which said the US has created 37 million refugees around the world.
The US had or has imposed economic sanctions on nearly 40 countries, affecting nearly half of the world's population, the report said, adding that the country seeks to deter others' development through its monopoly in science and technology, including through politicizing and weaponizing technology issues.
The US is also "notorious" for its cyberattacks, eavesdropping and indiscriminate surveillance of both its rivals and allies. It also attacks other countries and misleads public opinion by providing "nearly limitless" financial support for spreading disinformation, the report said.
"Facts have fully proven that the US is the top disrupter of international rules and order," Wang said. "Hegemony is the hallmark of its approach to international rules and affairs."
The US added "another example of its hegemony" by using force earlier this month to shoot down an unmanned Chinese civilian airship and claiming it was a "spy balloon "despite China's repeated communications with the US side, Wang said.
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Simons Inks Six-Book Deal with Thomas Nelson
Jenni Burke of Illuminate Literary Agency sold world rights to Thomas Nelsons MacKenzie Howard, executive editor for Childrens and Gift Book divisions, for six projects by bestselling author and artist Ruth Chou Simons (When Strivings Cease). The deal includes a childrens book, two devotionals, a trade book, a lifestyle book, and a video study curriculum that will be published across three Nelson imprints. The first book is a childrens title slated for publication in fall 2024 by Tommy Nelson. Subsequent projects are expected in 2025 and 2026.
A Retelling of Tamars Story
Blythe Daniel of The Blythe Daniel Agency, Inc. sold world rights to Paraclete Press editor Lillian Miao for a novel, Ahoti! The Story of Tamar, by Israeli tour guide Miriam Feinberg Vamosh and writer Eva Marie Everson. The book, which is scheduled for publication in October 2023, retells the biblical story of King Davids daughter Tamar, who is determined to reclaim her life and purpose after she is raped.
Chalice Signs a Slow Burn
Trinity McFadden of The Bindery sold world-rights to acquisitions editor Brad Lyons of Chalice Press for the tentatively titled Slow Burn: Lighting the Way Back to Yourself after Everything You Thought You Knew Burns to the Ground, to be published in fall 2023. Authors Sarah Carter and Corinne Shark share how they confronted corruption in their respective evangelical churches and nonprofits and found healing after losing nearly everything in the fallout.
End Game Press Focuses on Dads
Author and agent Blythe Daniel, her son William Daniel, and her mother Helen McIntosh sold world rights to End Game Press owner Victoria Duerstock for the tentatively titled I Love You, Dad! Words to Honor and Humor You, slated for publication in spring 2024 and timed with Fathers Day. The book is designed to give dads a boost of encouragement, and it features questions fathers can ask their child or teen to connect better with them, according to the publisher. Blythe Daniel of The Blythe Daniel Agency, Inc. represented herself, son, and mother in the deal.
Broadleaf Explores a Mind-Body Connection
Broadleaf Books acquisitions editor Lisa Kloskin took world rights from Hannah Bowman at Liza Dawson Associates to an untitled book by Dianna E. Anderson. The book will explore self-awareness and the fear of the body in American culture, according to Broadleaf, and it is scheduled for publication in fall 2024.
Whitaker Speaks the Unspeakable
Whitaker Houses publisher Christine Whitaker took world rights from Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary to Elizabeth Goods Speak the Unspeakable: Real Talk on Secrets, Sex, and Being Set Free, to be published in fall 2023. Gooda pastor, therapist, and not-for-profit activist working with sex trafficking victimsbuilds on her work and experiences with the Real Talk program and curriculum designed to help the global church face and prevent sexual trauma and scandal.
Worthy Finds a Name for Pain
Jenny Baumgartner, executive editor at Worthy Publishing, bought world rights from Keely Boeving of WordServe Literary to Your Pain Has a Name: A Therapists Guide to Reclaiming Your Story by Monica DiCristina, a licensed professional counselor and host of the Still Becoming podcast. According to Worthy, the book provides therapeutic strategies and insights aimed at empowering readers to name and validate their experiences. Publication is planned for fall 2024.
Shaeeda Sween / Instagram
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/21/2023
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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
couple Shaeeda Sween and Bilal Hazziez have publicly confirmed that Shaeeda recently suffered a miscarriage with their first child together."It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of our recent miscarriage," Shaeeda, 37, wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Friday, February 17.Shaeeda tagged Bilal in the post and shared, "We had been overjoyed to be expecting our first child together, but unfortunately, it was not meant to be at this time."Along with her caption, Shaeeda uploaded a photo of a positive pregnancy test as well as a picture of Shaeeda and Bilal holding hands while resting in a hospital bed."We want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to all of the family, friends, loved ones and fans who have reached out to us with love and support during this difficult time," Shaeeda continued in her post."Your kind words and gestures have been a source of comfort and strength for us. While we are still grieving and processing this loss, we know that as we plan and as [God] plans, [God] is the best of planners."Shaeeda said this experience has strengthened her marriage to Bilal, with whom she starred on 's ninth season followed by : Happily Ever After?'s seventh season on TLC."This experience has brought us closer as husband and wife, and on the bright side, we're thankful to [God] that we can get pregnant," Shaeeda wrote."We also take solace in knowing that we are not alone. We are grateful for the community of support that surrounds us, and we know that we will continue to lean on each other as we navigate this journey."Shaeeda proceeded to reach out to anyone going through a similar situation."Know that you are not alone. We encourage you to reach out for help and support, and to take all the time you need to heal and process," Shaeeda concluded."Once again, we thank you all for your well wishes and kindness during this time. Your love means the world to us. Thank you from Bilal & Shaeeda."Earlier this month, fans were speculating that Shaeeda was pregnant.On February 3, Shaeeda posted a video of herself modeling a sleek, midi-length colorful dress underneath a trench coat.One Instagram user commented, "I was looking haaaaard for a bump," according to In Touch Weekly.Shaeeda reportedly replied, "I lost the bump," and added a broken-heart emoji.The comment thread has apparently since been deleted.Fans, however, kept talking about Shaeeda's disclosure in the comments section. Many people expressed their condolences and sympathy to Shaeeda on Instagram, and one Instagram user even wished her the best of luck in trying to conceive "a rainbow baby."Bilal was a 43-year-old from Kansas City, MO, and Shaeeda was a 37-year-old from Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago when they starred on in Spring 2022.After Shaeeda moved to the United States and married Bilal, she came down with a case of baby fever.Shaeeda was pushing to have a child sooner rather than later due to her age and potential fertility issues she may face, but Bilal -- who welcomed two children in his previous marriage -- had been hoping to enjoy being Shaeeda's husband, get to know her better, and take their time expanding their family.Shaeeda even wrote in the couple's prenuptial agreement how he must be willing to try for a baby with her.On : Happily Ever After? last year, Shaeeda gave Bilal an ultimatum that they needed to try for a baby within nine months or she'd leave him.During Part 3 of the series' Tell-All special that aired on January 15, Shaeeda revealed she and Bilal had tried to conceive "a couple times."When asked what made him change his mind, Bilal explained how he wanted to be with Shaeeda for the rest of his life and it bothered him when Shaeeda became very emotional about the idea she may never become a mother.However, Shaeeda then admitted she had put a stop to having unprotected sex because Bilal had been unwilling to share a bank account with her or discuss their finances. Shaeeda didn't want to have a baby with a man who didn't trust her or take her seriously as a spouse and equal partner.Bilal promised to change and do better for his wife, and then he got down on bended knee in front of their fellow cast members."So I want to ask you," Bilal began. " Would you have my baby? Will you go half on a baby?"Bilal also gifted Shaeeda a onesie that read, "If you think I'm cute you should see my mommy."Shaeeda cried and said, "Yes." She confirmed Bilal's grand gesture made her want to have a baby with him again."I just hope I'll be able to be a mom and not have to wait too long," Shaeeda said in tears."You'll be an amazing mom," Bilal told his wife.The couple then determined they would start trying right away, while they were still in New York. Shaeeda hugged and kissed her husband, saying this is all she ever wanted.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
Kinetic Content / Reality TV World
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/22/2023
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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
star Nicole Lilienthal has revealed whether she thought Chris Thielk 's emotional breakdown over his dogs was concerning.Nicole and Chris were matched by experts Dr. Pepper Schwartz and Pastor Calvin Roberson to wed on the show's sixteenth season.Chris and Nicole have the strongest relationship of the five couples so far this season, but their honeymoon ended with Chris breaking down into tears.During the February 15 episode of : Afterparty, Nicole watched back a Season 16 clip of herself comforting Chris when he was crying outside of their hotel room in Jamaica."They told me I can't have dogs at the place," Chris laments in the footage, referring to the Nashville apartment he and Nicole were going to move into after their honeymoon. "They have a two-dog restriction. I can't abandon them.""No, that's not an option," Nicole replies. "Look at me, I don't know the solution right now, but we will figure it out."Chris responds, "I don't know what to do."Afterparty host Keshia Knight Pulliam , a dog mom herself, admitted she thought somebody had died when she first saw Chris sobbing outside on the show.Both Keshia and Nicole's co-star, Jasmine Secrest , were cracking up with laughter."The situation was never funny and still is not," Nicole said. "But it was funny in the moment to be like, in a tunnel. [He] was so upset from hearing this news, and he was just distraught."Nicole said in the heat of the moment she was thinking, "Okay, I don't know this man but I want to make it work, so I'm going to do whatever it takes. And that's what I did!"But Keshia asked if there was a piece of Nicole that was concerned over how emotional Chris got so early into the process."[Did you think], 'Oh, he's a little more emotional than I thought?' I'm just curious," Keshia noted."Honestly, no," Nicole said firmly. "I'm a huge dog person. Because I saw that he was so emotional over something that was also so important to me, it was like, 'This man really cares about the things he loves.'"Keshia said the scene reminded her so much of 's previous season, when Justin Hall had cried over a bloody dog fight that resulted in him temporarily giving his dog away."I'm going to stop you right there!" Nicole interjected."He went into this with two dogs, not knowing that I had a dog. So he, throughout the entire process, said, 'My dogs are coming with me. My dogs are coming with me.' And then he finds out [his] dogs are not coming with you."Keshia joked about how Nicole wasn't going to let anybody go after "her man."On the latest episode , Nicole FaceTimed with her father from Jamaica. She asked her dad if he'd be willing to help with her dog Charlie if she and Chris could swap out dogs, keeping two at a time, in their apartment for the remaining seven weeks of the experiment.Nicole's father offered to take Charlie to Florida with him, but the idea made Nicole cry because she would miss her furbaby so much.However, she considered it to make Chris happy, and her dad said that he would help them out in any way possible."This just shows me that she's willing to do whatever it takes to make this work, and I think that's amazing because that's what I think marriage is about -- compromise, trying to help each other out, and making sacrifices," Chris told the cameras.After Chris and Nicole talked to the show's executive producers about their dog options, the couple determined Charlie would live at Nicole's apartment with one of her family members for a few weeks while still being a part of the couple's lives.Nicole said that after the show, she and Chris would find a place to fit all three of their dogs and have a big yard for them all to play in together.Overall, Chris and Nicole rated their marriage an 8.2 on a scale from 1-10.Chris said he was "blown away" by Nicole and they were having an "amazing" time together.Nicole shared how she would've rated her first week of marriage a 10, but she realistically dropped a couple of points since she and Chris had yet to move in together in Nashville.Nicole predicted that she and Chris were going to have some arguments and battles when combining their two busy lives together."Nicole is a hard-hitting New York woman... and Chris is a little bit passive. So I think she's going to take him for a ride. I do," MAFS co-star Clint Webb said of Nicole."I don't know about a sexual ride, but it could maybe be [that]."Interested in more news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group or click here to view our newspage!And click here for more updates on former cast members and info on where they are now!
Two former Athens-Clarke County Police Department officers have been promoted within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, according to an email from the GBI. Mark Lavender has been promoted to special agent in charge of the Region 10 Field Office in Conyers, Georgia, and Ryan Carmichael has been promoted to inspector.
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Toledo must comply with a preventive detention order over the Interoceanica (Interoceanic Highway) case, which is in charge of Prosecutor Jose Domingo Perez, who belongs to Lava Jato Case Special Prosecution Group. Carrion reminded citizens thatwhich is
The State Attorney pointed out that, given Toledo's status as former President of the Republic (2001-2006), he should be admitted to Barbadillo Prison in Lima's Ate district.
Yet a classification must be carried out by the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE).
Asked about the current location of Alejandro Toledo, Carrion said that the former president is currently in the U.S. State of California and his condition is regulated, since he wears an electronic shackle.
"He is watched and constantly monitored," she said in remarks to Canal N on Tuesday night.
The State Attorney argued that it is up to U.S. authorities to execute the extradition (order), in coordination with their counterparts in Peru.
Carrion also said there is the possibility that Toledo will turn himself in to the U.S. justice once the decision has been known.
Moreover, she stressed that the State Attorney's Office and the Special Prosecutor's Team had contributed and provided support to authorities by delivering information during the hearings before the U.S. Court so that this procedure could be carried out.
She recalled that, according to the investigations, the former President would have received a bribe worth nearly US$32 million from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to favor it in its business in Peru.
The Peruvian Attorney General's Office on Tuesday evening reported it has learned that the U.S. State Department granted the extradition of former President Alejandro Toledo to Peru for the crimes of collusion and money laundering.
(END) MRCA/RMCH/MVB
Peruvian State Attorney in the Lava Jato case, Silvana Carrion, has affirmed that former President Alejandro Toledo will be admitted to a penitentiary center once he arrives in Peru extradited from the United States. Publicado: 22/2/2023
Este TLC promovera exportaciones con valor agregado a dicho pais y encadenamientos productivos, contribuyendo al desarrollo economico y social de nuestros pueblos que mejore la calidad de vida de nuestros ciudadanos. ????????????????https://t.co/PodAabiixW
Activist is taken away by Shenzhen authorities after tweeting video of rallies in Wuhan and Dalian
Rights activist Zhang Hai, who lives in Shenzhen, became an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a city-wide lockdown in Wuhan and killed his father.
Chinese police have detained at least five activists who supported recent mass protests in two major cities against the slashing of retirees medical insurance benefits earlier this month, Radio Free Asia has learned.
Among those detained was veteran rights activist Zhang Hai, who was picked up by authorities in the southern city of Shenzhen, a resident of Wuhan who gave only the surname Zhang said.
"One of five people detained in connection with the silver protests was Zhang Hai I heard he was detained in Shenzhen," the woman said. "There was also a 23-year-old man who was detained for singing The Internationale with some older people."
The detentions come after thousands of people took to the streets of two Chinese cities Wuhan and Dalian on Feb. 15 in a second mass protest over major cuts to their medical benefits.
Protesters were shown in social media video clips singing the communist anthem "The Internationale" as well as China's national anthem.
"There was also a taxi driver called Shu Li, who was detained around Feb. 20," Zhang said. "He was detained for going to support [the protests]."
Shu was handed a 10-day administrative jail sentence, which can be handed out for up to 15 days to people the police see as troublemakers. However, many detainees aren't released but held under criminal charges when the administrative sentence is complete.
Police scuffle with retirees protesting cuts to medical benefits near the entrance to Zhongshan Park in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 15, 2023. Credit: Screenshot from video obtained by Reuters
Zhang said Wuhan-based rights activist A Meng was detained in Shanghai and brought back to Wuhan after he supported the protests, while fellow activist Bai Yun had also been detained.
She said the five she named were only the cases she knew about.
"There are probably many more than that, who have been counted," Zhang said.
Clamping down
Zhang Hai's arrest came after he reposted video clips of the protests in Wuhan, along with media reports and comments to his Twitter account.
Zhang Hai, who lives in Shenzhen, became an outspoken critic of the ruling Chinese Communist Party since the pandemic prompted a city-wide lockdown in Wuhan and killed his father.
In June 2022, the authorities placed restrictions on his bank cards, with many transactions blocked, he told Radio Free Asia at the time.
Zhang was recently asked to submit additional proof of ID in recent transactions via his account at the Bank of China Nantou branch in the southern city of Shenzhen, where he currently lives.
Similar restrictions have been placed on several of his bank cards since the beginning of this year, he told RFA, while online banking transactions often fail to go through, he said.
"He didn't only speak out for his father, but also stood up for the rights of other bereaved families," Zhang said. "He became a voice for all vulnerable groups."
Silver protests
Another Wuhan resident who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, said police in her local area have also been investigating people who took part in the so-called silver protests.
"There was one person who gave interviews to a lot of reporters in Wuhan over the past three years," she said. "They started following him on Feb. 15, and he was snatched away by some [identified] people on Feb. 16."
"He was locked up in the police station for several hours there is a state of red terror here in Wuhan right now," she said.
The silver protests began on Feb. 8 outside the municipal government in Wuhan, with retirees warning more action would follow in the absence of a response from officials.
An official account on social media described protesters on Feb. 16 as having been "bewitched by rumors" and warned people not to believe "rumors" that medical insurance reforms will leave pensioners worse off.
The protests came after warnings from the central government in Beijing that it wont be bailing out cash-strapped local governments, whose coffers have been drained by three years of President Xi Jinpings zero-COVID policy, which ended in December.
People in China frequently challenge those in power, despite nationwide measures aimed at nipping popular protest in the bud, the U.S.-based think tank Freedom House reported in November 2022.
Despite pervasive surveillance, a "grid" system of law enforcement at the neighborhood level and targeted "stability maintenance" system aimed at controlling critics of the government before they take action, the group identified hundreds of incidents of public protest between June and September 2022 alone.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
UPDATED at 9:16 A.M. EST on 02-22-23
Residents and internally displaced persons in Myanmars war-torn Kayah state are facing a humanitarian emergency as junta forces confiscate food and medicine at dozens of security checkpoints along major land routes in the eastern state as fighting there intensifies, local sources said.
Armed conflict between Myanmar troops and popular militia forces have displaced nearly half of the population of about 450,000 people in Kayah state, a hotbed of resistance to the ruling military regime, which seized power from the elected government two years ago, and has been placed under martial law.
Since May 2021, junta soldiers have heavily shelled residential areas they suspect of harboring resistance fighters, according to a February report issued by ethnic Karenni civil society organizations. The fighting has destroyed roughly 1,200 houses in 87 villages, and displaced 180,000 people, or 40% of the population.
Without adequate supplies of food and medicine, the IDPs, especially children and the elderly, are becoming malnourished and are suffering from subsequent health problems, such as diarrhea, residents and aid workers said.
Humanitarian groups no longer can provide food and medicine to displaced residents because of the juntas confiscations at road checkpoints, said Helen, an aid worker.
We can barely provide enough medicine for hospitals and clinics, she said. The problem is that no one can transport the supplies in this situation. The transportation is too difficult for us to receive them here.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, tried to provide emergency relief supplies to more than 25,000 IDPs in Loikaw and Demoso townships in early June 2022, but it failed to reach all of them because of aggressive security checkpoints and confiscations, Banyar said.
Soldiers are stopping all cars and motorcycles passing through the nearly 40 checkpoints along central roads and intersections in the state, most of which are in the capital Loikaw, residents said. They are aggressively patrolling roads into and out of Demoso township and Pekon township in adjacent southern Shan state.
Junta forces have been checking vehicles transporting food staples, including rice, salt and cooking oil, at the checkpoints since they were set up in early 2022, said Banyar, director of the Karenni Human Rights Group.
The juntas strategic hills sit along the highway connecting us to the town of Taungoo on the west side of Demoso, he told RFA. The checkpoints are located on those strategic hills, and in Leiktho village. There is also one checkpoint between Leiktho and Yartho villages. Those are the major checkpoints that are heavily searched.
'Killing us all'
Junta soldiers could be taking food, medicine and money that they suspect are going to local resistance forces, said El Ni, a displaced person from Demoso township.
But instead, their actions are threatening the survival of the IDPs, he added.
They block roads, assign more checkpoints and restrict the transport of everything under the excuse of suspecting that the supplies are for the KNDF, El Ni said, referring to the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, a network of civilian resistance fighters, Karenni organizations and armed groups in Kayah state.
El Ni and other IDPs received donations of rice, oil, salt, beans, eggs and instant noodles in the years before the checkpoints, though afterward they were lucky if they got rice once a month, he said.
In that way, I think they are cutting the food and supplies for the IDPs in the state, he said. As we are IDPs, we cannot work. We have to rely on the donations of well-wishers for our survival. The juntas cutting off of our donation supply lines is its way of killing us all.
One female IDP who gave her name as Naw, said police at a checkpoint confiscated the money and food she had got in Pekon as she made her way back home.
There is no safety here, she told RFA. [Soldiers at] security checkpoints search too strictly with no regard for civilians or IDPs. There is no rule of law either. They just do as they please in many situations.
In the two years since the military coup, most IDP children have not received regular vaccinations, said an official from the Moebye Emergency Rescue Team.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, some children died due to lack of medicine and health care, he told RFA.
About 20 ethnic Karenni children sheltering in an IDP camp in Pekons Buu Pyar village suffered from diarrhea in the second week of February, and one of them, a seven-month-old, died on Feb. 14 because of the lack of food and medicine, residents said. Two adults also came down with diarrhea.
RFA could not reach Aung Win Oo, junta spokesman and social affairs minister for Kayah state, for comment.
Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.
The story was updated to say that Kayah state is in eastern Myanmar.
A comparison of satellite photos of Cambodias Ream Naval Base shows significant development between July 1, 2022 [left] and Jan. 28, 2023. New buildings and two new piers [top] have been built; two large areas of land have been cleared [left and center]; and a piece of land has been reclaimed from the sea [left]. Credit: Left: Maxar Technologies. Right: Planet Labs with RFA analysis
Recent satellite images taken of the coastal area around Sihanoukville, Cambodia, show a significant development of a China-funded naval base that would help Beijing boost its power projection not only in Southeast Asia but also the Taiwan Strait.
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2019 that Phnom Penh and Beijing had signed a secret deal to allow the Chinese military to use part of the base. Phnom Penh has repeatedly denied the deal, saying giving a foreign country exclusive military access to the base would be in contradiction to Cambodias constitution.
In June last year, however, the two countries began a project to develop the Ream Naval Base, in Sihanoukville province on the Gulf of Thailand, with Chinas funding.
Latest satellite pictures obtained by Radio Free Asia from the Earth imaging company Planet Labs show massive changes in the landscape, as well as new constructions and large-scale land clearance.
Compared to a Google Earth image from July 1, 2022, when the development project just started, the naval base now has two new piers.
A number of new structures have been built at the center of the base, one of which resembles a cement plant to provide for the whole project, according to Tom Shugart, Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security.
Similarly, the two new piers seem to be temporary ones to ferry in construction materials and equipment and not naval piers for warships.
In just six months, two large areas have been cleared for facilities development in the center and the southeast, the latter is approximately 66 acres. The cleared area in the center is around 28 acres, or over 15 percent of Reams total land area, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS.
The developers also reclaimed an area in the southern part of the base.
Overall, the speed and scale of construction is simply impressive, Shugart told RFA.
Strategic location
Under the current development project, besides two new piers China will also help Cambodia build a dry dock, a slipway, a hospital and several other buildings as well as roads.
Beijing will also assist the Cambodian Royal Navy to repair some of its old ships and dredge navigation lanes to allow medium-sized vessels to access the base.
Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh, rear center left, and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian, rear center right, preside over the groundbreaking ceremony in Ream Cambodian Naval Base of Sihanoukville, June 8, 2022. Credit: Cambodias Fresh News via AP
The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. and allied officials familiar with the matter, alleged that the Hun Sens government gave the Chinese military permission to use part of the base for 30 years, with automatic renewals every 10 years after that.
The reported deal would provide China with its first naval staging facility in Southeast Asia, the second in the world after a base in Djibouti, and allow it to significantly expand patrols across the South China Sea towards the Taiwan Strait and beyond.
The Washington Post meanwhile quoted a Chinese official in Beijing as saying last June that a portion of the base will be used exclusively by the Chinese military.
Phnom Penh rejected the allegations, arguing that it had organized several visits for foreign diplomats to Ream, proving it was not a secret base.
Cambodian government spokesperson Phay Siphan at that time also told RFAs Khmer Service that there is no agreement or law saying that the construction is reserved for Chinese benefit exclusively.
A U.S. defense attache did get clearance in 2021 to visit the base but said that he was not allowed full access.
Security concerns
Analysts also question the connection between the naval base and Dara Sakor International Airport, which is located 60 kilometers (37 miles) away and expected to begin commercial operations soon.
The airport was built by a Chinese company, the Union Group, with Chinas money and is home to Cambodia's longest runway.
U.S. officials reportedly raised concerns that the airport could potentially be used by the Chinese Air Force. This again was rejected by the Cambodian government.
Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this month paid an official visit to Beijing, during which he was reassured by the Chinese leaders of Chinas continuous support for Cambodias national sovereignty and security.
Soon afterwards Hun Sen visited Vietnam, which has been watching the Cambodia-China rapprochement closely. The Ream Naval Base is only some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Vietnams southern island of Phu Quoc.
Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Canberra pushes for joint patrols with the Philippines, as Manila and Washington discuss same
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles answers questions from reporters during a joint press conference with Philippine counterpart Carlito Galvez Jr. after their meeting in Manila, Feb. 22, 2023.
The Philippines and Australia have agreed to formalize their strategic defense engagement through an annual meeting, their defense chiefs said Wednesday, as both countries look to counter Beijings growing military influence especially in the South China Sea.
Philippine Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and Richard Marles, his Australian counterpart, made the announcement after a closed-door meeting in Manila, according to BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service, on the same day that Washington also backed the Southeast Asian nation, whose coast guard was threatened recently by a Chinese ship during an incident in the disputed maritime region.
At a joint post-meeting press conference, Marles underscored deep connections between Australia and the Philippines, which already have been cooperating in anti-terrorism training in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao.
[W]hen we start talking about our strategic interests and the matters that go to our nations, those discussions happen upon a really solid personal human foundation of trust, friendship and affection, and that matters, said Marles, who is also Australias deputy prime minister.
At present, both nations have a greater strategic alignment than weve had in any moment in our respective histories, he said.
Later this year, we look forward to signing the strategic partnership between our two countries which comes on top of the first meeting between Prime Minister Albanese and President Marcos in November of last year, Marles told reporters.
He was referring to a meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year in Bangkok during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Marles said Galvez was expected to visit Australia soon as part of the official annual meeting in what he called a formed institutional path.
Joint patrols
Marles also pushed for the possibility of joint patrols in the South China Sea.
Marles said Australia was deeply invested in asserting the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which gives coastal states like the Philippines a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
As countries which are committed to the global rules-based order, it is natural that we should think about ways in which we can cooperate in this respect. And so we did talk today about the possibility of exploring joint patrols and we will continue that work, Marles said.
Both countries are looking at ways in which we can pursue joint patrols together in the South China Sea, and looking at ways in which we can do more exercises together, Marles emphasized.
Australia in the coming months, he said, would be sending one of its largest contingents to join Balikatan, the annual joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III (right) arrives at the Philippine Department of National Defense at Camp Aguinaldo in Manila, Feb. 2, 2023. CREDIT: Jason Gutierrez/BenarNews
Marles echoed the sentiments of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, who visited the Philippines early this month to negotiate more access for American troops to the countrys strategic military installations. Since his visit to Manila, the U.S. and the Philippines have also been discussing the prospect of joint patrols in the South China Sea.
Both the United States and Australia, along with the United Kingdom, have formed a three-way security pact AUKUS whose primary aim is to blunt Beijings growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Laser
Earlier on Wednesday, the American chief spoke by phone to Galvez to offer his countrys support after a China Coast Guard ship allegedly aimed a military-grade laser onto a Filipino vessel delivering supplies to Manilas outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal.
Secretary Austin underscored the United States commitment to supporting the lawful rights and operations of the Philippines in the South China Sea, said Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagons spokesman.
According to Ryder, Austin reiterated that the U.S. was bound to come to Manilas aid in case of an armed attack on its military, aircraft, and public ships by a foreign power, as spelled out in the 72-year-old Mutual Defense Agreement.
The two leaders discussed proposals to deepen operational cooperation and enhance the United States and the Philippines shared security, including the recent decision to resume combined maritime activities in the South China Sea, he said, adding that Austin also reaffirmed his governments commitment to bolstering the Philippines defense capabilities and capacity to resist coercion.
Chinese vessels are seen in waters within the Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near the Ayungin Shoal and Sabina Shoal in a Philippine-claimed portion of the South China Sea, according to these aerial photographs taken by the Philippine Coast Guard on Feb. 21, 2023. CREDIT: Handout photo/Philippine Coast Guard
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said that one of its aircraft received radio challenges from the Chinese coast guard during a routine patrol flight in the Philippine EEZ.
The aircraft was flying over the Ayungin and Sabina Shoals when it received inaudible radio challenges, both in English and Chinese, from CCG-5304 currently continuing to maintain presence in the area, the PCG said.
The incident occurred despite diplomatic protests filed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the coast guard said in a statement in which it also released photos taken of vessels that it described as Chinese ships and boats spotted in the area.
The PCG aircraft issued its own radio challenge emphasizing that it is conducting a [Maritime Domain Awareness] flight within airspace over the Philippine EEZ and directing CCG-5304 to leave the area immediately, it said.
During the patrol, the PCG airplane also observed at least twenty-six (26) suspected Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) vessels anchored in and around the vicinity of the shoal.
Mindanao
Galvez, for his part, underscored Australias help in the Philippine militarys efforts at controlling Islamic State-linked militants in the southern island of Mindanao.
Australia and the U.S. helped in intelligence gathering to chase pro-IS militants out of the southern city of Marawi in 2017 after five months of pitched battles that left 1,200 militants, government forces and civilians dead.
Galvez noted that a small contingent of Australian forces were currently engaged in joint training with Filipino forces in the south, and that this gave confidence to Filipino troops on the frontline.
We are very thankful that the skills have been completely transferred to our soldiers. And we have seen now that terrorism has dramatically decreased in these areas, Galvez said, noting that since the battle of Marawi, there have been very minimal skirmishes in the area.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news agency.
A casket containing the body of Aziz Abdullah, a Uyghur who died after falling gravely ill while in Thai custody, is lowered into the ground during his burial at Haroon Cemetery in Bangkok, Feb. 14, 2023.
UPDATED 2:00PM 02/22/2023
Human rights advocates are calling on Thai immigration authorities to improve conditions for dozens of Uyghurs in custody and safeguard their health after a Uyghur detainee fell gravely ill and died at a police hospital in Bangkok this month.
Aziz Abdullah, a Uyghur from China, was buried at a cemetery in Bangkok on Feb. 14, a few days after his death. It was caused by infectious pneumonia, according to a death certificate seen by the Peoples Empowerment Foundation, a Thai NGO that helps Uyghur immigrants in Thailand.
The NGOs director blamed Thai authorities for neglecting the mans health and failing to give him swift medical care after he began to show symptoms of illness in January, such as vomiting and blood coming out of his mouth, while incarcerated at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok.
The immigration officers have the responsibility to look after people that are in detention but when the detainees are sick, the officers must have basic understanding and judgments to take the sick to receive adequate treatments according to the sickness conditions, Chalida Tajaroensuk said in a statement this week.
The attitude and judgment of the police IDC involved was shamefully low, [who] do not see the detainees as fully human. It is wished that the immigration [authorities] build a new standard. Detainees should have the right to receive medical treatments.
Thai immigration officials and police did not immediately respond to multiple BenarNews requests for comment.
This death is an entirely predictable outcome of a Thai policy decision to lock away these Uyghurs and, essentially, to throw away the key, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, told BBC News.
Clearly no thought was given to the health implications of indefinite detention in cramped, unsanitary immigration cells with wholly inadequate healthcare and nutrition.
Incarcerated for nine years
Aziz Abdullah was a farmer and asylum seeker aged between 34 and 49 years old, according to information from various sources. He had been incarcerated in Thai detention centers for nine years after being caught entering the kingdom without proper papers as he fled from China, according to information from the World Uyghur Congress, a group based in Germany.
Aziz Abdullah was one of a group of 50 Uyghur detainees, almost all of whom are being held at IDC Suan Phlu. These detainees are part of a larger Uyghur group who arrived in Thailand between 2013 and 2014, the World Uyghur Congress said in a statement issued on Feb. 17, in which it called on Thailand to investigate his death.
At the time, more than 350 Uyghur men, women, and children fleeing China were arrested and detained by the Thai authorities. In July 2015, at least 170 women and children were transferred to Turkey. Some weeks later, 109 men and women were deported to China. No further information on their treatment or whereabouts is available.
The dozens of remaining Uyghurs who had been held at detention centers across Thailand were mostly transferred to the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center in the Thai capital after three Uyghurs escaped from a detention center in central Thailand last July.
They have been denied access to a lawyer, to UNHCR, and adequate medical care. Such conditions fall below the legal and human rights standards set in Thai law and are life-threatening. Detainees are confined indoors 24 hours a day in overcrowded, unsanitary cells without access to adequate food, physical exercise, or appropriate medical treatment, World Uyghur Congress said.
On Wednesday, a source at Thailands Immigration Bureau confirmed that the Uyghur detainee had died but said that authorities had contacted the leader of the Thai Muslim community to arrange for his immediate burial contrary to complaints from Chalidas group that they had not arranged for his burial within 24 hours, as per Islamic customs.
We took good care of him after we found out that he was suffering from an illness, the source told the Bangkok Post.
Muhammad, Abdulaziz's son who currently lives in Turkey with his mother, told RFA that he was separated from his father at fifteen, when he wasn't allowed to escape to Turkey with them.
Since we arrived in Turkey, we could speak to my dad on the phone occasionally. Then, we lost touch with him for about a year. This time, when we communicated with him 2-3 months ago, he told us that his condition had worsened," Muhammad told RFA. "His condition wasnt good before either. A month ago, he told us that his situation had dramatically worsened. He told us that he couldnt sleep well at night. He said after an hour of sleep, he woke up with a severe cough. Sometimes if he coughs too much, then he vomits blood.
"We got the news of his death two days ago [on February 10].
The Uyghur people, who live in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), are a Muslim minority who have endured persecution and repression by the Chinese government, cases of which have been well documented by human rights groups.
Last August, Michelle Bachelet, the U.N.s outgoing human rights chief, issued a report concluding that Chinas repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in XUAR may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity.
Chinese authorities have allegedly detained up to 1.8 million Muslims and other minorities in internment camps, the U.N. report said. Those detained have been subjected to torture, forced sterilizations, and forced labor, as well as the eradication of their linguistic, cultural and religious traditions.
YEREVAN -- Officials in Baku say Azerbaijani athletes will boycott the European Weightlifting Championships in the Armenian capital of Yerevan and return home after an Azerbaijani flag was set afire by an apparent intruder at an opening ceremony late on April 14.
Armenian police briefly detained a person who ran onto the stage during the event and snatched the Azerbaijani flag from a lady performing in the opening ceremony before setting it ablaze.
No Azerbaijani athletes or delegation members were reportedly present in the hall at the time of the incident.
Over 300 athletes from 40 countries are competing in the European Weightlifting Championships in Yerevan.
No charges were brought immediately against the intruder, whom the Armenian police identified as Aram Nikolian, a professional designer. He was set free by police several hours after his detention, officials said.
Azerbaijans Ministry of Youth and Sports and National Olympic Committee described the incident as a "barbaric act," saying it was a manifestation of :ethnic hatred, racism, xenophobia, and animosity toward Azerbaijanis" in Armenia and was "contrary to the noble principles and goals of sports."
Declaring that under such conditions the safety of Azerbaijani athletes was not ensured and their normal participation in the championships was impossible, the Azerbaijani authorities announced their decision that their athletes will return home.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry also condemned the incident, demanding those responsible be punished.
"It is worrying that no security measures were taken by organizers against such hate action. Perpetrators should be accordingly punished, Aykhan Hajizade, a spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, wrote on Twitter.
Armenias Sports Ministry countered by saying that all security measures had been put in place by the Armenian side as required and there were no security risks for the Azerbaijani athletes.
It stressed that the flag burning incident at the opening ceremony was settled quickly and had nothing to do with the general security of Azerbaijani athletes and ensuring of their normal participation in the competitions.
"The Republic of Armenia remains committed to fulfilling its obligations to the International Weightlifting Federation and reaffirms its readiness to hold the 2023 European Championships at a high level," Armenia's Sports Ministry said in a statement.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for years. Some 30,000 people were killed in a war in the early 1990s that left ethnic Armenians in control of the breakaway region and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan proper. Another 7,000 died 7,000 when the simmering conflict reignited in 2020.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
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.
I'm Hannah Kaviani, a senior broadcaster and editor at RFE/RL's Radio Farda. Here's what I've been following and what I'm watching out for in the days ahead.
The Big Issue
For the first time in decades, Iran was not represented by its foreign minister at the annual Munich Security Conference.
Instead, organizers of the February 17-19 event invited three members of Iran's exiled opposition: the former crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi; rights activist Masih Alinejad; and Nazanin Boniadi, an actress and ambassador to Amnesty International.
Iran's Foreign Ministry denounced the decision, with spokesman Nasser Kanani on February 20 saying the organizers had made a "huge mistake" for "giving the stage to notorious people."
Why It Matters: The absence of Iranian officials at the conference highlighted Tehran's increasing isolation on the international stage.
Iran has come under mounting global pressure for its deadly crackdown on monthslong anti-regime protests at home and its alleged supply of combat drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.
The presence of Pahlavi, Alinejad, and Boniadi has given legitimacy to Iran's exiled opposition. Exiled opposition figures recently met in Washington and pledged to establish a charter for a transition to a new, democratic system in Iran.
Pahlavi told Radio Farda that the "duty and mission" of the trio in Munich was to "deliver the message of the Iranian people to the world." But they did not have any meetings with high-ranking foreign officials. Alinejad said she was disappointed that the German foreign minister refused to meet her.
What's Next: It is unclear how much support Iran exiled opposition will attract inside and outside Iran. It is also unclear if the opposition can bridge its longstanding differences.
Speaking to Radio Farda, Hannah Neumann, a German lawmaker in the European Parliament, said "as long as there is so much infighting among Iranians that want to see the regime gone, it will not succeed."
Wolfgang Ischinger, the president of the Munich Security Conference Foundation, told Radio Farda that excluding Iranian officials from the event this year was not a "wrong decision." But he said it "doesn't mean that this would be a right decision if and when," for example, talks over reviving the nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran resumed.
Stories You Might Have Missed
Pedram Azarnush was taking part in an anti-regime protest in southwestern Iran in September when he was shot dead. Nearly five months on, the 17-year-old's family is still seeking justice. In their attempts to bring the perpetrators to account, the family has endured constant threats from the authorities, informed sources told Radio Farda.
For months, antiestablishment protesters have called for the overthrow of Iran's clerical regime and demanded greater social and political freedoms. Now, opposition figures and civil society groups inside Iran have shared proposals that would transform or even replace the current theocratic system with a democracy.
What We're Watching
Iran's national currency, the rial, plummeted to a new record low of 501,300 against the U.S. dollar on February 20, according to Bonbast.com which gathers live data from Iranian exchanges.
The decline in the value of the rial comes as food prices soar. That includes the price of red meat, which reached a new high this week.
Iran's Sazandegi daily was shut down on February 20 for reporting on the rising price of meat and running a front-page headline, "Meat Rebellion." The newspaper was accused of spreading rumors and reporting false information.
Why It Matters: Iran's troubled economy is sinking to new lows amid monthslong anti-regime protests, the imposition of new sanctions against Tehran, and the Islamic republic's growing isolation.
The Central Bank of Iran on February 21 was given "full authority" to curb the rial's depreciation. The government also announced plans to combat rising commodity prices. But it is unclear if the authorities have a viable strategy to boost the economy.
Mohsen Renani, a prominent economist and professor at Isfahan University in Iran, wrote an open letter on February 18 in which he said the collapse of the clerical regime had become "inevitable," adding that the faltering economy was among the factors that could "trigger the last stage of this downfall."
That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.
Until next time,
Hannah Kaviani
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.
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.
A high-level delegation led by Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif is holding talks with Taliban rulers in Kabul amid tensions prompted by Islamabad's accusations that Afghanistan is harboring Pakistani militants and the recent closing of a key border crossing between the two neighbors.
Asif is being accompanied by Islamabad's special representative to Afghanistan, Sadiq Khan, and General Nadeem Anjum, the chief of the powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said on Twitter that the delegation was to "discuss security-related matters including counter-terrorism measures."
The visit comes as thousands of trucks remained stranded at the Torkham border crossing following the Taliban's closing of the key gateway on February 19. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also has warned that the use of Afghan soil by militants from the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is posing a threat to Islamabad.
The Taliban closed Torkham for what they said was Pakistan's failure to fulfill a pledge that it will allow movement for Afghans without valid travel documents for medical purposes.
Pakistan has recently tightened security measures and controls at the border crossings with Afghanistan since the TTP ended a cease-fire with the government in November.
TTP militants are known to have been sheltering in Afghanistan since the Taliban's re-emergence following the withdrawal of the U.S.-led forces in August 2021. However, Afghanistan's Taliban rulers deny that they are offering safe haven to TTP militants.
The office of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the acting deputy prime minister of the Taliban-led government, said in a statement on February 22 that he and the Pakistani delegation held talks about economic relations, trade, and the situation at border crossings.
Both the Torkham and Chaman border crossings, which are critical for landlocked Afghanistan, have been temporarily closed in the past.
BUCHAREST -- A Romanian doctor has been arrested on charges of illegally harvesting hundreds of pacemakers and defibrillators from corpses and implanting them into patients over a seven-year-period -- sometimes when they didn't even need them -- for material gain.
Prosecutors opened a criminal investigation on February 17 into Dan Tesloianu, a 52-year-old cardiologist from St. Spiridon Hospital in the northeastern city of Iasi, alleging he worked in conjunction with four other medics who helped him find sick patients and then remove cardiac implants after they died. They passed the pacemakers and other devices off as new and illegally pocketed money from patients, prosecutors said.
They are being investigated in 238 cases between 2017 and August 2022.
The case has shocked Romania, a country that is well used to medical scandals and endemic corruption in an underfunded health-care system that is plagued by inefficiencies and politicized management. Romania spends the second lowest on health in the EU after Bulgaria.
One of Romania's top doctors expressed shock over the latest health-care furor.
"I've been practicing medicine for 30 years and this is beyond belief,"said Dan Coriu, the president of Romania's Medical College.
Lucky To Be Alive?
Romanian law specifically outlaws the reuse of medical devices from dead people. In the case of Dan Tesloianu, organized crime prosecutors say the dead people were not even consulted before they died -- nor their families -- about removing the devices postmortem.
Tesloianu made no comment in court on the allegations, but his lawyer insisted: "he saved lives."
Not all his patients agree.
A Romanian woman identified as Ana G, 57, is just one of thousands of patients treated by the cardiologist over the past 20 years, RFE/RL's Romanian Service reported.
In May 2021, she had a medical device implanted in her heart which she said almost killed her.
"The procedure was difficult, and complications arose straight away which took me to the brink of death," she said.
"It's a miracle from God that I am alive. The device wasn't correctly implanted and didn't work for a single moment to synchronize my heart. If I'm being cynical now, I wonder whether the device was from a dead person."
Hundreds Of Illegal Implants?
Tesloianu has implanted 4,000 pacemakers and other devices during his career, his lawyers say.
Prosecutors say that since at least 2017 some of the defibrillators and pacemakers used by Tesloianu and his colleagues were taken from corpses, which is illegal in Romania.
Romania's Prosecutor-General's Office, which is investigating the case, said he committed 238 "abuses of office" by implanting cardiac devices taken from dead people since 2017.
Romanian prosecutors said in a statement that "Dan Tesloianu acted with intention' and ignored the risk of provoking grave medical problems or even death to patients."
There was no official word on whether any of his patients had died because of his alleged illegal surgical procedures, although Adevarul, an online news site, reported that at least two people had died.
Prosecutors said the suspect used a ring of medics who supplied the pacemakers and other devices "including those harvested from corpses" in violation of all rules and regulations.
Among the four other medics suspected of being part of his ring is Eduard Belu, a military doctor in the city of Brasov who prosecutors said was a close associate of Tesloianu.
The devices had no guarantee from the Health Ministry as would be required and no documents showing that they had been sterilized prior to implantation.
Prosecutors say that "a large number" of the surgical interventions weren't even necessary and the doctor made "fictitious diagnoses" including by prescribing medicine that would cause specific symptoms," such as making a patient's heart beat slower to convince them they needed a pacemaker.
Tesloianu appeared before court in Bucharest last week and the judge ordered him detained for 30 days. His lawyers have appealed.
Tesloianu's lawyer, Marius Todeanca, defended his client in court, claiming he had harvested devices from dead people "to save lives," RFE/RL reported.
"Nobody says that lives haven't been saved. He's had a 21-year career and carried out 4,000 procedures," he said, claiming the pacemakers had been sold cheaply.
"According to international treaties, you can use devices from dead people. Let's ask another question: Is it legal to die if there aren't available funds for such devices?" Todeanca said.
According to Romanian law, a pacemaker or stimulator is paid for by the public health insurer, the National Health House, although sometimes patients end up paying the cost up front before being reimbursed later.
The Romanian Health Ministry said the law "explicitly forbids" the reuse of devices and disposable materials such as implantable devices.
In July last year, the International Trade Administration said health care in Romania cost $16.7 billion, or $872.3 per person and 5.9 percent of its gross domestic product in 2021, one of the EU's lowest rates of spending per capita.
It said government health-care spending, which made up 78.5 percent of this total, is greater than in other Eastern European countries like Russia, Moldova, and Ukraine, but slightly lower than in countries like Croatia.
Despite attempts to promote primary care, the amount of health spending dedicated to primary and ambulatory care (18.6 percent) is the second lowest in the EU behind Bulgaria.
Prosecutors carried out searches at St. Spiridon Hospital in Iasi last week and noted that it was clearly written on the packaging of unused medical devices used that they were "single-use and should not be reused or sterilized," the Health Ministry said.
Romanians Call For Justice
Although Romanians have long been underwhelmed by the country's health-care system, news of the latest scandal shocked many.
Thousands of Romanians have taken to social media to demand that the implicated doctors be "severely punished" if found guilty.
Prosecutors said Tesloianu along with Belu knew of patients who already had heart devices implanted. Once these patients died, the two arranged to have the device removed and implanted it in a needy patient with the help of the others doctors implicated in the case.
They charged patients between 2,000 and 3,000 euros for a device taken from a dead person--- the price of a new one.
Moreover, prosecutors say that not all of the patients needed pacemakers. The medics are alleged to have prescribed medicine to make their hearts beat slower, convincing them that they needed treatment.
Some of the patients suffered infections and needed to be re-admitted to hospital, prosecutors said.
One unnamed patient who was operated on in 2013 by Tesloianu told Antena 1, a Romanian TV station, that her pacemaker was shoddy and "kept coming loose."
She said she never saw documents proving the device was new. She said Tesloianu insisted on operating on her seven times. "Now, I know why," she said.
Another patient complained that the "device never functioned from the start and there were complications. Instead of helping me, it destroyed my life."
With reporting by RFE/RL's Romanian Service
USSURIISK, Russia -- A court in Russia's Far East has again extended the forced detention in a psychiatric clinic of a Yakut shaman who became known across the country for his attempts to march to Moscow to drive President Vladimir Putin out of the Kremlin.
Aleksandr Gabyshev's lawyer Aleksei Pryanishnikov told RFE/RL on February 22 that the Ussuriisk district court prolonged his client's forced treatment in a psychiatric clinic until mid-June.
Pryanishnikov added that the court also rejected the defense team's request to have Gabyshev examined by psychiatrists at Moscow's Serbsky clinic.
"We believe that medical examiners at the psychiatric clinic in Ussuriisk are reaching abstract conclusions about Gabyshev's social incompatibility when justifying the necessity to extend his treatment. Meanwhile, they agree that he has not expressed any aggression toward either himself or others," Pryanishnikov said.
Gabyshev's forced treatment in a psychiatric clinic was last extended in October.
Gabyshev, who has been stopped several times by the Russian authorities since 2019 when he tried to march from his native Siberian region of Yakutia to Moscow with the stated goal of driving Putin out of office, was sent to a psychiatric clinic against his will in July 2021, after a court found him "mentally unfit."
During the hearing, the court accused him of committing a "violent act against a police officer" when he was being forcibly removed from his home to be taken to a psychiatric clinic in January 2021.
The ruling was challenged by Gabyshev's lawyers and supporters who say his detention is an attempt to silence dissent.
The Memorial Human Rights Center in Russia has recognized Gabyshev as a political prisoner and Amnesty International has launched a campaign calling for his release.
Shamans have served as healers and diviners in Siberia for centuries. During the Soviet era, the mystics were harshly repressed. But in isolated parts of Siberia, they are now regaining prominence.
MOSCOW -- Tensions remained high on February 22 over Russia's decision to suspend its last nuclear arms treaty with the United States, although Russian and U.S. officials shared starkly differing interpretations going forward as lawmakers in Moscow finalized their interruption of the 2010 New START treaty.
Both houses of Russia's legislature backed President Vladimir Putin's proposal to suspend participation in New START one day after the Kremlin leader announced the move in a major speech to the nation.
Later, Putin vowed to give special attention to strengthening his country's nuclear preparations, a continuation of the kind of nuclear saber-rattling that the Kremlin leader and other senior Russian officials have done since they launched their full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine a year ago this week.
U.S. President Joe Biden said he saw no change in Russia's nuclear posture and didn't read into Putin's declarations any intention to use nuclear weapons.
"It's a big mistake to do that. Not very responsible," Biden told ABC News in an interview published after his departure on February 22 from a four-day visit to Ukraine and Poland to gird Western solidarity. "But I don't read into that that he's thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that.
Putin was expected to sign the suspension of the New START treaty within hours of the unanimous approval in the lower chamber, the State Duma, and similar backing in the upper house, the Federation Council.
Russia's Foreign Ministry signaled its intention to stay under upper limits on nuclear deployments and other aspects of the treaty until its scheduled expiration in early 2026 despite the suspension.
Russian news agencies quoted Russian General Yevgeny Ilyin as repeating to lawmakers that Russia would keep under agreed restrictions on nuclear delivery systems contained in New START, according to Reuters. He also said Moscow would notify Washington of nuclear deployments "to prevent false alarms."
The agency also quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying, "I do not believe that the decision to suspend the New START Treaty brings us closer to nuclear war."
But the inspections regime that underpins New START has been interrupted for at least a year amid high tensions over Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has called the suspension "reversible" but insisted Washington "must show political will" in that direction.
In Warsaw for a meeting of the leaders of nine NATO eastern flank states following a surprise visit earlier in the week to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, U.S. President Joe Biden called Russia's suspension of the New START adherence a "big mistake."
The treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms accord between the two superpowers, restricts each nation to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.
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.
Each side has blamed the other for the breakdown of the pact, which has further raised concerns over global security during Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Putin announced the move in his state-of-the-nation address to the parliament.
The outcome of the parliamentary vote was never in doubt with State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin saying just before voting began that ballots against the move "are not even expected."
Several Russian lawmakers echoed Putin's rhetoric blaming Washington for breaking the treaty, with former President Dmitry Medvedev, currently the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, saying the move was "long overdue" as the United States and NATO have "declared war" on Russia.
Speaking the same day as Putin's address, Biden gave a strong and emotional response in the Polish capital, Warsaw, vowing to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion, which was launched on February 24 last year.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said he regretted Putin's decision and expressed hopes that Moscow will reconsider it, adding that with the move "the whole arms control architecture has been dismantled."
The New START treaty was signed in 2010. In February 2021, just days before the New START was due to expire, Moscow and Washington agreed to extend it for another five years.
But in August last year, Russia informed the United States of a freeze on U.S. inspections of its nuclear weapons under the treaty, claiming Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine along with visa restrictions had hampered similar inspections of U.S. facilities by Russian monitors.
New talks between Moscow and Washington on the treaty were scheduled for last November but Russia unilaterally called them off at the last moment.
Despite rising tensions surrounding Russia's military build-up near Ukraine's border in the months before February 24, 2022, Moscow's massive, unprovoked invasion of its neighbor to the west came as a stark awakening to many Russians.
"Of course, I remember," Ivan Koretnikov, an 84-year-old artist from the Ural region city of Perm, said of the day it began. "It was like a thunderbolt in a clear sky. That's how I felt. February 24 was like a thunderbolt. Up to the last minute, I refused to believe it."
Although the overwhelming majority of Russians have either passively or actively supported the war against Ukraine, thousands were appalled by President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade and abruptly understood that their lives and the life of their country had been uprooted overnight.
RFE/RL's Idel.Realities interviewed dozens of these Russians over the course of the last year, often catching up with them after they had been fined or jailed for their anti-war protests.
SEE ALSO: Saying No To War: 40 Stories Of Russians Who Oppose The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
In July, one woman who protested against the war was still urging her fellow Russians to speak out, warning that "Their silence about what is happening in Ukraine will kill people.
'I Went Out Of My Mind'
"I was simply in shock," recalled Polina Mukhacheva, a recent law-school graduate in the city of Kirov, some 900 kilometers northeast of Moscow. "At first I thought it would mean financial instability and that scared me the most. But then I realized this was a real war and people were being killed, and I went out of my mind."
"I spent the next few days in a blur," she continued. "I didn't know what to do or how we were going to live with this. I felt lost."
Ilmira Rakhmutullina, a choreographer in the Bashkortostan capital of Ufa, told a similar story.
"My sister and I did not sleep at all the night of February 23-24," Rakhmutullina recalled. "We were so worried that we just couldn't sleep. So we found out the war had begun almost immediately. Of course, we were in shock and horror over what was happening."
In Samara, some 450 kilometers southwest of Ufa, activist Vladimir Avdonin said his world had been transformed.
"The news of the war caught me off-guard," he told Idel.Realities. "Initially, I was shocked. But I quickly concluded I had to act. That it was impossible to be silent. That all us citizens of Russia bear responsibility for what was happening. That very day, I began preparing to hold a one-person protest."
In Russia, individual pickets are technically legal, although people conducting them are regularly detained and often face charges such as "disobeying a police officer" or "resisting arrest."
"If you do nothing and are silent, you become an accessory to a crime," Avdonin recalled thinking. "I do not intend to become an accessory to Putin's crimes."
'Political Discussions Will Destroy Our Family'
As the Russian military was knifing through Ukraine, the ramifications of the war were dividing families across Russia.
Kirov resident Mukhacheva -- who was detained in April for wearing a green ribbon in her hair, at a time when anti-war dissidents were using green as a symbol of peace -- said her parents urged her not to express her opposition to the war.
"They think it is best to sit silently and, as they say, not attract attention," she said. "The most they will do is talk among themselves in the kitchen."
"My mother is more or less neutral, but my father is for the war, while my grandmother and I are against," Mukhacheva said. "No one can change anyone else's mind. Mama is seriously worried that political discussions will destroy our family, so she tries to keep silence and avoid conflicts."
Anti-war dissident Iskander Gabrakhmanov, from the Tatarstan capital, Kazan, told a similar story.
"My motherneither condemns nor supports what is happening," he said. "But my fatherwants to restore the Soviet Union. That is the country he grew up in, where he spent his youth, and so he thinks that was a wonderful time. I understand his opinion, but I fundamentally disagree."
A Passerby Called The Police
Yelena Baibekova was a math teacher in the southern city of Astrakhan when Russia invaded Ukraine. She was already in trouble with the law when she heard the news, having held a one-person protest against the war on a central city square on February 22.
"I stood near a shopping center with a sign reading: Putin = War = Crisis = Degradation = International Enmity,'" Baibekova said. "I saw myself how one passerby got upset and called the police, so I moved to a different street."
Police showed up at her home two days later and detained her because a neighbor had reported a towel hanging on her balcony with the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.
"My court hearing lasted three minutes," she recalled, adding that she was sentenced to five days in jail. "Then I was thrown into a cell with some alcoholics who smoked constantly."
When she was released, the director of her school disciplined her for missing work. In April, she was fired.
"When I was in detention, a couple of teachers wrote to say they supported me completely but that they couldn't act as I had," Baibekova continued. "But that was just two out of a total group of 56 people."
'Their Silence Will Kill People'
In the first weeks after the invasion, more than 13,000 Russians were detained, sometimes brutally, for protesting the war, according to OVD-Info, which monitors repression in Russia. The government quickly passed draconian laws criminalizing anti-war dissent in all forms. Independent media and human rights groups were shut down or driven from the country. By the end of the year, anti-war dissidents were being handed long prison terms.
Despite a renewed wave of protests after Putin ordered military mobilization in September, no substantial public anti-war movement has solidified in Russia.
Ufa anti-war dissident Rakhmatullina protested four times in the first weeks after the war.
"The main thing is that people must not get used to what is happening in Ukraine," she said. "And they must not get used to their own feelings of helplessness."
"They can't get used to it because if they do, their silence about what is happening in Ukraine will kill people both literally and metaphorically," Rakhmatullina concluded.
'I Accept The Risks'
Lyaisan Sultangareyeva, a 25-year-old resident of the small Bashkortostan city of Tuimazy, has been fined repeatedly for her protests against the war.
"I protested because I couldn't stay silent," she said. "I couldn't just stand aside and watch. That was too much. I don't know a single person in Tuimazy who openly protested the war."
"Of course, I am afraid of going to prison," she said. "I am doing everything I can to avoid that. But I am psychologically prepared for it. I know it will ruin my life and those of my relatives, but I think there is probably no other way. I accept the risks."
Sultangareyeva remains in Russia, as do fellow anti-war dissidents Mukhacheva, Avdonin, Koretnikov, and Gabdrakhmanov.
Fired math teacher Yelena Baibekova left Russia a few months after the invasion and has applied for political asylum in Germany.
Ilmira Rakhmatullina and her sister -- who learned about the invasion during a sleepless night in Ufa -- both left Russia and made their way to the United States, where they are seeking asylum.
"We don't miss [Russia], but our friends, our language, the familiar places of Ufa in Bashkortostan," she said. "I don't know when we'll be able to go back there or if we ever will. Will we be able to visit the graves of our parents [when they die]? Or touch the beloved keepsakes that they will leave to us? But I don't regret that I spoke out for Ukraine."
Written by RFE/RL correspondent Robert Coalson based on reporting by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities.
Russian forces pummeled the front line in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions with artillery and air strikes, the Ukrainian military said on February 22, as regional authorities reported heavy bombardments in the southern region of Dnipropetrovsk.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainians that the front line was holding despite Moscow's incessant pressure.
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.
Heavy fighting continued unabated around the disputed cities of Bakhmut, Lyman, and Avdiyivka in Donetsk, where Ukrainian defenders repelled Russian attacks in several other locations including Fedorivka, Yahidne, and Berkhivka, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military said in its daily report.
Russian attacks were also repelled in the Luhansk settlements of Kyzemivka and Dibrova, and in Kupyansk, in northeastern Kharkiv region, the General Staff said, adding that indiscriminate rocket attacks destroyed residential buildings, killing and wounding civilians. It did not elaborate on casualties.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the city of Nikopol was targeted by Russian shelling early on February 22, regional Governor Serhiy Lisak said on Telegram.
"The night in Dnipropetrovsk region passed without enemy attacks. But at 6 in the morning, the aggressor hit Nikopol with heavy artillery," Lisak said, adding that there were no immediate reports of casualties among civilians.
On February 21, six civilians were killed and 12 were wounded in the Russian shelling of residential areas of the southern city of Kherson, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported, adding that the attack also caused substantial damage.
However, "with Russia not letting up at all despite sustaining staggering losses," Ukrainian forces have managed to hold the line, Zelenskiy said on February 21 after meeting with Ukrainian military commanders.
"It is very important that despite great pressure on our forces, the front line has undergone no change," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden is wrapping up his whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine by reassuring eastern flank NATO allies that his administration is highly attuned to the looming threats and other impacts spurred by the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Before departing Warsaw on February 22, Biden will hold talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations on the most eastern parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
Petr Pavel, the retired general who last month won the election as the next Czech president, called the U.S. president's visit this week to Ukraine an "extremely strong signal" but warned in a CNN interview against underestimating Russia even despite Moscow's "fatal mistakes."
The UN General Assembly is also slated to meet on February 22, two days ahead of the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Kyiv and its allies hoping to garner broad support for a resolution calling for a "just and lasting peace."
The draft resolution, sponsored by some 60 countries, is to be voted on after the close of debate -- not expected until at least February 23.
Like previous resolutions, it reaffirms the UN's "commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine" and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg echoed U.S. concerns on February 21 that China could supply Russia with weapons to help it pursue its war against Ukraine.
"It is President [Vladimir] Putin who started this imperial war of conquest. It is Putin who keeps escalating the war," Stoltenberg said. "We are also increasingly concerned that China may be planning to provide lethal support for Russia's war."
Stoltenberg was speaking after a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on plans to step up Western ammunition supplies to Ukraine.
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.
New thinking for ending Ukraine crisis
15:42, February 22, 2023 By China Daily editorial ( Chinadaily.com.cn
The scheduled visit to Russia this week by senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi not only embodies China's consistent stance on maintaining balanced diplomacy among major countries but also underscores the country's latest efforts to push for a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis.
Wang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is on an eight-day whirlwind trip to Europe and Russia is the last leg, sending an unmistakable message to the outside world that Beijing will maintain close high-level communication with Moscow despite the politically motivated opprobrium of the West.
Although some Western countries and media have pointed critical fingers at China's relations with Russia and even resorted to malicious slandering of Sino-Russian ties since the Ukraine crisis broke out the latest example being US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's baseless claim that China is considering providing "lethal material support to Russia", which is totally wrong China has repeatedly said its relations with Russia are based on non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third countries.
As close neighbors, China and Russia have every reason to continue to cement their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and deepen their cooperation. Close and stable China-Russia ties also facilitate smooth coordination on multilateral platforms and over issues of regional and global significance.
And although different to that of those Western countries which have been fanning the flames of the conflict, China's consistent stance on the Ukraine crisis is in line with that taken by the majority of countries. With Friday marking the first anniversary of the Ukraine conflict, both the belligerents and other parties involved in the crisis should think solemnly as to whether the war should be allowed to drag on or peace be given a chance.
When addressing the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday, Wang announced that China will put forth its position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis which supports and promotes peace talks. By standing firmly on the side of peace and dialogue, China is setting an example for what a responsible country should do.
Obviously, for the world to navigate the Ukraine conflict and other geopolitical risks and challenges, it needs new thinking and more practical measures to address the growing number of global security challenges. This is what China offers in its Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, which was released on Tuesday, with the aim of fostering common purpose and concerted actions to eliminate the root causes of international conflicts and reduce the peace, development, security and governance deficits that cause instability, uncertainty and volatility.
An international consensus on peaceful coexistence must be forged and realized by embracing the spirit of solidarity. The larger picture of global security should outweigh selfish strategic calculation so that the complex and intertwined security challenges can be addressed and "the torch of peace be passed from generation to generation".
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani military violated the Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire on February 21 by opening small arms fire in the northern and eastern directions of the line of contact, the Ministry of Defense of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) said Wednesday.
The Russian peacekeeping forces command was notified on the incident, the ministry added.
The situation is since relatively stable.
Furthermore, Azerbaijan had again spread disinformation falsely accusing the Artsakh military in breaching the ceasefire. The statement released by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense claiming that in between February 21, 20:45 and February 22, 01:20 the Defense Army units opened fire in the direction of the Azerbaijani positions deployed in the occupied territories of the Shushi, Martuni and Karvajar regions of the Republic of Artsakh is yet another disinformation, the Artsakh military said in the statement.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense of Armenia Suren Papikyan met with the Minister of State for Defense Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi in the UAE.
Minister of High Tech Industry of Armenia Robert Khachatryan also participated in the meeting, the defense ministry said in a press release.
The current course and prospects of development of the military and military-technical cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the United Arab Emirates were discussed. At the end of the meeting, Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan invited the UAE Minister of State for Defense Affairs to visit the Republic of Armenia, reads the read-out.
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Water-quality tests at La Mirada Elementary School in San Ysidro found lead and copper content greater than the regulated level, and the presence of bacteria.
Students at three San Ysidro schools with outdated plumbing fixtures are drinking bottled water after contaminants were found in the water that flows from aged faucets and fountains at one of the campuses.
The problem at La Mirada Elementary School prompted the district to investigate the water quality at its two other old campuses, Smythe Elementary School and San Ysidro Middle School.
District officials said the bottled water is being dispensed until water-quality testing is done and any necessary fixes made.
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Superintendent Julio Fonseca said initial tests showed the old fixtures were to blame, not the water supply.
No complaints of illness have been reported, Fonseca said.
The public health issue surfaced in October when blue-green water flowed from faucets during pressure tests for plumbing leaks at La Mirada. The school serves about 500 children in grades four through six.
Fonseca said the schools water was shut off right away, and families were informed of the problem.
Analysis of water samples showed the levels of lead, copper and bacteria exceeded regulatory limits.
Testing found one outdated faucet was adding elevated levels of lead, copper and bacteria to the water, and another was adding elevated levels of copper.
Fonseca said the two faucets were replaced. The district ordered water-quality testing and fixture replacement at Smythe and San Ysidro Middle, where plumbing has not yet undergone modernization.
Bottled water is being used for drinking and food preparation at La Mirada Elementary School after contaminants from aged plumbing fixtures were found in the water. (David Brooks / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Children at those two campuses have been drinking bottled water since Jan. 30. Fonseca said that will continue until the school year ends June 2 or the issue is resolved.
Bottled water is also being used for food preparation at the three school sites, and ice-makers have been shut down.
The water-quality analysis from environmental firm MTGL reported all the faucets, sinks and fountains at La Mirada were tested in November. Results of the water samples taken from 10 of the fixtures indicate lead and copper content greater than the regulated level, and the presence of bacteria.
The regulated limit of lead is 15 micrograms per liter of water or 15 parts per billion. For copper its 1,300 micrograms per liter of water or 1.3 parts per million.
La Miradas lead results ranged from 15.9 to 37.6 parts per billion, with the exception of one result of 267 parts per billion. Copper results were 1,700 micrograms and 2,300 micrograms per liter of water.
Based on these results, we will take the opportunity to replace all faucets and fountains at La Mirada as soon as possible, he said.
The same type of replacement work is expected to be done this summer at Smythe, which serves more than 600 students in kindergarten through third grade, and San Ysidro Middle, where about 560 students in the seventh and eighth grades go to school.
Fonseca said it isnt entirely uncommon for lead to be found in faucets, fountains and plumbing systems of older buildings. A new state program that offers free testing to help school districts determine lead levels in drinking water was announced last month.
The district operates seven schools. And while Ocean View Hills, Sunset, Willow and Vista Del Mar were all either built with or renovated to include lead- and copper-free plumbing fixtures, the district decided to perform water-quality sampling at those sites as well to give the community assurances.
Were doing this out of precaution for all our kids, Fonseca said. Its my intention that all our kids and their families feel secure and know that we did everything above and beyond what we need to do.
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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn spoke about the EUs energy cooperation with Azerbaijan during a press conference in Yerevan.
You know that since the 24th of February last year Europe is in a need to have new energy sources from other parts in the world. I agree with you that we cannot sell our soul to have gas and oil, we have to pay a lot of attention if we have no other ways than to go to other dependence in some other parts of the world where human rights and values are not top priority, FM Asselborn said when asked to comment on the EUs gas deal with Azerbaijan.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. On 21 February, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh Sergey Ghazaryan met with a delegation headed by French MEPs, Co-Chairs of the Friendship Group with Artsakh Sylvie Guillaume and Francois Alfonsi, as well as President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) Kaspar Karampetian, EAFJD Executive Director Heghine Evinyan and Special Programmes Manager of ARF Hay Dat Central Office Gevorg Ghukasyan, the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh said in a press release.
During the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs presented the challenges facing the Republic of Artsakh as a result of the blockade by Azerbaijan, and highly appreciated the principled position of the parliamentarians on the adoption of the relevant resolution of the European Parliament regarding the blockade of Artsakh.
The interlocutors exchanged views on the possibilities of ensuring more active engagement by the international community under the existing circumstances.
In the context of lifting the blockade of Artsakh, Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan emphasized the need for more active and efficient measures, including sanctions against Azerbaijan.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. During the Pashinyan-Aliyev-Blinken meeting in Munich the Azerbaijani side has assured that an internationally visible dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert will take place, the Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn.
FM Mirzoyan said that in the beginning, when discussions around a peace treaty were initiated with Azerbaijan, there was a perception and agreement to hold those negotiations in two tracks, one around the establishment and settlement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, i.e. the peace treaty, and the other a format where the rights and security of the Armenians living in Nagorno Karabakh must be discussed.
And for a long time we see that Azerbaijan is maneuvering from being engaged in this conversation. And in Munich, by the way not only at the panel discussion but also during the Blinken-Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting, we received the Azerbaijani sides readiness, assurance that an internationally visible dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert must take place, Mirzoyan said.
At the same time, Mirzoyan said that on the other hand Armenia has continually witnessed how agreements and assurances are being breached over the course of the past years, including the signed agreements.
The Armenian FM expressed hope that this time Azerbaijan will remain committed to the readiness it expressed.
Patagorhynchus pascuali represents the first Cretaceous toothed monotreme from the supercontinent Gondwana.
Patagorhynchus pascuali lived in what is now Patagonia, southern Argentina, during the Late Cretaceous epoch, some 70 million years ago.
At the time, Argentina was part of Gondwana, an ancient supercontinent in the southern hemisphere.
Patagorhynchus pascuali belonged to Monotremata, a group of egg-lying mammals, represented by the living platypus and echidnas, which is endemic to Australia, and adjacent islands.
Occurrence of early monotremes in the Early Cretaceous of Australia has led to the consensus that this clade originated on that continent, arriving later to South America, said Dr. Nicolas Chimento, a paleontologist at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia and CONICET, and his colleagues from Argentina, Japan, and Australia.
The discovery of a Late Cretaceous monotreme from southern Argentina demonstrates that monotremes were present in circumpolar regions by the end of the Mesozoic, and that their distinctive anatomical features were probably present in these ancient forms as well.
A second lower molar of Patagorhynchus pascuali was collected from the Puma Cave site of the Chorrillo Formation, cropping out in Santa Cruz province, Patagonia, Argentina.
The discovery expands the list of mammals documented in the Chorrillo and equivalent Dorotea formations of southern South America, the researchers noted.
The new specimen was found in association with the fossilized remains of early mammals, frogs, turtles, snakes, ornithopod, sauropod and theropod dinosaurs, birds, aquatic plants, freshwater snails and abundant larvae of chironomid insects, with the latter two invertebrates constituting part of the food for the living platypuses.
The possibility that Patagorhynchus pascuali had already acquired ecological and behavioral characteristics similar to those of the living platypus, which inhabits ponds and lakes, is congruent with sedimentological evidence suggesting that such environments were prevalent during deposition of the Chorrillo Formation, the scientists said.
Patagorhynchus pascuali had unique features that are lacking in other monotremes, and may be considered autapomorphic (derived trait that is unique to a given species) among these creatures.
Australia has yielded the most complete fossil record of monotremes, including an array of Barremian through Cenomanian taxa, as well as several species of the Oligocene-Pliocene monotreme Obdurodon, the authors said.
In this context, the presence of the toothed monotreme Monotrematum in the Early Paleocene of Patagonia was interpreted as the result of a single dispersal of monotremes from Australia to South America, before or during the Late Cretaceous or early Paleocene.
The discovery of Patagorhynchus pascuali clearly demonstrates that the monotremes had already attained a wide paleogeographic distribution, stretching across southern South America, Australia, and Antarctica, the later one as a connecting pathway (but fossil monotremes are still unknown from this landmass), constituting a clade characteristic of the Weddelian Paleobiogeographical Province, they concluded.
A paper on the findings was published in the journal Communications Biology.
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N.R. Chimento et al. 2023. First monotreme from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Commun Biol 6, 146; doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-04498-7
Palestine : Dix morts et plus de 80 blesses dans un raid israelien a Naplouse
Dix Palestiniens, dont un adolescent de 16 ans, ont ete tues et plus de 80 autres blesses par balles lors d'un raid militaire israelien a Naplouse, theatre d'affrontements recurrents et meurtriers dans le nord de la Cisjordanie.
A New York, le secretaire general de l'ONU, Antonio Guterres a declare que la situation "dans le territoire palestinien occupe etait la plus inflammable depuis des annees" avec "des tensions au plus haut" dans un contexte de "processus de paix" israelo-palestinien "bloque".
"Notre priorite immediate doit etre d'empecher une escalade supplementaire, de reduire les tensions et de retablir le calme", a-t-il plaide.
L'incursion de mercredi a Naplouse est l'operation la plus meurtriere menee par l'armee israelienne en Cisjordanie depuis 2005 au moins, a egalite avec celle du 26 janvier a Jenine (nord) durant laquelle 10 Palestiniens, parmi lesquels des combattants et une sexagenaire, avaient ete tues.
Une foule compacte, parmi laquelle des hommes armes, a participe aux funerailles des morts dans le centre de Naplouse, ou des journalistes de l'AFP on vu neuf cadavres portes vers le cimetiere. Le dixieme a ete inhume dans le camp de refugies palestiniens voisin de Balata.
En plus de l'adolescent, les hommes tues etaient ages de 23 a 72 ans, selon le ministere de la Sante palestinien.
L'armee israelienne a indique avoir mene une "operation antiterroriste" en zone autonome palestinienne au cours de laquelle "trois suspects recherches et impliques dans des attaques armees (en Cisjordanie) et planifiant des attaques pour un futur immediat (ont) ete neutralises".
Les forces israeliennes ont encercle un batiment, avant des echanges de tirs avec les "suspects armes" qui s'y barricadaient, a indique l'armee dans un communique, ce qu'ont confirme des temoins a l'AFP.
"Nous avons ensuite intensifie nos efforts et des roquettes ont ete tirees sur la maison", a precise a des journalistes un porte-parole militaire israelien, Richard Hecht.
Durant l'operation, qui a dure presque quatre heures, des pierres et des engins explosifs ont ete tires vers les soldats, a ajoute l'armee, precisant qu'aucun d'entre eux n'avait ete blesse.
Au moins 82 personnes ont aussi ete hospitalisees pour des blessures par balles dans differents etablissements de la ville, dont certaines dans un etat grave, a indique le ministere palestinien dans un communique.
- "Courage" -
Le Jihad islamique a indique qu'un des commandants locaux de sa branche militaire faisait partie des morts. D'apres le groupe arme Areen al-Oussoud ("Le Repaire des lions"), base a Naplouse, six combattants de differentes factions palestiniennes figurent parmi les 10 morts.
Un journaliste de Palestine TV, Mohammed Al Khatib, a ete blesse lors de l'incursion, a indique a l'AFP un reporter de cette chaine de television publique.
Moustapha Shahine, un habitant, a entendu des explosions et des coups de feu dans la matinee, a-t-il dit a l'AFP. "Un grand nombre de soldats ont pris d'assaut" le centre de Naplouse, a-t-il ajoute.
Les forces israeliennes multiplient depuis pres d'un an ce qu'elles presentent comme des operations "antiterroristes" a la recherche de "suspects" dans le nord de la Cisjordanie, particulierement a Naplouse et Jenine, bastions de groupes armes palestiniens.
"Que tout terroriste sache que nous l'atteindrons", a declare sur Twitter le ministre de la Defense israelien Yoav Gallant, saluant le "courage" des forces israeliennes a Naplouse.
La derniere operation israelienne d'envergure dans cette grande ville palestinienne datait d'octobre 2022. Cinq Palestiniens y avaient ete tues dans ce raid visant le groupe Areen al-Oussoud.
- "Acte barbare" -
Sur Twitter, le ministre palestinien des Affaires civiles Hussein al-Cheikh a denonce un "acte criminel premedite et barbare" et appele la communaute internationale a "intervenir immediatement".
La Ligue arabe a condamne "un crime horrible" tandis que la diplomatie jordanienne a appele au calme, disant "travailler intensement avec toutes les parties pour y parvenir".
L'Arabie saoudite a exprime "sa ferme condamnation (...) de l'assaut des forces d'occupation israeliennes ayant fait des morts et des blesses dans la ville palestinienne de Naplouse".
La Cisjordanie, territoire palestinien occupe par Israel depuis 1967, connait un regain de violences depuis le debut de l'annee.
Le raid israelien fin janvier a Jenine avait ete suivi d'echanges de tirs entre des groupes armes de Gaza et l'armee israelienne et une attaque meurtriere a Jerusalem-Est.
Mercredi, la police israelienne a indique elever son niveau d'alerte notamment a Jerusalem.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Luxembourg is appointing a non-resident Ambassador to Armenia, Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said in Yerevan at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
On the bilateral relations, I just wanted to mention that we celebrated 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations last year, and therefore it is a possibility and opportunity to try to increase these relations. We have decided to nominate a non-resident ambassador to your country, Mr. Alain de Muyser, who is here with us. His father was already an ambassador and as a child he was with his father here in Armenia, so I think he is the right man in the right place, FM Asselborn said.
He expressed hope that the new Ambassador will work with his Armenian counterpart stationed in The Hague to strengthen and enhance economic relations between Armenia and Luxembourg.
Education
spotlight
Education
The lawsuit that could change California math education
Jim Wilson/The New York Times Nine years into San Franciscos detracking experiment, math proficiency for students of color dropped to its lowest point last year.
A court decision in Palo Alto that found its school district to be in violation of the 2015 California Math Placement Act could set a precedent to challenge the San Francisco Unified School Districts controversial math pathway sequence.
Edith Cohen, a parent of Palo Alto Unified School District students and lead plaintiff in the suit, said Palo Altos math placement reflects a larger education trend of addressing differences in math achievement by slowing progress for all students. Cohen and the other plaintiffs, all parents of school-age children, have been building the case since July 2021.
Restorative justice without training: SF middle schools in disciplinary limbo An alternative-to-suspension program was successfully launched in 2010 and then decimated in 2014, but the idea of the approach has remained
We know from experience, data and comparisons to similar districts that PAUSD students are disproportionately held back in mathematics, Cohen said. That is, they are misplaced in math courses. Misplacement impacts student wellness and also makes it much harder for them to grow and reach their goals. It was also against the law.
Public school math curricula in Palo Alto and San Francisco for middle school and high school shows some similarities: Both have implemented a math detracking initiative ceasing the separation of students by academic ability for reasons of equity. Palo Alto introduced detracking in 2019. SFUSD was the first public school district in the state to fully implement a detracking initiative in 2014.
But Palo Alto Unified superintendent Don Austin said PAUSD and SFUSD math pathways could not be more different. PAUSD students are ahead of SFUSD students in the pathways sequence: Palo Alto students take algebra I in eighth grade, whereas the course is not offered until freshman year for SFUSD students.
Palo Alto accelerates all students in math as a default. Students enter ninth grade in geometry (and) students can test to skip an additional year in middle school, said Austin.
Each district touts its approach as successful in increasing math proficiency and bridging an equity gap in math achievement. But parents say the data presented by Palo Alto and San Franciscos public schools is incomplete or bogus.
In eliminating a choice in math for seventh and eighth graders, the Palo Alto school district stated: Experts in mathematics education agree that tracking students early in their education limits both high and low performing students, which ultimately leads to lower achievement overall.
But there are many studies that show the opposite, Cohen noted.
S.F. school district to propose largest bond in city history The $1 billion school facilities bond is considered necessary, but some note weak voter confidence, decreasing student population and inability to meet 2016 bond goals
We compared the performance of PAUSD students to those in Los Altos and Cupertino that offer flexible math pathways and practice reasonable placement procedures, broken down by demographic. The economically disadvantaged students at PAUSD are doing worse than those in Los Altos and Cupertino, she said.
And in San Francisco public schools, now nine years into the detracking experiment, math proficiency for students of color was at its lowest last year. Overall, SFUSD student math proficiency rates decreased from 2018-19 (51%) to 2021-22 (46%), the district said in a press release.
On Feb. 6, Judge Carrie Zepeda ruled that Palo Alto is in violation of the Math Placement Act and that its math placement policy must give parents and students a process for appealing their placements, and the district has to collect data on how the policy is working, according to the writ of mandate.
From state to local
In 2015, the California legislature passed the Math Placement Act to address equity gaps in math achievement, ensure a transparent and objective math placement process, and measure student performance to move more students successfully through the high school curriculum. In response, SFUSD adopted a policy in 2016 on how to place incoming high school freshmen. Following the acts passage, the Public Policy Institute of California surveyed school districts and asked what implementation challenges they face. The survey found the most common complaint was unrealistic parent expectations.
Many parents believe it is always better for students to move quickly through the math curriculum. But this belief often means that students are accelerating too fast or too early particularly when they are not ready. The misalignment between parental expectations and student preparation can lead to overplacement, in which students find themselves struggling in advanced math courses, the report stated.
But Cohen believes this emphasis on slowing down learning and not letting students with high abilities work together to get ahead is detrimental to careers and livelihoods.
Solid math preparation is critical for success in college-level STEM, she said. STEM careers are enablers of social mobility on the personal level, and a well-qualified STEM workforce is critical for future economy and global competitiveness ... If a student is ready, (the district) should allow them to advance.
SFUSD parents and stakeholders echo Cohens sentiment. Families for San Francisco, an advocacy group comprised of SFUSD teachers, parents and San Francisco residents, called for an investigation into SFUSDs math course sequence last year.
Like Cohen and plaintiffs in the Palo Alto case, SFUSD parents voiced concerns over cherry picked data and lack of transparency.
Through an analysis of enrollment data reported to the California Department of Education, and limited responses to California Public Records Act requests, it is evident that SFUSD is hiding information that contradicts their claims, Families for San Francisco said in a statement.
Restorative justice without training: SF middle schools in disciplinary limbo An alternative-to-suspension program was successfully launched in 2010 and then decimated in 2014, but the idea of the approach has remained
Cohen said she is hopeful that the success in Palo Alto will open the door for families to challenge SFUSDs math sequence.
We hope that this will help students across the state. (PAUSD) refused to share aggregate data with the community. They only did so after a parent sued, she said. There are some real challenges in improving math achievement, including the dearth of good qualified teachers. But misguided practices that lack evidence and in particular place artificial ceilings on our public school students should be stopped.
Elizabeth Statmore, a math teacher at Lowell and a lead author of the Families for San Francisco math report, said Judge Zepedas ruling reflects the sound educational policies and practices that should be guiding SFUSDs secondary math program.
The best way for SFUSD to ensure diverse, healthy and equitable math classrooms is to make appropriate placement decisions based on multiple measures along a single, common pathway, as the judge clearly states in her order, Statmore said. SFUSD also needs a transparent appeals process for contesting erroneous placements. Here at the crossroads of technology and equity, we need a smart, transparent and responsive policy for all students, including those who are ready to accelerate.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister noted that there are high-level political relations between the two countries and its necessary to take steps to develop bilateral economic cooperation. Nikol Pashinyan expressed confidence that Mr. Asselborn's visit will contribute to the further expansion and strengthening of Armenia-Luxembourg relations. At the same time, the Prime Minister emphasized the Armenia-EU cooperation, including in terms of the effective implementation of the institutional reforms being implemented in our country.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg emphasized his country's interest in deepening multi-sectoral cooperation with Armenia.
The interlocutors reflected on the processes taking place in the region, the humanitarian crisis resulted by Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor. The parties emphasized the consistent steps of the international community for unblocking the corridor.
The sides exchanged ideas on other topics of international importance.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The International Court of Justice published the decision on Armenia's request to apply provisional measures regarding the unblocking of the Lachin Corridor. Thus, the court concludes that Azerbaijan is obliged, in accordance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions, ARMENPRESS reports, the decision was published on February 22.
The Court reminded that by the December 7, 2021 decision, the following provisional measures were applied,
The Republic of Azerbaijan shall, in accordance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
(a) Protect from violence and bodily harm all persons captured in relation to the 2020 Conflict who remain in detention, and ensure their security and equality before the law;
(b) Take all necessary measures to prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred and discrimination, including by its officials and public institutions, targeted at persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin;
(c) Take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts.
The Court further recalls that by a letter dated 16 September 2022, Armenia, referring to Article 76 of the Rules of Court, requested the modification of the Courts Order of 7 December 2021 (the second Request).
By an Order dated 12 October 2022, the Court found that the circumstances, as they [then] present[ed] themselves to the Court, [were] not such as to require the exercise of its power to modify the measures indicated in the Order of 7 December 2021. In addition, the Court reaffirmed the provisional measures indicated in its Order of 7 December 2021, in particular the requirement that both Parties refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.
Finally, the Court recalls that, on 28 December 2022, Armenia, referring to Article 41 of the Statute and Article 73 of the Rules of Court, filed a new Request for the indication of provisional measures (the third Request). In that Request, Armenia states that, on 12 December 2022, Azerbaijan orchestrated a blockade of the only road connecting the 120,000 ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh with the outside world and asks the Court to indicate the following two provisional measures: Azerbaijan shall cease its orchestration and support of the alleged protests blocking uninterrupted free movement along the Lachin Corridor in both directions [; and] Azerbaijan shall ensure uninterrupted free movement of all persons, vehicles, and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. By a letter dated 26 January 2023, the Agent of Armenia communicated to the Court the text of a further provisional measure sought by his Government, as follows: Azerbaijan shall immediately fully restore and refrain from disrupting or impeding the provision of natural gas and other public utilities to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The judge noted that the court notices that since December 12, 2022, the connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia through the Lachin Corridor has been disrupted. The Court notes that a number of consequences have arisen as a result of this situation, and that those who bear the consequences continue to suffer these effects to this day. According to the information, the import of vital goods to Nagorno-Karabakh was also hindered, as a result of which there is a shortage of food, medicine and other life-saving supplies. The Court considers that the damage can be considered irreparable when the relevant persons find themselves in life- and health-threatening circumstances.
The Court recalled that at the open session held on January 30, 2023, the representative of Azerbaijan confirmed that his government has committed and remains committed to taking all the steps within its power to guarantee the free movement of people, vehicles and cargo through the Lachin Corridor, including continuously working with the ICRC.
The court takes note of that statement. However, this does not eliminate the imminent risk of irreparable damage due to the disruption of movement through the Lachin Corridor. In light of the above circumstances, the Court concludes that the alleged impairment of the rights recognized by the Court as enforceable may cause irreparable damage to the rights and there is urgency. That is, there is a real or imminent and immediate risk that irreparable harm will occur before the Court makes a final decision on the case. Therefore, the Court concludes that the conditions for applying provisional measures are present and grounded, so it is necessary for the Court to apply some provisional measures before the final decision in order to protect the rights mentioned by the Court requested by Armenia. The Court mentions that it has the right under the statute to apply such measures that are completely or partially different from the requested measures.
The Court notes that the Statement by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and President of the Russian Federation of 9 November 2020 provides, inter alia, that the Lachin Corridor, which will provide a connection between Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia . . . shall remain under the control of the Russian Federation peacemaking forces. The Statement further states that Azerbaijan shall guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.
In the present case, having considered the terms of the provisional measures requested by Armenia and the circumstances of the case, the Court finds that the measures to be indicated need not be identical to those requested. The Court concludes that Azerbaijan shall, pending the final decision in the case and in accordance with its obligations under the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions, reads the decision of the Court.
The first G20 Culture Working Group meeting will begin from Wednesday at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Tuesday.
Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER G. Kishan Reddy and Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan among others will inaugurate an exhibition titled "Re(ad)dress: Return of Treasures" at the Maharaja Chhatrasal Convention Centre (MCCC). The meeting is scheduled to be organised from February 22-25.
On their arrival at the Khajuraho Airport, the delegates will be welcomed with folk performances -- Badhai and Rai. The delegates will be provided with traditional arts and cultural experiences and will participate in DIY activities like papier mache, block printing, and henna art during the meeting.
On the first day of the meeting, Padma Shri Nek Ram known as the Millet Man has been invited to celebrate the International Year of Millets 2023. On the following days of the meeting, cultural programs will be organized including the Khajuraho Dance Festival Cultural performances.
The delegates will also visit the Western Group of Temples, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They will also be taken to Panna Tiger Reserve. More than 125 delegates will attend the meeting.
During the meeting, four working group sessions are planned at Maharaja Chhatrasal Convention Centre, in which G20 member states, international organisations along with officials from the Ministry of Culture will participate.
The inaugural session will be addressed by Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar and Minister of State for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi. Secretary, of Culture Govind Mohan will chair the session. In the session, remarks by Troika (India, Indonesia and Brazil) will also be presented.
Briefing the media near Khajuraho, Joint Secretary Lily Pandeya said four Culture Working Group meetings at Khajuraho, Hampi, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi are being organized under India's G20 presidency. The theme of G20 this year is Vasudev Kutumbakam - One Earth, One Family, One Future.
Workers in India, who use advanced digital skills like cloud architecture or software development, are contributing an estimated $507.9 billion (Rs 10.9 trillion) to the country's annual gross domestic product (GDP), a report showed on Wednesday.
This is attributed to the 92 percent higher salaries that these workers earn compared to those with a similar education who do not use digital skills at work.
About 80 percent of organizations in India that employ workers with advanced digital skills report higher annual revenue growth, but 88 per cent of organisations are facing hiring issues, according to the report by Amazon Web Services (AWS) conducted by Gallup.
The findings showed advanced digital workers in India are benefitting from more than just a boost in their income. About 91 percent of workers who use advanced digital skills express higher job satisfaction, compared to 74 per cent of workers with intermediate skills and 70 percent of workers with basic digital skills.
"India has the opportunity to seize immense economic benefits from building a strong pipeline of cloud talent to support the country's ongoing digital transformation. AWS has trained more than four million people with basic, intermediate, and advanced cloud skills in India since 2017, and our work doesn't stop here," said Amit Mehta, Head of Training and Certification, AWS India Pvt Ltd.
The report found that 21 percent of Indian organizations that run most of their business on the Cloud report a doubling of annual revenue or more, compared to 9 percent of those that use the cloud for some or none of their business. Cloud-based organizations are also 15 percentage points more likely to have introduced a new or improved product within the last two years.
With many organizations now preparing for the challenges of a digital future, the Gallup study looked at 10 emerging technologies including AI, edge and quantum computing, blockchain, and cryptocurrency.
Around 92 percent of employers in India said at least one of these technologies is likely to become a standard part of their future business operations, with 5G ranking the highest at 78 percent.
"This research shows that digital skills provide immense economic value to India at the individual, organizational, and macroeconomic level," said Dr Jonathan Rothwell, Gallup's principal economist. However, shortage of tech talent is a global phenomenon.
"While it is good that India has the lowest tech talent demand-supply gap among the top tech locations, it is imperative for individuals and organisations to continue to invest in digital skills training," said Kirti Seth, CEO, Sector Skills Council, Nasscom.
Tata Motors, Indias leading automobile producer and the pioneer of Indias EV evolution, currently signed an MoU with Uber, Indias leading ride hailing app, to bring 25,000 XPREST EVs into their premium category service. Tata Motors will assist Uber with electrifying its services throughout Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad, in line with its vision of a clean and green environment. Starting this month, the company will start making staged delivery of the vehicles to Uber fleet partners.
Speaking at the MoU signing, Mr. Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility said, In line with our commitment to grow sustainable mobility in the country, we are delighted to partner with Uber, Indias leading ridesharing platform. Offering customers our environmentally friendly EV ride experiences via Ubers Premium Category service will accelerate the adoption of green and clean personal ride-sharing. The XPRES-T EV is a very attractive option both for customers and operators. While enhanced safety, silent and premium in-cabin experience provides the customers with a relaxed ride, the fast charging solution, driving comfort, and cost-effectiveness of the EV make it an attractive business proposition for our fleet partners. This partnership will further cement our market position in the fleet segment.
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Prabhjeet Singh, President, of Uber India and South Asia said, Uber is committed to bringing sustainable, shared mobility to India, and this partnership with Tata Motors is a major milestone on that journey. It represents the largest EV partnership yet between an automaker and a ridesharing platform in India. It will supercharge the transition to zero emissions on the Uber platform as we work towards building a sustainable future. We are committed to doing our part to bring down the barriers to going electric by working with industry partners that are leading the change.
Tata Motors has been revolutionizing the Indian automotive market with its pioneering efforts and is leading the e-mobility wave in India with over 50,000 Tata EVs rolled out from the plant to date in the personal and fleet segment. Furthermore, Uber has committed to 100% of rides taking place in zero-emission vehicles, on public transit, or with micro-mobility by 2040.
In July 2021, Tata Motors launched the XPRES' brand exclusively for fleet customers, and the XPRES-T EV is the first vehicle under this brand. The new XPRES-T electric sedan comes with 2 range options 315km and 277km (ARAI-certified range under test conditions). It packs a high energy density battery of 26 kWh and 25.5 kWh and be charged from 0- 80% in 59 mins and 110 mins respectively, using fast charging or can also be normally charged from any 15 A plug point, which is easily available and convenient. It comes with zero tail-pipe emission, single-speed automatic transmission, dual airbags, and ABS with EBD as standard across variants. The premium interiors with standard automatic climate control and Electric Blue accents across its interior and exterior will give it a differentiated presence from other Tata cars.
Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund led a $104 million Series D investment round for the fresh fish and meat e-commerce business FreshToHome. The round also included participation from previous investors Iron Pillar, Investcorp, Investment Corporation of Dubai (the main investment arm of the Government of Dubai), Ascent Capital, and others.
The money will help FreshTo'ome in its objective to provide millions of meat lovers with 100% preservative- and antibiotic-residue-free fish, shellfish, and meat that is accessible and cheap." "We have operational profitability across the board, making us a "Pro'icorn." Our focus is on profitability and sustained value creation as we work to provide greater value to our farmers and fishermen, consumers, staff, and investors, said Shan Kadavil, CEO and Co-Founder of FreshToHome.
E20 Investment Ltd., Mount Judi Ventures, and Dallah Albaraka are among the new investors that have joined this round. FreshToHome, a 2015 startup, operates in more than 160 cities throughout India and the UAE and provides more than 2,000 products that are guaranteed to be chemical-free and fresh. The $250 million Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund's spokesperson stated that the goal is to "empower the next generation of innovative, technology-enabled businesses driven by visionary founders."
The statement continued, "We are thrilled to work with FreshToHome for the next chapter of its growth. In its Series C round, which was led by Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai, Investcorp, IronPillar, Ascent Capital, and the US Government's Development Finance Institution, FreshToHome raised $121 million two years ago. FreshToHome said that business is currently operationally profitable across the board.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The International Court of Justice rejected Azerbaijan's request to indicate provisional measures against Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports, the decision was published on February 22.
The decision notes that the Court does not consider that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination plausibly imposes any obligation on Armenia to take measures to enable Azerbaijan to undertake demining or to cease and desist from planting landmines. Azerbaijan has not placed before the Court evidence indicating that Armenias alleged conduct with respect to landmines has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of rights of persons of Azerbaijani national or ethnic origin.
The Court concludes from the foregoing that the conditions for the indication of provisional measures under Article 41 of the Statute are not met.
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Two-time Australian Music Prize winner Sampa The Great has pulled out of Bluesfest, two days after King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard cancelled their performance at the festival.
The annual Easter event has become mired in controversy since festival director Peter Noble last week revealed Sydney band Sticky Fingers were among recent additions to the line-up.
Award-winning artist Sampa The Great Credit: Aart Verrips
Additions to the festival line-up, including Sticky Fingers, a tribute to Archie Roach, Fools (from Massachusetts), and Gold Coast solo artist Jerome Williams were announced last Wednesday, along with Sampa The Great.
In a statement provided to Double J, Sampa The Greats representatives said the artist started contact with Bluesfest, to inform them of our standpoint within half an hour of receiving the embargoed press release and seeing the remainder of the line-up.
The passing of major public figures is traditionally marked by all the hoopla of a state funeral. But in Australia, even the greatest luminaries are not accorded the ultimate musical send-off: a genuine New Orleans brassy jazz procession.
That singular distinction, which briefly brought Balmain to a standstill on Wednesday, is reserved only for jazz royalty. And no one fits that description quite so well as the legendary pianist Gary Walford, who died last week aged 74.
A New Orleans style send off with a procession of musician friends in the streets of Balmain for jazz legend Gary Walford (right), Credit: Marco Del Grande, Jessica Hromas
Every week, for the past 50 years Walford and a revolving cast of some of Australias best jazz musicians played at Balmains Unity Hall hotel in what became the longest running gig in the world.
It has become a Sydney institution and Balmains St Augustines Church was packed with mourners, many of them the cream of the Sydney jazz scene.
Something is different at Adelaide Fringe this year. For the first time in recent memory the pages of the News Corp-owned The Advertiser, the citys only daily newspaper, have been entirely without the usual stream of reviews and star ratings that traditionally greet the opening of the festival, which launched on February 17.
The apparent snub prompted outrage and speculation among South Australias arts community. On Monday, an open letter circulated on social media that bemoaned the mystifying shift. Written by critic Samela Harris on behalf of the Adelaide Critics Circle, the letter was submitted and rejected for publication by The Advertiser.
The Adelaide Fringe and The Advertiser had long been in an enthusiastic, mutually beneficial partnership. Not anymore. Credit: Aaron Walker
Ive still got a lot of affection for The Advertiser I care madly, I really care, says Harris, a veteran journalist. Back in the day it was the most wonderful relationship with the Tiser, the Tiser was the most stunning sponsor and I just cant see where the wheels fell off. It doesnt make sense.
It hasnt always been this way. The Fringe and The Advertiser have long been in an enthusiastic, and seemingly mutually beneficial, partnership. For years the Fringes printed program was distributed with the newspaper. Recently, The Advertiser even published its own dedicated Fringe section dubbed Fringe Adviser and streamed live performance sessions by Fringe performers in the newsroom of Keith Murdoch House, its Waymouth Street headquarters.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch has published an article depicting the humanitarian crisis created in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the blocking of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan.
ARMENPRESS reports, the publication reminds that from December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world, as a result of which the Armenian people of Nagorno Karabakh found themselves in a difficult situation.
40-year-old Armine, who lives with her family in Nagorno-Karabakh, told Human Rights Watch that her husband lost his job as a taxi driver due to lack of fuel, and now she is the sole breadwinner of the family. And the 12- and 14-year-old children only recently returned to school when the school was heated with wood stoves. However, some schools remain closed due to lack of heating. Food is becoming scarcer, not affordable as prices have skyrocketed. Armine said that she waited two hours even in cold weather to buy eggs.
Armine plans her day around power outages. During the few hours when there is electricity, she has to cook and do housework, heat the children's room and help them with their homework.
Human Rights Watch emphasized that Armine's story is not an exception. The blockade of the Lachin Corridor has disrupted access to essential goods and services for thousands of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh. Many remained in Armenia and cannot return to their homes.
It is noted that the authorities of Azerbaijan deny that they are responsible for the closure of the road, but support the rallies.
The disruption of the Lachin Corridor is creating a humanitarian crisis as many needs remain unmet. The publication of Human Rights Watch presents the difficult situation with a concrete example. Armine's father is sick with cancer and has to travel regularly from the village to Stepanakert, but due to lack of fuel and transport, he missed his last medical visits.
"Azerbaijani authorities and Russian peacekeeping forces must ensure that the protests do not deprive Armine and other residents of Nagorno-Karabakh of their rights, including access to healthcare, basic services and goods, as well as the right to free movement," the publication emphasizes.
The recent Northcote High School book cull has generated much discussion on the role of school libraries as gatekeepers of knowledge. Some are crying the decolonisation of the collection is akin to book burning, and wokeness engendered.
As someone who regularly culls items in their collection, I can tell you the reality is much more mundane. In my library like most school libraries the reality is a teacher librarian with detailed knowledge of their collection, community and current curriculum assessing resources and, yes, binning those which are no longer fit for purpose.
All lending libraries are culled and updated from time to time, including school libraries. Credit: Shutterstock
It is this question of fit for purpose that elicits some controversy. As with many areas of society, politics and values influence what we teach and the books we provide in our schools. However, the purchase and retention of books that highlight cultural, religious and gender diversities is not only important for those who identify as such, but for all students. The danger in our school libraries is the inherent bias in all of us we all have our own stories and experiences which shape our picture of the world, and at times our collections.
With the removal from the Northcote High School library of books that depict European colonisation as peaceful, the question was raised: What are they teaching kids at school these days? Its the Australian Curriculum particularly the year 9 history curriculum which contains content related to the effects of colonisation, such as frontier conflicts. If the school library does not include books in their collection that reflect this curriculum, and current teaching, then students are going to look online at resources that dont have the same quality control of published books.
Diary entries that formed a key plank of the prosecution case against Kathleen Folbigg over the deaths of her four young children do not contain true confessions of criminal guilt, an inquiry into her convictions has been told.
Joanna Garstang, a consultant community paediatrician and designated doctor on a child death review panel in Birmingham, reviewed Folbiggs diaries and submitted an expert witness report to the inquiry, released publicly on Tuesday. She is slated to give evidence at the inquiry on Friday.
An excerpt from Kathleen Folbiggs diaries and Folbigg outside the NSW Supreme Court in 2003. Credit: Nine
Much of my clinical work involves the investigation of unexpected child deaths, regularly working alongside police, Garstang wrote.
In my opinion, the expressions of self-blame and guilt in Ms Folbiggs diary fit with those described in the literature or that I have witnessed in my clinical and research practice. I do not consider them true confessions of guilt.
Public schools with and without opportunity classes, high-fee private institutions and Catholic schools in affluent areas have dominated the top 100 schools in the latest year 5 NAPLAN results.
While advantaged schools made up more than 90 per cent of the top performers, dozens of schools across NSW have defied that trend to punch above their weight in reading, writing and maths results.
St Johns Park Public near Cabramatta scored above-average results in 2022 year 5 NAPLAN tests. Pictured (L-R): Spencer Nguyen, Olivia Tangi, Chloe Tran, Principal Dianne Donatiello and Aedan Ly. Credit: Rhett Whyman
The Herald assessed NSW schools by their average year 5 NAPLAN scores across five domains tested in 2022, and compared results based on a schools socio-educational advantage.
The analysis considered ICSEA scores, a measure of a schools level of advantage, and was developed to enable fair comparisons of results between schools. Of about 1800 schools that reported year 5 results, the Herald has looked at a selection of the top performers.
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The case of a high-profile man charged with the alleged rape of a young woman in 2021 has returned to a Queensland court.
The man did not appear in person at Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday and his lawyer, Rowan King, made no comment to the large contingent of assembled media.
Lawyer Rowan King (left) is seen outside Toowoomba Magistrates Court. Credit: AAP
The charges relate to an alleged sexual assault in Toowoomba in October 2021.
The man cannot be named because unique Queensland laws prevent the identification of a person charged with sexual offences until the matter is committed to a trial.
These exemptions mean that religious schools can exclude kids who come out as gay or transgender, or treat them differently to other kids. Schools can refuse to hire, deny promotion or sack teachers who are pregnant or single mothers. If the Law Reform Commissions proposals are implemented, LGBTQ students and teachers will finally be protected from discrimination. They would be able to go to school and work as their true selves, without the threat of exclusion hanging over them. Various faith leaders have rejected these proposals and sought to catastrophise them. This is despite the Australian Association of Christian Schools having previously said that we have no desire to be allowed to expel students because of their sexual orientation. Credit: Illustration by Dionne Gain These faith leaders have described the commissions proposals as radical. They say Christian schools would not be allowed to hire Christian staff. They argue the proposals would strip religious schools of their rights, threaten the future of religious education, and represent a fundamental attack on religious freedom.
This is nonsense. The commissions proposals would still allow religious schools to create a community of faith through their employment practices. Loading For instance, the commission has proposed that schools be able to preference staff on the basis of their religion, where it is a genuine occupational requirement of their role. Quite rightly, this would allow schools to prioritise teachers of the same faith Muslim schools hiring Muslim teachers, Jewish schools hiring Jewish teachers, and so on. Tasmania has had similar laws for more than two decades without religious schools falling over. If religious schools want to hire only staff of the same religion, they have nothing to be concerned about. This is likely to be most schools.
Rather, these changes target the minority of schools who want to force LGBTQ staff to hide their identity or hire only heterosexual, cisgender, nuclear family-conforming staff who do not engage in sexual relations or parenting outside of wedlock. Those schools would no longer be able to discriminate in these ways. The Law Reform Commission has also proposed that schools be able to terminate the employment of staff who actively undermine the ethos of the school. As I have argued in a group expert submission to this inquiry, this hands religious schools a special right to terminate above and beyond other employers. It could, and should, be narrowed further. These proposals hardly represent that the future of religious education is under threat. Australia remains one of the worlds greatest proponents of religious education, far beyond that in comparable countries. There is a place for appropriate protections for religion within discrimination laws. Religious schools should be able to preference staff on the basis of their religion where it is relevant to the role. Christian schools should be able to promote Christian values, like any other faith-based schools.
Loading But for too long, our federal discrimination laws have given religious schools too much remit to discriminate. Citipointe Christian Colleges infamous sexuality contract is just one example. This contract was sent home to parents and required that students identify as their biological sex and practise consistent[ly] with that sex. A declaration of faith attached to the contract proclaimed that homosexuality was a sin and destructive to human relationships and society. Parents were required to sign the contract and declaration of faith to keep their children enrolled at the school. This is exactly the sort of situation enabled by the exemptions in the Sex Discrimination Act. These exemptions do not have public backing. Polling has found that 74 per cent of Australians oppose the right of religious schools to discriminate against students and staff on the basis of their sexuality, gender identity or relationship status.
Enough is enough. Its time we made sure that LGBTQ kids and teachers are safe in all of our schools. The Law Reform Commissions sensible proposals will help make this happen. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here. More original opinions Home invasion: Former Victorian Attorney-General and now director of the Centre for Innovative Justice, Rob Hulls, had his family home invaded while everyone was sleeping. He would like to meet the criminals and ask them why.
Culton said the culture of parents was integral to the schools top-tier academic performance. Im sure there are a lot of high-achieving schools with a similar kind of a profile, but we have particular advantages. I mean, high-quality staff, a really high-quality community, and just fantastic children who want to do well, Culton said. Braybrook College principal Kelly Panousieris (left) and maths co-ordinator Rebecca Thom in the schools numeracy centre. Credit: Jason South And its really important that the school matches the expectations of the community. All of our parents would expect their children to have a university education and so theyre very, very keen to make sure that they all do their best. Serpell Primary School and Presbyterian Ladies College are both in Melbournes inner east, which is a hot spot for high-performing NAPLAN schools, claiming three of the top five results in Victoria according to the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authoritys results data between 2019 and 2022.
Across Melbourne, three western suburban schools also ranked in the 10 best NAPLAN performers in the state over the past four years. The three schools, all of which have disadvantaged student profiles, achieved stellar progress in literacy and numeracy when ranked against similar schools. Braybrook Secondary College principal Kelly Panousieris said a growing number of the schools parents are taking an interest in its NAPLAN results as the suburb becomes more gentrified, though others were less aware of the standardised test. Im not going to go out there and say, hey look at our great NAPLAN results, Panoursieris said. That is just one area of the tailored literacy and numeracy support that we offer the children.
At Kings Park Primary School in St Albans, the why of teaching is as important as the how, principal Jodi Park said. Loading Park asked staff this year to share why they worked at the disadvantaged and multicultural school. Her own mantra is to ensure that all students are literate and numerate and not defined by their postcode. Park said her school, one of Victorias best performing in NAPLAN, had invested in educational support staff, English language support staff and tutoring in literacy and numeracy. I think its something thats ensured that those grade 3 results are really strong because we have a lot of students who start with us who might not be speaking English, she said.
A lot of our students, even though we have take-home readers, families cant often support their children with that, so the education support do that at lunchtime. Park said the school prides itself on its relentless tracking of students. Every student sets themselves reading, writing and numeracy targets for each semester, and is tested on their progress every three weeks. So theres no surprises when we get to reporting time, she said. What weve been focusing on is having individual goals so students are aware of what their goals are, they have a greater chance of achieving them.
Two hours north of Melbourne, in the northern Victorian town of Mooroopna, Catholic primary school St Marys has had its best two years of NAPLAN testing, raising its results to be one of the best performing schools in the Shepparton region, with most students making above-average progress in literacy and numeracy. It wasnt always like this. Five years ago, St Marys students made below-average progress when measured against students across Australia who were at a similar level. Principal Anthony Butts said the school had purposely invested more in its literacy and maths programs, and really worked hard to develop a culture that promotes learning. We have a really strong belief that every student is capable of successful learning, Butts said. We work really hard to make sure that no student slips through the cracks and that all students have the opportunity to succeed at whatever level theyre at. This approach means taking a differentiated approach to learning, working with students who are struggling to master the basics until they have mastered early stages of learning, rather than pushing them up to the next level.
The MySchool website crashed on Wednesday morning and experienced regular dropout throughout the afternoon, as the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Authoritys servers struggled to keep up with a spike in traffic. Loading The authoritys chief executive, David de Carvalho, said the website always experienced a spike in traffic when the annual MySchool data is released, but said there was little evidence NAPLAN results have a widespread influence in parental decisions about which school to send their children to. If you were wanting to draw a strong link between information thats on the MySchool website and parent choice, you would probably be seeing a stronger uptick of visits to MySchool at about the time of year when parents are making decisions about where to send their children, de Carvalho said. We dont actually see that kind of pattern. NAPLAN results will be overhauled this year, with education ministers in all states and territories agreeing this month to simplify the reporting of results.
The man who ended up in intensive care after suffering severe burns during a skin lesion removal at St John of God Hospital in Subiaco was injured when a surgical instrument ignited oxygen passing through a tube into the mans nose.
St John of God in Subiaco. Credit: Nine News Perth
The burnt 60-year-old man was under local anaesthetic at the time and having a lesion on his chest removed.
The burns were so severe he almost died, spending two days in intensive care at Fiona Stanley Hospital.
Doctors say he is now in a stable condition.
Hong Kong: More support for businesses, people
Bold measures to support businesses and individuals are a priority in the 2023-24 Budget that includes the disbursement of a $5,000 electronic consumption voucher, Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced while unveiling his Budget today.
When it comes to assisting enterprises, Mr Chan said he proposes a basket of measures aimed at easing the operating pressure of businesses.
Such plans include reducing profits tax for the year of assessment 2022-23 by 100%, subject to a ceiling of $6,000. The measure will benefit 134,000 businesses and reduce government revenue by $720 million.
He also suggests providing rates concession for nondomestic properties for the first two quarters of 202324, subject to a ceiling of $1,000 per quarter for each rateable property. This measure is estimated to involve 430,000 nondomestic properties and reduce government revenue by $740 million.
Additionally, Mr Chan is putting forward a plan, starting July 2023, that would grant a 50% rental or fee concession to eligible tenants of government premises and eligible shortterm tenancies and waivers under the Lands Department for six months until the end of 2023.
The finance chief pointed out that to meet the financing needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during economic downturns, the Government has been enhancing the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) continuously over the years.
He said: As at end2022, loans amounting to more than $230 billion have been approved under the SFGS, benefiting over 53,000 enterprises. As the Hong Kong economy is picking up steadily this year, it is expected that commercial financing will gradually return to be adjusted by the market.
That said, it takes time for SMEs to consolidate their strengths on the way to recovery. I have, therefore, decided to extend the application period of all guarantee products under the SFGS from endJune 2023 to endMarch 2024, thus giving SMEs more room to adjust and secure a firm footing.
To support crossboundary passenger transport and the tourism industry, the Government will launch new schemes to offer fully guaranteed loans for eligible passenger transport operators and licensed travel agents.
Mr Chan estimates that the above schemes will involve a total loan guarantee amount of about $2.7 billion.
The Government will also extend the Travel Agents Incentive Scheme, which is due to expire by endMarch 2023, for three months, with the goal of facilitating the speedy recovery of the industry.
In addition, the Government will inject $30 million into the Information Technology Development Matching Fund Scheme for Travel Agents. The objective of this scheme is to encourage the industry to undergo upgrades and transformation by making use of technology.
Supporting the general public
On the topic of supporting the societys needs, Mr Chan says he will introduce several oneoff relief measures to alleviate the economic pressure on the public.
One such measure aims to reduce salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for the year of assessment 2022/23 by 100%, subject to a ceiling of $6,000. This measure will benefit 1.9 million taxpayers and reduce government revenue by $8.5 billion.
A second measure, he suggests, will provide rates concession for domestic properties for the first two quarters of 202324, subject to a ceiling of $1,000 per quarter for each rateable property. This measure is estimated to involve 3.03 million domestic properties and reduce government revenue by $5.2 billion.
Another proposal includes providing an allowance to eligible social security recipients, equal to one half of a month of the standard rate Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments, Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance or Disability Allowance. This measure will involve an additional expenditure or about $2,721 million. Similar arrangements will apply to recipients of the Working Family Allowance, involving an additional expenditure of about $116 million.
He also recommends extending the temporary special measures under the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme for a period of six months to provide commuters with a subsidy amounting to onethird of their actual monthly public transport expenses in excess of $200, subject to a maximum of $500 per month. It will require an additional expenditure of about $1.08 billion and benefit 3.5 million commuter per month.
A different plan calls for paying the examination fees for school candidates sitting for the 2024 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination.
Being able to grant each eligible residential electricity account a subsidy of $1,000 is also included in the one-off relief measures.
Apart from noting that the current arrangement of distributing electricity charges relief of $50 a month to each eligible residential electricity account will be extended to the end of 2025, Mr Chan shared his plan to increase the basic child allowance.
I propose to increase the basic child allowance and the additional child allowance for each child born during the year of assessment from the current $120,000 to $130,000 starting from the year of assessment 2023/24. This measure is estimated to benefit 324,000 taxpayers and reduce tax revenue by $610 million a year.
Issuing consumption vouchers
Regarding the issuance consumption vouchers, Mr Chan explained that the Government implemented two rounds of the Consumption Voucher Scheme over the past two years.
Because the initiatives were well received by the community and due to other reasons, he revealed that another round of the consumption vouchers will be disbursed.
Having regard to the current economic situation, peoples livelihood and the Governments financial position, I will issue electronic consumption vouchers again this year with a total value of $5,000 to each eligible Hong Kong permanent resident and new arrival aged 18 or above in two instalments.
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinas Hainan continuously shatters record of rare species thanks to enhanced wetland ecology
People's Daily Online) 16:03, February 22, 2023
Cotton pygmy geese, a bird species under second-class state protection in China, forage at the Haiwei National Wetland Park in Changjiang Li Autonomous County, south Chinas Hainan Province. (Photo/Xue Meili)
Cotton pygmy geese, a bird species under second-class state protection in China, were recently spotted foraging at the Haiwei National Wetland Park in Changjiang Li Autonomous County, south Chinas Hainan Province.
A new high of four cotton pygmy geese have been monitored at the wetland park so far this year.
There are less than 2,000 cotton pygmy geese across China. Since 1898, the species has been spotted only three times in Hainan, including the most recent one in September 2021, and only one was discovered each time.
In January this year, bluethroats, also a national second-class protected animal species, were spotted at the wetland park. It is now inhabited by 180 bird species.
In recent years, Hainan has continuously shattered the record of species at wetlands, as the province has intensified efforts to restore and protect wetlands and has regularly monitored some important wetlands.
(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenia welcomes the International Court of Justice's decision on Armenia's request to indicate a provisional measure to unblock the Lachin Corridor, ARMENPRESS reports the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan wrote in his Twitter microblog.
We welcome CIJs ruling today that Azerbaijan must take all measures to end its blockade and ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor.
We are also pleased to see truth prevail as the Court rejected in full Azerbaijan's counter request, Mirzoyan wrote.
Australia should keep more of its critical minerals inside the country despite requests from China to invest in new mines, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared in a pledge to spur local industries to make batteries and other renewable technologies.
Linking national security to domestic industry, Albanese said he wanted to put public money into projects that could expand local manufacturing and recover from the loss of the big carmakers over the past decade.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would like lithium mined here to be processed for batteries in Australia.
The comments came in a response to a question about Chinas desire for approval from Canberra to invest in big mining projects and gain access to lithium at a time of growing demand for the minerals needed for high-tech devices.
We need to not just dig it up. I want to make sure we use the lithium and nickel and other products we have to make batteries here, Albanese said.
The next sentence in the amendment would be: The parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to the composition, functions, powers and procedures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. The survey shows 46 per cent of voters favour this wording, while 26 per cent are against and 21 per cent are undecided. Support is down from 53 per cent on the same question asked in August and September. In a second question, voters were asked to choose yes or no on the same wording without an option to be undecided, showing that 58 per cent are in favour and 42 per cent is against.
The results confirm the slip in support for the Voice when debate over the reform has intensified, particularly after Dutton called for more detail during weeks of debate in January. The support fell to 58 per cent in February compared with 60 per cent in December and January and 64 per cent last August and September. The comparison is complicated by the way the Resolve Political Monitor has sometimes combined the data over two months. Month by month, support for the Voice on the Yes or No question has fallen from 63 per cent in August and 64 per cent in September to 62 per cent in December, 58 per cent in January and 58 per cent in February. The latest Resolve Political Monitor surveyed 1604 eligible voters from Wednesday to Sunday, producing results with a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. The results show the responses over a single polling track in February, in contrast to earlier Resolve Political Monitor findings on the Voice that combined results for two months in order to produce a bigger sample size, reduce the margin of error and allow a breakdown of the results in each big state.
Asked about the debate over detail, 63 per cent of voters said they would like more information than was currently available. This result included 56 per cent of Labor voters, 73 per cent of Coalition voters and 58 per cent of Greens voters. However, 25 per cent said they were happy to vote on the principle and the current information. The question was: There has recently been some debate about how much detail about the Voice should be released before the referendum vote. Some say that people should know what they are voting on, even if this could be changed in future years, so that they can make an accurate judgment. Others have said that there is too much detail and too many options to communicate, that this would be decided by parliament anyway, and instead we should just vote on the principle of having a Voice. As someone who may vote in the referendum, would you prefer more detail is released before you vote or are you happy to vote on the principle and let parliament decide on the detail afterwards? Its too early to tell if this marks a turning point or simply a hiatus, but it confirms the gradual drop in support weve tracked since last year, said Resolve Strategic director Jim Reed.
The onus is on the Yes and No campaigns to explain why they deserve peoples vote. That particularly applies to the Yes case because they are asking for the change. Loading A key finding in the Resolve Political Monitor is that many voters expect the Voice to be about practical benefits. On this question, 42 per cent said it was about practical outcomes, 24 per cent said it was more about symbolic recognition and 34 per cent were undecided. Albanese has sometimes answered questions about detail by referring to the report on the Voice issued by University of Canberra chancellor Tom Calma and University of Melbourne professor Marcia Langton, but the survey found 68 per cent had not heard of this document. Only 32 per cent had heard of the report and this included 7 per cent who had read a summary and 1 per cent who said they had read the report in full.
People are already on board for recognition, but the Yes campaign needs to convert a public prejudice to want to help fellow Australians into practical support for the Voice, said Reed. Loading Given those results, Reed said Albanese had adopted an effective approach in recent weeks to build that support. Voters are asking for more information about the Voice but reject long-form documents, said Reed. The prime minister is now the prominent figure in the debate, and he is using a simple mantra of recognition and consultation to attempt to frame the choice.
In the city where the 1967 referendum campaign began, the Yes case for the Voice to parliament rallied ground troops hoping to channel the grassroots momentum that drove change more than half a century ago.
Against the backdrop of a new Yes campaign logo, more than 200 people from unions, faith groups, the business sector, local community organisations, and philanthropists gathered in Adelaide on Wednesday for the launch of the ground campaign to generate a groundswell of support for the Voice.
Filmmaker Rachel Perkins, co-chair of Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, said the Yes campaign would tap into the lessons handed down by the 1967 campaigners among them her famous activist father Dr Charles Perkins who knew bringing people together from all walks of life was key.
I feel like were walking in their footsteps. The most important thing is to learn what they did. Starting conversations around kitchen tables and community halls. That is the way that referendum was won, Perkins said in an interview.
A scandal-plagued review into the October floods will be expanded after the opposition, Greens and other crossbenchers teamed up in Victorias upper house to force the Labor government to establish a second inquiry.
The opposition and Greens initially filed separate motions to establish a parliamentary inquiry but, in a rare moment of collegiality, later agreed to join forces.
The clean up in Maribyrnong. Credit: Justin McManus
The Coalitions motion, with Greens amendments, passed on the voices, meaning individual votes werent counted. It ensures the Environment and Planning Committee will now consider the states preparedness and flood response, separate to the review by Melbourne Water into the Maribyrnong River disaster.
Georgie Crozier, leader of the opposition in the upper house, said Victorians wanted answers that the parliamentary inquiry could provide in ways the Melbourne Water review could not.
The McGowan governments arrogance is on show as it continues the centralisation of planning powers and neutering of local governments, the opposition says.
In an escalation of the fight against NIMBYism on Wednesday Premier Mark McGowan flagged major reforms to the planning system, which include making the controversial special development assessment unit (SDAU) a permanent fixture.
Mark McGowan and Rita Saffioti announced significant planning reforms on Wednesday.
At his Vision for the State lunch hosted by the WA Property Council McGowan also announced a significant reduction in the threshold developers need to meet for a project to be eligible for consideration by a development assessment panel (DAP).
Under the new model, the number of DAPs across the state will drop from five to three and the opt-in threshold for projects that can be considered will drop from projects with 10 dwellings or more to a project worth more than $2 million with two or more dwellings.
Tens of thousands of people packed into Moscows Luzhniki Stadium, which has a capacity of 81,000, waving white, blue and red Russian flags and listening to patriotic songs before Putin arrived. They fight heroically, courageously, bravely. We are proud of them, Putin said at the Glory to Defenders of the Fatherland event, held on the eve of Russias February 23 holiday celebrating those who serve in the armed forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to the Glory to the Defenders of the Fatherland concert. Credit: AP Today, they are supported by the whole country, Putin said of Russian forces in Ukraine, adding he had just been updated by military chiefs on the situation at the front. When we are together, we have no equal. To the unity of the Russian people. Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app: This unprovoked and criminal Russian war against Ukraine, Europe and the democratic world must end with the cleansing of the entire Ukrainian land from Russian occupation and solid guarantees of the long-term security for our state, the whole of Europe and the entire world.
Russia is due to begin military exercises with China in South Africa on Friday and has sent a frigate equipped with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles. A Russian officer said on Wednesday Russia would fire artillery, but not the missiles, whose speed makes them difficult to shoot down. Russian aggression in Ukraine has changed the security situation in Europe, Polish President Andrzej Duda told the Warsaw meeting of nine eastern NATO members with Biden, who said Washington was committed to defending every inch of the alliances territory. Participants wave Russian national flags during the Glory to the Defenders of the Fatherland concert waiting for Russian President Vladimir Putin to arrive. Credit: AP You are the front line of our collective defence, Biden told the summit of countries which joined the Western military alliance after being aligned with Moscow during the Cold War. Most now count among the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine and in a joint declaration called for NATOs enhanced presence on its eastern flank.
Nuclear treaty suspended Putin has responded to setbacks in Ukraine with veiled threats to use nuclear weapons and suspended the nuclear arms control treaty on Tuesday, accusing Washington of turning the war into a global conflict by arming Ukraine. Destroyed buildings in Horenka, near Kyiv, in Ukraine on Wednesday. Credit: AP Russias foreign and defence ministries said later Moscow would still continue abiding by the restrictions outlined in the pact on the number of nuclear warheads it could have deployed and the number of nuclear missile carriers. Russias lower house of parliament rubber-stamped the move Wednesday. Tension over Ukraine had already halted mutual inspections of nuclear arsenals envisaged by the treaty, but Biden said that by suspending the treaty, Putin had made a mistake.
He underlined his support for Kyiv in a surprise visit to war-torn Ukraine on Monday and then rallied NATO allies in Poland, saying the invasion had tested the world but Washington and its allies had shown they would defend democracy. Loading He rejected Russias assertion that the West was seeking to control or destroy Russia, and accused Moscow of crimes against humanity such as targeting civilians and rape. Russia denies committing war crimes or deliberately attacking civilians. NATO allies and other supporters have sent Ukraine tens of billions of dollars worth of arms and ammunition. Since the new year they have promised modern battle tanks, though they have yet to offer Western fighter jets sought by Kyiv. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Beijing against supplying weapons to Moscow, prompting anger from China.
Fighting in Ukraine Loading Russia suffered three major battlefield setbacks in Ukraine last year but still controls nearly a fifth of the country. It has launched a massive offensive in recent weeks in the east, so far making only marginal gains despite some of the heaviest losses of the war. Ukraines military said Bakhmut city, the focus of Russian advances in the eastern region of Donetsk, came under shelling, along with 20 other settlements in the area. The governor of the neighbouring Luhansk region said Ukraine had repelled intense Russian attacks around the town of Kreminna further north, destroying several of their tanks.
The breakthrough failed, the situation stabilised, Serhiy Haidai said on Ukrainian television. Two civilians were killed in Russian shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, and two were wounded in a missile strike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, regional officials said. Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. The biggest land war in Europe since World War Two has displaced millions, left cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy. The UN rights office has recorded more than 8000 civilians killed, a figure it describes as the tip of the iceberg. Reuters
A recently formed armed group based in the Old City of Nablus called the Lions Den, which has surged in prominence over the past months, confirmed the militants were its members. During the raid, the military said armed men in the city shot heavily towards the forces, which responded with live fire. It said others hurled rocks and explosives at the troops. The military released a video taken from inside an armoured vehicle as crowds of Palestinian youths pelt it with stones. There were no Israeli casualties. Demonstrator burns tires during a protest against the Israeli military raid. Credit: AP Time-stamped security footage widely shared online appeared to show two unarmed young men running down a street. Gunshots are heard, and both fall to the ground, with ones hat flying off his head. Both bodies remained still. Hecht called the video problematic, and said the military was looking into it.
In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been the large home in the centuries-old marketplace. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 102 people were wounded, and six of them were in critical condition. Various Palestinian militant groups claimed six of the dead including the three from Lions Den targeted in the raid as members. But two men, ages 72 and 61, were also killed. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups. Palestinians carry the body of man who was killed in the clashes. Credit: AP Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 people in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. The following day, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people. Days later, five Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli arrest raid elsewhere in the West Bank. That was followed by a Palestinian car ramming that killed three Israelis, including two young brothers, in Jerusalem.
The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new hard-line government took office. The government is dominated by ultra-nationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence. Loading Israeli police announced they were beefing up forces and going on heightened alert in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The cabinet includes a number of West Bank settler leaders, one of whom has been promised authority over settlement construction. Yesha, the settlement council, announced that Israeli planning officials had granted approval to nearly 2,000 new homes in settlements across the West Bank. The defence body that grants the approvals, the Civil Administration, said the meeting was still underway on Wednesday and that an announcement would only be issued on Thursday, after the two-day session is over.
The Palestinians and most of the international community say settlements built on occupied lands are illegal and obstacles to peace. Over 700,000 settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The Israeli decision comes in the wake of the UN presidential statement that strongly criticised settlements. The US blocked what would have been a legally binding council resolution. American diplomats claimed to have extracted an Israeli pledge to halt unilateral action in order to block the resolution. The approval of new settlements by Israel would appear to defy that claim. In the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group issued a veiled threat following the Nablus raid. The resistance in Gaza is observing the enemys escalating crimes against our people in the occupied West Bank, and its patience is running out, said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the group.
Late Wednesday, Palestinian activists burned tires along Gazas frontier with Israel in protest. Hamas has battled Israel in four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, and Israeli officials have expressed concerns about rising tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in the second half of March. At least 55 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, a pace that could exceed last years death toll. Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group BTselem. Israel says that most of those killed have been militants but others including youths protesting the incursions and other people not involved in confrontations have also been killed. An AP tally has found that just under half of those killed belonged to militant groups. Israel says the military raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks while the Palestinians view them as further entrenchment of Israels open-ended, 55-year occupation.
East Palestine, Ohio: The company responsible for the toxic train derailment that has left an American Midwest town gasping for fresh air has been fined millions of dollars in the past, including for other deadly and dangerous chemical spills.
Two weeks after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous material came off the tracks in East Palestine, Ohio, locals say they are still feeling the effects, from respiratory problems and rashes to headaches and unusual odours.
Moo Blake has been diagnosed with acute bronchitis caused by the chemical fumes inhaled after the train derailment in East Palestine. Credit: Joe Appel
I never had a breathing problem before, Ive never had an asthma inhaler, and now Im constantly catching my breath, says 40-year-old Moo Blake, who ended up hospitalised from the chemical fumes and has since been diagnosed with acute bronchitis. We didnt ask for any of this.
The disaster took place on February 3 when a train about 2.7 kilometres long barrelled through the small rural town of about 4700 people near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The train had about 20 cars of hazardous material such as vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, which are used to make plastic. Eleven of those cars derailed.
Pond Island:--- TelEm Group CEO, Mr. Kendall Dupersoy has been elected to the board of CANTO (Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organization). The appointment was made during the 39th annual general meeting of CANTO in Suriname earlier this month. According to Mr. Dupersoy, the nomination was prompted by board member Mrs. Helma Etnel, who will be standing down from the board in keeping with her retirement from the TelEm Group of companies to make way for a new CFO next month.
CANTO, a non-profit association that holds annual telecommunication conferences in island member countries, is made up of operators, organizations, companies, and individuals in the ITC sector. The association has a Caribbean focus on dealing with ITC issues for the region but with a global perspective. Included in the services offered by CANTO are their annual conference and trade exhibition, annual general meeting, ITC training and workshops, and various ITC publications.
Mr. Dupersoy says he is honored to maintain a TelEm Group presence at the board level of CANTO and that the regional telecommunication organization will continue to play an important role in telecommunication development in the Caribbean region.
Regional operators can benefit much by cooperating and partnering in various areas of telecommunications, particularly when it comes to maintaining products and services and revenues in a fast-changing telecommunication market, said Mr. Dupersoy.
The CEO says TelEms Group rollout of a fiber optic infrastructure is quite advanced when compared with fiber networks in other Caribbean islands therefore the company can already offer much assistance in the way of advice to its regional neighbors based on lessons learned.
We are continuing to look at different ways of working closer in the Caribbean telecommunication-wise, said Mr. Dupersoy citing partnering with operators on the French side of the island in a new internet exchange initiative and closer to home, the companys own IPTV system which has prioritized making regional broadcasts an important part of the companys IPTV program lineup.
Mrs. Etnel has over the years worked very closely with CANTO and I would very much like to maintain that relationship as a new board member to the benefit to TelEm Group, its employees and St. Maarten generally, said Mr. Dupersoy.
Copper plays a key role in the energy transition
There are several reasons why the copper price should pick up again. Last year, the metal faced headwinds from closures in China caused by the pandemic. But this obstacle has now fallen away. China\-s opening should again create increased demand for copper. Over the past 40 years, China\-s copper demand has increased eightfold. The country is subsidizing the purchase of electric vehicles and a booming auto industry now exists in this sector. Fast-charging stations and electric vehicles consume large amounts of copper in the manufacturing process. In addition, there is demand from the wind and solar energy sectors, and geothermal plants also require copper. This is also an area that China is pushing. Clean power generation is also a major issue in the U.S. and Europe. Five times as often, the metal is used in renewable energy systems compared to fossil and nuclear energy sources. By 2040, copper demand is estimated to increase by more than 50 percent.
The most important copper supplier is Chile. Peru is in second place. The unrest in Peru continues and seems to have restricted production even more in February than in January. For example, two important mines are severely hampered by roadblocks. This is now increasing concerns that there could be a temporary halt in production, which in turn could make copper more expensive. In the longer term, copper investments should be a good idea for investors. Torq Resources https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/mining-newsflash-with-vizsla-silver-torq-resources-first-tin-sibanye-stillwater-and-mawson-gold/ or Hannan Metals https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/hannan-metals-planning-drill-program-after-positive-airborne-survey-at-valiente-in-peru/ would come to mind. Despite the unrest, Hannan Metals has been very active on its prospective San Martin copper-silver project in the Andes Mountains of Peru. There is also the County Clare zinc-silver project in Ireland. Torq Resources has been active in copper and gold in Chile. Surface exploration is currently underway at the Santa Cecilia gold-copper project.
Current corporate information and press releases from Torq Resources (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/torq-resources-inc/ ) and Hannan Metals (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/hannan-metals-ltd/ ).
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This decision is another unobjectionable international legal basis, implying that the people of Artsakh, subjected to racial discrimination and hatred, cannot live within Azerbaijan,
February 22, 2023, 20:52 This decision is another unobjectionable international legal basis that Artsakh people cannot live within Azerbaijan. President Harutyunyan
STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 22, ARTSAKHPRESS: Artsakh Republic President Arayik Harutyunyan wrote on his Facebook page, referring to the decision of the International Court of Justice.
''The UN International Court of Justice satisfied the demand of Armenia a while ago and obliged Azerbaijan not to obstruct the free movement of people, transport and cargo along the "Lachin Corridor" in both directions.
On behalf of the authorities and people of Artsakh, I would like to express special gratitude to Yeghishe Kirakosyan, representative on International Legal Matters of the Republic of Armenia, to all those involved in this proceeding for their most important mission.
This decision is another unobjectionable international legal basis, implying that the people of Artsakh, subjected to racial discrimination and hatred, cannot live within Azerbaijan.
Vizsla Silver Provides 2022 Year-End Summary and 2023 Outlook
Vizsla Silver Corp. (TSX-V: VZLA) (NYSE: VZLA) (Frankfurt: 0G3) (aVizslaa or the aCompanya https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/vizsla-silver-corp/ ) is pleased to provide a year-end summary of its activities at its flagship Panuco silver-gold property (the aPropertya or aPanucoa) located in Sinaloa, Mexico and outline the Companya?s key objectives/milestones for 2023.
2022 Year in Review:
a2022 was an exciting year of exploration and growth at Panuco,a commented Michael Konnert, President & CEO. aIn March of 2022, we published our initial mineral resource estimate centered on the western portion of the Panuco district. We then continued our aggressive exploration campaign, which included over 121,000 metres of new diamond drilling, culminating in an updated resource estimate released in January 2023. Relative to the maiden estimate, the latter update highlighted a significant increase in both the Projecta?s contained silver and gold ounces as well as the overall grade. Additionally, newly discovered near-surface, high-grade structures continue to demonstrate the growth potential outboard of the known resource boundaries. On the corporate side, Vizsla successfully raised over $35M in equity financings in 2022 and an additional $45M in early 2023 to fund ongoing exploration/development at Panuco. This, along with several new additions to our technical and senior management team, put us in a position of strength as the Project enters the next phase of development. For 2023, our focus is on incremental expansion and de-risking of the current resource base. With a fully funded +90,000 metre drill program utilizing seven drill rigs, we plan to update the current Panuco resource estimate in the second half of 2023, which will be followed in due course by an initial Preliminary Economic Assessment.a
2022 Highlights & Discoveries:
The bulk of 2022 drilling was centred on the western portion of the district, focused on upgrading and expanding resources at the Copala and Napoleon areas. At Copala, mineralization has now been traced over 1,150 meters along strike, 400 meters down dip, and remains open to the north and southeast. Copala hosts an indicated resource of 51 Moz AgEq and inferred resource of 55 Moz AgEq based on 80 holes completed to date.
At Napoleon, drilling throughout 2022 successfully expanded mineralization along strike and down plunge to the south as well as identified several vein splays situated in the hanging wall and footwall of the main structure. Napoleon hosts an indicated resource of 37 Moz AgEq and inferred resource of 17 Moz AgEq based on 258 holes completed to date.
Other notable discoveries include the Cristiano Vein; marked by high precious metal grades up to 1,935 g/t Ag and 15.47 g/t Au over 1.46 metres, located immediately adjacent to Copala; and La Luisa Vein, located ~700 metres west of Napoleon which continues to display similar silver and gold zonation as that seen at Napoleon.
Table of Top 20 Drill Composites of 2022, ordered from highest to lowest grade AgEq.
Aside from resource/discovery focused drilling, Vizsla continued to de-risk the Project through ongoing engineering and environmental programs, including geotechnical and hydrological studies, effectively laying the foundation for future development and subsequent production at Panuco.
Other notable project level accomplishments:
Detailed geological mapping focused on the western and central portions of the Panuco district (45% of the district has been mapped at a scale of 1:1,000); Cumulative known/inferred vein strike has increased by ~15% (75km to 86km).
A LiDar survey covering ~6,200 Ha of the property to be utilized in geologic-resource modelling and future planning of mine and plant infrastructure. A Additionally, these high-resolution products (elevation model and orthophotos) are being used to speed up prospecting and mapping activities.
Achieved a safety record of one million working hours without a lost time incident. A Additionally, Vizslaa?s Mexican subsidiary, Minera CANAM, was awarded the Socially Responsible Company Distinction (ESR). This is Mexico\-s highest corporate social responsibility recognition, awarded jointly by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (CEMEFI) and the Foundation for Sustainability and Equity (ALIARSE). It is given to companies that are leaders in their sector for their commitment to integrating social and environmental values into their operations.
Continued property expansion through acquisition, eight claims for combined 290.6 ha.
Advanced discussions with local Ejido communities, now securing 30-year operating agreements with four primary groups. Social baseline studies and public consultation completed for the five ejidos proximal to the Panuco Project.
Vizsla and Minera CANAM outreach support programs included two community Health Fairs, covering the main communities around the project, whereby more than 300 people were able to access medical care from doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals.
On the corporate side, Vizsla further strengthened its management team and board in 2022 by adding several experienced mining professionals including David Cobbold (Director), Martin Dupuis (promoted to COO), Jesus Velador (VP, Exploration), and Fernando Martinez (Director, Projects).
In late 2022, Vizsla announced it had entered into a definitive agreement with Prismo Metals Inc., a local mineral exploration company co-founded and advised by Dr. Peter Megaw, whereby Vizsla would make a strategic investment in Prismo in return for 4,000,000 Prismo units and a right of first refusal on Prismoa?s flagship Palos Verde project (see press release dated November 24, 2022). Additionally, in connection with the strategic investment, Prismo and Vizsla have agreed to form a technical committee to pursue district-scale exploration of the Panuco silver-gold district. The strategic investment closed in early 2023.
2023 Outlook
While 2022 focused on broad exploration and growth, the primary focus for 2023 is incremental expansion and de-risking of the Panuco Projecta?s resource base. With a +90,000 meter fully funded drill program designed to 1) grow the resources within the Copala and Napoleon areas located in the western portion of the district and 2) test high priority targets proximal to current resource areas, Vizsla aims to increase its potentially minable resources and identify new centers of mineralization from which to delineate additional resources.
For 2023, a total of seven diamond drill rigs will be active on the property (four focused on upgrading and expanding the current resource base in the western portion of the district and three devoted to exploration). Exploration drills will focus on priority targets proximal to current resources in the west, as well as on other high-priority targets in the central portion of the district. Vizsla recently acquired a Terraspec ASD device to be able to map alteration minerals with more accuracy and define levels of mineralization and vectors across the property. This new tool in combination with geologic mapping, geochemistry and LiDar will help aid Vizsla geologists in unlocking PanucoAs full potential.
Resource Extension Targets
The Copala structure remains open along strike, north and south, and late last year, the team identified exploration-potential for additional Copala mineralization in an uplifted block (faulted block) east of the main Copala deposit.
Cristiano is a narrow epithermal vein located to the adjacent west of Copala. This year Vizsla intends to continue the exploration and resource expansion to the northwest and southeast.
At Napoleon, Vizsla plans to conduct infill and resource expansion drilling targeting the southern vein splays as well as the main Napoleon structure during 2023.
Proximal Targets
La Luisa a relatively new conceptual target, where initial near surface drilling shows narrow and incipient veining hosted in rhyolite tuffs. Last year Vizsla geologists interpreted that the surface expressions of La Luisa could be the top of the vein system, similar in zonation to that observed at Napoleon. Based on encouraging results from deeper drilling, Vizsla plans to continue exploring the resource potential at La Luisa.
4 de Mayo another relatively new target located west of Napoleon, was identified by Vizsla in 2022. Although still in early days, initial results justify further exploration to determine the prospectivity of 4 de Mayo.
Cruz Negra a northwest trending structure which splays off from Napoleon. Open-ended intercepts completed in 2022 indicate the mineralization continues to the northwest in the direction of the Alacran prospect. In 2023, Vizsla plans to drill test the gap between Cruz Negra and Alacran.
District Targets
Beyond the resource expansion and proximal exploration targets, the district remains vastly underexplored. Notable district-wide targets include; Santa Rosa (Central Area), La Bomba (Central Area), Verdosilla (Central Area), Oregano (East Area), Regina (East Area), and La Whicha (East Area).
Key objectives for 2023
Complete +90,000 meters of resource/discovery focused drilling
Complete preliminary metallurgical testing on representative samples from Copala in Q2 2023
Deliver initial company/project sustainability report in H2 2023
Provide updated resource estimate in H2 2023
About the Panuco project
The newly consolidated Panuco silver-gold project is an emerging high-grade discovery located in southern Sinaloa, Mexico, near the city of MazatlAn. The 6,761-hectare, past producing district benefits from over 86 kilometres of total vein extent, 35 kilometres of underground mines, roads, power, and permits.
The district contains intermediate to low sulfidation epithermal silver and gold deposits related to siliceous volcanism and crustal extension in the Oligocene and Miocene. Host rocks are mainly continental volcanic rocks correlated to the Tarahumara Formation.
The Panuco Project hosts an estimated in-situ indicated mineral resource of 104.8 Moz AgEq and an in-situ inferred resource of 114.1 Moz AgEq. An updated NI 43-101 technical report for the Panuco Project with the updated Mineral Resource Estimate is being prepared and expected to be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of our recent Mineral Resource Update published on January 24, 2023.
About Vizsla Silver
Vizsla is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, focused on advancing its flagship, 100%-owned Panuco silver-gold project located in Sinaloa, Mexico. To date, Vizsla has completed over 250,000 metres of drilling at Panuco leading to the discovery of several new high-grade veins. For 2023, Vizsla has budgeted +90,000 metres of resource/discovery-based drilling designed to upgrade and expand the mineral resource, as well as test other high priority targets across the district.
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
Drill core and rock samples were shipped to ALS Limited in Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico and in North Vancouver, Canada for sample preparation and for analysis at the ALS laboratory in North Vancouver.A The ALS Zacatecas and North Vancouver facilities are ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17025 certified. Silver and base metals were analyzed using a four-acid digestion with an ICP finish and gold was assayed by 30-gram fire assay with atomic absorption (aAAa) spectroscopy finish. Over limit analyses for silver, lead and zinc were re-assayed using an ore-grade four-acid digestion with AA finish.
Control samples comprising certified reference samples, duplicates and blank samples were systematically inserted into the sample stream and analyzed as part of the Companya?s quality assurance / quality control protocol.
Qualified Person
In accordance with NI 43-101, Martin Dupuis, P.Geo., COO, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has reviewed and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release.
Information Concerning Estimates of Mineral Resources
The scientific and technical information in this news release was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 which differs significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the aSECa). The terms \measured mineral resource\, \indicated mineral resource\ and \inferred mineral resource\ used herein are in reference to the mining terms defined in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Standards (the aCIM Definition Standardsa), which definitions have been adopted by NI 43-101. Accordingly, information contained herein providing descriptions of our mineral deposits in accordance with NI 43-101 may not be comparable to similar information made public by other U.S. companies subject to the United States federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
You are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral resources will ever be converted into reserves. Pursuant to CIM Definition Standards, ainferred mineral resourcesa are that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Such geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity. An inferred mineral resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an indicated mineral resource and must not be converted to a mineral reserve. However, it is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with continued exploration. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of acontained ouncesa in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute areservesa by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures.
Canadian standards, including the CIM Definition Standards and NI 43-101, differ significantly from standards in the SEC Industry Guide 7. Effective February 25, 2019, the SEC adopted new mining disclosure rules under subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the aSEC Modernization Rulesa), with compliance required for the first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021. The SEC Modernization Rules replace the historical property disclosure requirements included in SEC Industry Guide 7. As a result of the adoption of the SEC Modernization Rules, the SEC now recognizes estimates of ameasured mineral resourcesa, aindicated mineral resourcesa and ainferred mineral resourcesa. Information regarding mineral resources contained or referenced herein may not be comparable to similar information made public by companies that report according to U.S. standards. While the SEC Modernization Rules are purported to be asubstantially similara to the CIM Definition Standards, readers are cautioned that there are differences between the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM Definitions Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any mineral resources that the Company may report as ameasured mineral resourcesa, aindicated mineral resourcesa and ainferred mineral resourcesa under NI 43-101 would be the same had the Company prepared the resource estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules.
Contact Information: For more information and to sign-up to the mailing list, please contact:
Michael Konnert, President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: (604) 364-2215
Email: info@vizslasilver.caA
Website: www.vizslasilvercorp.caA A
In Europe:
Swiss Resource Capital AG
Jochen Staiger
info@resource-capital.ch
www.resource-capital.ch
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.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release includes certain aForward?Looking Statementsa within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and aforward?looking informationa under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words aanticipatea, abelievea, aestimatea, aexpecta, atargeta, aplana, aforecasta, amaya, awoulda, acoulda, aschedulea and similar words or expressions, identify forward?looking statements or information. These forward?looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the exploration, development, and production at Panuco, including plans for resource/discovery-based drilling, designed to upgrade, and expand the maiden resource as well as test other high priority targets across the district.
Forward?looking statements and forward?looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, enhanced value and capital markets profile of Vizsla Silver, future growth potential for Vizsla Silver and its business, and future exploration plans are based on managementa?s reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on managementa?s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of silver, gold, and other metals; no escalation in the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; Vizsla Silvera?s ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms.
These statements reflect Vizsla Silvera?s respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward?looking statements or forward-looking information and Vizsla Silver has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the Company\-s dependence on one mineral project; precious metals price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Company\-s mining activities in Mexico; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to reliance on the Company\-s management team and outside contractors; risks regarding mineral resources and reserves; the Company\-s inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects, including the inaccuracy of reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries and capital and operating costs of such projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of COVID-19; the economic and financial implications of COVID-19 to the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; the Company\-s interactions with surrounding communities and artisanal miners; the Company\-s ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and the factors identified under the caption aRisk Factorsa in Vizsla Silvera?s management discussion and analysis. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward?looking statements or forward-looking information. Although Vizsla Silver has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. Vizsla Silver does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward?looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.
Digital pest control: Bayern Kapital and Born2Grow participate in seed financing round of traplinked
Posted by Publisher Internet
Bayern Kapital, one of the most active and experienced investors in Germanya?s high-tech financing market, and seed fund BORN2GROW, which specialises in fast-growing start-ups in innovative technologies, have aquired a joint stake in traplinked. The Nuremberg-based start-up develops permanent monitoring systems and networked traps for combatting and monitoring rats, mice, insects and other pests. Several business angels are also committed to the investment, which has a total value of EUR 2.3 million.
traplinked GmbH was established by Tim Kirchhof in Nuremberg in 2019. The company produces remotely monitored automatic pest traps as well as supporting software that performs all of the clerical work associated with pest control systems, from infestation and treatment documentation through routine operational planning and monitoring to invoicing. The idea for the start-up had its genesis during the foundera?s working student activity in a pest business. While he was working there, Kirchhof recognised the enormous potential to automate operations, particularly for the monotonous daily handling of trap boxes that had not recorded any catches.
Since then, traplinked has made a significant contribution to the digitisation of the pest control industry by combining wireless communication and sensor technology. The intelligent JERRY and TOM sensor modules monitor and document the condition of trap boxes with real-time notifications across multiple sites, making snap traps a time- and cost-effective method for tackling all kinds of pests. This enables significant reductions in food losses, the spread of diseases and the use of controversial poisoned baits, which present a lot of risks and downsides.
traplinked has now sold more than 55,000 sensor modules throughout Europe. The new funds will be used to further pursue the companya?s internationalisation strategy and to expand its hardware, particularly in the fields of connectivity and artificial intelligence for automatic data processing. A further focus will be on the monetisation of the companya?s in-house traplinked software.
Daniel Pelikan, CEO of traplinked, notes: aThe hardware was our entry to the market. We have implemented it very successfully. This fresh capital will now enable us to focus on the software. Our goal is to generate around 1,000,000 ARR by 2024.a
Manuel BAhringer, BORN2GROW Investment Manager, adds: aPest control offers huge market potential. We have no doubt that we can revolutionise the market for digital pest control by working together with traplinkeda?s strong founding team.a
aAs the planet heats up, it will become more and more important a and more and more difficult a to curb the impact of pestsa, notes Monika Steger, Director of Bayern Kapital. aWe are delighted to support the company with this stake. By avoiding the use of poisoned baits and other toxins, traplinked applies a sustainable approach that is in tune with the times.a
About traplinked Gmbh:
traplinked develops digital pest control solutions. Networked trap boxes and the traplinked app save pest controllers time, enabling them to offer an outstanding service to their clients across all industrial sectors. The objective is to make trap boxes a time- and cost-efficient pest control method. The use of traps currently involves substantial personnel costs as the traps need to be inspected on a daily basis. This is where traplinkeda?s digital solution comes in: A wireless communication system, in combination with sensor technology, monitors and documents incidents of pest infestation, even across multiple sites.
www.traplinked.com
About BORN2GROW
BORN2GROW (B2G) is a Heilbronn-based and internationally active seed fund that focuses on investments in high-growth startups in forward-looking technologies such as Life Sciences, CleanTech, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, IoT, Hardware & Robotics and Software. B2G was founded in 2013 and supports its portfolio companies with capital, know-how and its extensive network. Since its foundation, the fund has actively supported more than 25 portfolio companies. B2G works together with other VC funds and business angels. B2G is a subsidiary of ZFHN Zukunftsfonds Heilbronn, a family office that focuses on networking activities and investments in the Heilbronn-Franken region. In this context, the cooperation between national and international start-ups and medium-sized companies from the region is intensified.
About Bayern Kapital:
Bayern Kapital GmbH, based in Landshut (Germany), is the venture/growth capital company of the Free State of Bavaria. It supports innovative high-tech companies in Bavaria through their various growth phases, from seed to later stage, with equity capital from EUR 0.25 to 25 million. Bayern Kapital often closes gaps in the VC area in proven consortium arrangements with private investors (business angels, family offices and corporate ventures).
Bayern Kapital manages specialist investment funds with a volume of around EUR 700 million. Since its formation in 1995 at the initiative of the state government, the wholly-owned subsidiary of LfA Foerderbank Bayern has invested around EUR 400 million of its own equity capital so far in around 300 start-ups and scale-ups from industries such as life sciences, software & IT, materials & new materials, nanotechnology and environmental technology. More than 8,000 long-term jobs in sustainable companies have been created in Bavaria. The active portfolio currently comprises around 80 companies.
Examples of the many ground-breaking success stories that Bayern Kapital has already supported at an early stage include EOS (now the worlda?s leading technology provider in industrial 3D printing of metals and plastics), Proglove, Fazua, SimScale, Scompler, egym, Parcellab, Cobrainer, Quantum Systems, Casavi, Theva, Riskmethods, Tubulis, Catalym, Immunic, Sirion and many more.
www.bayernkapital.de
Gold Royalty to release quarterly operating and financial results on March 27, 2023
Gold Royalty Corp. (aGold Royaltya or the aCompanya https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/gold-royalty-corp/ ) (NYSE American: GROY) will release its quarterly financial and operating results for the three months ending December 31, 2022 on Monday, March 27, 2023, after market close. As previously announced, the Company is changing its fiscal year end to December 31 commencing in 2023 to better align with the reporting cycle of our peers.
An investor webcast will be held on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 starting at 11:00 am ET (8:00 am PT) to discuss these results. Management will be providing an update to interested stakeholders on the Companya?s quarterly results including key recent catalysts that have been announced on the assets underlying the Companya?s royalties. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session where participants will be able to ask any questions they may have of management.
To register for the investor webcast, please click the link below: https://www.bigmarker.com/vid-conferences/GoldRoyalty-Mar-2023-Results-Webcast
About Gold Royalty Corp.
Gold Royalty Corp. is a gold-focused royalty company offering creative financing solutions to the metals and mining industry. Its mission is to invest in high-quality, sustainable, and responsible mining operations to build a diversified portfolio of precious metals royalty and streaming interests that generate superior long-term returns for our shareholders. Gold Royalty\-s diversified portfolio currently consists primarily of net smelter return royalties on gold properties located in the Americas.
Gold Royalty Corp.
Peter Behncke
Manager, Corporate Development & Investor Relations
Telephone: (833) 396-3066
Email: info@goldroyalty.com
In Europe:
Swiss Resource Capital AG
Jochen Staiger & Marc Ollinger
info@resource-capital.ch
www.resource-capital.ch
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:
Certain of the information contained in this news release constitutes \-forward-looking information\- and aforward-looking statementsa? within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws (\forward-looking statements\) which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company\-s actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Such statements can be generally identified by the use of terms such as \may\, \will\, \expect\, \intend\, \believe\, \plans\, \anticipate\ or similar terms. Forward-looking statements are based upon certain assumptions, other important factors, and subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and other factors set forth in the Company\-s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended September 30, 2022 and its other publicly filed documents under its profiles at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
The Cayuga Lake Rabbit & Cavy Show will return to Fingerlakes Mall this weekend with more than 1,000 rabbits, guinea pigs and more.
The 15th annual show will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25 and 26, at the Event Center at the mall, 1579 Clark St. Road, Aurelius. Admission is free and open to the public.
There will be rabbit and cavy shows both days, including all-breed shows both days and a rare breed rabbit show on Sunday featuring Argente brun, English/French lop, Jersey wooly, Netherland dwarf and more.
For more information, visit fingerlakesmall.com or cayugafestival.net.
A Brooklyn artist's examination of the dissonance in family photos will be on display at Wells College beginning Thursday, Feb. 23.
Rowan Renee's "That Day, We Looked Happy" will open with a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 that evening, including an artist talk and walk-through at 5 p.m., at the college's String Room Gallery, 170 Main St., Aurora.
Renee's kiln-formed glass "album pages" in "That Day" were created from photos and documents they inherited from their father after his death in prison, according to a news release from the college. The artist recomposed the images, which span their father's three marriages from the 1940s to the 2000s, to call attention to the dissonance between the nostalgia they depict and the invisible forces of generational trauma.
"By retelling their family history to openly acknowledge family secrets, Renee envisions the artistic process as an important tool for processing complex grief, and forging new pathways to healing," Wells said.
Originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, Renee explores how queer identity is mediated by the law in their work. They collect imagery, text and documents that address "the intergenerational impact of gender-based violence and incarceration," and use analog techniques like darkroom photography and stained glass to "engage their genderqueer body in labor that materially transforms histories of trauma."
"Installed as immersive installations, these artifacts become counter-archives that complicate official narratives of truth and justice," Renee's artist statement said.
"That Day, We Looked Happy" will be on display in the String Room Gallery through March 16. The gallery's hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays and Wednesdays, and 4:30 to 7 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit wells.edu/string-room-gallery.
In his memoir, "If You Survive," 2nd Lt. George Wilson describes how, on his third day of combat in Normandy July 28, 1944 he faced his most serious problem yet. His platoon has been reduced from 40 to 19. (Eight were shot while riding on a tank.) His two sergeants are nowhere to be seen. Wilson has orders to move forward, but no soldier volunteers to be lead scout. One soldier has broken down and is uncontrollably sobbing. The others looked sick, would not meet Wilsons gaze. How one deals with a depleted platoon had never been discussed in Officer Candidate School, Wilson recalled.
Wilson gives orders: The sobbing trooper is sent to the rear with a medic. Following a hunch, Wilson promotes Pvt. Phearson to the rank of sergeant. Phearson requires some convincing, but he accepts. Quickly they form the others into two columns, with extra grenades, and move out. One piece of advice from Benning held: Do something; do anything, but do something! It may confuse the enemy.
Wilson notes that most soldiers do their jobs. Some break down, and some fake breakdowns, hoping to be sent to the rear. Wilson has sometimes to take on the role of drama critic, he notes wryly.
Early in July, a colonel had described the situation: German resistance is very stubborn. They have machine gun nests at the corner of every hedgerow. Men will follow a leader, and I expect my platoon leaders to be right up front. Losses could be very high. If you survive your first battle, Ill promote you. Good luck! Despite the intestinal stirrings of fear" or perhaps because of them Wilson gets busy. He memorizes the names of the 40 men in his platoon, so as to call them by name on the next day. Gradually he learns to put mistakes and losses out of mind and concentrate on what has to done in the present.
Nothing is more terrifying to infantrymen, Wilson writes, than an artillery barrage. All you can do is flop flat on the ground. The air is full of machine gun fire, rifle fire and shrapnel from exploding shells. Not getting hit is a matter of luck. Advancing on foot behind tanks afford some protection, but tanks are vulnerable to anti-tank weapons. Just as terrifying are fields sown with landmines.
There are days without combat. A freshly-killed cow a war casualty furnishes steaks. When the farmer demands payment, he is sent to a major in military government, to work something out, Wilson writes. They come upon a farm with enormous barrels of hard cider and enjoy another feast. One soldier finds a dairy farmer who offers him a glass of milk. The others catch on, and soon the generous farmer has given away his days production.
Before the platoon leaves Normandy, they have to shoot a Frenchwoman who has been shooting at them. It seems the father of her children was a German soldier, and he was killed right in the yard of their farmhouse, Wilson notes.
The infantryman functions in squalor. He wears the same clothes for weeks on end. Showers are unheard of, bathing rare. He can carry only so much water, and thirst can be torture. For food he must make do with K-rations: biscuits, a can of Spam, powdered beverage. He sleeps in a fox hole in 5 inches of rainwater if he sleeps. The stench of unburied battlefield dead fills the air.
Wilsons war comes to an end in early February 1945, near the Siegfried Line, where one of his big toes catches a piece of shrapnel. He has a successful recovery and a series of easy assignments, including one training Black troops, an uncomfortable reminder that this is a segregated army. He has been promoted to first lieutenant but denied captains rank. He has three years service, 15 months overseas, five major campaigns, three Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars and one Silver Star.
On leave in Paris before shipping home, Wilson is almost refused entry to an officers club because he is wearing his Eisenhower jacket, not formal pinks and greens. The Army, he concludes, is about rank rather than experience. As for war, Perhaps members of Congress should serve automatically as front-line troops. That will not happen, so "young men are destined to carry out, mostly without question, the plans and orders of their seniors, he concludes.
Wilson returns to the states, marries his fiancee and looks forward to a career selling insurance.
US ambassador in Bucharest Kathleen Kavalec on Wednesday visited the centre for Ukrainian refugees at Romexpo, saying that although the war continues, we know that these people find safety and help there, told Agerpres.
The American diplomat toured the centre together with head of the Department for Emergency Management Raed Arafat and state adviser Madalina Turza.
The ambassador said that at the Romexpo centre, people who fled the war found a safe place and support.
She also emphasised the significance of the recent visit by US President Joe Biden to Kyiv, which shows solidarity with the Ukrainian people and the support of the US.
Kavalec also spoke about what is happening in Russia, calling Russia's action a sign of weakness, strategic weakness, lack of vision and cruelty as it is continuing this senseless, barbaric and inhumane war against the Ukrainian people.
According to UNHCR, between 300 and 500 people a day, mostly women and children, come to the integrated service centre for those fleeing the war in Ukraine to receive assistance with documents, financial assistance and medical assistance. The newest space is dedicated to mothers. There is also a playground where children can stay as long as the adults fill out the necessary forms.
At the centre opened in April 2022, almost a month after the start of the war, Ukrainians can register for temporary protection, which is recognised throughout the entire European Union, or request financial assistance. Children can also attend school classes in Romania.
Over 113,000 Ukrainians have received temporary protection in Romania. Of these, almost 110,000 remained in the country, and most of them are registered in Bucharest. Over 43,000 Ukrainians have received financial assistance, with 60% of them registering for that at Romexpo.
Leaders of the Bucharest 9 Format (B9) adopted on Wednesday a joint statement in which they call Russia the most significant and direct threat to NATO security, saying that in order to protect their populations and territory, the Allies will continue to reinforce their deterrence and defense posture across the entire Eastern flank, told Agerpres.
"A year ago, Russia ravaged peace and security in Europe by trying to subdue Ukraine by force. Kremlin's actions led to a drastic degradation of the security environment in the Euro-Atlantic area, also gravely deteriorating the security of our partners. Russia is the most significant and direct threat to Allied security. In response to Russia's bloody war of aggression, Allies reacted decisively in a united and responsible manner. To protect their populations and territory, Allies are committed to implementing the new baseline for NATO's deterrence and defense posture and to enhancing Allied military presence in our countries," reads the statement adopted by the heads of state or government of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.
The national leaders of the B9 Format say that NATO is a defensive alliance. "In Madrid, we agreed on forward defenses with robust in-place, multi-domain, combat-ready forces to remain credible and capable of denying any potential adversary any possible opportunity for aggression."
"In the run-up to the Vilnius summit, we will continue to reinforce our deterrence and defense posture across the entire Eastern flank from the Baltic to the Black Sea. NATO and its Article 5 commitment to defend each other stand as the backbone of Euro-Atlantic security."
The B9 leaders reaffirm their commitment to the Open Door policy, recalling that in Madrid, Finland and Sweden were invited to join the Alliance.
"We look forward to welcoming them soon as NATO Allies."
The B9 heads of state or government condemn Russia's war of aggression in the strongest possible terms.
"Ukraine's civilian death toll is surging due to Russia's indiscriminate missile strikes and deliberate attacks on critical infrastructure, including using the Black Sea as a launchpad. Those responsible for atrocities and war crimes will be held accountable. We are determined to sustain international pressure on Russia. We also condemn all those, including Belarus, who are actively facilitating Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine."
The B9 leaders add in their statement that the future of Ukraine lies in Europe and that they firmly support Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
"In line with the UN Charter and international law, Ukraine is exercising its legitimate right to defend itself against the Russian aggression to regain full control of its territory and has the right to liberate occupied territories within its internationally recognized borders. We will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to this end, as long as necessary. We salute the heroism of Ukrainian people and valiance of their military. We pay tribute to the Ukrainian servicemen and servicewomen defending their freedom and our common values."
The B9 leaders show that they stand ready to cooperate closely and support their partners Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, that are most at risk of Kremlin's destabilizing and malign influence, in the east and the south of the Alliance.
"Russia has gravely miscalculated by invading Ukraine and undermining the rules-based international order. We are stronger and more united than ever, reaffirming the enduring transatlantic bond among our nations. We will continue to strive for peace, security and stability in the whole of the Euro-Atlantic area. We look forward to our next meeting in Bratislava in June, as we approach the NATO summit in Vilnius. "
In the same statement, the B9 leaders welcome the participation of US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the summit, saying it is a "testimony to the strength of the transatlantic bond and underscores NATO's unwavering commitment to defend every inch of Allied territory."
President Klaus Iohannis declared on Wednesday that Romania is willing to support the Republic of Moldova in any scenario, told Agerpres.
"We have no information that practical actions are imminent, but we must not underestimate the importance of these informational attacks, the people of Moldova feel threatened, insecure, if they found out about such intentions," said the head of state at the Romanian Embassy in Warsaw, after the extraordinary meeting of the Bucharest Format 9 (B9).
He showed that in this context, Romania and the Romanians play an important role in giving assurances to the Moldovan citizens that they are with them.
"Romania is not only prepared, it is willing to support Moldova in any scenario." the head of state emphasized.
The extraordinary meeting of the B9 Format, which took place at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, was also attended by the US President, Joe Biden, and the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.
President Klaus Iohannis declared on Wednesday that strengthening the allied position on the Eastern Flank is extremely important and pointed out that many allies have begun to understand the fact that it is necessary that the NATO presence should be increased in this area, told Agerpres.
The President addressed this topic at the Romanian Embassy in Warsaw, after the extraordinary meeting of the Bucharest Format 9 (B9).
"Today, at the Summit, it was not about concrete promises between us, it was about evaluation and about seeing what can be put on the table of the Vilnius Summit and how we can concretely support Ukraine, but yes, the consolidation, the strengthening of the allied position on the Eastern Flank is extremely important to us, and to the Americans, and to everyone else on the Eastern Flank and, why not, in the entire NATO. We have discussed these matters. We will reiterate them until a favorable decision is made, but already many allies have understood why we need to increase the allied presence on the Eastern Flank", the head of state told a press conference.
He explained what the increase of the allied presence on the Eastern Flank means.
"The military force represented by people, the military force represented by everything that is needed for these teams to have the necessary material, and this is where pre-positioning comes in, but it is also necessary to provide consumables - for example, and very importantly, fuel. For this an entire supply network is needed. These things I reiterated today, and I was not the only one, and I am confident that in the future we will find more and more openness to do these things. You know very well that it has already been discussed by last year of the growth of these so-called battle groups to a higher level, there was talk and talk about pre-positioning more and more intensively, and I think that in the end we will convince everyone that this is how things should happen", the head of state explained.
Iohannis also showed that NATO has a strategy on the Black Sea and that the United States is also working on such a strategy, to which Romania will contribute with evaluations and, if necessary, with specialists.
"It is in our interest that the strategy of the United States be strong and contribute to our defense," Iohannis added.
President Klaus Iohannis stated, on Wednesday, that the leaders of the Eastern Flank of NATO have the duty to show firmness in the defense of peace and emphasized that the increased American military presence must continue, told Agerpres.
''The war has brought nothing but suffering and despair, the killing and displacing of millions of Ukrainians, unprecedented destruction and uncertainty. We, the leaders of the Eastern Flank, have the duty to stand firm in defence of our peace. We must continue to stand firm in delivering on our commitments to support Ukraine, for as long as it needs, to win this war. This is what Romania will continue to do. We are not alone in this endeavour. Our effort is one of transatlantic scale and scope,'' President Iohannis said in the opening of the extraordinary meeting of Bucharest 9 Format (B9) in Warsaw.
He welcomed the participation of the US President Joseph Biden in the meeting, showing that it reconfirms the substance of the Bucharest 9 format and the commitment of the American Administration to the security of the Eastern Flank.
''This commitment is very solid and forward-looking: increased US military presence - that needs to continue - and the preparation of a US strategy for the Black Sea. I also welcome the participation of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, for timely and open coordination," President Iohannis said.
According to the head of state, almost one year ago, Russia tried to destroy European and Euro-Atlantic security and the rules-based international order.
''Russia is acting on a pattern of aggressive conduct, which we have already witnessed in the Republic of Moldova, in Georgia and in Ukraine itself,'' added President Iohannis.
He underscored that today, these partners benefit from Allied support for their long-term resilience, which is needed to help them achieve lasting peace, stability, and prosperity.
''To make sure that this brutal war against Ukraine is Russia's final act, we also must be resolute in deterring further aggression and rolling back the current one," Iohannis said.
The President pointed out that NATO is standing strong and showing clear commitment towards Ukraine and its people. He added that the B9 is stronger than ever.
''I thus look forward to continue our coordination on our way to a successful NATO Summit in Vilnius,'' the Romanian President concluded.
At the opening of the B9 summit, which is taking place at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, the presidents of Poland, Andrzej Duda, Slovakia, Zuzana Caputova, USA, Joe Biden, and the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, also delivered speeches.
Access to the internal and external market of Romanian agri-food products must be a strategic objective of the government program, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca declared on Wednesday, stressing the need to develop a national strategy for agriculture and the food industry sector.
The Head of the Executive had an online intervention at the Romanian Agri Trade Summit."Thank you for the opportunity to address you in this meeting intended for farmers, traders, processors and distributors in the international agribusiness sector. (...) I have repeatedly talked with Mr. minister (...) about the concerns that we have, so as to ensure the most efficient development of Romanian agriculture, especially finding solutions to be able to process more in Romania and add greater value to agricultural products. (...) I support the approach to simultaneously increase access to the internal and external markets of Romanian agri-food products. (...) This must be a strategic objective of the government program. In fact, this is how we approach it. From my perspective, I see this whole matter as requiring an approach that will materialize in a strategy for agriculture and the food industry sector at the national level," Ciuca said.He added that Romania has a major logistical advantage, which must be maximized, something that will allow a more applied export orientation towards other areas, such as North Africa, the Middle East and Asia."I have recently visited Egypt and there I had the opportunity to discuss the role that Romania plays in providing agricultural and food products for the population of Egypt, which gives me confidence that we can make bilateral commercial relations even more fruitful with all the other countries that see Romania as a potential business partner in this sector," stated the Prime Minister.He highlighted the importance of continuing public investments for the development of infrastructure in agriculture and industry."We emphasized what the irrigation infrastructure, storage and processing infrastructure mean for both small producers, small farmers, and large ones, and this constitutes a priority direction for Romania. (...) These types of investments are of critical importance and strategic role in the medium and long term for the development and resilience of national food chains, taking into account the consequences of the war in Ukraine and representing a concern not only for this moment, but for what will happen in the future and we must keep this aspect in mind. (...) We must also take into account the natural effects, which last year and two years ago, I mean the drought, as well as the energy crisis we faced, put on the Government's table a series of challenges for which it was necessary to develop a series of programs in order to support the agricultural sector and Romanian farmers," Nicolae Ciuca explained.He mentioned that from the discussions he had with the farmers, he clearly understood that a first step that can be taken at the government level is to provide the main irrigation infrastructure so that they can develop their own capabilities for secondary infrastructure."Basically, for the year 2023, we thought of allocating an amount of 331 million RON, maybe in this way we can reach and, why not, exceed 2 million hectares of irrigated lands," Ciuca added.The Prime Minister also mentioned the government support programs 'Three times the subsidy', Rural Invest and Agro IMM Invest, intended, among other things, to ensure working capital for Romanian farmers.He also recalled that for processors, in 2022, micro-grants were awarded to agri-food entities in the amount of 50 million euros, non-reimbursable funds and grants for working capital of 250 million euros through non-reimbursable external funds."We will continue to do this. (...) We will find the solutions, so that we can consolidate the Romanian capital of those who work particularly in the agricultural field. (...) I hope that in the future, based on this dialogue, we are able to find solutions and support all agricultural workers. (...) Our activity, yours, the farmers', is on an upward trend and it must carry on. (...) Romanian farmers and agribusiness operators are perceived as an extremely important factor in the medium and long-term development of Romania. The state's attention is clearly directed towards agriculture and the food industry, as areas that guarantee national food security, with an important role in what the profiling of our country within the European Union and, I would emphasize, at the regional and global level, means," Prime Minister Ciuca said.
The government will analyse today a memorandum approving a state-aid scheme for business operators investing in spa tourism, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Wednesday, told Agerpres.
"An important document for the business community is the memorandum from the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism, a memorandum approving a state aid scheme that comes to support operators who invest in spa tourism," Ciuca said at the beginning of a government sitting.
He added that the new aid scheme is designed to make Romanian tourism grow in value, taking into account its potential as the efficiency of Romanian tourism right now is very low, because a lot has been haphazardly invested.
"I have discussed with the tourism business community and entrepreneurs, with all those who operate travel businesses or carry out specific activities and we agreed that it would be very appropriate to identify one tourist objective: mountain tourism, spa tourism, Danube Delta tourism or any other area with potential and fund them from the national budget, develop pilot projects as models that will later generate replication schemes in the other locations with tourist potential," said Ciuca.
Tourism Minister Constantin Daniel Cadariu said in his turn that when making its agenda, the ruling coalition pledged to establish a 10-year de minimis scheme to support spa tourism in Romania.
According to Cadariu, this sector is, unfortunately, "lagging behind the most," and this scheme supplements a government decision adopted last month regarding the ministry's investment plan.
According to the minister, the plan has two main directions: ski areas and spa tourism.
"We start from a reality, namely the fact that Romania is first in Europe in terms of mineral resources with therapeutic properties and we have over 100 settlements in Romania that have such resources. Unfortunately, we only have 33 spa resorts and so, through that investment plan, we will also stimulate the establishment of new spa resorts, while private operators can be assisted by investing in their activity. Moreover, it will be the only de minimis scheme designed for tourism investment in the private sector, since there are no such possibilities under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) or the 2021-2027 structural funds for that," said Cadariu.
A boil water order for the town of Genoa was lifted Wednesday.
Residents on public water in the town had been cautioned to boil their water before use following a water main break on Friday, Feb. 17.
The Cayuga County Health Department said a section of the water system lost pressure due to a water main break. When water mains lose pressure, it increases the chance that untreated water and harmful microbes can enter the system.
The health department on Wednesday said that drinking water samples collected on Monday and Tuesday were satisfactory and residents no longer need to boil their water.
Anyone with questions may contact the health department at (315) 253-1560.
President Klaus Iohannis participates on Wednesday, in Warsaw, alongside his Polish counterpart, in the extraordinary meeting of the Bucharest 9 Format (B9), where also invited are the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the NATO Secretary General, Jean Stoltenberg, according to a press release of the Presidential Administration.
The B9 Summit takes places in the context of the completion of one year since the outbreak of Russia's war against Ukraine, on February 24, 2022, and will focus on the continuation of coordination between the Allies on the Eastern Flank of NATO and the US, on the background of the challenges generated by the war.According to the Presidential Administration, the meeting agenda also includes the continuation of the multidimensional support granted to the Allied states, including those participating in the B9 Format, the support for the Euro-Atlantic aspiration, as well as the continuous efforts of NATO to strengthen its deterrence and defence posture on the Eastern Flank.There will also be approached the modalities of sanctioning Russia, through instruments provided by the international law, over its crimes committed in Ukraine. A special attention will be granted to the vulnerable partners, such as the Republic of Moldova, which is facing increased security challenges, says the same source.
The Romanian government on Wednesday approved 200,000 euros being contributed toward co-funding projects of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) designed to support Ukraine, and 200,000 euros toward a similar end for OSCE projects for Moldova, told Agerpres.
The funds provides are Romania's voluntary financial contributions to OSCE projects.
"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has exacerbated many of the dysfunctionalities of the organisation in recent years, making the executive structures of the OSCE work this year without an approved budget. Also, due to the lack of consensus at the level of the participating states, the presence of the OSCE on the ground in Ukraine have successively terminated their mandate and so voluntary funding from the participating states has gained much greater significance allowing the continuation of the activity of OSCE institutions and missions on the ground in key areas. At the same time, amidst Russia's military aggression in Ukraine, Moldova is the neighbouring state that is most affected by the refugee crisis and is facing a series of economic challenges, related to energy security and cooperation between the two banks of the Dniester," according to the Romanian government.
The OSCE projectsfor Moldova and Ukraine are focused on reducing the impact of the war on the civilian population and supporting the reconstruction/modernisation process.
Prince Consort Radu started on Tuesday, on behalf of Her Majesty the Crown Custodian, a visit to the Republic of Moldova, where he is participating in the Investment Development European Integration Economic Forum, organized under the auspices of the Royal Family of Romania, told Agerpres.
On Tuesday, the Prince met with the President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Grosu. The actions of the Royal Family this year to support the European path of the Republic of Moldova were discussed, some of these carried out in cooperation with the Moldovan Parliament, the Royal Family of Romania informs on Wednesday in a post on Facebook.
On Wednesday morning, the Prince Consort participated, together with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Dorin Recean, and the President of the Parliament, in the opening of the Investment Development European Integration Economic Forum.
The President of the Parliament, the Prime Minister, Prince Radu, the Deputy Prime Minister Dumitru Alaiba, the representative of the Government of Romania, Minister Mircea Abrudean, representatives of the Moldovan business milieu, the Parliament of Romania, the Government of Romania, the Embassy of Romania in Chisinau and of the Polish authorities spoke at the Forum.
More than 200 representatives of Romanian, Moldovan and foreign companies, interested in economic collaboration with Moldova, take part in the event, half of them coming from abroad, mainly from Germany, Poland and Italy. From Romania, representatives of some companies and local authorities from Iasi, Cluj, Brasov, Ploiesti and Bucharest are present at the forum, the quoted source informs.
The Prince Consort also took part in the session dedicated to Moldovan university education, in the presence of the rectors of the State University, the Technical University and the Academy of Economic Studies.
State Adviser Laszlo Borbely, who is also the coordinator of the Department for Sustainable Development, represented the Romanian Government at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS), which began on Wednesday in New Delhi and delivered a speech during the plenary session dedicated to financing for sustainable development and climate action, a release sent to AGERPRES shows.
"In the current international dynamics, it is very important that Romania maintains its status as a regional leader regarding the activity related to the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. The conference of these days is one of the most important on sustainable development and manages to bring many personalities to work together. In the intervention I had, I underscored the importance of expertise to build a global financial architecture that responds to current global challenges. Romania has taken important steps for green budgeting, for which we managed to attract expertise from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and The World Bank. In addition, accessing funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan also represents opportunities to develop green financing. Only if we think in perspective will we be able to deliver concrete results for the well-being of the population in the medium and long term," Laszlo Borbely stated, as quoted in the press release.
Among other things, in the panel related to financing for sustainable development, it was pointed out that the good development of some indicators in the last decade was slowed down because of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, told Agerpres.
In order to respond to the current challenges, the need for training the new generation, academic partnerships and international cooperation was highlighted, and the very important role of the capital market in terms of the transition to sustainable development was also discussed, the quoted source mentioned.
On the sidelines of the summit, State Councilor Laszlo Borbely had a discussion with Bhupender Yadav, India's Minister of Environment, the main institution which coordinates the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development at national level, "within which the representative of the Indian executive showed interest in the developed institutional network in Romania for the implementation of the 2030 National Sustainable Development Strategy."
Moreover, bilateral meetings were held with several international experts in the area of sustainable development.
At the Romanian Travel Show (TTR) on Thursday, the Romanian Travel Press Club, a member of the FIJET World Federation of Travel Journalists, will award the 10 most voted Romanian travel destinations selected by the club members, told Agerpres.
According to a FIJET press statement, the 10 destinations selected by FIJET Romania members are Durau, Tara Motilor, Sinca Veche, Sturdza - Miclauseni Complex, Tara Hategului, Gura Portitei, Sulina, Bucovina, Fundata and the Danube Delta. Fundata is on the 1st place, followed by Bucovina and the Danube Delta.
"Romania is a country that deserves to be promoted as a travel destination, so the members of the Travel Press Club - FIJET Romania have launched a project called 'FIJET Romania 2023 Destinations'. The Travel Press Club - FIJET Romania has started an action to identify ten special destinations in Romania to make them even better known in the country and abroad (through our colleagues from FIJET national branches) and to reward the way tourism looks and moves in those areas. Under this project, attention is being drawn to places in the country that stand out from a tourist point of view in a particular way, places where things are done well and people deserve to be encouraged for their efforts," the statement reads.
FIJET Romania members toured all ten areas, saw how the destinations look, wrote about them, proposed and voted on them, while posting articles about them on the website https://clubpresaturism.ro and on the FIJET Romania Facebook page.
"I am not wrong to say that it is the first ranking of tourist destinations in Romania proposed by specialist journalists. Colleagues from FIJET Croatia holds before Christmas a superb awards gala for the best travel journalists, for the best ideas for tourism promotion and those who innovate in the tourism industry. Colleagues from Spain at the International Tourism Fair in Madrid, FITUR, holds an awards gala for the best performers of the hotel industry, the wine sector and transportation. We have added to these initiatives in countries where tourism has a great contribution to the gross domestic product. It is the ranking of the best domestic destinations, and it can provide many ideas for vacations this summer. The reactions of those who followed our posts confirmed that we needed such a ranking and give us confidence to continue!," Stefan Baciu, chairman of the Travel Press Club - FIJET Romania and initiator of the project, is quoted as saying in the statement.
A "Golden Apple" trophy, which will soon arrive in Timisoara, will the 7th that Romania receives after those awarded to the monasteries with mural paintings in Bucovina, the Danube Delta, Marginimea Sibiului, the Blue Air airline, the town of Targu Jiu for the outdoor works of Constantin Brancusi, and the city of Oradea.
Founded in 2007, the Travel Press Club - FIJET Romania is affiliated with the FIJET World Federation of Travel Journalists made up of professional journalists from print, online, radio and television media.
The traffic of semi-trailer trucks from Ukraine in the customs office of the town of Isaccea in Tulcea County has reached a high level again, after a period in which the vehicles vacated the city. Mayor Anastase Moraru announces that traffic in the area will be affected this summer, due to the absence of a parking lot and a proper road for heavy vehicles.
The mayor told AGERPRES that he had taken the first steps to develop the two objectives since last summer, but so far the requests submitted to the national authorities have not been materialized in the allocation of funds.At the end of last week, 5 kilometers from the town of Isaccea, on one of the roads leading to the hills of Niculitel, dozens of 18-wheelers with Ukrainian registration numbers were waiting for the police officers' signals to continue their journey to the ferry that crosses the Danube from the Romanian-Ukrainian customs."We have been sitting for several hours and we have nothing to eat. We would like to go to the store. Will you help us?," asks one of the drivers, Valentin Buruiana, aged 60, from Kilia, Ismail district.He speaks Romanian and has been a truck driver for 40 years. Before the outbreak of the war, he made deliveries in Europe, but then, like the other colleagues, was not allowed to leave the country except to reach the Port of Constanta."I was there when they summoned me [to the Army - editor's note], but they told me that, until there were men, I should do my job. And I took on a job in transport in Romania. Initially, they said that they would give us 3,000 euros, and now it's 1,500 euros. I don't know why they are deceiving us," he expressed his displeasure.Like other Ukrainian colleagues, he would like to pay for a shower in Isaccea and says that the roads in Romania are narrow and full of branches. It's as if they already know what the Romanian drivers hold against trailer truck drivers from Ukraine. "The truck avoids the branches and hits another driver. It must be done like in Europe. There are devices that cut the branches," he adds.In order to reach a store on the outskirts of Isaccea, Ukrainian truck drivers have to walk. They have no phone numbers to call a taxi and no one comes to them with food. "I take food with me for three days. I have to walk or take a taxi. Where do I get a taxi? In Ukraine, women bring cakes, milk, kefir. And we pay them extra," he says.In the car, with another truck driver who does not know Romanian, on the way to the store, he tells that in the village where he lives, no bombs are being heard, but young people are being buried. "In Kilia, there are no bombs. But they bring dead boys from the war. It's not right. Well, if you go to war, the tank comes and you go against it with the automatic machine? You can't do anything. In 1941, they threw a grenade, with the gas bottle, but now the rocket comes, kills you and that's it!," says the Ukrainian.In the store, he and his friend fill their bags with bread, meat and vegetable products, and one of the saleswomen is surprised that I brought them both all the way to town."We often see them at the store. We recognize some of them by their slippers. They buy their slippers from us, to sit more comfortably in the trailer truck. But we are afraid to take them by car to where they leave their trucks, we are women. A colleague once saw that a woman and a man, both Ukrainians, came on foot and she dared to take them by car, just because they were together," said Mirela Stan, one of the employees of a store in Isaccea.On the way to the 18-wheeler, Valentin Buruiana says that he wrote to the authorities in Galati, dissatisfied with a fine received from the police, due to the lack of a vignette. "They didn't give me permission to buy a vignette on their territory. There was snow. I stayed for a kilometer, but I can't leave the car, because others are coming and steal from it. Let me get closer and I'll go get the vignette. And the police didn't give me permission. They are probably in league with one another. And they fined me 600 euros. Others have also been wronged. And I pay, so that I don't sit at home and die of hunger," said the truck driver .I ask him why the employer doesn't find it convenient to send the freight by water, from the new point set up near Orlivka, the customs office on the Ukrainian bank of the Danube. "In the summer, I could see how the barges were being loaded and loaded and they couldn't move. We need to build a terminal like in America," he explained.I remind them that they can get free hot food near the customs crossing and ask them if they don't want to go there, and they agree. "No, because we have money. We eat there, too, but there are some of us who are fatter who don't want to ask for another portion," jokes Valentin Buruiana.At the end of the road with the two truck drivers from Ukraine, the mileage of the car shows exactly 10 kilometers.The mayor of Isaccea, Anastase Moraru, admits that last year's most important challenge was the intense traffic, given that there is no parking in the area, and the customs was designed at normal parameters, for peacetime."Traffic was directed to areas that used to be peaceful. And I'm referring to the area of the streets that belong to the city, where even now trailer trucks are parked, which is an inconvenience. During the summer, the route was on the pier, but it is a flood defense pier made of earth and stone and cannot be used in the winter, including for safety reasons. During the winter, the trailer trucks were placed more in the Capaclia area, at the quarry, on Campia Libertatii street that leads to a small industrial area, where we have a stone loading point, a methane gas station, but also on the secondary road to the stone quarry," said the mayor.He recalled that the intense traffic has led to an increase in pollution, a fact proven by the air quality monitoring station, but also disrupted the activity of the stone quarry."We have taken the matter up two or three times with the Government of Romania, requesting that they urgently allocate money, so that we can start a feasibility study and be able to start the design and execution, something for which we have not received any kind of positive response, so far. The problem is that summer is coming, with many projects that we have under implementation, projects under the Regional Operational Program and not only, projects that will seriously disrupt the traffic of the trailer trucks," said the mayor of the town of Isaccea.The trailer truck traffic in the area will be suspended in the absence of the 12 million euros, the amount requested by the local authority for the development of the two facilities that would allow freight transport from Ukraine to the Romanian Port of Constanta, in the summer, when the project to modernize the access road to customs will begin, a project carried out under a cross-border programme."Once we engage in the modernization activity, you can imagine that the traffic will be significantly reduced or the access to the customs will even be stopped, and this means that the customs activity may consequently be stopped during the modernization works. On the pier, there would be an option, let's say, but it's a one-way stone and dirt road. (...) We are now preparing the documents to start the auction. Think that an auction like this can last at least three months. So, somewhere after June 1 - July 1, we can discuss giving the start order. You realize that it will be a hot summer from this point of view, at the Isaccea border cross point," Mayor Moraru appreciated.Moreover, with the completion of the Isaccea port modernization works carried out by the Galati Danube Maritime Ports Administration, a new activity will open in the area."In addition to customs, we will also have two loading points, and the pier will end up being the only way of access. We will be the laughing stock of the world. (...) The response received from the Ministry of Development to our request for the allocation of the funds necessary to development of the parking lot and the strengthening of the pier was simple, the ministry has no amounts allocated and, if we want to make an investment of local interest, we have to make a loan. There is a memorandum at the level of the Romanian Government concluded with the Ministry of the Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Transport, but the Ministry of Development is not a party to this memorandum which prioritizes the important projects for Isaccea, the development of the road, of the parking lot and the construction of the naval border crossing point," said the mayor of Isaccea.Road transporters are not affected by the lack of a naval customs office, but those who choose transport on the Danube must complete the formalities in Galati or Braila, the closest naval customs points, given that such an infrastructure is also missing in the town of Tulcea."Recently, a memorandum was approved in the Government so that Isaccea also becomes a naval border crossing point. Documents will be exchanged with the Ukrainian side and it will be functional. That is, it will be possible to exchange goods on water, to load grain, for example from here in Isaccea, to be transported by water, just as in the past years stone was loaded here bound for Moldova, Ukraine," said Anastase Moraru.Referring to the problems of Ukrainian drivers, he mentioned that a private investor showed interest in the placement in the city of Isaccea of some coin operated shower containers, but the discussion has not yet been completed with the issuance of a permit. Instead, the Delta Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU) already has two containers that will be installed after the town hall completes the electricity network.According to the data initially provided by ISU Delta, the two containers will be opened free of charge only to people who receive assistance at the Romanian-Ukrainian border crossing point."We cannot afford to make packages with hot food for drivers, but I think that this could also be thought of as a business. However, I think that the best option is the one that we used at the beginning, with the non-governmental organizations that went to them and they offered them food. We recently had a discussion with the representatives of an organization to resume this activity," said the mayor of Isaccea.Last year, after invading Ukraine, Russia imposed a blockade on ports in the Odessa area, the main loading point for Ukrainian grain for export. At the end of July, the blockade was lifted for three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, based on an agreement concluded in Turkey by Moscow and Kyiv, with the mediation of the United Nations, the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), but those ports are also in very high demand.The agreement was extended by another 120 days in November and was set to expire in March, but Russia has signaled it wants to change some aspects of it and has asked for the lifting of sanctions affecting its grain exports.Since the summer of last year, every day, hundreds of trucks transit the city of Isaccea, in some periods the drivers even wait two weeks to get from the Romanian bank of the Danube to the Ukrainian one. Long waiting times are generated by the limited capacity of the ferry that crosses the river, but also by the reduced infrastructure of the border crossing point, in the context where the Orlivka-Isaccea point is on the shortest route between the ports of Odessa and Constanta.In recent months, waiting times for Ukrainian trailer trucks in the towns of Tulcea and Isaccea have reached several days.In order to supplement its export capacity, near Orlivka, the customs office on the Ukrainian bank of the Danube, a naval point for loading and unloading products was set up.The grain blockade led to several incidents on the Sulina maritime channel, the events recorded by the Tulcea Port Authority having no serious consequences on the fairway.The Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) created a transit corridor by sea and was intended to address global food shortages, with the clients of Ukrainian grain exports being some of the world's poorest countries. Developing countries such as Somalia and Eritrea also rely heavily on wheat imports from Russia.Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russia of delaying inspections of vessels carrying Ukrainian agricultural products, which has led to losses for producers. Moscow has rejected the accusations, maintaining that it respects all its obligations under the BSGI.On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine. Moscow claimed that it was a "special military operation to deNazify" the neighboring country and to protect the Russian-speaking community in eastern Ukraine.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport officials are recommending a $14.74 million cleaning contract go to a Chicago firm initially disqualified because of news reports that its president had ties to organized crime figures.
The Airport Commission on Wednesday voted 10-3 to give the three-year contract to United Maintenance Co., the low bidder. A final decision is up to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the citys top fiscal body.
In January, airport staffers rejected Uniteds bid because of concerns over news reports concerning Richard Simon, who also is Uniteds part-owner, at the time Uniteds parent company was hired by Rivers Casino in the Chicago area.
United appealed the Lambert disqualification. Lambert officials subsequently reversed their decision after concluding that United provided satisfactory and credible support that the reports were unfounded and/or did not support rejection of their bid.
Lambert officials also said numerous law enforcement agencies, airlines and the U.S. Secret Service had reviewed or conducted background checks and security clearances for United and Simon and found no reason to deny a contract.
The Chicago Sun-Times and the Better Government Association, a watchdog group, had reported that Simon had business and personal ties to reputed mob figures.
The Sun-Times reported that after the watchdog group asked Rivers Casino in 2015 about the hiring, the Illinois Gaming Board started a probe.
A summary released by Lamberts staff said a resulting gaming board complaint against Rivers Casino ultimately contained no allegations or finding of Rivers having associated with persons of notorious or unsavory reputation or who have extensive police records.
The Sun-Times reported that while the gaming board didnt directly take the casino to task for hiring the parent company, United Service Companies, it criticized the casino for doing so without competitive bids.
The newspaper said the casino paid a $1.65 million settlement, which also dealt with other issues unrelated to United Service.
Earlier, in 2012, after United Maintenance won a major janitorial contract at OHare International Airport, the Sun-Times reported that Simon had been involved in a different company with alleged mob figure William Daddano Jr.
The newspaper and WBBM-TV in Chicago also reported that an executive vice president of United Service Companies, Paul A. Fosco, had served a prison term on a 1987 racketeering conviction.
The proposed Lambert contract calls for United Maintenance to begin cleaning the airports terminals on June 1. Uniteds bid was $12.28 million, about $477,000 less than the next lowest bidder, Maintech Acquisition LLC.
The figure was increased to $14.74 million to cover additional areas to be cleaned following a Southwest Airlines decision this year to open some new gates.
Lambert Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, who reinstated the United bid, said OHares director told her that Uniteds work there was impeccable. Lambert officials also said the company was praised by various other clients.
Also at the meeting, commission member Jeff Aboussie raised a different issue about the United contract. He said he believed the contract should go to the third-lowest bidder, Regency Enterprises Services LLC.
He pointed out that Regency, based in south St. Louis County, is a local company and also is minority-owned.
Moreover, he said, Regency had performed well as a cleaning subcontractor the past three years and had agreed in October to take over the main contract when the company that held it, Pride Industries One Inc. of Roseville, Calif., had abandoned it.
There should be some latitude by this commission to award to local contractors, he said, especially one which is minority-owned. An African-American, Charles Brown, heads the firm.
Hamm-Niebruegge said Lamberts procurement process doesnt allow that. If the best and lowest bidder isnt awarded, then we have to answer to the airlines why, she said. Airlines pay some of Lamberts costs.
Comptroller Darlene Green, an airport commission member, joined Aboussie in voting against United. A spokesman, Tyson Pruitt, said Thursday that she was concerned about passing up an opportunity to help grow a local minority firm.
Pruitt added that Green believed the airport should have tried to arrange an agreement in which United and Regency shared the contract.
Mayor-elect Lyda Krewson, who also is on the commission, voted in favor of the United contract. However, she said in an interview it might have been good to have a little more discussion on the points raised by Aboussie.
Asked by a reporter if she was satisfied with the Lambert staffs conclusion that there was no reason to bar United, Krewson responded: The airport is satisfied, and when Im in the mayors office Ill be more involved in that kind of thing.
The estimate board made up of the mayor, Comptroller Green and Aldermanic President Lewis Reed is next scheduled to meet April 19 after Krewson takes office. Reed, also an airport commissioner, wasnt at the Wednesday meeting.
ST. LOUIS Along the Cherokee Street corridor authentic Mexican restaurants stand next to bars, art galleries, music venues, clothing stores, antique furniture stores and, inevitably, tattoo parlors.
Now a real estate company is offering free rent for six months to a business that fits in with the surroundings.
Were hoping to tip the scales in favor of making an impossible, unlikely, or experimental concept possible. Were looking for creatives, risk-takers, bootstrappers, pot-stirrers, entrepreneurs, and scrappy DIYers to light up 900 square feet of Cherokee and make their mark, the company making the offer, South Side Spaces, said in its announcement.
The business to receive the free rent will be selected through a contest. The application process began Tuesday and will end on March 31. Five finalists will be announced in early April, with the winner chosen by the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District on April 20.
The winner will not be required to remain in the space beyond the initial free six months.
All retail or experiential businesses are eligible, either new or existing, though South Side Spaces will give extra weight to companies looking to be in a brick-and-mortar location for the first time.
The free-rent offer is in a storefront at 2616 Cherokee Street, which is being renovated by South Side Spaces. Most recently a Rent One store, the building will have nine units including space for three small businesses on the first floor.
Applications may be made at southsidespaces.com/contest.
Want to taste a wine from a region thats new to you? Italy is a great place to start. The country has hundreds of designated appellations that may sound totally unfamiliar. The following two whites, both classified as Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) wines, are good examples. One is from the appellation Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone and the other, Falerio. These DOCs are in west and east central Italy, respectively.
Pietro 2021, Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone, Italy
Bought Total Wine and More, 90 Brentwood Promenade Court, in February for $12.99
Description The name of this DOC comes from a 12th-century tale of a German bishop who planned to travel to the Vatican and sent a prelate ahead as a wine scout. If the prelate liked a wine on his journey, he was to leave the word Est, Latin for it is, on the wall of the establishment. At one Montefiascone inn, the prelate was so excited about the wine that he wrote Est! Est!! Est!!! on the door. This Est! is a good patio sipping white thats light, fruity and quite quaffable. A blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia, it can be enjoyed on its own or with shellfish and other light dishes.
Saladini Pilastri 2021, Falerio, Italy
Bought Total Wine and More, 90 Brentwood Promenade Court, in February for $12.99
Description This very aromatic white, which earned 90 points from Decanter, is a more complex and serious wine than the Est! Est!! Est!!! It comes from the Saladini Pilastri family, which has a history in the Marche region dating back to the year 1000. Elegant and medium-bodied, its made from an organic grape blend dominated by trebbiano with smaller amounts of passerina and pecorino. A lush white with a rich mouthfeel, its a spicy wine that tastes of juicy ripe pears and stone fruit and ends with a long tangy, lemony finish. It would go well with fish and white meats.
The Cayuga County Legislature will vote on a resolution next week asking the State University of New York to end its COVID-19 vaccination requirement for students.
The resolution sponsored by Legislators Jim Basile and Andy Dennison urges SUNY to "amend or remove" the COVID-19 vaccination policy and links the directive to declining enrollment at Cayuga Community College a trend that began years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Basile and Dennison wrote that the Cayuga County Legislature "opposes mandatory vaccinations, but particularly when such mandates are applicable to younger populations (students), and not to more senior populations, specifically professors and staff."
According to SUNY's policy, on-campus students must receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Booster shots are "strongly encouraged."
One criticism levied by some legislators is that the vaccine mandate does not apply to faculty and staff. At a Cayuga County Legislature meeting in January, Dennison called it "the most asinine policy I've ever heard."
SUNY required COVID-19 testing for employees but that mandate is no longer in effect.
In an exchange with Dr. Brian Durant, president of Cayuga Community College, Basile asked for the school to "take a stance" on the COVID vaccination policy. He theorized that CCC's enrollment would improve if the policy was lifted.
"I have constituents that are concerned that some of their children are not going to attend local community college," Basile said.
Before taking questions, Durant revealed that CCC is projected to slightly exceed its projected enrollment of 1,535 full-time equivalents. But enrollment is expected to decrease by 6% compared to the last academic year.
"We anticipated to be down but we're doing slightly better than what we had anticipated," he said.
CCC's enrollment has been declining for years. According to the college's website, the number of annual full-time equivalents fell from 2,660.1 in 2015-16 to 2,305.4 in 2019-20, a 13.33% drop over a five-year period.
Regarding the COVID vaccine mandate for students, Durant told legislators that his job requires him to administer SUNY's policies. However, in response to Basile's concern about the vaccination policy affecting enrollment, he said that "we wouldn't want any of our policies to be barriers for attendance."
Holly Liapis, a SUNY spokesperson, said in a statement that the university system "has and will continue to follow the guidance of public health experts."
"SUNY's vaccine mandate remains in effect across all SUNY campuses, including medical and religious exemptions," Liapis said.
The Cayuga County Legislature will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28. Meetings are held on the sixth floor of the Cayuga County Office Building.
Story updated Feb. 27, 2023 to include charging information.
ST. LOUIS Police on Thursday identified a woman found stabbed to death this week inside a home in south St. Louis. Police arrested her 19-year-old grandson.
Officers were called just before 10:35 a.m. Tuesday to the 4100 block of Weber Road in the Boulevard Heights neighborhood after a man said he'd stabbed his grandmother, according to a police report.
They found Carolyn Henning, 80, inside a home, police said. She was bleeding from the chest and neck. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Michael S. Henning Jr., the victim's 19-year-old grandson, was charged Feb. 22 with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death.
Police discovered the grandson with his hands covered in blood near his grandmother's body, an officer wrote in charging documents.
He then told officers he had killed his grandmother while being recorded on police body cameras, the documents say.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Story updates address and victim's approximate age, correcting previous information released by police.
JEFFERSON CITY A measure to allow the governor to name a special prosecutor for St. Louis appeared to gain momentum Wednesday in the wake of a high-profile car accident that left a visiting 17-year-old volleyball player in critical condition.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners office has come under fire for failing to try to put the man charged with hitting Janae Edmondson back in jail even though he violated the conditions of his bond more than 50 times.
Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden on Wednesday called on Gardner to step down, saying she was incompetent and grossly unfit to hold her office.
She should resign or I will systematically and aggressively work with my colleagues in the #MOLeg to ensure her incompetence isnt putting more lives in danger, Rowden, R-Columbia, said Wednesday on Twitter. The people of #STL deserve better and Missouri deserves better, Rowden said.
House Speaker Dean Plocher late Wednesday also called on Gardner to resign.
Her willful neglect of duty has effectively resulted in her abdicating the duties of her office, the Des Peres Republican said in a statement. This must end immediately. I stand with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who are outraged at her inactions and recognize the safety of our communities must come first.
The Senate has yet to act on legislation that would allow Gov. Mike Parson to appoint special prosecutors in St. Louis and other jurisdictions who would have exclusive jurisdiction over seven types of violent crime. The House already approved the measure.
Rep. Alex Riley, a Springfield Republican and member of the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee, said the incident suggested the measure was needed.
Those are the types of things that certainly suggest theres a need for ... this type of legislation, Riley said. It seems like what weve seen from the past five or six years that shes been in office is things arent getting better; theyre getting worse.
Under the proposed legislation, sponsored in the House by Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, the special prosecutor would have exclusive jurisdiction over first- and second-degree robbery cases, as well as vehicle hijacking.
Rep. Donna Baringer, D-St. Louis, was a member of a bipartisan working group that unanimously recommended legislation allowing a special prosecutor where there is demonstrated need.
On Wednesday, she said, I was heartbroken, sick to my stomach and then angry. This person ... should not have been behind the wheel of a car.
Baringer said yes when asked if the accident showed why St. Louis needs a special prosecutor.
What happened to Janae Edmondson and her family is a tragedy and the thought that it could have been avoided breaks my heart, said Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis. Our prosecutor must explain how someone can violate the terms of their bond over 50 times without consequence.
Roberts added, Republicans were already determined to pass legislation which strips local control from prosecutors. This legislation is opposed by the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys because it is, broadly, a bad policy. However, following this tragedy, the senate pro tem has stated that this legislation is a top priority for him and his caucus.
Daniel Riley, 21, was out on bond for a 2020 robbery charge that was dismissed and refiled last year. A spokesperson for Gardner defended the office on Tuesday, saying the case was dropped and refiled because the victim died before trial, throwing a wrench into prosecution. The spokesperson also said the final ruling on whether a suspects bond is revoked is in the hands of a judge.
But a judges order from the day the case was dropped shows the victim was alive and present for the hearing, and prosecutors werent ready to proceed. And court officials said they never knew Riley violated his bond, because prosecutors never filed a motion to revoke it.
Instead, Daniel Riley was left free, and police say he sped down a downtown street this past weekend, causing a crash that pinned Edmondson between two cars. Both of her legs were amputated after the crash.
Every time a violation was filed, the assigned prosecutor and defense attorney of record received a notification via email according to normal procedure, said courts spokesperson Joel Currier. However, the prosecutor, to date, has never filed a motion.
In a statement late Tuesday night, the circuit attorneys office said the controversy was an attempt by those who choose to twist the facts to take advantage of this situation for their own selfish motives.
Updated at 3:21 p.m.
CLAYTON St. Louis Countys top boss Wednesday vowed to fight measures making their way through the Missouri statehouse that target the LGBTQ community.
Democratic County Executive Sam Page signed a proclamation forming a task force that would seek ways to protect the communitys rights in St. Louis County. Page is partnering with PROMO, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, to find members for the task force.
Across the country were seeing a troubling trend to pass laws that marginalize communities that have historically struggled to gain rights, Page said. This is a moment not to be squandered. We believe each challenge is an opportunity to push back against discrimination and ignorance.
Among the measures under consideration in the Missouri legislature are limits on gender-related health care for transgender children; a bill that would only allow licensed mental health care providers to talk to students about gender identity and LGBTQ issues in K-12 public schools; and restrictions on transgender athletes.
The task force will not have a restricted number of members, but the county executive will initially seek nine appointments, said Page spokesman Doug Moore. It wouldnt cost the county anything other than Pages time, according to Moore.
Even if Pages proclamation is largely symbolic to start, it shows LGBTQ youth there are elected officials on their side, said Katy Erker-Lynch, executive director of PROMO. Erker-Lynch grew up in St. Louis County and left at age 18 because she didnt see a future for herself here.
Actions like today, which might feel symbolic in a proclamation, actually are incredibly meaningful for young people who know youre safe, we see you, we hear you, and there are people in powerful positions fighting for you, Erker-Lynch said.
The county will also explore what it can do legally to oppose state legislation that becomes law, Page said.
There are some laws that are subject to local control, Page said. Well be watching those closely.
LGBTQ youth are at higher risk of suffering from depression, anxiety and other mental health issues because of anti-LGBTQ victimization and legislation that targets them, according to a 2022 survey of nearly 34,000 queer youth by The Trevor Project. The nonprofit organization provides crisis support for LGBTQ youth.
The County Council on Tuesday passed a resolution supporting trans kids and their right to access gender-affirming health care. The resolution followed a report earlier this month alleging improper care at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Childrens Hospital.
CLAYTON A symbolic move supporting gender-affirming health care for transgender children passed without Republican support Tuesday in the St. Louis County Council.
Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, a Democrat from Maplewood, introduced the resolution supporting transgender people following a report alleging improper care at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Childrens Hospital. The report has been used by the Missouri Legislature to support arguments limiting access to gender-affirming care.
This resolution is important and relevant to the County Council because we each have constituents who have benefitted from gender-affirming care, Clancy said. Many of them being vulnerable people. Many are my friends, my neighbors.
The resolution, which passed with four Democratic votes, was met with raucous applause from a crowd of pro-LGBTQ attendees. Council Chair Shalonda Webb, a Democrat from unincorporated North County, quieted the group.
Republican Councilman Ernie Trakas, an attorney from unincorporated South County, abstained from voting on the measure because he represents Jamie Reed, a 42-year-old resident of south St. Louis County, who said she worked at the Washington University Transgender Center as a case manager between 2018 and 2022. Reed claimed the clinic provided substandard care to children and teens. In the following weeks, the Missouri Legislature cited Reeds reports as they took up bills to limit access to gender-affirming care.
Trakas said Clancys resolution raised an important, controversial issue that is challenging the country everywhere, not just St. Louis County. Trakas added his client raises serious allegations, and that the findings in related investigations should be allowed to proceed and conclude.
Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Republican from Fenton, also abstained, saying he wanted to hear from speakers before the vote. Public comment was recently moved to the end of the meeting. Republican Councilman Mark Harder of Ballwin voted against the resolution. Harder said he didnt want to praise Clancys measure before the investigation into the transgender clinic is complete.
Dozens of transgender people, parents of trans kids and clinicians spoke in favor of the resolution and the Washington University clinic. Kim Hutton is the parent of a trans son who received care from the clinic, and the founder of trans-advocacy group TransParent.
My trans son is living a happy and successful life because of the incredible Washington University doctors who provided this specialized care for him, Hutton said.
County Executive Sam Page was expected to announce on Wednesday a county LGBTQ Taskforce.
I support the work of Washington University and the standards set by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Page said. Trans patients and their families have my support and they should have the support of our community as well.
Videos: Some testimony before the House committee about bills to criminalize transgender health care It makes me feel hated. It really does, transgender teen testifies House representative calls puberty blockers child abuse; transgender woman says thats offensive This bill will harm me, transgender child tells Missouri House committee Will our kids and grandkids see that we were on the side of love or hate? Parent asks committee Missouri senator says doctors treating transgender children are evil If I were your kid, I would not be comfortable coming out to you, senator tells colleague Bill would keep teachers from convincing children they are transgender or gay, senator says
JEFFERSON CITY Low-income mothers and their babies would receive health insurance coverage for 12 months after a pregnancy under a rare expansion of Medicaid endorsed by the Republican-controlled Missouri Senate.
The measure, sponsored by Sen. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto, and Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, is part of a renewed, bipartisan effort to extend Medicaid coverage following the birth of a child as a way to help bolster positive health outcomes in both the infant and the new mom.
We feel its one of the most important bills we can pass out of this chamber. Were talking about the most vulnerable population, Gannon said. They are pleading with us to get this done, McCreery said. It makes me a little sad we have to sell this so hard.
The state currently offers the government-funded insurance coverage for two months after a baby is born, but most acknowledge a longer coverage period could help address Missouris high maternal mortality rate.
An average of 61 women died each year between 2017 and 2019 while they were pregnant or within a year of their pregnancies, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said in a recent report.
The report added that three out of every four pregnancy-related deaths were preventable.
I think we have to always remember that healthy moms means healthy kids, Gannon said.
The extended coverage period has received heightened attention in the Republican-controlled General Assembly now that nearly all abortions are outlawed in Missouri after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The plan has the backing of anti-abortion lobbying groups.
This gives another set of professional eyes on the baby, said Sen. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, who said the extension would benefit rural areas she represents.
But, some conservative members of the upper chamber worked to block or limit when the coverage would start over their longstanding opposition to Medicaid expansion, which was ushered in by former President Barack Obama and not allowed in Missouri until voters forced the matter in an August 2020 statewide vote.
Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican who is exploring a 2024 run for governor, argued in favor of language that stated the added months of coverage should not go into effect until all recipients of Obamacare are reevaluated to determine if they remain eligible for the program.
Eigel and Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, argued in favor of a vaguely worded provision that could bar women who have violated state law from receiving the benefit.
Moon and freshman Sen. Jill Carter, R-Neosho, also raised concerns that a woman could receive the extended coverage if she voluntarily aborted the baby.
Along with the Senate bills, at least five similar initiatives have been introduced in the Missouri House.
The governor also has made the issue a priority this year, putting $4.4 million into his budget proposal to implement a new maternal mortality prevention plan to provide support and address preventable deaths of expecting and postpartum mothers.
An estimated 4,565 women would have coverage extended if the bill passed. The proposal could cost $10.7 million by 2025, a legislative analysis of the measure noted.
The DHSS report showed that the risk of pregnancy-related death for Black women was more than three times as high as the risk for white women.
The state also tracked when women were dying, finding that the greatest proportion of pregnancy-related deaths occurred between 43 days and one year after pregnancy meaning many deaths occurred after the states 60-day cutoff for Medicaid coverage.
The proposal needs a final vote in the Senate before it heads to the House for further debate.
The legislation is Senate Bill 45.
ST. LOUIS Mayor Tishaura O. Jones says Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner has lost the trust of the people in the wake of a high-profile car crash that left a visiting 17-year-old volleyball player in critical condition.
Gardner's office has taken blistering criticism for not moving to put the man charged with hitting the Tennessee teen back in jail even though he violated the conditions of his bond dozens of times before the crash.
And at a press conference Wednesday, Jones joined the chorus.
"This incident and others have highlighted the fact that some improvements need to be made in her office," Jones said. "And she really needs to do some soul-searching of whether or not she wants to continue as Circuit Attorney, because she's lost the trust of the people."
Jones would not say whether Gardner had lost her trust personally. But she said a statement from Gardner's office issued late Tuesday night that called for an end to "finger-pointing" was disturbing.
"Accountability isn't pointing fingers," Jones said. "Accountability is when something goes wrong, you take accountability for it and say, 'This is my mess-up' and 'How can we work together to fix it?' All of us have to be at the table to make sure that this doesn't happen again."
Jones said missteps by Gardners office have damaged the citys reputation, and she linked those missteps to ongoing efforts in Jefferson City to put the state in charge of city police, which Jones vehemently opposes.
Jones' comments came on the same day that the Missouri Senate president, Caleb Rowden, called on Gardner to resign, saying she was incompetent and grossly unfit to hold her office.
Janae Edmondson, of Tennessee, was pinned between two cars and had both of her legs amputated after the crash this past weekend. She was visiting St. Louis for a volleyball tournament at the Americas Center. She remains in critical condition.
Daniel Riley, 21, is accused of speeding on a downtown street and causing the crash. He was out on bond for a 2020 robbery charge that was dismissed and re-filed last year.
Gardner, first elected in 2016, has faced ongoing criticism for understaffing and dysfunction in her office that has hampered prosecutions.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the age of Janae Edmondson.
WARSAW, Poland President Joe Biden closed out his wartime visit to Europe on Wednesday, working to shore up partnerships with allies on NATO's perilous eastern flank even as Russia's Vladimir Putin drew closer to China for help as his invasion of Ukraine neared the one-year mark.
Biden's meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine nations in Warsaw came at the conclusion of a four-day visit to Ukraine and Poland meant to reassure allies that U.S. support in fending off Russia isn't at risk of waning.
In dramatic counterpoint, Putin on Wednesday played host in Moscow to Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official, as U.S. intelligence warned that Beijing is considering supplying arms and ammunition to the worn-down Russian military.
The flexing of alliances was a fresh indication that both sides are digging in for prolonged conflict in Ukraine with the fighting expected to intensify with the arrival of spring.
Biden's trip provided yet another moment of telling counterprogramming on Tuesday when he delivered a ringing speech on Western unity in Warsaw, a day after he swept into Kyiv unannounced for a visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
As Biden spoke in Poland, Putin announced that Russia suspended its participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty.
Biden called that departure "a big mistake." The exit is expected to have an immediate impact on U.S. awareness of Russian nuclear activities.
However, the pact known as New START was already on life support after Moscow's cancellation late last year of talks that were intended to salvage an agreement that each side accused the other of violating.
Both houses of Russias parliament on Wednesday quickly endorsed Putins move.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russias Security Council, which is chaired by Putin, emphasized Wednesday that the suspension of Russias participation in the pact was a signal to the U.S.
If the U.S. wants Russias defeat, we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapons, including nuclear, Medvedev said on his messaging app channel. Let the U.S. elites who have lost touch with reality think about what they got. If the U.S. wants Russia to be defeated, we are standing on the verge of a global conflict.
Biden met Wednesday with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, the nations in the easternmost parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. They include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
"You're the front lines of our collective defense," Biden told them. "And you know, better than anyone, what's at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world."
These countries worry Putin could take military action against them next if he's successful in Ukraine. Biden responded to that anxiety by pledging that NATO's mutual defense pact is "sacred" and that "we will defend literally every inch of NATO."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, pointed to past Russian actions in Georgia and Ukraine and said, "We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression."
It was unclear how the U.S. and its allies intend to do that, other than by continuing to arm Ukraine's military, which allowed it retake about half of the territory it lost in the opening days of the war.
After the Russian military's battlefield shortcomings were revealed at the start of the conflict, Putin, too, has been seeking rearmament, drawing on Iran and North Korea for assistance and potentially China.
Administration officials don't yet have an indication that China has decided to send Moscow weaponry, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week it would be a "serious problem" should Beijing follow through.
Throughout the conflict, China has cautiously weighed the pros and cons of directly aiding Russia. But a year into the war, Beijing now seems increasingly concerned that Russia one of its closest allies is teetering toward something that could approximate a loss in Ukraine.
The U.S. and its allies have threatened secondary sanctions on countries that support the Russian war effort. But there was no consensus this week on potentially steeper sanctions for China, which could have global economic implications, should it decide to rearm Putin's forces.
One European official described the intelligence regarding Chinese consideration of supplying Russia with weapons as "unambiguous." Western officials do not know whether the possibility is currently being studied only by China's military or some other single branch of the government, or by the Chinese government as a whole, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
Western intelligence indicates that the kind of supplies China is considering giving Russia would be aimed at backfilling stocks of weapons that Russia lost on the battlefield in Ukraine, the European official said.
WASHINGTON A former Proud Boys member who pleaded guilty to plotting with group leaders to violently stop the transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden told jurors Tuesday that he viewed their far-right extremist organization as the tip of the spear after the 2020 election.
Jeremy Bertino, who is testifying against former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants as part of a cooperation deal with federal prosecutors, recalled feeling stunned and then excited when Trump told the Proud Boys to stand back and stand by during his first debate with Biden.
After the election, Bertino viewed the Proud Boys as leaders of the conservative movement, a perspective fueled by his regular viewership of the conspiracy theory-promoting Infowars website.
I believed we were supposed to be the leaders of the country, of the right wing, Bertino said. The tip of the spear.
Bertino, 43, of North Carolina, is the only member of the far-right extremist group who has pleaded guilty to a seditious conspiracy charge stemming from a mob's attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The five Proud Boys associates on trial are charged with the same felony count, a Civil War-era offense punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The trial was scheduled to resume Wednesday with more testimony by Bertino. The trial recessed Tuesday before a prosecutor began questioning Bertino about the Jan. 6 attack.
Bertino is the second former Proud Boys member to testify at the trial. The first, Matthew Greene, testified in January that group members were growing increasingly angry about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and were expecting a civil war.
Jurors have heard over a month of testimony by government witnesses in the trial of Tarrio, a Miami resident, and co-defendants Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola.
Nordean, of Auburn, Washington, was a Proud Boys chapter president and a member of the groups national Elders Council. Biggs, of Ormond Beach, Florida, was a self-described Proud Boys organizer. Rehl was president of a Proud Boys chapter in Philadelphia. Pezzola was a Proud Boys member from Rochester, New York.
Bertino said he believed the election had been stolen from Trump and was hoping the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the election results. He wasn't in Washington when the Capitol riot erupted. He was stabbed during an altercation in downtown Washington after a Proud Boys march on Dec. 12, 2021, and was still recovering from his injuries on Jan. 6.
Bertino said he became increasingly angry after hearing that his alleged assailant had been freed on bail. He directed much of his anger at police, feeling they had abandoned the Proud Boys.
I felt like they were not on our side anymore, he testified. And basically if you were not with us, you were against us."
Bertino said Tarrio, Nordean and Biggs shared his anger toward police after his stabbing. Bertino added that many Proud Boys began referring to police as coptifa, a twist on the term antifa," which refers to antifascist activists.
The indictment in Tarrios case alleges that the Proud Boys held meetings and communicated over encrypted messages to plan for an attack in the days leading up to Jan. 6. On the day of the riot, Proud Boys dismantled metal barricades set up to protect the Capitol and mobilized, directed and led members of the crowd into the building, according to prosecutors.
Tarrio wasnt in Washington on Jan. 6, either. Police arrested him in Washington two days before the Capitol riot and charged him with vandalizing a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic Black church during a December 2020 protest. Tarrio heeded a judge's order to leave the city after his arrest.
Bertino joined the Proud Boys' Charlotte chapter in 2018 after seeing videos of group members fighting with antifascist activists. He said he enjoyed the comradery with men who shared his right-wing political views. He viewed their enemy as pretty much anybody who didn't vote the same way we did.
Bertino said he became very close to Tarrio and was friendly with Biggs, Nordean and Rehl, but he only recalls meeting Pezzola once. He met Tarrio in person at a Proud Boys convention in Las Vegas and later at a January 2020 gun rights rally in Virginia, where he said they bonded over their escape from a confrontation with armed opposition.
Proud Boys members describe their group as a politically incorrect mens club for Western chauvinists. Bertino said there was tension within the Proud Boys ranks between rally boys who relished fighting with antifa in public forums and party boys who preferred to drink together.
Bertino recalled his growing anger in the summer of 2020, as protests erupted across the country in response to George Floyd's killing in police custody. He blamed violence and rioting on antifa, calling them the foot soldiers of the left wing.
I thought we should have gone out there and stopped them, to restore order, he said.
Bertino pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy in October 2022 and agreed to cooperate with the Justice Departments investigation of the role that Proud Boys leaders played in the mobs attack on the Capitol. He hasn't been sentenced yet.
The House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 insurrection featured video testimony by Bertino at its first hearing last year. The committee showed a clip of Bertino saying that the groups membership probably tripled after then-President Trumps comment during a debate with Biden that the Proud Boys should stand back and stand by.
Photos: Scenes from the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot
David Gould, the former longtime sheriff who has served as chair of the Cayuga County Legislature for the last 14 months, will not run for reelection this year.
Gould, a Republican, told The Citizen on Tuesday that he decided not to seek another term. He was first elected in 2021.
"I've done my two-year term and I got some health problems," he said, adding that his ailments are not life threatening but require treatment. "I think enough is enough."
Gould is supporting Legislator Robert Shea, a Republican, in the newly drawn 4th District that includes the towns of Aurelius and Fleming in Gould's current district. Shea lives in Springport, which is the third town in the new district.
Democrats have endorsed James Moore to run in District 4.
"(Shea) is a good legislator and he certainly will represent my district very, very well," Gould said.
Gould highlighted the county's achievements under his leadership, namely the redistricting process voters approved a ballot proposition to reduce the number of Legislature seats from 15 to 11 and plans for the future of the Cayuga County Office Building.
He praised county employees and his fellow legislators he said he had good relationships with members of both caucuses. When he sought a second term as chair in January, he received the unanimous support of the county Legislature.
"I must be doing something right or they would not have supported me 100%," he said. "I think I've done whatever possible for this county. That has always been my mission is to stay in this county, do what I can for this county, accomplish everything in my lifetime I can for this county and that's what I've tried to do."
Although Gould will not seek another term as a county lawmaker, he plans to stay active in public service. He will maintain his membership on numerous community boards and committees.
Before serving as a county legislator, Gould was sheriff from 2006 through 2018. He is also a former state trooper and Army veteran.
"It has been an unbelievable life and I appreciate everyone's help," he said.
Special prosecutor bill is about competence, not race
Regarding St. Louis activists protest at Capitol (Feb. 15): The proposal in the Legislature to create a special prosecutor for St. Louis is not an attack against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner because she is a Black woman. It is proposed because she is not getting the job done. She has a backlog of 3,000 cases. In this situation, the Legislature needs to take action.
Violent crime is St. Louis biggest problem, and it is affecting the entire state of Missouri. We do not have a successful crime prevention program in St. Louis, and as long as criminals think that there are little or no recriminations for their actions, crime will get worse. This is not a racial issue but a crime issue that is affecting every Missouri resident.
Lecil Saller St. Louis
Hold hearings on so-called election fraud or drop it
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and my congressman, Rep. Jason Smith, are on record claiming election fraud in the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump is still claiming on his social network, Truth Social, the election was stolen.
But I dont hear the Republican senator or congressman demanding hearings into that fraud that they and others still believe stole an election from Trump. Its time the House do something productive and hold hearings on the election fraud they claim exists.
Gary Kinard Mountain View
Missouris lawmakers are asleep at the wheel on climate
Regarding Missouri lawmakers move to unplug local rules on EV charging stations (Feb. 15), Missouris GOP-controlled Legislature is thwarting attempts to require charging stations for new construction projects. It makes me wonder what kind of vehicle the sponsor, state Rep. Jim Murphy, uses to drive to Jefferson City from St. Louis County. He apparently doesnt drive an electric vehicle. I, however, would like to own an electric vehicle. I am waiting for enough charging stations to make this feasible.
I want to cross the state without polluting the air. I, like many Americans, believe that burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change. I want my grandchildren to live without massive floods, drought and extreme temperatures. But the Republicans have turned a blind eye to global climate change, which has real implications for Missouri.
According to the Post-Dispatch, the Republicans believe that businesses will respond with charging stations after we all buy electric vehicles. But St. Louis County and other forward-thinking locations know that the market cannot be depended upon to make these costly changes. Unfortunately, businesses will have to be required to ante up, just like we all will in order to stop an existential threat. We are running out of options. Its time for Missouris legislators to move to a faster lane. Right now, theyre asleep at the wheel and dangerous.
Nancy Phillips St. Louis
Leave transgender treatment to people and their doctors
Regarding Restrictions on transgender athletes, health care survive Missouri House panel (Feb 16): I am the grandmother of a transgender young lady who is 17, who came out at 15 after coming to terms with her feelings of depression, of being a female and an attempted suicide. She began going to Washington Universitys transgender clinic for counseling and hormone therapy. Now thriving and happy, she graduated two years early from high school and is attending college. She has spoken in front of the Missouri Legislature recommending, from her own and others experiences, to not restrict treatment for trans teens.
Lets let people and their doctors decide their medical care on transgender issues (and abortion). Our rights and freedoms in Missouri are being rapidly eroded by government overreach, which is something I thought the Republican Party was trying to avoid. What happened to the idea of smaller government that they used to tout?
Jerry S. Hutter Florissant
Taxes on the super-rich havent kept up with their wealth
Ive read some letters recently criticizing any discussion of raising taxes on the rich. These letter writers would be well served by regularly reading The Economist magazine. From the Jan. 21 issue: Shifts on taxation have failed to keep up with the explosive growth in incomes for Americas wealthiest. The share of post-tax incomes going to the top 1% of earners rose from 7% in 1979 to 13% in 2019, while the share going to middle earners has fallen. Tax rates have declined for the wealthiest, giving them a bigger share of the countrys post-tax incomes. That leaves America with the most unequal income distribution in the G7 group of rich countries.
Russ Vanderbeek Ballwin
Dont let Missouri lawmakers restrict ballot measures
Since 1908, Missouri has allowed its citizens to amend the state constitution by ballot initiative with a simple majority vote. As a Missourian, I take pride in the fact that our forefathers had the foresight to provide the people with this mechanism against political tyranny.
Today that check is being threatened. Missouri lawmakers have introduced a slew of bills aimed at restricting voters rights to directly amend the states constitution. Lets face it: Legislators do not want to be usurped or forced to deal with issues they would rather not address.
A grassroots campaign needs to be established to educate the public on this. As people grow more suspicious of government, now is not the time to restrain their voices. Voters must not be limited in their power to petition the government by using the ballot initiative to rectify their grievances.
Deborah Gilula Clayton
Read letters online at STLToday.com
EQS-Ad-hoc: Capital & Counties Properties PLC / Key word(s): Merger
Recommended all-share merger of Capital & Counties Properties PLC ('Capco') and Shaftesbury PLC ('Shaftesbury') - CMA Clearance and Update on Timetable
22-Feb-2023 / 09:59 CET/CEST
Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
22 February 2023
Recommended all-share merger
of
Capital & Counties Properties PLC ("Capco")
and
Shaftesbury PLC ("Shaftesbury")
CMA Clearance and Update on Timetable
Capco and Shaftesbury welcome today's announcement that, following its Phase 1 review, the CMA has unconditionally cleared the recommended all-share merger of Capco and Shaftesbury (the "Merger"). Accordingly, Capco and Shaftesbury are pleased to confirm that the CMA Condition has been satisfied.
The Court sanction hearing is expected to take place on 2 March 2023 and subject to the satisfaction or waiver (if capable of waiver) of the remaining Conditions, the Merger is expected to complete on 6 March 2023. The Merger received the necessary approvals from Capco Shareholders and Shaftesbury Shareholders at the respective shareholder meetings held on 29 July 2022.
Further announcements will be made in due course and an updated timetable of principal events relating to the Scheme is set out in the appendix to this announcement. Further information on the Conditions is set out in the scheme document posted to Shaftesbury Shareholders on 7 July 2022 (the "Scheme Document") (which is available on each of Capco and Shaftesbury's websites).
Capitalised terms used in this announcement shall, unless otherwise defined, have the meanings given to them in the Scheme Document.
APPENDIX
EXPECTED TIMETABLE OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS
The following indicative timetable is based on Capco and Shaftesbury's current expectation of the dates and is subject to change. If any of the dates and/or times in this expected timetable change, the revised dates and/or times will be notified to Shaftesbury Shareholders by announcement through a Regulatory Information Service of the London Stock Exchange with such announcement being made available on Shaftesbury's website at https://www.shaftesbury.co.uk/en/investor-relations/recommended-all-share-merger-with-capco.html and, if required by the Panel, by posting notice of the change(s) to Shaftesbury Shareholders.
Event Time and/or date Publication of change of name declaration announcement on the JSE 22 February 2023 Publication of Capco annual results for 2022 1 March 2023 Court sanction hearing 2 March 2023 Publication of change of name finalisation announcement on the JSE by 8.00 a.m. on 3 March 2023 Publication of supplementary prospectus and Capco annual report for 2022 3 March 2023 Record date for the Capco interim dividend 3 March 2023 Expected last day to trade in Capco Shares on the JSE prior to the name change 3 March 2023 Last day of dealings in, and for the registration of transfers of, Shaftesbury Shares 4.30 p.m. on 3 March 2023 Disablement of Shaftesbury Shares in CREST 4.30 p.m. on 3 March 2023 Scheme Record Time 6.00 p.m. on 3 March 2023 Effective Date of the Scheme 6 March 2023 Admission of New Capco Shares to the LSE and JSE 8.00 a.m. on 6 March 2023 De-listing of Shaftesbury Shares from the Official List and the Main Market 8.00 a.m. on 6 March 2023 Expected trading in new name of Shaftesbury Capital PLC on the LSE and JSE under the share code SHC commences on 7 March 2023 Payment date for the Capco's second interim dividend (to Capco shareholders on the register on 3 March 2023) 20 March 2023 Latest date for despatch of fractional or restricted share sale proceeds cheques and crediting of CREST accounts of Scheme Shareholders for fractional entitlements or restricted sales proceeds 20 March 2023 Latest date for despatch of share certificates of Scheme Shareholders 20 March 2023
Enquiries:
Capco +44 (0)20 3214 9150 Ian Hawksworth, Chief Executive Situl Jobanputra, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Corbett, Director of Commercial Finance and Investor Relations Rothschild & Co (Lead Financial Advisers and UK Sponsor to Capco) +44 (0)20 7280 5000 Alex Midgen Peter Everest UBS (Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker to Capco) +44 (0)20 7567 8000 Hew Glyn Davies Jonathan Retter Jefferies (Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker to Capco) +44 (0)20 7029 8000 Philip Noblet Ed Matthews Peel Hunt (Joint Corporate Broker to Capco) +44 (0)20 7418 8900 Carl Gough Capel Irwin Hudson Sandler (PR Adviser to Capco) +44 (0)20 7796 4133 Michael Sandler Instinctif Partners (PR Adviser to Capco) +27 (0)11 447 3030 Frederic Cornet Shaftesbury +44 (0)20 7333 8118 Brian Bickell, Chief Executive Chris Ward, Chief Financial Officer Evercore (Joint Lead Financial Adviser to Shaftesbury) +44 (0)20 7653 6000 Ed Banks Wladimir Wallaert Blackdown Partners (Joint Lead Financial Adviser to Shaftesbury) +44 (0)20 3807 8484 Peter Tracey Tom Fyson Liberum Capital (Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker to
Shaftesbury) +44 (0)20 3100 2000 Richard Crawley Jamie Richards J.P. Morgan Cazenove (Joint Financial Adviser and Corporate Broker to Shaftesbury) +44 (0)20 7742 400 Paul Pulze Saul Leisegang RMS Partners (PR Adviser to Shaftesbury) +44 (0)7958 754 273 Simon Courtenay MHP Communications (PR Adviser to Shaftesbury) +44 (0)20 3128 8613 Oliver Hughes
Barclays, BNP Paribas and HSBC are original lenders under the Loan Facility Agreement and have provided financial advice to Capco in relation to the Merger. Java Capital is acting as South African sponsor to Capco.
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP is acting as legal adviser to Capco in connection with the Merger.
Hogan Lovells International LLP is acting as legal adviser to Shaftesbury in connection with the Merger.
Further information
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, any offer to sell or issue, or any solicitation of an offer to purchase, subscribe for or otherwise acquire, or the solicitation of any offer to dispose of, any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the Merger or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities of Capco or Shaftesbury pursuant to the Merger in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable laws.
The Merger will be implemented solely pursuant to the terms of the Scheme Document (or, in the event that the Merger is to be implemented by means of a Takeover Offer, the Offer Document), which, together with the forms of proxy, contains the full terms and conditions of the Scheme. Any decision in respect of, or other response to, the Merger by Shaftesbury Shareholders should be made only on the basis of the information contained in the Scheme Document (or, in the event that the Merger is to be implemented by means of a Takeover Offer, the Offer Document).
This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or a prospectus equivalent document.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation in respect of Capco and Shaftesbury. The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Capco is Ruth Pavey, Company Secretary and on behalf of Shaftesbury is Desna Martin, Company Secretary.
The Merger will be subject to the applicable requirements of the Code, the Panel, the London Stock Exchange and the FCA.
Information Relating to Shaftesbury Shareholders
Please be aware that addresses, electronic addresses and certain other information provided by Shaftesbury Shareholders, persons with information rights and other relevant persons in connection with the receipt of communications from Shaftesbury may be provided to Capco during the offer period as required under Section 4 of Appendix 4 to the Code to comply with Rule 2.11(c) of the Code.
Disclosure requirements
Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th Business Day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th Business Day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.
Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing - 3 - Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s), save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the Business Day following the date of the relevant dealing.
If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.
Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).
Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
This announcement (including information incorporated by reference in this announcement), oral statements made regarding the Merger and other information published by Capco and Shaftesbury contain statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections of the management of Capco and Shaftesbury 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. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement may include statements relating to the expected effects of the Merger on Capco and Shaftesbury, the expected timing of the Merger and other statements other than historical facts. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "is subject to", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", targets, hopes, "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases of similar meaning or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by Shaftesbury, and/or Capco in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, future developments and other factors they believe appropriate. Although Capco and Shaftesbury believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, Capco and Shaftesbury can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors which could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including, among others the enactment of legislation or regulation that may impose costs or restrict activities; the re-negotiation of contracts or licences; fluctuations in demand and pricing in the commercial property industry; changes in government policy and taxations; changes in political conditions, economies and markets in which Capco and Shaftesbury operate; changes in the markets from which Capco and Shaftesbury raise finance; the impact of legal or other proceedings; changes in accounting practices and interpretation of accounting standards under IFRS; changes in interest and exchange rates; industrial disputes; war and terrorism. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this document.
Other unknown or unpredictable factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in the light of such factors. Neither Capco nor Shaftesbury, nor any of their respective associates or directors, officers or advisers, provides any representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements in this announcement will actually occur. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Other than in accordance with their legal or regulatory obligations (including under the Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the FCA), neither Capco nor Shaftesbury is under any obligation, and Capco and Shaftesbury expressly disclaim any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Publication of this announcement
In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be available subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions on Capco's website at https://www.capitalandcounties.com/investors/investor-information/merger-shaftesbury-plc and Shaftesbury's website at https://www.shaftesbury.co.uk/en/investor-relations/recommended-all-share-merger-with-capco.html by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the business day after the date of this announcement.
For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of Capco's website and Shaftesbury's website are not incorporated into and do not form part of this announcement.
Requesting hard copy documents
In accordance with Rule 30.3 of the Code, Capco Shareholders may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting Ruth Pavey (Company Secretary) during business hours on 020 3214 9170 (or, in the case of shareholders resident in South Africa, Java Capital during business hours on +27 081 011 5571). If you have received this announcement in electronic form, copies of this announcement and any document or information incorporated by reference into this document will not be provided unless such a request is made. Capco Shareholders may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to them in relation to the Merger should be in hard copy form.
In accordance with Rule 30.3 of the Code, Shaftesbury Shareholders may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting Desna Martin (Company Secretary) at companysecretary@shaftesbury.co.uk or by calling +44 (0)20 7333 8118. If you have received this announcement in electronic form, copies of this announcement and any document or information incorporated by reference into this document will not be provided unless such a request is made. Shaftesbury Shareholders may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to them in relation to the Merger should be in hard copy form.
If you are in any doubt about the contents of this announcement or the action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own independent financial advice immediately from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or independent financial adviser duly authorised under FSMA if you are resident in the United Kingdom or, if not, from another appropriately authorised independent financial adviser.
Other information
If you have any questions about shareholder matters relating to the contents of this announcement, please contact Link Group on +44 (0)371 664 0321. Calls are charged at the standard geographic rate and will vary by provider. Calls outside the United Kingdom will be charged at the applicable international rate. The helpline is open between 09:00 - 17:30, Monday to Friday excluding public holidays in England and Wales.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / BTU METALS CORP. ("BTU" or the "Company") (TSX:V:BTU)(OTCQB: BTUMF) has entered into a series of transactions (collectively, the "Transactions") with Kinross Gold Corporation ("Kinross") that will strengthen the exploration effort on the significant properties of BTU in the Great Bear gold area southeast of the main Red Lake Gold camp area of northwestern Ontario (the "Dixie Halo Project"). The Dixie Halo Project is located adjacent to Kinross's Great Bear project (the "Great Bear Project") that Kinross, on February 13, 2023, headlined in a press release: "Kinross announces robust initial mineral resource of 2.7 Moz. indicated and 2.3 Moz. inferred for Great Bear project".
The Transactions include: (i) a purchase agreement pursuant to which Great Bear Resources Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kinross, ("GBR") acquired from BTU certain unpatented mining claims located in the Kenora District of Ontario, with BTU continuing to participate in those lands through a newly created royalty payable to BTU; (ii) an option agreement, which provides GBR with an option to earn a 70% interest in certain unpatented mining claims held by BTU located in the Kenora District of Ontario; and (iii) a subscription agreement pursuant to which Kinross purchased 25,000,000 common shares of BTU at a purchase price of CAD$0.05 per common share.
BTU CEO Paul Wood commented; "We are very pleased to enter into this series of transactions with Kinross, which will: provide CAD$2.8 million in cash to the Company by way of a private placement and property sale, accelerate the exploration of BTU's properties through an earn-in agreement of up to CAD$4.7 million, and, in all cases, leave substantial upside for BTU shareholders through a royalty package and its at least 30% interests in the Optioned Properties of the Dixie Halo Project. BTU will fully support Kinross as they commence their exploration work on the Optioned Properties and we are very pleased to have Kinross as a partner. The Company is also in the process of sourcing, accepting and assessing new and complementary minerals exploration projects to add to and diversify our property portfolio."
Kinross commented; "We are pleased to be working with the BTU Metals team to advance the Dixie Halo property, which is adjacent to Kinross' 100% owned Great Bear project."
Subscription
The Company has entered into a subscription agreement with Kinross for gross proceeds of approximately CAD$1,250,000 million in an arms-length private placement (the "Private Placement") of its common shares (the "Common Shares"), comprised of 25,000,000 Common Shares at a purchase price of CAD$0.05 per Common Share. The net proceeds of the private placement will be used by the Company for investments, general and working capital purposes.
The Private Placement closed on February 22nd, 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V"). Kinross became an insider of the Company upon the closing of the Private Placement, and holds 25,000,000 Common Shares, representing 17.5% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares.
The Common Shares will have a hold period of four months and one day from the closing date of the Private Placement.
Asset Acquisition
The Company has also entered into a purchase agreement with GBR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kinross, for the purchase (the "Acquisition") of certain unpatented mining claims located in the Kenora District of Ontario (the "Acquisition Properties"). The Acquisition Properties have a total area of 2,637 hectares, and consist of 39 Boundary Cell Mining Claims and 76 Single Cell Mining Claims located to the south of the Great Bear Project, as well as 2 Multi-cell Mining Claims located to the north of the Great Bear Project (see Figure 1). BTU will hold Net Smelter Royalties from 1.5% to 2.5% on these properties as well as underlying royalty buy back rights.
The consideration payable by GBR pursuant to the Acquisition is: (i) CAD$1,550,000 in cash, with CAD$1,250,000 due immediately on closing and an additional CAD$300,000 due on the one-year anniversary of the closing date, and (ii) GBR issued to the Company a variable 1.5% - 2.5% NSR royalty on the Acquisition Properties (the "Royalty"), such that each Acquisition Property will have a cumulative total 4% NSR royalty attached to it upon the grant of the Royalty, once combined with the existing royalties payable over and in respect of the Acquisition Property. BTU will maintain any existing third-party royalty buy-back rights in respect of the Acquisition Properties.
Figure 1: Map showing the Acquisition Properties, Optioned Properties as well as Kinross's properties and the BTU/GoldON Pakwash properties. The Great Bear Project mineral resource is located on the northern Kinross property on this map.
The Acquisition is an arm's length transaction pursuant to the policies of the TSX-V and closed on February 22nd, 2023, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the final approval of the TSX-V.
Option Agreement
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has entered into a property option agreement (the "Option Agreement") with GBR, pursuant to which GBR has been granted the right to acquire an undivided 70% interest in and to 757 mining claims (12 Boundary Cell Mining Claims, 3 Multi-cell Mining Claims, and 742 Single Cell Mining Claims) covering approximately 16,410 hectares of land, located in the Kenora District of Ontario (the "Optioned Properties").
Pursuant to the terms of the Option Agreement, GBR has the option to acquire the 70% interest in the Optioned Properties in consideration for completing cash payments or exploration expenditures on the Optioned Properties, being: (i) CAD$2,700,000 in expenditures, to be incurred by GBR on or before the date that is 36 months from the effective date of the Option Agreement, and (ii) a further CAD$2,000,000 of expenditures, to be incurred by GBR in its sole discretion within 48 months from the effective date of the Option Agreement.
The Option Agreement will constitute a reviewable transaction under TSX-V Policy 5.3 - Acquisitions and Dispositions of Non-Cash Assets as it will, if completed, result in a disposition of more than 50% of the Company's assets. As such, the Option Agreement will be subject to the approval of the majority of the shareholders of the Company and the Company intends to call a meeting of shareholders as soon as practicable for the purposes of approving the Option Agreement. The closing of the Private Placement and the Acquisition are independent of, and not conditional upon, the closing of the Option Agreement. Further details will be provided in a subsequent press release.
The Option Agreement will also be subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the final approval of the TSX-V.
During the term of the Option Agreement, GBR will be the operator of the Optioned Properties.
No new control person will be created as a result of the Transactions and no finders' fee is payable by any party with respect to the Transactions.
Early Warning Disclosure
In connection with the Private Placement, Kinross acquired 25,000,000 Common Shares. Kinross now holds an aggregate of 25,000,000 Common Shares representing approximately 17.5% of the then issued and outstanding Common Shares on a non-diluted basis, requiring disclosure pursuant to the early warning requirements under applicable securities laws. Kinross does not have any current intentions to significantly increase or decrease its beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, any additional securities of the Company. Kinross may, from time to time, and depending on market and other conditions, acquire Common Shares through market transactions, private placements, treasury issuances, convertible securities, or otherwise sell all or some portion of the Common Shares owned or controlled, or may continue to hold the Common Shares.
Kinross's head office is location at 25 York Street, 17th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2V5.
The forgoing disclosure is being disseminated pursuant to the requirements of National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues of the Canadian Securities Administrators, which also requires an early warning report to be filed with the applicable securities regulators containing additional information with respect to the forgoing matters. A copy of the early warning report in respect of the Private Placement will be available on the Company's profiled on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
About BTU
BTU Metals Corp. is a junior mining exploration company focused on the Dixie Halo Project located in Red Lake, Ontario immediately adjacent to the Great Bear Project.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Paul Wood"
Paul Wood, CEO, Director
[email protected]
BTU Metals Corp.
Telephone: 1-604-683-3995
Toll Free: 1-888-945-4770
Cautionary Statement
Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws that are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. The information in this release about future plans and objectives of the Company, including the intention to complete the Private Placement and the expected expenditure of the proceeds of the Private Placement, the intention to complete the Acquisition and the intention to Complete the transactions contemplated under the Option Agreement are forward-looking information. Other forward-looking information includes but is not limited to information concerning: the intentions, plans and future actions of the Company.
Any statements that involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information.
This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time it was made, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others: the Company's ability to obtain all approvals required in connection with the Private Placement, Acquisition and Option Agreement and successfully complete the Private Placement, Acquisition and Option Agreement; risks relating to the global economic climate; dilution; future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing; the competitive nature of the industry; currency exchange risks; the need for the Company to manage its planned growth and expansion; the effects of product development; protection of proprietary rights; the effect of government regulation and compliance on the Company and the industry; reliance on key personnel; global economic and financial market deterioration impeding access to capital or increasing the cost of capital; and volatile securities markets impacting security pricing unrelated to operating performance. The Company has also assumed that no significant events occur outside of the normal course of business. 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 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 information. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking information other than as required by law.
Phone: 604-683-3995/ Toll Free: 888-945-4770
SOURCE: BTU Metals Corp.
View source version on accesswire.com:
Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, Apollo) today announced former U.S. Senator Patrick Toomey has been appointed to its Board of Directors, effective March 15, 2023. With this appointment, the Apollo Board of Directors will increase to 17 directors, 13 of whom are independent.
Mr. Toomey represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate from 2011 to 2023, serving on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Budget, and Finance Committees, as well as the Joint Economic Committee and the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. He chaired the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection. Mr. Toomey previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, where he was a member of the House Budget Committee. He began his career in financial services at Chemical Bank and then Morgan, Grenfell & Co. Mr. Toomey has a B.A. in political science from Harvard University.
Marc Rowan, Chief Executive Officer of Apollo, said, I am pleased to welcome Pat Toomey to the Apollo Board and am confident that he will be a tremendous asset to our firm. Pat has a reputation for independent thinking and leadership experience in policy areas relevant to Apollos business. His appointment also underscores our commitment to best-in-class corporate governance, with oversight from a Board that is two-thirds independent and representative of diverse perspectives and deep experience across a variety of sectors and industries.
Jay Clayton, non-executive Chair of the Board, said, Beyond Pats public policy experience, his leadership, vision and reputation for collaboration will add significant value to the Board. I look forward to working closely with Pat and the entire Board to continue generating value for shareholders and delivering for clients across the integrated Apollo ecosystem.
Pat Toomey said, After 18 years in the public sector, I am excited to bring my differentiated perspectives to the Board of Apollo, a firm that plays an important role in generating retirement income for millions of savers and providing capital for business growth.
About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three investing strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of December 31, 2022, Apollo had approximately $548 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.
Apollo Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on managements beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. When used in this press release the words believe, anticipate, estimate, expect, intend and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Apollo believes these factors include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled Risk Factors in Apollo's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on May 10, 2022 and November 8, 2022, as such factors may be updated from time to time in Apollo's periodic filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SECs website at www.sec.gov. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in Apollos filings with the SEC. Apollo undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. This press release does not constitute an offer of any Apollo fund.
Contacts
Noah Gunn
Global Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0540
[email protected]
Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0491
[email protected]
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) the worlds largest AIDS service organization, has launched two new, striking advertising campaigns - Not Ready For Parenthood? and Plan A - to encourage people to use condoms when having sex. Condoms continue to be one of the most effective ways to prevent unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV. AHF started posting its ads mid-January in multiple cities.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005944/en/
(Graphic: Business Wire)
In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released preliminary data showing a steady increase of new STD cases across the U.S. Experts who analyzed the data with NBC News and The Washington Post believe the main contributing factor is a lack of condom use. For pregnant women, a spike in new syphilis cases is particularly worrisome due to the STDs ability to mimic other infections and mask its own. For men who have sex with men, the availability of new medications such as PrEP or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is making condom use seem less necessary.
As a woman of color, having the ability to decide when to have a child can be the difference in the earning power of a family, said Tracy Jones, National Director of Advocacy, AHF. This is especially true when women are the primary financial support to their families. Women deserve the right to choose the best time to create a family, and using a condom (Plan A) gives them the opportunity to protect themselves and be in a position to make the best decision for themselves.
AHF has been promoting sexual health and STD screening through its innovative public awareness and billboard campaigns for the past several years in response to the overall skyrocketing rates of STDs nationwide, particularly among young people, women, and men-who-have-sex-with-men.
In 2014, AHF launched its Syphilis Explosion outdoor advertising campaign, followed by its Syphilis Tsunami advertisements which ran in Los Angeles in 2016. In June 2018, the organization launched its Gonorrhea Alert billboard campaign, a nationwide effort to educate about a drug-resistant strain of the STD. These outdoor ads emphasized the necessity of condom use. Years later, the message continues to be of vital importance.
To find locations for free STD/HIV screening, visit www.freestdcheck.org.
About AHF
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 1.7 million people in 45 countries in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005944/en/
Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF
+1.323.791.5526 cell
[email protected]
Lauren Hogan, Associate Director, Communications, AHF
310.940.0802 cell
[email protected]
Imara Canady, National Director, Communications & Community Engagement
+1.770.940.6555 cell
[email protected]
Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Twenty years ago, President George W. Bush announced the establishment of the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) the most successful program ever created to address a single disease. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) celebrates PEPFAR this week as it commemorates its 20th anniversary and honors the 25 million lives it has saved while acknowledging much work remains in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.
PEPFAR has been an undeniable success of which much can be attributed to its consistent bipartisan support since its inception, along with its transparent work via well-developed programs, partnerships, and the creation of the infrastructure to get resources where theyre needed most, said AHF President Michael Weinstein. Were proud to celebrate PEPFAR today, and even though we still have significant work ahead, the strides the world has made towards ending AIDS would not be possible without PEPFARs invaluable contributions to the HIV/AIDS response.
PEPFARs creation in 2003 turned the tide of the global AIDS response and was instrumental in bringing HIV care and treatment to places where the epidemic was raging out of control. The U.S. commitment to PEPFAR, which now has programs in over 50 countries, was the most significant investment by an individual nation to combat HIV/AIDS.
The world was at a tipping point in the battle against HIV, compelling AHF to advocate for the creation of PEPFAR and later its reauthorization prioritizing care and treatment. It is the backbone of the global AIDS response, added AHF Chief of Public Affairs and General Counsel Tom Myers. We were also happy to commit our resources to bring caregivers and patients from AHF programs worldwide to Washington to share with Members of Congress real-world examples of the invaluable contributions PEPFAR makes.
Thanks to PEPFAR, as of September 2022, more than 20.1 million men, women, and children are on lifesaving treatment, 5.5 million babies were born HIV-free, and over 7 million orphans, vulnerable children, and their caregivers received care and support. Additionally, more than 64 million people accessed testing services.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-profit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.7 million people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Europe. We are currently the largest non-profit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the world. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005905/en/
US MEDIA CONTACT:
Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF
+1 323 308 1833 work +1.323.791.5526 mobile
[email protected]
Denys Nazarov, Director of Global Policy and
Communications, AHF
+1 323.308.1829
[email protected]
Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:
The M6 Group (Paris: MMT) welcomes the selection of the M6 channel by ARCOM as part of the bidding process for the allocation of DTT channel 6.
This step enables it to consider with serenity the continuation of the broadcasting of its programmes to the public in strict compliance with its obligations.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005925/en/
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Myriam Pinot +33 (0)1 41 92 57 73 / [email protected]
PRESS
Paul Mennesson +33 (0)1 41 92 61 36 / [email protected]
Source: M6 METROPOLE TELEVISION
CAMDEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) today announced that it will report its second-quarter fiscal 2023 financial results on March 8, 2023.
Mark Clouse, President and Chief Executive Officer, Carrie Anderson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Mick Beekhuizen, Executive Vice President, President Meals & Beverages will host an investor conference call and webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET to review these results. The companys second-quarter earnings press release will be distributed prior to the call.
All interested parties are invited to listen to and view the webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET at investor.campbellsoupcompany.com/events-presentations/. Following the companys remarks, the conference call will include a question-and-answer session with the investment community. Participation by the press in the Q&A session is in listen-only mode. A copy of the presentation will be made available prior to the webcast.
Call-in details for the webcast are as follows:
Time/Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. ET
Participant Toll Free Dial-In Number: (888) 210-3346
Participant International Dial-In Number: +1 (646) 960-0253
Conference ID: 2518868
A transcript and webcast replay of the conference call will be posted on the companys website within 24 hours of the event.
About Campbell Soup Company
For more than 150 years, Campbell (NYSE: CPB) has been connecting people through food they love. Generations of consumers have trusted Campbell to provide delicious and affordable food and beverages. Headquartered in Camden, N.J. since 1869, Campbell generated fiscal 2022 net sales of $8.6 billion. Our portfolio includes iconic brands such as Campbells, Cape Cod, Goldfish, Kettle Brand, Lance, Late July, Milano, Pace, Pacific Foods, Pepperidge Farm, Prego, Snyders of Hanover, Swanson and V8. Campbell has a heritage of giving back and acting as a good steward of the environment. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 as well as the FTSE4Good and Bloomberg Gender-Equality Indices. For more information, visit www.campbellsoupcompany.com or follow company news on Twitter via @CampbellSoupCo.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005892/en/
Investor:
Rebecca Gardy
(856) 342-6081
[email protected]
Media:
James Regan
(856) 219-6409
[email protected]
Source: Campbell Soup Company
Founding members offer deep expertise in insurance and financial services
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Earnix, the market-leading provider of intelligent cloud-based real-time rating, dynamic pricing and product personalization solutions for insurers and banks, announced today the appointment of Mike Keller, Board Member at Guidewire and Encova Insurance, and Scott Fitzgerald, Chief Marketing Officer at Intapp, to its newly-formed advisory board. The advisory board will support the companys global growth, providing actionable advice, industry insights, and market perspectives that help guide the executive team and Board of Directors.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005662/en/
New Earnix Advisory Board Member Mike Keller (Photo: Business Wire)
Earnix is solidifying its position as the premier provider of mission-critical solutions and remains focused on assisting the worlds leading financial and insurance companies address the growing demands of their customers, said Robin Gilthorpe, CEO, Earnix. With the advisory board, Earnix will enhance its situational and strategic awareness to ensure our customers success. Mike and Scott each bring extensive experience in the insurance and financial services industries. Their input will be invaluable, enabling Earnix to further innovate in new areas, as well as to extend how it supports insurers and banks in meeting their business goals.
Keller is a member of the Guidewire Software board of directors, Chair of the Compensation Committee, and Chair of the Guidewire Customer Strategic Advisory Council. He is also a member of the Encova Mutual Insurance Group board of directors and Chair of the Technology and Cybersecurity Committee. From June 2001 to June 2018, Keller was the Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Nationwide Insurance and Financial Services. From January 1998 to May 2001, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at JP Morgan Chase.
The impact of technology in the insurance industry is large and growing rapidly, said Keller. Earnix is the clear leader in applying cloud-based AI capabilities to advance critical pricing, rating, and underwriting operations. I am excited to join them as a strategic adviser."
Fitzgerald is the Chief Marketing Officer of Intapp. His past roles include Chief Marketing Officer of Duck Creek Technologies, Senior Vice President of Marketing for BlueSnap, and Vice President of Marketing and Vice President of Product Line Manager of ACI Worldwide. He received an MBA from the Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.
Financial services institutions are accelerating investment in technology-led change, said Fitzgerald. Cloud-based solutions are transforming the customer experience and driving growth across the entire industry. I am excited to participate in the next phase of Earnixs evolution.
The creation of the advisory board, leveraging the expertise of accomplished business leaders, is another strategic step for Earnix. Capitalizing on the insights of seasoned leaders, the company intends to not only assist insurers and banks in meeting their own business goals, but also to ensure they meet the evolving demands of their customer. The founding members will lay the foundation for a vibrant collection of advisors for the future.
About Earnix
Earnix is the premier provider of mission-critical composable and cloud-based intelligent solutions across pricing, rating, underwriting, product personalization and telematics. These fully integrated solutions provide ultra-fast ROI and are designed to transform how global insurers and banks are run by unlocking value across all facets of the business. It has been innovating for Insurers and Banks since 2001 with customers in over 35 countries across six continents and offices in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Israel.
For more information please visit: earnix.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005662/en/
Jena Murphy
[email protected]
Source: Earnix
The popular Milk Bar at the New York State Fair will get a makeover.
Gov. Kathy Hochul included $14 million for the state fair in her 2023-24 budget proposal and, according to state Department of Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball, the funding will support more infrastructure projects at the fairgrounds.
Ball, who testified at a budget hearing on Feb. 14, told state legislators that the projects include the construction of a greenhouse educational center and rebuilding the Milk Bar in the fair's Dairy Products Building.
"These improvements will help us to build on the governor's goal to make the fair a real showcase of New York agriculture," Ball said.
The state Department of Agriculture and Markets, which oversees the fair, did not provide any more information about the Milk Bar project when asked by The Citizen on Tuesday. Since the funding request is part of Hochul's budget proposal, it must be approved by the state Legislature.
The Milk Bar is a major attraction at the state fair. In 2022, the stand operated by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County sold 285,650 cups of milk. Chocolate milk is favored by many fairgoers, with an estimated 12,500 gallons sold last year.
There have been changes to the Milk Bar over the years. NYS Dairy Exhibits, a nonprofit organization, was the longtime operator until its exit in 2017. The group's departure was due to a dispute with the state over funding for the stand and a failed attempt to raise the 25-cent-per-cup price that has been in place since 1983.
A few longtime fair vendors Wahid Akl and David and Michael Tadros took over the Milk Bar and introduced new features, including kiosks for fairgoers to purchase tokens that can be redeemed for cups of milk. The fair also moved a musical stage near the Milk Bar to reduce congestion.
Without much fanfare, the Cornell Cooperative Extension began operating the Milk Bar within the last couple of years. Volunteers from various youth groups, including 4-H and Future Farmers of America, staff the stand.
The Milk Bar's reconstruction would be in addition to other infrastructure projects announced by Hochul at the start of the 2022 state fair. The state will invest $35 million to build a new 15,000-square-foot sheep barn, a 2,500-square-foot goat pavilion, three 9,000-square-foot stables for horse shows, a new 1,600-square-foot concession stand for Tully's Good Times and streetscape improvements along Restaurant Row.
The concession stand and goat pavilion are scheduled to open this year, while the horse stables and sheep barn will open in 2024.
Since 2016, the state has spent more than $125 million to improve the fairgrounds. The projects included the construction of a $63 million expo center, an expanded midway, a new main gate and the creation of the New York Experience festival grounds.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, FreeWheel announced two leadership appointments: David Dworin as chief product officer and Quentin SaLay as head of human resources.
In their respective new roles, Dworin will oversee FreeWheels product vision, strategy, design and development worldwide, and SaLay is responsible for leading human resources globally in support of the companys overall business plan and strategic direction.
Television advertising is constantly evolving, and to ensure that FreeWheel continues to pioneer and innovate new solutions that address the industrys needs, we need to be led by the best of the best, said FreeWheel General Manager Mark McKee. These two leaders embody the mindset, drive, energy and passion we need to take the company forward. David is a highly collaborative and insightful team and industry leader; and Quentin brings a strong background in moving the needle on workplace culture, change and results within the technology sector.
David Dworin, Chief Product Officer
Since Dworin joined FreeWheel in May 2017, he has played a pivotal role in its transformation to a global platform company that is building the future of advertising technology. He was most recently vice president, product management, during which he led FreeWheels enablement of programmatic for premium video and the focus on connecting buyers and sellers to execute trusted, efficient and effective advertising transactions across multiple screens. He also formerly headed up FreeWheels global advisory services practice (the companys consulting arm) and trust and standards team, which works to improve industry trust through ongoing accreditation, compliance and marketplace quality initiatives. In his new role, he reports to McKee.
Dworin brings a background in entrepreneurship, strategy and consulting. Before FreeWheel, he ran a consulting practice that helped technology and services companies grow and scale their businesses. At StrategyOne (now Edelman Data x Intelligence), he led marketing, strategic business development and organizational change. For Gallup, he spearheaded a global transformation in the companys consulting business.
Dworin earned a Master of Science in Information from the University of Michigan, with a specialization in Information Economics, and Bachelors Degrees in Political Science and International Studies from Michigan State University.
Quentin SaLay, Head of Human Resources
SaLay, who was most recently vice president of human resources for Comcast Cables Beltway Region, is now overseeing human resources for FreeWheel globally. He reports to Tracey Kopper-Hourin, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Comcast Advertising.
Since SaLay joined Comcast in February 2005, he has built highly collaborative teams that have consistently delivered results by aligning HR strategic initiatives with business goals, resulting in increased levels of employee engagement and business results. He has held various senior HR roles at Comcast, including vp of HR for Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS), where his business acumen and leadership helped CTS drive significant growth. He was also key player in the establishment of the Comcast India Engineering Center (CIEC).
SaLay is a graduate of the University of Maryland, with a bachelor of science in psychology and a masters degree in social psychology. He is also an alumnus of the Wharton School of Business Executive Education program and the Darden School of Business NAMIC (National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications) Executive Leadership Development Program. SaLay holds a global MBA from the Fletcher School of Business at Tufts University.
About FreeWheel
FreeWheel empowers all segments of The New TV Ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal results for marketers.
With offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Paris, Beijing and across the globe, FreeWheel is a part of Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company. It stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit freewheel.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005262/en/
Media
Elaine Wong
[email protected]
Source: FreeWheel
ANNAPOLIS, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. ("Hannon Armstrong" or "HASI") (NYSE: HASI), a leading investor in climate solutions, today announced it will host an Investor Day from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 21 in Annapolis, Maryland. Beginning at 8:30 a.m., investors and other interested parties will be able to access a live video webcast, including the presentation materials, at https://investors.hannonarmstrong.com/. Registration to access the live webcast is available at the Investor Day Registration Page. A replay will be available after the event.
About Hannon Armstrong
Hannon Armstrong (NYSE: HASI) is the first U.S. public company solely dedicated to investments in climate solutions, providing capital to assets developed by leading companies in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other sustainable infrastructure markets. With more than $9 billion in managed assets, our core purpose is to make climate positive investments with superior risk-adjusted returns. For more information, please visit hannonarmstrong.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005968/en/
Investors:
Neha Gaddam
[email protected]
410-571-6189
Source: Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc.
Infogain helps its clients achieve transformational business outcomes
LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Infogain, a Silicon Valley-headquartered leader in human-centered digital platform and software engineering services, today announced that it has been recognized as a Major Contender in Everest Groups Software Product Engineering Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2023.
Infogain was among 33 engineering service providers evaluated in the fourth edition of Everest Groups Software Product Engineering PEAK Matrix Assessment. Providers were evaluated for their overall and vertical-specific software product engineering capabilities and market impact. More specifically, evaluations were based on:
Vision and strategy, performance, trends, frameworks and solutions, strengths, investment and improvement areas as per briefings with service providers
Reference interviews, including service provider performance, benchmarking, priorities and best practices, along with ongoing buyer surveys
This marks the third time Infogain has been recognized as a Major Contender in a PEAK Matrix Assessment for Software Product Engineering Services. Infogain was also included in Everest Groups Engineering Services Top 50 report, where for the third consecutive year, Infogain ranked among the fastest growing engineering services providers globally.
Nishith Mathur, Chief Strategy and Solutions Officer, Infogain said, We are pleased to be featured as a Major Contender on the Software Product Engineering Services PEAK Matrix once again. We remain focused on leveraging our capabilities to design digital platforms that enable transformational business outcomes to our customers.
Akshat Vaid, Vice President, Engineering Services, Everest Group said, Service providers need to actively enhance their capabilities to help enterprises gain resilience in the next phase of the industrial revolution, with next generation software. Infogain has been able to help organizations improve the quality, scalability, and maintainability of their software products, as well as reduce costs and time-to-market.
Everest Group is a research and consulting firm that engages in strategic business, engineering, and IT services. Everest Groups PEAK Matrix is a proprietary framework for assessing market capability, impact, and vision.
To request the full report, contact Infogain here.
About Infogain
Infogain is a human-centered digital platform engineering company based out of Silicon Valley. We engineer business outcomes for Fortune 500 companies and digital natives in the technology, healthcare, insurance, travel, telecom, and retail/CPG industries. We accelerate experience-led transformation in the delivery of digital platforms using technologies such as cloud, microservices, automation, IoT, and artificial intelligence. Infogain is a multi-cloud expert across hyperscale cloud providers Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services.
Infogain, an Apax Funds portfolio company, has offices in California, Washington, Texas, the UK, and Singapore, with delivery centers in Seattle, Houston, Montevideo, Krakow, Noida, Bengaluru, Pune, Gurgaon, and Mumbai.
To learn more, visit www.infogain.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005865/en/
Infogain
Piyali Guha
[email protected]
+91 9739015925
Archetype
Suryansh Gaur
[email protected]
+91 9711306903
Source: Infogain
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MFS Investment Management (MFS) released today the distribution income sources for six of its closed-end funds for February 2023: MFS Charter Income Trust (NYSE: MCR), MFS Government Markets Income Trust (NYSE: MGF), MFS Intermediate High-Income Fund (NYSE: CIF), MFS Intermediate Income Trust (NYSE: MIN), MFS Multimarket Income Trust (NYSE: MMT) and MFS Special Value Trust (NYSE: MFV). This information also can be obtained by visiting MFS.com by clicking on Products & Strategies > Closed End Funds > Dividend Source Information.
MFS Charter Income Trust
Distribution period: February 2023
Distribution amount per share: $ 0.04633
The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution 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. The funds fiscal year begins each December 1st. All amounts are expressed per common share.
Current
distribution % Breakdown of
current distribution Total cumulative
distributions for the
fiscal year to date % Breakdown of
the total
cumulative
distributions for
the fiscal year to
date Net Investment Income $ 0.00000 0% $ 0.00000 0% Net Realized ST Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Net Realized LT Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Return of Capital or Other Capital Source 0.04633 100% 0.13672 100% Total (per common share) $ 0.04633 100% $ 0.13672 100%
Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the five years ended 1-31-2023 3.17% Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of month end NAV as of 1-31-2023 7.95% Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through 1-31-2023 3.77% Cumulative fiscal year distributions as a percentage of NAV as of 1-31-2023 1.96%
MFS Government Markets Income Trust
Distribution period: February 2023
Distribution amount per share: $ 0.02155
The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution 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. The funds fiscal year begins each December 1st. All amounts are expressed per common share.
Current
distribution % Breakdown of
current distribution Total cumulative
distributions for the
fiscal year to date % Breakdown of
the total
cumulative
distributions for
the fiscal year to
date Net Investment Income $ 0.00927 43% $ 0.02561 40% Net Realized ST Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Net Realized LT Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Return of Capital or Other Capital Source 0.01228 57% 0.03841 60% Total (per common share) $ 0.02155 100% $ 0.06402 100%
Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the five years ended 1-31-2023 0.98% Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of month end NAV as of 1-31-2023 7.22% Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through 1-31-2023 2.41% Cumulative fiscal year distributions as a percentage of NAV as of 1-31-2023 1.79%
MFS Intermediate High-Income Fund
Distribution period: February 2023
Distribution amount per share: $ 0.01479
The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution 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. The funds fiscal year begins each December 1st. All amounts are expressed per common share.
Current
distribution % Breakdown of
current distribution Total cumulative
distributions for the
fiscal year to date % Breakdown of
the total
cumulative
distributions for
the fiscal year to
date Net Investment Income $ 0.00651 44% $ 0.02133 49% Net Realized ST Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Net Realized LT Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Return of Capital or Other Capital Source 0.00828 56% 0.02221 51% Total (per common share) $ 0.01479 100% $ 0.04354 100%
Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the five years ended 1-31-2023 1.77% Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of month end NAV as of 1-31-2023 9.44% Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through 1-31-2023 4.38% Cumulative fiscal year distributions as a percentage of NAV as of 1-31-2023 2.32%
MFS Intermediate Income Trust
Distribution period: February 2023
Distribution amount per share: $ 0.02156
The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution 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. The funds fiscal year begins each November 1st. All amounts are expressed per common share.
Current
distribution % Breakdown of
current distribution Total cumulative
distributions for the
fiscal year to date % Breakdown of
the total
cumulative
distributions for
the fiscal year to
date Net Investment Income $ 0.00711 33% $ 0.02737 32% Net Realized ST Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Net Realized LT Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Return of Capital or Other Capital Source 0.01445 67% 0.05816 68% Total (per common share) $ 0.02156 100% $ 0.08553 100%
Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the five years ended 1-31-2023 2.08% Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of month end NAV as of 1-31-2023 8.48% Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through 1-31-2023 4.66% Cumulative fiscal year distributions as a percentage of NAV as of 1-31-2023 2.80%
MFS Multimarket Income Trust
Distribution period: February 2023
Distribution amount per share: $ 0.03366
The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution 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. The funds fiscal year begins each November 1st. All amounts are expressed per common share.
Current
distribution % Breakdown of
current distribution Total cumulative
distributions for the
fiscal year to date % Breakdown of
the total
cumulative
distributions for
the fiscal year to
date Net Investment Income $ 0.00000 0% $ 0.00000 0% Net Realized ST Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Net Realized LT Cap Gains 0.00000 0% 0.00000 0% Return of Capital or Other Capital Source 0.03366 100% 0.13037 100% Total (per common share) $ 0.03366 100% $ 0.13037 100%
Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the five years ended 1-31-2023 3.59% Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of month end NAV as of 1-31-2023 7.94% Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through 1-31-2023 9.85% Cumulative fiscal year distributions as a percentage of NAV as of 1-31-2023 2.56%
MFS Special Value Trust
Distribution period: February 2023
Distribution amount per share: $ 0.03825
The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution 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. The funds fiscal year begins each November 1st. All amounts are expressed per common share.
Current
distribution % Breakdown of
current distribution Total cumulative
distributions for the
fiscal year to date % Breakdown of
the total
cumulative
distributions for
the fiscal year to
date Net Investment Income $ 0.01033 27% $ 0.04494 30% Net Realized ST Cap Gains 0.00306 8% 0.00449 3% Net Realized LT Cap Gains 0.01301 34% 0.03595 24% Return of Capital or Other Capital Source 0.01185 31% 0.06442 43% Total (per common share) $ 0.03825 100% $ 0.14980 100%
Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the five years ended 1-31-2023 4.28% Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of month end NAV as of 1-31-2023 9.96% Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through 1-31-2023 6.47% Cumulative fiscal year distributions as a percentage of NAV as of 1-31-2023 3.25%
The above funds have adopted a managed distribution plan. Under a managed distribution plan, to the extent that sufficient investment income is not available monthly, the fund will distribute long-term capital gains and/or return of capital to maintain its managed distribution level. Investors should not draw any conclusions about the funds investment performance from the amount of the fund's distributions or from the terms of the funds managed distribution plan.
The Board of the fund may amend the terms of the plan or terminate the plan at any time without prior notice to the fund's shareholders. The amendment or termination of a plan could have an adverse effect on the market price of the funds common shares. The plan will be subject to periodic review by the Board. With each distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income, the fund will issue a notice to shareholders and an accompanying press release which will provide detailed information regarding the amount and estimated composition of the distribution and other related information.
The amounts and sources of distributions reported above 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 funds investment experience during its full fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The fund will send shareholders a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell them how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. The fund may at times distribute more than its net investment income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of the distribution may result in a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all the money that shareholders invested in the fund is paid back to them. A return of capital does not necessarily reflect a funds investment performance and should not be confused with yield or income. Any such returns of capital will decrease the fund's total assets and, therefore, could have the effect of increasing the fund's expense ratio. In addition, to make the level of distributions called for under its plan, the fund may have to sell portfolio securities at a less than opportune time.
About MFS Investment Management
In 1924, MFS launched the first US open-end mutual fund, opening the door to the markets for millions of everyday investors. Today, as a full-service global investment manager serving financial advisors, intermediaries and institutional clients, MFS still serves a single purpose: to create long-term value for clients by allocating capital responsibly. That takes our powerful investment approach combining collective expertise, thoughtful risk management and long-term discipline. Supported by our culture of shared values and collaboration, our teams of diverse thinkers actively debate ideas and assess material risks to uncover what we believe are the best investment opportunities in the market. As of January 31, 2023, MFS manages US$579.6 billion in assets on behalf of individual and institutional investors worldwide. Please visit mfs.com for more information.
The Funds are closed-end Funds. Common shares of the Funds are only available for purchase/sale on the NYSE at the current market price. Shares may trade at a discount to NAV.
MFS Investment Management
111 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02199
15668.173
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005445/en/
Computershare Shareholders Services:
Shareholders (account information, quotes): 800-637-2304
MFS Investment Management:
Shareholders or Advisors (investment product information):
Jeffrey Schwarz, 800-343-2829, ext. 55872
Media Only:
Dan Flaherty, 617-954-4256
Source: MFS Investment Management
POCASSET, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Axius Water announced today that it has broadened its platform by acquiring Napier-Reid, a leading supplier of custom-engineered water and wastewater treatment systems located in Ontario, Canada. Axius Water is a portfolio of businesses focused on improving the effectiveness of wastewater treatment in industrial and municipal applications. With expertise in nutrient management at the core of all Axius Water businesses, Napier-Reid complements this essential competency and extends its expertise into the drinking water space.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005874/en/
Napier-Reids process engineers and technology are known for solving unique problems with precise execution whether they be of scale, geographical and/or environmental complexity. These practical, sustainable system designs are based on more than 70 years of best practices.
According to vice president Frank Li, who has been with Napier-Reid since 1998, Our elite team of problem solvers is very excited to now be part of the Axius platform with the mission to provide sustainable water and wastewater solutions to industrial and municipal customers.
We are thrilled to finally have Frank Li and the Napier-Reid team now part of Axius. Frank and his team are passionate about solving customer problems, simple or complex, large or small. This fits so well into the Axius strategic mission of investing in businesses with sustainable water solutions, said Chris McIntire, Axius Water CEO.
It is business as usual for Napier-Reid, whose brand will stand side by side with fellow Axius businesses including ATAC Solutions, Environmental Dynamics International (EDI), Environmental Operating Solutions (EOSi), and Nexom. Frank Li will continue to hold the critical role of vice president and general manager at Napier-Reid and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations while also contributing to the robust infrastructure of the Nexom operations in Winnipeg, Canada. Both backed by the capital of Axius and its other operating companies.
Napier-Reid co-owner Tim Otton will transition into the role of production manager and focus on increasing manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand.
From SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor), RBC (Rotating Biological Contactor), DAF (Dissolved Air Floatation) and gravity clarifiers, to sludge heat exchangers, and grit removal systems, Napier-Reid carries a full range of products for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. On the clean water side, Napier-Reid also designs and supplies gravity and pressure filtration trains, membrane filtration and ion exchange systems for drinking water and industrial process water applications. All of these processes, along with the applications expertise to design and deliver them anywhere in the world, naturally complements the Axius portfolio of products.
About ATAC Solutions Ltd.
ATAC Solutions Ltd. is a leading UK environmental services company specializing in wastewater services and wastewater equipment on a capital purchase or hire basis. ATAC designs, manufactures, installs, and commissions a large range of process equipment and bespoke process technologies from its BS EN ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 quality standard accredited facility in Maidstone, Kent. atacsolutions.com
About EDI (Environmental Dynamics International, Inc.)
Founded in 1975, EDI designs, manufactures, and installs custom high-efficiency diffused aeration systems for which it also provides maintenance and parts support. Customers are served through several international offices, a UK manufacturing and distribution center, and a wide network of local independent partners. Research and development, engineering, design, manufacturing, and a sales center are located in Columbia, Missouri. wastewater.com
About EOSi (Environmental Operating Solutions, Inc.)
Based in Pocasset, Massachusetts, EOSi provides proprietary nonhazardous and environmentally sustainable liquid organic chemicals (MicroC) and technical services for biological nutrient removal applications in wastewater systems. EOSi offers strong product quality, technical support, and service levels to plant operators at municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities of all sizes. microc.com
About Napier-Reid
Napier-Reid is a leading supplier of engineered water and wastewater treatment systems located in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Since its inception in 1950, Napier-Reid had completed over 3,000 water and wastewater treatment contracts for both municipal and industrial clients in more than 40 countries. napier-reid.com
About Nexom
Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Nexom provides engineers and operators with turnkey biological, filtration, and lagoon-based technology solutions for nutrient removal and cleaner water. At more than 800 installations worldwide, operators utilize proprietary Nexom technologies to achieve regulatory compliance of pollutants, including ammonia, phosphorus, nitrate, biological oxygen demand (BOD), and wastewater reuse, particularly in cold climates. nexom.com
About Axius Water
Axius Water was founded in 2019 by KKRs Global Impact Fund, in partnership with XPV Water Partners. Axius differentiated products and services improve the effectiveness of the wastewater treatment process, thereby measurably improving the quality of treated water. The platform is expanding globally as it builds a diversified portfolio of operating companies that offer leading solutions that improve the overall wastewater management processes. For additional information about Axius Water, please visit www.axiuswater.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005874/en/
Media contact: Laura Brockway: [email protected]
Source: Axius Water
Co-hosted with Southern California Edison, the event will provide natural refrigerant technician training from multiple manufacturers and industry experts
MILL VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a 501(c)(3) environmental nonprofit working to advance climate-friendly natural refrigerants in supermarkets, today announced the first-ever Natural Refrigerant Training Summit in Irwindale, California April 4 6, 2023. Created for refrigeration technicians of all experience levels, the event is free to attend and will offer comprehensive training on the latest natural refrigerant technologies.
The summit was inspired by NASRCs Workforce Development Assessment Report recommendations, which outlined the commercial refrigeration industrys increasingly critical technician shortage. Published in January 2023, the report proposed data-driven solutions to improve technician recruitment, training, and retention to grow the workforce.
A key takeaway from our workforce development assessment was the need to increase training opportunities and prepare technicians for the transition to climate-friendly refrigerants, said Danielle Wright, executive director of NASRC. The goal of this event is to provide convenient, comprehensive, and relevant training for technicians to ensure their ongoing success in the future.
Leading industry experts and manufacturers will provide concurrent training sessions on CO2 fundamentals, CO2 installation, maintenance and troubleshooting, CO2 case controllers, propane (R-290) self-contained cases, and micro-distributed systems. For a complete list of training providers and up-to-date program information, visit nasrc.org/training.
While the training portion of the event is open to refrigeration technicians, local HVACR students are invited to participate in a networking session on April 4 to increase exposure to natural refrigerant technologies and build industry connections.
The training summit is offered free of charge thanks to the generous support of premium event sponsors: AHT Cooling Systems USA, BITZER US, CAREL USA, Climate Pros, CoolSys, Emerson, Hillphoenix, Parker Sporlan, Piping Industry Progress & Education (PIPE), and The Arcticom Group.
Register for the free Natural Refrigerant Training Summit.
About the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council
The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) is a 501(c)(3) environmental nonprofit working to advance climate-friendly natural refrigerants and reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by traditional HFC refrigerants. We collaborate with stakeholders from across the industry, including over 51,000 food retail locations, to eliminate the barriers to natural refrigerants in supermarkets. For more information, visit nasrc.org, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005343/en/
Media Contact
Morgan Smith
North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council
[email protected]
585-217-2254
Source: North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE: PXD) ("Pioneer" or "the Company") announced today that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly base-plus-variable cash dividend of $5.58 per common share. The dividend is payable March 17, 2023, to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 6, 2023.
About Pioneer
Pioneer is a large independent oil and gas exploration and production company, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with operations in the United States. For more information, visit Pioneers website at www.pxd.com.
Note: Future dividends, whether base or variable, are authorized and determined by the Company's Board of Directors in its sole discretion. Decisions regarding the payment of dividends are subject to a number of considerations at the time, including without limitation, the Company's liquidity and capital resources, the Company's results of operations and anticipated future results of operations, the level of cash reserves the Company maintains to fund future capital expenditures or other needs, and other factors that the Board of Directors deems relevant. The Company can provide no assurance that dividends will be authorized or declared in the future or the amount of any future dividends. Any future variable dividends, if declared and paid, will by their nature fluctuate based on the Companys free cash flow1, which will depend on a number of factors beyond the Companys control, including commodity prices.
Footnote 1: As used by the Company, free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities, adjusted for changes in operating assets and liabilities, less capital expenditures.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005894/en/
Investors
Tom Fitter 972-969-1821
Greg Wright 972-969-1770
Chris Leypoldt 972-969-5834
Media and Public Affairs
Christina Voss 972-969-5706
Source: Pioneer Natural Resources Company
As the first healthcare institution in Europe to do so, UKB and the Faculty of Medicine will provide medical students with personal, state-of-the-art, whole-body Butterfly iQ+ devices and implement Butterfly's Blueprint platform throughout UKB to further improve medical education, research and patient care.
The collaboration will include clinical integration at UKB and also evaluate impacts on care processes.
BONN, Germany & BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- For the first time in Europe, the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Medical Faculty Bonn are using the advanced ultrasound system Butterfly Blueprint from the U.S.-headquartered digital health company, Butterfly Network, Inc., to teach medical and midwifery students at the UKB. The innovative, semiconductor chip-based Butterfly iQ+ can enable more informed diagnosis and treatment directly at the patient's bedside and support complex ultrasound training integrated into studies throughout the UKB campus.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005861/en/
Prof. Wolfgang Holzgreve, two students, Prof. Bernd Weber and PD Dr. Valentin Schafer examining a patient with the Butterfly iQ+ system. Photo credit: University Hospital Bonn (UKB)/A. Winkler
Ultrasound diagnostics is one of the most important imaging procedures in medicine. It can be used to inform clinical assessment by nearly every medical specialty, and carries no side effects for patients. "However, ultrasound images are often not easy to interpret - which is why the UKB and the Medical Faculty promote early training and practical experience for medical and midwifery students," says PD Dr. Valentin Schafer, head of rheumatology and the internal sonography center at the UKB. As the first healthcare institution in Europe to do so, UKB and the Faculty of Medicine will provide medical students with personal, state-of-the-art, whole-body Butterfly iQ+ devices and implement Butterfly's Blueprint platform throughout UKB to further improve medical education, research and patient care.
The medical school first engaged with the U.S. provider of this mobile ultrasound system in early 2020, becoming one of the largest contingents in Europe at the time, with more than 30 devices. The use of the portable devices has since proven successful: Numerous studies have been published from Bonn, which above all demonstrate the benefits in medical education. Butterfly is the only supplier to date to provide a single-probe, whole-body transducer with unique Ultrasound-on-Chip technology that converts a compatible smartphone or tablet into an imaging instrument, enabling the practical application of ultrasound information in the clinical workflows of medical staff. For that reason, the collaboration will now be expanded to include clinical integration at UKB and also evaluate impacts on care processes. The device fits in a pocket and is powered by a combination of cloud-connected software and hardware technology in a privacy-compliant manner that can be accessed via a mobile app.
"We are pleased that the Butterfly portable devices, with their combination of whole-body ultrasound probe, software, cloud connectivity, and integration into clinical and administrative systems and workflows, will be used at our UKB, further optimizing ultrasound diagnostics in teaching and patient care," said Prof. Wolfgang Holzgreve, Medical Director and CEO of UKB.
"Point-of-care ultrasound, i.e. ultrasound diagnostics close to the patient, will certainly be essential for our students in the future," says Prof. Bernd Weber, Dean of the Medical Faculty at the University of Bonn. "We accompany the personal equipment of our students with personal Butterfly devices with a specific curriculum, initially in the practical year, which incorporates ultrasound knowledge across disciplines and even more comprehensively." At UKB and the Medical School, Butterfly Network's portable imaging devices will be introduced as early as next summer semester and will be available to students in the practical year from then on.
"We are proud to collaborate with UKB and the Faculty of Medicine to further embed our technology into its healthcare system with enhanced access to training and education, affordable equipment, and practical encounter-based workflows that are uniquely offered with the Butterfly Blueprint system. Through this collaboration, students at this premier European medical institution will access state-of-the-art healthcare technology and educational assets to ultimately become proficient in using ultrasound information directly at the bedside," said Niki Montgomery, Sr. Vice President, Commercial Development at Butterfly Network, Inc.
PD Dr. Schafer and Dr. Florian Recker, specialist in obstetrics and prenatal medicine at the UKB, are in charge of the project at the UKB and will provide scientific support. The start of the rollout begins with the new curriculum, which will be known as the BI-POCUS project (Bonn Internship Point-of-Care-Ultrasound) in the students' practical year.
About the University Hospital Bonn: The UKB cares for about 500,000 patients per year, employs 8,800 people and has a balance sheet total of 1.5 billion euros. In addition to the more than 3,300 medical and dental students, a further 580 people are trained each year in numerous healthcare professions. The UKB is ranked number 1 among university hospitals (UK) in NRW in the science ranking as well as in the Focus clinic list and has the third highest case mix index (case severity index) in Germany.
About Butterfly Network: Founded in 2011 by Jonathan Rothberg, Ph.D., and listed on the New York Stock Exchange through a business combination with Longview Acquisition Corp, Butterfly created the world's first handheld, single probe whole-body ultrasound system using semiconductor technology, the Butterfly iQ+. Butterfly's mission is to democratize medical imaging and contribute to the aspiration of global health equity, making high-quality ultrasound affordable, easy-to-use, globally accessible and intelligently connected, including for the 4.7 billion people around the world lacking access to ultrasound. Through its proprietary Ultrasound-on-Chip technology, Butterfly is paving the way for earlier detection and remote management of health conditions around the world. Butterfly iQ+ can be purchased today by trained healthcare practitioners in areas including, but not limited to, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America; to learn more about available countries, visit: butterflynetwork.com/choose-your-country.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005861/en/
Press contact:
Viola Roser
Press Officer at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB)
Communications and Media Office at Bonn University Hospital
Phone: +49 228 287- 10469
E-mail: [email protected]
Liz Learned
Butterfly Network
[email protected]
Source: Butterfly Network, Inc.
PowerSchools partnership with OneConnect will help grow the companys customer base in Africa
FOLSOM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, today announced the expansion of its Global channel partner initiative, the PowerPartner Program, with the programs first channel partner in Africa, OneConnect. OneConnect is an innovative provider of turnkey technology services and solutions in South Africa and throughout the African continent.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005985/en/
OneConnect Education Managing Director, Rogers Sithole, and PowerSchool CEO, Hardeep Gulati, finalize partnership plans to expand PowerSchool solutions across Africa. (Photo: Business Wire)
The PowerPartner Program leverages PowerSchools regional channel partners to support localized marketing, sales, and customer deployment efforts. As the first channel partner in Africa, OneConnect will help grow PowerSchools customer base in South Africa and throughout the region and is expected to help the company serve more than 500,000 students across the continent in the next year.
We are excited to announce our partnership with OneConnect, said Hardeep Gulati, CEO of PowerSchool. Weve seen the innovative impact of OneConnects technology services and solutions, and know they are the right partner to expand our support to the over 240 million students enrolled in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
Through the OneConnect partnership, educators in South Africa and across the continent can access mission-critical tools, including products from PowerSchool Unified Classroom, PowerSchool Unified Talent, PowerSchool Unified Insights, and PowerSchool Unified Operations to support even more educators, students and families and help them realize the promise of personalized education.
OneConnect understands the unique experience, opportunities, and challenges of education leaders in South Africa and throughout the Continent, said Rogers Sithole, Managing Director: OneConnect Education. Education technology, like the solutions offered from PowerSchool, are key to democratizing education through improving digital access, professional development, and personalized learning across the continent.
Currently, PowerSchool channel partners serve customers in India, the Philippines, and Uruguay, with plans to rapidly expand the program this year.
With PowerSchools extensive and growing customer base in the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, exceptional partners, like OneConnect, will further support the companys efforts for global expansion, said Tim Russell, Vice President for International Channel Development. PowerSchool will continue to add additional partners across the Middle East, Asia, New Zealand, and Latin America regions this year.
The OneConnect partnership news follows the companys recent announcement of plans to open its first Middle East & Africa (MEA) office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Spring 2023.
About OneConnect
OneConnect is a multi-faceted technology company headquartered in South Africa with regional offices in Kenya and Mozambique, offering over 14 years of turnkey Technology services and solutions to small, medium and large business throughout Africa. Their hallmark suite of innovative technology solutions and products, complemented by the experience and qualifications of their people, offer excellence in execution and after-sales service and support on an on-going basis. OneConnects Education division aims to democratize education on the Continent by offering solutions for every stage of the education cycle. For more information, please visit https://www.oneconnect.co.za/.
About PowerSchool
PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC) is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America. Its mission is to power the education ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 50 million students globally and more than 15,000 customers, including more than 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States, and sells solutions in more than 90 countries. Visit www.powerschool.com to learn more.
PowerSchool. PowerSchool and other PowerSchool marks are trademarks of PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005985/en/
PowerPartner Channel Program Contact:
Tim Russell
[email protected]
Media Contact:
WE Communications for PowerSchool
[email protected]
(503) 443-7155
Source: PowerSchool Holdings, Inc.
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- StoneTurn, a global advisory firm, recently assisted clients GE Lighting and Current Lighting, and their counsel Norton Rose Fulbright and Brooks Kushman, with damage control in a patent infringement trial. By determining an alternate amount of reasonable royalty damages, the StoneTurn team was able to reduce the award to the minimum royalty, $2 million, from the initial $50 million sought by Cao Lightings lawsuit.
StoneTurn Partner Ambreen Salters testified as an expert at trial. Salters was assisted by Partner Tiffany Lewis and Manager Lewis Wilson who together determined an alternative amount of reasonable royalty damages. This evaluation was based on reasonably comparable party licenses produced in the litigation which supported a reasonable royalty of no more than $2 million combined against both of StoneTurns clients.
The case was heard before the newest federal district judge in the District of Delaware, Judge Gregory B. Williams. Read the verdict.
About StoneTurn
StoneTurn, a global advisory firm, assists companies, their counsel and government agencies on regulatory, risk and compliance issues, investigations and business disputes. We serve our clients from 15+ global offices across five continents. To learn more, visit StoneTurn.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005915/en/
Lindsay Sweeney
Marketing Communications, Senior Manager
[email protected]
Source: StoneTurn
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.
Wuling Motors projects annual net profit of 85 million yuan in 2022
Wuling Motors Holdings Limited announced on February 21 that it expects its annual net profit to come in at around 85 million yuan in 2022, versus the 45.86 million yuan of net loss in 2021.
Photo credit: SGMW
XPeng sets up automotive technology subsidiary
Guangzhou Penghui Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. was recently incorporated with 5 billion worth of registered capital. The new company specializes in the operation, engineering, technology R&D, as well as test and development of integrated quick charge startions and electric vehicle charging infrastructures. The company is wholly-owned by XPeng Charging (Hong Kong) Limiteds subsidiary.
Geely-affiliated commercial vehicle R&D firm sees registered capital doubled
Zhejiang Farizon Commercial Vehicle R&D Co., Ltd. recently saw its registered capital double from 500 million yuan to 1 billion yuan. Founded in July 2021, the company is authorized to conduct R&D and manufacturing of auto parts, mechanical equipment, and molds.
Amap launches integrated mobility service platform
On February 21, Chinas navigation giant Amap officially launched its integrated mobility service platform at a seminar on transportation system construction.
NETA plans to realize point-to-point autonomous driving in 2025
Recently, HOZON Autos electric vehicle brand NETA announced the development plan and corresponding vehicle models for its NETA PILOT intelligent driving system.
YUDOs parent JuneYao Group launches air-land-integrated mobility strategy
JuneYao Group, who operates as a Chinese investment holding company, officially launched a significant mobility strategy (dubbed Jixiang Da Chuxing in Chinese Pinyin), under which the group plans to offer users better integrated services for both air and land travels through its two subsidiaries, Juneyao Airlines and YUDO, the group announced on Feb. 21.
Great Wall Motor puts ORA Good Cat onto Hong Kong, Macao auto market
Last week, Great Wall Motor successfully put the ORA Good Cat electric vehicle model onto the local new energy vehicle market in Hong Kong and Macao.
Chinas homemade passenger vehicle retail sales likely to climb 8% YoY in Feb. 2023: CPCA
China's domestic passenger vehicle ("PV") retail sales are anticipated to reach 1.35 million units in Feb. 2023, which should rise 8% from the year-ago period and also grow 12.9% compared to the same span in 2021, according to the China Passenger Car Association ("CPCA").
WeRide deploys self-driving bus fleet in Huangpu District, Guangzhou
On February 21, Chinese autonomous driving solution developer WeRide launched the first autonomous driving city bus route in Science City, Huangpu District, Guangzhou.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wells Fargo & Company announces the launch of LifeSync, a personalized digital approach to aligning clients goals with their money. LifeSync, in the Wells Fargo Mobile app, will be available at the end of March to Wealth & Investment Management (WIM) clients in its Private Client Group, Wealth Brokerage Services, and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network groups.
Delivering simplicity and personalization though the convenience of a digital app, LifeSync highlights Wells Fargos commitment to prioritizing intuitive digital experiences and offering customers and clients simple, intuitive ways of planning for what they want to accomplish with their money.
LifeSync delivers what our clients have asked us for, said Michael Liersch, head of WIM Advice and Planning. They want to see their goals and how theyre progressing toward them. They want to understand whats influencing their goals both market events and their own actions. And they want content that can help them as they move towards those goals. LifeSync does all this and provides our clients a timely opportunity to connect with their advisors as their goals evolve.
This brief video highlights the capabilities of LifeSync and showcases its features.
Through an intuitive digital experience, LifeSync can provide real-time progress on goals, tracks key vitals including net worth, portfolio performance, market indices, FICO scores, and credit card reward balances delivers timely and relevant Wells Fargo content through its Your Feed feature and serves as a connection to a clients financial advisor as goals or life events change and evolve.
For Wells Fargo Advisors financial advisors, LifeSync can support more informed and relevant conversations with clients, help keep clients engaged and informed, and support an interactive level of service. LifeSync can help advisors understand their clients needs, giving them a greater opportunity to help them achieve their goals.
Enhancing Clients Experience Through Innovative Digital Tools
Large majorities of respondents reported they prefer digital modes of handling most of their financial matters, including their investment transactions, in a recent study done on behalf of Wells Fargo*. Four out of five Gen Z (80%) and Millennial (79%) investors report feeling comfortable using their mobile devices for investing.
With LifeSync weve created another innovative user experience in the Wells Fargo Mobile app, offering one cohesive approach to goal tracking for clients regardless of their level of wealth or stage in life, said Michelle Moore, head of Consumer and Wealth & Investment Management Digital at Wells Fargo. Accessing LifeSync conveniently within our mobile app helps us meet our customers where they are, and on their timeline.
Taking Action on Your Goals
Money has meaning. Being intentional about how you use it is something we talk with our clients about consistently, said Liersch. We collaborate with clients to plan for known and unknown events, offer suggestions to help clients make the most of their money, and check in with clients when their life circumstances change and their needs shift. With the launch of LifeSync, we will bring these capabilities even closer to our clients to help them make more informed decisions big or small, simple or complex through all stages of their financial journey.
Explaining how LifeSync applies to everyday decisions, Liersch discusses how to sync life goals with your money in Season 3 of the About Money podcast. In 10 episodes, he breaks down the ways in which you can understand and organize your money by being more intentional about what you want in life and the corresponding jobs you want your money to do for you.
The 10-minute, actionable episodes take listeners from writing down the goals they have for their money, through how to prioritize which actions to take, and how often to revisit this process.
You can access the About Money podcast through Wells Fargo and Spotify.
* A national online survey of 2000 adults was conducted by Versta Research on behalf of Wells Fargo, September 21-27, 2022.
About Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management January 13, 2023
Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management (WIM) is a division within Wells Fargo & Company. WIM provides financial products and services through various bank and brokerage affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company and is one of the largest wealth managers in the U.S., with more than $1.8 trillion in client assets. WIM provides personalized wealth management, brokerage, financial planning, lending, private banking, trust, and fiduciary products and services to affluent, high-net worth, and ultra-high-net worth clients. WIM operates through advisors in Wells Fargo Advisors, independent brokerage offices, and digitally through Intuitive Investor and WellsTrade, as well as through advisors in The Private Bank and other banking centers.
Wells Fargo Private Bank provides products and services through Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Member FDIC, and its various affiliates and subsidiaries. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., is a bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.
Brokerage services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors. Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, Members SIPC, separate registered broker-dealers and non-bank affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets, proudly serves one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the U.S., and is a leading middle market banking provider in the U.S. We provide a diversified set of banking, investment, and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 41 on Fortunes 2022 rankings of Americas largest corporations. In the communities we serve, the company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth, financial health, and a low-carbon economy.
News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter: @WellsFargo
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Investment and Insurance Products are: Not Insured by the FDIC or Any Federal Government Agency
Not a Deposit or Other Obligation of, or Guaranteed by, the Bank or Any Bank Affiliate
Subject to Investment Risks, Including Possible Loss of the Principal Amount Invested
News Release Category: WF-ERS
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005171/en/
Media
Helen Bow, 832-962-1452
[email protected]
Source: Wells Fargo & Company
Semrush (NYSE: SEMR), a leading online visibility management SaaS platform, today announces the acquisition of Traffic Think Tank (TTT), a leading marketing education company and community featuring premium content by and for world-class marketing and growth leaders.
With more than 300 hours of content from over 90 industry experts, the TTT Academy is one of the most well-respected resources for digital marketing education in the world. In addition to its extensive content library, TTT offers a members-only expert community on Slack available to help answer questions, serve as a sounding board, and connect with other peers from the global marketing industry.
The acquisition of Traffic Think Tank marks another milestone in Semrushs commitment to assist marketers at every step of their career journey, said Andrew Warden, Chief Marketing Officer of Semrush. Enhancing your brands online visibility has never been more important, and we are simply delighted to bring TTT and its incredible content and culture to Semrush.
Traffic Think Tank was started by a small group of marketing experts in 2017 who were searching for like-minded marketers facing similar challenges. In the space of just three months, the community grew to over 300 people and featured hours of on-demand education. By 2020, the private Slack community hosted nearly 1,000 people, facilitating real-time question and answer sessions with some of the greatest minds in the industry. As of February 2023, TTT features 300+ hours of educational videos, on-demand courses, and has tens of thousands of messages posted every month.
Semrush is the go-to platform for savvy digital marketers whether theyre starting their journey, upskilling, or advancing their expertise, so naturally we are thrilled to join the Semrush family, said Matthew Howell-Barby. We decided to join Semrush because of their world-class suite of products and relentless focus on making marketing easy and more effective for their customers. The wealth of knowledge of our TTT experts and our expansive content library will further enhance the Semrush Academy to provide new training for marketers and continue improving existing modules.
The TTT acquisition enables Semrush to expand its Academy so marketers can learn new skills and hone their craft with access to communities focused on SEO, Content Marketing, Social Media, Digital PR, and PPC, supported by industry thought leaders and founders. The TTT mission will be maintained, and its community will be able to benefit from the content and resources already produced by the Semrush Academy, as well as new content and additional sessions from industry experts. This is the most recent acquisition for Semrush, preceded by Backlinko in January 2022, which added a globally respected resource of SEO training to the Semrush Academy, including Founder Brian Dean and his colleagues.
Upon joining Semrush, TTT co-founders Matthew Howells-Barby, Nick Eubanks and Ian Howells, along with several additional consultants, will help drive the continued growth of the Semrush community developing original content for the Semrush Academy, as well as continuing to participate in TTT community discussions.
Semrush has ambitious goals to establish a customized and all-encompassing online self-paced training platform, setting a new benchmark for digital marketing education, and aiming to deliver a premium experience for marketers globally.
To learn more about Semrush Academy, visit https://www.semrush.com/academy/ or Semrush, please visit, visit www.semrush.com.
About Semrush
Semrush is a leading online visibility management SaaS platform that enables businesses globally to run search engine optimization, pay-per-click, content, social media and competitive research campaigns and get measurable results from online marketing. Semrush offers insights and solutions for companies to build, manage, and measure campaigns across various marketing channels. Semrush, with over 94,000 paying customers, is headquartered in Boston and has offices in Philadelphia, Trevose, Austin, Dallas, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin, Limassol, Prague, Warsaw, and Yerevan.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include forward-looking statements, including with regards to the growth of Semrush, the size and development of the market for its products and goals for digital marketing education. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of the following words (among others): continues, remains, believes, expects, may, will, plan, should" or "anticipates," or comparable words and their negatives. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees but are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations contained in these statements. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" in Semrushs filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Semrush assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of changing circumstances or otherwise, and such statements are current only as of the date they are made.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005404/en/
INVESTOR:
Bob Gujavarty
VP Investor Relations
Semrush Holdings, Inc
[email protected]
MEDIA:
Jesse Platz
VP Public Relations
Semrush Holdings, Inc
[email protected]
Source: Semrush Holdings, Inc.
FILE PHOTO: The Bumble Inc. (BMBL) app is shown on an Apple iPhone in this photo illustration as the dating app operator made its debut IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange February 11, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Illustration/File Photo
(Reuters) -Bumble Inc projected annual revenue growth above market estimates on optimism over rising paying users on its eponymous dating app, even as its Badoo app struggles in a weak economy due to a larger presence among lower-income consumers.
The company's shares were nearly 2% higher after the bell on Wednesday, after swinging wildly in trading after results.
The owner of the app where women make the first move has in recent months benefited from a pullback in the U.S. dollar and new features such as "Compliments", which allows users to engage with each other before they decide to connect by sending a note.
Chief Executive Whitney Herd said the company plans to try out several new paid features later in the year, including virtual gift offering and the ability to add stickers.
Bumble forecast 2023 revenue growth between 16% and 19%, the midpoint of which was higher than analysts' estimates of 16.97%, according to Refinitiv data. Its first-quarter outlook was also broadly in line with estimates.
The projections contrasted with earnings from rival Match Group Inc, which forecast first-quarter revenue below expectations after poor product execution at Tinder drove the company's first ever quarterly decline.
Still, the earnings report showed parts of Bumble's business were struggling with the deteriorating economy and impact of the nearly one-year-long Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Revenue at Badoo and its other apps, which accounts for nearly one-fifth of the total, fell 11.9% to $50.8 million. The company also said it expects paying users will continue to drop at Badoo - which has a more economically sensitive user base and has a large presence in Western Europe.
In the last three months of 2022, Bumble's total paying users increased to 3.4 million from 3 million a year earlier.
Revenue was $241.6 million, compared with analysts' estimate of $235.9 million, according to Refinitiv data.
Quarterly net loss widened to $159.2 million, or 85 cents per share, from $13.9 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Samrhitha Arunasalam and Vansh Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
Charles River Laboratories (NYSE: CRL) shares plummeted over 14% Wednesday after the company said in its latest earnings report that it has received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with an investigation into the Cambodian non-human primate (NHP) supply chain.
The company stated that it has been informed the investigation relates to several shipments of NHPs it received from its Cambodian supplier. NHPs are monkeys CRL sells for medical research.
"Charles River intends to fully cooperate with the U.S. government as part of their investigation," the CRL stated. "Due to ongoing investigations and the heightened focus on the Cambodian NHP supply chain in recent months, Charles River has voluntarily suspended NHP shipments from Cambodia at this time."
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in November 2022, via the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, that a Cambodian NHP supplier, as well as two Cambodian officials, had been criminally charged in relation to illegally importing NHPs into the U.S.
CRL topped profit and revenue estimates on Wednesday, posting earnings of $2.98 per share, $0.23 better than the analyst estimate of $2.75, on revenue of $1.1 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. However, its FY2023 EPS guidance of between $9.70 and $10.90 per share missed expectations.
By Sam Boughedda
FILE PHOTO: People are seen in front of the entrance of Starbucks Reserve Roastery during the opening day in downtown Milan, Italy, September 7, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
MILAN (Reuters) - Starbucks has launched a new drink that mixes coffee with olive oil, offering it initially in Italy as an alternative to the more standard espresso or cappuccino.
The so-called "Oleato" beverages are made with arabica coffee "infused with a spoonful of Partanna cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil," Starbucks, the world's largest coffee chain, said in a statement.
The price is between 4.5 euros and 6.5 euros ($4.80-$6.90) depending on the size of the cup.
Young drinkers at Starbucks flagship coffee shop in central Milan gave the initiative a qualified approval.
"It's a strange idea...but there is something different about it and in my opinion it could appeal a lot more to foreigners than Italians," said 20-year-old Nicole Molinari.
Stefania Battagli, 22, said the coffee had a little too much oil for her tastes.
"But I like it because the milk and the oil can both be tasted distinctly. I don't know how to explain it, there are two flavours but they mix together and work well together," she added.
Company founder Howard Schultz, who has said a trip to Milan in 1983 inspired him to export Italian drinking habits to the United States, described Oleato as "the next revolution in coffee."
The "Oleato" debuted in various forms, including caffe latte, a "deconstructed" option featuring lemon juice, and an "Espresso Martini" with vodka and vanilla bean syrup.
The beverages will later be rolled out "in select markets around the world", starting with southern California in the United States in the spring and later this year in Japan, the Middle East and Britain, Starbucks said.
The U.S. company was founded in Seattle in 1971 and has nearly 36,000 stores worldwide.
It has been present in Italy since 2018, but with just 23 stores in a coffee-obsessed country of some 59 million people that features a cafe on almost every street corner. ($1 = 0.9410 euros)
(Reporting by Alex Fraser, Writing by Francesca Piscioneri and Keith Weir, editing by Alvise Armellini and Bill Berkrot)
Daniel Pauly and Rashid Sumaila are awarded the 2023 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for their rigorous scientific work to end overfishing and restore equity to our oceans
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 2023 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement , often described as the Nobel Prize for the Environment, has been awarded to two courageous Canadian ocean fisheries experts: ecologist Daniel Pauly and economist Rashid Sumaila.
Fish are an integral part of the worlds oceans, which in turn produces 50 percent of the Earths oxygen and this year the Tyler Prize honors the work of two scientists protecting the lungs of the planet.
Both Laureates, long-time colleagues at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia (UBC), said they wanted to use the Tyler Prize to spread an urgent and evidence-based message: all fishing on the high seas should be banned.
Creating no-take marine reserves is something we must do. Banning fishing in the high seas, which is the area outside the 200-nautical-mile zones of maritime countries, will create a critically-needed fish bank for the world, said Sumaila, who is the Canada Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Ocean and Fisheries Economics at UBC.
If we dont stop overfishing, we will lose marine stocks essential for food security and biodiversity, and the oceans ability to effectively regulate global temperatures, added Pauly, who is the Founder and Principal Investigator of the UBC research initiative Sea Around Us.
Sumaila and Pauly have published widely on the ecological and economic effects of the proposed industrial fishing ban on the high seas, which has had support from a growing number of scientists such as Dr. Sylvia Earle . Both Laureates, who are on the Board of Directors at Oceana , have also co-authored research calling for an end to the massive government subsidies given to major fishing companies.
A high seas fishing ban is one of the most effective ways to reverse the damage inflicted on the ocean through decades of unsustainable overfishing, mostly at the hands of wealthy Western countries, Pauly said.
Our modeling shows that closing the high seas would result in no loss in total global catch just a more equitable distribution. Most commercially fished species move back and forth between the high seas and coastal areas, where they can be caught in a countrys exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Pauly said.
Furthermore, the carbon value of the fish in the high seas is 10 times the value of fish we take each year to sell and to eat. We simply cannot afford to lose this essential ecosystem service, Pauly said.
Sumaila added that support for a high seas fishing ban continued to grow and that the closing of Antarcticas Ross Sea in 2016, which created the worlds largest marine protected area served as a valuable model. He and Pauly have also co-authored a Change.org petition, encouraging others to add their voice to the call for a ban on high seas fishing.
And more than 190 countries committed to the 30x30 agreement at the Convention of Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP15) in December to protect 30 percent of their land and waters by 2030 so there are good signs of progress, Sumaila said.
But we must move faster. Overfishing increases global emergencies such as climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity particularly for already vulnerable communities, such as Indigenous Peoples and populations in the Global South, Sumaila said.
Banning fishing on the high seas its good for biodiversity, its good economically, its good for global food security. And its good for equity of distribution, because smaller countries benefit when fish come into their catchment area, instead of only China, Korea, Japan, Spain etc., taking all the fish in the high seas. There are so many good reasons to do this before it is too late, he said.
Chair of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Julia Marton-Lefevre said that 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Prize, and she is honored to bestow this historic recognition upon scientists dedicated to protecting natural resources for future generations.
Our lives and livelihoods depend on the ocean, which covers more than 70 percent of Earth. The Tyler Prize Executive Committee recognizes Professors Paulys and Sumailas outstanding individual and complementary achievements towards the conservation of this global life-source, she said.
By pioneering analytical approaches and knowledge platforms to assess the global state of world fisheries, they have discovered viable solutions, offering policymakers a realistic pathway towards the sustainable management of ocean fisheries, Marton-Lefevre said.
On April 27, 2023, the Laureates will deliver a public presentation on their work at the University of Southern California. The following day, they will be presented with the Prize ($250,000, to be shared equally). Members of the press interested in attending should email the media contact below.
The Tyler Prize is administered by the University of Southern California.
Click here to download a full press kit
Official Citation from the Tyler Prize Executive Committee
For the 50th anniversary of the Tyler Prize we honor two champions of ocean sustainability Dr. Daniel Pauly and Dr. Rashid Sumaila. We recognize the importance of the oceans and the need to support efforts to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health and engage stakeholders globally to achieve this goal as envisioned by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 2023 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, often described as the Nobel Prize for the Environment, has been awarded to two courageous Canadian ocean fisheries experts: ecologist Daniel Pauly and economist Rashid Sumaila.
Fish are an integral part of the worlds oceans, which in turn produces 50 percent of the Earths oxygen and this year the Tyler Prize honors the work of two scientists protecting the lungs of the planet.
Both Laureates, long-time colleagues at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia (UBC), said they wanted to use the Tyler Prize to spread an urgent and evidence-based message: all fishing on the high seas should be banned.
Creating no-take marine reserves is something we must do. Banning fishing in the high seas, which is the area outside the 200-nautical-mile zones of maritime countries, will create a critically-needed fish bank for the world, said Sumaila, who is the Canada Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Ocean and Fisheries Economics at UBC.
If we dont stop overfishing, we will lose marine stocks essential for food security and biodiversity, and the oceans ability to effectively regulate global temperatures, added Pauly, who is the Founder and Principal Investigator of the UBC research initiative Sea Around Us.
Sumaila and Pauly have published widely on the ecological and economic effects of the proposed industrial fishing ban on the high seas, which has had support from a growing number of scientists such as Dr. Sylvia Earle. Both Laureates, who are on the Board of Directors at Oceana, have also co-authored research calling for an end to the massive government subsidies given to major fishing companies.
A high seas fishing ban is one of the most effective ways to reverse the damage inflicted on the ocean through decades of unsustainable overfishing, mostly at the hands of wealthy Western countries, Pauly said.
Our modeling shows that closing the high seas would result in no loss in total global catch just a more equitable distribution. Most commercially fished species move back and forth between the high seas and coastal areas, where they can be caught in a countrys exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Pauly said.
Furthermore, the carbon value of the fish in the high seas is 10 times the value of fish we take each year to sell and to eat. We simply cannot afford to lose this essential ecosystem service, Pauly said.
Sumaila added that support for a high seas fishing ban continued to grow and that the closing of Antarcticas Ross Sea in 2016, which created the worlds largest marine protected area served as a valuable model. He and Pauly have also co-authored a Change.org petition, encouraging others to add their voice to the call for a ban on high seas fishing.
And more than 190 countries committed to the 30x30 agreement at the Convention of Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP15) in December to protect 30 percent of their land and waters by 2030 so there are good signs of progress, Sumaila said.
But we must move faster. Overfishing increases global emergencies such as climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity particularly for already vulnerable communities, such as Indigenous Peoples and populations in the Global South, Sumaila said.
Banning fishing on the high seas its good for biodiversity, its good economically, its good for global food security. And its good for equity of distribution, because smaller countries benefit when fish come into their catchment area, instead of only China, Korea, Japan, Spain etc., taking all the fish in the high seas. There are so many good reasons to do this before it is too late, he said.
Chair of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Julia Marton-Lefevre said that 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Prize, and she is honored to bestow this historic recognition upon scientists dedicated to protecting natural resources for future generations.
Our lives and livelihoods depend on the ocean, which covers more than 70 percent of Earth. The Tyler Prize Executive Committee recognizes Professors Paulys and Sumailas outstanding individual and complementary achievements towards the conservation of this global life-source, she said.
By pioneering analytical approaches and knowledge platforms to assess the global state of world fisheries, they have discovered viable solutions, offering policymakers a realistic pathway towards the sustainable management of ocean fisheries, Marton-Lefevre said.
On April 27, 2023, the Laureates will deliver a public presentation on their work at the University of Southern California. The following day, they will be presented with the Prize ($250,000, to be shared equally). Members of the press interested in attending should email the media contact below.
The Tyler Prize is administered by the University of Southern California.
Click here to download a full press kit
Official Citation from the Tyler Prize Executive CommitteeFor the 50th anniversary of the Tyler Prize we honor two champions of ocean sustainability Dr. Daniel Pauly and Dr. Rashid Sumaila. We recognize the importance of the oceans and the need to support efforts to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health and engage stakeholders globally to achieve this goal as envisioned by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
Media Contact Rebecca Gill, ReAgency Email: [email protected] | Cell: +1 347 698 3291 (US / Europe), +1 646 361 2219 (Pacific)
Source: Tyler Prize
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arctic Wolf, a leader in security operations, today today published findings from a recent survey of 300 cybersecurity and IT decision-makers from Australia and New Zealand. After a year of high-profile cyberattacks in the region, the survey data reveals trends, attitudes, and beliefs that these leaders have on a wide array of cybersecurity and business issues.
The survey from Arctic Wolf reveals that security budgets are poised to increase in the vast majority (62%) of organizations, executives confidence in their ability to defend against attacks remains high (88%) despite a wave of recent intrusions, and two-thirds of businesses admit to having experienced a security breach.
Additional findings from the survey include:
One-in-six (16%) respondents claim their organizations has no form of 24x7 security monitoring in place, and almost a quarter (23%) have no single person dedicated to cybersecurity full-time.
25% of respondents say they cut IT/security headcount last year, with 15% also expecting to conduct layoffs in 2023.
One quarter (25%) of respondents claim their ANZ-based organizations have knowingly concealed a cyber-attack to preserve the reputation of their business.
Over a third (35%) of respondents would be willing to pay a five-figure ransom to threat actors to resume business operations, while 57% claim they would never pay a ransom.
"While many cybersecurity leaders in Australia and New Zealand are confident in their ability to defend their organizations from cyber threats, the fact that over two-thirds of businesses claim to have experienced a major cybersecurity incident last year highlights that many organizations are still ill-prepared to protect their businesses against both sophisticated and commodity attacks, said David Hayes, regional director, Australia and New Zealand, Arctic Wolf. The best way for organizations to break out of this cycle of fear and uncertainty is for them to recognize that they dont have a tools problem, but an operational one, and embrace security operations that are designed to address the ANZ-regions evolving threat landscape, with a mission to end cyber risk.
Arctic Wolf delivers organizations of all sizes a comprehensive suite of security operations solutions that are designed to give organizations the protection, resilience, and guidance they need to defend against modern cyber threats. This includes distinct capabilities such as Managed Detection and Response (MDR), Managed Risk, Managed Security Awareness each delivered seamlessly as part of the Arctic Wolf Security Operations Cloud.
Arctic Wolf brings much-needed simplicity, ease of use, and accessibility to security operations as companies look for technologies and services that act as a force multiplier to their existing internal resources. Complete Credit Solutions, an Australian-based financial services company, leverages Arctic Wolfs platform to unify the data from their multitude of IT and security tools and provide internal resources with ongoing strategic guidance that helps continuously improve organizations overall security posture.
"The Arctic Wolf Security Operations Cloud has given us a unified view into the security tools we use across our organization and has helped us to drastically cut down the number of alerts our internal team has to investigate on a daily basis, allowing us more time to focus on our strategic security priorities, Mustafa Mohabbat, Head of IT, Complete Credit Solutions. With the round the clock coverage and ongoing strategic guidance that their Concierge Delivery Model provides us, Arctic Wolf are not just an extension of our security team, they are an essential part of it.
Arctic Wolf employs a partner-centric go-to-market model, which has cemented the company as the cybersecurity partner-of-choice for more than 1,175 solution providers worldwide, including ASI Solutions and REDD in Australia and New Zealand. Arctic Wolfs award-winning channel program provides opportunities for security-minded and cloud-focused resale partners to forge a deep, strategic relationship with the company and position themselves at the forefront of the security operations market.
As a leader in IT solutions throughout Australia and New Zealand, ASI Solutions is thrilled to partner with the leader in security operations to elevate threat detection and protection for us and our customers, says Lloyd Vickery, NZ Country Manager of ASI Solutions. We are committed to delivering outcome-based solutions to our customers, and our partnership with Arctic Wolf will enable our customers to fully maximize security operations at scale and defend against the rapidly evolving threat landscape.
Arctic Wolf and its portfolio of security operations solutions are the ideal fit for our customers looking to improve their security outcomes across the entire cybersecurity framework. Recent high profile security breaches in Australia have brought security conversations front of mind for executives and employees alike across the country. We are proud to be one of Arctic Wolfs first partners in the ANZ region and be able to bring robust security solutions to our clients, said Brad Ferris, chief executive officer and co-founder, REDD.
For additional insights from the regional survey, visit Arctic Wolfs blog.
Additional Resources:
About Arctic Wolf: Arctic Wolf is a global leader in security operations, enabling customers to manage their cyber risk in the face of modern cyber attacks via a premier cloud-native security operations platform. The Arctic Wolf Security Operations Cloud ingests and analyzes more than three trillion security events a week to help enable cyber defense at an unprecedented capacity and scale, empowering customers of virtually any size across a wide range of industries to feel confident in their security posture, readiness, and long-term resilience. By delivering automated threat protection, response, and remediation capabilities, Arctic Wolf delivers world-class security operations with the push of a button so customers can defend their greatest assets at the speed of data.
For more information about Arctic Wolf, visit arcticwolf.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.
Press Contact:
Reagan McAfee[email protected]916-996-4969
2023 Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Arctic Wolf, Arctic Wolf Platform, Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response, Arctic Wolf Managed Risk, Arctic Wolf Managed Cloud Monitoring, Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, and Arctic Wolf Concierge Security Team are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc. or Arctic Wolf Networks Canada, Inc. and any subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and/or other countries.
Source: Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arras Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: ARK) (Arras or the Company) is pleased to provide a summary on the Companys 2022 regional exploration successes from the maiden fieldwork program completed in November 2022.
Tim Barry, CEO of Arras, commenting on the 2022 regional field programs, stated, We are very pleased with our first full year of fieldwork on our regional licences. The program has significantly increased our geological understanding of our regional projects. Although assays are pending, early indications point to robust base & precious metals targets emerging at multiple prospects across our regional licences. Geochemical and TerraSpec SWIR/NIR spectroscopy data, expected over the coming months, will allow us to further refine targets ahead of a more focussed field program expected to commence in May this year.
Highlights of the 2022 Exploration Field Program:
The first phase of field exploration on the Companys regional exploration licenses was completed in November 2022 with data-analysis and target interpretation currently ongoing. These programs were undertaken between May and November 2022 and represent the first fieldwork in many of these areas in more than 30 years.
Activities included field reconnaissance, rock and soil sampling, KGK drilling, geological mapping, alteration mapping (using TerraSpec SWIR/NIR spectroscopy), and the evaluation of prospective diamond drilling sites for the 2023 field season. A total of 16,000 soil samples and 400 rock samples were collected across the regional licenses. All soil samples are currently being analyzed by portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF). Selected soil samples will be or have already been sent to ALS Geochemistry (Kazakhstan and Ireland) and Intertek Genalysis (Australia) for geochemical analysis. Resampling of Soviet-era exploration trenches was completed in some areas with assays pending. A KGK (top of bedrock) drilling program comprising of more than 350 holes totaling approximately 6,000 metres was completed in several locations. Assays are pending.
Airborne Magnetic Geophysics program totaling just over 110,000 line kilometers was completed and will aid considerably in targeting the Companys 2023 field program initiatives.
Photos from the field campaign in 2022 are shown below:
Figure 1. Arras Minerals KGK drilling in northeastern Kazakhstan (Summer 2022)
Figure 2. Exploration Field Camp at Akkuduk exploration license in northeastern Kazakhstan (Summer 2022)
Figure 3. Geologists mapping in the field (Summer 2022)
Plans for 2023: Arras has planned a comprehensive exploration program on its regional licenses for 2023. The program will build on the work completed in 2022 and will involve additional and infill soil grids over promising areas, follow-up ground geophysics such as induced polarization ("IP"), ground and airborne magnetic surveys, trenching, and KGK scout drilling. The Company is expected to complete this work by the end of the summer and have several targets ready for follow-up drilling.
Arras is taking a systematic and data-driven approach to the exploration of its regional licenses to ensure it quickly identifies high-quality targets.
Qualified Person: The technical information of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Tim Barry, a Chartered Professional Geologist MAusIMM CP(Geo), and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
On behalf of the Board of Directors "Tim Barry"
Tim Barry, MAusIMM (CP(Geo))Chief Executive Officer and Director
INVESTOR RELATIONS: +1 604 687 5800 [email protected]
Further information can be found on the Companys website https://www.arrasminerals.com or follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arrasminerals
About Arras Minerals Corp.
Arras is a Canadian exploration and development company advancing a portfolio of copper and gold assets in northeastern Kazakhstan, including the Option Agreement on the Beskauga copper and gold project. The Company has established the third-largest license package in the country (behind Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group) prospective for copper and gold in the country. The companys shares are listed on the TSX-V under the trading symbol ARK.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors concerning estimates of Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Resources: This press release uses the terms measured resources, indicated resources, and inferred resources which are defined in, and required to be disclosed by, NI 43-101. The Company advises U.S. investors that these terms are not recognized by the SEC. The estimation of measured, indicated and inferred resources involves greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of proven and probable reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that measured and indicated mineral resources will be converted into reserves. The estimation of inferred resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of resources. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that estimates of inferred mineral resources exist, are economically minable, or will be upgraded into measured or indicated mineral resources. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies.
Disclosure of contained ounces in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations, however the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute reserves by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. Accordingly, the information contained in this press release may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies that are not subject NI 43-101.
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and Arras future results that are subject to the safe harbors created under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Exchange Act, and applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the use of net proceeds from the recent private placement, plans and expectations of the drill program Arras is in the process of undertaking, including the expansion of the Mineral Resource, and other aspects of the Mineral Resource estimates for the Beskauga project. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about Arras exploration projects, the industry in which Arras operates and the beliefs and assumptions of Arras management. Words such as expects, anticipates, targets, goals, projects, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates, continues, may, variations of such words, and similar expressions and references to future periods, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond managements control, including undertaking further exploration activities, the results of such exploration activities and that such results support continued exploration activities, unexpected variations in ore grade, types and metallurgy, volatility and level of commodity prices, the availability of sufficient future financing, and other matters discussed under the caption Risk Factors in the Non-Offering Prospectus filed on the Companys profile on SEDAR on May 31, 2022 and in the Companys Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed on February 17, 2022 available on www.sec.gov. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company in this release is based only on information currently available and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The Company undertakes 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.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5be84cee-8ed5-4236-bf9a-1df2788938cb
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6dd6dedd-6442-46b3-b6aa-0fcfc51b455c
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/55cb5fc3-b92d-4a04-b6a7-15fe2d1dcd19
Figure 1 Arras Minerals KGK drilling in northeastern Kazakhstan (Summer 2022) Figure 2 Exploration Field Camp at Akkuduk exploration license in northeastern Kazakhstan (Summer 2022) Figure 3 Geologists mapping in the field (Summer 2022)
Source: Arras Minerals Corp.
WJOEP, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF WSANEC NATION / BRENTWOOD BAY, B.C. , Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A comprehensive survey of B.C. First Nations languages reveals that investments in language revitalization are working, resulting in more B.C. First Nations people engaged in learning their language than was previously reported.
Now in its fourth edition, the First Peoples Cultural Councils (FPCCs) Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages provides benchmark data to First Nations communities, leadership and all levels of government to support language revitalization planning, evaluation and advocacy efforts. For the first time, the report includes data on all 34 First Nations languages in B.C. According to the 2022 report, there has been an increase in semi-speakers and immersion learning opportunities, as well as more than 3,000 new learners. Access to immersion opportunities across all domains for children or adults is critically important to building language fluency.
The Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages is vital to our understanding of what resources and supports are needed in communities and is a testament to the hard work of the many language champions, Elders, youth and kids who are speaking, learning and passing along their languages, said Tracey Herbert, FPCC CEO. It is great to see the positive impact of increased funding from both levels of government on the number of First Nations language speakers and learners in communities across B.C. We will continue to work collaboratively with our community partners to achieve long-term sustainable funding to make sure this positive momentum continues long into the future.
Published every four years since 2010, the 2022 report gathered information from 167 First Nations communities in B.C., reporting on 140,195 First Nations people. This was challenging in a period in which First Nations in the province faced many difficult circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic and record wildfires and flooding, which caused widespread evacuations and disruptions to peoples lives. Despite this, communities have worked hard to continue language revitalization work, developing more learning opportunities than ever before with support from FPCC.
The report highlights many positive developments in the growth of community-based language revitalization projects across the province. Of note are the number of language nests for pre-school-aged children, which more than tripled, from 10 to 32, since the last report four years ago. More children are also learning their First Nations language as their mother tongue at home. To celebrate these findings, the report highlights several families who are bringing back language within the home, including Roxanne and Cody Dool who are raising their three children to speak Halq'emeylem.
Adult language learning opportunities are also on the rise. Many adults who may not have access to community-run language programs are learning their languages with online language tools such as FirstVoices.com and through one-on-one immersion programs such as FPCCs Mentor-Apprentice Program. This program pairs fluent mentors with language learners and has grown from 27 teams to over 150 over the last four years. Growth in both the number of adult learners and immersion opportunities for young children support the intergenerational transfer of strong, living languages for First Nations in B.C. and is a very positive development.Since 2018, unprecedented positive actions taken by the provincial and federal governments have directly increased the funding and program support FPCC provides to communities, which has in turn contributed to the growth observed in this report. With government pledges to provide adequate, sustainable and long-term funding, we are optimistic that the growth observed in this report will continue.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canadas Calls to Action Report and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples both outline the need to protect and invest in the restoration of Indigenous languages as a human right. Additionally, the United Nations has declared 202232 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages to raise awareness about language revitalization efforts around the globe.
This Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages was funded by the First Peoples Cultural Foundation, the B.C. Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Quotes:
Regional Chief Terry Teegee, British Columbia Assembly of First Nations
As we mobilize for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, 202232, Im pleased to learn from this report that many First Nations communities are making progress on their goals to bring their languages to life. The hard work of the First Peoples Cultural Council and other First Nations organizations and the growth of funding and programs are nurturing the progress of language revitalization in the province. The federal and provincial governments have committed, through legislation and action, to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which affirms rights related to Indigenous languages. Much more work needs to be done to reverse the damage done by a long history of discriminatory government policies and practices, and I urge all levels of government to intensify and strengthen their support for First Nations in order to build on these successes. I would like to congratulate our youth, adult learners and language teachers and speakers who have successfully utilized resources during a very difficult time the COVID-19 pandemic and climate emergencies and have continued the work to revitalize and maintain languages within their families and communities. Mussi cho!'
Dr. Lorna Wanostsa7 Williams, Board Chair, First Peoples Cultural Foundation
It is encouraging to see Indigenous communities who are collaborating and finding different ways to support their language work in all areas of the family and in the community, including schools and community events. The 2022 Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages is a reminder that we must put all our hearts and minds together towards language revitalization. Funding and resources to create opportunities for younger generations to learn their languages help all of us to connect the past, present and future. Together is how we will get there.
Honourable Murray Rankin, Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
We want to help build a province where First Nations languages and cultures are living, used, taught and celebrated throughout their respective territories. Despite the many challenges that language revitalization has faced over the last four years, the 2022 Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages shows encouraging increases in the number of child and adult language learning opportunities. Much of the current work by the First Peoples Cultural Council is accelerating to meet the increased demand from communities across B.C. as they adopt new and creative approaches to language learning, and our government is here to support that.
Roxanne Dool, Halqemeylem learner from Squiala
My great grandma played a really big role in language revitalization here in Sto:lo territory. I feel like the only way I can give thanks to her and fill her shoes is by contributing to the language, and not only me, but taking my entire family along for the ride. Its a part of our culture and who we are, and what were supposed to be doing.
Cheyenne Morgan Gwaamuuk, Gitsenimx speaker who is teaching the language to her children in their home in Gitanmaax
One of the main values I see from the 2022 Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages is that it helps us understand the strategies we should be using in community. There needs to be more training on effective strategies for creating immersion environments and for increasing speaking proficiency. For a long time, our communities have focused on children through the elementary school strategy, but we lacked that adult immersion strategy to train teachers and parents to teach their kids. The most important thing is speaking in the home.
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Learn More:
Download the fact sheet for the Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages: here
Download the full Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages: here
Images available for media click here
A backgrounder follows.
Media Contacts:
Mandy LeithCommunications OfficerThe First Peoples Cultural Council(250) 818-3310 [email protected]
Media BackgrounderFebruary 21, 2023
B.C. First Nations Languages Report Shows Increase in Language Learners, Urges Action
Report on the Progress of Language Revitalization in B.C., 2022
Every four years since 2010, the First Peoples Cultural Council (FPCC) surveys First Nations communities to collect information that tracks the accomplishments around language learning and celebrates the successes we see over time. This report is the fourth edition and is the first time that data on all 34 First Nations languages in B.C. are reported.
The goal of the report is to provide current information to First Nations communities and leadership and all levels of government to assist with language planning and revitalization. This year, we are pleased to report several areas of growth, due in large part to increased funding from provincial and federal governments. Long-term sustainable funding will be needed to continue the positive momentum.
Increase in Semi-Speakers and Learners
Increased investment in language revitalization has created many more language learning opportunities. Communities have been working very hard, and we are excited to share that there are growing numbers of speakers and more new language learners than ever before.
There are 3,370 speakers of First Nations languages, or 2.4% of the population who reported to us.
There are 6,985 semi-speakers, or 4.98% of the population who reported to us. Overall, this is an increase since our last report in 2018.
Nearly a quarter (21.3%) of semi-speakers are under the age of 25.
With speakers and semi-speakers combined, there are 10,355 speakers of First Nations languages in B.C., or 7.39% of the population who reported to us.
First Nations language learners make up 12.2% of the total population who reported to us 17,103 learners. This is a 21.4% increase of 3,106 new learners since 2018.
Adult Language Learning Is on the Rise with More Adult Language Programs than Ever Before
The majority of FPCCs programs support adult learners. Adult language learning opportunities have significantly increased since our last report, including full-time adult immersion programs.
Part-time language programs: 1,634 adults participated in 95 language programs, averaging 5.29 hours of learning per week.
Full-time language programs: There were only two full-time immersion programs for adults in 2018, but there are now eight programs offered in seven different languages.
There has been an increase of 1,964 adult learners aged 2064 since 2018.
Increased Language Learning Opportunities for Children
An increasing number of adults are passing their language to the next generation, with many more children learning their First Nations language as their first language in the home.
There are 2,417 children learning their language in 157 early childhood facilities (including language nests, Head Start programs and other centres).
There are 32 language nests, more than triple the number since 2018, providing at least 15 hours of immersion programming per week. There are 380 children attending language nests across B.C., up from 119.
B.C. is home to 139 public schools providing instruction in a First Nations language.
In the 79 First Nations schools that reported to us, 6,380 students receive an average of 3.07 hours per grade per week of language instruction.
Three First Nations schools in the province offer immersion and bilingual education.
New since our last report, one public school now offers a bilingual program.
The Current Climate for B.C. First Nations Languages
B.C. has exceptional language diversity with over half of all Indigenous languages in Canada located here. Across the province, 34 unique First Nations languages are spoken.
In 2018, the Province of British Columbia contributed $50M over three years to support language revitalization.
In 2019, the Government of Canada passed the Indigenous Languages Act. Its subsequent implementation has resulted in higher levels of funding than ever before, approximately $44M in B.C. between 2019 and 2022.
Both provincial and federal governments have enacted legislation to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
About the First Peoples Cultural Council
FPCC is a First Nationsgoverned Crown corporation with a mandate to support the revitalization of First Nations languages, arts, cultures and heritage in British Columbia. The organization provides funding, resources and skills development, monitors the status of First Nations languages, develops policy recommendations for First Nations leadership and government and collaborates with organizations on numerous special projects that raise the profile of arts, languages, cultures and heritage in B.C., Canada and internationally.
Learn More:
FPCC supports language learning, documentation and resource development for First Nations languages in B.C. Learn more about FPCCs Language Programs: fpcc.ca/language
Learn more about First Nations languages by visiting the First Peoples Map of B.C.: maps.fpcc.ca
Visit community language sites at FPCCs online language platform: FirstVoices.com
Learn more about the government of B.C.s investment in the revitalization of First Nations languages, arts, heritage and culture: fpcc.ca/news/june-14-2022
Both provincial and federal governments have enacted legislation to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: BC DRIPA; UNDRIP Act
Find out about FPCCs Arts Programs: fpcc.ca/arts
Find out about FPCCs Heritage Programs: fpcc.ca/heritage
Browse the FPCC Resource Library: fpcc.ca/resource
Media Contacts: Mandy Leith, Communications Officer, FPCC, (250) 818-3310, [email protected]
Mandy Leith The First Peoples' Cultural Council 250-818-3310 [email protected]
Source: The First Peoples' Cultural Council
Balloon reactions reveal US paranoia
By He Wei Studio (China.org.cn) 16:26, February 22, 2023
The U.S. saw a Chinese weather balloon blown off course as a threat to its national security. The paranoia over the imagined "China threat" behind the decision to shoot it down is simply shocking.
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Beijing (Gasgoo)- Recently, HOZON Autos electric vehicle brand NETA announced the development plan and corresponding vehicle models for its NETA PILOT intelligent driving system.
NETA S; photo credit: NETA
According to NETA schedule, from 2021 to 2022, NETA PILOT 2.0 will achieve Level 1 to Level 2 assisted driving with horizontal and vertical control capabilities. From 2022 to 2023, NETA PILOT 3.0/4.0 will reach Level 2 to Level 2.9 human-vehicle co-piloting functionality, with high-speed and urban navigation capabilities. In 2024, NETA PILOT 5.0 will achieve Level 2.9 to Level 4 autonomous driving, enabling self-driving capability under specific scenarios. By 2025, NETA PILOT 6.0 will reach Level 4+ autonomous driving, realizing full-AVP (Automated Valet Parking) and S-NNP (Neta Navigated Pilot) functions.
Notably, the NETA PILOT 3.0/4.0, which is scheduled for release in 2023, was installed on the NETA S sedan as standard. The NETA PILOT 5.0 will offer 500TOPS of computing power paired with 4 LiDAR units, and will be implemented to NETAs future model EP40+ (code name). Moreover, the NETA PILOT 6.0, which is expected for launch in 2025, will provide 1,000TOPS of computing power with 6 LiDAR units. The system will be deployed onto two of the NETA models, including the EP41 and the EP36 (code names).
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (BlackRock Canada), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), today announced the final February 2023 cash distributions for the iShares Premium Money Market ETF. Unitholders of record on February 23, 2023 will receive cash distributions payable on February 28, 2023.
Details regarding the final per unit distribution amounts are as follows:
Fund Name Fund Ticker Cash Distribution Per Unit ($) iShares Premium Money Market ETF CMR 0.168
Further information on the iShares ETFs can be found at http://www.blackrock.com/ca.
About BlackRock
BlackRocks purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate | Twitter: @BlackRockCA
About iShares
iShares unlocks opportunity across markets to meet the evolving needs of investors. With more than twenty years of experience, a global line-up of 1300+ exchange traded funds (ETFs) and US$2.91 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2022, iShares continues to drive progress for the financial industry. iShares funds are powered by the expert portfolio and risk management of BlackRock.
iShares ETFs are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited.
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in iShares ETFs. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional.
Contact for Media:Reem JazarEmail: [email protected]
Source: BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (iShares)
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CARP, Canadas largest advocacy association for Canadians As We Age, announces that CAA will carry the CARP Recommended Seal as its New Exclusive Auto, Home, Life, Travel and Pet Insurance provider starting April 1, 2023 in Ontario, and May 1, 2023 across the country.
The not-for-profit CARP, and the not-for-profit CAA, (also ranked as Canadas most trusted brand across all age categories), are two organizations mutually aligned in their commitment to putting members first. Both offer unique value-added benefits, and both advocate for the overall safety and well-being of their coast-to-coast membership base.
Everyone knows that you should visit and revisit your doctor, dentist, and ophthalmologist on a regular basis; and don't forget that annual colonoscopy. But no one ever checks their insurance. We diligently and often automatically make our monthly payments without asking if theres a more comprehensive, more competitive non ageist option somewhere else. Im proud to say weve discovered that there is, said CARP President and ZoomerMedia CEO and Founder Moses Znaimer.
Innovation is not a term people often associate with insurance, but the industry has evolved and now CARP is moving along with it, continued Moses. All these years, I thought we were offering our members a good deal. But compared to what was offered before, CAA provides better coverage for a better price with better customer support, including for older Canadians who may think its too late, too risky, and too expensive to switch. I heartily endorse CAA carrying our respected CARP Recommended Seal. Plainly put, with CAA, CARP members will be better off.
CAA Club Group has admired CARPs powerful advocacy and loyal membership for many years; and, on a personal level, Moses has been a television hero of mine for many more! So, of course we are excited to work directly with Moses and CARP to create a compelling insurance program for their members. We already have a suite of insurance products perfectly suited for CARP Members, like CAA My Pace, that rewards low-mileage drivers with the freedom to pay only for the actual distance they travel. Moses has the best insights into CARPs demographic and I look forward to collaborating with him on future innovations, said Jay Woo, President and CEO, CAA Club Group of Companies.
In conjunction with the partnership, CARP and CAA will be creating tailored educational content for the 350,000+ CARP members which will be produced by CARP affiliate ZoomerMedias TV, radio, print, and digital properties including VisionTV, The New Classical FM, Zoomer Radio, and Zoomer Magazine.
On April 1, CARP will introduce a one-stop insurance hub for CARP Recommended Home, Auto, Travel and Life Insurance quotes. To kick-off the new partnership, we will be offering valuable incentives for getting a quote such as a $50 CAA rewards card redeemable for dining and shopping; or a $200 CAA Travel Voucher, or Free CARP Memberships and Zoomer Magazine subscriptions combined.
About CAA Club Group of CompaniesFor 120 years, CAA has been helping Canadians stay mobile, safe and protected. The CAA Club Group of Companies (CCG) is comprised of two automobile clubs, CAA South Central Ontario and CAA Manitoba, providing roadside assistance, travel, insurance, advocacy, and member savings for over 2.5 million members. It also includes the CAA Insurance Company, a national property and casualty insurance company; Echelon Insurance, a national specialty insurer; CCG Advisory Services, offering life and living insurance solutions; and the Orion Travel Insurance Company. CCG is part of the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), a federation of eight independent Clubs across Canada serving over six million members.
About CARPCARP (also known as the Canadian Association of Retired Persons) is a national, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that advocates for improved health care, financial security, and freedom from ageism for Canadians As We Age. With over 350,000 members and 28 chapters across Canada, CARP plays an active role at all levels of government in the creation of policy and legislation that impacts the 45plus. CARP enlists members voices to increase its clout as an effective advocate. CARP also has a unique affiliation with ZoomerMedia Limited (TSXV: ZUM), founded by Moses Znaimer in 2008, the leader in speaking to and for the Zoomer demographic in Canada. ZoomerMedias powerful suite of media channels support CARP's advocacy. Most CARP members subscribe to ZOOMER Magazine, watch ZoomerTelevision/VisionTV, and listen to Zoomer Radio (AM740/96.7FM/ZoomerRadio.ca). For more information and how to join, visit carp.ca
CARP & ZOOMERMEDIA MEDIA CONTACT:Leanne WrightSVP Communications416-886-6873[email protected]
CCG MEDIA CONTACT:Nadia MatosManager, External Communications416-523-0663[email protected]
Source: ZoomerMedia Limited
Harrisonburg, Va., Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Farmer Focus, the only 100% USDA organic and Humane Certified chicken company with a mission to promote and protect generational family farms, is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a $3.6 million grant issued as part of the second round of the USDAs Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). The grant will support a $17.8 million expansion of Farmer Focus existing organic chicken processing facility (Liberty) in Harrisonburg, VA. By almost doubling processing capacity over the next two years, this investment will enable Farmer Focus to welcome more family farmers into its farming family and create more than 300 new jobs for residents of the city of Harrisonburg and broader Rockingham County.
The USDAs second round of MPPEP investment of $59 million, which the Farmer Focus grant is part of, was announced by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack during a visit to Farmer Focus Harrisonburg, VA headquarters on Tuesday, February 21st. During the visit, Secretary Vilsack was joined by USDA Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh; U.S. Senator Tim Kaine; Brian Shull, Director of Economic Development for the City of Harrisonburg; Corwin Heatwole, CEO of Farmer Focus; and Stephen Shepard, President and COO of Farmer Focus. After a tour of the companys newest 78,000 square-foot state-of-the-art packaging facility (Acorn), the group was joined by Farmer Focus Farming Partners Jules Maloney-Smith of Rivers Edge Farm and Peyton Fravel of Peyton Fravel Farm to discuss the impact of the MPPEP grant and ways to create a more sustainable, equitable and resilient meat supply chain.
The programs and money the Biden-Harris administration is committing can make a huge difference in providing opportunities to independent processors like Farmer Focus so we can build a more competitive meat industry and strong generational family farms while providing our consumers with the highest quality organic and humane certified chicken, said Corwin Heatwole, founding farmer and chief executive officer of Farmer Focus. Just a little over a year ago, I was invited to a White House Round Table where I had the unique opportunity to share my thoughts directly with President Biden and Secretary Vilsack on ways to increase competition within the meat industry. The MPPEP proves that our leaders in Washington are listening closely to the farming community, and are following through on their commitment to improve the lives and livelihood of Americas farmers and the resiliency of our food system.
The USDA MPPEP is part of a series of financial assistance tools created to support the Biden-Harris Administrations Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, which dedicates resources to expand independent processing capacity. As President Biden highlighted earlier this year, creating fairer markets and more opportunities for family farmers helps lower prices at the grocery store. The MPPEP grants are designed to give independent farmers a fair chance to compete in the marketplace. The MPPEP's aim is to increase meat and poultry processing capacity, expand market opportunities for farmers, and create jobs in rural areas, which in turn encourages competition and supports producer income. The result is a resilient food supply chain that lowers costs for working families creating jobs and economic opportunities in rural areas.
Thank you to Farmer Focus for hosting yesterday's event with officials at Shenandoah Valley Organic and for your partnership in advancing a sustainable future for American agriculture and creating economic opportunity in the region," said Agriculture Secretary Vilsack. The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are taking action to advance a sustainable vision of agriculture that prioritizes the needs of our resilient producers and small businesses, strengthens our food supply chain and brings value back to rural people and places. Through investments like this one, USDA will continue to work tirelessly to give farmers and ranchers a fair chance to compete in the marketplace, which in turn helps lower food costs for the American people.
This news is just the most recent indication of Farmer Focus' growth, category leadership, and commitment to building an innovative, mission-driven organic brand. Additional recent milestones include:
Farmer Focus is the #1 fastest-growing organic chicken brand in grocery stores in 2022 and the #2 organic chicken brand.*
With its recent retail expansion, Farmer Focus is now distributed in over 4,000 stores.
Farmer Focus received multiple industry and innovation awards within the last year, including- Fast Company World-Changing Ideas, which focuses on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. Three Progressive Grocer awards: The 2022 Next Gen Award, which recognized Corwin Heatwole as an industry leader of tomorrow; the 2022 Top Women in Grocery Award, which recognized Kathryn Tuttle's leadership; and the 2022 Editor's Pick Awards, which recognized the Farmer Focus pre-seasoned chicken product line.
*All data references organic chicken brands in grocery stores ending 1.21.2023 as indicated by IRI data.
About Farmer FocusFounded by sixth-generation farmer Corwin Heatwole in 2014, Farmer Focus is the only 100% USDA organic and Humane Certified chicken company with a mission to promote and protect generational family farms. By shifting farm-level decision-making and chicken ownership back to farmers and empowering them to farm the way they know is best, Farmer Focus significantly improves the financial viability of the farm and farmer profit. Available in stores throughout the East Coast and Midwest, including major retailers like Publix, Kroger, Harris Teeter, Safeway, and more. Farmer Focus is committed to consistently producing exceedingly delicious, 100% USDA organic, and humanely raised chicken that is better for people, the planet, and animals.
Contact: Molly AntosDadascope Communications[email protected]
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6a9df294-eb79-4c73-bed8-520bed011d4fhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aa13c04b-3f85-41d6-be7b-0b5a05e99f79https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/115c9575-8c87-4f18-9a43-576c6ee67534https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/30e06f81-3860-43d3-8c62-6ba9d3ed2d2d
Corwin Heatwole, Founding Farmer & Chief Executive Officer of Farmer Focus Farmer Focus founding farmer and CEO, Corwin Heatwole, welcomed U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to Farmer Focus to announce a $3.6 million grant from USDA. Jules Maloney-Smith, Rivers Edge Farm, Farmer Focus Farming Partner Jules Maloney-Smith of Rivers Edge Farm appreciates Farmer Focus emphasis on ethical and sustainably raised animals. Peyton Fravel, Peyton Fravel Farm, Farmer Focus Farming Partner Peyton Fravel, a second generation farmer, values working with Farmer Focus because of its focus on sustainability, the quality of chickens and the educational resources provided. Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and Corwin Heatwole, Founding Farmer and Chief Executive Officer of Farmer Focus U.S. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Corwin Heatwole, Founding Farmer and CEO of Farmer Focus, discuss the value of building a sustainable future for American agriculture and creating economic opportunities for independent farmers.
Source: Farmer Focus
The grant, which is part of the USDAs Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP), was announced by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack during a visit to Farmer Focus Harrisonburg headquarters
Harrisonburg, Va., Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Farmer Focus , the only 100% USDA organic and Humane Certified chicken company with a mission to promote and protect generational family farms, is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a $3.6 million grant issued as part of the second round of the USDAs Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). The grant will support a $17.8 million expansion of Farmer Focus existing organic chicken processing facility (Liberty) in Harrisonburg, VA. By almost doubling processing capacity over the next two years, this investment will enable Farmer Focus to welcome more family farmers into its farming family and create more than 300 new jobs for residents of the city of Harrisonburg and broader Rockingham County.
The USDAs second round of MPPEP investment of $59 million , which the Farmer Focus grant is part of, was announced by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack during a visit to Farmer Focus Harrisonburg, VA headquarters on Tuesday, February 21st. During the visit, Secretary Vilsack was joined by USDA Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh; U.S. Senator Tim Kaine; Brian Shull, Director of Economic Development for the City of Harrisonburg; Corwin Heatwole, CEO of Farmer Focus; and Stephen Shepard, President and COO of Farmer Focus. After a tour of the companys newest 78,000 square-foot state-of-the-art packaging facility (Acorn), the group was joined by Farmer Focus Farming Partners Jules Maloney-Smith of Rivers Edge Farm and Peyton Fravel of Peyton Fravel Farm to discuss the impact of the MPPEP grant and ways to create a more sustainable, equitable and resilient meat supply chain.
The programs and money the Biden-Harris administration is committing can make a huge difference in providing opportunities to independent processors like Farmer Focus so we can build a more competitive meat industry and strong generational family farms while providing our consumers with the highest quality organic and humane certified chicken, said Corwin Heatwole, founding farmer and chief executive officer of Farmer Focus. Just a little over a year ago, I was invited to a White House Round Table where I had the unique opportunity to share my thoughts directly with President Biden and Secretary Vilsack on ways to increase competition within the meat industry. The MPPEP proves that our leaders in Washington are listening closely to the farming community, and are following through on their commitment to improve the lives and livelihood of Americas farmers and the resiliency of our food system.
The USDA MPPEP is part of a series of financial assistance tools created to support the Biden-Harris Administrations Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, which dedicates resources to expand independent processing capacity. As President Biden highlighted earlier this year, creating fairer markets and more opportunities for family farmers helps lower prices at the grocery store. The MPPEP grants are designed to give independent farmers a fair chance to compete in the marketplace. The MPPEP's aim is to increase meat and poultry processing capacity, expand market opportunities for farmers, and create jobs in rural areas, which in turn encourages competition and supports producer income. The result is a resilient food supply chain that lowers costs for working families creating jobs and economic opportunities in rural areas.
Thank you to Farmer Focus for hosting yesterday's event with officials at Shenandoah Valley Organic and for your partnership in advancing a sustainable future for American agriculture and creating economic opportunity in the region," said Agriculture Secretary Vilsack. The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are taking action to advance a sustainable vision of agriculture that prioritizes the needs of our resilient producers and small businesses, strengthens our food supply chain and brings value back to rural people and places. Through investments like this one, USDA will continue to work tirelessly to give farmers and ranchers a fair chance to compete in the marketplace, which in turn helps lower food costs for the American people.
This news is just the most recent indication of Farmer Focus' growth, category leadership, and commitment to building an innovative, mission-driven organic brand. Additional recent milestones include:
Farmer Focus is the #1 fastest-growing organic chicken brand in grocery stores in 2022 and the #2 organic chicken brand.*
With its recent retail expansion, Farmer Focus is now distributed in over 4,000 stores.
Farmer Focus received multiple industry and innovation awards within the last year, including- Fast Company World-Changing Ideas, which focuses on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. Three Progressive Grocer awards: The 2022 Next Gen Award, which recognized Corwin Heatwole as an industry leader of tomorrow; the 2022 Top Women in Grocery Award, which recognized Kathryn Tuttle's leadership; and the 2022 Editor's Pick Awards, which recognized the Farmer Focus pre-seasoned chicken product line.
*All data references organic chicken brands in grocery stores ending 1.21.2023 as indicated by IRI data.
About Farmer Focus
Founded by sixth-generation farmer Corwin Heatwole in 2014, Farmer Focus is the only 100% USDA organic and Humane Certified chicken company with a mission to promote and protect generational family farms. By shifting farm-level decision-making and chicken ownership back to farmers and empowering them to farm the way they know is best, Farmer Focus significantly improves the financial viability of the farm and farmer profit. Available in stores throughout the East Coast and Midwest, including major retailers like Publix, Kroger, Harris Teeter, Safeway, and more. Farmer Focus is committed to consistently producing exceedingly delicious, 100% USDA organic, and humanely raised chicken that is better for people, the planet, and animals.
Contact: Molly Antos
Dadascope Communications
[email protected]
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6a9df294-eb79-4c73-bed8-520bed011d4f
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HERE the Switzerland of Location Platforms continues to lead the location platform rankings across Counterpoint Researchs evaluation categories
HERE remains the No. 1 choice when it comes to automotive, logistics and enterprise verticals
Amsterdam Global industry analysis firm Counterpoint Research has once again named HERE Technologies as the leading location platform, maintaining its top position and surpassing TomTom, Google, Mapbox and more.
Named the Switzerland of location platform because of its open, neutral and privacy-centric offering, HERE has earned the top spot this time due to its diverse portfolio across industries, applications and geographies. Thanks to products and services such as the HERE ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) Map, HERE ISA (Intelligent Speed Assistance) Map, Electric Vehicle (EV) services, and the Workspace low-code map creation tool, HERE has solidified itself as the number one provider in the automotive, logistics and enterprise verticals.
Counterpoint Research Vice President Neil Shah commented, HERE has pioneered the transformation of the location ecosystem. It delivers a formidable array of location-centric data, services and tools via the industrys leading location platform. HERE leads our global location platform rankings in terms of comprehensiveness, completeness, capabilities, and customer success setting a new industry benchmark.
The company has been investing heavily over the years leading to, for example, its dominance of the market for intelligent speed awareness helping making driving safer and more sustainable. In the last 12 months, it has also broadened its offerings to provide advanced spatial intelligence solutions that are powering next generation autonomous vehicles. In addition, it is taking an innovative approach to building highly-automated maps UniMap. HERE enjoys a strong pipeline of licensing, monetization and IP co-creation opportunities in almost all parts of the location ecosystem.
According to Counterpoint, HERE continues to build capabilities while working on partnerships to enhance its offerings that range from automotive, enterprise and data-driven Internet of Things (IoT) use cases to consumer-centric location experiences.
Edzard Overbeek, CEO at HERE Technologies said, Were very proud that HERE has once again been recognized as the top location platform by Counterpoint. In the past year, we have been committed to continuous innovation through our location-based services and products to provide our customers, partners and developers with only the best quality map content via our location platform. This year, were doubling down on that with the unveiling of UniMap, product releases and feature updates at CES 2023, as well as further advancing our software capabilities to serve multi-industry needs.
The 2022 Counterpoint Research Location Platform Effectiveness Scorecard report analyzes 30+ leading mapping and location platform vendors using its proprietary CORE (Competitive Ranking Evaluation) framework. This comprehensive and detailed evaluation is based on 65+ key capabilities spanning seven categories maps data, location intelligence, location services, data platform, developer ecosystem, partners, and customer rolodex growth since the firms last update.
For more information, read the latest edition of Counterpoints Location Platform Effectiveness Scorecard.
Media contactsHERE Technologies https://www.here.com/company/news/contacts
About HERE TechnologiesHERE has been a pioneer in mapping and location technology for almost 40 years. Today, HEREs location platform is recognized as the most complete in the industry, powering location-based products, services and custom maps for organizations and enterprises across the globe. From autonomous driving and seamless logistics to new mobility experiences, HERE allows its partners and customers to innovate while retaining control over their data and safeguarding privacy. Find out how HERE is moving the world forward at here.com.
Attachments
Banner_1200x630_2 Annual Counterpoint CRE Scorecard HERE leads Counterpoint Rankings Annual Counterpoint CRE Scorecard
Source: HERE Technologies
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lifeist Wellness Inc. (Lifeist or the Company) (TSXV: LFST) (FRANKFURT: M5B) (OTCMKTS: NXTTF), a health-tech company that leverages advancements in science and technology to build breakthrough companies that transform human wellness, today announced that CannMarts in-house brand, Roilty, has secured significant market share gains in Alberta, Ontario and the Prairies at one of Canadas largest cannabis retailers.
Roilty performance highlights across Canada:
Ranked #1 overall concentrates brand across British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Ranked 3rd best selling live resin brand in Alberta, 9th in Ontario and 1st in Saskatchewan
Ranked 5th best selling shatter brand in Alberta, 7th in Ontario and 1st in Saskatchewan
Notably, Roilty has become the most popular overall brand in concentrates in one of Canadas largest retailer networks, with 23% market share in the premium concentrates sub-category (live resin, diamonds), and 28% market share in the mid-range sub-category (shatter, sugar wax). Roilty live resin has three SKUs in Alberta, capturing 16% market share; and with only one live resin SKU in Ontario Roilty has 5% market share in the sub-category, and 30% in Saskatchewan with five SKUs. Roilty shatter products have 4% market share in Alberta and Ontario, most notably with only one SKU in Ontario, the Roilty Shatter Pack which launched in December 2022, and 50% market share with four SKUs in Saskatchewan.
On average live resin is growing unit sales by 97% month over month (MoM) across Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Additionally, Shatter is growing 38%, and Distillate and BHO Carts are growing 10%.
Roiltys success is being driven by our ability to cultivate strong relationships with the provincial boards and our high velocity to market with new products, commented Daniel Stern, CEO of CannMart. We have substantially expanded our portfolio assortment in the premium and mid-range concentrates categories in Alberta and Ontario, serving as a strong complement to our popular vape offerings. Notably, weve risen to the top of the retailer rankings despite not having a presence in the largest two categories of dried flower and pre-rolls as most others do, shining light on the strong brand loyalty and trust that Roilty is garnering among consumers, budtenders, retailers and provincial buyers.
Added Lifeist CEO Meni Morim, We credit Daniel and his team for building Roilty from scratch to Canadas top concentrate brand in less than two years. During this time, Lifeist has made significant strides in improving its profitability, and a large part of this is due to CannMarts focus on higher margin opportunities such as Roilty and the success they have had.
Sources: third party data and internal CannMart data and analysis
About Lifeist Wellness Inc.
Sitting at the forefront of the post-pandemic wellness revolution, Lifeist leverages advancements in science and technology to build breakthrough companies that transform human wellness. Portfolio business units include: CannMart, which operates a B2B wholesale distribution business facilitating recreational cannabis sales to Canadian provincial government control boards including for CannMart Labs, a BHO extraction facility producing high margin cannabis 2.0 products; Australian Vapes, one of Australias largest online retailers of vaporizers and accessories; and Mikra, a biosciences and consumer wellness company developing and selling innovative therapies for cellular health.
Information on Lifeist and its businesses can be accessed through the links below:
www.lifeist.comhttps://cannmart.comhttps://www.roilty.cohttps://wearemikra.com/www.australianvaporizers.com.au
Contacts
Meni Morim, Lifeist Wellness Inc., CEOMatt Chesler, CFA, FNK IR, Investor RelationsPh: 647-362-0390Email: [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 or has in any way approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release.
Source: Lifeist Wellness Inc.
Source: Lifeist Wellness Inc.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NorthWest Copper Corp. (NorthWest or the Company) (TSX-V: NWST) (OTCQX: NWCCF) is pleased to announce the filing on SEDAR of its Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) report for its Kwanika-Stardust project, located approximately 140km northwest of Fort St. James, BC. The PEA was prepared principally by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc, an independent engineering consulting firm and is titled Kwanika-Stardust Project NI 43-101 Technical Report on Preliminary Economic Assessment dated February 17, 2023 with an effective date of January 4, 2023 (the Technical Report). The PEA results were previously disclosed in the Companys news release dated January 5, 2023.
The Technical Report is available under the Companys profile at www.sedar.com and available on the Companys website at www.northwestcopper.ca.
Qualified Persons The following individuals are independent qualified persons in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101 and were authors of the Technical Report:
Brian Hartman, P.Geo., Ridge Geosciences;Cale DuBois, P.Eng., Mining Plus;Jason Blais, P.Eng., Mining Plus;John Caldbick, P.Eng, Mining Plus;Jonathan Cooper, P.Eng., Ausenco;Kevin Murray, P.Eng., Ausenco;Peter Mehrfert, P.Eng., Ausenco;Ronald G. Simpson, P.Geo., GeoSim Services Inc;Scott Elfen, P.Eng., Ausenco;Scott Weston, P.Geo., Ausenco
About NorthWest CopperNorthWest Copper is a new copper-gold explorer and developer with an exciting pipeline of projects in British Columbia. With a robust portfolio in a tier one jurisdiction, NorthWest Copper is well positioned to participate fully in a strengthening global copper market. We are committed to working collaboratively with First Nations to advance our work in a culturally and environmentally respectful manner. Additional information can be found on the Companys website at www.northwestcopper.ca.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of NorthWest Copper Corp.
Peter BellDirector, President and CEOFor further information, please contact:
Peter Lekich, Director Investor RelationsTel: 778-389-2446Email: [email protected]
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Source: NorthWest Copper Corp.
MONTREAL, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premier Health of America Inc. (TSXV: PHA) (the Corporation), a leading Canadian Healthtech company, announces it has filed its Unaudited Quarterly Consolidated Financial Statements and MD&A for its first quarter ended December 31, 2022.
First Quarter 2023 Highlights
(in Canadian dollars) December31, 2022(3 months) December 31,2021(3 months) Revenues 21,575,049 18,415,719 Gross margin 5,063,448 4,420,549 Gross margin as a % of revenues 23.5% 24.0% Adjusted EBITDA (1) 1,503,667 1,485,650 Net (Loss) Income (375,956) 299,324 (1) See the Corporations MD&A for details on this non-Gaap measure
Summary
The Corporation had revenues of $21.6M for the first quarter ($18.4M for the same period in 2021).
The increase in revenue is attributable to the consolidation of Canadian Health Care Agency for the last 5 months of the fiscal year, which more than compensated for lower activity in Quebec.
The gross margin for the quarter was 23.5% slightly below our long-term target of 25%, but in-line with expectations for the first quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $1.5M ($1.5M for the same period in 2021).
Net (Loss) Income for the quarter was $(0.4)M ($0.3M for the same period in 2021).
The first quarter remained challenging in Quebec, as our revenues were impacted by a series of measures imposed by the government, which limited our revenues and constrained our margins. The recently proposed Bill 10 will possibly have a similar effect, although it could also lead to a more balanced competitive landscape if the rules favor the well organized and stable agencies like us Said Martin Legault, CEO of Premier Health. Our expansion in Ontario had a great timing as it diversified our risks. Until we have more clarity on the market rules in Quebec, we will focus our growth on other Canadian provinces and increase our geographical footprint.
Business Highlights
The Corporation provided 226,000 hours of service during the quarter.
Ministry of Health regular changes in operational directives in Quebec related to the state of health emergency continued to affect revenues in Q1-2023. These special measures were lifted on December 31, 2022.
Acquisition of Ontario based CHCA in the third quarter of FY2022 continues to contribute positively to earnings.
Successful launch of SAP ERP system across business units.
Successful launch of new mobile application with additional timesheet management features.
Continued development of our LiPHe platform to further improve automation of our business processes. Deployment slated to start in Q3 of 2023.
Province of Quebec
2022 was a challenging year for our activities in Quebec. Over the period the Ministry of Health imposed a series of temporary directives and chronic changes in modus operandi for the use of independent work force that had a destabilizing effect on our industry in general. This translated into available nurses that could not be placed in a healthcare system that desperately needed them and a decrease in billable hours for nurse agencies active in the province. We expected a gradual return to normality in 2023. However, the tabling of Bill 10 on February 15th could result in similar constraints. We believe that our services offer flexibility to both professionals and institutions, and as such, play a vital role in providing quality healthcare to the population. Independent labour accounts for less than 5% of the total hours worked in the public health care system and should be viewed as tool to ensure there is no rupture in the delivery of care. Bill 10 mainly states that the Ministry of Health can decide where, when and for how long institutions can use independent labour. Such decisions need to be enacted through the issuance of specific directives and as long as such directives are not issued, we do not expect a material impact on our business units in Quebec. We are supporting clear directives including clear engagement parameters and tender processes. We believe this could prove positive for the industry and possibly decrease the average cost paid by the Ministry of Health for this type of services. We are closely monitoring the situation and are actively involved in the overall reflection with the Quebec Ministry of Health on the future of our industry through our industry association.
Canadian Health Care Agency
The Ontario agency was acquired in April and contributed to the companys results for the full first quarter of 2023. For the period CHCA contributed around 30% of the consolidated revenues. The integration of CHCA is going as planned with a solid and well-established management team. CHCA is an important service provider to the Federal Government and is also providing services to provincial entities namely in Manitoba and British Columbia.
About Premier Health
Premier Health is a leading Canadian Healthtech company that provides a comprehensive range of outsourced services solutions for healthcare needs to governments, corporations, and individuals. Premier Health uses its proprietary LiPHe platform to lead the healthcare services sector digital transformation to provide patients with faster, cheaper, and more accessible care services.
Non-GAAP Measures
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), is calculated as the net profit (loss), before non-recurring items excluding acquisition and transaction costs, non-cash expenses (including loss from disposal of assets, impairments, amortization, and depreciation), interest expense, net of interest income and income tax expense. More detail can be found in PHAs Management Discussion and Analysis.
For Further Information Please Contact:
Mr. Guy DaoustChief Financial OfficerPremier Health of America Inc.[email protected] / 1 800 231 9916
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:
This press release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. Statements about the date of trading of the Corporations common shares on the Exchange and final regulatory approvals, among others, are forward-looking information. 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. The Corporation assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. These factors and others are more fully discussed in the filings of the Corporation with Canadian securities regulatory authorities available at www.sedar.com.
Source: Premier Health of America Inc.
FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southwestern Scale Company Inc. (SWSCALE), a servicer, manufacturer, and provider of industrial and commercial-grade weighing scales, has announced that they have opened a new office in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, in an effort to boost efficiency and services to the Lone Star State.
The Phoenix-born business is in its 75th year of operation and has been a major player in the American Southwest scale industry for decades.
Mark Murdza, Chief Business Development Officer, said that the expansion is a significant step for SWSCALE: "Opening operations in Texas is a momentous occasion for Southwestern Scale. We have invested tremendous time and effort into strengthening our business model, culture, and presence in the markets and it was time to share that with the great state of Texas."
The Fort Worth-based office will be managed by Shane Irvin, one of the operation's newest employees. On joining the business in this new capacity, Irvin remarked, "I couldn't be more excited to be part of the Southwestern Scale team as we open our new location in Fort Worth, Texas." He added, "We look forward to providing people in the Lone Star State with solutions to their weighing applications for decades to come."
Throughout the last 75 years, the business has seen its fair share of defining moments. Last year the company announced that they had been recognized as one of only 12 small businesses across the state of Arizona to be recognized as SHARP-certified. SHARP (Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program) was developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to highlight businesses that operate under exemplary safety protocols and standards.
While last year's announcement underscored the company's commitment to safety, their recent announcements have highlighted their commitment to growth and, as Murdza confirms, growth that customers had been inquiring about for some time:
"Over the years, we have been delivering confidence with every measure to customers in Texas, repeatedly being asked when we were going to open operations there. The time has finally come, and we could not be more excited."
Their new office is now open at 10101 Hicks Field Road, Suite 105 in Fort Worth (76179) and can be reached at 817-913-2055.
About Southwestern Scale Company Inc.
Established in 1948, Southwestern Scale Company Inc. is the only full-service weighing scale company in the Southwestern United States. The locally owned and operated business, led by the second generation of ownership since inception, services, manufactures, and delivers a wealth of industrial and commercial-grade scales for any industry or operation. For more information about the company, visit swscale.com/about.
Contact Information: Mark Murdza Chief Business Development Officer [email protected] 602-243-3951
Related Images
Image 1: Southwestern Scale's new Fort Worth, Texas office
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Attachment
Southwestern Scale's new Fort Worth, Texas office Southwestern Scale's new Fort Worth, Texas office
Source: Southwestern Scale Company Inc.
Washington D.C., Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development (IATF) and Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs (ACVBA) announced they will hold their next set of virtual public meetings on March 1 and 2, respectively, via Microsoft Teams.
"The IATF and ACVBA committee meetings are a quarterly opportunity for members and participants to come together and hear about the state of veteran-owned small businesses," said Acting Associate Administrator for the SBA Office of Veterans Business Development, Timothy Green. "Most importantly, it serves as a chance to discuss how SBA can continue to serve service members, veterans, and their families through resources, training, and other support."
WHAT: IATF and ACVBA Virtual Public Meetings
The IATF meeting will include committee member updates from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Treasury, Defense, and Labor; U.S. General Services Administration; Office of Management and Budget; North Carolina Military Business Center; the American Legion; VET-Force; and the National Veteran Small Business Coalition.
The ACVBA meeting will cover briefings from the SBA Office of Veterans Business Development, the SBA Office of Government Contracting and Business Development on the Veteran Small Business Certification program, VA, the University of Washington Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, and the Madison Services Group.
WHEN: IATF Meeting Wednesday, March 1, 20231 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST
ACVBA MeetingThursday, March 2, 20239 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST
WHO: Timothy Green, Acting Associate Administrator, SBA Office of Veterans Business Development Robert Bailey, ACVBA Chairperson, Veteran Small Business OwnerIATF and ACVBA Committee Members Guest Speakers from Interagency Partners and Veterans Service Organizations
HOW: The IATF will meet on Wednesday, March 1, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST via this Microsoft Teams link. To join the meeting by phone instead, use 206-413-7980 and enter the Conference ID: 953121976#.
The ACVBA will meet Thursday, March 2, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST via this Microsoft Teams link. To join by phone instead, dial 206-413-7980 and enter the Conference ID: 115439757#.
Public comments and questions are strongly encouraged to be submitted in advance via email by February 28 to [email protected]. For technical support, please visit the Microsoft Teams support page. Meeting presentations and minutes will be available after both meetings at www.sba.gov/ovbd under the "Federal Advisory Committees" section.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
Press Office United States Small Business Administration [email protected]
Source: United States Small Business Administration
In the first month of 2023, there were 18,045 Wuling Hongguang MINIEVs registered across the Chinese mainland, representing a 39.06% year-on-year decline and a 46.01% month-on-month plunge, according to the data compiled by Gasgoo Auto Research Institute ("GARI").
Regarding the Jan. 2023 registration volume, the Hongguang MINIEV was credited the runner-up among all China-made new energy vehicle (NEV) models registered on the Chinese mainland. The best-seller was the BYD Song PLUS DM-i, which outnumbered the SGMW (SAIC-GM-Wuling)-owned model by 8,418 units.
Hongguang MINIEV; photo credit: SGMW
By the end of Jan. 2023, the cumulative registrations of the Hongguang MINIEV added up to 934,169 units.
Regarding regional distribution in Jan. 2023, Liuzhou, one of the model's production bases, still registered the most Hongguang MINIEVs. It was immediately followed by Wuhan, whose monthly registrations of the popular model stood at 418 units last month.
Notably, the cities ranking 3rd to 7th by the Jan. registrations of the Hongguang MINIEV were all from Henan province.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This release has been updated since 2.15.23 to include further analysis of the notable trend around students recovery in math as compared to English language arts.
New K-12 assessment data shows that Americas students are steadily making gains in English language arts and math, but they are still far from pre-pandemic levels. The comprehensive results were unveiled on the Collaborative for Student Success Assessment HQ platform the go-to source for understanding annual K-12 academic assessments.
The update, which was based on statewide assessment data from nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia from the 2021-22 school year, provides the most comprehensive and complete snapshot of statewide student testing results from students in grades 3-8 since the start of the pandemic as well as historical data as far back as the 2015-16 school year.
The results show that a majority of states with comparable data* have seen improvement in all grades when compared to the 2020-21 school year a trend that is mirrored across most student groups: Black, Hispanic, white and Asian American students.
Despite these bright spots in student growth, states are still seeing significant lags in student performance and theres an urgent need to get students back on track. Notable trends among the results include:
An alarming number of students are still well below proficiency.
More than one-third of third grade students are not reading and/or on track to read at grade level a shortcoming that long predates the pandemic.
Students in fifth and eighth grades are recovering at a slower rate in math than English language arts, while students in grades 3, 4, 6, and 7 are recovering at a slower rate in English language arts than math.
Bucking the positive trends, Black, Hispanic and white students have seen 1% declines in eighth grade English language arts since the 2020-21 school year.
Most states are in compliance with federal law and are reporting data to parents and the general public, but there are notable exceptions: Nine states have yet to provide disaggregated data by student groups. One-third of states are not yet reporting comprehensive student participation rates.
48 states and the District of Columbia have released at least some of their 2021-22 assessment results. Maine and Vermont have not released any results.
State assessment results provide an important piece of the puzzle when looking individually and systemically at how well students are recovering from the pandemic, said Jim Cowen, Executive Director of the Collaborative for Student Success. State assessment results should be presented to policymakers, educators, and parents in understandable ways to help support recovery and strategically allocate resources to the students most in need, and we are pleased to be able to offer the results in one, easy-to-use place on the Assessment HQ platform.
While we were encouraged to see bright spots in test scores where students in some states are returning to pre-pandemic levels in reading and math, a return to this normal cant be the ultimate goal, Cowen added. Even before the pandemic far too many students were not proficient in reading and math, and we must ensure every student leaves high school prepared for college or career.
The update to Assessment HQ also includes information on whether a state has reported student proficiency and participation information in compliance with the federal law, which is an essential metric for transparency.
Annual state assessments are one of the best tools available to measure students academic progress and ensure that state and district decisions and policies impacting young people are grounded in evidence and real results.
*Comparable states include those that did not seek a waiver in the 2020-21 school year, have maintained the same assessment type across the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school year and have adequate participation rates (>90%). States that were comparable across 2021 and 2022 include the following: AL, AR, CA, DE, FL, HI, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NH, NC, ND, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI and WY.
About the Collaborative for Student Success
At our core, we believe leaders at all levels have a role to play in supporting success for K-12 students. From ensuring schools and teachers are equipped with the best materials to spotlighting the innovative and bold ways federal recovery dollars are being used to drive needed changes, the Collaborative for Student Success aims to inform and amplify policies making a difference for students and families. The Collaborative for Student Success shines a light on the ways states and districts are leveraging unprecedented resources to make sure classrooms are safe for learning, providing students and teachers with the high-quality instructional materials they deserve, and are rethinking how best to measure learning so supports are targeted where theyre needed most.
About Assessment HQ
Assessment HQ is an online platform by the Collaborative for Student Success. Assessment HQ provides an accessible, one-stop-shop for understanding statewide annual academic assessments for grades three through eight and commentary on how to put the data to use as well as what these assessments tell us about students mastery of skills and knowledge needed at that level to be successful in the next grade and beyond. To learn more, visit www.assessmenthq.org.
Josh Parrish Collaborative for Student Success (208) 392-7245 [email protected]
Source: Collaborative for Student Success
High River, AB, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In December 2022, the Western Financial Group Communities Foundation (the Foundation), the charitable arm of Western Financial Group, hit an exciting milestone. Since 2001, over $5M has been invested back into communities where Western Financial Group team members live, work and play.
For over 20 years, the Foundations mission has been to positively impact people, ignite pride within our communities, and offer employees an easy way to give back to their communities all year long.
Each year, Western employees nominate a project within their community to receive a $5,000 Foundation Infrastructure Grant. In 2022, Kenny Nicholls, President and CEO, Western Financial Group and President of the Western Communities Foundation Board, announced that all 69 submitted applications would receive a grant, totaling $345,000. This additional investment helped the Foundation achieve its $5M given back to our communities milestone.
The Western Communities Foundation plays a pivotal role in strengthening the communities in which Western serves, said Kenny. This is a grassroots initiative where our employees know where we can offer our support, and they nominate these community organizations that can benefit.
"These organizations and projects were selected and nominated by our teams across Canada, added Laurette LaPlante, Director, Western Communities Foundation. It is extremely touching to be able to end 2022 giving back to all of these projects, which will enhance each of our communities."
The Foundation also announced the appointment of two new Board members to the position of Vice-President: Kristy Rachkowski, Chief People and Culture Officer, Western Financial Group and Craig Kozlowski, Chief Information Officer, Western Financial Group."After joining Western, I learned about the impacts the Foundation has made over its 21-year history. It made me feel proud to be part of an organization that recognizes the importance of supporting and enriching our communities, noted Kristy. Having grown up in a small, close-knit community, I know firsthand how important it is to be there to support one another in times of need and improve the lives of others.
Giving back to where we live and raise our family is important to me, added Craig. I am excited to be appointed to the Western Financial Group Communities Foundation Board of Directors to support this important work."
Click here for an interview with Laurette Laplante, Director, Western Financial Group Communities Foundation.
Attachment: The Western Financial Group Communities Foundation Grant Awardees
Western Financial Group Communities Foundation
Founded in 2001, the Western Financial Group Communities Foundation serves to give back to the communities where Western employees live and work and play, and foster employee pride and engagement. The Foundation's core donation programs include community Infrastructure Grants, the Western Inspirational Awards for graduating high school students, and the Matching Grants Program. Since its inception, the Western Communities Foundation has raised more than $5 million to support local communities.
Western Financial Group Inc.
Western is a diversified insurance services company that has cared for the insurance needs of over one million Canadians for more than one hundred years. Headquartered in High River, Alberta, Western provides personal, business and life insurance services in over 200 communities through Sales and Service Centres, affiliates, and online, making it the true national broker with the local touch. With a skilled and growing team, Western is Canada's insurance broker.
Western is a subsidiary of Trimont Financial Ltd., a subsidiary of The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company.
For further information:
Attachments
Michelle Doll St-Amand Western Financial Group 403-700-6318 [email protected]
Source: Western Financial Group
By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) -Images in a graphic novel that were created using the artificial-intelligence system Midjourney should not have been granted copyright protection, the U.S. Copyright Office said in a letter seen by Reuters.
"Zarya of the Dawn" author Kris Kashtanova is entitled to a copyright for the parts of the book Kashtanova wrote and arranged, but not for the images produced by Midjourney, the office said in its letter, dated Tuesday.
The decision is one of the first by a U.S. court or agency on the scope of copyright protection for works created with AI, and comes amid the meteoric rise of generative AI software like Midjourney, Dall-E and ChatGPT.
The Copyright Office said in its letter that it would reissue its registration for "Zarya of the Dawn" to omit images that "are not the product of human authorship" and therefore cannot be copyrighted.
The Copyright Office had no comment on the decision.
Kashtanova on Wednesday called it "great news" that the office allowed copyright protection for the novel's story and the way the images were arranged, which Kashtanova said "covers a lot of uses for the people in the AI art community."
Kashtanova said they were considering how best to press ahead with the argument that the images themselves were a "direct expression of my creativity and therefore copyrightable."
Midjourney general counsel Max Sills said the decision was "a great victory for Kris, Midjourney, and artists," and that the Copyright Office is "clearly saying that if an artist exerts creative control over an image generating tool like Midjourney ...the output is protectable."
Midjourney is an AI-based system that generates images based on text prompts entered by users. Kashtanova wrote the text of "Zarya of the Dawn," and Midjourney created the book's images based on prompts.
The Copyright Office told Kashtanova in October it would reconsider the book's copyright registration because the application did not disclose Midjourney's role.
The office said on Tuesday that it would grant copyright protection for the book's text and the way Kashtanova selected and arranged its elements. But it said Kashtanova was not the "master mind" behind the images themselves.
"The fact that Midjourney's specific output cannot be predicted by users makes Midjourney different for copyright purposes than other tools used by artists," the letter said.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in WashingtonEditing by David Bario and Sandra Maler)
FILE PHOTO: Baidu's co-founder and CEO Robin Li delivers a keynote speech at the opening session of Baidu's annual AI developers conference Baidu Create 2019 in Beijing, China, July 3, 2019. REUTERS/Yilei Sun/File Photo
By Eduardo Baptista
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Baidu Inc will use its ChatGPT-like app Ernie Bot to create a "revolutionary" version of its popular search engine, the company's CEO said on Wednesday.
Baidu, which has invested heavily in artificial intelligence in recent years, is regarded as at the forefront of efforts to create a Chinese rival to the AI platform developed by OpenAI and backed by Microsoft Corp.
Ahead of Ernie Bots launch in March, Baidu CEO Robin Li told reporters on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results that users would be more dependent on the Baidu search engine once it was embedded with the chatbot. That is because the generative AI powering it would enhance user experience and engagement.
"Ernie Bot will ... enhance the user experience and users will be much more dependent on us for all kinds of tasks and needs, therefore, significantly expand the market size of search (engines)," Li said.
He added that online advertising, the company's main source of revenue, would also be boosted by the integration of Ernie Bot into the search engine. Baidu plans eventually to build an AI ecosystem around Ernie Bot, he said.
The details of Li's vision for the chatbot come amid a gradual decline in the dominance Baidu once enjoyed as the Chinese answer to Alphabet Inc's Google, which pulled its search engine out of the Chinese market in 2010.
Tencent's all-in-one messaging app, WeChat, and Bytedance's Douyin are among the competitors that have chipped away at Baidu's market share in recent years.
The company has created new revenue streams by expanding its core business to include AI, cloud services and autonomous driving, as well as pouring money into research and development.
Li said on Wednesday that the generative AI technology underpinning Ernie Bot would be a productivity boon to other businesses and entrepreneurs looking to build their own apps.
Since early February, more than 400 companies have signed up to join the Ernie Bot community as early users of the app, Baidu has said.
Dozens of Chinese tech companies, including e-commerce giants Alibaba Group and JD.Com Inc, have announced plans to develop their own ChatGPT-style tools.
Li said Baidu has an advantage as the "first mover" in China's market. He said the company has spent years developing large language models that were trained on the billions of daily search requests inputted by its search engine's users.
He also said Ernie Bot was "state of the art" among large AI-driven language models in terms of understanding China's language and culture.
While OpenAI and ChatGPT are not blocked by Chinese authorities, OpenAI does not allow users in mainland China, Hong Kong, Iran, Russia and parts of Africa to sign up.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Brenda Goh and Matthew Lewis)
FILE PHOTO: Local waterways are monitored following the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals which caused a fire that sent a cloud of smoke over the town of East Palestine, Ohio, U.S., February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Alan Freed
(Reuters) -Norfolk Southern will take responsibility for cleaning up the environmental damage from this month's train derailment and controlled detonation of hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio, its chief executive said on Wednesday.
The comments by CEO Alan Shaw to angry East Palestine residents in a CNN town call came a day after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered the rail operator to "pay for cleaning up the mess" created by toxic chemicals spewed into the air, water and soil on Feb. 3.
Shaw sat down with people from the town of 4,700 people for the CNN event, repeatedly apologizing and saying, "We're going to do what's right for the community."
U.S. and Ohio environmental regulators and the company hired experts who say testing shows the water and air are safe.
Incredulous residents, however, complain of ongoing chemical odors as well as nausea, rashes and other symptoms they believe are linked to the accident.
Shaw said the company had so far set aside a $7 million "down payment" to help the town recover and had sponsored the removal of 4,600 cubic yards of contaminated soil and 1.7 million gallons of polluted water.
Norfolk Southern reported net profit of $3.27 billion in 2022 when it paid nearly $1.2 billion in dividends to shareholders and bought back $3.1 billion worth of shares.
CNN host Jake Tapper also said the company has spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying for deregulation in the past two decades, a figure Shaw did not contest.
Norfolk Southern will quantify costs of the clean up no later than its first-quarter earnings, Chief Financial Officer Mark George earlier told an investor conference hosted by Barclays. Insurance will help offset those costs, including a liability policy that will cover up to $1.1 billion in certain situations.
The company also said in a statement on Wednesday it would excavate soil and replace tracks in the derailment area as part of a remediation plan that will also include sampling of soil and surface water.
That plan failed to assuage people in the CNN town hall, who peppered Shaw with questions about why the train that derailed continued to run even after signs the wheels were overheating, why the original remediation plan neglected to excavate soil beneath the tracks, and why train service resumed so quickly.
"I'm angry," said Jim Stewart, 65, who lives near the accident site.
Stewart said he was planning to sell his house so he could retire but now his property value had plummeted. "You seem like a sincere man. I'm not calling you names. But your company stinks."
Shaw said he could not comment on the accident pending an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has said it would release a preliminary report on its initial findings on Thursday into the derailment.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will travel to the site on Thursday to meet community members and attend a briefing on the investigation. He will be joined by representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, Calif., Lisa Baertlein and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru, and David Shepardson in Washington, DC; Editing by David Gregorio, Himani Sarkar and Lincoln Feast.)
News Corp (NYSE: NWSA) today confirmed that it is no longer engaged in discussions with CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) regarding a potential sale of Move, Inc, operator of Realtor.com.
News Corp will continue to actively assess opportunities to support the Companys strategy to optimize the value of its Digital Real Estate Services segment and otherwise maximize shareholder value.
News Corp does not intend to make any additional comments regarding this matter unless and until it is appropriate or required to do so.
Sydney, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 21, 2023) - Atlantic Lithium (OTCQX: ALLIF) is pleased to announce that the Company will be presenting at Red Cloud's Pre-PDAC 2023 Mining Showcase. We invite our shareholders and all interested parties to join us.
The annual conference will take place in-person at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel from March 2-3, 2023.
Neil Herbert, Executive Chairman will be presenting on March 2nd at 13:50 Eastern Standard time.
For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://redcloudfs.com/prepdac2023/.
We look forward to seeing you there.
About Atlantic Lithium
Atlantic Lithium is an AIM, ASX and OTCQX-listed lithium company advancing a portfolio of lithium projects in Ghana and Cte d'Ivoire through to production. The Company's flagship project, the Ewoyaa Project in Ghana, is a significant lithium spodumene pegmatite discovery on track to become Ghana's first lithium-producing mine. The Company signed a funding agreement with Piedmont Lithium Inc. for US$103m towards the development of the Ewoyaa Project. Based on the Pre-Feasibility Study, the Ewoyaa Project has indicated Life of Mine revenues exceeding US$4.84bn, producing a spodumene concentrate via simple gravity only process flowsheet.Atlantic Lithium holds 560km2 & 774km2 of tenure across Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire respectively, comprising significantly under-explored, highly prospective licenses.
For further information:
Atlantic Lithium
Henry Wilkinson
Marketing & Communications Manager
+61 2 8072 0640
[email protected]
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Blue Star Gold Corp. (TSXV: BAU) (OTCQB: BAUFF) (FSE: 5WP0) ("Blue Star" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Don Collie as a director of the Company and Non-Executive Chair of the board of directors (the "Board") of the Company, effective February 21, 2023.
Don Collie is a partner at DLA Piper (Canada) LLP practicing in the areas of Securities Law, Corporate Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions and related corporate and commercial transactions. He is currently recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada in the areas of Securities Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Mining Law, and by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Dictionary in the area of Mining.
In over 30 years of practice, he has worked on a wide variety of corporate and commercial transactions, including public financings (including IPOs), private placements, takeover bids and defences, plans of arrangement, proxy contests, related-party transactions and cross-border acquisitions and financings.
Don also has significant expertise and experience in mining law. His experience includes mining option and joint venture agreements, confidentiality agreements, royalty agreements, acquisitions and dispositions of mineral properties, ownership disputes, permitting matters, mineral title opinions and investigations, and advising on compliance with disclosure requirements for mineral projects.
Additionally, the Company announces that Judy Baker has resigned from the Company's Board.
Robert Metcalfe, the Company's Chair of the Board stated, "Blue Star wishes to thank Judy for her valuable contributions as a Board member over the last several years. On behalf of the Board, management and the Company's shareholders, I wish Judy all the best in the future."
About Blue Star Gold Corp.
Blue Star is a gold company focused on exploration and development within Nunavut, Canada. Blue Stars landholdings total approximately 270 square kilometres of highly prospective and underexplored mineral properties in the High Lake Greenstone Belt, Nunavut. The Company owns the Ulu Gold Property lease, an advanced gold project, the highly prospective Hood River Property that is contiguous to the Ulu mining lease, and the Roma Project. A significant high-grade gold resource exists at the Flood Zone deposit (Ulu lease), and numerous high-grade gold occurrences and priority targets occur throughout the Ulu, Hood River and Roma Projects.
For information on the Company and its projects, please visit our website: www.bluestargold.ca.
For further information, please contact:
Grant Ewing, P. Geo., CEO
Telephone: +1 778-379-1433
Email: [email protected]
Raffi Elmajian, Corporate Communications Manager
Telephone: +1 778-379-1433
Email: [email protected]
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the Policies of the TSX-Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155836
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Boosh Plant-Based Brands Inc.(CSE: VEGI) (OTCQB: VGGIF) (FSE: 77I) ("Boosh" or the "Company") a premier plant-based brand in the "better for you" food sector, is pleased to present the following overview.
The primary asset of Boosh Plant-Based Brands is Beanfields, a better for you chip company established in 2010, which, over the years grew to become an award-winning brand carried in approx. 7000 retail locations across North America with exports to Mexico, South America, and Australia.
Beanfields Chips
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7944/155767_fig1bpbb.jpg.
Pre-pandemic sales were $15M USD, however the previous owners focused on topline growth over profit. Boosh purchased the assets of the company from their lenders for $8M shares, $1M in operating capital and $400,000 loan.
Since the initial purchase last February which completed in June 2022, Boosh has improving margins and increased profitability by lowering overhead, sourced alternate suppliers, streamlined logistics and rationalized SKUS (which essentially means focusing on top selling flavours only at this time).
Boosh CEO Connie Marples states, "Although the last year has been somewhat challenging in terms of cashflow and capital raise we are excited about the future of the company as we continue to receive purchase orders each month which, once fully capitalized, will see us back to pre pandemic numbers. Our sales and Business Development team stay in close contact with our distributors and key accounts as they desperately want more product to sell. As soon as we produce the chips, they sell through."
The Boosh team just came back from KeHE Distributor trade show in Nashville where they filled Summer Promotional orders and picked up new retailers.
Marples goes on to say, "We are in a unique position in that even though we are considered a start up, our primary asset has 13 years of successful market penetration. In any consumer packaged goods company the hardest part of the journey is getting listed with retailers and selling through to consumers. We are already there and just need to keep increasing production."
Some of the main retailers are Whole Foods, Sprouts, Loblaws and Sobeys among many many other fine retail chains and independents.
Boosh is expecting to close out Private Placement of .05 shares with full .07 one year warrant soon.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to or for the account or benefit of a U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available
Connie Marples
Founder/President
[email protected]
Telephone: 778 840 1700
www.Booshfood.com
www.beanfields.com
About Boosh Plant-Based Brands Inc.:
Boosh Plant-Based Brands Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Boosh Food (www.booshfood.com) offers high quality, non-GMO, gluten free, 100% plant-based nutritional comfort foods for the whole family. Through a separate subsidiary, Beautiful Beanfields, (www.beanfields.com) the Company owns Beanfields, a plant-based chip brand sold in over 7,000 stores throughout North America. Boosh, good for you and good for planet earth.
The information in this news release includes certain information and statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, the Company's expectations concerning the size of the Financing, its ability to close the Financing in whole or in part or at all and its plan for the proceeds of the Financing. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Company 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.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155767
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX: MIN) (FSE: 3XS) (OTCQB: EXMGF) ("Excelsior" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") on the Johnson Camp Mine Heap Leach, located in Cochise County, southeastern Arizona. The PEA considers the results of the drill program completed in 2022 and the implementation of sulfide leaching technology to improve recoveries. As part of the PEA, the combined report (the "Report") will also include a republishing of the Prefeasibility Study Update ("PFS") on the North Star Deposit of the Gunnison Copper Project. The Gunnison Project is designed as a copper in-situ recovery ("ISR") mine using solvent extraction-electrowinning ("SX-EW") to produce copper cathode and the Johnson Camp mine is a conventional open pit and heap leach operation. Results of the PFS and PEA disclosed in this press release are in United States dollars.
JOHNSON CAMP HEAP LEACH PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT
Economic Analysis
The Johnson Camp Mine ("JCM") has historically been an open pit, heap leach operation since Cyprus Minerals opened the property in the 1970's. The operation includes two open pits, a two-stage crushing-agglomerating circuit, a fully functioning SX-EW plant capable of producing 25 million pounds of cathode copper per year, a complete set of PLS and raffinate ponds, and full infrastructure (ancillary facilities, access, power, water, and communications).
Heap leaching of sulfide copper with accelerated pyrite oxidation is proposed in this PEA. The Project plans include mining oxide, sulfide, and transition material from the Burro and Copper Chief pits for 20 years and heap leaching for an additional year to produce copper cathode at a capacity up to 25 million pounds per annum (mppa).
To restart JCM for heap leaching, two developments need to take place simultaneously: pre-stripping and mine development, and the construction of a new heap leach pad, Pad 5. Both are considered to require between six and nine months to complete before irrigation of the new leach pad could commence. Piping of PLS and raffinate lines from Pad 5 to the JCM ponds also fits within this time frame. A PEA has been completed by M3 with respect to this planned re-opening.
Mining of JCM would be by traditional open pit and the highlights of the PEA financial model are tabulated below assuming a copper price of $3.75/lb.
Mine Life and post mining processing ~20 years Heap Leach Material Mined 85.2 M ton Total Copper Grade (CuT%) 0.37% Average LOM Total Copper Recovery* 77% Cu Produced 492 M lb Total Tonnage Mined 196 M ton Initial Mine Capital $58.9 million Total Operating Cash Cost ($/lb Cu)** $2.24 After-Tax NPV/IRR (7.5% discount rate) $180.0M / 30.4% * Total copper recovery includes a combination of oxide, transition and primary sulfide mineral recoveries.
** Includes all operating costs, site G&A, royalties, non-income taxes, salvage, reclamation and closure.
The table below sets out the sensitivities of the After-Tax NPV and IRR to copper price:
Sensitivity Analysis Sensitivity -20% -10% 0 +10% +20% Cu Price $3.00 $3.375 $3.75 $4.125 $4.50 IRR After-Tax 11.5% 20.9% 30.4% 39.9% 49.2% NPV* After-Tax $32 $107 $180 $251 $321 *million $ at 7.5% discount rate
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Mineral Resources
The JCM Mineral Resources are provided in the table below.
Johnson Camp Mineral Resources
(0.1% CuT cut-off)
Classification Tons % Cu lbs CuT Measured 20,771,000 0.31 127,545,000 Indicated 87,166,000 0.32 550,118,000 M&I 107,932,000 0.32 677,663,000 Inferred 50,998,000 0.32 322,656,000
The Effective Date of the mineral resources is July 13, 2022. The project mineral resources are comprised of all model blocks at a 0.1 % CuT cut-off that lie within optimized resource pits. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by geology, environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent discrepancies between tons, grade, and contained metal content.
The JCM copper resources were modeled and estimated using information provided by Excelsior under Mr. Bickel's supervision. The information is derived from historical core holes drilled by Cyprus Mining, Arimetco, Summo USA Corp., and Nord Resources Corp, and new drilling completed by Excelsior in 2022. The drill hole database also includes analyses performed by Excelsior on the historical core. These data, as well as digital topography of the project area, were provided to RESPEC Company LLC ("RESPEC") by Excelsior.
Total copper grades, as well as soluble copper ratios, were interpolated using inverse distance, ordinary kriging, and nearest-neighbor methods. The mineral resources reported herein were estimated by inverse distance interpolation as this method led to results that most appropriately reflected the drill data and geology of the deposit. This is particularly true with respect to the estimation of the lowest-grade areas in the model, where potential over-estimation of volumes could materially impact the resource estimation at grades close to potential open-pit mining cut-offs. The nearest-neighbor estimation was completed for the purposes of statistical checking of the various estimation iterations.
The JCM mineral resources have been estimated to reflect potential open-pit extraction and potential processing by heap leaching. To meet the requirement of the resources having reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction, a pit optimization was completed using the parameters summarized in the table below.
Parameter Value Unit Copper Price $3.75 $/lb Sold Contract Mine Cost $2.30 $/ton Mined Technical Services $0.25 $/ton Processed Heap Management $0.30 $/ton Processed Heap Capital Cost $0.80 $/ton Processed Crushing/Agglomeration Cost $1.10 $/ton Processed G&A Cost $0.05 $/lb Cu Produced SX-EW Cost $0.25 $/lb Cu Produced Recovery 95% Acid Soluble Cu Recovery 95% Cyanide Soluble Cu Recovery 70% Sulfide Cu Royalty (incl. Stream) 17.90% NSR Acid Cost $150 $/ ton Acid Consumption and Costs by Formation Formation Acid Cons.
lb/ton Acid Cost
$/ton Processed Pioneer Shale 20 $1.20 Bolsa Quartzite 25 $1.50 Diabase 30 $1.80 Middle Abrigo 55 $3.30 Upper Abrigo 45 $2.70 Lower Abrigo 40 $2.40 Martin 70 $4.20
The pit shells created using these optimization parameters were used to constrain the project resources for comparison purposes. An exclusion line was used to limit the pit optimization on the west side of the Burro Pit to prevent the pit optimizations from encroaching on the existing process plant and the historical leach pad. The in-pit resources were further constrained by the application of a cut-off of 0.1% CuT to all model blocks within the optimized pits.
Mr. Jeffrey Bickel, C.P.G., with the independent firm RESPEC of Reno, Nevada, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and is responsible for this mineral resource estimate. He has verified, reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this section of the news release. Mr. Bickel has verified the data underlying the results by reviewing the drilling, sampling, assay, and quality assurance and quality control data, as well as the geologic interpretations completed by Excelsior. Mr. Bickel is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other issues which may materially affect its estimate of mineral resources.
PEA Assumptions
The JCM plan has been developed based on a new mineral resource estimate for the Burro and Copper Chief deposits. The mine plan targets the full resource at Johnson Camp over a 20-year period. A contract miner will be executing the mining of the pits and delivering material to the primary crusher.
Mining of the deposit is expected to be accomplished with 100-ton haul trucks and front-end loaders. Mining is planned on 20-ft bench heights. The pit configuration is double-benched with catch benches every vertical 40 ft. An annual schedule was developed for the mine plan. Crushed and agglomerated material will be processed by placement on the newly permitted leach pad. This tonnage production is limited by the copper production capacity of the existing SX-EW plant of 25 million pounds of copper per year.
The mining contractor is expected to be responsible for mine supervision, equipment operation, equipment maintenance, and blast hole drilling and loading. The reference to specific equipment manufacturers is to illustrate equipment size and is not to be considered a recommendation. Production drilling is expected to be accomplished with Epiroc DM45 class drills or similar. Loading is expected to be accomplished with 14-yard CAT 992 class front-end loaders. Haul trucks are planned to be CAT 777 class 100-ton trucks.
The existing leach pads (Pads 1, 2 & 3) will not be used for future mining for new material extracted from the Burro and Copper Chief pits. The new leach pad area, Pad 5, is to be located northeast of the existing plant facility and is to be designed such that leach solutions flow by gravity into the new combined ILS-PLS pond located down slope of the new leach pad. The PLS solution will be pumped back to the existing JCM SX-EW plant. A storm water pond is also provided.
The Johnson Camp Mine is currently covered under Aquifer Protection Permit P-100514. Excelsior has obtained a significant amendment to the existing APP to accommodate mining at JCM from the Burro Pit. A new facility, Leach Pad 5, with associated impoundments has been added to the existing APP to accommodate resumption of mining at JCM.
The full capital cost for restarting the JCM heap leaching operation including mining pre-production, first fills/Owner's costs, leach pad construction, new leach pad stacking system, crusher and agglomeration refurbishment and haul road construction is approximately $58.9 million. Staffing for the JCM project is mostly in place however several new hires will be needed to augment the existing staff.
JCM Opportunities
Additional infill and step-out drilling, including drilling focused on deeper sulfides, could yield increased tonnage and/or grade in some areas within the mineral resource. Detailed mine planning and scheduling may result in higher production rates and reduced mining unit costs. Mine plan optimization could bring higher grade material closer to start for better initial cash flow and could reduce waste tons. Planned metallurgical test work on sulfides and transitional mineralization in 2023 could generate higher recoveries or lower acid consumptions than presently estimated and demonstrate that less crushing is required. The estimated capital required for the JCM Project has been prepared to a PEA level. Additional detailed engineering work may reduce this cost. Relocating the existing waste rock stockpile could be performed with smaller, cheaper equipment as well as timed later in the mine schedule to increase near-term revenue. The copper price used for this study is $3.75/lb. Current copper spot copper prices are above this price level and may continue to increase, given the continued emphasis by the US and other governments towards renewable energy sources and electrification of transportation. Copper has a large role to play in these "green" initiatives. Expansion of the current SX-EW facility to a production capacity of 50 mlbs per annum could be evaluated in a trade-off study to evaluate whether it would improve the project economics by increasing the cash flow. Demonstration of successful leaching of sulfide and transitional material could provide opportunities for mining additional satellite deposits that are known to exist in the Johnson Camp District, including the Strong and Harris and Gunnison deposits. Integration of planning efforts for the Johnson Camp, Strong and Harris, and Gunnison deposits could reveal synergies or development strategies for improving financial returns and increasing the mine life.
JCM Risks
Metallurgical test work to be performed on sulfides and transitional mineralization in 2023 could generate lower recoveries or higher acid consumptions that presently estimated. This testing could also indicate that finer crushing is required to achieve high copper recoveries. The acid price could remain high in the short term and could increase the operating cost of heap leaching. Other reagent costs, principally diluent and extractant, could increase materially, increasing SX-EW operating costs. The current increased price of natural gas which is used by the local generating company could impact the long-term cost of power needed for the Project. The selected PEA copper price of $3.75/lb could be subject to volatility due to external factors. More detailed engineering designs could result in higher costs. Increased lead times for construction could materially delay the start of leaching and generation of revenue. The cost of financing capital for the JCM heap leach could become prohibitive. Obtaining the necessary environmental permit amendments could take longer than anticipated. Changes to the new Pad 5 permit may be required to optimize sulfide leaching which could delay mine start-up.
Recommendations
Excelsior should complete the current metallurgical program and, if warranted, proceed to a feasibility study and then detailed engineering for the leach pad and crusher refurbishment.
GUNNISON PROJECT PREFEASIBILITY STUDY
Highlights of the PFS (United States dollars)
Net Present Value ("NPV") of $1,167 million after-tax at 7.5% discount rate using a life of mine ("LOM") average copper price of $3.75/lb;
Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 37.5% after-tax;
Pre-production capital costs of $47.6 million includes 15% contingency, EPCM, freight, mobile equipment, owner's costs and capital spares;
Payback period for pre-production capital of 6.7 years after-tax;
Average life of mine operating costs of $0.945/lb;
Total Operating Cash Cost (including royalties, non-income taxes, salvage, reclamation and closure) of $1.225/lb
All-In Cost (LOM capital costs plus operating costs) of $1.727/lb;
Life of Mine: 2,154 million pounds of commercial production over 24 years;
Staged production profile: initial production rate of 25 million pounds of copper cathode per annum, followed by an intermediate expansion stage to 75 million pounds per annum and final expansion stage to full production of 125 million pounds per annum (includes the construction of an acid plant at full production). The staged production profile makes possible the funding of future expansions out of cash flow;
Approximately 15 months of wellfield pre-conditioning (additional operations) to dissolve and remove calcite, along with the addition of a raffinate neutralization plant to assist with the flushing and removal of accumulated CO 2 gas;
gas; Requirement for some additional work to reduce risk and optimize process and production.
A detailed sensitivity analysis to copper price is set out below under the heading "Financial Analysis". In addition, the risks and opportunities associated with the Gunnison Project are discussed below.
The PFS was completed by M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation ("M3") of Tucson, AZ and is effective as of February 1, 2023. The Technical Report (the "Report") summarizing the results of the PFS and prepared in accordance with National Instrument ("NI") 43-101, will be filed on SEDAR and Excelsior's website within 45 days of this news release. The PFS was updated because of the need to update the JCM PEA, which is contained in the same report.
Financial Analysis
The PFS base case generates an after-tax NPV of approximately $1,166.5 million (at a cash flow discount of 7.5%) and an IRR of 37.5%. This financial analysis is based on a number of assumptions which will be fully set out in the Report.
The base case uses the following parameters over the 24-years of production:
Copper selling price of $3.75/lb
Total copper recovery of approximately 48% (based on a combination of metallurgical recovery and estimated sweep efficiency);
Average of approximately 9.5 pounds of acid consumed for every pound of copper produced;
Acid plant construction in year 7 with the price of sulfuric acid prior to that of approximately $150/ton and the price of sulfur of $130 per ton delivered after that:
Combined state and federal tax rate of 25.9%;
Staged production commencing at 25 million pounds per annum, ramping up to 75 million pounds in year 4, and then to 125 million pounds per annum in Year 7.
The introduction of an additional year of pre-production calcite removal and neutralized raffinate flushing for every well to address CO 2 flow restrictions.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS SUMMARY Pre-Tax Post-Tax IRR 40.6% 37.5% Pre-Production Capital Payback (years) 6.5 6.7 NPV (million $) @7.5% 1,434.8 1,166.5 COST METRICS Cost/lb Copper Direct Operating Costs 0.945 Royalties, Taxes, Recl. & Salvage 0.274 Total Cash Cost 1.225
Total initial (pre-breakthrough) capital expenditures (including 15% contingency, EPCM, capital spares, owner's costs, mobile equipment and freight) are estimated at $47.6 million for Stage 1 initial production of copper cathode at approximately 25 million pounds per annum. Total sustaining capital costs over the life of the mine are $1,080.8 million, which includes production wellfield expansion, SX-EW expansion, acid plant construction and water treatment facilities. The average life of mine Direct Operating Cash Cost is $0.945/lb and the average life of mine Total Operating Cash Cost (including royalties, non-income taxes, salvage, reclamation, and closure) is $1.225/lb.
The Company has also evaluated an Alternate case without an Acid Plant. This case generated a pre-tax [email protected]% of $1,177.8 million and an IRR of 41.0% (after-tax: [email protected]% of $975.5 million and IRR of 38.1%). Total initial capital expenditures remain the same as the "Acid Plant" scenario. Total sustaining capital costs over the life of the mine are $879.7 million, which includes production well-field expansion, SX-EW expansion and water treatment facilities. Average life of mine Operating Direct Cash Costs are estimated at $1.35/lb for the "No-Acid Plant" option with an average life of mine Total Operating Cash Cost of $1.63 per pound.
Sensitivity analysis is shown in the table below.
Base Case After Tax Sensitivities ($millions)
Copper Price NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $1,167 37.5% 6.7 20% $1,697 50.4% 4.3 10% $1,433 44.0% 6.2 -10% $898 30.8% 7.3 -20% $627 24.2% 8.0 Operating Cost NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $1,167 37.5% 6.7 20% $1,031 33.2% 7.1 10% $1,099 35.3% 6.9 -10% $1,233 39.7% 6.5 -20% $1,299 41.9% 6.3 Initial Capital NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $1,167 37.5% 6.7 20% $1,160 36.1% 6.7 10% $1,163 36.8% 6.7 -10% $1,170 38.2% 6.7 -20% $1,173 39.0% 6.6
The Alternate Case economic after-tax sensitivities are shown in the table below.
Alternate Case After Tax Sensitives ($millions)
Copper Price NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $976 38.1% 6.0 20% $1,505 51.7% 4.3 10% $1,241 45.0% 4.8 -10% $706 30.8% 6.7 -20% $432 23.0% 7.5 Operating Cost NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $976 38.1% 6.0 20% $790 32.7% 6.5 10% $883 35.4% 6.2 -10% $1,066 40.8% 5.4 -20% $1,157 43.4% 5.0 Initial Capital NPV @ 7.5% ($M) IRR% Payback Base Case $976 38.1% 6.04 20% $969 36.6% 6.08 10% $972 37.4% 6.06 -10% $979 38.9% 6.02 -20% $982 39.8% 6.00
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
Mineral Resource Estimate
The mineral resource estimate for the North Star Deposit is based on results from 122 drill holes totalling 158,785 feet and is effective as of October 1, 2016 (unchanged from the original 2016 Feasibility Study on the Gunnison Project). The estimate is classified as a measured, indicated or inferred mineral resource, consistent with the CIM definitions referred to in NI 43-101. Excelsior is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other issues which may materially affect its estimate of mineral resources.
Total Resources (Oxide + Transitional + Sulfide) Resource Class Short Tons (millions) Total Cu (%) Cu Pounds (billions) Measured 200.7 0.36 1.439 Indicated 710.8 0.27 3.875 Measured + Indicated 911.6 0.29 5.315 Inferred 240.9 0.22 1.070 0.05% TCu Cut-off for Oxide + Transitional; 0.30% TCu Cut-off for Sulfide
Notes:
Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Oxidized + Transitional Mineral Resources are reported at a 0.05% total-copper cut-off in consideration of potential mining by in situ recovery.
The North Star mineral resources were modeled to reflect the detailed lithologic, structural, and oxidation modeling completed by Excelsior. Copper mineral domains were interpreted on east-west vertical cross sections on 100-foot spacing, which encompass the 2.3-mile north-south and 1.3-mile east-west extents of the deposit. These domains were then used to explicitly constrain the estimation of copper grades into 50 x 100 x 25-foot (x, y, z) model blocks using 20-foot composites and inverse-distance interpolation. The grade estimation is further controlled by the incorporation of search ellipses that reflect the orientations of modeled structural zones, as well as those of favorable stratigraphic units in areas unaffected by the structures.
All samples were prepared from manually split half-core sections on-site in Arizona. Split drill core samples were then sent to Skyline Assayers & Laboratories ("Skyline") in Tucson, Arizona, an independent laboratory, for Total Copper and Sequential Copper analyses. Skyline is accredited with international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories. Analytical results for Total Copper, Acid Soluble Copper, and Cyanide Soluble Copper were reported. Excelsior has no relationship with Skyline Labs other than Skyline being a service provider. Standards, blanks, and duplicate assays are included at regular intervals in each sample batch submitted from the field as part of an ongoing Quality Assurance/Quality Control Program.
Mr. Jeffrey Bickel, C.P.G., with the independent firm RESPEC of Reno, Nevada, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and is responsible for this mineral resource estimate. He has verified, reviewed, and approved the technical disclosure contained in this section of the news release. Mr. Bickel has verified the data underlying the results by reviewing the drilling, sampling, assay, and quality assurance and quality control data, as well as the geologic interpretations completed by Excelsior. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Mineral Reserve Estimate
The PFS mineral reserve is based on an economic analysis of the mineral resource using a copper price of $2.75/lb and key parameters developed from prior test work. The economic optimization was performed on Measured and Indicated Resources at a cut-off grade of 0.05% Total Cu ("CuT"). EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) was calculated on a resource block-by block-basis using the key economic and technical parameters. For a column of resource blocks to be included in the reserve, the capital costs of establishing the wells for those blocks would have to be less than the combine EBIT for the same blocks. The mineral reserve was estimated after applying engineering and operational design parameters which removed the thinner and deeper portions of the mineral resource. Internal dilution has been included in the final mineral reserve estimate. RESPEC is of the opinion that the mineral reserve estimate derived in this PFS reasonably quantifies the economical mineralization of the North Star Deposit. The reserve estimate is as of October 1, 2016 and the mineral reserves presented in the table below are included in the mineral resource estimate set out above.
North Star Mineral Reserves (Oxide and Transition at 0.05% cut-off)(1) Category Short Tons (million) Total Copper (%) Pounds of Cu (million) Probable 782 0.29 4,505
48% of the total copper reserve is considered recoverable.
Mr. Neil Prenn, with the independent firm RESPEC of Reno, Nevada, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and is responsible for reviewing and approving this mineral reserve estimate. He has verified, reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this section of the news release. Mr. Prenn has verified the data underlying the results by reviewing the drilling, sampling, assay, and quality assurance and quality control data, as well as the geologic interpretations completed by Excelsior.
Risks
A number of risks are highlighted in the Report. Those that are more specific to in-situ mining include:
Potential for lower than predicted (modelled) sweep efficiency.
Potential for mineral precipitates to restrict flow paths, porosity, and permeability.
Potential for gas bubbles to restrict flow paths, porosity, and permeability.
Flushing with neutralized raffinate to remove CO 2 may be less effective than modelled.
may be less effective than modelled. The observed CO 2 attenuation could be masking other wellfield problems.
attenuation could be masking other wellfield problems. Short circuiting can occur through very permeable structures, reducing overall sweep efficiency and affecting modelled parameters.
Opportunities
Opportunities at Gunnison are also highlighted in the Report. Those that are related to in-situ mining include:
Well stimulation has the potential to alleviate or solve CO 2 gas blocking and greatly improve porosity, permeability, sweep efficiency and flow rates.
gas blocking and greatly improve porosity, permeability, sweep efficiency and flow rates. Grouting, down-hole packers, and down-hole flow control valves have the potential to minimize short circuiting.
Wellfield optimization including well spacing, pump sizing, borehole diameter, hole configuration and down-hole differential flow control have the potential to greatly improve wellfield performance.
Anticipated copper recoveries could be higher than the estimate of 48 percent of total copper, which would increase total revenue during the life of the mine.
The conversion of the 187.2 million tons of inferred mineral resources to measured or indicated categories has the potential to increase mineral reserves.
The Project has high quality limestone resources that could be used to supplement imported lime in the water treatment process.
Recommendations
A number of recommendations included in the report are aimed at improving wellfield performance, reducing risk, and tightening up engineering and design prior to construction of the raffinate neutralization plant. Excelsior intends to investigate and implement these recommendations prior to further development which include:
Well Stimulation Trials : Well stimulation trials should be undertaken to determine if the technique(s) have the potential to alleviate or solve CO 2 blocking, improve connectiveness, and increase flow rates and sweep efficiency. Given that the results of well stimulation have the potential to reduce the need for raffinate neutralization or change the design criteria for the neutralization plant, it should be undertaken before or in parallel with design activities on the water treatment plant. Well stimulation is allowed under Class III Underground Injection Control permits but requires EPA approval of the stimulation programs.
: Well stimulation trials should be undertaken to determine if the technique(s) have the potential to alleviate or solve CO blocking, improve connectiveness, and increase flow rates and sweep efficiency. Given that the results of well stimulation have the potential to reduce the need for raffinate neutralization or change the design criteria for the neutralization plant, it should be undertaken before or in parallel with design activities on the water treatment plant. Well stimulation is allowed under Class III Underground Injection Control permits but requires EPA approval of the stimulation programs. Metallurgical Testwork Recommendations: Investigating in situ leaching with different lixiviants as opportunities to leach metals without the formation of gypsum.
Investigating in situ leaching with different lixiviants as opportunities to leach metals without the formation of gypsum. Wellfield Recommendations: Conducting experimentation to ensure that neutralized raffinate is effective in dissolving CO 2 in the subsurface while the engineering, procurement, and construction is at an early stage to enhance the water treatment design criteria.
Conducting experimentation to ensure that neutralized raffinate is effective in dissolving CO in the subsurface while the engineering, procurement, and construction is at an early stage to enhance the water treatment design criteria. Water Treatment: A scope of work and bid package should be assembled to select a water treatment vendor to design the water treatment system. Selection criteria should favor rapid, low-cost solutions to demonstrate that the technology is effective in solving the wellfield challenges.
TECHNICAL REPORT AND QUALIFIED PERSONS
The Report will be filed on SEDAR and on Excelsior's website within 45 days of the date of this news release. The Report will consist of a summary of the PFS. The Report is being prepared under the supervision of Richard Zimmerman, SME-RM of M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation, Tucson, Arizona, who is a Qualified Person that is independent of the Company. The Report will also receive contributions from the following additional Qualified Persons, who are also independent of the Company:
Mr. Richard Zimmerman, of M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation, Tucson, Arizona (recovery methods, capital and operating costs, and economic analysis).
Mr. Jeffrey Bickel of RESPEC of Reno, Nevada (geology and mineral resource).
Mr. Neil Prenn, of RESPEC of Reno, Nevada (mineral reserve).
Mr. Thomas Dyer, of RESPEC of Reno, Nevada (mining methods).
Dr. Robert J. Bowell of SRK Consulting, Cardiff, UK (wellfield).
Dr. Terence P. McNulty of T.P. McNulty & Associates of Tucson, Arizona (metallurgy).
Mr. R. Douglas Bartlett, of Clear Creek and Associates of Phoenix, Arizona (hydrology, mining method, permitting and environment).
Each of these Qualified Persons has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release that is relevant to their area of responsibility and verified the data underlying such technical information.
About Excelsior Mining
Excelsior "The Copper Solution Company" is a mineral exploration and production company that owns and operates the Gunnison Copper Project in Cochise County, Arizona. The project is a low cost, environmentally friendly in-situ recovery copper extraction project that is permitted to 125 million pounds per year of copper cathode production. Excelsior also owns the past producing Johnson Camp Mine and a portfolio of exploration projects, including the Peabody Sill and the Strong and Harris deposits.
For more information on Excelsior, please visit our website at www.excelsiormining.com.
For further information regarding this press release, please contact:
Excelsior Mining Corp.
Concord Place, Suite 300, 2999 North 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85018.
Shawn Westcott
T: 604.365.6681
E: [email protected]
www.excelsiormining.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events that may occur in the future. Forward-looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) expectations for the resolution of carbon dioxide issues and increased flow rates; (ii) the future development plans for the Gunnison Project; (iii) operating and capital costs estimates, along with the economics of the Gunnison Project and JCM; (iv) the intention to mine Johnson Camp and future production therefrom; and (v) the results of the PFS and PEA.
In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be achieved" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, expectations and anticipated impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, copper and other metal prices, the timing and amount of future development expenditures, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs (including the price of acid), the availability of labour, material and acid supply, receipt of and compliance with necessary regulatory approvals and permits, the estimation of insurance coverage, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.
Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks inherent in the construction and operation of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined including the possibility that mining operations may not be sustained at the Gunnison Copper Project, risks relating to variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates, risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in copper and other commodity prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of copper and related products, risks related to increased competition in the market for copper and related products, risks related to current global financial conditions, risks related to current global financial conditions and the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business, uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources, access and supply risks, risks related to the ability to access acid supply on commercially reasonable terms, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the risk of delays or increased costs that might be encountered during the construction or mining process, regulatory risks including the risk that permits may not be obtained in a timely fashion or at all, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interests, environmental risks and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's reports and filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155611
LOS ANGELESHoney Birdette, the luxury lingerie brand owned by PLBY Group, today announced the launch of its first basics collection, Nakeds, which is now available online and in Honey Birdette boutiques in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Known for its luxury aesthetic, Honey Birdette is now expanding its product range into the basics category at a more accessible price point for everyday pieces. Nakeds is available in four tones: Almond, Toffee, Deep Mahogany, and Nero.
The launch of our empowering Nakeds line marks Honey Birdettes entry into the essential lingerie category, and this everyday collection is offered at a price point where we can reach a broader set of consumers. We plan to release additional everyday essentials throughout 2023, said Ashley Kechter, PLBY Group president of global consumer products.
The pieces within the range include the Demi Bra, a lightweight, double layer of sheer tulle, with glittering foil and soft satin binds. It also includes the waist-cinching Waspie (corset) with continuous underwire for smooth support featuring vertical panels and concealed boning that curves to shape, and the Everyday Thong made of the same sheer, lightweight tulle. Lastly, there are two soft sheer body suits, which offer shaping around the bust but no underwire or boningand several different thongs.
This is a really exciting time for Honey Birdette as we continue to push boundaries with our fashion lingerie. We knew there was a gap in the market for sexy-yet-comfortable everyday pieces that offer both exceptional fit and premium fabrications. Our existing customers wanted basics from us, and we are really excited to launch everyday Nakeds for current and new Honey Birdette customers, said Francesca Anderson, Honey Birdette global director of product and marketing. We see Nakeds as the new everyday bra, and there is much more to come in this category later this year.
In addition to todays Nakeds launch, Honey Birdette also released its new Emily collection, an all-leatherette basics range with an ultra-soft and super-stretch feel. The range includes a pushup bra that converts to a strapless bra with removable straps, a bustier, a plunge bra, and a limited release leatherette dress with embedded underwire and plunge cups.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Millennial Potash Corp. (TSXV: MLP) ("MLP" "Millennial" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Farhad Abasov, the Company's Chairman, will present on the Banio Potash Project at the Gravitas 6th Annual Growth Conference in Vancouver, B.C., at 3:30 PM PST on March 2, 2023. Gravitas' 6th Annual Growth Conference will feature leaders at the forefront of their industries as well as investors from Canada, the United States and abroad.
The Conference details are as follows:
Event: Gravitas 6th Annual Growth Conference
Format: Presentations, Q&A, Panel Discussions, and 1X1 Meetings
Date: Thursday, March 2nd, 2023
Time: 8:30 AM PST - 4:20 PM PST
Venue: Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel
Mr. Abasov will present an update on the status of the exploration and development activities at the Company's Banio Potash Project in Gabon and participate in a panel discussion.
To find out more about Millennial Potash Corp. please contact Investor Relations at (604) 662-8184 or email at [email protected].
MILLENNIAL POTASH CORP.
"Farhad Abasov"
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "intend", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to future prices of commodities, accuracy of mineral or resource exploration activity, reserves or resources, regulatory or government requirements or approvals including approvals of title and mining rights or licenses and environmental, local community or indigenous community approvals, the reliability of third party information, continued access to mineral properties or infrastructure, changes in laws, rules and regulations in Gabon or any other jurisdiction which may impact upon the Company or its properties or the commercial exploitation of those properties, currency risks including the exchange rate of USD$ for Cdn$ or other currencies, fluctuations in the market for gold/silver and potash or potash related products, changes in exploration costs and government royalties, export policies or taxes in Gabon or any other jurisdiction and other factors or information. The Company's current plans, expectations and intentions with respect to development of its business and of the Banio Potash Project may be impacted by economic uncertainties arising out of Covid-19 pandemic or by the impact of current financial and other market conditions on its ability to secure further financing or funding of the Banio Potash Project. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political, environmental and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause 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. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affections such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155844
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Nicola Mining Inc.(TSXV: NIM) (FSE: HLI) (OTCQB: HUSIF)(the "Company" or "Nicola Mining") is pleased to announce soil geochemistry results collected from the WP area at the New Craigmont Property.
The WP Zone (See Map 1) (MINFILE 092ISE068) consists of sheared, brecciated, and mineralized Nicola Group volcanic rocks with associated chalcopyrite, pyrite, and specularite. Previous chip channel sampling (2016) by Nicola Mining returned values of 0.37% Cu over 10 metres and 0.71% Cu over 4.0 metres in historic trenches and shafts, with values up to 0.54% and 1.68% Cu respectively (https://nicolamining.com/nicola-mining-provides-update-on-thule-project-exploration-activities/). The soil survey was partially completed with an area defined through the Multi-Year Area Based (MYAB) Permit (Diagram 1).
Soil Geochemistry Highlights:
The WP Zone, which has never had diamond drilling exploration, has returned the highest concentration of Cu in soils collected thus far at the Craigmont Property. Highlights include:
Highest individual soil assays: 930 ppm Cu, 0.7 ppm Ag, 288 ppm Zn, and 20.4 ppm Pb.
14% of soil samples collected at the WP area returned anomalous (>90 th percentile, Cu > 63 ppm) to very anomalous (>97 th percentile), copper-in-soil assay results.
percentile, Cu > 63 ppm) to very anomalous (>97 percentile), copper-in-soil assay results. Anomalous values (>50 ppm Cu) correspond with historic trenches and shafts.
Cu mineralization is open in all directions (north/south/east/west).
Anomalous Cu values are on trend with samples collected from the 2000 soil survey.
Fall 2022 Soil Geochemistry Program
In October 2022, 241 B-horizon soil samples were collected and analyzed within the WP area at New Craigmont. Samples were collected at 50-metre sample intervals along 11 east-west soil lines spaced 100 metres apart. The defined, soil anomalies coincide with 2022 ZTEM survey1 and 2012 airborne magnetic survey anomalies2.
New Craigmont Property
New Craigmont is the site of the historic Craigmont Copper Mine, which produced approximately 34 million tonnes of copper at 1.3%, one of the highest-grade major copper mines in North America's history. Despite the significant historic production, the 10,913-hectare site remains highly unexplored due to the original mine's sole focus on iron-copper skarn deposits and depressed copper prices ($0.60 in 1982) at the time of closing. Technological advances in mining, as well as Nicola's success in consolidating fragmentated shareholder ownership1of the mineral claims and mining leases, have significantly augmented the Property's potential.
Diagram 1:MYAB PermitBoundaries and Targets with 2022 WP Soil Grid.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4873/155456_diagram1.jpg
Diagram 2:2022 Cu soil assays with inverse distance weighting squared (IDW2) interpolation overlying hillshade DEM with highlighted values from previous chip channel sampling.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4873/155456_diagram2.jpg
Quality Assurance / Quality Control
The Company contracted the services of APEX Geoscience Ltd. ("Apex") to conduct its soil geochemistry program on the WP area. Soil samples were collected at pre-determined sites using a 50 m (east-west) x 100 m configuration (north-south). Soils were placed in kraft soil sample bags and all metadata associated with each sample location was recorded. Once sorted and logged, samples were shipped to ALS Canada Ltd. ("ALS") in North Vancouver, British Columbia. At ALS, individual samples were dried and sieved to -180 micron (80 mesh). Both fractions were retained. A 30 gram split of the sieved portion was partially digested (Aqua Regia) and analysis of 48 elements was performed by four-acid ICP-MS (ME-MS61). ALS is an ISO / IEC 17025 certified laboratory and independent of Nicola Mining. During the soil geochemistry program, Apex crews provided a field duplicate from every 25th sample and these field duplicates were inserted into the sample stream to monitor the quality of analyses for the soil sampling program.
Qualified Person
Kevin Wells, P.Geo, a consulting geologist to the Company, is the independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for the technical disclosure contained in this news release.
About Nicola Mining
Nicola Mining Inc. is a junior mining company listed on the TSX Venture and Frankfurt Exchanges that maintains a 100% owned mill and tailings facility, located near Merritt, British Columbia. It has signed Mining and Milling Profit Share Agreements with high grade gold projects. Nicola's fully-permitted mill can process both gold and silver mill feed via gravity and flotation processes.
The Company owns 100% of the New Craigmont Project, a high-grade copper property, which covers an area of 10,913 hectares along the southern end of the Guichon Batholith and is adjacent to Teck Resources Ltd.'s Highland Valley Copper, Canada's largest copper mine. The Company also owns 100% of the Treasure Mountain Property, which is comprised of 51 mineral tenures, 21 legacy claims: 100 cell units, and five crown grants for a total of approximately 2,850 hectares.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
"Peter Espig"
Peter Espig
CEO & Director
For additional information
Contact: Peter Espig
Phone: (778) 385-1213
Email: [email protected]
URL: www.nicolamining.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.
1 News Release: https://nicolamining.com/nicola-mining-provides-exploration-update-including-results-from-recently-completed-ztem-survey/
2 News Release: https://nicolamining.com/wp- content/uploads/2015/03/Technical_Report_on_the_Thule_Copper_Iron_Property.pdf
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155456
Dallas, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Permex Petroleum Corporation (CSE: OIL) (OTCQB: OILCD) (FSE: 75P0) ("Permex" or the "Company"), an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas properties on private, state and federal land in the United States, has received an updated independent reserve evaluation from MKM Engineering (the "Reserve Report"), effective November 21, 2022, that uses proved and probable reserve classifications that conform to the criteria established by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").
Reserve Evaluation
According to the Reserve Report, the net present value of net future revenues, (net of royalties, operating costs and capital expenditures, including asset retirement obligations) before income tax, discounted at 10% ("NPV 10%" or "PV10") of the total proved plus probable reserves is estimated at $428 million, or $221.53 per outstanding share (basis).
Reserves comprised of 93% light oil, and x7% natural gas
Total Proved Reserves of 9.2 million BOE and PV10 value of $198 million, an increase of 51% Year-over-Year
Total Probable Reserves of 17.8 million BOE and PV10 value of $230 million, an increase of 46% Year-over-Year
Total Proved & Probable Reserves of 27.0 million BOE and PV10 value of $428 million, an increase of 48% Year-over-Year
Summary of Net Oil and Gas Reserves and Net Present Value of Revenue:
Before Income Taxes as of September 30, 2022 - Forecast Prices and Costs
Reserves Mboe NPV 10%
($ thousand) NPV per BOE $/boe Proved Developed Producing 730.8 12,057.6 16.50 Total Proved 9.238.3 198,619.1 21.49 Proved Plus Probable 27,014.2 428,186.5 15.85
Natural Gas: 5.98 Mcf/boe Report used McDaniel's & Associates price forecast effective September 30, 2022
"This Reserve Report reconfirms the large reserves in place, and we remain focused on drilling and developing while redeploying the expected strong cash-flow from the completed wells back into drilling programs," said Mehran Ehsan, President and CEO of Permex. "We look forward to providing additional updates as we continue to ramp up our drilling operations to drive organic growth for our Company and sustainable value for our shareholders."
The Reserve Report uses prices calculated using oil and natural gas price parameters established by current guidelines of the SEC and accounting rules based on the unweighted arithmetic average of oil and natural gas prices as of the first day of each of the 12 months ended on the given date. A full copy of the Reserve Report was filed with the SEC as an exhibit to the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2022.
About Permex Petroleum Corporation
Permex Petroleum is a uniquely positioned junior oil and gas company with assets and operations across the Permian Basin of West Texas and the Delaware Sub-Basin of New Mexico. The Company focuses on combining its low-cost development of Held by Production assets for sustainable growth with its current and future Blue-Sky projects for scale growth. The Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Permex Petroleum US Corporation, is a licensed operator in both states, and owns and operates on private, state and federal land. For more information, please visit www.permexpetroleum.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws as well as applicable Canadian securities laws. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of management, are not guarantees of performance and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty, including but not limited to, uncertainties inherent in estimating natural gas and oil reserves and in projecting future rates of production. These forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various important factors, including those set forth in Company's reports that it files from time to time with the SEC and the Canadian securities regulators which you should review. When used in this press release, words such as "will," "could," "plan," "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "believe", "should" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements relating to the Company's financial condition and operating results, legal, economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting Permex's businesses, the Company's plan to increase drilling operations and to grow organically, the Company's future cash flow position, and any other statements regarding events or developments Permex believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as predictions of future events, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or circumstances discussed or reflected in these statements will be achieved or will occur. If such forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. You should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by the Company or any other person that it will achieve its objectives and plans in any specified timeframe, or at all. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to these forward- looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
Contact Information
Permex Petroleum Corporation
Mehran Ehsan
President, Chief Executive Officer & Director
(469) 804-1306
Gregory Montgomery
CFO & Director
(469) 804-1306
Or for Investor Relations, please contact:
Dave Gentry
[email protected]
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155678
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - SusGlobal Energy Corp. (OTCQB: SNRG) ("SusGlobal" or the "Company"), an environmental, agricultural and industrial biotechnology company, today announced the appointment of Bruce Rintoul to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board"). Rintoul will also serve on the Board's Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee. Previously, Rintoul served as Senior Vice President of Operations at Veolia North America and previously held senior executive positions with environmental and industrial corporations such as Philip Services Corporation, The Churchill Corporation, RSC Equipment Rental, CEDA International Corporation, and Strike Energy Services. Rintoul also previously served on the Board of Directors for CEDA International Corporation in addition to his CEO and President responsibilities.
Rintoul left Veolia in March 2022 after more than 6 years with Veolia in Houston, TX, and Toronto, ON. As Senior VP of Operations at Veolia, he led the transformation of U.S. and Canadian energy generation, water/wastewater management, hazardous waste, and environmental service businesses through structural changes, business process improvements, and data management system implementations. The resulting operational and financial performance improvement subsequently facilitated the divestment of several Veolia businesses in North America.
"Bruce's appointment to the Board of Directors continues SusGlobal's strategy of expanding the strength and depth of its Board through the appointment of accomplished industry veterans," commented Marc Hazout, President and Chief Executive Officer of SusGlobal. "We believe his strong strategic, operational, and business leadership experience in energy, waste, and water markets across North America will be extremely valuable as SusGlobal continues to grow."
Rintoul graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. He received his MBA from the University of Western Ontario, his ICD-DEP from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management and his ICD.D from the Institute of Corporate Directors, Calgary, Alberta.
Following this appointment, SusGlobal's Board of Directors is made up of five directors. Mr. Rintoul is an independent director.
About SusGlobal Energy Corp.
SusGlobal Energy Corp., the developer of SusGro", an award winning and revolutionary pathogen free organic liquid fertilizer, is an environmental, agricultural and industrial biotechnology company focused on acquiring, developing, and monetizing a portfolio of proprietary technologies in the waste to energy and regenerative product applications globally. It is management's objective to grow SusGlobal into a significant sustainable waste to energy and regenerative products provider and a trusted brand for the fertilizer, soil and aquaculture market, as LEADERS IN THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY. For more information, please visit the SusGlobal website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company's objectives. 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," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, lack of sufficient financial resources; variations in market conditions, currency and our stock; the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, approvals, consents or authorizations required for its activities; the Company's ability to produce energy, biogas, compost or organic fertilizer from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, or to be fully able to implement its business strategies and other risk factors described in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov.
Contact
SusGlobal Energy Corp.
Marc Hazout, President and CEO
(416) 223-8500 or Toll Free: 1-866-512-7374
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE: SusGlobal Energy Corp.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155715
By Gabriela Baczynska
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union countries did not reach agreement on Wednesday about new sanctions against Russia, and planned more talks to have the package ready for the one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on Friday, diplomats said.
The proposed package includes trade curbs worth more than 10 billion euros, according to the bloc's chief executive, including a ban on EU imports of Russian rubber. It would also bar more EU exports to Russia of tech equipment and spare parts Moscow might use on the battlefield.
The Brussels-based executive also wants the 27 EU countries to better track Russian assets on their soil as the bloc seeks ways to use them to help rebuild Ukraine from the war. Some countries, however, pushed back against the spectre of facing fines for failing to report, according to the sources.
"There are several issues outstanding, including on rubber and reporting obligations," said one of the sources, who all spoke under condition of anonymity due to the confidentiality of the negotiations between EU countries.
More talks among Brussels representatives of EU members were due on Thursday afternoon, said the sources.
"We remain confident that an agreement will be reached quickly tomorrow," said another EU diplomat, adding it would then be formally finalised on Friday.
NO NUCLEAR, DIAMONDS
Taken all together, the sanctions against Russia would be the toughest the bloc has ever imposed.
The looming 10th package of penalties since Moscow invaded is designed to make financing the war more difficult, including by cutting more banks including the private Alfa-Bank and the online bank Tinkoff off from SWIFT.
They would also blacklist individuals linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards over production of drones used against Ukraine.
Ukraine has called on the EU to go further, but opposition from countries including Hungary, Bulgaria, France and Belgium means the bloc would not for now restrict cooperation with Russia's nuclear industry or stop importing diamonds.
"We need to strengthen sanction policy, because the war is still lasting," Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told journalists before attending the closed-door talks in Brussels on Wednesday.
"It's very important for us. So that's why we hope that we will see these sanctions in the tenth package, otherwise, maybe in the next packages."
(Additional reporting by Kate Abnett, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Nick Macfie and David Gregorio)
TOKYO, Feb 22, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - - NTT DOCOMO, INC. and Korean telecommunication operator SK Telecom (SKT) today announced their joint release of two white papers on energy-efficient 5G mobile networks and related technologies, as well as requirements for future 6G networks.
The release of the white papers is the first outcome of a basic agreement that NTT DOCOMO and SKT signed last November to explore opportunities for technical collaboration on next-generation telecommunication infrastructure technologies for 5G Evolution and 6G.
Regarding energy-efficient 5G mobile networks, the white paper reviews the following:
- Possibilities to achieve greater energy savings based on energy consumption levels measured in the two companies' respective base stations
- Technical analysis of candidate energy-saving technologies, including both hardware and software
- The roles that operators and equipment vendors should play, including the need for greater coordination, in the effort to achieve greater energy savings
For 6G, the paper reviews requirements and challenges including specific performance levels and implementation scenarios, focusing on technical issues of particular importance to mobile operators:
- Performance requirements and implementation scenarios for each frequency band, taking into account the characteristics of each frequency
- Issues concerning coverage and devices in high-frequency bands
- Standardization for migration to 6G architecture and application of cloud-native / open architecture
Going forward, NTT DOCOMO and SKT will continue to collaborate in various technical fields, aiming to enhance the competitiveness and operational efficiency of 5G as well as support the global standardization and technical verification of 6G. They will also collaborate with global telecom operators on 6G standardization and R&D with the goal of building a global ecosystem that encompasses advanced industries and technologies.
"The white papers carry a significant meaning as they mark the first tangible result since entering into a strategic partnership with NTT DOCOMO last year," said Yu Takki, Vice President and Head of Infra Tech Office of SKT. "Based on our experience and knowhow in 5G, we will continue to collaborate with world-leading operators such as NTT DOCOMO to lead 5G evolution towards 6G."
Takehiro Nakamura, Chief Technology Architect, NTT DOCOMO, said: "We are delighted to jointly announce two white papers on green mobile networks and 6G requirements as our collaborative achievements with SKT started in November 2022. We will continue to enhance cooperation among the two major Asian mobile operators and promote superior concepts and innovative technologies to the world for the 6G deployment."
About NTT DOCOMO
NTT DOCOMO, Japan's leading mobile operator with over 86 million subscriptions, is one of the world's foremost contributors to 3G, 4G and 5G mobile network technologies. Beyond core communications services, DOCOMO is challenging new frontiers in collaboration with a growing number of entities ("+d" partners), creating exciting and convenient value-added services that change the way people live and work. Under a medium-term plan toward 2020 and beyond, DOCOMO is pioneering a leading-edge 5G network to facilitate innovative services that will amaze and inspire customers beyond their expectations. www.docomo.ne.jp/english/
Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Adam & Eve and adameve.com, America's most trusted source for adult products, are pleased to announce they are donating 250,000 condoms to Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic is a nonprofit health care provider offering a wide range of affordable and reliable reproductive and sexual health care services in 14 locations across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
Condoms have been central to Adam & Eve since it began in 1970. Founder Phil Harvey started the company as an offshoot of his master's thesis, which challenged the legalities of promoting birth control services through non-medical channels.
"Adam & Eve started off as a condoms-by-mail company, and we are pleased to still be able to provide contraception as an option to our millions of customers," said Chad Davis, Director of Marketing at adameve.com. "Phil Harvey was a graduate of UNC, and our corporate headquarters are in Hillsborough, North Carolina, so it makes sense to offer our assistance close to home. We salute Planned Parenthood in all that they do, and we are honored to provide help in this capacity."
"As we celebrate National Condom Week, we are grateful to Adam & Eve for this generous donation that will help our communities stay safe during sex," said Mitchell Price, Director of Philanthropy at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. "STI prevention is a core part of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic's health care services and education efforts. We know that access to safer sex including things like condoms and education about STI prevention, testing, and treatment are the best ways to ensure that people of all ages stay healthy and safe, no matter their STI status."
About Planned Parenthood:Planned Parenthood is the nation's leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men and young people, as well as the nation's largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgement. Through health care centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.
About Adam & EveAdam & Eve is the nation's leading and most trusted internet adult retailer, having served more than 15 million customers through its website and catalog. With its longstanding "sex positive" stance, Adam & Eve products have been delivering excitement to bedrooms and enticing lovers for 50 years. Adam & Eve sells only the highest quality products for individuals and couples looking to engage in a consensual and sex positive experience. Find out more at adamandeve.com.
For more information, please contact Adam & Eve Public Relations Director Katy Zvolerin at 919.644.8100 x 3121 or [email protected].
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adamevecom-donates-250-000-condoms-to-planned-parenthood-south-atlantic-301753434.html
SOURCE adameve.com
Lone River, the Makers of the No. 1 Ranch Water Brings Western Flair to National Margarita Day with a New Ranch Rita Variety Pack featuring Iconic Western Flavors: Classic, Spicy, Mango and Blood Orange
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lone River Beverage Company is taking National Margarita Day by the horns as it serves up the NEW Ranch Rita Variety Pack, adding to its portfolio of cocktail-inspired hard seltzers. Made with organic agave nectar and lime juice, the new variety pack tips its hat to America's most beloved cocktail, the margarita which, like Lone River, is inspired by Texas culture.
Along with the powerhouse brand's classic margarita style Ranch Rita, the variety pack serves up three new flavors: Spicy, Mango, and Blood Orange. Inspired by popular margarita serves, Mango Ranch Rita and Blood Orange Ranch Rita deliver a vibrant, freshly squeezed flavor, while Spicy Ranch Rita gives that Texas kick with a jalapeno twist. The Ranch Rita Variety Pack is premium brewed and conveniently canned at 6% ABV.
"We're all about being true to our roots, so it made sense to explore all the different ways to bring two iconic Texas offerings together," says Katie Beal Brown, founder & CEO of Lone River Beverage Co. "We're so excited to build on the positive response we've had with our Ranch Rita Classic Margarita and go a step further to give folks a full range of flavors they can sip on year-round."
The release of the Ranch Rita Variety Pack follows the April 2022 launch of the Lone River Ranch Rita Classic Margarita. The newest addition to the Lone River portfolio first hit shelves in Texas, and continues to roll out nationwide, joining the full portfolio at major retailers.
Lone River is the leading Ranch Water brand and also a Top Ten leader within the Hard Seltzer segment nationwide.1 Lone River Ranch Rita Variety Pack is available in 12-packs of 12 oz cans and best enjoyed chilled from the can and dressed with lime and salt.
For more information about Lone River Ranch Water and Ranch Rita Variety Pack, as well as to find a retailer near you, follow @RanchWater on social and visit www.loneriverbevco.com. When enjoying Lone River, please remember to drink responsibly.
About Lone River Beverage CompanyFounded in 2019 by native Texan Katie Beal Brown and acquired by Diageo in 2021, Lone River Beverage Company offers two unique drink propositions, with the taste of organic agave nectar and lime, that play on the biggest tequila inspired cocktail spaces with both lighter and fuller flavored options. The brand's namesake Ranch Water hard seltzer is inspired by the tradition and taste from the high desert of Far West Texas. At 80 calories and 4% ABV per 12 oz can, Lone River Ranch Water brings an easy-drinking twist to Texas' classic cocktail. Lone River Ranch Water hard seltzer is available in Original, Spicy, Rio Red Grapefruit and Prickly Pear flavors. Lone River Ranch Rita Margarita Style is a fuller flavored, 6% ABV, premium brewed beverage that delivers the indulgent taste of the classic margarita cocktail. Lone River Ranch Rita is available in Classic, Spicy, Mango and Blood Orange flavors. Lone River products are available nationwide in major retailers as well as independent stores. Lone River is also available via delivery platforms Instacart, Drizly, and more. To learn more, visit www.loneriverbevco.com. Enjoy Responsibly.
About Diageo North AmericaDiageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos, DeLeon and Don Julio tequilas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: DGE) and their products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world.
For more information about Diageo, their people, brands, and performance, visit www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice. Follow at Twitter and Instagram for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.
Media Contact:TAYLOR[email protected]
Nicole Anastasi, Diageo[email protected]
1 Nielsen Total US xAOC L4 Wks - w/e 02/11/23
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SOURCE Lone River Beverage Company
~School District fails to protect child and family~
HARRISBURG, Pa. , Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 17, 2023, Andreozzi + Foote filed a lawsuit against the Red Lion School District in York County, Pennsylvania related to the suicide of Zachary Kirchner, a former District student. The lawsuit alleges that the district's and several other District students' actions led to directly to Zachary's suicide on April 20, 2021.
The lawsuit also names a District employee and a former police officer as defendants. On the day of Zachary's suicide, they drove Zachary's brother from the school to their home, where Zachary's brother discovered Zachary's lifeless body hanging from the ceiling in the family's basement.
The lawsuit alleges the student defendants bullied Zachary by calling him sexually derogatory names, and by telling Zachary to kill himself. The student defendants also shared an image of Zachary on the one-year anniversary of Zachary's death with a noose around his neck. Zachary's family, including his brother, saw the image. Zachary's brother ultimately dropped out of school. The lawsuit alleges the School District knew what was happening to Zachary but did nothing in response despite pleas from Zachary's family to help him.
"What happened to Zachary is truly a tragedy. It is becoming far too common for such atrocities to be committed within our schools. Through the widespread use of social media, now children are faced with bullying from their peers 24 hours a day. These individuals and institutions must be held responsible to not only seek justice for Zachary, but to prevent this from happening to other children," Stated Renee Franchi, Attorney.
The lawsuit brings several claims, including under 42 U.S.C. 1983, Title IX, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Andreozzi + Foote is a leading law firm representing victims of wrongdoing against powerful organizations. If you, or a loved one, is seeking legal counsel related to a wrongful death, contact us for a free consultation at (877) 214-3238 or visit victimscivilattorneys.com.
For press access, reporters can contact Ben Andreozzi, Partner at [email protected]
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/andreozzi--foote-files-lawsuit-against-red-lion-school-district-due-to-bullying-induced-suicide-301753667.html
SOURCE Andreozzi + Foote
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Capella Minerals Ltd (TSXV: CMIL) (OTCQB: CMILF) (FRA: N7D2) ("Capella" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the following update on its maiden scout core drill program at the Company's 100%-owned Kjli copper-cobalt-zinc massive sulfide ("VMS") project in Trndelag province, central Norway.
Six holes for 1,080m of drilling have been completed to date on targets along the Kjli Mine trend (Kjli Mine and Guldalsgruva sectors) and at Kjli Deeps (a coincident electromagnetic and gravity anomaly underlying the former Kjli copper mine) (Figure 1). Remobilized, semi-massive copper-rich (chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite) mineralization has been locally intersected in drilling along the Kjli Mine trend, especially around Guldalsgruva. However, the first hole at Kjli Deeps (KJ-001) experienced significant downhole deviation and failed to intersect the target. A subsequent downhole electromagnetic ("EM") survey has confirmed the existence of an off-hole EM conductor in the vicinity of KJ-001 and this target is expected to be redrilled shortly.
Highlights
A scout diamond drill program of approximately 1,250m was initiated at the Kjli copper-zinc-cobalt project in late-January. The Kjli project is located approximately 20km NE of the Company's advanced-exploration stage Hessjgruva project.
Figure 1. Location of the Kjli Deeps and Kjli Mine drill holes, overlain on airborne EM data.
A total of six holes / 1,080m of drilling has been completed to date on targets along the Kjli Mine trend (Kjli Mine and Guldalsgruva sectors) and Kjli Deeps (a coincident electromagnetic and gravity anomaly underlying the former Kjli copper mine) (Table 1). Remobilized, semi-massive copper-rich (chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite) mineralization has been locally intersected in drilling along the Kjli Mine trend (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Drill hole KJ-004 8-10m. Remobilized, semi-massive chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite in the Guldalsgruva sector.
Significant deviation in the first drill hole KJ-001 has resulted in the key Kjli Deeps target currently remaining untested. Contractor Geovista has just completed a downhole electromagnetic ("EM") survey confirming the existence of an off-hole EM conductor in the vicinity of KJ-001 at approximately 240m downhole. This target is expected to be redrilled shortly (Figure 3).
Eric Roth, Capella's President and CEO, commented: "In spite of difficult winter conditions and some technical issues, we have been able to make good progress on our scout core drill program at the Kjli project. Our main focus has been on testing the potential for new copper-zinc-cobalt discoveries along both the known Kjli Mine trend, as well as at the new Kjli Deeps target which has never seen any drilling. Unfortunately we have not been able to adequately test Kjli Deeps to date, but we do expect to be able to do so in the near term. First assays from this scout drill program are currently anticipated to become available by early April.
In parallel, Capella is working towards final permitting and funding for further drilling at the advanced-exploration stage Hessjgruva VMS project in addition to a maiden drill program at Amot (Lkken) commencing late Q2, 2023. So we expect to see a lot of activity on our Norwegian portfolio over the next 6 months or so. I look forward to keeping the market updated on progress at all of our Norwegian copper projects".
Figure 3. Deviation in drill hole KJ-001 (Kjli Deeps) and the untested off-hole EM conductor.
Table 1. Drill collar coordinates for Kjli scout program.
Hole E N Altitude Azimuth Dip Depth Comments KJ-001 635,373 6,973,345 1,010m 140 -60 330m Kjli Deeps, Deviated KJ-002 635,729 6,973,844 967m 120 -60 248m Kjli Deeps North KJ-003 635,334 6,974,471 1,011m 140 -60 129m Kjli Mine Trend KJ-004 629,905 6,970,380 949m 180 -60 122m Kjli Mine Trend KJ-005 628,633 6,969,791 860m 0 -90 130m Kjli Mine Trend KJ-006 629,839 6,970,533 920m 180 -50 120m Kjli Mine Trend
Qualified Persons and Disclosure Statement
The technical information in this news release relating to the Kjli project has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101, and approved by Eric Roth, the Company's President & CEO, a Director, and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Mr. Roth holds a Ph.D. in Economic Geology from the University of Western Australia, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and is a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Mr. Roth has 30 years of experience in international minerals exploration and mining project evaluation.
On Behalf of the Board of Capella Minerals Ltd.
"Eric Roth"___________________________ Eric Roth, Ph.D., FAusIMMPresident & CEO
About Capella Minerals Ltd
Capella is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of quality mineral resource properties in favourable jurisdictions with a focus on European base and battery metals projects.
In Norway, the Company's focus is on: i) the advanced exploration-stage Hessjgruva copper-cobalt project and the adjacent Kongensgruve and Kjli projects in the northern Rros mining district, Trndelag province, ii) the discovery of satellite high-grade copper-cobalt deposits around the past-producing Lkken copper mine, Trndelag province, and iii) the discovery of new copper-cobalt deposits in the former Vaddas-Birtavarre mining district of northern Norway.
In Finland, the Company's focus is on the discovery of lithium and rare-earth element deposits at both its Perho reservation and a recently acquired, 100%-owned portfolio of reservations located in Central Finland. In addition, the Company is currently permitting exploring the Katajavaara-Aakenus gold-copper project in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt together with JV partner Cullen Resources Ltd (ASX: CUL).
The Company also retains exposure to exploration success in precious metals projects through its active Canadian Joint Ventures with Prospector Metals Corp (TSXV: PPP) at Savant (Ontario) and Yamana Gold Inc. at Domain (Manitoba). The Company also retains a residual interest (subject to an option to purchase agreement with Austral Gold Ltd) in the Sierra Blanca gold-silver divestiture in Santa Cruz, Argentina.
Cautionary Notes and Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of Capella, including the timing, completion of and results from the exploration and drill programs described in this release. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that such expectations will prove to be correct. All such forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Capella in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. This information, however, is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from this forward-looking information include those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in Capella's most recently filed MD&A. Capella does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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SOURCE Capella Minerals Limited
DELAWAREAward winning adult film actress and YouTuber, Britney Amber, has signed on as Cherry.tvs brand ambassador. She will do her first exclusive livestream show on the platform on Friday, March 3rd at 6 p.m. PST.
"I'm so excited to join the Cherry.tv family! Amber said. I really love livestreaming and being able to interact with my fans in real time. Camming also definitely frees up my spontaneous sideso who knows what will happen when they start showering me in cherries or luxury yachtsor diamonds!
Amber began her journey in the industry more than 15 years ago when she starred in HBOs hit series Cathouse. She transitioned into adult film shortly thereafter and has won several other industry awards since, including AVN Best Group Sex Scene in 2021, and MILF Performer of the Year at XRCO in 2021.
In addition to starring in hundreds of adult films, Amber has collaborated across the pleasure products industry, and has also grown a mainstream following across various social media platforms, including: Twitch, Instagram, TikTok, Discord and YouTube. Her YouTube channel has now surpassed 308K subscribers who tune in to see Ambers weekly product reviews and fashion hauls.
According to Zuzana Kasinski, Cherry.tvs business development and head of PR: Britney has an incredible fan following, a huge social media presence, and such a diverse amount of content that shes really the perfect fit. We couldnt be happier as a company to have such a multi-talented, award-winning industry veteran step into such a visible and important role.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a hiring market where new and experienced law enforcement officers and administrators can grow their career anywhere, many choose the opportunity CMPD offers and the lifestyle Charlotte affords. While recruits appreciate CMPD's $7,500 signing bonus, higher pay and improved application process, many officers say the city itself played an important role in their decision to start their career in Charlotte. Learn more at JoinCMPD.com.
"Fresh out of high school, I was eager to be on my own so Charlotte was a no-brainer," said Jatasha Bias, a CMPD officer since 2019. A native of Washington state, Officer Bias moved to Charlotte in 2008 to attend Johnson C. Smith University, one of four colleges in the area. While a college degree is not required to apply to CMPD, it can boost earning potential. Those with associate degrees earn an additional 5% each year, and bachelor's degrees, an additional 10%.
"Depending on what you're looking for, you can find a city within the city," said Officer Bias, who enjoys the hustle and bustle of Uptown's cultural attractions, nightlife and restaurants.
"My favorite thing about living here is the outdoors," said Bronx native and CMPD Officer Nestor Montero whose family was drawn to move to Charlotte from the northeast in 2007 for "...the cost of living, nicer weather and suburban lifestyle without all of the congestion of New York."
Beyond competitive salaries and benefits, CMPD provides officers with leadership opportunities and comprehensive training to increase their earning potential. With 13 different divisions and specialized positions, CMPD offers room for growth.
"CMPD has almost every resource you can imagine," said Detective Anasterasia Gose. "The access to training is amazing, as well as the supervisors. They want to see you improve. They are very accommodating of any training or class you want to take."
Applications are accepted online and processed on rolling deadlines to maximize Police Academy enrollment. For recruitment and application information, please visit JoinCMPD.com.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, cmpd.org and JoinCMPD.com, is a progressive, technology-driven, metropolitan department that believes strongly in the principles of crime management, community collaboration, professional accountability and employee wellness. The department employs more than 1,900 sworn officers, 500 civilian employees and 500 volunteers. If the public has information about a crime, anonymous tips can be provided to Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com.
CONTACT: [email protected]
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SOURCE CMPD
Donation Will Help JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya Restore Damaged Facilities and Increase Production
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT Corporation (NYSE: EQT), the largest producer of natural gas in the United States, today announced that the Company donated oil and gas production equipment to JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya, Ukraine's largest gas producer. The equipment will be used to restore damaged oil and gas production facilities and revive critical production in wartime conditions.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, the full-scale war has caused damage and destruction to dozens of Ukrgasvydobuvannya's production facilities.
"Ensuring a reliable supply of energy is a challenge, not only for Ukraine, but for the entire world. We are proud to support our fellow energy workers in Ukraine as they fearlessly continue production operations under the most difficult conditions," said Toby Z. Rice, President and CEO of EQT Corporation. "This equipment will play a major role in helping to stabilize Ukraine's energy supply. We hope our colleagues continue to stay safe during these dangerous times and look forward to the day this war ends."
The United States Government and the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine supported the operation to deliver the equipment, which arrived in early February.
"The war has significantly complicated delivery of required gas production equipment and materials. Certain equipment is just not readily available on the Ukrainian market," said Oleg Tolmachev, Acting CEO of Ukrgasvydobuvannya. "We are extremely grateful to EQT for helping us overcome some of these difficulties. Thanks to their generous donation we will be able to repair damaged facilities much faster and implement critical production projects that will supply much needed gas to our country."
Ukrgasvydobuvannya, which specializes in natural gas and gas condensate production, is the largest gas production company in Central and Eastern Europe. Ukrgasvydobuvannya produces 12.5 bcm of gas, which accounts for nearly 70% of total gas production in Ukraine.
EQT Contact:Bridget McNieDirector of Communications412.720.4500[email protected]
About EQT CorporationEQT Corporation is a leading independent natural gas production company with operations focused in the cores of the Marcellus and Utica Shales in the Appalachian Basin. We are dedicated to responsibly developing our world-class asset base and being the operator of choice for our stakeholders. By leveraging a culture that prioritizes operational efficiency, technology and sustainability, we seek to continuously improve the way we produce environmentally responsible, reliable and low-cost energy. We have a longstanding commitment to the safety of our employees, contractors, and communities, and to the reduction of our overall environmental footprint. Our values are evident in the way we operate and in how we interact each day trust, teamwork, heart, and evolution are at the center of all we do. Learn more at eqt.com.
About JSC UkrgasvydobuvannyaJSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya is the largest gas production company in Central and Eastern Europe. In Ukraine, it is a major player producing 70% of natural gas. Ukrgasvydobuvannya is a 100%-owned subsidiary of Naftogaz of Ukraine NJSC.
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SOURCE EQT Corporation (EQT-IR)
U.S. risks losing insight on Russian nuclear arsenal
HARRISONBURG, Va., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Russia's withdrawal from the U.S.-Russia arms control treaty this week signals the end of the last remaining peace dividend of the Cold War and the last remaining area of agreement and collaboration between the U.S. and Russia, said Philip Baxter, a professor of intelligence analysis at James Madison University.
An immediate concern is the potential for renewed arms racing, by which both countries rapidly build up their arsenals.
Baxter said that while the death of New START is worrisome, its near-term ramifications are limited. While an immediate concern is the potential for renewed arms racing, by which both countries rapidly build up their arsenals, the greater concern for the U.S. is the loss of insights about Russia's arsenal that come from inspections and information sharing.
Further, the end of New START puts the U.S. at a slight disadvantage if Russia does decide to deploy significantly more strategic nuclear weapons. Russia has maintained a robust production capability as it has lacked the ability to ensure the longevity of its weapons. At the same time, the U.S. has scaled back production capabilities and invested in stockpile stewardship.
Finally, this likely marks the end to the era of bilateral nuclear weapons limitation agreements, ushering in a much more difficult era of both trilateral arrangements that require the participation of China and agreements that cover different technologies and concepts of security and stability, making it significantly more difficult.
Baxter is the editor of book on Nuclear Modernization in the 21st Century and author of "Russian Nuclear Modernization" in that volume.
Read original article here: www.jmu.edu/news/2023/02/22-baxter-start
More information about James Madison University, including rankings and recognitions can be found at jmu.edu/about.
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SOURCE James Madison University
MDPen Brand Educator Selected Best Brand Educator of the Year
ATLANTA, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandra Moore Burns is a Brand Specialist and Marketing Professional with a passion for the beauty and aesthetics industry. She has helped promote MDPen MicroNeedling and Skincare products and services in the most effective and impactful way possible.
After completing her BA degree from the University of Florida, Alexandra began her career in dermatology in 2009 and obtained her skin specialist license in Florida in 2011. She became an expert in MicroNeedling while working in plastic surgery, which led her to become an Educator contractor and sales representative for MDPen. In 2021, Alexandra became the official Brand Educator for MDPen.
As Brand Educator, Alexandra develops and executes marketing strategies that drive brand awareness and increase sales, working closely with MDPen's marketing and sales teams. She is also an active member of several industry organizations and a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences.
Alexandras' dedication and passion for her work have earned her the respect and admiration of colleagues and peers. She is recognized as a leader in the beauty and aesthetics industry and an inspiration to others in the field.
We are proud to have Alexandra Moore Burns as our Brand Educator and congratulate her on this well-deserved recognition from Dermascope Magazine. At MDPen, we are committed to delivering the highest-quality rf micro-needling products and clinically evaluating skincare and Alexandra's expertise and dedication have played a critical role in our success. We are honored to have her on our team and look forward to continuing our work together to promote the importance of skin health and beauty.
MDPen is a provider of innovative radio frequency Micro Needling devices and clinically-evaluated skincare products. With a focus on practitioner education and support. MDPen has been working with leading medical and aesthetic practitioners worldwide for over a decade to deliver innovative and effective skincare solutions that promote collagen and elastin production for a youthful appearance.
Related Link:https://mdpen.co
This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.
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SOURCE MDPen
Anti-Worker Case Before U.S. Supreme Court Will Only Embolden Workers
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien on today's release of the 2022 work stoppage numbers by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data showed work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers increased by 44 percent compared to 2021.
"Workers are increasingly taking action and going on strike. There is a clear reason for this. America's workers are fed up and they are fighting back.
"The ability to strike is the most powerful tool workers have to demand better and safer working conditions.
"Greedy corporations and billionaires who would rather stockpile profits and reward shareholders than treat workers fairly will see their workers out on the picket lines.
"A worker's right to strike is under assault in the U.S. and across the globe. The Teamsters will never, ever stop demanding our fair share and we will not allow anyone or any institution to attack our rights to collective action.
"An anti-democratic case that is an affront to all hardworking Americans is currently being heard in the U.S. Supreme Court. Whatever the outcome of the Glacier Northwest case, millions of workers will remain emboldened to fight for their rights."
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org to learn more. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.
Contact:Kara Deniz, (202) 497-6610[email protected]
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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Leaders and Influencers Call for Public-Private Support to Ensure Continued Legacy of Accredited HBCU
AUGUSTA, Ga., Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Paine College, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU), today announced the launch of "Growing Paine," its 2023 Annual Capital campaign to raise $6 Million in 60 days. The kick-off also marks the start of the institution's new era of quality education, restructured finances and innovative leadership. Funding will be used to expand the college's educational curriculum, upgrade student housing, refurbish campus buildings and invest in new technology.
To support the aggressive fundraising effort, a growing roster of community advocates and influencers has been engaged. This includes five-time Grammy Award-winner CeeLo Green, who has served as a Visiting Professor and Distinguished Artist-in-Residence since 2021 at no cost to the College. In addition to lectures, Green has headlined several live performances to help raise money for Paine's UNCF Campus Campaign.
Founded in 1882 by Methodist church leaders, Black and white, with donations including pennies from former slaves, the college currently employs 112 residents and has served as a community hub. Paine generates over $33 million in total economic impact for its local and regional economies. Last year, Paine enrolled 250 students, a significant decline compared to the prior academic year, which education leaders attribute to the coronavirus pandemic. In fall 2022, the College enrolled 314 students which is a 25% increase in the student population.
"This moment in history is challenging, but we are resilient and determined to protect and preserve Paine's 140-year legacy of educating Black scholars. Today, we call upon alumni, corporate donors, civic leaders, and the community to help raise much-needed funds," said Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones, President, Paine College. "We won't ever, ever give up our fight to educate this next generation of leaders, while also being innovative, intentional, and sustainable. With the right support, I am confident that we will not only survive but also thrive and continue to positively impact this community."
Paine College also recently announced its updated strategic roadmap, which is focused on five major areas including:
Enrollment growth
Increasing scholarship awards
Curriculum expansion and realignment
Faculty growth and development, and;
Improving student housing to support and facilitate a modern living and learning community.
"With some muscle and some hustle, Paine College's future is bright, " said CeeLo Green. "I believe in the mission, the vision and the soul that lives here. Today, I encourage everyone to support the work of this amazing institution and strengthen a pillar in the community."
Paine's accreditation application was approved by the Virginia-based Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, which ensures students can receive federal financial aid. Now, under new leadership, the College has established a master plan to support its mission goal of becoming a leader in the area of undergraduate liberal arts education.
"Paine College has been a pillar of the Augusta community since its founding in 1882," said Garnett Johnson, Mayor of the City of Augusta. "Not only has Paine been educating the next generation of Black scholars for decades, but it is also a key driver of our local and regional economies as it creates numerous jobs for our residents and those of surrounding communities. The Mayor's Office is dedicated to assisting Paine in meeting their fundraising goals, and our team is diligently working to determine how we can best contribute to this cause."
HBCUs are institutions that were founded predominantly after the Civil War to educate Black students who had been shut out from the rest of higher education.
According to a recent study by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), approximately 70 percent of students attending HBCUs come from low-income backgrounds. Nearly 40 percent are also first-generation college students. HBCUs, like Paine, only represent 3 percent of all four-year nonprofit institutions but enroll 10 percent of all Black students. They also confer 15 percent of bachelor's degrees and 25 percent of STEM bachelor's degrees received by Black Americans.
To donate, volunteer or learn more about the "Growing Paine" campaign, please visit https://www.paine.edu.
About Paine College
Paine College, founded in 1882, is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine remains a liberal art, coeducational institution, committed to providing educational opportunities to all students in a diverse, caring, and inclusive campus community. Voted among Georgia's best Christian Colleges, Paine is accredited by Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). Paine has a history of educating the best and brightest, but intentionally seeks out students who would otherwise not attend college. Paine is known for creating opportunities for students to be better prepared for the college experience through its Upward Bound Program, Dual Degree Program, and free Summer STEM Enrichment Programs. For more information, visit https://paine.edu.
Press Contact:
Lalohni Campbellfor Paine College4045937145http://www.paine.edu
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SOURCE Paine College
The Low-Carb Bread, Bagels, Buns, and Granola lines are now all Non-GMO Certified, Keto Certified, and Contain No Artificial Flavors, Colors, or Preservatives
HOUSTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sola, a line of chef-created products that offers the benefits of keto-friendly, no-added-sugar foods without compromising taste, announces a brand refresh, debuting a new logo, packaging, and ingredient reformulation across its full portfolio.
The reformulation will position Sola's bread, buns and bagels as the only national non-GMO, low-carb brand in the commercial bread aisle. The full product portfolio will also now be Keto Certified, and contain no saturated fats and no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.
"Sola was created with the mission of helping the 123M American with diabetes and pre diabetes discover delicious low carb foods," said Ashley Findlay, Senior Marketing Director. "Our commitment to taste has made the brand the leading choice for low carb, Keto-friendly and no-sugar-added bread. With the new packaging and formulation, we can continue to elevate the low-carb category across the store and lead the transformation of the commercial bread aisle."
To reflect the new product formula, Sola is introducing a new logo inspired by the sun and the brand's more natural and relevant evolution, as well as new premium matte packaging with updated colors and claims to help consumers shop the variety of flavors across the full portfolio.
The brand is also debuting a new website at https://thesolacompany.com, which will feature Sola's full product lines, new exclusive variety packs, a store locator tool, and new content, including chef-created low-carb recipes.
The new products will be available beginning this month in retailers nationwide including Walmart, Costco, HEB, Publix, Kroger, Albertsons, Meijer, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, Amazon and on the Sola website. The new ingredients and Non-GMO Certification will now allow Sola to be distributed in the Natural and Organic channel, and the brand plans to announce further distribution in that space throughout 2023.
The Sola logo and packaging design was developed by New York-based brand design studio We Are A Studio. The Sola brand website was developed by The Knit Agency.
About SolaThe Sola Company (Sola) is a line of chef-created products that offer the benefits of keto-friendly, no-added-sugar foods without compromising on ingredients, quality or taste. Sola is redefining the standards of low-carb foods with its line of Non-GMO and Keto Certified products including bread, bagels, buns, and granola. To learn more about Sola, visit https://thesolacompany.com and join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok.
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SOURCE Sola
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for the upcoming Women's History Month, triple Daytime Emmy-winning journalist, bestselling author, and speaker Gaby Natale has joined the roster of keynote speakers for the Women Entrepreneurs Forum in Georgetown University.
The Women Entrepreneurs Forum (WEF) is a three-day platform of collaboration, motivation, business opportunities, and personal growth. This year's speakers include Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Nobel Peace Prize Ouided Bouchamaoui and French presidential candidate Segolene Royale along representatives from the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, IMF and Vital Voices, among other institutions.
"Breaking barriers and creating tools that would allow women to become PIONEERS in their own fields has always been at the core of my work as speaker, journalist, author and entrepreneur. That's why I am happy to join this powerful lineup of inspiring business leaders, mentors, changemakers, investors and social entrepreneurs from around the world", said Natale.
Women Entrepreneurs Forum (WEF) takes place annually in Washington D.C. with the purpose of connecting and bringing together renowned role models to give talks on various key issues. This event fosters learning, inspiration, and thought-provoking conversations.
"We are excited to welcome Gaby Natale at the Women Entrepreneurs Forum. She is a role model for all female entrepreneurs. Natale knows how to move the world forward with her voice and her actions", said Yanire Brana, director and founder of WEF.
The Women Entrepreneurs Forum (WEF) will take place March 29-31 in Washington DC at Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. For additional information, please visit: https://wefdc.org/ .
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SOURCE AGANARmedia
FILE PHOTO: The Rio Tinto logo is displayed on a visitor's helmet at a borates mine in Boron, California, U.S., November 15, 2019. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon/File Photo
By Clara Denina and Harish Sridharan
LONDON (Reuters) -Rio Tinto more than halved its dividend on Wednesday after posting a 38% drop in annual profit, hurt by weaker iron ore prices as demand from China slowed, higher labour and material costs.
The Anglo-Australian miner joins other diversified mining companies in reporting lower earnings and shareholder payouts from the record levels reported in 2022, after disruptions lowered output and costs rose for energy, skilled labour, explosives and equipment.
Rio reported underlying earnings of $13.3 billion for 2022, compared with a record $21.4 billion in 2021, missing a Refinitiv estimate of $13.8 billion. It declared a full-year dividend of $4.92 per share, down from 2021's record payout of $10.40 per share.
Its shares were down 2.2% at 0817 GMT.
Strict COVID-19 curbs in top steel producer China curtailed economic activity last year, dragging down iron ore prices from lofty levels a year earlier.
But the world's top iron ore producer said Chinese consumption showed signs of rebounding.
"It is very positive that China now also comes out of COVID lockdowns ... and we are quietly confident that (China's) demand will be a stabilising factor for the world economy in 2023," Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm told reporters.
China, the world's second-biggest economy, in January re-opened its borders and eased quarantine requirements for travellers after three years of tight controls, and is putting in place policies to boost its sagging economy.
Rio Tinto lowered its capital investments guidance for 2023 to $8 billion from $8-9 billion, while raising its estimates for 2024 and 2025 to $9-10 billion.
The estimates include around $3 billion a year for growth capital, said Chief Financial Officer Peter Cunningham, as the miner moves to ramp up projects, including Guinea's vast iron ore deposit Simandou, Argentina's lithium asset Rincon and the underground expansion of its massive Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia.
On Tuesday, rival BHP Group reported a steeper-than-expected 32% fall in first-half profit but also flagged a brightening outlook in China.
Rio Tinto last year earned an average realised price of just $106.10 per dry metric tonne (dmt) of iron ore, down from $143.80 per dmt in 2021.
It maintained its production and unit cost guidance for 2023.
Additional investments to ramp up production at the Gudai-Darri mine in Pilbara, Australia, along with higher diesel prices and labour costs, resulted in Pilbara unit cash costs rising to $21.30 per tonne in 2022, Rio said.
"Similar to the rest of the industry, compressing margins and rising capex will place pressure on free cash flow generation," RBC Capital Markets analysts said.
GROWTH DILEMMA
Despite the vast volumes of copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt needed for the transition to a lower carbon economy, major mining companies have limited plans to develop mines that take several years to turn a profit.
Some have preferred to grow through acquisitions, with BHP making a $6.5 billion cash offer for copper and gold producer OZ Minerals.
Others are investing in projects belonging to smaller developers.
Rio last year suffered a setback to its ambition to become a significant lithium producer, when the Serbian government revoked licences for its Jadar project after massive protests sparked by environmental concerns over the planned mine.
"We have a lot going on, mostly are organic opportunities, except Rincon which was our first acquisition for a decade and then followed that by taking TRQ private," Stausholm said.
"So we look at it asset by asset - would we like to grow in lithium? Yes. On the other hand, it's very expensive right now."
"I'm not looking at big transformative M&A changes at the moment. We are on a very important transformative journey and I don't want it to be disturbed by too big M&A."
(Reporting by Clara Denina, Harish Sridharan, Harshita Swaminathan; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Sonali Paul and Mark Potter)
(Tribune News Service) The U.S. Coast Guard evacuated a man who fell ill while on a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday morning.
The 58-year-old man was aboard the New Buccaneer, about 184 miles south of White Lake, La., when he began experiencing stroke-like symptoms about 8 p.m. Monday, the Coast Guard said.
The agency dispatched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry plane from Air Station Corpus Christi.
The plane located the boat and the helicopter crew carried out the evacuation. The man was hoisted into the Jayhawk about just after midnight Tuesday and taken to University Medical Center in New Orleans. He was listed in stable condition.
(c)2023 The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate
Visit at www.nola.com
LOS ANGELESPineapple Support, the adult industrys leading mental health non-profit, will attend the TES Affiliate Conference in Cascais, Portugal this week, where it will host a discussion about how the community can better support adult content creators.
The discussion, "Sane, Secure, Sexy?" will take place on Friday, February 24th. Representing the organization at the conference and hosting the discussion will be Leya Tanit, founder and CEO of Pineapple Support, Michelle Marriott, Community Outreach Chair of Pineapple Support, and Andra Chirnogeanu, Head of Business Communication of Stripchat.
"We are going to have a very frank and open discussion about how we can help content creators feel supported and appreciated by the platforms they use, as well as by the industry as a whole," says Tanit. "We need to make sure that those who work in front of and behind the camera feel confident and supported when confronted with difficult situations. Together we can create a more sustainable and attractive adult industry."
Tanit founded Pineapple Support in 2018, after a string of losses in the adult industry from depression and other mental illnesses. The organization, a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in the United States, has so far connected more than 8,000 adult performers to mental health services, including free and low-cost, therapy, counseling, and emotional support.
The discussion, "Sane, Secure, Sexy?" will take place on Friday, February 24 at 11 a.m. Additional details and the full schedule of events during the TES Affiliate Conference can be found by visiting tesaffiliateconferences.com/ schedule.
Anyone that would like to speak with a member of the Pineapple Support team during the TES Affiliate Conference should email [email protected] to arrange an appointment.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. A building at the U.S. Naval Academy that had been named after a leader in the Confederate Navy was renamed Friday in honor of former President Jimmy Carter, who graduated from the academy in 1946.
The decision to rename the engineering building in Annapolis was made after a commission mandated by Congress determined several military assets across all branches of the service had to be renamed because of Confederate ties.
The building that had been called Maury Hall was built and named in the early 1900s after Matthew Fontaine Maury, a naval officer and scientist who joined the Confederates.
The Naval Academy superintendent's house and a nearby road are named after Franklin Buchanan, the academy's first superintendent who left to join the Confederate Navy at the start of the Civil War. The academy also is renaming the house and road, but has yet to announce those changes.
Carter, who is 98, was president from 1977 to 1981. He did not attend the ceremony, though some of his relatives did.
"It would be impossible to overstate what this Academy and the Navy has meant to my grandfather, and by extension to my family," said Josh Carter, Jimmy Carter's grandson, in a news release from the Navy.
(c)2023 The Capital (Annapolis, Md.)
Visit The Capital (Annapolis, Md.) at www.hometownannapolis.com
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Tribune News Service) On the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy, families and Boy Scouts spent Presidents Day touring the schools historic buildings and majestic chapel. The last stop of the official tour is an obelisk at the center of campus where first-year midshipmen will soon celebrate being plebes no more.
It is an institution steeped in history where most of the students still reside in a single dormitory: Bancroft Hall. And on the main floor of that building is a tribute to one of its most famous alums, former President Jimmy Carter.
Carol and Greg Gifford had traveled from their home outside Washington to meet up with their son and his family for an official tour of the campus. They had seen the portraits of Carter and reflected on his ties to the institution.
Over the weekend, the Carter Center had announced that the former president decided to forgo further medical treatments and enter hospice. Now, the Giffords said, it also is a time to think about what Carter means to the country.
Theyve given the ultimate service, in a sense, of directing our country in many different trials and situations, Carol Gifford said. And given up their personal life to be able to serve the United States of America.
In Bancroft Hall, beneath the photo of Carter the midshipman and another of Carter the president, is a short biography that traces his life, including an early graduation from the academy in 1946, an acceleration caused by the war. Carter went to work on the Navys first nuclear submarines, and because of his expertise he was sent to Canada in 1952 to respond to a nuclear reactor meltdown, The Washington Post reported.
But the former midshipman from rural Georgia would have just a short career on active duty.
Carter resigned in 1953 to take over the familys peanut business after his father died, although he would remain a reservist for several more years. That change set the course for a political career that started in the Georgia Senate and continued to the governors office and eventually the White House.
A short walk from Bancroft Hall but on a quieter side of the campus is a building that for decades carried the name of a naval oceanographer who resigned his commission to join the Confederacy. Just recently, that building was renamed in tribute to Carter.
Carter Hall is now marked with a brand-new plaque at its door and a sign on the lawn with shiny gold letters. Its not a stop on the campus tour, and since no classes were held on Presidents Day the building was quiet.
Jim Taggart, a Navy veteran from Levittown, New York, decided to spend the holiday checking out the campus for the first time. He toured the dining hall and stopped by the gift shop to purchase a sweatshirt.
Taggart remembers when Carter was president and the controversy he faced during the Iran hostage crisis. And then Carter embarked on a postpresidency highlighted by work for Habitat for Humanity and other philanthropic endeavors.
Its a period to look back and see his presidency, and his time serving his country as a naval officer, and his time after being president, Taggart said. What he did to make the world a better place.
2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Visit at ajc.com.
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(Tribune News Service) Two men from the Colorado Springs area including a Naval Submarine School student died following a vehicle crash in Waterford, Conn., on Saturday, according to a news release.
The single-vehicle crash occurred just before 5:30 a.m. Saturday, the Waterford Police Department said. Police determined early in the investigation that the driver lost control of the vehicle before crashing into a wall with the two passengers inside.
The two deceased passengers were identified as 24-year-old Dylan Richey from Monument and 23-year-old Bramm Miller from Colorado Springs, according to the release.
The driver, 21-year-old Robert Sewell from Broomfield, is expected to survive.
Lauren Laughlin, a spokesperson for the Naval Submarine School, told The Day newspaper in New London, Conn., that Miller was a seaman who was attending the school. Sewell is also a student at the school. She said Richey was not affiliated with the Navy. A Go Fund me page for Richey's family said he was visiting a friend in Connecticut.
(c)2023 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
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YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan Three sailors aboard the USS Ronald Reagan attempted suicide over a three-month period last year, according to a Navy spokesman.
A spokesman for the carrier confirmed some of what an enlisted sailor raised during a Feb. 10 meeting at Yokosuka, the 7th Fleets headquarters south of Tokyo and the Ronald Reagans homeport.
The sailor, who identified herself as a hospital corpsman 1st class aboard the carrier, asked the Navys senior enlisted leader, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea, why the Navy did not investigate five suicide attempts, all from the same department and division, aboard the carrier.
That strikes me as something isnt right, she said during Honeas all-hands call at the Fleet Theater. I work in a pretty tough division, but Im pretty supported by my department. So, Im just a little confused as to why there wasnt an investigation if there were five suicide attempts in three months.
Honea said he was unaware of the situation and promised the corpsman he would look into it. He did not respond to emailed requests for comment between Feb. 16 and Wednesday.
The Ronald Reagans spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Phillip Chitty, said three sailors assigned to the carrier attempted suicide between September and November. All worked in the same department, which he declined to identify, but not in the same division, he said in an email to Stars and Stripes on Feb. 15.
On Wednesday, 7th Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Kristina Wiedemann said the Ronald Reagan investigated the attempts but wont identify the department involved to protect the sailors privacy.
We conducted investigations into each of these cases, she told Stars and Stripes by email. In each case, underlying causes were found to be case specific and not related.
The Navy aims to prevent suicide by focusing our leaders on the problem, providing better access to care, empowering a culture of peer-to-peer support, and overcoming the stigma around mental health care in the Navy, she said.
Wiedemann said resources are available for sailors, such as the Veterans Crisis Line, Navy Chaplain Care, Military One Source and others.
Chitty said sailor focus groups were held by specialists from command support groups after the suicide attempts.
Leadership at all levels aboard USS Ronald Reagan remains committed to the mental and physical health and well-being of its Sailors, he wrote in the email.
Wiedemann said no suicides occurred among sailors assigned to the Ronald Reagan during 2022.
Suicide remains a serious problem within the U.S. military. In fiscal year 2021, 519 service members died by suicide, according to a Defense Department study released Oct. 20. Of those, 58 were in the Navy.
Suicide has claimed the lives of at least 10 sailors since April, five aboard two other U.S. carriers, according to recent news reports.
Two crewmembers aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, undergoing repairs and maintenance at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington, died by suicide Dec. 5 and Jan. 18, according to a Jan. 27 report by Military.com.
Those deaths are still under investigation, Lt. Cmdr. Ben Anderson, spokesman for Carrier Strike Group Nine, told Stars and Stripes by email Friday. He said he could not confirm the manner of death until the investigation is complete; he also said that no investigation into the mental health and wellbeing of the ships crew had been opened.
Leadership at all levels on our ship are actively engaging with sailors to ensure they and their families are aware of and receive all the resources available to them when they are in need, and to ensure a climate of trust and transparency that encourages sailors to ask for help when they need it, Anderson said in the email.
Three suicides in April among the crew of the carrier USS George Washington, docked in Virginia for long-term maintenance, raised questions in Congress and sparked a Pentagon investigation.
Stars and Stripes Jan. 31 edition included an article about the problem military veteran students, and their beneficiaries, are experiencing when attempting to utilize their GI Bill benefits at a foreign university. Our nation and our military are quite diverse, including my family and me. We hail from different countries, have different interests, and might speak more than one language, but we all unite in our service to the nation. As a result, many of us have earned educational benefits through Chapter 33 (GI Bill), Chapter 35 (dependents and survivor benefits), or Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E). Quite a few of us have earned degrees while serving and have transferred our educational benefits to our children. We extended our service and incurred additional service obligations so our children could attend college.
Imagine my surprise, and that of many other veterans living overseas, when officials at a public university in Germany told me that they could no longer participate in the Department of Veterans Affairs education program. I was not the only one caught off guard by this revelation. In July 2021, foreign schools certifying officials received a notification from the VA notifying them of changes to the approval process. Subsequently, veterans in Switzerland, Sweden, the U.K., Ireland, France, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and Denmark report that most universities have ceased participation with the VA, which led to fewer educational opportunities and, in many cases, financial hardship for veterans and families.
You would think that we should blame the universities. Indeed, the VA does. It passes responsibility and blame onto foreign schools when those will not, or in many instances legally cannot, comply with the VAs antiquated internal payment system. Now, the VA bases its foreign program approval demand on 31 C.F.R. 208.3, published in May 2020 (Federal Register, 2023). It requires federal agencies to make payments via direct deposit. While there are exceptions in section 208.4., none apply to the VA education payments.
In my opinion, the VA uses the law as a crutch to avoid the desperate need to overhaul its payment system. Payments to foreign accounts from the U.S. government are entirely possible. After all, many of us receive our military retirement into foreign accounts.
Starting in 2021, veterans support groups, various interest groups, individuals, and political committees have rallied support for legislative action culminating in Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-NJ, sponsoring H.R. 7375 (U.S. House of Representatives, 2022):
An act to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to update the payment system of the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow for electronic fund transfer of educational assistance, administered by the Secretary, to a foreign institution of higher education (117th Congress, 2022, para. 1).
It passed the House 397 to 15 and advanced to the Senate. Once it was assigned to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chaired by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., it sat idly and despite numerous voiced concerns from affected veterans, family members, constituents and support groups died with the 117th Congress without being voted on. According to the Congressional Budget Offices cost estimate, this bill would not have had any impact on the federal budget (CBO, 2022, Figure 1). It is also fair to say that education at a public university in Germany is quite affordable for students (672-1,615 per month average cost) but also the VA compared to the $35,551 annual average cost in the United States (Dohmen et al., 2019; Hanson, 2022, para. 1).
As a veteran and military family, we know that benefits are in constant danger of erosion. When it appears that benefits are not being used, although in this instance institutionally prevented from being used, we stand to lose them. While we succeeded in having our voice heard on Capitol Hill, it apparently was not loud enough. This problem is not a partisan issue. It is an American veteran and military family issue, and we need you. Lets be clear, these are entitlements that we earned through our service not handouts or freebies. Contact your representatives, the House and Senate committees for Veterans Affairs, and make your voices heard! So, I ask you: O Brother, O Sister, where art thou?
Jana Tittle is a retired U.S. Army master sergeant. She lives in Germany and is an ordinary resident of Germany. She is a master of social work student at Salisbury University.
WHITE BEACH NAVAL FACILITY, Okinawa U.S. and Japanese service members worked together Friday to clear overgrown jungle paths leading to sacred, ancestral sites on this seaside naval base, a community service project now 7 years old.
Twenty sailors from the U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force volunteered for the project at White Beach Naval Facility in Urumas Heshikiya community.
The event, dubbed Jungle Attack, began in 2016 and happens several times a year, said Heshikiya district mayor Mitsuo Nishishinya, through a translator.
The going wasnt easy. Chief Petty Officer Joshua Ferrer, assigned to Fleet Activities Okinawas security forces, swung his machete in a standoff against a web of thick jungle vines.
I should have sharpened it beforehand, the 37-year-old from Colton, Calif., said as he inspected the blade. Its pretty thick.
White Beach is home to 155 tombs of the areas indigenous people and other sites considered sacred to locals. The sites, spread across the base, are not easily accessible. Some sit just off the main roads, while others are atop steep, rocky, jungle cliffs.
The sites are off-limits to service members and base workers for the most part, out of respect for the human remains that can be found there. Locals can gain access with special permission from the base.
On Friday, two teams of 10, evenly split between American and Japanese sailors, cleared the way to four sacred sites. One team started at Chibu nu Ka, a sacred well thought to bless women with fertility, where local mothers traditionally washed newborn babies for the first time.
The jungle was overgrown, and the group hacked and slashed its way down an irrigation ditch toward the site.
The jungles thick but slowly were cutting through it, little by little, Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Birkel, 27, of Omaha, Neb., said during a break. The C-12 Huron crewman said it felt good to help out his Japanese neighbors.
Theyre always amazing to us, so its good to kind of pay them back, he said.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Ramirez, 25, of Raleigh, N.C., said he joined the cleanup effort because he wanted to see the sacred sites.
I heard it was pretty interesting, said the air traffic controller. It feels nice getting to come out and help out.
When they were done, about six inches of plant material covered the jungle floor. Sailors also worked to clear the vines obstructing the view of a nearby overlook and a steep path toward cliffside family tombs.
Nishishinya thanked the volunteers as he made his way down to the well.
Its so clean now, he said.
The district chief said that even though the well was decommissioned 80 years ago, it still held a lot of meaning to locals.
It means a lot to the community, Nishishinya said. Theyre really happy that were maintaining the sites and making them accessible.
SEOUL, South Korea The remains of a U.S. service member killed during the Korean War will soon be on their way to the United States following a dignified transfer ceremony at Seoul National Cemetery on Wednesday.
Draped in the United Nations blue-and-white flag, the casket was transferred by the Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification to the U.S. Eighth Army Mortuary Affairs.
The remains were discovered in April 2021 in Gangwon province, where some of the most fierce fighting of the 1950-53 Korean War occurred, according to a news release from the South Korean agency.
A joint forensic analysis in October with the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting determined the remains likely belonged to a U.S. service member.
We send our deepest gratitude to the fallen U.S. hero for his noble sacrifice and devotion to protect freedom and peace to such a distant country, a spokesperson for the South Korean agency said during the ceremony.
The remains go next to the U.S. Armys Camp Humphreys, about 40 miles south of Seoul and the headquarters of U.N. Command, and then to the DPAA laboratory in Hawaii.
The DPAA will further analyze the remains and attempt to identify them.
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg and National Defense Vice Minister Shin Beom Chul presided over the ceremony.
Above all, I would like to pay tribute for all the fallen heroes who bravely sacrificed their lives to protect freedom and prosperity of [South Korea], Shin said in a speech.
DPAA director Kelly McKeague also spoke. The sacrifices our nations shared during the war are the foundations of values we have shared since the wars end, he said.
Those sacrifices were not in vain when one considers the peace, security, stability and prosperity that blesses this nation and its citizens, McKeague said. Together we have defended those values resolutely and vigorously.
Since 2000, South Korea has returned 26 sets of remains to the U.S. and the U.S. has returned 307 to South Korea.
Over 450 Americans killed in the Korean War have been returned to family members since 1982, according to the DPAA website. Roughly 7,600 others are still unaccounted for.
Over 23,600 U.S. troops were killed in action during the war, according to the U.S. Defense Casualty Analysis System. Around 10,000 others succumbed to their wounds or were declared dead after being missing in action or captured.
PAJU, South Korea U.S. Marines from Japan capped a month of training here Tuesday by fighting off a simulated ambush while they pulled their light tactical vehicles from a cold, muddy field near the border with North Korea.
Roughly 80 Marines from the III Marine Expeditionary Force Support Battalion, III MEF Information Group, out of Camp Hansen on Okinawa, were wrapping up a combat readiness exercise at the Dagmar North Training Area in Paju, roughly three miles from the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea.
The exercise, known as Bushido Strike 2023, began Jan. 28 and included cold-weather training, combat lifesaver courses and pistol and rifle marksmanship, battalion spokesman 2nd Lt. Samuel Barge told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday.
Bushido, the battalions call sign, in Japanese means the way of the warrior, or the code of samurai life.
This warrior training is particularly valuable for these Marines, Barge said. Their primary roles in the III MEF include maintaining vehicles and weapons and providing communications and administrative support.
We came out to South Korea to practice those basic infantry skills so that we can support the MEF," Barge said.
To simulate a battle during a convoy operation, two-man teams mimicking enemy combatants were dispersed on both sides of a muddy road. Hidden in tall weeds, these camouflaged red cells equipped with M249 light machine guns and M4 rifles ambushed the joint light tactical vehicles as they passed.
Maj. Kevin Jones, the exercises site commander, said the Marines chose South Korea as the training ground because logistically, it makes sense.
Training on Okinawa is difficult because of its smaller terrain, Jones said. Additionally, some of the Marines and vehicles that were shipped for Bushido Strike will be used again sometime in March for Freedom Shield, a large-scale drill by U.S. and South Korean troops.
Bushido Strike and Freedom Shield are being held as the allies stance toward North Korea remains tense. The communist regime fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday and an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The U.S. and South Korean air forces responded to the ICBM launch with a demonstration of air power on Sunday. U.S. B1-B Lancer bombers and F-16 Fighting Falcons joined South Korean F-35A and F-15K fighters to rehearse a short-notice recall mission, according to U.S. Forces Korea on Twitter.
South Koreas display of military power has become routine amid the Norths missile launches. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has promised to reinforce Seouls alliance with the U.S. in the wake of Pyongyangs record number of launches last year and agreed to upscale joint military drills with Washington.
670 The Score afternoon hosts Danny Parkins and Matt Spiegel were on-air Tuesday afternoon for the first time since being threatened with a lawsuit by Chicago White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger.
Last week, Parkins and Spiegel interviewed Olivia Finestead, who recently accused Clevinger of domestic violence and child abuse. Finestead and Clevinger share a 10-month old baby together. Clevinger had the opportunity to address the allegations when he arrived to Spring Training last week, referring to the story as nonsense. Parkins and Spiegel sought to give Finestead the platform to offer her side.
In response to that journalistic decision, Clevinger threatened litigation against the station. Tuesday afternoon, Parkins and Spiegel defended their judgement to interview Finestead and stated they dont anticipate receiving any legal action from Clevinger.
We didnt really address any of this on social media. Figured it started on the radio, lets keep it on the radio, Parkins said on Tuesday. We got wind during the 5 oclock hour of the Friday show heading into the holiday weekend from Steve Greenberg of the Sun-Times that a story was gonna be dropping. That he had spoken with Mike Clevinger out at Spring Training and that Clevinger was none too pleased with us, the show, and the radio station for putting his accuser, Olivia Finestead, on the show last week.
Parkins explained that Greenberg reached out to them for comment and they directed him to their boss, but not before they asked what Clevinger was saying about the interview. Greenberg informed them Clevinger was considering suing.
Per Greenbergs article in the Chicago Sun-Times, Clevinger called the interview with his accuser trashy and lowlife material.
My lawyers are paying attention, Clevinger added. My lawyers are getting in contact with them, and they probably already sent a cease-and-desist for defamation. So [The Score] just got themselves involved in this, too, so good for them.
That was on Friday. As of Tuesday, Parkins and Spiegel said they have not received the cease and desist letter.
As of right before we came on the air, we have not been sent a cease and desist letter from Mike Clevinger. So, so far, this is all just media tough talk via Steve Greenberg and the Sun-Times, Parkins continued. First point of order: we havent gotten a cease and desist. Ill editorialize here for a second, I dont expect to.
I agree, added Spiegel. I think My lawyers are paying attention is a scare tactic that doesnt work on a decently constructed corporation and a journalistic radio station.
Parkins noted that he remains comfortable with the interview both journalistically and ethically, adding that suing the media doesnt traditionally work (given actual malice requirements for defamation in the case of public figures).
We fully stand by the editorial choice of giving her the opportunity to speak after he had the opportunity to speak, Parkins said. And we fully stand by, journalistically, the interview as we did, not pushing her in any direction, not making judgements during the conversation, simply giving her the chance to speak. Which we felt she deserved.
[670 The Score]
WARSAW The leaders of the United States and Russia delivered blistering, contradictory addresses in Eastern Europe on Tuesday, showcasing starkly opposing worldviews as they spoke on the eve of the first anniversary of a Ukraine war that has set the two superpowers increasingly at odds.
President Biden, speaking to an enthusiastic crowd outside Polands Royal Castle, urged the worlds nations to recommit to a unified defense of Ukraine, saying global democracy was at stake and accusing Russia of committing crimes against humanity through its abhorrent acts against civilians.
A few hours earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, addressing a joint session of the Russian parliament, reiterated his attacks on what he called Ukraines neo-Nazi regime and, in a surprise move, announced that Moscow was suspending its participation in New START, the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms agreement.
U.S. officials said that the timing of the two speeches was coincidental and that Biden had decided long ago to travel to the region for the first anniversary of the brutal war. But if the president did not plan his remarks as a response to Putins, they nonetheless often sounded like a rebuttal of the Russian president.
Putin said during his televised state of the nation address that Western elites started the conflict in conjunction with Ukraine. Biden, in his address, responded that it was Putin who chose this war, adding, The West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today.
Biden also used soaring terms to cast the war, as he has before, as one front in a worldwide struggle between autocracy and democracy.
When Russia invaded, it wasnt just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced a test for the ages, Biden said before a large crowd on a cold night with a colorful backdrop. Europe was being tested. America was being tested. NATO is being tested. All democracies are being tested. And the questions we face are as simple as they are profound: Would we respond, or would we look the other way?
He added: One year later, we know the answer. We did respond. We would be strong, we would be united, and the world would not look the other way.
Biden seemed to relish the opportunity to create the contrast with Putin. He mocked him and criticized him. He called him a failed leader who had badly miscalculated. And while Biden, in the same place a year ago, ad-libbed a phrase that his aides quickly walked back For Gods sake, this man cannot remain in power Tuesdays speech suggested that he still holds that belief.
President Putins craven lust for land and power will fail, and the Ukrainian peoples love for their country will prevail, he said.
In Putins telling, in contrast, Russia is not an autocratic power that attacked a neighboring country without provocation, but a victimized nation targeted by the United States and the West. Our relations have degraded, and thats completely and utterly the U.S.s fault, Putin said.
They were the ones who started the war, he told the assembled members of Russias parliament, referring to Ukraine and Western elites he said were supporting Kyiv. We used force and continue to use it to stop it.
More immediately, Putin said he was suspending Russias participation in the 2011 New START pact, which limits the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads that can be deployed by the United States and Russia. The announcement alarmed Western officials, who said they were awaiting more specifics of what the suspension would entail.
Putin said Russia would not withdraw completely from the treaty, which has been extended to run through Feb. 4, 2026, but would not allow NATO countries to inspect its nuclear arsenal. He accused the alliance of helping Ukraine conduct drone strikes on Russian air bases that host strategic bombers that are part of the countrys nuclear forces.
If the U.S. conducts tests, then so will we, Putin said. Nobody should have any illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed. Other nonproliferation agreements, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, have fallen apart in recent years.
Putins speech extended far beyond the Ukraine war, ranging from accusing the West of a plot to destroy Russia to promising to build a new highway from Moscow to Vladivostok. He attempted to portray Russia as open and resilient, on its way to recovering its lost status as an independent superpower.
He pointedly steered clear of his military defeats in Ukraine and Russias mounting casualties, glossed over economic challenges brought on by the war, and portrayed international isolation as a way for Russia to cleanse itself of harmful alien ideologies.
The Putin-Biden speeches came at a pivotal moment in the Ukraine war. Biden and his European counterparts are working hard to ensure that support for Kyiv does not fade as the conflict passes the one-year mark on Feb. 24, and many military analysts say the spring fighting season could be decisive.
Bidens own legacy is likely to depend significantly on the outcome of the Ukraine war, and his speech in Warsaw crystallized the importance of a trip that began with his dramatic surprise appearance in Kyiv on Monday to stand with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The president cited that whirlwind visit on Tuesday. Ive just come from a visit to Kyiv, and I can report Kyiv stands strong, Biden said at the start of his remarks. Kyiv stands proud. It stands tall. And most important, it stands free.
But he also nodded to potential difficulties ahead, saying the alliance will continue to be tested in the months to come.
We have to be honest and clear-eyed as we look at the year ahead. The defense of freedom is not the work of a day or of a year, the president said. Its always difficult. . . . As Ukraine continues to defend itself against the Russian onslaught and launch counteroffensive of its own, there will continue to be hard and very bitter days, victories and tragedies.
Biden reiterated comments that Vice President Kamala Harris made last week declaring that Russia is guilty of crimes against humanity.
Theyve committed depravities - crimes against humanity, without shame or compunction, the president said. Theyve targeted civilians with death and destruction, used rape as a weapon of war, stolen Ukrainian children in an attempt to steal Ukraines future.
The visit of an American president is a significant event in Poland, and Warsaw was largely taken over by the event. Many streets were closed off, and blue ropes kept the crowds, at times a half-dozen deep, corralled on the sidewalks. American and Polish flags were omnipresent, and television networks provided blanket coverage.
Earlier Tuesday, as he arrived at the Presidential Palace under dreary skies, Biden was welcomed by a military parade and the playing of the American and Polish national anthems.
Polish President Andrzej Duda thanked Biden for making the effort to visit Kyiv, a trip requiring elaborate security arrangements, calling it a very strategic move that boosted the morale of Ukrainians. The visit, he said, was a sign [to Ukrainians] that the free world had not forgotten them.
Polish leaders have been nervous that a Russian victory in Ukraine could embolden Moscow to target their country as well. Duda said Bidens visit was a visible sign that Poland is safe and secure, adding, America is able to ensure the global order.
The rare notes of dissent came from Poles who want the United States to provide even more aid to Ukraine.
Outside the hotel where Biden and his top aides were staying, protesters held signs that read, Mr. Biden send F-16 to Ukraine. A woman screamed into a microphone, Mr. Biden, we know you are here, and we know you hear us.
Bidens speech marked his return to the city where he spoke in March 2022, a month into the war. This time, the conflict is almost a year old, a milestone that few expected; military analysts initially predicted that Russian forces would quickly overwhelm the Ukrainian army.
Biden delivered his remarks before a crowd of Polish citizens, Ukrainian refugees, and U.S. Embassy staffers and children. The site played a role in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, when resistance fighters found shelter and hiding places in the area to avoid detection by German forces.
Administration officials played down the notion that Biden was responding directly to Putin.
We did not set the speech up as some kind of head-to-head, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a briefing with reporters. This is not a rhetorical contest with anyone else. This is an affirmative statement of values, a vision for what the world were both trying to build and defend should look like.
Sullivan said he did not think Biden watched Putins speech, and he reiterated that the United States rejects the Russian leaders claims that the West is to blame for the war in Ukraine and its aftermath.
If Russia stops fighting the war in Ukraine and goes home, the war ends, he said. But if Ukraine stops fighting and the United States and the coalition stops helping them fight, Ukraine disappears from the map. So, I think that kind of tells you everything you need to know about whos responsible for this war.
On Wednesday, Biden is scheduled to meet with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, a group of nations on NATOs eastern flank that are especially concerned about Russian aggression. He will also sit down with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Sullivan rejected a Russian statement that it had provided security guarantees for Bidens trip to Ukraine. The United States did alert the Russians that Biden would be making the trip, as a way to prevent any unexpected conflict when he entered the country with a large security presence, the national security adviser said.
They did not respond, other than to acknowledge receipt of the notification. So there was no exchange - it was mere notification and acknowledgment of receipt, Sullivan said. We conveyed that information. They acknowledged receipt. End of story.
Ilyushina and Dixon reported from Moscow. The Washington Posts Niha Masih contributed to this report.
WARSAW President Biden sought to bolster the countries along NATOs eastern flank on Wednesday, pledging full support if Russia begins targeting their countries as he concluded a momentous three-day trip to Ukraine and Poland.
Hours before he was scheduled to leave for Washington, Biden reiterated that if Russia attacks any of those Eastern European countries, the United States would invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter, meaning each member of the alliance would respond as if its own territory had been attacked.
Its absolutely clear: Article 5 is a sacred commitment the United States has made, the president said before joining a closed-door meeting with leaders of the so-called Bucharest Nine nations. We will defend every inch of NATO. Every inch of NATO.
As the war in Ukraine approaches its one-year mark, the meeting was meant to reassure vulnerable nations that are near Ukraine and Russia, as well as to send a stark warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the consequences of escalating further.
What literally is at stake is not just Ukraine. Its freedom, Biden said. The idea that over 100,000 forces would invade another country after a war since World War II, nothing like that has happened. Things have changed radically. We have to, we have to make sure we change them back.
The meetings took place one day after Putin announced the suspension of Russias last remaining nuclear pact with the United States and as the two leaders underscored the growing distance between them in dueling speeches. Even as Biden sought to reaffirm a strong NATO alliance, Putin was simultaneously attempting to showcase his own alliance with China.
Chinas top diplomat, Wang Yi, was in Russia for a meeting with Putin. Early Wednesday, Wang met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said that relations between Russia and China are developing dynamically, despite the turbulence.
Moscow and Beijing are ready to defend each others interests, he added.
As he entered the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Biden was asked for a reaction to Putins decision to suspend its participation in New START, the arms control agreement between Russia and the United States. Biden at first joked he didnt have time, but then, after a pause, he said, Big mistake.
The Bucharest Nine is made up of countries sandwiched between Russia and Western Europe, and the Ukraine War has driven up its anxieties about Moscows aggression as they worry that they may be next. The group consists of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Biden also met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said it is crucial that the Ukraine war end in a way that prevents a repeat.
President Putin is not preparing for peace. On the contrary, he is preparing for war, Stoltenberg said. So we must sustain and step up our support for Ukraine. We must give Ukraine what they need to prevail. We dont know when the war will end, but when it does, we need to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
He listed other aggressive actions Russia has taken in recent years.
We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression, he said. NATO allies have never been more united. We will protect every inch of our territory based on Article 5 commitment to defend the children. One for all and all for one.
The Bucharest Nine was formed in 2015 in response to Russias invasion and annexation of Crimea, with a goal of enhancing regional security and to promote cooperation among nations under threat.
As NATOs eastern flank, youre on the front lines of our collective defense, Biden told his fellow heads of state. And you know better than anyone whats at stake in this conflict, not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.
Several of the leaders around the table spoke about the importance of their alliance, and the steely resolve they must have for unpredictable months ahead.
This year has made us stronger and more united, and we the countries on the eastern flank are more protected than ever, said Slovak President Zuzana Caputova.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said all the nations involved have the duty to stand in defense of peace. He added, We must stand firm on delivering our commitments to support Ukraine for as long as it needs to win this war.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban an authoritarian leader who the U.S. has often been at odds with did not attend the summit, with his country represented instead by President Katalin Novak. Although Hungary is a member of both NATO and the European Union, it has increasingly jousted with other European countries as Orban moves in a more authoritarian direction.
Bidens meeting with the Bucharest Nine Wednesday marked the last part of a three-day trip that began with a surprise, stealthily planned trip to Kyiv and concluded with two days of meetings to bolster nations in Eastern Europe and assure them of ongoing U.S. support against Russia.
He also met on Wednesday with U.S. Embassy staff and their families. Biden had a dark smudge visible on his forehead during his first public events, marking Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent when many Catholics go to Mass. Biden spent the morning at his hotel, but in the past has had priests come to him.
During a speech in Warsaw on Tuesday night delivered in front of a large cheering crowd, Biden spoke several times about the importance of the NATO alliance and how Putins invasion had strengthened it.
When President Putin ordered his tanks to roll into Ukraine, he thought we would roll over. He was wrong, Biden said. He thought NATO would fracture and divide. Instead, NATO is more united and more unified than ever than ever before.
Biden also cited NATOs bedrock agreement to defend against an attack on any of its members.
Let there be no doubt, the commitment of the United States to our NATO Alliance and Article 5 is rock solid, he said. And every member of NATO knows it. And Russia knows it as well. An attack against one is an attack against all. Its a sacred oath.
(Tribune News Service) President Vladimir Putin said hes waiting for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to visit Russia as he hailed deepening ties with Beijing at talks with Chinas top diplomat.
Cooperation between Russia and China is very important for stabilizing the international situation, Putin told Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi at talks in Moscow on Wednesday, asking him to pass on greetings to my friend Xi. Russia and China are reaching new milestones including in trade, which may grow to $200 billion sooner than their goal of 2024, Putin said.
The current international situation is indeed critical and complex but the relationship between China and Russia is solid as a mountain and can stand the test of international risks, Wang replied, adding that the strategic ties between Moscow and Beijing wont be subject to pressure from any third parties.
Wangs visit to Moscow roughly a year after Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine shows that China has little intention of abandoning its staunch diplomatic partner despite Beijings efforts to limit the damage caused by the war. China has said it will soon release details of a plan to bring peace in Ukraine, a proposal met with skepticism in the U.S. and Europe.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wang at weekend talks in Munich against China providing lethal aid to Putins war, even as Beijing moves to portray itself as a neutral actor that can broker peace in Ukraine.
Wang and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev affirmed at talks on Tuesday that their nations are aligned in pushing back against the U.S. and allies, pledging to jointly practice true multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateral bullying, and promote democracy in international relations and a multi-polar world.
Patrushev was present with Putin at the Kremlin meeting along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whod held separate talks with Wang earlier Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Xi was preparing to visit Moscow in the coming months to push for multiparty peace talks and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used. A potential visit has been floated for months, with Putin telling Xi during a December video call that he looked forward to welcoming the Chinese leader to Russia in the spring.
Xi has yet to talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since the invasion despite speaking with Putin some four times in that span. Beijing has also repeatedly defended some of Russias reasons for going to war most prominently to resist the expansion of NATO while insisting it doesnt support the invasion itself.
While Beijing remains close to Russia, the costs of their partnership have become more apparent of late. Beyond the near-term damage to the global economy, China is also increasingly seen in the U.S. and Europe as a strategic competitor that must be deterred from its own ambitions to take control of Taiwan a prospect that makes Beijing more vulnerable to multilateral export controls, investment restrictions and other measures that could thwart its long-term growth prospects.
In a phone call with Lavrov in early January, new Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said ties were based on Three Nos: no alliance, no confrontation and no targeting of any third party. Chinese participants at a security conference in Germany last weekend also sought to downplay the significance of a no-limits partnership that Xi and Putin agreed to last year just weeks before the Russian leader invaded Ukraine.
Japan, a key U.S. ally in Asia, expressed concern about Chinas joint military exercises with Russia around its shores in the first security dialog between officials from Tokyo and Beijing since 2019, according to a statement issued by Japans Ministry of Defense. China and Russia conducted joint drills in waters off Japan several times last year.
For their part, the Chinese officials said they were extremely worried about what they saw as negative Japanese actions regarding Taiwan in collusion with forces outside the region, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The two Asian neighbors did agree to continue to work toward bringing a military hotline into operation in the spring, the ministry said.
With assistance from Isabel Reynolds and Foster Wong.
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TAMPA, Fla. (Tribune News Service) A former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer once stationed at MacDill Air Force Base admitted in federal court Tuesday that he kept classified national security documents in his Tampa home.
Robert Birchum, 55, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Wilson to formally plead guilty Tuesday afternoon to a charge of unlawful retention of national defense information.
The charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence, but federal guidelines likely will suggest a penalty of less than that.
Birchums attorney, Eric Roper, declined to discuss specifics of the case but said more details would be made public as the sentencing hearing approaches.
We look forward to that day in a couple months where we can go to court and present a full picture, Roper said.
Birchum, clad in a formal Air Force uniform, sat beside his lawyer at a defense table in the hearing Tuesday. He breathed heavily, opening and closing his fist a few times, as he quietly answered a series of standard questions from the judge meant to ensure he understood his guilty plea and its consequences.
He served in the Air Force from 1988 to 2018, retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel. He held different jobs in intelligence, according to his plea agreement, including as an intelligence officer and as chief of combat intelligence for an unspecified Air Force group.
Before he retired, Birchums assignments involved handling classified intelligence information for the Joint Special Operations Command, Special Operations Command, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the plea agreement states. Because of his assignments, he held a top secret security clearance, which gave him access to classified information.
On Jan. 24, 2017, someone told Air Force investigators that Birchum had stored classified information on a computer thumb drive in his Tampa home, and that at least one other person had accessed it, the agreement states. Investigators searched Birchums home the same day. They seized the thumb drive, a computer hard drive and 48 paper documents that had classified information on them.
A review of the thumb drive found 135 files that held information variously labeled as top secret, secret, or confidential, the agreement states. The computer hard drive also held 10 documents marked secret.
After they searched his home, investigators also seized an external hard drive that Birchum had in his temporary living quarters overseas. It was found to have 117 additional files containing classified national defense information, the agreement states. A search of a storage pod at his Tampa home also turned up 28 paper documents labeled secret.
The plea agreement quotes from non-disclosure documents that Birchum signed during his career, in which he acknowledged that he understood the special confidence and trust the government placed in him to handle classified information. The documents also included an acknowledgement that the unauthorized disclosure of negligent handling of such information could cause irreparable injury to the United States or be used to advantage by a foreign nation.
Some of the information that Birchum had access to concerned Defense Department locations throughout the world, explanations of the Air Forces capabilities and vulnerabilities, and ways that the Air Force gathers and uses intelligence, according to the plea agreement.
There is no allegation that Birchum did anything other than illegally retain the sensitive documents, his attorney said. He signed a plea agreement declaring his intention to plead guilty shortly after prosecutors filed a formal charge against him.
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(Tribune News Service) Newly discovered documents bolster a war widows claim to the Joint Base Lewis-McChord cemetery plot she was promised decades ago but recently found someone buried in. Two Washington state U.S. representatives now are involved in the issue with one opening an inquiry. The Army, meanwhile, refuses to return the plot.
Last Veterans Day, Mary Dowling, 83, discovered someone buried in the plot she had reserved for 56 years at the Fort Lewis Post Cemetery. She was making one of her frequent visits to the adjoining plot which is the grave of her husband, Vietnam War hero Robert Dowling.
Despite several meetings with the Army, Dowling and the cemetery division have been unable to reconcile their differences. The Army has offered several solutions, which included a side-by-side burial to her husbands casket but no headstone.
Dowling has stood firm that she wants the plot that now holds the cremains of a serviceman buried there in October.
The Army has said it had no record that Dowling had a reservation despite her name on a cemetery map posted outside the graveyards entrance and an online map showing two grave plots. The physical map disappeared in December and the online map was removed from the cemetery website a few hours after The News Tribune first reported on the dispute.
The Army has maintained that regulations prevent it from disinterring the remains of the serviceman buried in Dowlings plot and re-interring them in another.
Found papers
After another meeting Feb. 16 at which neither the family nor the Army would alter their positions, Dowlings family urged the Tenino woman to once again look through her records. The next day, she found two documents from the Army that confirm she had a reserved plot next to her husband.
In a letter dated Jan. 21, 1966 and sent to Dowling, mortuary officer Marlys Heady asks Dowling to sign an enclosed document confirming her reservation for the plot in Section 2, Row F, Lot 9 and return it to the Army.
The carbon copy is for your files, Heady wrote. It would be a good idea to keep it with your important papers, as it is a record of your reservation in the Fort Lewis Post Cemetery.
Photos of both documents have been sent to the Army, according to Dowlings daughter, Laura Dowling. JBLM public information officer Joe Piek said Tuesday that the letters have been forwarded to the director of the Office of Army Cemeteries for review.
Its now obvious that my mom has had a valid reservation for the burial plot next to my father at Fort Lewis Cemetery since 1966, Laura Dowling said Tuesday.
Congressional help
Now, two members of Washingtons congressional delegation are involved with helping to end the stalemate.
A staffer with Rep. Marilyn Strickland, a 10th District Democrat, was present for the Feb. 16 telephone meeting with the Dowling family, their attorney, JBLM officials and national level Army Cemeteries personnel.
The Office of Congresswoman Strickland has submitted an inquiry to the Department of the Army on this matter as requested by the constituent, Strickland spokesperson Sienna Miller said in an emailed statement to The News Tribune on Tuesday.
Although Mary Dowling doesnt live in Rep. Dan Newhouses district, the 4th District Republicans office is also involved with helping resolve the issue.
Obviously, its a very difficult situation, Newhouse spokesperson Mike Marinella said Tuesday.
Newhouse was made aware of the situation by one of his staffers who is a Gold Star family member.
He was deeply concerned about the situation, Marinella said of the staffer. Were just hoping to help the situation in any possible way.
Hope
The Dowling family said it still has not been given an explanation of how the reservation for Mary Dowlings plot was lost.
It remains unclear how or why the Army made the decision to renege on their promise to my mom, to take away her plot and reassign it to someone else after almost 57 years, Laura Dowling said.
The family hopes Stricklands inquiry will resolve the impasse.
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A man who told his ex-partner he would kick the baby out of her while attacking her with a broom handle has been jailed for three years.
Daniel Lynch (25) of Longdale Terrace, Ballymun, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to coercive control of the woman on dates between September 19, 2020, and January 15, 2022.
Sentencing him today Judge Martin Baxter noted that in her victim impact report the woman described how she got used to Lynch slapping her face, pulling her hair and kicking her.
The woman said she felt brainwashed by Lynch and she learned to be happy to give up her freedom so that Lynch would be nice to her. She said she feared for her safety and the safety of her child but that she never before felt such fear.
Judge Baxter noted the lack of compassion or humanity displayed by Lynch. She said that he needed to address his relationship to women and that he has shown no genuine remorse, contrition or insight into his behaviour.
She imposed a sentence of three and a half years and suspended the final six months on strict conditions, including that he engage in victim and offence focused work and in substance abuse treatment. The penalty of coercive control comes with a maximum penalty of five years.
Lynch also admitted making a threat to kill her in a WhatsApp voice message sent to the woman's phone on January 15, 2022. The court heard in making this threat he was breaching a protection order taken out the previous September.
A few days after the woman had texted Lynch to say she wanted to end the relationship he left her a voicemail telling her: The first chance I get, when I see you I'm going to murder you. I'm going to kill you stone dead. The first chance I am going to leave you in a hole.
The woman said she feared for her life after hearing this message. Judge Baxter imposed a concurrent sentence of three and a half years, with the last six months suspended, for this offence.
The woman, who is entitled to anonymity under the 2018 Domestic Violence Act, told gardai that Lynch had complete access to her mobile phone and all her social media, including Instagram and Facebook. He also took her money every Monday, leaving her with only 20, she said.
She said Lynch would verbally abuse her, telling her nobody loved her and that he hoped she would miscarry their child whom she was pregnant with.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said she came from a good family and when she met Lynch she had everything going for her. She was working in health care and studying in college for a further qualification and had a normal and fulfilling life.
She said she can no longer identify with that person. She said Lynch made her feel special and sold her a fairy tale.
At the start of the relationship, he told he loved her and wanted to have children with her. When he found her birth control pills, he threw them out.
I'm not sure how I let myself get caught up in this. I became isolated, she said. She said he began to tell her who she could and couldn't meet up with or even communicate with and she became cut off from her friends and family.
She said she began to change her behaviour to try to please Lynch to stop him getting annoyed. She said she became used to Lynch kicking her and pulling her hair.
I lost all sense of self-worth. I was living to please someone else. Food was used as a way to discipline me. I always tried to be on my best behaviour to avoid escalation, she said.
She said the physical abuse was easier than the emotional and mental torture and that she even considered ending her life as the only way out. She spent two nights in a psychiatric ward.
The woman began to heavily use cocaine to cope with a miscarriage in January 2021. She said Lynch was giving her cocaine and she couldn't get enough of it.
After his arrest for the threat to kill, Lynch told gardai he was ashamed and humiliated by the message. He said he didn't mean what he said in it and that he was sorry and full of regret.
John Griffin BL, defending, told the court that his client's life was marred by drug use and that he experienced domestic violence while growing up. He said Lynch doesn't remember much of the activity but accepts everything the victim said.
Judge Baxter told the victim, who was present in court, that she was a very brave woman who deserved every success. She said her victim impact statement was very powerful.
Garda Darragh O'Connor told Emmet Nolan BL, prosecuting, that during a row at Lynch's home in Ballymun on September 14, 2021, Lynch threatened to kick the baby out of her and began hitting her around the back and stomach with a broom handle.
Lynch was arrested and told gardai in interview that he would never hurt the victim but admitted calling her names and insulting her. The next day she took out a protection order against him but she told the court that they made attempts to reconcile and she moved back in with him.
The court heard that Lynch was using the victim's money to buy drugs and the relationship soured again. The woman was in touch with Tusla over their child's welfare.
In January 2022, she texted him to say she wanted to end the relationship and he texted her asking her why and saying: I'm not playing games, you're messing with me head.
A few days later, Lynch sent her a voicemail telling her: The first chance I get, when I see you I'm going to murder you. I'm going to kill you stone dead. The first chance I am going to leave you in a hole.
Judge Maire Conneely gave him the benefit of the Probation Act after hearing he had an unblemished past and was normally respectful to women.
A man who put his hand up a womans dress and groped her on the dance floor has been spared jail or a criminal record.
Rodolpho Aguilar (29) was unknown to the woman when he sexually assaulted her from behind as she danced in a busy Dublin club.
Judge Maire Conneely gave him the benefit of the Probation Act, leaving him without a recorded conviction after hearing testimonials that he had an unblemished past and was normally respectful to women.
Aguilar, of Belmont Hall, Gardiner Street Middle, Dublin pleaded guilty to sexual assault.
Dublin District Court heard the incident happened at a nightclub on Wexford Street on a date in October 2018.
The victim was out socialising with her then-boyfriend and a group of friends on the night.
She was on the dance floor when the accused came from behind and groped her genital area by placing his hand up her dress.
There was no penetration, the court heard. The accused had no previous convictions.
In her garda statement, the woman had said: I felt a hand from behind, the hand did not go under my knickers.
It felt like it went on for ages, but I know it didnt, it was only like a second and a half, she said.
Defence solicitor Mark OSullivan said it was a quite measured statement by the victim.
Rodolpho Aguilar
The accused had a lot of alcohol taken on the night and was so intoxicated he had no recollection of the incident.
He was totally forthcoming with the gardai, accepted his actions and expressed remorse.
He told them: I dont remember but if this happened, I want to say in advance, Im sorry and Im ashamed of myself.
CCTV did not capture the incident itself and nobody in the busy nightclub witnessed it.
Letters from female colleagues and friends of Aguilar were presented to the court that spoke to his integrity and that he was ordinarily respectful and a decent human being, Mr O'Sullivan said.
They were all surprised at the charge he had pleaded guilty to.
The victim had not wanted to make an impact statement and was happy to accept the 3,000 the accused was offering as a token of his remorse.
Aguilar came to Ireland for Brazil six years ago and was a hard working man with an unblemished past, Mr O'Sullivan said.
The accused had made a particularly bad mistake but he had not come to garda attention since, he added.
Its a serious offence and not one that can be treated lightly by the court, Judge Conneely said.
She took account of the letters speaking very highly of the accused and the fact that the victim was willing to accept compensation.
Applying the Probation Act, she said it was not the type of case that she would always deal within that manner.
Samantha Murphy filed papers terminating the lawsuit on Monday just a month after she had initiated the case.
18 January 2020; Conor McGregor prior to his UFC 246 Welterweight bout with Donald Cerrone at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports via Sportsfile
A woman who claimed she was assaulted on Conor McGregors luxury yacht when it was moored off a Spanish island has dropped her civil action against the mixed martial arts star.
Samantha Murphy filed papers terminating the lawsuit on Monday just a month after she had initiated the case.
Her solicitor, Alvaro Blasco, told sundayworld.com he was unable to comment beyond confirming a notice of discontinuance had been filed and that he would be looking for the matter to be struck out.
Mr McGregor had denied allegations made by Ms Murphy, who is from Dublin.
The High Court had been due to hear an application from Ms Murphy next week for an order requiring the former UFC champion to preserve evidence relating to the alleged incident, including CCTV and camera phone footage. But the application will now not take place.
MMA fighter Conor McGregor. Photo: Reuters/ Mike Blake REUTERS
Ms Murphy had claimed she was hospitalised after being attacked on Mr McGregors boat while it was moored off the Balearic island of Formentera last July.
She had been in Ibiza for a party celebrating Mr McGregors 34th birthday.
Ms Murphy claimed the assault took place after the party when she and several other people were invited back to the yacht in the early hours of the morning.
Injuries she claimed to have sustained included a broken arm and extensive bruising.
It was claimed she had to jump from a deck on the yacht during the alleged incident to avoid being assaulted further, that she made her way to another boat and was then taken to hospital.
In a statement after the lawsuit was filed, Mr McGregors spokesperson said he was steadfast in his denial of all the accusations made by a guest on his boat.
Conor McGregor posts bizarre video to Instagram
In recent weeks, gardai have been investigating incidents of alleged criminal damage against Ms Murphys property.
In one incident last Wednesday, a brick is said to have been thrown through the window of her home just before dawn.
Gardai have also been examining a complaint that an attempt was made to burn out the womans car outside her home on January 19.
There is no suggestion that either incident was connected to her lawsuit allegations.
The now-abandoned case was the second significant lawsuit to be filed against McGregor in recent months.
Last November, Artem Lobov (36), a former close friend of Mr McGregor, sued him for millions of euro in a row over the development of the MMA stars Irish whiskey brand.
The retired Russian-born fighter, a long-time training partner of Mr McGregor, alleges he was instrumental in developing Proper No. Twelve, but ended up receiving nothing despite an alleged deal under which he was to receive 5pc of the proceeds.
Mr McGregor has denied there was any such deal. The case is still before the High Court.
Her defence said Jennifer Armstrong had long-standing crack cocaine and heroin addictions and had spent 30 years of her life in prison.
One of Irelands most prolific offenders, with a record 856 previous convictions, has been jailed for shoplifting rum and hurling abuse at supermarket security.
Serial thief and public order nuisance Jennifer Armstrong carried out the theft just a day after she was given a suspended sentence for a similar offence.
Judge Ciaran Liddy jailed her for three months when she appeared in Blanchardstown District Court.
Armstrong (48), with an address at a Dublin city hostel, pleaded guilty to theft, public intoxication and threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.
The court heard at 3.35pm on February 1, she went to SuperValu, Main Street, Blanchardstown. She selected a single can of Bacardi, opened it and drank it in the shop. She then tried to leave without paying and was stopped by security.
Armstrong became extremely aggressive to security and was allowed to exit.
Gardai were called later that evening and identified her from CCTV. When they were on Main Street afterwards, they saw Armstrong standing at a bus stop in an extremely intoxicated state and arrested her.
She had been given a four-month suspended sentence for theft and public order offences at the same court the day before, January 31.
The majority of her previous convictions were of a similar nature public order offences, theft and criminal damage.
Her defence said she had long-standing crack cocaine and heroin addictions and had spent 30 years of her life in prison.
Jennifer Armstrong (48) has crack cocaine and heroin addictions
I cant deny she has an incredibly long list of previous convictions, but she is trying, he said.
Judge Liddy sentenced Armstrong to three months for theft, with a concurrent one-month sentence for breach of the peace.
Armstrong has one of the longest criminal records every seen in this country. One judge previously described it as a record.
Killeens pupils were quite large and he appeared evasive, hyped and hyper.
A man found banging on the front door of a house while hyper told gardai he had consumed Daz washing powder when asked if he was on anything, a court heard.
Gareth Killeen (35) was looking for his friends home, had accidentally gone to the wrong house and had enlarged pupils when gardai came across him.
He told Dublin District Court the Daz remark was sarcastic and he had only been drinking in a local pub.
Judge Paula Murphy found him not guilty of trespass but convicted him of public intoxication and fined him 250.
Killeen, of Barnswell Way, Drimnagh, had denied both offences. Garda Aaron Webb said he found him banging on the front door of a house at St Peters Crescent, Walkinstown last July 27.
Killeens pupils were quite large and he appeared evasive, hyped and hyper.
When asked if he had taken anything he indicated that he had consumed Daz which the garda took to be a reference to cocaine.
The accused said he had been drinking in a pub and had mixed up his friends address when the garda arrived.
He said are you on something? and I said oh yeah, Daz. I was being sarcastic, it was just alcohol, Killeen told the court.
Defence barrister Rory Mulvaney said Killeen realised the comment was a mistake in the cold light of day.
The garda said the intoxication charge did not have to specify a substance.
David Chen Lynch (42) died from multiple gunshot wounds in a suspected gangland attack outside his house in Lucan, Co Dublin
The scene of the fatal shooting of David Lynch
Nobody was ever charged with the fatal shooting of a man outside his home in west Dublin four years ago, despite over 400 lines of inquiry having been examined by gardai, an inquest has heard.
David Chen Lynch (42) died from multiple gunshot wounds in a suspected gangland attack outside his house at Foxdene Avenue, Balgaddy, Lucan, Co Dublin on March 1, 2019.
A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court on Wednesday heard that the deceased was discovered lying on the ground between his driveway and the public footpath by a neighbour shortly after 2pm.
Inspector Brian Hanley told the hearing that there were no prosecutions pending in relation to Mr Lynchs death and no active investigation was ongoing.
However, Insp Hanley said the Garda file on the case remained open.
He informed the coroner, Aisling Gannon, that gardai had followed up over 400 different lines of inquiry and taken over 200 witness statements in relation to Mr Lynchs death.
Insp Hanley said the investigation team had also analysed 60 different pieces of CCTV footage and gathered 160 different exhibits.
The scene of the fatal shooting of David Lynch
The inquest heard that there had been no eyewitness to the actual shooting.
He said investigators believed Mr Lynch had arrived back at his home shortly before 2pm after being at a barbers shop in Lucan.
Insp Hanley said gardai believed three different getaway vehicles had been used following the attack on Mr Lynch.
One of the first gardai to respond to a 999 call to attend the incident outside the victims house, retired Sergeant Richard Williams, said they had seen large black smoke coming from an area as they were travelling to Foxdene Avenue.
Sgt Williams said from experience they immediately suspected it might be a burning car linked to the shooting.
The witness described finding blood pouring from the victims wounds and checking Mr Lynchs pulse but finding none.
The victims next-door neighbour, Gerry Connors, said he was taking his bicycle out when he noticed Mr Lynch lying on the ground.
I thought he had fallen and hit his head, said Mr Connors.
However, he subsequently saw blood coming from a number of holes in the victims body and spotted several bullet casings on the ground.
Mr Connors said he had not seen or heard anything before he came upon his neighbour.
The pathologist who carried out a post-mortem on the victims body, Michael Curtis, said Mr Lynch had suffered five gunshot wounds.
Dr Curtis said two bullets had been found in the deceaseds head and left hip joint.
He said the gunshot wound to Mr Lynchs head had caused severe brain damage that was incompatible with life.
Dr Curtis said another bullet which had hit the victim in the chest had caused serious injuries to his small intestine and a major blood vessel which had resulted in extensive internal bleeding.
There was no alcohol or drugs found in his system.
The pathologist said Mr Lynchs death would have been rapidly, if not instantaneously, fatal.
A close friend of the deceased, Valerie Whelan, who was one of the last people to see the victim alive, said they had met earlier on the morning of his death for a coffee in Fonthill.
She recalled that Mr Byrne had been in absolutely great form and did not appear to have any concerns.
She said she rang him a short time after they had left the coffee shop but she assumed he was still getting his haircut when he got no reply.
Ms Whelan said she got a call a short time later to inform her about the shooting.
Another friend, Mandy Byrne, said Mr Lynch had been the driving force which led her to set up her own fitness business.
Ms Byrne said she had regularly stayed in the deceaseds house for a number of years and had done cleaning, cooking and other jobs for him including walking his dog.
She described Mr Lynch as a very private person and was not sure what his own professional business was.
Ms Byrne said the deceased did not go out much and did not like people just like herself and also hated drink, drugs and smoking.
However, she said he had been looking forward to going on holiday to Spain at the time of his death.
Ms Byrne said she left the house around midday and Mr Lynch stood at the door waving goodbye stating: See you later.
She told the hearing that she did not think he was going to leave his house that afternoon.
He was very happy and relaxed and in great form, she added.
A jury of six women returned a verdict of unlawful killing by person or persons unknown based on the evidence.
Although Mr Lynch had no major criminal convictions, gardai believe he was linked to a criminal gang based in west Dublin and Kildare and may have become involved in a gangland feud between rival groups in Clondalkin and Lucan.
The deceased had reached a 160,000 settlement with the Criminal Assets Bureau in 2019.
He had previously moved abroad for a period after feeling threatened by a former associate, Mark Desmond, a leader of a criminal gang based in Ballyfermot who was murdered in 2016.
Gardai investigating Mr Lynchs murder discovered a burning Peugeot Partner van at Buirg an Ri Glen in Balgaddy as well as a handgun and silencer beside the vehicle shortly after the fatal shooting.
The van had been bought online in May 2018 by a buyer who provided false details when purchasing the van.
A grey Toyota Avensis, which gardai believe was also used as a getaway vehicle, was found on fire in Paddocks View, Lucan. It had been stolen in Celbridge, Co Kildare two weeks earlier.
A third vehicle a black Opel Insignia with the registration 10-D-1760 which gardai suspect was used by Mr Lynchs killer or killers to flee from Paddocks View has never been traced.
Two males were seen running from Paddocks View onto Dodsborough Road where the Opel had been parked before it travelled through Lucan village towards the N4.
The car had been purchased online in May 2019 using false details.
Edward Farrell (48) and Kevin Murphy (40), both fathers-of-five, appeared in Dublin District Court charged today
Two men were seen transferring bin liner bags full of cannabis from one car to another before gardai seized 2.4m worth of the drug in raids in south west Dublin, it is alleged.
A court was told undercover officers found some 300,000 worth of cannabis in the bags, with the rest discovered in a van in a follow-up search.
Edward Farrell (48) and Kevin Murphy (40), both fathers-of-five, appeared in Dublin District Court charged with possession of cannabis for sale or supply.
Judge Paula Murphy granted bail despite garda objections and remanded the accused in custody until they are able to take it up.
Mr Farrell is charged with possession of the cannabis at his home at Castlefield Way, Knocklyon, and at Mountain Park, Tallaght on February 20.
Mr Murphy is accused of having the drug at his home at Mountain Park, Tallaght on the same day.
Detective Garda Gavin Curran said Mr Farrell was charged at Rathfarnham station at 4.38pm yesterday and made no reply to any of the counts after caution.
Detective Grarda Val Russell gave evidence of Mr Murphys arrest, charge and caution at the same station, at 4.19pm yesterday. In reply to one charge, he said: I dealt with the garda and to the other: I have given my evidence to the prosecuting garda.
The gardai alleged Mr Farrell and Mr Murphy were caught red-handed.
Large cannabis seizure in Knocklyon, Dublin.
The court heard officers from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau carried out an operation targeting the sale and supply of drugs in the Tallaght area on Monday.
It was alleged that Mr Farrell was seen exiting the rear of a white Ford Transit van parked in his driveway at Castlefield Way. He removed three large bin liner bags from the van and placed them in the rear of a BMW X5 that was also parked in his driveway, it was alleged.
He then left in the BMW while kept under garda observation. He was seen arriving at Mr Murphys address at Mountain Park, where the two men allegedly removed the three bin liners from the vehicle and placed them in the rear of a BMW 3-Series that was parked in the driveway, the court heard.
Gardai staged an intervention and the two were arrested. One bag in plain sight in the driveway contained 5kg of cannabis. The other two bags in the boot of the 3-Series contained 10kg of the drug.
Mr Farrells home was searched and approximately 105kg of cannabis was found in the transit van, it was alleged.
The value of the drugs in Mr Murphys case was 300,000, while Mr Farrell's charges related to both locations, with a combined total estimated value of 5.4 million.
Mr Farrells solicitor William Cadogan said his client, who was unemployed, had serious ties to this jurisdiction. He had five children from a number of relationships and his present partner also had more children he supported.
A lot of people depend on him, Mr Cadogan said.
Applying for bail for Mr Murphy, his barrister Tara McLoughlin said the value of the drugs was subject to analysis, which had not been done yet.
Her client also had five children and strong links to the jurisdiction.
Judge Murphy said the accused were presumed innocent and granted bail subject to stringent conditions. They must sign on daily at their local garda stations, surrender their passports and have no contact with each other. Mr Farrell is to live at another Dublin address provided.
Bail was set in Mr Farrells own bond of 50,000, of which 10,000 is to be lodged in cash, with an independent surety of 50,000 to be approved by the court.
Mr Murphys own bail is 20,000 with 2,000 in cash and a 30,000 surety.
The judge refused defence requests to reduce the bail amounts, given the very significant value of drugs allegedly involved in the case.
Mr Farrell was remanded in custody to appear in Cloverhill District Court on February 28, while Mr Murphy was remanded to Friday, February 24.
The former RTE 2FM and Classic Hits star was granted bail and her case was adjourned for the preparation of a book of evidence.
Radio DJ Nikki Hayes is facing trial accused of laundering 15,000 in criminal proceeds through her bank account.
Ms Hayes, real name Eimear OKeeffe, appeared in Dublin District Court yesterday on money laundering charges following alleged offences in 2020.
The former RTE 2FM and Classic Hits star was granted bail and her case was adjourned for the preparation of a book of evidence.
Hayes (43), with an address at The Way, Hunters Run in Dublin 15, is accused of three counts of possession of the proceeds of criminal conduct money credited to her account under Section 7 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act.
Nikki Hayes
The offences are alleged to have happened at Permanent TSB on Main Street, Blanchardstown, and the charge alleges she believed or was reckless as to whether the property was the proceeds of criminal conduct.
A detective from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau told Judge Bryan Smyth he charged the accused before the court sitting at 9.55am yesterday and she made no reply to either count after caution. She was handed copies of the charge sheets.
The first charge is that Ms Hayes received 10,000 into her account on November 6, 2020, the garda said.
The other two alleged offences took place on November 5, when she allegedly received sums of 2,400 and 2,600 into her account.
The Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial on indictment, meaning the accused will be sent to the Circuit Court for a jury trial when a book of evidence is ready.
The judge asked why the case was being dealt with at Dublin District Court instead of Blanchardstown District Court.
He said from the charges, it appeared the offences were alleged to have happened in Blanchardstown and noted that the accused had an address in Dublin 15.
The detective said garda management had directed the case to Dublin District Court and said the alleged offences actually happened online.
The judge granted bail in the accuseds own bond of 200, with no cash lodgement required. Gardai did not object to bail or seek any conditions.
Defence solicitor Andrew Broderick applied for free legal aid, saying his client had no assets and was in receipt of social welfare.
The judge granted legal aid and remanded the accused on bail to appear in court again on a date in April.
Ms Hayes, who had been in garda custody but sat in the courts public gallery, was not required to speak during the hearing. She has not yet indicated how she intends to plead to the charges and left after signing the bail bond.
Ms Hayes has spoken of and written about her mental health struggles in recent years, with a book on the issue, Crying into the Saucepan, published in 2017.
Noel OCarroll told gardai he didnt know where it would go if he wasnt stopped
A serial arsonist who set fire to two houses and three pubs in Fenit and Tralee, told gardai who arrested him that he was glad hed been caught.
Noel OCarroll, who has a former address at Island View, Fenit and now resides full time at the Cuan Mhuire addiction treatment centre in county Limerick appeared at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to seven counts of arson in Tralee and Fenit on dates between October 2017 and November 2019.
Tralee Circuit Criminal Court. File photo
The first three incidents in October 2017 and October 2018 occurred in Fenit when Mr OCarroll set fire to a holiday home adjacent to his property. The fire didnt take hold and extinguished itself.
He later set fire to, and destroyed, three vehicles that were being restored in the same area.
On June 15 2019 Noel OCarroll set fire to a property on Main Road in Fenit by breaking a rear window and lighting a curtain which was completely destroyed at a cost of 102,000 to its owner.
The three final incidents took place in pubs in Tralee and Fenit when Mr OCarroll set light to toilet paper dispensers in the toilets. Similar incidents occurred at the Teach Beag Bar on The Mall in Tralee on July 11, 2019; at the West End Bar in Fenit on August 1 201 and at Bailys Corner on Castle Street in Tralee on November 2019.
Mr OCarroll was identified and subsequently caught when images of him taken from CCTV cameras in Bailys Corner were shared among a local bar workers WhatsApp group.
Detective Brian Mackey told Judge Catherine Staines that after his arrest Mr OCarroll told him he was glad he had been caught.
He said he didnt know where it would go if he wasnt stopped, said Det Mackey.
Defence Barrister Brian McInerney SC said his client has a very long standing and chronic alcohol problem and is deeply remorseful for his actions.
Judge Staines said she accepted he was remorseful and noted his early admissions and guilty plea. She imposed a sentence of six years with the final two years suspended.
Investigators are to scour social media footage to identify those involved in the gang attack on gardai
Gardai confronted by group of youths in Ballyfermot on Monday
Gardai were set upon during disturbances in a Dublin suburb as they came to the aid of a woman who was struck by a scrambler bike, it has emerged.
Investigators are to closely analyse bystander footage and social media posts to identify those involved in a gang attack on gardai on Monday.
Gardai are investigating a number of incidents in the Ballyfermot area of Dublin following the funeral of a local man who died suddenly earlier this month.
Several incidents of dangerous driving and reckless endangerment were reported involving males on motorbikes, while garda patrol cars were also damaged.
Two gardai were also set upon by a mob after coming to the aid of a woman struck by a scrambler on the Kylemore Road.
As the officers responded to the incident, they were targeted by a large group who threw missiles at them.
One garda was struck in the face with a bottle and later hospitalised for treatment.
Watch: Garda injured after being hit by missile in large-scale disorder in Dublin
Sources said that investigators will mostly use footage shared on social media to try to identify those involved in the violence.
There arent many cameras where the incident occurred that could be used by gardai so the identification will mainly rely on footage taken by witnesses and shared on social media. Gardai may also need to seize devices as part of this investigation and it may take some time to identify everyone involved, the source added.
It is just the latest attack on garda members in Ballyfermot and has led to fresh calls from the Garda Representative Association (GRA) for more resources to support its members.
The gardai were under attack and the community were undermined, its a cocktail for disaster
Detective Garda Mark Ferris, a GRA delegate for the West Dublin Division, said that a small minority cannot be allowed dictate to this government and wider society. I sincerely hope my colleague makes a speedy recovery from the injuries he received in the line of duty in Ballyfermot, he said.
Sinn Fein councillor Daithi Doolan
The association condemns this latest attack on our colleagues and hopes the Government takes notice of events such as these and listen to our request for the immediate formation of a special taskforce to research these policing issues, he said.
A policing plan was put in place on Monday ahead of the funeral at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, with large crowds gathering for the service.
A large group of adult and juvenile males on motorbikes were observed and two men were later arrested on the Kylemore Road for dangerous driving.
Two bikes were also seized and one of the men arrested is a very close associate of the deceased man.
The two were released without charge a short time later and files will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Local Sinn Fein councillor Daithi Doolan said residents were being held to ransom by a small cohort.
The gardai were under attack and the community were undermined, its a cocktail for disaster, he said.
Mr Doolan said the lack of intervention from the Department of Justice had created a vacuum for violence, and the level of crime in the area was increasing.
He said although the group inciting the violence were small, they were creating fear in the community.
Business owners Sinead (35) and Anne (36), who live and work in the area, witnessed some of the chaotic scenes yesterday.
They were pulling wheelies and terrorising people, old people, Sinead said.
Although a Catholic from the republican Ardoyne area, Christie sold drugs for the LVF in Antrim
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the fatal shooting of Liam Christie .
The 58-year-old man was arrested after Mr Christie (44) was shot multiple times, including twice in the face and under his jaw, while he slept in his home in Antrim last October.
Although a Catholic from the republican Ardoyne area of north Belfast with convictions for carrying out robberies with Continuity IRA members, Christie sold drugs for the LVF in Antrim.
For the decade before his killing, the father-of-three lived in the loyalist Ballycraigy estate, in which the terror gang has a considerable presence.
Christie fled his home there in the weeks prior to his death, having been warned by police he was under threat. However, he made the foolish mistake of returning.
Two men have already been charged with murder in the case Jonathan David Patterson (44), with an address at Moylinney Park in Antrim, and Paul Armstrong (also 44), from Hawkswood Terrace in Antrim.
Patterson was also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm, namely a 9mm handgun and ammunition, with intent to endanger life.
The new suspect was arrested on suspicion of murder and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life today (Wednesday). He is currently in custody.
A PSNI spokesperson said: Our investigation continues, and I am appealing to anyone with information to please come forward.
"Im particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have captured dash cam footage from the Ballycraigy Estate or surrounding areas between 7am on Wednesday 19 October and 12pm the following day.
Please call detectives on 101, quoting reference number 310 of 20/10/22. Alternatively information can be provided, with 100% anonymity, to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
Information, including photos, CCTV and dash cam footage, can also be provided to police through the Major Incident Public Portal: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/PSNI22R26-PO1.
A Revenue spokesperson confirmed that investigations into all three seizures are ongoing
The smuggled tobacco and cigarettes seized on Friday was worth around 4.5 million
Revenue officers received some help from detector dog Milo at Dublin Port when making the seizure
Revenue officers seized cannabis, cigarettes, and tobacco products worth almost 4.9 million in a series of seizures at Dublin Port and Athlone over the last few days.
Last Friday, February 15, Revenue officers seized approximately 6,000kg of roll-your-own tobacco and 2,400 cigarettes at Dublin Port.
This seizure was made with the assistance of Revenues x-ray mobile scanner as a result of routine operations.
The contraband was discovered hidden in a shipment marked as PVC Resin Floor Sealer which originated in Belgium and had arrived in an unaccompanied trailer via Zeebrugge.
The smuggled tobacco and cigarettes seized on Friday was worth around 4.5 million
The tobacco seized was branded Flandria Virginia Green Label and Flandria Virginia Yellow label while the seized cigarettes were branded Benson and Hedges and L and M.
The smuggled tobacco and cigarettes have an estimated retail value of over 4.5 million, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of almost 3.5 million.
Separately, on Monday, 20 February, Revenue officers at Dublin Port seized a further 12.3kg of roll-your-own tobacco, which was concealed in a consignment marked food, during a routine check.
They were assisted by detector dog Milo and Revenues mobile x-ray scanner.
The tobacco was branded Golden Virginia and Sopianie and has an estimated retail value of over 9,300, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer in excess of 7,000.
The package originated in Poland and had arrived into Ireland in a van via Cherbourg, France.
And today, 22 February, Revenue officers seized more than 17.9kg of herbal cannabis while examining parcels at a premises in Athlone during routine operations.
The drugs were worth almost 359,000 and were discovered in two parcels destined for addresses in Dublin and Louth which had originated in Spain and Italy.
A Revenue spokesperson confirmed that investigations into all three seizures are ongoing.
These seizures are part of Revenues ongoing operations targeting the shadow economy and the supply of illegal tobacco products and drugs. If businesses or members of the public have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on the free phone number 1800 295 295, they added.
Savannah Henderson was arrested on Monday night after allegedly firing multiple rounds inside the legal brothel
A sex worker who was once a Hustler Magazine cover star has claimed that she has been falsely accused after a shooting inside Nevadas infamous Bunny Ranch brothel where she worked.
Savannah Henderson (28), known as Tiara Tae, has been booked into Lyon County Jail and faces multiple charges, including multiple counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and discharge of a firearm where others may be endangered.
Henderson was arrested on Monday night after allegedly firing multiple rounds inside the legal brothel that was once featured in an HBO series, authorities said.
But the self-described pleasure and orgasm specialist later claimed that cops got the wrong person.
She took to Twitter on Tuesday night after posting bail, asking users to subscribe to her OnlyFans account to hear her side of the story with all the juicy details.
Spoiler surprise: falsely accused. Lawyer check. Charges dropped, Henderson tweeted Tuesday shortly after 10pm local time.
Yall thought you got me lol stay tuned for my OF link with juicy details and info of court Im free to walk and roam! Hope everyone is having a great week. Im feeling relief.
Authorities say they received a call on Monday night about a fight between two co-workers at the legal brothel. When they arrived, they heard shooting and evacuated the business.
Investigators say that an employee had fired her gun and then barricaded herself in a room. She surrendered after several hours of negotiation and was taken into custody.
She was released Tuesday after paying $86,140 in bail.
Imma drop an OnlyFans. Im gonna talk about most of the details on there, but if you wanna know what happened at Dennis Hofs world famous Moonlight Bunny Ranch, make sure and fing subscribe, Henderson said in a video she posted to Twitter.
She also seemed to enjoy the controversy after her arrest, writing all eyes on me next to the video.
E-mails sky rocketing, people wanting bookings and meet ups.. maybe Dennis was right, all publicity is good publicity the word watching right now what I do next, she tweeted, referring to late, former owner of the brothel Dennis Hof. Stay tuned.
The shots were reportedly sparked by a dispute between employees, the sheriff said.
A woman who identified herself as a retired Bunny Ranch employee called Henderson a crazy bully barbie bch and a total fking nutcase.
[She] bullied other ladies for years. Attacked other, Alexa Haze tweeted. I witnessed when i [sic] worked there.
You wish Bch Lmao youre gonna eat your words after you see this court info.
Henderson snapped back, not missing the chance to advertise her channel once again. Make sure and subscribe to my OF for the juicy details!
A caller told authorities that Medina was acting irrationally and had made comments about OConnell owing him money
Bishop David O'Connell, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was found dead in Hacienda Heights, California. Photo: AP Photo/Julio Cortez AP
A man who was arrested on suspicion of killing an Irish bishop in Los Angeles over the weekend is currently being held on $2 million (1.8m) bail, according to jail records.
Carlos Medina (61) was arrested on Monday in connection with the fatal shooting of Auxiliary Bishop David OConnell (69) after police were tipped off by a neighbour, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Los Angeles County Jail records suggest that Medina is being held on a felony charge, but the specific offence has not yet been identified.
It is not known if Medina has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
OConnell was shot dead on Saturday afternoon in the bedroom of his home in Hacienda Heights, a suburban community in Los Angeles, Luna said during a news conference on Monday.
A deacon who had gone to check on O'Connell found him after he failed to show up for a meeting and contacted authorities.
A SWAT team later arrested Carlos Medina, who is the husband of OConnells housekeeper, at their home in Torrance after a standoff with police on Monday.
Luna said detectives first linked Medina to the crime after finding surveillance footage that showed his SUV in the driveway of O'Connells home at the time of the killing.
A caller told authorities that Medina was acting irrationally and had made comments about OConnell owing him money, the sheriff added, although he was not certain that there had been any dispute between the two.
He said that a motive in the killing remains under investigation and detectives are interviewing multiple witnesses to find out and get a better picture of what happened.
Luna said that a search of Medinas home recovered two firearms in addition to other evidence possibly linking Medina to the crime.
He added that detectives found no evidence of forced entry at O'Connells archdiocese-owned home and that Medinas wife was cooperating with the investigation.
Medina had done some work at the bishops home prior to the shooting, according to Luna, although the sheriff did not elaborate on any specific details.
My heart grieves although I personally did not know the bishop, Luna said.
This bishop made a huge difference in our community. He was loved.
OConnell had been a priest for 45 years and was from Ireland, according to Angelus News, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
In 2015, Pope Francis named him one of several auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese.
OConnell worked in South Los Angeles for years and focused on gang intervention, the publication reported.
In recent years, he also spearheaded Catholic efforts in the region to work with immigrant children and families from Central America.
Ms Naughton said she tried cannabis but added that it wasn't for me.
Fine Gael Drugs Strategy Minister Hildegarde Naughton has revealed she illegally smoked cannabis in Ireland while in her 20s.
Ms Naughtons comments come after Justice Minister Simon Harris said anyone who has knowledge of drug use in Leinster House should report it to gardai.
The two Fine Gael Cabinet members were speaking at a party event organised to promote the Governments cost of living package.
However, when asked about a claim by Sinn Fein TD Dessie Ellis that cocaine is being used in Dail Eireann, Mr Harris said it should be reported to the gardai as the law of the land is that certain drugs are illegal.
Mr Harris said he wants to differentiate between helping people who are addicted to drugs and those who have a pint and pop a pill at weekends.
I made comments last week in relation to drug taking, which I stand by and double down on, the reality of the situation here is that there is a very significant prevalence of drug use in our country.
I'm not talking about people with drug addiction. I'm talking about what might be described as social, casual or recreational drug use. There is a direct correlation between that and funding and fuelling gangs that bring misery to communities, including ones that we talk about on a regular basis, Mr Harris added.
The minister left the press conference but other Fine Gael members including Ms Naughton, who is the Government Chief Whip, were asked if they had taken drugs.
Ms Naughton said she tried cannabis in her 20s adding that it wasn't for me. She also confirmed she took the illegal drug while in Ireland.
She said she has not tried cannabis since and said research shows people who experimented with the drug did not necessarily continue to use it.
Neale Richmond. Photo: Tom Burke
Recently appointed Fine Gael Minister of State, Neale Richmond, said he tried cannabis while in Holland where it is legal to take the drug but said he had a horrible experience.
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said he has not taken any illegal substances. Fine Gael Senators Barry Ward and Mary Seery Kearney also said they have not taken drugs.
Ms Naughton, who is overseeing the introduction of a new Citizens Assembly on drug policy, said she hoped it would lead to an open and honest conversation about drug use in Ireland
As minister with responsibility for the drug strategy I want to ensure that what comes out of the citizens assembly feeds then into the policy that we can implement and what we want to do is hear from the lived experience of those who use drugs, families, communities, those who work directly in this area, and also to look at best practice internationally, she added.
It is understood the man was arrested this afternoon
Gardai have arrested a former GAA star who is currently at the centre of an alleged fraud scandal after seeking financing help from people under the pretence that he needed money for cancer treatment abroad.
It is understood the man was arrested this afternoon.
A garda spokesperson confirmed that an individual was arrested under Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Offences Act and can be held for questioning for up to 24 hours.
"Gardai in the eastern region have arrested a male in relation to an ongoing investigation into an alleged fraud, the spokesperson said.
"An Garda Siochana does not comment on named persons.
It is alleged the former inter-county star made a number of approaches to businesspeople, supporters and sporting organisations seeking financial assistance to travel abroad for stem cell treatment.
The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) is looking to determine whether he was in fact diagnosed with cancer and for what he used the money he received estimated to be around 1m.
He has experienced financial difficulties in recent years and a number of debt judgments were secured against him, including one by the Revenue Commissioners for a five-figure sum.
Gardai are continuing to take statements from people who allegedly gave money to the man under what they fear now were false pretences.
Sources revealed how he approached prominent members of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), which represents inter-county players, for financial help.
It is understood he also sought contact numbers for members of the GPA so he could get in touch with them about donations.
The GPA has a benevolent fund to support current and past players who are experiencing financial difficulties. However, it is not clear whether he received money directly from this fund, or received any money at all.
The GPA declined to comment when contacted.
The man has claimed to numerous individuals in the past two years that he was diagnosed with cancer.
However, there were rumours about his health as far back as six years ago.
In 2017, a reporter with this newspaper contacted him about an alleged diagnosis and he replied to say: Its a matter that I want and need to keep private and dont wish to have out in public.
He was recently hospitalised in the wake of the allegations.
Last month, Googles chief executive Sundar Pichai announced that the tech giant would cut 12,000 jobs, more than 6pc of the companys global workforce.
Google is set to cut 240 jobs from its workforce in Ireland, with planned job losses here far less than feared.
Last month, Googles chief executive Sundar Pichai announced that the tech giant would cut 12,000 jobs, more than 6pc of the companys global workforce.
Google directly employs 5,500 people in Ireland, with the planned cuts here representing just over 4pc of its Irish workforce.
Employees were informed by email, while the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney has also been notified of the plans.
Google is set to begin a consultation period with staff tomorrow, with 85 job cuts expected in sales.
A further 80 roles in technology and engineering are also expected to go, while 75 roles will be cut in support functions at Google.
Over the past two years weve seen periods of dramatic growth, Pichai wrote in an email to staff last month.
"To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.
I appreciate that what I did was awful and that I let down myself and my family and my colleagues
A north London doctor has been suspended after he had sex with a patient in the A&E toilets to help with her chest pain.
Married medic, Dr Ewere Onyekpe, was working at Whittington Hospital, Archway, when the female patient went to A&E suffering with back pain initially, on the evening of June 5, 2020.
He discharged her but before she left she gave Dr Onyekpe a piece of paper with her telephone number on it, an employment tribunal has heard.
Dr Onyekpe initiated contact with the patient to ask how she was feeling and called her pretty.
Dr Onyekpe was on duty when she returned to the A&E department, complaining of chest pain, on June 10, 2020 but the patient was treated by another doctor.
The patient then messaged Dr Onyekpe on WhatsApp that she was in A&E.
Dr Onyekpe is alleged to have steered the conversation towards sex and asked if she had sex as it helps with pain.
When she asked for any suggestions, Dr Onyekpe replied: You know I want to . you but I could get into trouble.
He then added: In the UK it is not allowed. Doctor and patient.
As the conversation became more graphic, at 11.16pm, Dr Onyekpe sent her a message asking if he could perform oral sex on her before she left the hospital.
Dr Onyekpe then had sex with the patient in the hospital toilets and although it was consensual, it was at Dr Onyekpes suggestion.
Dr Onyekpe went to the patients home the following day, and again had sex with her.
There then followed inappropriate, sexually motivated WhatsApp conversations that involved details of their private lives, his flattery of the patient, and the exchanging of naked photographs that were interspersed with medical advice.
After the relationship between Dr Onyekpe and the patient petered out, Dr Onyekpe was arrested on August 3, 2020, on suspicion of raping the patient on June 10 of that year.
However, the police decided to take no further action against Dr Onyekpe in regard to the rape allegation.
While admitting to all the allegations, Dr Onyekpe said in a statement made to a tribunal last month that he had the support of his wife and pointed out his otherwise unblemished career.
He has also received counselling from a pastor in the United States.
According to his representative, the doctor accepted he should have ignored the telephone number the patient had given him and should have explained to her that he could not contact her.
In his witness statement he added: "I appreciate that what I did was awful and that I let down myself and my family and my colleagues.
I also accept the because the power imbalance between me as a doctor and her of the patient, it can be perceived that I took advantage of my professional position in pursuing this brief sexual relationship, consensual though it may have been."
In their findings, the tribunal found that the nature of the text communication and the two sexual encounters, one of which was on the hospital site, was "deplorable".
It was added that it would bring the medical profession into disrepute.
Dr Onyekpe was suspended for six months with immediate effect.
A review hearing has been scheduled, where he will be given the opportunity to show how he has reflected on his behaviour, and why he should be allowed back onto the doctor's register.
He has presented the Dave Fanning Show on the station since May 1979
Dave Fanning has announced he is stepping away from 2FMs weekend show, ending a 44-year spell with 2FM/RTE Radio 2, to concentrate on the digital empire.
The legendary broadcaster will still appear on 2FM on Bank Holidays, including the upcoming Bank Holiday, St Patricks Day.
He has presented the Dave Fanning Show on the station since May 1979.
Posting to Instragam to announce the news, Dave said: Very shortly Ill be launching the Fanning podcast on RTE Radio Player (and wherever else you get your stuff) and presenting a new music show on RTE Gold.
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And with programmes like Fanning at Whelans on the telly and a bunch of new series on Gold (ranging from the 10-hour Fannings Fabbest 50s to other 10-parters like Irish Music: 60s-2000s), Ill be turning up on 2FM on Bank Holidays starting with this coming St Patricks Day Friday with a U2 special to celebrate the launch that day of the bands new 40-year retrospective album.
So, I'm gonna split the scene for a while.
Ive been thinking bout this for the past few years and have decided to step back from my weekend show on 2FM to spread the word of Fanning on the digital empire.
A busy year ahead; see you along the way.
Foodstuffs North Island, the 100% New Zealand owned and operated co-operative behind PAKnSAVE, New World and Four Square in the North Island is pleased to announce all its affected stores have successfully reopened following the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Cyclone Gabrielle brought strong winds, heavy rain and flooding to the North Island, causing loss of life, damage to homes, businesses and crops. When the Cyclone hit, Foodstuffs North Island had 33 stores that were unable to open.
Our thoughts remain with all those who continue to be affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, our teams have done an incredible job getting all the affected stores open, says Foodstuffs North Island Chief Executive Chris Quin.
Were now delivering stock by road to all stores, except Four Square Tokomaru Bay, where were continuing to deliver stock by helicopter. The safety of our customers and our teams is always our top priority, and we took the necessary steps to ensure our stores were safe to re-open.
Having seen the devastation first hand, Ive got so much respect and admiration for the hard work of our owner operators, truck drivers, team members, support teams, business and supplier partners. Given the cyclone struck a week ago, its a big milestone to have all our stores open and its testament to the dedication, commitment and culture we have here at Foodies.
The Four Square Taradale team in Napier. Photo: Supplied.
The final store to re-open was Four Square Taradale in Napier. With the area being evacuated on Tuesday, February 14, the store was without power and unable to trade for a week before regaining access to mains power on Tuesday, February 21.
Getting all the stores open and serving our communities is just the beginning, we want New Zealanders to know were fully committed to supporting the recovery from here, says Chris.
Im proud of our team's response to the cyclone, weve had team members chartering helicopters to fly in product, Waka Kai has been on the water delivering essentials to isolated communities in the Coromandel, our IT team has been flying in Starlink kits to restore connectivity and our truck drivers have shown great bravery delivering through the storm.
Wed like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding during this time.
Chris says Foodstuffs North Island has a long-standing commitment of supporting local communities and being HereforNZ.
And one of our promises is to make sure every New Zealander has access to food, says Chris.
Every locally owned New World and PAKnSAVE has a direct link to at least one foodbank, food rescue, or social supermarket partner and weve been working with them and other community organisations and charities to honour this promise in the wake of the recent Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.
In the last few weeks, the HereforNZ team has donated over $335,000 worth of product, or cash funding to support the immediate need, says Chris.
And in the coming days, well be increasing our support as we work with our community partners.
Landslides are a national hazard, responsible for taking lives and costing New Zealand around $300M a year.
GeoNet experts provide advice to New Zealanders about how they can stay safe during extreme weather events, and how the public can help.
Many thousands of slips are expected across the North Island as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle.
This follows closely on the back of the severe weather event last month, where aerial surveys identified thousands of landslides across Auckland and Northland, generating more than 2,000 landslide-related insurance claims.
GNS Science Engineering Geologist, Chris Massey, explains what this means for Kiwis, and how the public can get involved in the national response effort.
This cyclone has caused significant damage to property and national lifeline assets, like roading and rail, and water and power services, and its not over yet.
At GNS, we are working around the clock to provide emergency response agencies with information on where we can expect the most severe impacts from land movement to occur.
The team uses scientific modelling to forecast hotspots of concern, using Riskscape, a tool that helps to forecast the economic and social impacts from large storm events.
We determine landslide probability across regions by using rain forecasts and measurements to generate landslide forecasts. Then we can estimate the locations of communities and infrastructure most exposed, to help visualise the likely impacts, Chris says.
We provide that information to the emergency management teams and it helps them plan their response.
GNS assesses landslide activity across the region, initially using observations from helicopter reconnaissance surveys, public observations and agency reports, and later from UAV surveys and satellite data analysis of landslide locations.
Chris says that the public role in locating landslides cannot be underestimated.
We locate and report on landslides, and any potential landslides where ground is seen to be failing.
We cant always see that from the air and rely on what the public can tell us.
The more evidence-based information GNS has to provide the emergency management responders and national decision makers, the better equipped they are to keep communities safe and to help New Zealand recover faster.
Anyone noticing a landslide can email us and provide details.
Safety first! Chris cautions. Landslides can be highly unpredictable and if youre not an experienced engineering geologist or geotechnical engineer please stay a safe distance away from any existing landslides and potentially dangerous slopes.
Failed ground that has been damaged but may not have fully shifted can start creeping and could accelerate to failure rapidly after the rain has stopped, or during other rain events. People must stay vigilant.
Homes near hills or steep slopes are most at risk so if thats where you live, watch out for cracks or movement that could be a warning sign, and get quickly to safety, he says.
If you have been evacuated do not return to your home until you are given the all clear to do so from the authorities. Hunker down, keep out of harms way, and stay safe.
New Zealand public with information about landslides can email landslides@gns.cri.nz. Include the date it was observed, the location and size of the slide. Photos are welcome too.
Important information to remember during extreme weather events:
Landslides can be triggered by heavy rain or earthquakes and can occur with little or no warning. Some can occur without any obvious trigger.
Stay up to date with weather forecasts from MetService
Put safety first. Dont take any chances, and act quickly.
Homes near hills or steep slopes most at risk so if thats where you live, watch out for cracks or movement that could be a warning sign, and get quickly to safety
Landslides can be highly unpredictable and if youre not an experienced engineering geologist or geotechnical engineer please stay a safe distance away from existing landslides and potentially dangerous slopes
Stay at home if it is safe to do so and have an evacuation plan.
If you have evacuated, please stay where you are until you are given the all-clear to go home.
Follow the advice of civil defence and emergency services to keep safe.
Find out what to do in an emergency www.getready.govt.nz
Contact 111 if you are in immediate danger or otherwise call your local council
A convicted double-murderer jailed for 17 years for his role in a deadly drama that involved a crossbow killing, police shoot out and four deaths in total has failed in a bid to appeal his conviction and sentence.
Samuel Dean Fane was jailed in July 2021 at the High Court in Rotorua in what was the final chapter saga that saw among those killed, Fanes brother Anthony Fane, who died in a hail of 49 bullets fired by police after a pursuit through residential streets in Tauranga.
Before his death police say Anthony Fane had used a crossbow to murder his partner Jessielee Booth over his belief she had been having an affair.
That belief was also the catalyst for the next two murders, as he believed it was with Paul Lasslett .
Samuel Fane was sentenced after a jury found him guilty of the killing of Lasslett, 43, and Nick Littlewood, 32, in Omanawa on February 11, 2020.
In a written ruling from the Court of Appeal, the court said Fane launched his appeal on the basis the evidence was insufficient to prove he was a party to the murders of two men.
He also claimed the trial judge materially misdirected the jury on the law and did not fairly put the defence case as it related to the murder of Lasslett.
On February 9, 2020, Fanes brother Anthony Fane killed his partner Jessie-Lee Booth at their Tauranga home. He believed she has been conducting an affair with Lasslett.
On February 11, both brothers travelled to Lassletts property, bringing a cutdown .22 rifle and a cutdown pump action shotgun.
They walked onto the property and approached a glass sliding door of the converted shed where Mr Lasslett lived, the appeal ruling said.
Mr Lasslett was shot in the side of the head with the shotgun and in the back with the rifle. Mr Littlewood, who happened to be at the property at the time, was shot twice with the shotgun.
It appears both men were shot from a position immediately inside the sliding door.
The brothers also made a phone call to a man in South Auckland Prison after the killings where the brothers discussed, in what the trial Judge later described as poorly disguised terms, what had occurred at Mr Lassletts address.
Anthony said he would not allow the police to arrest him and would go out in a blaze of glory.
Samuel spoke of his intention to change his appearance.
Anthony Fane was killed on February 13 in a hail of 49 bullets fired by police after a pursuit through residential streets in Tauranga, a shooting later deemed justified by an Independent Police Conduct Authority report.
The fatal shooting of Anthony Fane happened on Takitimu Drive, near the 15th Ave overpass.
That same day, police in Christchurch arrested Samuel Fane, who had shaved his head.
Fanes lawyer Simon Lance told the Court of Appeal that Anthony was the principal; offender who fired the fatal shots, and that there was insufficient evidence Samuel was party to Littlewoods murder.
He also claimed the trial judge failed in his summing up to adequately link the law to the facts as they related to this form of criminal liability.
Lance said the two brothers were unknown to Littlewood and they could not have known of his presence at the address.
Samuel could not have contemplated this persons murder and there was therefore insufficient evidence upon which the jury could draw the necessary inference that he had the required knowledge and intention to assist Anthony to kill a person neither brother knew would be there.
The appeal judges, however, disagreed.
While he [Samuel] initially considered trying to talk Anthony out of killing Mr Lasslett, upon learning his brother has already killed his partner he no longer thought that was an option and committed himself to assisting Anthony, the ruling said.
The appeal judges also said they do not consider there is realistically any possibility of a miscarriage arising from the way the Judge directed the jury. . . in relation to the murder of Mr Lasslett.
Having upheld Samuels convictions on both murder charges, we do not consider there is any basis to disturb the 17-year minimum period of imprisonment.
-Benn Bathgate/Stuff.
A public health warning is being issued by New Zealand Food Safety warning advising the public not to collect or consume shellfish harvested from the entire Firth of Thames area up to a line from Raukura Point across to Deadmans Point.
Routine tests on shellfish samples taken from this region have shown levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins above the safe limit of 0.8 mg/kg set by New Zealand Food Safety.
Anyone eating shellfish from this area is potentially at risk of illness.
Map of affected area extends throughout entire Firth of Thames up to a line from Raukura Point across to Deadmans Point.
Mussels, oysters, tuatua, pipi, toheroa, cockles, scallops, catseyes, kina (sea urchin) and all other bivalve shellfish should not be eaten.
Note: cooking shellfish does not remove the toxin, says a statement from MPI.
Paua, crab and crayfish may still be eaten if the gut has been completely removed prior to cooking, as toxins accumulate in the gut. If the gut is not removed its contents could contaminate the meat during the cooking process.
Symptoms typically appear between 10 minutes and 3 hours after ingestion and may include:
numbness and a tingling (prickly feeling) around the mouth, face, and extremities (hands and feet)
difficulty swallowing or breathing
dizziness
headache
nausea
vomiting
diarrhoea
paralysis and respiratory failure and in severe cases, death.
If anyone becomes ill after eating shellfish from an area where a public health warning has been issued, phone Healthline for advice on 0800 61 11 16, or seek medical attention immediately. You are also advised to contact your nearest public health unit and keep any leftover shellfish in case it can be tested.
Monitoring of toxin levels will continue and any changes will be communicated accordingly. Commercially harvested shellfish sold in shops and supermarkets, or exported is subject to strict water and flesh monitoring programmes by MPI to ensure they are safe to eat.
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall has announced a bivalent Covid-19 vaccine - which includes protection against Omicron - will be made available to people over 30.
Bivalent vaccines use components of two strains of a virus - in this case the original strain of Covid-19, and Omicron.
There are expected to be a total 1.7 million of the bivalent vaccines on New Zealand's shores over the course of the next few months.
From 1 April, those aged 30 and up who have not had a booster or positive Covid-19 test in the past six months will be eligible for the new Pfizer shot, which will replace the old vaccine.
They will be able to start booking from late March through the bookmyvaccine website, on 0800 28 29 26, or through their primary care provider.
People currently eligible for a booster would be able to get the new vaccine from 1 March.
Dr Verrall says people at higher risk of severe illness would also be eligible for an additional booster, regardless of how many doses they had previously.
High risk groups include:
People aged 65+
Maori and Pacific people aged 50+
Aged care and disability care residents
Severely immunocompromised people
People aged 16+ with a medical condition that increases the risk of severe breakthrough Covid-19 illness, or who have a disability with significant or complex health needs or multiple comorbidities
People aged 16-29 could also seek a vaccination via a prescription from their doctor, but they would not be a target of the campaign.
"These actions will provide added protection to a larger number of adult New Zealanders," Verrall says. "Latest reporting from the Ministry of Health indicated 8220 cases over the previous week so the virus is definitely still circulating out there.
She says the introduction of the new vaccine had been timed to make the greatest impact ahead of winter.
She says vaccination was the best protection against Covid-19, and the government planned to offer the new vaccine alongside flu shots for older people.
"We're also planning for older New Zealanders and those most at risk of getting sick to get a flu jab at the same time as their Covid-19 booster. This will be part of a 'one and done' approach to help people stay well this winter."
Verrall says Pharmac would be making initial announcements about the influenza vaccine.
"In addition we need to build on the success that we had with rolling out antivirals - we had some of the highest coverage of antivirals for eligible Covid cases in the world. We really need to keep that up in order to keep our emergency departments and hospitals free."
She says the technical advisory group had indicated people over 30 were at higher risk from Covid-19 illness in the past month or so, and the bivalent vaccine would be useful for limiting Covid's spread.
There had been a lot of pressure on the health system last year, she says, with frontline health staff working incredibly hard.
She says this vaccine rollout was part of her drive as incoming Health Minister to be better prepared for the winter and ease pressure on emergency departments and other parts of the health system.
"This is a really important thing for making sure our health system continues to function well over winter. It'll keep you safe, and your whanau safe, if you get vaccinated."
- RNZ.
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On 9 April 2003, I stood on the roof of my building in Baghdad, looking at the clear sky. The city was quiet; the Americans had stopped their bombing early that morning. In the distance, I saw a helicopter, hanging low over the houses. Unlike the chubby Russian ones that we were used to, which swayed left and right like giant flying rams, this one was nimble, like an angry wasp.
Thirty-five years of Saddam Husseins rule had dissolved overnight, collapsing without a trace. Baghdad, that city of fear and oppression, was free for an hour, suspended between the departure of the dictator and the arrival of the occupiers.
In the years preceding the war I had been living in a small room, barely large enough to hold a single bed, a writing table and a trunk. A nook at one end housed the sink, the stove and the toilet. For decoration, I had painted one wall a bright orange-red, which amplified and radiated the hot Baghdad sunlight. The old air conditioner had died and I had no money to fix it. In the summer of 2002, the room was stifling hot, and I felt the walls were closing in on me. I hadnt paid the rent for six months. As an architect working in private practice, I was paid $50 every few months. In the years of sanctions, I was doing ugly work for ugly people who had the money to afford their ugly houses. I wanted to leave the country, to travel and walk through the streets of different cities, but I was a military deserter, and without documentation I could not get a passport.
I had not been tortured by the mukhabarat, the regime intelligence service, nor did any of my family vanish into a mass grave, but like the rest of the nation, I was trapped with no hope and no prospects. What if, we wondered, the Leader were to become mortally ill one day? How would our lives change after his death? Would we be ruled by one of his sons? Would that be better than this? Worse? In the years before the invasion, I had felt that my life was seeping slowly away in that hot and oppressive place I called home. Now, aged 28, it seemed that a different life might be possible.
I went down to my room to listen to the news bulletin when the neighbour came knocking on my door. The Americans are here, he said with excitement.
Yes, I heard on the radio that they had reached Hillah, I said, referring to a city 60 miles south of Baghdad.
Hillah? the neighbour said with a grin. They are here, down in the street.
I went down, and I saw a few boat-like armoured amphibious vehicles spread around the intersection near my flat, as if the shores of Normandy lay just behind the buildings. They were slung with the soldiers large backpacks, covered in dust. Descending from one of these boats were American soldiers, like the ones wed seen on TV, in my street, in my own city.
The soldiers spread across the road, knelt on a single knee and pointed their guns at us, the handful of people who stood watching them. Behind the soldiers came men dressed in blue vests and carrying big cameras. Their helmets bore the letters TV.
I sat on the kerb watching as the soldiers trained their guns at the buildings around them. One of the men in blue, tall with a bald head, and carrying two cameras with large zooms, was moving gingerly towards us, like a wildlife photographer approaching a herd of wild animals, not wanting to scare them away and yet not sure if they might charge him. He squatted a few feet in front of me and trained a long white lens at me; fuck off, I shooed him away, I didnt want to become an item of news, another face of a defeated nation. The soldiers climbed back into their armoured boat-trucks and started driving down the road, past the national theatre and down Sadoon Street. A small crowd of men and children followed.
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Biden's balloon busting could boomerang
16:28, February 22, 2023 By Swaran Singh ( Chinadaily.com.cn
Li Min/China Daily
Last Thursday, almost a fortnight after the US Air Force shot down a Chinese balloon on Feb 4, President Joe Biden finally broke his silence. Earlier, the balloon had been hovering over North American skies, and making media headlines, for almost a week.
Biden's prolonged and deafening silence was, of course, accompanied by actions such as United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing his visit to China. Then the US House of Representatives passed a resolution, with an unprecedented 419 to 0 majority, condemning China for its "brazen violation of US sovereignty." And then, as a final punch, the US Air Force shot down three more flying objects over North America, at first describing them as national security threats.
The Biden administration even claimed that China had sent similar surveillance balloons over the skies of many other countries but gave no details whatsoever; sending its friends and allies to stare into their home skies anxiously. Australian leaders were reportedly reaching out to their American counterparts and openly questioning their own intelligence agencies.
But after Biden spoke to NBC television on Thursday, his explanation which has since become the refrain of all other US leaders, including Vice-President Kamala Harris who spoke at the Munich Security Conference on Friday has only further diminished the credibility of US agencies.
For instance, days after US agencies retrieved debris from the balloon they had shot down, all Biden had to say about the three other flying objects that were shot down was: "We don't yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing right now suggests they were related to China's spy balloon program, or they were surveillance vehicles from any other country."
While trying to play down the incident, he even suggested that the three flying objects may have been part of some academic research, corporate endeavor or even recreational activity, though no one has as yet claimed ownership. An American hobby club Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade however, claims to have lost one of its balloons that has circled the earth seven times, only reinforcing the Chinese argument that US balloons have also been flying over Chinese skies.
To defuse the crisis, President Biden said he will soon talk to Chinese leader on the issue, though he didn't give any timeline. He also tried to reassure his constituents at home by saying he has directed his team to come back to him with much sharper rules on how to deal with these flying objects; to be able to distinguish between those posing safety and security threats, necessitating action, and those that do not. He also sought to reassure his friends and allies by pledging to work for streamlining global norms for dealing with such exigencies.
There, however, remain major loopholes that must be plugged so as not to fall prey to similar knee-jerk responses involving the world's most powerful military machine. As a first thing, reflecting on US agencies, this presidential explanation was not much different from earlier US briefings that saw officials parroting the much rehearsed "we do not know" or "this is not our domain" officialese, pushing the media into speculating about aliens infesting US skies and US generals not ruling out that possibility.
Second, and more specifically, it is worrying that North America's binational North American Aerospace Defence Command or Norad's, jointly manned by Canada and the US, stands exposed for its inability to even identify small slow-moving airborne objects over its skies. Also, the way that they precipitously chose to declare these as threats to national security and destroy them before even identifying them must send shivers down the spines of those who rely on the US military or even US military technology.
What makes it particularly perplexing is that Norad had only recently undergone modernization costing billions of dollars and this involved recalibrating its radar systems to detect such objects in the skies. Last June, Canada alone had pledged to invest $40 billion for Norad's modernization over the coming two decades, thereby linking its future security to US military partnership.
According to experts, weather forecast radar systems have become so advanced that they can determine the shape of a 6-milimeter raindrop from more than 8 miles away, and yet Norad could not identify these much hyped slow-moving flying objects in its skies. While all this has implications for the security of the US and its allies and adversaries alike, with the onset of presidential primaries where President Biden has announced his desire to contest for a second innings such fiascos could also challenge his contest for the presidency.
The author is professor of international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) currently visiting professor with University of British Columbia (Vancouver).
(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
A four-star US Air Force general has said that Washington is expecting a potential war with China in 2025 and asked his commanders to prepare for battle by aiming for the head.
General Mike Minihan, the head of the Air Mobility Command, said the USs main goal should be to deter and, if required, defeat China, in a shocking internal memorandum signed off by him and confirmed to be genuine by the Pentagon. I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025, General Minihan said in the memorandum and stated his reasoning for predicting a potential conflict.
Should we be concerned about this prediction? Or can we just disregard such threats as an individuals warmongering crap?
Thank you for reading!
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Less than a week after it imposed search limits on the AI version of its Bing search engine, Microsoft is raising those limits.
In the wake of some embarrassing reports of erratic behavior by the new Bing, Microsoft decided last Friday to limit a users daily usage to five chat turns per session and 50 turns per day.
A turn consists of a question by a user and an answer by Bing. At the completion of five turns, users are prompted to change the subject of their conversation with the AI.
The changes were necessary because the underlying AI model used by the new Bing can get confused by long chat sessions made up of many turns, the company explained in its Bing Blog.
However, on Tuesday, after a hue and cry from Bing users, Microsoft raised the usage limits to six turns a session and 60 turns per day.
The new limits will enable the vast majority of users to use the new Bing naturally, the company blogged.
That said, our intention is to go further, and we plan to increase the daily cap to 100 total chats soon, it added.
In addition, it continued, with this coming change, your normal searches will no longer count against your chat totals.
Crowd Input Needed
Microsoft decided to impose limits on the usage of the AI-powered Bing after some users found ways to goad the search engine to call them an enemy and even get it to double down on errors of fact it has made, such as the name of Twitters CEO.
[W]e have found that in long, extended chat sessions of 15 or more questions, Bing can become repetitive or be prompted/provoked to give responses that are not necessarily helpful or in line with our designed tone, Microsoft acknowledged in a blog.
With the new limits on Bing AI usage, the company may be admitting something else. It indicates they didnt adequately predict some of the responses and turns this took, Greg Sterling, co-founder of Near Media, a news, commentary, and analysis website, told TechNewsWorld.
Despite the horror stories written about the new Bing, theres a lot of productivity being gained with it, which points to the usefulness of such a tool in certain content scenarios, maintained Jason Wong, a vice president and analyst with Gartner.
For a lot of software companies, youre not going to know what youre going to get until you release your software to the public, Wong told TechNewsWorld.
You can have all sorts of testing, he said. You can have teams doing stress tests on it. But youre not going to know what you have until the crowd gets to it. Then, hopefully, you can discern some wisdom from the crowd.
Wong cited a lesson learned by Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, youve launched too late.
Google Too Cautious With Bard?
Microsofts decision to launch its AI search vehicle with potential warts contrasts with the more cautious approach taken by Google with its Bard AI search product.
Bing and Google are in different positions, Sterling explained. Bing needs to take more chances. Google has more to lose and will be more cautious as a result.
But is Google being too cautious? It depends on what kind of rabbit they have in their hat, observed Will Duffield, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute.
Youre only being too cautious if you have a really good rabbit and you dont let it out, Duffield told TechNewsWorld. If your rabbits not ready, theres nothing over-cautious about keeping it back.
If they have something good and they release it, then maybe people will say they should have launched it months ago. But maybe months ago, it wasnt as good, he added.
Threat to Workers
Microsoft also blogged that it was going to begin testing a Bing AI option that lets a user choose the tone of a chat from precise which will use Microsofts proprietary AI technology to focus on shorter, more search-focused answers to balanced and creative which will use ChatGPT to give a user longer and more chatty answers.
The company explained that the goal is to give users more control over the type of chat behavior to best meet their needs.
Choice is good in the abstract, Sterling observed. However, in these early days, the quality of ChatGPT answers may not be high enough.
So until the guardrails are reinforced, and ChatGPT accuracy improves, it may not be such a great thing, he said. Bing will have to manage expectations and disclaim ChatGPT content to some degree.
In a related matter, a survey of 1,000 business leaders released Tuesday by Resume Builder found 49% of their companies are using ChatGPT; 30% plan to, and of the companies using the AI technology, 48% say it has replaced workers. The following charts reveal more data on how companies are using ChatGPT.
Copilot for Humans
Sterling was skeptical of the replaced workers finding in the survey. I think lots of companies are testing it. So in that sense, companies are using it, he noted.
And some companies may recognize ways it can save time or money and potentially replace manual work or outsourcing, he continued. But the survey results lack context and are only presenting partial information.
He acknowledged, however, that hiring and freelancing patterns will change over time due to AI.
Wong found the number of businesses using ChatGPT unsurprising, but not so with the replacing people number.
I can see not having someone write documentation for an update to an application or portal, but to downsize or shift people out of a role because theyre using ChatGPT I would find hard to believe, he said.
Gartners advice to clients exploring ChatGPT and Bing chat is to think of them as copilots, he continued. Its going to help create something that should be reviewed by a human, by someone who is going to assess the validity of an answer.
In only a small amount of use cases could they replace a human, he concluded.
Ukraine is approaching its one-year anniversary, with no end in sight to the fighting. While China is always urging Russia and Ukraine to return to negotiations for an early cease-fire, the Western countries have continued providing more and more advanced weapons to Ukraine, which could prolong the conflict.
Wang Yi said in a keynote speech at the 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany that China will publish a position document on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. The document will reiterate President Xi Jinping's important propositions, including that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be upheld, the legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously, and all efforts conducive to a peaceful resolution of the crisis should be supported. Wang Yi had arrived in Moscow, the final leg of his European tour, on a possible peace settlement for Ukraine.
At exactly the same time, US President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kiev, pledging the new assistance package will consist of missiles for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and Javelin anti-tank missile systems, as well as more military equipment and weapons.
A hot potato: In case you haven't noticed, ChatGPT and machine-learning AI, in general, have been hot topics lately, with opinions swinging positively and negatively. On one side are proponents that think generative AI systems are the best thing since sliced bread and should be used for everything from constructing "original" images to writing poetry. Opponents passionately argue that these applications tread on the rights of creatives who put days, weeks, and months of work into their respective arts.
The latest bombshell to hit the ChatGPT spectrum is a report that as of mid-February, the AI has 200 or more books under its virtual belt published in Amazon's Kindle store. Reuters notes that some titles are "co-authored," but many are published as-is with no human intervention other than to submit the content and collect the money.
As far as anyone can tell, Amazon is trying to be as transparent as possible with AI-generated titles by tagging them ChatGPT and creating an entirely new section called "Books about using ChatGPT, written entirely by ChatGPT." However, those are just books that content creators admitted to using AI to complete the work. There could be hundreds more pumped out by less scrupulous "authors."
Despite the transparency, some in the industry fear that real authors will be hurt by a tidal wave of quickly produced mediocre books that water down the pool of quality work published by human writers. One writer Reuters spoke with went from concept to published work in a matter of a few hours. It was a children's book with ChatGPT producing the text, and another AI to generating "crude" drawings.
"This is something we really need to be worried about, these books will flood the market, and a lot of authors are going to be out of work," said Authors Guild's Executive Director Mary Rasenberger. "There needs to be transparency from the authors and the platforms about how these books are created, or you're going to end up with a lot of low-quality books."
Another content creator published an AI-generated sci-fi novella called "Galactic Pimp: Vol. 1" in less than a day that sells for $1 on Kindle. He claims that he, or anyone else, could easily churn out 300 or more similar works per year, and there is already mounting evidence to support that claim.
Science fiction magazine Clarkesworld, which has launched the careers of many budding authors, recently instituted a submissions freeze due to the sheer volume of AI-generated content it has recently received. Editor Neil Clarke wrote in his blog that by mid-February, the magazine had banned almost 350 accounts because of AI-generated content submissions. That number eclipses January's by nearly a factor of three in only 15 days. Five days later, bans spiked to over 500 (above). These numbers are account bans, and not even the volume of submissions Clarkesworld is getting.
Submissions are currently closed. It shouldn't be hard to guess why. --- clarkesworld (@clarkesworld) February 20, 2023
Clarke says he first started noticing chatbot-generated stories toward the end of 2022. He would not say how he weeds these entries out, but for the most part, a plagiarism checker and some common sense can go a long way.
"I'm not going to detail how I know these stories are 'AI' spam or outline any of the data I have collected from these submissions," Clarke wrote. "There are some very obvious patterns, and I have no intention of helping those people become less likely to be caught."
Clarke provided a sample of a rejected submission to illustrate how "obvious" some of these submissions can be while noting that not all are this bad.
"Sitting on its three years' experience, the fittest Shell was originally the size of more android subliminal observations than any other single subject in the Grandma. Obey three hundred retorts can't even a couple was issued for wages to the apparently that dropped the storage station."
That was a poorly plagiarized passage from a story called "Human Error" by Raymond F. Jones, published in 1956. The original quote reads:
"During its three years' existence, the first Wheel was probably the subject of more amateur astronomical observations than any other single object in the heavens. Over three hundred reports came in when a call was issued for witnesses to the accident that destroyed the space station."
The problem is that sifting through hundreds or even thousands of horrible AI-written submissions is too time-consuming, even when aided by automated plagiarism checkers (which don't use AI, by the way). So Clarke had to pause submissions indefinitely until he can find a solution to the problem, damaging some legitimate writers' ability to get their work published.
Can AI-aided writers publish ethically? Sure, they can, and some will, but sadly most won't because the internet ruins everything.
Image credit: Robot Writer by Phonlamai Photo, Ban Chart by Neil Clarke
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In context: Team Red revealed its AI acceleration hardware alongside the Radeon RX 7000 graphics cards in December but didn't say much about what it plans to do with them - at least not in English. Japanese outlet 4Gamer spoke with AMD about how its AI ambitions differ from Nvidia's.
In a recently-published interview, senior figures from AMD expressed interest in AI applications in graphics cards that go beyond image reconstruction, which Nvidia made popular. The machine-translated comments mark the first time the company has talked at length on the subject since unveiling its first GPUs incorporating AI accelerators late last year.
Nvidia constantly boasts about its DLSS technology which relies on the RTX graphics card's tensor cores to improve image quality and performance through machine learning. Team Red's counterpart, FSR, strives toward the same goal without hardware-based acceleration, making it available on more GPUs but potentially less effective depending on the situation.
When AMD revealed and launched the RX 7900 XT and 7900 XTX with AI accelerators in December, onlookers assumed they were the company's answer to Team Green's tensor cores. That may be the case, but AMD doesn't want to stop there.
David Wang, senior vice president of engineering at Radeon Technologies, suggested using AI acceleration to improve the AI and movement of NPCs in games. He also said AI could accelerate the graphics pipeline through neural techniques, mentioning Stable Diffusion among other technologies.
Wang said AMD wants to ensure the AI acceleration in its gaming GPUs primarily focuses on improving the gaming experience. His comments contrast Team Red's vision with Team Green's various non-gaming applications that use tensor cores.
Nvidia has unveiled RTX-exclusive AI functions like noise canceling, simulating eye contact on video, and upscaling web videos. Wang indicated that some of these applications don't necessarily require AI and that Nvidia uses them to promote its proprietary technology. Wang doesn't criticize Nvidia's stance but suggests customers might be paying for features they never use.
Wang's interview also covers subjects like the transition from primitive to mesh shaders. The company is also researching technology that could change the relationship between the CPU and GPU when drawing graphics.
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What just happened? Could the Apple Watch disappear from sale in the US? It sounds unlikely, but such a scenario has taken a step closer after President Biden refused to veto an International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling that could ban imports of Cupertino's popular wearable over an alleged patent infringement.
The situation revolves around medical device maker AliveCor. In May, the company filed suit against Apple, claiming the iPhone creator stole its EKG heart-rate monitoring technology and cornered the market in a "predatory" manner. AliveCor said that it first shared its technology with Apple in 2015 as it sought a partnership.
AliveCor says Apple stole its "cardiological detection and analysis technology" when it added an electrocardiogram monitor to the 2018 Apple Watch. In December, the ITC issued a final determination that Apple had infringed on AliveCor's EKG technology and ruled that imports of the Apple Watch with the EKG feature should be banned. Reuters notes that the ban was paused while related proceedings over the patents run their course. Apple says it will appeal the ITC's verdict to the Federal Circuit.
The Hill writes that Presidents don't typically veto ITC decisions. But former President Obama vetoed a potential ban on iPhone and iPad imports in 2013 after the ITC ruled that Apple infringed on Samsung's patents. Biden didn't do Apple the same favor, despite the company boosting its lobbying before the decision.
Apple Watches from the Series 4 to the Apple Watch Ultra would be impacted by the ban. However, Apple might not have to worry just yet. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board recently ruled that AliveCor's EKG tech isn't patentable, meaning AliveCor would have to win its appeal for that ruling in order for any potential ban to take effect.
The ITC has also ruled in favor of another company seeking an import ban on Apple Watch imports; Masimo says Apple infringed on five of its pulse oximetry patents. The decision on whether a ban is warranted will be made in May.
AliveCor's monopoly claims against Apple is a separate suit taking place in California federal court. It also has a related patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in Texas federal court. Apple, meanwhile, has countersued AliveCor in San Francisco federal court for allegedly infringing its patents.
Given that Apple is the world's biggest company with a market cap of $2.35 trillion and its watches are the most popular wearable by a large margin, a total import ban seems unlikely to materialize. But the companies suing the firm could win hefty financial compensation/licensing fees from Apple.
Facepalm: Generative AIs like ChatGPT promise to make our lives easier by performing mundane tasks. But there are some things that are better left to humans, such as writing a letter about building a stronger, more inclusive community in the wake of a mass shooting. One would imagine that staff at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee would realize this, and they certainly wouldn't include a note at the end of the message confirming ChatGPT wrote it. But here we are.
As reported by The Vanderbilt Hustler, staff at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College (Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) sent the email following the shootings at Michigan State University in which three students were killed and five others injured.
The email mentioned caring for one another and promoting a culture of inclusivity on campus, something that requires respect and understanding, to honor the victims of the tragedy. "We must continue to engage in conversations about how we can do better, learn from our mistakes, and work together to build a stronger, more inclusive community," it read.
The letter ended with a note that stated: "Paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model." Understandably, this didn't sit well with readers, who found the use of AI for such a tragic subject matter to be insensitive, impersonal, and lacking empathy.
Students lashed out at the letter, calling it "disgusting" and a "sick and twisted irony" that a message about togetherness was written by a computer program and not the person sending it.
Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Nicole Joseph, one of the names on the letter, apologized for the message in a follow-up email, calling the use of ChatGPT "poor judgment."
"While we believe in the message of inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College," Joseph wrote. "As with all new technologies that affect higher education, this moment gives us all an opportunity to reflect on what we know and what we still must learn about AI."
There are a couple of indications that the email was written by an AI, including the use of the plural "shootings" when there was one incident. It also contains only a single use of a Vanderbilt-specific term.
"I am also deeply troubled that a communication from my administration so missed the crucial need for personal connection and empathy during a time of tragedy," wrote Camilla Benbow, dean of education at Peabody College.
ChatGPT's popularity has exploded over the last few months in a way that we've rarely seen with other technologies. But for all the positives that come from these machine-learning AIs, there are an equal number of negatives. Its ability to create short stories is causing huge problems within the publishing industry, and Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, has warned that the world might not be far away from "potentially scary" artificial intelligence.
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A hot potato: Amazon's decision to force its workers back into the office has brought the kind of response from employees one would expect: anger. The mandate announcement led to thousands of staff joining a Slack channel and planning a petition, despite one senior executive suggesting, "let's not grab our torches and pitchforks quite yet."
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Friday posted a message stating that during the pandemic when many teams worked from home or in hybrid models, the company made several observations regarding in-office work.
Amazon claims that it is easier to learn, model, practice, and strengthen its culture when employees are in the office together. It also says traditional working practices make collaborating and inventing easier, and learning from colleagues is better done in person.
"There is something about being face-to-face with somebody, looking them in the eye, and seeing they're fully immersed in whatever you're discussing that bonds people together," Jassy wrote. Based on these findings, Amazon staff must come into the office at least three days per week starting in May.
Insider reports that 5,000 Amazon employees joined a Slack channel called "Remote Advocacy" within hours of the announcement. It seeks "data, anecdotes, articles about the benefits of remote work" and now boasts over 14,000 members.
A survey within the Slack channel showed 80% of respondents saying they were prepared to look for another job rather than being forced back to the office. The unexpectedness of Jassy's announcement and its vagueness are also points of contention for employees who expected to continue working from home in the long term.
Paul Vixie, a vice president and engineer for Amazon Web Services, joined the Slack group, admitting that he did not know about the policy ahead of time and senior execs might not have finalized the details before it was announced.
"I don't know any details. My thought is, balancing the concerns and needs and desires of customers, employee families, and shareholders is hard on the easiest day, and this is not the easiest day," Vixie added. "My guidance is, let's not grab our torches and pitchforks quite yet. There's a lot we don't know."
Other companies implementing return-to-work mandates are facing pushback from employees. Apple workers launched a petition against its plans to bring staff back into the office last year, while Elon Musk's demands left Tesla's staff fighting for parking spaces and desks at its Fremont facility.
Amazon has never had the best public image, but it's taken even more of a hammering than usual over the last few weeks. Recent reports revealed it takes up to 50% commission from sellers, and the company is cutting a record 18,000 jobs. Some in the Slack group believe the new policy could be in place to encourage people to quit, thereby saving Amazon from making more layoffs.
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What just happened? Shipbuilder Austal USA has delivered a ship to the US Navy that can operate for up to 30 days at sea without human intervention. The delivery comes after the Chief of Naval Operations said uncrewed vessels would start to play an increasingly important role within the military branch.
Austral writes that it has delivered Expeditionary Fast Transport USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) to the United States Navy. Its 337-foot hull makes it the largest surface ship in the fleet with autonomous capabilities. This class of ship can travel at a maximum speed of 40 knots, has a maximum payload capacity of 544 metric tons, and a daft - the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull - of just 12.5 feet, allowing it to operate in comparatively shallow waters.
The Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport ships, designed by Austal Australia, already feature automated hull and mechanical & electrical systems, but the Austal USA team added automated maintenance, health monitoring, and mission readiness to EPF 13, allowing it to operate autonomously for up to 30 days.
Austal USA writes that the key to EPF 13's autonomous capabilities is the company's highly automated in-house designed machinery control system (MCS), which allows the ship to be minimally manned by centralizing machinery operations to the bridge.
The vessel will also be the Navy's first Spearhead-class ship with enhanced capabilities to support V-22 vertical take-off and landing flight operations and launch and recover 11-metre RHIBs (rigid hull inflatable boats).
Naval Post writes that the ship could be used as an unmanned missile launch platform, ASW platform, radar/sensor carrier, or a mother ship for small drones.
Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, sang the praises of autonomous ships at the West 2023 conference in San Diego. "We're getting to the point, probably within the next four or five years, where we'll begin to deploy unmanned platforms with carrier strike groups," he said. "And the idea is that we need more ships, we need more. We need to distribute ourselves across the Pacific Ocean and across the globe [...] We can do that faster and, we think, more effectively by having a combination of manned and unmanned."
Gilday has a strategic vision of a fleet compromising 373 manned ships and 150 uncrewed vessels, along with unmanned aircraft to contribute to maritime domain awareness, submarine-hunting missions, surface strikes, and more, writes Defence News.
Those unmanned aircraft could come from Lockheed Martin, whose training jet was recently flown by an AI for 17 hours, marking the first time that artificial intelligence has been engaged in this way on a tactical aircraft.
Concerns over the use of AI in the military led to the first global Summit on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain (REAIM) this month, where 60 nations signed an agreement to put the responsible use of AI higher on the political agenda.
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The big picture: Microsoft has made it clear that it isn't interested in acquiring Activision Blizzard unless the Call of Duty franchise is part of the deal. Earlier this month, UK regulators expressed concerns about Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. One potential avenue to ease anxiety would be for Activision Blizzard to sell off the highly successful Call of Duty franchise, but Microsoft isn't keen on the detour.
Following a closed door meeting with European Union regulators on Tuesday, Microsoft President Brad Smith was asked if losing the Call of Duty franchise would compromise the deal. Smith said they "don't think it's feasible or realistic to think one game or one slice can be carved out from the rest."
Pressed on the matter, Smith said he believes the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will need to make a decision.
"Do you want to kill a deal and cement Sony's position in its 80 percent share in the EU, or say 70 percent share globally, in a market where it's been a super dominant company for 20 years?
"Or do you want to let the future go forward with behavioral guardrails and remedies, and bring this title to 150 million more people? I think that's the fundamental choice that most regulators are going to need to address around the world."
Smith's figures are in reference to Microsoft's insistence that Sony's PlayStation console has a much larger market share than its own Xbox.
Opponents of the Microsoft / Activision Blizzard merger, including Sony, worry that Microsoft could make titles like Call of Duty exclusive to the Xbox and effectively thwart competition. A survey conducted by the CMA found that 24 percent of PlayStation CoD players would switch consoles if the franchise became an Xbox exclusive.
Microsoft is not sitting by idly. Already this week, Microsoft struck a 10-year agreement with Nintendo to bring Xbox games to Nintendo platforms. A separate deal with Nvidia, meanwhile, would allow GeForce Now players to stream Xbox PC games.
Back in December, the FTC filed a complaint to block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition.
In a related report, sources told GamesIndustry.biz that Sony continues to push back against Microsoft's proposed acquisition. The two sides apparently are not close to coming to a mutual agreement on the merger, people familiar with the matter said.
Image credit: lalesh aldarwish
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) software is a new tool that helps businesses improve the ranking and visibility of their websites on Google and other search engines. The best SEO software has many features, like keyword research, website analysis, link building, and more, that help businesses optimize their websites and get more organic traffic.
Whether you're a small business owner, a digital marketer, or an SEO professional, using the best software can save you time, make you more efficient, and help you get more measurable results from your SEO efforts.
Choosing the right SEO software can be challenging because there are many options. However, if you know your business needs, you can choose the one that can help you reach your digital marketing goals.
What Is SEO Software?
SEO software is a group of tools and technologies used to improve a website's ranking on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. These tools can help find technical problems on a website, find and analyze keywords, track keyword rankings, and keep an eye on backlinks. SEO's primary goal is to make a website more visible and increase organic traffic. This software improves a website's search engine optimization (SEO) by individuals, businesses, or marketing firms.
What Is the Best SEO Tool to Use?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a critical aspect of digital marketing as it helps businesses rank higher in search engines, attract more traffic, and increase their online visibility. With the rise of digital marketing, an array of free SEO software and SEO tools are available on the market, making it challenging for businesses to determine which ones are best for their needs. This article will discuss the best SEO software tools for 2023, including SE Ranking, Semrush, Mangools, Ahrefs, and SEO Audit Software.
1. SE Ranking
SE Rankings is an all-in-one SEO tool and SEO ranking software that makes it easier for marketers to get their SEO goals met and their work done easily. With its many tools, it can handle many SEO tasks, such as keyword research and suggestions, rank tracking, website audits, backlink analysis, competitor analysis, advanced on-page SEO, webpage monitoring, and social media management.
This software is a one-stop shop for everything SEO-related and helps make a detailed plan for a website's entire SEO strategy.
The SEO and marketing plan is one of the essential parts of SE Rankings. It shows you how to reach your goals and keep track of your progress.
SE Rankings is also an automated SEO software. It is perfect for agencies because it has excellent reporting tools. Agencies can make white label SEO audit reports for their clients that look professional, and they can even set up their white label SE Ranking interface on their domain. SE Rankings' Lead Generator and On-page Checker widgets can help agencies find new clients and get new leads.
Pros
Offers a toolkit with everything you need
Has a huge database of backlinks and keywords
Easy-to-use interface
Affordable plans
Cons
The UI is crowded
2. Semrush
Semrush is a complete DIY SEO software with many features and functions that help marketers and businesses improve their online presence. Semrush's all-in-one approach means that it isn't just for SEO. It also helps with content management, advertising, market research, social media management, and managing your online brand.
Semrush has various tools for keyword research, on-page optimization, local SEO software, rank tracking, link-building, and analyzing competitors. The keyword research tool is considered one of the most reliable and up-to-date on the market. It gives helpful information like keyword value, search volume, intent, difficulty, and more.
Semrush's advertising feature lets marketers look at their PPC campaigns and see how their competitors are using PPC. This feature benefits businesses that want to improve their online advertising and stand out in their market.
Even though Semrush might seem more expensive than other SEO tools, its many features, functions, and the fact that businesses and marketers can use it as much as they want make it a good investment. Semrush has everything you need to grow your online presence and reach your marketing goals.
Pros
Offers a massive toolset
Enhanced keyword tools
A proper 'all-in-one' solution
Extensive database of keywords and links to them
Cons
UI could be challenging to navigate just because there are so many tools.
For a free trial, you need a credit card
3. Mangools
Mangools, considered one of the best SEO software, is an all-in-one SEO solution that gives you five different tools to help improve the ranking and visibility of your website.
Mangools offers tools like KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner, and SiteProfiler. Together, these tools make a complete SEO solution that covers all aspects of SEO, from researching keywords to analyzing backlinks.
The KWFinder is a keyword research tool that helps you find search terms that get a lot of traffic but need to be more competitive. You can use this tool to find keywords that you can use to improve your website's ranking and get more people to see it.
The SERPChecker is an analysis tool that shows you the search results for a particular keyword. This tool gives you information about who ranks for a specific search query and how much authority they have. You can use this information to determine how likely you will rank for a particular keyword.
SERPWatcher is a rank and SEO tracking software that tells you daily where you rank for your target keywords in the organic search results. This tool is simple and easy to use, and you can check your rankings on any device. This makes it an excellent way to track your SEO progress.
LinkMiner is an analysis tool that helps you find your competitors' backlinks. This tool uses Majestic's new and old backlink index to give you a complete picture of your backlink profile.
SiteProfiler is an SEO metrics and insights tool that shows a site's backlink profile and lets you know your competitors' best content. With this tool, you can learn about the SEO strategies of your competitors and find ways to boost your site's ranking.
Pros
Very affordable
Easy to use
With five tools all in one place
Cons
Some advanced features are missing
There are fewer deep insights
4. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a well-established and respected SEO tool that has been at the forefront of the industry for many years. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools, including an extensive database of keywords and backlinks, an active web crawler, and metrics like Domain Rating (DR). These features make it a go-to choice for many marketers who consider it the most accurate SEO tool.
However, recent changes in its pricing model have led to some criticism. The elimination of the $7 trial option and the implementation of automatic overage charges have frustrated users who may now face substantial bills for using more data than their plan allows. Additionally, Ahrefs' usage limits are lower than other SEO tools like Semrush, which offers more data in its base plan.
Ahrefs is still a great tool with a lot to offer, but its recent pricing changes may only suit a few with a bigger budget. Other SEO tools may be a better fit if you have a small budget or are looking for better value for money.
Pros
The busiest web crawler (after Google)
Huge database
Complete set of SEO tools with lots of high-end features
Cons
It's expensive among the SEO tools in this list
Questionable billing practices
No free test run
5. SEO Audit Software
SEO Audit Software is a comprehensive and powerful tool designed for marketing agencies, SEO professionals, and entrepreneurs. It provides various advanced audit tools to help users analyze and improve their website's search engine optimization (SEO) performance.
The software offers several tools to help you identify and resolve any on-page SEO issues, including an On-Page Audit Tool, an Advanced On-Page Audit Tool, a Web Page Audit Tool, and an Advanced Web Page Audit Tool. With these tools, you can save significant time and effort compared to manual SEO auditing, reducing the 100 hours of monthly SEO work to a fraction.
The software also provides a White-Label SEO Audit Reporting Tool, allowing you to generate detailed SEO reports in PDF format that you can easily send to clients via email. You can show or hide specific SEO signals in the reports and add your company's logo and information to make the report look professional and credible.
In addition, SEO Audit Software includes a powerful SEO lead generation tool, which enables you to generate high-quality leads directly from your website in 12 different languages. You can create as many SEO Audit Widgets as you need using different widget types and themes and place them on any website page.
The software's Keyword Rank Tracking Tool enables you to monitor the ranking of your targeted keywords and compare them to your competitors' search engine ranking pages (SERPs). The software offers a 14-day free trial, during which you can access all the freemium features without paying anything. The pricing plans are reasonable and offer great value for money. You can sign up for the software without providing credit card information.
SEO Audit Software is an indispensable tool that can assist you in resolving all of your SEO issues and achieving higher rankings across various search engines.
Key Features and Benefits
Can cut 100 hours off of your on-page SEO work every month
Runs the Advanced White-Label On-Page Checker Tool with or without a keyword
Build for a seo company and SEO expert run by an SEO industry expert
No commitment needed, and you can stop at any time
Lead Generation Tool that uses JS Rendering and has automatic scrolling
Uses data from Google's lighthouse
Turns website visitors into leads by giving them a free service that adds value
You don't have to pay anything until the 14-day free trial is over, and before you subscribe, you can try out the freemium features.
As of 2023, this is the world's most advanced SEO Audit tool.
You can email the Instant free SEO Report without leaving your site.
Pros
Comprehensive audit: The software offers multiple tools to help you perform a complete and thorough SEO audit of your website.
Efficient and time-saving: The tools help reduce the time spent on SEO work, allowing you to focus on other essential tasks.
High-quality leads: The SEO Lead Generation Tool helps you get high-quality leads from your website.
Customizable reports: The White-Label SEO Audit Reporting Tool allows you to customize the report with your logo and information.
Keyword tracking: The Keyword Rank Tracking Tool helps you keep track of your keyword rankings and compare them to your competitors.
User-friendly: The software is easy to use and comes with a 14-day free trial to test the features.
In conclusion, the best SEO software, such as SEO Audit Software, an advanced on page SEO checker, is essential for businesses and digital marketers who want to improve their online visibility and search engine rankings.
These tools are a complete SEO solution with features like keyword tracking, on-page optimization, and report generation.
With the right SEO software, the optimization process can be streamlined, saving time and helping businesses reach their goals faster. Thus, choosing the right software specific to your needs and budget is essential.
With the best SEO software, a company can reach its SEO goals and get more people to visit its website.
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There are growing questions regarding the Zhurong rover on Mars, a space vehicle that is meant to survey the planet under the Chinese space agency, and their take on studying the planet. It is still asleep, as per NASA's look into it, and it has been like this since last year after it encountered a dreadful dust storm that led to its hibernation.
The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) has not yet revealed anything regarding Zhurong's fate, should it still wake up or end its mission on the neighboring planet.
China's Zhurong Mars Rover is Still Asleep says NASA
(Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona)
China's Zhurong rover is the blue dot on the surface.
Through the University of Arizona's HiRISE team, NASA has identified that the Zhurong Mars rover is still in the same spot as it was in the past, centering on a deep hibernation for a long time. The surveying vessel of the company took images of the Zhurong and shared them with the public, seeing that there were no activities from the rover.
It is almost a year since the Zhurong went into its sleeping mode, focusing on recuperating from its ghastly experience with a dust storm back in May last year.
The team is surveying the region where Zhurong landed and the general area of the Utopia Plantitia region of Mars.
Read Also: New NASA Moon Rover Copies Chinese Mars Bot, Experts Claim; How Similar is VIPER to Zhurong?
NASA HiRISE Team Snaps Photos of Zhurong
HiRISE said that it regularly takes images of different regions on Mars to send back to the planet for further studies, and coming across the Zhurong rover shows its inactivity for the past months.
The team said that the Chinese rover on Mars did not change position from September 2022 until the present, with growing concerns in the space community about this happening.
It is unknown if the Zhurong will still resume operations, as there has yet to be any information from the Chinese space agency.
Will the Zhurong Rover still Wake Up?
China's Zhurong Rover surprised the world and the entire space industry as it is one unanticipated venture from the East Asian superpower's progression toward the cosmos. It is the third country to land on Mars, centering on bringing over a rover to explore the Red Planet and center on research to help more on its knowledge of it.
After different missions and exploration activities of the rover, it sent multiple images of its findings and data to its Chinese team, with a future sample return mission also in place.
However, in May 2022, as it was preparing for the infamous Mars winter, which brought extreme cold weather on the planet, the rover encountered an unforgiving dust storm.
The Zhurong went into hibernation earlier than expected, and being that it was a dust storm, there would be less solar power to collect, so it also went into power saving.
Now, NASA sees Zhurong again with the HiRise, which still accounts for its hibernation, remaining in the same spot for a long time now, with different speculations that it may not operate again.
Related Article: China Zhurong Mars Rover Still in Hibernation After 2022 Dust Storm, Will It Still Wake Up?
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Apple is set for another winning streak after securing an exclusive production deal with Taiwan's Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). TSMC is a global leader in chip manufacturing, and the latest N3 production will be sufficient to stay ahead of rivals in delivering the best-performing Apple products.
The Crucial Impact of Chip Production On High-Quality Performance and Efficiency
This latest news further highlights the importance of successful manufacturing processes for modern companies. Chip production has emerged as a key factor that helps determine which firm can deliver superior performance and power efficiency.
According to the story by Giz China, by reserving all of TSMC N3 production output, Apple can be assured that their M chips, featured in Macs, and A chips, featured on iPhone processors, will receive the absolute best products.
Apple's Exclusive Production Deal with TSMC: A Major Asset for the Cupertino-Giant
With this success, Apple has solidified its domain in the market, particularly in the highly competitive tech industry. With superior chip production, Apple's devices will continue to provide users with reliable and power-efficient experiences for years.
It remains to be seen how Apple's exclusive production deal with TSMC will shape its future market position. However, the news looks highly encouraging for now, and Apple's competitors will continue to be at a clear disadvantage against the Cupertino-giant.
Apple's 3 nm Chip Mass Production to Shake Up Smart Device Market
With the new 3 nm chip mass production reserved for Apple, the smart device market is set to be shaken up. TSMC, the world's leading semiconductor foundry, recently announced that Apple reserves 100% of their 3 nm chips, as explained further in an article by Digitimes.
This means the company will have a stronghold on the mobile and PC market with chips that use less power and could offer greater performance than the current generation of processors. Apple is looking to keep the leading edge on their mobile and PC products, and this move could set the stage for their latest iPhones' launch.
Improvements for Apple's Production with Purchase of TSMC N3 Output
Apple themselves admitted at their latest earnings report that supply issues hampered their current iPhone series, so this move to reserve chips for production could help to get their latest generation out sooner than expected.
Though Qualcomm isn't nailed out from being able to produce 3 nm chips with their Snapdragon products, as they are still utilizing the TSMC N3E process, however, it is unlikely that Apple will be giving up 100% of its TSMC N3 output, as also noted by Frandroid.
Read Also: Sealed iPhone Sells for Over $63,000 at Auction, One of the Most Pristine Condition Apple Smartphone Sold
The Rise of the 3 nm Chip: Keeping Up with Latest Developments in Chip Technology
This could lead to other competitors being able to produce new chips similar to Apple's, but with a cost-effective method. Introducing the 3 nm chip should be good news for tech enthusiasts looking to purchase the latest and greatest.
Apple is looking to keep its technical edge while potentially having the capacity to meet demand. This could be the trend that other companies need to follow to keep up with the latest developments in chip technology.
Related Article: Microsoft Now Supporting Windows Virtualization on Mac M1, M2, via Parallels Desktop 18
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The Gage County Board of Supervisors discussed a variety of road issues during its regular meeting Wednesday morning.
One item on the boards agenda will allow townships in Gage County to substitute a set amount of gravel for rock to be used on township roads.
Township allocations range from 8-10 miles of materials for each year, County Board member Terry Jurgens said. We have a spring and fall allocation, but thats a yearly amount. Every four years a traveled township road would get material. That was kind of the theory at the time. In my thinking, the miles would stay the same right now, but we would give the townships the right to change over two miles of gravel to rock if they want to.
The board will allow two miles to be switched in both the spring and fall, though Board Chairman Erich Tiemann doubts many will take advantage of the offer.
I dont think that many townships are going to swap out if we can get gravel, he said. Just because weve allowed it in the past and looking at what townships did, there werent that many that switched If they were going to do that thered really have to be a reason, I would say.
The board also accepted rock and gravel bids for the year starting in March. As its previously done, the board accepted the bids and will likely vote to accept one at its next meeting in two weeks after Gage Countys highway superintendent has evaluated them.
The board also discussed the current structure of townships in Gage County. Gage is one of 25 counties in Nebraska that utilizes a township form of government. The county is divided into 24 townships that are overseen by the County Board, and are responsible for maintaining township roads within their borders. The County Board discussed on Wednesday that the township officials could work together to more efficiently manage the roads in their areas.
If those townships would want to form a coalition they could do that, Tiemann said. As a county I dont believe we can change the structure of the townships within our county and change your voting block I think they can individually say were going to work together. We can help them, we just cant change their structure.
It was also discussed that townships could merge as a means to increase efficiency, or the board could do away with townships altogether and switch to a county commissioner format. Additional discussions regarding townships in Gage County may be held at future meetings.
Motorola Razr 2023 shows up in a new leak, giving us a glimpse of its massive cover display, making it a serious Samsung Galaxy Z Flip rival if it holds up.
The leak hints that the next-generation Moto Razr will sport the largest cover display in a foldable phone.
(Photo : David Ramos/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - MARCH 03: A logo sits illuminated outside the Motorola pavilion during the second day of the Mobile World Congress 2015 at the Fira Gran Via complex on March 3, 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. The annual Mobile World Congress hosts some of the wold's largest communication companies, with many unveiling their latest phones and wearables gadgets.
Motorola Razr 2023 Leak
The giant phone maker, Motorola, has yet to officially show us how its next Razr foldable phone looks. But despite that, leak renders are doing so as early as now.
While Motorola has been serving us Razr foldable devices, it isn't as successful as the Samsung Z Flip offerings over the years.
In fact, as per a news story by XDA Developers, Moto last debuted a new Razr foldable in 2020. On the other hand, Samsung has been doing so, year after year.
(Photo : Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Verizon)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 05: Media attending Verizon's More Holiday Magic Event at Manhatta get a sneak peek of the Motorola Razr at Manhatta on December 05, 2019 in New York City.
But it looks like Motorola has found a way to make its next-generation Razr a bit more exciting this time around.
Well-known leaker Evan Blass shared leaked renders of the upcoming foldable device of Motorola on Twitter.
XDA Developers notes that the leaked renders of the Razr 2023 suggest that it looks similar to foldable offerings these days, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Oppo Find N2 Flip. These two might find new competition anytime soon, as the Razr seemingly ditches its former look.
Although it looks a lot like newer foldable devices, its cover display definitely stands out from the rest.
Read Also: Motorola ThinkPhone Leaks: Features Flagship Specs for New Multipurpose Smartphone
Motorola Razr 2023 Full Cover Display
The cover display or external screen of the Motorola Razr 2023 defeats any other current foldable device available on retail shelves right now.
Android Authority reports that the Galaxy Z Flip rocks a cover display that takes half of the front panel. On the flip side, the Razr leaked render shows an external screen that covers the entire front panel of the foldable phone, which spans to its two cameras.
The render also gives us a look at the potential UI of the Moto cover screen. It offers full-sized notifications, while the display beside the two shooters provides smaller notifications and a battery indicator.
(Photo : Evan Blass Twitter )
It sure looks interesting, but do take this with a grain of salt. Blass may be known for his reputable leaks on all sorts of upcoming tech. Yet, Motorola might decide to change its plans along the way.
While it easily smashes the small cover display of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, early rumors suggest that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is getting a bigger external screen as well.
Related Article: Motorola Felix: New Rollable Phone with Vertical Extensions Coming? Like the LG Rollable but Opposite
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Robotics integrator Aerobotix reports that it recently welcomed to its U.S. headquarters a delegation from new partner company Automated Solutions Australia (ASA).
The visit comes as these two leading robotics integrators continue to move forward with their partnership, first announced in June 2022, for the development, testing and manufacturing of automated performance coating systems for hypersonic solutions in the defense sector.
(Photo : Dalton Agency)
READ ALSO: Aerobotix receives 2022 Supplier Recognition Award from Lockheed Martin
"Aerobotix teaming up with ASA means our companies now have sovereign capability in both the U.S. and Australia," said Josh Tuttle, Aerobotix business development manager. "We can work with the U.S. State Department for approval of any technology transfer for ASA, and ASA can assist Aerobotix in fast-tracking our technology to Australian shores."
"Since the partnership was announced, Australian customers have told us they're excited about ASA being able to offer the latest U.S. robotic innovations for hypersonic performance coatings," said Nathan Jones, ASA general manager. "Visiting Aerobotix HQ in Alabama allowed us to take a hands-on deep dive into the technology we're bringing Down Under."
In addition to spending time in Alabama, Jones travelled with Aerobotix to the Defense Manufacturing Conference in Tampa, Florida, in December.
The Aerobotix-ASA partnership follows the 2021 signing of the AUKUS security pact between the U.S., U.K. and Australian Governments, which includes provisions for the allies to work together on hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities.
"Aerobotix and ASA have strong synergies because we're both turn-key robotics integrators with specialized capabilities in the precise application of paints and performance coatings," added Tuttle. "Aerobotix has already used robotics to scan, sand, measure and coat hypersonic solutions on multiple successful programs. Working together with ASA on international projects will significantly reduce costs, delays and program risks."
RELATED ARTICLE: Aerobotix and Automated Solutions Australia Announce Partnership to Deploy Robotic Systems for Hypersonic Missile Manufacturing
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Microsoft Bing AI chatbot is now restoring longer chats "responsibly," as it gradually loosens the limits for its users.
Besides longer chats restoration, Microsoft now offers a new tone for chatbot users. One of which brings more straighforward answers.
(Photo : JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
Microsoft Bing search engine in pictured on a monitor in the Bing Experience Lounge during an event introducing a new AI-powered Microsoft Bing and Edge at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington on February 7, 2023.
Microsoft Bing AI Chatbot to Restore Longer Chats
As per a report by Engadget, Microsoft recently limited its Bing AI chats to address its strange and alarming responses.
But this time, the Remond-based tech firm confirmed that it will gradually restore the longer chats on its AI chatbot.
It is worth noting that Microsoft limited its Bing chatbot to only five questions per session, alongside the 50 chats a day limit last Friday, February 17.
The Verge notes in its story that the tech juggernaut introduced this new set of rules shortly after multiple reports pointed out to strange behavior of the chatbot.
It comes as the giant firm blamed the longer chat sessions, saying that these extended conversations make its Bing AI chatbot "become repetitive or be prompted/provoked to give responses that are not necessarily helpful."
(Photo : JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Modern Life, Search, and Devices, speaks during a keynote address announcing ChatGPT integration for Bing at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, on February 7, 2023.
As the tech giant seeks to restore longer chats. It has begun doing so by allowing up to six turns per session, a slight adjustment from five chats. And per day, users can now take 60 chats -- a small jump from the 50 daily limit.
The Bing team disclosed that "since placing the chat limits, we have received feedback from many of you wanting a return of longer chats." Its restoration should allow users to "search more effectively and interact with the chat feature better."
In the long run, Bing seeks to restore up to 100 chats per day.
Furthermore, the team behind the Bing AI chatbot says long chat sessions do not typically occur during internal testing.
Given that, they have opened it to a limited set of preview testers. It should "find these atypical use cases which we can learn and improve the product."
Read Also: Microsoft Bing ChatGPT vs. Google Bard: Redmond Event Announced Minutes After Google's AI Reveal
New Bing AI Chatbot Tones
As Microsoft gradually restore longer chat on its Bing AI chatbot, it also went on to introduce new tone options.
Some users might find the answers to the AI chat to be a bit long. With that, a new option provides a more straightforward response that cuts to the chase, aptly named the "Precise" tone." The Verge notes that it blurts out more focused answers.
Apart from the Precise tone, AI chatbot users could also opt for a longer option, known as "Creative." And if you want to mix both, the "Balanced" option might be best for you.
Related Article: Google Chat GPT Competitor Gets Supposed Release Date: ChatGPT-Killer to Launch on Feb 8
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Youtube Music introduced a redesigned radio feature that provides users more freedom and control over their listening experience. Compared to other streaming services, YouTube Music's radio feature offers a lot of flexibility in this new update.
(Photo : ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
The Google and YouTube logos are seen at the entrance to the Google offices in Los Angeles, California, November 21, 2019. - YouTube Space LA is one of ten facilities worldwide where content creators can produce video content, learn new skills, and collaborate with the YouTube community. YouTube Space and its resources are available at no charge to YouTubers with at least 10,000 subscribers.
Custom Radio Station
A new radio experience has been introduced by YouTube Music, as the company rolls out an improved radio feature that allows customers to creator their own stations. According to a report from TechCrunch, the new update also brings new and improved features.
YouTube stated in an email, "The result is giving users a lot more control over their music listening experiences, and allowing them to slice their music in many ways currently unavailable to them, on YouTube Music or really any music service."
This feature includes the ability to pick up to 30 artists when creating a radio station. Users can also choose how frequently these artists appear by applying filters that change the mood of the station, like downbeat, chill, and more.
Users can now adjust the parameters they set after creating a station. By tapping the tune option that appears at the bottom of the app, you can now play the customized stations while listing to the new playlist. Stations can also be revisited at any moment.
Two options will be given to choosing from; an option to only include the selected artist or including content from a broader set of similar artists. The additional customization gives YouTube Music a step ahead of other streaming services as it offers more flexibility.
"With this new radio functionality, we're flipping that model on its head, empowering users to create their own radios from the ground up, by combining key music building blocks such as artists and common music descriptors," YouTube noted.
Also Read: YouTube Music Rolls Out Testing for Live Lyrics in New Casting UI
Rolling Out
While some users already have this feature, Google stated it may take some time for others before they see the feature on the application. But Engadget reported that once the feature is available on the device, users will see a prompt in the interface that says "Create a Radio."
This new feature may look promising to some but this will not be enough to convince consumers to switch to YouTube Music from other music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.
Google encouraged their current subscribers who have the access to this feature to use it more frequently. Free trial subscriptions are also available for users who want to try this feature, and it may convert them to become YouTube Music users.
Last November, YouTube reported that it surpassed 80 million subscribers globally for both YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. This 30 million subscribers increase from 2021 puts the company on track to become one of the top music streaming services.
Related Article: YouTube Music Workers Strike Over Unfair Labor Practices
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Unfortunately, Samsung Electronics has finally given up on trying to fit an S Pen in their latest device, the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Following the cancellation of the Note series, the S Pen feature was included on the Ultra and Z Fold devices, but the feature could have been more successful in the Z Fold series.
Concerns Regarding Internal Space Lead Samsung to Deny Users Built-in S Pen in Z Fold Series
According to the story by Giz China, reports reveal that this was due to its impact on the internal space of the phones, resulting in higher production costs and poorer writing experiences for users. Since its launch in 2019, fans of the Z Fold series have generally requested a built-in S Pen, but their wish has yet to be denied.
While a built-in S Pen is technically possible, the phone would have to be thicker to accommodate it, and this would be a self-defeating move. As a thinner S Pen will bring down the writing experience, Samsung apparently has no choice but to stick with their decision to ax the S Pen feature, as explained in an article by IT Homes.
The S Pen Technology: Revolutionizing Writing with a Thinner Pen
It has yet to be seen how Samsung's decision not to include an S Pen in the Z Fold 5, as noted in an article by The Pixel, will affect the public's perception of the device. While the device might not entice many power and casual users who love the S Pen feature, the exclusion of the feature will certainly make the device lighter and more pocketable.
But the most impressive feature of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is its S Pen technology. Samsung is working on a revolutionary technology to improve the writing experience while making the pen thinner.
Introducing the Latest Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4: Folding Technology and Mobile Industry Leader
An industry insider claims the new folding device has a new hinge structure and internal space structure, and Samsung has decided to upgrade the S Pen to fit the device's design. This new S Pen technology is said to recognize many more types of functions compared to previous S Pens.
With the increase in functions of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, Samsung has established its position as the folding technology and mobile industry leader. The launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 has generated a lot of anticipation and excitement from Samsung's loyal fans, who have been waiting for the most powerful folding device to be released.
Read Also: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Cover Display Likely Bigger Than Oppo Find N2 Flip
Optimized Display Experience with 120Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has two combined screens - a 7.6" QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex internal screen and a 6.2" HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X external screen - both of which are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus + glass and support 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.
On the outside of the device is a 10MP selfie lens, while the internal screen has a 4MP under-screen camera. There is also a 50MP wide-angle main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle, and a 10MP telephoto lens, which supports 3x optical and 30x digital zoom.
Related Article: First Samsung Galaxy S23 Software Update to Arrive! Here's What It Includes
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According to a recent announcement from Twitter, users will soon receive an alert when a tweet they replied to or retweeted receives a "community note." This new function aims to encourage healthy conversations and reduce harmful content on the platform.
As reported first by TechCrunch, Twitter's "community notes" are a type of feedback the company provides to users when their tweets are reported for violating the platform's policies.
Community Notes
A staff of reviewers on Twitter examines reported tweets to ascertain whether they are in violation of Twitter's policies. A community message will be sent to the user who posted the tweet informing them of the infringement and outlining the steps they can take to make things right.
The notification will let the user know that the tweet they engaged with has been reported for breaking Twitter's rules and will prompt them to review the tweet and decide whether to keep their engagement with it.
Twitter hopes to enhance user awareness of the content they engage with through the use of this tool and halt the spread of harmful content on its network.
"Community Notes aim to create a better informed world by empowering people on Twitter to collaboratively add context to potentially misleading Tweets," the company wrote in a blog post.
"Contributors can leave notes on any Tweet and if enough contributors from different points of view rate that note as helpful, the note will be publicly shown on a Tweet."
For US-based users, the program was first released in 2021 under the name "Birdwatch." Elon Musk eventually changed the program's name to "Community Notes" after his takeover.
Twitter began displaying Community Notes to all users worldwide in December. In addition to the US, the company started accepting notes from contributors in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand in January.
Read Also: Twitter DMs to Get Upgrade Soon? Elon Musk Agrees with New Poll to Bring Advanced Features on Chat
Enhancing Content Control
This function is a part of Twitter's ongoing initiatives to enhance content control on the platform. The business has previously been under fire for how it handles offensive content, such as hate speech, harassment, and false information.
Twitter has made several adjustments in recent years to address these problems, including implementing new policies, enhancing its reporting system, and expanding its staff of content reviewers.
However, some of these efforts were reversed when Elon Musk bought the company and became the new Chief Twit in 2022. He has fired several employees, including those who are in charge of content moderation and the platform recently halted its COVID-19 misinformation policy.
Related Article: Twitter Down: Users Claim Outage is Related to Character Count, Over the Limit Despite Not Exceeding
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As the tech industry evolves, the military sector takes advantage of new innovations.
(Photo : Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during a graduation ceremony of Israeli Air Force pilots, at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern city of Beer Sheva, on December 28, 2022.
Many countries, including the United States, are continuously increasing their defense weapons. These include autonomous drones, advanced fighter jets, efficient assault rifles, laser sight, etc.
If you are interested in the latest military technologies being developed and enhanced, here are some of them.
Top Military Technologies 2023
NewsofMonth provided some of the best military technologies across different countries. These include the following:
(Photo : Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
South Korean soldiers sit on the top of a K9 Thunder 155mm self-propelled Howitzer during an equipment demonstration at the Defense Expo Korea 2016 at KINTEX exhibition hall in Goyang, north of Seoul, on September 10, 2016.
Also Read: USAF Collaborates with Reliable Robotics to Work on Autonomous Flights for Military Needs
EOTech (U.S): This is a laser sight the size of a card deck. It can last for nine hours.
(U.S): This is a laser sight the size of a card deck. It can last for nine hours. Rhine Metal's Fox Evolution (Germany): An advanced armored personnel vehicle with advanced protection and mobility features. It can reach a top speed of 100 kmph while carrying payloads weighing up to nine tons.
(Germany): An advanced armored personnel vehicle with advanced protection and mobility features. It can reach a top speed of 100 kmph while carrying payloads weighing up to nine tons. Lancer 2.0 (Poland): An anti-drone tech that can work with external surveillance systems.
(Poland): An anti-drone tech that can work with external surveillance systems. Tavor X95 (Israel): The Tavor X95 is a compact and versatile assault rifle. Military personnel can easily carry it even in tight spaces. Its design also allows for easier upgrades and customizations.
(Israel): The Tavor X95 is a compact and versatile assault rifle. Military personnel can easily carry it even in tight spaces. Its design also allows for easier upgrades and customizations. K9 Thunder (South Korea): A self-propelled howitzer that can fire up to eight rounds per minute. It can hit targets that are 40 km away.
Top Defense Trends This 2023
The mentioned military technologies above are not really unique compared to other defense innovations in the past; they just have more advanced capabilities than other models.
This means that military organizations across the globe will still look for original innovative ideas that can help them improve their defense capabilities.
StartUs Insights provided some of the military trends that the U.S. and other nations could start investing in soon, such as the following:
RAS (Robotics and Autonomous Systems)
Internet of Military Things (IoMT)
Cybersecurity Warfare
5G Network Technologies
Artificial Intelligence Models (AI Models)
If you want to learn more details about these top defense trends this 2023, just click here.
In other news, the Taiwanese military discovered an alleged Chinese-made weather balloon near a Chinese coastline.
We also reported about a possible hypersonic missile secrets trade that a Russian military engineer could make with the U.S.
For more news updates about the military, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
Related Article: US Military Emails Exposed Due to Simple Error in DoD Server; Here's What's Been Leaked
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Amazon employees continued to voice their opinions on CEO Andy Jassy's newly announced return-to-office order by flooding an internal website with remarks expressing their disapproval of the policy.
In a report by CNBC, a group of employees formed a Slack channel and wrote an internal petition. This opposes the firm's new plans, which compels all tech workers to return to the office for at least three days each week starting on May 1.
Several days after the mandate's announcement, the petition calls on Jassy and Amazon's S-team to reverse the policy.
On Tuesday night, Feb. 21, the organization had garnered 16,000 members. About 5,000 workers had signed the petition.
Related Story: Amazon Drops Work-from-Home Setup, Asks Staff To Come In 3 Times a Week
Employees' Woes
Inside Amazon, the company's internal news feed, saw a flood of comments from disgruntled employees when a tape of Jassy's most recent all-hands meeting was posted there.
According to screenshots seen by CNBC, one said that Amazon had failed its job as the world's top employer by arbitrarily imposing return-to-office without giving facts to back it and despite obvious evidence that it is the worst option for its workers.
Respondents on the internal Slack forum expressed surprise at the news. Many were frustrated that they'd have to find child care, carers for elderly parents, or relocate to commute to work.
One worker stated they had just acquired a vehicle with an annual restriction of 16,000 miles expecting remote work was still possible. If they have to come into the office at least three days a week, they will surpass the said limit.
Some of those who used the company's flexible work policy to migrate outside big cities to obtain cheaper homes are now worried about their commute.
The petition not only expresses their displeasure with the requirement. It also provides a variety of statistics and studies praising remote work and its advantages, such as increased productivity and the capacity to recruit and keep the best employees.
Shift in Work Setup
Traditionally, Amazon allowed supervisors some leeway in determining how frequently their staff needed to be physically present in the office. Even while Amazon is still in its period of experimenting, learning, and adapting, Jassy has already embraced remote and hybrid work.
A week ago, Jassy saw that there would be obstacles to re-inviting workers to the office.
As the Covid outbreak subsides, some tech firms have resumed traditional methods of doing business, including face-to-face meetings and employee interactions.
Certain staff at Google and Apple have been compelled to return to the office since last year. Disney's hybrid workers have been expected to be in the office four days a week since January.
See Also: Amazon Web Services Expands Partnership with Hugging Face, Making AI More Accessible
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Researchers have created the first single-nucleotide resolution map of damage patterns specific to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in human lung cells.
The study, reported in ACS Central Science, could help predict exposure to harmful substances that lead to cancers since BaP found in cigarette and industrial smoke is known to damage DNA.
BaP Exposure
When BaP enters a person's body, it has the ability to permanently connect to the guanosine, one of the nucleic acids in DNA. This may produce mutations that cause diseases, depending on how the body balances the processes of damage and repair, according to the research team's press release.
The team, under the direction of Shana Sturla, set out to look into the balance in human lung cells exposed to BaP. They exposed human lung cells to increasing concentrations of the metabolized form of BaP and used single-nucleotide-resolution DNA mapping to identify its damages.
The researchers found that the pattern of DNA damage remained stable across the genome, despite changes in the concentration of BaP metabolite. There was also a dose-dependent relationship between exposure and DNA damage.
The distribution of DNA damage was similar to a mutation pattern found in smoking-related lung cancers, suggesting that this technique could help predict genetic mutations related to human cancers.
The Swiss National Science Foundation and Philip Morris International have both provided funding to the authors.
Read Also: Tiniest Antenna in the World Made from DNA | Scientists Build 5 Nanometer Antenna 20,000x Smaller than Human Hair
Dynamic Nature of DNA Damage
The work emphasizes the dynamic nature of DNA damage and repair mechanisms and may aid in the early detection of cancer-causing exposures.
The study also shows the significance of maintaining a balance between damage and repair processes to prevent mutations that could result in diseases, even though humans have cellular repair kits that remove harmful metabolites.
The development of methods to lessen exposure to dangerous substances and the prevention of cancer-causing mutations could benefit from the findings of this study.
It illustrates how important it is to investigate how potentially dangerous compounds affect human cells in order to comprehend the molecular causes of disease.
The researchers claim that their findings offer insight into the dynamic nature of DNA damage and repair processes since they represent the first single-nucleotide-resolution map of damage patterns specific to BaP in human cells.
The study, titled "Quantification and Mapping of Alkylation in the Human Genome Reveal Single Nucleotide Resolution Precursors of Mutational Signatures", was published in ACS Central Science.
Related Article: Bioscience Firm Insists They Can Bring an Extinct Mammoth Back to Resurrection by Leveraging DNA Technology with $15M Seed Fund
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China's Baidu Inc. recently announced its fourth-quarter revenue for 2022 on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The company's advertising, cloud, and artificial intelligence (AI) portfolios grew at a faster rate than anticipated.
According to Refinitiv data, the Beijing-based company, which derives most of its revenue from online advertisements, reported 33.08 billion yuan ($4.80 billion), exceeding analysts' expectations of 32.01 billion yuan.
A snapshot from the Washington Post reveals that Baidu announced a net income of $1.97 per share. Adjusted for one-time gains and expenses, earnings per share amounted to $2.21.
AI, Cloud Services Push Baidu Revenue Stream
Reuters reports that revenue from Baidu Core decreased by 1% to reach 25.7 billion yuan. This includes search-based ad sales, cloud offerings, and autonomous driving initiatives.
The growth of the company's AI and cloud businesses was the primary contributor to the 11% increase in non-online marketing revenue, reaching 7.6 billion yuan.
A Baidu spokesperson stated in early February that the company plans to complete internal testing of generative AI technology in March before making the AI tool available to the public. The promising project is dubbed Wenxin Yiyan or Ernie Bot.
Nevertheless, pandemic-related controls in China caused a decline of 6% in Baidu's online marketing revenue during the quarter, bringing it to a total of 18.1 billion yuan.
Read Also: Baidu Believes its Robotaxis Are Challenging China's Conventional Ride-hailing Service
Robin Li, the chief executive officer of Baidu, described 2022 as a challenging year but expressed optimism that the company's revenue growth would resume in 2023. The company also announced a new $5 billion share repurchase program.
"With our long-term investments in AI, we are poised to capitalize on the imminent inflection point in AI, unlocking exciting new opportunities across our entire business portfolio," the Baidu CEO added.
Baidu and Its Ernie Bot Project
Baidu's research and development expenses for 2022 totaled 23.3 billion yuan, or 18.8% of revenue, as the company planned to integrate its Ernie Bot into its core businesses, such as its search engine, cloud, and smart cars.
Ernie Bot, Baidu's AI-driven chatbot, will complete internal testing in March and be integrated into Baidu's search engine for the first time.
Aurora Mobile Limited, a Chinese marketing technology company, recently announced that it had joined the ecosystem of ERNIE Bot. The organization will integrate ERNIE Bot and Baidu's intelligent dialogue technology into its customer engagement and marketing technology offerings.
"The generative large-language model we are working on right now will be more suitable in the Chinese language and to the Chinese market than models developed overseas," Li said.
Many consider the chatbot to be at the forefront of China's efforts to develop an alternative Microsoft-backed OpenAI platform. According to Li, the Ernie Bot developers were making every effort to release the chatbot as soon as possible.
"The Chinese AI market is on the verge of experiencing explosive growth in demand, releasing unprecedented and exponential commercial value," he said.
Stay posted here at Tech Times.
Related Article: China-based Tech Firms, Including Baidu and Alibaba, Join AI Chatbot Bandwagon
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After two years of planning, the Hometown Fresh Mobile Food Pantry left the Food Bank of Lincoln on Tuesday morning for its maiden voyage to Plymouth.
"Every town in our 16-county service area, regardless of the population, deserves to have access to healthy food," said Michaella Kumke, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Lincoln. "Food is fuel, it's medicine, it's foundational for health. It's not a privilege."
Hometown Fresh will serve eight communities during the pilot stage of the program Belvidere, Rising City, Auburn, Davenport, Pawnee City, Plymouth, Syracuse and Utica.
For now, the trailer will make eight monthly journeys, one to each community, with hopes for more trips to more towns in the future.
Katie Nungesser, network capacity manager, said the Food Bank determined the areas in need with a combination of data and word of mouth.
The team constructed a heat map, determining which towns in Southeast Nebraska had what amount of access to a grocery store. Nungesser then spent time talking to members of each community.
"We had a list of towns that, with the data, looked like good fits, but as soon as we started talking to locals they set us straight," she said.
Some of the pilot communities are still the original towns, but in others, neighbors directed Nungesser's attention to nearby areas they knew needed the assistance and access more.
"We'll continue to do that listening and try to provide the things that the local groups are telling us is needed," Nungesser said. "One of our directors of sourcing spends a lot of time with the grocery store owners, listening to them about what their barriers are for different products."
In March, Nungesser said the trailer hopes to add several Lincoln sites, including the Yazidi Cultural Center and the Ponca Tribe Wellness Center.
Each trip should serve 100 to 150 Nebraskans, Kumke said. The focus for supplies headed to rural areas will be on the core foods of fresh produce, protein, baked goods and shelf stable items.
Across 9,200 square miles and 16 counties, the Food Bank served 9.9 million meals last year and is on track to reach 11 million by the end of this fiscal year in June, Kumke said. During the pandemic, it served 13.5 million.
"When we were going through the pandemic, we were trying to get to smaller towns because of the isolation," she said. "And we kept that on our mind, because when we converted back to our traditional model, we knew that we didn't want to leave those smaller towns behind."
Kumke said the mobile pantry is a way the Food Bank can still visit those towns in a way it wasn't able to before the pandemic.
"The truth is, we don't know what this is going to be, because we're just starting, and that's the exciting part of it," she said. "We need to make sure we're getting into the pockets of our service area that may not get served."
Jim Hansen, outreach coordinator at Sandhills Global one of the pantry's main sponsors, said he can't wait to see how many miles the trailer travels and how many people it serves. He said he's been excited since Kumke reached out two years ago to begin planning.
Partnering with Brian Booe of Adams Industries, Sandhills Global was able to fund and construct the food trailer. It has a 41,000-watt generator, two heating and cooling units and access to running water.
Booe said he calculated the energy needed to sustain the trailer, then doubled it for the generator.
"I don't want this thing to break down somewhere when that could've been avoided," he said. "I want this trailer to last 10 years."
Healthy Blue Nebraska will continue to partner with the Food Bank to help stock the trailer. Tuesday morning, it presented the Food Bank team with a check for $150,000.
"This day is not about what is happening in this room," Kumke said. "It's about what will happen in Plymouth."
Neighbors interested in visiting Hometown Fresh should contact Nungesser at 402-466-8170, ext. 1987 or via email at knungesser@lincolnfoodbank.org to learn more.
Top Journal Star photos for February 2023
SpaceX's Starlink broadband service is finally available in the Philippines.
(Photo : Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
This photograph taken on September 25, 2022, shows an antenna of the Starlink satellite-based broadband system donated by the US tech billionaire Elon Musk in Izyum, Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In 2022, the independent space agency announced that the Philippines was supposed to be the first country in South East Asia to receive Starlink.
However, this didn't happen because Japan was able to have access to Starlink, making it the first ASEAN nation to have Starlink broadband service.
Now, Philippines-based consumers can also take advantage of the Starlink internet because it finally rolled out in the Asian country.
SpaceX Starlink Now Available in Philippines!
According to CNN Philippines' latest report, SpaceX announced on Wednesday, Feb. 23, that consumers can start ordering Starlink internet.
(Photo : Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
A mock up of the Crew Dragon spacecraft is displayed during a media tour of SpaceX headquarters and rocket factory on August 13, 2018 in Hawthorne, California. - SpaceX plans to use the spaceship Crew Dragon, a passenger version of the robotic Dragon cargo ship, to carry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in 2019.
Also Read: Next-Gen Starlink Satellite Dishes To Be Tested; Up to 200 Models Allowed by FCC
NTC (National Telecommunications Commission) Philippines previously approved SpaceX's request to use commercially roll out its terminals as classified products to the consumer.
This means that the internet equipment of Starlink can be used as a customer premise and not terminals for radio station licensing.
For those who are interested to purchase the Starlink internet service, they can expect broadband download speeds between 100 to 200 Megabits per second.
This high-speed low latency satellite internet is expected to drastically change how Filipinos enjoy WiFi speeds, especially since the Philippines is among the Asian countries with very slow internet speeds.
How to Order Starlink in Philippines?
If you will check the official website of SpaceX's Starlink and search for the Philippines, you will see that the internet service is already available throughout the country.
Earlier, the last places to receive the Starlink broadband service were the locations in Metro Manila.
SpaceX said that the one-time fee for the Starlink internet hardware is around $540 (PHP 29,320). Meanwhile, the broadband service's monthly fee is almost $50 (PHP 2,700) per month.
If you want to order, all you need to do is search for your area and click the "Order Now" button. After that just follow the instructions provided.
Aside from rolling out Starlink, SpaceX is also busy with other activities.
Previously, the space agency conducted a Starship static fire test. However, not all SpaceX engines fired.
We also reported that SpaceX Starshield was recently looking for a data engineer.
For more news updates about Starlink and other internet service providers, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
Related Article: Starlink's New Global Satellite Internet Service Costs $200 a Month
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A study employing NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has monitored two pairs of supermassive black holes in dwarf galaxies that are traveling toward one another.
This is the first evidence of two giant black holes on a collision course, offering crucial knowledge to scientists about the development of black holes in the early universe.
Dwarf Galaxy Mergers
Dwarf galaxies are composed of stars with a total mass of fewer than 3 billion Suns or around 20 times that of the Milky Way. Scientists have long hypothesized that dwarf galaxies merged in the early cosmos to form bigger galaxies.
But due to their extreme faintness at such enormous distances, the initial generation of dwarf galaxy mergers cannot be observed with current technology.
These difficulties were overcome in the new work by employing a systematic assessment of deep Chandra X-ray observations and comparing them with optical and infrared data from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) and NASA's Wide Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), respectively.
The researchers searched for pairs of powerful X-ray sources in dwarf galaxies that were undergoing collisions, and they discovered two sources.
The composite image on the left shows one pair in the galaxy cluster Abell 133, which is 760 million light-years away from Earth. Pink represents Chandra X-ray data while blue represents CFHT optical data.
This pair of dwarf galaxies exhibit a long tail from tidal effects from the collision and seems to be in the last stages of merging.
Read Also: NASA'S Hubble and Chandra Xray Revives a Dead Star Back to its Original Form Before its Violent Explosion
Mirabilis
The name "Mirabilis" was given to the new study by its authors in honor of a critically endangered hummingbird species distinguished by its unusually long tails. Abell 1758S, a galaxy cluster located about 3.2 billion light-years away, is where the other pair was found.
The merging dwarf galaxies were given the names "Elstir" and "Vinteuil" in honor of fictional artists from Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time." The galaxy at the top is called Vinteuil, and the galaxy at the bottom is called Elstir.
The details of merging black holes and dwarf galaxies could reveal information about the past of our Milky Way galaxy. Nearly all galaxies are thought to have started as dwarf or other sorts of tiny galaxies and developed over billions of years through mergers, according to NASA.
Follow-up studies of these two systems will help astronomers investigate the mechanisms required for understanding galaxies and their black holes in the early universe.
The findings of the study were published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Related Article: NASA's Chandra X-Ray Telescope Gives a Breathtaking Collection of Cosmic Bodies You Only See on Sci-Fi Movies
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Amazon announced that it had closed its acquisition of 1Life Healthcare, the parent company of One Medical, for $3.49 billion. This deal was finalized after the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) did not file an antitrust complaint.
One Medical's Offerings
This is Amazon's most significant foray into healthcare to date since the agreement provides the company with access to a group of primary care doctors.
One Medical's "in-office and 24/7 virtual care services, on-site labs, and programs for preventive care, chronic care management, common illnesses, and mental health concerns" will now be available via Amazon, the firms announced on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
A total of over 220 primary care clinics are owned and operated by One Medical in over 28 different states. In a report by Forbes, the locations offered a wide variety of primary care services. These include those provided by One Medical, direct primary care clinics, primary care offices catering to certain workforce groups, and senior health offices catering to Medicare-covered patients.
Access to its specialists and digital health services is offered to subscribers for a monthly charge.
After a period of transition, One Medical said on Wednesday that annual subscriptions at the reduced price of $144 for the first year would be offered to new customers. It is a savings of $50 off the standard price of $199. It would provide users with 24/7 virtual care through text or video and access to clinics in many cities.
See Also: Amazon's RxPass Gives Prime Members Affordable Access to Generic Prescription
The $3.49-Billion Acquisition
According to a Bloomberg story from Tuesday, Feb. 21, the FTC has opted not to dispute the $3.49-billion buyout. Instead, it is sending a letter to Amazon and One Medical, reminding them of the ongoing inquiry. With that hurdle cleared, Amazon was able to complete the purchase.
Notably, FTC is the agency that has been investigating Amazon's market strength for years.
In a statement, Neil Lindsay, head of Amazon Health Services, said that One Medical had set the standard for what an excellent, efficient, and cheap primary care experience should be like. Motivated by their human-centered, technology-forward approach, Lindsay said they are eager to support their expansion so that they can benefit more people.
Executives from both Amazon and One Medical have hinted at future service expansions now that their merger has concluded.
One Medical CEO Amir Dan Rubin said, "We now set our sights on delivering even further positive impacts for consumers, employers, care teams, and health networks, as we join Amazon with its long-term orientation, history of invention, and passion for reimagining a better future."
In the Healthcare Sector
Amazon's interest in the healthcare industry is not new.
Amazon Clinic is a referral service that directs patients to partner physicians for text-chat consultations to treat common, generally minor ailments like hair loss and acne. Meanwhile, Amazon Pharmacy is built on the assets of the pharmacy company PillPack acquired in 2018.
Prime members may also utilize RxPass to get unlimited access to 50 generic medicines for over 80 chronic conditions. Hypertension, anxiety, and diabetes are examples.
See Also: Amazon Plans to Go Big on Its Brick-and-Mortar Grocery Store Business
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The spacesuits used by NASA on the International Space Station (ISS) date back decades and are beginning to show their age. As a result, the space agency has devised a plan to rebuild its old spacesuits that will cost $3.5 billion.
Before 2026, NASA intends to have the set of new suits ready for usage on the ISS.
Aging Spacesuits
According to CNBC's report, NASA's spacesuits now in use on the ISS were first built in the '70s. These are suits that were developed for use in the space shuttle program. The agency continued fixing and maintaining them despite financial constraints for a very long time.
The director of the Human Spaceflight Laboratory at the University of North Dakota, Pablo De Leon, argues that the current suits have reached the end of their service life.
As NASA's astronaut corps becomes more diverse, it has struggled to obtain suits in the right sizes for everyone, and some of the components of those suits have worn out.
Read Also: NASA Gears Up for Israel's Very First Space Telescope Mission 'ULTRASAT'
The $3.5-Billion Contract
Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace, a division of Raytheon Technologies, have been contracted by the government to design, manufacture, and maintain the new spacesuit fleet. As part of the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services Contract or xEVAS, NASA will pay Axiom and Collins, along with a number of its commercial partners, up to $3.5 billion between now and 2034.
The first contract, worth $228.5 million, went to Axiom to design the suits that will be used during NASA's Artemis lunar missions. Meanwhile, the second, worth $97.2 million, went to Collins to design and create a new generation of suits for the ISS.
As Collins and Axion are providing their suits to NASA on a service basis, they are allowed to produce suits for clients other than NASA.
The specifications for these two outfits' functionality are almost identical, which is one of the many appealing aspects of this contract. In other words, "At any given time, we could ask either of those contractors to actually start working on the other what we call platform," as explained by Lara Kearney, manager of NASA's Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program.
"We also have what we call an on-ramp clause in the contract, which means if another company comes into play and they have the capability to compete, we can actually bring them on to the contract and allow them to compete on task orders as well," Kearney added.
Kearney said the ongoing competition provides incentives for the contractors to meet cost and schedule targets, which in turn reduces the government's outlay of money.
Collins Aerospace, in conjunction with ILC Dover and Oceaneering, is building a new suit, and CNBC was given an exclusive peek at the suit in its early stages of development.
Read Also: NASA Sends Heartbeat-detecting FINDER to Help Turkey's Earthquake Recovery Efforts
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Meta, the parent company of Facebook, could be facing a tax bill of nearly 870 million ($925 million) in Italy following an investigation by prosecutors, Reuters reports.
According to two sources with direct insight into the matter, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) has requested that the Italian Revenue Agency and Guardia di Finanza investigate whether user registrations on Meta platforms should be taxed.
Officials Scrutinize Meta's Access to User Data
Investigators believe that Meta's offering of free membership in exchange for access to user data should be classified as an exchange of services, qualifying to be subjected to VAT sales tax.
The Italian tax authorities and revenue agency estimated that Meta should have paid 220 million ($234 million) in sales tax in Italy in 2021 and 870 million from 2015 to 2021.
With over 2 billion active users, Facebook is one of the world's largest social media platforms. With this, it adamantly collects vast information about its users, as detailed in its privacy policies.
Facebook collects user-provided content and information when registering for an account, creating or sharing content, and communicating with others. It also collects information regarding how users interact with its services, their networks and connections, payment and financial transactions, device information, and information from third-party websites and apps.
Read Also: President Biden Approves First ITC Ruling Against Apple, Import Ban on Apple Watch Possible
Establishing a link between free access and data transfer as a taxable transaction is the most significant aspect of the investigation. If this is determined to be the case, it could have repercussions for other multinational companies and European countries.
Italian Authorities Notified Meta of the Audit
The Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano was the first to report on the administrative tax audit of Meta. Meta and the EPPO have not yet commented on the investigation.
As per Reuters, the Italian authorities have informed Meta of their assessment, and a conversation is reportedly happening between the company and the tax agency. Meta could recognize the outcome of the inquiry and pay the requested amount or contest the findings and file an administrative complaint.
The Milan Prosecutor's Office has recently opened several tax investigations against multinational technology companies such as Google and Apple. Typically, the criminal investigation is closed once a payment agreement has been reached.
Big Data Companies Under Scrutiny
In 2019 the Italian government fined Facebook 7 million ($7.8 million) for its data practices, which have been the subject of numerous legal battles in recent years. The most recent tax investigation involving Meta is just one of the company's ongoing legal issues on a global scale.
The decision by the Italian government to classify free access to user data as an exchange of services could prompt other nations to adopt a similar stance.
This investigation could establish a precedent for how digital companies operating in Europe are taxed, particularly in the age of big data.
Stay posted here at Tech Times.
Related Article: Meta Shuts Down Facebook Accounts Copying European News Outlets; Largest Russian Operation on FB?
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A bill to create a new specialty license plate in Nebraska led to criticism of the state's "Choose Life" plates Tuesday and provided another preview of the heated debate to come on abortion.
Debate around Sen. Tom Brandt's bill (LB140), which would allow Nebraskans to purchase a specialty license plate that "recognizes and celebrates" their Czech heritage, also allowed lawmakers to criticize the state-sponsored plates issued this year.
Brandt said his bill sought to honor the tens of thousands of Czechs that immigrated to Nebraska in the late 1800s and early 1900s, settling in towns like Wilber and Milligan both within District 32, which he represents as well as Prague in Saunders County.
Residents of those towns and many others across Nebraska continue to "have or claim Czech" ancestry, Brandt said, and several cultural festivals and events are held in those communities every year.
Proceeds from the specialty plates there are more than 50 available to Nebraska motorists would be funneled into the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles' cash fund and not to any foundation supporting a single Czech cultural event or place.
A handful of senators said they supported Brandt's bill Tuesday, but debate swerved into several lawmakers voicing irritation at both the design of the state's official license plate, as well as the growing list of specialty plates listed in statute.
Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard said he would be in favor of "any design other than the one we have," adding the sentiment was shared by others.
Nebraska's newest plates issued this year feature a mosaic designed by Hildreth Meiere for the second floor of the Capitol near the north entrance depicting a man riding atop clouds with lightning and celestial bodies in the background.
The mural represents "the genius of creative energy," former Gov. Pete Ricketts and other state officials said last year.
"We need to introduce legislation that would formulate a permanent license plate," Erdman said, "and take away authority from the governor or whoever makes those decisions. It's peculiar how we decide the designs."
Omaha Sen. Megan Hunt said while she generally opposed creating specialty license plates because they were often created to substitute funding for programs the state should be supporting instead, signaled she was supportive of Brandt's bill.
Hunt and Brandt have sat next to each other in the chamber for several years.
But as debate on Day 31 slid past the noon hour, when the Legislature typically adjourns, Hunt introduced an amendment to remove the "Choose Life" specialty plates from state statute.
If opponents of abortion in the Legislature are successful in passing a bill (LB626) by Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston that would ban the practice if cardiac activity is detected in a fetus what detractors of the bill have characterized a full prohibition then women will have no choice to make about their own health decisions, rendering the license plates incorrect, Hunt said.
"In Nebraska, they will not be able to choose life," she said. "They will be forced to carry pregnancy."
Hunt suggested Nebraska instead create license plates that read "forced gestation ... because what we need to do is accurately reflect the culture and laws we have in Nebraska."
Senators in the chamber rejected a call of the house a procedural move requiring all lawmakers to return to the floor for the vote and shot down Hunt's amendment on a 26-4 vote.
Hunt filed a motion to reconsider that was not taken up before the Legislature adjourned for the day.
Nebraska's specialty license plates License plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License plates.jpg License plates2.jpg license plates3.jpg license plates4.png license plates5.png license plates6.png License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates License Plates
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Rust, the Western film that halted production after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set in October 2021, will resume filming this spring at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Livingston, said co-executive producer Carter Boehm on Wednesday.
This is going to be a fantastic movie, and we cant wait to pick it up and finish it, said Boehm. I think its going to be an awarding-winning film.
Rust features actor and producer Alec Baldwin, who accidentally shot Hutchins on set during filming at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Baldwin still faces involuntary manslaughter charges with a possible 18-month prison sentence for the death of Hutchins.
Yes, Alec Baldwin will be in town, said Boehm. The film is a memoriam to Halyna, and her widower Matthew Hutchins is executive producer.
Livingston native Boehm, and his Montana-based film ranch partners Richard Gray and Colin Davis, issued a news release Wednesday on their decision to resume production of Rust in Park County, Montana.
"The unyielding passion and dedication of the entire Rust production team to honor Halynas vision has deeply moved us, read the release. Weve learned so much about Halyna as a friend and colleague, the depth of her artistry, and the lasting impact she had on so many. We are honored to play a role in the realization of her vision and to carry forward her inspiring legacy through championing this film."
I am deeply grateful to Richie, Carter and Colin for the invitation to the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana, said Rust film director Joel Souza, in the news release.
The Yellowstone Film Ranch opened two years ago near Chico Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa in Pray, Montana, a small town near Livingston. The Western-style film ranch features nearly 30 structures and buildings, such as a saloon, bank, church, livery, jail and tobacco shop.
Boehm said Rust will be the eighth movie filmed and produced at the Yellowstone Film Ranch. Other flicks filmed at the Montana film ranch include The Old Way, with Nicolas Cage, and Murder at Yellowstone City, with Richard Dreyfuss, Zach McGowan, Thomas Jane and Gabriel Byrne.
Boehm said the plan is to employ about 70% of extras and crew from Montana, and especially from Park County, for the continued film production of Rust.
There is a lot of talent here, said Boehm. Thats very important to us to hire locals when possible. The film ranch is bringing a lot of people to the community, and they are buying hotel rooms, catering and spending money in town at bars and restaurants.
The Venture Global LNG Calcasieu Pass terminal. Led by Louisianas three liquefied natural gas export terminals, the United States shipped out far more LNG in 2022 than it did in 2021. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
A new American Jewish Committee survey, as this RNS story reports, has "found that 41% of American Jews said they were feeling less secure than a year ago, a 10 percentage point increase over a 2021 survey when 31% of American Jews said they felt less secure."
It's more disheartening evidence of the resurgence of antisemitism in a country in which a couple of decades ago, many, if not most, American Jews were not experiencing much antisemitic behavior.
And it's another appalling piece of evidence revealing that destructive hatred stalks American streets despite the efforts of many well-meaning organizations that try to educate people about the many dangers of bigotry and systemic racism. Jew hatred arises from fear, which arises from mis- and disinformation, all of which in turn can lead to violence, as Jewish Americans know only too well and as the history of Jewish people throughout the world confirms.
The good news in the AJC survey, if you can call it good news, is that "less than a quarter (23%) said the Jewish institutions they attended had been subject to antisemitism (in the form of graffiti, threats or attacks) over the past five years, and 73% of American Jews said they felt safe attending Jewish institutions to which they are affiliated."
Those figures are good news only in the sense that they could have been worse.
The story to which I've linked you above also says that "the survey also shows that 38% of American Jews changed their behavior in the past 12 months out of fear of antisemitism. (That includes avoiding certain places or not wearing items of clothing that might identify them as Jews.) That figure has remained steady since 2021."
Antisemitism has deep roots in historic Christian anti-Judaism, as I describe in this essay found elsewhere on my blog. What that means is that Christianity has a special responsibility to undo the anti-Jewish preaching and teaching that has stained it almost since its beginning. And, indeed, many Christian branches have taken helpful steps to do just that. But so far it's not enough and neither, obviously, has it solved the problem.
If you're part of a Christian congregation and/or denomination, find out what it's doing to help. Same if you're a member of another faith tradition. And find resources to educate yourself and those around you. In the Kansas City area, that includes the Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee, the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education and SevenDays. I serve on the boards of the last two agencies.
If we devote time and energy to this problem, maybe next year's AJC survey will be more encouraging. In the meantime, I direct you to this Tablet column, which looks at the issue of antisemitism through one person's eyes. It's a good read.
* * *
AND THERE'S THIS KIND OF HATRED, TOO
There are, of course, religious hatreds beyond antisemitism. Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who wants to be president, no doubt experienced some of them as the daughter of Indian immigrants. Haley grew up Sikh but later converted to Christianity. This RNS column by another daughter of Indian immigrants describes what she -- and Haley -- went through in their girlhoods in the South because of their non-Christian heritage. As Khyati Y. Joshi writes, "Particularly for our generation of 1.5- and second-generation South Asian Americans who identify as Sikh, Hindu, Muslim or Jain, religious identity is a source of struggle, strife and isolation." In an increasingly pluralistic nation, the question is why that's still true. By now we should be a nation that embraces religious diversity in our population because it strengthens us.
* * *
P.S.: The Dialogue Institute in the Kansas City area is hosting a Turkic food fair fundraiser for earthquake victims from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, at its offices at 4215 Shawnee Dr., Kansas City, Kan. You're asked to RSVP via email to kansascity@thedialogueinstitute.org.
Medibank Private has started to stem the loss of customers after last years cyberattack, which exposed the details of 9.8 million current and former customers, with the private health insurer signing up new policyholders.
Medibank on Thursday reported that it had added 200 new policyholders in the first 18 days of this month, reversing a net exodus of 13,000 policyholders in the December quarter in response to the damaging cyber incident.
Medibank faces a class action in the Federal Court over the damaging cyber attack. Credit: Kara Lau
Medibank said the cost of the cyberattack topped $26 million for the December half year and is expected to be as much as $45 million for the full year. This only covers the costs of dealing directly with the incident and not the additional costs of the investor lawsuits and regulatory action.
The loss of customers in the December quarter partially offset the boom in Medibanks international business, with the insurer adding more than 33,400 customers for the half year as international student, visitors and workers returned to Australia post-COVID.
But aspects of Lethleans verdict on a new Perth restaurant seem to have crossed a line, with its publisher, News Corp-owned food site Delicious, abruptly pulling the review down and asking the writer who once worked at The Age to remove his own Instagram post promoting the review. Now, we dont know for sure what prompted Delicious to remove the review from the interwebs weve asked, and they havent responded but a quote from the piece, reproduced in Lethleans Instagram post, provides a clue. And the maitre d/meet and greeter wears an outfit that threatens to expose more than just her inexperience when she bends over to set a table, Lethlean wrote. There has been quite the backlash, with hundreds of online posts decrying the treatment of the restaurant worker and demanding an explanation and apology from Delicious. Lethlean told us from Canada that the publisher asked him to remove the Instagram post whether he was happy about it is hard to tell from a text message and referred our other questions to Delicious editor Kerrie McCallum.
Well let you know when we get a response. The restaurant owners have not responded to a request for comment. SAFE DINING Remember when Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said people in Melbourne were afraid to go out to restaurants? Something about African gang members booking all the tables at the citys tastier establishments, or something like that. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton campaigning in the seat of Aston with Liberal candidate Roshena Campbell on Wednesday. Credit: Joe Armao
Well, something has changed. It could be that Peters just got more guts than your average weak-kneed Melburnian, or maybe his new-ish job is hungry work. But one thing is for sure: he went out to dinner in Melbourne on Tuesday night and he didnt appear a bit nervous about it, telegraphing his intentions, in a move that must have given his security detail conniptions. Duttons statement on Tuesday marking the partys pick of City of Melbourne councillor and former columnist for The Age Roshena Campbell as the Liberal candidate for the Aston byelection, contained a pointed reference to his intention to head out to dinner we think the LOTO might have been laughing in the face of danger with that line. Anyhoo, Dutton made it through the evening in one piece, CBD is relieved to report, telling reporters in Aston on Wednesday that he had a quiet dinner in Chinatown with a couple of friends. So, not a big gang then. TROUGH TIMES Authorities at Canberras Parliament House have turned down the heat on some trouble cooking at the buildings canteen, affectionately known as The Trough.
There have been rumblings that the buffet which used to dish up delights like prawn and bacon goulash or potato and porcini soup has lost its sense of culinary adventure and become a bit samey. Korean fried chicken is a particular staple, the complainants say, alongside beef short rib and shin, roast potatoes, steamed vegetables and chicken schnitzel, described as pan-fried cardboard by one of the big houses inmates. We asked the Department of Parliamentary Services what was cooking, and they told us it just so happened theyd been hearing the same thing and had decided to shake things up a bit, starting Wednesday. DPS will be offering more variety and options in our menu, starting today; the Staff Dining Room menu will be updated every Wednesday, a spokeswoman said. The offering will include vegan, vegetarian, and low-gluten options across the menu, along with all the favourites that are consistently popular.
Some items have become a regular feature because of the popularity. CBD knows for a fact that the Korean chicken is a fan favourite, and is heartened to hear its going nowhere. PEAK SCOMO Just a year ago, former prime minister Scott Morrison told this masthead he wasnt interested in legacies. Now that hes exiled to the backbench after leading the Liberals to a historic election drubbing, Morrison is making it clear he wants a legacy after all, and to be remembered as a practical, can-do realist on foreign affairs, who stood up to Xi Jinpings China like no one else.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has been talking up his achievements. Credit: James Brickwood This Morrisonian brand of historical revisionism was on full display when the ex-PM appeared on a podcast hosted by former Australian scribe turned Liberal policy adviser Paul Maley to discuss the AUKUS pact, and his approach to China. We stood up to them across a broad range of fronts, he told Maley. This did really discombobulate what the Chinese government thought about Australia. The only one truly discombobulated here is Morrison. That the relationship with Beijing started thawing the second we got a new government changed in Canberra is more than coincidence.
Elsewhere, we get more examples of the tactless, bulldozing approach to diplomacy that helped usher in that historic deterioration in Sino-Australian relations. Morrison chuckles as he dismisses the rather blatant commercial perspective of France on the AUKUS agreement, with little recollection of Emmanuel Macrons accusing him of lying over Australias tearing up of a $90 billion submarine deal. He also claims Chinese Communist Party operatives were interfering with a 2017 Bennelong byelection by ... speaking to Chinese-Australian voters in Chinese. Perhaps had his own party done the same, they might not have lost the seat at the last election. The whole thing is peak Morrison a disinclination to take responsibility for failures, and a scarcely believable degree of magical thinking around his own successes and how they are perceived.
Its not easy to avoid Stan Grant these days. The ABC presenter is holding down the permanent gig at the broadcasters weekly Q&A binfire, pops up all over Auntys radio and TV shows as international affairs analyst, and publishes a lengthy weekly column on the corporations website.
Chuck in various academic and think-tank gigs as well, as all those books he writes, and its a wonder Grant can find the time to join his fellow ABC stars Leigh Sales, Michael Rowland, Annabel Crabb and a bunch of others on the lucrative corporate speaking scene.
Stan Grant: See him here, see him there. Credit: John Shakespeaer
So if youre as keen on the sound of Stans voice as the man himself appears to be, then do yourself a favour and get hold of a ticket to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) conference kicking off in Brisbane on Wednesday where Stan has been hired for the official welcome to the Brissie Exhibition Centre, ably assisted by ASFAs independent chairman Gary Dransfield, but dont expect to hear too much from him.
Delegates will be hearing more from Grant a little later in the morning when he joins researcher Troy Hunt and PwCs Philippa Cogswell for a natter about cybersecurity.
Australias threatened animals live under constant pressure on all sides, vulnerable to feral species such as cats and foxes, the human destruction of their habitat, soaring levels of plastic pollution, and a rapidly warming climate.
But sometimes they also make a recovery. Twenty-nine Australian animal species 15 mammals, four frogs, eight birds, one reptile and one fish have pulled back from the brink of extinction to the extent they no longer meet the criteria for being listed as threatened, according to research published in the journal of Biological Conservation.
The humpback whale is one of 29 Australian threatened animal species to have made a recovery. Credit: Todd Cravens/Wikimedia commons
They include well-loved animals such as humpback whales, Murray cod and cassowary, and lesser-known species including the burrowing bettong and Flinders Ranges worm-lizard.
While these animals represent less than 10 per cent of Australias threatened wildlife, the group of highly regarded scientists behind the research says each species recovery should be celebrated, and provide lessons on the factors underpinning their success.
If we censor anything that is too scary for kids or too honest, we are not giving them a chance to think about the issues.
Margaret Collings, Anglesea Dont hobble our time machine
I have no problem with rewriting the work of Enid Blyton (po-faced), Mary Grant Bruce (racist), etc, as these books were insufferable to a young child even in the 60s. But please leave Arthur Ransomes Swallows and Amazons alone. Are we going to ban old films in which glamorous people and emancipated women smoked and drank? Goodbye Casablanca, The Big Sleep, Nosferatu (oh, dear, foreign vampires), The Great Gatsby (marital infidelity) ... Jane Austen and the Brontes are in danger too. I could go on to Confessions of an Opium Eater, My Secret Life and Krafft-Ebing but will leave it to common sense to decide whether we can accept that The past is another country, they do things differently there.
Dont deny readers the experience of what must surely be the cheapest and best form of travelling in space and time.
R McIntosh, Camberwell THE FORUM Concessions given
The Coalition believes people should be allowed to access their superannuation to help purchase a home. They say its your money so we should be able to do that. However, they conveniently overlook that the taxpayer has funded tax concessions for superannuation.
These concessions are offered to encourage people to plan for their retirement and not to be used for other discretionary spending. If the Coalition is so worried about housing affordability then it should support the abolition of negative gearing where investors and speculators are competing in the housing market with genuine home buyers.
Ian Bennett, Jan Juc Inflating house prices
The former Coalition governments scheme allowing access to superannuation was another Band-Aid solution to the housing crisis from yet another government afraid to take a hard decision about a basic social need and home security. Subsidies, stamp duty refunds, cash handouts and tax incentives have all contributed to developers profits and investors growing portfolios rather than addressing the problem. The Super Home Buyer Scheme is nothing more than buy now, pay later. Fine, you may get your home, but bricks and mortar wont pay your bills when your super runs out. We should grandfather existing tax incentives and subsidies and replace them with a 10-year period of tax-deductible home loan interest (not for investment properties). This does not increase borrowing capacity or throw tax money at developers it builds equity. You get a house and also get to keep your super for when you need it.
Stephen Farrelly, Donvale We have a limit
How out of touch can Peter Dutton and the Coalition get? We were told (Dutton slams super overhaul, 21/2) the Coalition is concerned the government could start taxing multimillion-dollar deposits at a higher (than 15 per cent) rate. Dutton was also quoted saying: I suspect well see more and more taxes at a time when Australians can afford it less and less.
Remember, the deposits have been pumped up with taxpayer funds (via tax concessions), and tax is only paid on the income the deposits earn. Taxpayers should not be funding multimillion-dollar super accounts.
Andrew Taylor, Canterbury Cap is in hand
People holding excessively large balances in their superannuation accounts have again become the subject of some commentary. However, this is largely a legacy issue from the time Peter Costello was treasurer. The rules now place an annual cap on amounts that can be contributed into superannuation, and if your total super balance exceeds the super transfer balance cap of $1.7 million (at June 30, 2022), you are not permitted to make any further non-concessional contributions.
Garry Meller, Bentleigh Loading History repeating
Matthew Guy said before last years state election that the radical conservative views of his partys candidate for top spot in the upper house seat of the Western Metropolitan Region, Moira Deeming, were in the past. He was wrong. Deemings inaugural speech (New Liberal MP uses first speech to slam equality taken to extremes, 22/2), reiterating the same radical views that she held in the past, could have been written for her by the former member for this electorate, Bernie Finn, who was expelled by the Liberal Party for his extreme views. It seems the Liberal Party has not learned from its mistakes.
John Togno, Mandurang
Unappealing to voters
The Liberal Party is mistaken if it thinks standing more women for parliament will get it elected. What it needs is more female voters. Moira Deemings first speech to state parliament shows how a Liberal woman criticising all and sundry can be just as unappealing to female voters as her male predecessor doing the same. Women dont vote for women just because theyre women. Perhaps a whole-of-party change to more progressive, caring politics is in order.
Julia Thornton, Surrey Hills Ministerial conflict
Victorian Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson signed off on a briefing note regarding Treasurys award of multimillion-dollar contracts to three banks including, apparently absent-mindedly, to one he has shares in. It shouldnt have happened, but seems a forgivable oversight (Minister apologises for share conflict, 22/1). The circumstances of federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland are different. Before becoming minister, she accepted about $19,000 from a gambling company, regulated within the communications portfolio. The amount is below the donation disclosure threshold and she didnt disclose it. The situation created an immediate conflict of interest for Rowland as an MP, that increased significantly upon her appointment as minister. Her promise now not to accept any more money from gambling firms is irrelevant (Rowland
says she will refuse bet firm donations, 22/1). She cannot be allowed to remain responsible for gambling regulation.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills Personal safety lacking
The link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer was established decades ago and yet cigarettes are still able to be purchased readily over the counter. Compare this with the current situation and the strident calls for engineering stone to be banned (The Age, 21/1). This stems from the increasing number of workers being diagnosed with silicosis, following exposure to dust when the stone is cut.
In many workplaces, responsibility for personal safety is sadly lacking.
Recently, I observed two workers out on a footpath cutting a stone benchtop. Neither of them wore any protective equipment and they were shrouded in a thick cloud of dust. Similar materials such as tiles are safely cut on site, using water to prevent dust. There is no call for these products to be banned.
Bruce Chisholm, Camberwell Inspiring story
Ive been involved in education for 46 years. The story of how 16 of the top 20 schools results under NAPLAN testing were government schools (State schools dominate list of NAPLAN high achievers, 22/2) was perhaps one of the best stories I have read in all that time. It tells you everything about education. About dedication and aspirations and teachers who understand the needs of their children. All the schools featured were confident. All of them faced significant challenges but overcame them. Above all, it says something about the human spirit. So much of what I have read about funding and facilities, the great advantages of this and that school, this or that approach, or the slick marketing were all fed the notion of chequebook education melts away. Bring together young people from anywhere in this world, from any background, put them with trained people who really care, give them the resources, and something special, almost magical, will happen. Congratulations to all.
John Kilner, Castlemaine Free speech has limits
Adelaide Writers Week director Louise Adler says she is surprised and disappointed by law firm MinterEllisons decision to remove its presence from the festival because they are advocates for free speech (Law firm boycotts festival over inclusion of Palestinian authors, 22/2).
The Writers Week has now been widely condemned for featuring at least two guests who have made several anti-Semitic statements. As well as her offensive comments about Ukraine, Susan Abulhawa calls Israelis Nazis and Israel an abomination that must be destroyed. As well as the tweets mentioned in the article, Mohammed El-Kurd has written in one poem about Israelis harvesting Palestinians organs. Contrary to those who claim that slurs against Israelis cant be anti-Semitic, calling Israelis Nazis, calling the Jewish state an abomination that must be destroyed or substituting the word Israelis for Jews in blood libels is very much anti-Semitism. MinterEllisons decision shows they understand the difference between free speech and racism. Its a shame Adler cant.
Jamie Hyams, senior policy analyst, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, South Melbourne Writers smeared
Palestinian writers Susan Abulhawa and Mohammed El-Kurd have been falsely defamed for alleged anti-Semitism and hate speech for criticising the century-long genocidal abuse of indigenous Palestinians by Zionists. Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism.
Gideon Polya, Macleod Courageous stand
Louise Adler must be congratulated for not caving into pressure to ban two Palestinian authors from the Adelaide Writers Week. She will no doubt come under much criticism as a result of her fair-mindedness. It is a shame she could not have an impact over the unjust changes being transacted through the Israeli parliament at present.
Rob Park, Surrey Hills Blind to the reality
The owners of Lime/Neuron (E-scooter pledge over dodgy riders, 22/2) must live in a different world to the citizens of Carlton. Here, the e-bikes are typically raced then abandoned on footpaths I have to move about six each day.
Mark Cleary, Carlton
Absurd situation
It is illegal to ride privately owned e-scooters on public roads, bike lanes and, of course, on footpaths. But where else can you ride them? Who has any private property expansive enough, and smoothly surfaced enough, for meaningful e-scooter riding? It is absurd that those things can be legally sold and owned while their only realistic use is illegal.
Ralph Bohmer, St Kilda West And another thing Credit: Illustration: Andrew Dyson Roald Dahl edited
What next? Rewriting Eric Carles The Very Hungry Caterpillar because it may encourage children to overeat?
Lisa Bishop, Macleod
Are we also getting rid of wicked stepmothers from stories, considering we have so many blended families these days? Thats going to muck up Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
Robyn Westwood, Heidelberg Heights Updated language will not change history. Anyway, history is for remembering.
Dawn Evans, Geelong Politics
The views espoused in new Liberal MP Moira Deemings maiden speech reinforced that the state Coalition will be sitting on the opposition benches for years to come.
Mark Hulls, Sandringham Albo everywhere ... except Hawaii.
Peter Campbell, Newport Superannuation is meant to provide for a secure retirement, not be a vehicle for wealth creation. Reforms definitely needed.
Peter Heffernan, Balaclava
Furthermore
Groundbreaking research has confirmed Earth has five internal layers, not four. Brilliant.
Rod Watson, Brighton East The parliamentary inquiry into the October floods promises to investigate ... whether corporate interests influence decision-making. Is the Pope a Catholic?
Ross Ogilvie, Woodend Three loud cheers for state schools and their teachers who battle on with insufficient resources and little recognition or thanks for their diligence.
Jane Ross, San Remo Sponsorship of literary events should be unconditional, trusting the organisers wisdom and skills. The line between boycott and censorship is wafer thin.
Mary Cole, Richmond The only way forward to resolve the packaging issue is to enforce retailers to accept back packaging from the products they sell.
Steve Flounders, Kyneton
A Melbourne dominatrix who requested that her slave attack her boyfriend enough to scare him out of town has been sentenced to more than six years in prison after the pairs victim died of his injuries.
Justice Michael Croucher said Heide Bos harebrained plan to have another man attack partner Nicolas Cameron, 39, went sour when the accused killer went further and fatally bludgeoned the victim with a hammer and knife in the car park of his Southbank apartment complex in 2021.
Heide Bos pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Credit:
Croucher said Bos, 37, was in an on-again-off-again relationship with Cameron when she met another man Stuart Lindsay Heron on a website for people interested in BDSM, fetish and kink.
The pair soon entered into a dom and slave arrangement before Bos disclosed that her boyfriend was nasty and controlling.
Embattled Melbourne lawyer Pat Lennon allegedly made sexual advances towards at least two former female clients who had also borrowed money from a company called Argyle Lending, which is owned by his wife Jane.
The 59-year-old, who is separately facing drug possession and trafficking charges in the Melbourne Magistrates Court, appears to have offered one of the women a reduction on her loan fees if she agreed to his requests.
Melbourne lawyer Pat Lennon is facing a new string of allegations.
Both women asked not to be identified, and have provided The Age with emails and SMS exchanges that reveal Lennon making a string of threats and inappropriate comments.
Pay your money you c---. I told you, Lennon said in an SMS exchange in August 2020.
A live exporter charged over the deaths of thousands of sheep in an incident that sparked widespread debate and tighter restrictions on the trade is set to head to trial after losing an 11th-hour appeal bid.
Perth-based ship operator Emanuel Exports was charged with animal cruelty offences after 2400 sheep died in searing heat on board the Awassi Express in 2017.
Footage from 2017 showing sheep dying in horrific conditions on a ship to the Middle East helped turn public opinion against live sheep trade. Credit: Animals Australia
The ship left Fremantle with 63,804 sheep bound for the Middle East, travelling to Qatar before reaching Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
About 3.7 per cent of the animals on board died over the course of the 21-day journey, well above the 2 per cent threshold required to trigger a government inquiry.
Adjacent to a set of cricket nets near Westfield Knox, Roshena Campbell padded up for her first press conference as the new federal Liberal candidate for Aston.
Displaying her status as a newcomer, she needed to be reminded to look directly into the camera lens instead of speaking in the direction of the journalists quizzing her.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton campaigning in the seat of Aston with Liberal candidate Roshena Campbell on Wednesday. Credit: Joe Armao
But the 38-year-olds attacks on Labors infrastructure agenda and economic priorities were razor-sharp.
Next to her, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton who kept away from the Victorian election in November was on the ground for the second time in a week in Melbournes eastern suburbs to win votes in the upcoming byelection.
A University of Mary student accused of making a bomb threat allegedly told officials he meant it as a joke and didnt expect it to result in a campus lockdown.
Chase Hoechst, 19, of Bismarck, is charged with felony terrorizing in connection with the Feb. 17 incident, court records show. He could enter a plea at a March 27 court appearance.
The FBI about midday on the Friday of the incident notified the Burleigh County Sheriffs Department that a message stating, Im going insane. ... I planted pipe bombs in the caf bathrooms had been sent out on a social media platform, according to an affidavit filed Tuesday. Authorities linked the phone number associated with the post to Hoechst.
Hoechst told deputies he had posted the message about 6:30 p.m. the day before, the affidavit states. He allegedly said hed seen a response to a bomb threat two years earlier when he was in high school, and that it resulted in a lockdown and students being sent home for the day, the document says.
The U-Mary bomb threat prompted a shelter-in-place order that lasted for about an hour and 40 minutes while deputies searched the campus. No explosive devices were found.
Hoechst faces a possible five-year prison sentence if convicted. The attorney listed for him in court records declined to comment when contacted by the Tribune.
Housing Minister Julie Collins will have to build more homes than the government planned if she wants legislation for her key $10 billion housing investment fund to pass parliament.
Crucial Senate votes hinge on more ambitious commitments than the current plans for the federal government to fund 30,000 social and affordable homes in the first five years of its Housing Australia Future Fund.
Labors $10 billion housing policy lives or dies with support from key senators. Credit: Natalie Boog
The housing fund legislation passed the House of Representatives last week. But a Coalition party room decision to vote against the fund earlier this month makes support from key senate crossbench parties and independents vital to passing the policy, and they believe the governments commitment is not enough.
Ahead of the next parliamentary sitting period in March, the Greens, independent senator David Pocock and the Jacqui Lambie Network are in talks about working as a bloc to encourage the government to go further.
The Victorian Electoral Commission says former Labor councillor Milad El-Halabi was unduly elected through voter fraud, but the 46,000 residents in Melbournes northern suburbs should not be forced back to the polls.
El-Halabi, his wife, Dianna, and daughter Tania deny criminal charges they allegedly stole ballots from mailboxes and fraudulently filled them out to support his election to the north-west ward of Merri-bek Council then City of Moreland in the 2020 local government elections.
Milad El-Halabi resigned from council last year. Credit: Facebook
He resigned a year ago after almost 18 months in office, representing voters in Glenroy, Hadfield and Pascoe Vale, to fight allegations he was responsible for any voter fraud, and was replaced with new councillor Monica Harte in a countback.
For more than two years, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has considered whether the election held entirely by postal vote because of the COVID-19 pandemic was tainted so badly it needed to be voided as a result.
London: JK Rowling has urged people to abandon black and white thinking on controversial issues, in an interview for a podcast series that addresses the trans backlash against her.
The Harry Potter writer said she did not care about her legacy, dismissing those who say she could have been remembered as a universally beloved childrens author if she had not entered the trans debate.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has been the subject of vicious hate campaigns on social media from critics who accuse her of transphobia. Credit: Getty
I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy, she said.
What a pompous way to live your life, walking around thinking, What will my legacy be? Whatever. Ill be dead. I care about now, I care about living.
Daniel Treisman of the University of California argues that these people and institutions are not accidental victims of the war, but one of its main targets. Ukraine, after all, posed no military threat to Russia. And a vast and sparsely populated country, spanning 11 time zones, could scarcely be said to need more territory. Rather, it was the gradual emergence in Ukraine of a vigorous civil society that successfully demanded reform of the state, and the inklings of a similar process in Russia, that Putin found threatening. Before the tanks rolled into Ukraine, Treisman notes, liberal values were spreading fast in Russia. The share of people who told pollsters that freedom of speech was important to them rose from 34 per cent in 2017 to 61 per cent in 2021. Record numbers were watching Navalnys YouTube channel. Meanwhile, television viewing, the governments main tool for shaping Russians outlook, was in sharp decline. Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has been jailed on and off for years. In October he was transferred to a high-security prison where he is kept in solitary confinement. Credit: AP The shift was driven by generational change. People born during Russias liberalisation in the 1990s tend to be more enterprising than their elders, less prone to rely on the state and more liberal on matters such as gay rights. In 2020, some 70 per cent of older Russians told the Levada Centre, a polling group, that they could not survive without the governments help, whereas only 27 per cent of people under 35 felt the same. And in 2018, despite the Kremlins propaganda, some 60 per cent of young Russians told Levada that they had a positive view of the United States. Putin and his crew understood that time was working against them because the young generation is not interested in their tv propaganda and does not believe that Russia is a besieged fortress encircled by enemies, or that the United States wants to conquer us, says Sverdlin. This week Navalny echoed that sentiment in a statement conveyed from his prison cell by his lawyers. Alexander Gabuev, who worked for a think-tank in Moscow forced to close last year, laments, This is a war against Russias future [ ] And Russias future will now be very different, regardless of the outcome of the war, from the one it might have been had February 24 not happened.
Optical illusions For one thing, the 500,000 people who have fled are among Russias best educated and most dynamic. They may not have had any say in politics even before the war, but their voices were nonetheless audible. No longer. Political debate, to the extent there is any in Russia now, occurs not between those who oppose the war and those who support it, but between patriots and turbo-patriots, who criticise Russian commanders for not being brutal and aggressive enough. The emergence of a chorus of wildly belligerent commentators has sparked a rhetorical arms race, in which all pundits and politicians who want to make a mark must stand out for the bloodthirstiness of their warmongering. Loading By amplifying pro-war voices while silencing common sense, Putin has achieved an illusion of total support for the war. People are presumably wary of expressing criticism of it in any form, but even so, some 20 per cent of Russians tell various pollsters they are against it. It is reasonable to assume that disquiet is far more widespread than that. Putin has managed to persuade the minority that it represents a majority, and the majority that it is a minority, says Leonid Volkov, Navalnys chief of staff. The polling conducted by Navalnys team, which operates from outside Russia, suggests that even among those who support the war, confidence in Putins wisdom is fast evaporating. Since the northern summer, the share of people who think that the special military operation is proceeding as planned has declined from 40 per cent to about 15 per cent. This is hardly surprising, given the rising death toll. In October, 6 per cent of Russians said they knew someone who had been killed in the war; by January that figure had doubled. Two-thirds of Russians know someone who has been mobilised or is fighting in the war.
In a recent interview Oscar Kuchera, an actor and television host, neatly captured the rudimentary views about Ukraine that are typical of many Russians. He simultaneously displayed confusion about the purpose of the war, misgivings about its progress, and ardent support for Putin and our boys on the front line. The idea of annexing Ukrainian territory is especially puzzling to him: Dont we have enough problems of our own without having to feed someone else? he asked. But he insisted that Putin must have good reasons for his land grab, even if a simple man like himself could not fully understand them. The notion that Putin might start a war out of malign or selfish motives is greeted with incredulity. Do you think he is insane? he asks his interviewer. Pocketbook patriots The idea that things are under control is bolstered by the stability of the economy. On the surface, Moscow looks much as it did before the war. Some popular Western brands McDonalds, Ikea have disappeared and some martial symbols have materialised. On Gogol Boulevard, a street gallery pays homage to fallen Russian heroes. Almost everyone walks by without stopping. The economy contracted by a little over 2 per cent last year, with the harm inflicted by sanctions largely offset by the benefit of massive export earnings thanks to high prices for oil and gas. Those were equivalent to about $US230 billion ($333 billion), or10 per cent of GDP, according to Re:Russia, a research network, almost compensating for the $US275 billion of capital that fled the country. The government has been able to boost its spending by a quarter, injecting an extra 5.5 trillion roubles ($107 billion) into the economy. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with mothers of military personnel at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow in November. Credit: AP
Monthly output in some import-dependent and consumer-facing industries, such as cars and pharmaceuticals, was 50 per cent lower by the end of 2022 than at the beginning. But arms manufacturing, naturally, has boomed. In Tatarstan a joint venture that made Ford cars has shut down, but a factory to make military drones in collaboration with Iran is being set up in the same city. Loading A lower oil price and sharply reduced sales of gas are likely to lead to a budget crunch this year. Eventually, the exodus of skilled workers will harm the economy. Since the start of the war Russia is estimated to have lost at least 100,000 IT specialists. But the bureaucracy has done a good job of adapting to the new circumstances, blunting the immediate impact of the brain-drain and sanctions. They see this as a quest, says Mikhail Komin, a political scientist who had surveyed the middle-level technocrats. They feel as much in demand as the military themselves. Uniform support In fact, the war has raised the status of technocrats, and of the army and security services even more so. The government wants to expand the army from its current 1 million soldiers to 1.5 million. That is 4 per cent of the male, working-age population, a higher share than in any other country bar North Korea. A third of the national budget goes to men in uniform. Spending on the armed forces this year has been revised up by 40 per cent compared with pre-war plans. Spending on domestic security meaning Putins machinery of repression is up by 50 per cent. Meanwhile, spending on healthcare has fallen by 9 per cent. The government also proposes to underline the rising status of men in uniform by pledging to set aside seats in the Duma, Russias already docile parliament, for military patriots. This is a class that depends on the state, and is extremely loyal to it, says Natalia Zubarevich, an academic.
A Ukrainian soldier passes a damaged Russian tank near Kharkiv in September. Credit: AP Culture and education have also been mobilised. Actors and artists who have spoken against the war have been expelled from state-funded theatres, and the names of unpatriotic playwrights have been removed from playbills even though their works continue to be performed. The latest victim is Lia Akhedzhakova, a famous Russian actress who has been pushed out of the Sovremennik Theatre after 45 years on its stage. Zelfira Tregulova, the director of the Tretyakov Gallery, which houses the biggest collection of Russian art, was dismissed for deviating from the Kremlins spiritual and moral values after a visitor complained that the gallerys contemporary work left him feeling pessimistic. Her replacement is the daughter of a senior official in the security services. In short, even though the material impact of the war is scant in much of Russia, the conflict is inescapable. Putins purpose in this war is to achieve a radical break from the West and thus maintain control over Russian society by moving it into a state of permanent struggle and mobilisation, says Kirill Rogov, the founder of Re: Russia. There is no reverse gear for Putin, a former senior official says. Any lack of progress on the battlefield is likely to be compensated for by ever-growing repression and purges, particularly as success becomes more elusive and casualties mount. The security services number 2.5 million, more than twice the size of the armed forces. Loading Russians who used to look to Europe for modernisation have been cut off from it, rather as when Stalin tightened his grip in the 1920s. Some have turned instead to China. Many opponents of Putin and his war see a Ukrainian victory as the best hope for Russia. Sverdlin, who ran the homeless charity in St Petersburg, is now trying to resist Putin from outside the country. His new volunteer group helps Russian soldiers desert and escape, often crossing Russias borders illegally. Since the northern autumn, his organisation has helped 4000 soldiers flee.
Ben Platt (center) and the cast of Parade at New York City Center in 2022
( Joan Marcus)
The first Broadway preview of the new Parade revival, starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond, was targeted by antisemitic protestors outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
Members of the hate group the National Socialist Movement gathered on 45th Street carrying hand-written signs and handing out flyers proclaiming that the show's protagonist, Leo Frank, was a "pedophile," according to eyewitnesses.
Parade, written by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, and coconceived by Harold Prince, tells the true story of Jewish factory superintendent Leo Frank, who is accused and convicted of raping and murdering a young girl in Georgia in 1913. The musical debuted at Lincoln Center Theater in 1998 and this new revival, directed by Michael Arden, was first seen in late 2022 at New York City Center.
On Instagram, Platt reflected on the day's events: "I got offstage and was looking at social media, and naturally the news of the fact that there were some protesters at our show has spread a lot, and that has kind of [been] the stamp on the evening, in terms of the public perception of the evening."
He added, "For those who don't know, there were a few neo-Nazi protesters from a really disgusting group outside of the theatre, bothering some of our patrons on their way in and saying antisemitic things about Leo Frank, who the show is about, and just spreading antisemitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place.
"If you don't know about it, I encourage you to look up the story and most importantly encourage you to come see the show, and it was definitely very ugly and scary but a wonderful reminder of why we're telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and, particularly, theater can be. And just made me feel extra, extra grateful to be the one who gets to tell this particular story and to carry on this legacy of Leo."
The show's producers added in a statement: "If there is any remaining doubt out there about the urgency of telling this story in this moment in history, the vileness on display tonight should put it to rest."
Parade opens on March 16 continues performances until August.
Playwrights Mariana Carreno King and Julissa Conteras will debut their new plays during INTAR's 2023 season.
(Art provided by INTAR)
INTAR Theatre has announced two world premieres to debut in the company's 2023 Mainstage season.
The first production will be Truckers, a play by Mariana Carreno King and directed by Alfredo Narciso. The cast features Christine Bruno, Jesse Castellanos, Jorge Chapa, Yadira Correa, and Jacqueline Guillen. Scenic design is by Raul Abrego, sound design by Jimmy Kavetas, costume design by Harry Nadal, and lighting design by Dalia Sevilla.
Truckers is described as follows: "Mayor, Lollipop, and Freckles don't know when they'll leave a truck stop with their unusual cargo, or where they'll be directed to take it next, but what the DO know is that things are really starting to get weird tonight. Between unexpected guests, a strange rest stop clerk, and otherworldly energies, the less questions they ask the better."
Performances of Truckers will run from Feburary 25-March 26 with an official March 6 opening.
Julissa Conteras's Vamonos will be next. Directed by Tatyana-Marie Carlo, the play is described as follows: "The Torres family of the Bronx are gathering at Juana's apartment to celebrate the christening of her grandson, Christopher. It's November 2002 and a year after 9/11. This hilarious, fun-loving Dominican family is navigating a new reality that challenges their sense of securityis America waging war in Iraq? When it's time to party, the Torreses still deliverthere's definitely too much food, adults harangue their kids a little, cousins gossip and argueand yet the comforts of home fall short." Cast and creative team will be announced at a later date.
Performances of Vamonos will run from April 22-May 21, with an official May 2 opening.
Bismarck-Mandan could see up to 9 inches of snow from a multiple-day winter storm crossing the country this week that has already led to one traffic fatality in North Dakota.
The National Weather Service is forecasting two waves of snow; 4.5 inches fell in the capital city on Tuesday, and another 2-4 inches is expected to accumulate on Wednesday and Thursday.
Bismarck Public Works officials said crews were plowing emergency routes and main arterial streets, and applying sand with salt brine to road surfaces. Residents were asked to move parked vehicles off streets to aid in snow removal.
The weather service posted a blizzard warning for southeastern North Dakota from Wednesday afternoon to midday Thursday.
"We're looking at wind speeds up to 50 mph in that blizzard area," said Corey King, weather service emergency response specialist in Bismarck.
Bismarck-Mandan was just to the west of the blizzard warning area, and under a winter storm watch through Thursday morning.
"With all the accumulating snow in the forecast, be aware that dangerous to life-threatening wind chills are expected early Wednesday morning through Friday," the weather service said in a statement. "If you must travel in areas with potential blizzard conditions, have a winter survival kit with plenty of warm clothing."
Wind chills -- the combination of air temperature and wind -- are forecast in the minus 30s and 40s throughout North Dakota early Wednesday through Friday morning as arctic air blankets the region. Frostbite can occur on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes in such conditions. The weather service posted wind chill warnings.
"The bottom line is that it's just going to be darn cold," King said.
The snow and cold are from what AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski terms a "massive winter storm that will stretch 2,600 miles from coast to coast across the northern United States."
Up to 2 feet of snow is forecast from eastern South Dakota into central Minnesota, with Minneapolis likely to see a record storm for February and possibly one of its all-time storms for any month, according to AccuWeather Meterologist Matt Benz. That could impact flights at the Minneapolis airport, a hub for many flights into and out of Bismarck. Interstate highways in the Upper Midwest could see closures.
"From about the Minneapolis metro area to parts of the Dakotas, blizzard conditions are in store with dangerous travel due to strong winds, heavy blowing and drifting snow," Benz said. "There is the risk of becoming stranded with a full-blown blizzard in open areas."
The National Weather Service said it had high confidence "that this winter storm will be extremely disruptive to travel, infrastructure, livestock and recreation in affected areas."
Poor travel conditions in eastern North Dakota on Monday led to multiple crashes on I-29 south of Grand Forks, according to the Highway Patrol. Nearly two dozen vehicles were involved, including several semitrailers. Portions of the interstate were closed for a time.
A Minnesota woman died when the car she was a passenger in collided with a semitrailer on a Grand Forks County road around midday Monday, amid blowing snow and on snow-covered roads, according to the Patrol. Authorities identified her as Stephanie Cluever, 26, of Little Falls, Minnesota.
Parshall City Auditor Kelly Woessner said the state auditor's office charged the city a $26,750 bill last year for conducting a citizen-petitioned audit.
The state fee "was just like a shell-shocker," she told the Tribune. "It was something that we just felt that should be changed."
State Auditor Josh Gallion and North Dakota lawmakers have clashed over proposed restrictions on audit fees charged to local governments, fees Woessner said can strain small communities. As a comparison, Parshall's audit costs totaled $39,200 from 2016-20, when an independent firm audited the city.
Rep. Emily O'Brien, R-Grand Forks, said she brought House Bill 1508 to cap audit fees after she probed concerns of increases and discrepancies in various costs.
The House passed the bill earlier this month in a 54-40 vote, then passed an amended version, 58-36, on Tuesday. The bill goes to the Senate.
Gallion said he looks forward to continued discussions around the bill and local government audits, but called 1508 "not the right approach." He supports a Senate bill to address audit issues for local governments, which he said face a backlog of 600 years of audits.
The state auditor and lawmakers have sparred in recent years over how he has handled audit findings, such as publicizing audits before lawmakers are aware of findings, and notifying the attorney general of irregularities in one instance that sparked a monthslong criminal investigation but resulted in no charges.
Transparency?
Gallion, the second-term Republican auditor, disputed that his office's billing "is getting out of hand." Local governments can choose a private firm "or us," he added.
Auditor spokeswoman Emily Dalzell said the office's rate is "significantly lower than the private sector," being a $112 per hour average compared to a $157 per hour average to go to a private firm.
The bill would require audits performed by the state auditor to be reviewed and approved by a certified public accountant, according to Rep. Mike Brandenburg, R-Edgeley.
The bill had sought to cap audit fees for local governments at one-one-thousandth of a percent of their annual operating budget, and sought retroactive reimbursement from the state auditor for audit fees charged to North Dakota colleges and universities since July 2021, among its changes.
Those components "will be discussed in appropriate budgets coming further," Brandenburg told the House on Tuesday.
Gallion last week said the previous version of 1508 would undercut his office and its ability to pay its local government audit team.
He said his office's audit costs range from $10,000 to $20,000, depending on size and scope. The office's local government audit team "operates like a small business," charging an hourly billing rate that covers those employees' salaries and operating costs, he said.
"It's not like we are billing exorbitant prices and then we have some stockpile of cash somewhere," he said.
The office does have "minimal funds on hand" to help get from one pay period to the next if billings are late or if clients don't pay on time, he said.
O'Brien said state government has the check and balance of the Legislature to set fair rates for audit fees, and she questioned where all the money goes.
Gallion "should want to set the standard for transparency and not take it as offensive," she said.
CPA
Gallion said he found the CPA requirement "somewhat offensive" because his office is "much more than numbers and just financials" with a diverse background of disciplines, such as a medical auditor who is a registered nurse.
"How is a CPA going to review her work and add value?" said Gallion, who has bachelor's degrees in accounting and business administration and a master's degree in business administration, and is a military veteran.
O'Brien told the House the CPA requirement aligns with a similar one in state law for local governments using a private auditor.
"The office with the authority to do the audit should also meet that requirement," she said Tuesday.
Parshall
Parshall is not paying the $26,750 bill.
"We have been standing our ground on that," said Woessner, who called audits "good for a community" but disputed there was anything wrong with the city's finances.
She said state auditor personnel "spent a total of six hours in my office one day," with email correspondence for "everything else," such as records.
Woessner said bills such as the one charged to Parshall could "really put a strain on a lot of smaller cities."
Batavia, NY (14020)
Today
Mainly clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable..
Tonight
Mainly clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.
State lawmakers this week advanced two competing bills for the future of North Dakota's public employee pension plan, including how to handle its $1.9 billion shortfall.
The two bills diverge on whether to preserve the defined-benefit public pension plan or transition to a defined-contribution plan, or a 401(k)-style plan, for future employees. The union that represents state employees wants to stick with the pension plan.
The Senate and House of Representatives will exchange the bills, setting up what the top House Republican said is likely to come down to a House-Senate conference committee at the session's end.
"I'm sure it will," said House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, who led the Legislature's interim Retirement Committee and has shepherded its bills.
The pension plan as of last year had more than 53,000 members, including more than 23,000 current employees and nearly 14,000 retirees and beneficiaries.
Looming over the Legislature is the pension plan's unfunded liability, nearing $2 billion.
"Either way, something has to be done," said Rep. Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield.
Senate
The Senate on Tuesday passed Senate Bill 2239 by Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, in a 34-13 vote.
The bill seeks to preserve the pension plan with a $250 million infusion from the general fund in the 2023-25 biennium and contributions from the state over the next three decades. Cleary's bill would increase employee contributions by 1% and employer contributions by 3.6%, according to Cleary.
The bill also would expand the option of enrolling in the state's defined-contribution plan to all employees. Cleary's bill "gives everyone the choice of both, who is coming in as a new employee," he said.
"This plan offers a choice between the defined-benefit and the defined-contribution (plans), allowing us to recruit and retain a talented state workforce. I believe it does this in the most fiscally responsible way," Cleary told the Senate.
House
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed House Bill 1040, advanced by the Retirement Committee, 77-16.
The bill, which Gov. Doug Burgum supports, would take effect in 2025 for putting new hires on a defined-contribution plan.
It essentially proposes a 20-year plan, updated every two years, for calculations of components to make the pension plan solvent, including a one-time infusion of $240 million from a state fund derived from oil taxes.
The bill also would allow public employees enrolled in the pension plan and hired in the last five years to switch to the bill's defined-contribution plan, "a $10,000 incentive to go into their defined-contribution plan if they stay a full, additional three years," Weisz said.
"The more (employees) you move out into the defined-contribution plan right away, the less your obligation will be down the road," Weisz told the Tribune.
He said the portability of a defined-contribution plan will appeal to younger, newer employees who "are much more mobile. They don't necessarily plan to stay at the state for 25 years."
House Bill 1379 by Lefor -- which passed 77-16 -- and 1040 seek to put $70 million deposits every two years from earnings of the state's oil tax savings into the pension fund to help make it solvent, beginning in 2025.
Among its calculations, local governments participating in the plan would have to contribute an additional 1% as the employer, said Rep. Scott Louser, R-Minot.
When the defined-benefit plan will run out of money depends on a number of factors, including how many retirees are being paid, how long they live, and what future salaries are, according to Lefor.
In 2000, the plan was 114% funded; now it's about 65%, according to Lefor, who called that drop "unsustainable." The state for years hasn't put in money to address the unfunded liability, he said.
"To continue down the road of a defined-benefit is like buying two tickets on the Titanic, knowing full well what's going to happen," Lefor told the House. "It's a terrible strategy. It doesn't bode well for the taxpayers. It doesn't bode well for our future employees."
The leader said 1040 offers a competitive benefit for younger, future public employees who want "portability" in their retirement plans, amid state government turnover of 38% in the last three years.
Rep. Corey Mock, D-Grand Forks, raised concerns about the bill's "frightening" costs to future legislatures.
"What could those dollars be spent on?" Mock said. "How many new industries could we support or invest in? How many new tax cuts could we pass?"
The House killed 1039, which differed from 1040 only in its effective date.
The House also killed House Bill 1486, by Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, 15-78. The bill would have required local governments to help cover the pension plan shortfall. About 60% of employees participating in the plan are employees of local governments, being cities, counties and school districts.
A new book on the Reagan administration and the battle to win the Cold War gets something that others miss: it was a team effort, and one that was met with both left-wing and White House opposition. But the president and his NSC head believed they were doing Gods work. Literally.
Of all the writers in the limited universe of Reagan biographers (myself included), William Inboden is one I have never met. His Amazon page shows only one previous book. I was surprised by the release of his major work on Reagan, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink, covering nearly 600 pages, augmented by many endnotes referencing numerous primary sources. The first thing that will strike anyone who grabs this thick book is the added weight of the endorsers, an impressive mix of historians, scholars, and policymakers: John Lewis Gaddis, Robert Gates, Paul Kennedy, Hal Brands, Graham Allison, among others. Several of them commend Inbodens work as one of the very best on Ronald Reagans foreign policy.
As someone who has written eight books on Reagan (half of them listed in Inbodens bibliography), I must add my name to those praising this one. It is unquestionably one of the best on Reagans presidency and particularly on his effort to peacefully win the Cold War.
That word peacefully says much. It is one I always try to use when writing or speaking on Reagans remarkable victory. Again and again, Im careful to say not only that Reagan won the Cold War but that he peacefully won the Cold War. Typically, of course, when we hear of someone winning a war, we visualize ships and tanks and guns and grenades and exploding missiles and all the various technological innovations and initiatives. In Ronald Reagans case, we need to think of those as well, especially his game-changing Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), but we need not visualize them exploding. The genius in Reagans strategy to win the Cold War was never to use those weapons. Unlike others who developed arsenals to win wars, Reagans goal was to build up in order to build down. He pursued those weapons and initiatives as defensive measuresthat is, so they would never need to be used.
Reagan called this peace through strength. Those three words capture succinctly the strategy behind his national-security thinking.
For instance, Reagan deployed Pershing II intermediate-range nuclear forces (INFs) in Europe not to blast the USSR to smithereens, as his hysterical opponents insisted he was intending, but as bargaining chips to prompt Moscow to remove its own INFs from Eastern Europe. Eventually, under Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union did just that. Gorbachev and Reagan met at the Washington Summit in December 1987, where they signed the INF Treaty, the first-ever treaty to ban an entire class of nuclear weapons. It was extraordinary, and Reagans big-mouthed critics were stunned into silence.
With the INFs, Reagan had built up in order to build down.
As Inbodens book might put it (his opening epigraph is Matt. 5:9), Blessed are the peacemakers. Reagan, indeed, had sought to peacefully win the Cold War. And he was driven by a religious sense to literally do Gods will on behalf of peace. To that end, what first struck me about Inbodens book was that title, The Peacemaker, but not merely for the reasons Ive specified thus far. The title hit me for a special reason that speaks to one of the key Reagan figures highlighted in Inbodens book: Reagans closest and most important aide in the strategy and effort to peacefully take down the USSR: William P. Clark, the head of the National Security Council during the two most critical years of the Reagan effort to defeat Soviet communism, 1982 and 1983.
I was Bill Clarks biographer and came to know him almost like a grandfather. There was a Peacemaker other than Reagan himself that played a special role in Clarks lifeas well as in the Reagan plan itself. And it came from Clarks own grandfather.
Clarks grandfather, Robert E. Clark, was a pioneer who helped settle California, which in those days was wild country. He became a U.S. forest ranger. These were Teddy Roosevelts guys, the men who brought law and order to the Wild West and embodied the spirit and constitution of the Rough Rider turned president they proudly served. Bob Clark was one of the first forest rangers hired for TRs new U.S. Forest Service.
Bob met TR when the president rolled into Santa Barbara with the Great White Fleet for the Fourth of July celebration in 1908. Bob later received a commendationa pearl-handled Colt .45 revolver called The Peacemakeras a token of appreciation from the president for his service against lawlessness.
Bill Clark inherited that gun, which he brought with him as a memento to Sacramento when he became Governor Reagans chief of staff, and then also to Washington, when he became Reagans deputy secretary of state and then national security adviser. Reagan, a California transplant with a fondness for the Wild West and gunslingers, loved the Clark memento.
Fast forward several decades. In the fall of 1982, Reagan and Clark pursued the MX missile. The MX was an integral part of Reagans platform of peace through strength with the Soviets. Designed to carry multiple warheads, the missile would be deployed in mobile launchers. Research and development of the MX started before Reagan became president. By the time Reagan became president, however, some doubted whether the missile could be effectively deployed in a mobile manner. Many Democrats in Congress wanted to scrap the program.
Instead, Reagan talked of placing the MX in existing underground Minuteman missile silos. His multibillion-dollar plan began emerging in September 1982 and called for placing 100 missiles in silos, where they would be protected with thickly reinforced concrete and steel. As the Washington Post noted, the presidents decision would be heavily influenced by two men in particular: Secretary of Defense Cap Weinberger and Bill Clark.
The three men wished to devise a name for the MX, a name that would encapsulate the intent of the policy as well as performance. They thought of the Colt .45 owned by Clarks grandfather, now framed and hanging on the national security advisers office wall in the White House basement. Reagan, however, decided to tweak it a bit, suggesting a less aggressive namethe Peacekeeper.
On November 22, in a speech to the nation, Reagan announced his decision to deploy 100 MX missiles. Two weeks later, on December 7, Congress voted to reject funding. The Reagan team, however, would not give up without a fight. This meant an all-out campaign on behalf of the weapon, with Clark one of the central players.
As the debate over the MX intensified, so did the opposition. A left-wing, grassroots, anti-nuclear movement rose up around the country and the world, opposing not only the MX but also such Reagan defense programs as the Pershing II missile and B-1 bomber. The so-called nuclear freeze movement turned out massive protests throughout America and Western Europe, including a crowd of nearly one million in New York Citys Central Park. The freezers included celebrities and vocal leftist groups such as Physicians for Social Responsibility. It also included the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Clark, a devout Catholic, assumed a crucial and ultimately immeasurably valuable and successful role in dealing with the bishops.
Throughout his book, William Inboden recognizes the special role of individuals like Bill Clark in the effort to peacefully take down the USSR. The crucial chapters of the book, however, are The Battle Is Joined (chapter 4), Raising the Stakes (chapter 6), and The Maelstrom (chapter 7). In my own works on Reagan and the end of the Cold War, especially The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, plus my Clark biography, The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagans Top Hand (co-written by Patricia Clark Doerner), I pleaded with scholars to examine the extraordinary record of NSDDs (National Security Decision Directives) produced by Clark and team in 1982 and 1983. That was where the groundwork for peaceful victory was laid. Therein were the details of the plan developed by Clark and Reagan. William Inboden gets it.
That central section of Inbodens book is also critical because it deals (most notably in The Maelstrom) with the opposition and hostility of Secretary of State George Shultz and the conniving cabal of Jim Baker, Mike Deaver, Dick Darman, and even Nancy Reagan. They all turned on Clark in a nasty, devious way and sought to drive him out of office. Eventually, Clark exited in October 1983. Clarks main lieutenants on his NSC staff, brilliant young men like Roger Robinson, John Lenczowski, Sven Kraemer, and Ken deGraffenreid, were mortified and urged him to stay. They were in agony over the recklessly stupid and arrogant White House coup being orchestrated against their humble, beloved boss. But Clark stoically, confidently encouraged them not to worry. And he was ultimately proved right. As Clark and his president realized, the foundation for victory already had been laid and the course had been set.
All along, Clark, like Reagan, was buoyed by a strong sense, literally a spiritual sense, of what he and Reagan called the DP, the Divine Plan. They believed that they had established a policy and plan to peacefully end the Cold Wara plan that they hoped and prayed was Gods will.
It worked, and the rest is history.
Blessed are the peacemakers. Kudos to William Inboden for getting the story right.
2 Dead, 3 Injured in Explosion at Miami-Area Industrial Complex
Miami-Dade fire rescue officers stand by emergency trucks in Surfside, Fla., on July 2, 2021. (Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images)
An explosion and huge fire at an industrial complex in Medley, Florida, left two people dead and injured three more on Tuesday morning, police said.
The explosion shot a massive fireball and a plume of black smoke into the air, video from a nearby surveillance camera showed.
Two people lost their lives in the incident, Miami-Dade police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said.
Two others were in critical condition and receiving treatment at a local trauma center, while a third person was treated at the scene, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said.
The fire was finally put out at approximately 10 a.m. local time. The identities of the victims have not been released.
According to Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue, emergency crews responded to an explosion at about 8:42 a.m. on Tuesday morning in the 11300 block of Northwest S. River Drive.
Welding businesses and a truck-cleaning company are listed as operating at the address of the explosion.
Upon arrival, firefighters found a large plume of smoke and heavy fire coming from multiple vehicles, Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue reported in a Twitter post, sharing footage from the scene captured by CBS Miami.
Chopper footage from local media showed heavy black smoke and flames pouring out of multiple structures and multiple vehicles on the scene. A fuel truck completely engulfed in flames appeared to be the epicenter of the fire.
While the fire seemed to be confined to one business, several cars were destroyed as firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.
Miami-Dade Deputy Fire Chief Danny Cardeso described the scene as very hazardous with multiple vehicles burning with flammables and multiple power lines down.
That, coupled with five people in total needing rescue and needing care, it was a very challenging scene, he told reporters.
Officials from Miami-Dade Police confirmed an investigation into the blast is underway, conducted by arson unit investigators and homicide detectives. Right now investigators are still trying to find out exactly what caused this combustion, Miami-Dade Police Det. Luis Sierra told NBC Miami.
Medley comprises mostly industrial and commercial complexes. It is located about 12 miles northwest of downtown Miami.
Ohio Plant Explosion
The deadly explosion and fire at the Medley welding business comes just a day after another explosion at a metal manufacturing plant in Oakwood Village of Bedford, Ohio.
The Ohio explosion, which occurred on Monday at the I. Schumann and Co. metals plant, resulted in the death of at least one person and injuries to 13 others.
The plant produces copper, brass, and bronze alloys.
Witnesses told News 5 Cleveland that there were two explosions, the first being small, followed by a much stronger second explosion around 2:30 p.m.
Thick plumes of smoke rose into the sky after the explosion, and fire departments from across northeast Ohio were called in to address the fire.
Smoke rises from a metal manufacturing plant after an explosion in Bedford, Ohio, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Eric Downing via Reuters)
The plant is located about 70 miles north of East Palestine, Ohio, where a train derailment on Feb. 3 released toxic chemicals, and about 15 miles southeast of Cleveland.
Following the explosions, I. Schumann and Co. issued a statement confirming injuries to its employees and significant damage to the facility.
We will work alongside investigators in their search for answers as part of our commitment to Northeast Ohio, where we have been operating for more than 100 years, the family-owned factory said in a statement.
The cause of the explosions remains unclear.
Oakwood Fire Department Captain Brian DiRocco on Monday afternoon told reporters on the scene that 13 of those injured were taken to hospital. Many of them sustained burn wounds, and one person was being treated on-site.
One person was taken by LifeFlight helicopter and flown to a hospital for treatment, reported News 5 Cleveland.
Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.
400,000 Questionable Addresses Remain on Florida Voter Rolls, Watchdog Group Says
A view of the Okaloosa County courthouse in Crestview, Fla., from which 9,652 people were registered to vote in 2020. (Courtesy of Kris Jurksi)
A private, not-for-profit, conservative organization of political and social reformers has obtained evidence they say shows that Floridas voter rolls are a mess. And group members want something done about it.
The Florida Republican Assembly (FRA) cyber team analyzed the nearly 15 million names and addresses on the state voter roll, the groups vice president for voter integrity, Kris Jurski, told The Epoch Times.
In the review, they discovered that at least 400,000 Florida voter registrations did not have a standardized address and are, therefore, considered undeliverable by the United States Postal Service (USPS).
The voter rolls are filled with variation upon variation of the same address, Jurski said.
The bad guys know this. They do the same big-data analyses that we do. These unverifiable addresses are easily identified and are harvestable. They can be easily poached for illegal voting.
The FRA team carefully investigated the entire original cohort of questionable registrations which numbered over 500,000 and eliminated more than 100,000 that could be reasonably explained, Jurski said.
The whole premise of our election system is to have people vote from their valid residential address in order to influence the direction and conduct of their government.
A chart shows the best and worst Florida counties in terms of clean voter rolls. (Courtesy of Kris Jurski)
As of September 2022, about 220,000 voters who moved during the preceding four years were still registered to vote at their old address. And 18,000 of them voted in the November 2022 election, according to the FRA study.
That might not sound like much, but if they are concentrated in a small area, its enough to influence the outcome of many close local and even statewide elections, Jurski said.
FRA investigators also discovered that there were 24,000 duplicate votes cast in Florida in the 2020 presidential election. And they found that more than 100,000 Florida voters are registered to vote from business addressessomething that is not illegal in Florida.
However, the Florida Secretary of States office wrote in 2018 that the plain meaning of residence entails dwelling or living at a place The opinion also said that the determination of residency is a complex matter that must be considered on an individual basis.
The FRA study said there are instances of active military serving out-of-state who legitimately vote from a public building as their residence. There are also some families residing at the back or upstairs of their store and voting from that location. But many voters claiming residency in large public and commercial buildings that are clearly not designed for human habitation may not be qualified to vote.
An example of a commercial building from which thousands of people are registered to vote in Green Cove Springs, Fla. (Courtesy of Kris Jurski)
For example, there were 9,252 people registered to vote using the Okaloosa County Courthouse address, and 6,178 of those voters cast ballots in 2020, according to FRA.
About 2,000 of those registered to vote from the courthouse also listed a nearby campground as their place of residence and registered to vote from both addresses.
It is unclear why the 2,000 individuals are not registered to vote from the address at which they claim to live.
When a single voter has two or more addresses, it becomes quite confusing, or worse, said Jurski. This may be happening because they are filling out multiple forms, or county supervisors of elections may have for some reason changed their records.
FRA investigators said they found three or four instances around the state where a bad actor using one voter ID card received four ballots that had been sent to four different addresses.
More Investigation Needed
Jurski said that numerous cases unearthed by FRA analysts should be investigated by the police.
In an online statement, the Elections Division of the Florida Secretary of States office said in 2020 it received 262 complaints, 75 of which were referred to law enforcement or county prosecutors.
The Elections Division is continuing to receive and investigate complaints from citizens, the statement said.
The need for single-point delivery addresses for active military is often the reason given by Florida elections officials to explain why so many individuals vote from one building.
Indeed, its common for the government to assign a public building as a voting address to Floridians actively serving out-of-state in the military, Jurski said.
However, after investigating thousands of individual cases, FRA analysts found that, of the 2.000 voters who called the campground home, the vast majority were non-military.
Of the 1,870 people registered to vote from the address of the Okaloosa County Courthouse in Crestview, Florida, only 20 were found to be military.
State Asked to Explain
Jurski said he has not received a satisfactory explanation from election authorities as to why so many non-military voters are registered to vote from a government building.
A yacht club in Clay County has had patrons listing boat slips as their place of residency and using the address of a nearby commercial building to register to vote, the FRA study said.
Jurski says their problem, according to the 2018 Secretary of States opinion, is that neither a vehicle nor a vessel may be fairly characterized as a place where a person has a fixed abode, so they are using the building.
In this instance, 4,363 people from 50 different counties are registered to vote from that single address, he said.
Voting records show that 3,662 (over 84 percent) of them voted in 2020 using that addressa turnout percentage higher than the general population, according to Jurski.
Also in 2020, the Miami-Dade County elections office was the registered address used by 10,594 people, of which 6,734 voted in the November election, the FRA study found.
A single address delivery location in Miami-Dade County, Fla. from which thousands of people voted in 2020. (Courtesy of Kris Jurski)
Canvassers Discover Fictitious Addresses
We would never have been able to know about this kind of thing if it wasnt for the citizen volunteers from the Defend Florida organization, who knocked on 85,000 doors to verify who was living there, said Jurski. Their efforts uncovered some completely fictitious addresses.
Somehow these fake addresses are being entered into the voting rolls. And somehow these undeliverable addresses receive ballotsand somebody is voting them. This must be looked into further. We want to see legislation introduced to address this problem.
Though the GOP controls the governorship and both houses of the Florida legislature, Jurski said Its time for changes to be made or for some officials to lose their jobs.
With 400,000 voter registrations lacking a standardized address, bad things are happening, he said. For example, it is impossible for the names of move-aways to be picked up by the United States Postal Services National Change of Address (NCOA) registry, if they do not have a CASS [Coding Accuracy Support System] standardized address. That means thousands of these people are slipping through the cracks.
Keeping up with these moves is a terribly difficult task at best and is made worse by the lack of standardized addresses.
One Florida voter was issued a voter ID card for a street that doesnt exist. (Courtesy of Kris Jurski)
State Election Official Responds
Mark Ard, External Affairs Director for the Florida Department of State, told The Epoch Times that state election officials appreciate the publics involvement in the elections process, and that the state government is doing its due diligence to investigate the claims.
Ard said Gov. Ron DeSantis has allotted millions through his Framework for Freedom Budget to continue to improve and modernize the Florida voter registration system.
According to Ard, the USPS CASS database examined by citizen groups has limitations compared to the data captured by quality control at the local level.
While he praised the ongoing list maintenance procedures conducted by the states 67 county supervisors of elections, Ard did not explain why, given their efforts, 400,000 problematic addresses remain on the voter rolls.
In his email to The Epoch Times, Ard offered several reasons for many of the alleged erroneous registrations and the multiple people who vote from single point delivery locations. He mentioned remote rural locations with no mail delivery availablenursing homes, college campuses, apartment houses, and mobile home parksas legitimate explanations.
Jurski countered, saying that the FRA study took all of those scenarios into account in compiling its numbers.
Examples of multiple variations of a single address on Floridas voter rolls. (Courtesy of Kris Jurski)
What Is a Standardized Address?
A standardized address conforms to the USPSs Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS).
Consumers can find an example of a CASS standardized address consisting of their ZIP code plus four additional digits and a delivery point code on parcels sent to them by major online retailers.
Big companies use CASS standardized addresses to improve customer satisfaction through timely, problem-free deliveries. It also results in significant savings in shipping costs, including discounted postage rates, said Jurski.
Using the CASS standardized addresses, the NCOA can accurately track people that move within their community and state, as well as those who move out-of-state, to ensure updated and correct addresses for the use of the postal services individual and business customers, and even the government.
Purging the voter rolls of non-standardized and, therefore, undeliverable addresses and converting all voter registration addresses to the CASS format is a simple, cost-effective solution to the problem, according to Jurski.
Its not like we have to build a new Manhattan Project to solve this. A comprehensive implementation of the existing CASS system can remove all undeliverable addresses from the Florida voter rolls, he said.
ERIC Is Not the Answer
The state of Florida will pay $575,000 this year to the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a national non-profit which contracts with states to clean up their voter rolls and keep them accurate.
Since ERIC relies on NCOA data, it cant be doing a thorough job of cleaning and maintaining the rolls, and neither can our state and local election officials. ERIC should be pushing for every registered voter in Florida to have a CASS standardized residential address, Jurski said.
Having built a tech system to monitor the voting rolls on an ongoing basis, FRA says it will make its findings known to county and state election officials and the general public every month.
Jurski told The Epoch Times that some county election supervisors are glad for FRA assistance, while others are pushing back and denying the need for it.
UK Activists Lose Legal Challenge Against Police Probe of Partygate Scandal
A group of police officers walk through Downing Street in London during a protest outside the gates on April 13, 2022. (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
A legal campaign group has lost its bid to bring a High Court challenge against the London Metropolitan Police over the forces investigation into former Prime Minister Boris Johnsons role in the Partygate scandal.
Johnson received a fixed penalty notice (FPN) over a birthday party in the Cabinet Room in June 2020, but faced no further action over other gatherings.
Last May, the Met said its investigation into breaches of COVID-19 lockdown rules at Downing Street and Whitehall resulted in a total of 126 fines issued to 83 people, including 28 who were issued multiple fines.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference in Downing Street, London, on May 25, 2022. (Leon Neal/PA Media)
The Good Law Project (GLP), a campaign organisation, argued that the Met had failed to properly investigate Johnsons attendance at three other gatherings in violation of lockdown rules.
The GLP, along with Lord Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner of the Met, brought a legal challenge against the force. But following a preliminary hearing in London on Feb. 22, the High Court refused to grant them permission for a full hearing.
Mr. Justice Swift said the grounds argued on behalf of GLP and Lord Paddick had no prospect of success.
It is not for the court to second-guess the steps the police should take for the purposes of investigation, he added.
The GLP said it is considering whether to appeal the decision.
No Further Action
During the police investigation into the Partygate affair, Johnson, along with his wife Carrie and then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, was issued an FPN for attending a birthday gathering for him at No. 10 Downing Street in June 2020.
On May 19, 2022, the then-prime ministers official spokesman said that Johnson hadnt been issued a second fine, adding, The Met has confirmed that they are taking no further action with regards to the Prime Minister.
The spokesman said Johnson was pleased the investigation has concluded and that wed like to thank the Met Police for their work in bringing this investigation to completion.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street in London on April 19, 2022. (Victoria Jones/PA Media)
Irrational
But just days after the announcement, ITV published four photos showing Johnson raising a glass at a leaving party for Lee Cain, his then-communications director, on Nov. 13, 2020a week after England was plunged into its second national lockdown.
Johnson wasnt fined by the Met over that event or any other event that daywhen Johnsons former aide Dominic Cummings also left his positionbut at least one other individual was issued an FPN. The Met declined to say what the offending event was. It also declined to explain why Johnson was not fined over the leaving party.
The event was included in a report by senior civil servant Sue Gray that was released in July 2022, and which also revealed that Johnson gave a speech at an alcohol-fuelled leaving celebration for two No. 10 officials on Dec. 17, 2020, which had around 20 people in attendance.
The GLP argued that the Mets failure to send questionnaires to Johnson in relation to those gatherings as well as a further party in January 2021and its failure to issue FPNs over themwas irrational given its decision on the June 2020 party and the findings in Grays report.
But Justice Swift said on Wednesday that the police investigation required a higher threshold of evidence than Grays report.
He said that Gray was not considering whether FPNs should be issued in relation to the events, unlike the police who had to ensure they had enough evidence to prosecute the penalties if they were not paid.
Sue Gray, second permanent secretary at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, in an undated file photo. (Gov.uk/PA)
Not Surprised
In a statement after the ruling, GLP director Jo Maugham said an appeal is being considered.
He said: We are disappointed, but sadly not surprised. We think this decision ignores the quite proper questions that people have about what they understandably perceive to be differences of treatment between the powerful and the rest of us.
The GLP said: The fact remains that the Met still hasnt explained why a number of civil servants and officials who attended lockdown parties in November and December 2020 and January 2021 were fined for attending, but Boris Johnson was not.
This case goes beyond Boris Johnson and the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices. It is about equal treatment under the law. There shouldnt be one rule for those in power and another rule for us.
The GLP said that this is the second time the group has taken action against the Met over the Partygate scandal.
The group said: When the revelations over lockdown breaches at Number 10 first emerged, the police refusedremarkablyto launch a criminal investigation at all. But after we began legal proceedings, the then Commissioner, Cressida Dick, abruptly changed course.
PA Media contributed to this report.
One of my readers asked for my opinion about the provocative Its Time to Replace TCP in the Datacenter article by prof. John Ousterhout. I started reading it, found too many things that didnt make sense, and decided to ignore it as another attempt of a proverbial physicist solving hard problems in someone elses field.
However, pointers to that article kept popping up, and I eventually realized it was a position paper in a long-term process that included conference talks, interviews and keynote speeches, so I decided to take another look at the technical details.
Lets start with the abstract:
Every significant element of TCP, from its stream orientation to its expectation of in-order packet delivery, is wrong for the data center. It is time to recognize that TCPs problems are too fundamental and interrelated to be fixed; the only way to harness the full performance potential of modern networks is to introduce a new transport protocol into the data center.
If that doesnt sound like a manifesto rallying point, I dont know what does. Everyone is fed up with TCP in one way or another (quite often because TCP gets blamed for unrelated problems like the lack of a session layer), so its not hard to react to that message with a hear, hear!!! TCP specifications are also full of arcane nerd knobs resulting in bizarre behavior due to incompatible features being enabled by default in different TCP/IP protocol stacks.
However, most attempts to persuade networking engineers to ignore the laws of physics inevitably fail when marketing encounters reality. Lets see how well the Its Time to Replace TCP in the Datacenter article fares in that respect.
Prof. Ousterhout compares TCP with Homa, a new message-based connectionless transport protocol. The claims in the position paper seem to be based on measurements described in A Linux Kernel Implementation of the Homa Transport Protocol article, which used the following setup:
Majority of the results was produced in a cluster of 40 nodes with a full mesh of bidirectional client-server traffic.
It looks like the setup used a small number of parallel TCP sessions between a pair of nodes and tried to send multiple independent messages across a single TCP session resulting in transport-layer head-of-line blocking (more about that later).
As a starter, its worth pointing out that the above scenario does not correspond to how TCP is used in most application stacks or production environments and is heavily biased toward connectionless alternatives to TCP, making the measurement results potentially inapplicable to real life.
Transport Protocol Requirements
Ignoring the biased abstract, lets dig into the technical details, starting with the transport protocol requirements (section 2):
Reliable delivery
Low latency
High throughput (including high message throughput)
Congestion control
Efficient load balancing across server cores
NIC offload
So far so good, but theres a conspicuously missing requirement in that list: the recipient must know when its safe to start working on a message, and it might not be safe to handle incoming messages out-of-order. While the order of execution might not matter for read-only transactions with no side effects, its crucial if the messages cause a state change in the recipient application.
While the read-only transactions are usually more common than the read-write ones, the latter ones tend to impact data consistency, and raise the interesting challenge of providing consistent data to read-after-write transactions. Someone has to reshuffle incoming out-of-order messages into the sequence in which they were sent, and if the transport protocol is not doing that, everyone else has to reinvent the wheel. Look at the socket API or happy eyeballs if you want to know how well that ends.
The efficient load balancing across server cores (as opposed to across the network) is also worrying it implies the CPU cores are the bottleneck, and might indicate unfamiliarity with the state-of-the-art high-speed packet processing. The focus on CPU cores and hotspots described in the deep-dive article might be an artifact of using small number of TCP sessions, which is an unnecessary artificial restriction systems running Nginx or NodeJS have been scaled to 1-million connections per server a decade ago. Statistical distribution of TCP sessions to cores would also be much better with a larger number of TCP sessions.
Speaking of high-speed networking: most optimized implementations use CPU cores dedicated to packet processing, sometimes reaching a throughput of tens of Gbps per CPU core see for example Snap: a Microkernel Approach to Host Networking, or what fd.io is doing. I have no idea where the author got Driving a 100 Gbps network at 80% utilization in both directions consumes 1020 cores just in the networking stack the Snap paper quoted as a reference definitely does not support that claim.
Everything about TCP Is Wrong
The next section of the article identifies everything thats wrong with TCP:
Stream orientation (as opposed to messages)
Connection-oriented protocol
Bandwidth sharing
Sender-driven congestion control
In-order packet delivery
The first two points are valid TCP was designed to be a connection-oriented protocol transporting a stream of bytes. The article goes into long lamentations of why thats bad and why a message-oriented transport protocol would be so much better but never asks even one of these simple questions (let alone tries to answer them):
Whats wrong with Infiniband? Environments focused on low latency often use Infiniband. Why should we use Homa to solve the challenges it is supposed to solve if we have a ready-to-use proven technology?
Environments focused on low latency often use Infiniband. Why should we use Homa to solve the challenges it is supposed to solve if we have a ready-to-use proven technology? Whats wrong with RoCE? Maybe you dislike Infiniband and prefer Ethernet as the transport fabric. In that case, you could use RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) as a low-latency high-throughput mechanism.
Maybe you dislike Infiniband and prefer Ethernet as the transport fabric. In that case, you could use RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) as a low-latency high-throughput mechanism. Whats wrong with existing alternatives? Even if you dont like RDMA, you could choose between several existing message-oriented transport protocols. SCTP and QUIC immediately come to mind. Theres also SRD used by AWS.
Even if you dont like RDMA, you could choose between several existing message-oriented transport protocols. SCTP and QUIC immediately come to mind. Theres also SRD used by AWS. What happened to other RPC frameworks? We had solutions implementing Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) on top of UDP, including Sun RPC, DNS and NFS. Some of them faded away; others started using TCP as an alternate transport mechanism instead of improving UDP. gRPC (the new cool RPC kid) uses HTTP/2 which rides on top of TCP. Why should that be the case, considering how bad TCP supposedly is?
We had solutions implementing Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) on top of UDP, including Sun RPC, DNS and NFS. Some of them faded away; others started using TCP as an alternate transport mechanism instead of improving UDP. gRPC (the new cool RPC kid) uses HTTP/2 which rides on top of TCP. Why should that be the case, considering how bad TCP supposedly is? Why is everyone still using TCP? Theres no regulatory requirement to use TCP, and everyone is unhappy with it. Why are we still using it? Why is nobody using alternatives like SCTP? Why is there no QUIC-like protocol but without encryption (which is often not needed within data centers)? Why is nobody (apart from giants like Google and AWS) investing significant resources in developing an alternative protocol? Are we all lazy, or incompetent, or is TCP just good enough to shrug and move on?
Anyway, not mentioning any of the alternative transport protocols seems biased and a significant omission, and misses the opportunity to discuss their potential shortcomings and how Homa might address them.
But wait, it gets better when we get to the networking details.
Starting with bandwidth sharing, the article claims that:
In TCP, when a hosts link is overloaded (either for incoming or outgoing traffic), TCP attempts to share the available bandwidth equally among the active connections. This approach is also referred to as fair scheduling.
That claim ignores a few minor details:
Its really hard to influence incoming traffic.
Bandwidth sharing is just a side-effect of running many independent TCP sessions across a network using FIFO queueing, but even then its far from ideal.
While a TCP/IP stack might try to provide fair scheduling of outbound traffic (but often does not), all bets are off once the traffic enters the network.
Obviously, one could use QoS mechanisms (including priority queuing and weighted round-robin queuing) to change that behavior should one wish to do so.
The next claim is even worse (the sender-driven congestion control section makes similar claims):
TCPs approach discriminates heavily against short messages. Figure 1 shows how round-trip latencies for messages of different sizes slow down when running on a heavily loaded network compared to messages of the same size on an unloaded network.
I checked the Figure 1, and it uses workload based on message size distribution measured on a Hadoop cluster at Facebook not exactly the most common data center scenario, but one that might exacerbate TCP shortcomings due to heavy incast. Even worse, the deep dive article (the source for Figure 1) compares Homa (a connectionless messaging protocol) with a scenario in which a single TCP session seems to carry numerous messages generated in parallel:
Streams also have the disadvantage of enforcing FIFO ordering on their messages. As a result, long messages can severely delay short ones that follow them. This head-of-line blocking is one of the primary sources of tail latency measured for TCP in Section 5.
Sending independent messages over a single TCP session obviously results in head-of-line blocking behavior that has been well-understood since the early days of HTTP. The solutions to head-of-line blocking are also well-known, from parallel sessions to QUIC.
Let me also reiterate that this is not how TCP is commonly used. Environments in which a single application client would send multiple independent competing messages to a single server tend to be rare.
Anyway, ignoring the apples to mushroom soup comparison, which skews the results so far that they become meaningless, lets focus on incast-generated congestion. Yet again, the countermeasures have been known for decades, from flow-based queuing to priority queuing or data center TCP (DCTCP) that reduces the average queue length.
In any case, once we accept that it doesnt make sense to use a single high-volume TCP session between two nodes, whats stopping an optimized TCP implementation from setting a higher priority on traffic belonging to low-bandwidth conversations, similar to a proof-of-concept implemented in Open vSwitch years ago.
Finally, theres the in-order packet delivery the article claims that:
TCP assumes that packets will arrive at a receiver in the same order they were transmitted by the sender, and it assumes that out-of-order arrivals indicate packet drops.
IP never guaranteed in-order delivery, so TCP never assumed in-order packet arrival. The second part of the claim might have been valid in certain TCP implementations decades ago but is no longer true.
But wait, it gets worse. When AWS introduced SRD as the transport protocol for overlay virtual networks, they claimed they observed a significant TCP performance improvements due to SRD packet spraying. At the same time, the Homa position paper claims that:
However, packet spraying cannot be used with TCP since it could change the order in which packets arrive at their destination.
One of them must be wrong.
The ultimate gem in this section is the following handwaving argument:
I hypothesize that flow-consistent routing is responsible for virtually all of the congestion that occurs in the core of data center networks.
As the server-to-network links tend to be an order of magnitude slower than the core links, I hypothesize that it takes a significant amount of bad luck to get core congestion solely based on flow-consistent routing. The statistical details are left as an exercise for the reader.
Regardless of the validity of that claim, flow-consistent routing might result in imbalance in edge or core link utilization, but even there we have numerous well-known solutions. I wrote about flowlets in 2015 when there were already several production-grade implementations, while the FlowBender paper was published in 2014. Theres also the Conga paper implemented in Cisco ACI, and a number of other well-known mechanisms that can be used to alleviate the imbalance.
Is It Time to Replace TCP in Data Centers?
I would love to see a reliable (as opposed to UDP) message-based transport protocol between components of an application stack and have absolutely no problem admitting that TCP is not the best tool for that job.
Also, based on the A Linux Kernel Implementation of the Homa Transport Protocol article, in which the author described the proposed solution, it looks like they spent a lot of time implementing Homa as a Linux kernel module. I wish them all the best, but unfortunately I cant take Homa seriously based on the arguments made in this position paper why should I trust the claimed benefits of a proposed solution if the position paper favoring it misidentified the problems and ignored all prior art?
Anyway, is this a problem worth solving? In many cases, the answer is a resounding no. Application stacks often include components that generate much higher latency than what TCP could cause. From that perspective, Homa looks a lot like another entry in the long list of solutions in desperate search of a problem.
Finally, the Its Time to Replace TCP in the Datacenter article focuses solely on application-to-application messaging, which might be relevant for the niche applications like large microservices-based web properties, high-performance computing, or map-reduce clusters that use in-memory data structures or local storage. At the same time, it completely ignores long-lived high-volume connections that represent the majority of traffic in most data centers: storage traffic, be it access to remote disk volumes or data synchronization between nodes participating in a distributed file system or distributed database.
Al Shabaab Attack Kills 10 at Officials House in Somalia: Ministry
Somali security forces secure the street near the scene of a militant attack at a building in Abdias district of Mogadishu, Somalia, on Feb. 21, 2023. (Feisal Omar/Reuters)
MOGADISHUTen people were killed in an attack in Somalias capital claimed by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, which said it was targeting military officials and militia fighters involved in an offensive against it.
The Tuesday attack began with a car bomb blast followed by a gun fight that went on for hours at a house in Mogadishu where several lawmakers were believed to be staying, a witness told Reuters.
Somalias information ministry said late on Tuesday that 10 civilians were killed, but did not say who was targeted. Security forces killed the four terrorists involved in the assault, it said.
Al Shabaab has stepped up attacks in a show of resurgence since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamuds government launched an offensive against the group in August.
A suicide bomber first detonated a car outside the house and then al Shabaab terrorists stormed in while firing guns, said witness Farah Aden.
The fighting between the al Shabaab terrorists and security forces lasted for about eight hours, according to al Shabaab, the information ministry, and witnesses.
Other militants went in and killed 10 civilians inside the house. The security forces shot dead the four militants who stormed the building, the information ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Four soldiers and three civilians were wounded before the fighting ended, it added.
Al Shabaab said in a statement it had killed 70 people in the attack, which targeted the house because it offered accommodation to military officials and wounded militia members from the central Hiraan region recovering from fighting against the group there.
The government and al Shabaab, which has in the past launched attacks on hotels, military bases, and government establishments, often give differing casualty figures.
Government forces and allied clan militias known as macawisley, pushed al Shabaab out of Hiraan last year.
Anders Corr: Win-Win Between China and Liberals Must End
Commentary
Another leak in Canada from its intelligence agency, CSIS, is drawing attention to Chinas illegal influence, interference, and intelligence operations in support of the Liberal government in Ottawa.
Predictably, the Liberals are in damage control mode. Why bite the hand that feeds you?
In public comments, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems more concerned with the identity of the whistleblower who exposed the coverup, than with the crimes of Beijing and its witting Canadian agents. Ottawa has for years self-servingly downplayed and hidden this authoritarian influence from the public.
To this day, the names of the 11 winning members of Parliament supported by China have not been released. Neither have any charges been brought against those involved in the schemes.
Nine Liberal and two Conservative MPs, all supported by China, are now making laws in Ottawa and influencing the public from positions of authority.
The alleged crimes include political campaign donations encouraged by China that accrue tax credits for the donors, who then get refunded the balance from the campaign. Its an outrageous scheme that bilks money from taxpayers, including Conservatives, to support the Liberal Party and those few Conservatives seen as friends of China.
Sympathetic donors are encouraged to provide campaign contributions to candidates favoured by China donations for which they receive a tax credit from the federal government, reports The Globe and Mail. Then, the CSIS report from Dec. 20, 2021 says, political campaigns quietly, and illegally, return part of the contribution the difference between the original donation and the governments refund back to the donors.
Chinas sophisticated political strategy in Canada maximizes its influence by seeking a Liberal minority government, meaning the Liberals would need to gain support from at least one other political party to remain in power. This, Beijing apparently reasoned, would keep relatively China-friendly Trudeau in power, but keep him sufficiently off-balance to remain maximally dependent on continued support from the Chinese Communist Party.
Trudeaus reaction to all of this should have been one of fire and brimstone. He should have said he would demand answers from China, that he would haul Chinas ambassador to Canada on the carpet and demand answers, writes Brian Lilley in the Toronto Sun. He did nothing of the sort; instead, he expressed concern that CSIS was leaking to the media.
One point of contention is between a China diplomat in Canada, who claimed that she was instrumental in defeating two Conservative MPs, and Trudeau, who downplayed the claim. He said, The fact that a Chinese diplomat would try to take credit for things that happened is not something that is unseen in diplomatic circles around the world.
But Trudeau here is obfuscating the facts through an over-generalization.
A China diplomat bragging about interfering in the internal affairs of another country is highly irregular, as not interfering is supposedly a point of pride for them and a way to differentiate the Chinese regime from the United States, which frequently supports improved human rights and more democratic governance around the world.
The latest leak demonstrates Beijings interference, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been raising further concerns.
Justin Trudeau knew about this interference, and he covered it up because he benefited from it, Poilievre said on Feb. 17. Hes perfectly happy to let a foreign, authoritarian government interfere in our elections as long as theyre helping him.
Poilievre noted that the leaked CSIS report said Chinas communists wanted Trudeau to lead Canada because they knew Trudeau would work for their interests rather than Canadas interests, and thats why hes covered up this information for so long.
Unlike Trudeau, Poilievre supports a public registry of foreign agents in Canada, as in the United States and Australia. Some British lawmakers also support such a registry.
Proponents hope registries will decrease foreign political influence and election interference, and improve the integrity and public confidence in election processes and results.
Registries are positive steps, but no panacea. In both the United States and Australia, foreign governments can exploit extensive loopholes to compensate local agents through lucrative contracts that have no obvious link to politics. Quid pro quos allow such compensation from regimes to obtain cooperation from agents without technically violating laws requiring registration. Neither are enforcement agencies in the United States and elsewhere sufficiently resourced for thorough investigations required to enforce the laws.
Trudeau is not taking these issues seriously, as he hasnt even publicly endorsed the idea of a registry, much less developed a plan to close the loopholes found elsewhere. This explains why the documents were leaked in the first place. Trudeau has ignored years of persistent and unaddressed concerns within the intelligence agencies that not enough is being done to stem the tide of Chinas influence operations.
This threat persists around the world.
Chinas support of liberals can be found in Beijings support of U.S. Democrats over Republicans, and the Australian Labor Party over the countrys conservatives.
Beijing consistently supports political parties that it considers the lesser of democratic evils, that scrimp on defence in favour of handouts, play the race card when the threat is from the regime in China not the Chinese people, and leave our allies in Asia dependent and defenceless. In response, liberal parties around the world typically downplay the threat from China.
Its a win-win relationship that should end immediately through new and tougher political representation.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
AUKUS Is Now the Future, Says Australian Prime Minister
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses the 2023 Chifley Research Centre Conference at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra on Feb. 5, 2023. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
AUKUS is now the core of Australias national security strategy, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
AUKUS is about much more than nuclear submarines or even technological inter-operability, Albanese told the National Press Club on Wednesday. AUKUS is about the future.
It further formalises the common values and the shared interest that our three nations have in preserving peace and upholding the rules and institutions that secure our region and our world, he said.
In reference to the upcoming March announcement on how Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS, the prime minister called the move the single biggest leap in our defence capability in our history.
He said it offered Australia a whole-of-nation opportunity for jobs, industries, and expertise in science, technology, and cyber.
We recognise that pursuing and defending our sovereign interests and contributing to regional stability requires us to build our sovereign defence capability, including advanced manufacturing, he said. As [Defence Minister] Richard Marles has said, national security demands a whole-of-nation effort.
Sen. James Paterson, the shadow minister for cyber and countering foreign interference, welcomed the prime ministers speech while calling it a signature achievement of the Coalition while it was in office.
I hope they can build upon it, accelerate it and deliver it even faster because the strategic environment that were operating in is continuing to deteriorate incredibly fast, he told Sky News.
The best thing that we can do to prevent conflict is to be a credible, strong power in support of and in close consultation with our allies.
AUKUS Crucial For Countering Beijing in the Indo-Pacific
The comments from Albanese come after the former Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. spoke to the U.S. Armed Services congressional committee on the importance of AUKUS.
AUKUS is supremely important, Harris said. Were going to need to put our shoulder to the task for Australia, which has a tremendous military.
For them to have a long reach of a nuclear submarine force would be dramatic. It would help us dramatically. It would change the balance of power in the Indian Ocean.
A China Coast Guard ship (L) chasing a Vietnam Coast Guard vessel near the site of a Chinese drilling oil rig being installed at the disputed water in the South China Sea off Vietnams central coast May 14, 2014. (HOANG DINH NAM/AFP via Getty Images)
Read More Congress Urged to Support Vital AUKUS Alliance to Contain Pacific China Threat
Meanwhile, deterrence policy expert Melanie W. Sisson, a fellow at the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, told Congress she believed that alliances and regional diplomatic engagements like AUKUS were key to countering the Chinese Communist Party.
She said it was a demonstration to the Chinese regime of the commitment of regional neighbours towards certain standards and expectations of behaviour by governments.
Defence Budget to Get Boost
The prime minister also said Australians can expect the defence budget once the 2022 Defence Force Review is released.
The review was undertaken by former defence chief Sir Angus Houston and former defence minister Stephen Smith. The six-month report was received last week and called for an increase in defence spending.
Albanese pledged to make sure the Australian Defence Forces would have the resources to defend the country.
With the right investments in our capability and sovereignty, our defence force can be made ready for future challenges, he said.
The Labor government has continued ongoing work by the previous government by moving to better equip the ADF with Defence Minister Richard Marles announcing a purchase of new guided weapons systems for the navy and army.
In the current strategic environment, its important the Australian Defence Force is equipped with high-end, targeted military capabilities, Marles said.
United States Marine Corps M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems during the firepower demonstration, at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021, January 2023. (Corporal Madhur Chitnis, Australian Defence Forces).
The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) systems will be employed on the Hobart Class destroyers and Anzac Class frigates, while the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) will enable the army to acquire land-based, long-range surface-to-surface launchers, missiles, and training rockets. The systems are scheduled to be put in rotation in 2024, and 2026-7 respectively.
Minister for Defence Pat Conroy said that the acquisition was part of the governments plan to prep the ADF for the 21st century.
The level of technology involved in these acquisitions takes our forces to the cutting edge of modern military hardware, he said.
The Naval Strike Missile is a major step up in capability for our Navys warships, while HIMARS launchers have been successfully deployed by the Ukrainian military over recent months and are a substantial new capability for the Army.
Author of Emergencies Act Says Government Should Release Legal Opinion for Invocation
Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and former defence minister, speaks during a news conference held by the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable at the Ottawa Airport in Ottawa, on June 14, 2021. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
The former minister under Brian Mulroney who oversaw the process to replace the War Measures Act with the Emergencies Act in 1988 says the Trudeau government should release the legal opinion it used to justify invoking the act last winter.
I believe the government should release the legal opinion it relied on, tweeted former defence minister Perrin Beatty on Feb. 22.
How can you ask Canadians to obey the law when you wont tell them what it is?
The former Conservative minister, now president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, was reacting to a question from former diplomat and columnist Norman Spector, who remarked that Commissioner Paul Rouleau had not taken Beattys advice to release the legal opinion.
Rouleau, who led the public Order Emergency Commission, tabled his final report on Feb. 17, with his main finding being that the government had met the very high threshold to invoke the act.
He would not have been able to release the legal advice protected by solicitor-client privilege, and wrote in his report he was content with the testimonies from officials.
Civil liberties group have criticized Rouleaus finding and the governments decision not to release the legal advice it acted upon.
The commissioner recommends in his report that the government should be bound to produce all of the inputs to cabinet and the ministers that had [been] relied upon to invoke the Emergencies Act, said Ewa Krajewska on Feb. 17, a lawyer who worked with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association during the commission.
Rouleau recommended that the act be amended so that a future commission of inquiry would be directed to examine the basis for the declaration of emergency, but he also said in his report he was satisfied with not seeing the legal advice.
The commissioner said he took at face value the testimonies from federal ministers and officials about the legal thresholds being met.
The Liberal government declared a public order emergency under the act in February last year to clear cross-country protests and border blockades demanding the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Some suggestion was made that in the absence of disclosure of the legal advice that Cabinet received, which is protected by solicitor client privilege, it cannot be known whether its decision conformed to that opinion. I do not accept this argument, Rouleau wrote.
I do not need to see the legal advice itself in order to accept the evidence that they believed their conclusion to be justified in law.
Rouleau had expressed some concerns about not seeing the legal advice when Justice Minister David Lametti testified at the inquiry on Nov. 23.
Im having a little trouble, and I dont know if you can help me, how we assess reasonableness when we dont know what they were acting on, said Rouleau.
What I dont know, and Im not saying we necessarily need to know, is what was the belief of those who made the decision as to what the law was? And I guess the answer is we just assume they acted in good faith in application of whatever they were told. Is that sort of what youre saying? asked Rouleau.
I think thats fair, replied Lametti.
Beatty offered other comments on Twitter about Rouleaus report, but refused to say whether he believes the invocation of the act was justified.
He said this is because he doesnt feel he has all the information he needs and that taking a stance would simply fuel a partisan debate unfortunately, our politics [have] become tribal.
The police were called in because the politicians had failed. Then the politicians were called in because the police had failed. We need to repair the divides in our political system that are tearing our national fabric, Beatty said.
He added the Emergencies Act had aged well but that it would make sense to modernize it and to look at how we can ensure that future governments dont see the need to use it.
The former Conservative minister under Mulroney also took part in the parliamentary review process of the acts invocation.
Even if you find that invoking the act was warranted, you should work to make it unnecessary if we face similar circumstances again, Beatty told the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency (DEDC) on March 29.
The public inquiry and the DEDC are two review mechanisms established by the Emergencies Act.
Beatty was also shown to have direct communication with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on the issue of the invocation, with text messages being filed as evidence during the inquiry.
There are also lots of long term issues we need to consider once this is over, including whether we need to take other measures that could obviate the need to use the extraordinary powers in the Act in the future, and how to repair holes in our political system, Beatty told Freeland on Feb. 22, 2022.
Lee Harding and Peter Wilson contributed to this report.
Avalanche in Washingtons Cascade Mountains Leaves 3 Dead, 1 Injured
Eric Gullickson, front left, an avalanche instructor with the Northwest Avalanche Center, leads teenagers on an avalanche awareness field trip at Mount Baker, Wash., on Jan. 11, 2016. (Elaine Thompson/AP Photo)
Three people were killed and one person suffered injuries on Feb. 19 after an avalanche struck Washington states Cascade Mountains while they were attempting to reach a peak, officials have said.
According to a preliminary report from the Northwest Avalanche Center, a group of six climbers were ascending the Northeast Couloir of Colchuck Peak, an 8,705-foot (2,653 meters) mountain summit located about 70 miles (113 kilometers) east of Seattle in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, on Sunday when the lead climber triggered an avalanche at approximately 1:15 p.m.
The slab avalanchewhich occurs when a large, cohesive area of snow slides downwardscaught and carried four members of the team approximately 500 feet to the base of the climb, the Center said.
Three of the climbers suffered fatal traumatic injuries, and a fourth climber sustained leg injuries but survived.
The remaining two climbers tried unsuccessfully to evacuate the individuals that were killed in the avalanche but were unable to do so, officials said. The Chelan County Sheriffs Office was notified of the accident on Feb. 20 and mountain rescue teams traveled to the site to assist with evacuating the injured climber to the trailhead.
However, a number of other natural avalanches hit the area soon after the incident, making it difficult to conduct search and rescue efforts amid hazardous conditions.
Recovery efforts will be ongoing this week as weather and avalanche conditions allow. NWAC is working with Chelan County Sheriffs office, and will provide updates as more information becomes available, the Northwest Avalanche Center said.
In a separate statement, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison identified the climbers who had been killed as a 60-year-old female from New York, a 66-year-old male from New Jersey, and a 53-year-old male from Connecticut.
Hazardous Conditions Hinder Rescue Efforts
The fourth climber who sustained non-life-threatening injuries was identified as a 56-year-old male from New York. Morrison said he had been able to hike back to base camp with the remaining two climbers after the incident.
The other two climbers who survived the avalanche were identified as a 50-year-old male from New York and a 36-year-old male from New Jersey.
According to Morrison, a seventh climber with the group, a 53-year-old Maryland man, had stayed at base camp that day and was the one who had informed deputies at the Chelan County Sheriffs Office (CCSO) Leavenworth substation about the avalanche after the three survivors reached base camp.
A total of 22 rescuers reached the base camp to assist with the recovery efforts to bring back the surviving climbers.
They were able to determine avalanche conditions were too hazardous to continue to the deceased climbers, Morrison said. He added that rescuers were not sent back out the following day because of hazardous conditions.
CCSO continues to work with Northwest Avalanche Center to assist in a recovery plan, he said.
Chelan County sheriffs Sgt. Jason Reinfeld said Tuesday that rescuers planned to go back out to search for the deceased climbers on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. He added that the group of climbers caught up in the weekends avalanche had some mountaineering experience, but that it was unclear exactly how much.
Approximately nine people have been killed this winter season in avalanches in the United States across the states of Colorado, Montana, Nevada, and Washington, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
In the 20212022 winter season, 17 deaths from avalanches were reported and approximately 37 deaths were reported in the 20202021 winter season, according to the center.
Aviation Safety Teetering, Pilots Say, as Safety Summit Approaches
COVID-19 mandates, diversity emphasis are among key issues
Brett Vance, pictured in a glider during his time as a flight instructor at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, in about 2012. (Brett Vance)
American aviation safety seems to be teetering on a knifes edge, as one veteran airline pilot put it. Usually an unflappable bunch, a half-dozen pilots told The Epoch Times that theyre increasingly troubled over the state of aviation.
Although 14 years have passed since the last fatal U.S. commercial airliner accident, pilots point to a cluster of near-misses. Those are particularly disturbing considering the chaotic climate in which they occurred.
As the COVID-19 pandemic retreated and travel ramped up, embarrassing computer failures wreaked havoc with flight schedules. At the same time, the industry continues to suffer from the ripple effects of federal COVID-shot mandates and other government policy changes.
A female pilot said well-trained, quick-thinking pilots have repeatedly staved off disasters.
We are at the precipice, she said. If we make the wrong choiceif we continue to allow technology to degrade and lack of experience to fill these seatswere looking at a safety disaster.
She and several other airline pilots granted interviews on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs. Five male pilots agree with the female pilots assessment. One of them is Brett Vance, a former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) test pilot who has also flown for the U.S. military and a major commercial airline.
Until recently, we have had the finest National Airspace safety system in the entire world, Vance said. All of a sudden since the rollout of the COVID shot, some things have started to go downhill significantly.
Citing recent events, the FAA announced on Feb. 14 that it would convene a safety summit in March to preserve the nations air-travel safety record. Vance thinks this step should have been taken sooner.
The effectiveness of the FAAs effort will hinge mainly on two things, Vance and other pilots say: whos picked to serve on the panel and whether any topics will be off limits.
Brett Vance when he worked as a Federal Aviation Administration flight test pilot, in 2019. (Hank Tong)
COVID Caused Many Issues
For the interviewed pilots, COVID-related questions are of primary concern; some worry that the FAA might shut down much-needed discussion of those issues because theyre politically charged.
The Biden administrations 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors applied to many airline employees. Balking at the mandate, scores of older experienced air traffic controllers opted to retire. Vance was among those who quit after facing a jab-or-job ultimatum.
A sign for customers at a pharmacy where the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was offered, in West Haven, Conn., on Feb. 17, 2021. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
After recovering from the COVID-induced air travel slump, airlines have gone on a hiring binge, according to Airlines for America, an advocacy group.
Every day, more than 750,000 workers in America make our industry go, the group stated in a TV commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. Last year alone, airlines helped 50,000 new careers take flight. And were still hiring.
The worlds largest pilots union, the Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA), says theres no shortage of pilots, challenging others repeated assertions.
ALPA reported in August 2022 that nearly 9,000 new pilots were certified in a year.
The unions seven largest passenger carriers have more pilots and conduct less flying than they did before the pandemic, the report reads.
Pilots say theres a downside to that glut of new hires: Theyll likely lack the on-the-job experience to help them figure out how to respond in a crisis.
Vaccine Worries Lurk
Pilots said many veteran aviation employees are dealing with health problems that may be effects of the virus itself or the COVID-19 vaccines.
However, the FAA recently told Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) that it knew of only four possible vaccine-injured pilots who were active.
That response prompted Johnson to accuse the FAA of turning a blind eye to possible vaccine-induced health problems among pilots.
Naming five pilots with suspected vaccine-related issues, Johnson asked the FAA what steps it had taken to investigate. The agency listed no specific actions in its Feb. 10 response to Johnson.
Instead, the FAA wrote that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention oversees tracking and follow-up of suspected vaccine adverse events.
But in the aftermath of COVID-19 vaccines or illnesses, both known to cause lingering effects, Vance and others think the risk of a pilot dying suddenly is now elevated.
Expression of spike protein in shoulder muscle after vaccine injection (Michael Palmer, MD, Sucharit Bhakdi, MD)
FAA Change Stirs Debate
Thats especially problematic, some say, in light of a recent FAA health-standard change that could allow pilots heart issues to slip past.
Late last year, the agency broadened the acceptable range of an electrocardiogram reading for pilots during their required physical exams. Thus, pilots who would have been flagged for additional heart tests can now be cleared to fly, as The Epoch Times reported recently.
You dont want pilots that are incapacitated because of their vaccine statusand you lose an airplane, said an ex-military pilot who now works for a commercial airline. But thats the elephant in the room that nobodys talking about.
The FAA initially gave no justification for widening the PR interval on pilots EKGs, which measures how long it takes for an electrical impulse to travel from one part of the heart to another.
When questioned in January about the revised EKG standard, the FAA issued only a general statement, saying it follows standard processes based on data and science when changing medical requirements and guidance.
In an email to The Epoch Times, the agency also stated, The FAAs Federal Air Surgeon determined that pilots and air traffic controllers can safely receive the Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, or Novavax vaccine.
Vaccine Testing Questioned
Many people in aviation question why the FAA gave the green light to pilot vaccinations in the first place; they doubt that studies on the vaccines were explicitly done in aviation settings. Pilots bodies undergo extraordinary stresses. Those include changes in altitude, air pressure, and oxygen, along with bursts of intense tasks.
So, the issue is if this person has a cardiac event, you know, on what we call a high gain task, such as takeoff, which is a really, really busy period, Vance said.
He said a surge of adrenaline or other factors could cause undetected COVID-19-related heart damage to trigger an abnormal heartbeat.
Thats when the died suddenly incident can happenjust like that, Vance said.
Asked about such concerns, the FAA has responded that it has no evidence of aircraft accidents or incapacitations caused by pilots suffering medical complications associated with COVID-19 vaccines.
Critics allege that the FAA lacks such evidence because the agency has refused to look for it. Vance and other pilots can rattle off examples of pilots with suspected vaccine-related issues; some are on the list of five pilots that Johnson asked the FAA to address.
If a pilot were to have a vaccine-related health emergency, causing an accident, investigators would likely dismiss the cause as just had a stroke or a heart attack, and it couldnt possibly be related to the vaccines, one pilot said.
He then suggested a grim reality: Any evidence of a vaccine-related cause would be concealed if bodies are destroyed in wreckage.
Computer, Organizational Woes
Even before COVID-19 hit, the airline industry was grappling with issues that came to a head only in recent months.
Southwest Airlines has acknowledged that organizational problems and an outdated computer system contributed to its infamous December 2022 meltdown, which resulted in more than 16,000 flights canceled and affected millions of people in the wake of a winter storm.
In January, the FAA admitted that its decades-old Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) computer failed after a contractor made a mistake, causing all U.S. air travel to be shut down for two hours on Jan. 11. About 11,000 flights were affected.
At a U.S. Senate hearing that examined the NOTAM failure, several senators claimed that the FAA has been overly absorbed with promoting workforce diversity and inclusion. The senators alleged that this is an obsession and that it has distracted the FAA from essential tasks such as updating its computer systems.
Pilots who work in the airline industry concur. Theyve been trying to sound the alarm for months. As The Epoch Times reported in August 2022, pilots and flight attendants say corporate initiatives and government policies give preferential treatment to people with minority ethnic, racial, gender identity, and sexual orientation traits.
Theyre trying to shove them through the system. The quality is just not there like we used to have, one pilot said.
As a result, pilots say they now more frequently ask air traffic controllers to repeat themselvesbecause of poor pronunciation, their communications cant be understood.
A plane takes off behind the air traffic control tower at San Francisco International Airport in California on Nov. 24, 2020. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)
Vance is concerned about such reports.
When a pilot will go out of his or her way to say that, something bad is happening, Vance said, because, usually, we dont even think about that kind of stuff.
He wonders how many thousands of fellow pilots are experiencing these difficulties.
Were just a ticking time bomb, in my opinion, Vance said, mainly because of the air traffic control snafus and the increased likelihood of pilots suffering a sudden cardiac event during takeoffs or landings.
If we have one accident caused by any of this, I think our National Airspace System may grind to a halt.
Any such stoppage could linger much longer than the two-day civilian air travel pause after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The impact of a prolonged shutdown would be huge, Vance said, considering that much of the U.S. economy depends on air travel to get people and goods from one place to another.
And there goes your country, he said.
Distracted by Ideology
Pilots and flight attendants complain that theyre forced to undergo corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion training. Lessons may include the importance of using preferred pronouns for a transgender person or avoiding gender-related words such as airmen.
Such issues are irrelevant to operating a flight safely and efficiently, according to one pilot.
Weve lost our focus from whats important, the pilot said.
Another pilot points out that airline safety improvements are often written in blood after people lose their lives.
After Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed near Buffalo, New York, in 2009, multiple new regulations were enacted. Those included a rule requiring 1,500 hours of flight time, rather than just 250 hours, for anyone to qualify as a co-pilot on a commercial airliner.
But theres debate over whether that rule enhanced safety because, as Forbes magazine reported last year, people spend years getting flight experience in areas not necessarily associated with flying commercial aircraft in a complex system, and end up entering that system unprepared.
Some airlines now allow a newly minted pilot to hold a captains seat inside of one year, according to one pilot.
Hell hit the line with less than a years experience and be flying alongside brand new pilots, the pilot said. Thats the scary scenario.
Several pilots remain hopeful that the FAA can take meaningful steps to avoid a potential disaster.
3 Close Calls
Actions of pilots and air traffic controllers are under scrutiny in a trio of recent near misses that have drawn attention from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other lawmakers.
An aviation publication, The Air Current, detailed several such close calls.
On Dec. 18, 2022, a United Airlines flight took a steep dive, coming within 800 feet of the Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff in stormy weather at Kahului Airport in Maui, Hawaii.
On Jan. 13, jets from Delta and American airlines came within 1,400 feet of colliding on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
And on Feb. 4, there was an even scarier incident in Cruzs home state of Texas. A FedEx cargo plane had been cleared to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Visibility was poor. The FedEx plane descended within 100 feet of a Southwest Airlines plane rolling along that same runway.
If you were sitting on that Southwest flight, and you knew how close you came to having a plane landed on top of you, killing every person on that plane, you would understandably be horrified, Cruz said during a Feb. 15 Senate hearing focused on FAA operations.
He asked Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen: How can this happen? How did air traffic control direct one plane onto the runway to take off and another plane to land and have them both within 100 feet of each other? And what can we do to make sure that doesnt happen again?
Runway incursions, the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person in a takeoff or landing area, are frequent.
According to the FAA, there were 1,732 runway incursions at U.S. airports in 2022.
Nolen told Cruz: When we think about the controls, how we train both our controllers and our pilots, the system works as intended; swift action averted a horrific outcome.
Beijing Election Interference Reports Not a Partisan Issue, Trudeau Says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listens to a question during a news conference in Ottawa on Feb. 17, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)
Recent reports citing Canadian intelligence information detailing Beijings strategy to interfere in the 2021 federal election should not be a partisan issue, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.
We have talked openly for many, many years about the real threat of interference and attempts at interference that countries like China continually do within our democracies, Trudeau told reporters in Richmond Hill, Ont., on Feb. 22.
The prime minister said the Liberal government has continually increased the number of tools national security agencies can use to track election interference attempts.
Canadians can and should continue to have faith in their institutions around this and they need to know that everyone is taking this seriously, he said.
Foreign governments and foreign actors are trying to undermine peoples confidence in democracy itself, and amplifying and giving reasonsgiving partisan reasonsto mistrust the outcome of an election, Trudeau said, adding, Thats something that weve seen from elsewhere is not a good path to go down for society or for democracy.
A recent Globe and Mail report cited top-secret documents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) dating from around the time of the federal election in September 2021, that said two of Beijings goals in its alleged election interference were to have a minority Liberal government elected and to defeat Conservative MPs it deemed critical of the Chinese Communist Party.
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said during a press conference in Calgary on Feb. 17 that its not believable that Trudeau hadnt been previously aware of the CSIS report cited by the Globe and Mail.
Justin Trudeau knew about this interference and he covered it up because he benefited from it, Poilievre said. He is perfectly happy to let a foreign authoritarian government interfere in our elections as long as theyre helping him.
Liberal MP Jennifer OConnell criticized the Conservatives stance on the issue during a meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs on Feb. 21, saying the interference reports are serious but have never been denied by the federal government.
This is the same Trump-type tactics to question election results moving forward, she said.
Trudeau was asked by reporters on Feb. 22 about OConnells comments, asking if he believed questions about the interference allegations are illegitimate.
No, I think everyone should be worried about the fact that countries like China, and Russia, and others are continually trying to spread misinformation and disinformation, trying to interfere in our elections unsuccessfully, he replied.
Andrew Chen contributed to this report.
Beijings Anti-American Propaganda Creates War Frenzy on Chinas Internet
The sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)
News Analysis
After the Chinese spy balloon incident, the Chinese regime denied its involvement in spying on U.S. military assets, and recently, it has been ramping up anti-American propaganda domestically.
Chinas internet is filled with disinformation about the United States, including false information about an impending U.S.-China war. It is important to note that the Chinese internet is one of the most censored in the world and that China has created its version of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc., which are compliant with the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) censors.
On Feb. 16, Shijiazhuang city in Hebei Province experienced many flight delays and cancellations. Chinese social media were immediately flooded with false reports claiming it was due to war between the United States and China. According to a statement from the Civil Aviation Administration of North China, the flight groundings were due to a flying object that was later confirmed as a balloon.
One of Beijings online news mouthpieces reported that talks of war with the United States are nonsense but that it is justified for the Chinese military to take unidentified balloons seriously after the United States overreacted over a Chinese balloon.
The CCPs Staged Propaganda Show
U.S.-based China watcher Pokong Chen pointed out that the CCPs news article was initially intended to dispel rumors about a U.S.-China war. However, the report suggested that American balloons might have appeared in Chinas skies and that Chinese fighter jets needed to shoot down such balloons. Notably, it did not confirm the existence of unidentified balloons in the sky. Thus, it was part of the CCPs disinformation campaign, he said.
Furthermore, Chen suggested that the CCP staged a balloon show in Shijiazhuang city or made up the incident as an excuse for the grounded flights, as residents did not report any balloon sightings. Beijing is merely using a scare tactic to portray the United States as a hostile adversary, he said.
U.S. officials have previously stated that the Chinese spy balloon shot down on Feb. 4 was part of Chinas global surveillance program for military sites, and spy balloons can collect images just like satellites. However, Beijing claimed that it was a meteorological research balloon that drifted away from its planned courses.
Beijing Intends to Muddy the Waters
Chen Weijian, New Zealand-based editor-in-chief of Beijing Spring, an online monthly magazine focusing on Chinas democracy movement, believes the CCP created the Shijiazhuang incident to fuel war frenzy sentiment among the Chinese public to foster anti-American sentiments.
Chen told The Epoch Times on Feb. 19 that without the help of the CCPs propaganda apparatus, most people wouldnt have believed that air traffic at an airport in a random Chinese city indicated a U.S.-China war.
The CCP was upset when the United States shot down its balloon, he said, and in return, the regime is claiming that the United States had also dispatched balloons and objects to fly over China.
Beijings intention was to muddy the waters, he said.
The Chinese foreign ministry recently said the United States had flown various unidentified objects into Chinese airspace more than a dozen times. However, Beijing did not provide any details to back up its claims.
After President Joe Biden said he was ready to talk to Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the balloon incident, the Chinese foreign ministry claimed that the United States was not qualified to discuss the issue with China. Chen pointed out that such strong language has made some Chinese ultranationalists believe that the CCP is acting tough and is not afraid of armed conflict with the United States. In reality, China simply does not have the capability of going to war with the United States, he added.
Domestic Propaganda: The CCP Acts Tough
Chen believes the CCP is again mobilizing its anti-American propaganda to let such sentiments dominate public opinion in China, as previously done.
He said, Even as the CCP is requesting help from the United States, or hoping that the United States can be more lenient on some areas of tech sanctions, the regimes propaganda is still advocating more than ever that the CCP is being tough on the United States and is rejecting imports from the United States.
Chen concluded that the CCPs propaganda would likely act tougher on the United States as the regime softens its stance behind closed doors. But most Chinese people would not be able to see the CCPs actual stance when Chinese delegates negotiate with the United States.
Biden Admin Proposes Changes to Trump-Era Rules on Religious Liberty Protection at Colleges
Lithuanian immigrant Casimira Kaupas's service to immigrants was made possible by the religious freedom she found in America. (grandbrothers/Shutterstock)
The Biden administration has proposed changing a Trump-era rule that would suspend federal funding to colleges that impede the activities of religious organizations on campus.
In an announcement on Tuesday, a U.S. Department of Education (DOE) official called the regulation unduly burdensome and issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
The DOE formulated the rule in 2019 in response to an executive order by then-President Donald Trump, titled Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities. The rule went into effect in November 2020.
Following President Joe Bidens 2021 inauguration, the DOE announced that it was conducting a review of the aforementioned rule. The regulation included a provision that enabled the federal government to withhold grants from higher education institutions that imposed restrictions on the operations of religious student groups, among other things.
Nasser H. Paydar, the DOEs assistant secretary for Postsecondary Education, wrote on the departments website that after reviewing the regulation, the department had proposed to rescind a portion of it relating to religious student organizations.
Paydar said the DOE deemed the portion of the rule unnecessary to protect the First Amendments right to free speech and free exercise of religion, given existing legal protections.
The Department today issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to rescind a portion of the regulation related to religious student organizations because the Department believes it is not necessary in order to protect the First Amendment right to free speech and free exercise of religion given existing legal protections, Paydar wrote.
Students walk near Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on April 23, 2012. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Rule Caused Confusion
The DOE official added that the 2019 Trump executive order had caused confusion around nondiscrimination requirements for schools. He also argued it had prescribed a novel and unduly burdensome role for the Department in investigating allegations regarding public institutions treatment of religious student organizations.
Paydar argued that existing rules protecting First Amendment rights to free speech should provide sufficient protection for religious organizations on college campuses.
We have not seen evidence that the regulation has provided meaningfully increased protection for religious student organizations beyond the robust First Amendment protections that already exist, much less that it has been necessary to ensure they are able to organize and operate on campus, Paydar wrote.
Paydar said that the DOE proposes to return to a system where the judicial branch determines whether an institution improperly restricts First Amendment rights. If the rule change is adopted, the DOE wont take any action if a college is found to restrict religious organizations speech or activities.
In its proposed rule, the Department is proposing to return to this longstanding practice of deferring to courts. If public institutions of higher education (IHEs) do discriminate against religious student organizations on the basis of the organizations beliefs or character, such organizations can and do seek relief in the courts, which have longstanding expertise in and responsibility for protecting rights under the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses, he wrote.
Paydar emphasized that the proposed rescission would not affect the DOEs dedication to protecting religious freedom, which he noted is a fundamental human right under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Additionally, he said the DOE remains committed to promoting First Amendment protections, including those for religious freedom, at public institutions of higher education.
A Florida university student, who asked to be identified only as Mia, sits with her study Bible at home on Christmas break on Dec. 22, 2022. Expressing Christian views on campus draws scorn from professors, who openly talk about their hate for Christians, she told The Epoch Times. (Courtesy of Mia)
Rule Is Necessary and Important
When the rule was first enacted in 2020, First Liberty Institute, a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to defending religious freedom, said it was a necessary and important step to protect students of all faiths and perspectives on campus.
Disturbingly, over the past few decades, some public universities have effectively evicted religious organizations from campus by stripping these organizations of the right to communicate with students via college emails, websites, and campus-wide events, and deny them funding, wrote First Liberty Counsel Keisha Russell, on Sept. 25, 2020.
These universities subjected religious groups to stricter standards than other student groups, requiring religious groups to accept members or leaders that fundamentally disagree with the organizations beliefs and mission, she continued.
Russell said it was fortunate that because of the Trump-era rule, public institutions would risk losing federal funding if they bully religious organizations into abandoning their religious beliefs in order to have a presence on campus.
According to Russel, the rule forces institutions to follow their stated institutional policies regarding freedom of speech, including academic freedom to be eligible for federal grants.
The DOE is encouraging stakeholders and the public to provide feedback on the proposed elimination of the regulation.
Biden Admin Unveils Most Restrictive Border Control Measure to Date
Illegal immigrants from Cuba line up to board a bus to be driven to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection station as they are processed in Marathon, Fla., on Jan. 5, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled a new rule that constitutes its most extensive attempt to date at restricting illegal immigrants who cross the border to seek asylum in the United States.
Migrants who enter the United States illegally, or who fail to seek protection in countries they pass through en route to the United States, would automatically be considered ineligible for asylum, unless they qualify for certain exceptions, according to the new rule published on Feb. 21 on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website.
The policy is much more restrictive than current laws, which allow people claiming persecution in their home country to apply for asylum in the United States, regardless of how they entered.
These steps are being taken in response to the unprecedented western hemispheric migration challengesthe greatest displacement of people since World War IIand the absence of congressional action to update a very broken, outdated immigration system, the DHS said in a statement.
The DHS called the new rule an emergency measure intended to prevent a further surge in illegal immigration when Title 42 is expected to expire on May 11. Title 42 is a Trump-era COVID-19 response policy that allowed expedited expulsion of illegal immigrants.
After a 30-day public comment period, the new rule would be in effect for a period of two years.
As we have seen time and time again, individuals who are provided a safe, orderly, and lawful path to the United States are less likely to risk their lives traversing thousands of miles in the hands of ruthless smugglers, only to arrive at our southern border and face the legal consequences of unlawful entry, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement on Feb. 21.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the proposed rule will establish temporary rules concerning asylum eligibility in those proceedings when the Title 42 order is lifted.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is responsible for overseeing U.S. immigration courts and ensuring that claims are adjudicated expeditiously, fairly, and consistent with due process, he added.
Opposition
Some Democrats and certain advocates have opposed the proposal since its release.
Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said in a joint statement that the United States should not be restricting legal pathways to enter the country and should be expanding them.
The ability to seek asylum is a bedrock principle protected by federal law and should never be violated, they said, adding that they hope President Joe Biden would reconsider the proposal.
The American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement that the proposal should not move forward, adding that U.S. courts have long recognized that a persons decision not to seek asylum while in transit to the US does not override their need for protection here.
The DHSs announcement comes weeks after the Biden administration announced measures intended to slow illegal immigration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The measures included a deal with Mexico to send back up to 30,000 illegal immigrants from these countries every month, and a parole process allowing up to 30,000 people from these countries to obtain work authorizations in the United States on the condition that they enter legally.
Since the administrations January announcement, apprehensions of illegal crossers at the Southwest border dropped from 221,675 in December 2022 to 128,410 in January 2023, or about a 42 percent decrease, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
In surveying existing explanations, we see at least two general patterns. Most observers and researchers emphasize the role of social technologies. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms provide an algorithmically curated social space for misleading content. A second explanation focuses on the health of authoritative institutions. Where authoritative institutions are in crisis, resulting epistemological voids are colonized by alternative facts. We will first review the techno-centric argument before turning our attention to an explanation rooted in institutions.
Explaining disinformation
Digital disinformation leads to greater political polarization, which opens space for yet more disinformation, which of course exacerbates polarization.
In a well-regarded 2018 review of the social media and politics research literature, Joshua A. Tucker and his colleagues offer a thorough summary of what we call the techno-centric explanation of disinformation, or what others often refer to as computational propaganda.2 According to this understanding of the problem, social media trigger a recursive downward spiral of democratic dysfunction. Digital disinformation leads to greater political polarization, which opens space for yet more disinformation, which of course exacerbates polarization. Such hyperpartisan online politics in turn repel ideologically temperate citizens, leaving the political arena open to more extreme voices. Online content is then amplified by ideologically driven cable news entertainers, or vice versa. Rumors, innuendo, and conspiracy theories are ratcheted up in a reinforcement loop among online and cable news personalities and prominent political officials. Layered over this dynamic is the disruptive presence of foreign actors who leverage social media propensities and social cleavages to their own political advantage. At the beginning of the spiral are various social media platforms that accentuate extremist content as a design feature intended to generate ad revenue.3
This is an elegant description of the problem; what we offer here is not meant to be at fundamental odds with most of it. Nor do we mean to absolve social media platforms of their responsibility in fomenting hate, and potentially even genocide. Instead, we draw attention to other important parts of the story. To be effective, disinformation campaigns on social media platforms require particular political circumstances. In general, countries characterized by high trust in legacy media and public institutions, and low levels of social division are more resilient to disinformation. Much of the information in the news comes from public institutions and the officials representing them. When trust in government, media, and science declines, disinformation thrives, because many people seek alternate facts. As a result, public resistance to rumor, conspiracy, hate, and lies weakens. This is illustrated by variance in disinformation effectiveness around the world. Taiwan, for example, has been the target of sustained disinformation attacks from the mainland for years. Indeed, according to one study, Taiwan has been the target of more foreign-sourced disinformation than any other liberal democracy.4 Yet, these attacks have had little apparent impact on Taiwans politics and society.
Social fissures encourage the embrace of tribal identities that are accompanied by deeply held emotional truths that are often not anchored by evidence.
The Baltic states offer another example of national resilience in the face of a sustained disinformation campaign. NATO has reported the limited effect of social media trolling on Latvias population. Similarly, Finland is largely resistant to Russian disinformation. Its coherent government response makes a strong defense against concerted outside efforts to skew reality and undermine faith in institutions (emphasis added). As with the Soviet Union in an earlier era, Russian disinformation is meant to exacerbate existing social fissures in a target society. Social fissures encourage the embrace of tribal identities that are accompanied by deeply held emotional truths that are often not anchored by evidence.5
Assaults on authoritative institutions
Authoritative institutions are characterized by norms, processes, and cultural practices designed to assess the soundness of truth-claims.6 In science, peer-review, replicability requirements, and publication retraction procedures offer an example of such mechanisms. When evidence is flawed, reputational costs are incurred. In judicial proceedings, violations of the rules of evidence can lead to acquittal, not because the accused is necessarily innocent of a crime, but because the procedures in place for guarding the integrity of fact-based claims have been violated. Professional journalism follows similar procedures for assessing truth claims.7 Revealed violations of these professional norms and standards comes with a cost. As Yochai Benkler and his colleagues note, Some shared means of defining what facts or beliefs are off the wall and what are plausibly open to reasoned debate is necessary to maintain a democracy.8 Today, in some societies, norms of reasoned public debate have given way to crafted emotional truths and reckless prevarications that, by design, disrupt the basic functioning of authoritative institutions.
What political, economic, or social currents in recent US history might explain the conditions that give rise to outlandish conspiracies?
In 2019, the Social Science Research Councils Media & Democracy program invited us to organize a working group consisting of scholars from several disciplines to investigate the historical antecedents of our current post-fact world. What political, economic, or social currents in recent US history might explain the conditions that give rise to outlandish conspiracies? The resulting edited volume, The Disinformation Age: Politics, Technology and Disruptive Communication in the United States,9 includes prominent sociologists, communication scholars, political scientists, and historians. In the opening chapter, we develop the conceptual framework outlined briefly here. While the contours of our argument vary from country to country, it hews closely to a core theme: Neoliberalism and the accompanying austerity regimes that have left public sector services in tatters have been accompanied by a sustained assault on science, journalism, labor unions, and academic institutions and other authoritative institutions. Beginning with the Thatcher and Reagan regimes in the United Kingdom and the United States in the late 1970s and 1980s, center-right parties pressed for privatization of public services, cuts in government budgets and public welfare programs, tax policies favoring business and wealthy individuals, and the reliance on markets and private enterprise to guide public policy. By the 1990s, this trend was joined by center left parties such as the Democrats under Clinton in the United States, the Labour Party reshaped by Blair in the United Kingdom, and the Social Democrats led by Schroeder in Germany.
In nearly every of these democracies economic inequality grew, public services were reduced, labor unions weakened, wages stagnated, and personal insecurity increased. These trends were most pronounced in the United Kingdom and the United States. As a result of the frustration, anger, and despair experienced by citizens10 squeezed by shrinking relative wages, precarious job security, and frayed social safety nets, the appeal of soothing emotional truths becomes overwhelming. In a seemingly meaningless world, people seek meaning where they can. It isnt the cleverness of the bots and trolls that matter most; it is the weakening of authoritative institutions and the fracturing of previously shared understandings of reality that matter. Each tribe is now in possession of its own facts, its own version of reality. How did we get here?
The development and spread of neoliberalism in the postWorld War II era, and particularly after the 1970s, was bolstered by the extensive funding of thousands of affiliated think tanks and political organizations by corporations and billionaires.11 Networks of national-level think tanks, charitable foundations, and astroturfing organizations have developed political strategies to limit the political agency of workers, consumers, environmentalists, and other democratic publics deemed hostile to business interests and free market ideology. Billions of dollars have been spent in this effort. Yet, despite the money and push, advocates of small-government, free-market libertarianism failed to convince the US public of the wisdom of abandoning essential government programs dating back to FDRs New Deal. To accomplish this required a reframing of social welfare programs, mostly through racial tropes. For example, in his 1976 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan created the myth of the welfare queen. As one investigation put it,
In the popular imagination, the stereotype of the welfare queen is thoroughly racedshes an indolent black woman, living off the largesse of taxpayers. The term is seen by many as a dog whistle, a way to play on racial anxieties without summoning them directly.
The poor, especially those in urban communities of color, were portrayed as slackers and con artists who took advantage of Lyndon Johnsons war against poverty. By 2016, what were once not-so-subtle dog whistles had become an unabashed embrace of white supremacy by the President of the United States.
Appeals to hatred and violence against racial and ethnic minorities is an all-too-common practice.
As political scientists Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson put it, race is the cleavage that defines American politics.12 Elevating the role of race, does not require denying the role of plutocracy. It requires seeing how (and how fundamentally) the two are intertwined.13 Extensive research suggests that violent extremism is generated from above when elites capitalize on preexisting prejudices in pursuit of political gain.14 Race and ethnicity served as cross-cutting cleavagesthe capacity of conservative parties around the world to self-consciously find and exploit issues that cross-cut and diminish the impact of social class as an electoral cleavage, supplanting it with issues such as nationalism, religion, and patriotism.15 We see this same pattern elsewhere in the world, including Myanmar where the Burmese military have been accused by International Criminal Court officials, Amnesty International, the United Nations, and various news agencies of ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority. Appeals to hatred and violence against racial and ethnic minorities is an all-too-common practice.
In the United States, efforts to rationalize the privatization of public assets and the rollback of government regulation of markets have played a direct role in attacking institutions such as the traditional news media, and furthered disinformation and polarization in the United States. For example, right-wing think tanks and conservative organizations helped organize and fund 2020 anti-stay-at-home protests, in the same way they did anti-union Right to Work legislation in 2012. The anti-stay-at-home protests received widespread coverage in right-wing media, particularly on Fox News, which was then reinforced by Trumps immediate tweets in support of the protests. One domestic terrorism group, calling themselves the Wolverine Watchmen, even hatched a plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan.
The techno-centric explanation of disinformation becomes relevant at this point, but only because institutions that would otherwise limit the effect of such disinformation have been undermined by extensive funding and support by neoliberal and so-called libertarian assaults on public institutions, science, and regulation. Shifting the emphasis to the underlying political roots of the information disorder helps us avoid diverting too much attention and resources to treating symptoms, such as media literacy and fact checking, which leave the institutional causes of disinformation untouched.
Solving information disorder involves choking off the influence of enormous wealth and concentrated political power that continues to undermine authoritative institutions.
What is the takeaway here? Solving information disorder involves choking off the influence of enormous wealth and concentrated political power that continues to undermine authoritative institutions. It is only then that we can expect some closure of the voids left behind by the erosion of democratic institutions. The pattern weve identified here in the United States plays out with variations in other countries around the world. But the core dynamic is uncannily the same. Authoritative public institutions that might shed an unflattering light on corporate capitalism and great concentrations of wealth are being undermined. This is the source of our current information disorder.
Banner photo credit: Paul Becker/Flickr
Biden Declines to Veto Apple Watch Import Ban
Apple's Deidre Caldbeck showcases the enhanced features of the new Apple Watch lineup during a special event at Apple Park in Cupertino, Calif., on Sept. 7, 2022. (Brooks Kraft/Apple Inc./Handout via Reuters)
The Biden administration declined to veto a trade courts decision that could block imports of Apple Watches.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced a ban on imports of Apples watch products for infringing on AliveCor patents related to heart monitoring, on Feb 21.
The ITC case was filed under Certain Wearable Electronic Devices With ECG Functionality and Components Thereof, U.S. International Trade Commission, No. 337-TA-1266.
Apple said it would immediately appeal the ITCs import ban decision, calling its decision a harmful to public health.
AliveCor holds patents for electrocardiogram (ECG) technology in smartwatches containing pulse oximeters, currently used in some of the latest Apple Watch models. The company had prevailed over Apple in December 2022, when the ITC announced a ruling in favor of the heart-monitoring company after hearing its case.
The ITC ruled that imports of Apples smartwatches should be banned for infringing AliveCors patents, but it paused the implementation of a potential ban while related legal proceedings between the two companies run their course.
The case will eventually go before the full ITC and will be subject to appeals and potential pauses during patent challenges.
Prior to the December ruling, the Patent and Trademark Office had found AliveCors patents invalid in a ruling which the company promised to appeal.
White House Permits Apple Watch Ban
When the ITC normally issues a ruling, the White House is given a 60-day presidential review period in which it could decide whether to veto the ITCs ruling based on policy concerns.
However, that period finally elapsed due to inaction by the administration.
A spokesperson for AliveCor told Reuters that the company was informed by the Biden administration that there would be no veto of the ruling.
We applaud President Biden for upholding the ITCs ruling and holding Apple accountable for infringing the patents that underpin our industry-leading ECG technology, said AliveCor CEO Priya Abani in a statement.
This decision goes beyond AliveCor and sends a clear message to innovators that the United States will protect patents to build and scale new technologies that benefit consumers.
Presidential vetoes of ITC import bans are normally rare, but in 2013, the Obama administration reversed a ban on some iPhones and iPads after a similar ruling.
The ban was lifted after a serious patent war between Apple and Samsung caused potential harm to American consumers and economic competition.
Apple Sued for Stealing Electrocardiogram Patents
AliveCor sued Apple for infringing on three patents related to its KardiaBand, an Apple Watch app that monitors a users heart rate, detects irregularities, and performs an ECG test to identify heart problems like atrial fibrillation.
The California-based company told the ITC that Apple copied its technology and then pushed it out of the market by making its watchs operating system incompatible with its KardiaBand. Apple Watch Series 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 all contain the allegedly stolen ECG technology.
The health app company has filed a separate related patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in a Texas federal court.
AliveCor has filed a third case against Apple in a federal court in San Francisco for allegedly monopolizing the American market for Apple Watch heart-rate apps. The U.S. tech giant then countersued them in the same court for allegedly infringing its own patents.
Meanwhile, an ITC administrative judge recently ruled that Apple violated a patent belonging to Masimo and was solely installed on the Apple Watch Series 6.
Apple was accused of infringing on the company design that allowed light sensors to gauge blood oxygen levels in its smartwatches with a pulse oximeter.
Reuters contributed to this report.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets the leaders of the Bucharest Nine (B9) countries from NATOs eastern flank and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at 8:10 a.m. ET on Feb. 22, during his visit to Poland.
The Epoch Times will livestream the event.
California Lawmakers to Consider Gov. Newsoms Windfall Tax on Oil Companies
California lawmakers will hold a special public hearing Feb. 22 to consider Gov. Gavin Newsoms plan to impose a windfall tax on oil companies.
The proposal would place mandatory caps on oil refinery profits and add industry regulations and oversight, according to the governor.
The state Senate committee meeting comes months after Newsom first started accusing larger oil companies of price gouging and proposed the tax last year as gas prices skyrocketed at the pump, reaching $6.44 in June and $6.42 in October on average.
Lets be clear: Big Oil has been screwing us, Newsom said during a five-minute video posted Jan. 26.
This fall, Californians were once again saddled with record gas prices as big oil reached record profits, he said. This time, though, were going to do something about it.
Gas prices are displayed at an Exxon gas station in San Francisco, Calif., on July 5, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The governor said the penalty would not become another gas tax for Californians while oil industry officials claimed it would.
I think its important that Californians understand this is a tax, Western States Petroleum Association spokesman Kevin Slagle told The Epoch Times. The governor can call it whatever he wants, but its a tax. And when you tax a commodity like fuels that usually impacts costs at the pump.
Californians currently pay 53.9 cents of tax per gallonthe highest in the nationafter raising its gas tax rate in July. Additionally, the state adds federal excise tax and environmental cap-and-trade fees to that, bringing the total to about $1.28 a gallon.
Nicole Jacobs, spokeswoman for Energy In Depth, told The Epoch Times that Newsoms price-gouging penalty was an attempt to shift blame from whats actually causing high prices.
She said that Californians pay the most because of multiple factors, including high taxes, a lack of infrastructure, and misguided policies that stifle investment and force the state to import increasing volumes of foreign oil.
The solution to combat high prices at the pump is more domestic energy production, not less, she added.
The Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications is expected to start the public hearing at 1:30 p.m.
Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber), who serves as vice chair of the senate committee hearing the proposal, and a group of Republican legislators asked Newsom Feb. 21 to take several steps to avoid rising fuel costs, which, Dahle said on social media, are crushing Californians in just about every aspect of life.
The legislators letter asked the governor to stop an 8-percent gas-tax hike set for July 1, extend the diesel tax holiday that will expire Sept. 30, and delay the states yearly transition to an emissions-reducing summer-blend gasoline that adds as much as 28 cents per gallon.
California Teacher Fired for Saying She Would Tell Parents About Gender Transition of Their Child
A sign outside restrooms in Chattanooga, Tenn. on Jan. 13, 2023, seems to indicate that women and men should use separate facilities. (Jackson Elliott/The Epoch Times)
California gym teacher Jessica Tapia said she would tell parents if their children started secret gender transitions.
Tapia said she never notified a parent of a childs transgenderism or prevented a boy from entering the girls locker room because these situations never came up.
But saying she would not obey school rules in these hypothetical cases was enough to get her fired, said Tapia.
These are really all hypotheticals. Our directive was for hypothetical situations that I had never been in, she said.
Jessica Tapia, a gym teacher who refused to lie to parents if their children assumed a new gender identity. Tapia worked at Jurupa Unified School District in California before the district fired her. (Courtesy of Jessica Tapia)
Tapia said she plans to sue Jurupa Unified School District (JUSD). The district told Tapia she had a choice; be willing to lie to parents or lose her job.
If a child at JUSD school identifies as transgender, its school policy to hide that fact from parents, Tapia told The Epoch Times.
I had to make that decision. Do I let the district know Im not okay with these expectations? she said.
Tapia told the school she couldnt follow its policy because her Christian faith demanded she tells the truth.
Im obedient to the Lord, and what he has called me to do, and the way he has called me to live, she said.
What this means for the future of public education is that legitimate, practicing Christians cannot be public education teachers, she said.
Not Promising to Lie
The school told Tapia that California law demands she tells lies.
The district provided you with a verbal directive to refrain from disclosing the gender identity of a student who is transgender to a parent who does not know the students gender identity, reads a Feb. 21, 2023, email to Tapia from the school.
Tapia told the school that young children shouldnt change genders without their parents knowledge. She added that she wouldnt obey the schools demands to let boys into the girls locker room.
I want to let you know, I will not be allowing biological males into the female locker room, Tapia recalls telling school officials.
Well, we have a whole other issue, then, because you have to. That would be discrimination, she recalls the officials replying.
Put On Paid Leave
Tapias fight with JUSD started in May of 2022 when students found Tapia on social media and found she disagrees with transgenderism, she said.
Occasionally, her social media posts included Bible verses. Other posts said she opposed putting young children in LGBT pride shirts.
The students reported her to JUSD for these posts, she said.
They had certain feelings about some of the things that Ive posted and decided to send in screenshots and videos to the school district, she said.
For her social media posts, the school put her on paid leave and investigated her, she said.
The school district put me off on paid administrative leave and investigated all of that, she said.
When Tapia came through the investigation, administrators said she would remain under close watch for misbehavior, she said.
A screenshot of an email from Californias Jurupa Unified School District firing Jessica Tapia for refusing to lie to parents. (Courtesy of Jessica Tapia)
This was at the end of my sixth year of teaching. Ive never behaved in any sort of way that needed to be changed, said Tapia.
Then Tapia told JUSD she wouldnt lie to parents about a childs transgenderism or let boys into the girls locker room.
Teachers are required to allow a student that thinks they are the opposite sex into a locker room that they dont belong in, she said.
It would be discriminating if I didnt, she added.
The school told Tapia they couldnt accommodate her faith-based opposition to lying to parents about a childs mental state.
Based on your religious beliefs, you cannot be dishonest with parents. If asked about a students gender identity by a parent, you cannot refer the parent to a counselor, defer the inquiry and suggest they speak with a student or otherwise deflect the parents inquiry, said a letter to Tapia signed by the assistant superintendent of human resources Daniel Brooks.
A high school classroom in Gorham High School with a prominently-displayed LGBT flag. (Courtesy of HB)
Consequentially, the district will release you from your employment effective at the end of the day on Jan. 31, 2023, the letter reads.
Although Tapia lost her job working for the school, she said she has no regrets about following her faith.
God is using me to make changes, and to protect children, and protect parental rights, she said. So no. No regret. Not for a second. And I dont foresee it ever in the future, either.
A few other teachers at JUSD have told her they agree with her choice, she said.
Secrets and Shared Bathrooms
Although JUSDs policies on bathrooms and gender transitions sound shocking, they are common nationwide.
Policies allowing men and women to change together arent unique to California schools. As previously reported, California law allows any man who isnt a sex offender to shower naked next to women.
Could you knowingly send an underage girl into a room where there was a naked male and say that she was not in danger? That she was safe? Or more importantly, that this was right? said Rebecca Phillips, a California teen who discovered a naked man was in her YMCAs womens locker room.
New Jersey also allows men into womens bathrooms and changing rooms in schools, as previously reported.
Secret school-supported gender transitions are also a nationwide issue.
Maine parent Amber Lavigne learned that school officials started to gender transition her daughter without her knowledge. The photo was taken at Biscay Pond, Maine, on June 27, 2022. (Courtesy of Amber Lavigne)
In Maine, a school counselor gender-transitioned Amber Lavignes 13-year-old daughter without her mothers knowledge, as previously reported.
Shes a minor childmy minor child! Lavigne said, fighting tears at a school board meeting. And under no circumstances should she have been provided a chest binder without the knowledge of the parents.
Transgender group The Transition Closet offers school-age children closets where they can change into opposite-sex clothes for school, as previously reported.
The group has also provided transition closets to schools in California and Colorado.
Secret Right to Gender Transition
Secrecy about child gender transitions and other radical actions often marks the activities of the radical gender movement.
This commitment to stealth ranges from secret gender transitions to deceptively-labeled curriculum to secretly inserted LGBT messaging in libraries, as previously reported.
Groups like the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) or American Library Association (ALA) often use their nationwide influence to push the cause of gender transition.
Often, school employees dont agree with secret sex changes but keep silent. The ASCA exerts a strong influence on how states credential school counselors, according to its website.
Cutting Parents Out
It isnt the school counselors role to out students, but to listen, support, and provide unconditional positive regard, ASCAs website states.
Tom, an anonymous school counselor in Florida, told The Epoch Times he opposed secret school-supported sex changes but feared losing his job if he made his opposition public.
The biggest problem I had was that we were cutting the parents out, Tom said. And we were forcing staff, kind of against their will, to cut parents out and participate in this.
Besides transgenderism and abuse at home, he said theres no case where a child can make a significant mental health decision without counselors telling parents.
This is the only situation that Ive ever been told, Dont call the parent and Deceive the parent,' Tom said.
School-Supported Gender Transition
Tom said he is also a Christian and that for years, he nervously awaited the day when a transgender-identifying child walked into his office and put him in a situation where he would have to confront ASCA rules.
One day, it happened.
Tom said he passed the decision up the chain of command to school leaders. Without his consent, the leaders designated him as a safe person for the transgender-identifying teenage girl to talk with.
I was like, Are you serious? Youre gonna throw me into this?' he said.
School leaders said if he didnt hide the girls male identity from parents, he could face a federal lawsuit, Tom said.
The school hid the girls choices from her parents for three months, he said.
FCPS Pride rally to support Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) pro-transgender policy outside of the Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Va., on June 16, 2022. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)
You would talk to the kid outside, calling them by this different name. Youd walk into the conference with the parents, and youd tell them to call them by the other name, he said.
Finally, the school got tired of keeping the lies straight and told the parents the truth, Tom said. But they left out the part about the months of secrecy.
They didnt interpret it that way, Tom said of the parents. But thats what it was.
Even outside liberal states, schools are committed to the secret gender transition of children, Tom said.
Just because you move from New York to Florida, or New Jersey to Florida, or California to Idaho, or Washington to Montana, doesnt mean this is not going to happen, he said.
The Epoch Times called JUSD for comment, but they didnt respond by publication time.
Calls to Halt Atlantic Offshore Wind Projects Grow Louder as Whale Deaths Continue
Three Republican congressmen and more than a dozen mayors whose coastal districts are near offshore wind energy sites are calling on the Biden administration to suspend offshore wind projects until a thorough investigation into a recent spate of whale deaths rules them out as the cause.
Since Dec. 1, 2022, at least 23 whales have been found dead along the New Jersey and New York shorelines. Whales have also washed ashore in Maryland and Virginia.
Two more were stranded in New Jersey over the weekend of Feb. 17.
Reps. Jeff van Drew and Chris Smith of New Jersey, and Andy Harris of Maryland, represent coastal communities where opposition has been organizing against the projects.
New Jersey Versus NOAA
In a Jan. 31 letter to the Biden administration, Smithon behalf of 12 New Jersey mayorscalled on the administration to immediately suspend all offshore wind projects until ecological safety can be assured.
The New Jersey mayors, local environmental leaders, and members of the fishing community all share a deep concern that four major offshore wind projects have been approved concurrently within the span of two years, Smith wrote.
Smith is concerned that these projects have been fast-tracked to locate as many as 3,400 turbines that will be anchored 300 feet into the seafloor.
That these projects are being built at such a large scale and in such a short amount of time casts doubt over whether there was sufficient time to properly evaluate their impact on marine ecosystems, fisheries, shipping channels, tourism, and other important factors that may be affected, he wrote.
Though it acknowledges that there is an unusual mortality event occurring in the regions whale populationat least 178 dead humpback whales have washed ashore or been found at sea over the past seven yearsthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains there are no documented cases of whale deaths or injuries associated with offshore wind projects or the seafloor surveys developers are conducting.
We dont believe those planned construction activities would exacerbate or compound these ongoing unusual mortality events. In proposals for those projects, we have included the mitigation measures that NOAA fisheries believe is enough to minimize the impact on marine mammal species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, said Benjamin Laws, deputy chief for NOAAs permits and conservation division Fisheries Office of Protected Resources during a January press conference.
Smith questions NOAAs claims
Last year, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network raised a concern that construction related to offshore wind was harmful to Atlantic Sturgeon, he explained in his letter.
While at first, their review overlooked this concern NOAA subsequently found new information corroborating this claim. Still, construction continued in the interim, causing undue environmental harm, Smith wrote.
Similarly, the lack of conclusive evidence disproving the link between offshore wind development and whale deaths is sufficient enough to require a pause until assurances can be made to the public that the environmental and maritime safety of these projects has been properly reviewed, Smith concluded.
In 2019, Smith coauthored legislation to ban seismic air-gun testing to protect the highly endangered North Atlantic Right Whales.
Meanwhile in Maryland
In the wake of the fourth beaching in his district, Marylands Harris expressed his concerns in a public statement issued on Jan 17, calling for an immediate moratorium on windmill construction and related underwater geotechnical testing.
NOAA has offered zero evidence that this construction, including geotechnical testing, is not the cause of deaths, he wrote.
Harris called for a full and transparent release of necropsy results, including the necropsy results of the whale ear structures, which he said should be removed for examination to determine whether sonar actively contributed to the cause of death.
Greenpeace Disagreement
Meanwhile, Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore weighed in on the issue through an opinion piece published on Feb. 14 in The Washington Times.
Since 2016, when acoustic sonar surveys required for the construction of 1,500 wind turbines began on the U.S. Atlantic coast, 174 humpback whales have washed ashore dead, Moore wrote.
This represents a 400 percent increase in mortality from previous years, he added.
Moore believes that whales, which use sonar to navigate and communicate, are confused and disoriented by the sonar being used to place wind platforms and cables.
He is also concerned that whales could be impacted by the mud and sediments stirred up by seafloor excavation.
Each [turbine] will require a concrete base excavated into the ocean sediment up to 150 feet deep and 30 to 40 feet wide. This will clearly cause a huge amount of mud to be dispersed into the water column.
Baleen whales are filter-feeders, using their baleen to strain their food into their stomachs.
The mud from these many excavations may interfere with their feeding and may also affect the species they depend on for food, his letter continued.
The Greenpeace organization dismissed the founders concerns.
At this time, due to the lack of evidence suggesting harm from offshore wind development, Greenpeaces position remains that the best way to protect whales is to create ocean sanctuaries, eliminate single-use plastics at the source, and stop our dependency on oil and gas.
Local Concerns
On Feb 14, the mayor and town council of Ocean City, Maryland, released a statement urging state, and federal officials to halt offshore wind farm development after yet another whale washed ashore in their region.
Like many other officials along the coast, we believe that development of any energy type within our fragile coastal ecosystem must be done in a responsible manner, Mayor Rick Meehan said in the statement.
Ocean City insists that all approvals and construction of wind farms off our coast be delayed until all environmental issues, economic concerns, and view shed options be fully explored, and these projects are relocated to more suitable lease areas further offshore.
We only have one chance to get this right, and this is our chance.
Chinese Spy Buoys Found in Arctic Waters Intercepted By Canadian Military
Ships are framed by pieces of melting sea ice in Frobisher Bay in Iqaluit, Nunavut, on July 31, 2019. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
The Department of National Defence says Chinese surveillance buoys discovered in Arctic waters last fall have been intercepted by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
The Chinese buoys were identified by the Armed Forces in a mission dubbed Operation LIMPID, which aims to detect threats to Canadian security via routine monitoring of the countrys air, maritime, land, and aerospace domains.
CAFs interception of the buoys was confirmed by Daniel Le Bouthillier, head of media relations at the Department of National Defence. Bouthillier declined to provide details on the retrieval of the Chinese devices, citing the need to ensure the integrity of operations.
The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces are fully aware of recent efforts by China to conduct surveillance operations in Canadian airspace and maritime approaches utilizing dual-purpose technologies, Bouthillier said in a statement.
Under Operation LIMPID, the CAF monitors Canadas air, land, and sea approaches, and since 2022, it has stopped attempts to surveil Canadian territory.
MPs were previously warned of Chinas threat to Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic region, which is more imminent than expected, according to Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre.
The time periods are so short, which means the problem is not [in] 20 years. [The Chinese] are doing the capabilities studies right now, Eyre said in testimony at a House committee on Oct. 25, 2022.
Retired lieutenant-general Michael Day echoed Eyres concerns, saying that the Chinese buoys were likely installed to monitor U.S. nuclear submarine traffic in the Arctic. The buoys could also be used to map seabeds and ice thickness as China is showing an increased interest in the economic and military value of the Arctic as new polar sea routes open up.
China, like most nations, is super interested in the pretty significant changes that are happening up north. They do not have an icebound port, but they do have a rapidly growing icebreaking fleet, Day told the Globe and Mail.
Wave of Espionage
News of the Chinese spy buoys come on the heels of the downing of a high-altitude Chinese spy balloon that trespassed North American airspaces on Feb. 4.
Some political figures, such as Tory MP Michael Chong and U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), have said the incident serves as a wake-up call for governments about the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) wave of espionage operations.
Media reports of CCP interference in Canada have been raised in the Parliament one after another since last fall, spanning from alleged secret Chinese police stations in Toronto and British Columbia to the charging of a former Hydro Quebec employee for sending trade secrets to China.
On Feb. 21, MPs on the Procedure and House Affairs Committee decided to expand their study of foreign election interference after classified Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents on Beijings interference in Canadian federal elections were leaked in the press.
The top-secret CSIS files, first reported by the Globe and Mail on Feb. 17, outline how China executed a sophisticated strategy of interference in the 2019 election that had two central goals: ensuring the re-election of a Liberal minority and the defeat of some Conservative candidates who were regarded as unfriendly to Beijing.
Conservative and Bloc Quebecois MPs have stepped up criticism of the Liberal governments stance towards foreign interference after media reports last November said CSIS had warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several cabinet ministers that China allegedly provided illegal funding to 11 candidates during the 2019 federal election campaign. Trudeau at the time claimed that he wasnt briefed about any federal candidates receiving any money from China.
Trudeau responded to the leaked CSIS documents on Feb. 17, defending his governments efforts to ensure Canadian election integrity, saying that the outcomes of the 2019 and the 2021 elections were determined by Canadians and Canadians alone.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report
A new temporary border rule was unveiled by the Biden administration. Its the strictest measure by the Department of Homeland Security since Biden took office.
Dueling speeches by President Joe Biden and President Vladimir Putin: what do they each announce as Chinas role in the war in Ukraine draws attention?
Polands consul general in New York joins us to discuss Bidens visit to Poland. Whats the significance of his trip, and what does the war in Ukraine mean for Poland moving ahead?
The Environmental Protection Agency is ordering Norfolk Southern to clean up after the train derailment earlier this month and former President Donald Trump is expected to visit the Ohio community.
Do Big Tech companies have too much power and too little liability? The Supreme Court hears its first case on Section 230. The decision could change the internet as we know it.
A political expert joins us to discuss the weaponization of the federal government. He says that people are afraid of the government now.
CDC Recommends 2-Dose Monkeypox Vaccine Despite a Small Risk
Test tubes labeled "Monkeypox virus positive and negative" are seen in this illustration taken on May 23, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters)
A two-dose vaccination for monkeypox is now recommended for high-risk adults in the event of a monkeypox outbreak and that could be as small as a single caseat the discretion of local health authoritiesthe U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Feb. 22.
The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously approved the recommendation for the vaccine Jynneos despite the fact that potentially serious health risks could not definitively be ruled out.
Jynneos was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2019. Nearly 1.2 million doses have been administered since May 2022.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., on Sept. 30, 2014. (Tami Chappell/Reuters)
The CDC recommendation indicates that two doses are needed, to be administered one month apart and that it takes two weeks after the second dose for the vaccine to be most effective.
Monkeypox is caused by a virus similar to the one that causes smallpox. Jynneos is approved for the treatment of both diseases.
Symptoms of monkeypox begin with flu-like symptoms such as a fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. Lymph nodes may also become swollen. Within a few days, a blister-like rash will appear that looks similar to chickenpox.
The rash may spread to other parts of the body but usually dries up after a week or two.
Monkeypox and chickenpox are not related.
Monkeypox is rarely fatal, experts say, but can have life-altering effects including severe scars from the blisters, and blindness.
It can spread through direct contact with rashes, scabs, or body fluids of an infected person, close contact with respiratory droplets from an infected person for four or more hours, sexual contact, or contact with bedding used by an infected person.
Infected people are no longer contagious after their blisters scab over or dry up.
Vaccine Effectiveness and Side Effects
Jynneos is effective in preventing monkeypox 95 percent of the time, according to the CDC. However, It is not known how effective the vaccine is for people who have a compromised immune system.
That is significant because 53 percent of U.S. monkeypox cases were in people who are HIV positive, the CDC reported.
A Mecklenburg County Public Health employee arrives at a monkeypox vaccine clinic in Charlotte, N.C., on Aug. 20, 2022. (Nell Redmond/AP Photo)
The duration of the vaccines effectiveness is also unknown.
Data gathered from vaccine recipients shows that mild side effects from the vaccine were reported 62 percent of the time, ranging from redness at the injection site to fatigue (40 percent), headache (24 percent), and fever (17 percent).
Five percent reported seeking medical attention for symptoms after receiving the vaccine.
Mild side effects show that the recipients immune system is active and are not a sign of illness, according to the CDC.
Serious health conditions were reported after receiving the vaccine at the rate of 22 per 1 million recipients. Those conditions include myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), pericarditis (inflammation of the fluid around the heart), and hives.
Two people died after receiving the vaccine, though the causes were determined to be from drowning and cocaine toxicity.
The CDC noted that the risk of developing myocarditis or pericarditis after receiving Jynneos was found to be significantly lower than recorded for previous smallpox vaccines.
A safety study on the vaccine reported that data does not suggest an increased risk for myocarditis or pericarditis following Jynneos, but the possibility of a small risk cannot be excluded.
Overall, the potential desirable outcomes outweigh the potential risks, the CDC concluded.
2022 Outbreak
Monkeypox was first detected in monkeys in 1958 but not seen in humans until 1970. There was no large outbreak outside Central and West African countries until 2022.
The first case in the United States was reported in May 2022. Since then, 30,193 cases and 32 deaths have been reported nationally. That accounts for 35 percent of cases reported worldwide.
Current data indicates that 99 percent of U.S. monkeypox cases occurred in men. Of those men, 94 percent reported recent sexual or intimate contact with a man, according to the CDC.
Fifty-three percent of Americans contracting monkeypox were also HIV positive.
The number of new daily cases peaked in Jul. 2022 at nearly 600. The current rate of new cases is 2 per day.
HHS provided $11 million to support U.S.-based manufacturing of Jynneos at Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing in Grand Rapids, Mich., starting in Aug. 2022.
Jynneos is provided free, though providers may bill private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid if applicable.
Chinas Top Diplomat Meets Putin, Vows to Deepen Partnership With Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi at the Kremlin in Moscow on Feb. 21, 2023. (Anton Novoderezhkin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
Communist China is pledging to deepen its cooperation with Russia, further cementing the ties between the authoritarian powers.
Chinas top diplomat, Wang Yi, met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Feb. 21, with the two expressing a desire to evolve the nations strategic partnership.
Wang told Putin that the myriad crises of the current era required the Chinese and Russian regimes to continuously deepen our comprehensive strategic partnership.
The current international situation is indeed critical and complex, but the relationship between China and Russia is solid as a mountain and can stand the test of international risks, Wang said.
His visit to Moscow marks the highest-level visit between the two powers since February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing and signed a no limits partnership with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping.
Since then, the CCP has bolstered ties with Russia and provided it with invaluable economic support as Moscow pushes forward with its attempted conquest of Ukraine.
The two powers are also working hand-in-glove to increase military cooperation and are currently holding joint military exercises off the coast of South Africa.
Likewise, theres a widespread belief among U.S. and NATO leaders that the CCP is providing other support for Russias illegal attempts to conquer Ukraine.
China-based actors reportedly launched a massive cyber attack on Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure in the lead-up to Russias assault. The United States has blacklisted numerous Chinese firms for supporting the Russian military.
Similarly, U.S. officials announced earlier this month that Beijing was actively considering pleas from Moscow to provide materiel aid to Russias military, though such a move would make China the target of innumerable international sanctions. Moreover, China is bound by a treaty to defend Ukraine from aggression by nuclear powers.
Putin has expressed a desire to increase ties between Russia and China in a bid to avoid defeat in Ukraine and undermine the U.S.-led international order.
To that end, Putin has invited Xi to visit Moscow in the coming months and told Wang that he was looking forward to the visit and a deepening of the partnership.
Its unclear when Xi will travel to Russia. Still, the communist leader is expected to make a so-called peace speech on Feb. 25, during which hell call for a political settlement to the war in Ukraine involving the acceptance of Russian conquests.
When asked whether the United States was prepared to face the threat of a militarily unified China and Russia, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl said the U.S. military represented the broader international order and could meet any challenge.
We are applicable in any theory, Heckl told The Epoch Times.
Whether its the neuroses of the Middle East, whether its the maritime approaches in the Far North, whether its Eastern Mediterranean. We are representatives of the rules-based international order.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Congress Prepares to Investigate COVID-19 Vaccines
Members of Congress are preparing to probe COVID-19 vaccine development and other issues related to the shots.
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is planning to investigate how possible side effects are being studied, the regulatory process of authorizing and approving the vaccines, and why the vaccines were mandated, members told The Epoch Times.
One goal of the committee is making sure the United States is prepared for future pandemics, and that includes perfecting our vaccine development, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) told The Epoch Times via email. In order to do so, we must have complete transparency in vaccine research, clinical trials and adverse reactions, and manufacturing.
I expect our oversight hearings will shed light on the FDA approval process, the potential for side effects, and ultimately the success rate and safety of the vaccineeach of which will help us to navigate future global health emergencies, she added.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), another member, said the panel will be performing a comprehensive review of how the vaccines were developed, approved, and mandated.
McCormick, a doctor, is concerned about how data on possible side effects has been collected. He also wants to look into how children as young as 6 months old have been encouraged to get a primary series and at least one booster, given the lack of scientific evidence for a benefit, coupled with real concerns about possible harm for an otherwise immune person.
Children are at the least risk from COVID-19. Vaccines were cleared for kids for prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 based on immunogenicity data, or antibody production. Real-world data shows the vaccines provide transient protection against symptomatic infection. Children and others who have recovered from COVID-19 enjoy shielding against the disease, especially against severe illness, and some research has found that after recovery, people have a higher risk of vaccine side effects.
People do deserve to know about the long term safety and efficacy of the vaccine. A lot of the things that were told to us, like they prevent transmission and all of that, was not true. So people will have concerns and those concerns should be addressed, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), another member of the subcommittee, told The Epoch Times.
Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which clears vaccines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which decides whether to recommend vaccines, increasingly bypassed their expert advisory panels during the pandemic after the panels pushed back against decisions like advocating for boosters before a review of trial data was complete. Two top FDA officials, including one who wanted more time to examine data on Pfizers vaccine, resigned in 2021.
We need to know who made the decision to bypass the standard vaccine approval processes, Lesko, a subcommittee member, told The Epoch Times via email.
Lesko said she also hopes the panel will investigate why mandates were imposed and what effects the mandates had.
The COVID-19 vaccine mandates were a clear abuse of government authority, and we need to know who made the formal decision to implement these mandates. Additionally, I believe we need answers on the data from the COVID-19 clinical trials, given the significant disparity between the trials and real-world effects from these vaccines, Lesko said. I hope we can get to the bottom of these issues, and I am proud to work with my colleagues to get the long-overdue answers the American people deserve.
Panel Formed
The House of Representatives established the subcommittee in its rules package.
The panel was authorized to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the U.S. governments funding of risky experiments known as gain-of-function research; the use of taxpayer funds and relief programs, including reports of fraud; and the development of vaccines and treatments, and the development and implementation of vaccination policies for Federal employees and members of the armed forces.
The package also enabled the panel to explore the economic impact of the governments response to the pandemic, Executive Branch policies and communications, and the societal impact of the decision to close schools across the country.
A Democrat-led House select subcommittee was convened in the previous Congress. That panel examined the Trump administrations efforts to influence public health agencies, probed the vaccine manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions, and investigated the Paycheck Protection Program.
Republican members of the new panel met recently to go over the subcommittees priorities, Malliotakis told The Epoch Times. They include digging into whether the virus originated at the U.S.-funded lab in Wuhan, China. Malliotakis also wants to investigate then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomos directive to nursing home operators to accept people even if they tested positive for COVID-19, which critics say led to unnecessary deaths among the elderly.
Many of the issues were brought up by Republicans in the previous Congress, but because they were in the minority, they often didnt receive answers.
We were ignored because we were in the minority and we didnt have subpoena power to bring those people before us to testify. Thats the real difference here. Now, we have subpoena power, Malliotakis said. And so were going to respectfully ask again for the answers to our questions. If they dont provide them, then the chairman may be forced to subpoena.
The coronavirus subcommittee is working under the House Oversight Committee. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who chairs that panel, declined to say whether witnesses who resist cooperating voluntarily will be subpoenaed.
The Select Subcommittee is charged with a thorough review of the pandemic, including the development of vaccines and the subsequent policies and mandates. Select Subcommittee Chairman Wenstrup is the right guy to lead the charge and I look forward to working with him, Comer told The Epoch Times via email. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) is chairing the subcommittee.
The first formal action by the new committee was announcing efforts to get testimony from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and others who could shed light on the origins of COVID-19.
The subcommittee was directed to issue a final report by Jan. 2, 2025, with the ability to issue interim reports as it deems necessary.
Feb. 7, 2023
The latest installment in the Finding Firmer Ground report series examines how technological advancements have increased distrust and uncertainty in U.S.-China relations. From big data to semiconductors, the multiauthor report looks into the geopolitical implications of technological development and what strategies, if any, policymakers in the United States and China can take to mitigate tensions.
This report is the fourth in the Carter Centers Finding Firmer Ground report series, which explores how dialogue, conflict management, and collaboration between the U.S. and China can sustain peace and prosperity in East Asia. Previous reports examined the role of civil society, the agricultural sector, and educational exchange in managing U.S.-China tensions.
This report is published by the Carter Centers China Focus. The editors are Yawei Liu, senior advisor on China at The Carter Center, and Michael Cerny, program associate for the Centers Peace Programs. You can find the report here.
The report is authored by Sara Hsu, Ph.D., clinical professor of supply chain management at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville; Ja-Ian Chong, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore and nonresident scholar with Carnegie China; Rorry Daniels, managing director of Asia Society Policy Institute; Shirley Martey Hargis, nonresident fellow in the Atlantic Councils Global China Hub and Digital Forensic Research Lab; and John Lee, director of East West Futures Consulting.
Contact: In Atlanta, Maria Cartaya, maria.cartaya@cartercenter.org
Finding Firmer Ground: The Role of High Technology in U.S.-China Relations
https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/peace/china/finding-firmer-ground-the-role-of-high-technology-in-u.s.-china-relations.pdf
Understanding the influence of high technology on U.S.-China relations, competition, and the prospects for cooperation.
Edited by Yawei Liu & Michael Cerny Foreword by Victor C. Shih
Foreword
II. Executive Summary
III. Introduction
IV. Artificial Intelligence
V. Internet of Things
VI. Big Data and Privacy
VII. Semiconductors
VIII. Opportunities for Dialogue
IV. Conclusion
I. Foreword
Chinas accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) marked the high-water point of bilateral relations between the U.S. and China.China was still technologically far behind the U.S. and other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries as U.S. companies looked for a large pool of cheap and adequately skilled labor.With the lowering of tariffs on Chinese-made goods after Chinas WTO accession, the two countries enjoyed a decade and a half of enormous mutual gains that lowered the cost of the digital revolution in the U.S. and lifted hundreds of millions
out of poverty in China. The Chinese government also took advantage of foreign investment to absorb technologies from foreign companies and to use greater fiscal resources to build up its military and bolster industrial policy. Today, bilateral trade amounts to over $1 trillion a year, which continues to provide ample mutual benefit to firms and individuals across the two countries.
Yet, the narrowing asymmetry of power and technology have bred deeper mistrust and even hostility between the two countries. Since 2012, Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinpings attempts to highlight China as a premier power in the world has encouraged hawks in the U.S. government to move China to the center stage of U.S. foreign policy with an increasing focus on China as the main competitor and strategic threat to the U.S.This report starts from a place that many from both sides can heartily agree that the downward spiral in bilateral relations over the past six years must be managed more effectively in order to prevent worse dynamics from taking hold.
In addition, the authors, all seasoned China watchers and experts in technology policy, identify several core logics instilling distrust and overall insecurity among policymakers on both sides. They then propose potential policies to mitigate these sources of mistrust and insecurity.Fundamentally, the points raised in this report narrow down to one powerful source of insecurity, the anarchic nature of the global order, along with one strong motivation for cooperation: the profit potential of the technology industry. Taken together, these provide some hope for realistic cooperation and conflict management, which the report sets forth.
First, for years, China has taken advantage of the anarchic nature of the global order to steal billions of dollars in intellectual property (IP) from more advanced countries.
Since Chinese companies stealing technology were beyond U.S. jurisdiction, there was little that U.S.-based claimants could do to enforce American IP law on companies thousands of miles away and in other jurisdictions.The WTO provided a cumbersome mechanism for companies to lodge IP-related grievances, but it moved slowly and ultimately had no means of enforcing rulings on convicted parties (or at least no enforcement that the guilty party could not circumvent quickly). Again, this was not a problem when the technological disparity between the U.S. and China was vast. By 2010, however, Chinese technology companies like Huawei were taking market share from leading U.S. firms like Motorola and Cisco.The prospect of inadvertent or deliberate technology transfer has become a major worry among U.S. policymakers, especially in the integrated circuits (IC) sector.As the report outlines, the U.S. has rolled out a series of sanctions against the Chinese IC industry to prevent further technological leakage, going so far as to bar U.S. citizens from working for Chinese IC firms.These measures were rolled out because transnational law enforcement remains limited, so the U.S. felt compelled to maximize the reach of domestic jurisdictions to sanction individuals and companies that are domiciled in the U.S. or conduct extensive business with U.S. entities.
Even in the cybersecurity realm, the inherently anarchic nature of the global order constitutes a root problem.If the U.S. federal government wants to hack into the computer of a domestic company, it needs to obtain a court order to do so, which leaves a paper trail and potential liability. A U.S. court also can stop the government from hacking domestically, which law enforcement authorities, in theory, will enforce.
However, beyond the national border, nothing save for occasional congressional oversight stops a U.S. government agency from hacking into a foreign ompany's computer.Likewise, nothing short of a threat of retaliation stops Chinese agencies from hacking into U.S. computers.If governments around the world see retaliation as the only effective deterrent to hacking, they will engage in a constant series or hacks and counter-hacks, resulting in untold economic losses to the major powers and any countries without adequate know-how to defend themselves.
On the other hand, the authors of this report suggest that both sides have some incentive to engage in dialogue and regulatory coordination.Why would these two competing powers do that? We must recall that bilateral trade and investment has generated hundreds of billions of dollars in profits for companies on both sides. Even in the IC sector, which now is a $500 billion-a-year industry, the potential for mutual gains is enormous.
To be sure, in some areas, the relationship between the two countries is akin to a prisoner's dilemma game where cooperation by one side leads to a "sucker's payoff and absolute gain by the other side.For example, agencies on both sides will continue to hack into the others government. The side that doesnt will lose out.
Still, in other areas, coordination between the two countries will lead to gains for both sides and the lack of cooperation even by one side will lead to losses for both. In the area of renewable energy, for example, both sides have strong incentives to coordinate. Both sides will benefit from faster adoption of electric vehicles, and U.S. carmakers can benefit from the lower costs of Chinese batteries. Chinese battery makers can make money off U.S. buyers of Chinese batteries. For the U.S., increasing dependence on Chinese batteries is not such a problem since it still has plenty of oil if China were to impose a battery embargo on the U.S.
The challenge for both sides, as highlighted by the report, is to harmonize domestic or global regulations to structure incentives for coordination by both sides. Already, the U.S. has started to harmonize its state capacity in the high-tech realm so that it can match the robust technology policies of China.This should not be seen by China as an unmitigated negative development. It actually helps the U.S. government obtain better information from sectoral players about optimal policy approaches and craft intermediate policy solutions.The report makes the very sensible suggestion of forming a global regulatory body for Internet of Things (IoT) technology so that privacy standards can be coordinated and even enforced.This is an excellent suggestion. I would add that perhaps blockchain technology can be brought to bear to help with enforcement. For example, the vendor of a new IoT device must submit a blueprint of its product, which complies with a certain set of privacy requirements. The vendor must further deposit a substantial sum of money in an escrow account. If members of the governing body find a deviation in the vendors product from its original blueprint that jeopardizes privacy, a blockchain contract is immediately executed to take the vendors deposit, thus creating a financial loss for the offender.In general, the crafting of fair and transparent mechanisms with a bite will make transnational coordination in digital regulation more tractable.
In sum, competition between two sovereign nations is always tricky due to countriesinability to enforce laws on one another. However, commercial incentives, transparency, and technologies that ensure transparency provide some grounds for cooperation and conflict management in the future.
II. Executive Summary
In the past decade, China and the U.S. have found themselves increasingly in dispute over issues like the South China Sea and Taiwan, and these disagreements have only intensified in recent years. Conflict between the U.S. and China is escalating, starting with the trade war under the Trump administration on economic and technological fronts and later expanding into the realm of human rights, governance, and semiconductor competition under the Biden administration. As tensions have risen and attempts to defuse conflict have dwindled, the chance that the two countries become entangled in greater strife has increased.
One of the central sources of friction relates to the emergence and use of new technologies, which have opened not only new realms of opportunity but also potential for exploitation. Today, new technologies and their applications are complex, underregulated, and thought to be farther-reaching than previous technology regimes.
The fact that both nations are attempting to compete fiercely across the range of new technologies has situated the U.S. and China as strategic competitors.
Both nations have competitive advantages that set them apart from one another. On one hand, the U.S. has a well-funded private sector that innovates mainly for the consumer. On the other hand, China has a state-funded apparatus for both state- and privately owned enterprises that innovates based on state policy objectives. It is this competitive advantage, Chinas state-driven approach, that principally concerns American values surrounding personal privacy and competition. Conversely, some Chinese resent the United States protective attitude toward technology, which, in their view, seeks to prevent other nations from reverse engineering or simply using proprietary technology.
Due to the complexity of technology, intellectual property theft, competing state approaches, and clashing values over privacy have created major challenges to American and Chinese companies operating cross-nationally. Even where there is a clear legal structure governing technology use, concerns remain over legal enforcement and the ultimate control of such technology. In this report, we review major new technologies, discuss the issues at stake between the U.S. and China, and describe ways that both countries can find firmer ground to coexist peacefully. We specifically examine artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data and privacy, semiconductors, and cyberattacks, and conclude with suggestions for constructive dialogues.
Artificial Intelligence. Artificial intelligence can simulate human thought and reactions using large data sets and has both civilian and military applications. AI-based applications can be used for business purposes, to provide customers with the highest service levels. The technology has been used, for example, to improve credit scoring for small businesses and to customize product marketing to individual preferences. At the same time, AI can also be applied to enhance the effectiveness of cyberattacks or to monitor people.
One of the biggest concerns surrounding AI relates to different views about human rights and legal enforcement in China and the U.S. Culturally, Americans have often emphasized the protection of individual rights, while the Chinese tend to emphasize the rights and security of society as a whole. In addition, the relationship between AI and the legal system differs in both countries. While both the U.S. and China use AI facial recognition technology to monitor citizens, for example, there are key differences as to how citizens are identified as national security threats and in provision of due process.
In addition to these differences, the U.S. has criticized China for competing unfairly by involving the state in innovation.[1] Notably, the U.S. government is increasingly involved in setting innovation and technology competition policy. Both the U.S. and China have AI strategies created by their respective governments, but the Chinese strategy is more comprehensive. The Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology develop research in this area and bring new technologies to industry. In addition, China has integrated AI development into its policy plans since the controversial Made in China 2025 plan was released in 2015, furthering Chinas role as strategic competitor to the U.S.
Due to fundamental differences in views of human rights and the role of the state in innovation, the U.S. and China will continue to struggle to find common ground on this technology. However, the ability to avoid escalation of future conflicts is essential to building trust on this issue. The establishment of conditions that help to increase transparency and can provide a means for de-escalation in the event of conflict will improve the chances of maintaining a peaceful relationship.
Internet of Things. The Internet of Things or IoT refers to the interconnected devices that people use daily, including the networks, data, and computational processes supporting technological devices. For example, the internet is no longer people to people, but things to things linked together through internet connectivity and controlled via cyberspace. Oftentimes, the interconnectivity of devices is not mediated by humans, resulting in a significant increase of interconnected cyber-physical systems.
IoT can be used for both civilian and military purposes and has been incorporated into smart cities and smart schools as well as into weapons systems and aircraft. These objects can collect and transmit large amounts of data, but increased connectivity comes with greater risk of cyberattacks. Coupled with other new technologies, including 5G and artificial intelligence, IoT presents new security challenges. Hackers have been able to gain access to vulnerable networks by gaining access to IoT objects, including surveillance cameras.
China has streamlined policies to integrate IoT into everyday life across a variety of industries, including the urban construction, medicine, and automotive industries.
Policies made at the central level have promoted IoT as a strategic emerging industry.
The country also has policies to protect privacy rights against IoT devices.
The U.S. has focused on preventing sale of critical technologies to China to maintain its technological superiority. The Trump administration went further to ban U.S. companies from engaging in commerce with Chinese companies that are considered a national security threat. President Biden extended this entity list to include firms and military research institutes, such as SenseTime Group Limited, Leon Technology Company, Limited, and Yitu Limited.[2]
To find firmer ground, both the U.S. and China should ensure that the IoT must be sufficiently secured. Standardization can help to increase the security of IoT devices and ensure global market participation by increasing compatibility between systems.
Big Data and Privacy. Big data is comprised of large data sets that may include a variety of data types. The data can be used to reveal complex patterns of ndividual, firm, or system behavior. The main issue with big data is that it creates new vulnerabilities for security and privacy.
Both China and the U.S. are concerned about data privacy, in different ways. The U.S. is primarily concerned with protecting data that could expose individual financial and personal information. China is primarily worried about the collection of data by commercial entities and the potential for foreign espionage. Common concerns about data privacy can provide the two countries with a starting point for cooperation. This is especially an issue in the U.S., where there are no all-encompassing data privacy laws like Chinas Personal Information Protection Law and Data Security Law.
Improvements in data protection and bolstered privacy standards in the U.S. are therefore critically important. Without a comprehensive data privacy law, the U.S. will struggle to launch a productive conversation with China on this topic.
The U.S. should remedy this gap and engage in an ongoing dialogue with China on cybersecurity issues. As this report explores, high-level negotiation has proved successful in the past. Collaboration between the U.S. and China, as well as other nations, can help reduce the risk of data exposure.
As in the case of artificial intelligence, the U.S. and China hold different views on who should have access to data. The Chinese state controls data generated within the state, while American individuals do not wish to grant the state access to their personal data.
Such ideological differences must be taken into consideration in conversations between the two nations. Semiconductors. Semiconductors are essential for most modern electronics and carry out a range of functions, including computational processing. The semiconductor industry is characterized by specialized division of labor across countries, with many steps dominated by just a few major firms. This creates nearly insurmountable challenges for individual countries to onshore complete semiconductor supply chains.
In recent years, the U.S. has imposed export controls on Huawei, SMIC, and other Chinese firms that require foreign technology, thereby slowing evelopment of China's semiconductor industry. The U.S. is working to bring semiconductor production onshore, but despite the strengths of the American semiconductor industry, significant foreign dependency in certain areas will remain for many years to come.
China's semiconductor industry has made significant progress over the past two decades but generally remains well behind global industry leaders in most segments of the semiconductor supply chain. Despite top-level policy attention and significant state support for the industry, China remains heavily dependent on foreign equipment and overseas inputs.
Neither China nor the U.S. is likely to achieve success in capturing a significantly larger share of the global semiconductor supply chain for their companies over the short term.
While the foundational nature of semiconductors as a technology means that prospects for cooperation are limited, both nations should try to limit antagonistic actions, such as expansion of export controls or punitive retaliatory measures.
The way forward. Technology comprises innovations that arise and operate within an existing political and social context. Different ideological approaches to technology have given rise to mistrust between the U.S. and China. A mutual dialogue cannot occur without understanding and accepting these fundamental differences, such as with respect to private and state-led innovation.
Differences in operating procedures for dialogue and diplomacy have given rise to negotiation fatigue. Stronger engagement requires mutual understanding of risk perceptions and the desire to work toward common rules and standards for technology use. Building trust between the two nations will provide a better understanding of the other side's intentions.
We suggest a roadmap to more productive bilateral dialogue. This includes the following recommendations:
1. Each side must keep expectations realistic. Managing expectations for future compromise on the different issues is essential to measuring success. Neither side should come into dialogue anticipating that the other side will make sweeping changes in its approach to technology competition or the role of technology in society. Instead, the focus should be on better understanding the evolving state position on underlying and emerging issues. This can help to shape bilateral consensus on basic principles.
2. Dialogues must get the right people together. Use of various new technologies cuts across multiple government agencies in both countries, and it is important to identify the correct personnel to communicate with, both in government and in the private sector where necessary.
3. The two sides should set a workable agenda. Neither side is likely to want to share specific intellectual property but rather may wish to focus on the extreme ends of the spectrum the broadest and the narrowest issues. As grounds for engaging in productive dialogue, each side must clearly understand the other sides interpretation of rules of fair use of cyber tools.
4. The dialogue must take place on a regular schedule. This can prompt regular internal policy reviews on either side in preparation for meetings that strive to keep pace with rapidly evolving innovation.
5. The dialogue framework should balance the interplay between bilateral discussions and international institutions and agreements. Not only should the U.S. and China consider bilateral agreement and agendas, but the participants also should consider the expansion of such principles and discussions to larger multilateral formats.
New technology does not have to derail diplomacy and should be used to strengthen rather than weaken political relations between countries.
Notes:
[1] See the USTRs Section 301 Findings on Chinas technology practices,https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/Section%20301%20FINAL.PDF
[2] Barker et al. 2022, Biden Administration Issues New Sanctions and Trade Restrictions on Chinese Technology Entities and Adds 34 Chinese Entities to the Entity List, Arnold and Porter Advisory, January
7. https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/perspectives/advisories/2022/01/biden-issues-new-sanctions-onchinese-technology
III. Introduction
As competition between the U.S. and China escalates, there are questions about how each country will use technology to further their economic and political interests. There are several issues that present potential threats to a peaceable relationship between the two nations. Although the U.S. is considered a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence and other areas of technological development, China is rapidly catching up and concerns abound that such technology will be used to accelerate cyberattacks.
At the core of the technology conflict are differences in how each country perceives
individual rights and the role of the state. The U.S. places significant weight on values
relating to individual privacy and freedom, while China views stability and state security
as paramount. Maintaining peace while advancing technological innovation requires
recognition and acceptance of these different values.
Newly developed technologies themselves present complex challenges to state values.
Artificial intelligence requires the construction of ethical guidelines that were
previously unnecessary. Access to semiconductors and the U.S.-China semiconductor
competition challenge the nature of and rules of globalization. Moreover, technologies
such as the Internet of Things and big data greatly widen the scope of technologys
applications and create new vulnerabilities that can be exploited by third parties. These
technologies are becoming increasingly widespread across industries. These include
both civilian and military sectors, such as the health care, pharmaceutical, and
transport industries, as well as the defense industry. In China, the state has explicitly
encouraged the use of such technologies across sectors, while competition among
firms in the U.S. has rendered the adoption of new technologies a necessary tool for
firm survival.
In the following sections, we look at key new technologies and the issues they present
for the U.S.-China relationship. We elaborate on existing and potential issues regarding
new technologies. In each section, we examine how these individual technologies are
embedded in the broader framework of U.S.-China competition, describe the U.S. and
Chinas existing policies in each technology area, and then describe overarching
practices that could help reduce the potential for conflict with regards to their
development or application . We conclude with a section about how dialogue can be
enhanced to facilitate cooperation.
IV. Artificial Intelligence
The technology and its uses. Artificial intelligence (AI) combines with big data and the
speed of cloud computing to simulate human thought and reactions. This process
reduces the costs of doing business and can improve customer service and risk
management. AI helps firms analyze patterns that may not be perceptible to humans to
uncover business risks and process transactions.
However, artificial intelligence can be used for both civilian and military purposes. For
example, AI systems can be designed to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in other
systems. AI can also be used to attack systems, such as by using human-like behavior
to crowd out legitimate users, identifying ideal targets in large data sets, and creating
vulnerabilities in consumer machine learning models to distort results.
Overall, the U.S. possesses high levels of domestic and international AI talent and welldeveloped AI innovation and hardware systems. China has many AI patents and high
venture capital investments, but fewer AI companies and lower levels of AI talent than
the U.S. A major reason for this difference is that many Chinese AI researchers move to
the U.S. to work for cutting-edge firms and institutions. While both countries are
leaders in the number of AI companies, China is unique in developing specialized zones
called New Generation AI Innovation Development Experimental Zones, where AI
demonstrations and policy tests are carried out.
In addition, many AI-targeted microchips are developed by American companies, on
which China is partially dependent. The U.S. dominates production of graphics
processing units produced by American firms like Nvidia, Googles Tensor Processing
Unit (TPU), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) from companies like Intel and
Xilinx.
U.S. companies also have an innovation edge in AI-enabled analytical tools. For
example, the U.S. leads the world in claiming the top deep learning frameworks,
TensorFlow developed by Google, and PyTorch, developed by Facebook.[1] The U.S. is
also a leader in natural language processing, with over double the number of firms as
China and triple the number of employees.[2] Moreover, the U.S. is a global leader in
computer vision and autonomous driving.
Seeking to catch up to the U.S., China has used its large population and market to its
advantage in recent years. China has made strides in obtaining data for AI training
purposes because it has been able to take advantage of customer data and customer
biometrics. Before the Personal Information Protection Law came into effect in October
2021, privacy laws were more lenient in China, which provided Chinese firms and
government entities with rich databases on which to train artificial intelligence models.
China also leads in speech recognition.
In addition, China has tasked selected private sector AI champions with specific
innovations, such as Alibaba for smart cities and Baidu for autonomous vehicles. This
status comes with enhanced access to state finance and preferential treatment in
contract procurement.[3] Alibaba implemented the City Brain project across China to
increase the speed and transparency of administrative processes and improve service
delivery, such as in Hangzhou's Xiaoshan International Airport, where Alibaba
technology was used to better manage airport schedules and maintenance.[4] Notably,
some of the AI champions, including iFlyTek, SenseTime, and Huawei, have been
banned in the U.S. on national security grounds and are not permitted to acquire
hardware, software, and technology from American companies.
Some artificial intelligence software relies on visual recognition, and Chinas prowess in
this area is undeniable. In 2016 and 2017, for example, Chinese scientists won first
place at the Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge for computer vision systems.
Causing international outcry, China has deployed its advanced technology in this area
to identify and trace individuals in Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)
who the state views as potential terrorists, often using race-based attributes. By using
SenseTimes technology to compare faces stored in a database of known terrorist
suspects with real-time surveillance footage, Chinas security apparatus is now able to
identify and locate these suspects. Megviis Sharp Eyes project accomplishes the
same task across multiple provinces, including and beyond Xinjiang. Its cameras
collaborate with the Integrated Platform for Joint Operations so that police officers can
carry out facial identification at a wider scale.
This reflects a difference in ethical norms for technology use between the U.S. and
China, as the Chinese government views the broad use of surveillance and facial
recognition as tools for maintaining stability and security, whereas U.S. firms have
restricted its use among the public to some extent on the basis of human rights and
individual privacy. Sullivan (2021) argues that AIs surveillance capacity represents the
most significant single obstacle to cooperation on AI norms, rules, and procedures
between our nations.[5] It should be noted, however, that U.S. agencies are using facial
recognition in criminal investigations where criminal activity has been committed,
and are planning to increase use of such software[6], even if facial recognition for the
purposes of rating citizens and identifying suspicious behavior of noncriminals is not
used as it is in China.
The GAO report on facial recognition states that 15 of the 42 federal agencies surveyed
on the use of facial recognition software use nonfederal sources, with only one of these
agencies keeping records of what nonfederal software is being used. Six of the
agencies reported using the technology to identify suspects engaged in civil unrest,
riots, or protests. By contrast, companies such as Facebook have eschewed the use of
facial recognition due to concerns raised by privacy experts.
Natural language processing has allowed the Chinese government to identify
individuals for national defense purposes. The company iFlytek uses natural language
processing to assist the Ministry of Public Security in creating a national speechpattern and voice database.[6] The National Security Agency in the U.S. also uses
natural language processing to convert communications to text. In addition, the U.S.
Defense Departments Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) uses the
Deep Exploration and Filtering of Text program to extract and act upon information
across unstructured text data for the purposes of defense.[7] Executive Order 12333 on
United States Intelligence Activities calls upon departments and agencies to provide
the President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council with
the necessary information on which to base decisions concerning the development and
conduct of foreign, defense, and economic policies, and the protection of United States
national interests from foreign security threats.[8] This order has permitted the U.S.
government to monitor citizens without the use of a warrant, and it is unclear to what
extent electronic surveillance is used.
Although both China and the U.S. are using AI to monitor citizens, albeit to varying
extents, the underlying difference in attitudes toward human rights provides a basis for
conflict between the two nations. What is at issue is less the use of technology to
identify criminals than differences in what is outlawed. China has no protections in
practice for freedom of speech or assembly and therefore classifies a wide range of
government critics as national security threats. These include individuals who speak
out against the state, such as lawyers, feminists, religious practitioners, and in many
cases those belonging to ethnic minority groups. The U.S. also targets individuals who
are considered national security threats under a narrower definition while generally
upholding due process. The difference in attitudes toward human freedoms such as
freedom of speech and religion, protection against unreasonable search and seizure,
and due process has resulted in fear that the Chinese government will apply its internal
standards of privacy to foreign users of its equipment and software. This fear is at the
root of the conflict over AI monitoring and surveillance.
Compounding this fear is the fact that China has implemented AI in a more integrated
fashion between its civil and military spheres, as opposed to the U.S., which faces a
divided audience in AI implementation between the Pentagon and Silicon Valley.[9] As a
result, Chinese tech firms have built in back doors or security vulnerabilities, possibly
for the purposes of providing information about domestic Chinese users to the Chinese
intelligence community. For example, a Chinese camera vendor, Xiongmai, was found to
have created software containing an undocumented back door that could access
millions of cameras. While some of the code may be prepared for Chinas domestic
market, it is challenging to maintain separate software installations for devices sent to
other destinations abroad. In other words, technology shipped from China may still
contain this vulnerability[10], which can present problems for other states national
security.
There is also anxiety in the U.S. that China will use AI to counter traditional American
defense-related espionage. The U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial
Intelligence released its final report in March 2021,[11] which stated that China is a
strategic competitor to the United States in AI. It further indicated that the U.S. is
worried that China will use AI to identify and expose American sources and methods.
In addition, the U.S. views Chinas development of AI as a threat due to Chinas
cyberattack targets. For example, Chinas hack of Microsoft Exchange is believed to be
part of an unknown long-term artificial intelligence project.[12] The hack of email data
was carried out by Hafnium, a In addition, the U.S. views Chinas development of AI as a
threat due to Chinas cyberattack targets. For example, Chinas hack of Microsoft
Exchange is believed to be part of an unknown long-term artificial intelligence project.
[13] The hack of email data was carried out by Hafnium, a cyber-espionage group with
alleged ties to the Chinese government. Cyberattacks can be made more rapidly, with
better precision, and in greater secrecy with the use of AI. Cyberattacks have been
used in recent years to steal trade and government secrets. There is a concern that use
of AI-fused data for blackmail, deepfakes, or swarms are possible in the future. China
has also allegedly used deepfakes to influence Taiwanese elections.[14]
Chinas fear of U.S. cyberattacks has likewise grown. Chinese media reports have
stated that the U.S. is the largest source of cyberattacks in the country, attacking
aerospace, scientific research institutions, large internet companies, and government
agencies.[15] At the same time, there appears to be less fear in China that the U.S. will
harness AI to augment cyberattack capabilities.
Finally, the U.S. believes that China can use AI to offset U.S. military superiority by
implementing a type of intelligentized war that uses alternative logistics,
procurement, training, and warfare algorithms.
In In this scenario, battle networks will connect systems, and armed drones with
autonomous functions will be employed. AI can also help to identify and hit valuable
targets more rapidly. Notably, China has expressed the wish to ban usage, though not
development, of autonomous lethal weapons.[16]
The Department of Defenses 2020 annual report to Congress on the Chinese military
stated that China views new technologies as the means to engage in intelligentized
warfare. This will speed up decision-making capabilities and improve intelligence and
surveillance technologies. The Peoples Liberation Army even reorganized its research
and education institutes to integrate new technologies with the development of new
operational concepts in 2017.
The U.S. military also uses AI and possesses autonomous weapons. The U.S. has made
use of the technology under Project Maven, which was tasked with identifying
insurgent targets in Iraq and Syria. AI research is being conducted in the areas of
intelligence collection and analysis, logistics, cyber operations, information operations,
command and control, and semiautonomous and autonomous vehicles.[17] However, it
is critical to note that the U.S. has a transparent policy on AI decision-making in
offensive capabilities; it has published guidance on Autonomy in Weapon Systems,
which requires appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.[18]
As in the case of AI-based surveillance and data usage, U.S. anxiety over Chinas
intelligentized war concept is based on Chinas record of behavior on other
international norms and values. For example, Morgan et al. (2020) claim that China has
not complied with biological and chemical weapons treaties, nor with its World Trade
Organization obligations, leading to concerns over Chinas commitment to binding
agreements.[19] In addition, China has proposed a ban on lethal autonomous weapon
systems that defines such systems quite narrowly, and which is not supported by the
US. This has led some observers to call into question Chinas true commitment to
banning such weapons, especially as U.S. standards are currently stricter than those in
Chinas proposed ban.
Still, the U.S. itself ignores international agreements when they fail to serve its
interests. This has been a feature of American participation in the international arena
since before its independence from Great Britain. More recently, the U.S. has withdrawn
from the Paris Climate Accords and has violated WTO tenets under the Trump trade
war. Although the Biden administration has sought to reinvest in international
institutions and agreements, there are no guarantees that future administrations will
maintain compliance and few punishments the international system can impose on its
largest power for violating the rules.
Current policies. Both the U.S. and China have implemented policies to promote and
safeguard new technologies. AI has received ample consideration by both governments.
The Biden administration released a blueprint for a bill of rights in October 2022 to
guide the design and implementation of technologies such as artificial intelligence. The
objective was to ensure safe systems, protect individual privacy, and prevent
algorithmic discrimination.[20]
Prior to that, on Feb. 11, 2019, President Trump signed Executive Order 13859,
establishing the American Artificial Intelligence Initiative coordinated by the National
Science and Technology Council Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence. This
program coordinates AI activities across all federal departments and streamlines
objectives related to improving access to federal data, models, and computing
resources, lowering barriers to AI technology implementation, reducing vulnerability to
attacks, training American AI researchers, and implementing a plan to safeguard U.S.
economic and national security interests. The American AI Initiative sought to create a
blueprint for setting up the National AI Research Resource. On March 19, 2019, the
government released AI.gov, which provides the public with information on federal
government activities in AI. The National AI Initiative Act of 2020 was released to
coordinate federal government efforts to accelerate AI research and application.[21]
The U.S. National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan,
updated June 2019, aims to meet eight priorities in support of the AI Initiative: to make
long-term investments in AI research, to develop methods for human-AI collaboration,
to address ethical and legal aspects of AI, to ensure safety and security of AI systems,
to develop shared data sets for AI training, to create benchmarks in AI, to understand AI
R&D workforce needs, and to increase public-private partnerships for development of
AI.[22] The Biden administration has set up this National Artificial Intelligence
Research Resource Task Force to understand how to promote innovation.
The Department of Defense has published a classified AI strategy and carries out
related tasks, such as setting up a Joint Artificial Intelligence Center to implement
artificial intelligence technologies, publishing a roadmap for AI development, and
creating a National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence to assess militaryrelated AI technologies and make recommendations for further implementation.[23]
The report recommends that the U.S. achieve military AI readiness by 2025 through
Pentagon leadership reforms and augmentation of the Department of Defenses AI R&D
portfolio.[24]
In China, the government plays a particularly important role in AI research and
development. Both the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology coordinate and develop research in this area. In addition,
the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plays an important role in bringing
new AI technologies to industry. The NDRCs Department of High-Tech Industry also
plays a key role in promoting technological advancement.
Like Bidens AI bill of rights, China has released several regulations aimed to protect
society. These include rules for online algorithms, certification of trustworthy AI
systems, and establishment of AI principles.[25]
China has a number of plans and policies that have integrated AI into state goals. The
Made in China 2025 plan was released in May 2015 and aims to develop intelligent
products and production. AI was also highlighted in the 13th Five-Year Plan, the Robot
Industry Development Plan, the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Technological
Innovation, the Special Campaign on Advancing Innovative Development of Intelligent
Hardware Industry, and the 13th Five-Year Plan on Developing Emerging Sectors of
Strategic Importance (Deloitte 2019).
Chinas State Council issued the New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development
Plan in July 2017, which comprises much of Chinas AI strategy. The plan aims to
accelerate innovation in the area to make Chinas artificial intelligence field
internationally competitive by 2020 and to become a world leader by 2030. At the end
of 2017, China detailed some of these goals in the Three-Year Action Plan on Promoting
the Development of New Generation AI Industry. Local governments across the country
have also issued their own policies detailing how they will enhance AI development.
Chinas 2019 defense white paper, Chinas National Defense in the New Era, states
that new technologies can increasingly be applied to the military sphere and that
military-civil fusion can work toward modernizing Chinas military forces.[26]
Proposals to find firmer ground. One of the biggest issues in the U.S.-China
relationship regarding artificial intelligence is whether AI-based applications can be
used to automate lethal actions. While China has expressed the desire to ban the use of
automated lethal weapons, the U.S. has refused to negotiate a new international
agreement on autonomous weapons.[27] In addition, neither country has committed to
ending the development of such technologies, since they view maintaining artificial
intelligence capabilities as essential to winning future wars.
However, China has taken steps toward creating ethical standards in AI. Chinas White
Paper on Artificial Intelligence Standardization published by the Standards
Administration of China outlines three principles for the ethical use of AI technologies.
[28] These are the principle of human interest, which asserts that AI should benefit
human welfare; the principle of liability, which states that there should be
accountability for the development and deployment of AI-infused technology systems;
and the principle of consistency in rights and responsibilities for commercial entities to
protect their intellectual property. Other entities have created their own AI ethics
standards, including the Beijing Zhiyuan Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, which
established the Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Safety Research Center, putting
forward the Artificial Intelligence Beijing Consensus."[29] In July 2021, the Ministry of
Science and Technology laid out the Ethical Norms for New Generation Artificial
Intelligence, which states that AI technologies should respect human rights and
privacy.[30]
In the US, ethical standards on AI have been adopted by the Department of Defense.[31]
These standards include: requiring responsible development and deployment of AI
capabilities among Department of Defense personnel; minimizing unintended bias due
to AI capabilities; requiring transparency of AI methodologies and data sources;
ensuring reliable AI capabilities that are safe, secure, and effective; and requiring AI
capabilities to be governable, preventing unintended consequences and permitting
deactivation of deployed systems where necessary.
The U.S. Intelligence Community has also laid out ethics regarding AI. These provide
guidance on how to develop and use AI. Ethical standards include respecting the law
and protecting civil rights; ensuring AI method and use transparency and
accountability; reducing bias; applying human judgment in cases where an action may
infringe upon civil liberties; ensuring security and resilience using best practices; and
using AI that has been informed by science and technology.
As noted above, however, there are some ethical differences between the Chinese and
American approaches to AI use. The difference can be reduced to varying views of
human rights and legal enforcement/commitment. On one hand, the United States is
primarily concerned with individual rights as codified in the Constitutions Bill of Rights,
while China is more focused on the rights and security of the citizenry as a whole as led
by the Chinese Communist Party. For example, Americans may view freedom of speech
as inviolable, while the Chinese may see this freedom as a threat to social stability.
These ethical differences will certainly impact the use of AI in both the civilian and
military arenas and must be addressed before they create larger rifts between the two
countries.
Perhaps, in this case, the U.S. can recognize Chinas right to use AI in domestic affairs
while restricting China from using the technology in the United States. This suggestion
is highly unlikely, however, since the U.S. has already crossed this line by sanctioning
China for its treatment of the Uyghur people within Chinas borders and banning
imported products from Xinjiang. China views many ethnic Uyghurs as terrorists and
violates their human rights by using vast AI systems to identify and track alleged
terrorists. This suggests that the U.S. needs to ask itself additional questions about
limits to its ability to enforce American human rights standards in other countries. After
the U.S. has crossed Chinas so-called bottom line, how far is it able and willing to go
to enforce its perspective?
However, neither the Chinese nor the American commitment to international
agreements is fully credible. Both nations are likely to breach, reject, and refuse to sign
or ratify such agreements if they conflict with domestic interests. International
agreements are extremely difficult to enforce. As Koplow (2013) notes, the worlds
leading international judicial tribunal, the International Court of Justice, does not have
jurisdictional power over the United States or China because neither has submitted
itself to the courts authority.[32] The United Nations Security Council also holds the
power to resolve disputes, but the veto power held by each of its five permanent
members, including China and the U.S., guarantees that these members will be
protected from adverse findings.
Monitoring systems to understand when AI is used maliciously is also essential. The
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the U.S. can detect and
disrupt malicious information campaigns.[33]
An eventual goal should be to avoid unintended escalation, but that may be difficult to
achieve at the outset given high levels of distrust. An interim goal, given that anything
concrete is difficult amid the political climate in both the U.S. and China, could be to
establish conditions that open the way for discussions about mechanisms for
transparency, confidence-building, and de-escalation. This could be in terms of
monitoring, limiting the deployment of particularly escalatory AI technologies, and
perhaps the use of hotlines so long as humans are part of the decision-making process.
The lead up to Cold War-era arms control talks between Russia and the United States
could prove instructive given the early lack of transparency and concerns with
escalation, even if it is an imperfect analogy. Nonetheless, everything remains tentative
until the political climate is more accepting of forward movement, meaning that
informal contact and exploration may be all that can be hoped for at the moment.
Notes:
[1] Laskai, Lorand and Helen Toner. 2019. Can China Grow Its Own AI Tech Base? Chapter in STANFORDNEW AMERICA DIGICHINA PROJECT AI POLICY AND CHINA Realities of State-Led Development, Special
Report No. 1 October 29, 2019, Edited by Graham Webster
[2] Deloitte. 2019. Global artificial intelligence industry white paper,
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/cn/Documents/technology-mediatelecommunications/deloitte-cn-tmt-ai-report-en-190927.pdf.
[3] Roberts, Huw, Josh Cowls, Jessica Morley, Mariarosaria Taddeo, Vincent Wang, Luciano Floridi. 2020.
The Chinese approach to artificial intelligence: an analysis of policy, ethics, and regulation, AI and
Society (2021) 36:5977.
[4] See page: https://www.alibabacloud.com/blog/city-brain-now-in-23-cities-in-asia_595479
[5] Sullivan, Ryan. 2021. The U.S., China, and Artificial Intelligence Competition Factors. China Aerospace
Studies Institute, https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/documents/Research/Cyber/2021-10-
04%20US%20China%20AI%20Competition%20Factors.pdf?
ver=KBcxNomlMXM86FnIuuvNEw%3D%3D.
[6] GAO. 2021b. Facial Recognition Technology: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Should Better
Assess Privacy and Other Risks. GAO, June 3, https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-518.
[7] Sullivan, Ryan. 2021. The U.S., China, and Artificial Intelligence Competition Factors. China Aerospace
Studies Institute, https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/documents/Research/Cyber/2021-10-
04%20US%20China%20AI%20Competition%20Factors.pdf?
ver=KBcxNomlMXM86FnIuuvNEw%3D%3D.
[8] Eggers, William D., Neha Malik, and Matt Gracie. 2019. Using AI to unleash the power of unstructured
government data. Deloitte Insights, January 19,
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/cognitive-technologies/natural-language-processingexamples-in-government-data.html.
[9] Department of Defense. 2008. Executive Order 12333 United States Intelligence Activities,
Department of Defense, https://dpcld.defense.gov/Portals/49/Documents/Civil/eo-12333-2008.pdf.
[10] Horowitz, Michael C., Gregory C. Allen, Elsa B. Kania, and Paul Scharre. 2018. Strategic Competition
in an Era of Artificial Intelligence. CNAS Paper, https://www.indexinvestor.com/resources/ResearchMaterials/NatSec/Strategic_Competition_in_Era_of_AI.pdf.
[11] Medin, Milo and Gilman Louie. The 5G Ecosystem: Risks & Opportunities for DoD Defense Innovation
Board, 3 April 2019.
https://media.defense.gov/2019/Apr/03/2002109302/-1/-1/0/DIB_5G_STUDY_04.03.19.PDF
[12] National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. 2021. Final Report, National Security
Commission on Artificial Intelligence, https://www.nscai.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Full-ReportDigital-1.pdf
[13] Temple-Raston, Diana. 2021. China's Microsoft Hack May Have Had A Bigger Purpose Than Just
Spying, NPR, August 26. https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1013501080/chinas-microsoft-hack-may-havehad-a-bigger-purpose-than-just-spying
[14] Taipei Times. 2021. Task force at work to combat Chinese deepfake videos. Taipei Times, November
4, https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2021/11/04/2003767291.
[15] Xinhua. 2021. Zhao Lijian said the United States is the world's largest source of cyber attacks,
Xinhua, July 20, http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/2021-07/20/c_1127674897.htm
[16] Kania, Elsa. 2018. Chinas Strategic Ambiguity and Shifting Approach to Lethal Autonomous
Weapons Systems. Lawfare Blog, April 17, https://www.lawfareblog.com/chinas-strategic-ambiguityand-shifting-approach-lethal-autonomous-weapons-systems.
[17] Congressional Research Service. 2020. Artificial Intelligence and National Security Updated
November 10, 2020 , Congressional Research Service Report, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R45178.pdf.
[18] Forrest E. Morgan, Benjamin Boudreaux, Andrew J. Lohn, Mark Ashby, Christian Curriden, Kelly Klima,
Derek Grossman. 2020. Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Concerns in an Uncertain
World, RAND Research Publication, https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3139-1.html.
[19] Forrest E. Morgan, Benjamin Boudreaux, Andrew J. Lohn, Mark Ashby, Christian Curriden, Kelly Klima,
Derek Grossman. 2020. Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Concerns in an Uncertain
World, RAND Research Publication, https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3139-1.html.
[20] White House. 2022. FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Key Actions to Advance
Tech Accountability and Protect the Rights of the American Public, October, White House,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/10/04/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administrationannounces-key-actions-to-advance-tech-accountability-and-protect-the-rights-of-the-american-public/
[21] AI.gov. 2022. AI.gov National AI Initiative Act. AI.gov, accessed September 28,
https://www.ai.gov/#:~:text=The%20National%20AI%20Initiative%20Act,economic%20prosperity%20an
d%20national%20security.
[22] National Science and Technology Council. 2019. The National Artificial Intelligence Research and
Development Strategic Plan: 2019 Update. A Report by the Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence of
the National Science and Technology Council, June, https://www.nitrd.gov/pubs/National-AI-RDStrategy-2019.pdf.
[23] Congressional Research Service. 2020. Artificial Intelligence and National Security Updated
November 10, 2020 , Congressional Research Service Report, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R45178.pdf.
[24] National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. 2021. Final Report, National Security
Commission on Artificial Intelligence, https://www.nscai.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Full-ReportDigital-1.pdf
[25] Sheehan, Matt. 2022. Chinas New AI Governance Initiatives Shouldnt Be Ignored, January 4,
Carnegie Endowment, https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/01/04/china-s-new-ai-governanceinitiatives-shouldn-t-be-ignored-pub-86127
[26] Uber, Maj. Richard. 2020. Chinas Artificial Intelligence Ecosystem. NIU Research Monograph,
https://ni-u.edu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Uber_Monograph_DNI2021_02261.pdf.
[27] Wareham, Mary. 2018. Campaign to Stop Killer Robots: Report on Activities, Convention on
Conventional Weapons Group of Governmental Experts meeting on lethal autonomous weapons systems
United Nations, Geneva, 9-13 April 2018.
[28] Ding Jeffrey, Triolo Paul (2018) Translation: excerpts from Chinas White Paper on Artificial
Intelligence Standardization. New America. https://www.newamerica.org/cybersecurity-initiative/digic
hina/blog/translation-excerpts-chinas-white-paper-artificial-intelligence-standardization/.
[29] Sun, Mingchun. 2021. Ethical norms and industry self-discipline in the development of artificial
intelligence technology (in Chinese), Sina news, January 14, https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/2021-01-
14/doc-ikftpnnx6825029.shtml.
[30] Georgetown University Center for Security and New Technology. 2021. Ethical Norms for New
Generation Artificial Intelligence Released, Georgetown University Center for Security and New
Technology. October 21, https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/ethical-norms-for-new-generationartificial-intelligence-released/
[31] Department of Defense 2020. DOD Adopts Ethical Principles for Artificial Intelligence, Department of
Defense website, February 24,
https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2091996/dod-adopts-ethical-principlesfor-artificial-intelligence/.
[32] David A. Koplow. 2013. Indisputable Violations: What Happens When the United States
Unambiguously Breaches a Treaty, Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 37(1): 53-74.
[33] National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. 2021. Final Report, National Security
Commission on Artificial Intelligence, https://www.nscai.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Full-ReportDigital-1.pdf
V. Internet of Things
The technology and its uses. The Internet of Things refers to the network of billions of
objects worldwide that are connected to the internet. These objects contain chips and
often sensors that send data back to databases for analysis. They include wearable
devices, auto parts, household appliances, and medical devices.
The Internet of Things can be used for both civilian and military purposes. IoT is
increasingly incorporated into the construction of smart cities, which can improve
residential services, transportation, and public utilities. Smart schools can help track
attendance and meal payments, while utilities can take advantage of smart lighting and
smart meters. Intelligent transportation systems and smart parking can help increase
public transportation efficiency. Even so, looking at individual cities, there were no U.S.
or Chinese cities among the top 10 cities of the IMD Smart Cities Index for 2021.[1]
Additionally, IoT is used for military purposes to make up for workforce challenges.
Creating a warfighting network makes for speedier intelligence collection and threat
identification. This process includes collecting data through sensors on numerous
platforms, such as weapon systems, aircraft, and troops. The IoT-connected sensors
and radars collect and transmit data on the positioning and movement of U.S. troops
and countries of interest.[2]
Application of IoT lags in other areas in the U.S., including within the federal
government. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that while many federal
agencies use IoT to monitor equipment, control facility access, or track physical assets,
agencies that did not intend to use IoT viewed such devices as having low returns.[3]
While some agencies use IoT, their application mainly focuses on specific objects rather
than on an IoT ecosystem and, more significantly, automated decision-making or data
analysis.
On balance, China assesses that the IoT has a higher value in streamlining public
services than the U.S. China is building up urban IoT infrastructure, as directed by
several central government departments. This infrastructure seeks to accelerate IoT
infrastructure by 2023, setting up IoT demonstration bases, digital villages, smart
transportation, smart construction, and smart agriculture by 2023.[4] This method is far
ahead of U.S. government implementation or planning.
The NATO Science and Technology Committee report on the Internet of Things finds
that this technology has great potential in military applications[5]. IoT devices can be
used in sensors for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence,
surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems to gather and transmit data.
Additionally, the IoT can be used for firepower control systems to respond
automatically to threats. Mobile technologies applied to IoT devices, such as
smartphones, can provide access to tracking or mapping applications. IoT devices can
also track shipments and log movements within logistics systems.
However, there are many vulnerabilities associated with the IoT. The increased
connectivity of IoT devices may lead to congestion across networks, which could block
the functionality of critical devices, such as medical devices. Malicious network attacks
can also lead to device malfunctions, which could be costly to human life or critical
infrastructure. Russias invasion of Ukraine showcases that the IoT can be a vehicle for
information warfare. Against the backdrop of financial sanctions from the U.S., Canada,
and the European Union, hackers have employed cyberattacks to combat Russia.
Anonymous, a hacker group, has declared a cyberwar on Russia by hacking stream
services.[6]
IoT also increases the potential cyber-attack and cyber-accident surface, rendering
new vulnerabilities where there were fewer or different vulnerabilities before. The
power, telecom, and IT industries may be critical as attacking these industries would
have significant negative consequences. With the growth of 5G and artificial
intelligence, there is an increased possibility of attacks on IoT devices. Both
technologies speed up the rate at which attacks could occur, increasing the likelihood
of success within any given timeframe. 6G looms large as China has already begun
working on the infrastructure, while the U.S. is still overcoming security challenges
from an unstable 5G rollout.
The concern for the U.S. is that the global power that controls 6G will command the rest
of the century. 6G would be used in military operations and our day-to-day lives.
Currently, China enjoys unprecedented influence on the global stage regarding the
diffusion and deployment of advanced communications technologies. 6G would have an
air latency of less than 100 microseconds and is expected to be 100 times faster than
5G, with broader network coverage and enhanced reliability. With the implementation
of 6G-based solutions, IoT will continue to become increasingly integrated into people's
lives and connect 10 times more devices per square kilometer and significantly more
connected devices to come.[7]
Concerning military applications, the benefits of IoT that beneficially transform modern
warfare are also causing concern about malicious cyberattacks. The tremendous
impact of IoT is the increase of available methods and opportunities for data gathering,
yet the trouble is that hackers can also take advantage. Concerns include vehicle
safety, healthcare, and supply chains. Hackers could commandeer vehicles, take
control of medical devices, and disrupt supply chain operations. In addition, IoT devices
may provide hackers with critical information. In March 2021, hackers gained access to
Silicon Valley's Verkada Inc., infiltrating companies, hospitals, prisons, schools, and
police departments' live feeds that included 150,000 surveillance cameras. Hackers
viewed videos from psychiatric hospitals and Verkada's offices.[8]
There is also a concern in the U.S. that China will set international standards for IoT
devices. This trend would allow China to use IoT more effectively for surveillance and
collecting intelligence. A report prepared for the U.S.-China Economic and Security
Review Commission stated that the combination of widespread adoption of IoT
products and Chinese research into exploits raises the threat of unauthorized access to
U.S.-based IoT devices and the networks they connect to.[9] The authors assert that
IoT devices manufactured in China are targets for exploitation.
Another issue underscored in the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission report is that the IoT contains many different devices and systems with
multiple providers of endpoints, gateways, and networks. The systems require
compatible standards so that product designers and consumers will be able to
purchase and use devices interchangeably.
To some extent, the issue between the U.S. and China on IoT stems from the fact that
China has had streamlined policies to integrate IoT into everyday life across a variety of
industries. China is ahead in this area, which gives the country an edge in using the
technology to serve its own purposes. China uses the IoT in smart cities for real-time
data collection, in industry to optimize operations, in medicine to improve patient care
and collect medical data, and in smart cars to sense how vehicles relate to the road
environment. As a result, the U.S. would benefit from policies that furthered technology
in this area as well so that it can remain competitive.
Current policies. In the U.S., recent policy has increased IoT security at the federal
level. Recently, Congress approved the Strengthening American Cybersecurity Act of
2022. This act covers critical infrastructure and the federal government. It includes
mandatory cyber incident reporting by owners of critical infrastructure within a
specified time frame of a cyber breach. Despite the passing of this legislation, cyber
incident reporting is often complicated because of the incentives behind choosing not
27
to report and the differences between what is reported to the government and to the
public.[10] Existing reporting regulations are too narrow and insufficiently
standardized. For example, in 2015, the Office of Personnel Management was hacked,
negatively impacting about 22 million personnel records. This breach took place in June
but was not reported until April due to a lack of reporting regulations and standards.
The 2022 acts cyber incident report requires reporting from critical infrastructure
owners four days from the breach. Timely reporting on cyber incidents assists with
faster responses.
The IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act also became law at the end of 2020. This act
required the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Office of
Management and Budget to raise cybersecurity for the IoT devices among federal
agencies, including creating and producing standards and guidelines for the
government on best practices to ensure that principles and policies are consistent with
NISTs standards and guidelines.[11]
Chinese focus on IoT began in 2009 with the inclusion of the sector in Premier Wen
Jiabaos work report as one of five strategic emerging industries. The State Councils
2010 decision on strategic new emerging industries also promoted IoT. MIIT and the
National Development and Reform Commission have laid out tasks and priorities for IoT
development. State and local departments have rolled out policies promoting IoT
development.[12]
With regard to IoT, the U.S. has prevented sale of critical technologies to China to
maintain its technological prowess. The Obama administration in 2015 prevented Intel,
Nvidia, and Advanced Micro Devices from selling highly sophisticated supercomputer
chips to China to avert their use in military devices. Two years later, in 2017, the Trump
administration barred the sale of the Lattice Semiconductor, which holds
programmable software that provides an alternative way to build AI chips, to a Chinesebacked investor.[13] In 2022, the Biden administration banned advanced semiconductor
technology exports to China.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which
recommended that the sale of Lattice be blocked, helps to protect strategically
important technologies. CFIUS ability to review foreign investments was expanded
under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018.
In addition, in May 2019, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that banned
U.S. companies from using information and communications technology from
companies considered a national security threat. As Huaweis products were judged to
28
be insecure, it was added to the entity list by the Commerce Department the same day.
In June, the U.S. added five other companies, including Chengdu Haiguang Integrated
Circuit, Chengdu Haiguang Microelectronics Technology, Higon, Sugon, and Wuxi
Jiangnan Institute of Computing Technology.
President Joe Biden has extended this policy and included more firms on the entity list.
These companies include Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Proven Glory Capital,
and Proven Honour Capital, which have served as financial arms of Huawei and sold
bonds to international investors.[14] The Commerce Department also added a
substantial number of Chinese military-related research institutes and companies to
the entity list, including the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and 11 research
institutes in response to emerging technologies for "brain-control" weapons. Chinese
military-civil fusion, or MCF, is the Chinese government's strategy to reach its goal to
create the most technologically advanced military in the world. Entities that produce
biotechnologies supporting China's MCF strategy were also placed on the entity list.
Furthermore, in response to China's human rights violations in Xinjiang, the Biden
administration added a substantial number of related entities to a U.S. investment
blacklist. These entities include SenseTime, China's top artificial intelligence firm,
identified as developing facial recognition programs to track Uyghurs.[15]
Proposals to find firmer ground. The U.S. and China both need to recognize that the
Internet of Things remains vulnerable to exploitation and needs to be further secured.
Rules and standards in both countries should increase the security of such devices, and
network-scanning software should be updated to notify owners of intrusions. Consumer
privacy rules must be applied to IoT devices to limit sensitive data collected, and IoT
devices should disclose potential data exposure issues.
China already has some regulations to protect privacy rights against IoT devices. The
Measures for the Protection of Information Security Levels contain five security levels
for information and data management systems. IoT devices that collect customer data
fall under this regulation.
Standardization, in general, can also help to ensure that neither the U.S. nor China is
locked out of participation in the other countrys markets due to incompatible systems.
International standardization bodies can help to bring together national standardssetting departments. Within the U.S. government, a department needs to be
responsible for developing IoT or 5G standards within America. By contrast, China has
expanded its standardization work by focusing on modernization and standardization of
industry through its 2018 revised Standardization Law and China Standards 2035
project.
29
Notes:
[1] IMD. 2021. Smart City Index 2021. IMD publication, https://www.imd.org/smart-city-observatory/home/.
[2] Lockheed Martin. 2017. IOT is Transforming Modern Warfare, Lockheed Martin website,
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/2017/internet-of-things-transofrming-modernwarfare.html
[3] GAO. 2020. Internet of Things: Information on Use by Federal Agencies. GAO Report GAO-20-577,
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-20-577.pdf.
[4] Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. 2021. Notice on Printing and Distributing the "Threeyear Action Plan for the Construction of New Internet of Things Infrastructure (2021-2023)." Ministry of
Industry and Information Technology Notice [2021] No. 130, http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-
09/29/content_5640204.htm.
[5] Tonin, Matej. 2017. The Internet of Things: Promises and Perils of a Disruptive Technology. NATO
Science and Technology Committee Report, https://www.nato-pa.int/download-file?
filename=/sites/default/files/2017-11/2017%20-%20175%20STCTTS%2017%20E%20bis%20-
%20INTERNET%20OF%20THINGS.pdf.
[6] Dan Milmo. 2022. Anonymous: the hacker collective that has declared cyberwar on Russia, The
Guardian, February 27, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/anonymous-the-hackercollective-that-has-declared-cyberwar-on-russia
[7] Qadir et al. 2022. Towards 6G Internet of Things: Recent advances, use cases, and open challenges.
ICT Express, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405959522000959
[8] Horowitz, Michael C., Gregory C. Allen, Elsa B. Kania, and Paul Scharre. 2018. Strategic Competition in
an Era of Artificial Intelligence. CNAS Paper, https://www.indexinvestor.com/resources/ResearchMaterials/NatSec/Strategic_Competition_in_Era_of_AI.pdf.
[9] John Chen, Emily Walz, Brian Lafferty, Joe McReynolds, Kieran Green, Jonathan Ray, and James
Mulvenon. 2018. Chinas Internet of Things, Research Report Prepared on Behalf of the U.S.-China
Economic and Security Review Commission October 2018,
https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/Research/SOSi_China's%20Internet%20of%20Things.pdf
[10] Mary Brooks, Sofia Lesmes. 2022. Last Call at the Star Wars Bar: Harmonizing Incident and Breach
Reporting Requirements, Lawfare Blog, July 5, https://www.lawfareblog.com/last-call-star-wars-barharmonizing-incident-and-breach-reporting-requirements
[11] Scott Ikeda. 2020. IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act Signed Into Law: New Security Requirements
for Federal Government Devices, CPO Magazine, December 18, https://www.cpomagazine.com/cybersecurity/iot-cybersecurity-improvement-act-signed-into-law-new-security-requirements-for-federalgovernment-devices/
[12] Lee, John. 2021. The Connection of Everything: China and the Internet of Things, MERICS report, June
24, https://merics.org/en/report/connection-everything-china-and-internet-things.
30
[13] Wang You and Chen Dingding. 2018. Rising Sino-U.S. Competition in Artificial Intelligence, China
Quarterly of International Strategic Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2, 241258
[14] Jennifer Jacobs. 2021. Biden blocks 59 Chinese companies including Huawei in amended Trump order,
Business Standard, June 4. https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/biden-blocks-59-
chinese-companies-including-huawei-in-amended-trump-order-121060400185_1.html
[15] Jeanne Whalen. 2021. U.S. bans investment in Chinese surveillance company SenseTime, saying it
supports repression of Uyghur minority population, Washington Post, December 10,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/12/10/us-investment-ban-sensetime/
31
VI. Big Data and Privacy
The technology and its uses. Big data refers to massive data sets that can be analyzed
to reveal otherwise undiscovered patterns and associations. Big data tends to be
generated at high volumes per second across a large variety of data types. Such large
amounts of data can then be used to better determine customer preferences, supply
chains, or market risks. Larger amounts of data, particularly coupled with faster
processing speed and technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing,
result in better understanding of patterns that indicate everything from customer
creditworthiness or market trends to more efficient design of roads and logistic chains.
Big data may be subject to attack in various ways. For example, the Hadoop framework,
which is a commonly used platform for big data, has known vulnerabilities that must be
closed to reduce the risk and damage of cyberattacks. The framework was initially built
without strong security considerations, and security was patched on in later versions.
Hadoops weak points include potential for password leakage to particular
applications, user or group information storage corruption, denial of service issues, user
account impersonation, and more. As many institutions use Hadoop, this creates
serious concerns over data security. The threat is compounded by the fact that lists of
companies using Hadoop are available over the internet. Other big data frameworks
face similar issues.
Data privacy is an issue that was amplified during the Trump years, particularly among
technology companies that collect and process big data. The Trump administration
attempted to ban Chinese social media company Tiktok in the United States, as well as
to restrict operations of WeChat and Alipay over fears of Chinese data access.
According to Samm Sacks (2020), the issue of data privacy between the United States
and China is complex in part because the U.S. lacks a comprehensive data privacy
regulation that addresses the issues.[1]
Among the targets for hacking in the U.S. have been large troves of personal data,
which may reveal exploitable individual vulnerabilities. These include the exfiltration of
personal data on federal employees from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in
2015 in addition to hacks on health insurance firms, tax preparation companies, and
hotel chains that provide a huge trove of data.[2] Access to such data, which can then
be analyzed using artificial intelligence, can enable actors to target key personnel and
compromise them by identifying personal weaknesses.[3] One reason such
vulnerabilities exist is inadequate protections on big data in the United States, a
problem that persists despite scandals over the collection and use of big data from
Facebook by Cambridge Analytica.[4]
32
China, too, worries about data privacy, albeit relating to the collection and storage of
data by commercial entities. For example, a Reuters report from November 2021 states
that the Cyberspace Administration of China sought a delisting of the ride-hailing app
company Didi from the U.S. stock market due to data security concerns.[5] This move
may have to do with the significant amounts of personal data such apps store,
potentially including information from state sources. A November 2021 report by Now
from Hong Kong revealed that a dating app was able to retrieve personal information
about individuals from the Public Security Bureau.[6] A concern for the Chinese state is
addressing what they see as the potential for foreign espionage, cyberattacks, and
malign collection and manipulation of data.
Both the United States and China have entities that collect large amounts of individual
social media data, which can affect personal privacy and even subject individuals to
harassment. Such efforts tend to be state-related in China and associated with profitmaking enterprises and elections in the United States, though state-related efforts in
China do also have commercial tie-ups and applications. Recent investigative reports
point to China-related entities collecting large amounts of social media information
relating to policymakers, academics, and others of interest to the state.[7] Chinese
security agencies are also allegedly collecting information on social media accounts to
silence critics online, including to intimidate family members.[8] With regard to the U.S.,
Cambridge Analytica represents the most prominent example of data collected on
individual social media accounts in support of disinformation relating to election
campaigns.[9] Whistleblower accounts detail Facebook and other social media
companies extracting user data to drive advertising profits, even to the detriment of
users.[10] Security flaws further complicate risks from such activities.
Even if the Chinese state collects and manages large amounts of data on individuals, it
is more ambivalent about giving commercial entities greater access, as seen in the
passage and implementation of Personal Information Protection and Data Security laws
in 2021.[11] Under the Data Security Law, data from China must be stored locally rather
than in overseas servers consistent with its insistence on cyber sovereignty. Like many
Chinese laws, these new pieces of legislation give the state significant remit. Violations
can result in hefty fines and blacklisting for corporations.[12] That said, these laws are
consistent with rising public concerns about data privacy in relation to commercial
interests among Chinese citizens (Liu, 2020).
Common concerns about big data and data privacy in the hands of commercial entities
may, therefore, provide some grounds for U.S.-China cooperation. Despite a lack of
coordinated regulation and resistance by social media firms, there appears to be a
growing momentum in the United States for more regulation on the data that
33
corporations can collect and store in the wake of the latest scandal facing
Facebook/Meta.[3] There may be some basis for Washington and Beijing to come up
with common standards of regulating commercial use of big data given shared
skepticism toward the power that such information provides to corporations. Limiting
what commercial firms collect and store can also reduce security risks for both the
United States and China. Washington and Beijing can further work with the European
Union, which had earlier put forward their General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
to begin addressing some of these issues, including the right to erasure.[14]
Current policies. Chinas cybersecurity policies are governed by the Cybersecurity Law
of the People's Republic of China, which establishes obligations of internet service
providers, personal information protection, and information infrastructure security.
China also has other regulations, including the Information Security Technology
Implementation Guide for Classified Protection of Information System and the
Information Security Technology Classification Guide for Classified Protection of
Cybersecurity. Chinas data regime is protected by the Cybersecurity Law, which came
into effect in June 2017. The Cybersecurity Law aims to protect citizens and
organizations in the cybersecurity realm. An underlying consideration of the Chinese
approach toward online information and privacy is the concept of cyber sovereignty,
where the state should have control of all information generated and used within its
jurisdiction, including citizens and corporations abroad (Creemers, 2020).
Chinas Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) provides a degree of online privacy
protection vis-a-vis commercial entities. PIPL limits the data that corporations can
collect on individuals, including consent, access, rectification, and erasure, while
restricting the transfer of individual data outside of Chinas borders. This includes
corporate human resources data such as employees compensation and performance
data. Like Europes GDPR, PIPL provides extraterritorial jurisdiction to the Chinese
state, affecting not only corporations with a physical presence in China but also those
that conduct business with entities located in China. Unlike the GDPR, however, PIPL
neither restricts nor provides oversight of state action. PIPL also has no mandates on
the safe destruction of data.
The related Data Security Law regulates the processing and transfer of data overseas.
It does so by categorizing different levels of data. Most strictly controlled is core data
pertaining to national interests, followed by important data that includes information
relating to national interests and individuals. Any transfer of such data overseas,
including the handing over of data to foreign law enforcement agencies and judiciaries,
requires differing levels of official approval. Generally, any personal or consumer data
collected in China must be stored within China and not transferred abroad. Like PIPL,
the Data Security Law has extraterritorial reach, again meaning that commercial
34
entities that do business with individuals and businesses in China are subject to these
regulations even if they do not have a physical or legal presence within China.
The U.S. does not have an all-encompassing data protection law, relying on a
combination of federal and state laws to protect privacy. The Federal Trade
Commission Act allows the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to bring actions against
firms that engage in unfair or deceptive data privacy activities or that fail to provide
sufficient security of personal information. Federal sector-specific laws also strive to
protect personal data privacy. State laws may restrict use of personal data as well.
Congressional testimony over Facebook/Metas use of user data is currently fueling
discussion on a need for legislation to further regulate the collection and use of
personal data available on social media.
Data privacy is an issue that is gaining greater public attention in the United States, but
there remains no comprehensive legislative or policy approach parallel to Chinas PIPL
and Data Security Law or the European Unions GDPR. Public awareness of the risks
surrounding data privacy increased dramatically with the scandal surrounding the sale
and use of Facebook data by the firm Cambridge Analytica to influence both the United
Kingdoms Brexit referendum and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The matter gained
further public traction with the growth in popularity of Chinese-owned social media
service TikTok and leaks by Facebook/Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen.
Nonetheless, legislative and policy responses are piecemeal at present, opening the
United States to espionage risks and U.S. citizens to cybercrime as well as excessive
corporate manipulation of their personal data.
Common concerns in both Washington and Beijing about the collection and exploitation
of user data may provide some basis for cooperation between the two sides.
Washington likely has reason to protect users from harassment and risks from state
actors like China and Russia as well as exploitation and misuse by technology firms like
Facebook/Meta and TikTok/ByteDance. Beijing has a desire to prevent external state
and corporate actors from accessing personal data about its citizens and companies
under its concept of cyber sovereignty. This confluence of interests provides some
grounds for discussion, confidence-building, and even coordination between
Washington and Beijing over regulation of the collection, sharing, and storage of
personal and corporate information on social media and other platforms. Even if the
United States and China initially embark on unilateral efforts to regulate these areas,
their convergence of interests on such issues may provide future opportunities for
seeking understanding.
Cyberattacks. In an environment of increasing political tension, the potential for future
U.S.-China cyberconflict is on the rise. Some experts have commented that the
35
U.S.-China new technology rivalry looks like a digital cold war.[15] However, at
present, much of the conflict between the two nations appears to be in the area of
politics and trade, and cyberconflict has not been a major focus.
The U.S.-China technology rivalry has been characterized as a type of cold war because
there is no opting out of new technologies for either country. If either the U.S. or China
spends much of its time maintaining mature systems without investing in new systems,
that country will lose any technology and security advantage it might have had.
Utilization of new technology is essential, as are funding for research and development
and policies to promote implementation.
As new technologies are increasingly implemented, the potential for cyberconflict will
inevitably grow. One reason for this is that new technologies create new vulnerabilities.
AI and 5G in particular will greatly expand the number of feasible cyberattack surfaces.
Another reason is that new technologies can be adapted for malicious purposes.
To some extent, China is less vulnerable than the U.S. because China has a limited
number of ports through which the domestic internet is connected to international
networks. This means that China could shield itself more readily from large-scale
cyberattacks. Chinas media is also heavily controlled, increasing the possibility for
third parties to spot content-related security hacks as well as reducing citizen
sensitivity to government intervention in new technologies.
Both nations have cybersecurity units as part of national defense departments. For
example, the U.S. set up a Cyber Command in 2009 to combat cyberattacks and has
used numerous cyberwarfare tactics in physical conflicts. Chinas Third Department of
the Peoples Liberation Army consists of cybersecurity forces, and the Peoples
Liberation Army includes computer network operations as part of its military
operations.
The U.S. and China have so far not been engaged in a cyberwar per se, but the two
countries have been involved in cyberconflict. Cyberwar can be defined as attack and
defense on and of computer systems, including hardware and/or software, while
cyberconflict may constitute smaller acts of aggression that do not escalate to the
scale and intensity of a cyberwar.
Both sides have participated in cyberconflict, however. The U.S. allegedly originates
most offensive cyberattacks on China. A report by Chinas National Computer Network
Emergency Response Technical Team (CNERTT) found that there was a 91% increase in
cyberattacks by the U.S. on China in 2018, infecting 3,607 Chinese websites.[16] The
U.S. often seeks information related to military and government organizations through
cyberattacks, and the U.S. National Security Agency regularly spies on Chinese
computers and networks.
36
That said, CNERTT does not appear to clearly distinguish between state-related and
non-state cyberattacks on China that may originate from the United States.
Under the Obama administration, Chinese hacking of the U.S. declined markedly due to
a bilateral agreement in 2015 to stop hacking intended to steal trade secrets. Hacking
picked up again under the hawkish Trump administration, which issued a report by the
U.S. Trade Representative in March 2018 detailing cases of Chinese cybertheft against
the United States.[17] At the end of 2018, China stepped up cyberattacks on U.S. critical
infrastructure in the areas of energy, financial, transportation, and healthcare (Finkle
and Bing 2018). Most of the cyberattacks, however, were focused on stealing
technological secrets. In response to Chinese cyberattacks, the U.S. has been carrying
out counter-cyberattacks against Chinese intelligence and military targets. In addition,
Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong, two Chinese nationals, were accused of participating in
hacking campaigns that targeted several U.S. government agencies, including the
Energy Department, laboratories at NASA, and the U.S. Navy. International Business
Machines Corp. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. are among companies whose
computer-services operations were breached by hackers, who then used that access to
burrow into their clients networks. Chinas hacking campaign allegedly aimed to target
technology services providers that support businesses with technologies such as cloud
storage.
In 2021, a major hack of Microsoft Exchange servers that U.S. officials and experts
attributed to China may represent a return to more aggressive cyberattacks, but the
aim of the attack may be to build up a database of personal information of Americans
rather than just commercial.[18] In 2022, it was reported by Chinese media that the U.S.
National Security Agency infiltrated Chinas telecommunications networks. The Global
Times, a state media outlet, asserted that the U.S. stole key technology data, such as
network equipment configuration, network management data, and operational data.[19]
Recent U.S. policy has improved the ability of the U.S. to respond to cyberattacks. The
Presidential Policy Directive 41 of July 2016 dictates a federal response to cyberattacks
to either the public or private sectors. A May 2017 executive order, Strengthening the
Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure, states that the
executive branch has the authority to control cybersecurity risk for critical
infrastructure. The order notes that the government will respond rapidly to attacks in
collaboration with the private sector. In addition, in 2018, U.S. President Trump reversed
President Obamas Presidential Policy Directive 20 under the classified National
Security Presidential Memorandum 13, which allows the U.S. government to use
powerful cyber weapons.
The stakes of becoming a cyberattack victim are high for both nations, especially
37
regarding critical infrastructure. Therefore implementation of cybersecurity must be
viewed as equally important to implementation of new technologies at the micro-level.
In addition, it is essential that new technology firms and industries gain protection from
external use and exploitation. In some cases, only the government can block
transactions that could threaten pioneering new technology industries.
Despite the rising stakes of cyberconflict and the conflict-ridden political environment,
the best bet either country has at reducing the possibility of conflict is to work
together. Improved relations can deter the regular use of damaging cyberattacks
between the U.S. and China by increasing the costs associated with such behavior.
We recommend that the U.S. set up a coordinated effort to enhance cybersecurity by
protecting networks, databases, the Internet of Things, and other critical technology
infrastructure. We also recommend that the U.S. set up an ongoing dialogue with China
to address cybersecurity issues between the two countries that also covers data
collection, storage, and use. Big data, after all, is becoming an increasingly common
target for cyberattacks and can be exploited to compromise both commercial and
security interests. Finally, we recommend the creation of a new global governance
institution that can address cyberconflict and help to ensure cyber peace.
The diplomatic component to maintaining peace in cyberspace cannot be stressed
enough. High-level negotiation has been shown to be effective in deterring Chinese
hackers from attacking U.S. targets under the Obama administration and, even more
importantly, has played a major role in building up U.S.-Chinese political and economic
relations over the past 40 years. The U.S. and China should make better use of the HighLevel Joint Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues and the Law Enforcement and
Cybersecurity Dialogue, engaging military leaders in the process as well.
Proposals for finding firmer ground. The U.S. needs to implement data rules for all
firms, both domestic and foreign, without blocking data flows to the U.S. Regulations
must take into account national security and privacy concerns, considering the extent
to which data collected is sensitive or risky and how the data is used. A federal data
privacy law would address these issues as well as cross-border data flows and
collection and storage of personal information by foreign firms. This would reduce the
focus on China as a strategic competitor and create a more systematic and rational
means of treating data usage. Without a clearer sense of standards on the U.S. side,
trying to move forward on trying to establish some sort of understanding with other
actors, including China, would be highly challenging.
The U.S. and China, along with the European Union, share interests in the regulation of
big data and privacy protection. Publics in these jurisdictions demand limits on how and
38
to what extent their personal data can be used for commercial purposes beyond their
original intention. Such commonality provides some basis for cooperation or at least
coordination on regulating the types of data that commercial entities can collect, store,
transfer, use, and sell, as well as establishing protocols for consent and the safe
destruction of commercially held data. There is likely to be resistance in the United
States from technology firms whose business models rely heavily on harvesting, using,
and selling personal data. However, mobilizing public support to overcome lobbying
efforts should be possible.
Collaboration on these matters by the United States, China, Europe, and others can
afford the public better protection of privacy while limiting the exposure of states and
corporations to espionage risks. Even if such regulation restricts what any individual
state can exploit regarding adversaries, competitors, and rivals, they can take away an
element of contestation and reduce friction. Governments have an interest to move
forward on better privacy protections regarding big data, at least in the commercial
realm. Indeed, this is what the European Union and China have done with recent
legislation. The United States should follow suit, especially given that models from which
to take reference now exist, such as the European Unions GDPR.
There should also be thinking about how to relate discussions about big data and privacy
to cybersecurity, which are two distinct but linked issues. Ongoing dialogue with China to
address cybersecurity issues between the two countries should also cover data
collection, storage, and use. Big data, after all, is becoming an increasingly common
target for cyberattacks and can be exploited to compromise both commercial and
security interests. There should be some coverage of cybercrime as wel
Critical Race Theory in Canada Another Form of Segregation: Black Conservative
Panelists speak as part of a discussion hosted by Canada Strong and Free, (Top Left to Bottom) Jamil Jivani, Samuel Sey, Noah Jarvis, Kira Davis, and Mike Ramsay. (Screenshot)
A panel of five black conservatives spoke against critical race theory (CRT), which they say has seeped into Canadian classrooms and pervades many of the nations institutions. While CRT proponents say they are combating racism, the panelists say they are actually promoting a different kind of racism and creating division.
This stuff matters to people in the minority communities that these theories are claiming to speak on behalf of, said Jamil Jivani, president of Canada Strong and Free, the non-profit conservative group that hosted the discussion on Feb. 21.
We are having a conversation today to show you some of the perspectives on critical race theory from black communities that are ignored and, frankly, dismissed in a very offensive manner, he said.
Jivani said proponents of CRT often shut out dissenting voices on the issue, even if they come from the people CRT is supposed to help.
Panelist Mike Ramsay, a trustee at Waterloo Region District School Board in Ontario, said, Currently in public schools in the region and across our province, students are receiving instruction under the broader title of anti-racism education. And within this, students are typically taught about white privilege.
He said when he tried to get a detailed account of how CRT has influenced instruction, he was not allowed to present or participate in board discussions. Because six white trustees whose supporters referred to me as the white supremacist voted to ban me, he said.
Jivani started the discussion with a definition of CRT. He cited Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, who is considered a leading academic on the subject.
He read her definition, which says CRT relates to analysing the ways that race is produced and the ways that racial inequality is facilitated, and the ways that our history has created these inequalities that now can be almost effortlessly reproduced.
He and other panelists said terms that mark the influence of CRT include systemic racism and white privilege.
Fighting for a Piece of the Pie
Kira Davis, a Canadian now living in California and editing for RedState.com, said CRT is better suited to philosophy class and academia, but it has spread far and wide in society because of envy.
She said its based on the idea that in the United States and Canada there are only so many slices of the pie and, depending on where you sit at the table, you get a bigger piece or a smaller piece or no piece.
I look at our nations as a buffet table. The more you bring to that table, the more food there is, she said.
With the idea of fighting for your piece of the pie that CRT promotes, she said, you have to kick someone out of their space at the table. This is just another form of segregation, she said. Were not going to make more pies, were just going to take away the forks of these people who have been eating these big pieces of pie. Were going to push them aside.
She talked about CRTs Marxist roots and how it has gained strength because of white guilt. People think they should feel guilty for the sins of the past or racist thoughts they may have, Davis said.
She said theres a group of liberal white people who are deciding the levers of equity. And none of them are stepping aside. They think that acting like they are concerned is enough to alleviate the guilt.
This guilt is what fueled the growth of CRT when Black Lives Matter (BLM) became so prevalent in 2020, Davis said. BLM and CRT both have Marxist roots, so it was an easy marriage, she said.
Ramsay said many of the parents in his district have told him they are worried their children are being taught at school that if theyre white, theyre racist. And if they dont agree that theyre racist because theyre white, then theyre doubly racist.
He said, conversely, students of colour are taught that despite personal effort their chances of success are significantly diminished because society is systemically racist.
Racism vs Systemic Racism
Many of the panelists said they have experienced racism in Canada, Davis included, but that it doesnt mean Canada is systemically racist.
I never felt I couldnt be who I wanted to be, Davis said.
Samuel Sey, a blogger at SlowToWrite.com, said he was beaten up on his first day of school as a new immigrant. Many of us have experienced racism, but we cant say that means then that all of Canada and our systems and our structures are actually racist.
He referred to a proponent of CRT who said he experienced racism at a big mall in Canada and even though he was young and not well-resourced, he won a court case against the mall. While this proponent cited this as evidence that systemic racism exists, Sey said its actually an example of the system standing against racism. The court ruled in his favour even as the underdog.
Sey quoted Martin Luther Kings talk when he visited Toronto. King spoke of Canada as a heaven awaiting slaves escaping the United States.
Thats not to say Canada is perfect, especially at that time, Sey said. But even then, Martin Luther King Jr. was saying that Canada was a good nation for black people. And now you have 60 years later where these people are dismissing Canada as a racist nation.
Death of Former Clinton Aide Who Signed Jeffrey Epstein Into White House Ruled a Suicide
Sheriff's department found a gun at the scene
The 2022 death of a former aide to ex-President Bill Clinton was deemed a suicide by law enforcement, according to newly disclosed documents.
Mark Middleton, the former aide, was found dead at Heifer Ranch in Perry County on May 7, 2022.
A Perry County Sheriffs Office report, obtained by The Epoch Times, shows that a deputy responded to the ranch for an abandoned vehicle call at approximately 1 p.m. Another deputy soon arrived.
The deputies found a dead man hanging from a tree.
I could see the male was obviously deceased, deputy Jeremy Lawson wrote in the incident report. I could see that he had a gunshot wound to the chest and that he had a knot tied in an extension cord that was around his neck and it was attached to the limb directly above him.
After securing the scene, one of the deputies went back to the vehicle and found a purchase agreement with Middletons name.
A gun case with buckshot was located in the trunk. But no weapon was there.
Sgt. Keenan Carter, in an investigation memorandum dated the day of the death, said that two rounds were missing from one of the buckshot boxes.
Carter wrote that around the body, there didnt appear to be any signs of a struggle and or drag marks leading to where the body was located, though there were drag marks from sitting bench legs that appeared the victim had pulled up close to the tree.
Middleton appeared to have stood on the bench, Carter concluded.
The sergeant said that there was a single gunshot wound to the mans chest area on the left side, and an exit wound.
The victim had very little blood at or near the wound site to indicate that he survived the gunshot for no more than a few seconds, Carter said. An examination of the left hand revealed signs of gunpowder residue.
A 12-gauge shotgun was located on the ground about 30 feet away from the victim.
The ground location where the gun was located had a small scuff on the ground to indicate its the point it landed after it was fired, Carter said. The buttstock of the gun on the rear bottom also had a scuff and dirt on it as to indicate thats where it landed on the ground after being fired.
The man hanging from the tree had a drivers license with the name Mark Middleton on it, as well as a cell phone.
Carter said that he believed Middleton drove to the ranch, parked the vehicle, and retrieved the gun, ammunition, and a white extension cord.
After arriving, Middleton sent a text message at approximately 9:26 a.m. to his wife, saying in part that he was going to rest for a while and that his wife was a great Mom and wife.
Middleton then pulled the bench over to the tree, stood on top of the bench, and tied one end of the extension cord to the tree and the other around his neck, according to the sergeant. Middleton is then believed to have put the gun barrel against his chest and pulled the trigger.
The firearm landed so far away due to the recoil from the discharge and the height and angle of the ground, the memo stated. This officer didnt find any evidence to indicate that there was anyone else present with Mr. Middleton at this scene or any evidence that there was any type of struggle and or foul play.
In a second memo, dated May 11, 2022, Carter memorialized a call from Dr. Theodore Brown, who Carter said relayed that the wound to Middletons chest is consistent with a close contact wound and is consistent with the type of weapon found at the scene.
Brown said the wound was fatal, though Middleton may have survived for a few seconds before dying.
Brown said there was no reason of evidence to indicate that this was anything but a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and hanging from the cord that was located around Mr. Middletons neck, Carter wrote.
An autopsy report prepared by Brown, dated Aug. 5, 2022, ruled the cause of death as contact shotgun wound of chest and hanging and the manner of death as suicide.
No drugs were detected in Middletons system.
Based on all of the information available to me at this time, the death of Mark Middleton was caused by a contact shotgun wound of the chest and hanging, Brown wrote. Given the circumstances as currently known, the manner of death is suicide.
A lawyer who represented the Middleton family in their bid to stop the publication of photographs from the scene of the death declined to comment when reached on Feb. 22. He also declined to share contact information of the family.
A judge blocked the release of the images but did not include the sheriffs report or autopsy findings.
Middletons family said in an obituary that Middleton was a devoted uncle, and his legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of all who loved him.
Lawsons report was first obtained by the Daily Mail. The outlet did not report on the memos from Carter and Browns autopsy report while reporting that Middleton was found shot and tied to a tree with an electrical cord around his neckdespite no sign of weapon.
Middleton served in the White House during the Clinton administration. He signed Jeffrey Epstein, who was later convicted of sex offenses, into the White House multiple times.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges. The medical examiner there ruled the death a suicide.
Biden Vows to Defend Every Inch of NATO After Russia Nuclear Treaty Suspension
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle Arcades in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 21, 2023. (Omar Marques/Getty Images)
U.S. President Joe Biden addressed leaders of the NATO military alliance in Poland on Feb. 22, pledging continued support for their security after Russia suspended a major nuclear arms control treaty.
Biden addressed leaders from NATOs eastern flank, colloquially called the Bucharest Nine, which joined NATO after decades of the Soviet Unions communist domination.
The group counts among its members some of the staunchest NATO supporters and advocates for military aid to Ukraine, which has been defending itself from various Russian conquests since 2014.
As NATOs eastern flank, you are the frontline of our collective defense, Biden said during the speech in Warsaw.
You know better than anyone what is at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.
Biden delivered the remarks reaffirming the U.S. commitment to NATOs security just days after several threats from Russia toward both Ukraine and the democracies of the West.
On Feb. 21, Russian leader Vladimir Putin delivered a nationally televised speech in which he lambasted the West for what he called colonialism, repeated false claims about biological weapons in Ukraine, and blamed Western democracies for creating Nazism.
Putin also claimed that the United States and the West had plotted terrorist attacks and military strikes on Russian bases, which Biden dismissed as patently false.
The decision to conquer Ukraine was Putins choice alone, according to Biden.
The president said that any attempt by Russia to harm a member of NATO would trigger the alliances Article 5, which guarantees the collective defense of NATO members by all other members.
Article 5 is a sacred commitment the United States has made, Biden said. We will defend literally every inch of NATO, every inch of NATO.
The dueling narratives between the democratic West and authoritarian Russia come just two days before the one-year anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine and after Putin announced that Russia would suspend its participation in the landmark New START agreement, which limits how many nuclear warheads the United States and Russia can produce or deploy.
Russia boasts the worlds largest nuclear arsenal and, in recent months, Putin has deployed tactical nuclear weapons-armed vessels to the Baltic Sea in an escalation not seen since the Cold War.
Despite suspending its participation in the treaty, the Kremlin claims that it will still stick to the agreed-upon limits of nuclear warheads.
It is a big mistake, Biden said of Putins decision to suspend the treaty, noting that autocrats such as Putin must be opposed at all costs.
He said he plans to discuss additional support for Ukraine before he returns to Washington. Meanwhile, the Kremlin claims that NATO, which might soon expand to include Sweden and Finland, is an existential threat to Russia.
For his part, Biden described Russias attempted conquest and Ukraines resistance as a test of the democratic societies of the world. From that test, the West would emerge stronger, he said.
When Russia invaded, it wasnt just Ukraine being tested, the whole world faced a test for the ages, he said. Europe was being tested. America was being tested. NATO was being tested. All democracies are being tested.
The questions we faced were as simple as they were profound. Would we respond or would we look the other way? Would we be strong or would we be weak? Would all of our allies be united or divided?
One year later, we know the answer: We did respond. We would be strong. We would be united. And the world would not look the other way.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Democrat Jennifer McClellan Wins House Seat in Virginia Special Election
A man walks to use a voting booth March 1, 2016, at one of the Virginia primary election polling stations at Colin Powell Elementary School, in Centreville, Va. (Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)
Democrat Jennifer McClellan, a state lawmaker from Richmond, was elected by Virginia voters this week to fill a vacancy in the U.S. House of Representatives.
McClellan, 50, defeated right-wing Republican challenger Leon Benjamin in the Feb. 21 special election for the blue-leaning 4th Congressional District, which includes the capital city and goes south to the North Carolina border.
She will become the first black woman to represent the state of Virginia in Congress.
During her election night address to supporters, McClellan said she looks forward to taking my 18 years of servant leadership to Washington.
The newly elected lawmaker reflected on her work in the state legislature, including her work on the Voting Rights Act of Virginia and several other key progressive projects.
All that work needs to be done in Washington, she said, promising to promote the same ideals in her new position. I will work to help people.
McClellan went on to talk about her own history saying, My Dad told me stories of listening to Franklin Roosevelts fireside chats and believing that the only thing he had to fear was fear itself. And then he left his house and realized he had a lot more fear in Jim Crow.
The congressional position became vacant following the death of Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin, who passed away in November, weeks after being elected to a fourth term, after a protracted battle with colon cancer. McClellans victory wont alter the slight Republican majority in the U.S. House.
The Epoch Times previously reported on the congresswoman-elects platform, which is consistent mainly with the Democrat party.
According to her website, McClellan will push for Congress to address health care and abortion access, gun violence, and equity, inclusivity, and racial justice.
McClellan has been a member of the Virginia General Assembly for 16 years, first in the House of Delegates and then in the state Senate, where she has been since 2017.
She is the sponsor of a measure that is now before the legislature to restrict energy costs based on the profitability of energy suppliers. She also sponsored legislation to make abortion a constitutional right in Virginia. Her proposed constitutional amendment failed on party lines.
Benjamin, McClellans opponent, ran a campaign centered on promoting family values, restoring American energy independence, protecting parents rights, and returning political authority to people rather than politicians, among other themes.
The Epoch Times was unable to reach McClellen for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
DeSantis Has Decades Ahead of Him When He Can Be President: Sarah Palin
House candidate, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas on Aug. 4, 2022. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, does not believe that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis should run for U.S. presidency in the 2024 elections and insists that former president Donald Trump remains the best Republican candidate.
DeSantis doesnt need to [run for the 2024 presidential race], Palin said in an interview with Newsmax. I envision him as our president someday. But not right now. Everybody I speak with in Florida, they all love him. And he does set the tone for Id say every other governor in the nation. I think hes our best governor. And he should stay governor for a bit longer. Hes young, you know, he has decades ahead of him where he can be our president.
Palin believes it would take a lot of guts to compete against Trump in the primaries because the former president has already proven himself before and will prove [himself] again.
Hes got the wherewithal. Hes got the vision. Hes got the record now with good policy, showing what he can produce for America. Hes got the guts. Hes got that attitude of got nothing else to lose, man. What more can they do for us? Im going to fight for whats right because what else can they do to me? It takes a lot of guts to go up against something like that, she said.
However, Palin pointed out that shes all for healthy, competitive primaries as it makes everyone debate more articulately and work harder while allowing the people to know what vision the candidates have for the country.
As to who would be best as a vice presidential candidate for Trump, Palin believes that Trump should choose someone who, like him, has nothing to lose.
What more can they do to that person, personally or verbal attacks or anything else on family? That person has been through the wringer. So they know what theyre getting into. And that person then can just focus on doing whats right for the people, actually governing how they campaign, doing what theyre expected to do as elected.
2024 GOP Presidential Candidates
Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy on Nov. 15 and is the front-running candidate among Republicans for the 2024 election. By the end of 2022, Trumps Save America PAC had $18 million cash on hand.
Nikki Haley announced her candidacy on Feb. 14, becoming the first major GOP challenger against Trump for the primaries. Haley had previously served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration.
DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence are also two other potential Republican Candidates. However, neither of them has officially announced their run.
In polls, Trump commands a wide lead over his potential opponents. As of Feb. 22, Trump had 50 percent support from potential Republican primary voters according to an election tracker from Morning Consult.
DeSantis came in second with just 30 percent support. None of the remaining candidates, including Haley and Pence, garnered more than 6 percent.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted between Feb. 6 and 14, Trump received the support of 43 percent of registered Republicans, followed by DeSantis with 31 percent, and Haley with only 4 percent.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Stephen Stepanek, leader of Trumps campaign in New Hampshire, highlighted the popularity that the former president has among Americans.
If you drive around NH [New Hampshire], you see not 1 or 2, not 10 or 20, but hundreds if not thousands of Trump flags, Trump signs, all over I dont see any DeSantis signs, I dont see any Nikki Haley signs, he said.
Digital ID Via Facial Recognition Can Now Be Used on Select Air Canada Flights
An Air Canada jet takes off from Trudeau Airport in Montreal on June 30, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes)
Air Canada announced on Feb. 21 that digital identification using facial recognition technology can now be used to board select flights from Vancouver to Winnipeg and to get access to its cafe at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The program is touted as secure and convenient, with a planned expansion to other airports and Air Canada lounges.
Many of our customers already utilize digital credentials to simplify their daily activities such as unlocking mobile phones, entering workplaces, verifying identification during financial transactions and more, Craig Landry, executive vice president and chief operations officer at Air Canada, said in statement.
Currently, customers need to show a boarding pass and a piece of physical ID to board a flight.
The process to create and use a digital ID using biometrics involves installing the Air Canada app, taking a picture of ones passport photo with a smartphone, scanning the chip with the smartphone, and finally taking a selfie to upload into the app.
When boarding a flight, one then has to present ones face to a biometric reader. The process is illustrated in a video posted online by Air Canada.
Air Canada says the program is voluntary and the biometric data captured by the app is encrypted and stored on the customers device. It says the data is only retained for up to 36 hours.
The new development was welcomed by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Our government and Canadian airlines and airports are eager to move forward with innovative solutions and technologies to modernize the traveller journey in airports across the country, which would enable a more seamless and efficient air transportation system, he said.
Alghabra says the use of digital ID will speed up processes while respecting privacy and security standards.
The minister has overseen other digital ID projects, such as the World Economic Forum initiative Known Traveller Digital Identity.
This project is being closed out, as per Transport Canada and involved Air Canada and Dutch entities.
The Dutch government recently told The Epoch Times it will launch a new digital credential project with Canada in the coming weeks.
Disneyland Postpones Reopening of Mickeys Toontown
In this handout image provided by Disneyland Resort, the stars of the live-action film Lady and the Tramp, Monte and Rose, visit Pluto in Mickey's Toontown during a visit to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., on on Nov. 7, 2019. (Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images)
Disneyland officials in Anaheim, California, announced last Friday that Mickeys Toontown reopening has been delayed from its original reopening date of March 8now set for March 19due to unexpected weather conditions, according to park officials.
The cartoon-themed land will feature rides like Roger Rabbits Car Toon Spin, Chip n Dales Gadgetcoaster, and other interactive attractions with Mickey and friends.
Due to heavy winter storms that impacted our construction momentum, we are adjusting the reopening date of Mickeys Toontown to March 19. We cant wait for our guests to visit and experience the reimagined land, Disneyland officials said in a statement.
Guests are still able to access a portion of the area to ride the newly opened Mickey & Minnies Runaway Railway ride, unveiled in late January as part of the Disney companys 100th-anniversary celebrations.
According to the parks blog, Toontown has been redesigned to include more open spaces for family play and parental relaxation which will be unveiled in the areas new CenTOONial Park, including grassy play areas, a dreaming tree to relax and play under, and an interactive water fountain with water tables for guests to soak their hands.
Disneyland officials also confirmed that fan-favorite areas, including Mickeys House and Minnies House will return when the land reopens, according to a recent park statement.
Other Toontown updates include Goofys How-to-Play Yarda new interactive play area for kidsand Donalds Duck Pondwhich was updated from its previous boat playground to include a shallow water play area for younger guests.
The Anaheim amusement hub is slated to host other new attractions around the park including Princess Tianas Bayou Adventure, which is set to replace Splash Mountain in late 2024, as well as the reopening of Tarzans Treehousenow known as the Adventureland Treehouse sometime this year.
European Human Rights Court Rules Russias Ban on Falun Gong Materials Is Illegal
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Feb. 7, 2019. (Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images)
Russias ban on materials relating to the spiritual practice Falun Gong is unlawful, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled.
The ECHR stated in its Jan. 31 ruling that Russias banimposed on four Falun Gong informational materials, including the practices main book, Zhuan Falunviolated the freedom of expression protection in the European Convention on Human Rights, interpreted in the light of the right of religious freedom thats also in the charter.
The ban was issued in August 2008 at the time of the Beijing Summer Olympics. A district court in Krasnodar in southwestern Russia designated certain materials related to the spiritual practiceZhuan Falun; two pamphlets that introduced the practice and promote a worldwide Olympic torch protest meant to highlight Beijings human rights abuses targeting the faith; and an investigative report on the Chinese regimes state-led forced organ harvestingas extremist.
Forced organ harvesting is part of an expansive persecution campaign, perpetrated since 1999 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), thats aimed at eradicating Falun Gong.
The spiritual practice involves a set of moral teachings explained in Zhuan Falun, with truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance as its core principles, as well as five meditative exercises. By 1999, an estimated 70 million to 100 million people were practicing Falun Gong. Viewing the practices popularity as a threat to the Partys power, then-leader Jiang Zemin ordered a brutal nationwide campaign of suppression that continues to today.
A woman signs a petition during a candlelight vigil held by Falun Dafa practitioners in the center of Warsaw, Poland, on Sept. 9, 2022. (Mihut Savu/The Epoch Times)
The Russian ban on publishing and disseminating the Falun Gong materials amounts to interference by a public authority with the applicants right to freedom of expression, the ECHR ruled, in response to a complaint filed by two Russian nationals, Mikhail Vladimirovich Sinitsyn and Sergey Nikolayevich Alekhin, both of whom are Falun Gong adherents.
The court found that Russian legal authorities, in their 2008 decision and subsequent hearings, didnt conduct a legal analysis of the publications texts and didnt substantiate the claimed harms of disseminating the materials.
The Russian courts failed to assess the necessity of banning the publications with regard to the context in which they were published, their nature and wording, and their possible harmful effect, the Jan. 31 judgment stated.
Moreover, the courts did not even mention, let alone discuss at any length, the effect of the ban on the applicants rights under Articles 9 and 10 of the Convention thus failing to weigh their rights against the public interest, it added, citing the sections protecting freedom of expression and speech (pdf).
Falun Dafa practitioners carry pictures of the victims of the persecution in China during a march through the center of Warsaw, Poland, on Sept. 9, 2022. (Mihut Savu/The Epoch Times)
The ECHR ordered Russian authorities to pay the two plaintiffs 7,500 euros ($7,984) each as compensation and a combined 3,096 euros ($3,296) for any costs and expenses related to the case, along with any applicable taxes.
Russia withdrew from the Council of Europethe continents leading human rights watchdog, which includes the ECHRin mid-March last year amid the Ukraine war and has refused to comply with any of the European human rights courts judgments issued afterward. It officially ceased being part of the European Convention on Human Rights in September.
However, the Council of Europes Committee of Ministers stated that it would consider all applications filed before Russias official withdrawal from the human rights body and monitor the implementation of its decisions. The complaint at issue was filed in 2012, well before Russias departure.
Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center, welcomed the European court decision, adding that he hopes to remind the Russian authorities that it never works out to collaborate with the CCP.
However, we recognize Moscow is not the CCP and still think Russian authorities can right their course and not do the CCPs bidding in suppressing religious freedom, he told The Epoch Times.
David Matas, a Canadian human rights lawyer and co-author of the report that was banned by the Russian court, said the ruling reflects the governance model of Russia and China, where citizens are entitled to freedom of speech in name only.
David Matas, Canadian award-winning international human rights lawyer and co-author of Bloody Harvest: Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China. (Woody Wu/AFP/Getty Images)
At the time of the initial Russia court judgment 15 years ago, Matas had wondered why the Russian authorities would engage in such a travesty, since the accusation was so far off the mark.
Birds of a feather stick together, he told The Epoch Times in an email. What the government of Russia has to offer the government of China is repression in Russia of reports of gross violation of human rights in China, in particular the report of the mass killing of practitioners of Falun Gong for their organs.
While he doubts that Russia will abide by the ruling, Matas described the European court judgment as a voice of sanity in the face of Russian and Chinese governmental madness.
One can only hope that the voice will resonate, he said.
The restrictive environment in Russia has been a point of U.S. concern. In July 2021, after a Russian court upheld a ban on the Khakassia regional branch of Falun Gong, the State Department issued a statement expressing deep concerns over the act of repression.
Russian authorities harass, fine, and imprison Falun Gong practitioners for such simple acts as meditating and possessing spiritual texts, department spokesman Ned Price said. We urge the Russian government to end its practice of misusing the extremist designation as a way to restrict human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We continue to call on Russia to respect the right of freedom of religion or belief for all, including Falun Gong practitioners and members of other religious minority groups in Russia simply seeking to exercise their beliefs peacefully.
In Russia, Falun Gong adherents continue to face pressure for adhering to their beliefs.
In November 2022, the city prosecutors office in central Russias Mezhdurechensk filed a lawsuit seeking to ban several Falun Gong publications. The court ruled in favor of the adherents in December, but prosecutors appealed on Feb. 2. A hearing at the Kemerovo Regional Court is scheduled for March 2.
Member of European Parliament Supports Canadian Catholic Student in Gender Belief Fight
MEP Christine Anderson has expressed her support for a 16-year-old Canadian who has been barred from attending his Catholic high school because he says he wont stop expressing his belief that God made only two, immutable genders.
Josh Alexander is only 16 [years] old and already hes got it figured out: Freedom, democracy and the rule of law need defending, Anderson said on Twitter Feb. 21. She said he is a very impressive young man whos earned my respect and support.
Anderson, who expressed strong support for the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa that protested of vaccine mandates last year, embarked on a Canada-wide tour this month. Her first stop was a Feb. 20 meeting with Convoy organizer Tamara Lich and other prominent Convoy supporters.
Andersons tweet included a video clip of her on a stage with Alexander at a rally. Alexander is part of a group called Save Canada, which describes itself as a Christian youth organization that stands for Christian values and liberty, and Alexander often attends and speaks at rallies.
In the video, Anderson said to Alexander, This is exactly what we need. Young people standing up for what they believe in. She gave him a hug and said, You are actually our hope. You are the one that is giving us our hope.
Suspended, Excluded, Arrested
Alexanders battle with his schoolSt. Josephs High School in Renfrew, Ontariohas been ongoing since November. It started when he organized a protest against transgender students using the girls washroom, after some girls at his school told him it made them uncomfortable. He was suspended until January.
In January, he told the school he would not meet their requirements for returning, which included refraining from saying there are only two genders, using the pronouns of a transgender students biological sex, and saying the girls washroom should only be for biological females. As a result, Alexander was excluded for the rest of the year. An exclusion is similar to a suspension, but not considered disciplinary.
Alexander went to school anyway on Feb. 6 and was arrested for trespassing. They excluded me for no reason other than religious discrimination, Josh Alexander told The Epoch Times on Feb. 7. I would argue that I was supposed to be there.
Alexander has been working with his lawyer, James Kitchen, to legally contest the grounds for suspension and exclusion as being discriminatory against Alexanders religious beliefs.
School Boards Position
The Renfrew County Catholic District School Board (RCCDSB) told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that it cannot directly comment on a specific student. It could, however, say that The Renfrew County Catholic District School Board deeply respects religious freedoms. This is fundamental to our values as a Catholic school board.
We expect that values will be expressed respectfully and in a way that is not harmful to others, the board said.
The issue of harm is one that Alexander and Kitchen have contested. Alexander is being excluded based on the schools and boards decision that his presence is considered detrimental to the well-being of students at the school.
Alexander told The Epoch Times that in a class discussion, a transgender student yelled at him that he could choose his gender and Alexander said that he couldnt. The school has said that Alexander used a derogatory term for transgender people, but Alexander said it wasnt a term he knew was considered offensivehe didnt intend offense.
Kitchen told The Epoch Times that Alexander is not going to seek them out and call them names and make fun of them. But he does express his views. And he is not going to be held responsible for their subjective feelings of being offended, Kitchen said.
Offence is obviously defined by the offended, Alexander said. I expressed my religious beliefs in class and it spiraled out of control. Not everybodys going to like that. That doesnt make me a bully. It doesnt mean Im harassing anybody. They express their beliefs and I express mine. Mine obviously dont fit the narrative.
RCCDSB said it takes its guidance on human rights issues from the Ontario Human Rights Commission policies and also those of the Ministry of Education. It quoted in its statement to The Epoch Times the portion of the Human Rights Code that relates to gendered washroom-use.
The code states that A trans person who identifies and lives as a woman should have access to the womens washrooms and change rooms. It describes protest against this as transphobic and prohibited.
A trans person should not be required to use a separate washroom or change room because others express discomfort or transphobic attitudes, such as, trans women are a threat to other women, the code says.
Kitchen said that the code is not absolute, that it must be tested in individual circumstances, must be supported by case law. It also protects religious freedom, he said, so these two rights need to be balanced.
The Commission says certain things, and what the tribunal decisions say and what the courts say when they actually get to review the tribunal decisions arent always exactly the same, Kitchen said. He also said the commission is often a politicized body. For example, the word transphobic is used to sort of bully people into compliance with a particular ideological view. Its a politicized ideological word Kitchen said.
What the school board is doing is saying, Look, the commissioners said this, and we do whatever the Commission says no questions asked, Kitchen said. If it were a public school, that might still be problematic, he said. But with a Catholic school, the effort to protect religious belief should be stronger.
If you're still making your way through that giant hoard of toilet paper you bought at the beginning of the pandemic, here's another way you can use ityou can make your own moonshine! This step-by-step video by Nile Red will teach you everything you need to know. He describes and demonstrates the entire processfirst you have to break down the cellulose that makes up the paper and turn it into glucose, then you have to ferment the glucose, and then distill it, and then voila, you have ethanol! Watch the whole process in action here.
Nile Red describes the purpose of his YouTube channel as "capturing the natural beauty of chemistry." He further explains:
I find that chemistry is often taught poorly or without a purpose. Because of this, people tend to lose interest and sometimes even start to hate it. In each video that I make, I try to balance theory with purpose. My goal is to capture the natural beauty of chemistry in fun and interesting ways. In terms of education, I have a BSc in Biochemistry, with a minor in pharmacology. However, I've always been a lot more drawn to applied chemistry. So after finishing my degree, I worked as a lab tech in an organic lab, and then as a chemistry grad student. However, I ended up leaving my graduate studies early to focus on this channel. Now, making chemistry videos has become my full-time job!
Who is Nile Red? According to Wikitubia: The YouTube Wiki, his real name is Nigel Braun. He's a Canadian chemist and science communicator from Montreal. Go check him out on his YouTube channel, where he posts awesome videos demonstrating all of the wild and wacky and wonderful things chemistry can doyou can see him turn plastic gloves into hot sauce, turn cotton balls into cotton candy, make transparent wood, and make glow toys from scratch!
Federal Ethics Failures Renew Calls for Accountability
Ethics commissioner Mario Dion waits to appear before a Commons committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 13, 2011. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
News Analysis
Recent ethical lapses by government MPs and ministers renew calls for accountability while raising questions of how to bring about change and curb the trend of declining standards of behaviour.
Ethical lapses or questionable behaviour by parliamentarians is nothing new.
In 1998, to highlight the long and repeated absences of Liberal Sen. Andrew Thompson, who was living in Mexico, the Reform Party hired a mariachi band to play in the Senate foyer.
Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy lived in Ottawa but wrote off expenses by claiming his home province was P.E.I. Although he was acquitted of wrongdoing in 2016 due to hazy ethics rules, the Senate expense scandal fed a desire for change in the electorate.
In 2012, Bev Oda resigned as MP and minister of international co-operation in the Harper government following public criticism for charging taxpayers $16 for an orange juice at an event abroad.
But considerably more questionable behaviour by the federal government or MPs has occurred in recent years. As Mario Dion announced his departure from his role as ethics commissioner on Feb. 14, he said the government needs to take ethics more seriously.
On Feb. 14, Dion found Liberal MP Greg Fergus, parliamentary secretary to the prime minister and the president of the Treasury Board, in breach of the Conflict of Interest Act. This followed on the heels of another ethics violation finding by Dion last December when he said the office of International Trade Minister Mary Ng awarded a contract to one of her friends.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was found to be in violation of the Conflict of Interest Act when he and his family vacationed on Bells Kay, a private island in the Bahamas owned by the Aga Khan, in 2016. He was also found to be in violation of the act for pressuring then-justice minister and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to grant a deferred prosecution agreement to SNC-Lavalin. And in 2018, Trudeau was fined $100 for failing to report his acceptance of two pairs of leather-covered sunglasses from P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan valued at around $700.
In 2021, Trudeau was not found to be in violation of ethics rules after WE Charity was hired to oversee the Canada Student Service Grant, though Dion determined that then-finance minister Bill Morneau should have recused himself from cabinet discussions on the matter.
Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, is filing in Federal Court to argue that Trudeau did violate ethics rules regarding WE Charity. He says he believes the prime ministers example is a significant barrier to ethical government.
Anyone who has ever examined organizational culture has found that if the people at the top are not following the rules, then everyone below them will get that message very clearly that its OK to break the rules, and they will break them at a higher rate than if the [opposite is the case], Conacher said in an interview.
Trudeau has sent the message that it doesnt matter, I wont fire you, stay in cabinet, and I dont really care about these violations.
A maximum $500 fine for ethics violations is part of a system Conacher calls a joke.
The penalty should be close to what it is for violating the Criminal Code, anti-bribery and influence peddling and other corrupt practices. And instead, the penalty is nothing except a report thats made public that says you violated the rules. Thats ridiculous.
Proposed New Lobbying Rules
Lobbying Commissioner Nancy Belanger recently proposed reducing the amount of time that lobbyists campaigning or fundraising for a political candidate or party must wait after they end those activities before they can lobby that politician or party or both. This proposal was denounced by Conacher and a coalition of groups he rallied against it.
Ian Stedman, assistant professor of Canadian public law and governance at York University, says the proposal and its timing are wrong.
Were at a moment now where we need to make these laws more strict. Its not lobbyings fault, necessarily, but public competence in public officials seems to be taking a hit, and we really cant afford to allow that to slide any further, Stedman told The Epoch Times.
It all just goes right to the prime minister. And that makes it even easier to sweep it under the rug and ignore it, because theres no accountability for him to actually do anything with a violation.
An election call could lead to accountability at the ballot box. In 2006, the Liberal sponsorship scandal contributed to a Conservative victory and tighter accountability laws. Stedman wonders why history has failed so far to repeat itself.
The realist, the pragmatist, the cynic in me says that historically, these laws change when theres a really good narrative around them, and a few promises by opposition parties during a general election, he said.
What happened, unfortunately, I think, during the last couple of general elections, was that even though Trudeau had already been in trouble with the ethics commissioner, the opposition didnt hold him to account.
Moral and Ethical Laxity
Scott Bennett, associate professor of political science at Carleton University, says the fact that very little can be done to punish unethical politicians is a failing of many systems, and it is certainly a failing of our system.
There are several reasons for that, he says, including modern-day politicians belief that there are no serious limits to their entitlements, as well as the organizational and institutional incentives of the governing system.
But an important factor overall is the general publics changing attitudes and social mores, Bennett told The Epoch Times.
Let us not forget that many societies have drifted into moral and ethical laxity, he said.
People are less judgmental in general about many things going on around them. In the case of a public figure, ethical lapses draw a certain amount of brief attention, amplified by those who are the political rivals of the person who has gone wrong. However, it is hard for people to maintain much interest and fervour in following and reacting to these matters.
In times past, things were different.
In another era, ministers in trouble resigned or elections were called when certain types of ethical issues or similar arose, Bennett said. It happened in the past because the public had different expectations, and the politicians had been raised in that context.
He added that while there are many areas within government where changes in how things are done could bring improvements, the publics standpoint is key.
What can be done about this? Personally, I am not sure much will change until public expectations and focus change.
Feds Spent Over $800,000 on Guest Speakers on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, More Than Any Other Topic
Tourists take pictures in front of the Parliament building in Ottawa in a file photo. (Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images)
Federal departments and agencies spent over $800,000 in contracts over a three-year period hiring guest speakers to talk to staff on the topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion, records show.
That amount represents the largest spending category out of the over $2 million total spent on speeches from Jan. 1, 2019, to Nov. 23, 2022, shows an analysis by The Epoch Times based on data from 44 departments and agencies. The next two highest-spending categories are for topics related to leadership, ethics, and communication, at about $468,000, and topics related to mental health and to health and wellness, at about $462,000.
Some $190,00 was spent on topical issues such as digital government, cybersecurity, and innovation, while a variety of miscellaneous topics accounted for the remaining approximately $184,000.
The categories and figures are from an Epoch Times analysis based on data provided in response to an Inquiry of Ministry. Conservative MP Mike Lake, who submitted the inquiry on Nov. 23, 2022, wanted to know the details of all contracts awarded by the federal government to guest speakers since Jan. 1, 2019, including the vendors, the topics of speeches, and the contract amounts, among other information.
The document containing the data, tabled in the House of Commons on Jan. 30, indicated that at least $812,474 was spent on speeches related to topics like reconciliation, racism, privilege, and bias during the study period from Jan. 1, 2019, to Nov. 23, 2022.
Infrastructure Canada, whose mission is to improve the quality of life of Canadians by creating jobs and economic growth, supporting climate resilience, and building a stronger and more inclusive Canada, is the highest spender for such services in absolute amounts.
The department spent approximately $128,909 during the study period, with the largest portion in 2022 when it contracted speakers to cover several learning series in support of Black History Month ($39,550), National Indigenous History Month ($24,979), Pride Season and Public Service Pride Week ($28,000), and National Disability Employment Awareness Month ($33,985).
Correctional Service Canada came in second, at $102,466, by hiring speakers to touch on themes such as systemic racism, Black History Month, Diversity Week, and International Womens Day.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) followed closely at $75,627, with emphasis on building more equitable workplaces ($19,121), unconscious bias ($6,780), and diversity and inclusion ($10,340). In February 2021, it contracted a Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) academic to give a virtual speech on critical race theory, at a cost of $1,500. In May 2021, the department hired two speakers to present online on gender-neutral writing for the legal profession, at a cost of $1,149.75 each.
Move the Needle on Racial Equity
Other departments with notable spending on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) topics include the Department of National Defence (DND), which allocated $21,711 to a speech by a social psychologist and lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, in March 2022.
According to the records, the speaker was to provide attendees with a useful conceptual and practical framework for how to move the needle on racial equity in a profound and sustainable way.
Attendees at the virtual event were executives from DND, Global Affairs Canada, DOJ, and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Health Canada focused more on indigenous matters by contracting the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to speak to employees in several sessions on truth and reconciliation ($24,860) last September.
The Privy Council Office, which provides support to the prime minister and cabinet, had a similar focus. It spent $18,000 on a speaker in May 2021 to hold three workshops and one keynote address on contemporary issues and inclusion in the indigenous context.
The spending appears to be in line with the Liberals goal of continuing the fight against systemic racism and discrimination in Canada. In their 2021 election pledge, the Liberals said they would work toward improving diversity in the public service by increasing representation in hiring and appointments and increasing leadership development in the public service, among other promises.
Total Spending Likely Much Higher
Its reasonable to believe that the feds guest speakers spending is likely much higher than the $2,116,865 total based on the document provided in response to the inquiry, since not all departments and agencies responded, and among those that did respond, not all disclosed their speaker engagements.
Of the 208 bodies listed on the federal governments website, just 79 were included in the document tabled in the House. Among them, only 44 provided their spending details. The remaining 35 either said they didnt contract any guest speakers during that period or gave reasons as to why they couldnt provide that information.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Global Affairs Canada, Canadian Heritage, and Natural Resources are among those that said the requested information was not systematically tracked in their databases. They said it would require a manual collection that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.
Women and Gender Equality Canada completed a detailed preliminary search to identify the information required but said producing and validating a comprehensive response would need a manual collection that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.
The RCMP said it does not capture the requested information at the level of detail requested and therefore the information requested cannot be obtained without an extensive manual review of financial files. This manual review could not be completed within the established timeline.
Finance Canada said it did not award any contracts for guest speakers during that period.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) listed 46 contract dates during the study period but provided no details on information such as contract amounts, speech topics, and the number of speeches per contract.
[I]n order to protect the safety and security of Canadians, CSIS does not generally disclose details related to third party contractors or expenditures beyond those publicly reported in the Estimates, Public Accounts, and the Budget, said the agency in response to the Inquiry of Ministry.
Leadership, Ethics, Mental Health, Stress
Federal departments and agencies spent about $467,902 during the study period on leadership, ethics, motivation, communication, teamwork, and other workplace personal development topics, the category with the second-highest spending after the EDI category.
The Canada Border Services Agency allocated $60,000 to a contract that consisted of six virtual speeches on leadership for its executives, spread between two dates. The topics were the impact of agility and resilience combined with leadership character in February 2021 and character-based leadership and wellness in March 2022.
DND and the Communications Security Establishment each spent $11,333 in 2021 on a speech on Ethical Challenges of Senior Leaders.
The DOJ engaged a speaker to train its staff on Leading Hybrid Teams in June 2022, at a cost of $10,170.
Funding also went to topics related to health and mental health, including wellness, stress management, resiliency, self-care, and emotional intelligence, the third-highest spending category, with about $462,132 spent across the departments and agencies that provided data for the study period.
Speeches between 2020 and 2022 had more focus on building resilience and maintaining positive mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics included Preventing Burnout in the New Future of Work ($14,125), How to Handle the DeconfinementWithout Stressing Out! in both English and French versions ($8,623 each), and Why Telework Does Not Protect Against Stress ($9,485).
The Public Service Commission of Canada, an agency responsible for safeguarding the values of a professional Public Service, spent $10,000 in April 2022 on Back to the office: How to help employees return to the workplace without too much stress.
Team building was a topic that Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Veterans Affairs Canada paid attention to, totalling $48,173 in spending on speeches.
In the next category, related to a variety of topical issues, approximately $190,156 was spent on speeches primarily on digital government, artificial intelligence, emerging trends, cybersecurity, and innovation and creativity.
The remaining $184,200 was spent on speeches on various miscellaneous topics.
No spending information by the Prime Ministers Office was found in the records.
Noe Chartier contributed to this report.
R | 1h 53min | Drama, Romance | 24 February 2023 (USA)
While not her finest effort (that would be Things to Come from 2016), writer and director Mia Hansen-Loves One Fine Morning (French: Un beau matin) is yet another worthwhile inclusion for her consistently impressive resume.
A huge devotee of Ingmar Bergman (Bergmans surname was included in her two most recent efforts), Hansen-Love eschews narrative overindulgence, instead favoring frank, unadorned storytelling.
Throwback Style
For fans of classic, mid-20th century European neo-realism, this approach will be highly welcomed. This film is one that relies on nuance, things that are left unsaid, and the perhaps dangerous assumption that the audience can agree to these terms and follow along without complaint.
(LR) Clement (Melvil Poupaud), Linn (Leban Martins), and Sandra (Lea Seydoux) enjoy each others company in One Fine Morning. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Lea Seydoux (think a younger Mia Farrow by way of Scarlett Johansson) stars as Sandra, a widowed single mother who makes what appears to be a decent living in Paris as an interpreter. Shes a great mother to her daughter Linn (Camille Leban Martins), a tween who has adjusted as well as can be expected to life after losing her father.
During a trip to a park, Sandra runs into Clement (Melvil Poupaud), a friend of her late husband who is married with a son about Linns age. They exchange pleasantries, make semi-obligatory promises of staying in touch, and get on to getting back to their lives, yet there is a slowly smoldering undercurrent of longing attached to their chance meeting.
The next 15 minutes find Sandra and Clement dancing around but not quite addressing the inevitablesomething those of us are fortunate enough to find at least once in our lifetime. This heady, tasteful, and incremental lead-up to eventual congress lends the production a marked level of class and decorum. It is a perfect and understated example of flirting: a situation where neither of the participants wishes to reveal the true intense nature of their longing before the other admits to it.
Clement is a professional cosmochemist (someone who collects and examines space matter such as meteorites and asteroids), a job that requires frequent global travel. These long stretches away from home has put an understandable level of strain on his marriage, which only gets exacerbated by the increased amount of time he spends with Sandra and Linn.
Sandra (Lea Seydoux) and Clement (Melvil Poupaud) are friends, in One Fine Morning. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Family Matters
Initially, Sandra takes Clements absences and time spent with his family in stride, as she has her hands full being the chief caregiver of her ailing father Georg (Pascal Greggory). Once a noted philosopher and author, Georg is suffering from Bensons syndrome, a degenerative disorder and a variant of Alzheimers disease that results in blindness and muscular atrophy.
For anyone who has not had to care for sick parents, this is a nerve-fraying and often financially draining endeavor. Neither Sandra, Georg, his ex-wife Francoise (Nicole Garcia), nor his modest pension will provide enough funds for ideal care, so he ends up being transferred from one facility to the next.
Sandra (Lea Seydoux) cares for her father, Georg (Pascal Greggory), in One Fine Morning. (Sony Pictures Classics)
There are some who might find Hansen-Loves screenplay complicated and messy, while others will appreciate its reflection and capturing of real lifesomething that is often complicated and messy. If for no other reason, Hansen-Love deserves high marks for keeping it real, not sugarcoating (or oversimplifying) the story and leaving the fates of some, but not all, of the characters open-ended.
As for Seydoux, best known to American audiences for her role as the love interest in the most recent James Bond flick (No Time to Die), Sandra is just the latest in a line of characters shes played who keep their cards close to the vest and their emotions in check.
Shades of Garbo
Many (myself included) have compared Seydouxs acting to that of Greta Garbo: subtle, understated, melancholic, spare, and mysterious. Seydoux is all of those things and more in One Fine Morning, portraying a woman being pulled in multiple directions, whose priority is placating and accommodating everyone in her life except herself.
Sandras emotional and spiritual catharsis, arriving halfway through the films final act, also provides the film with a much needed pressure-release valve. She eventually realizes that if she doesnt occasionally put her own concerns and desires first, shell eventually be of no help to those she cares about the most; its something we all should do once in a while.
Presented in subtitled French and German with infrequent English.
Sandra (Lea Seydoux) is a widowed, single mother who has many challenges, in One Fine Morning. (Sony Pictures Classics)
One Fine Morning
Director: Mia Hansen-Love
Stars: Lea Seydoux, Melvil Poupaud, Pascal Greggory, Camille Leban Martins, Nicole Garcia
Running Time: 1 hour, 53 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: Feb. 24, 2023
Rating: 4 out of 5
Five Firefighters Injured in Massive Four-Alarm Fire in Brooklyn
Five firefighters were injured in a four-alarm fire Tuesday morning at a lumber yard in Brooklyn, New York City.
The fire started at a lumber storage warehouse at 304 Hewes Street, in Williamsburg, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, according to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY).
The FDNY said a call came in about the fire at 10:51 a.m.
The fire had initially started as a two-alarm fire but was later determined to be a four-alarm firea particularly intense fire.
When units arrived, they found fire in a large commercial building containing a lot of lumber. The fire spread to an adjacent 3-story building, There is no report of [civilian] injuries, the department stated in a Twitter post. Accompanying video showed ample smoke rising quickly out of multiple windows in a three-story building.
There were no occupants in the building, reported WABC.
Fire started in one-story lumber storage building next to three-story commercial building. There are 5 [firefighters] with minor injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation, the FDNY stated in a separate post.
It added that there were 200 Fire and EMS personnel on the scene.
Accompanying video showed that visibility was greatly compromised by the large amount of smoke on the scene.
FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens said in a statement on Instagram the one-story lumber storage warehouse is interconnected with the three-story commercial building. He added that there was a lot of stock and a heavy load of combustibles within the buildings which made efforts to extinguish the fire more difficult.
The fire was brought under control after 5 p.m., reported NBC New York, which meant that firefighters spent about 6 hours putting out the blaze.
More photos and video were shared on Twitter by FDNY showing the activities of the firefighters on the scene.
The FDNY said its EMTs, Paramedics, and Rescue Paramedics were onsite to provide medical care on the scene to the five firefighters, who suffered minor injuries. The five were later transported to Wyckoff Hospital.
Video shared by another Twitter account showed thick black smoke could be seen from afar, emerging out of the building, rising to a high level, creating a massive smoke cloud that dispersed outward to engulf other surrounding buildings in the neighborhood.
Five Injured, Rushed to Hospital After Shooting in Colorado Springs
Five people were rushed to hospital with injuries due to a shooting on the east side of Colorado Springs late on Tuesday, according to local reports.
The shooting followed a confrontation behind an Alta Convenience store, near the intersection of Palmer Park Boulevard and Potter Drive, according to reports.
The incident took place just after 7 p.m. local time, reported KOAA News 5. The outlet reported, citing police, that multiple gunshots were heard after a fight between two large groups.
All are expected to survive, KRDO reporter Bart Bedsole said on Twitter of the five victims. He also shared images of the aftermath of the incident at the scene.
Bedsole added that he was told the shooting started as an altercation between two groups of mostly teenagers.
The shooting lasted about two to three minutes, KRDO reported, citing a witness.
Police said they found two victims with injuries upon arriving at the scene, adding that a friend transported three other victims in a car to a local hospital, the outlet reported.
An investigation is underway. Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) said juveniles may be involved, according to the outlet. Police have asked the public to stay away from the area.
Sgt. Alterae Rogers with the CSPD told FOX21 News late Tuesday that no arrests had been made. Suspects or suspect vehicles were also currently unknown.
Police were working with the convenience store to obtain video footage from a surveillance camera, Rogers added.
CSPD is currently working a significant incident, the department said on Twitter at 7:42 p.m. local time. Citizens with emergencies should call 911. Non emergency issues should wait until we return to normal operations. We are also accident alert at this time.
Florida Bill Would Make Employers Liable for Costs of Gender Detransition Care
A view of the historic Old Florida State Capitol building, which sits in front of the current New Capitol, in Tallahassee, Florida, on Nov. 10, 2018. (Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)
Republican Florida state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia has introduced a bill that would require businesses that cover the costs of gender-transition medical care for their employees to pay for any subsequent detransition care.
Senate Bill 952, called the Employer Coverage of Gender Dysphoria Treatment, is also known as the Reverse Woke Act.
Specifically, it states that employers that provide coverage of gender dysphoria treatment to their workers will also need to cover the full costs associated with treatment that reverses such gender dysphoria treatment, even for individuals that they no longer employ.
Those costs will need to be paid for by the employer regardless of the rate of coverage provided for the initial treatment and employers will also be prohibited from making coverage of the subsequent treatment contingent on whether the employee receives such treatment in this state; creating a right of action for aggrieved persons to recover actual total costs and damages from an employer or former employer, as applicable, under certain circumstances.
The bill defines gender dysphoria treatment as surgery, hormone replacement therapy, or any other procedure or treatment that assists persons with gender dysphoria in transitioning to their self-identified gender.
Employers who cover the cost of such treatments, either directly or through benefits, will be subject to the conditions of the bill.
Woke Businesses Need to Be Held Accountable
For employers who do not cover the costs of the reversal treatment, the employee in question may file a civil action suit in court to recover the actual costs associated with the treatment needed as well as any damages incurred by the person as a result of the employers noncompliance, according to the bill.
Ingoglia, who previously served as the vice chair of Floridas Republican Party, said in a statement on Feb. 20 that Floridians should not be political pawns to advance a leftist agenda for the Governor of California.
In January, California became the first sanctuary state in the country to allow children to access gender-affirming care or gender-related surgery and drugs, even if they come from states where those treatments have been criminalized or restricted.
The law also prohibits state courts from interfering in child custody battles over these treatments.
Woke businesses need to be held accountable when offering to pay for gender-affirming surgeries in other states, such as California, because they are nothing more than political decisions masquerading as healthcare and human resource decisions, Ingoglia said. If these companies truly cared about their employees, this should be a no-brainer for them.
Ingoglia noted that nearly 30 companies have vowed to pay for travel and the costs of transition surgeries for Floridians in other states.
The Reverse Woke Act will be considered when the Florida Legislature reconvenes on March 7, and if passed, would take effect on July 1.
Hormone treatments and surgical procedures used to make someone appear more like the opposite sex, often referred to as gender-affirming care, has divided lawmakers, particularly as it pertains to children and teens.
In November, Florida banned doctors from providing gender-affirming care to minors in the state, including puberty blockers, hormones, and sex-reassignment surgery, although youths already receiving the drugs may continue treatment.
Other states that adopted similar legislation in 2022 are Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Oklahoma, and South Dakota followed suit in February.
Nebraska and Oklahoma are also considering similar bills.
According to leading Finnish pediatric gender expert Dr. Riittakerttu Kaltiala, four out of five children grow out of gender dysphoria once they reach adolescence.
However, multiple major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association, have all voiced support for gender transition care among minors.
Former Trump Ambassador Would Endorse DeSantis in 2024
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to police officers about protecting law and order at Prive catering hall in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Feb. 20, 2023. (Spencer Platt/ Getty Images)
An ambassador who served during the Trump administration has decided not to endorse his former boss for president.
Donald Tapia, who was the U.S. ambassador to Jamaica from 2019 to 2021, said he would support Florida Gov. DeSantis, should the governor decide to make a bid for the White House in 2024, according to Politico.
The name-calling has turned a lot of people off, Tapia said when referring to former President Donald Trump. Let me tell you, we dont like that.
Days before the 2022 midterm elections, Trump began calling the Florida governor Ron DeSanctimonious. The former president used the same term in a recent post on his Truth Social account.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during Trumps President Day event at the Hilton Palm Beach Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images)
Florida was doing GREAT long before Ron DeSanctus got there, Trump wrote on Feb. 21. People are fleeing from New York to Florida (and other places) because of high TAXES and out of control CRIME, not because of Governor (thank you President Trump!) DeSanctimonious.
According to the news outlet, Tapia donated six figures to Trumps 2016 and 2020 campaigns, and has since donated more than $50,000 to DeSantis reelection bid. Additionally, he has also hosted fundraisers for the Florida governor.
Tapia also predicted that DeSantis three-day-long donor retreat at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach beginning on Friday will be overwhelmingly attended by former Trump supporters, according to the outlet.
Tapia
Tapia once served in the U.S. Air Force and was chairman and CEO of Essco Group Management, an electrical company in Arizona, for more than three decades before retiring in 2010. After his retirement, he devoted his time to philanthropic work, including serving on the board of directors of the Sun Angel Foundation and Endowment at Arizona State University.
In May 2018, Trump announced his intention to nominate Tapia as U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica.
In a statement (pdf) prepared for his Senate nomination hearing in July 2018, Tapia said he was firmly committed to building our partnership with the Jamaican government in the areas of security, prosperity, energy, education, and health.
A year later, in July 2019, Trumps nomination for Tapia was confirmed by the Senate, following a 6626 vote.
About two months before he stepped down as ambassador, Tapia warned the Jamaican government about using 5G technology from Chinese tech firms, such as Huawei and ZTE, in an interview with local media.
If you were to have a hurricane, earthquake or any type of natural disaster, we cannot and will not move into a communist Chinese network because it gives them the opportunity to download all the data that we have, Tapia explained.
In response, the Chinese Embassy in Jamaica issued a statement in October 2020, accusing Tapia of being filled with Cold War mentality and hegemonistic mindset.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally declared Huawei and ZTE as national security threats in June 2020. The agency adopted new rules in November 2022, banning electronic equipment from Huawei and ZTE from being imported into or sold in the United States.
2024 Race
Currently, three prominent Republicans have declared their candidacy for the 2024 presidential raceTrump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy, the author of Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate Americas Social Justice Scam, announced his White House bid on Tuesday.
DeSantis, who is seen as the top challenger for Trump, has not formally announced a White House run.
Read More These Republicans May Be Angling to Run for President in 2024
Trump is the favorite to win the GOP nomination, according to a new poll from Harvard CAPS/Harris. The poll was conducted on Feb. 15 and Feb. 16 and surveyed 1,838 registered voters.
The former president led Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis 46 percent to 23 percent, while Mike Pence came up third with seven percent, followed by Haley with six percent. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo finished fifth with 3 percent of support.
Trump would also perform better than DeSantis in a potential 2024 match-up against Biden.
In a race between Trump and Biden, 46 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Trump, compared to 41 percent who said they would vote for Biden. Meanwhile, in a race between DeSantis and Biden, 42 percent said they would support the Florida governor, while 39 percent said they would support Biden.
Georgia Grand Jury Forewoman Says Panel Recommended Multiple Indictments in Trump Election Probe
President Donald Trump attends a rally in support of Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) in Valdosta, Georgia, on Dec. 5, 2020. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
A special grand jury that investigated whether former President Donald Trump and his allies violated Georgia laws when they challenged the 2020 presidential election results will recommend multiple indictments, according to the forewoman of the special grand jury.
The forewoman, 30-year-old Fulton County resident Emily Kohrs, told The New York Times that jurors recommended a prosecutor charge multiple people with a range of crimes but stopped short of specifying exactly whom the jury recommended face charges or the nature of the charges.
It is not a short list, she told the New York Times.
When asked if the jurors had recommended indicting Trump, Kohrs declined to answer, instead stating: Youre not going to be shocked. Its not rocket science.
It is not going to be some giant plot twist, she added. You probably have a fair idea of what may be in there. Im trying very hard to say that delicately.
Parts of the grand jurys report (pdf) were released last week on the orders of Judge Robert McBurney of the Georgia 5th Superior Court District Atlanta Circuit.
They revealed that the grand jury, which consisted of 23 individuals plus three alternates, held a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election.
Perjury May Have Been Committed
The report also said, A majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it.
The names of the people suspected of making false statements under oath were not identified and the counts recommended in the grand jurys final report remain sealed by judicial order.
After portions of the report were published, Trump posted on Truth Social that The long awaited important sections of the Georgia report, which do not even mention President Trumps name, have nothing to do with the President because President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong.
The President participated in two perfect phone calls regarding election integrity in Georgia, which he is entitled to do in fact, as President, it was President Trumps Constitutional duty to ensure election safety, security, and integrity, Trump wrote.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, convened the jury and tasked them with probing whether Donald Trump and his allies tried to disrupt the lawful administration of Georgias 2020 presidential election following a leaked phone call in which then-President Trump suggested Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger could find votes to overturn the states election results.
During the 2021 phone call, Trump asked Raffensperger to probe potential voter fraud in Georgia and said he wanted to find over 11,000 votes to win the state but Raffensperger declined, noting the state did several re-tallies of the vote count.
Trump Defends Perfect Phone Call
Trump has said the phone conversation between himself and Raffensperger was absolutely perfect and that many lawyers and other officials who were knowingly on the line during his call had no problems with the call, and didnt voice any objections or complaints about anything that I said on the call which could be construed as inappropriate.
Willis is yet to announce whether she will indict people in the probe and the grand jury, under Georgia law. However, she only has the power to issue recommendations and not actual indictments.
A number of Trump allies including Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn have testified to the panel.
Kohrs was first identified as the jurys forewoman by The Associated Press, which said it found her after her name was included on subpoenas obtained through open records requests.
Kohrs told the publication that she did not vote in the 2020 election and was only vaguely aware of much of the controversy surrounding the elections, including claims of widespread fraud.
According to the publication, she declined to talk about unpublished portions of the panels final report and had been advised by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on what she, as well as other jurors, can and cannot talk about publicly regarding the probe.
She added that the grand jury never heard from Trump directly.
Trump was not a battle we picked to fight, Kohrs told the publication, adding, I fully stand by our report as our decision and our conclusion.
Sperm counts are declining worldwide at an accelerating rate, according to a recently published meta-analysis.
An international team of researchers, who reviewed 2,936 scholarly abstracts and 868 full articles, analyzed data from 38 sperm count studies done on six continents, updating their landmark study of 2017. The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction Update in November 2022 is based on semen samples collected from 1973 to 2018.
The 2017 study found that sperm counts had fallen in North America, Europe, and Australia by more than 50 percent in a 50-year span. The current study updated this data as well as added data from South and Central America, Asia, and Africa.
The aim of this study was to examine trends in sperm count among men from all continents. The broader implications of a global decline in sperm count, the knowledge gaps left unfilled by our prior analysis, and the controversies surrounding this issue warranted an up-to-date meta-analysis, the authors wrote.
The analysis found that sperm counts had declined at the average rate per year of 1.16 percent between 1972 and 2000. Since 2000, the rate of decline has increased significantly.
The 2022 study updates an earlier 2017 study to cover a broader geographic area and includes new studies. Its analysis reveals a significant drop in sperm count. (Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis of samples collected globally in the 20th and 21st centuries/Oxford Academic)
Reviewing the findings in an After Skool YouTube episode, study author Shanna Swan said researchers were able to confirm a significant decline in sperm counts in areas left out of the original study, including Asia, Africa, and South America.
We can say that our finding of a significant decline in sperm concentration and count is worldwidethat was a big change from the 2017 paper, she said.
The other change from the 2017 paper was the rate at which sperm counts are declining: When we look at recent yearsparticularly since the turn of the centurythe rate is 2.64 per year. Thats more than double 1.16, the prior finding.
The Role of Plastics in Reproductive Disruption
The obvious question iswhy the accelerated rate of decline?
Swan dismissed genetic explanations, pointing out that genetic changes take many generations to appear while the noted changes are taking place in two generations or less.
That leaves us with environment, she said.
Swan and other experts believe that the problem is a class of chemicals called endocrine disruptors, which interfere with the bodys hormones.
These endocrine disruptors are found in many everyday products, including plastic bottles and containers, liners of metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, receipts from ATMs, and pesticides.
Phthalates, commonly found in personal care products, plastics, and childrens toys, are one common class of these compounds. Theyre hard for consumers to avoid, particularly since manufacturers are under no obligation to identify these chemical ingredients.
Also, many of these disruptors are slow to break down in the environment, making them a long-term hazard.
One particular area of concern for researchers is reproduction, as these disruptors can interfere with fetal maturation and sexual differentiation in early pregnancy.
In the YouTube video, Swan illustrates how these disruptors can short-circuit testosterone production in the male fetus and lead to biological changes.
Theres the male fetus developing around the first couple weeks of the first trimester: The genetic signal is for the testicles to develop and start making testosterone, and here comes this foreign influence from phthalates telling the body, well, you dont need to make as much testosterone [because] we got it covered as they occupy the spaces of the androgen receptors, the testosterone receptors, she said.
They sit there and they say: Okay were good hereyou dont need to make any more [testosterone]. So the body says: Okayit wont make any more and the boy will be under-masculinized.
Dr. Robin Bernhoft, past president of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, told The Epoch Times that plastics are part of a larger picture of toxins affecting reproduction throughout the biosphere.
The proliferation of estrogenic chemicals is a major concern. Research has shown that 80 percent of male trout in Colorado had intersex genitalia, a high percentage of male crocodiles in Florida lack penises, and so forth. This is happening on many levels: Direct toxicity from PCBs, direct estrogenic effects from plastics, pesticides, and mercury among other toxinsbut also a secondary effectthe stimulation of aromatase, a hormone which then converts testosterone to estrogen independently of the other factors. Pollution in general stimulates aromatase which then converts available testosterone to estrogen. It is quite scary.
Criticism of Sperm Count Analysis
The 2017 study by Swan and her colleagues was criticized in an article published in the journal Human Fertility in May 2021 by researchers at Harvards GenderSci Lab. The researchers didnt conduct their own detailed meta-analysis of sperm studies but criticized the assumptions and conclusions of the original research.
The extraordinary biological claims of the meta-analysis of sperm count trends and the public attention it continues to garner, raised questions for the GenderSci Lab, which specializes in analyzing bias and hype in the sciences of sex, gender, and reproduction, and in the intersectional study of race, gender, and science, Sarah S. Richardson, director of the GenderSci Lab and a professor of the history of science and studies of women, gender, and sexuality at Harvard University, told the Harvard Gazette.
The GenderSci authors argue that rather than concluding the results support a sperm count decline hypothesis, they propose the sperm count biovariability (SCB) hypothesis:
SCB asserts that sperm count varies within a wide range, much of which can be considered non-pathological and species-typical. Knowledge about the relationship between individual and population sperm count and life-historical and ecological [i.e., regional] factors is critical to interpreting trends in average sperm counts and their relationships to health and fertility.
However, the meta-analysis of Swan and her colleagues didnt deny the range of variations in individual sperm counts but examined declining overall averages spanning more than a half-century. How such a precipitous overall average decline across all groups can be explained by individual variation based on life-historical factors or regional variation is unclear.
The Health Consequences of Low Sperm Count
In contrast to the GenderSci Labs science-as-culture analysis, a study in Italy conducted by endocrinologists found that low sperm count was associated with metabolic alterations, cardiovascular risk, and low bone mass, according to lead author Dr. Alberto Ferlin, an associate professor of endocrinology at the University of Brescia.
Infertile men are likely to have important co-existing health problems or risk factors that can impair quality of life and shorten their lives, said Ferlin, whos also president of the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine. Fertility evaluation gives men the unique opportunity for health assessment and disease prevention.
Specifically, Ferlin and his colleagues found that about half the men had low sperm counts and were 1.2 times more likely than those with normal sperm counts to have greater body fat (bigger waistline and higher body mass index; higher blood pressure (systolic, or top reading), bad (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides; and lower good (HDL) cholesterol.
Low sperm count was defined as less than 39 million per ejaculate. All the men in the study had a sperm analysis as part of a comprehensive health evaluation in the universitys fertility clinic, which included measurement of their reproductive hormones and metabolic parameters.
They also had a higher frequency of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of these and other metabolic risk factors that increase the chance of developing diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, the investigators reported. A measure of insulin resistance, another problem that can lead to diabetes, also was higher in men with low sperm counts.
Recent data (pdf) shows that nearly one-third of Americans have insomnia, and about one-third of those may be self-medicating to treat the condition. New research finds the price they pay for a good nights sleep might be very high.
Sleep Aids Linked to an 80 Percent Increased Risk of Dementia
The study followed approximately 3,000 older white and black adults without dementia over an average duration of nine years, to find that white participants who frequently used sleep medications had a 79 percent increased risk of developing dementia compared to those who rarely used them.
During the study, 20 percent of participants developed dementia, and researchers discovered that whites were three times as likely as blacks to take sleep medications often.
Whites were also much more likely to use sleep aids like benzodiazepines, trazodone, and Z-drugs, which include zopiclone, eszopiclone, zaleplon, and zolpidem (Ambien).
Weve known for a while that certain sleep medications like benzodiazepines are associated with an increased risk of dementia, Percy Griffin, who holds a doctorate in molecular cell biology and is the Alzheimers Association director of scientific engagement, told The Epoch Times.
Benzodiazepines have been found to have anticholinergic activity, which increases the risk for dementia, he said.
Anticholinergics are terrible for both sleep and brain function.
Acetylcholine signaling is already deficient in people with Alzheimers, and further blocking these receptors has caused delirium in patients I have seen and may increase dementia risk as well, said Dr. Alex Dimitriu, who is double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine.
For everyone else, short-term use is okay, but ideally avoided, he continued. Anticholinergic medications can alter sleep architecture, and reduce REM sleep.
Research shows that patients with dementia who were prescribed higher-dose Z-drugs were also more likely to be hospitalized, visit their primary care doctor, and be prescribed antipsychotics, antidepressants, and even antibiotics.
Among black participants, whose sleep-aid use was much lower, frequent users had a similar likelihood of developing dementia to those who didntor rarely usedthe medications.
According to the studys first author, Yue Leng, who holds a doctorate in epidemiology and is faculty at the University of California, San Fransisco, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Weill Institute for Neurosciences, these differences may be attributed to socioeconomic status.
Black participants who have access to sleep medications might be a select group with high socioeconomic status and, thus, greater cognitive reserve, making them less susceptible to dementia, she said. Its also possible that some sleep medications were associated with a higher risk of dementia than others.
Previous studies have shown that blacks were less likely than whites to report their use of prescription and nonprescription sleep medications. This may have exerted a protective effect on this population.
A Good Nights Sleepbut at What Cost?
Sleep meds such as Ambien can certainly help sleep. The question is: at what cost? said Dimitriu. As a sleep doctor and a psychiatrist, I treat a fair amount of insomnia, and regularly come back to this question.
But at the same time, lack of sleep alone can cause cognitive issues. A 2018 study looked at over 50,000 participants to find an almost doubled risk of dementia in both adults and younger patients with a diagnosis of primary insomnia.
Insomnia is also a well-known symptom in those who have dementia.
But any study that tries to connect insomnia and dementia potentially has a fatal flaw at the very onset: deciding whether self-reported insomniacs actually have undiagnosed early dementia, said Dr. Bibhuti Mishra, chief of neurology at Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, part of Northwell Health in New York.
Studies that seek to investigate anticholinergics effect on cognition also suffer from the same inescapable flaw, he added, noting an important limitation of Lengs study: It didnt include a well-known risk factor for dementia at the time of recruitment, the APOE4 gene.
However, there has also been research, such as a large 2020 study, that concluded these drugs may even have a protective effect, via improved sleep.
Regarding sleep aids with anticholinergic effects, Dimitriu suggested that short-term use is okay, but ideally avoided.
The question of whether to use sleep aids or not and what type of sleep aids to use, is best directed to your physician, advised Mishra.
Melatonin and Other Miraculous Sleeping Aids
Besides benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, melatonin is also used by physicians to treat sleep disorders. It is a common, over-the-counter sleep aid, which so far hasnt been associated with cognitive decline. However, it also hasnt shown any benefits for people living with cognitive issues.
A large review paper in 2015 found that while melatonin did aid with insomnia in people with dementia, the improvement in sleep didnt result in an improvement in cognition. However, there were also no severe side effects or evidence of worsening cognition from using melatonin.
Melatonin has also been shown to be beneficial for sundowning, which is the confusion that often arises in people with dementia during later hours.
In my experience, and per research trials, melatonin works best taken in doses below the typical 3-milligram dose found in most pharmacies, said Dimitriu. Doses of 0.3 mg up to 1 or 2 mg are often effective, especially for some in the elderly population with sleep trouble, shift workers, and people with jet lag.
There are nonmedical ways to improve sleep, and many cases of insomnia are caused by factors that include stress and poor sleep habits.
I tell all my patients to turn tech off at 10, get back to reading books, and try to be asleep before midnight, said Dimitriu. Winding down and reading before bed, without screens, works miraculously well.
He also recommended sticking to regular sleep and wake times, as the body and sleep love rhythm.
Reducing stress and treating anxiety if present also can markedly improve sleep quality, he continued. Exercise and meditation are also quite helpful.
As Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to represent the supposed unprecedented originalist interpretation of US history as one of a white Christian nationalist capitalist country fulfilling its deity-ordained destiny, a child could see that though denials and disavowals abound, the United States policies both foreign and domestic, its cultural formations, and its existential defense of exceptionalism demonstrate otherwise.
The unholy alliances that makeup White Christian nationalist ideals, cultures, and logics are not dominant and have always been contested. Though not dominant, ideas at the intersection of white supremacy, Christianity, and nationalism are spreading like invasive grasses. As reported in different outlets, here, here, and here, many Christian evangelicals lean toward white and right.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported about a recent study from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institute.
"A new survey finds that fewer than a third of Americans ( 29%) qualify as Christian nationalists, and of those, two-thirds define themselves as white evangelicals. At 38%, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are more inclined toward Christian nationalism than the general population. The survey of 6,212 Americans by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution is the largest yet to gauge the size and scope of Christian nationalist beliefs. It finds that 10% of Americans are avowed Christian nationalists, what the survey calls "adherents," while an additional 19% are sympathetic to Christian nationalist ideals. Among white evangelical Protestants, nearly two-thirds are either white Christian nationalism adherents or sympathizers. Support for Christian nationalism is significantly smaller among Asian American, mixed race, Black and Hispanic Protestants."
From sympathies, inclinations, and self-definitions to avowed allegiances and adherents, as well as skeptics and objectors, these numbers are alarming and also part of Christian heritage tourism in the 21st Century saving history. The report identifies five correlates for Christian nationalism: anti-Black racism, anti-immigrant views, anti-Semitic views, anti-Muslim views, and reinforcement and naturalization of patriarchal power. The survey also found an overlap between authoritarian political beliefs, support for the police, and an embrace of violence. It also does a deep dive into the baptismal sesspool of whiteness and Christian nationalism that sees "America as a New Promised Land for European Christians."
This is a partisan issue that has millennial consequences for millennials and public policy, as "More than half of Republicans now identify as Christian nationalists or sympathizers, the survey concludes. Some members of Congress, notably Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, proudly endorse the label. Former President Donald Trump called himself a nationalist, and the survey finds Christian nationalists have far more favorable views of Trump than the general population."
In addition to breaking down the numbers of adherents and sympathizers along sects, "The survey also examines how Christian nationalist views intersect with white identity, anti-Black sentiment, support of patriarchy, antisemitism, anti-Muslim sentiments, anti-immigrant attitudes, authoritarianism, and support for violence. Additionally, the survey explores the influence Christian nationalism has within our two primary political parties and major religious subgroups and what this reveals about the state of American democracy and the health of our society."
These numbers only reveal the orgiastic overlap between Christians, nationalists, the hard right, and the crunchy-granola crew.
The PEW Research Center reports, "Most Americans think the founders of America intended for the U.S. to be a "Christian nation," more than four-in-ten think the United States should be a Christian nation, and a third say the country is a Christian nation today. However, Americans' views of what it means to be a Christian nation are wide-ranging and often ambiguous. To some, being a Christian nation implies Christian-based laws and governance. For others, it means the subtle guidance of Christian beliefs and values in everyday life, or even simply a population with faith in something bigger."
The PRRI "explores and illuminates America's changing cultural, religious, and political landscape. PRRI's mission is to help journalists, scholars, thought leaders, clergy, and the general public better understand debates on public policy issues, and the important cultural and religious dynamics shaping American society and politics."
Check out the slide show Understanding the Threat of White Christian Nationalism. For the YouTube Webinar, click here: New Survey Release: Expert Panel Discussion at Brookings.
Last week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky gave testimony to Congress that was jaw-dropping even by the abysmal standards to which weve been accustomed throughout the COVID pandemic. In just a few hours, Walensky managed to tell Congress that the CDCs guidance to mandate masks in schools would never change regardless of new evidence, that the CDC had conducted no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as to whether masks were effective because it was so obvious that they worked, and that COVID vaccines had been added to the child immunization schedule so they could be given to uninsured children.
First, in light of the recent Cochrane review including 78 peer-reviewed RCTs with over 600,000 participants concluding masks made little to no difference in preventing COVID or flu, Walensky told Rep. Cathy Rodgers that the CDCs guidance to mandate masks in schools would not change with time regardless of the new evidence.
When asked if the CDC will revise its guidance to mandate masks in schools in light of the Cochrane review showing masks do not curb COVID, CDC Director Walensky tells Congress its advice on child masking will never change. Our masking guidance doesnt really change with time. pic.twitter.com/TwjZpN3jEl Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 14, 2023
Walenskys response is astonishing for several reasons. First, to say that the CDCs masking guidance does not change with time, despite the recent Cochrane review, is effectively to admit that the CDCs guidance does not change with new data or evidence, either. This is a far cry from the commitment to science that the American people had long been told they were following.
If thats not bad enough, Walenskys statement is, of course, also flatly untrue. After discouraging Americans from obtaining face masks in the initial weeks of COVID, the CDC made an abrupt about-face in April 2020, and face masks soon became mandatory for day-to-day activities, which the CDC at the time had attributed to a change in science. Making all this even more horrific is the fact that the United States stands out conspicuously as the only developed nation in which its national public health agency recommends masking children as young as 2 years old.
Next, Walensky goes on to tell Rep. Gary Palmer that no one in the U.S. federal government would have thought to propose an RCT to determine if masks were effective because there wasnt equipoise to the question anymore.
Today: CDC Director Walensky tells Congress that no RCTs were conducted to determine if masks prevent COVID because it was too obvious that they worked. Im not sure anybody would have proposed a clinical trial because, in fact, there wasnt equipoise to the question anymore. pic.twitter.com/wiwjdTdU1t Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 9, 2023
Effectively, Walensky is saying that the CDC wouldnt consider conducting an RCT, widely considered the gold standard of evidence-based medicine, because it was so obvious that masks worked. Its unclear if Walenskys butchering of the word equipoise was simply a result of her trying to use a big word in order to sound scientific. But if taken literally, the actual meaning is even worse: To say there was no equipoise to the question is to say that conducting an RCT to determine if masks worked would have been a violation of research ethics.
I wonder if the scientists who ran randomized trials of mask-wearing during covid have any response to the @CDCDirector who accused them today (implicitly) of violating basic research ethics and human subjects rights. https://t.co/sSpSn68uGh Jay Bhattacharya (@DrJBhattacharya) February 9, 2023
Finally, Walensky tells Rep. Dan Crenshaw that the only reason COVID mRNA vaccines had been added to the routine pediatric immunization schedule for all children over six months old was so that they could be given to uninsured children.
CDC Director Walensky falsely tells Congres that there have been 2,000 pediatric deaths from COVID-19 and explains that the only reason COVID vaccines were added to the child immunization schedule was so they could be given to uninsured children.pic.twitter.com/rld9bmFCsF Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 9, 2023
As has been known since early 2020 that COVID poses virtually zero risk to young children. That there have been 2,000 pediatric deaths from COVID is belied by the CDCs own dataand the vast majority of these children had severe comorbidities.
But moreover, adding COVID mRNA vaccines to the routine immunization schedule has broad implications far beyond simply making them available to uninsured children. Seeing these shots on the routine immunization schedule is certain to make it more likely for individual schools and municipalities to mandate those shots for young children to attend school, while affording legal protection to those that do. Health care providers will also be more likely to lump those shots in with other routine childhood vaccinations, giving them to young children with only minimal disclosure and parental consent. And finally, having COVID mRNA vaccines on the routine immunization schedule may afford certain legal protections to vaccine manufacturers, such as Pfizer and Moderna, for any harm they might cause.
Walensky has a long history of testimonies nearly as terrible as these. Back in 2021, Walensky couldnt explain to the Senate why the CDC hadnt conducted any field studies on natural immunity from COVID.
In Senate hearing, Director Walensky cant say why CDC hasnt conducted field study of natural immunity. If we dont know natural immunity confers protectionits because weve decided not to lookwhy have we not done the research showing natural immunity confers protection? pic.twitter.com/g98509ZhoX Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) November 8, 2021
And then there was the time when Walensky explained that the CDCs initial bravado for vaccine passes, mandates, and grandiose promises about vaccine efficacy back in 2021 had been based on a CNN feed claiming the vaccines were 95 percent effective.
Walensky: When the CNN feed came that it was 95% effective, the vaccine, so many of us wanted it to be helpful, so many of us wanted to say, Ok this is our ticket out. Ok But then you got millions fired and excluded from society for not taking it.pic.twitter.com/Xcl7bUUrOi Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) March 5, 2022
Galling testimonies aside, its not surprising why Walensky was picked to be the CDC director. On the surface, shes articulate and presentable. So its a real testament as to how far public health has fallen over these last three years that someone in her position would be telling these kinds of falsehoods and defending such atrocious policies.
Yet for all her poise, Walensky demonstrated at least one horrendous error in moral judgment that may help illuminate how she wound up on this path. In 2020, Walensky was a signatory to the John Snow Memorandum, a kind of rebuttal to the Great Barrington Declaration.
The John Snow Memorandum endorsed the efficacy of lockdowns, denied evidence of natural immunity following COVID infection, and essentially acted as the blueprint for zero COVID. All of these positions were, of course, resoundingly discredited in the ensuing years.
Walenskys signing of the John Snow Memorandum was in keeping with what may be her most damning quote of all. In a radio interview just before being appointed as CDC director, Walensky contrasts Swedens light-handed response to COVID negatively with Chinas really strict lockdowns, and gives her stamp of approval to the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) data purporting to show that the lockdown of Wuhan had succeeded in eliminating the virus from all of China.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky: To give you a sense of what lockdowns were able to do in other countries, and I mean really strict lockdowns, in China their death rate is 3 per million. Full interview here:https://t.co/BPTQn1xXyp pic.twitter.com/MLRjX9h14I Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) November 22, 2021
Ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case.
Originally published on Michael Sengers Substack; reposted 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. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has raised significant concerns about the impurity of truncated mRNA found in Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine samples. Truncated mRNA molecules are a dire issue because changes to the specific protein-coding sequence could result in unexpected proteins and consequences in human cells.
In Part 1 of this series, we reviewed the evidence that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contains mRNA fragments or truncated mRNA. We explained that this is a serious issue on top of the vaccines life-threatening safety events. We also uncovered that Pfizer had submitted falsified mRNA analytical reports to multiple health authorities.
In this, Part 2, we will discuss the potential vaccine-related injuries that might be brought about by truncated mRNA of the Pfizer vaccine; we will also discuss the root cause of inaction by the health authorities.
Summary of Key Facts
Truncated mRNA and related quality issues of the Pfizer mRNA vaccine could cause severe adverse health effects.
Truncted mRNA is a serious quality issue for COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
A lack of uniformity in vaccine batches contributes to the disparity of adverse events experienced by those who have received the vaccine.
The root cause behind these vaccine issues is a moral failure.
Before March 2021, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) demanded that Pfizer address the potential detrimental outcome of truncated mRNAs but instead received falsified Western blots, as detailed in the previous article.
Pfizer did not provide a truthful answer to the EMA, yet the EMA wrote that these specific obligations were considered solved. Considered by whom?
Most Truncated mRNA in the Pfizer Vaccine Is Missing a Stop Codon
A full-length mRNA contains five parts:
5 CAP functionprimes its translation
5 UTRdoes not translate into protein sequence
Coding regionwill be translated into protein sequences
3 UTRdoes not translate into protein sequence; a stop codon is at the beginning of this region
Poly(A) tailincreases the stability of the mRNA
At the beginning of the 3 UTR, there is a stop codon, which is also the stop signal of the open reading frame of mRNA.
Pfizers mRNA vaccines total length is 4,284 nucleotides long. As the Poly(A) tail spans from nucleotides 4,1754,284, 3 UTR spans from nucleotides 3,8804,174, so the stop codon position is at 3,8773,879. As most of the truncated mRNA is shorter than 3,500 nucleotides per the EMA reports, most of the impure mRNA does not contain a stop codon.
People may argue that such truncated mRNA does not have a Poly(A) tail, so it is not stable and should degrade quickly. Pfizer has submitted materials to demonstrate that no truncated proteins have been generated.
This might be true for a certain amount of mRNA added into a single in vitro cellular system. However, the in vitro data cannot be translated into human results. Things would become complicated if truncated mRNA were embedded in well-designed lipid nanoparticles and injected into a human body.
1. Abnormal Fibrous Clots Induced Heart Attacks, Strokes, and Deaths
As there is no stop signal, in theory, another mRNA in a cell will take over and continue to prolong the spike protein. If the same spike mRNA takes over, prolonged spike-like proteins with multiple repeats will form. If different mRNA takes over, unknown types of proteins will form.
By mid-2021, embalmers worldwide pulled odd, white, or brown fibrous clots from dead bodies, which were not reported before.
They are string-like shapes a few inches to several feet long. They are often rubbery and firm, All these features show that they are very different from normal blood clots, which are normally soft, round, flat, and clump-like, with dark red to black color.
Even though we have summarized research evidence to understand the mechanisms of those strange clots, still there seems to be something missing here to fully understand the driver behind the unusual length of those clots.
What if the string-like structure of spike protein grows longer when there is no stop signal? That could help explain why embalmers discovered those unusually long fibrous clots during autopsies.
The spike proteins present seven amyloidogenic sequences and can form amyloid-like substances. Such structures make it easy to form tighter string-like bonded structures with longitudinal twisting and cross-binding, forming a fibrous-like structure. An analogy of this process is making hemp rope: short and slim hemp fibers can be rolled into long, strong ropes with high force resistance.
With the stop codon missing from truncated mRNA, the starting material (like the hemp fibers) could be longer than normal spike protein. After several rounds of twisting and cross-binding, it would be not a surprise to form those unusual lengthy fibrous clots.
Of course, other situations could explain the formation of those strange spike-related blood clots. However, until today, truncated mRNA without a stop mechanism in the translation process of spike proteins remains one of the most likely drivers forming such lengthy fibrous clots in peoples blood vessels.
Meanwhile, spike protein can also trigger the clotting cascade by inducing endothelial disruption, inflammation of endothelial cells, life-threatening thrombotic complications, hyperactivating platelets via multiple receptors (ACE2, TMPRSS2, or fibronectin receptor), fibrous networks from neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), as well as increasing angiotensin II level, activating Toll-like receptor 4, and increasing coagulation factor (FXa) production,
2. Neurodegenerative Conditions
In healthy cells, truncated mRNA and defective proteins can be recognized and eliminated by protein quality control pathways in our body.
Depending on the protein and the efficiency of the protein quality control system, however, such aberrant proteins can escape our bodys quality control system, misfold, form insoluble aggregates, impair the ability of healthy cell function, and lead to many diseases, including Alzheimers and Parkinsons.
In addition, the vaccine fog syndrome could be at least partially correlated with the outcome of these truncated mRNA-derived proteins.
3. Cancers
This quality issue may provide insights into the observation of a 2022 study conducted at Lund University in Sweden, showing that the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine could reverse transcribe six hours after entering human liver cells and affecting human genes.
mRNA vaccine may change human DNA. (MDPI)
Currently, most cancers are considered to be caused by gene mutation and damage.
Accordingly, it also helps explain American pathologist Dr. Ryan Coles observation of an abnormal, disturbing increase in certain cancer cases after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Recently, Cole shared the biopsy results of a patient with multiple myeloma, showing that most B-cells have spike protein. The truncated mRNA with unknown functions may be able to insert itself into human genomes and change our genes.
4. Autoimmune Disorders
As there is no stop signal, in theory, another mRNA in a cell will take over and continue to prolong the spike protein. If an mRNA of a self-protein takes over, a mixed type of spike protein with an overlapping region of self-protein will form.
The chance of autoimmunity will increase as our immune system will generate antibodies toward these spike-like proteins.
With the release of the adverse event reports of Pfizers mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, we see many adverse event reports of autoimmune diseases. In addition to autoimmune liver diseases, there is also autoimmune myocarditis, nephritis, and nervous system damage.
Pfizer vaccine-induced autoimmune injuries, including autoimmune hepatitis, have been summarized in this review, including the original case reports listed below.
Case in Germany: a 52-year-old man developed acute hepatitis twice after receiving two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Case in the United States: a healthy 35-year-old woman, who received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in the third month postpartum, developed autoimmune hepatitis approximately seven days later. She was diagnosed with vaccine-related drug-induced liver injury with features of autoimmune hepatitis.
Case in Italy: A 43-year-old woman, who developed acute cholestatic hepatitis 15 days after Pfizer vaccination, was considered to have vaccine-induced immune-mediated liver injury.
Case in Spain: A 41-year-old woman, who developed acute hepatitis after receiving the Moderna vaccine, was diagnosed with a vaccine-induced autoimmune liver injury accompanied by severe cholestasis.
Truncted mRNA Is a Serious Quality Issue for COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines
Signatures of shorter RNAs found across different batches of Pfizer mRNA vaccines have demonstrated that substantial degradation occurred during the manufacturing and shipping process, a result discovered after the administration of emergency-authorized Pfizer vaccines.
Like other mRNAs, Pfizers vaccine mRNA is fragile, especially when exposed to water. While modifications have made it more stable, mRNA still breaks into pieces of unpredictable length, which explains the observed quality issue of truncated mRNA.
Drug development processes are required to follow strict guidelines for regulatory bodies to justify their human approval.
The regulation is termed ICH guidelinesICH is the abbreviation of the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use.
ICH issues a complete set of guidelines. The guidelines three main categories, quality, safety, and efficacy, are used for authorizing new medicines and monitoring their safety. There is also a fourth category called multidisciplinary guidelines.
A main feature of good quality pharmaceutical products is that the quantity, purity, stability, and physical and chemical parameters are stable and consistent across different batches and lots.
The vaccine industrys current quality control system is well-equipped to catch defects before the fill-finish unit operations. Still, it may miss defects at the fill-finish unit operations and beyond.
While creating the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, regulations provided by global regulatory agencies laid out requirements for vaccine producer Pfizer-BioNTech. One of the requirements was to prove that the vaccine allowed cells to produce full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins stably.
However, these requirements have not been addressed in a professional, factual manner.
This Issue Contributes to the Disparity of Adverse Events Experienced by Different People
As it is difficult to quantify and qualify impure mRNA components, this truncated mRNA vaccine will cause high variability from different batches and lots.
In Part 1 of this series, Sasha Latypova presented, at 4:01 of her video, her analysis of COVID-19 vaccine shots. She described that there are lots with almost no adverse effects reported; in some lots, there are thousands of SAEs, hundreds of deaths.
In her presentation, she also explained an investigation of historical flu shots. There are consistent flu shots across multiple manufacturers, across many lots over 30 years, based on the VAERS data.
She was invited to speak at the Lakaruppropets Pandemic Strategies conference in Stockholm, Sweden, Jan. 2122, 2023.
She also published her recorded presentation as her opinion, titled COVID-19 Countermeasures: Evidence for an intent to harm, on her LinkedIn page. The entire episode is available here.
She explained the importance of good manufacturing practices (GMP) in the pharmaceutical industry. This means the product should be consistent from one dose (or shot) to the next.
The high variability issue with Pfizers mRNA vaccine indicates a defective manufacturing process.
From the report that Pfizer submitted to the FDA in 2020, the RNA integrity ranged from 62 to 86 percent, with a 38.7 percent difference.
Pfizer mRNA integrity data shows high variability. (FDA)
For Pfizers mRNA vaccine, the EMA revised the RNA integrity down to about 50 percent purity.
Brian Gerrish has interviewed Latypova in a UK Column podcast. Gerrish is a former Royal Navy Officer from the Cold War era. He specialized in anti-submarine warfare and conducted operations to locate and track Soviet nuclear submarines in the Norwegian Sea, North Atlantic, and the United States eastern seaboard. He is now a public speaker and investigative journalist with the UK Column newspaper.
Root Cause Behind the Vaccine Issues
Its strange that global health agencies have not taken strict regulatory measures against Pfizers vaccine quality issue.
This is a modern version of The Emperors New Clothes. People are self-deceiving or passively deceived by others.
Pfizer seems to be the emperor. It not only submitted its falsified Western blots in its regulatory submission of the COVID-19 vaccine but also published its flawless falsified Western blots.
Global health authorities, including the EMA and FDA, seem to be the courtiers. They fully recognized the lack of sufficient experimental data on truncated mRNA and expressed proteins. They were fully aware that Pfizers response did not permit a definitive conclusion. Nonetheless, they approved Pfizers vaccine.
We are the people on the street, watching all these shows, left speechless.
This is an era of catastrophic moral failure. Once people abandon a moral code, the entire society becomes corrupted.
It is time for people to wake up from the dream of money, profits, and power.
We hope that people will be able to speak up about the truth, spread the truth, return to the tradition of truth and honesty, do no harm, and do good to others. Only by doing so can humans sustain themselves and expect a bright future.
References:
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Genetic-Code
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Amino-Acids
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/messenger-rna
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8299225/
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Open-Reading-Frame
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6791314/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2018.00431/full#F3
https://files.catbox.moe/sg745z.pdf
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/assessment-report/comirnaty-epar-public-assessment-report_en.pdf
https://www.trialsitenews.com/a/what-the-leaked-ema-emails-docs-reveal-major-concerns-with-pfizer-c-19-vaccine-batch-integrity-and-the-race-to-authorise-cdda0ba2
https://sashalatypova.substack.com/p/fake-western-blots-submitted-by-pfizer
https://unglossed.substack.com/p/pfizer-did-not-know-what-the-covid#%C2%A7blotter-gate-pfizer-simulated-proof-that-truncated-rnas-dont-get-turned-into-proteins
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.genom.7.080505.115737#_i25
https://www.covidtruths.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/M3-20-Nov-2020-FDA-Query-Responses.pdf
https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccines
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/comirnaty
https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-provisionally-approves-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine
https://www.theepochtimes.com/embalmers-have-been-finding-numerous-long-fibrous-clots-that-lack-post-mortem-characteristics_4696015.html
https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/why-strange-clots-form-after-mrna-jabs-treatments-to-consider_4914851.html
https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/why-spike-protein-causes-abnormal-blood-clots-200-symptoms_4842684.html
https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/covid-vaccine-fog-and-what-to-do-about-it_4425776.html
https://www.mdpi.com/1467-3045/44/3/73
https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/explaining-covid-19-vaccine-induced-autoimmunity-hepatitis-and-healing_4460668.html
https://www.ich.org/page/ich-guidelines
https://jpharmsci.org/article/S0022-3549(23)00009-6/fulltext#%20
COVID-19 countermeasures: Evidence for an intent to harm FULL
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7028539657902559232/
Epoch Health articles are for informational purposes and are not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Please consult a trusted professional for personal medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment. Have a question? Email us at HealthReporter@epochtimes.nyc
Hong Kong Must Face the CCP to Win Back Democracy: Activist
Protesters march on Hong Kong streets with a sign that reads "Resist Tyranny" during the annual rally on July 1, 2019. (Yu Gang/The Epoch Times)
A Hong Konger activist has called for the youth of Hong Kong to get involved with democracy and to face the realities of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) if they want universal suffrage and real democracy.
Elmer Yuenalso known as Papa Yuenan entrepreneur and political commentator who gained widespread respect in the pro-democracy Hong Kong community after the 2019 anti-extradition protests, told Hong Kongs Way Out conference that an election-based parliamentary system is the foundation of any modern democracy.
In the Feb. 19 conference, Yuen emphasized the importance of young people taking action.
You young people need to organize parties Run in elections, organize parties debate with others, Yuen told Bonnie Wong in Cantonese.
Wong is a representative of the HongKonger Protection Against Chinese Expansion who attended the conference remotely.
You debate, discuss, and vote in the parliament before finally making decisions, which will be the decisions of the Hong Kong people. [Theyre] not the decisions by you or me, but by the parliament, Yuen said.
He also mentioned that young people in Nanjing City gathered around the bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen, the father of the Republic of China and the first leader Nationalist Party of China, during the Chinese New Year, as a protest against the current CCP regime.
When asked how Hong Kong people could avoid the CCP, Yuen gave a direct and simple answer: You cant.
You cant avoid it. Face it, he said.
Protesters take part in a march during a demonstration in Hong Kong on Aug. 3, 2019. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)
In 2019, millions marched peacefully against the Hong Kong executives proposed amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, which would have allowed Chinese agents to extradite Hong Kongers to mainland China freely. The protest grew in momentum until an estimated 2 million people took to the streets a quarter of the citys population.
The amendment was widely regarded as a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and undermining of rule of law in the former British colony. Protestors and the authorities clashed in various venues, which led to Beijings further passing of the controversial Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020.
Yuens History with CCP
Elmer Yuen, an Hong Kong industrialist and CEO of Golden Bridge Technology Inc., started to advocate for democracy in Hong Kong in the international community after the anti-extradition movement in 2019.
In 2022, Yuen co-launched a group dedicated to establishing a Hong Kong Parliament and is therefore wanted by the pro-CCP Hong Kong authorities on account of violating Hong Kong National Security Law and subverting state power, making him the second Hong Kong resident who is not a Chinese national wanted based on the law.
Elmer Yuen, an anti-CCP entrepreneur addressed a Hong Kongs way out conference held in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 19, 2023 (Cindy Zhan/The Epoch Times).
Yuens daughter-in-law Eunice Yung Hoi-yan, a Pro-CCP LegCo member, renounced her relationship with Yuen right after the launch of the committee, criticizing the Hong Kong Parliament as a premeditated and malicious organization toward [the] Hong Kong government.
The group plans to subvert government functioning and undermine its administration, Yung wrote in the statement. I fully support the authorities to set examples and crack down on any illegal acts according to Article 37 of the National Security Law.
Yuen, who migrated to Hong Kong from mainland China in his childhood, responded that this is nothing new in the various political movements launched by the CCP in the past seven decades.
This used to happen in mainland China during the Cultural Revolution when they would get family members of somebody they planned to denounce to cut them off, he said in August 2022.
Personally, I dont think its a big deal, but you have to understand that this is the CCP, something that we Hongkongers have never experienced before, so we think its a big thing.
Hong Kong Has No Future if the CCP Does Not Collapse: Advocate
Meanwhile, fellow panellist Dr. Bin Lin, an advocate for Hong Kong democracy and media commentator, said that universal suffrage was promised by Beijing when it took Hong Kong back from the United Kingdom in 1997, yet if the autocratic regime in mainland China does not change, Hong Kong will never be free.
Dr. Bin Lin (M) ran as an independent candidate for the West Ward in Ryde council election in Sydney, 2021 (Supplied).
The future of Hong Kong depends on the regime change in mainland China, Lin said in Cantonese through remote video.
Everyone wants a change, but how [things] will change, no one knows. If mainland China does not change, there will not be a future for Hong Kong.
Lin, who has a Ph.D. degree in political science from the University of New South Wales, mentioned that in 2019, around 40,000 people signed up on a petition concerning Hong Kongs situation to the former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. However, after the news fell out of the media cycle, not many people remain concerned.
He said that he hopes overseas Hong Kong people can adhere to the Lion Rock spirit of perseverance and solidarity, which is shown by young people in the anti-extradition protests in 2019.
House Committee Expands Study on Beijing Foreign Interference in Light of Leaked CSIS Reports
MPs on the Procedure and House Affairs Committee decided on Feb. 21 to expand their study of foreign election interference after classified CSIS documents on Beijings involvement were leaked in the press.
If these reports are true this campaign of interference is not trivial, it is not a case of one or two bad actorsnot that one or two bad actors is something to turn a blind eye tobut if established, what this amounts to, is an all out assault on Canadian democracy by the Chinese communist regime, said Conservative MP Michael Cooper who presented the motion to expand the study.
He decried the fact that, despite this information being available to the government, no individual was charged and no Chinese diplomat was expelled.
The reports mentioned by Cooper refer to articles published by the Globe & Mail based on leaked documents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and anonymous sources from the security apparatus.
The Globe says the information indicates Beijings preferred outcome for the 2021 elections was to have the Liberals in power but in a minority government.
An unnamed Chinese diplomat is paraphrased as expressing unhappiness that the Liberals had recently become critical of China but they were still the best option.
The diplomat added that Beijing likes it when the parties in Parliament are fighting with each other, whereas if there is a majority, the party in power can easily implement policies that do not favour the PRC.
The classified documents viewed by the Globe also reportedly captured a former diplomat at the Chinese consulate in Vancouver boasting about helping defeat two Conservative MPs in 2021.
Coopers motion requires that the House affairs committee hold as many meetings as required to investigate the issue, and will re-invite ministers and officials who already testified on the matter of foreign interference recently.
Those include Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly and Minister of Interdepartmental Affairs Dominic Leblanc, as well as officials from CSIS and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE).
Cooper also requested to hear from Katie Telford, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus chief of staff, along with former minister of Public Safety Bill Blair and former minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau.
Liberal MP Greg Fergus passed an amendment with NDP support to have them stricken off the list of prospective witnesses.
Fergus also attempted to water down Coopers request for an extensive production of documents, but after closed-door deliberations between parties he removed that portion of his amendment to the initial motion.
Cooper had previously tabled a motion on Feb. 9 to have Telford testify on Chinese election interference, and it was also amended by Liberal and NDP MPs to scratch her name.
The committee meeting on Feb. 21 was focused on Globe and Mail reporting, whereas the one on Feb. 9 examined recent reporting by Global News.
Global had reported that Telford requested in 2017 that a briefing be produced on interference by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The memo said that CCP agents were assisting Canadian candidates running for political offices.
Liberal MP Jennifer OConnell said during the committee that the Conservatives are trying to exploit the situation for political purposes and act like theyre just waking up to the issue of foreign interference.
She said theyre only concerned because they lost in the last two elections. The Conservatives, meanwhile, say the Liberals turn a blind eye because they benefit from the interference.
OConnell called the questioning of election integrity Trump-type tactics.
I think thats dangerous for Canadians to go down this road, because like I said, weve seen our neighbours to the south and what happens when you start demonizing democratic institutions and when you start undermining their legitimacy.
House GOP Turns Up the Heat on Push for Oil, Gas Permitting, Regulation Reform
Hydraulic fracturing operations, like this one outside Rifle, Colo., say the Biden administration is not offering federal lands leases as it should and is slow-walking drilling permits. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Republicans are mining what they hope is a rich vein of public sentiment favoring fossil fuels with a sled of legislation introduced since January that seeks to unbridle domestic oil and gas producers from regulatory restraints allegedly being exploited by the Biden administration in pushing rush to green energy policies.
Those proposals include a 17-bill energy package vetted before House panels in Washington and during Texas field hearingsthe Unleashing American Energy Act sponsored by Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.), the Stop Trying to Obsessively Vilify Energy Act filed by Rep. Bill Huizenga [R-Mich.), and a mound of other measures matriculating through committees.
Add the newly proposed American Energy Act to that list.
Introduced Feb. 22 by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), and cosponsored by 12 other House Republicans, the proposal seeks to ensure that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency within the United States Department of Interior that manages federal lands, approves in a timely fashion applications for permits to drill (APDs) on federal public lands.
My American Energy Act will fight back against Green New Deal extremism and help reduce sky-high gas prices that Americans are still struggling with! Boebert said in a Feb. 22 Twitter post. Were going to rebuild Americas energy dominance!
Boeberts introduction of the American Energy Act comes a day before The Heartland Institutes 15th Annual International Conference on Climate Change begins in Orlando, Florida. She is among speakers at the three-day event, entitled The True Crisis: Climate Change or Climate Policy.
Illinois-based Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank with close ties to former President Donald Trump, said the conference will analyze the latest climate science and the wrong-headed energy and policy solutions the worlds governments are determined to impose on us all.
Boebert and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) are among scheduled speakers at the conferences closing luncheon on Feb. 25.
A rig hand works on an electric drilling rig for oil producer Civitas Resources in Broomfield, Colo., on Dec. 2, 2021. (Liz Hampton/Reuters)
Drilling Down Into Delays
In a statement to Fox News Digital that accompanied introduction of her bill, Boebert accused the Biden administration of colluding with Green New Deal extremists to slow down energy leasing, clog up the bureaucratic pipeline, and threaten American energy producers with frivolous lawsuits.
The Biden administration is only putting about 20 percent of eligible federal land up for new oil leases in many areas of the country and is slow-walking applications through a broken permitting process without addressing a backlog of more than 4,500 APDs, industry executives told congressional lawmakers in Texas during the Feb. 13 and Feb. 16 hearings.
After assuming office in January 2021, the Biden administration did not hold a lease sale until June 2022. Only 20 percent of parcels originally slated for lease were offered at 50-percent royalty hikes.
In 2022, the federal government approved 233 drilling permits a month on federal land, down from more than 400 a month during the Trump administration. Oil production on federal lands fell to 12.28 million barrels per day in November 2022, down from more than 13 million barrels a day under the Trump administration.
According to the BLM, as of Jan. 31, there were 4,896 pending APDs on federal lands and another 179 on Indian property.
Boeberts office maintains APD permitting times have increased from an average of 94 days in June 2019 to 182 days under the Biden administrationwhich she characterizes as a failure to perform by design.
Her bill would extend the term of APDs from two years to four years and ensure that the BLM and other federal agencies process permits under a valid existing lease regardless of any unrelated civil action which would prohibit activist judges from unilaterally vacating valid energy leases.
House Natural Resources Federal Lands Subcommittee Chair Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), among the bills 12 sponsors, said the measure is timely because the administration is not timely in responding to the oil and gas industrys concerns.
For over two years, the Biden administration has slow-walked oil and gas permits, ultimately driving up energy costs for the American people, he said in a statement. It doesnt have to be this way, and I thank Congresswoman Boebert for leading legislation to speed up the permitting process from frivolous lawsuits.
Oil rigs extract petroleum in the Los Angeles area community of Culver City, Calif. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Chisel Judges Out of Process
The bill requires courts to remand lease sale environmental reviews back to agencies to remedy issues when necessary, blocking federal judges from vacating lease sales and tying up APDs in courts for years.
Drilling permits are often held up in court as a result of litigation from environmental groups.
The Western Energy Alliance, a Denver-based trade group that represents 200 oil and gas producers across 10 western states, applauded Boeberts proposed bill.
The West Slope of Colorado is held back economically because of uncertainty on federal lands, which make up the majority of production in her district, Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma said in a statement accompanying the bill.
The Biden administration has been increasing that uncertainty by threatening to cancel permits after only two years, she said. In addition, environmental groups litigate any leases sold in an attempt to convince judges to cancel them on the basis of incomplete NEPA. (National Environmental Protection Act).
Boeberts proposed American Energy Act joins a crowded shelf of bills addressing the nations energy policies, most filed by House Republicans after the GOP gained a chamber majority during Novembers midterm elections.
The Unleashing American Energy package already working through the committee approval process includes seven proposals that address oil and gas regulation and push for greater capacity to export as a way to remedy artificial policy restrictions that have increased costs.
Among proposals are measures that would mandate 30-day federal approval of cross-border energy infrastructure, aka pipelines; remove public interest when the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) weighs natural gas export proposals; repeal the federal Natural Gas Tax; prohibit a president from banning fracking; and require the National Petroleum Council to research U.S. refinery capacity and needs.
Two resolutions express the sense of Congress that there should be no restrictions on oil and gas exports, and of disapproval of Bidens revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline permit.
Boeberts American Energy Act is her fourth proposal of the 2023-24 congressional session. She has filed bills seeking to defund Planned Parenthood, remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act, and amend the Mineral Leasing Act to clarify the effect of a pending civil action on the processing of an application for a permit to drill.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.Bill Satek, a general manager of a power plant, and his wife Kim Satek, an accountant, drove two hours to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the DeVos Performance Hall on Feb. 21. The couple deemed the trip absolutely worth their time.
Its fabulous, said Mr. Satek. Its really good. I love it. Its the first time Ive ever seen anything like this. I just love the energy and the choreography. Its just phenomenal.
Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and quickly became the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Shen Yuns mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture, and to present to its audiences the beauty of China before communism.
Mr. Satek was appreciative of Chinas culture and history and said that he could see the dedication the performers had to their culture, which he found very moving.
What I also like is that its the traditional Chinese dancing and expression from 5,000 years ago, he said. All these, its in their heart and soul. Its in their beingyou can see its from their past, their heritage, and theyre very proud of it.
According to Shen Yuns website, China was once known as the Land of the Divine and the ancient Chinese people believed that their culture was a gift from the Heavens. Shen Yuns opening piece reflects this belief in the depiction of divine beings following the Creator to descend to the earth and establish Chinese civilization.
Mr. Satek was delightfully surprised by this portrayal.
I love it that theyre going to their traditional values and theyre going back to the Creator and that they come out of the sky, he said. It was just fabulous. I didnt expect that.
John Booy attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the DeVos Performance Hall on Feb. 21, 2023. (Nancy Ma/The Epoch TImes)
Also in the audience was John Booy, a school superintendent. Mr. Booy said that he really enjoyed learning about more about the history and the culture.
Mr. Booy praised Shen Yuns costumes, music, and patented animated backdrop.
As an educator, Mr. Booy found the values presented in Shen Yuns performance to be important for education.
I think the themes of courage and truththose kind of values, of course, are important for education. And I think just the universal nature of the reference to the Creator, which we all look to, and the Creators original purposes of creating Earth in terms of truth, and justice, and all of that. Those things just came through really well.
The message is very important, said Mr. Booy. The universalness of the message is really needed, and its really strong.
Reporting by Nancy Ma 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.
Japan Sends Bomb Experts to Inspect Mystery Ball Washed Up on Shore
Authorities cordoned off the beach where a large spherical object was found
Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) bring down the Japanese national flag in the early evening, at the JGSDF Miyako camp on Miyako Island, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, on April 20, 2022. (Issei Kato/Reuters)
Japanese explosive experts have reportedly been called in to examine a large spherical object of unknown origin that washed up on a beach in Japan on Feb. 21.
A local woman found the mysterious ball on Enshu Beach in Hamamatsu City and alerted the police. The object was described as an iron ball with a diameter of 1.5 meters (almost 5 feet), NHK News reported.
According to local reports, the iron ball appears rusty and has a latching point that would allow it to be hooked to something.
Police cordoned off the area in a 200-meter radius around the object and called in bomb experts to inspect it for explosives. The team used X-ray technology to examine the object and found it to be hollow.
The restriction was lifted at around 4 p.m. local time on Feb. 21 after authorities determined that it didnt pose an explosive threat, FNN reported.
However, the origin of the iron ball remains unknown.
A local resident told NHK News that he had spotted the ball on the beach a month ago.
Concerns over suspicious objects have intensified after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon on Feb. 4. Beijing claimed that the balloon was a civilian airship that had been blown off-course.
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon that was downed by the United States over the weekend over U.S. territorial waters off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Fleet Forces/U.S. Navy photo/Handout via Reuters)
Since then, three more unidentified airborne objects were shot down over the Alaskan northern coast on Feb. 10, over Canadas Yukon on Feb. 11, and over Lake Huron on Feb. 12.
U.S. authorities said the objects were downed because they posed a threat to civil aviation. President Joe Biden said the balloons were likely tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions.
We dont yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing right now suggests they were related to the Chinese spy balloon program or they were surveillance vehicles from any other country, he said on Feb. 16.
Japan Reports Chinese Balloon Incursions
Japans Defense Ministry said on Feb. 14 that it strongly suspected Chinese surveillance balloons had entered Japanese airspace at least three times between 2019 and 2021.
According to local reports, the first balloon was spotted on Nov. 20, 2019, in Kagoshima prefecture, which hosts Japans nuclear power plant and a Ground Self-Defense Forces (SDF) camp.
The second balloon was detected on June 17, 2020, in Miyagi prefecture, which hosts Japans military facilities.
The third balloon was spotted on Sept. 3, 2021, in Aomori prefecture, where Japans maritime self-defense force naval base is located.
Japans government had contacted the Chinese Communist regime to verify the incidents and demanded that such an incursion never occur again.
Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved a proposal on Feb. 14 to ease limitations on the military use of weapons against unmanned aircraft that violate Japanese airspace.
Currently, SDF law allows necessary measures to be taken against foreign aircraft that invade Japans airspace, but the use of weapons is only allowed in cases of legitimate self-defense or an act of necessity.
The proposed policy would permit the use of weapons against drones and balloons that pose a hazard to civil air traffic, even if doing so doesnt constitute legitimate self-defense.
The ministry said that it would take into account the safety of citizens and civilian aircraft flights before approving any use of weaponry against unmanned aircraft under the new policy.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada has said the military would be allowed to use weapons, including air-to-air missiles, against foreign balloons that violated Japans airspace in accordance with the SDF law.
In taking this measure, the appropriate equipment will be used in accordance with the situation, he told reporters at a press conference on Feb. 14.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Judge Bars Public From Court in NYC Bike Path Terror Trial
A damaged Home Depot truck remains on the scene after the driver mowed down people on a riverfront bike path near the World Trade Center in New York on Nov. 1, 2017. (Mark Lennihan/AP Photo)
NEW YORKA federal judge barred the general public and media from a courtroom Tuesday where defense lawyers claim emotional testimony from victims has spoiled the death penalty phase of the trial of a man who admits that he killed eight people on a bike path on behalf of a terrorist group.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick issued the edict Friday at the trial of Sayfullo Saipov through a court spokesperson, who wrote that courtroom seats would only be available to witnesses or parties considered essential to the trial. The judge announced late Tuesday that a few reporters might be allowed at the trial Wednesday on a bench all the way in the back of the courtroom.
The public and the media were excluded from the courtroom in part to make room for Saipovs family members and numerous victims and family members of those who were killed. Victims have attended the trial for weeks, providing tearful testimony about how their lives have changed.
Saipov last month was convicted of killing eight people on Oct. 31, 2017, by driving a rented truck over the bike path along the Hudson River at a high rate of speed. Afterward, prosecutors said, he asked to hang a flag for the ISIS terrorist group in his hospital room while he recovered from a police officer shooting him.
Sayfullo Saipov is displayed at a news conference at One Police Plaza in New York on Nov. 1, 2017. (Craig Ruttle/AP Photo)
After hearing witnesses over what is expected to be a two-week period, the jury that convicted him will decide whether he gets death or life in prison. If any of them vote against death, he will automatically serve life in prison.
The judge directed the public and the media to watch the trial on television monitors elsewhere in the courthouse. Those monitors, however, show only a sliver of the courtroom and rely on lawyers, witnesses and the judge speaking into microphones and on court personnel remembering to switch on video and audio.
The monitors also do not enable members of the media to observe the courtroom reactions of Saipovs family members or the victims and family members of those who died.
Their reactions, along with those of witnesses, grew in relevance after defense lawyers argued Friday in court papers that a mistrial should be declared because the volume of emotional testimony seems designed to make jurors choose a death sentence out of anger or spite or to prevent Saipov from communicating with his children, since those he killed can no longer speak with theirs.
The likelihood of emotional reactions by spectators was anticipated to be so high that Broderick warned them Tuesday that they should leave the courtroom if they become too emotional. Members of the media would be unable to know if anyone walked out.
The interest in impartial observers to the court proceeding was noted when defense lawyers asked the judge in their letter Friday to request that court stenographers preserve any audio recordings they routinely make to aid their work. Prosecutors called the request unprecedented and opposed it. A recording, though, would aid judges on appeal as they review how emotional testimony became.
Letters were filed in the case Tuesday to protest the exclusion of media from the courtroom.
In a letter joined by The Associated Press, New York Times attorney Dana Green urged the judge to recognize that a live video feed providing a narrow view of the courtroom was not an adequate substitute for being in the courtroom. She urged the judge to allow at least a small number of seats for a press pool. The New York Post and the Daily News also supported the request.
In a separate letter, Matthew Russell Lee of the Inner City Press noted that the presence of the media was particularly important in capital cases.
Brodericks order banning the public and the media was believed to be a first for a public terrorism trial involving Islamic extremists in Manhattan federal court since the trials began months after the Feb. 26, 1993, World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others.
By Larry Neumeister
Kyle Rittenhouse Hit With Lawsuit From Man He Shot During 2020 Riots
Kyle Rittenhouse looks on after a break during his trial in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 9, 2021. (Mark Hertzberg/Pool/Getty Images)
One of the men Kyle Rittenhouse shot during the 2020 riots has sued the teenager, arguing that the shooting caused emotional distress and humiliation.
Rittenhouse shot Gaige Grosskreutz and two others in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during riots that took place after the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in 2021.
Grosskreutz was the only one who survived.
But he must live with the physical and emotional wounds inflicted by Defendant Rittenhouse, the new suit reads.
The suit also names the City of Kenosha, Kenosha County, and several law enforcement officials.
It alleges that the defendants conspired to deprive Grosskreutz of his constitutional rights and to obstruct justice, as well as inflict retaliation against Grosskreutz for participating in protests.
The officials allowed Defendant Rittenhouse and other illegally armed individuals to patrol the streets of downtown Kenosha with deadly weapons, inviting those individuals to use police powers, deputizing them, conspiring with them, and ratifying their actions, it states. That allegedly led to Rittenhouse shooting Grosskreutz.
The defendants either didnt respond to requests for comment or didnt have lawyers listed on the docket of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Rittenhouse asked supporters via social media for financial assistance because of the suit.
Changes Story
Grosskreutz ran toward Rittenhouse on Aug. 25, 2020, after the teen fatally shot two people.
He approached with his hands in the air to try to ease the situation and stop the killing, the suit reads. Defendant Rittenhouse instead shot Mr. Grosskreutz in the bicep, leaving a gaping wound.
Grosskreutz said something different when he was under oath during Rittenhouses trial.
He agreed then that Rittenhouse didnt fire at him until he pointed his gun at the teen.
It wasnt until you pointed your gun at him, advanced on him with your gun that he fired, right? Corey Chirafisi, part of Rittenhouses defense team, asked Grosskreutz.
Correct, Grosskreutz replied.
In media interviews after the testimony, Grosskreutz tried to walk back that acknowledgment.
I do believe that in that photo, given the right narrative, one could suggest that yes, I was pointing my weapon at the defendant. But when you play it as a movie or look at different stills, my arm was being vaporized as I was allegedly pointing my weapon at the defendant, he told ABC. Its completely inconsistent with the physiology of my wound that he would have shot me while my weapon was pointed at his head.
Gaige Grosskreutz during Kyle Rittenhouses trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 8, 2021. (Sean Krajacic/Pool via Reuters)
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi cross-examines Gaige Grosskreutz, whos shown on the video monitor being shot by Kyle Rittenhouse, during Rittenhouses trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 8, 2021. (Mark Hertzberg/Pool via AP)
Shocked
Rittenhouse told Fox News that he was surprised by being named in the suit.
I guess it came as a shock to why hes filing a lawsuit because he admitted that he pointed a gun in my face and that he chased me down, Rittenhouse said.
Rittenhouse was already named in a different civil suit, filed by the family of Anthony Huber.
Rittenhouse fatally shot Huber after he advanced on the teen while wielding a skateboard.
The Huber suit, filed in the same court, portrays Huber as a hero who died when Defendant Rittenhouse shot him in the chest as Anthony tried to pull the assault rifle from Defendant Rittenhouses hand.
The suit also names Kenosha officials and also accuses the defendants of deprivation of rights and First Amendment retaliation.
Ruling
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, a Clinton appointee overseeing the Huber case, denied many of the motions to dismiss on Feb. 1.
Adelman said the complaint adequately pleads federal and state claims against the governmental defendants and Rittenhouse.
The judge did dismiss some of the claims, including state law allegations against counties outside of Kenosha County.
Rittenhouses lawyers had argued that Rittenhouse shot Huber because of Hubers attempt to disarm him, not because of an alleged plan against protesters.
However, the complaint pleads that the violence perpetrated by Rittenhouse was part of the conspiracy. Thus, I must assume that, when Rittenhouse opened fire on Rosenbaum, he was carrying out the alleged plan to harm protestors, the judge said.
As discussed above in the context of causation, once Rittenhouse began using violence on protestors in the confined area, he should have reasonably expected protestors to defend themselves. The harm to Huber that occurred while he attempted to disarm Rittenhouse could thus be viewed a direct result of the conspiracy. For these reasons, the claims against Rittenhouse under 1983 may proceed. Likewise, because the complaint adequately alleges that Rittenhouse was part of a conspiracy with state actors to deprive protestors of their equal-protection rights, plaintiffs claim against him under 42 U.S.C. 1985(3) may proceed.
LA County Denies All Allegations in Sheriffs Deputy Gang Lawsuit
Graduates of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Academy Class 451 stand for the pledge of allegiance at their graduation ceremony at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2020. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Lawyers representing Los Angeles County are seeking to dismiss all claims in a lawsuit filed 3 1/2 years ago by eight sheriffs deputies alleging they were coerced into quitting by their colleagues.
The undisputed facts show no adverse employment action, no discrimination, no severe or pervasive harassment, no retaliation, no outrageous conduct, no severe emotional distress, no violent threats, no duty of care, no assault or battery in the course of employment, and no deprivation of rights, county attorneys argue in court papers filed on Feb. 17 with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco, who is scheduled to hear the countys motion on March 6.
The plaintiffs, who are seeking an unspecified amount of damages, are deputies Art Hernandez, Alfred Gonzalez, Benjamin Zaredini, David Casas, Louis Granados, Mario Contreras, Oscar Escobedo, and Ariela Lemus.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2019, named as defendants Los Angeles County, and former deputies Rafael Rene Munoz, Gregory Rodriguez, David Silverio, and Michael Hernandez.
According to the county attorneys court papers, the county put the defendants on administrative leave and investigated the incident and their involvement.
The suit alleges fellow deputies were a part of the so-called Banditos gang and sucker-punched Hernandez, who fell unconscious as they proceeded to kick him during a September 2018 training session at Kennedy Hall, an event venue in East Los Angeles.
The attackers allegedly grabbed Escobedo and choked him unconscious, according to the plaintiffs court papers.
County attorneys disputed this, saying in court papers the county isnt responsible for any of these allegations at Kennedy Hall, as everyone involved was at the training voluntarily, and it was therefore outside the scope of their employment with the department.
None of the attendees were on-duty. And it took place at a site not owned or operated by the County, the county lawyers court papers read.
The plaintiffs also allege they were forced to work unpaid overtime, denied promotions, and were sent hostile messages.
County attorneys said in their court papers that the plaintiffs have no evidence for these allegations.
City News Service contributed to this report.
In 2007, a woman received a brand new iPhone from her generous friends after getting her first job. But she really liked her dumb phone and didn't want to switch phone plans, so she never even took the first generation iPhone out of its box. Cut to 16 years later, and Karen Green, thinking the relic was worth around $5,000, was stunned when she sold it at an auction for $63,356.40 the most any vintage iPhone has ever received.
From NPR:
Louisiana-based auction house LCG Auctions, which specializes in pop culture collectibles, described the phone as a hot-ticket item for collectors and investors alike. It "presents magnificently, showcasing sharp corners front and back, rich color, and 'case fresh' features," it said.
Some of those notable features include the phone's 2-megapixel camera and web browser, and the "iconic" box with a life-size image of an iPhone with 12 icons on its touchscreen.
LCG Auctions founder Mark Montero told NPR over email that because original iPhones were expensive ($599 for an 8 GB model) and their future impact not yet known, virtually all were opened and used as intended.
"To discover an original first release model from 2007 still brand new with its factory seal intact is truly remarkable," he wrote. "The great story behind it is just icing on the cake!"
Bidding started at $2,500 and ratcheted up quickly during 27 rounds. Montero told CNN that there were 10 bidders competing for the phone, which ultimately went to an unnamed individual from the U.S.
Former President Jimmy Carter, age 98, is in hospice care. Thousands of people are now sending prayers for his family, and a CNN reporter shared fond memories of local communities with the former president.
While wishing him well, Larry Elder considers Carter one of Americas worst presidents primarily for what he did in Iran, or more precisely, how he allowed Iran to become an Islamic terrorist state.
Did you notice? Neither president Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged Presidents Day on Monday. Washington Examiner writer Christopher Tremoglie not only noticed it, he even wrote an article about it. He sits down with Elder to discuss what this neglection means for the American people.
Last Wednesday, Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to seek treatment for depression. As a Philadelphia resident, Tremoglie weighs in on the possibility of Fetterman being unable to fulfill his senate term.
James OKeefe, the founder of Project Veritas, has been forced out by his board. The board of directors said it had uncovered allegations of workplace misconduct and mismanagement of donor money.
Here is Elders take on the OKeefe controversy: All I know is that Project Veritas has done some groundbreaking reporting, and Okeefe has been the face of the organization. It will be interesting to see what both project veritas and OKeefe do going forward. We wish them both well.
The Larry Elder Show is sponsored by Birch Gold Group. Protect your IRA or 401(k) with precious metals today: http://larryforgold.com/
Lawyer Defending Falun Gong Practitioner Thrown Out of Court in China
During a defense hearing for his client, a Falun Gong adherent, lawyer Xie Yanyi was repeatedly interrupted by the judge and finally expelled from the court.
Immediately after he was driven from the Hui County courtroom in Chinas Henan Province, he was arrested by local police. He was released later that night.
The incident, which occurred during the Feb. 17 trial of Falun Gong adherent Zhang Suqin, is a sign that the Chinese legal system is dead, Xie told The Epoch Times.
In China, Falun Gong adherents and their lawyers stand together against a system that no longer even makes a show of being legal.
As recently as September of 2022, a Reuters Investigates report wrote: Chinese and foreign legal scholars say the use of the legal code to stifle dissent delivers the appearance of legitimacy in an era when Xi is calling for the Party to rule China through law-based governance.'
However, according to Xie, his experience indicates that the Chinese communist party (CCP) no longer bothers to maintain even superficial legal proceedings.
Chinas Human Rights Lawyers
In China, trials result in an over 99 percent conviction rate. Yet some lawyers continue to work with the legal system to attempt to obtain justice for their clients. Their efforts often earn them jail time and torture. But a tiny fraction of Chinas lawyers have the goal of chip[ping] away at the power of the Communist Party, one case at a time, according to the Reuters report.
For years, this tiny but heroic group of human rights lawyersabout 300 of Chinas approximately 500,000 lawyershave been a thorn in the communist regimes side. Like Xie, they defend those who are unjustly accused, often Falun Gong adherents.
Xie is defending multiple Falun Gong adherents. All of the cases involving Falun Gong adherents have been a political persecution, he said to the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times on Feb. 18.
The ancient practice of Falun Gong is rooted in Chinese culture and emphasizes the cultivation of truth, compassion, and tolerance. The practice has gained hundreds of millions of adherents worldwide.
In 1999, former CCP leader Jiang Zemin initiated a campaign of persecution against Falun Gong. The regimes persecution, which continues to this day, has resulted in the jailing, disappearance, and death of innumerable Falun Gong adherentsas well as their defending lawyers.
A Trumped-Up Trial
Zhang Suqin is a Falun Gong practitioner in Hui County. Local police detained her twice for insisting on her belief. She is currently being held in the Xinxiang Detention Center.
Xie said Zhangs case is false, has nothing to do with laws, and is simply a political witch hunt without any evidence.
During the court session, presiding judge Qin Keyan interrupted Xie at least seven times. Xie said: I listed all the legal grounds to stop her unreasonable interruption. But then she started to question my relationship with Zhang.
According to Xie, Qin targeted his defense qualifications and stressed that his relationship with his client was one of friendship.
Xie had submitted the relevant authorization statement and materials according to the legal procedures. However, he said, During the trial, the presiding judge maliciously attacked my acquaintance with Zhang.
Falun Gong practitioners take part in the Chinese New Year Parade in Flushing, New York, on Jan. 21, 2023 (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
He explained that all materials presented were confirmed by the court. However, the judges persistent questions about how, when, and where he met his client, and their private exchange of information, went too far: it was beyond the duty of a judge.
After Xie raised objections and protested her questions, the judge suddenly announced an adjournment, saying that she would consult with leadership for instructions. The adjournment lasted for about 30 minutes before the trial resumed.
Xie said: Zhang Suqin insisted that I defend her, and I also insisted that my status as a defender and the rights of a defender cannot be taken away. I asked the court to protect the right of defense.
Nonetheless, the judge attacked Xie as violating the court order, publicizing for Falun Gong, and refusing the reprimand twice. Xie was expelled from the court.
Xie said, We were debating; there was no reprimand. It seems that they had it planned. In order to finalize the imprisonment, they had to deprive the right of defense. Only by expelling me and excluding me from the defense can she [the judge] attack the client.
A Police State
The judge also told Xie the police had been notified. Xie said: This is something I cant tolerate. A judge relies on the police to adjudicate disputes between the defender and the court. It is a very shameful and sad act, which shows the judiciarys dignity is gone.
To Xie, the judges actions indicate that China is now a police state. It means the complete loss of the right to defense, the disappearance of Chinas criminal justice system, and the death of the entire legal system, which until recently has at least maintained an appearance of legal proceedings. This is not a trivial matter, he said.
The supression of lawyers has been called a modern mass-media era take on the Cultural Revolution, according to an AP report.
Although Zhang will most likely be imprisoned, Xie said that he will not give up on the case.
I respect the facts and the laws, and I will insist on being independent according to the law. None of their perverse behavior will stop my legal status and my will. I will perform my duties as entrusted by my client. No matter who it is, no illegal force will deprive or restrict my rights to carry on my duties, Xie declared.
The 709 Incident
Xie was a victim of the 709 Incidentthe targeting of hundreds of Chinese human rights lawyers that took place on July 9, 2015.
The regime targeted hundreds of human rights lawyers, dissidents, and their families across Chinas 23 provinces. The incident was believed to mark a drastic judicial step backward under the rule of the communist regime.
Xie was kept in jail, and his family was not informed of his detention until Beijing formally arrested him months later, in January 2016. He was finally released on bail over a year later, on Jan. 18, 2017.
After the incident, like many other human rights lawyers involved in cases with religious groups, Xie lost his license to practice law.
(L-R) Yuan Shanshan, Li Wenzu, Liu Ermin and Wang Qiaoling speak to the media after shaving their heads to protest the detention of their husbands, detained during the 709 Incident, in Beijing on Dec. 17, 2018. (Fred Dufour/AFP via Getty Images)
According to attorney Wang Yu, losing the license to practice imposed great obstacles on Chinas human rights lawyers. However, Wang said they continue to insist on defending their rights.
Wang was also a victim of the 709 Incident. He is currently defending Liu Lijie, another Falun Gong practitioner. Sentenced to three and a half years in prison in November 2021, she was not allowed to meet with her lawyers and family members until Feb. 10, despite multiple appeals.
Cloaking Persecution Under Guise of Law
In 2016, new additions to Chinas Lawyers LawLaw Firm Management Measures and Lawyer Management Measuresallowed Chinas Ministry of Justice to revoke a lawyers license on arbitrary grounds, a lawyer using the pseudonym Fang Yuan told The Epoch Times.
In addition, Fang said, cases involving Falun Gong adherents are tried in specially designated courts.
Although Xies lawyers license was revoked, a provision in Chinese law allows defendants to choose guardians, relatives, or friends as their defenders, so that they can fully exercise their right to defense. Xie was legally able to appear in court as Zhangs defender, under this provision.
Zhiwei (a pseudonym) is a fellow lawyer who once represented Falun Gong cases.
He told The Epoch Times he shares Xies respect for the Falun Gong adherents he defended. Their kindness, good faith, and sense of rules are rare in China, he said.
He said that the human rights lawyer is outstanding for the fact that hes been persistent in defending the Falun Gong adherents. Hes especially trying to win the respect and reconciliation of all parties. Although Xie may pay dearly for his words, his words of rational discussion are what the world needs right now, Zhiwei said.
Shining Light on Evil
Xie said he believes the judge deliberately obstructed his defense in order to minimize the impact of his defense during the court hearing. Although there is little chance of his words changing the outcome of the trial, he knows that someone will hear what he has to say, and perhaps hearts will be changed.
Xie said there is a positive side to the incident: namely, it exposed the illegal forces at work in China today.
I have seen peoples hearts change, Xie said. There are good people. The power of justice is unstoppable. This is what I felt [on the day of the court hearing].
Haizhong Ning and Hong Ning contributed to this report.
LCBO Recalls Red Wine Brand Over Possible Presence of Glass
A person walks past an LCBO in Ottawa on March 19, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has issued a recall for a brand of red wine because it may contain glass.
The recalled wine is Louis Latour Pinot Noir sold in a 375 millilitre bottle, according to the Crown Corporation in a Feb. 18 news release. The LCBO said it was recalling specific lots of the product after the supplier notified about the possible presence of glass particles.
The affected lot codes are L2217977, L2221076, L2221065, L2221077. They can be found on the bottom of the bottle and are printed in ink, the release said.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a food recall warning the same day, advising people not to consume the product.
Do not consume, use, sell, serve, or distribute recalled products, said the CFIA, referring specifically to Pinot Noir Bourgogne 2021.
The agency added that the wine was sold in Ontario. It urged consumers who have purchased the product to either throw it away or return it to the location where it was bought.
The CFIA also informed that the recall was triggered by another recall in a different country, and that no injuries related to the consumption of the wine have been reported thus far.
It said a food safety investigation is underway, which may lead to the recall of other products.
The CFIA is verifying that [the] industry is removing recalled products from the marketplace the agency said.
Mainland Australia Could Face Electricity Shortages by 2027: Energy Market Operator
Office buildings and street lamps are seen illuminated in the central business district in Sydney, Australia, on June 21, 2022. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has warned that the countrys mainland states could experience electricity shortages as early as 2027 and called for urgent investments in the sector.
In the latest national electricity market update (pdf), the AEMO revealed that while Australia had sufficient electricity generation capacity in the next couple of years, the country urgently needed new projects to go online to ensure the power grids reliability over the next decade.
This happens as Australia continues to phase out coal-fired power stations while facing delays on some major projects.
The report listed a number of major changes to the energy system in the past few months, including new gas, wind and battery developments in the National Electricity Market (NEM), the bringing forward of the shutdown of AGLs Torrens Island B Power Station, and a delay to the Snowy 2.0 hydro project and the gas-fired Kurri Kurri Power Station.
The changes have filled the short-term reliability gaps in South Australia (2023/24) and Victoria (2024/25) that were identified in the previous forecast.
A general view of the Loy Yang power plants in Traralgon, Australia, on Aug. 17, 2022. (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
However, the report predicted that mainland states in the NEM would face electricity shortages from 2027 onward as at least five coal-fired power stations in the regionwhich account for 13 percent of the markets capacitywould be shut down.
What we see toward the end of the decade is increasing reliability gaps, and those gaps hit every mainland state in the NEM, AEMO CEO Daniel Westerman said.
The CEO noted that the AEMO analysis only took into account committed projects that had been announcedthose with firm expectations that they will deliverand that those projects would not be sufficient to satisfy the countrys future energy needs.
What we need to see is continuing investments and investment certainty in each [type] of renewable energy and transmission, Westerman said.
Westerman added while it would take around two to three years to complete a renewable energy project, the process would be longer for building new electricity transmission networks and gas-fired power stations.
As such, the CEO called for urgent investments to be made in the energy sector.
Energy Minister Says Blackouts Will Not Occur
Following the AEMOs update on the energy market, Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen reassured Australians that the federal government was working to prevent blackouts in the future.
However, he noted there was more work to be done to close gaps in the power grid.
It does mean that weve got more work to do, Bowen told ABC radio.
But Im very pleased with the progress weve made so far.
In addition, Bowen said work to legislate emissions reduction targets and new renewable energy projects were bringing positive changes to the system.
The minister added he believed the reliability gaps would be reduced in future updates from the AEMO.
Chris Bowen, Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy, speaks at the Sydney Energy Forum in Sydney, Australia, on July 12, 2022. (Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)
Opposition energy spokesman Ted OBrien warned that the Labor governments current policies would cause Australians to face blackouts and higher bills.
Meanwhile, Climate Council senior researcher Carl Tidemann said wind and solar backed by big batteries were providing a reliable electricity supply to the grid.
With the right government support, we can rapidly roll out more renewable generation, storage and grid infrastructure that will enable a reliable energy grid powered by 100 percent renewables, Tidemann said in comments obtained by AAP.
New Industry Roadmap Reveals Massive Demand for Electricity
The AEMOs analysis comes as the government has launched a roadmap for decarbonising Australias heavy industries.
The ambitious 30-year plan will cost the country $625 billion (US$432 billion) in both government and private investments.
While the hefty price tag is something to look at, one major problem with the plan is the massive amount of electricity needed.
The roadmap indicated that around 600 terawatt-hours would be needed each year for the electrification of the most heavily polluting operations.
This figure is equivalent to a two-fold increase in the countrys total current electricity generation.
And if Australia wants to establish new export markets for green iron and hydrogen, the demand for additional electricity would go up to 1,450 terawatt-hours per year.
Given the current state of the energy market and future electricity shortages outlined in the AEMOs analysis, it is unclear how the government will ensure the implementation of the decarbonisation plan.
Mercks COVID-19 Drug Fails to Show Statistically Significant Reduction in Infection Risk
Molnupiravir, a COVID-19 treatment pill, is seen in this handout photo released by Merck & Co. Inc., on May 17, 2021. (Merck & Co. Inc./Handout via Reuters)
The phase 3 clinical trial of Mercks COVID-19 antiviral molnupiravir, branded as Lagevrio, has ended up in failure, as participants who took the medication did not exhibit any significant reduction in the risk of contracting the illness.
The trial was conducted among 1,500 participants who randomly received Lagevrio or a placebo orally every 12 hours for five days. It evaluated people who did not have symptoms of COVID-19, but lived in a household where another individual was recently confirmed with the infection.
In the primary endpoint of participants who did not have evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection at baseline (confirmed by a negative SARS-CoV-2 test), the Lagevrio-treated group was observed to be 23.6 percent less likely than those who received placebo to develop COVID-19 through Day 14 (a positive post-baseline SARS-CoV-2 test with evidence of signs and symptoms), the company said, according to a press release on Feb. 21.
With molnupiravir users only 23.6 percent less likely to get infected with COVID-19 than the placebo group, the test failed to demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in the risk of COVID-19 following household exposure to another individual with COVID-19.
Lagevrio is currently approved or authorized for use in the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, China, and Australia for treating certain adults who have contracted COVID-19.
Using Lagevrio for Other Illness
Though Mercks Lagevrio failed to prove the drug as an effective preventive option for COVID-19, the company still sees the medication as a viable treatment for other infections.
We remain focused on our ongoing efforts to bring Lagevrio as treatment to appropriate high-risk patients with COVID-19 where its use is authorized or approved, as well as to further study the ways it may benefit patients with other infectious diseases, such as RSV, said Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories, according to the release.
RSV refers to respiratory syncytial virus that usually triggers mild, cold-like symptoms in people. Though most individuals recover in a week or two, RSV can be serious for infants and older adults.
Among U.S. children below the age of one year, RSV is the most common cause of pneumonia and bronchitis. In November, Merck began a small study to evaluate the use of Lagevrio as a treatment option for RSV.
Merck has not released data from the phase 3 COVID-19 clinical trial. However, the company intends to release full results at a later time in a publication or a scientific meeting.
In April last year, Pfizers COVID-19 antiviral Paxlovid also failed to show any statistically significant result in preventing household spread of the infection.
Hospitalizations and Deaths
A study published in The Lancet in December had found that molnupiravir had little impact in preventing hospitalizations or deaths from COVID-19.
The study found that out of the 12,529 participants who were given molnupiravir, 105 were recorded to have died or been hospitalized due to the infection. In contrast, among the 12,525 participants who were given usual care, hospitalizations and deaths came in at 98.
However, the researchers did find that participants who received molnupiravir recovered faster than those who received usual care, saw reduced viral load, had a higher rate of early sustained recovery, and sought fewer general practitioner consultations.
The median recovery time among participants who took molnupiravir was found to be nine days. Among those who received usual care, recovery took 15 days.
Last year, Lagevrio generated around $5.7 billion in sales for Merck. However, the company expects revenues from the pill to fall to $1 billion in 2023.
A Polish mother of seven has successfully given birth to premature quintuplets, hospital officials in southern Poland said on Feb. 14. She reportedly called the birth a miracle.
The two boys and three girls were born through a cesarean section on Sunday, in the pregnancys 28th week, at the University Hospital in Krakow.
The hospital posted on its Facebook account, as translated from Polish, that [s]uch a pregnancy happens once in 52 million cases.
A miracle has happened, said the quintuplets mother, Dominika Clarke, 37. We were planning on having an eighth child but it turned out that there would be a few more children.
Weighing between 25-49 ounces (710-1,400 grams), the newborns were all put in incubators and given breathing support, but doctors said they are all doing fine, given their premature birth.
One of the quintuplets, born on Sunday in the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland. (Karolina Fok/Archive, The University Hospital, Krakow/www.su.krakow.pl via AP)
The quintuplets birth was characterized as a miracle by their mom, Dominika Clarke, 37. (Karolina Fok/Archive, The University Hospital, Krakow/www.su.krakow.pl via AP)
Clarke told a news conference in Krakow on Tuesday that she was feeling much better than I had expected.
They have been given the names Elizabeth May, Evangeline Rose, Arianna Daisy, Charles Patrick, and Henry James, TheFirstNews reported, adding that this will increase the number of children in their household to 12.
If you have a system, a calm approach, and a positive attitude, then it is possible to have a really cool life with such a large bunch of children, Clarke said.
She and her British husbands other children are aged between 10 months and 12 years and include two pairs of twins.
Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
MP Voices Concern About Chinese Diplomat Reportedly Boasting She Helped Defeat 2 Tory Electoral Candidates
MPs raised concerns Tuesday in a House of Commons committee meeting about the latest revelations from reportedly leaked Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) files that allege Chinese interference in Canadas last two federal elections.
The Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Feb. 21 heard allegations based on a Globe and Mail report that Chinas former consul-general in Vancouver, Tong Xiaoling, bragged that she helped defeat two Conservative MPs running for election in 2021, including an MP who she allegedly described as a vocal distractor.
The committee heard that former Consul General Wang Jin was also allegedly involved in efforts to rally support for Liberals and target Conservative candidates for election defeat, including tactics such as funnelling money to candidates through illegal undeclared cash donations.
Conservative MP Michael Cooper said allegations of campaign interference are not trivial and that if reports are true, this is an all-out assault on Canadian democracy by the Chinese Communist regime.
Cooper said allegations include disinformation targeted against Conservative candidates, collusion with Liberal candidates, the widespread use of proxies to advance the Chinese Communist Partys objectives of helping the Liberal Party, and working to defeat certain Conservative candidates, all coordinated and directed by Chinese communist diplomats on Canadian soil.
The MP described a series of Globe reports that he said disclose shocking revelations regarding Beijings strategy to interfere and influence Canadas democratic institutions.
The Globe reported it had been provided access to top-secret CSIS documents outlining the full extent of Chinas interference in the last two Canadian elections.
The report characterized the Chinese Communist Partys interference campaign in the 2021 election as an orchestrated machine, Cooper told the committee.
He said that Beijing allegedly had two overriding objectives: to ensure the Liberal Party was re-elected with a minority government, and to make sure certain Conservative candidates deemed unfriendly to China would be defeated.
Cooper tabled a motion calling for the committee to extend its study of alleged foreign election interference with more meetings, and compel testimony from officials from CSIS, the RCMP, Elections Canada, and other senior staffers in the federal government.
Cooper also requested documents be provided to the committee without redactions.
Quebec Conservative MP Luc Bertold said that given all the evidence being accumulated and the CSIS documents, unequivocally the allegations of interference were not only founded, but only transparency could combat these attacks on our democracy.
Despite all these red flags, nothing, I repeat, nothing was done to signal to Beijing that Canada would not tolerate interference in its democracy, said Bertold.
Stating there was voluntary blindness and a lack of transparency, Bertold said, The prime minister seems to like the fact that the Liberals were the flavour of the day for Beijing.
Liberal MP Jennifer OConnell told the committee that Conservatives want to look at documents in a non-secure manner, which is frankly reckless, absolutely reckless.
She said the boasting of a Chinese diplomat was not trustworthy. Do the Conservatives trust the boasting of a PRC representative? Or do you trust the CSIS director? I know who I trust, I dont think representatives from PRC have Canadians interests in mind. I dont think they sit around and talk about election outcomes?
OConnell said the national security community has stated that although foreign interference exists, and is persistent, Canadians decided the elections and that foreign interference in elections was not new to Canada.
She accused Conservatives of being on a fishing expedition with their motion to secure witnesses and documents on the topic.
What we hear, time and time again, is this partisan hack type stuff being thrown around that the Prime Minister has, you know, closed his eyes. No, he has not, said OConnell.
The committee voted to expand its study of election interference.
MSU Shooting: The Blame Game
Police and emergency vehicles are on the scene of an active shooter situation on the campus of Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich., on Feb. 13, 2023. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Commentary
If you believe tweets from Michael Bloombergs The Trace and its employees, I am one major factor why the United States hasnt passed stronger gun control laws and thus, they claim, responsible for mass shootings in the U.S. These are becoming regular tweets after each mass public shooting.
They are upset that I have quoted mass murderers on their decisions to target gun-free zones. Yet, statements such as, Areas where CCW are outlawed or prohibited may be good areas of attack are common among mass murderers.
That doesnt make sense to gun control supporters. Immediately after this weeks shooting at Michigan State University, President Biden led a chorus of politicians and gun control groups in calling for more gun control laws.
Biden used his speech on Tuesday to call for banning assault weapons and magazines that hold 50, 70 bullets. Shannon Watts, who heads Bloombergs Moms Demand Action, called for a broad range of laws: background checks for long guns, red flag laws, disarming domestic abusers, banning assault weapons, limiting magazine capacity, and regulating open carry of guns.
None of these proposed laws would have stopped this attack. The murderer, Anthony McRae, used handguns with multiple standard size magazines, not assault weapons with large-capacity magazinesnot remotely close to the 50- to 70-round magazines that Biden was describing. More broadly, 58 percent of mass public shootings are committed only with handguns. Just 14 percent are committed solely with any type of rifle.
Lax law enforcement, however, did have something to do with this attack. District Attorney Carol Siemon should have prosecuted the Michigan State University murderer for a felony gun charge in 2019. It would have been an easy conviction, but Siemon substituted a misdemeanor charge in the name of race equity. A felony conviction means the killer would likely still be in jail.
Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth had argued that East Lansings city council should reconsider her internal felony firearm charging policy, because it does not hold people properly criminally accountable, and increases the likelihood of additional gun violence.
Gun control groups havent complained about the DAs refusal prosecute the murderer for the felony gun charge. But the background checks that these groups champion are designed to stop people with any felony or misdemeanor domestic violence convictions from buying guns. Not that a felony conviction would have stopped the killer from getting a gun anyway, as he could have used someone elses gun or bought one illegally.
Of course, among the other proposed laws, domestic abusers are already banned for life from owning a gun. Open carry was also not relevant, as the killer used his backpack to carry the guns.
As to red flag laws, McRae did indeed have a history of mental illness, and police performed a welfare check just the week before. But if the police had a reasonable belief that McRae posed a danger to himself or others, they already had authority under Michigans involuntary commitment law to have him evaluated by mental health care experts. If the mental health care experts agreed that McRae was a danger to himself or others, there would have been an immediate hearing and a lawyer provided if he could not afford one. While judges can involuntarily commit individuals, they have other options such as voluntary mental health treatment and a follow-up hearing or taking away a persons guns.
Red flag laws start with the same reasonableness test but dont give people a hearing. The judge only sees a written complaint. There are no mental health care experts involved in the process. And the judge is only given the power to confiscate a persons legally owned guns. If the person is actually dangerous, there are so many other ways to commit suicide or to kill others. Red flag laws ignore due process and are also ineffective.
But the key point here is that the same reasonableness standard applies to both red flag laws and involuntary commitment, and the police didnt think that McRae met that standard, so a red flag law wouldnt have prevented this attack.
Gun control advocates keep pushing laws that wont do anything to stop the crimes in question. Many proponents seem to have little interest in getting tough on crime, and its as though they want to make life difficult for law-abiding gun owners and not punish real criminals. Lets get serious about crime by enforcing existing laws.
From RealClearWire
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
NATO Increasingly Concerned China May Provide Lethal Support to Russia
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a press conference ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Nov. 25, 2022. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has raised concern about the possibility of China providing Russia with weapons to fuel its war in Ukraine.
We are also increasingly concerned that China may be planning to provide lethal support for Russias war, Stoltenberg said in his opening remarks at a joint news conference in Brussels on Feb. 21, according to The Hill.
Putin must not win. That would show that aggression works and force is rewarded. It would be dangerous for our own security and for the whole world, he added.
The news conference followed the first-ever trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the European Union, and NATO, represented by the NATO head together with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
According to Stoltenberg, there is no sign that Russia will end the war in Ukraine. He pointed out that Russia has increased force levels, launched fresh offensives, and reached out to other nations like Iran and North Korea for assistance and resources.
He urged NATO allies to fulfill their commitments to provide Ukraine with more equipment and resources.
So we must sustain and step up our support for Ukraine. We must give Ukraine what they need to win, Stoltenberg said. And prevail as a sovereign independent nation in Europe.
Meanwhile, Beijingan ally of Moscow that has refused to condemn Russian leader Vladimir Putins actions in Ukraine and has criticized Western sanctions on Russiahas denied that it is sending weapons or ammunition to Moscow.
Chinas foreign ministry said in a statement on Feb. 19 that it would not accept finger-pointing or coercion from the United States over its relations with Russia.
US Warning
Stoltenbergs comments came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned the director of Chinas Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi, of the consequences should China provide materiel support to Russia. Blinken and Wang met on the sidelines of a global security conference in Munich on Feb. 18.
Chinese weapons supplies to Russia would risk a potential escalation of the Ukraine war into a confrontation between Russia and China on the one side and Ukraine and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance on the other.
Blinken reiterated his claim during an interview with ABCs This Week program on Feb. 19.
For the most part, China has been engaged in providing rhetorical, political, [and] diplomatic support to Russia. But we have information that gives us concern that they are considering providing lethal support to Russia in the war against Ukraine.
There are various kinds of lethal assistance that they are at least contemplating providing, to include weapons, Blinken said, adding that Washington would soon release additional details.
He warned that Beijings assistance to Russia would mean serious consequences for the U.S.-China relationship.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield echoed his remark on CNNs State of the Union on the same day.
We also have to be clear that if there are any thoughts and efforts by the Chinese and others to provide lethal support to the Russians in their brutal attack against Ukraine, that is unacceptable, Thomas-Greenfield said.
The U.S. top officials comments came after reports recently surfaced that Chinese companies have been providing surveillance equipment to Russias Wagner Group fighting in Ukraine.
In January, the United States sanctioned Chinese satellite manufacturer, Spacety, or Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd., for allegedly supplying satellite imagery to Russia in order to enable Wagner combat operations in Ukraine, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
When asked if the Biden administration considers this to be providing military support to Russia, Blinken told CBS News on Feb. 18 that the government has been concerned from day one about that possibility.
Katabella Roberts, Gary Bai, and Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.
Norfolk Southern Lawsuits, Accident Reports Show Rail Tragedy a Common Hazard
The continuing cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed on Feb. 3, in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)
Rail operator Norfolk Southern Railway Company faces multiple class-action lawsuits alleging negligence in the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. But past lawsuits and accident reports from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) show that Norfolk Southern doesnt operate in a vacuum.
Unions, contractors, rail customers, and government regulations all have a hand in the operation of this massive system that transports vitaland often dangerousgoods across the nation. A look at completed investigations into past incidents provides a window into the rail industry and how things may play out in Ohio.
It will take time, possibly years, to understand the cause and costs of the East Palestine disaster that resulted in a fire, toxic chemical spill, and lingering environmental concerns. The NTSB is conducting a safety investigation to determine the probable cause of the derailment.
Track Troubles
Norfolk Southern describes itself as a national transportation company that operates on approximately 19,500 miles of track in 22 states and the District of Columbia. It often hires contractors to maintain the tracks.
Currently, Norfolk Southern is the plaintiff in a case against track maintenance contractor RailWorks in connection with two derailments.
The first incident in this case happened on Jan. 6, 2019, near Bartow in Jefferson County, Georgia. In this case, 39 of the trains 103 freight cars derailed. Among the derailed were several cars carrying various hazardous materials, including four that leaked, according to court documents. One freight car released approximately 17,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid, and one car released approximately 15,000 gallons of hydrogen peroxide.
Some residents near the derailment were evacuated, while others were required to shelter in place.
The event cost Norfolk Southern more than $13.3 million, court documents say.
The second incident happened on May 6, 2019, near Woodville, Alabama, when 26 of a trains 130 freight cars derailed. These 26 cars were carrying coal, which spilled onto Norfolk Southerns track and on neighboring privately owned properties. The cost of cleaning up the coal and repairing the track was $2.95 million.
The derailments were caused by compromised tracks from broken or failed welding due to RailWorks negligence, Norfolk Southern claims in court papers in this ongoing case.
RailWorks didnt respond to a request from The Epoch Times for comment.
Other Derailments
The track was also a problem in a July 11, 2012, derailment in Columbus, Ohio, according to an NTSB report.
In this case, 17 cars of an eastbound Norfolk Southern train derailed. The train had two head-end locomotives, 97 loaded freight cars, and one empty freight car. There were no crew injuries, but one citizen sustained minor burn injuries. Approximately 100 people were evacuated within a mile of the derailment. Three derailed cars contained denatured ethanol, which fueled a fire. The derailment destroyed both main tracks. The railroad estimated the damage at $1.2 million.
An NTSB report of the 2012 derailment found that the tracks had oxidized internal cracks that fractured during the derailment.
We diligently monitor our trains and infrastructure to identify potential hazards, and we invest approximately a billion dollars into maintaining our infrastructure annually, a Norfolk Southern spokeswoman told The Epoch Times in an email.
We have developed a number of leading technologies that greatly improve our network safety, including an industry-first locomotive-mounted autonomous track geometry system. At the same time, we have ramped investment in conductor onboarding and training to ensure we are building a team that safely delivers for our customers.
Human Error
A hazardous materials release caused nine deaths in a Jan. 6, 2005, train derailment in Graniteville, South Carolina. A Norfolk Southern freight train struck an unoccupied, parked train and derailed after encountering an open switch. According to an NTSB report, the train crew from the parked train failed to reline the switch for mainline operations.
The Norfolk Southern train was northbound on a non-signaled track traveling 49 miles per hour when it struck the train at rest, derailing two locomotives and the first 14 cars of the moving train. Among the derailed cars were three cars of chlorine and one car of sodium hydroxide. A significant amount of chlorine leaked, prompting an evacuation of about 5,400 people, the NTSB report said.
A chlorine tanker car, part of a Norfolk Southern freight train, rolls through Luray, Virginia, on Feb. 18, 2012. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)
The train engineer and eight other people died from the chlorine exposure, and 72 were hospitalized.
The 15-year anniversary of the derailment was noted in numerous 2019 news articles, all of which said the town still feels the effect, with some people reporting problems with their lungs.
Constantly in Court
Derailments causing the release of hazardous materials capture headlines, but Norfolk Southern is also involved in many court cases, often as a plaintiff.
The company is often in court to collect overdue freight charges that are owed to the railroad when other companies use its rail. It has legal disputes with its labor unions, and the company has several disputes with insurance companies that Norfolk Southern says should pay for claims it has made.
For example, the company is in court with Indian Harbor Insurance Company to cover Norfolk Southerns defense in a wrongful death case brought by Donald Butts, the husband of Nancy Butts, a pedestrian who died as a result of an April 22, 2021, Georgia train crossing accident. Norfolk Southern says in court papers that it has liability insurance of $25 million per occurrence through Indian Harbor, but the insurance company hadnt responded to Norfolk Southerns notice of the accident.
East Palestine Response
Over the weekend, Norfolk Southern launched NSMakingItRight.com as a resource for members of the East Palestine community and the general public.
The company said 15,000 tons of contaminated soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water have been collected from the derailment site.
The company has promised East Palestine more than $5.6 million to date, with more to come. That includes $3.4 million in direct financial assistance to families, $1 million to a community assistance fund, a $1 million budget for the new community liaison, and $220,000 in reimbursement to fund new equipment for first responders.
As reported by AJ+ in a short video post, the mayor of Barcelona, the Catalan capital, has made a bold political statement, cutting "ties with Israel over systemic violations of Palestinian human rights."
First proposed in early February, the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, explained:
"I have decided to temporarily suspend relations with the state of Israel and with the official institutions of that stateincluding the twinning agreements with the Tel Aviv City Counciluntil the Israeli authorities put an end to the system of violations of the Palestinian people and fully comply with the obligations imposed on them by international law and the various United Nations resolutions. We cannot be silent."
As Alys Samson Estape, one of the organizers of "Stop Complicity with Israel," explains, "This move is so historic because Barcelona is the first big city internationally that has taken concrete steps to end Israeli impunity. And the huge victory that we're celebrating in Barcelona shows how important single action is."
The Barcelona city council did not support the de-twinning decree yet lacked the authority to overturn the declaration.
The AP reported that "the mayor of Barcelona's arch-rival Madrid immediately offered to take up the twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, as both he and Colau jostle for position on international issues and investment in an election year. Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, the Spanish capital's conservative mayor, accused Barcelona's leader of antisemitism and tweeted that he had written to Tel Aviv's mayor to share "Madrid's commitment to democracy and freedom."
Nuclear Power: A Now-Embraceable 3rd Rail of Bipartisan Accord in Energy Debate
Indian Point Nuclear Power plant, which sits on the east bank of the Hudson River about 36 miles north of Manhattan, had provided up to a quarter of the New Yori Citys electrical needs before it ceased operations in 2021, one of many aging plants among the 55 that remain operational in the United States. (Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)
Behind long-dredged but deepening trenches, Democrats lobby for renewableswind, solar, biomassand Republicans rally for fossil fuelsoil, gas, coalwith both sides claiming their polar policies plot the best ways forward to a national future secured by reliable, affordable domestic energy.
Between both lines, but not drawing partisan fire, shimmers nuclear energy, the one power neither party wants to pull the plug on.
In fact, congressional Republicans and Democrats agree the United States must dramatically boost domestic uranium excavation and processing because right now, 95 percent of the ore that fuels the nations 55 nuclear power plants is imported, including nearly a quarter from Russia.
A February-filed Senate bill seeks to create a national nuclear fuel program designed to anchor a mine-to-market domestic uranium supply chain, and a House bill introduced in January would ban the import of Russian uranium.
Her bill that aims to eliminate our reliance on Russian nuclear fuels is a necessary first step to restore Americas leadership in clean, nuclear energy, said House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-Wash.), a co-sponsor of the proposed Russian uranium ban, during Feb. 7 hearings in Washington.
Expanding our leadership in developing and expanding nuclear energy is going to be one of our top priorities this Congress and addressing our reliance on Russian fuel is just the beginning, Rodgers said.
Dragline and coal haul truck at North Antelope Rochelle Mine, Wyoming. (Peabody Energy/Wikimedia, CC BY)
Wyoming Has Your Ore
The proposed Nuclear Fuel Security Act (NFSA), co-filed on Feb. 15 by Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Chair Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), anticipates Congress banning Russian uranium imports and accelerating the recreation of a lapsed supply chain for an ore the United States has ample supplies to provide and process.
The NFSA calls for the creation of a national effort to extract, stockpile, and process domestic uranium to secure a mine-to-market supply chain within the United States and establish a national reserve of uranium.
Russias war against Ukraine has drastically disrupted energy supply chains around the world, and now is the time to take a hard look at how we source the raw materials necessary to power our nation and develop advanced energy technologies, Manchin said in a statement, noting his proposed bill seeks to establish a program that will expand both our uranium conversion and enrichment capacity to meet our domestic fuel needs.
Its time for America to ramp up uranium production so we can eliminate our dependence on Russia, Barrasso said in the statement. We are stronger and safer as a nation when our nuclear fuel supply chain starts at home.
Thats literally true for Barrasso because his home state of Wyoming would be among possible beneficiaries of a Russian uranium import ban and the proposed NFSA.
Wyomings Powder River Basin has one shuttered mine alone that could produce up to 1.3 million pounds of uranium annually, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates, with more mineable ore likely within the state, which itself could likely fill NFSAs proposed 2-million pound national uranium reserve stockpile.
Wyoming is also where TerraPower Natrium, funded by a $2 billion Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program grant and private investors such as Bill Gates, is building a sodium-cooled nuclear reactor within a retired coal plant in Kemmerer, Wyo. as a coal-to-nuclear transition project.
Disruption in Russian uranium supply prompted TerraPower to announce in late 2022 that it would not have enough fuel to reach commercial capacity as planned in 2028.
Our bipartisan legislation will strengthen American energy security, Barrasso said. It will ensure our existing reactors and advanced reactorslike TerraPowers Natrium reactorhave access to American uranium.
Test engineer Jacob Wilcox pulls his arm out of a glove box used for processing sodium at TerraPower, a company developing and building small nuclear reactors in this January 2022 photo at its plant in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
Grease For The Juice
About 61 percent of electricity transmitted by utility-scale power plants in the United States is generated from fossil fuels, coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases, according to the DOE.
About 20 percent of the nations electricity comes from renewable energy sources, the DOE documented in 2021, while nearly 19 percent stems from nuclear energy plants.
According to the EIA, the number of nuclear power plants in the United States declined from 104 in 2012 to 55 in December 2022. Despite this loss of nearly half the number of operating plants in a decade, nuclear power has contributed a steady 20 percent share of the nations collective electrical output since 1990.
The 55 nuclear power plants across 28 states include 93 operating commercial reactors and are, on average, 40 years old, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The new last nuclear plant to come online was in 2016, the first new one since 1996.
Nuclear power constitutes half of the carbon-free electricity generation in the United States, according to the DOE.
As such, it is a popular energy source among those who regard green energy development as a key priority and is provided significant grant potential in Biden energy laws and rules, including the Bilateral Infrastructure Law and the Infrastructure Reduction Act.
Taillights trace the path of a motor vehicle at the Naughton Power Plant, in Kemmerer, Wyo., a coal plant that will close in 2025 and be replaced by a nontraditional, sodium-cooled nuclear reactor to be built by TerraPower, which includes Bill Gates among its investors. (AP Photo/Natalie Behring, File)
Replace Plants, Double Output
In December 2020, Congress made $75 million available to establish a Uranium Reserve Program and purchase uranium from domestic producers. The 2022 Bilateral Infrastructure Law funds a Civil Nuclear Credit Program that gives priority to reactors that use uranium produced, converted, enriched, and fabricated into fuel assemblies in the United States.
The Manchin-Barrasso NSFA directs the DOE to accelerate on-shoring nuclear fuel production to ensure a disruption in Russian uranium supply [that] would not impact the development of advanced reactors or the operation of the United States light-water reactor fleet.
The NFSA would authorize $3.5 billion over 10 years for nuclear fuel security and calls upon the DOE to expeditiously increase domestic production of both low-enriched uranium and high-assay low-enriched uranium to ensure the availability of domestically produced, converted, enriched, deconverted, and reduced uranium.
DOE Assistant Secretary Kathryn Huff, who manages the Office of Nuclear Energy, said the departments emphasis in coming years will be promoting the development of small modular reactors and trying to convince the public to invest in a new generation of nuclear power plants to replace the nations aging plants.
Huff, in position papers on the DOEs website and in media interviews, said her immediate goal is to sustain nuclear energys 20-percent share of electric grid production through 2050.
Doing that, the DOE says, will require building new plants, which is an expensive and lengthy process. But, by just replacing older plants with newer, more advanced iterations, the DOE maintains nuclear energy could power half the nations electrical grid by 2050.
Ottawas Sustainable Jobs Plan Pilloried as Imposing Top-Down Planning, Stifling Free Market
Feds scrutinized for premise of labour shortages and creation of well-paying jobs
Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson speaks in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 13, 2023. (The Canadian Press/ Patrick Doyle)
News Analysis
In efforts to reach net zero by 2050, Ottawas strategy to transform the workforce toward sustainable jobsgreen jobs in a low-carbon economysparked extensive criticism from analysts due to its top-down approach and departure from traditional market-based economics.
On Feb. 17the Friday before a long weekend and overshadowed by the verdict on the governments use of the Emergencies Actthe feds released its interim Sustainable Jobs Plan for 2023 to 2025.
The government deems a job to be sustainable, if it is compatible with Canadas path to a net-zero emissions and climate resilient future.
Carleton University business professor Ian Lee told The Epoch Times that, although hes not opposed to decarbonizing the economy and thus not criticizing the intentions of Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, he has significant concerns about the feds approach.
The centralized planning described in the interim plan is a fundamentally different direction from what has been used to manage and develop western economies historically, he said.
This has been studied and studied and studied by an enormous number of people for a very long period of time. And the record of central planning has been miserable.
Lee adds that centralized planning collapses under its own weight and needs an enormous amount of information and a massive bureaucracy to function, all while stifling innovation and healthy market forces.
Ottawa plans on establishing sustainable jobs legislation this year, which will require future federal governments to prepare and implement action plans starting in 2025 and every five years thereafter.
With a five-year plan, where everything must be approved long in advance, you create this gigantic bottleneck for decision-making, because everybody has to go in to make sure that theyre in conformity with the [governments] decisions, Lee says.
Lee says, Its going to require a massive body of public servants evaluating every company, every employer, and every job to determine if it indeed is sustainable.
The feds are creating a secretariat and a partnership council to oversee the transition, provide information, and coordinate among numerous stakeholders.
Subsidized Sustainable Jobs
Ottawa envisions the sustainable jobs to be created as being high-quality and well-paying.
Our main concern with this is that Ottawa could be transitioning people off of six-figure jobs to go to $50,000-a-year jobs, which is not exactly the same thing, Renaud Brossard, senior director of communications at the Montreal Economic Institute, said in an interview.
Brossard was previously Quebec and Atlantic director with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
People flock to the oil and gas industry for its high salaries, he said, noting that currently, green jobs arent paying enough.
This is not creating sustainable well-paid jobs, Brossard said about Ottawas plan to have a plan.
He adds that these are going to be subsidized jobs that Ottawa favours instead of market-based.
Brossard points out that some towns or villages will become impoverished as their main industry is shut downnot unlike what the cod moratorium did in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1992.
The problem is the location for where that job creation is going to happen is not necessarily the same location as where these jobs were lost, he said, adding that the Atlantic province is still feeling the effects today, given its unemployment rate (11.8 percent) being more than double the national level (5.0 percent).
Brossard says that people in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador will likely experience a similar fate as the cod moratorium.
Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, said in a Feb. 9 commentary that the ideological drive to shut down an industry, referring to the oil and gas sector, will be felt especially by workers in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
It is delusional to imagine that green jobs installing turbines and solar panels will replace that, he wrote.
Worker Shortages or Widespread Layoffs?
Ottawa said its expecting labour shortages because it foresees that an abundance of green jobs will be created in areas like electricity supply, smart communities, and transportationincluding in the energy-producing provinces.
There are also very significant opportunities for sustainable jobs in conventional energy industries, enabling Canadas producers to be low-emissions suppliers of products to a world in transition, says the interim sustainable jobs plan in its overview.
Lisa Baiton, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), told The Epoch Times via email that We need to grow Canadas energy workforce so we can be a preferred global supplier of safe, secure, affordable and reliable energy for the decades to come.
Baiton said CAPP will look to engage through the federal governments process as outlined in the interim Sustainable Jobs Plan.
According to Blacklocks Reporter, a Dec. 20, 2022, federal report Evaluation of the Core Climate Change Mitigation Program warns of the impact on oil and gas workers from climate change policy.
It is likely that a sizeable workforce will need to transition out of the oil and gas sector, said the report, which did not calculate the financial impacts on families or estimated job cuts by industry.
In addition, Natural Resources Canada warned in a 2022 memo that over 2.7 million Canadians work in sectors that face significant labour market disruptions as a result of the workforce transformation envisioned.
How many jobs will be lost in the oil and gas sector as a result of the Government of Canadas climate change actions? the memo posed the question. The answer to this question depends.
Political Uproar
Ottawa began consultations on Just Transition legislation in 2021. The issue then was that government bodies and companies were accelerating their push toward emission reduction goals without adequate measures in place to ensure that negative impacts on workers and communities would be minimized.
Alberta premier Danielle Smith called Ottawas jobs transition plan an unconstitutional and existential threat to the Alberta economy, and federal Conservatives leader Pierre Poilievre has backed Smiths view that Ottawa has an anti-oil-and-gas agenda.
Federal Labour Minister Seamus ORegan has previously said that Canada needs more oil and gas workers and that he does not like the term just transition.
Ottawa says in its Sustainable Jobs Plan that the concept was developed by the North American trade unions movement in the 1970s to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers rights and livelihoods during a fundamental shift in economic and environmental practices.
The feds also say that the term sustainable jobs is more inclusive and indeed more accurate for Canada than terms like just transition.
But Lee says the wealthiest countries dont use top-down, coercive approaches to managing their workforces.
I think theyre making a mistake in going down this road to achieve their goals.
Oversight Panel Seeks to Interview Former Top UN Official on Hunter Bidens Relationship With Chinese Energy Firm
Hunter Biden attends a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony honoring 17 recipients, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on July 7, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Investigators for the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability want to interview former U.N. General Assembly President Vuk Jeremic of Serbia as a key potential witness regarding the business dealings of President Joe Bidens son Hunter and brother James.
Vuk Jeremic is a key witness in our investigation of Joe Bidens involvement in his familys international and domestic business schemes, committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a Feb. 22 statement.
Mr. Jeremics previous testimony regarding business relationships with officials who participated in international bribery schemes raises red flags that there may be evidence showing the Biden family and associates peddled influence and attempted to sell access, including to individuals connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
If President Biden is compromised by deals with foreign adversaries, this is a clear threat to national security.
The Oversight Committee is committed to bringing transparency and accountability to the waste, fraud, and abuse that has taken place at the highest levels of government. Mr. Jeremics documents are crucial to this investigation.
The announcement of the oversight panels desire to sit down with Jeremic for a transcribed interview comes on the same day that a spokesman for the committee said negotiations are continuing with attorneys representing Hunter and James Biden to schedule transcribed interviews with investigators.
The committee investigators are particularly interested in talking with Jeremic and obtaining documents from him concerning a hastily convened 2015 dinner with Patrick Ho, a top executive with the Chinese state-owned energy firm CEFC, that was to include Hunter Biden.
Ho was convicted in 2018 of international bribery and money laundering.
While the dinner with Ho never took place, investigators are interested in understanding why Jeremic denied having any role in introducing Biden and Ho, despite an email in which he invited Biden to the event and that Biden subsequently developed a lucrative business relationship with CEFC.
In a Feb. 21 letter to Jeremic, Comer wrote: Evidence shows that you developed a business relationship with Hunter Biden and his associates and communicated with them about [CEFC Chairman Jianming] Ye and CEFC. During the Patrick Ho trial, you testified that CEFC paid you hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to act as consultant, and in turn, you would open doors by introducing CEFC employees to business and political leaders in various countries.
Indeed, in December 2015, you attempted to introduce Chairman Ye and CEFC to Hunter Biden and his associates. Although it does not appear the meeting took place on that date, Hunter Biden would later develop a lucrative business relationship with Chairman Ye and CEFC. By 2017, Hunter Biden forged a partnership with Chairman Ye and planned to share office space with him and then former-Vice President Biden at the House of Sweden in Washington.
The committee also seeks to confirm if the Department of Justice (DOJ) concealed Hunter Bidens name from a Jeremic email that was introduced as evidence at Hos 2018 trial.
Hunter Bidens dealings with the CEFC officials and Jeremic are key to the efforts of Comer and the oversight panels Republican members to follow up on a November 2022 interim report they issued regarding the presidents knowledge of his relatives business dealings.
Evidence obtained by Committee on Oversight and Reform [changed to Accountability in January 2023] Republicans shows these assurances were false. President Joe Biden has participated in his familys global business ventures with Americas adversaries. He has misused his public positions to further his familys financial interests, the interim report said. These actions have created the potential for President Biden to be susceptible to influence, blackmail, or extortion by a malign or foreign entity, including the [CCP].
A review of Hunter Bidens abandoned laptop, as well as information from whistleblowers, reveals a decade-long pattern of influence peddling, national security risks, and political cover-ups. Biden family members used their connections with Joe Biden to enrich themselves through the expectation of access to Joe Biden and promises about what a future Biden Administration might do for them. There are numerous unanswered questions raised by these suspicious activities that warrant further investigation.
A committee spokesman told The Epoch Times: We have received correspondence from the attorneys representing Hunter Biden and James Biden. Oversight Committee staff will be in communication with them about Chairman Comers request. We are also in contact with Eric Schwerins attorney and expect him to start producing documents to the Oversight Committee soon.
Schwerin was described by Comer in a Feb. 8, 2023, letter seeking a transcribed interview with him as a close personal and professional associate of Hunter Biden.
Evidence shows you communicated with Hunter Biden and others regarding relevant companies, investments, and transactions. The Committee requests documents and communications related to our investigation of President Bidens involvement in his familys financial conduct, Comer wrote.
Overwhelming Support for Big Electric Vehicle Change
A general view of the stickers on an EV Automotive E3 Glory crossover SUV is seen ahead of the Electric Vehicle Show 2019 at Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 25, 2019. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
A diverse group of Australian organisations overwhelmingly support a policy that would encourage car makers to bring more electric vehicles into the country, a new report says.
Greenpeace Australia released an analysis of 212 submissions to the National Electric Vehicle Strategy consultation, revealing 73 percent of all groups supported the introduction of a fuel efficiency standard, and none opposed the measure.
The consultation, which closed in October last year, canvassed opinions on what policies were needed to accelerate the supply and adoption of electric cars in Australia, build infrastructure and lower prices.
Greenpeace said 73 percent of organisations who made submissions to the policy supported the introduction of a standard that would set an emissions target for each car brand.
Supporters included all six major motoring groups, including the NRMA and RACQ, 77 percent of businesses such as Woolworths and Westpac, and 78 percent of academic bodies.
Business lobby groups were less supportive, with just 52 per cent in favour of the policy, but all five car makers which made submissions to the government called for the policy, from Toyota to Tesla.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigner Joe Rafalowicz said the study proved the government had little reason to delay its introduction.
The federal government is in pole position: it has support from its stakeholders and everything it needs to get racing on implementing an ambitious fuel efficiency standard, he said.
To be effective at reducing emissions from transport, the standard cannot be riddled with loopholes, so-called super credits, or other special favours to big car companies.
Australia is one of only two OECD countries without a fuel efficiency standard and one of four countries in the G20, alongside Russia, Indonesia and Turkey.
Ben Haddock, future mobility lead from engineering firm Arup, said Australias current policies to encourage electric vehicle sales were incomplete as they were boosting demand from consumers while failing to address their supply.
You cant have the carrots of incentives being the only enabler for electric vehicles, he said.
You also need to deal with the challenges to supply weve currently got.
Haddock said the government should set an ambitious target to reduce car pollution to avoid missing its aim to cut carbon emissions by 43 percent in 2030.
The dirtiest vehicles shouldnt be allowed to come to Australia, he said.
I think we have to set the bench high. Theres no point to having a staged approach as we have a goal in 2030.
Electric vehicles made up 3.8 per cent of all new vehicle sales in 2022, according to the EV Council.
Pentagon Investigating Reported Leak of Emails From Military Server
The U.S. Department of Defense seal is seen on the lecturn in the media briefing room at the Pentagon in Washington, on Dec. 12, 2013. (Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)
A Department of Defense (DOD) email server reportedly leaked internal military communications inadvertently across the internet for roughly two weeks before it was discovered by an independent cybersecurity researcher and subsequently secured.
The DODs Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has since launched a probe into the incident, Special Operations Command (SOCOM) spokesperson Ken McGraw told The Epoch Times.
USSOCOM, also known as SOCOM, is a unit within the DOD that oversees and coordinates special operations in various military branches, including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
The open server was secured on Feb. 20 by the DOD, McGraw said, adding that the command initiated an investigation into information we were provided about a potential issue with the commands Cloud service.
The only other information we can confirm at this point is no one has hacked US Special Operations Commands information systems, McGraw added.
The data leak was first reported by TechCrunch, which said that independent cybersecurity researcher Anurag Sen discovered it and contacted the publication, which then informed USSOCOM.
Sensitive Information on Server
A misconfiguration with the DOD server allegedly hosted on Microsoft Azures government cloud left it accessible with a password, meaning that it could be accessed by anyone on the internet via the servers correct IP address, according to Tech Crunch.
Microsoft, as well as Amazon, Google, and Oracle, were all awarded lucrative cloud contracts with the DOD valued at up to $9 billion in total in December.
The exposed server was part of an internal mailbox system that stored around three terabytes of military emails, some of which dated back years and mainly related to USSOCOM, the report said.
Such data included the sensitive personal and health information of federal employees that were being vetted for security clearance, according to TechCrunch.
While the information accessible on the server was personal in nature, none of the data that was viewed by TechCrunch appeared to be classified, it said.
Sen said on Twitter on Feb. 21 that he had reported the exposed server and that it has since been secured.
The U.S. Department of Defense was spilling terabytes of internal U.S. military emails to the internet, Sen wrote.
TechCrunch, citing the search engine Shodan, which gathers information about internet-connected devices and systems, said the unsecured server began leaking data on Feb. 8.
No-Fly List Exposed
It is unclear if anyone else was able to access the exposed server and the data on it within the two-week period that it was unsecured.
Separately, a spokesperson for the U.S. Cyber Command told The Hill: As a matter of practice and operational security, we do not comment on the status of our networks and systems. Our defensive cyber operators proactively scan and mitigate the networks they manage.
Should any incidents be discovered during these regular operations, we fully mitigate, protect, and defend our networks and systems. Any information or insight is shared with relevant agencies and partners if appropriate, the spokesperson added.
This is not the first time that databases belonging to the U.S. government have allegedly been exposed.
In January, the Transportation Security Administration said it had launched an investigation after a Swiss hacker claimed to have come across a copy of its no-fly list, which lists known or suspected terrorists who are prohibited from flying, on an unsecured server linked to the commercial airline company, CommuteAir.
That server was also found through the search engine Shodan.
A Department of Defense Spokesperson told the Epoch Times in an emailed statement: The Department of Defense DoD is aware of the potential exposure of DoD unclassified, commercially cloud-hosted data to the Internet over the past two weeks. The affected server was identified and removed from public access on February 20.
U.S. Cyber Command and Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network continue to work with affected DoD entities and the Cloud Service Provider to assess the scope and impact of this potential data exposure. The DoD Chief Information Officer in coordination with JFHQ-DODIN is working with the CSP to understand the root cause of the exposure and why this problem was not detected sooner. DOD CIO will direct changes in CSP security measures as required based on any findings and recommendations. We will notify any DoD personnel affected by the incident appropriately and following Federal Law and DoD Policy. DoD takes this matter very seriously and will incorporate all lessons learned from this event to strengthen its cybersecurity posture.
This report has been updated to include the DoDs statement.
Pilot Error Suspected as Cause of Nepal Crash That Killed 72 People: Report
The plane crash that occurred in Nepal on Jan. 15 that killed all 72 people on board may have been caused by the pilot pulling the wrong lever during the descent, according to a preliminary investigative report.
The Yeti Airlines aircraft crashed just before landing in Pokhara on Jan. 15 in one of Nepals worst airplane crashes in 30 years. Rescuers recovered 71 bodies, with one unaccounted-for person presumed to be dead.
The Nepalese Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission released its preliminary report (pdf) on Feb. 13, suggesting that the pilot may have accidentally pulled the wrong lever, causing the propellers to be feathered.
The flight data recorder (FDR) data did not record any flap surface movement at that time, the report states. Instead, the propeller rotation speed of both engines decreased simultaneously to less than 25 percent and the torque started decreasing to [zero] percent, which is consistent with both propellers going into the feathered condition.
Rescuers scour the crash site in the wreckage of a passenger plane in Pokhara, Nepal, on Jan. 16, 2023. (Yunish Gurung/AP Photo)
When both propellers were feathered, the investigation team observed that both engines of 9N-ANC were running flight idle condition during the event flight to prevent over torque, it added.
Pilot Reported No Power in Engines
According to the report, when the air traffic controller in Pokhara gave clearance for landing, the lead captain mentioned twice that there was no power in the engines. The lead captain then handed over control of the aircraft to the co-pilot and repeated again that there was no power from the engines, the report stated.
The report also revealed that the sky was almost clear at the time of the plane crash, with only a few clouds present. The information in the preliminary report may change as the investigation progresses, it said.
Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, joint secretary for the Tourism Ministry, told The Kathmandu Post that authorities are still investigating why the pilots delayed extending the flaps and why they disregarded the routine checklists.
Nepalese rescue workers inspect wreckage at the site of a plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal, on Jan. 16, 2023. (Krishna Mani Baral/AP Photo)
The investigation committee previously suspected that a faulty engine likely led to the plane crash after analyzing data from the flight recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the Yeti Airlines ATR-72 aircraft.
In ATR-72 aircraft feather means to stay inclined to 90 degrees in spite of being in a certain degree as turned by the pilots, the committee stated in its report issued earlier this month.
In order to increase the speed, the pilot has to incline the propeller blade using the lever that is in the cockpit. With the propeller blade standing at 90 degrees, the plane would lose aerodynamic movement, it added.
The crash is Nepals deadliest since 1992, when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed into a hill as it tried to land in Kathmandu, killing all 167 people on board. There have been 42 fatal plane crashes in Nepal since 1946, according to the Safety Matters Foundation.
A 2019 safety report from Nepals Civil Aviation Authority said the countrys hostile topography and diverse weather patterns were the biggest dangers to flights in the country.
The European Union has banned airlines from Nepal from flying to the 27-nation bloc since 2013, citing weak safety standards. In 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization cited improvements in Nepals aviation sector, but the EU continues to demand administrative reforms.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Poilievre Calls on Trudeau to Close Roxham Road Unofficial Border Crossing Within 30 Days
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to reporters in Calgary on Feb. 17, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Dave Chidley)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to close the unofficial border crossing at Roxham Road in Quebec within the next 30 days.
If Canada is a country, then it has borders, and if the prime minister is the head of the government, he is responsible for protecting those borders, Poilievre said while speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Feb. 21.
That is why Conservatives are calling for the prime minister to implement a plan to close the Roxham Road crossing within 30 days from now.
Poilievre said the issue of thousands of migrants claiming asylum in Canada after crossing into the country through Roxham Road was caused by Trudeau, whom he said encouraged people to cross illegally into Canada.
Trudeau encouraged refugees to come to Canada in a 2017 Twitter post after then-U.S. president Donald Trump temporarily banned travel into the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries and for all Syrian refugees.
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength, Trudeau wrote, with a hashtag saying, Welcome to Canada.
The Twitter post has become the focal point of a private criminal prosecution being levied against Trudeau by a Quebec-based activist group alleging that he violated the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act by encouraging refugees to immigrate to Canada, which the group says has resulted in an influx of illegal immigrants.
Federal statistics show that in 2022, more than 39,000 migrants claimed asylum in Canada after being intercepted by the RCMP while crossing into Quebec, compared to just 369 across the rest of the country.
Sooner the Better
Asked by reporters how the government would close the Roxham Road border crossing without violating international law, Poilievre said the federal government closed the unofficial entry point during the pandemic with much effect.
Nobody ruled it unconstitutional, he said. Nobody found that it broke the law.
The RCMP intercepted nearly 35,000 people attempting to enter Canada from the U.S. at unofficial entry ports between January and November 2022, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
That number dropped to around 4,200 in 2021 while the Roxham Road crossing was closed because of the pandemic.
The Quebec government has been urging Ottawa to slow the inflow of asylum-seekers at Roxham road, with the provinces Premier Francois Legault calling on Trudeau on Feb. 15 to issue an official statement dissuading migrants from coming to Canada.
Legault also wrote an opinion column published in the Globe and Mail on Feb. 21 saying the time has come for Ottawa to close Roxham Road.
Roxham Road will have to be closed one day or another, whether we like it or not. The sooner the better, he wrote.
Legault also wrote a letter to Trudeau on Feb. 19 asking him to prioritize the Roxham Road situation during his upcoming meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in March.
The Canadian Press, Andrew Chen, and Marnie Cathcart contributed to this report.
Polish Diplomat: Bidens Visit to Poland Symbolic, Productive, Practical as Ukraine War Stretches On
Polish President Andrzej Duda (L) welcomes U.S. President Joe Biden for the Extraordinary Summit of the NATO Bucharest Nine (B9) at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Adrian Kubicki, consul general for the Polish Consulate in New York City, hailed President Joe Bidens visit to Poland on Monday as an important show of unity for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) a year after Russia invaded Polands neighbor, Ukraine.
Kubicki told NTD that Bidens visit affirms the fact that NATO remains united and will continue its support to Ukraine until the last of the Russian soldiers leave Ukraine.
In a speech in Warsaw on Tuesday, Biden referred to Poland as our great all[y] and said, Our support for Ukraine will not waver.
Kubicki said Bidens visit to Poland has added symbolic value because Poland has been at the forefront of providing military aid to Ukraine. Kubicki also touted Bidens plans to meet with the Bucharest Nine countries, which include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The Bucharest Nine, or B9 countries, were previously part of either the former Soviet Union or the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, but now represent the eastern edge of the NATO alliance.
The Polish diplomat said Bidens meeting with the B9 countries will allow them to discuss some of the measures that can be taken in order to enhance the security of our region of the eastern flank of NATO.
Time to Strengthen NATOs Eastern Flank
Kubicki said he believes Russia is trying to absorb neighboring Belarus and reintegrate former Soviet Union member states into a new structure and maybe even go beyond that.
Eventually [Russian President Vladimir Putin] will become a direct threat also to NATO countries, to Poland to Baltic countries, Kubicki said.
For now, the Polish diplomat believes the Russian invasion of Ukraine has revealed the countrys military shortcomings.
We have this period of time, first of all, to support Ukraine with the new weaponry, with Western weaponry, to make sure that they are equipped well to push back Russian invaders, and also to enhance our security, Kubicki said. NATO has to focus on enhancing security of its own members, above all the members of the eastern flank of NATO.
Russia Still Poses Threat
While he assessed that Russia has struggled in Ukraine, Kubicki also predicted that Russia could continue to fight in Ukraine for years to come.
Russia is never as strong as we assume, but also never as weak as we assume, Kubicki said. Its a large organism, kind of ready, prepared to survive for a long period of time even without progress or visible actions. So this is something that we have to take into consideration.
In another recent interview with NTD, Tom Lynch, a distinguished research fellow at the National Defense University, estimated that Russia has committed about 90 to 95 percent of its military capabilities in Ukraine.
Lynch and other international observers have been anticipating a renewed Russian offensive in Ukraine. Lynch predicted Russian forces would seek to preserve territorial gains in eastern Ukraine and a land bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland.
I think that the Russians are going to make an earnest effort here to try to go and at least salvage occupation, Lynch said.
Lynch said he believes a renewed Russian offensive in Ukraine is intended to dissuade western countries from their continued support for Ukraine.
[Putins] hopeful that yet another massive venture like the one we think were seeing start to play out with hundreds of thousands of Russian troops again, in Ukraine, that that continuation will cause fatigue in the West, we will tire of this, Lynch said.
Russia has also been receiving military equipment from some of its allies. Russia has appeared to use Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones to strike targets throughout Ukraine in recent months. The United States has assessed North Korea has also been supplying missiles and rockets to the Wagner Group, a mercenary force fighting on behalf of Russia.
So far, China has not appeared to provide direct military support for Russia, but Lynch said were going to have to watch that going forward.
Theres a report that Mr. Putin and [Chinese leader Xi Jinping] are going to meet here in the next several days. And well see how this continues to play out, Lynch added.
Kubicki said hes hopeful that China does not choose to become more closely involved in Russias war efforts.
China is something that might change the dynamics of this war, the diplomat said. And obviously, this is something that we still hope is not going to happen.
From NTD News
Push Begins for Even Higher California Taxes
Commentary
The (spiked) punchbowl has been removed. The partys over. The massive budget surpluses of recent years are gone with the Santa Ana winds.
Inevitably, in California, that means calls for new tax increasesin the state already suffering the countrys highest taxes. Thats happening as 700,000 people have exited in the last two years due to the states high cost of living, including the punishing revenue grabs.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst just raised by $7 billion its estimated deficit for fiscal year 2023-24, which begins on July 1. Followed by their chart, it found:
Due to a deteriorating revenue picture relative to expectations from June 2022, both our office and the administration anticipate the state faces a budget problem in 202324. Although the Governors budget revenue estimates are reasonable, they are likely a bit too high.
The LAO argued against using the states reserve funds to cover the shortfall. Instead, it urged two other major solutions: the state could shift more costs than the $4.3 billion currently proposed by Governor. And, increasing revenues, for example, on a temporary basis to cover the interim shortfalls.
Of course, in California temporary tax increases have a tendency to become permanent. Gov. Jerry Browns Proposition 30 tax increase of 2012 was sold with this ballot title read by voters, Temporary Taxes to Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Temporary lasted until 2016, when Proposition 55 was passed, extending the income-tax part another 12 years, although the smaller sales-tax part was not included.
All this is maneuvering toward the real budgeting business, to be kicked off by Gov. Gavin Newsoms May Revise (to use Sacramento parlance) in 10 weeks. Then its a forced march to the June 15 constitutional deadline to pass a budget. However, although the surpluses of recent years have made it easy to pass budgets on time, this year could take us back to the Great Recession years when budget passage was delayed many weeks, even months.
In Sept. 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the budget 85 days late as the recession dug in and the deficit soared to $42 billion. Shortly after, the next February, he signed a record $13 billion tax increase.
This time, the problem is Newsom doesnt want to damage his presidential chances by being branded a tax increaser. But there remain creative ways to pick the taxpayers pocket.
One is being advanced by the influential California Budget & Policy Center, which never saw a tax increase it didnt like. In a Feb. 21 email to those on its general list, it urged:
But right now, California is losing around $70 billion in state personal and corporate income tax breaks that disproportionately benefit wealthy families and profitable corporations. These dollars could be better invested in other critical public services for Californians like education, health care, child care, and affordable housing.
Note how they say the state is losing revenuea socialist idea that all money and capital belongs to the people, or the proletariat, or the toiling masses, to use some old Marxist phrasesbut really meaning the government bureaucrats. For them, grabbing your money also means investingin government programs that dont solve problems and usually make things worse. Why, for example, spend more on education when the amount still is more than $23,000 per year for each K-12 child? Even as California students continue scoring near the bottom on test scores?
And get this, the problem is corporate income tax breaks that disproportionately benefit wealthy families and profitable corporations. Thats because poor people pay little or no income taxes. So they dont need tax breaks. Do these policy wonks think were fools? Apparently.
Heres a screenshot from the Franchise Tax Boards website. For some exceptions, click on the previous link.
So potentially you can make up to $69,524 a year and pay no state income tax. Again, that means you dont get loopholesbecause you dont need them.
Im reminded of the observation of the great economist Ludwig Mises (teacher of Nobel Laureate Friedrich Hayek), Capitalism lives through those loopholes.
And another Nobel laureate, Milton Friedman, famously said, I never met a tax cut I didnt like. That obviously includes loopholes.
Meanwhile, even more of my middle-class friends are planning to get out of this high-tax state. And today I was emailing with two friends who already left for Idaho.
If the California Budget & Policy Center really wants to help the poor, it should stop making so many of them by pushing higher taxes that always hit, and impoverish, the middle class.
[Note: The email quoted above isnt itself online. But the Center just ran a Q&A thats similar here.]
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Putin Confirms Xi to Visit Moscow Amid Deepening ChinaRussia Ties
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi in Moscow, Russia Feb. 22, 2023. (Sputnik/Anton Novoderezhkin/Pool via Reuters)
Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping will visit Moscow in the coming months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed.
We await a visit of the president of the Peoples Republic of China to Russia; we have agreed on this, Putin said during a Feb. 22 meeting in Moscow with Chinas highest-ranking diplomat, Wang Yi.
Putin didnt specify an exact timetable for the visit.
Everything is progressing, developing, he said. We are reaching new frontiers.
Xis visit to Russia will be the Chinese leaders first since 2019, although he and Putin have met in person since then.
The leaders met in Beijing in February 2022, when they agreed to a no limits partnership ahead of Russias invasion of Ukraine,
The pair met again during a security conference in Uzbekistan in September 2022, where they vowed to promote a new, multipolar world order against the United States and the liberal international order.
That so-called multipolar order was among the talking points taken up by Wang during this weeks meeting with Putin and may signal the types of discussion that Xi and Putin will have later.
Together, we support multipolarity and democratization in international relations, Wang told Putin.
The Russian Foreign Ministry says it welcomes China taking a more active role in efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine but stated that officials hadnt discussed a peace plan that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is reportedly working on.
Putins confirmation of Xis plan to visit is the first official acknowledgment of an event that has been the subject of speculation for months and comes at a time when the international community is increasingly frustrated with the behavior of the Kremlin and also the CCP.
U.S. officials said earlier in the day that there would be consequences for China should it expand its support of Russia to include lethal aid for Russias attempted conquest of Ukraine.
Similarly, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a vigorous speech to NATO leaders earlier in the day, vowing that the United States would defend NATO territory, citing the alliances collective defense provision.
We will defend literally every inch of NATO, Biden said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Andrew Tate, the misogynist influencer and accused sex trafficker, will spend another 30 days in a Romanian jail after authorities there extended his stay. The continued investigation into the Briton's activities there wasn't hard to justify, by all accounts: his relentless and overt boasting about what he does, including his belief he could pay his way out of trouble, was used against him in court. His brother, Tristan, is also accused, as are two women.
The Tates are alleged to have recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.
Prosecutors said the women were then forced to produce pornographic content under duress.
Kickboxer turned influencer Andrew Tate, 36, is also accused of raping one of the victims last March.
Rape Juries More Likely to Convict Than Acquit in England and Wales, says Study
Juries not to blame for low rape conviction rates, study shows
FW Pomeroy's statue of Justice stands atop the Central Criminal Court building at the Old Bailey, London, on Jan. 8, 2019. (PA Media)
Persons accused of rape whose cases come to court and are heard by a jury are more likely to be convicted today than 15 years ago, an academic study by researchers at University College London (UCL) has concluded.
The study found that the conviction rate for cases heard before a jury had risen from 55 percent to 75 percent since 2007.
The research was commissioned by Sir Brian Leveson, the then President of the Queens Bench Division (now the Kings Bench Division) after more than 16,000 people signed a petition in 2018 calling for all jurors in rape trials to be given compulsory training about rape myths.
The petitioners said: Research shows that jurors accept commonly held rape myths resulting in many incorrect not guilty verdicts.
However, the UCL teamled by Professor Cheryl Thomasanalysed thousands of rape trials and found no evidence that juries were biased against rape complainants.
The report found that juries in England and Wales were more likely to convict than acquit a defendant, with this pattern remaining consistent over the last 15 years.
Overall Convictions Plummet
Conviction rates for rape cases overall have fallen to 1.6 percent, meaning that around one in 60 people accused of rape in an official complaint to the police end up being convicted of the charge.
In July of last year, rape prosecutions fell to an all-time low in England and Wales.
In 2020-2021, police recorded 67,125 allegations of rape, but there were just 1,557 prosecutions.
Earlier this month Andrew Cayley, KC, chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said there was a shortage of senior barristers and that too many inexperienced and junior prosecutors were being thrown in at the deep end and asked to take on rape cases.
Published in the Criminal Law Review, the UCL research (pdf) looked at pleas and jury verdicts for all defendants in the crown courts in England and Wales over the period 2007-2021amounting to some six million charges.
It analysed 68,863 jury verdicts and found the jury conviction rate for rape was 75 percentup 20 percent since 2007.
The chance of a conviction, compared to an acquittal, was the same regardless of the age or sex of the rape complainant.
The report also found that the precipitous fall in the number of people being charged with rape between 2016 and 2020 was part of a systemic reduction in charging for all offences.
85 Percent of Rape Defendants Plead Not Guilty
The researchers also found that rape was the criminal offence with the highest percentage of not guilty pleas at 85 percent, which again had not changed in the last 15 years.
Juries also do not acquit young men of rape more often than older men, and the report said this stood in contrast with a perception that juries are particularly reluctant to convict young men for rape.
Thomas said: These findings have important implications not just for the governments Rape Action Plan and the Law Commissions current review of sexual offence prosecutions. They are important for all rape complainants. Knowing the truth about jury decision-making in rape cases is important for anyone who may be reluctant to continue with a case through to trial because they incorrectly believe that juries are unwilling to convict the accused in rape cases.
She added: Its clear that there are serious problems with how rape complaints are handled by police and how long cases take to reach court. But juries are not responsible for this. They can only decide the cases put to them, and this research shows that if rape complainants can put their evidence to a jury, they have a good likelihood of securing a conviction.
Ash Patel, Programme Head for Justice at the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the study, said: There is undoubtedly a crisis in how serious sexual assault and rape cases are dealt with by the criminal justice system.
Juries are not Overly Lenient in Rape Cases
However, this ground-breaking study clearly shows that those problems neither start nor end with juries. Contrary to many peoples views, this study suggests that over time juries have not been overly lenient in their decisions in rape cases, convicting more often than acquitting and returning notably high rates of guilty verdicts in recent years, Patel said.
Deniz Ugur, deputy director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said the figures should be treated with caution.
He told The Telegraph: With only 1.6 per cent of cases resulting in charges or summons, the vast majority of rape cases do not reach court in the first place, often due to police and CPS decision making informed by victim blaming, discrimination and rape myths.
Because of this, looking primarily at the conviction rate of juries doesnt give the full picture of how our justice system is responding to rape, he added.
The phrase rape myths refers to misconceptions about the amount of violence and the severity of physical injury, especially in intimate areas, that a rape victim is likely to suffer during an assault.
RCMP Says Recruitment a Challenge as Attrition Rate Hits 10-Year High
Members of the RCMP take part in a parade at the Canadian Police Memorial Service on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sept. 25, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle)
The federal police force says its facing recruitment challenges while at the same time dealing with the departure of regular members at high rates over the last decade.
While there has recently been an increase in departures relative to historical averages, it is likely that this is a catch-up, as 2020 saw far fewer retirements than would normally be expected, RCMP spokesperson Kim Chamberland told The Epoch Times.
While exact reasons are difficult to determine, it appears that members delayed retirement during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data provided by the organization shows that the attrition rate for fiscal year 20212022 was 4.54 percent. The rate was 3.55 percent for 20202021.
In comparison, the attrition rate was 3.37 percent in 20112012, and steadily climbed thereafter to reach 4.05 percent in 20142015 and then 4.52 percent in 20152016. The rate had steadily declined to 4.05 percent by 20192020.
Chamberland says retention is high for regular members, though notes attrition is slightly more elevated for new officers who might leave for other police services or careers.
Another factor, which Chamberland didnt mention, is that new officers are oftentimes posted far away from where they live to respond to organizational needs, which can impact family support and morale.
Chamberland also says that an updated application process is reducing time to screen applicants and showing early gains.
Uneven Impact
The RCMPs human resources are not impacted evenly across across the country, with some provinces and territories facing a higher vacancy rate for officers.
At a national level, the RCMP was short 1,234 officers for a 6.7 percent vacancy rate as of June 2022.
This information was tabled by the Liberal government in the House of Commons on Jan. 30, further to a request from Conservative MP Rosemarie Falks.
With regard to contract policing, which is in place in every province and territory except Ontario and Quebec, British Columbia is the most short-staffed with 460 vacancies.
But at at 8 percent, B.C. doesnt have the highest vacancy rate. The Northwest Territories has the highest rate, with 11.7 percent for 24 vacancies.
Other provinces with high vacancy rates include Saskatchewan at 8.7 percent (113 vacancies), and Newfoundland and Labrador at 7.9 percent (35 vacancies).
Nunavut is the least short-staffed, having an extra body (140 total funded positions and -1 for funded vacancies), followed by Nova Scotia with four vacancies.
Clay Farnsworth, a retired RCMP officer and chairman of advocacy group Police on Guard, raised questions when presented with the figures for attrition and vacancy rates.
He told The Epoch Times in an email that currently serving members who have reached out to his organization paint a bleaker picture of the situation, with many of them working extra shifts to cover for the shortages.
Recruiting Challenges
Similar to many industries, including other policing services, the RCMP is facing challenges to attract applicants and recruit talent, says Chamberland.
The force has hired a marketing company to bring in new recruits, she adds, in a bid to help us attract potential candidates that have the characteristics and attributes we want in a modern police officer.
Chamberland pointed to the RCMPs website section dedicated to change in the organization for a description of what those characteristics and attributes are.
The Change at the RCMP page raises common themes promoted by the Liberal government, such as the need for diversity and inclusion, eliminating systemic racism, and reconciliation with First Nations.
We are an organization with a rich history, traditions and culture, and are proud of our accomplishments. However, we know much of the work ahead involves changing aspects of our culture that no longer fit with what we are trying to achieve, it says.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki initially would not acknowledge that the organization is systemically racist in June 2020, shortly after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
I did acknowledge that we, like others, have racism in our organization, but I did not say definitively that systemic racism exists in the RCMP. I should have, Lucki then wrote in a statement a few days later.
Farnsworth says the new hiring practices show that the government takes priority over the people.
If the RCMP truly wanted to regain their reputation as a world leader in policing, then hiring practices would reflect hiring the best of the best regardless of race or gender, he says.
Lucki announced earlier this month she made a personal decision to retire on March 17, a month before the end of her five-year term.
Im so proud of the steps weve taken to modernizeto increase accountability, address systemic racism, ensure a safe and equitable workplace and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, she stated.
Republicans Seek Investigation of Unauthorized Release of Air Force Records
Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) are calling for an investigation after being notified that their Air Force records were inappropriately requested and released during their midterm election campaigns.
The congressmen, according to a Politico report, were among 11 individuals who had their military personnel records improperly released by the Air Force Personnel Center Military Records Branch.
A Feb. 7 letter Bacon received from Maj. Gen. Troy Dunn, commander of the Air Force Personnel Center, identified the records requester as Abraham Payton, a background investigation analyst at Due Diligence Group LLC (pdf). Previously, Payton worked for American Bridge 21st Century, a Democrat Super PAC.
According to Dunn, Payton already had Bacons Social Security number when he made the request, claiming to want the records for employment and benefits purposes.
Under the Privacy Act of 1974, the release of such records is prohibited without an individuals written consentsave for exceptional casesyet Bacons Personal Identifiable Information was released to Payton on Nov. 21, 2021, absent Bacons authorization.
Noting that he took the matter very seriously, Dunn advised that an investigation and internal audit had been conducted, finding that the Air Force employee who had released the information did so without criminal action or malicious intent.
Nevertheless, we held our employee accountable for failing to follow proper administrative procedures with the release of your records, he continued, adding that additional training and tighter security procedures had been implemented to prevent the situation from occurring again.
In a statement to Politico, Bacon said he hoped to see legal consequences for those responsible.
I understand the evidence has been turned over to the Department of Justice and I expect those who break the law to be prosecuted, the congressman told Politico in a statement. This was more than just dirty tricks by Democrat operatives, but likely violations of the law.
Echoing that sentiment, Nunn told the outlet that the recent targeting of Members of Congresss personnel military records [and] the breach of sensitive data taken by political hacks isnt only a violation of public trustits criminal.
In a statement to Fox News, an Air Force spokesperson maintained that there was no evidence of political motivation or malicious intent on the part of any employee in the release of the records.
Not the First Leak
News of the breach comes on the heels of a similar incident in which the Air Force leaked personal information to a third party about the sexual assault that 2022 Indiana congressional candidate Jennifer Ruth-Green experienced during her military service.
Greens Officer Performance Report (OPR) was subsequently acquired and published by Politico.
Following that breach, U.S. Air Force Chief of Media Operations Ann Stefanek told The Epoch Times that measures were being taken to prevent such incidents in the future.
The Air Force undertook a thorough review of our records-release procedures, elevated the approval level for release of information to third parties, and conducted intensified retraining for personnel who handle record requests, Stefanek advised.
The Epoch Times has contacted the Air Force and the Department of Justice for comment.
Russian Legislature Approves Suspension of Nuclear-Arms Treaty With US
Russian lawmakers attend a session of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in Moscow on July 5, 2022. (Russian State Duma/Handout via Reuters)
Less than a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Russia was suspending participation in its nuclear weapons treaty with the United States, the Russian Federations State Duma unanimously agreed to formally suspend participation in the treaty.
The rubber-stamp approval by the parliamentary body of Putins announcement that Moscow was disengaging from the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) also gives the Russian president exclusive authority to determine whenor ifit will resume participating again.
As of today, Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty, Putin said in a Feb. 21 national address to the Federal Assembly that was delivered nearly one year after the start of Russias invasion of Ukraine.
Were not withdrawing from the agreement. Were just suspending [our participation in] it.
The New START pact, most recently extended by the United States and the Russian Federation in February 2021, obligates both nations to maintain the same number of long-range nuclear weapons in their arsenals that they had in 2018 through the treatys February 2026 termination.
New START is the latest iteration of five decades of strategic weapons accords between the worlds largest nuclear powers, beginning with 1972s Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.
In 2021, shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden took office, the treaty was extended by another five years.
On Jan. 31, the U.S. State Department told Congress in a report that Russia had ceased participating in the treaty since the start of the Ukraine invasion.
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 its Russia New START Noncompliance Determination.
Russian State Duma member Leonid Slutsky speaks to the media after the talks with Ukrainian officials in the Brest region, Belarus, on March 7, 2022. Maxim Guchek/BelTA via Reuters)
Putin Gets Total Control
In deliberating on the measure to formally cease participating in New START and giving Putin exclusive authority over Russias participation, Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Leonid Slutsky told the TASS News Agency that U.S. violations of the treaty give Russia no choice but to suspend participation.
The collective West deliberately chose to worsen relations with Russia, he said. Business as usual with the U.S. and the West in general is no longer possible as a matter of principle and in terms of arms control, which is inseparable from geopolitics.
In his Feb. 21 address, Putin described Western demands that Russia open its nuclear weapons facilities to on-site inspections as absurd, while NATO allies were actively helping Ukraine strike Russias strategic airbases.
Before the Duma vote, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement claiming that it would continue to comply with New STARTs quantitative restrictions and remain engaged with Washington in mutual notifications of ballistic missile launches.
The ministry stated that Russia will continue to surveil the United States and its allies in the field of strategic arms reduction, as well as in terms of international security and strategic stability in general, assessing them for threats to Russian interests and the need to take additional measures.
According to the Washington-based Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation, Russia has about 5,977 nuclear warheads with 1,588 deployed, while the U.S. has 5,550, including 3,800 that are active.
Adam Morrow contributed to this report
San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force Arrests 48, Frees 8 Children
SAN DIEGOA multi-agency anti-human trafficking task force arrested 48 individuals in a total of 17 recent operations conducted by state, city, and federal officers, San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan announced on Feb. 21.
Officers with Operation Better Pathways also freed eight childrenwith some as young as age 13through the operation that lasted several days, with a total of 41 individuals rescued, said Stephan at a press conference.
Doctors, teachers, and superintendents that are often out there buying someoneeven though they have their own children, wives, sisters, and mothersare still willing to go out and buy a human being for sex, she told reporters. That is what fuels the $810 million industry of human trafficking, and they must be held accountable.
San Diego Calif., on Aug. 10, 2018. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
The operation was conducted through the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force and led by the California Department of Justice in a cooperative effort involving 14 agencies, including the San Diego Sheriffs Department, San Diego Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations.
[This] reality means that every minute and every dollar that we invest in law enforcement is worth it. I want it to be stated very clearly, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria told onsite media. This operation demonstrates that if you do wrong in this city, if you harm others, if you try and tear down our communities, if you want to harm our children, law enforcement is watching you.
We know who you are. We will come find you and we will take you down, he added.
Victim advocates say cases of human trafficking and sexual exploitation have been on the rise throughout California, with some blaming Senate Bill 357, The Safer Streets for All Acta law that decriminalized loitering with the intention to commit and engage in prostitution.
Women stand in The Blade area of Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
The bill was introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last July, and went into effect on Jan. 1. One anti-trafficking group said the number of exploited people and sex buyers has increased by three times in some regions of the state since the bill was announced. Some law enforcement representatives have also spoken out against the law.
Im going to formally and respectfully request that this bill be repealed, said San Diego Police Department Chief David Nisleit at the Tuesday press conference.
It needs to be repealed because we are talking about a young lady at the age of 13 here, said Nisleit. How many more victims do we need to have in sex trafficking before we realize that this is not a good law?
The task force continues to conduct investigations into crime syndicates involving human trafficking, authorities said.
If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in any activity and cannot leave, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to access help and services.
An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of San Diego Police Departments Chief. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Schoolteacher Stabbed to Death by Pupil in Southwest France
Saint-Thomas dAquin middle school, where a teacher died after being stabbed by a student, in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, southwestern France, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Gaizka Iroz/AFP via Getty Images)
Saint-Jean-de-Luz, FRANCEA 16-year-old pupil stabbed a Spanish-language teacher to death on Wednesday at a Roman Catholic high school in the high-end beach resort town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz in southwestern France, government officials said.
Local prosecutor Jerome Bourrier said the pupil was being held in custody. A murder investigation is underway, indicating that they suspect the young man had planned his attack beforehand, the prosecutor said.
The victim was a woman of around 50, local lawmaker Vincent Bru said.
Its a shock, he said of the attack, speaking in a phone interview with Reuters, adding that the school was in a quiet area and had had no security issues so far. Bru confirmed that this does not seem to have any terrorist cause at all.
Pupils fled in panic after the stabbing, local newspaper Sud Ouest said, citing two students who were in the classroom and witnessed the attack.
The attacker stood up during a lesson and walked to the door, before turning around and stabbing the teacher, they said.
Education Minister Pap Ndiaye, speaking at the school, said a minute of silence would be held in schools on Thursdaythough much of France is on winter break.
There was no reason to think that such a terrible tragedy could take place here. This is a very calm school, known for its seriousness and serenity, Ndiaye told reporters.
Supreme Court Denies Challenge to Federal Surveillance Program
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has refused to hear a challenge to a federal surveillance program.
The program in question, known as Upstream, allows the National Security Agency (NSA) to intercept telephone and internet traffic from within and outside the United States.
The details of the program were among those leaked by former CIA and NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who in 2013 blew the whistle on mass surveillance programs orchestrated by the U.S. government. Until then, the administration of President George W. Bush and the intelligence community had falsely claimed that Americans data werent being collected and saved.
The Upstream program gives the NSA access to massive amounts of data, often through the compliance of telecommunication providers. Providers choose the data most likely to be of foreign origin before handing them over to the NSA. However, the program is also used within the United States.
The case, Wikimedia v. NSA, was brought against the NSA by Wikimedia, the nonprofit group that owns Wikipedia. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) assisted Wikimedia with legal counsel.
In a blog post about the case, the ACLU wrote: Upstream surveillance, which the government claims is authorized by the Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, is designed to ensnare all of Americans international communications, including emails, web-browsing content, and search engine queries. With the help of companies like Verizon and AT&T, the NSA has installed surveillance devices on the internet backbonethe network of high-capacity cables, switches, and routers across which Internet traffic travels.
State Secrets Privilege
The hearing fits into a larger cultural dispute over the proper balance between liberty and security, an issue that was brought to the fore by wide-reaching legislation passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Had SCOTUS heard the case, it could have marked a precedent-setting event with regard to other ongoing mass surveillance programs.
Earlier, the case had reached a divided outcome when considered in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Nevertheless, that court ruled that the government could reasonably assert state secrets privilege about the Upstream program.
James Buatti, legal director at the Wikimedia Foundation, called the decision a blow against an individuals right to privacy and freedom of expression in a Wikimedia blog post.
The Supreme Courts refusal to grant our petition strikes a blow against an individuals right to privacy and freedom of expressiontwo cornerstones of our society and the building blocks of Wikipedia, Buatti wrote.
FISA Section 702
Buatti also referenced a highly controversial section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which initially passed Congress in 1978 as a safeguard for Americans civil liberties.
We will continue to champion everyones right to free knowledge, and urge Congress to take on the issue of mass surveillance as it evaluates whether to reauthorize Section 702 later this year, Buatti said.
The FISA was originally passed in response to reported abuses of government intelligence surveillance. The bill was the end product of Senate investigations into the legality of domestic intelligence activities. Initially, the bill was intended to place judicial and congressional safeguards on the surveillance of foreign agents acting within the United States while also giving intelligence agencies the tools needed to monitor genuine foreign threats.
Thus, Americans thought little of the bill in the wake of other legislation passed in response to the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
These bills, including the PATRIOT Act and the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, sought to enhance domestic security at the cost of many American civil liberties.
Warrantless Wiretapping
The FISA first gained public attention in December 2005 following the publication of a New York Times article that showed that Bush since at least 2002 had carried out warrantless wiretapping within the United States. Another report from Bloomberg suggested that this expansive use of the FISA may have begun as early as 2000, before the terror attacks that purportedly made the measures necessary.
The FISA was later revised in 2008 to grant broad new powers to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and U.S. intelligence agencies. Section 702 was first given the force of law in the 2008 legislation.
Section 702 of the FISA reads: The Attorney General (AG) and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) may jointly authorize the targeting of (i) non-U.S. persons (ii) who are reasonably believed to be outside of the United States (iii) to acquire foreign intelligence information.
However, this power can grant an expanding circle of possible searches to the FBI and other intel agencies, which can use the same power against U.S. citizens who had any interaction with targeted foreigners.
Nominally, this is illegal; Section 702 of the FISA authorizes surveillance only of foreign agents operating outside the United States.
But concerns remainparticularly among Republicans ramping up an investigation into the weaponization of the federal governmentabout renewing this surveillance program.
Without House Republican support for a renewal of Section 702, the law will expire on Dec. 31.
Seattle City Council Passes Anti-Discrimination Laws for Castes
Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant addresses supporters during her inauguration and "Tax Amazon 2020 Kickoff" event in Seattle, Wash., on Jan. 13, 2020. (Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)
The Seattle City Council passed an ordinance on Feb. 21 to apply anti-discrimination laws to castes.
The ordinance passed 6-to-1 and, following the signature of Seattle City Council President Debora Juarez, goes to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell for his sign-off. Were it to get Harrells signature, Seattle would become the first city in the United States to ban discrimination against castes.
The ordinance would prohibit caste-based discrimination in the workplace, in housing and in places of accommodation, including public transportation, public restrooms, hotels and retailers.
Kshama Sawant, a 50-year-old Indian American socialist, proposed the measure. Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., became the first university in the United States to prohibit caste-based discrimination, doing so in 2019.
Caste discrimination doesnt only take place in other countries. It is faced by South Asian American and other immigrant working people in their workplaces, including in the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities around the country, said Sawant, who is both the only Indian American and Socialist Alternative on the Seattle City Council, in a press release ahead of the vote.
Although caste discrimination was outlawed in India in 1948, it still exists in Indian culture. Those at the bottom of the Indian system are called Dalits, which translates in Sanskrit to broken. Sawant was raised as a Brahmin, which is the highest level of the hereditary pyramid.
During a Jan. 24 rally in favor of the act, Sawant explained that caste discrimination occurs in the form of social segregation, economic depravation, physical and psychological abuse and violence.
Equality Labs, a Dalit civil rights group, applauded the measure ahead of the vote. The groups founder and executive director, Thenmozhi Sounderarajan, a Dalit, said in Sawants press release that this act is the necessary first step to ensure the rights of all Seattle citizens.
However, Nikunj Trivedi, president of the Coalition of Hindus of North America, expressed opposition to the act before the vote.
The understanding of Hinduism is poor in this country, he told The Associated Press. Many people believe caste equals Hinduism, which is simply not true. There is diversity of thought, belief and practice within Hinduism.
Trivedi lamented that the act is based on a heavy reliance on anecdotal reports.
How can people who know very little or nothing about caste adjudicate issues stemming from it? he said.
Hindu American Foundation executive director Suhag Shukla told the AP ahead of the vote that the measure singles out and targets an ethnic minority and seeks to institutionalize implicit bias toward a community and is therefore unconstitutional.
It sends that message that we are an inherently bigoted community that must be monitored, she said.
Shamima Begum Bid to Restore British Citizenship Rejected
Judge dismisses 23-year-old's legal challenge and upholds Home Office decision to revoke her UK citizenship
Shamima Begum being interviewed by Sky News in northern Syria on Feb. 17, 2019. The so-called ISIS bride has claimed she was radicalised both online and "between her circle of friends."(Reuters)
Shamima Begum failed in a last-ditch legal bid to have her British citizenship restored.
On Wednesday, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) fully dismissed the 23-year-olds legal challenge against a Home Office decision to revoke her status as a UK citizen.
It means Begumwho travelled from her London home to join the ISIS terrorist group in Syria when she was 15will not be able to return to the UK.
The ruling followed a five-day hearing in November, where Begums lawyers argued shed been the victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation in that she had fallen for ISIS propaganda and agreed to become a jihadi bride.
However, in his ruling on Wednesday, Mr. Justice Jay said that while there was a credible suspicion that Begum was trafficked to Syria for sexual exploitation, this was not enough for the appeal to succeed.
The commission has fully recognised the considerable force in the submissions advanced on behalf of Ms. Begum that the Secretary of States conclusion, on expert advice, that Ms. Begum travelled voluntarily to Syria is as stark as it is unsympathetic, he said.
Further, there is some merit in the argument that those advising the Secretary of State see this as a black and white issue, when many would say that there are shades of grey.
He continued: If asked to evaluate all the circumstances of Ms. Begums case, reasonable people with knowledge of all the relevant evidence will differ, in particular in relation to the issue of the extent to which her travel to Syria was voluntary and the weight to be given to that factor in the context of all others.
Likewise, reasonable people will differ as to the threat she posed in February 2019 to the national security of the United Kingdom, and as to how that threat should be balanced against all countervailing considerations.
However, under our constitutional settlement these sensitive issues are for the Secretary of State to evaluate and not for the commission.
Breaches of State Duty
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission concluded there was a credible suspicion that Begum was trafficked to Syria for sexual exploitation and that there were arguable breaches of duty by state bodies in allowing her to travel to the country.
But Justice Jay said in a summary of the commissions decision that the existence of this suspicion was insufficient for her to succeed in her arguments that the deprivation of her British citizenship failed to respect her human rights, adding that given she was now in Syria, the Home Secretary was neither compelled to facilitate her return nor prevented from using deprivation powers.
The judge said: The commission concluded that there was a credible suspicion that Ms. Begum had been trafficked to Syria within the meaning of relevant international legal instruments.
Essentially, and from the perspective of those responsible for the trafficking, the motive for bringing her to Syria was sexual exploitation to which, as a child, she could not give a valid consent.
The commission also concluded that there were arguable breaches of duty on the part of various state bodies in permitting Ms. Begum to leave the country as she did and eventually cross the border from Turkey into Syria.
He added: In outline, given that Ms. Begum is now in Syria, the states corollary investigative duty did not compel the Secretary of State to facilitate her return to the United Kingdom, nor did it prevent him from exercising his deprivation powers.
In conclusion, the judge said: In short, the commission decided that a finding that Ms. Begum has been trafficked does not operate as a form of limitation on the Secretary of States wide powers.
No Protection for Trafficked Children
In a statement to The Epoch Times via email on Wednesday, the Home Office welcomed the court ruling.
We are pleased that the court has found in favour of the Governments position in this case, a spokesperson said. The Governments priority remains maintaining the safety and security of the UK and we will robustly defend any decision made in doing so.
Sajid Javid, who was Home Secretary when Begum was first stripped of her British citizenship, also praised the ruling. I welcome todays court ruling, which has again upheld my decision to remove an individuals citizenship on national security grounds, he said.
This is a complex case but home secretaries should have the power to prevent anyone entering our country who is assessed to pose a threat to it.
Begums lawyers said Wednesday that the ruling has left no protection for a British child trafficked out of the UK.
In a statement released to PA Media, Jean Gareth Peirce and Daniel Furner, from Birnberg Peirce Solicitors, said: We, the lawyers entrusted with the representation of Ms. Begum in circumstances of extreme difficulty, register our profound disagreement with the decision taken by the home secretary in 2019 and the diminution by the Supreme Court of the ability of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission to consider her legal challenges.
The outcome is that there is now no protection for a British child trafficked out of the UK if the home secretary invokes national security. Regrettably, this is a lost opportunity to put into reverse a profound mistake and a continuing injustice.
Ms. Begum remains in unlawful, arbitrary and indefinite detention without trial in a Syrian camp. Every possible avenue to challenge this decision will be urgently pursued.
The lawyers added: In our view, that demands the Secretary of State must carefully review the original decision in light of the commissions troubling findings.
Amnesty International also voiced its disappointment at the tribunal decision.
Steve Valdez-Symonds, the human rights organisations UK refugee and migrant rights director, said: Along with thousands of others, including large numbers of women and children, this young British woman is now trapped in a dangerous refugee camp in a war-torn country and left largely at the mercy of gangs and armed groups.
Just as other nations have done, the UK should be helping any of its citizens stranded in Syriaincluding by assisting in their safe return to the UK, whether or not that means facing possible criminal investigation or prosecution.
This is a still taken from CCTV footage and issued by the Metropolitan Police in London on Feb. 23, 2015 of 15-year-old Amira Abase, left, Kadiza Sultana, 16, centre, and Shamima Begum, 15, as they pass through Gatwick airport, London, before taking a flight to Turkey on Feb 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Metropolitan Police)
Sexual Exploitation
Begum was 15 when she travelled from Bethnal Green, east London, through Turkey and into ISIS-controlled territory in Syria.
There, she married an ISIS fighterDutch-born Yago Riedijkand lived in Raqqa. She remained in Raqqa for four years until she was discovered in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019. Her British citizenship was revoked shortly after she was found.
Begum was nine months pregnant at the time. The three children she had given birth to since leaving the UK have all passed away. She is currently living at Roj camp in northern Syria, which is run by a militia group known as the Syrian Democratic Forces.
In November 2020, the UK Supreme Court ruled she could not return to Britain to appeal against the decision to revoke her citizenship.
At the SIAC hearing last year, Begums barristers Samantha Knights KC and Dan Squires KC said she was recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received in Syria for the purposes of sexual exploitation and marriage to an adult male.
They also argued that the Home Office unlawfully failed to consider that she travelled to Syria and remained there as a victim of child trafficking.
However, Sir James Eadie KC, for the department, said the security services continue to assess that Ms. Begum poses a risk to national security.
Eadie later said that then-home secretary Sajid Javid took into account Begums age, how she travelled to Syriaincluding likely online radicalisationand her activity in the country when deciding to remove her British citizenship.
PA contributed to this report.
Retired art professor, Jean Fisher (L), with her husband, John Fisher (R), watched Shen Yun performing arts at the DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Feb. 21, 2023. (Charlie Lu/The Epoch Times)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.Retired art professor, Jean Fisher, was captivated by Shen Yun Performing Arts when she watched the performance with her husband John at the DeVos Performance Hall on Feb. 21.
I was very impressed and surprised, she said. The costumes, the music, the movementsit sang to my artistic soul.
As a former adjunct art professor at Central Michigan University, Mrs. Fisher said she was impressed with the creative aspects of the performance, which brings to life tales of myths and legendsas well as modern storiesthrough the use of costumes of traditional Chinese dress and colors, classically trained dancers, a world-class orchestra, and an animated backdrop.
Combined, every part of the production exists to support and direct attention to the remarkable performers, according to Shen Yuns website.
I thought it was amazing how they were able to time it perfectly for each of the dances and all of the music, all of the movements, Mrs. Fisher said.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Fishers husband, John, a retired administrator from Central Michigan University, commended the performers on portraying the history and culture of China.
Im a linear thinker, so Id like to go back in history and see the way it used to be and how it progressed through the times, Mr. Fisher said.
China was once known as The Land of the Divine, having had a glorious culture that was believed to have come down from the heavens.
But since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) saw this spiritual heritage as a threat, and sought to eradicate it.
Then in 2006, a group of Chinese artists came together in New York and formed Shen Yun, with a mission to revive authentic Chinese culturewhile showcasing storylines from ancient times through to the modern day through a series of vignettes.
I was very impressed with the bravery of the production to tell things how it is right now, Mr. Fisher said.
Mr. Fisher was referring to CCPs persecution of Falun Dafaa spiritual discipline that is based on truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Falun Dafa practitioners have been persecuted by the CCP since 1999.
This modern day persecution is boldly depicted by Shen Yun in order to raise awareness.
Courageous, Mrs. Fisher said.
As Christians, Mr. and Mrs. Fisher said they also agreed with the lyrics that were sung by Shen Yuns sopranospecifically about the concepts of atheism and evolution.
And they talk about the Creator and God and Heaven, Mr. Fisher said. It just so happens that with our faith, we totally agree with that.
Reporting by Charlie Lu and Henry Jom.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
In the classic American tradition of fines so tiny they are easily accounted for as a cost of doing business, the Chuch of Latter-Day Saints is to pay $5m for hiding $32bn worth of investments behind shell companies.
The allegations of the illicit shell company structure first emerged in 2018, when a group formerly called MormonLeaks now known as the Truth and Transparency Foundation claimed that year the extent of the church's investments had reached $32 billion. The following year, a whistleblower filed a complaint to the Internal Revenue Service, according to a 2020 Wall Street Journal report; that year, the newspaper said the church's holdings had grown to $100 billion. "For more than half a century, the Mormon Church quietly built one of the world's largest investment funds," the Journal said. "Almost no one outside the church knew about it."
In a statement, the church "regrets mistakes made, and considers the matter closed."
Just imagine the scale of the profits made therein, then wonder if that $5m fine even pays for the cost of the investigation.
Karen and Garin Kristinhess at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater, on Feb. 21, 2023. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)
SALT LAKE CITYShen Yun Performing Arts took to the stage at the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater on Feb. 21 for the first of its six shows in Salt Lake City this season, with theatergoers reporting joy, surprise, and even hope for the world after the experience.
For microbiologist Charlotte Bowerbank, Shen Yun made her feel like we are on the same page.
You know, sometimes, it is hard to feel everyones on the same page, even people in your own city or state, Ms. Bowerbank said. But she felt a resonance with Shen Yun, like that we have the same goal.
It was a simple goal: Be nice to each other, to love each othercare about each other.
To live Gods way, our Creators way. To just be kind to each other. And in the end, you know, we all go back with our Creator, right? Ms. Bowerbank said.
Her goal was one that Chinese civilization shared for 5,000 years.
Shen Yun, based in New York, is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company and states its goal is to show China before communism.
Through music and dance, the artists aim to present the beauty and goodness of a culture once said to be divinely inspired. Spiritual teachings from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism formed the foundation of the millennia-old civilization. People believed in a Creator, revered the heavens, and sought harmony between heaven, earth, and humankind.
Ms. Bowerbank, uplifted by the performance, left with a handful of pamphlets about Shen Yun, which she said she would be sharing with all her friends so as to encourage them to not miss such an experience.
And I will come next year too, if they come back, she said.
Beautiful, Inspiring, Entertaining
Gordon Scott, a financial analyst, shared just how Shen Yun was living up to its name, meaning the beauty of divine beings dancing.
I like the way that each one of the dances has a bit of a theme and an emotion that has a story element with it, he said, adding that though he had no dance experience himself, I can tell what theyre trying to do, and it comes through and its very inspiring.
Gordon Scott and Ms. Bowerbank at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater, on Feb. 21, 2023. (Yue Yi/The Epoch Times)
He felt underlying spiritual themes being represented, which the dancers conveyed.
I really enjoy the idea that the divine comes through any person, especially those who try to follow and seek virtue. And in the dancers movements, you can see this ideal being demonstrated and advocated, he said.
Like Ms. Bowerbank, he thought, everybody should see it for sure; its well worth every bit they spent to come see [Shen Yun].
[Its] beautiful, inspiring, and entertaining, he said.
So Very Uplifting
For the Browns, Shen Yun was equally uplifting and worthy of recommending.
I wish them every success, said Philip Brown, retired chemistry professor. Id advise everybody who can possibly do it to come and see it. I just think its so very uplifting. It will give anybody joy anytime they hear it.
Annie Brown said she had already recommended their daughter, who agreed to see Shen Yun when its tour in Australia begins.
Philip and Annie Brown at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater, on Feb. 21, 2023. (Lily Yu/The Epoch Times)
We find with the Chinese people, theyre beautiful people and we know they are not the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Mrs. Brown added.
[They were] beautiful, and the delicacy of the dancers was beautiful and the men and their masculinity coming through with their dance it was beautiful, she said.
Mr. Brown felt he was uplifted by the visual and invisible beauty the dancers transmitted.
I really enjoyed it. I thoroughly appreciated the spiritual thoughts behind it. I just agree with them, he said. Thats a great part of our life.
Reporting by Yue Yi and Lily Yu.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
South Korea Scraps Post-Arrival COVID Test for Chinese Travelers
Health workers guide travelers arriving from China in front of a COVID-19 testing center at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul on Jan. 3, 2023. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)
South Korea is the latest country to relax its entry restrictions to visitors from China, saying on Feb. 22 that it will no longer require travelers from China to test for COVID-19 after arrival, starting next month.
While the post-arrival testing requirement will be lifted on March 1, South Koreas pre-arrival testing requirement for Chinese travelers will remain in effect until March 10, according to Kim Sung-ho, a senior official at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
Additional easing of quarantine measures appears possible, as the positive rate among arrivals from China has dropped from 18.4 percent in the first week of January to 0.6 percent in the third week of February, Kim said during a meeting.
Also starting next month, South Korea will allow flights from China to land at airports other than its main Incheon International Airport, which has been the sole gateway for flights from China since January.
In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that its willing to consider reciprocal measures when the time is appropriate.
South Korea tightened curbs on arrivals from China and temporarily stopped increasing flights from the mainland after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) abruptly lifted its zero-COVID policy in December 2022, which resulted in an explosive outbreak in China.
South Korea began to ease entry curbs on Chinese travelers earlier this month, citing an improved COVID-19 situation in China. The country resumed issuing short-term visas for Chinese arrivals, to which Beijing responded by likewise issuing short-term visas to South Korean nationals.
Taiwan, India, France, and some European Union countries have also relaxed entry restrictions on Chinese travelers. The EUs 27 member states agreed on Feb. 16 to end the requirement for pre-departure COVID-19 tests on Chinese travelers by the end of February.
The moves were also agreed to by non-EU members of the Schengen passport-free travel zone, which include Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Canada Extends Entry Restrictions From China
Canada stated that it will extend its entry restrictions for travelers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau that were set to expire on Feb. 5, citing the need to protect the health care system and concerns about the lack of scientific data from Beijing.
In December 2022, Canada announced temporary pre-boarding test requirements and arrival screening for travelers from these regions. The measures took effect on Jan. 5 and were set to expire on Feb. 5.
On February 4, 2023, at 12:01 a.m. EST, Canada intends on extending these current health measures for travelers arriving on flights from these regions, regardless of nationality or vaccination status. The requirements are expected to remain in effect until April 5, 2023, 12:01 a.m. EDT, the government stated on Feb. 2.
Ottawa stated that the decision to extend the existing COVID-19 measures was based on several factors, including the continued reports of a dramatic increase of COVID-19 cases in China since the CCP lifted its restrictions on border travel on Jan. 8.
Another reason for the extension is concern about the limited epidemiological data made available by Chinese authorities, including those related to genomic sequencing and potential variants of concern.
Ottawa stated that it also took into account the potential impacts of Chinas reopening on Canadas health care system, as well as responses of allied countries and international organizations toward Beijings swift and mass reopening after three years of strict lockdowns under its draconian zero-COVID policy.
Despite the data provided by China thus far, ongoing gaps in data availability remain a significant concern, the government stated.
Extending these temporary health measures will provide time for new, reliable data sources to be made available and allow time for expected domestic waves in China to subside.
Ottawa stated that the border measures will continue to be reassessed as more data and evidence become available.
Andrew Chen and Reuters contributed to this report.
Karen and Garin Kristinhess at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater on Feb. 21, 2023. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)
SALT LAKE CITYChina is the nation with the longest running history. Unfortunately, the Chinese Communist Party changed the 5,000 years of tradition into a totalitarian regime.
Interested in a China before communism, Garin Kristinhess came to Shen Yun Performing Arts with his wife, Karen Kristinhess, to witness the revival of Chinese civilization.
I loved it. Ive always wanted to visit China, before the communists, said Mr. Kristinhess, founder of a tech company.
Im sure its lovely in many regards, over there, even today, but Ive always wished that I could visit the traditional China of the past, Mr. Kristinhess added.
Shen Yun, the worlds premier classical Chinese dance company, is based in New York and it is striving to let the world see what China was like before communism.
I feel like we dont see the Chinese people except through the communist lens. And this is really helpful, too. This is really helpful to see the the beauty of the Chinese people and their spiritual roots. Because the Communist Party, [is] so not spiritual, said Mrs. Kristinhess.
Using classical Chinese dance, Shen Yun tells stories from Chinas history and mythology. It also tells stories of present day China.
Im also really impressed with the courage to go up against the Communist Party of China and show the truth about some of the things, said Mr. Kristinhess.
A common value of mine is that our divine mission and heritage has been confused by atheism, he added.
Shen Yuns artists are trained in classical Chinese dance. In addition to flawless technique and artistry, the artists say that one also needs to maintain a heart of humility and high moral character.
Another thing is I appreciate the modesty, a lot of performances today, their costumes are not modest, said Mr. Kristinhess. Mrs. Kristinhess agreed.
They think the more revealing is somehow attractive. [Shen Yun] brought beauty through their movement and through their countenance, their smiles, the offering rather than the lack of clothes. Its a gift. Theyre giving us a gift. Its well received, added Mrs. Kristinhess.
Shen Yuns interaction between performers and a digital backdrop is patented technology. The dancers are able to fly high into the sky and dive deep into the sea through the use of the digital backdrop.
Thats very interesting. Its very cool. I was reading thats patented it, which is pretty neat, said Mr. Kristinhess.
He added his gratitude for Shen Yun coming to Salt Lake City.
Its wonderful.Thank you for coming to our city, he said.
Reporting by Mary Mann and Maria Han.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Light comments about interesting art
You cant un-see it: the broken nose. Even in the skilled hands of artist Piero della Francesca (circa 14151492), the deep indent at the bridge seems not quite normal. Yet, the obvious physical defect in a formal portrait might be seen as a badge of honor for a cultured aristocrat who improved the lives of his people.
The Duke of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, built a fortune as a condottieri, or captain of a mercenary army of knights, to fight for various warring cities and states. As both a military and civic leader, he inspired loyalty and devotion from his subjects.
Federico cared for the families of killed or wounded soldiers. He walked the streets of Urbino, unarmed and without guards, seeing about the welfare of the residents.
His mercenary work financed the hill town of Urbino into a cultural center and financed his support of the arts. But he was more than that. He studied history and philosophy. He was known as the light of Italy in the early Renaissance for his patronage of upcoming of artists and writers, including a young Raphael.
At his palace in Urbino, Italy, the duke had his own beautiful workplace, a studiolo; he built a great library and set up a scriptorium as a center for writing and copying important works.
Noble Profile
The elaborately framed portrait (circa 147375) by Piero della Francesca is one of the most popular stops at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The beautifully framed painting is the right side of a diptych, or a two-paneled painting, which is shared with a portrait of his beloved wife, Battista Sforza.
The artist painted the duke in profile serenely facing his beloved wifes portrait, whose profile faces toward him. The profile references the profiles in classical coins of Roman emperors and portrait medals, and adds to the nobility of the portrait. One might say this was the dukes best side since he has lost his right eye and underwent surgery to allow him to see better with his left.
The background depicts the dukes lands, prosperous with ships in the harbor, a bustling city, and rolling mountains. As if looking down from a high point, we see a sprawling domain. The court of Urbino was great and growing.
The back of the painting is also decorated with images of the duke on a chariot with symbols of the virtues of justice, insight, courage, and restraint. A Latin inscription reads: He rides illustrious in glorious triumph, as he wields the scepter in moderation. The eternal fame of his virtues celebrates [him] as equal to the greatest dukes.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art now owns an entire studiolo, or small study, from the dukes palace in Gubbio, Italy, which has trompe loeil (a technique called fools the eye) decoration.
As Piero della Francesca shows in this portrait of the duke, looks dont count as much as good deeds and inner character. A guide to the Uffizi Gallery states: With his rational, almost metaphysical style, the great artist achieves the perfect representation of the Renaissance man, aware of the centrality of his role in the universe and the importance of his intelligence and his culture.
The EU Must Be Less Naive as China Restarts Charm Offensive
Beijing is again wooing the EU as domestic situation deteriorates and US relations sour
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speak via video conference with the European Council president and European Union foreign policy chief during an EU-China summit at the European Council building in Brussels on April 1, 2022. (Olivier Matthys/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Commentary
Mid-February marked the resumption of what used to be the biannual European Union-China human rights dialogue. The Munich security conference also took place on Feb. 1719, with China playing a key role.
These are but two of several steps being taken by Beijing to convince the EU and wider Europe that it is changing its foreign policy, seeking better and more stable ties with the EU, and all the while pretending to believe that the EU can and should be a major power on its own and should sever its ties with the United States. In fact, the Chinese delegation focused most of its time accusing the United States of jeopardizing European security, and seeking to drive a wedge between Washington and the EU, all under the euphemism of supporting European strategic autonomy.
It is not the first time we have seen such an almost schizophrenic shift in Chinese policy toward Europe.
Chinese foreign policy seems dependent on two key factors, which very much drives Chinese policy toward Europe. The first is how secure the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) feels in mainland China, as far as its grip on power appears. Protests, an economic downturn, internal market rumblings, or yet another policy mistake from Xi Jinping tend to lead Beijing to change its tone for the better. The other factor is international, and most often, the relationship with the United States. When things get rocky with the United States, and to a lesser extent, Japan or Australia, the tone in policy toward Europe, just as with the impact from the domestic situation, tends to improve.
This, of course, doesnt mean that the actual policy changes, but rather how its presented. It rarely sees much change, as the CCPs worldview is seemingly set in stone.
This isnt the first time weve seen this switch between the aggressive and the more nuanced appeasing policy shifts. And it is unlikely to be the last.
Right now, both factors heavily favor appeasement and a friendly tone from the CCP. And even though we should, by this point, have learned enough not to have to ask this question, I am, as a European, afraid that we still have to: Will the EU fall for it again?
Domestically, Chinas economy is in trouble, and ending the zero-COVID policy has not yielded the kind of bump Beijing hoped for. The demographic crisis is moving from a theoretical one to directly impacting the countrys current and future economic growth. Draconian COVID measures led to protests against Xi and the CCP, the departure of wealthy Chinese who took their money with them, and the rapid increase in asylum seekersall are indicators of a grim domestic situation.
Internationally, things are not looking much better. Recently the United States has taken the lead against Chinas establishment of informal police service stations and FoxHunt operation, which hunts down alleged fugitives on foreign soil. The United States has limited engagement with companies owned or related to Chinas military. Furthermore, the United States is getting better at getting allies on board in all these areas and beyond, which is perhaps an even bigger threat to the CCP.
The CCPs influence largely depends on playing a divided West against each other, and while still possible, it is by any metric becoming harder for the CCP to do so. Making matters worse, the near-total economic warfare against Australia has turned out to be a major failure, highlighting not just Chinese weakness, but that even smaller countries are far less vulnerable to Chinese threats than most of us thought. Lithuania and the Czech Republic are countries that have taken bold steps to displease the CCPactions that were unthinkable just a few years ago.
Czech Senate speaker Milos Vystrcil (L) gives Taiwans Foreign Minister Joseph Wu the Silver Commemorative Medal of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic in Prague on Oct. 27, 2021. (Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)
With this in mind, its easy to see why China is again trying to woo the EUits most important economic partner by far. Talks of restarting the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) are being touted. After refusing to engage with the EU via the EU-China human rights dialogue, the Chinese are suddenly now open, even keen, to do so. In an interview with Global Times in February, the Chinese ambassador to France discussed the prospects of strengthening EU-China relations amid the Russia-Ukraine war and the Taiwan issue. Behind the scenes, its hard not to think that various proposals, trade agreements, and state visits are being thrown around as ideas.
Now, the EU-China human rights dialogue is a process I am keenly aware of. Not only does it improve the treatment of political prisoners, but it can, and has, led to specific human rights defenders getting better treatment. Without a doubt, some would not be alive today if it werent for this dialogue. I know this first hand. Granted, the usefulness has diminished compared with a decade ago, as China feels less need to heed anyones calls. However, its still one of the few institutional dialogues with direct and positive outcomes for rights defenders. However, it is clear the CCP is using this as part of a broader attempt at re-engagement with the EU, which is being done to overcome Chinas current domestic and international problems.
As before, once those situations have been dealt with, the CCPs tone will change again, and it will, as it often does, revert to trying to enforce unequal treaties (the CAI being a key one, but one that no country would ever willingly enter into, due to its incredibly unequal nature), and start throwing threats around whenever the EU, or any EU member state, contemplates taking a policy decision that displeases China. Of course, all this is merely a matter of tone; Beijing will do these things regardless, but perhaps at a slower pace.
Nonetheless, all the appeasement and wooing is merely an exercise in tone, and even the tone will disappear once Xi feels he has enough control again, and its the EU, and in extension the free world, that will pay the price for falling for such an easy ruse.
Hopefully, this time, the EU is populated with politicians, officials, and advisers who are less gullible, less ignorant, and less naive than in the past decade.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Treasury Department Sanctions Mexican Drug Cartels Fentanyl Suppliers
A Border Patrol agent checks an illegal immigrant who is wearing two wristbands that Mexican cartels have been using to control human smuggling into the United States, near Penitas, Texas, on March 15. 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)
The U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned six Sinaloa Cartel members and six Mexico-based entities due to their involvement in the drug trade.
According to a Feb. 22 press release, brothers Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma lead a network allegedly responsible for diverting illicit precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl and other drugs directly into the hands of Sinaloa Cartel members.
As a result of the OFACs action, property and interests in property in the United States or in the ownership or control of U.S. persons that belong to the people or groups sanctioned must be blocked and reported to OFAC (pdf).
The Zamudio Lerma brothers and their network enable the production of synthetic drugs that devastate American lives while lining the pockets of Sinaloa Cartel leadership, said OFAC Director Andrea Gacki.
Depriving this network of access and resources will hinder the Sinaloa Cartels ability to produce and traffic the illicit drugs it depends on.
OFAC regulations usually prohibit all transactions involving property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked people by U.S. persons or persons within or transiting the United States.
Individuals in the United States may face civil or criminal consequences for violating the sanctions. Furthermore, people who conduct certain transactions with the individuals and businesses listed may face fines or other repercussions.
Officials Address the Sanctions
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke about the sanctions, saying on Feb. 22 that the United States is determined to disrupt the global production and supply chain of illicit fentanyl.
Todays action is part of a whole-of-government effort to disrupt and dismantle the transnational criminal organizations that facilitate the illicit supply of fentanyl and other narcotics, Blinken said.
Republican-led states have asked the Biden administration to take action against the drug cartels. A coalition of 21 state attorneys general sent a letter to Blinken and President Joe Biden on Feb. 8, asking the Biden administration to designate and treat Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (pdf).
Mexican cartels are a main driver in the distribution of fentanyl and have used extreme violence to achieve their ends, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in reference to the request.
Their heinous acts have caused the deaths of thousands of Americansboth directly and indirectly. The letter specifically references the actions of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, while also recognizing other cartels ought to be designated as terrorist organizations as well.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times request for comment.
Closing Roxham Road Wont Stop Asylum-Seekers From Entering Canada, Trudeau Says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the media in Ottawa on Feb. 12, 2023. (The Canadian Press/ Patrick Doyle)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today responded to recent calls for Ottawa to close the Roxham Road unofficial border crossing, saying that the action would not reduce the high number of asylum-seekers entering Canada.
For years we have been focused on closing Roxham Road. The challenge is not to say oh, we should close itthe challenge is how to close it, Trudeau said while speaking to reporters on Feb. 22 in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Trudeau said the problem of high numbers of migrants flooding into Canada isnt caused by Roxham Road, but by the fact that Canada has thousands of kilometres worth of undefended, shared border with the United States.
On Feb. 21, Quebec Premier Francois Legault called on Trudeau to close Roxham Road citing strains on the province amid the influx of migrants. The same day, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre echoed the call for Ottawa to close the border crossing within 30 days.
Trudeau said today that if Roxham Road were to be closed, asylum-seekers will simply choose to cross elsewhere.
The only way to effectively shut down not just Roxham Road but the entire border to these irregular crossings is to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement, Trudeau said.
First signed between Canada and the U.S. in 2002, the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) requires refugee claimants to request protection in the first safe country they arrive in after crossing the Canada-U.S. land border unless they qualify for an exception.
The agreement applies only to refugees claiming asylum who are seeking entry to Canada from the U.S.
Asylum seekers from Congo cross the border at Roxham Road in Quebec from Champlain, New York, on Feb. 9, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz)
Trudeau says the federal government has been working on a renegotiation of the STCA for many months.
Were making real progress, he said. But until we manage to do that, we need to continue to support our immigration system. We need to make sure that the resources are there, particularly for the province of Quebec.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, around 4,200 asylum-seekers entered Canada at unofficial entry points in 2021. That figure is far less than the 35,000 intercepted by the RCMP across Canada in 2022, the year Roxham Road reopened after pandemic border closures.
Quebecs Minister of Immigration Christine Frechette said on Feb. 14 that Ottawa was paying to have some of the migrants entering Quebec through Roxham Road moved to other provinces.
Frechette said she was very happy with the action, but Quebec Premier Francois Legault is asking Trudeau to do more.
Roxham Road will have to be closed one day or another, whether we like it or not. The sooner the better, Legault wrote in an opinion column published in the Globe and Mail on Feb. 21.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to receive asylum seekers with dignity, Legault wrote, saying support services are stretched to their limits and migrants are becoming more likely to find themselves in a situation of homelessness.
This situation comes at a time when, like everywhere in Canada, our public services are already strained. This additional pressure has become unsustainable and cannot continue any longer.
Federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser told reporters in Dartmouth, N.S., on Feb. 22 that Legault is right to raise concerns about Roxham Road, saying that Quebec currently faces a disproportionate amount of pressure on their social services, health, and education systems because of the recent influx of migrants entering Canada at Roxham Road.
The minister added that Ottawa is working on further measures to move the migrants entering Quebec to other provinces while their asylum claims process.
Trump Blasts Fox News Over Covering DeSantis Meeting
(Left) Former President Donald Trump addresses the crowd during a 2024 election campaign event in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 28, 2023. (Right) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to guests at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas on Nov. 19, 2022. (Logan Cyrus, Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump on Feb. 21 blasted Fox News on his social media site Truth Social over its coverage of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
So interesting to watch Fox News cover the small and unenthusiastic 139-person crowd in Staten Island for DeSantis, but stay as far away as possible from coverage of the thousands of peoplemany unable to get inat the Club 47 event in West Palm Beach, Florida.
I call Fox News the RINO (Republican In Name Only) Network, and their down-big ratings accurately reflect the name. If Fake News CNN was smart, which theyre not, theyd go conservative and All Trump, All the Time, like in 2016, and become a ratings juggernaut, posted Trump.
Fox News ratings have consistently beaten CNNs. Trumps Feb. 20 campaign event in West Palm Beach consisted of attacking DeSantis.
Big buildup, lots of money spent, yet only 139 people showed up for DeSantis in Staten Island. FoxNews is disappointed that his polls are crashing. Paul Ryan [is] very unhappy. Hes a RINO in disguise, thats why! This is 2016 all over again, he posted on Truth Social on Feb. 21.
However, the New York State Fraternal Order of Police event on Feb. 20 in Staten Island was not a campaign stop for DeSantis, and the venuePrive catering hallcan only seat a maximum of 140 people, according to its Facebook page.
Ryanthe former GOP speaker of the House now on the board of Fox Newss parent company, Fox Corporationhas long been a target of Trumps wrath.
Trump has had a record of being obsessed with crowd sizes at least since his 2016 run for president.
This is not the first time Trump has gone after Fox News and DeSantis, who has yet to announce his candidacy for the White House. He is expected to over the coming months.
On Feb. 19, Trump took a shot at Fox News for not echoing his claim that the 2020 election was rigged.
Congratulations to Kristina Karamo, a powerful and fearless election denier, in winning the chair of the GOP in Michigan.
If Republicans [and others!] would speak the truth about the rigged presidential election of 2020 like FoxNews should but doesnt, they would be far better off.
The New York Times stated that, this cements the partys takeover by Trump loyalists. I dont call them loyalists, I call them Great American Patriots! posted Trump on Truth Social.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Fox News and DeSantiss political team for comment on Trumps attacks.
DeSantis office declined to comment, saying it does not weigh in on political topics.
Trump Endorses Mental Competency Testing for Presidential Candidates
Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 28, 2023. (Win McNamee/ Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump on Feb. 21 welcomed the idea of requiring those intending to run for U.S. president to go through mental competency examination.
ANYBODY running for the Office of President of the United States should agree to take a full & complete Mental Competency Test simultaneously (or before!) with the announcement that he or she is running, & likewise, but to a somewhat lesser extent, agree to a test which would prove that you are physically capable of doing the job, Trump, 76, said on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday.
Being an outstanding President requires great mental acuity & physical stamina. If you dont have these qualities or traits, it is likely you wont succeed. MAGA! he wrote.
Trump echoed earlier remarks by former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her 2024 presidential bid on Feb. 14, about requiring mental competency tests for politicians over 75.
Haley, 51, threaded her Feb. 15 presidential campaign kickoff speech with the theme of a new generation of leadership, distinguishing her relatively young profile from those of her competitors, including Trump, potentially President Joe Biden, and others in Congress who are over the age of 70.
According to a Business Insider report, about 23 percent of Congress is currently over 70 years old, marking the highest percentage in U.S. history.
While roughly half of the U.S. population is aged 38 and younger, Congress only has 5 percent of its members within that demographic, the study found, with a median age of 61.5 in 2020.
In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire, Haley said in her concluding remarks, speaking to an audience at the Charleston Visitor Center. Well have term limits for Congress, and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.
Haleys statements have received mixed responses. Former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 81, called Haleys remarks absurd when he appeared on CBSs Face the Nation on Feb. 18.
Haley dismissed Sanderss criticisms, saying it is exactly what a career politician and socialist would say, in a statement to The Epoch Times on Feb. 20.
The issue of a presidents age began floating around the time of the 2020 presidential election when some frontrunnersincluding Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sanders, and Trumpwere over 70. Then-presidential candidate Joe Biden became the oldest in American history to run at the age of 77.
Since Biden announced his presidential bid, and after his inauguration, many questioned his cognitive state, often citing his public gaffes as signs that he is unfit to govern.
Last October, a month before he turned 80, Biden said it is totally legitimate for voters to factor in his age in judging his capacity to govern and that people should decide whether his abilities are adequate for the job.
On the same topic, Trump said in 2022 that Bidens age did not make him an old man.
President Biden is one of the oldest 79s in History, but by and of itself, he is not an old man, Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 10, 2022.
Amy Gamm contributed to this report.
Trump Delivers Bottled Water During Visit to Ohios Toxic Derailment Site, Criticizes Biden Admins Response
Former President Donald J. Trump met with East Palestine, Ohio, residents and officials on Feb. 22, to provide much-needed bottled water and cleaning supplies as the village continues to recover from the aftermath of a recent train derailment and chemical spill.
Were bringing a lot of waterthousands of bottles, Trump told reporters following a tour of the East Palestine Fire House. We have it in trucks and we brought some on my plane today.
On Feb. 3, life for the more than 4,700 residents of East Palestine was upended by the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals, which were leaked into the surrounding environment. Those close to the crash were urged to evacuate their homes as authorities conducted a controlled burn of the chemicals to prevent a catastrophic explosion, but upon their return, some people began reporting health reactions like rashes, nausea, and headaches, in addition to animal illnesses and deaths.
Although federal and state authorities have assured residents that local air and water testing has yielded no cause for alarm, many remain skeptical of those claims.
East Palestine, Ohio, residents await the arrival of former President Donald Trump, who visited the town on Feb. 22 to survey the damage after the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times)
Praising the East Palestine community for demonstrating the tough and resilient heart of America through their trials, Trump said that he had partnered with nonprofit organizations Blue Line Moving and digital solutions provider KORTX to coordinate the delivery of the donated water and cleaning supplies.
Trump was joined at the press conference by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). Prior to his Wednesday remarks, the former president paid a visit to nearby Little Beaver Creek, where he received a briefing from local officials on the environmental impacts of the spill.
Hours before Trump landed in Ohio, President Joe Biden returned home from a trip to Poland, during which he also made a surprise stop in Ukraine to pledge more financial aid to the war ravaged countrya move that upset some East Palestine residents and officials.
That was the biggest slap in the face, the mayor said on Jesse Watters Primetime on Monday. That tells you right now he doesnt care about us.
He can send every agency he wants to, but I found that out this morning in one of the briefings that he was in Ukraine giving millions of dollars away to people over there and not to us, and Im furious.
Trump has also criticized the administration for its response, noting that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had initially announced that it would not send aid to East Palestine but reversed course after he announced his visit.
When I announced that I was coming, they changed their tune, he said Wednesday, holding that his visit opened up the dam for the Biden administration to act.
What this community needs now are not excuses and all of the other things youve been hearing, but answers and results, and thats what I think youre going to see, Trump noted.
And if residents do not receive those answers and results, he added, We will back.
Since this ancient object was first discovered thirty years ago, archaeologists have thought it to be a darning tool to sew up holes in fabric. Now though, archaeologists suspect that it's a 2,000-year-old Roman dildo. The 16 cm phallus was dug up at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland, England.
"I have to confesspart of me thinks it's kind of self-evident that it is a penis," Newcastle University archaeologist Rob Collins told The Guardian. "I don't know who entered it into the catalogue. Maybe it was somebody uncomfortable with it or didn't think the Romans would do such silly things."
"Sometimes they [dildos] weren't always used for pleasure they can be implements of torture so I'm very conscious of using the term sex toy. Hopefully that is what it was used for. That is the most exciting and intriguing possibility.
"If that is the case it would be, to our knowledge, the first Roman dildo that's been encountered from archaeology. We know from Greek and Roman poetry and Greek and Roman art that they used dildos. But we haven't had any archaeological examples found which is intriguing in itself.
According to the researchers, it's also possible it was a pestle or part of a good luck statue. But those theories are nowhere near as fun.
Trump Vows to Mass Fire Warmongers If Reelected
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the New Hampshire Republican State Committee's annual meeting in Salem, N.H., on Jan. 28, 2023. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump has vowed to fire warmongers in the U.S. State Department and the military if he is elected back to office in 2024.
In a video posted on Twitter by his campaign team and his son Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday afternoon, Trump said, World War III has never been closer than it is right now.
We need to clean house of all of the warmongers and America last globalists in the Deep State, the Pentagon, the state department, and the National Security industrial complex, the Republican 2024 candidate continued.
In the video, Trump went on to tout his record in office, saying he was the only president in generations who didnt start a war and saying he rejected the advice of military generals, bureaucrats, and so-called diplomats who only know how to get us into conflict but they dont know how to get us out.
Well also stop the lobbyists and the big defense contractors from going in and pushing our senior military and National Security officials toward conflict, only to reward them when they retire with lucrative jobs getting paid millions and millions of dollars, Trump said.
War in Ukraine
In his video, Trump said career government officials have promoted uprisings in Ukraine in a broader effort to provoke a confrontation. He named Victoria Nuland, the current U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, as an example of government officials he believes have sought confrontation.
Now were teetering on the brink of World War III and a lot of people dont see it, but I see it and Ive been right about a lot of things, Trump said.
Trumps comments about the growing risk of World War III come as both U.S. and Russian officials have alluded to the possibility of the war in Ukraine escalating into a global conflict with nuclear weapons. Hours before Trump released his video, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia would suspend its participation in the New START treaty, which had imposed nuclear arms reduction and allowed for mutual inspections of nuclear arsenals between the United States and Russia.
None of this excuses in any way the outrageous and horrible invasion of Ukraine one year ago, which would have never happened if I was your president, not even a little chance, Trump said. But it does mean that here in America, we need to get rid of the corrupt globalist establishment that has botched every major foreign policy decision for decades, and that includes President Biden.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he would have been able to avert the war in Ukraine if he had remained in office. Last year, Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) agreed with Trump and said the reason Russia invaded Ukraine was because we have such enormously weak leadership in the White House.
In a Tuesday interview with UnHerd, former Trump administration official Fiona Hill also said Russia would not have invaded if Trump were in office, but said that was because Putin would have anticipated that he could get Ukraine handed over without the necessity of invading.
Hill, who served as senior director for Europe and Russia matters in Trumps National Security Council until July 2019, testified against Trump in his 2019 impeachment case, alleging that Trump had withheld military aid from Ukraine for political favors.
Biden isnt willing to negotiate Ukraine. Its not the United Statess to negotiate away, Hill told UnHerd.
In his video, Trump said the reason the United States didnt get into new wars was because other countries respected us and because he rebuilt the U.S. military.
Trumps Record on Wars
We made incredible progress in putting the America Last contingent aside and bringing the world to peace, and now were going to complete the mission. The state department, Pentagon, and national security establishment, will be a very different place by the end of my administration, Trump said.
In October of 2019, Trump called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, but his administration ultimately retained troops in the country.
During his presidency, the Trump administration reduced the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and negotiated the final U.S. withdrawal. Trump had initially negotiated a May 1, 2021 withdrawal deadline, but President Joe Biden pushed the final withdrawal date back by months.
In his final days in office, Trump withdrew all U.S. forces from Somalia. Biden has since reversed that course.
In 2019, Congress passed a resolution to end the U.S. support for a Saudi-led war in Yemen. Trump vetoed the resolution, keeping U.S. support for the Saudi coalition in place.
From NTD News
Trustees at North Carolinas Flagship University Want School Based on Intellectual Freedom
But officials warn administration about risk to its accreditation over approving new institution
Students sit on the steps of Wilson Library on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C., on Sept. 20, 2018. (Jonathan Drake/Reuters)
When North Carolinas flagship universitys board of trustees voted to start a new school based on intellectual freedom to counter woke ideology, the backlash was swift.
On Jan. 26, it was widely reported that the board of trustees for the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill voted unanimously for the administration to accelerate its development of a School of Civic Life and Leadership.
The school would feature for-credit courses on history, literature, and political sciencefrom diverse viewpointsand offer freedom of expression, intellectual diversity and open inquiry, according to the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.
That sparked outrage from the faculty, who said that its their responsibility to determine the curriculumwhich illustrated to conservatives why the new school is needed.
President Donald Trump holds up an executive order he signed protecting freedom of speech on college campuses during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House on March 21, 2019, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS COC), suggested publicly that the universitys accreditation may be at risk if the trustees dont revoke their mandate to develop the new school.
Were going to send a committee to talk to them and help them understand it and either get them to change it, or the institution will be on warning with us, Im sure, Wheelan said.
Video footage of her comments made at a Feb. 7 meeting of the Governors Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina was obtained by The Epoch Times.
That statement from the accreditor was a warning that universities risked losing eligibility for students to use federal loans if the schools didnt align with woke ideologies, according to the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The conservative think tank recently condemned the threat and stated that such a warning is often a step toward revoking accreditation.
It illustrates the broader problem with accreditation agencies practicing woke ideologies intolerant of dissenting views, just like the universities they accredit, according to Jonathan Butcher, a fellow in education at The Heritage Foundation.
Universities and schools use euphemisms such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or progressivism to describe critical race theory. This Marxist-based ideology divides people into oppressors and victims based on race or gender.
DEI proponents say its necessary to discriminate against whites to make up for past and present discrimination against minorities who are victims of systemic racism in America.
Police stand guard after the Confederate statue known as Silent Sam was toppled by protesters on campus at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Aug.20, 2018. (Gerry Broome, AP Photo/File)
Jenna Robinson, president of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, a Raleigh-based think tank, wrote that accreditation threats to the university have been used to disempower university boards.
Her Feb. 9 article states that Wheelan and Margaret Spellings, a former president of the University of North Carolina university system, have a history of coordinating to pressure the university board of governors from exercising its oversight authority.
Spellings is now co-chair of a public university governance committeewhich has no power over universitiescreated by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.
Appointments to the university systems university boards are made through North Carolinas Republican-led Legislature or the university system board of governors, also appointed by the Legislature.
Demonstrators denouncing systemic racism in law enforcement and calling for the defunding of police departments kneel in Maria Hernandez Park in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City on June 5, 2020. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)
Wheelan said the universitys board would receive a letter from the accreditor because it proposed a new curriculum without the administrations or facultys input, according to Robinsons article.
The article stated that Wheelan later told a trustee that Spellings had asked her to send a letter of inquiry to the board.
Spellingss office in Dallas stated that she wouldnt be able to immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
Robinson told The Epoch Times that the trustees vote to expand the program took some faculty by surprise.
She believes the governors commission is meant to undermine the current board of trustees because Cooper wants the appointment process for trustees to look different.
Faculty members say that such a school isnt needed because they already teach civil discourse in their classes, Robinson said.
The other concern is viewpoint diversity, which would accompany the school of Civic Life and Leadership, she added.
Accreditors Using Their Power
I think the faculty are interpreting that as, Oh, youre going to hire a bunch of Republicans. And they dont like that, Robinson said.
While the accrediting board could withdraw accreditation from UNCChapel Hill, Robinson says its unlikely.
Creating a school based on intellectual freedom and civil discourse has been discussed on campus for some time, she said. While professors are part of the input process when starting a new school, not all professors would need to approve it.
The trustees are not going rogue here, Robinson said.
Wheelan told The Epoch Times in a Feb. 21 email that a letter had been sent to the university questioning the process after news of the schools development broke.
She said the accrediting agencys unsolicited information policy was triggered because SACS COC learned of the plan to develop a new school outside the usual channels.
Wheelan said that the universitys trustees appeared to make curriculum decisions without faculty or administration input.
There is nothing political in SACS COC asking about the process that was followed, which is what were asking, she wrote.
However, Butcher said it appears accreditors may be using their power to keep universities anything but diverse when it comes to ideology.
Visitors look at a statue of philosophers Karl Marx (L) and Friedrich Engels in a public park on May 4, 2018, in Berlin, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
College accreditors have the same sort of DEI statements, commitments to antiracism, as the universities they accredit, Butcher told The Epoch Times.
Another accrediting agency, Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has an entire section on antiracist resources on its website, including one titled Eight Actions to Reduce Racism in College Classrooms, which tells professors to recognize your implicit biases and remediate your racial illiteracy.
Butcher said the UNC board should be applauded because free speech and intellectual freedom are severely restricted on most college campuses nationwide.
He said the university had conducted studies that revealed students didnt feel free to speak their minds.
On a campaign stop in rural North Florida on Nov. 3, 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, scorns left-wing ideology, saying ,Florida is where woke goes to die. (Nanette Holt/The Epoch Times)
Likewise, The Epoch Times previously documented the experiences of six conservative students attending a major Florida university who reported discrimination against conservative ideas on campus.
The students described difficulties in seeking an education in what they described as an anti-white, anti-Christian, and anti-American culture.
These woke kind of very aggressive critical race theory ideologies are part of all sorts of campus life, Butcher said.
One way to curb Marxist ideology is to make universities responsible for providing a good education. Universities should help repay federal student loans that go into default because students dont get a good education and cant get a job, he suggested.
He said the list of college accreditors needs to be expanded, allowing nonprofits and businesses.
Requiring universities to change accreditors periodically is another good idea, which has been part of the pushback against CRT in Florida, he said.
Jonathan Butcher is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. (Courtesy of The Heritage Foundation)
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced that Florida will no longer fund DEI programs or positions that adhere to divisive ideologies and plans to remake the woke New College in Sarasota into something akin to Hillsdale College.
The Florida governor wants university presidents and boards of trustees to hold a post-tenure review of professors as needed and ban DEI oaths used in hiring in which candidates pledge allegiance to oppressor-victim ideologies.
Other red states are attempting similar moves.
The Republican-controlled West Virginia House of Delegates introduced a bill recently to curtail various DEI initiatives in public higher education across the state.
In Texas, two House bills have been introduced to stop discriminatory DEI hiring practices and defund Texas universities that teach CRT.
In February, Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, a Republican, directed his chief of staff to send a memo to state agency leaders and universities that using DEI to make hiring decisions was illegal.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has publicly said he wants to modify or remove tenure for professors teaching CRT. Texas state Sen. Brandon Creighton is expected to introduce a bill to that effect in the Senate.
Creighton led the effort to establish the new Civitas Institutea think tank dedicated to free market principles, the First Amendment, and intellectual freedomat the University of TexasAustin.
I believe the mission of all colleges and universities should be to innovate and educatenot indoctrinate, Creighton said.
Accreditation criteria should be merit based, and if Texas Universities stray from those goals, lawmakers will advance guardrails ensuring that it is followed and that alternative accreditation entities are relied upon.
In Oklahoma, State Superintendent Ryan Walters recently asked state universities to account for money spent on DEI over the past 10 years, according to news reports.
South Carolina introduced a bill in January that prohibits public schools, colleges, and universities that benefit from state funds from promoting the narrative that the United States was founded for the purpose of oppression, that the American Revolution was fought for the purpose of protecting oppression, or that United States history is a story defined by oppression.
UK Opens Comprehensive Probe Into British Gas Over Forced Prepayment Meter Installations
The UKs energy regulator Ofgem has announced a comprehensive, independent, and wide-ranging review into British Gas after the firms subcontractors were revealed to be breaking into homes to fit prepayment meters.
According to a report by The Times of London, some British Gas customersincluding some who were disabled or mentally illhad pay-as-you-go meters forcibly installed in their homes.
Following the report, energy minister Graham Stuart asked the energy giant to urgently outline redress for mistreated customers, while Secretary of State for Energy Security Grant Shapps described the forced pre-pay installations as outrageous.
Ofgem subsequently ordered all energy providers to suspend prepayment meter installations until a review is completed.
On Tuesday, the regulator set out its next steps in both the British Gas and wider prepayment meter review to support and protect energy customers when suppliers fit prepayment meters by force or via remote switch.
Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley told the BBC: Clearly something has gone wrong in British Gas and what were announcing today is a comprehensive, independent, wide-ranging review into what has happened there.
Last Resort
Suppliers are allowed to apply to courts for a warrant to enter the home of a customer who has not been paying their bills and has not engaged with their supplier.
In a statement, Brearley emphasised that the rules and regulations are clear that force-fitting prepayment meters should only be done as a last resort and only where it is safe and practicable to do so.
We expect suppliers to treat customers with compassion and professionalism and those executing a warrant should take into account what they find when they visit a home and pause the installation if they see a safety risk, he said. Where this hasnt happened, we will hold suppliers to account.
The investigation into British Gas will examine whether the firm had taken all steps required under its licence to help domestic customers with debt before installing a prepayment meter or disconnecting them.
It will also look at whether British Gas and anyone working for the supplier assessed if a customers mental capacity and/or psychological state is such that installation of a prepayment meter would be severely traumatic to a customer and make their condition significantly worse.
Further, it will investigate if those working on fitting meters for British Gas had the necessary skillsincluding the ability to assess the mental capacity and psychological state of the customer on the doorstepand were fit and proper to enter customers homes.
A British Gas spokesman said: The allegations around our third-party contractor Arvato are unacceptable and we immediately suspended their warrant activity.
We are conducting our own in-depth investigation to understand exactly whats happened and where we find things have gone wrong, we will put them right. We will also be fully cooperating with Ofgem on their investigation.
We only install pre-payment meters under warrant as a last resort after all other options have been exhausted. This takes many months where there are multiple efforts to engage with a customer and the majority of the time, we can find a solution such as access to our support funds or payment plansweve helped over 650,000 customers with their energy bills in the past year.
Unpaid Debts
Ofgem also launched a separate probe into the force-fitting of prepayment meters across all energy suppliers to assess whether these were isolated cases.
Brearley called on all suppliers to review all of their recent prepayment installations, and consider if any need to be reversed and compensation offered where the rules have not been followed.
He said: To be clear, if we find those rules havent been followed those companies will be forced to make redress and thats highly likely to mean they will have to put that meter right, they will have to pay compensation, and if its systematic there will be fines for those companies.
The industry body Energy UK said in response to Ofgems announcement: Suppliers have already paused prepayment installations by warrant in order to carry out reviews of their own practices and they will look to put things right if they find cases where prepayment meters have been installed inappropriately.
But the organisation also pointed to the reason why energy providers have been using prepayment meters, which have attracted criticisms and widespread condemnation since the recent row.
If users who consistently fail to pay are not moved to prepayment meters, the unpaid debts would result in higher energy bills for other customers.
Energy UK was quoted by the BBC as saying: The industry has already been talking to Ofgem and the government about how best we can support the most vulnerable customers going forward, including the role a social tariff could potentially play, which needs to be part of the discussion around the use of prepayment meters.
Patricia Devlin, Lily Zhou, and PA Media contributed to this report.
UK to Challenge Tribunal Ruling Over Irish Ex-Soldier Who Joined ISIS
Lisa Smith had successfully appealed a Home Office exclusion order banning her from entering the UK
Former Irish soldier Lisa Smith, 40, arrives for sentencing at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin on July 22, 2022. (Brian Lawless/PA Media)
The British government is to challenge a tribunal ruling that allows a former Irish soldier who joined the ISIS terrorist group to enter the UK.
Lisa Smith, 41, a former member of the Irish Defence Forces, was found guilty in May last year of ISIS membership after a nine-week trial at Dublins Special Criminal Court. The same trial cleared Smith of a separate charge of financing terrorism.
Before her conviction, Smith was the subject of a Home Office-issued exclusion order that prevented her from entering the UK from December 2019 on the grounds of public security.
However, Smith successfully appealed the order at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), which concluded the enforcement action in her case would be incapable of justification.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman is now appealing against the SIAC decision, arguing it was wrong to decide Smith had immunity from exclusion.
Smith, a convert to Islam, went to Syria in 2015 after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims to travel there and support ISIS.
The former soldier was handed a 15-month sentence in July.
Smiths father is originally from Northern Ireland and her dispute with the Home Office centres on whether she is entitled to enter the UK as a result.
Smiths home town of Dundalk in Co. Louth sits just south of the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland.
An exclusion order would mean that she would be permanently forbidden from ever crossing that border.
The UK has a legal right to exclude non-British citizens from EEA (European Economic Area) countries, including Ireland, but that does not cover those of dual nationality.
Smith was born in Ireland, but due to her parents being unmarried at the time, she missed out on automatic British citizenship.
Her lawyers argue that she is not responsible for this accident of birth and is entitled to be treated as a British citizen under the European Convention on Human Rights.
At a hearing in London on Tuesday, Cathryn McGahey KC, representing the Home Secretary, said: The Secretary of States case is: You are a non-citizen.
We wish to exclude you because you pose a danger to national security and we can do that because you are a foreign national.
We accept that you have the right to apply to be a British national.
If you do that, the Secretary of State can then decide whether to deprive you of the citizenship and exclude you.
McGahey told the court that Smith was a mono-Irish national and claimed she does not want to be a British national nor dual Irish-British citizen.
Accident of Birth
Smith, from Co. Louth, previously said she identifies as Irish and believes she is entitled to be treated as British by virtue of my birth rights, the court was told in her legal teams written submissions.
McGahey said what Smith seeks is the status of someone entitled to be treated as if she were a British citizen for the limited purpose only of the UKs exclusion laws, arguing that British nationality is an indivisible package of rights and obligations.
It is not possible as a matter of law for somebody to be treated as though they were British purely to avoid exclusion but to be a foreign national for all other purposes, she added.
The barrister argued that Smith seeks a right that is available only to a British citizen not to a class of persons entitled to be treated as though they were British citizens.
In written arguments, Hugh Southey KC, representing Smith, said the Home Offices appeal should be dismissed and the SIAC decision contains no error of law.
He argued there was no justification for the stark differential and less favourable treatment of Smith based solely on an accident of birth for which she is not responsible.
Ms. Smith lives close to the Irish border with the United Kingdom. As a consequence, her ability to move across the border is part of her social identity, he added.
Mr. Southey argued that it was discriminatory to require Smith to apply for British nationality and take an oath of allegiance because it was not consistent with her right to self-identify as Irish, a right safeguarded by the Good Friday agreement.
Lord Justice Underhill, Lord Justice Lewis and Lady Justice Elizabeth Laing will give their ruling on the case at a later date.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman making a statement to MPs in the House of Commons, London, on Dec. 14, 2022. (House of Commons/PA Media)
Enveloped in Black Flag of ISIS
During her judge-only trial last year, Smith had pleaded not guilty to being a member of the terrorist group between Oct. 28, 2015 and Dec. 1, 2019.
Dublins Special Criminal Court heard how Smith, who had converted to Islam, travelled to Syria after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims to travel to the area controlled by ISIS.
The prosecution alleged that she answered the call from al-Baghdadi and became the life blood of Isis as a propaganda tool and as a woman who would help to build up the organisation, the BBC reported at the time.
The prosecution said she had enveloped herself in the black flag of ISIS.
A prosecution lawyer said the court could not ignore that Smith had travelled thousands of kilometres, knowing all the while about the activities of a terrorist organisation that was up to its neck in blood.
He said there was no benign ISIS she could have been attempting to join: there was only the terrorist organisation.
Her lawyers had described the case against her as unique and unprecedented, and said there was no evidence that she was a member.
The defence said the prosecution did not show that Smith wanted to become a member of ISIS and was accepted by the organisation.
It was not enough to say she had travelled to an ISIS-controlled area and had been subsumed into the organisation.
Her defence lawyer said it was unknown in Irish law for a person to be convicted of an offence without being aware they were committing an offence.
He said she went to Syria to be a dutiful wife and to create a home.
But Mr. Justice Hunt said that there was no room for pleas of naivety or ignorance by the time she travelled to Syria. Her eyes were wide open, he said.
PA contributed to this report.
US and Its Allies Will Tighten Screws on Russias Evasion of Sanctions, Says Treasury Department
Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo at his Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 23, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool via Reuters
The United States and its allies will impose new sanctions this week on Russia in order to punish the Kremlin for the war in Ukraine.
Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo announced on Feb. 21 further efforts to prevent Russia from evading sanctions and export controls, aimed at pressuring it to withdraw from its neighbor.
Adeyemo said that more than 30 countries, led by the G-7, the European Union, and the United States, agreed to inhibit Russian purchases of dual-use goods, which contain semiconductors needed for its military.
The deputy said that the Western-led coalitionrepresenting half of the global GDPis prepared to use sanctions, export controls, and other tools to warn that those continuing to do business with Russia, or provide material support to Russia, will face the consequences, such as sever sanctions if they persist.
The additional sanctions would expand efforts to stem the international shipment of Russian oil and other restricted goods through bordering countries, Adeyemo said, without giving details.
The breadth of this coalition is what will enable us to continue to isolate Russia, according to prepared remarks from Adeyemos speech to the Council on Foreign Relations today, Reuters reported.
Feb. 24 will be the one-year anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
We will force those that fail to implement our sanctions and export controls to choose between their economic ties with our coalition of countries or provid[e] material support to Russia, an economy that is becoming more isolated every day.
The deputy treasury secretary said that the U.S.-led coalition intends on making the costs of allowing Russia to evade sanctions, and the oil price cap through alternative trade networks, too high.
Russian Trade Continues to Grow With China
Meanwhile, Russian trade has increased with several of its neighbors and long-standing allies, like India and China.
This has caused concern among supporters of Ukrainethat Moscow is still able to skirt export controls by having restricted goods imported to its neighbors and then receiving supplies in exchange across the border.
One of the biggest worries is the rising amount of Russian trade with China, which still provides key technologies, like semiconductors, to Moscow.
However, Adeyemo is expected to say that he is confident that China is not able produce the advanced semiconductors which the Kremlin needs to replace the military equipment lost since the start of the war.
Nearly 40 percent of the less advanced microchips Russia is receiving from China are defective, according to Adeyemo.
He earlier told reporters at a press conference on Feb. 20 that the Biden administration plans to directly inform Chinese-owned companies and banks that they will face sanctions if they provide support to Russia.
The Treasury Department has proof that firms from both India and China are continuing to evade Western sanctions against Russia, he told Reuters last week.
US to Punish Sanctions-Defying Countries
Adeyemo explained that Washington is providing intelligence to several countries to make them aware the U.S. coalition knows that their companies are not obeying the sanctions.
If those nations fail to act on the data, the Western powers are prepared to use the various economic tools at our disposal to act on our own, with a threat to cut them from Western markets and financial networks, he said.
Moscow has reportedly diverted billions in assets to pay for insurance, shipping, and other costs during the war, but that the White House would seek additional ways to drive up those costs, said the Treasury official, without elaborating.
Adeyemo admitted that Russia has done better than expected economically since the start of the war, but that the sanctions were forcing Moscow to use up its limited financial resources to prop up its economy.
One year into this conflict, Russias economy looks more like Irans and Venezuelas than a member of the G20, according to the draft of his speech, referring to the group of 20 major economies.
Reuters contributed to this report.
US Pledges Consequences for China If It Provides Military Aid to Russia
US State Department spokesman Ned Price speaks during the daily press briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, on Feb. 25, 2021. (Nicholas Kamm/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States is prepared to impose consequences on Chinas communist regime should it provide lethal military aid to Russia for the ongoing war in Ukraine.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price, during a Feb. 22 press briefing, said that the regime would not escape sanctions if it attempted to further assist Russias conquest.
We have been clear with the PRC that consequences would befall them if they were to provide lethal assistance, Price said using an acronym for the official name of communist China, the Peoples Republic of China.
We have been clear. We will not hesitate to target Chinese companies or individuals who violate sanctions.
The United States and its allies have long worried that the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) economic and diplomatic support for Russia could evolve into providing military material outright.
Last March, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan met with Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome for a seven-hour emergency meeting to urge the CCP not to provide such aid.
Likewise, President Joe Biden last year told CCP leader Xi Jinping that there would be consequences should the regime follow through on providing lethal aid for the Russian conquest of Ukraine.
Those fears were reignited this month when Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that the regime could be preparing to deliver such support.
Price was careful to note, however, that the United States did not believe such support had yet been delivered, and that it was working earnestly to deter such an eventuality.
We have not yet seen the PRC provide Russia with lethal aid, Price said, but we dont believe theyve taken it off the table either.
China, Russia Seek World Where Might Makes Right
Price said that the CCPs willingness to bolster Russias economy and spread Kremlin propaganda internationally demonstrated a growing alliance between the two authoritarian powers, and that China and Russia were increasingly striving to erode the rules-based international order.
We are concerned because these two countries share a vision, they share an intent, Price said. It is not a vision of a rules-based order, of a liberal order of democracies living peacefully side by side.
It is a vision that hearkens back to a previous era. An era in which big countries could bully small countries, borders could be redrawn by force. An era in which might could make right.
To that end, Price said that the Biden administration believed the CCP was underestimating the resolve of the international community to strike back at threats, and that its leadership was miscalculating how sorely it would be harmed should it move forward with providing aid to Russia.
The rest of the world sees the PRC, despite its veneer of neutrality provide important forms of support for Russia, Price said.
China, we think, seriously risks miscalculating by continuing its support for Russia which is directly impacting how the rest of the world sees the PRC.
Price also noted the recent visit of Chinas top diplomat to Moscow on the eve of the anniversary of Ukraines invasion, saying that the event underscored the CCPs alignment with Russias war of aggression.
His travel there on the eve of one year of Russias brutal war against Ukraine is further evidence that the PRC continues to align itself with Moscow, even as Moscow wages this brutal war.
Speaking at a separate press conference on Wednesday, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh reiterated the United States stance.
There will certainly be consequences for China should they deepen their relationship with Russia, Singh said.
It would certainly be a miscalculation by China to provide lethal aid to that.
Victorian Audit Puts Chinese-Made Cameras in the Frame
Security cameras monitor a pedestrian shopping street in Beijing, on Oct. 8, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Victorian government is auditing surveillance cameras in government buildings and precincts amid rising concerns over Chinese-made devices.
Close to 1,000 security cameras and other recording systems linked to the Chinese Communist Party are installed in federal government buildings; the Commonwealth confirmed earlier this month.
The Australian Defence Force is auditing the Chinese-manufactured Hikvision and Dahua devices, while dozens of cameras have already been removed from federal government offices.
Victorias department of government services was doing its own audit of security cameras in the states government buildings and precincts, a spokesman told AAP.
Premier Daniel Andrews could not be drawn on whether he was concerned some cameras were compromised.
I dont think that serves anybodys interests, he told reporters on Wednesday.
Data published in The Age on Wednesday showed there were 9,000 internet-enabled Hikvision cameras operating in metropolitan Melbourne.
There were hundreds more installed across the regional cities of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Mildura and Shepparton.
Hikvision has been revealed to have close ties to the CCP and its military. Partly owned by the CCP regime, the group is the worlds largest video surveillance manufacturer.
The company has also been accused of being involved in the CCPs human rights atrocities against Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang and have been banned by the United Kingdom and the United States in November 2022.
The City of Greater Geelong was replacing a number of Hikvision and other Chinese-branded CCTV cameras, city director Gareth Smith said.
The Geelong safe city network has Hikvision CCTV cameras at two sites which will remain online for the time being as they monitor high priority areas, Smith told AAP.
Hikvision surveillance cameras outside the Hikvision headquarters in Hangzhou, in east Chinas Zhejiang province, on May 22, 2019. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
We havent received guidance or direction from the state or federal governments about Hikvision CCTV cameras.
The City of Ballarat had Hikvision surveillance cameras installed throughout council premises, although they were not connected to the internet, city corporate service director John Hausler said.
They are installed locally, and all data is recorded on a local hard drive, Hausler said.
As a result, there are no current plans to replace the cameras, although safety and risk assessments are continually undertaken.
About 65 percent of the City of Greater Bendigos cameras are from Hikvision, although they only capture public areas, the citys acting corporate performance director said.
They do not operate within offices or other sensitive areas. The majority of the cameras have been installed to protect city assets, Jessica Clarke-Hong told AAP in a statement.
City staff will consider any risks associated with this camera brand and what steps, if any, need to be taken.
All three councils have not been contacted by the state or federal governments in relation to the cameras.
Some of the Chinese-manufactured devices have already been banned in the United States and Great Britain.
Federal Defence Minister Richard Marles earlier this month reassured Australians the surveillance systems were not spy cameras.
Vivek Ramaswamy Could Get Traction, Thinks WHO Deal Bad
Commentary
I may be crazy. I may be falling for the latest bright, shiny object. But I suspect Vivek Ramaswamy, who announced for the U.S. presidency on Tucker Carlsons show on Feb. 21, could get serious traction in the race.
By that, I mean more than the other announced or unannounced.
Republican candidatesother than Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis, of course. And thenwho knows? Billionaire investor Bill Ackman thinks he will go all the way.
We can clearly say hes someone new, as opposed to Nikki Haley, who advertises herself as such but, as a career politician, is anything but. Ramaswamy bills himself as a capitalist and citizen.
In that way, hes comparable to Trump, who Vivek says he admires but soon may find himself being lampooned with a new nickname like DeSanctimonious. (That one would have been better applied to former Sen. Rick Santorum.)
Because the 37-year-old entrepreneur/author has a biotech background, I asked him early on Feb. 22 via text what he thought of the new agreement to hand over control of our countrys health care to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the event of another pandemic.
He came back immediately with a one-word response: Bad.
Late for a New Hampshire event, he promised more later, but that pithy response said it all.
His answer to the question of why hes running is somewhat more lengthy, but still to the point.
I believe we are at a precipice in this country, he told The Iowa Star (yes, hes already been to Iowa and now N.H.). Im a first-generation American, born and raised in Ohio, and I went on to found multibillion-dollar companies. I got ahead based on merit, not my skin color. And I did it while getting married, creating a family, and following my faith in God. If Id been born 20 years later, my story would have been impossible. Thats a sad reality that I want to change for the next generation of Americans.
Our nation is hungry for a cause; we want purpose and meaning. The woke left preys on that vacuum with a poisonous obsession with race, sexuality, and climate change. In reality, I think most Americans believe in merit, accountability, free speech, and American exceptionalism.
Ramaswamy may have come along at a propitious moment because most Americans, even many Democrats, are getting sick unto death with the meretricious woke and the not-unrelated ESG [environmental, social, and governance] agenda. The candidate is the author of the best-selling Woke, Inc. which illustrates the ugly truth behind the movement, that its simply a heist preying on the gullible and confused.
The man also is a strong advocate of a complete decoupling with China, acknowledging the obvious pain in thatwheres my cheap stuffbut willing to lead us through it.
Ramaswamy, a graduate of Harvard and Yalespeaking of woke, it would be interesting for someone, maybe me, to ask him along the way what he thinks of those institutions todayis obviously more of a high-IQ type than we are used to in our politicians. He would probably outscore all of them on the mental competency test that Haley is advocating.
But this could be a good or bad thing. Hes obviously right about judging people on their merit and skills (naturally, their character as well) and not their skin color or sexual preference. There is, however, something intimidating about merit. It may have made this country great and advanced humanity significantly (Franklin, Edison, Bell, the Wright Brothers, Salk, and so forth) but most of us arent nearly at that level. It could turn off voters, especially in our current era when too many avert their eyes from the truth.
Ramaswamys candidacy will be an interesting test of that. Coming more or less out of nowhere, its a bold move to run for the presidency. But judging from the media interest, including the predictably snide responses from The New York Times, Politico, and others as if their reporters were anywhere near as accomplished, something, as they say, is happening here. And as they also say, it aint exactly clear.
But sooner or later, it will be. The campaign of 2024 just became notably more interesting and less predictable.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
West Virginia Lawmakers Approve Bill Allowing Concealed Carry on Public College and University Campuses
The West Virginia House of Delegates voted 84-13 on Feb. 22 to approve a bill that prohibits the states public colleges and universities from banning licensed gun holders from carrying their firearms on campus.
With the West Virginia Senate already passing Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, by a vote of 29-4 on Jan. 24, the legislation now goes to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice.
Gov. Justice has not said publicly if he will sign the bill into law.
Second Amendment advocacy groups have thrown their weight behind the bill. Leadership at several public universities in West Virginia oppose the act.
According to a Campus Safety Magazine report, in 2020, 11 states prohibited a ban of firearms on the campuses of public colleges and universities: Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.
Presidents from West Virginia University, Marshall University, West Virginia State University, Concord University, and Shepherd University oppose the bill.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) and the West Virginia Citizens Defense League (WVCD) lobbied to legislature to pass the bill.
Senate Bill 10 allows law-abiding carry permit holders to carry on the campus of a state institution of higher education, the NRA said in a release it issued after the West Virginia Senate voted overwhelmingly to back the bill. Current state law does not prohibit carrying of a defensive firearm on campus, but institution policy may lead to expulsion or termination of employment.
A Utah teacher is shown how to handle a handgun by instructor Clint Simon (R), at a concealed-weapons training class to 200 Utah teachers in West Valley City, Utah, on Dec. 27, 2012. (George Frey/Getty Images)
Senate Bill 10 contains several exemptions through which an institution of higher learning may continue to prohibit carrying a firearm on campus.
These exemptions include an organized event taking place at a stadium or arena with a capacity of more than a 1,000 spectators, a daycare facility located on a property of the state institution of higher education, and the secure area of any building used by law-enforcement agency on the property of the state institution of higher education.
West Virginia University, while maintaining opposition to the legislation, also declares it will work with and act to accommodate the bill if it becomes law.
West Virginia University continues to believe local control is the preferred option, and therefore does not support statewide campus carry legislation, the university said in a statement on Feb. 21.
Wife Liable for Husbands Fraud in Botched Real Estate Deal, Supreme Court Rules
Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett stands during a group photo of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021. (Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images)
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Feb. 22 that a woman whose husband defrauded a man who bought their San Francisco home is financially responsible even though she did not participate in the fraudulent scheme.
Kate Bartenwerfer, who filed for bankruptcy after the ill-fated real estate deal, appealed after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled she cannot escape from the debt that is non-dischargeable in a bankruptcy proceeding.
The couple had purchased and renovated a house. They moved out, and the husband, David Bartenwerfer, handled the sale of the house with his wifes permission but without any substantial involvement on her part. Without the wifes knowledge, the husband made false representations to the buyer, the respondent Kieran Buckley.
Buckley sued Kate and David Bartenwerfer after finding the structural defects in the house that the sellers failed to disclose. A California state jury found the Bartenwerfers liable in 2012 for not divulging a leaky roof, defective windows, a missing fire escape, and permit problems. The jury found the Bartenwerfers liable for more than $200,000 for breach of contract, negligence, and nondisclosure of material facts.
Unable to pay, both Bartenwerfers declared bankruptcy after losing to Buckley. Kate Bartenwerfer, who under California law was deemed jointly liable for the transaction because she had entered into a business partnership with David Bartenwerfer, who became her spouse after the transaction, argued she should not be held liable for his misdeeds. After a two-day bench trial, a federal bankruptcy court disagreed, refusing to excuse the couple from the debt.
The 9th Circuits Bankruptcy Appellate Panel later found the law barred the wife from discharging the debt only if she knew or had reason to know of her husbands fraud. It directed the bankruptcy court to apply that standard and retry the case. After a second bench trial, that court found that the wife did not possess the required knowledge of the husbands fraud and was therefore able to discharge the debt owed to Buckley.
The appellate panel affirmed the ruling but the full 9th Circuit then reversed, citing the Supreme Courts 1885 ruling in Strang v. Bradner and holding that a debtor who is liable for her partners fraud cannot discharge that debt in bankruptcy, regardless of her own culpability. Kate Bartenwerfers debt to Buckley remained on the books.
The new 90 opinion (pdf) in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, court file 21-908, was written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The oral argument took place Dec. 6, 2022, before a court that seemed unsympathetic to Bartenwerfer, as The Epoch Times reported at the time.
Kate Bartenwerfers arguments were not persuasive, Barrett wrote.
Although Bartenwerfer painted a picture of liability imposed willy-nilly on hapless bystanders, the law of fraud does not work that way, the justice wrote.
The federal bankruptcy code generally permits debtors to discharge pre-bankruptcy liabilities, but there is an exception when debt was incurred by way of fraud. The ability to discharge such debts is dependent on how the money was obtainedin this case by means of fraudrather than on who committed the fraud itself.
And even though debtors can argue in bankruptcy court that they deserve a fresh start, the federal bankruptcy code does not exclusively favor the interests of debtors, and instead attempts to balance the interests of creditors and debtors, the justice wrote.
All of this said, innocent people are sometimes held liable for fraud they did not personally commit, and, if they declare bankruptcy, [the code] bars discharge of that debt.
So it is for Bartenwerfer, and we are sensitive to the hardship she faces, the opinion states.
But Congress has evidently concluded that the creditors interest in recovering full payment of debts obtained by fraud outweigh[s] the debtors interest in a complete fresh start, the opinion continues, citing Grogan v. Garner (1991).
[I]t is not our role to second-guess that judgment, the opinion concluded, finding that Kate Bartenwerfers debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a concurring opinion, which Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joined.
Buckleys attorney, Zachary D. Tripp of Weil Gotshal and Manges LLP, said, We are thrilled by the Supreme Courts decision.
This marks a complete victory for our client, Kieran Buckley, who has been fighting to recover his losses since he was defrauded nearly 15 years ago, Tripp told The Epoch Times by email.
And it marks an important win for other victims of fraud, as the Courts decision shows the Bankruptcy Code cannot be used as a shield for those who profit from fraud, Tripp said.
Bartenwerfer attorney Iain A. Macdonald of Macdonald Fernandez told The Epoch Times by email, I decline to comment.
(The article was amended to reflect the fact that the wife and husband were not married at the time of the real estate transaction.)
Meet Uyen Nguyen, an amazing origami artist and fashion designer who utilizes their background in mechanical engineering in their designs. I most recently saw them featured in this cool short video highlighting an exhibit called "Math Unfolded" that was featured at the National Museum of Mathematics a few years ago. In the video Uyen describes how they use the Fibonacci sequence as inspiration for a skirttheir designs are super cool!
You can check out the National Museum of Mathematics, which is located in New York City and which bills itself as the "only museum in North America that celebrates the beauty and wonder of mathematics" here, and read more about Math Unfolded: An Exhibit of Mathematical Origami Art here.
You can also learn more about Uyen Nguyen on their Instagram. I was also able to find some videos of them on YouTube demonstrating how to make origami fashion. Part One of "Origami Fashion with Uyen Nguyen," uploaded by YouMedia Chicago, is described this way: "Fold your way to a unique fashion statement! Learn how to create a textured capelet by pleating origami patterns into fabric. You can apply this technique to other garments as well!" You can find Part Two here.
That release could not be found.
Bodycams required at police checkpoints
PHUKET: Phuket officials have issued a reminder of the newly issued requirements of police officers at checkpoints, including that they must wear active bodycams while on duty.
policecorruption
By The Phuket News
Wednesday 22 February 2023, 09:41AM
The reminder was posted by the Phuket Info Center yesterday (Feb 21), following a German tourist going public about a Chalong Police officer asking him to pay a fine of B5,000 for illegally riding a motorbike through the Chalong Underpass, then suggesting and accepting B2,000 cash by the side of the road. No receipt was given to the tourist for the cash handed over.
The new regulations for police officers at checkpoints to abide by were issued by the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Police Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittipraphat, and have been posted publicly on the official website of the Royal Thai Police Traffic Police Division.
The notice on the Traffic Police website is undated, but was first posted by the Phuket Info Center on Feb 10 10 days before the incident with the German tourist in Chalong on Sunday.
The new regulations have been brought into effect following the Royal Thai Police coming under fire for a slew of cases involving corrupt officers, including the extortion of B27,000 from a high-profile Taiwanese actress for carrying an e-cigarette.
The new checkpoint regulations have been introduced by the national police chief in order to achieve transparency and standards, said the Traffic Police notice.
Of note, In reporting the new regulations, the Public Relations Department (PRD) posted a notice saying plainly, Without Bodycam, do not set a checkpoint.
Under the new regulations, checkpoints may be set up for three purposes: 1. Traffic discipline checks; 2. Drug inspection; and 3. Alcohol level measurement.
Checkpoints must have an area of at least 20m and staffed by 12, 9 or 7 police officers respectively.
Each checkpoint must have a team leader and a team of officers assigned carrying out inspections. Three alcohol testing sets must be on site and personal protection equipment must be available for officers and suspects.
A sign indicating that a checkpoint is ahead must be posted 150m before the checkpoint.
Inside the checkpoint, there must be CCTV cameras recording at all times from the checkpoint entrance to the alcohol testing table or negotiation table.
Footage from the CCTV cameras must be available for checks for the past three days.
People are allowed to record photos and video clips while the officers are performing their duties.
In the case of alcohol tests, the staff/officers conducting the tests will change the mouthpiece in front of the public every time.
A light sign must be installed at the checkpoint indicating the name and position of the team leader, who must be a commissioned police officer, along with that officers phone number, and all checkpoints must be authorised by the commanding officer for the immediate area or above.
Any people with complaints about how a checkpoint is conducted can call the Traffic Police Division hotline 1599, the notice said.
Exclusive news from Utopia Corporation
Phukets Top Developer - Utopia Corporation announced today that its co-founder and CEO, Hachi Yin, will be moving on from his role as the leader of the company and passing ownership to new owners.
By Advertorial
Wednesday 22 February 2023, 05:58PM
22 February 2023, Phuket Thailand: Utopia Corporation, a leading Phuket-based real estate developer in Southeast Asia, announced today that its co-founder and CEO, Mr. Hachi Yin, is moving on, handing the company over to its new owners led by Mr. Surapong Yangchareonsakul and Mr. Jaikar Singh Manchanda (Jay).
The handover was completed on February 20, 2023.
In a statement, the former CEO of Utopia Corporation, Hachi Yin, said, "Im ready to let Utopia go. It is time for someone else to continue growing it and make it even bigger and better. Thats what I had planned for. Utopia has done amazingly well, but to bring it to the next level, we need to hire more experienced people to grow it. My knowledge in this industry is still limited. No matter how fast I learn, Ive reached maximum capacity."
"As for myself, in 2023, I want to take a break. So, 2023 is a complete holiday. But of course, being an entrepreneur, its hard to fully not do anything. But I want to focus this year on thinking about the next thing for me."
He added, "Utopia will be handed over to new owners, who have all been part of the Utopia team and know the company and its culture well. They are all truly qualified and wish them all the best."
Handing over to the new incumbents will bring renewed energy to Utopia, believes Hachi. He added, "I feel like Ive achieved something, created something solid with Utopia Corporation. Even though its in a field I had not studied about or had expertise in, pushing and learning over the past ten years made me reach where I am today. So, in that sense, Utopia will always be a part of me."
Expanding on his reasons for bowing out of leading Utopia Corporation, Hachi revealed, "The decision to leave was brought on by the difficult period of COVID and everything that it brought, even though Utopia Corporation survived and through this pandemic, this challenging period underlined for me what family means to me. I realized I wanted to create a family, have kids, travel the world, spend time with my wife and my parents and family."
Hachi is often described as a serial entrepreneur with a diverse background in various industries. He started his first business on eBay at a young age, then a successful telemarketing company whilst completing his Nutrition degree at Monash University, before finding his passion in the real estate industry, which eventually led to Utopia Corporations founding.
On what the future holds, Hachi is clear that his next venture will not be in real estate, "I feel that Ive been there, Ive done that. Life is too short to be stuck in the comfort zone, and real estate is the comfort zone for me now. But Ive still got the energy, so I want to do something new. I will see if I can achieve something that is way out of my comfort zone again. Whether its a win or lose in the business doesnt matter. But at least I know Ive tried, and Ill keep pushing until I know when to stop. So, Im excited about the next thing. Im not sure what that is yet, but Im excited to figure it out and to see where it takes me."
As for Thailand, Hachi is clear, "It continues to be my home. Ive lived in Thailand for ten years, and my wife is Thai, so Thailand is now home to me. More than Melbourne, Australia, or China, where I was born. So, for sure, it will still be home. Thailand still has a lot of opportunities for many other things."
For more information contact:
Utopia Corporation
Utopia Gallery Zone Building B Premium Outlet
888/1 Moo.2 Tambon Kohkeaw, Muang, Phuket 83000, Thailand.
Website: www.utopia.co.th
Email: info@utopia.co.th
Phone: +668 088 69660
You know how your dog gets the zoomies and runs with reckless abandon all over the house or yard? Well, turns out wombats get the zoomies too! Watch this silly wombatwhose name is Booget the zoomies at Caversham Wildlife Park in Perth, Western Australia, in a video filmed by the park and shared by Australian Community Media.
The Caversham Wildlife Park Facebook page explains that more than 2000 animals, birds, and reptiles live at the parkover 200 different species, including Tasmanian devils, kangaroos, echnidnas, emus, koalas, and more! If you want to learn more about Caversham Wildlife Park and see more of Boo and the other Aussie animals, check out their website.
PM sets pace for May 7 poll
BANGKOK: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he will dissolve the House of Representatives early next month so the general election can be held on May 7 as scheduled by the Election Commission (EC).
politics
By Bangkok Post
Wednesday 22 February 2023, 01:57PM
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha responds to greetings from reporters at Government House yesterday (Feb 21). Photo: Chanat Katanyu
Speaking after the Cabinet meeting yesterday (Feb 21), Gen Prayut said that Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam had informed those present of the time frame for the general election and the dos and donts for a caretaker government, reports the Bangkok Post.
I told the Cabinet meeting that the House will be dissolved in March. The election is scheduled for May 7 as announced by the EC. Time frames have been set so concerned agencies can proceed with their work smoothly ahead of the election, Gen Prayut said.
Asked again by reporters if the House will be dissolved early next month, Gen Prayut said: I already said it will happen in March so MPs can have some breathing space.
Previously, Gen Prayut said he would dissolve the House before the end of its four-year tenure on March 23 to allow politicians time to switch parties.
Politicians are required to be members of a party for at least 90 days prior to the election date if they wish to qualify to stand as MP candidates.
The EC has announced a May 7 election if the House completes its term on March 23. In such an event, Feb 7 would be the last day potential election candidates could change allegiances.
But in the case of the House being dissolved sooner, politicians would be required to join a party to qualify as election candidates at least 30 days before the polls are held.
But since the Feb 7 deadline has passed, pundits have been expecting an announcement from Gen Prayut that he would dissolve the House before March 23.
In that eventuality, the election law requires a poll to be held between 45-60 days after the dissolution.
Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said yesterday that after a House dissolution, the present government would remain in the role of a caretaker until a new cabinet is sworn into office.
During the interval, the caretaker cabinet must not approve projects that will be legally binding on the succeeding cabinet, except projects which are already part of the national budget.
Moreover, the caretaker cabinet cannot transfer, appoint or sack government officials without the consent of the EC, Mr Anucha said, adding that the caretaker prime minister still has the authority to reshuffle the cabinet when necessary.
In a related development, the Constitutional Court yesterday accepted a petition from the EC seeking a ruling on whether non-Thai citizens can be included in the Es formula to calculate the number of people represented by each MP, which will have an impact on the number of seats each party could win in the next election, according to a source.
The court will hand down a ruling on March 3, the source said.
According to the EC, three groups of non-Thais are included in the population database, which it used as a guide to the redrawing of constituency boundaries.
These include people with permanent residence permits, those with temporary residence and individuals who have been living in Thailand for more than ten years.
However, migrant workers from neighbouring countries are not included in the poll agencys electoral calculation.
However, several politicians and academics have spoken out against the ECs formula, saying non-Thais are not eligible to vote so they should be excluded from the calculation. They suggested the matter be referred to the court.
But EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong previously said the poll agency would go ahead with redrawing the electoral boundaries to accommodate an increase in the number of constituency MPs from 350 to 400.
Shop raided, three arrested for selling e-cigs to students
PHUKET: Three men have been arrested and charged for selling e-cigarettes at a small shop in Phuket Town after complaints from parents said the shop was selling e-cigs to students.
crime
By Eakkapop Thongtub
Wednesday 22 February 2023, 05:59PM
Officials from Muang Phuket District Office raided the Dek Cha Phuket grocery store on Yaowarat Rd in Phuket Town at about 10:30pm yesterday (Feb 21).
Assisting in the raid were personnel from Territorial Defense Volunteers (OrSor) along with officers from Phuket City Police.
The officers first arrested Mr Yossiri (family name withheld), 24, on the street in front of the shop after he was found carrying 12 e-cigarettes.
Yossiri said he had just bought the e-cigarettes from the Dek Cha Phuket shop, officers noted.
Regardless, he was taken to Phuket City Police Station and charged under the Customs Act B.E. 2560 with trading and distributing an illegally imported taxable good.
Yossiri apparently confessed to the charge, officials reported.
Minutes later, officers arrested Mr Tewan, 20, and Mr Panuwat, 23, (family names withheld).
Officers found that the shop had foreign cigarettes for sale that were not marked with the stamp confirming the import duty had been paid on them.
The officers seized 2,400 packs of cigarettes, 90 e-cigarettes, 107 e-cigarette coils, 87 e-cigarette nozzles and 69 packs of e-cigarette liquids contaniing a total volume of 3.74 litres.
The search of the store also found 13 bottles of imported alcoholic beverages (13 lires in total) also not bearing the Thai import duty stamp, officers reported.
B2,000 cash was also seized on the premises.
Tewan and Mr Panuwat were also taken to Phuket City Police Station, where they reportedly confessed to a slew of charges against them related to the illegal sale of e-cigarettes, and untaxed foreign cigarettes and alcohol.
Officials reported that the raid and arrests followed complaints from concerned parents who had previously complained to the Phuket Governors Office.
The parents explained that the shop was selling cigarettes to students. The shop had been inspected after a previous complaint had been filed, but the shop just temporarily stopped selling cigarettes to students and resumed the practice after the inspection had passed.
Since coming to Buffalo 40 years ago, Dr. Greg Daniel has made his mark as an emergency medical physician, then as a business owner who launched the WNY ImmediateCare urgent care clinics, and now as a property developer.
Through his investments and real estate initiatives, the native of Trinidad has sought to drive changes in the city, where he has focused on the challenges of East Buffalo, particularly around housing and the lack of adequate health care.
He's been seeking for several years to build a medical-focused project on Jefferson Avenue, but has come up short on funding so far. But he's not afraid to challenge the status quo.
Q: What do you see happening in underserved areas that have not seen investment?
A: Its important that the politicians, whether its the city, Erie County and the state, recognize that this is an area that underperforms and has been neglected.
This is neglect that goes back to the 1920s, 1930s, when the East Side of Buffalo was redlined with regard to banks and mortgages and loans and things of that nature.
And I think a lot of that structural racism that existed back then unfortunately continues to percolate to this very day. The change that is necessary for any success to occur, that change needs to be tectonic.
I congratulate the present governor [Kathy Hochul] for appropriating $50 million to the East Side. However, that is a raindrop in the ocean.
The previous governor, [Andrew] Cuomo, had famously represented the Buffalo Billion, and Im not sure where that money went. I didnt see any success from the Buffalo Billion on the East Side, and the East Side needs to have its own East Side Billion. Nothing short of a few hundred million dollars would work to improve whats happening on the East Side.
What is the roadmap to success for East Buffalo? I have yet to hear, whether its the city or the state, articulate exactly how the process would unfold in order to improve the lot of individuals, the community, on the East Side.
Im yet to understand where were going to see sustainability. Im yet to understand how were going to develop a resilient community.
There has to be some significant structural changes that need to occur.
Q: What's the most important issue for you?
A: From my point of view as a physician and as a developer, I focus on the social determinants of health, where we have recognized over the past decade that where you live determines to a great degree your longevity.
So one of my pursuits is to say to the powers that be that we need to see a more structured health care program on the East Side.
You go up and down Transit Road, you can probably hit within a one-mile radius two to three gyms. You drive down Transit Road at 5 a.m., and you actually see quite a few cars, and the vast majority of these individuals are going to work out. None of that exists on the East Side.
We need some indoor programs, indoor facilities, that would provide for a community such as East Buffalo.
Thats one of the things I've been advocating for with the governor. We need to develop some preventive health programs, and it starts by building some indoor facilities, by ensuring that theres an indoor pool for youngsters to come and swim in the wintertime, by ensuring that weve got an indoor track, so that we can have track and field on the East Side.
There need to be actual schools within the community where kids can go to get a quality education. We should supercharge those feeder programs so a lot more kids decide to go to college, or can decide they want to be plumbers and electricians.
Lets develop a master plan so we can begin to develop walkable communities on the East Side, so a kid can leave home and go to a movie theater on the East Side, so a kid can leave home and go to a gym on the East Side, so that you can begin to develop more community within those communities.
Right now, there is very little, and when there is very little, thats when you see the anger break out.
Q: Does the business community see this?
A: I know theres a few developers in the area who would like to see that happen, if the opportunity presents itself. But we need more.
We need more investment by banking institutions. Everybody now says we want to do a mobile bank. Well, its nice to have a mobile bank, but if nobody has the money, whats the benefit of a mobile bank? And people want to see institutions solidly in their community. We dont want to see them drive down the street and then drive away.
We need to build communities of the future. We need to say to ourselves, its 2022, and we want to know that by 2080, the East Side is going to have multiple venues for childrens activities, education, health care, preventive health.
We want to know that all of those empty blocks that are sitting there will be built up with new homes. We want to know that there are going to be appropriate schools and walkable communities. We need to develop that master plan.
Q: So why aren't developers doing it?
A: Because of the risky nature of doing anything on the East Side, nobodys going to do it unless the state government comes through from a participatory perspective and says were going to partner with you on this.
Youre not going to see a Doug Jemal, a Nick Sinatra. Youre not going to see any of the major developers saying to themselves, OK, lets throw $5 million into the East Side and see what happens.
Its a risk. When youre in business and youre investing your own dollars, you look at the risk portfolio associated with it.
Theres a reason why there are no urgent care centers on the East Side of Buffalo. Its probably going to be a high Medicaid population. My returns are going to be minimal, so it probably wouldnt benefit me to put a facility there.
So whenever any business person considers the risk, they tell themselves Im not going to do it.
Q: Is there at least a will and desire to do it, if financial risk were mitigated?
A: Look, we live in a capitalist society, so everyone looks at it from the perspective of what is my return on investment. And thats fine. Theres nothing wrong with recognizing a return on investment. If you can make 5%, 10%, and youre willing to come into this community and make the change, of course. And we can use these individuals as mentors.
When China opened their markets up to the world, what did they say? If you're coming to China, youve got to have a Chinese partner. Let's take that picture and put it in the East Side.
If youre going to come into the East Side, youve got to have a minority partner. You get, as a developer, to exact a profit margin. In addition, you are now teaching a generation of minorities on the East Side how business is done.
So again, it requires out-of-the-box thinking in order to change the narrative. And Im not seeing that out-of-the-box thinking. Ive been in Buffalo since 1983, and the same narrative keeps getting played over and over again, and it needs to stop.
French is on the rise in Canada. Has Official Languages Minister done her homework?
Greg and Kathy Spier pose with Hockomock Area YMCA CEO Jim Downs (far right) at the site of the future Spier Family Splash Park at the Ys Invensys Foxboro Branch.
Sucro Sourcing, a company thats been a key part of the redevelopment of a portion of the former Bethlehem Steel campus along the shore of Lake Erie, is planning to build Canadas largest sugar refinery.
The integrated sugar supplier said Tuesday in a news release that it plans to build the refinery in Southern Ontario as part of a $100 million project.
The sugar markets in both Canada and the United States are experiencing steady, long-term, sustainable growth, and Sucro is investing to supply these growing market demands, said Jonathan Taylor, founder and CEO of Sucro Sourcing.
He said the demand for sugar in the Ontario market, specifically, is growing at what the company believes is the fastest rate in North America. The location, which is expected to open in 2025, could also serve the needs for refined sugar in the U.S. market, as well, he added.
Sucros presence in Western New York is at Renaissance Commerce Park, a 150-acre business complex in Lackawanna the site of the former steelmaking campus created by the land-development affiliate of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency. Sucro opened the location last year.
Due to Sucros successful low-cost focus in building its previous sugar refineries, including the recently opened sugar refinery in Lackawanna, NY, this new Ontario refinery will not need to be fully utilized shortly after opening, Sucro Chairman Don Hill said. Instead, Sucro will patiently add production based on growing market demand, including any potential export opportunities to the United States.
Donald Trump would like whomever holds the presidency to be able to purge any bureaucrat who doesnt agree with the office. Its a scary thought for a democracy indeed.
Scranton, PA (18503)
Today
Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly this evening. Areas of patchy fog developing. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..
Tonight
Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly this evening. Areas of patchy fog developing. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
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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Here are reviews of three plays that have opened recently.
Alleyway Theatre, "The Aleph Complex"
Winning the 2020 Maxim Mazumder New Play Award from Alleyway Theatre was only the beginning for Deborah Yarchun and her extrasensorial tale, The Aleph Complex. Alleyway's current transformation of the play about inner lives becoming visible activity is an entirely new victory.
The shows stunning two-and-a-half-story set designed by Lynne Koscielniak serves as a playground for the compact cast of three. Caroline Kolasny plays college student Nicky, Sara Kow-Falcone is her mother, Naomi, and Josh Wilde appears as the lone employee of the worlds last surviving Borders bookstore.
A looming set of bookshelves on one side of the stage and an equally impressive stack of storage containers on the other are deceptively substantial counterpoints to the characters interior chaos. Naomi, an agoraphobic artist, hasnt left her apartment (the top center of the set) for five years. Nicky, to compensate for stress, turns her thoughts to the sound of rain but now a storm is raging as she heads to the mall. There, Borders Guy doesnt just sell books, he wrangles them, and for some reason now they have become much more aggressive.
So much so that, at times, it seems the poltergeists may have taken over. While the humans move back and forth and from level to level, the set, the lights and the sounds become characters themselves. Shadow puppets (from Caitlin McLeod) have their own roles; other props get well-deserved laughs and, with help from director Robyn Lee Horn, we become totally immersed in the extraordinary experiences that are changing these three lives right before our eyes.
Info: The Aleph Complex continues through March 4 at Alleyway Theatre, 1 Curtain Up Alley; for tickets, go to alleyway.com.
MusicalFare, "Tell Me on a Sunday"
The latest offering at MusicalFare Theatre is Tell Me on a Sunday, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black in the late 1970s. This quick little one-woman show was a departure for Sir Andrew after his gigantic success with Evita, about the larger-than-life tragic figure Eva Peron, and its also a bit of a departure for MusicalFare, which tends to go bigger with its productions as well.
The nice thing about departures is that they can lead you to somewhere special. And thats where we go with Doug Weyand directing the outstanding Leah Berst as she plays a young British woman who bids farewell to Mom and Dad before heading to New York for her lifes adventure.
Sunday has been referred to as a song cycle rather than musical, with the character taking us through her messy multiman love life in more than a dozen numbers, back and forth across the country, on her way to finding happiness. (We wont say how she finds it, but she has earned it.)
There is nothing static about this story. Berst uses the entire stage as she covers the ground between love and loss and love again. Chris Cavanagh has designed an architectural set that holds (silent) videos of other characters and city views to capture each romantic shift. Plus, Berst has the support of music director Theresa Quinn and the band, visible behind a scrim.
In a running time of just over an hour, Sunday reveals a steady maturation of Bersts character, as she begins to take more control over her relationships and her life. It comes through in the lyrics of Blacks title song, showing a woman who is beginning to set some of her own rules before yet another breakup. Yup. Shell be fine.
Info: Tell Me on a Sunday runs through March 19 at MusicalFare on the Daemen University campus, 4380 Main St., Amherst. For tickets, go to musicalfare.com.
The music is what makes The Mercy Seat come together at American Repertory Theater of WNY. Five short plays, two monologues and a dance piece play out under the theme of a big tent revival meeting led by Trevor Dugan as the Preacher who knows his way around saints and sinners. Particularly sinners.
Local playwrights j Snodgrass, Samantha Marchant, Ellen Catherine Falank, Michael Fanelli and Justin Pope devised a quick one-act inspired by the music of musician Nick Cave, whose experimental post-punk work explores a range of styles. The shorts, along with monologues by Matthew Boyle and Matthew LaChiusa and a dance piece by Suzanne Hibbard are as eclectic as the music they reference straightforward, rambling, sometimes violent, sometimes sexual, mixed with philosophy and religion and what else have you got?
Altogether, it feels more like a theatrical event than a short play festival.
The most accessible part of the show comes before it even starts, when audience members are invited, even encouraged, to join in song with the Mercy Singing Choir. The choir goes on to provide a measure of continuity linking the individual stories, and its a pleasure every time they sing.
Info: The Mercy Seat runs through March 11 in the ART theater, upstairs at 545 Elmwood Ave. (elevator available). Tickets are an affordable $15 or $20 at artofwny.org.
The mayor of East Palestine, Trent Conaway, has criticized President Joe Biden for traveling to Ukraine instead of visiting Ohios toxic train derailment site. Bidens surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has angered the mayor, who accused the President of abandoning his domestic responsibilities.
Conaway spoke out against Biden during an interview on Fox News, calling his decision to visit Ukraine the biggest slap in the face and claiming that the President does not care about the people of Ohio. The mayor was also angered by reports that Biden had been giving away millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine while neglecting the Ohio disaster.
The Biden administration has been under intense scrutiny over its response to the train derailment that occurred on February 3 in East Palestine. The accident caused a toxic spill, leading to the evacuation of about 5,000 residents. Federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were dispatched to the scene to assist with the disaster.
Despite the efforts of the federal agencies, Conaway and other locals have criticized the response to the disaster, calling the resources on the ground insufficient. The residents fear that their air and drinking water may be contaminated due to the chemicals, including vinyl chloride, that were involved in the derailment.
During a briefing on Tuesday, Conaway clarified his position, saying that he would not turn anyone away, including Biden, if they wanted to visit the community. However, he emphasized that he did not want the situation to become a political pawn game and that he simply wanted to go back to living his life the way it was before the derailment.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has also commented on the situation, calling for accountability and public servants who are putting politics aside to get things done for the citizens of these two great communities. Shapiro emphasized that this was not a place for conspiracy theories or political games and that the people of Ohio and Pennsylvania deserved answers.
(YWN World Headquarters NYC)
In a recent interview with Fox News, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu stated that Americans are moving on from former President Donald Trump. Sununu, a Republican, made the comments during an appearance on Special Report, stating that while the party is thankful for Trumps service, they are not in the mode of settling for yesterdays leadership.
We want the next generation, he said. I dont think anythings gonna get his poll numbers up. And as this race actually heats up and people start paying attention, theres just gonna be a lot of other options on the table.
And look my message to, about President Trump is we thank you for your service. Great. But were moving on. Americans are not in the mode of just settling. Right?
Sununu, who is a potential candidate for the 2024 presidential election, did not confirm whether he would be running for president, but his comments have sparked speculation that he may be considering a run.
The governor made similar comments earlier this month during an interview with MSNBC, stating that Trump would not be the Republican Partys nominee. However, he did suggest that he would still vote for Trump should he win the nomination.
Sununus remarks come as the Republican Party is grappling with the aftermath of the 2020 election and the role that Trump will play in its future. While some members of the party remain loyal to the former president, others are looking to distance themselves and move on to a new generation of leadership.
It remains to be seen how the party will ultimately move forward, but Sununus comments suggest that there is a growing sentiment among Republicans that it is time to turn the page on the Trump era and look to new leaders to guide the party into the future.
(YWN World Headquarters NYC)
A grand jury in Georgia has recommended that indictments be issued in an ongoing investigation into former US President Donald Trump, according to a report from the New York Times.
The grand jurys forewoman, Emily Kohrs, told the outlet that the jurys recommendations are not going to be some giant plot twist and that a number of individuals are on the list to be indicted.
It is not a short list, Kohrs said.
When asked specifically if Donald Trump would be recommended for indictment, Kohrs said, Youre not going to be shocked. Its not rocket science, adding, You wont be too surprised.
The grand jury, empaneled last May, had subpoenaed dozens of people as it investigated alleged attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. The subpoenaed individuals include Trump lawyer and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
The investigation was launched by Fulton County DA Fani Willis after audio of Trumps call with Raffensperger was leaked in which the president pushed him to illegally alter the results in Georgia.
All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, Trump told Raffensperger. Because we won the state.
The grand jurys decision is ultimately only a recommendation. Grand juries in Georgia cannot themselves indict and individual; however, their decision carries weight with DA Willis, who will make the final decision over whether to prosecute Trump.
(AP)
Many are questioning why Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is gearing to launch his presidential campaign, has not spoken up publicly after groups of neo-Nazis from the so-called Goyim Defense League distributed propaganda, protested, and harassed Jews across Florida this past weekend.
In a viral video too vile for publication on YWN due to the sickening hate and obscenities therein, Goyim Defense League founder John Minadeo, who moved his hate group to Florida in December, is seen yelling Heil Hitler, Jew! at a passing man in front of a Chabad House. Minadeo was arrested several months ago after raising an anti-Semitic banner at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland.
Sir, do you think you should be put in an oven? he said to another.
In another part of the clip, Minadeo points to a barbecue grill and asks a passing elderly Jewish woman how many Jews she thinks could fit inside.
Outside the Chabad of South Orlando on Friday, Minadeo and his fellow thugs harassed visibly Jewish men leaving its premises, lobbing vile hate at them, with the victims speeding away in a vehicle.
Cops work straight for the [expletive] Jews, he says in video from the demonstration.
At one point, a Jewish man demanded that he get off the shuls grass and two Jews began singing Lcha Dodi in front of the neo-Nazis as a man chanted Heil Hitler!
The next day, nearly a dozen neo-Nazis associated with NatSoc Florida, another hate group, joined the Goyim Defense League at a protest outside the Daytona International Speedway, unfurling antisemitic banners on a pedestrian bridge reading, Communism is Jewish and Henry Ford was right about the Jews.
That evening, the group used a laser to project antisemitic messages on the stadium, including Hitler was right before distributing hate propaganda in nearby neighborhoods.
Thus far, DeSantis has been completely silent about the hate across his state. And its not the first time. In January 2022, DeSantis came under fire for not condemning neo-Nazi demonstrators in Florida.
White supremacist group 'Goyim Defense League' led by Jon Minadeo II is harassing elderly Jewish people as Shabbat starts in front of the Chabad of South Orlando When will your office do something about this neo Nazi harassing Jews in your state @RonDeSantisFL pic.twitter.com/qsFJwBXvfX StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) February 17, 2023
(YWN World Headquarters NYC)
Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today.
A case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, Gonzalez v. Google, challenges this law namely whether tech companies are liable for the material posted on their platforms.
Justices will decide whether the family of an American college student killed in a terror attack in Paris can sue Google, which owns YouTube, over claims that the video platforms recommendation algorithm helped extremists spread their message.
A second case, Twitter v. Taamneh, also focuses on liability, though on different grounds.
The outcomes of these cases could reshape the internet as we know it. Section 230 wont be easily dismantled. But if it is, online speech could be drastically transformed.
WHAT IS SECTION 230?
If a news site falsely calls you a swindler, you can sue the publisher for libel. But if someone posts that on Facebook, you cant sue the company just the person who posted it.
Thats thanks to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which states that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.
That legal phrase shields companies that can host trillions of messages from being sued into oblivion by anyone who feels wronged by something someone else has posted whether their complaint is legitimate or not.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have argued, for different reasons, that Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms have abused that protection and should lose their immunity or at least have to earn it by satisfying requirements set by the government.
Section 230 also allows social platforms to moderate their services by removing posts that, for instance, are obscene or violate the services own standards, so long as they are acting in good faith.
WHERE DID SECTION 230 COME FROM?
The measures history dates back to the 1950s, when bookstore owners were being held liable for selling books containing obscenity, which is not protected by the First Amendment. One case eventually made it to the Supreme Court, which held that it created a chilling effect to hold someone liable for someone elses content.
That meant plaintiffs had to prove that bookstore owners knew they were selling obscene books, said Jeff Kosseff, the author of The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet, a book about Section 230.
Fast-forward a few decades to when the commercial internet was taking off with services like CompuServe and Prodigy. Both offered online forums, but CompuServe chose not to moderate its, while Prodigy, seeking a family-friendly image, did.
CompuServe was sued over that, and the case was dismissed. Prodigy, however, got in trouble. The judge in their case ruled that they exercised editorial control so youre more like a newspaper than a newsstand, Kosseff said.
That didnt sit well with politicians, who worried that outcome would discourage newly forming internet companies from moderating at all. And Section 230 was born.
Today it protects both from liability for user posts as well as liability for any claims for moderating content, Kosseff said.
WHAT HAPPENS IF SECTION 230 GOES AWAY?
The primary thing we do on the internet is we talk to each other. It might be email, it might be social media, might be message boards, but we talk to each other. And a lot of those conversations are enabled by Section 230, which says that whoevers allowing us to talk to each other isnt liable for our conversations, said Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University specializing in internet law. The Supreme Court could easily disturb or eliminate that basic proposition and say that the people allowing us to talk to each other are liable for those conversations. At which point they wont allow us to talk to each other anymore.
There are two possible outcomes. Platforms might get more cautious, as Craigslist did following the 2018 passage of a trafficking law that carved out an exception to Section 230.
If platforms were not immune under the law, then they would not risk the legal liability that could come with hosting Donald Trumps lies, defamation, and threats, said Kate Ruane, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Another possibility: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other platforms could abandon moderation altogether and let the lowest common denominator prevail.
Such unmonitored services could easily end up dominated by trolls, like 8chan, a site that was infamous for graphic and extremist content.
Any change to Section 230 is likely to have ripple effects on online speech around the globe.
The rest of the world is cracking down on the internet even faster than the U.S., Goldman said. So were a step behind the rest of the world in terms of censoring the internet. And the question is whether we can even hold out on our own.
(AP)
Top state election and cybersecurity officials on Thursday warned about threats posed by Russia and other foreign adversaries ahead of the 2024 elections, noting that Americas decentralized system of thousands of local voting jurisdictions creates a particular vulnerability.
Russia and Iran have meddled in previous elections, including attempts to tap into internet-connected electronic voter databases. Distracted by war and protests, neither country appeared to disrupt last years midterm elections, but security officials said they expect U.S. foes to be more active as the next presidential election season draws near. The first primaries are less than a year away.
Jen Easterly, director of the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, referenced Russias attack on Ukraine and the U.S.-led effort to supply weapons and other aid to the besieged country as a possible motivator. She said the agency was very concerned about potential retaliation from Russia of our critical infrastructure.
She also mentioned China as a possible source of election interference, especially as the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated, mostly recently over the suspected spy balloon that floated across the country before being shot down by a U.S. fighter jet.
Weve not seen anything here, but Id like to end that with the word yet, said Easterly, speaking during the annual gathering of the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Of particular concern is the decentralized nature of Americas election system. There are some 10,000 local voting jurisdictions throughout the U.S., including counties and townships, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Not all of those have funding for new equipment, proper staffing or updated training of election workers. Easterly said it was a priority of her agency to get money and expertise to what she termed target-rich, cyber-poor entities.
Meagan Wolfe, administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said her state has about 1,850 local officials running elections, which makes it difficult to disburse federal money in a way that is effective over the long term. Wisconsin is a perennial swing state, where four of the past six presidential races have been decided by less than a percentage point and election conspiracies have found fertile ground since the 2020 election. Wolfe spoke a day earlier during a separate news conference held by election and security officials.
A lot of times if you dont see anything bad happen in the cybersecurity space, its kind of forgotten about, said Wolfe, who also is president of the National Association of State Election Directors. People dont remember that this is a real and imminent threat, and so getting those local jurisdictions, their governing bodies, to really buy into this concept and to support sustainable solutions for local election jurisdictions continues to be a real challenge, as well.
Several secretaries of state called for additional federal funding for local election offices, which not only must prepare for cybersecurity threats but also have had to deal with harassment and threats since 2020.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes noted that election workers and even voters in his states most populous county, Maricopa, have been targets of harassment and intimidation.
Stephen Spaulding, policy director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration, said the committees chairwoman, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, is trying to obtain more election funding after an attempt late last year fizzled. Congress allocated $75 million in election security grants to states, but that was far short of what many state and local officials had requested.
More than $75 million from last years omnibus is clearly needed in our view, Spaulding said. We have repeatedly heard about how sustainable funding ensures our elections continue to run smoothly, facilitate predictability and planning, and were striving to work on a bipartisan basis to get that done.
(AP)
A monster winter storm took aim at the Upper Midwest on Tuesday, threatening to bring blizzard conditions, bitterly cold temperatures and 2 feet of snow in a three-day onslaught that could affect more than 40 million Americans.
The storm was to begin around midday and continue through Thursday morning, dumping heavy snow over parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The system was headed straight for the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, where 2 feet of snow or more was possible. More than a foot of snow was expected in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The National Weather Service said the blizzard will actually involve two rounds. For the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, the first blast that arrives Wednesday afternoon will bring up to 7 inches of snow. Round 2 starting later Wednesday and into Thursday is the real whopper, with an additional 10 to 20 inches expected.
The weather service described the system as a historic three-day winter storm that would cause life-threatening travel disruptions. Weather service meteorologist Frank Pereira said it was expected to affect about 43 million Americans.
Bitter cold and strong winds will only make matters worse.
Temperatures could plunge to minus 15 to minus 20 degrees on Thursday (minus 26 to minus 29 Celsius) and minus 25 degrees (minus 32 Celsius) Friday in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wind chills could fall to 50 degrees below zero (minus 46 Celsius), said Nathan Rick, a meteorologist in Grand Forks.
In Pierre, South Dakota, the weather service expects up to 14 inches of snow, 40 mph winds and temperatures in the single digits by Wednesday night and early Thursday. The wind chill could dip to minus 25 degrees (minus 32 Celsius).
Wind gusts of 35 mph will be common and could reach 50 mph in western and central Minnesota. That will result in significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions in open areas, the weather service said.
Total snow accumulation could hit 25 inches, with the highest accumulations across east-central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin, the weather service said.
The snowfall could be historic, even in a region that gets a lot of snow.
According to the weather service, the biggest snow event on record in the Twin Cities was 28.4 inches from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3, 1991 known as the Halloween Blizzard. The second-largest was 21.1 inches of snow from Nov. 29 through Dec. 1, 1985. The Twin Cities got 20 inches of snow on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23, 1982.
The weather service said east-central South Dakota and southwest Minnesota could get up to 22 inches and a light glaze of ice, with winds gusting to 50 mph.
The storm was already having an impact. Minnesota state lawmakers canceled all committee hearings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday as well as the Thursday floor sessions. Since they dont normally meet on Friday, legislators wont reconvene until Monday.
Hardware store owners said residents were generally taking the forecast in stride.
At C&S Supply, an employee-owned hardware store in Mankato, manager Corey Kapaun said demand was high for salt and grit, but not for shovels, snow blowers or other equipment. He attributed that to the fact that winter is two-thirds over.
Kapaun said hes sold 130 to 140 snow blowers and around 1,000 shovels this winter, when Mankato has seen more than 3 feet of snow.
I think people are either prepared or theyre not, Kapaun said. Its usually the first snowfall of the year that gets a lot of attention. With a storm like this, I expected a little bit more, but weve already had a big year of snow already.
In Sioux Falls, Dallas VandenBos has owned Robson True Value hardware store for 48 years. His customers are used to the snow, but dont necessarily trust the forecast.
When we had that storm the first part of January, they told us we were probably going to get three or four inches of snow, and we got 18 inches, VandenBos said.
Sales of snow-related items havent really picked up, but VandenBos has a backlog of snow blowers to repair. Those bringing them in Tuesday were out of luck they wont be ready for a week.
Theyre not going to get them in time for this snow, VandenBos said.
Forecasters at AccuWeather said the same storm system could result in icing across a 1,300-mile (2,092 -kilometer) band from near Omaha, Nebraska, to New Hampshire on Wednesday and Thursday, creating potential travel hazards in or near cities such as Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago and Boston.
Portions of northern Illinois, southern Michigan and southern New York state could get up to half an inch of ice, which could topple power lines and cause outages, AccuWeather said.
As the northern U.S. deals with a winter blast, record warmth is expected in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast 30 degrees to 40 degrees above normal in some places. Record highs are expected from Baltimore to New Orleans and in much of Florida, Pereira said.
Washington, D.C., could hit 80 degrees on Thursday, which would top the record of 78 degrees set in 1874.
(AP)
The war in Ukraine that began a year ago has killed thousands, forced millions to flee their homes, reduced entire cities to rubble and has fueled fears the confrontation could slide into an open conflict between Russia and NATO.
A look at some of the main events in the conflict.
2022
FEBRUARY
On Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launches an invasion of Ukraine from the north, east and south. He says the special military operation is aimed at demilitarization and denazification of the country to protect ethnic Russians, prevent Kyivs NATO membership and to keep it in Russias sphere of influence. Ukraine and the West say its an illegal act of aggression against a country with a democratically elected government and a Jewish president whose relatives were killed in the Holocaust.
Russian troops quickly reach Kyivs outskirts, but their attempts to capture the capital and other cities in the northeast meet stiff resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy records a video outside his headquarters to show he is staying and remains in charge.
MARCH
On March 2, Russia claims control of the southern city of Kherson. In the opening days of March, Russian forces also seize the rest of the Kherson region and occupy a large part of the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, including the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europes largest.
The Russian army soon gets stuck near Kyiv, and its convoys stretching along highways leading to the Ukrainian capital become easy prey for Ukrainian artillery and drones. On March 16, Russia strikes a theater in the strategic port city of Mariupol where civilians had been sheltering, killing hundreds of people in one of the wars deadliest attacks.
Moscow announces the withdrawal of forces from Kyiv and other areas March 29, saying it will focus on the eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas, where Russia-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces since 2014 following the illegal annexation of Crimea.
APRIL
The Russian pullback from Kyiv reveals hundreds of bodies of civilians in mass graves or left in the streets of the town of Bucha, many of them bearing signs of torture in scenes that prompt world leaders to say Russia should be held accountable for possible war crimes.
On April 9, a Russian missile strike on a train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk kills 52 civilians and wounds over 100.
Intense battles rage for Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, and Russian air strikes and artillery bombardment reduce much of it to ruins.
On April 13, the missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, is hit by Ukrainian missiles and sinks the next day, damaging national pride.
MAY
On May 16, Ukrainian defenders of the giant Azovstal steel mill, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol, agree to surrender to Russian forces after a nearly three-month siege. Mariupols fall cuts Ukraine off from the Azov coast and secures a land corridor from the Russian border to Crimea.
On May 18, Finland and Sweden submit their applications to join NATO in a major blow to Moscow over the expansion of the military alliance.
JUNE
More Western weapons flow into Ukraine, including U.S.-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers.
On June 30, Russian troops pull back from Snake Island, located off the Black Sea port of Odesa and seized in the opening days of the invasion.
JULY
On July 22, Russia and Ukraine, with mediation by Turkey and the United Nations, agree on a deal to unblock supplies of grain stuck in Ukraines Black Sea ports, ending a standoff that threatened global food security.
On July 29, a missile strike hits a prison in the Russia-controlled eastern town of Olenivka where Ukrainian soldiers captured in Mariupol were held, killing at least 53. Ukraine and Russia trade blame for the attack.
AUGUST
On Aug. 9, powerful explosions strike an air base in Crimea. More blasts hit a power substation and ammunition depots there a week later. signaling the vulnerability of the Moscow-annexed Black Sea peninsula that Russia has used as a major supply hub for the war. Ukraines top military officer later acknowledges that the attacks on Crimea were launched by Kyivs forces.
On Aug. 20, Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian nationalist ideologist Alexander Dugin, dies in a car bomb explosion outside Moscow that the Russian authorities blame on Ukraine.
SEPTEMBER
On Sept. 6, the Ukrainian forces launch a surprise counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region, quickly forcing Russia to pull back from broad areas held for months.
On Sept. 21, Putin orders mobilization of 300,000 reservists, an unpopular move that prompts hundreds of thousands of Russian men to flee to neighboring countries to avoid recruitment. At the same time, Russia hastily stages illegal referendums in Ukraines Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions on whether to become part of Russia. The votes are widely dismissed as a sham by Ukraine and the West.
On Sept. 30, Putin signs documents to annex the four regions at a Kremlin ceremony.
OCTOBER
On Oct. 8, a truck laden with explosives blows up on the bridge linking Crimea to Russias mainland in an attack that Putin blames on Ukraine. Russia responds with missile strikes on Ukraines power plants and other key infrastructure.
After the first wave of attacks on Oct. 10, the barrage continues on a regular basis in the months that follow, resulting in blackouts and power rationing across the country.
NOVEMBER
On Nov. 9, Russia announces a pullback from the city of Kherson under a Ukrainian counteroffensive, abandoning the only regional center Moscow captured, in a humiliating retreat for the Kremlin.
DECEMBER
On Dec. 5, the Russian military says Ukraine used drones to target two bases for long-range bombers deep inside Russian territory. Another strike takes places later in the month, underlining Ukraines readiness to up the ante and revealing gaps in Russian defenses.
On Dec. 21, Zelenskyy visits the United States on his first trip abroad since the war began, meeting with President Joe Biden to secure Patriot air defense missile systems and other weapons and addressing Congress.
2023
JANUARY
On Jan. 1, just moments into the New Year, scores of freshly mobilized Russian soldiers are killed by a Ukrainian missile strike on the city of Makiivka. Russias Defense Ministry says 89 troops were killed, while Ukrainian officials put the death toll in the hundreds.
After months of ferocious fighting, Russia declares the capture of the salt-mining town of Soledar on Jan. 12, although Kyiv does not acknowledge it until days later. Moscow also presses its offensive to seize the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut.
On Jan. 14, when Russia launches another wave of strikes on Ukraines energy facilities, a Russian missile hits an apartment building in the city of Dnipro, killing 45.
FEBRUARY
On Feb. 20, U.S. President Joe Biden makes a surprise visit to Kyiv where he meets with the Ukrainian president in a remarkable and defiant display of solidarity.
(AP)
A handful of congressional Republicans met Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a signal of continued U.S. support even as hard-right members of the party vow to block future aid to the embattled country.
The newly appointed chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee led a small delegation to Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy for the first time since the start of the war a year ago and since Republicans won the majority in the House of Representatives in November.
Chairman Mike McCaul and four other Republican lawmakers said they discussed at length what Ukraines military needs to fight off Russian aggression. Zelenskyy provided them with a list of weapons, including longer-range artillery and air-to-surface missile systems.
The meeting came one day after President Joe Biden made an unannounced trip to Kyiv to reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine as the war heads into its second year.
Biden has been trying to keep the allies unified in their support for Ukraine as the war is expected to intensify with spring offensives. The biggest hurdle facing the president is House Republicans. McCauls visit Tuesday is the latest in a series of efforts by the Texas Republican to make the case to his party for why the U.S. should continue spending billions of dollars on the war effort.
We have seen time and again the majority of Republicans and Democrats support our assistance to Ukraine. But the Biden administration needs to layout their long-term strategy, McCaul said in a statement. There are some Members who would be more supportive if they saw a long-term strategy that was based on a Ukrainian victory rather than sending just enough support to prolong the war but not win it.
A spokesperson for McCaul noted the delegation has been focused on oversight and ensuring there are guardrails in place for any future aid to Ukraine.
A far-right faction of the Republican Party has been expressing its opposition to continued U.S. support to Ukraine since last spring. That campaign intensified this month when a group of 11 House Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida put forward a Ukraine Fatigue resolution. It stated that the U.S. must end its military and financial aid to Ukraine and urged the combatants to reach a peace agreement.
America is in a state of managed decline, and it will exacerbate if we continue to hemorrhage taxpayer dollars toward a foreign war, Gaetz said.
Thus far, the U.S. has provided four rounds of aid to Ukraine in response to Russias invasion, totaling about $113 billion, with some of the money going toward replenishment of U.S. military equipment that was sent to the front lines.
Congress approved the latest round of aid in December. While the package was designed to last through the end of the fiscal year in September, much depends upon events on the ground.
For his part, Zelenskyy has been working with both Democrats and Republicans to ensure their support once the country runs out of aid, likely to happen in late summer. Its really very important. Were thankful for the U.S., for its people, Zelenskyy said in an video posted by his office after the meeting.
In comments later on social media, Zelenskyy added, Thank you, American congressmen, for supporting Ukraine and understanding the importance of stepping up aid to help us achieve victory over the aggressor.
(AP)
Western New York's renowned restaurant landscape ranges wildly in culinary focus, price points and aesthetic choices of dining rooms. Beyond the basics of food, drink and vibes, there are places offering sides of extras that turn a visit to a restaurant into what some refer to as "eatertainment."
It's a simple recipe: equal parts food and fun.
Bobby J's Italian American Grille is home to Desiderio's Dinner Theatre; families are joined by animatronic jungle animals in the Rainforest Cafe in Niagara Falls; The Cove Seafood and Banquets in Depew is a tropical oasis for people looking to eat, drink and be entertained; and in Rochester, the Old Farm Cafe puts a down-home spin on things.
Bobby J's and Desiderio's
204 Como Park Blvd., Cheektowaga
As diners enjoy the Italian-American menu at Bobby J's in the front dining rooms, behind closed doors in another part of the building people are being served a helping of theater, too.
Jay and Bobby Desiderio are the principals of Desiderio's Dinner Theatre, that has been at their Como Park Boulevard location in Cheektowaga for eight years. The brothers Bobby is the dinner and Jay is the theater have been thriving since 1984, putting out solid Italian fare and staging theatrical productions throughout the year.
"Our family has always been in the food business and I'm the lone soldier in theater," Jay Desiderio said. "As the years progressed, Bobby has helped to build sets. We will be working on set-building, go to check the lasagna and then get back to getting ready for the next show.
"Coming here is a celebration of the senses you taste and see the food that you've ordered and then after you experience other sensations by laughing, crying as you watch the play. To me that's a perfect celebration of life," Jay said. "I believe that's why people leave here happy and return. It makes life fun, adding to the quality of life. In our area we can have so many gray days, and you can make them more wonderful and add light by having a good dinner-theater experience."
The experience begins with guests at reserved tables arriving about 90 minutes before the show starts to enjoy a meal of their choice from a special menu. The food is freshly cooked from the kitchen just like you are eating in the main dining room. Once the actors take the stage, guests can finish dessert and continue to order drinks.
Jay Desiderio said that a reservation for two means a two-top: "You dont have to sit with people who you don't know, you sit with your guests, and you don't have to move. It's a big place so, depending on the configuration and the production, the room changes.
"We do four or five shows a year, and are dark for about a month between to rehearse and build sets for the next show and I use all professional talents, the best in Buffalo," he said.
Currently on stage is "It Runs in the Family," directed by Jay Desiderio. It continues with matinee and evening performances through March 12.
4701 Transit Road, Depew
The tropical experience at The Cove starts right from the parking lot where the faux palm trees of its facade provide an unexpected pop of greenery on a winter day.
You will become immersed in the tropics inside the expansive space that has several dining options, banquet rooms and two stages for live music. One banquet room is being transformed into a speakeasy.
Co-owners Bryan and Janet Page opened The Cove in 2005, purchasing the 27,000-square-foot building that once housed a gym. Bryan also brought his experience from working as a bartender and manager at famed lakeside Sunset Bay Beach Club from 1995 to 2000. Palm trees, some chairs and other tropical features were purchased from the late Kahunaville tropical-themed restaurant and arcade in Walden Galleria.
"When we first opened we were a family fun center and pivoted to become a place with multiple restaurants and several party rental rooms. We are a destination and every room has its own feel," Bryan Page said.
The Luau Nightclub has palm trees, a corner water feature with two life-like flamingos, and an impressive stage where diverse bands play. Some nights, Page said, two bands are booked providing customers with constant music. "When one band finishes, the other starts."
About that flamingo feature Page said, "I'm a fan of conversation starters and eye candy, a couple on a first date can talk about that."
The tropical Luau Nightclub space feels like an outdoor beach bar under the stars with attention to detail with natural materials. Page points out tables that were built by a friend from reclaimed wooden palettes, burnt and stained to look beach-aged. A padded ceiling and overhead speakers keep music at non-ear-splitting decibels: "You don't have music blasting in your face," he said.
Inside Sheraton Niagara Falls, 300 Third St., Niagara Falls
Twin resin elephants that one might describe as "baby elephant-sized" from knowledge of the animal kingdom gleaned from visits to The Buffalo Zoo, greet families and groups of friends at Rainforest Cafe, inside the Sheraton Niagara Falls. It's part of a chain based in Houston that has 23 locations worldwide including one in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Visitors will eat in the colorful circular dining room under the canopy of leaves on the faux trees with "animals" watching from the lush greenery. Every 30 minutes lighting is programmed to dim for a lightning storm that riles the wild animatronic beasts around the dining room. Every 10 minutes animals spring to life: The wild cats roar, apes sway in trees and elephants trumpet. One orange cat with a sizable ruff has a creaky shoulder, audible as he menaces a table of guests nearby.
Surprisingly, children did not bellow in fear. And there are plenty of children: A small boy charges about with a balloon sword, and a toddler girl leaves cradling a balloon doll in her arms. A young diner did attempt to quiet the wild cats during their noisy stint by brandishing her large red balloon flower on 2-foot-long stem.
"People who are traveling and locals come here for the ambiance and the food," said manager Craig Kitchen who has been working at this location since it opened in 2015.
When asked if little kids are ever frightened by the animatronics, he said, "It happens, but we can re-seat them away from the animals, near the fish tank or another, quieter area."
The menu has burgers, salads, seafoods and steaks, plus a children's section with items like Jurassic Chicken Tidbits, Python Pasta and Castaway Kids Pizza. Adult beverages include drinks with tropical twists.
The balloon artist working the room on Thursday evenings, Bradley Mock, does his inflated and twisty thing from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. delighting kids and adults. Mock, who is from Buffalo and now lives in Medina, works during the day as a manager of a woodshop, and describes his Rainforest Cafe gig as a "blessing."
"I love working here, and I've been making balloon creations here for five years. Jetpacks, princesses, unicorns are some of my specialties, it's a privilege to help people reclaim something happy from their childhood balloons."
3450 Winton Place, Rochester
Located within a plaza in suburban Rochester, The Old Farm Cafe is decked out as a faux barnyard doubling as a theatrical venue. Dont try to refill your water glass at the old green pump along the wall painted like a springtime meadow it's a prop. The long cafe counter where you may be greeted by a barista in a cowboy hat is not. The Old Farm Cafe serves breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner as well as productions throughout the year. Merch on hand includes T-shirts, coffee mugs and stickers emblazoned with upbeat theater messages and logos of past shows.
Each wall of the cafe is meticulously painted with pastoral scenes so that both the cafe crowd and ticket holders for shows produced by OFC Creations (the theatrical company in residence that also performs in the more traditional theater next door), feel as if they are lounging in a small town's gathering place. Stage action happens in a gazebo in the corner of the large space; a hefty fake chicken keeps watch amid barnyard gear. Upcoming productions are listed on the cafe website, theoldfarmcafe.com.
For the second time this week and the sixth time since the beginning of the month, an earthquake was felt in Israel on Wednesday morning at 8:01 a.m.
The earthquake, which measured 4.5 on the Richter scale, was mainly felt in northern Israel as its epicenter was near the city of Tyre, in Lebanon. However, some residents of central Israel also reported feeling the tremor.
Naftali Gleitman, who lives near Tiveria, told Ynet: I felt all the furniture in the house moving and then the floor moved, it was really scary. It feels like the quakes are getting closer to Israel but no was one injured and nothing was damaged here.
Ohad Hazan from Kiryat Bialik said: At 08:02 a.m., I felt the bed move for about three seconds. It was the first time I felt an earthquake. We live in a 24-story building, and it seems that everyone felt it this time. We hope for the best because its getting really stressful.
(YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem)
In a rare daytime operation, Israeli security forces, including IDF soldiers, Yamam counterterrorism officers, and Shin Bet operatives, raided the Old City of Shechem a little after 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
The security forces surrounded the home of two wanted suspects from the terror cell that killed Ido Baruch, hyd and were involved in additional attacks.
Heavy clashes broke out and a fierce hours-long gun battle ensued, with dozens of armed Palestinians on the roofs of buildings firing non-stop at Israeli security forces, and Palestinians on nearby streets hurling explosives, rocks, and other objects.
As part of the pressure cooker procedure used by Israeli security forces, a missile was fired at the home of the suspects and smoke was seen rising from the area. However, the terrorists refused to surrender and Israeli forces then opened massive fire at the home.
Ten terrorists were reportedly killed and 102 Palestinians were injured, seven seriously, during the operation.
BChasdei Hashem, no casualties or injuries were reported among Israeli forces.
The raid was carried out following information provided by the Shin Bet on the whereabouts of the two wanted Palestinians.
(YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem)
The bill that will prevent the Supreme Court from interfering in the appointment of ministers, allowing Shas chairman Aryeh Deri to return to the table, was passed on Wednesday in a preliminary reading.
The law was passed by a majority of 62 versus 53. Deri did not participate in the vote.
After the Deri Law was passed, a debate began on the Override Clause, an amendment to one of Israels Basic Laws that will curb the power of the Supreme Court.
After an extremely raucous debate with loud screaming between the coalition and opposition members, the Override Clause was passed in a preliminary vote as well.
(YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem)
Following the counterterrorism operation in Shechem on Wednesday morning, Israel is preparing for possible revenge attacks, including terror attacks or rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Ten terrorists, including leaders in the Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Lions Den terror groups, were killed in the operation and over 100 Palestinians were injured.
A senior security source told Kan News that the security situation is very tense and the operation could be the spark that ignites a widespread escalation, chalilah.
Israel Police has raised the alert level throughout Israel and bolstered forces in Jerusalem, Yehudah and Shomron, and the seam line.
(YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem)
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a big mistake by suspending his countrys participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. The U.S. president was in Poland to reassure eastern flank NATO allies that the U.S. will remain by their sides amid the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In his first comments since Putins announcement Tuesday, Biden condemned the Russian decision to pull back from the treaty, known as New START. The move is expected to have an immediate impact on U.S. visibility into Russian nuclear activities, but the pact was already on life support following Moscows cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that both sides have accused the other of violating.
Its a big mistake, Biden said.
The presidents comments came as he wrapped up a whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine with talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations in the most eastern parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Putins 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. He departed Poland Wednesday evening to return to Washington ahead of Fridays anniversary of the wars breakout.
The Bucharest Nine countries anxieties have remained heightened as the Ukraine war drags on, with many worrying that Putin could move to take military action against them next if hes successful in Ukraine. The alliance includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Youre the frontlines of our collective defense, Biden said Wednesday of the group. And you know, better than anyone, whats at stake in this conflict? Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.
He pledged that NATOs mutual-defense pact is sacred and that we will defend literally every inch of NATO.
A day earlier at the foot of Warsaws Royal Castle to mark the somber milestone of the year-old Russian invasion, Biden warned that Russian aggression, if unchecked, wouldnt stop at Ukraines borders. Appetites of the autocrat cannot be appeased, he said. They must be opposed.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the right-wing populist leader who argued last week that the European Union is partly to blame for prolonging Russias war in Ukraine, has balked at sanctions on Moscow and arming Kyiv. Orban was skipping the meeting with Biden, and President Katalin Novak was attending in his stead.
Still, Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, insisted that The B9 is stronger than ever.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who was attending the meeting, said, We dont know when the war will end, but when it does, we need to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
Pointing to past Russian actions in Georgia and Ukraine, he added, We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression.
Biden met Tuesday in Warsaw with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who last week claimed Moscow was behind a plot to overthrow her countrys government using external saboteurs.
Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and one of Europes poorest countries, the Eastern European nation has had historic ties to Russia but wants to join the 27-nation European Union. Biden in his remarks endorsed Moldovas bid to join the EU.
Im proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova, Biden said of Sandu and her country in his Tuesday address.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has sought to forge closer ties with its Western partners. Last June, it was granted EU candidate status, the same day as Ukraine.
Sandu spoke out last week about a Russian plot to overthrow the constitutional order. She spoke out after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova. Those claims were later confirmed by Moldovan intelligence officials.
Bidens speech on the Ukraine war came one day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv, a grand gesture of solidarity with Ukraine. The address was part affirmation of Europes role in helping Ukraine repel Russias ongoing invasion and part sharply worded warning to Putin that the U.S. wont abide Moscow defeating Ukraine.
The White House has praised several eastern flank countries, including Lithuania, Poland and Romania, over the last year for stepping up efforts to back Ukraine with weapons and economic aid and taking in refugees.
Biden has given particular attention to Polands efforts. The country is hosting about 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees and has committed $3.8 billion in military and economic assistance to Kyiv.
The truth of the matter is: The United States needs Poland and NATO as much as NATO needs the United States, Biden said during talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
(AP)
Rio Tinto's annual profits tumbled after commodity prices slumped under pressure from lockdown restrictions in China and slowing global economic growth.
The mining giant posted a 41 per cent decline in net earnings to $12.4billion in 2022 after posting record profits the previous year on the back of surging prices of iron ore, aluminium and copper.
Its bumper 2021 results enabled the group to hand full-year dividends of 12.6billion to investors, the second-highest ever payout by a FTSE 100 company.
Results: The mining giant reported net earnings declined by 41 per cent to $12.4billion in 2022 after posting record profits the previous year on the back of surging commodity prices
This time around, the company has announced no special shareholder rewards and slashed its ordinary dividend for the first time in five years to $4.92 per share.
Rio Tinto's revenue fell by 13 per cent to $55.6billion, primarily due to the sliding price of iron ore.
The business relies heavily on exporting iron ore mined in Pilbara, Australia, to China, where it is turned into steel that is often used in construction projects such as house building.
China's property sector is currently experiencing a prolonged downturn caused by rising unemployment, high debts, and some homebuyers boycotting mortgage payments.
Rio Tinto also supplies China with a significant volume of copper, which saw its average realised price drop to just over 400 cents per pound, causing an estimated $700million hit to underlying profits.
Copper earnings were further hit by increasing employee costs from a collective bargaining agreement struck at the Kennecott site in Utah and new labour regulations in Mongolia.
Chief executive Jakob Stausholm said the company had 'delivered strong financial results', enabling it to 'continue to invest in strengthening the business.'
The company recently doubled its ownership stake in the Mongolia-based Oyu Tolgoi project to 66 per cent after completing a 2.9billion takeover of Canadian miner Turquoise Hill in December.
Situated in the Gobi Desert, Oyu Tolgoi is home to some of the world's largest deposits of copper, a mineral considered a vital component of green technologies like solar panels, wind turbines and rechargeable batteries.
Rio Tinto is also set to benefit from the resurgence in iron ore prices, which reached an eight-month peak yesterday, following the recent relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions in China earlier this year.
Jamie Maddock, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said: 'China's reopening and the demand surge there has meant miners should benefit as infrastructure spend restarts, industrial output increases and property restrictions loosen.
'Indeed, iron ore prices have recovered somewhat as a result of China's reopening, so it will be crucial to see how that plays out for 2023.'
Rio Tinto shares closed 3.6 per cent lower at 59.83 on Wednesday, although they have still expanded by over 80 per cent since the pandemic started.
The boss of Royal Mail faced a fierce backlash from MPs last night after he admitted the firm was failing its legal duty to deliver letters on Saturdays.
In a bruising encounter with the Commons business committee, chief executive Simon Thompson yesterday said the firm had fallen short of its universal service obligation (USO).
This legally requires Royal Mail to deliver letters to UK households six days a week and parcels five days a week.
In a bruising encounter with the Commons business committee, Royal Mail chief exec Simon Thompson (pictured) said the firm had fallen short of its universal service obligation
Youve not been delivering on your USO of delivering letters six days a week for some time. Thats right isnt it? said committee chair Darren Jones.
Thompson replied: Yes I think thats right. He added that the company was definitely not achieving USO but did not state whether he believed there had been a systemic failure at Royal Mail.
He also denied that it is company policy to prioritise parcels over letters.
When asked last month by MPs if postal workers had been told to prioritise parcels over letters, Thompson had said: No, that is absolutely not true.
But yesterday, in response to evidence from posties across the country, he said parcels are prioritised over letters during industrial action.
Its not our policy but in [the] realities of industrial action we have to apply a different policy, he said.
The committee also questioned Keith Williams, the chair of Royal Mails parent company International Distributions Services (IDS), about why fulfilling the USO was not part of the groups long-term incentive plan, the conditions for which executives receive bonuses and share awards.
Williams said the USO was not included as the incentives were tied to the transformation of the business but stressed letters were still very important to Royal Mail.
But Jones accused him of choosing to write-off and exclude letter deliveries and the USO from the long-term performance plan for the firm.
Royal Mail has previously pushed for Saturday letter deliveries to be scrapped as the number of posted letters has declined sharply over the years.
It is estimated that the group could save as much as 250million per year if the change was made.
The tense committee hearing came as Royal Mail continues to be locked in a bitter dispute with workers over pay and plans to modernise the business to make it more competitive with rivals.
And the row showed no signs of ending following a vote by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) which represents around 115,000 Royal Mail workers to go on strike again.
It follows 18 days of walkouts last year, which the company said had cost it 200million.
The company has warned that if it is unable to transform the business, it could split IDS in two.
This would separate Royal Mail from its more successful international arm GLS.
Buffalo police reported Tuesday night that they arrested a suspect in connection with a homicide earlier in the day in a store in the 1000 block of Broadway near Fillmore Avenue.
Police said Abdul Hussein, 25, of Buffalo, was charged with second-degree murder, a Class A felony.
According to the report, officers responded to a call about the shooting around 3:30 p.m. and found the victim, a 62-year-old Buffalo man. He was declared dead at the scene.
Police said Hussein was taken into custody a short time later. They noted that the two men knew one another.
Ten people were killed in an attack in Somalias capital claimed by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, which said it was targeting military officials and militia fighters involved in an offensive against it.
The Tuesday attack began with a car bomb blast followed by a gun fight that went on for hours at a house in Mogadishu where several lawmakers were believed to be staying, a witness told Reuters.
Somalias information ministry said late on Tuesday that 10 civilians were killed, but did not say who was targeted. Security forces killed the four militant gunmen involved in the assault, it said.
Al Shabaab has stepped up attacks in a show of resurgence since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamuds government launched an offensive against the group in August.
A suicide bomber first detonated a car outside the house and then al Shabaab militants stormed in while firing guns, said witness Farah Aden.
The fighting between the al Shabaab fighters and security forces lasted for about eight hours, according to al Shabaab, the information ministry and witnesses.
Other militants went in and killed 10 civilians inside the house. The security forces shot dead the four militants who stormed the building, the information ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Four soldiers and three civilians were wounded before the fighting ended, it added.
Al Shabaab said in a statement it had killed 70 people in the attack, which targeted the house because it offered accommodation to military officials and wounded militia members from the central Hiraan region recovering from fighting against the group there.
The government and al Shabaab, which has in the past launched attacks on hotels, military bases and government establishments, often give differing casualty figures.
Government forces and allied clan militias known as macawisley, pushed al Shabaab out of Hiraan last year.
SOURCE: REUTERS
Trucks carrying Coca Cola roll across the border into Russia, tourists return from abroad laden with Zaras latest designs, and local online marketplaces snap up IKEAs furniture stocks. Western brands may have left the country, but their goods havent.
Despite European, North American and Japanese companies exiting Russia over its actions in Ukraine, the impact on Russian consumers is minimal, although delivery times can be longer and some goods more expensive.
The main change has been to supply routes, but the products remain available both online and in stores. Buyers just need to know where to look.
Crucially, the vast majority of goods concerned are not subject to sanctions and these cross-border flows are legal. And Moscow is happy to let them in, whatever route they take.
Brands continued availability shows the challenge companies face in controlling supply chains when exiting a market.
ZARA IN MINSK
Zara-owner Inditex (ITX.MC) shuttered its 502 Russian stores after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, and then sold them to UAE-based Daher Group.
Now, small-scale imports and online sellers are keeping them alive, a Reuters review of six major online marketplaces and conversations with a dozen buyers and sellers showed.
Albina, 32, took an empty suitcase to Minsk last summer and returned 24 hours later with 33,000 roubles ($442) worth of Inditex-brand Zara, Bershka and Massimo Dutti clothes for herself and friends.
While most Western brands that have halted Russian operations have also pulled out of Belarus a staunch Moscow ally Inditex has not. The company did not respond when asked about this.
Albina told Reuters she has also bought clothes in Paris and Dubai and used a network of online sellers.
There are pages on Instagram, on Telegram, there are girls I know who moved to live in Europe or Istanbul or Dubai, she said. They collect orders, lets say in Istanbul, they take 15%-30% (as commission), then get them delivered here and you pay for the delivery.
Last years strong rouble and weak Turkish lira played into Russian consumers hands.
Currency dynamics were partly responsible for a seven-fold increase in deliveries from Turkey on CDEK Forward, a delivery service from foreign e-commerce sites, its marketing director Dinara Ismailova told Reuters.
As soon as brands said they were leaving, some kind of panic started, and the number of volumes and orders rose sharply, Ismailova said.
Dealing with small, private deliveries, CDEK Forwards turnover doubled in money terms last year, with 80% of that coming from clothes, while its goods turnover tripled.
Its comparable to if you personally went to a Zara store in New York, bought something there and sent it on to your friends in Moscow, Ismailova said.
ONLINE MARKETPLACES
As supply chains broke down, Russia legalised so-called parallel imports, allowing retailers to bring in products from abroad without the trademark owners permission.
E-commerce sites sell a wide range of imported goods, and sellers often advertise that they bring products from abroad.
Market leader Wildberries sells old stock from Inditex brands and has almost 17,000 goods in its Zara catalogue. A source close to Inditex said these were clearance stocks that were in Russia when it suspended activities there.
Wildberries did not respond to a request for comment.
One ubiquitous Western product Wildberries and its peers Ozon (OZON.O) and Yandex Market sell is Coca-Cola, often advertised as imported so buyers know it is the real thing.
While Coca-Cola Co (K.N) stopped producing and selling drinks in Russia last year, others have been importing them, with labels on cans and bottles showing they have arrived from Europe, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China.
One quirk of this arrangement is that prices vary. In one Moscow supermarket, three cans of Coca-Cola were on sale for three different prices, imported from Denmark, Poland and Britain respectively.
A senior employee at a major retailer explained how companies have adapted.
Contacts were quickly established and new contracts with new partners signed, new money flows and logistical supply chains with Turkish, Polish and Kazakh companies were launched, he said on condition of anonymity.
Coca Cola is available from even more countries now.
However, as usual, it is the buyer who pays more for these new inconveniences, the employee added.
FRIENDLY IMPORTS
As new routes are developed the extra logistics, travel and scaling costs will fall, and though trade remains relatively inefficient, these new relationships are here to stay, said Ram Ben Tzion, CEO of digital vetting platform Publican.
The parallel importing mechanisms have been consolidated and expanded, meaning that pretty much everything is accessible and still will be in the future, Ben Tzion said, pointing to border truck queues and new entities springing up in nearby states.
Coca Cola can easily notice the surge in demand from countries neighbouring Russia, where most parallel imports come from, Ben Tzion said. It is not in their interest to do anything about it.
Coca-Cola declined to comment.
Friendly countries not imposing sanctions have ramped up exports to Russia, their trade data shows. Russia itself has stopped publishing such figures.
China-Russia trade hit a record 1.28 trillion yuan ($186 billion) last year, while Turkeys exports to Russia jumped 61.8% to $9.34 billion and Kazakhstans rose 25.1% to $8.78 billion.
Informal supply routes could lead to more poor-quality goods entering Russia, however, as regulators lose oversight, Ben Tzion said.
REPLICAS
Some brands face years battling copies and unauthorized imports. Meanwhile, Coca-Colas Russian rivals have increased bottling capacity and launched new Cola beverages.
Swedish furniture giant IKEA sold its stock to Yandex Market, tech giant Yandexs (YNDX.O) e-commerce division, when it left Russia. IKEA brand owner Inter IKEA Group said it sold remaining stock for an undisclosed amount to Yandex as it down-scaled IKEA Retail Russia.
Yandex Market says it puts suppliers who previously sold goods via IKEA stores in direct contact with customers.
But former suppliers are also ready to sell lightly modified IKEA items under different names. One already advertises a bedding set it calls ARUA (analogue of IKEA BERGPALM).
IKEA said it was looking into goods being advertised as similar to IKEA online.
Although new opportunities are opening up for Russian firms, the fixation with Western brands may hinder efforts to boost local production.
Over time, market forces will continue to drive the products Russians are used to into the market and while there is an aspiration to move to Made in Russia it will be very difficult to actually get people hooked up on Russian coke, said Ben Tzion.
SOURCE: REUTERS
Two men face multiple charges following a chase and search Saturday night in the Town of Collins, Erie County Sheriff John C. Garcia reported Tuesday.
Jonathan Rusnell, 33, of Collins, and Joseph Laforme, 23, of Gowanda, are charged with criminal possession of a narcotic and criminal possession of a controlled substance, both with intent to sell; attempting to conceal or destroy evidence, resisting arrest and additional misdemeanor counts.
Laforme was released after arraignment. Rusnell, wanted on a Cheektowaga Town Court warrant, is being held in Erie County Holding Center.
According to the report, deputies answered a call about 9:15 p.m. regarding someone taking a vehicle without permission, saw the vehicle driving without lights on North Division Road and pursued it into a parking lot. The driver and passenger fled.
Numerous units, including the sheriff's helicopter, joined in a search for the two. Rusnell was spotted from the air and taken into custody in a wooded area.
Seneca Nation of Indians marshals discovered Laforme walking along Richardson Road and radioed the Sheriff's Office. Deputies found him hiding in bushes near a house.
A search of the vehicle allegedly turned up packages of heroin and fentanyl and a quantity of methamphetamine.
Tipperary woman Mary Lowry has been returned for trial on a charge of careless driving causing the death of a father of five.
Ms Lowry, a mother of three, appeared before Tipperary Town District Court sitting in Nenagh, this Wednesday, where she was served with the book of evidence which alleges she drove a vehicle carelessly causing the death of Patrick Connolly, in his 50s, two years ago.
Ms Lowry, 56, wore a face mask, a woolly hat and a coat throughout the brief court hearing before Judge John King.
She nodded and said: Yes judge, when Judge King asked if she understood the proceedings.
Ms Lowry, of Green Road, Dundrum, county Tipperary was initially charged before Thurles District Court on November 16, 2022, that on December 28, 2021, at N24, Springhouse, Bansha, county Tipperary, she did drive a vehicle, without due care and attention, thereby causing the death of another person, namely Patrick Connolly.
The offence on the statute book is contrary to contrary to section 52(1) & 52(2)(a) of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (as substituted by section 4 of the Road Traffic (No. 2) Act 2011).
Its understood Mr Connolly, of Skehennarinky, south west Tipperary, was participating in a charity bike outing at the time of the alleged incident in which he suffered serious injuries and died in hospital five days later.
Sgt Cathal Godfrey, Tipperary Garda Station, gave evidence that he signed and served the book of evidence on Ms Lowry at Nenagh Courthouse and that he gave the accused a copy of the book.
The DPP has consented to the accused being sent for trial before the next sessions of the Clonmel Circuit Criminal Court, Sgt Godfrey said.
Ms Lowrys solicitor, Colin Morrissey, said the accused was in receipt of a widows pension and he sought free legal aid on her behalf.
Judge King said the court would require a statement of means from Ms Lowry in order to grant the application.
Ms Lowry has yet to indicate a plea.
If convicted she faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison, and/or a fine not exceeding 10,000.
Sgt Godfrey said Gardai had no objection to bail and he did not seek any bail conditions.
Judge King remanded Ms Lowry on continuing bail, on her own bond of 300, which did not have to be lodged, for trial before Clonmel Circuit Criminal Court at a later date.
Tanaiste and Minister for Defence Micheal Martin has awarded a million euro to drone and satellite technology it is hoped will be used to help tackle wildfires.
A team at Maynooth University were announced as winners of the first Organisation Innovation Challenge, a joint initiative between Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Department of Defence.
Over a period of 18 months, 10 teams competed for funding to develop disruptive solutions that could be used across the Defence Forces against key challenges.
The winning pitch uses machine learning and observations from satellites and drones to help aerial crews fight wildfires by sharing footage in real time.
Announcing the winners at Casement Aerodrome in Dublin, Mr Martin said: To witness the innovation and creative problem-solving by so many of the teams involved in this challenge is really encouraging.
The Defence Organisation RTI Unit is increasing the use of research, innovation and technology in support of our Defence Forces capabilities, and as a recent creation, its progress is really impressive.
Being able to engage directly with research allows everyone to understand the problems they are trying to solve. I congratulate the winning team, and Im equally encouraged to see how other teams will contribute to missions, and capabilities aligned with national defence policy.
I thank those members of the Defence Organisation who worked on these projects and really look forward to seeing how this work develops into the future.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris said the researchers had broken the mould of innovation in Ireland.
The winning team has shown the power of new technologies to help in the work of the Defence Forces, with applications that may reach far beyond the original challenge, he said.
This was a pioneering scheme and I look forward to seeing more and more benefits coming from the National Challenge Fund and the Sustainable Development Goal challenges, showing that Ireland is ready to tackle the hardest problems and provide solutions.
Team leader Professor Tim McCarthy said the funding would help prepare for the future when wildfires were expected to become more frequent and intense events.
The reality is that wildfire events are now likely to affect us all either directly or indirectly because of climate change, he said.
The interdisciplinary team included co-principal investigator Professor John McDonald, research strand leader Dr Charles Markham and additional researchers drawn from the Department of Computer Science, the National Centre for Geocomputation in Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute.
The team also worked closely with Commandant Jay OReillys aerial firefighting team, as well as members of the Fire Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte.
Prof McCarthy said: Over 18 months, we designed, built and tested an intuitive Common Operational Picture platform to improve how digital data from satellites, aircraft and drones sensors can be captured, pooled and shared in real time between various responder agencies.
A proposed law to give compensation to mother and baby home survivors has been passed to its next stage by a narrow margin by the Dail.
TDs voted 73 to 62 for the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022 on Wednesday evening.
It will now go to the Seanad.
The proposed law was earlier branded cruel by Sinn Fein because it excludes those who spent less than six months in the institutions.
The Government anticipates 34,000 applications for redress and a form of enhanced medical card, with many expected to come from people who now live outside Ireland.
Minister for Children Roderic OGorman was urged during a Dail debate on Wednesday evening to take the last opportunity to address concerns in the legislation.
Social Democrat Holly Cairns said institution survivors asked for a universal inclusive scheme where all mothers and babies would be eligible for redress, regardless of the year or duration of their stay.
You have ignored this, she said, describing a deeply insulting and harmful scheme.
She also criticised Government for not pursuing pharmaceutical companies over vaccine trials and milk formula trials in homes, and said assets should be seized from religious orders which ran the institutions, rather than kindly requesting a contribution.
Labour TD Sean Sherlock said that 40% of survivors are not eligible for the scheme due to an arbitrary requirement that they must have been a resident of a home for at least six months, which he said is completely unfair.
He added it is likely to be challenged in the courts.
At this eleventh hour I ask the minister, please, to have regard for those babies, those people, those human beings, who were resident for that period of time from birth to six months to please to be included in the scheme on the basis of fairness, justice and equity, he urged.
Institution survivors watched on from the public gallery as Mr OGorman defended the Bill.
He said while the state has surviving records from the institutions, some may need to provide evidence they were residents in a home by way of an affidavit.
He also stated that all applications will be processed as quickly as is possible.
Earlier, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald challenged Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to intervene to drop the six-month rule.
Mrs McDonald told TDs: Today, the Government wants to pass through the Dail, legislation establishing the mother and baby homes redress scheme.
This despite the fact that the Bill shamefully excludes children who spent less than six months in a mother and baby institution or a county home.
As a consequence, 24,000 survivors will be left behind by the Governments proposed scheme.
It is scandalous that this exclusionary, discriminatory provision remains in the legislation.
The scheme creates a hierarchy of victims by taking the view that some mothers and their children suffered less than others.
The very idea that a child who spent less than six months in a home suffered no damage or injury and is not entitled to redress is just unacceptable.
The proposed scheme is a botched scheme. It doesnt meet the needs of survivors in an equal and fair way.
The scheme that comes before the Dail today is an insult to those survivors and to the hard road they have walked.
Somebody needs to listen and that somebody must be you, Taoiseach.
I am asking you as head of Government to intervene and drop this discriminatory six-month rule.
The Taoiseach responded: The Mother and Baby Home Institutions Payment Scheme is currently being debated by the Oireachtas.
It will include payments to an estimated 34,000 people.
It is one of the biggest schemes of its type as we seek to put right some of the wrongs of the past.
While no measure could hope to make up for the traumas and wrongs committed in institutional settings, the Government has engaged and responded in a meaningful way.
The scheme will open as soon as possible in 2023 once the legislation is passed by the Oireachtas.
In relation to children who spent less than six months in institutions, who were adopted or otherwise separated from their birth family, the overwhelming priority need which has been expressed is access to records, information about their identity.
Mrs McDonald said: In an arbitrary way you have decided that those who were separated from their mother, if they happened to be in the institution for less than six months, are not to be covered by this redress scheme.
That is arbitrary, I put it to you that it is cruel.
Mr Varadkar said: I dont think it is fair to describe the decision of Government as being arbitrary in this matter.
[February 21, 2023] Kontron Presents Compact Motherboards With 13th Generation Intel Core i Processors
Kontron, a leading global provider of IoT/Embedded Computer Technology (ECT), announces that all ATX, ATX and mITX motherboards supporting the 12th generation Intel Core i processor series will soon receive a comprehensive BIOS update to 13th generation. Equipped with Intel's Performance Hybrid Architecture, they offer a significant increase in performance with lower energy consumption. All boards belong to a product family with synergetic BIOS, uniform drivers and comprehensive tool set for customer-specific settings (default settings, thermal management, boot logo, etc.) and are "designed and made in Germany". They are suitable for IoT applications in the fields of industry, medicine, kiosk, digital signage, POS/POI, video surveillance and casino gaming. They will be available from Q2/2023. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005748/en/
Kontron Motherboards 13th Gen Intel Processor (Photo: Business Wire)
The compact Mini-ITX motherboards K3833-Q and K3832-Q are equipped with the powerful Intel Q670E chipset, which offers extensive features such as vPro Manageability, Stable Image (SIPP) or RAID. They have Dual Intel LAN interfaces incl. teaming as well as TSN and real-time support (TCC), a PCIe x16 Gen 5 expansion slot, USB 3.2 Gen2 interfaces, an M.2 Key-M and Key-E slot as well as two DIMM sockets for DDR5 memory. The ATX motherboard K3851-R is based on the Intel R680E chipset and is particularly suitable for applications with a high demand for PCIe expandability (also PCIe 5.0). Features include three network ports (2 x Intel i225 and 1 x Intel i219LM GbE vPRO controller incl. AMT & Teaming) and dual M.2 Key-M PCIe/NVMe SSD expansion slots. The K3841-Q, K3842-Q & K3843-B ATX motherboards each have two M.2 connectors and an integrated Intel TPM 2.0. All models support Intel 12th & 13th Gen Core i3/i5/i7/I9 processors with a maximum CPU TDP of 125W. The K3841-Q ATX motherboard has three LAN interfaces, including an Intel 219LM GbEthernet controller with manageability features and two latest generation I225LM with 2.5 Gbit Ethernet ports. The K3842-Q ATX board, equipped with the Intel Q670 chipset and up to two LANs, is particularly suitable for use in high-end desktop PCs or for semi-industrial applications. The K3843-B ATX board is equipped with the B660 chipset and has features such as cTDP, DDR5, four DisplayPorts and four PCIe Gen5 interfaces. ------------------------------------------- Further information: A photograph in high resolution is provided here: https://profil-marketing.cloud/index.php/s/YWepoeMXXppk8g9 For more information please visit: https://www.kontron.com/en/products/boards-standard-form-factors/motherboards/c90377 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005748/en/
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[February 21, 2023] BEYOND Expo 2023 press conference held in Beijing, Macao to host BEYOND Expo 2023 in May
BEIJING, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On Feb. 16, the press conference of the third BEYOND International Technology and Innovation Expo (hereinafter referred to as "BEYOND Expo 2023") was held in Beijing and hosted by the Macao Technology General Association. Co-host representatives including Shan Libo, Vice President and Secretary General of China International Cooperation Association of Small and Medium Enterprises; Zhu Kai, Deputy Director of The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council; Wang Deyang, Deputy Director of Trade Development Bureau of Ministry of Commerce; Luo Faming, Deputy Director of Center for International Economic and Technological Cooperation, the Ministry of Industry and information Technology; Gu Yanfeng, Deputy Director of China Centre for International Science and Technology Exchange; Li Yonghong, Deputy Director of Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China; and Jiang Yongmao, Deputy Secretary General of the Chinese Medical Association attended the conference, delivered speeches, and witnessed the launch of the conference with more than 40 media outlets including Xinhua News Agency, CCTV Finance, CGTN, Science and Technology Daily, Beijing Daily, China.com, CNN, Phoenix, and Sohu. Lu Gang, co-founder of the BEYOND Expo, gave an overview of the achievements of BEYOND Expo 2021 and 2022 to the attending leaders and media, "BEYOND 2021 overcame many obstacles and made an impressive debut. BEYOND 2022, which broke the boundary between virtual and reality, became the world's first and largest technology exposition held in a metaverse environment, and its fiv industry summits surpassed 100 million views online. The two-year preparation period has made BEYOND Expo one of the largest and most influential international technology expos in Asia." Looking ahead to BEYOND Expo 2023, he said, "In the post-pandemic era, all industries need technology empowerment, with innovations in technology creating more value for people and society. The value of technology should be redefined, hence the theme of BEYOND Expo 2023 will be, 'Technology Redefined'."
In addition, Lu Gang said, "BEYOND Expo will continue to focus on three sub-brands: Sustainability, Healthcare, and Consumer Tech. Each sub-brand will have its own exhibition area and stage, with various forums taking place simultaneously over three consecutive days. We expect more visitors, investors, and media worldwide to participate in the exhibition. Furthermore, the BEYOND Expo will be more diversified. We have organized a special 'Technology Innovation Activity' for overseas attendees before May 10. We hope you will come to the mainland to experience China's technological innovations before coming to Macao, because China's technology also represents the future of global technological development. We have prepared various events, such as investor-entrepreneur matchmaking in addition to business-to-business, business-to-government, and business-to-media matchmaking activities. The organizing committee has also planned for various parties and social events every evening. BEYOND Expo will have more international content this year. While helping more Chinese enterprises to present their ideas on the international stage, we also wish to promote exchanges and cooperation between China and the world, Asia and the world, and push forward the development of the technology and innovation industry in the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide." The conference also invited the Acting Chairman of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Yu Yusheng; Director General of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau of the Macao SAR, Dai Jianye; Secretary for the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region Health Bureau, Luo Yilong; and Secretary for the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region Pharmaceutical Administration Bureau, Cai Bingxiang to deliver speeches via a remote connection. The guests expressed that, in the past two years, BEYOND Expo has brought global technological innovation practices to Macao, enabled more enterprises to understand Macao's policies and beneficial opportunities, and facilitated exchanges between enterprises in Macao and outside. Science and technology benefit people's lives and Macao encourages and supports innovation. They hoped that more technology and innovation enterprises would settle in Macao and seize the opportunity to cooperate for mutual benefit, to achieve the joint development of industries in the Macao, Hengqin, Guangdong-Macao Deep-Cooperation Area and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, thus promoting the moderate and diversified development of Macao's economy.
Jason Ho, co-founder of the BEYOND Expo, concluded the conference by thanking all the co-organizers, supporters, and media. He expressed his hope that the BEYOND platform will show an innovative Asia to the world, allowing more Chinese companies to go outside and more overseas companies to come into the country, making it one of the most influential technology platforms in Asia. He announced that for the first time BEYOND Expo will be upgraded to BEYOND Week, with the aim of creating a more open platform and uniting more high-quality technology-based events to be held in different corners of Macao for one week in May, resulting in a global technology carnival in Macao! SOURCE BEYOND Expo
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The three Buffalo News journalists who investigated the mysterious 1966 murder of a prominent priest will answer readers' questions about the case in a "Behind the Reporting" online event at 7 p.m. on March 2.
During the free event, Watchdog Team reporters Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck, and their editor, Mike McAndrew, will talk about the unsolved murder of Monsignor Francis J. OConnor.
Who killed the monsignor? Exploring the murder of Monsignor Francis J. O'Connor, its investigation and its legacy Revealed in the 56-year-old reports on the murder of Monsignor Francis J. O'Connor were shocking secrets a priest and a diocese journalist had been suspects and a cache of other never-before released details.
Who killed the monsignor? was a series of 18 stories about the slaying of OConnor, a prominent and beloved priest whose body was found in Scajaquada Creek on March 13, 1966.
The articles also focused on a Buffalo police investigation that was suddenly shut down without any arrests or public explanation shortly after several diocese employees emerged as suspects.
According to sources and a 57-year-old police file never before viewed by journalists, police investigated two priests, Monsignor Franklin Kelliher and Rev. John Lewandowski who were both former professional wrestlers as potential suspects. A third suspect was Robert Armbruster, a young reporter who had worked for OConnor, the editor of the Diocese newspaper.
Readers can register online for the event at the following online address: go.BuffaloNews.com/virtual-event
Readers must register prior to the start of the event and can submit questions online during the event.
Sheila Rayam, executive editor of The News, will serve as moderator of the discussion.
Herbeck and Michel have worked a combined 92 years as investigative reporters and crime reporters in the Buffalo area. The two journalists said they look forward to hearing what readers have to say and ask about their series in the March 2 event.
Michel and Herbeck said they continue to pursue tips and possible leads about the murder that have been passed along since the series was published.
Ive had as much reaction to this series as almost anything Ive ever written for The News going back to 1977, Herbeck said. People have shown interest, not only in the murder, but in the way the investigation was so suddenly shut down.
A priest who is a good friend of mine and understands the role of newspapers told me a couple parishioners questioned why The News was investigating a 57-year-old murder case, Michel said. His answer was that the passage of time does not diminish the need for justice or Gods expectation that justice should be sought.
The Who killed the monsignor? series can be read at go.buffalonews.com/whokilledthemonsignor?
[February 21, 2023] Most Valuable Creators Award 2022 announced by Trip.com
Significant increase in number of community members as well as user engagement SINGAPORE, Feb. 21, 2023 /CNW/ -- Trip.com, the global travel agency, is pleased to announce the winners of its Most Valuable Creators Award 2022. This award recognises the outstanding contributions of members who have engaged with Trip Moment's Community platform and shared their experiences, stories, and insights about travel and exploration during the past year. For Trip.com, content creators are an integral part of the travel industry and play a key role in creating engaging, informative, and inspiring content that motivates and encourages travellers to plan and book journeys. Thanks to the contributions of these creators, the Trip Moment Community has witnessed phenomenal growth in the past year. Overall, the number of global community members who had posted content in 2022 increased by 287% compared to the previous year. This figure has risen by 183% and 108% for the UK and US community members, respectively. Data reveals that this growth has been more robust in Asia, including Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand, where the number of community members who posted content last year registered a year-on-year increase of 323%, 430%, 194%, and 524%, respectively. Since the pandemic, Trip.com has continued to host and promote inspiring and valuable content for travellers all around the world, as the data attributes. Trip.com is committed to further growing this community and the functions available on Trip Moments to best serve travellers and creators worldwide. Trip.com's Most Valuable Creators Award 2022 seeks to acknowledge the work of these passionate content creators and reward their contributions. This year, 50 winners, ten from five key markets, were selected. Rafael Osorio is a travel creator from Columbia and a winner of the 2022 award for his contributions to the Trip Moments Community.
"Trip.com has allowed me to develop my creative skills. It is great motivation to get awarded with Trip Coins for every post featured; these coins helped me save money whilst enjoying the most amazing adventures around the globe. Participating in the campaigns has encouraged me to improve my picture and video editing skills." Rafael currently resides in China and is constantly inspired by the country's stunning landscapes and rich culture. He embraces new experiences by tackling thrilling activities and capturing the essence of the destinations for his audience. Second-time award winner Paigunmai, who previously won Trip.com's Most Valuable Creator Award in 2021, showcased her commitment and dedication to the platform. Paigunmai is a professional creator and a passionate traveller who has been contributing content to Trip.com for over two years and contributes to the Trip Moments Community platform in Thailand. Paigunmai said, "I am so happy to receive the award from Trip.com for the second year! I use the Trip.com app regularly, whether travelling in the country or overseas, as there are various services for everything you need. Customer service responds to chat quickly, so if you are stuck in any problems, no matter how late, they can always help." Activity on the Trip Moments Community platforms has also increased over the past year. This includes comments, likes, shares, and saved content by users on the platform. User engagement has increased by 140% and 45% for the UK and US markets. User engagement in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand increased significantly by 375%, 203%, 277% and 355%, respectively, during the past year. Victor Li, Content Product Director, Trip.com, said, "The awards programme recognises creators from around the world based on their number of contributions, duration of use, quality of content, and the number of views, likes, and comments. "These remarkable individuals have demonstrated extraordinary dedication and creativity, and it is with great pleasure that we celebrate their hard work and success. Since the platform was launched in 2020, it has been the home of traveller content on Trip.com, where users can engage in a passionate community about reviews, recommendations, pictures, and travel inspiration. We look forward to welcoming more content creators onboard our platform, and inspiring other travellers as we embark on new and enriching travel experiences in a post-COVID world." About Trip.com Trip.com is an international one-stop travel service provider, available in 24 languages across 39 countries and regions in 31 local currencies and sites. Trip.com has an extensive hotel and flight network consisting of more than 1.2 million hotels and flights from over 480 airlines covering 2,600 airports in 200 countries and regions around the globe. Trip.com's world-class 24/7 multilingual customer service as well as additional centres in Edinburgh, Tokyo and Seoul, help to 'create the best travel experience' for its millions of customers worldwide. To book your next trip, visit trip.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/most-valuable-creators-award-2022-announced-by-tripcom-301752637.html SOURCE Trip.com
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[February 21, 2023] Air Quality Monitoring for Steel Industries Simplified with Oizom
AHMEDABAD, India, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oizom, an Air Quality Monitoring company from Ahmedabad is providing an innovative solution for air quality monitoring in the steel industry. The steel industry generates large amounts of air pollution, including harmful gases like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, through the traditional blast furnace process. The solution is designed to help the steel industry comply with environmental regulations as well as minimise the impact of their operations on environment and local communities. Oizom, smart air quality monitors are built with robust sensors, data analytics, and cloud-based software to provide real-time information on air quality. These monitors provide companies with accurate insights to take precautionary actions and stay within environmental regulatory limits. The auto alert feature enables the maintenance crew to take immediate actions when pollution threshold limits are breached and take immediate actions. The relay based systems also enable automation of mitigation systems like scrubbers and purifiers. With Oizom's EHS air monitoring , the steel companies can ensure that their employees are safe from any dust health hazards. Mr. Samarpi Garg, the Indian Sales Head at Oizom quotes, "As we know, the steel industry is among the top 17 industries responsible for massive emissions of pollutants in the environment. Thus, as Air Quality experts it was crucial for us to find a way by which the steel companies can monitor air pollution and take preventive steps. Our multiparameter air quality monitors provide real-time data and accurate insights allowing companies to make informed decisions to minimise their impact and improve their sustainability."
Oizom's solution has already been adopted by some of the top leading steel companies in India and across the globe. These companies have seen the benefits of real-time air monitoring and are committed to reducing their impact on the environment. Mr. Vrushank Vyas, the COO of Oizom adds, "Our calibrated and robust air quality monitors help mitigate the causes of excess dust saving the steel plant owners from significant penalties they will otherwise have to pay for exceeding the limits of air pollution. Thus, by providing real-time data and insights even in extreme climatic conditions, we are enabling companies to stay compliant and demonstrate their commitment to reducing air pollution and taking care of their employees."
Oizom offers cutting-edge air quality monitoring devices with accurate data analytics to provide real-time data, smart alerts & notifications, and support informed decision-making in various industries. The company's solutions have been adopted by leading organisations and have helped companies to prevent excessive air pollution and improve their overall sustainability. Oizom's mission is to help companies take proactive steps towards a cleaner and greener future. About Oizom Oizom is committed to delivering sustainable and trustworthy air quality monitoring solutions to a range of industries and organisations. Their accurate and affordable air quality monitors promise reliable insights in extreme climate conditions. Whether it's through real-time air quality monitoring, weather tracking, or energy efficiency measurement, Oizom's solutions provide critical insights that help organisations make data-driven decisions for a better and sustainable future. Media Contact: Samarpit Garg
India Sales Head
[email protected]
+91-8866660025 Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2006726/Air_Quality_Monitoring_for_Steel_Industries.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/air-quality-monitoring-for-steel-industries-simplified-with-oizom-301752072.html
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[February 21, 2023] Sftimo Sets up Branch in Singapore to Propel Digital Economy
SINGAPORE, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sftimo sets up a branch in Singapore, a financial center with global influence, and the establishment of the branch will accelerate the IP operation of international exchanges. Sftimo aims to provide safe, convenient and reliable technology services, bring more integrated solutions with commercial value to customers, and help establish and apply ecological models. In the future, Sftimo will help promote innovative investment and business models to better interpret its role as an international business development platform, and enhance the development and competitiveness of national enterprises in the international market. As the trend of asset digitalization gathers momentum, the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, asset security, etc., will reinforce the trend, and assets can be confirmed and used in the Internet system, whatever the type. In the era of the digital economy, cryptocurrencies will assume a more important role. The establishment of Sftimo's branch can not only allow more people to enjoy the advantages of blockchain technology, but also push the development of the platform industry and expedite the rise of the digital economy. According to digital statistics, in the past five years, the market value of crypto digital assets has grown more than 100 times, which means that the digital currency market will have more growth opportunities. The digital economy has formed a web inwhich everyone is connected and can draw strength from each other. In the past, only a few people commanded substantial resources and wealth, but in the digital economy, everyone has easy access to the global market with the help of digital tools such as the Internet and mobile devices, exposing themselves to more opportunities and resources. "We are also actively exploring ways to inject strong vitality into the development of the global digital currency industry and create an international IP platform," says Kevin Chua, Head of Foreign Affairs of Sftimo.
Sftimo sets up the branch in Singapore to accelerate the IP operation of international exchanges. Through its global network and technical service support, Sftimo fully demonstrates its prospects in the Singapore and global markets. Moreover, Sftimo cooperates extensively with the Singapore government, industry and regulatory partners to provide safer and faster securities trading and value-added services to the global industry through institutional markets such as next-day clearing exchanges. While expanding into the Singapore market, Sftimo also attaches importance to global expansion, including North America, Europe, Russia, Japan and other countries into its layout. Sftimo takes advantage of new technology to interact with users and customers, providing real-time, fast one-stop service, 99.999% uptime and 7x24 hours of all-weather customer service, with the average daily number of users served to exceed 100,000.
Since the birth of the concept of openness, digital currency is not just an isolated industry or system, but a huge ecosystem that covers everyone's lifestyle. Therefore, Sftimo is committed to creating such a wide and world-class digital currency ecosystem where everyone can benefit from decentralization. About Sftimo: Headquartered in San Francisco, the US, Sftimo has set up branches in North America, Europe, Russia, Japan and other places, and has obtained MSB licenses in the US and Canada. Sftimo now generates blockchain asset trading and blockchain derivatives services to more than 80 countries and regions, and is one of the digital currency exchanges with the widest geographical distribution of users, accounting for more than 1% of users in nearly 20 countries and regions around the world. Company: Sftimo Blockchain Markets Limited
Contact Person: jeremy lau
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.sftimoinv.com
City: Singapore SOURCE Sftimo Blockchain Markets Limited
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[February 21, 2023] MRI Software completes acquisition of PropTech Group (ASX:PTG)
Combined solution suite is positioned to meet growing consumer expectation for one agency to handle their property needs for life SYDNEY, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions, announces its $93.4 million stock acquisition of PropTech Group (ASX:PTG) is now complete. The highly anticipated deal, first announced last year , secured approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), and Federal Court of Australia earlier this month. The property technology (PropTech) industry has experienced extraordinary growth in Australia with an influx of new providers and innovation over the last several years. In acquiring PTG, MRI complements and strengthens its MRI Living suite of residential sales and property management solutions automating and simplifying every consumer touch point in a real estate business. "This acquisition brings together two innovative PropTech companies dedicated to providing the greatest possible value to real estate agencies across Australia and New Zealand. The residential real estate industry is now a step closer to having a holistic operational view of consumers throughout their property life cycle," said David Bowie, Senior Vice President and Executive Managing Director for MRI Software in Asia Pacific. "We're incredibly proud to have curated such a powerful end-to-end suite of solutions to advance our industry and meet the needs of agencies and consumers alike. In a survey we conducted last year, Australian consumers told us they want one real estate agency for life. We're committed to helping agencies deliver on that aspiration. With more than 50 years of experience serving the global real estate industry, MRI offers peace of mind for clients who know the solutions we tailor to their particular environment are tried and tested."
Joe Hanna, CEO of PropTech Group said, "This acquisition is a massive opportunity for PTG clients, who already enjoy the tight integration of our software. Many of MRI's clients use PTG products like VaultRE or Eagle Software, and likewise, many PTG clients use offerings from MRI such as Box+Dice or PropertyTree. Now, we can innovate together to ensure the focus is exactly where it matters: on our clients." MRI's David Bowie concludes, "We've been delighted by feedback from clients and industry leaders so far. They grasp the incremental value brought by having a partner with an open and connected technology ecosystem to underwrite their business growth. Our respective innovations and extraordinary teams will enable us to better support our clients as they strive to retain consumers for life."
Agency professionals are advised to continue working with their respective PTG or MRI contacts, and/or reach out to MRI for information about any of its newly enhanced suite of residential agency PropTech solutions for marketing, sales, property management and finance operations, now within the MRI group of companies. Finance and legal milestones After securing a near-unanimous vote by shareholders, the binding Scheme Implementation Deed was approved by the Federal Court of Australia and other regulatory bodies earlier in February. The quotation of PTG shares on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) was suspended after close of trading on 13 February 2023. Shareholders receive $0.60 per PTG share held by 7 p.m. on 15 February, delivering an implied equity value of approximately $93.4 million. Implementation of the Scheme officially takes effect from 22 February 2023, meaning full control of the PropTech Group transfers from PTG shareholders to MRI Software on this date. The PropTech Group first traded as PTG on the Australian Securities Exchange in November 2020 with an indicative enterprise value of $27 million outlined in its Prospectus. It has been acquired by MRI for $93.4 million, equal to nearly 250% increase in value in just two years. About MRI Software MRI Software is a global property technology (PropTech) leader, providing real estate software solutions for commercial, residential, and social housing that transform the way communities live, work and play. MRI's open and connected, AI-first platform empowers owners, operators and occupiers in commercial and residential property organisations to innovate in rapidly changing markets. MRI has been a trailblazer in the PropTech industry for over five decades, serving more than two million users worldwide. Through innovative solutions and a rich partner ecosystem, MRI gives real estate companies the freedom to realise their vision of building thriving communities and stronger businesses. For more information, visit www.mrisoftware.com/au. Media + Analyst contact For high-res spokesperson images or to request an interview or more information, please contact: Heather Jones
Media Relations, Asia Pacific
MRI Software
0400 394 669
[email protected] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007298/David_Bowie_MRI_Asia_Pacific.jpg
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/489877/MRI_Software_Logo.jpg SOURCE MRI Software in Australia and New Zealand
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[February 22, 2023] SVKM's NMIMS and Virginia Tech Strengthen Partnership for Collaborative Applied Research and Curriculum Development
MUMBAI, India, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NMIMS, Deemed-to-be University, hosted a senior leadership delegation from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) at its Mumbai campus on 13th and 14th February 2023. The event was aimed at bringing together academic experts to discuss and promote collaborative applied research, curriculum development, internships, and placements for students. NMIMS Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering and Virginia Tech already enjoy a fruitful collaboration for their various programs, like the NMIMS MPSTME 3+1+1 Coordinated Program and NMIMS Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics dual degree program, which is the first in India to offer such a program The Virginia Tech delegation comprised Dr. Cyril Clark, Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Daniel Sui, Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation, Dr. Guru Ghosh, Vice President of Outreach and International Affairs, Dr. Tarun Sen, MD & Professor Emeritus of Accounting and Information Systems, and Mr. Harold Brayman, Foreign Commercial Officer at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Mumbai among other senior academics and scholars. The eminent members representing SVKM and NMIMS included Shri. Amit Sheth, Hon. Secretary, Managing Committee of SVKM, Shri. Shalin Divatia, Committee Member of SVKM, Dr. Ramesh Bhat, Vice Chancellor, SVKM's NMIMS, Dr. Sharad Mhaiskar, Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr. Meena Chintamaneni, Pro Vice Chancellor, and several department head members, Deans, Associate Deans, and professors of the SVKM's NMIMS were also present on the occasion. The event began with Dr. Sharad Mhaiskar welcoming all the guests, followed by Dr. Guru Ghosh speaking about the NMIMS-Virginia Tech partnership. This was followed by Dr. Cyril Clark talking about Hokies collaborating with diverse team members and crossing the traditional lines between fields and disciplines to tackle global-scale problems, and Ms. Meena Saxena, Director International, NMIMS, introducing Mr. Harold Brayman, who spoke about the importance of industry-academia collaboration, emphasising its benefits for both parties. Two students from B Tech 3+1+1 & Certificate program shared their experiences of the unique program. The highlight of the two-day engaging sessions was the university's vision on research. It saw presentations on research conducted by both institutions. Dr. harad Mhaiskar and Dr. Daniel Sui highlighted the university's emphasis on research and their achievements in terms of areas of research, spanning schools, citations, the number, and quality of papers presented over the years, the patents awarded and funding received. They presented their shared goals, objectives, and priorities regarding research while exploring new research frontiers. Dr. Mhaiskar also spoke about the stellar work done by the Atal Incubation Centre, encouraging research and a startup temperament.
This was followed by a meeting of the Virginia Tech delegates with Dr. Ramesh Bhat for further discussions on research collaboration. Dr. Viswanath Venkatesh, Eminent Scholar and Verizon Chair of Business Information at Virginia Tech also led a discussion on faculty development and research with the NMIMS Business School Dean, Dr. Prashant Mishra in the presence of Dr. Ramesh Bhat, and other senior faculty members from NMIMS, including the Dean of Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering, Dr. Alka Mahajan. A meeting led by Dr. Azim Eskandarian, professor and head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, discussed the details of the proposed VT NMIMS 3+1+1.5, Integrated Master's Mechanical Engineering Program while, Dr. Sharad Mhaiskar led a discussion on the NMIMS-Virginia Tech Certificate program. The Data Science Virginia Tech Certificate Award Programme was also held, led by Dr. Aimee Suprenant, Dean of Graduate Studies at Virginia Tech.
The guests from the US were also given a glimpse of India's rich culture and hospitality with a mesmerising performance by Dr. Tina Tambe and her troupe, even as they relished the Indian delicacies at the gala dinner organised for them. Speaking on occasion, Mr. Harold Brayman, Foreign Commercial Officer at U.S. Department of Commerce, Mumbai, said, "By working together, we can create a more skilled and competent workforce that can meet future challenges. Collaboration of Industry-academia is crucial for bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills that are needed in the industry." Dr. Ramesh Bhat commented, "The partnership between NMIMS and Virginia Tech reiterates our commitment to fostering an ecosystem that promotes knowledge sharing, research, and innovation. Through this invaluable association, our students will not only benefit from the latest knowledge, techniques, and skills but will also be exposed to a diverse range of perspectives and ideas. We are delighted to have hosted the esteemed delegation from Virginia Tech and look forward to strengthening our association with them in the years to come." Dr. Cyril Clark, Executive Vice President and Provost, Virginia Tech, commented, "It is a pleasure and privilege to be in India again. This is my third visit to India, but I feel like I have been learning about India for the last 40 years or so, because of the relationships and collaborations that I've had in mentoring Indian students as well as working with Indian colleagues. Virginia Tech is one of 50 land-grant universities. Land-grant institutions were established in the United States to advance the mechanical and agricultural arms and to also provide liberal and practical education. Land-grant universities are characterised not only by their history but also by what's called a tripartite mission. This includes three basic missions: to educate the population, to conduct impactful research and discovery, and then to take the outcome of their education and research and transfer it to the betterment of society." About SVKM's NMIMS Established in 1981, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) is today recognized as a globally reputed university with strong industry linkages, having duly earned every coveted accreditation and top ranking over the years, making its credibility unshakeable. It offers multiple disciplines across eight campuses that consist of 17 specialized schools, more than 17,000 full-time students, and about 800+ full-time faculty members, including ten faculty members with the Fulbright and Humboldt Scholarships for post-doctoral research. Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal (SVKM) led the foundation stone of this esteemed university to cater to the rising demand for management institutes in the country. NMIMS is known for its consistent academic quality and research-focused approach toward holistic education. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/svkms-nmims-and-virginia-tech-strengthen-partnership-for-collaborative-applied-research-and-curriculum-development-301752732.html
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[February 22, 2023] Estonian Innovations Take Centre Stage at IDEX 2023, Highlighted by Enterprise Estonia and Milrem Robotics' Acquisition by Edge
Enterprise Estonia is showcasing 12 Estonian Companies at IDEX 2023.
UAE Defence Conglomerate Edge acquired a majority stake in Estonia's Milrem Robotics, elevating autonomous systems capabilities. ABU DHABI, UAE, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its mission to achieve the long-term strategic goals of the Estonian economy and facilitate the process of Estonia becoming one of the most competitive countries in the world, Enterprise Estonia, the state agency responsible for promoting Estonian businesses, is currently showcasing 12 Estonian companies at the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) 2023. Also participating in the exhibition is Milrem Robotics, which was recently acquired by UAE-based defence conglomerate Edge. IDEX, the world's most important tri-service defence exhibition, is taking place until February 24 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, marking its 30th anniversary. As part of its continuing mission to facilitate the process of Estonia becoming one of the most competitive countries in the world, Enterprise Estonia is introducing Estonia as an able and willing partner in the defence industry. Milrem Robotics isrenowned for its accomplishments in the defence sector, specialising in the development of intelligent unmanned ground vehicles, robotic warfare, concept of operations, and warfare analysis. The Tallinn-based company will become a new entity under Edge's platforms and systems cluster following Edge's acquisition of a majority stake in Milrem Robotics. The investment will help the Estonian company expand its workforce, step up production, and grow its footprint internationally while providing Edge with access to markets in Northern Europe and beyond.
The acquisition of a majority stake in Milrem Robotics by Edge is a visionary investment in the future of the UAE-based defence conglomerate. Edge has a singular focus on the development of cutting-edge capabilities across its multiple domains, making this transaction a strategic move to further enhance its expertise in robotics and autonomous systems. The Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association is accompanying the participating companies at IDEX, aiming to create better opportunities for member defence and security companies, as well as contributing to the economic development of Estonia. The association is highlighting companies such as Marduk, DefSecIntel, and Threod Systems, which specialise in UAVs, security and surveillance solutions, and unmanned aircraft systems and subsystems for intelligence collection and surveillance tasks, respectively.
The addition of Edge as a new majority owner will allow Milrem to increase production, hire new people, acquire new know-how, and significantly expand its product portfolio, thereby becoming a stronger company internationally. The deal will further propagate Estonian innovation in the defence industry, which is contributing to the growth of Estonia's sovereign defence industry. To learn more about Enterprise Estonia, the participating Estonian companies, or the Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association, visit stand 10-D06 during IDEX or https://eas.ee/en/. Media contacts: Reem Masswadeh,
M: +971 (05)0 583 9330,
E: [email protected] Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007435/Estonian_team_at_IDEX.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/estonian-innovations-take-centre-stage-at-idex-2023-highlighted-by-enterprise-estonia-and-milrem-robotics-acquisition-by-edge-301752733.html SOURCE Enterprise Estonia
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[February 22, 2023] Industrial cloud software underpins the smart and agile approach to digital transformation
Frost & Sullivan whitepaper reveals why cloud-based software creates an ideal platform for agility and adaptiveness BRUSSELS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, has announced the availability of a whitepaper from Frost & Sullivan that explains the value of cloud-based software, especially in light of digital transformation. The whitepaper looks at the challenges and opportunities from multiple perspectives industry, customer, technology and operations and explains why agility and adaptiveness across all facets are essential in the face of increasing adversity and industry disruptions. Key to its findings is the need for tools that support highly flexible ways of working, with clou-based software being singled out as offering the most operational value.
The report goes on to cite the Plex smart manufacturing platform a modular, multi-tenant SaaS solution from Rockwell Automation, which is available via Microsoft Azure, public cloud. Suitable for operations of all sizes, Plex is an industry-proven platform for companies looking to undertake a digital transformation. According to Sachin Mathur, EMEA director of software and control at Rockwell Automation: "Agility in the real world requires agility in the digital world too, which is why highly adaptive cloud-based software solutions are now becoming the dominant force. Plex is an ideal example of a software solution that adapts to a company's precise needs and then acts as a guide throughout their transformation journey and beyond."
To find out how and why you should leverage the power of cloud-based smart solutions, download a free copy of the Frost & Sullivan report. About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1981317/Rockwell_Automation_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/industrial-cloud-software-underpins-the-smart-and-agile-approach-to-digital-transformation-301747599.html
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[February 22, 2023] Septeo French Tech reference recorded 310 million euros revenues up to 30% compared to 2021 and joins top 10 software players in France
Septeo, France and Europe's leading legaltech and proptech group, announces 2022 annual revenues of 310 M up to 30% compared to 2021 and doubling its turnover in 3 years and its ARR in 2 years. These outstanding results are the outcome of significant and targeted investments in innovation (30 million in R&D), a sustained M&A dynamic, and the strengthening of its international activities. As one of the largest private employers in the Montpellier employment area, Septeo is pursuing its intensive growth strategy. Hugues Galambrun, founder and CEO of Septeo, comments this achievement : The winning strategy we have been pursuing since 2020 is bearing fruit. Septeo is recognized both for the sustainability of its growth and its profitability, due to the strength of its business model but also for the value of its solutions that benefit and positively transform essential moments in the lives of more than 18 million fellow citizens. An external growth strategy that has met its goals and will accelerate over the next two years The 7 buyouts made in 2022 have enabled Septeo to enter new markets such as the accountancy and e-invoicing market with Ingeneo and the HR market with Foederis, to strengthen its expertise in the real estate software market with the acquisition of DP Logiciels and the legal aid market with Softouest and Intelligent Software, without forgetting the development of its international presence with the acquisition of Flexsoft and Dataconsult in Belgium.Thanks to this new year of strong growth and in line with its ambitious plan to conquer new markets, Septeo has doubled its revenues in 3 years, becoming a leader in the legaltech and proptech software industries in France and Europe.
For the next three years, Septeo will continue its strategy of growth and conquest with the ambition of doubling its revenues again by 2025 by focusing on the customer experience, the acceleration of its offers in the cloud, the development of its real estate and corporate activities and finally its international presence. The ambition remains to become one of the leading tech companies in France within the next 3 years. Solutions that find new professions in France and abroad
Septeo's mission is increasingly recognized among its clients and partners in France and abroad. Freeing its clients from operational and administrative constraints and improving their daily lives to make them more productive thanks to its business software solutions, remains the major axis of the Group's strategy. Beyond the regulated professions, Septeo is becoming a reference in the real estate sector, but also for businesses. The goal is to establish Septeo as a key leader in our 5 strategic markets: notaries, legal, real estate, businesses and accountants. Putting people at the heart of its strategy with 500 new hires by 2022 To support its growth, Septeo also bets on its human capital. More than 500 new people have joined the Group last year, bringing the total number of employees to 2,400. For the second year in a row, the Group has been distinguished by a Great Place to Work award and is one of the leading private employers in the Montpellier employment area. About Septeo Septeo, a French group founded in the Montpellier region, is the leading player in LegalTech and PropTech in France and Europe. Our software solutions enable more than 160,000 legal and real estate professionals to develop and secure their activities every day. Our mission: freeing businesses from their constraints, thanks to technological solutions and innovative services. Our solutions are at the heart of the essential moments of life of more than 18 million of our fellow citizens. https://en.septeo.fr/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005131/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Leading global healthcare platform Docplanner acquires company MyDr sp. z o. o. - a leader in the Polish practice management software (PMS) sector.
WARSAW, Poland, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The leading global healthcare booking platform and provider of SaaS solutions for doctors and medical facilities, Docplanner , has announced an acquisition of Poland's leading provider of technological solutions for the medical sector, MyDr sp. z o. o., the creator of softwares such as MyDr EDM and Dr100. As a result of the transaction, Docplanner will strengthen its position as the largest player in the digital healthcare market in its geographies with its comprehensive offering of digital solutions for healthcare market. MyDr has almost 2 million monthly visits to their website and partners with 47,000 healthcare professionals. Meanwhile, ZnanyLekarz partners with 24,000 healthcare professionals and is the platform of choice for patients in Poland, with 6 million users visiting the portal each month. This acquisition is the first for Docplanner in its domestic marketof Poland. Docplanner's recent purchases include Feegow, which develops software for managing medical facilities in Brazil, and jameda, the largest German digital medical services platform.
"Today a strong player, brand and partner joins the Docplanner Group and our Polish operation of ZnanyLekarz" said Mariusz Gralewski, CEO of Docplanner Group. "ZnanyLekarz is a leader when it comes to connecting doctors with patients and we are growing steadily as a software provider for automating and improving the work of medical practices. Combined we will provide a comprehensive solution for the healthcare market in Poland in order to make medical care more human and modern." "I am proud that we are joining the Docplanner Group, a global leader in the healthcare sector, and I am convinced that together we can implement the best technological solutions for the entire industry in Poland." said Piotr Miluski, Managing Director of MyDr. "We have created a strong system for managing medical practices and combined with the power of the ZnanyLekarz marketplace together we will deliver the highest value for doctors and patients."
As part of the transaction Docplanner will add to its portfolio: MyDr EDM - the most recognizable practice management software in Poland, Dr100 - a software for running dental offices and clinics, and drNews - an information system for medical facilities. The companies are not disclosing the financial details of the transaction. Iwona Dziedzic-Gawrys
e: [email protected]
m: + 48 606 962 293 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1867721/Docplanner_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/leading-global-healthcare-platform-docplanner-acquires-company-mydr-sp-z-o-o---a-leader-in-the-polish-practice-management-software-pms-sector-301751885.html
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[February 22, 2023] Virtual Internet announces completion of New Virtual 5G
A New Virtual 5G App, Cloud and Service SINGAPORE and SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --Virtual Internet, the leader in Software 5G (Fifth Generation) Mobile Broadband technology announced it had competed work on a new version of Virtual 5G App and Global Virtual 5G Mobile Broadband service, both to be released Worldwide. Virtual 5G is 5G Virtual 5G is Software based 5G Mobile Broadband. 5G, Fifth Generation Mobile Broadband, is faster than existing networks, enables greater bandwidth, and improves Internet Services in both urban and rural areas. Virtual 5G was and is the only Software with the proven ability over millions of users, to bring 5G service to 2G, 3G, and 4G Mobile Devices over Cellular, Wi-Fi and Satellite and to supercharge the performance of native 5G mobile devices. Virtual 5G --first and only of its kind Virtual 5G was already the highest performing App of its kind; Virtual Internet has created a faster, better version of Virtual 5G, and an improved ecosystem of Apps that run over the Global Virtual 5G Network. Virtual 5G; a Billion bits per second As part of the New Virtual 5G, we have enhanced the Virtual 5G engine, capable of speeds in excess of 1Gbps; 5G Mobile Broadband is defined as only 50 Mbits (Million) per second. A complete upgrade of a successful platform like Virtual 5G that already had many millions of downloads is extremely rare. There are times where there is a chance to make a huge leap forward without taking a step back; when that occurs, those opportunities need to be seized. As a result, Virtual 5G's platform now delivers better service, and is of greater value to users and partners alike. The new Virtual 5G has incorporating emerging Internet technologies, with increased performance on Mobile Clients and Cloud Servers. Billions of Users QUIC is being brought to billions of people; and Virtual 5G is leading a part of that. Virtual 5G has now been engineered to incorporate QUIC, a cutting-edge Internet technology. QUIC is used in more than 50% of all connections from the Chrome web browser to Google's servers. In addition, Microsoft's Edge (from the open-source Chromium browser), Apple's Safari browser and Firefox browsers all support QUIC. As of 2022, more than 75% of Meta's (Facebook) internet traffic used QUIC. Most technology companies use QUIC by taking advantage of prebuilt QUIC supported Apps (e.g., Browsers), Servers and Services. Uber, which relies on its Mobile App, where both drivers and end users are mobile in countries worldwide with varying levels of connectivity, has seen the benefit of QUIC by leveraging QUIC for their Android App; Uber has used pre-packaged QUIC through the Cronet Library; a Chromium network stack available to Android apps as a library. Cronet handles requests of apps used by millions of people on a daily basis, such as YouTube, Google App, Google Photos, and Maps. As Uber has discovered, Cronet library at times fails to load for certain Android devices, showing QUIC is most valuable when implemented at the protocol level into a platform for Apps to run upon, which is what Virtual 5G has accomplished.
Google, Microsoft, Meta (Facebook), ADARA QUIC has been implemented at the protocol level by only the leading companies in the industry. In addition to Google, Microsoft has implemented its versions (MSQUIC), along with Facebook (Meta) (mvfst), Akamai Technologies (QUIC-GO). Now ADARA, the parent of Virtual Internet, has joined these companies by implementing its own version of QUIC; QUIC+, which has been enhanced with ADARA's Performance AI.
Virtual 5G provides a VPN service for Free Virtual 5G delivers a VPN service for free, where VPN services often charge $200 annually. With Virtual 5G the traffic is multiply encrypted with both novel and standards-based encryption at the protocol levels. Virtual 5G's Global Network delivers both Performance and Security in a design that keeps all information about connections it carries private. Virtual 5G; implements both QUIC and TCP While QUIC aims to be nearly equivalent to TCP, but with much-reduced latency, there are limitations to both QUIC and TCP. Virtual Internet has engineered out those limitations. Virtual 5G integrates both advanced ADARA QUIC (QUIC+) and ADARA TCP (QuickStart+) and has engineered them to work together. ADARA has merged an advanced implementation of both ADARA QUIC UDP (QUIC+) and ADARA TCP (QuickStart+) in the Virtual Internet platform; and deployed these in the Virtual 5G App and the Virtual 5G Global Network. ADARA QUIC+ features enhanced API's, Control Plane, Data Plane, Optimizations, and Congestion Control Algorithms, with future enhancements to make QUIC+ the most capable of all QUIC implementations. QUIC can support multiple congestion control algorithms (CCA's); in 5G, the performance of a CCA can depend on the position of the 5G device since the position can determine the location of the bottleneck and the level of variability. Virtual 5G with QUIC offers a solution that works consistently across multiple scenarios and overcomes these and issues in use of QUIC in 5G Mobile Broadband. ADARA and Virtual Internet support all these CCA versions of QUIC, as well as its own advanced CCA in QUIC+, along with the DLSP AI Engine and multiple architectural and operating improvements to QUIC and combined with Virtual Internet's 5G Mobile Broadband technology. QUIC's importance to 5G Verizon Digital Media Services started building QUIC across its entire content delivery network to improve the network performance for customers and Ericsson is experimenting with QUIC as a 5G signaling protocol; 3GPP is considering using QUIC for the 5G packet core (3GPP 29.893). While Native QUIC has issues (e.g., mixed traffic 4G-5G-4G handoff); 5G service architectures are examining and identifying gaps and improvements. Although QUIC presents challenges, it is here to stay. Mobile subscribers may not understand QUIC or any other protocols; they will understand that the speed of Virtual 5G means their mobile device and Virtual Internet's Mobile Operator Partners have a faster network, making subscribers happier and lifetime users. QUIC's importance to Satellite (Space Based Networks) There are companies building networks exclusively from LEO Satellites; while QUIC zero handshaking and loss recovery strategies are beneficial in these space-based networks, native QUIC behaves poorly where there is a short-term disconnection during handover. ADARA QUIC+ with QuickStart+ and DLSP AI eliminates these issues making space-based networks both higher performing without sacrificing reliability during inevitable handoffs. Virtual 5G; the power to transform the World Virtual 5G's platform, already globally adopted, now delivers better service, and is of greater value to users and partners alike. About Virtual Internet Pte. Ltd. Virtual Internet is a metaverse company, incorporated in Singapore. Virtual Internet is building a new community of millions of users, connected through multiple networks. Virtual Internet has created and operates on its own Virtual 5G Global Overlay Network, which allows millions of other applications and services to be delivered over 5G Mobile Broadband Speeds using existing Cellular Radio, Wi-Fi, and SATCOM networks. About ADARA Networks, Inc. ADARA Networks, Inc. is acknowledged as one of the premier providers of SDN and Cloud Networking products. Virtual Internet Pte. Ltd, Singapore, is a wholly owned subsidiary of ADARA Networks. CONTACT: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/virtual-internet-announces-completion-of-new-virtual-5g-301752542.html SOURCE Virtual Internet Pte. Ltd.
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Granted, $75 million is more than most non-lottery players can even dream about. Still, in the context of Albany budgeting it could be the best pocket change taxpayers ever spend.
Thats the gap between the $25 million Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed for a new matching funds program to clean up the cesspool known as democratic elections and the $100 million reformers say is needed to do the job right.
Those seeking the $100 million include the Public Campaign Finance Board itself, set up under the state Board of Elections to administer the new public funding program that launched after Novembers elections.
Covering both statewide and state legislative races, the goal is to shift power away from special interests and return it to ordinary citizens by setting up a small-dollar matching funds program.
Contributions of between $5 and $250 from eligible individuals would be matched on a 6-to-1 basis for those running for statewide office. Contributions to legislative candidates would be matched on a 12-to-1 basis for the first $50, a 9-to-1 basis for the next $100 and an 8-to-1 basis for the final $100.
To keep from running afoul of the U.S. Supreme Courts view that its OK to buy elections, the plan does not try to outlaw private contributions or so-called independent expenditures that benefit candidates. However, the state also has dramatically lowered the cap on private donations, thus amplifying the impact of the small-donor funding.
With ordinary citizens calling more of the tune by paying the piper, the idea is that winning candidates will be more responsive to them and less beholden to special interests.
Nevertheless, the fact that Hochuls budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1 does not include the $100 million the campaign board sought is worrisome, both for the message it sends and for the potential practical implications. With the program taking effect with the 2024 legislative races, some candidates no doubt will begin planning this year and need to know what they can count on from the new program rather than waiting to see how much funding if any will be in the fiscal year 2025 budget approved next spring.
In testimony last week before a Legislature committee, Reinvent Albany warned that not fully funding the program now risks discouraging potential participants and damaging public trust even more campaigns might not receive the funds theyve been expecting for over a year, leading to more suspicion that NYS government simply does not work.
We think its important that funding for the program be put in place ahead of time just to ensure theres enough funding, Tom Speaker, the groups policy analyst, said in an interview.
As an example of the mischief that could be played by not fully funding it ahead of an election year, he cited the possibility that incumbents running next year might be more reluctant in the midst of a campaign to vote for money that could help their challengers.
Thats the very type of cynicism public funding is supposed to help dispel. Hochul, of all people, should realize how poisonous such suspicions can be, in light of a Buffalo News look into a $637 million no-bid contract her administration awarded to Digital Gadgets for Covid-19 tests that were bought at higher prices than other vendors were charging. The companys founder and family members gave nearly $300,000 to Hochuls 2022 campaign and another $235,000 to the state Democratic Party.
Hochul has said she didnt even know about the contributions, and her office has emphasized that such donations do not influence governmental decisions. Yet the stench created by such a coincidence cannot help but undermine public confidence at a time when trust in government already is low.
Even when everything is on the up and up, that is the unavoidable consequence of a campaign finance system that makes politicians so dependent on monied interests instead of on ordinary citizens.
Hochuls office did not respond to a request for comment on why she didnt fully fund the program. But there is still plenty of time for her and legislators to rectify that mistake.
While one good-government group has called the new public funding effort groundbreaking, that will only be true if theres enough money up front to make candidates competitive without having to depend on private dollars. Setting aside $100 million out of a $227 billion budget or an infinitesimal 0.04% would be a very small investment in ridding New York of the special-interest stench and restoring the states democracy.
[February 22, 2023] BiomX Announces Positive Results from Part 1 of the Phase 1b/2a Study Evaluating BX004 for Treatment of Chronic Pulmonary Infections in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis
BX004 therapy safe and well-tolerated across all patients and dose levels
Preliminary signals of efficacy also observed, with notable reductions in bacterial burden Dosing in patients in Part 2 initiated, results expected in Q3 23 Company to host webcast/cc to discuss Part 1 data today at 9:00 am ET CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and NESS ZIONA, Israel, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BiomX Inc. (NYSE American: PHGE) (BiomX or the Company), a clinical-stage company advancing novel natural and engineered phage therapies that target specific pathogenic bacteria, today announced positive results from Part 1 of the Phase 1b/2a trial evaluating the Companys novel phage cocktail, BX004, for the treatment of chronic pulmonary infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (or P. aeruginosa) in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). We are very excited to share these positive results from Part 1 of our Phase 1b/2a CF study, said Jonathan Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of BiomX. Although Part 1 of the study was designed primarily to assess safety and tolerability of BX004, a goal that was achieved, we are highly encouraged to see preliminary evidence of efficacy in patients treated with BX004 despite the small sample size and short duration of treatment. At Day 15, mean P. aeruginosa burden was reduced by 1.42 log 10 CFU/g compared to 0.28 log 10 CFU/g in those receiving placebo. The BiomX Phase 1b/2a clinical trial is the first reported double blind placebo-controlled study evaluating a cocktail-based phage product to demonstrate notable reductions in bacterial burden in cystic fibrosis. Based on the favorable safety profile in Part 1, as confirmed by the Data Monitoring Committee, we have already dosed patients in Part 2 of the Phase 1b/2a study and expect to report results in the third quarter of 2023. We would like to thank all of the patients, physicians and healthcare providers who participated in Part 1 of the study and our dedicated team and collaborators for all their work. We also appreciate the continued support from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which, through its Therapeutics Development Award program, provides significant resources to help advance new therapeutics for CF. Despite the available new CFTR directed therapies, CF patients continue to suffer from intractable, persistent infections, such as those caused by P. aeruginosa, and new treatment approaches are clearly needed, said Eitan Kerem, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and former Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Pulmonology Unit of the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem. BiomX's study results, in addition to previous data gathered through compassionate use, strongly endorse the potential of phage-based treatments in effectively targeting pathogenic bacteria within infected tissue. I look forward to the results from Part 2 of this study later this year. Given theability of antibiotics to reduce susceptible bacteria and concurrently improve lung function, we are hopeful that we will observe similar findings with BX004 following the extended treatment course planned in Part 2 of the study, said Merav Bassan, Ph.D.Chief Development Officer of BiomX.
Summary of Part 1 Results Part 1 of the Phase 1b/2a study of BX004 evaluated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and microbiologic activity of BX004 over a 7-day treatment period in nine CF patients (seven on BX004, two on placebo) with chronic P. aeruginosa pulmonary infection in a single ascending dose and multiple dose design.
Highlights Included: No safety events related to treatment with BX004
Mean P. aeruginosa colony forming units (CFU) at Day 15 (compared to baseline): -1.42 log 10 CFU/g (BX004) vs. -0.28 log 10 CFU/g (placebo). This reduction was seen on top of standard of care inhaled antibiotics
CFU/g (BX004) vs. -0.28 log CFU/g (placebo). This reduction was seen on top of standard of care inhaled antibiotics Phages were detected in all patients treated with BX004 during the dosing period, including in several patients up to Day 15 (one week after end of therapy); no phages were detected in patients receiving placebo
There was no emerging resistance to BX004 during or after treatment with BX004
As expected, likely due to short course of therapy, there was no detectable effect on % predicted FEV1
BiomX is developing BX004, utilizing its proprietary BOLT platform, for the treatment of CF patients with chronic pulmonary infections caused by P. aeruginosa, a main contributor to morbidity and mortality in patients with CF. In September 2021, BX004 was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to initiate a Phase 1b/2a study in CF patients with chronic pulmonary infections caused by P. aeruginosa. Part 2 of the Phase 1b/2a study of BX004 will evaluate the safety and efficacy of BX004 in 24 CF patients with chronic pulmonary infection caused by P. aeruginosa randomized to treatment or placebo in a 2:1 ratio. Results from Part 2 are expected in the third quarter of 2023. Conference Call and Webcast Information BiomX management will host a conference call and webcast today at 9:00 am to review the results of the Phase 1b/2a trial results. To participate in the conference, please dial 1-877-407-0724 (U.S.), or 1-201-389-0898 (International). A live and archived webcast of the call will be available on the Investors section of the Companys website at www.biomx.com. About BiomX BiomX is a clinical-stage company developing both natural and engineered phage cocktails designed to target and destroy bacteria that target and destroy bacteria in the treatment of chronic diseases. BiomX discovers and validates proprietary bacterial targets and customizes phage compositions against these targets. For more information, please visit www.biomx.com Safe Harbor This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: target, believe, expect, will, may, anticipate, estimate, would, positioned, future, and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. For example, when BiomX discusses the potential safety or efficacy of BX004, the expected timing of Part 2 of the Phase 1b/2a study and the potential of targeted phage therapy to treat infections in CF patients, BiomX is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on BiomX managements current beliefs, expectations and assumptions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of BiomXs control. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, investors should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements and should review the risks and uncertainties described under the caption Risk Factors in BiomXs Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on March 30, 2022 and additional disclosures BiomX makes in its other filings with the SEC, which are available on the SECs website at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and except as provided by law BiomX expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update forward-looking statements BiomX Contacts
Investor Relations:
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
John Mullaly
(617)-698-9253
[email protected]
BiomX, Inc.
Anat Primovich
Corporate Project Manager
+972 (50) 697-7228
[email protected] Source: BiomX Inc.
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Evans Bancorp, Inc. Increases Semi-Annual Cash Dividend to $0.66 per Share
Evans Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company" or "Evans") (NYSE American: EVBN), a community financial services company serving Western New York since 1920, announced that at its meeting yesterday, the Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.66 per share on its outstanding common stock. This semi-annual dividend represents a $0.02 increase from the previous semi-annual dividend paid in October 2022.
The dividend is payable on April 4, 2023 to shareholders of record as of March 10, 2023. The Company has approximately 5.5 million shares outstanding.
About Evans Bancorp, Inc.
Evans Bancorp, Inc. i a financial holding company and the parent company of Evans Bank, N.A., a commercial bank with $2.2 billion in assets and $1.8 billion in deposits at December 31, 2022. Evans is a full-service community bank with 18 branches providing comprehensive financial services to consumer, business and municipal customers throughout Western New York. Evans Insurance Agency, a wholly owned subsidiary, provides life insurance, employee benefits, and property and casualty insurance through ten offices in the Western New York region. Evans Investment Services provides non-deposit investment products, such as annuities and mutual funds.
Evans Bancorp, Inc. and Evans Bank routinely post news and other important information on their websites, at www.evansbancorp.com and www.evansbank.com.
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[February 22, 2023] Flagstop Car Wash Acquires Hogwash Express Car Wash as Part of Ongoing Regional Expansion Under Garnett Station Partners
Flagstop Car Wash ("Flagstop" or the "Company"), a leading express car wash chain based in Richmond, Virginia, today announced it has acquired Hogwash Express Car Wash ("Hogwash") as part of the Company's scaling of its premium car wash platform. The growth plan is supported by the recent strategic capital investment from Garnett Station Partners, LLC ("Garnett Station"), a New-York based principal investment firm that manages ~$2 billion of assets. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Opened in 2021 by Janet and Tom Hogg, Hogwash has grown to be a provider of high-quality car wash services in the Richmond 'Mid-Town' area. Hogwash opened through partnership with River City Enterprises, a Charlottesville based investment company managed by John Epley and Tee Valentine. Following Garnett Station's recapitalization and growth capital announcement in January, the acquisition of Hogwash will support Flagstop's expansion in the greater Richmond area. Under the terms of the deal, Hogwash will be rebranded as the 15th Flagstop location in the Richmond DMA. "Janet and Tom have done an excellent job developing and operating top-tier car wash locations. The addition of Hogwash's high-quality platform will complement our existing footprint across Richmond, bolstering our market position while giving our customers and club members an additional convenient location to wash with us," said Craig Marable, Vice President of Operations at Flagstop. "We are excitedto welcome these new team members into the Flagstop family and look forward to seeing them grow within our organization."
"Tom and I are very excited to add our facilities to the Flagstop network of express car washes. This provides our employees more opportunity to grow their careers and gives our customers more locations to keep their vehicles clean. We truly appreciate how the community has responded to the Hogwash brand over the years, and we're confident this is a win-win for us all. Flagstop truly cares for their people and customers, and I'm confident that the business we've built will be in good hands," added Hogwash Founder Janet Hogg. About Garnett Station Partners
Garnett Station Partners is a principal investment firm founded in 2013 by Matt Perelman and Alex Sloane that manages ~$2 billion of assets. Garnett Station partners with experienced and entrepreneurial management teams and strategic investors to build value for its portfolio of growth platforms. The firm draws on its global relationships, operational experience and rigorous diligence process to source, underwrite and manage investments. Core sectors include consumer and business services, health & wellness, automotive, and food & beverage. Garnett Station's culture is based on the principles of entrepreneurship, collaboration, analytical rigor and accountability. For more information, please visit www.garnettstation.com. About Flagstop Car Wash Flagstop Car Wash was founded over 40 years ago in Chester, Virginia by Bob Schrum. Jamie Nester, Craig Marable and Derek Haynes acquired the Company in late 2016 and have successfully grown Flagstop into the leading express car wash platform in the greater Richmond market with 15 existing locations. For the latest news from Flagstop as well as more information on the company's services, locations and hours, visit www.flagstopcarwash.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005328/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Ether Capital Corporation Announces Beta Testing of its New Premium Staking Dashboard
Ether Capital Corporation ("Ether Capital" or "the Company") (NEO: ETHC) is proud to announce the beta launch of its staking dashboard ("the Staking Dashboard") - a premium analytics tool that provides Ethereum users with direct insight into their staking operations and financial results. The Staking Dashboard marks a significant milestone for Ether Capital as it aligns with the Company's three-pronged strategy: To continue being a net accumulator of Ether, remain focused on staking Ether, and use a portion of the yield generated from staking (i.e. Staking Rewards) to build quality infrastructure that supports Ethereum and creates value for Ether Capital shareholders. The beta version of the Staking Dashboard allows stakers to add their validator keys (run themselves or by an operator) and have immediate insight into their staking operations. It provides users with the information needed to create IFRS-compliant financial reports that meet institutional standards. Users are also able to track their staking rewards from Ethereum's execution layer and consensus layer, while accessing key metrics on validator performance. The Company is looking forward to receiving user feedback on the beta version that will be instrumental in guiding the product roadmap. "The Staking Dashboard is a tool that was built by stakers for stakers. We're excited to get this product in front of a wider audience and collect insights from users as to how it adds value for them. The features in the beta are a first step in a broader vision to become the go-to source for staking analytics and insights," said Jillian Friedman, COO of Ether Capital. "Ether Capital is uniquely positioned to understand both the needs of traditional finance as well as best practices within the Ethereum ecosystem. It is our goal to leverage that IP into operating business lines, something that has been part of our core mission from day one," said Brian Mosoff, CEO of Ether Capital. "Our product is designed to greatly improve the overall staking experience for all types of stakers, which further positions the Company as a dominant player in the industry. We are proud to finally introduce what we have been working on for the past several months and celebrate this defining moment for our business." Ether Capital believes the Staking Dashboard will help users to address challenges that pervade the industry, including limited insight into validator performance and broken data pipelines. "We want users to have direct access to consistent and reliable data when it comes to staking, which is why we took the initiative to build the Staking Dashboard," said Shayan Eskandari, CTO of Ether Capital. "It was initially an in-house solution that was instrumental in helping us meet institutional reporting and auditing requirements. Now that we know what it's capable of, we're excited to share our prouct with the rest of the world and see others benefit from it."
The Staking Dashboard is currently in beta mode and the Company will continue to adapt and add features over time based on early user feedback. If you're interested to learn more and join the list to become a beta tester, please visit https://www.beta.ethcap.co/. Ether Capital will share additional information about the Staking Dashboard at ETHDenver 2023. About Ether Capital Corporation
??Ether Capital (NEO: ETHC) is a public technology company with a long-term objective to become a central business and investment hub for the Ethereum ecosystem. The Company has invested the majority of its balance sheet in Ethereum's native utility token "Ether" as a core strategic asset and yield-generating instrument. The Company is focused on financial infrastructure that supports the Ethereum blockchain and delivers corporate value. Ether Capital's management team and Board of Directors are comprised of crypto natives, leading venture capitalists and traditional finance experts, which uniquely positions the company to identify and capitalize on opportunities in the digital asset ecosystem. For more information, visit http://ethcap.co. The content of this document is for informational purposes only and is not being provided in the context of an offering of any securities described herein, nor is it a recommendation or solicitation to buy, hold or sell any security. The information is not investment advice, nor is it tailored to the needs or circumstances of any investor. Information contained in this document is not, and under no circumstances is it to be construed as, an offering memorandum, prospectus, advertisement, or public offering of securities. No securities commission or similar regulatory authority has reviewed this document and any representation to the contrary is an offence. Information in this press release is current only as of the date provided and Ether Capital is under no obligation to update this information, other than in accordance with applicable securities laws. Forward-Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Company cautions the reader not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans," "expects" or "does not expect," "is expected," "budget," "scheduled," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "on pace," "anticipates," or "does not anticipate," "believes," and similar expressions or state that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "should," "might," or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available to management at the time they are made, management's current plans, estimates, assumptions, judgments and expectations. 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. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 23, 2022, the Risk Factors section in its most recently filed management's discussion and analysis and its other filings available online at www.sedar.com. Although the forward-looking information contained in this press release is based on assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable at the date such statements are made, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. In addition, the Company cautions the reader that information provided in this press release is provided to give context to the nature of some of the Company's future plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005592/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Hound Labs Names Debkishore Mitra as Chief Technology Officer
FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hound Labs, Inc., the leader in ultra-sensitive, automated, and analytical breath technologies and creator of the HOUND CANNABIS BREATHALYZER,1 welcomes Debkishore (Deb) Mitra as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Mitra will direct the companys research and product development efforts. He will report to Dr. Mike Lynn, the companys Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder.
In his role, Mitra will lead the companys research and development department and oversee the architecture, design, scientific testing, commercialization, and expansion of Hound Labs product offerings. Mitra will partner with the manufacturing team to ramp production of the HOUND CANNABIS BREATHALYZER in spring 2023. Deb brings deep knowledge of the tools and technologies needed to commercialize and scale automated microfluidics and bioengineering products, said Dr. Lynn. His knowledge and wealth of experience in startups, software, product development, and systems architecture will assist Hound Labs in meeting the immediate market demand for our new cannabis testing solution that detects proximate use. This solution is needed as legislators across the country continue to introduce and pass bills like California Assembly Bill 2188 (CA A.B. 2188).2 California joins six other states that have passed laws providing workplace protections for workers who use cannabis during their off hours which may lead to unfair testing outcomes for employees and applicants.3 These new laws can restrict employers from using testing methods such as oral fluid, urine, and hair whose windows of detection can extend days, weeks, or months. Employers have communicated their need for cannabis testing methods that limit detection windows to the workday and allow them to maintain safety while respecting employees privacy for their choices outside of work. The HOUND CANNABIS BREATHALYZER has been developed to help employers navigate the evolving drug testing regulatory landscape; it is the industry's first cannabis test that isolates only workday use.
Im delighted to join Hound Labs as the company expands its product offerings to address th unprecedented demand for a new category of cannabis testing that balances Safety + Fairness in the workplace, said Mitra. Its exciting to introduce a cannabis breathalyzer supported by employers, employees, unions, and legislators because it will fundamentally improve the lives of so many people.
Before joining Hound Labs, Mitra was Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer for Lucira Health, where he launched the first-ever at-home automated molecular tests for Covid-19 and the flu. He completed his Ph.D. in bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco. Mitra received his undergraduate degree in biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. For more information about the HOUND?CANNABIS BREATHALYZER and to reserve a shipping window, contact the Hound Labs sales team.
About Hound Labs, Inc.
Hound Labs, Inc. is committed to developing ultra-sensitive, automated, and analytical breath technologies that will pave the way to practical and fair solutions for leading public health and safety issues. The Companys first solutions specifically target THC molecules, limiting cannabis detection to the workday so employers can create cannabis testing policies that balance SAFETY + FAIRNESS. Dr. Mike Lynn, emergency room physician, deputy sheriff (reserve), and former venture capitalist, co-founded Hound Labs, Inc. in 2014. Benchmark, EEC, Icon Ventures, Intrinsic Capital Partners, NFP Ventures, Tuatara Capital, and individual investors have funded the Company. Learn more at www.HoundLabs.com. CONTACT
PR Firm: CommStrat
Linden Kohtz Garcia
[email protected]
(512) 964-3784
Hound Labs, Inc.
Jenny Lynn, Co-Founder
[email protected] 1 For law enforcement, employer, and insurance use only. Not for any medical or therapeutic use.
2 California Legislative Information
3 Bloomberg Law
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[February 22, 2023] ORYZON Hosting Key Opinion Leader Webinar on Targeting Lysine Specific Demethylase 1 (LSD1) in CNS and Psychiatric Disorders and Oncology
MADRID, Spain and BOSTON, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oryzon Genomics, S.A. (ISIN Code: ES0167733015, ORY), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging epigenetics to develop therapies in diseases with strong unmet medical need, announced today that it will host a virtual panel discussion, featuring Dr. Dyanna Phillips Domilici (Adams Clinical & Copley Clinical), Dr. med. Peter Hahn (Investigator & Neurology Specialist, emovis), and Dr. Olga Salamero (Vall d' Hebron University Hospital), discussing the unmet medical needs in specific central nervous system (CNS) and oncology diseases, such as Borderline Personality Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Acute Myeloid Leukemia, along with Oryzons therapeutic strategy to treat the underlying causes of these diseases by targeting lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), a key target for epigenetic regulation of gene expression, on Monday, February 27, 2023 at 10:00am Eastern Time.
The event will focus on Oryzons Phase 2 programs: vafidemstat, an LSD1 inhibitor optimized for CNS and psychiatric disorders, and iadademstat, a selective LSD1 inhibitor for oncology. Dr. Dyanna Phillips Domilici is a psychiatrist by training and currently works as a Principal Investigator at Adams Clinical and Copley Clinical, two outpatient clinical research sites in the Greater Boston area that specialize in neurologic and psychiatric drug development. In addition to providing clinical trial oversight, she performs psychological and neurological rating scales for trials in Borderline Personality Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder and Alzheimers Disease. Prior to joining Adams Clinical in 2018, Dr. Domilici served as Medical Director for the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA before moving on to start the Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Service at Mass General Brighams Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, MA, where she later served as the Associate Chair of Psychiatry from 2014-2017. After completing undergraduate and graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, she received her MD from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and is a 2005 graduate of the Harvard Longwood Psychiatric Residency Training Program. Dr. Peter Hahn attended Medical School Justus-Liebig-University Giessen in Germany from 2009 to 2014. He completed his Residency and Clinic for Psychiatry, followed by his Clinic for Neurology, at the University-Hospital Frankfurt am Main. Since March 2022, he has worked as a specialist in Neurology, and since July 2022 as an Investigator at emovis Gmbh in Berlin, Germany. Dr. Olga Salamero attended medical school at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain and completed a student fellowship at Saint Thomas University Hospital in London, UK. She specialized in Hematology at Hospital Clinic i Provincial in Barcelona, Spain and obtained the Emili Letang best resident prize in Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain. She has worked as a hematologist at Vall d Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain since 2010, mainly focused on acute myeloid leukemias. She has been participating in more than 15 clinical trials as PI, with special interest in early-phase clinical trials. She is co-author on more than fifty indexed-publications and is an active member of national hematology societies such as Societat Catalana d Hematologia i Hemoterapia (secretary 2014-2018), CETLAM AML study group (vocal, 2018-now), and PETHEMA AML study group. She was hematology residents mentor between 2012 and 2018 and is also an assistant lecturer in the fourth course at medical school in the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. A live question and answer session will follow the formal presentations. To register for the event, please click here. About Oryzon
Founded in 2000 in Barcelona, Spain, Oryzon (ISIN Code: ES0167733015) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company considered as the European leader in epigenetics. Oryzon has one of the strongest portfolios in the field, with two LSD1 inhibitors, iadademstat and vafidemstat, in Phase II clinical trials, and other pipeline assets directed against other epigenetic targets. In addition, Oryzon has a strong platform for iomarker identification and target validation for a variety of malignant and neurological diseases. For more information, visit www.oryzon.com
About Iadademstat
Iadademstat (ORY-1001) is a small oral molecule, which acts as a highly selective inhibitor of the epigenetic enzyme LSD1 and has a powerful differentiating effect in hematologic cancers (see Maes et al., Cancer Cell 2018 Mar 12; 33 (3): 495-511.e12.doi: 10.1016 / j.ccell.2018.02.002.). A FiM Phase I/IIa clinical trial with iadademstat in R/R AML patients demonstrated the safety and good tolerability of the drug and preliminary signs of antileukemic activity, including a CRi (see Salamero et al, J Clin Oncol, 2020, 38(36): 4260-4273. doi: 10.1200/JCO.19.03250). In a recently completed Phase IIa trial in elder 1L-AML patients (ALICE trial), iadademstat has shown encouraging safety and efficacy data in combination with azacitidine (see Salamero et al., ASH 2022 oral presentation). The company has obtained approval from the U.S. FDA for its IND for FRIDA, a Phase Ib trial of iadademstat plus gilteritinib in patients with relapsed/refractory AML with FLT3 mutations. Beyond hematological cancers, the inhibition of LSD1 has been proposed as a valid therapeutic approach in some solid tumors such as small cell lung cancer (SCLC), neuroendocrine tumors (NET), medulloblastoma and others. In a Phase IIa trial in combination with platinum/etoposide in second line ED-SCLC patients (CLEPSIDRA trial), preliminary activity and safety results have been reported (see Navarro et al., ESMO 2018 poster). Iadademstat is being evaluated in a collaborative Phase II basket study with the Fox Chase Cancer Center in combination with paclitaxel in R/R neuroendocrine carcinomas, and the company is preparing a new trial in combination in SCLC. Oryzon has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) to collaborate on potential further clinical development of iadademstat in different types of solid and hematological cancers. In total iadademstat has been dosed so far to more than 100 cancer patients in four clinical trials. Iadademstat has orphan drug designation for SCLC in the US and for AML in the US and EU. About Vafidemstat
Vafidemstat (ORY-2001) is an oral, CNS optimized LSD1 inhibitor. The molecule acts on several levels: it reduces cognitive impairment, including memory loss and neuroinflammation, and at the same time has neuroprotective effects. In animal studies vafidemstat not only restores memory but reduces the exacerbated aggressiveness of SAMP8 mice, a model for accelerated aging and Alzheimers disease (AD), to normal levels and also reduces social avoidance and enhances sociability in murine models. In addition, vafidemstat exhibits fast, strong and durable efficacy in several preclinical models of multiple sclerosis (MS). Oryzon has performed two Phase IIa clinical trials in aggressiveness in patients with different psychiatric disorders (REIMAGINE) and in aggressive/agitated patients with moderate or severe AD (REIMAGINE-AD), with positive clinical results reported in both. Additional finalized Phase IIa clinical trials with vafidemstat include the ETHERAL trial in patients with Mild to Moderate AD, where a significant reduction of the inflammatory biomarker YKL40 has been observed after 6 and 12 months of treatment, and the pilot, small scale SATEEN trial in Relapse-Remitting and Secondary Progressive MS, where antiinflammatory activity has also been observed. Vafidemstat has also been tested in a Phase II in severe Covid-19 patients (ESCAPE) assessing the capability of the drug to prevent ARDS, one of the most severe complications of the viral infection, where it showed significant anti-inflammatory effects in severe Covid-19 patients. Currently, vafidemstat is in two Phase IIb trials in borderline personality disorder (PORTICO) and in schizophrenia patients (EVOLUTION). The company is also deploying a CNS precision medicine approach with vafidemstat in genetically-defined patient subpopulations of certain CNS disorders and is preparing a clinical trial in Kabuki Syndrome patients. The company is also exploring the clinical development of vafidemstat in other neurodevelopmental syndromes.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This communication contains, or may contain, forward-looking information and statements about Oryzon, including financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, capital expenditures, synergies, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally identified by the words expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates and similar expressions. Although Oryzon believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors and holders of Oryzon shares are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Oryzon that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified in the documents sent by Oryzon to the Spanish Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), which are accessible to the public. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and have not been reviewed by the auditors of Oryzon. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributable to Oryzon or any of its members, directors, officers, employees or any persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above. All forward-looking statements included herein are based on information available to Oryzon on the date hereof. Except as required by applicable law, Oryzon does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States or any other jurisdiction. Oryzons securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. Any public offering of Oryzons securities to be made in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from Oryzon or the selling security holder, as applicable, that will contain detailed information about Oryzon and management, as well as financial statements. IR, US IR & Media, Europe Spain Oryzon Ashley R. Robinson Sandya von der Weid Patricia Cobo/
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[February 22, 2023] Infinidat Names Steve Sullivan as Chief Revenue Officer
WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infinidat, a leading provider of enterprise storage solutions, today announced the promotion of Steve Sullivan to Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Sullivan previously held the position of Executive Vice President and General Manager, Americas, where he demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and sales acumen. As Chief Revenue Officer, Sullivan will be responsible for overseeing all revenue-generating activities within Infinidat, including sales, go-to-market strategy, and customer success on a global scale. He will provide dynamic leadership for high-performance teams that are data-driven, insights-oriented, and proactive with customers and channel partners. The alignment of revenue functions under one senior executive will support the companys growth initiatives. We are pleased to promote a proven, highly successful, and trusted executive leader to a position crucial to Infinidats continued growth and success, said Phil Bullinger, CEO at Infinidat. Steve brings to the CRO role a track record of building and leading high-performing teams that have set a very high standard for customer success and delivering technical and business value in enterprise storage. His leadership in the expanded CRO role will accelerate our growth as we scale our global account and partner relationships through collaborative and cohesive go-to-market strategies and programs. I am honored to be promoted to Chief Revenue Officer and look forward to continuing to work with our talented teams across the globe to drive revenue growth and expand our market share, said Steve Sullivan, Chief Revenue Officer at Infinidat. We have such a highly differentiated value proposition for our customers, and we continually rank highest in customer success, two key components for cntinued growth. We will always continue to extend our investments in the total customer experience, ranging from solution architecting in collaboration with our channel partners to our white glove service and support that has earned the loyalty of global enterprises around the world.
Sullivan brings over 25 years of executive sales experience in the storage industry to the role. Prior to joining Infinidat, Sullivan held senior leadership positions in various companies, where he developed a strong track record of revenue growth and customer acquisition. He has a B.S. in Finance from Boston College and an MBA from the Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business. About Infinidat
Infinidat helps enterprises and service providers empower their data-driven competitive advantage at scale. Infinidats software defined storage architecture delivers microsecond latency, 100% availability, and scalability with a significantly lower total cost of ownership than competing storage technologies. The company offers an award-winning portfolio of enterprise storage solutions for primary and secondary storage deployments. The corporate headquarters are based in Herzliya, Israel, and U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.infinidat.com.
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[February 22, 2023] Beazley USA Taps DRC's RS X Rating to Migrate Their Systems to the Cloud
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Research Corporation (DRC), the leading provider of cloud-provisioned enterprise solutions for the P&C and Specialty insurance industry, announced the roll out of RS X Rating to support Beazley's digital advancement initiative to move their full enterprise rating to the cloud. RS X Rating allowed Beazley to separate their rating processes from servicing. This enabled them to quickly react/adjust to market requirements by making rate changes and product adjustments that met broker expectations. The digital shift to a cloud environment also created a more seamless and frictionless implementation of partner integrations. To enable growth and distribution of their business, Beazley realized their on-premise servers and software were holding back opportunities. In order to achieve their digital first goals, they identified those servers were a thing of the past and it was essential to move to the cloud. Beazley selected DRC as their primary technology partner to further this initiative with the cloud-provisioned foundation of the DRC solutions hosted in Microsoft Azure. "Despite internal anxiety of moving a core component to the cloud, the actual deployment was basically a non-event. DRC was instrumental in helping Beazley modernize and simplify our digital processes. The RS X rating engine was an integral part of the toolkit that enabled zero touch broker interactions and submissions," said Samata Tummala, Head of Technology (USA and Canada) at Beazley. "This seamless transition in the sales andbusiness processing function positioned Beazley as a forward-thinking insurer and helped us earn the business of more brokers."
"This milestone achievement helps advance Beazley's Technology strategy of moving critical systems to cloud infrastructure," said Libby Davey, Global Chief Information Officer at Beazley. "The integration flexibility and scalability helps Beazley expand distribution networks and provision infrastructure more nimbly." "DRC is pleased to be able to once again partner with Beazley, helping them meet their growth initiatives to grow their business" said Karen Yamamoto, CEO and President at Decision Research Corporation. "We look forward to continuing to work with Sam and her team to further enable Beazley's growth and business objectives," continued Yamamoto.
About DRC Decision Research Corporation (DRC) provides innovative, cloud-based, enterprise solutions to P&C insurance companies looking to boost their business development efforts, reduce administrative overhead, and accelerate speed-to-market for their products through automation. RS X Rating, DRC's no-code rating solution, gives actuaries the ability to configure powerful automation functions without IT assistance, and to price risks and model products, no matter how complex, all through a familiar Microsoft Excel interface. DRC's flagship product is the DRC Insurance Platform, a full-service policy administration system, including portals, quoting, billing, claims, and advanced analytics, powered by RS X Rating, and engineered to streamline internal processes and empower business users within a secure and robust enterprise ecosystem. DRC has remained committed to total customer satisfaction throughout its 50-year history, and its clients, running the gamut of size and scope from large global carriers to regional start-ups, continue to rely on DRC's trusted solutions to manage over $7 billion in written premium. To learn more about DRC, visit www.decisionresearch.com. About Beazley Beazley plc (BEZ.L), is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. In 2021, Beazley underwrote gross premiums worldwide of $4,618.9 million. Beazley manages seven Lloyd's syndicates, all Lloyd's syndicates are rated A by A.M. Best. Beazley's underwriters in the United States focus on writing a range of specialist insurance products. In the admitted market, coverage is provided by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., an A.M. Best A rated carrier licensed in all 50 states. In the surplus lines market, coverage is provided by the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd's. Beazley's European insurance company, Beazley Insurance dac, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and is A rated by A.M. Best and A+ by Fitch. Beazley is a market leader in many of its chosen lines, which include professional indemnity, cyber liability, property, marine, reinsurance, accident and life, and political risks and contingency business. For more information please go to: www.beazley.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beazley-usa-taps-drcs-rs-x-rating-to-migrate-their-systems-to-the-cloud-301752340.html SOURCE Decision Research Corporation
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[February 22, 2023] Churchill Asset Management Becomes a Signatory to ILPA's Diversity in Action Initiative
Churchill Asset Management, an investment-specialist affiliate of Nuveen providing customized financing solutions to private equity firms and their portfolio companies, today announced that it has become a signatory to the Institutional Limited Partners Association ("ILPA") Diversity in Action initiative. "Churchill is a proud signatory of ILPA's Diversity in Action initiative, reaffirming our firm's strong commitment to advancing diversity, equity & inclusion ("DEI") in the private capital industry and leading by example," said Ken Kencel, President and CEO at Churchill Asset Management. "I am a firm believer that we excel when fostering a culture of inclusivity and transparency in which all employees contribute their unique talents and skills. This is what enables us to provide creative ideas and solutions to our clients." Diversity in Action signatories agree to undertake a series of actions to promote diversity and inclusion, as defined in the Diversity in Action framework. These efforts span talent management, investment management and industry engagement. "ILPA's framework is deeply aligned with our goals and culture at Churchill," said Managing Directors and Co-Heads of Churchill's DEI Council Alona Gornick and Anne Philpott. "The principles established by our DEI Council are integral to how we attract, retain and advance our talent. We are also incredibly proud of the programs we continue to launch to support women and ethnic minorities both in our industry and in our communities at large." Most recently, Churchill launched its inaugural Gryphon Scholarship Program, which helps Title 1 high school students located in the New York, Chicago and Charlotte metro areas pursue full-time undergraduate study. The program is 100% funded by Churchill employees and matched by the firm's parent company, TIAA. Ms. Gornick and Ms. Philpott added, "We look forward to collaborating with ILPA and like-minded leaders to coninue advancing DEI efforts within Churchill and in the private markets industry more broadly."
To learn more about Churchill's commitment to DEI, please visit our webpage here. About Churchill Asset Management LLC
Churchill, an investment-specialist affiliate of Nuveen (the asset manager of TIAA), provides customized financing solutions to middle market private equity firms and their portfolio companies across the capital structure. With $46 billion of committed capital, we provide first lien, unitranche, second lien and mezzanine debt, in addition to equity co-investments, secondary solutions and private equity fund commitments. Churchill has a long history of disciplined investing across multiple economic cycles and our unique origination strategy, execution and investment are driven by more than 150 professionals in New York, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. More information can be found at www.churchillam.com. About ILPA With nearly 600 member institutions representing over 2 trillion USD of private equity assets under management, the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) is the only global organization dedicated exclusively to advancing the interests of LPs and their beneficiaries. ILPA's Members represent all investor categories of small and large institutions including public pensions, corporate pensions, endowments, foundations, family offices, insurance, investment companies, development financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds. Its policy agenda is focused on strengthening the private equity asset class through strong governance, alignment of interests, and transparency. For more information, please visit www.ilpa.org. This material is not intended to be a recommendation or investment advice, does not constitute a solicitation to buy, sell or hold a security or an investment strategy, and is not provided in a fiduciary capacity. The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor, or suggest any specific course of action. Financial professionals should independently evaluate the risks associated with products or services and exercise independent judgment with respect to their clients. Churchill Asset Management is a registered investment advisor and majority-owned, indirect subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America. Certain Nuveen products are advised by Nuveen Alternatives Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of TIAA, and distributed by Nuveen Securities, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC. [GPS-2743780PR-O0223W] View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005181/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Sage Intacct product enhancements to help businesses simplify processes and increase efficiency
ATLANTA, Ga., Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sage, the leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), today announces a series of updates to Sage Intacct. From simplifying and automating bill processing to increasing visibility, businesses globally will benefit from smoother processes and increased productivity as part of Sage Intacct 2023 Release 1. With this release, Sage continues to expand the reach of the Sage Intacct solution with new innovative capabilities we deliver for our customers and relative to what global regions it is available, said Dan Miller, EVP Sage Intacct. Midsize business requires speed and agility, in the finance and accounting workflow that underpin every facet of their operations. Were helping these businesses modernize their financial management systems to streamline processes and gain insights helping them improve productivity, reduce costs, and prepare their business for rapid growth. Sage Intacct Product Enhancements
Key product enhancement in Sage Intacct 2023 Release 1 include: Accounts Payable (AP) Bill Automation Today, a third (34%) of typical AP process time for medium-sized businesses is spent on invoice entry1. With Sages AI-powered bill entry, customers can save up to half of that time on AP processing. Coupled with other Sage Intacct AP capabilities, including paperless approval routing, automated payment processing, automated reconciliation, and reporting, customers can manage their entire AP process within Sage Intacct. The solution has no monthly subscription or implementation fee. Customers pay based on what they use, making it more affordable for smaller midsize organizations. Availability: This solution is now generally available in the US through direct and reseller channels. In Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia, the solution is currently available to select customers via an early adopter program. Mateo Savings and Loan Since its acquisition of Mateo less than a year ago, Sage has already invested significantly to enhance functionality for the leading cloud-based Roman Catholic diocesan savings and loans solution on the market. The latest updates include improved flexibility for financial statement genertion, streamlined workflows, and expanded import capabilities.
Availability: The latest enhancements to Mateo are now generally available in the US. Automating usage billing for subscriptions Sage continues to simplify billing by making Sage Intacct the first midmarket accounting and ERP solution to automate usage billing for evergreen subscriptions. As a result, users can automate their financial processes without the need to bolt-on third party billing applications, delivering simpler and real-time visibility and minimizing complexities like contract amendments, usage, one-time, and subscription billing to grow their businesses.
Availability: These enhancements are now available in the US, Canada, UK, South Africa, and Australia. Continued Global Expansion for Sage Intacct
With Sage Intacct 2023 Release 1, several applications originally launched in the US are now becoming available in additional regions around the globe. This includes: Sage Intacct Planning Now available in South Africa and Australia, with the United Kingdom to follow in the first half of 2023.
Sage Intacct Planning enables SMBs to streamline and simplify planning and budgeting. A cloud-based planning solution, it gives customers more flexibility and options for working smarter and faster. Eliminating reliance on uncontrolled, inflexible, unsecure spreadsheets, the product brings people, data, and analytics together.
Now available in South Africa and Australia, with the United Kingdom to follow in the first half of 2023. Sage Intacct Planning enables SMBs to streamline and simplify planning and budgeting. A cloud-based planning solution, it gives customers more flexibility and options for working smarter and faster. Eliminating reliance on uncontrolled, inflexible, unsecure spreadsheets, the product brings people, data, and analytics together. Sage Intelligent Time Now available in South Africa and Australia, with the United Kingdom to follow in the first half of 2023.
This AI-powered time assistant helps professional services and non-profits with continuous, accurate, and complete insights to profitably manage their business. Sage Intelligent Time also offers the ability to capture billable time more easily from one-off activities, such as email, that are often too time-intensive to track manually.
Now available in South Africa and Australia, with the United Kingdom to follow in the first half of 2023. This AI-powered time assistant helps professional services and non-profits with continuous, accurate, and complete insights to profitably manage their business. Sage Intelligent Time also offers the ability to capture billable time more easily from one-off activities, such as email, that are often too time-intensive to track manually. Sage Intacct Access to the early adopter program for Sage Intacct in France is now open.
Early adopters in France will be able to gain the benefits of Sage Intacct, including improved business visibility, multi-entity capabilities, and automation on a modern cloud-native platform that supports business agility, growth, and scale.
Leveraging Sages 40 years of experience as a leader in the French financial solution market, Sage Intacct has been fully localized for France. For more information on Sage Intacct, please visit www.sageintacct.com. Existing customers can also refer to the product release notes. Media contact:
Peter Olson
Sage US Public Relations
[email protected] Additional resources:
Follow Sage Intacct on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/sageintacct/
Follow Sage Intacct on Twitter https://twitter.com/SageIntacct
Follow Sage Intacct on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SageIntacct
See other recent Sage announcements https://www.sage.com/en-us/news/ About Sage
Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners, and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR, and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology, and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality, and the climate crisis. Learn more at www.sage.com/en-us/ or www.sageintacct.com. ____________________________ 1 IDC InfoBrief: Digitizing Accounts Payable and Receivable Boost Efficiency and Enable Growth sponsored by Sage, Doc #EUR149642122, September 2022
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Testing of water in Lake Erie and the Niagara River shows no signs of the hazardous chemicals that leaked into streams in Ohio following the train derailment earlier this month, according to the Erie County Water Authority.
The authority announced that following the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, it began daily sampling and testing of water from the lake and river and from treated water supplies. The testing was done in conjunction with the Erie County Health Department and County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
The samples were tested for the chemicals involved in the Ohio disaster, including vinyl chloride.
No effect in Western New York from the Ohio train derailment, officials say State officials said air and water monitoring have not revealed any impacts here, 160 miles northeast of the derailment.
"All testing results for these chemicals through Monday, Feb. 20, have shown 'non-detected' in ECWA's source water and treated water supplies," the authority said in a press release.
The authority noted last week in a tweet that East Palestine's watershed flows southwest toward the Mississippi River, and is geographically isolated from Lake Erie's watershed.
The testing was done to provide additional assurance to customers that no evidence exists of the migration of the chemicals to the local water system, the authority said.
The authority monitors its treated water supply daily, and said it will continue to test its source water and treated water supplies "for the foreseeable future" while monitoring the ongoing situation in Ohio.
Since the derailment Feb. 3, residents in East Palestine have complained of skin rashes and feeling ill, and more than 3,000 fish died in local waterways.
[February 22, 2023] Virgin Pulse to Host Thrive Summit 2023: Celebrating a Decade of Advancing the Biggest Topics Impacting Health & Wellbeing
Tenth annual event features keynote speaker Kal Penn and luminaries on topics including navigating the healthcare system, supporting mental health, closing gaps in care, and building company culture PROVIDENCE, R.I., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of healthcare and people leaders will soon convene at Virgin Pulse's Thrive Summit 2023 to address the urgency of delayed care, skyrocketing costs, and mental fatigue. This year's event marks the 10th year of bringing together leaders from employers, health plans, and health systems to explore the challenges and opportunities in health and wellbeing, featuring thought-provoking sessions, peer learning, and wellbeing activities. Thrive Summit 2023 will occur April 11-13, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a virtual presence for remote attendees. "Thinking back over the past 10 years, it's amazing to consider how much our industry and Virgin Pulse has evolved," said Chris Michalak, CEO of Virgin Pulse, the leading global digital-first health, wellbeing, and navigation company. "We have seen a deeper need and appreciation for whole person engagement, connecting all aspects of wellbeing to change more lives for good. This understanding has led to us support people with preventative, episodic, and chronic health needs, and helping them navigate and advocate for their health at any stage of their journey. I'm looking forward to celebrating the past decade of accomplishments at Thrive and discussing where we'll be headed over the next 10 years." More than 1,200 people attended last year's Thrive Summit in-person and virtually, representing 769 unique organizations. Thrive Summit 2023 will feature dynamic presentations, panel discussions, interactive workshops, and in-person and virtual wellbeing activities all designed to stimulate learning and discussion. Attendees will be able to select from 40 sessions on topics such as supporting mental health, increasing health equity, closing gaps in care, engaging the unengaged, building company culture, and more, led by peers, innovators, and academics who re doing exceptional work promoting wellbeing and engagement. Additionally, members of the Virgin Pulse leadership team will showcase how it is changing lives for good, combining the best of technology and human connection to empower individuals to improve their wellbeing and better navigate benefits, while reducing healthcare costs and optimizing outcomes.
Insightful Speakers Addressing Timely Health & Wellbeing Topics This year's Thrive Summit features a range of world-renowned experts, academics, and innovators addressing topics that are top of mind for every health, wellbeing, and business leader. The event's featured keynote speaker is actor, writer, and producer Kal Penn, sharing what the U.S. healthcare system gets wrong and right. Other presenters include rare disease expert and author Matt Hay; health economist and trend weaver Jane Sarasohn-Kahn; LGBTQ+ Health scholar Jessica Halem; HGTV co-hosts Raisa Kuddus and Austin Coleman; McKinsey & Company healthcare advisors Akshay Kapur and Anna Pione; Virgin Pulse's new Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jeff Jacques and Science Advisory Board members; and many more. Event sponsors include more than 25 of Virgin Pulse's ecosystem partners, including the following premium level sponsors: LifeSpeak Inc., parent company for Wellbeats and ALAViDA (Diamond); Sword Health (Gold); and Cariloop, Koa Health, meQuilibrium (meQ), and RethinkCare (Silver).
New to Thrive Summit 2023 is a roster of expanded breakout sessions that span five tracks with content relevant to a wider range of markets and attendees employers, health plans, health systems, and consultants. Sessions include peer case studies, expert panels on top trends, product deep dives, and more, providing inspiration and actionable strategies and tips. These breakouts will feature leaders from Fortune 500 companies, consulting firms, public sector organizations, 5-star health plans, and large hospital systems. Attendees on-site in Salt Lake City will also enjoy a 90s music festival, featuring Ezra Ray Hart a supergroup including #1 hit-makers Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra, and Emerson Hart of Tonic. For additional information about Thrive Summit 2023 and to register to attend (in-person or virtually), please visit www.thrivesummit.com. About Virgin Pulse Virgin Pulse is the leading digital-first health, wellbeing, and navigation company that empowers organizations across the globe to activate populations, improve health outcomes, and reduce spend in an era of accelerating cost and complexity. Virgin Pulse's Homebase for Health connects data, people, and technology to deliver high tech, human touch experiences that engage and reward individual journeys.?Virgin Pulse impacts over 100 million people across 190 countries by helping Fortune 500, national health plans, and many other organizations change lives and businesses for good. For more tips and insights, connect with us on?Twitter?or?LinkedIn. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/virgin-pulse-to-host-thrive-summit-2023-celebrating-a-decade-of-advancing-the-biggest-topics-impacting-health--wellbeing-301752364.html SOURCE Virgin Pulse
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[February 22, 2023] Planet and ASU Expand Partnership to Build Global Scale Solutions for Sustainability
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about Earth, today announced that they have solidified a Strategic Partnership with Arizona State University (ASU) to facilitate climate action through education and research, workforce development, and a science-first approach toward innovation. Since 2016, Planet and ASU have collaborated on significant programs including the Planet Incubator Program within ASU's Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, the development of the Allen Coral Atlas, as well as two of the founding partners in the creation of the Carbon Mapper mission. In early 2019, ASU became Planet's first campus-wide university partner, and since then, over 30 peer reviewed journal articles have been published by ASU using Planet products. Planet and ASU continue to be leaders in creating an ecosystem for 21st century learning and innovation focused on accelerating scalable climate-action and mission-oriented business. This partnership will align their shared strategic focus to train and hire world class talent and be a catalyst to innovations in science, technology, and the use of space for increased sustainability of life on Earth. Planet's and ASU's expanded Strategic Partnership has three key tenets. First, Talent and Certifications: establishment of an intern program that will bring ASU students into Planet and bring Planet onto ASU's campus for mentoring across several of ASU's schools. Second, Research & Innovation: ASU has committed to fund expanded research using Planet data and to seed a new "ecopreneur" program. Third, Community Investment: Plnet is co-locating inside ASU's Walton Center for Planetary Health for interns, future hires, and growth of Planet's engineering team at the center of ASU's multidisciplinary community focused on climate action.
In the first decade of Planet's existence, the company accomplished its mission to image the whole world every day. Entering into its second decade as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), Planet's North Star is to invest in the data, science, technology and people that will power humanity to protect and account for nature. "ASU has been at the forefront of innovative education and partnerships for the past 20 years. We're thrilled to deepen our partnership with ASU at the Walton Center for Planetary Health and forge innovative solutions to accelerate humanity toward a more sustainable, secure and prosperous world," said Planet's co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Robbie Schingler.
"Collaboration between industry and academia is critical to economic success," said ASU President Michael Crow. "Arizona State University has invested in opportunities to advance these connections by creating the Walton Center for Planetary Health, a high-performance research facility to foster an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge generation and leading-edge research across more than a dozen intellectual focal areas. ASU is eager to deepen our work with Planet with a focus on finding the most sustainable solutions to our biggest global challenges." If you are interested in learning more about Planet's Education and Research program, visit here, and to learn more about ASU's efforts for educating a 21st century society for Planetary Health, please visit here. About Planet Planet is a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven by a mission to image the world every day, and make change visible, accessible and actionable. Founded in 2010 by three NASA scientists, Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites, capturing over 30 TB of data per day. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to over 800 customers, comprising the world's leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to simply and effectively derive unique value from satellite imagery. Planet is a public benefit corporation trading on the New York Stock Exchange as PL. To learn more visit www.planet.com and follow us on Twitter. About Arizona State University Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American Research University, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and the university assumes fundamental responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities it serves. For more information, please visit ASU.edu. Planet Labs PBC Forward-looking Statements Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, the Company's ability to capture market opportunity and realize any of the potential benefits from current or future product enhancements, new products, or strategic partnerships and customer collaborations. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to them. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future events and results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. Factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to the risk factors and other disclosures about the Company and its business included in the Company's periodic reports, proxy statements, and other disclosure materials filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which are available online at www.sec.gov, and on the Company's website at www.planet.com. All forward-looking statements reflect the Company's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date such statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005454/en/
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[February 22, 2023] DNEG Acquires Film Studio Complex and Premier Production Services Assets
DNEG, a leading visual effects (VFX) and animation studio for the creation of feature film, television and multiplatform content, today announced the acquisition of various production and post-production services assets, including a film and TV production studio complex comprising eight soundstages, from its parent company, Prime Focus Limited (PFL). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005228/en/ DNEG has acquired from its parent company, Prime Focus Limited (PFL), various production and post-production services assets, including a film and TV production studio complex comprising eight soundstages. Image: PF Studios, Film City, Mumbai, India. (Photo: Business Wire) The transaction positions DNEG as an integrated production services provider to its global client base, complementing its worldwide Academy Award winning visual effects and animation services offerings. Following the completion of the transaction, DNEG offers eight Hollywood-designed soundstages from a studio complex in Film City, Mumbai, and a full suite of film and TV production and post-production services in India, including digital intermediate, camera equipment rental, sound and picture editing, and associated support and technology services. The acquisition has resulted in an addition in headcount of more than 240 staff members, pushing DNEG's global headcount to more than 10,000 employees. As part of the transaction, DNEG has acquired the following key divisions from PFL: Prime Focus Studios (PF Studios), Digita Intermediate (DI), Equipment Rental Services (EQR), and PFL's Advertising post-production business.
"Having achieved a distinctive leadership position across visual effects and animation, with the capabilities and scale to be a preferred partner to our clients, DNEG's next logical step is to extend our filmmaker-focused services into the production ecosystem," said DNEG's Chairman and CEO Namit Malhotra. "Adding these new services to DNEG's portfolio allows us to bring India's proud 100-year history of film heritage and its industry talent to the global market. It also presents our clients with the benefits of an integrated solution across the entire production chain, unlocking greater efficiencies and savings, with the reassurance of working with a trusted filmmaking partner." In addition to the visual effects and animation services for which it is best known, DNEG now offers the following services to its global clients:
Production Studios
PF Studios is India's largest integrated film and TV studio facility, spread across a 200,000 square foot complex in seven acres of land in Mumbai's Film City, and featuring eight sync soundstages, each with a clear internal height of at least 50 feet. Designed by Wylie Carter Architects in Los Angeles, and close to Mumbai's major transportation hubs, the studios also feature a Film Processing Lab, Film Image Enhancement facilities, production offices, makeup rooms, workshop areas, cafeteria facilities, and a vast choice of backlot locations within a 520-acre property. Digital Intermediate (DI)
As the first team to offer DI technology in India, the DI division has provided color grading services on over 500 feature films since its opening in 2003. It is one of India's most highly respected DI facilities, equipped with Baselight grading systems and the latest digital projectors in an integrated network of six dedicated DI suites. The highly experienced team, who also provide IMAX mastering services, recently delivered DI services for Bollywood blockbuster Brahmastra, among many other high-profile projects. Equipment Rental Services (EQR)
The EQR division has an impressive inventory of over 40 high-end feature film cameras and associated kit and has established itself as a market leader in equipment rental in India. With a full range of ARRI, Sony and RED cameras, the division has a large and varied client base ranging from the largest film and TV production houses and studios in the country to independent filmmakers, and also caters to the advertising market as well as sporting events such as the Abu Dhabi T10 Premier League and the Maharashtra Premier League. Advertising Services
The Advertising division operates from a 10,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, HD post facility in Mumbai, with 12 Smoke/Flame edit suites, Baselight colour grading suites and Telecine colour correction, a CGI / VFX team and more. The Advertising team delivers more than 1,500 commercials each year, working closely with directors, production houses, and advertising agencies, to create ads for brands such as LG, Cadbury, De Beers Forevermark, Maruti, and many more. About DNEG
DNEG (www.dneg.com) is one of the world's leading visual effects (VFX) and animation companies for the creation of feature film, television, and multiplatform content. DNEG employs more than 10,000 people with worldwide offices and studios across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. DNEG's critically acclaimed work has earned the company seven Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and numerous BAFTA and Primetime EMMY Awards for its high-quality VFX work. Current and upcoming DNEG projects on behalf of its Hollywood and global studio and production company partners include Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 2023), Fast X (May 2023), The Little Mermaid (May 2023), The Flash (June 2023), Oppenheimer (July 2023), Coyote Vs Acme (July 2023), Meg 2: The Trench (August 2023), Haunted Mansion (August 2023), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 2023), Nimona (2023), Borderlands (2023), American Born Chinese (2023), Garfield (February 2024), Mickey 17 (March 2024), and Furiosa (2024). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005228/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Press Registration Open for ISDA's 37th Annual General Meeting in Chicago!
The conference will include sessions on: This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005219/en/ (Graphic: Business Wire) The regulatory response to non-bank financial intermediation
Lessons from the crypto winter
Responding to liquidity crunches while maintaining systemic resilience
The outlook for trading
Automating collateral management
Preparing for the last days of LIBOR
Using ESG-related products, indices and derivatives to achieve sustainability objectives Additional information on the conference, including an agenda, is available on the ISDA's website. An updated agenda will be available in due course. Journalists are invited to attend all social events, including the pre-conference welcome reception on Tuesday May 9 at 8:00PM. Please note that attendance at the evening events is granted on a strictly off-the-record basis and is for networking purposes only, not for reporting.
WHEN: Conference sessions will be held on Wednesday May 10 - Thursday May 11, 2023. The pre-conference welcome reception is on Tuesday May 9 at 8:00PM. WHERE: Swissotel Chicago 323 E Wacker Dr
Chicago, IL
Since 1985, ISDA has worked to make the global derivatives markets safer and more efficient. Today, ISDA has over 1,000 member institutions from 79 countries. These members comprise a broad range of derivatives market participants, including corporations, investment managers, government and supranational entities, insurance companies, energy and commodities firms, and international and regional banks. In addition to market participants, members also include key components of the derivatives market infrastructure, such as exchanges, intermediaries, clearing houses and repositories, as well as law firms, accounting firms and other service providers. Information about ISDA and its activities is available on the Association's website: www.isda.org. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. All press attending this conference must register in advance.
Please send your name, affiliation, and contact details to Christopher Faimali, [email protected], +44 20 3808 9736 ISDA is a registered trademark of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005219/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Global Machine Learning as a Service Market Report 2022: Demand for Cloud-Based Solutions Drives Growth
DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Machine Learning as a Service Market Size, Segments, Outlook, and Revenue Forecast 2022-2028 by Component, Application, Enterprises, End-user and Region" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. MLaaS is used in processes such as risk analytics, fraud detection, manufacturing, and supply chain optimization among others. It offers the freedom to build in-house infrastructure from scratch and provides management and storage of data. It has a synergistic value in engaging data with the cloud and can revolutionize a paradigm of ML for a specific result. According to this analysis, the Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market was valued at US$ 5 bn in 2017. It is estimated to capture a market size of US$ 10 bn by 2022 and is projected to reach US$ 30 Bn by 2028. It is expected to record a CAGR of ~20% during the forecast period, due to an increase in demand for cloud computing, as well as growth connected with artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive computing. ML is driven by the demand for cloud-based solutions, artificial intelligence, and the cognitive computing market. Machine learning's primary pattern in IoT data is analyzing massive volumes of data using strong algorithms. According to research conducted by Microsoft Corporation in 2020, 85% of businesses have at least one IoT use case project. Nearly 94% of the respondents started pursuing IoT initiatives in 2021 leading to the creation of additional growth opportunities for Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) vendors in the market. The low availability of technically skilled personnel is expected to hamper the Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market growth during the forecast period along with the lack of data security faced by the organizations. Several organizations are unwilling to adopt ML technologies due to concerns regarding data security. For many regulated industry sectors such as banking, insurance, healthcare, and government, data security is crucial and any failure in data security may result in major problems. OneSpan, in a Global Financial Regulations report observed nearly half of surveyed banks focus on reducing and preventing cyberattacks and frauds, along with protecting sensitive data, as their top challenges. The overall fintech investments have reached US$ 98 billion in the first half of 2021, compared to US$ 121.5 billion in 2020 COVID-19 caused an acceleration in the migration of public cloud solutions and some of the applications of AI to help in tracing patients during the pandemic. Since cloud service elasticity could meet the unexpected rise in demand, the need for AI services had seen growth, and many cloud providers offered Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS). Several countries used population surveillance methods to track and trace COVID-19 cases. In South Korea, researchers used surveillance camera footage and geo-location data to track coronavirus patients. Using this data, scientists leveraged ML algorithms to predict the location of the next outbreak and inform the responsible authorities, helping to track diseases in real-time. Scope of the Report By Components Software Tools
Services By Application Marketing & Advertising
Predictive Analytics
Automated Network Management
Fraud detection and risk Analytics
Network Analytics and Automated Traffic Management
By Enterprises SMEs
Large enterprises By End-User
Banking, Financial, Services, and Insurance
IT and Telecom
Automotive
Healthcare
Aerospace and Defense
Retail
Government
Others By Geography North America
USA
Canada
Mexico
Europe
Germany
UK
France
Italy
Spain
Asia Pacific
China
Japan
India
AustraliaSouth Korea
LAMEA
Latin America
Middle East
Africa Key Players Amazon.com Inc
Google LLC
IBM Corporation
Microsoft Corporation
Oracle Corporation
HPE
SAS Institute, Inc
FICO
Yottamine Analytics, LLC
PREDICTRON LABS
BigML
Ersatz Labs, Inc Key Trends by Market Segment By Component: The service segment dominated the Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market in 2021 and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period
The market for ML services is expected to grow due to increasing cloud applications and the growth of end-use industries in developing economies. To enhance the usage of ML services, industry participants focus on implementing technologically advanced solutions, for instance, the use of ML services in the healthcare sector for cancer detection, as well as checking ECG and MRI. ML services features, such as cost reduction, demand forecasting, real-time data analysis, and increased cloud use, are projected to open considerable prospects for the market By Application: Network analytics and automated traffic management segment accounted for the majority share of the Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market in 2021 and is expected to showcase the highest growth rate during the forecast period (2022-2028). Large amounts of data traverse network infrastructure on an everyday basis. The growth of this segment is attributed to ML's capabilities and characteristics to tackle the exponential growth of datasets and act as a pivotal tool for network analytics and automated traffic management across various verticals. By Enterprises: SME segment is estimated to capture the largest market share of the Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market in 2021 and is expected to showcase the highest growth rate during the forecast period (2022-2028). ML lets SMEs optimize their processes on a low budget in comparison with starting things from scratch. For SMEs the 'pay for what you use or 'pay as you grow system offered by most MLaaS providers makes it both budget-friendly and time-effective to integrate ML into their businesses while not requiring a team with specific technical capabilities. With the help of predictive analytics, machine learning algorithms not only provide real-time data but also predict future instances. SMEs use ML solutions for fine-tuning their supply chain by predicting a product demand and providing suggestions on the timing and quantity of supplies required to meet customers' expectations. By End Users: The healthcare segment holds the largest market share in Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market in 2021. Growing adoption of ML solutions by various retail and healthcare service providers is expected to boost the Machine Learning as a Service market during the forecast period. Major market prospects are anticipated to be unlocked by the advantages provided by ML services, such as demand forecasting, cost reduction, real-time data analysis, and a rise in the use of the cloud market. By Geography: North Americaaccounted for the largest share among all regions within the total Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market, accounting for total market revenue. North America has been the most forward towards adopting ML services. The demand for MLaaS in the region can be attributed to the robust innovation ecosystem, strategic federal investments into advanced technology, and the presence of visionary entrepreneurs from globally renowned research institutions. Furthermore, this region has been extremely responsive to adopting the latest technological advancements such as integration technologies with the cloud, Big Data within ML Services. Key Topics Covered in the Report Snapshot of the Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market
Industry Value Chain and Ecosystem Analysis
Market size and Segmentation of the Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market
Historic Growth of the Overall Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market and Segments
Competition Scenario of the Market and Key Developments of Competitors
Porter's 5 Forces Analysis of Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Industry
Overview, Product Offerings, and SWOT Analysis of Key Competitors
COVID-19 Impact on the Overall Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market
Future Market Forecast and Growth Rates of the Total Global Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market and by Segments
Market Size of Application/End User Segments with Historical CAGR and Future Forecasts
Analysis of the Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) Market
Major Production/Consumption Hubs in the Major within Each Region
Major Production/Supply and Consumption/Demand Hubs within Each Major Country
Major Country-wise Historic and Future Market Growth Rates of the Total Market and Segments
Overview of Notable Emerging Competitor Companies within Each Region A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes Key Players
Amazon.com Inc
Google LLC
IBM Corporation
Microsoft Corporation
Oracle Corporation
HPE
SAS Institute, Inc.
FICO
Yottamine Analytics, LLC
PREDICTRON LABS
BigML
Ersatz Labs, Inc
AI.Reverie
Anodot
Arturoa
Comet.ml
Eightfold AI's For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/thm3a-machine?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
[email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470
For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630
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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-machine-learning-as-a-service-market-report-2022-demand-for-cloud-based-solutions-drives-growth-301752955.html SOURCE Research and Markets
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[February 22, 2023] Ramirez & Co., Inc. Expands Executive Team With the Addition Peter Hill
Samuel A. Ramirez & Co., Inc., one of the oldest and largest Hispanic-owned investment banks in the United States, is pleased to announce that senior public finance executive Peter J. Hill has joined the firm as Senior Managing Director and Strategic Advisor. Prior to Ramirez, Hill most recently served Managing Director and Head of Public Finance for UBS. He also served as Managing Director and Head of Public Finance for Wells Fargo, in addition to having held senior leadership positions at Bank of America Securities and J.P. Morgan. Hill is the immediate past Chair of the Municipal Executive Committee of the Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and the past Vice Chair and Board Member of the Municipal SecuritiesRulemaking Board (MSRB).
"I have known Peter for decades and we are thrilled to bring him aboard to assist our next phase of growth across the firm," said Samuel A. Ramirez, who established his company in 1971. "We look forward to having Peter provide his strategic advice to further our momentum across the Asset Management, Corporate Finance and Municipal Bonds platforms," said Samuel A. Ramirez Jr., Senior Managing Director of Ramirez & Co., and President and CEO of Ramirez Asset Management. "Our firm is well-positioned for continued growth, as recognized just last week by IFR in naming us D&I House of the Year."
"Peter and I have known each other since we worked together at Smith Barney, which is now Citi," said Ted Sobel, Ramirez's Senior Managing Director and Head of Public Finance. "I am very excited about having his insights and experience benefit our clients and our firm." "Sam, Sam and I have talked throughout the years about working together," said Peter Hill. "I am grateful and excited for this unique opportunity to work with Ramirez's Executive Team to mobilize for continued excellence, growth, and expansion." About Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc. Founded in 1971, Ramirez is a nationwide, full service investment bank, brokerage and advisory firm serving institutional clients and retail investors across six core areas: municipal finance, investment banking, fixed income sales and trading, institutional equities, wealth management and asset management. The firm is recognized as one of the industry's preeminent and best-capitalized boutique underwriters, having cultivated a banking, underwriting, sales and trading, and strategy team that is unique in its integration. Headquartered in New York City, Ramirez has additional offices in Albany, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Antonio and San Juan, Puerto Rico. More information is available at www.ramirezco.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005716/en/
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[February 22, 2023] LiuGong North America to Showcase Company Growth, Battery Electric Vehicle Technology and 8 New Products at CONEXPO 2023
KATY, Texas, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The construction industry has changed significantly since the last CONEXPO-CON/AGG held in 2020, and so has the LiuGong presence in North America. As LiuGong returns to this year's CONEXPO, held March 14-18, 2023, in Las Vegas, it does so in an enhanced position in the construction equipment marketplace and as one of the fastest growing companies in the industry. LiuGong arrives at booth F9205 on the Festival Grounds at the Las Vegas Convention Center with 19 total machines, including eight new products, two new battery electric vehicles, a significantly increased staff and a robust and growing dealer network. "The LiuGong presence at CONEXPO/CON-AGG 2023 is a culmination of our growth strategy, new product development and investment made by members of our expanding dealer network," said Andrew Ryan, President, LiuGong North America. "At CONEXPO, LiuGong will highlight the growth and development our team has worked on for the last several years, while also showcasing the value of our machines to prospective customers. The future is bright for LiuGong as a company, and we're looking forward to the week ahead in Las Vegas." 2021 and 2022 Business Success The last two years for LiuGong have seen records in profit, revenue and growth. While other manufacturers scaled back production, LiuGong increased its production and inventory, making it the largest single producer of wheel loaders in the world. The LiuGong Lineup at CONEXPO The 19 products on display cover five product lines (wheel loaders, excavators, dozers, rollers and material handling applications) and include new technological elements throughout most machines. Headlining the LiuGong display is one of its battery electric vehicles, the 856H-E MAX Wheel Loader. There has been exponential growth in this area, with an estimated 2,000 of these units already operating worldwide in some of the world's toughest conditions. The 856H-E MAX can enhance job sites where traditional combustion engines aren't allowed or in fixed site operations where investments in charging infrastructure make sense. LiuGong debuts two new large size excavators. The 36-ton class 936F Excavator is a step above medium size excavators, while the 95-ton class 995F Excavator will become the largest in the LiuGong excavator portfolio. There are two new Zero Tail Swing (ZTS) Compact Excavators premiering in the 9051FZTS and 9057FZTS models. These 5- and 6-ton class excavators fill a gap within the LiuGong lineup and build on the 9027FZTS model that premiered in 2021. Answering the call to handle tight work on commercial and residential job sites, the new 15-ton class LiuGong 915FCR (Compact Radius) Excavator is a complement to the 913FCR, providing customers welcome choices in that size class. Both are evolved from the 915F platform with the focus on a short tail swing and little compromise in lifting capability. Additional new products include the LuGong 6612E Roller and the Dressta TD-25M Dozer.
LiuGong will also feature the HV Series Wheel Loaders (838HV, 856HV, 890HV). The HV Series of products have progressed to Stage V emissions standards and include updated transmission and hydraulic systems. Rounding out the lineup is another Dressta product, the TD-16N Dozer, along with five products from the rapidly expanding LiuGong material handling business. This includes the LiuGong CLC2025A-SC, CLG2030G and CLG2035G Fork Trucks and S1930DE and S4046DE Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWP).
The full list of LiuGong North America products at CONEXPO includes: 856H-E MAX Wheel Loader (battery electric vehicle; LiuGong North America launch)
9027F-E Excavator (battery electric vehicle; display vehicle only)
9051FZTS Excavator (LiuGong North America launch)
9057FZTS Excavator (LiuGong North America launch)
915FCR Excavator
922F Excavator
936F Excavator (LiuGong North America launch)
995F Excavator (LiuGong North America launch)
838HV Wheel Loader
856HV Wheel Loader (LiuGong North America launch)
890HV Wheel Loader
6612E Roller
Dressta TD-16N Dozer
Dressta TD-25M Dozer (LiuGong North America launch)
CLC2025A-SC Fork Truck
CLG2030G Fork Truck
CLG2035G Fork Truck
S1930DE Mobile Elevated Work Platform
S4046DE Mobile Elevated Work Platform Increasing Dealer Coverage Since 2019, LiuGong has signed 29 construction equipment dealers and 28 fork truck dealers for a total of 57 new dealers. At the year end of 2022, LiuGong had 92 total dealers with 156 locations. Several new dealers have signed recently and either have been publicly announced or will be in the coming weeks. Others have expanded their operations by either adding locations or enhancing their footprints. "Our new dealers in both the construction equipment and material handling industries were looking to grow their level of support and relationship with a new manufacturer," Ryan said. "It's our job to help ensure that we as LiuGong work together with these new dealers to elevate them in the marketplace, while continuing to recruit more in key markets across the country." Key Relationships LiuGong has worked with Cummins for decades, and the companies have been involved in a joint venture building engines in China together since 2011. Cummins will have one of its engines on display at the LiuGong booth, while the Cummins booth will be in South Hall 4, booth S84615. LiuGong will also display GRYB product attachments; GRYB has its own booth on the Festival Grounds, F8144. LiuGong also works with CATL as its battery supplier, with Miller UK to provide its globally recognized quick couplers, and with Leica Geosystems, a trusted supplier of premium sensors, software and services for geospatial data intelligence. Some of the other LiuGong business enhancements since the last CONEXPO include an enhanced dealer portal, the launch of the new LiuGong Finance program and a telematics support system, Topcon/Tierra for LiuGong. Social Media:
Facebook: LiuGong North America Facebook
Instagram: LiuGong North America Instagram
LinkedIn: LiuGong North America LinkedIn
Twitter: LiuGong North America Twitter About LiuGong North America LiuGong Construction Machinery North America, LLC, a subsidiary of Guangxi LiuGong Machinery, is headquartered in Katy, Texas. For more than 60 years, LiuGong has been manufacturing machinery for the global construction equipment and material handling markets. LiuGong's brands can trace their lineages back over 100 years in the United States. Today, LiuGong is one of the fastest growing equipment companies in the world with one of most comprehensive global dealer networks. LiuGong operates 20 manufacturing facilities globally including joint ventures with world class companies such as Cummins and ZF. LiuGong's products are designed for rugged global applications and produced with world-class components for durability and sustainability. LiuGong North America is committed to supporting dealers and customers by rapidly responding to changes in the marketplace. For more information, go to www.liugongna.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/liugong-north-america-to-showcase-company-growth-battery-electric-vehicle-technology-and-8-new-products-at-conexpo-2023-301753254.html SOURCE LiuGong North America
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[February 22, 2023] RMA Announces the Acquisition of GeoTest
RMA Companies ("RMA") today announced that it has acquired GeoTest Services, Inc. ("GeoTest"), a leading provider of geotechnical, environmental, materials testing, specialty inspection, and building science services in the Pacific Northwest. Since December 2021, RMA has completed six acquisitions, as it executes an aggressive growth strategy to build a national platform for testing and inspection services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1993, GeoTest serves public and private customers across commercial, municipal, industrial and the petrochemical end-markets. GeoTest serves customers from design throughout construction completion through a comprehensive suite of services. Its team of professional engineers, geologists, and special inspectors operate from three offices in Washington, including two highly accredited laboratory facilities. Kevin Richardson and Jeremy Wolf will continue to lead GeoTest, reporting into Steve Griffith, Regional Vice President at RMA. "The addition of GeoTest supports our strategic expansion in the Pacific Northwest, following our prior acquisition of Northwest Geotech in Oregon," said Ed Lyon, CEO of RMA. "GeoTest's leadership in building envelope and fenestration testing services, expertise in the petrochemical end-market, and advanced lab capabilities enables significant cross-sell opportunities across the RMA companies. We are excited to welcome Kevin, Jeremy, and the restof the GeoTest team."
"We are thrilled to join the RMA family," said Kevin Richardson. "We have served municipalities, public agencies, engineering and construction firms in Washington for nearly three decades. Over this time, we have built a reputation of providing high-quality that can meet our customers' needs during all stages of the construction lifecycle. Our mission facilitating the development and success of our local communities, employees, and industry. We look forward to continuing this work under RMA." "Joining RMA allows us to better serve our clients with a broader portfolio of services across a larger geographic footprint," said Jeremy Wolf. "With new access to an expanded suite of capabilities, we anticipate opportunities to collaborate with RMA's experts across several engineering and materials science disciplines. This was made possible by the hard work and dedication of GeoTest's team. I am excited by the professional growth opportunities this transaction enables for our combined workforce."
About RMA Companies RMA is a leading provider of technology-enabled laboratory testing, inspection, and quality management services for critical public and private infrastructure assets across diverse government and commercial end-markets, including transportation, healthcare, power, and water. RMA's team of engineers, geologists, inspectors, and technicians help infrastructure asset owners, engineering firms, and construction companies maintain compliance with strict regulatory and operating requirements through a range of geotechnical, environmental, and materials testing services. Founded in 1962, RMA is headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California. RMA is a portfolio company of OceanSound Partners. For more information, please visit www.rmacompanies.com. About GeoTest GeoTest is a provider of geotechnical, environmental, building science, and construction materials testing services. Founded in 1993, GeoTest delivers critical solutions to assure safety, quality, and regulatory compliance in a cost-effective manner across a broad range of government and commercial end-markets. For more information, please visit https://www.geotest-inc.com. About OceanSound Partners OceanSound Partners is a New York-based private equity firm that pursues control investments in technology and technology-enabled services companies serving government and enterprise end-markets. OceanSound employs a partnership approach, working closely with founders, entrepreneurs, and executives of middle market businesses to drive transformational growth. For more information, please visit: www.oceansoundpartners.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005658/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Church Mutual Announces Leadership Promotions
Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I.1 (a stock insurer) looks to further the company's growth through the promotion of two individuals into new leadership roles. These individuals will continue to advance Church Mutual's mission to protect those who serve and inspire others. Dawn Bernatz has been promoted assistant vice president - corporate communications. Her new role will leverage her strong leadership skills, vision and expertise in internal communications, public and media relations, special events and multimedia production. Bernatz joined the company in 2016 as director of marketing strategy and communications, transitioning to director of corporate communications in 2018. Since then, she has expanded the function into a robust, effective and essential element of the company's success. Bernatz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from University of Minnesota - Minneapolis. Koleman Brenner has been promoted to assistant vice president - Shared Service Operations. In his new role, he will continue to lead critical support functions including business process management, vendor and financial management and Shared Services reporting. He has also assumed responsibility for Commercial Operations, Corporate Services and Home Office-based facilities. Brenner joined the company in 2017 as advisory IT people manager. In 2018, he was promoted to advisory IT administration and finance manager, and in 2020, he was promoted to director - Shared Services. Brenner holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and applied economics from University of Wisconsin - Madison and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of St. Thomas. About Church Mutual Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I., founded in 1897, offers specialized insurance for religious organizations of all denominations, public and private K-12 schools, colleges and universities, senior living facilities, secular and non-secular camps and conference centers, and nonprofit and human services organizations throughout the United States. Church Mutual markets most lines of commercial property and liability insurance, including multi-peril, workers' compensation and commercial auto insurance. In addition to insurance, Church Mutual provides a spectrum of value-added solutions that benefit its customers. Church Mutual holds the following honors: A.M. Best Company "A" (excellent) rating.
Wisconsin 75 Top Private Company by Deloitte US, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Wisconsin 75 Distinguished Performer: Innovation by Deloitte US 2019.
2021 Gallup Culture Transformation Award recipient.
2022 Social Equity and Community Empowerment Property and Casualty Company Award recipient from the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
2020 Women and Diversity Award recipient from the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
Elite 50 Internship Award recipient from Rising Insurance Star Executives.
Futuremakers Partner by Wisconsin Technical College System.
Celent Model Insurer for innovation and emerging technologies.
Award in Innovation for entrepreneurialism and innovation by National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
2018-2019 Employer of the Year by Northcentral Technical College.
1Church Mutual is a stock insurer whose policyholders are members of the parent mutual holding company formed on 1/1/20. S.I. = a stock insurer.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005675/en/
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[February 22, 2023] "My China Story of Chinese Culture" International Short Video Competition award ceremony held in Jining, Shandong
BEIJING, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 22, the award ceremony of "My China Story of Chinese Culture" International Short Video Competition and related activities were held in Jining, Shandong Province, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius. The event was organized by China International Communications Group (CICG) and the Information Office of the People's Government of Shandong Province, and jointly hosted by the Jining Municipal People's Government and Xufang International Digital Culture Media. It included sections such as the exhibition of award-winning works, the award ceremony, and the theme tour. About 150 people participated, including representatives of partner institutions, award-winning teams, local governments, and cooperation platforms, as well as expert judges. "My China Story" International Short Video Competition was initiated by CICG and has been successfully held four years since it was launched in 2019. The annual competition aims to encourage domestic and international content creators, foreign live streamers, self-media teams and individuals to creat multilingual Chinese themed short videos from their unique foreign perspectives, telling their best experiences of visiting the country. Videos that tell creators' stories with China or present cultural exchanges between China and other countries from a third-party perspective are also welcome. After four years, "My China Story" has become a well-known external communication activity integrating multilingual short video creation, topic-of-the-year competition, special topic competition, new media international communication seminar, and theme exhibition. It aims to build the most authoritative brand of "China in the lens of foreigners" activity, create the most open exchange platform for global creators, and facilitate the widest cooperation among creators and platforms.
"My China Story of Chinese Culture" International Short Video Competition features four topics: "Stories of Nishan and Shandong", "Cultural Communication in a Diversified World", "Discovering the Beauty of Culture" and "A Taste of China". A total of 8,194 short video works from more than 40 countries on five continents were submitted to the competition. We organizers look forward to more Chinese and foreign creators taking this event as an opportunity to work together with Chinese and foreign cultural exchange teams to create more vivid and high-quality short video works. Contact:Li Dixuan
Tel:008610-68996991
E-mail:[email protected]
Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007862/xufang_Logo.jpg
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WASHINGTON The Supreme Court rejected an appeal, backed by the satirical site The Onion, from a man who was prosecuted for making fun of police on social media.
The justices on Tuesday left in place a lower court ruling against Anthony Novak, who was arrested after he spoofed the Parma, Ohio, police force in Facebook posts.
After his acquittal on criminal charges, Novak sued the police for violating his constitutional rights. But a federal appeals court ruled the officers have "qualified immunity" and threw out the lawsuit.
The Onion filed its brief in defense of parody. Its lawyers wrote that the First Amendment protects people from prosecution when they make fun of others.
"The Onion's writers also have a self-serving interest in preventing political authorities from imprisoning humorists," the site's lawyers wrote in a brief filed in October. "This brief is submitted in the interest of at least mitigating their future punishment."
[February 22, 2023] SpiderOak Named One of Via Satellite's 10 Hottest Companies in Satellite for 2023
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Via Satellite announced today that SpiderOak, the leader in zero-trust cybersecurity solutions for next generation space systems, has been named one of the 10 Hottest Companies in Satellite for 2023, which highlights the "must watch'' companies in the satellite industry. Via Satellite editors choose the companies on the list based on their expected activity for the year, and a mix of market share, transformational technology, ground-breaking deals, and overall industry excitement. "As commercial space companies continue delivering increasingly innovative capabilities at an unprecedented rate, it's clear that a zero-trust solution, like OrbitSecure, is more critical than ever to secure the next generation of mesh networks in proliferated LEO," said Dave Pearah, CEO of SpiderOak. "We're very excitedto be included in this year's 10 Hottest Companies in Satellite list and look forward to continuing the momentum as we continue to grow and achieve additional milestones."
Via Satellite editors Mark Holmes, Rachel Jewett and Jeffrey Hill stated, "SpiderOak is one of a new generation, a new breed of companies, that are focused on the security of these systems. It is a pioneer in many ways, but its work has also just begun." In January, SpiderOak announced a $16.4M Series C round led by Empyrean Technology Solutions, a space technology firm backed by Madison Dearborn Capital Partners VII. The company has recently recruited and hired world class space leaders including Charles Beames (Chairman), John Moberly (SVP Space), and now Kelly Price (Director Program Management). SpiderOak also created a new Space Advisory Board made up of highly decorated industry veterans and experts including General Ellen Pawlikowski, Fred Doyle, Admiral James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld, and Lieutenant General Ken Tovo to continue to guide strategic growth in the space industry, focusing particularly on national security.
About SpiderOak SpiderOak is a 100% U.S.-owned and operated software company that delivers end-to-end cybersecurity solutions for civil, military and commercial space operations. Our commercially available products are built upon a foundation of zero-trust encryption and distributed ledger, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your most sensitive data in the space domain. For more information about SpiderOak products, services or business development opportunities, check us out at www.spideroak.com . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spideroak-named-one-of-via-satellites-10-hottest-companies-in-satellite-for-2023-301753387.html SOURCE SpiderOak Inc.
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[February 22, 2023] Crew-6 Astronauts to Support Variety of Research and Technology Demonstrations During Six-Month Space Mission
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Four astronauts will begin a new six-month science expedition onboard the International Space Station (ISS) through NASA's Commercial Crew Program with the launch of SpaceX's 6th crewed mission to the orbiting laboratory. The astronauts are set to launch to the orbiting research outpost no earlier than 1:45 a.m. EST on Monday, February 27, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen (spacecraft commander) and Warren "Woody" Hoburg (pilot) join United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi (mission specialist) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (mission specialist) for the flight on the SpaceX Dragon "Endeavour" spacecraft. During their mission, which is part of Expedition 69, the Crew-6 astronauts will perform dozens of investigations sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory. These projects span a wide range of disciplinesfrom life and physical sciences to advanced materials, technology development, in-space production applications, and even student-led research. Results from these studies will bring value to humanity, further our ability to explore, and enable a robust market in low Earth orbit. Below are a few highlights of ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations that will be supported during this six-month mission: A variety of research from federal funding institutions like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will launch over a series of NASA-contracted resupply missions to the space station. Two investigations from the ISS National Lab and NIH Tissue Chips in Space initiative will launch in the coming weeks, both studying heart muscle tissue in microgravity to better understand heart disease and test new potential therapeutics. Additionally, NSF is funding multiple projects in the areas of physical science and tissue engineering seeking to advance fundamental research.
Over the next six months, several private-sector partners will leverage the ISS National Lab to advance scientific knowledge for application to products on Earth. These partners range from Fortune 500 companies seeking to improve therapeutic manufacturing processes to innovative startups aiming to advance drug manufacturing technology and develop platforms to test new therapies.
The space station is an ever-evolving research platform, and multiple projects aim to validate new facilities and capabilities for space-based research. One such study will test an updated bioprinter capable of printing human cells and tissues in microgravity that may one day be used to treat patients on Earth.
A strategic priority for the ISS National Lab is to help inspire the next generation of researchers and explorers. Multiple student-led projects will fly and be performed by the Crew-6 astronauts. These include investigations from programs like Genes in Space, which holds an annual competition for young investigators to design genetic experiments, with the winning projects launched to station. Over the years, this program has yielded multiple publications in scientific journals that are informing the scientific community on the potential of space-based research, while enabling student curiosity in space and science. Over the coming weeks, additional information will be made available about ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations launching on future missions to the space station. To learn more about the research and technology development sponsored by the ISS National Lab, including how to propose concepts for future space-based research, visit www.ISSNationalLab.org. To download a high-resolution photo for this release, click here. About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory:
The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Lab allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative Agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit www.ISSNationalLab.org.
Media Contact: Patrick O'Neill
904-806-0035
[email protected]
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crew-6-astronauts-to-support-variety-of-research-and-technology-demonstrations-during-six-month-space-mission-301753415.html SOURCE International Space Station National Lab
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[February 22, 2023] Bridge Security Advisors Expands Portfolio with Essential Security Solution
Cybersecurity leader Bridge Security Advisors (BSA) today announced the addition of Essential Security Solution (ESS), a Managed Security Solution (MSS) offering, to its portfolio. Designed to provide global enterprises on-demand cybersecurity solutions at scale, BSA's ESS is a fully customizable 24/7 Cybersecurity-as-a-Service functioning under the direction of a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) specifically chosen for their industry vertical expertise. BSA Chief Executive Officer Matthew Tuttle said, "Against the accelerating threat landscape posed by cyberattacks such as ransomware, Small Medium Business & Enterprises (SMB/E) are finding themselves under constant attack. Boards, shareholders and customers are demanding organizations improve their security postures. BSA's Essential Security Solution brings immediate benefits to people, processes and technology that combined with 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC), lower risk, accelerate detection and improve response. This allows SMB/E to get substantially more value from their IT/IS investments ad reduce the risk of business disruption from cyber events. The launch of ESS is a logical extension and complement to our already robust portfolio of cybersecurity advisory and staffing services."
ESS includes real-time 24/7 Managed Detection, Response (MDR) and threat intelligence under the direction of a vCISO to provide support, compliance oversight, and governance guidance to the C-suite and Board leadership. The vCISO, in parallel, is also establishing a security strategy and program to meet the unique business requirements of BSA clients. Designed to enhance existing cyber operations and address capabilities gaps to ensure cyber resiliency, and, in the event of a breach, ensure operational continuity. "Cybersecurity-focused organizations all over the world have documented the dramatic increase in the threat landscape and attacks on critical infrastructure since 2019. We've seen this impact SMB/E clients particularly hard as these have become the most lucrative targets for criminals. BSA's Essential Security Solution provides the fundamental security services that are crucial to any organization. As many organizations lack in house security expertise, ESS provides a stable solution that will provide the services needed at an affordable price" said BSA Managing Partner and CISO, Gerard Onorato.
About Bridge Security Advisors, LLC. Bridge Security Advisors (BSA), founded in 2019, is a partner-led organization with over 125-years of combined security advisor experience and is the world's first fully decentralized, full-service cybersecurity firm with a physical presence on six continents. BSA delivers a range of risk mitigation solutions to facilitate secure, compliant digital transformation to drive trust and revenue for its global clients through best-in-class emerging technologies, on-demand staffing and advisory services, vulnerability assessments, analysis, and accredited security solutions to meet regulatory compliance and governance standards. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005142/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Park Square Capital joins Novata General Partner Advisory Committee to Advance ESG in Private Markets
Park Square Capital (Park Square), one of Europe's leading credit investment firms with approximately $13 billion in assets under management, today announced that it has joined Novata's General Partner Advisory Committee (GPAC). Novata, a public benefit corporation backed by the Ford Foundation, Hamilton Lane, S&P Global and Omidyar Network, is the leading ESG data management platform built for the private markets. Novata provides customers with a clear 'on-ramp' for selecting ESG metrics, collecting data in a secure database, and aggregating data insights and analytics tools to inform investment decisions. The Novata GPAC, a group of the world's leading private investment firms committed to ESG, provides critical guidance and recommendations to the Novata ecosystem on a range of issues, including effective ESG measurement and benchmarking tools. Park Square Capital is aligned with Novata in their mission to advance ESG data collection in the private markets. With mounting pressure from regulators, investors, customers, and employees to increase data transparency, Novata's platform, which is specifically tailored for private markets, is the simple first step for firms looking to tackle ESG data collection. "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Novata in support of their goal to enhance ESG data availability within private markets," said Axel Wehtje, Partner and Chair of the ESG Committee at Park Square. "As a leading priate credit provider, we believe in the importance of ESG integration and associated transparency by companies and investors and plan to use the insights from collected ESG data in our portfolio engagement, monitoring and reporting processes."
"We are delighted to welcome Park Square Capital to the Novata GPAC," said Josh Green, COO and Co-Founder at Novata. "The firm's experience and track record in the private credit space will be helpful as we continue to strategically build and scale our ESG data collection platform to best serve the private markets." Learn more about Novata's GPAC here.
About Park Square Capital Park Square Capital is a leading private debt manager, providing senior debt, subordinated debt and mid-market direct loans to companies in Europe and the US. Park Square provides financing for high-quality companies backed by leading private equity sponsors. The firm has a selective, long-term and flexible investment approach, aimed at delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns across the market cycle. Park Square currently manages approximately $13bn of capital on behalf of its investors, which include global public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, family offices and asset managers. The firm was founded in 2004 and remains fully independent. Park Square has over 100 staff, with offices in London, New York, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Paris, Stockholm and Seoul. For more information, please visit www.parksquarecapital.com. About Novata Novata is a public benefit corporation created to enable the private markets to achieve a more sustainable and inclusive form of capitalism. Novata helps private equity firms and private companies to navigate the complex ESG landscape more easily by providing a technology platform that simplifies the process of selecting reporting metrics, provides clear and simple guidance for painless data collection, hosts a cutting-edge secure contributory database to store data, and offers unique tools for analysis and seamless reporting to key stakeholders, including limited partners and regulators. Novata was formed as a partnership of the Ford Foundation, S&P Global, Hamilton Lane and Omidyar Network and is majority-controlled by mission-driven organizations and its employees. For more information, please visit https://www.novata.com/. Follow Novata on LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005703/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Government of Canada invests in training for workers in a net-zero economy
HAMILTON, ON, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Supporting our economy for future generations will mean supporting good, middle class jobs for workers. Canadians workers are already leading in spaces like clean tech, and the Government of Canada is focused on ensuring workers will continue to lead in this space for years and decades to come. This is good for workers, for our economy, and for our environment. Today, the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Filomena Tassi, announced on behalf of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, that the Government of Canada is investing $46.5 million in Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery (C2R2). Led by the Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology, C2R2 is a coalition focused on developing demand-driven workforce training solutions for a net-zero emissions economy through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program. C2R2 has launched Quick Train Canada, a project that provides Canadians with access to fully funded micro-credentials to help increase their skills and competencies. The training will address workforce development needs within the agriculture, clean tech, construction, natural resources and environment, and transportation sectors through 80 micro-credential courses. This project aims to provide training for 10,000 Canadians. Of this target, 3,000 workers currently employed will receive upskilling in the latest technologies and 1,000 new entrants, with little or no previous sector training, will receive training. Additionally, it will reduce barriers for learners from under-represented groups. First announced in Budget 2021, the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program helps key sectors of the economy to implement solutions that address current and emerging workforce needs. It does so by funding organizations to deliver sectoral projects that focus on a range of industry-driven activities. These include training and reskilling workers, helping employers retain and attract a skilled and diverse workforce and other creative solutions to help sectors address labour market needs. It also supports equity-deserving groups by promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce and providing wraparound supports as needed to those facing arriers to participation.
Quotes
''Everyone should have a good job they can be proud of. Through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, we're investing in incredible organizations, like Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery, which is helping workers and employers get the rapid training they need, for the workforce of today and of tomorrow'' Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough
"Canadian workers are some of the most talented in the world and those skills are exactly what will build a strong economy for decades to come. I'm so happy to see the micro-credential courses at Mohawk College teaching innovation to so many Canadians across multiple sectors." Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Filomena Tassi "As Canada transitions to a low-carbon economy, traditional jobs are changing and new jobs are emerging that were never imagined just a generation ago. We, along with our partners in the Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery, are well equipped to develop and deliver the programs needed to prepare our workforce for those exciting careers. We are very grateful for the strong support of Employment and Social Development Canada and the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program as we work together to prepare Canadians for a promising future."
President and CEO of Mohawk College (where C2R2's administration and secretariat are managed) Ron J. McKerlie Quick Facts As of fall 2022, Canadian employers were seeking to fill over 1 million job vacancies. A significant number of vacancies (243,400) are in the professional, scientific, technical, construction and manufacturing sectors, which were already seeing shortages before the pandemic.
It is anticipated that population aging and declining participation will exacerbate labour shortages over the long-term, with 600,000 workers that may retire over the next three years.
Through a series of national climate plans since 2016including the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, the first under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act the Government of Canada has committed over $120 billion to climate action and low-carbon economic development.
the Government of has committed over to climate action and low-carbon economic development. Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery is a coalition of leading colleges, CEGEPs, institutes and polytechnics from across Canada . The coalition is working together to support the rapid development and deployment of new curriculum and research initiatives to support resilience in our towns and cities across Canada . Associated Links
Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program
2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy
Sustainable Jobs Plan
Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery
Quick Train Canada
ESDC on Facebook Follow us on Twitter SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada
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[February 22, 2023] Canadian securities regulators strengthen oversight, enhance expectations of crypto asset trading platforms operating in Canada
TORONTO and CALGARY, AB, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Further to its update on December 12, 2022, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published a notice describing enhanced investor protection commitments it expects from crypto asset trading platforms (CTPs) operating in Canada. These commitments are made in the form of an enhanced pre-registration undertaking, which CTPs must provide to continue operating in Canada while pursuing their applications for registration with Canadian securities regulators. "Recent insolvencies involving several crypto asset trading platforms highlight the tremendous risks associated with trading crypto assets, particularly when conducted on unregistered platforms based outside of Canada," said Stan Magidson, CSA Chair and Chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission. Unregistered CTPs that continue to operate in Canada while pursuing registration are expected to provide an enhanced pre-registration undertaking to their principal regulator within 30 days of ublication of this notice.
These pre-registration undertakings will include, among other things, enhanced expectations regarding the custody and segregation of crypto assets held on behalf of Canadian clients and a prohibition on offering margin, credit, or other forms of leverage to any Canadian client. They will also prohibit CTPs from permitting clients to purchase or deposit value-referenced crypto assets (commonly referred to as stablecoins) and proprietary tokens without the prior written consent of the CSA. If a CTP is unable or unwilling to provide an enhanced pre-registration undertaking, the CSA expects it will take appropriate action to off-board existing Canadian users and impose restrictions to prevent Canadian users from accessing its products or services.
CSA Staff Notice 21-332 Crypto Asset Trading Platforms: Pre-Registration Undertakings Changes to Enhance Canadian Investor Protection is available on CSA members' websites. The CSA reminds Canadians that trading in crypto assets comes with elevated levels of risk and may not be suitable for many investors, particularly retail investors. Generally speaking, trading crypto assets is a speculative activity, and the value and liquidity of crypto assets are highly volatile. Investors should consult the list of platforms that are registered with the CSA and learn the fundamentals of crypto assets before investing. While regulatory oversight plays an important role in investor protection, these measures cannot eliminate all risks associated with trading in crypto assets. The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets. For investor inquiries, please contact your local securities regulator. SOURCE Canadian Securities Administrators
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[February 22, 2023] Mercedes-Benz and Google Join Forces to Create Next-Generation Navigation Experience
Mercedes-Benz plans to build its own branded navigation using new in-car geospatial data and navigation capabilities from Google Maps Platform.
The partnership enables Mercedes-Benz to create a driving experience that pairs the trusted, reliable information from Google Maps with its own unique luxury brand and feel.
The companies agreed to explore further collaboration using Google Cloud's leading artificial intelligence (AI), data and open infrastructure solutions.
Starting today, Mercedes-Benz will give customers access to initial new features like Place Details, provided by Google. SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercedes-Benz and Google announced today a long-term strategic partnership to further accelerate auto innovation and create the industry's next-generation digital luxury car experience. With this partnership, Mercedes-Benz will be the first automaker to build its own branded navigation experience based on new in-car data and navigation capabilities from Google Maps Platform. This will give the luxury automaker access to Google's leading geospatial offering, including detailed information about places, real-time and predictive traffic information, automatic rerouting, and more. By embedding these features into the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS), customers will be able to enjoy a superior navigation experience, thanks to easy usability and outstanding graphics on the car's high-resolution screen. To help enrich the user experience, the companies will bring the YouTube app into the Mercedes-Benz infotainment system. In addition, Mercedes-Benz will use Google Maps data to enable assisted driving features such as automatic speed adjustments before intersections, roundabouts or curves. "We invite only the very best partners to enhance our operating system and to add to the Mercedes-Benz customer experience. Google has been a leader in maps and navigation for many years. With our strategic partnership, we are excited to create unique services and to elevate the level of convenience for our customers. It will be deeply integrated within our signature Mercedes-Benz user interface and fully connected to relevant vehicle functions like the state-of-charge."
Ola Kallenius, Chief Executive Officer, Mercedes-Benz As a first step, Mercedes-Benz will give customers access to Place Details provided by Google, helping them find detailed information about more than 200 million businesses and places around the world, including business hours, photos, ratings, and reviews. Place Details will be available starting today in all vehicles with the latest generation of MBUX in applicable markets*. The companies agreed to explore further collaboration using Google Cloud's leading artificial intelligence (AI), data and open infrastructure solutions. For example: AI: Mercedes-Benz intends to use Google Cloud's AI and Machine Learning capabilities to create, train, and deploy new models at speed and enhance customer experiences.
Data: Mercedes-Benz intends to use Google Cloud's fast and efficient data processing platform to analyze fleet data.
Open Infrastructure: Mercedes-Benz plans to use Google's open infrastructure to securely innovate and scale from on-premises, to edge, to cloud, across Mercedes-Benz's current technology landscape. "Our partnership with Mercedes-Benz brings advanced technoogies from Google Maps Platform, Cloud, and YouTube to help create new experiences for drivers. In addition to enabling Mercedes-Benz to design a customized navigation interface, we'll provide our AI and data capabilities to accelerate their sustainability efforts, advance autonomous driving, and create an enhanced customer experience."
Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, Google and Alphabet *all Generation 2020 MBUX (NTG7) vehicles with navigation in connect markets except China, Japan and Korea. Series: 223, 206, 295, 297, 296, 294, 254, 232, 177 (from production 12/2022, model year 22/2), W247 (from production 12/2022, model year 22/2), V167 (from production 12/2022, model year 22/2).
Forward-looking statements: This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current views about future events. The words "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "can," "could," "plan," "project," "should" and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including an adverse development of global economic conditions, in particular a decline of demand in our most important markets; a deterioration of our refinancing possibilities on the credit and financial markets; events of force majeure including natural disasters, pandemics, acts of terrorism, political unrest, armed conflicts, industrial accidents and their effects on our sales, purchasing, production or financial services activities; changes in currency exchange rates, customs and foreign trade provisions; a shift in consumer preferences towards smaller, lower-margin vehicles; a possible lack of acceptance of our products or services which limits our ability to achieve prices and adequately utilize our production capacities; price increases for fuel or raw materials; disruption of production due to shortages of materials, labour strikes or supplier insolvencies; a decline in resale prices of used vehicles; the effective implementation of cost-reduction and efficiency-optimization measures; the business outlook for companies in which we hold a significant equity interest; the successful implementation of strategic cooperations and joint ventures; changes in laws, regulations and government policies, particularly those relating to vehicle emissions, fuel economy and safety; the resolution of pending governmental investigations or of investigations requested by governments and the outcome of pending or threatened future legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties, some of which are described under the heading "Risk and Opportunity Report" in the current Annual Report or in the current Interim Report. If any of these risks and uncertainties materializes or if the assumptions underlying any of our forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, the actual results may be materially different from those we express or imply by such statements. We do not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements since they are based solely on the circumstances at the date of publication. Mercedes-Benz Group at a glance
Mercedes-Benz Group AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With Mercedes-Benz AG, the Group is one of the leading global suppliers of premium and luxury cars and vans. Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG offers financing, leasing, car subscription and car rental, fleet management, digital services for charging and payment, insurance brokerage, as well as innovative mobility services. The company founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history by inventing the automobile in 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Mercedes-Benz sees shaping the future of mobility in a safe and sustainable way as both a motivation and obligation. The company's focus therefore remains on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior vehicles that both captivate and inspire. Mercedes-Benz continues to invest systematically in the development of efficient powertrains and sets the course for an all-electric future: The brand with the three-pointed star pursues the goal to go all-electric, where market conditions allow. Shifting from electric-first to electric-only, the world's pre-eminent luxury car company is accelerating toward a fully electric and software-driven future. The company's efforts are also focused on the intelligent connectivity of its vehicles, autonomous driving and new mobility concepts as Mercedes-Benz regards it as its aspiration and obligation to live up to its responsibility to society and the environment. Mercedes-Benz sells its vehicles and services in nearly every country of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Africa. In addition to Mercedes-Benz, the world's most valuable luxury automotive brand (source: Interbrand study, 03 Nov. 2022), Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-EQ and Mercedes me as well as the brands of Mercedes-Benz Mobility: Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Athlon. The company is listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges (ticker symbol MBG). In 2021, the Group had a workforce of around 172,000 and sold 2.3 million vehicles. Group revenues amounted to 168.0 billion and Group EBIT to 29.1 billion. About Google
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Google Cloud, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. About Google Cloud
Google Cloud accelerates every organization's ability to digitally transform its business. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems. About Google Maps Platform
Google Maps Platform powers rich geospatial solutions for organizations around the world based on the comprehensive and trusted information from Google Maps. We help customers create innovative products and improve operations with geospatial services for more than 250 countries and territories. Learn more here . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mercedes-benz-and-google-join-forces-to-create-next-generation-navigation-experience-301753489.html SOURCE Google Inc.
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[February 22, 2023] Minister Fraser Announces Oil to Heat Pump Co-Delivery Program with Nova Scotia to Lower Heating Costs
DARTMOUTH, NS, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Heat pumps not only help families save money on their monthly bills: they also help cut pollution and fight climate change. That's why the Government of Canada is taking another step forward to help families make the switch from expensive home heating oil to efficient electricity heat pumps. Today, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Sean Fraser, on behalf of the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced that registration has opened for the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability OHPA Program in Nova Scotia. Eligible homeowners can receive up to $5,000 in federal support from this program in addition to up to $5,000 from the Canada Greener Homes Grant (CGHG) and further support from the Province of Nova Scotia. Registration for Nova Scotia is through the provincial program delivered by EfficiencyOne. The program helps low-to-middle-income households that are currently heating their homes with oil to move to electric cold-climate heat pumps. By switching, homeowners can receive up to $5,000 toward the purchase and installation of a new cold-climate heat pump, save thousands of dollars annually on heating bills and help cut pollution. Homeowners in Nova Scotia are invited to register through the EfficiencyOne website. Homeowners in Prince Edward Island are invited to register through the Free Heat Pump Program . All other eligible homeowners across Canada can pre-register through the CGHG Portal. Those who pre-register will be contacted once final program details are launched in the coming weeks. Introduced in November 2022, the OHPA program is delivering $250 million in investments for electric heat pumps as a new stream under the existing Canada Greener Homes Initiative. Heat pumps are also an important climate adaptation solution, supporting Canadians in heating their homes in cold winters and cooling them in increasingly hot summers. The OHPA Program is yet another example of the government's commitment to making life more affordable for Canadians while fighting climate change from coast to coast to coast. Quotes "Replacing home heating oil with electric heat pumps is an effective way for families to save money while reducing pollution. We are pleased to partner with the Government of Nova Scotia to co-deliver the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Grant through EfficiencyOne meaning Nova Scotians who make the switch can now access up to $10,000 in federal support on top of provincial programs." The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Natural Resources, Canada "Affordability is a top-of-mind issue for all Canadians, and today our government is ensuring there is up to an additional $5,000 above and beyond existing federal programs to support those who are installin heat pumps. Delivered in partnership with the Government of Nova Scotia through EfficiencyOne, this program will help Nova Scotians save money on their energy bills while reducing emissions. This is a win for affordability and a win for the environment."
The Honourable Sean Fraser
Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Canada By helping Canadians switch from the roller-coaster prices of home heating oil toward more affordable, Canadian-made electrical home heating, we're saving households thousands of dollars on energy bills while fighting climate change. Cheaper home heating, less pollution. It's a win-win."
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Canada "Nova Scotia is a national leader in fighting climate change with some of the most ambitious goals in the country. Helping Nova Scotians move away from oil heat and make their homes more energy-efficient is an important part of our climate plan. We recently invested $140 million to help all Nova Scotians especially those in low- and middle-income households to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through our energy efficiency programs. We greatly appreciate the federal support that our investment is leveraging and Efficiency Nova Scotia's expertise in helping homeowners find the best solutions for their needs." The Honourable Tory Rushton
Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, Nova Scotia "Energy efficiency is one of the most important tools in accelerating Nova Scotia's efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions as we move to a low-carbon, net-zero future, and doing this comes with the important benefit of reducing energy bills. For most people, their energy bill is often their largest bill, and we know higher energy costs disproportionately impact households with lower incomes. Funding for energy efficiency incentives and programs like the Oil to Heat Pump Assistance Grant are critical and allow more people to make energy-efficient upgrades." Stephen MacDonald
President and CEO, EfficiencyOne Quick Facts Heat pumps are a proven and reliable technology in Canada , capable of providing year-round comfort control for a home by:
, capable of providing year-round comfort control for a home by: heating it in the winter;
cooling it in the summer (heat pumps, despite their name, can also act as air conditioners); and
in some cases, heating water.
Heat pumps are one of the best ways for homeowners to save money on energy bills and fight climate change. When compared with other electric home heating sources, they are also two to three times more efficient, meaning greater savings for homeowners and reduced energy intake for utilities and grids.
The heat pump can also provide cooling by transferring warm indoor air to the outside. The energy provided by the outside air is free: consumers only pay for the electricity used by the compressor.
Cold climate air source heat pumps have been designed to work in lower temperatures well below freezing and can now work down to 30C temperatures. This is possible because there is thermal energy available in the air, even in very low temperatures. For example, air at 18C still has 85 percent of the thermal energy as air at 21C. These systems are also capable of switching to a cooling mode.
Since the Canada Greener Homes Loan launched on June 17, 2022 , more than 20,000 homeowners have applied for a loan, and more than $225 million in loan commitments have been made.
, more than 20,000 homeowners have applied for a loan, and more than in loan commitments have been made. Further assistance will be made available through the Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF), announced by Minister Guilbeault in September 2022 . The LCEF Home Heating Oil Transition funding will provide up to $250 million to interested provinces and territories to expand existing programs or create new initiatives that support low-income households in their transition from home heating oil to low-emitting heating sources. Approximately $120 million of the overall funding will go to people in Atlantic Canada , where the use of oil for home heating is much more common. Agreements on the specific programs to distribute funding in each jurisdiction are currently being finalized, aiming for funding to begin in 20232024. Related Information
Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program
2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy
Canada Greener Homes Initiative
E fficiencyOne
Making Home Heating More Affordable for Canadians While Fighting Climate Change
Explore other financial incentives to make changes in your home
Canada Greener Homes Loan (nrcan.gc.ca)
Greener Homes Most Recent Update Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan ( http://twitter.com/nrcan ) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada
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[February 22, 2023] The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz Announces Investigation of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) on Behalf of Investors
The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz announces an investigation of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. ("Charles River" or the "Company") (NYSE: CRL) on behalf of investors concerning the Company's possible violations of federal securities laws. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.
On February 22, 2023, Charles River disclosed that it received a subpoena from the Justice Department relating to an ongoing investigation into the supply chain and illegal importation of nonhuman primates for research. The Company has voluntarily suspended shipments of primates from Cambodia. The Company also warned that the decision to suspend shipments will negatively impact its earnings this year and will reduce revenue growth by 200 basis points to 400 basis points. On this news, Charles Rivers' stock price fell as much as 15% during intraday trading on February 22, 2023, thereby injuring investors.
Follow us for updates on Twitter: twitter.com/FRC_LAW. If you purchased Charles River securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Frank R. Cruz, of The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-914-5007, by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.frankcruzlaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005898/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Canada Announces Oil to Heat Pump Program Co-Delivery with P.E.I. to Lower Heating Costs
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Heat pumps not only help families save money on their monthly bills, they also help cut pollution and fight climate change. That's why the Government of Canada is taking another step forward to help families make the switch from expensive home heating oil to efficient electric heat pumps. Today, Member of Parliament Heath MacDonald, on behalf of the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced that registration has opened for the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) Program in P.E.I. Eligible homeowners can receive up to $5,000 in federal support from this program in addition to up to $5,000 from the Canada Greener Homes Grant and further support from the Province of P.E.I. Registration for Prince Edward Island is through the provincial Free Heat Pump Program . The program helps low-to-middle-income Canadian households that are currently heating their homes with oil to move to electric cold-climate heat pumps. By switching, homeowners can receive up to $10,000 in federal support toward the purchase and installation of a new cold-climate heat pump, save thousands of dollars annually on heating bills and help cut pollution. Homeowners in Prince Edward Island are invited to register through the Free Heat Pump Program website. All other eligible homeowners across Canada can pre-register through the CGHG Portal. Those who pre-register will be contacted once final program details are launched in the coming weeks. Introduced in November 2022, the OHPA program is delivering $250 million in investments for electric heat pumps as a new stream under the existing Canada Greener Homes Initiative. Heat pumps are also an important climate adaptation solution, supporting Canadians in heating their homes in cold winters and cooling them in increasingly hot summers. Delivering the OHPA Program is part of the government's commitment to making life more affordable for Canadians while fighting climate change from coast to coast to coast. Quotes "Replacing home heating oil with electric heat pumps is an effective way for families to save money while reducing pollution. We are pleased to partner with the Government of Prince Edward Island to co-deliver the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Grant meaning Islanders who make the switch can now access up to $10,000 in federal support on top of provincial programs." The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Natural Resources Canada "By helping Canadians switch from the roller coaster prices of home heating oil toward more affordable Canadian-made electric home heating we're saving households thousands of dollars on energy bills, while fighting climate change. Cheaper home heating, less pollution. It's a win-win."
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada "Today we are pleased to announce up to $5,000 more in federal support for Islanders to switch from oil heating to electric heat pumps. The Government of Canada and the Government of P.E.I. have teamed up to deliver this funding together. By investing in electric heat pumps, homeowners can save money on fuel for winter heating, cool their homes in the summertime and contribute to our fight against climate change."
Sean Casey
Member of Parliament "This partnership between the Government of Canada and the Government of P.E.I. will help to make home heating more affordable in our communities while fighting climate change. Through up to $10,000 in total federal support, P.E.I.'s Free Heat Pump program is well resourced to help Islanders to make the switch while saving money on their utility bill and contributing to building more sustainable communities for our future generations." Heath MacDonald,
Member of Parliament "With nearly 3,000 free heat pumps installed in Prince Edward Island through our easy-to-access provincial free heat pump program, we are making it simple for Island homeowners to help us reach our nation-leading net-zero goals. We appreciate any efforts by the Government of Canada to assist our province in keeping this momentum going so even more Islanders can save money on their energy bills." The Honourable Steven Myers
Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Action, Prince Edward Island Quick Facts Heat pumps are a proven and reliable technology in Canada , capable of providing year-round comfort control for a home by:
, capable of providing year-round comfort control for a home by: heating it in the winter;
cooling it in the summer (heat pumps, despite their name, can also act as air conditioners); and
in some cases, heating water.
Heat pumps are one of the best ways for homeowners to save money on energy bills and fight climate change. When compared with other electric home heating sources, they are also two to three times more efficient, meaning greater savings for homeowners and reduced energy intake for utilities and grids.
The heat pump can also provide cooling by transferring warm indoor air to the outside. The energy provided by the outside air is free: consumers only pay for the electricity used by the compressor.
Cold-climate air source heat pumps have been designed to work in lower temperatures well below freezing and can now work down to 30C temperatures. This is possible because there is thermal energy available in the air, even in very low temperatures. For example, air at 18C still has 85 percent of the thermal energy as air at 21C. These systems are also capable of switching to a cooling mode.
Since the Canada Greener Homes Loan launched on June 17, 2022 , more than 20,000 homeowners have applied for a loan and more than $225 million in loan commitments have been made.
, more than 20,000 homeowners have applied for a loan and more than in loan commitments have been made. Further assistance will be made available through the Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF), announced by Minister Guilbeault in September 2022 . The LCEF Home Heating Oil Transition funding will provide up to $250 million to interested provinces and territories to expand existing programs or create new initiatives that support low-income households in their transition from home heating oil to low-emitting heating sources. Approximately $120 million of the overall funding will go to people in Atlantic Canada , where using oil for home heating is much more common. Agreements on the specific programs to distribute funding in each jurisdiction are currently being finalized, aiming for funding to begin in 202324. Related Information
Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program
2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy
Canada Greener Homes Initiative
P.E.I. Free Heat Pump Program
Making Home Heating More Affordable for Canadians While Fighting Climate Change
Explore other financial incentives to make changes in your home
Canada Greener Homes Loan (nrcan.gc.ca)
Greener Homes Most Recent Update Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan ( http://twitter.com/nrcan ) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada
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Now that David Balkin has been out of the picture for two months as president of SUNY Erie Community College, lets hope that new leaders plans to reverse some of his major initiatives will prevent further financial hemorrhaging. We remain skeptical.
Just a couple of years ago, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz warned of the colleges numerous shortfalls which, he said, if not addressed, could result in the bankruptcy of the college in the next few years. A consultants study underscored the redundancies and problems within the ECC structure and Poloncarz, in a letter to county legislators, emphasized the urgency, warning that the college had one additional year of breathing room left to implement reforms or face dire consequences.
Balkin promised to be the college president who could right the sinking ship. He had been chancellor of the South Bend-Elkhart campus of Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana and had built a reputation for fostering academic relationships with business and industry during his career. But here, he lasted only 11 months, leaving after an undisclosed internal conflict cost him the Boards support.
Balkins full-steam ahead approach rankled the old guard, perhaps not without some cause. Longtime staff wrote letters to the editor protesting what they viewed as Balkins ham-fisted approach.
He made drastic changes that, at the time and perhaps still seemed necessary to save a drowning three-campus college system that has been plagued by low student enrollment and whose North Campus has long struggled to maintain its enrollment against the lure of neighboring Niagara County Community College. The loss of Erie County students to NCCC meant a huge transfer of funds in the form of chargebacks fees imposed on local governments when residents attend a community college outside of their home county.
Balkins cost-cutting ideas included the push several months ago to switch from a computerized resource planning system that college administrators characterized as a disaster. The real disaster ended up being the confusion around the systems effectiveness.
The Erie County Legislature reluctantly approved $6.8 million in funding for ECC to move from its current system, WorkDay, to the Banner system used by a majority of SUNY campuses, while also maintaining WorkDay until the transition was complete. The decision to get rid of WorkDay was based largely on the recommendation of Balkin, who said it cost the college $12.5 million since 2017 but never worked properly.
Perhaps someone should have checked with the IT department, whose team strongly disagreed with that assessment. No matter. It turned out that switching to Banner would cost upwards of $27 million over five years, according to Kathy Callesto, an ECC associate vice provost, who led a committee that held 53 hours of work sessions to determine if the change was worth it.
We agree with Erie County Legislator John Gilmour who stood perplexed: and now Balkin left and all of a sudden they can fix it? Its a miracle!
The other miracles or reversals college leaders are floating include possibly rehiring people who lost their jobs in a wave of county-assisted retirement incentives and layoffs. Balkins attempts to move away from ECCs three-campus model and right-size the college based on enrollment that has dropped by nearly half, to fewer than 7,000 students, in the past decade fell flat. No surprise. Any whisper of consolidating campuses has met with strenuous community resistance. Just ask former County Executive Joel Giambra what it was like when he broached the subject in the early 2000s.
Balkin also eliminated low-performing programs, angering some faculty who feared he was aiming to close the South Campus as part of the plan to build a new Bills stadium. He also antagonized college supporters when he proposed moving the library at ECCs City Campus into the Erie County library systems main downtown branch.
As college leaders roll back some Balkin cuts, they should ask themselves: Will returning systems that were failing in the first place stabilize the college and prepare it and its students for a healthier future? Probably not.
Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
[February 22, 2023] Naser Taher awarded 'Chairman of the Year' in Dubai
The Prestigious Le Fonti Awards Ceremony was held on Thursday night at The Palace Downtown Dubai, hosting prominent business leaders from around the globe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005687/en/ Chairman of MultiBank Group, Mr. Naser Taher, during his speech at Le Fonti Awards. (Photo: Business Wire) The annual Awards honor the highest levels of business excellence and are acclaimed across the industry as a true quality mark. At the ceremony, MultiBank Group was awarded the 'Leading Financial Derivatives Institution'; and Chairman Mr. Naser Taher was recognized as the 'Chairman of the Year'. Speaking on the double win, Chairman Mr. Naser Taher said, "It is a testament to the dedication, and commitment of our team", recognizing the efforts of the entire MultiBank Group. In his speech, Mr. Taher stated "MultiBank Group has grown to be one of the largest, if not the largest, financial derivatives institution with a daily turnover of USD 12.1 billion, over 1 million customers, and over 30,000 institutional clients. Additionally, we maintain an unblemished record with all our 11 regulators since 2005."
Staying true to the honour of Chairman of the Year, he also recognized what a difficult year it had been in the financial world, saying, "the Crypto Market has been mismanaged" by market leaders. He called for reform, stating that MultiBank Group shall play a leading role in cleaning the Crypto Market in 2023. Le Fonti focuses on enhancing companies' unique features. Fostering a business community of over ten million people globally, the event offered an opportunity for industry leaders to connect, learn and grow with each other. The Summit and Awards Ceremony was followed by an entertaining Gala Dinner, summing up a successful night.
About MultiBank Group: MultiBank Group was established in California, USA, in 2005. Boasting a daily trading volume of over US$ 12.1 billion, it provides services to an extensive client base of over 1,000,000 customers from across 100 countries MultiBank Group offers award-winning trading platforms, with up to 500:1 leverage on products including Forex, Metals, Shares, Commodities, Indices and Digital Assets. For more information, visit https://multibankfx.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005687/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Statcomm Annouces Rebrand
Statcomm/PSI has a new look, with the same trusted team and same high-quality service. MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Statcomm Inc. (Statcomm), an all-in-one fire and life safety service provider, has completed a major rebranding after merging with Performance Systems Integration (PSI) in 2022. Statcomm/PSI is still the same team delivering the same high-quality comprehensive safety compliance servicesnow supported by PSI's best-in-class digital service delivery platform. As NFPA compliance experts, the Statcomm/PSI team continues to focus on supporting customers with single point of management services and highly trained and certified technicians. Our services include testing, inspection, repair, design, installation and monitoring of fire alarms and sprinkler systems, as well as fire xtinguisher and e-light services. We also install and service automatic gates, doors, and access control systems.
"We're excited to include Statcomm under the PSI umbrella and look forward to continuing to provide customers in the Greater Bay Area with exceptional levels of service and growing the strong business Statcomm has built over the years," said PSI CEO, Travis Everton. PSI's integrations team has transitioned Statcomm's processes into a best-in-class digital service delivery platform. PSI's key to ensuring peak operational efficiency and an excellent customer experience is to provide consistent data accessible by all team members at all times. PSI has found that when team members have a complete digital picture of customer communications and history, the customer experience improves drastically.
Anyone who would like to learn more about the Statcomm/PSI merger is welcome to join our virtual town hall on Tuesday, March 21, hosted by PSI CEO, Travis Everton. He will be available to answer questions about the merger. Learn more and register at www.Statcomm.com/PSI About Performance Systems Integration PSI, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is committed to delivering high-quality customer service through its "single-point-of-management" compliance services for all fire and life safety installations and inspections. PSI also operates cylinder requalification, cylinder maintenance, and fire equipment parts distribution businesses under the Fire King brand. With decades of experience in the fire and life safety industry, PSI's highly qualified technicians are carefully factory-trained and NICET-certified to deliver the highest level of services. Beyond compliance, PSI's mission is to help save lives by providing meaningful fire and life safety protection and training. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/statcomm-annouces-rebrand-301753592.html SOURCE Statcomm/PSI
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[February 22, 2023] KlaymanToskes Announces Broker Antoine Souma BARRED from FINRA
National investment fraud lawyers KlaymanToskes announce that FINRA barred the Beverly Hills based broker Antoine Nabih Souma for violating FINRA Rules. On February 21, 2023, Souma entered into a settlement with FINRA known as a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent ("AWC") after he failed to provide documents and information for FINRA's 2021 investigation of an Insigneo Securities' branch office and the ongoing $2 million arbitration claim filed against Souma by KlaymanToskes last August. Investors that suffered losses at the advice of Antoine Souma should immediately contact attorney Steven D. Toskes at 888-997-9956 or [email protected] to discuss recovery options.
Antoine Souma's Regulatory History Antoine Souma, once recognized on Barron's list of Top 100 Financial Advisors with $3 billion under management, has a history of regulatory issues. In November 2021, Souma entered into his first AWC with FINRA accepting a 2-month suspension and $20,000 fine in connection with a $14,000,000 customer dispute at JPMorgan. One month later, Souma resigned from Galliott Capital LLC as requested by the State of California.
Souma's second and final AWC, finalized February 21, 2023, ultimately barred him from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm after Souma failed to provide documents and information to aid in FINRA's investigations. According to securities attorney Steven D. Toskes, Esq., "We find it very interesting that Souma refused to provide information and documents to FINRA relating to our client. Through the arbitration process, we will be seeking answers as to why Souma refused to cooperate with FINRA in our efforts to obtain a financial recovery for our client's losses." Former and current customers of Antoine Souma who sustained damages at Galliot Capital Advisors, Morgan Stanley, or Insigneo Securities are encouraged to contact Steven D. Toskes, Esq. at 1 (888) 997-9956 or [email protected]. About Us KlaymanToskes is a leading national securities law firm which practices exclusively in the field of securities arbitration and litigation on behalf of retail and institutional investors throughout the world in large and complex securities matters. The firm has recovered more than $250 million for investors in FINRA arbitrations and over $350 million in other securities litigation matters for its clients. KlaymanToskes has office locations in California, Florida, New York, and Puerto Rico. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005975/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Hannon Armstrong Announces Investor Day on March 21
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. ("Hannon Armstrong" or "HASI") (NYSE: HASI), a leading investor in climate solutions, today announced it will host an Investor Day from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 21 in Annapolis, Maryland. Beginning at 8:30 a.m., investors and other interested parties will be able to access a live video webcast, including the presentation materials, at https://investors.hannonarmstrong.com/. Registration to access the live webcast is available at the Investor Day Registration Page. A replay will be available after the event.
About Hannon Armstrong Hannon Armstrong (NYSE: HASI) is the first U.S. public company solely dedicated to investments in climate solutions, providing capital to assets developed by leading companies in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other sustainable infrastructure markets. With more than $9 billion in managed assets, our core purpose is to make climate positive investments with superior risk-adjusted returns. For more information, please visit hannonarmstrong.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005968/en/
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[February 22, 2023] PowerSchool Expands International Channel Partner Program, Announces OneConnect as First Channel Partner in Africa
PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, today announced the expansion of its Global channel partner initiative, the PowerPartner Program, with the program's first channel partner in Africa, OneConnect. OneConnect is an innovative provider of turnkey technology services and solutions in South Africa and throughout the African continent. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005985/en/ OneConnect Education Managing Director, Rogers Sithole, and PowerSchool CEO, Hardeep Gulati, finalize partnership plans to expand PowerSchool solutions across Africa. (Photo: Business Wire) The PowerPartner Program leverages PowerSchool's regional channel partners to support localized marketing, sales, and customer deployment efforts. As the first channel partner in Africa, OneConnect will help grow PowerSchool's customer base in South Africa and throughout the region and is expected to help the company serve more than 500,000 students across the continent in the next year. "We are excited to announce our partnership with OneConnect," said Hardeep Gulati, CEO of PowerSchool. "We've seen the innovative impact of OneConnect's technology services and solutions, and know they are the right partner to expand our support to the over 240 million students enrolled in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond."
Through the OneConnect partnership, educators in South Africa and across the continent can access mission-critical tools, including products from PowerSchool Unified Classroom, PowerSchool Unified Talent, PowerSchool Unified Insights, and PowerSchool Unified Operations to support even more educators, students and families and help them realize the promise of personalized education. "OneConnect understands the unique experience, opportunities, and challenges of education leaders in South Africa and throughout the Continent," said Rogers Sithole, Managing Director: OneConnect Education. "Education technology, like the solutions offered from PowerSchool, are key to democratizing education through improving digital access, professional development, and personalized learning across the continent."
Currently, PowerSchool channel partners serve customers in India, the Philippines, and Uruguay, with plans to rapidly expand the program this year. "With PowerSchool's extensive and growing customer base in the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, exceptional partners, like OneConnect, will further support the company's efforts for global expansion," said Tim Russell, Vice President for International Channel Development. "PowerSchool will continue to add additional partners across the Middle East, Asia, New Zealand, and Latin America regions this year." The OneConnect partnership news follows the company's recent announcement of plans to open its first Middle East & Africa (MEA) office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Spring 2023. About OneConnect OneConnect is a multi-faceted technology company headquartered in South Africa with regional offices in Kenya and Mozambique, offering over 14 years of turnkey Technology services and solutions to small, medium and large business throughout Africa. Their hallmark suite of innovative technology solutions and products, complemented by the experience and qualifications of their people, offer excellence in execution and after-sales service and support on an on-going basis. OneConnect's Education division aims to democratize education on the Continent by offering solutions for every stage of the education cycle. For more information, please visit https://www.oneconnect.co.za/. About PowerSchool PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC) is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America. Its mission is to power the education ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 50 million students globally and more than 15,000 customers, including more than 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States, and sells solutions in more than 90 countries. Visit www.powerschool.com to learn more. PowerSchool. PowerSchool and other PowerSchool marks are trademarks of PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005985/en/
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[February 22, 2023] Sticky Fingers Cooking Introduces New Franchise Opportunities Nationwide With a Proven Recipe for Success and a Work-From-Home Business Model
A homegrown Colorado company with a proven recipe for success, Sticky Fingers Cooking, announced today that the company is now offering franchise opportunities nationwide. For the past 11 years, Sticky Fingers Cooking has ignited a lifetime love of healthy cooking and adventurous eating in over 100,000 children ages 3-18. Sticky Fingers Cooking operates in over 700 schools across Colorado, Illinois, and Texas, offering classes both in-person and virtually. Founder and CEO, Erin Fletter, is a mother-of-three who created this unique cooking school that operates in schools, camps, libraries, recreation centers, and even private homes. After expanding locations in Colorado, Texas, and Illinois, Fletter and her team decided that families around the country could benefit from franchising this work-from-home business. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005979/en/ Sticky Fingers Cooking offers after-school cooking classes for young chefs and now it's a franchise opportunity! (Photo: Business Wire) "You don't have to be a chef or experienced entrepreneur to run this exciting and successful educational business from your home," said Erin Fletter, Founder and CEO of Sticky Fingers Cooking. "Sticky Fingers Cooking combines the joys of kids, cooking, eating, nutrtion, food, history, math, science, and global cultures, into one successful business model."
While the front of house at Sticky Fingers Cooking offers a kids cooking school, the back-of-house is a proprietary technology platform (Sticky Fingers Cooking Dash) that makes running a successful franchise easy. The team spent 9 years developing and perfecting this platform to support every aspect of running a franchise business. In addition to scheduling, invoicing, automated payroll, and managing team members, The Dash also allows instructors to access Lesson Plans and schedules, enables families to register and access the recipes made in class. It also delivers weekly curriculum, shopping lists, and everything a franchise owner needs to get up and running so you don't miss a BEET. "The Dash has been THE tool that empowers me to focus less on business administration time and spend more on growing my local business," said Lucy Warenski, Area Director of Sticky Fingers Cooking Chicago since 2013. "Sticky Fingers has developed a real recipe for success and I am thrilled that we are now offering this opportunity to entrepreneurs everywhere."
The Sticky Fingers Cooking executive and management team is 25 strong and offers in-depth franchise support. They have experience in leading a national business and have successfully operated 5 company-owned Sticky Fingers Cooking outlets, in 3 states, for 9 years. The team partners with franchisees by providing ongoing support, lists of select schools in their territory, contacts in each market, thousands of recipes, and a proven curriculum. Franchise Details Sticky Fingers Cooking franchises offer a non brick and mortar, run from home, low cost, flexible, and quick to start up business. Franchisees can be up and running 30-60 days after starting the business and completing training. The initial investment for a Sticky Fingers Cooking franchise is affordable, running from $77,428 to $125,279. Sticky Fingers Cooking provides investment and performance information that speaks for itself. "Over the past decade we've created a home-based business with a proprietary technology platform, solid systems, on-going support, and a proven business infrastructure has led to success for our company owned outlets," added Erin Fletter. "Our expansion into Illinois and Texas with Sticky Fingers Cooking employees demonstrated that we can grow to new markets and offer families a chance to be a part of a culinary revolution. We hope you'll join us!" About Sticky Fingers Cooking Sticky Fingers Cooking has been cultivating 'cool'inary curiosity in kids' since 2011. Founded in Denver, Colorado, Sticky Fingers Cooking is a purpose-driven company that recognizes the value of fostering curiosity, independence, confidence, and the development of lifelong cooking skills through interactive and fun culinary experiences. They also believe that it is their responsibility to stand for social justice by seeking out equitable opportunities to offer classes to diverse communities across the country. The company is now offering franchising opportunities in 43 states with more on the horizon. More information can be found at stickyfingerscookingfranchise.com and stickyfingerscooking.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005979/en/
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[February 22, 2023] PodCamp Toronto Returns for Its 15th Year of Connecting and Empowering the Digital Media Community
Crowd-sourced digital media conference calls on podcasters and content creators across the community TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - PodCamp Toronto is making a comeback to the city, offering a space for creative minds to gather and learn from the digital media community. Dubbed as an "unconference", PodCamp Toronto follows a crowd-sourced conference model where the participants set the agenda and contribute to the programming content by sharing their knowledge. This approach levels the playing field and provides equal opportunities for showcasing creativity and expertise. "Whether you're an experienced content creator or just starting out, PodCamp Toronto is the perfect opportunity to connect with the community, learn from your peers, and grow your skills," said John Leschinski, Chair of PodCamp Toronto. "This year, we have a remarkable lineup of presentations delving into topics such as how to attract niche audiences, examining the state of the Canadian podcasting ecosystem, and how to leverage AI." The event takes place at Toronto Metropolitan University at the Rogers Communication Centre from to February 26, 2023. Admission to the event is free, and attendees have the option to show their support by purchasing merchandise on site.
PodCamp Toronto begins on Friday, February 24, 2023 at 6 p.m. for a welcome pre-mixer at The Imperial Pub. On February 25th, check-in begins at 8 a.m. with a full day of sessions running until 6 p.m. followed by an evening event at The Blake House. PodCamp Toronto resumes on Feb. 26 at 9 a.m. for more programming until 2 p.m. Coffee and tea will be served courtesy of AmberMac Media throughout the weekend. PodCamp Toronto provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for professionals and hobbyists alike in the digital media, tech communications, and marketing industries to network and learn from each other. The event brings together over 1,000 content creators, thought leaders, activists, podcasters, and journalists from both local and international communities.
Participants can expect to leave the three-day conference with valuable insights on kickstarting their own podcast, content creation, and strategies to growing their brand. This event, representing dedicated digital community members, offers participants networking opportunities as well as the chance to feel heard. Our thanks to Cision for sponsoring this announcement, Toronto Metropolitan University for hosting this event, and Leschinski Design and StickerMule for their support. About: PodCamp Toronto is the city's premier digital media conference, providing a platform for bloggers, podcasters, social media enthusiasts, and online content creators to come together and share their knowledge and experiences. Now in its 15th year, PodCamp Toronto is dedicated to bringing the community together and providing a space for attendees to connect, learn, and grow. For more information about PodCamp Toronto, the full schedule, and tickets, visit: https://2023.podcamptoronto.com/ Additional images and videos available at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/123pqu5dxxxp3xo/AADjyu2TET_3JJbMNJQan7-Ha?dl=0 SOURCE PodCamp Toronto
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Service providers tend to have access to large amounts of data. The thing is, they struggle to analyze and leverage it holistically across the organization. There are reasons for this.
Small and mid-sized service providers may not have dedicated data teams or sufficient resources, incomplete or inaccurate data is difficult to derive insights from it, data comes in from multiple sources and formats or there is a lack of data skillsets such as data analysis, data visualization and data interpretation.
Analyzing and leveraging data is a complex and time-consuming process, and service providers may face multiple challenges along the way.
Mobileum, a provider of telecom analytics solutions, makes that process easier with the new release of its Active Intelligence Platform, a cloud-native big data solution designed to collect and analyze a growing volume, velocity and diversity of complex data streams generated by CSP (News - Alert) networks.
Mobileum's Active Intelligence is a big data platform that combines several software tools to collect and analyze the growing volume, velocity and variety of data on CSPs. Active Intelligence is a single one-stop solution for all big data needs of a CSP independent of its size and data volume.
The new release of AIP is built on an advanced data lakehouse architecture and lays the foundation for one platform, one technology, one data policy and one user experience. This foundation allows customers to manage data as a product, providing different functional stakeholders and domain-specific team members the ability to collaborate with complete control and visibility over the data lifecycle.
AIP's new data lakehouse architecture provides a common repository for both structured and unstructured data enabling better AI/ML-powered insights with fewer resources," said Avnish Chauhan, chief technology officer at Mobileum. "This latest release steps up operators' low-code capabilities, allowing citizen data scientists to create their own analytical use cases and forecasts quickly and easily."
Each Mobileum application built on top of AIP benefits from its analytical capabilities and insights. The new release expands possibilities in various fields, such as in network anomaly detection, root cause analysis and trouble ticketing. Additionally, it enhances integrated risk management. This enables rich, real-time insights and tight integration between security and fraud applications.
"This is the kind of agility and flexibility that every network operator needs in the era of 5G, said Chauhan. The ability to cope with new data formats, new business and deployment models, and new technologies on the fly is now possible with AIP."
Edited by Greg Tavarez
Aftermath and an ongoing theme . . . Locals are once again unhappy with courthouse decisions.
Accordingly . . .
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker issued the following statement:
"My office has been in contact with the attorneys for the victims' families over the course of our review of this case. Our office and the community send these families our deepest condolences. Though this plea will not restore their lives or heal their grief, it demonstrates a level of accountability for the actions of the firefighter who carried a public duty. We also hope this motivates further review of the best and the safest practices for operating public vehicles. Our community requires more care."
Here's the word . . .
"Three people were killed in December 2021 when Kansas City firefighter Dominic Biscari sped through a red light at Westport Road and Broadway and crashed into an SUV, two pedestrians and a building. Biscari will avoid prison as part of a plea deal, but the Kansas City Fire Department said it will seek his termination."
Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
KCFD firetruck driver pleads guilty to manslaughter for killing 3 people in Westport crash Three people were killed in December 2021 when Kansas City firefighter Dominic Biscari sped through a red light at Westport Road and Broadway and crashed into an SUV, two pedestrians and a building. Biscari will avoid prison as part of a plea deal, but the Kansas City Fire Department said it will seek his termination.
Plea agreement: KCFD driver from deadly Westport crash won't face jail time KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department pumper-truck driver who sped through a red light near Westport in December 2021, causing a crash that killed three people , will not serve any time in jail.
Developing . . .
Tax season is upon us and with it comes the ever-present threat of fraud. Canadians should be wary of scammers posing as Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employees who will trick their victims into sending them money or providing personal information that can be used to take over a bank account.
Like clockwork, the threat of inclement weather seems to appear each week with the preparation of The Fishing Beat, and this week is no exception. Hopefully, it will not impact the Niagara River Anglers Associations Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead Contest on Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed.
Lake Erie and tributaries
Still getting good reports on steelhead fishing in the Lake Erie tributaries from local guide Vince Tobia, of Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters. He said, for the most part, the streams are in good shape and some anglers are even fishing Cattaraugus Creek. Orvis Buffalo does offer fishing reports on occasion for the fly-fishing enthusiast, including recommended streamers, nymphs and egg flies, as well as tactics for some of the more popular streams such as the Catt and 18 Mile Creek. Bruce Kowalski with TAAR Outdoors in Lake View said a few anglers were out last weekend and they said the creeks were low and clear. The late morning and afternoon bite was better with the fish spread out through the creeks. It made for a lot of walking. The jig bite was better than the egg bite. A few boats made it into the lake in search of perch, but there was limited success.
Niagara River
Members of the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers arrived in town last week to fish the lower Niagara River and did pretty well overall, considering the poor conditions. The cinematography team of Brett and Dan Amundson of Minnesota filmed with local captains Nick Calandrelli and Frank Campbell of Lewiston. They managed to hook up with four lake trout and four steelhead and lost several others on the first day under less-than-ideal conditions. A mix of minnows and pink egg sacs did the trick for some decent footage. Capt. Joe Marra of Lewiston had some success with Josh Lantz of Michigan and Matt Crawford of Vermont on the same baits. Most of the fish landed on Day One were from the Devils Hole area. Capt. Richard Brant of North Tonawanda was able to produce some walleye and brown trout to finish off the Niagara Slam for the Amundson duo on the second day. Mark Smith of Indiana landed a few nice fish and Megan Plete Postol of Remsen landed a personal-best walleye with Calandrelli on the second day. All the fish on Day Two came on minnows and mostly south of Lewiston. Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls finally made it out on the river from shore this week and scored some big steelhead up to 15 pounds, using his homemade No. 5 spinners. Best colors were combinations of white, pink, orange and chartreuse. He found visibility in the gorge from 1 to 2 feet of water. The Niagara River Anglers Association will be holding its winter Roger Tobey Memorial Steelhead Contest on Saturday with a few changes. You do not have to be a member of the NRAA to sign up. It will be held from sunrise to 2 p.m. Eligible waters include the Lower Niagara River and Lake Ontario, as well as the tributaries of Lake Ontario. Entry fee is $25 for the contest plus $5 for the biggest brown trout. Sign up the morning on the contest at Lewiston Landing adjacent to the launch ramp, where the fish will be weighed in. For more information, contact Frank Campbell at 523-0013.
Lake Ontario and tributaries
Local guide Scott Feltrinelli of Ontario Fly Outfitters reported beautiful fly-fishing weather Monday, which gave way to beautiful trout. Creek conditions were low with gin clear water. Using natural color flies with a fluorocarbon tippet can increase your odds in these tough conditions. Most small tributaries are not holding fish with low water conditions right now. Mid- to large-size creeks have scattered singles, with mostly brown trout and a few steelhead mixed in. Flows in the Oak Orchard River are about medium and slightly stained with about 2 feet of visibility, reports Ron Bierstine with Oak Orchard Tackle. The other area small waterways are moderate with water color of about 2-plus feet of visibility. Chance of rain/snow showers for this week with forecasted mixed bag precipitation of rain, sleet and snow will pose a problem for anglers. For now, on the Oak, anglers seem to be connecting on a few steelhead nearest the dam that came along with the higher flows of a few weeks ago, mixed in with fresh fish trickling in through the downstream fast water. The brown trout action in nearby tributaries that was pretty good is a little slower lately, thanks to the lower and clearer flows says Bierstine.
Chris Kenyon of Wolcott reports all the bays like Sodus and Port are free of ice and boaters are taking advantage of some perch action. In Port Bay, the south area has a new ramp and the north end launch works, too. Perch are off the points in 15 to 25 feet of water. Use small jigs and tip them with fresh spikes. Most of Sodus is ice-free, and Kenyon said the best place to launch is at the south end of the bay at Bay Bridge. Remember, you must wear a personal flotation device until May 1 if your boat is less than 21 feet long.
Chautauqua Lake
The entire lake is now free of ice, according to Mike Sperry at Chautauqua Reel Outdoors in Lakewood. A few boats have been on the lake recently with fisherman targeting walleye, but mostly in deeper water. The spawning runs up the creeks will be starting early this year. There is still three weeks left in the walleye season, closing March 15. Sperry also has received some reports of crappie in the shallows, mostly after dark. The spring run up the canals hasnt really started. A few warm days with sunshine will get that fired up. Fishermen will find yellow perch in the canals. Fathead minnows, and Emerald shiners and 1/32- to 1/8-ounce jigs will work.
Finger Lakes
Keuka Lake action was good for Capt. John Gaulke of the Finger Lakes Angling Zone this week. Lake trout action was good to excellent on the lake with smaller fish (on average) in deeper water (100-foot plus) and larger fish moving up shallow (less than 50 foot). Plastic jigs worked well in those depths and bladebaits and tube jigs were productive in the shallows. He said perch fishing was slow for folks on the water when he was out.
On Cayuga Lake, Gaulke said to expect continuing good action on lake trout in deep water north of Long Point. The southern portion of the lake has seen some trout in shallow water. Expect decent landlocked salmon action on Seneca Lake as well as some deep lake trout, especially from midlake (Sampson) up to Geneva. Perch fishing is happening on Cayuga Lakes north end, Owasco and Skaneateles lakes. Reports vary depending on the day. Water levels remain low on the lakes and launching larger boats can be tough in shallower water, such as at the south end of Owasco Lake or on Cayuga Lake out of Union Springs.
Ice fishing update
Bobby Joe Frost of Alden found some safe ice (5-6 inches) in the northern region of New York and managed to catch a new pike leader in the Capt. Bobs Outdoors Winter Contest from Black Lake. He caught it (and released) on a buckshot jig and a wax worm while jigging in 17 feet of water targeting perch. The pike measured 35 15/16 inches. He also found 7 inches of ice at Lake of the Isles, 10 inches on Goose Bay, 6 inches on Red Lake, and 10 inches on Grass Lake. As always, use caution and dont take chances.
If youre looking for an amazing vacation destination, look no further than Dubai. This city has it all, from luxurious hotels and resorts to world-class shopping and dining. And there are plenty of activities to keep you busy, whether you want to explore the desert or take a dip in the Persian Gulf.
(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - February 22nd, 2023 - Introduction to Dubai
If youre looking for an amazing vacation destination, look no further than Dubai. This city has it all, from luxurious hotels and resorts to world-class shopping and dining. And there are plenty of activities to keep you busy, whether you want to explore the desert or take a dip in the Persian Gulf.
Best of all, there are plenty of Dubai vacation packages that can help you save money on your trip. Whether youre looking for an all-inclusive package or just want to find the best deals on flights and hotels, we can help you plan your dream vacation.
So what are you waiting for? Start planning your trip to Dubai today!
The Different Sides of Dubai
-The Different Sides of Dubai-
When it comes to vacationing in Dubai, there is truly something for everyone. From the luxurious hotels and resorts to the endless shopping and dining options, to the world-renowned attractions, there is no shortage of ways to spend your time in this city. But beyond the glitz and glamour of Dubais more well-known side, there is another side to this city that is worth exploring.
Just a short drive away from the bustling city center, you can find yourself in the midst of breathtaking desert scenery. Here, you can go on safari tours, dune buggy rides, and even camel rides all while taking in the stunning views of the sand dunes. If youre looking for a more adrenaline-pumping adventure, you can also go sandboarding or skydiving over the desert!
And no matter what side of Dubai you find yourself on, youll be sure to enjoy its warm weather and sunny skies. So whether youre looking for luxury or adventure (or both!), be sure to add Dubai to your list of must-visit destinations.
Luxurious Vacation Packages in Dubai
In Dubai, there are plenty of luxurious vacation packages to choose from. Whether you're looking for a five-star hotel experience or a private villa rental, you can find it all in Dubai.
There are many reasons to visit Dubai, but one of the main attractions is the city's luxury hotels. From the Burj Al Arab to the Atlantis The Palm, there are plenty of options for those looking for a luxurious stay.
If you're looking for something a bit more private, there are also plenty of villa rentals available in Dubai. You can find everything from beachfront properties to spacious penthouses overlooking the cityscape. No matter what your budget is, there's sure to be a luxurious vacation package that's perfect for you in Dubai.
How to Find the Best Deals for Your Dubai Trip
When planning your Dubai trip, it is important to compare different vacation packages to find the best deals. There are many travel websites that offer great deals on flights, hotels, and car rentals.
Start by searching for Dubai vacation packages on a search engine like Google or Bing. This will give you a list of travel websites that offer vacation packages to Dubai.
Next, take a look at each website and compare the prices of the different vacation packages they offer. Make sure to read the reviews of each website before making your final decision.
Finally, book your vacation package on the website that offers the best deal for your Dubai trip!
Conclusion
Dubai vacation packagesare a stunning and dynamic city that offers an unforgettable experience for anyone who visits. With its luxurious hotels, world-class shopping venues, breathtaking beaches, and vibrant nightlife, its easy to see why so many travelers flock to this desert paradise each year. Whether you are looking for a relaxing getaway or an action-packed adventure, Dubai has something unique to offer everyone. Make sure to book your vacation package soonyou won't want to miss out on the wonders of Dubai!
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100% of Net Proceeds from the Sale of all HBC Point Blankets Now Go to Indigenous Peoples
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Hudson's Bay Foundation and the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund are pleased to announce that applications for Oshki Wupoowane | The Blanket Fund open on February 23, 2023. Oshki Wupoowane launched on September 30, with an initial $1 million investment from Hudson's Bay Foundation and a commitment to direct 100% of net proceeds from the sale of all HBC Point Blankets to The Blanket Fund moving forward. Since then, The Blanket Fund has grown to more than $1.5 million, which will be disbursed to successful applicants over multiple years.
HBC Multistripe Point Blanket (CNW Group/The Bay)
Through two grant streams, The Blanket Fund will provide support for Indigenous cultural, artistic, and educational activities. Indigenous people, as well as Indigenous-led initiatives and organizations in Canada, are eligible.
The Capacity Building grant stream (up to $175,000/year) will support grassroots Indigenous charities, programs, communities, and initiatives with the potential for significant impact. This grant stream commits to multi-year relationships, in an effort to increase the capacity, networks, programs, and profile of the partners selected.
The Reconciliation Action grant stream (ranging from $1,500-$15,000) will support community-level reconciliation activities, events, and initiatives that contribute to cultural revitalization; elevate Indigenous culture, languages, and traditions; increase understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples; or other grassroots initiatives that move reconciliation forward.
"We are proud to open applications for Oshki Wupoowane | The Blanket Fund with our partners at Hudson's Bay," said Sarah Midanik, President & CEO, Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. "Not only will The Blanket Fund provide impactful support to Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous-led organizations, but it offers people in Canada a tangible way to join us in advancing our collective journey toward reconciliation through the purchase of the iconic and historically complex HBC Point Blanket."
Story continues
"Oshki Wupoowane is an important and meaningful initiative that not only generates significant funding, but encourages learning and dialogue around reconciliation," says Sophia Hwang-Judiesch, President of Hudson's Bay. "We believe that support of grassroots programs led by Indigenous communities and people is critical to reconciliation and creating an equitable and just society."
For more information about the grant application process, deadlines, eligibility, and more please visit www.downiewenjack.ca/the-blanket-fund.
ABOUT HUDSON'S BAY FOUNDATION
Hudson's Bay Foundation is a registered charity, working to address racial inequality by investing in education, employment and empowerment opportunities for Indigenous Peoples, Black People and People of Colour. In 2021, Hudson's Bay Foundation launched Hudson's Bay Foundation Charter for Change, committing $30 million over 10 years to accelerate racial equity in communities across Canada. By partnering with organizations doing critical work under its three pillars, Hudson's Bay Foundation provides funding for programs and initiatives driving meaningful and sustainable change.
ABOUT THE GORD DOWNIE AND CHANIE WENJACK FUND
Inspired by Chanie's story and Gord's call to build a better Canada, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund aims to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Our goal is to improve the lives of Indigenous people by building awareness, education, and connections between all peoples in Canada. Learn more at DownieWenjack.ca.
HBC Multistripe Point Blanket (CNW Group/The Bay)
Hudson's Bay Foundation Logo (CNW Group/The Bay)
Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (CNW Group/The Bay)
SOURCE The Bay
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Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company signed a cooperation agreement with the Oman and Etihad Rail Company as for the development of the 303km railway network between UAE and Oman.
The mega project that is proposed to link the port of Sohar in Oman and the UAE rail network is going to cost an estimated $3 billion.
The regional rail line will serve both passenger and cargo trains and aims boost tourism and trade between UAE, Oman, and the rest of the region.
The signing of the cooperation agreement between Oman and Etihad Rail company and Mubadala reflects the commitment of both parties to building strategic partnerships and strengthening cooperation with leading entities to promote investment, economic growth, and comprehensive development in both countries, stated Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, the UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.
The passenger trains on the proposed link will reduce the travel time between Sohar and Al Ain to 47 minutes and Sohar and Abu Dhabi to 1 hour and forty minutes.
Passenger trains will be travelling at speeds up to 200 km/hour, while freight trains will be enabled with speeds up to 120 km/hour.
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Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it.
I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends.
More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it.
The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity.
About me:
I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS.
Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line).
Age: 42
Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed.
I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it).
(ECNS) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong will visit Japan on Tuesday to hold a bilateral security dialogue and a regular diplomatic consultation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at the regular press conference on Monday.
As agreed by the two countries, Sun will hold the 17th China-Japan security dialogue and the 29th regular diplomatic consultation with Japanese Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Shigeo Yamada, Wang said.
The two sides will have an extensive and in-depth exchange of views on China-Japan relations, defense and security policy, as well as international and regional issues of common concern, he added.
Insurance providers would be required to provide supplemental breast cancer screenings, which are needed by roughly 40% of women in order to properly detect cancer, under a bipartisan bill being circulated in the state Legislature.
The measure expands on legislation signed into law in 2018 that requires medical facilities to give patients with dense breast tissue information about breast density, which can hide tumors on a mammogram.
An estimated 40% of women have dense breast tissue, which can require supplemental screenings such as ultrasounds or MRIs. Out-of-pocket costs for such screenings can be between $230 and $1,000, according to a memo prepared with the legislation.
Any cost barrier at this point could be the difference between a breast cancer thats detected early, when its most treatable, and one thats already spread beyond the breast, Dawn Anderson, with the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition, said at a press conference Tuesday.
We have the technology to identify early tumors in women with dense breasts ... but that means nothing if those who need it cannot access it because of cost, Anderson added.
Currently in Wisconsin, health insurance policies must cover two breast exams for women between the ages of 45 and 49 if certain criteria are met. Annual mammograms must be provided to women 50 and older.
Higher breast density is associated with a higher risk for breast cancer and can hide cancerous tumors in standard mammogram screenings, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gail Zeamer was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2016. Her tumor was not detected by previous mammograms and was only revealed after she had an ultrasound.
Zeamer worked with lawmakers to create the breast density law signed in 2018, but on Tuesday said more needs to be done to ensure all women have access to supplemental screenings when necessary.
We need a cure for breast cancer, but in the meantime we need to find it early so that women have a better chance of treating the disease and of longtime survival, Zeamer said.
Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Appleton, who announced the bill alongside co-author and cancer survivor Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Neenah, said the bill is similar to previous legislation that failed to reach Gov. Tony Evers desk last session. Cabral-Guevara said the new bill eliminates the out-of-pocket cost for patients, rather than capping it, as the previous bill had proposed.
Its time to remove the hurdles preventing so many women from getting the lifesaving cancer screenings they need, Cabral-Guevara said. Early detection leads to better outcomes, and it reduces costs in the long run. This is an opportunity to deliver a big win for those who need it.
State Reps. Amy Binsfeld, R-Sheboygan, and Lee Snodgrass, D-Appleton, have also sponsored the bill.
Lithuania sent Ukraine dozens of L-70 anti-aircraft guns with ammunition and trained Ukrainian instructors in handling these weapons.
The Ministry of Defense of Lithuania reported the news via Facebook, Ukrinform saw.
"The latest Lithuanian military aid for Ukraine is dozens of L-70 anti-aircraft vehicles with ammunition. For the last two weeks, Ukrainian instructors in Lithuania have been participating in training on how to man these guns. They will train even more Ukrainian operators once they return to the country," the statement reads.
It is also noted that, in general, Lithuania plans to train about 1,600 Ukrainian soldiers before year-end. This will help Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. "Lithuania will continue to support Ukraine by all possible means as long as necessary," the country's defense minstry emphasizes.
At the same time, it is reported that Lithuanias General Jonas Zhemaitis Military Academy is training Ukrainian recruits within junior commander courses. In total, more than 150 junior commanders have already undergone training.
As reported, the L-70 is an automatic anti-aircraft gun developed in Sweden by Bofors. It can destroy enemy planes, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles at a range of up to 5 kilometers under any weather conditions.
Photo: Ministry of Defense of Lithuania
More than 350,000 soldiers of the Russian Federation are involved in the war against Ukraine.
Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev said this in an interview with Ukrinform.
"The number of the enemy involved [in military operations] on the territory of Ukraine and its surroundings is slightly more than 350,000 people," he said.
Nayev also spoke about the numbers of Russian and Belarusian military personnel currently stationed on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
The armed forces of the Republic of Belarus are currently in Belarus. Their total number is 65,000, including 4,000 in the areas bordering Ukraine. In addition, the Russian sixth division with the total number of 10,500 personnel is located at the Belarusian training grounds. They conduct their exercises there," said the lieutenant general.
At the same time, the Commander of the Joint Forces assured that there is a corresponding reaction to any increase in the number of enemy troops in the northern direction.
When they [Russian troops] increase several times, then we will also increase the number of our troops," Nayev emphasized.
As reported, the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled enemy attacks in the areas of Kuzemivka and Dibrova in Luhansk region; Fedorivka, Yahidne, Berkhivka, Bakhmut and Kurdiumivka in Donetsk region.
We met with the Commander of the Ukrainian Armys Joint Forces, Lieutenant General Serhiy Naiev, at the operational and tactical exercises. Such drills are regularly conducted under the leadership of the JF Commander as Ukraine is preparing for any scenarios that could unfold in the northern part of the country. Ukrinform managed to get a blitz interview with Lieutenant General Naiev during his brief visit to the training ground.
"You have time until Serhiy Ivanovych gets to his car," said Naiev's assistant. Within six minutes, we asked him of the Armys readiness to confront the enemy in the northern areas and the number of Russian troops in and around Ukraine. The lieutenant general also spoke about the efficiency mobile air defense teams and assessed the possibility of a Russian attack on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion.
I REACT TO ANY CHANGE IN THE NUMBER OF TROOPS IN BELARUS
- "Military training" is ongoing in Belarus, during which motorized rifle and two tank battalions were tasked to advance to areas bordering the border with Ukraine. What are the current numbers of these units, and what concentration of numbers would cause concern for you as a commander?
- In Belarus, there are the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus, amounting to a total of 65,000, of which 4,000 are based in the areas bordering Ukraine. In addition, the 10,500-strong 6th division of the Russian army has been deployed on the Belarusian training grounds. They are undergoing training there.
- How many Russian troops should there be there for you to become concerned?
- Any change in the number of these troops makes me react. Once it increases by several times, we will also raise the number of our troops. This will happen in a mirror manner: they raise the level of the threat we raise the level of our response to it.
- How would you assess the readiness of our troops for a possible re-offensive on Kyiv and how large should the enemy groupings be in order for them to try to advance toward our capital?
- As of now, the number of our forces is sufficient to run stabilization action, if necessary. If the enemy increases the number of their troops, I will say once again: we will increase our numbers in return. And this work will be done constantly in order to equalize our forces.
- Some are talking about a likely Russian offensive from three directions. Will the Russians have enough resources to this end?
- Currently, they have no such resources in our area. I mean the entire northern operational zone.
- Recently, the enemy has been increasingly employing subversive recon groups. Where is the activity of such groups observed the most? Is it in the east or south? How often are these groups spotted in Volyn region?
- There has never been a subversive group spotted in Volyn. There were no subversive and reconnaissance groups coming in from the territory of Belarus.
ITS ALWAYS QUALITY OVER QUANTITY: WE NEED WESTERN WEAPONS
- Our defenders have been training abroad for more than a month already. As a commander, where do you see the most progressive results of such exercises, on which branches of the military did it have an impact primarily?
- This has an impact on our air defenses, our tankers, and infantry with Bradley IFV systems. This also applies to combined military units, mechanized and motorized infantry brigades, which practice on training grounds to run assault and other missions.
- The training course for the Ukrainian military on ATACMS has already begun, and the training of pilots on F-16 fighter jets has been announced. How long will it take to train these specialists? Does this mean that Ukraine needs a little more time to go for a counteroffensive?
- It takes a lot of time to train pilots. I am not an air force expert, but I know that it takes months to train pilots specifically on Western models of planes. It's not just a matter of studying the aircraft's equipment. It is also important to actually fly it, including in groups. There is a certain system of pilot training that cannot be violated. Regarding the preparation of our offensive, we are preparing the relevant forces to this end, but it remains a mystery when it will be launched.
- Despite criticism toward the enemy, there is now more and more talk about the fact that their older equipment is being taken from long-term stocks en masse, artillery rounds and missiles are being produced around the clock. Would it be correct to assume that these volumes pose a big problem for our Army despite the higher-quality Western weaponry that the Armed Forces are receiving from the West?
- The number of troops and equipment indeed is of some importance, but we understand that quality beats quantity. That is why we need Western weapons, which are significantly better than the Soviet models with which the Russian army is equipped. I repeat once again that its always quality over quantity.
- Ukrainian intelligence had data on enemy numbers at the outset of the war. What are these numbers now?
- The number of the enemy forces involved in the territory of Ukraine and around it is slightly more than 350,000.
NO SIGN OF BUILD-UP IN DIRECTIONS OTHER THAN THOSE WHERE THE ENEMY IS ON AN ONGOING OFFENSIVE
- Nineteen mobile anti-aircraft groups based on Ford F250 and Ford F350 trucks, which have been adapted to combat, have been created in the northern areas of Ukraine's defense. How would you assess the effectiveness of these mobile groups, in particular, in defeating Iranian-made UAVs?
- They fulfill their tasks to the fullest. These mobile groups do down the said drones. In addition, the presence of such groups significantly increases the entire system of our air defense. In general, this gives us the opportunity to perform our tasks "on the ground", covering them from the attack of air assets.
- Are the Russians preparing for an attack timed with the anniversary of the full-scale invasion?
- I think that, first of all, it will be about missile strikes. There are currently no signs of a build-up of forces in other directions, except for those where the enemy is on an ongoing offensive.
Vitaly Tkachuk, Kyiv
Photo: Ruslan Kaniuka
The Government of Finland allocates another EUR 5 million to the World Food Program (WFP) to support the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland said this in a statement, Ukrinform reports.
Through WFP, Finland is supporting both Ukraine and the countries affected by the food crisis. Ukraine will get income it needs and the countries suffering from grain shortage and high prices will get much-needed grain, said Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.
Read also: Ten grain ships leave Ukrainian seaports in last two days
The grain shipments also enable WFP to deliver humanitarian assistance to countries worst affected by the food crisis.
With Finlands support, WFP is buying Ukrainian grain, which it grinds, clears through customs and delivers to the Horn of Africa, among other regions.
It is noted that implementing the Black Sea Grain Initiative will also stabilise global food prices. Finland supported the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative already last year by financing grain shipments from Ukraine to Somalia.
As reported by Ukrinform, at a meeting in Istanbul on November 17, 2022, Ukraine, the United Nations and Turkey agreed to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative for another 120 days. The initiative was launched on July 22, 2022, and the first vessel with Ukrainian grain left the port of Odesa on August 1.
Photo: aliexpress.com
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine emphasizes that the Russian leaders already talk like terrorists, but the latter wear masks, while Russians do not even hide their faces.
He stated this during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"As for whether they (the Russians - ed.) are preparing for tests (of nuclear weapons - ed.)... This person (Putin - ed.) first made a decision that there would be some intimidation, and then they linked it with some messages from the USA, etc. It seems to me that this happens all the time, I seriously do not pay attention to them anymore. Unfortunately, they (Russians - ed.) already talk like terrorists, but the only difference is that terrorists wear masks, and they do not even hide their faces," Zelenskyy said, answering a question about the threat of Russia deploying nuclear weapons or carrying out provocations around nuclear energy facilities.
As reported, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy on Tuesday arrived on her first visit to Ukraine.
In his address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on February 21, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is suspending participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call with President of Pakistan Arif Alvi discussed the importance of the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty of states, the UN Charter, as well as assured of Ukraine's readiness to remain a guarantor of world food security.
Had a phone call with President of Pakistan Arif Alvi. We noted the importance of the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty of states, respect for the UN Charter. Paid special attention to Ukraines Grain Initiative. Ukraine is ready to continue being a guarantor of world food security, President Zelensky wrote on Twitter.
As reported earlier, following a meeting with Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba invited Pakistan to join the implementation of Ukraines Peace Formula.
President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with Estonias President Alar Karis the issue of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations and thanked Estonian partners for military and political assistance being provided to Ukraine.
The head of state announced this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.
I had a phone call with President of Estonia Alar Karis. I thanked him for the unwavering military and political support for Ukraine. We exchanged views on the July NATO Summit in Vilnius and our expectations regarding Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration," Zelensky wrote.
As reported, Polands President Andrzej Duda stated that two important elements for the July NATO summit in Vilnius will be the strengthening of the military component and infrastructure of the Alliance on the eastern flank, as well as providing Ukraine with additional security guarantees on its part.
A delivery truck arrives at the distribution point on agiewnicka Street in Krakow, Poland, and Agnieszka Szyluk approaches even before the driver stops. She wrenches open the back door and grins at the sight of a pallet heaving with bread. We did it! she cries, beaming with pride, as she starts unloading.
When, on 24 February 2022, 40-year-old Agnieszka found out that the war had started in Ukraine, she immediately began organizing humanitarian aid for refugees. Today, almost a year on, she runs two popular help points in Krakow. At Soup for Ukraine, refugees receive hot food, and at agiewnicka Point, which resembles a shop, but where everything is free for those who need it, refugees can choose from donated clothes, food, hygiene products, and prams and cots.
Agnieszkas kindness, commitment, and organizational talents have earned her a nickname among the Ukrainian refugees who visit daily: "Our Lady of Krakow".
You have to take care of guests," says Agnieszka, referring to the refugees. "I can't ignore their suffering. I just must help. That's in my nature," she says smiling as another delivery truck arrives. Like the bread van earlier that day, the new pallets loaded with clothes will be moved to the warehouse and made available to those in need, free of charge.
In the first months of the refugee influx, ordinary Polish citizens such as Agnieszka rushed to help. In April 2022, close to two-thirds of Poles said that at least one person from their household helped refugees from Ukraine without receiving any remuneration, according to public polling institute CBOS.
See also: People across Poland show solidarity with refugees from Ukraine
Agnieszka notices fewer volunteers in Krakow these days: At the beginning, the outpouring of help was massive. Now, only the most determined to help remain.
Nevertheless, says Astrid Castelein, head of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in Krakow, The emergency response in Poland has been a whole-of-society effort, from citizens to the highest level of the Polish government. The civil engagement has been, and remains, significant in Poland and UNHCR is glad to be able to cooperate with so many motivated humanitarian actors and volunteers.
Agnieszka works for a foundation called The Good Always Comes Back and is no newbie to volunteering, having helped others for 25 years already. Despite that experience, she says shes been surprised how willing people are to pitch in, and how quickly things can be arranged, often with a single phone call. But demand is high, and some items run out very quickly, she says.
Help does not only come by the truckload. People stop by agiewnicka Point with whatever they can share. On a recent morning, a Polish woman with two young daughters arrives at the centre, their car packed to the roof with toys, winter clothes, and food. They come from Wieliczka, a town half-an-hour's drive south-east of Krakow, and together mother and daughters help unload the car.
"I have helped from the very beginning, says the mother, Anna. Once every two months I deliver whatever I am able to collect among my friends and the good people in and around Krakow. I help these people because I just feel sorry for them. When I think about these children, what else can I do? I support as much as I can. I bring gifts and help financially."
Olha (27) from Dnipro in Ukraine visits the agiewnicka Point support centre to find clothes for her son Mykhailo. UNHCR/Anna Liminowicz
Agnieszka arranges donations of food, clothes and other essentials for visitors to the centre. UNHCR/Anna Liminowicz
Anna (40) from Wieliczka in Poland drops off a donation of winter clothes and toys at the agiewnicka Point support centre. UNHCR/Anna Liminowicz
Agnieszka, who is affectionately called "Our Lady of Krakow" by visitors to the centre, sorts donated items for collection. UNHCR/Anna Liminowicz
agiewnicka Point is visited by around 200 people each day, but lately, on winter days when the whole city is covered in snow, up to 350 people turn up. Inside, there is constant movement: volunteers sorting items, refugees choosing what they need.
Now it is winter, we see more people are coming for assistance, says Agnieszka. They are mostly new arrivals for whom its even harder to find accommodation and jobs. They need support to help them stand on their feet.
When I ask them what they need, they always say, To go home.
According to registration statistics, 90 per cent of refugees from Ukraine in Poland are children, women and older people. While many refugees have found work and no longer need support, others continue to struggle. Finding jobs is a challenge for single mothers with small children to look after, while older people often lack the family support they relied on at home.
Among the visitors to agiewnicka Point is 27-year-old Olha, who came from Ukraine in November, and is looking for diapers and powdered milk for her eight-month-old son Mykhailo. "When the war broke out, I was pregnant. It was very dangerous in Dnipro, where I lived. But I didn't want to run away. I was afraid that I would give birth on the way to Poland," she says, cradling her child.
"I stayed, but the living conditions became terrible. I lived on the sixth floor and due to power cuts, the elevator did not work, so I couldn't even carry the stroller down to take the child outside. Anyway, how do you take the child outside, if rockets may fall any time?
Olha finally decided to leave when explosions shattered the windows in the stairwell and the heating shut down.
Identified as eligible for cash support from UNHCR, Olha is still in a difficult situation: she came to Krakow from the city of Wrocaw, two hours away by train, hoping to find new accommodation after her previous rental agreement expired. Olha accepts that she and her son may now have to live in a collective shelter.
Olha and Mykhailos plight upsets Agnieszka, but also motivates her, and other volunteers. "Sometimes I cry when I hear such stories," she says. "And I am touched by the commitment of those who still want to help.
For now, Agnieszka and the many other volunteers continue, but they hope that as more refugees find jobs or gain access to state support, their help may eventually not be needed.
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Now that Dan Kelly has advanced as the conservative candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, GOP leaders are seeking to right their partisan ship after a divisive primary campaign that pitted their two candidates and many of their high-profile supporters against one another.
Conservatives are placing an extra emphasis on unifying in their fight against the top vote-getter Tuesday, liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, after last years Republican gubernatorial primary saw similar tussles, which some say contributed to nominee Tim Michels November loss to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Over the past several weeks, the conservative infighting over the high court race became public in campaign stops, panels and newspaper op-eds across Wisconsin.
Before the vote, Kelly, a former Supreme Court justice, wouldnt commit to endorsing Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow if she were to win the nomination. Dorow, who came in third in Tuesdays four-way primary, had said she would endorse Kelly if she lost.
But before then, Dorow called on Kelly supporters to stop attacking her after some of them repeatedly questioned her qualifications on the campaign trail. Kelly subsequently went after Dorow, questioning her preparedness and saying her record didnt provide any indication of her self-described judicial conservatism.
Citing Dorows previously stated willingness to endorse Kelly if he won, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, backed her on Monday, praising her much more mature approach to that question than Kelly.
Dorows answer compared to Kellys, Grothman said, shows she has a greater understanding of what is at stake in this election.
Now, Kelly is the only conservative candidate in the high-stakes April 4 general election, the winner of which would likely determine the future of abortion rights in Wisconsin, redistricting and numerous other issues on the narrowly divided court. Protasiewicz has made clear her support for abortion rights and opposition to the states current legislative maps, which heavily favor Republicans.
Challenge for conservatives
Tuesdays vote count made clear that the next month will be an uphill battle for conservatives. With 99% of votes counted Wednesday morning, Protasiewicz had 445,196 votes, slightly more than Kelly and Dorow combined. And thats not including liberal candidate Everett Mitchells 71,738 votes. Liberals combined had around 54% of the total vote; conservatives had 46%.
If Dan Kelly wins tomorrow, he will be challenged ... to recruit and coalesce all of the Dorow supporters out there, longtime Republican strategist Brandon Scholz said Monday.
Kelly appears to have been working on the premise that anybody who voted for Dorow in the primary will vote for Kelly in the general election because they want a conservative court majority, Scholz said, but I would have probably tempered my remarks against Dorow considerably, knowing that if I am going to win, Im going to need her and every vote there is.
Dorow endorsed Kelly after she lost, saying, Wisconsin needs a Supreme Court justice who will protect our constitutional rights and not legislate from the bench.
Now is the time to follow Judge (Dorows) classy example and unite to ensure our Supreme Court stays in conservative hands, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, said after Dorows endorsement.
Talk-show host Dan ODonnell put the challenge to conservatives more bluntly Monday: We can either unite immediately or watch as the left destroys everything we hold dear.
Beyond Kellys much-needed grassroots support, its also an open question whether hell receive funding from those who backed Dorow, who received more than three times what Kelly raised as a candidate between Jan. 1 and Feb. 6.
But Kelly already has the backing of wealthy GOP donors like Diane Hendricks, Richard Uihlein and Leonard Leo. Independent organizations also play an outsize role in high court elections, with Uihleins group, Fair Courts America, committed to spending well over $2 million to support Kelly in the primary.
Replay of November?
Scholz likened conservatives dynamic in the high court race to the Republican gubernatorial primary last year, where Michels fell short in the general election after launching negative ads and repeatedly going on the offensive against Republican candidate Rebecca Kleefisch in the primary.
Tim Michels, while he won the primary, found it difficult to draw everybody together, Scholz said. There really werent those sorts of unity rallies and unity events and locking arms and singing Kumbaya.
In the general election, many of Kleefischs biggest supporters, including Republican former Gov. Scott Walker, were all but absent on the campaign trail. And because of the divided candidate support in the primary, the Republican Party of Wisconsin didnt endorse any gubernatorial candidate until after the primary.
In his November loss, Michels ended up with fewer votes than the GOP nominees for state attorney general, state treasurer and U.S. senator.
All about issues
Beyond uniting voters, Scholz said conservatives biggest challenge is to go up against a candidate like Protasiewicz, who has been far more willing to embrace partisan talking points on the campaign trail than past Wisconsin Supreme Court contenders.
Scholz said Protasiewicz was all but signaling how she would rule on cases concerning abortion, redistricting and a number of other issues, something Protasiewicz denied doing.
Protasiewicz has said she has personal concerns about requiring a photo ID to vote and isnt sure it reduces voter fraud. On private school vouchers, she called herself a big proponent of a strong public school system. She has repeatedly made her abortion rights views clear. And she has called the states legislative maps rigged.
Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming said conservatives can use those talking points to their advantage, suggesting that they are out of touch with Wisconsinites views.
Her perspective, publicly, has been very liberal on the issues that she has talked about. So as far as Im concerned, Janet Protasiewicz can keep talking, he said.
At the same time, Scholz said that kind of blunt talk could benefit Protasiewicz in the general election because it might appeal to voters more than the more measured discourse typical of a high court election, such as touting ones judicial qualifications.
The conservatives will have to figure out ... if theyre going get into that game as well in the general election, Scholz said.
Its a much different and difficult type of campaign, Scholz said on Monday. And your appeal to voters is different in this race after tomorrow. Its all about issues.
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tony Earl suffered a stroke this week and is receiving palliative care, his oldest daughter Julia Earl said Tuesday.
Earl, 86, is a Democrat who served one term as governor from 1983 to 1987. He was a champion of gay rights and a staunch environmentalist.
Earl was defeated in 1986 by Republican Tommy Thompson. Earls political career ended after he lost a Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate in 1988 to Herb Kohl, but he went on to become a leading advocate for campaign and election finance reform and a champion of environmental causes.
Our dad is surrounded by loved ones, Julia Earl said in a text message to The Associated Press. He is receiving palliative care and is at peace and painfree. We appreciate the genuine support and love shared by family and friends.
Current Gov. Tony Evers, during a stop Monday in Eau Claire, said Earl was seriously ill and were praying for him.
Hes an extraordinary human being and did a great job as governor and a good leader of the state of Wisconsin, WEAU-TV quoted Evers as saying about Earl. I saw him maybe a year ago now, and he was in good spirits.
Earl is one of six living former Wisconsin governors. In addition to Thompson, the others are Scott Walker, Jim Doyle, Scott McCallum and Martin Schreiber.
Earl was celebrated by friends and colleagues, including several former governors, at a Toasting Tony Earl event held in 2019 in Madison to honor the 50th anniversary of Earls election to the state Assembly. Attendees praised Earl as a champion for equal pay, conservation and public education.
One of the hallmarks of Tony has always been his smile, Thompson said at the event. I cant remember an instance in which anyone who ran into Tony wasnt warmed by his smile. His smile was a reflection of his kindness, a kindness anyone in this room has most certainly enjoyed.
The state Department of Natural Resources in 2019 renamed the Peshtigo River State Forest as Governor Earl Peshtigo State Forest.
State Journal reporter Mitchell Schmidt contributed to this report.
Photos: Wisconsin dignitaries gather in Madison to toast former Gov. Tony Earl TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-088.jpg earl party TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-003.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-018.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-021.jpg Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-030.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-044.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-056.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-063.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-065.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-070.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-076.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-081.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-085.jpg TonyEarlpreviews-11072019-087.jpg
February 22 2023
The City of Edinburgh Council has opened a consultation for a replacement Newcraighall Primary School in advance of a formal planning application.
Early concept drawings by Architype and Wardell Armstrong show a split personality between 'formal' brick teaching elevations, contrasted with 'playful' hexagonal tiles for rear elevations.
Extensive grounds bounded by feature walls make provision for a pocket park by the main entrance together with informal play areas including a sandpit, allotments and an outdoor classroom.
An access road and services will be routed to the rear alongside the railway line. Drop-in sessions will be held at the current Newcraighall Primary between 14:00 and 16:00 on Friday and 18:00 and 20:00 on 14 March.
Affordable housing developer Cullross has plans in place for 220 homes on adjacent land.
Republican Rep. Dan Knodl has defeated a prominent election denier boosted by Democrats in a GOP state Senate primary, advancing to an April election that could deliver the GOP a supermajority in that chamber.
After dominating the primary field in the GOP-leaning 8th Senate District which was previously held by longtime Republican Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills Knodl, R-Germantown, will face Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin of Whitefish Bay on April 4.
If Knodl wins in April, Republicans will obtain a veto-proof majority in the 33-member chamber. But still short of a supermajority in the state Assembly, the advantage in the Senate wont have much practical effect.
Knodl, who has had several leadership positions in the state Assembly, has sought to distance himself from former President Donald Trump, who he said could excite the base in the conservative district if he were to run again in 2024 but would be toxic to others. On his campaign page, Knodl said his priorities are public safety, commonsense budgeting and cutting government waste.
With the districts slim Republican majority in mind, Democrats had been boosting Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, an effort that appeared to suggest Democrats desire to go up against her rather than her GOP opponents.
Endorsed by Trump, Brandtjen has repeatedly promoted election conspiracy theories and got kicked out of closed Republican caucus meetings after endorsing the primary opponent of Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, last fall.
A flyer funded by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin depicted a smiling Brandtjen and says, On abortion, Republican Janel Brandtjen is as conservative as they come.
One of Habush Sinykins ads contrasts her abortion rights views with Brandtjens anti-abortion stance but does not mention the other conservative candidates.
January 16 2015
The estimated cost of delivering Dundees waterfront V&A museum has nearly doubled from 45m to 76.16m as contractor BAM Construction faces up to the reality of the unique challenges presented by the build.These include bid inflation within the building industry since the project was first conceived and an underestimate of the expense entailed in delivering the shell and cladding as specified.The inflation-busting price hike would necessitate scraping together an additional 22m of funding from the Scottish Government, 4.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and 6.6m from private donors. Dundee City Council would itself commit a further 6.5m.Attempting to explain the hike Dundee development director Mile Galloway said: The building is structurally formed with a concrete shell which is cast on site. The cost of that process and the work associated with that was much higher than anticipated."Prior to going to tender we had consulted with major contractors and sought their advice, so not only was it a surprise to us, it was a surprise to them."Councillors will decide whether to go ahead with the cherished project or go back to the drawing board on 26 January, with delivery not now expected before summer 2018 if at all.
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2023) The drawn-out process in raising the US debt ceiling poses "significant" risks to the country's financial system and economy, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in published minutes from its February policy meeting that added to experts voicing fears of a historic debt default.
"A number of participants stressed that a drawn-out period of negotiations to raise the federal debt limit could pose significant risks to the financial system and the broader economy," the minutes said. "In subsequent months, uncertainties associated with the debt limit could also be important."
The Fed caution came as a Washington think tank said Wednesday the United States could face an unprecedented default on its payments by early June without the raising of its debt ceiling by Congress, which is controlled by the Republican rivals of President Joe Biden's Democratic administration.
"Absent congressional action, the debt limit 'X date' the day when the federal government can no longer meet all its obligations in full and on time will likely arrive in summer or early fall of 2023," the Bipartisan Policy Center, or BPC, said in a statement.
The debt limit drama has become a yearly political fight in Congress between the Republicans and Democrats. A drawn-out struggle to raise the nation's debt ceiling in 2011 triggered a financial crisis that culminated in major credit rating agency Standard & Poor's stripping the United States of its top triple-A credit status.
BPC said its warning of a potential June default overwrites its earlier prediction that the "extraordinary measures" the US Treasury has resorted to for paying government bills will last until the third quarter of 2023.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress in January that the department had found a workaround to the debt default by delaying payment on non-critical obligations. The actions will buy the country time until Congress can pass legislation that will either raise the nation's $31.4 trillion borrowing authority or suspend the limit for a period of time.
(@FahadShabbir)
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2023 ) :Pakistan is looking for breakthroughs in agriculture and information technology during the first ministerial level meeting of a U.S.-Pakistani trade and investment body in seven years, Pakistan's commerce minister said on Tuesday.
Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar would meet with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and other senior U.S. officials under the U.S.-Pakistan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), said a press release issued here.
Qamar told Reuters the meeting would strengthen ties between the two countries that had been strained in recent years by political tensions, and could help boost bilateral trade in goods and services, which the Pakistani embassy said now totalled about $12 billion.
"It is important that we start talking," he said. "These were supposed to be annual meetings, but for one reason or another, they have been on the back burner for so long.
"Now that we are starting, there are many areas where we expect some breakthroughs, and that is on both sides." No comment was immediately available from Tai's office, which included the meeting in its public Calendar.
Qamar said Pakistan was looking to increase its exports of mangoes to the United States, and ensure smooth, increased trade in information technology and computer programming services.
The U.S. side was looking to boost exports of beef and soybeans.
"When we talk about trade, we're talking about the entire spectrum, but we're focusing on these things because that's where things would start happening right away," he said.
Pakistan also hoped to attract more U.S. investment, with a particular focus on IT and pharmaceuticals, after a long lull during which China became the dominant investor, he said.
"What we don't want is for one country to have an open field. We want that this should be an open competitive environment," he said.
Pakistan was well-placed to help diversify U.S. supply chains that were dependent on China before COVID-19, but have started to shift toward other regional suppliers. It could serve as a gateway to Central Asia, Qamar said.
(@FahadShabbir)
(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Feb, 2023) DUBAI, 22nd February 2023 (WAM) H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, today met with over 150 prominent leaders from Dubais public and private sectors to explore ways of achieving the goals of the citys strategic vision for sustainable growth within the framework of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.
The meeting, held at the Dubai Majlis, was organised by the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) in cooperation with Dubai Chambers at Qasr Al Bahr in Dubai. Titled the Dubai Majlis-D33, the event brought together leading business personalities and entrepreneurs, key representatives of UAE-based multinational companies, international investors and senior officials of Dubai government entities for wide ranging discussions on the citys economic policies, reforms and long-term development plans.
During the meeting, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed highlighted the unique model of public-private sector partnership in Dubai, which supports the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with the aim of doubling the size of Dubais economy over the next decade and consolidating its status as one of the top three global cities.
The strong partnerships between Dubais public and private sectors have led to exceptional economic outcomes in the emirate and were a key driver of its growth.
We seek to further consolidate these partnerships and enhance the citys business environment to support the growth of private sector companies in Dubai. New creative initiatives and solutions are vital to achieving the objectives set by HH Sheikh Mohammed in the D33 Agenda for the next ten years, His Highness said.
Sheikh Hamdan added that he was confident in the ability of both the public and private sectors to achieve the objectives of the D33 Agenda, which seeks to transform Dubai into the best city to live, work and invest.
The gathering, attended by His Excellency Abdul-Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chambers, and His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubais Department of Economy and Tourism, provided participants an opportunity to exchange views and ideas on the D33 Agenda.
The Dubai Majlis-D33 discussed efforts to realise the ambitious goals of the D33 Agenda, under the guidance of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the follow-up of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance of the UAE; and the concerted efforts of government teams working closely with the private sector.
The gathering also highlighted the various steps taken by the Government of Dubai to ensure continuous collaboration between the public and private sectors.
Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2023 ) :Narwhals may not be much good at hunting in summer, according to new research that warns the unicorn-tusked whales may be dangerously reliant on their ice-bound winter habitat that could "disappear" with climate change.
Scientists studying the mammals in the fjords off the eastern coast of Greenland during the summer found narwhals were largely unsuccessful at capturing prey.
"(This) suggests that they could actually rely on the wintering grounds to build up sufficient body reserves and energy stores to sustain year-round activities," said Philippine Chambault of the University of California Santa Cruz, co-author of the study published in the journal Biology Letters on Wednesday.
Nicknamed the "unicorns of the sea" because of their long head tusks, narwhals live in the Arctic waters off Canada, Norway, Greenland and Russia.
Although they are not endangered, there are growing concerns about the whales as the planet warms and ice melts in their Arctic habitat.
Researchers believe most narwhals spend their winters feasting on fish and squid under sea ice off the coast of Greenland, but Chambault said this cold-water habitat may essentially "disappear" because of climate change, with expected increases in ocean temperatures driving ice melt and potentially causing prey to relocate.
While the exact causes of the low summer feeding rate are not yet clear, researchers said it could be due to a decline or relocation of squid and cod, lower energy needs, or even because they are picky eaters.
Narwhal eating habits are hard to track because they dive deep, up to one kilometre (3,000 feet) and stay in the open water.
The researchers were able to study the foraging behaviours of 14 narwhals using so-called stomach temperature pills that could detect when the whales swallowed cold prey and icy water.
They also used acoustic tags tuned to the sound waves or "buzzes" emitted when narwhals narrow-in on their prey.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)
SYDNEY, Feb. 22 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2023 ) :After severe thunderstorms lashed out at Australia's Sydney during the weekend, the city has been battered by a second round of heavy rain and damaging gusts, which caused some disruptions.
According to Australia's meteorological services provider Weatherzone, more than 22,000 lightning strikes and a waterspout were detected within 100 km of Sydney during the 12 hours ending at 3:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
The storms also whipped up blustery winds that brought down trees and branches in the rain-softened soil, with Wattamolla in Sydney's south registering wind gusts of 85 km/h at 7:00 p.m. local time.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said that 51.6 mm of rainfall was recorded on Sydney's Observatory Hill in the 24 hours to 9:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, while Sydney Airport registered 65.8 mm.
Undisclosed location, Russia, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2023 ) :The documents issued to Dmitry by the Russian military carry an ominous handwritten designation: "Category One. State of Health B".
It means he has been given a clean bill of health and should be in Ukraine, fighting on the front lines of Moscow's fierce and bloody year-long offensive.
But the Russian in his 20s -- wearing a hoodie and holding the army papers in his hands -- is nowhere near the battles for Ukraine's industrial east.
Instead, he is hiding from the authorities, trapped in his own country and living in fear of being punished for refusing to fight, and for his stance on the conflict.
"Taking part in this disgrace marks you for life," he said, describing Russia's intervention in Ukraine as "barbaric" and "criminal".
Dmitry, whose name has been changed for security reasons and who spoke to AFP at an undisclosed location in Russia, was among at least 300,000 reservists called up last year.
When President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilisation drive on state television in late September, it sparked a frantic exodus of military-aged men from the country.
Some, who didn't want to leave the country or didn't have the means, claimed exemptions on medical or professional grounds.
Others like Dmitry -- and nobody knows the exact figure -- just ignored the orders.
- 'Ignored it' - In the months since, they have relied on luck, cunning or bureaucratic loopholes to avoid a raft of new punitive legislation that could land them in prison for evading the draft.
For Dmitry, who previously trained with Russia's elite paratroopers as part of his mandatory military service, it was perhaps a combination of all three.
His mobilisation order came at the end of September, days after Putin's announcement.
But it was delivered to his old residence in a region where he no longer lives. He showed AFP the former address written on his government-issued identity documents.
"A utilities company tried to deliver the papers to me. But... I hadn't been there for more than three months," he told AFP.
He said local authorities should have removed him from the military register in that region. The fact that they didn't gave him an easy out.
"I simply ignored it," he said.
Among his social circle, eight have been mobilised, he said. Some secured last-minute exemptions.
Others went to fight.
Nearly five months since, he is on alert, careful not to disclose his whereabouts accidentally to authorities.
- 'Digital hygiene' - He only travels within the administrative borders of the region where he lives and works remotely for an IT company based abroad.
Dmitry also follows protocols of "strict digital hygiene" employing IT tools that mask the location of his telephone and computer.
He also avoids the surveillance cameras in his city that he knows to be equipped with facial recognition software and which have been used by law enforcement to scoop up other draft dodgers.
"Either you stay in the wilderness -- the country is big and there are lots of places -- or do the opposite, get lost in some big city," Dmitry explained.
But whatever measures you take to avoid detection from police and military personnel, it is impossible to escape the anxiety of being caught.
Another young Russian, in hiding after being called up, cancelled an interview with AFP at the last minute, fearing that meeting journalists would attract police attention.
As time drags on, Dmitry's fraught position looks increasingly precarious.
Dmitry chose to remain in Russia to be close to his loved ones -- especially his partner and her child.
Leaving now looks far more dangerous, since Russian security services have drawn up lists of mobilised people for cross-checking at the country's borders.
- 'Rather go to prison' - Adding to his worries are the rumours of a possible second call-up wave and announcements that military recruitment offices are digitising.
As the political climate in Russia becomes increasingly suspicious of dissent, he is also scared of being denounced.
The stakes are high. If arrested, Dmitry could be handed prison time for insubordination.
But, Dmitry said, the choice is clear.
"If I can't resist the state, I'd rather go to prison," he said.
The outbreak of fighting that spurred Putin's mobilisation orders was a double blow for Dmitry, bringing fear but also regret.
That's because he has extended family in Ukraine -- including some now living in territory controlled by Russia -- whom he has never met.
"It's a cliche but I always dreamed of going to Kyiv and Odesa to meet my relatives and to talk to them.""It's been shattered by one person," he said.
Yerevan believes talks with Baku on the regulation of the Lachin corridor, the only road linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, are unacceptable as the existing trilateral agreements of November 2020 have already settled the issue, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Wednesday
YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2023) Yerevan believes talks with Baku on the regulation of the Lachin corridor, the only road linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, are unacceptable as the existing trilateral agreements of November 2020 have already settled the issue, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Wednesday.
On February 18, after the trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Munich, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told journalists that Baku had proposed establishing checkpoints at both ends of the Zangezur corridor negotiated between Yerevan and Baku to link the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan and at the border between the Lachin district and Armenia.
"A similar idea was voiced to establish checkpoints on the border of Armenia and in the area where the Lachin corridor begins. But our answer is unequivocal and was already announced soon after the blockade of the Lachin corridor: the regulation of the Lachin corridor is negotiated and secured by signatures, including those of the Azerbaijani president. I am talking about the document of November 9, 2020. The resumption of negotiations on regulation of the Lachin corridor, by force or threat of force is unacceptable for us and cannot be an acceptable solution," Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.
Mirzoyan noted that "there is an expectation of Azerbaijan" to open the Lachin corridor in exchange for a similar corridor.
However, according to the Armenian minister, even before the escalation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh in the fall of 2020, the Lachin corridor was treated as a humanitarian corridor throughout the negotiation process, given that "the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are surrounded by Azerbaijan and it is the only road linking them to Armenia and the world."
"That is, the corridor has been given importance since the start. As for unblocking the transport communications in the region, our position remains the same and constructive. We can quickly unblock them if we make sure that all communications, including railroads, function within the sovereignty of the countries where they pass," Mirzoyan added.
Since December 12, the Lachin corridor, which runs through the Lachin district of Azerbaijan to link Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, has been blocked by a group of people from Azerbaijan described by Baku as environmental activists protesting alleged Armenian illegal mining in the area.
Pashinyan has repeatedly said that the corridor's blockade violates the ceasefire declaration brokered by Russia between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020. The document delegated control of the Lachin corridor to Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh. In late December 2022, Pashinyan alleged that the peacekeepers did not fulfill their obligations, a claim that was dismissed by Moscow.
China highly appreciates Russia's readiness to resolve the Ukrainian crisis through dialogue and negotiations, Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Office Director Wang Yi said on Wednesday.
BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2023) China highly appreciates Russia's readiness to resolve the Ukrainian crisis through dialogue and negotiations, Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Office Director Wang Yi said on Wednesday.
"(China) highly appreciates Russia's confirmation of its readiness to resolve the (Ukrainian) problem through dialogue and negotiations," Wang said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Beijing will continue to adhere to an objective position on the crisis in Ukraine and play a constructive role in its political settlement, the officil added.
"China will, as before, adheres to an objective position on the Ukrainian issue," Wang said.
UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2023) China supports Russia's UN Security Council resolution on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines sabotage and believes it is important to authorize an investigation into the matter, Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun said.
"The UN can play an active role in conducting an international investigation and ensuring the security of transboundary infrastructure," Zhang said during a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday. "China welcomes the draft resolution table by Russia in the council, and believes that it is of great significance to authorize an international investigation into the sabotage of the North Stream pipelines."
In hopes of making Columbus a more welcoming community, the City of Columbus and Centro Hispano are teaming up to take part in a program that will end in the land down under.
As part of Welcoming Americas program Rural Welcoming Communities Exchange, representatives from the city and Centro Hispano will take part in virtual and in-person meetings with peers, attend training workshops and have access to multimedia materials to build context for deep learning.
According to informational materials provided by Welcoming America, the purpose of the program is to connect rural communities across the globe to share best practices for immigrant inclusion and equity, and community reconciliation and healing, with the ultimate goal being improved public policies.
The Rural Welcoming Communities Exchange program will kick off with a five-night stay in San Jose, California.
According to the programs schedule of events, there will be a webinar in June, a virtual exchange in July and in September participants will host local welcoming week events. Through welcoming week, according to Welcoming Americas website, community members of all backgrounds are brought together to build connections and affirm the importance of inclusivity.
The program concludes in October with a five-night stay in Australia.
There are 16 participants total from four localities in the United States and four in Australia there are two participants from each locality.
In Columbus, that will include City Administrator Tara Vasicek and a representative from Centro Hispano.
Of all organizations and businesses in Columbus, Centro Hispano is the most knowledgeable and involved in this topic, Vasicek told The Columbus Telegram. The city provides a wide variety of services to the public. To improve Columbus for our residents who identify as immigrants, it will be most successful to work together and collaborate based on our shared knowledge and experience.
Centro Hispano Welcoming and Belonging Director Elizabeth Rodriguez reached out to the city and asked them to apply to the program as well. Centro Hispano a nonprofit in Columbus that provides services in immigration, education and business is a member of Welcoming America and needed to work collaboratively with a local government agency, according to a press release from the City of Columbus.
Tara is an awesome person, so for us to have the full support of people like Tara and the mayor (Jim Bulkley), it means a lot, Rodriguez said, in a press release. Its immensely gratifying and tells us that while Columbus is already a welcoming city, the City of Columbus is willing to step up to make it even more welcoming.
Were excited to work together with the City of Columbus to make this an even more welcoming community. This program is an awesome way we can further our initiatives.
The citys press release also states the programs expenses are covered by Welcoming America, which is a nonprofit whose mission is to support communities that are building a welcoming society where everybody, including immigrants can fully contribute.
Roughly 25% of Columbus residents identify as an immigrant, Vasicek added, and the city wants to improve its approaches to the social, economic and civic inclusion of those individuals.
The community as a whole is growing. We want that growth to be positive for all people who live and work in Columbus, Vasicek said. To do that we cannot ignore this 25%. We need to ensure our practices, policies, etc., are appropriate for everyone. We are hopeful this program will help us become more aware of how best to do that.
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2023) Russia notified the United States in advance of a test launch of its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during US President Joe Biden's trip to Ukraine on Monday, CNN reported, citing two US officials familiar with the matter.
Russia notified the US through deconfliction lines, the report said on Tuesday.
The US did not view the test as a risk, anomaly or escalation, the report said.
CNN alleges the test launch failed, pointing to a lack of reference to the matter by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a public address Tuesday.
Russia tested the nuclear-capable Sarmat missile throughout 2022. In December, Putin said that Russia will maintain combat readiness and improve the country's nuclear triad, which he called the main guarantor of its sovereignty.
ASTANA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2023) Kazakhstan will start delivering oil to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline in the coming days, Kazakh Energy Ministry Bolat Akchulakov said on Wednesday.
"Yea," Akchulakov told journalists when asked whether Astana would start supplying oil in the coming days.
The minister expressed hope that the first batch of oil will be pumped via the pipeline as soon as Wednesday.
"I really hope it (oil) goes today. If yesterday the procedures were finished and results were summarized," Akchulakov said, adding that there were no problems with the beginning of shipments.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Office Director Wang Yi did not discuss the "Chinese peace plan for Ukraine" at a meeting in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2023) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Office Director Wang Yi did not discuss the "Chinese peace plan for Ukraine" at a meeting in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"We have paid attention to the statements of some Western politicians and media reports regarding a certain 'Chinese peace plan.
' As usual, they distort the real picture... The Chinese partners have informed us of their views on the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as their approaches to its political settlement. There was no discussion of any separate 'plan," the ministry said.
All peacemaking ideas on Ukraine are currently being destroyed by US' desire to continue the war until Russia's defeat, and then focus on deterring China, the ministry added.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak indicated Wednesday that no deal is imminent with the European Union to overhaul Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trade, vowing to "keep fighting" for a satisfactory outcome
London, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2023 ) :British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak indicated Wednesday that no deal is imminent with the European Union to overhaul Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trade, vowing to "keep fighting" for a satisfactory outcome.
Facing strong criticism from pro-UK unionists in Northern Ireland and hardline Brexiteers in his own Conservative ranks, Sunak talked tough as he was challenged in parliament over the drawn-out talks with Brussels.
"We are still in intensive discussions with the European Union to ensure we can find agreement to meet the tests that I have set," the prime minister said.
"I have a good understanding of what is required and I will keep fighting until I get it," he added.
Sunak highlighted three priorities for the negotiation: guaranteeing democratic sovereignty for Northern Ireland, safeguarding its status in the wider United Kingdom, and finding "practical solutions" to problems facing companies.
Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) opposes the protocol, which kept the province in the EU's single market for physical goods after the rest of the UK left.
The party is refusing to re-enter a power-sharing government in Belfast.
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said the protocol must be not just reformed but replaced "by rewriting the legally binding treaty text" with the EU.
One key issue exercising the DUP and Tory right-wingers is the prospect of the EU's European Court of Justice retaining oversight of the protocol, without input from Northern Irish lawmakers.
But Sunak is also under pressure to rebalance strained ties with the EU as a way of revitalising the troubled UK economy. It has been hit hard by reduced trade since Brexit as well as by the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The prime minister said he had heard "loud and clear" the DUP's demands before the party would agree to restore the legislative assembly in Belfast, which is set for the first time to be led by the pro-Irish party Sinn Fein.
Plugging a "democratic deficit" surrounding the protocol was at "the very heart of the issues that must be addressed" with the EU, Sunak added.
(@FahadShabbir)
The World Health Organization said Wednesday it was taking advantage of a post-earthquake pause in sanctions to move badly needed health supplies and equipment into war-torn Syria
Geneva, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Feb, 2023 ) :The World Health Organization said Wednesday it was taking advantage of a post-earthquake pause in sanctions to move badly needed health supplies and equipment into war-torn Syria.
The WHO said it was capitalising on the chance brought about by the suspending of sanctions to carry out some rapid procurement and revitalise Syria's shattered health services.
The UN health agency called on Syria's warring factions to see the earthquake as an opportunity to end the civil war for good.
The massive 7.8-magnitude tremor on February 6 has killed more than 42,000 people in Turkey and more than 3,600 in Syria, while the WHO said more than 125,000 have been injured.
Damascus has been hit by more than a decade of economic sanctions, and while they were not designed to impede aid, they were blamed by some for the slow arrival of assistance after the quake.
The United States has since temporarily lifted some sanctions, hoping to ensure that aid moves as quickly as possible to those affected.
"WHO is moving very rapidly right now, together with our partners, to take advantage of this pause in the sanctions," Richard Brennan, the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean regional emergency director, told a press conference.
"We have already started ordering equipment and supplies and we are working with UN partners on a collective approach to take advantage of the pause," he said from Gaziantep in southern Turkey, having returned from northern Syria.
Medicines, vaccines, X-ray machines and surgical tools were needed, he added.
"We will be moving very rapidly to do the procurement, capitalising on this important opportunity that we have." Four planes filled with supplies have flown into Syria since the earthquake.
- 'Hell' - Nearly half a million people have been killed, and the conflict has forced around half of Syria's pre-war population from their homes.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on the warring factions to use the earthquake as a chance to come together and resolve the civil war.
"Warring parties now should use this earthquake as an opportunity to talk to each other and bring a political solution," he said.
"The Syrians actually believe that the earthquake is a lesser evil. It's another evil but a lesser evil compared to the 12 years of conflict, but not only that: the displacement, the economic meltdown.
"Anybody can see through what kind of hell the Syrian people are passing." He said seven hospitals and 145 health facilities in Syria have been damaged, many in the northwest.
In Turkey, at least 15 hospitals had been damaged, with many health facilities also affected.
"WHO calls on the global community to support the response and provide hope to those who are grieving, traumatised and fearful about the future," Tedros said.
Author: Mark W. Podvia
Where the author lives: Morgantown, West Virginia (previously lived in Carlisle and grew up in Mechanicsburg)
Title of book: The Strange Case of Dr. Paul Schppe
Description: Maria Steinnecke, a wealthy spinster, died in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 28, 1869. At first her death was not considered suspicious. That changed when her doctor, Paul Schppe, presented a will in his handwriting that left her entire estate to him. Soon afterwards, an autopsy performed on Miss Steinnecke revealed traces of prussic acid, a deadly poison. Thus began the murder case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Paul Schppe, an event that focused national and international attention on Carlisle.
Found guilty, Dr. Schppe would come within days of his execution before the efforts of Americas physicians and the German-American community combined to force a second trial that ultimately freed him. Exciting events at the time, the two trials of Dr. Schppe forever changed the way that medical evidence was presented and appeals were conducted in criminal cases.
Publisher: Talbot Publishing, Clark, New Jersey
Released: December 2022
Book signings: Mechanicsburg Mystery Books, May 24 at 7 p.m.
How many books has the author written: One: A Citizens Guide to a Modern Constitutional Convention in Pennsylvania (with Kerry L. Moyer, Ph.D.), (Mechanicsburg: Civic Research Alliance, 2009). The author has also published articles in various journals including Law Library Journal, The Green Bag 2d Series, Penn State Law Review, Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly, Unbound: A Journal of Legal History and Rare Books, Penn State International Law Review, Jus Gentium: Journal of International Legal History, Perspectives and Penn State Environmental Law Review.
Afghanistan's central bank Wednesday welcomed a U.S. federal judge's decision against turning over $3.5 billion in frozen Afghan funds to victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks to settle court judgments against the Taliban.
"The currency reserves are owned by Afghans, which are lawfully used for monetary stability, strengthening the financial system and facilitating trade with the world," said what is known as Da Afghanistan Bank, or DAB in a statement.
It renewed a call for the United States and other Western nations to unfreeze all Afghan central bank reserves to help "the beleaguered nation overcome their economic problems." The statement added that DAB was ready to fully cooperate with countries of the world and related institutions to address any international concerns.
Tuesday, District Judge George Daniels in New York ruled that the plaintiffs were not entitled the Afghan assets because U.S. courts lacked legal jurisdiction to authorize the seizure.
Daniels noted he was "constitutionally restrained" from letting victims seize the funds, saying it would amount to ruling that the Taliban are Afghanistan's legitimate government.
"The judgment creditors are entitled to collect on their default judgments and be made whole for the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history, but they cannot do so with the funds of the central bank of Afghanistan," Daniels wrote.
He added "the Taliban - not the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan nor the Afghan people - must pay for the Taliban's liability in the 9/11 attacks."
The fundamentalist Taliban waged a deadly insurgency against the internationally supported Afghan government in Kabul before storming back to power in August 2021 as U.S.-led NATO troops withdrew from the country after almost two decades of war.
The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to oust the then-Taliban government for harboring the al-Qaida planners of the September 11 terror attacks on the U.S. that killed nearly 3,000 people.
No country has recognized the new Taliban government, citing human rights and terrorism concerns. Some Taliban cabinet members are under U.S. sanctions for their alleged involvement in terrorist activities.
Tuesday's court ruling dealt a blow to several groups of creditors that had claims against some of the $7 billion of DAB funds frozen at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York since the Taliban takeover 18 months ago.
Other Western nations also have frozen about $2 billion of DAB reserves in their banks.
U.S. President Joe Biden in February 2022 ordered $3.5 billion of the DAB funds set aside to help ease the suffering of the Afghan people.
That money has recently been transferred to a special Swiss-based Afghan Fund to help stabilize the Afghan economy and ease an already bad humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged South Asian nation. Biden diverted the remaining $3.5 billion to potentially pay families of 9/11 victims pending court judgments against the Taliban.
"The decision deprives over 10,000 members of the 9/11 community of their right to collect compensation from the Taliban," said Lee Wolosky, a lawyer for one credit group known as the Havlish plaintiffs. "We believe it is wrongly decided and will appeal."
The other creditor groups were reportedly also planning an appeal.
Some information for this report came from Reuters.
As Turkey reels under the immediate humanitarian and the long-term economic burdens of the deadly February 6 earthquake, one group of people feels pressured to consider leaving the country.
For about 12 years, Turkey has hosted the largest refugee population in the world over 4 million people. Most are from neighboring Syria, and some from other war-torn countries such as Afghanistan.
The earthquake killed more than 47,000 people in Turkey and Syria, among them at least 1,500 Syrian refugees. Millions of people are homeless inside the two countries.
"We do not know the exact number of refugees impacted and we might not for some days, but we fear the number might be significant given the epicenter of the quake was close to areas with high concentrations of refugees," Shabia Mantoo, a UNHCR spokesperson, told VOA.
The U.N. has appealed for more than $1.4 billion in immediate humanitarian response.
Already 102 countries have offered assistance, according to the Turkish government, with the U.S. on top of the list of donors with $185 million in funding, followed by $100 million from the United Arab Emirates.
Amid widespread needs for shelter, food and basic services in the quake-stricken regions in Turkey, anti-refugee sentiments have intensified and there are growing calls for refugees to leave.
"Anti-refugee sentiment in Turkey has spiked. Syrians have become the target of a misinformation campaign accusing them of looting destroyed homes and stealing aid or blaming them as the reason for the cataclysm hitting Turkey," Raphael Marcus, senior vice president of programs at HIAS, a refugee support organization, told VOA in emailed answers.
Finding life more difficult in Turkey, some 20,000 Syrians have returned to Syria in the aftermath of the earthquake, the Turkish government has confirmed.
Exodus to Europe?
Last week, the World Food Program (WFP) called on European countries to provide more assistance to post-quake relief efforts before desperate refugees starting knocking at their doors.
"Time is running out and we are running out of money. Our operation is about $50 million a month for our earthquake response alone, so unless Europe wants a new wave of refugees, we need get the support we need," the WFP's director, David Beasley, was quoted as saying to Reuters.
In 2015, more than a million refugees and migrants, mostly Syrians and Afghans, entered European countries prompting the European Union to strike a deal with Ankara to stop people from irregularly traveling from Turkey to European countries in return for aid and visa-free entry to Europe for Turkish citizens.
"I don't think there will be a 2015-like exodus of refugees to Europe," Kemal Kirisci, an expert at the Brookings Institution, told VOA, "but there will be an increase in the number of people attempting to enter Europe from Turkey."
In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Turkish government has lifted restrictions on the movement of refugees inside Turkey in order to facilitate their relocation to camps and communities outside the earthquake zones.
Kirisci said most Syrian refugees are families with women and children who are largely integrated into Turkish communities, but migrants from other countries are mostly single men who might be willing to embark on risky journeys to Europe.
"There is no hope left for us here," Hussain Ali, an Afghan migrant in Istanbul, told VOA. "Everyone I know tries to gather a few thousand dollars and head for Europe," he added.
Smugglers charge $4,000 to $6,000 per person from Turkey to Greece for dangerous trips by water. Some 3,500 migrants died trying to make the treacherous journey in 2014.
Despite the costs and risks, the number of migrants arriving in Europe has nearly doubled over the past two years from 620,000 in 2021 to almost a million in 2022. About 260,000 of the registered asylum-seekers last year were Afghans and Syrians, according to the European Union Agency for Asylum.
With the help of a three-year grant, Dickinson College will launch the Center for the Futures of Native Peoples and a program dedicated to Native American and Indigenous studies, the college announced this week.
The $800,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, a New York-based not-for-profit corporation, supports programs that advance the national conversation of Indigenous boarding school experiences, and the local center will focus on the history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.
Carlisle is a major site of memory for Indigenous people Native Americans, especially, said Darren Lone Fight, an Indigenous scholar and interim director of the new center.
Dickinson College said Lone Fight initiated the planning for the new center when he joined the faculty in 2020. He will be the founding director and is the center interim director at his own request, according to the college. The college said it is beginning a national search for a permanent full-time director, and the center will also be staffed with an assistant and rotating post-doctoral appointee.
Though the centers location has yet to be determined, it will be affiliated with a number of departments and faculty offering Native American and Indigenous Studies courses and programming.
As the center delves into the issues of the past, present and future, the college said it will also include an advisory council representing different nations to assist faculty on courses and lessons. The center will also host campus events and symposia on Indigenous issues and include residencies and lectures by Native American and Indigenous scholars.
The college said it also plans to establish a major in Native American and Indigenous Studies.
The creation of the center and enhancement of our curriculum in Native American studies will enrich our academic program, address the colleges legacy regarding the Carlisle Indian School and place Dickinson in the heart of national discussions on Native American futures, said Neil Weissman, provost and dean of the college, who co-wrote the grant application with Lone Fight.
Dickinson has such a close and complicated history with the Carlisle Indian School, said Lone Fight, who is also an assistant professor of American studies and enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa and Sahnish Nation) and a citizen of Muscogee Nation. This is an opportunity for Dickinson to turn boldly toward its history and continue the hard work of reconciling with that past, as well as an opportunity for our students and faculty to expand on their voiced interests in Native American and Indigenous studies and make more robust our connections with Indigenous peoples.
Dickinson in 2013 launched the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center, which focused on records of the local boarding school that was in operation from 1879 to 1918.
Photos: Indigenous children's remains turned over from Carlisle Barracks cemetery
Israeli troops on Wednesday entered a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank in a rare, daytime arrest operation, triggering fighting that killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others.
The raid, which reduced a building to rubble and left a series of shops riddled with bullets, was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. A 72-year-old man was among the 10 killed and 102 people were wounded, Palestinian officials said.
The brazen raid, coupled with the high death toll, raised the prospect of further bloodshed. A similar raid last month was followed by a deadly Palestinian attack outside a Jerusalem synagogue, and the Hamas militant group warned that "its patience is running out."
The Israeli military said it entered the city to arrest three wanted militants suspected in previous shooting attacks in the West Bank. It said it tracked down the men in a hideout.
The army said it surrounded the building and asked the men to surrender, but instead they opened fire. It said all three were killed in a shootout.
It said that during the raid, armed suspects "shot heavily toward the forces," which responded with live fire. It said others hurled rocks and explosives at the troops. There were no Israeli casualties. It released photos of what it said were two automatic rifles confiscated in the raid.
In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been a large home in the centuries-old casbah. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said of the 102 people wounded, six were in critical condition. Palestinian militant groups claimed three of the dead as members. But a 72-year-old man was also killed. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups.
An amateur video posted online appeared to show security camera footage of two young men running down a street. Gunshots are heard, and both falls to the ground, with one's hat flying off his head. Both bodies remained still.
Amateur video footage appeared to show Israeli troops operating in downtown Nablus, and army vehicles firing tear gas canisters.
Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 militants in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. The following day, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people.
Days later, five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli arrest raid elsewhere in the West Bank. That was followed by a Palestinian car ramming that killed three Israelis, including two young brothers, in Jerusalem.
The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-line government took office. The government is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence.
In the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group issued a veiled threat.
"The resistance in Gaza is observing the enemy's escalating crimes against our people in the occupied West Bank, and its patience is running out," said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the group.
The group has battled Israel to four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, and Israeli officials have expressed concerns about rising tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in March.
At least 55 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, a pace that could exceed last year's death toll. Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group B'Tselem.
Israel says that most of those killed have been militants but others including youths protesting the incursions and other people not involved in confrontations have also been killed. An AP tally has found that just under half of those killed belonged to militant groups.
Israel says the military raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks while the Palestinians view them as further entrenchment of Israel's open-ended, 55-year occupation.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians seek for their hoped-for independent state.
The Biden administration published a proposal Tuesday that would block certain migrants from seeking asylum in the United States and allow the government to quickly deport them. The proposal, which is part of the administration's efforts to manage the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, already has received strong criticism from immigration advocates.
Under the proposal, migrants who do not use available pathways to come to the U.S. or fail to seek humanitarian refuge in another country they have passed through on their way to the United States will be deemed ineligible for asylum unless they qualify for certain exceptions.
Those who cannot qualify to be exempted or prove they sought asylum protection in another country will be barred from seeking asylum and quickly deported to their home countries without a chance to see an immigration judge.
In a call with members of the media, Biden officials argued that under the proposal migrants will still have accessible and convenient pathways to apply for asylum.
The provisions are aimed at cutting out the smugglers looking to make a quick buck off vulnerable people, said an official who spoke on condition that their name would not be used, as is common in Homeland Security Department briefings.
DHS officials said the public will have 30 days to comment on the proposed regulation before its implementation, which they expect to take place by the beginning of May.
Those who cannot establish a valid claim to protection under the proposed rule will be subject to removal under Title 8 code, which means placed under expedited removal proceedings and sent back to Mexico or their home countries while barred from reentering the United States.
Critics of the proposal argue that it is a remake of the 2019 asylum restrictions proposed under the former Trump administration that were blocked by federal courts.
Krish OMara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said in a statement, This transit ban defies decades of humanitarian protections enshrined in U.S. law and international agreements, and flagrantly violates President Bidens own campaign promises to restore asylum.
Requiring persecuted people to first seek protection in countries with no functioning asylum systems themselves is a ludicrous and life-threatening proposal.
During the call with reporters, Biden officials challenged the idea the proposal is an asylum or transit ban.
I just really do want to take a minute to push back that this is any version of the continuation of the prior administration's access or actions to cut off access to asylum, a Biden official said on background. You know, this is definitely different in the sense that we are offering a rebuttable presumption and not barring access to asylum like the prior administration did.
U.S. law still offers asylum for those on American soil who are facing persecution in their home countries on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular group, regardless of whether they entered the country without permission.
We are a nation of immigrants, and we are a nation of laws, said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas in a statement to the press. We are strengthening the availability of legal, orderly pathways for migrants to come to the United States, at the same time proposing new consequences on those who fail to use processes made available to them by the United States and its regional partners.
The proposal is likely to face legal challenges from immigration advocates if it is put into effect.
Calls are growing for Ethiopia to revoke an order that suspended 15 foreign media outlets and a regional journalists' association from operating in the country's eastern Somali Regional State.
The state's media regulator issued indefinite suspensions to the news outlets, which include the BBC Somali service, on January 28.
The regulator's order said the media organizations did not have the necessary licensing for foreign media, and it blocked the news outlets and their representatives from working in the state, according to rights groups.
A few days later, a regional body that oversees civil society groups revoked the license of the Somali Region Journalists Association (SRJA).
In its letter to the association, the regional authorities said that the SRJA had "acted inappropriately," according to reports.
The action came after the chair of the SRJA criticized the suspension of the media outlets, and accused the local authority of suppressing media freedom, according to an Ethiopian nonprofit, the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy.
The actions by the regional authorities "have eroded reporting in the region and paint a picture of a government unwilling to make room for dissenting voices," said Committee to Protect Journalists representative Muthoki Mumo in a statement. "Authorities should allow journalists from these outlets to resume their jobs [and] ensure that enforcement of licensing regulations is not used to muzzle the media."
The media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also criticized the moves.
"These attacks on press freedom pose a grave danger to the media environment in the region and the country as a whole," said RSF Africa bureau director Sadibou Marong in a statement Tuesday. "The region's authorities must urgently lift the suspension of these 15 foreign media, which is clearly an attempt to prevent the press from covering sensitive subjects."
RSF reported that the affected media outlets had recently requested their licenses be renewed, but they did not receive a response to those requests.
The Somali Regional State media regulator was cited in reports as saying it was working to comply with federal licensing regulations for foreign news outlets.
Ethiopia's main media regulator has said it was not informed in advance about the plan to issue suspensions, RSF reported.
Ethiopia's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to VOA's emailed request for comment.
Media in Ethiopia have come under pressure since the war in Tigray in November 2020 and ethnic clashes elsewhere in the country. Journalists who don't report the government line risk arrest or having their media operations suspended, rights groups say.
The country ranks poorly on the World Press Freedom Index, with RSF saying that gains made in recent years "have been lost since Ethiopia become embroiled in ethnic conflicts and a civil war."
The country currently ranks 114 out of 180 countries, where 1 denotes the best media environment, on RSF's index.
The foreign minister of China, which has provided strong political backing for Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, said Tuesday his country wants to play a role in ending the conflict.
Qin Gang told participants at a security conference in Beijing that China was concerned the almost yearlong war could escalate further and spin out of control.
China would continue to urge peace talks and provide Chinese wisdom to bring about a political settlement, he said.
At the same time, we urge relevant countries to immediately stop adding fuel to the fire, stop shifting blames to China, and stop hyping up the discourse of Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow," Qin said in an apparent reference to military support provided to Ukraine by the United States and its allies, as well as concerns that China is preparing to make good on its threats to use force to assert its claim over Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy.
China has refused to condemn Russias invasion or atrocities against Ukrainian civilians and strongly criticized Western economic sanctions against Moscow. In deference to Moscow, it has yet to describe the conflict as an invasion.
China and Russia have aligned their foreign policies to oppose the U.S. and, weeks before the Ukraine invasion, their leaders declared a partnership with no limits. China also says Russia was provoked into using military force by NATO's eastward expansion.
Despite that, Qin reiterated China's claim that it has always taken an objective and impartial stance based on the merits of the issue."
China is deeply worried about the escalation of the situation and even the possibility of it going out of control," Qin said. He said Chinese President Xi Jinping had put forward proposals that have played a responsible and constructive role in easing the situation and de-escalating the crisis, without offering any details or evidence.
We will continue to promote peace talks, provide Chinese wisdom for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation to address the concerns of all parties and seek common security," Qin said.
China has opposed criticism of Russia at the United Nations, while insisting that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations be respected, a position that underpins its claim to Taiwan, which separated from the mainland amid civil war more than 70 years ago.
Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet with the Chinese Communist Partys foreign policy chief Wang Yi in Moscow, the Kremlin said Monday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov hailed Russia-China ties as multidimensional and allied in nature.
That statement coincided with U.S. President Joe Biden's unannounced visit to Ukraine on Monday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and show support for Kyiv days ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion.
Wangs trip to Russia follows talks Saturday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of an international security conference in Munich. Blinken said he reiterated to Wang that any Chinese material support for the Russian armed forces would trigger a strong response from Washington. Thus far, the U.S. says there are no indications that China is doing so, although its close economic ties with Russia have offered a lifeline to Putin's regime.
Russia, in turn, has offered strong support for China and held a series of joint military drills amid tensions with the U.S. over Taiwan, trade, human rights and Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.
China's Foreign Ministry issued a lengthy statement Tuesday outlining Xi's Global Security Initiative," which aims to eliminate the root causes of international conflicts, improve global security governance, encourage joint international efforts to bring more stability and certainty to a volatile and changing era, and promote durable peace and development in the world."
In its only reference to Russia's invasion, it said the initiative would support political settlement of hotspot issues such as the Ukraine crisis through dialogue and negotiation."
At a daily briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin criticized military aid provided to Ukraine by the U.S. and its allies, saying that the U.S. claims to maintain peace, but actually it is making money from the crisis."
There are enough facts to show the true nature of the U.S. as a source of trouble rather than a defender of peace for the world," Wang said.
The U.S. has committed about $113 billion in aid to Ukraine since last year, while European allies have committed tens of billions of dollars more and welcomed millions of Ukrainian refugees who have fled the conflict. Such aid is funded by U.S. and other foreign taxpayers, with Ukraine under no obligation to provide repayment as it seeks to withstand renewed Russian attempts to regain territory it had earlier conquered.
Wang also defended China's comprehensive strategic partnership" with Russia as based on non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties, which is within the sovereignty of two independent countries."
Wang gave no details on Wang Yi's visit to Moscow but called it an opportunity to work with Russia to jointly promote steady progress of bilateral relations in the direction determined by the two leaders, safeguard each others legitimate rights and interests and contribute positively to world peace."
A British woman whose U.K. citizenship was revoked after she traveled to Syria as a teenager to join the Islamic State group has lost an appeal in her fight to have her citizenship restored.
Shamima Begum, now 23, was 15 when she and two other girls from London joined the extremist group in February 2015. Authorities withdrew her British citizenship on national security grounds soon after she surfaced in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission, a tribunal which hears challenges to decisions to remove someone's British citizenship on national security grounds, ruled there was a "credible suspicion" that Begum was trafficked to Syria for "sexual exploitation." It said there also were "arguable breaches of duty" by state bodies in allowing her to travel to the country.
But Judge Robert Jay said that evidence was "insufficient" for Begum to win the argument that the deprivation of her British citizenship failed to respect her human rights. Given that she remains in Syria, U.K. authorities are not compelled to facilitate her return, the judge said.
"Reasonable people will differ as to the threat she posed in February 2019 to the national security of the United Kingdom, and as to how that threat should be balanced against all countervailing considerations,'' Jay said in delivering the decision of the tribunal. "However, under our constitutional settlement, these sensitive issues are for the secretary of state to evaluate and not for the commission."
Arguing the ruling gave far too much power to the Britain's home secretary, Begum's lawyers promised an appeal. Daniel Furner, part of Begum's legal team, said the case was "nowhere near over."
"What else this judgment calls out for though is some courage and some leadership from the home secretary to look at this case afresh in light of the clear and compelling factual findings this court has made," Furner said. "We are going to challenge this decision."
Begum had challenged the action of Sajid Javid, the U.K.'s home secretary at the time, arguing that it left her stateless and that she should have been treated as a child trafficking victim, not a security risk.
The British government claimed she could seek a Bangladeshi passport based on family ties. But Begum's family argued that she was from the U.K. and never held a Bangladeshi passport.
Javid expressed satisfaction with the decision.
"This is a complex case, but home secretaries should have the power to prevent anyone entering our country who is assessed to pose a threat to it," he said.
The immigration tribunal held a hearing in November on Begum's appeal. The case threw into sharp relief the larger question of how Western societies deal with people who joined IS but want to go back to their home countries. Thousands remain in camps in northeast Syria.
Begum fled east London with two friends to marry IS fighters in Syria at a time when the group's online recruitment program lured many impressionable young people to its self-proclaimed caliphate.
Begum married a Dutch man fighting for IS and had three children, who all died.
But her apparent lack of remorse in interviews soon after she surfaced in the refugee camp triggered criticism in Britain. Her tone has changed since then as she reflected on her actions and fought to return home.
Germany announced Wednesday it is expelling two Iranian diplomats in response to Irans sentencing a German national to death.
The move came a day after Iranian authorities announced the sentence for Jamshid Sharmahd, who was convicted of terrorism charges.
Iran accused Sharmahd, a German Iranian with U.S. residency, of leading the armed wing of a pro-monarchist group. His family said he was merely an opposition group spokesman and that Iranian intelligence abducted him.
"We call on Iran to revoke Jamshid Sharmahd's death sentence and provide him with a fair appeal process based on the rule of law," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement Wednesday.
Baerbock said she summoned Irans charge d'affaires, and that Germany does not accept such a massive violation of a German citizens rights.
In an earlier statement Tuesday, Baerbock said Sharmahd was arrested under highly questionable circumstances and that he never had even the semblance of a fair trial.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
A controversial Chinese biophysicist, who had been imprisoned after creating the worlds first gene-edited babies, had his Hong Kong work visa revoked after immigration officials suspected he lied on an application form for a talent scheme.
He Jiankui, who sparked an international scientific and ethical debate in 2018 when he revealed he had created the worlds first gene-edited babies resistant to HIV, said at the time at an international conference in Hong Kong that he had modified two embryos before they were placed in their mothers womb.
The scientist said he used a technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the embryonic genes of twin girls before birth. He said he had targeted a gene known as CCR5 and edited it in a way he believed would protect the girls from infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. It later emerged that a third gene-edited baby had been born.
The former associate professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology who has since been fired was later accused of having forged approval documents from ethics boards. He was sentenced by a Chinese court to three years in prison in late 2019 for illegally carrying out human embryo gene-editing intended for reproduction. He was released in April 2022.
The scientist posted on the Chinese social media platform WeChat on Saturday that he had been granted the visa on February 11 under the talent scheme. It was aimed at attracting people with rich work experience and good academic qualifications from all over the world to explore opportunities in Hong Kong.
He said he would conduct gene-editing research using artificial intelligence and was optimistic about [the future of] Hong Kong, reported the South China Morning Post. His original post cannot be found.
We plan to use artificial intelligence tools to evolve the adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids to improve the efficiency of gene therapy and promote affordable gene therapy for rare diseases, he was quoted by the paper as saying. AAV is a small virus that has emerged as the most promising platform for gene therapy.
Scientists engineer the outer protein shell of AAV, known as capsid, to improve targeting and efficacy.
In response to the furor, the Hong Kong government issued a late-night statement on Tuesday, saying the visa of an individual who made false representation has been rescinded and a criminal investigation launched. Officials did not name He but made reference to media reports regarding an applicant being granted a visa despite having been imprisoned for illegal medical practice.
After reviewing the application, the Immigration Department suspected the visa/entry permit was obtained by false representation, and the Director of Immigration had declared the visa/entry permits invalid in accordance with the law, and would conduct a criminal investigation to follow up, said the statement.
The statement also warned that applicants who give false information face a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison and a fine of $17,842 upon conviction. The government has also issued a new requirement that future applicants under the visa scheme must declare whether they have any criminal records.
Since his prison release 10 months ago, He has established a laboratory in Beijing dedicated to developing affordable drugs for rare genetic diseases. Although He insisted that his work was to help people, international medical experts have criticized his gene-editing procedure as risky, ethically contentious and medically unjustified with inadequate consent from the families involved.
In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine in June 2019, scientists found that people who have two copies of a so-called Delta 32 mutation of CCR5 which protects against HIV infection in some people also have a significantly higher risk of premature death.
He told The Guardian newspaper early this month that he moved too quickly by pressing ahead with the gene-editing procedure but stopped short of apologizing. He declined to elaborate on what measures should have been taken but said he would give further details at a scheduled talk on the use of CRISPR gene-editing technology at the University of Oxford next month.
He then said in a Twitter message on February 10 that he was not ready to talk about my experience in the past three years, so I decided that I will not visit Oxford in March.
A senior member of a U.S.-based Iranian opposition group held by Iran and accused of orchestrating a deadly 2008 mosque bombing has been sentenced to death, authorities said Tuesday.
Iran says Jamshid Sharmahd, a 67-year-old Iranian-German national and U.S. resident, is the leader of the armed wing of a group advocating the restoration of the monarchy that was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
His family has said he was merely the spokesman for the opposition group and denied he was involved in any attacks. They accuse Iranian intelligence of abducting him from Dubai in 2020. His hometown is Glendora, California.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the death sentence is absolutely unacceptable" and that there would be a clear reaction, without elaborating.
She said Sharmahd did not have even the beginning of a fair trial and that consular access and access to the trial had been repeatedly denied. She also said he had been arrested under highly questionable circumstances, without elaborating.
The death sentence which can be appealed comes against the backdrop of months of anti-government protests in Iran and a fierce crackdown on dissent. Monarchists based outside Iran support the protests, as do other groups and individuals with different ideologies.
The official website of Iran's judiciary said Sharmahd was convicted of plotting terrorist activities. He was tried in a Revolutionary Court, where proceedings are held behind closed doors and where rights groups say defendants are unable to choose their lawyers or see the evidence against them.
Iranian authorities have accused him of planning a series of attacks, including the 2008 bombing of the Hosseynieh Seyed al-Shohada Mosque in Shiraz, in which 14 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded. He has also been accused of working with U.S. intelligence and spying on Iran's ballistic missile program.
State TV has said his group was also behind a 2010 bombing at Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinis mausoleum in Tehran that wounded several people.
Iran says Sharmahd is the leader of Tondar, the militant wing of the opposition group known as the Kingdom Assembly of Iran. He had been previously targeted in an apparent Iranian assassination plot on U.S. soil in 2009.
His family says he was passing through Dubai on his way to India for a business deal in July 2020 when he abruptly stopped responding to calls or messages from them. Location data showed his phone leaving a hotel near the airport and traveling south, across the border into neighboring Oman and to the port of Sohar, where the signal stopped.
Two days later, Iran announced that Sharmahd had been captured in a complex operation and the Intelligence Ministry published a photo of him blindfolded.
His family says he was held in solitary confinement for more than 18 months before being put on trial in February of last year.
A Middle East expert with Amnesty Internationals German branch, Katja Muller-Fahlbusch, said the organization is appalled by the death sentence.
She said in a statement that the proceedings were a show trial and that Iran withheld numerous rights from him, including the free choice of a lawyer.
Muller-Fahlbusch added that Sharmahds family has had as good as no contact with him for over two years, no one knows what prison he is in and we have to assume that he has been a victim of torture. In addition, his health has worsened dramatically in custody and Iranian authorities have systematically denied him access to appropriate medical care, she said.
Western officials believe Iran runs intelligence operations in Dubai and keeps tabs on the hundreds of thousands of Iranians living in the cosmopolitan city in the United Arab Emirates, which is a U.S. ally. Iran is suspected of kidnapping and later killing British-Iranian national Abbas Yazdi in Dubai in 2013, though Tehran has denied involvement.
The U.S. State Department runs its Iran Regional Presence Office in Dubai, where diplomats monitor Iranian media reports and talk to Iranians.
Iran has been rocked by more than five months of anti-government protests ignited by the death of a 22-year-old woman who was detained by the morality police for allegedly violating Iran's strict Islamic dress code. The protesters have called for the overthrow of the country's ruling clerics.
Security forces have attacked the demonstrators with live ammunition, birdshot and batons, rights groups say. At least 530 protesters have been killed and nearly 20,000 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group monitoring the unrest.
Iranian authorities have blamed the protests on hostile foreign powers, without providing evidence, and have not released official figures for those killed or arrested.
Iran has executed four men accused of violence linked to the protests, and activists say at least 16 others have been sentenced to death.
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The latest developments in Russia's war on Ukraine. All times EST.
8:36 p.m.: Ukrainian marine Artem Dyblenko spent more than four months as a Russian prisoner of war. On Wednesday, he appealed to the international community to help bring home the thousands of soldiers and non-combatants who remain in captivity and seek justice for all who have suffered human rights violations at the hands of Russia since its invasion of Ukraine nearly one year ago, VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer reports.
"I was 125 days in Russian captivity; this is about 3,000 hours," Dyblenko, who was twice decorated for bravery, told a special meeting organized by Ukraine at the United Nations to discuss gross human rights violations caused by Russias war.
"Three thousand hours of physical, moral, and psychological abuse," he said. "Three thousand hours of Russian hell."
7:33 p.m.: Streets in Kyiv are being renamed in honor of soldiers who lost their lives defending the country against Russia's invasion. Current Time correspondent Yulia Zhukova walked along the recently renamed streets and spoke with the loved ones of the fallen soldiers, RFE/RFL reports.
6:44 p.m.: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that a bill had been registered by a Ukrainian lawmaker to resume the requirement for state officials to file electronic asset declarations, according to The Kyiv Independent. He said this in his response to a petition regarding resuming the filing of asset declarations. The petition collected the necessary 25,000 signatures on the president's site in early February.
5:23 p.m.: Ukrainian authorities say parts of the country will bolster security measures this week, days ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, The Kyiv Independent reports.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month warned that Russia is planning a revenge attack for last year's defeats and is set to do something "symbolic."
Extra safety measures will be implemented in Ukraine's southern Kherson Oblast, the region's military administration said Wednesday.
From Feb. 23 to 25, most public offices and businesses will work remotely, except for critical infrastructure facilities, the administration said.
4:00 p.m.: Russian prosecutors said Wednesday they were proceeding with a case against exiled science fiction writer Dmitry Glukhovsky, accused of publishing "false information" about Russian atrocities in the Ukraine war, according to Reuters. Russia is targeting opposition figures and journalists with a law providing for jail terms up to 15 years for those convicted of spreading "fake" news about the military. Glukhovsky left Russia last year after the invasion and called for an end to the campaign.
2:44 p.m.: The good-humored Ukrainian fighter pilot Danylo Murashko was in low spirits on Jan. 27. He hadnt gone out on a sortie in several days, which always put him in a bad mood, The Kyiv Independent reports.
Noticing Murashkos state of mind, his commander, lieutenant colonel Rostyslav Lazarenko, decided to allow 24-year-old Murashko to join him on a combat mission.
As the two were up in the sky somewhere above Donetsk Oblast, a rocket launched from a Russian fighter hit Murashko's aircraft. The town of Shabelkivka, with a pre-war population of over 4,000 residents, was just ahead of him.
According to his brigade, Murashko tried to divert his plane so that it wouldnt fall on residential buildings. The effort, however, made him fly lower and cost him precious time.
Murashko stopped the plane from killing civilians, but he could not eject safely.
"I turned [the aircraft] away," were the last words Lazarenko heard from Murashko, he said in an interview with the Defense Ministry's news agency Army Inform.
1:38 p.m.: Kremlin-linked businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a co-founder and owner of the Wagner mercenary group, has called on Russians to pressure the army to give his fighters more ammunition amid Defense Ministry denials that it is holding back supplies for artillery and missile-launchers in Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, RFE/RLs Russian service reported.
"If every Russian at his own level -- in order not to call anyone to rallies -- would simply say 'give ammunition to Wagner,' as is already happening on social media, then this would already be important," he said in an audio post on Telegram on Tuesday.
The call comes a day after Prigozhin accused top armed forces officials of committing "treason" by failing to supply his private troops, who have been a major force in the battle to take the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, with enough ammunition.
He says his troops regularly lack about 80 percent of the ammunition they need while fighting against Ukrainian armed forces in the Donetsk region.
In response, the Russian Defense Ministry rejected the claims, saying that all volunteer brigades in Ukraine's east are being supplied with all types of ammunition in a "timely" fashion.
12:58 p.m.: Poland is braced for a spike in the number of refugees arriving from Ukraine, as fighting intensifies in the east ahead of the anniversary of Russias invasion on February 24.
Millions of Ukrainians fled into Poland in the first weeks of the war as a huge Russian column bore down on the capital, Kyiv. Every day, tens of thousands of refugees arrived in the Polish border city of Przemysl by road, rail or on foot.
Ukraine successfully defended the capital and pushed back Russian forces in the ensuing months, eventually recapturing swathes of territory around Kharkiv and Kherson. As spring approaches, both Russia and Ukraine are preparing to launch new offensives, which could force thousands more Ukrainians to flee their homes.
VOAs Henry Ridgwell has more on this story.
11:38 a.m.: Two civilians were killed in Russian shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, and two were wounded in a missile strike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, regional officials said, according to Reuters.
An 81-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man were killed during shelling of the village of Novotyahinka, about 40 km from the city of Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November after nearly eight months of occupation by Russian forces who seized it soon after the invasion. The area is now under almost constant bombardment from Russian forces on the opposite side of the Dnipro River.
10:36 a.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to travel to New York later this week (Feb. 23-24) to attend the U.N. Security Council ministerial meeting on Ukraine, marking the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine.
A State Department statement said Blinken will also meet with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres to discuss the broad range of economic, security, and humanitarian support the United States and other U.N. Member States are continuing to provide to Ukraine.
During the Security Council meeting, the Secretary will underscore U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and call upon the international community to endorse U.N. actions that will help secure a just and durable peace in Ukraine, the statement said.
9:20 a.m.: The International Federation of Journalists has suspended with immediate effect the Russian Union of Journalists over its action since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its role in annexed Ukrainian territories, the Associated Press reported
The IFJ, which represents more than 600,000 media workers across the world, said the Russian union's membership was suspended following an investigation then a vote by its global executive committee on Wednesday.
The vote was held after the union refused to reconsider its decision to set up branches in four regions annexed by Russia, the federation said.
The Kremlin in September illegally annexed the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, where it claims its rule is welcomed. Pro-Moscow separatists have controlled part of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk province since 2014.
8:00 a.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg are in Warsaw Wednesday, to attend the summit of the Bucharest Nine, countries on NATOs easternmost flank; Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
This little-known grouping is an initiative launched in 2015 by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Polish President Andrzej Duda. It is aimed at enhancing cooperation among NATOs newest members to support the alliances objectives of improving security and stability between the Baltic and Black Seas.
Biden is set to reaffirm U.S. commitment for B-9 security, whose members joined the military alliance after being under Russias sphere of influence during the Cold War and are now looking at Moscows expansionist ambitions with concern.
VOAs Patsy Widakuswara is traveling with Biden and has more details.
7:15 a.m.: Russian forces pummeled the front line in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions with artillery and air strikes, the Ukrainian military said on Wednesday, as regional authorities reported heavy bombardments in the southern region of Dnipropetrovsk, according to RFE/RL
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians that the front line was holding despite Moscow's incessant pressure.
Heavy fighting continued unabated around the disputed cities of Bakhmut, Lyman, and Avdiyivka in Donetsk, where Ukrainian defenders repelled Russian attacks in several other locations including Fedorivka, Yahidne, and Berkhivka, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military said in its daily report.
Russian attacks were also repelled in the Luhansk settlements of Kyzemivka and Dibrova, and in Kupyansk, in northeastern Kharkiv region, the General Staff said, adding that indiscriminate rocket attacks destroyed residential buildings, killing and wounding civilians. It did not elaborate on casualties.
6 a.m.:
5:40 a.m.: The Czech Republic will continue to aid Ukraine in its defense against Russia's invasion for as long as needed, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said ahead of a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and leaders of NATO's eastern flank on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
"We will continue in (our) help for as long as Ukraine needs it," Fiala said.
5:25 a.m.: Pope Francis said on Wednesday that the war in Ukraine is "absurd and cruel" and called for ceasefire and negotiations, two days before the first anniversary of the February 24 Russian invasion.
During his weekly general audience, Francis called it a "sad anniversary" and said he was "close to the martyred Ukrainian people" according to Reuters.
The pope added that "real victory" in Ukraine "cannot be built on ruins".
4:50 a.m.: Korrine was a second-year medical student in the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine when Russia invaded last year.
The 27-year-old, from Leicester in central England, fled the country along with a group of Zimbabwean students.
"When it actually started kicking off, I realized we were on our own," she told AFP.
Before the war, Korrine was among tens of thousands of international students in Ukraine, many from developing countries, who paid relatively low fees for courses such as medicine and dentistry.
After fleeing the country, they have found they cannot access the same benefits and rights as exiled Ukrainians.
Agence France-Presse had the full story.
4:30 a.m.: India on Wednesday reiterated its stance on the war in Ukraine that it was time for dialog and diplomacy, days ahead of the February 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion and as G-20 finance officials started a meeting near Bengaluru.
"Today's era is not for war. Democracy, dialog and diplomacy is the way forward," Anurag Thakur, India's information minister, told a news conference after welcoming delegates to the meeting which ends on Saturday, Reuters reported.
India does not want the Group of 20 nations to discuss additional sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine during New Delhi's one-year presidency of the bloc, six senior Indian government officials told Reuters.
On the sidelines of a key G-20 gathering in India, financial leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) nations will meet on February 23, the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion, to discuss measures against Russia, Japan's finance minister said on Tuesday.
The officials, who are directly involved in this week's G-20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs, said the war's macroeconomic impact would be discussed but India does not want to deliberate on additional actions against Russia.
"India is not keen to discuss or back any additional sanctions on Russia during the G-20," said one of the officials. "The existing sanctions on Russia have had a negative impact on the world."
Another official said sanctions were not a G-20 issue. "G-20 is an economic forum for discussing growth issues."
Spokespeople for the Indian government and the finance and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
4:05 a.m.:
3:40 a.m.: Russia's flagship frigate equipped with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles has arrived in the South African port of Richards Bay for exercises that will include China, Reuters cited Russia's RIA state news agency as reporting on Wednesday.
South Africa was due to launch the joint exercises on Friday. It calls the drills routine but they have fueled domestic criticism and fears they could endanger relations with Western partners.
The beginning of the exercises coincides with the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and follows Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend its last major nuclear arms control treaty with the United States
The ship, named "The Admiral Gorshkov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union," had arrived at Richards Bay "performing the tasks of a long-range voyage," RIA reported, citing a statement from the Russian Northern Fleet.
The Gorshkov warship, which was sent off from Russia on January 4, carries the Zircon missiles which have a range of 900 km (560 miles) and can travel at several times the speed of sound, making it difficult to defend against them.
In late January, the ship tested its strike capabilities in the western Atlantic Ocean.
3:20 a.m.:
2:55 a.m.: Shells were exploding nearby but Tatiana Bushlanova didn't flinch when she spoke to Reuters in front of the shattered remains of her home in Mariupol last May. Fighting in the port city has long since ended but the pensioner is still struggling to take in the enormity of what has happened.
Mariupol's strategic location on the Sea of Azov made it a prime target in what Moscow calls the "special military operation" that it launched in Ukraine on February 24 last year.
Russian forces captured the city in May when, after a siege lasting nearly three months, the last Ukrainian defenders emerged from the underground tunnels of its vast Azovstal steelworks and surrendered.
By then, much of Mariupol lay in ruins, and tens of thousands of people had been killed in a city where more than half the pre-war population of some 450,000 have fled.
Reuters had the full story.
2:30 a.m.:
2:10 a.m.: A shed on a hillside on the outskirts of Canada's capital hides a Cold War bunker that has been fielding a surge of queries since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, asking if it is operational.
It's now a museum, so the answer of course is no.
Agence France-Presse had the full story.
1:20 a.m.:
1:05 a.m.: President Vladimir Putin revoked on Tuesday a 2012 decree that in part underpinned Moldova's sovereignty in resolving the future of the Transdniestria region - a Moscow-backed separatist region which borders Ukraine and where Russia keeps troops.
The decree, which included a Moldova component, outlined Russia's foreign policy 11 years ago which assumed Moscow's closer relations with the European Union and the United States.
According to Reuters, the order revoking the 2012 document was published on the Kremlin's website and states that the decision was taken to "ensure the national interests of Russia in connection with the profound changes taking place in international relations."
It is part of a series of anti-Western moves announced by Putin on Tuesday.
Alexandru Flenchea, Moldovan chairman of the joint control commission in the security zone around Transdniestria, said the cancellation did not mean that Putin was abandoning the notion of Moldovan sovereignty.
"The decree is a policy document that implements the concept of Russia's foreign policy," Flenchea told Publika-TV. "Moldova and Russia have a basic political agreement that provides for mutual respect for the territorial integrity of our countries."
The Kremlin has said that Russia's relations with Moldova, which last week approved a new pro-Western prime minister that vowed to pursue a drive to join the EU, were very tense. It accused Moldova of pursuing an anti-Russian agenda.
12:25 a.m.:
12:01 a.m.: Russia has urged U.N. states to vote against an "unbalanced and anti-Russian" move at the General Assembly by Ukraine and others to mark one year since Moscow invaded.
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly is due to vote later this week on a draft resolution stressing "the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace" in line with the founding United Nations Charter.
Ukraine and its supporters hope to deepen Russia's diplomatic isolation by seeking yes votes from nearly three-quarters of the General Assembly to match if not better the support received for several resolutions last year.
The draft text would again see the General Assembly demand Moscow withdraw its troops and call for a halt to hostilities. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, but carry political weight.
Russian ally Belarus on Tuesday suggested amendments to the draft U.N. resolution, seen by Reuters, including "prevention of further escalation of the conflict through feeding the parties with lethal weapons." Diplomats say they are unlikely to pass.
China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun told reporters on Tuesday that China would release a "position paper" on Ukraine likely within days that "will be mainly reflecting the consistent positions of China on this issue."
"We have never called it peace plan. Its position paper," Zhang said. "We will continue to emphasize respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. We emphasize that countries should accommodate the security concerns of each other."
"Mainly, we will call for peace, for dialogue, for peaceful settlement," he said.
Some information in this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, says a roadside bomb has killed three peacekeepers and seriously injured five others.
MINUSMA said in a statement that the U.N. peacekeepers were killed in central Mali Tuesday when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.
The statement says that MINUSMA is one of the most dangerous peace operations for peacekeepers, with 168 peacekeepers killed in hostile acts since the establishment of the mission in 2013.
Mali and the greater Sahel region have been battling an Islamist insurgency since 2012, when Islamists took over the north of the country. The French army intervened in 2013 to help Mali take back control of the north but withdrew from the country last year due to concerns about Malis military government working with Russian Wagner Group mercenaries.
Mali has been under military rule since an August 2020 coup. The government denies working with Russian mercenaries, but human rights groups and journalists have documented several alleged human rights abuses committed by them since reports of their arrival in the country.
The military government expelled MINUSMAs spokesperson last year after Ivorian soldiers arriving as support for a U.N. contingent in Mali were arrested at Bamakos airport. The director of the missions human rights division was expelled this month.
Violence has continued to plague the Sahel in recent years.
Fifty-one Burkinabe soldiers were killed last week in Burkina Fasos north in a suspected Islamist attack.
A police officer and a civilian were killed on Monday in an IED attack in western Mali.
No group has claimed responsibility for Tuesdays attack on the U.N. peacekeepers.
Researchers in Kenya say they've detected an invasive mosquito that can transmit malaria in different climates, threatening progress to fight the parasitic disease. Kenyas Medical Research Institute this week urged the public to use mosquito nets and clean up areas where mosquitos can breed.
Kenya has detected the presence of a new malaria carrier, which was first discovered in the region in Djibouti in 2012.
The new carrier, the Anopheles stephensi mosquito, transmits plasmodium vivax, the parasite the causes the deadliest type of malaria.
Bernhards Ogutu is a chief researcher at Kenya Medical Research Institute. He says it was only a matter of time before the mosquito was discovered in the country after it appeared in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Weve not been able to pick plasmodium vivax which is found in Asia and Kenya. It's there in Ethiopia and this vector can also transmit it," said Ogutu. "So that will also look at whether we might have plasmodium vivax in coming up with this new vector showing in our place. Vivax is more difficult to treat in that you can get treated and real up because it keeps staying in the body and the liver.
Malaria affects over 229 million people each year and kills over 400,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.
More than a quarter of a million children die in Africa each year as a result of the mosquito-borne disease, including over 10,000 in Kenya.
Ogutu expresses concern for urban residents, saying that the new carrier may feed on poor environmental management systems.
So the fact that this can survive in urban areas where water is not clean and that can transmit, thats the worry people are having. For the time being its to monitor and see to what extent we are going to have its spreading and what impact it will be having," said Ogutu.
Redentho Dabelen is a public officer in the Marsabit County town of Laisamis, where the vector was discovered.
He says experts are going to communities to teach people how to protect themselves from the disease.
To sensitize them and teach them how to prevent themselves from the vector bites. We are trying to spray the houses," said Dabelen. "We are trying to tell them about the disease through the community health volunteers and if they get infected they go to the hospital.
According to the researchers, the population should continue to use malaria control tools such as sleeping under mosquito nets and practicing good environmental management and sanitation.
In 2021, the WHO approved a malaria vaccine for children aged five months to two years that has been shown to reduce child deaths.
Early in Russias full-scale assault on Ukraine, its forces came near the capital, Kyiv, and committed some of the conflicts worst massacres in the communities of Irpin and Bucha. Anna Chernikova recently returned to the scene and has this report. Camera: Eugene Shynkar. Please note this report contains images some may find disturbing.
Poland is braced for a spike in the number of refugees arriving from Ukraine, as fighting intensifies in the east ahead of the anniversary of Russias invasion on February 24.
Millions of Ukrainians fled into Poland in the first weeks of the war as a huge Russian column bore down on the capital, Kyiv. Every day, tens of thousands of refugees arrived in the Polish border city of Przemysl by road, rail or on foot.
Ukraine successfully defended the capital and pushed back Russian forces in the ensuing months, eventually recapturing swathes of territory around Kharkiv and Kherson. As spring approaches, both Russia and Ukraine are preparing to launch new offensives, which could force thousands more Ukrainians to flee their homes.
Chaos
A year since the start of the invasion, the chaotic scenes in Przemysl have eased. Many Ukrainians still travel through the city to cross back and forth from their home country.
Theres quite a steady flow going both ways, said Charlotte Farrar, an American volunteer with the charity Fastlane Ukraine, which operates in Przemysl. In recent days we saw quite a spike in first time refugees, especially coming out of Kyiv, which is quite unusual.
Were thinking maybe that has something to do with the upcoming anniversary. Either people feeling afraid of whats to come, or sort of having the gravity of whats been happening for the past year hit them all over again as theyve been struggling through the winter without electricity, heating, clean water and so on, Farrar told VOA.
Quite a bit we see people coming out of de-occupied zones, where they might not have been able to leave for quite a few months. But I would still say probably at least 50 percent of people coming out have been out of Ukraine since February 24th [2022] and have gone back for some reason and are leaving again, Farrar said.
Psychological toll
Among the dozens of Ukrainians lining up at Przemysl station for the train to Lviv, just over the border in Ukraine, was 55-year-old Olga Schust. She works in Poland but frequently returns to look after her parents, who are too old to escape the war. Fighting back tears, she told VOA that 12 months of brutal fighting and displacement have taken a toll on her mental health.
Psychologically, I can't stand it all. I'm helping as much as I can. I help at the Orthodox church. We're collecting [aid] and helping as much as we can at a time like this, because what more can we do?
How can you kill other people like that? The 21st century, everything is moving forward, and here is such despair. People at my age have their lives laid out, they have plans for the future. And it's all destroyed, Schust told VOA.
Returning home
Nearby, Anna Federova and her two young children are also preparing to board the train to return home to Zaphorizhia, just tens of kilometers from the front line. The husband and father, Andriy, has brought them to Przemysl station. He is staying in Poland, where he works as a driver. The family wont meet again for at least another month.
The war is close by, but I still want to go home, Anna told VOA. The children, for a while, were very worried, very afraid. But then, I guess everyone just got used to it, you know. Even when you walk and feel the explosions, somehow it is accepted more calmly.
Coping with the war and getting Stronger
Taisiia, who did not want to give her family name, and her infant daughter Juliana, had just arrived in Przemysl from Kyiv. After a year of traveling back and forth, she said she is learning to cope with the war.
I'm stronger. And it's not so scary anymore. And there is hope that everything will end soon. There was so much unknown - it seemed that nothing would work anymore. But we continue to live, to work, we continue to move. There is hope that everything will be fine soon.
Extraordinary optimism in the face of extreme hardship. Early fears among the refugees that Ukraine would fall to Russias invasion are mostly gone - replaced by a stoic determination to survive and adapt as the war enters its second year.
Since the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's pleas to the U.S. for advanced fighter jets have gone largely unanswered, but even as experts warn that the planes might not make much of a near-term difference in the conflict, the idea is gaining support.
At the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris directly accused Russia of perpetrating crimes against humanity in the course of its invasion, which will reach its one-year mark this week. Two senior Republican lawmakers followed up with calls to arm Ukraine with advanced fighters.
Republican Senator Lindsay Graham, a prominent defense hawk, picked up on Harris' statement and used it to urge the administration of President Joe Biden to take the first steps toward supplying the aircraft.
"Let me just stress this: How can you call this war by Russia a crime against humanity and not give the victim of their crime against humanity the defensive weapons they need to stop the crime?" Graham said in an interview with ABC News. "So, we need to do two things quickly: make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law, which would make it harder for China to give weapons to Russia, and we need to start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 now."
'Everything we can'
Also in Munich, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, told CNN that he also wants Biden to send the jets to Ukraine.
"The fact is, the longer they wait, the longer this conflict will prevail," McCaul said.
"We need to throw everything we can into this fight so that they can win," McCaul added. "And I think the momentum is building for this to happen."
The comments from Graham and McCaul came just days after a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives sent a letter to Biden also asking that he send F-16s to Kyiv.
"The provision of such aircraft is necessary to help Ukraine protect its airspace, particularly in light of renewed Russian offensives and considering the expected increase in large-scale combat operations," they wrote.
President Biden reluctant
President Biden has not been enthusiastic about the idea of providing advanced fighter jets to the Ukrainian armed forces, out of concern that offering Kyiv a weapons platform with the ability to strike inside Russia's border could escalate the conflict.
In late January, when asked by a reporter if the U.S. would send Ukraine F-16s, Biden replied with a flat out, "No."
Administration officials, speaking on background, have warned that trying to transition Ukraine to a new fighter system in the middle of an active war would be extremely difficult, at best, especially because its air force has no experience with similarly designed aircraft.
However, it was not long ago that the administration, including the president himself, were making similar arguments against providing the M1 Abrams main battle tank to Kyiv. But after weeks of pressure, and a high-stakes negotiation in which Germany said it would only move forward with the transfer of its own advanced tanks to Ukraine if the U.S. went first, the White House changed course and promised 31 of them.
A similar dynamic seems to be playing out now, with a number of U.S. allies in Europe saying they are open to providing advanced fighters, though none have yet committed to taking that step.
Effectiveness questioned
Experts said that it would be a mistake to believe that the provision of F-16s or similar jets to Ukraine would make a significant difference in the near term.
While Ukraine has a long-established and effective air force, the country's stock of planes and maintenance equipment is all older, Soviet-era gear, primarily MiG-29s and SU-27s, all of it completely incompatible with the more advanced planes being considered. That means that in addition to new planes, Ukraine would have to utterly overhaul its logistics and retrain its maintenance crews, monumental tasks even in peacetime.
Mike "Starbaby" Pietrucha, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a veteran of more than 150 combat missions, told VOA it would take years for Ukrainian pilots to develop the expertise needed to operate the F-16 in a combat environment.
"The Ukrainians already have fighter pilots that are both talented and experienced with their form of fighter aviation, and some of that transfers," Pietrucha told VOA. "But not as much as you would hope."
"The fact that you can do air-to-air [combat] in a MiG-29 means you've got the principles right, but in an F-16, it's a different ballgame," he said. "You have different sensors, you have different weapons, and you've got a differently capable aircraft."
Training, logistics challenges
When the U.S. began the transition to jets like the F-16 from older models, it took years of training to bring the first combat-ready units online. This was because of the complexity of the planes and the inherent danger in operating a supersonic aircraft.
Pietrucha said that rushing Ukrainian pilots through training would almost certainly result in pilots dying unnecessarily.
"One of the worst things you could possibly do is to take your experienced group of fighter aviators out of Ukraine, stick them in a new airplane, throw them back into combat and expect them to do well," Pietrucha said. "Because you will overestimate their capabilities, and you will give them inappropriate taskings, and you will waste the guys that could otherwise have been your initial instructor cadre if you had just gone at a reasonable speed."
Karl P. Mueller, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, told VOA that setting up a logistics and maintenance operation for F-16s in Ukraine would also be an extremely difficult challenge.
"This is a big undertaking, because the F-16 is not designed to be a particularly undemanding aircraft," Mueller said. "It is designed to operate from major bases with big maintenance infrastructures and personnel footprints."
Advanced weapons system
The F-16, though not the most advanced plane in the U.S. arsenal, is still a formidable weapon.
Originally designed by General Dynamics in the 1970s and considerably upgraded since, the F-16 is what defense experts call a "multirole" fighter jet. Over the years, it has evolved from a daytime fighter meant to engage targets within visual range into a much more sophisticated aircraft. The F-16 is now capable of operation at night, engaging targets that are beyond the horizon, and playing multiple roles in a combat situation.
More than 4,600 of the planes have been made since production began nearly 50 years ago, and new models are still being built for some foreign markets. Notably, the F-16 is in service in a number of European allies of the U.S., including NATO members Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and others.
Ukraine has formally requested that the Netherlands, which is in the process of transitioning away from the F-16 to the more advanced F-35, provide some of the planes it will be decommissioning to the Ukrainian armed forces. Dutch authorities said they are seriously considering the request.
Pope Francis Wednesday noted what he called the sad anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking during his weekly general audience, the pope called the conflict an absurd and cruel war.
"Let us remain close to the martyred Ukrainian people and ask ourselves: has everything possible been done to stop the war? the pope said. I appeal to those in authority over nations to make concrete efforts to end the conflict, to reach a cease-fire and to start peace negotiations.
Pope Francis has repeatedly called for peace since Russia sent its troops into Ukraine on February 24 last year. The day before the invasion, he urged all parties to avoid any actions that would cause people more suffering and said the threat of war had brought great pain in my heart.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Tuesday accused Russia of "mercilessly killing" civilians in the southern city of Kherson following a missile strike that left five people dead and 16 others injured.
"A vehicle park, residential areas, a high-rise building, and a public transport stop were hit," Zelenskyy said on the Telegram social messaging app. "The Russian army is heavily shelling Kherson. Again, mercilessly killing the civilian population.
"The world has no right to forget for a single moment that Russian cruelty and aggression know no bounds, the Ukrainian leader said. He posted photographs online showing corpses lying in the street.
Russia has denied targeting civilians.
Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November after eight months of Russian occupation, forcing Russian forces to abandon the only regional capital they had seized since invading Ukraine on February 24 of last year. But Moscows shelling of the city continues.
Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said Russian troops had targeted the city "probably by Grad" multiple rocket-launchers and that 20 explosions were heard.
The attack came as Russian President Vladimir Putin was defending the invasion in a speech before the Russian parliament in Moscow, and a day after U.S. President Joe Biden made a historic visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to assure Zelenskyy of the continued support of the United States and its Western allies.
Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
On the frontlines in Ukraine, journalists confront risk to report on the war. But with several killed or seriously injured in the past year, media advocates have mobilized to offer training and equipment. VOAs Heather Murdock reports from Kyiv, Lviv and the frontlines in the Donbas region of Ukraine. Camera: Yan Boechat
Przewodow is still in mourning its two lost sons.
The small village on the Poland-Ukraine border got global attention when, on November 15, a missile exploded on a farm, killing two local workers. All that remains is a large crater, surrounded by the twisted metal beams and rubble of the barn that once stood here.
NATO and Western allies said the explosion was likely caused by a stray Ukrainian air defense missile. But at first, many suspected it was a Russian attack. For a few terrifying hours, the world feared that Russias war on Ukraine had come to NATO territory.
Shadow of war
As the conflict escalates, the communities along the border continue to live in the shadow of war. Last year, they watched as millions of Ukrainians rushed into Poland, fleeing the Russian invasion. Meanwhile, Poles are having to adjust to the large-scale warfare taking place on their doorstep.
The airport at Rzeszow in southeast Poland, around 70 kilometers from the border, has become a key hub for transporting Western weapons into Ukraine. The passenger airliners at the terminal are dwarfed by military transport planes from NATO member states and other Ukrainian allies, carrying everything from small arms to Javelin anti-tank missiles and armored vehicles.
The Polish border is likely to be the key conduit for transporting Western tanks to Ukraine, which is set to commence in the coming weeks. Meanwhile the United States and other NATO members have deployed additional troops, armor and Patriot air defense systems to the border region.
Grzegorz Drewnik, who heads the Dolhobyczow commune which includes Przewodow village, says there have been many fearful moments over the past 12 months.
The worst were the first days of the war, when the front was moving here to the west, and nobody really knew at what point it would stop, nobody knew whether we would be bordering the Russian Federation in any moment, he told VOA. Nobody knew whether Ukrainian soldiers, who would probably have to flee across the border - whether they wouldn't cross our border in a disorganized way, with weapons, and whether that wouldn't be the main threat to us."
Over this last year, a lot has changed. Lots of grief, sadness, anger. Well later on, I guess it's human nature that you get used to everything, he said.
Fallout
The communities along the border were the first to witness the fallout of Russias invasion a year ago.
VOA spoke to two friends, Natalia Kostykiewicz-Kolasinska and Renata Zyla, who both live in Tomaszow Lubelski, a town located a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border. They were closely involved with the refugee response in the early weeks of the war.
Our family, who live further away from the border, called us very scared. They asked us if we had passports, if we were going to escape in some way. It didn't occur to us at all because we were so involved, Kostykiewicz-Kolasinska said.
Very quickly people started coming in. And here our whole community mobilized, and people rushed to help the Ukrainians who were streaming into our town in big numbers, Zyla said.
I also think that the fact that people threw themselves into this aid also helped them cope with the fear, with the anxiety, with the feeling of helplessness in the face of what was happening, these horrific stories that people were bringing in. Such psychological wounds and all that suffering, Zyla added.
Refugees
Close to 10 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland since the Russian invasion on February 24 last year far more than any other country. Some have returned home, but some 1.4 million have applied to settle in Poland.
Like thousands of other Poles, Kostykiewicz-Kolasinska took in a Ukrainian family - seven people in total, plus their elderly dog and two pet rats.
It was a challenge for us for sure, but not in terms of sacrifice - they just became our family straight away, especially as we spent Christmas together. We took the children to kindergarten, to school. We tried to make it easier for them to make a start here with us.
The Ukrainian family has since received visas to emigrate to Canada and moved there a few weeks ago.
Plan B
The two friends say they have got used to living so close to a country now at war but there are jittery days.
Some of the conversations we have are about what our plan B is, Kostykiewicz-Kolasinska said. We have in the back of our minds all the time that something is going on. When I wake up at night, you can hear the warplanes, you can hear them really circling overhead. It's hard not to think about the war.
Russia and China forged closer ties Wednesday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin saying relations between the two countries had reached "new frontiers," even as the U.S. has expressed concern that Beijing could supply weapons to Moscow to help its war effort against Ukraine.
China has refused to criticize Russia's year-long invasion of Ukraine but has denied providing military support to Moscow's forces. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Beijing's representatives had already addressed the issue and "have, in fact, strongly denied it. There is nothing to add here."
But Putin welcomed China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, to the Kremlin, telling him that he looks forward to a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping and that bilateral trade between the two countries could soon reach $200 billion a year, up from $185 billion last year.
"We await a visit of the president of the People's Republic of China to Russia, we have agreed on this," Putin told Wang. "Everything is progressing, developing. We are reaching new frontiers."
At the start of his talks with Wang, Putin hailed ties between the two countries. With escalating world tensions, Putin said, "cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the global arena is particularly important for stabilizing the international situation."
Wang, through an interpreter, told Putin that the two countries' relations were not aimed against any third party but would "not succumb to pressure from third parties" a pointed jab at the United States after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wang last weekend of unspecified consequences if China provided lethal support for Russia's war effort.
"Together we support multi-polarity and democratization in international relations," Wang told Putin. "This fully meets the course of time and history; it also meets the interests of the majority of countries."
Wang earlier met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, saying he looked forward to clinching new agreements during his visit to Moscow, although no details were disclosed. China is Russia's largest buyer of oil, one of the key sources of revenue funding Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which hits the one-year mark on Friday.
After Blinken voiced U.S. fears of China helping to arm Russia, China rebuked Washington for its leadership of the Western alliance supporting Ukraine.
"No matter how the international situation changes, China has been and remains committed, together with Russia, to make efforts to preserve the positive trend in the development of relations between major powers," Wang told Lavrov.
Wang said he would work to "strengthen and deepen" relations between Moscow and Beijing, and said the relationship had "no limits."
Lavrov noted that "our ties have continued to develop dynamically, and despite high turbulence in the global arena we have shown the readiness to speak in defense of each other's interests."
Links between Washington and the other two capitals have been strained over the war in Ukraine, with U.S. President Joe Biden, in his visit to Ukraine and Poland this week, harshly attacking Putin's offensive. Biden also recently condemned Beijing for sending a spy balloon over the U.S. mainland in early February.
Meanwhile, Putin on Tuesday suspended Russia's participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty with Washington.
Some material in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
Dismissing mounting evidence that a Russian missile downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, news anchors on Russian state-owned TV are shown voicing alternative theories in a new documentary: one claims a Ukrainian fighter jet shot down the plane; another suggests the aircraft was floored by aliens.
Ukrainian director Roman Liubyi's documentary "Iron Butterflies" shows how a cross-border investigation concluded in 2016 that the plane was downed with a Russian BUK surface-to-air missile in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine and how Russia responded to the findings.
"This is the perfect example of how truth can be manipulated, how it can be covered from view," Liubyi told Reuters of Russia's portrayal of the incident, in which 298 were killed. "The scale of the manipulation is unimaginable."
International prosecutors said earlier this month that they had found "strong indications" Russian President Vladimir Putin had approved the use in Ukraine of a Russian missile system which shot down the plane but that there was not enough evidence for a criminal conviction.
Two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist were convicted of murder by a Dutch court in November for helping arrange the Russian missile system.
The criminal investigation was led by the Netherlands, with participation from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any Russian state involvement.
The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month, opened at the Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday.
Weaving a collage of news footage, documentary images and specially recorded interpretive dance, Liubyi counterposes videos outlining the findings of the investigation with material from Russian TV, including a Russian experiment claiming to disprove the investigators' report and a talk show host decrying the probe as Western provocation.
In a scene shot following the findings, the Dutch cousin of a victim tells journalists why he believes a BUK was used, before lambasting Western governments for continuing to buy Russian gas.
Liubyi said the West had done too little too late to punish Russia, emboldening Putin, who went on to invade Ukraine in February 2022.
"If the world had reacted to MH17 and stopped trading with Russia, it would have sent a clear message," Liubyi said.
Russia has said it will not test fire a hypersonic missile during joint naval drills with China and South Africa, contradicting earlier reports in Russian state media.
A senior Russian naval official told a news conference in Richards Bay, on South Africas east coast, that the country had no plans to fire the Zircon missile during the ten-day exercise, Reuters reported Wednesday.
A frigate that carries the weapon, the Admiral Gorshkov, is in South African waters one of several Russian ships deployed to Exercise Mosi II.
Russian news agency TASS reported earlier this month that the Zircon which President Vladimir Putin has called unstoppable could be used in a training launch during the exercise.
That drew condemnation from South Africas main opposition Democratic Alliance as well as the Ukrainian Association in South Africa. South African officials denied the report.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Captain Oleg Gladkiy, who is heading the Russian contingent, said, "The hypersonic weapon will not be used in the context of these exercises... There is no hidden meaning in the exercises that we are performing today," according to Reuters.
South Africa has been heavily criticized for going ahead with the exercises, which coincide with the first anniversary of the ongoing Ukraine war. But the South African government, which has officially remained neutral on the conflict, has defended its right to hold drills with friends.
The ruling African National Congress party has a long relationship with Moscow, dating back to the days when the Soviet Union supported the ANCs struggle against white minority rule.
ATLANTA The woman flying out of Philadelphias airport last year remembered to pack snacks, prescription medicine and a cellphone in her handbag. But what was more important was what she forgot to unpack: a loaded .380-caliber handgun in a black holster.
The weapon was one of the 6,542 guns the Transportation Security Administration intercepted last year at airport checkpoints across the country. The number roughly 18 per day was an all-time high for guns intercepted at U.S. airports, and is sparking concern at a time when more Americans are armed.
What we see in our checkpoints really reflects what were seeing in society, and in society there are more people carrying firearms nowadays, TSA administrator David Pekoske said.
With the exception of pandemic-disrupted 2020, the number of weapons intercepted at airport checkpoints has climbed every year since 2010. Experts don't think this is an epidemic of would-be hijackers nearly everyone caught claims to have forgotten they had a gun with them but they emphasize the danger even one gun can pose in the wrong hands on a plane or at a checkpoint.
Guns have been intercepted literally from Burbank, California, to Bangor, Maine. But it tends to happen more at bigger airports in areas with laws more friendly to carrying a gun, Pekoske said. The top 10 list for gun interceptions in 2022 are Dallas, Austin and Houston in Texas; three airports in Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta; Phoenix; and Denver.
Pekoske isn't sure the I forgot excuse is always true or whether it's a natural reaction to getting caught. Regardless, he said, its a problem that must stop.
When TSA staffers see what they believe to be a weapon on the X-ray machine, they usually stop the belt so the bag stays inside the machine and the passenger cant get to it. Then they call in local police.
Repercussions vary depending on local and state laws. The person may be arrested and have the gun confiscated. But sometimes theyre allowed to give the gun to a companion not flying with them and continue on their way. Unloaded guns can also be placed in checked bags assuming they follow proper procedures. The woman in Philadelphia saw her gun confiscated and was slated to be fined.
Those federal fines are the TSAs tool to punish those who bring a gun to a checkpoint. Last year TSA raised the maximum fine to $14,950 as a deterrent. Passengers also lose their PreCheck status it allows them to bypass some types of screening for five years. It used to be three years, but about a year ago the agency increased the time and changed the rules. Passengers may also miss their flight as well as lose their gun. If federal officials can prove the person intended to bring the gun past the checkpoint into whats called the airports sterile area, it's a federal offense.
Retired TSA official Keith Jeffries said gun interceptions can also slow other passengers in line.
Its disruptive no matter what, Jeffries said. Its a dangerous, prohibited item and, lets face it, you should know where your gun is at, for crying out loud.
Did you know TSA prohibits these innocent items from being in your carry-on bag? 1. English Christmas Crackers 2. Ink and toner cartridges 3. Most sports equipment 4. Aerosol insecticide 5. Bang Snaps 6. Cooking spray 7. Foam toy swords 8. Wrapped gifts 9. Samsung Galaxy Note 7
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Russian narratives calling the invasion of Ukraine a "special military operation" are being heard in some countries, thanks to a Russian disinformation campaign targeting specific areas of the world. VOAs Virginia Gunawan reports. Ukrainian Service contributed to this report. Camera: Laurentius Wahyudi, Naras Prameswari, AP, AFP, Zoom (with license)
Both houses of Russia's parliament on Wednesday endorsed President Vladimir Putin's suspension of Moscow's participation in the 2010 New START nuclear arms treaty with the United States, casting it as a rebuke to the U.S.-led Western alliance arming Ukraine in its bid to fend off Russia's year-long invasion.
Putin announced suspension of Russia's involvement in the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the U.S. during his state-of-the-nation speech on Tuesday. The pact, set to expire in 2026, limits each country to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads.
Putin said Russia can't accept U.S. inspections of its nuclear sites under the pact while Washington and its NATO allies have called for Russia's defeat in Ukraine. But the Russian Foreign Ministry said the country would respect the caps on nuclear weapons set under the treaty.
U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking in Warsaw where he was meeting with the leaders of the eastern flank of NATO countries closest to Russia, called Putin's suspension of the nuclear pact a "big mistake."
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council that is chaired by Putin, said Wednesday that the suspension of Russia's participation in the pact signaled to the U.S. that Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons to protect itself.
"If the U.S. wants Russia's defeat, we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapons, including nuclear," Medvedev said on his messaging app channel. "Let the U.S. elites who have lost touch with reality think about what they got. If the U.S. wants Russia to be defeated, we are standing on the verge of a global conflict."
Leonid Slutsky, the head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house, the State Duma, emphasized that the suspension is "reversible and can be reviewed if our Western opponents come back to reason and realize their responsibility for destroying the global security system."
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said it would be up to Putin to decide whether Moscow could return to the pact. "The president will determine if and when the conditions for reviewing or clarifying [Tuesday's] decision emerge," he told reporters.
The diplomat noted that Russia's satellite surveillance capability will allow it to keep track of U.S. nuclear forces even without exchanges of data and inspections that were envisaged by the treaty.
Cameroon's military says it has killed scores of armed separatists in clashes this month and at least 15 have surrendered. The rebels, who vowed to disrupt March senate elections in Cameroon's western regions, claim to have killed scores of government troops.
Ndop district residents in Cameroons restive Northwest region say seven bodies were found in bushes Tuesday morning, following heavy fighting between separatist rebels and government troops.
Ndop businessman Anyam Edison Penn said the clashes halted trade in Ngoketunjia, where Ndop is located. He spoke to VOA from Ndop via a messaging app.
"For the past weeks fighting in Ngoketunjia has been very very intensive between the separatists and the defense forces, and this has been affecting so many lives, so many persons killed and it has been a burden on our side, Penn said. Thousands of people were like they were in a cage. I pray and hope that the crisis will be resolved so that we, the civilians, should not be suffering like this."
Cameroons Anglophone separatists have vowed to disrupt the March 12 elections for Senate and last month killed two election officials.
Cameroons government said at least 15 rebel fighters were killed in ongoing clashes this month around Ndop while the military said it killed at least 30 rebels in other northwestern towns.
Cameroons highest-ranking official in the area, Handerson Quetong Kongeh, said military raids Monday night targeted at least five separatist camps.
Capo Daniel is a spokesman and self-proclaimed deputy defense chief for one rebel group, the Ambazonia Defense Forces. He said separatists and government troops sustained casualties in this months clashes.
"We have killed over 38 Cameroon military men since Paul Biya announced the election, Daniel said. We have authorized our forces to carry out attacks on critical infrastructure. Our recruitments are high, our spirits are high, and we will continue to attack the Cameroon military. We have called for appropriate punishment for those who violate this ban against the election."
Cameroons military acknowledged it took casualties in the fighting but would not give any figures and has not responded to requests for comment.
Despite the threats and ongoing clashes, Cameroon officials say election preparations will continue.
The military said about 15 rebels surrendered and were handed to Cameroon's centers for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR).
DDR country director Francis Fai Yengo said one of the rebels who surrendered was a self-proclaimed general.
Yengo spoke Monday to state broadcaster Cameroon Radio Television.
"We continue to call on those misguided youths that are still in the bush, that are still reluctant to come out to forget about the past and seize the opportunity President Paul Biya has offered to come out of the bushes and make sure that this adventure which they undertook never repeats itself again in our country, he said.
Yengo said the DDR centers offer social and jobs skills training to help former rebel fighters reintegrate.
The separatist conflict broke out in 2016 when Anglophone Cameroonians protested discrimination by the Francophone majority.
Cameroons military responded with a crackdown and rebels took up arms with the aim of carving out an independent state they call Ambazonia.
The U.N. says fighting has since killed at least 3,500 people and displaced 750,000.
Canada, which is attempting to negotiate an end to the conflict, says more than 6,000 people have been killed and the unrest has deprived 600,000 children of education.
Somali security forces have ended a more than 7-hour-long siege of al-Shabab militants at a residential building in the east of Mogadishu, the Somali government said.
The Ministry of Information said 10 people were killed by the militants and seven were injured, including four security personnel who were involved in the operation to end the siege.
The government said the victims were innocent civilians and "martyrs."
In a statement the ministry said four militants behind the attack were killed.
The militants raided a care home for members of the pro-government forces who have been injured in military operations in central Somalia.
"An explosion that didn't really sound like the typical explosion occurred, and I had a bad feeling, although my friends disagreed that it was an explosion," said a resident in the area who requested anonymity for security reasons.
"A minute later sporadic gunfire started, and it was clear what was taking place. I thought it was the Djibouti Embassy because it's the only high-profile building in the area but later realized that injured Ma'awisley from Hiran were the target of the attack."
Since August of last year, Somali government forces supported by locally mobilized fighters known as Ma'awisley have been conducting military operations against al-Shabab, which drove the militant group from vast territories in the central regions.
Al-Shabab has been carrying out retaliatory attacks against local community elders and commanders who have supported the federal government.
The government has confirmed that a militant bomber detonated a suicide vest in front of the building in Abdiaziz district about 3 p.m. local time.
Following the explosion, four al-Shabab militants stormed the building.
Gunfire and explosions continued intermittently for hours as the government forces fought to take over the building.
The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement the group said its fighters targeted the building housing "apostate" militias who participated in the fighting in Hiran, the region where mobilizations started in August last year.
Al-Shabab claimed to have killed 70 people in the attack, a figure that has not been independently verified.
Meanwhile, the Somali government on Tuesday reported killing more than 42 al-Shabab fighters in the latest operation in the Cadalay village near Mahaday town of the Middle Shabelle region.
In a statement, the Ministry of Information said government forces, local fighters and international partners were involved in the planned operation, which lasted more than 30 hours.
Casualty figures given by the government have not been independently verified.
South Korea will end its mandate that travelers from China undergo COVID-19 testing upon their arrival.
Kim Sun-ho, a senior official at the Interior Ministry, said Wednesday during a COVID-19 response meeting that the post-arrival test requirement will be lifted March 1, but pre-arrival testing will be needed until March 10.
Seoul imposed a requirement in January for Chinese visitors to undergo a rapid COVID-19 test within the first day of entering South Korea, and for arrivals to remain in separate facilities until their test results are confirmed.
The new requirements were imposed just weeks after China abruptly reversed its strict zero-Covid strategy on December 7. The strategy, first imposed in 2020, included swift and severe lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing in several cities with a significant COVID-19 outbreak. It triggered unusual and intense public protests across many Chinese cities and an economic downturn due to factory shutdowns.
But the end of zero-Covid led to an apparent resurgence of the virus, especially in rural China.
Kim Sun-ho said South Korea was lifting post-arrival testing as the rate of COVID-19 positive visitors from China fell from 18.4% in the first week of January to 0.6% in the third week of February.
China suspended short-term visas for South Koreans in an apparent retaliation for the testing requirements, which the Chinese Embassy in Seoul denounced as discriminatory.
Some information for this report came from Reuters.
The 10:30 p.m. special night service to Germany waits at the platform of Przemysl station, its dim lights barely visible through the freezing fog. It is the last free train for refugees fleeing Russias invasion.
A few kilometers from the Ukrainian border, the Polish city of Przemysl is a hub for Ukrainians escaping to Western Europe. In the first weeks of Russias invasion, refugees were offered free travel across Europe.
A year on, the service to Hanover a city in central Germany is the only remaining free transport, paid for by the German state and operated mainly by volunteers. It departs every two days and is reserved solely for refugees. But getting a place on board isnt easy.
Waiting list
Inside Przemysl station, the main waiting room has become a shelter reserved for mothers and young children. They are the first to receive the wristbands that guarantee them a place on the train.
Volunteers from the Red Cross oversee the process. They are frequently offered bribes to jump the line. The charity operates a strict waiting list based on when the refugees arrived across the border.
In the chaos of the station foyer, Alexandr Hrabarchuk, his wife and three children have been given wristbands and are collecting free food and drink for the long journey ahead. They fled the city of Severo-Donetsk, on the frontline in eastern Ukraine.
Seventy percent of the city has been destroyed, Hrabarchuk told VOA. It will take at least three or four years to rebuild. Of course, I want to go back, I grew up there. It was very hard to leave. We did it for the sake of the children.
Tetris
Each compartment on the train can sleep six people, or up to eight if there are young children. There is an urgent need for more capacity, says Sebastien Bertin, a volunteer with the Red Cross who travelled to Przemysl from his home in France last year.
We have only four railroad cars on the train. So, we have 210 people with the wristbands who will join the train to Hanover. We wish that we could have five or six cars we have an enormous need for these extra railroad cars to be able to accommodate all the refugees, Bertin told VOA.
The process of getting the refugees on board is slow and methodical. Many arrive with several large suitcases, boxes and bags. Some carry pets mainly cats and birds. Larger animals like dogs must travel separately.
When the service first started, Bertin says the platforms were chaotic as the refugees rushed to get a place on the train, meaning fewer people could get on board.
Now each family is loaded on one at a time. He likens the process to the video game Tetris, fitting the cargo human, animal and inanimate in the most efficient way possible.
Hanover
The train arrives around 2 p.m. the following day at Messe-Laatzen station, in the outskirts of Hanover. The refugees then have several options, Bertin explained.
The people who will stay in Germany are received at Hanover Messe-Laatzen station by the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations, Bertin said. The others take another train or make their way to the central station in Hanover, where another group of volunteers gives them free tickets to travel elsewhere.
Hope
Some refugees are able to purchase their own rail, bus or flight tickets to Western Europe and beyond, or drive their own vehicles across the border. But many have lost everything homes, businesses, possessions and rely on the free Hanover service.
Olga, who did not want to give her family name, escaped from Zaitseve, a village outside Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, scene of some of the most intense fighting of the war.
The houses were completely demolished. There is no place to go, Olga told VOA. They destroyed the village in the middle of the night. I dont know where I can start again. Now I can't buy a house, I can't build a house. I don't know how I can live. I don't know what hope God can give us."
For now, the only hope is to escape from the war, to put faith in the charity of strangers.
After a two-hour operation, over 230 refugees are squeezed on board. At exactly 10:30 p.m., the train pulled out of Przemysl for the 16-hour journey to Hanover.
Another step on the long road to a new life in an unfamiliar land.
Participants at a global U.N. conference in France's capital on Wednesday urged the international community to find better safeguards against online disinformation and hate speech.
Hundreds of officials, tech firm representatives, academics and members of civil society were invited to the two-day meeting hosted by the United Nation's cultural fund to brainstorm how to best vet content while upholding human rights.
"Digital platforms have changed the way we connect and face the world, the way we face each other," UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in opening remarks.
But "only by fully evaluating this technological revolution can we ensure it is a revolution that does not compromise human rights, freedom of expression and democracy."
UNESCO has warned that despite their benefits in communication and knowledge sharing, social media platforms rely on algorithms that "often prioritize engagement over safety and human rights."
Filipina investigative journalist Maria Ressa, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for exposing abuses under former president Rodrigo Duterte, said social media had allowed lies to flourish.
"Our communication systems today are insidiously manipulating us," she told attendees.
"We focus only on content moderation. It's like there is a polluted river. We take a glass ... we clean up the water and then dump it back, she said.
But "what we have to do is to go all the way to the factory polluting the river, shut it down and then resuscitate the river."
She said that at the height of online campaigns against her for her work, she had received up to 98 hate messages an hour.
A little over half sought to undermine her credibility as a journalist, including false claims that she peddled "fake news," she said.
The rest were personal attacks targeting her gender, "skin color and sexuality" or even "threats of rape and murder."
'This must stop'
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula earlier addressed the conference in a letter, after disgruntled supporters of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro on January 8 invaded the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia.
"What happened that day was the culmination of a campaign initiated much before, and that used as ammunition, lies and disinformation," he said.
"To a large extent, this campaign was nurtured, organized and disseminated through several digital platforms and messaging apps," he added.
"This must stop. The international community needs, from now on, to work to give effective answers to this challenging question of our times."
Facebook whistleblower Christopher Wylie also contributed to the discussions.
The data scientist has revealed how he helped Cambridge Analytica, founded by former U.S. president Donald Trump's former right-hand man Steve Bannon, to use unauthorized personal data harvested from Facebook to help swing a string of elections, including Trump's U.S. presidential win in 2016.
"Many countries around the world have issued or are currently considering national legislation to address the spread of harmful content," UNESCO said in a statement ahead of the conference.
But "some of this legislation risks infringing the human rights of their populations, particularly the right to freedom of expression and opinion," it warned.
Peru's attorney general's office said Tuesday on Twitter that the U.S. State Department had agreed to extradite former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo on corruption charges.
Peru has been trying to extradite Toledo, the Andean country's president between 2001 and 2006, since 2018.
Peruvian authorities allege that Toledo negotiated bribes of up to $20 million with Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht. Toledo has denied soliciting or receiving bribes.
U.S., South Korean, and Japanese warships participated in a ballistic missile defense drill in the waters east of the Korean Peninsula Wednesday, a relatively rare display of trilateral defense cooperation that has become more frequent as North Korea becomes more aggressive.
The USS Barry, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, took part in the joint drill, along with one destroyer each from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Republic of Korea Navy, the three countries announced in separate statements.
None of the statements specifically mentioned North Korea, which launched an intercontinental ballistic missile Saturday and two short-range ballistic missiles Monday.
The U.S. militarys Indo-Pacific Command said the drill enhances the interoperability of our collective forces and demonstrates the strength of the trilateral relationship with our Japan and Republic of Korea allies.
This trilateral cooperation is reflective of our shared values and resolve against those who challenge regional stability, the U.S. statement added.
Japans defense ministry said the exercise demonstrated all three countries commitment to protecting our shared security and prosperity, and to strengthening the rules-based international order.
The drill, which was held in the waters east of South Korea's Ulleung Island, focused on the detection, tracking, and interception of ballistic missiles, said South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The three countries held a similar ballistic missile defense drill in October; the month before that, they conducted an anti-submarine drill for the first time in about five years.
The United States has long encouraged Japan and South Korea to coordinate more closely on common threats, including North Korea. But such cooperation has been sparse in recent years, amid historical disputes related to Japans brutal 1910-1945 occupation of Korea.
That changed starting last year, when North Korea launched at least 95 missiles, by far a record high. Some of the missiles prompted air raid alerts and shelter warnings in South Korea and Japan.
North Korea has also increased other forms of provocation, including by sending at least five surveillance drones into South Korea in late December.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who took office in May, has taken a firmer stance against the North and wants to improve relations with Japan as part of that effort.
Both South Korea and Japan have also expanded their own bilateral military drills with the United States.
Later Wednesday, the United States and South Korea will hold a tabletop exercise at the Pentagon. The discussion-based drill is meant to give South Korean officials a better understanding of how Washington would respond to hypothetical North Korean nuclear attacks.
As North Korea expands its capabilities, South Korean officials, including Yoon, have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the U.S. defense commitment to South Korea, and have called for the United States to increase its displays of military strength in the region.
North Korea has responded angrily to the increased drills. In a statement last week, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, vowed her country will use the Pacific Ocean as a firing range if the U.S. and its allies continue their hostile actions.
The statement was broadly seen as a veiled threat to conduct a full-range ICBM test something North Korea has never done before. All of North Koreas previous tests have used lofted trajectories, flying high into space before splashing down in waters relatively close to North Korea.
A full-range test would be more provocative, since it would likely pass over Japan and could head in the direction of a U.S. island territory, such as Guam. Such a test could also help North Korea demonstrate that its warheads can survive the intense heat of reentering earths atmosphere.
North Korea is fully capable of firing an ICBM at a normal angle, according to a conclusion by South Koreas Defense Intelligence Agency, which briefed South Korean lawmakers Wednesday, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The agency, which is linked to the South Korean defense ministry, also said it believes North Korea could soon launch a military spy satellite, as well as conduct a seventh nuclear test, in the coming days.
The death toll has risen to at least eight from an earthquake that struck the border region of Turkey and Syria Monday, two weeks after a massive quake that left nearly 45,000 people dead.
Monday's earthquake had a magnitude of 6.4 and was centered in the town of Defne, in Turkey's Hatay province, an area that was severely damaged by the February 6 quake.
The new quake was felt in several countries, including Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, and was followed by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake.
"All of a sudden, the building shook. I immediately ran downstairs from the second floor. It shook terribly. It's very sad," Gaziantep resident Ahmet Kilic told VOA's Turkish Service.
He said he was afraid to return to his house because he lives alone.
Another Gaziantep resident, Zeynep Deveci, told VOA he had just returned to his home following the February 6 quake.
"Yesterday I came back, and today we are on the street again. We don't know what our end will be."
Rescue workers were searching in several collapsed buildings in Hatay where people were believed to be trapped.
Syria's state news agency, SANA, reported that six people were injured in Aleppo.
Also Monday, a U.N. convoy carrying relief supplies made its way through a newly opened border crossing into Syria at al-Ra'ee.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said there are now three fully operating border crossings for the United Nations to enter Syria.
He said the U.N. has now dispatched 227 trucks to rebel-held areas in northwest Syria and said preparations are underway to send more trucks through all three border crossings.
In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Hatay earlier on Monday and said his government would begin next month to construct nearly 200,000 new homes in the province.
Also Monday, Erdogan met in Ankara with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who a day earlier announced U.S. pledges of $100 million in additional aid for Turkey and Syria.
The new aid brings the total U.S. assistance to $185 million and will be provided to international and nongovernmental groups that have been involved in the rescue and recovery efforts.
"The United States is here to support you in your time of need, and we will be by your side as long as it takes to recover and rebuild," Blinken told reporters Monday during a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
VOA's Turkish Service and United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
PHILADELPHIA Authorities say the quick apprehension of two youths after a Temple University police officer was shot and killed near the north Philadelphia campus led to an arrest just hours later in a neighboring county.
Officer Christopher Fitzgerald, 31, spotted three people dressed in black and wearing masks Saturday night in an area where there had been a series of robberies and carjackings, police said. He chased the trio, and after two of them hid he continued to pursue the third and was fatally shot.
A patrol supervisor monitoring the police radio rushed to the scene and captured two fleeing youths, ages 16 and 17, who later gave information that led to the arrest of Miles Pfeffer, 18, the following morning in Bucks County, Staff Inspector Ernest Ransom, the homicide unit commander, told reporters Tuesday.
Fitzgerald was the first Temple University officer killed in the line of duty, said Jennifer Griffin, the universitys public safety director. A father of five children, he joined the schools police force in October 2021.
Police said video from the area shows Fitzgerald catching up with Pfeffer and ordering him to the ground, after which they struggle behind a sport utility vehicle. Pfeffer allegedly pulled a handgun, and police say he shot six times, firing the last three bullets into the officer as he lay on the ground.
He (Pfeffer) comes back to the officer and then attempts to remove the officers handgun, which was unsuccessful, Ransom said. Running to the next block, Pfeffer allegedly carjacked someone and is heard on camera saying Give me the car or I will kill you, Ransom said.
The weapon used in the crime hasnt been recovered, police said.
Pfeffer, of Buckingham, is charged with murder, criminal homicide of a law enforcement officer, disarming an officer, robbery, theft, evading arrest and weapons crimes. In the subsequent carjacking, he faces robbery, theft, terroristic threatening and other charges.
Prosecutors said no charges were filed against anyone else and declined to comment on whether such charges might be filed. If investigators find any information on the earlier robberies and carjackings, it would be provided to prosecutors, Ransom said.
The Defender Association of Philadelphia said Pfeffers case was assigned to the office Tuesday; a representative declined to comment.
Mayor Jim Kenney and District Attorney Larry Krasner renewed their calls for changes to gun laws. Kenney called Pennsylvania a gun-crazy state where arguments can turn into fatal shootings.
University president Jason Wingard said the school cannot fulfil its mission of providing a world-class education if it cant keep students safe.
We need help. The systemic violence that plagues this city, that plagues north Philadelphia, cant be solved by Temple alone, Wingard said.
Government backs multimillion-dollar Zim Cyber City
Rights groups question project's surveillance ambitions
Smart cities stir privacy fears from Egypt to Saudi Arabia
By Farai Shawn Matiashe
HARARE (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In a fertile stretch of fields and farms dubbed New Harare, Zimbabwe is building a high-tech "cyber city" a world away from the traffic-clogged streets and overcrowded slums of the country's nearby capital.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, eager to highlight positive news about the country's troubled economy, launched the first $500-million stage of the Zim Cyber City project last year in partnership with Dubai-based company Mulk International.
It could require a total investment of $60 billion, according to Mulk, a sum the government has said it is optimistic of meeting with financing from foreign and local investors.
A new parliament building - paid for by China - has already been built in Mount Hampden, nicknamed New Harare for the government's plan to make it the country's new capital.
Eventually, the plan for Zim Cyber City is to build upmarket residential areas, shopping malls, modern offices and information technology hubs.
But even as some commentators doubt whether the project will come to fruition, digital rights campaigners are worried about plans to put surveillance systems at its heart.
Mulk International says it will install "surveillance technology that is directly connected to law enforcement authorities," saying the facilities will ensure the safety of people living and working there.
Rights groups fear any data gathered in Zim Cyber City could be misused by authorities in a country where security forces have been accused of violence and arbitrary arrests targeting protesters and opposition activists.
"There is going to be so much increased surveillance of citizens by the government," said Tawanda Mugari, a chief technology officer and co-founder of the Digital Society Africa (DSA), an advocacy group.
"They can use them to their own advantage, to identify people," Mugari said.
Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the new city's security systems would simply be used to keep residents safe.
"Nobody's privacy will be compromised," she told Context, giving no further details about the plans.
FACIAL RECOGNITION FEARS
There is particular concern about the possible use of facial recognition technology, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to match live images of a person captured on cameras against a database of images.
"If there are going to be cameras it means data relating to facial recognition is going to be collected," said Nompilo Simanje, an information and communication technologies (ICT) and legal expert at the Media Institute of Southern Africa-Zimbabwe.
In countries where facial recognition tech is being rolled out, authorities say it is needed to bolster security, prevent crime and find missing children, but critics say there is little evidence that the technology reduces crime.
It can also be used to crack down on dissent by repressive governments and is problematic in the absence of data protection laws, rights groups say.
In 2021, Zimbabwe enacted a cyber and data protection law, but critics say the legislation fails to strike the right balance between protecting citizens' privacy and enabling mass surveillance.
"If there is a robbery it is easier to identify people using footage from those cameras. But if there is a genuine protest it is then easier for them to identify who was leading the protests," said Mugari.
Echoing government officials, executives from Mulk International said CCTV cameras posed no risk to people's privacy.
"Nobody's privacy will be encroached," Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, a chairperson at the conglomerate, told Context. "Each outlet will have its own regular surveillance camera ... the management will not be involved in those surveillance cameras."
SMART SURVEILLANCE?
Zim Cyber City is not the first smart city project to raise surveillance concerns.
Saudi Arabia's plans for a futuristic city called The Line include paying residents for sharing their data, but rights experts have expressed concern about how the data will be used in light of the country's poor human rights record.
In Egypt, where the New Administrative Capital is taking shape in the desert, digital rights campaigners have voiced similar worries about the more than 6,000 surveillance cameras keeping watch over the city's first residents.
Zimbabwe has already experimented with surveillance systems in law enforcement. Police have installed CCTV cameras for traffic monitoring in Harare and the second-biggest city of Bulawayo with help from Chinese tech giant Huawei.
But rights groups say several incidents have shone a spotlight on possible abuses.
In June last year, the communications minister, Jenfan Muswere, commissioned a Telecommunications Traffic Monitoring System (TTMS) at the Harare offices of Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).
POTRAZ has said the system aims to track mobile phone traffic in real-time to monitor the revenue operators generate, but digital technology experts said it would enable authorities to eavesdrop on every call in the country.
In the run-up to the country's 2018 general election, many people suspect voter data stored by the country's electoral commission was leaked to the ruling Zanu PF party.
Thousands of mobile phone users received campaign messages from an unknown number mobilizing them to vote for the party.
The electoral commission denied the allegations of a data leak at the time.
CONTROLS
Strict controls will be needed at Zim Cyber City to prevent possible abuses, said Mugari.
"For instance, a shop needs to disclose to their customers that they are collecting what information from them and how they are safeguarding it from malicious actors. All that needs to be transparent," he said.
Mechanisms must be put in place to ensure data is only used for the purposes for which it is collected, said Simanje.
"It is important that these cameras should not open a floodgate for mass surveillance," she said.
"When data is given to law enforcement agents it should be only for investigating a crime and should not be used for any other purposes outside that," she added.
In Harare, a city built for 200,000 people but now home to 1.6 million, many residents are skeptical about the Zim Cyber City project as they grapple with daily difficulties from corruption to uncollected garbage and water-borne diseases caused by aging water and sewer infrastructure.
A widespread lack of confidence in state institutions is also fueling their surveillance and privacy fears about the project.
"I don't trust the government with my data," said Chris Mutisi, a resident of a medium-density suburb outside Harare near Mount Hampden. "They are capable of doing the worst."
(Reporting by Farai Shawn Matiashe, Editing by Helen Popper. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters)
CHINHOYI - The late former President Robert Mugabe's children failed to appear in court today and were lucky to be given another chance.
Chinhoyi provincial magistrate Tinashe Ndokera ruled that the siblings should have been in court to back up documentary evidence as argued by the appellant lawyer, Pardon Nhokwara.
The names of the siblings Bona Mutsahuni Mugabe (executor of the estate of late Robert Mugabe), Tinotenda Robert Jnr Mugabe and Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe were called thrice each without response. This prompted their lawyer Takunda Gombiro to make an application to magistrate Ndokera arguing that since it's a civil case documentary evidence was sufficient but after both submission the magistrate ruled that the trio should have been in court.
Nhokwara had argued that documentary evidence alone was not enough as he wanted them to clarify some of the issues.
"The trio should have been in court since documentary evidence alone is not sufficient. The are issues we want them to clarify" argued Nhokwara.
Ndokera ruled in favour of Nhokwara but gave the trio another chance as he postponed the case to 7 March 2023 hearing.
"The trial failed to kick off because our clients were not in court so they were given another chance to appear before the courts on 7 March 2023. Chatunga is not in the country at the moment, Bona and Tino are tied up elsewhere" said Gombingo.
If Mugabe's children fail to appear in court on 7 March, a default judgement will be made.
Chief Zvimba wants Mugabes remains to be exhumed from his homestead and reburied at the National Heroes Acre in Harare.
The three children argued in the High Court that Chief Zvimba has nothing to do with the remains of their father, his estate and that fines imposed on their mother, Grace Mugabe, was too harsh and should be reversed.
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Pakistan envoy rubbishes allegations of debt trap and lauds BRI projects Claims made in Western media that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has led Pakistan into a "debt trap" are "rubbish and all incorrect", Pakistan's Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque said. Pakistan cares about and values the partnership with China displayed in the CPEC and the Belt and Road Initiative, Haque told China Daily. "To say that China's partnership is leading Pakistan into some kind of difficulties, I think this is just propaganda and a smear campaign by those who are envious of our friendship, or those who don't want the BRI or CPEC to succeed." Pakistanis know where this criticism comes from, and China and Pakistan are working together to counter it and to continue their strong strategic partnership, Haque said. Pakistan and its people "really cherish friendship and partnership with China and value being part of the BRI", he said. In his view, China has not only been a strong development partner but has also supported Pakistan in stabilizing its economy and providing critical financial support for development projects. "China has always stated at the leadership level that they will not only support Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity but they will always support Pakistan in terms of economic security. So this is a relationship which has a very deep basis and a long history." The CPEC, proposed in 2013 and established in 2015, is a corridor linking Gwadar Port in Pakistan with Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region of Northwest China. Its focus is energy, transport and industrial collaboration. "We are very proud and we are very happy that Pakistan was one of the earliest proponents and earliest supporters of the BRI," Haque said. The BRI, proposed in 2013, celebrates the 10th anniversary of its founding this year. Four special economic zones being set up under the framework of the CPEC are likely to generate about 575,000 direct jobs and more than 1 million indirect jobs in Pakistan, a senior official said in December. S.M. Naveed, chairman of Pakistan's Special Economic Zones Authority, said economic zones being set up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces would create immense opportunities for Pakistanis in business and employment. The important second phase of the CPEC focuses on areas of industrialization, manufacturing, agriculture and information technology, he said. Those are areas directly related to Pakistan's economic agenda of "bringing prosperity and socioeconomic development, targeting poverty and improving people's livelihoods, especially upgrading those areas which are underdeveloped", he said. The CPEC has been a flagship project of the BRI. It is regarded as one of the most important of the BRI's six main economic corridors. The focus during the CPEC's first phase was infrastructure development, communication, road networks and main roads, Haque said. The energy sector was also an important part of the first phase, he said, as Pakistan tried to grapple with an energy shortage, with hours of load-shedding daily. Addressing shortages "CPEC energy projects, whether they are alternative energy, renewable energy, hydropower, thermal, wind or solar, have helped Pakistan to address its acute energy shortages," he said. A key facet of the CPEC has been Gwadar Port, called the "crown jewel of CPEC", Haque said. "It's a very important and strategic port, being developed to promote trade linkages not only within Pakistan but also upward with China and Central Asia." He hailed the BRI as a visionary project that has helped "transform the economic landscape of Pakistan" and that has been "a game changer for Pakistan and the region". It has been important for his country's prosperity and socioeconomic development, he said. The CPEC has aided Pakistan's GDP growth and its socioeconomic situation and will help regional integration and connectivity, he said. And it is not only Pakistanis who are benefiting, but the people of China too. "Above all, it is beneficial for people of the whole region."
Charlottesville School Board veteran and University of Virginia administrator Leah Puryear was chosen on Tuesday to fill the City Council seat vacated after the abrupt resignation of Sena Magill earlier this year.
It was a unanimous decision to name Puryear to the council.
Puryear was one of six finalists out of 20 applicants for the seat, which has nine months before it goes up for election.
It was a challenging decision because there were so many great people, said Council Member Brian Pinkston shortly after the vote.
The final vote in open session came after an hour-long, closed-door meeting in which the six finalists were individually interviewed.
After Circuit Court Clerk Llezelle Dugger administered the oath of office in Council Chambers, Mayor Lloyd Snook came down from the dais to shake Puryears hand.
What I hope to bring the City Council is new and fresh eyes and new and fresh opinions, Puryear said after the ceremony. We are looking at the zoning ordinance, we must develop and implement a budget, and we are looking to hire a permanent city manager.
For 42 years, Puryear has served as the director of the University of Virginias federally funded Upward Bound program, recently renamed Uplift at UVA, to assist first-generation college students. She also has an extensive track record in local service having chaired the citys school board and serving on such other boards as the AIDS/HIV Services Group, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center and Offender Aid and Restoration.
In 2021, she was awarded the 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Award at an annual event convened by UVa. She holds a masters degree in education from the University of the District of Columbia and completed a summer program for administrators at Harvard University.
I was very surprised, she said of getting selected. I had some tough competition.
Initially, 20 people applied for the post, but a winnowing process among councilors resulted in six finalists.
The other five included a pair of former city councilors, another former school board chair, and a pair of younger faces, a winery wedding manager and a nonprofit program director.
Puryear takes the seat effective next Monday, but that seats four-year term expires at the end of this year, and Puryear declined to specify whether shed seek election.
At this point in time, I am focused on the unexpired term of Councilor Magill, she said, and thats where my energies are focused at this time.
The Student Council at the University of Virginia wants the school to help pay for public school improvements and affordable housing projects in Charlottesville to make up for the fact that it pays no property taxes.
The council passed a resolution in favor of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, program last week in a 22-1 vote, with one abstention.
The resolution urges UVa to pay a portion of the property taxes it would owe if it were not tax-exempt.
UVa has one of the largest endowments of any public college in the country, totaling $14.5 billion as of 2021.
While the universitys property taxes would amount to roughly $15 million based on the nearly 2,000 acres it occupies, the resolution calls for an annual commitment of at least $10 million towards the city by 2030.
The program would be similar to those between Boston and Harvard and Boston universities; New Haven, Connecticut, and Yale University; and Providence, Rhode Island, and Brown University.
The resolution merely signals support for such a PILOT program; neither Student Council nor Charlottesville City Council have the legal authority to unilaterally require UVa participate. Further action is required from the university, the city and state legislators for any program to be put into effect.
Neither representatives of the Student Council nor UVa immediately responded to a request for comment from The Daily Progress.
City Council Member Michael Payne, who has been proponent of a PILOT program and was the inspiration for the resolution at UVa, said the Student Councils approval is a step in the right direction.
Because the university pays no property taxes, the city permanently loses out on revenue they own just within Charlottesville city limits, Payne told The Daily Progress. With about 95 land parcels and an assessed value of about $1.6 million, if the university paid the same tax rate as everyone else it would owe about $16 million per year. That amount of money would make a huge difference in Charlottesville.
The Student Council decision on Feb. 14 came after two weeks of debate at the councils weekly Tuesday meetings.
Third-year Rep. Andreas Masiakos, who sponsored the resolution, told the Cavalier Daily student newspaper he was inspired by Payne after the city councilor suggested a PILOT program during a visit to a university class last semester.
Masiakos provided two clarifying amendments to the resolution before its passage last week.
One amendment specified the city spend the money on Charlottesville public schools and affordable housing projects. The other said that the funds should come from a relocation of existing discretionary funds so that student tuition would not increase to pay for the program.
While similar programs can be found in other cities with strong university presences, their success rate is a matter of debate.
In New Haven, Yale announced in 2021 a new agreement that would raise the universitys financial commitment to the city by $52 million over the next six years.
Yale and New Haven have a bond that has been tested by time and strengthened by shared purpose, Yale President Peter Salovey said in a statement at the time.
However, in Boston, the city received only 68% of the requested PILOT money from educational institutions, including both Harvard and Boston universities, in its area in the last fiscal year.
Harvard has fallen short of its target contribution every single year since the PILOT program was introduced in 2011.
In fiscal year 2022, Harvard contributed a total of almost $10.8 million 79 percent of the nearly $13.7 million request, according to city data, the Harvard student newspaper the Crimson reported on Oct. 14. This fiscal cycle marks the fifth year in a row that Harvard paid 79 percent of the citys PILOT request.
The student newspaper also reported that $6.8 million of Harvards contributions were community benefits credits, which are calculated based on the amount that Harvards existing initiatives financially benefit Boston residents. This means that less than half of Harvards contributions came from discretionary funds.
And in Providence, Mayor Brett Smiley said earlier this month that the citys PILOT program with Brown University, which expires this spring, should be expanded. Smiley is specifically seeking a change in state law that would tax properties rented out by tax-exempt universities to for-profit commercial tenants.
Brown spokesman Brian Clark told the WPRI news station that the Ivy League school paid $2.4 million last fiscal year for its commercial buildings and spaces.
Asked if the school would be willing to contribute more, Clark said the university is proud of the significant number of ways the school supports the city.
Ideally, Payne said Charlottesville and UVa would rise to the occasion and be one of the success stories.
Its just a question of Does UVa have the will and desire to figure out how theyre going to make the program happen? Payne said. One thing the university often responds with is Were a public university and we receive public money. The important context is that the university budget is only about 15% public money from the General Assembly. So the vast majority is not public and they do have the ability to allocate some of that to a PILOT program.
Payne said part of the next steps toward enacting a PILOT program would be an education campaign to illustrate how the university could help support the community where it is located.
Thats a community where officials have been trying to cope with what they themselves have identified as a housing crisis since at least 2009.
The median sales price for a single-family residence in the Charlottesville area sits at about $400,000 today, according to the latest numbers from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors. The median income in the city is $31,161, according to 2020 census figures. The annual salary needed to afford a $400,000 house is at least $165,000, according to fintech company SoFi.
With more than 28,000 employees, UVa is the No. 1 employer in Charlottesville, where the population reached 51,278 in 2022, according to the latest data from the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia, which studies population demographics.
Payne said he believes that the community would support a PILOT program if they were exposed to the hard numbers and the potential benefit of university dollars flowing into the citys housing and education programs.
I think for it to happen really requires building education and support in the community that this is something thats been done across the country, Payne said. Its something that UVa has the ability to do, there are the benefits it could have for housing and education while building momentum in the city. For the university student body, alumni and faculty, this is something we really want to see UVa take action on.
Payne said he believes the push for the PILOT program will be similar to the push for a living wage for faculty members.
After students, staff, faculty and community members lobbied the university, UVa announced in 2019 it would begin paying all full-time, benefits-eligible employees in its academic division and medical center a living wage of at least $15 an hour.
Environmentalists call on government to act fast.
Italy is at risk of a serious drought as its rivers and lakes suffer from a severe lack of water due to little or no rainfall over the winter, the Legambiente environmental group has warned.
The problem is more acute in the north and affects in particular the river Po which has 61 per cent less water than normal for this time of year.
The vast Po Basin, irrigated by Italy's longest river, produces about a third of the country's agricultural produce.
Mountain snow is also in scarce supply, Legambiente warns, with less than half of the normal snowfall in the Alps this year.
The environmental group has called on the government to tackle the problem, highlighting a series of proposals as part of a national water strategy.
These include collecting rainwater, reducing water losses, improving irrigation efficiency and urging the agricultural sector to embrace less water-demanding crops.
Venice is currently affected by exceptionally low tides, or acqua bassa, a phenomenon that can occur in the canal city at this time of year.pic.twitter.com/8draUvRXuW Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) February 7, 2023
The drought alarm comes as Lake Garda water levels have dropped low enough to let people reach the island of San Biagio by foot.
2023 has just begun but it is showing worrying signs in terms of extreme weather events, drought levels", said Legambiente director Giorgio Zampetti, who warned that prolonged droughts affect not only agriculture and industry but also upsets the balance of the ecosystem.
Last July Italy declared a state of emergency in five northern regions around the river Po, allocating funds of 36.5 million to tackle the crisis.
The hidden ruins of the ancient Bridge of Nero, or Pons Neronianus, emerge from the Tiber river bed in Rome due to this summers drought. pic.twitter.com/4dSrL6OzRl Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) August 31, 2022
As Italy faced its worst drought in 70 years last summer, the archbishop of Milan prayed for rain while in Rome the river Tiber levels dropped to reveal the remains of the ancient Pons Neronianus or Bridge of Nero.
Starbucks launches Oleato range in Italy.
Italy is famed around the world as the land of coffee and extra virgin olive oil. In a bold move, Starbucks is mixing two of the key staples of the Italian lifestyle into one drink, called Oleato.
The American multinational chain, which first opened in Italy in 2018, launches the new range of olive oil-infused coffee drinks in Milan on Wednesday.
Each of the three Oleato beverages is made with a spoonful of Partanna extra virgin olive oil in what Starbucks hails as a "velvety smooth" and "deliciously lush" culinary experience.
The Oleato range comprises a Caffe Latte with olive oil and "steamed with creamy oatmilk", and an Iced Shaken Espresso, described as a "coffee-forward beverage" with hazelnut flavour, oatmilk and olive oil.
There is also the Golden Foam Cold Brew whose olive oil-infused cold foam "cascades slowly through the dark, smooth cold brew", according to Starbucks.
The launch of the Oleato range comes as the world's biggest coffee chain continues to expand in Italy, with rumours that Starbucks is set to open an outlet in a prestigious location in the centre of Rome.
"In over 40 years, I cant remember a moment in time where Ive been more excited, more enthused" said Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz on the company website.
After his first trip to Milan 40 years ago, Schultz rushed back to the US with a vision after experiencing Italy's coffee culture. Today Starbucks has 36,000 outlets around the world.
Last year Schultz had a similar revelation while travelling in Sicily: after combining olive oil with his morning coffee he was "absolutely stunned" at the "delicious and unexpected alchemy".
In both hot and cold coffee beverages, what it produced was an unexpected, velvety, buttery flavour that enhanced the coffee and lingers beautifully on the palate, he said.
After Italy, Starbucks will launch Oleato in select locations around the world, beginning this spring with California and later this year in Japan, the Middle East, and the UK.
"It simply must be tasted to be believed", boasts the Starbucks website, however the big question remains: Is Italy ready for Oleato?
Photo Starbucks
Planning on opening a company abroad? Hungary has many benefits to offer for Italians and expats in Italy who are preparing to expand their businesses.
In the EU, the corporate tax is the lowest in Hungary, and it has an advantageous location, right in the middle of Europe, with easy access to many different countries throughout the continent.
How to start
Opening a business, especially when one is planning to do it outside of one's borders, can seem scary and complicated. Now, one might think that there is some sort of catch in the process and that it must take an immense amount of time signing documents, waiting, and traveling, as it would in other places. But part of what makes company formation Hungary so fast, effective, and, one might say, easy is that it can be fully done online, remotely, within only 1-3 days.
Following the preparation of the documents, there is no need to stick around and wait for everything to be done. There is more to company formation in Hungary than just paperwork, and since you can sign every document online without the need to travel or for a legal representative to be present, you can get some of your workload checked off your to-do list without halting the process. This way, your company can be set up and registered in just a few days without the rush and careful schedule planning it would normally require.
Thus, if beneficial tax rates and a fast and smooth registration process are what you desire, you are in the right place.
Reap the benefits of the 9% corporate tax
Other than the registration process, Hungary has other benefits to offer as well. The starting capital is considerably low, and there is no need to deposit it. This can provide a steady starting point. The corporate tax is not only outstandingly low, at no more than 9% it is the lowest in Europe. This goes for both smaller enterprises and large multinational companies, which means that whether you want to continue and expand, or stay a small business, you have a stable rate you can continue to count with.
These aspects, especially for newly formed companies, can help pave the road to growth.
Additional benefits
In Hungary, if we consider settling down in the capital city, both buying and renting are not unaffordable. Especially when we consider the continent's other major cities. Hungary has the benefit of access without the general price one has to pay for it. Buying or renting an office or a warehouse can be relatively cheap, and being in the heart of Europe, it can provide beneficial shipping rates for the whole of the European market.
All in all, Hungary is definitely an option one should consider. It has the advantage of being a small, unutilized den of opportunities, next to sharing close quarters with many bigger, more well-known countries on the continent. Its registration system makes a long, stressful process as easy and fast as possible while providing advantages from a money perspective. Therefore, if you are ready to take a chance outside of your own borders, you might have just found the place to go.
Source of the pictures: Pixabay
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The big news from Vladimir Putins almost two-hour state-of-the-nation address on Tuesday wasnt Russias suspension of the New START treaty. That move amounted to little besides an extra humiliation for its Russian signatory, ex-President Dmitry Medvedev, already reduced to barking out ultranationalist invective on Telegram: Now that Russia considers itself at war with the collective West, its willingness to keep its end of any prior agreements shouldnt be overestimated. Putin had to mention Russias status as a nuclear power and he chose to do so in a relatively non-threatening way.The real news was an implicit message that the war in Ukraine is not ending anytime soon and that Russians must get used to living with it especially as, in Putins telling, it presents an economic opportunity thats greater than the sacrifice it requires. That Putin chose to deliver this message a year into the Russian invasion of Ukraine means he has no idea how Russia wins and that, for want of better options, hes decided to semaphore that he doesnt really mind a long war.A day before the dictators speech, his only credible domestic opponent, Alexei Navalny, laid out his message to Russians and the world in a series of tweets a format necessitated by his continued imprisonment. The thread is based on a certainty that Russia will lose the war. But, just as Putin doesnt see a path to winning, neither Navalny nor anyone else who has opined on the subject really understands how Russia might lose.
The conflicting state-of-the nation messages from the ruler and his jailed nemesis describe a country stuck in limbo between victory and defeat, collective guilt and collective defiance, an economy modeled after Western examples and a growing dependence on China. Put simply, Putins Russia is incapable of delivering itself from its own self-inflicted misery.
If Russia actually ventured on the attack in Ukraine in the last few weeks, as some military analysts have argued, it is stuck without having achieved anything besides the capture of a few small villages and the near-capture of the town of Bakhmut. So Putin had no victories to report, and the only one he mentioned was the creation of a reliable land corridor to the Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014. To the chagrin of nationalist commentators such as Igor Girkin (Strelkov), one of the instigators of the 2014 war, Putin has not even mentioned Russias military setbacks.Not a word about mistakes or about any government figures responsible for them, Strelkov wrote bitterly on Telegram. Everythings fine, everythings working correctly Blah-blah-blah, no point in listening.
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Further disappointing Strelkov and his ilk, Putin didnt declare a new mobilization or announce a shift from a peacetime, relatively market-driven economy to one that would prioritize military goals: That, Putin said, was what brought down the Soviet Union, and Russia would steer away from that path, trying instead to incentivize private enterprise to invest in technology-heavy areas hit by Western sanctions. While Putins references to patriotism and alleged popular support for the war sounded almost perfunctory, his one moment of true sincerity was an I told you so one when he reminded Russian businesspeople of his warning back in 2002 that any assets they acquire in the West would not be safe and could easily be confiscated.
Its exactly how things turned out, he said, grinning and added, quite truthfully, that ordinary Russians were not commiserating with tycoons over their lost sanctioned villas and yachts.
For the true fighters in the Russian business community, Putin preached, the departure of Western competitors would open up countless new market niches, with plenty of cheap government-provided resources to help those who move into them. He also announced that the Russian education system would decouple from European standards to provide the labor needed for a self-sufficient economy.
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That the Russian ruler spent so much time on matters unrelated to the war was clearly designed to create the impression of business as usual under new permanent, or at least lasting, circumstances. This was no emergency speech, and Putin and his speechwriters didnt bother to dress it up as historic as anything, in fact, other than quotidian. The dictator didnt even hint at a peaceful solution or acknowledge the upcoming peace proposal from China, even though he probably knows already of its content. Instead, unhinged as this may sound, he projected a sense that he actually likes whats going on.
This Russia, isolated from the West, focused on self-sufficiency and on regaining historical territories, a country in which dissenters are treated as traitors and the military is constantly in action, is the country he may have long wanted to run. In this country, as in Orwells Oceania, an eternal war in the background is the norm; its what is needed to keep the population docile.
Putins dream of being an emperor at war is unsustainable if he loses the war but Putin appears to shut out any thought of a Ukrainian victory, firmly believing in Russias size advantage and the Russian peoples legendary patience, which has held up remarkably well this year.
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Navalnys 15-point statement, by contrast, is a call for a quick ending to the war indeed, a quick Russian surrender, since the combination of aggressive warfare, corruption, inept generals, weak economy, and heroism and high motivation of the defending forces can only result in defeat. The faster the war ends, the sooner Russia can rebound from the bottom and restore normal economic relations with the civilized world an unfortunate turn of phrase that Putin, coincidentally or not, addressed in his speech, pointing out that the West had no monopoly on civilization.
What Navalny is saying is just what the West would like to hear from a Russian leader. But thats the point: Navalny is not the Russian leader but a political prisoner who, as things stand, can only regain his freedom if Russia loses the war and Putin is somehow displaced. Its no wonder that he dreams of defeat and now advocates the unconditional handover of the Crimea back to Ukraine something he hesitated to propose while still at large. Whats missing from Navalnys message is a realistic path to the defeat.
Implicitly, its up to Ukrainians to inflict defeat and, in Putins reality, to exhaust themselves in an endless war of attrition. In both cases, Russias future is in the hands of Ukrainians, an unexpected result from a year of the bloodiest fighting seen anywhere this century.
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More From Bloomberg Opinion:
Russia Is Losing in Ukraine. So Is China: Minxin Pei
Ukraines Future Is Not in NATO: Hal Brands
An Invasion That Russian Poets Couldnt Take: Leonid Bershidsky
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Leonid Bershidsky, formerly Bloomberg Opinions Europe columnist, is a member of the Bloomberg News Automation Team. He recently published Russian translations of George Orwells 1984 and Franz Kafkas The Trial.
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When the World Wide Web opened for public use in 1991, its enthusiasts proclaimed a new era of unfiltered free expression. That was before the internet in general, and social media platforms in particular, proved to be such effective places to spread misinformation about important matters such as Covid-19 and vaccines, disinformation (intentional falsehoods) about politics and elections, plus all manner of conspiracy theories and hate speech, including harassment and bullying. Social media platforms have faced enormous scrutiny over which content they silence and which they amplify. Cases before the US Supreme Court could transform the legal landscape for social media companies, with potential implications for political discourse and the 2024 elections.
1. Doesnt the First Amendment give everyone a right to free speech on the internet?
No. The First Amendment to the US Constitution bans censorship by the government, not by private companies such as providers of social media platforms. Plus, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 gives broad protection to online gathering places such as Twitter Inc. and Meta Platform Inc.s Facebook from liability for defamation or harassment, along with leeway to moderate discussions and remove or leave up posts.
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2. Why was Section 230 adopted?
It was marketed by its bipartisan sponsors in the 1990s as a Good Samaritan law for the internet, which was then in its infancy. Its key provisions shield internet companies from liability for most of the material their users post and give the companies legal immunity for any action voluntarily taken in good faith to remove materials from their platforms. There are some exceptions: Section 230 doesnt block criminal prosecution over child pornography shared on social media, for instance.
3. What is the Supreme Court doing?
It took up two cases on whether social media companies can be sued for hosting and recommending terrorism-related content. One case involves a suit against Alphabet Inc.s Google by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old US citizen killed in coordinated attacks by the Islamic State group in Paris in 2015. Gonzalezs family says that Googles YouTube service, through its algorithms, violated a federal antiterrorism law by recommending Islamic State videos to other users, and that Section 230 doesnt prevent it from being sued. (Google, in its brief to the court, says recommend is the wrong word for what it does, which is to make constant choices about what information to display and how, so that users are not overwhelmed with irrelevant or unwanted information.) In the second case, Twitter and other social media companies are seeking to narrow the scope of the same antiterrorism law in a case stemming from a 2017 shooting in an Istanbul nightclub. In addition, Florida and Texas each want the Supreme Court to bless laws they enacted in 2021 to sharply restrict the editorial discretion of the largest social media platforms.
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4. How do social media companies moderate speech?
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube routinely remove posts deemed to violate standards on violence, sexual content, privacy, harassment, impersonation and self-harm. Much of this happens automatically, via artificial intelligence, though social media companies also have thousands of employees and contractors who help them sift through potential violations. Google and Facebook partner with third-party fact-checkers to vet posts and news items that may be suspect. Twitter labels some posts that contain misleading or disputed claims in certain categories, like Covid-19 or elections. More rarely, the platforms ban users, such as radio provocateur Alex Jones, removed from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Apple for engaging in hateful speech. Then-President Donald Trumps Facebook and Twitter accounts were frozen following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by his supporters at the US Capitol. Twitter barred him permanently, but after buying the company, Elon Musk, the Tesla Inc. chief executive officer and self-described free speech absolutist, reinstated him. Facebook, too, said it would reinstate Trumps access to his much-followed account.
5. Whos unhappy about moderation of social media?
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Lots of people, on both sides of the issue. The presidential election of 2016, when Trump used Twitter as a megaphone, led to a torrent of criticism of social media platforms about what many saw as anything-goes policies for politicians. That criticism grew as Trump, as president, used Twitter to issue threats, mock opponents and stretch truth. (Cornell University researchers found that he was likely the largest driver of misinformation about the pandemic.) Frances Haugen, who worked as a Facebook product manager for almost two years, provided fresh ammunition for critics when she stepped forward as a whistleblower in 2021. She alleged that Facebook had tweaked its proprietary algorithm in 2018 in a way that boosted the visibility of toxic, disputed and objectionable content that stirs outrage and anger among readers, leading to more interaction with the service. Trump and other US conservatives have their own set of complaints.
6. What are conservatives unhappy about?
Trump condemned social media platforms for suppressing voices of conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. Post-presidency, he started his own platform, Truth Social. A lingering bone of contention among conservatives is how Twitter and Facebook handled an unflattering 2020 New York Post article on Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden. Citing concerns over the private nature of the material and whether it had been hacked, the two social media giants restricted the ability of users to share the Post story. Subsequent reporting by other news organizations backed the authenticity of the material cited by the Post, fueling criticism that social media platforms and mainstream media had suppressed legitimate news. Musk bought Twitter in part because he disagreed with content restrictions that were in place.
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7. How do other countries handle this issue?
In China, Russia and other countries subjected to authoritarian rule, governments actively censor the internet, including blocking or greatly restricting access to American-owned social media sites. Some democracies are moving quicker than the US to apply more vigorous rules to social media. India put Twitter, Facebook and the like under direct government oversight, enacting regulations requiring internet platforms to help law enforcement identify those who post mischievous information. The European Unions Digital Services Act gives member states new power to take down illegal content such as hate speech and terrorist propaganda and make platforms do more to tackle harmful material. Companies like Twitter must submit annual reports to the EU detailing how theyre handling systemic risks posed by content such as racist slurs or posts glorifying eating disorders.
--With assistance from Sarah Frier and Maxwell Adler.
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Vivek Ramaswamy wrote a polemic against wokeness in which he struggled to define exactly what woke means(1) and then founded a so-so anti-woke exchange traded fund. Naturally, he is now running for president. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Ramaswamy originally made his money in biotech. Still, transitioning from newbie anti-ESG fund manager to anti-ESG White House hopeful in under a year displays a haste that, in gentler times, would have been described as unseemly. Nonetheless, Ramaswamys entry to the Republican race does at least lay bare the underlying fallacy of Strive Asset Management, the financial firm he co-founded and which was backed by Peter Thiel and Bill Ackman, and the anti-ESG sentiment it seeks to monetize.
Cast your mind back to all of nine months ago, when Strive announced its mission to take on the ideological cartel of passive fund giants BlackRock Inc., State Street Corp. and Vanguard Group Inc., which are apparently coordinating to foist a woke agenda on Americans via their 401Ks (see this). Whereas the likes of BlackRock chief Larry Fink were attempting to push companies to deal with things like climate change, Strive would create financing vehicles pushing in the opposite direction. Its first ETF, focused on energy companies, sports the self-explanatory ticker DRLL.
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DRLL, or the Strive US Energy ETF, makes for an interesting little case study. Launched in August, it is essentially a large-cap energy sector fund with some utilities and even renewables stocks thrown in. It sets itself against BlackRocks iShares US Energy ETF, which it closely tracks, and has a similar expense ratio. However, DRLL has underperformed the comparable, and far bigger, Energy Select Sector SPDR fund from State Street by about three percentage points while charging four times the fee.
Last September, Strive sent an open letter to Chevron Corp. its second biggest holding accusing it of caving to the wokesters by diverting a little money to decarbonization ventures better spent on, you know, DRLL-ing. In doing so, Strive displayed an ignorance of the sectors recent history: After the excesses of the shale boom, the ESG mantra of restraint on oil and gas production aligns better with financial returns and investor preferences. Chevron just announced a $75 billion buyback program and all the majors, despite raising spending this year, are sticking with the playbook of discipline and big payouts. Indeed, you could have just owned Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp., which exemplify this, and have earned almost 4 percentage points more than DRLL so far with no management fee. Maybe you could even sell that; ticker: OBVI.
DRLLs shaky reasoning and high cost is of a piece with the broader anti-ESG push by the likes of Florida Governor, and likely presidential contender, Ron DeSantis and various Republican-led states. In mandating that fund managers cannot factor things like exposure to climate-related risks into their investment decisions, anti-ESG politicians are deploying the strong arm of the state to derail fiduciary responsibility and thereby impose costs on investors. That was the rebuttal delivered recently by the board of Kentuckys County Employees Retirement System in a letter to the state Treasurer after she issued an effective blacklist of financial firms, BlackRock included, accused of undermining the states energy industry (which, in a further plot twist, barely exists).
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One persons woke agenda is anothers risk management. In telling fiduciaries which risks they can or cant weigh, the anti-ESG crowd are indulging in the very politicization of finance of which they accuse the likes of BlackRock. Ramaswamys expeditious transition from anti-woke fund manager to anti-woke wannabe politician is an almost too-perfect illustration of the projection and shabby reasoning that underlies the project.More From Bloomberg Opinion:
Guess Who Loses After Florida, Texas Bar ESG?: Matthew Winkler
The Outspoken CEO Is a Rapidly Dying Breed: Beth Kowitt
Anti-Woke Republicans Arent Making Business Sense: Liam Denning
(1) In Woke Inc., the book he published in 2021, Ramaswamy writes: Basically, being woke means obsessing about race, gender, and sexual orientation. Maybe climate change too. Thats the best definition I can give. I cant say for certain that would pass peer review.
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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Liam Denning is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. A former investment banker, he was editor of the Wall Street Journals Heard on the Street column and a reporter for the Financial Timess Lex column.
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Extremist Republicans didnt waste time bashing President Joe Bidens surprise weekend visit to Kyiv. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia called the trip incredibly insulting, while Florida Republican Matt Gaetz tweeted that Biden was ditching America for Ukraine. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight But a large swath of GOP lawmakers were largely quiet about the trip, exposing once again the deep fissure within the party about how to handle Bidens support for Ukraine, a policy that is both popular and generally thought to be successful. It is yet another sign of Republican dysfunction, and its guaranteed to give responsible Republicans headaches.
Normally, when a president does something voters approve of, out-party politicians either go along or just talk about something else. Indeed, sometimes out-party politicians will support the president during foreign policy crises even if it represents a policy failure by the administration; if US troops or other citizens are in danger or an unpopular nation is doing something ugly, politicians are usually wary of using rhetoric that sounds as if they are siding with an enemy.(1)
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Supporting the president can hurt the out-party in the short term. Rally around the flag effects in which the presidents approval ratings shoot up happen when politicians from both parties support the presidents actions in a high-profile foreign affairs event. But the bounce generally doesnt last long, so while its nice for a president to get a temporary lift, the out-party loses little from just waiting out the moment.
There are other reasons the party as a whole and individual politicians might not want to automatically criticize everything the president does. For one, the president has the biggest megaphone, so its hard to win the argument.(2)
For another, if out-party politicians care about their reputations with non-partisan experts (and by extension with swing voters), they may want to be selective in their opposition. Its possible that attacks on, say, President Jimmy Carter during the Iran hostage crisis or President George W. Bush over wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were taken more seriously because many of the critics had initially rallied to those presidents in the early days of those crises.
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But traditional political incentives dont carry a lot of weight with the Republican extremist faction in Congress, whose main goal is to differentiate themselves from mainstream conservatives. Under that formula, something a Democratic president does that is not only popular and successful but also generally aligns with Republican policy positions isnt a challenge for these lawmakers its an opportunity.
After all, if they take an extreme position on abortion or spending on domestic programs, there is a good chance that mainstream conservatives will follow along. But accuse Joe Biden of an impeachable offense for supporting Ukraine against Russia? Normal (very conservative!) Republicans arent going to go along with that, giving the extremists what they want.
For the Republican Party as a whole however, the extremists game is a disaster. A major group preferring disharmony to a united front makes election battles tougher and governing more difficult once in office. It produces ugly scenes for the party like those during the State of the Union speech, because acting out in public is one way to differentiate from the rest of the party when policy isnt available. It makes it harder for the party to embrace popular policy options. And it generally makes the party dysfunctional, leading to the continuing Republican habit of nominating terrible candidates.
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On Ukraine in particular, there is a potentially significant downside risk for Republicans. Usually, single issues just dont matter much in elections. But usually, parties sufficiently tailor their positions to public opinion to avoid being way out of step.
Perhaps thats where Republicans will wind up by November 2024. Or perhaps voters will ignore foreign policy. Its hard to know. In the meantime, mainstream conservatives have to choose between allowing their extremist peers to stand as the partys representatives on Ukraine, and taking them on and risking the possibility that conservative media will turn on them. At the very least, the radicals are turning Ukraine into a wedge issue for the party, while Democrats stand largely united.
Its bad for the country as well. Robust political parties have the virtue in a democracy of gathering up disparate interests and forcing them to work together and compromise internally, so that they can try to win elections and impose their preferences on the rest of the nation. That promotes healthy democratic behavior; people with narrow interests must learn to work with others, cutting deals when necessary and accepting limits.
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Parties facing elections also have a strong incentive to appeal to a broad swath of voters so that voters are happy and re-elect them, while parties out of office figure out why people are unhappy about and propose solutions. When party factions instead just pick fights, the benefits of democracy are lost.
More From Bloomberg Opinion:
Ukraines Future Is Not in NATO: Hal Brands
The Roots of Trumps Anti-Washington Politics: Francis Wilkinson
The UKs Political Fever Dreams May Finally Be Over: Martin Ivens
(1) Criticizing foreign policy was never really taboo, despite the old cliche that politics stops at the waters edge (the quote itself, from Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg while he was supporting Democratic President Harry Trumans internationalist anti-Communism policies, was itself a form of political persuasion - although in that case, the argument was not along party lines). What may have been true was that politicians refrained from attacking the president when he was actually abroad, but even that was never followed at all times.
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(2) To be clear: This applies to winning an argument about something initially popular and seemingly successful. Obviously when something goes clearly wrong, out-party politicians (and even those from the presidents party) will have stronger incentives for criticizing, and the presidents megaphone isnt sufficient to win many of those arguments.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.
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Comet Ping Pong customers came out to support the restaurant after a gunman entered it with an assault rifle, firing it at least once. Several other businesses on the block have received other threats as well. (Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)
Comet Ping Pong customers came out to support the restaurant after a gunman entered it with an assault rifle, firing it at least once. Several other businesses on the block have received other threats as well. (Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)
What was finally real was Edgar Welch, driving from North Carolina to Washington to rescue sexually abused children he believed were hidden in mysterious tunnels beneath a neighborhood pizza joint.
What was real was Welch a father, former firefighter and sometime movie actor who was drawn to dark mysteries he found on the Internet terrifying customers and workers with his assault-style rifle as he searched Comet Ping Pong, police said. He found no hidden children, no secret chambers, no evidence of a child sex ring run by the failed Democratic candidate for president of the United States, or by her campaign chief, or by the owner of the pizza place.
What was false were the rumors he had read, stories that crisscrossed the globe about a charming little pizza place that features ping-pong tables in its back room.
The story of Pizzagate is about what is fake and what is real. Its a tale of a scandal that never was, and of a fear that has spread through channels that did not even exist until recently.
Pizzagate the belief that code words and satanic symbols point to a sordid underground along an ordinary retail strip in the nations capital is possible only because science has produced the most powerful tools ever invented to find and disseminate information.
Comet Ping Pong owner, James Alefantis, addresses reporters during the reopening of his restaurant days after a gunman entered with an assault rifle, firing it at least once. (The Washington Post)
What brought Welch to the District on a crisp Sunday afternoon in early December was a choking mix of rumor, political nastiness, technological change and the intoxicating thrill that can come from running down a mystery.
His actions Sunday in one of Washingtons wealthiest neighborhoods reminded Americans that last months election did not quite conclude the strangest political season in the nations history. Welch did not shoot anyone in the disturbance on Connecticut Avenue NW, but he delivered a troubling message about the shattering of trust in a troubled time.
On Oct. 28, FBI Director James B. Comey told Congress that he was reopening the investigation of Hillary Clintons use of a private email server when she was secretary of state. New emails had been found on a computer belonging to disgraced former New York congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Two days later, someone tweeting under the handle @DavidGoldbergNY cited rumors that the new emails point to a pedophilia ring and @HillaryClinton is at the center. The rumor was retweeted more than 6,000 times.
The notion quickly moved to other social-media platforms, including 4chan and Reddit, mostly through anonymous or pseudonymous posts. On the far-right site Infowars, talk-show host Alex Jones repeatedly suggested that Clinton was involved in a child sex ring and that her campaign chairman, John Podesta, indulged in satanic rituals.
When I think about all the children Hillary Clinton has personally murdered and chopped up and raped, I have zero fear standing up against her, Jones said in a YouTube video posted on Nov. 4. Yeah, you heard me right. Hillary Clinton has personally murdered children. I just cant hold back the truth anymore. Jones eventually tied his comments about Clinton to U.S. policy in Syria.
1 of 15 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad See the reaction after gunman enters D.C. pizzeria to investigate conspiracy theory View Photos A man from North Carolina fired shots in D.C. restaurant Comet Ping Pong on Sunday. He told authorities he came to check out a fake news story involving Hillary Clinton. Caption A man from North Carolina fired shots in D.C. restaurant Comet Ping Pong on Sunday. He told authorities he came to check out a fake news story involving Hillary Clinton. Dec. 6, 2016 Signs of support hang on the building of Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C. The business reopened after Edgar Maddison Welch from North Carolina discharged his assault rifle at the popular Chevy Chase restaurant claiming he was there to investigate a fake news story on the Internet about a child sex ring. Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.
According to YouTube, that video has been viewed more than 427,000 times.
Over the next couple of days, the wild accusations against Clinton gradually merged with a new raft of allegations stemming from WikiLeaks release of Podestas emails. Those emails showed that Podesta occasionally dined at Comet Ping Pong.
On Nov. 7, the hashtag #pizzagate first appeared on Twitter. Over the next several weeks, it would be tweeted and retweeted hundreds or thousands of times each day.
An oddly disproportionate share of the tweets about Pizzagate appear to have come from, of all places, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Vietnam, said Jonathan Albright, an assistant professor of media analytics at Elon University in North Carolina. In some cases, the most avid retweeters appeared to be bots, programs designed to amplify certain news and information.
What bots are doing is really getting this thing trending on Twitter, Albright said. These bots are providing the online crowds that are providing legitimacy.
Online, the more something is retweeted or otherwise shared, the more prominently it appears in social media and on sites that track trending news. As the bots joined ordinary Twitter users in pushing out Pizzagate-related rumors, the notion spread like wildfire. Who programmed the bots to focus on that topic remains unknown.
On the Friday before the election, James Alefantis, who owns two restaurants on the same block in upper Northwest Washington, noticed something odd in his Instagram feed: a stream of comments calling him a pedophile.
Upset, Alefantis told some of his young employees at Comet Ping Pong about the hateful comments, and they poked around online. They found rapidly burgeoning discussions on Reddit, 4chan and Instagram about a purported child sex ring operating out of their restaurant.
Alefantis, who grew up in an affluent section of the District, was no stranger to politics. He had held a fundraiser for the Clinton campaign at Comet. Hed had a relationship with David Brock, the erstwhile Clinton nemesis who had a midcareer political conversion and became a pro-Clinton advocate. And Alefantis had lots of customers and friends in liberal Democratic circles.
When Alefantis opened Comet a decade ago, hed had a run-in with an advisory neighborhood commissioner, a local official who did not like it when Comet put ping-pong tables on the sidewalk. That commissioner had warned that having game tables on the sidewalk might bring rapes and murders to the virtually crime-free neighborhood.
Now, a decade later, a Washington Post column about that dispute was trending on Twitter. Somewhere out there, thousands of people were hungrily searching the Internet for anything remotely troubling about Comet Ping Pong.
In the final days before the election, other shopkeepers on the block began to receive threatening phone calls and disturbing emails. Strangers from faraway places demanded to know about symbols on their shop windows or photos on their walls.
Across from Comet, at the French bistro Terasol, co-owner Sabrina Ousmaal noticed a disturbing Google review of her restaurant that alleged that Terasol, too, was involved in a plot to abuse children.
Then, more online comments appeared, focusing on a photo on Terasols website that showed Ousmaal and her daughter posing with Clinton, who had eaten there several years earlier. The Internet sleuths also fixated on a heart logo that appeared on the restaurants site as part of a fundraiser for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, which Ousmaal, a cancer survivor, has supported for years.
These maniacs thought that was a symbol of child pornography, said her husband and business partner, Alan Moin. Its crazy.
The family removed the symbol from their site, but the online comments adapted to the new reality: Terasol must be hiding something. The anonymous calls increased.
What can we do? Ousmaal said. There is no basement. There is no tunnel. There is nothing.
Alefantis and other merchants were mystified: Where was this all coming from? Cant anyone make it stop?
The merchants approached Facebook and Twitter and asked that disparaging, fictitious comments about them be removed. The shopkeepers said the replies they got advised them to block individual users who were harassing them.
The owner of 4chan, Hiroyuki Nishimura, said in an email to The Post that Pizzagate reminds me that a country indicated [there were] stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and many people and countries were deceived. It is same old story.
Nishimura, a Japanese Internet entrepreneur, said the rumors about Comet could be false: Some people, who believe they do something good, may be deceived by false information. But, he said, their motive was good; they did it for saving children.
On Connecticut Avenue, the hate calls and death threats kept mounting. Surely, the shopkeepers thought, this will all go away after the election.
On Election Day, Brittany Pettibone, a right-wing online activist in California who writes science-fiction novels with her twin sister, tweeted drawings of children under the label Sexualized children, child abuse, pools, and bondage. She wrote that the images were a look inside Hillary Clintons friend Tony Podestas house. Tony Podesta, a Washington lobbyist, is Johns brother.
Pettibone attached the hashtag #PizzaGate. We need to expose this, she wrote in another tweet.
Dozens of commenters responded almost immediately. How do we make this VIRAL? one wrote.
Several of the most frequent and prominent purveyors of the Pizzagate rumors said they first learned about the supposed conspiracy from Pettibones postings.
I was one of the first, Pettibone said in a brief conversation Tuesday. She said she would not take part in an interview: Im uninclined to speak to mainstream media because during the election cycle, they made the right look like nut jobs because we suspected Hillary had a health issue, and it turned out she did.
For a few days after Donald Trumps victory, a relative calm returned to Comet. But along the block, merchants were hearing from all manner of strange callers. At Besta Pizza, owner Abdel Hammad got an urgent message from the company that maintains his website. A reviewer alleged that his shops simple, pizza-shaped logo was a symbol of child pornography. Hammad, an Egyptian immigrant who voted for Trump, was stunned.
Its a slice of pizza, he said.
Hammad removed the image from his site but could not afford more than $2,000 to pay for new signs out front.
Why did you change the website?! anonymous callers screamed at him on the phone.
Were going to put a bullet in your head, one threatened.
Down the block, at Politics and Prose Bookstore, employees noticed tweets and other online posts that included them on a list of stores linked by underground tunnels that do not exist.
The fact that one of the shops co-owners, Lissa Muscatine, had worked as Clintons speechwriter and adviser for two decades quickly became one more data point in the Pizzagate activists conspiracy theory.
The shops phone rang off the hook with profane, abusive calls from across the country. Employees simply hung up, over and over.
Frustrated and frightened, merchants along the block talked to the police. They called the FBI, which said the threats were a local matter.
On Nov. 16, Jack Posobiec, a former Navy Reserve intelligence officer who had spent much of the previous year as a leader of a pro-Trump grass-roots organization, decided hed had enough of just reading tweets and blog posts about the pizza place in his city.
Posobiec, 31, had never eaten at Comet; he had never even heard of the place until he started reading about it on conservative, antigovernment media sites. I didnt pay much attention to it before Election Day because I was focused on the campaign, he said. With that going on, who wants to talk about pizza?
Now, with Trump elected, he read the posts more closely. Any story that accused Clinton, John Podesta and Brock of nefarious deeds deserved some investigation, he thought. He believed the Clinton campaign was full of secrecy and deception.
It seemed reasonable to Posobiec that Podesta might have organized a sex ring in cahoots with Brock. But the only part of the scenario that was real was that Podesta had been known to eat pizza at Comet. This part is false: pictures purporting to show that symbols, such as butterflies and spirals, in signs at Comet and other shops were statements about pedophilia.
Posobiec said he was curious and confused. He and a friend decided to go have some pizza. They walked into Comet eight days after the election, sat down and ordered. Posobiec got the garlic knots. His friend got a beer. But they were not just hanging out. Posobiec was using his phone to broadcast his evening at Comet on Periscope, an app that allows users to stream video live.
Part of the experience of living in 2016 is live, on-the-scene broadcasts, he said. People have lost faith with government and the mainstream media being any real authority. After the Iraq War, after Benghazi, people are searching for other sources of information. If I can do something with Periscope and show what Im seeing with my own two eyes, thats helpful.
Posobiec said he never made any disturbance inside Comet, but the restaurants managers saw him take his camera into a back room where a childs birthday party was underway. It did not seem appropriate for a childs party to be broadcast on a strangers Periscope feed. The manager asked two D.C. police officers who happened to be across the street to assist.
Posobiec and his friend were gently refused service and asked to leave, said a person familiar with the restaurants decision.
Posobiec offered to pay for what he had ordered. The manager said it was on the house.
Posobiec said he was not there to make a scene. I didnt have any preconceived notions, he said. I wasnt sure. I thought I could just show it was a regular pizza place.
That evening, after Posobiec was ushered out of Comet, Pettibone tweeted: Youre my hero for doing this, Jack. Never let go.
On Twitter, the hashtag #pizzagate peaked in the hours after Posobiecs video appeared.
On Nov. 22, Reddit closed its r/pizzagate subreddit, a site forum focused on a particular topic. The site said it was concerned that Pizzagate posts were revealing private information about people at Comet and nearby stores. We dont want witch-hunts on our site, it said. The decision sparked allegations of censorship from some people who were spreading the Pizzagate rumors. They moved their discussion to a similar site, Voat.
On Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, two men carrying protest signs showed up outside Comet.
Alefantis went outside and offered the men coffee. They declined the offer.
On the phone and online, threats poured in, with as many as 150 calls a day.
The shopkeepers approached D.C. police for help. An officer advised them that the online rumormongering was constitutionally protected speech. Ousmaal replied in an email that she respects freedom of speech but that derogatory libelous and hateful blogs and emails should not and cannot qualify.
The officer, Anthony Baker, responded, I dont have anymore options to give unfortunately.
A D.C. police statement issued Tuesday said that the department became aware of the fictional allegations contained in the false news story last month; however, despite postings of offensive language, we did not receive reports of any specific threats. Officers advised the staff to immediately report to police any threats made against the establishment or individuals.
Earlier this fall, in Salisbury, N.C., Edgar Maddison Welch saw some friends doing drugs and he started preaching at them, aggressively.
Danielle Tillman, 23, was the best friend of Welchs girlfriend. She said she had just taken acid when Welch got upset, chanting Jesus name at her.
He grabbed my hand and got in my face and was like, Let the demons out of her, Tillman recalled. It was super weird.
Welch, known to friends as Maddison, had struck friends as a sweet young man whod had trouble finding his way. He had dabbled in acting his father ran a small movie studio out of his house and in writing and firefighting. None of it stuck. He liked to hike, long stretches out West, through mountain ranges, over rivers, into national forests.
A few years ago, he told his hometown newspaper that through hiking, he had broken his addiction to the Internet.
But Welch had another habit. He was arrested several times on drug-possession charges and his name appeared on a forged prescription, according to police records. He was convicted of marijuana possession and public drinking and was sent to a substance-abuse program.
Friends say Welch, 28, in recent months grew far more outwardly religious. He sees himself as someone who is a protector, said his friend Charles Dobson, 28. He is just a thrill-seeking guy.
On his Facebook page, Welch has posted biblical verses and psalms, some related to the end of days, along with photos of his two children. Only by your power can we push back our enemies, one verse reads. Only in your name can we trample our foes.
A few years ago, Welch told a longtime friend and former roommate, Dane Granberry, about stories he had read online describing miles of secret tunnels under the Denver airport. Welch, who had also been fascinated by conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks having been staged by the United States, had become obsessed with the tunnels idea and spent long hours reading articles, watching videos and searching for details.
Hes into doing his own research, Granberry said. I dont think he has very much faith in the media, but none of us do. Granberry said her friend needed to see things for himself.
On Friday or Saturday, Welch drove to the District, according to court testimony. He showed up at Comet on Sunday about 3 p.m.
Gareth Wade, 47, and Doug Clarke, 50, were sitting down for pizza and beer when a server told them that someone had walked in with a gun. As Welch passed by their table, he told them to vacate the building. They rushed out.
Outside, dozens of D.C. police officers swarmed the area, evacuating businesses and blocking off streets. A police helicopter circled overhead.
Inside Comet, Welch, armed with a Colt AR-15 assault rifle, a .38-caliber Colt revolver and a folding knife, fired his gun two or three times, police said.
Welch, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and a hooded sweatshirt, remained inside for about 45 minutes, searching for underground vaults or hidden rooms, police said. At least one gunshot broke off a lock to a door. It led not to hidden sex workers but to a computer room. The bullet damaged a computer tower.
At some point, a Comet worker who had been in the back freezer retrieving dough and had missed the earlier commotion heard the shots and emerged into the restaurant. Welch swung the rifle in his direction and the worker fled out onto the avenue, police said.
Finally, Welch responded to police calls for him to leave the building and surrender. He put his AR-15 on top of a beer keg and his revolver on a table. He came out with his hands up, following police commands to walk backward toward them.
Welch was handcuffed, and Sgt. Benjamin Firehock asked him why he had done it. Welch said, according to the arrest affidavit, that he had read online that the Comet restaurant was harboring child sex slaves and that he wanted to see for himself if they were there. [Welch] stated that he was armed to help rescue them. [Welch] surrendered peacefully when he found no evidence that underage children were being harbored in the restaurant.
Within hours of Welchs arrest, online conspiracy theorists had already decided that he was not one of them. Some suggested he was a false flag, a government plant an enemy of their cause who had been used in an elaborate plot to conceal the truth.
For years, people have made similar claims about everything from the 9/11 attacks (a government conspiracy to justify war, they say) to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (a government conspiracy to justify gun control, they say).
Now, in Welchs case, the conspiracy theorists insisted that the real news about his dangerous assault was, in fact, fake news.
Comet Ping Pong reopened Tuesday night; the crowd was large and supportive.
For some months now, Stefanie MacWilliams, 24, a stay-at-home mother of a 1-year-old boy in Ontario, has written nearly every day, usually about politics, for Planet Free Will, a conservative website based in the United States. Her husband, a mechanic, is the familys main breadwinner, but MacWilliams has been earning some money, too, writing a lot about how good Trump would be for America, and a fair amount about how bad President Obama was.
Starting in early November, MacWilliams noticed that stories based on the Podesta emails were making waves. A friend who knows Im interested in politics and shares conspiracy things with me sent MacWilliams stories about Comet Ping Pong.
Then she happened upon Posobiecs live stream from Comet. This, she decided, was a story. She told the Pizzagate tale in a YouTube video, on Twitter and on Planet Free Will.
In the third paragraph of her story, MacWilliams wrote that we must stress that there is as yet no concrete evidence of any wrongdoing. She thought she was being quite responsible. She had read Internet chatter about strange happenings and code words, and she thought this needed investigation. She was miffed that Posobiec had been escorted out of Comet when his video tour might have gotten to the bottom of the mystery.
MacWilliamss story spread via social media. She became part of what she called a worldwide citizen investigation of Pizzagate.
When she saw Reddit and Twitter react to the conspiracy theory, respectively shutting down a discussion forum and suspending the accounts of some users, she worried that a coverup was underway. As soon as you tell people they cant talk about something, theyre going to talk about it a whole lot more, she said.
MacWilliams calls herself a journalist, but she does not try to be 100 percent accurate, either. She believes the beauty of the Internet is that people can crowdsource the truth. Eventually, what is real will emerge, she said.
Pizzagate, she said, is two worlds clashing. People dont trust the mainstream media anymore, but its true that people shouldnt take the alternative media as truth, either. The lack of stories about Pizzagate in the mainstream press meant that the back channels of the Internet would step into the breach.
But how does this end? What could constitute proof that there is no conspiracy? Some Pizzagate buffs want a video tour showing that there are no secret rooms or tunnels. Others say they would need more.
MacWilliams remains caught up in the thrill of the chase. There is a camaraderie to it, she said. It is like sitting around with your friends saying, What really happened to JFK? It is like a giant game, especially nowadays when you can crowdsource thousands of emails and figure out whats going on. Its like a real-life Kennedy assassination where all the stuff is at your fingertips, and its happening today.
When the New York Times mentioned her site on Nov. 21 as a source of fake news, MacWilliams got a little angry, but she also had reason to smile: The traffic on Planet Free Will soared as never before.
The story is everywhere. Some Americans especially keen on Pizzagate find themselves being accused of being Russian stooges, or of working for hackers intent on disrupting the American political process.
In a small city north of Tel Aviv, in the small hours of the night, Avrahaum Segol, a New Yorker who emigrated to Israel 15 years ago, makes call after call back to Washington. He says he has never been to Comet Ping Pong, but he is burning with a need to know. He found the elderly woman whose family once owned the colorful neon sign that sits over Comets front door. Alefantis bought the sign from a defunct liquor store in Adams Morgan.
Segol called the woman and spelled out his baroque story. He quoted from an H.G. Wells story called In the Days of the Comet, and he wondered whether the symbols on the sign crescents and stars might reveal a message about sexual misdeeds or satanic rituals.
The woman listened to some of this, then told Segol, Youre an idiot. She hung up on him.
He is undeterred. He sends letters to the president of the United States and the chief justice, and to newspaper editors and reporters, and to TV and radio hosts. He calls The Post to explain how the Supreme Courts ruling on same-sex marriage connects with the symbols on the Comet sign. He calls to explain why his family left him. He calls to say why the death of a former CIA chief may be connected to Pizzagate. He calls to ask whether the neighborhood around Comet is known for murderers and thieves.
Were living in such a queer time, Segol said. He said his investigation of Pizzagate is a work of art. I tell my kids, There are no mysteries, only facts unknown.
He asks to be contacted by email, but he warns that he does not open emails unless he knows they are coming in advance. Its hard to trust anyone, he said.
Keith L. Alexander, Jennifer Jenkins, Michael E. Miller, Faiz Siddiqui, Julie Tate and Craig Timberg in Washington and Rachel Weiner in North Carolina contributed to this report.
The University of Virginia Licensing & Ventures Group named Marc Breton its 2022 Innovator of the Year for his contributions to diabetes research.
The award, which is given to a UVa faculty member or team of faculty researchers whose work is making a major impact on society, was given to Breton at a ceremony last Thursday. Breton is an associate professor in psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at UVas School of Medicine, according to the universitys media outlet UVA Today.
Breton is a named inventor of 27 U.S. patents, with some of his most notable work developed in collaboration with medical professor and Center for Diabetes Technology Director Boris Kovatchev. Together, Breton and Kovatchev invented an artificial pancreas that could monitor and automatically regulate a persons blood glucose levels, according to UVA Today. In the process they created the first Food and Drug Administration-approved simulation for assessing insulin treatment strategies that could replace animal studies.
Despite all of his accomplishments, Breton told UVA Today that the work isnt over.
One of the glories of academic research is that were never done, he said.
In one decade, the risk to U.S. national security secrets has morphed from ideologically driven protesters to digital natives who live life online and think secrecy is for losers.
Many people now know the name Tyre Nichols because of his death; but at a candlelight vigil on Monday, Feb. 20, people gathered at an Albany church to remember his life.
On Jan. 7, Memphis police officers pulled over Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, and violently beat him for three minutes. He died three days later, and on Jan. 27, the city released video footage that showed the officers pummeling him with batons and their fists, tasing him and kicking him.
Five Black officers were fired after an internal investigation found them to be directly responsible for the beating. They're facing charges of second-degree murder. The events sparked protests across the country.
Locally, to create a space to mourn, the Linn Benton NAACP put together a vigil for those who were collectively grieving.
But in doing so, organizers wanted to celebrate his life, Vice President John Phillips IV said.
Life in images
In the pews of The Grove Church, 41 W First Ave., attendees gathered between tea light candles and projections of photographs photographs Nichols took.
Images of bridges, cityscapes and sunsets flashed on a screen as participants spoke about who Nichols was as a son, a parent and a friend.
Looking at his art gave him a new sense of being in the moment, Phillips said.
As a Black man with many passions and interests, I grieve for Tyre and his mother and father. I grieve for his son, said Jason Dorsette, president of the Linn Benton NAACP.
Nichols had a passion for photography and skateboarding since he was a little boy, Dorsette said. When he wasnt busy at work for the local FedEx, he was with his 4-year-old son, he said.
His close friends say that everything Nichols did was an attempt to better himself as a father, Dorsette said.
I am reminded that we are a triumphant people, and our creator will never put more on us than we can bear," he said, I choose to celebrate Tyres life.
A call for change
When I reflected on Tyres life, seeing these pictures, my heart started to hurt, Dorsette said.
In experiencing grief, its important that the community not rush the process while still calling for change, Dorsette said.
I am asking for us to give ourselves grace and compassion and to double down our efforts to push local and national legislatures to create real policy and laws that would radically replace the system of policing and training across the United States, he said.
Through Nichols's social media feeds, Dorsette learned Nichols had a distrust for government systems, but despite that, his close friends said he considered joining law enforcement to spur changes from the inside.
Oftentimes we look for hope in the darkness, and you have to be a part of the system to change the system, Dorsette said.
He urged those listening to get involved with political advocacy to unearth and expose bad policing.
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Heather Carmicheal, pastor of The Grove Church, recited the poem, "I Dream a World" by Langston Hughes.
I wanted us to focus on the humanity of each other, she said. Police brutality happens because people dont see the humanity in each other, she said in an interview after the vigil.
What happened to Nichols was terrible, but Carmicheal wanted to share there was hope. Nichols was someone who hoped the world would be a better place.
Us coming together is the opportunity to grieve the way our world is and hope the way it can be, Carmicheal said.
Related stories:
Liaison
Apple TV+, Friday
A digital thriller set in a divided Europe, Liaison is a cat-and-mouse drama where the truth is buried, corporate interests clash, and national risk takes an insidious new form. But the films energy source the first working proof of cold fusion is the fierce chemistry between stars Eva Green and Vincent Cassel. As former lovers who meet again as adversaries, the pair have a magnetic connection and disdainful dialogue: you would believe that their characters could throw everything away to start again.
Created by Virginie Brac (Spiral) and directed by Stephen Hopkins (24), the show knows what it has. The first episode sets up their characters Greens Alison Rowdy is chief adviser to a senior British government minister, Cassels Gabriel Delage is a French military contractor operating in Syria but keeps them apart. When they finally meet the two are separated by glass doors. Look, but dont touch is the message, and the leads convey that with fractious exchanges and charged proximity.
Vincent Cassel plays French military contractor Gabriel Delage in Liaison. Credit: Apple TV+
Its an unconventional approach, as is much of this European co-production. The galvanising storyline is a series of escalating cyberattacks on Britain, including the flood barriers on the Thames failing during a storm surge. The only clue is a jittery Syrian hacker, Samir (Aziz Dyab), who is either involved or has evidence, bringing him to the attention of both the French and British governments, who compete to find him and his family after they flee to Europe and disappear into the refugee system.
Im sure Im not the only one whos sat at the table as their parents lectured them on the importance of purchasing a house. Creating and building wealth in Australia has long been tied to the idea of homeownership, and as young Australians, we have long been convinced that owning property is the only way to achieve financial success.
However, the days of affordable property are long gone, with the median house price in Sydney sitting at an eye-watering $1.2 million. Increasing interest rates, the rising cost of living, stagnant wage growth as well as the commodification of housing have only compounded the pressure felt by young Australians to break into the property market.
Im sure Im not the only one whos sat at the table as their parents lectured them on the importance of purchasing a house. Credit: Getty
Because of this, our generation has all but accepted we will have to budget tightly, save for longer periods, or rent for years in a brutal rental market. Those of us who have graduate or entry-level jobs cant see ourselves living a comfortable lifestyle while also keeping our sights on the property dream.
However, homeownership is not the be-all and end-all of wealth generation. Investing in equities has become a popular investment choice with over 9 million Australians, both young and old, holding investments outside their home and super.
West Australian university graduates are some of the highest paid in the country and are benefitting from the biggest post-pandemic employment recovery.
A report, released through Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching, surveyed more than 130,000 graduates nationally and saw a jump in full-time employment rates for WA students.
University graduates benefitted from an increased demand for full-time workers in 2022. Credit: Steven Siewert
Research and strategy director Lisa Bolton said the reports findings showed a rise in economic and labour market activities were to thank for the substantial increase in full-time graduate roles.
In 2020, WA seemed to be hit very hard, recording the lowest full-time employment rate in the country for recent graduates, she said.
Western Australias high-achieving NAPLAN schools have been revealed, with government schools forming the majority of the top-performing.
Parents can view their childs school results from 2022 on the My School website, after the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority released four years of data on Wednesday.
Caladenia and Ballajura Primary Schools were among the top performing schools.
The students at high-achieving schools showed above-average literacy and numeracy results compared with pupils of similar socio-educational backgrounds.
Caladenia Primary School in Canning Vale and Ballajura Primary are two of the schools at the top of the list, performing well above the average across all subjects for their Year 3 and 5 scores.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has moved to assure religious leaders a re-elected Coalition government would not use a ban on so-called gay conversion therapy to infringe the right of religious figures to pray and preach on matters pertaining to sexuality.
In remarks that were welcomed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, Perrottet indicated there would be limits to the scope of any bill entertained by his government if re-elected on March 25.
Premier Dominic Perrottet promised any ban on harmful gay conversion practices would not infringe peoples ability to pray or preach. Credit: Giselle Haber
There is no place for harmful practices in our state. Since this issue was raised, people have raised with me examples of food deprivation, electroshock therapy. Well, those practices are wrong, and we will move to outlaw them, the premier said at a multi-faith forum on Wednesday night.
At the same time, we will not ban prayer, we will not ban preaching. That is fundamental to freedom of religion in this state and in this country. We can do both. We can ban harmful practices and we can protect freedom of religion in our state.
WASHINGTON When the 1996 presidential campaign approached, Bill Clinton faced an uphill struggle to win a second term. His biggest legislative proposal, a sweeping health care bill, had failed. His party had lost the House of Representatives to Republicans led by a fiery conservative, Newt Gingrich. Clinton's poll ratings were sagging.
So he tacked toward the center. He battled Gingrich to a standstill over GOP plans to cut spending on Medicare. He championed modest but popular proposals such as the V-chip, a device to help parents control what their children watch on television. And on Election Day, he defeated Republican candidate Bob Dole by a whopping 8% margin.
In 2012, Barack Obama's campaign for a second term started out in deep trouble too. Voters were unhappy about the economy's way-too-slow recovery from the Great Recession. The president's health care law, derisively called "Obamacare," was deeply unpopular. The House was back in Republican hands, with radical tea party members demanding big budget cuts.
Obama tried for a bipartisan deal on taxes and spending. But when that effort collapsed, he went on the offensive, attacking the GOP for demanding cuts in Medicare spending. On Election Day, he defeated Mitt Romney by 4%.
Now, at the dawn of the 2024 presidential campaign, history isn't repeating itself precisely, but it's rhyming.
Joe Biden is presiding over an economic recovery, but voters are too squeezed by rising costs to give him credit.
His approval rating, 43% in one recent average of polls, is even lower than Clinton's or Obama's when their reelection drives began.
Biden faces a pugnacious Republican House majority that wants to undo the legislative achievements of his first two years by forcing a crisis over the debt ceiling.
Not surprisingly, he's borrowing strategies that worked for Clinton and Obama, a gambit that combines nostalgia and practical politics.
He has attacked Republicans for proposing to "sunset" Social Security and Medicare by requiring Congress to renew the programs every few years.
"If anyone tries to get rid of Social Security or Medicare, I will veto it," he said at a union hall in Maryland last week.
That was old-fashioned scaremongering. Republicans aren't proposing the abolition of those popular programs.
But Biden was right on one count: Several GOP legislators, including the chairman of the Senate Republican campaign committee, had argued strenuously for a sunset rule. After Biden's attacks hit home, they dropped the idea.
Meanwhile, Biden imitated another Clinton move by proposing a list of modest, consumer-friendly measures, including a law to crack down on "junk fees" such as Ticketmaster service charges and hotel resort fees.
Critics deride ideas like that as small ball minor measures beneath the dignity of a president. But they often turn out to be wildly popular.
When Clinton ran in 1996, two of his most popular actions were the Family and Medical Leave Act, which guaranteed workers up to 12 days of unpaid leave, and the V-chip.
Biden won two such consumer-friendly measures for Medicare users in the blizzard of legislation Congress passed last year: a $35 cap on the price of insulin and a $2,000 cap on drug expenses. Republicans will mess with those at their peril.
If the president stops cable and internet providers from tacking junk fees on to consumers' bills, he might just cruise to reelection. And if Republicans oppose the idea, that will just give Biden another issue to campaign on.
With a bellicose Republican majority in command of the House, the chances for ambitious bipartisan legislation have pretty much evaporated.
"While resort fees might be small-ball, this is a time that calls for small-ball," economic columnist Josh Barro wrote earlier this month.
One more dip into nostalgia: Biden is asking voters to let him "finish the job," a phrase Obama used in 2012. It's another sign that he plans to run.
Then again, nostalgia was one of Biden's main themes when he ran for president four years ago. He promised voters a return to normalcy to the quieter, less disruptive politics of the pre-Trump era.
It shouldn't be surprising that an 80-year-old president is drawing on the lessons of a lifetime in politics. He had a front-row seat to both the Clinton reelection campaign of 1996, when he ran for his fifth term in the Senate, and the Obama campaign of 2012, when Biden was vice president.
This may be one case in which Biden's age is not a handicap; he comes by his nostalgia honestly.
Besides, those tactics worked for Clinton in 1996 and Obama in 2012. Who's to say they can't work again?
A Carnarvon pub owner says she was floored by West Australian Premier Mark McGowans claim that greed was getting in the way of resolving alcohol abuse problems in the town.
During a debate in parliament on Tuesday, McGowan said he was told during a visit last week that greed was the reason some liquor licensees in Carnarvon were holding out against more effective alcohol restrictions.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Mark McGowan during the PMs visit to WAs Pilbara region on Tuesday. Credit: PMO
He also labelled a liquor accord signed by licensees last week as pathetic.
Carnarvon Hotel owner Helen Newby fumed at McGowans comments in an interview on Radio 6PR.
Saints Peter and Paul are said to have founded one of the oldest Christian communities here, and its here that the word Christian first came into use. It later drew Muslim and Christian Crusader invaders. The melding of faiths is part of the citys character. View of Sheikh Ali mosque which destroyed during the devastated earthquake, in the old city of Antakya, Turkey. Credit: AP A parable from the Quran kept running through Ismets mind. Three messengers from God came to a town, urging its sinful people to follow His word. They refused, and God destroyed the city with a mighty blast. The Quran doesnt name the town, but many traditions say it was ancient Antioch.
Ismet saw a new lesson from the present-day devastation. Loading All religions are here. We were living well. Then politics and hypocrisy prevailed, and disagreement followed, Ismet said. People... have disagreed and are robbing each other. God is punishing them. The mosque can now be reached only by clambering over heaps of concrete and old stones that were once Antakyas old city. It traces Antakyas many histories: The site originally held an ancient pagan temple, then a church, before finally settling as a mosque, built in the 13th century. The mosque was destroyed in an earthquake in 1853 and rebuilt four years later by the Ottomans.
Even the legends surrounding Habib Najjar, the mosques unknown namesake, are intertwined with multiple faiths. Ismet recounted one popular story: Najjar was a resident of Antioch who urged locals to believe Gods messengers referred to in the Quran. They beheaded him, and his head rolled down the mountain to the spot where the mosque now stands. Another version of the legend says Najjar was a believer in Jesus, whose disciples cured his son of leprosy, and was killed for promoting the new Christian faith. Modern Antakya was already a shadow of its ancient self.
In recent years, it witnessed steep economic decline and growing emigration to Europe and the Gulf. Loading Tension had been growing between the shrinking local population, which included Christian and Alevi communities, and a growing Syrian population that fled its countrys civil war. Some city residents complain of neglect from a central government busy with helping other provinces where it has a stronger voting base. With little evidence, locals accused Syrian refugees of stealing from stores and the government of downplaying the death toll. Many worry more people could leave if Antakya is not rebuilt quickly.
In the face of rising criticism from several quake-hit cities, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials have recognised delays in the response. No one addressed Antakyas woes in particular. Loading Maybe in one month, we will start the renovation or organisation, Yahya Coskun, deputy director general of Turkeys museums and cultural heritage, said about the destruction to the citys landmarks. Antakyas destruction is a loss to humanity, said Jan Estefan, a silversmith and one of the citys few remaining Christians. We still want to live here. We have no intention of leaving. Antakyas Greek Orthodox Church was destroyed. The church, which was the seat of the Greek Orthodox patriarch up until the 14th century, was levelled in an 1872 earthquake and rebuilt.
History has once again been wiped out, said Fadi Hurigil, chairman of the board of directors of Antakya Greek Orthodox Church Foundation. View of the Antioch Greek Orthodox Church which destroyed during the devastated earthquake, in the old city of Antakya, southern Turkey. Credit: AP Old mosques were cut off by mountains of rubble. The old bazaar lay in ruins. Crushed buildings line Kurtulus Street, said to have been the worlds first illuminated street when it was lit with torches at night in Roman times. Parts of the archaeological museum have been damaged. Outside the city centre, Mount Starius protected one of Christianitys earliest churches St Pierre which is built in a cave in the mountain and has sections dating to the 4th century. A set of stairs leading to it was damaged.
There were cracks in the walls of the Synagogue of Antakya, home to the areas 2500-year-old Jewish community. The president of the citys Jewish community and his wife didnt survive. About a dozen Jewish residents and the synagogues Torah scrolls were temporarily relocated to Istanbul, said Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States. Chitrik said it will hard for the small, elderly community, whittled down by years of emigration, to rebuild. However, I am certain that it will come back. Many residents seem to have accepted it is their citys fate to return from disaster. After seven times, they rebuilt and brought it to life again. Now is the eighth time, and God willing ... we will live in it again, said Bulent Cifcifli. His mother was killed in the quake, and it took a week to dig her body out.
Burlington, Vermont: A discarded cigarette found near the body of a 24-year-old Vermont school teacher in her apartment nearly 52 years ago helped lead investigators to an upstairs neighbour who they say strangled her after having a fight with his wife, police said.
Burlington Police DNA evidence collected from the cigarette butt and dogged investigative work led authorities to the man they say killed Rita Curran within a 70-minute window on a July night in 1971.
Murdered woman Rita Curran. Credit: Burlington Police
The suspect, identified as William DeRoos, who was 31 at the time, had left his apartment that night for a cool down walk. After he returned he told his wife of two weeks not to say that he had been out.
Since the investigation was renewed in 2019, detectives re-interviewed DeRoos former wife, and she told them he had left their apartment for a brief period within a window of time when Currans roommates were out of her Burlington apartment.
The Career Development Programme is an initiative launched in 2009 by the WCO, in cooperation with Japan Customs. It provides an opportunity for selected candidates, known as Professional Associates (PA), to undertake work at the WCO Secretariat for 10 months.
Aims of the Programme:
To enable participants to obtain knowledge, skills and international work experience;
To enhance networks among WCO Members and the Secretariat;
To strengthen the Secretariat in the delivery of its mission and tasks;
To develop a pool of highly competent officials with Customs expertise.
Since its launch, over 115 Customs officials from different developing countries across the WCOs six regions have benefited from the Programme. It has served to promote the involvement of WCO Members, especially those in which neither of the WCOs two official languages is widely spoken, in various WCO activities.
According to feedback, former Professional Associates have been contributing positively to their administrations and regions on their return home, including acting as a liaison point between their administration and the Secretariat.
The nomination process is set out below:
BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, on Monday slammed the U.S. Senate for passing resolutions that hype up the "China threat" and malign and discredit China after the unintended entry of a Chinese civilian unmanned airship into U.S. airspace. The NPC Foreign Affairs Committee said in a statement that the U.S. Senate had followed the House of Representatives in passing resolutions on the airship, calling the move another mistake that the United States has made to distort the facts, mislead the public, and attempt to put pressure on China. As a responsible major country, China has always strictly observed international law and respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, the statement said. It said that the unintended entry of the Chinese civilian unmanned airship into U.S. airspace was purely an unexpected and isolated incident caused by force majeure. The Chinese side has repeatedly briefed the United States and the international community on the situation, and asked the U.S. side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner. The U.S. side, however, has turned a deaf ear to China's solemn position, abused the use of force and overreacted, seriously violating the spirit of international law and customary practice, the statement said. "The U.S. Congress is deliberately igniting confrontation, creating tension, and politicizing, complicating and magnifying the unexpected and isolated incident, which is a typical example of hegemony," the statement said. When it comes to the question of which country is the biggest spying power, the U.S. knows the answer and people across the world can make fair judgements, the statement said. The Chinese side strongly urges the U.S. Congress to respect the facts, the principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations, and immediately cease maligning China to prevent bringing further disruption and damage to China-U.S. relations, it said.
NWS Weather Alert NOTE: This information is provided by the National Weather Service. Forecast may differ from local information provided by our own 69News Meteorologists
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly has issued a * Flash Flood Warning for... Lehigh County in eastern Pennsylvania... * Until 930 PM EDT. * At 520 PM EDT, a trained weather spotter reported a water rescue due to flash flooding in Trexlertown. Between 1.5 and 2 inches of rain have fallen. Flash flooding is already occurring. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by heavy rain. SOURCE...Trained spotters reported. IMPACT...Flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets, and underpasses as well as other drainage and low lying areas. * Some locations that may experience flash flooding include... Allentown, Emmaus, Ancient Oaks, Coffeetown, Claussville, Zionsville, Schnecksville, Coplay, Macungie, Coopersburg, Alburtis, and Fullerton. This includes the following highways... Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania between mile markers 45 and 63. Northeast Extension between mile markers 47 and 64. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around...don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. && FLASH FLOOD...OBSERVED
TILDEN TWP., Pa. - State police and county detectives say a narcotics investigation led them to a large quantity of marijuana products and other illegal drugs.
On the afternoon of February 16, members of the PA State Police Vice/Narcotics Unit in conjunction with the Berks County District Attorney's Office Drug Task Force, served a total of three search warrants at locations in Berks and Lehigh counties in relation to a drug investigation.
The first two were served at Edge Self Storage in the 700 block of Hex Highway in Tilden Township, Berks County.
The remaining warrant was for the home of 36-year-old Andrew Kacsur in Emmaus, Lehigh County.
Authorities say due to the amount of evidence recovered, two trucks were needed to transport it all to state police facilities.
Investigators say they seized the following:
866 THC vaporizer cartridges
1,783 grams of psilocybin mushrooms
220 units of THC edibles
6,962 grams of THX wax
300 pounds of processed marijuana
450 bottles of THC liquid
372 psilocybin edibles
3 bottles of liquid LSD
2 rifles
1 pistol
Bulk amount of U.S. currency
Kacsur was arraigned Tuesday and charged with possession with intent to deliver, firearms offenses and related charges. He is in Berks Couty Jail on $1,000,000 bail.
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - At Kutztown University, criminal justice students were able to get an up-close look at what it's like to be a police officer.
"They come in; they speak to our club. Many of the students use this for great connections to get out into the real world," said Ana Fratanduono, president of the university's criminal justice association.
Fratanduono said there are around 250 criminal justice majors at Kutztown University. The club hosts speakers from the field to come in and talk about their careers. This time, students heard from members of the Reading Police Department.
"It helps a lot just with connections here, a lot of students like internships, so they can either do it in school or the summer," said Fratanduono.
Lieutenant Lance Lillis has been with the department since 1998 and is a Kutztown University graduate himself.
"So, it's kind of near and dear to me to come here and try to recruit the next wave, the next generation of officers," said Lillis.
On March 11th, the Reading Police will be having a test to recruit new members. Lillis said the department has had trouble recruiting the last couple of years.
"When I took this test in '98, I think I took the test with 488 guys and that was for 22 positions. Now, I would be hailed as a hero if I get 100 people there to take the test," Lillis said.
He wants people to know they can have a good career.
"I try to explain to everyone that I've had an amazing career, I've had what I would consider a more productive and fun career then even your average officer," said Lieutenant Lillis.
HELLERTOWN, Pa. - We now know the Saucon Valley School District was closed Wednesday due to a threat related to the new After School Satan Club.
In a statement to parents, Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty said a threatening voicemail was left at the School District office at 4 p.m. Tuesday by a man who referenced the approval of After School Satan Club. In consultation with the Lower Saucon Police Department, she decided to close school Wednesday.
In light of the threat and the disruption the threat caused to the district, the superintendent says, she will be recommending a full review of the club's use of the district's facility.
Earlier on Wednesday, we talked with a representative from the Satanic Temple, and a parent who is opposed to the club to hear from both sides. Parent Marjulee Colon told us she couldn't believe it when she heard After School Satan Club had been approved at Saucon Valley Middle School.
"I thought that it was satire. I thought that it was a joke," said Colon.
We also talked with the national campaign director for After School Satan Club at the Satanic Temple, June Everett. She said it's anything but a joke.
"We are run by the Satanic Temple, and we are, the club is brought to you by your local, friendly, self-identified, non-theistic Satanists," said Everett.
Everett said the Satanic Temple does not believe in the same Satan that Christians do.
"Although the Christian majority in this country does believe that Satan is a different symbol, to us, we do not view Satan as evil, we do not view Satan as trying to wreak havoc on communities and do terrible things. We look to Satan as a positive symbol," said Everett.
For Colon, pentagrams and demons are not positive symbols. She already has her three children in private school, but she's worried for other parents.
"There are so many parents who cannot make the same choice that I'm making, and if we don't speak up for this type of outlandish disregard to those of us who do have Judeo-Christian values, then when is it going to stop?" said Colon.
Colon is planning a prayer event outside the school on March 8, the same day the club is first supposed to meet. There are already more than 100 people signed up on Facebook, but Superintendent Vlasaty said in a letter to parents "The District has approved... the "After School Satan Club."
Everett said the community should learn to accept it.
"We don't have to agree, we don't have to believe the same, but we do have the same rights that everybody else does to these public spaces," said Everett.
The district said parents have to give written permission for their child to attend After School Satan Club.
The Bethlehem Area Public Library's main location will offer limited service in March and April because of renovations.
"Major disruptions to library service are expected," according to the library's website.
During renovations, there will be no computer access for adults at the Main Library, no access to the adult collections, and limited seating.
Studio 11, the library's record studio, will not be open. Reserved books may still be picked up and items can be returned at the outdoor book drop.
Youth programming and other services will continue at the Main Library, and scheduled events including yoga, Qigong, library clubs, the Book Sale and Lehigh Valley BookFest will go ahead as planned.
The renovations are taking place on the first floor of the building at 11 W. Church St., just west of Bethlehem City Hall.
The BAPL's Southside Branch at Fourth and Webster streets will remain open, as will the Coolidge Building at 2740 Fifth St. in Bethlehem Township. The bookmobile will also keep moving.
"Some 'new' items in our adult collections will still be available," according to the library website, without providing further details.
After the work is done, the new-look library "will be better than ever very soon," the BAPL site says.
Josh Berk, executive director of the Bethlehem library, said the monumental task of moving perhaps 75,000 books will start next week.
"We will take down all the books, then remove the shelves, remove the carpet, put in new shelves and put the books back," he said, putting the large task into simple steps. The library's total collection at all locations includes about 160,000 books and discs.
Library supporters can help pay for the new look by contributing at the library's website. Donors can have their name placed on a shelf.
After the renovations are complete, the entry will look the same, with the circulation desk on the right and the Cohen Room for meetings on the left. The reference desk, now on the Church Street side of the building, will be more central. Behind it will be a new computer section, with some small workspaces.
Library users who work at home but need a small space for a meeting, for example, could use the new semi-private areas.
Berk said the new shelves will be lower, giving the library an open feel with better sight lines and fewer blind spots.
"We're going to make the floor brighter and more open," he said. Lower shelves will give the library a bookstore atmosphere.
Even during renovations, the front section of the library will remain open. Patrons can request books, CDs and DVDs. If the specific item is not in storage, it can be picked up at the main library and returned at the drop outside.
There will also be a small collection of books and discs to browse through, Berk said.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. City residents spoke out Tuesday on two significant issues before Bethlehem City Council.
The first issue was the Hanover Apartments project 317 apartments proposed for the border between Bethlehem and Allentown.
Called a "very, very massive" project Tuesday by residents, the project will be discussed at Wednesday's zoning hearing board meeting.
Other Bethlehem residents voiced concerns to the governing body about the height of the buildings and the traffic generated by the buildings' inhabitants. The project calls for four buildings, three of which will be five-stories high, and one will be four stories.
The project needs zoning relief from the 180-foot length limit on buildings, as its buildings could be up to 290 feet long. Developers will also seek relief from the commercial space requirement on the first floor because plans call for ground-level parking.
The plan is proposed by Norton Herrick, who is also an investor to convert the former Martin Tower site in Bethlehem into more than 1,000 housing units. Herrick's combined plans would add close to 1,400 dwellings, almost all in Bethlehem.
Most of the proposed cross-border units, to be called Hanover Apartments, are in Bethlehem, on the site of a former auto dealership. The project has two addresses: 2300 Hanover Ave. in Allentown and 2235 W. Broad St. in Bethlehem.
The 8.7-acre site is vacant but mostly paved. It is about a block south of the Lehigh Shopping Center on Union Boulevard, near a tricky intersection with Wahneta Street.
The zoning hearing board will meet Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the city hall rotunda. The meeting will also be streamed via Bethlehem's website.
Residents urge Bethlehem City Council to take action against landfill in Lower Saucon Residents called upon Bethlehem City Council to take action to stop the proposed landfill expansion in adjacent Lower Saucon Township.
The second contentious issue discussed Tuesday concerned the proposed landfill expansion in adjacent Lower Saucon Township. Read more about that.
LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. - Indus Realty Trust, a warehouse company with Lehigh Valley operations, has agreed to be acquired for $868 million by an investment firm and the manager of Singapore's foreign reserves.
Centerbridge Partners, an investment firm, and GIC Real Estate Inc. will pay $67 in cash per share of New York City-based Indus, according to a joint statement. That price is a 17% premium to the share price on Nov. 25, before acquisition talks were disclosed. The initial bid disclosed in November was $65 per share.
Indus owns Lehigh Valley properties including Lehigh Valley Tradeport I in Lower Nazareth Township, off Brodhead Road, and Lehigh Valley Tradeport II on Jaindl Boulevard in Hanover Township, Northampton County. The company recently disclosed the $2.3 million purchase of land off Hausman Drive in South Whitehall Township, big enough for a 90,000-square-foot warehouse.
"The transaction delivers immediate and significant value to our stockholders, and we believe it validates the quality of the platform and portfolio we have built over Indus's long history," Michael Gamzon, president and chief executive officer of Indus, said in the statement.
Indus focuses on "mid-size" industrial and warehouse buildings of 75,000 to 400,000 square feet, not the million-square-foot giants used by companies such as Amazon.
The transaction is expected to be complete this summer. Indus will pay its first quarter and second quarter dividends.
Centerbridge, also based in New York City, was founded in 2005 and invests in various classes of assets. GIC is based in Singapore and manages that island city-state's investments.
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Statement
Indus
EASTON, Pa. - Tuesday night in Easton, beads and flashy outfits permeated part of the downtown, and the sounds of trumpets, drums, tambourines and other instruments could be heard filling the air.
The city brought in Mardi Gras with quite a bang, truly living up to the Cajun French phrase, "Laissez les bons temps rouler," or, "Let the good times roll."
"Just bringing some music into center city Easton, our home here," said Jeremy Joseph, who leads Big Easy Easton Brass, which is open to players of all ages and skill sets.
"We have all different walks of careers, and what they do, all kinds of diversity in the band, but we all have something in common: We love coming and playing music together," Joseph said.
Big Easy Easton Brass held a parade unlike any other: a New Orleans-style musical procession that celebrates all things life, even the ones no longer with us.
"I know in New Orleans they play something like this even during funerals," said Margarita Gonzalez of Bethlehem, who drove in with her husband for the occasion. "It's just very uplifting, and we need a lot of that nowadays."
"Basically, just putting all your cares aside for a little bit and having fun with your friends," said Rob Stocklas of Nazareth, who is a drummer in the band. "I've been playing too long, if you ask my girlfriend. God, I think I started when I was 11, and I'm 50 now and still playing."
"It's such a great time, and right here," said Gonzalez. "We don't have to travel. We don't have to get plane tickets."
Tuesday night, all people had to do was meet at Bayou; the band took it from there.
"Tomorrow, we have to start fasting and going to church," said Michele Tanzella of Easton. "You know, all those things we were raised to do."
It's about forgetting about those things and living in the moment like one couple, who celebrated a momentous occasion during the festivities.
"We got lucky tonight. We had a young couple that just got married today, so we got to give them a New Orleans-style wedding right here in Centre Square," said Joseph. "Impromptu."
It's a five-year tradition that began in 2018 for Big Easy Easton Brass, and members hope to bring their talents even further into the community.
"We are working on a new series in Easton called, 'Second Line Sundays,'" Joseph explained. "We're going to go out to the neighborhoods, and we're going to bring the second-line parades to the neighborhoods."
Until then, Joseph hopes a popular festival invites the band to play again.
"Please, Musikfest, bring us back," urged Joseph.
HARRISBURG, Pa. - After six weeks, House lawmakers were finally called back to Harrisburg for a special session aimed at passing a constitutional amendment opening the statute of limitations for childhood victims of sexual assault.
In order to move that amendment forward, Democrats used their new 102-person majority to push through temporary operating rules, over the objection of Republicans, who say the temporary rules will create a dangerous precedent by preventing members from offering their own amendments.
Republicans in the Senate passed their own version of the bill with additional unrelated measures for voter ID laws and regulation changes.
Democrats want to see it passed alone.
"We can deal with other issues later but right now we have to deal with that important issue and that important issue alone," said Rep. Mike Schlossberg, (D)-District 132.
"There's a lot of bipartisan support on that issue. It always has been. So I don't think we had to be out this long," said Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, (R)-District 187.
Mackenzie supports both the House and Senate versions, but takes issue with the temporary rules. He says the real challenge, though, will be to get the divided chamber to agree on regular, basic operational rules.
"Ultimately what's going to be important is the rules that are going to be put in place for the full, regular session," Mackenzie said.
Regardless, lawmakers in the House will now be able to move forward Thursday with the child sexual abuse amendment, which will have to then get through the Senate.
It's still unclear whether Mark Rozzi will remain speaker after this week is over.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. Residents at Tuesday's Bethlehem City Council meeting called upon councilmembers to take action to stop the proposed landfill expansion in adjacent Lower Saucon Township.
Outdated technology, environmental impact and additional waste to the city sewer authority were vital points of interest for those commenting.
The Bethlehem Landfill's proposed phase 5 expansion, currently opposed by many residents, will consist of 117 acres of disposal area on total new development of 189 acres, extending the landfill's life by 30-plus years and bringing it close to the Lehigh River.
A previous expansion of 29 acres is currently in the Department of Environmental Protection approval process.
City Solicitor John Spirk explained that the city had no control over the land adjacent to the landfill. He said that when the city sold the landfill to a private company, the deal also included an option with the price tag of $26.1 million which provided the landfill with the right to acquire adjacent land at a future time for $10,000.
Spirk said there is also an easement on the land, which was given to Lower Saucon Township in the 1990s.
"Lower Saucon (Township) has the right to stop any development on that land. We haven't [had that right] since 1994," said Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds.
"Make no mistake, we are not happy about it," Reynolds added.
Earlier this month, Lower Saucon Township Council granted conditional approval for an expansion of the landfill on Applebutter Road.
A group opposed to the expansion spoke Tuesday. Dubbed "Citizens for Responsible Development LST," the group encouraged residents opposing the landfill to attend a conditional use hearing being held at 9 a.m. Feb. 27 at Se-Wy-Co Banquet Hall, 3621 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bethlehem.
Lower Saucon Township will also hold a zoning hearing board meeting on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. during which a public hearing will be held for a substantive appeal to the board regarding the landfill.
BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. - A fast-casual restaurant chain is quickly increasing its presence in the Lehigh Valley.
Wingstop, known for its cooked-to-order classic and boneless chicken wings and chicken tenders, is planning to open its newest area location - its third within the past six months - next week at 3926 Linden St., Suite 28, in Bethlehem Township.
The new eatery, occupying a former Radio Shack space between Giant and Bath & Body Works in the Bethlehem Square shopping center, is set to open 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27, according to Mike Axiotis, president and CEO of Talon Restaurants LLC, a locally owned and operated Wingstop franchisee.
"We're very excited," Axiotis said. "This is the largest restaurant we have so far, with seating for 40-plus people."
Talon Restaurants LLC last year inked a development agreement with Wingstop to open 15 restaurants over four years.
It's already opened two other Lehigh Valley outposts - in the Emmaus Shopping Center at 1328 Chestnut St. in October and in the Airport Shopping Center at 1824 Airport Road in Hanover Township, Lehigh County in November.
The franchisee also operates a Wingstop location on Nazareth Road in Palmer Township and two other outposts in York County.
Axiotis is eyeing up other locations in the Lehigh Valley and central Pennsylvania as well, but no deals have been finalized, he said.
Texas-based Wingstop, founded in 1994, operates and franchises more than 1,850 locations worldwide, including another Lehigh Valley outpost on Liberty Street in Allentown, operated by father and son Kevin and Jon Alter.
The chain offers traditional and boneless chicken wings, chicken tenders and chicken sandwiches, all cooked-to-order and hand-sauced-and-tossed in your choice of 12 flavors, including popular picks such as lemon pepper, garlic parmesan, mango habanero and original hot.
Other menu highlights include house-made sides such as cajun fried corn and hand-cut, seasoned fries.
The Bethlehem Township restaurant is set to operate 11 a.m. to midnight daily, and Axiotis encourages customers to download the Wingstop app to help with speed of service. Takeout and delivery will be offered.
Axiotis, a member of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association's Board of Directors, is no stranger to the region's restaurant industry.
He's also president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group, which operates more than 20 Red Robin restaurants in Pennsylvania.
HARRISBURG, Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro says his administration is closely monitoring the aftermath of a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, near the border with Pennsylvania.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that Norfolk Southern will pay to clean up contaminated soil and water.
"In no way, shape or form will Norfolk Southern get off the hook for the mess they created," said Michael Regan, EPA administrator.
According to the EPA, if Norfolk Southern does not comply, the company will have to pay triple the cost for cleanup efforts.
Norfolk Southern's CEO says his company is committed to the community and citizens of East Palestine.
"We're going to be here today, we're going to be here tomorrow ,we're going to be here a year from now and we're going to be here five years from now," said Alan Shaw, CEO, Norfolk Southern.
Shapiro says the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is testing water from the Norfolk Southern site. That's on top of local municipalities and within Pennsylvania's 2 miles of the derailment.
According to the governor, the first round of water results should be available in the coming days.
"Pennsylvania continues to see no concerning air quality readings following this incident," Shapiro said.
He says his administration has made a criminal referral of Norfolk Southern to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
Ohio, Pennsylvania and federal officials assured residents they will not be left handling the derailment's aftermath on their own.
"Our top priority is always the health and safety of the good people of Pennsylvania," Shapiro said.
POTTSVILLE, Pa. - Police in Schuylkill County say a man strangled and killed a woman in her apartment.
Jared Rahim Abdul-Ali, 22, who was homeless, is charged with third-degree murder, aggravated assault, strangulation, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to a news release from the Pottsville Bureau of Police.
Destiny Duckett, 22, was found dead inside her Market Square Apartment on Feb. 13. A crying infant was also found in the apartment.
An autopsy was conducted the following morning by Dr. Wayne Ross, of the Dauphin County Coroner's Office, which revealed Duckett's cause of death was strangulation, and Dr. Ross ruled the manner of death as a homicide, according to the news release.
Scene and autopsy evidence, surveillance video, and witness and neighbor accounts were all used and culminated in the confession provided to the detectives by by Abdul-Ali during his interviews, police said.
Abdul-Ali was being held in Schuylkill County Prison on other charges when he provided specific details about the homicide investigation that corroborated the findings of Dr. Ross, as well as other evidence that was not made available to the public, according to the news release.
Abdul-Ali was remanded to the Schuylkill County Prison, and he is being held without bail.
The Pottsville Bureau of Police said it would like to thank the local businesses, homeowners, witnesses and neighbors who assisted with the investigation.
NORRISTOWN, Pa. - Pennsylvania law enforcement officials announced charges against eight people Wednesday in a gun trafficking operation they say spanned multiple counties.
Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, together with local, state and federal law enforcement officials announced the dismantling of the alleged gun trafficking organization in a news conference Wednesday.
The organization purchased 94 firearms and attempted to purchase an additional 23 firearms in counties across Pennsylvania, before illegally reselling them throughout the Southeastern region of the state, according to the officials.
The 94 firearms were purchased in Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Columbia, Philadelphia and York counties, officials said at the news conference.
"This gun trafficking organization was significant and it was dangerous," acting Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said.
Officials say six people were arrested and two more warrants were issued.
The eight defendants, all from Philadelphia, face dozens of felony charges related to straw purchases of firearms, illegally transferring firearms, and operating a corrupt organization.
Those charged were:
Larry Williams, 40: Officials say he was responsible for directing the purchases of the firearms, selling the majority of the illegal firearms and was also involved in trafficking illegal drugs.
Robert Cooper III, 23: According to authorities, he purchased 41 firearms and attempted to purchase an additional eight firearms in less than two months.
Ziair Stenson, 26: Authorities say he purchased 36 firearms and attempted to purchase an additional seven firearms.
Malik Rowell-Jernigan, 24: According to officials, he purchased eight firearms and attempted to purchase an additional three firearms.
Kevin Lester Logan, 24: He is accused of purchasing three firearms.
Daynell Jones, 40: Authorities say he purchased three firearms.
Zakayla S. Deshields, 22: Officials say she purchased three firearms.
Shadiid Smalley, 23: He is accused of attempting to purchase five firearms.
Police are still looking for Logan and Deshields.
The firearm purchases were all straw purchases, meaning a person with a clean background purchased firearms specifically on behalf of another person to conceal the true ownership of the firearm, officials said. The true owner of the firearm is often prohibited from legally purchasing a firearm including convicted felons, domestic violence offenders, juveniles and individuals with mental illness.
In June 2022, the Montgomery County Detective Bureau initiated an investigation into illegal activities associated with the gun trafficking organization. Law enforcement began following the multiple purchases of firearms by the defendants through the Electronic Record of Sale (EROS) system and through hard copies of ATF and Pennsylvania State Police forms at gun stores, officials said at the news conference.
Detectives used surveillance, interviews, information from law enforcement agencies, call detail records and cellphone downloads, social media analysis, records of cash transfers, inspection of forms used in purchasing firearms and other methods of investigation.
Authorities say collaboration between law enforcement agencies and increased data sharing through initiatives like Track and Trace aided in uncovering the scale and interconnectedness of the widespread operation.
Of the 94 total straw purchased and illegally sold firearms, 29 were recovered by law enforcement through the execution of search warrants related to other criminal activity, car stops, or after the firearms were used in violent crimes, authorities said.
"Williams couldn't buy a firearm because of some of his past indiscretions," Steele said. "So, he recruited other defendants, who lived in Philadelphia to buy firearms."
Williams is also being charged for illegal drug trafficking.
Steele says 50 percent of the 100-plus guns either purchased or attempted to be purchased for trafficking were done at gun shows, including one in Allentown. Officials say some of the guns trafficked were connected to violent crimes in Pennsylvania, as well as outside state lines.
But it also shows special agents tracking buyers at those gun shows as well.
"These fellows were not there alone," Steele said. "We were there. And we were following them, and we are watching them."
"To put it bluntly, we are awash in a sea of illegal guns that are too easy to acquire," Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. "But we must not give up."
"And I'm afraid and fear that they're going to be involved in other crimes," Steele said. "And these defendants will face that at the time of sentencing."
PHILADELPHIA - We are hearing for the first time from the family of a slain police officer.
The wife and father of the 31-year-old fallen Temple University Police Officer Christopher Fitzgerald spoke in front of hundreds at a memorial service at the Temple Bell Towers at Temple University, Tuesday. Hundreds of heartbroken students, staff, faculty, and more turned out to honor the hero and support his devastated family.
Police say their brother in blue was shot multiple times at point-blank range while trying to make an arrest. They say it was Saturday around 7 p.m. when Fitzgerald chased after a suspect. After catching up with him, police say surveillance video in the area shows 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer shooting the already downed officers multiple times in the chest, face, and head.
"Being a cop was his dream. It was his world," the wife of Officer Fitzgerald, Marrisa, said.
She choked back tears, thanked those who were there, and told the Temple University students how much they all meant to her husband.
"Being a cop brightened up his life," she said through tears. "Helping the people and the students of Temple University was his main goal, to keep all of you safe."
"He had a servant's heart," Officer Fitzgerald's father and former Allentown Police Chief, Joel Fitzgerald, said. "Chris Fitzgerald did it better than I've ever done it."
His father reminded everyone of the importance of the job.
"When you hear these negative stories about police officers across the country, you remember Christopher Fitzgerald," his father said. "When you see Temple University officers don't stop and say, 'why are they harassing that person?' Say 'they are here to protect us'".
The dangers of the job proved to be a stark reminder as his family visited a memorial near the scene of the crime before the service. Two teens were shot and the family was quickly escorted away as Philadelphia officials call for change nationwide.
PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia Police say a murderer is behind bars without bail.
Police held a news conference Tuesday morning, along with officials from Temple University, to provide new details about what led up to the shooting death of Officer Christopher Fitzgerald.
We learned Fitzgerald was alone Saturday night, but the accused shooter had backup. Philadelphia Police said the accused killer, 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer, had two friends with him all dressed in black with masks on. Officer Fitzgerald tried to follow them on his own, and after a quick chase, police said surveillance video shows Pfeffer gunning him down.
Temple University's Vice President for Public Safety, Jennifer Griffin, said the murder of an officer in cold blood is something her department is still coming to terms with.
"Police Officer Christopher David Fitzgerald was the first Temple Police officer killed in the line of duty," said Griffin.
Fitzgerald was alone Saturday night on the 1700 block of Montgomery Ave. Griffin said staffing issues played a part in that.
"We also do deploy a two-officer car when staffing permits, or if we have a specific operation. On this night, he was riding in a single car for sure," said Griffin.
The lead investigator in the case, Staff Inspector Ernest Ransom of the Philadelphia Police Department, said the crime was caught on surveillance footage that they are not releasing to the public out of respect for the family.
"You can hear Officer Fitzgerald say, 'go to the ground.' They tussled behind an SUV, which is out of camera view. Pfeffer then pulls out a handgun and shoots Officer Fitzgerald. You can hear the shots and see the muzzle flash, bang, bang, bang," said Ransom.
After that, Ransom said the video shows Pfeffer walking over to Fitzgerald's body and firing three more shots. After that, he's accused of stealing a car from a bystander and making his escape, leaving his two friends behind. Police caught up with them, and said they were crucial to tracking Pfeffer down.
"After getting consent from their parents, the detectives interviewed those males, at which time they provided us information necessary to develop a suspect," said Ransom.
Within 12 hours police had Pfeffer in custody at his parents' Buckingham Township home, removing several weapons as well.
"Forensic and technical analysis of weapons recovered from Pfeffer's home, and I did say weapons because it's more than one, in Bucks County related to the murder and carjacking are underway," said District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Krasner said the murder weapon was not found, but he and Mayor Jim Kenney took a moment to advocate for more gun restrictions in Pennsylvania to keep this from happening again.
"Back the kinds of things that other legislatures in other states have done to restrict the flow of weapons in a country that literally has more guns than it has people," said Krasner.
"If you don't back gun control and gun availability, you don't back the blue," said Kenney.
There was also another shooting in Philadelphia Tuesday afternoon near the memorial site for Christopher Fitzgerald on Montgomery Ave. Two teenagers were shot, and Fitzgerald's family had to be escorted away from the memorial. A 17-year-old male is in critical condition, and a 13-year-old female is in stable condition following that shooting.
Hunterdon County, New Jersey is banning TikTok from its government devices.
The Board of Commissioners called the platform a "security risk," citing a statement from the FBI Director.
He says the Chinese government could use TikTok to influence users or control their devices.
The move follows a similar measure at the state level.
Gov. Phil Murphy recently banned TikTok from state government devices.
LOPATCONG, N.J. Pohatcong and Lopatcong townships held a joint public information meeting on an amended petition that could impact the future redevelopment of the old Phillipsburg Mall property Tuesday night at the Lopatcong Township municipal building.
The townships are seeking to add 11 properties to the current Highlands Center area, which covers the most intensely developed portions of the townships.
Highlands Centers are intended to support balance in the region by providing for sustainable economic growth while protecting critical natural and cultural resources. The area designations are governed by the New Jersey Highlands Council.
The revisions include blocks located on South Main Street in Pohatcong Township, west of the former Phillipsburg Mall site in both townships. Three of the properties are located currently in designated redevelopment area.
Of the 11 properties, nine comprising roughly 65 acres are in Lopatcong, and two totaling about 36 acres are in Pohatcong. The redevelopment plan would allow for the construction of affordable housing in Pohatcong, which would result in 72 to 96 residential units.
Developers from CRG Integrated Real Estate Solutions and JG Petrucci have proposed two separate warehouses on the site and behind the former Phillipsburg Mall. One would cover the former mall, at nearly 850,000 square feet. The second, behind the mall area, would cover around 570,000 square feet.
2:39 Residents push back on warehouse plans for Phillipsburg Mall Residents of Pohatcong and Lopatcong townships heard about proposals for two separate warehouses one on the site of the former mall and one behind it.
Tuesday night's meeting, the second session on the matter, attracted neighboring residents and union members who would be employed as a result of the project.
Planner George Ritter of Lopatcong Township told the audience the proposal's concept would "try to balance the intensity of the development."
Further, he stated that 21.4% of the site would be utilized by the warehouses.
"We're going to protect the forested areas of the site," Ritter said.
Traffic-calming measures would involving new traffic light patterns which would utilize coordinated timing.
"It's not trucks, one after the other, coming in and out," James Kyle, Pohatcong Township planner, said.
Located on Route 22, the former 78-acre Phillipsburg Mall opened in 1989 and was a center for commercial activity, with four anchor stores and more than 90 stores. However, the mall had been in decline over the last decade, resulting in portions of it being demolished or having collapsed. Each township has designated the property, along with several adjoining properties, as an area "in need of redevelopment."
"The mall, for all intents and purposes, has collapsed," Ritter said Tuesday night.
The amended petition outlines in detail all the Highlands resources of the properties and presents a rationale for their inclusion within the designated center.
The plan conformance will be submitted to the New Jersey Highlands Council for approval.
The Oliviers will recognise two individuals with unique awards this year.
Arlene Phillips, who recently picked up a WhatsOnStage Award for her work on Grease (which will return later this year to the Dominion Theatre) will receive the 'Special Award'. Phillips is currently in rehearsals for the new immersive production of Guys and Dolls with other credits including Starlight Express and Saturday Night Fever.
Derek Jacobi, one of the founding members of the National Theatre and household name for his work across stage and screen, will receive the Lifetime Achievement award.
The Olivier Awards will take place on Sunday 2 April at the Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Hannah Waddingham. The full list of nominees will be announced on February 28 at 2pm so keep your eyes peeled on our social channels for more!
A bill that seeks to stop metropolitan district developers from buying municipal bonds that they or their affiliates approved for sale while serving on the communitys board of directors passed the state House on Tuesday.
In a 38-24 vote that drew a Republican in favor and pulled seven Democrats from the majority, House Bill 1090 now moves to the Senate. The bill also drew 16 co-sponsors in the House, all Democrats. Three members were excused from the vote.
Bill sponsor Rep. Mike Weissman, an Aurora Democrat, said the conflict of interest of a developer buying their own financing is troubling and the key focus of the proposed legislation.
Im grateful of the support of my colleagues in recognizing that those who issue metro district debt, which is local government debt paid for by property taxes, should not be able to purchase and profit from that debt, Weissman told The Denver Gazette after the vote.
Rep. Rod Bockenfeld, R-Watkins, was the lone voice on the House floor trying to dissuade colleagues from its passage, saying developer-owned bonds are crucial to a metro districts success. Additionally, Bockenfeld said homeowners should do their homework before complaining about the practice.
Im sorry folks, when my constituents call me and complain about a metro district, it falls on deaf ears, said the legislator of House District 56, which covers Adams, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, El Paso, Elbert, Kit Carson and Lincoln counties. You have a responsibility when you buy a home to do your own due diligence.
The seven Democrats who sided with Bockenfeld's dissent were Shannon Bird of Westminster; Cathy Kipp of Fort Collins; William Lindstedt of Broomfield; Barbara McLachlan of Durango; Marc Snyder of Colorado Springs; Alex Valdez of Denver; and, Mary Young of Greeley.
The lone Republican to break ranks was Rep. Stephanie Luck of Penrose.
While acting as a metro districts board of directors, developers or those who work for them approve the public financing needed to reimburse them for their expenses, then purchase that debt for themselves, frequently at much higher interest-rate returns than other forms of financing. Critics say the practice appears unethical, but board members of quasi-governmental metro districts are not subject to state ethics commission scrutiny.
Another bill, HB 23-1065, takes square aim at that loophole. The House committee on appropriations also expects to hear it.
The Senate on Tuesday passed on second reading a bill that would allow the very practice Weissmans offering would prohibit, setting up a legislative showdown in each chamber as the bills crisscross the Capitol.
The bill, Senate Bill 23-110, is likely to be taken up for its final approval this week.
Weissman said he is ready to see which bill will survive.
I hope that problematic provisions of SB 110 that would allow this very practice by enshrining it in statute are amended as it continues its course in the Senate and then the House, he said.
Co-sponsor Sen. Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, will carry the Weissman bill through his side of the General Assembly next week.
A1 Telekom Austria Groups board agreed to a plan to spin off its passive telecoms infrastructure into a separate company.
In a statement, A1 Telekom stated it will maintain ownership of the separate company which has yet to be established. Around 12,9000 towers across its central and eastern European footprint are being transferred over to the new holding company.
The cell towers are located in: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and Northern Macedonia.
In the process of the separation, A1 Telekom Austria shareholders will receive shares in the new company in proportion to their existing shares.
A1 Telekom Austria is the European unit of Latin American operator group America Movil, of which shareholders agreed to the spin-off, as Austrian sovereign wealth fund OBAG. A1 Telekom Austria has around 27 million customers and also operates in Belarus.
A1 Group CEO Thomas Arnoldner (pictured, fourth): "We welcome this decision to spin off the passive infrastructure into a separate company. It offers strategically important perspectives and a long-term stable ownership structure. It will make our network rollout faster and more efficient, which will benefit our customers and the business location."
A1 Group COO Alejandro Plater (pictured, first) added: "With this important step for the future, we are creating more transparency and generating better use of existing assets. At many large national and international telecommunications providers in Europe and also in Austria, this is already lived practice or has been started. We are now also following this example."
New leadership is coming to the newsroom at River Valley Media Group.
Todd Krysiak will take over March 1 as executive editor of the media group. He succeeds Bob Heisse, who is retiring after 44 years in journalism.
Todd is a proven, veteran news leader, both in Wisconsin and in operations that have touched on news markets throughout the country, said Marc Chase, Midwest news director for Lee Enterprises. He knows how special the La Crosse, Winona and Chippewa Falls markets truly are, and hes eager to dive in, both as an executive editor and a citizen experiencing those communities.
Krysiak brings 24 years of newsroom experience to the job. He joined Lee Enterprises in 2006 as a staff reporter for the Portage Daily Register before assuming the role as editor at newspapers in Sauk City, Baraboo and Reedsburg.
In 2015, Krysiak was promoted to regional editor of Capital Newspapers North. After two years, he moved into production as news executive and production editor for Lee Enterprises.
Krysiak said he welcomes the chance to return to the newsroom, where hell lead the staffs of the La Crosse Tribune, Winona Daily News and Chippewa Herald and six weekly news publications.
RVMG is really well positioned as a media entity, Krysiak said. These products have a fantastic history.
He said the region is blessed with top health care, education, recreation and transportation resources that offer compelling news topics.
Im very excited to be here, he said. Bob has established a great foundation of community and public service journalism. The staffs here produce top-notch local reporting, and I look forward to building upon that.
Heisse came to La Crosse as regional editor in 2020. His career includes leading newsroom coverage of events that drew national attention. He was editor of the Centre Daily Times in Pennsylvania in 2011, when the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke at Penn State. In 2020, he was editor at the Kenosha News and led coverage of the protests, riots and civil unrest that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
We celebrate Bob for a decorated and successful career as a top editor, Chase said. Hes guided other Lee Enterprises newsrooms to great success, and hes presided over news teams in other parts of the country that have handled some of the most recognizable and compelling stories. Well miss Bob, but we wish him well in his much-deserved retirement.
Heisse said, Ive been so fortunate to work for daily newspapers starting the day after my college graduation. Its been so rewarding and honoring to oversee several papers, including ours.
A Columbia County couple is among this Aprils inductees into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame.
Mark Martin and Susan Foote Martin have dedicated their lives to Wisconsins wild things and the places they live. Over a combined 90 years of work, the two have individually had a hand in reshaping the states ecosystems.
For Mark and I to be recognized for this conservation award, to be inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame is an amazing gift to us, its a huge honor, said Susan.
Throughout his 41-year career, Mark has coordinated over 30,000 acres worth of land purchases, generated over $13,000 for the protection and management of state natural areas, and spearheaded efforts to make State Natural Areas (SNAs) more accessible for members of the public.
South-central Wisconsinites may recall climbing the many steps at the Roche-A-Cri Mound in Adams County, visiting Sauk Citys Ferry Bluff for a hike. These, and countless other SNAs, are examples of Marks work.
Susan has a similarly extensive list of accolades, including the creation of the Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail, featuring 350 nature waypoints through which visitors can be guided by five, full-color, regional auto booklets, thanks to Susan.
Shes also credited with saving Wisconsins cave bats from extinction, aiding in their state-listing as threatened due to white-nose syndrome. Sauk City residents may notice the Bird City Wisconsin signs posted around the area, indicating it as an area where bird populations can find sanctuary. That, too, is Susans doing.
Mark and Susans decades of work with the public have made nature accessible to and appreciated by many who can now enjoy its benefits, reads the WCHFs release on the couple. The Martins are truly lifetime Wisconsin conservationists.
In true conservationist fashion, Mark and Susan met for the first time at an International Crane Count meeting, marrying a year later and combining their efforts on a new project: Goose Pond. Sharing the role of resident managers, the two worked tirelessly to transform the sanctuary into what the WCHF calls one of Wisconsins most magical, inspiring, and preserved places.
Mark and Susan dont count their accolades, though. They tally the friends theyve made along the way, the plant and animal populations theyve been able to assist, and everything they want to do in the future.
Its really a joy to be able to protect, acquire and restore habitat for wildlife, said Mark. Its good that we can help out the species and at the same time we can provide spaces for the public to learn from and visit.
The goal, ultimately, is to connect people to nature. For the Martins, that was a natural connection.
Animals were an arms reach away throughout Susans childhood, growing up on her family farm. Her agricultural education at home was supplemented by an Audubon field guide, where she learned to identify the different types of birds she would grow up to protect.
Mark, on the other hand, was raised hunting and fishing, his interests being sparked during a high school field trip to a Wisconsin conservation camp.
Beyond their working hours, the Martins have thousands of volunteer hours under their belts. Since 1993, they have led annual field trips for the Wisconsin Natural Resources Foundation. They mentor aspiring conservationists as well as landowners, inspiring some to donate their lands to the state as SNAs.
The Martins have also written hundreds of articles for various conservation newsletters, such as the Madison Audubon newsletter, the biweekly Friday Feathered Feature and Goose Pond Updates.
Probably not since Frederick and Frances Hamerstrom, inducted in 1996, has a couple done so much for wild places and wild things in Wisconsin, said the WCHF. Connecting people to nature is their hallmark.
The Martins will be honored in a live virtual ceremony on Tuesday, April 25 at 6 p.m.
Wisconsin Dells city officials wanted a clearer picture regarding how to distribute liquor sale for consumption licenses in the city and after forming a committee, adopted criteria and procedure to do that.
During the citys common council meeting on Feb. 20, officials unanimously approved the standards for available Class B liquor licenses established by the Class B License Advisory Committee, which was formed in January and held its second meeting on Feb. 14. Applicants must submit a business plan outline and the committee will review applications based on six established criteria.
Class B liquor licenses in Wisconsin are for businesses that sell liquor that is consumed on premises, such as bars and restaurants. There are also Class B fermented malt beverage licenses, which allow for beer sales for consumption on or off premises.
After receiving applications, the committee will look at potential economic impact, compatibility with the area and its mission, zoning and code requirements established by the city, the applicants business experience, the intended use of the license, and a background check by the Wisconsin Dells Police Department. Application fees are $150.
The city currently has two Class B licenses available, but with different stipulations. One is left over from the closure of Myrt and Lucys Family Restaurant last summer, and the other was earned through a population increase. At the committees first meeting on Jan. 18, city finance director/administrator Karen Terry said the population is close to garnering the city another Class B license.
Dells committee seeks clarity on liquor licensing Wisconsin Dells established its Class B License Advisory Committee in December and had its first meeting on Jan. 18. The committee discussed open licenses, criteria for obtaining them, and tabled decisions for its next meeting on Valentine's Day.
Licenses will be made public in early March, with an application deadline of March 30. The councils approved measure indicated that licenses may be issued by June 19. Licenses are first approved by the committee and the Legislative Committee before final approval by the council. Applicants will be scheduled to present their plans to the Class B committee and recommended applicants will also be able to speak publicly at the Legislative Committee meeting that follows their recommendation from the Class B committee.
A business owner who takes over the license left from Myrt and Lucys can transfer to a different location, but such transfer would need approval from the committee and common council. The license is a legacy license and has been in existence since before 1997. The other available license is not transferable to a different location.
BURLINGTON A teachers aide who allegedly arrived for work at Waller Elementary School intoxicated is now working in a neighboring school district while facing a drunken-driving charge.
Amy Francisco, 44, was arrested Oct. 10, 2022, after colleagues at Waller School reported her as being intoxicated on the job, and after police caught her allegedly driving home with a blood-alcohol content of 0.26 more than three times the legal limit.
Francisco resigned her position with the Burlington Area School District, and was hired two weeks later as a teachers aide in the Waterford Graded School District.
She is currently working with students at Trailside Elementary School in Waterford.
Contacted by telephone, Francisco declined to comment.
According to Burlington police, Francisco admitted drinking vodka and orange juice when police stopped her minivan near her home shortly after 10 a.m. Oct. 10.
I asked Amy why she had to drink alcohol so early in the morning before work, a police officer reported. Amy said she feels unappreciated at work and at home.
Burlington police released the arrest report this week.
Waterford School District Administrator Tony Spence said he checked with Burlington school officials before hiring Francisco, but he knew nothing about the allegations of her being intoxicated on the job.
Referring to Burlington officials, Spence said, They had no concerns at that time.
Burlington school district records show that the school board voted Nov. 14 to accept Franciscos resignation retroactive to Oct. 10 the date of her arrest.
Jamie Rook, the districts human resources director, said that whenever approached about a former employee, the district provides only the employees former job title, dates of employment and salary.
Asked why Francisco was permitted to resign rather than face possible termination, Rook said, It is within Ms. Franciscos right to resign her position.
Court records show that Francisco is due in court March 20 for a status conference on charges of operating while intoxicated and operating with a prohibited blood-alcohol content.
She has pleaded not guilty to both charges, which are non-criminal civil citations in Burlington Municipal Court.
Wisconsin state law makes first-time drunken driving a non-criminal offense.
Francisco has a previous misdemeanor conviction in a 2003 drunken-driving case, but that case occurred in Michigan, so it does not count on her record in Wisconsin.
Burlington school district officials said Francisco was hired as a special education teachers aide in August 2020.
She was paid $17.50 an hour, or about $36,000 a year.
According to the police report, Waller Elementary Principal Ann Phillips called police around 10 a.m. Oct. 10 to report an intoxicated employee at the school, 195 Gardner Ave.
School staff had offered to give Francisco a ride home, the report states, but she decided to drive herself.
The principal told officers that Francisco had a bottle of alcohol in her purse and that she appeared to be drunk at school.
Officers waited outside Franciscos home on Barbara Street and confronted her when she approached in her minivan.
Francisco allegedly told officers that she had two or three glasses of vodka and orange juice that day.
Amy said she is struggling with stress, work overload and family life, the police report states.
Racine County court records show that Franciscos husband filed for divorce a few weeks after the arrest, in a case that is still pending.
Police reported that Francisco failed sobriety tests, and that a breathalyzer showed her blood-alcohol content was far above the .08 threshold for driving under the influence.
Officers also reported finding an unopened liter-sized bottle of vodka in the minivans center console.
Francisco was handcuffed, arrested and issued citations.
As a matter of routine, the case was registered on Jan. 3 after Francisco had been hired in the Waterford school district for a future jury trial date in Racine County Circuit Court.
The trial is scheduled for April 20.
Spence said his district hired Francisco on Oct. 25 as a teachers aide at Trailside Elementary, located at 615 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Waterford.
Spence said he became aware of the OWI case later after it was registered in circuit court but he was not aware of details of the case.
He declined to comment on whether the allegations leading up to Franciscos arrest would affect her eligibility to work in a classroom in Waterford.
Id have to reflect on that now, he said.
History of anti-drunk driving advocacy History of anti-drunk driving advocacy 1982 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019
South African regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has addressed submissions relating to an earlier Draft Radio Frequency Spectrum Assignment Plan with a new round of consultation. The authority had previously highlighted ten bands for public consultation in March last year.
In the light of submissions made by stakeholders, the Authority has determined that three of the ten bands require a further round of consultation. These bands have now been made public.
The three Second Draft Radio Frequency Spectrum Assignment Plans (RFSAPs), all of which are for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) systems, relate to the 450 MHz to 470 MHz band; the 825 MHz to 830 MHz and 870 MHz to 875 MHz bands; and the 1427 MHz to 1518 MHz band.
It is in the interest of the sector to delay the finalisation of the three RFSAPs in question, and to engage in a second round of consultation to establish all the factors to be considered in order to ensure that the spectrum can be awarded to the most valuable user in the near future, says Chairperson of the Council Committee Charley Lewis.
Explaining some of the issues that have caused the continued consultation, he adds: Two of the bands in question have incumbents that have to be migrated, while most stakeholders argued for the third RFSAP to be extended to cover the full band.
These assignment plans are aimed at identifying new high-demand spectrum that ICASA intends to make available for IMT services in the near future. ICASA claims that together, the ten RFSAPs will achieve a 215% increase in high-demand spectrum available for licensing through a competitive process.
Stakeholder representations must be made by no later than Monday, 06 March 2023 at 4pm.
Click the photo and watch the video.
* The 2023 Tibetan New Year falls on Feb. 21, almost a month after the Spring Festival. The celebration usually starts on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar and ends after 15 days.
* Just like the Spring Festival, the Tibetan New Year marks the perfect opportunity for Tibetans to reunite with their relatives and friends.
* Business has been exceptionally good this year, said Tsering Nima, a merchant of Barkhor Mall. With the optimized COVID response, shops and stalls have gradually regained popularity.
LHASA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) On Tuesday, the first day of the Year of the Water Rabbit under the Tibetan calendar, people across Lhasa, the capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, greeted each other with the phrase "Losar Tashi Delek" (Happy Tibetan New Year).
A girl presents the chema box, a two-tier rectangular wooden box containing roasted barley and fried wheat grain, to celebrate the Tibetan New Year in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 21, 2023. [Xinhua/Jigme Dorje]
Starting Monday evening, throughout the whole night, fireworks and sparklers popped, glittered, and lit up the sky over Lhasa.
Across Barkhor Street in downtown Lhasa, decorations such as red Tibetan New Year couplets, exquisite chema boxes (a two-tier rectangular wooden box containing roasted barley and fried wheat grain), auspicious sheep heads, colorful dyed flowers accompanied the hustle and bustle of large shopping crowds.
"Business has been exceptionally good this year," said Tsering Nima, a merchant of Barkhor Mall. With the optimized COVID response, shops and stalls have gradually regained popularity.
The Spring Festival boom has just ended, and now the fervor of the Tibetan New Year has risen again, Tsering Nima said.
On Feb. 18, Tashi Phuntsog woke up early and drove from his Singpori community to Lhasa for some festive shopping.
"In addition to the essentials for the new year, including Kasai (a traditional Tibetan fried pastry made of flour and butter) and a chema box, I also bought new clothes for my family. We will celebrate the new year in our new home in Singpori," he said.
Back when they used to live in Tsonyi, China's highest county, they had to go to the nearby counties of Nyima and Bangoin, which are still hundreds of kilometers away, to shop for the new year.
"After the relocation, there are more choices for us and it is more convenient," said Tashi Phuntsog, who spent altogether 4,100 yuan (about 598 U.S. dollars) for the goods.
Tashi Phuntsog does festive shopping at Barkhor Mall in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 18, 2023. [Xinhua/Sun Fei]
Singpori is on the north bank of the Yarlung Zangbo River in the city of Shannan, located at an altitude of 3,600 meters. It is only some 10 km from the Lhasa airport. In addition to residences, the community also has access to a newly-built hospital, kindergartens and schools, a market and a recreation center.
In July 2022, Tibet launched the second phase of the high-altitude ecological relocation to Singpori. The program aimed to eventually relocate nearly 10,000 people from the counties of Tsonyi, Amdo and Nyima, with an average altitude of over 4,500 meters, to Singpori.
In that same month, Tashi Phuntsog's family of five moved to the Singpori and was allocated a two-story house covering 119 square meters.
In 2020, Tashi Phuntsog graduated from Harbin Medical University in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. After graduation, he was admitted to the People's Hospital of Tsonyi County, and sent for standardized training at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in east China's Zhejiang Province.
"I haven't spent the Tibetan New Year with my family for three years. This year, I took a month's leave to be with my family for the festival," he said. He has begun to bear all the household expenses as he now earns a decent income from his work as a doctor.
"When we moved in, the house was already equipped with facilities such as water and electricity. In January, I spent 40,000 yuan on the decoration of our home and bought pieces of furniture including Tibetan-style beds and tables," he said.
This photo taken on July 19, 2022 shows a view of the relocation site in Singpori, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Xinhua/Zhang Rufeng]
"Our life is better off thanks to the relocation. The children have a brighter future and my health is gradually improving," said Kelsang Drolkar, Tashi Phuntsog's mother. She used to suffer from serious rheumatic arthritis, a common highland disease. But her symptoms have eased a lot after the relocation.
Festival for All
The 2023 Tibetan New Year falls on Feb. 21, almost a month after the Spring Festival. The celebration usually starts on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar and ends after 15 days. Just like the Spring Festival, the Tibetan New Year marks the perfect opportunity for Tibetans to reunite with their relatives and friends.
While a sweet smell coming from the pot, Tsewang, 74, stirred the soup ladle from time to time at her Singpori home. She was cooking "gutu," a kind of soup made of flour and a traditional dish for the night of the 29th of the 12th month in the Tibetan calendar.
"Gu" in Tibetan means nine, which is a lucky number. "Tu" means "pasta." Nine different fillings like wool, charcoal and chili are placed inside the dough drops, and each of these fillings has a meaning.
Tsewang and her family enjoy "gutu," a kind of soup made of flour and a traditional dish for the night of the 29th of the 12th month in the Tibetan calendar, at the relocation site in Singpori, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 19, 2023. [Xinhua/Sun Fei]
"It is the Tibetan New Year Eve tomorrow. The family and relatives will be gathered together and welcoming a warm new year at the new home," Tsewang said on Sunday.
For 46-year-old Li Xijun, from northwest China's Gansu Province, celebrating Tibetan New Year with his wife Drolma Tsering has become a part of his life after living in Tibet for 26 years.
"We celebrate both Spring Festival and Tibetan New Year at home," he said. Li started his commercial trade business in Tibet after retiring from the army in 1997. He met his wife in 2000, and has since settled in the border county of Yadong to take care of Drolma Tsering's parents and younger sister.
It is the third Tibetan New Year for Yuan Yubing from Shanghai. Yuan came to Tibet to learn Thangka painting in 2017 and married Losang Samkhar, her studio teacher, the following year.
"I was more of a spectator when I first celebrated the festival," Yuan said. But after years of living here, Yuan has already known all kinds of customs of the Tibetan New Year.
Yuan and her mother-in-law have cleaned up the windows at home, and all the new year's goods are ready. She has even replaced her mother-in-law to cook for the family for new year's eve.
"Coming to Tibet makes me feel that my heart has found a home," she said.
Video reporters: Zhu Cong, Lodro Gyatso; Video editors: Liu Yutian, Cao Ying, Liu Xiaorui, Peng Ying
(Source: Xinhua)
Hao Yabo (R) performs acupuncture therapy with his assistant to a patient at a hospital in Bangui, Central African Republic, Feb. 13, 2023. [Xinhua/Li Yahui]
Chinese medical teams are currently working at 115 medical centers in 56 countries around the world, most of which are in Africa. African people hail the Chinese medical workers as health messengers in white, models of South-South cooperation and most welcome guests.
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) With the first rays of sunlight shining into the clinic rooms, a group of doctors from east China's Zhejiang Province were about to start work at the Friendship Hospital in the Central African Republic's capital of Bangui.
As some 90 patients were waiting their turn in the hallways, loud noise of electricity generators resounded through the hospital. The hospital is struggling with fragile conditions. The walls are peeling. In rainy seasons, rains leaked through the roofs. And water and power outages are common for local people.
Those poor medical infrastructures have left thousands of people in the country vulnerable to diseases and with little access to health services.
Despite the harsh conditions, some 300 Chinese doctors and nurses have come to the African country since 1978 to help local people. Since its first medical aid team set off for Algeria in 1963, China has sent about 30,000 personnel to 76 countries and regions across five continents, providing 290 million diagnoses and treatments for local people.
Chinese medical teams are currently working at 115 medical centers in 56 countries around the world, most of which are in Africa. African people hail the Chinese medical workers as health messengers in white, models of South-South cooperation and most welcome guests.
On Missions to Heal and Rescue
"I could not see well in the right eye, and sometimes, after taking a few steps, it felt like I was about to fall. I came to the hospital and was diagnosed with cataract," Elizabeth Dzokpe, a retired nurse from Kpando in the Volta Region of Ghana, told Xinhua.
To help her restore sight, the Chinese medical team stationed at the LEKMA Hospital in the country's capital Accra offered a free surgery, and now Dzokpe regained a normal vision.
Dzokpe is one of the many beneficiaries of such free surgeries the medical team performed since last November. This program intends to treat as many low-income Ghanaians with cataracts as possible.
"Next to the gift of life is the gift of sight, because our sight lightens our world and makes us appreciate our existence better," said Ghanaian Deputy Minister for Health Mahama Asei Seini.
The Chinese people love peace and cherish lives, which is vividly illustrated by their efforts in international medical assistance, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a reply letter to the 19th Chinese medical team dispatched to the Central African Republic earlier this month.
True indeed. In Botswana, the 16th Chinese medical team dispatched to the country has performed 6,081 operations on local patients, rescued 4,044 critically ill patients, and delivered 605 babies over the last two years. Working in Sierra Leone for more than a year, the 23rd Chinese medical team has treated some 18,000 patients and made multiple breakthroughs in surgeries.
"These Chinese doctors made great sacrifices, and their stories are unfolding in the continent every day. This kind of humanity should be praised, and their stories will be told from generation to generation," Benjamin Anyagre, general secretary of the Ghana-China Friendship Association, told Xinhua.
China-donated Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Feb. 10, 2021. [Photo by Li Boyuan/Xinhua]
Friends in Need
China and Africa together have written a splendid chapter of mutual assistance amidst complex changes. One of the best examples of the kind is their cooperation against various deadly viruses.
When China struggled to contain the COVID-19 pandemic within its borders, leaders of more than 50 African countries offered their sympathy and provided support to China's battle against the virus. Later, China also proved a reliable friend in deed who honors its pledges of support for an Africa in need, delivering myriads of urgently-needed medical supplies, sending over teams of medical experts, and sharing its own anti-pandemic experience.
To fulfill its commitment to making COVID-19 vaccines a global public good, China has provided tens of thousands of vaccines to more than 50 African countries and the African Union. It has also helped Africa with producing COVID-19 vaccines, offering technology and expertise.
The solidarity between China and Africa demonstrated over the past three years has reminded many of what happened in the three years since 2014, when West Africa was plagued with one of the most deadly viruses in the world: Ebola.
From 2014 to 2016, China had sent over 1,000 medical personnel to the virus-stricken regions, and trained more than 13,000 local health personnel and community epidemic control coordinators for deployment to the affected areas. It had also offered ambulances, motorcycles, pickup trucks and portable incinerators to West Africa.
"It is in the hour of need that one discovers who your true friends are," said Namibian President Hage Geingob.
The Chinese are always on the Africans' side, said Teruneh Zenna, Ethiopia's former ambassador to the United Nations. "I am looking forward to more cooperation between Africa and China in the field of public health."
This aerial photo taken on Jan. 8, 2023 shows the headquarters building of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. [Photo by Dang Honglai/Xinhua]
Towards Community of Health for All
Gazing at an iconic twin tower sitting on a once derelict land full of garbage in the southern suburbs of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, local resident Wakjira Totofa said, "It's really like a dream."
"We never thought we would see such a magnificent building in a short period," said Totofa, a civil servant who lives in the neighborhood of the building hosting the headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Totofa has witnessed the dramatic change from "nothing to something" on his daily commute. The first phase of this flagship cooperation project was completed in January, another fine testament to China's endeavor to build a China-Africa community of health for all.
In December 2015, China announced 10 major plans, including on public health, to boost cooperation with Africa in the following three years. Three years later, the country reaffirmed its commitment to building an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. Both sides have pledged to build "a China-Africa community of health for all."
In 2021, the Chinese president proposed to work closely with African countries to implement nine programs, the first of which is the medical and health program.
"I have been impressed by China's active participation in promoting global health with a shared future. Chinese leadership under President Xi Jinping has focused on pursuing the greater good and shared interests across the world, which has boosted China's efforts in maintaining good cooperation in global health," said Emery Nzirabatinya, a Rwandan international relations expert.
(Source: Xinhua)
Jose Rodriguez (right) was inspired by his brother Joel (left) to create the company Tasium, which makes fidget-infused clothing targeting people with autism or ADHD.
The Gulf of Mexico would be home to the kind of fixed-base wind turbines, pictured here off the coast of Block Island, that are already off the coasts of Rhode Island and Virginia.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, here in Washington, DC, on January 5, told reporters on Monday that he plans to visit East Palestine, Ohio, "when the time is right."
EPA says it can fine Norfolk Southern $70,000 a day if it falls short of cleaning up and paying for the Ohio toxic train wreck
Flags to be flown at half-staff in four Missouri counties in honor of Kansas City officer killed in crash
Grand jury finds Marshall County deputies were justified in use of force in shooting of man who shot Jody Cash
According to the foreign minister of South Korea, North Korea is a "clear and present danger."
Aerial photo provided by the Swedish Coast Guard on Sept. 27, 2022 shows the gas leak from Nord Stream in the Baltic Sea.(The Swedish Coast Guard/Handout via Xinhua) A Croatian security expert said that the United States has benefited the most from the September 2022 Nord Stream explosions, supporting a thorough investigation into the incident. ZAGREB, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The involvement of the U.S. Navy in the September 2022 Nord Stream explosions, as alleged by a renowned U.S. journalist in a recent report, is "not impossible" because the United States has benefited the most from the incident, Croatian security expert Mirko Vukobratovic said in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday. American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has written on the U.S. portal Substack that the U.S. Navy was involved in the Nord Stream explosions. Photo taken in Arlington of Virginia, the United States, shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attending a press conference in Washington, D.C. Feb. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) U.S. President Joe Biden said last February that if Russian tanks and troops cross the border and enter Ukraine, "there will be no longer Nord Stream 2." According to Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize winner, last June, U.S. Navy divers, operating under the cover of a widely publicized mid-summer North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercise known as BALTOPS 22, planted the remotely triggered explosives that destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines three months later. Vukobratovic credited Hersh's article for providing "important, objective" details about the Nord Stream explosions, from which the United States has benefited the most as it can sell gas to Europe at a much higher price, in addition to exerting pressure on Russia. An inflatable dummy and a yellow sign board reading "The bill has arrived" are seen at the Big Mamy bar in Rome, Italy, Sept. 17, 2022.(Xinhua/Jin Mamengni) If the United States had evidence of any Russian involvement, Washington and the U.S. media would be "full of accusations directed against Russia," Vukobratovic noted, adding that the European Union, as usual, followed in the footsteps of the United States in this case. Vukobratovic welcomed the call by the Chinese government for a thorough investigation into the Nord Stream explosions, which seriously sabotaged vital transnational infrastructure and caused severe damages. "The Chinese position that the investigation must be objective and impartial is the only correct one. Only when it is carried out professionally can we talk about the intentions of those who caused the explosion," he said.
HENRY COUNTY A single-vehicle crash in Henry County late Tuesday claimed the lives of a Dothan cardiologist and his daughter, according to a release from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA).
Dr. Nidal Yunis, 54, was driving a 2021 Lincoln Navigator on Highway 431 North near the Barbour County line when at around 10:55 p.m., the vehicle left the roadway, struck an embankment and several trees before overturning.
Yunis was transported to a hospital but later died from his injuries. Yunis daughter Shereen, 13, was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Yunis wife Arwa, 50, and son Zeid, 20, were injured and are being treated at Southeast Health Medical Center. Officials say they are in stable condition.
The family was apparently heading back from an out-of-town trip when the accident occurred.
Dr. Yunis was a practicing cardiologist at Premier Cardiology Consultants in Dothan and had staff privileges at Southeast Health since 2009, according to the health systems Director of Marketing, Mark Stewart.
Shereen Yunis was a student at Houston Academy. The school cancelled all classes and activities for Wednesday and will hold a candlelight vigil for the Yunis family from 7 to 8 p.m. at the schools amphitheater.
No further details are available at this time as troopers from ALEAs Highway Patrol Division continue to investigate.
One year after the reactionary invasion of Ukraine by the Putin regime, the imperialist powers are organizing a massive escalation of the war, which increasingly raises the threat of a nuclear world war.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden paid a surprise visit to Kiev and announced further arms deliveries, including missiles designed to enable Ukraine to attack targets in Crimea and the Russian heartland. The other far-reaching decisions taken behind the scenes are not known, but demands in the US media range from the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to NATO ground troops.
The visit showed how far the escalation spiral has progressed. According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the White House informed the Kremlin of the planned visit a few hours before Bidens departure. A situation in which there could have been a conflict between the two nuclear powers ought to be avoided, wrote Der Spiegel.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his state of the nation address that Russia was restricting its participation in the New Start agreement. The treaty limits the nuclear arsenals of Russia and the United States to 800 delivery systems and 1,550 operational nuclear warheads. We are not withdrawing from it, but we are suspending our participation, Putin said.
President Joe Biden delivers a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, at the Royal Castle Gardens in Warsaw. [AP Photo/Evan Vucci]
On Tuesday evening, Biden gave another speech at the historic Royal Palace in Warsaw. There will continue to be hard and very bitter days, victories and tragedies in a long war with heavy losses, he informed his hand-picked audience. Then he declared threateningly: Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia never. We will work together to ensure that Ukraine can continue to defend itself.
Already at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, the far-reaching war goals of the imperialist powers were formulated openly: the complete military defeat of Russia in Ukraine and the weakening and ultimate subjugation of the geostrategically important and resource-rich country.
We must defeat Goliath, who wants to destroy us, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He continued by stating that being David means having to win. And in order to win, it would take a slingshot to defeat the aggressor Russia, just as David defeated Goliath. And Ukraine has not yet received this sling, Zelensky added.
Zelenskys speech via video on the first day of the conference set the tone. In their official speeches and statements, the heads of government from the European Union (EU) and NATO powers then outbid each other with calls for more and faster arms deliveries to Kiev and a constant military escalation.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for more military aid to force Russia to the negotiating table, that is, to impose a peace of victory on the country. It is imperative that we intensify our support and efforts to enable Ukrainians to engage in a counteroffensive, he said. The coming weeks and months are crucial. France is ready for an even longer conflict. Now is not the time for dialogue.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland was ready to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine together with other countries. A prerequisite for such a move is a NATO decision, he added.
The German government in particular, which has long been officially portrayed as restrained, is now at the forefront of the war offensive against Russia. In their speeches, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and Chancellor Olaf Scholz boasted of German military support for Ukraine and demanded more support from the partners for the formation of a tank army against Russia.
Germanys aid to Ukraine amounted to more than 12 billion last year, Scholz said. We deliver state-of-the-art weapons, ammunition and other military goods, more than any other country in continental Europe. This is not only in line with the legitimate expectations of our partners and allies, but also shows that we are taking on the responsibility that a country of the size, location and economic strength of Germany has to shoulder in times like these.
Scholz also made it clear that the arms deliveries are aimed at a long and intensive war. And it is important to put our support in place from the beginning so that we can maintain it for a long time, he said. This has been our benchmark in the delivery of new weapon systems: self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers, anti-aircraft weapons, armored vehicles, Patriot missile batteries and, most recently, Western battle tanks. This is how it will remain in the future.
This means that all those who can deliver such battle tanks actually do so now, Scholz continued. Together with Defence Minister Pistorius and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Scholz promoted this point energetically in Munich. Germany will help to facilitate this decision for our partners, for example by training Ukrainian soldiers here in Germany or by supporting them with supplies and logistics, he commented.
A German officer, left, talks to Ukrainian soldiers at the German forces Bundeswehr training area in Munster, Germany, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visits the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Leopard main battle tank and the Marder infantry fighting vehicle at the training area. [AP Photo/Gregor Fischer]
In the same breath, Scholz asserted that he would ensure that there is no war between NATO and Russia. This claim is preposterous on its face. In fact, the military alliance has long been at war with Russia and is escalating the conflict. Baerbock said this quite openly recently. We are fighting a war against Russia and not against each other, she told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in late January.
Germanys ruling class is pursuing even more comprehensive war goals. It is using the NATO war against Russia to implement its great power ambitions announced nine years ago at the Munich Security Conference in 2014, and to make Germany the leading military and war power again after two lost world wars in the 20th century.
From this podium, there has often been talk in recent years of Germany having to live up to its security policy responsibility, Scholz said. He stated, Not only do we share this claim, we are fulfilling it. The Chancellor boasted that Germany, among other things, sent an additional brigade to Lithuania under his leadership, supported Poland and Slovakia with air defense, and currently leads the NATO spearhead rapid deployment force for which we keep 17,000 soldiers at the ready.
In order to be able to achieve this and even more in the future, we are putting an end to the neglect of the Bundeswehr (armed forces), Scholz continued. The 100 billion Bundeswehr special fund laid the foundation for this and made possible a permanent lane change in the development of the capabilities of the Bundeswehr. But military spending should continue to grow, he added.
Of course, with new fighter jets, helicopters, ships and tanks, the costs for ammunition and equipment, maintenance, exercises, training and personnel are also rising, he said. He therefore reaffirmed that Germany will permanently increase its defense spending to two percent of gross domestic product. Pistorius warned that the defense budget would be increased by another 10 billion next year.
The ruling class not only envisages the comprehensive militarization of Germany, but of the whole of Europe. In order to invest these funds sensibly and sustainably, we need a high-performance and competitive arms industry in Germany and throughout Europe, Scholz said. Gigantic armaments projects such as the Future Combat Air System, the Main Ground Combat System and the European Sky Shield, initiated by Germany, are steps towards a Europe of defence and armaments and towards a more geopolitically capable Europe.
All the phrases about freedom, democracy and human rights repeated by Scholz, Biden and Co. cannot hide the fact that the leading NATO powers and their proxies are waging a dirty imperialist war in Ukraine. In Munich, Ukrainian deputy head of government Olexandr Kubrakov called for the delivery of cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs to Kiev. Why cant we use them? he asked provocatively. It is our territory and the weapons could help to withstand the Russian army.
The use of cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs is illegal under international law. The effects of these weapons are devastating. Cluster munitions are rockets and bombs that break apart in the air and release countless small explosive devices. Phosphorus is an extremely flammable chemical that is difficult to extinguish. It burns flesh to the bone and its toxic fumes lead to severe burns of the respiratory tract. Both weapons are used extensively and are designed to kill and mutilate people indiscriminately.
Even though the NATO leaders publicly rejected Kubrakovs request, he knew whom he was addressing. The imperialist powers are experts when it comes to the use of these devastating weapons. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, nearly 13,000 cluster bombs with an estimated 1.8 to 2 million submunitions were dropped by the United States and the United Kingdom in the course of the invasion of Iraq in violation of international law. Missiles and shells containing white phosphorus were also used against the civilian population during the destruction of Fallujah.
Warrior Met miners picket [Photo: UMWA]
On February 16, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) President Cecil Roberts announced that the union was sending Warrior Met miners back to work at the mines in Brookwood, Alabama, by March 2. This would end a nearly two-year-long strike, the longest in state history.
Workers are being sent back by the union without a contract. They will continue to work as the union negotiates a new contract with Warrior Met. This is the final betrayal of a strike which the UMWA spent nearly two years isolating.
Roberts tried to spin the announcment on the UMWA website by claiming that the struggle was merely entering a new phase, saying: We have been locked into this struggle for 23 months now, and nothing has materially changed. The two sides have essentially fought each other to a draw thus far...
The strike began in April 2021, when the miners rejected the tentative contract concocted by the UMWA and Warrior Met Coal. Five years prior, UMWA officials talked them into a contract that cut their wages by $6 an hoursome of the lowest wages in the mining industry and the lowest wages in any UMWA mine. In addition, they were forced to pay higher health care insurance premiums with higher out-of-pocket expenditures.
Twelve-hour days and six-day workweeks have become the norm; workers were also made to register for a lottery for a seventh day. The four-strike attendance policy was so strict that many miners were forced to work during a spouses or childs medical crisis.
The earlier contract, the UMWA bureaucracy argued, was necessary in order to avoid layoffs. The union assured workers that once Warrior Met became profitable, miners would be rewarded with even better raises and benefits in five years.
But five years later, even with the demand for metallurgical coal booming and the company having made enough to pay its CEO over $5.6 million, workers were told that they had not yet sacrificed enough to regain the wages they had lost. The wage increase proposed by Warrior Met and approved by UMWA leadership amounted to a meager $1.00 per hour, with another $.50 over the course of five years. The health care costs remained, as did the four-strike attendance policy. This, the UMWA told them again, was the best that they could do.
The miners voted down the contract offer by 1,006-45 and authorized strike action. Warrior Met had prepared extensively for a strike, having recruited scabs throughout the economically-depressed Appalachian coal towns from West Virginia and Kentucky. Sheriffs deputies from both Bibb and Tuscaloosa counties escorted busloads of these replacements past the picketing miners daily. Warrior Met soughtand was grantedan injunction limiting the number of pickets to five at each site. This was later expanded to ban all picketing within 500 feet of mine entrances.
Miners told the World Socialist Web Site that the company had begun using drones and hiding private security guards in the woods to spy on them. Warrior Met employees menaced the picketing miners and their wives with their vehicles as they entered the offices, and one miner was hospitalized with serious injuries after being struck by a scab car. Alabama state police looked the other way, even though the assault was captured on film, and nobody was ever charged.
The explosion of a gas pipeline near the entrance of a mine in March 2022 was seized upon by Warrior Met for a further counteroffensive against the workers. The company labeled the explosion an attack that was related to the ongoing labor dispute, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATF) were summoned to the mines.
The mining industry interest group Alabama Mining Association (AMA) joined Warrior Met in what was clearly a well-rehearsed chorus about protecting critical infrastructure from acts of violence and vandalism. Alabamas right-wing Governor Kay Ivey had signed legislation that enhanced and expanded laws against tampering with critical infrastructure for the industries only six weeks before the blast.
The pressure continued. In August 2022, the NLRB levied fines greater than $13 million against the UMWA for lost profit, security costs and property damaged sustained by the coal company during the strike. Not only the company but the capitalist state was determined to make an example of the strikers.
The UMWAs response to these brutal attacks was to isolate the miners and create the conditions where they could take place with no organized opposition. A unionized mine 30 minutes away from Warrior Met was never called out, and in September 2021, the UMWA ratified a separate five-year deal with the long-idled Shoal Creek mines, instead of doing anything to unite workers there with the Warrior Met strikers.
Meanwhile, the UMWA, which has total assets of nearly $200 million and pays its top 49 officials a total of over $5 million a year, strung out the workers on only $300 per week in strike pay. Miners wives made T-shirts to raise money, supporters set up food banks and miners scrabbled for casual work and side-gigs to support their families while still keeping their required watch on the picket lines.
When the WSWS criticized the unions isolation of the strike and raised the demand that the strike pay be increased, the trade union bureaucracy reacted furiously. This reached a crescendo when several right-wing bureaucrats physically assaulted a group of young socialists at a union fundraising event, mistaking them for the WSWS.
The back-to-work letter is the UMWAs bitter final betrayal of the strike . This entire experience underscores the fact that workers must organize themselves independently in order to fight against both the company and the state as well as their backers in the union apparatus.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders speaking at a joint press conference with Senator Mike Braun (Republican-Indiana) and high-level trade union bureaucrats in Washington on February 09, 2023. [Photo: Bernie Sanders/@SenSanders]
Sometimes a politician sums up the real essence of their politics in a few glib words. This was the case with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders when confronted by MSNBC columnist Eric Michael Garcia last week about the role of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
After more than a week-long silence on the rail disaster, Buttigieg appeared in an interview last week when he complacently waved off the significance of the derailment by citing the fact that more than 1,000 derailments occur every year in the United States. After a sharp public backlash, Buttigieg was forced to walk this back somewhat by issuing a stern-sounding but toothless letter to Norfolk Southern. He still has not visited the disaster site, vaguely claiming he will only do so when the time is right.
Sanders five-word reply to Garcias questionDid he drive the train?encapsulates the cynical arrogance and hostility to the working class of this self-identified democratic socialist.
Sanders statement not only absolved Buttigieg and the Biden administration, but his own responsibility for the disaster. He played a key role in the maneuvering which led to the passage of an anti-strike law against railroaders last December. His statement also implicitly blamed the rail crew, a disgusting slander in light of the unsafe condition of the rail system that the Democrats and Republicans, including Sanders, have created through their kowtowing to the massively profitable rail corporations.
What are the facts? A Norfolk Southern train carrying vinyl chloride and other highly toxic chemicals derailed after safety equipment failed to detect in time an overheated wheel bearing. This under conditions where the jobs of workers responsible for monitoring such situations had been eliminated by the railroad as a cost saving move. Norfolk Southern did not even report the train was carrying high hazard materials due to lax or non-existent regulations.
Sanders comments to Garcia were not accidental. They flow logically from his role as a leading figure in the Democratic Party and as a left apologist for the pro company unions.
Nearly a week after the Ohio rail disaster, Sanders had staged a press conference with union officials to hail the granting of four additional sick days to certain categories of rail workers by CSX. Flanked by right-wing Indiana Republican Senator Mike Braun and heads of rail unions, Sanders praised the companys responsibility, while only mentioning in passing the toxic poisoning of East Palestine.
Those extra sick days, which do not include train crews that are worked to the bone and are on call 24/7 under Precision Scheduled Railroading, amounted to a token gesture to cover for the fact that the railroads are pressing the advantage Congress gave them with the anti-strike law. Three railroads announced pilot programs for one-man crews only days after the strike bill was signed into law, and BNSF has since announced plans to contract out locomotive maintenance to non-union labor.
Earlier, Sanders had played a key role in the passage of the Biden administrations strikebreaking bill imposing management-dictated contract terms on the backs of 120,000 rail workers that did nothing to address workers needs or mitigate unsafe conditions. Railroaders had repeatedly warned that overwork and understaffing were creating conditions ripe for disaster. This was the major reason why workers voted by 99 percent to strike in the first place.
While Sanders voted against the final version of the strike ban and the contract imposed by the Biden administration on rail workers, he played a critical role in its enactment. Sanders helped craft a sham amendment to the bill that added seven paid sick days, itself inadequate. It was known in advance that it had no chance of passing in the Senate, where it would have to overcome a Republican filibuster. The purpose of the amendment was to provide political cover to himself and other progressives.
The bill was deliberately structured in such a way that the inevitable failure of the sick leave proposal in the Senate would not delay its enactment in any way.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and other members of the Democratic Socialists of America in the then-Democratic-controlled House voted for the strikebreaking bill under the pretext of supporting the provision of additional sick days. The most significant element of the vote in the Senate was the expedited process, requiring unanimous consent by all 100 Senators, that rushed the legislation through ahead of the strike deadline. The deal had been worked out in advance with the White House and Sanders had agreed to it. If Sanders had objected, the bill would have been delayed.
Sanders has long ago been elevated into a top figure in the Democratic Party. From a nominally independent, left sounding apologist for the party on the margins of the Senate, Sanders is now one of the partys leading figures. In January, Sanders was given the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. This was after a two-year term as chair of the powerful Senate Budget Committee. Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, got tapped to the number two position on the House Oversight Committee.
The elevation of Sanders and the DSA comes even as the Democratic House leaders voted earlier this year for a Republican-sponsored bill denouncing socialism.
There is nothing inconsistent in this. Sanders is not a socialist, but a capitalist politician, a leading figure in the Democratic Party, who uses occasional left phrases to dupe workers and shore up the position of the right-wing trade union apparatus and the capitalist state as a whole. His disgraceful comments on the East Palestine disaster are just one more confirmation of this.
The February 6 earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria is a devastating indictment of world capitalism and its horrific waste of the social resources created by human labor.
The quake and its aftershocks devastated an area in which 25 million people live. The official death toll is approaching 50,000, with at least 42,000 in Turkey and 7,000 in Syria confirmed dead. Countless thousands are still buried under the rubble.
A governor in the quake zone in Turkey has admitted that the real death toll in Turkey alone could well surpass 150,000, making the earthquake one of the deadliest in modern history.
These mass deaths were preventable. Modern science and technology allow humanity to build housing that survives even powerful earthquakes with minimal loss of life. In the 2022 Fukushima earthquake in Japan, which was of a similar magnitude as the latest Turkish-Syrian quake, only four people died.
Yet in 2023, more people died from the Turkish-Syrian earthquake than did in the great earthquakes that shook the same region in 1759 or in 847, both of which claimed an estimated 20,000 lives. The last earthquake that likely killed more people in this region took place in the year 526, when an estimated quarter-million people lost their lives.
Why, despite the immense advances in technology and industry since the time of the Roman Empire, do earthquakes still claim tens or hundreds of thousands of lives and leave millions homeless in the freezing cold?
The answer is that capitalist governments squander vast resources on war and death, while neglecting the most urgent necessities. The life-saving work of building earthquake-resistant housing is deemed unprofitable by governments and corporations, and so it is ignored. This reality is strikingly exposed by the aid announced to earthquake victims by the NATO powers, as they pour billions of dollars into a war with Russia that has brought the world to the brink of nuclear conflict.
The Biden administration is expected to request in March the largest military budget in US history, around $900 billion. Under its leadership, the NATO powers, including Turkey, have provided at least $100 billion worth of military equipment and financial aid to their proxy forces in Ukraine to wage war on Russia. Based on US estimates that Russia has suffered 100,000 losses, this means spending a staggering $1 million to kill or wound each Russian soldier lost in the war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Turkey on Sunday and flew over the earthquake-hit area in a helicopter, announced that Washington has increased earthquake aid to Turkey and Syria from US$85 million to US$185 million. This amounts to just US$7.40 for each of the 25 million people affected by the quakes.
German imperialism last year increased its military spending by 100 billion euros, embarking on the largest rearmament drive since the fall of the Nazi regime led by Hitler. Last week, it announced that it had sent goods worth 6.9 million euros for Turkish and 1.5 million euros for Syrian earthquake zones. This is less than the cost of a single one of the Leopard 2 battle tanks that Berlin is sending to Ukraine.
In Turkey, the greatest share of the budget goes to the military and security apparatus. Of Turkeys budget of approximately 4.5 trillion Turkish liras (TL) in 2023, 390 billion TL (US$20.7 billion) went to the war machine. The Turkish bourgeoisie boasts of reportedly being the eleventh strongest in the world, and the strongest military power in the Middle East-North Africa region. Yet it cannot provide millions of its citizens with decent housing or, therefore, protect their right to life.
As the Turkish government boasted last week that it had collected 115 billion TL (US$6.1 billion) in aid85 billion of which in reality came from state-owned banksthousands of people in the earthquake-hit area are still without tents or containers for shelter. This forced many people to return to their damaged homes where, on February 20, they were caught in a new 6.4 magnitude earthquake. At least six died, and around 300 were injured. Meanwhile, countless hotels and apartments remain empty across Turkey.
In Syria, Washington and the other NATO imperialist powers bear the principal responsibility for the earthquake disaster, which affected nearly 10 million people and left 5.4 million homeless. The war for regime change they launched in 2011 to topple President Bashar al-Assads regime left one of the most advanced countries in the Arab world in rubble even before the earthquake.
Washington and its NATO allies, including Turkey, have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on a war that has killed more than 500,000 people and turned more than 10 million into refugees.
Four days after the earthquake, facing international outrage, Washington partially lifted its crippling sanctions on Syria, for six months. This token step, which came too late for the thousands of people buried under the rubble, was not followed by any comprehensive search-and-rescue or relief effort. Instead, Syrian earthquake victims were largely abandoned to their fate.
Since the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Washington has spent trillions of dollars on imperialist wars and regime-change operations in the region. Baghdad, Kabul, Fallujah, Mosul and Aleppo were all bombed and shelled into rubble before this earthquake devastated the region. The imperialist rampage across Central Asia and the Middle East, as the imperialist powers vied for world domination, cost millions of lives.
These endless wars, carried out by NATO governments with utter disregard for public opposition at home, set the stage for the current disaster. The NATO-Russia proxy war that erupted in Syria as NATO tried to topple the Russian-backed Assad regime spread to Ukraine after the 2014 NATO-backed coup in Kiev toppled a pro-Russian government. Now, having goaded Russian President Vladimir Putin into a reactionary invasion of Ukraine, NATO is calling for a war economy to orient ever more of industry to military production.
In todays globally integrated society, earthquakes, critical environmental problems like climate change, and public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic are all interconnected world problems, requiring a coordinated, international response. But it is impossible to mount such a response within the bankrupt framework of the capitalist nation-state system, dominated by financial oligarchies that are unanswerable to working people and demand that all available resources go to waging war.
Their policy on the Turkish-Syrian earthquake disasterlike their failure to carry out any globally coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has cost a staggering 20 million livesis proof that these oligarchies are unfit to rule. To prevent new disasters and a catastrophic escalation of war, it is urgent for the working class internationally to take power out of their hands and build a socialist society, based on social need, not private profit.
An explosion at the I. Schumann & Co. metal plant in Bedford, Ohio, killed one worker and injured another 13 Monday afternoon.
Steven Mullins (center)
Steven Mullins, a 46-year-old man from North Ridgeville, Ohio, was found dead at the scene, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office.
Mullins had worked for the company for nearly 30 years, starting work just as he was finishing high school and had been on the plants maintenance crew at the time of the explosion. A statement issued by the company did not provide further details.
A number of the workers injured in the blast were taken to nearby hospitals. Medical officials report that several workers suffered severe burns and had to be removed from the building. One worker in critical condition was taken by helicopter. Other workers were treated by first responders at the scene.
The plant, which makes copper and other alloys, is located about 15 miles southeast of Cleveland.
Workers at the plant report that there were two explosions: a smaller explosion followed by a larger one around 2:30 p.m. The second explosion was so powerful that it knocked over a large portion of the plants walls. Several workers were injured by falling debris. Bricks and other debris landed on cars and parking lots of nearby businesses. Some windows and doors were also blown out.
Jeff Huhn, who works inside sales at Mid-State Sales across the street, heard the explosion.
We were just loading up a truck, getting ready to leave, and it was the loudest noise we ever heard, Jeff told the Akron Beacon Journal.
Everything was shaking, things were falling off the shelves here. We looked out and saw a huge plume of smoke. About 40 feet down from the entrance, it blew up half the building. It blew debris and shrapnel; there were cars on fire. We just saw pandemonium after the explosion.
Photos of the site show a section of brick wall, roughly 200 feet long by 30 feet high, completely blown out, with bricks and large sections of steel beams laying on top of cars that were parked below.
While the cause of the blast is under investigation, a 2006 blast at the plant caused by molten metal injured five workers.
In a statement, the company pledged to cooperate in the investigation to determine the cause.
We will work alongside investigators in their search for answers as part of our commitment to Northeast Ohio, where we have been operating for more than 100 years. Our thoughts and prayers are with our team members and their families at this difficult time.
The plant first opened in 1917 and has been in business more than 100 years. It primarily produces metal alloys in pellet and ingot forms that are then used by other companies for the production of many different products.
The company was cited twice recently by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for safety violations, and the cases are still open. One of the violations is defined as a serious violation regarding the control of hazardous energy.
A March 2019 incident involved an employee getting burned while taking a sample from a pot of molten metal. OSHA found that the employee was not wearing fire-resistant clothing. The company was fined $12,000 for that incident. It is not clear if it has paid the fine or is appealing the ruling.
Cleveland19 News also found that last July, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency found 11 environmental violations, including the unlawful storage and disposal of hazardous waste.
On Saturday a separate, unrelated explosion at the ArcelorMittal Warren coke plant in eastern Ohio could be heard for miles. A spokesperson for the Cleveland-Cliffs plant in Warren said that a boiler exploded and that no one was injured.
Cleveland-Cliffs confirms that a boiler failed at its Warren Coke facility this afternoon causing a loud noise heard throughout the adjacent areas to the plant. No employees were injured, and the facility continues to operate normally with redundant boilers.
Both plants are less than 75 miles from East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and explosion followed by the deliberate burn-off of highly toxic vinyl chloride, which has poisoned the town of East Palestine and the surrounding area.
Nearly three weeks after the February 3 disaster, residents of East Palestine are still suffering from nosebleeds, headaches, burning lips, throats and eyes. Company, state and federal officials have all said that the water and air are now safe but have given residents no answers as to why many are still getting sick.
Furthermore, no one has told local residents the long-term effects of exposure to vinyl chloride, a documented carcinogen which causes cancer of the liver, brain and blood. OSHA limits exposure to vinyl chloride to just one part per million over an 8-hour shift.
In a statement issued by the the Railroad Workers Rank-and-File Committee The answer to the East Palestine disaster: Railroad workers control over safety and working conditions the committee explained that safety is being sacrificed for profits, and safety can only be assured when workers control the decision-making and take it out of the hands of the Wall Street speculators and their lackeys.
To find out more and to join this fight, fill out the form below.
Are you a striking Temple grad student? Tell us why you voted against the contract by filling out the form below. All submissions will remain anonymous.
Temple graduate students on strike, January 31, 2023. [Photo: Temple University Graduate Students' Assoication]
Striking graduate students and research assistants at Temple University voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to reject a Tentative Agreement (TA) between the university and the Temple University Graduate Student Association (TUGSA) Local 6290. Strikers instead chose to continue their three-weeks-long job action to earn considerable cost-of-living increases.
The result was 92 percent against the contract on an extremely high turnout of 83 percent of eligible voters.
Pay increases, a major issue in the Temple strike, would have been minimal under the deal, rising from the current $19,500 annually to $21,500, and then to $23,600 by 2026. TUGSA had claimed it would fight for pay increases to $32,600, still below Philadelphias costs of living, but substantially higher than the universitys offer.
As for dependent care, TUGSA said, Temple offered no monetary support in the TA, and that the university would look into more affordable plans for dependents, but without any guarantees on when/how/or what this would entail.
In addition to refusing to provide adequate compensation and benefits, the university has provocatively and recklessly sought to attack and intimidate workers on strike. Earlier this month, the university removed healthcare benefits from TUGSA members who had joined the pickets. This was followed by the removal of tuition remissions, which placed the full cost of enrollment on the poorly-paid student workers.
The resounding no vote is a direct rebuke of the Temple University administration as well as the union bargaining committee. The negotiations have refused to address even the striking workers most basic demands. It is also a repudiation of the attempts by the administration, the corporate press and various union bureaucrats to present the mere existence of an agreement as automatically meaning the end of the strike. By rejecting the contract, strikers intervened against this bald-faced attempt to prematurely wind up the strike.
It is urgent that Temple grads organize independently of TUGSA leaders to meet the universitys intransigence with equal determination to expand the strike to all sections of faculty and the Philadelphia region. The strike must become part of a counteroffensive to reclaim the concessions which workers have been forced to endure for decades at the hands of capitalists working through the union bureaucracy to isolate and sell out struggles.
Voting yes for me would have endorsed the vile union busting tactics [Temple University] used, wrote a striking grad student on Twitter. They stated that the universitys Withholding healthcare as a weapon is unacceptable and we won't settle until Temple makes it clear they've learned that lesson.
Following the vote, TUGSA published a series of testimonies from its members explaining why they voted no. Members explained that the TA offered no substantive relief to international graduate students with dependents, that it leaves some members behind and that it would force them to sacrifice daily necessities to live where I work.
TUGSA, seeking to cover for its role in bringing the sellout agreement up for a vote, declared that the Tentative Agreement did not meet many of TUGSAs core demands. It contained minimal raises and no healthcare coverage for dependents.
The union posted a self-serving explanation of its negotiating strategy on Twitter. [Temple University] made this offer, TUGSA claimed, as if its negotiators were duty-bound to accept it. The post goes on to claim, In order to ensure the legitimacy of that vote, the CNT [contract negotiating team] agreed to tentatively agree to the offer.
TUGSAs statement claims that, thanks to the memberships vote, we believe we have a democratic mandate to return to the table quickly and settle a contract that provides members with what they need and can pass ratification.
What a cynical lie! In fact, there was nothing legitimate about the universitys insulting offer, which acceded to none of the strikers demands, nor the decision to bring it to a vote. The negotiators could have saved their members time by throwing the rotten offer in the trash where it belonged.
By agreeing to bring the TA to a vote, TUGSA gave Temple and the Philadelphia media an opening to declare that the strike was ended. This sowed confusion and demoralization.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, in response to the TAs rejection, continued its drumbeat against the strike by equating it with the recent campus shooting of a police officer. The strikes continuation surely means more headaches for a university already in crisis as it copes with the aftermath of the shooting death of one of its police officers, it states.
In addition to the university and the press, TUGSAs state affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Pennsylvania, joined in with the effort to sow disinformation about the strike, showering premature congratulations over pay increases not won. You helped win better pay for teaching and research assistants and to end this strike, president Arthur G. Steinberg was quoted in an AFT Pennsylvania tweet on Friday, four days before the TA vote.
In response to the TAs rejection, AFT president Randi Weingarten tweeted an evasive statement, declaring the no vote a product of Temple Universitys attitude and actions, not that the contract completely failed to meet their demands.
On Tuesday, as graduate students were finally voting on the TA, former New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse also tweeted his approval of the Temple grad students deal to end their strike.
Greenhouse, a longstanding defender of the union bureaucracy, moderated the candidates debate last year for the first-ever direct presidential election in the United Auto Workers (UAW). During the debate, he used an obviously unreliable source to misattribute positions to Will Lehman, a rank-and-file candidate running to abolish the union apparatus. The election is currently in a run off between two lifelong union bureaucratscurrent UAW president Ray Curry and opponent Shawn Fainas the result of the deliberate denial of its members right to vote in the first round.
Will Lehman, a socialist and UAW presidential candidate from the Mack Trucks plant in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has spoken out publicly against the UAWs denial of members right to vote. Lehman submitted a 120-page complaint detailing the many violations of members democratic rights by the union in the election.
On Monday, Lehman visited the strikers on the picket line to express his solidarity with their struggle. I spoke with striking graduate students at Temple University who are demanding a 50 percent wage increase, health care for dependents and families, and better parental and bereavement leave, the auto worker stated on Twitter .
Lehman posted interviews with striking Temple workers, noting, these workers need support for their strike to grow. He noted that, this will not be done by TUGSA or the AFT, but by the formation of a rank-and-file committee that links up with autoworkers and workers in other industries to expand the strike.
In an address to the Federal Assembly on February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would suspend its participation in the 2011 New START nuclear arms controls treaty. The treaty, which provided for a 50 percent reduction of the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers and a bilateral inspections regime, was the last remaining arms control treaty that was active between Russia and the US, the worlds two largest nuclear powers.
Defending his decision, Putin pointed out that NATO had de facto posed an ultimatum to Moscow earlier in February, demanding that Russia allow the US to resume nuclear arms inspections as part of the Treaty. Putin said, We know that the West is directly implicated in attempts by the Kiev regime to strike our strategic aviation bases. The drones that are used for these attacks were equipped and upgraded with the help of NATO experts. And now they want to also inspect our defense objects? Under the current conditions of todays conflict, this simply sounds like nonsense.
Putin also stated that the Russian Ministry of Defense and Rosatom should ensure their readiness for the testing of Russias nuclear weapons. We will of course not be the first ones to do so, but if the US will conduct tests, then we will conduct them too. No one should have the dangerous illusion that the global strategic parity [in nuclear arsenal] can be destroyed.
Putins speech, while scheduled weeks in advance, came just hours after President Joe Biden completed a highly provocative tour of Kiev, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and pledged that the US, which has spent tens of billions of dollars on the Ukrainian army over the past year alone, was committed to the war as long as it takes.
Coming just a few days before the first-year anniversary of the beginning of the war, Bidens visit left no doubt about the character of this war: it is a war waged by NATO against Russia, in which the NATO-directed and armed Ukrainian armed forces are but a proxy. With widespread concerns about the crisis-ridden state of the Ukrainian army, one year into the war, Washington signaled with Bidens visit that it is prepared to fund and continue the war against Russia, come what may.
Given the extraordinarily provocative character of Bidens visit, Putins speech underscored, above all, the utterly bankrupt basis upon which the Russian oligarchy has conducted this war. Putin spent much of the speech lamenting the fact that NATO and the US, which he again called our partners, had continued to expand to Russias borders and prepared for war despite the constant efforts by the Russian oligarchs to find a compromise and basis for collaboration.
Having emerged out of the Soviet bureaucracys nationalist betrayal of the October revolution, which culminated in the 1991 destruction of the Soviet Union, the Putin regime invaded Ukraine last year, basing itself on the bankrupt conception that the war would force the imperialist powers to negotiate with the Russian oligarchs. But instead, the invasion was seen as a gift by the imperialist powers, which have long sought to provoke this war, and have since used every opportunity to escalate and expand it, determined to bring about the complete defeat of Russia and thus facilitate a regime change operation in Moscow and the break-up of the country.
The Kremlin, which was not prepared for a protracted war, has since scrambled to hold on even to the territories occupied in the first weeks of the war. With a new offensive now underway, involving tens of thousands of newly mobilized soldiers, territorial gains by Russia have remained minimal. Meanwhile, casualties on both sides are horrifyingly high, with estimates putting the number of dead and wounded among both the Russian and Ukrainian army in the hundreds of thousands.
In an indication that the years-long economic war by the imperialist powers against Russia, which was dramatically escalated over the past year, is taking a severe toll on the population, for about half of his speech Putin engaged in social and nationalist demagogy. As a result of the sanctions war, entire branches of industry that were closely integrated into the world economy, most notably auto, have been left in shambles, and Russia has been cut off almost entirely from the semiconductor industry, which is critical to the functioning of any modern economy (and army). Yet Putin painted a picture of an economy that had successfully weathered a supposedly only minor crisis and was now preparing to come back stronger than ever. He also tried, yet again, to present himself as an enemy of the oligarchs, despite the fact that his entire regime is dedicated to the defense of this criminal ruling class.
However, Putins main strategy, to diffuse and disorient popular discontent, consists in the promotion of the worst traditions of Great Russian chauvinism. As in previous speeches, he quoted the Tsarist official Pyotr Stolypin, who said, In the defense of Russia, we must all join together, coordinate our efforts, our duties, and our rights to uphold one supreme historical right the right of Russia to be strong.
Whatever the reactionary combination of complaints about and appeals to the imperialist powers, and efforts to whip up nationalism on the part of the oligarchic Putin regime, NATO and the US continue to work to rapidly escalate and expand the war.
In a 20-minute speech also on Tuesday in Polands capital Warsaw, Biden largely repeated the same war propaganda that has been coming out of the White House and its affiliated news media for the past year: he denounced Putins war, praised the patriots and heroes that are defending Ukraine a substantial layer of which are outright neo-Nazis and insisted that democracies would stand united in the fight against autocracy.
The nauseating hypocrisy of Bidens speech was underscored by the very setting in which it was given: Biden spoke at the invitation of Polands ruling far-right Law and Justice party (PiS), which has played a central role in the NATO offensive against Russia, and is infested with fascist and anti-Semitic elements. In its almost eight years of rule, PiS has banned free speech on and research about the role of Polish anti-Semitism in the Nazi-led Holocaust, effectively abolished the right to abortion and an independent judiciary, and has clamped down on the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of Bidens speech was his open appeal to the Polish nationalist and anti-Communist right, the pro-NATO opposition in Belarus, and the pro-NATO government in Moldova. Biden praised the brave leaders of the opposition and the people of Belarus, meaning the NATO-backed opposition around Svetlana Tikhonovskaya. As in Russia and other former Soviet countries, the US has been working to bring about a regime change in Belarus. Ruled by the authoritarian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus is now the only remaining ally of Russia in Eastern Europe and on the verge of being fully dragged into the war in Ukraine.
Biden also stressed the role of Moldova, a tiny country of 3.6 million, sandwiched between NATO-member Romania and Ukraine. A portion of Moldova that borders Ukraine, Transnistria, is ruled by Russian-backed separatists and hosts 1,500 Russian troops. The country has long claimed a constitutionally enshrined neutral status. However, under its current President Maia Sandu, Moldova has sided with NATO in the war against Russia. The Sandu government is now openly discussing membership in NATO, despite warnings by the Kremlin that Russia would respond militarily to such an alignment. Sandu was present during Bidens speech in Warsaw and the US President praised her, Im proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova. Give her a round of applause.
Behind the smokescreen of rhetoric about democracy and liberty, the imperialist powers, basing themselves largely on fascist and ultra-nationalist forces, are preparing an escalation and geographic expansion of the war in Ukraine, which threatens to soon engulf all of Eastern Europe and could result in a nuclear catastrophe.
The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Taiwans foreign minister Joseph Wu and national security adviser Wellington Koo will travel to the United States for secret talks this week with senior White House officials. Washington and Taipei have both refused to confirm the discussions. Asked directly, Wu said he was not able to comment on whether he would be in Washington this week.
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, right, greets former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen as he arrives at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. [AP Photo/Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
The FT report was based on five unnamed officials said to be familiar with the talks. Jon Finer, the US deputy national security adviser and Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state, will reportedly take part in the discussions with the Taiwanese delegation. The talks will be held at the Virginia headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwana nominally private organisation set up to manage US relations with Taiwan.
The very fact that high level talks are taking place behind closed doors reveals again the close ties that the Biden administration is developing with Taiwan while claiming to still adhere to the One China policy. Since 1979, US-China relations have been premised on Washingtons de facto recognition of Beijing as the legitimate government of all China including Taiwan.
Following on from Trump, Biden has torn up longstanding diplomatic protocols limiting contact with Taiwan, boosted arms sales to Taipei and increased US military activity in the immediate area, including through the narrow Taiwan Strait separating the island from the Chinese mainland. Washington is deliberately goading Beijing which has repeatedly declared that it will use force if necessary to prevent Taipei from declaring formal independence.
Biden has also explicitly declared on four separate occasions that the US would defend Taiwan militarily, effectively tearing up Washingtons longstanding policy of strategic ambiguitythat is, refusing to confirm that the US would come to the aid of Taiwan in a war with China in all circumstances. The policy was aimed at reining in deliberately provocative acts by Taipei as well as warding off military action by Beijing.
The US-Taiwan talks this week take place as the Biden administration has ramped up tensions with China through its belligerent response to a Chinese balloon that drifted into US airspace. Washington inflated the incident into a major security threat insisting, without any substantiation, that China had deliberately sent a spy balloon over US military installations. A US Air Force fighter shot the balloon down on February 4.
The Financial Times reported that the talks are known as the special channelkeeping them hidden not only from China but also the American public. The newspaper revealed the existence of the diplomatic channel two years ago when Taiwans foreign minister Wu met with US officials in Annapolis.
No details of the nature of this weeks US-Taiwan discussions have been revealed. However, US planning and preparations for war with China will undoubtedly be at the top of the agenda. The meeting takes place only days after Michael Chase, the top Pentagon official for China, travelled to Taipeia trip also shrouded in secrecy.
According to the Taiwan-based United Daily News, Chase visited the countrys Ministry of National Defence and associated think tank, as well as meeting with members of the opposition Kuomintang. He is only the second high-level US defence official to visit Taiwan since 1979, following a trip in 2019 by Heino Klinck, then-deputy assistant secretary for East Asia.
Speaking to a delegation of US lawmakers in Taipei yesterday, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said that Taiwan and the United States continue to bolster military exchanges. She added that Taiwan would cooperate even more actively in the future with the US and other partners to confront global challenges such as authoritarian expansionisma thinly veiled reference to China.
The latest US delegation led by Ro Khanna, a member of the US House China Select Committee, is focused on strengthening economic and technological ties, particularly with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company which dominates the global production of computer chips. In comments to Tsai, Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley, emphasised the need to continue to build the economic partnership on technology and also of course the partnership on military and defence.
The increasingly frantic character of the US military build-up in the Indo-Pacific was revealed in a leaked memo by Air Force General Michael Minihan last month to his commanders, telling them that his gut feeling was that the US would be at war with China by 2025. The memo contained detailed orders to step up training and ensure as a matter of urgency that all personnel have their affairs in orderthat is, be ready for immediate deployment to a war zone.
The US is also strengthening the Taiwanese military based on the strategy it has pursued in Ukraineto provoke Russia into a war in Ukraine that will weaken and destabilise the Russian regime and the country as a whole. The New York Times reported last October on high-level discussions in the White House and Pentagon to intensify efforts to build a giant stockpile of weapons in Taiwan.
The Biden administration has continued large sales of arms to Taiwan. The huge US military budget passed by Congress last December included, for the first time, direct military aid to Taiwan. It authorised up to $10 billion in security assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement.
Details of the talks underway between top Taiwanese and US officials this week are unlikely to surface publicly, especially as neither side is even acknowledging their existence. But they are a further ominous sign of the advanced preparations for a US-led conflict with China even as Washington and its NATO allies are escalating the war in Ukraine against Russia.
OZARKThe creative idea of two lifelong friends is on its way to reality and citizen input is requested as a proposed new flag for the Dale County seat has been narrowed down to three designs.
Justin Moseley and Trey Buchannan, Carroll High School class of 2020 and 2019 graduates, respectively, first presented multiple proposed designs for a new Ozark brand to the Ozark City Council in December last year after initially approaching City Councilwoman Leah Harlow about the protocol of presenting an idea to the municipal governing body.
After they heard the presentation, the city council as a whole wanted as much community input as possible on which of three designs citizens preferred, Harlow said. We need to market a consistent brand and I think this will be a stepping stone to that end. The exact means of collect community input is still being finalized, she said.
Ozark Mayor Mark Blankenship is impressed that the young men have taken the initiative to not only come up with the creative idea but also followed through on it. Blankenship and Harlow met with Buchanan, in person, and Moseley, virtually, at the mayors conference room at city hall last week to discuss the project. It is wonderful to see these young men getting involved in making a change, the mayor said.
Neither Moseley nor Buchanan is an artist, they both quickly said. Moseley is at the University of Alabama majoring in business management. Buchanan graduated from the Alabama Aviation College and is working for a contractor on Fort Rucker.
One day I was looking at the current city flag and I realized that it wasnt creative enough to represent Ozark today, said Moseley. Ozark has grown a lot and when I talked to Trey about doing an updated design, we both thought we could do that.
Buchanan said he drew out some pretty bad sketches which the duo turned over to their mutual friend and a graphic artist, Tucker Grantham, to refine.
The central theme and main focus we are carrying over from the existing flag is the tree, Buchanan said. We took the revised city seal and put it on a dark green background which is our nod to Fort Rucker because we are the home of Fort Rucker.
The flag backgrounds are essentially the same, Buchanan said. One version of the flag has an Apache helicopter on it; thats what weve seen fly overhead all of our lives. The city is billed as The Heart of the Wiregrass, and Buchanan said that tagline is included in the designs. We were looking to create a timeless design that wont go out of style, he said.
Buchanan said he is excited that the idea is even being considered by the council. Sometimes you think, They will never go for that, he said. That the mayor and city council took an interest in this is exciting for us.
We knew Ms. Harlow so we asked her what she thought about the idea, Buchanan said. She told us about the process of getting something before the council.
Harlow said she was glad to help. We want to create an environment where our youth not only feel part of the community but feel comfortable contributing to our community, she said. Its important to embrace that because they are the future.
Seeing a creative idea come close to reality is exciting, Buchanan said. This whole process has been great.
It really shows that individual people can really make a difference if they want to make a change, Buchanan said. It really shows that this city is willing to work with its citizens to get things done, no matter how small the idea might seem.
Moseley agreed. I think this flag will be a sort of symbol of what the people of Ozark can do when they get behind an idea, he said.
The authorities in the central beach town Nha Trang are planning to catch unleashed dogs on the streets to protect locals and visitors.
The move came after a foreign tourist was hospitalized after he was bitten by a dog while walking on a street.
Before 2020, the resort town, one of the top tourist attractions in Vietnam, had already set up a dog squad with members including veterinarians, police, volunteers and the urban management force.
However, after the dogs were caught, there was not enough space to keep them. Furthermore, members of the squad did not have the necessary skills and equipment to catch dogs, exposing them to many threats.
"The city is waiting for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to release specific guidance on catching dogs so that the project could be more effective," an official said.
A 19-year-old British man was walking with his friends along October 23 Street in Vinh Hiep Commune of Nha Trang last Sunday when they were attacked by an Alabai dog.
The Alabai dog that attacked a British tourist in Nha Trang Town on February 19, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Chinh Toan
The man was bitten in his arms and legs and he fell on the street calling for help. His friend tried to fight back but was also attacked by the dog, which weighed around 50 kilograms and stood 65 centimeters tall.
Many dog attacks across the country have been reported recently.
Public opinion has been divided on the matter of muzzling dogs in public places. Many non-dog owners have requested that dogs be muzzled in public as a safety measure.
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang have set up dog squads to catch unleashed dogs wandering around public spaces.
Workers line up in front of a social security office in HCMC to withdraw their social insurance at the end of 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung
Around 2.79 million workers in Vietnam have not had at least a month's worth of their social insurance paid for by their companies, according to statistics from the Vietnam Social Security.
The number of people who have yet to have their social insurance paid in full by their companies amounts to around 17.4% of all workers eligible for social insurance schemes.
Hanoi's companies have yet to pay VND3.66 trillion (US$154 million) worth of social insurance for workers, followed by HCMC at VND3.4 trillion, Hai Phong VND591 billion, Ca Mau VND86 billion and Dak Nong VND44 billion.
Duong Van Hao, head of the Department of Contribution Collection Book and Insurance Card, said the amount of social insurance payments that the department has yet to collect has been pooling since 1995.
"Workers cannot wait until their companies resume operations or gather enough money to pay for their social insurance, so they simply switch jobs or companies to continue their personal social insurance scheme," Hao said. He added that Vietnam Social Security would update the worker social insurance payment scheme once businesses have earned enough money to pay for the social insurance.
Hao said there have been proposals to punish businesses which fail to pay their workers' social insurance on time, including fines and the freezing of accounts. However, businesses should also be allowed the opportunity to right their wrongs, he added.
Vietnam Social Security has already proposed to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs a way to resolve issues for the 213,400 workers whose social insurance has not been paid by their companies.
Current Vietnamese regulations dictate that once a worker's labor contract expires, their companies have the responsibility to work with the Vietnam Social Security to confirm the amount of time in which social insurance was paid, and to return the social insurance books to workers.
8 international cruise ships to visit Nha Trang as tourism continues to recover
Tran Phu beach in downtown Nha Trang is seen from above. Photo by Khoa Tran
The central beach resort town of Nha Trang is expected to receive eight international cruise ships with thousands of foreign tourists over the next few months.
Bahama-registered vessel Nautica carrying 550 passengers will dock this Friday, Khanh Hoa news portal reported.
The visitors are expected to see popular local attractions such as the Cham's Ponagar Tower and the Christ the King Cathedral before leaving for Ho Chi Minh City.
Two days later Cyprus-flagged Spectrum of the Seas will arrive with 4,000 foreign tourists from Singapore.
Six others with over 3,000 passengers are expected to dock in Nha Trang between March and early June.
Last year the town received over 275,000 foreign tourists, up 11 times from the previous Covid-hit year.
This year it hopes to get 1.5 million.
Nha Trang of Khanh Hoa Province is known for its beaches, ancient temples and high-end resorts.
Vietnam has a network of 2,360 rivers with a total length of more than 41,900 kilometers, and in recent years luxury river cruises have become popular among international visitors.
This aerial picture taken on November 22, 2021 shows boats anchored along an empty beach on Gili Trawangan resort island, Indonesia. Photo by AFP
An American tourist was found dead at a depth of 21 meters in the waters off Gili Trawangan Island, one of Indonesia's famous tourist hotspots, police said on Tuesday.
The 49-year-old tourist went missing on Sunday while diving in the area off the northwest coast of Lombok, around 35 kilometers to the west of Bali, Indonesian news portal Tempo reported.
On Monday, the victim's body was discovered by divers from the Dream Dive Center who handed his body over to the medical team. The victim was found with complete diving equipment still attached to his body.
The medical team then brought the victim's body to the Bhayangkara Hospital.
According to the guide from the Dream Dive Center who dived with the victim, they went diving on Sunday at Shark Point to the north of Gili Trawangan.
The tourist was separated from the group at a depth of approximately 15 meters while the guide was accompanying other divers to see the coral reefs.
The tourist was said to have been trying to move towards the surface of the water, but he soon was out of sight due to the limited visibility in the area.
Passengers arrive at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Badung, Bali, Indonesia, September 2, 2022. Photo by Reuters
Tourism officials in Indonesia's popular resort island of Bali have proposed the government extend its list of eligible countries for visa-on-arrival policy to 83.
Among the 83 proposed countries are Algeria, Bangladesh, Kenya, Panama, and Zimbabwe, Tjokorda Bagus Pemayun, head of the Bali Tourism Agency, said according to the Coconuts news portal.
If approved, there will be a total of 169 countries eligible for Indonesia's visa-on-arrival that allows foreign tourists to stay in Indonesia for 30-60 days, the tourism official said.
Currently 86 countries and territories including Vietnam can apply for visa-on-arrival to enter Indonesia.
Bali, famous for its long beaches, turquoise waters and ancient temples, is hoping to receive 4.5 million international arrivals this year, in addition to 9 million domestic travelers.
The Indonesian government last month allowed foreigners to apply for a visitor visa and to extend their visa online as Southeast Asia's largest economy seeks to bolster tourism post pandemic.
Previously, foreigners were required to have a local sponsor in Indonesia to apply for an e-visa.
Alejandro Fernandez took the stage Tuesday (Feb. 21) at the Quinta Vergara for his highly anticipated performance at Chiles Vina del Mar International Song Festival.
Accompanied by a live band that included mariachi and norteno musicians, the ranchera superstar who wore an elegant black and gold charro suit delivered an impressive performance where he belted out anthems such as Tantita Pena, Estuve, Hoy Tengo Ganas De Ti and Matalas. Fernandez received silver and gold gaviota trophies for his riveting 90-minute set. Lets celebrate, campeones (champs), he said.
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Here are some highlights from his Feb. 21 headlining set at Vina del Mar:
EL POTRILLO RETURNS TO VINA
Chile, Vina, he said at the beginning, vividly emotional as he made his return to Vina del Mar after last performing there in 2015. Ahi te va charrito (here you go, charrito), he added as he walked toward one side of a stage to give a little fan in the audience who wore a charro outfit a part of his very own suit. I always feel great excitement to be on this stage, from the very first time I had the opportunity to be part of this important festival to this day. I promise to leave my soul and heart here. Let music always unite us. Viva Chile! Viva Mexico!
A SWOON-WORTHY PERFORMANCE
After more urban-leaning sets by Karol G and Tini on the first two days of Vina, Fernandez brought romanticism to the festival. Occasionally blowing kisses to his fans who would scream at the top of their lungs after one of his many charming gestures toward them the charro sang the classics, or as he called them viejitas pero bonitas, that made it seem like the entre Quinta Vergara was either in love or going through a heartbreak that night. The crowd sang along in unison to Estuve, Hoy Tengo Ganas De Ti, Si Tu Supieras, Te Voy a Perder, Que Voy a Hacer Con Mi Amor, Como Quien Pierde Una Estrella, Me Dedique a Perderte and Canta Corazon.
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NEW MATERIAL
The last time Fernandez performed at Vina del Mar was eight years ago. Every single time, the response from the Chile audience only gets bigger, he said mid-set when he received the silver gaviota. Since he last performed there, hes released new albums and new singles and he took this opportunity to play his new material, which included Hecho En Mexico, Caballero, Decepciones and Inexperto En Olvidarte.
A TRIBUTE TO VICENTE FERNANDEZ
One of the most special moments of the night, and definitely a highlight, was when El Potrillo paid tribute to his father, the Mexican icon Vicente Fernandez, who died in December 2021. My father would be so happy to see the response Ive gotten at Vina this year, he said. But, you know, I think hes here with me. I feel him, hes probably here on my shoulder. He went on to perform a medley of Chentes greatest hits, including Por Tu Maldito Amor, Mujeres Divinas, Las Llaves de Mi Alma, De Que Manera Te Olvido and El Rey.
For the first time in its more than six-decade history, the Vina del Mar International Song Festival is being livestreamed in the United States, exclusively on Billboard.com, Billboards YouTube channel, and via Twitter @Billboard. The six-day festival continues with Fito Paez on Feb. 22; Christina Aguilera on Feb. 23; and ending with Camilo on Feb. 24. All headliners will perform at 8 p.m. ET.
Find the rest of the weeks schedule below.
Wednesday, Feb. 22: Fito Paez
Thursday, Feb. 23: Christina Aguilera
Friday, Feb. 24: Camilo
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MILAN Add sign now to the see-now-buy-now format, at least when it comes to Alexandre Birman.
The Brazilian footwear designer was caught in plenty of shoe signing at the cocktail celebrating his namesake labels partnership with luxury retailer Antonia here on Tuesday.
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Gathered on the opening evening of Milan Fashion Week at Antonias location in the former archbishop seminary on central Corso Venezia that also houses Ferragamos new Portrait Milano hotel, the fashion crowd seized the moment for some shopping. Guests and loyal customers of the retailer rushed to try on the exclusive sandals marking the tie-up and have their new purchases sealed with Birmans signature.
The friendly and informal vibe suited both Birmans relaxed attitude and the bubbly personality of Antonia Giacinti, who established Antonia Milano as an upscale accessories store in 1999. The retailer later expanded to include womens and menswear, the latter steered by cofounder Maurizio Purificato.
Ive been friends with Antonia [Giacinti] for many years. Ive basically started the Alexandre Birman brand with her, and she often comes to Brazil; she loves it, said Birman in between sole signing. We had this idea of the collaboration last year for the opening of this store, which is very special for the world, not only for Milan. This is going to be the place where fashion will breathe novelty, so we decided to design a special shoe style available exclusively here.
Antonia Giacinti, Alexandre Birman, Anderson Birman at Antonia in Milan.
As reported, last year Antonia unveiled its second outpost in the city inside the colonnaded courtyard of the Portrait complex. Covering around 8,000 square feet, the retail space carries a mix of established designers and new names for men and women, as well as offering branded concept corners in rotation and a sneaker space. The location adds to Antonias first store opened in 2013 inside the landmark Palazzo Cagnola in Milans Brera district and international units in Macao and Wuhan in China.
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Offered in two slightly different versions, Birmans high-heeled sandals designed for the retailer are defined by bandage-effect straps wrapping around the feet and expressing the essence of the Alexandre Birman woman: elegant but young, unconventional but without being eccentric.
Set on signature flared stiletto heels, the sandals are crafted either in soft leather or silk satin and enriched with a statement buckle that is covered in leather or bejeweled with crystals, respectively. Rendered in lime or camel tones, the Antonia Leather version retails at 595 euros, while the Antonia Crystals option in black or pale cherry satin is priced at 750 euros.
Alexandre Birman x Antonia sandal.
While after the in-store cocktail guests moved to the adjacent Portrait Milano hotel for dinner and drinks set to the tempo of both Brazilian and Italian music hits, Birmans stay in the city will extend beyond the event. The designer decided to decamp from Paris to present his main fall 2023 collection during Milan Fashion Week, too, staging a presentation on Thursday at the Palazzo Parigi hotel.
Asked about the decision to join the citys official fashion schedule, the founder remained vague in teasing that the brands parent company, Arezzo & Co., is focusing on and investing in Italy. Without disclosing more details, he hinted that big news will be coming early next month. Lets just say that Arezzo, which was born in Brazil and inspired by Italy, after 50 years will have a foot in the country, he said.
Currently also serving as chief executive officer of Arezzo & Co., Birman founded his namesake brand in 2008. Carried in stand-alone stores worldwide and prime retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Net-a-porter, the brand is best known for the Clarita sandal defined by two bow ties, one on the upper of the shoe and one at the ankle strap.
Alexandre Birman x Antonia sandal.
Before launching the label, Birman established the Schutz brand in 1995, when he was only 18. A knack for shoemaking runs in his family since his father Anderson, chairman of Arezzo & Co., and uncle Jefferson founded the namesake brand Arezzo in 1972.
Five decades later, the company evolved into a multibranded group that includes Arezzo, Schutz and Alexandre Birman as well as Anacapri, Fiever, Alme, My Shoes, Baw Clothing, Carol Bassi and the lifestyle arm AR&Co, which counts brands such as Reserva. In 2019, Arezzo & Co. revealed an agreement to be the exclusive distributor of the Vans brand of footwear, apparel and accessories in Brazil, too.
Listed on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange since 2011, in the first nine months of 2022 the company reported sales up 57.4 percent to 3.6 billion Brazilian reals, or roughly $700 million, compared to the same period in 2021.
Alexandre Birman x Antonia sandal.
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Ivan & Hadoum, a Spanish feature film project, to be directed by Ian de la Rosa, has won the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award, along with a $21, 000 (20,000) endowment, beating out the more than 30 pitches at this years Berlinale Co-Production Market. Spanish producers Avalon PC took the top prize, presented by European film fund Eurimages to support the development of the project.
A Ukrainian pitch, The Blindsight, from 2Brave Productions, won a Eurimages Special Co-Production Development Award. Ruslan Batytskyi is set to direct the feature.
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The VFF Talent Highlight Award, which comes with a $10,600 (10,000) bursary, went to God and the Devils Cumbia by Mexican director Carlos Lenin, pitched by its producers Daniel Loustaunau of Colectivo Colmena, nd Paloma Petra of Huasteca Casa Cinematografica. The project also won the inaugural World Cinema Fund Audience Strategies Award, an in-kind prize, presented to a Co-Production Market project from a WCF-supported country. The producers and director of God and the Devils Cumbia will receive extensive consultations on optimizing the audience and communication strategies of their film project.
The ARTEKino International Award, worth $6,400 (6,000), presented by French-German public broadcaster ARTE went to Peeled Skin by Leonie Krippendorff, to be produced by Germanys Kineo Filmproduktion.
Several films screening at this years Berlin Film Festival had their beginnings at the Co-Production Market, including competition titles 20,000 Species of Bees by Estibaliz Urresola, Panorama entries The Siren from Sepideh Farsi and Matria by Alvaro Gago, and Generation films Sea Sparkle by Domien Huyghe and Jow Zhi Weis Tomorrow is a Long Time.
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Senator Bernie Sanders is here to affirm our ire towards capitalisms current form in his new book, Its OK to Be Angry About Capitalism. And it seems we were in need of the Vermont senators voice: On its first day out, the book has shot to the top of Amazons best-sellers charts, ranking No. 1 in the e-tailers United States National Government, Political Economy, and Economic Conditions categories.
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If youre looking to read the new best-seller, pick up the hardcover or paperback version of Its OK to Be Angry About Capitalism at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Target. If you have a subscription to Audible, you can also listen to the Sanders-narrated audiobook through Amazon.
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Its OK to Be Angry About Capitalism
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In the senators new book, edited by John Nichols, Sanders takes on the billionaire class and speaks blunt truths about our countrys failure to address the destructive nature of a system that is fueled by uncontrolled greed and rigidly committed to prioritizing corporate profits over the needs of ordinary Americans.
Sanders anger toward the current state of capitalism is nothing new to those who followed his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020, but the new book further elaborates his diagnoses of Americas central dilemmas and what he wants to do about it, beyond the promises of past campaigns.
They say the older you get, the more conservative you become, he writes. Thats not me. The older I get, the angrier I become about the uber-capitalist system.
The senator writes about a myriad of political symptoms from unprecedented wealth disparity to private wealths influence on democracy to the continued free reign of corporations actively contributing to the climate crisis. All of these stem from what Sanders calls Uber-capitalism, a form of the political system which has spiraled out of control and demands a political revolution.
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But Sanders new book also takes moments to recount personal experiences. Sanders remembers his older brother Larry introducing him to authors like Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx, and he even writes about the Bernie mittens meme that went viral after President Bidens inauguration: That was weird he writes of the meme. There I was with my mittens on the moon, at the Last Supper, on the Titanic, alongside Forrest Gump, next to Spider-Man, on top of skyscrapers.
Pick up Its OK to Be Angry About Capitalism on Amazon here.
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US President Joe Biden Visits Warsaw
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with children after delivering a speech at the Royal Castle Arcades on February 21, 2023 in Warsaw, Poland. Biden was in Warsaw after his surprise trip to Kyiv on February 20 to reinforce US support for Ukraine almost a year after Russia's large-scale invasion. Credit - Omar MarquesGetty Images
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine, the Biden Administration is signaling that American support for the beleaguered country will not waiver. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, President Joe Biden said Tuesday after a surprise visit to Kyiv. His speech followed Vice President Kamala Harriss visit to the Munich Security Conference, where she announced that the U.S. determined Russia has committed war crimes, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austins meeting with NATO allies in Brussels, where he said the alliance was more unified and more resolute than ever.
Despite the Administrations global stagecraft designed to emphasize solidarity with Ukraine, however, domestic politics are becoming increasingly complicated. Republicans have a slim majority in the House of Representatives with a vocal faction resolutely opposed to increased U.S. funding going toward Ukraine, which could hamper Bidens ability to continue delivering the support he has vowed.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and other hard-line conservatives who opposed Speaker Kevin McCarthys election last month until they extracted a series of concessions have been the most adamant. I will work with anyone and everyone to stop sending money to Ukraine, like somehow thats a bigger priority than whats happening to our people, Gaetz has said.
I will work with anyone and everyone toend warsto stop sending money to Ukraine pic.twitter.com/uDs6pEtnRk Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 31, 2023
Since Bidens trip to Ukraine became public, it has become a rallying cry among the MAGA base to lambaste the President for visiting Kyiv before East Palestine, Ohio, the site of a recent train derailment that resulted in the release of toxic chemicals. Biden didnt go to East Palestine, Ohio on Presidents Day, Greene tweeted. He went to Ukraine, a NON-NATO nation, whose leader is an actor and is apparently now commanding our United States military to world war. We must impeach this America Last fool before its too late.
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On the surface, such opposition suggests Ukraine aid may be on the chopping block, given the GOPs razor-thin House majority and the power the far-right bloc wields over McCarthy.
Read More: Inside the Basement Where an Entire Ukrainian Village Spent a Harrowing Month in Captivity
But antipathy to Ukraine support is by no means a consensus opinion among Republicans. Some of the most powerful GOP congressional leaders have applauded Biden for his Ukraine trip, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, and have expressed a desire to maintain American aid to help Ukraine prevail. They see Russias aggressionand defending Ukrainian sovereigntyas vital to the United States geopolitical interests.
We have seen time and again the majority of Republicans and Democrats support our assistance to Ukraine, says McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He has pushed the White House to release a plan for helping Ukraine stave off Russia for good, a move that he suggests could persuade some on-the-fence members to approve a larger aid package down the road. The Biden Administration needs to lay out their long-term strategy, he continues. There are some members who would be more supportive if they saw a long-term strategy that was based on a Ukrainian victory rather than sending just enough support to prolong the war but not win it.
Congress passed $40 billion in aid to Ukraine last May, drawing support from Democrats and Republicans, and later provided another roughly $47 billion in supplemental funding in the omnibus spending package last December. But there are likely to be more votes to come over the next year, perhaps on standalone bills and when Capitol Hill lawmakers have to pass the next federal budget. The question in my mind is, how long is that funding going to last? says a senior Democratic congressional aide. The battle is slated to reach an apotheosis in a matter of months, when Congress will have to address raising the debt ceiling and and hammer out a spending bill for the upcoming fiscal year.
The recent bipartisan votes supporting Ukraine aid packages lead some D.C. veterans to believe theres hope that it will continue. Theres some political constraints that might emerge in Congress, says Eliot Cohen, a former State Department official in the George W. Bush Administration now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Marjorie Taylor Greene shoots her mouth off, but Mike McCaul is actually much more influential in that caucus and carries a lot more weight.
While Greene, Gaetz, and their allies will have the votes to block more Ukraine aid, the inverse is also true: the Republicans who support that assistance will have similar leverage given the slim House majority. Some Hill insiders speculate that McCarthy may try to appease that right-wing part of the base with other deliverableslike tax cuts or reduced government spending on certain federal programsto convince them to relent on allowing for more Ukraine aid to be included in the budget.
Still, Bidens team recognizes that domestic politics changed once Republicans took over the House, and have worked not only to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that U.S. support wont diminish, but also make the case to American voters.
I do think the President is quite mindful that he and his team need to be out there making the case to the American people a bit more robustly in the face of growing questions, says Matt Duss, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former foreign policy aide to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Its certainly much more of a challenge given that youve got a Republican controlled House with a very vocal right-wing faction that is raising questions about this aid, Duss says. We shouldnt treat those questions as illegitimate. This is part of Congress job: asking tough questions about the provision of U.S. taxpayer dollars for Ukraine and everywhere. He adds: I happen to think there are good answers to those questions.
PCTC to host area sophomores Feb. 1-2
SHELBY Due to inclement weather this week, Pioneer Career and Technology Center's sophomore visits and open house have been rescheduled. Sophomores will visit Pioneer Feb. 1 and 2 with the open house now planned for 6-8 p.m. on Feb. 2.
During sophomore visits, students choose three labs from more than 35 career-tech programs to observe options that are available for the students junior and senior years of high school. Lab programs help students earn industry certifications and college credits while providing a hands-on education. There are also many College Credit Plus classes offered at Pioneer.
For more information, visit go2pioneer.com or call 419-347-7744.
Mansfield Noon Optimist Club to host special event at Buckeye Imagination Museum
To mark International Optimist Day, the Mansfield Noon Optimist Club will partner with Buckeye Imagination Museum to provide free admission to the first 300 participating children (ages 2-10) and their accompanying adults on Feb. 2. The event, which kicks off the club's 100th anniversary year, includes face painting and two free rides at the Richland Carrousel Park per child. Buckeye Imagination Museum will have extended hours until 7 p.m. that day.
The Mansfield Noon Optimist Club, organized on Oct. 16, 1923, is a local service organization that provides service to the youth of our community.
Movie night and more at the Crestline Public Library
CRESTLINE The Crestline Public Library will host movie night at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 8. The PG-rated movie is a recent release about a British housekeeper who wishes to buy a designer gown. Snacks will be served. Preregistration is required. Call the library at 419-683-3909 or stop in to sign up.
It's not too late to join the Adult/Teen Winter Reading program, "A Blizzard of Books." Books in any form paperback, hardback, e-books and books on CD are eligible to be read. For each book read, participants get the chance to win a weekly prize and a grand prize at the end of the program in March. Stop in the library for rules, reading slips and more information.
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The library would like program suggestions. If you have an idea, please contact the library.
Loudonville museum hosts archaeology roundtable Tuesday
LOUDONVILLE The Cleo Redd Fisher Museum in Loudonville has announced new dates for its popular Ohio Archaeology series led by Jeff Zemrock of the Ohio Archaeological Society. Previously formatted as lectures and large-group discussions, the series turns to a new format of roundtable discussions of any topic pertaining to Ohio archaeology.
The roundtable has been slated for 7 p.m. on Jan. 31 and Feb. 71. It will be limited to 30 participants. Registration is free but required. Those interested in participating can visit crfmuseum.com/events.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Sophomore visits at Pioneer Career & Technology Center next week
The Delaware Bar examination will now be given twice a year, as well as require fewer essays and a lower score to pass, officials from Delaware's Supreme Court announced Tuesday.
With corporations coming from across the country to benefit from the state's friendly laws and taxes and to litigate their disputes in Chancery Court, Delaware's Bar is considered to be one of the most exclusive in the nation.
Delaware Bar Exam has a higher cut score than other states, more potential test topics to study than most states and is the only one in the country offered once a year.
Aspects of the three-day exam's setup are of questionable value in measuring minimum competency to practice law and have contributed to a diversity problem in the state's legal industry, according to a recent report by a Delaware Supreme Court committee that recommended reforms. The goal of the report was to diversify the local legal industry.
Historically, about half the people that take the test fail.
What is changing with the exam?
The exam will now be offered in both July and, starting next year, in February.
The "cut" or passing score of the exam will be reduced from 145 to 143.
The essay portion of the exam will require applicants to write four essays instead of eight and the areas of law applicants could be tested on will be reduced from 14 to ten.
What other changes are coming?
The clerkship requirement will be reduced from 21 weeks to 12 weeks.
The number of so-called checklist activities that require potential Delaware attorneys to observe certain legal proceedings will be reduced from a mandatory list of 25 to a requirement of 18 out of 30 potential items.
The total application fee for those applying late to take the bar exam will be reduced from $1,400 to $900 for law school graduates and from $1,600 to $1,000 for attorneys already admitted elsewhere.
Where is this coming from?
The Delaware Board of Bar Examiners conducted a review of the test and recommended the changes to the Supreme Court, which signed off on them. The Board of Bar Examiners review was informed by recommendations from a Diversity Committee made up of judicial officials and practitioners in Delaware.
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Underpinning the change is a debate over whether the bar actually measures the required competence to practice in Delaware.
Justice Collins J. Seitz, Jr. listens to oral arguments in the case of D. Powell vs. State at the Delaware Supreme Court in Dover in December 2016.
The bar exam is not supposed to be a barrier to entering the profession but is supposed to be a test of an applicants ability to successfully practice law in Delaware," said Delaware Supreme Court Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. "I believe these reforms will help better reflect that purpose."
Why these specific changes?
The Diversity Committee recommended offering the exam twice as the current setup may disadvantage applicants who don't have the luxury of waiting one year to reattempt and start their legal career.
The committee also recommended studying what exactly an entry-level lawyer knows and knows how to do in order to competently practice law in Delaware, as well as how the cutoff bar exam score could better reflect that minimum required competence.
Multiple elements of the Delaware Bar Exam are tied to uniform examinations used by other states. The state-centric essay portion is regarded as making the actual test more difficult than other states, according to the committee's report.
LAST YEAR: Some lawyers push back at proposed changes to lower score needed to pass Delaware Bar
The Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington, formerly the New Castle County Courthouse.
The committee suggested reducing the number of essay topics that could be on the test from 14 areas of the law and reducing the overall number of essays required on the exam. In its recommendations, the committee acknowledged a "concern that the essay portion of the bar exam as constructed is not a measure of minimum competence but merely a rite of passage."
The committee's full report on diversity in the state's legal system can be found here.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Supreme Court is changing the bar exam. What you need to know
An apartment complex on the Rosebud Reservation has drifts of snow blocking the doors and windows on Dec. 27, 2022.
President Joe Biden declared major disasters for two tribal communities in South Dakota on Tuesday for a pair of deadly December storms.
News of the declarations for the Rosebud and Oglala Sioux tribes arrived as snowflakes began to fall in the first of two more winter storms expected to blanket the state. This weeks storms are expected to bring nearly as much snow as the storms that pummeled the Midwest before Christmas.
Each presidential declaration is a pathway to reimbursement for 48 hours worth of snow removal costs during or immediate to the incident period. The time period for potential reimbursement is Dec. 12-25, 2022.
Rosebud Sioux Tribal President Scott Herman said tribal officials are set to meet with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week to run through their costs during the Dec. 12-16 storm events and decide which 48 hours to claim.
Hopefully well get reimbursed for a lot of those expenses that we used during that 48 hours, Herman said.
The tribe cleared 65% of the roadways after the first round of that event, Herman said, but continued to move snow for weeks after the second round.
On the Rosebud reservation, at least six people perished after the one-two punch of heavy snow in mid-December. Some tribal leaders said the response from the state was slow; state officials said emergency managers had collaborated and offered aid throughout the events and released a timeline of their actions in response.
In December, Herman expressed frustration with the situation, but also gratitude for state assistance. Since then, he said, Rosebud has worked to bolster its snow removal capacity, leasing two loaders and shuffling funds to purchase three more. The tribe also has additional snowblowers, snowmobiles and a snow tracker with treads for use in rescue operations in unplowed areas.
Weve got a lot more equipment than we had for the last storm. I think were prepared well enough this time to get through this storm, Herman said.
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The tribe has also hired an emergency management director to supplement the work of its emergency preparedness program, which covers a wide range of issues on the reservation. The idea is to put additional emphasis on natural disasters through the new position, Herman said.
The newest storm projections have put emergency managers across the state to work. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has been in touch with tribal leaders and other stakeholders, according to spokesman Tony Mangan.
The department began sharing safety messages and emergency preparedness tips on social media on Feb. 17, four days before the first part of the storm was set to begin, and has offered multiple updates each day since. On Tuesday morning, Randy Hartman with the Office of Emergency Management outlined the must-haves for a vehicle emergency kit.
Other messages encouraged citizens to watch for road closures, and to take them seriously when they happen.
The state issued 147 tickets to people who flouted closures during the last storm event, Secretary Craig Price told lawmakers last month. State troopers and others with the DPS also conducted dozens of rescue operations.
The latest estimates from the National Weather Service suggest that this weeks storm will drop 8-12 inches of snow on most areas of the state between two weather systems Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, with parts of central and northeastern South Dakota receiving 12-18 inches. Some areas of the state saw nearly twice as much during the December storms.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Disaster declarations for tribes land as two-part winter storm looms in South Dakota
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has notched the endorsement of a former U.S. ambassador in the Trump administration, who is arguing former President Trumps name calling has turned voters away from the partys standard-bearer.
Donald Tapia, who served as U.S. ambassador to Jamaica from 2019 to 2021, said he would support DeSantis over Trump if the Florida governor ran for president in 2024, according to Politico.
The name-calling has turned a lot of people off, Tapia said. Let me tell you, we dont like that.
Tapia, a businessman from Arizona, was a strong financial backer of Trump in 2016 and 2020, contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the former president over his two elections.
But Tapia has switched his allegiance to DeSantis, who has yet to announce a campaign for the White House but is widely expected to declare his candidacy in the coming months. Trump, who launched his campaign right after the 2022 midterms, has taken the fight to DeSantis early.
In social media posts and public appearances, Trump has poked at DeSantis, calling him Ron DeSanctimonious and bashing his record as Florida governor.
Florida was doing GREAT long before Ron DeSanctus got there, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site on Tuesday. People are fleeing from New York to Florida (and other places) because of high TAXES and out of control CRIME, not because of Governor (thank you President Trump!) DeSanctimonious.
Rick Scott did great, and even Charlie Crist had very good numbers. SUNSHINE AND OCEAN, very alluring!!! he added.
DeSantis has instead played coy with the former president, largely avoiding clashes with the Republican firebrand.
Instead, he is spending time touring the country before his book is expected to be released next week. He held events with law enforcement groups in New York and Pennsylvania this week.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
For those who like to shoot rifles and pistols, the sound from the gun can literally be deafening.
In addition to the shots being loud, the noise can cause some shooters to flinch when pulling the trigger, causing the shot to miss its mark.
Adding a sound suppressor can improve it in both ways, according to Mike Bleil, sales consultant for Silencer Central. He was working at the USA International Sportsmens Show and Outdoor Recreation & Travel Show Friday in Monroeville.
The National Firearms Act includes sound suppressors in its Class 3 category of short barrel firearms, and these items can only be owned by those who are approved through the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). That tax stamp costs $200. Fingerprints and a photo are required.
Mike Bleil of Silencer Central looks at a sound suppressor on the end of a deer hunting rifle Friday at the USA International Sportsmen's Show and Outdoor Recreation & Travel Show in Monroeville.
There are 42 states that allow silencers and 41 that include hunting.
In Pennsylvania, he said, Its 100% legal to own and hunt with.
Titanium suppressors come in different sizes. One common model for a rifle is 5.5 inches long with a weight of less than 8 ounces.
Bleil compared the sound of a common deer hunting rifle using a suppressor to the sound of a small rimfire caliber used for small game: A .308 will be down quieter than a .22.
The sound decreases about 34 decibels. One of the most fun things to shoot suppressed is a .22. You can get down to where its almost like pellet gun quiet, he said.
To install a suppressor, it can be screwed directly on the end of a threaded barrel. For a gun that does not have threads on the end of it, a local gunsmith can create threads that accept a suppressor, at a cost of about $100. Don't have a local gunsmith? Bleil said his company offers a service where people can ship their guns and have the guns prepared to accept a suppressor.
Prices for suppressors vary based on the gun and the suppression needs. He said a basic .22 suppressor costs about $500, but for larger calibers, the prices can go as high as $1,300 to $1,500. A popular option is a $999 model for deer hunters.
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Regarding accuracy, the scope may have to be adjusted after installing a suppressor, he said.
Having that on the end of the barrel changes the harmonics, he said. However once your scope is realigned, the shooter experiences better accuracy. Youll get the recoil benefits of a muzzle brake and then some, 40 to 50% recoil reduction with a suppressor, he said.
With less noise and recoil, the shooter has a more pleasant experience and becomes less prone to flinching.
For hunters, having a suppressor helps protect the ears during the shot, and it may help with with getting a second shot on wary game, he said.
They (animals like deer or coyotes) will still hear a report but may be confused enough to give you time for a follow-up shot," he said.
Some hunters are also using e-bikes for their trips. We found some of them at the Outdoor Show as well.
What calibers are in demand?:Now is the time to stock up on ammo for hunting in Pennsylvania. Here's what you need to know
Switch from lead to copper:Insights on why you might want to consider hunting with copper bullets
Consider an e-bikeAs e-bike use grows, Pennsylvania looks to accommodate riders in state parks, forests
E-biking
In December the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources approved a policy to allow bikes with pedal assist electric motors on areas that are already approved for bicycles. Riders cant exceed 20 miles per hour while using their motors.
Steve Smolenski, owner of JoltBike Electric Bike Company in Waltersburg (Uniontown) in Fayette County, has been selling e-bikes for about three years for people to ride in various places including the Great Allegheny Passage trail that spans 150 miles between Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
Steve Smolenski of JoltBike Electric Bike Company in Fayette County shows an e-bike that includes a fishing pole Friday at the USA International Sportsmens Show and Outdoor Recreation & Travel Show in Monroeville.
My tagline is 'Go farther,' Smolenski said. Its been proven that people are going three times farther on the e-bike and getting the same or more exercise as (pedal only bikes).
E-bikes also help people get back on trails later in life.
About 90% of my customers are 65 and older wanting to get back on bikes, and they havent been on a bike in 25 years. It excites me because its getting them healthy, getting them off the couch and outdoors, he said,
The distance most e-bike batteries travel is about 35 to 40 miles. Some go 20 to 25 miles based on the weight of the rider and the number of hills they drive over. Higher end models can go 60 miles, he explained.
Most of the time people on pedal bikes are going faster than the electric bikes, he said noting the 20 mph speed limit with motors assisting a rider.
At the show he had several e-bikes on display including one for about $2,800 that had motors for both wheels to help cyclists get through rough terrain. Some hunters use e-bikes to get farther into the woods. You add accessories to hold a fishing pole, gun or bow and they are equipped to pull a cart that can carry their gear or a deer.
They are not dirt bikes, the realism is that you still have to put a little effort into them, he said about comparing them to traditional gas powered motorbikes.
But its amazing, the power on some of these bikes, he said. These bikes will definitely help you explore more territory."
About 3,800 miles of state forest trails are open to mountain biking, and of those, 447 miles within 11 state forests are specifically designated and maintained for mountain biking.
Riders shouldnt assume that e-bikes are welcome everywhere. Other lands open to the public in Pennsylvania (such as federal lands, local parks and preserves) have different requirements related to e-bikes. E-bike users should check the guidelines for their destination before they go. For example e-bikes are not permitted on state game lands.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors ,Twitter @whipkeyoutdoors and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Where can you ride an e-bike; are gun silencers legal in Pennsylvania
Mexico's Public Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna attends a meeting with the Human Rights commission at the Senate in Mexico City November 29, 2012. Photo by Reuters
A former Mexican law enforcement official once in charge of his country's fight against drug traffickers was convicted on Tuesday on U.S. charges that he took millions of dollars in bribes from the infamous Sinaloa cartel.
Federal prosecutors in the New York City borough of Brooklyn said Genaro Garcia Luna accepted bribes from the cartel once run by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in exchange for protection from arrest, safe passage for cocaine shipments and tipoffs about forthcoming law enforcement operations.
On its third day of deliberations, the jury found Garcia Luna guilty on all five counts he faced, which included continuing criminal enterprise and conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the United States.
Garcia Luna, 54, is one of the highest-ranking Mexican officials ever accused of ties to drug trafficking. He led Mexico's Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005 and was public security minister for six years until 2012.
Garcia Luna worked closely with U.S. counter-narcotics and intelligence agencies as part of former President Felipe Calderon's crackdown on cartels.
He now faces a prison term of at least 20 years, and up to the rest of his life, when he is sentenced on June 27.
"Garcia Luna, who once stood at the pinnacle of law enforcement in Mexico, will now live the rest of his days having been revealed as a traitor to his country," Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said in a statement following the verdict.
Cesar de Castro, a defense lawyer, told reporters Garcia Luna will "continue to do everything he can to clear his good name."
"Mr. Garcia Luna, his family, and the defense team trusted in the process, trusted that the jury would see through the government's case," de Castro said outside the courthouse. "We are very disappointed that it did not, but we respect the jury's decision."
TN small businesses approved for $116.9 million through State Small Business Credit Initiative
NASHVILLE, Tenn. The U.S. Department of Treasury announced today the approval of up to $116.9 million in funding under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to support small business growth in Tennessee.
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and they play a central role in building strong communities throughout Tennessee, said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. Im pleased that this funding will help expand the growth of small businesses and encourage interested Tennesseans to utilize these funds to promote economic growth in our state.
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) will operate an initiative called Fund Tennessee, which is made up of a suite of programs from venture capital, to loan programs and technical assistance. TNECD allocated $46.9 million for the debt program that will work with participating Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) to serve rural to urban areas of the state, including underserved communities.
With one of the top business climates in the country, Tennessee is the ideal location to create, launch and grow a business, said TNECD Commissioner Stuart McWhorter. We appreciate the U.S. Department of Treasury for approving this funding, which will support and expand Tennessees small business and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
TNECD, in partnership with LaunchTN, allocated $70 million for the program, which is focused on direct investments in early-stage startups, along with a fund-of-funds strategy investing in emerging venture capital fund managers.
Access to investment capital has been a challenge in Tennessee, so these funds will fill an immediate demand and support growth in startups that are primed to reach their potential, said LaunchTN CEO Lindsey Cox. We are eager to help founders across the state access this capital so they can continue innovating.
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TNECD and LaunchTN are hosting regional kickoff meetings to give an overview of the new Fund Tennessee initiative. The meetings will begin today and continue through April. To learn more or register for a kickoff meeting, visit here.
The SSBCI program provides funding to empower small businesses to access capital needed to invest in job-creating opportunities.
In addition to generating private investment in states across the country, SSBCI provides historic investments in U.S. territories, with significant impacts for growing access to credit in these markets. Through SSBCI, U.S. Treasury has allocated more than $300 million to support small businesses and entrepreneurs.
About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Developments mission is to develop strategies that help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. To grow and strengthen Tennessee, the department seeks to attract new corporate investment to the state and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: tnecd.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd.
Announcing the 2023 Whats the Big Idea? Pitch Competition finalists
KEC is excited to announce the finalists for the annual pitch competition, Whats The Big Idea? Pitch Competition.
Congratulations to B-Roll Bank, The Mighty Wig Rental, SpaceCraft, TravL, SimplePost Social, SpeakBit, and Vitriform3D for moving on to the final round!
The final competition will take place over the span of a single 48 hour weekend, March 3rd - 5th with an in-person finale event on March 5th.
You can register for the event HERE.
Tennessee awards over $5 million in Grow Your Own subgrants for Teacher Apprenticeship programs
Nashville, TN Today, the Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee Grow Your Own Center announced over $5 million in subgrant funding has been awarded to five educator preparation providers (EPPs) to expand the Tennessee Teacher Apprenticeship programs to increase access and remove barriers to the educator profession, in alignment with the states Grow Your Own initiative.
To further the statewide scale and reach, these subgrants have been awarded to five teacher apprenticeship EPPs: Austin Peay State University, Lincoln Memorial University, Arete Memphis Public Montessori, Lipscomb University, and the University of Memphis. The initial subgrant funding supports the program launch, candidate enrollment, and institutional costs.
"Since the department launched the Grow Your Own initiative in 2020, we are thrilled to see higher education partners and school districts come together in innovative ways to help more aspiring teachers enter the profession, said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. Our collaboration and shared commitment to create high-quality teacher apprenticeship programs will increase the number of qualified educators across the state serving students in our classrooms.
In partnership with the department and University of Tennessee System, the Tennessee Grow Your Own Center is leading innovative teacher apprenticeship programs for educator credentialing, ensuring districts and candidates statewide have access to varied programs and degrees at no cost.
Tennessee has 9 total approved EPP apprenticeship institutions, offering registered teacher apprenticeships to 30+ districts and serving 200+ candidates. Beginning in 2020, this builds on the nearly 650 candidates served through the initial 65 district and EPP partnerships. The new apprenticeship models that launched in spring 2023, spanning masters, bachelors, and licensure-only pathways, bring additional opportunities for districts to strategically address staffing challenges through high-quality programs.
The impact of the Grow Your Own Apprenticeship subgrants is seen in the expressions of excitement of our teacher candidates, said Dr. Susan Wagner, Director and Associate Professor, Master of Education in Initial Teacher Licensure, Lincoln Memorial University. When relieved of the financial burdens of tuition and textbooks and assured of a consistent and rising income while pursuing the dream of becoming a teacher in Tennessee, our teacher candidates at Lincoln Memorial University can focus their energies on applying knowledge in their clinical classroom settings. Rather than being a student of theory, they become co-practitioners under the supervision of experienced mentor teachers and Lincoln Memorial University faculty.
We are so grateful for the support of the TN Department of Education and the UT Grow Your Own Center, said Dr. Lisa Barron, Associate Dean and Director of Teacher Education and Partnerships, Austin Peay State University. This subgrant will allow us to continue the exciting apprenticeship work we are doing with our district partners stemming the teacher shortage and supporting a more diverse teacher workforce.
The GYO subgrant will make a major difference in our program's ability to support apprentices, not only because we can completely cover all costs like licensing exams and textbooks, but because our partner district can reinvest what they would be paying in EPP tuition into higher wages for apprentices, allowing them to earn a more sustainable salary while completing training, said Bob Nardo, Executive Director, Arete Memphis Montessori Residency. This funding from the GYO center will have an immediate impact on our partner district's teacher pipeline, leading to more access for at-risk students in Tennessee to high quality teachers excellently prepared to provide them with a rich and rigorous public Montessori education.
"The subgrant award allows our EPP to expand access for teacher assistants and paraprofessionals who might not otherwise be able to complete our teacher licensure programs. In addition to the obstacle of university tuition, the other costs of the degree program (e.g., textbooks, Praxis costs, computers) often prove to be barriers for students, said Celia Anderson, Interim Assistant Dean, College of Education, University of Memphis. We are thrilled that the subgrant will allow us to fund a truly no-cost program for teacher apprentices that will open up new opportunities to prepare excellent teachers."
Tennessee was the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to have Teacher Apprenticeship programs between school districts and EPPs, and Tennessees Teacher Apprenticeship models aligns leading practices in teacher preparation and development with the rigors of the nationally registered apprenticeship process. As a part of the departments Best for All strategic plan, the Grow Your Own initiative aims to set a new path for the educator profession and for Tennessee to be the top state in which to become and remain a teacher and leader.
The Center will offer future competitive grant opportunities for EPPs approved to offer Tennessee Teacher Apprenticeship programs. Both the Center and the department continue to prioritize high-quality program delivery and EPP innovation, leveraging early program success, including competency-based programs, mentor training and creative staffing, high school Teacher Apprenticeship Program (TAP) pipelines and partnerships, and third-party partners for wraparound supports.
Through a strong partnership with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD), the department is excited to celebrate the Grow Your Own initiative with a special event next week, to ensure commitment that year after year, the state will continue to invest in high-quality, no-cost opportunities for Tennesseans to earn a degree and teachers license for free, while getting paid to do so.
In addition to continuing to strengthen and sustain the educator profession, the department has strategically focused efforts on launching the Tennessee Teacher Retention Listening Tour, to hear directly from educators about their lived experiences in the classroom and is offering an opportunity to Tennessee teachers to contribute their input related to best practices or approaches to boost teacher retention across the state. For programmatic inquiries, contact GrowYourOwn@tn.gov. For Tennessee Department of Education media inquiries, contact Edu.MediaInquiries@tn.gov.
Y-12 accepting applications for STEM classroom grants
Oak Ridge, Tenn. To kick off Engineers Week, which is held annually during the last week in February, Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) announced Monday that it is once again sponsoring five $1,000 grants for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in East Tennessee classrooms. The goal of the grants, designated for grades K12, is to foster advancement of STEM activities in the classroom and to help develop Y-12s future workforce. CNS manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex.
This is the second year that Y-12 has offered STEM classroom grants. Projects which received awards in 2022 included an aquaponics teaching lab, a rainwater runoff design challenge, and development of a curriculum in pneumatics, which involves engineering using pressurized air. It is so exciting to see the variety of projects that teachers dream up to enhance STEM learning in East Tennessee, said Y-12 Education Outreach Specialist Kristin Waldschlager. CNS is honored to support their efforts, and to see how they will inspire students who could grow up to work at Y-12.
Public and private school teachers or school administrators in the following East Tennessee counties may apply:
Anderson
Blount
Campbell
Claiborne
Cocke
Cumberland
Grainger
Hamblen
Jefferson
Knox
Loudon
McMinn
Meigs
Monroe
Morgan
Rhea
Roane
Scott
Sevier
Union
Grant application information is available on the Y-12 website. Applications will be accepted through March 20, 2023. Educators who are immediate family members of Y-12 employees are not eligible to apply for or receive a grant.
Y-12 staff will evaluate the grant applications and make recommendations for grant allocations. Once a final decision is made, five grants of $1,000 each will be made payable to the individual school and will be dispersed to the teacher or administrator in accordance with school protocol.
Grants will be awarded in April, and all funds must be spent by July 31, 2023.
USDA ready to help 27 Tennessee counties' farmers and ranchers recover from recent drought disaster
Knox County was declared a contiguous disaster county due to drought and heat using the Secretarial Disaster Designation process. Under this designation, if you have operations in any primary or contiguous county, you are eligible to apply for low interest emergency loans.
Emergency loans help you recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding and other natural disasters or quarantine.
You have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. You can borrow up to 100 percent of actual production or physical losses, to a maximum amount of $500,000. Applications for assistance in the disaster-stricken counties will be accepted by the Farm Service Agency through 10/02/2023.
For more information about emergency loans, contact Farm Loan Office, Rachel Niceley, at the Knox County USDA Service Center located at 4730 New Harvest Ln, Ste. 100; Knoxville, TN 37918, or by phone at 865-291-9518 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the
Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-a-program-discrimination-complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Nominations sought for City's next Poet Laureate
The City of Knoxville and the Arts & Culture Alliance seek nominations for the Citys next Poet Laureate. The form is available at https://bit.ly/PoetLaureateNomForm.
Knoxville has a long and rich literary heritage that includes Nikki Giovanni, James Agee, Cormac McCarthy and Frances Hodgson Burnett. The Poet Laureate program, created in 2016, aims to extend and build on this heritage by recognizing and supporting resident poets of exceptional talent and accomplishment.
Residents who have served as Knoxvilles Poet Laureate:
R.B. Morris songwriter, musician and playwright
Marilyn Kallet retired director of the University of Tennessees Creative Writing Program
Rhea Carmon slam poet, performer and organizer of the Southern Fried Poetry Slam being held June 7-10, 2023, in Knoxville
The Poet Laureate serves as a public voice of Knoxville, creating city-specific works and participating in literary outreach and educational programs.
Poet Laureates serve one year with an optional one-year renewal and receive a $3,000 annual honorarium.
A poet who has served may not be renominated, nor can poets self-nominate. Nominees must live within Knoxville city limits, be at least 18 years old, and have had at least one book of poetry published (or an equivalent body of work).
Nominations are due 5 p.m. on Friday, March 31, 2023, in person or by mail at:
Arts & Culture Alliance100 S. Gay St., Suite 201Knoxville TN 37902
Visit KnoxvilleTN.gov/poet for details about the program, a nomination form and more about the Citys Poet Laureates and their work.
One Knoxville SC and United Way of Greater Knoxville create Goals for Good campaign to give to local causes
February 20, 2023, Knoxville, Tenn. One Knoxville SC, in partnership with United Way of Greater Knoxville (UWGK), has developed a new program called Goals for Good, which uses soccer as a platform to give back to our local Knoxville community. One Knox fans and business partners will have the opportunity to pledge a dollar amount per goal scored throughout the 2023 season. Each game, through Goals for Good, One Knox will champion and raise money in support of local nonprofits.
We are so excited to continue our partnership with One Knox SC through the Goals for Good campaign, shared Matt Ryerson, United Way of Greater Knoxville President and CEO. This program is a great example of the innovative ways we can all come together to pour into our community and have a huge impact.
Goals for Good kicks off Saturday, March 18, in support of The Community Schools Initiative a program that uses public schools as a hub for organizing community resources to improve neighborhood health, safety, and student academic success.
We are passionate about using soccer as a force for good in Knoxville, says Sam Weisbrod, Executive Director of One Knoxvilles newly formed nonprofit arm, the One Knox Collective. Through Goals for Good, we hope to encourage our fans to join us and collectively champion the local causes we care deeply about.
About United Way of Greater Knoxville
United Way of Greater Knoxville is part of United Way Worldwide, the largest charitable organization in the world. Through more than 112 programs in nearly 48 different agencies, United Way of Greater Knoxville is an innovative problem-solver and facilitator of social change dedicated to creating a more equitable Knoxville with stable housing, financial security, quality early care and education, access to food, economic mobility, and more. For more information, visit uwgk.org.
About One Knoxville SC One Knoxville is a professional soccer team playing in the United Soccer League (USL). Their mission, as a Club, is to give every kid in Knoxville access to the benefits of playing the game in a fun, safe and welcoming environment and to break down all socioeconomic barriers between aspiring athletes and programs. They aim to provide best-in-class programs for all One Knoxville players and coaches, inspiring them to reach their full potential and, in doing so, inspiring the next generation to do the same. For more information, visit oneknoxsc.com.
The University of Tennessee Medical Center and The University of Tennessee Knoxville, College of Nursing Announce BSN Scholars Program
February 16, 2023 Knoxville, Tenn. The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Nursing are partnering to create a new undergraduate nursing program that will be located at a satellite campus adjacent to UTMC. The University of Tennessee Medical Center University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Nursing BSN Scholars Program is a robust academic-practice partnership that will offer nursing students an opportunity to learn and train inside UTMC, the regions academic medical center.
According to Dr. Sandy Leake, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at UTMC, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) students accepted into the BSN Scholars Program will attend class and complete their clinical rotations at UTMC with access to an onsite learning lab and simulation center at UTMCs satellite campus, which will be located at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm. The BSN Scholars Program will have the same accreditation standards and follow the same mission, vision, values, and honor code as the colleges existing programs.
Students in the BSN Scholars Program will have scholarships from UTMC with a three-year work commitment post-graduation. All classes will be taught by College of Nursing faculty whose positions will also be funded by UTMC, said Leake.
Dr. Victoria Niederhauser, Dean of the College of Nursing at UT, explained that the BSN Scholars Program and partnership with The University of Tennessee Medical Center give the college an opportunity to increase the number of students who graduate with a BSN.
Through the BSN Scholars Program, graduating an increased number of the best and brightest baccalaureate nursing students will contribute to our highly qualified and educated workforce of nurses serving the East Tennessee region, said Niederhauser.
Niederhauser said that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the health care workforce was facing challenges due to burnout and other factors. The pandemic has exacerbated those challenges, leading to national health care staffing shortages. According to a nursing workforce analysis in Health Affairs, the total supply of registered nurses (RN) in the U.S. decreased by more than 100,000 from 2020 to 2021 the largest drop over the past four decades.
This mutually beneficial partnership addresses the complex and unprecedented nursing shortage that has impacted not only our region, but the entire nation, and we are thrilled to be building upon our long-standing relationship with UTs College of Nursing to make this program a reality, said Leake. The opportunity for these nursing students to receive their education and training in the very medical center they will hold their first RN position fosters confidence as they transition from academic learning into working full-time in the clinical setting.
Leake said that nurses comprise approximately one-third of a typical hospital workforce, with RNs being essential to patient care and high-quality outcomes. UTMC has been focused on creating innovative solutions required to address unprecedented nursing workforce challenges in East Tennessee. The BSN Scholars Program will provide an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) curriculum, spanning 15 months, for college juniors with anticipated graduation of its first class in the fall of 2024. Through the partnership with the College of Nursing, UTMCs dedicated and funded nursing school will increase the number of students able to enroll in the College of Nursings well established, top-tier nursing program who will graduate with a BSN upon program completion. It is estimated that approximately 100 additional nurses will annually graduate from the program with a BSN as it grows. Those nurses will go on to work directly at the bedside at UTMC.
We are very excited about this collaborative partnership with the University of Tennessees College of Nursing and believe the BSN Scholars Program is a unique model for the country as it strategically creates a consistent conduit to increase the number of BSN nurses who will provide the highest quality of care to our regional community, said Joseph R. Landsman Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of UTMC. The BSN Scholars Program will help elevate academic excellence at The University of Tennessee Medical Center, and its partnering institutions, as well as in the nursing industry.
Through this innovative new program, our nursing students will graduate with the skills and experience they need to make an immediate impact for their patients and their community, said UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman. This program is an example of how UT Knoxville, the states flagship land-grant university, works with partners like The University of Tennessee Medical Center to expand access to education and meet industry and workforce needs.
elliTek helps area manufacturers get a grip and move forward
February 14, 2023, Knoxville, Tennessee - What would a robot be without a gripper? Pretty useless. Grippers allow robots to automate key processes, like assembly, inspection, machine tending, and pick & place.
Combine gripper technology with automation technology, and now were really moving.
SCHUNK, the international technology leader in tool holding, work holding, gripping, and automation technology, and elliTek, Inc. have partnered to provide Tennessee manufacturers with state-of-the-art solutions for improving production lines and robot systems.
For Tennessee manufacturers, this means you have the full backing of SCHUNKs profound expertise and willingness to face challenges and move ideas forward, as well as elliTeks extensive integration background, firsthand experience with SCHUNKs products, and unmatched customer support.
We are excited to partner with elliTek. elliTeks extensive controls and engineering background brings a level of Value-Added Service that we have been searching for in a partner. Says David Simerly, Tennessee Territory Sales Manager, We are looking forward to providing area manufacturers SCHUNKs innovative products and elliTeks tremendous level of support.
SCHUNK is well known for its gripping solutions. SCHUNKs grip force is second to none as far as heavy-duty grip forces go.
But did you know that SCHUNK also offers linear actuators, rotary actuators, linear motors, work holding, and collaborative robot (cobot) accessories?
SCHUNKs Linear Actuator Program is really something else -- you can specify down to the millimeter. These cut-to-order builds are prepared in the United States, North Carolina to be exact. You can get your linear actuator in three to four weeks -- unheard of in todays supply chain climate.
As far as e-mobility goes, with SCHUNKs seven+ decades of engineering expertise in the automotive industry, SCHUNK succeeds in quickly and safely converting manufacturing and assembly processes to electromobility. From axis systems to robot accessories, SCHUNK, and elliTek have you covered.
Are you in the life science, biotechnology, medical technology, or pharmaceutical industry? Not to worry, SCHUNK is your life-science partner with application know-how.
It only makes sense to partner with SCHUNK, says Brandon Ellis, President of elliTek. SCHUNK focuses on innovation, digitalization, and product optimization. SCHUNKs philosophy of Visions begin with questions falls in line with elliTeks mission of empowering its customers. Were looking forward to bringing SCHUNKs innovation to Tennessee manufacturers.
With so many options available today, its easy to get lost in the weeds. When youre ready to get a grip and move forward, elliTek and SCHUNK will find a suitable solution just for you.
About elliTek, Inc.
elliTek, Inc. is a premier distribution partner representing best-in-class industrial automation products. Coined as an Engineering Elite Automation Distribution company, this unmatched level of engineering service and support define a level of Value Added Services which extend far beyond any being offered today. elliTeks extensive integration background and firsthand experience with the products it promotes equips its engineers with the knowledge to confidently apply its in-house integration capabilities to empower its customers by meeting them exactly where they are. elliTeks specialized training and support promote a focus on mutual success with End Users, Machine Builders, and Systems Integrators. Learn more at www.elliTek.com or call (865) 409-1555.
About SCHUNK
SCHUNK is the international technology leader in tool holding, work holding, gripping technology, and automation technology. Approximately 3,500 employees in nine plants and 34 directly owned subsidiaries and distribution partners in more than 50 countries throughout the world ensure an intensive market presence. Shaping the future with innovative technologies that is the claim of SCHUNK. To this end, the family-owned and managed company is pushing the agile further development and digitalization of its product and service portfolio in order to make industrial processes more efficient, transparent, and sustainable. SCHUNK is facing the current and future challenges together with its customers and partners: Hand in hand for tomorrow! Learn more at https://schunk.com/us/en.
Public voting is live for KECs Whats The Big Idea? Pitch Competition
KEC is excited to announce that public voting is officially open for the annual pitch competition, Whats The Big Idea?, February 13th-19th, 2023!
This years competition will bring our regions best and brightest founders and ideas together, all competing for the $10,000 grand prize. The number of public votes a company receives will have an impact on the final teams selected for the official competition.
The final competition will take place over the span of a single 48 hour weekend, March 3rd - 5th with an in-person finale event on March 5th.
To place your vote for Knoxvilles net Big Idea, visit https://knoxec.com/what-we-do/programs/wtbi/
Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union to celebrate grand opening of Northshore location
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union is hosting a grand opening celebration forthe new Northshore Branch on Friday, February 10. In the Credit Unions 89 years of serving EastTennessee communities, this milestone marks the opening of the 25th location to serve Credit Unionmembers.
The Knox County Mayor, city and county officials, the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, and localbusinesses, will be present for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. The grand opening, to be held at1974 Town Center Blvd., will feature refreshments and a drawing for prizes throughout the day. Everyoneis invited to attend.
We are grateful for the support of our members in reaching this historic milestone, says president andCEO Glenn Siler. At Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union, our philosophy is people helping people.Opening the Northshore branch will allow us to become part of this neighborhood and give back to thelocal schools, events and organizations.
Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union has a long history of helping members live better lives and growfinancially. Today, more than 260,000 members entrust the Credit Union with their finances. The CreditUnion recently achieved the Callahan & Associates ranking as one of the Top 15 Credit Unions forMember Service Nationwide for providing outstanding value to its members.
"We serve communities in eight East Tennessee counties and Johnson City, says Lynn Summers,Executive Vice President. When members turn to us for their finances, the money they deposit stayshere in East Tennessee and helps other people. We are proud to not only support our members, but alsothe thriving communities where they live and work.
The Northshore Branch is conveniently located at 1974 Town Center Blvd. in Northshore Town Center atthe intersection of I-140 and Northshore Rd. Credit Union hours are Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. 8 p.m.For more information on membership benefits at Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union, visittvacreditunion.com.
Voting begins in UScellular, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley annual Black History Month Art Contest
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 1, 2023) Voting is now open in UScellulars Eighth Annual Black History Month Art Contest with Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. Voting is available online, and community members can visit newsroom.uscellular.com/2023-bhmac-vote-now to vote for their favorite piece of artwork.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley members created original pieces representing influential Black icons in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These included historical figures, world leaders, scientists and educators who have made vital contributions to the world of science, technology, engineering and math.
Ten finalists from Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley were chosen by club representatives and local UScellular leaders based on creativity, quality, interpretation, clarity of theme and overall impression. Voting will remain open until Feb. 28, and anyone 18 or older can vote.
The top three vote-getters will be announced in March, and prizes include gift cards in the following amounts:
$250, 1st place
$150, 2nd place
$100, 3rd place
Since 2009, UScellular has donated more than $22.6 million along with countless experiences and technology items to non-profit organizations across the country. For more information about UScellulars corporate social responsibility initiatives, visit newsroom.uscellular.com/community.
No Purchase Necessary. Entrants who are minors must have parental consent to participate in the Contest. Official Contest Rules, including full entry details and Finalist and Winner selection criteria/voting are available by email request to USCDLMediaRelations@uscellular.com.
About UScellular
UScellular is the fourth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, providing national network coverage and industry-leading innovations designed to help customers stay connected to the things that matter most. The Chicago-based carrier provides a strong, reliable network supported by the latest technology and offers a wide range of communication services that enhance consumers lives, increase the competitiveness of local businesses and improve the efficiency of government operations. Through its After School Access Project, the company has pledged to provide hotspots and service to help up to 50,000 youth connect to reliable internet. Additionally, UScellular has price protected all of its plans, promising not to increase prices through at least the end of 2023. To learn more about UScellular, visit one of its retail stores or www.uscellular.com. To get the latest news, visit newsroom.uscellular.com.
AT&T 5G Lab dedicated at UT
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and AT&T dedicated the new AT&T 5G Lab today at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm. The labs dedication is another step forward for the two institutions commitment and capacity to bringing high-speed technologies with meaningful uses to Tennesseans.
Our communities gain major benefits when our faculty and students tackle real-world issues brought by companies who also live and work in those same communities. Thats what is happening today between UT and AT&T we are committed to making life and lives better, said UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman.
UT is one of only six universities in the United States to advance research initiatives in collaboration with AT&T. In 2021, UT agreed to work with AT&T on research projects using a 5G+ millimeter wave spectrum network in a lab environment.
We have a long history of working with UT on projects that explored how to capitalize on emerging advanced technologies, and now were looking forward to what faculty and students here will learn about the capabilities of 5G high-speed broadband, said Joelle Phillips, president of AT&T Tennessee. It is exciting to think that innovations and applications which will improve lives tomorrow may begin as a what if conversation in this new lab.
Installation of the labs testbed equipment has been completed, and faculty and students can begin research and development across a variety of areas of interest.
Our faculty and students are really excited to use this state-of-the-art 5G testbed to develop innovations with such far-reaching implications, including in precision agriculture, health care, and transportation, said UT Vice Chancellor for Research Deborah Crawford. We create high-impact solutions when we collaborate with organizations like AT&T.
5G wireless technology provides high-speed mobile broadband networks with ultra-low latency and better data capacity to consumers.
Research conducted in the new lab has potential application for multiple sectors:
Transportation applications may include near real-time decision-making and control of vehicles, traffic monitoring, network optimization, secure 5G communications for transportation systems and allocating appropriate resources to different transportation services.
Telemedicine applications may include predictive modeling to allow for early detection of diseases, noncontact patient monitoring, remote surgeries and unobtrusive health monitoring.
Smart agriculture applications may include low-cost and robust hardware; sensors for crops, soil, and animal monitoring; self-driving tractors; and monitoring the health of livestock.
Sports applications may include immersive and interactive sporting experiences, virtual tours of stadiums, and player and team performance data.
At the event, attendees were shown a demonstration showing how augmented reality could assist a technician performing critical work on an airplanes landing gear while working with a subject matter expert in a remote location. Similar applications exist in fields like incident management and security, in which determining exact locations of people and assets are critical.
UT students and faculty demonstrated how 5G+ connections, coupled with multi-access edge computing, provide ultra-fast connectivity with ultra-low latency while keeping the data within the UT Knoxville network.
Tickle College of Engineering Professor Aly Fathy plans to make this a core research focus of the lab moving forward.
Entrepreneurs, lawmakers come together during Innovation Week
NASHVILLE, TN January 24, 2023 People connected to Tennessees entrepreneurial ecosystem from startup founders and lawmakers to investors and nonprofit leaders will soon gather for five days of innovation, advocacy and connection.
LaunchTNs Innovation Week is slated for March 27-31.
The week, which showcases the states entrepreneurship successes, grew out of LaunchTNs annual effort to increase the visibility of startups and innovation in the Volunteer State.
Tennessee is unique because we have a really strong, state-wide entrepreneurial community, LaunchTN CEO Lindsey Cox said. Innovation Week is a great time to have everyone involved in that community together. The value of getting all these great minds in one place cant really be overstated.
The free event will:
showcase the states innovators and innovation assets
include advocacy for Tennessees entrepreneurial ecosystem
connect lawmakers, startup founders, investors, mentors and other leaders in the entrepreneurial space
The week will include some invite-only events for LaunchTNs Network Partners, while other events are open to the public.
March 29 is LaunchTNs annual public meeting.
During the Innovators Summit, on March 30, there will be lab tours that showcase the work scientists do in the hopes of commercializing it, as well as educational sessions and networking opportunities.
Friday will see popup events across the state at regional entrepreneur centers.
Last years event drew more than 700 people to the area.
About Launch Tennessee
Launch Tennessee (LaunchTN) is a public-private partnership that supports entrepreneurship and economic development with a goal to make Tennessee the most startup friendly state. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit we are uniquely positioned to provide direct investment, while also supporting collaboration among founders, investors, researchers, the private sector, institutions, and government. We foster entrepreneurship, technology advancement and workforce development through capital access, commercialization, mentorship, marketing and partnerships.
South College Knoxville and Nashville nursing students achieve 92% pass rate on NCLEX-RN Exam
Students in the South College Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program offered at the Knoxville and Nashville campuses who took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) in 2022 earned a 92% pass rate on their first attempt at the exam.
We congratulate the BSN graduates on their exceptional performance on national examinations and are happy to have helped 163 individuals in Tennessee achieve the title of registered nurse in 2022, South College Chancellor Steve South said. This reinforces the great emphasis we place on training, education, student support, and providing great faculty and external partners to prepare students to enter critical health professions.
The national exam assesses the application and analysis of knowledge that students learn in school and ensures that entry-level nurses can make clinical judgments and meet the needs of patients. It covers four major categories: safe and effective care environment, health promotion and maintenance, psychosocial integrity, and physiological integrity. It is the final component of the licensure process.
South College is accepting applications for the next BSN cohort and offers multiple healthcare programs from certificate to doctoral levels across several disciplines. South College students who qualify for financial aid have access to a range of programs as do members of the U.S. military, veterans, and their families. The institution offers both student and career services.
For more information about South College, please call the Knoxville campus at 865-251-1800 or the Nashville campus at 629-802-3000 or visit south.edu.
About South College
South College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award degrees at the doctorate, educational specialist, masters, baccalaureate, and associate levels, as well as certificates. Questions about the accreditation of South College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOCs website (sacscoc.org).
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TN small businesses approved for $116.9 million through State Small Business Credit Initiative
Since moving into her new Aspen vacation home in August 2022, Kyle Richards has shared glimpses of the beautiful house in social media posts. One month after getting settled in, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member gave her followers a peek at the dining room, living room, and cozy seating area near a window with incredible views. By the time the December holidays rolled around, Kyle had transformed the abode with festive Christmas trees and seasonal decor. More recently, Kyle showed some new details of the house, and its even more gorgeous than we thought.
In a February 19 Instagram Story video, Kyle shared a full look at her dining area, which has cream-color chairs, a wood table topped with decorative greenery, and an antler-style chandelier. Completing the space is a massive window with unobstructed mountain views (which, as Kyles Instagram video shows, look particularly stunning at sunset). In the clip, Kyle panned over to her living room, which features stone walls, a fireplace, several comfortable-looking chairs, another identical chandelier, and more large windows.
Kyles idyllic weekend in Aspen also included a meetup with Bethenny Frankel. In an Instagram photo shared by The Real Housewives of New York City alum, the longtime friends posed in black hats and jackets. Almost 30 years later, lost parents, marriages, a gaggle of girls, reality shows, health scares [and] a whole lot of life, we still have a lot to talk (and laugh) about, Bethenny wrote in her caption. Plus I got a good [Farrah Aldjufrie] cameo, who I have known since she was a baby. Today was a good day xoxo.
Style Living Rhobh Kyle Richards Aspen House 1
Photo: Kyle Richards/Instagram
In June 2022, Kyle confirmed her former Aspen house was on the market when she shared an Architectural Digest article announcing the news. According to AD, the four-bedroom, five-bathroom house was listed for $9,750,000. Later that month, Kyle explained why her family had decided to sell their beloved Colorado house. Our family is growing [and] we simply need more space, she explained in an Instagram Story, adding that she is never leaving Aspen.
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As RHOBH viewers are well aware, Kyle and her family also have another incredible vacation home in La Quinta. In the video above, Kyle gives a tour of the breathtaking house and shows the kitchen she really fell in love with, her lighter and more modern bedroom, and a magical view.
Check out the video above to get a full tour of Kyles La Quinta home.
Watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Peacock and the Bravo app.
Malcolm X with Daughter Ilyasah - Credit: Bettmann Archive
Ilyasah Shabazz, 60, was two-years-old when her father, civil rights activist Malcolm X, was slain by three armed men as he was preparing to speak in New York. Shabazz announced on Tuesday, the anniversary of his 1965 assassination, that her family is suing the FBI, the CIA, the New York Police Department, and other agencies for allegedly concealing evidence related to his killing.
She was joined by her sister, Qubilah, and their attorney Ben Crump at a news conference at the site of the former Audubon Ballroom in upper Manhattan, where Malcolm X was fatally shot 58 years ago. Crump said that the family is seeking $100 million in damages in the wrongful death lawsuit against the federal and state government agencies.
More from Rolling Stone
Ilyasah Shabazz filed notices that she intends to sue the agencies, and accused US officials of having conspired to and executed their plan to assassinate her father, according to Reuters.
For years our family has fought for the truth to come to light concerning his murder, and wed like our father to receive the justice that he deserves, said Shabazz on Tuesday. The truth about the circumstances leading to the death of our father is important not only to his family, but to many followers, many admirers. Many looked to him for guidance and love. And it is our hope that litigation of this case will finally provide some unanswered questions.
Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam who each spent more than 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of assassinating Malcolm X were exonerated following an investigation that found that they would have likely been acquitted if the FBI and NYPD had not withheld key evidence. Both men were awarded $26 million from the city of New York and $10 million from the state of New York, totaling $36 million.
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Crump cited the 2021 exonerations and said that they intend to have vigorous litigation of this matter. He added that Malcolm Xs daughters and mother were present when he was shot 21 times in the very room they had gathered in. If anybody deserves justice after these decades, he said. It is these women.
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Click here to read the full article.
More than 20 organizations, including the NAACP, will rally outside the Supreme Court next week in support of student loan forgiveness.
The rally will take place on Feb. 28, the same day the court will hear oral arguments in two separate cases challenging the Biden Administrations student debt cancellation program.
Wisdom Cole, NAACPs national director of Youth & College, said generations of people will come out on Tuesday to make their voices heard.
The battle to cancel student debt has been a long one, Cole told The Hill. We know that Bidens plan is legal, it is supported, it is backed up.
Student loan repayments have been paused for nearly three years in light of the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, President Biden announced a plan to cancel up to $10,000 in federal loan debt and up to $20,000 for recipients of Pell Grants, which are awarded to low-income students.
Though organizations like the NAACP praised the president for what they called a step toward racial equity, Republican attorneys general and student-loan borrowers in Texas have filed lawsuits challenging the action, raising questions of equity and executive power now before the Supreme Court.
Myra Brown, one of the plaintiffs in the suit from borrowers, is not eligible for any relief under Bidens plan because her loans are not federal loans. The second plaintiff, Alexander Taylor, is eligible for $10,000 in relief but does not qualify for $20,000 in forgiveness because he didnt receive a Pell Grant.
Cole said these arguments take a short-sighted view of equity, as nearly 60 percent of Pell Grant recipients are Black, according to the Education Data Initiative, and Black Americans are disproportionately affected by student loan debt.
Weve seen the increasing cost of college and how that has impacted the Black community because we come from a lower economic background. We are living in different realities that we have different experiences in college, Cole said.
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Saying that this is not fair is disregarding the years of injustice that have happened to the Black community and to people of color, and how education in theory was supposed to be the great equalizer, supposed to be able to give access to opportunities, but it hasnt, he added.
Persis Yu, managing counsel and deputy executive director at the Student Borrower Protection Center, added that while the forgiveness might seem unfair to plaintiffs like Brown and Taylor, the broader attack on the forgiveness program is driven by partisan politics.
The conservative Job Creators Network Foundation Legal Action Fund filed the lawsuit to block Bidens program in October. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, argues that Brown and Taylor were denied the ability to comment on the regulation.
The logical remedy for the harm that they said they suffered would be to expand the program, but thats not what theyre asking for, Yu said. Theyre asking for it to be completely invalidated for no one to get relief, and I think thats how this is not genuinely about the borrowers who are excluded, but this is a politically motivated lawsuit as well.
Elaine Parker, president of the Jobs Creators Network Foundation, said the group agreed with those planning to attend the rally that student debt is a crisis but does not believe the Biden administration has the authority to provide loan forgiveness.
This lawsuit is not about race; its about the rule of law. The Biden administration is using this unlawful student loan bailout for political gain. All this rally does is prove that the administrations political calculus was accurate, she said.
Tuesdays rally will feature speeches not only from Yu and other advocates, but borrowers who have been negatively impacted by student loan debt as well.
One of the things that I think gets lost in all of the legalese is the people, Yu said. Forty million people are resting on what happens in that courtroom.
Having that rally and having those people there is incredibly important to understand whats at stake. These are real peoples lives. These are real peoples finances that are at stake going on inside that building. I want people to look the borrowers in the face when they say that they want to take that relief away from them, she added.
Updated: 3:20 p.m.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
North Korea said it fired projectiles in the first tests of its nuclear weapon-capable launcher, a day after it tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of 2023.
The tests were followed by a stark warning from the powerful and outspoken sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who told the US the country would turn the Pacific into a firing range, heightening tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.
Pyongyangs latest blitz of more powerful missile tests in the span of three days sparked urgent responses from the US and South Korea, with Japan urging for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Two 600mm radial guns fired multiple projectiles in a drill that was conducted at 7am local time on Monday to aim virtual targets 395km and 337km away respectively, state-run media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
It said in a statement that Mondays drills were in response to the US and South Korea staging combined drills involving B-1B bombers, the warplanes that Pyongyang is extremely sensitive to as they can carry a huge payload of conventional weapons.
Kim Yo-jong, sister of the North Korean leader and vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea, warned the US against increasing the presence of strategic military assets on its doorstep, in a furious and lengthy statement.
The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the US forces action character, she said.
We affirm once again that there is no change in our will to make the worst maniacs escalating the tensions pay the price for their action.
On Saturday, the reclusive nation fired a Hwasong-15, an ICBM off Japans west coast, prompting Washington and Seoul to hold joint air exercises on Sunday.
The missile what North Korea claimed to be part of a drill flew 900km (560 miles) for 67 minutes and landed in the Sea of Japan.
A Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is launched at Pyongyang International Airport, in Pyongyang (via REUTERS)
It was fired in a surprise ICBM launching drill on written orders of Mr Kim, the state media said.
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North Korea said the ICBM test was meant to showcase its fatal nuclear attack capacity and verify the weapons reliability.
The sister of Mr Kim denied the South Korean scientists assessment that the ICBM warheads reentry had failed, lashing out at nuclear experts and describing them as stupid.
She also said the claim by nuclear experts that it took nine hours and 22 minutes for the North to fire the missile was a desperate effort to underestimate our preparedness of missile forces.
Kim Yo-jong insisted that the nine hours of launch preparation time after her brother Mr Kim ordered it included sealing the launch site and evacuating people, and was not long because of the shortcomings of the missile system itself.
We have possessed satisfactory technology and capability and, now will focus on increasing the quantity of their force.
A TV screen shows a file image of Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul (AP)
They had better rack their brains to take measures to defend themselves, instead of doubting or worrying about others technology.
Calling the US the worst maniacs, she warned of taking unspecified corresponding counteraction in response to the future moves by the US military.
South Koreas military has denounced Norths repeated missile launches, describing them as a grave provocation that undermines international peace.
Japan condemned the launches as violations of the US Security Council resolutions and a threat to the peace and safety of Japan and the international society.
Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida on Monday said that Tokyo has requested an emergency meeting with the UN.
We must deepen Japan-US and Japan-US-South Korea cooperation, Mr Kishida said. An initial security council briefing led by assistant secretary-general for political affairs Khaled Khiari was set for later on Monday.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said the latest tests highlight the destabilising impact of North Koreas unlawful weapons programme.
The escalations come ahead of the US and South Korean militaries scheduled table-top exercise this week to hone a joint response to a potential use of nuclear weapons by North Korea. The allies are also to conduct another joint computer simulated exercise and field training in March.
Corrections and Clarifications: This story and headline incorrectly reported who is appearing at the NRA's annual convention in Indianapolis. The NRA has not yet announced headline speakers on its website.
The National Rifle Association's 152nd annual meeting will be April 14-16 at the Indiana Convention Center and will include hundreds of gun and gear exhibitors and guest speakers.
This will be the third time in 20 years that the NRA's annual convention is being held in Indianapolis. After the 2014 meeting brought about 75,000 people to the Indiana Convention Center, making it one of the city's largest conventions, the NRA signed a contract to return in 2019 and 2023.
Several guest speakers were scheduled for the 2022 convention in Houston, including former President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Several canceled due to the Uvalde shooting days earlier.
NRA Convention 2019:6 of the most interesting things we found at the NRA convention
Two months out, Visit Indy is conservatively predicting a draw of 65,000 to 70,000 people, though this estimate could climb as the event gets closer, executive vice president Chris Gahl said. He said to expect virtually all hotel rooms in Marion County to be sold out.
The tourism agency is also projecting the event to rake in an economic impact of $36.4 million to the region, which includes spending on travel, hotel rooms and restaurants.
That puts the NRA convention at the fourth largest this year in terms of economic impact, behind Gen Con in August, Performance Racing Industry in December and the Future Farmers of America in November.
Those economic impact estimates are usually within 5-7% of what people end up spending, Gahl said.
Attendance in 2019 hit about 81,000 people, and tourism officials at the time expected those gun enthusiasts to spend about $35 million on hotels, restaurants, bars and other amenities. President Donald Trump spoke in 2019, as did former vice president and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
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More:5 takeaways from Trump and Pence at the NRA convention in Indianapolis
The event also routinely attracts country music stars, celebrity gun-rights activists as well as protestors who support gun control.
Like last time, Visit Indy will designate a protest zone outside the convention center, Gahl said.
"We are a city that wants to welcome all visitors, but we know it's polarizing, at the same time," he said.
Kayla Dwyer is a transportation reporter at IndyStar. Contact her at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NRA convention set for this spring in Indianapolis
Theres the quote that says its not what happens to you but how you react that matters.
In Return to Seoul, 25-year-old Parisian Frederique Benoit (Park Ji-Min), aka Freddie, copes with learning about her Korean heritage during a spontaneous trip to South Korea. And the journey to finding herself and accepting her background is anything but linear.
Freddie was born Yeon-Hee in Jeonju in the late 80s. She was sent to an adoption center by her birth parents as an infant and then to France, where she was adopted by a couple. Despite arriving in Seoul with no travel plans or familiarity with Korean culture, Freddie ultimately spends her two-week trip learning about her biological family.
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Dont look for resolution in 'Return to Seoul'
The coming-of-age film, which debuted at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, was inspired by director Davy Chous friend, Laure Badufles experiences as a Korean adoptee in France.
Like Badufle, Freddie struggles to accept a long-lost part of her identity that is revealed to her. The receptionist at the Seoul hostel she stays in, Tena (Guka Han), suggests going to Hammond Adoption Center, where many Korean adoptees go to track down their biological parents. Though Freddies parents have her adoption documents back home in France, Hammond is where she learns her origin story as the daughter of a woman from Jeonju and a man from Gunsan.
When she eventually meets her biological father (Oh Kwang-rok) and his family, she is ill at ease with their mealtime prayers and desperation to connect with her. Their bone-deep remorse for sending her away becomes suffocating. Freddie is standoffish, even seemingly repulsed by their reception, yet at times patient with her aunt and grandmother as they communicate via translator.
The translator, Tena, bridges not only the language gap but also the cultural by smoothing out Freddies bluntness with more polite interpretations of her words.
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Freddie acts like she didnt ask for any of this. And, in a way, she didnt. It wasnt her choice to grow up far from her biological family as one of more than 200,000 children who were put up for international adoption in Korea. Yet something in her, perhaps for the first time realizing a sense of lack, was compelled to seek identity and reason during this two-week trip to her home country.
Return to Seoul spans about eight years, and Freddie seems to deal with a push-and-pull relationship with her home country through her 20s and 30s. When shes younger, she distances herself from her heritage by insisting shes French to her friends and blood relatives. In some ways, she comes to accept her biological family.
Embracing them, however, is another story one thats not told in this film.
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Finding belonging in a foreign country
Freddie doesnt fit in in Korea, and thats the way she likes it.
She is brash, loud, direct, sexual and not afraid of creating a scene and Park conveys her wild and unpredictable range of emotions with dexterity that you wouldn't expect from a newcomer. Though Freddie looks Korean, she doesnt speak the language, and manages to get by with English and help from French-speaking locals.
The scene that will stick with me is one early on, when Freddies new francophone friends Tena and Dongwan (Son Seung-Beom) take her to a local restaurant.
Thats where her otherness is most apparent.
She shrugs off the custom of serving other peoples drinks but not pouring your own and seems to break tacit social customs by encouraging different groups of young diners to put their hesitations aside and sit together to drink soju. One of the men tells his friends that she doesnt look French, and the diners start debating her pure Korean features.
Here, her peers offer a sense of belonging by affirming her Korean-ness despite her unfamiliarity with their language and drinking games.
Surely, Freddie has had to contend with being an East Asian woman in France. Being ethnically but not culturally Korean in South Korea is a unique experience: She fits in, appearance-wise, but her mannerisms, blunt communication style and devil-may-care attitude stand out in this culture.
Its up to Freddie to determine her identity, and thats not something she will find in her adoption file or in her biological parents.
More:Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern are imperfect parents in 'The Son' and not in a sympathetic way
'Return to Seoul' 3.5 stars
Great Good
Fair Bad Bomb
Director: Davy Chou.
Cast: Park Ji-Min, Oh Kwang-Rok, Guka Han, Kim Sun-Young.
Rating: R for brief drug use, nudity and language.
Note: In select theaters in Phoenix on Feb. 24.
Reach Entertainment Reporter KiMi Robinson at kimi.robinson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Return to Seoul' review: Newcomer Park Ji-Min stuns as the lead
McDonald's Shamrock Shake and Oreo Shamrock McFlurry return Feb. 21.
Shamrock Shake lovers, your time is now.
The mint-flavored shake, which annually returns to McDonald's menu, will be available at participating restaurants nationwide for a limited time, while supplies last, the fast food chain says.
Also back on the menu for a limited time: the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry, which debuted in February 2020 in honor of the shake's 50th anniversary.
The Shamrock Shake, introduced in 1970, is made with vanilla soft-serve ice cream, artificially flavored minty green syrup and whipped topping (prices are set by individual restaurants; about $3-$4, depending on size). The Oreo Shamrock McFlurry (about $4) includes blended Oreo cookie pieces mixed in.
A Connecticut McDonalds owner and operator Hal Rosen created the shake in 1967 to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Even though the Shamrock Shake was introduced more than 50 years ago, it was only in 2012 that the treat became available nationwide.
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McDonald's Shamrock Shake and Oreo Shamrock McFlurry are popular limited-time desserts.
Shamrock Shake calories
In case you are counting calories, a medium Shamrock Shake has 540 calories. An Oreo Shamrock McFlurry has 560 calories.
Cardi B & Offset Meal still on McDonald's menu
Another special menu item still available: The Cardi B & Offset meal, which became available on Valentine's Day.
The Cardi B & Offset Meal from McDonald's
The meal includes a cheeseburger with BBQ sauce and large Coke Cardi B's preferences and a Quarter Pounder with Cheese with a large Hi-C Orange Lavaburst (Offset's choice), plus a large order of fries and an apple pie ($14.05 at one location in northern Virginia.)
McDonald's will begin offering the Cardi B and Offset Meal for a limited time starting on Valentine's Day. It includes a cheeseburger with BBQ sauce, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, large order of fries, large Coke and large Hi-C Orange Lavaburst drinks, and apple pie. Prices are determined by individual restaurants and could vary.
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is a Shamrock Shake? Flavor is back on McDonald's menu for 2023
Tim McCartney of Gadsden will be one of six people inducted Saturday into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.
" ... McCartney helped steer his familys highway construction company to become a paving industry leader through innovation and a commitment to expand and sustain the states infrastructure," states a news release about the induction ceremony, which will be held at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa.
"Alongside his professional career, McCartney has been a strong advocate for Alabamas engineering and technical workforce and economic development," according to the release.
Tim McCartney of Gadsden will be inducted Saturday into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.
McCartney, formerly of McCartney Construction in Gadsden, now serves as chairman of the Alabama Workforce Council. The council serves as an advisory body of business and industry leaders tasked with formulating policies, developing innovative educational workforce programming and discussing issues critical to workforce development needs in Alabama.
UA President Stuart R. Bell will also be part of the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame's 2023 induction class.
Bell graduated from Texas A&M in 1979 with a nuclear engineering degree. He also earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, both from Texas A&M.
Bell arrived at UA in 1986 as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and founded the Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies.
He served as dean of engineering at the University of Kansas and as executive vice president and provost at Louisiana State University before returning to the Capstone in 2015, when he became UA's 29th president.
During his tenure as UA president, Bell has advanced engineering and science workforce development in the Alabama while sparking technical innovation, according to the news release.
Other Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame inductees include Angel Rey Almodovar of Huntsville, Milton Davis Jr. of Birmingham, Thomas Talbot, formerly of Birmingham, and Michael Wicks of Huntsville.
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The six inductees will join 215 people who have been inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame since its inception in 1987.
Dynetics Inc., an engineering firm headquartered in Huntsville, will also be honored, joining 33 other corporations previously inducted.
The Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame is managed through the UA College of Engineering with input from engineering schools at UA, Auburn University, Alabama A&M University, Tuskegee University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of South Alabama.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tim McCartney of Gadsden honored for construction, engineering work
South Africa: MEC welcomes arrest of former official for fraud, theft
Gauteng MEC for Transport and Logistics, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has welcomed the arrest of a former departmental official and her accomplice on charges of fraud, theft and defeating the ends of justice.
The accused appeared at the Durban Magistrates Court on Tuesday for a bail application.
The fraud and theft are estimated to have cost the Department of Roads and Transport (through g-Fleet Management) around R16 million. The pair also face another charge of the use of state vehicles without authorised consent.
Today marks a great milestone not only for the department but for the people of our province and the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the rule of law. A strong message must echo within the corridors of our department, especially to those who abuse their positions of trust and steal from the people.
"These individuals shamelessly used state resources with common cause to fashion a private business for themselves. They thought this net would never close in on them, but their day has finally come.
As we embark on this important step of rooting out fraud and corruption, maladministration, malfeasance in our entity, the g-Fleet Management Agency, we would like to assure Gauteng residents that the trust they have bestowed upon us will not be betrayed," the MEC said.
The arrests are the culmination of an investigation spanning six years by the department's Fraud and Anti-corruption Unit, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations and the National Prosecution Authority (NPA).
The former employee was a regional manager for both the Eastern Cape and Durban regions of the g-Fleet entity, which is in the business of renting and leasing vehicles to state departments.
The MEC thanked the team for their diligence and painstaking efforts to follow on acts of wrongdoing and bringing those who are suspected of pilfering state resources to have their day in court.
"While our intervention has brought us to the province of KwaZulu-Natal, our net is cast wide to those dark corners where officials think they can get away with leeching on the resources of the democratic state for their narrow personal gain.
"Today, we have fired only the first salvo to looters of state resources, those who hollow out resources that are meant for the people of Gauteng for their personal gain. I want to take this opportunity to warn these elements that their days are numbered.
As we fight these rogue elements amongst us, that we remind those who continue to work as trusted stewards and patriots of our democratic state that ethical conduct and honesty also pays," the MEC said. SAnews.gov.za
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
ELKO Interstate 80 eastbound was closed west of Carlin Tuesday night after multiple crashes were reported on Emigrant Pass.
Nevada State Police reported a crash at about 4:40 p.m. and the Nevada Department of Transportation reported at 5:40 p.m. that both lanes were blocked. An NDOT traffic camera showed traffic was still not moving more than two hours later.
Another crash was reported at 6:55 p.m.
Slow down, use caution, and move over for emergency personnel, stated the highway department.
No injuries were immediately reported.
Freezing rain and snow were falling across northeastern Nevada on Tuesday afternoon and evening. Adverse driving conditions were reported on several segments of I-80 and parts of U.S. Highway 93 south of Wells.
The National Weather Service forecast calls for a 20% chance of more snow in Elko on Wednesday.
For current road conditions call 511 or go to nvroads.com.
Department of Defense
A rumored photo of the Chinese spy balloon taken by a U-2 pilot has emerged.
One open source intelligence devotee has identified the terrain below as rural Missouri.
The photo will likely be a defining image of a period when U.S.-Chinese relations began to truly deteriorate.
For more than two weeks, rumors swirled that there was a selfie, taken by a U-2 spy plane pilot, that included the now-infamous Chinese spy balloon in the background.
The secretive nature of the intelligence community suggested the photo, if it existed, might never see the light of day. Now, a photo has emerged that confirms its the real thing. The stunning image sheds light on how dedicated the U.S. government was to keeping tabs on the lighter-than-air intruderand shooting it down when the time was right.
Finally, the selfie of the U-2S Dragon Lady pilot with the Chinese surveillance balloon above the continental United States. pic.twitter.com/XbjtImSUUn Aerospace Intelligence (@space_osint) February 21, 2023
The photo was shared yesterday on a number of social media accounts and appears above. The Twitter account explains that exactly where the photo came from is unknown, but seems to originate with the Dragon Lady Today website, which is devoted to all things U-2.
The photo really does appear to be a selfie taken by a U-2 pilot . The helmets sun visor is lowered in place, giving the pilots face the appearance of a round black marble. The knife-like right wing of the U-2 is clearly visible, as is the right side view mirror bolted inside the cockpit. The pilot was even able to catch the shadow of his own aircraft on the side of the 200 foot-wide balloon.
Ben geo-referenced the possible U-2 pilot balloon selfie with Sentinel imagery near Washington, Missouri. If it's not real, it's an amazing fake. https://t.co/ifJDCPxoCr John Wiseman (@lemonodor) February 22, 2023
One open source intelligence enthusiast was able to geolocate terrain features in the photo with the view over Washington, Missouri . The analyst states that the image is theoretically fakeable, but it would be a lot of work to make everything match up.
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Update: The Pentagon admitted the photograph is real and has provided a newer, higher resolution photo, seen below. The location of Washington, Missouri is likely correct.
Department of Defense
According to St. Louis Public Radio , the Chinese spy balloon was spotted over St. Louis, Missouri, on February 3. The balloon was shot down the next day in U.S. territorial waters, just off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. U.S. Navy divers working from the amphibious dock ship USS Carter Hall salvaged the remains, an operation that concluded on February 16th .
The Chinese surveillance balloon was flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet, above the service ceiling of most combat aircraft. The U-2, on the other hand, typically flies above 70,000 feet and the Dragon Ladys introduction into service, in the late 1950s, put an end to Americas clumsy experimentation with spy balloons .
While there was real practical value in having a spy plane snap close-up pictures of the balloon, the photo also distills Americas vast technological aerospace advantage over China into a single image.
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Gov. Spencer Cox, left, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, right, in a composite image. AP Photo
A Republican governor hit back at Marjorie Taylor Greene's call for a "national divorce" in the US.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called Greene's rhetoric "destructive" and "evil."
This isn't the first time Greene has called for the break up of the US. She did so in December.
When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called for the breakup of the United States on Presidents' Day, it was met with swift condemnation from her usual political opponents.
But members of her own party also pushed back. Utah's Republican governor called the rhetoric "destructive and wrong and honestly evil."
Gov. Spencer Cox said in a tweet that: "We don't need a divorce, we need marriage counseling. And we need elected leaders that don't profit by tearing us apart."
On Monday, Marjorie Taylor Greene had suggested that there should be a "national divorce" the separation of the US into red and blue states. It's not the first time she has made such comments, but the idea is politically toxic for many.
In follow-up tweets, Cox wrote about the need for civility, kindness, and "healthy conflict" in posts accompanying photos of lawmakers from both political parties working together.
He concluded with the Pledge of Allegiance: "ONE nation, under God with Liberty and Justice for ALL."
Greene has previously called for a "national divorce," tweeting in December that people moving from blue to red states should temporarily be stopped from voting.
But her latest provocative tweet, which bemoaned the "sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats," was met with fierce condemnation.
Liz Cheney, formerly a Republican member of Congress, wrote in a tweet: "Secession is unconstitutional. No member of Congress should advocate secession, Marjorie."
Rep. Ted Lieu of California, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, accused MAGA Republicans, like Greene, of being intent on "dividing Americans."
Meanwhile, Marianne Williamson, a former Democratic candidate for president in 2020, asked her Twitter followers: "Did she just call for Civil War? Does she know what happened the last time a few states said they wanted to leave?"
Read the original article on Business Insider
A woman walking her dog on a snowy sidewalk in Alaska was kicked in the head by a moose charging down the same sidewalk, and it was captured in video from a passing vehicle whose occupants were too late in warning her.
Tracy Hansen and her dog Gunner were walking the sidewalk of Old Seward Highway in Anchorage last Thursday when the moose charged from behind and essentially ran her over.
I thought someone had not been paying attention and hit me with a bike or something, Hansen told KTUU. I had put my hands up to my head, and Im like, Im bleeding.
Also on FTW Outdoors: Bear stuck in ice given Pop Tarts during ill-advised rescue attempt
When she sat up and saw the moose ahead of her, Hansen realized it was the moose who ran her over.
Kate Timmons and her family saw it coming as they drove down the street alongside the sidewalk, with Timmons filming the encounter.
Hey, hey, heywatch out, Timmons can be heard yelling out the window moments before contact, and then again as the moose struck Hansen.
Seconds after the encounter, the driver of the vehicle honked the horn, apparently to keep the moose moving along.
But the sequence of events did not sit well with many commenters on the NBC News YouTube channel, which showed the video. A sample of the critical comments:
Let me grab my camera and video this before warning the woman in enough time to get out of the way. When the moose is done, Ill honk to scare it as any good citizen would do.
The horn honk should have happened a solid 10-15 seconds earlier.
Also on FTW Outdoors: Angler mistakes rod holder for boats fuel tank; expensive mistake
I would have been LAYING on the horn!
Nice of them to inform the people who will be watching this clip AFTER the events, as oppose to immediately warning the person in danger of the approaching threat.
Climb on the roof screaming and waving arms while driver blasts the car horn but nooo, make sure you get video footage while that poor lady takes a hoof to her head!!! No End To Gotta-Get-My-Likes Fools.
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Yeah, just film it dont try to help her or anything, dont speed up and try to get her in the car, just film it and yell at the moose like it understands.
The lady videoing should have alerted the lady much sooner to get out of the way.
Nevertheless, Hansen was extremely grateful to the Timmons family for being there to help her after the collision.
My husband was able to pull her over the snow bank, so we could get her in the truck with her dog and kind of get her out of the way, Timmons told KTUU. It definitely seemed unprovoked from our standpoint and it happened so fast it was just like, a matter of getting her out of the situation, getting her help, making sureyou know my big thing was that she didnt have a head trauma, that there wasnt a bleed or something.
Hansen did need staples in her head, and was still recovering Monday from headaches and bruising throughout her body, but that didnt stop her from walking her dog down the same path.
Well be back on our normal walks, Hansen told KTUU. The moose wont stop that.
Photo courtesy of Kate Timmons.
Story originally appeared on For The Win
Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.
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Update: SpaceX, citing a space weather concern, said that teams are now targeting 6:13 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 27, for the launch of this Starlink mission. Rescheduled from Sunday, Feb. 26, due to pre-flight checkouts.
Weather conditions are expected to be fantastic Thursday, Feb. 23, for SpaceX's afternoon launch from Florida's Space Coast.
A Falcon 9 rocket, targeting liftoff during a roughly six-hour window that opens at 1:37 p.m. EST, is likely to have a 95% chance of "go" weather conditions, according to forecasters with the U.S. Space Force.
Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station will host SpaceX's 71st launch of the company's Starlink internet-beaming satellites during a window that runs until 7:30 p.m. EST.
"Weather is not expected to be a great concern for this particular mission," Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said Monday. "It is possible that we could see a few cumulus clouds floating around during the day, but at this time, it does not appear that they will pose a particular problem for launch operations."
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 ahead of a Starlink mission to boost the internet-beaming satellites to orbit.
NASA's SpaceX Crew-6:Meet the astronauts of the next mission to the International Space Station
Rocket launch schedule: Upcoming Florida launches and landings
FAA fine:SpaceX launches twice in one day as FAA proposes $175K fine
Shortly after liftoff, the rocket's first stage is expected to somersault and touch down for a landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Meanwhile, SpaceX's last launch of the month from Florida is set to send NASA's Stephen Bowen, and Warren Hoburg joined by the United Arab Emirates' Sultan Alneyadi and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev to the International Space Station. That Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon liftoff from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center is set for 1:45 a.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 27.
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Follow Florida Today's live coverage of both missions on launch day 90 minutes before liftoff at https://www.floridatoday.com/space/.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Jamie Groh is a space reporter for Florida Today. You can contact her at JGroh@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie.
Launch Monday, February 27
Company / Agency: Internal SpaceX mission
Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
Location: Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 1:12 to 6:24 p.m. EST
Trajectory: Southeast
Weather: 95% "go"
Landing: Drone ship
Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company's 71st Starlink internet mission from Cape Canaveral.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX delays next Falcon 9 Starlink mission to Monday
WASHINGTON The head of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee asked a business associate of Hunter Biden to give testimony about scheduling a dinner with the presidents son and a Chinese energy executive.
The chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., asked Serbian business consultant Vuk Jeremic for the transcribed interview so he could ask about Hunter Bidens business deals in China. The 2015 dinner apparently never happened, but Biden and the Chinese executive later planned to share office space in Washington, according to the panel.
Comers request for more details is part of wide-ranging inquiries by House Republicans into President Joe Bidens son Hunter and brother James about their business deals overseas potentially influencing the administration. Comer has already held a hearing with former Twitter executives about Hunter Bidens laptop and demanded testimony and documents about art sales from a gallery owner who deals with his paintings.
Hunter Biden's art dealer to House Republicans: Ask president's son about painting sales
The White House has denied wrongdoing and called Comers inquiries a hyper-partisan fishing expedition.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks at a media event at the National Press Club on Jan. 30, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
What prompted the latest inquiry?
Jeremic testified about the dinner plans during the 2018 trial of Patrick Ho, a Chinese national and the former head of CEFC China Energys U.S. operation. Ho was convicted of international bribery and money laundering.
Jeremic testified he tried to arrange a dinner Dec. 6, 2015, with CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming and someone whose name was redacted. In an email to a mutual business associate, Jeremic invited Hunter Biden to attend the dinner. The dinner never happened and Jeremic later told The Washington Post he was "not involved in their mutual introduction."
By 2017 Biden planned to share office space with Ye at House of Sweden in Washington, according to Comer. But the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter found Hunter Biden never occupied the office space administered by the Swedish National Property Board.
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Comer asked Jeremic for documents and communications hes had with Hunter Biden and any associates of CEFC since 2014. Comer also asked for him to answer questions by March 14.
Hunter Biden's art dealer says his work is 'important.' Why the paintings factor into GOP probes.
Hunter Biden
Who is Vuk Jeremic?
Jeremic is a former foreign minister of Serbia who served as president of the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 and 2013.
He testified at the Ho trial CEFC paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars as a consultant to open doors to business and political leaders in various countries.
Who is Patrick Ho?
Ho was sentenced in 2019 to three years in prison and fined $400,000 for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He was convicted of trying to bribe two African leaders to obtain business advantages.
Ho offered $2 million to Chad President Idriss Deby, who initially refused and later accepted it as a charitable contribution to his country, according to the U.S. Justice Department. CEFC never got the business advantages it sought, so Ho turned to Uganda.
Ho paid $500,000 each to Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa to partner in future business deals, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Patrick Ho schemed to bribe the leaders of Chad and Uganda in order to secure unfair business advantages for the Chinese energy company he served, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said after sentencing, calling the effort brazen.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Biden investigation: House GOP wants to talk to Vuk Jeremic
A pilot program that involved nearly 3,000 employees testing out a four-day workweek is giving new hope to those seeking to change the way people work.
Over 90% of the employees and 61 companies that took part in the pilot program supported keeping a four-day workweek, according to the program's findings, which were published this month.
Companies also reported that both revenue and the retention rate of employees increased with the four-day workweek model, while a majority of employees said the model reduced burnout.
Around 15% of employees who took part in the pilot program reported that no amount of money could get them to accept returning to a five-day workweek, according to the findings.
The six-month pilot program, billed as the "world's largest four-day working week trial to date," took place in the United Kingdom.
It was organized by an advocacy group, 4 Day Week Global, that worked in collaboration with researchers at Boston College and the University of Cambridge.
Each company was allowed to design their own four-day workweek model, from taking Fridays off to working in more staggered schedules, according to 4 Day Week Global.
PHOTO: A calendar is seen in an undated stock photo. (STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
The group reported that the "most extensive benefits" of the four-day workweek pilot were seen in the mental and physical health of employees.
Employees reported less stress, less burnout and decreased levels of anxiety, fatigue and insomnia, while also reporting increased satisfaction with their relationships, finances and time management, according to the report.
MORE: Missouri school district votes to adopt 4-day school week
The findings come on the heels of a Gallup survey released late last year that found 4 out of 10 workers in the United States reported their job had either a somewhat negative or extremely negative impact on their mental health.
Overall, the Gallup survey found almost 1 in 5 workers reported that their mental health was poor or fair, the two lowest ratings on the survey.
The four-day workweek pilot program's findings also come as employees in the U.S. have experienced more flexibility than usual during the past three years of the coronavirus pandemic. Many companies now allow their employees to work fully remote or hybrid schedules, while others have already or are in the process of requiring employees to return to the office full-time.
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What the findings of the U.K. pilot program on a four-day workweek could mean for workers in the U.S. remains to be seen, according to ABC News chief business, technology and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis.
"The issue is culture, and you really have to change the culture of the overall work week in order to make these changes," said Jarvis. "A lot of companies are very set in their ways. We saw big changes in the pandemic. There's a chance they will go that way."
A report released in November by consulting firm Ernst & Young LLP found that 40% of the U.S.-based companies it surveyed for its annual EY Future Workplace Index are either implementing a four-day workweek or have already begun using one.
MORE: Nearly half of workers say their job hurts their mental health, survey finds
The survey also found that 64% of executives surveyed said they believe "flexible working options motivate employees."
Jarvis said the motivation employees feel could be what begins to shift the tide towards more companies experimenting with a four-day workweek.
"It really does feel like a bonus, and that's the thing," she said. "If you decide you're going to work harder because you feel good, that's a win for employers, so it is something they're thinking about."
For employees who want to ask for more flexibility in their current schedule, Jarvis said the first step is making sure your work stands out.
"You have to be a winner on the team and be a really good contributor to your overall work environment," Jarvis said. "Talk to your boss about flexibility, see how you can incorporate it into your schedule. But go in after a big win. That's your best time."
Majority of companies, employees say they want to keep 4-day workweek after trying it, study finds originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
A Georgia grand jury recommended multiple indictments after concluding its investigation into election fraud involving former President Donald Trump, according to media reports. Parts of the northern U.S. could see unprecedented snow. Democrat Jennifer McClellan will become Virginias first Black woman in Congress.
It's Jane Onyanga-Omara and Steve Coogan, Daily Briefing authors. The Pentagon is warning troops to back away from poppy seed bagels. Why?
Now, here's Wednesday's news
Foreperson: Georgia grand jury recommended multiple indictments in Trump probe, report says
A Georgia grand jury recommended indictments against multiple people on various charges after concluding its eight-month investigation into election fraud involving former President Donald Trump, the panel's foreperson, told the New York Times Tuesday. Emily Kohrs, declined to name any of those who were referred for charges, including whether Trump was among them, in a final report delivered to Atlanta-area District Attorney Fani Willis in December. Referring to Trump, Kohrs said: "You are not going to be shocked," the Times report states. Kohrs made similar comments during interviews with several other outlets, including NBC News and CNN. Read more
Portion of Georgia panel's final report released: Grand jury recommends perjury charges for unnamed witnesses in Trump investigation.
Read the full grand jury excerpts: Take a look at the introduction, the section about lies and the conclusion.
Atlanta-area District Attorney Fani Willis has opened an investigation into any potential attempts to improperly influence the 2020 general election in Georgia by former President Donald Trump and his associates.
Parts of northern U.S. shut down ahead of winter storm, potentially historic snowfall
States in the northern plains are largely shutting down ahead of a massive winter storm that could dump up to 2 feet of snow in some areas. Many schools throughout the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin were called off for Wednesday and emergency management leaders warned people to stay off the roads or face potential "whiteout" conditions. As much as 25 inches of snow may pile up, with the heaviest amounts falling across east-central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said. Wind gusts could reach 50 mph and wind chills are expected to hit minus 50 degrees in some parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota. The storm will make its way toward the East Coast later in the week. Read more
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What's the weather up to in your neck of the woods? Check your local forecast here.
Rush hour traffic travels southbound on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis as a winter storm hit the Twin Cities Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. A monster winter storm took aim at the Upper Midwest on Tuesday, threatening to bring blizzard conditions, bitterly cold temperatures and 2 feet of snow in a three-day onslaught that could affect more than 40 million Americans.
More news to know now
Biden to meet eastern flank NATO leaders amid Russia worries
President Joe Biden is wrapping up his whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine by reassuring eastern flank NATO allies that his administration is highly attuned to the looming threats and other impacts spurred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before departing Warsaw on Wednesday, Biden will hold talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations on the most eastern parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. As the war in Ukraine drags on, the Bucharest Nine countries anxieties have remained heightened. Many worry Putin could move to take military action against them next if hes successful in Ukraine. Read more
President Joe Biden stands amid children cheering with US, Polish and Ukrainian flags after he delivered a speech in front the Royal Warsaw Castle Gardens in Warsaw, Poland on February 21, 2023.
Democrat Jennifer McClellan wins special election, becoming first Black woman from Virginia in Congress
Democrat Jennifer McClellan coasted to victory in Virginias special election Tuesday, becoming the states first Black woman in Congress. McClellan, a state senator and corporate lawyer, was declared the projected winner over Republican Leon Benjamin, a pastor, within 30 minutes of the polls closing, according to the Associated Press. She will succeed Democrat Rep. A. Donald Eachin, who died last November, and represent a district anchored by Richmond that stretches south to the North Carolina border. Once McClellan is sworn in, there will be a record 28 Black women in Congress. Her victory does not change the GOP margin in the House as Republicans still will be able to lose four GOP votes on bills and pass legislation. Read more
State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, celebrates at her election party after winning the seat for Virginia's 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Richmond, Va.
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Investigator: Gun in fatal shooting was exchanged in Alabama star's car
An investigator testified Tuesday that University of Alabama basketball freshman star Brandon Miller was on the scene of a fatal shooting that led to the arrest of his now-former teammate. Investigators believe former Alabama player Darius Miles provided the gun and Michael Lynn Davis killed Jamea Harris on Jan. 15. Branden Culpepper of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit said Miles gave Davis the gun while they were in Miller's car. Miles texted Miller and Miller brought Miles' gun, Culpepper said. Alabama coach Nate Oats added fuel to the fire Tuesday with comments about the development that he later apologized for. Read more
Column from Dan Wolken: Alabama coach Oats offers "tone-deaf" reply to Brandon Miller's alleged role in fatal shooting.
Testimony from Alabama: The gun used in fatal shooting was exchanged in Brandon Miller's car, an investigator says.
Alabama forward Brandon Miller, left, and Alabama head coach Nate Oats talk during the first half of their team's matchup against LSU on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Photo of the day: Costumes, dancing fill the streets of New Orleans for Mardi Gras
New Orleans closed its 2023 Carnival season Tuesday with its iconic Mardi Gras parades featuring dazzling floats and beaded-out performers. The city had been partying since early January when Carnival season kicked off, treating visitors from around the country to a steady stream of parades and copious amounts of king cake.
A reveler wears beads while walking in the French Quarter during a Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Feb. 19, 2023.
Go to our gallery to see the impressive floats from New Orleans historic Mardi Gras Krewes and thousands of spectators.
One more thing
Mattel, Inc. announced a reboot of Barney, its iconic purple dinosaur franchise. The company's revitalization of the Barney brand will span television, film, and YouTube content as well as music and a full range of kids programs, according to a news release from Mattel.
Support journalism like this subscribe to USA TODAY here.
Associated Press contributed reporting.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia grand jury, winter storm, Joe Biden, Ukraine, Jennifer McClellan
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters
In the year since Russia escalated its war against Ukraine with the invasion that began last February 24, we have learned a great deal about the nature of conflict in the world today.
The lessons extend far beyond the borders of Ukraine. And many of them have been every bit as surprising as President Joe Bidens recent trip to Kyiv, some even more so.
Here are just 10 examples among many.
Bidens Trip to Kyiv is the Ultimate Humiliation for Putinand Trump
While Ukraine has pleaded for fighter jets for a year, unmanned aircraft have stolen the show.
Sure, Ukraine has long wanted NATOs most modern jet fighters. And they should soon have them. But even without them, Ukraine was able to keep Russia from dominating the skies over its country with a combination of their existing air force, a growing assortment of missiles and drones. And both sides have seen the advantages of unmanned vehicles throughout the warwith a special shout out to Turkish Bayraktar drones and, from the Russians, a growing dependence on Irans drone products. The past year has been a big leap forward for unmanned vehicles (and that includes Chinese surveillance drones).
No Time for Sergeants was once a TV hit in America. It has been a flop for the Russian army.
Not only is the Russian army equipped with antiquated equipment, badly trained and badly motivated, but its top-down command system and especially its absence of effective non-commissioned officers has been a huge vulnerability on the battlefield. Ukraine, on the other hand, has benefitted from NATO training since this war actually began in 2014, to field capable squad leaders who are able to think quickly, take initiative and, time and again, tip the balance of battles toward Kyivs army.
Soldiers from Carpathian Sich international battalion gesture while conducting manoeuvres near the front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near Kreminna, Ukraine, January 3, 2023. Clodagh Kilcoyne via Reuters
Speaking of time, its time for traditional navies to realize their time will soon be up.
When the Russian navys Black Sea Fleet flagship, the Moskva, was sunk, a combination of U.S. supplied intel and Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship missiles revealed how vulnerable warships are to new technologies. Not surprisingly (see point 1 above) drones also played a key role in the attack. Critics of plans to add U.S. carrier battlegroups seized upon these and other attacks to underscore that big, relatively slow, manned ships may follow World War IIs battleships on a course toward obsolescence. That doesnt mean its over for navies. It just means they will have to change and adapt to new battlespace realities.
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Poland is the new Germany. (And Estonia is the new France.) Germany was once seen as Europes unquestioned leader. But this war not only revealed the flaws in the Ostpolitik of its governments (too willing to accept dependance on Russia) but it also revealed divides within German leadership about how much to help Ukraineeven as the situation on the ground has grown more urgent.
Meanwhile, Poland and other states sharing a border with Russia and therefore recognizing the threat posed by Putin have stepped up, leading the way for NATO and the West on everything from accepting refugees to providing weapons. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have not been far behind. The strong moves by Sweden and Finland to join NATO,by other Nordic states to provide major support to Ukraine and by Switzerland to set aside its famous neutrality have also reset the balance of leadership within the treaty organization. With Russias threat likely to loom for years, this shift is unlikely to be reversed anytime soon.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov attend a NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 14, 2023. Johanna Geron via Reuters
Vladimir Putin may be a madman, but at least he has the common sense not to want to be obliterated in a nuclear war with NATO.
For much of the course of the past year, the fear of Putin using nuclear weapons has been a major constraint on Western aid flows to Ukraine. But gradual escalationwell handled by the West and particularly by the Biden administrationcombined with clear public and private diplomacy around the issue have managed the threat. And now, perceptions exist that threat may have been overstated. While experts warn against complacency on this front, the reality is that more could have and should have been done sooner. After all, Putin couldnt handle the Ukrainian military, surely he knows that confronting NATO on the battlefield would be an epic catastrophe for him.
Putins Headed Toward Defeat in Ukraine. The Only Question Is How Bad a Loser Hell Be.
Speaking of Putin, stick a fork in him. He may not be quite done yet, but he will be soon and besides if anyone deserves to have a fork stuck in him, its Putin.
Putin has a strong hold on power in Russia. That may be the problem. This was is on him and him alone. While Russia has been resilient in managing wide-ranging Western sanctions, they are taking a toll. It is estimated a million Russians have fled the country. And the likelihood of a successful outcome for Russia is low. In the end, thats a bad mix of circumstances even for an ensconced master thug like Vlad. Thats why some experts are contemplating Kremlin regime change as a legit possibility.
TikTok is more than just an annoying teenage time-waster and Chinese espionage plot.
Ukraines masterful use of social media has played a major role in shaping global public opinion about the war. From the first videos of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the February onslaught began through the circulation of viral videos that became rallying cries in the wars early days to even tapping into the power of cat videos to win international support Ukraine has mastered the modern information battlefield. In fact, TikTok and similar platforms have played such an important role, early on observers began referring to this new element of conflict as the TikTok War.
UKRAINE-CRISIS/INTERNATIONAL LEGION A soldier from Carpathian Sich international battalion fires an RPG while conducting manoeuvres near the front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near Kreminna, Ukraine, January 3, 2023. Clodagh Kilcoyne via Reuters
Ukraine is already in the EU and NATO whether you (or Russia or Turkey) like it or not.
Putin said he was launching the war to keep Ukraine out of NATO. While that was a long shot a year ago, today, it is not only more likely but within the past few months Zelensky has been calling the country a de facto NATO member. Thats because it is. After all, no NATO member has ever received more assistance from NATO during a conflict than Ukraine has this past year. And Ukraine has also said it wants to join the EU within the next two years. Thats ambitious. But with the EU likely to have to pick up the lions share of the massive tab to rebuild Ukraine, Europes vested interest in the battered country is only like to grow massively in the years ahead.
With friends like Turkey, Israel, the global South and Elon Musk, who needs enemies?
The support of NATO for Ukraine has been a huge story of the past year. But another has been the fact that many countries worldwide have sought to stay out of the fight. That has been frustrating for the US when some of the countries want to maintain special status as friends and allies. That has been especially uncomfortable with special relationship allies like Israel.
Meanwhile, NATO ally Turkey has dragged its feet on approving Swedish and Finnish accession to the alliance. And even entrepreneurs who depend on the US for big bucks, like Elon Musk have parroted Russian party lines and started to block access to key technologies to Ukraine.
Polish instructors and Ukrainian soldiers train on Leopard 2 A4 tanks in the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade in Swietoszow, Poland February 13, 2023. Kacper Pempel/Reuters
And the most important lesson of all is, as it will be for the remainder of this century, everything is always about China.
A key lesson of our time is that no matter the issue, China figures in the calculus. This covers everything from U.S. domestic economics to the war in Ukraine. A TikTok war? Who owns TikTok? Russia on the move? Whos Russias best friend.
China was shaken by Russias failures in Ukraine. And many see Ukraine as an analogue for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes the Taiwanese.
Most recently, of course, the China factor in the Ukraine equation has changed, with public warnings this week from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China is considering supplying lethal aid to Russia.
Such support would be a profound mistake for Beijing, not just worsening an already tense U.S.-China relationship, but putting China at odds with the entire international coalition supporting Ukraine. China would not only be escalating the stakes in the conflict, but it would become culpable for how its weapons were used by a Russian army already guilty, as Vice President Kamala Harris noted so powerfully in Munich last week, for crimes against humanity.
There have been other so-called surprises, of course, although in retrospect, perhaps these should not have been quite as unexpected. The U.S. has had a sharp reminder that our weapons production capacity is not what it needs to be if we need to ramp up quickly for a major conflict. We have also seen what might have once been a surprising amount of support for the worlds most notorious war criminal from one of Americas two major political parties. But post-Trump, why would that be unexpected.
Mr. Zelensky Goes to Washington as a Winner
Another category of what have been characterized as surprises are really just manifestations of the bad judgement, out-of-touchness and ineptitude of Vladimir Putin.
For example, it certainly came as a surprise to Putin that the United States and NATO would step up and support Ukraine as resolutely as they have. But knowing Joe Bidens views on Putin and Russia and knowing that Europe would see the threat against Ukraine as a threat against all of Europe, the response should have been factored into Russias planswhich it clearly was not.
Two soldiers with the 58th Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Army who wanted to be identified as "Ghost," 24, and "Soap," 30, arm a drone with a modified grenade to test it, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, November 25, 2022. Leah Millis via Reuters
Similarly, another Putin miscalculation was not realizing that Europe would ultimately make the decision to move beyond dependence on Russian energy. That is one that will be kicking Putin and Russia right in the (once) meaty part of their economy long after the fighting has stopped in Ukraine.
Perhaps the greatest surprise to Putin, of course, and the biggest reason this war will go down as the signature disaster of his catastrophic tenure as leader of Russia, is the courage of the people, military, and political leadership of Ukraine. Putin let his prejudices and his narcissism get the best of him. He underestimated his foe and their commitment to defending their own land even though the history of conflicts from Vietnam to Afghanistan should have been a warning to him.
Which brings us to one more final big surprise from this war: the degree to which the best intelligence services in the world overestimated Putin and the Russian military. In just one year, they have gone from a reputation of being the second-best army in the world to clearly being the second-best army fighting on the ground in Ukraineand victory seems likely to elude them for a long time to come. Which suggests that in months ahead, if this war remains true to form, that we should prepare ourselves for many more twists and unanticipated turns to come.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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On Thursday, February 16, 2023, at approximately 11:04 a.m., Elko Law Enforcement personnel were dispatched to a report of an active shooter at Elko High School.
Elko Central Dispatch received a call from an individual who stated he was outside EHS and was preparing to enter the school and begin firing at students.
Dispatchers could hear what sounded like gunshots before the call disconnected.
Personnel from multiple Law Enforcement agencies, including local School Resource Officers, EPD personnel, ECSO Deputies, members of the Nevada State Police and Elko Juvenile Probation Officers converged on the school.
Law Enforcement personnel began checking buildings and classrooms, as the school entered a lockdown mode, with many students and teachers sheltering in place.
No shooter was located and no one was injured in the incident.
Several other schools throughout the state received similar calls at approximately the same time.
The incidents were all apparent swatting calls, which are defined as a prank call to emergency services, designed to generate a large response of armed police officers to a given location.
Police Officers take all such calls for service seriously, as they must assume the situation is an actual shooting incident until proven otherwise.
During an actual active shooting incident, seconds count in being able to save lives.
Swatting incidents can be extremely dangerous for a variety of reasons.
The current Nevada cases are being investigated by the FBI and the Nevada State Police.
The Elko Police Department would like to remind everyone that it is important for citizens to avoid entering the area when such an incident is underway.
During the aforementioned incident, there were reports of parents trying to enter the school to find their children.
These actions, although well intentioned, can interfere with Law Enforcement operations during a tactical search for a criminal threat.
Did the train derailment in East Palestine affect its water supply? Experts say more testing is needed.
After a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, more than two weeks ago, residents and health officials have expressed concern about the state of water in the area.
Homeowners in East Palestine have complained of symptoms that some in the town believe are tied to the release of chemicals from the derailed train cars.
The incident has also sparked environmental concerns. An estimated 3,500 fish -- such as minnows, darters and sculpin -- have died in creeks and rivers around the area, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
MORE: At least 15,000 pounds of contaminated soil and 1 million gallons of contaminated water removed in Ohio
While many officials have said the town's water supply appears to be free of harmful levels of contamination, Kuldeep Singh, an assistant professor of earth sciences at Kent State University, told ABC News that long-term testing needs to be done to ensure the water supply is safe.
PHOTO: HEPACO workers, an environmental and emergency services company, observe a stream in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 9, 2023, as the cleanup continues after the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train. (Gene J. Puskar/AP, FILE)
Singh said locations that previously showed clear results may not produce the same results two or three weeks down the road.
"What happens today is only a diagnostic of that space and time," he said. "What may not happen in one location might be another location, what may not be in one particular location in time could be in another location in time."
Cleaning up derailment site
According to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, most contaminants did not enter local waterways but are rather "pooling at the derailment site in puddles and ditches."
So far, Norfolk Southern said it has removed more than 1.5 million gallons of contaminated water from the site, with the company telling ABC News that 400,000 gallons of contaminated water were collected on Tuesday alone.
MORE: Trump set to visit town affected by Ohio toxic train derailment
Neither Norfolk Southern nor the Environmental Protection Agency revealed which contaminants were found in the water, or the levels of contaminants found.
Several of the train cars were carrying dangerous materials on board, including vinyl chloride, ethyl acrylate and isobutylene, are considered to be very toxic -- possibly carcinogenic -- and could be unsafe for both residents and the environment.
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"These are hazardous chemicals and have potential health impacts if they contaminate our air and water," Miranda Leppla, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at Case Western Reserve University's School of Law, told ABC News. "And so, it's really important that we make sure that the cleanup efforts are really looking at this on a long-term basis."
The risk is not just to humans. ODNR said the deaths of the fish in nearby creeks and rivers likely occurred from the immediate release of contaminants following the crash, although the agency does not believe there is currently any risk to aquatic life.
Testing water wells
According to the EPA's latest update Sunday, results from sampling municipal well water don't show quality concerns. The Columbiana County Health District has so far sampled 52 private water wells.
PHOTO: Drone footage shows the freight train derailment, Feb. 6, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio. (Ntsbgov/via Reuters)
On a trip to East Palestine Tuesday, Gov. DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan drank tap water while visiting a woman's home to prove the water is safe to drink, although some residents are encouraged to use bottled water until their well water testing results return.
Singh said it's possible the public supply wells are never contaminated because the aquifers -- which are the water-bearing rocks that transmit water to wells -- are deep underground and separated by hundreds of feet of sedimentary rock.
However, private water wells might be contaminated because their aquifers are shallower.
However, he added that to detect whether or not the private wells are contaminated, inspectors cannot examine them at random.
MORE: Ohio train derailment: Transportation Secretary Buttigieg traveling to East Palestine on Thursday
"If it's random testing, you might be testing in a direction where you would never go, for example, but if nothing shows up in their well, does not mean contaminants are not there and that's what my point is," Singh said. "Random testing does not ensure that they are not contaminated. It has to be mapped from the site where contamination started, and then move outwards."
Sampling groundwater
About a week after the accident, Norfolk Southern submitted an action plan to the Ohio Protection Agency saying it will install a number of monitoring wells to test groundwater.
"If you think about it, anything that spills, with simple gravity, would go into the soil and percolate down to the groundwater," Singh said. "That part is not visible. Often, our choices and fears are dictated by the visible components, not the invisible."
No reports have been released stating groundwater is contaminated but, if it is, it could feed to streams and rivers.
PHOTO: Local waterways are monitored following the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals which caused a fire that sent a cloud of smoke over the town of East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 21, 2023. (Alan Freed/Reuters)
Additionally, because so much of groundwater is deep below the surface, "the effects of that contamination may take a longer time to appear," Leppla said.
Unlike cleaning soil, which is much easier because it can be picked up and moved, groundwater takes longer to be decontaminated.
"Groundwater is the most important being that is the most pristine freshwater abundant available to us," Singh said. "And once contaminated, may take forever. For example, cleanup, ofgroundwater contamination might take 10 years. That takes a lot of costs on taxpayers."
ABC News' Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
Did the train derailment in East Palestine affect its water supply? Experts say more testing is needed. originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The claim: Image shows CBS article about the 'super-rich' gathering in Davos
A Jan. 20 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a CBS News article.
"As the super-rich gather in Davos, online conspiracy theorists make bizarre claim that the world is run by the super-rich," reads the supposed article's headline, which is attributed to the Associated Press and shown via a screenshot of a Jan. 19 tweet.
The Facebook post's caption reads: "What a headline."
The post garnered more than 800 shares in four days. Meanwhile, the original tweet garnered more than 1,000 likes in five days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Instagram.
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Our rating: Altered
The image has been digitally fabricated. CBS never published an article with such a headline, according to spokespeople for CBS and the Associated Press.
Image shows fake article
Global leaders and business executives attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, during the week of Jan. 16 to discuss challenges currently facing the world. Outside the meeting, protesters gathered to demand climate justice and taxation of the rich, according to The Washington Post.
But CBS did not cover the event using the headline shown.
The CBS website doesn't show the article featured in the Facebook post, nor did the outlet share any articles with this headline on social media. Instead, the outlet republished an article written by the Associated Press headlined "As elites gather in Davos, conspiracy theories gain traction online."
This article was published the same day as the supposed article featured in the Facebook post.
Socialist Party activists take part in a protest against the World Economic Forum (WEF), calling for a climate tax on the rich, on the eve of the WEF annual meeting in Davos, on Jan. 15, 2022.
Nicole Meir, an AP spokesperson, directed USA TODAY to this article when asked about the legitimacy of the Facebook post. Meir said there have not been any changes to the article's headline since its publication. Web archives confirm this.
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Fact check: CNN headline about Damar Hamlin cardiac arrest was digitally altered
April Andrews, a CBS spokesperson, told USA TODAY something similar in an email.
"CBS News never ran the headline that is circulating on Twitter," Andrews said, directing USA TODAY to the same article as Meir.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.
This claim has been debunked by Reuters as well.
Our fact-check sources:
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Fabricated image shows CBS article about the 'super-rich'
"Everything I did was about taking risks."
Photo: Courtesy of Roberto Cavalli
In our long-running series "How I'm Making It," we talk to people making a living in the fashion and beauty industries about how they broke in and found success.
Fausto Puglisi always had a sense that he'd end up in fashion. The evidence is in his childhood journals, which outline his real estate dreams for future stores, down to the street numbers. But what made him enamored with the craft wasn't so much the traditional runway (though, it certainly had an impact on him, growing up in Italy and learning among Sicily's world-renowned tailors): It was the pop culture he was obsessed with from a young age, which inspired him to move to New York by himself, to try to make his dreams come true.
Though he's been designing since he was a teenager he even brought samples of his first collection to show stylists, editors and other artists in New York Puglisi really started to gain recognition for his one-off designs in the 2000s, when stylists like Patti Wilson and Arianne Phillips started pulling his pieces for their famous clients (lke Madonna? Ever heard of her?). He began his namesake label in earnest in 2010, and went on to work for Emanuel Ungaro from 2013 to 2017. In October 2020, he took over another iconic Italian house: Roberto Cavalli. His first collection debuted that February.
Puglisi's work has, throughout his career, remained exuberant, expressive and proudly vibrant. He's drawn to sharp cuts, revealing silhouettes, bold patterns and bejeweled embellishments all contributing to a storied canon of Italian fashion, and making him well-suited to take on the job of bringing Cavalli into a new era.
Ahead, we talked to Puglisi about his earliest influences, moving to New York (and meeting the people that would change the course of his career), what drew him to the Cavalli gig and more.
Tell us about your interest in fashion. Where does it come from?
I'll tell you the truth: American culture, pop culture it has amused me since I was a kid. When I was very, very young, of course, I was very, very fascinated by fashion gods like Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Gianni Versace and Thierry Mugler. But, in such an incredible way, TV series like 'Miami Vice' and icons like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Prince and Elton John was so [inspiring].
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[Los Angeles hotel] Chateau Marmont, to me, is connected to illusion, desperation, dream, which are three of the elements of our society, that each of us fight with. Michelle Pfieffer, as well as "American Gigolo" and El Dorado and the pictures of Helmut Newton they all have such a deep meaning for me... I wasn't dreaming about Paris: I was dreaming about New York and L.A. at the time.
I've always been fascinated by my first essence, which are my roots: Sicilian. When I was a kid in Sicily, and I was very deeply Sicilian. But at the same time, like so many Sicilians, I wanted to escape. And the biggest escape was the American dream, and it's translation through fashion... It wasn't, 'I want to dress celebrities' I admire artists, which is different. It's about working with artists. It wasn't about celebrities, but about translating the music and movies I was obsessed with through fashion.
I've always been an outsider... I've never been part of a clan. I've been always been myself, very alone. I don't know why, but this is the truth, and I'm big enough now to accept this. Everything I did was about taking risks.
What made you know from a young age that fashion was the avenue you wanted to pursue, to do this?
I was in Sicily for Christmas, and I found one of my diaries from when I was young. In school, they give you something to write [what you want to be when you grow up] I said, 'I want to be a designer. I want to be like Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace.' There was another one where I was putting a list of the streets where my stores had to be: Fausto Puglisi via Monte Napoleone 2, Milan; rue Saint Honore 25, Paris; 1200 Madison Avenue, New York... I saw that and started laughing, because it was so silly. I was such a dreamer. At the same time, it was like, 'Oh, Fausto, you knew already what you wanted to do, very clearly.'
Once you knew you wanted to be a designer, what steps did you take to make that dream happen?
When I was a mature enough so let's say 13 to understand the study direction, I studied Greek and Latin literature, classical literature, which was really beautiful. At the same time, I spent my time at the tailoring [ateliers] between Messina and Catania, in a beautiful place near Taormina called Acireale. I started to learn with the classic Sicilian tailors, who are amazing... It's all about proportion, strength and knowledge. It was what I really liked to do. It was about learning.
When I decided to move to New York, I prepared a small collection to bring [with me]. When I look back at my past... I never had doubts. I mean, stupid people don't have doubts. But at the time, I was so secure. It was mechanical, like, 'Okay, now you do this. Now you do your collection. Go to New York. Call my cousin at Tribeca Grill to find a place as a waiter. Then meet Patti Wilson, because I want to show her the collection.' To me, it was obvious.
Zendaya, wearing Fausto Puglisi, with the designer at the 2015 Met Gala. Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images
What happened once you moved to New York?
I started working the first day I arrived. My cousin left me in front of the Flatiron building; he was listening to 'September' from Earth, Wind and Fire. I saw him [recently] and he said, 'I was sure that this guy coming to New York from Sicily was going to leave after two days, because he's gonna be full of fear but, no, Fausto, your eyes were embracing the city.' I love this word, 'embrace.' I love to embrace people, projects, cities. I love that he said that, because, yes, I fell in love with this city since day one.
Who were the people you met in New York that ended up being instrumental in your career?
I was obsessed with two people: [Paper editor] Mickey Boardman and [painter] Donald Baechler. I remember I met them both the same day. [Baechler] did this work for me [portraying] Madonna in the cover of Elle and Pamela Anderson wearing my clothes. It was very pop. When I look at that [piece of art], I say, 'Oh my God, this artist's approach is incredible.'
Nothing was pre-thought. I wasn't saying, 'I'm going to Mickey because I want to be in Paper.' No, Mickey, to me, was a magician, and Donald was a firework. I had this sense of inspiration. I wanted to meet them because I wanted to express my love for them. I never talked about money. I was happy to be a waiter. I wanted to be a part of building their imagination.
What do you consider to be the biggest milestones of your career?
Again, I'm an outsider. When people I respect, like Suzy Menkes or Manuela Pavesi or Ingrid Sischy, came to a Fausto Puglisi show and supported the collection, it was fantastic... There's something connected not to narcissism, but to being an outsider and being very alone in my choices, because I wasn't part of a big group or protected...
The big moments are connected with the beginning of my career and to people like J.Lo, Madonna, Taylor Swift people that want me because they want me; not because it's marketing, but because there's a dialogue. It's about human relationships.
Taylor Swift wearing Puglisi's Roberto Cavalli to the 2023 Grammys. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
To be at the Victoria & Albert Museum as the only up-and-coming designer from my generation next to Gianni Versace, Dolce & Gabbana and Miuccia Prada [at the "The Glamour of Italian Fashion" exhibition] was amazing.
When I decided to have people from jails [model his first men's collection at Pitti Uomo for Spring 2017], because I believe in the second chance, and now that's something we're talking about; women's empowerment... I look back at things I did, and I think it was fantastic that I had the feeling to do that. It's not about ego. I'm happy because I love this job, and I love to build something connected to what I believe in.
Now, you're the head of an iconic Italian brand. What drew you to the role at Roberto Cavalli?
In Italian fashion, we have big moments, connected to a kind of flamboyance, starting with Walter Albini in the seventies and then Gianni Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli these are the brands connected with this sexiness, Hollywood, music, loud...
What I like is also that the new generation, who grew up with Mariah Carey and Destiny's Child, they're so connected to the Roberto Cavalli roots. I took the brand at a moment when nobody was talking about it. I'm extremely, extremely happy about it. It was the big Sicilian challenge.
On the Roberto Cavalli Spring 2023 runway. Photo: Imaxtree
What are you most proud of in your work for Roberto Cavalli thus far?
That my work [makes] sense. Otherwise, you would never interview me.
That people like Doja Cat, Lizzo, FKA Twigs connect [with it], because superstars connected to Cavalli in the past also... That's fantastic, because I'm trying to work with classicism, but move this brand in a different direction.
People want to feel loyalty when you do something. When you listen to Prince he was extremely loyal. He was a king, but was loyal to what he was doing with his music. The same thing with Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, David Lynch. I'm very loyal with my point of view.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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HONOLULU On Ian Schweitzer's first morning of freedom Wednesday, he woke up in a hotel room, looked over the balcony at the ocean and took in the beauty of the island he had been away from for over 20 years while imprisoned for a 1991 killing and rape he has always maintained he didn't commit.
In an interview with The Associated Press from the Big Island, the former Arizona inmate reflected on a range of emotions, from his faith in God that kept him positive to his complicated feelings about police and the criminal justice system to a quest to help solve who really killed Dana Ireland.
"We want justice for Dana," Schweitzer said.
Schweitzer said he considers himself a victim of the same crimes he was convicted of: "I feel like they murdered 25 years of my life. I feel like they kidnapped me away from my family. I feel like they raped me of being a son."
A judge ordered his release Tuesday after hours of expert testimony on new evidence showing Schweitzer wasn't responsible for the death of Ireland, 23, a tourist from Virginia. She was visiting a remote part of the Big Island when she was found along a fishing trail, raped and beaten and barely alive. She died later at a hospital.
The new evidence, thanks to advances in DNA testing, included a finding that a T-shirt discovered nearby and soaked with Ireland's blood belonged to an unknown man, and not Schweitzer or the two others convicted of killing her.
Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen said in a statement this week that his office is committed to identifying that unknown man. He was expected to make an announcement about the case Thursday.
Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth, who was prosecuting attorney in 2019 when the Innocence Project and prosecutors agreed to reinvestigate, said Wednesday that "there's still frustration we don't know whose DNA it is."
Repeated attempts by The Associated Press to reach Ireland's relatives were unsuccessful.
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"I think there's a sister out there, you know, God bless her," Schweitzer said. "I want her to know that my team is going to do everything that they possibly can to work with prosecutors in finding the unknown DNA."
Innocence Project attorneys in Hawaii and New York filed a petition late Monday outlining the new evidence and seeking Schweitzer's release. They are also studying a Hawaii statute that would let him collect $50,000 for every year he was behind bars.
Barry Scheck, one of his New York attorneys, said they don't expect prosecutors to pursue further charges and he hopes Hawaii can learn from this case.
"If three innocent people could be convicted in the biggest murder case in the history of the state, then people have to step back and say, how can we prevent this from happening again?" Scheck said.
Attorneys are now turning to exonerating the other two. They include Schweitzer's younger brother Shawn, who took a guilty plea deal after his brother was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to 130 years.
The younger Schweitzer recanted in October, which helped bolster the case for his brother's release.
Keith Shigetomi, the lawyer who represented Shawn Schweitzer when he pleaded guilty in exchange for credit for about year in jail, said Wednesday that he truly believed back then that he could convince a jury of his client's innocence, but Shawn Schweitzer feared telling the truth would mean sharing the same fate as his brother.
The family thought about it. "Ian told him, do it, save yourself," Shigetomi said, adding that lawyers are working on withdrawing the plea.
The Schweitzers became suspects amid intense pressure to find Ireland's killer. In 1994, Frank Pauline Jr. came forward and claimed he was with them when Ian Schweitzer ran Ireland's bike over and then killed her.
But he was interviewed at least seven times and gave inconsistent accounts each time. When it was clear he would be indicted along with the Schweitzers, he tried to take it all back and said he had lied to try to get drug charges dropped against his half-brother.
Pauline was convicted, along with the brothers, and killed by a fellow inmate in a New Mexico prison in 2015.
Myles Breiner, an attorney representing Pauline's family, said Wednesday he will file a motion seeking to have him posthumously exonerated.
Ian Schweitzer said it's clear to him the justice system is flawed.
"It didn't matter if I was innocent," he said. "They just needed a conviction."
Martin Tankleff knows how Schweitzer feels. He was wrongly convicted of murdering his parents on Long Island, New York, and was released in 2007 after 17 years in prison.
"The best piece of advice I can give him is take it extremely slow," Tankleff said, recalling how he was overwhelmed by everyday things like the options in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. "The world will be completely different."
Schweitzer served his time in Arizona because of a lack of prison space in Hawaii. Back on the Big Island, he reflected on what it felt like to be home.
"Sitting right here in this beautiful hotel, it looks the same," he said. "But I know once I go down the street and everything's changed, everything's changed."
AP journalist Claire Rush in Portland and researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Freed after 20 years, former Arizona inmate reflects on case, future
Michael B. Jordan knows how to dress himself all the way up for red carpets, award shows and other black-tie eventsbut sometimes, our favorite looks from the Black Panther star are the casual fits that are just as ready for brunch as they are for broadcast TV.
Jordan appeared on The View this week to discuss his new movie and directorial debut Creed III, out in theaters on March 3, and his on-air ensemble included a coral pink Versace Intarsia knit cardigan that proved this sweater style is rapidly coming back into fashion for men everywhere (see also: Pedro Pascals cropped cardigan at The Mandalorian season 3 photo call, hours apart from Jordans look).
More from Robb Report
Michael B Jordan on February 21, 2023
The cardigan is from Versaces Spring 2023 runway collection and its currently available for $1,675 on the companys website. Jordan styled the cardigan over a white Intimissi tank, black Versace trousers, Christian Louboutin lug boots and a Tiffany & Co. gold chain necklace and diamond studs.
Jordan was seen playing in the same color palette with a more formal look for his Good Morning America taping earlier that day, which saw him wearing a red double-breasted Gucci suit over the same tank top, boots and gold chain.
Michael B Jordan on February 21, 2023
In both looks, the Creed III director exuded the confidence of someone who knows hes starting trends every time he leaves the house, and we cant blame him. His pink knit cardigan confirms that the open-front sweater is having a serious menswear moment right now, following a long line of stylish men like David Beckham, Daniel Craig and Steve McQueen wearing them out over the years. Between Jordan and Pascals recent cardigan cameos, its safe to say that Hollywood is all in once again on dressing its male stars in cozy knits.
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Netflixs Dogs Season 1 Episode 5 Recap: 'Territorio de Zaguates'
netflix's dogs territorio de zaguates
Source: Netflix
Netflixs Dogs, a docuseries created by award-winning filmmakers, brings viewers on emotional journeys featuring beloved canine companions. Each episode celebrates the stories between an individual and their four-legged friend.
In Season 1 Episode 5 of Netflixs Dogs, Territorio de Zaguates, Lya and Alvaro dedicate their lives to giving shelter and care to hundreds of abandoned dogs in Costa Rica. The couple now home more than 1200 stray dogs on a 300 acre free-range sanctuary called El Territorio de Zaguates Land of the Strays. While their goal is to find homes for the dogs, many will spend the remainder of their lives running on the grassy fields.
A Home for the Forgotten in Netflixs Dogs
There are an estimated two million stray dogs in Costa Rica. The stray dogs, known as Zaguates, run throughout the streets. Alvaro explains the term Zaguates not only refers to the dogs as strays, but classifies them as creatures of low-value. The name is one that demeans the animals, calling them filthy or ugly. Pictured are dogs in the streets that appear emaciated, disabled, or suffering from illness and conditions such as mange. At times, the episode footage can be difficult to watch. One dog is missing a leg. Another, an eye. The condition of the animals and rampant abandonment of pets caused Alvaro Saumet and Lya Battle to found a sanctuary. With great faith and few resources, the team opened El Territorio de Zaguates in 2007.
The situation for stray dogs in Costa Rica is desperate. A law was passed that brought fines and potential imprisonment to anyone found with a dog in poor conditions. Unable to adequately provide for the dogs due to poverty, people discarded their pets. Funded primarily on donations, the shelter works to find new homes for the abandoned dogs. The shelter staff provide medical attention, food, grooming, exercise, and plenty of petting.
El Territorio de Zaguates currently houses over 1200 dogs. Each day, Alvaro and Lya receive calls regarding abandoned dogs. At times, the shelter is beyond capacity and the team are unable to offer aid. Despite their exhaustion, Alvaro and Lya continue because they believe in the importance of not allowing an animal to suffer. Outside the walls of the sanctuary, death is certain. Within, there is hope. With time and attention, many dogs are nursed back to health and find new homes. El Territorio de Zaguates continues to work to lower their animal population to a number that is sustainable.
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Action through Compassion
Season 1 Episode 5 of Netflixs Dogs is an impactful, moving journey to the front lines of the rescue operation in Costa Rica. The mission began with Lyas great love for animals and caring for the creatures that are often overlooked or forgotten. Alvaro, Lya, and the caretakers at El Territorio de Zaguates lead with this passion, working to make sure that no animal lives without an identity. Every dog has a name.
Like El Territorio de Zaguates, many rescue organizations and shelters are in need of resources. After multiple years of low adoptions, many shelters are suffering from packed facilities and overcrowding. Animal shelters are often overfull, understaffed, and in need of assistance. You can register as an animal foster, volunteer service hours, donate financially, or collect donations such as food, toys, and supplies. Remember that it is always best to rescue a canine companion, as many unwanted dogs face the risk of euthanasia. You can donate to El Territorio de Zaguates here.
The post Netflixs Dogs Season 1 Episode 5 Recap: Territorio de Zaguates appeared first on DogTime.
Students at Louisville's J. Graham Brown School walked out of class Wednesday to speak out against a pending bill in Frankfort that would allow teachers in Kentucky to misgender students.
Hundreds of kids at the downtown magnet school gathered across the street at Peace Park with flags and signs in support of transgender rights. The crowd chanted "We say gay" at one point similar legislation has been popularly referred to as "Don't say gay" bills and listened as more than a half-dozen student speakers shared their views about Senate Bill 150.
Janelle Pitmon, a junior who helped organize the walkout, said she's worried about the impact the proposal and similar bills could have on her friends and classmates. She's been encouraged by support from fellow students and their parents, but she'll likely go to Frankfort to speak out as well.
"This bill puts so many people in so much danger," she said as students walked back to class. "I've been like terrified about this for days I'm losing sleep over this."
Students at J Graham Brown School protest SB150 and other bills targeting trans youth on Wednesday, February 22, 2023
From January:LGBTQ-related bills Kentucky lawmakers have introduced, and what's on the horizon
The legislation would directly impact Ian Diakov, a transgender senior who uses she/her pronouns. She won't be a Brown student by the time any bill that passes would take effect, but Diakov expects to attend college in or near Kentucky and has no plans to stop speaking out.
Diakov took the mic during Wednesday's walkout to say her "existence is not political." Brown students and staff have supported her, she said, but she doesn't want to see students have to remain silent about their identities in the future.
"It's incredibly angering to see the majority of senators in Frankfort and representatives in Frankfort take so much of a stance pushing hate at our schools and trying to push policy that really has no benefit to them and has no benefit here in JCPS," Diakov said afterward. "Students should be able to focus on all of their learning instead of focusing on whether or not their teacher might ask them to parents who might not support them."
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Ian Diakov, a senior at J Graham Brown School, speaks out during a protest over SB150 and other bills targeting trans youth on Wednesday, February 22, 2023
What's in the bill?
SB150 would allow teachers to use pronouns aligned with a student's biological sex even if that student does not identify with them and requires schools to give parents advance notice of upcoming lessons on human sexuality to allow them to opt-out their children.
It isn't the only bill critics consider an attack on trans and LGBTQ kids, either.
Updating list:Here's the latest on key bills from the 2023 Kentucky legislature
House Bill 30 would prohibit trans students in public schools from using restrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identities and House Bill 470, a broad piece of legislation filed Tuesday with 20 co-sponsors, would essentially ban gender transition services for trans kids across the state, cracking down on health care providers that provide such services and requiring teachers to out trans and non-binary students to their parents if they ask for new pronouns or change their gender expression, among other moves.
Not the first walkout
Wednesday's walkout by Brown School attendees was not the first the city has seen over SB150. Students at Atherton High held a demonstration earlier this month, and last week Ballard High students walked out of class to protest against the legislation as well.
SB150 passed in the Kentucky Senate earlier this month and is now waiting for a committee assignment in the House.
Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Brown School kids walk out to protest trans pronouns bill
ELKO An Elko woman accused of possessing dozens of fentanyl pills for sale has been given a suspended sentence.
Myranda J. Reich, 29, has been arrested a dozen times in the past three years including four times on drug charges, five times for probation violations, and twice for failing to appear in court.
In her latest case she pleaded no contest to a single charge of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of sale, a Category D felony, and was given a suspended sentence of 12-30 months in prison by District Judge Mason Simons.
According to the arresting officers declaration of probable cause, Reich was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over Aug. 9 on a traffic stop. A K-9 alerted to the presence of drugs and police said they found one suspected fentanyl M-30 pill inside a small wallet, along with a white powdery substance that later tested positive for cocaine.
After informing Reich that introducing contraband into the jail would amount to an extra charge against her, she reportedly told the officer she had something in her bra. Police said it turned out to be 13.24 grams of methamphetamine.
Reich reportedly told police she had no other drugs in her possession, but a strip search at the jail located a bottle in her vagina that contained 53 fentanyl pills, according to court documents. Because of the quantity, the officer believed she intended to distribute the pills to others.
Her booking information listed a charge of attempting to furnish a controlled substance to a prisoner, but that was not included on her formal charges of transportation of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of sale, or lesser alternative counts.
The transportation charge was dropped in exchange for her no-contest plea on the possession for sale charge.
Reich, who was last booked into jail on Sept. 29, was ordered to be released immediately on Feb. 14. She will be on parole for two years, during which time she is required to complete a treatment program in Reno, not consume any alcohol or marijuana, and not gamble.
According to Elko County Jail records, Reich was also arrested in January 2020 for felony drug possession, February 2020 for possession to sell a controlled substance, May 2020 for two counts of drug possession, August 2020 for failure to follow conditions of a suspended sentenced, October 2020 for two felony counts of drug possession, and in December 2020 for failure to appear after bail on a misdemeanor crime.
In June 2021, Reich pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a controlled substance and was given a suspended sentence of one year in jail by District Judge Al Kacin.
She was arrested again in November 2021 and in February, April and May 2022 for parole violations, and in October 2022 for failure to appear in court.
Reich was also charged with car theft in February 2022 but that charge was dropped when only one of two witnesses showed up in court.
More than 7,600 flights were delayed and canceled at airports across the U.S. on Wednesday as a coast-to-coast winter storm affecting most of the northern half of the country continued to track east from Washington toward New England.
Following several days of reported disruptions to air travel, which prompted major airlines like Delta and Southwest to issue weather waivers in anticipation of further scheduling issues, at least 5,983 U.S. flights were delayed and another 1,695 were canceled as of Wednesday evening, according to the online tracking database FlightAware. Those numbers account for flights originally scheduled to move within, into or out of the U.S.
Along with SkyWest, Delta and Southwest are among the airlines most affected by this week's winter storm. Each individual airline had already canceled between 253 and 345 flights by mid-morning on Wednesday, the database showed, while Southwest and Delta reported 373 and 468 delayed trips, respectively. SkyWest reported another 317 delays.
Other U.S.-based airlines, including United, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, were reporting fewer cancellations between 40 and 45 each, roughly but logging mounting delays. According to FlightAware, 288 American Airlines flights were delayed on Wednesday afternoon, as were 354 flights operated by United.
Vehicles drive in downtown Minneapolis as snow falls on Feb. 21, 2023. / Credit: Abbie Parr / AP
Wednesday's delays and cancellations were mainly concentrated at a handful of western and midwestern airports, consistent with the path of this week's winter storm. At Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, the tracking database indicated that 189 flights were canceled before 10 a.m. local time, accounting for 44% of all of the airport's scheduled departures. That number had risen to 198 by the early afternoon. Another 123 flights were canceled at Denver International Airport, accounting for 13% of all departures, and an additional 117 scheduled departures were canceled at Detroit Metro Airport, accounting for 28% of all flights, according to FlightAware.
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On Twitter, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urged the state's residents to prepare for inclement weather.
With potentially dangerous winter weather on the way, its important to prepare and be ready ahead of time to keep yourself, your family, and your neighbors safe. The State of Michigan is watching conditions as they develop and taking action to prepare for winter weather impacts. Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) February 22, 2023
The numbers were similar for delays and cancellations affecting flights meant to arrive at those three airports on Wednesday, per the tracking site, which showed 218 canceled flights into Minneapolis, or 50% of all arrivals, another 123 canceled flights into Denver, 104 more into Detroit, 60 into Chicago and 59 into Milwaukee.
The latest flight disruptions came as the week's massive storm prompted officials to enact weather alerts for 29 U.S. states up from 22 alerts reported on Tuesday which affects around 75 million people. As expected, the upper-level weather pattern intensified as it moved from its origin spot in the Pacific Northwest over western mountain states and toward the Midwest and Great Lakes regions between Tuesday and Wednesday.
In a bulletin issued ahead of the storm, the National Weather Service warned that the weather system would "bring numerous weather hazards and significant anomalous temperatures" stretching from Washington to Maine through Thursday. Particularly severe conditions were forecast for some midwestern states, like Minnesota, where Minneapolis remained on track Wednesday to see its second-biggest snowfall of all time. Already under about six inches of snow, officials declared snow emergencies in anticipation of double-digit snowfall around the Twin Cities, as well as strong wind gusts affecting significant portions of the Midwest.
Minneapolis Public Schools announced on Tuesday that it would close all of its buildings and transition to e-learning for all students through the end of the week, CBS Minnesota reported. All Minneapolis Public Schools sponsored programs will also be shut down for remainder of the week as a result of the storm.
Elsewhere, Salt Lake City has so far recorded more than a foot of snow, while Denver is expected to see between 2 and 4 inches on Wednesday, as forecasters anticipate wind chills well below zero degrees Fahrenheit in the Colorado city due to falling temperatures into the night. As the storm continues to track toward the Great Lakes, forecasters say Chicago and parts of Michigan could see between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch of ice and freezing rain.
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Cultural differences are to be expected when moving to a foreign country and this TikToker outlines the ones hes experienced first-hand since relocating to Tokyo, Japan.
Ryan Crouse (@ryanthetwat), a 21-year-old Tokyo-based TikToker with 645.1 million followers and 16.4 million likes, has been using his platform as a means of chronicling his experience as an American in Japan. Before spontaneously purchasing a one-way ticket to the idyllic country, Ryan was a college student in New York City.
In late February, he posted a video entitled things in Japan that would send an American into a coma, which outlined five key differences of living in Japan versus the United States.
The first and arguably most notable difference? The supposedly mandatory shutter sound on Japanese smartphones.
Every single phone in Japan has the shutter sound when you take a picture even if you take the picture on SnapChat or any app and you cannot disable it, he begins.
This is required of the government because they wanted to stop men from taking photos of girls without them knowing. So if you buy a phone in Japan, it has the shutter sound and you cant turn it off.
The same goes for camera phones manufactured in South Korea.
While the shutter noise on mobile phones with built-in cameras isnt something that is required by law, the decision to integrate them was, according to Akky Akimoto for The Japan Times, one that was taken up voluntarily by all Japanese cellphone vendors in response to the proliferation of camera phones and subsequent rise in up-skirt photography in densely populated public spaces like subway trains.
According to Japanese mobile provider NTT Docomo, the shutter sounds cannot be disabled as a means to prevent secret filming or other privacy issues.
Ryan further explains that the shutter sound is constantly heard in high-traffic places like museums.
The TikToker, however, revealed the way people have worked-around the sound.
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What a lot of people do to get around this is when they travel to another country theyll use that time to buy an iPhone or just any phone and bring it back to Japan. When I had to get a new iPhone, I bought it in America and had it shipped to Japan because I was not going to deal with that shutter sound.
Per Engadget writer Matt Smith, however, voyeuristic photographer still persists in the form of downloadable apps that allow users to take photos on iPhones and other smartphones with no faux shutter sound, noting that while the image is typically taken in a lower resolution, creepy people can still find a way to be creepy.
Ryan moves on to his second point, which is that people in Japan will literally sleep anywhere.
Its extremely common to see people sleeping on the train. Sometimes theyll even fall asleep on your shoulder, he revealed, citing that work days can exceed 12 hours there.
While many, if not most countries may believe otherwise, napping in public or on the job is culturally accepted in Japan.
According to The New York Times, working to the point of utter exhaustion is referred to as inemuri which, per Brigitte Steger, a senior lecturer in Japanese Studies at Downing College, Cambridge, translates to sleeping while present.
Ryan then discusses his third point, the Shibuya Meltdown a term popularized by a viral Instagram account (@shibuyameltdown) that showcases images of Japanese workers who, after a tiring day at work, go out to drink and literally fall asleep anywhere in Shibuya until they either wake up to go home or back to work.
The former New York-based influencer then goes on to reveal that in Japan, moviegoers sit through the credits at the end of the film something that Americans dont usually do.
I feel like some people do this in America, but I think for the most part you just get up and leave.
The final difference Ryan highlights is how common it is to be scouted as a hair model if you are conventionally attractive.
Hairstylists will just run up to you and ask if they can cut your hair for free, he explains.
Its happened to be but Ive said no because you have to do a specific haircut they want and I just like cutting my own hair.
The informative video has since garnered 18.5 million views, 4.5 million likes and more than 13,200 comments.
Many TikTokers praised Japans mandatory shutter sound.
Shutter sound is a good idea that can make people feel more safe, wrote @cedeissupercool.
I honestly like the thoughtfulness behind the shutter sound ON, the US would never put us first like that, wrote @xoxoxoxoxoh.
Other users criticized the countrys lack of work-life balance.
Everyone talking about the shutter sound but the work-life balance is absolutely atrocious, how is that even legal? commented @piiraataa.
As more Gen Zers make the move to foreign countries, videos like these give audiences a thoughtful look into the differences that vary across countries and cultures.
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MILAN The relaxed, smiling face of Tomo Koizumi appeared on the screen surrounded by scraps of fabrics in his atelier in Japan three days before departing for Milan.
We already shipped almost all of the collection, so were making kind of extra pieces, he said over Zoom, gearing up for his latest creative effort to be staged on Sunday as part of Dolce & Gabbanas ongoing project endorsing young designers.
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Supported by the Italian brand, which will provide for the entire organization of the event, the Japanese designer will stage his first runway show abroad since the pandemic. It will be almost four years after that pivotal, last-minute showcase staged at the Marc Jacobs store on Madison Avenue during New York Fashion Week, which catapulted his name and his kaleidoscopic-colored ruffled designs onto the international fashion radar.
Models at the Tomo Koizumi fall 2019 show.
I really wanted to do a runway show again, in any city, but not in Tokyo, he said. Even though I can talk with people internationally through email, Instagram or Zoom, I really missed meeting people outside of Japan. Also, just showing collections only in Japan is feeling less impactful for me. Even if the [collections] pictures are on the internet and then people contact me through this, it feels less powerful these days.
Hence, he talked with English stylist Katie Grand, who was among the first to discover his sculptural creations on Instagram and to mastermind the viral New York presentation in 2019. She suggested to work with Dolce & Gabbana for this project and, fortunately, I was chosen, recalled Koizumi, who will follow Matty Bovan and Miss Sohee in the role of supported emerging brand.
If at first glance Koizumis aesthetic differs from that of the Italian label, the designer found a common ground in the shared romantic mood and dramatic dresses. He also said hes always looked up to the established duo as they create something Ive wanted to do but couldnt.
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So while developing this collection, I really felt I could develop myself as a designer. I challenged [myself] a lot through this collaboration and Im confident that Ive improved myself. Thats why I really appreciated this project, Koizumi said.
A preview of the Tomo Koizumi fall 2023 collection.
The first physical encounter between the parties occurred in December, when Koizumi traveled to Milan and met Domenico Dolce as well as the brands team. It was so inspirational because I could visit the office and the archives with all the designs, he recalled, highlighting how Dolce gave him great advice also from a technical perspective at that time.
A first teaser of this creative tie-up was revealed last month when a big, pink ruffled number, re-dubbed The Biggest Dress, was donned by Sam Smith in the Im not here to make friends music video, and was also sported for the performance of the Unholy hit on Saturday Night Live. As the caption of an Instagram post by the brand stated, the flashy creation hails from the fall 2023 collection supported by Dolce & Gabbana.
Yet dont expect to see only renditions of Koizumis signature ruffle explosions on the Milan runway. Asked to elaborate and offer a preview of the collection, the Japanese designer said that he tried different styles this time.
Since its actually supported by Dolce & Gabbana, I could take inspiration and references from the brand and thats really helpful.Even though my business is really small, taking inspiration from other designers is always a bit risky in this modern world. But I was so comfortable to do it this time, Koizumi said.
Therefore his own style codes, which remain constant in nodding to the colors of nature and flowers, will intertwine with a more glamorous feel and sexiness lent from the Italian label.
More pragmatically, Dolce & Gabbana supplied him with archival fabrics including printed ones that are set to make for a refreshing addition to Koizumis fashion lexicon as well as innerwear pieces, spicing up the styling of the looks, and footwear, which is a category missing in Koizumis own offering.
A preview of the fall 2023 collection Tomo Koizumi will unveil in Milan on Feb. 26.
Its going to be a really colorful collection as usual, but also youll see different ways to use colors, teased the designer, adding that he deployed other fabrics in addition to his signature organza, such as thicker satin.
As he deep-dived into the Dolce & Gabbana archives for research, Koizumi found his way back to his personal roots, too. For example, he revealed that more body-con dresses will be seen at the show, but was quick to note that actually when I started, I always made those, I really loved them.
To further retrace the history of the brand, Dolce had the idea of showcasing the evolution of Koizumis ruffle technique, which he noted had been increasingly copied.
I know ruffles are common design for all the dresses, but the way I use them is kind of original, I think, and [Dolce] mentioned that, too. So thats why were going to have my archive exhibited, revealed Koizumi. A selection of 10 looks from his past collections will be displayed upon guests arrival at the location to spotlight the designers craftsmanship. Its one technique but also its been seven years since I started making these dresses, so youll see designs from 2016 until now and the difference between one and another, he said.
A look from the Tomo Koizumi Fall 2019 show.
Koizumi launched his namesake brand in 2011 after a boutique owner bought one of his creations made while he was still in university. Then he pivoted to styling and costume design, once dressing Lady Gaga, until the New York showing made him an international star and fashion darling. Right after that moment, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art bought one of his works for its permanent collection, and exhibited two in its 2019 show Camp: Notes on Fashion. The following year, Koizumi was one of the eight recipients of the 2020 LVMH Prize and his designs popped up on fashion editorials and international stages alike, donned by the likes of Bjork. Today his designs are mostly made-to-order, and commercial plans have not been made for the collection that will bow on Sunday, either.
This is the main point of difference compared to one of Koizumis previous collaborations with another Italian brand, Emilio Pucci, which tapped him to design a capsule collection for spring 2021. That was for selling.I had to keep my designs kind of a bit quiet for that collection, but this collaboration is not, so theres 100 percent freedom to express my passion, he noted.
Asked what kind of reaction he would like to elicit from the audience at the show, Koizumi said the aim was to spark a sense of surprise and a smile. I really dont care about coolness. Fun and a joyous kind of mood is what I want to bring to people, the designer said.
The attitude reflects his ultimate mission in fashion, which has not changed throughout the years but has only grown stronger. When I started my career, I really wanted to bring fashion fantasy to the people. That hasnt changed. The feeling is only stronger these days, obviously with COVID-19, the war and a lot of bad news. So I really want to do what I can do best, which is making dresses, making beauty, then showing them to the people.
A preview of the Tomo Koizumi fall 2023 collection.
To this end, his fall 2023 collection will travel around. Right after the show in Milan, Koizumi will touch base in Paris for press days, before the clothes will be eventually displayed in Tokyo. But the designer doesnt seem committed to staying put in his homeland for too long, as he expressed a desire for new adventures.
Ive done several collaborations until now. It was fun, but I really want to try something differentI want to go to another city, maybe for work. If I could get a job in another brand, that would be exciting because I havent worked at any company. It would be something new, he said candidly.
Not one waiting for things to happen, Koizumi since last year started to delve into painting, as well, realizing contemporary art works. It was another return to the roots for the designer, who didnt study fashion but majored in art education at his university in Japan. So Im applying to some art fairs and maybe Ill show my artworks somewhere by mid-year, he concluded.
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Workers at a Trader Joes store in Louisville, Kentucky voted 48 to 36 in favor of unionizing this week, adding fuel to a labor campaign that seeks to organize the California-based grocery chain.
The union, Trader Joes United, has won elections at three stores so far, adding the Louisville victory to one in Massachusetts and another in Minneapolis. The union lost one of its four votes, at a store in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The National Labor Relations Board has not yet certified the Louisville results. The company has a week to file any objections with the board.
Trader Joes is one of a number of high-profile food-and-retail companies dealing with a wave of organizing among employees. The chain has more than 500 U.S. stores and managed to stay union-free until the Massachusetts election last year. Since then, the company has tried to prevent the organizing from spreading further.
WE WON IN LOUISVILLE 48-36!!! Trader Joe's United (@TraderJoesUnite) January 27, 2023
Ahead of the Louisville vote, management posted fliers in the stores break room casting collective bargaining in a negative light and criticizing Trader Joes United. The union was started by Trader Joes employees in Hadley, Massachusetts, last year and is not affiliated with an established labor group.
The union is now trying to bargain a first contract for the workers who organized last year.
Trader Joes could not immediately be reached for comment. The company said during previous elections that it welcomes a fair vote and intends to bargain in good faith if workers choose to unionize.
The company has generally enjoyed a reputation as a decent employer, but many workers say the company has become less generous in recent years. In early 2022, Trader Joes told them that it was reducing its discretionary 401(k) contribution for the year by half for most employees, a cut some explicitly cited in their decision to unionize.
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Trader Joe's managed to stay union-free until the Massachusetts election last year.
Trader Joe's managed to stay union-free until the Massachusetts election last year.
Higher-ups have crafted this lovely image that they take care of us so well, but that isnt the case when benefits get slashed, Connor Hovey, a Louisville worker active in the union campaign there, told HuffPost ahead of the vote.
Unions have succeeded with a number of breakthrough organizing campaigns in recent months, forming the first unions not only at Trader Joes but also Starbucks, Amazon, REI and Apple. But it remains to be seen how much these unions manage to grow, having only organized a small share of their respective workforces so far. None have secured first contracts yet.
Trader Joes United has accused the company of bargaining in bad faith, filing unfair labor practice charges with the labor board. The union said the company began the first day of bargaining last year by saying it wants all workplace policies to remain the same. They believe the status quo is enough for crew members, the union said.
Photo: Octavio Jones / Stringer (Getty Images), Sean Rayford / Stringer (Getty Images), Denver Post / Contributor (Getty Images)
Black History Month is all about bringing awareness to the successes and struggles of Black people since the United States was established. With this in mind, we decided to take a look at the enduring legacy of white supremacy and its impact on Black people. This is a list of the men that have made the lives of Black people a constant struggle.
Tucker Carlson
Photo: Jason Koerner / Stringer (Getty Images)
Fox News host Tucker Carlson of Tucker Carlson Tonight has created one of the most dangerous spaces for racism to spread, which is on television. On his show, he incites fear in his audience by saying that immigrants will take over the political status of the country and that protests by groups like Black Lives Matter were a threat to our safety. He also discussed the replacement theory which sparked his white followers to believe Jews were plotting to have Black people White folks. The theory that he spewed on television loosely connected him to the Buffalo mass shooting in May 2022 as the shooter said he was inspired by the theory. The New York Times claimed his show may be the most racist show in the history of cable news and also, by some measures, the most successful.
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David Duke
Photo: Bettmann / Contributor (Getty Images)
David Duke, a white supremacist, represented Louisiana in the House of Representatives in 1989-1993. Duke founded the KKKK, Knights of the Klu Klux Klan, in 1975, and was a KKK grand wizard. His views centered around preserving white America, and most of his rhetoric is rooted in anti-Semitism. He was a vocal supporter of Donald Trump in his presidential campaign.
President Woodrow Wilson
Photo: Tony Essex / Stringer (Getty Images)
Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States. During his time as president, he made interracial marriage a crime, and allowed the Treasury and Navy to be segregated. Wilson required that photos be supplied for every applicant of federal jobs, despite the disapproval of Black leaders. He was also sympathetic to the Klu Klux Klan.
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Nick Fuentes
Photo: Nicole Hester/Ann Arbor News (AP)
White supremacist and former Youtuber Nick Fuentes was in attendance during the January 6th storming of the Capitol in 2021. He was also present at the Unite the Right rally in 2017. Fuentes is a Holocaust denier and has been suspended and banned from multiple social media platforms for hate speech.
President Andrew Johnson
Photo: Print Collector / Contributor (Getty Images)
Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States, and possibly the worst and most racist person to ever lead this country. Johnson did not believe that the South lost the Civil War and thought Black people would forever serve white people. When he was sworn into office days after the death of Abraham Lincoln, he stopped any hopes of civil rights in its tracks by giving property back to Confederate soldiers and officials. He also opposed the 14th and 15th Amendments, and vetoed the Civil Rights Bill of 1866.
George Wallace
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP)
George Wallace won the election to become Governor of Alabama in 1962 by promoting populist beliefs including segregation. In 1963, he blocked Black students from attending the University of Alabama.
Ron DeSantis
Photo: Scott Olson / Staff (Getty Images)
Floridas Governor Ron DeSantis has dedicated his governorship to blocking woke materials in classrooms. He wants to make sure that any lessons that demonize white people are never taught. He has also attempted to block numerous Black and LGBTQ+ history curriculums.
Lee Atwater
Photo: Cynthia Johnson / Contributor (Getty Images)
Lee Atwater was a Republican strategist who worked on campaigns for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He is credited with using the Southern strategy to help get Republicans elected to office. The Southern strategy reassures white people that Black people will not gain more in any aspect over white people. He also created smear campaigns against opponents, a winning tactic.
Robert E. McNair
Photo: Steve Larson / Contributor (Getty Images)
On February 8, 1968, highway patrolmen opened fire on a group of 200 civil rights protesters at South Carolina State University, killing 3 students and injuring almost 30. The violence occurred because Governor Robert McNair ordered in the National Guard and blamed Black leaders for causing tensions to rise.
Cecil Price
Photo: Ferd Kaufman (AP)
Cecil Price was one of 18 men convicted for the deaths of three civil rights workers in 1964. Price was the deputy sheriff who arrested the three men (two white, one Black) for speeding in Philadelphia. The three men were in town investigating a Black church that was burned down. After they were released from jail, Price followed them, arrested them again, and gave them to a mob who shot and killed them.
The James Byrd Case: Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russell Brewer, John William King
John William King, Louis Berry, and Russell Brewer
In June of 1998, three white men named Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russell Brewer, John William King offered a Black man, James Byrd, a ride in their pickup truck. Byrd accepted the ride but was taken to the woods by the men, beaten, and sprayed with black paint. The three put chains on Byrds ankles, and attached the chains to the truck. They then dragged his body for three miles and left his remains in a Black cemetery. The event was categorized as a hate crime since Brewer and King were known white supremacists.
Richard B. Spencer
Photo: David J. Phillip (AP)
Richard B. Spencer is the leader of the National Policy Institute, and its mission is to ensure that white people keep their power in the United States. Spencer is incredibly racist, has called Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a degenerate, is wildly Islamophobic and anti-Semitic, and is against immigration. He is credited with coining the term alt-right.
Strom Thurmond
Photo: Bettmann / Contributor (Getty Images)
Strom Thurmond was the governor of South Carolina in 1946 and was pro-segregationist, so much so that he was willing to use violence to keep Black people away from the spaces he believed that they didnt belong. While serving in the Senate in 1954, Thurmond did a one-man filibuster opposing the civil rights bill that lasted 24 hours.
Donald Trump
Photo: Scott Eisen / Stringer (Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump built his presidential campaign and four-year term on racism, causing a terrifying ripple worldwide, and emboldening people to be outward with their hate for all kinds of people.
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Aug 17, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Josh Donaldson (28) hits a game winning grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays during the tenth inning at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Josh Donaldsons first season in pinstripes was certainly one to forget.
After being acquired along with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt in a deal with the Minnesota Twins over the winter, the veteran slugger struggled mightily for the Yankees.
Defensively, he still graded out relatively solid over at the hot corner. At the plate, however, he showed some serious signs of decline.
Donaldson appeared in 132 games and slumped to the tune of a .222 average and a career-low .682 OPS. He saw his power numbers decrease significantly, finishing the year with just 15 homers.
On top of that, Donaldson became less disciplined at the plate. He struck out 148 times and saw his strikeout (27.1), whiff (33.2), chase (29.3), and walk (9.9) rates all worsen.
As a result, many Yankees fans are completely out on the 36-year-old heading into the 2023 season. Despite that, manager Aaron Boone and the Yankees still believe in the veteran slugger.
Speaking with reporters at camp on Tuesday, Boone showed a ton of faith in Donaldson. The skipper went as far as saying youd be crazy to think he can't have a bounce back season at the plate.
First of all, were talking about a great player. This has been a star player, and consistently for a long time. Hes not far removed from 2021, where he was still a wrecking ball.
Prior to being traded to New York, Donaldson produced an OPS of .827 or higher for four straight seasons. In 2021 with Minnesota, he cracked 26 home runs and 26 doubles in 135 games.
Boone went on to praise Donaldson for all the work he put in this offseason after the down year at the plate.
I think last year with the lockout he probably came in a little behind the eight ball. He had an amazing winter. He physically looks great. His assessments, everything, hes moving really well.
"The things he did this winter to get himself ready to go, I think youre crazy to think that a bounce back is not in there offensively. This guy still has bat speed, and is super talented. Hes in a much better place than he was a year ago right now."
The Greater Milwaukee Auto Show returns to the Wisconsin Center Feb. 25 to March 5.
1. The Greater Milwaukee Auto Show
The Greater Milwaukee Auto Show is back, Feb. 25 through March 5 at the Wisconsin Center, with hundreds of new vehicles, luxury models, vintage cars and more. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays, 3 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 9 p.m. Friday. Admission at the gate is $15, $10 for seniors 62 and older, and free for kids 12 and younger. Info: autoshowmilwaukee.com.
2. 'Degenerate! Hitlers War on Modern Art' at Jewish Museum Milwaukee
"Degenerate!" tells the story the Nazi regime's war against modern art across Europe, where artworks were confiscated, destroyed and used as propaganda. The exhibit, featuring the work of 36 artists, opens Feb. 23. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $9, $8 for seniors 60 and older, $6 for students, visitors with disabilities, and free for kids 6 and younger, active-duty members of the military and members. Info: jewishmuseummilwaukee.org.
3. 'Native America: In Translation' at Milwaukee Art Museum
Ten Indigenous photographers use their lenses to explore identity, heritage and the impact of colonialism in "Native America: In Translation," an exhibit debuting Feb. 24 at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The art museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday (open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays). Admission is $22, $17 for students, seniors and members of the military, and free for members and kids 12 and younger. Info: mam.org.
4. Candlelight hike in Three Bridges Park
The Urban Ecology Center and the Friends of Hank Aaron Trail lead a free candlelight hike in the Menomonee Valley's Three Bridges Park, 610 S. 35th St., from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 25. Info: urbancandlelighthike.com.
5. Buy Black, Make History Marketplace in Gather at Deer District
MKE Black hosts a marketplace featuring Black-owned businesess in Gather at Deer District, in the second-floor space above Good City Brewing at 333 W. Juneau Ave. The market runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 26. Info: Buy Black, Make History Marketplace Facebook page.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 5 things to do in Milwaukee this weekend, including Milwaukee Auto Show
Feb. 21The first round of what the National Weather Service is calling a historic storm began Tuesday and it's only going to get worse.
A blizzard warning is in effect from noon Wednesday to noon Thursday with heavy snow and winds past 40 mph expected to create blizzard conditions.
The weather agency advises travel will be difficult to impossible with patchy blowing snow and significantly reduced visibility.
If people must travel, they should keep an extra flashlight, food and water in their vehicle in case of an emergency.
Schools began canceling classes Tuesday afternoon, and as of Wednesday morning schools were to be closed in Albert Lea, Alden-Conger, Glenville-Emmons, NRHEG, Northwood-Kensett and United South Central.
In Albert Lea, students will have e-learning, and elementary conferences will be virtual.
The Weather Service states there will be a lull in snow Wednesday morning, but by noon Wednesday the snow will be heavy. It will begin to ease slightly at 6 a.m. Thursday before completing by noon.
Snow totals from Tuesday afternoon through 6 p.m. Thursday were expected to be between 9 and 14 inches in Albert Lea with almost 2 feet expected in a band through Marshall, Redwood Falls, the Twin Cities, Red Win and into Wisconsin.
Marvel Studios
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Letitia Wright has confirmed that Marvel fans will have to wait a bit longer than anticipated to see a third outing of the superhero flick.
Letitia's Shuri took over the mantle of Black Panther in the most recent outing of the film series in the wake of King T'Challa's death, and previously teased to fans last month that a third movie was "already in the works".
She added at the time: "We need a little bit of a break, we need to regroup, and [director] Ryan [Coogler] needs to get back into his lab, so it's going to take a little while, but we're really excited for you guys to see that."
But now, the star has clarified what she meant.
Joseph Okpako - Getty Images
Related: Michael B Jordan explains how he kept Black Panther 2 return a secret
"What I tried to say, maybe I didn't do it clearly enough, to clarify, there is always the hope that you would have another film, especially in a franchise," she told BuzzFeed at the Newport Beach Film Festival UK Honours event last week.
"If there is to be another film, which I hope there will be, I think there will be. It takes time to make it. You have to go through the script process."
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever became the most-watched Marvel premiere on Disney+ when it landed on the streaming platform earlier this month, while Angela Bassett made history by being the first actor to receive an Oscar nomination for a MCU role.
Related: Marvel fans spot Black Panther 2 hid a major character in plain sight
It's not the only Marvel film to set a new record recently.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania matched an unwanted record set by Marvel's Eternals, becoming the joint worst-rated MCU movie on Rotten Tomatoes after earning a critics' score of 47%.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is on Disney+.
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GREECE-MEDIA-CRIME
A woman reads newspaper headlines in Athens on April 10, 2021. Credit - Louisa GouliamakiAFP/Getty Images
In the spring of 2021, Annalena Baerbock became an unlikely candidate to lead Germanys chancellery election after experiencing a huge surge in popularity ahead of the vote held in September of that year. But after she pledged to block a gas pipeline project between Russia and Europe, the Greens party candidate soon became the target of a vicious campaign on social media.
Suddenly, fake and photoshopped images of a nude Russian model were circulated purporting to be of Baerbock and suggesting that she previously worked as a sex worker. A string of sexist attacks followed, including questions about whether she could balance the responsibilities of chancellorship with being a mother. Her high approval rate quickly plummeted and Baerbock eventually lost the election, coming in third place.
Studies conducted by the German Marshall Fund and the Institute of Strategic Dialogue eventually found that Baerbock had been hit by an especially high amount of disinformation from Russian state-backed sources. Bild, a tabloid in Germany, wrote that NATO specialists even believed that Moscow [had] pressed the anti-Baerbock button.
German Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock gives a press briefing in Brussels on December 9, 2021. Olivier HosletAFP/Getty Images
Attacks portraying women in politics as promiscuous or having an unconventional sexual past are often common and effective tactics employed by political opponents. But Lucina Di Meco, co-founder of the online campaign, #ShePersisted, said that Baerbocks example also revealed two other phenomena at play, which she has written about in a new study called Monetizing Misogyny. Not only does gendered disinformation lead to the backsliding of womens rights and democracy as a whole, but the study found that gendered disinformation also becomes a national security threat when foreign actors use it to exploit divisions in society.
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Although the term gendered disinformation doesnt have a standard definition, Di Meco, a leading gender equality expert, has described it as the spread of deceptive or inaccurate information or images used against women in public life. A study conducted by Demos in 2020 noted that gendered disinformation isnt just false informationit also uses highly emotive and value-laden content to try to undermine its targets, and seeks impact primarily at the political level, though can also cause serious harm at the personal level, leading to hate campaigns that come with terrifying, and sometimes lethal, consequences for women in politics.
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The study examined in-depth case studies in five countriesBrazil, Italy, Hungary, Tunisia, and Indiaover the period of two years and interviewed over 50 women leaders to look at how social media was weaponized as propaganda by authoritarians and illiberal actors. Below, some key takeaways from the study on how gendered disinformation undermines democracies around the world.
When it comes to disinformation, women are more targeted than men
During the U.S. national elections in 2020, women candidates were attacked online more often than menparticularly on Twitter, and sometimes by up to three times as much. One example of this targeting was a coordinated campaign of disinformation and harassment attempting to malign Kamala Harris record as a prosecutor.
The same was true in Finland, where Di Meco observed that female ministers received a disproportionate number of abusive messages despite operating in one of the most gender-egalitarian countries in the world. At times, the disinformation also had tragic consequences, as in the case of Jo Cox, a British Member of Parliament, who was killed by a far-right activist after having been a victim of repeated online harassment and threats.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) looks on as Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) speaks during the Democratic Presidential Debate on September 12, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Win McNameeGetty Images
Marginalized women are targeted more viciously
Oftentimes, these attacks are worse on women who came from marginalized communities: in the case of India, Dalit and Christian women experienced more targeted disinformation campaigns. Angellica Aribamwho hails from the northeastern Indian state of Manipur and founded a foundation that works to expand womens political participation called Femme Firsttold Di Meco that her online trolling was far worse because of a perception that women from the northeast region of India are easy and characterless. Because of my intersectional marginal identity I have been targeted so much, Aribam said.
Di Meco believes this is because in many instances, just by the fact of being themselves, these women represent a goal of inclusive democracies, democracies that are multicultural or multi-religious, and therefore, a threat to autocratic leaders.
Gendered disinformation is an early warning system for democracies
In recent years, gendered disinformation has presented a national security problem as autocratic leaders have deployed misogyny as a way to connect with voters who feel threatened by womens and minority rights.
A notable example of this is the number of Russian campaigns that attempted to undermine foreign elections in countries including the U.S., Belarus, Ukraine, and Germany. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Di Mecos research has also identified Russian misinformation, often linked to anti-gender narratives, visibly spreading on social media in Italy and Hungary. In Italy, social media accounts that had been active in spreading hate campaigns against Italian women in politics visibly aligned themselves in support of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Similarly, Tunisia saw inauthentic behavior on Facebook originating from Russia and Israel targeting voters to influence election outcomes.
Misogyny in the online virtual world is an accelerating and powerful means of curating the digital political sphere, the writer, Nitasha Kaul, says in the report. And because these online subcultures are especially prominent among the followers of right-wing and far-right political leaders, gendered disinformation becomes the central tool used against women opposition leaders by autocrats to undermine democracy.
Digital platforms are failing to protect women
Di Mecos study found that digital platforms have overwhelmingly failed at protecting women. In all the case studies, researchers looked at whether civil society organizations had engaged with the main digital platforms where the disinformation was spreading, including Twitter and Facebook, to see what kind of responses the women had gotten.
Over and over, we heard that when they tried to engage digital platforms to get better protections, those platforms really turned a blind eye at best, says Di Meco.
Moreover, the use of algorithms, trending topics, and coordinated sharing tools have even boosted and amplified harmful narratives against women by making content go viral across channels. These efforts serve commercial interests for social media platforms at the expense of escalating attacks against women.
Although many social media platforms have begun to finance research and initiatives around such topics in order to find solutions, Di Meco says that so far, they have mostly been cosmetic. For example, many organizations have proposed improving the digital literacy of users.
Sure, digital literacy is important, says Di Meco, But the pace of the problem is so big that we just dont have the time to create an initiative to make sure the whole world becomes digitally literate, she says.
The Nevada prison system, facing an anticipated increase in the inmate population and dealing with aging infrastructure, is confronting a severe staffing shortage that presents a danger to guards, prisoners and the community, its new director told lawmakers.
James Dzurenda, the director of Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC), told lawmakers at an Assembly Judiciary Committee hearing last week that critically low prison staffing is the No. 1 focus of the prison system, which faces staff vacancy rates of 23 percent in Southern Nevada and nearly 60 percent at some northern Nevada facilities.
Dzurenda said issues extend beyond staffing. A requirement for parole planning stalls releases for people granted parole, while the re-entry process is sometimes strained because of the inability to fully identify inmates.
The issues come as NDOC expects the inmate population to grow after the Nevada prison population saw a 30 percent decline following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The JFA Institute predicts a nationwide rise in prison populations. The company has been contracted by Nevada since 2001 and forecasts future prison populations based on how people move through the criminal justice system.
This increase looms as many pressing concerns plague the agency, including sliding cell doors that are worn down to the point they are unsecured and eroded fencing around facilities.
You have high-security offenders who can pop open their doors from inside their cells, Dzurenda said. Thats like obscene to me That should never happen. Thats just years and years of neglect.
Dzurenda was originally appointed prison director in 2016 by then-Gov. Brian Sandoval but was rehired in January under Gov. Joe Lombardo. A high-profile inmate escape on Sept. 23 last year led the former director, Charles Daniels, to resign at then-Gov. Steve Sisolaks request. The escaped person, who broke out after using battery acid to dissolve fencing, was serving a sentence after being convicted of a bombing at the Luxor parking garage in Las Vegas in 2007 that killed one person.
Dzurenda said his administration will use a marketing team to seek workers in other states, such as California, who were recently laid off.
Our biggest struggle this whole year, probably across the state, is going to be the staffing issues, he said. Were going to look at starting to target certain places around the state because its a better place to live and also itll be a better place to work.
The systems lack of resources is causing a backlog for prisoners who have been granted parole but remain behind bars because release planning has stalled.
[Release plans] should not be a reason why someone is staying behind bars when theyve gone through the process and have been granted release, said Sen. Dallas Harris (D-Las Vegas).
Dzurenda said changes in policies for good-time credits made it hard for officials to compare them with inmates time-served records. He said he plans to bring Nevadas prison system up to date with prisons across the country, which includes the distribution of wireless devices that can do a wide range of stuff.
He said the devices will not only expand access to programs, support groups and time with loved ones, but they will help store legal documents and decrease crime in the community and behind bars by getting inmates the help they need at no cost to the state.
We cannot reach every individual right now, Dzurenda said. This is going to be a game changer for us and a lot of it is going to be connected to those resources to be able to do training better, education better.
He said there was a 35 percent drop in violence at prison facilities in North Carolina after wireless devices were issued and that it will help tackle issues of recidivism and re-entry. Dzurenda said the devices will make it easier for the public, volunteers and service providers to connect with inmates.
When we try to change behaviors it cant be left up to the Department of Corrections, he said. Its all of our responsibilities. Its the public. Its the clinicians. Its the Legislature. Its all of the community providers that are trying to put the blame on other individuals for not being successful.
Dzurenda said he will focus strictly on implementing services designated by the U.S. Department of Justice that have shown over a three-year period that at least 51 percent of participants succeeded in programs addressing mental health, substance abuse and behavioral health.
He also said there are regular challenges to the re-entry process, such as equipping inmates with identification cards because some inmates can have many different names and aliases. The director said these inmates are pushed through the criminal justice system with whatever name is given at the time of arrest, which prevents staff from accurately verifying their identity at the time of release.
A lot of these individuals have multiple names, multiple aliases and they may or may not ever have been identified, Dzurenda said. Which is very scary, and this is not unique to hear.
People are still released from prison but with unverified identities that are stored in police databases.
Prison officials will shut down the Humboldt Conservation Camp in Winnemucca to move officers to Lovelock Correctional Center, which is experiencing a 45 percent vacancy rate. They also plan to move youth prisoners out of Lovelock and to Warm Springs Correctional Center in Carson City or a facility in Las Vegas.
Its where we have the most resources, Dzurenda said. Moving individuals out to the rural camps and rural facilities like Lovelock and Ely to me it was the worst thing that can be done.
As of Feb. 8, there are 110 youth in Nevada prisons ages 14 to 19 and most are male.
Dzurenda said officials will determine where to take the youth and discuss the transfer during a hearing on March 6.
Gabe Kolesari
Longtime Hamilton School Board President Gabe Kolesari is stepping down for medical reasons.
Kolesari's resignation will take effect April 1, according to a news release from the Hamilton School District. A member of the board for decades, he was most recently elected in April 2022; his term was set to run through 2025.
The news release did not specify what medical reasons prompted his resignation.
He has been a board member for the past 34 years, and served as the board's president for the past 21 years, according to the release.
I want to express my appreciation for the opportunity and honor in serving the students, families and staff of the Hamilton School District for the past 34 year," Kolesari said in the release. "It has been a wonderful experience and personal source of pride to work with the teachers, administrators, community and fellow Board members to make a positive difference in thelives of our students."
Kolesari also served as president of the board of control for Cooperative Educational Service Agency 1 and is still a mentor. He is also a Veterans of Foreign Wars commander and Sussex Area Service Club member. Kolesari is a Marine Corps veteran, having served during the Vietnam War, the news release said.
The release said the vacancy would be filled "in accordance with the established procedural guidelines," but didn't specify what those guidelines are.
In a follow up email, the district's director of communications, Nicole Koglin, said information about how Kolesari's seat will be filled will be posted once his resignation is official April 1.
A second vacancy on the board
Kolesari's resignation will create a second vacancy on the seven-member board.
The school Board is also trying to find a replacement for its village of Butler seat, which was vacated by Rebecca Zingsheim on Feb. 1 "due to the challenges of balancing a new job and School Board responsibilities," according to a post on the district's website. The term for Zingsheim's seat runs until April 2024.
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To be eligible to serve as an appointee for the Butler seat, applicants must be a resident of the village and file a letter of interest with their name, residential address, phone number, qualifications and reasons for wanting to serve on the school board, as well as a sworn declaration of eligibility to hold the vacant board seat. The letter of interest is due by March 1; the declaration of eligibility is due before the board considers potential appointees.
To learn more, contact Hamilton School District superintendent Paul Mielke at 262-246-1973 ext. 1108 or send email to mielpa@hamilton.k12.wi.us.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hamilton School Board president Gabe Kolesari to resign
The court system, no matter at what level, is a long and often complicated process.
Federal immigration court is especially so. Cases can linger for years, and often a lack of English-speaking skills or availability of lawyers can make it even more difficult.
"It's pretty different than criminal court," said Nicole Micheroni, an attorney with Cameron-Micheroni-Silva Law Offices in Boston. "On average, it's very slow. If everything goes smoothly, they'll be two hearings, but I still have a case pending since 2013."
According to Kevin Leeper, an attorney with Leeper & Associates in Framingham, there are different ways for a case to be brought to immigration court, which is administrative in nature rather than criminal.
How does someone end up at an immigration court?
A person could be caught crossing into the U.S. by border patrol and then given Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which Leeper described as the law enforcement arm of the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Southborough Attorney Antionio Massa Viana
The person will be given a notice to appear in immigration court. That date could be as much as two years in the future.
"At that point, they can either be released or held on bond," said Leeper. "Usually, if there is no criminal element to the case, they'll be released."
The other common way for a case to make it to immigration court is if a non-citizen is arrested. ICE is then informed, and that person is brought to immigration court. People in custody often have hearings quicker than those who are not in custody, Leeper said.
Another way a case makes it to immigration court is if a legal permanent resident leaves the United States for an extended period of time, according to Antonio Massa Viana, an attorney with Massa Viana Law of Southborough.
"It may have been decided that they had abandoned their residency," he said.
Different rules of evidence and no right to a lawyer
In a criminal case, prosecutors are required to turn over discovery, or evidence, to the defendant. Defendants also have a right to an attorney in court and if someone cannot afford one, an attorney will be appointed.
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That is not the case in immigration court.
"There is no discovery," said Micheroni. "Immigrants do not get to see what evidence will be presented against them. There's no right to appointed council in immigration court. No one in immigration gets a free lawyer, even a child. Sometimes you'll see a 5-year-old child with no lawyer."
How long immigration hearings last
Cases can take years. Viana said he just finished a case involving a green card that took seven years to complete. A scheduled hearing can be postponed for up to two years.
"The wait is quite substantial," he said. "I know there are efforts by the new administration to hire more immigration court judges."
More:Charges dropped against Natick resident, judge accused of helping defendant evade ICE
During hearings, particularly when someone is seeking asylum, defendants can take hours to explain why they left their country and why they're seeking asylum. A judge will then decide whether the person can stay or if they must leave.
If a person is ordered removed, it starts another long process, Leeper said. It can start with an appeal, which can take two or more years to be heard.
Even if the person decides not to appeal, the process isn't quick. They are not taken into custody. They are released and they could be here for years, particularly if the person is not a "priority," such as someone who is accused of a serious crime.
"He (non-citizen) could be here for nine or 10 years," said Leeper. "He's going back to work and he's working, supporting his family. He's supposed to buy a plane ticket and go home. If he's an enforcement priority, he could be taken into custody ICE will pay for the transportation."
What authority do immigration courts have?
Last month, a man was arrested in Framingham for a traffic violation, and it turned out he was wanted for murder in Brazil. He had been previously ordered by an immigration court to leave the country but had not done so.
Micheroni, stressing that she was not speaking about that particular case, said it's not unusual for something like that to happen.
"People are supposed to coordinate that on their own, and a lot of people just don't go," she said.
Slay suspect:Man wanted in Brazil is arrested after Framingham traffic stop
But not following a judge's order to leave is not always done on purpose, Viana said.
Many immigrants, confused about the court process, will miss hearings or receive hearing notices in the mail because they may have moved. Or some just forget the date because a previous hearing was a couple of years earlier.
"When a judge calls a case and the person doesn't show up, it's basically like they're giving up their rights and they're ordered removed without a presence in court," said Viana. "It's like a warrant in a criminal court. There are a lot of warrants out there. There are some people who know about them, but there are many others who have no idea about it."
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: MA lawyers explain how federal immigration court works
Last week's suspicious deaths have been ruled a murder-suicide, according to a news release from the Indianola Police Department.
Sheila Ann Kelly, 59, and Jack Gordon Heiss Jr., 56 who were in a domestic relationship, were found dead on Friday, said Sgt. Brad Metcalf.
Around 12:30 p.m. Friday, Indianola police officers made a welfare check at an apartment in the 1300 block of East Iowa Avenue, according to a news release.
The officers forced their way into the apartment and found two adults who had died. Heiss was found with a fatal, self-inflicted injury at the scene, the release said.
In-depth:7 Des Moines metro women shot in 2 months: What is Iowa doing about domestic violence?
How to seek help if you are a victim of domestic violence
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, reach out to:
The Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence , which serves all 99 counties in Iowa. To locate a program near you, visit icadv.org.
The Iowa Victims Service Call Center . It provides free, confidential resources for anyone experiencing domestic violence. Advocates are available 24/7 at 1-800-770-1650, or text IOWAHELP to 20121. To learn more, visit the center's website at survivorshelp.org.
The Safe at Home program run by the Iowa Secretary of State's Office, which provides substitute addresses, mail-forwarding services and confidential voter registration for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, stalking or other violent crimes. To learn more, visit safeathome.iowa.gov.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Or text START to 88788. Learn more at thehotline.org.
The Love is Respect Teen Dating Violence Hotline at 1-866-9474. It also can be reached by texting LOVEIS to 22522. Learn more at loveisrespect.org.
Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter @NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Indianola Police: Suspicious deaths were a murder-suicide
Former President Jimmy Carter has a history in El Paso. The then-presidential Democratic nominee stopped in El Paso on Oct. 8, 1976, and did an exclusive interview with the El Paso Times.
Carter entered hospice at 98 years old Feb. 18, according to a statement by The Carter Center, a nonprofit founded by Carter's wife Rosalynn in 1982.
After a series of short hospital stays, Carter decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention," according to the statement. Carter has the full support of his medical team and family, which "asks for privacy at this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.
Carter became the 39th U.S. president when he defeated former President Gerald R. Ford in 1976. He served a single term and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Carter was born Oct. 1, 1924, to a prominent family in rural south Georgia. He went on to the U.S. Naval Academy during World War II and pursued a career as a Cold War Naval officer before returning to Plains, Georgia, with Rosalynn and their young family to take over the family peanut business after Earl Carter's death in the 1950s.
Carter, arms spread wide in a friendly gesture, greeted supporters at the El Paso International Airport. The then-El Paso and Juarez mayors joined Carter during the campaign stop.
Busts of Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter sit on top of a homemade cabinet at the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site on Tuesday February 21, 2023 in Plains, Georgia.
How old is Jimmy Carter?
Carter has lived longer than 46 other presidents in more than 230 years.
At 98 years old, Carter, the 39th president, has outlived George H.W. Bush by just under four years.
Jimmy Carter's history with Habitat for Humanity
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter volunteered for decades with Habitat for Humanity, beginning in 1984 and continuing until 2020, according to the Habitat for Humanity website
Throughout their involvement with the Carter Work Project, they have been advocates, active fundraisers, and hands-on construction volunteers.
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President Jimmy Carter on Jan. 24, 1977.
What happened during the Iran hostage crisis?
On Nov. 4, 1979, militant Islamic fundamentalist Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy in Teheran and took hostage the 66 Americans inside. For the next 444 days, until Jan. 20, 1981. The crisis paralyzed the administration of President Jimmy Carter, who was unable to secure their release, according to the Bill of Rights Institute.
His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980.
It was my decision to attempt the rescue operation. It was my decision to cancel it when problems developed in the placement of our rescue team for a future rescue operation. The responsibility is fully my own," Carter said on April 25, 1980.
President Joe Biden's statement
"To our friends Jimmy and Rosalynn and to their family Jill and I are with you in prayer and send you our love. We admire you for the strength and humility you have shown in difficult times. May you continue your journey with grace and dignity, and God grant you peace," Biden said in a social media statement on Feb. 19.
AP contributed to this report
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Look at President Jimmy Carter's time in El Paso, Iran hostage crisis
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) announced that he will seek reelection to a fourth term.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) announced that he will seek reelection to a fourth term.
Montana Sen. Jon Tester announced Wednesday that hes running for reelection, defending a critical seat for Democrats on the 2024 Senate map.
Montanans need a fighter that will hold our government accountable and demand Washington stand up for veterans and lower costs for families, Tester wrote in a tweet. I will always fight to defend our Montana values. Lets get to work.
Tester, 66, has held his seat since 2007. Hes the only statewide elected Democrat in Montana, a state that typically elects Republicans by double-digit margins. Testers seat is a top target for Republicans hoping to flip control of the Senate next year.
His reelection decision is a big relief for Senate Democrats, who are facing an extremely challenging map in 2024 as they seek to hold their narrow majority. Several of their incumbents are up for reelection in red states. Democrats also need to defend incumbents in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as well as hold the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in Michigan.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has not yet announced whether he is running for reelection, but he is another top GOP target and faces a possible challenge from West Virginia GOP Gov. Jim Justice.
Tester serves on the Appropriations Committee and is influential on defense, veterans care, and banking issues. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also recently put Tester in charge of probing a Chinese spy balloon that traveled over Montana before the military shot it down off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month.
Tester might be the Democrat best positioned to win in Montana. The gruff-mannered farmer, who lost three fingers on his left hand in a meat grinder accident, won his last race in 2018, despite a blizzard of attacks from then-President Donald Trump and his allies an impressive feat in a state that picked Trump for president twice.
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Still, Tester is likely to face a well-funded GOP opponent in 2024. The potential field of candidates includes Montana GOP Reps. Matt Rosendale and Ryan Zinke, Gov. Greg Gianforte, and state Attorney General Austin Knudsen.
GOP Sen. Steve Daines, Montanas other senator and head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, vowed his party would do all it could to retire the incumbent Democrat.
Jon Tester just made the same mistake Steve Bullock did in 2020, Daines said, referring to the former Montana Democratic governor who mounted an unsuccessful effort to oust Daines in the last election cycle. Both should have ended their political careers on their terms. Instead, they each will have their careers ended by Montana voters. Jons support for Joe Bidens disastrous agenda of open borders, reckless spending, and massive tax hikes is a fireable offense.
Monroe County Community College is offering a five-week Certified Nurse Aide course beginning March 15.
This non-credit course consists of 123 hours of classroom and lab study. It will meet Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Fridays from 8:45 a.m. to 1:55 p.m. through April 14 on MCCC's main campus.
The final week of the course will be clinical training at a state-approved site in the Monroe area. Training will meet from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 17-21.
The CNA course is designed to prepare graduates to fulfill the role of direct caregiver/nurse aide. The course emphasizes the skills and behaviors that are significant to the role of nurse aides in a healthcare setting, MCCC said. Student knowledge and competency are assessed routinely to determine achievement of the course outcomes. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be eligible to take the clinical and written exams required for certification as a nurse aide in the state of Michigan. Students completing the course are also eligible to receive five credit hours at MCCC.
The cost for the course is $2,250 plus miscellaneous supply and other fees, including: uniforms and supplies ($60); BLS for Healthcare Provider CPR Training ($60); state certification exam ($125), and textbook ($40). The costs are estimated and could be higher or lower.
BLS for Healthcare Providers CPR Training requires online instruction and in-person skill assessments that may be scheduled through the Respiratory Therapy Club at MCCC or any American Heart Association training center.
More information about potential funding for this course through Michigan Works! American Job Center is available by calling 734-240-7950.
Class size for this program is limited to 12 students, so early registration is highly recommended. To register call 734-384-4229 or email sbussell@monroeccc.edu.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Nurse aide course begins March 15 at MCCC
A Palm Coast man who shot an employee at a Kentucky hotel last week where he was a guest was on his way to see his cousin in Illinois whom he had threatened to kill the night before the shooting, Flagler County sheriff's investigators said.
The cousin said Robert Pannell, 55, was off his medication, and a neighbor told Flagler County deputies that Pannell suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was known to easily lose his temper, according to a Flagler County sheriff's report obtained on Tuesday by the News-Journal.
Robert Pannell was arrested on Feb. 11 in Paducah, Ky., after he fatally shot a woman who worked at a Best Western hotel at 9:48 a.m., authorities said.
More:Police seek motive for why Palm Coast man fatally shot woman in Kentucky
Sheriff Ryan Norman said Tuesday that investigators in McCracken County still have not determined why Pannell shot the hotel employee. Pannell was being held in the McCracken County Jail on Tuesday on $2.25 million bail, Norman said.
Pannell was charged in Kentucky with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, two counts of fourth-degree assault, four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, third-degree assault, second-degree menacing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Norman said his investigators believed Pannell was on his way to see family in Illinois, and was passing through Paducah.
Robert Pannell threatened to kill Illinois cousin
In the report released to the News-Journal on Tuesday, Flagler County sheriff's deputies shed more light on the alleged killer's state of mind.
On the morning of Feb. 11, the cousin in Illinois woke up to an overnight voicemail from an upset Pannell, who claimed his cousin was using his name in vain and that Pannell was going to kill him, the report detailed.
Pannell's cousin called Flagler County deputies and asked that a well-being check be done.
The cousin reported to Flagler County deputies that a few days before Feb. 11, he and Pannell had argued after Pannell lied to him that he was in Illinois while he was in Florida, Flagler County deputies said.
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Off his meds, suffered from PTSD
The cousin informed deputies that Pannell was off his medication and made several comments that he was God, deputies noted in the document.
Flagler County deputies went to Pannell's Palm Coast home at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 11 but discovered that he was not home.
Deputies then learned from a neighbor that Pannell had asked that his home be taken care of and that his cat be fed.
The neighbor told Flagler deputies that Pannell had left for Illinois to see family on Friday, Feb. 10, at 5 a.m., according to the report.
The neighbor also told deputies that Pannell was ex-military and that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was known to lose his temper easily, the report said.
When Flagler County deputies learned that Pannell was headed to Illinois, they called his cousin to make him aware and advised him to call police where he lived, the report documents.
Robert Pannell shoots Best Western employee
Then at 2:10 p.m., a detective with the McCracken County Sheriff's Office contacted Flagler County deputies to let them know that Pannell had been arrested for assaulting an elderly couple outside the hotel and for shooting a Best Western employee in Paducah, the report noted.
Pannell also shot at various hotel guests the morning of Feb. 11, authorities said.
The McCracken County sheriff's detective said multiple firearms and ammunition were recovered from Pannel's hotel room, who checked in on Friday night at the hotel in Paducah, the report shows.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Palm Coast man who shot Kentucky woman had threatened cousin in Illinois
A private luxury yacht that ran aground on rocks and reef Monday morning at Honolua Bay a popular surfing spot and protected marine sanctuary in west Maui has leaked fuel into the ocean, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
A sheen of fuel was visible on the water on Tuesday morning and during the afternoon, "you could still smell fuel in the air," according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Maui County officials issued an emergency permit on Tuesday morning to intervene "in response to the increasing risk of damage to the reef and ecosystem" that the stuck yacht poses. "The longer the vessel remains in the sensitive area the higher the risk of damage," said Mayor Richard Bissen Jr., in a statement.
A team from the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Aquatic Resources did an initial underwater assessment of any damage to coral reefs and live rocks, which are protected by state law, around the boat and found about 30 to be damaged. Although further assessment is required, the boat owner could face "significant penalties."
Officials said it will likely take a few more days before the yacht can be freed from the reef. The U.S. Coast Guard federalized the yacht, meaning all fuel, batteries and any other pollutants on board must be removed first.
The 94-foot vessel belongs to Noelani Yacht Charters, a Maui-based company owned by Jim Jones. He told Hawaii News Now that he "was anchored offshore with his family for the past two days." Early Monday morning, Jones said a mooring line broke in what he called "a freak accident."
The 94-foot private yacht ran aground on rocks and reef on Monday.
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Noelani Yacht Charters did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.
According to the Malama Kai Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to ocean stewardship, the mooring used by Jones overnight is only meant to be used short-term during daytime hours with a limit of two hours.
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Residents and advocates were upset at social media images and videos of the stuck yacht.
"The community demands this company be held fully accountable. This is totally unacceptable. The Save Honolua Coalition has tried for years to have the State control boat usage of the bay. We hope that this tragic incident highlights the importance of the issue. For now, we pray that DOCARE and the salvage company act quickly and effectively so that the damage be minimized," Save Honolua Coalition, a grassroots organization to protect the bay, said in a statement.
According to a press release by the Department of Land and Natural Resources on Tuesday morning, if a private vessel is run aground, it is the responsibility of the owner to remove it "with the least amount of damage possible to reefs and marine environments." The owner needs to send a written salvage plan for approval to the department. In these sorts of plans, a private contractor typically pulls the yacht out to sea via tugboat.
Jones told he Department of Land and Natural Resources that "he was never aware of a land-based approach and had no plans to pursue such an action."
"This vessel grounded just outside the Honolua-Mokuleia Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD), which has the highest degree of resource protections available under state law," said DLNR Chair Dawn Chang in the release. "We are coordinating our actions very closely with Maui County, the boats owner, the USCG, area legislators, and the salvage company. We want to do everything possible to prevent any additional damage to the reefs in the MLCD or elsewhere in the bay."
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Private yacht leaking fuel into Honolua Bay on Maui
Russian President Vladimir Putin revoked a 2012 decree on Russias foreign policy course that suggested that Russia would develop closer relations with the EU and the USA, and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.
Source: Document published on Tuesday, reported by European Pravda
Details: Putin signed a decree on 21 February 2023 that revokes his decree On Measures for Implementation of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation from 2012.
The new document states that the decree was signed to "ensure the national interests of Russia in connection with the profound changes taking place in international relations". It was put into effect from 21 February.
In particular, the decree of 11 years ago envisaged that Russia would continue to actively search for ways to resolve the conflict in Transnistria with respect to Moldova's sovereignty, territorial integrity and neutral status.
In addition, the document had consistent implementation of the Nuclear Arms Reduction Treaty with the USA, also known as New START. Putin announced on Tuesday that Russia was terminating its participation in the treaty.
The decree also declared that Russia "would firmly stand for the main principles of the UN Charter that demands to develop friendly relations between states based on equality, respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity".
The document envisaged the development of relations with NATO and the European Union.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova has stated that it took Putins decision into consideration, as reported by Newsmaker.
"We will thoroughly explore the content of a new concept as soon as it is published," said Filip Cojocaruk, the spokesperson for the Ministry.
He has highlighted that Moldova advocates for peaceful regulation of the Transnistria conflict, as before, and demands the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the republic.
Background: Dorin Recean, Prime Minister of Moldova, has stressed that the Moldovan government is aware of several potential scenarios of destabilisation in Moldova orchestrated by the Kremlin.
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Shamima Begum, pictured at al Roj camp, where she is currently being held. (Getty Images)
Shamima Begum remains "de facto stateless" after losing her most recent appeal over her British citizenship after it was revoked in 2019.
The former schoolgirl, who was just 15 when she fled the UK to join the terror group Isis in Syria, was recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received in Syria for the purposes of sexual exploitation and marriage to an adult male, her legal team had argued in the November appeal.
But in a ruling on Wednesday, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission upheld the Home Office's previous position, despite her lawyers arguing she had no real protection from becoming stateless as "a citizen of Bangladesh by descent".
"It is clear that, had the Home Secretary made inquiries as to the practical effect of depriving the appellant of her citizenship, he would likely have understood that the appellant could be left without the protection of any state, in the dire conditions of the Roj camp," Begum's lawyers argued in November.
"He would have been aware that the deprivation decision was likely to render the appellant de facto stateless."
Where is Shamima Begum living now?
Begum has been held in the Roj camp for internationally displaced persons in northern Syria since 2019. Her youngest child, Jarrah, was born in the camp and died three weeks later from pneumonia, records show.
Arriving at the camp while she was pregnant with her third child - having lost her first two children to malnutrition and disease - Begum appealed to the then home secretary Sajid Javid to let her return home, saying that she was worried about the safety of her unborn child.
"I was hoping maybe for the sake of my child they would let me back. I cant live in this camp forever," she said shortly after giving birth.
The al Hol and Roj camps have been referred to by the High Commissioner for Human Rights as overcrowded displacement camps. Roj Camp, the smaller of the two, is home to around 3,000 people, 65% of whom are children, according to recent United Nations Human Rights estimate.
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Begum pictured at Roj Camp in November 17. (Getty Images)
Camp Roj is one of two Kurdish-run displacement camps housing foreign family members of suspected IS fighters. (Getty Images)
The camp's conditions have been described as "dire" by Begum's legal team, while reports of malnutrition, disease, sexual assault and death are widespread.
According to Human Rights Watch, which last visited the camps in May 2022: "Conditions for the children are life-threatening, deeply degrading, and in many cases, inhuman; their cumulative psychological impact may amount to torture. Medical care, clean water, and shelter, as well as education and recreation for children are grossly inadequate."
The majority of the 37,000 foreign nationals held in al Hol and Roj are the families of suspected Isis members, many younger than 12 years old, whose home nations refuse to repatriate them - leaving them in a state of limbo.
Watch: Shamima Begu loses appeal
Parents of children in the camp have told of desperate bids to protect them from attacks from adults loyal to Isis, while numerous sexual assaults have been reported.
Begum herself has spoken about being targeted in the camp and fears of her tent being torched by people who consider her less devout for wearing Western clothes.
When the first tent fire happened we just got back to normal and then the second fire happened and then we just live in fear constantly," she told The Daily Mail at the time.
Speaking to journalist Josh Baker for the BBC, Begum said of her time in Roj: This is, I feel, worse than a prison I think its because at least with prison sentences you know that there will be an end but here you dont know if theres going to be an end.
Read more: OPINION - Shamima Begum was brainwashed, she doesnt owe us regret or remorse (Evening Standard, 4-min read)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Southern Baptist Convention leadership disfellowshipped Saddleback Church from the convention on Tuesday, concluding a long-running debate about one of the largest and most well-known churches in the denomination.
The California megachurchs stance on a woman serving as head co-pastor led the convention's Executive Committee to consider a recommendation for the SBC to break with Saddleback.
The executive committee approved similar recommendations for five other churches, one for a sex abuse-related issue and four others for women serving in senior pastor roles. There is a mechanism for the churches to appeal the decisions.
The convention's Executive Committee is comprised of about 30 staff and an 86-member board of elected representatives and manages denomination business outside the Nashville-based SBC's annual meeting. It met for a major two-day meeting in Nashville on Monday and Tuesday.
With 23,000-plus members and 12 locations in Southern California, with its flagship campus in Lake Forest, California, Saddleback is a household name in American evangelical Christianity that long flourished under the leadership of Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life.
Warren retired from Saddleback in August, handing the reins to pastors Andy and Stacie Wood.
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Pastor Andy Wood and his wife, Stacie Wood, stand for a portrait on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Andy Wood was recently announced as founding Pastor Rick Warren's successor to the church, which is the second largest in the Southern Baptist Convention, regularly drawing in about 2,500 people with more online every Sunday. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner)
Even before Warren announced his retirement and the Woods as his successors last year, Saddleback has been at the center of a multi-year controversy in the SBC over the role of women in church leadership. In May 2021, the California church ordained its first three women pastors.
The ordinations led some Southern Baptists to try and oust Saddleback from the SBC for the first time at the 2021 SBC annual meeting in Nashville. Critics pointed to the denominations statement of beliefs, called the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, which says the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
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Southern Baptists hold to a complementarianism, a theological idea that teaches men and women have certain assigned roles.
At the 2021 SBC annual meeting in Nashville, Southern Baptist voting delegates, called messengers, made a motion for the convention's Credentials Committee to consider disfellowshipping Saddleback. The credentials committee evaluates whether a church is in friendly cooperation with the convention and determines whether to recommend disfellowship. The executive committee then votes on that recommendation.
At the 2022 SBC annual meeting in Anaheim, California, a discussion on Saddleback ended with indecision about the churchs permanent status in the SBC. The possibility Saddleback would lose its affiliation remained.
Warren delivered an emotional speech on the floor of the 2022 annual meeting, reading what he called a love letter and seemingly resigned to an inevitable split between Saddleback and the SBC. It also led to a larger debate about Southern Baptist doctrine on women pastors and the criteria for SBC affiliation.
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Pastor Rick Warren speaks during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, June 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Other churches disfellowshipped
In addition to Saddleback, the executive committee approved recommendations to disfellowship five other churches.
The decision to disfellowship Freedom Church in Vero Beach, Florida, was over a sex abuse-related issue. Freedom Church exhibited "a lack of intent to cooperate in resolving concerns regarding a sexual abuse allegation," executive committee chairman Jared Wellman said at Tuesday's meeting.
Freedom's pastor, Richard Demsick, said he learned of the news of Freedom's disfellowship in an interview with The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. "There are no sexual abuse allegations," he said. "There have been false reports based on gossip."
Demsick declined to elaborate on the false reports he was referring to.
The executive committee approved a recommendation to disfellowship four churches in which a woman serves as a lead or senior pastor: New Faith Mission Ministry in Griffin, Georgia; St. Timothys Christian Baptist in Baltimore, Maryland; Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi; and Fern Creek Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky.
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"We are saddened to hear of this discriminating and judgmental decision that has been made by the Executive Committee of the SBC," said Fern Creek Pastor Linda Barnes Popham said in a statement.
"The process has been unbiblical from the beginning stages with the Credentials Committee," added Popham, who said Fern Creek is a "true Southern Baptist church."
Saddleback, New Faith Mission Ministry, St. Timothy's Baptist, Calvary Baptist, and Fern Creek, could not be immediately reached for comment.
In September, the executive committee approved recommendations to disfellowship two churches, one for its stance on sexuality and the other for alleged discriminatory behavior.
Contributing: Ross Reily in Jackson, Mississippi
Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Follow him on Twitter @liamsadams.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Saddleback Church removed from SBC over woman pastor
Shoppers will find it difficult to buy their fruit and veg over the next few weeks as supermarkets face a shortage. (Getty)
Whats happening? Shoppers are facing limits on the amount of fresh produce they can purchase as shortages leave supermarket shelves bare.
Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and now Lidl have introduced rations on certain items, including tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, as a way of maintaining their stock.
The major supermarkets have blamed "difficult weather conditions" in Spain and Morocco for the supply issues following heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and snow storms in the region.
National Farmers' Union (NFU) head Minette Batters has claimed the reason for the shortages is more complex, and includes rising energy costs.
Disappointed customers have accused retailers of an "unacceptable" lack of planning after finding shelves missing products.
Where are the biggest supermarket shortages?
Pictures from supermarkets across the country, from Devon up to Edinburgh, showed empty shelves on fruit and vegetable aisles.
All retailers are experiencing difficulties sourcing products grown in southern Spain and north Africa, but Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Morrisons and Lidl have introduced rations.
Read more: Asda and Morrisons ration some fresh produce including tomatoes and peppers (Yahoo UK, 3min read)
A customer shops for vegetables in the fruit and vegetable section of a Sainsbury's supermarket. (Getty)
Which foods are supermarkets having shortages of?
Shoppers are finding it difficult to pick up a variety of fruit and vegetables.
The problem started with tomatoes but has since widened to peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
Read more: Farmers blame UK tomato shortage on bad weather and energy bills (iNews)
Are supermarkets rationing foods?
Tesco has introduced a temporary buying limit of three items per customer on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.
While Morrisons has set a limit of two items per customer across tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers.
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Aldi has placed limits on peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.
But Asda has the most restrictions, with a customer limit of three on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
Lidl shoppers will only be able to buy three tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers each.
A Lidl spokesperson said: "As advised to our customers through signage in our stores last week, adverse weather conditions in Spain and Morocco have recently impacted the availability of certain salad items across the supermarket sector.
"Whilst we still have good availability across the majority of our stores, due to a recent increase in demand we have taken the decision to temporarily limit the purchase of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to three items per person.
"This will help to ensure that all of our customers have access to the products they need."
Other supermarkets are understood to be considering similar temporary measures.
Read more: Supermarket places limit on number of tomatoes customers can buy amid shortage (The National 2 min read)
Is Brexit the reason for food shortages? Is it the energy crisis? The weather?
The UK has relied more on products grown in Morocco following Brexit, so the country is vulnerable to any issues in this region.
Production problems in Morocco began in January with unusually cold night-time temperatures that affected tomato ripening.
These were compounded by ferry cancellations due to bad weather, hitting lorry deliveries.
Rising energy costs have also been cited as a reason for the food shortage. According to reports, tomato growers in the UK are struggling to heat their greenhouses due to lack of money.
Former Sainsbury's CEO Justin King told LBC that UK greenhouses producing peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes had been "hurt horribly by Brexit".
NFU chief Batters warned farmers faced rising energy costs and could be forced to scale back production.
Shortages could last for the rest of the year. (Getty Images)
When will supermarket food shortages end?
The shortages should ease over the coming weeks as UK producers begin to move into their growing season.
This is expected to ease the longer-term situation as retailers also look to alternatives to produce from Spain and northern Africa.
But British Growers Association chief Jack Ward thinks the UK could face shortages all year due to farmers declining to plant vegetables because they do not see a return.
Phil Pearson, group development director at APS Produce, has warned the tomato shortage could last until May.
Farmers booed environment secretary Therese Coffey after she said we cant control the weather in Spain in response to the crisis.
More reporting on food shortages
Supermarket shortages: Fruit and veg industry 'hurt horribly by Brexit', supermarket boss warns (Yahoo UK)
Supermarket rationing could last for weeks, retail experts warn (Independent)
Supermarket rationing latest: UK stores launch limits on food after shelves lay empty (Independent)
Food shortages in the UK whats missing from shelves and why? (Evening Standard)
Supermarkets begin rationing fruit and vegetables - live updates (Telegraph)
(Madison CountySheriffs Office)
Three suspects were arrested in North Carolina for allegedly tying their kidnap victim to a chair with barbed wire and carving multiple crosses on their face and body.
Madison County authorities say that the victim raised the alarm after escaping to a house in the East Fork area.
The victim had numerous cuts to their face, arms and body, said the Madison County Sheriffs Office, and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Sheriff Buddy Harwood says that a search warrant was executed at a home and deputies found a basement where the victim had allegedly been imprisoned.
He said the victims hands and feet had been tied to a chair with barbed wire, their chest was tied to a beam of the house with barbed wire, and the victims mouth had been taped.
The sheriff also said that the victim had been punched and kicked in the head, struck multiple times in the head with firearms, hit with a crowbar, and sliced by multiple knives.
Patrick Banks was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious bodily injury with intent to kill, first-degree kidnapping, possession of a weapon of mass destruction, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
James Angel was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious bodily injury with intent to kill, first-degree kidnapping, and possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
Nicole Sawyer was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious bodily injury with intent to kill, first-degree kidnapping, and possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
Former president Donald Trump defended North Korean leader Kim Jon-un as the communist nation fired a long-range missile.
The authoritarian regimee confirmed it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile recently and that it suddenly organised the launch at the behest of the North Korean despot.
The nation said the launch was meant bolster its fatal nuclear attack capabilities, according to the state-run KCNA news agency. In response, the United States flew long-range supersonic bombers with South Korean war planes on Sunday.
But Mr Trump defended North Koreas actions on Truth Social.
Kim Jung Un of North Korea, who I got to know and got along with very well during my years as President, is not happy with the U.S. and South Korea doing big training and air exercises together, Mr Trump said. He feels threatened. Even I would constantly complain that South Korea pays us very little to do these extremely expensive and provocative drills. Its really ridiculous. We have 35,000 in jeopardy soldiers there, I had a deal for full payment to us, $Billions, and Biden gave it away. Such a shame!!!
In the early part of Mr Trumps presidency, he criticised North Korea, dubbing its leader Rocket Man. But Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un eventually met, first in Singapore in 2019 and then again later, when Mr Trump became the first president to set foot inside the country. But the summit did not lead to North Korea disarming itself. Mr Trump later said that the two exchanged letters and they fell in love.
The missile tests from North Korea have prompted concerns;South Korea, Japan and China have been urged to conduct radiation exposure tests on people who have escaped the regime who lived near the countrys nuclear research facility, though North Korea has rejected concerns about safety.
Alec Baldwins attorneys have called for the special prosecutor on the Rust shooting investigation to be disqualified from the case as she is too distracted as a state legislator.
Luke Nikas filed a scathing motion on Monday after New Mexico district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies dropped gun enhancement charges against Baldwin over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin had been facing a mandatory five year prison term if convicted of involuntary manslaughter with the enhancement charge. He now faces a maximum of 18 months, and could get probation.
In the motion, Mr Nikas wrote that Andrea Reeb, a special prosecutor appointed to the case by the district attorney, had admitted to being too busy in session all week, to look at your firearm enhancement issue in a 12 February email to him.
Mr Nikas also accused prosecutors of amplifying legal errors by repeatedly giving interviews on national television in which they erroneously claimed that the enhancement was not only applicable to Mr Baldwin, but mandatory.
Mr Nikas went on to say that when he previously argued that the enhancement charge was not applicable as the law was passed eight months after the Rust shooting, Ms Reeb threatened him with sanctions for failing to follow proper procedure.
Alec Baldwin now faces a maximum of 18 months if convicted of involuntary manslaughter (Associated Press)
A spokesperson for the district attorney did not immediately respond to a request from The Independent for comment.
After the enhancement charge was dropped this week, the spokesperson issued a combative statement saying it had been done to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr Baldwin and his attorneys.
The prosecutions priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys, the spokesperson said at the time.
Rust special prosecutor and New Mexico state representative Andrea Reeb is facing calls to be disqualified from the case (Santa Fe District Attorney)
Mr Nikas has previously called for Ms Reeb to be dismissed from the case on the grounds it is unconstitutional for her to work as a special prosecutor and state legislator.
Hutchins, 42, was shot dead on the New Mexico set of the low-budget western film in October 2021.
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In January, prosecutors in New Mexico filed two felony charges of involuntary manslaughter against Mr Baldwin, who allegedly pointed a gun at Ms Hutchins that went off and fatally shot her and wounded director Joel Souza.
Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. First assistant director David Halls has agreed to plead guilty to the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
Under New Mexico law, a gun enhancement charge could only apply to Ms Hutchins fatal shooting if the gun was brandished with intent to intimidate or injure a person.
US-NEWS-MURDAUGH-CAR-CS - Credit: Joshua Boucher/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer who is on trial for the deaths of his wife and younger son, was destroyed and heartbroken after discovering their bodies, surviving son Buster Murdaugh testified on Tuesday, according to the New York Times.
Buster Murdaugh said that his father sounded normal when he spoke with him on June 7, 2021, the night of the murders of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, per the report. Prosecutors allege the conversation took place 20 minutes after the killings. Murdaughs attorneys claim that Murdaugh had not yet found their bodies at the familys hunting estate.
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Buster Murdaugh, 26, said that his father called him that night to tell him that he was on the way to his grandmothers house to check on her, according to The Times, but prosecutors allege it was an attempt to create an alibi and that his mother and brother were already dead by the time his father called.
Last month, prosecutors presented video footage they say compromises the former attorneys alibi that the elder Murdaugh wasnt at the scene of the killings. The footage was retrieved from Pauls phone and allegedly appeared to record three different voices, including Alex Murdaughs, in the background. Prosecutors suggested that Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were murdered four minutes later, per the report.
When his father called him for a second time that night to tell him about the killings, Buster Murdaugh told jurors that he just sat there for a minute and was in shock, per the report. He also testified that his father rarely left his sight and expressed safety concerns after the murders; he also said that they offered $100,000 for information on the killings in a joint statement.
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Alex Murdaugh, 52 who has been embroiled in layer upon layer of scandal and criminal accusations has pleaded not guilty to the murders of his wife and son. He is being held in jail on a $7 million bond. He is the scion of a long legal dynasty from South Carolinas small Hampton County, in the states southern Lowlands. Murdaugh worked at his familys law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick (P.M.P.E.D.) until he was ousted in September 2021 amid accusations that hed misappropriated funds.
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General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong (R) and MIU General Secretary Miguel Mejia (Photo: VNA)
During a reception in Hanoi on February 21 for MIU General Secretary and Minister for Regional Integration Policies Miguel Mejia who is on Vietnam visit from February 18-26, Trong expressed his belief that the trip will be a success, contributing to further deepening cooperation between the two countries, particularly in economy, trade and investment.
He hailed close and effective coordination between the CPV and MIU and other important political parties of the Dominican Republic, making significant contributions to strengthening political foundation and orientations to multifaceted collaboration between the two nations for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.
The host suggested both sides continue working closely together to carry out cooperation plans between the two Parties effectively.
Mejia, for his part, spoke highly of Vietnams important role in Southeast Asia and the world.
The Government, House of Assembly and key political parties of the Dominican Republic attach great importance to and give high priority to strengthening relations with Vietnam, he said, stressing that the Dominican Republic's decision to open an embassy in Vietnam shows its desire to develop a more comprehensive and effective cooperative relationship between the Dominican Republic and Vietnam.
He wished that the two Parties would work closely together, contributing to solidarity, traditional friendship and all-around coordination between the two nations.
Earlier, the MIU delegation met with Politburo member and Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics Nguyen Xuan Thang to discuss political ideology and personnel training between the two Parties.
They also held talks with head of the Party Central Committees Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung, during which both sides agreed to enhance mutual liaison at multilateral forums of political parties and expand ties with political parties in Latin America and Asia.
The delegation also held working sessions with leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, Party Committees of Quang Ninh and Dien Bien provinces, and visited several socio-economic establishments./.
HEREFORD, Ariz. Rep. Kevin McCarthy brought the fight over border security to Arizona on Thursday as part of his first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since his election last month as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Arizona is featured prominently in the efforts by House Republican lawmakers to spotlight what they say are President Joe Bidens failings on border security and the handling of record number of migrant encounters in the southern U.S. border with Mexico.
McCarthy, R-Calif., joined by four freshman Republican lawmakers, met with law enforcement, elected leaders and residents from Cochise County before concluding his visit with a tour of the border fence south of Sierra Vista.
McCarthy said the decision to visit Cochise County was strategic because of the large number of people attempting to cross through southeastern Arizona while trying to avoid detection from border officials.
The sad part about whats happening is, the country of Mexico does not know whos leaving their country. America, we do not know who is entering the country, McCarthy said. But there is one entity who knows who is leaving Mexico and who is coming into America, the Sinaloa cartel, because nobody comes across this border without paying them.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks during a news conference in front of the U.S.-Mexico border south of Sierra Vista on Feb. 16, 2023, in Hereford.
Since taking control of the House in January, Republicans have used their position in the majority to criticize Bidens border policies, especially going after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who some have vowed to impeach.
Our border, we don't even have operational control of it anymore. This is why I will continue to investigate what has gone wrong here, McCarthy said. And we will hold people accountable. And that includes Secretary Mayorkas. You cannot lie to the American people any longer and tell us this border is secure.
McCarthys visit to Cochise County further reinforced the role that Arizona is expected to play in their efforts to discredit Bidens border policies, while playing up their newly secured oversight authority.
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Several House committees, now chaired by Republicans, have launched congressional hearings over the situation along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Two held hearings last week on Capitol Hill that featured testimony from John Modlin, the chief patrol agent for the Border Patrols Tucson Sector, which includes Cochise County, as well as Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels. Dannels on Thursday led the tour of the border.
Border shipping container wall:Gov. Katie Hobbs says dismantled shipping container wall could be used for affordable homes
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy answers questions from reporters after a news conference in front of the U.S.-Mexico border south of Sierra Vista on Feb. 16, 2023, in Hereford.
On Wednesday, the House Committee of Energy and Finance held a field hearing in Texas on the public health impacts of the situation at the border. Next Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold another field hearing in Yuma that will focus on border security issues.
White House spokesperson Ian Sams responded Wednesday in a written statement to the border field hearings and McCarthys visit to Cochise County. He defended Bidens record on border enforcement and called on Republicans to work with his administration.
House Republicans should spend less time on partisan publicity stunts and more time working on solutions, Sams said. Solutions are what President Biden is focused on, and his plan is working. House Republicans would be wise to join him to work together to strengthen our immigration system and fund border security.
From left, John Ladd and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy listen to U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani (at center) speak during a news conference in front of the U.S.-Mexico border south of Sierra Vista on Feb. 16, 2023, in Hereford.
Border security versus immigration reform
McCarthys visit included four freshman Republican lawmakers: Rep. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, whose district covers most of Cochise County, plus Reps. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, Jen Kiggans of Virginia and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin.
Ciscomani, who helped organize Thursdays visit, was sworn in last month after he flipped the district's House seat from Democratic to Republican. Since then, his profile has begun to rise within Republican circles. Earlier this month he delivered the Spanish-language response to Bidens State of the Union address.
U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani speaks during a news conference in front of the U.S.-Mexico border south of Sierra Vista on Feb. 16, 2023, in Hereford.
There are two people that can really have an immediate impact on the situation in this country, and that's President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas. And they both have failed and they have shown no interest in fixing this issue, he said.
Ciscomani invited Biden and Mayorkas to visit Cochise County, adding that it was important for them to see the issues that he was familiar with having grown up in the area. Thursdays visit did not include any Democratic lawmakers.
Fentanyl trafficking:White supremacist accused of drug trafficking found dead before trial
When asked about that, Ciscomani said the issue was not about politics, but about finding solutions.
We're not here talking about immigration reform. We're here talking about border security. These are two different issues and we need to deal with them separately, he said.
One of the Democrats noticeably absent from the event was Rep. Raul Grijalva, whose congressional district was modified in the latest round of redistricting to include the border communities in Cochise County. That includes the portions of unincorporated land south of Sierra Vista that McCarthy and the GOP congressional delegation visited.
U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva speaks at the Grand Canyon on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. Grijalva, D-Arizona, was at the Grand Canyon to announce his Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, which would permanently ban uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
Earlier in the day, Grijalva also was in Cochise County, where he met with the mayor of the border city of Douglas and toured the Raul H. Castro port of entry.
Last year, Congress allocated $200 million in funding for a long-sought expansion of the border crossing in Douglas as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The first steps toward modernizing the port would begin in the next few weeks.
Those actions were the types of results that border communities needed because they had a vital economic impact in the region and would also help with border security by stopping a greater number of drugs like fentanyl, which are largely smuggled through legal border crossings, Grijalva said.
Attorney:Nogales rancher charged with murder fired warning shots in self-defense
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy answers questions from reporters after a news conference in front of the U.S.-Mexico border south of Sierra Vista on Feb. 16, 2023, in Hereford.
He said he hoped McCarthy and other Republicans who visit the border take away how complex border communities are, warning of the impact that alarmist rhetoric has in the region he has represented in Congress for decades.
As long as its being slandered, as long as its demonized by people such as the speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, then thats the message that goes out to the rest of America, Grijalva said. Viewing this part of the world and this part of our nation as a deficit, and somehow outlaw land, different from the rest of the country. Its not different.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona takes center stage in border security fight between Biden, GOP
CHICAGO, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading investment banking and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce a new partnership between Utitec, Inc. (Utitec), a manufacturer specializing in miniature, deep drawn medical device and commercial components, and Cadence, Inc. (Cadence), a leading contract manufacturer of medical and drug delivery devices and specialty commercial products. BGL's Healthcare investment banking team initiated the transaction and acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Utitec. The specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading investment banking and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce a new partnership between Utitec, Inc. (Utitec), a manufacturer specializing in miniature, deep drawn medical device and commercial components, and Cadence, Inc. (Cadence), a leading contract manufacturer of medical and drug delivery devices and specialty commercial products.
Headquartered in Watertown, Connecticut, with an additional machining facility in Costa Rica, Utitec is a leader in precision deep drawn and stamped components with access to a variety of specialized services and resources to meet virtually any small parts design challenge without outside vendors.
Cadence is a full-service contract manufacturing partner providing initial product design and development through complete manufacturing. Vertical integration enables Cadence to supply end-to-end product realization solutions focused on best-in-class total value for finished devices. Cadence employs over 700 people worldwide, with its corporate headquarters in Staunton, Virginia, and additional locations in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Costa Rica.
The new partnership with Utitec furthers Cadence's commitment to vertical integration and its position as a full-service contract manufacturing partner.
BGL's Healthcare & Life Sciences team is one of the most experienced and respected financial advisory teams in the U.S., with a long track record of expertise in successfully advising clients across the life sciences and medical device sector.
About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm focused on the global middle market. The firm advises private and public corporations and private equity groups on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructurings, business valuations and opinions, and other strategic matters. BGL has investment banking offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and New York, and real estate offices in Chicago, Cleveland, and San Antonio. The firm is also a founding member of Global M&A Partners, enabling BGL to service clients in more than 30 countries around the world. Securities transactions are conducted through Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC and a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com.
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(PRNewsfoto/Brown Gibbons Lang & Company)
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SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company
Biden administration diplomats are trying to block a U.K. plan that would see Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) designated as a terror group, despite the fact that the U.S. took similar steps during the Trump administration.
The U.S. State Department, which is currently trying to revive the defunct Iran Nuclear deal, believes that the U.K. can play a key role as interlocutors and fears that role would be undermined by designating the IRGC a terror group, according to a new report from The Telegraph.
The move would harden the U.K.s position against Iran and deal a blow to international talks, supported by the Biden administration, that are aimed at reviving the 2015 deal, which the U.S. withdrew from under President Trump.
Designating the IRGC a terrorist group would make it a criminal offense to belong to the organization, attend meetings, or otherwise encourage support of its activities. Even displaying the organizations logo or flag in public would be criminalized. It is a formal legal process carried out under a U.K. law known as the Terrorism Act 2000.
Prominent proscribed terrorist groups in the U.K. include Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Irish Republican Army.
The government not only assesses a groups terrorist activities abroad, but also the specific threat to U.K. citizens.
In a rare public address in November of last year, MI5 director Ken McCallum asserted that instability in Iran has real-world consequences in the U.K.
Iran projects threat to the U.K. directly, through its aggressive intelligence services. At its sharpest this includes ambitions to kidnap or even kill British or U.K.-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime, explained McCallum. We have seen at least ten such potential threats since January [of 2022] alone.
U.S. intervention is now being used from sectors of the U.K. government to undermine the plan to proscribe the IRGC, originally proposed by the Home Office. U.K. foreign secretary James Cleverly has questioned the move and the Foreign Office has pointed to the IRGCs centrality within Iran.
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A decision was expected in January, but the news that the Foreign and Home Offices are at loggerheads clarifies the reason for the delay. The final call now rests upon prime minister Rishi Sunaks shoulders.
Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, condemned the implications of the news.
This is absolutely disgraceful. The Biden Administration is groveling to the terrorist regime in Tehran, Gardiner said.
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigiegs spat with Florida's Republican Senate delegation over the Ohio train derailment escalated Tuesday, with Buttigieg calling out Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio by name on Twitter.
Rubio has called for Buttigieg to resign or be fired several times in the past week, saying Buttigieg demonstrates a gross level of incompetence and apathy and that he has been completely absent during major transportation disruptions, including this month's derailment of a toxic train payload in East Palestine, Ohio. And Scott has dinged Buttigieg over Twitter for not going to the derailment site.
Buttigieg fired back at Rubio, saying the Florida Republican had previously carried water for the freight railroads by backing their push to increase automated track inspections and reduce human inspections.
Rubio accused Buttigieg of lying when he said Rubio's letter was a call for deregulation. "He is an incompetent who is focused solely on his fantasies about his political future & needs to be fired," Rubio tweeted.
The facts don't lie, Buttigieg tweeted. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists.
Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not? he continued.
The public sparring a rare knives-out departure from Buttigieg's usually collegial, Eagle Scout demeanor highlights Buttigiegs dual roles as Bidens Transportation secretary and as a Democratic star with perceived presidential ambitions. Buttigieg presents a tempting target, considering shots at him potentially land a blow on Biden while also possibly tarring any future Buttigieg run for the White House.
Scott, meanwhile, challenged Buttigieg Tuesday over Twitter to go to the derailment site. Hey, @SecretaryPete: the right time for folks in East Palestine is now, Scott tweeted in response to a CNN story that quoted Buttigieg as saying he would go when the time is right.
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When leaders show up, things get doneenough with the excuses, Scott tweeted. Show up, do your job and stop playing politics with every crisis you find.
Scott was continuing a Republican attack on Buttigieg for not going to the site soon enough after the accident.
Buttigieg responded Tuesday that he was trying to stay out of the way of investigators.
During the initial response phase, I've followed the norm of staying out of the way of the independent NTSB, Buttigieg tweeted Tuesday in response to Scotts tweet. Now that we're into the policy phase, I'll be visiting - and I need your help. Will you work with us to toughen accountability standards on freight railroads?
Then he linked to DOTs recent call for policy changes by railroads as well as legislative action by Congress, telling Scott, If you're serious, I'll work with you on this.
Expand the Smart City solutions in Vietnam
TAIPEI, Taiwan, February 22, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and VSCC officially sign off MOU today and announce CHT become a new co-founding member. The partnership with Chunghwa Telecom marked a new step in the creation of smart cities in Vietnam.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005951/en/
CHT Join VSCC signed MOU, (L to R), H. L. Liu, CHT-I Assistant VP, Ho Huynh Hung, CEO, DQ Group, Alfonso Vegara, Founder and Honorary President, Fundacion Metropoli. (Photo: Business Wire)
Currently, the concept of Vietnam's smart cities has not been standardized, as the result, the CHTCityOS - Smart Governance Platform developed by Chunghwa Telecom can perfectly solve the issues. It provides standardized APIs that can connect with any system and integrates all information into one platform. The CHTCityOS also allows users to monitor every corner of the city at any time. Along with event trigger features and AI analysis functions, can not only send various alarm events in real-time but also automatically active devices or programs to improve urban security and smart energy-saving effects. It can give city managers the most accurate policy assistance, which is currently one of the most needed smart solutions for the development of smart cities in Vietnam.
Vietnam Smart City Consortium was founded initially based on 2 founders Fundacion Metropoli and Dien Quang. Fundacion Metropoli is a European base company with experience in creating regional ecosystems for cities, urban landscapes, and architecture; Dien Quang is a company that researches and develops smart technology products, and solutions being applied widely in many fields. Together with Chunghwa Telecom, the leader of Taiwan's Tier 1 telecommunications services, VSCC can leverage Chunghwas best application experience on infrastructure, Internet, and 5G smart services which can assist Vietnam in upgrading modern telecommunications technology. In addition to providing the latest 5G smart solution, Chunghwa Telecom can also provide an overall solution for optimizing connection speed, efficient management, and big data management. It is expected that the three founding members will bring considerable contributions to Vietnamese cities.
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Chunghwa Telecom said: It is expected that by joining the VSCC, the scale of cooperation with partners from various countries will be effectively expanded. The valuable experience in the development of smart cities in Taiwan has been extended to Vietnam. With the help of VSCCs experience in Vietnams architectural design and smart solutions, plus Chunghwa Telecom to develop more opportunities in Vietnam and continue to build up Vietnams smart city development.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005951/en/
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Angela Tsai
chofen@cht.com.tw
Learning loss has been a fiery topic since the pandemic shuttered schools across the country in 2020, pushing students and teachers online in the fog of crisis. Youve probably heard it captured in surveys, percentages, plummeting points of standardized testing and more as education systems began reopening.
One researcher set out to give it in dollars and cents.
Learning loss could cut $70,000 in lifetime earnings of students who were in school during the pandemic, according to a study from Stanford University researcher Eric Hanushek. The economist specializing in education says these losses could total $28 trillion over the rest of the century.
Delaware reported greater learning loss in math than the average across the country. Economic impacts on affected youth, therefore, grew with it.
Hanushek's U.S. forecast is rooted in an analysis of sharp declines in the math scores of eighth graders on national tests taken between 2019 and 2022. If these losses arent recovered, his research concludes, these students will head into careers as lower-skilled and less productive adults earning 5.6% less over the course of their lives than students in school just before COVID-19's emergence.
(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The drop alone reflects somewhere between 0.6 to 0.8 years of missed school, according to Hanushek.
Math scores that base this research fell an average of eight points from 2019. Thats the largest drop ever recorded in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or the Nations Report Card, since the exam's creation over three decades ago.
Scores dropped across the board, but not every state fared the same. Delaware didn't beat states like California for the highest monetary loss in the labor market, but the small state's economy could feel it a lot more.
The other math within Delaware's learning loss
A 2022 study from Stanford University researcher Eric A. Hanushek forecasts losses in gross domestic product GDP being the value of the final goods and services produced in an economy after pandemic learning loss. At 2.9% over the rest of the century, Delaware's loss projection was second only to Oklahoma.
Score downslides seemed to undo 30 years of progress in math instruction, outpacing any decline since initial NAEP assessments in 1990 for Delawares fourth and eighth grade students.
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And the First State came firmly planted at the bottom of Hanusheks analysis. Its projected percent-loss in gross domestic product GDP being the value of the final goods and services produced in an economy was second only to Oklahoma.
COVID-19 learning loss will result in a 2.9% loss of GDP over the 21st century, the researcher explained. It's a loss of $65.7 billion in present-day value for Delaware.
Delaware students in this cohort can expect 8.7% lower lifetime earnings, on average, if losses are not countered. Hanushek says buffering these losses means leaders must seek improvements to education quality that exceed pre-pandemic levels.
History indicates that the economic losses will be permanent unless the schools get better, Hanushek said.
NEXT MONTH:Second Delaware Black Student Summit will talk Black history in K-12, student activism, HBCUs and more. How to go
The average score of eighth-grade students in Delaware was 264 in 2022, according to NAEP math scores. This was lower than a 273 average for public school students in the nation. Score downslides seemed to undo 30 years of progress in math instruction, outpacing any decline since initial NAEP assessments in 1990.
If education returns to its pre-pandemic quality, there is a cohort of students that will move through the future labor force with lower skills and achievement than those both before and after them.
The average score of eighth grade students in Delaware was 264 in 2022, according to NAEP math scores. This was lower than a 273 average for public school students in the nation.
Losses were felt more strongly by students of color and lower-income learners. Black students scored 34 points lower than their white counterparts; Hispanic students, 23 points lower. Students eligible for the National School Lunch Program had an average score that was 25 points lower than students ineligible.
In 2022, only about half of Delaware students performed at or above NAEPs basic level.
How do we get more teachers?How a national teacher shortage is affecting Delaware and what's being done to fix it
Into Delaware's education landscape
COVID-19 brought heightened staffing issues, concerning attendance records and mental health strains throughout school systems, alongside this well-documented learning loss across math and reading.
Delaware lawmakers have named education a top legislative priority this year, Delaware Online/The News Journal reported during ongoing state budget proceedings. Gov. John Carney announced in a recent hearing that he plans to increase education funding and teacher salaries.
The Department of Education presented a budget recommendation of about $1.9 billion, an increase of about 7%.
The State of Education:From test scores to mental health challenges, Delaware students are struggling. Here's why
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Learning loss could cost students $70K in lifetime earnings
Ash Ponders
From the moment Tyrone Timms pulled up outside his fathers Arizona home on Veterans Day 2019, he knew something was wrong. John Gause, a Vietnam War veteran, hadnt picked up the phone. The blinds were drawn. Mailers littered the porch. When Timms cracked the door, the scent was overpowering. A body was lying in the hallwayhis fathers, now unrecognizable due to decomposition.
Gauses remains were turned over to the Maricopa Medical Examiner for autopsy. The results indicated he died of natural causes, roughly four days before Timms found him. Their investigation complete, the medical examiner released Gauses body to a local funeral home. In a tiny planning room at Thompson Funeral Chapel, Timms and his family asked for the seemingly impossible: Could they have an open-casket service?
Thats how Timms met Monica Torres, a Phoenix-based embalmer, funeral director, and reconstruction specialist. Torres, a 5-foot-2 Latina in her 40s, stands out in her colorful dresses and partially shaved head in a field still dominated by older white male funeral home owners in three-piece suits. When funeral homes have a tough case, its Torres who picks up the call.
Torres is a visionary in the end-of-life industry and a specialist in traumatic deaths: miscarriages and murders, car crashes and suicides. Over the last decade, Torres has launched what she calls her dark arts into an internationally recognized brand with more than 27,000 Instagram followers who know her as Cold Hands. By day, Torres leads continuing education classes for embalmers around the world. By night, she drives from one funeral home to another with her wheeled embalming kit, restoring bodies in the perfect quiet.
While Torres sees embalming as a spiritual calling, the practice is not without its critics. The work is built around formaldehyde, a carcinogen. Its use can have negative consequences for the health of the embalmer, and of the environment in which an embalmed body is buried. Green funeral advocates push for more presumably eco-friendly options, such as direct cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, and human composting, widely believed to be the future of the American funeral industry.
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But for those who still want to be embalmeda demographic that in the United States includes many Catholics, Black Americans who uphold the homegoing tradition, and those whose loved ones are damaged beyond recognitionTorres is their greatest ally. Families do want this and they do find value in it, she says of embalming. Whether its Torres or one of her former students in the prep room, she wants to ensure all of her clients get the quality service they deserve.
Ash Ponders
So when Torres sat down with Timms that mild November day, she gave him the standard disclaimer: There are no promises in her line of work. Every body responds differently to the embalming process, and even the most skilled technicians can accomplish only so much under a time crunch. I didnt pull any punches, says Torres. This is invasive surgery. But she told him she would try her best. She had just 72 hours to make it work.
Embalming dates back at least 4,500 years to ancient Egypt. Ritual mummification was meant to help the deceased navigate the journey to the afterlife; it also ended up preserving their remains for thousands of years. But modern techniques, which aim not only to preserve the dead but to make them appear as they did in life, emerged only 160 years ago. In the U.S. Civil War, roughly 620,000 menor 2 percent of the total U.S. populationwere killed, often hundreds of miles from their families. Loved ones paid surgeons to identify the remains of their fallen soldiers, embalm them, and ship them home for a proper burial.
At first, embalming was a practicality. But in the wake of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, embalming became seen more and more as a cultural inevitability. In the two weeks after his death, Lincolns embalmed remains traveled by rail from Washington, D.C., to his home of Springfield, Illinois, for burial. The train stopped in 10 cities along the way, allowing an estimated 1 million Americans to see their slain presidents hardened, bronzed, but nonetheless recognizable visage. Eventually, many of these citizens would choose embalming for themselves.
The quality of embalming has advanced dramatically since Lincolns day, but the goals remain much the same: help this person look good for the very last time. For Torres, the process starts when she walks into the prep room and dons a full-face respirator, surgical gown, and nitrile gloves. Epidemiologists say dead bodies are generally safer than living ones, but interacting closely with human remains can still lead to the spread of pathogens like hepatitis, tuberculosis, and COVID-19. In addition, the embalming process itself carries risks due to the toxic chemicals that could be inhaled.
Next, Torres removes the naked body from its vinyl bag and lays it out on a steel embalming table. The head is elevated to prevent blood from pooling behind the ears, which could leave the skin dark and discolored. Moving 360 degrees around the remains, Torres notes the consequences of death that will affect her approach. If there has been an autopsy, the organs are embalmed separately and placed back into the abdomen. She looks for other open wounds (which leak if not properly sealed) and medical devices like fentanyl patches (which could be dangerous if touched bare-handed).
After Torres assesses the state of the remains, and begins plotting their restoration, she vigorously scrubs the entire body with water, antibacterial soap, and disinfectant. The extra effort goes a long way; Torres says that many of the odors of decomposition actually waft off of the bodys surface. Usually, theyre coming from the same places that stink in lifelike the genitals, armpits, mouth. She then gives the teeth one last brush.
With the cleaning complete, Torres uses reference photos to set the facial features in a peaceful expression. She places tiny plastic domes under the eyelids to keep the eyes closed and seals the mouth using either a surgical needle and mortuary suture or injectable feature builder and a chemical stabilizing agent.
Ash Ponders
Now, the real work of embalming can begin. Torres first makes a small surgical incision just above the collarbone, locates the carotid artery, and raises the vessel to make an incision that will allow her to access the entire circulatory system. She inserts a medical instrument called an arterial cannula and clamps the vessel to secure it in place. The cannula is connected by hose to a small embalming machine, which looks almost like a drip coffee maker, but holds a customized preservation solution (often formaldehyde) as well as other tinctures, including humectants for rehydration and loosening coagulated blood. As the machine pumps the solution into the arteries, the formaldehyde interacts with the proteins inside, causing the corpse to stiffen. (You know youre done, one embalmer told me, when the bodys consistency goes from a soft-boiled egg to a hard-boiled one.) Torres then ties the artery off, and sutures the incision closed.
With arterial embalming finished, its time for Torres to embalm the body cavity. As the dead decompose, naturally occurring microbes in the stomach begin feasting on their remains, producing gases and liquid as they go. To stop the body from swelling, Torres makes a small incision near the belly button and inserts a 2-foot-long hollow device called a trocar. Once its in place, she aspirates any organs inside, drawing white fluid from the lungs, red fluid from the heart, yellow fluid from the bladder, brown fluid from the intestines, and so on. Torres then uses the trocar to flood the abdomen with embalming fluids, before sealing the body once again. With nothing left to decompose, the risk of further bloating is gone.
In cases of trauma, restoration comes next. Depending on the individuals needs, Torres may cut away excess tissue in the mouth to reduce signs of swelling, craft new noses or matching ears with embalmers wax, or graft hair from the back of the head to restore the hairlinea procedure she pioneered. Torres often injects dermal fillers, conceptually similar to ones you might find in a plastic surgeons office, to plump the deceaseds lips and cheeks or give the skin a youthful appearance. There is a great deal of troubleshooting, Torres says. At every step, she makes adjustments, until everything looks just right.
In the home stretch, Torres focuses on final touches: the little things that make someone not just recognizable, but beautiful. Embalming fluids are often dyed to help match the deceaseds natural skin tone. Specialized mortuary makeup can also help. The creams are thicker than what you tend to find in a Sephora, and specifically designed for cold skin. However, personal makeup is often used to customize the final appearance. Torres will also style the deceaseds hair and nails, dress them in their finest clothes, and casket them. [Torres] will actually take the time to give somebody a full manicure, says Elizabeth Fournier, an Oregon-based funeral director. She doesnt cut corners.
The entire embalming process can take as little as an hour. But if someones remains have already begun to decompose, like Gauses, or have been subjected to treatments like chemotherapy, a standard formaldehyde solution wont cut it; the body has changed in ways that make it harder for the bonds between proteins to form. So Torres turns to more powerful embalming fluids, some of which could clear out the room with a single drop. Each fluid has to be given the time to do its work, so the process can stretch on for days, or even weeks, as Torres continually tweaks the balance of chemicals until shes struck the perfect balance between wet and dry, soft and hard.
If nothing else, this might be a good time to rest. But when it comes to complicated cases, no one can say for sure how the body will look in the morning. Youre dreaming, what can I do, what will work? Torres says. That worry never leaves.
In the sun-bleached courtyard of Phoenixs Heard Museum, a space dedicated to American Indian art, Torres sits drinking a pink prickly pear lemonade. As a child, Torres loved Frida Kahloa strong woman, unflinching in her intimate portrayals of the human body. For her own part, Torres liked to draw skulls. Each fall, her parents would bring her to the Heard Museum for its annual Dia de los Muertosinspired celebration, where masked figures called calacas play music and dance, children make paper marigolds, and everyone eats a special sweet called Pan de Muertos, or Bread of the Dead.
Death surrounded Torres from an early age. Looking back, she believes it was likely the untimely passing of her father, Raoul Bully Torres, that put Torres and her brother Israel, a labor lawyer, on their respective career paths. In 1978, in Torress hometown of Silver City, New Mexico, Bully was crushed by a truck in an accident at a mining site, along with several of his fellow laborers. He died and his remains were horribly disfigured. Torres was just 9 months old.
Despite the extent of the damage to her fathers remains, a local funeral director agreed to embalm Bully for an open-casket funeral. It wasnt a perfect job, but the small community was moved by the effort.
Really the only connection I had to my dad was other people talking about his funeral, Torres says. At school or the grocery store, people would stop her and say, Oh, youre Bullys daughter. I was at his funeral.
Even so, Torres never set out to be a funeral director. As a teenager, she was drawn to cosmetology of the living. By the time she finished high school, she had her nail technicians license, and started her own spa shortly after graduation.
When Torres was 21, her grandmother died. The funeral director offered Torres and a few of her family members the chance to style their loved ones hair and do her makeup. When it came down to it, it was harder, I think, than everyone anticipated, Torres says. While her cousins, aunts, and mom ended up standing back, Torres says interacting with the body felt natural. Her grandfather, who was also in the room, directed Torres as she went, making sure she added her grandmothers signature mole on her cheek. That was the first time that I realized this is someones job, Torres says. Somebody is trained to offer this kind of care.
Life continued pushing Torres closer toward working hand in hand with death, she says. After her grandmother died, Torres discovered photos tucked away in her mothers garage, showing her dad in his casket. At that moment, I got closure I didnt even know I needed, she says. All the stories Id heard, they started to make sense. But other things called her attention, including her new role as a military wife, which kept her moving from base to base for the better part of a decade.
It wasnt until Torres was in her late 30s that she finally took the plunge and enrolled in a Phoenix-area mortuary school for a two-year degree program. Initially, Torres marketed herself as a specialist in desairology, the technical term for cosmetology for the dead. Her work in the salon had given her a good foundation in color theory, which is critical to creating a lifelike palette for people of all skin tones. As her career progressed, Torres began to take on more complicated embalming cases.
Throughout her training, Torres noticed that other funeral directors were often too anxious to innovatethe stakes are high, after all, and people tend to stick with what they know works, especially when time is limited. But Torres was an eager experimenter, always finding new and hopefully improved ways to get the job done. She has since gone on to invent her own hair-grafting technique, a new tummy tuck strategy, a means for sealing bodies without embalming, a wax-free restoration method, and more. [Each one is] inspired by a family that I served that has suffered a loss, Torres says, and Im faced with a new challenge. So she finds her own solutionand makes it a point to teach others.
In 2014, Torres started her own trade embalming company, NXT Generation Mortuary Support. The premise was simple: When other funeral directors didnt have the time or expertise to embalm a traumatic death, Torres would do her best to save the day.
Two years later, the Catholic Churchs Phoenix diocese offered Torres a position managing a funeral homeHoly Cross Catholic Cemetery and Funeral Home in Avondale, Arizona. Although she had to put NXT on hold, the opportunity allowed her to try her hand at every aspect of deathcare, from working with families in the throes of mourning to supervising the exhumation of long-buried bodies. More than anything, the experience taught her she never wanted to own her own funeral home. Torres says she couldnt stomach the enormous liability, and saw others struggle with the balance between work and personal life.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College is the only mortuary school for 300 miles in any direction. On a blisteringly hot day in early August, the campus, which sits about 30 minutes southwest of downtown Phoenix, is quiet, save for the singing cicadas. It was at this program that Torres learned her trade. The next class wont arrive for another few weeks. When they do, theyll be diving into the deep end of a rapidly changing field.
Ash Ponders
Embalming, which once took center stage in the American funeral tradition, is now widely understood to be toxic, thanks to formaldehydes starring role. The risk is not to the family members viewing the body, but to funeral industry workers. Embalmers are more likely to develop leukemia, ALS, and other diseases at higher rates than their peers in other fields, according to a handful of peer-reviewed research studies spanning more than 20 years. The most plausible explanation is chronic workplace exposure to carcinogens.
Now, it seems that such contamination can leak over into cemeteries, too. In the U.S., something like 800,000 gallons of embalming fluids are buried each year. While there are few systematic studies of the risk, formaldehyde has the potential to contaminate the soil and groundwater in and around cemeteries, according to Fournier, author of The Green Burial Guidebook. The environmental threat appears to lessen over time; by about 10 years after burial, any formaldehyde at a burial site is so diluted as to be harmless. But newly embalmed bodies are buried every day.
Yet many people continue to turn to embalming as a matter of tradition. For example, many Black Americans elect for a homegoinga celebration marking their return to heaven. While homegoings predate modern embalming techniques, today they typically center on an open-casket presentation of an embalmed body. By dressing the dead in their finest clothing, styling their hair, painting their nails, and repairing any evidence of hardship or traumas met in death, funeral directors can offer the deceased dignity.
Families with loved ones who die traumatic deaths may gravitate toward embalming for similar reasons. Torres often works with people who said goodbye to a spouse or a child in the morning, and never saw them againexcept, perhaps, to identify their body in a morgue. For these clients, embalming may be the only thing that allows them to reconnect, for a final time, with their loved one.
For Torres, the emotional benefits of embalming outweigh any of the risks. So she masks up and gets to work. But while Torres is particularly passionate about embalming, she says she would never try to convince a family that it was right for them. There are instances where even Torres finds herself telling a family not to view a traumatic case, and instead rely on their happiest memories of that person alive. With every death, Torres seeks to center the body. Its her conviction that thisthe presence of the loved one in the death ritualis what helps families heal.
Emerging research lends credence to Torress claim. There are few studies evaluating the role of funeral rites in metabolizing grief, says Christy Denckla, PhD, a grief researcher and assistant professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. What we do know is that avoidanceespecially in cases of traumatic deathscan increase an individuals odds of mental illness. Embalming and open-casket viewing are one way for people to confront the loss, assimilate the loss, and reconcile a reality of a future without the loved one in it, Denckla says.
No way of mourning is necessarily better than any other, says Robert Neimeyer, PhD, a clinical psychologist and director of the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition in Oregon. Virtually anything that honors the dead will assist us in our grief, he says. Whats most important is that the living feel they have agency as they process their loss. The choice made by the family to do all that one can also helps confront the powerlessness of a traumatic death, Neimeyer says. Whether a family chooses embalming and burial or a direct cremation, being able to make that choice can be healing.
Americans have more choice than ever. Flame cremation was almost unheard of before 1960; now, almost 60 percent of families opt for it. Twenty-six states have legalized alkaline hydrolysis, which dissolves a body in a matter of hours using water, lye, and heat. And in an era defined by the climate crisis, green burial and human composting speak to eco-conscious customers.
These emerging methods are often defined in contrast to the traditional funeral and burialand against embalming in particular. But nontoxic embalming fluids could help bridge this divide. Chemicals like glutaraldehyde work almost exactly like traditional methods, but theyre not carcinogenic. Some are even approved by the Green Burial Council, which otherwise requires that anybody interred in a green cemetery skips embalming, casketing, and the like. Yet many funeral directors remain skeptical of these alternative chemicals, and are poorly educated in their use, Torres says. Similarly, customers who want eco-friendly options tend to forgo embalming altogether, while those who really want to be embalmed dont worry themselves over what materials are used.
Torres predicts more change is on the horizon. In the future, funeral directors will be able to 3-D print lifelike body parts, whether its a left ear or an entire face. Plastic surgery will continue to inspire new procedures for deathcare. After a pandemic bump, transhumanist technologies, ranging from simple digital memorials to holographic representations of loved ones, will grow in popularity. And while Torres loves embalming and believes nontoxic approaches will gain traction, she thinks green burial methods will ultimately reign supreme.
Since working 20-hour days at the height of the Covid pandemic, Torres has begun trimming her client list and refocusing on her growing role as a mentor to other female, nonbinary, and transgender embalmers, who will take care of families like Gauses when the wear and tear on her body means she can no longer do the work herself.
Hearst Owned
Torres worked to restore Gauses body almost up to the minute Timms and his family arrived for the viewing. The biggest challenge she faced was a phenomenon called skin slippage. When a body begins to decompose, the cells holding the layers of skin together start to separate, and the top can slide right off, pulling hair and other features along with it, and make bodies unrecognizable. For three days, Torres used different chemicals, preserving Gauses body with formaldehyde, combating odor with essence of clove, adding suppleness via hydrating agents to give his remains a lifelike color and texture. Finally, she tucked his hair beneath a veterans cap.
With Timmss permission, Torres documented every step of Gauses embalming, so she could turn his case into a continuing education classher own way of memorializing Gause. Thousands of embalmers have since learned how to apply the same methods to their own difficult reconstructions. Though its a technical course, Torress primary objective is psychological. To take on a case this challenging, she says, you have to be able to overcome fear of failure.
When Timms, a tall, lean man of 55, entered the chapel on the day of his fathers funeral, his own body was tense with trepidation. He had no idea what he would seeand he was still tormented by the sights and smells of the day he found Gause dead. But when Timmss half brother, Shawn, looked down at the casket and saw his stepfathers face, it was a relief, he says. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully, as he should be. Others in attendance were vocal in their surprisehadnt Gause been decomposing for days? How could he look so good? So young?
To this day, Timms says he struggles with post-traumatic stress as a result of his fathers death. But when intrusive memories of discovering Gauses body resurface, Timms says he now gets the choice to focus instead on the memories of his father as he appeared in his casket.
Tools of the Trade
In addition to forceps, needles, and scalpels, morticians use a variety of specialized tools to prepare the dead.
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Jake Stellarwell along with a group of 18 other artists soft-opened Central Records cafe and wine bar in downtown Phoenix at the beginning of February. "We are an agency, a radio station, DJ group," he said, adding that the new space is a destination for music, food, drinks, coffee and even a radio station.
Plants are interspersed between wooden bins of LPs in the center of the room and shelves of more LPs and books about music line two walls. The bar serves wine, beer and cocktails and a DJ spins music in a glass-encased room for Recordbar Radio, a streaming platform for local DJs. Sound-absorbing panels that look like canvases hang from the walls and music fills the room.
"Music, food and coffee and entertainment are age old pairings," said Stellarwell, who has been DJing for 26 years. "We are not re-inventing the wheel. We are just bringing really, really well-intentioned and well-curated aspects to a single space."
Jazz kissas kissa means cafe started in the 1920s in Japan. Similar establishments, Stellarwell said, also exist in other major cities like Chicago, New York and San Francisco.
"Phoenix is becoming a metropolitan city in contention with those major cities. For us, it's our way of showing the city that we too can have nice things."
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Recordbar Radio is an internet radio run out of Central Records Wine Cafe in downtown Phoenix.
What kind of music do they play at Central Records?
The owners try to carry music of different genres from ambient music to hip hop, soul and jazz and books, mainly about music, but also covering other topics that interest them, "like marijuana, sex, politics, graphic design and film."
The records, Stellarwell explained, are a hodgepodge of some of the owners' records they were willing to part with, imports from Europe and local collections.
And this is just the beginning. According to Stellarwell the group has plans to open even more elevated concepts.
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The Smoked Salmon Sando at Central Records Wine Cafe in downtown Phoenix on Feb. 15, 2023.
What's on the menu
Chef Dana Arbel, who previously worked at Cha Cha Tea Lounge, is responsible for the menu, which incorporates her Israeli and Argentinian backgrounds. It's divided into three sections: breakfast, lunch and lounge, based on the time of day.
Arbel said she designed the menu to fit the concept. For breakfast, available from 9 a.m. to noon, she offers a rotating assortment of pastries and a few toast options, such as butter and banana toast and egg and cheese toast.
Chef Dana Arbel poses with her Boquerones dish and a glass of Dreamboat field blend wine at Central Records Wine Cafe in downtown Phoenix on Feb. 15, 2023.
Lunch, served from noon to 4 p.m., includes two salads and a few sandwiches, like gabagool sandwich made with capocollo, manchego, roasted bell pepper, arugula and toum, a creamy garlic aioli on focaccia.
Lounge, served from 4 p.m. to close, is a selection of small plates, like mushroom pate or tagine spiced olives and Marcona almonds.
Vegan and vegetarian options are also available.
"We are trying to intentionally resonate with a wide group of people and keep our menu affordably priced," Stellarwell said.
The drinks menu features coffee, wine, beer and canned cocktails.
Owner Jake Stellarwell poses for a portrait at the DJ booth seen on Recordbar Radio, an internet radio livestream, run out of Central Records Wine Cafe in downtown Phoenix on Feb. 15, 2023.
Details: 824 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. 602-638-0433, @central.records on Instagram.
Prices: Breakfast items range between $10 and $15.50; Lunch from $10.50 to $15.50 and the evening menu items are $4.75 to $13.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; 9 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
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Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on Twitter.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix restaurant and bar is serving coffee, booze and vinyl downtown
Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez, one of five Michigan State University students hospitalized with critical injuries after a mass shooting on campus, is making "slow and steady progress" after sustaining two bullet wounds that "impacted five major organs," said her sister Selena Huapilla-Perez.
EAST LANSING - Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez, one of five Michigan State University students hospitalized with critical wounds after a mass shooting on campus, is making "slow and steady progress," said her sister Selena Huapilla-Perez in an online post.
"Lupita sustained two bullet wounds, one of which impacted five major organs," said Selena Huapilla-Perez on an online fundraising page for Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez on Monday, one week after a lone gunman killed three students at MSU on Feb. 13. "Unfortunately, her spleen was the organ that received the immediate impact and had to be removed."
Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez also suffered damage to her lungs, colon, stomach and diaphragm, her sister said.
"Because of the trauma her organs received during the shooting, followed by the trauma of a major surgery like the one she went through, doctors tell us her organs will take some time before they can perform their functions again," Selena Huapilla-Perez said.
A fundraiser for Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez has raised more than $240,000. The Michigan State University student was one of the five students critically injured in the shooting on MSU's campus Monday night, according to her sister. GoFundMe has verified the account.
Medical staff "are working with her to exercise her lungs and get them to breathe on their own," she said. "She has also started physical therapy."
Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez has been able to get out of bed and use a walker to get from the door of her room and back to her bed, her sister wrote.
The fundraiser for her, established through GoFundMe, has raised more than $458,000. Find it here.
Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez is a junior at MSU in the university's College Assistance Migrant Program studying hospitality business. Her family, migrants who live in Florida, traveled to Lansing to be with her after the shooting.
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"Though the physical side of her recovery is showing small improvement, her mental and emotional side will be its own challenge," Selena Huapilla-Perez said. "Remembering that night and talking about it bring her great sadness, anxiety, and fear. One of the first things she wanted to know when she could talk was, 'How are my classmates?'"
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Brian Fraser, of Grosse Pointe, Arielle Anderson, of Harper Woods, and Alexandria Verner, of Clawson, were killed in the shooting.
Monday, Sparrow Hospital Spokesperson Corey Alexander said two of the five students were still listed as critical. Two others were upgraded to serious but stable, while another was listed in fair condition. All five initially were in critical condition. Tuesday afternoon he said there aren't any further updates.
Police and hospital officials have said they will not identify the five students wounded in the shooting, but friends and family have released the names of two of the students: Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez and John Hao.
Argent Qian, a spokesperson for Hao and his family, wrote on Gofundme expressing appreciation for all who donated to Hao's fundraiser. He said Hao is no longer intubated and "does seem calmer now after I told him how much success we gained."
Qian said the donations have eased Hao's stress as he continues to be with family at Sparrow.
Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez's family shares an update
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters
In most blue states, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand would probably cruise to re-election.
Since arriving in the Senate in 2008, Gillibrand has secured a staunchly progressive record and a reputation for advocacy on urgent issues important to Democrats: gun control, paid family leave, and violence against women.
But Gillibrand doesnt represent just any blue state; she represents New York. And the Empire State is home to voters with sky-high expectations for their elected officials, not to mention tons of ambitious politicians with little compunction about challenging incumbents they perceive as vulnerable.
As Gillibrand kicks off her 2024 re-election bid, theres an emerging sense among New York insiders that she may be vulnerable enough to invite a primary challenge from a fellow Democrat.
In the wake of her failed 2020 presidential campaign, Gillibrand has kept a lower profile, according to close political observers in Washington and in New York. Rumors persisted that she might leave office. Privately, Gillibrand had left colleagues with the impression she was thinking about not running again, though she has publicly said over the last year that she would run.
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The senator has traded the high-profile pushes and media blitzes of her pre-2020 days with quiet wins on important issues, like sexual assault prevention in the military, guns, and expanding veteran health care.
Allies like Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) have called Gillibrand one of the most effective legislators in the Senate. In the ultimate congressional metric of nitty-gritty results, her office says she ranks in the top three percent of all members of Congress in terms of federal money steered back home, otherwise known as earmarks.
But some Democrats believe she has shrunk from the coveted platform afforded to the U.S. Senator from New York, a position that has traditionally been held by some of the partys greatest liberal lions.
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The fact is, she is a diminished presence, said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic strategist in New York City, echoing the private sentiment of some party strategists. One does not have to be a great soothsayer to look at the amount of press shes not gotten shes not here, not around, absent.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, Gillibrand spokesman Evan Lukaske said the senator is confident New Yorkers will re-elect her and shes excited to continue getting results for New York families.
From making gun trafficking a federal crime to securing health benefits for 9/11 survivors and our veterans to bringing home millions of dollars to boost the economy, Senator Gillibrand has delivered for the people of New York, he said.
While its still early, some New York political consultants are increasingly convinced a primary challenge is inevitable, especially for an up-and-coming figure from the New York City area who can afford to take a gamble.
I think it's pretty likely that she will have to spend some money on a primary race, in which, for lack of a better term, she does not have a very obvious constituency who is for her, another Democratic strategist said, requesting anonymity to avoid involving any clients.
If a primary does happen, itd likely be a bruising and pricey onean affair that could frustrate Democrats as they attempt to hold the U.S. Senate majority against a brutal 2024 map. It would also exacerbate existing divisions among a New York Democratic apparatus that has been riven by infighting after a disastrous 2022 election.
Any serious challenger to the veteran senator would need to have guts and a checkbook, Sheinkopf said.
At the top of the list is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who clearly possesses both. She has not commented on her 2024 plans, but some New York politicos think she would be a serious threat to Gillibrand. One even told The Daily Beast theyd bet on Ocasio-Cortez to win.
Meanwhile, former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), a rising star in the party who lost his Hudson Valley congressional seat in the 2022 redistricting shuffle, has not ruled out a run against Gillibrand, according to a source familiar with his plans.
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There are plenty of reasons why any challenger might opt out of challenging Gillibrand, however. For one, going against her would mean getting crosswise with the states political establishment. Gillibrand has the full support of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and key labor leaders, some of whom are warning any would-be Gillibrand primary foe to reconsider.
The senator also begins the election cycle with $5 million in the bank, and shes getting started early on adding to that warchest. In March, Schumer is headlining a New York City fundraiser for her reelection campaign.
The main challenge to a successful primary is more fundamental. While Gillibrand sometimes gets unenthusiastic or disappointed reviews from Democrats, she has not really angered anyone or provided an obvious rationale for a challenge. That is a critical difference between her and two key New York leadersHochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adamswho seem to find new ways to infuriate progressives each day.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll from October 2022, 73 percent of Democratic voters in New York approved of Gillibrands job performance, with just 10 percent disapproving. Schumer scored 16 points higher, but the numbers show Gillibrand has more than solid standing within the primary electorate.
Timing is also on Gillibrands side. New York Democrats are licking their wounds after a disastrous 2022 election in the state that saw Republicans make historic gains, while progressives failed to knock out establishment-aligned candidates in primaries. Some operatives also note that potential challengers get far more out of being mentioned to run than actually running.
The threat, one Albany strategist said, is sometimes even more valuable than being the candidate.
Against that backdrop, some operatives believe Gillibrand simply wont be an appealing target for Democratic organizers, donors, and voters who are more focused on pressuring Hochul and Adams, not to mention beating back an energized Empire State GOP. Although critical of Gillibrand, Sheinkopf told the New York Daily News last month that he thought the chances of Gillibrand losing a primary were very small.
In fact, Gillibrand seems to be preparing for a tough fightbut not from the left. While she would be strongly favored to beat a Republican in 2024, it is not out of the question that a talented GOP candidate could make it a competitive race.
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One of the Democratic strategists who spoke with The Daily Beast pointed to some of Gillibrands recent legislative announcements and fundraising tactics as smart moves to neutralize potential rivals like Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) or former Rep. Lee Zeldin, who mounted a spirited campaign against Hochul last year.
Last December, Gillibrand teamed up with Malliotakis to push for state funding for a carpool lane on a Staten Island highway. Shes also fundraised off Zeldin by warning donors the former Long Island congressman very nearly beat Hochul. Zeldin has not ruled out a Senate bid but has publicly taunted Gillibrand for mentioning him, suggesting it means shes worried about a GOP challenge.
While one of the Democratic strategists who spoke to the Daily Beast said Gillibrand has no real ability to prevent a lot of primary challenges, they acknowledge she has been left in a tough spot, particularly in Schumers shadow. Compared to the senior senator, Gillibrand has put in far less facetime in New York City and far fewer deliverables for progressives, as the strategist put it.
Gillibrand does not appear to keep a notably light schedule in New York. In the last year, she did a public town hall in each of New York Citys five boroughs, for instance.
But the perception that Gillibrand has been absent is at least partially fueled by Schumers famed capacity to get in front of seemingly any crowdor TV camerain the entire state of New York.
Thats the answer right there: Chuck Schumer is ubiquitous, Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg told The Daily Beast. And every year since 1998, he has traveled to all 62 counties in the state of New York. Gillibrand doesnt have that kind of presence. She doesnt do a lot of events in the state.
Still, not even Schumers near-comical presence in New York, nor his strategic courting of the left, could quell incessant chatter about a potential primary when he was up for reelection in 2022. No challenger ultimately materialized, after some methodical work from Schumer.
In her 2018 reelection, Gillibrand did not even face a nominal primary challenge, and dispatched a weak Republican candidate by 33 points.
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Shortly after that victory, Gillibrand mounted an unapologetically progressive campaign for the White House. She repudiated the pro-gun positions she held as a centrist House member and called for the dissolution of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencywhile issuing a mea culpa for her past anti-immigration stances.
Gillibrand failed to find traction, and in August 2019, she became the first of the seven U.S. Senators running in the Democratic primary to drop out of the race.
Political observers have noticed a shift in Gillibrand in the years since, from the would-be leader of the anti-Trump resistance who announced her 2020 campaign outside Trump Tower to a behind-the-scenes Capitol Hill player.
In recent years, Gillibrand has dug in on less high-profile legislative priorities, particularly with respect to the armed services. Last year, she secured long-awaited improvements to the militarys justice system for victims of sexual assault, and was a leader in the push to expand health care for servicemembers exposed to toxic burn pits.
When Congress passed the first bipartisan gun reform legislation in decades last year, Gillibrands proposal to criminalize gun trafficking was included, capping a years-long fight for her.
Recent local coverage of the senator has emphasized her new branding as a quiet but effective lawmaker. You might have missed it, but Kirsten Gillibrand is at the top of her game declared the headline of a 2022 profile of the senator from the New York outlet City & State, arguing she specializes in relentless productivity behind the scenes.
During two years of Democratic control of Washington, however, Gillibrand fell short in what was perhaps her most high-profile policy push: expanding family paid leave.
The New York senator led negotiations on the issue as Democrats crafted their social spending package, but ultimately, she and fellow Democrats could not persuade Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) to get on board with their proposals. According to Axios, Gillibrand alienated colleagues after it was revealed she had given their private phone numbers to Meghan Markle. The ex-British royal and paid leave advocate called surprised senators to push them on the issue.
As she gets back on the campaign trail, Gillibrand will have to reintroduce herself somewhat to New York voters. Amid her otherwise strong results in the October poll from Quinnipiac, 19 percent of voters said they didnt know enough about her or had no opinion of her performance. That amount is vastly higher than the three percent who said the same for Schumer, or the five percent for Hochul.
If she has a real challenger, shes going to have to fight to reestablish herself and reintroduce herself, Sheinkopf said. Because people don't know.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Vietnamese Ao dai fashion show at the event (Photo: VNA)
At the event, Vietnam displayed cultural publications, commercial goods, souvenirs, and tourism information serving visitors interested in the land. On this occasion, a fashion show of Vietnams traditional long dress (Ao dai) performed by Vietnamese students in Australia was also organized.
Speaking at the opening of the symbolic village, Mr. Siswo Pramono, Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and Head of the ASEAN Committee in Canberra, highlighted the dialogue partnership between the bloc and Australia.
He affirmed that ASEAN wants to step up regional cooperation especially in cultural and people-to-people exchange.
In response, Andrew Barr, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, said he is highly appreciated the ties and the importance of each to the other side in cultural exchange and economic cooperation.
The festival, lasting from February 17 to 19 in Canberra, attracted 500 booths of organizations, embassies, and communities from more than 170 ethnic groups in the country. It attracted the participation of some 300,000 people./.
In dueling news conferences, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza clashed over whether the citys benefits for police officers disabled by COVID-19 is fair to cops.
At issue is a ruling by the city pension board that denied Mendozas police officer brother, Sgt. Joaquin Mendoza, full disability benefits after he was infected with COVID-19 and was disabled. Susana Mendoza accused the city of setting impossible standards for cops to receive benefits and criticized the mayors political appointees on a pension board for a decision giving him fewer benefits.
For her part, Lightfoot said she takes police officer safety seriously but defended the boards decision as having been issued by a board and affirmed by a court.
Its not for me to second-guess a decision that was rendered by a board, Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot also said she doesnt believe the standard is too high.
Lets work to fix what is broken, if its broken, but the leveling of accusations on people for following the law is simply unnecessary, unfair and false, Lightfoot said.
Just a week before the municipal election in which Lightfoot is seeking a second term, Mendoza sought to blame the mayors appointees on the Policemens Annuity and Benefit Fund board for voting to deny duty benefits to her brother and another officer. Mendoza claims that more than a dozen other officers who contracted COVID-19 have disability cases in the pipeline.
I do hold the mayor accountable because thats her board, Mendoza said. And so she cant say with one face that you support the men and women in uniform, our first responders, and then do what they did to them.
Four of the eight members of the police pension board are appointed by the mayor.
Mendoza said Tuesday shes seeking passage of state legislation that would grant police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians who survived COVID-19 the duty disability benefits.
Mendoza said her brother contracted COVID-19 in 2020 while working 17 straight days on the job, according to a news release. Mendoza said her brother spent 72 days in the hospital, suffered kidney failure, lost his ability to use his left arm and suffered five strokes.
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Duty disability provides 75% of the officers salary and free health insurance. On ordinary disability, an officer receives 50% compensation and must pay for health insurance.
You can imagine my shock, disbelief and frankly, disgust when my brothers claim for duty disability benefits was denied, Mendoza said.
Prior to the mayors own news conference on the matter Tuesday, her office released a statement denying her influence on the pension board vote, which occurred nearly a year ago. The board voted 4-3, with three of the four no votes from Lightfoot appointees. The decision was later upheld in court after Joaquin Mendoza challenged it.
The board has always acted independently and votes based on the information presented, a Lightfoot spokesperson wrote. The mayor is not involved in any pension board decisions nor would it have been ethical or appropriate for her to involve herself in any such decisions.
The statement also said Lightfoots administration has urged the pension boards consult outside medical experts to advise the boards on COVID-related disability claims and be transparent with claimants about the standards that must be met to have consideration for full or partial disability.
The statement also advised first responders to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Lightfoots vaccine mandate for city workers was particularly controversial in the Police Department and resulted in the city and the local police union suing each other.
Susana Mendozas office responded that she also is a strong advocate for vaccines but that is not at issue here because the officers in question were infected before vaccines were available.
Joaquin Mendozas former supervisor, Eric Winstrom, said he was also frustrated by the decision to deny Mendoza duty disability.
If youre saying we support the police and then this happens, its difficult to reconcile that, said Winstrom, a former Chicago Police Department commander who is now police chief in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It doesnt make sense. The pension board in my mind absolutely got it wrong.
Susana Mendoza was joined Tuesday by several aldermen, firefighters and police officers. Among them was Officer Diana Cordova-Nestad, who spoke softly from a chair and had a tube running to her nose, which she attributed to the complications she suffered from COVID-19.
We dont find you fit for duty, but were taking away your health benefits, Cordova-Nestad said, recalling a meeting with her supervisor. It felt like it was just ripped right out of my chest. Thats all I knew was my work. Thats all I worked for.
On deciding to speak out about this just before Election Day, Mendoza said the timing is dictated by the courts, an apparent reference to a recent court ruling against her brother.
Mendoza said shes not taking a position on the mayors race. This is not an issue of politics, thats not why were here today. Im here specifically to shine a light on an injustice thats happening in our city.
But the issue highlights an ongoing challenge for the mayor as she campaigns for reelection: how much support she gives to police.
Rising to prominence as a police reform advocate, Lightfoot has been criticized for not doing enough to support officers. Her administration has faced strong criticism for repeatedly canceling officers days off. Lightfoot initially defended the cancellations, telling reporters that police officers get an incredible amount of time off before introducing some scheduling policies she said would help alleviate the issue.
Chicago Tribunes Jeremy Gorner contributed.
hsanders@chicagotribune.com
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Microsoft has expanded the Xbox Game Pass family plan to six more countries. Folks in Chile, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden can now sign up for a membership that allows up to five friends and family members in the same country to access Game Pass Ultimate features via a single subscription. This is the first expansion of the Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan, which Microsoft debuted in Colombia and Ireland last summer .
There are a few things worth keeping in mind if you're in one of those countries and you're interested in the plan, which offers access to a library of hundreds of PC, console and cloud games and has other benefits. The primary account holder will be able to convert their existing plan based on the monetary value of the time they have left. A full month of an Ultimate subscription equates to 18 days of Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family access, for instance. People who are invited to join a group can't convert their remaining Game Pass time, however. Those with an Xbox All Access payment plan can't join a friends and family group.
Pricing varies by country. A good rule of thumb is that, based on the conversion rates, a regular Game Pass Ultimate subscription costs about three-fifths as much as the family plan. Given the US Game Pass Ultimate pricing, the family plan costs the equivalent of $25 per month. Split that cost between five people, and that's just $5 per month per person for Game Pass Ultimate access around the same price as a single full game purchase each per year.
There's no sign of Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan coming to North America, the UK or elsewhere more broadly just yet. However, it's clear that Microsoft is interested in getting as many people as possible to sign up for Game Pass in one way or another, so it's likely the plan will expand to more territories down the line.
Nokia Oyj
Press Release
Nokia bolsters MX Industrial Edge capabilities to meet ever-growing industry digitalization demands #MWC23
Nokia MXIE to leverage high-performance Dell PowerEdge server family to support the increasing processing needs of Industry 4.0 use cases
Nokia introduces MXIE GPU support for advanced real-time video analytics applications and to unlock future business-critical AI and machine learning OT use cases
Nokia to offer MXIE in a Hardware-as-a-Service model, reducing CAPEX requirements to allow more enterprises to digitalize operations leveraging OT data
22 February 2023
Espoo, Finland Nokia today announced it is working with other industry-leading technology providers as it boosts the capabilities of the off-the-shelf, Mission-Critical Industrial Edge (MXIE) to manage the growing digitalization demands of industries. Nokia will also make it possible for many more enterprises to realize the value of operational technology (OT) data with the introduction of MXIE in a Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) model.
As enterprises implement a growing number of Industry 4.0 use cases, such as autonomous robots in a factory or warehouse leveraging real-time situational awareness for safety, or zero-fault manufacturing using advanced real-time video analytics for efficiency, demand is growing for high-capacity, on-premise edge processing. To support this, Nokia is introducing a new high-performance, high-capacity infrastructure platform from Dell Technologies, beginning with the Dell PowerEdge XR11 server to further increase the processing power of the MXIE to handle the most demanding and complex workloads.
The new Dell PowerEdge XR11 server-based MXIE featuring 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processor introduces physical graphics processing unit (GPU) support. The high-performance NVIDIA A2 Tensor Core GPU enables versatile *AI inference acceleration.
This, for example, will unlock business-critical use cases that rely on real-time monitoring of video feeds and alerts using applications such as Nokia Scene Analytics or Atos Computer Vision Platform, which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) for quality assurance and video analytics solutions for mission-critical applications.
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Future compute-intensive applications such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) will also benefit specifically from the compute power provided by the GPU. This includes data intelligence analyzing real-time OT data at the edge, which will be used to fuel advanced analytics where Nokia continues its technical collaboration with Intel.
By offering MXIE in a HaaS model, Nokia will enable more enterprises to begin their digitalization journey. This will reduce up-front capital investment, and allow them to benefit from MXIE capabilities on a subscription basis.
Kyle Dufresne, Global SVP and GM, OEM Solutions, Dell Technologies, said: The Dell PowerEdge server family includes high-performance and ruggedized systems designed for deployment in the most extreme environments. The PowerEdge XR11 server with NVIDIA Tensor Core GPU support offers a robust platform for Nokia MXIE and can support Nokia enterprise customers wanting to implement use cases such as widespread automation at remote ports and mines, as well as in factories and warehouses.
Stephan Litjens, Vice President of Enterprise Campus Edge Solutions at Nokia, said: In 2022 we began building a large installed base for MXIE as it was integrated with the Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) private wireless solution, allowing enterprises to experience how it supports their Industry 4.0 application needs. Leveraging Dell PowerEdge servers, we are boosting the processing power and capabilities of the Nokia MXIE to meet our customers growing demands for advanced Industry 4.0 implementations. Additionally, the new MXIE GPU capabilities will support use cases that leverage AI and machine learning, such as real-time video and OT data analytics. By introducing MXIE in a Hardware-as-a-Service model, we are further lowering the upfront cost of our industrial edge for businesses, to accelerate their digitalization journey.
The Nokia MXIE is a future-ready, on-premise, as-a-service subscription-based industrial edge, deployed as part of the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud solution. Leading enterprises are recognizing how MXIE can accelerate their digital transformation beyond connectivity and are using it to support OT data applications and workloads.
As a leader in 4.9G/LTE and 5G private wireless, Nokia is helping more than 560 enterprises digitalize operations and unlock the value of their OT data to achieve their business goals.
* AI Inference acceleration is defined as accelerating the process of using a trained neural network model to make a prediction
Resources
MX Industrial Edge | Nokia
PowerEdge XR11 Server | Dell Technologies
A2 Tensor Core GPU | NVIDIA
Intel Xeon Scalable Processors | Intel
Scene Analytics | Nokia Digital Automation Cloud
Computer Vision Platform | Atos
About Nokia
At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.
As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.
Adhering to high standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world.
Media Inquiries:
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Email: press.services@nokia.com
FILE PHOTO: North Korean food shortage seems to be worsening, South Korea says
By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's official newspaper said on Wednesday that relying on external aid to cope with food shortages would be equal to taking "poisoned candy", urging economic self-reliance despite deepening hardships amid sanctions and coronavirus lockdowns.
The isolated country has suffered food shortages in recent years, reeling from floods and typhoons, international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear and missile programmes, and a sharp cut in trade with China due to border closures and COVID-19 lockdowns.
Most U.N. agencies and Western relief groups have since left North Korea, with China remaining one of the few sources of external food assistance.
In a commentary, the ruling Workers' Party paper Rodong Sinmun warned against receiving economic help from "imperialists" who use aid as a "trap to plunder and subjugate" recipient countries and interfere with their internal politics.
"It is a mistake to try to boost the economy by accepting and eating this poisoned candy," the commentary said.
The article came as South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday that some 700 inmates at three countryside prisons, including in the central city of Kaechon, have died from famine and diseases over the past two years, citing an unnamed source.
Seoul's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korea affairs, declined to comment on the report, but said on Tuesday that there appeared to have been a recent increase in deaths from starvation in some North Korean provinces.
"Food production dropped from last year, and there is a possibility of distribution issues due to a change in their food supply and distribution policy," a ministry official told reporters.
South Korea's rural development agency in December estimated the North's crop production at around 4.5 million tonnes last year, 3.8% down from 2021, citing heavy summer rains and other weather conditions.
Unification Minister Kwon Young-se has said Pyongyang had asked the U.N. food agency, the World Food Programme, to provide support but there was no progress because of differences over monitoring issues. The agency has not responded to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
State officials said they seized dozens of machines and more than $23,000 in cash during searches last week at what they described as an illegal gambling operation on South Waverly Road.
DELTA TWP. State officials said they seized dozens of machines and more than $23,000 in cash during searches last week at what they described as an illegal gambling operation on South Waverly Road.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board said anonymous tips prompted its investigation of Cozy Barcade on South Waverly, just north of West Holmes Road.
The gaming agency and state Attorney General's Office executed search warrants on Feb. 16 with help from the Eaton County Sheriff's Office and Lansing police, officials said in a news release.
Investigators confiscated 36 machines, including freestanding slot machines and computers configured as slot-style gaming machines.
"Illegal gaming locations prey on vulnerable people and don't offer the patron protections required for legal, regulated gaming," Henry Williams, the gaming agency's executive director, said in the release.
State officials said they seized dozens of machines and more than $23,000 in cash during searches last week at what they described as an illegal gambling operation on South Waverly Road.
Eaton County Sheriff's Capt. Robert Block said area residents complained about the operation.
"These establishments breed other types of crimes such as robberies, assaults and drug activity," he said.
Tips about illegal gambling can be made by calling the gaming board at 888-314-2682 or sending an email to MiGamblingTip@michigan.gov.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Officials seize 36 machines from alleged illegal gambling operation in Delta Twp.
With defensive tackle as the teams biggest need, this offseason fans have clamored for Washingtons Daron Payne. Payne would be a massive upgrade as one of the leagues most talented young players at the position. However, just as many thought reports are saying that the Commanders will likely place their franchise tag on Payne before he can enter free agency.
There would still be a chance the Browns could trade for a tagged Daron Payne but with the cap number coming with the tag and the likely wanted compensation it likely wont happen. There are however many other players available that would make the defensive line better but the top player at the position may be off the market before even hitting it.
More Free Agency!
Arizona Cardinals make a ton of sense for Jacoby Brissett Browns free agency: Could Dante Fowler be a Jadeveon Clowney replacement? Browns free agency: What options make sense at wide receiver?
Story originally appeared on Browns Wire
PHILIPPINES-VOTE-RIGHTS-MARCOS
Philippine flags adorn the People Power Monument in Manila for the 30th anniversary in 2016 of the revolution that ended the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship. With Marcos Jr. now president, some worry the past is at risk of being forgotten. Credit - Noel CelisAFP/Getty Images
Estrella Torres was jailed for two weeks when she was barely three years old.
It was 1975, three years after then-President Ferdinand Marcos declared nationwide martial law in the Philippinesa nearly decade-long campaign in which some 70,000 people were detained, 34,000 tortured, and more than 3,000 extrajudicially killed. Torres father, an activist, had just been arrested for alleged sedition and rebellion. He, his wife, and their two children soon found themselves in a detention center in Pampanga, about 28 miles northeast of their home near the capital, where they slept in cold, makeshift beds beside dozens of strangers.
Now 49, Torres memory of that jail time is spotty, but she recounts how she and her brother would be brought to a dark and dingy cell, where their fearful bawling was used to torment their parents listening nearby.
Torres still carries resentment over that experience. I didnt have a happy childhood to begin with. And my father was tortured, she tells TIME. We were in that situationa very sad situationbecause of Marcos.
Growing public discontent with the brutal and corrupt regime eventually crested in a popular uprising that ousted Marcos on Feb. 25, 1986, and exiled him and his family to Hawaii. The date of that People Power Revolutionalso known as the EDSA Revolution for the Manila road on which the major protests took place, Epifanio de los Santos Avenuehas since been recognized as an annual national holiday and celebration of democracy.
The first anniversary in 1987 was described by observers as a fiesta, complete with fireworks, live music, and balloons and flowers filling the streets to commemorate the demonstrations that toppled a dictatorship. Over the years, public ceremonies from wreath-laying to flag-raising have reliably taken place, often with Philippine officials saying a few words in support. Last year, then-President Rodrigo Duterte urged the nation to honor those who keep the legacy of the revolution alive.
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But today, for people like Torres, the suffering wrought by Marcos that prompted a democratic uprising nearly four decades ago is more at risk of being forgotten than ever before.
A new Marcos is president: the son, namesake, and splitting image of the late dictator. Marcos Jr., nicknamed Bongbong, wants his fathers sordid history forgotten. Since Marcos Jr., his siblings, and their mother returned to the Philippines after Marcos Sr. died of natural causes in 1989, theyve made inroads in local and eventually national politics, culminating in Marcos Jr.s election as president last June. Along the way, theyve steadily refused to apologize for the sins of their familys past and been accused by historians of denialism and revisionism when discussing the atrocities of Marcos Sr.s regime.
We have got to move on, Marcos Jr. posted on Facebook in 2012 on the 40th anniversary of his fathers declaration of martial law.
For Torres, and many families like hers, thats next to impossible. She still shudders at the sound of steel gates closing, she says. Theres no moving on without justice.
Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. prepares to deliver his first State of the Nation Address in Manila on July 25, 2022. Ezra AcayanGetty Images
Feb. 25 remains a holiday on the Philippine calendar, for now at least. In a proclamation last year, Marcos Jr. listed the holidays for 2023, including the annual commemoration of the People Power Revolution (as well as the August anniversary of the 1983 assassination of Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., the elder Marcos political opponent whose death galvanized protests against the dictatorship).
It remains unclear how, if at all, the Marcos Jr. administration will observe such holidays inextricably linked to his fathers ousterMalacanang (the presidents office) did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this storybut any participation would have an uncomfortable shadow cast over it.
I dont think it could be more ironic, says Aries Arugay, chair of the political science department at the University of the Philippines Diliman. This is what happens when you bring despots and their scions back to power.
Its not just Marcos Jr. though. Broader appreciation of the People Power holiday has been waning already, says Arugay, who points out that his research on public perceptions of Marcos Sr.s martial law and the revolution of 1986 has revealed increasing support for tyrannical military rule and a declining positive view of the democratic uprising. He says that shift accelerated during the tenure of Marcos Jr.s predecessor Duterte, who oversaw numerous violations of human rights, including a deadly war on drugs and crackdowns on dissent, and maintained high approval ratings nevertheless.
Its a troubling trend emerging across Southeast Asia.
In the Philippines, however, a new resistance movement has taken hold among young people who never lived through the dictatorship of Marcos Sr. but are troubled by the direction the country is going, now under Marcos Jr.
You have an entirely different generation of Filipinosyoung Filipinos who believe that democracy is for them, says Arugay.
JC Gurango is a 25-year-old among those who want the Philippines to remember its past. His grandfather was Marcos Sr.s former media czar and chief propagandist Primitvo Mijares. In 1976, Mijares disappearedpresumed killedafter he published a tell-all book on the dictatorship and the family behind it. Mijares son was also abducted and his dead, mutilated body was found in a dump outside Manila.
In 2017, Gurango spearheaded the republication of his grandfathers book in the hope that it might help prevent the Marcos family from coming back to power. It didnt.
Hes not sure how forgiving the people of the Philippines are, but its clear, he says, that theyre just very easy to forget.
Law enforcement personnel stand outside a house on G Street in Springfield Wednesday after making an arrest following a pursuit in the neighborhood.
Springfield residents were asked to shelter in place Wednesday afternoon while police chased and then arrested two people at a Springfield home near 14th and G streets.
The Eugene Police Department said Homeland Security based out of Seattle reached out regarding an individual. Police pursued the individual, who then ditched the vehicle, police said.
Area law enforcement officers stage outside a house on G Street in Springfield after a car chase Wednesday.
Multiple agencies were involved, including Springfield Police, Eugene Police, Oregon State Police and Springfield SWAT. Police said the two people were taken into custody without incident.
Nearby schools, including Two Rivers-Dos Rios Elementary School and Springfield High School were placed in a lockout as a precaution.
Springfield Police Department said the area is all clear now.
Makenzie Elliott covers breaking news and public safety for The Register-Guard. Reach her at MElliott@gannett.com. Find her on Twitter at @makenzielliott.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Police arrest 2 after car chase ends at Springfield home
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have denied claims that theyre considerng suing the creators of South Park over a recent episode that appeared to mock them.
The episode entitled The Worldwide Privacy Tour aired on Comedy Central in the US on February 15, and depicts the Prince of Canada attempting to escape the public eye with his princess.
Although the pair werent named in the episode, similarities to the former royal couple were hard to ignore as the cartoon prince sported red hair, and his wife donned an outfit similar to that of Markles at 2018s Trooping the Colour.
Viewers also watched the cartoon couple appear on the fictional show Good Morning Canada holding placards that read: We want our privacy! and: Stop looking at us! whilst the talk show host introduces a copy of the princes book, titled Waaagh.
Many interpreted the episode to be a swipe at the Sussexes, who recently aired a six-part Netflix series about their relationship and Prince Harrys memoir, Spare.
After the cartoon aired, speculation mounted that the couple were planning to sue the creators of the show, something their rep has now denied.
South Park appeared to mock the Sussexes in an episode titled Worldwide Privacy Tour. (Comedy Central)
A spokesperson for The Sussexes told People: Its all frankly nonsense. Totally baseless, boring reports.
The South Park episode is one in a long line of media narratives that have long assumed that the couple left royal life for one of privacy, something that those close to the couple have denied.
The Sussexes global press secretary, Ashley Hansen, said in December a "distorted narrative" had been created and that the couple never cited privacy as a reason for their decision to leave.
In a written statement to the BBC, Hansen wrote: "The Duke and Duchess have never cited privacy as the reason for stepping back. This distorted narrative was intended to trap the couple into silence.
"In fact, their statement announcing their decision to step back mentions nothing of privacy and reiterates their desire to continue their roles and public duties. Any suggestion otherwise speaks to a key point of this series.
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The pair announced they would step back from royal life in 2020 (Getty Images)
"They are choosing to share their story, on their terms, and yet the tabloid media has created an entirely untrue narrative that permeates press coverage and public opinion. The facts are right in front of them."
In their original announcement to step back from royal life in January 2020, the pair shared in a statement: We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth and our patronages.
"This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity."
At the time, this statement was interpreted by some commentators to suggest that their decision was influenced in part by the press intrusion, surrounding their then newborn son Archie.
During their Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Markle addressed the invasions of privacy that they had been subjected to when asked.
She shared: "I think everyone has a basic right to privacy. Basic. We're not talking about anything that anybody else wouldn't expect."
President Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with Major General Pham Van Ty, Head of the rescue team of the Vietnam People's Army in Hatay province on February 20, 2023.
(Photo: People's Army Newspaper)
Within the framework of the visit, he went to the scene to meet with people, volunteers, medical staff, workers, and local and international search and rescue teams there, including the search and rescue team of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA).
President Tayyip Erdogan thanked Vietnam for its timely support when shaking hands with Major General Pham Van Ty, Deputy Director of the Search and Rescue Department under the General Staff, Deputy Chief of the Standing Office of the National Committee for Incident, Disaster Response, and Search and Rescue, and Head of the Vietnam Peoples Army delegation to assist Turkeys rescue efforts.
As of February 19, the VPA forces have helped Turkey identify 15 locations with victims, including two locations with signs of life.
Earlier, President Tayyip Erdogan also pledged that no one would be left homeless, and affirmed that the Turkish government set a goal of building houses within the next one year for people who have lost their homes because of the earthquake in 10 provinces affected by the earthquake, which happened on February 6./.
Their countries have professed a friendship with no limits, and on Wednesday top Chinese and Russian officials looked quite chummy during a meeting in Moscow, a sight likely to exacerbate concerns in Washington.
Wang Yi, Chinas top diplomat, held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin the day after gathering with his head of security and saying relations between the nations are solid as a rock.
That's in sharp contrast to Wang's contentious meeting Saturday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who told him China supplying weapons to Russia would be a "serious problem'' for the U.S. as they also discussed the surveillance balloon incident that has heightened tensions between the two superpowers.
China has declined to join much of the world community in condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, instead echoing Moscows claim that the U.S. and NATO provoked the Kremlin and criticizing sanctions imposed on Russia. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to visit Moscow in the coming months.
THE PRESIDENT'S TRIP:Biden calls Putin's New START suspension a 'big mistake. What is the nuclear arms treaty?
"Chinese-Russian relations have withstood the test of international turbulence, and are mature and durable, Wang said Wednesday.
The concern about those relations leading to Chinese military assistance for Russia go beyond such aid stacking the odds against Ukraine and into the possibility of the conflict escalating into a larger confrontation.
On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told The Associated Press there have been "some signs'' China may be getting ready to provide weapons to Russia, while also saying the alliance will support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy chief Wang Yi during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (Anton Novoderezhkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) ORG XMIT: XAZ117
IMPACT OF SANCTIONS: Russia can't produce enough arms for its needs: Live updates
Developments:
Representatives for EU countries will meet again Thursday after failing to agree Wednesday on a new package of sanctions against Russia intended to coincide with Friday's one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion, Reuters reported.
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Ukraine issued a decree halting all transactions involving assets owned by Russian financial institutions. The decree, to last 50 years, prohibits establishing business relations, transactions and investments with Russian banks.
Investigators have so far identified at least 91 Russian soldiers involved in war crimes in and around the town of Bucha, where more than 1,700 civilians were killed, Ukraine Prosecutor General Andrey Kostin said Wednesday.
The International Federation of Journalists suspended the membership of the Russian Union of Journalists. Federation President Dominique Pradalie said efforts by Russian journalists to establish union branches in annexed Ukrainian territories have "clearly shattered ... solidarity and sown divisions among sister unions."
Sanctions have minimal impact on Russia's economy
The global economic sanctions fueled by Putin's invasion of Ukraine a year ago have slowed but not crippled the Russian economy, experts say.
Russia's economy did shrink 2.2% in 2022 far short of predictions of 15% or more that Biden administration and other western economists had forecast. This year, its economy is projected to outperform the U.K.'s, growing 0.3% while the U.K. faces a 0.6% contraction, according to the International Monetary Fund.
EU Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borrell said Russia's economy survived because of high energy prices.
But this is over," he said. "We have gotten rid of our dependency on Russias hydrocarbons and the prices are going down. Russia is selling its oil at $40 a barrel half the price of the Brent in international markets."
Putin seeks to absorb Belarus by 2030
Putin's imperial designs don't end with annexing parts or all of Ukraine.
Russia also plans to absorb neighboring Belarus, according to a document that establishes 2030 as the end date for the Kremlin to take over the Belarusian politics, economy and military.
The 17-page document, created in 2021, was obtained through a collaboration of journalists from outlets in several countries, including Yahoo News in the U.S. and Ukraine's Kyiv Independent. Yahoo said it was leaked from Putin's executive office.
The document details a plan to complete a merger of the two countries into a Union State ruled by Moscow that would integrate the tax system and currency of Belarus, an independent country of 9 million under Russia's strong influence.
"Russia's goals regarding Belarus are the same as with Ukraine," Michael Carpenter, the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, told the journalists. "Only in Belarus, it relies on coercion rather than war. Its end goal is still wholesale incorporation."
Founder of mercenary group steps up criticism of Russian military leaders
The founder of a Russian mercenary militia stepped up his social media attacks on Moscow's military leadership Wednesday, publishing a photo of his dead soldiers and blaming the Kremlin for failing to provide his Wagner Group with adequate ammunition.
If every Russian at his own level ... would simply say give ammunition to Wagner, as is already going on social media, then this would already be important, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy entrepreneur and close associate of President Vladimir Putin, said Wednesday on Telegram.
The posting came one day after Prigozhin released an audio statement claiming direct resistance from the Russian military was an attempt to destroy Wagner. He added that the behavior of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov "can be likened to high treason in the very moment when Wagner is ... losing hundreds of its fighters every day."
The Defense Ministry scolded Prigohzin in a statement late Tuesday, saying equipping the mercenary group properly has been a priority.
Attempts to sow rifts in the tight mechanism of cooperation and support among the units of Russian forces are counterproductive and are only aiding the enemy, the ministry said.
Finland to decide whether to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine
Authorities in Finland will decide as soon as Thursday on a proposal to provide German-built Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Finland is believed to own about 200 tanks, but it also has an 800-mile border with Russia to defend. Finland has sought but not yet been granted NATO membership, thus NATO would not be committed to fully support Finland's defense should Russia invade.
Finland and Sweden are seeking membership but have been blocked by Turkey and Hungary. Hungary's parliament is expected to ratify NATO membership for both nations as early next month, Hungarian media has reported. Turkey adopted a more conciliatory stance this week after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed possible purchase of U.S. F-16 aircraft with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
An up-close look at the frontline in Ukraine
Ukrainian military officials say U.S. weapons are making a major difference in their efforts to repel the Russian invasion. To highlight the value of the weapons, a senior Ukrainian military intelligence officer and several special forces soldiers guided a USA TODAY reporter in mid-February to a secret location on a ridge a few miles outside the frontline town of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's mineral-rich eastern Donbas region.
A Ukrainian lieutenant colonel stood on frozen ground near what he regards as one of the Ukrainian military's most prized possessions: an American-made M777 howitzer. It's a powerful, towable and easily hidden long-range artillery weapon.
"This weapon changed the trajectory of the war for us," he said. Read more here.
Kim Hjelmgaard
IT'S HARD BUT THEY'RE HOLDING ON: On the ground in Ukraine, the war depends on U.S. weapons
A small group of protestors urge U.S. President Joe Biden to send fighter jets to the Ukraine, outside his hotel in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023.
Biden hopes to assuage concerns of Bucharest Nine
President Biden wrapped up his historic trip to Ukraine and Poland on Wednesday after holding talks in Warsaw with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations on the eastern edge of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
The alliance members including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia are concerned they could be next if Russia is successful in Ukraine. The White House has consistently lauded Poland and several other eastern flank nations for supporting Ukraine with weapons and economic aid and taking in refugees.
Contributing: The Associated Press
A deeper dive
'It's hard, but they're holding on,' On the ground in Ukraine, the war depends on U.S. weapons
'WE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME': Displaced Ukrainian children risk erosion in school, mental health
'Kyiv stands strong: Biden declares Putin was wrong, marks one year of Russias war in Ukraine
Putin suspends nuclear arms treaty while lashing out at West over Ukraine war
Joe Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine ahead of Russian invasion anniversary, walks streets of Kyiv
They counted the days until they could return to Ukraine. Now, they're not sure they'll go back
Biden in Ukraine: See photos of president in Kyiv nearly one year after Russia's invasion
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine-Russia war live updates: Russian economy shrugs off sanctions
Castries, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Government of Saint Lucia has invited all Saint Lucians at home and in the diaspora to come together for the observance of the 44th anniversary of attaining Independence.
This year the theme is Douvan Ansanm which means One People. Shaping our Destiny. A string of activities have been planned to accentuate the nations pride, engender community spirit and build comradery amongst all Saint Lucians.
Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Hon. Philip J. Pierre encouraged members of the diaspora to join the Independence celebrations. He spoke to the importance of tapping into the skills of Saint Lucians living overseas.
We would like for them to share their talents. There are doctors, scientists, and people who have a wealth of experience and knowledge. We need them to come and share their experiences with Saint Lucia.
Chair of the National Independence Committee, Ben Emanuel, explained that the intent is to build off on the momentum of last years celebrations. He said one of the objectives of the committee is to ensure that the 2023 activities provide opportunities for participation at all levels.
We will have national events and we will also have district and community events; the idea being that we really want to bring people together, he said. So we will have zonal activitiesactivities by various sectors, but at all levels of the community, we will see the participation of people. In fact, some of the events will really bring people back into Independence activities for example our military rally. We made an attempt this year to ensure that we maximize community participation.
A bit of history
Saint Lucia Independence Day is celebrated annually on February 22 to commemorate the day when Saint Lucia gained its complete independence from the United Kingdom in 1979. First inhabited by the Arawaks and Caribs, Saint Lucia was colonized by the French and British in the 17th century. Previously called Iyanola by the Arawaks and later Hewanorra by the Caribs, Saint Lucia was also known as Helen of the West Indies due to being frequently switched between French and British control.
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The French were the first Europeans to settle on Saint Lucia, signing a treaty with the Caribs in 1660. In 1663, the British took control of the island. They were then at war with the French 14 times, resulting in frequent changes in the rule on the island. In 1814 Saint Lucia was officially ceded to the British by the French as part of the Treaty of Paris, and it became one of the British Windward Islands colonies. Saint Lucia joined the West Indies Federation in 1958 and became a self-governing island as a member of the West Indies Associated States in 1967. On February 22, 1979, Saint Lucia achieved its complete independence under Sir John Compton of the conservative United Workers Party (U.W.P.).
Make Saint Lucia your second home
Saint Lucia is an amazing island known for its majestic Piton mountains, refreshing waterfalls, spectacular hiking trails, beautiful beaches, drive-in volcanoes, local street parties, and exclusive restaurants.
On deciding the best part of Saint Lucia to stay in, the south is best for adventurous and active travelers, who want to be close to some of the exciting natural attractions available there, including waterfall explorations, trips to therapeutic mineral baths, and more. Then, the north is where all the action happens, with the hotels and all-inclusive luxury resorts.
Not only that, investors can access business opportunities via Saint Lucias Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) and tap into one of the fastest-growing economies in the Caribbean region.
As a famous internal getaway destination, Saint Lucia offers a range of luxury real estate options.
The Alpina Saint Lucia Hotel and the Alpina Square offers investors the chance to invest in the southern part of the island, about a 5-minute drive from the Hewanorra International Airport.
These locations also provide easy access to main tourist attractions along the unspoiled Caribbean Sea on the western coastline, including the Pitons (Saint Lucias UNESCO World Heritage Site), the historic town of Soufriere, the Soufriere Sulphur Springs, and the Diamond Falls and Botanical Gardens.
Adjacent to one another, The Alpina Saint Lucia Hotel will be managed by Alpina Management AG, the management company of The Alpina Mountain Resort & Spa in Tschiertschen, Switzerland. The Alpina Square on the other hand will be managed by The Alpina Saint Lucia Hotel which houses premium commercial and retail spaces.
The Saint Lucia Canelles Resort is a luxury resort developed by the Galaxy Group, and managed by AMResorts, a subsidiary of Apple Leisure Group.
With two brands, Dreams and Zoetry, plus Canelles Oceanfront Apartments, the resort offers a high level of luxury for couples and those with children in ideal beachfront settings. With spacious rooms and suites, graciously appointed and luxuriously equipped, it will provide a picture-perfect vacation experience with welcoming service and romantic inclusions.
Hyatt Hotels has recently announced that it will undergo transformative growth in 2023, with a record pipeline of 117,000 rooms worldwide as of year-end 2022, one of which 10 percent is classified as a lifestyle hotel and illustrating Hyatts leadership position in the luxury, lifestyle, and leisure segments. According to the group, a notable driver of this growth is the announced asset-light acquisition of Dream Hotel Groups lifestyle hotel brand and management platform which is expected to bring established lifestyle hotel brands including Dream Hotels, Unscripted Hotels and The Chatwal into the Hyatt portfolio. The acquisition extends Hyatts brand footprint in strategic destinations including Saint Lucia, Nashville, Hollywood, Las Vegas, South Beach, Doha, and New York City.
Citizenship by investment
Launched in 2016, the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) of Saint Lucia is one of the top performers in the Caribbean region. As the demand for the programme such as this skyrockets amongst high net-worth individuals (HNWIs), the newly elected government is striving to utilise the funds brought in by the programme to develop more advanced public infrastructure and uplift the standard of living of its people.
Investors can choose between a range of investment options, including that of real estate, with a minimum investment amount of US$200,000.
The benefits of Saint Lucia CIP are well-known by High Net-Worth Individuals. As it offers a favourable environment for businesses and entrepreneurs, allowing them to increase their profits through the progressive tax structure and wide range of offshore banking services. The country offers favourable tax regimes to investors, along with providing passage to global markets and opportunities to diversify portfolios and wealth planning.
Saint Lucia is also popular for providing a family-friendly environment to the investors. The nation recognises dual citizenship and offers a chance to pass citizenship on to future generations. The alternative citizenship of Saint Lucia provides rights and equality, the same as those afforded to a natural born citizen of the country. Additionally, an investor can add dependents under one application.
CONTACT: PR St lucia Saint Lucia +1 758 458 6050 mildred.thabane@csglobalpartners.com
Orient Finans Bank informs on recapitalization due to redistribution of shares between majority owners.
Tashkent, Uzbekistanyes--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Shareholders of Orient Finans Bank, controlling over 52,5% of the stakes of this credit and financial institution, sold their shares to the partners, who exercised the right of pre-emption. Further the deal, Saken Polatov consolidated controlling interest of one of the biggest private banks in Uzbekistan with the share totaling 57,15%.
"For me, since the moment of its establishment, Orient Finans Bank was much more than just a business project. Together with flawless customer service which our team strives to render, the Bank, within 12 years of its operation, implemented numerous CSR-initiatives important to the society. I firmly believe focus on financial support to SMEs was the right decision from the very start, forming a DNA of the Bank as well as its long-term strategy," Saken Polatov said, commenting on the event.
Orient Finans Bank was established in June, 2010, in Tashkent. Saken Polatov, being one of its co-founders, was the Chairman of Supervisory Board from 2010 to 2020.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Zumrat Ergashbaeva
CEO GRANDPR
hello@grandpr.uz
. +99871 205 11 77
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155395
FILE PHOTO: Stacked containers are shown as ships unload their cargo at the Port of Los Angeles
LONDON (Reuters) - Global shipping companies are exploring ways to boost safety in transporting cargoes as risks grow from fires erupting inside containers or in cars at sea, officials said on Wednesday.
Shipping transports around 90% of world trade onboard different vessels including container and Ro-Ro ships with trade routes getting busier.
In a new initiative, leading carriers Evergreen Line of Taiwan, South Korea's HMM, Denmark's Maersk, Germany's Offen Group, Singapore's ONE (Ocean Network Express), Hong Kong's Seaspan as well as British ship certifier Lloyd's Register said they are looking into feasibility studies to understand how cargo is loaded and also monitored at sea, as well as finding solutions to detect fire onboard ships and speed up ways to stop it spreading.
"The priority for the first challenge area is to provide earliest indication of a fire incident, thus allowing the appropriate onboard responses to prevent the occurrence of large fires and loss," Rich McLoughlin, programme director for the cargo fire and loss innovation initiative, told Reuters.
"The initiative seeks to provide proof-points that emerging tech may be used to improve response times over the existing regulatory requirements, leading to enhanced vessel safety."
In its 2022 safety and shipping review, analysis by major insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty showed there had been over 70 reported fires on board container ships alone in the past five years, with growing risks faced by car carriers transporting electric vehicles using batteries.
"The main root cause for cargo fires on container ships is the integrity of dangerous goods throughout the supply chain. Therefore it is a problem that can only be improved through industry wide solutions," Maersk's Aslak Ross said separately in a statement.
(Reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Mark Potter)
Starbucks Oleato drinks blend coffee with a spoonful of Partanna cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil.
Starbucks is adding a spoonful of olive oil to its coffee.
The coffee giant is rolling out its new Oleato line in Italy this week and plans to bring it to Southern California this spring. The flavors will come to the United Kingdom, Japan and the Middle East later this year, the company announced Tuesday.
Starbucks cafes in Italy will offer three drinks infused with a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil: Oleato Caffe Latte, Oleato Iced Shaken Espresso and Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew.
The Partanna extra virgin olive oil is steamed with oat milk for the latte, shaken for the iced espresso and infused with vanilla sweet cream foam for the cold brew.
"The result is velvety smooth, delicately sweet and lush coffee that uplifts each cup with an extraordinary new flavor and texture," the company said in a statement.
The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan, meanwhile, will debut five Oleato beverages: Caffe Latte, Iced Cortado, Golden Foam Cold Brew, Deconstructed and Golden Foam Espresso Martini.
Recall: Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino drinks may contain glass; 300k bottles recalled
Fact check: Social media posts misrepresent Starbucks CEO quote from 2013
The lineup was inspired by a trip interim CEO Howard Schultz took last year to Sicily, where he learned about the "Mediterranean custom of taking a spoonful of olive oil each day," according to Starbucks.
He then began drinking a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil alongside his morning coffee and had the idea of mixing them together.
Schultz alluded to the new line earlier this month during an earnings call, describing the release as a "game changer."
"Now, there's going to be people who say, 'Olive oil in coffee?'" Schultz said in a statement. "But the proof is in the cup."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Starbucks introduces olive oil-infused coffee beverages in Italy
The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) transits Puget Sound past the Seattle skyline following a 41-month engineered refueling overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on Feb. 9. The Louisiana returns to Bangor on Feb. 17.
Those living along the shoreline of Hood Canal may have spotted a submarine sailing through the water on Friday. It was the USS Louisiana (SSBN-743), heading back to its homeport in Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor following the completion of its 41-month overhaul.
The Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) USS Louisiana arrived in Bremerton in August 2019 to conduct an Engineered Refueling Overhaul (ERO) at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. ERO is a type of refit to refuel Ohio-class SSBNs' nuclear power reactor and would extend a sub's service life for another 20 years. The Navy conducts EROs at Norfolk Naval Shipyard or Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, depending on where a submarine is assigned, in the 20th year of the submarines life, according to Department of Defense's Inspector General report in June 2018.
USS Louisiana was the last submarine of the 18 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (four were converted to Guided Missile Nuclear Submarines, SSGNs) to undergo the nuclear refueling process. The first sub to do an ERO was USS Ohio, which was commissioned in 1981 and conducted an ERO from 2002 to 2005.
Among the 18 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines' EROs, USS Louisiana's 41 months of overhaul was the longest. The USS Maine and USS Nebraska, the last two Bangor-based submarines conducting the process before Louisiana, spent 32 months and 40 months, respectively, undergoing the refueling process at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
A list of the 18 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines and the time to conduct the EROs:
Submarine Name Commission Refueling Overhaul Months USS Ohio 1981 Nov 2002 - Dec 2005 37 USS Michigan 1982 March 2004 - Nov 2006 32 USS Florida 1983 Aug 2003 - Apr 2006 32 USS Georgia 1984 March 2005 - Dec 2007 33 USS Henry M. Jackson 1984 Nov 2004 - March 2007 28 USS Alabama 1985 Jan 2006 - May 2008 28 USS Alaska 1986 Nov 2006 - March 2009 28 USS Nevada 1986 Feb 2008 - July 2010 29 USS Tennessee 1988 Jan 2009 - Aug 2011 31 USS Pennsylvania 1989 Dec. 2019 - Sept 2012 32 USS West Virginia 1990 March 2011 - Nov 2013 32 USS Kentucky 1991 Jan 2012 - April 2015 39 USS Maryland 1992 Jan 2013 - Feb 2016 37 USS Nebraska 1993 Feb 2014 - June 2017 40 USS Rhode Island 1994 Dec 2015 - Aug 2018 33 USS Maine 1995 Oct 2016 - June 2019 32 USS Wyoming 1996 Jan 2018 - Oct 2020 33 USS Louisiana 1997 Sept 2019 - Feb 2023 41
"The Louisiana ERO included 120,000 more resource days of work than the Nebraska ERO, and 150,000 more resource days of work than the Maine ERO. Additionally, the length of Louisianas ERO was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and unexpected new work items that included an unprecedented repair to a communication system," Puget Sound Naval Shipyard spokesperson Anna Taylor said.
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A resource day is one shift worked. The Louisianas ERO was the largest repair package in ERO history at more than 870,000 resource days, Taylor said.
'We cannot get complacent':Shipyard commander addresses USS Louisiana submarine accident
In addition to the nuclear refueling, shipyard workers also overhaul or replace major components within the submarine, upgraded the boat's electronic systems, and configured more living spaces for women on the boat, Taylor said.
In 2010, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates lifted the ban preventing women from serving aboard submarines. Ohio-class submarines were required to do habitability modifications to provide separate berthing and sanitary spaces for women submariners. Future Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines are being built gender-neutral and will not require any habitability modifications, according to the Navy.
Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) transits Puget Sound following a 41-month engineered refueling overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on Feb. 9.
With the completion of the ERO, USS Louisiana on Feb. 9 departed the shipyard in Bremerton to conduct sea trials and test the sub's performance and seaworthiness. The boat returned to Bangor on Friday after the general evaluation, said Submarine Group 9 spokesperson Lt. Corey T. Jones.
It is the Navy's plan to replace all its Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines eight based in Bangor with 12 new Columbia-class SSBNs. The 14 Ohio-class SSBNs entered service between 1984 (USS Henry M. Jackson) and 1997 (USS Louisiana). Originally designed to serve for 30 years, the Ohio-class SSBNs were later certified for 42-year service lives, consisting of two approximately 19-year periods of operation separated by a midlife engineered refueling overhaul, according to a Congressional Research Service report in January 2023.
The Navy procured the first Columbia-class boat in Fiscal Year 2021 and wants to procure the second one in the class in FY 2024 and the remaining 10 at a rate of one per year from FY2026 through FY2035, according to the report. The Navy plans to begin replacing the Ohio-class boats with new Columbia-class SSBNs in 2031.
SSBNs perform a singular mission of strategic nuclear deterrence and are armed with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). SLBMs are large, long-range missiles armed with multiple nuclear warheads, according to the report.
Previous coverage:USS Louisiana, last of the ballistic missile submarine fleet, to begin refueling at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Reporter Peiyu Lin covers the military for the Kitsap Sun. She can be reached at pei-yu.lin@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter @peiyulintw
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: USS Louisiana returns to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor after overhaul
Officials at Vanderbilt University are apologizing to students outraged that the university used ChatGPT to craft a consoling email after the mass shooting at Michigan State University.
Last Thursday, administrators at Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development sent an email to students and staff that noted, in small print at the bottom, that the message was a "paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication."
The email stressed the importance of "a safe and inclusive environment for all" and encouraged members of the college to "come together as a community," and was written in clear, understandable prose.
However, unlike a statement the day prior by the university's vice provost, which seemed to use more personal language than the Peabody message, the Peabody email lacked a list of campus resources students could access to help them process their emotions.
PHOTO: Vanderbilt University campus in Nashville, Tenn. (Douglas Sacha/Getty Images)
Laith Kayat, a senior whose sister attends Michigan State, called the use of ChatGPT "disgusting."
"There is a sick and twisted irony to making a computer write your message about community and togetherness because you can't be bothered to reflect on it yourself," Kayat told the Vanderbilt Hustler, the school's student paper, who first reported the Peabody College's use of AI.
MORE: Classes resuming at Michigan State University after on-campus shooting left 3 dead, 5 injured
According to the newspaper, Nicole Joseph, Peabody's associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion, sent a follow-up email apologizing.
"While we believe in the message and inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College," Joseph wrote, according to the Hustler.
Joseph did not respond to ABC News about how much of the email was "paraphrased" by a human and how much reflected ChatGPT's first draft.
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Camilla Benbow, Dean of the Peabody College, said in a statement that she was unaware of the email before it was sent and said she is investigating what led up to its release.
"I offer my heartfelt apologies to all those who deserved better from us and did not receive it," she said.
Joseph and Assistant Dean Hasina Mohyuddin will step back from their responsibilities with the EDI office as the university investigates, Benbow said in the statement.
A Vanderbilt spokeswoman directed ABC News to Benbow's statement and did not answer questions about how often university representatives use ChatGPT in official communication.
Vanderbilt University apologizes after using ChatGPT to console students originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Renowned costume and production designer Catherine Martin and her husband, director Baz Luhrmann, are known for the bold visual style of their collaborations and, not for nothing, Martin also is a four-time Oscar winner, having earned the costume and production design honors at the Academy Awards for Moulin Rouge! in 2002 and another pair in the same categories for The Great Gatsby in 2014. This year, she earned a trio of nominations for Warner Bros. Elvis, for costume and production design, as well as best picture since she also is a producer.
Reflecting on her collaboration with Luhrmann, Martin has learned that were in the business of allowing an audience into a world, connecting the audience to how it would have felt to be somewhere. Effectively, their work translates those visuals into an all-enveloping world that helps support the story so people understand who the [characters are] and where they are.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
She notes that Luhrmann also considers his movies will have about 30 percent close-ups, which for Martin means that costumes are akin to the set on which the face of an actor sits. And even with crowds, the clothes go hand in hand [with the environment] all the time. She reveals, in fact, that Luhrmann doesnt sign off on a costume unless hes seen it even in a most basic form on set: You know how to anticipate the environment and the clothing talking to each other.
At the start of each project, Luhrmann presents his thoughts on how it will all look. Therell be a whole series of musings, ideas, visual suggestions, Martin explains, noting that Elvis was a little different because they were creating a world that already existed. The first approach was to really understand the environments that Elvis lived in, the historical context that he lived in, the wardrobe, the period.
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This involved constructing authentic-looking sets for the film, including the theater where Presley played by Oscar-nominated Austin Butler performed at the International Hotel (later the Hilton, now the Westgate) in Las Vegas. Its enormously wide, and we built it on the largest stage that we had at Village Roadshow Studios in Gold Coast, Australia, where the movie filmed, Martin explains. I think it really tired poor Austin out when he had to perform full-out running up and down that stage.
Village Roadshow Studios in Australia.
They even created an operational gold curtain on the stage. We deliberately made it real because we wanted Elvis to be able to interact with it, touch it and pull it up above his head, says Martin. We ended up using exactly the same fabric bought from the same company [that created the curtain for the International]. In addition to the stage itself, the team constructed the backstage and about half of the auditoriums seating. On some days, as many as 450 extras participated in filming.
That amounted to a herculean effort from the costume department. Roughly 9,000 individual background cast outfits were created for use throughout the movies many performance re-creations, according to Martin.
Butler, meanwhile, had nearly 100 costume charges, including re-creations of the famous jumpsuits made for Presley by the late costume designer Bill Belew. We worked with the preeminent jumpsuit maker who has kept Bill Belews flame alive, Martin says.
In the costumes that Butler wore for performances, finding the right fabric was crucial in terms of what actually draped really well and was going to wiggle beautifully, says Martin, adding that getting this right also involved proper tailoring. Describing Butler as the fitting-room GOAT, she says, Austin was subjected to I dont know how many fittings with different pants and stretchy, heavy outfits. He was just an extraordinary collaborator. So nice, so hardworking, so patient.
This story first appeared in the Feb. 22 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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It's not just olive oil quantity that droughts and heatwaves will impact either.
Yiu Yu Hoi / Getty Images
Experts are warning that olive oil could join the list of kitchen staples seeing a price hike this year.
Droughts and intense heat ravaged olive-producing regions across Europe in 2022, causing a poor harvest season that will likely see supplies dwindle.
Major olive oil-producing and exporting countries like Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal are projecting lower bounties. Italy alone, the world's second-largest olive oil producer, is expected to produce 37% less oil from the 2022/23 season compared to last year, according to the Institute of Services for the Agricultural and Food Market.
Dusan Kaljevic, CEO of Filippo Berio U.S., tells Food & Wine, "Filippo Berio estimates that the global harvest will deliver only about 2.6/2.7 million metric tons of product 400,000 metric tons less than a typical good harvest." He adds, "We are projecting 20% less final product, which will result in 30%-50% price increases, depending on the type of oil."
Related:This Is Why Eggs Are So Expensive Right Now
According to The Copernicus Climate Change Service, "Europe saw its hottest summer ever recordedand several prolonged and intense heatwaves affected parts of western and northern Europe." It added, "The continent experienced its second warmest June ever recorded at about 1.6C (34.88F) above average and its warmest October, with temperatures nearly 2C (35.6F) above average."
Casey Corn, olive researcher and culinary consultant, tells Food & Wine, "the changing climate is absolutely going to result in the volatility of olive production." She continues, "With uncertain temperature patterns and weather events increasing in intensity, our crops aren't facing the same predictable environments that we've built infrastructure and businesses around."
It's not just olive oil quantity that droughts and heatwaves will impact either. Corn shares that environmental changes can affect olive oil's taste too.
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"That's why the concept of terroir, that the environment a crop is grown in is fundamental to its flavor, is so meaningful, and why we protect it with certifications like AOP, DPO, DOC, etc.," Corn says. She continues, "For the larger olive oil producers, smaller crops may mean they need to import more olives from different locations, which will also impact the resulting flavor."
To rectify the situation, Filippo Berio, one of Italy's top-selling brands for olive oils, is investing in and integrating sustainable initiatives to help ensure a reliable source of quality olive oil.
"Through research, we promote olive biodiversity that cultivates multiple varieties, including ancient and underutilized ones, to uncover productive cultivars that better tolerate climate extremes and exhibit resistance to pathogens," Kaljevic says. "Already, 18 underutilized varieties have shown high resilience."
Other olive oil companies are expressing their reactions to the poor harvest too. Jennifer LeClair, vice president of purchasing and operations at Pastene, shares that climate change's unpredictability is the hardest part for importers and growers.
"An action that would help is stronger innovation and implementation of state-of-the-art irrigation systems," LeClair says. "Growers will need stronger investments in irrigation technology for when the weather isn't cooperating and best for olive growth."
If we have learned anything from the recent egg fiasco, it's that investing in solutions and research to protect farmers and crops is necessary. Corn advises, "We are going to have to be more proactive in changing how we live on this planet. Implementing green policies and renewable energy infrastructure is of the utmost importance."
A woman pleaded guilty on Wednesday to mailing ricin to then-President Trump and eight Texas state law enforcement officials in September 2020.
A release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia states 55-year-old Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, who has dual citizenship in Canada and France, admitted she sent the threatening letters to Trump and the law enforcement officials along with the highly toxic substance.
Ricin is a toxin made from waste material left over from processing castor beans.
The release states Ferrier was detained in Texas for about 10 weeks during spring 2019, and she believed that the law enforcement officials played a role in the time she spent in custody. She also tweeted in September 2020 that someone should shoot Trump in the face.
The letter sent to Trump told him to [g]ive up and drop out of the 2020 presidential race. She sent the letters from Canada and then drove into Buffalo, N.Y., on Sept. 20 of that year.
U.S. Border Patrol officials stopped her after finding her in possession of a loaded firearm, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and other weapons. She was arrested and has remained in federal custody.
Ferrier pleaded guilty to prohibitions with respect to biological weapons in two separate criminal cases. One originated in the District of Columbia, while the other originated in the Southern District of Texas and was later transferred to the District of Columbia.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 26. The plea agreement will have her sentenced to 262 months in prison, or more than 21 years, if accepted by the judge.
There is no place for political violence in our country, and no excuse for threatening public officials or endangering our public servants, said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves. We hope this resolution will serve as a warning that using our mail system to send a toxic substance and other threats of this type will cost you your freedom for many years.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
At the event (Photo: VNA)
The event, held in the northern province of Quang Ninh by the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee, was the second to review activities of Peoples Councils in the National Assembly (NA)s 15th tenure, but the first at the national level.
In his closing remarks, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said that in 2022, Vietnam faced numerous difficulties and challenges, but it managed to successfully carry out tasks with relatively comprehensive results. Those common achievements were partly attributable to important contributions by people-elected bodies.
The new wind in activities of people-elected agencies is spreading more widely, which has concurrently inspired, created an impetus, and sustained the momentum for their activities, he said, noting that reforms have been made rather comprehensively and the Peoples Councils are working an increasingly substantive and effective manner.
Highlighting the importance of the year 2023 to the implementation of the 13th National Party Congresss resolution and the five-year plan for 2021 - 2025, he asked the Peoples Councils of provinces and centrally-run cities to base on the achievements and lessons last year to exert stronger efforts, show a higher sense of responsibility, and act more drastically.
In particular, Hue noted, the councils need to hold a crucial role in reforming local governance; ensure the adherence to the Constitution and law, improve transparency and accountability, and promote peoples engagement; help build democratic, professional, modern, scientific, clean, and transparent administrative agencies that work for the sake of people and enterprises; learn from experience to improve the effectiveness and sense of responsibility of the Peoples Councils of centrally-run cities; and continue implementing the Politburos conclusion on the organisation of administrative units.
This year, the NA and Peoples Councils will conduct votes of confidence for the positions elected or approved by the NA or Peoples Councils. The move will help evaluate officials reputation and performance of their assigned duties, the Chairman added./.
While Famine Looms, War in Ukraine Reduced the Percentage of Fully-Funded Hunger Programs in 2022, According to Action Against Hunger
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Only 47% of hunger funding needs through the UN humanitarian system are met, leaving a hunger funding gap of 53%, according to the Action Against Hunger 2023 Hunger Funding Gap Report. Released today, the analysis also found that countries experiencing the worst hunger crises received less hunger funding (by the percentage of appeals filled) than countries with lower rates of hunger.
The Action Against Hunger 2023 Hunger Funding Gap report found that countries experiencing the worst hunger crises received less hunger funding (by the percentage of appeals filled) than countries with lower rates of hunger.
While overall funding rose slightly in 2022, support was spread even thinner as needs grew. In 2022, only 3% of hunger program needs were fully funded and the majority (65%) of appeals were not even fulfilled to the halfway point. In 2021, 7% of hunger programs were fully funded and 57% of were not funded halfway. Zero nutrition-related appeals were fully funded in 2022, down from 15% in 2021.
The Action Against Hunger 2023 Hunger Funding Gap report was issued shortly before the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, which increased the cost of food, fertilizer, and energy. One in three households in Ukraine are estimated to be food insecure, and the war also has had far-reaching ripple effects. Approximately 828 million peopleone in ten worldwideare undernourished and as many as 50 million people in 45 countries are on the verge of famine.
"Before the war, all of Somalia's wheat imports came from Russia or Ukraine. By raising prices for food and fertilizer, the war in Ukraine is killing Somali children, too," said Ahmed Khalif, Country Director for Action Against Hunger in Somalia. "Our team looked at the percentage of funder-related appeals fulfilled by the global community and found that countries with lower hunger rates received more funding than countries experiencing the worst hunger crises. I see the impact, as the needs here keep growing every day."
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For the report, Action Against Hunger identified 13 countries that experienced "crisis" levels of hunger or worse in 2021 and analyzed how much funding those countries subsequently received, both for ongoing and emergency hunger-related programs in 2022. The analysis draws on food insecurity data from 2021 to show what funding decisions are made after donors see where hunger is greatest. This approach controls for the potential that hunger levels would be lower in countries that receive more funding.
"Hunger is a complex issue and funding is just part of what it will take to end hunger in our lifetimes. Yet, after working for more than 40 years across 50 nationsincluding all of the countries analyzed in this reportwe know that closing the hunger funding gap is a critical step," said Eric Bebernitz, Director of External Relations, Action Against Hunger. "While some donors gave more last year, needs rose even faster than support from the global community. It's short-sighted, since according to a USAID study, each dollar invested in resilience reduces later humanitarian spending by up to $3."
The report is the result of Action Against Hunger's analysis of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Humanitarian Response Plan funding data, as well as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Population Tracking Tool (IPC).
About Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger is a nonprofit leader in a global movement to end hunger in our lifetimes. It innovates solutions, advocates for change, and reaches 24 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 50 countries, its 8,300 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. It strives to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.
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SOURCE Action Against Hunger USA
Yesenia Navarrete Hunter poses for a portrait in front of a mulberry tree outside the Yakima Buddhist Church in Wapato, Wash., on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022.
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.
Features/The Vanished Editor
Tammy Ayer has worked at the Yakima Herald-Republic since 2015. This is her fourth newspaper gig. Alongside general assignment reporting and profiles, she writes about the centuries-long crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, focusing on those who have gone missing, been murdered and have died mysteriously on and around the Yakama Reservation. Ayer grew up in Indiana, lived in Florida for 13 years and has a masters degree in history.
China's space-tracking ship Yuanwang 5 [File Photo]
NANJING -- China's space-tracking ship Yuanwang 5 departed from a port in East China's Jiangsu province on Monday to conduct spacecraft monitoring missions.
This marks the ship's first ocean voyage in 2023 and the longest one since 2020.
Prior to the voyage, the crew members inspected the ship's onboard facilities and replenished their supplies for the upcoming mission.
Editor: JYZ
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Steel coils are to be delivered to domestic and overseas customers in a warehouse of Tianjin Xinyu Color Plate Co., Ltd. in Tianjin, north China, Feb. 2, 2023. (Xinhua)
TIANJIN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- At the plant of Tianjin Kaili Carpet Co., Ltd. in north China's Tianjin Municipality, production lines are running at full throttle as overseas orders pour in.
The company's main product is foldable and washable heat transfer printed carpets. "At a trade fair in Germany in early January, we received carpet orders worth 4 million yuan (about 583,000 U.S. dollars)," said Bai Hongwei, manager of Kaili.
"There are still many inquiries and additional orders from overseas customers recently, so we purchased new equipment and increased the carpet production capacity by more than 20 percent," said Bai, adding that the company's business is expected to usher in explosive growth this year.
The booming orders at the beginning of 2023 marked a robust rebound in foreign trade in Tianjin, giving confidence to many local companies, meanwhile injecting new momentum into the global economy.
At the warehouses of the Tianjin Xinyu Color Plate Co., Ltd., tens of thousands of steel coils are densely stacked, waiting to be shipped to domestic and overseas customers.
In early January, the company exported nearly 10,000 tonnes of steel coil products to Israel. "Our products have been exported to many countries, such as Brazil and Chile," said Liu Yuehua, chief engineer of the company.
The company has an annual comprehensive production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes of coils. Liu is quite confident about the global market this year. "We plan to recruit 150 new employees to meet the increasing orders," Liu added.
Moreover, the municipal government also organized local companies to seek business opportunities overseas. On Jan. 15, the municipal commission of commerce led 30 foreign-trade companies to Japan and the Republic of Korea to garner overseas orders.
"During the visit, we arranged 14 business activities, and led companies to visit over 20 world-renowned companies," said Sun Jiannan, director of the commission.
"We introduced the development of the Chinese market and new sales models such as live streaming to overseas enterprises during the visit. They were very interested and looked forward to coming to China for trade and investment cooperation," said Zhang Yihai, head of a cross-border trade service company in Tianjin.
China's annual foreign trade value hit a record high again in 2022, as the country works to better coordinate epidemic response with economic and social development amid complex and severe domestic and international situations, official data showed.
Total goods trade reached 42.07 trillion yuan, up 7.7 percent year on year, topping the world for six consecutive years, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC). The figure exceeded 40 trillion yuan for the first time, said the GAC.
Following the country's optimized COVID-19 response, Chinese enterprises have accelerated their work resumption and are actively expanding overseas markets and tapping business opportunities, which not only boost their confidence in development but also show the vitality of China's economy, said Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics.
Editor: JYZ
A journalist views an exhibit at the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) in south China's Hong Kong, Feb. 21, 2023. A special exhibition themed "Radiance: Ancient Gold from the Hong Kong Palace Museum Collection and the Mengdiexuan Collection" was unveiled here on Tuesday.
A total of 220 sets of ancient Chinese gold objects are on display at the exhibition, which will be open to the public from Feb. 22 to Sept. 25. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)
A journalist views the exhibits at the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) in south China's Hong Kong, Feb. 21, 2023. A special exhibition themed "Radiance: Ancient Gold from the Hong Kong Palace Museum Collection and the Mengdiexuan Collection" was unveiled here on Tuesday.
A total of 220 sets of ancient Chinese gold objects are on display at the exhibition, which will be open to the public from Feb. 22 to Sept. 25. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)
Journalists view the exhibits at the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) in south China's Hong Kong, Feb. 21, 2023. A special exhibition themed "Radiance: Ancient Gold from the Hong Kong Palace Museum Collection and the Mengdiexuan Collection" was unveiled here on Tuesday.
A total of 220 sets of ancient Chinese gold objects are on display at the exhibition, which will be open to the public from Feb. 22 to Sept. 25. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)
A journalist takes photos of the exhibits at the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) in south China's Hong Kong, Feb. 21, 2023. A special exhibition themed "Radiance: Ancient Gold from the Hong Kong Palace Museum Collection and the Mengdiexuan Collection" was unveiled here on Tuesday.
A total of 220 sets of ancient Chinese gold objects are on display at the exhibition, which will be open to the public from Feb. 22 to Sept. 25. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)
This photo taken on Feb. 21, 2023 shows the exhibits at the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) in south China's Hong Kong. A special exhibition themed "Radiance: Ancient Gold from the Hong Kong Palace Museum Collection and the Mengdiexuan Collection" was unveiled here on Tuesday.
A total of 220 sets of ancient Chinese gold objects are on display at the exhibition, which will be open to the public from Feb. 22 to Sept. 25. (Xinhua/Chen Duo)
Editor: JYZ
Right-wing opposition Mi Hazank has initiated an amendment to the penal code to restore the legal age of sexual consent for same-sex couples from the current 14 to 18, party lawmaker Elod Novak said.
Novak told a press conference that, if necessary, the party would also initiate the amendment to the constitution to change the current situation so as to give proper protection to young people who are more vulnerable than adults.
He said Mi Hazank was the only party that demands a ban on homosexual propaganda marches, the same way as paedophilia is banned.
Novak said homosexuality was a sexual deviance which is unnatural and a biological dead-end.
Geza Halasz, Mi Hazanks spokesman on family and social affairs, said that whereas Hungarys child protection law prohibited homosexual propaganda for minors, it allowed an adult to convince a same-sex minor to engage in sexual activity.
There is serious legal inconsistency, nearing hypcrisy, in the regulations, he added.
MTI Photo
Marion Merricks books are the only first-hand account written by a westerner of what it was like to live and work in communist Hungary, and then in the aftermath of the 1989 change of regime.
Now You See It, Now You Dont and House of Cards have been included as part of the Open Society Archive dedicated to this period in the CEU. You can read a serialisation of them here on Xpatloop. You can also buy the dual-volume book on Kindle as well as in Stanfords London.
Chapter three: Market and May Day: Garay ter
Part 12 1978 flashback: A narrow escape
Mrs H. was delighted with the presents, and the clothes fitted. My two weeks with Paul passed in visiting museums, going to concerts, and a memorable trip to the cathedral in Esztergom, the day when winter's snows melted in an upsurge of sixteen degrees of spring sunshine.
Once or twice we met Miklos and went out for a meal. We were both amazed at the cheapness and quality both of restaurants and supermarket food. We bought large numbers of classical records, books and sheet music and had practically no money left the day before we were to leave.
That morning, a Friday, we awoke with no other plan than going to Miklos's and Rezi's house for a meal in the evening. Mrs H. had already left for work at seven o'clock as usual, but had left a note in the kitchen beside our breakfast.
It looked like a bill: itemised were eight weeks' food for Paul and two weeks' for myself. The total far exceeded any realistic calculation of what two weeks' food could have cost, even if we had eaten in restaurants for the entire duration.
Nowhere were the purchases from England mentioned. A further large sum had been added for telephone calls we had simply not made. We rang Miklos who soon came round and rang Mrs H. at work. He began trying to explain the absurdity of her demands, but she hung up. It was then we learnt that their antipathy to one another was mutual. Miklos told us not to worry, but to bring the 'bill' with us that evening.
The couple lived with her parents in a leafy area of Buda. Rezi had cooked a wonderful meal and they gave us a beautifully illustrated book on the history of Hungary as a parting present. Finally, Miklos wrote a note for us by way of reply to what Mrs H. had left us, telling her she should be more than satisfied with the things I had brought since, even if she had been able to buy them in Hungary, they would have cost several times the amount on her bill.
Mrs H. was asleep when we returned, so we left the note in the kitchen and went to bed. At six o'clock the following morning our door was flung open and Mrs H. stormed into the room. She was screaming and brandishing the note above her head.
In the heat of the moment, she abandoned all but her native Hungarian, but the cause of her hysteria was not difficult to guess. Two doors led into our bedroom and she continued to run in through one and out of the other, screaming all the time.
Then suddenly, something caught her eye and she made a lunge for the table in our room. It was my keys. She obviously had thoughts of locking us in the flat. I jumped out of bed and snatched the keys before she could reach them. She ran from our room and began to make a telephone call.
We got dressed quickly and packed the last of our belongings but had no idea what to do next. I looked carefully through the open door into the sitting room. She was not there. We decided to risk a call to Miklos. Miklos? Thank God. She's gone mad about your note. She tried to take away our keys. Can't you try and talk to her?
I'll try, but I'm not optimistic, came the reply.
Mrs H. reappeared. I handed the receiver to her. She said a few words and then handed the phone back. It's no good, Miklos told us, she won't discuss it at all. I'll go to the office that rented the room for you and try to sort things out. Will you be alright?
We'll manage, I replied. Our plane leaves at three. Maybe we'll see you before then. Anyway, thanks for your help. Bye.
Mrs H. approached us again with a copy of the bill she had given us, pointing to the total sum of money she wanted us to pay her. I asked in German, And what about what I brought you? She walked off back to the phone, and we adjourned to the kitchen for some breakfast.
Some time and many phone calls later, she came to the kitchen with her bill and started shouting again, threatening to call the police if we did not pay. I told her we had no money left and I would have to ring the embassy to find out which bank was open on a Saturday.
It was a bluff, I had no intention of trying to get to a bank, I merely wanted to ask someone what the best course of action was in the circumstances. She allowed me to ring. Hello, British Embassy? I enquired.
Yes.
I outlined our predicament as briefly as I could. I'm sorry, madam, came the smooth reply as I finished, We're closed on Saturdays.
But you can't be closed, I shouted. We're likely to be arrested.
Just a minute I waited. The voice returned. We recommend you leave the building as quickly as possible and go to the airport and wait for your plane. I thanked him and hung up.
I relayed the call to Paul. Let's pretend we're going to the bank and make a run for it, he suggested. We told Mrs H. that we would go to the bank at nine, so a truce ensued during which we carried our cases into the hall and she, still in her nightdress, continued to make phone calls.
We waited until she seemed sufficiently deep in conversation for us to risk making a bolt for it. The only hitch in the plan was that we were on the fifth floor and the lift was not working. We ran out, cases in hand, to hear a shriek of horror behind us and shouts of Rendorseg! Rendorseg! (Police! Police!)
Staircase and lift Courtesy Wikimedia
It was not easy to carry the heavily laden cases down the stairs at any speed. Mrs H. soon caught up with us and tried to tear my handbag off my shoulder, realising that to take away our tickets and passports would pre-empt our escape.
Having failed in this, she grabbed my suitcase and we wrestled with it until the handle came off and I continued my descent kicking the suitcase ahead of me. By this time, anyone in the building who had not gone to work was standing in their doorway watching in silent disbelief.
Paul was waiting for me on the second floor, but as I reached him, a flat door behind him opened and hands half-beckoned, half-pulled us in. The door was quickly closed behind us.
What's wrong? asked an elderly woman in perfect English, taking us into the sitting room. We explained the whole story. She was kind, though I felt she did not quite believe it all. How terrible, she said.
Your first visit to Hungary and you will never want to come back. But how can I help you? Shall I call a taxi for you? We consented gratefully. Meanwhile, Mrs H. banged on the front door and shouted in an affected gruff voice, This is the police! It was bizarre.
The taxi arrived in the street below, but we had no idea how to get past Mrs H. In the event we found her sitting, still in nightdress and dressing-gown, on the stairs outside. She followed us meekly out into the street, but as we got into the taxi she once again produced her bill and indicated that she wanted Paul's signature on it as an acknowledgement that he owed the money.
He wrote a capital P. and M. followed by a scribble. She scoffed, and showed it to the bemused taxi driver asking, That's not a signature, is it?
He shrugged and revved his engine. I'm going to the office to check your signature, and if it's no good I'm coming after you to the airport, she threatened as she allowed the taxi to leave.
Fotaxi Courtesy Fortepan/ Peter Karabalyos
We had an anxious five-hour wait at the airport before the departure of our flight. Once back in England Miklos rang to say that Mrs H. had been to the office and complained that Paul hit her, but that they had believed his and our story, and would never again send anyone there.
And now here I stood once more, practically outside her front door. I wondered if we would recognise one another if we did meet, and what her reaction might be. I did not wait to find out.
Click here for earlier extracts
Hungarian Interchurch Aid has delivered more than 6 billion forints (EUR 15.6m) worth of aid to Ukraine over the past year, helping 245,000 people, the organisations president said.
Around half of the aid has been contributed by the Hungarian government, Laszlo Lehel told a roundtable discussion in Budapest marking one year since the start of the war in Ukraine.
During the first phase of the war, Hungarian Interchurch Aid delivered a lot of food to those in need, before setting up a storage facility in Berehove (Beregszasz) from where the food is now distributed, Lehel said. The organisation has now delivered aid to every Ukrainian oblast, he said.
Janos Gerevich, head of Hungarian Interchurch Aids representation in Ukraine, said the organisation has delivered 1.393 million kilograms of aid to the country over the past year, 300,000 kilograms of which is in western Ukraines Transcarpathia region.
Most of the supplies delivered were food, baby food and hygienic supplies, he said. Mykhailyna Skoryk-Shkarivska, deputy mayor of Bucha, said the reconstruction of Bucha had already begun.
She said around 90% of Buchas 35,000 residents had returned to the city. Natalia Kravets, head of the League of Socially Responsible Women in Kherson, said Ukrainians would win the war because they have to win.
She said they would then have to rebuild all that had been destroyed in their country.
The event was also attended by Aniko Levai, the wife of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and a welfare ambassador of Hungarian Interchurch Aid.
The head of the delegation of the European Parliaments Pegasus committee visiting Budapest has said everything indicates that [the Pegasus] spyware was grossly abused in Hungary.
Jeroen Lenaers and rapporteur Sophia in t Veld held a press conference after a two-day visit to Budapest, as part of an investigation in several member states into possible misuse of the Pegasus spyware developed by an Israeli company.
Reports published in mid-2021 said some 300 Hungarians had been targets of surveillance.
Lenaers told the press conference many of the questions of the delegation had remained unanswered. The Hungarian government rejected meeting the delegation shortly before its arrival, without giving proper justification, he said.
He said Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga chose to attack us with conspiracy theories on foreign forces attacking Hungary.
Lenaers, a Dutch MEP, said they received no explanation on why so many people had been wiretapped by Hungarian authorities. Are demonstrators, lawyers and journalists really such a threat to public safety? He said Hungarian authorities had cited national security concerns as a blanket reason to target anyone
Lenaers said the practice ran afoul of EU legislation, and urged the Hungarian government to follow EU law and safeguard fundamental rights and provide the citizens of Hungary with proper options for redress.
Here in Hungary, it is clear that people feel that their basic rights are systematically violated, Lenaers said. Victim protection and legal remedies are insufficient because the targets of the spyware are not notified after the surveillance has ended, which goes against the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, Lenaers said.
He called on the government to stop using the broad term national security concerns as a reason for surveillance.
Sophia in t Veld said using spyware against people vital for democracy such as journalists, NGOs and opposition politicians harms the rule of law itself. She said Pegasus can excessively intrude the targets private life by accessing the entire content of their mobile phone.
Veld, also a Dutch MEP, called the abuse of spyware the biggest threat to democracy at this moment in time.
Spyware concerns are very much Europes business, because every single member state is a part of the European Union, she said. With the use of spyware, you can manipulate elections, she warned.
The committee is expected to prepare its final report in April, the head of the delegation said.
Secondary school students from around a hundred countries will participate in the 35th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) to be held in Szeged, in southern Hungary, from August 28, an official of the ministry of economic development said.
Szabolcs Szolnoki, the deputy state secretary for technology, told a press conference that Hungary won the right to host the event for the second time. It first hosted the event in 1996.
Every country will be represented by four contestants. Hungary, as the organiser, will have eight students competing, he said.
Around 1,000 people, including accompanying staff, will attend the event, he added.
Competitions will be held on Aug. 28 and Sept. 4, and the event has been timed to coincide with the 120th birth anniversary of mathematician John von Neumann.
Click here to know more about International Olympiad in Informatics
The global finance centre of the World Food Program (WFP) will move to Budapest following the signing of the relevant agreement, Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister, said in Rome.
Szijjarto said the move would boost Hungarys role in the fight against hunger, according to a ministry statement.
After meeting WFP chief executive David Beasley, he said the agreement was signed after several months of negotiations, and parliament will vote on its ratification next week. Fully 70% of the aid groups financial global activities will be handled by 80 people working in Budapest from the spring, he added.
The Hungarian state will cover the centres operating costs for 15 years, and this will free up more money for the WFP to spend on the fight against global hunger, Szijjarto said, adding that the organisations activities helped would-be migrants to stay in their homelands rather than search for basic necessities elsewhere.
The minister noted that several UN organisations have already located their regional or global headquarters in Hungary.
Commenting on the war in Ukraine, Szijjarto said the conflict had unleashed an unprecedented global food crisis, with the number of people suffering from extreme hunger having risen from 80 million before the war to 345 million today.
Being among the largest food producers, Russia and Ukraine are vital to the worlds food supply, he said, adding that food production faced mounting difficulties the longer the war lasted. The longer the war lasts, the more people starve, he said.
The political destabilisation of any region is directly linked to hunger [and] as extreme ideologies spread, terrorism appears and new mass migration gets under way.
The minister said the food crisis and its effect on global security was yet another reason for the establishment of an immediate ceasefire and peace talks.
YORK A 36-year-old California man is facing two felony charges after being caught with 38 pounds of high grade marijuana during a traffic stop in York County.
Horacio Garcia-Farias of Tulare, California, appeared in York County District Court this past week, during which he pleaded not guilty to possession of more than one pound of marijuana and having no drug tax stamp, both Class 4 felonies.
If convicted, he could be facing a possible maximum sentence of two years in prison per count.
The case began when a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol saw Farias vehicle on Interstate 80, noting some issues with the license place and brake lights, as well as some traffic violations.
A traffic stop was initiated.
According to court documents, the trooper could see two very large, very full duffel bags in the third row seats, while he was speaking with Farias who was alone in the vehicle. It is also noted that the trooper found Farias to be quite nervous while they were having a conversation.
A consensual search was conducted and in the duffel bags, troopers found 38.6 pounds of marijuana.
OMAHA The family of a local young woman whose death police consider to be suspicious remember her big smile and her even bigger heart.
Milagros Lopez, 23, of Omaha, died at the Nebraska Medical Center after being found in alley behind her home near 23rd and Castelar streets at about 3 a.m. Thursday, police said.
Lopezs cause of death remains unknown, but it does not appear that she died from gunfire or being stabbed, Omaha Police Department Lt. Neal Bonacci said. Police are searching for a dark-colored, newer model car, possibly a Chrysler 300, that was seen leaving the area around the time of the incident.
Lopez was the baby sister in a "huge" family, according to her sister, Jennifer Toledo. Born and raised in Omaha, Lopez graduated from Omaha South High School and went on to work full-time after graduation.
A young woman with a deep love for family, Lopez would call each of her siblings almost every day. She loved spending time with her nieces and nephews and embraced her role as the "cool aunt."
"She was so full of life," Toledo said. "She loved so hard and never held a grudge. And she always lived her life to the fullest, because she always said that she knew tomorrow wasn't promised."
Lopez dealt with legal troubles in recent years and was facing potential jail time for felony possession of a controlled substance, THC concentrate, a charge that was filed earlier this year. She had also been charged with a misdemeanor DUI in November 2022 and was scheduled to appear in court on both charges in the coming months.
But in the weeks before her death, Toledo said, Lopez was most excited about going back to school. She had registered for classes for the upcoming semester, and though she was still unsure about what she wanted to study, she was considering following in Toledo's footsteps and taking automotive engineering courses.
Toledo said the family doesn't have any more information about the circumstances of Lopez's death than the public, but is working tirelessly to find answers.
Bonacci said Monday that officers from the homicide and traffic units are investigating the death. Police ask anyone with information about Lopez's death to contact the homicide unit at 402-444-5656 or contact Omaha Crime Stoppers anonymously at 402-444-STOP, at omahacrimestoppers.org, or using the P3 Tips mobile app.
"We hope somebody has the heart to speak up so we can get justice for her," Toledo said. "Somebody potentially did this to her, and whoever did it didn't even have the heart to get her help. They just left her there as if she was nothing, when she was everything to us."
Getting away with murder: Nebraska cold cases Ann Marie Kelley Carl Bittner K.K. Kody Christi Nichols Donald Bennett Ernestine Ruschy Eugene McGuire Jay Durnil Mary Heese Gregory Moore Irvin Settje Jason Remsen Jason Vesper Brian Walker Arthur Morley Jay Blockson Jeanne Kassebaum William, Bernice and Barbara Peak Jeffrey Snoddy Joy Blanchard Demetrius Simpson Julie Derrick Leah Rowlands Letha Harley Mary Cabral Mary Cronin Merlin Mosel Mitchell Simon Patrick Vostades Rebecca Williams Richard Chadek Richard Lessley Robert Beaudoin Robert Heelan Rudolfo Flores Russell McKnight Sandy Green Sarah Neal Tyrone Banister Waddell Robinson Charles Hanks
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke in favor of involving Italian businesses in the project of restoring Ukraine.
"We talked a lot about the restoration of Ukraine, the reconstruction of our state. I see this as an important element. This is a signal that Italy believes the war will end. This is an important signal for Ukrainians that they believe in us," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday after talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
"The restoration of Ukraine will be a major international project, because Russia has destroyed many cities and villages, and help will be needed not only at the state level, but also help from business. Thanks to such conferences [Ukrainian-Italian Recovery Conference], business can be attracted. He must receive certain guarantees," he said.
Zelenskyy also suggested that Italy take one of the destroyed regions of Ukraine under patronage. "It is important for us that Italy decide which region can be under its patronage. We have such a practice and we proposed to choose from the destroyed regions," he said.
Three-box silhouette has now transformed to a box and triangle! This statement might be coming from the creative side of mine, but with coupe-like design language accepted by most sedans these days, I am not completely wrong. The new-gen Hyundai Verna slated to go on sale next month is also following this approach. The design sketches of the upcoming sedan are out, and we can tell you that the 2023 Hyundai Verna will look bold. Also, bookings for the saloon are already open, and the company has confirmed more on its forthcoming offering. In case you still have your heart over sedans and the 2023 Hyundai Verna is on your mind, heres all that you need to know about it.
Look at the design sketch and let your heart answer How does the new Verna look? question. We know the design will have polarising opinions, but it is indeed a craft to pursue such design on a mass-market car where sharpness and futuristic appeal remain on top. In short, the upcoming 2023 Hyundai Verna looks impressive with its split headlamp design, large LED light bar, and long-low-slung hood. The car appears long, and the roofline tapers down to the boot lid, which gets razor-sharp tail lamps with another lightbar. Dual-tone alloy wheels sport a busy design.
2023 Hyundai Verna Interior
The bad news is Hyundai has not shared the glimpse of the interior yet. However, we do know that the upcoming 2023 Hyundai Verna will come fitted with some segment-first features. The list will include a larger 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment unit, all-digital instrument cluster, ventilated front seats, ADAS, adaptive cruise control and more. For the layout, it will use Parametric design language, making the interior theme boast cohesion with exterior. The Verna will further come with an electric sunroof, and it will have increased space on the inside.
Also read - Upcoming Mid-Size SUVs to Launch in India in 2023: Hyundai Creta to Renault Duster
In the new generation rendition, the Hyundai Verna will be sold with two powertrain choices. There will be a 1.5L NA petrol motor with 115 PS and 144 Nm of max output. It is likely to be sold with two transmission choices - 6-speed MT and 6-speed IVT. Alongside, there will be a more powerful 1.5L turbo-petrol motor on offer. It will be offered with a 6-speed MT and 7-speed DCT. The option of an oil burner is discarded this time.
2023 Hyundai Verna Launch Date & Price
The company has started accepting bookings for the new-gen model, and it is slated for a launch on March 21. The expected price for the 2023 Verna is around Rs 10.50 lakh. Once launched, it will rival the likes of the Volkswagen Virtus, Skoda Slavia, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, and the upcoming Honda City Facelift.
An oil leak in one of the engines caused an Air India aircraft on Wednesday from Newark to Delhi to be diverted to Stockholm, according to a senior official. The flight, which was carried out using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, had an oil leak in one of the engines, according to the top DGCA official. The official continued, "After the engine was shut down due to the oil leak, the flight successfully landed in Stockholm. The flight had 300 passengers onboard, along with 284 pax and 8 infants.
During the ground inspection, oil was seen coming out from the drain mast of engine two, the official said, adding that the inspection is in progress. An airline official said the flight en route from Newark in the US was diverted to Stockholm in Sweden due to a technical issue. The passengers at the airport were provided with lounge access and meals.
Also read: PM Narendra Modi to Inaugurate Shivamogga Airport on February 27, IAF Completes Trial Run of Flights
In a similar incident on Monday, an Air India flight from New York (JFK Airport) to Delhi (IGIA) was diverted to London Heathrow airport due to a medical emergency. Flight AI-102 carried out by Boeing 777-300ER, landed at Heathrow Airport, where the ground staff was prepared to provide emergency assistance to the passenger in need. Because of the emergency landing, the international flight was delayed by a few hours.
Meanwhile, Air India staff at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport got involved in an altercation with passengers after a Mumbai-bound flight was delayed for more than four hours. The delay in flight agitated the passengers leading to a heated argument. Later on, the airline staff stated that the delay in flight was caused because of technical reasons. They also claimed that all the passengers at the airport were served meals while they were waiting for the flight's take-off. However, the air travellers called it a bad experience with the airline.
With PTI Inputs
On February 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially inaugurate Shivamogga Airport, a project that was the vision of B.S. Yediyurappa, a past chief minister of Karnataka and a member of the BJP Central Committee. The Center's UDAN program, which aims to make air travel cheap for everyone, funded the construction of the brand-new domestic airport at Sogane in the Shivamogga district. B S Yediyurappa, the previous chief minister, laid the foundation stone in June 2020.
B.Y. Raghavendra, MP from Shivamogga, also the son of Yediyurappa, stated on Tuesday that PM Modi will inaugurate the Shivamogga airport on February 27, and his special flight will be the first to land in the airport on the inauguration day. Raghavendra said, "all are happy and proud that PM Modi`s flight is the first to land."
Also read: Engineering Student Touches Emergency Exit Door on Chennai-Delhi Flight, Booked
"PM Modi will also inaugurate various development projects and lay foundation stones. Shivamogga airport was built at the cost of Rs 449 crore, making it one of the most cost-effective airports in India. The airport is built on par with international airports with a night landing facility," he added.
The first trial flight lands at #Shivamogga.
Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji to inaugurate the #ShivamoggaAirport on Feb 27 by landing on this newly constructed Airport.
Come, let us all be a part of this historic moment. @JM_Scindia @AAI_Official @AmitShah@BSYBJP @BSBommai pic.twitter.com/cIcqUQtPOO B Y Raghavendra (@BYRBJP) February 21, 2023
Before the inauguration on Feb 27, a trial flight of the Indian Air Force plane safely landed at the newly-built Shivamogga Airport in Karnataka on Tuesday, authorities said.
Sharing the information on his Twitter handle with the video clip of the aircraft landing at the airport, Shivamogga MP B Y Raghavendra said, "The first trial flight lands at #Shivamogga. Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji to inaugurate the #ShivamoggaAirport on Feb 27 by landing on this newly constructed Airport. Come, let us all be a part of this historic moment."
The well-equipped airport is situated on 662.38 acres of land, and apart from the runway, terminal building, ATC tower, and fire station building, the airport has a taxiway, apron, approach road, peripheral road, and compound wall.
With Agency Inputs
Mimi Chakraborty, a member of the Trinamool Congress Party, has filed a formal complaint with an Emirates Airlines representative regarding the presence of hair in her flight meal. The actress-turned-politician Chakraborty stated that despite filing a formal protest with the airline's representatives, there was no reaction, so she released a detailed explanation of the situation on Twitter late Tuesday night.
"Dear @emirates. I belive u hav grown 2 big to care less abut ppl travelling wit u. Finding hair in meal is not a cool thing to do I believe. Maild u nd ur team but u didn`t find it necessary to reply or apologise. @EmiratesSupport. That thing came out frm my croissant I was chewing. You can find my mail with all details if you care @emirates, @ @EmiratesSupport, @EmiratesTrans," Chakraborty`s Twitter message read.
Also read: Air India 'Fooling Customers', Says Agitated Passenger After Delhi-Mumbai Flight Delay: Watch
With her message, she has also uploaded pictures of the meal served to her on board, where the hair was reportedly found.
Dear @emirates i believe u hav grown 2 big to care less abut ppl traveling wit u.Finding hair in meal is not a cool thing to do i believe.
Maild u nd ur team but u didnt find it necessary to reply or apologise @EmiratesSupport
That thing came out frm my croissant i was chewing pic.twitter.com/5di1xWQmBP Mimi chakraborty (@mimichakraborty) February 21, 2023
In the midst of successfully carrying out her acting career, Chakraborty contested and got elected from the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in the South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. She defeated her nearest candidate, BJP`s Anupam Hazra, by a massive margin of 2,95,239 votes, grabbing almost 48 percent of the total votes.
With IANS Inputs
New Delhi: With a protracted decline in the value of the company's stock, Amazon corporate staff are reportedly facing a wage cut. According to Bloomberg, Amazon grants restricted stock units (RSUs) to workers, most likely in higher positions, in an effort to keep them on the team for a longer period of time. The success of the company and particular departments affects the value of the stocks.
When given RSUs, employees are encouraged to treat their work as if it were their own. According to the paper, Amazon's shares fell more than 35 percent in 2022 as a result of unfavourable macroeconomic conditions, which caused pay for 2023 to be between 15 percent and 50 percent lower than the predicted targets the company set for its employees. (Also Read: Viral Video: Man Pays Bill of Rs 800 with Coins at Taj Hotel: WATCH)
Individuals with knowledge of the situation revealed to the publication that "The stock price rose annually by an average of roughly 30% between 2017 and early 2022. However, some employee compensation plans are set up based on the idea that Amazon's shares will trade at around $170 (nearly Rs 14,000 per share), even though the company's stock is now selling at around $96 per share (roughly Rs 7,950)." (Also Read: PhysicsWallah Kota Centre Manager Fired After Tussle Between Student, Management: Watch Video Here)
According to the article, Amazon's human resources division distributed "training documents" to managers to help them deal with the wage cut. Also, managers are urged to hang onto staff until stock values start to rise.
According to rumours, Amazon normally pays employees less in base salary than its competitors, but employees make up the difference by vesting these stocks. Workers claim that the longer an Amazon employee works for the company, the more their salary may be dependent on stock awards, with stocks accounting for 50 percent or more of certain employees' overall income.
During an all-hands meeting at Amazon's Seattle headquarters, CEO Andy Jassy reportedly addressed the wage cut as well. The market, according to the CEO, is in a "funky situation," and Amazon has already made the difficult choice to fire 18,000 employees.
He continued, "Compensations are affected as a result. And that is challenging. All of that is challenging. But I have a lot of hope that we will be able to go through this difficult period comparatively stronger than when we started."
According to Bloomberg, Amazon may give staff fewer raises and has ceased giving out more RSUs. Also, Amazon has withdrawn employment offers from certain applicants who had already accepted them.
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh government proposed it will provide tablets or smartphones to students under Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme. A monetary provision of Rs 3,600 crore has been made for the scheme in the Budget document for 2023-24, tabled in the Assembly today.
State finance minister Suresh Khanna, in his speech, pegged the total Budget size at Rs 6.90 lakh crore. In 2022-23, the state's Budget estimate was at Rs 6.15 lakh crore. (Also Read: Viral Video: Man Pays Bill of Rs 800 with Coins at Taj Hotel: WATCH)
For the financial year 2023-24, the nominal rate of increase in Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated at 19 percent, said Khanna, adding that the state`s growth rate is encouraging in an era of likely global recession. (Also Read: UP Finance Minister Tables Budget FY24 in State Assembly)
Among major budgetary allocations, the state allocated Rs 25,350 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission, hoping that all households will be covered with tap drinking water. Last year's allocation was Rs 19,500 crore.
"By the year 2023-2024, a target has been set to provide pure drinking water under Jal Jeevan Mission by providing functional household tap connections to all 2.26 crore households in the state," the Finance minister said.
Further, under UP Tourism Policy 2022, the state sets an investment target of Rs 10 lakh crore, aiming to create 20,000 jobs in the next five years.
New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Wednesday said political parties have encouraged an entitlement mentality and created a "cradle-to-grave" welfare state by offering freebies. Gandhi, who has been voicing concern about various governance issues, said there is a need to have a conversation about the widespread abuse of public funds by offering freebies. "Making such promises is an insult to voters, when many such promises are simply left unfulfilled or partially so," Gandhi told PTI while talking about his latest book "The Indian Metropolis" which discusses challenges that Indian cities face.
"All political parties offer freebies now and through it, an entitlement mentality has been encouraged, creating a cradle-to-grave welfare state," he said.
However, he added that not every scheme or manifesto promise is a freebie, free food at schools, for students, as offered under the Mid-Day Meal scheme should not be classified as a freebie, given that it helps improve the health of our children.
He further said reforming this mindset up of freebies will require initiatives on multiple tracks.
"Governments (whether state or Centre) announcing freebies should be required to providing a funding plan - to bolster Parliament (and state assembly) budgetary understanding and enhance their ability to act, a Budgetary Office should be established to aid in writing policies and conducting budgetary analysis," Gandhi, a three-time MP from Uttar Pradesh, suggested.
Talking about his book, which discusses challenges in front of urban cities, Gandhi said India's cities have notably "failed to consider the need for numerous urban green spaces" in their master plans.
"At the government level, we face a significant poverty of understanding about the value of forests and green zones in our cities and their intangible benefits," Gandhi said.
To buttress his point, he cited the example of Mumbai and said the city's development plans in 1964 and 1991 sought to plan out land use for a period of 20 years, but essentially resulted in a dilution of green spaces.
And now every year, some of Mumbai's priciest real estate sinks under the deluge of monsoon rain, he added.
India needs to rethink how it manages its cities, with a push for making our urbanisation process better for the planet, he said while referring to the Singapore example where liveability and sustainability are given due importance.
Gandhi has been taking an independent stand from his party on various issues such as farm laws, unemployment and other governance-related issues for the past some time. He has written four books so far with "Indian Metropolis" his latest one.
New Delhi: Almost two months after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls on December 4, the national capital is expected to get its new mayor on Wednesday (February 22) after three failed attempts by the municipal body. In the tussle between AAP and BJP which had stalled the election of the mayor for so long, the Supreme Court had to step in and order the issuance of a notice within 24 hours for convening the first meeting of the MCD to fix the date of elections for the mayor, the deputy mayor and the members of the standing committee of the civic body.
Here are the top points you need to know ahead of the Delhi Mayoral election:
1. The last three times that the House convened, a mayor could not be elected due to the political bickering between the AAP and BJP. The first time was on January 6, after which the House convened on January 24 and February 6 but failed to lead to any outcome.
2. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha and Justice J B Pardiwala, during a hearing on Friday, directed that the election of the Delhi mayor shall be conducted at the first MCD meet, and once elected, the mayor shall preside over the deputy mayor's election.
3. As per the direction from the L-G, the House that will convene on Wednesday will be the reconvening of the adjourned first House that was held on January 6. "In exercise of powers conferred upon him under section 73 of the DMC Act, 1957, the Administrator, Hon'ble Lt Governor of NCT of Delhi, has refixed the adjourned first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday, the 22nd of February, 2023," reads a notice issued by the civic body on February 18. The election of mayor, deputy mayor, and six members of the standing committee will take place in the meeting and the agenda will remain the same, it says.
4. The AAP had emerged as a clear winner in the December 4 polls, bagging 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The BJP won 104 wards to finish second, while the Congress won nine seats in the 250-member Municipal House.
5. The electoral college for the election of mayor comprises the 250 elected councillors, seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs from Delhi and 14 MLAs.
6. The Delhi Assembly Speaker has nominated 13 AAP and one BJP member to the House. The total number of votes in the mayoral polls is 274. The numbers game favours the AAP, which has 150 votes against the BJP's 113.
(With PTI inputs)
Shillong: In a veiled attack on the BJP at an election rally in Meghalaya, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said her party will not allow people coming from outside to impose CAA and NRC on residents of the northeastern state. She accused the Conrad Sangma government in the state of not undertaking development work and being involved in various scandals.
Outsiders want to rule here while oppressing you with the National Register of Citizens, the Citizenship Amendment Act, bullets and scandals. Do not tolerate this. Don't allow people coming from outside the state to impose CAA or NRC on you," she said addressing a poll rally in western Meghalaya. "Meghalaya will be run by its people and not from Guwahati or Delhi. We (TMC) won't run it from Bengal. We are your friends and will help you with whatever you need, Banerjee said.
Slamming the state and central governments for the Mukroh violence, the TMC supremo said, The Assam police fired at the people according to its own whims. Why were no central teams sent to investigate such an incident.
At Mukroh in Meghalaya, six people - five from the state and a forest guard from Assam were killed on November 22 in firing by the Assam police. Central teams are dispatched to Bengal "for the smallest of things" but nothing was done at Mukroh. Shots were fired in (interstate) border areas. So many people died. But the (BJP) leaders did not come to see the devastation, she said.
Criticising the alleged "divisive propaganda" of the BJP, Banerjee said, Our biggest identity is that we are humans and love humanity. We (TMC) respect all religions. I believe my first and foremost duty is to be with the people. No religion is bigger than the religion of humanity and standing by the people.
She urged the people to oust both BJP and the Congress which have been in power in Meghalaya for many years but have denied its people of their right to development.
They (BJP and Congress) were in power for so many years, but could not even build roads in Meghalaya. No medical colleges, no good roads and no system for healthcare facilities either. There was no development, only scandals, she said and asked the people to vote in her party's favour in the February 27 state election. "TMC can develop Meghalaya .... Change this government for there is nothing here. No development, but only scandals, she said.
A number of scandals have rocked Meghalaya for the past few years. They include illegal coal mining and public distribution system scams. The state leader of the opposition Mukul Sangma, who is also the face of TMC in Meghalaya, had on Tuesday alleged a Rs 140 crore land scam in Shillong in which Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his cabinet ministers are allegedly involved.
Slamming the NPP-led government for the scams, she appealed to the people to punish it by voting against it. It is time to change this scandalous government. Nothing was done [by the government] to it, she said.
Slamming the Congress, Banerjee said the party has failed to fulfill its duties as the opposition. Congress is asking for votes but where is its moral right? I was in Congress but it expelled those who were with me. We are fighting against BJP and every day it is knocking at our doors with ED and the CBI, she said. TMC will "oust" BJP from Delhi, Banerjee said and asked the people of Meghalaya to vote for her party.
New Delhi: Delhi-NCR on Wednesday (February 22) felt mild tremors after an earthquake measuring 5.2 magnitudes on the Richter scale hit the neighbouring country of Nepal. The quake occurred around Bichhiya of Bajura district at 13:45 (local time), the National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center (NEMRC), Nepal, said in a tweet. "An Earthquake of ML 5.2 occurred around Bichhiya of Bajura district at 13:45 NEMRC/SC," NEMRC tweeted.
Recently, at least three houses collapsed after a magnitude 5.8 quake hit Nepal. The epicenter of the earthquake was the border area of the Himali Village Council of Bajura and Humla`s Tajakot Village Council. Rescuers and local officials said they were finding it hard to get information on the ground due to the inclement weather condition and lack of communication means, as per information.
"A few more houses collapsed in the area after the earthquake. We have got the information that 3 more houses have collapsed in the district," said DSP Surya Thapa.
"Due to the inclement weather condition and snowfall in the area, we are not able to establish contact with other localities. The telephone is not working," Chief of Himali Village Council Govinda Bahadur Malla told ANI over the phone.
(Further details awaited)
David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, proposes to close the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) and transfer the seized assets to the State Property Fund (SPF) with an open register for open sale.
"(ARMA) was created as one of the conditions for liberalization of the visa regime with the EU, and in the end it turned into a closed cabal, where there are a lot of seized assets, everything is opaque. We want to transfer this to the State Property Fund, through ProZoro.Sale, an open register so that everyone can see it and have access to these (seized) objects," he said during a press briefing Investments during the war at Ukrinform on Wednesday.
At the same time, Arakhamia noted that he had previously proposed to liquidate the Bureau of Economic Security.
New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday expressed his approval to Lt Governor VK Saxena meeting deputy commissioners of Delhi Police over law and order situation in the city. In a Hindi tweet, Kejriwal claimed the law and order situation in Delhi has "deteriorated very much" in the last one year and the LG should hold such meetings more frequently.
"The law and order in Delhi has deteriorated very much in the last one year. It felt good to know that the LG finally held a meeting over law and order. The LG should pay attention on law and order and hold such meetings frequently," the chief minister tweeted.
Saxena on Tuesday said the recent Kanjhawla hit-and-drag incident and the Shraddha Walkar murder case exhibit a "glaring lacuna" in policing at the field level and urged the DCPs to rectify it.
Addressing the DCPs' conference at the Delhi Police headquarters here, the LG also flagged a host of issues, including corruption, high-handedness of police and investigation loopholes.
He urged the force to "ensure proactive pre-emptive measures to ensure safety and security at all levels" in view of the forthcoming G-20 Summit.
New Delhi: India and China on Wednesday held diplomatic talks in Beijing and discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in an "open and constructive manner", but there was no indication of any breakthrough.
During the meeting held under the WMCC framework, the two sides agreed to hold the 18th round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
"The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of India-China border areas and discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining areas in an open and constructive manner, which would help in the restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in Western Sector and create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations," the MEA said.
"To achieve this objective in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols, they agreed to hold the next (18th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date," it said in a statement. The MEA said the two sides agreed to continue discussions through military and diplomatic channels.
"The 26th meeting of the WMCC was held on 22 February 2023 in person in Beijing. This was the first WMCC meeting since the 14th meeting held in July 2019, to be held in person," it said.
The Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs led the Indian delegation. The Chinese delegation was led by the Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The 17th round of military talks was held on December 20 but there was no indication of any forward movement in the resolution of the remaining issues.
A joint statement released after the talks had said that both sides exchanged views in an "open and constructive" manner to resolve the "relevant issues" and described the talks as "frank and in-depth".
The WMCC meeting in Beijing came a week before the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Delhi. Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang is expected to attend the meeting on March 1 and 2.
In line with a decision taken at the 16th round of military talks, the two sides carried out disengagement from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in September last year.
India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.
The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in 2021 on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Wednesday it will take a call on listing a plea for allowing Muslim girl students to sit for examinations in Karnataka government schools while wearing the hijab. Following the apex court's split verdict on the issue of ban on sporting the Islamic headscarf in educational institutions in Karnataka, girls in hijab are not being permitted to take the exams scheduled to begin from March 9, a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was told.
"They are wearing headscarves. If they are wearing headscarves they are not allowed inside the examination hall. Only on that limited aspect, the court may consider listing it on Monday or Friday," said lawyer Shadan Farasat.
He told the bench, also comprising Justice P S Narasimha, that a few girls have moved to private institutions because of the prohibition on wearing hijab but have to take their exams in government institutions. They risk losing another year if not permitted, he said.
"I will take a call," the CJI said. Due to the split verdict, the high court's judgement still holds.
The split verdict on October 13 last year held off a permanent resolution to the hijab row as both judges suggested placing the matter before a larger bench for adjudication.
The top court had said last month it will consider setting up a three-judge bench to adjudicate the case related to the ban on wearing the Muslim headgear in Karnataka government schools.
While Justice Hemant Gupta, since retired, had dismissed the appeals challenging the March 15, 2022 judgement of the Karnataka High Court which had refused to lift the ban, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia held there will be no restriction on wearing hijab anywhere in the schools and colleges of the state.
Permitting a community to wear its religious symbols to schools will be an "antithesis to secularism", Justice Gupta had said, while Justice Dhulia insisted that putting on the Muslim headscarf should simply be a "matter of choice".
On March 15, 2022, the high court had dismissed the petitions filed by a section of Muslim students of the Government Pre-University Girls College in Karnataka's Udupi seeking permission to wear the hijab inside classrooms, ruling it is not a part of the essential religious practice in the Islamic faith.
During the arguments in the apex court, a number of counsel appearing for the petitioners had insisted that preventing Muslim girls from wearing the hijab to the classroom will put their education in jeopardy as they might stop attending classes.
Insisting that the agitation in support of wearing hijab in educational institutions was not a "spontaneous act" by a few individuals, the state's counsel had argued in the apex court that the government would have been "guilty of dereliction of constitutional duty" if it had not acted the way it did.
The state government's order of February 5, 2022 was challenged by Muslim girls in the high court. Several pleas have been filed in the apex court challenging the high court verdict.
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Education has urged all states and Union Territories to make the book 'Exam Warriors' authored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi available in school libraries. "The Union Education Minister has requested the chief ministers of all states and administrators of Union Territories (UTs) to make 'Exam Warriors' books available in libraries of each school under 'Samagra Shiksha' so that a maximum number of students, teachers and parents get benefit from the prime minister's words of wisdom and vision," a senior official of the Education Ministry said.
The book incorporates unique actionable 'mantras' for students, parents and teachers on ways and means to overcome examination stress. The National Book Trust has published the translations of Exam Warriors in 11 Indian languages, namely Asamiya, Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
PM Modi also holds annual interactions with students, teachers and parents, called "Pariksha Pe Charcha", ahead of the board exams.
Ministry of Education also said that the 6th edition of the Pariksha Pe Charcha programme (PPC 2023) which was held in a town-hall-type interactive format on January 27, 2023, saw a huge participation from the students of the State Government`s board.
As per the Ministry of Education, "The highlight of this year`s PPC 2023 is the huge participation from the students of State Government`s board which increased from around 2 lakhs in 2022 to over 16.5 lakhs of the total 38.8 lakhs."
"Further, the special invitee students and teachers from all the States and UTs also got the opportunity to witness important functions like Republic Day Parade, Beating the Retreat ceremony etc and visit places of National importance" Ministry added.
The programme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi focuses on providing support to students in overcoming examination stress while equipping teachers and parents to manage the stressful environment during exams better.
New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs has given sanction to prosecute Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the `alleged Feedback Unit` snooping case.In a communication to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor Secretariat dated February 17, the Ministry of Home Affairs granted permission to the CBI to prosecute Sisodia in the alleged snooping case.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had approved the CBI`s request for prosecution sanction and forwarded the same to the MHA.The CBI had sought sanction to register an FIR against Sisodia, who heads the Vigilance department of the Delhi government, under which the AAP government had in 2015 surreptitiously created the FBU- an Extra Constitutional-Extra Judicial Intelligence Agency to allegedly spy on different Ministries, Opposition political parties, entities and individuals."This snooping unit, with no legislative or judicial oversight, was allegedly being run and managed by the close aides and advisors of CM Arvind Kejriwal, who reported directly to him.
The case also pertains to illegal/unaccounted expenditure in the name of Secret Service Fund allocated to the FBU," the sources had said.After the Central Bureau of Investigation`s (CBI) report to the vigilance department against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection to the `Feedback unit` case, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had referred the case to the President of India for the prosecution sanction against Manish Sisodia through the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In March 2017, the Vigilance department had given the probe to Anti Corruption Branch (ACB). Subsequently, the LG office marked it to the CBI.The preliminary inquiry into the said matter was completed in 2021. CBI wrote to LG and MHA in 2021 for sanction under section 17 A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In 2015, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government allegedly created a Feedback Unit. The aim was to strengthen the vigilance establishment and gather feedback on the working of various government departments, autonomous bodies, or institutions.
In 2016, after the complaint of an officer of the Directorate of Vigilance, Delhi government, a preliminary inquiry conducted by CBI and found that in addition to the assigned job, the FBU, as it was referred to in official communications, also collected political intelligence related to political activities of persons, political entities and political issues touching the political interest of AAP.
New Delhi: Delhi Police Constable Naveen Kumar, one of the accused in the Nikki Yadav murder case and cousin of the main accused Sahil Gehlot, was booked in a case of sexual harassment and molestation in 2018, sources said on Wednesday. Twenty-three-year-old Nikki's body was found in a fridge at a dhaba, owned by Gehlot, in Mitraon village, outskirts of Delhi on Valentine`s Day (February 14). Gehlot had allegedly killed her on February 10 and went on to marry another woman the same day.
Police have also arrested Gehlot's father, his two cousins Ashish and Naveen (a constable in Delhi Police), and two friends, Amar and Lokesh, for hatching a conspiracy to get rid of Nikki and go ahead with his wedding.
According to sources, in 2018, a case was lodged in Kanjhawala police station against Kumar for sexually harassing a woman after which the Delhi Police even filed a charge sheet in the case.
However, it is yet to be learned how the tainted cop was allowed to continue with his service and not suspended.
Shillong: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on made a full-blown attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and said that her party Trinamool Congress indirectly supports the Narendra Modi-powered BJP. Addressing a press conference in the poll-bound Meghalaya, the Congress MP reminded people of the incidents of violence, rampant corruption and scams unearthed in the TMC-ruled West Bengal.
"You know the history of the TMC - the violence and scams that take place in West Bengal. You are aware of their tradition. They spent a huge amount of money in Goa (polls) and the idea was to help the BJP. That is exactly the idea in Meghalaya. The TMC's idea in Meghalaya is to ensure that the BJP is strengthened and come to power," he alleged.
WATCH: Rahul Gandhi Exposes Hypocrisy of TMC In Shillong
Rahul Gandhi in Shillong , Meghalaya exposes the hypocrisy
of the TMC . pic.twitter.com/vMEXbCmZC3 Ravinder Kapur (@RavinderKapur2) February 22, 2023
BJP is a "class bully" that respects no one: Rahul Gandhi
The Congress Wayanad MP also came down heavily on the BJP and alleged that the saffron party was like a "class bully" that respects no one as it thinks that it knows everything. "The BJP-RSS is like a class bully who thinks he knows everything, understands everything and has no respect for anybody else. We have to fight them collectively," he said.
Attacking PM Modi, Rahul said, ''I asked the PM about his relationship with Gautam Adani. I also showed a picture in which Adani and PM are sitting in Adani's aircraft and PM Modi is relaxing as if it is his own house. PM Modi did not answer a single question regarding it."
Rahul went on to say that the PM asked him a question and said why my surname is Gandhi, why not Nehru? "He avoided the whole discussion. You have seen that when PM Modi gives a speech, the entire media covers it. In fact, PM Modi said in the Parliament that the family members of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the country, are ashamed of keeping his surname,'' Rahul told the gathering of Congress supporters here.
He, however, assured that the Congress would not let the BJP harm Meghalaya's language, culture and history. Pointing to the traditional jacket he was wearing, Gandhi told the rally, "I am wearing it as a sign of respect for your culture and tradition. My actions reflect this jacket. But, if I was to come here, as the prime minister does, put on this jacket and attack your religion, culture, history and language -- I would be insulting you."
During his speech, Rahul Gandhi also alleged that Conrad K Sangma-led MDA government in the state was involved deep-neck in corruption.
Mumbai: A major fire broke out in several small business establishments in Kamala Nagar and Shahu Nagar areas of Dharavi, early on Wednesday, the BMC Disaster Control said. The blaze was reported around 4.15 a.m. and quickly engulfed three buildings and some hutments in the area having a garment factory, a bakery, godowns, and other businesses.
The conflagration was confined to electrical wiring, installation, cloth, papers, and sewing machines, stored there, said the BMC.
Around 25 fire tenders and ambulances rushed to fight the blaze which was brought under control after more than four hours, and there are no casualties in the incident.
This is the second fire that was reported from the Dharavi garment units in the past three weeks. On February 1, a 62-year-old woman was killed in a similar blaze that spread through the small cloth units operating there.
Siliguri: After calls for bandh by parties in Darjeeling, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the state government will not allow any strike while reiterating that she would not let anyone divide the state. West Bengal CM`s statement came against the backdrop of parties in the Hills such as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and Hamro Party called for a 12-hour shutdown in Darjeeling on February 23.
Speaking at a program in Siliguri on Tuesday, Banerjee said, "We will never allow any strike. Our government will not tolerate it. We will not allow any separation. No question of `bongo bongo (separation of Bengal)."The CM said she would not let any conspiracies flourish to divide Bengal. She said some parties call for branches every five years to make them relevant in politics. She further said West Bengal has done away with bandh culture and striving for development.
She said that the state administration would take strict action against those who would try to impose a bandh. However, the Trinamool supremo said that people do have the right to protest over issues peacefully. Earlier on Monday, the West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution against any attempt to divide the State.
North Bengal especially Darjeeling Hills had witnessed a lot of socio-political turbulence like the Gorkhaland movement. A separate state of `Gorkhaland` has been a long-standing demand of Nepali-speaking Gorkhas since 1907 on the grounds that they are culturally and ethnically different from West Bengal.
New Delhi: In a setback for Shiv Sena's UBT faction head Uddhav Thackeray, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the Election Commission order recognising the Eknath Shinde-led bloc as the real Shiv Sena. However, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the group headed by the Maharashtra Chief Minister on the plea filed by the Uddhav Thackeray camp challenging the poll panel's decision.
Supreme Court refuses to stay Election Commission's order and says "We cannot stay an order at this stage". SC clarifies Uddhav Thackeray camp can pursue other remedies of law if any action is taken which is not based on the EC order.
SC lists the matter after 2 weeks#ShivSena ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2023
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Thackeray, and sought a response from the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde.
The counsel for the Shinde faction told the bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, that it will not issue any whip or initiate the process to disqualify the lawmakers of the Thackeray faction in the meantime. "All right, issue notice. The counter affidavit will be filed within two weeks," the bench said.
Supreme Court issues notice to Eknath Shinde camp on the petition filed by Uddhav Thackeray against the Election Commission order, SC asks Shinde camp to file a reply to the petition. #ShivSena pic.twitter.com/wn7MaVZf3I ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2023
While issuing notice, the bench, however, refused to stay the decision of the poll panel acknowledging the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena, saying it cannot be done without hearing the other side.
The top court had on Tuesday agreed to hear the plea of the Thackeray camp against the Election Commission's decision. Besides recognising the Shinde-led bloc as the real Shiv Sena, the poll panel had also ordered allotment of the party's original 'bow and arrow' poll symbol to it.
EQT Corporation, the largest independent gas producer in the United States, donated production equipment for production of gas and liquid hydrocarbons to JSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia (UGV) free of charge, the company's press service said on Wednesday.
The equipment received will be used to restore damaged oil and gas production facilities and to maintain production in wartime conditions.
According to Oleh Tolmachev, the head of Ukrgazvydobuvannia, the equipment received will allow the company to restore damaged facilities faster and in large volumes, as well as to implement the necessary production projects.
"The full-scale war has caused damage or complete destruction to dozens of Ukrgasvydobuvannia's production facilities. At the same time, it has significantly complicated delivery of required gas production equipment and materials. Certain equipment is just not readily available on the Ukrainian market. We are extremely grateful to EQT for helping us overcome some of these difficulties," he said.
Ukrgazvydobuvannia notes that EQT Corp. became the first American company to provide production equipment for gas production in Ukraine. Its deliveries became possible thanks to the support of the U.S. government, as well as the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine.
"Ensuring a reliable supply of energy is a challenge not only for Ukraine but for the entire world. We are proud to support our fellow energy workers in Ukraine as they fearlessly continue production operations under the most difficult conditions," said Toby Z. Rice, President and CEO of EQT Corporation.
New Delhi: National Crush Rashmika Mandanna was recently spotted at the airport late at night where she was seen taking a flight out of Mumbai to Milan to attend the Milan Fashion Week.
The actress donned casual attire with black sweatshirts and track pants, being her comfortable best. Rashmika tied her hair in a bun and her makeup was kept as minimal as possible.
The reason for the actress' visit to Milan is not known yet, it will be the first time Rashmika will be attending the Milan Fashion Show, and we can't wait to know more about it!
On the work front, Rashmika will be next seen in 'Animal' opposite Ranbir Kapoor. She also has the much-awaited sequel of Pushpa in the pipeline.
New Delhi: Sara Ali Khan and Ananya Panday. Are they new BFs in the tinsel town? Time will tell that. But their recent photos from the Qatar trip could make the fans think so.
Sara and Ananya both took to Instagram to post some mesmerizing pictures from their recent trips to Qatar on Tuesday. It`s not confirmed whether they went together or not. But they share a common group of friends. Presumably, they went for some endorsement shoots.
Ananya posted one set of pictures with only an emoji in the caption. She posted pictures of delicious cuisines and the beach. Ananya looked pretty in a white sleeveless top and skirt. In another set of images, Ananya and Sara both were dressed in white. It seems they were shooting for some brands.
On the other hand, Sara Ali Khan posted pictures where she was dressed in all black. Sharing one photo with Ananya on her Instagram story, Sara wrote, "With my most Jawaan @ananyapanday." While Ananya wrote, "Reunited w my @SaaraAlikhan95".
Earlier, Sara and Janhvi Kapoor set best friend goals as they spent time together while vacationing and gymming.
On the work front, Ananya was last seen in `Liger`. She recently bagged a project under the direction of Vikramaditya Motwane. Sara Ali Khan was last seen in Atrangi Re.
New Delhi: The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has announced that it has launched real-time payments system linkage between India and Singapore and vice-versa through SBI's BHIM SBIPay mobile application.
The linkage will allow fund transfers from India to Singapore through registered mobile numbers and from Singapore to India using UPI ID, the bank said in a Statement.
The UPI-PayNow linkage is a significant milestone towards development of infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore. The initiative closely aligns with the G20s priorities of driving faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payments. The inward bilateral remittance between Singapore and India is around USD 949 Mn as of 2021 (as per World Bank Bilateral Remittance Matrix Dec 22), it added.
Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore executed the first live cross-border transaction. The RBI Governor Shri Shaktikanta Das used BHIM SBIPay for foreign inward remittance.
Dinesh Khara, Chairman, State Bank of India, expressed We are glad to be associated with this path breaking initiative. This will go a long way in boosting the digitization initiatives of the Government and provide easy, seamless cross-border payment facility to the users.
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, with the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, launched the real-time payments system linkage between India and Singapore on February 21, 2023. UPI and PayNow (the online payment system of Singapore) will power this linkage.
New Delhi: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme 13th Installment update -- Lakhs of farmers waiting for the update transfer of funds under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme (PM-KISAN), might hear some good news this week. As per media reports, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojna 13th Installment money might be transferred on Friday.
The central government provides benefits of Rs 6,000 every financial year to farming families by directly transferring the money to the their bank accounts. All the three installments of the current financial year have been transferred in the bank accounts of the farmers while it is believed that the next installment (13th installment) will on February 24.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojna 13th Installment to be released on February 24?
Although there has been no official confirmation regarding the release of 13th Installment of PM-KISAN, media reports are stating that money could be transferred on 24th February 2023 --the day when Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme completes 4 years.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojna
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had released the 12th instalment of financial benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme. Modi transferred over Rs 16,000 crores to more than 10 lakh beneficiary farmer families on Monday, October 17.
PM Kisan Samman Nidhi 13th installment Status Check
-Visit official PM KISAN website https://pmkisan.gov.in/ Portal
- You will see the map of India under Payment Success tab.
- On the right hand side, there will be a yellow coloured tab called "Dashboard"
- Click on Dashboard
- After clicking, you will be taken to a new page
- On the Village Dashboard tab, you will have to fill your complete details
- Select the state, district, Sub-District and Panchayat
- Then click on show button
- After this you can choose your details
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme Details
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme, was launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2019, aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions.
Under the Scheme, the amount of Rs 6000 per year is released in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
Who are eligible to get benefits under the PM-KISAN Scheme?
All landholding farmers' families, which have cultivable landholding in their names are eligible to get benefit under the scheme.
Who are excluded from the PM-KISAN Scheme?
Those excluded from the PM-KISAN include institutional land holders, farmer families holding constitutional posts, serving or retired officers and employees of State or Central government as well as Public Sector Undetakings and Government Autonomous bodies. Professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers as well as retired pensioners with a monthly pension of over Rs 10,000 and those who paid income tax in the last assessment year are also not eligible for the benefits.
PM-KISAN Scheme for only Small and Marginal Farmers' families?
ln the beginning when the PM- PM-KISAN Scheme was launched (February, 2019), its benefits were admissible only to Small & marginal Farmers' families, with combined landholding upto 2 hectare. The Scheme was later on revised in June 2019 and extended to all farmer families irrespective of the size of their landholdings
The Central Government had notified a decision to extend the benefit of Rs 6,000 per year under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme to all 14.5 crore farmers in the country, irrespective of the size of their landholding.
New Delhi: Subi Suresh, one of the most popular faces on television, a famous anchor and film actress Subi Suresh passed away on Wednesday at a private hospital here, according to industry sources.
She had been ailing with liver complications for a while.The 41-year-old actress was single.She hit the screen as a mimicry artiste - a rarity among females - and then became a busy TV serial actress. Soon her popularity increased and was known for her charming and pleasing character.Tiny Tom, another popular actor, said things were moving fast to do a liver transplant surgery and the work for it was going on when she breathed her last.The TV and film industry is in a state of shock as many of them expressed surprise learning of her ailment."I never knew at all that she was carrying this disease and am now told that things turned from bad to worse in just two weeks. She was a bubbly personality and was known for her spontaneity. A great personality has now gone," said comedian Harisree Ashokan.
New Delhi: Over the past few years, there has been a significant transformation in technology. Technology drives each and every sector. As a result, a few years ago, nobody imagined that WhatsApp can help in the delivery of a baby. It seems that evolution is only improving at this point. People primarily use the well-known software WhatsApp to send messages, images, and videos.
But a doctor in Jammu and Kashmir did something amazing with ithe used the app to assist in the delivery of a baby! This instance exemplifies the fact that the messaging app may be used for a variety of purposes, including medical crises. (Also Read: After 18000 Layoffs, Amazon Employees to Face Salary Cut by 50 per cent in 2023: Report)
According to a PTI report, a pregnant woman with a history of childbirth problems required immediate medical care. She was stranded in the Jammu and Kashmir state's isolated Keran region. Snowfall was so intense that it was impossible to fly her to a hospital with maternity services. In order to assist her in having her baby safely, doctors would have to find an alternative solution. (Also Read: Viral Video: Man Pays Bill of Rs 800 with Coins at Taj Hotel: WATCH)
As fate would have it, the woman was able to contact medics over WhatsApp and receive help. The woman was seen on Friday night at the Keran PHC, according to Dr. Mir Mohammad Shafi, the Block Medical Officer of Kralpora. It was even more critical because she had a history of difficult deliveries with eclampsia, protracted labour, and episiotomy.
Block Medical Officer of Kralpora Dr. Mir Mohammad Shafi stated, "On Friday night, we received a patient in labour at the Keran PHC (primary health centre) with a history of complex deliveries with eclampsia, extended labour, and episiotomy.
Although Keran was isolated from the rest of the Kupwara area throughout the winter due of the snow, the physicians understood they needed to send the woman to a hospital with greater resources. The medical staff had no choice but to rely on technology to deliver emergency care. They helped the woman deliver the baby through WhatsApp, and she did it successfully and with a healthy baby.
"A healthy baby girl was delivered after six hours of labour being induced on the patient. Currently, the mother and child are both being watched and are both doing well "said Dr. Shafi.
New Delhi: In a viral video, an Indian-origin TV journalist was seen debating with GB News broadcaster Emma Webb on the origins of the Kohinoor diamond. This debate emerged again after Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Consort Camilla will not wear the Kohinoor studded crown for King Charles' coronation. Now, a video of a UK TV debate about the Kohinoor has gone viral on Twitter.
In the video, an Indian-origin journalist Narinder Kaur argues with Emma Webb about who owns the Kohinoor. While Narinder Kaur said that it should be returned to India, Webb argued that the ownership of the diamond can be disputed. She said, "The ruler was also the ruler of Lahore so is Pakistan going get a claim on it? They stole it from the Persian empire. The Persian empire invaded the Mughal empire so this is a contested object."
The kohinoor diamond was founded in Indian soil. It represents to the British their dark brutal colonial history. They have NO BUSINESS in continuing to benefit from colonisation. The UN recognises the right of a country to reclaim its treasures. https://t.co/uL3FfoqvzC Narinder Kaur (@narindertweets) February 16, 2023
Kaur retorted saying, "You don't know history. It represents colonialism and bloodshed." Later, Kaur tweeted a short clip of the debate and wrote, "The Kohinoor diamond was founded in Indian soil. It represents to the British their dark brutal colonial history. They have NO BUSINESS in continuing to benefit from colonisation. The UN recognises the right of a country to reclaim its treasures."
Last year, the death of Britains longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, reignited the demand in India to bring back the Kohinoor. Asked about the demand, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi referred to the governments response on the issue in Parliament a few years ago.
The Kohinoor diamond was "gifted" to Queen Victoria in 1849 by Maharaja Duleep Singh. It had reportedly been done under duress as Singh's mother had reportedly been held a prisoner and so he was forced to give it away.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) estimates the short-term fiscal burden from Ukrainian refugees on the EU countries at EUR 30-37 billion and expects a positive effect in the long term, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy has said.
"We estimated a certain short-term fiscal effect of the burden, first of all, on the EU countries, somewhere at the level of EUR 30-37 billion. The amount is quite significant, but in total about 0.2-0.23% of EU GDP, this is a short-term effect. In the long term, the presence of Ukrainians in the EU markets, both labor and consumer, as a result, according to our calculations and research, I hope, will have a positive effect," he said during a discussion organized by the Centre for Economic Strategy on Wednesday.
According to him, the presence of Ukrainians in European countries to a certain extent compensated for the risks of a recession, and in some countries, it may even have helped to avoid it.
In addition, the presence of Ukrainians stimulated consumer markets, compensated for the lack of sufficient coverage of the labor potential of those needs that arise in the EU, the regulator notes.
"There is a gradual assimilation of our citizens. Most of them demonstrate absolutely unique abilities in order to build their effective environment everywhere and bring benefits to society. Therefore, the European Central Bank estimates that the labor force participation rate of Ukrainian forced migrants will be from 20% to 55% in the medium term," Pyshnyy added.
According to the NBU, the labor force in the EU zone increased due to the participation of Ukrainians by 0.2-0.8% in absolute terms, which ranges from 300,000 to 1.3 million people.
Italy will provide Ukraine with three types of air defense systems, including SAMP-T, Skyguard and Spike anti-aircraft missile systems, Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni said at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
"When it comes to a country against which aggression has been committed, then all the weapons that are supplied to it are for defense. We are concentrating with international partners on air defense systems. We have worked a lot on this together with France to combine our technologies. It is important that the new military assistance package includes SAMP-T air defense systems, as well as other Skyguard and Spike air defense systems. Today, the strategic goal is to protect critical infrastructure [in Ukraine]," Meloni said, answering journalists' questions regarding Italy's ability to provide fighter jets to Ukraine.
In addition, according to her, Italy will make efforts to assist in the demining of Ukrainian territory.
In turn, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the military aid package from Italy powerful.
"The package is powerful. We will indeed get SAMP-T serious air defense systems, expensive missiles, but life is the most expensive. You need to know that these are very serious technologies. We have been working on this for a long time. The personal leadership of the Italian Prime Minister made it possible for us to get these systems. In addition, Ukraine will receive two more important air defense systems to protect the lives of our people," the president said.
Italy supports the convening of a "peace summit" and expresses gratitude for the Ukrainian formula for peace, first presented by President Zelenskyy at the G20 leaders' summit in Bali on November 15, 2022.
This is stated in a joint declaration signed on Tuesday in Kyiv during a visit to Ukraine by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
"Italy commits to a just peace for Ukraine also taking into account the Peace Formula and reaffirms its commitment to work actively with Ukraine on the 10-point peace plan," according to the text.
According to the document, the President of Ukraine and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic "reaffirm their standing support for the principles of international law, the inviolability of borders, and the right for each state to choose its own path and security arrangements; note the readiness to remain fully committed to the policy of non-recognition of illegal annexation of Ukraine's territories by Russia."
"Italy and Ukraine confirm their commitment to strengthen joint efforts to ensure further progress towards the implementation of EU and NATO standards and the integration of Ukraine with the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance; reiterating the Alliance's commitment to NATOs Open Door Policy, in accordance with the 2022 NATO Strategic Concept and the Madrid Summit Declaration, the Italian Republic will support further intensification of NATO's partnership with Ukraine," the statement said.
"The Italian Republic expresses its readiness to play a key role in the reconstruction of Ukraine notably through the multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform agreed between Ukraine, the G7, IFIs and other key partners including through the significant and well-recognized expertise of its companies in crucial sectors and cooperating to ensure a transparent, inclusive and reform-oriented process," according to the text.
Zelenskyy and Meloni also agree on the possibility of organizing an Italian-Ukrainian conference in Italy to discuss the nature of support and cooperation that can be developed in the context of recovery.
"Ukraine is ready to recognize an important role of Italy in the reconstruction and fast recovery of the country," the officials said.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in order to fully form his opinion on the Russian-Ukrainian war, needs to come to Ukraine and see with his own eyes what bloody traces the "brotherly" Russia left, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
"Mr. Berlusconi's house, it seems to me, was never bombed with missiles every day. And thank God that his partner from Russia did not drive into his yard on a tank, did not destroy his relatives and friends. I think that Mr. Berlusconi did not woke up at 03.00 and didn't start washing clothes, cooking two days ahead for his children to eat, because in the next two or three days there may simply be no electricity because of such 'great love of the fraternal Russian people," Zelenskyy said at a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni in Kyiv.
At the same time, he said: "I wish that this never happened in Italy, and that no one experienced this, because this is a great tragedy."
"But in order to fully form your opinion, it seems to me that [Berlusconi] you need to come here and see with your own eyes what is happening. And then, if a politician arrives - or not a politician and sees what happened here, what bloody traces 'fraternal' Russia left, then we will communicate at the same level," Zelenskyy said.
The head of state also said certain leaders or former leaders of states have the right to their personal opinion on what is happening in Ukraine, but the main thing, according to Zelenskyy, is the opinion and attitude towards Ukraine of the peoples of these states.
"The main thing, it seems to me, is how the societies of these countries relate to Ukraine, to this war, because it is they who allow certain thoughts to be expressed. Now we see the support of the Italian society. I think this is important, because Italy understands that we profess the same values. We equally love life, children, we respect the sovereignty of states, the right to life, freedom of speech, etc. It seems to me that this is the main thing. We understand each other," the president said.
Earlier, former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi accused Ukrainian President Zelenskyy of alleged attacks on Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine because of what, according to Berlusconi, Putin carried out a full-scale invasion.
In an interview with La Repubblica, Berlusconi said Ukraine could negotiate with Russia if they stopped helping them with weapons and instead offered only reconstruction assistance.
Commenting on the meeting between the Italian prime minister and Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels last week, the former Italian prime minister said if he were still prime minister, he would not have met with Zelenskyy.
US Congressman Issa says transfer of aircraft, long-range artillery to Ukraine is inevitable
The transfer of aircraft and long-range artillery to Ukraine is inevitable, the only question is when this will happen and in what quantity, Republican US Congressman Darrell Issa has said during a visit to Kyiv.
At a joint briefing of U.S. congressmen in Kyiv in the evening, he said the transfer of aircraft and long-range artillery to Ukraine is inevitable. The debate is only about when this will happen and in what quantity. The United States and our European partners are striving for Ukraine to have these planes for constant security, according to Issa.
The delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives, headed by Chief of the Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul, who arrived in Ukraine, assured Ukraine of bipartisan support not only from the United States, but also from other NATO and EU allies.
McCaul said he had a very productive meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about Ukraine's needs to defeat Russian aggression.
The congressman said Zelenskyy provided the delegation with a list of weapons that Ukraine needs to win. First of all, long-range artillery is needed, known as ATACMS, capable of reaching Crimea and destroying Iranian drone launch sites.
The parties also discussed the issue of fighters, in particular the F-16.
The delegation also visited Bucha to see the sites of Russia's war crimes and its violations of the Geneva Conventions.
McCaul said Russian war crimes would not go unpunished and all criminals would be brought to justice.
He said these are crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.
In April 2023, Italy will organize a conference with the involvement of its own business companies on the issues of restoring Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni has said.
"Today we talked about the post-war reconstruction [of Ukraine] and about the Rapid Recovery Plan, that is, about the restoration now... [Ukraine] recovery conference will be organized in Italy in April this year. We will work on its organization. Italian companies have know-how and competence that we are ready to provide, as Italy is striving to play a significant role in the process of rebuilding Ukraine starting today," Meloni said at a press conference with the President of Ukraine in Kyiv.
She said Italy can do a lot in this context, as it has tremendous experience in many strategic areas such as infrastructure, transport, energy, agriculture, food, and others.
"Our know-how will be able to give the opportunity and the right signal: what was destroyed will be restored," the Italian Prime Minister said.
In addition, according to her, the holding of the international exhibition EXPO-2030 in Odesa, where Ukraine has applied, would be a special signal for Europe, namely: "Believing that everything will be fine in Ukraine."
A Meloni noted, Italy is already providing support and assistance to Ukraine in the field of protecting cultural heritage.
Michael McCaul (Republican Party), Chief of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, is in favor of sending long-range ATACMS missiles and F-16 aircraft to Ukraine as soon as possible and starting training Ukrainian pilots on them.
At a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday evening, he said he has been critical of the administration's slow arms transfers, saying that it is too provocative to transfer certain types of weapons. McCaul also said as the military conflict has been going on for a year now, he would be a powerful voice to promote the transfer of ATACMS long-range weapons and F-16 aircraft.
At the Munich Security Conference, McCaul said he saw bipartisan support for these issues.
The U.S. congressman said he saw that the moment has come to accelerate the transfer of long-range weapons and F-16 aircraft and it is necessary to start training pilots now so that they are ready.
U.S. President Joe Biden called the present "an inflection point that the decisions we make over the next five years or so are going to determine and shape our lives for decades to come."
Speaking in Warsaw on Tuesday, he called for "defending eternal values the choice between hope and fear, freedom and lack of freedom, limitations and possibilities. The kind of possibilities that come when people who live not in captivity but in freedom. Freedom. There is no sweeter word than freedom. There is no nobler goal than freedom. There is no higher aspiration than freedom. Americans know that, and you know it," Biden said.
According to him, "tyrants and autocrats only understand one word: 'No, no and no." "A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to [erase] the people's love of liberty. Ukraine will never give be a victory for Russia," Biden said, adding: "Putin thought he'd get the Finlandization of NATO, instead he got the NATOization of Finland."
Biden said there is no doubt about the strength of our coalition. "Our support for Ukraine will not waver, NATO will not be divided, and we will not tire," he said.
[Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, the U.S. president said, "still leads a democratically elected government that represents the will of the Ukrainian people."
At the same time, he said, "the United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia. Millions of Russian citizens who only want to live in peace with their neighbors are not the enemy."
"Putin chose this war. He could end the war with a word. If Ukraine stopped defending itself against Russia, it would be the end of Ukraine," Biden said.
He also promised to introduce new sanctions against Russia. "We'll hold accountable those who are responsible for this war. And we will seek justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity continuing to be committed by the Russians Bombed train stations, maternity hospitals, schools, and orphanages," Biden said.
He also reaffirmed the intention of NATO partners to adhere to Article 5 of the Charter. "Let there be no doubt, the commitment of the United States to our NATO Alliance and Article 5 is rock solid. And every member of NATO knows it. And Russia knows it as well. An attack against one is an attack against all. It's a sacred oath," Biden said.
Almost 100,000 people have acquired first aid skills from representatives of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS).
"The Red Cross of Ukraine continues to teach the population skills that will help them not to get confused in emergency situations... More than 97,000 people have already received first aid skills," the URCS said on its official website.
Representatives of the URCS also give classes on providing first aid as part of the "We are near" photo exhibition currently taking place in Kyiv, dedicated to the activities of the organization during the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
Within the framework of the exhibition, information sessions on mine danger are also held. In general, with the participation of URCS, since the beginning of the war, almost 14,000 people have become familiar with the rules of conduct with explosive objects.
One of the priorities of the URCS is the provision of psychosocial support to the population. During the year of the war, 246,000 received such assistance.
Zelenskyy addressing graduates of military academies in Odesa, Lviv: Ukrainians proud of their army, you can become such warriors
On Wednesday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the graduates of Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy (Lviv) and the Military Academy (Odesa).
As the president noted, the Ukrainians will have to end the war unleashed by Russia with their own victory, while Ukraine itself will receive guaranteed protection for generations.
"There will be no enemy on our land. There will be no fetters on our people. There will be no humiliation on Ukrainians. There will not even be a thought somewhere in a foreign land that it is supposedly possible to attack Ukraine and get something from it for oneself. Exactly such a result you have to get in battles together with your soldiers, brothers and sisters in arms and our entire state," Zelenskyy said.
He said the Ukrainian people are proud of their army.
"This pride is honest. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers deserve it for their courage and steadfastness. I am sure that you can become just such soldiers," the president said.
"Gentlemen officers! Soon you will go to the active army, to our Defense Forces. You will replenish the teams of combat brigades, some of you will lead units in new assault brigades that are just being formed. Always and everywhere be brave and take care of your soldiers. Always and everywhere take care of the honor of your units, believe in yourself and believe in Ukraine! Be worthy of the heroism of all those who have already shown themselves in the battles for Ukraine and Ukrainians! Be worthy of our victory. Ukraine's victory will be," he said.
Zelenskyy also separately addressed the parents and mentors of young officers.
"Choosing such a life path means the strength of a person, the strength of his family and the character of those who are close to this person. Thank you mothers and fathers of young officers, thank you mentors for allowing them to become a strong support for the army, state and people in such a decisive time," he said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed laws on VAT and import duty exemption for drones, thermal imagers, collimators, walkie-talkies and night vision devices.
As noted in the cards of relevant bills No. 8360 and No. 8361-d, posted on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, both documents were returned to the parliament with the signature of the head of state on February 22.
At the same time, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of the Holos faction, recalled on his Telegram channel that the possibility of preferential imports would also apply to express shipments.
"The laws come into force from the day following its publication. That is, they will start working in a couple of days," the parliamentarian added.
As reported, on February 6, the Verkhovna Rada adopted at final reading bills No. 8360 and No. 8361-d on exemption from VAT and import duties for drones, thermal imagers, collimators, walkie-talkies and night vision devices. On February 13, they were submitted to the president for signature.
The Russian occupation forces changed their tactic in Bakhmut, their infantry attack "wave after wave" using a few armored vehicles, Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov has said.
"Everyone can see the shift to a different tactic in Bakhmut. Vuhledar was a vivid example. The infantry just attack wave after wave in Bakhmut. The artillery forces only support them, and they use only a few armored vehicles. They used armored vehicles in Vuhledar, but they were destroyed in the first hours, and after that shooting fight started," he said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
The Ukrainian intelligence chief also said that from a military perspective "we hold Bakhmut to restrain the Russian forces in this area and inflict catastrophic losses on them".
"We are exhausting them and defending our territory, which in no way can be evaluated in the context of worthy or not worthy leaving it," Budanov said.
To a question about Ukraine's serious defeats in the war, he said that Severodonetsk was one of the most painful losses.
"The first biggest defeat is a temporary defeat of Ukraine near Severodonetsk. The second one is the first stage of the war when the line near Volnovakha was broken. As for the third one, I am going to give a general answer it is the fact that we allowed the temporary occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea back in 2014. These are our three biggest defeats, however, all of them can be corrected," Budanov said.
Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez will make a visit to Ukraine on Wednesday, February 22, before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, the Spanish publication La Razon has reported.
According to the publication, the trip will be held under the utmost secrecy and it was not officially announced for security reasons.
The visit to Kyiv falls within the "commitment of Spain with the Allies."
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin has said he hopes the results of the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Russia's war crimes will become known already this year.
"We [] are doing everything that depends on us to bring those guilty of Russia's war and other international crimes to justice both in national courts and at the international level There is full understanding from the ICC and other international institutions of the importance of their roles in ensuring a just punishment for Russian war crimes You will definitely see the results of our work this year," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday, adding that he could not voice more details on the issue.
Kostin expressed hope that the results of the work will become known very soon as long as "not only we, but also the ICC office in The Hague are working on it."
The Prosecutor General also said that 99% of all proceedings related to the crimes committed by the aggressor country representatives will be considered by Ukrainian courts, while the international institutions will play only a complementary role, "for which they were created".
The Government Council of Finland on Thursday, on the proposal of the president, will decide whether to send German-made Leopard battle tanks as military aid to Ukraine, the Finnish state broadcaster Yle has reported.
As noted in the message, the issue will be considered by the government as a proposal of the Ministry of Defense of Finland.
In total, there are about 200 German-made Leopard battle tanks in Finland.
"Previously, it was assumed that Finland would participate in the project either by participating in the maintenance of equipment, or by providing several pieces of equipment Defense Minister Mikko Savola announced at the end of January that Finland would take part in the Leopard project. However, their number cannot be large, because Finland has a long land border with Russia, and Leopards are also important for the defense of Finland," Yle notes.
According to the publication, the agreement in principle on sending Leopard tanks was adopted when the United Kingdom and the United States decided to donate their battle tanks to Ukraine.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin has said that 255 Russian missile attacks launched against critical infrastructure facilities of Ukraine since October 10, 2022 reached their targets.
"Starting from October, if I am not mistaking, it was on October 10, 2022, the enemy has been destroying our critical infrastructure. In particular, their inflicted 255 strikes on 112 facilities. These are the strikes that reached their targets, and not the ones that were shot down by our military," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Ukraine takes these attacks as Russia's conscious attempt to create unfavorable living conditions with signs of genocide, Kostin said.
Former infrastructure minister, his first deputy notified of suspicion for $30 mln in damages to state
The former Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine and his former first deputy received a notice of suspicion of abuse of power and official position, which caused the state more than $30 million in damage, the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office reports.
"On February 22, 2023, under the procedural leadership of the SAPO prosecutor, NABU detectives reported suspicion of abuse of power and official position, which caused the state more than $30 million in damage to the former Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine and his former first deputy. The actions of the ex-officials were qualified on the grounds of a crime under Part 2, Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the SAPO said on its Telegram channel on Wednesday.
Considering that the whereabouts of the former First Deputy Minister was not established, he was informed about the suspicion in absentia - in the manner prescribed by Article 135, Article 278 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, in 2015, the minister, together with his deputy, who was also the chairman of the tariff council of the Ministry of Infrastructure, issued an order allowing private companies to charge half the ship dues rate from ships in the Pivdenny seaport. This order was issued despite the fact that the water area of this port is state property and is in the use of USPA and the right to charge belongs exclusively to a state enterprise.
In accordance with this order, only part of the funds was assigned to the state enterprise, the other part was collected by private companies. As a result, more than $30 million of damage was inflicted on the state, which was confirmed by the relevant expert findings.
The pretrial investigation of the case continues, and other persons who may be involved in the commission of this crime are being identified.
The SAPO report did not name the suspects.
In 2015, Andriy Pyvovarsky was the Minister of Infrastructure, and Volodymyr Shulmeister was his first deputy.
An official winter meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly with the participation of the Russian delegation contradicts both the principles of the OSCE and common sense, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk has said.
"A ball with the participation of Russian deputies on the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is unacceptable! The official winter meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, where the delegations of Russia and Ukraine will be at the same table, is unacceptable. This does not meet either the principles of the OSCE or common sense," he said at a meeting with President of the Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka.
Stefanchuk urged Sobotka to convey to the organizers that "the ball on this day is inappropriate, and the participation of the murderers of the Ukrainian people in it is unacceptable."
"Ukraine has called and calls for the international isolation of Russia and the expulsion of Russia from all international organizations. The world hears and listens to Ukraine. However, Russia's participation in OSCE PA meetings, and especially in these terrible days for Ukraine, contradicts both international and all human principles," he said.
As reported, Stefanchuk called on President of the OSCE PA Margareta Soderfelt to convene an extraordinary meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly and postpone the winter meeting due to the likely presence of the Russian delegation. However, as is known, the meeting of the OSCE PA will be held in Vienna on February 23-24.
Head of the Presidents Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has supported the previously expressed opinion of head of the Main Intelligence Agency of Ukraines Defense Ministry Kyrylo Budanov about the possible victory of Ukraine in the foreseeable future.
"Budanov's forecasts are usually confirmed. There is a feeling that we are moving towards victory and the end of the war is in the air," he told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Speaking about the results of the visit of U.S. President Joe Biden and other negotiations with partners, Yermak said that Ukraine would receive the weapons it needs. "We will get everything we need," the head of the President's Office said.
On Thursday, February 23, at 14.00, the press centre of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a press conference entitled "New Ukrainian-Polish art project War through prism of art." Participants include Professor of Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, Honorary Restorer of Ukraine, nostrified Polish habilitatus Doctor Yulia Ivashko; head of the press service of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Knights of the Winter Campaign Serhiy Bilinsky; Doctor habilitatus in the field of art history, Professor of the University of Lodz, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and History of the University of Lodz Aneta Pawowska; architect, Graduate student of Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture Anastasia Urakina (8/5a Reitarska Street). The event will be streamed on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot.
Creditors are trying to declare bankruptcy of a terminal that loads ships under the "Grain Agreement" - GNT Group
On February 15, 2023, the Commercial Court of the Lviv region started the bankruptcy procedure of the LLC Olimpex Coupe International, which manages a strategically important grain terminal that provides the operation of the "grain corridor", says the press release of the GNT Group holding.
The holding company informs that the initiator of the bankruptcy procedure is the company Madison Pacific Trust Ltd (agent of the creditor company Argentem Creek Partners), which has filed a corresponding application.
As a result of the exceeding of powers by Madison Pacific Trust Ltd, the general director of Olimpex Coupe International LLC was illegally changed - a person controlled by Madison Pacific Trust Ltd was appointed to this position, and the address of the company's legal entity was illegally changed from Odesa to Lviv. All these actions point to an attempt to carry out a raider seizure of Olimpex Coupe International LLC, the legal owner of which is the GNT Group holding.
After that, Madison Pacific Trust Ltd filed anlimpex Coupe International LLC bankruptcy application.
The purpose of initiating the bankruptcy of GNT Group is the raiding of a strategically important grain terminal, which loads merchant vessels with Ukrainian grain for export within the framework of the "Grain Agreement".
GNT Group has already announced that it will appeal today's decision of the Commercial Court of Lviv region in the appeals court since the statement of Madison Pacific Trust Ltd is conceived and does not meet the requirements of the Ukrainian Code of Bankruptcy procedures.
There are decisions of international and Ukrainian courts in favor of the Ukrainian holding, namely:
On February 7, the District Court of Nicosia (Cyprus) passed an Order prohibiting Argentem Creek Partners and its agent Madison Pacific Trust Ltd from carrying out actions aimed at taking over, encumbering, or selling the grain terminal of Olimpex Coupe International LLC.
On February 14, 2023, the Western Commercial Court of Appeal satisfied the claim of Vitalii Marchenko, the illegally dismissed director of the Olimpex Coupe International and the court completely stopped the decision of the general meeting, which was previously adopted in favor of Madison Pacific Trust Ltd:
- on the dismissal of Vitalii Marchenko,
- the appointment of a controlled person as a director - a lawyer who does not have any professional experience in the operation of ports and grain terminals,
- change of legal address from Odesa to Lviv, where there is no port.
The grain terminal of Olimpex Coupe International LLC is of strategic importance for Ukraine, and the activities of the GNT Group holding, the legal owners of which are Serhii Groza and Volodymyr Naumenko, are of international importance, as they ensure the export of Ukrainian agricultural products within the framework of the "grain agreement", thus strengthening global food security and contributing to the international community's efforts to end world hunger.
To draw special attention to this fact and to facilitate the resolution of the situation with creditors, the labor team of the Odesa grain terminal Olimpex Coupe International publicly appealed to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called on Saturday on Sudanese sides to prioritise the language of dialogue and national consensus, and to uphold the supreme interests of the brotherly Sudanese people.
Up to 88 percent of the planned dredging works to expand and deepen the Suez Canal as part of Egypts plan to develop the canal's southern sector has been completed, Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority said on Thursday.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday urged the West to turn the Black Sea into a "sea of NATO" a year after the sinking of a flagship Russian warship.
Israeli forces on Saturday beat Christian worshippers heading toward the Church of the Holy Sepulchre amid growing restrictions on the freedom of religion in Jerusalem, a video circulated by Sky News Arabia showed.
Egypt plans to expand the exploration and production of natural gas and technical support programmes for cadres in the petroleum sector, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla told EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson on Monday.
Simson arrived in Egypt on Monday in a short visit to follow up on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the EU, Egypt, and Israel to support the REPowerEU Plan to reduce Europe's imports of Russian gas.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the EU's commissioner participation in Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS 2023) which opened on Sunday under the slogan North Africa and the Mediterranean: Supporting Sustainable Global Energy Supply and Demand.
The MOU is meant to secure Europe's needs of natural gas through East Mediterranean gas supplies.
The previous MoU, effective from 2018 to 2022, had achieved its objectives, Simson said.
El-Molla said the meeting took up projects of carbon reduction, methane reduction plans, as well as technical support to the Egyptian petroleum sector along with the transition to new and renewable energy.
He underlined the importance of cooperation with the European side in light of the rapid changes facing the energy market.
EGYPS 2023 is gathering government representatives and energy industry leaders from the African and Mediterranean regions to tackle energy transition.
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The UN Security Council expressed its "dismay" with plans by Israel's hard-right government to retroactively legalize settlements in occupied Palestinian lands, warning in a statement Monday that such measures "impede peace."
"The Security Council reiterates that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-State solution," the Council said in a statement supported by all 15 members but which does not have the binding force of a resolution considered last week.
That earlier draft resolution, proposed by the United Arab Emirates, had called on Israel to "immediately and completely cease" settlement activities in occupied Palestinian areas.
Diplomatic sources told AFP Monday that the draft, condemning "all attempts at annexation, including decisions and measures by Israel regarding settlements, including settlement outposts" had been dropped and would be replaced by the new statement issued by the president of the Security Council.
The draft resolution had also reiterated the demand "that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."
The initiative provoked opposition from the United States, which has the right of veto in the Council.
The White House said it was "deeply dismayed" by the plans.
Washington had at the same time denounced the announcement a few days earlier by the Israeli security cabinet of the legalization of nine settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The new statement on Monday said the Council "strongly opposes all unilateral measures that impede peace, including, inter alia, Israeli construction and expansion of settlements, confiscation of Palestinians' land, and the 'legalization' of settlement outposts, demolition of Palestinians' homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians."
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China's foreign minister said Tuesday that Beijing is "deeply concerned" about the conflict in Ukraine, which is "intensifying and even getting out of control".
China has sought to position itself as a neutral party on the war in Ukraine, while maintaining close ties with its strategic ally Russia.
Beijing has pledged to publish a proposal aimed at finding a "political solution" to end the war ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion on February 24.
The United States has accused China of mulling arms shipments to Russia, claims Beijing has denied.
"It has been nearly a year since the crisis in Ukraine escalated across the board," Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang said at a conference on global security in Beijing.
"China is deeply concerned that the conflict is intensifying and even getting out of control."
Qin urged the "countries concerned to stop adding fuel to the fire as soon as possible, to stop shifting the blame to China".
Beijing would "offer Chinese wisdom for the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, and work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation, address the concerns of all parties and seek common security," he added.
And regarding the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China considers its territory and has vowed to seize one day, Qin urged countries to "stop making an uproar by shouting 'Today Ukraine, Tomorrow Taiwan'".
"The pressures and attempts to contain China, coming from the outside, are getting stronger and stronger, they are getting worse and worse, posing a serious threat to China's sovereignty and security," he said.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that with regard to the Ukraine conflict, Beijing was against attacks on nuclear power plants, opposed the use of biochemical weapons and was willing to work with all parties.
"Red line"
Wang is due in Moscow for talks on his final stop of a European tour that has seen him also visit France, Italy, Hungary and Germany.
The Kremlin said on Monday that Wang may meet with President Vladimir Putin during his visit, according to the official TASS news agency.
The high-level visits follow accusations by US top diplomat Antony Blinken that China could be "considering providing lethal support" to Moscow ranging "from ammunition to the weapons themselves".
The EU's foreign policy chief said he had warned Wang at a meeting over the weekend that any material support for Moscow's war would be a "red line in our relationship".
"He told me that they are not going to do it, that they don't plan to do it. But we will remain vigilant," Josep Borrell told journalists Monday ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Beijing on Monday rejected the allegations, accusing Washington of "spreading false information".
"It is the United States and not China that is endlessly shipping weapons to the battlefield," China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
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Israeli troops killed 10 Palestinians Wednesday in a raid on the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, while more than 102 suffered gunshot wounds with 3 in critical condition, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Israeli army said the raid targeted militant suspects "in a hideout apartment" accused of shootings in the West Bank, and that its troops came under live fire but suffered no casualties.
Top Palestinian official Hussein Al Sheikh decried the incursion as a "massacre" and called for "international protection for our people".
The death toll is equal to that of an Israeli army raid last month in Jenin, further north, which was the deadliest West Bank operation since at least 2005.
The Israeli military said that all three targeted suspects in the Nablus operation were "neutralised", either while fleeing the building or in an "exchange of fire".
"Armed suspects shot heavily toward the forces, who responded with live fire," said the military, adding that rocks, explosive devices and Molotov cocktails were thrown at the troops.
The Palestinian health ministry said those killed "as a result of the occupation's aggression on Nablus" were aged between 16 and 72.
'Heinous'
A further 82 people were admitted to multiple hospitals with gunshot wounds, Palestinian health officials said.
Huge crowds gathered outside Nablus's Rafidia hospital, waiting for news of dozens of casualties being treated at the facility.
The wounded include Palestine TV journalist Mohammed Al Khatib, who was shot in the hand, his colleague told AFP.
The Islamic Jihad militant group said one of its commanders was killed "in a heroic battle against the Israeli occupation army and its special forces".
The Lions' Den, a local band of fighters, said six of those killed were militants from various factions.
Troops withdrew from the city after three hours, an AFP journalist said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics had treated 250 cases of tear gas inhalation and dozens of gunshot wounds.
The Arab League said the raid amounted to a "heinous crime".
"The occupation authorities and the far-right Israeli government are responsible for this horrible massacre," said Saeed Abu Ali, the Arab League's assistant secretary-general for Palestinian affairs.
'Ominous signs'
The latest deadly Israeli incursion follows an appeal by the United Nations Middle East peace envoy, Tor Wennesland, for the violence to be halted as an "urgent priority".
"We have seen ominous signs of what awaits if we fail to address the current instability," he told the UN Security Council on Monday.
Since the start of this year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 59 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians.
Nine Israeli civilians, including three children, one Ukrainian civilian and a police officer have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and separately with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, calling both to "restore calm".
Last month's visit by Washington's top envoy to Israel and the Palestinian territories has been followed by further violence and rifts between officials.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territory since the Six-Day War of 1967.
Last year was the deadliest year in the territory since the United Nations started tracking casualties in 2005.
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The International Court of Justice on Wednesday ordered Azerbaijan to end its blockade in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, warning that Armenians risk suffering from a shortage of food and medicine.
The top UN court, which rules in disputes between countries, at the same time said that Baku did not show that landmines allegedly placed by Yerevan specifically targeted Azerbaijanis.
The rulings are part of a wider legal battle between the two former Soviet republics, which fought a short war over the region in 2020.
Since mid-December, a group of Azerbaijanis has blocked the only road into Karabakh from Armenia, called the Lachin corridor, to protest what they claim is illegal mining causing environmental damage.
But the ICJ ordered an end to the blockade.
"Azerbaijan shall, pending the final decision in this case... take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions," presiding judge Joan Donoghue said.
"The disruption on the Lachin Corridor has impeded the transfer of persons of Armenian national and ethnic origin," she said, in a ruling handed down at the court's headquarters in The Hague.
Evidence presented during a court hearing last month showed there have been hindrances to the importation into Nagorno-Karabakh of essential goods, "causing shortages of food, medicine and other life-saving medical supplies," judge Donoghue said.
Therefore the court concluded that there is urgency and that there was "a risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused," the judge said.
'Not placed evidence'
Armenia last month told judges the mountainous region of some 120,000 people has been running short of food, medicines and fuel as a result of the blockade.
It asked the ICJ to order Azerbaijan to stop the blockade and ensure full movement of goods and natural gas into the region, accusing Baku of "ethnic cleansing".
Azerbaijan in return said the allegations were "baseless."
It filed a counter-claim against Armenia before the court, accusing Yerevan of laying landmines and planting booby traps in the region "murdering and maiming Azerbaijanis."
But a majority of the 16-panel of judges ruled that Azerbaijan's claim was not met under the treaty it was brought.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination did not impose "any obligation on Armenia to take measures to enable Azerbaijan to undertake demining or to cease and desist from planting landmines," judge Donoghue said.
"Azerbaijan has not placed before the court evidence indicating that Armenia's alleged conduct with respect to landmines" impeded on the rights of Azerbaijanis, she said.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan.
The ensuing conflict claimed around 30,000 lives.
Another war between the Caucasus arch foes in 2020 killed more than 6,500 and ended with a Russian-brokered truce that saw Armenia cede territories it had controlled for decades.
But unrest has continued.
Both countries asked the court to take emergency measures as it deals with wider, tit-for-tat cases alleging breaches of an international anti-discrimination convention.
Wednesday's ruling comes after hearings held in late January, but an overall judgment will take years.
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Egypt has condemned Israeli forces' storming of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday which left ten Palestinians dead and more than a hundred injured.
Egypt expresses its deep concern about the ongoing and dangerous escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories recently, which increases the complexity and aggravation of the situation every day, read a statement issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The recent escalation undermines efforts to achieve calm between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, and jeopardises the chances of reviving the peace process on the basis of international legitimacy decisions and the principle of the two-state solution, the statement added..
Earlier today, Israeli troops raided the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, killing 10 Palestinians and injuring dozens.
The injured were admitted to hospitals with gunshot wounds
According to the Palestinian health ministry, those killed in the raid were aged 16 to 72.
The Arab League said the raid amounted to a "heinous crime".
"The occupation authorities and the far-right Israeli government are responsible for this horrible massacre," said Said Abu Ali, the Arab League's assistant secretary-general for Palestinian affairs.
Since the start of this year, Israeli raids in the West Bank has claimed the lives of 59 Palestinian adults and children.
Nine Israelis, including three children, one Ukrainian civilian and a police officer have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.
In several recent statements, Egypt has called on Israel to seize building illegal settlements in the occupied territories.
Egypt has also called on Israel to refrain from deadly attacks on Palestinians and urged both sides to excercise restraint to prevent any further escalations in the conflict..
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Minister of Health Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar stressed on Wednesday the need to continue adhering to the precautionary measures amid a slight increase in coronavirus infections in the country since mid-January.
"Although registered cases have not required hospitalisation, there remains a need to adhere to preventive measures against the virus - especially wearing a mask in crowded and closed places, the minister said while reviewing the epidemiological situation in the country during a cabinet meeting.
Abdel-Ghaffar indicated that the number of coronavirus-related deaths decreased during the seventh week of 2023 compared to the previous six weeks.
The minister noted that 60 percent of the beds are vacant at the ministry hospitals, as well as more than 35 percent of the intensive care beds, while 71 percent of the ventilators are available.
Earlier this month, Amr Kandil, the head of Preventive Medicine at the ministry, stated that the dominant strain of coronavirus currently in Egypt is the Omicron variant, which is more contagious despite exhibiting milder symptoms.
Kandil revealed at the time that the Omicron mutations that have been detected in Egypt so far are BA2 at 47 percent, BA5 at 43 percent, BA4 at 8 percent, and BA1 at 3 percent.
Approximately 41 million citizens have received COVID-19 vaccines either initial or booster shots and 56 million doses are still available to be administered, according to recently released ministry figures.
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ON MARINDUQUE'S FOUNDATION DAY, LAPID SEEKS PASSAGE OF BILL DECLARING FEBRUARY 21 AS 'ARAW NG MARINDUQUE'
Senator Manuel "Lito" M. Lapid filed Senate Bill (S.B.) No. 1836, which seeks to declare February 21 as "Araw ng Marinduque" to honor the rich culture and heritage of the province, in commemoration of its founding anniversary.
Marinduque, a small heart-shaped island province in the MIMAROPA region also known as the "Heart of the Philippines", is famous for its beautiful beaches, stunning landscapes, and vibrant culture and is the home of the Moriones Festival.
Committed to promoting and preserving the rich cultural heritage of the region, Lapid's proposed measure seeks to recognize the significance of Marinduque's culture and heritage by designating February 21 of every year as "Araw ng Marinduque." This day would be declared a special non-working holiday in the province, allowing Marinduquenos to celebrate and showcase their culture and traditions.
Senator Lapid expressed his hope that the proposed bill would give the people of Marinduque a sense of pride and identity.
"Sa pamamagitan ng pagkilala sa natatanging kultural na pamana ng Marinduque, hindi lamang natin pinangangalagaan ang ating kasaysayan kundi ipinagdiriwang din natin ang pagkakaiba-iba ng ating bansa," Lapid said.
Lapid's proposed measure has been referred to the Senate Committee on Local Government for further review and discussion. Senator Lapid hopes that the bill will receive support from his colleagues in the Senate and that it will eventually become law.
"Tayo po ay nakatuon sa pagtataguyod at pagpapanatili ng kultura at pamana ng mga lalawigang ito, at sa pagtataguyod para sa mga patakarang mapapakinabangan ng mga mamamayan ng Marinduque at ng Pilipinas sa kabuuan," Lapid added.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi sent on Wednesday a cable to King Salman bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman on the occasion of the kingdom's Founding Day.
Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said the President extended his heartfelt wishes to the kingdom, lauding deeply rooted relations binding Egypt with the kingdom.
El-Sisi reaffirmed keenness on enhancing bilateral relations in all domains.
He wished Saudi Arabia more progress and prosperity.
The Saudi Founding Day falls on 22 February and commemorates the establishment of the state.
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President Joe Biden is wrapping up his whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine by reassuring eastern flank NATO allies that his administration is highly attuned to the looming threats and other impacts spurred by the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Before departing Warsaw on Wednesday, Biden will hold talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations on the most eastern parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine drags on, the Bucharest Nine countries anxieties have remained heightened. Many worry Putin could move to take military action against them next if hes successful in Ukraine. The alliance includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
When Russia invaded, it wasnt just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced a test for the ages, Biden said in an address from the foot of Warsaw's Royal Castle on Tuesday to mark the somber milestone of the year-old Russian invasion. Europe was being tested. America was being tested. NATO was being tested. All democracies were being tested.
Biden met Tuesday in Warsaw with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who last week claimed Moscow was behind a plot to overthrow her countrys government using external saboteurs.
Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and one of Europes poorest countries, the Eastern European nation has had historic ties to Russia but wants to join the 27-nation European Union. Biden in his remarks endorsed Moldova's bid to join the EU
Im proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova, Biden said of Sandu and her country in his Tuesday address.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has sought to forge closer ties with its Western partners. Last June, it was granted EU candidate status, the same day as Ukraine.
Sandu spoke out last week about a Russian plot to overthrow the constitutional order. She spoke out after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova. Those claims were later confirmed by Moldovan intelligence officials.
Biden's speech on the Ukraine war came one day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv, a grand gesture of solidarity with the Ukraine. The address was part affirmation of Europe's role in helping Ukraine repel Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and part sharply worded warning to Putin that the U.S. won't abide Moscow defeating Ukraine.
The White House has praised several eastern flank countries, including Lithuania, Poland and Romania, over the last year for stepping up efforts to back Ukraine with weapons and economic aid and taking in refugees.
Biden has given particular attention to Poland's efforts. The country is hosting about 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees and has committed $3.8 billion in military and economic assistance to Kyiv.
"The truth of the matter is: The United States needs Poland and NATO as much as NATO needs the United States," Biden said during talks with Duda on Wednesday.
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US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called Russia's suspension of a nuclear treaty a "big mistake" as Moscow sought closer ties to China and said it was fighting for "historical" lands in Ukraine.
Biden spoke before meeting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and eastern European leaders in a bid to shore up support for Kyiv nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Asked by a journalist for a reaction to Russia's decision, Biden at first joked in Warsaw that he didn't "have time", then said: "big mistake".
The leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia attended the talks with Biden in Warsaw amid widespread concern in their countries that the conflict could spill over.
Stoltenberg urged allies to "step up our support for Ukraine" saying that "we cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security".
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin attended a patriotic rally, telling a crowd of tens of thousands that Russia was fighting "for our historical lands, for our people".
Earlier, he held talks with China's top diplomat Wang Yi, who was visiting Moscow after Washington and NATO voiced concern that China could be preparing to supply Russia with weapons to pursue its war in Ukraine.
"We will not be overwhelmed by threats and pressure from third parties," Wang said.
On Tuesday, Putin announced the suspension of Moscow's participation in the New START arms treaty and vowed to press on with the campaign in Ukraine, during a state of the nation address.
Wang in Russia
On Wednesday, Russian lawmakers approved the suspension of the 2010 deal -- the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the world's two main nuclear powers.
Putin's treaty announcement was met with widespread international condemnation, though Russia's foreign ministry later said Moscow would continue to comply with the treaty's restrictions in a "responsible approach".
Biden on Tuesday delivered a rock star-style speech to a flag-waving crowd in Warsaw, one day after making a surprise visit to Kyiv.
He vowed that Ukraine would "never be a victory for Russia" and that "our support for Ukraine will not waver".
Russia's state-organised patriotic rally packed Moscow's main Luzhniki stadium for performances and speeches hailing Russian fighters in Ukraine.
"I just heard from the top military leadership of the country that a battle is ongoing right now, for our historical lands, for our people," Putin said.
Wang is on the last stop of a European tour during which he also met Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Beijing has sought to position itself as a neutral party, while maintaining close ties with strategic ally Russia.
It has said it is "deeply concerned" and that the conflict is "intensifying and even getting out of control".
China has promised to publish a proposed "political solution" to the Ukraine conflict this week.
Tensions with Wagner
At the start of the meeting with Wang, Putin said cooperation between Russia and China was "very important to stabilise the international situation".
When the Kremlin launched its Ukraine offensive, the operation was designed to be a rapid conquest leading to capitulation and the installation of a pro-Russian regime.
Since then, Russia has been forced to give up ground but has kept up a barrage of drone and missile attacks, while the military and civilian toll has spiralled.
Various Western sources estimate the conflict has caused 150,000 casualties on each side.
Moscow's relentless struggle to capture the city of Bakhmut has also exposed tensions between the Russian military and the Wagner mercenary group.
The group's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Wednesday urged Russians to pressure the country's regular army into sharing ammunition with his fighters in Ukraine.
Prigozhin stopped short of calling on Russians to protest but urged everyone from "driver" to "flight attendant" to help him.
He already made headlines on Tuesday when he accused Russia's top brass of essentially committing "treason".
Russia's defence ministry denounced reports of ammunition shortages as "absolutely false".
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Algerian authorities have placed four people in pre-trial detention over the "illegal" departure of wanted French-Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Related Algeria recalls France envoy over wanted dissident
A prisoners' rights group said Bouraoui's 71-year-old mother had also been detained but later released under judicial supervision.
Bouraoui, 46, a doctor, was arrested on February 3 in Tunisia and faced deportation to neighbouring Algeria, but flew to France on February 6.
Algeria accused France of assisting her "clandestine and illegal exfiltration" via Tunisia, sparking a diplomatic row between Algiers and its former colonial ruler.
Algerian prosecutors said Tuesday she had left "illegally" with the "help of a criminal network" including a taxi driver, a journalist, a border guard and relatives.
A prominent figure in a 2014 protest movement against then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid for a fourth term in office, Bouraoui was also involved in the Hirak protest movement which unseated him in 2019.
She was sentenced in June 2020 to two years in prison before being granted provisional release the following month, but banned from leaving Algeria.
On Sunday, five detainees were brought before the public prosecutor's office, where they faced charges including "illegal immigration by an organised criminal network", the prosecution said.
The CNLD prisoners' rights group said they include journalist Mustapha Bendjama, Bouraoui's cousin Yacine Bentayeb and Raouf Farrah, an analyst from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).
The rights group said Bouraoui's mother was among them but later released.
Algeria and France had gone through a diplomatic crisis in late 2021 but had started to mend fences with a high-profile visit by President Emmanuel Macron last August.
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Iran's top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with neighbouring ally Iraq Wednesday to discuss stalled talks with Saudi Arabia to ease regional tensions, as well as on border security.
Iraq has taken a key role as a mediator between Iran and Saudi Arabia since 2021, after Riyadh broke off diplomatic relations in 2016, but efforts have been deadlocked for several months.
Amir-Abdollahian, speaking to reporters in Baghdad alongside his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, hailed the efforts "to strengthen talks and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Iran".
Since April 2021, Iraq has hosted a series of meetings between the two sides, but no talks have been publicly announced since April 2022.
"As part of the strengthening of cooperation with... the countries of the region, we welcome a resumption of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia," he said.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have backed opposing sides in various conflicts in the region.
Amir-Abdollahian also spoke to similar mediation efforts carried out between Iran and Egypt.
He also mentioned slow progress in talks in Vienna with world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, which promised Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for cutting back its nuclear activities.
The United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to begin walking back on its commitments under the accord.
Negotiations to return to the deal started in 2021 but stalled last year.
Iran is ready "to take steps to conclude the negotiations... on the basis of previous discussions and respecting the red lines" defined by Tehran, Amir-Abdollahian said.
"But if the American side chooses another path... all options are on the table", he added, without elaborating.
His Iraqi counterpart pleaded for a resumption of talks.
"It is important for Iraq that the Iranian and American parties reach an agreement", Hussein said.
The two ministers also discussed security on their border, after Iran last year bombed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups sheltering in northern Iraq.
Tehran accuses Iraq-based Kurdish groups of carrying out attacks in Iran, and of encouraging the months-long protests that erupted after the September 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for an alleged breach of dress rules.
Iraq later redeployed border guards to limit tensions.
"The Iraqi government has taken a series of measures to protect the frontier, and we agree that certain groups should not be allowed to cross this border," Hussein said.
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for an end to Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian lands.
Israel's right-wing government has in recent weeks faced intense international criticism, including from the United States, over a decision to give retroactive permission to multiple settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and to build new homes.
And on Monday, the UN Security Council's 15 members expressed "dismay" over the plans.
"Each new settlement is another roadblock on the path to peace," the UN chief told the body's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
"All settlement activity is illegal under international law. It must stop," Guterres said, adding that "incitement to violence is a dead end. Nothing justifies terrorism."
"Our immediate priority must be to prevent further escalation, reduce tensions and restore calm," he said.
He noted, "the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is at its most combustible in years."
Hours before Guterres' speech, Israeli troops killed 10 Palestinians in a raid on the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, while more than 100 people were injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The Israeli occupation army said the raid targeted militant suspects in hiding.
Another 10 people were killed in an Israeli occupation army raid in the city of Jenin last month, the deadliest West Bank operation since at least 2005.
Since the start of this year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 59 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territory included Eastern Jerusalem since the Six-Day War of 1967.
Last year was the deadliest year in the territory since the United Nations started tracking casualties in 2005.
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Press Release
February 21, 2023 SEN. IMEE MARCOS INTERPELLATION DURING THE RCEP DEBATE SIRM: First, I would like to state quoting the SP that international body and organizations, such as ADB, event the WB. The immense value and importance of RCEP, especially in the post pandemic recovery. However, it should be observed that the UNCTAD itself in a research paper by Dr. Niceta indicated that the time concession under the RCEP will results in lower exports by the Philippines completely the opposite claim by the administration. The study shows that the overall impact of RCEP would be a decreased in the Philippine exports by $100M. In another study by Boston University (Rashmi Banga et al.), it was shown that the Philippine exports will decline by 0.2% and imports will rise by 0.2% at the very least. Even with the sensitive list of tariffs as mention by our colleague, annexes by Senator Chiz Escudero, the paper estimated that the Philippines trading goods will deteriorate by a minimum of 1.1% or a loss of US$260M per annum. So it will get quite a bit worst before it gets any better. All these losses on top of estimated US$58M in tariff revenue losses annually. Are these figures accurate? Do you have any comment, bec. I know the DTI, DA and the other economic managers projections are different. May I just raise the ff questions by way of manifestation. We are repeatedly called that we are the last country to ratify this trade agreement, this treaty. However, the reality is, at the outset a major economy refused to even join the discussion, is that a fact, that indeed they did not join RCEP, precisely because of concerns similar to ours here in the Philippines? On facts of circumvention of origins, issues of trade deficit and the potential flood of imported goods, we share the same problems with India except they are much bigger and they are much stronger. And what about that growing trade deficit not projected that actually recorded already in several countries? This is a major concern po. I would also like to mention that statement was made by the sponsors that adequate safety nets were provided in the agreement to cover unwarranted or exceptional circumstances. May I simply say that these supposedly sufficient safeguards are no safeguards at all. Simply, because the success rate for successfully defending ARTICLE XX of the GATT and the ARTICLE XIV of the GATTS' services agreement is less than 33%. In a study in 2015 which reveals that out of 43 cases involving Article XX of GATT or Article XIV of GATTS, only one was successful. "Wala naman dyan nananalo e. Kaya itong mga emergency measure na sinasabi, parang palamuti na lang at parang kunswelo de bobo, pagkat hindi naman nagagamit at di napapanalunan. Heto nga ang kinatatakutan ko, meron tayong Senate Resolution on the concurrence of RCEP including instructions to government agencies in an attempt in providing additional safety nets to the vulnerable sectors, particularly the agricultural sector. Eto nga ang problema, nakita natin sa Rice Tariffication Law, may fund na sinasabi. Yet study show that the farmers' income fell by 40%, how do we ensure that the measures indicated will indeed protect the vulnerable sectors. Eto nga ang mga problema natin, may bisa ba talaga itong mga safety nets na 'to? Ginagamit ba natin ng madalas at talaga bang may epekto? Yan ang tanong ko. I would also like to put on record the reported conclusion that there are great potential gains in the Philippine agricultural sector. It is not clear how the sector can capitalized on these potential gains given the sorry state of agriculture sector in this country. Presently, we are struggling to provide basic agricultural services that were promised as early as 1994 with the WTO. Hanggang ngayon, in the last 10 years ang compounded annual growth rate of irrigated areas is only 2 percent. We cannot deliver basic services. Do we really believe that we can deliver the services necessary to make our farmers capitalized and transform our competitive partners in whatever RCEP has to offer? In addition, a good bought of the potential export of China of the Philippine agricultural products will be destined for China. Given by the recent moves by our government which China has specifically already manifested their disappointment with, the additional EDCA sites, is it realistic to project China will be buying all our durians? We already witness to what has happened in the last two years with the Australia-China trade wars, is this what we want to happen? And also, realistically, the peak of the fruit bearing durian is not tomorrow. It's after 10 to 15 years. Our Senate President knows that very well he comes from Mindanao and I believed that we should not make these promises, simply because we will be fraught to fulfill them. Also, it is claimed that the RCEP will benefit the MSME's due to a platform called RCEP-SME that institutionalizes support and cooperation for them to be integrated in the great global production chain. The truth is ARTICLE XIV of RCEP, the single article pertaining to MSMEs uses very vague, non-comital words such as encouraging MSMEs, promoting, exploring. By these provisions, are we certain that best practices in trade will be in fact engendered? Is there sanction? Will they get punished if they do not do this? This is a concern. Lastly, and as I said I have no desire to torment my peers, most esp. my honorable Senate President. But the proponents of RCEP have stated that joining the trade agreement will result in an increase in electronic exports. But will these reports of electronic exports increases really defray the thousands of jobs already lost in the electronic companies, leaving the country due to incentive and other infrastructure concerns? How confident is the DTI at the end of the day that electronic exports will increase due to RCEP given the reported closures of electronic firms not only here in Southern Tagalog but also in EPZA in other places throughout the country. We are also aware of the loss of jobs everywhere in many of these areas. These are my concerns and I'm grateful to the (Senate) President, to the majority for allowing me to put it on record. Sponsors may or may not reply as necessary but I have to put them on record for the concerned sectors. Thank you very much po!
Running from 16 February, the Alexandria Short Film Festival revealed the awardees on its final day, 21 February.
The winners are:
Hypatia Golden Award for Best Film: Sharaa (Morocco), directed by Alhussein Hanin
Hypatia Silver Award: The Whistle (Iraq), directed by Adel Abdel Majeed
Special mention to the film Boumla (Algeria), directed by Yazid Yato
With the theme Linking Past and Present, this year's festival poster was designed by Kirolos Maximus and featured a girl in a wrap sheet, a costume that Bahari girls were famous for in the past.
The Alexandria Short Film Festival is a grassroots youth initiative founded in 2015 by Mohamed Mahmoud with Mohamed Saadoun and Mony Mahmoud as president, director, and artistic director, respectively. The annual event is organised through the Arts Circle (Dayret Al-Fann) Association.
The main awards of the festival are the Golden and Silver Hypatia, named for the Greek philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who lived in Alexandria.
It is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Tourism Development Authority.
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The Year of AfCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area Implementation was the theme of the African Union (AU) summit held earlier this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. [We] shall leave no stone unturned to ensure that AfCFTA becomes a reality, Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who took over as rotating AU chairman, told the closing session.
Launched in 2019, AfCFTA brings together 54 African countries with a combined GDP of over $3 trillion.
Obi Emekekwue, the president of DelReeve Konsult Limited, told Al-Ahram Weekly that Africa has already made impressive progress towards the implementation of the AfCFTA. It says a lot that only one out of the 55 African Union member states is yet to sign the AfCFTA. This level of political support is unprecedented, especially within such a short timeframe, he said.
Of the 54 AU member states that have signed the agreement, 46 have deposited their instruments of ratification. By easing movement of goods, services and people, cutting imports and expanding intra-African trade, the agreement promises to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty and boost the continents income by $450 billion by 2035.
To heighten awareness of trade and investment opportunities and promote government, business and investor engagement, AfCFTAs secretariat is organising an AfCFTA Business Forum on 8-10 March.
Despite past initiatives to inform the private sector of the benefits of AfCFTA and sustain implementation of the agreement, no commercially significant trade has taken place under the deal since its launch on 1 January 2021, says Sherif Fahmi, chief operating officer of N Gage Consulting.
The secretariat launched a Guided Trade Initiative in October to test the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA. Eight countries Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Tunisia are included in the initiative. Products being traded include ceramic tiles, batteries, tea, coffee, processed meat products, corn starch, sugar, pasta, glucose syrup, and dried fruits.
The successful deployment of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) as the official payment and settlement system to support the implementation of the AfCFTA, was a key milestone, said Emekekwue. It allows participants to trade within the AfCFTA framework in local currencies, saving Africa about $5 billion annually.
The secretariat has also partnered with the International Trade Centre (ITC) to conduct private sector mapping, providing a critical tool for understanding and harnessing the private sectors potential to contribute to African development through trade. Emekekwue acknowledged, though, that much needs to be done to achieve full implementation of AfCFTA.
Africa suffers from challenges most other regions do not face, says Fahmi, and the region requires unprecedented levels of commitment for the AfCFTA to succeed. Challenges include geographic and political fragmentation and tariff and non-tariff restrictions that slow cross border trade and increase the per unit cost of moving goods.
The biggest challenge to the implementation of the AfCFTA, however, is ensuring countries stick to their commitment to the process and do not become distracted, said Emekekwue. Given the critical importance and the huge benefits of the AfCFTA, every African country has an obligation to do everything to give it its full support, he argued.
It is important for African countries to remove restrictions that hinder the free movement of people across the continent, he added. There is a pressing need to deal with visa regimes that make it difficult for Africans to travel freely to other African countries, and for leaders to address the protectionist policies that limit African airlines from flying freely within the continent.
According to Rihan Badr, associate director at N Gage Consulting, strengthening the integration required for AfCFTA also requires infrastructure development, the strengthening of political cooperation, the facilitating of business integration and streamlining of rules and regulations through regulatory cooperation.
The AU summit sought to generate greater political commitment in trade as a developmental tool and mobilise solutions and solidarity to create interlinkages between member states, AU bodies, private sector actors, development partners, added Badr.
It is important for the AU to continue to prevail on member states to live up to their commitment to the AfCFTA process, stressed Emekekwue.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 23 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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The aftermath of the earthquake that struck northwestern Syria earlier this month has added to the suffering already caused by the countrys long-running civil war, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus
Search and rescue operations for the survivors of the earthquake that struck northwestern Syria and southern Turkey on 6 February have now ended. The earthquake killed more than 6,000 people in Syria alone, the majority of whom were in Syrias northwestern regions that are under opposition control.
Operations have now moved into a relief phase, with aid being given to the survivors and the displaced whose homes have been destroyed, without any promises being made of building replacement homes. The focus of relief deliveries has been to provide enough tents for the tens of thousands of people who no longer have a roof over their heads.
One week after the earthquake struck, the international community also attempted to rectify its failures towards the Syrian people, especially in areas controlled by the opposition. Some countries sent some aid, but nowhere near in sufficient quantities, and this was unevenly distributed between opposition-controlled and regime-controlled areas, according to the Syrian opposition.
The Syria Response Coordinators Group, a rescue organisation, said the regime led by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad had grabbed 64 per cent of the aid, while the opposition areas had only received 36 per cent. It said that the humanitarian aid reaching northern Syria only covered eight per cent of the needs of the victims.
Figures published by the Response Coordinators revealed that the areas under regime control had received 166 cargo planes from 22 countries carrying more than 8,500 tons of aid and more than 324 shipments of humanitarian aid via land and sea loaded with the same amount.
Meanwhile, the UN aid had been half this amount. In northwestern Syria, the worst struck region by the earthquake, foreign aid amounted to 6,500 tons and 5,300 tons in local aid. This is less than half of what regime areas received.
Many opposition figures have talked about corruption in the distribution of aid by the regime, and relief organisations affiliated with it have accused it of stealing a large part of the donated humanitarian aid. They claim that the regime gave some of the aid to its affiliated militias and is selling the rest to stricken survivors.
These accusations parallel similar ones made by US Senator Bob Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who said that the Syrian regime had not been an honest broker or could be trusted to receive aid sent to the Syrian people.
Menendez said there was a need to maintain independent routes for humanitarian aid to reach the Syrian people away from the hands of the regime.
Not only has there been a lack of aid and assistance for northwestern Syria, the displacement of about 170,000 people from their homes, and the loss of hope that new homes will be built for the victims, but other problems are also facing people in the devastated region in southern Turkey.
In the Hatay Province alone, which the Turkish government has classified as the worst stricken by the earthquake, some 430,000 Syrians have made it their home for the past six to nine years. After the earthquake, they were displaced again and lost their alternative home.
Some of them have decided to go to other provinces to look for work, while some 16,000 Syrians have headed back to northern Syria, now that the Turkish government is permitting Syrians in southern Turkey to go to northern Syria for three to six months and then return.
Politically, the Syrian regime has taken advantage of the natural disaster to make gains on the political stage and attempt to end its international isolation. It is focusing on nurturing diplomatic moves by some countries, especially some Arab states, to restore relations, and the regime will keep these open, even if only on the humanitarian level.
The regime has agreed to the UN demand to open more border crossings to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to areas under opposition control, and it has also agreed to receive aid from Saudi Arabia at Aleppo International Airport.
The regime is hoping to accrue the greatest possible benefit from this disaster on the political level to accelerate normalising relations with the Arab countries, said Saeed Moqbel, an opposition analyst. It may even partially succeed. It is trying to disclaim some crimes and attribute some of the destruction caused by the Civil War to the earthquake.
The regime is also taking advantage of calamity on the economic level, where international and Arab aid is a lifeline to support and improve economic conditions in the country. It is trying to put pressure on international and UN agencies to send all material and financial aid through it and is insisting that it receives aid through Syrian organisations under its control.
It is also forcing international agencies to exchange dollars at the Central Bank of Syria at a lower rate than the market price.
Fawaz Hadad, an opposition commentator, said that such actions had confirmed peoples lack of confidence in the regime. He added that people feared there could be retaliatory measures in the absence of international support.
Al-Assad views himself as the sole representative of Syria at the UN, said Radwan Ziyadeh, an opposition researcher. Therefore, funds should be dispersed to him, and he personally receives condolences on behalf of those killed in the earthquake.
In the meantime, the tragedy of the Syrian people continues, as the aftermath of the earthquake compounds the repercussions of the conflict in the country. Humanitarian conditions are worsening, and there are no signs of a political solution to the crisis in the country that is approved by the international community and the UN.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 23 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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US President Joe Bidens surprise visit to Kyiv this week came at a critical moment in the Russian winter offensive and just days before the first anniversary of the war.
After a year of hostilities in Ukraine, it is still too early to predict an outcome to the conflict in the country. Although Russia holds most of the territory in the east and south, it continues to encounter stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces, and observers continue to speculate about the possible course Russia will take once the second year of the war begins.
At what appears to be a critical moment in the Russian winter offensive, US President Joe Biden also paid a surprise visit to Kyiv this week in a show of support just days before the first anniversary of the beginning of the war. Western leaders meeting in Brussels have pledged additional arms, ammunition, and training for Ukrainian forces.
At the front in the Donbas region, Russia is close to defeating Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut, a strategic communications hub in the Donetsk oblast. Only a few more areas remain before the Russians attain the operational encirclement if not fall of that crucial city, enabling them to consolidate their defences on the Donetsk front.
Some believe Russia will now reignite the northern front in order to reclaim territory it lost in the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region last autumn. Other possibilities include a northward drive from the Zaporizhzhia oblast in the south or a westward offensive towards the cities of Kherson, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia, perhaps with an eye to crossing the Dnipro River and re-establishing control over Kherson city and other areas.
When it launched its Special Military Operation in Ukraine a year ago, Moscow listed several main goals, one of which was to protect the ethnic Russians and native Russian speakers in the Russian-majority areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. Annexing those areas was not the originally stated aim, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in his address of 24 February 2022 stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy territory in Ukraine.
However, in late September 2022, after the Ukraine launched its counter-offensive, Moscow officially annexed the four eastern oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. It also drew back its forces by some 3,000 km, so as to consolidate its front in the Donbas and secure the northern approaches to the Crimean Peninsula.
It has since slowly but steadily been regaining ground in the east. However, the pledges by the Western powers of more powerful and strategic weaponry could jeopardise the advances Russia has been making in that area.
The Russian forces have also faced logistical problems, such as the flawed partial mobilisation process in Russia itself. The heavy reliance on Wagner forces after the restructuring of the Russian military command in charge of the operation in Ukraine signalled the combat weariness of Russias standing army. As NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has pointed out, the war in Ukraine has become a war of mutual attrition.
At the start of the operation and many times since, Putin said that one of the goals was to neutralise Ukraine militarily and prevent it from joining NATO. For decades, Russia has been concerned by NATOs open-door policy towards countries that were once in the Soviet orbit, and since 2014 in particular it has watched the growing ties between Ukraine and the Western military pact with increasing alarm.
It feared that the intention was aggressive and that the point was to bring NATO forces directly up to Russias borders as part of a plan to encircle it.
In this regard, the military operation in Ukraine appears to have had a counter-productive effect. It has unified the divergent outlooks of NATO members behind a drive to strengthen NATOs defence capacities, especially in Eastern Europe along the line extending from Romania on the Black Sea through Poland and the Baltic states. It has also driven Finland and Sweden to abandon their neutrality and apply for NATO membership.
At this juncture, and according to online maps, Russia has succeeded in asserting control over most of the Donbas. It now remains for it to develop a forward defence area in the west of the country, reinforce its control over the Azov Sea, and secure its Black Sea coastline in southern Ukraine up to Odessa. However, not only has this progress come at considerable cost to Russia, but the powerful weapons that have been pledged to Ukraine may have cast a shadow over the sustainability of Russian gains.
Whereas Ukraine once belonged to the Russian military school during the Soviet era, US and NATO training programmes and military support have been gradually turning its armed forces into a Western-style army that is interoperable with NATO forces. Although there is a partnership agreement with NATO, Kyiv is still pressing for official membership, a demand Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba raised again during the Munich Security Conference last week.
Elsewhere on the East European front, NATO and the US have been building up their forces. A plan has been approved to establish 110 more military bases and posts in Poland. If Russia had hoped that its operation in Ukraine would persuade the West to reverse its military encroachment towards its border, the invasion has had the opposite effect.
Ultimately, the territories that Russia now controls in Ukraine may be the only buffer zone between NATO and Russia. Of course, much is contingent on Russias ability to secure its control over the Donbas and develop strong defences, as well as on NATOs armament systems and deployments.
Politically, both sides have had wins and losses. The Western sanctions have failed to isolate Russia internationally, and the war has brought renewed attention to a cause that Moscow has long advocated, namely the need to restructure the international order and shift it away from the Washington-centric monopolar order and towards a more equitable multipolar order.
China has benefited from this development as it moves closer to becoming a rival superpower. However, mounting tensions between Washington and Beijing could call into question how peacefully China can continue its rise.
Moscow also remains a key player in the Middle East. Military relations between Russia and Tehran have grown closer during the war. Relations with Egypt and the Gulf countries are good, and of course Russia also continues to play a pivotal role in Syria, where it is currently helping to broker a rapprochement between Damascus and Ankara.
In Africa, too, Russia has retained a robust foreign policy, challenging US influence and interests in some countries and moving into Frances former space in Mali. Russia is still important in efforts to resolve the Libya crisis, and it is developing closer military relations with Algeria.
While the Western economic sanctions may have taken a toll on Russia, the economic repercussions of the war, especially in terms of energy, have taken a heavy toll on Europe, which is simultaneously footing a large chunk of the bill for the military support for Kyiv.
Many US reports and commentators have remarked on how Washingtons campaign to politically and economically isolate and incapacitate Russia has been much less effective than they could have imagined. They have also been taken aback by the neutrality of the Gulf countries and their oil policies, which have demonstrated a new and unanticipated independence of resolve.
Although the Western sanctions have led to a reduction in military cooperation and defence contracts between Russia and many Middle Eastern countries, the latter have benefited from attractive arms deals with the US.
Despite the peace initiatives that initially gained some traction in the early phases of the war, none of the parties currently seem genuinely interested in ending it. Ukraine has dug its heels into a maximalist position. Whereas previously it demanded the return of Russian forces to the lines of 23 February 2022, it now insists on the full withdrawal of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territory, including the whole of the Donbas and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. It also demands that Russian officials be brought before a war crimes tribunal.
Russia, too, has raised the bar in order to distance Ukraine from the West. It now requires the recognition of the current status quo on the ground as a precondition for negotiations, which would be tantamount to surrender.
But perhaps the more difficult challenge is a settlement between Moscow and Kyivs main backer, Washington. One particularly crucial concern is the need to renew the New START strategic arms limitation treaty. The challenges facing this are considerable, especially given that the war in Ukraine may change the balances of power and throw the calculations the treaty rests on into disarray.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 23 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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Egypt is becoming Europes energy lifeline as a result of its major advantages as a global energy provider.
New realities are forming on the map of global geopolitics and energy cooperation, and Egypts new and increasing role is becoming more and more evident.
As Eastern Europe and the Black Sea have become areas of instability, the Mediterranean is emerging as a reliable new region for energy procurement towards the EU. If one looks at the emerging map of energy flows, the pattern of a new orientation from south to north that substitutes for the previous east to west direction is clear.
Egypt has four major advantages as an energy provider in the global energy market.
First, the country has huge natural gas deposits that form the bulk of its energy exports towards the EU. After achieving self-sufficiency in natural gas in 2018, Egypt has made great strides in a short time to emerge as a main energy provider by developing its export dynamics and diplomatic synergies.
Second, it is located in a highly strategic location to the immediate south of the EU and connected to it across the calm Mediterranean Sea.
Third, it has advanced infrastructure facilities for transporting and processing natural gas that include a network of 7,000 km of pipelines, a distribution network of 31,000 km, and 29 gas-treatment plants as well as two liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities in the Idku and Damietta plants. This is a specific advantage that other gas-exporting North African states do not enjoy.
Fourth and equally importantly, it enjoys a stable political environment that has been secured by the government of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. This promotes international cooperation across three continents by bridging Europe, Asia, and Africa. All this means in essence that Egypt is becoming Europes energy lifeline.
If we examine Egypts energy potential more closely additional conclusions also emerge.
Egyptian LNG production has been steadily increasing, and in 2022 the country boosted its LNG exports by 14 per cent to reach eight million tons. Ninety per cent of this was delivered to EU markets, according to data presented by Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek Al-Molla in November.
In 2021, seven million tons of LNG was exported, 80 per cent of it to the EU. The data clearly show that Egypt is keeping its side of the bargain by increasing energy exports to an EU that is under severe energy stress. Not only that, but Egypts energy exports could increase even more when aided by the four structural factors analysed above.
During the recent Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS 2023), held between 13 and 15 February, Al-Molla announced that the country expects to produce 7.5 million tons of LNG in 2023, as its plants have been operating at less than their capacity. They have spare capacity that can further increase the amount of LNG exported towards the EU, Al-Molla said, and EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson reaffirmed Egypts importance in addressing EU needs.
In the context of Egypts role as an essential energy provider for the EU, Greeces importance has also been rising. Greece is the closest-lying EU state to Egypt and a valuable diplomatic partner. As the EU continues to face an important energy crisis, the cooperation of these two countries is more essential than ever.
Greece, with its Revithoussa LNG Terminal, is now a key European transit route and a country facilitating energy flows from the southern Mediterranean to mainland Europe. It is developing its own National Natural Gas Transmission System with new compressor stations that will allow for larger energy flows from the south to the north.
Greek grid operator DESFA is investing one billion euros to expand its network capacity by 2032, thus enabling Greece to quadruple its gas-export capacity. As a result, Greece will be able to handle 8.5 billion cubic metres of gas (bcm) annually by 2025, becoming a European gas hub that works in close cooperation with Egypt as the main gas exporter in the Mediterranean.
Greece, owing to its geographical position and its overlapping membership of the EU and the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), can function both as a transit country for Egyptian energy exports and as a valuable diplomatic partner in the EU.
Effective cooperation on gas exports will benefit millions of customers in both Europe and Egypt and reduce prices in various related products and services, thereby easing the economic crisis that all states are going through during this internationally unstable period.
Egypt with its ever-increasing LNG exports is already the focal state assisting the EU during the present energy crisis. This is a fact that should be borne in mind in European decision-making circles, in order to develop new synergies of cooperation based on mutual respect and identical interests.
*The writer is a lecturer in geopolitics at the University of Athens in Greece.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 23 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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Korean writer Byung Lim Ji visited Egypt for the first time and toured some archaeological sites. During the visit, Byung held a signing ceremony for her book A 30 Year Old Cabin Crew.
Byung, who arrived in Cairo on 16 February, took a tour with the Egy-Korea social media group members in the Giza Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, the Citadel and Al-Moez Street. Byung expressed her fascination with the Pyramids, saying they were "like a miracle."
The tour began with a meal at a Korean restaurant before the group headed to Al-Moez Street, where the writer and her mother were impressed by the Egyptian Islamic civilisation, and tried traditional Egyptian food, such as hummus Al-Sham, and sweet dumplings.
The group then went to a library and bought Egyptian handmade products. Byung bought a small booknote with her Arabic name (Aisha) printed on it and she tried some Bedouin clothes on.
On the following day, the group headed to the Pyramids, where they took pictures and a tour on camelback, before entering the middle pyramid.
At the library of the Korean Cultural Centre in Dokki, a book signing ceremony was held for the writer by the Egy-Korea social media group members. The event was attended by a number of Egyptian fans.
At the ceremony, Byung wore the traditional Korean Hanbok costume designed by Egyptian designer Nariman Talal, who is famous in Egypt for designing the Hanbok.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Byung moved to Qatar to work as an aviation hostess in 2007.
Byung made her debut as a writer in 2003 and she received an award from the Korea Arts Council.
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Taiwan's president said the self-ruled island will deepen its military ties with the United States.
President Tsai Ing-wen made the vow Tuesday during a meeting with visiting U.S. lawmakers in Taipei. She said Taiwan will "cooperate even more actively with the U.S. and other democratic partners to confront such bold challenges as authoritarian expansionism and climate change."
The United States switched diplomatic recognition of China from Taiwan to Beijing in 1979, but it provides Taiwan military equipment for self-defense under the Taiwan Relations Act.
Beijing considers the democratically-ruled island part of its territory, even though it has been self-governing since the end of China's civil war in 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist forces were driven off the mainland by Mao Zedong's Communists. China has vowed to bring the island under its control by any means necessary, including a military takeover.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he is suspending Moscow's participation in the New START treaty, the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control pact. The treaty signed in 2010 limits each country to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads. It is due to expire in 2026.
Speaking during a state-of-the-nation address to the Russian Duma, or parliament, Putin said he is not completely withdrawing from the treaty at this time. He also said Russia should be ready to resume nuclear weapons testing if the United States does so.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russia's announcement "deeply unfortunate and irresponsible."
"We'll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does," Blinken told reporters. "We'll, of course, make sure that in any event, we are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies."
He also said the United States remains ready to talk with Russia about strategic arms limitations at any time, even as the U.S.-led Western coalition continues to supply arms to Ukraine to fight against Russia's nearly year-long invasion.
In a landmark court ruling on Tuesday, a gay couple won the same spousal coverage that heterosexual married couples enjoy from Korea's national health insurance.
The Seoul High Court overturned a decision by a lower court that referenced Korea's legal definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
In 2021, So Seong-woo sued the National Health Insurance Service after it terminated benefits for him by disqualifying him as a dependent of his male partner and demanding he pay his own premiums.
So said the NHIS had first covered him as a dependent under his partner's employer-based health insurance program in February 2020, but later reversed the decision after discovering they were a gay couple. He argued they were discriminated against since the NHIS provides spousal coverage to "common-law partners."
Amnesty International said this is the first case of a court in Korea recognizing the legal status of same-sex couples, and activists have hailed the verdict as a major victory for LGBT rights, but the NHIS will appeal to the Supreme Court.
Korea does not recognize same-sex marriage.
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February 22, 2023 Hontiveros to EU MPs: Drug-related killings have not stopped, ICC investigation will not harm domestic efforts Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday assured representatives of the European Parliament subcommittee on human rights that the ICC investigation on the war on drugs will help the country 'exhaust all means' to give justice to the victims of the bloody policy of the previous administration. The group met Hontiveros separately during their visit to the Senate on Wednesday, where they sought a different perspective on human rights issues in the Philippines. "The international action can only help, not harm our own domestic efforts on the extrajudicial killings (EJKs). If we were to say that we alone could take care of our own cases, take into account the more than 11,000 victims survivors of Martial Law dictatorship human rights abuses who only received a small, symbolic stipend. It has been over 20 years, and yet the task of giving them justice remains unfinished. 6,000 cases of EJKs ang nakasalang sa ICC, bakit hindi natin hayaan magpatuloy ang paggulong ng hustisya? The thousands of murders are incontestable. Politics aside, what do we plan on doing about these murders?," she asked. "We are waiting for the ICC process to ripen. The work against impunity is so large, it is clear that we need all the assistance we can get. It is important we remain transparent about the realities of our human rights situation here," she stressed. Hontiveros also refuted claims that EJKs have stopped under the present administration. The senator added that the new admin has "not taken definitive steps to exact justice for the victims of the bloody policies enacted under the war on drugs". "Drug-related killings have not stopped. This is why international solidarity is welcome and necessary. We must exhaust all means and avenues, including the ICC to seek justice for victims of human rights violations. There is media and public exhaustion on EJKs, but drug-related killings continue on the ground," she said. "I am not aware of any actions that the current government has taken to give justice to more victims of EJKs. The convictions won by Kian de los Santos and a few others were through the efforts of the families with civil society supporters," she said. According to the UP Third World Studies Center, the 152 drug-related killings under the Marcos, Jr. administration exceeded the 149 recorded killings during the final six months of former President Duterte's administration. Of the 152 killed since the start of the new admin, 46.7% were committed by state operatives. During the meeting, Hontiveros brought up the cases of Kian delos Santos, a teenage victim of extrajudicial killings proven to be executed by police officers. "The story of Kian mirrors the realities of our human rights situation here. The conviction of perpetrators, especially state agents, in the case of Kian delo Santos' murder, are a few signs of hope. But they are very few. The slow crawl to justice proves that the perpetrators continue to enjoy impunity," she emphasized. Aside from drug-related killings, the meeting also discussed other human rights concerns including journalist killings, and attacks on press freedom and democratic spaces. The delegation shared ideas with the senator on tackling disinformation online and decriminalizing libel. Hontiveros said the meeting was a reminder that "we are not alone and we are part of an international community of shared values". "Attacks on human rights and press freedom, and the massive proliferation of disinformation are not unique to the Philippines. These are shared problems we face. It is our shared responsibility to protect freedom of speech and expression as essential to democracy, and our countries need to work together to battle the challenges of our times," she concluded. ****** VIDEO LINK: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XoFqXJY5Ho2qpMBuTpwqdO1zWB8_s-O8/view
A presidential statement can only be adopted when there is no objection from permanent members and a majority of the members vote in favor. A proposed presidential statement last November to denounce North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile launch was also vetoed by China and Russia.
But permanent members China and Russia shielded the North while complaining about combined military exercises by the U.S. and its allies.
In the meeting, the U.S. and the U.K. condemned North Korea for its latest flurry of missile launches and urged council members to take action, including adopting a presidential statement.
A UN Security Council meeting on Monday to discuss North Korea's recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile ended without results again as Russia and China blocked any concerted action.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, "The reality is that those who shield [North Korea] from the consequences of its escalatory missile tests put the Asian region and entire world at risk of conflict."
Although "the two veto-wielding members... have repeatedly shut down all efforts at a meaningful response [and] blocked all of our attempts at robust responses," the U.S. will keep proposing a statement condemning North Korea's provocations, she said.
"Two member states continue to prevent this council from carrying out its mandate, we should expect [North Korea] to continue to defiantly develop and test these weapons. The council's lack of action is worse than shameful. It is dangerous."
She recalled that the council last reached consensus about the North Korean nuclear weapons and missile issue six years ago. "Now is the time for the Security Council to work together toward a peaceful solution on the Korean Peninsula, before it's too late. The Council must speak with one voice, as we did in 2017, to condemn this escalating pattern of reckless provocation."
"To this end, the United States will again propose a Presidential Statement. We call on each member of this council to join us in strongly condemning [North Korea's] unlawful activities and encouraging [North Korea] to engage in diplomacy," she added.
South Korean Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook said, "There is no other member state that blatantly mocks and menaces the functioning of the UN Security Council and the principles of the UN Charter like [North Korea]."
Thomas-Greenfield was reduced to issuing a statement on behalf of 11 countries including South Korea and Japan after the meeting, condemning North Korea and calling on the council to take action.
The Air Force on Tuesday released images of an F-35A stealth fighter jet being refueled in mid-air as a warning to North Korea what awaits if it continues its provocations.
The North Korea fired short-range missiles from a 600-mm multiple rocket launcher the previous day and warned that just four shots could "reduce to ashes the enemy's operational airfield."
The F-35A is capable of evading radar to strike behind enemy positions and is a key asset in preemptive strikes against North Korean missile attacks.
It was refueled mid-air by a KC-330 Cygnus multi-role tanker which can refuel up to some 20 fighters in the air at a time and also can carry up to 300 troops. The Air Force has four of them.
According to the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday, the country's trade deficit during the first 20 days of February has already increased 3.3 times from a year ago to US$5.99 billion, bringing the cumulative trade deficit this year to $18.63 billion. That is equivalent to a whopping 39 percent of last year's entire annual trade deficit, which reached a record $47.79 billion.
Exports of computer chips, which are the country's mainstay, continued to drop for five months, while heating fuel prices surged more than 80 percent, dealing a huge blow to Korea's trade balance.
Exports, which have been dropping since October, declined another 2.3 percent so far this month, and shipments of memory chips plummeted 43.9 percent. One industry insider said, "There is excess inventory of both mobile and server chips."
Demand for chips used in mobile devices has shrunk due to a sharp decline in smartphone sales in China. Big tech companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft anticipate further declines in prices and slashed orders for server chips. DRAM prices have plummeted from $3.40 a year ago to $1.80 at the end of last month.
That is hurting Korea's overall earnings from its biggest export destination China. Shipments in the first 20 days of this month declined 22.7 percent, resulting in a deficit of $781 million in trade with China.
Last year, global phone sales fell by around 100 million units, mainly due to waning demand in China. Semiconductor exports to Vietnam also plunged 18 percent and to Malaysia 18.5 percent.
On the import side, soaring demand this winter caused imports of heating fuel to surge 81.1 percent, with a 27.2 percent increase in the cost of crude oil, coal and gas in February alone.
The protracted slump is raising concerns that Korea's economic growth could fall below the 1.6 percent targeted by the government.
Russia and China forged closer ties Wednesday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin saying relations between the two countries had reached "new frontiers," even as the U.S. has expressed concern that Beijing could supply weapons to Moscow to help its war effort against Ukraine.
China has refused to criticize Russia's year-long invasion of Ukraine but has denied providing military support to Moscow's forces. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Beijing's representatives had already addressed the issue and "have, in fact, strongly denied it. There is nothing to add here."
But Putin welcomed China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, to the Kremlin, telling him that he looks forward to a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping and that bilateral trade between the two countries could soon reach $200 billion a year, up from $185 billion last year. "We await a visit of the president of the People's Republic of China to Russia, we have agreed on this," Putin told Wang. "Everything is progressing, developing. We are reaching new frontiers."
At the start of his talks with Wang, Putin hailed ties between the two countries. With escalating world tensions, Putin said, "cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the global arena is particularly important for stabilizing the international situation."
Wang, through an interpreter, told Putin that the two countries' relations were not aimed against any third party but would "not succumb to pressure from third parties" -- a pointed jab at the United States after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wang last weekend of unspecified consequences if China provided lethal support for Russia's war effort.
"Together we support multi-polarity and democratization in international relations," Wang told Putin. "This fully meets the course of time and history; it also meets the interests of the majority of countries."
U.S. President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday attended the summit of the so-called Bucharest Nine, or B9, countries on NATO's easternmost flank; Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
This little-known grouping is an initiative launched in 2015 by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Polish President Andrzej Duda. It is aimed at enhancing cooperation among NATO's newest members to support the alliance's objectives of improving security and stability between the Baltic and Black Seas.
Duda, host of the summit, said Wednesday's meeting would determine next steps ahead of a B9 summit in Bratislava, Slovakia, and a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, as well as "the possibilities to provide further support to Ukraine."
Biden reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the security of the B9, whose members joined the military alliance after being under Moscow's sphere of influence during the Cold War and are now looking at Moscow's expansionist ambitions with concern.
"Today, as we approach the one-year anniversary of Russia's further invasion, it's even more important that we continue to stand together," Biden said, reiterating what he called Washington's "sacred commitment" to NATO's Article Five that states an attack against one member is an attack against all. "You're the frontlines of our collective defense and you know, better than anyone, what's at stake in this conflict," he said. "Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world."
The group met amid concerns over Moscow's destabilizing activities in Moldova -- a tiny non-NATO country sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania -- where summit co-host Iohannis said Russian President Vladimir Putin is pursuing his "pattern of aggressive conduct" one year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Echoing those remarks, NATO's Stoltenberg said Putin is not preparing for peace. "On the contrary, he is preparing for more war," he said. "So, we must sustain and step up our support for Ukraine. We must give Ukraine what they need to prevail."
On Tuesday, the Russian leader revoked a 2012 decree pledging to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova with regard to Transnistria -- a Moscow-backed separatist region bordering Ukraine where an unknown number of Russian troops are stationed.
The move heightened fears in Moldova's capital, Chisinau. Following the resignation of Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, the country's president, Maia Sandu, warned last week of an active Russian coup plot, through "propaganda and disinformation" and "multiple cyberattacks." On Tuesday Biden met with Sandu in Warsaw to affirm U.S. support for Moldova's sovereignty, the White House said in a statement.
Hundreds of rescuers searched Monday for survivors of landslides and flooding that killed at least 36 people along the coast of Brazil's southern state of Sao Paulo following a huge weekend downpour.
Worst hit was the city of Sao Sebastiao, where at least 35 were dead. In neighboring Ubatuba, a 7-year-old girl was killed. The disaster, in an area famous for beaches flanked by mountains, prompted cancellations in many cities of the Carnival festivities now in full swing elsewhere in the country.
Governor Tarcisio de Freitas told television network Globo that another 40 people were missing. Nearly 800 people were homeless and 1,730 people have been displaced, his state government said in a statement.
Television footage showed flooded homes with only their roofs visible. Residents used small boats to carry items and people to elevated positions.
A woman who gave only her first name, Mailsa, said she and her husband, daughter and grandson only barely escaped when a landslide destroyed her house in the Juquehy municipality of Sao Sebastiao. The house was partially submerged, parts of it fell away and the rest was left precariously perched on the edge of a hill.
"It was very quick. Either you run or you die," she said. "It's not possible to take anything, only your life, which is the most important thing."
KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2023 - 20:22 | All, Japan
Four men were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of carrying out a fatal robbery at a 90-year-old woman's home in western Tokyo in January, a case believed to be linked to a string of burglaries seen across the country over the past year or so.
The series of break-ins are likely to have been ordered by a person or persons thought to have used the pseudonyms "Luffy" and "Kim" and to be among men recently deported to Japan from the Philippines.
Hiroyuki Nomura, a 52-year-old resident of Saitama Prefecture, was arrested on suspicion of the murder and robbery of Kinuyo Oshio in the city of Komae on Jan. 19, according to investigative sources. Shogo Fukushima, a 34-year-old also from Saitama, was arrested on suspicion of acting as an accessory to the crime.
The two others arrested the same day are both suspected perpetrators -- Rikuto Nagata, a 21-year-old resident of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, and a 19-year-old male university student who resides in Tokyo's Nakano Ward.
Nagata was indicted in December last year for a robbery case in Nakano, while the student, whose name is withheld by law pending a formal indictment because he is a minor, was arrested in Ishikawa on suspicion of using a fake driver's license.
Nomura and the others are suspected of breaking into Oshio's home before beating her to death and stealing three luxury wristwatches and a diamond ring, while Fukushima is suspected of acting as an accomplice by renting two cars the day before.
The police later found the cars, one of which had a smartphone left inside. The messages on the phone included what appear to be instructions sent from "Kim" using the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
The police suspect that "Kim" and "Luffy" could be the aliases of one or more of a group involving Yuki Watanabe, 38, and three others who were deported from the Philippines earlier this month. They have so far been arrested on suspicion of theft in connection with scam cases.
The four deportees are believed to be linked to at least 20 robberies that have occurred across more than a dozen prefectures. The murder and robbery of Oshio, in particular, struck a nerve among the Japanese public due to such criminal violence being rare in Japan.
Police are examining smartphones and computer tablets confiscated from the men while they were held at an immigration detention facility in Manila. According to investigative sources, however, some of the devices have been reset, with the data on them wiped.
"Even if messages are found on the devices or we are able to recover them somehow, there is a possibility that those smartphones were shared among them," a senior investigator said. "We'll likely face a high hurdle identifying who sent which messages."
Given that the four were potentially able to coordinate their stories before their deportation, the investigator said police are prepared for what is likely to be a "long and hard" investigation.
Related coverage:
2 more robbery suspects arrested, land in Tokyo from Philippines
Robbers of east Japan homes suspected of striking other areas
KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2023 - 18:08 | All, Japan, World
Japan carried out joint maritime drills with the United States and South Korea on Wednesday following North Korea's latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile late last week, the Defense Ministry said.
The exercises involving the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's Atago, a destroyer equipped with the Aegis missile interceptor system, as well as U.S. and South Korean Aegis ships, were conducted in the Sea of Japan, the ministry said.
The destroyers were engaged in information sharing on the assumption of ballistic missile launches and other military activities by other nations, such as North Korea, the ministry said.
North Korea has recently resumed its provocative missile firings into the Sea of Japan in protest of joint defense drills by the United States with its East Asian allies.
On Saturday, Pyongyang fired a Hwasong-15, an ICBM seen as capable of reaching anywhere on the U.S. mainland, on a lofted trajectory. The United States held air exercises with Tokyo and Seoul, respectively, on Sunday.
The missile appeared to have fallen into Japan's exclusive economic zone off its northern territory, but it could travel over 14,000 kilometers on a normal trajectory.
North Korea also fired two ballistic missiles on Monday morning, which seemed to have fallen outside Japan's EEZ, warning of more launches over the Japanese archipelago.
Related coverage:
North Korea fires 2 missiles, warns of more launches over Japan
North Korea says it held "surprise" ICBM drill amid military threats
U.S., Japan urge U.N. Security Council to act on N. Korea's ICBM test
KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2023 - 18:20 | World, All
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu met Tuesday with senior U.S. officials near Washington, marking the first visit to the capital area by the island's top diplomat since the United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, local reports said.
Wu and Wellington Koo, secretary general of Taiwan's National Security Council, held closed-door talks with senior U.S. officials including Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Daniel Kritenbrink, the State Department's top diplomat for East Asia, according to The Liberty Times and Taiwan's Central News Agency.
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (L) waves ahead of talks with U.S. officials in Washington on Feb. 21, 2023. (Central News Agency/Kyodo)
The agency said the meeting was held at the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan located in Virginia and lasted about seven hours.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference Wednesday that Beijing resolutely opposes "any form of U.S.-Taiwan official exchanges" and has lodged solemn representations with Washington over the Taiwan delegation's visit.
Beijing urges Washington to abide by the one-China principle, "earnestly implement the promise made by U.S. leaders not to support Taiwan independence" and stop creating new tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the spokesman said.
Since the severance of diplomatic ties, the United States has restricted visits to Washington and its vicinity by Taiwan's president, vice president, premier, foreign minister and defense minister.
Wu's trip to the capital area follows the 2018 enactment of the Taiwan Travel Act in the United States, which promotes mutual visits of senior officials between the country and the self-ruled democratic island.
The Taiwan paper reported that the senior officials may have discussed U.S. arms sales to the island during the meeting held amid growing concern over China's territorial ambitions with regard to the self-ruled territory.
The U.S. participants also included White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell, Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China Michael Chase, who visited Taiwan last week, according to the reports.
Communist-led China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 due to a civil war. Beijing views the island as a renegade province to be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
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KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2023 - 08:04 | All, World, Japan
Japanese defense officials warned their Chinese counterparts over further possible intrusions of Japan's airspace by Chinese spy balloons and demanded that no such incidents happen again during their talks in Tokyo on Tuesday.
While tensions linger over suspected Chinese spy balloons spotted over Japan in recent years, the two sides pledged to continue working together for the planned launch of a hotline between defense authorities around the spring to avoid unexpected military incidents.
Japanese and Chinese defense and foreign ministry officials have kicked off a series of talks in Tokyo from Tuesday, as the neighboring countries seek to improve their strained relations and promote exchanges to stimulate their economies hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
The meeting between defense authorities on Tuesday were joined by Atsushi Ando, deputy director general of the Japanese Defense Ministry's Defense Policy Bureau, and Zhang Baoqun, deputy director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Chinese Central Military Commission.
Diplomats including Japan's Senior Deputy Foreign Minister Shigeo Yamada and China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong also held a meeting in Tokyo the same day.
They agreed to continue to closely communicate at "various levels" toward building "a constructive and stable" bilateral ties, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
On Wednesday, the two governments are set to hold a security dialogue involving their senior foreign affairs and defense officials, in what would be their first such meeting since February 2019 when it was held in Beijing.
The talks are taking place a week after the Japanese Defense Ministry said that at least three unidentified flying objects spotted over the nation's territorial airspace in three years from 2019 are "strongly suspected" to have been Chinese unmanned spy balloons.
China has denied the allegation, criticizing Japan for "making up stories to smear and attack" Beijing without clear evidence and urging Tokyo to refrain from following Washington's lead in using the incidents to hype up Chinese threats.
Japanese defense officials said Tuesday that violations of Japan's territorial skies by balloons are "unacceptable" and urged China to get to the bottom of the incidents, according to a Japanese Defense Ministry official.
The two Asian powers have been at odds over issues such as the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed Senkaku Islands, which China calls Diaoyu. Chinese coast guard vessels have repeatedly entered Japanese waters around the uninhabited islets in the East China Sea.
As part of efforts to stabilize their bilateral ties, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in November last year on an early start of the defense hotline during their meeting in Bangkok.
In 2018, Japan and China launched the Maritime and Aerial Communication Mechanism to avoid accidental clashes at sea and in the air. Opening a direct hotline is expected to be a pillar of the communication mechanism, but it has yet to be realized.
Meanwhile, according to several sources familiar with Japan-China relations, China's Communist Party has repeatedly requested that it wants to resume a dialogue with Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito, which was last held in 2018.
Liu Jianchao, head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party, told Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi in December and Japanese Ambassador to China Hideo Tarumi in January the party is eager to restart in-person exchanges between ruling party officials of the two countries, the sources said.
The next round of talks are expected to be held in China with major agenda items including security, economy and people-to-people exchanges.
Yamaguchi was scheduled to visit China in January, but his trip did not materialize as Beijing criticized Tokyo's tightening of border controls on visitors from mainland China amid a surge of coronavirus infections in the country.
Press Release
February 22, 2023 Pimentel lauds Elon Musk's Starlink coverage of PHL In 2020, Pimentel, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, wrote Musk a letter to explore how SpaceX could service the country Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III welcomed the announcement of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) that its services are now immediately available in the country and expressed optimism that that the Satellite-based service provider owned by billionaire Elon Musk will be able to provide internet access in rural, remote, unserved, and underserved areas in the Philippines. "The internet has become a basic necessity in this modern world. Hence, I am glad that with SpaceX, we have a better chance of improving internet connectivity in rural areas and poor communities in our country," Pimentel said. "Internet connectivity is crucial in remote learning, digital education, health care and other social services, banking services, as well as information on disaster and emergency preparedness," Pimentel said. Pimentel has long been advocating for a faster, more reliable and equitable internet access in the country. In 2020, he wrote Musk and SpaceX a letter as then chairman of the Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship to explore how the country could benefit from its internet service called Starlink. In response, the company's representatives led by its Vice President for Satellite Government Affairs Patricia Cooper met with Pimentel in December 2021 to discuss Pimentel's proposal. "The country and its 110 million Filipinos stand to benefit from our initiative. I am glad to have played a role in providing our countrymen better internet access at home, in office and anywhere in the country," Pimentel said as he noted how the country has been lagging behind in terms of internet connectivity. "Connectivity is very important for the Philippines given that we are a nation of around 100 million people populating more than 7,000 islands. Furthermore, a substantial number of our citizens or around 10 million are living and working outside of the country. Thus, it is a duty of the government to ensure a better and more equitable internet connection," Pimentel stressed. SpaceX started to develop its product Starlink global broadband in 2015. Two prototype test-flight satellites were launched in February 2018. Thereafter, additional test satellites and operational satellites were deployed in May 2019. Starlink has been serving its first customers in the United States and Canada, and they are currently driving fast to offer services internationally.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2023 - 17:22 | All, Japan
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to start producing electric vehicles in the United States possibly in 2025, a source close to the matter said Wednesday, with an eye on the growing market for eco-friendly cars amid tougher environmental regulations.
The move by the Japanese automaker comes as a U.S. law enacted last year to incentivize the use of green technology requires final assembly of EVs to occur in North America to qualify for tax credits.
Toyota, which has set a goal of selling 3.5 million EV units worldwide in 2030, is also considering producing vehicles in Europe.
The production of EVs in the United States -- possibly SUVs -- is expected to start between 2025 and 2026 at a key manufacturing plant in the southern state of Kentucky, according to the source.
Toyota, together with trading firm Toyota Tsusho Corp., is also planning to build an automotive battery plant in nearby North Carolina, with operations slated to begin in 2025.
Toyota launched its first mass-produced electric vehicle known as the bZ4X in May last year. It is manufactured in Japan and China.
Koji Sato, who is set to become the president of Toyota in April, told a recent press conference that the company will "speed up EV development" but also continue to offer a broad range of electrified vehicles, including EVs and hybrids.
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KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2023 - 07:55 | All, World, G7
(EDS: ADDING DETAILS)
The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven on Tuesday condemned Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine and pledged that their major democratic countries will take additional steps aimed at weakening Moscow's ability to finance the war.
"We will impose further economic costs on Russia, and on individuals and entities -- inside and outside of Russia -- that provide political or economic support to these violations of international law," they said in a statement, released three days before the first anniversary of the country's invasion of Ukraine.
The ministers called on all members of the international community to spurn Russia's action and its bid to acquire territory by force.
"We are unwavering in our support for Ukraine's right to defend itself against Russia's war of aggression and its unquestionable right to reclaim its territory from Russia," they said, adding that Moscow's "irresponsible nuclear rhetoric" will not distract or dissuade them from assisting Kyiv.
The leaders of the group's members -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, as well as the European Union -- are scheduled to hold an online summit on the day of the anniversary.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday that he will invite Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the G-7 summit.
The summit will be the first hosted by the prime minister of Japan, which holds this year's rotating presidency of the group.
By Maricar Cinco and Ken Sasaki, KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2023 - 22:30 | World, All
Chinese ships remain an intimidating presence in a Philippine-controlled shoal in the contested Spratly Islands chain where a recent laser-pointing incident has become a new source of tension between the two countries.
During an aerial visit to the area earlier in the week arranged by the Philippine Coast Guard, reporters including from Kyodo News witnessed how the only Philippines' outpost in Ayungin Shoal in Spratly islands was decrepit, in contrast to the teeming number of Chinese Coast Guard vessels that surrounded the shoal.
The rare trip came after a vessel belonging to the Southeast Asian country's coast guard was locked in with a "military-grade laser" from a Chinese coast guard ship in the vicinity of the Ayungin Shoal on Feb. 6.
The incident quickly escalated into a diplomatic row, with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. immediately summoning China's ambassador to the country and protesting Beijing's aggressive activities in the resource-rich South China Sea, where the Spratlys are located.
The Philippines, which has described the Chinese Coast Guard's actions as a "dangerous maneuver," is also changing its tack in dealing with China by drumming up support from other countries.
Following the laser incident, the United States, Australia, and Japan have expressed their concern over Beijing's behavior as well as their support of the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which invalidated Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea.
Manila will hereon "expose" China's behavior in the South China Sea, Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard's adviser for maritime security, told Kyodo News. He went on to say, "We need the international community to know (what's going on)."
China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan all lay claim to the Spratlys, either in part or in whole.
Only last week, after Manila had lodged a diplomatic protest against Beijing, Tarriela told the media of two prior incidents, including one that took place in June when a Chinese ship aimed a laser at a Philippine tugboat. Another occurred in August with a Chinese vessel uncovering a 70-millimeter naval gun as it chased away a Philippine Coast Guard ship near Ayungin.
In 1999, to enforce its claim in the area, the Philippines intentionally grounded a ship on Ayungin Shoal that has since served as its military post in the South China Sea.
The Philippines routinely resupplies its personnel but the ships carrying the supplies have either been blocked or harassed by Chinese vessels over the years.
On Tuesday, the Philippine Coast Guard conducted a maritime air patrol over Sabina and Ayungin shoals, with reporters from Kyodo News and two Philippine news outlets aboard. It was the first time journalists have been allowed to join the routine patrol over Spratly islands since Marcos took office in June.
At least 26 Chinese militia vessels were inside and around Sabina, a shoal where the Philippine authorities have reported a "swarming" of Chinese vessels. Four vessels and a Chinese Coast Guard ship were also seen in the vicinity of Ayungin.
The Chinese Coast Guard ship was about a nautical mile away from the grounded Philippine ship. According to the Philippine Coast Guard personnel, a group of about a dozen Chinese vessels usually stay close together in order to disguise the actual number of ships when viewed from an aircraft.
As the Philippine Coast Guard plane drew closer to Ayungin, journalists received a message on their mobile phones from their telecommunications carrier saying, "Welcome to China!"
Ayungin Shoal is about 40 kilometers from the Mischief Reef, where China has built structures for many years.
The Philippine plane also received radio messages from China telling it to "change its route and leave" as it has become a "security threat to the Chinese islands."
China warned the plane against flying any closer as it was "in the midst of an aviation training" exercise over the reef.
But the Philippine Coast Guard pilots countered over the radio that they were flying within the country's airspace and instead, urged Chinese vessels to leave immediately from the area within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.
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China, Philippines to manage South China Sea differences peacefully
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By Keita Nakamura, KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2023 - 18:01 | All, World, Japan
Japan called on China on Wednesday to play a "responsible role" in ensuring peace and security in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said, after the United States said that Beijing is considering supplying weapons to Moscow.
During the first security dialogue by senior officials from the two Asian nations in four years in Tokyo, Japan and China also agreed to facilitate mutual communication in the defense field amid a spat over suspected spy balloons flown by Beijing.
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Friday, Tokyo "strongly demanded" that Beijing uphold peace and stability of the international community, the Japanese ministry said.
As for the suspected Chinese surveillance balloons, Japanese Senior Deputy Foreign Minister Shigeo Yamada expressed "serious concern" about their flights and elaborated on the country's stance on the issue, the ministry said.
At the outset of the talks, Yamada also brought up the situation surrounding the Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and the ruling Communist Party's intensifying military activities in collaboration with Russia.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, meanwhile, sought a "responsible explanation" about Japan's recently revised policy documents that call for a reinforcement of the security alliance with the United States.
Sun warned against Tokyo's "negative moves" with regard to Taiwan "in collusion with powers outside the region," in an apparent reference to Japan's intention to bolster security relations with its ally the United States.
Atsushi Ando, deputy director general of the Japanese Defense Ministry's Defense Policy Bureau, and Zhang Baoqun, deputy director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Chinese Central Military Commission, accompanied the gathering.
The meeting came after the Japanese government said last week that at least three unidentified flying objects spotted over the nation's territorial skies from 2019 to 2021 are "strongly suspected" to have been Chinese unmanned balloons used for espionage.
Tokyo said it requested that no such incidents happen again and that Beijing get to the bottom of the cases, adding that Japan would never accept any violation of its territorial skies.
China has denied its involvement and criticized Japan for "making up stories to smear and attack" Beijing without showing any clear evidence, urging Tokyo to stop following Washington's lead in inflating Chinese threats.
To dispel fears about the suspected Chinese spy balloons, the Japanese government has decided to relax the conditions for the Self-Defense Forces to use weapons against unmanned flying objects intruding into the country's airspace.
On Feb. 4, the United States shot down what appeared to be a Chinese balloon off the U.S. east coast, renewing tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The security dialogue was the first between the two nations since Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took office in October 2021, the last one having taken place in Beijing in February 2019.
Sino-U.S. confrontation has been also escalating over Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island regarded by China as a renegade province to be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
In Wednesday's dialogue, Japan underscored "the importance of peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait," as mentioned in the government's three key defense documents that were updated in December.
In the documents, Japan pledged to enhance its deterrence by obtaining "counterstrike capabilities" to strike targets in enemy territory in case of emergency while promising to double its defense spending, drawing a backlash from China.
For years, the two Asian powers have remained at loggerheads over the Senkakus, which Beijing calls Diaoyu. Chinese coast guard vessels have repeatedly entered Japanese waters around the group of the uninhabited islets.
The dialogue participants also confirmed the two governments will continue promoting arrangements ahead of the planned spring launch of a hotline between the respective defense authorities, designed to avoid a military contingency, according to the ministry.
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By Kanta Miki, KYODO NEWS - Feb 22, 2023 - 13:27 | Feature, All, Japan
Sea otters, one of the most popular attraction at Japanese aquariums, are in danger of disappearing.
Only three remain in captivity, and they are too old to breed. Imports of the endangered species from the United States, their main habitat, meanwhile, have been cut off due to stricter regulations.
In the peak year of 1994, there were 122 of the crowd-pleasing sea mammals in 28 aquariums across the country. Now only two female and one male captive otter live in two facilities.
The females are in Toba Aquarium, located in the central Japan city of Toba in Mie Prefecture. It began breeding sea otters in 1983, raising six at one point, but now has only 18-year-old May and 14-year-old Kira. Considering their average life expectancy -- around 20 years in captivity -- they do not have much longer to live.
The male sea otter, Riro, is kept at Marine World Uminonakamichi in the southwestern city of Fukuoka. He is Kira's brother and 15 years old.
"They are cute and relaxing to watch," said Megumi Iha, 29, who works in Yokohama, near Tokyo, as she gazed at them at Toba Aquarium.
"I would feel sorry for children if there were no more sea otters in aquariums," said Nao Matsuda, a 46-year-old homemaker from Mie Prefecture, who was also there.
According to the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the first breeding facility of sea otters in Japan was Izu Mito Sea Paradise in 1982, located in Numazu in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka.
Becoming a huge customer draw, other aquariums decided to follow suit and keep them as well.
However, the association said, the number of captive otters in Japan shrank as difficulties cropped up with breeding and nursing. In 2021, hopes were dashed for domestic breeding when the female of the only mating pair expected to breed died.
Overhunting for fur and a tanker accident off the coast of Alaska in 1989 also led to a decline in the number of wild sea otters.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has listed them as endangered since 2000 on their Red List of Threatened Species. In Japan, the capture of sea otters is prohibited, and the last imports ceased in 2003.
Yoshihiro Ishihara, 61, who is responsible for sea otter breeding at Toba Aquarium, said "it is not clear" why the animals have had difficulty mating but suggests one possibility is that the males' reproductive capacity has declined.
Since male adult otters attack or even try to mate with their own offspring, they are generally kept in separate tanks from others, and "perhaps their instincts have waned" as a result, Ishihara said.
The most recent death of a sea otter in a Japanese aquarium was Asuka. The 23-year-old belonged to Suma Aqualife Park Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture in the country's west.
"One factor that might have contributed to her longevity is feeding her a variety of foods," said the sea otter's former caretaker Momoyo Muramoto, 40, adding she did not know what might have encouraged successful breeding.
It is not all bad news, however. Wild otters have been observed again off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island.
"I want people to stop throwing trash in the sea and instead protect the environment so sea otters can live in peace," Ishihara said.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, gestures at a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 22, 2023.
The Chinese mainland will make utmost efforts to facilitate exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and reduce the costs of such activities, said a mainland spokesperson on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland will make utmost efforts to facilitate exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and reduce the costs of such activities, said a mainland spokesperson on Wednesday.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland spares no effort in facilitating a substantial expansion of cross-Strait flights, with schedules dynamically managed by airline companies from both sides.
Noting the limited flight capacity and limited amount of non-stop destinations as a result of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' unilateral restrictions, Zhu said relevant authorities in Taiwan did not respond to the mainland's request to reopen 16 non-stop flight destinations.
Zhu urged the DPP authorities to remove such barriers and restore the normal order of direct passenger flights across the Strait.
Previously, cross-Strait exchanges were severely strained due to COVID-19 and the DPP's deliberate obstructions. Now that the COVID-19 concern has subsided, such barriers should be removed as soon as possible, said Zhu.
At the start of this year, the mainland invited Taiwan's major industry and commerce organizations to visit the mainland and discuss cooperation.
These organizations have made travel plans to the mainland and expressed their shared hope for enhanced cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation and peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, Zhu said.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, gestures at a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 22, 2023.
The Chinese mainland will make utmost efforts to facilitate exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and reduce the costs of such activities, said a mainland spokesperson on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Yangtze River, the longest waterway in China, saw continuous improvement in its water quality in 2022 as the country continues its efforts on the river's protection, an environmental official said Wednesday.
In 2022, the quality of the water in 98.1 percent of the Yangtze's sections stood above Grade II, the second-highest level in the country's five-tier water quality system, said Huang Xiaozeng, head of the department of water ecology and environment at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment during a press conference.
This marks an increase of 1 percentage point year-on-year, according to the ministry.
It was the third consecutive year that the main stream of the Yangtze River has maintained Grade II water quality, it said.
The Chinese government has attached great importance to the Yangtze's conservation. To restore the biodiversity along the river, China implemented a full fishing ban in 332 conservation areas of the Yangtze River basin in January 2020. The move has since been expanded to a 10-year moratorium along the river's main streams and major tributaries, effective Jan. 1, 2021.
In 2022, the water quality of the main stream of the Yellow River, known as the "Mother River" in China, reached Grade II for the first time, according to the ministry.
Press Release
February 22, 2023 Senate concurs in ratification of RCEP Agreement The Senate on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, voted to adopt a resolution concurring in the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement. Resolution No. 485, sponsored by Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" F. Zubiri and Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, was concurred in by the upper chamber with 20 affirmative votes, one negative vote and one abstention. Of the senators who registered their vote, Sen. Risa Hontiveros did not favor the ratification of the RCEP, while Sen. Imee Marcos abstained. The Philippines is the latest RCEP signatory to concur in the ratification of the trade deal, joining fellow members in the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and trade partners Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. Dubbed as the world's largest regional free trade agreement (FTA), the RCEP accounts for 29 percent of global trade. "It would be wrong to simply argue that we must join it because others did. Rather, we should join out of the belief that it will create a snowball effect on jobs for our people, and market for our produce," Zubiri said in his sponsorship of the RCEP. He said the Philippines, under the RCEP, would be able to source raw materials and intermediate goods from fellow RCEP countries, process products locally, and then export the products out to RCEP countries at a preferential agreement. According to the resolution, the Philippines is expected to benefit from the agreement through enhanced market access for its export products; wider area for accumulation of raw materials; trade facilitation; time-bound consultations to resolve issues on SPS measures as well as technical barriers to trade (TBT); improved market access for services including financial and telecommunication services; clear, stable and predictable rules necessary to attract investments; strong support for the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs); stronger protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights; and greater opportunity for economic and technical cooperation among the parties. "The RCEP Agreement covers almost all aspects of the economy," Zubiri said. "We have to appreciate it in its broader context," he added. Legarda also clarified that sensitive and highly sensitive agricultural products would be excluded from the country's tariff commitments in the RCEP. The commitments covered only 1.9 percent of the total agricultural tariff lines in the RCEP, and would apply to 15 agricultural products that will not pose a threat to the local agriculture sector. Sensitive commodities such as swine meat, poultry meat, onion, rice, and sugar among others, are excluded. On the other hand, the RCEP would offer better market access for key Philippine products and services in the ASEAN trade partners. "The RCEP is essentially a step towards ensuring that a rules-based, transparent, and conducive business environment is promoted to ensure sustainable and inclusive economic growth," said Legarda, who previously chaired the Committee on Foreign Relations. The resolution calls for measures to build competitive and comparative advantages for local sectors; interventions to stimulate and support innovation; good governance mechanisms for transparency, accountability and learning; strategies for human capital development; inclusiveness, sustainability and green growth initiatives; and RCEP agreement optimization program. The measure also creates the Senate Special Oversight Committee on the RCEP Agreement, which shall look into the government's plans and strategies to harness competitiveness in various sectors. The oversight panel shall come up with legislative proposals to pursue reforms and address implementation gaps as necessary, including recommendations to improve performance and exact accountabilities. The Philippines first signed the RCEP in September, 2021, and then on November 28, 2022. A total of 15 government agencies - led by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Agriculture - endorsed the concurrence to its ratification.
AMMAN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Jordan's State Security Court (SSC) on Wednesday sentenced three members of a terrorist cell to death over a series of attacks in the Jordanian city of Salt.
The three are part of 14 defendants involved in the terrorist attacks in Salt that killed members of the Jordanian armed forces and security agencies, it reported.
The court decided to jail eight other members of the terrorist group affiliated with Islamic State (ISIS) from 5-20 years in prison, it added.
The court also announced the acquittal of three individuals who were charged with involvement in the same terrorist activities in Salt in 2018.
The defendants were charged with multiple counts, including using, possessing and manufacturing explosives and weapons, as well as carrying out terrorist attacks resulting in human casualties and destruction of property.
They were also charged with promoting the ideas of the ISIS group.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi co-host the fourth meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between China and Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)
JAKARTA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China and Indonesia have agreed to deepen strategic synergy and promote cooperation on trade and investment, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Wednesday after a meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between the two countries.
Qin told reporters after co-hosting the meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi that China and Indonesia have dovetailed their development strategies, jointly addressed risks and challenges, and continued to deepen the new pattern of "four-wheel drive" cooperation in politics, economy, humanities and maritime affairs, setting an example of developing countries embracing a shared future, pursuing strength through unity, and seeking solidarity and cooperation.
The two sides will uphold the leading role of the heads of state, cement high-level contacts, consolidate strategic mutual trust, strengthen defense cooperation, enhance coordination of political and security policies, and offer firm support on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns, so as to promote the China-Indonesia community with a shared future in a deep and substantive manner.
Both countries will deepen their strategic synergy, speed up the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway and other flagship projects of the Belt and Road Initiative, and ensure their completion or inauguration on schedule, Qin said.
They will also continue to promote the construction of key projects including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor and "Two Countries, Twin Parks" to create a new benchmark for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, he added.
The two sides are ready to lift their cooperation on trade and investment to a higher level. China, which is the largest trading partner in a decade and second largest source of foreign investment for Indonesia, is willing to further expand the import of commodities and quality agricultural and aquacultural products from Indonesia, the Chinese foreign minister said.
He added that China will encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in Indonesia, expand cooperation in the fields ranging from infrastructure, green development to digital economy and healthcare, create highlights of marine cooperation and speed up the restart of aquaculture cooperation.
The two sides will strengthen cooperation in tourism, education, culture, youth and sports, and boost cultural and people-to-people exchanges, Qin said, adding that he believes that with increasing direct flights, Chinese visitor arrivals in Indonesia will resume and even surpass the pre-COVID level.
Both sides will stay committed to their collaboration as major countries, continue to push for alignment and cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and foster a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home in the region, Qin said.
The two countries, together with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will fully and effectively carry out the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), accelerate negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), and jointly safeguard the peace and stability there, he said.
The two sides will enhance cooperation on the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, deepen communication and collaboration under multilateral frameworks including the Group of 20 (G20) and BRICS, and jointly safeguard and practice real multilateralism, according to Qin.
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China will further improve the efficiency of its patent examination sector to enhance the country's innovation capability, the industry watchdog said Wednesday.
The processing time for invention patent applications will be further cut to 16 months this year, Wei Baozhi, an official with the National Intellectual Property Administration, told a news briefing.
Wei highlighted the task of improving the patent examination standards in fields such as big data, artificial intelligence and gene technologies, to support the development of these emerging industries.
In 2022, a total of 798,000 invention patents were authorized. While China has taken the global lead in the number of patent applications, it has also made enormous efforts to promote a shift within the sector from pursuing growth in the number of patents to improving efficiency.
The official also detailed other measures to strengthen patent protection, including revising patent related regulations and curbing abnormal applications.
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China is processing 519 applications to hold or attend economic and trade expos abroad after the country resumed the approval procedures at the beginning of this year, China's top trade-facilitating body said Wednesday.
The applications, involving 47 foreign countries as destinations, came from 50 organizers nationwide, Yang Fan, spokesperson for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, told a press conference.
Yang said the council would help organize expos focusing on emerging markets and strategic emerging industries and encourage Chinese companies to attend high-standard expos of industry-wide acclaim in developed countries.
China will establish more platforms for international exchanges among companies and put in more effort to help firms explore overseas markets.
Yang said the council would organize or participate in hundreds of expos, forums, and two-way visits this year, through which companies worldwide could foster fruitful cooperation.
Volunteers decorate the Central Shaheed Minar, a solemn and iconic monument, in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Feb. 21, 2023. Hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka Tuesday paid tributes to the country's language movement activists who sacrificed their lives on the day in 1952. (Xinhua)
This photo taken on Feb. 21, 2023 shows flower-bedecked altar of the Central Shaheed Minar, a solemn and iconic monument, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka Tuesday paid tributes to the country's language movement activists who sacrificed their lives on the day in 1952. (Xinhua)
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese police retrieved more than 37,000 cultural-relic items that were being held illegally in 2022, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said Wednesday.
The retrieved items included more than 3,800 valuable cultural relics. Movable cultural relics in China are divided into valuable cultural relics and ordinary cultural relics, according to the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics.
Over 1,700 criminal cases related to cultural relics were solved during the year, with more than 310 relevant criminal gangs busted, the ministry said.
The MPS and the National Cultural Heritage Administration have carried out yearly crackdown campaigns against cultural relic-related crimes for six consecutive years, and will extend the activity until 2025.
They will take stronger measures against criminal acts such as illicitly excavating sites of ancient culture and ancient tombs, and robbing stone carvings or components from cave temples and architectural structures, said the ministry.
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday refuted a false claim by certain U.S. officials, saying there are more than enough facts to show the true nature of the United States as a source of trouble rather than "defender of peace" for the world.
Noting the United States is the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing that just yesterday, the U.S. side announced a further 500 million U.S. dollars worth of military aid to Ukraine.
"It makes people wonder what the United States is up to by falsely claiming that China is offering weapons, and whether the United States finds it conscionable to tell the world it wants peace and yet sits and watches its defense industry lining up their pocket," Wang said.
"We all saw what the United States did in Afghanistan with its strategy of 'fighting to the last Afghan.' Does it now want Ukraine to 'fight till the last Ukrainian'?" he said.
Wang stressed that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is built on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party, which is within the sovereign right of any two independent states.
"We do not accept the U.S.'s finger-pointing or even coercion targeting China-Russia relations," he added.
The United States should seriously reflect on what it has done, stop fanning the flames or profiting from it, and stay truly committed to promoting peace talks as China has been doing, Wang said.
Train wreckage from the Feb. 3 derailment is seen piled up beside the railway on the outskirts of the village of East Palestine, Ohio, the United States, on Feb. 14, 2023. (Photo by Phil Zhang/Xinhua)
The United States needs "a government who will fight for the people and the people of its own country," Eric Reeves, a protester from Texas, said. "If you look at our cities in America, if you look at (what) America is in, we could be using all of that money, all of that effort here in America to help the people of America to do better."
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to "conduct all necessary actions associated with the cleanup" from the train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, over two weeks ago.
The federal agency said the legally binding order would require Norfolk Southern to identify and clean up contaminated soil and water resources; attend and participate in public meetings at the EPA's request and post information online; and pay for the agency's costs for work performed under this order, among other things.
The EPA warned that if Norfolk Southern fails to comply, the agency will perform the work itself and seek triple damages from the company.
"The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA's order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
"Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they've inflicted on this community," Regan continued.
The EPA said the order marks the transition of the multi-agency response from its "emergency" phase to a longer-term remediation phase.
A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, derailed in East Palestine, an Ohio village on the state's border with Pennsylvania, on the night of Feb. 3.
According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, 38 rail cars derailed, and an additional 12 cars were damaged by fire. There were no reported fatalities or injuries.
Fear of a possible explosion prompted hundreds of residents to evacuate from a so-called controlled release and burning of chemicals on Feb. 6, which discharged toxic and potentially deadly fumes into the air.
This photo taken on Jan. 20, 2023 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
While residents have been able to return to their homes in East Palestine, they have reported incidents like burning eyes, ill pets or dead fish in waterways.
The EPA said on Tuesday that it had assisted with indoor air monitoring of more than 550 homes under a voluntary screening program offered to residents. No vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride detections were identified above levels of concern.
East Palestine mayor Trent Conaway said on Monday that U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine on America's Presidents' Day was the "biggest slap in the face" as his town continues to deal with the fallout of the train derailment.
"He doesn't care about us," Conaway said during an appearance on Fox News. "He can send every agency he wants to, but I found out this morning that he was in Ukraine giving millions of dollars away to people over there and not to us on Presidents' Day in our country. So I'm furious."
Biden made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Monday, days before the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where he announced an additional 500 million U.S. dollars in aid, including more weapons, to the country.
On Monday afternoon, Ohio suffered another major safety incident after an explosion at a metal manufacturing plant in Bedford killed one person and injured 13 others.
"What in the world is Pres. Biden doing in Kyiv, rather than minding his own business in Ohio?" Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, tweeted.
The United States needs "a government who will fight for the people and the people of its own country," Eric Reeves, a protester from Texas, said. "If you look at our cities in America, if you look at (what) America is in, we could be using all of that money, all of that effort here in America to help the people of America to do better."
Afghan refugees who have returned to their hometown stand behind China-donated blankets and coats in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, Feb. 10, 2023. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
China has pledged 250 million yuan (about 37 million U.S. dollars) in aid to Afghanistan, including food supplies and winter clothes, to help prevent a possible humanitarian catastrophe in the war-torn country.
BAMYAN, Afghanistan, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Abdul Azim, together with his 10 family members, huddled in a mud hut of about 50 square meters in Dara-e-Foladi, a far-flung village in the mountainous area of central Afghanistan's Bamyan province, where the temperature drops to minus 30 degrees Celsius in winter.
During the 20 years of conflicts in Afghanistan after the United States invaded the country in October 2001, more than 30,000 civilians lost their lives, and some 11 million people were made refugees.
To escape the war, Azim was once one of the refugees who fled from Bamiyan to Pakistan in 2005, and spent four years there begging on the streets. It was not until recent years that he settled back in his hometown.
An Afghan refugee who has returned to his hometown shows China-donated blankets and coats in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, Feb. 10, 2023. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
But years of displacement left his family without a fixed source of income, and extreme poverty became the next problem for Azim.
Azim said there was neither water nor electricity at his home. "The winter here is very cold and, in the past, my family had to huddle together in only one blanket to keep warm because we don't even have the fuel to make a fire to keep warm."
About 8,000 returning refugees who had fled to other countries and 500 returning families who had been displaced in other provinces are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, said Saifullah Ayar, acting director of the provincial department for refugees and repatriation affairs.
Afghan refugees who have returned to their hometown stand in front of a mud hut in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, Feb. 10, 2023. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
To help prevent a possible humanitarian catastrophe, China pledged 250 million yuan (about 37 million U.S. dollars) in aid to Afghanistan, including food supplies and winter clothes.
Late last autumn, Azim received two blankets and a coat. "The local government called and said these were all provided by China," said Azim.
"When I came home with the goods from China, my children were very happy because it made our life this winter different and the children would not get cold again," Azim added.
According to the provincial department for refugees and repatriation affairs, Chinese aid has been distributed to 844 families of returning refugees in the past one year in Bamyan.
Afghan returnees stand in front of their mud hut in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, Feb. 10, 2023. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Like Azim, another returnee Taherah has thanked neighboring China for sending humanitarian aid, saying that the aid kits have helped his family to keep warm during the night.
"These are from China," the poverty-stricken Afghan woman said while gesturing at two blankets and a coat.
Because of the impact of the war, Taherah, with three of her children, had been wandering the provinces of Bamyan and neighboring Wardak for more than a decade before returning to her hometown last year.
Afghan returnees stand in front of their mud hut in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, Feb. 10, 2023. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
According to the Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation of the Afghan caretaker government, more than 1 million refugees have returned home since the takeover by the Taliban on Aug. 15, 2021.
However, aid agencies predicted that a record 28.3 million people, around two-thirds of the population, will need humanitarian assistance in 2023, with 6 million of those already perilously close to famine.
"We have distributed China's aid to the needy families in Bamyan and I am thankful to China for sending the assistance," provincial director for natural disaster management and humanitarian affairs Mawlawi Shakir Tahir told Xinhua in his office recently.
People attend the China-Egypt Entrepreneur Seminar hosted by the Egyptian Businessmen's Association in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 20, 2023. Egypt looks forward to attracting more investments from China through further improving the investment environment in the most populous Arab country, Egyptian officials and business leaders told a recent seminar held in Cairo. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
CAIRO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Egypt looks forward to attracting more investments from China through further improving the investment environment in the most populous Arab country, Egyptian officials and business leaders told a recent seminar held in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.
The China-Egypt Entrepreneur Seminar, hosted on Monday by the Egyptian Businessmen's Association, was attended by China's Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang and about 130 representatives from Chinese and Egyptian enterprises, financial institutions, as well as trade and investment promotion agencies.
The seminar focused on the promotion of Chinese investments in Egypt under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the implementation of the outcomes of the first China-Arab States Summit held in Saudi Arabia in December last year.
Speaking at the seminar, Hossam Heiba, the CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones of Egypt, praised Chinese enterprises' deep involvement in the Egyptian market, their extensive participation in the construction of projects in various fields in Egypt, and their significant contribution to promoting Egypt's economic and social development as well as its industrialization process.
Egypt looks forward to further strengthening cooperation with China and attracting more Chinese investments, especially in participating in the construction of key projects which will improve Egyptian people's livelihood, employment and industrial localization, Heiba said.
"The Egyptian side will further improve the investment environment by revising the investment law, simplifying investment procedures, speeding up the approval process, actively coordinating and solving the difficulties faced by Chinese enterprises investing in Egypt," he said.
Ayman Kamel, the Egyptian assistant minister of foreign affairs for Asian affairs, said that the political mutual trust between Egypt and China has been continuously consolidated, laying a solid foundation for enhancing practical cooperation in various fields.
"The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to play an active coordinating role and provide more support and convenience for the economic, trade and investment cooperation between Egypt and China," he said.
China's optimization and adjustment of its epidemic prevention measures provides an important new opportunity for Egypt and China to expand economic, trade and investment cooperation and exchanges, said Magd El-Manzalawi, secretary general of the Egyptian Businessmen's Association.
"We are looking forward to strengthening exchanges and visits with Chinese enterprises and business associations and looking forward to more Chinese friends investing in Egypt," he said.
In his keynote speech to the seminar, Ambassador Liao said that China will continue to firmly pursue mutually beneficial and win-win opening-up policies, and promote high-level opening-up and high-quality development of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road," which provide new opportunities for countries including Egypt.
The Chinese ambassador briefed the participants on China's current economic situation, noting that the overall situation of epidemic prevention and control in China is stable and improving.
"It is highly likely that China's economic growth rate will reach a normal level in 2023. The keyword for China's economic development is stabilization and recovery," he said.
Reviewing the achievements of the China-Egypt economic and trade cooperation in recent years, Liao emphasized that the core of such cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win results.
The joint BRI construction is highly compatible with Egypt's 2030 Vision, he said, adding that China will strengthen coordination with Egypt on implementing the nine programs announced at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the eight major cooperation initiatives proposed at the China-Arab States Summit.
Egyptian entrepreneurs are welcome to participate in the 6th China International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai, China in November this year, Liao said.
Delegates attend the China-Egypt Entrepreneur Seminar in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 20, 2023. The China-Egypt Entrepreneur Seminar, hosted on Monday by the Egyptian Businessmen's Association, was attended by China's Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang and about 130 representatives from Chinese and Egyptian enterprises, financial institutions, as well as trade and investment promotion agencies. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
Delegates attend the China-Egypt Entrepreneur Seminar in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 20, 2023. The China-Egypt Entrepreneur Seminar, hosted on Monday by the Egyptian Businessmen's Association, was attended by China's Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang and about 130 representatives from Chinese and Egyptian enterprises, financial institutions, as well as trade and investment promotion agencies. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
South Africa: Parliament passes Agricultural Amendment Bill
The National Assembly (NA) has passed the Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill and the National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill during its hybrid plenary on Tuesday.
The Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill seeks to amend the Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990; to provide for the auditing of a product for management control systems; to make provision for the setting of tariffs by assignees on a cost-recovery basis, and to make further provisions for the Minister to make regulations pertaining to audit and management control systems.
The National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill seeks to amend the National Veld and Forest Fire Act, 1998, to provide for the facilitation of the formation of fire protection associations by a municipality or a traditional council.
It also seeks to compel a municipality, State-owned enterprise, public entity or another organ of State, which owns land to join the fire protection associations.
The Bill further seeks to extend the powers of entry, search, seizure, and arrest to peace officers and traditional leaders and to amend the title of the Act to the National Veldfire Act.
Having considered and deliberated on the Bills, the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment recommended that the NA approve the Bills with amendments. The two Bills will now be sent to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence, said Parliamentary spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo. SAnews.gov.za
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chairman of Georgian Dream Irakli Kobakhidze responded to the invitation of the Georgian parliamentary delegation to Kyiv by the Ukrainian Rada on February 24 and said that the position of the Ukrainian government 'does not allow' participation in official formats.Kobakhidze accused the Ukrainian government of being 'busy spreading lies' about the Georgian Dream and said that they called Georgian people "to the second front", adding that in this situation, he considers an official visit 'unimaginable'."We express our full solidarity with the Ukrainian people and our friendly country, but the government's actions are directly directed, including against the will of the Ukrainian people. When they directly call the Georgian people to the second front, when they spread a shameful lie that the Georgian government is killing Mikheil Saakashvili, etc. When the authorities of a war-torn country are busy spreading such lies, it is absolutely unthinkable, and when they directly call us to the second front, under such conditions, of course, an official visit is unthinkable.We express our full solidarity with the Ukrainian people, and this is not only expressed in words, but also in concrete actions; But as for the position of the Ukrainian government, this position does not allow us to participate in official formats, which is very sad," said Kobakhidze.Peter Stano, EU Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy called the bill registered in the Parliament of Georgia, which is supported by the Georgian Dream, similarly to Joseph Borell, 'disturbing'."The bill submitted to the parliament by People's Power is worrying. Creating and maintaining a favorable environment for civil society and ensuring media freedom is the basis of democracy. This is also key in the process of joining the European Union and is part of the 12 priorities," Stano said.The speaker of the European Union also touched upon the principles of international law and the pact on civil and political rights signed by Georgia, the violation of which would limit the right to association."Under international law, states have a duty to respect, protect and promote a safe and conducive environment for civil society, as well as freedom of expression and media. International human rights law and standards recognize access to resources, including funding, as an integral component of freedom of association, as It is provided for in Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Georgia is a party. Access to domestic and international funding should not be limited, but it should be promoted as necessary for the existence and meaningful work of civil society," Stano stated.
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The second plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee will be held from Feb. 26 to 28 in Beijing, according to a decision made at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Tuesday. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.
At the meeting, the Political Bureau's work report to the CPC Central Committee was discussed.
The Political Bureau discussed the draft plan on reform of Party and state institutions, and decided that the draft plan, after being revised in accordance with the opinions put forward at the meeting, will be submitted to the second plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee for review.
It was pointed out at the meeting that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has made deepening the reform of Party and state institutions an important task in modernizing China's system and capacity for governance. It has comprehensively deepened the reform of Party and state institutions in accordance with the principles of upholding the Party's overall leadership, maintaining a people-centered philosophy, stressing optimization, coordination and high efficiency, and exercising law-based governance on all fronts. As a result, the functions of Party and state institutions have been transformed in a systematic and holistic manner, which have provided a strong guarantee for the Party and the country to make historic achievements and see historic changes in the pursuit of the cause of the Party and the country. Valuable experience has also been accumulated in this process for further deepening the reform of Party and state institutions.
It was stressed at the meeting that the 20th CPC National Congress has made important arrangements for deepening the reform of Party and state institutions, which is of great and far-reaching significance to building a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts. We must uphold Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the overarching guide, consider strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee as the pivot, and regard promoting the modernization of the national system and capacity for governance as the orientation. We must adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, adapt to the requirements for the coordinated implementation of the five-sphere integrated plan and the four-pronged comprehensive strategy, and adapt to the needs for building a new development pattern and promoting high-quality development. We must adopt a problem-oriented approach, coordinate the institutions of the CPC Central Committee, the National People's Congress (NPC), the State Council, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and coordinate the central and local authorities. We must deepen institutional reform in key areas to make the Party's leadership over socialist modernization more sound in institutional setup, more optimized in functional allocation, more refined in institutional mechanisms, and more efficient in operational management.
The meeting discussed candidates for the leading positions of state institutions to be recommended to the first session of the 14th NPC and candidates for the leadership of the national committee of the CPPCC to be recommended to the first session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC.
It was decided at the meeting that the aforementioned content will be on the agenda of the second plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee.
The draft report on the work of the government, which will be submitted by the State Council to the first session of the 14th NPC for deliberation, was discussed at the meeting.
It was agreed at the meeting that 2022 represents a year of historic significance to the Party and our country. The 20th CPC National Congress was successfully held, and a grand blueprint was drawn up at the congress for building a modern socialist country in all respects.
The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has brought together the Chinese people of all ethnic groups and led them in meeting obstacles and difficulties head on to implement the requirements that COVID-19 must be contained, economic growth be stabilized and development safe, making greater efforts in macro regulation, and securing overall stability in social and economic development.
The past five years have been truly momentous and extraordinary. We have responded effectively to difficulties, risks and challenges, efficiently coordinated COVID-19 response with socioeconomic development, eradicated absolute poverty and finished building a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled, achieving impressive advances in the country's economic and social development.
It was stressed at the meeting that this year marks the first year of implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress. For the government to deliver, we must, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress.
In line with the arrangements made at the Central Economic Work Conference, we should solidly advance Chinese modernization, adhere to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, accelerate the efforts to foster a new development pattern and focus on promoting high-quality development. We should also better balance domestic circumstances with international situation, coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, and development with security imperatives. We should comprehensively deepen reform and opening up, boost market confidence, integrate the implementation of strategy to expand domestic demand with the efforts to deepen supply-side structural reform, give priority to the work of ensuring steady growth, employment, and stable prices, effectively forestall and defuse major risks, promote the overall improvement in economic work to achieve both qualitative and quantitative growth, so as to keep improving people's livelihood, ensure overall social stability and make a good start on building a modern socialist country in all respects.
It was stressed at the meeting that it is imperative to fully implement the decisions and plans made by the CPC Central Committee, pursue progress while ensuring stability, implement proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy, strengthen policy coordination, and form a synergy to promote high-quality development.
Efforts should be made to expand domestic demand, speed up the establishment of a modern industrial system, and effectively implement the policy that the public sector must be unswervingly consolidated and developed and the development of the non-public sector must be unswervingly encouraged, supported and guided. Efforts should be intensified to attract and utilize foreign investment, effectively forestall and defuse major economic and financial risks, stabilize food production and promote rural revitalization, boost the green transformation of development models, guarantee basic livelihood and develop social undertakings, and strive to accomplish this year's goals and tasks of economic and social development.
The government must intensify its self-improvement efforts and vigorously conduct research and study.
Other issues were also discussed at the meeting.
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned Tuesday's attack against a convoy of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, which left three blue helmets from Senegal dead and five others injured, said his spokesman.
The secretary-general conveys his heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Senegal and his profound sympathies to the families of the victims. He wishes a speedy and full recovery to the five injured peacekeepers, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.
"The secretary-general recalls that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. He calls on the Malian authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this attack so that they can be brought to justice swiftly," said the statement.
"The secretary-general reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to support the Malian transitional authorities and the people of Mali in achieving sustainable peace and security," it said.
The tragedy occurred when the convoy of UN peacekeepers drove over an improvised explosive device in Bandiagara cercle, said the statement.
TEHRAN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian nuclear chief said on Wednesday the officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are in Tehran and have been inspecting the country's nuclear facilities since Tuesday to resolve the ambiguities.
Mohammad Eslami, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), made the remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, noting Tehran is continuing its cooperation and relations with the IAEA within the framework of the safeguards agreements, according to Iranian Students' News Agency.
Answering a question about the claim in a recent Bloomberg report that "Iran is enriching uranium to levels above 60 percent," Eslami noted that it was due to a misperception by one of the inspectors.
He said Iran is always careful to prevent any new ambiguity in the process of cooperation with the IAEA.
Turning to a 2015 nuclear deal, Eslami said the agreement was a contract between Iran and the P5+1 based on efforts to build mutual trust, adding that it is quite "unacceptable" to Iran that a political pressure campaign would seek to force Tehran into fulfilling its commitments one-sidedly while others are not honoring theirs.
Bloomberg's Sunday report cited two senior diplomats as claiming that IAEA inspectors in Iran last week detected uranium enriched to 84 percent purity, "just 6 percent below that needed for a nuclear weapon."
On Sunday, Iranian official news agency IRNA quoted the AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying that the Bloomberg report was a "distortion of the facts" and part of a smear campaign.
Over the past few months, the IAEA has criticized Iran for its lack of cooperation with the agency. On Nov. 17, 2022, the IAEA's Board of Governors passed a resolution proposed by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany that called on Iran to collaborate with the agency's investigators regarding the alleged "traces of uranium" at a number of its "undeclared" sites.
Iran has repeatedly rejected such allegations.
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China urges the U.S. side to demonstrate sincerity, rectify its wrongdoing, and acknowledge and resolve the damage its abuse of force has done to China-U.S. relations, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a regular press briefing in response to a query about U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent statement related to the China's airship issue.
Wang said that China has explicitly told the United States multiple times that the entry of a Chinese civilian unmanned airship into the U.S. airspace was an entirely unintended, unexpected and isolated event caused by force majeure.
"We have repeatedly asked the U.S. side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner," Wang said.
However, the United States ignored facts and fabricated the "spy balloon" narrative, Wang said, adding U.S. President Biden personally gave the order to brazenly shoot down a civilian airship by firing a missile from an advanced fighter jet. "This is a hundred percent an abuse of force, act of hysteria and overreaction. It gravely violates customary international practice and relevant international conventions," he said.
Wang said that instead of reflecting on and acknowledging what it has done wrong, the United States chose to smear and attack China, sanction Chinese companies and keep escalating the situation.
Noting those irresponsible remarks made by Secretary Blinken were a clear misrepresentation of the facts, Wang pointed out that it is the United States who is the number one country in the world in violating other countries' sovereignty, breaking international law and massively eavesdropping and spying on other countries. "We strongly condemn the egregious behavior of the United States and have repeatedly protested it strongly to the U.S. side," he said.
Wang mentioned that U.S. President Biden has pledged openly many times that the United States does not seek a new Cold War with China and that it has no intention to seek a conflict with China, adding that it is hoped that as the leader of a major country, President Biden will keep his word rather than say one thing but do another.
"We once again urge the U.S. side to demonstrate sincerity, rectify its wrongdoing, and acknowledge and resolve the damage its abuse of force has done to China-U.S. relations," he said.
Quoting a Chinese saying that it's inappropriate not to reciprocate, Wang said that if the U.S. side continues to fuss over, dramatize and escalate the crisis, it should not expect the Chinese side to flinch and should be prepared to bear all potential consequences.
A former Egyptian official says the U.S. uses the Chinese airship incident to smear China, aiming to label China as a threat to other countries.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
ZHENGZHOU, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ma Xiaolin, a museum curator in central China's Henan Province, has put a great deal of thought into the management of the Hongqi Canal, a major cultural relic site under national protection.
Every day, more than 200 people patrol the canal, which is a massive irrigation project in Henan's Linzhou City. This engineering feat was built in the 1960s, according to Ma, head of Henan Museum.
"With the proper use of technology, we'll only need 30 people for the canal's management, thus minimising costs while improving efficiency," Ma said after concluding a survey on the protection and utilization of cultural relics with revolutionary legacy.
Ma, 56, is a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He has spent nearly three decades protecting cultural relics.
Since 2018, when Ma became a member of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, he has submitted proposals on the safety of cultural relics every year.
During a visit to several counties in Henan in 2020, Ma took note of the challenges in the protection and management of lower-level immovable revolutionary cultural relics.
"There are more than 36,000 pieces of immovable revolutionary cultural relics across the country. While those of a higher level are usually well protected, those at a lower level, though huge in quantity, need stronger policy and financial support, more manpower, and better display to improve their protection," Ma said.
The following year, he submitted a targeted proposal at the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, suggesting a raft of measures to strengthen the protection and utilization of immovable revolutionary cultural relics.
Shortly afterwards, he received a reply from the National Cultural Heritage Administration. At the end of 2021, the administration issued a circular, calling for greater protection of revolutionary cultural relics below the provincial level.
Unfortunately, in July 2021, torrential rain damaged more than 400 cultural heritage sites across Henan.
In response, at the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee in 2022, Ma submitted a proposal aimed at enhancing the emergency response capabilities of museums and other cultural relics protection institutions.
"The safety of cultural relics is a red line not to be crossed," Ma said.
Ma believes that cultural relics are a form of "living history," rather than "static antiques." "Cultural relics have to become part of people's daily lives. It is where their true value lies," he said.
With that in mind, during the top political advisory body's 2019 session, Ma submitted a proposal on popularizing oracle bone inscriptions.
Under the leadership of Ma, Henan Museum has taken several initiatives in recent years to connect the public with the cultural relics held within the museum, including the rollout of archaeological blind boxes that contain replicas of cultural relics.
"With technology and innovation, relics from ancient times could become close friends in life," Ma said.
This year, Ma will continue to focus his work on the protection and utilization of cultural relics, and submit proposals to expand the global influence of Chinese culture.
"Protecting national treasure, having archaeological research at heart, and bringing cultural relics to life. These are among the goals I have pursued throughout my career," Ma said.
KUNMING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Nestled in a mountainous area, Laodabao, in Pu'er region of China's southwestern province of Yunnan, is home to hundreds of villagers from the Lahu ethnic group.
A decade ago, around 80 percent of its population lived below the country's poverty line.
Li Naluo, 39, was one of a few villagers who got the chance to see the outside world as she learned to play guitar as a child and followed her father to go out of the village to perform.
In 2013, she established a performing arts company, engaging more than 200 villagers of different ages.
Performing their cultural songs and dances for visitors from across the country has become a part of the villagers' routine and they have also taken their performances to stages in big Chinese cities and even abroad.
Since its establishment, the company has performed on more than 960 occasions in front of a total of over 153,000 visitors, generating an income of more than 4.75 million yuan (about 688,750 U.S. dollars).
The transformation in Laodabao is a shared experience in Pu'er, a border city inhabited by 26 different ethnic groups.
Banli, another Lahu ethnic minority village in Pu'er, has also been turning its distinctive culture into an invaluable tourism asset.
The village now has its own performance art company famous for the "swing dance," a traditional Lahu dance featuring movements described as gentle, neat and graceful, while also involving a degree of stretching.
Besides tapping into ethnic cultures, Pu'er has also been discovering new opportunities resulting from their traditional tea planting.
Zhengwan Village has kicked off the development of a modern tea industry by launching farmers' cooperatives in recent years.
Lu Jiashou, a local tea farmer, joined a tea cooperative in 2007.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Workers pack foodstuff for delivery at a logistic warehouse of a company in Wugong County of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)
XI'AN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- After working for 10 years at a food company in central China's Henan Province, some 500 km away from his hometown, 37-year-old Fu Rang found a new job near his home in the Lintong District of Xi'an City in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
Fu's return to his hometown is attributable to the economic development of county-level regions in western China, which has created numerous local job opportunities.
It's common for migrant workers from the underdeveloped western parts of the country to work in the more developed regions along the coast.
In the current recruitment season, however, such workers have more alternatives to searching for jobs far away from their homes.
In recent years, several leading food and beverage companies have made investments in Sanyuan, located about 50 km from Lintong, creating many job opportunities in the agricultural county.
"My wife and I worked far from our hometown for years, and could only return during holidays. Now we can visit our family members every week as we live closer," said Fu, who now works at Baixiang Food Company in Sanyuan.
There's a growing tendency among migrant workers from the western parts of the country to seek employment opportunities closer to their homes, and this trend is reflected in China's official statistics.
In 2021, in the western parts of China, migrant workers working outside their home provinces accounted for 47.8 percent of total migrant workers in the region, while the figure stood at 52.2 percent in 2016, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Being closer to their workplace not only shortens the distance between home and work for individuals but also contributes to their happiness. Every morning, after sending her children to school, 35-year-old Shen Weimei goes to work at a toy and gift factory in Xunyang County, the largest community factory in the area.
She is quite content with her job, earning over 4,000 yuan (about 582 U.S. dollars) a month while working eight hours a day.
"There were no decent enterprises in the past in Xunyang. My husband and I worked in east China's Suzhou City for over four years, and we could only stay at home for about ten days during the Spring Festival every year. Although our income now is lower than that in Suzhou, our family is reunited and the cost of living is lower, so we are happier," Shen said.
A similar situation can be observed in Wugong County, which was previously known as a labor export county in Shaanxi.
"We don't have to find a job far away from home, as our hometown offers many employment prospects," said Ma Qian, who hails from Zhenyuan Township in Wugong.
After working in the provincial capital Xi'an for some time, she decided to return to her hometown and has already secured a local job.
A significant number of our new employees this year are locals who have returned from big cities, said Li Weihua, an official with the Wugong County Industrial Park Management Committee.
New recruits try their hands on production lines of a textile company in Xunyang City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)
Workers operate at a production line of an edible oil enterprise in Xiyang Township, Sanyuan County of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)
JERUSALEM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A multinational research team identified a cluster of genes in common wheat that regulate root growth, which may be significant for culturing drought-resistant types, the University of Haifa (UH) in northern Israel said Wednesday.
Reachers from China, the United States, Argentina and Israel found that wheat plants with loss-of-function mutations in the OPR-III gene cluster show longer seminal roots, whereas increased OPR-III dosage or transgenic over-expression results in reduced seminal root growth and premature lateral roots.
They also discovered that the genes can determine root growth rate through the secretion of a hormone, shows the study published in the journal Nature Communications.
The discovery will make it possible to develop wheat cultivars with longer roots to reach deeper layers of the soil and to absorb more water and nutrients, which can significantly improve yields in arid conditions and low precipitation, said the UH in a statement.
"This is the first time that a gene associated with drought tolerance has been discovered and its function is validated in wheat," Gilad Gabay, the first author of an article published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, was quoted as saying.
The new finding became possible after the complete complex genome of the common wheat was sequenced five years ago in a study in which the university was a partner.
KIEV, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian military conducted exercises in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the 30-km-radius territory around the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP), the Command of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian army (JFU) said Tuesday on Facebook.
The exercises are part of the tactical and special maneuvers codenamed "Oxymoron-2023", which are underway in Ukraine's northern operational zone.
During the drills, the military personnel honed their skills in conditions similar to combat.
Serhiy Nayev, the commander of the JFU, who supervised the training, said the exercises aimed at strengthening the army's ability to react promptly to possible actions of the enemy.
At the same time, Nayev emphasized that currently the threat from the north against Ukraine is minimal.
The Chernobyl plant, some 110 km north of the Ukrainian capital, suffered one of the worst nuclear accidents in human history on April 26, 1986.
In February 2022, Russian forces captured the Chernobyl plant and had been in control of it for five weeks.
China News Service: There has been a lot of media coverage on Chinas Global Security Initiative Concept Paper released by the foreign ministry. Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that the concept paper demonstrates Chinas sense of responsibility for safeguarding world peace and firm resolve to defend global security. Could you share more on that?
Wang Wenbin: Yesterday China held the Lanting Forum on the Global Security Initiative: Chinas Proposal for Solving Security Challenges. Foreign Minister Qin Gang attended the opening session and delivered a keynote speech.
Foreign Minister Qin said that Chinas Global Security Initiative Concept Paper expounds on the core ideas and principles of the Global Security Initiative (GSI), identifies the priorities, platforms and mechanisms of cooperation, and demonstrates Chinas sense of responsibility for safeguarding world peace and firm resolve to defend global security. Security is a right for all countries. It is not a prerogative of some, still less should it be decided by any individual country. The GSI intends to serve the interests of all and protect tranquility for all. Its advances need the unity and cooperation of the international community.
Foreign Minister Qin noted that the GSI is rooted in the fine traditional Chinese culture that values peace above everything else, and is inspired by Chinas independent foreign policy of peace and its practices. China is committed to the path of peaceful development. No matter how much it develops, China will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence, or engage in arms race, but remain a defender of world peace.
Foreign Minister Qin stressed that China is committed to following a Chinese approach to resolving hotspot issues. China believes in promoting peace through talks, emphasizes addressing both the symptoms and root causes, calls on the involved parties to meet each other halfway, and pursues fairness and justice. On the Iranian nuclear issue, China has actively promoted the resumption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to uphold the legitimate rights and interests of relevant countries and the international nuclear non-proliferation regime. On the Korean Peninsula issue, China stands for pursuing in parallel the establishment of a peace mechanism and the denuclearization of the Peninsula, and addressing the legitimate concerns of all parties in a balanced manner, to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. On the Middle East, China welcomes and supports security dialogues among regional countries including Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as regional efforts to build a Middle East security architecture that suits the realities of the region and accommodates the interests of all parties. On the Ukraine issue, China has taken an objective and impartial stance based on the merits of the issue, and has played a responsible and constructive role in easing the situation and deescalating the crisis. China will continue to promote peace talks, contribute its ideas for a political settlement of the crisis, and join the international community to promote dialogue and consultation, address the concerns of all parties and seek common security. In the meantime, we urge certain countries to immediately stop fueling the fire, stop shifting blame to China, and stop touting Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.
Foreign Minister Qin noted that the development of China cannot happen without a secure international environment. Likewise, world security would not be possible without the security of China. At present, external suppression and containment against China keep escalating, posing a serious threat to Chinas sovereignty and security. We stand firmly against any form of hegemonism and power politics, against the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, and against any foreign interference in Chinas internal affairs. We will resolutely safeguard Chinas sovereignty, security and development interests, and international fairness and justice.
AFP: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that China, as a country that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity, should ask Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Will the position document that China is about to release follow this principle?
Wang Wenbin: Chinas position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear. We will continue to stand firmly on the side of dialogue and peace. As we have shared with you, China will release a position document on seeking political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. We will keep you posted if anything comes up. Please stay tuned.
CCTV: At Russias request, the UN Security Council held an open debate on the explosions last September along the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany. Whats your comment?
Wang Wenbin: Chinas Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Zhang Jun has stated Chinas position in his remarks.
The Nord Stream gas pipelines are major transboundary infrastructure and energy transportation arteries. The explosions had a major negative impact on the global energy market and the ecological environment. It also caused energy shortages for businesses and households in many European countries this winter. China believes that there should be an objective, impartial and professional investigation into the explosions, and those responsible must be held to account. China supports speeding up the investigation, so as to swiftly find out the truth. As the most authoritative and representative international organization, the UN can play an active and constructive role in conducting an international investigation. China has noted and welcomes the draft resolution tabled by Russia in the Council.
Let me also stress that the Nord Stream explosions concern not just the economy, but also peoples livelihood. More importantly, it is a political issue which concerns the security and stability of the entire Europe. In the context of the Ukraine crisis, the explosions have intensified tensions in the region, escalated antagonism and confrontation, and made dialogue and negotiation even more difficult and hopes for a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe even more elusive.
It is increasingly clear that what happened to Nord Stream pipelines was by no means an accident, but rather a deliberate act. Failure to find out why it happened and who is behind the destruction may leave the malign actors an opportunity and encourage them to do whatever they want and may even instigate more terrorist activities, which could further destabilize the already troubled global security landscape. This puts the interests of every country at stake.
Presented with those detailed accounts and an intact chain of evidence, a simple statement of utterly false and complete fiction is obviously not enough to answer the many questions and concerns raised around the world and does not mean that truth can be hidden away. We hope relevant parties can heed the call for urgent investigations and uncovering the truth, engage in objective and impartial investigations to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible, safeguard the security of major transboundary infrastructure, and strive for peace and tranquility of the region and the wider world.
Yonhap News Agency: The ROK decided to cancel nucleic acid tests upon entry for travelers coming from China starting from March 1. Will the Chinese government take reciprocal measures on travelers from the ROK?
Wang Wenbin: We have noted media reports on this. Discriminatory restrictions targeting China need to be lifted as soon as possible to create enabling conditions for normal cross-border travel. China is willing to consider corresponding steps at an appropriate time.
Global Times: It has been learned that a Chinese student, who held a lawful visa issued by the US government and planned to do cancer research in the US, was refused entry and repatriated by the US side. What is your comment?
Wang Wenbin: We have noted this and express our grave concern over this, which is yet another case of the US law enforcement departments wanton harassment and bullying of Chinese students. We have lodged a strong demarche to the US side.
People-to-people exchanges form the foundation for public support to China-US relations, of which academic, educational, scientific and technological exchanges are an important part. The US side claims to welcome Chinese students, but in fact has continued the wrong practice of the previous administration of restricting and thwarting Chinese students planning to study or do research in the US. This seriously harms the lawful rights and interests of Chinese students in the US and undermines normal people-to-people exchanges and educational cooperation between the two countries.
We urge the US to genuinely welcome Chinese students as it has said, withdraw the biased and discriminatory Proclamation 10043, stop overstretching the concept of national security, stop interrogating, harassing or repatriating Chinese students in the US, and avoid similar incidents from happening again. China will continue to support Chinese students in defending their legitimate and lawful rights and interests in accordance with law and remind our students heading for the US to be mindful of such risks.
TASS: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced yesterday the suspension of Russias participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). Do you have any comment?
Wang Wenbin: The New START treaty is an important bilateral treaty on nuclear disarmament reached between Russia and the US in this century, and the only remaining US-Russia arms control treaty, which is important for maintaining global strategic stability, promoting international and regional peace, and realizing the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world. China notes the differences on compliance between the two countries, and hopes the two sides can properly resolve the differences through constructive dialogue and consultation to ensure the treatys sound implementation.
AFP: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO members are also increasingly concerned that China may be planning to provide lethal support for Russias war. Whats Chinas comment?
Wang Wenbin: On the Ukraine issue, China always stands on the side of peace. We have followed the four principles, called for joint efforts in four areas and shared three observations on Ukraine as outlined by President Xi Jinping, taken an objective and just position, and worked actively to promote peace talks.
It is a known fact that NATO countries including the US are the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, yet they keep claiming that China may be supplying weapons to Russia. This is a familiar trick used and exposed soon after the Ukraine crisis broke out. While claiming itself to be a regional defensive alliance, NATO has ignored others security concerns, and constantly sought to reach beyond its traditional defense zone and scope, and stoke division and tension. What role has NATO played in the Ukraine crisis? The rest of the world surely has its answer.
We urge NATO to quit groundless speculation and smears against China on the Ukraine issue, grow out of the Cold War mentality of zero-sum game and bloc confrontation, stop instigating antagonism and fanning the flames, and actually do something conducive to European and global peace and stability.
CCTV: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently tweeted, I condemned the incursion of the PRC surveillance balloon. During an interview, he again claimed that Chinas surveillance balloon violated the USs sovereignty and international law. Whats Chinas comment?
Wang Wenbin: China has explicitly told the US multiple times that the entry of a Chinese civilian unmanned airship into the US airspace was an entirely unintended, unexpected and isolated event caused by force majeure. We have repeatedly asked the US side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and rational manner.
However, the US ignored facts and fabricated the spy balloon narrative. President Biden personally gave the order to brazenly shoot down a civilian airship by firing a missile from an advanced fighter jet. This is a hundred percent an abuse of force, act of hysteria and overreaction. It gravely violates customary international practice and relevant international conventions. Instead of reflecting on and acknowledging what it has done wrong, the US chose to smear and attack China, sanction Chinese companies and keep escalating the situation. Those irresponsible remarks made by Secretary Blinken were a clear misrepresentation of the facts. It is the US who is the number one country in the world in violating other countries sovereignty, breaking international law and massively eavesdropping and spying on other countries. We strongly condemn the egregious behavior of the US and have repeatedly protested it strongly to the US side.
President Biden has pledged openly many times that the US does not seek a new Cold War with China and that it has no intention to seek a conflict with China. We hope that as the leader of a major country, President Biden will keep his word rather than say one thing but do another. We once again urge the US side to demonstrate sincerity, rectify its wrongdoing, and acknowledge and resolve the damage its abuse of force has done to China-US relations. As a Chinese saying goes, its inappropriate not to reciprocate. If the US continues to fuss over, dramatize and escalate the crisis, it should not expect the Chinese side to flinch and should be prepared to bear all potential consequences.
Reuters: It is reported that there is a planned visit for the Chinese leader to Russia. Is there any other information about this visit?
Wang Wenbin: China and Russia have maintained close communication at all levels on advancing the development of bilateral relations and contributing to world peace and development. As for interactions between the two presidents, I have nothing to share at the moment.
A man protests following the killing of 10 Palestinians by Israeli forces, near the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
RAMALLAH/GAZA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A total of 10 Palestinians were killed and 102 others injured on Wednesday in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
In a statement, the ministry published the names of 10 victims, which include an old man, a teenager and eight members of the Palestinian militant group known as the Lions' Den.
In addition, 102 Palestinians, including three local journalists, were injured by Israeli soldiers during the four-hour clash in the Palestinian city, with six of them in critical condition, according to the statement.
People protest following the killing of 10 Palestinians by Israeli forces, in Gaza City, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
Thousands of Palestinians gathered in front of the three main hospitals in the city, where the dead and wounded were accommodated, and chanted slogans against Israel.
In separate statements, Palestinian factions declared a general strike on Thursday to mourn those killed in Nablus, calling on the Palestinians to confront the Israeli forces all over the West Bank.
Local sources and eyewitnesses said the clash broke out when an Israeli force backed by armored vehicles stormed the outskirts of the old city of Nablus and surrounded a house to arrest several Palestinians wanted by Israeli army.
They said the wanted Palestinians were armed and exchanged fire with the soldiers, adding several explosions and gunfire were heard in the entire city.
Meanwhile, in the city's streets, dozens of Palestinians threw stones and empty bottles toward the soldiers, who fired back to disperse them.
People protest following the killing of 10 Palestinians by Israeli forces, near the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
The Israeli military said in a statement that the raid aimed at arresting suspects for the killing of a soldier near an Israeli settlement last year, adding no injuries were reported among its soldiers.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Ishtaye condemned the Israeli killing.
"The Israeli aggression is an organized terrorism through which Israel seeks to export its internal crisis to the Palestinian arena," he said.
"Whatever is practised against our people will not deter them from continuing their legitimate struggle to achieve their goals of freedom, ending the occupation, and establishing their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital," the prime minister added.
In Gaza, Abu Obeida, military spokesman of Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the ruling faction Hamas, said in a short statement that "the patience of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is running out."
A man protests following the killing of 10 Palestinians by Israeli forces, near the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
The tension between Israelis and Palestinians has been flaring since early January in the West Bank.
Israeli forces killed at least 61 Palestinians since the beginning of 2023, mainly during daily raids allegedly aimed at arresting suspects in deadly Palestinian attacks, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Meanwhile, official figures from Israel showed 11 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks since the beginning of 2023.
LAGOS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's state railway company announced on Tuesday the suspension of rail services across the country from Saturday to Monday to enable Nigerians to vote during the coming general elections.
Spokesman for the Nigerian Railway Corporation Mahmood Yakubu said in a statement that the suspension was to enable Nigerians to exercise their democratic right in the presidential and National Assembly elections and that the train services would resume from Tuesday.
The Africa's most populous country will hold general elections on Saturday to elect a new president and members of the national assembly. A total of 18 candidates will run for the presidency.
GABORONE, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi has said that trans-boundary animal diseases (TBDs), the foot and mouth disease (FMD) in particular, are a major obstacle to the African region's developmental agenda.
"Even though technology has improved and there are more experts and resources available in the region and around the world, the number of TBDs seems to be growing," Masisi said Tuesday at the 25th conference of the World Organization for Animal Health Regional Commission for Africa in Gaborone, Botswana's capital.
The emergence of serotype "O" of FMD in the southern Africa region is also of great concern. Serotype "O" will not only bring complexity in the control of FMD, it also has cost and affordability implications, said Masisi.
He said that FMD is a major impediment to the southern African region's development agenda, reversing gains in poverty eradication as well as killing international livestock trade and contributing to Africa's under-exploitation of valuable resources.
Botswana's rural people rely heavily on livestock, and disease outbreaks in specific areas are highly disruptive to their lives. The development of the small-stock (sheep and goats) industry has been given top priority in Botswana due to the sector's enormous potential to support livelihoods and generate employment, according to Masisi.
"It is therefore important to carefully study the patterns of trans-boundary diseases in order to come up with strategies that are underpinned by information sharing and regional collaboration," he said.
In the mean time, Masisi said, countries including Botswana are observing with apprehension as peste des petits ruminants (PPR), or goat plague, spreads across the continent.
He challenged the conference to produce credible, practical, and pragmatic recommendations that can be translated into strategies for African national governments and economic communities such as the Southern African Development Community.
The conference on animal health began on Feb. 21 and will conclude on Feb. 24.
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta arrived in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday to lead the 90-member African Union (AU) Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) in the country.
The AUEOM, headed by Kenyatta, will observe the integrity of Nigeria's presidential and national assembly elections, scheduled to be held on Feb. 25, the AU said in a statement late Tuesday.
Kenyatta is expected to engage with a range of key electoral stakeholders, including the chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission, presidential candidates, and the inspector general of police, the AU said.
Kenyatta will also meet leaders of international election observation missions and the African Group of Ambassadors in Nigeria, among others, it said.
After the elections, the head of the AUEOM will issue a preliminary statement on the findings of the electoral process through a joint press conference with the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Election Observation Mission on Feb. 27, according to the AU.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, will hold a general election on Feb. 25 to elect a new president and members of the national assembly.
A total of 18 presidential candidates will take part in the forthcoming election. A total of 93,469,008 voters registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria's electoral body, across the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory.
Anita Kiki Gbeho (Front), officer-in-charge of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, speaks at a UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 22, 2023. The Al-Shabaab militant group continues to pose a serious threat to peace and security in Somalia, said Anita Kiki Gbeho on Wednesday. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Al-Shabaab militant group continues to pose a serious threat to peace and security in Somalia, said Anita Kiki Gbeho, officer-in-charge of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, on Wednesday.
The year 2022 was the deadliest for civilians in the country since 2017, with a 60 percent increase in civilian casualties as compared with 2021, she told the UN Security Council in a briefing.
Over the past few months, the Somali federal government has made progress in countering this threat by targeting Al-Shabaab's military and financial operations and ideological narrative. The Somalia security forces, reinforced by the use of local militias, have conducted successful operations against Al-Shabaab in Hirshabelle and Galmudug states. Operations are expected to gradually move into other areas of Somalia, she said.
"Consolidating gains in the newly recovered areas will require strong linkages between military operations and stabilization initiatives, comprised of reconciliation and justice components and aimed at bolstering good governance and service delivery," said Gbeho.
In parallel, the government continues efforts toward generating forces to gradually assume security responsibilities in line with the Somali transition plan. However, funding for the security transition remains a critical challenge, she said.
With five consecutive poor rainy seasons, the current drought is unprecedented in Somalia. Humanitarian needs continue to steadily rise, with about 8.3 million people, nearly half of Somalia's estimated population, requiring assistance and protection in 2023, she said.
Thanks to generous donor support, government efforts, and local community initiatives, humanitarian organizations scaled up response and reached 7.3 million people in 2022, she said.
While famine has been prevented for now, famine remains a threat if the April-June rains underperform as forecast, and humanitarian assistance is not sustained, she warned.
Gbeho called on donors to stand with Somalia at this difficult time by responding to the newly launched 2023 humanitarian response plan that seeks 2.6 billion U.S. dollars to meet the priority needs of 7.6 million Somalis.
The United Nations stands ready to support Somalia in implementing its vision of a secure, stable, and peaceful nation, she said.
Anita Kiki Gbeho (L, Front), officer-in-charge of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, speaks at a UN Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 22, 2023. The Al-Shabaab militant group continues to pose a serious threat to peace and security in Somalia, said Anita Kiki Gbeho on Wednesday. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)
NAIROBI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Horn of African region could experience depressed rains in the critical March to May season, dashing hopes of a respite from the escalating hunger crisis, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, said Wednesday in its latest weather forecast report launched in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
According to the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center (ICPAC), a large swathe of the Horn of Africa region is likely to receive subdued rains in the March to May season, casting a dark shadow on efforts to tackle food insecurity, malnutrition, water stress, and resource-based conflict.
Soipan Tuya, Kenya's cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, said that inadequate rains bode ill for livelihoods, human health, and ecosystems' balance in the region.
Tuya acknowledged that the Horn of Africa region is a climate change hotspot, necessitating robust investments in resilience projects tailor-made for vulnerable communities.
"As the region grapples with a climate crisis that has created a dire humanitarian situation, we need to enhance the resilience mechanism for our communities," Tuya remarked.
She said that as Kenya prepares to host the Africa Climate Summit in September, there are concerted efforts at the regional level to strengthen coping mechanisms for communities on the frontline of extreme weather events.
According to the latest IGAD weather outlook for March to May, the arid parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, currently under the grip of acute drought, will experience below-average rains, jeopardizing efforts to restore the devastated livelihoods of nomads and subsistence farmers.
IGAD's Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu noted that investments in early warning and enhanced surveillance combined with sharing of best practices should inform future regional efforts to promote climate resilience.
Gebeyehu said that priority sectors for climate-proofing through smart investments, policy reforms, and enhanced collaboration includes agriculture, water, energy, health, forestry, and pastoralism.
In addition, Gebeyehu said that a shift to low-carbon development was imperative to enable the Horn of African communities to respond better to recurrent climatic shocks including droughts.
Guleid Artan, the director of ICPAC, said the likelihood of a sixth failed rainy season should serve as a wake-up call for Horn of African countries to scale up investments in climate-smart agriculture and tackle acute food insecurity that threatens peace and growth.
KIGALI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Juncao mushroom technology has significantly enabled Rwandan farmers to alleviate poverty and improve household nutrition, Permanent Secretary in the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources Olivier Kamana has said.
"The Juncao technology has considerably improved our farmers' lives. It brings mushrooms that are edible in our households, helping us alleviate poverty and improve household nutrition," Kamana told Xinhua on the sidelines of an African regional workshop on applications of Juncao technology, in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, on Tuesday.
He said several small and medium-sized enterprises are involved in the cultivation of mushrooms using Juncao technology which has boosted household income.
Poor families that are engaged in the cultivation of mushrooms using Juncao technology are able to generate income from mushroom sales, which has enabled them to pay school fees for their children and access household medical care, Kamana noted.
"The technology is environmentally friendly, it helps protect our environment and it can be practiced on a small plot of land or even indoors. It is not complicated and this makes it highly beneficial to our communities," Kamana added.
Mediatrice Hatungimana, a scientist in the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board, highly praised Juncao technology as an innovation that improves household nutrition and income generation among Rwandan farmers who cultivate mushrooms using the technology.
"The technology plays a very big role in nutrition and economic purposes. In Rwanda, we are focusing on reducing malnutrition levels. Mushroom farming is key to reducing malnutrition," she told Xinhua.
"Through this technology, people can increase mushroom yield, take surplus to markets and get income for their household needs. People can become rich from this type of farming technology," she emphasized.
Hatungimana said that Rwandan farmers who are engaged in Juncao mushroom technology farming appreciate the governments of Rwanda and China for introducing the technology in Rwanda and the bilateral cooperation existing between the two countries.
The four-day workshop has brought together over 100 participants including officials, experts in Juncao technology, farmers' representatives, representatives from the UN, civil society organizations, and the private sector, among others.
CANBERRA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Home Affairs Minister has committed to an overhaul of the country's "broken" migration system.
In a speech to a workforce summit on Wednesday, Clare O'Neil declared that Australia must shift away from "permanently temporary" migration and focus on making it easier for skilled workers to move to the country permanently.
"Australia's migration system is broken. It is unstrategic. It is complex, expensive, and slow," she said.
"It is not delivering for business, for migrants, or for our population."
Net skilled permanent migration to Australia has stalled at approximately 30,000 annually for the past two decades while the number of visa holders in the country on a temporary basis has nearly doubled from one million in 2007 to 1.9 million.
O'Neil said significant structural reform was needed to rebalance programs, but it could take years to fix the system, making Australia an unattractive destination for migrants.
"It is relatively easy for a low skill, temporary migrant to come to Australia, but difficult, slow and not particularly attractive for a high-skill, permanent migrant to come here," she said.
The government has identified international students as an untapped market, with many forced to leave after graduating from Australian universities and around 50 percent of those who stay working in lower-skilled jobs than they are qualified for.
Accelerating recognition of qualifications gained overseas is also a priority.
Despite a national nurse shortage, qualified migrants to Australia can currently wait up to 35 months to have their qualifications recognized.
YANGON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's State Administration Council on Wednesday declared martial law in three towns in Sagaing region in the country.
According to the council's orders, the three towns are Shwebo, Wetlet and Ayadaw, which are the areas of the Northwestern Command.
The council gave the administrative and judicial power to the Commander of the Northwestern Command to perform security, and maintain the rule of law and tranquility, the council said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the council imposed martial law in 37 towns of four regions and four states in the country.
On Feb. 1, the Southeast Asian country also extended the state of emergency for six more months, citing that as unusual circumstances are happening in the country.
KABUL, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Acting Deputy Prime Minister of the Afghan caretaker government Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Wednesday called for enhancing bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported.
He made the remarks during a meeting with Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, saying that Afghanistan and Pakistan are two neighboring countries and should have good relations.
Matters on mutual interests, including development of bilateral relations, trade, regional connectivity and economic cooperation came under discussion in the meeting, the report said.
As head of a ranking delegation, Asif visited Kabul on Wednesday and held a meeting with Baradar.
DHAKA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- By afternoon on Tuesday, the entire Shaheed Minar, a solemn and iconic monument in the capital city of Dhaka, turned into a veritable sea of flowers.
Bangladeshi President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid wreaths at the country's Central Shaheed Minar at one minute past midnight, early on Tuesday morning.
They stood in solemn silence for some time and paid homage to the language heroes.
A smartly turned-out contingent of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, meanwhile, gave a state salute, while a bugle played a dirge.
After local and foreign dignitaries placed wreaths at the monument, it was opened to the public.
Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life thronged to it to lay wreaths and bouquets of flowers to show their deep respect to the sons of Bangladesh who sacrificed their lives on this day in 1952 to promote Bangla as a state language of then East Pakistan.
Even children in black and white traditional dress came with their parents, their heads and foreheads covered in the national flag promoting a festive look.
The whole monument area had been decorated with festoons and banners, with walls and roads painted with Bangla letters and graffiti.
Many walls on the Dhaka University campus in front of the monument have been inscribed with quotations from Bangla literature befitting the occasion, and poets were heard reciting poems as they sat on street islands.
Women wore black and white sarees, Bangladesh's national dress for females, in their own traditional style, while men in Panjabi and Payjama, long white tunic-like shirts worn over close-fitting or baggy white pants, gathered at the central monument to pay tribute to the country's martyred language heroes.
A very sad and touching song, Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano (My Brothers Blood Spattered), will play repeatedly on electronic media and in cultural gatherings throughout the month, especially on Feb. 21, which is now also being observed across the world as International Mother Language Day.
As part of the commemoration activities, Bangladeshi people, not just in the capital city but also elsewhere in the country, which became independent in 1971, also placed floral wreaths at thousands of monuments across the country.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared Feb. 21 as International Mother Language Day to honor the supreme sacrifice of language martyrs.
Since then, the date has been observed throughout the world every year to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
BISHKEK, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyz rescuers who were sent to aid recovery efforts in Turkiye have returned home, over two weeks after the catastrophic earthquake that laid waste to parts of the country.
Two flights carrying employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations arrived on Tuesday at the Manas airport in Bishkek, said the ministry in a news release.
Earlier this month, Kyrgyzstan sent 182 rescuers, including six doctors, and humanitarian aid to Turkiye.
During the two-week mission, Kyrgyz rescuers managed to save eight people and removed about 200 bodies from the rubble, said the release.
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Vice Minister of Environment Yoo Je-chul said on Wednesday that the country will achieve carbon neutrality with a detailed roadmap set to be unveiled by March this year.
"The Ministry of Environment will build a feasible and detailed roadmap by March to achieve the country's goal of carbon neutrality," Yoo told a press conference with foreign correspondents in Seoul.
Yoo said the government had continuously discussed the energy mix, including the share of nuclear and renewable energy, to achieve the enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goals.
With the carbon neutrality act that came into force in March 2022, South Korea legislated a vision to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the act, the country's NDC stood at an emissions' reduction goal of 40 percent by 2030 compared to 2018.
Worries escalated about the achievement of the goal as the industry ministry announced its plan for the long-term electricity supply and demand last month to increase the share of nuclear energy and fossil fuels while cutting the share of renewable energy.
According to the plan, the country will raise the share of nuclear energy from 23.9 percent to 32.4 percent, while lowering the share of renewable energy from 30.2 percent to 21.6 percent. The share of thermal power using coal and liquefied natural gas will be increased from 41.3 percent to 42.6 percent.
The vice minister said the ministry will fully cooperate with the concerned authorities to set a reasonable share of renewables while establishing the basic plan for carbon neutrality and green growth in March.
He added that the ministry will update relevant policies, such as the emissions' trading scheme, to let South Korean companies contribute to the international community's efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
HANOI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's air passenger traffic in the first two months of 2023 surged 91.5 percent year on year, with the most significant increases recorded for international travelers, Vietnam News Agency cited the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam as reporting on Wednesday.
Passenger traffic jumped to nearly 20 million in the January-February period as global airline traffic is on the way to full recovery, data showed.
Vietnamese airports handled 4.7 million international passengers, up 20-fold from that in the same period last year, while the number of domestic passengers increased 48 percent to 14.8 million, according to the aviation regulator.
The International Air Transport Association expected this year's international passenger traffic to surge to 80 percent of the pre-pandemic levels after global air traffic recovered to 68.5 percent of 2019 levels last year.
Vietnam's aviation industry is set to fully recover by the end of this year when the number of passengers and cargo transported by air this year in the Southeast Asian country will rise 45.4 percent and 15 percent from 2022 respectively, or up 1 percent and 14.8 percent over the pre-pandemic period in 2019, said the global aviation body.
Last year, 99 million passengers, including 12 million international visitors and 87 million domestic arrivals, went through 22 civil airports in Vietnam, up more than 300 percent from 2021, according to figures released by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam.
Vietnam aims to operate 30 airports by 2030 to promote tourism and boost the aviation industry.
Staff members transfer giant panda Ouhin at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
SHIRAHAMA, Japan, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Eimei, a giant panda that has lived in Japan for 28 years, left west Japan's Wakayama park along with his twin daughters to fly back to China on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old male panda, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama in Wakayama prefecture.
Around 7:15 p.m. local time, the three pandas boarded a plane that will take off from the Kansai International Airport to a facility in southwest China's Sichuan province, escorted by Koji Imazu, director of the park.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers.
"The Eimei family has established a deep friendship with the Japanese people with irreplaceable and special contributions to the promotion of Sino-Japanese people-to-people friendship," Chinese Deputy Consul General in Osaka Fang Wei said at the ceremony.
The three pandas returning to China will always be shared stars and witnesses to the friendship between China and Japan, said Fang when delivering a speech on behalf of Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian.
On Tuesday, the famous Japan-born female giant panda Xiang Xiang left Tokyo's Ueno Zoo and arrived at a giant panda research and breeding facility in the city of Ya'an of Sichuan.
Tuesday also marked the three pandas' final public appearance in Japan, when many fans waited hours in line at the park, some in tears, to bid goodbye by taking photos of Eimei and Touhin munching on bamboo.
Touhin's twin sister, Ouhin, was not on display as she was showing signs of being in heat.
"I captured the image of Eimei enjoying the food with his eyes closed!" Aya Ito said with much excitement as she walked out of the panda house. "One day when I turned to the last page of Eimei's memorial album and saw his smiling face, I immediately booked a round-trip ticket for this final visit."
The interior designer who now works in Tokyo told Xinhua that she has recently been motivated to learn Chinese because of the pandas, hoping to visit them in China one day.
Eimei, or Yong Ming in Chinese, with his age the human equivalent of 90, is the oldest giant panda living in Japan. Coming from China in 1994, it is fondly nicknamed "Super Papa" for fathering 16 giant panda cubs born at Adventure World, setting the world record for being the oldest giant panda to have successfully bred in captivity.
Last year, Eimei was appointed as a special envoy for Sino-Japan friendship.
Thanks to the friendly cooperation between the Adventure World and the research base of giant panda breeding in China's Sichuan province, Wakayama and Sichuan forged a prefecture-province friendship relationship in January 2022, said Shuhei Kishimoto, governor of Wakayama prefecture.
Upon the pandas' return, only four giant pandas, all females, will be living at the Adventure World.
Staff members line up to bid farewell to giant pandas Eimei, Ouhin and Touhin at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
A visitor takes photos of a banner with a picture of giant panda Eimei and a slogan which reads "Thank you, Eimei!" at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
Giant pandas Ouhin, Touhin and Eimei (L-R) are about to set off for China at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
Staff members transfer giant panda Eimei at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
Visitors take a selfie at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
Visitors take photos of giant panda Eimei at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
A visitor attends a farewell ceremony held for giant pandas Eimei, Ouhin and Touhin at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
Staff members transfer giant panda Touhin at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
Visitors shoot videos of giant panda Eimei at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
A staff member feeds giant panda Touhin with apples at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
This photo taken on Feb. 21, 2023 shows giant panda Eimei at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan.
The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday.
Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing)
The photo shows the 24th Ukraine-EU summit is held in Kiev, Ukraine, Feb. 3, 2023. (Ukrainian presidential office/Handout via Xinhua)
The EU and NATO member states will ramp up weapons production and improve arms procurement to help Ukraine battle on the frontline.
BRUSSELS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine, the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will jointly launch a mechanism to coordinate arms supplies to Ukraine, officials said here after the first meeting of the three sides' high-level representatives.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he discussed with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell the need to ramp up weapons production and improve arms procurement "to ensure that Ukraine gets the weapons it needs."
"We are looking for ways to accelerate the deliveries from member states to Ukraine," Borrell said.
Photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Office shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) presenting Ukraine's application for fast-track NATO membership on Sept. 30, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Office/Handout via Xinhua)
To this end, the three sides will set up a coordination mechanism that will link their defense industries, procurers and governments. This will allow them to not only meet Ukraine's needs on the frontline but also to replenish the NATO and EU member states' ammunition stockpiles.
Since the consumption rate of ammunition is greater than the production rate, the EU and NATO member states need to ramp up production, Stoltenberg and Borrell said. Efforts to ramp up production started at the end of last summer, according to Kuleba.
An army vehicle runs on a road near Mariupol on April 17, 2022. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)
NATO will help Ukraine develop a procurement system that is effective, transparent and accountable, Stoltenberg said. The alliance will also increase its targets for ammunition stockpiles through its Defense Planning Process.
Stoltenberg said he regretted Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the United States, which was announced earlier on Tuesday by Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Russia suspends participation in New START rather than withdraws from it, Putin said.
Russian national flag waves at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua)
In early February, NATO called on Russia to "return to full compliance" with New START and allow inspections of its nuclear facilities. That "sounds like some kind of nonsense amid today's confrontation," Putin said in his annual address to Russia's Federal Assembly.
He pointed to the combined strike potential of NATO as the United Kingdom and France also have nuclear arsenals that pose a threat to Russia.
Moscow said it had information that "certain figures in Washington" are considering conducting tests to develop new types of nuclear weapons.
MADRID, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- More than 20 Chinese renewable energy companies participate in GENERA 2023, the energy and environment international trade hosted by Madrid, the capital of Spain, between Feb. 21 and Feb. 23.
"We are very glad to join GENERA 2023 and explore the Spanish and European photovoltaic (PV) market in light of our worldwide sales strategy," Zhao Neng, general manager of the Sales Center of the China-based Yangzhou Jinghua New Energy Company, told Xinhua in an interview on Wednesday.
"The exhibition is perfect. Many customers come to our booth, where we have already signed an agreement with a local partner in Valencia and have sealed a number of orders," he said. The company is one of China's major solar panel manufacturers.
"We believe that the new energy market will be booming in Spain. We will do our best to achieve a 2-3 percent market share with our excellent solar modules," he said.
On an exhibition area of 18,000 square meters, some 385 companies from Spain, China, Germany, Italy, Turkiye and Portugal display their products.
Organized jointly by Spain's Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and the Madrid Fair Institution IFEMA, the fair aims to highlight Spain's position as a leading player in the development of renewable energy.
Spain currently ranks eighth among the world's 40-odd main renewable energy markets in the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI), which highlights opportunities for international investors in the field.
Luis Crespo from Soto Solar, a Madrid-based solar panel manufacturing company, spoke highly of China's renewable energy products. "The quality of Chinese equipment is very good," he commented.
GENERA is held in the context of rising energy costs and the quest for sustainable and reliable energy sources.
The event also includes a series of technical conferences, which bring together experts to debate issues, such as the green transition, energy storage and green hydrogen. The Innovation Gallery showcases the advantages of green energy.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to "conduct all necessary actions associated with the cleanup" from the train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, over two weeks ago.
The federal agency said the legally binding order would require Norfolk Southern to identify and clean up contaminated soil and water resources; attend and participate in public meetings at the EPA's request and post information online; and pay for the agency's costs for work performed under this order, among other things.
The EPA warned that if Norfolk Southern fails to comply, the agency will perform the work itself and seek triple damages from the company.
"The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA's order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
"Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they've inflicted on this community," Regan continued.
The EPA said the order marks the transition of the multi-agency response from its "emergency" phase to a longer-term remediation phase.
A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, derailed in East Palestine, an Ohio village on the state's border with Pennsylvania, on the night of Feb. 3.
According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, 38 rail cars derailed, and an additional 12 cars were damaged by fire. There were no reported fatalities or injuries.
Fear of a possible explosion prompted hundreds of residents to evacuate from a so-called controlled release and burning of chemicals on Feb. 6, which discharged toxic and potentially deadly fumes into the air.
While residents have been able to return to their homes in East Palestine, they have reported incidents like burning eyes, ill pets or dead fish in waterways.
The EPA said on Tuesday that it had assisted with indoor air monitoring of more than 550 homes under a voluntary screening program offered to residents. No vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride detections were identified above levels of concern.
East Palestine mayor Trent Conaway said on Monday that U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine on America's Presidents' Day was the "biggest slap in the face" as his town continues to deal with the fallout of the train derailment.
"He doesn't care about us," Conaway said during an appearance on Fox News. "He can send every agency he wants to, but I found out this morning that he was in Ukraine giving millions of dollars away to people over there and not to us on Presidents' Day in our country. So I'm furious."
Biden made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Monday, days before the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where he announced an additional 500 million U.S. dollars in aid, including more weapons, to the country.
On Monday afternoon, Ohio suffered another major safety incident after an explosion at a metal manufacturing plant in Bedford killed one person and injured 13 others.
"What in the world is Pres. Biden doing in Kyiv, rather than minding his own business in Ohio?" Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, tweeted.
The United States needs "a government who will fight for the people and the people of its own country," Eric Reeves, a protester from Texas, said. "If you look at our cities in America, if you look at (what) America is in, we could be using all of that money, all of that effort here in America to help the people of America to do better."
by Xinhua writer Wu Liming
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Uncle Sam has a particular way of storytelling. He can hype a trivial matter into a big issue or play down a severe matter as forgettable.
Washington's recent handling of the Chinese balloon incident is an excellent example of the former: exaggeration.
Although the appearance of a Chinese civilian unmanned airship in U.S. airspace was unintended and unexpected, Washington intentionally portrayed it as a "spy balloon." It was even a sensational topic in President Joe Biden's recent State of the Union address.
Like a sledgehammer cracking a nut, Washington resorted to using a fighter plane and missile to shoot down a non-threatening balloon. Call it a political farce.
"A lot of balloons are flying over the Earth every day. Does the U.S. want to shoot them all down?" Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, asked at a China session of the 59th Munich Security Conference.
Washington Post columnist Max Boot published an opinion piece saying the frenzy over China's airship is dangerous and unwarranted. "What concerns me is the hysterical overreaction on the part of so many Americans to the balloon's progress."
Apart from exaggeration, Uncle Sam is also skillful in understating.
There have been at least four train derailments in the United States in the past two weeks, including on Feb. 3 when a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in the small Ohio town of East Palestine. Video showed smoke spreading over the accident site and polluted rivers nearby.
Frequent train derailment accidents have exposed long-lasting transportation problems in the United States -- aging railway lines, overdue maintenance, the intervention of interest groups, jagged construction standards ... the list goes on.
However, American officials downplayed the horrific incident.
After the Feb. 3 derailment accident in Ohio, the U.S. government insisted that its response to the accident was rapid and effective, swearing that local air and water quality were safe. It neglected to acknowledge that residents suffered from coughs, headaches, burning eyes and other symptoms.
Even though Ohio Governor Mike DeWine insisted the town's air quality was safe, confusion and distrust remained among residents and environmental experts, according to a BBC report.
Uncle Sam is also good at playing dumb. Recently, evidence has emerged suggesting that the United States is likely the perpetrator of the North Stream explosion. U.S. officials and the mainstream media have maintained silence on the issue.
Whether through exaggeration or understating, the United States has plenty of tools at its disposal to mislead and manipulate the American public.
CHINA: China Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday, February 22 that Pakistan's all-weather ally China has approved a loan of USD 700 million to the cash-strapped country.
A day after Pakistan's National Assembly unanimously passed a money bill intended to raise tax revenues to satisfy the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) demands for seeking a USD 1.1 billion loan facility to prevent an economic meltdown, Dar made the announcement regarding the loan from the Board of the China Development Bank.
"Formalities have been completed, and the Board of the China Development Bank has approved the facility for Pakistan in the amount of USD 700 million. Dar tweeted, "This amount is anticipated to be received by the State Bank of Pakistan this week, strengthening its foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan's long-standing balance of payments issue has gotten worse over the past year as the nation's foreign exchange reserves have fallen to dangerously low levels.
The central bank's reserves were merely USD 3.2 billion as of February 10, barely enough to fund three weeks' worth of imports.
The government has put restrictions in place to stop the flow of dollars out of the nation, only permitting the import of necessities like food and medication up until an IMF rescue deal is reached, which is thought to be necessary for the country to avoid default.
The administration led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has chosen to put policies in place to reduce its spending by raising taxes on the general public and reducing government spending.
In order to reduce the debt-ridden country's spending by 15%, the government has also directed the Foreign Ministry to trim the number of its embassies abroad, as well as their offices and staff.
China and Saudi Arabia have agreed to bail out Pakistan for USD 13 billion in exchange for USD 5.7 billion in new loans, according to Pakistan's finance minister Dar in November. Dar was certain that the money would arrive before to the IMF programme restart.
But, it became apparent over time that Islamabad's longtime supporters would not provide further funding unless the nation first accepted the IMF's requirements. The IMF mission had to be invited at that point in order to conduct the negotiations, as per reports.
Nation's development will support the global economic recovery
China claims that the US's overreaction to the balloon incident demonstrates its weakness
The Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov met with the Pakistani delegation.
According to the minister, the parties discussed the development of energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, Azernews reports citing a tweet by the minister.
We discussed the development of our energy cooperation with @DrMusadikMalik, Minister of State for Petroleum, @ChSalikHussain, Federal Minister of Board of Investment and @Murtaza_Mahmud, Federal Minister for Industries&Production of Pakistan, a brother country of Azerbaijan, the minister tweeted.
Notably, a Pakistani delegation made up of three ministers Federal Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik, Minister of Board of Investment and Special Initiatives Chaudhry Salik Hussain, and Minister of Industries and Production Syed Murtaza Mahmood is paying an official visit to Azerbaijan. The main purpose of the visit is to negotiate importing of petroleum, oil, lubricant products, and liquefied natural gas from Azerbaijan.
Where did Ukraines HUR get a legendary Black Hawk helicopter? 22 February, 06:02 PM Ukrainian intelligence officers on the background of a Black Hawk helicopter (Photo:HUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)
At least one of the legendary U.S. Black Hawk multi-purpose helicopters is already helping Ukrainian intelligence, the Ukrainian militarys Main Intelligence Directorate or HUR reported on Facebook on Feb. 21.
Officially, neither the United States nor any other country has announced the transfer of any of the famous U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to Ukraine. However, on Feb. 21, the HUR published a news piece in which it showed the reconnaissance pilots who returned after completing another combat mission.
Video of day
In the photo, Ukrainian scouts are standing in front of a Black Hawk helicopter with Ukrainian markings (in another photo, a Soviet-era Mi-24 helicopter is next to the Black Hawk).
Military intelligence aviation of Ukraine continues to work at the forefront of the defense of our state, Ukrainian intelligence said.
Combat helicopters significantly increase the capabilities of special units of the (HUR) and the effectiveness of special operations. Pilots of the HUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine continue to destroy the enemy on all areas of the front.
Commenting on the photo the HUR published, in particular the color scheme of the livery of the Black Hawk helicopter, Polish portal Defense24 suggested that it could be a modification of the S-70i Black Hawk.
Poland received more than 30 such helicopters at the end of last year. This version is manufactured by PZL Mielec, a Polish subsidiary of Sikorsky Aircraft.
However, Agnieszka Gasiewska, the companys press secretary, told the Polish publication that PZL Mielec does not have Ukrainian clients in its portfolio.
Meanwhile, Ukraine Weapons Tracker analysts suggested that it could be a former U.S. Army chopper, repaired and upgraded by Ace Aeronautics, LLC.
This particular vehicle does not have visible armament, but numerous upgrades are available that can provide significant firepower and superior sensor capabilities. In this case, it was likely bought privately and financed by allies, Ukraine Weapons Tracker analysts report.
UH-60 Black Hawk
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a U.S. tactical multipurpose helicopter developed in the mid-1970s by the Sikorsky Aircraft company, which was founded in the United States by the Ukrainian aircraft designer Ihor Sikorsky back in the 1920s.
The helicopter project won a competition for the needs of the U.S. Army and was named the Black Hawk in honor of the legendary warrior and leader of the Sauk native American tribe. In 1979, the helicopter entered service with the U.S. Army.
The Black Hawk is designed to transport personnel and various military cargoes, as well as to evacuate wounded and transport bulky cargo.
Over the past decades, many versions of this helicopter have been developed, including improved versions such as UH-60L and UH-60M, and specialized versions for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Black Hawks have seen combat in conflicts in Panama, Iraq, Somalia, the Balkans, Afghanistan, the Middle East, and elsewhere.
An improved secret modification of Black Hawk helicopters, which managed to avoid Pakistani radars, was used in the U.S. special operation to eliminate Osama bin Laden in May 2011.
Furthermore, in service with the U.S. Army, Black Hawk helicopters perform a wide range of tasks: from tactical troop transport to electronic warfare and aeromedical evacuation. The VIP version of the chopper, known as the VH-60N, is used to transport high-ranking officials (such as members of Congress, etc.).
During air assault operations, it can carry a squad of 11 or an M119 105mm howitzer with ammunition and a crew of four in one lift. Modern modifications of Black Hawk helicopters are equipped with advanced avionics and electronics.
S-70i Black Hawk
S-70i Black Hawk is a Polish licensed version of the legendary U.S. UH-60 helicopter.
The base model S-70i does not carry any weapons. But the Battlehawk combat system can be installed on the helicopter with additional equipment for pilots and the entire suite of weapons: machine guns of various calibers, a 20 mm cannon, a laser-guided missile system, etc.
The helicopter has a digital flight control system, with four multifunctional displays for the crew. It can carry up to 13 passengers on board.
The armored cabin is able to withstand fire from small arms and high-explosive shells.
Manufacturer: PZL Mielec, Poland Polish subsidiary of Sikorsky Aircraft.
In service: since 2011
Maximum take-off weight: 9.98 tons
Weight: 5.37 tons
Speed: 296 km/h
Range: 578 km
Body length: 10.17 m
Screw diameter: 16.36 m
Total length: 19.76 m
Height: 2.66 m
Width: 4.37 m (tail wings), 2.13 m (cabin)
Two engines: 1,940 hp. each
Crew: 2 people
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Utilities are building a lot of solar energy projects in Indiana. Fields of solar panels will become a common part of our landscape. This may help avert some consequences of climate change on the planet. But what are the local consequences?
Building a solar project creates a lot of local spending and quite a few jobs. Once construction is done, though, projects need few employees, and there is little effect on local spending. There are no suppliers of solar equipment located in Indiana. Lease payments received by landowners may or may not be spent locally.
The main effect on local communities is through the added property taxes paid by the solar companies. A recent study of nine solar energy projects in eight Indiana counties estimates this effect. The study was conducted by the Purdue Center for Regional Development, and I worked on the property tax. You can find it on the PCRD website .
A solar company buys or leases land, and builds fields of solar panels. Then the county assessor puts a value on the project for property taxes. The equipment, called personal property, is assessed at a depreciated value of its initial cost. Within a few years depreciation hits the famous 30-percent floor, which means the minimum assessed value of the companys equipment cannot fall below 30 percent of the initial cost. The study showed that personal property averaged about $50,000 per acre.
The assessed value of land increases too. The states assessment formula values farmland at $1,500 per acre for taxes in 2023. The local assessor then adjusts for soil productivity and other factors. The solar base rate is set by the state too, and varies from $5,400 to $13,000 per acre, depending on the Indiana region. The average solar project would increase land assessed value by about $11,000 per acre.
The nine projects averaged about 1,100 acres each, so the total addition to assessed value would average about $66 million. All nine solar projects are in rural areas, where tax rates averaged about $1.50 per $100 assessed value. That means the average solar project would pay almost $1 million dollars a year in added property taxes.
But counties awarded tax abatements to six of the nine projects. Two received full tax abatements on personal property for 10 years, one for 15 years. Two others used sliding scales from 100 percent at the start to zero at the finish. The assessed value of land is not abated. Estimated tax payments in the first year with 100 percent abatement averaged $200,000.
Five of the abated projects made economic development agreement payments to the counties, partly offsetting the reduction in property taxes. Project payments average $1.2 million in the first year, but in most cases the annual abatements will run longer than the annual EDA payments.
The effect of solar project tax payments on local government revenues and property tax bills is more complicated. The state puts a maximum on the amount local governments can raise from property taxes for operating costs. Many local governments tax near their state maximum levies. This means that some of the added solar project assessed value will not generate new revenue. Instead, it will force property tax rates to fall. Solar projects will pay taxes that replace some taxes paid by existing taxpayers.
Not all local governments tax at their maximums, and some parts of the property tax, such as debt service and school referendum funds, are outside the maximums. The study estimated that about 60 percent of solar tax payments would add new revenue, and the remainder would reduce existing tax bills. That would add $600,000 per year for local governments, on average, before abatements and EDA payments. Homeowners in places that included the solar assessed value would see tax bill reductions between 2 and 11 percent.
Property taxes are not the full story of solar energy projects, of course. Reduced corn and soybean production may affect local equipment suppliers or grain elevators. Some people prefer fields of corn to fields of solar panels. For others, the availability of solar power may be attractive. But theres no doubt that solar project development will add to local government revenues, and reduce local tax bills.
DUBLIN, Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Level I ITAR/EAR Boot Camp" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
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An intensive two-day learning experience focused on the basics of the ITAR and EAR. Seminar Level I focuses on the basic principles of defense trade controls with practical examples, case studies, and small group discussions and provides attendees with unparalleled insight into the application of export controls.
Topics include State/DDTC and the Regulations, The Order of Review: Specially Designed & Commodity Jurisdiction, Understanding ITAR-Controlled Technical Data, How to Complete a DSP-5, Licensing Non-U.S. Persons, Utilizing ITAR Exemptions, Recordkeeping, and Violations.
This comprehensive seminar also focuses on licensing in the 600 Series with case studies and classification exercises. Topics include Understanding Commerce/BIS & the Regulations, The Ten General Prohibitions, Classification & Reading the ECCN- (Country Charts & Reasons for Control,) Preparing License & Classification Requests using SNAP-R, License Exceptions & the Strategic Trade Authorization (STA), Recordkeeping & Compliance.
Two-day seminar fee includes breakfast and lunch each day, a seminar manual, and a current copy of the ITAR. Space is limited. Registration will close once capacity is reached.
Key Topics Covered:
DAY 1 ITAR: Wednesday, April 26th
Test Your Knowledge
Understanding State/DDTC and the ITAR
The Order of Review, Specially Designed & the Commodity Jurisdiction Process
How to Complete an Electronic DSP-5 License
Understanding Technical Data & the Public Domain
Licensing Requirements for Foreign Person Employees (FPE)
ITAR Exemptions
Violations & Lessons Learned from Consent Agreements
DAY 2 EAR: Thursday, April 27th
Understanding Commerce/BIS and the Regulations
The Ten General Prohibitions & Red Flags
Classification & Reading the Export Control Classification Number (ECCN)
BIS Registration, Applying for a License, Preparing a Letter of Explanation (LOE) and U.S. Government Staffing Points
License Exceptions & the Strategic Trade Authorization
EAR & ITAR Recordkeeping & Compliance
Due Diligence: Preventing Violations
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Speakers:
Suzanne Palmer
President
Export Compliance Solutions
Suzanne Palmer, President of Export Compliance Solutions, has 15 years of experience within the State Department and as a Licensing Officer, and over 10 years direct experience with the U. S. defense industry. After leaving the State Department she joined Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems in Baltimore and then went on to work at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
Combining U.S. Government and defense industry experience, Ms. Palmer specializes in training, interpreting the ITAR and the EAR Export Control Reform initiative and applying U.S. export control regulations. She has served on the Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) and as a Special Compliance Official (SCO) for a company operating under a Consent Agreement.
Lisa Bencivenga
Various
Lisa Bencivenga has has over twenty years of varied experience in export/import licensing and compliance issues with major defense contractors. She has had the leading role in developing and implementing internal compliance programs, providing regulatory guidance, instituting license databases, training personnel at all corporate levels, conducting audits requested by clients and/or directed by the U.S. Department of State, coordinating investigations and working closely with legal departments while administering the full spectrum of corporate international export/import activities.
She has several years of experience in space-related export issues which includes obtaining and implementing complex licensing arrangements related to spacecraft and launch activities as a result of her employment with Orbital Sciences Corporation and The Boeing Company.
For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k51477-i-itarear?w=5
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SOURCE Research and Markets
HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / At the official launch of their US business in Houston yesterday, 3D LifePrints announced a new company name, Insight Surgery. The re-brand comes alongside receiving their 2nd FDA 510(k) clearance for non-joint replacing osteotomies in the appendicular skeleton. Insight Surgery also announced the opening of their cleanroom manufacturing facility at the Texas Medical Center.
Insight Surgery, Wednesday, February 22, 2023, Press release picture
Insight Surgery's re-brand reflects the evolution of the organisation from a UK-based medical 3D printing company to a cross-Atlantic provider of Personalized Surgery.
Henry Pinchbeck, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer said "Firstly, I'd like to thank Houston for such a warm welcome. We have chosen the launch of our US business as the ideal time to rename the company to "Insight Surgery" so that it aligns with our focus on Digital Planning and Personalized Surgery. Having supplied Personalized Devices to over 1000 surgeries in the UK we now turn our attention to the US market, specifically Texas."
Insight Surgery's official USA launch took place at the British Consulate General's residence in Houston. It was attended by many members of the city's medical and academic community including representatives from Houston Methodist, Texas Children's Hospital, MD Anderson and Texas Medical Center Innovations.
Peter Ellingworth, Chairman of Insight Surgery said "I'm delighted to be back again amongst so many friends and colleagues in Houston. Texas quickly became our first choice as a landing spot and given its proximity to so many world class hospitals, the Texas Medical Center is an ideal location for our first US facility."
Insight Surgery's FDA Cleared Digital Platform, "EmbedMed" is an end-to-end solution for surgeons that digitizes the surgical planning process and enables the rapid design and manufacture of patient-specific medical devices. Embedmed's functions includes the processing of patient scan data and as a pre-operative software tool for simulating and evaluating surgical planning options. The output files from the system can be provided digitally or as physical Models and Surgical Guides for use in surgery.
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Following up their initial clearance for CMF solutions, Insight Surgery's most recent FDA clearance is for non-acute, non-joint replacing osteotomies, including the resection of bone tumors, for the appendicular skeleton. It is believed to be the widest clearance of its type yet obtained by covering both upper and lower extremities.
Paul Fotheringham, Insight Surgery CTO said "Our 2 recent FDA clearances enable us to bring our full range of CMF and Orthopaedic devices to the US market. Our aim is to put these highly impactful devices in surgeons' hands within 5 days of receipt of scan data."
Insight Surgery, Wednesday, February 22, 2023, Press release picture
Insight Surgery is a UK and USA based provider of Personalized Surgery. Their FDA cleared platform EmbedMed0 digitizes the surgical planning process and allows the rapid design and manufacture of patient-specific medical devices. Insight Surgery provide their services from facilities at the Point of Care greatly reducing the time to delivery.
Henry Pinchbeck
Chief Executive Officer
Insight Surgery
+1 713-893-3717
info@insightsurgery.com
SOURCE: Insight Surgery
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/740364/3D-LifePrints-Re-launches-as-Insight-Surgery-in-Houston-and-Achieves-FDA-510k-Clearances-for-Orthopedic-and-CMF-Solutions
InsightAce Analytic Pvt. LTd.
Key Players Covered are Multisorb Technologies (US), Sealed Air Corporation (US), Ball Corporation(US); Amcor limited (Australia), Timestrip PLC (UK), Sysco Corporation (U.S), Paksense Incorporated (US) Eastman Chemical Company, and M&G USA Corporation
Pune, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. announces the release of a market assessment report on the "Global Active, Smart and Intelligent Packaging Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Packaging Type (Active, Smart, and Intelligent Packaging), Application (Food & Beverage, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics, Others)- Market Outlook And Industry Analysis 2031"
The global smart packaging market is estimated to reach over USD 42.73 billion by 2031, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.11% during the forecast period.
Smart packaging integrates different technologies like biosensors and radio frequency identification technology. Smart packaging is anticipated to see a major increase in popularity over the coming years as technological proliferation in the packaging industry increases substantially. As smart packaging features gain traction among consumers, there is expected to be a hike in demand during the forecast period. The number of technologically advanced innovations presented by the major market players provides profitable opportunities for market growth.
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Besides, investments in research and development for a cost-effective manufacturing method can help manufacturers attract new customers. Furthermore, smart packaging disposal is challenging for customers, with regulatory barriers impeding market expansion.
Additionally, changing lifestyle trends of the general population are expected to be a major factor propelling smart packaging market growth over the upcoming years. Growing sales via online channels and e-commerce are expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the smart packaging market growth over the forecast period. However, the Lack of awareness amongst the various consumers, resulting in a lack of preference for these smart solutions, is projected to further dampen the market growth rate over the upcoming years.
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List of Prominent Players in the Active, Smart and Intelligent Packaging Market:
Multisorb Technologies (US)
Sealed Air Corporation (US)
Ball Corporation(US)
Amcor limited (Australia)
Timestrip PLC (UK)
Sysco Corporation (U.S)
Paksense Incorporated (US)
Eastman Chemical Company
M&G USA Corporation
Market Dynamics:
Drivers-
The expansion of printing technologies across numerous industries has further fueled this market. The functionality of printed technologies in processing and showing data on paper and other surfaces has been demonstrated. As a result, there has been a large amount of recent scientific study on printable electronics and RFID innovation, establishing the foundation for the future development of applications for smart packaging. The market is expanding due to research into various F&B nanoparticle possibilities, the desire for shelf-stable and sustainable paper packaging among alcoholic beverage makers and retailers, and rising packed food intake.
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Challenges:
The expensive cost of capital for installation, security concerns, novel construction techniques for such instruments and signals compatible with come-in-place standards, and customer awareness. The biggest challenge for companies in the smart packaging industry is figuring out how to put expensive new technology into the packaging without raising or cutting customer prices. Another issue facing the market for smart packaging is the scant amount of research and marketing on the different varieties of smart packaging. Incorporating thin film electronics into packaging techniques is a highly challenging task for academics. Consumers are unwilling to pay as much for these cutting-edge products because those that employ smart packaging techniques are expensive.
Regional Trends:
The North America smart packaging market is expected to register a major market share in revenue and is projected to grow at a high CAGR soon. The United States holds the largest market value share in North America, followed by Canada. The predicted increase in the market in the area is due to the rising working population and the rising need for interactive and enhanced packaging solutions. The consumer market in the United States, which makes up a sizeable portion of the labor force, is one of the busiest. Because of the expanding population, there is a noticeable increase in the need for food and drink (both from within and due to immigration). This is ascribed to the changing lifestyle, increasing demand for packaging solutions with longer sustainability, and growing demand for fresh & quality food are the factors driving the growth of this regional segment. Besides, the Asia Pacific region is growing at a whopping rate in the global Active, Smart and Intelligent Packaging market and undergoing a rapid transformation over the upcoming years. This is due to the m existing infrastructure availability for smart warehousing, changing lifestyle trends, and increasing demand for packaging solutions with longer sustainability, logistics and packaging.
Check Discount on Report @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/discount/1536
Recent Developments:
In September 2021-Avery Dennison Corporation introduced its AD Maxdura Tire Tag for the tire sector. The new solution makes identifying tires at warehouses and dealerships simpler and allows tracking and tracing along the logistic chain.
In August, 2021-After a successful trial on Coco Pops boxes with U.K. grocer Co-op, Kellogg's officially modified all cereal boxes for blind and nearly blind consumers. The accommodating cereal boxes are coded on the outside so cellphones can read the labeling and allergen data and play it back to the consumer.
Active, Smart and Intelligent Packaging Market Report Scope:
Report Attribute Specifications Market size value in 2022 USD 21.57 billion Revenue forecast in 2031 USD 42.73 billion Growth rate CAGR CAGR of 8.11% from 2023 to 2031 Quantitative units Representation of revenue in US$ Million, and CAGR from 2023 to 2031 Historic Year 2019 to 2022 Forecast Year 2023-2031 Report coverage The forecast of revenue, the position of the company, the competitive market structure, growth prospects, and trends Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; Middle East & Africa Country scope U.S.; Canada; U.K.; Germany; China; India; Japan; Brazil; Mexico ;The UK; France; Italy; Spain; China; Japan; India; South Korea; South East Asia; South Korea; South East Asia Customization scope Free customization report with the procurement of the report, Modifications to the regional and segment scope. Particular Geographic competitive landscape.
Buy this Premium Report @ https://www.insightaceanalytic.com/buy-report/1536
Segmentation of Active, Smart and Intelligent Packaging Market-
By Technology:
Active packaging O2 Scavenging Sachets MAP
Smart & Intelligent Packaging TTI Labels Freshness Indicators RFID Tags
By Applications:
Food & Beverage Meat, Poultry & Seafood Fruits & Vegetables Dairy Products Bakery & Confectionary Processed Food Others
Pharmaceuticals
Cosmetics
Others
By Region-
North America-
The US
Canada
Mexico
Europe-
Germany
The UK
France
Italy
Spain
Rest of Europe
Asia-Pacific-
China
Japan
India
South Korea
South East Asia
Rest of Asia Pacific
Latin America-
Brazil
Argentina
Rest of Latin America
Middle East & Africa-
GCC Countries
South Africa
Rest of Middle East and Africa
About Us:
InsighAce Analytic is a specializing in market research and consulting services that helps in building business strategies. Our mission is to provide high quality insights with using data analytics techniques and visualization tools that drives the disruption and innovation in market research industry. Our expertise is in providing syndicated and custom market intelligence reports with in-depth analysis and key market insights in a timely and cost-effective manner.
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Stable growth of B2B platforms despite a crisis-ridden environment
Offer expanded further SMEs diversify their supply chains
HAMBURG, Germany, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hamburg-based B2B platform operator Visable delivers a great performance during the previous year. With a turnover of EUR 68 million, the 2022 annual result exceeds the previous one by three per cent and this in what are, on balance, extremely challenging economic times. "With our B2B platforms wlw and europages we provide small and medium-sized B2B companies with easy digital access to the national and international market. The fact that we were able to grow despite an economic climate in 2022 that was characterised by supply chain issues, energy-saving constraints and inflation shows that our offering is perceived as part of the way out of the crisis that makes all of us at Visable very happy," says Peter F. Schmid, CEO of Visable.
Visable-CEO Peter F. Schmid
Political and economic crises are reflected on the platforms
The needs of many companies are changing, thus triggering changes in purchasing behaviour. The platforms operated by Visable GmbH include wlw (formerly "Wer liefert was"), today the leading B2B platform in the D-A-CH region, as well as the leading European B2B platform, europages, on which around three million companies are registered. Together, the platforms reach 3 million B2B buyers each month.
In the course of the year, procurement trends triggered by the prevailing economic-political situation were observed repeatedly. The energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, for example, immediately triggered a boom in demand for renewable energies on wlw: Photovoltaic systems were in greater demand in 2022 than ever before. A total of four of the seven most searched categories on wlw in 2022 testified to the intensive effort to achieve a rapid energy transition. "In crisis situations or in times of supply shortages, buyers need to rethink their traditional supply chains, and find new ways of procurement. Therefore, we continue to observe a further shift of processes to the digital realm, even in what were previously rather conservative industries," says Peter F. Schmid. The two platforms, wlw and europages, support international procurement in Europe in particular, making buyers more flexible and faster. Suppliers, in turn, can easily and cost-effectively increase demand for their products and services quickly.
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Steadily increasing number of employees
Visable's positive development is also reflected in the number of employees, which increased in 2022 with 130 new hires to a total of 425 at the Hamburg, Berlin, Munster and Paris locations. A total of just under 6,000 applications were received. Visable's employees, who now come from a total of 50 nations, were able to celebrate both the 90th anniversary of wlw and the 40th anniversary of europages in 2022.
Buyers and sellers benefit from simplified communication
The expansionary focus of the platforms last year was on better communication between users. For example, the Message Centre introduced on wlw in March 2022 has greatly simplified contact between buyers and suppliers. Since then, users have been able to bundle all their communication in one place, make and answer enquiries and exchange files. Both professional buyers in procurement and suppliers in processing enquiries benefit from this optimised user-friendliness. In total, the europages platform is available in 26 languages. An automated translation tool on europages also eliminates language barriers in direct user communication, if required.
Expansion of the product range well-received by customers
Most of the searches sent and received on wlw again came from Germany, followed by Austria and Switzerland. The United States and China follow in fourth and fifth place, with the United States, in particular, growing in enquiries many times over compared to the previous year. The five most searched product categories were mechanical engineering, firewood, photovoltaic systems wood pellets and food. On europages, the majority of searches came from France, with Germany, Italy, Turkey and the USA in second to fifth place. Here, too, the searches from the United States increased significantly.
Press contact Press contact Visable GmbH TDUB Kommunikationsberatung Eva Schilling Daniel Gerloff, Karsten Hoppe ABC-Strasse 21 Hongkongstrae 7 20354 Hamburg 20457 Hamburg eva.schilling@visable.com +49 40 80 79 212-27
visable@tdub.de
About Visable
Visable supports industrial SMEs in making products and services internationally accessible to buyers. As a combination of its own B2B platforms and online marketing services, such as Google Ads and Retargeting, tailored specifically to business customers, the company offers a broad digital portfolio for increasing reach on the internet.
The platforms operated by Visable GmbH include wlw ("Wer liefert was"), today the leading B2B platform in the D-A-CH region, and the European B2B platform europages, on which around 3 million companies are registered. Together, the platforms reach 3 million B2B buyers a month who are looking for detailed company and product information.
With its online marketing services, Visable offers companies additional opportunities to increase their reach on the Internet.
Visable was founded in response to the challenges of internationalisation and digitalisation in the B2B sector, and today employs around 450 people at its locations in Hamburg, Berlin, Munster and Paris. As a joint umbrella for the wlw and europages brands, Visable is continuously expanding its B2B platforms and online marketing services.
You can find further articles, information, press releases and downloads at www.visable.com/en_uk/about-us/press
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Across the world Wednesday, you may find people with ash marks on their foreheads and talking about what they will be giving up for the next 46 days.
It may appear odd, but it is a mark people that practice Christianity, receive at Mass on Ash Wednesday, one of the "most popular and important holy days" in the religion. It also marks the beginning of the countdown towards Easter, as people that practice the religions will also be observing Lent leading up to the holiday.
Here's what to know about Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent:
Sherry Tyzinski and Mandy Neil receives ashes from Monsignor Gerald Ritchie during a mass celebrating Ash Wednesday on Mar. 2, 2022 at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Harborcreek Township. Ash Wednesday is a Christian holiday that marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer and reflection that ends on Easter Sunday.
Easter season:6 places to find a Friday fish fry, some with macaroni and cheese, in Delaware during Lent
What is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday also known as the Day of Ashes is a day of repentance observed by most Christian denominations that begins the Lentinan season leading up to Easter.
William Johnston, associate professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, told USA TODAY it is one of the most important time periods in Catholicism and Christianity, as it's acknowledged by people who aren't closely tied to their religion.
"It's pretty well recognized that (Ash Wednesday) is one of the days which even people who aren't all that regular in church participation some of them come to church on Wednesday as well," Johnston said. "It just has kind of strong cultural connections folks participate in."
The Rev. John Miller anoints students with ashes Wednesday at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Mansfield. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving leading up to Easter.
Why do people get ashes on Ash Wednesday?
During Mass on Ash Wednesday, a priest will mark a worshiper's forehead with ashes in the shape of a cross, and will say "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" or "Repent and believe in the Gospel."
The ashes represent a person acknowledging and showing remorse for their sins, as Johnston said the tradition dates back to 1091.
"The ashes is just sort of a ritual symbolic way to say 'I'm beginning this journey of repentance and renewal, for the sake of my greater fidelity,'" he said.
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After a person receives their ashes, they aren't required to leave it on or take it off following Mass, but people typically leave them on for the rest of the day. The ashes come from the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday, which are burned and blessed before they are used.
When is Ash Wednesday in 2023?
Ash Wednesday is always six and a half weeks before Easter. Since Ash Wednesday is dependent on the date of Easter, it can occur as early as Feb. 4 or as late as March 10.
This year, Easter is April 9, so Ash Wednesday is Feb. 22.
When is Easter, Ash Wednesday in 2024?
Next year, Easter is March 31, 2024, so Ash Wednesday will be Feb. 14, 2024.
Can you eat meat on Ash Wednesday?
Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Ash Wednesday, just as they aren't supposed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent.
On Ash Wednesday, worshipers are also supposed to fast, allowing themselves to have one meal during the day. Children and elderly people are usually exempt from fasting and giving up meat.
What is Lent?
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, which is "a period of preparation to be able to celebrate" Easter, Johnston said.
The six-week period is meant to be celebrated with self-sacrifice, prayer and other religious activities leading up to Easter, the day believed to be when Jesus Christ rose from the dead to sit at the right hand of God. Johnston calls Lent a "period of purification and enlightenment."
"It is encouraged for (worshipers) to both root out the things that prevent them from making sort of a wholehearted, unreserved commitment to Christ, and cultivate and develop those things in their life that do help them do that," Johnston said.
When does Lent start and end?
Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, although when it ends is disputed. Some churches say it ends on the night of Holy Thursday (April 6, 2023), Good Friday (April 7, 2023), Holy Saturday (April 8, 2023) or Easter. Typically, Lent is celebrated during the entire 46 day period, with 40 days of fasting and six Sundays, when fasting is not practiced.
Why do people give up something for Lent?
During Lent, Catholics and Christians will give up something they enjoy like cookies, candy or alcohol or something they feel like they should stop like watching TV or social media.
Johnston said the practice of giving up something is learning how to say no to ourselves while saying yes to something we may be neglecting.
"If you say no, it's a way of learning how to say no to the desires that we have for our own pleasure in best interest, for the sake of being able to do something else," he said. "Say yes to other things that are that are important, whether it's serving others, engaging in prayer or what have you."
Contributing: Dwight Adams and Anthony DiMattia, USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: When is Ash Wednesday? What is it? Why Catholics wear ashes for Lent
Following Elon Musk's announcement last week that the cannabis industry is now free to advertise on Twitter, Swedish cannabis company Aureum Life became the first in the world to create a paid ad/information campaign for medical cannabis on Twitter.
STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The information campaign that the Swedish cannabis investment company started on Twitter last week included a short film on how accessible medical cannabis could become in Sweden and the world in the future. The film was released by the Sweden-based scientific journal Aurea Care Medical Science Journal. The purpose of the information campaign is to promote knowledge and education, as well as to dispel old stigmas surrounding medical cannabis, and thereby increase access to medical cannabis for pain patients in Sweden who currently suffer from the over-prescription of opioids currently happening in Sweden.
Cannabis movie 2
Twitter has allocated Aureum Life a $80,000 ad credit today.
Aureum Life sees that this will benefit all the world's medical cannabis patients as well as the rapidly growing cannabis industry, and thanks Elon Musk for a very good initiative, an initiative that they now believe all other social media platforms should follow.
About Aureum Life: Aureum Life Investments AB is Sweden's first cannabis company, founded in 2018. The company has made several successful investments in the cannabis industry, including operating medical cannabis clinics in Sweden through subsidiary companies.
About Aurea Care Medical Science Journal: Aurea Care Medical Science Journal is a periodic publication with a publishing certificate in Sweden, started by researcher Stefan Broselid, Ph.D. Molecular Pharmacology, Aureum Life, and Otto News. They focus on news publication regarding the latest in medical cannabis research, science, knowledge sharing, and education. Aurea Care Medical Science Journal will launch a new website for news publication shortly.
How did the Aureum Group became first with the advertising? Well, they secretly started the advertising on February 12th when it was still not allowed to advertise Cannabis on Twitter, so 3 days before Elon Musk and Twitter approved advertisements regarding Cannabis!
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See links to the information campaign published on Twitter through paid advertising:
Aurea Care Twitter: https://twitter.com/aurea_care/status/1626274583048224768?cxt=HHwWgICw3b2H2JEtAAAA
Aurea Care webbsite: https://aureacare.se/
Aureum Life webbsite: https://aureumlife.se/
Otto News: https://cannabisifokus.se/
Press contact:
Christian Engstrom
Christian.engstrom@aureumlife.se
+46 70 663 37 80
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007628/Aureum_Life.jpg
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Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007630/Aureum_Life_3.jpg
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007631/Aureum_Life_4.jpg
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Cannabis movie 4
Cannabis movie 5
Cannabis movie 6
Aurea Care team Musk
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PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Research Corporation (DRC), the leading provider of cloud-provisioned enterprise solutions for the P&C and Specialty insurance industry, announced the roll out of RS X Rating to support Beazley's digital advancement initiative to move their full enterprise rating to the cloud.
Decision Research Corporation (PRNewsFoto/Decision Research Corporation) (PRNewsFoto/Decision Research Corporation)
RS X Rating allowed Beazley to separate their rating processes from servicing. This enabled them to quickly react/adjust to market requirements by making rate changes and product adjustments that met broker expectations. The digital shift to a cloud environment also created a more seamless and frictionless implementation of partner integrations.
To enable growth and distribution of their business, Beazley realized their on-premise servers and software were holding back opportunities. In order to achieve their digital first goals, they identified those servers were a thing of the past and it was essential to move to the cloud. Beazley selected DRC as their primary technology partner to further this initiative with the cloud-provisioned foundation of the DRC solutions hosted in Microsoft Azure.
"Despite internal anxiety of moving a core component to the cloud, the actual deployment was basically a non-event. DRC was instrumental in helping Beazley modernize and simplify our digital processes. The RS X rating engine was an integral part of the toolkit that enabled zero touch broker interactions and submissions," said Samata Tummala, Head of Technology (USA and Canada) at Beazley. "This seamless transition in the sales and business processing function positioned Beazley as a forward-thinking insurer and helped us earn the business of more brokers."
"This milestone achievement helps advance Beazley's Technology strategy of moving critical systems to cloud infrastructure," said Libby Davey, Global Chief Information Officer at Beazley. "The integration flexibility and scalability helps Beazley expand distribution networks and provision infrastructure more nimbly."
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"DRC is pleased to be able to once again partner with Beazley, helping them meet their growth initiatives to grow their business" said Karen Yamamoto, CEO and President at Decision Research Corporation. "We look forward to continuing to work with Sam and her team to further enable Beazley's growth and business objectives," continued Yamamoto.
About DRC
Decision Research Corporation (DRC) provides innovative, cloud-based, enterprise solutions to P&C insurance companies looking to boost their business development efforts, reduce administrative overhead, and accelerate speed-to-market for their products through automation. RS X Rating, DRC's no-code rating solution, gives actuaries the ability to configure powerful automation functions without IT assistance, and to price risks and model products, no matter how complex, all through a familiar Microsoft Excel interface. DRC's flagship product is the DRC Insurance Platform, a full-service policy administration system, including portals, quoting, billing, claims, and advanced analytics, powered by RS X Rating, and engineered to streamline internal processes and empower business users within a secure and robust enterprise ecosystem. DRC has remained committed to total customer satisfaction throughout its 50-year history, and its clients, running the gamut of size and scope from large global carriers to regional start-ups, continue to rely on DRC's trusted solutions to manage over $7 billion in written premium. To learn more about DRC, visit www.decisionresearch.com.
About Beazley
Beazley plc (BEZ.L), is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. In 2021, Beazley underwrote gross premiums worldwide of $4,618.9 million.
Beazley manages seven Lloyd's syndicates, all Lloyd's syndicates are rated A by A.M. Best.
Beazley's underwriters in the United States focus on writing a range of specialist insurance products. In the admitted market, coverage is provided by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., an A.M. Best A rated carrier licensed in all 50 states. In the surplus lines market, coverage is provided by the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd's.
Beazley's European insurance company, Beazley Insurance dac, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and is A rated by A.M. Best and A+ by Fitch.
Beazley is a market leader in many of its chosen lines, which include professional indemnity, cyber liability, property, marine, reinsurance, accident and life, and political risks and contingency business.
For more information please go to: www.beazley.com
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SOURCE Decision Research Corporation
Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) today announced that, following rigorous review, BESLER has once again achieved the Peer Reviewed by HFMA designation for its Easy Work Papers software.
Easy Work Papers is Internet-based software you can access from anywhere to complete Medicare and Medicaid Cost Reports accurately and consistently.
Were very proud that our Easy Work Papers software is so well regarded among our customers, said Jonathan Besler, President and CEO of BESLER. The results of HFMAs thorough Peer Review process confirm the value that our clients experience with the software. Easy Work Papers significantly reduces the amount of time that providers spend on cost report preparation leaving them more time to focus on more critical issues.
HFMA's Peer Review process provides healthcare financial managers with an objective, third-party evaluation of business solutions used in the healthcare workplace. The rigorous, 11-step process includes a Peer Review panel review composed of current customers, prospects who have not made a purchase, and industry experts. The Peer Review status of the healthcare business solution and its performance claims are based on effectiveness, quality and usability, price, value, and customer and technical support.
Were pleased to have BESLER renew their HFMA Peer Reviewed designation, says HFMA President and CEO Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA, CPA. The HFMA Peer Review process assures our members, through a rigorous evaluation, that the reviewed healthcare business solution meets an objective, third-party assessment of overall effectiveness, quality, and value."
About HFMA
The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) equips its more than 96,000 members nationwide to navigate a complex healthcare landscape. Finance professionals in the full range of work settings, including hospitals, health systems, physician practices and health plans, trust HFMA to provide the guidance and tools to help them lead their organizations, and the industry, forward. HFMA is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization that advances healthcare by collaborating with other key stakeholders to address industry challenges and providing guidance, education, practical tools and solutions, and thought leadership. We lead the financial management of healthcare.
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About BESLER
BESLER combines best-in-class healthcare nance expertise with proprietary technology to help hospitals improve revenue and reimbursement integrity. Over the last thirty-five years, our revenue recovery and reimbursement solutions have delivered more than $4 billion of additional revenue to hundreds of hospitals across the U.S. For more information, visit www.besler.com.
Press inquiries should be directed to:
Brad Dennison
Healthcare Financial Management Association
(708) 492-3385
bdennison@hfma.org
Kelly Wisness
BESLER
(732) 392-8231
kwisness@besler.com
Laman Ismayilova
The stunningly beautiful Karabakh horses are truly wonderful creatures that leave us awestruck, and this breed of horse has been valued by humankind for many centuries.
Latvian artist and livestock specialist Dace Strausa never ceases to admire these magnificent animals with high intelligence and incredible memory skills. For many years, the Karabakh horses serve as a boundless source of inspiration. Her paintings have been successfully showcased in Baku and Shusha.
In her interview with AZERNEWS, Dace Strausa shared her story of how horses have become an integral part of life.
Q: How did you come to love horses?
A: Horses have always been an essential part of my life. My grandmother was also very fond of horses. I believe that my interest in horses has an important mission. I am eager to learn more about them and devote most of my life to these magnificent animals.
Q: Why do Karabakh horses inspire you?
A: The Karabakh horses are often called golden ones. Undoubtedly, the golden-red color of the Karabakh horses is impressive, but that's not all. The Karabakh horses are extraordinarily strong, graceful, fast, and smart. They have a subtle soul, and a playful character, especially stallions. This horse breed has a special desire to trust a human. I prefer to draw horses in motion, which makes it possible to show their grace and beauty.
Q: In 2021, your paintings depicting Karabakh horses were presented in Shusha. Please, share your impressions of the exhibition.
A: My paintings were on display in Shusha last year. The exhibition was organized by the Latvian Embassy for which I would like to express my gratitude to the Deputy Head of the Latvian Mission in Azerbaijan Vija Busa. A series of paintings about the Karabakh horses became very symbolic, showing a kind of return of the horses to their homeland, a place where they always belonged.
Q: You once said that you dream of opening a horse museum in Shusha. Could you tell me a little bit about your idea?
A: A museum of Azerbaijani horses remains my dream to this day, even though I thought of everything in detail. Walking around Shusha, I came across the ruins of the former estate of the Azerbaijani poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan. At that moment, I realized that after the restoration, this place would be perfect for the museum. It is worth noting that the daughter of Mehdigulu Khan, the last ruler of the Karabakh Khanate (17481822), was engaged in horse breeding.
Q: Are you planning to show your artwork in Azerbaijan once again?
A: I would very much like to visit Azerbaijan again. I would be very glad to contribute to the development and preservation of the Karabakh horses since I have the appropriate education and experience in this field. As for my paintings, I can say that the exhibition is planned for this year. At the moment, there are several of my paintings in Azerbaijan, which will be presented for the first time in the country. I really hope to show my artwork there. We'll wait and see.
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BioCatch , the pioneer of behavioral biometric intelligence and a global leader in fraud detection, today announced its recognition as a "Company to Watch in 2023" from Liminal , a strategy advisory firm serving digital identity, cybersecurity, and fintech solution providers and the private equity and venture capital community. The companies highlighted on Liminal's Companies to Watch list are chosen independently by CEO Travis Jarae and his team of researchers. The companies are evaluated based on their momentum, how well their products fit the market, and the current state of the market.
BioCatch is the leader in Behavioral Biometrics, a technology that leverages machine learning to analyze an online users physical and cognitive digital behavior to protect individuals online. (PRNewsfoto/BioCatch)
"We are honored to be recognized by the experts at Liminal," said Gadi Mazor, BioCatch CEO. "As financial institutions and their customers face a tsunami of scam attacks, identity theft, and financial fraud, technology must continuously evolve and adapt. I'm proud of our team who are relentlessly focused on serving BioCatch customers, helping today's financial institutions defend against evolving fraud threats."
"The outstanding group of businesses that make up this year's 'companies to watch' list are pioneers in their respective solution segments within Liminal's Digital Identity Landscape. As strategists, we believe that these businesses provide us with the most insightful information about what the future holds for innovation, strategy, and teamwork," said Travis Jarae, Liminal CEO.
BioCatch advances digital banking by seamlessly securing digital transactions that improve the customer experience. As the leader and industry pioneer in AI-driven behavioral biometrics intelligence, the company leverages its proprietary technology to analyze over five billion digital sessions a month in real-time, helping more than 100 of the world's largest financial institutions protect their assets and customers from fraud and identity theft.
Liminal's recognition comes during a period of sustained growth and global expansion for BioCatch as financial crime continues to rise significantly. The company's unique solutions for identifying social engineering scams and money laundering in real-time are leveraged by the largest global financial institutions today. Last month, the company announced that they helped to detect over $1.5 billion of fraud in 2022.
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About Liminal
Liminal is a boutique strategy advisory firm serving digital identity, fintech, and cybersecurity clients, and the private equity and venture capital community. Since 2016, Liminal has offered objective, high impact strategic advice, and analytical services, helping to support clients in crucial business decisions at all stages of the product and business lifecycle. Liminal advises many of the world's most innovative business leaders, investors, and government officials on building, buying, and investing in the next generation of integrated digital identity platforms and technologies. For more information, visit liminal.co
About BioCatch
BioCatch is the leader in Behavioral Biometrics and advanced fraud detection, leveraging technology built upon machine learning to analyze an online user's physical and cognitive digital behavior to protect individuals online. BioCatch's mission is to unlock the power of behavior and deliver actionable insights to create a digital world where identity, trust and ease seamlessly co-exist. Today, BioCatch counts over 25 of the top 100 global banks as customers who use BioCatch solutions to fight fraud, drive digital transformation and accelerate business growth. BioCatch's Client Innovation Board, an industry-led initiative including American Express, Barclays, Citi Ventures, and National Australia Bank, helps enable BioCatch to identify creative and cutting-edge ways to leverage the unique attributes of behavior for fraud prevention. With over a decade of analyzing data, more than 80 registered patents, and unparalleled experience, BioCatch continues to innovate to solve tomorrow's problems. For more information, please visit www.biocatch.com .
Contact:
Madeline Cobb
Email: madeline.cobb@biocatch.com
Phone number: +1 978-793-9812
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SOURCE BioCatch
DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Bookbinding Adhesives Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Technology Type (Emulsion-based and Hot Melt); By Chemistry Type; By Application; By Region; Segment Forecast, 2022-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
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The global bookbinding adhesives market size is expected to reach USD 2,237.88 million by 2030, according to a new study by the publisher. The report gives a detailed insight into current market dynamics and provides analysis on future market growth.
Continuously growing need and demand for physical books from various education institutions mainly from countries like India and China and high technological development and innovations in the adhesive industry across the globe are major factors driving the market growth.
In addition, the extensive growth of various end-use industries and growing population coupled with the rising efforts by government and private organizations on the development and expansion of their production capabilities and product quality is influencing the market growth.
For instance, in June 2022, Henkel announced the opening of its new manufacturing plant of hot melt adhesive in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. It will manufacture both pressure-sensitive and non-pressure-sensitive hot melts under the company's brand Technomelt. The product manufactured in the facility will be used in a variety of applications including bookbinding, self-adhesive labels, and heat-sealed.
The growing popularity of polyolefin-related products due to their good barrier properties, excellent chemical resistance, and low moisture permeability coupled with the high deployment in nonwoven product manufacturing and many other related industries are likely to have a positive impact on market growth. Moreover, the increasing prevalence of bio-based and plant-based hot melt adhesives in developed countries like the United States and Germany owing to their high sustainability is fueling the product demand.
For instance, in March 2022, Conagen announced the launch of its new bio-based dependable hot melt adhesives, which are made from natural bio-molecules and high-performance materials. This offers manufacturers adhesive solutions to reduce and avoid waste and save cost in the manufacturing process and comes with various advantages like long-lasting and strong performance.
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Market Dynamics
Drivers and Opportunities
Technological Advancement
Rise in the Demand for Physical Books from Educational Institutions
Restraints and Challenges
Volatility in Raw Material Prices
Bookbinding Adhesives Market Report Highlights
Hot melt segment accounted for significant market share owing to a wide range of offerings and a high prevalence of plant-based hot melt adhesives
Vinyl acetate-ethylene segment held the highest market revenue share in 2021 on account of its benefits including excellent adhesion, strong mechanical strength, and superior flexibility
Hardcover & softcover books segment is likely to dominate the market due to a rapid surge in demand for print books in countries like China and India
Asia Pacific region is expected to register the fastest growth rate over the anticipated period, which is accelerated by growing consumption and manufacturing of adhesive products
The global market players include H.B. Fuller Company. Avery Dennison Corporation, Dow Chemical Company, and Franklin International
The publisher has segmented the bookbinding adhesives market report based on technology type, chemistry type, application, and region:
Bookbinding Adhesives, Technology Type Outlook (Revenue - USD Million, 2018 - 2030)
Emulsion-based
Hot Melt
Bookbinding Adhesives, Chemistry Type Outlook (Revenue - USD Million, 2018 - 2030)
Polyvinyl Acetate
Vinyl Acetate Ethylene
Polyurethane
Others
Bookbinding Adhesives, Application Outlook (Revenue - USD Million, 2018 - 2030)
Hardcover and Softcover Books
Magazines and Catalogs
Print on Demand
Others
Bookbinding Adhesives, Regional Outlook (Revenue - USD Million, 2018 - 2030)
North America
U.S
Canada
Europe
Germany
UK
France
Italy
Spain
Russia
Netherlands
Asia Pacific
China
India
Japan
South Korea
Indonesia
Malaysia
Latin America
Argentina
Brazil
Mexico
Middle East & Africa
UAE
Saudi Arabia
Israel
South Africa
Companies Mentioned
H.B. Fuller Company
Henkel AG
Dow Chemical Company
Arkema Group
Avery Dennison Corporation
Beardow Adams
Sika AG
Jowat SE
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Sanyhot Adhesivos S.A.
Embagrap SA
Bostik
Franklin International
Lord Corporation
Hubei Huitian Adhesive Enterprise Co. Ltd.
Ashland.
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sgill2
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SOURCE Research and Markets
MarketsandMarkets Research Pvt. Ltd.
Chicago, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Weigh-in-Motion System Market is projected to reach USD 1.8 billion by 2027 from USD 1.1 billion in 2022, at a CAGR of 10.0% during the forecast period., according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets.
Browse and in-depth TOC on "Weigh-in-Motion System Market"
254 Tables
62 Figures
267 Pages
Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id= 242065043
Report Attributes Details Market size value in 2022: USD 1.1 billion Projected to reach 2027: USD 1.8 billion CAGR: 10.0% Base Year Considered: 2021 Forecast Period: 2022-2027 Largest Market: Europe Region Covered: Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and RoW Segments Covered: End-Use Industry, Component, Weighing Technology, Application, Installation Method, and Vehicle Speed. Companies Covered: Avery Weigh-Tronix (US), Mettler Toledo (US), Kistler Instruments AG (Switzerland), International Road Dynamics Inc. (Canada), and Q-Free ASA (Norway).
Increasing government initiatives toward intelligent transportation systems and increasing public-private partnerships (PPPs) is boosting the growth of the market for weigh-in-motion system. Road safety regulations by governments especially for Highway and Bridge infrastructure are expected to further fuel the growth of the Weigh-in-Motion System Market.
The highway toll segment is estimated to be the largest during the forecast period
The highway toll segment dominates the Weigh-in-Motion System Market, by end-use industries. The weigh-in-motion systems are mostly used for highway toll purposes to reduce traffic congestion while detecting overweight vehicles. Key technological innovations in ITS/TMS systems and stricter regulations posted for road usage for freight vehicles to prevent overloading and overspeeding and hence accidents and unexpected deterioration of road and associated infrastructure. Countries investing in ITS/TMS while building new roads and updating old infrastructure are key customers of WIM systems for highway toll and road safety segment.
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The Piezoelectric Sensor Technology-based weigh-in-motion system segment by weighing technology is expected to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period
The Piezoelectric Sensor Technology-based Weigh-In Motion systems are expected to have the highest demand growth during the forecast period. The reason for this is its implementation in high-speed systems which are being implemented across most of the new road infrastructure being built in the Asia Pacific, Europe, and North American regions. The focus on the implementation of ITS/TMS systems and traffic data collection and analysis across highways to make them safer for travel, and the necessity of doing so without interruption in the traffic flow is another key factor for the expected growth in demand of Piezoelectric Sensor Technology-based Weigh-In Motion systems during the forecast period.
Request Free Sample Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id= 242065043
Asia Pacific is estimated to register the fastest growth in the Weigh-In Motion System Market
Asia Pacific countries have started recognizing traffic solutions using weigh-in-motion systems and sensors to curb traffic congestion, automated toll, vehicle detection, traffic control, and traffic management. Traffic management projects are growing across the Asia Pacific, owing to the need to replace and upgrade conventional transportation systems. Following this, local and regional governments have implemented several traffic management projects, such as Gateway WA Perth Airport and Freight Access Project, Australia; Secondary National Roads Development Project (SNRDP), Philippines; Smart City Kochi, India; and Beijing Real-Time Traffic Information System, China. Such initiatives are projected to boost the demand for weigh-in-motion systems for traffic management in the Asia Pacific. Furthermore, road infrastructure development and ITS implementation in the region are expected to drive the demand for these systems. Consequently, Asia Pacific will likely be the fastest-growing region during the forecast period.
Key Market Players
The Weigh-in-Motion System Market is dominated by established players such as Avery Weigh-Tronix (US), Mettler Toledo (US), Kistler Instruments AG (Switzerland), International Road Dynamics Inc. (Canada), and Q-Free ASA (Norway). These companies adopted various strategies, such as new product developments, deals, and others to gain traction in the Weigh-in-Motion System Market.
Make an Inquiry: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id= 242065043
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CONTACT: About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com
Quick Train Canada provides demand-driven workforce training solutions across Agriculture & Agri-food, Indigenous engagement, Transportation, Construction, Clean Tech, and Natural Resources & Environment
HAMILTON, ON, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - Canadians from coast to coast to coast can now access fully funded microcredentials to help to increase skills and competencies and prepare them to meet the needs of Canada's shifting economy.
Today, the Government of Canada announced it is investing $46.5M in Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery (C2R2), a coalition led by Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology focused on developing demand-driven workforce training solutions for a clean economy through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP). As a result of this investment, C2R2 has launched Quick Train Canada, offering microcredentials from select accredited institutions across Canada targeted at upgrading skills in crucial sectors targeted at Canada's low-carbon economy - all at no cost to learners.
"The transition to the new low-carbon economy will demand a well-trained workforce and Canada's colleges and aligned institutions are well-equipped to develop and deliver the programs to prepare people for those exciting new careers," said Ron J. McKerlie, President and CEO of Mohawk College, where C2R2's administration and secretariat are managed. "The Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery coalition has developed Quick Train Canada to provide Canadians with a direct link to thousands of training and research opportunities to help Canadians access good jobs. We are excited to support the transition to the low carbon economy while fostering inclusion, diversity, and equity throughout the process."
Quick Train Canada provides Canadian workers and employers with options to update skills quickly, increasing job security and participation as Canada's economy transitions to more sustainable, low-carbon practices.
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Whether students are experienced tradespersons upgrading their skills to adapt to evolving green construction techniques, new graduates improving their understanding of sustainable manufacturing, or those planning for future clean-tech or electric vehicle-focused job opportunities, the comprehensive offering of courses provides flexible, targeted upskill opportunities for all Canadians.
"As Canada strives to meet its 2050 net-zero emissions target, there will be significant demand for professionals skilled in green building design, construction and deep-carbon retrofits," said Thomas Mueller, President and CEO of the Canada Green Building Council. "With jobs in the sector poised grow to 1.5 million by 2030, access to training for existing workers or new entrants to the sector is critical. Quick Train Canada can play an important role by making training accessible to more Canadians and help grow the workforce needed for the low-carbon economy."
The available microcredentials are offered in various formats, including hybrid, in-person, online at your own pace, or online scheduled, allowing learners to participate in courses that best suit their schedule. Over 25 microcredentials are available for Canadians to register, with additional ones added regularly. More courses will be added in Spring/Summer 2023 and further for next fall and into winter 2024.
With courses across Agriculture & Agri-food, Indigenous Engagement, Transportation, Construction, Clean Tech, and Natural Resources & Environment, Canadians can prepare for the jobs of tomorrow at Canada's Colleges today.
About Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery (C2R2)
Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery (C2R2) is a coalition of 14 highly aligned colleges, cegeps, institutes, and polytechnics across Canada with an established commitment to sustainability. The coalition members have come together as a driving force, providing the skills required to transition to a clean economy in Canada. They are positioned to support workforce upskilling and bridge the skills gap across Canada. C2R2's administration and secretariat are through Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario.
For more information and a complete list of available courses, visit quicktraincanada.ca or voierapidecanada.ca
SOURCE Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recover (C2R2)
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Changes in how China approaches managing its tech sector and financial markets will have significant implications for global investors and companies doing business there in 2023.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Capstone LLC is sharing its outlook on the most underappreciated policy developments that will play a big role in how investors and companies operate in China.
Capstone believes China's heavy-handed regulation of its tech industry is here to stay, despite market expectations the government's crackdown is near its end. In 2023, China will set and enforce policies that require technological development and innovation to occur hand-in-hand with the state. Private companies will have to abide by a higher "new normal" level of state integration in corporate governance and avoid conduct that runs afoul of the regulators or the Chinese Communist Party. They will also be encouraged to innovate, so long as they stay in line with CCP objectives. New rules proposed by Chinese authorities to streamline the initial public offering process, benefiting Chinese firms potentially seeking domestic listings, including ByteDance Ltd., Didi Chuxing Technology Co., and up-and-coming hardware and electric car manufacturers. The motivation for the new rules stems from China's desire to jumpstart its economy through the finance sector. While the rules will likely stimulate IPO activity, efforts to revive the finance sector will be hampered by US crackdowns on technology companies, as foreign scrutiny will discourage many firms from filing for IPOs.
Please access the following link to read Capstone's outlook on developments in China:
US-China Policy
China Domestic Market
China IPOs
For more information contact Daniel Kruger by Phone at (202) 350-4700 or E-mail: news@capstonedc.com
About Capstone
Capstone is a leading global policy analysis and regulatory due diligence firm with locations in Washington, DC, London, and Sydney. As developments in Washington, London, Brussels, and other centers of government become more crucial to investment strategies, legislation, regulatory reforms, and new federal oversight are affecting industries in evolving ways. We advise institutional investors and companies on how changes in state, federal, and international policy impact investments. Capstone has established leading coverage of public policy investments affecting financial and business services, energy and environment, healthcare, TMT, and more. Our professionals analyze policy to uncover risks, opportunities, and, along the way, unique business, and investment strategies for our clients.
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Contact: Daniel Kruger, Capstone
Phone: 202-350-4700
Email: news@capstonedc.com
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SOURCE Capstone LLC
Contrive Datum Insights Pvt Ltd
According to a market research study published by Contrive Datum Insights, Asia-Pacific is expected to lead the world market because the government is putting more money and time into smart city projects.
Farmington, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global CCTV Camera Market Size Was Valued At USD 31.88 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 35.47 Billion In 2022 To USD 105.20 Billion By 2030, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 16.8% During The Forecast Period. The COVID-19 pandemic has been shocking and has never happened before. When compared to levels before the pandemic, demand for CCTV cameras is lower than expected in all areas. According to our research, the global market for CCTV cameras will be 4.6% smaller in 2020 than it was in 2019.
A CCTV camera sends a signal to a certain place. It has a recorder and a set of screens that show what is going on in a company or store. It is often used to make places safer, like banks, financial institutions, schools, businesses, and public spaces.
Request Sample Copy of Report CCTV Camera Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth Opportunities, Future Trends, Covid-19 Impact, SWOT Analysis, Competition and Forecasts 2023 to 2030 , published by Contrive Datum Insights.
Recent Developments:
October 2020 : North American sugar manufacturers DouxMatox and Lantic announce a collaboration to provide a unique cane-based sugar reduction solution for food processing companies in North America.
October 2019: Parry's, a leading sugar manufacturer in India, launched natural brown sugar. This product is less processed and boasts micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron.
Segment Overview
Camera Type Insights:
Box CCTV, bullet CCTV, dome CCTV, C-mounted CCTV, PTZ cameras, and other types are available on the market (infrared camera). In 2021, the dome CCTV segment had the biggest share. This is mostly because these products are being used in more public places to protect government property. In India, Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited set up more than 350 high-end dome cameras to watch over the smart city in September 2022 as part of a government project. The market has grown because more people are moving to cities and the world's population is growing quickly.
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Technology Insights:
The number of businesses that use it is what makes the market grow.
The market is divided into analogue cameras, IP (network) cameras, and other kinds (wireless camera). In 2021, the analogue segment led the world market. This is mostly because of an increase in government projects for smart cities, which has led to a rise in both demand and adoption in public places.
End User Insights:
Most likely to use surveillance systems will be the BFSI sector, and the government sector will grow at an exponential rate.
There are different types of end users in the market, such as Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Homeland Security, Retail, Residential, Logistics & Transportation, Hospitality, Government, Commercial Spaces, and Others (energy & power). In 2021, the biggest part of the market was owned by BFSI. Most of this is because more banks are using cameras to protect their assets. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made it necessary for banks to have vigilance systems. These systems make sure that all bank transactions are watched, which stops mistakes and makes banks more open.
Regional Outlook:
Asia-Pacific is expected to lead the world market because the government is putting more money and time into smart city projects. According to the World Construction Report for 2021, China's investments in smart city projects that use advanced technologies reached about USD 30 billion in 2021 and are expected to reach USD 38.92 billion. Since smart cities are getting more money, this product is in high demand to protect government assets. Also, a UN report says that by 2021, about 540 million surveillance systems, or 54% of the world's cameras, will be in China. China is home to about 1.46 billion people, and for every 1,000 people who live there, there are about 372.8 cameras.
North America is growing at a moderate CAGR during the time frame of the forecast. This is because public places are asking for more and there are more projects to improve infrastructure. Also, the rising number of break-ins and thefts in the U.S. and Canada is likely to help the market grow. In 2021, there were about 91,628 burglaries in the United States, most of which happened in North Carolina, Washington, Colorado, and Ohio.
Europe is likely to grow at a moderate rate over the next few years. Europe buys surveillance systems from Asia-Pacific countries like China, Japan, and others. Several governments, including those in Germany, the UK, and France, are putting in place smart surveillance systems to protect their assets. The Analysis Report says that the U.K. has more than 5.2 million surveillance systems, with about one camera for every 13 people in public surveillance, residential surveillance, and doorbell systems. In the U.K., private homes and businesses run about 96% of the cameras.
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Scope of Report:
Report Attributes Details Growth Rate CAGR of 16.8% from 2023 to 2030. Revenue Forecast by 2030 USD 105.20 Billion By Camera Type Box CCTV, Bullet CCTV, Dome CCTV, C-Mounted, PTZ Camera, Others By Technology Analog, IP Camera, Others By End-user BFSI, Homeland Security, Retail, Residential, Logistics & Transportation, Hospitality, Government, Commercial Spaces, Others By Companies Bosch Security Systems Inc. (U.S.), Honeywell Security Group (U.S.), Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Axis Communications AB (Sweden), Mobotix AG (Germany), Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Panasonic System Networks Co., Ltd. (Japan), Geovision Inc. (Germany), Sony electronics Ltd. (Japan), FLIR Systems Inc. (U.S.) Regions and Countries Covered North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America)
Europe(Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe)
Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific)
The Middle East & Africa(Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)
Latin America(Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America)
Rest Of the World Base Year 2022 Historical Year 2017 to 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2030
Latest Trends:
The growing use of AI-based cameras in businesses and public places will drive market growth.
These cameras have advanced technologies like AI and deep learning built in. With artificial intelligence (AI), you can do things like find faces, record network video, and more. These work with technology and give better 360-degree vision in the surveillance industries. Several of the biggest companies on the market are making advanced surveillance systems that use artificial intelligence (AI) to meet the growing need for security in public places.
Driving Factors:
Security systems are being put in more and more homes and businesses grows the market.
CCTV cameras are used to keep people safe in homes and businesses all over the world. It was made with high-tech tools like infrared, artificial intelligence, and deep learning to make public and private spaces safer. Also, more homes and businesses are getting broken into, and more people are learning about surveillance cameras, which helps the market grow.
Restraining Factors:
Concerns about data security and video surveillance slow the market's growth.
People are likely to buy less because they are worried about their privacy and how to keep video data safe from hackers and thieves. There is a high chance that data from camera recorders in the public cloud will be misused, and because of the number of data breaches, organisations can't store video footage. Networked video surveillance systems are more likely to be attacked, and hackers use Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks to shut down certain systems. Also, the growth of the market is slowed by how much it costs to make systems based on new technology.
Key Segments Covered:
Top Market Players:
Bosch Security Systems Inc. (U.S.), Honeywell Security Group (U.S.), Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Axis Communications AB (Sweden), Mobotix AG (Germany), Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Panasonic System Networks Co., Ltd. (Japan), Geovision Inc. (Germany), Sony electronics Ltd. (Japan), FLIR Systems Inc. (U.S.), and others.
By Camera Type
Box CCTV
Bullet CCTV
Dome CCTV
C-Mounted
PTZ Camera
Others
By Technology
IP Camera
Analog
Others
By End-User
BFSI
Homeland Security
Retail
Residential
Logistics & Transportation
Hospitality
Government
Commercial Spaces
Others
Regions and Countries Covered
North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America)
Europe: (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe)
Asia-Pacific: (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific)
The Middle East & Africa: (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)
Latin America: (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America)
Rest Of the World
Check out more related studies published by Contrive Datum Insights:
Medical Devices Market - The Global Medical Devices Market Size Was Valued At USD 488.98 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 495.46 Billion In 2022 To USD 718.92 Billion By 2030, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 5.5% During The Forecast Period.
Fuel Additives Market - The Global Fuel Additives Market Size Was USD 8.14 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 8.62 Billion In 2022 To USD 12.87 Billion In 2030 at a CAGR Of 5.9% During The 2022-2029 Period.
Oilfield Chemicals Market - The Global Oilfield Chemicals Market Size Was Valued At USD 16.95 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 18 Billion In 2022 To USD 29.27 Billion By 2030, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 7.2% During The Forecast Period.
Customization of the Report: The report can be customized as per client needs or requirements.For any queries, you can contact us on anna@contrivedatuminsights.com or +1 215-297-4078. Our sales executives will be happy to understand your needs and provide you with the most suitable reports.
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Registration is now open for this unique cycling fundraising event, which will take over the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway on Sunday, June 4, 2023
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - The Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health in support of Baycrest - the epic fundraising ride on Toronto's Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway - is returning for its second year. On Sunday, June 4, 2023, thousands of riders will come together to raise critical funding and awareness in support of Baycrest's goal of defeating dementia.
Bike for Brain Health (CNW Group/Baycrest)
"More than 1.1 million people in Canada are directly or indirectly impacted by dementia and there is no cure for this devastating disease," explains Josh Cooper, President and CEO, Baycrest Foundation. "But at Baycrest, we're working to unlock the mysteries of the aging brain. Baycrest is a hub for more than 300 researchers working to prevent, detect and treat dementia across Canada and the Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health in support of Baycrest plays a massive role in supporting this work, helping give all Canadians the tools they need to Fear No Age."
The Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health in support of Baycrest is geared towards recreational and endurance riders alike, with the choice of three distinct routes: 25km, 50km and 75km. New for this year is the addition of a timed 75km route for the most competitive distance riders, which will begin in advance of the main ride.
Riders can participate on their own, with a team of friends or family, or as part of a corporate team. Registration is now open at www.bikeforbrainhealth.ca .
The Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health in support of Baycrest encourages Canadians to get active to fuel brain health. In fact, Baycrest research shows that just 150 minutes of exercise per week helps delay the onset of Alzheimer's and related dementias.
"The chance to ride along a traffic-free Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway, to raise much-needed funds for a critically important cause and to incentivize physical activity make the Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health in support of Baycrest a can't-miss event," concludes Cooper. "We're so thankful to the City of Toronto for their ongoing support and partnership - and to the thousands of Torontonians who will join us on June 4."
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About Baycrest
Baycrest is a global leader in geriatric residential living, healthcare, research, innovation and education, with a special focus on brain health and aging. Baycrest is home to a robust research and innovation network, including one of the world's top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience, the Rotman Research Institute; the scientific headquarters of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, Canada's largest national dementia research initiative; and the Baycrest-powered Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, a solution accelerator focused on driving innovation in the aging and brain health sector. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest provides excellent care for older adults combined with an extensive clinical training program for the next generation of healthcare professionals. Through these initiatives, Baycrest has remained at the forefront of the fight to defeat dementia as our organization works to create a world where every older adult enjoys a life of purpose, inspiration and fulfillment. Founded in 1918 as the Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home, Baycrest continues to embrace the long-standing tradition of all great Jewish healthcare institutions to improve the well-being of people in their local communities and around the globe. For more information please visit: www.baycrest.org
Bike for Brain Health Logo (CNW Group/Baycrest)
SOURCE Baycrest
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TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - The Climate Governance Initiative has launched its 'Approved Course' curriculum for climate-related educational courses. Following a robust review process, Chapter Zero Canada, part of the Institute of Corporate Directors in Canada, has become the first of the Initiative's Chapters to have its course for board directors approved.
Climate Governance Initiative logo for Approved Course (CNW Group/Institute of Corporate Directors)
Developed by experts in the Initiative's network, the curriculum supports Chapters to produce consistent training for directors that equip directors to address risks and opportunities related to climate change and develop effective corporate strategies for climate action.
Courses approved against the curriculum are regularly reviewed, ensuring directors receive training that is aligned with new developments in climate science, regulation and effective climate governance practices.
"This recognition is a testament to the Institute of Corporate Directors' commitment to addressing the pressing issue of climate change and the efforts to equip directors and boards with the knowledge and tools they need to drive positive change as well as good corporate performance," says Rahul Bhardwaj, President and CEO of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
"We believe this course delivers a high standard in climate governance education, and we're pleased to be shaping the future of climate governance alongside the Climate Governance Initiative."
Emily Farnworth, Director, Centre for Climate Engagement, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge and Head of the Secretariat for the Climate Governance Initiative, says: "Credible and director-targeted climate governance knowledge is essential for driving effective long-term strategy in the boardroom."
"Chapter Zero Canada has developed a course that highlights its commitment to building the capacity of Canada-based directors on climate-related topics. We are delighted to confirm its alignment with the Climate Governance Initiative's curriculum."
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Chapter courses that receive Approved Course status are identifiable by a badge on the Chapter website. More information on Approved Course status, including the topics covered by the curriculum and the review process, can be found here.
The next cohort of Chapter Zero Canada's course, Board Oversight of Climate Change, launches on May 2, 2023.
About the Climate Governance Initiative
The Climate Governance Initiative mobilises boards of directors around the world to address climate change in their businesses. We do this by developing and supporting national associations that equip their members with the skills and knowledge needed to make climate a boardroom priority, building on the World Economic Forum's Principles for Effective Climate Governance.
More information on joining regional Chapters can be found here.
About the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD)
Established in 1981, the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) is a not-for-profit, member-based organization representing Canadian directors and boards across the for-profit, not-for-profit and Crown sectors.
As Canada's largest director community, the ICD creates forums for dialogue, hosts networking opportunities and provides access to world-class resources for more than 16,500 members across a network of 11 Chapters. Members who successfully complete the ICD-Rotman Director Education Program (DEP) and ICD-led examination process earn the highly recognized ICD.D designation.
ICD members provide board oversight across all sectors of the economy and institutions that impact the lives of virtually every Canadian. Learn more at icd.ca.
SOURCE Institute of Corporate Directors
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Rise in popularity of server virtualization & remote control, and increase in adoption of data center rack technology across enterprises to enhance the operation & productivity drive the global data center rack market.
PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Data Center Rack Market by Component (Solution, Service), by Rack Type (Cabinets/ Enclosed Racks, Open Frame Rack), by Data Center Size (Large Data Centers, Small and Mid-sized Data Centers), by Rack Height (42U and Below, 43U up to 52U, Above 52U), by Industry Vertical (BFSI, Manufacturing, IT and Telecom, Retail, Healthcare, Media and Entertainment, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031." According to the report, the global data center rack industry generated $3.9 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $9.5 billion by 2031 witnessing a CAGR of 9.7% 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.
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Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities:
Rise in popularity of server virtualization & remote control, and increase in adoption of data center rack technology across enterprises to enhance the operation & productivity drive the global data center rack market. However , improper power management, UPS battery failures, and data security , restrict the market growth. On the other hand, stringent security requirement and increase in demand for more compact and scalable server types will present new growth opportunities for the global graphene electronics market in the coming years.
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COVID-19 Scenario:
The COVID-19 outbreak positively impacted the data center rack market , as data center rack technologies helped enterprises to address the extensive capacity demand data storage.
Moreover, the pandemic was opportunistic for the data center rack market forecast , as organizations across the globe adopted data center rack to enable their business objective during work from home initiatives.
On the other hand, the demand for data center rack services decreased in some nations. For instance, in the Middle East, the simultaneous effects of COVID-19 and significant drops in oil prices had a variety of economic consequences throughout the Gulf region. They significantly provoked the demand shock of a hydrocarbon industry, which reduced the demand for data center rack service in the region.
However, surge in investments in data analytics, rise in adoption of AI and ML, advent of autonomous vehicles & drones, and rise in need for tracking real-time information are expected to boost the data center rack market trends in the post-pandemic.
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The cabinets/enclosed racks segment to dominate in terms of revenue during the forecast period:
On the basis of rack type, the cabinets/enclosed racks segment contributed to the largest share of around two-thirds of the global data center rack market revenue, and is expected to retain its dominance by 2031. Also, the same segment would portray the fastest CAGR of 10.6% during the forecast period. This is due to the rise in prominence of data center racks and cabinets as essential components of the IT infrastructure of business.
The solution segment to rule the roost:
Based on component, the solution segment garnered the highest share in 2021, holding more than two-thirds of the global data center rack market revenue, and is expected to retain its dominance by 2031. This is due to advances in technologies enabling data center rack to transform industries including manufacturing, healthcare, and others. However, the service segment is projected to witness highest CAGR of 11.5% from 2022 to 2031. The adoption of data center rack services enhances software implementation, maximize the value of existing installation by optimizing it, and minimize the deployment cost and risks. These factors are projected to fuel the segment's growth.
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The 42U and below segment to dominate the market during the forecast period:
In terms of rack height, the 42U and below segment contributed to the largest share of nearly three-fifths of the global data center rack market in 2021, and is expected to maintain progressive growth during the forecast period. It is compatible with a wide variety of servers and rack-mountable networking equipment, which drives the segment. However, the 43U up to 52U segment would portray the fastest CAGR of 12.0% during the forecast period. Due to rising space of organization, rack sizes have increased to accommodate a greater number of racks.
North America region garnered the major share in 2021:
By region, North America accounted for the highest share in 2021, holding nearly half of the global data center rack market revenue, and is projected to rule the roost by 2031. The rising investment in advanced technologies such as data center rack to improve business and costumer experience are anticipated to provide ample growth opportunities for the data center rack market in North America. The Asia-Pacific region, simultaneously, would portray the fastest CAGR of 12.6% during the forecast period. This is attributed to increase in penetration of digitalization and higher adoption of advanced technology that propel the growth of the market in this region.
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Leading Market Players:
Oracle Corporation
Dell Technologies Inc.
Rittal GmbH & Co. KG
Great Lakes Data Racks & Cabinets
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
Fujitsu
Black Box
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
Schneider Electric
Eaton Corporation
Trending Reports in ICT & Media Industry:
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Green Data Center Market Expected to Reach $303.9 Billion by 2031
Data Center Automation Market Expected to Reach $32.5 Billion by 2030
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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
HONG KONG, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Doo Group's subsidiary company, Doo Financial HK Limited (Central entity no.: BSM562), marks another milestone in its journey with the obtainment of Type 4 (Advising on Securities) and Type 9 (Asset Management) licenses issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HK SFC).
Providing Professional Services Under The Supervision Of Prominent Financial Regulator
The HK SFC is one of the Hong Kong financial regulators. While the objectives, functions, powers and duties of the SFC are set out in the SFO.
Upon obtaining the Type 4 (Advising on Securities) and Type 9 (Asset Management) licenses issued by the HK SFC, Doo Financial HK Limited is allowed to provide clients with the following services:
1. Type 4 (Advising on Securities)
a. giving advice on
i. whether;
ii. which;
iii. the time at which; or
iv. the terms or conditions on which, securities should be acquired or disposed of; or
b. issuing analyses or reports, for the purposes of facilitating the recipients of the analyses or reports to make decisions on
i. Whether;
ii. Which;
iii. the time at which; or
iv. the terms or conditions on which, securities are to be acquired or disposed of,
For further information, please refer to Cap. 571 Securities and Futures Ordinance Schedule 5 Regulated Activities: https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap571!zh-Hant-HK
2. Type 9 (Asset Management)
a. real estate investment scheme management; or
b. securities or futures contracts management
A Significant Milestone In Doo Group's Global Journey In Achieving Financial Diversity
Over the past eight years, Doo Group has been unleashing the spirit of never stop exploring, turning challenges into opportunities. The obtainment of the Type 4 and Type 9 licenses is a great stride of Doo Group in building a global cohesive financial ecosystem. In the future, Doo Group will continue to venture further towards a better and prosperous future.
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For more information, visit us at www.doogroup.com
Email: marketing@doogroup.com
SOURCE Doo Group
Starting from 2045 hours on February 21 to 0120 hours on February 22, using sniper rifles and other various calibers of weapons, units of the Armenian armed forces stationed in the directions of Chinarli settlement of the Tovuzgala region and Birali settlement of Vedi region shelled positions of the Azerbaijani army in Tovuz District's Aghdam settlement and Sadarak District of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azernews reports per Defense Ministry.
Moreover, members of an illegal Armenian armed detachment in the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, shelled Azerbaijani Army positions in Tazakand settlement of the Kalbajar District, Shusha city and Khojavand District.
The Azerbaijan Army Units took adequate retaliatory measures.
Armenia shells Azerbaijani military positions along the state border on a regular basis. Since early September, Azerbaijani positions have been repeatedly targeted by the Armenian forces.
The biggest border clashes between the sides since the 44-day war in 2020 started during the night of September 12 to 13, when the Armenian armed forces carried out large-scale provocations along the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border in Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin directions.
Following the October 6 meeting in Prague between the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders under the auspices of EU Council President Charles Michel and French President Emmanuel Macron, all sides reiterated their commitment to peace talks while recognizing each other's territorial integrity.
- MSP's First New York Location is World-Renowned Dermatology Center -
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - MedSpa Partners Inc. ("MSP") is proud to welcome Dr. Doris Day and her team to its top-tier North American medical aesthetics platform. Located in Manhattan's Upper East Side, Day Dermatology & Aesthetics is a world leader in providing the highest degree of personalized care to their discerning patients.
MedSpa Partners Inc (CNW Group/MedSpa Partners Inc.)
A true multidisciplinary professional, Dr. Day wears the hats of board-certified dermatologist, author, radio show host, medical journalist, and clinical researcher just to name a few. Driven by a relentless passion for learning, she has spent decades studying anatomy and the aging process, developing a deep understanding of both the physical and emotional factors of beauty. Translating this knowledge into practice, Dr. Day emphasizes a personalized and balanced treatment approach that helps patients look and feel rejuvenated at all ages, without compromising their uniqueness.
Speaking on her reasons for joining MedSpa Partners, Dr. Day shared, "I had felt for a while that having to spend so much time as a business owner was limiting my creativity and growth as a dermatologist. And while I hadn't really been looking to partner with an acquisition group, when a trusted colleague joined MSP and told me how happy he was with his decision, I decided to talk to them. Meeting Dominic helped me realize that having the support of the right group can help me grow further than I could on my own, while allowing me to focus on being the doctor that I want to be. All of my conversations with the team at MSP have been focused on understanding how I want to grow, how I want to practice, and on how they can help me get there. MSP gets high-value cosmetic medicine, and they want to support doctors that want to deliver that."
MSP CEO Dominic Mazzone commented, "Even after consistent announcements of some of the biggest names in the world of medical aesthetics joining MedSpa Partners, I still get excited every time a new partner joins MSP. But today's announcement is particularly exciting. Dr. Doris Day is a phenomenon. There aren't many people who can effortlessly switch back and forth between being one of the most influential thought leaders in cosmetic dermatology and giving Kelly Ripa laughing gas on live national TV. This is what makes Dr. Day so truly unique not only has she spent decades at the forefront of her field, but she also has a remarkable talent for being able to communicate her knowledge in ways that all of us can understand and benefit from. And even with this unparalleled list of accomplishments, Dr. Day continues to be one of the most genuine people I have ever met. It has been such a pleasure getting to know her, and we are excited and inspired by the vision that she brings to MSP."
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About MedSpa Partners Inc.
MedSpa Partners is acquiring North America's leading Medical Aesthetics clinics, with the goal of allowing our industry-leading partners to achieve their personal and professional aspirations by creating world-class customer experiences through support, collaboration, and community. MSP is a portfolio company of Persistence Capital Partners, the leading private equity fund exclusively focused on high-growth opportunities in the healthcare field. Additional information on MSP is available at www.medspapartners.com.
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CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Edible Oils Market is projected to reach USD 268.9 billion by 2027 from USD 212.6 billion by 2022, recording a CAGR of 4.8% from 2022 to 2027 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. With the increasing population across the world coupled with lifestyle changes, there is a growing consumption of processed foods. Edible oils are one of the main ingredients used in processed foods. Moreover, with the ongoing research and development of novel products, such as confectionery and bakery items, ready-to-eat foods, and fast foods the role of edible oils in increasing the taste has become more significant. The constantly evolving food processing sector is further creating a huge demand for edible oils during the study period.
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The soybean oils segment is the fastest growing among the oil type of global edible oils during the forecast period
In a time of growing food costs and concerns regarding the impact of climate change on the world's food supply, soy products could prove to be a bright light. Soybean oil has a neutral flavor and is a popular cooking oil with a variety of uses in the kitchen. It is a multifunctional component that enables home chefs and food service professionals to reduce their food expenses by maximizing its use in different recipes. In addition to being used for frying, sauteing, and baking, soybean oil can also be used as an ingredient in sauces, dressings, and soups. As consumers become more aware of the health benefits of soy, demand for soybean oil is expected to grow.
The United States is the second-largest exporter of soybeans in the world and one of the top producers of the crop. Despite shifting consumer priorities, U.S. Soy is still significant. Foods made from soy, which are already common in Asian cuisines, are currently experiencing increased popularity due to the growing demand for plant-based meals. According to a study conducted in China in 2021 titled "Consumer intention to purchase GM soybean oil in China: effects of information consistency and source credibility," 17.36% of Chinese consumers increased their intention to purchase GM soybean oil as a result of consistent, accurate, and new information about GM soy products.
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Advanced biotechnological research, and government policies supporting the growth of GM products aid in persuading consumers to purchase GM soybean oil. In order to fulfil the rising domestic and international demand for soybean oil, the major market players are also boosting their capacity for production. In November 2022, Cargill, Incorporated and Owensboro Grain Company, a fifth-generation family-owned soybean processing facility and refinery, signed a formal agreement in which Cargill included Owensboro Grain Company (OGC) into its North American agricultural supply chain business, providing opportunities for the former's soybean oil business to scale. In April 2022, ADM disclosed a growth investment to expand the capacity of its oilseed facility in Mainz, Germany, to process non-GMO soybeans.
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Europe is projected to hold the second-largest share in the global edible oils market in 2027
In Europe, rapeseed is a crucial oilseed crop. The continent is a world leader in rapeseed oil production. A study titled, 'The Rapeseed Potential in Poland and Germany in the Context of Production, Legislation, and Intellectual Property Rights', published in 2019, highlighted the potential for further rapeseed market development in the European Union (EU) with a focus on Poland (12% of EU production) and Germany (19% of EU production). Increased rapeseed production and cultivation areas are key factors for the expansion. Rapeseed oil is expected to continue to gain market share in Europe owing to investments in research and development (R&D) of the crop, as indicated by the figures for European patent publications and Community Plant Variety Rights.
The key players in edible oils market include Cargill, Incorporated (US); Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM); Bunge Limited (US); Louis Dreyfus Company (Netherlands); Wilmar International Limited (Singapore); and Adani Wilmar Limited (AWL) (India); Associated British Foods PLC (ABF) (UK); Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (Malaysia); and Borges International Group, S.L.U. (Spain).
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Browse Adjacent Reports @ Food and Beverage Market Research Reports & Consulting
Related Reports:
Fats and Oils Market by Type (Vegetable Oils (Palm, Soybean, Rapeseed, Sunflower, and Olive), Fats (Butter, Tallow, and Lard)), Application (Food and Industrial), Source (Vegetables and Animals), Form, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026
Global Vegetable Oil Market (Edible & Industrial), by Types, Application, Geography & Extraction Methods-Forecasts up to 2017
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ReportLinker
FMCG Logistics Market in Europe 2023-2027. The analyst has been monitoring the FMCG logistics market in Europe and is forecast to grow by $40.18 bn during 2022-2027, accelerating at a CAGR of 4% during the forecast period.
New York, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Europe FMCG Logistics Market 2023-2027" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06420578/?utm_source=GNW
Our report on the FMCG logistics market in Europe provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors.
The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by the increasing adoption of technology in the logistics industry, the growing FMCG industry in Europe, and the growing e-commerce market in Europe.
The FMCG logistics market in Europe is segmented as below:
By Service
Transportation
Warehousing
VAS
By Product
Food and beverages
Personal and beauty care
Health and hygiene care
Home care
This study identifies the increasing M&A in logistics industry as one of the prime reasons driving the FMCG logistics market growth during the next few years. Also, the growing focus on truck platooning by logistics vendors and increasing adoption of sharing economy will lead to sizable demand in the market.
The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our report on the FMCG logistics market in Europe covers the following areas:
FMCG logistics market sizing
FMCG logistics market forecast
FMCG logistics market industry analysis
This robust vendor analysis is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading FMCG logistics market vendors that include Agility Public Warehousing Co. K.S.C.P, Bertelsmann SE and Co. KGaA, Brambles Ltd., C H Robinson Worldwide Inc., CEVA Logistics AG, DACHSER SE, Deutsche Bahn AG, Deutsche Post AG, DSV AS, FedEx Corp., Hellmann Worldwide Logistics SE and Co KG, Kuehne Nagel Management AG, Nippon Express Holdings Inc., PSA International Pte Ltd., SNCF Group, United Parcel Service Inc., UNIVERSAL LOGISTICS HOLDINGS INC., and XPO Logistics Inc. Also, the FMCG logistics market in Europe analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage all forthcoming growth opportunities.
The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors.
The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research - both primary and secondary. Technavios market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast the accurate market growth.
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The Insight Partners
Fluoropolymers Market is driven by increasing usage in packaging materials for lithium-ion batteries and used to produce medical implants and catheters.
New York, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Insight Partners published latest research study on Fluoropolymers Market Size, Growth and Forecast to 2028- COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Type [Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene Copolymer (ETFE), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Perfluoro Alkoxy (PFA), Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF), Fluoroethylene Propylene (FEP), and Others], End User (Industrial Equipment, Automotive, Construction, Electrical & Electronics, Medical, and Others), and Geography. the market is expected to grow from US$ 7 billion in 2022 to US$ 10 billion by 2028; it is estimated to register a CAGR of 5.2% from 2022 to 2028.
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Global Fluoropolymers Market Report Scope, Segmentations, Regional & Country Scope:
Market Size Value in US$ 7 Billion in 2022 Market Size Value by US$ 10 Billion by 2028 Growth rate CAGR of 5.2% from 2022 to 2028 Forecast Period 2022-2028 Base Year 2022 No. of Pages 150 Historical data available Yes Segments covered Type, End User, and Geography Global Fluoropolymers Market Forecast to 2028 - Latest COVID-19 Analysis https://www.theinsightpartners.com/covid-analysis-sample/TIPRE00011406/
Rising Demand in Healthcare Sector
Healthcare spendings of people are increasing significantly due to prevalence of various diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, and increasing purchasing power of consumers, as well as rising aging population. According to American Medical Association, healthcare spending in the US accounted for US$ 4.1 trillion in 2020, which is equal to US$ 12,530 per capita. People are significantly investing in healthcare products for disease prevention. Moreover, modern healthcare facilities are available due to transforming healthcare industry across developed and developing economies.
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Fluoropolymers are widely used to manufacture medical implants, tubes, surgical tools, and catheters due to their non-porous structure. They are non-reactive and resistant to corrosion from acids and alkalis, making them ideal for manufacturing medical devices. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is used in the inner lining of catheters used in cardiology and neurology due to its low friction property. Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) is used for vascular access sheaths and shrink tubing. Thus, the rapidly progressing healthcare industry is significantly driving the growth of the global fluoropolymers market.
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Fluoropolymers Market: Competitive Landscape and Key Developments
3M; AGC Chemicals Americas; Daikin Industries, Ltd.; Fluoroseals SpA; GFL Ltd; Halopolymer; Saint-Gobain; Solvay; Shandong Dongyue Polymer Material Co., Ltd; and The Chemours Company are among the key players operating in the fluoropolymers market. These companies are adopting various strategies such as product innovation, expansion, collaboration, and merger & acquisition to expand their customer base and cater to emerging market trends. In April 2020, AGC Chemicals launched a new product Fluon+ mPEEK which is a polyether ether ketone modified with specialty fluoropolymers to improve its impact and wear resistance, flexibility, and electrical properties. Such innovative products are expected to provide lucrative opportunities to the fluoropolymer manufacturers over the forecast period.
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Fluoropolymers Market: Segmental Overview
Based on type, the fluoropolymers market is segmented into ethylene tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), perfluoro alkoxy (PFA), poly vinylidene fluoride (PVDF), fluoroethylene propylene (FEP), and others. The polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) segment held the largest market share in 2021. PTFE fluoropolymers have low dielectric constant, high thermal stability, and high electric insulation. They are widely used in the electrical & electronics industry for insulation of wires. Moreover, due to the high chemical stability, they are used as a non-stick coating material for cookware and bakeware. In the oil & gas industry, they are used in the inner lining of pipes and tanks. They are also used to manufacture gaskets and seals. The rising demand for PTFE fluoropolymers from various end-use industries is driving the market for the segment.
Based on end user, the fluoropolymers market is segmented into industrial equipment, automotive, construction, electrical & electronics, medical, and others. The automotive segment accounted for the largest market share in 2021 and the healthcare segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR from 2022 to 2028. The manufacturers of fluoropolymers are making significant investments in launching new products to cater the rising demand in the healthcare industry. For instance, in March 2020, Zeus Industrial introduced a new product, StreamLiner OTW, which is an extruded PTFE catheter liner. With the launch of this product, the company is expecting to expand its foothold across the healthcare industry. Thus, the rising strategic initiatives by key players to meet the increasing demand for fluoropolymers in the healthcare industry is driving the market growth. In 2021, businesses started recovering with relaxation in social restrictions by various governments. A shift in consumer preferences and the successful implementation of mass vaccination drives further favored the resurgence of business activities in 2021. As a result of reviving economies, the Fluoropolymers market is also expected to grow significantly in the coming years as major chemical manufacturers have resumed their operations and normal production capacities.
Asia Pacific held the largest share of the fluoropolymers market in 2021. The growth of automotive industry in the region is one of the significant factors driving the market growth. According to International Trade Administration (ITA), China is one of the largest automobile markets in terms of production output and annual vehicle sale. With rising population and increasing purchasing power of people in Asia Pacific countries, the demand for vehicles is also increasing. Fluoropolymers are widely used to manufacture automotive parts and components due to their unmatched temperature and chemical resistance. Thus, the rapidly advancing automotive industry across Asia Pacific coupled with increasing utilization of fluoropolymers in the automotive industry are a few key factors propelling the fluoropolymers market growth.
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Impact Of COVID-19 Pandemic on Fluoropolymers Market
The COVID-19 outbreak adversely affected many industries, including the chemicals & materials industry. The governments of various countries imposed lockdowns, travel bans, and border restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. This halted the production of many companies operating in the chemicals & materials industry, creating supply shortages. Moreover, due to severe supply chain disruptions, raw material sourcing became difficult, creating a significant raw material shortage. The fluoropolymers market also witnessed a similar impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many production facilities remained closed under government mandates, which hampered the overall production volume of companies operating in the fluoropolymers market. Moreover, as the end-use industries such as construction, automotive, and transportation were adversely affected, there was a slowdown in demand for fluoropolymers, which resulted in a decline in profits of many small-scale, mid-scale, and large-scale companies.
However, the healthcare industry witnessed a significant boom because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fluoropolymer tubing is widely used in various medical equipment such as catheters, bio-containment vessels, syringes, and sutures. This factor had a positive impact on the fluoropolymers market growth during 2020. Further, in 2021, the global marketplace witnessed a positive recovery, and governments announced the relaxation of their previously imposed restrictions. Manufacturers were permitted to operate at full capacity, which helped them overcome the demand and supply gap. Fluoropolymer manufacturers focused on increasing their production capabilities to maximize their profits, which is expected to further boost the fluoropolymers market growth over the forecast period.
Browse Adjoining Reports:
Fluoropolymer Coatings Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Resin Type (Polytetrafluoroethylene, Polyvinylidene Fluoride, Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene, Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene, Perfluoroalkoxy Alkanes, Polyvinyl Fluoride, Other Resin Types) ; Application Sector (Industrial, Building and Construction, Automotive, Food Processing, Aviation and Aerospace, Electrical, Cookware, Other Application Sectors) and Geography
Fluorine Carbon Coatings Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Polymer Type (Polytetrafluoroethylene Coatings, Polyvinylidene Fluoride Coatings, Fluoropolymer Based Coatings, Others); Application (Construction, Chemicals, Manufacturing, Others) and Geography
Specialty Film Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Resin (Polyester, Nylon, Polyacrylamide, Fluoropolymer, Polyimide, Polyolefin, Others); Function (Barrier, Conduction and Insulation, Microporous, Safety and Security, Others); End-user Industry (Packaging, Personal Care, Electrical and Electronics, Transportation, Construction, Others) and Geography
Industrial Specialty Coatings Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Resin (Acrylic, Polyurethane, Epoxy, Polyester, Fluoropolymers, Others); Technology (Solvent-based, Water-based, Powder Coating, Others); End-Use Industry (General Industrial, Marine Protective, Automotive, Aerospace, Packaging, Others) and Geography
High Temperature Polymers Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Type (Fluoropolymers, Polyimides, Polyphenylene Sulfide, Polybenzimidazole (PBI), Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK), Others); Applications (Electronics and Electrical, Transportation, Others) and Geography
High Temperature Thermoplastics Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Resin Type (High Temperature Fluoropolymers, High Performance Polyamide, Polyphenylene Sulfide, Polyimides (PI), Others); Polymer Type (Amorphous Polymers, Semi-crystalline Polymers); End-Use Industry (Transportation, Electrical and Electronics, Medical, Industrial, Others) and Geography
Heat Resistant Polymers Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Type (Flouropolymers, Polyimides, Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS), Polybenzimidazole, Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK), Others); End use industry (Automotive, Electrical and Electronics, Industrial Equipments, Home Appliances, Marine, Aerospace and Defence, Others) and Geography
Electronics Bonding Wire Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type (Gold Bonding Wire, Copper Bonding Wire, Silver Bonding Wire, Palladium Coated Copper Bonding Wire, Others); Application (IC, Transistor, Others) and Geography
Wire and Cable Polymers Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Product Type (Thermoplastic Resins, Thermoplastic Elastomers, Thermoset Elastomers, Plastic/Polymer Optic Fiber); End-User Industry (Electronics Wire and Cable, Power Transmission Wire and Cable, Building Wire and Cable, Apparatus Wire and Cable, Magnet Wire and Cable, Fiber Optic Wire and Cable, Others) and Geography
Insulated Wire and Cable Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Installation (Overhead, Underground, Submarine); Material (Optical Fiber, Plastic, Metal); Volatge (High Voltage, Medium Voltage, Low Voltage); End-User (Electronics, Telecommunications, Automotive, Energy and Power, Others) and Geography
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The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials.
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PISCATAWAY, N.J. and SINGAPORE, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GenScript ProBio, a leading global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), and RVAC Medicines Pte. Ltd., a biotechnology company focusing on the development and commercialization of messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced an agreement to establish a strategic partnership for the manufacturing of GMP-grade plasmid DNA (pDNA) for its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate, RVM-V001, along with collaboration for future therapeutic pipelines.
GenScript ProBio will provide GMP plasmid manufacturing service for RVAC Medicines' program, RVM-V001. This partnership will enable to accelerate its clinical manufacturing of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, RVM-V001, and future mRNA-based vaccines targeting infectious diseases such as Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Clostriodioides difficile infection (CDI).
Dr. Brian Min, CEO of GenScript ProBio said, "We are delighted to enter into this strategic partnership with RVAC Medicines. This collaboration will enable us to utilize our cutting-edge GMP plasmid manufacturing platform technology to support the development of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine and its therapeutic candidates."
Dr. Sean Fu, CEO of RVAC Medicines said, "We are excited to work closely with GenScript ProBio. With its technical strength and customer centric approach, GenScript ProBio will help to accelerate the development of RVAC's pipeline."
As RVAC advances the development of its mRNA candidates, GenScript ProBio continues to provide high-quality GMP materials critical to the mission, including plasmid DNA and the development of ancillary materials to support mRNA manufacturing process. In addition to the manufacturing of plasmid DNA, the GenScript ProBio team provides consultative and expert guidance regarding quality and regulatory expectations of agencies worldwide.
RVAC Medicines will continue to collaborate with GenScript ProBio to support its mRNA initiatives for both clinical-stage development and commercial stage.
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About RVAC Medicines
RVAC Medicines is an mRNA platform company headquartered in Singapore with R&D centers in Boston, MA and Shanghai, CN. Leveraging its mRNA technology and strategic partnerships, the company is building a pipeline of novel mRNA vaccines and therapeutics to address unmet medical needs, particularly in emerging markets. The company is led by an experienced management team, supported by a world-renowned scientific advisory board.
For more information, please visit www.rvacmed.com.
About GenScript ProBio
GenScript ProBio, a subsidiary of GenScript Biotech Corporation, offers end-to-end CDMO services from drug discovery to commercialization with proactive strategies, professional solutions and efficient processes in CGT, vaccine, biologics discovery and antibody protein drug, aiming to accelerate drug development for customers. GenScript ProBio has established companies in the United States, the Netherlands, South Korea, and China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Nanjing) and other regions to serve global customers, and has helped customers in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific and other regions obtain more than 40 IND approvals since October 2017.
For more information, please visit www.genscriptprobio.com.
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SOURCE GenScript ProBio
ReportLinker
Global Electrical Hospital Beds Market 2023-2027. The analyst has been monitoring the electrical hospital beds market and is forecast to grow by $926.78 mn during 2022-2027, accelerating at a CAGR of 6.19% during the forecast period.
New York, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Electrical Hospital Beds Market 2023-2027" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05658049/?utm_source=GNW
Our report on the electrical hospital beds market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors.
The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by an increase in the number of hospital beds, an increase in the number of product launches, and improved medical infrastructure.
The electrical hospital beds market is segmented as below:
By Product
Specialty electrical hospital beds
Standard electrical hospital beds
By Type
Semi-electric
Fully electric
By Geographical Landscape
North America
Europe
Asia
Rest of World (ROW)
This study identifies the growth of medical tourism as one of the prime reasons driving the electrical hospital beds market growth during the next few years. Also, the emergence of online sales and focus on product improvement will lead to sizable demand in the market.
The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our report on the electrical hospital beds market covers the following areas:
Electrical hospital beds market sizing
Electrical hospital beds market forecast
Electrical hospital beds market industry analysis
This robust vendor analysis is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading electrical hospital beds market vendors that include Amico Group of Companies, Arjo AB, Avante Australia Pty Ltd., Famed Zywiec Sp. z o.o., Gendron Inc., Hill Rom Holdings Inc., Industrias H Pardo SL, Invacare Corp., Joerns Healthcare LLC, Lars Medicare Pvt. Ltd., LINAK AS, LINET Group SE, Malvestio Spa, Med Mizer Inc., Medical Depot Inc., Medline Industries LP, Ostrich Mobility Instruments Pvt. Ltd., PARAMOUNT BED HOLDINGS Co. Ltd., Stiegelmeyer GmbH and Co. KG, and Stryker Corp. Also, the electrical hospital beds market analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage all forthcoming growth opportunities.
The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors.
The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research - both primary and secondary. Technavios market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast the accurate market growth.
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05658049/?utm_source=GNW
About Reportlinker
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001
ReportLinker
A network of actual physical objects that are outfitted with software, sensors, and other technologies in order to connect and exchange data with other systems and devices through the internet is known as the Internet of Things (IoT).
New York, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global IoT Cloud Platform Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Application, By Organization Size, By Offering, By Deployment Type, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422486/?utm_source=GNW
IoT technology encompasses web-connected smart devices that collect data from their surroundings and use embedded systems made up of sensors, processors, and communication gear to receive, process, and store information.
Businesses across a wide range of industries are gradually embracing IoT technology to improve organizational performance and better understand their customers so they can provide better, more individualized customer care, make smarter decisions, and increase the value of their company.
The adoption of IoT cloud platforms is increasing due to factors like development of advanced data analytics, the improvement in cloud platform usage, the upgrading of wireless networking technologies, and the falling cost of connected devices. The internet of things is always in favor when it comes to tying together various smart gadgets to simplify operations and data sharing among themselves.
Numerous smart devices, including smartphones, sensors, and wearables, collect pertinent data from the devices that are then used to speed up the client experience. Over the course of the projection period, it is predicted that the IoT cloud platform market would see increased demand due to the growing need for data analysis and analytics integration.
COVID-19 Impact Analysis
Numerous business environment sectors were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is attributed to a sharp increase in demand for cloud-based IoT solutions, which continued to be essential for businesses to thrive during the pandemic. The relaxation of lockdown and mobility restrictions in public spaces by governments across many nations induced a gain in income, which demonstrated that the negative effects of pandemic on the supply chain have been outweighed by the deployment of IoT. For the past few months, many businesses have made work from home the routine, and wherever practicable, this trend will continue. More flexibility is offered by IoT cloud platforms, businesses can save money on physical places and collaborate across geographical boundaries. Therefore, the pandemic had a positive impact on the IoT cloud platform market.
Market Growth Factors
IOT applications in the banking sector are growing
Networked technologies including IoT devices and edge computing are becoming increasingly well-liked on the market as a result of their numerous high-throughput and productivity-boosting applications. The production of IoT devices by a wide range of vendors is another factor that is accelerating the proliferation of connected devices in the modern business environment. A few examples of typical technologies and protocols used by IoT systems include radiofrequency identification (RFID), near-field communication (NFC), low-energy Bluetooth, low-energy wireless, low-energy radio protocols, LTE-A, and Wi-Fi-direct. Thus, propel the growth of the IoT cloud platform market.
Increasing funding for smart city initiatives
The demand for IoT devices will rise as the world becomes more urbanized, as will the number of smart city initiatives and government funding for the digital economy. In order to improve infrastructure, public services, and utilities, the platform and devices are used to keep a careful eye on mobility, infrastructures, and air and water quality. Organizations have good opportunity to obtain the necessary data, such as consumer behavior in retail stores, for real-time marketing research, sensor-driven decision analytics, and fast control response in complex autonomous systems owing to internet connectivity and linked devices. Therefore, the growing efforts of transforming cities into smart cities are expediting the expansion of the IoT cloud platform market.
Market Restraining Factors
Higher probability of data breaches and security issues
Users sensitive and private information may be collected by the IoT cloud platform. The cloud platform stores biometric data, organizational data, and customer records. Additionally, networked devices are crucial to the IoT cloud platform. These elements may increase the likelihood of a data breach. Any firm may experience revenue losses as a result of data breaches. The growing number of data breaches on cloud platforms is a serious problem. It is a critical factor that might prevent many sectors from adopting IoT cloud platforms, which is disadvantageous for the market.
Offering Outlook
Based on offering, the IoT cloud platform market is categorized into platform (without services) and services. The services segment recorded a significant revenue share in the IoT cloud platform market in 2021. The requirement for IoT cloud services to conduct remote maintenance tasks and track the health of the company network and infrastructure is driving the segments expansion. The majority of the building blocks of an IoT ecosystem needs are provided by service platforms. With service provider, users dont need to be concerned with the underlying server hardware.
Deployment Type Outlook
On the basis of deployment type, the IoT cloud platform market is divided into commercial, private, and hybrid. The commercial segment procured the highest revenue share in the IoT cloud platform market in 2021. A large part of the commercial segments expansion can be ascribed to elements like simple deployment, adaptability, and affordable pricing. The increasing demand for commercial clouds is also being fueled by rising investments in public cloud infrastructure and an industry-wide digital transformation that is accelerating. Furthermore, the widespread use of mobile devices and the internet also increase the accessibility of cloud platforms.
Organization Size Outlook
Based on organization size, the IoT cloud platform market is segmented into small & medium sized organizations and large size organizations. The large size organizations segment recorded the largest revenue share in the IoT cloud platform market in 2021. To effectively manage their corporate operations, large-size enterprises are actively investing in the integration of IoT devices with cloud platforms. The expansion of the segment is being fueled by the increasing number of operational IoT devices throughout large companies. Customers of large-sized enterprises utilize IoT to uncover fresh insights from massively diversified data sets made up of both historical and current data.
Application Outlook
On the basis of application, the IoT cloud platform market is fragmented into industrial automation & smart manufacturing, smart infrastructure, automotive, healthcare, retail & e-commerce, BFSI, and others. The healthcare segment procured a significant revenue share in the IoT cloud platform market in 2021. The adoption of IoT cloud platforms in healthcare applications is anticipated to rise as a result of factors including the rising acceptance of embedded sensors, the increased utilization of wireless devices, as well as the quick development of healthcare IT. This is propelling the growth of the segment. As a result, healthcare institutions are putting a lot of effort into adopting reliable apps and connected technology.
Regional Outlook
Based on region, the IoT cloud platform market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The North America segment recorded the highest revenue share in the IoT cloud platform market in 2021. The development of the IoT cloud platform in the region is being fueled by the spread of IoT-enabled devices, rising adoption of technologies like industry 4.0, edge computing, and cloud. The rising R&D investments in the IoT sector and the presence of significant market players like Google, IBM, and Microsoft are also propelling the incorporation of these advanced technologies.
The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnerships. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; Microsoft Corporation, Google LLC, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.) are the forerunners in the IoT Cloud Platform Market. Companies such as Cisco Systems, Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Limited, and Siemens AG are some of the key innovators in IoT Cloud Platform Market.
The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Amazon Web Services, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.), Microsoft Corporation, Google LLC, Cisco Systems, Inc., IBM Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Salesforce, Inc., Siemens AG, Alibaba Group Holding Limited, and Robert Bosch GmbH.
Recent Strategies Deployed in IoT Cloud Platform Market
Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements:
Dec-2022: Amazon Web Services, Inc., part of Amazon.com, Inc., signed an agreement with Slalom LLC, a global technology and business consulting company. Under this collaboration, Amazon Web Services, and Slalom, LLC would offer AWS | Slalom Launch Centers which would support enterprises boost their business transformations and upgrade IT services.
Dec-2022: Amazon Web Services announced a collaboration with Visteon, a technology company serving the mobility industry. Through this collaboration, Visteons AllGo connected services supported by AWS are expected to offer value to a constituent in every vertical of the automotive industry consisting of manufacturers, vehicle app consumers, and developers. Additionally, this collaboration uses various AWS technology solutions across compute, storage, and IoT categories and a secure fast cloud environment to manage crucially connected vehicle activities and build the cars digital ecosystem.
Dec-2022: Google Cloud partnered with KORE, a leader in the Internet of Things solutions and global IoT Connectivity-as-a-Service. This partnership was aimed to bring IoT capabilities to global enterprises. Additionally, the alliance would help companies to build robust IoT solutions that enhance Google cloud capabilities and infrastructure.
Nov-2022: Oracle came into partnership with ZainTech, a regional Digital & ICT solutions arm. Additionally, the company would boost technology transformation for businesses in the region.
Oct-2022: Amazon Web Services, Inc. collaborated with BMW Group, a manufacturer of luxury motorcycles and vehicles. Through this collaboration, Bpth companies would advance a customizable cloud software that would ease the distribution and management of data from millions of connected vehicles.
Jun-2022: Cisco teamed up with Axians, an independent IT company with software, services, hardware, and IT operations. The collaboration is aimed to provide Cisco private 5G to companies across industries in the Netherlands and Germany.
May-2022: Amazon Web Services, Inc. teamed up with STMicroelectronics, a global company engaged in the development and creation of semiconductor technologies. In this Collaboration, Both companies would securely connect Internet of Things devices to the AWS cloud.
Mar-2022: Cisco collaborated with Mobily, a Saudi telecom operator. Together both companies would create an IoT cloud platform in Saudi Arabia. The latest cloud platform allows fully automated management for IoT devices supported by Ciscos IoT solution with machine learning and AI capabilities.
Feb-2022: Oracle signed an agreement with Telefonica Tech, a leading company in digital transformation. Under this agreement, both companies would jointly provide cloud platform-as-a-service and applications to enterprise and public sector organizations across Telefonica Techs customer base. Additionally, the services would allow Telefonica Tech to offer Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services as part of its offering as well as help customers through managed and professional services.
Nov-2021: Google Cloud teamed up with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a multinational corporation based in California. This collaboration would boost neural network development and differentiation for the Snapdragon Ride Platform, Snapdragon mobile, ACPC, and XR platforms, and Qualcomm Technologies IoT platforms by using Google Cloud Vertex AI Neural Architecture Search (NAS) with the Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine.
Nov-2021: Siemens Digital Industries Software announced expanded collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Inc., a provider of on-demand cloud computing platforms. This collaboration would help enterprises optimize factory operations, and engineering efforts, improve customer experiences and speed engineering efforts from chip to edge to the cloud.
Feb-2021: Microsoft collaborated with Bosch, a Germany-based engineering and technology company. This collaboration was aimed to simplify and boost the development and deployment of vehicle software throughout a cars lifetime under automotive quality standards.
Feb-2021: Siemens teamed up with IBM, a global technology corporation. The collaboration is aimed to create easy-to-build edge computing applications that analyze and process data as it is being built.
Sep-2020: Microsoft teamed up with AT&T, a telecommunications holding company. Through this collaboration, companies would aim to provide an integrated IoT solution to allow companies to smoothly connect machines to the cloud with highly protected network connectivity.
Mar-2020: IBM announced a partnership with Infosys, a next-generation consulting and digital service. This partnership is aimed to help companies boost their digital transformation journey through Ibm public cloud.
Product Launches and Expansions:
Nov-2022: Alibaba Cloud introduced ModelScope, an open-source Model-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform. This product is launched with over 300 ready-to-deploy AI models advanced by Alibaba DAMO Academy. The platform consists of over 150 state-of-the-art models. The product is aimed to make running and developing AI models simple and highly cost-effective.
Jun-2022: Siemens introduced Siemens Xcelerator, an open digital business platform. This launch is aimed to boost digital transformation and value creation for customers of all sizes in grids, mobility, industry, and buildings. The business platform makes digital transformation faster, scalable, and easier.
Nov-2021: Amazon Web Services, Inc. launched AWS IoT TwinMaker, a service that makes it simple and faster for developers to build digital twins of real-world systems like industrial equipment, production lines, factories, and buildings.
Mar-2021: IBM introduced IBM Cloud Satellite. The product would enable its enterprise clients to release constant cloud services anywhere and in any environment- across any cloud, at the edge, or on-premises. This would offer clients across multiple industries consisting of government, retail and financial services.
Mar-2021: Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions released the latest Phantom Edge an AIoT platform. The product integrates the power of AI and IoT to offer a live view of appliance-level information, electrical energy consumption, electrical parameters, and operating usage.
Acquisitions and Mergers:
Oct-2021: Siemens took over Wattsense, a simple and open IoT solution. This acquisition broadens Siemens building automation portfolio for small and mid-size buildings.
Jun-2020: Microsoft took over CyberX, a security startup that is engaged in focusing particularly on detecting predicting, and stopping security breaches on IoT networks. With this collaboration, CyberX would align with the existing devices including those utilized in infrastructure scenarios, industrial IoT, and Operational Technology.
Scope of the Study
Market Segments covered in the Report:
By Application
Industrial Automation & Smart Manufacturing
Smart Infrastructure
Automotive
Healthcare
Retail & E-commerce
BFSI
Others
By Organization Size
Large Size Organizations
Small & Medium Sized Organizations
By Offering
Platform (Without Services)
o Device Management
o Connectivity & Communication
o Analytics
Services
By Deployment Type
Commercial
Private
Hybrid
By Geography
North America
o US
o Canada
o Mexico
o Rest of North America
Europe
o Germany
o UK
o France
o Russia
o Spain
o Italy
o Rest of Europe
Asia Pacific
o China
o Japan
o India
o South Korea
o Singapore
o Malaysia
o Rest of Asia Pacific
LAMEA
o Brazil
o Argentina
o UAE
o Saudi Arabia
o South Africa
o Nigeria
o Rest of LAMEA
Companies Profiled
Amazon Web Services, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
Microsoft Corporation
Google LLC
Cisco Systems, Inc.
IBM Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Salesforce, Inc.
Siemens AG
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
Robert Bosch GmbH
Unique Offerings
Exhaustive coverage
Highest number of market tables and figures
Subscription based model available
Guaranteed best price
Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422486/?utm_source=GNW
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ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001
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Narrowband IoT refers to a LPWA (low power wide space) technology that was designed to transform a good range of latest IoT services and devices. The technology dependably and firmly manages less amount of relatively seldom two-way knowledge.
New York, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Narrowband Internet of Things Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Component, By Application, By Deployment Mode, By Vertical, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422559/?utm_source=GNW
Narrowband IoT remarkably betters operators device spectrum potency, system capability, and power consumption. The technology enables various devices and solutions such as utilities, wearables, good parking, and industrial solutions.
In general, LPWA technologies bridges the gap between mobiles, such as 3G and LTE, and short-range wireless, such as ZigBee networks, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Narrowband IoT is supported by all major module makers, mobile instrumentality, and chipsets. NB-IoT would co-exist with 4G, 3G, and 2G mobile networks and collaborative profits from the privacy and safety choices of mobile networks, such as entity authentication, support for user identity confidentiality, knowledge integrity, confidentiality, and mobile instrumentality identification.
The application of narrowband IoT leads to various benefits such as price savings, power potency, wider preparation, and dependability. Narrowband IoT allows the cost-effective powering of IoT devices. Because technologies such as NB-IoT have a few complex waveforms, they tend to use less power. NB-IoT chips are cheaper as they are less complex to make. Narrowband IoT application also leads to enhanced dependability for operators because of the bonded resource allotment needed for controlled quality of service.
NB-IoT is set to directly connect the narrowband IoT usage and might be perceived as extra wide-enforced with the growing urbanization worldwide. NB-IoT devices are employed within the commissioned spectrum and ensure reliable and secure property to consumers.
COVID-19 Impact Analysis
Major corporations have evolved towards use of automation technologies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the area of drones for monitoring and drug delivery. Robotics and automation could boost productivity in a circumstances created by pandemic by reducing the need for human labour and decreasing the likelihood of future plant closures. IoT, AI, and digitalization will also become increasingly important in the future and define the new way of working. Owing to all these factors, the market for narrowband internet of things has significantly benefited from the spread of novel coronavirus and also will witness growth prospects after the pandemic period.
Market Growth Factors
Growing adoption of IoT technologies and better battery life of other connected devices
Battery life is a significant feature in the current scenario of IoT devices and various connected devices. Smartphone manufacturers are constantly attempting to enhance devices with massive battery life as the latest smartphones are so distinct from their previous versions that were available a few years back. Additionally, technologies are developing and turning out to be more sophisticated and advanced every year. As a result, the market demand for connected devices is growing, especially in the industrial sector, as M2M communications got more frequent. The growth of M2M or IoT devices involving livestock monitoring equipment, smart meters, smart parking solutions, and smart streetlights is expected to be propelled by the rising necessity for connected devices for long-range connectivity.
Low Initial and Maintenance Prices Together With Rising Reliability
Businesses will not make remarkable investments in the latsest technology if it doesnt expand their bottom line for prolonged period. With the quickly growing information infrastructure and the economy being so interconnected, this consideration has become more appropriate than before. NB-IoT and other technologies utilize a very simple waveform, which operates on low power. Nevertheless, it is not just about saving power. As NB-IoT is gaining more popularity, creating NB-IoT devices would become cheaper. This would provide with a positive feedback cycle that would further benefit both customers and companies. These factors are predicted to increase the adoption of narrowband internet of things, thereby supporting the market expansion.
Market Restraining Factors
Restricted To Low-Speed Data Transmission Applications
Data transfer speeds are restricted in NB-IoT devices, which limits their cellular abilities in apps that demand remarkable bandwidth, like video surveillance and voice communication. It is unsuitable for mobile handsets utilizing GSM, high-speed data transmission, messaging, 3G, and LTE (long-term evolution) for voice. Emerging technologies like LTE-M (long-term evolution for machines) have quicker data speeds, which enables them to offer the most inclusive scale of cellular capabilities. LTE-M has the highest bandwidth compared to other LPWA technologies, making it accurate for mobile networks and stationary usage. Therefore, this obstructs the growth of the narrowband internet of things market in the upcoming years.
Component Outlook
Based on components, the narrowband internet of things market is segmented into solutions and services. In 2021, the service segment garnered a significant revenue share in the narrowband internet of things. This is due to decreased power consumption of linked devices while expanding bandwidth efficiency and system capacity. In addition, the market is expanding in this segment due to the increased adoption of internet of things (IoT) in various industry verticals.
Application Outlook
By application, the narrowband internet of things market is divided into smart meter, smart packaging, alarm & detector, smart lightning, tracker, wearable and others. In 2021, the tracker segment recorded a prominent revenue share in the narrowband internet of things market. This is because of the expanding consumer and industrial usage comprising monitoring & tracking of people and assets. In addition, the growing demand for navigation, telematics, and in-car infotainment facilities from the automotive sector is expected to contribute to the development of the tracker segment throughout the predicted period.
Deployment Mode Outlook
On the basis of deployment, the narrowband internet of things market is fragmented into in-band, guard band, and standalone. In 2021, the standalone segment registered a substantial revenue share in the narrowband internet of things. In the standalone category, workers use NB-IoT to take advantage of idle spectrum resources. These resources may consist of the employees non-standard bandwidth spectrum pieces or be exempt from other RATs (radio access technologies) through refarming.
Vertical Outlook
Based on vertical, the narrowband internet of things market is classified into infrastructure, agriculture, automotive, healthcare, energy & utilities, manufacturing, consumer electronics and others. In 2021, the automotive segment procured a considerable growth rate in the narrowband internet of things market. The automotive companies are trying to overcome the safety related issues faced by passengers by using advanced technologies that could provide more convenient and safer transportation. As such, the implementation of narrowband-IoT in the automotive industry is rapidly growing because of the ability of NB-IoT to avoid and determine main road congestions, track vehicles, and contribute in efficient traffic control.
Regional Outlook
Region-wise, the narrowband internet of things market, is analysed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and LAMEA. In 2021, the North America region dominated the narrowband internet of things market with the maximum revenue share. North America is the hub of various dominating device producer businesses and network service suppliers concentrating on examining & commercializing solutions for industrial and consumer applications. The growing tech-savvy population, increasing disposable income, and continuous acceptance of developing technologies for business and personal applications are some of the prime factors propelling the regional market development.
The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnerships. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., AT&T, Inc., Intel Corporation, Verizon Communications, Inc. are the forerunners in the Narrowband Internet of Things Market. Companies such as Qualcomm, Inc., MediaTek, Inc., and Ericsson AB are some of the key innovators in Narrowband Internet of Things Market.
The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Intel Corporation, Qualcomm, Inc., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. MediaTek, Inc., Nokia Corporation, Verizon Communications, Inc., AT&T, Inc., Vodafone Group Plc, Orange S.A., and Ericsson AB.
Recent Strategies Deployed in Narrowband Internet of Things Market
Partnerships, Collaborations & Agreements
Sep-2022: Vodafone signed an agreement with Topcon Positioning Group, a global designer and manufacturer of precision positioning systems. Under this agreement, both companies would advance the latest mass-market precise positioning system that would determine the place of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, vehicles, and machinery with higher accuracy than utilizing only specific global navigation satellite systems.
Jun-2022: Huawei Technologies signed an Agreement with Nordic Semiconductor, a semiconductor company engaged in designing and producing connectivity and SoC solutions. This agreement would allow and support large-scale deployment of this low-power cellular IoT technology by different sectors.
Jun-2022: MediaTek came into partnership with Proscend, a provider of Industrial IoT solutions. This partnership would aim to allow seamless 5G deployment and propel the path for better-connected experiences.
Mar-2021: Nokia announced an expanded partnership with Mobility, a telecommunications services company based in Saudi Arabia. This partnership would address the requirements of modern businesses by allowing a vast spectrum of commercial uses including industrial appliances, smart city infrastructure, powering connected health, and smart metering for utilities. Moreover, Nokias new NB-IoT technology would enable Mobilys customers to use IoT services regardless of their region, location, or area.
Sep-2020: MediaTek entered into a partnership with Tuya Smart, a leader in providing AI+IoT platforms. Following this partnership, the companies aimed to unveil their novel Narrow Band-Internet of Things modules viz. NM1, NM1-GL, and NM1-CT. Moreover, the solutions are built on 3GPP Release 14 standard MT2625 of MediaTek and powered by the cloud platform of Tuya to allow devices to provide advantages to smart city applications, including fire hydrant inspections, street light controllers, and municipal manhole covers.
Aug-2020: MediaTek joined hands with Inmarsat, a satellite telecoms company. This collaboration aimed to propel market efforts and initiatives to converge satellite and cellular networks in the 5G era.
Product Launches and Product Expansions
Jan-2023: MediaTek launched the octa-core Genio 700, the chipset in the Genio platform for IoT devices built for industrial IoT products, smart retail, and smart home. The product enables designers to customize products using Android, Ubuntu, and Yocto Linux. Moreover, with this launch customers can simply advance their products with the least amount of effort.
Dec-2022: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. unveiled Qualcomm QCX216 LTE IoT Modem, the new Internet of Things (IoT) mode. The product is a comprehensive solution that delivers better computing abilities, location-based technologies, and connectivity to allow the latest generation of powerful, fast, and high-performing IoT Solutions.
Apr-2020: Qualcomm unveiled the Qualcomm 212 LTE IoT Modem, a robust power-efficient single-mode NB-IoT chipset. The new product aimed to propel the expansion of cellular IoT through its advanced power-efficient chipset architecture allowing extremely low average power consumption.
Scope of the Study
Market Segments covered in the Report:
By Component
Solution
Services
By Application
Alarms & Detectors
Smart Meters
Trackers
Wearable Devices
Smart Parking
Smart Lighting
Others
By Deployment Mode
Guard
Stand-alone
In-band
By Vertical
Infrastructure
Energy & Utilities
Automotive & Transportation
Agriculture
Healthcare
Consumer Electronics
Manufacturing
Others
By Geography
North America
o US
o Canada
o Mexico
o Rest of North America
Europe
o Germany
o UK
o France
o Russia
o Spain
o Italy
o Rest of Europe
Asia Pacific
o China
o Japan
o India
o South Korea
o Singapore
o Malaysia
o Rest of Asia Pacific
LAMEA
o Brazil
o Argentina
o UAE
o Saudi Arabia
o South Africa
o Nigeria
o Rest of LAMEA
Companies Profiled
Intel Corporation
Qualcomm, Inc.
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
MediaTek, Inc.
Nokia Corporation
Verizon Communications, Inc.
AT&T, Inc.
Vodafone Group Plc
Orange S.A.
Ericsson AB
Unique Offerings
Exhaustive coverage
Highest number of market tables and figures
Subscription based model available
Guaranteed best price
Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422559/?utm_source=GNW
About Reportlinker
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
__________________________
Story continues
CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001
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The process of visualizing, monitoring, optimizing, debugging, and reporting on the availability and health of the network as experienced by the users is known as network performance monitoring.
New York, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Network Performance Monitoring Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By End User, By Enterprise Size, By Component, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422570/?utm_source=GNW
Network performance monitoring (NPM) systems can use different types of telemetry, including network flow data, packed data, and device metrics, like SNMP, WMI, API, synthetic tests, CLI, and logs.
Additionally, packets are necessary for anything done on the network because they transport data between nodes. With the advancement in technology, the complexity of network management has increased. This is due to the prevalence of hybrid configurations among businesses today, which combine on-premise servers with cloud-based services.
Consequently, most companies want to establish a reliable network performance monitoring system. The companys success will depend on how well the network operates. In particular, if the network is down even for a few moments, the company could experience serious implications. In the event of data loss or theft, network monitoring is a modern technology that is used to trace and monitor computer networks.
It alerts or warns the network administrator in case of data loss and theft. Due to faulty devices influence on network performance, ongoing network monitoring is essential. These systems continuously collect enormous amounts of data, which enables data to be filtered to find any anomalies using network monitoring tools. As a result, enterprises, cloud services, and telecommunications leverage these technologies. In addition, innovations in the electronics device and system sectors improve and modernize network monitoring systems.
COVID-19 Impact Analysis
Network monitoring companies created effective crisis-management strategies to help them recover quickly from the COVID-19 crisis. These strategies included focusing on next-generation products and solutions, a modest reduction in the R&D budget for network monitoring solutions, constant monitoring of market trends, systematic approaches to investment and divestment, cautiously launching marketing campaigns, and reinforcing long-term contracts. Businesses thus utilize network performance monitoring tools to determine their network risks and vulnerabilities before making further changes. As a result, network performance monitoring grew in popularity over the course of the pandemic. Consequently, COVID-19 had a positive impact on the network performance monitoring market.
Market Growth Factors
Growing need for robust network monitoring tools to address issues with outages
Downtime, lost productivity, and even security issues can occur when network equipment fails. While hardware issues and malfunctions might bring the entire network to a complete halt, high processing or network utilization can painfully slow down operations. These problems can be quickly identified and corrected with the help of network performance monitoring tools. Network monitoring saves costs for the company by minimizing downtime. Many network monitoring technologies also add value by automatically integrating new devices, specifying network layouts, and revealing malicious activities or potential security breaches. In the upcoming years, the industry will have profitable growth prospects as a result of these factors.
Rising internet of things (IOT) expansion and the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend
Employees are increasingly being provided personal mobile applications and devices to use for both personal and business purposes under the term "bring your own device" or BYOD. Mobile device adoption has significantly increased as a result of organizations greater support for BYOD. The availability of a plethora of services, applications, and capabilities has increased the accessibility of storage, transmission, and receiving of large volumes of data on mobile devices. Passwords, credit card numbers, and usernames are among the sensitive data stored on mobile devices. Therefore, during the forecast period, these factors drive the growth of the network performance monitoring market.
Market Restraining Factors
Exorbitant costs related to network monitoring
As more corporate functions go online, businesses must update their networks to provide capacity and new features. In addition to managing standard IT applications, networks increasingly need to serve a variety of business services like video conferencing and telephony, which require additional network bandwidth. Additionally, multicasting protocols, autoconfiguration protocols, protocols for new endpoint devices, and IP virtualization capabilities are required to deploy new services on shared network infrastructure. As a result, the high implementation costs for NPM solutions are severely impeding the markets expansion for network performance monitoring.
Component Outlook
Based on component, the network performance monitoring market is categorized into hardware and services. The hardware segment garnered the highest revenue share in the network performance monitoring market in 2021. Network performance reporting and analytics are crucial for network monitoring and optimization. Hardware for network performance monitoring offers visualization and reporting alternatives on a configurable dashboard that can imbibe all network data sources and offer real-time performance visibility.
Enterprise Size Outlook
On the basis of enterprise size, the network performance monitoring market is divided into SMEs and large enterprises. The small and medium sized enterprises segment procured a substantial revenue share in the network performance monitoring market in 2021. SMEs, or small and medium-sized businesses, are typically known to employ under 1,000 people. SMEs are increasingly using network performance monitoring to locate, manage, and regulate network datasets of various sizes. As many businesses lack the funding to monitor file sharing throughout their network infrastructures, maximum efficiency and cost reduction are regarded as essential aspects which NPM tools can provide.
End User Outlook
Based on end user, the network performance monitoring market is segmented into IT & telecom service providers, cloud service providers, governments & public sector units, and others. The IT & telecom service providers segment acquired the largest revenue share in the network performance monitoring market in 2021. One of the main factors propelling the segments expansion is the significant growth of the telecommunications sector globally. The demand for comprehensive network infrastructure visibility is fueling the industrys expansion. With the requirement for data connectivity growing over the past few years, telecommunications networks have undergone a rapid transformation.
Regional Outlook
On the basis of region, the network performance monitoring market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The North America segment witnessed the maximum revenue share in the network performance monitoring market in 2021. Growth is attributable to the regions abundance of businesses providing network performance monitoring products and services. In addition, the robust telecom sector in North America is a significant customer of network performance monitoring tools. The region also experiences a high adoption rate of cutting-edge technologies, like cloud-based technologies, propelling the North American market development for network performance monitoring.
The major strategies followed by the market participants are Acquisitions. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; Microsoft Corporation is the forerunner in the Network Performance Monitoring Market. Companies such as Broadcom, Inc., Keysight Technologies, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc. are some of the key innovators in Network Performance Monitoring Market.
The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Broadcom, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Juniper Networks, Inc., Keysight Technologies, Inc., SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC, LogicMonitor, Inc., Paessler AG, Profitap HQ B.V., and Nagios Enterprises, LLC.
Recent Strategies Deployed in Network Performance Monitoring Market
Partnership, Collaboration and Agreements:
Feb-2022: Microsoft Corporation joined hands with Qualcomm Technologies, an American company that creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. Through this collaboration, the company aimed at simplifying the deployment and management of intelligent 5G edges for a broad range of industries and use cases. Additionally, it would lower the operating costs and adoption barriers for high-speed 5G connectivity solutions for global enterprises.
Jun-2021: Keysight Technologies teamed up with Analog Devices, a manufacturer of integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing. Through this collaboration, the company aimed at accelerating development and interoperability testing with technology and test solution offered by both the companies.
May-2021: Paessler AG entered into a partnership with Rhebo, a simple and effective cybersecurity, and intrusion detection provider. The Industrial Protector of Rhebo complements the companys classic monitoring with innovative solutions for anomaly detection in industrial networks.
Product Launch and Product Expansions:
Jul-2021: Profitap unveiled XX-12800G, a new high-density Network Packet Broker, with a total throughput of 12.8 Tbps in a single 19 rack unit for network traffic management. With 32 QSFP-DD ports (40/100/400 Gbps), the XX-12800G allows various features including Aggregation of traffic coming from multiple incoming links and Balance traffic over multiple monitoring and security tools for high bandwidth port monitoring.
Feb-2020: LogicMonitor released updates to Network Traffic Flow Analysis capabilities with the release of a new LogicMonitor UI. Network Traffic Flow Analysis is for Jflow, NetFlow, and Sflow protocols. The new Network Traffic Flow allows determining where their network traffic comes from, allowing them to manage challenging network conditions, such as congestion and overuse of network resources.
Acquisitions and Mergers:
Jan-2023: Microsoft Corporation completed the acquisition of Fungible, a developer of composable infrastructure for accelerating the companys data center network and storage performance. The acquisition would enable the company to enhance its broad range of technologies and offerings in offloading, improving latency, increasing system density in data centers, and reducing expenses.
Jan-2022: SolarWinds took over Monalytic, a monitoring, analytics, and professional services provider. The acquisition would enable the company to provide support to its federal customers for optimizing and securing their dynamic IT environments by integrating Monalytics expertise with its easy-to-use IT management products.
Dec-2021: Broadcom Inc. took over AppNeta, a leading SaaS-based network performance monitoring solution provider. DX NetOps solutions combined with AppNeta would enable the company to monitor and manage digital experiences for any user across any cloud, mobile, SaaS or remote work scenario.
Oct-2021: Keysight Technologies took over SCALABLE Network Technologies, a communications network simulation, and modeling solutions provider. With this acquisition, the company aimed at delivering new software-centric, digital twin solutions to address the challenges customers communication challenges.
Feb-2021: Keysight Technologies acquired Sanjole, a wireless physical layer, and data-link layer testing solution provider. The acquisition of Sanjole would complement the wireless test products of the company which include base station testers, network emulators, OTA test equipment, and network analyzers.
Oct-2020: SolarWinds announced an agreement to acquire SentryOne, a database performance monitoring and DataOps solutions provider. Through the acquisition, the company aimed at enhancing its support for IT companies.
Scope of the Study
Market Segments covered in the Report:
By End User
IT & Telecom Service Providers
Cloud Service Providers
Governments & Public Sector Units
Others
By Enterprise Size
Large Enterprises
Small & Medium Sized Enterprises
By Component
Hardware
o Network Performance Monitoring Platforms
o Network Terminal Access Points (TAPs)
o Network Access Control (NAC) Appliances
o Network Packet Brokers (NPBs) Appliances
Service
By Geography
North America
o US
o Canada
o Mexico
o Rest of North America
Europe
o Germany
o UK
o France
o Russia
o Spain
o Italy
o Rest of Europe
Asia Pacific
o China
o Japan
o India
o South Korea
o Singapore
o Malaysia
o Rest of Asia Pacific
LAMEA
o Brazil
o Argentina
o UAE
o Saudi Arabia
o South Africa
o Nigeria
o Rest of LAMEA
Companies Profiled
Broadcom, Inc.
Microsoft Corporation
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Juniper Networks, Inc.
Keysight Technologies, Inc.
SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC
LogicMonitor, Inc.
Paessler AG
Profitap HQ B.V.
Nagios Enterprises, LLC
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Exhaustive coverage
Highest number of market tables and figures
Subscription based model available
Guaranteed best price
Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free
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Allied Market Research
The main factor driving the growth of the pension administration software market is the increasing number of retirees and the need for efficient management of pension funds. As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age and life expectancies continue to rise, pension funds are becoming larger and more complex to manage. Pension administration software provides a streamlined and automated solution for managing these funds, enabling organizations to efficiently process payments, track contributions, and monitor investment performance. In addition, advancements in technology and the increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions are also fueling the growth of this market, as they offer scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. By type, the public pension segment contributed to the major share in 2021.
Portland, OR, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global pension administration software market was estimated at $ 4 billion in 2021 and is expected to hit $ 12.2 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 12.3 % from 2022 to 2031. The report provides a detailed analysis of the top investment pockets, top winning strategies, drivers & opportunities, market size & estimations, competitive landscape, and evolving market trends. The market study is a helpful source of information for the frontrunners, new entrants, investors, and shareholders in crafting strategies for the future and heightening their position in the market.
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Report coverage & details:
Forecast Period 20222031 Base Year 2021 Market Size in 2021 $4 Billion Market Size in 2031 $12.2 Billion CAGR 12.3% No. of Pages in Report 402 Segments Covered Component, Deployment Mode, Type, End User and Region. Drivers Modern Customer Experience Pension administration software helps to reduce processing time Efficiency and cost effectiveness
Restraints Technology limitation on the aged/old age people Opportunities Technological advancements in the field of administration
Covid-19 scenario-
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a mixed impact on the pension administration software market. On the one hand, the market has seen increased demand for digital solutions as remote work and social distancing became the new normal. This led to a surge in demand for cloud-based pension administration software, as organizations sought to manage their funds and processes online.
However, the pandemic also had negative effects on the market, as many organizations struggled with financial uncertainty and had to postpone or cancel planned software purchases. Additionally, the pandemic has caused delays in the development and release of new software, as many companies had to redirect their resources to dealing with the crisis. Despite these challenges, the long-term outlook for the pension administration software market remains positive, as the need for efficient and streamlined pension management solutions continues to grow.
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The global pension administration software market is analyzed across component, deployment mode, type, end user and region. The report takes in an exhaustive analysis of the segments and their sub-segments with the help of tabular and graphical representation. Investors and market players can benefit from the breakdown and devise stratagems based on the highest revenue-generating and fastest-growing segments stated in the report.
By component, the solution segment held the largest share in 2021, garnering more than half of the global pension administration software market revenue, and is projected to maintain its dominance by 2031. However, the service segment would showcase the fastest CAGR of 14.6% during the forecast period.
By deployment, the on-premise segment contributed more than half of the global pension administration software market share in 2021, and is projected to rule the roost by 2031. The cloud segment, on the other hand, would display the fastest CAGR of 14.0% throughout the forecast period.
By type, the public pension segment accounted for the highest share in 2021, generating more than half of the global pension administration software market revenue. The private pension segment would portray the fastest CAGR of 14.9% during the forecast period.
By end user, the employers segment accounted for the highest share in 2021, generating more than half of the global pension administration software market revenue. The pension plan administrators segment would portray the fastest CAGR of 16.8% during the forecast period.
By region, North America held the major share in 2021, garnering more than one-third of the global pension administration software market revenue. Asia-Pacific, simultaneously, would showcase the fastest CAGR of 15.6% from 2022 to 2031.
The key market players analyzed in the global pension administration software market report include Capita plc., Civica, Congruent Solutions, Inc., Equiniti, Levi, Ray & Shoup Inc., PensionSoft Corporation, LLC, Sagitec Solutions, TatvaSoft Software Development Company, WTW, and Zellis. These market players have embraced several strategies including partnership, expansion, collaboration, joint ventures, and others to highlight their prowess in the industry. The report is helpful in formulating the business performance and developments by the top players.
Key benefits for stakeholders
This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the pension administration software market forecast from 2022 to 2031 to identify the prevailing pension administration software market opportunity.
The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities.
Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network.
In-depth analysis of the pension administration software market outlook assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities.
Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market.
Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players.
The report includes the analysis of the regional as well as global pension administration software market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies.
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Pension Administration Software Market Key Segments:
Component
Solution
Service
Deployment Mode
On-Premise
Cloud
Type
Public Pension
Private Pension
End User
Employers
Pension Plan Administrators
Government Agencies
Others
By Region
North America (U.S., Canada)
Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe)
Asia- Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, Rest of Asia-Pacific)
LAMEA (Latin America, Middle East, Africa)
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The police of Xazar District conducted operations to nab drug pushers.
During operations conducted by the Xazar District police department, members of a gang engaged in drug trafficking were apprehended in Baku, Azerbaijan's Bina village, Azernews reports with reference to the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry.
Elnur Asadov and seven other members of the gang he led were detained as a result of the operation.
Asadov met an unidentified Iranian national on social media, and it was discovered during the investigation that he was dispensing drugs on the latter's orders.
About one kilogram of heroin and methamphetamine were discovered while Asadov's home and car were being searched.
According to the pertinent articles of the Criminal Code, a criminal case has been opened on this fact, and investigations are still ongoing.
Prior to this, Omid Karimi, an Iranian citizen who temporarily resided in Baku and orchestrated drug trafficking in Azerbaijan, led a group of organized criminals.
ReportLinker
Portable HVAC equipment is an appliance or equipment used to maintain a places temperature and ventilation. Equipment for heating, ventilation and air conditioning includes fans, heaters, and air conditioners.
New York, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Portable HVAC Equipment Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Product Type, By End User, By Distribution Channel, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422603/?utm_source=GNW
Due to its many benefits, including its portability and ease of cleaning, portable HVAC equipment is frequently utilized in both home and commercial settings.
In developing nations, the requirement for electronic gadgets is rising significantly due to increasing disposable incomes and consumer standards of living. HVAC is the application of various technologies to regulate the humidity, temperature, and air quality in a closed space. These systems main objective is to provide appropriate thermal comfort and better indoor air quality.
Mechanical engineerings HVAC system design subfield is founded on fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and heat transport laws. HVAC can also be referred to as HVACR or HVAC&R where R stands for refrigeration. HVAC system plays an important role in residential structures like single-family homes, apartment complexes, hotels, and elderly care facilities.
HVAC systems are also widely used in commercial spaces like medium- to large offices, industrial buildings, skyscrapers, and hospitals, as well as in transportation like cars, trains, airplanes, and ships. HVAC systems are considered an integral part of marine environments where healthy and safe building conditions are governed concerning humidity and temperature using outside air. The high usage of these systems has also prompted manufacturers to introduce portability.
COVID-19 Impact Analysis
When manufacturers examined how COVID-19 affected the markets, they noted comparable problems in the building industry. Most construction projects moved more slowly, while others were abandoned, and some HVAC manufacturing companies had to halt manufacturing lines for a few weeks. Supply networks were disrupted, distributors cut back on inventory, installers stayed home from work, and HVAC manufacturers tightly monitored their spending. While equipment prices remained the same, labor, transportation, and components costs slowly increased, placing pressure on manufacturers profit margins. As a result, the pandemic had an adverse impact on the portable HVAC equipment market.
Market Growth Factors
Increasing demand for portable air conditioners
A portable air conditioner or spot cooler of 18000 BTU or more is employed for industrial purposes. Commercial portable air conditioners have several advantages. These include preventing product faults that can occur due to temperature and humidity, spot cooling without a significant expenditure for an air conditioning system to an entire facility, and lowering the risk of human mistakes and worker impairment. In addition, preserving clean air and an environment conducive to productive work in industrial facilities can also help to increase worker productivity and quality of work. This would further aid in propelling the growth of the portable HVAC equipment market.
Rising need for automated portable HVAC systems in homes and offices
One of the smart building technologies that are increasingly being used is building automation, which automates processes, reduces human interaction, improves HVAC system efficiency, stops energy waste, and decreases expenses. After the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations have again restarted. Ordinarily, offices have enough space to accommodate few people. However, there are significant operational expenditures as a result of the old HVAC systems and office lightings high energy consumption and constant operation. As a result, the portable HVAC equipment market is guaranteed to grow in the coming years.
Market Restraining Factors
Negative effects on ones health from a poorly maintained HVAC system
Mold and mildew favor damp, dark settings. Additionally, badly maintained HVAC equipment may be causing moisture and humidity to build up in undetectable places. For example, unintentionally circulating mold and mildew into the area by turning on contaminated heating or air conditioning. Particle removal is the goal of HVAC filters. However, if they arent routinely cleaned or changed, they could gather excessive allergens and disperse things like dander, pollen, and dust mites throughout the house. All of these factors operate against preserving a healthy environment inside a structure and impede market expansion.
Distribution Channel Outlook
Based on distribution channel, the portable HVAC equipment market is categorized into hypermarkets/supermarkets, specialty stores, departmental stores, online retail, and others. The hypermarkets/supermarkets segment garnered the highest revenue share in the portable HVAC equipment market in 2021. Supermarkets and hypermarkets typically cover a vast space and include a variety of brands all in one location. For further convenience and accessibility, they are specifically placed close to residential areas. Because of this, most people choose to purchase white products from supermarkets and hypermarkets.
Product Type Outlook
On the basis of product type, the portable HVAC equipment market is divided into portable fans, portable heaters, and portable air conditioners. The portable fans segment acquired the largest revenue share in the portable HVAC equipment market in 2021. A corded or battery-operated compact fan that can be moved easily from one location to another is referred to as a portable fan. On the market, manufacturers have a variety of portable fans to choose from. As a result, customers are drawn to portable fans that are simple to clean and transfer from one location to another. The segments advancement is due to the increasing demand for portable fans in corporate offices and homes, which are growing in number.
End User Outlook
Based on end user, the portable HVAC equipment market is segmented into residential and commercial. The commercial segment procured a significant revenue share in the portable HVAC equipment market in 2021. Hotels, restaurants, businesses, hospitals, commercial complexes, and offices make up the commercial component of the portable HVAC equipment market. The markets leading competitors are continuously changing how the business sector must meet its requirements by updating and improving current portable HVAC equipment. As a result, numerous product introductions have recently, particularly for the commercial market.
Regional Outlook
On the basis of region, the portable HVAC equipment market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The North America region acquired the highest revenue share in the portable HVAC equipment market in 2021. The demand for new and cutting-edge consumer electronics items is expected to increase due to the growing popularity of energy-efficient major household appliances as a result of the lowering energy consumption rate. The rising demand for energy-efficient devices drives the market for portable HVAC equipment in North America.
The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include LG Electronics (LG Corporation), Panasonic Holdings Corporation, Carrier Global Corporation, Daikin Industries, Ltd., Emerson Electric Co., Hitachi, Ltd., AB Electrolux (Electrolux), Blue Star Limited, Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. (Haier Group Corporation), and Dyson Limited.
Strategies Deployed in Portable HVAC Equipment Market
Jan-2023: Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, Inc., took over Williams Distributing, Co, a distribution powerhouse for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Through this acquisition, Daikin would be able to strengthen its position in the Great Lakes region with the help of Williamss professional team members, focused customer service, and vast locations. Moreover, this acquisition would lead to another important step on the way to making Daikin the Prime indoor comfort solutions provider in North America.
Aug-2022: Carrier Global Corporation took over Toshiba Carrier Corporation, a manufacturer of air conditioning and heating systems. Through this acquisition, Carrier Global Corporation would be able to explore and reach new development opportunities in the rapid growing, energy-efficient VRF and heat pump markets.
Aug-2021: Electrolux acquired La Compagnie du SAV (CSAV), a provider of independent service with expertise in repairing domestic appliances. This acquisition would boost the service network in France enabling Electrolux to address the need of rising market demand in the after-sales service area.
Jun-2021: Carrier acquired a controlling stake of Guangdong Giwee Group and its subsidiaries that include Guangdong Chigo Heating & Ventilation Equipment Co., Ltd. This acquisition aimed to expand Carriers access to the swiftly expanding variable refrigerant flow (VRF) and light commercial market. Following this acquisition, Carrier also intended to expand Carriers geographic footprint and market position.
Mar-2021: Carrier Global Corporation collaborated with Emerson, a global technology, software, and engineering leader providing innovative solutions. In this collaboration, Emerson joined the Carrier Alliance program, under which Emerson would continue to offer leading-edge software & technologies from its air conditioning and cold chain businesses like valves, compressors, and sensors, to a wide variety of products within the Carrier portfolio.
Dec-2020: Daikin Air-conditioning India took over the air handling business of Ahmedabad-based Citizen Industries. This acquisition aimed to improve Daikins product positioning in the commercial air-conditioning market and also help the company to strengthen its presence in the expanding commercial air-conditioning market.
Dec-2020: Carrier Global Corporation entered into an agreement with Danfoss, a Danish multinational company. In addition, Danfoss also joined the Carrier Alliance program. Under the agreement, Danfoss would supply numerous components that include valves, compressors, heat exchangers, and drives across Carriers HVAC and Refrigeration portfolios. The agreement also included that Danfoss would supply Carrier-branded replacement compressors.
Nov-2020: Emerson took over 7AC, provider of heating and air conditioning products and services. Under this acquisition, 7AC would offer a one-step solution, which demonstrates more energy efficiency and air quality than the prevailing top-class products.
Scope of the Study
Market Segments covered in the Report:
By Product Type
Portable Fans
Portable Air Conditioners
Portable Heaters
By End User
Residential
Commercial
By Distribution Channel
Hypermarkets / Supermarkets
Departmental Stores
Specialty Stores
Online Retail
Others
By Geography
North America
o US
o Canada
o Mexico
o Rest of North America
Europe
o Germany
o UK
o France
o Russia
o Spain
o Italy
o Rest of Europe
Asia Pacific
o China
o Japan
o India
o South Korea
o Singapore
o Malaysia
o Rest of Asia Pacific
LAMEA
o Brazil
o Argentina
o UAE
o Saudi Arabia
o South Africa
o Nigeria
o Rest of LAMEA
Companies Profiled
LG Electronics (LG Corporation)
Panasonic Holdings Corporation
Carrier Global Corporation
Daikin Industries, Ltd.
Emerson Electric Co.
Hitachi, Ltd.
AB Electrolux (Electrolux)
Blue Star Limited
Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. (Haier Group Corporation)
Dyson Limited
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Highest number of market tables and figures
Subscription based model available
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Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
The global market for Glucose Monitoring Devices estimated at US$ 24.8 Billion in the year 2023, is projected to reach a revised size of US$ 118.1 Billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 16.9% over the analysis period 2023 to 2033
NEWARK, Del, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Future Market Insights' most recent industry report, the global glucose monitoring devices market was valued at roughly US$ 21.3 Billion in 2022 and is expected to rise at a CAGR close to 16.9% over the forecast period, reaching an estimated worth of US$ 118.1 Billion in 2033.
Over the past 20 years, diabetes has escalated to a severe health concern with an unparalleled rate of global growth. It is a significant contributor to death in those aged 20 to 79. The World Health Organization has classified diabetes as a global pandemic due to its rapidly increasing prevalence.
Patients with diabetes require regular monitoring. Costs associated with patient monitoring can be decreased by utilizing technologies for information and communication, artificial intelligence, and smart devices together. Diabetes is mostly brought on by changes in blood glucose levels, and it is important to keep them steady for a set period.
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The adoption of continuous glucose monitoring devices, which are emerging as a novel technique for monitoring glucose levels, is growing along with the number of diabetic patients. Every ten minutes, these devices update the real-time glucose level data they provide. The preservation of healthy blood glucose level is the only method for a diabetic to prevent potentially fatal diabetic complications, and glucose monitoring is an essential component of diabetes management.
Non-invasive glucose monitoring has recently become more popular as it lessens the discomfort and suffering experienced by diabetics who must prick their skin more than four times per day to measure their blood glucose levels.
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With increasing prevalence of diabetes, as well as advancements in sensor-based technologies for patient monitoring, the market is set to expand at a lucrative pace, over the forecast period.
Key Takeaways from Market Study
Self-monitoring devices are the leading segment as product, and hold approximately 58.3% market value share in 2022, owing to their automated and reliable monitoring process.
Diabetes type II segment is set to lead in terms of indication of glucose monitoring devices with an estimated market value share of around 90.1% by 2023, owing to the high prevalence of type II diabetes globally.
By end user, hospitals held a market share of around 46.7% in 2022, owed to the adoption of continuous monitoring devices in hospitals to reduce the number of fingerstick point of care capillary blood glucose tests, hyperglycemic episodes, and hypoglycemic episodes.
North America holds a value share of 34.0% in 2022, owing to the high prevalence of chronic diseases in the region.
Rising initiatives to integrate artificial intelligence, as well as digital technologies to blood glucose monitoring devices, as well as growing new product launch activities, are factors propelling the growth of the global glucose monitoring market, says an analyst of Future Market Insights.
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Market Competition
Key players' rigorous research led to the development of improved technologies such as flash glucose monitoring and continuous glucose monitoring. Companies also engage in strategic initiatives such as new product launches and mergers and acquisitions.
All consumers with diabetes type 1 are now covered for the Dexcom G6 rtCGM System under the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program, according to an announcement made by Dexcom, Inc. in January 2023.
Abbott disclosed in June 2022 that it is creating a new biowearable that combines a sensor to continually monitor both glucose and ketone levels. The U.S. FDA has granted the system breakthrough device classification.
Key Players:
Dexcom, Inc.
Abbott Laboratories
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Switzerland)
Medtronic
Ascensia Diabetes Care
Arkray
Ypsomed AG
Acon Laboratories
Nipro
Nova Biomedical
Goldsite Diagnostics Inc. (China)
Lifescan Ip Holdings, LLC
Prodigy Diabetes Care
What Does the Report Cover?
Future Market Insights offers a unique perspective and actionable insights on the glucose monitoring devices market in its latest study, presenting a historical demand assessment of 2015 to 2022 and projections for 2023 to 2033. The global glucose monitoring devices market is segmented in detail to cover every aspect of the market and present a complete market intelligence approach to the reader.
Key Market Segments Covered in Glucose Monitoring Devices Industry Research
Product:
Self-Monitoring Devices
Continuous Monitoring Devices
Indication:
Diabetes Type I
Diabetes Type II
End User:
Hospitals
Clinics
Diagnostics Centres
Home Care Settings
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Table of Content
1. Executive Summary | Glucose Monitoring Devices Market
1.1. Global Market Outlook
1.2. Demand Side Trends
1.3. Supply Side Trends
1.4. Analysis and Recommendations
2. Market Overview
2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy
2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations
2.3. Inclusions and Exclusions
3. Key Market Trends
3.1. Key Trends Impacting the Market
3.2. Market Innovation / Development Trends
4. Key Success Factors
4.1. Product Adoption/Usage Analysis
4.2. Disease Epidemiology
4.3. Key Promotional Strategies
4.4. Payer Mix Analysis
4.5. Recent Product Launches and Approvals
4.6. Reimbursement Scenario
4.7. Value Chain Analysis
4.8. Regulatory Scenario
4.9. PESTEL Analysis
4.10. Porters Analysis
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About Healthcare Division at Future Market Insights
Future Market Insights facilitates corporates, government, investors, and associated audiences in the healthcare sector to identify and accentuate vital aspects applicable to product strategy, regulatory landscape, technology evolution, and other crucial issues to achieve sustainable success. Our unique approach to gathering market intelligence equips you in devising innovation-driven trajectories for your business.
Have a Look at Related Reports of Healthcare domain
Dental Whitening Lamps Market Size: The overall demand for dental whitening lamps is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% between 2022 and 2032, totalling around US$ 533 Million by 2032.
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Heat Therapy Units Market Overview: The global heat therapy units market is expected to reach US$ 3.5 Billion by 2022. The demand for heat therapy units is estimated to exceed a valuation of US$ 8.5 Billion by the end of 2032.
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GSF's Top-Performing Global Facility of 2022 Earns Highest Company Honor for Second Consecutive Year
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, Golden State Foods (GSF) celebrated the 2022 Chairman's Challenge Award winner, GSF's Opelika, Alabama Protein Products manufacturing facility, a repeat winner and only the second facility in GSF history to win the company's highest honor for two consecutive years. A highly anticipated annual tradition for 23 years, the prestigious award recognizes the Opelika team's exemplary performance in the areas of people, quality, growth, financial results, and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG).
Golden State Foods Chairman's Challenge Award 2023
"Congratulations and sincere thanks to all of our phenomenal Opelika associates on their tremendous success in earning the Chairman's Challenge honors for two years in a rowa remarkable accomplishment that has only happened one other time in this award's more than two decades in existence," said Mark Wetterau, chairman and chief executive officer, Golden State Foods. "Our extraordinary Protein Products team joins a highly exceptional circle of multi-year Chairman's Challenge achievers!"
Highlighting the award-winning facility's numerous achievements throughout 2022, GSF Corporate Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Brian Dick announced the Chairman's Challenge Award at GSF's Global Leadership Conference in Las Vegas. During the company's annual awards ceremony, GSF Board Member Conrad Wetterau joined Dick in congratulating the 2022 Chairman's Challenge winner on the award, which resulted from Opelika's many accomplishments throughout the past year. These accomplishments include: performing to the highest standards in quality audits conducted internally, externally, and with customers; successfully supporting customer demand, while overcoming supply chain challenges; servicing customers through innovative solutions that increase equipment efficiencies; excelling in cost management; delivering financial results; improving associate experience survey scores; earning an industry safety award; and sustaining active GSF Foundation associate participation and community involvement.
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"What an incredible, historic honor for our well-deserving Protein Products associates, as we have tirelessly pursued excellence together and driven this two-year winning streak with dedication and perseverance," said Nate Murphy, Group Vice President, Operations Protein Products. "What sets this outstanding Opelika team apart is the passion we share to consistently put people first, to innovate, and to live out our GSF Creed and Values in all we do for our customers, our community, and our company."
In addition to its second consecutive Chairman's Challenge Award, the Opelika team earned GSF's 2022 Quality Focus Award and Safety Excellence Award, as well as its third consecutive GSF "Best in Class" Platinum Award in the food processing category. Comprising the finalists for Chairman's Challenge, the company's annual "Best in Class" awards honor large facilities (Platinum Awards) and small facilities (Diamond Awards) in distribution and food processing.
For 2022, GSF Fresh! China won the "Best in Class" Diamond Award in the food processing category for its third consecutive year. The distribution category winners include first-time honoree, Quality Custom Distribution (QCD) Chicago West, for the 2022 "Best in Class" Platinum Award and another repeat winner in its category, QCD Phoenix, Arizona, for the 2022 "Best in Class" Diamond Award.
About Golden State Foods
Golden State Foods (GSF), one of the largest diversified suppliers to the foodservice and retail industries, feeds 1 billion people every day! Headquartered in Irvine, California, the multi-national company is values-based with proven performance in superior quality, innovation, and customer service. Established in 1947, GSF and its family of companies currently service 100+ leading brands (125,000+ restaurants/stores in more than 50 countries) from its 50+ locations on five continents. Its core businesses include: manufacturing of liquid products, protein, produce, dairy/aseptic, and provides custom distribution services. The company employs approximately 6,000 associates and is 100 percent management-owned and run. Golden State Foods also operates a national non-profit organization, the GSF Foundation.
Media Contact:
Emma LaPalermo, Porter Novelli
emma.lapalermo@porternovelli.com
(630) 818-7620
Golden State Foods (PRNewsfoto/Golden State Foods)
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Industrial software company releases HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 to simplify complex data processing and enterprise scalability for Industrial DataOps
PORTLAND, Maine, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HighByte, an industrial software company, today announced the release of HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 that simplifies scalability and complex data processing to meet the evolving needs of industrial companies in their digital transformation journey. The latest release includes core functionality to build, deploy, and manage a Unified Namespace (UNS), enable complex data pipeline processing, simplify project management through tagging, and much more.
Statement from Jan EK, SKF Group Technical Strategy Leader for Manufacturing
"The user experience of HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 is seamless and intuitive, with a modern and well-designed interface," said Jan Ek, technical strategy leader for manufacturing at SKF Group in Sweden. SKF is a world-leading provider of innovative rotating shaft solutions and services, represented in more than 130 countries. "The new Pipelines feature brings an abundance of possibilities to build models and execute transformations with ease, and the added tagging capabilities truly elevate the deployment process to a whole new level."
According to independent research firm Verdantix, the demand for Industrial DataOps platforms and data aggregation solutions will surge in 2023, owing to data management challenges. In the firm's 2022 global corporate survey, 97% of respondents stated that expanding data acquisition capabilities related to cleaning, contextualization, and visualization are important to their operations in 2023. To succeed, the ability to scale across sites and the diverse, infinite amount of data they produce is critical. HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 enables this scale by providing a digital infrastructure solution capable of curating, contextualizing, and preparing industrial data for use across the enterprise.
"HighByte customers have had early success deploying HighByte Intelligence Hub as the Industry 4.0 data architecture solution to meet their initial digital transformation requirements," said HighByte CEO Tony Paine. "Building on the success of preparing operational data through standardization, contextualization, and normalization and transforming it into usable information for the entire enterprise, customers are now looking to solve more advanced use cases by further centralizing OT-IT intelligence. HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 introduces the necessary capabilities and user experience required to further simplify complex data processing at scale with the agility of meeting an organization's future needs."
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The Intelligence Hub version 3.0 includes an MQTT broker tightly integrated with the hub's core data integration and contextualization capabilities. The MQTT v3.1.1 and v5 compliant broker is a critical component to rapidly deploying a local UNS and was built from the ground up by HighByte. A UNS is the fastest growing design pattern for integrating industrial data into a highly scalable and accessible structure to provide a real time view of the state of the business. The latest release also includes a graphical data Pipelines builder to configure and curate complex data payloads for object storage systems like Amazon S3. The builder includes steps to buffer, transform, and format payloads and the ability to track the transformation of data through the pipeline. This provides customers a holistic approach to processing files and other bulk data.
HighByte Intelligence Hub version 3.0 is now commercially available. Please contact HighByte or an authorized distributor to request a trial or purchase an annual subscription license.
Additional Resources
About HighByte
HighByte is an industrial software company in Portland, Maine USA building solutions that address the data architecture and integration challenges created by Industry 4.0. HighByte Intelligence Hub, the company's award-winning Industrial DataOps software, provides modeled, ready-to-use data to the Cloud using a codeless interface to speed integration time and accelerate analytics. Learn more at https://www.highbyte.com.
HighByte is a registered trademark of HighByte, Inc.
Media Contact
HighByte
Torey Penrod-Cambra
Chief Communications Officer
+1 844.328.2677 x701
torey.penrod-cambra@highbyte.com
HighByte logo. All rights reserved. (PRNewsfoto/HighByte)
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Wilton Brands
Wiltons New Ready to Build Happy Easter Chocolate Cookie House Kit and their New Make Easter Sweeter Cookie Kit provide fun activities to inspire creativity this spring
Hop into Easter and Spring with Wiltons New and Returning Seasonal Products
Hop into Easter and Spring with Wiltons New and Returning Seasonal Products
NAPERVILLE, Ill., Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wilton, a global leader in cake decorating, candy making, bakeware and party products, is introducing two new decorating kits to their beloved Easter line up of products. The new Ready to Build Easter Chocolate Cookie House Kit and the Make Easter Sweeter Cookie Kit offer easy and fun ways to make Easter-inspired treats. In addition, Wilton will be reintroducing fan favorite Easter bakeware, tools and decorating supplies. Whether a beginner baker or veteran, Wiltons Easter line will have consumers hopping into the kitchen this spring.
Easter image
We know how special baking can be during the holidays and Easter is no exception to that, said Carly Lofgren, Wilton Seasonal Director. At Wilton, we are dedicated to helping create memories in the kitchen with tools and baking products that inspire imaginations to run wild. This years Easter line-up includes everything from sprinkles and decorations in soft pastel colors, easter egg and bunny shaped tools, cookie kits and seasonal bakeware.
Wiltons Easter products include:
NEW! Decorating Kits:
Wilton Ready to Build Happy Easter Chocolate Cookie House Kit : This new kit features an adorable A-frame chocolate house ready to be assembled and adorned with pastel icing and sprinkles. Available at Kroger, Meijer, Walmart.com, and other local retailers. SRP: $10.99.
Wilton Make Easter Sweeter Cookie Kit : This cookie kit comes with six adorable cookies in bunny and egg shapes as well as pastel icing and sprinkles. A fun afternoon activity for the kids! Available at Walmart, Walmart.com, Kroger, Meijer, and other local retailers. SRP: $10.99.
Returning Easter Favorites:
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To learn more about the Easter collection or what is new from Wilton, visit www.wilton.com or follow Wilton on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
About Wilton Brands
We inspire the joy of baking and decorating in everyone, everywhere, every day. Since 1929, Wilton has been helping home bakers and cake decorators all over the world create sweet treats and beautiful desserts by giving them the tools to make it fun and easy. Wilton is a global leader in cake decorating, candy making, bakeware and party products. Learn more at www.wilton.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Abby Penich
Arrowhead Communications
abby@arrowheadcommunications.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/527b0085-8cf3-40fa-8348-2e232d60ae6e
Company Logo
Italian Elevator and Escalator Market
Italian Elevator and Escalator Market
Dublin, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Italy Elevator and Escalator - Market Size & Growth Forecast 2023-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The Italy elevator and escalator market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.41% during 2023-2029. The increasing demand for high-rise structures and the government's focus on infrastructure in key economic cities have propelled the Italy elevator and escalator market to new heights.
The Italy elevator market by the installed base is expected to reach 1,126,423 units by 2029. In 2022, elevators used in the residential sector accounted for the largest share of around 38.6%, applicable to Italy's steadily increasing urban population. The rising use of elevators in apartment buildings significantly impacts their adoption in the residential sector.
Growth Rate Of Digitalization And Increasing Developments In Buildings To Drive The Italy Elevator And Escalator Market
Home transactions have witnessed an increase of 43.1% in 2021. It is observed that housing purchases rose in smaller cities, towns, or the countryside in 2021 by 46.6% and in major cities by 36.1%.
Increasing sales growth in smaller towns/cities or suburbs is contributed by the pandemic, which has stimulated demand for better access to living spaces, according to ANCE (Associazione Nazionale Costruttori Edili).
An investment of USD 41.7 million was invested in meeting the demand of Milan for developing long-term rental and social housing. Further, a residential project of 200 apartments project was planned in the Sarpi Area of Milan.
Nearly USD 30.8 million was allocated to energy efficiency projects and building redevelopment as a key investment in saving 0.98Mt CO2 by anticipating reduction through energy efficiency in public and private buildings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Unity of Japanese engineer Hitachi and Italian contractors Webuild and Astaldi had been awarded a contract worth USD 2.8 billion in August 2020 to begin initial works on Verona-Padua high-speed/high-capacity railway project in Italy with an allocated fund of USD 5.4 billion. The project is anticipated to be finished by 2027 and will enhance the development of the infrastructure sector in Italy.
Ministry of Infrastructure had allocated USD 8.4 million towards mobility, water resources, housing, and urban renewal. In addition, another USD 661 million was financed for the "Caput Mundi" project, which was initiated by the Ministry of Tourism.
An estimated investment of around USD 312.6 million for a new logistics project is planned for Verona, Italy. The project is located in Vigasio and will be in two phases; an investment of USD 12.5 million is estimated to construct four buildings in an area of 200,000 m2. The project's second phase will involve an additional investment of USD 18.8 million. The initial phase is expected to be finished by 2023.
To promote increased tourist flows and enable the area's commercial fabric and community centers to resume, a moving walkway, also known as a sliding sidewalk, was installed in the tunnel between Rome's Via Nazionale and Via del Tritone. The Termini-Vatican-Aurelio tramway will pass across Via Nazionale on the Jubilee of 2025. The authority anticipates that increased pedestrian and tourist traffic will result from the upgraded infrastructure.
Under Italy's Budget Law 2021, funding of USD 33.3billion was allotted to Infrastructure 4.0 investment, USD 29.5billion for high-speed railway and road maintenance, and USD 38.5 was funded to intermodal transport and integrated logistics for the development of non-residential and infrastructure construction in Italy.
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are the city's next major international event and are expected to be a successful operation, a fundamental demonstration for Italy. It's an opportunity to enhance Cortina's infrastructure, which is one of its drawbacks, and to attract international tourists.
Three million tons of carbon dioxide per year will be reduced by the Turin-Lyon railway by 2030. The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is building a railway between Turin and Lyon under the Alps. Webuild and its joint venture (JV) partners have been awarded a contract for excavating a section of the base tunnel for the Turin-Lyon high-speed train worth USD 1.69 billion (1.43 billion).
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SEGMENTATION
Governments Effort To Expand Infrastructure Across Nation To Increase Demand For New Installations
Italy will likely invest USD 7.8 billion to modernize and increase capacity at its docks until 2026. The funding is mainly focused on increasing the size of the ships that Italy's leading container ports can handle through dredging, new breakwaters, and improved connections to road and rail links.
The government of Italy allocated USD 4.1 billion towards mobility in 2022. Out of this funding, USD 2.1 billion will be utilized for local lines and high-speed rail and around USD 1.7 billion for rapid mass transport such as metros and subways, also upgrading the bus fleet in Rome.
The train run time between the Brescia-Verona-Vicenza line will be reduced by 2026 as the line between Liguria, and Alpi will compete. The upgradation of the Verona to Brennero line will also be witnessed with a value of USD 8.9 billion.
In Bentivoglio, part of the Bologna Freight Village complex, Italy, to design and construct three new turnkey logistics buildings. Three structures with floor areas of 12,340 m2, 18,200 m2, and 16,700 m2 are involved. Each building will have functional office space, a warehouse, and technical facilities. Since the corporation is committed to sustainability, these buildings will be LEED Silver certified.
Regulation-Driven Maintenance And Modernization of Elevators And Escalators In Italy To Create Demand
The maintenance and modernization of Italy elevator and escalator market accounted for 67.9% and 32.1%, respectively, for 2022.
According to ThyssenKrupp Elevator Italia, around 40% of the total building stock has crossed the threshold age of 30 years. Various technological advancements have made machine users more functional and economical from an energy perspective. They also need to satisfy EU regulations by sector, which is essential.
SMI (Scale Mobili Italia) is focused on the maintenance and service of mobility equipment, including elevators, escalators, and moving walkways. In 2018 it introduced training sessions and courses on the maintenance of escalators for technicians in elevator companies where they get to explore procedures for maintenance, modernization, and replacement of multi-brand escalators. This is expected to support the Italy elevator and escalator market growth during the forecast period.
VENDOR LANDSCAPE
The top 4 prominent vendors, including Otis, KONE, Schindler, and TK Elevator, account for 60% of the Italy elevator and escalator market share.
Key Vendors
Otis
KONE
Schindler
TK Elevator
Mitsubishi Electric
Fujitec
Other Prominent Vendors
Stannah Lifts Holdings Ltd
GMV Lifts
Cibes Lift Group
Giovenzana
Wittur
Key Metrics
Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 105 Forecast Period 2022 - 2029 Estimated Market Value in 2022 29795 Units Forecasted Market Value by 2029 35201 Units Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.4% Regions Covered Italy
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/n3u4u-elevator?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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Agreement to Explore and Earn an 80% Interest in the Project
White Hill Hosts Verified Copper-Skarn Mineralization and Porphyry Copper-Molybdenum Potential
Ivanhoe Electric will Deploy its Proprietary Typhoon Technology to White Hill
PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE American:IE)(TSX:IE) President and Chief Executive Officer Taylor Melvin is pleased to announce that Ivanhoe Electric has entered into an earn-in and joint venture agreement (the "Agreement") with privately-owned Exiro Minerals to acquire up to an 80% interest in the White Hill Copper Project in Nevada.
White Hill is located in the Gillis Range, Mineral County, Nevada, approximately 20 miles east of Hawthorne and 100 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada. The Project is situated within the Fitting Mining District and comprises 1,016 federal mineral claims covering 20,992 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Project hosts demonstrated copper-bearing skarn-style mineralization.
Mr. Melvin commented: "The White Hill earn-in agreement expands Ivanhoe Electric's portfolio of high-quality, copper-focused exploration projects in the US. We believe White Hill offers excellent prospectivity for a large-scale porphyry copper discovery in a state with a prolific mining history. We are excited to deploy our Typhoon technology and utilize our team's extensive experience at White Hill."
The White Hill Project is in the World-Class Mining Jurisdiction of Nevada
According to the US Geological Survey ("USGS"), Nevada ranks in the top five for US copper production, with approximately 163 million pounds produced in 2021. The White Hill Project is located in western Nevada, which is considered prospective for large-scale copper discoveries and has seen a recent increase in interest from major mining companies. The Yerington porphyry-skarn district, located 55 miles northwest of the White Hill Project, produced approximately 1.75 billion pounds of copper from 162 million tons of ore with an average grade of 0.54% copper between 1953 and 1996 (source: USGS).
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Figure 1. Map showing the White Hill Project location and USGS listed porphyry copper systems of Nevada.
Ivanhoe Electric Inc., Tuesday, February 21, 2023, Press release picture
Historical Exploration and Development Potentially Indicative of a Larger Mineralized System Located at Depth
Local prospectors discovered copper mineralization at White Hill in the late 1800s. By 1910, the London, UK-based Copper Hills Mining Corporation had sunk a 220-foot shaft, driven a 310-foot adit, and developed a 340-foot sub level to exploit the shallow, skarn-hosted, copper oxide mineralization. Copper oxide mineralization extended to a depth of 200 feet, beyond which copper-molybdenum sulfide mineralization was reported.
The observed calc-silicate skarn-hosted copper mineralization is associated with anomalous silver, lead and zinc which are all dominantly present as oxide minerals in the near surface environment. The observed mineralization is interpreted as distal expressions of a buried hydrothermal system, such as a potential concealed porphyry at depth. Skarn alteration and mineralization on the property are spatially associated quartz monzonite intrusions and thin porphyritic quartz-feldspar dykes.
Potential for a Typhoon Discovery
Ivanhoe Electric has recognized the potential for buried porphyry, skarn and carbonate-replacement mineralization to exist at the White Hill Project, as well as possible extensions to the areas of currently known copper-skarn mineralization. Initial exploration will include geological mapping, sampling and airborne electromagnetic surveying to refine exploration targets at depth. Subsequently, Ivanhoe Electric will deploy its proprietary geophysical surveying system TyphoonTM to explore for anomalies at depth to help pinpoint future exploration drilling.
Typhoon has demonstrated its effectiveness at identifying significant mineralized bodies located below the basin fill cover of the US Southwest - notably at the Company's flagship Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona (refer to Ivanhoe Electric's news release dated November 29, 2022).
Key Terms of the Earn-In and Joint Venture Agreement
Ivanhoe Electric has the right to earn an 80% interest in the White Hill Copper Project by incurring $10.0 million of expenditures on the Project and making payments to Exiro totaling $4.95 million ($3.55 million in cash and $1.4 million in Ivanhoe Electric common shares) within six years of signing the Agreement. During the earn-in period, Ivanhoe Electric has the exclusive right to operate, control and direct all exploration and mineral development activities at the Project. There are no minimum expenditures required in any given year, and Ivanhoe Electric has the right to cease making payments at any time, resulting in it earning no interest in the Project.
Should Ivanhoe Electric earn into 80% of the Project, the joint venture will form, and Ivanhoe Electric will then be obligated to fund the next $30 million of development expenditures to advance the Project. After that expenditure, each joint venture partner will contribute pro rata to the joint venture or be subject to standard dilution provisions related to its Project interest. In the event that Exiro is to be diluted to less than 10%, it will retain a 10% Project interest and Ivanhoe Electric will carry Exiro's funding obligation through to commercial production. At commercial production, Exiro will become obligated to repay such funded amounts within 12 months of commercial production. No royalties are to be granted as part of this agreement. Ivanhoe Electric is also being granted a right of first refusal over Exiro's interest in the joint venture.
Qualified Persons
Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature regarding the White Hill Project included in this news release have been reviewed, verified, and approved by Shawn Vandekerkhove (P.Geo), a Qualified Person as defined by Regulation S-K, Subpart 1300 promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("S-K 1300") and by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). Mr. Vandekerkhove is an employee of Ivanhoe Electric and is not considered independent for purposes of S-K 1300 or NI 43-101.
About Ivanhoe Electric
Ivanhoe Electric is an American technology and mineral exploration company that is re-inventing mining for the electrification of everything by combining advanced mineral exploration technologies, renewable energy storage solutions and electric metals projects predominantly located in the United States. Ivanhoe Electric uses its Typhoon transmitter, an accurate and powerful geophysical survey system, together with advanced data analytics provided by its subsidiary, Computational Geosciences, to accelerate and de-risk the mineral exploration process as well as to potentially discover deposits of critical metals that may otherwise be undetectable by traditional exploration technologies. Through its controlling interest in VRB Energy, Ivanhoe Electric also develops and manufactures advanced grid-scale vanadium redox battery storage systems. Finally, through advancing its portfolio of electric metals projects located primarily in the United States, headlined by the Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona and the Tintic Copper-Gold Project in Utah, as well as projects in Montana, Oregon and North Carolina, Ivanhoe Electric is also well positioned to support American supply chain independence by delivering the critical metals necessary for electrification of the economy.
Contact Information
Investors: Valerie Kimball, Director, Investor Relations 720-933-1150
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this news release.
Such statements include without limitation statements regarding Ivanhoe Electric earning into 80% of the White Hill Project; the potential for a larger mineralized system to be located at depth at the White Hill Project; the conduct of a geophysical surveying system Typhoon at the Project; and statements regarding the timing and success of future exploration activities.
Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including changes in the prices of copper or other metals Ivanhoe Electric is exploring for; the results of drilling and exploration activities and/or the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations; the significant risk and hazards associated with any future mining operations; the failure of plant and/or equipment to operate as anticipated or to be subject to unanticipated breakdowns; extensive regulation by the U.S. government as well as local governments; changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to fulfill contracts with the company or to perform as agreed; and the impact of political, economic and other uncertainties associated with operating in foreign countries, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economy. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements described in Ivanhoe Electric's registration statement on Form S-1, as amended, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and base PREP prospectus filed with Canadian securities commissions.
No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Ivanhoe Electric cautions you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release, and Ivanhoe Electric expressly disclaims any requirement to do so.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Electric Inc.
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https://www.accesswire.com/740247/Ivanhoe-Electric-Adds-the-White-Hill-Copper-Project-in-Nevada-to-its-Portfolio-of-Highly-Prospective-Critical-Metals-Exploration-Projects
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Jacques Flynn as Director, Brand Style Management. In this role, Flynn will oversee all aspects of Mazda Brand Design for North America. Through fostering strong relationships and collaborations with both Mazda Design and Marketing, Flynn will ensure the Mazda Brand continues to remain a leader in the automotive brand space.
Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at www.mazdausamedia.com. (PRNewsFoto/Mazda North American Operations) (PRNewsfoto/MAZDA NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS)
Flynn has deep experience as an automotive designer, having worked previously with Mazda Design America between 2006-2017 as Lead Exterior Designer. Most recently, Flynn was Director of exterior design for an EV start-up.
"As Mazda continues its push towards premium, it will be imperative to also evolve the Mazda Brand through the lens of the CASE* era; a challenge I am most excited about," said Flynn. "I am thrilled to be back at Mazda; a company that prides itself on being design-driven with such an emphasis on the brand and how the two are inherently tied together."
"Jacques' background in brand management will support both Mazda Design and Brand Style with key insights for the coming CASE* era," said Sr. Director, Mazda Design America Yasutake Tsuchida. "I feel strongly that his notable accomplishments and passion for design will guide Brand Style Management into the next chapter."
*CASE (Connected, Automated, Shared and Electric)
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.
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Follow MNAO's social media channels through Twitter and Instagram at @MazdaUSA and Facebook at Facebook.com/MazdaUSA.
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Virtual Investor Conferences
Company Executives Share Vision and Answer Questions Live at VirtualInvestorConferences.com
NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virtual Investor Conferences, the leading proprietary investor conference series, in partnership with KCSA Strategic Communications (KCSA), today announced the agenda for the KCSA Cannabis Virtual Investor Conference to be held February 23rd. Individual investors, institutional investors, advisors, and analysts are invited to attend.
REGISTER NOW AT: http://bit.ly/3Egk4rT
It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates. There is no cost to log-in, attend live presentations and schedule 1x1 meetings with management.
We are excited to host our 19th Cannabis Virtual Investor Conference alongside an impressive roster of companies from across the sector, said Jason Paltrowitz, Executive Vice President of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group. Special thanks to the team at KCSA Strategic Communications for their continued partnership and dedication in putting together these successful events.
February 23rd
To facilitate investor relations scheduling and to view a complete calendar of Virtual Investor Conferences, please visit www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.
About Virtual Investor Conferences
Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.
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Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.
Media Contact:
OTC Markets Group Inc. +1 (212) 896-4428, media@otcmarkets.com
Virtual Investor Conferences Contact:
John M. Viglotti
SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access
OTC Markets Group
(212) 220-2221
johnv@otcmarkets.com
SNS Insider pvt ltd
SNS Insider research added a new market research study on Medical Coding Market Size, Share & Segment by Classification System, by Component, by End User, by Regions and Global Forecast 2023-2030 to its research database.
Pune, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per the SNS Insider research, The Medical Coding Market size was valued at US$ 20.83 Billion in 2022, and is projected to reach US$ 48.35 Billion by 2030, with a growing healthy CAGR of 11.1% During the forecast period 2023-2030.
Medical data and documentation, including doctor's notes, and lab and radiologic results, are taken and converted into codes in the process of medical coding. To check whether the codes are applied correctly or not is the responsibility of the medical coding specialists. The procedures entail extracting data from documentation, assigning the proper codes, and generating a claim that insurance companies will pay.
A significant market trend is the growing use of computer-aided coding systems (CACS).
The market for medical coding is characterized by an increase in CACS usage. Medical coders typically handle medical coding tasks, however the healthcare industry is seeing a rise in the usage of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and the internet of medical things (loMT), which is increasing the demand for CACS. As comparison to manual coding, it has many benefits, such as improved productivity and efficiency and uniform application of coding principles. With the expansion of medical diagnostics and treatments around the world, the medical coding system is constantly changing.
Get Sample Report of Medical Coding Market@ https://www.snsinsider.com/sample-request/2491
Key Company profiles Listed are:
AGS Health
Dolbey Systems Inc.
Parexel International Corporation
GeBBS Healthcare
Aviacode, Inc.
Precyse Solutions, LLC
3M
Maxim Health Information Services
Oracle Corporation
Verisk Analytics
Startek Health
Medical Record Associates LLC
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Prominent players and market analysis: Efficiency in the medical coding market leading to opportunities
To improve the efficiency of hospitals, ambulatory centres, and diagnostic units, businesses are leveraging on the development of effective technologies like artificial intelligence-integrated medical codes. Also, the industry participants are concentrating on a variety of business tactics to increase their worldwide footprint, including mergers and acquisitions, service upgrades, finance, and partnerships with other regional or local players.
In the upcoming years, North America is projected to rule the worldwide medical coding market among all other regions. Some of the important elements include the rising incidence of various diseases in the area. In the upcoming years, it is also projected that medical coding would increase due to the rising demand for optimising hospital billing processes and the presence of important industry participants in the area.
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Market Report Scope:
Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2022 US$ 20.83 Billion Market Size by 2030 US$ 48.35 Billion CAGR CAGR of 11.1% From 2023 to 2030 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Historical Data 2020-2021 Key Market Segments By Classification System (Healthcare Common Procedure Code System (HCPCS), International Classification of Diseases (ICD), Current Procedural Terminology (CPT))
By Component (Outsourced, In-House)
By End User (Hospitals, Diagnostic Centers, Others) Key Regional Coverage North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, The
Middle East & Africa, Latin America
New breakthroughs in the medical coding market
To enhance revenue cycle management, Ochsner Health's emergency department acquired Nym Health's medical coding technology in April 2022.
The same month, XpertDox and Urgent Care for Children USA (UC4C) partnered exclusively to offer XpertCoding. It is a completely automated, turnkey system that improves the efficiency of medical coding and quickens the revenue cycle for all of UC4C's clinics in Tennessee and Alabama.
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British Minister for Europe and North America Leo Docherty is on a visit to Azerbaijan's Baku, Azernews reports.
As tweeted by British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Fergus Auld, within his visit, the official met with Head of the Coast Guard of Azerbaijan's State Border Service Lt-Gen Muzaffar Pirizade.
The sides discussed bilateral cooperation projects, as well as security issues in the Caspian Sea.
Further, the ambassador noted the importance of combating mines for Azerbaijani-UK cooperation.
Combating mines is a very important part of our cooperation with Azerbaijan. That is why we met with demining experts during @LeoDochertyUK s visit. We discussed the importance of combating mines and Great Britain's support to Azerbaijan in this field," he tweeted.
Not that long ago, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister held a phone conversation with Docherty, during which he briefed the British official on the current situation around the Lachin road.
Mercedes-Benz plans to build its own branded navigation using new in-car geospatial data and navigation capabilities from Google Maps Platform.
The partnership enables Mercedes-Benz to create a driving experience that pairs the trusted, reliable information from Google Maps with its own unique luxury brand and feel.
The companies agreed to explore further collaboration using Google Cloud's leading artificial intelligence (AI), data and open infrastructure solutions.
Starting today, Mercedes-Benz will give customers access to initial new features like Place Details, provided by Google.
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercedes-Benz and Google announced today a long-term strategic partnership to further accelerate auto innovation and create the industry's next-generation digital luxury car experience. With this partnership, Mercedes-Benz will be the first automaker to build its own branded navigation experience based on new in-car data and navigation capabilities from Google Maps Platform.
This will give the luxury automaker access to Google's leading geospatial offering, including detailed information about places, real-time and predictive traffic information, automatic rerouting, and more. By embedding these features into the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS), customers will be able to enjoy a superior navigation experience, thanks to easy usability and outstanding graphics on the car's high-resolution screen. To help enrich the user experience, the companies will bring the YouTube app into the Mercedes-Benz infotainment system. In addition, Mercedes-Benz will use Google Maps data to enable assisted driving features such as automatic speed adjustments before intersections, roundabouts or curves.
"We invite only the very best partners to enhance our operating system and to add to the Mercedes-Benz customer experience. Google has been a leader in maps and navigation for many years. With our strategic partnership, we are excited to create unique services and to elevate the level of convenience for our customers. It will be deeply integrated within our signature Mercedes-Benz user interface and fully connected to relevant vehicle functions like the state-of-charge."
Ola Kallenius, Chief Executive Officer, Mercedes-Benz
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As a first step, Mercedes-Benz will give customers access to Place Details provided by Google, helping them find detailed information about more than 200 million businesses and places around the world, including business hours, photos, ratings, and reviews. Place Details will be available starting today in all vehicles with the latest generation of MBUX in applicable markets*.
The companies agreed to explore further collaboration using Google Cloud's leading artificial intelligence (AI), data and open infrastructure solutions. For example:
AI: Mercedes-Benz intends to use Google Cloud's AI and Machine Learning capabilities to create, train, and deploy new models at speed and enhance customer experiences.
Data: Mercedes-Benz intends to use Google Cloud's fast and efficient data processing platform to analyze fleet data.
Open Infrastructure: Mercedes-Benz plans to use Google's open infrastructure to securely innovate and scale from on-premises, to edge, to cloud, across Mercedes-Benz's current technology landscape.
"Our partnership with Mercedes-Benz brings advanced technologies from Google Maps Platform, Cloud, and YouTube to help create new experiences for drivers. In addition to enabling Mercedes-Benz to design a customized navigation interface, we'll provide our AI and data capabilities to accelerate their sustainability efforts, advance autonomous driving, and create an enhanced customer experience."
Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, Google and Alphabet
*all Generation 2020 MBUX (NTG7) vehicles with navigation in connect markets except China, Japan and Korea. Series: 223, 206, 295, 297, 296, 294, 254, 232, 177 (from production 12/2022, model year 22/2), W247 (from production 12/2022, model year 22/2), V167 (from production 12/2022, model year 22/2).
Forward-looking statements:
This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current views about future events. The words "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "can," "could," "plan," "project," "should" and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including an adverse development of global economic conditions, in particular a decline of demand in our most important markets; a deterioration of our refinancing possibilities on the credit and financial markets; events of force majeure including natural disasters, pandemics, acts of terrorism, political unrest, armed conflicts, industrial accidents and their effects on our sales, purchasing, production or financial services activities; changes in currency exchange rates, customs and foreign trade provisions; a shift in consumer preferences towards smaller, lower-margin vehicles; a possible lack of acceptance of our products or services which limits our ability to achieve prices and adequately utilize our production capacities; price increases for fuel or raw materials; disruption of production due to shortages of materials, labour strikes or supplier insolvencies; a decline in resale prices of used vehicles; the effective implementation of cost-reduction and efficiency-optimization measures; the business outlook for companies in which we hold a significant equity interest; the successful implementation of strategic cooperations and joint ventures; changes in laws, regulations and government policies, particularly those relating to vehicle emissions, fuel economy and safety; the resolution of pending governmental investigations or of investigations requested by governments and the outcome of pending or threatened future legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties, some of which are described under the heading "Risk and Opportunity Report" in the current Annual Report or in the current Interim Report. If any of these risks and uncertainties materializes or if the assumptions underlying any of our forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, the actual results may be materially different from those we express or imply by such statements. We do not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements since they are based solely on the circumstances at the date of publication.
Mercedes-Benz Group at a glance
Mercedes-Benz Group AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With Mercedes-Benz AG, the Group is one of the leading global suppliers of premium and luxury cars and vans. Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG offers financing, leasing, car subscription and car rental, fleet management, digital services for charging and payment, insurance brokerage, as well as innovative mobility services. The company founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history by inventing the automobile in 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Mercedes-Benz sees shaping the future of mobility in a safe and sustainable way as both a motivation and obligation. The company's focus therefore remains on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior vehicles that both captivate and inspire. Mercedes-Benz continues to invest systematically in the development of efficient powertrains and sets the course for an all-electric future: The brand with the three-pointed star pursues the goal to go all-electric, where market conditions allow. Shifting from electric-first to electric-only, the world's pre-eminent luxury car company is accelerating toward a fully electric and software-driven future. The company's efforts are also focused on the intelligent connectivity of its vehicles, autonomous driving and new mobility concepts as Mercedes-Benz regards it as its aspiration and obligation to live up to its responsibility to society and the environment. Mercedes-Benz sells its vehicles and services in nearly every country of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and Africa. In addition to Mercedes-Benz, the world's most valuable luxury automotive brand (source: Interbrand study, 03 Nov. 2022), Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-EQ and Mercedes me as well as the brands of Mercedes-Benz Mobility: Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Athlon. The company is listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges (ticker symbol MBG). In 2021, the Group had a workforce of around 172,000 and sold 2.3 million vehicles. Group revenues amounted to 168.0 billion and Group EBIT to 29.1 billion.
About Google
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Google Cloud, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
About Google Cloud
Google Cloud accelerates every organization's ability to digitally transform its business. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.
About Google Maps Platform
Google Maps Platform powers rich geospatial solutions for organizations around the world based on the comprehensive and trusted information from Google Maps. We help customers create innovative products and improve operations with geospatial services for more than 250 countries and territories. Learn more here .
Cision
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SOURCE Google Inc.
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from GLOBAL TIMES ONLINE:
Thirty-five Chinese and Vietnamese enterprises signed agreements for a total of 19 cooperation projects worth more than 3.4 billion yuan ($490 million) at a promotional event for south China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) held in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, on Feb. 21.
The projects involve the purchase of such products as coffee beans, coconuts and coconut cream, dried fruits and vegetable, metal, automobiles, rubber, and steel products; two-way tourism exchanges; and investment for the building of factories.
In an effort to further tap into the bilateral cooperation, the Department of Commerce of Hainan Province and Hainan International Business Council jointly hosted the promotional event with the support of the HCMC People's Committee, Chinese Consulate General in HCMC, and relevant business associations in the HCMC.
The event was aimed at helping the industrial and commercial circles in Vietnam gain a better understanding of the Hainan FTP and boosting closer pragmatic cooperation between Hainan and Vietnam.
The promotional event was attended by nearly 350 people, including Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the HCMC People's Committee, Wei Huaxiang, Chinese Consul General in HCMC, Tran Ngoc Liem, General Director of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry HCMC Branch, as well as other officials, representatives of enterprises in key industries of Vietnam and Chinese-invested companies, and journalists.
During the event, officials from Hainan introduced to participants investment opportunities in the Hainan FTP, Hainan's characteristic tropical high-efficiency agriculture, and the development of tourism and culture sectors in Hainan.
Participants in the event said the promotional event demonstrated Hainan FTP's confidence and determination to expand high-level opening-up and that they are looking forward to the two sides' efforts to deepen cooperation.
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"FTP represents the highest level of openness in the world so far and a new highland of opening-up in China. The promotional event for Hainan FTP will effectively upgrade economic and trade cooperation between China and Vietnam and benefit people of the two countries with institutional opening-up and robust and stable development," said Wei.
Policies and institutional arrangement of the Hainan FTP will generate new business opportunities for ASEAN countries, and closer economic and trade ties between China and Vietnam will inject fresh impetus into the development of the FTP, Wei noted.
SOURCE GLOBAL TIMES ONLINE
Noridian Healthcare Solutions
The two companies will work together to develop suicide prevention resources for the VA
FARGO, N.D., Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Noridian Healthcare Solutions, LLC (Noridian), a leader in developing solutions for federal, state and commercial health care programs, has partnered with Verve, LLC to support the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in implementing a nationwide suicide prevention grant program. Noridian and Verve are assisting grantees and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) staff with implementation activities of the Staff Sergeant Parker Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP). The work is focused on developing resources to educate the community agencies that will be doing suicide prevention outreach to eligible Veterans and their families.
According to the 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Report from the VA, suicide rates among Veterans have declined, but there is still work to be done. Suicide prevention programs like the Staff Sergeant Parker Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program will help continue this decline until all Veterans and their families have access to the resources they deserve and need, said Katie Shequen, vice president of clinical operations at Noridian. At Noridian, we are committed to enabling access to health care, including mental health services, which is why were honored to be working with Verve to support the VA and community organizations on this critical program.
The SSG FOX SPGP is a three-year community-based grant program that offers financial assistance to organizations that provide suicide prevention services to eligible Veterans and their families. Noridian and Verve are developing educational and training materials on topics that help these organizations reach eligible recipients. Topics covered, include outreach and engagement, eligibility requirements, mental health screenings, obtaining VA benefits, and clinical and support services. The companies are developing webinars, training calls and other resources focused on the requirements of the SSG FOX SPGP grant program to educate the grantees. SSG FOX SPGP honors Veteran Parker Gordon Fox, who joined the Army in 2014 and was a sniper instructor at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Ft. Benning, GA.
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Verve, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) and women-owned small business (WOSB) is dedicated to supporting the federal government. We are honored to support the VA on the SSG Fox Suicide Prevention Grantee Program with the partnership of Noridian. It is personally rewarding to know that our support is directly involved in helping the VA regarding its mission in the prevention of suicide among our veterans, said Penny Aktepy, president at Verve.
Noridian continues to execute its strategy of supporting efforts that enables access to health care including partnering with small businesses. This company is committed to working with businesses that value high-quality standards, constant innovation, service excellence, responsible stewardship, integrity, and effective collaboration.
To learn more about Noridian and its solutions for federal, state, and commercial health care programs, visit Noridian (noridiansolutions.com).
About Noridian Healthcare Solutions
Noridian Healthcare Solutions, LLC (Noridian) develops solutions for federal, state, and commercial health care programs through a full suite of innovative offerings, including claims processing, medical review, and contact center and provider administrative services. Headquartered in Fargo, N.D. with staff located throughout the nation, Noridian administrates people-first services across all 50 U.S. states. Leveraging its decades of experience, the Noridian team designs and implements customizable, high-quality solutions to eliminate common health care barriers, enabling access to care. For more information, visit www.noridian.com.
About Verve
Verve, LLC is a service-disabled Veteran-owned, Women-owned small business. They develop solutions for Federal agencies through a full suite of innovative offerings including strategy and business management, healthcare practices, Artificial Intelligence, system development and logistics and design. Verve solutions meet federal security, governance, and budget constraints. Located in Baltimore, M.D. Verves mission is to be a partner for our customers in helping them achieve their vision and goals by offering strategy solutions and implementation services. For more information, visit www.vervellc.com .
Media Contact
Cailin Shovkoplyas, Communications Manager
701-282-1503
Cailin.Shovkoplyas@noridian.com
Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
Accelerated demand for the material from the oil and gas industry in the Middle East and North America is expected to fuel market possibilities for organo-modified bentonite during the assessment period of 2023 to 2033
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global organo-modified bentonite market is anticipated to grow at a substantial CAGR of 6.3% throughout the forecast period from 2023 to 2033. The global market is predicted to be valued at US$ 271.8 million in 2023 and is set to surpass a valuation of US$ 501.3 million by 2033.
As per the historic analysis of the global organo-modified bentonite market, it registered a significant pace from 2018 to 2033. According to the research conducted by Future Market Insights, the worldwide organo-modified bentonite industry revenue totaled US$ 255.7 million in 2022.
An organically modified form of bentonite is utilized in a wide variety of applications due to its phenomenal binding, absorbency, and lubrication properties are called organo-modified bentonite. Its main component is bentonite (montmorillonite clay).
Furthermore, the surging applications of organo-modified bentonite in drilling fluids and its high usage as a partial substitution of cement in concrete manufacturing are a few prominent factors that are facilitating the expansion of the worldwide market. Attractive features of organo-modified bentonite such as excellent thickening ability and compatibility make it a popular product in the paints & coatings industry.
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Over recent years, substances such as organo-modified bentonite, kaolin, and kaolinite have gained immense traction due to their increasing usage in paints, ceramics, and other highly sought-after products. In addition to that, rising exploration activities in the oil & gas industry are escalating energy demand.
It is further expected to boost the global organo-modified bentonite industry during the forecast period. Organo-modified bentonite has become one of the commonly used organoclay rheological additives. It is extensively used in drilling fluids across the oil & gas sector. Utilizing drilling fluids with unique compositions has become a critical aspect of drilling operations in deep wells.
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Key Takeaways
Widespread application of organo-modified bentonite across various industries such as paints & coatings, foundry, cement (Portland cement), textiles, and cosmetics. Expansion of these industries will eventually elevate organo-modified bentonite demand during the assessment period.
The increasing application of organo-modified bentonite as an effective binder for the production of steel, iron, and non-ferrous castings is anticipated to augment sales in the market over the next decade. Moreover, the rising usage across the water treatment industry is expected to propel global demand for organo-modified bentonite.
Organo-modified clay as an adsorbent can remove a wide range of contaminants such as heavy metals, microorganisms, oil particles in suspension, and chemicals in produced water treatment processes. These aforementioned factors are expected to boost growth in the global market.
Wastewater treatment performance evaluation of synthesized products indicated that the physicochemical and bacteriological properties of wastewater get improved significantly. This indicates clearly that organo-modified bentonite has enormous potential to be applied as an adsorbent material for produced water treatment.
Surging demand for skin care products and escalating wastewater treatment activities especially in emerging economies are expected to create lucrative growth opportunities for organo-modified bentonite manufacturers. Similarly, expanding usage across industries such as cement, foundry, paints & coatings, textile, cosmetics, and others is expected to propel organo-modified bentonite demand over the next ten years.
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Competitive Landscape
Key manufacturers of global organo-modified bentonite are concentrating on research and development activities for the development of products, employing different quaternary ammonium salts for different applications. Besides this, they are employing strategies such as facility expansions, partnerships, collaborations, mergers, joint ventures, and mergers to stay ahead of the competition.
Key Companies Profiled
Elementis Plc
Schlumberger Limited
Laviosa Minerals Srl
Lamberti S.p.A
ZHEJIANG HUATE GROUP
Unitech Chemicals (Zibo) Ltd.
zhejiang camp-shinning new material co. ltd
Manek Group
Zhejiang Anji Tianlong Organic Bentonite Co. Ltd.
Zhejiang Qinghong New Material Co. Ltd.
Changxing Guangda New Materials Co., Ltd.
Mineral Technologies Inc.
Clariant AG
Kunimine Industries Co., Ltd.
CB CHRYSTAL
Alfa Aesar
Kutch Minerals Limited
Ashapura Group
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Organo-modified Bentonite Industry Segmentation
By Application:
Drilling Fluid
Clarification Agent
Nucleating Agent
Binder
Absorbent or Adsorbent
Others
By End User:
Oil and Gas
Foundry
Paints and Coatings
Textile
Water Treatment
Cement
Cosmetics
Lubricants and Greases
Coal Briquette
By Region:
North America
Latin America
East Asia
South Asia and the Pacific
Europe
Middle East and Africa
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More Insights into the Organo-modified Bentonite Market
The North American region is anticipated to dominate the global organo-modified bentonite market. The U.S. accounts for a dominant share of 91.4% across the overall North American region while also accounting for nearly 1.5th of the market volume share in the region.
The growth in the U.S. is primarily attributed to the propelling demand for organo-modified bentonite from the oil and gas industry. The United States has become one of the largest sources of technically recoverable shale gas and the second-largest tight oil reserves across the globe.
China is anticipated to account for a significant share of around 79% of the entire East Asia organo-modified market in 2023 and is expected to expand significantly over the forecast period.
Increasing population, rapid urbanization and industrialization, and growing need for organo-modified bentonite in various industries are a few key prominent factors augmenting the demand for organo-modified bentonite in the country.
Table of Content
1. Executive Summary | Organo-modified Bentonite Market
1.1. Global Market Outlook
1.2. Demand Side Trends
1.3. Supply Side Trends
1.4. End User Roadmap
1.5. Analysis and Recommendations
2. Market Overview
2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy
2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations
3. Key Market Trends
3.1. Key Trends Impacting the Market
3.2. Product Innovation / Development Trends
4. Key Success Factors
4.1. Product Adoption / Usage Analysis
4.2. Product USPs / Features
4.3. Strategic Promotional Strategies
Old Source: Fueled by Accelerated Demand in Multiple Industry Verticals, Organo-modified Bentonites Market to Grow at positive CAGR Over 2021-2031 - Future Market Insights, Inc.
Explore FMIs Extensive Ongoing Coverage on Chemicals & Materials Domain
Asia Pacific Bentonite Market Size: The Asia Pacific bentonite market is currently valued at around US$ 65,706.9 Th and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 5.9% to reach US$ 116,799.7 Th by 2032.
Sulphur Bentonite Market Growth: Demand in the sulphur bentonite market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.0% between 2022 and 2029. Future Market Insights (FMI) forecasts the market value to top US$ 197.3 Mn in 2022.
Phosphates Market Overview: The phosphates market will generate revenue, surpassing US$ 16.1 Bn in 2021. Between 2021 and 2031, the market is forecast to exhibit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.4%.
Kyanite Market Forecast: Global demand for Kyanite Market is expected to reach a market valuation of US$ 147.8 Million by the end of the year 2023, accelerating at a CAGR of 3.2% over the forecast period (2023 to 2033).
Butyl Glycol Market Growth: The global butyl glycol market is estimated to surpass US$ 3.23 Bn by 2022. Growing application of butyl glycol as a coupling agent and solvent across household cleaning and industrial sectors is propelling the demand in the market.
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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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Perk Labs Inc. (CSE:PERK)(OTCQB:PKLBF)(FKT:PKLB) ("Perk" or the "Company"), the parent company of Perk Hero, the company helping businesses transition to the digital economy, today announced it has received a notice of allowance for a United States patent application directed at systems and methods for electronic payments with fraud prevention based on correlating transaction data and information from a user's device.
"As a technology-driven company, intellectual property protection is paramount to our success, and we're delighted to receive a notice of allowance for our anti-fraud technology patent application. This recognition not only validates our innovation and leadership in the mobile payment industry but also strengthens our position in protecting our valuable intellectual property" said Jonathan Hoyles, CEO of Perk Labs. "We've placed security and anti-fraud as our highest priority and remain committed to investing in research and development and advancing our technology to deliver secure and seamless payment solutions to our customers."
Perk Labs also holds a U.S. and Canadian patent for enabling the payments of invoices and bills using a mobile device and has the following patent applications pending:
Canadian patent application pending for the anti-fraud invention referenced above.
Canadian patent pending for an invention directed at wireless electronic transactions.
U.S., Australia, and Canada patent applications directed to a method, system, and computer readable medium for transferring cryptographic tokens.
About Perk Labs Inc.
Perk Labs Inc. (CSE:PERK) (OTCQB:PKLBF) (FKT:PKLB) is the owner of Perk Hero, the mobile commerce platform on a mission to empower business owners with the digital tools to provide their customers with dining experiences that are more engaging, convenient and rewarding.
For more information about Perk Labs, please visit www.perklabs.io. Visit Perk Hero at www.perkhero.com.
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For more information on a Perk Franchise, visit www.perkfranchise.com.
For more information contact:
Jonathan Hoyles, CEO
Perk Labs Inc.
(833) 338-0299
investors@perklabs.io
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "may", "believe", "thinks", "expect", "exploring", "expand", "could", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "pursue", "potentially", "projected", "should", "will" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. These forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to, among other things, the discussion of the Company's business strategies and its expectations concerning future operations, validates our innovation and leadership in the mobile payment industry but also strengthens our position in protecting our valuable intellectual property. Although the Company considers these forward-looking statements to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur.
SOURCE: Perk Labs Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/740275/Perk-Labs-Receives-Notice-of-Allowance-for-US-Patent-Application-for-Anti-Fraud-Technology
PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / PetroSun, Inc. (OTC PINK:PSUD; the "Company") announced today that the Company has entered into an agreed framework under which future production from certain wells which may be drilled on PetroSun leaseholds in the Holbrook Basin can be marketed to a third-party processing plant.
Under the agreement, PetroSun holds an option to deliver production from commercial helium discoveries to Desert Mountain Energy's McCauley processing facility. Desert Mountain will have a right to approve any sales of gas based on gas composition, available processing capacity at the facility and other considerations. Production would then be sold at terms and pricing to be agreed. Desert Mountain's McCauley facility is located south of Winslow, Arizona, where Desert Mountain has drilled and completed several wells, and nearby unexplored leases held by PetroSun. Following the commencement of deliveries to the facility, either party may terminate the arrangement at any time.
PetroSun's Chief Financial Officer, Chris Hewitt, commented, "This agreement provides PetroSun with an interim path to bring production of helium to market following a discovery of commercial reserves. Upon the agreement of the parties to pricing and terms, PetroSun would transport gas volumes under pressure via truck to the McCauley facility."
Hewitt continued, "Although we are not ready to commence production at this time from any well, and the Company's Manuel Seep wellbore awaits perforation and testing to determine commerciality, the agreement provides PetroSun with a flexible path to market new helium production until the Company is ready to construct its own processing plant. We appreciate this agreement with Desert Mountain Energy Corp. and look forward to building our relationship with the Desert Mountain team in areas of overlapping interest."
ABOUT PETROSUN, INC.
PetroSun, Inc. owns significant leasehold acreage that is prospective in helium exploration and production in the Holbrook Basin of Arizona and prospective for natural gas and helium in the Paradox Basin of Utah. The Company holds mineral leases on approximately 280,000 gross acres in the Holbrook Basin and over 26,000 gross acres in the Paradox Basin. The Company trades on the OTC Pink Sheets under the symbol "PSUD".
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Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "ongoing", "plan", "potential", "predict", "project", "should", "will", "would", or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainty and other factors that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of all filings of the Company that are disclosed on the OTCMarket.com website.
Contact:
PetroSun, Inc.
2999 North 44th Street, Suite 620
Phoenix, Arizona 85018
480-425-4290
Website: www.petrosun.us
SOURCE: PetroSun, Inc.
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/740321/PetroSun-Announces-Agreement-to-Process-Future-Helium-Production
OTTAWA, ON, Febr. 22, 2023 /CNW/ -
Brand: Kobayashi Eyebon Eye Wash
Summary
Product: Unauthorized health product labelled to contain a prescription drug
Issue: Health products Product safety
What to do: Do not use this product. Return it to your local pharmacy for proper disposal. Consult a health care professional if you have used this product and have health concerns. Prescription drugs can only be legally sold in Canada with a prescription. Buy your prescription drugs from licensed pharmacies only.
Images
Kobayashi Eyebon Eye Wash, Cool format (CNW Group/Health Canada)
Affected products
Product Prescription drug on the label Retailer Kobayashi Eyebon Eye Wash, Cool format Labelled in Japanese to contain aminocaproic acid Oceanbuy 2600 John St., Unit #107 Markham, ON
Issue
Health Canada is warning consumers about an unauthorized health product, Kobayashi Eyebon Eye Wash, Cool format, which it seized from Oceanbuy, a store located in Markham ON, and removed from online sale. The unauthorized product was labelled in Japanese to contain aminocaproic acid, a prescription drug used to decrease bleeding in various clinical situations.
The product is promoted as an eye wash for contact lens users and for the prevention of eye disease.
Exposure to aminocaproic acid in the eye may affect the eye itself, and the acid may be absorbed through the tear ducts into the blood. Side effects may include watery eyes, blurry or reduced vision, headache, dizziness, nausea, muscle weakness and skin rash.
Selling unauthorized health products in Canada is illegal. Unauthorized health products have not been approved by Health Canada, which means that they have not been assessed for safety, efficacy and quality and may pose a range of serious health risks. For example, they could contain high-risk ingredients, such as prescription drugs, additives or contaminants that may or may not be listed on the label. These ingredients could interact with other medications and foods. In addition, these products may not actually contain the active ingredients that consumers would expect them to contain to help maintain and improve their health.
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Prescription drugs should only be used under the advice and supervision of a health care professional because they are used to treat specific conditions and may cause serious side effects.
What you should do
Do not use this product. Return the product to your local pharmacy for proper disposal.
Consult a health care professional if you have used this product and have health concerns.
Buy your prescription drugs only from licensed pharmacies.
Read product labels to verify that health products have been authorized for sale by Health Canada. Authorized health products have an eight-digit Drug Identification Number (DIN), Natural Product Number (NPN) or Homeopathic Drug Number (DIN-HM). You can also check whether products have been authorized for sale by searching Health Canada's Drug Product Database and Licensed Natural Health Product Database.
Report any health product-related side effects or complaints to Health Canada.
Egalement disponible en francais
SOURCE Health Canada
Cision
View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/22/c9792.html
BEACONSFIELD, QC, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - The City of Beaconsfield is proud to announce that it has obtained the Concilivi Seal granted by Reseau pour un Quebec Famille. The Seal is awarded to organizations that stand out for cultivating a balance between family, personal and work obligations by offering its employees various measures including telework, personal days off, and an employee assistance programme. By completing all stages of the accreditation process for obtaining this recognition, the City of Beaconsfield has demonstrated its commitment to its employees in helping them fulfil their family and work obligations.
City of Beaconsfield Logo (CNW Group/Ville de Beaconsfield)
"Reconciling family and work is a major source of stress for most families in Quebec. In Beaconsfield, we attach particular importance to the wellbeing of our team. Earning the Concilivi Seal is an important recognition of our practices and policies created for our employees to help them feel fulfilled and content with both aspects of their life. Work-life balance is a collective effort, and it starts with the families of our staff", commented the director general of the City of Beaconsfield, Patrice Boileau.
"The Concilivi initiative has allowed us to consolidate the support offered to our employees. We hope that these measures will positively impact our efforts to retain staff and raise the City's profile in the job market", declared Myriam Ritory, Human Resources Director at the City of Beaconsfield.
About Concilivi
Created by Reseau pour un Quebec Famille, Concilivi is aimed at encouraging employers to introduce work-life balance measures adapted to the new reality of work and employees' needs. Concilivi includes both a seal of recognition and a centre of expertise specialized in work-life balance.
The Concilivi Seal is a key certification for organizations wishing to demonstrate their commitment to work-life balance. The Centre of Expertise is Concilivi's research and innovation arm, providing ongoing monitoring of the latest market trends. To learn more about Concilivi, visit their website at concilivi.com (in French only).
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SOURCE Ville de Beaconsfield
Cision
View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/22/c6270.html
Expands Geographic Coverage, Adds Capabilities in Facilities Management, and Builds Scale in Process, Automation, and Project Engineering Services
BOSTON and SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequoia Consulting Group (Sequoia), a leading provider of technical and full life-cycle services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients, announced the acquisition of 42 North Solutions (42 North). Based in Scituate, MA and founded by Robert DeCoste and Daniel Ramsey, 42 North supports capital project execution and management, technical operations, and facilities management needs of pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. Sequoia is a portfolio company of Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm.
Sequoia and 42 North provide a broad range of services to help clients manufacture life enhancing and lifesaving therapeutics. The acquisition of 42 North expands Sequoia's geographic presence to the East Coast, adds facilities management capabilities, and brings additional depth to Sequoia's process, automation, and project engineering service offerings.
"We are very excited to support the combination of Sequoia and 42 North," said Craig Stern, a General Partner at Riverside Partners. "Each company has an outstanding reputation, a blue chip customer base, and a highly qualified and dedicated team of technical professionals. By bringing them together, we are creating a leading player with a strong presence in the most attractive markets in the U.S. for pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing."
"Sequoia has grown organically since Riverside's original investment about a year ago, and now we are delighted to add 42 North to the Sequoia family," said David Belluck, a General Partner at Riverside Partners. "We are extremely impressed with Rob and Dan and know they will be excellent additions to Sequoia's senior leadership team and Board of Directors. We look forward to supporting Sequoia's next phase of growth."
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"I am thrilled to welcome the 42 North team to Sequoia," said Sequoia Consulting Group CEO Brandy Bullen. "42 North has deep expertise in technical operations and facilities management, a strong presence on the East Coast, an impressive list of clients, and a talented and dedicated employee base it is an outstanding fit with Sequoia. I am extremely excited to work with Rob, Dan, and the rest of the 42 North team during the combined company's next chapter."
"Our clients have come to expect a broad range of services offered by a highly technical team of professionals with a deep commitment to solving their most challenging projects," said Daniel Ramsey, Co-Founder of 42 North. "We know that's exactly what they will continue to receive from the combined company." Robert DeCoste, Co-Founder of 42 North, added, "We could not be more eager to join forces with Sequoia in order to create a leading national player with a broader suite of services that will allow us to provide more value to clients."
Financial terms of the transaction, which closed in February 2023, were not disclosed.
About Sequoia Consulting Group
Based in San Diego, CA, Sequoia Consulting Group is a functional and strategic partner for life sciences, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, and medical device companies. Sequoia supports organizations of all sizes from start-up to large enterprise by assembling fit-for-purpose teams to build and implement solutions that drive timely, cost-effective, and successful outcomes for their partners. Sequoia's team of over 250 expert consultants has extensive experience in successfully managing complex, highly technical projects and specializes in project and program management; quality management; process, automation, and project engineering; facilities management; scientific operations; and business transformation. For more information, visit www.sequoiabiotech.com.
About 42 North Solutions
Based in Scituate, MA, 42 North specializes in capital project execution and management, facilities engineering, commissioning and qualification, process engineering, and facilities management for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. For more information, visit www.42northsolutions.com.
About Riverside Partners
Founded in 1989, Riverside Partners is a middle market private equity firm with total capital commitments of $1.6 billion raised since inception. The firm focuses on growth-oriented companies in the technology and healthcare industries. Riverside Partners is particularly experienced at partnering with founders, owners and management teams, and it brings substantial domain expertise and operating experience to its portfolio companies. For more information, visit www.riversidepartners.com.
Cision
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SOURCE Riverside Partners
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received British Minister of State for Europe and North America Leo Docherty, Azernews reports, citing a tweet by the British minister.
The British minister emphasized that Azerbaijan is an important trade and energy partner of the UK, and the UK is committed to peace and security in the South Caucasus.
Im in Baku, Azerbaijan - an important trade and energy partner of the UK. In my conversation with FM @Bayramov_Jeyhun I underlined the UKs commitment to peace and security in the region, the British minister tweeted.
Notably, the British minister is on an official visit to Azerbaijan. He is planned to meet with various state officials.
He is scheduled to have a meeting at the Transport Ministry to discuss international road transport between the UK and Azerbaijan, and ink a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Customs Committee.
In addition, Leo Docherty will visit JCB, a UK company in Azerbaijan to hear from senior officials leading on green energy transition.
Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S
Company Announcement
No. 10/2023
Copenhagen, 22 February 2023
Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S to Acquire Alec Bradley Cigar Business
Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S (the Company) has today agreed on the terms and conditions for the acquisition of substantially all assets of Alec Bradley Cigar Distributors Inc. and associated companies (Alec Bradley). The transaction is valued at USD 72.5 million (about DKK 500 million) on a debt and cash free basis (the Enterprise Value) and is expected to be closed shortly. The acquisition will be fully financed by cash at hand and debt.
The Alec Bradley brand is a material addition to the Companys portfolio of premium cigars and brings Scandinavian Tobacco Group one step closer to becoming the undisputed and sustainable global leader of cigars. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Alec Bradley reported annual net sales in 2021 of USD 25 million and an EBITDA margin before special items of 24%. Both net sales and EBITDA margin improved during 2022.
CEO of Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S, Niels Frederiksen commented:
The acquisition of the Alec Bradley cigar business is another important step toward our ambition of becoming the undisputed and sustainable global leader in cigars. Through this bolt-on acquisition, we will expand our portfolio of highly regarded premium cigars in the US and international markets, delivering material value to our shareholders. We will also leverage the Alec Bradley brand portfolio to deliver increased excitement to the handmade cigar category through product innovation and brand activations, benefitting both the cigar enthusiasts and our trade partners.
The transaction is expected to be margin-, EPS- and ROIC accretive when fully integrated. The Company leverage ratio (net interest-bearing debt/EBITDA) will, when the transaction proceeds to completion, increase by less than 0.2x. At the end of the third quarter 2022, the Companys leverage ratio was 1.9x. Further details of the expected financial impact of the acquisition will be communicated in connection with the announcement of Scandinavian Tobacco Groups full year 2022 results on 8 March 2023.
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About Alec Bradley
Alec Bradley is a family-owned business established in 1996 by entrepreneur Alan Rubin. The business model is asset-light with outsourcing of the cigar production and with approximately 30 full-time employees in the US and Canada. In 2022, Alec Bradley sold almost 10 million cigars an increase of 5% versus 2021 primarily in the US and Canada, but also in international markets.
Brands within the Alec Bradley portfolio include among others Prensado, Kintsugi, Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf, Fine and Rare and Black Market.
For further information, please contact:
Torben Sand, Head of IR & Communication, phone +45 5084 7222 or torben.sand@st-group.com
Eliza Michael, IR and Communication, phone +45 5080 7619 or eliza.michael@st-group.com
Attachment
BELOEIL, QC, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - At the heart of this agreement is the mutual recognition of the need to accelerate the reduction of energy consumption and carbon emissions of buildings in fact, this sector of the economy contributes to nearly 40% of GHGs worldwide1. Therefore, this partnership aims to accelerate the enrollment of buildings that are newly engaging in the fight against climate change by stimulating and monetizing their associated GHG reductions. With the goal of providing both environmental and financial benefits to building owners, Will Solutions and BrainBox AI are joining their complementary expertise to create a unique offering that combines BrainBox's AI's artificial intelligence (AI) solution for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) optimization with Will Solutions' Sustainable Communities of Quebec and Ontario to provide access to the voluntary carbon markets (VCM). The partners plan to expand the presence of Sustainable Communities globally.
Will Solutions Logo (CNW Group/Will Solutions)
BrainBox AI's solution, powered by AI, pairs with a building's existing Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) System to optimize its associated energy consumption and emissions in real-time. With an extensive amount of internal and external data in hand, the AI can autonomously control the HVAC system making it smarter, greener, and more efficient. As a result, BrainBox AI reduces the energy consumption of buildings by up to 25% and their carbon footprint by up to 40%, while improving the comfort of occupants.
Will Solutions is a company specializing in VCM. Through its regional Sustainable Communities (clusters), it brings together small GHG reducers, stimulates their GHG reductions, facilitates their access to the VCM and monetizes their reduction efforts through the sale of carbon credits. With its role as a decarbonization propellant for SMEs, NPOs and communities, the company has already contributed to the reduction of over 6.4 million tons of GHG (CO 2 e) between 2010 and 2019. It is a local and participative solution that works as a virtuous circle, fostering voluntary and community-based climate action.
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Martin Clermont, president of Will Solutions, said about this partnership: "BrainBox AI is a leading partner for Will Solutions. Through the development of a game-changing technology, BrainBox AI not only democratizes best practices in terms of energy efficiency in buildings, but also goes far beyond by making automated decisions adapted to each building, and by providing associated monitoring tools for eco-responsible management. Similar to Will Solutions, BrainBox AI combines decarbonization, corporate responsibility and economic reality to accelerate the achievement of net zero carbon. Climate action is Will Solutions' primary mission, and we are delighted to share this common vision with our partner. Finally, this partnership should help accelerate building membership in our Sustainable Communities in Quebec and Ontario, and thus maximize the ecological impact of our business model."
Nicolas Bosse, Chief Energy Transition Officer at BrainBox AI, said: "Will Solutions is a first mover in the creation and certification of carbon offsets anchored in the efficient operation of commercial buildings. This partnership will allow the real estate sector to contribute positively to the decarbonization of the economy, initially in Quebec and Ontario, with a common vision of expanding globally. This joint product offering by Will Solutions and BrainBox AI adds to the continuum of value offered to the real estate sector in a cost-effective decarbonization framework."
This partnership aims to catalyze and accelerate the achievement of climate and economic goals in the commercial real estate sector, tangibly and ambitiously.
_____________________________ 1 According to Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcarlin/2022/04/05/40-of-emissions-come-from-real-estate-heres-how-the-sector-can-decarbonize/?sh=586d3f1a63b7
About Brainbox AI
Founded in 2017, BrainBox AI was created to address the dilemma currently facing the built environment, its energy consumption and its significant contribution to climate change. As innovators in the global energy transition, BrainBox AI's game-changing HVAC technology leverages AI to make buildings smarter, greener and more efficient. Working with our trusted global partners, BrainBox AI supports real estate clients in a variety of sectors, including office buildings, hotels, retail, grocery stores, airports, and more.
Our headquarters are located in Montreal, Canada, a global hub for artificial intelligence. Our 150+ employees bring with them talent from all sectors, with a common desire to heal our planet. BrainBox AI works with research partners including the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Institute for Data Development (IVADO), and academic institutions including the Montreal Institute for Research in Artificial Intelligence (MILA) and McGill University. For more information visit the website. www.brainboxai.com/en
About Will Solutions
Will Solutions Inc. (WILL) is a private Canadian company and a certified BCorp. with HQs located in Beloeil, QC. The company is active in the Voluntary carbon markets (VCM) through its Sustainable Communities. WILL has a sharing philosophy. It is based on two major axes: democratizing access to VCM by pooling local GHG reduction projects carried out by SMEs, NPOs and public entities, and returning the proceeds to these partners following the sale of carbon credits by WILL. The company's name reflects its commitment to promoting voluntary climate initiatives that go beyond standard practices and government regulations. WILL has been carbon neutral since 2007 and is committed to returning 10% of its net profit to community projects and initiatives supporting sustainable development.
About the Sustainable Community (SC)
The SC is a model for democratizing access to the voluntary carbon markets that is validated under the VCS program administered by VERRA. In 2012, the associated methodology VM0018 was validated and certified by VERRA. It is the world's first Verra-validated agglomeration project methodology (Energy, Waste and soon Transportation). This methodology frames the types of eligible micro-projects, according to Verra's quality standards but also according to additional quality criteria of WILL, such as location.
By applying the best practices of qualification and quantification of reductions such as single counting, permanence, conservative estimation, additionality and non-association with social and environmental damages, SCs are specifically designed to generate high-quality carbon credits. In July 2020, the SC solution was awarded the Solar Impulse label, recognizing efficient and cost-effective solutions to protect the environment.
SOURCE Will Solutions
Cision
View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/22/c3878.html
(Adds Vladimir Voronin) Feb 22 (Reuters) - The following liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers are expected to arrive in Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany 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 (L). 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, Brunsbuettel and Lubmin terminals in Germany. For the Reuters LNG guide, click here: LNG TANKER CAPACITY in EXPECTED ARRIVAL FROM PORT cubic metres BRITAIN Maran Gas Agamemnon 172,000 Feb. 21 (A) United States Dragon Shagra 261,000 Feb. 23 Qatar South Hook Sonangol Benguela 158,000 Feb. 23 Angola Isle of Grain Orion Sea 174,000 Feb. 24 United States South Hook Soyo 158,000 Feb. 26 Angola Isle of Grain Al Kharaitiyat 171,000 March 1 Qatar South Hook Ribera Duero Knutsen 173,000 March 1 United States Isle of Grain BW Pavilion Aranda 171,000 March 2 Unites States Isle of Grain Wilforce 153,000 March 5 United States Milford Haven BELGIUM Boris Vilkitsky 159,000 Feb. 21 (STS) (A) Russia Zeebrugge Maran Gas Coronis 142,000 Feb. 22 (L) N/A Zeebrugge Flex Volunteer 174,000 Feb. 22 United States Zeebrugge Al Deebel 143,000 Feb. 24 Qatar Zeebrugge Georgiy Ushakov 172,000 Feb. 24 Russia Zeebrugge Vladimir March 1 Russia Voronin 172,000 Zeebrugge NETHERLANDS Kool Orca 174,000 Feb. 22 United States Gate Hoegh Galleon 170,000 Feb. 22 (A) United States Gate Adriano Knutsen 180,000 Feb. 24 United States Gate Gaslog Geneva 174,000 Feb. 26 United States Eemshaven Arctic Voyager 140,000 Feb. 26 Norway Gate SM Bluebird 171,000 Feb. 28 United States Gate GERMANY Megara 173,000 Feb. 23 Portugal Wilhelmshaven LNG Rosenrot 177,000 March 3 United States Wilhelmshaven Sources: Ports, AIS Live ship tracking, Refinitiv Eikon data. (^) Partial unload (*) Arrival date estimated based on flows data (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin)
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO) (NYSE American: TGB) (LSE: TKO) ("Taseko" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement ("Agreement") to acquire an additional 12.5% interest in the Gibraltar Mine from Sojitz Corporation ("Sojitz"). Gibraltar is operated through a joint venture which is owned 75% by Taseko and 25% by Cariboo Copper Corporation ("Cariboo"). Under the terms of the Agreement, Taseko will acquire Sojitz's 50% interest in Cariboo, and will then hold an effective 87.5% interest in the Gibraltar Mine.
The acquisition price consists of a minimum amount of C$60 million payable over a five-year period and potential contingent payments depending on Gibraltar mine revenues and copper prices over the next five years. An initial C$10 million will be paid to Sojitz upon closing and the remaining minimum amount will be paid in C$10 million annual instalments over the next five years.
Stuart McDonald, President & CEO of Taseko, stated, "This is a logical and beneficial transaction for Taseko, providing immediate 17% growth in our attributable copper production and earnings from mine operations. Gibraltar is a high-quality asset with a long mine life in an excellent jurisdiction. The transaction is immediately accretive to Taseko and the deferred payment structure allows us to focus our financial capacity on the construction of the Florence Copper project which we expect to commence later this year."
Mr. Osamu Matsuura, Executive Officer & COO of Sojitz Metals, Mineral Resources and Recycling Division, commented: "Sojitz has benefitted from its partnership with Taseko for more than a decade, and we continue to view the Gibraltar mine as a valuable long-life asset with a proven operating team. This transaction is consistent with our Division's strategy to transition towards metal recycling and other midstream processing businesses."
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Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to occur in a timely manner.
Transaction Details
Taseko will acquire Sojitz's 50% interest in Cariboo and become a party to the existing Cariboo shareholders agreement with Dowa Metals & Mining Co., Ltd (25%) and Furukawa Co. Ltd (25%). There will be no change to the offtake contracts established in 2010 and Dowa and Furukawa will continue to receive 30% of Gibraltar's copper concentrate offtake. There will be no impact to operation of the Gibraltar Joint Venture.
Under the terms of the Agreement, the initial minimum payment of C$10 million is due on closing and the remaining minimum amounts are payable annually in C$10 million instalments over the next five years, for a total of C$60 million. There is no interest payable on the minimum amounts.
The contingent payments are payable annually for five years only if the average LME copper price exceeds US$3.50 per pound in a year. The payments will be calculated by multiplying Gibraltar mine copper revenues by a price factor, which is based on a sliding scale ranging from 0.38% at US$3.50 per pound copper to a maximum of 2.13% at US$5.00 per pound copper or above. Total contingent payments cannot exceed C$57 million over the five-year period, limiting the acquisition cost to a maximum of C$117 million.
Stuart McDonald
President and CEO
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the information contained in this news release.
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This document contains "forward-looking statements" that were based on Taseko's expectations, estimates and projections as of the dates as of which those statements were made. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "outlook", "anticipate", "project", "target", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "should" and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These included but are not limited to:
uncertainties about the future market price of copper and the other metals that we produce or may seek to produce;
changes in general economic conditions, the financial markets, inflation and interest rates and in the demand and market price for our input costs, such as diesel fuel, reagents, steel, concrete, electricity and other forms of energy, mining equipment, and fluctuations in exchange rates, particularly with respect to the value of the U.S. dollar and Canadian dollar, and the continued availability of capital and financing;
uncertainties resulting from the war in Ukraine, and the accompanying international response including economic sanctions levied against Russia, which has disrupted the global economy, created increased volatility in commodity markets (including oil and gas prices), and disrupted international trade and financial markets, all of which have an ongoing and uncertain effect on global economics, supply chains, availability of materials and equipment and execution timelines for project development;
uncertainties about the continuing impact of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") and the response of local, provincial, state, federal and international governments to the ongoing threat of COVID-19, on our operations (including our suppliers, customers, supply chains, employees and contractors) and economic conditions generally including rising inflation levels and in particular with respect to the demand for copper and other metals we produce;
inherent risks associated with mining operations, including our current mining operations at Gibraltar, and their potential impact on our ability to achieve our production estimates;
uncertainties as to our ability to control our operating costs, including inflationary cost pressures at Gibraltar without impacting our planned copper production;
the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover material mining or operational risks;
uncertainties related to the feasibility study for Florence copper project (the "Florence Copper Project" or "Florence Copper") that provides estimates of expected or anticipated capital and operating costs, expenditures and economic returns from this mining project, including the impact of inflation on the estimated costs related to the construction of the Florence Copper Project and our other development projects;
the risk that the results from our operations of the Florence Copper production test facility ("PTF") and ongoing engineering work including updated capital and operating costs will negatively impact our estimates for current projected economics for commercial operations at Florence Copper;
uncertainties related to the accuracy of our estimates of Mineral Reserves (as defined below), Mineral Resources (as defined below), production rates and timing of production, future production and future cash and total costs of production and milling;
the risk that we may not be able to expand or replace reserves as our existing mineral reserves are mined;
the availability of, and uncertainties relating to the development of, additional financing and infrastructure necessary for the advancement of our development projects, including with respect to our ability to obtain any remaining construction financing potentially needed to move forward with commercial operations at Florence Copper;
our ability to comply with the extensive governmental regulation to which our business is subject;
uncertainties related to our ability to obtain necessary title, licenses and permits for our development projects and project delays due to third party opposition, particularly in respect to Florence Copper that requires one key regulatory permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") in order to advance to commercial operations;
our ability to deploy strategic capital and award key contracts to assist with protecting the Florence Copper project execution plan, mitigating inflation risk and the potential impact of supply chain disruptions on our construction schedule and ensuring a smooth transition into construction once the final permit is received from the EPA;
uncertainties related to First Nations claims and consultation issues;
our reliance on rail transportation and port terminals for shipping our copper concentrate production from Gibraltar;
uncertainties related to unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings;
changes in, and the effects of, the laws, regulations and government policies affecting our exploration and development activities and mining operations and mine closure and bonding requirements;
our dependence solely on our 75% interest in Gibraltar (as defined below) for revenues and operating cashflows;
our ability to collect payments from customers, extend existing concentrate off-take agreements or enter into new agreements;
environmental issues and liabilities associated with mining including processing and stock piling ore;
labour strikes, work stoppages, or other interruptions to, or difficulties in, the employment of labour in markets in which we operate our mine, industrial accidents, equipment failure or other events or occurrences, including third party interference that interrupt the production of minerals in our mine;
environmental hazards and risks associated with climate change, including the potential for damage to infrastructure and stoppages of operations due to forest fires, flooding, drought, or other natural events in the vicinity of our operations;
litigation risks and the inherent uncertainty of litigation, including litigation to which Florence Copper could be subject to;
our actual costs of reclamation and mine closure may exceed our current estimates of these liabilities;
our ability to meet the financial reclamation security requirements for the Gibraltar mine and Florence Project;
the capital intensive nature of our business both to sustain current mining operations and to develop any new projects, including Florence Copper;
our reliance upon key management and operating personnel;
the competitive environment in which we operate;
the effects of forward selling instruments to protect against fluctuations in copper prices, foreign exchange, interest rates or input costs such as fuel;
the risk of changes in accounting policies and methods we use to report our financial condition, including uncertainties associated with critical accounting assumptions and estimates; and Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A"), quarterly reports and material change reports filed with and furnished to securities regulators, and those risks which are discussed under the heading "Risk Factors".
For further information on Taseko, investors should review the Company's annual Form 40-F filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.gov and home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com, including the "Risk Factors" included in our Annual Information Form.
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SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited
FAYE RAINCOCK TO LEAD GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS AT TBWA\WORLDWIDE
LONDON and NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TBWA\Worldwide announced the appointment of Faye Raincock to the role of global head of communications, effective February 20, 2023. Based out of TBWA\London, Raincock will be responsible for creating and executing the global collective's communication and content strategy, working with TBWA's global leadership team and market leads around the world. The move comes as the collective increases its focus on productizing offerings across the total brand experience to drive disruptive growth for clients.
Faye Raincock
Anchored in Disruption, the TBWA global collective has a very deliberate and focused approach to creative innovation and intelligence, an investment which has resulted in strong year-on-year growth in new areas for both agency and clients.
Said Troy Ruhanen, chief executive officer, TBWA\Worldwide: "As the collective continues to flex its creative muscle to solve our clients' business challenges across the total brand experience, we're delighted Faye is joining us to unlock and refocus our approach to telling our own stories, and those of our clients."
A passionate storyteller by trade, Raincock's unique perspective will elevate how the collective communicates its own story around its vision to disrupt across the total brand experience with its expanded product offering and in turn, shine a spotlight on the rich narrative at the heart of its clients.
Continued Ruhanen; "Faye's credentials are impressive, she's a natural storyteller, a strategic content creator, and a leader in DE&I communications.
"She brings a journalist's skill in finding the angle, which will move us beyond mere publicity for our work, ensuring instead we are speaking to the needs of business leaders today.
"Faye's energy, passion and drive will challenge and push us to elevate our collective voice and continue to share the power of our disruptive thinking in new and interesting ways."
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Raincock joins from Havas Creative where she led the agency's public relations and marketing teams in over 70 countries. In addition to her role at Havas Creative, Raincock is chair of the DE&I Committee at the European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA) and in this capacity drives visibility for the industry's diverse talent and leaders across the EU, a role she will maintain when joining the TBWA\ collective. Working closely with TBWA\'s chief diversity officer, Aliah Berman, Raincock will continue to articulate our story, elevate our progress, and deepen our pervasive culture around DE&I by Design
Before shifting to the agency side, Raincock was editor, ITV London and a member of the ITV News Executive Committee, a position she held for over three years. In this role, Raincock was responsible for ITV's news coverage of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, managing and leading major news coverage across two general elections, the London riots in 2011, and commissioning and producing documentary length news features, which went on to win Royal Television Society nominations in both 2012 and 2013.
Commenting on her appointment Faye Raincock added: "TBWA has a really strong sense of who it is, and as a collective, you can feel the disruptive energy that delivers amazing work and breakthrough brands.
"I have always believed communications work best when they break out of our immediate environment and lead conversations beyond our own circles. My job will be to help take our story and tell it on a bigger stage. I can't wait to get started."
In addition to Raincock's appointment, Asheden Hill, associate global director of corporate communications has been promoted to global director of corporate communications, and will continue to work out of TBWA\Worldwide's global headquarters in New York.
"We have a strong multi-talented corporate marketing communications function across our global collective, and I'm confident under Faye's leadership, we'll be hearing a lot more about the impact TBWA is making," concluded Ruhanen.
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SOURCE TBWA\Worldwide
CHERRY HILL, N.J., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, was named a 2022 Greenwich Excellence Award winner. The bank earned recognition for its Middle Market Banking in two Cash Management categories: Customer Service and Product Capabilities.
America's Most Convenient Bank. (PRNewsFoto/TD Bank)
The winners of the 2022 awards distinguished themselves from competitors by combining technology with highly engaged, talented relationship managers that make it easier for clients to bank and improve clients' businesses.
"We are constantly looking for ways to enhance our capabilities and help our clients meet their business objectives. Our solution-oriented approach is at the heart of our strategy," said Chris Giamo, Head of Commercial Banking at TD. "Winning two Excellence Awards is an honor, but we're not stopping there. We will continue to innovate and deliver first-class experiences across our customer base."
Greenwich Excellence Awards are earned by banks that have measurably distinctive brands and service quality for small business and middle market clients. They are determined at a national level and in four geographic regionsMidwest, Northeast, South and Westand are selected based on Top Box ratings on a 5-point evaluation scale. To win an award, the banks selected must receive a statistically significant proportion of "Excellent" ratings at a 95% confidence level.
"TD is proud to be recognized by Coalition Greenwich as a leader in middle market banking," said Jo Jagadish, TD's Head of Corporate Products, Services and Innovation. "The award illustrates our commitment to providing our customers with innovative, exceptional products and services."
About the Greenwich Excellence Awards
Coalition Greenwich is a provider of data and analytics across the financial services industry. Based on interviews with nearly 22,000 executives across the country, Coalition Greenwich recognizes a relatively small number of more than 500 eligible providers that stand out as differentiated across a series of qualitative metrics. To qualify for consideration for the National awards, each winning bank must have a minimum of 50 clients that responded to the survey. To qualify for Regional awards, each winning bank must have a minimum of 30 clients responding in the region.
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About TD Bank
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing over 9.8 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,100 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Auto Finance, a division of TD Bank, N.A., offers vehicle financing and dealer commercial services. TD Bank and its subsidiaries also offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.td.com/us. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US and www.twitter.com/TDNews_US.
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit www.td.com/us.
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SOURCE TD Bank
KuicK Research
Kuick Research Report Estimates More Than USD 3 Billion Sales Opportunity For TROP2 Antibodies By 2028
Delhi, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global TROP2 Antibody Market, Drug Sales & Clinical Trials Outlook 2028 Report Highlights:
Global & Regional TROP2 Antibody Market Sales Insight
Global TROP2 Antibody Sales Opportunity: > USD 3 Billion
Global TROP2 Antibody Sales Forecast ( 2023 -2028)
Approved TROP2 Antibody In Market: 1 Drug (Trodelvy in 2020)
Trodelvy Dosage, Price & Sales Insight
Trodelvy Global & Regional Sales Insight ( 2020 2022)
TROP2 Antibody Clinical Pipeline By Company, Indication & Phase
Insight On More Than 20 TROP2 Antibodies in Clinical Trials
Download Report:
https://www.kuickresearch.com/report-trop2-antibody-antibodies-market-trodelvy--sales-clinical-trials-tacstd2-pipeline
The upregulation of proteins facilitating cell growth and proliferation is a common phenomenon seen in cancer cells. The TROP2 glycoprotein is one such protein that enables the growth of abnormal cells and tumors, simultaneously preventing cell death. Because its functions encourage the growth and metastasis of cancer, it has emerged as a novel target protein in the last few years and many approaches have been used to target it using therapeutic molecules and some have been very successful seeing their clinical and commercial performances in the recent years. Currently, there are about 20 candidates in the clinical pipeline in various stages but expeditious growth is expected in the coming years.
TROP2, also known as tumor-associated calcium signal transducer (TACSTD2), has been now identified as an oncogene with potential as a therapeutic target. Immunomedics made headlines in April 2020 when one of its assets, Sacituzumab govitecan, became the first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate and the first drug directed towards the TROP2 to get approval from major drug regulatory bodies around the world. The company commercialized the drug under the name Trodelvy. In the same year, Immunomedics was acquired by Gilead Sciences, adding Trodelvy to the latters oncology pipeline. With approvals in more geographical regions and for further indications, the sales of the drug have been positively impacted.
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In its initial year, the revenue generated by Gilead by Trodelvy sales totaled to US$ 122.1 Million, which surpassed US$ 300 Million in 2021. Subsequently in 2022, the sales saw a hike of more than 70%, with the company earning more than US$ 600 Million through Trodelvy sales. The US alone contributed for more than US$ 300 Million which accounted for more than 50% global Trodelvy revenue. As the use of Trodelvy broadens to include further indications, its sales are anticipated to increase exponentially in the coming years.
While Trodelvy keeps making headlines, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo have also made significant contributions to the clinical pipeline with their TROP2 targeting candidate DS-1062. Initially developed by Daiichi Sankyo, the two joined hands in 2020 to further develop and commercialize DS-1062 (Dato-DXd/datopotamab deruxtecan). Dato-DXd has consistently been showing promising responses in clinical trials both as a monotherapy and in combination with different anti-cancer agents. The drug is being evaluated in several clinical trials and recently in January 2023, Daiichi Sankyo announced the initiation of a phase 3 clinical trial evaluating a combination of Dato-DXd with anti-PD-1 inhibitor Pembrolizumab in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
The clinical and developmental pipelines have quite a few antibody-drug conjugates. Traditional targeted therapies drugs have not been efficient consistently, but do tend to have less adverse effects. In contrast, an ADC combines the cytotoxic drugs capacity to penetrate and eradicate cancer cells with an antibodys capacity to attach to the surface receptors of malignant cells. SKB264 and FDA018, developed by Klus Pharma and Shanghai Fudan-Zhangjiang, are some other antibody-drug conjugates in early phases of the clinical pipeline.
Gilead, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo are currently dominating the TROP2 drugs pipeline with their candidates by engaging them in several clinical trials for different indications, which are expected to increase their patient based in the coming years, which will translate into commercial profit for the companies. The development of novel drugs targeting new proteins is also important to address the therapeutic needs of patients who have been unresponsive to previous treatments. The TROP2 is an important protein from this aspect because recent research studies have also identified its role as a potential biomarker for several cancers.
In the last few years, the pharmaceutical industry has shifted from developing drugs towards mainstream targets such as the PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 proteins, towards targeting proteins whose therapeutic potential are being newly revealed. TROP2 is one of these new proteins which have demonstrated excellent potential as a cancer target. Researchers are learning new facts about the protein as research studies progress, highlighting the need for thorough investigation of TROP2 to discover its full therapeutic potential.
CONTACT: Contact: Neeraj Chawla Research head Kuick Research neeraj@kuickresearch.com +91-9810410366
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VizExplorer is pleased to announce that it has closed a Purchase Agreement with Dry Line Partners, LLC ("DLP") whereby DLP has acquired all the assets of VizExplorer's parent company, VizExp., Inc.
Dry Line Partners LLC & VizExplorer
VizExplorer, the leading provider of business intelligence to the casino gaming industry, providing critical technology to hundreds of properties in the US and abroad that generate over $10B in annual revenue. VizExplorer's advanced solutions provide visualizations, reporting, and recommendations, for operators to make better decisions that enhance profitability across the Gaming floor, Player Development, and Marketing.
DLP, based in Austin and San Antonio, was formed in late 2020 by Bret Piatt, Michael Girdley and Matt Morris to acquire and operate market-leading recurring revenue technology companies. VizExplorer is DLP's second platform investment.
"We are thrilled to have DLP as our new financial partner. We have been working with the DLP team for several months and have found a great fit for our team and our business. DLP will help facilitate continued innovation and investment in the critical strategic areas of the business," said VizExplorer President and CEO David Patent.
"We are excited to partner with the industry veterans at VizExplorer to further expand their dominant market position in casino gaming software. Our investor base is comprised of leading technology entrepreneurs/operators, multi-generational family offices and some of the brightest minds from global investment firms. We all recognize that VizExplorer provides a compelling value proposition to customers and has numerous avenues for growth. We seek to expand VizExplorer's competitive moat to build a business that will last forever," said Matt Morris, Partner at Dry Line Partners, LLC.
VizExplorer will exhibit in booth 2117 at the upcoming Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention, held March 27-30 in San Diego at the San Diego Convention Center. Request a product demonstration and learn more about VizExplorer at www.vizexplorer.com.
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About VizExplorer
VizExplorer is the leading provider of business intelligence to the casino gaming industry. Viz helps power over $10B in annual casino revenue with the most comprehensive solution set in the industry. Viz offers Cloud or On Prem installation, an intuitive UI, dynamic reporting, recommendations, and real-time updates. Check out our new platform, VizOnDemand for our most flexible, economic, and easy-to-use tools. Viz backs all of our solutions with rapid installation and the best support and Customer Success team in gaming.
Please contact press@vizexplorer.com with any questions or inquiries.
About Dry Line Partners
Dry Line Partners LLC ("DLP") was formed in late 2020 by Bret Piatt, Michael Girdley and Matt Morris. DLP's team leaders have acquisition and operations experience at Constellation Software, Dura Software and Rackspace, along with possessing deep public and private market investment experience. Dry Line seeks to invest in durable, recurring-revenue technology businesses and implements operational best practices utilizing its playbooks and immense professional networks.
Please contact Matt Morris with any questions or inquiries.
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SOURCE VizExplorer
After a yearslong effort, Fredericksburg will launch its new civil rights trail Thursday.
The unveiling event for Freedom, a Work in Progress will take place at UMWs Jepson Alumni Executive Center, 1119 Hanover St., at 2 p.m. The unveiling will be open to the public.
Establishing the trail is one of a series of steps City Council has taken to more thoroughly tell the story of Fredericksburgs Black residents. This project was a collaboration between the city and the University of Mary Washington.
The downtown trail, which is 2.6 miles long, will begin at the visitors center, where people can review the Green Book a guide first published in 1936 that advised Black travelers on safe places to sleep and eat in Jim Crow America.
From there, trailgoers will make stops at places such as Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), which was visited by many leaders of the civil rights movement, including W.E.B. Du Bois and Mary McLeod Bethune; Caroline and William streets to learn about lunch counter sit-ins protesting segregation; the former site of the auction block on William and Charles streets; Libertytown, a neighborhood settled by free Blacks and enslaved people; the Barton Street Potters Field, which was a burial ground for former slaves and free Blacks until it was cleared in 1920 so the city could build Maury School; and the old Greyhound bus station, where the Freedom Riders made their first stop in 1961.
The UMW portion of the trail, which is 1.9 miles long, will cover desegregation at the university, with stops at the James Farmer statue and the James Farmer Multicultural Center; Shiloh Baptist Cemetery off Monument Avenue below the campus; and the Dorothy Hart Community Center, the 1950 site of the first known civil rights protest in Fredericksburg.
Later on Thursday, Germanna Community College will host a virtual Community Conversation with Gaila Sims, the curator of African American history at the Fredericksburg Area Museum who recently partnered with the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation and the city to lead a new walking tour focused on Black entrepreneurship.
During the virtual panel, which takes place at 7 p.m., Sims will share stories of African Americans in Fredericksburg from the 18th century to the present day. She will highlight their influence on the local community, including political, social, religious and commercial contributions.
The online event is open to all and free, but registration is required.
Germannas Community Conversations series comprises free talks that explore timely topics through open dialogue and discussion with local and national experts. For more information or to register, go to germanna.edu.
RICHMOND Lawmakers voted down two bills that aimed to provide child support payments for any child whose parent or guardian was killed by a drunk driver.
Del. Jeffrey Campbell, RSmyth, introduced House Bill 1549 and Sen. Bill DeSteph, RVirginia Beach, introduced Senate Bill 1288.
Similar legislation has been introduced in other states as Bentleys Law. Bentleys Law is named for Bentley Williams, whose parents and infant brother were killed by a drunk driver in Missouri in April 2021. Williams grandmother Cecilia Williams then led the charge, reportedly working with local legislators to draft legislation to take to the Missouri General Assembly.
Bentleys Law failed to pass the Missouri legislature in 2022. The same legislation has been put forth in 24 other states, including Virginia, according to KSDK.
The Virginia Senate bill failed unanimously in the Senate Committee on the Judiciary by a 140 count. The House measure passed through the House of Delegates with bipartisan support, on a 6632 vote. The House bill hit a dead end in the same Senate committee, but on a 105 vote to pass by indefinitely.
Drunk driving was responsible for 247 deaths in 2021, according to the Virginia DMV.
Drunk driving is a plague upon the state, Campbell told a House subcommittee panel during the bills hearing.
Frank Harris, director of state government affairs for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, testified in favor of the bill. MADD has supported Bentleys Law since it was first introduced in Missouri.
This will make individuals think twice before getting behind the wheel and driving impaired, and its also about justice for victims, Harris said to the House subcommittee.
Richard Garriott from the Virginia Family Law Coalition spoke against the bill, saying that it would change the dynamic of child support in Virginia. The law coalition did not support it last year, either, Garriott said.
Child support rulings are not static and often require almost annual litigation, said Daniel Gray, head of the Virginia Family Law Coalition.
Youre really creating a way of having people that would normally have this dealt with one time in the context of a wrongful death action consign to multiple years of litigation, Gray said about the bills.
Virginia has a wrongful death statute that allows parties to sue for loss of income, care and sorrow, among other claims, Gray said.
Theres already a very expansive wrongful death statute that people can take advantage of and get relief of the type that this bill is trying to introduce, Gray said.
However, not everyone can afford the cost of a lawsuit, Campbell said to the subcommittee panel.
In many cases the offending party simply doesnt have assets and theres not adequate insurance coverage, Campbell said. We end up with children left, in many cases, as wards of the state and the taxpayers are asked to pick up the burden.
Some Senate members with a litigation background spoke against DeStephs bill in committee.
Sen. Joe Morrissey, DRichmond, agreed with the Senate bill in spirit but that the bill felt like a solution looking for a problem, he said.
Sen. Scott Surovell, DFairfax, questioned why the law would apply only to deaths from drunk driving and not other crimes, or whether the law would apply when a parent is permanently disabled but not killed.
Its not clear to me why this is a policy solution to a specific problem, Surovell said.
No comment or public testimony was given for the House bill hearing in the Senate.
Roderick Howard, MADDs mid-Atlantic region executive director, expressed disappointment over the bills failure but stated that MADD will continue to support Bentleys Law as long as it is introduced in any state legislature.
Tennessee is the only state where the legislation has passed. It was renamed Ethan, Hailey and Bentleys Law to include the names of the children of Nicholas Galinger, a Tennessee police officer who was hit and killed by a drunk driver, according to MADD.
The legislation may have a chance in future years, DeSteph said.
I think its a great idea, and sometimes it takes two or three years to get a great idea through, he said.
Sabina Mammadli Read more
First Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army Col-Gen Karim Valiyev and his Georgian counterpart Maj-Gen Giorgi Matiashvili paid a visit to operations commando military unit and air force military unit, Azernews reports per Defense Ministry.
During the visit to the operations commando military unit, the delegation laid flowers at the monument to the memory of Azerbaijani National Leader Heydar Aliyev and paid tribute to his memory.
The guests were briefed about the combat path of the military unit and the training process of the servicemen. Further, they got acquainted with the conditions created for military personnel, and combat equipment, and observed the performances of the commandos in the training center of the unit.
Further, the delegation visited the UAV military unit of the air force units and got acquainted with the military equipment that is in armament.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on November 18, 1992.
On Monday, Feb. 20, supporters of the Keene Memorial Library, advocates for book diversity and inclusion and those hoping to uplift Library Director Laura England-Biggs showed up in force for a meeting of the citys library advisory board, letting book ban proponents hear their voices.
But those views did not go unmet as a large group of parents and grandparents in favor of removing certain books from the library were also on hand at the meeting of the Keene Memorial Library Advisory Board Monday. They expressed their views seeking some books on topics of sex education and LGBTQ+ issues to be removed from the library.
Mondays meeting included an agenda item to consider an appeal of a banned book request from local grandmother Sandra Murray, who was seeking to have the book Sex is a Funny Word removed from the library.
The two groups squared off peacefully both outside and inside the facility aside from one verbal altercation outside the Fremont Municipal Building before the board meeting began.
That incident was between Robert Bert Murray Sandra Murrays husband and Ethan Kindler Sandra Murrays son-in-law and members of a local family who were holding signs in support of diverse books and the library.
After Robert Murray yelled insults and slurs at the group, and Ethan Kindler showed explicit images from one of the books in questions on his cell phone to two women, the incident was quickly controlled by Fremont police officers with no arrests or other actions.
Inside the building, activists from both sides flooded the city council chambers and hallways surrounding the room, with many carrying home-made signs both supporting the library and the presence of what they say are needed books, while others had signs decrying alleged indoctrination and the claims of inappropriate sexually explicit books unsuitable for children in their opinions.
A heavier than usual law enforcement presence was on hand at the request of city officials, with at least three Fremont Police Department officers outside the Municipal Building and another officer stationed inside the council chambers. Additionally, a Dodge County sheriffs deputy patrolled the area before and during the meeting.
Once the meeting started, City Attorney Travis Jacott warned those in attendance that proper decorum was required during the meeting, including, no booing and no raising of voices.
If there are violations of any of the rules, there are sworn officers (police) to remove people, Jacott warned.
The agenda item that drew what many said was an unprecedented crowd to the meeting stemmed from an original complaint from Sandra Murray and her daughter, Brianna Kindler. The mother-daughter duo first began to complain about books in the city library they object to both sexual education and LGBTQIA-themed books on Dec. 27, 2022, during a meeting of the Fremont City Council.
Although library officials relocated Sex is a Funny Word and six other sexual education books on Dec. 28 from the childrens section to the adult section of the library, Sandra Murray then filed an official appeal to have Sex is a Funny Word totally banned from the library.
On Jan. 16, England-Biggs sent a determination letter to Sandra Murray, informing her that shed decided to keep the book in the library because it had educational value to local families and readers. On Jan. 20, Murray appealed that ruling from England-Biggs, leading to Mondays agenda item.
Once the item was placed on the library board meeting agenda, and City of Fremont officials announced that no public comment would be allowed at the library board meeting, Sandra Murrays other daughter Kelley Garay organized a silent protest to express their feelings about the books.
That protest led to the counter-protest by library supporters, many of whom donned rainbow T-shirts or clothing buttons as well as lapel buttons that had a message of, I read banned books, which theyd gotten from downtown Fremont bookstore, The Wise Olde Owl.
Brief debate preceded vote to keep book
Once the meeting began, Library Board President Linda McClain quickly moved through to the item the crowd was on hand for: the appeal of England-Biggs decision to retain Sex is a Funny Word.
After asking England-Biggs to update the board and attendees on the issue, McClain opened up discussion of the book appeal. One member, Ryan Fiala, was not present.
Board Member LeAnn Rathke who in 2021 had herself petitioned unsuccessfully to have a book on birthing removed from the city library made a motion to table the appeal from Sandra Murray, telling the board that she felt the issue needed more research and attention before a decision was made.
I have made a motion to table this until the March library board meeting to allow the board to review the library and boards selection policies, Rathke said, noting that she had done extensive research on American Library Association recommendations and policies on book selection processes. I want our library board to be made aware of what is available to children. This is one book, but I dont know if it will be the last book (contested).
Rathkes motion to table the appeal did not receive a second, which under Roberts Rules of Order means that the motion dies and is not voted on.
Board Member Amanda Moenning then spoke, noting that she is both a mother and a teacher, and that in her opinion, Sex is a Funny Word, is, helpful for parents. It is an educational tool.
Rathke then spoke again, lobbying for continued discussion on controversial books. Among her objections to the book were statements in Sex is a Funny Word regarding gender and sexual identities, as well as terms she discovered in the books glossary.
Right now, our policy leaves pretty much everything (books) open to everyone, Rathke added, saying she wants parents to be confident going into the childrens section of the library.
I appreciate (England-Biggs) relocating the book, but it is still available in e-books and online to anyone with a childrens library e-card, Rathke added. I would love to work with Laura and the library board on policy reviews.
The board then voted in a 3-1 decision to support England-Biggs decision to keep Sex is a Funny Word on shelves. Rathke was the only no vote.
Book controversy not over
Whats next in the issue of controversial books is up in the air, as under the citys municipal code, the library boards decision can be over-ruled by the city council.
That possibility could be thwarted by Fremont City Council President Mark Jensen, who represents the citys Ward 3.
Jensen watched the library board meeting from the back of the city council chambers on Monday, reiterating his support for England-Biggs, the library board as a whole and keeping sexual education and LGBT books available in the library.
I support them completely, Jensen said of the scores of library lovers and anti-censorship activists at the meeting. (Keene Memorial Library) is a public library. The material has to meet criteria for someone to find value in it. These books meet that criteria, they have value to library users. I thought it was important (Monday night) that the library board saw not only the negative, but all the supporters they have.
Following the meeting, during a robust online discussion of the meeting in the Facebook forum, Fremont Nebraska Discussions, Jensen vowed to try to stop any appeal by Sandra Murray of the book at the city council.
First (a person) has to find a council (member) willing to put it on the agenda. Next, at the beginning of the (meeting) there is a motion to adopt the current agenda, Jensen wrote on Facebook. I have already publicly stated that I will make a motion to remove that item from the agenda, and it will require a full vote of the council for it to remain on the agenda.
England-Biggs on Tuesday said in an email she was elated at the robust and vigorous support from library afficionados who came to the meeting to express their views.
I was greatly encouraged by the number of library supporters in the audience last night. It can be scary to stand up for what you believe in, such as the principles of intellectual freedom and an individuals right to choose materials for themselves, England-Biggs said in her email. I thank each person who attended to support the library or spoke words of encouragement behind the scenes. It means more than you can imagine.
Sex is a Funny Word is not the only book being contested. Sandra Murray filed in early February another official contested material form, seeking to have the LGBTQ-themed book This Book is Gay totally banned from the Keene Memorial Library in both physical and electronic formats.
That request to reconsider material is currently being reviewed by England-Biggs, who has yet to make a decision on the request.
Sandra Murray said on Tuesday, Feb. 21, that her activism about what she feels are sexually explicit and inappropriate books in the city library is not over. Shes previously identified 87 LGBTQ+-themed books she feels do not belong in the library.
I expected (the library board) to do that, Sandra said of rejecting her appeal. I was really encouraged at the big turnout that supported us. We have found more books that make (Sex is a Funny Word) look like a fairy tale. I will continue to expose this stuff to the community.
Sandra Murray also thanked Rathke for her support from the board perspective, noting that Rathkes efforts to press the pause button on the issue to continue research were welcome. She also said she expects the issue to come before the Fremont City Council.
(The city council) should be doing that, Sandra said of reviewing the library board decision. My suspicion is that some council member may put it on an agenda. But, itll likely get thrown off like other items.
Local grandfather and business owner Robert Bert Murray has issued an apology to a group of seven supporters of the Keene Memorial Library after he screamed insults and slurs at them on Monday, Feb. 20, outside of the Fremont Municipal Building.
Unfortunately, things got a little heated, Robert Murray said in a telephone interview with the Fremont Tribune on Tuesday. I want to say sorry to that family and that man. If I came off as offensive, I apologize sincerely for that.
The incident occurred at about 6:15 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20, on the west side of the citys Municipal Building. As people filed into the building to go to the meeting of the Keene Memorial Library Advisory Board, members of two families stood outside, silently holding signs in support of Library Director Laura England-Biggs and diverse books.
Robert Murray, who is the husband of Sandra Murray who has filed official requests to have two books banned from the city library was leaving the building with his son-in-law Ethan Kindler and several of his grandchildren.
As he walked past the protesters, Robert Murray turned to one adult male in the group and began to loudly tell him he was a kiddie porn lover and porn addict along with other comments about being sent to prison for such material.
The unprovoked verbal barrage from Robert Murray got louder and he turned and quickly walked to be in very close proximity to the man, pointing in his face and continuing to yell insults. The man, and others in the group began to yell back, saying the books in question were basic sexual education tomes and not offensive.
At that point, Fremont police Lt. E.J. Watts stepped between Robert Murray and the unidentified male library supporter and told Murray that the protesters were engaging in peaceful, First Amendment-protected actions and to retreat.
Robert Murray then complied and began to leave.
However, his son-in-law Ethan Kindler, whose wife Brianna Kindler, was at the first Dec. 27, 2022, protestation of the books with Sandra Murrayturned to approach the group and put a cell phone in the faces of two women.
The cell phone photographs he displayed to the library supporters were graphic images from one of the books being contested. After about a minute of displaying the images to the women, Ethan Kindler also left. He did not shout at the women and did not insult them.
On Tuesday, Ethan Kindler contacted the Fremont Tribune to relay that he was not yelling nor threatening toward the women. He noted that he has had a respectful conversation with the women from the situation on Tuesday.
Robert Murray, who owns a local rental management company as well as a drywall firm, said he did not intend to engage in any confrontations with library supporters, but said he is very passionate about protecting children, noting that he has acquaintances that have allegedly been molested as children.
The (library supporter) on the end engaged me, Robert Murray claimed. He said (Sex is a Funny Word) is just a childrens book. I said it was Kiddie porn. I tried not to get caught up in name calling, but so many call this book sex education and it is not. This particular subject is very dear to me because I know children who have been molested.
Roberts wife, Sandra Murray, also contacted the paper to issue an apology on his behalf and stress she wants to have cordial debates about the contested books with those who do not share her opinions.
My husband got a bit heated last night, and that is regrettable, Sandra Murray said. We are not trying to attack people. My husband did get aggravated last night.
Sen. Deb Fischer said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin's suspension of Russian participation in its nuclear non-proliferation agreement with the United States should prompt President Joe Biden to "finally work with Congress to shore up our nuclear deterrence."
Fischer, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it's time to "stop shortchanging our national defense and put forward a strong budget that accelerates the modernization" of the U.S. nuclear program.
"It's critical that the Biden administration work with our allies to determine how the breakdown of New START should fundamentally alter our force posture," she said.
"Russia has been in violation of New START for years, so this latest development should come as no surprise," she said.
Fischer is the top Republican on the strategic forces subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee.
The announcement is "yet another dangerous example of Vladimir Putin trying to use nuclear saber-rattling to coerce other nations," she said.
Putin made the announcement that Russia would suspend participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control compact with the United States during an address in Moscow to Russian lawmakers and a national television audience that focused on the war in Ukraine.
In a later statement from the Foreign Ministry, Russia said it would continue to respect the suspended treaty's caps on nuclear weapons. However, Russia said it would not allow NATO countries to inspect its arsenal.
Top Journal Star photos for February 2023
An employee of a downtown Colorado Springs hotel was arrested Monday after allegedly exposing himself to two juveniles, according to the Colorado Springs police, who are asking the public for help in locating other potential victims.
Deangelo Terry, 22, allegedly approached the two juveniles Sunday in the pool area of the SpringHill Suites by Marriott at 402 S. Tejon St. Police said he exposed himself but left the area when he was unable to contact the two victims.
Terry, an employee of the hotel, was arrested by police Monday and has been charged with attempted sexual assault on a child and indecent exposure, according to court records. He is due in court for a first hearing on March 1.
Police said Terry has lived and worked in the Colorado Springs area for several years and worked at the SpringHill Suites since June 2022.
The Crimes Against Children unit is seeking assistance locating additional witnesses or potential victims of Terry. Anyone with information is asked to call the Colorado Springs police at 719-444-7000 or, to remain anonymous, 719-634-7867.
A jury on Tuesday found Dane Kallungi guilty of killing his wife, Jepsy Kallungi, in 2019 and hiding her body.
After a two-week long jury trial and about 7 hours of deliberation, the jury found Kallungi guilty of first-degree murder and tampering with a human body.
Jepsy Kallungi went missing in March 2019 and has not been heard from since. The prosecution alleged throughout the trial that Dane Kallungi strangled and killed her, then hid her body in Teller County.
Although Jepsy Kallungi's body was never found, the prosecution alleged that they knew she had been killed by her husband due to a pair of confessions Dane Kalungi made since his wifes disappearance.
The first confession was made to Dane Kallungis ex-wife over the phone in 2019. The audio recording of the confession was played in court. Dane Kallungi could be heard saying, I grabbed her ... I was trying to stop words from coming out of her mouth ... It looked like I did some damage."
Dane Kallungis second confession came in 2021 to Colorado Springs police detective Mike Lee shortly after being arrested in Albuquerque in connection to Jepsy Kallungis disappearance. The two-hour long interview was played in court the day before closing arguments, and Dane Kallungi can be heard helping Lee try to find where he left Jepsy Kallungis remains in Teller County.
I wasnt trying to kill her, I was just trying to get to stop talking, Dane Kallungi can be heard saying during the 2021 interview.
Throughout the trial friends and family testified to having not heard from Jepsy Kallungi since March 20, 2019, the alleged date of her death.
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Kallungis defense argued that he was innocent, and that he only confessed after being coerced via threats from his ex-wife of never being able to see his child again, and from Lee making statements like time to quit playing games, during their 2021 interview.
Jonathan Stafford, one of Kallungis attorneys, during closing arguments pointed to statements that Dane Kallungi made to his father including, "I'll even confess to something I didn't do."
Additionally, Kallungis defense argued that if the confessions from Dane Kallungi were true they did not rise to the level of first-degree murder, but rather second-degree murder due to Dane Kallungi claiming he killed his wife accidently.
Following the guilty verdict from the jury the court proceeded directly to sentencing, where prosecutor Christina Perroni read the court a note from Jepsy Kallungis mother Margie Amaga - who currently lives in Hong Kong.
I cant forgive this, I hope you realize what you did to my family. What you did to Jepsy. Are you happy now, the note from Amaga read. Losing her is like cutting my right hand.
Amaga added in her note that she hopes Jepsys body is found one day and returned to the Philippines for burial.
What you took from this world was a daughter, a community member, a wife and a friend, Judge Jessica Curtis said prior to sentencing. She had value, and she had worth, and this was entirely senseless.
Curtis then imposed a mandatory sentence of life in prison to Dane Kallungi, who declined to speak to the court.
Five people were injured in what police are describing as a planned shootout between two groups in east Colorado Springs Tuesday night, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.
Police believe an incident involving two groups of people began near Palmer Park and North Murray boulevards about 7 p.m. Police said an initial investigation indicates the shooting was a result of an agreed-upon confrontation between two groups.
According to police, two adults and three juveniles sustained serious, but not life-threatening, gunshot wounds and were transported to a local hospital. Police said at least one person shot was a bystander and was not involved with the initial confrontation.
Police said an "immense number of rounds" were discharged during the incident.
Investigators have not released the names of any of the participants as of Wednesday.
This is still an active investigation and anyone with information or who is a witness to this investigation is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at (719) 444-7000; or if you wish to remain anonymous, you may call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (719) 634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477.
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@CSPDPIO CSPD is currently working a significant incident. Citizens with emergencies should call 911. Non emergency issues should wait until we return to normal operations. We are also accident alert at this time. CSPD Communications (@CSPDComCenter) February 22, 2023
Editors Note: This story has been updated to include information provided by CSPD on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
JonBenet Ramsey might have collected some of the most critical evidence in her own death.
In a new book, a former El Paso County sheriff accuses the Boulder Police of ignoring DNA results saying original investigators should have used an early lab report to exonerate the six-year-olds parents as suspects early on.
The six year-old died the day after Christmas in 1996. She was found in a dark utility room in the basement by her father seven hours after her mother found a ransom note and called 911. She had been strangled with a garrote made from a length of rope and a broken paintbrush handle. White cord was loosely tied around her wrists and black duct tape covered her mouth. Her favorite Barbie nightgown lay on the concrete floor nearby. Later, the Boulder County coroner discovered an 8-inch crack in her skull.
John Anderson believes JonBenet died fighting off her attacker, as she was being strangled. There is evidence in crime scene photographs and from forensic pathologists who examined the case that she clawed at her own neck.
DNA which was scraped from underneath the childs fingernails and extracted from her clothing never matched anyone when compared to over 20 million profiles in the FBI's national Combined DNA Database System (CODIS). It also didn't match her parents, family friends, and dozens of possible suspects including John Mark Karr, a man who confessed the crime and was retrieved from Thailand to have his cheek swabbed in 2006.
Still, Anderson is calling on the Boulder Police to retest DNA using the latest technology.
In a recent press release though, the BPD insists that they have done exactly that utilizing the latest DNA technology on the Ramsey case evidence with the help of multiple agencies, including the FBI, the District Attorneys Office, Colorados Department of Public Safety, Colorados Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and several private DNA laboratories across the country, according to a statement released last November.
An investigative source, who asked not to be identified, said critics "don't have a clue about our current evidence. If possible, given current technology, we would have already done it."
Anderson, who served as El Paso County Sheriff from 1996-2003 after 22 years at the Colorado Springs Police, has lost trust in the Boulder Police. To back up his claims, he takes the lid off of official Colorado Bureau of Investigation lab results in Lou and JonBenet A Legendary Lawmans Quest to Solve a Child Beauty Queens Murder, including a report on the fingernail scrapings extracted by then-Coroner John Meyer during the autopsy.
The unredacted report, completed just four days after the murder, eliminated 10 peoples DNA profiles from dirt scraped from JonBenets fingernails including John and Patsy Ramsey.
How could the Boulder Police continue to ignore the physical evidence and focus on this family that clearly were not involved in the death of this little girl? Anderson asked in a recent interview with The Denver Gazette.
But this begs the question: Isnt it strange that John and Patsy Ramseys DNA was not discovered in the fingernail scrapings since they lived with her?
Absolutely not, Anderson said, adding that JonBenet was struggling to breathe and in doing so, came away with tissue from her killer. Added Anderson: Thats not just casual contact.
In the Dec. 30 DNA lab report on the fingernail scrapings, JonBenet's DNA showed up as a strong sample profile.
Like his long-time law enforcement colleague Lou Smit, Anderson is insistent that John and Patsy Ramsey are innocent.
We are in an urgency. Its not just to vindicate the Ramseys. This book is to say theres a killer out there. We need to find him, Anderson told The Denver Gazette.
Patsy Ramsey died in June 2006 of ovarian cancer at the age of 49.
The Dec. 30, 1996 lab results showed that besides JonBenets own DNA shown prominently in the samples from underneath her nails, there was also DNA which did not point to anyone who was tested. Twenty-six years ago, DNA technology was not sophisticated enough pinpoint an exact percentage of JonBenets DNA compared to the unknown profiles and could not sort out the mixtures.
DNA tested on eight cadavers
It was discovered that the fingernail clippers which Meyer used were also used on other cadavers and sterilized between autopsies. Because of that contamination, Boulder Police tested the DNA on at least eight bodies whose autopsies were done close to the time of JonBenets. The result? No match.
Since then, the Boulder County Coroners office has used new clippers on each body which comes in.
Still, though Anderson believes that the DNA belongs to JonBenets killer, other investigators say that this is not necessarily the case.
I dont know if this is the killers DNA
Forensic Pathologist Dr. Henry Lee, who was hired to work on the investigation after his experience in the O.J. Simpson trial, told The Denver Gazette the DNA may not be the smoking gun everyone wishes they had.
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I dont know if this is the killers DNA. Maybe no, maybe yes. Who knows, he said.
Lee believes that the totality of the evidence, including forensic interviews and also the bizarre and long-winded ransom note, are major keys to the case.
"Different medical examiners have different opinions," Lee said. "Some think it was an accident. Some think it was a homicide."
Now that DNA can be separated and retested in addition to advances in genealogic methods, Lee suggests that BPD should retest every piece of crime scene evidence, including those pesky nail clippers.
Hopefully they still have that nail clipper to do a more sensitive DNA test and maybe you then could sort it out, said Lee.
In an earlier interview, former Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett maintained that JonBenets death will not be solved by identifying who the DNA belongs to, saying the case will be solved using the totality of the evidence.
An unwavering curiosity
Through two generations of JonBenet Ramsey case obsession, her murder has never stopped getting curiouser. There are at least 16 books exploring the quarter-a-century-old unsolved mystery written by everyone from retired Ramsey-case-detectives, to reporters, armchair sleuths and even JonBenets own parents.
John and Patsy Ramsey wrote their own story after Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter decided not to pursue a 1999 grand jurys decision to indict them.
Andersons nearly 300-page book dives into his 50-year friendship with Smit, a veteran Colorado Springs detective who was brought out of retirement by then-Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter three months after the child was found murdered. After a short while, Smit came to the unpopular conclusion that the Ramseys were innocent in their daughters death and resigned in Sept. 1998 frustrated that the Boulder Police, he felt, refused to consider anyone else.
He took a computer full of evidence with him and dedicated the rest of his life to finding JonBenets killer. He never took a dime for his work, but critics say he was too close to the Ramseys. He went to Patsy Ramseys funeral and John Ramsey spoke at Smits memorial after the former investigator died in 2010.
Despite any criticism, no one denies that Smit was thorough. Anderson, a couple of dedicated retired cops and Smits family have been working from a spreadsheet with 883 columns which Smit left behind after he died. From that, they have a tiered list of what Andersons says are hundreds of suspects.
The team collects DNA from suspects who Smit suggested, and send it to a private lab paying for the reports with their own money and from funds collected from donations. So far "at least a dozen" people have been eliminated from Smit's original list.
In my opinion there are dozens perhaps even 80-100 more to be tested, Anderson said.
The Boulder Police have responded to accusations like this with statistics of their own. Last fall, a statement from the BPD reported that investigators have traveled to 19 states, spoken with more than 1,000 people, investigated leads from more than 21,000 tips, letters, and emails.
Since they were handed the case in 2009 after District Attorney Mary Lacy took over, they have not shared critical information about the case with John Ramsey, his oldest son John Andrew Ramsey or anyone on Smits team, he said.
Anderson says theyve opened their arms to Boulder investigators hoping that time could heal a schism which had developed between police and Smit after he resigned and started his own path, but that relationship appears to be over.
Weve met with them twice, theyve ignored our list of persons of interest they wont even return my phone call or email anymore and so our confidence, as was Lous, in them finishing this case and identifying the killer is just diminished beyond any possible value, Anderson told The Denver Gazette.
Hence, the reason Anderson wrote at least the 17th in a line of books on the curious case of the death of JonBenet Ramsey. It's his eighth published book, the prior ones being mostly on history.
In a recent statement, Boulder Police responded to Anderson's book saying the case is an active investigation.
We recognize that many articles and books have been written about this tragic homicide. We have not read this newest book which, apparently, contains allegations from the late 1990s, according to the statement.
There are still at least three original Ramsey case investigators who are still working for the Boulder Police Department, but most have moved on or retired.
The unsolved JonBenet Ramsey case has outlived the murdered six year-olds mother, Patsy, a deputy district attorney, the familys Santa Claus and Lou Smit.
Said Anderson, who was at Smit's bedside as he died: "What I've tried to do with this book was to communicate two points: That there was an intruder in the home and that this was an attempted kidnap for ransom that went wrong. One of his dying wishes for his family and a handful of detectives is that this case didnt die with him."
The first of three bills attempting to deal once again with fentanyl won approval from a House panel on Tuesday.
House Bill 1167, which applies to the states Good Samaritan law, attempts to fix problems that the sponsor said came out of last years omnibus legislation on the deadly drug.
As amended by last years House Bill 1326, the law now says individuals are immune from arrest and prosecution if they report an overdose to law enforcement or first responders, stay on the scene and cooperate.
But fentanyl was not included in the right place in the Good Samaritan law, and supporters of HB1167 say that could create felony charges for someone possessing drugs who are trying to do the right thing.
Right now, people are very afraid to call for fear of those charges, according to Lisa Raville of the Harm Reduction Action Center.
We broke the Good Samaritan law, bill sponsor Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy told Colorado Politics. We created a new felony fentanyl possession law.
That, he said, wasnt intended.
Fentanyl, used legitimately as a medical anesthetic, is a synthetic opioid that has become a dominant player in the illicit market, and its increasingly being mixed into other substances. Its cheaper and produces a stronger, more fleeting high, according to experts. But its potency in small quantities makes it unlike any other substance that preceded it in the drug supply, spurring heated debate about how to address it.
On the one hand, advocates like Raville argue that further criminalization wont improve the situation. On the other hand stands law enforcers and their allies, who say policymakers should treat fentanyl like the deadly substance it is.
No one testified against deGruy Kennedys bill in the House Judiciary Committee.
Raville told the committee that people who use drugs are the true first responders in an overdose crisis if they have access to naloxone. Theyre also the primary witnesses to overdoses but they have a lot of good reasons to not engage with 911 and the biggest is fear of law enforcement, Raville said, adding last years bill eroded the Good Samaritan law.
We need people to stay on hand and cooperate, she said.
To highlight the fear people have about calling 911, Aubrey Wild with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless told the story of a man who was recently released from jail and overdosed. Someone called 911 with directions on where to find the man, who was passed out in an alley. He survived, but Wild said it shows the fear that people have of sticking around to wait for law enforcers or first responders or even taking life-saving action during an overdose related medical emergency.
Had the caller stayed with the man, the 911 dispatcher could have walked the caller through emergency assistance, Wild said.
Others havent been so lucky, she said.
Tessa Torgesen, who works with people who use drugs by distributing sterile syringes, safe injection supplies, fentanyl test strips and Narcan, said she is seeing firsthand how the weakening of the Good Samaritan law has harmed the progress made in overdose prevention occurring at a time when overdose deaths are on the rise nationwide.
She recounted the story of a woman whose husband overdosed but didnt call 911 for fear of being arrested because she possessed fentanyl and her husband was on probation for felony drug charges.
Its more important now than ever for people who use drugs to feel safe calling 911, said Torgesen, whose own life was saved with Narcan.
The harm reduction community whose members advocate for intervention programs and oppose tougher penalties for crimes raised immediate concerns once the legislature adopted the fentanyl legislation last year, said Jose Esquibel, who is with the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention.
The law did not link the call Good Sam law to the new penalties for possession, he said, adding his group had to put out an alert to its coalition that the Good Sam law did not apply to fentanyl.
One group that stayed away from the hearing was the Colorado District Attorneys Council, which is divided on the bill, according to Tim Lane.
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However, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann spoke in favor of the measure and affirmative defense, the section that has caused some heartburn for district attorneys.
Under HB 1167, a person who is charged with distribution of less than four grams of fentanyl but stays on the scene of an overdose has an affirmative defense that can be used if the dealer is prosecuted.
McCann said prosecutors dont want drug dealers to avoid prosecution but that the intent is really around sharing drugs, not dealing them.
The bill focuses on situations where people are providing drugs to a friend or a girlfriend, boyfriend, and they are using them together with the intention of consuming the drugs, and then someone overdoses, she said.
In those kinds of situations, McCann said its unlikely a person would be prosecuted.
Its more important to come down on the side of saving lives, given the immediacy of an overdose situation, McCann said. Although I know there are some in the DA community who are not particularly enamored with this bill, I believe that its more important to allow us to save lives in these very difficult and sad situations.
McCann added they still intend to prosecute those who are involved in widespread distribution.
Broadly speaking, advocates of tougher penalties to crime, particularly the distribution of fentanyl, argue that the states lenient approach is contributing to Colorados grim overdoses.
Last year, Deputy Chief Adrian Vasquez of the Colorado Springs police department told a House panel that any possession of fentanyl should be a felony, that there is no relatively safe amount of fentanyl and public policy should demonstrate its seriousness.
In pushing for the 2022 legislation, supporters of tougher penalties said even one pill can kill and argued theres no middle ground when dealing with a substance as deadly as fentanyl.
They said users often dont know what theyre taking and fentanyl also puts first responders at risk.
Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the deaths of five people in a Commerce City apartment.
Police Chief Gregory Sadar, who also represents the states chiefs of police association, asked for an amendment to exempt manufacturers and dealers from the Good Samaritan law.
Expanding the immunity to those who manufacture and distribute the drug is problematic for us, Sadar said.
We continue in Colorado to take a more and more permissive position towards drug use, said Sadar, who added that it leads to the overdose crisis. We want to make sure we take a position that incentivize people to call.
But its also a sad commentary, he added, that people have to be incentivized to save their neighbors.
HB 1167 was amended at deGruy Kennedys behest to exempt the manufacturers, although that drew opposition from two committee Democrats. The bill passed on a 10-2 vote and now heads to the full House.
A second bill on fentanyl that intends to address the issue of knowingly possessing fentanyl, sponsored by House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, was pulled from the committees schedule.
The third bill dealing with fentanyl is in the state Senate.
Sponsored by Sens. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton and Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, Senate Bill 109 seeks to create a level 1 drug felony, along with mandatory sentencing, for controlled substance distribution that results in death. Its similar to a provision in HB 1326, but SB 109 applies to more than just fentanyl.
The measure, which is supported by the Colorado District Attorneys Council, is scheduled for the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on March 6.
Canon City High School joined a long list of schools statewide that were placed on lockdown Wednesday, following a wave of hoax threats of school violence.
Police said dispatch received a threat to Canon City High School around 8:30 a.m. A man called police, claiming to be in possession of a rifle and pipe bombs, and entering the school. The caller did not identify themselves and immediately hung up, according to police.
School resource officers were already at the high school at the time of the call, according to Canon City police, and assisted school staff in placing the school on lockdown status.
"In an abundance of caution, the school was searched by law enforcement officers for any threats that may have existed. Finding none, the lockdown was lifted and students were released," states a Canon City police news release.
As of 12:04 p.m., the district announced the high school had been released from lockdown and would return to operations as normal.
"While the incident caused discomfort for staff and students, we are glad to report that everyone is safe, and no injuries have been reported." the district statement read.
According to the release all Canon City schools remained on a modified secured status, meaning that anyone who enters or exits the schools would be monitored by school staff.
Canon City was not an isolated incident.
Schools in Aspen, Alamosa, Boulder, Brighton, Clear Creek County, Durango, Englewood, Estes Park, Glenwood Springs and Gilpin County also received various threats Wednesday. Lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders followed the threats.
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The FBI in Denver said it is aware of the situation.
"FBI Denver is aware of numerous threats made today to a variety of organizations and institutions across Colorado," the agency said. "The FBI works closely with its law enforcement partners by providing resources and guidance in these investigations and can recommend cases for federal prosecution.
The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said it is also monitoring the incidents.
Lockdowns have since been lifted at most schools. So far, no school district or law enforcement agency has found any of the threats to be credible.
It was a similar scene to the north, where Boulder police put out a shelter-in-place alert for the area around Boulder High School as a precaution. Police also said busses had been brought to Boulder High School to evacuate students to the reunification center after all classes and activities had been canceled for the day.
CU Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold spoke in a press conference Wednesday morning to address the incident. According to Herold, CU's dispatch center received a call at about 8:30 a.m.
"We had a caller relay that he was outside Boulder High School with semi-automatic weapons, and he was prepared to go inside" Herold said.
Maris said semi-automatic gunfire could be heard in the background of the call.
"There is no evidence to support the caller was ever at the school." Herold said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the change in lockdown status and to list additional schools around the state that reported similar threats.
Two men from the Colorado Springs area died following a vehicle crash in Waterford, Conn., on Saturday, according to a news release.
The single-vehicle crash occurred just before 5:30 a.m. Saturday, the Waterford Police Department said. Police determined early in the investigation that the driver lost control of the vehicle before crashing into a wall with the two passengers inside.
The two deceased passengers were identified as 24-year-old Dylan Richey from Monument and 23-year-old Bramm Miller from Colorado Springs, according to the release.
The driver, 21-year-old Robert Sewell from Broomfield, is expected to survive.
Lauren Laughlin, a spokesperson for the Naval Submarine School, told The Day newspaper in New London, Conn., that Miller was a seaman who was attending the school. Sewell is also a student at the school. She said Richey was not affiliated with the Navy. A Go Fund me page for Richey's family said he was visiting a friend in Connecticut.
South Africa: Rand Water to implement 30-hour planned maintenance
Rand Water has scheduled a 30-hour planned maintenance, which will commence from 3am on 24 February, until 9am on 25 February 2023.
In a statement, Rand Water spokesperson, Makenosi Maroo, said the 30-hour project will entail the implementation of various cross-connections on the entitys S1, R1 and R5 pipelines to tie-in a portion of the S4 pipeline to the existing S1, R1 and R5 pipelines.
This is part of the previously communicated strategy to refurbish and upgrade the infrastructure for sustainability purposes, Maroo said.
She explained that the S1 pipeline runs from the Mapleton Booster Pumping Station to Rynfield Vlakfontein Reservoir, while R1 and R5 pipelines run from Rynfield to Rietvlei Nature Reserve in Tshwane.
The S4 pipeline that will be tied-in runs from Van Dyk Park to Rynfield where it will cross connect to S1, R1 and R5, Maroo said.
The following municipal customers will experience water supply shortages during this period:
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality;
Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, and
Thembisile Hani Local Municipality.
Other customers who will be affected include Spoornet; Corobrick Transvaal (Pty) Ltd; Sammy Marks Museum; Savannah Country Estate Home; and Plot 7 Benoni Agricultural Holdings.
Maroo said Rand Water has formally notified all the affected municipalities and direct customers, 21 days in advance, of the planned maintenance to allow them to implement their appropriate contingency measures ahead of the planned work.
The affected municipalities will advise consumers on the extent of the impact of water supply shortages in their respective areas, Maroo said.
Rand Water has also urged all consumers to use water sparingly. SAnews.gov.za
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter of condolences to the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.
Dear Emomali Sharifovich,
We were very saddened by the news of heavy casualties as a result of avalanches that hit the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region.
On the occasion of this tragedy, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my deep condolences to you, families and loved ones of those who died and the people of Tajikistan, and wish the injured a speedy recovery.
May Allah rest their souls in peace!
Ilham Aliyev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Baku, 22 February 2023
Positions of the Azerbaijani Army, deployed in the western district of Tovuz, and in Nakhchivan's Sadarak District, came under fire for 15 times by units of the Armenian armed forces, starting from 20:45 on February 21 to 01:20 on February 22, Azernews reports, referring to the information of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.
In addition to the incident on the state border, members of the illegal Armenian armed groups in the territory of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed, fired at the positions of the Azerbaijan army located in the directions of Tazakand settlement of Kalbajar District, Shusha, and Khojavand District.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that retaliatory measures were taken to silence the enemy.
What is intriguing at this point is not the shelling of Azerbaijani positions but the fact that is timed more or less to the moment of deployment of the EU mission along the Armenian border with Azerbaijan. On February 20, the mission of the European Union began to operate in Armenia, and just one day later, the separatist Armenian forces inside Karabakh under the Russian peacekeepers' temporary control zone and outside the Azerbaijani border, from Armenia, in sync fired at the Azerbaijani positions. Undoubtedly, the move can only be ascribed to provocations Armenians in and out are hatching to discredit Azerbaijan and compel the EU observation mission to report to their bosses about Azerbaijan's alleged violations.
However, the Azerbaijani side has repeatedly stated that the arrival of the EU mission will not stabilize the situation in the region, but will intensify it. This was once again confirmed by the fact that Armenian armed units opened fire on our positions only a day after the mission began.
Apparently, Armenians consider the presence of European observers in the region as a "security umbrella" for themselves and are "emboldened". However, for Azerbaijan, it doesn't matter what country or mission the Armenian armed groups are hiding behind - if the provocation and threats continue, they will be severely retaliated against!
Although the EU calls its mission a "civilian mission", it admitted for the first time in a statement released on the day of its launch that 50 of the 100 people participating in the mission are "unarmed observers". This means that half of the mission consists of armed men. This fact was unexpected even for the Armenian public. Until now, the Armenian leadership has hidden the fact from its own public that the EU's armed mission was sent to the country's territory.
Meanwhile, it is strange that Iran still welcomes the arrival of an armed EU mission to its border with silence. At the same time, although Russia does not hide its negative attitude towards the placement of the EU mission in Armenia, it clearly does not take effective measures against attempts to push it out of the region.
In the end, what matters in a public education? What is important and distinguishes a great education from a fair education? What, in hindsight, makes you proud of the work you did?
These are questions Ive been asking myself as president of the Beacon Network Board of Directors, as Denver Public Schools and its board continue to make moves that threaten to undermine everything we have built in our two-school innovation zone.
The DPS board and leadership seem more interested in imposing their will and reining in innovative practices than in focusing on what we at the Beacon Network are doing to serve our students. They seem hung up on governance structures and other administrivia at the expense of supporting a program that has demonstrated success with a diverse student population.
At the Beacon Network we believe a great public education is about outcomes. Yes, that includes performance on tests, where we still have room for improvement.
But more important, we believe a great public education creates great people; contributing, informed, engaged citizens with a passion for learning.
At the Beacon Network this is our focus. We are proud that you entrust us with your students. In turn, we strive to create a personalized learning environment that empowers your students to guide their own education.
Innovation empowers that creativity. Innovation fosters an environment of autonomy and flexibility that allows educators to develop lesson plans that are beyond ordinary. It fosters an environment where educators develop lesson plans that meet students where they are.
A great public education is also about educators, and all school personnel. You dont get into education because you get your summers off. You get into education because you are called, drawn to teach students content, reading, writing, math, science and history.
On a larger scale, educators are drawn to imparting a love of learning to their students. A true lesson learned doesnt come from without but within. This, too, is a part of Innovation focus at the Beacon Network. We seek to empower educators to stoke that belief. To use that love of learning to help students find their own way.
Over the past several years, the Beacon Network has built just such a culture, with widespread buy-in from staff, students, and families alike. Why would DPS want to undermine this?
To be fair, this appears to be more a case of myopia than malevolence, at least among most of the players. District leadership seems uncomfortable with the fact that our executive principal and executive director, Alex Magana, oversees two schools and runs a semi-autonomous nonprofit while remaining an employee of DPS.
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Denvers two other innovation zones developed differently, and their directors are employees of their respective zone rather than the district. For some reason, allowing the Beacon Network to operate under a different structure seems unacceptable to district leadership.
DPS has issued an ultimatum to the network, and to Alex Magana. Either Magana must resign his longstanding DPS position, or, if he wishes to remain a district employee, then the zone must essentially surrender its autonomy and come firmly back into the district fold.
The current supervisory and employment structure at the Beacon Zone represents an atypical structure for an innovation zone. These proposed revisions are intended to align the Beacon Zone with standard district practice and expectations for innovation zones, the district informed us in writing recently.
If we fail to abide by the districts demands, leadership will recommend that the board reject the renewal of our innovation plan next month.
My response in writing to the district included this statement: We see no connection between DPSs demand that Executive Director Alex Magana resign his employment as a DPS employee to improve student academic performance. We do not believe the district may revoke BNSs innovation zone status if Alex does not leave district employment.
Returning to my initial questions about what matters in public education, let me tell you what doesnt matter.
A great public education isnt about a school leaders employment status. It isnt about a schools governance structure. It isnt about the numerous other political and administrative topics that Denver Public Schools and its board want to make preeminent.
I will end where I began. A great public education is about outcomes. Any digression into discussions that dont address maintaining and improving performance are wasted conversations.
Any discussions about maintaining the status quo and not empowering those school leaders and educators closest to the student, parent and community are fruitless.
Eliot Lewis is chair of the Beacon Network innovation zone in Denver Public Schools.
History might tell a sad tale: City folk unleashed wolves in the country, then stifled the ranchers gun.
Colorado Democrats, with full control of state government, are taking on gun and property rights protected by the Second, Fifth and 14th amendments and the state constitution. It is the latest trend in urban encroachment on rural lifestyles, like a real-life scene from the Netflix series Yellowstone. It threatens to widen Colorados urban-rural cultural divide.
Colorado long has defended the sanctity of gun rights. Voters recalled two Democratic senators, including the Senate president, for passing a relatively modest gun control measure about this time 10 years ago. A third senator resigned in advance of a recall to ensure an appointed successor would preserve the Democratic majority.
They were the first Senate recalls in state history and became a nationwide spectacle. The ordeal pitted a grassroots movement and the NRA against megabillionaire and then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. When Bloomberg failed to stop the recalls, he blamed country simpletons.
The recalls, he told Rolling Stone, were in a part of Colorado where I dont think theres roads. Its as far rural as you can get, Bloomberg said of the Springs and Pueblo, the states second and ninth largest cities respectively.
The recalls came after Morse, Democratic Pueblo Sen. Angela Giron and other urban Democrats spearheaded a bill to limit gun magazines to 15 rounds. As usual, rural voters had no say.
A decade later, 15 House and two Senate Democrats want to authorize county commissioners to prohibit firing guns on rural private property. Yes, private property. House Bill 23-1165 passed the full House on Thursday and heads to the Senate.
Longstanding law says counties may not prohibit discharge of firearms in shooting galleries, on private grounds, or in residences under circumstances that do not endanger persons or property.
HB 1165 repeals the private property exemption and the density requirement. It would empower county officials to forbid shooting on private land in areas with 30 or more dwellings per square mile greatly expanding potential no-shooting zones.
The law would allow politicians in glitzy resorts think Aspen, Telluride, Steamboat Springs and Vail to forbid shooting on farms and ranches established long before Hollywood discovered the Rockies. If the bill becomes law, they might come back for more and eliminate shooting on all private property.
Sponsored by Boulder area Reps. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder and Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, the bill results from residents in Clear Creek County complaining about the sound of neighbors shooting.
The NRA calls the legislation an extreme attempt to control what happens on your private property.
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David Kopel, a liberal Democratic Boulder lawyer and professor of constitutional law, fears the bill could do harm.
Because suburban sprawl has eliminated so many public shooting ranges, practice on private land has become all the more important, Kopel said.
The state Legislatures bill to authorize the prohibition of safe target practice on private land will seriously undermine firearms safety. The bill is another example of the Democratic majoritys malicious and dangerous culture war against responsible firearms users.
Eight Democrats, including House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, voted against the bill and in favor of rural constituents.
Opponents of HB 1165 say it would empower urbanites to settle in rural areas and recraft customs and traditions to fit their lifestyles.
Wealthy urban transplants habitually impose economic and cultural change on rural Colorado by force of law. They close mines, fuss about agricultural smells and force progressive curriculums into rural classrooms.
Urban migrants too often move to the countryside like softer versions of 19th-century settlers who disrespected Native traditions. The bumpkins dont need guns just call 911 for emergencies and visit a big-box store for food. Lose that ugly mining job and learn to code, implored President Joe Biden in rural West Virginia.
Defenders of this bill invoke local control as inherently virtuous. Yet, local control gave us Jim Crow laws and segregated schools. Local control disarmed black farmers and former slaves to render them defenseless. We ratified the 14th Amendment to stop local violations of federal civil rights protections.
The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection of federal laws including gun and property rights from locals exerting unlawful control. The spirit of the law protects the fundamental rights and customs of farmers and ranchers who settled here long before celebrities heard Rocky Mountain High from a country boy in Aspen a man who mocked city folk riding in black limousines.
Gunfire in the mountains, valleys and plains like howling wild predators can be disruptive and frightening to newcomers. Yet, it is the sound of rural recreation, tradition, livelihoods and survival. They sent wolves that kill livestock and pets. They should not, in turn, control the ranchers gun.
The Gazette Editorial Board
Stop this dense development
Kudos to the El Paso County Planning Commission for standing up to Jeff Smith and Classic Homes in the Jaynes Property preliminary plan (Gazette article by Brooke Nevins, Feb. 17). Smith is trying to change the nature of Black Forest from rural to urban. With Flying Horse North and Jaynes Property developments he wants to build houses on lots that are less than an acre when the County Master Plan requires 2 acre lots.
Unfortunately in 2021, the county commissioners approved a new Master Plan that allows 2-acre lots when the previous Master Plan required 5-acre lots. But, developers dont follow the rules when it comes to profit. Smith in the Flying Horse North development even wants to build a commercial hotel in the Forest and that is not allowed by the Master Plan.
Both developments would use well water that would deplete the aquifers that Black Forest residents depend on. The city just passed a requirement that developers have 128% of the water required for their developments. That will mean that developments in the county will increasing tap into the aquifers for their developments. We are in a 22-year drought and the aquifers are being depleted. What happens to current well owners when the aquifers are depleted? The county commissioners will have to step up to stop this dense development.
Bruce Brian
Colorado Springs
New GOP an extreme movement
I was formerly a bonus member in the El Paso County GOP. I was also the vice chair of House District 14 for the GOP. I was recently voted out of my two positions, mainly due to the recent surge in a GOP anti-establishment movement. These are my comments on the latest GOP reorganization based on my observations over the last few years.
Is the establishment a bad thing? To most people, the establishment is any group that values the long-standing traditions that were successful in the past. Another word for those beliefs is conservative. The new GOP leaders have attacked me (among others) for being part of the establishment.
Who leads the anti-establishment GOP? Vickie Tonkins has been reelected as the GOP chair for El Paso County. Even though that role has traditional duties, she has declared herself free of those burdens. She has her agenda and candidates. She can even attack other Republicans at will. She has this power because she has recruited enough followers who agree with her anti-establishment agenda.
She is a charismatic leader. She gets people to loudly cheer her every spoken word. But is her movement a cult? One dictionary says that a cult is a small religious group (not part of a more accepted religion) that has beliefs regarded by many as extreme. You can also substitute the word political for religious. Another dictionary says, A cult is an enthusiastic devotion to a person, idea or thing.
Her agenda included two stated goals: to drive out the establishment and to unite the party. If she drives out the establishment, wont the new party become a smaller group? But there is a bigger problem. The Democrats and unaffiliated vastly outnumber the GOP in Colorado. Even in conservative El Paso County, the unaffiliated are 48% of the registered voters. To defeat the new GOP, the Democrats only need to make one obvious point: Tonkins and her followers are part of an extreme movement that exists well outside the traditional Republican Party.
Russell McPadden
Colorado Springs
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Making using restrooms difficult
Re: Gender-neutral restrooms. My first thought when I read the article was stupid! A bathroom is a bathroom plain and simple. Just how many people regardless of their preference will use these restrooms.
I had a gay brother, and I promise you he and his partner would have never use this restroom. When he finally came out we talked about the misconceptions of being gay. What confused us both was that some people think this is a chosen lifestyle. He said, Why would I choose a lifestyle that is hated and feared in some crowds and that could cause me to be beaten to death.
What makes Rep. Karen McCormack think that these restrooms will be used? At my age (72), I dont care what people think but other people do and the minute you step into a gender neutral restroom you will be labeled, regardless of your preferences. The LGBTQ+ group face so many obstacles and prejudices why would they want or need another one. Younger people have difficulty being accepted for who they are. How many of them will use these restrooms?
Instead of gender neutral restrooms, make all public restrooms unisex. Some places are doing this. Make using a restroom easier not more difficult.
Pam Devereux
Colorado Springs
Perserve parks and open spaces
I have always admired the city forefathers and the job they did in preserving the character and beauty of the city by setting aside spaces for greenways, parks and open spaces for the public to enjoy. These spaces have become increasingly important to the average citizen as the city has grown and expanded. Being able to get out and enjoy nature without having traffic rushing past and not having to drive out of the city to do it values the citizens time, finances and health.
Three of the jewels in the system where you can be away from automobile traffic that are heavily used for biking, hiking, and running are the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail, The Rock Island Trail (especially going West from Templeton gap), and the Cottonwood Creek Trail. What makes these trails special is that they are not next to automobile traffic and the resultant air pollution, vehicular hazards, and noise.
Connecting the Rock Island trail to the Pikes Peak Greenway trail would enhance the vision and charm of Colorado Springs as being a great place to work, raise a family, and play. Extending Constitution Avenue would detract from the cities open spaces, further limit greenways available for biking, hiking and running, and limit non vehicular commuting. Please join me in opposing extending Constitution Avenue. Lets preserve the parks and open spaces for the citizens of our community so they can enjoy spaces away from traffic.
Steven Markel
Colorado Springs
Adam Frisch, the Democrat vying for a 2024 rematch against U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, raised more than $500,000 within three days of announcing his candidacy last week in Colorados 3rd Congressional District, his campaign said.
The former Aspen City Council member has received more than 15,000 individual donations since making his campaign official Feb. 14, his campaign told The Denver Gazette on Tuesday. That total includes donors from all 50 states and all 27 counties in the sprawling district, which covers most of the Western Slope, Pueblo County and Southern Colorado, a campaign spokeswoman said.
Boebert, a Silt Republican, defeated Frisch for a second term in the closest congressional race in the county last year, prevailing by 546 votes out of more than 325,000 ballots cast, for a margin of just over one-tenth of a percentage point.
Frisch cited the unexpectedly close race branded a safe Republican seat by election forecasters, the contest didnt draw any heavy outside spending as a reason for launching another run so early in the cycle.
Frisch said his campaigns powerhouse fundraising out of the gate meant that we enter this race in a position of strength.
The outpouring of support we have received this week is a testament to the fact that people in this district and across the nation are ready for Boeberts angertainment circus to stop, he said in a statement. The people of Western and Southern Colorado deserve a leader who will focus on the needs of the district to protect our water, create jobs, and achieve energy independence not one like Boebert who is only focused on herself.
A Boebert campaign spokesman greeted word of Frischs repeat run with a shrug.
She looks forward to continuing to serve Colorados 3rd Congressional District, regardless of whoever runs against her, Ben Stout said in an email after noting his boss success passing legislation out of the Republican-controlled House, some with bipartisan support.
House Republicans put Boebert at the top of a list of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents in next years election, Punchbowl News reported Sunday, citing a presentation at the National Republican Congressional Committees winter retreat in Key Biscayne, Fla.
A prodigious fundraiser herself, Boebert finished 2022 with about $770,000 in her campaign coffers, a little over twice the $365,000 Frisch had left over, according to year-end reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
While Frisch is counting on more Democratic-friendly voters turning out for next years presidential election than did in last years midterms, he doesnt have his partys nomination sewn up.
Gunnison veterinarian Debby Burnett, one of 12 Democrats who ran in the district last year, also has filed paperwork to campaign for the seat.
Boebert and Frisch both faced primaries last year, with Boebert overwhelmingly defeating former state Sen. Don Coram, R-Montrose, and Frisch winning the nomination over Pueblo community organizer Sol Sandoval by a razor-thin margin.
The Republican State Board of Education member from Pueblo who used to be a Democrat has notified the Colorado GOP that he is no longer running to chair the state Republican Party, leaving six candidates in the race.
Stephen Varela's withdrawal means every remaining contender for the top party position wants to close Colorado's semi-open primaries to unaffiliated voters, allowing only registered Republicans to participate.
Additionally, without Varela in the field, there isn't a single Republican state chair candidate who hasn't promoted unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
A top Republican strategist and former two-term state GOP chair warns that the positions could put the party sharply at odds with the overwhelming majority of Colorado voters, who reject election conspiracy theories by wide margins, according to polling and election results.
Still in the running for GOP chair are former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, former state lawmakers Kevin Lundberg of Berthoud and Dave Williams of Colorado Springs, unsuccessful congressional nominees Casper Stockham and Erik Aadland, and Douglas County activist Aaron Wood, founder of a nonprofit that calls itself a defender of conservative Christian values.
State Republicans are scheduled to choose a leadership team for the next two years a chair, vice chair and secretary at a party meeting on March 11 in Loveland, part of the biennial reorganization process both of Colorado's major political parties are undergoing this month and next.
While Democrats are conducting a largely cordial contest between a trio of party regulars their state officer elections are set for April 1 in Denver Colorado Republicans are determining the GOP's direction on the heels of a string of losses at the ballot box that have left the party with less power statewide than at any time since the 1930s.
It's unclear whether Varela's move changes the dynamics of the state chair election, since he doesn't appear to have campaigned for the position other than throwing his hat in the ring.
He didn't respond to multiple messages from Colorado Politics about his decision to quit the party leadership race, but state GOP chair Kristi Burton Brown confirmed on Tuesday that Varela had formally withdrawn from the race. Over the weekend, Varela also informed organizers of an upcoming state chair debate that he was no longer running.
Varela was appointed last month to the state education board by a Republican vacancy committee in the 3rd Congressional District after losing a targeted state Senate race in November to incumbent Democrat Nick Hinricksen. The Army veteran and former charter school board member mounted earlier unsuccessful campaigns for county commissioner and city council in Pueblo, where Varela was registered as a Democrat as recently as two years ago.
For more than a decade, Varela regularly changed his registration, switching affiliation 17 times since 2011, from Democrat to unaffiliated to Republican in various sequences, The Colorado Sun reported last year. Varela said he often switched parties in order to vote in primaries. The Democratic party left him, he said, adding, I am and will continue to be a Republican.
Varela also co-founded Rural Colorado United, an aggressive political action committee that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in 2020, the year the Silt Republican ousted five-term U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton in the GOP primary and went on to win election in November.
Republican consultant Dick Wadhams, who chaired the state GOP from 2009 to 2011 and managed winning campaigns for governor and the U.S. Senate back when Republicans ruled the roost in Colorado, told Colorado Politics that the remaining field of state chair candidates doesn't bode well for the party's prospects.
"All six of these candidates are disasters, every one of them," Wadhams said in an interview. "Its just going to be a wasteland at the Colorado Republican Party for the next two years."
Wadhams said the party he once led is putting itself firmly crosswise with the vast majority of Colorado voters.
"They all believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, and they all want to go back to election day balloting, to get rid of mail elections," he said. "It defines the party as crazy right up front, and thats what a lot of these unaffiliateds think about Republicans anyway."
Add to that the chair candidates' support for "kicking out the unaffiliateds" from Colorado's voter-approved semi-open primaries, and you have a recipe for alienating the Republican Party from all but its most extreme members heading into the 2024 election, Wadhams said.
"There will have to be some independent efforts to support solid Republican candidates for state legislative and county offices," he said. "If Colorado is competitive, the presidential campaign will have to run its own campaign in Colorado, but Im not sure Colorado will be competitive, especially given where we are right now."
Wadhams added that he's glad he isn't a member of the party's state central committee anymore, because he would have to abstain from voting in this year's state chair race.
"I never thought the party would sink this low. Its just amazing," he said. "Who would a mainstream Republican vote for in this crowd? I just dont know."
Monday saw a meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in Tehran, during which the latter expressed Tehrans readiness to host a meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Turkiye versus Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, in the "three plus three" format.
Such a notion seems in the realms of fantasy, considering that both Iran itself and Georgia have previously declined the possibility of this meeting. Georgia is opposed to any dialogue that includes Russia after its occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and considering Russias invasion of Ukraine, which is reaching its one-year anniversary, such a meeting couldnt be further away.
Back in December 2021, Moscow hosted the first meeting of the 3+3 Consultative Regional Platform under the co-chairmanship of Russias Andrey Rudenko, Azerbaijani Deputy FM Khalaf Khalafov, Armenias Vahe Gevorgyan, Turkiyes Sedat Onal, as well as Director General of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Alireza Haghighian. Even back then representatives of Georgia, who were also invited, refused from participating in the meeting, emphasizing that they will not partake in any regional platform together with Russia.
In the meantime, amid the havoc wrecked between Azerbaijan and Iran, Baku is unlikely to support this format as well. As Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said while in Munich, after the backwash left of Irans terror attack on the Azerbaijani embassy, the talks of the normalization of the relations between the two countries can only start after the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice. The president also emphasized that the attack was preplanned and that everything leads to believe that the Iranian government stood behind it. Taking in mind this brutal attack on a diplomatic mission that completely disregards international laws, combined with the general anti-Azerbaijani agenda prevailing in Iran today, the talks of normalization take a further seat.
Without such a key player in the region as Azerbaijan, the meeting will not take place unless the neighboring states are ready to mold the format into a different direction considering Bakus conditions. In this case, Azerbaijan would have the right to demand moral and financial compensation from Iran in lieu of the recent provocations.
In any case, for the two countries to move past this, Iran has to take full responsibility for the terror attack, conduct a transparent investigation of the case and bring those responsible to justice.
The Biden administration has chosen U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews to fill an upcoming vacancy on Colorado's federal trial court, the president's fifth nominee to the court in just two years.
Crews has been a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court since 2018. Although magistrate judges tend to focus on preliminary and administrative matters in cases, they handle many of the same tasks as the life-tenured district judges, up to and including presiding over civil cases.
Marquiel Cade, a former law clerk for Crews, said Crews makes it a priority to understand the issues in cases and to communicate with the parties. Cade called Crews a mentor and someone he hopes to emulate as an African-American lawyer.
"He represents the beacon of what I hope to achieve in my own career and, at every turn, has been available for mentorship and guidance not just in areas of the law, but in life," Cade said. "This represents the type of person he is both on and off the bench."
If confirmed, Crews will succeed U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore, a Barack Obama appointee who is scheduled in June to take a form of semi-retirement known as senior status. The White House selected Crews over Sundeep K. "Rob" Addy, a corporate litigator who recently helped investigate patterns of racially-biased policing in Aurora.
Colorado has seen remarkable turnover since 2021 on its federal trial court, which comprises seven active judges. President Joe Biden has already appointed three of its members, and a fourth nomination is pending in the U.S. Senate. Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed Biden's 100th nominee in total.
Colorado's two U.S. senators, Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, formed a committee to screen candidates for most of the district court vacancies, a process that culminated in shortlists of attorneys recommended to the White House.
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Crews is a graduate of the University of Arizona's law school, where he worked with ExxonMobil's legal department and participated in the school's clinic for domestic violence law.
"If you looked at my resume you'd assume I was an individual who decided early on that I wanted to be a judge, and then patterned my path to achieve that goal," he told the law school in 2019. "I'm certain that my in-depth community involvement was a high point for the District Judges who voted unanimously to appoint me. But I did those things because giving back was an integral part of my identity, not because I aspired to the bench."
Prior to his appointment as a magistrate judge, Crews helped found a Greenwood Village-based law firm that handles business litigation and defends employers against civil lawsuits. Earlier in his career, he was an attorney in the U.S. National Labor Relations Board's Denver office.
Among the cases he has handled, Crews recommended allowing a wrongful arrest lawsuit to proceed against Mesa County's top judge, declined to dismiss a professor's disability discrimination lawsuit against the University of Colorado and scolded an Arapahoe County sheriff's deputy for allegedly endangering a detainee by calling him "gay." Crews also ordered a woman to comply with courthouse security's "courtesy" questions as a condition of her entering the downtown Denver building.
Crews would be only the third magistrate judge appointed to a district court vacancy in Colorado. The first, Nina Y. Wang, was also a Biden appointee in 2022, and the second, Gordon P. Gallagher, is awaiting a confirmation vote from the full Senate.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that Crews would be the third magistrate judge appointed to the district court in Colorado history.
A bill originally intended to ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption passed narrowly out of a Colorado Senate panel after it was watered down to attempt to regulate the transportation of horses headed to slaughter.
Originally, Senate Bill 38 would prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption in Colorado. The last slaughterhouse for horses in the United States, in Texas, was shuttered in 2007.
As introduced, the bill from Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont, would establish the crime of equine slaughter. In addition, notice of the law would be posted at livestock auctions and with bills of sales.
Federal law already bans the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States.
It isn't that equine slaughter for human consumption doesn't happen anywhere. Horses are routinely exported to Mexico and Canada for slaughter and sale to Europe and Japan, where horsemeat is considered a delicacy. One estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said 57,000 horses were transported from the United States to Mexico and Canada for consumption purposes in 2019.
There have also been concerns that horses rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado are being sold to those who send them off to slaughter in other countries.
An animal rights group identified a Colorado trader and "kill buyer who sells horses online," saying when he doesn't get the prices he wants, he ships them off to slaughter. Sixteen horses from a recent BLM roundup ended up at the person's property last year, the group said.
The bill drew the support of animal rights activists and horse rescue organizations.
Valentine Lovato, a child who adopted a pony she named Marilyn Monroe from a horse rescue in 2021, told the committee her pony was headed to a Mexican slaughterhouse. She has since ridden the horse in competition, winning five blue ribbons.
"She loves me and we've given her a great home," she said.
Renee Faulkner said the bill as introduced would put criminals on alert, identifying those who are buying BLM mustangs for slaughter. The original bill sought to criminalize importing or exporting horse meat if a person knew or should have reasonably known the meat would be used for human consumption.
"If we had disclosure, create awareness for the public, this may be curtailed," she said.
But the bill as introduced addressed a problem that doesn't actually exist in Colorado, meaning the sponsor had to shift gears.
Colorado Senate unanimously OKs reducing license requirements for school therapists Senate Bill 4 would allow school districts to employ therapists who are not licensed by the state Department of Education. Bill sponsors said the licensing process is costly, complex and time-consuming for therapists, contributing to the shortage of mental health professionals in schools.
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Jaquez Lewis instead offered a rewrite of the bill known as a "strike below" amendment to require those transporting horses to slaughter do so "humanely."
Rebekah Keat, who runs the horse rescue that brought Lovato and Marilyn Monroe together, said she regularly bids against someone at horse auctions, adding that 90% of the horses they rescue are healthy and young, not sick or old. She also said about 79% of horses are injured in transport on the way to slaughter.
While Jaquez Lewis and others advocated against equine slaughter, opponents of the bill noted equine slaughter is a solution for elderly horses or those that have outlived their usefulness. Even Temple Grandin, the Colorado State University expert on animal science, advocates for horse slaughter, if it can be done humanely in a well designed facility with good management.
Those opposed to the bill included Colorado Farm Bureau, the Colorado Cattlemen's Association and Colorado Woolgrowers Association.
Landon Gates, representing the two latter groups, said they were shocked by the original version of SB 38, which was not what Jaquez Lewis told them last summer it would address. He said they much prefer the strike-below proposal, which is what they thought she was going to introduce.
"When you remove an option of disposing of a horse that has reached the end of its useful life, you end up with fewer options," Gates said.
Horse sanctuaries are great, and a wonderful place for a horse to live out its life, he added, but also pointed out a horse sanctuary was raided last October because the animals were being neglected. It's not always the best answer, he said.
Scott Dorenkamp, with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, said the bill is duplicative of existing prohibitions on horse processing, and would regulate interstate commerce. As distasteful as it might sound, horse slaughter is an option when all others have run out, he indicated.
"This is a solution in search of a problem," said Wes Skiles of the Colorado Livestock Association.
"We can put a stop to this cruelty and suffering" at the hands of kill buyers, Jaquez Lewis told the committee.
Despite the rewrite, the bill still drew concerns from Ag Chair Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Eagle, who worked with Jaquez Lewis and stakeholders from the ag industry to narrow the bill's scope back to the transportation of horses. But he also indicated the amendment, which now becomes the bill, wouldn't be enforceable because it's trying to "police behavior" that doesn't happen in Colorado, and that he expects more changes.
In the end, however, Roberts was one of the four "yes" votes to move the bill on.
The committee approved the rewritten bill on a 4-3 vote and sent it on to the full Senate for consideration.
When a doctor prescribes medication for a patient, insurance companies often require the patient to first try a series of alternative, less expensive drugs before they will cover the originally prescribed medication.
Critics say that process called step therapy delays lifesaving care.
Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet said when she was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, she was forced to spend weeks taking multiple ineffective drugs that only worsened her mental health.
The drug that Im taking today has been an absolute game changer in my life. The drugs that I had to take left me suicidal, left me unable to get out of bed and left me unable to function, said Michaelson Jenet, D-Aurora. I had to go through that process and, as a result, I lost weeks of my life. And I will never get those weeks back.
Michaelson Jenet is now sponsoring House Bill 1130, which seeks to limit step therapy requirements when treating serious mental illnesses.
If approved by the state legislature, the bill would only allow commercial insurance providers to make a patient try one alternative drug before covering the medication originally prescribed by the patients doctor when treating depressive, bipolar, psychotic, schizoaffective and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
The bill unanimously passed its first committee vote on Tuesday.
This process of forcing patients to verify that other drugs are ineffective or inadequate drives every doctor crazy, said Amy Goodman with the Colorado BioScience Association. This can prolong and worsen health issues, needlessly subject vulnerable patients to serious side effects and ultimately cause patients to abandon seeking treatment altogether.
Goodman and other proponents of the bill said the use of step therapy is dangerous for Colorado patients as the state is in the midst of a mental health crisis.
In 2022, 23% of Colorado adults had some kind of mental illness, but only 55% of them received treatment, according to a State of Mental Health in America report. Nationally, 42% of Americans say cost and poor insurance coverage are their top barriers to mental health treatment, with 17% saying insurance does not pay enough for their mental health treatment, according to a 2018 study.
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More than a dozen organizations back the bill, including the Colorado Hospital Association, Colorado Behavioral Health Care Council, Colorado Medical Society and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Only the Elevance Health insurance company opposes the legislation.
The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association also supports the bill, though it defended the use of step therapy. Patrick Boyle with the association said his group is only supporting the bill because it allows insurance companies to keep one step and was amended to not take effect until 2025.
"The reason we have step therapy is, regrettably, cost is a consideration in the provision of health care, Boyle said, giving an example of two different drugs that treat autoimmune disorders that cost $70 per month and $7,000 per month.
We can either treat 100 people ... or one, he said.
Step therapy can reduce costs for insurers by between 9% and 15%, according to some studies. However, other research shows that step therapy can impede patient health and increase long-term costs, particularly for patients who require hospitalization due to the alternative drugs as Michaelson Jenet did.
The House Health and Insurance Committee unanimously approved the bill Tuesday, advancing it to the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration.
If passed into law, the bill, which would take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, would also require the states medical services board to review new mental illness medication for coverage within 90 days of federal approval.
During the committee hearing, Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, said the bill is a great first step in getting rid of step therapy. Rep. David Ortiz, D-Centennial, called step therapy insidious, saying he was told to take a wet wipe bath instead of getting bathroom chairs as step therapy for his disability coverage.
This bill is lifesaving, Michaelson Jenet said. When dealing with serious mental illness, time is absolutely of the essence. What Im asking for here is a little less time between the patient and the medicine that works.
After getting an unexpected crash course on the presence of methamphetamine in public spaces, Pikes Peak Library District officials have learned that residue of the illegal drug found last week in some of its public restrooms is not a library problem.
Its a public-facilities issue, says library district spokeswoman Denise Abbott. Any public facility could have it.
Smoking the stimulant in bathrooms at libraries, gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, workplaces, bus stations or other sites such as hotel rooms deposits airborne particles on counters, doors, drywall, painted walls, air ducts and other spots.
The substance turns into a sticky residue that spreads when its touched, remains on surfaces for a long time and is slow to dissipate, said Mike Van Dyke, an industrial hygienist and associate professor at the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
But health risks from short-term periodic exposure from absorption through the skin or even putting hands to mouth after touching a surface that has residue are low, officials say.
The good thing is that the way bathrooms are constructed is you have an exhaust ventilation system that goes directly outside, Van Dyke said. You're not distributing this methamphetamine aerosol throughout the facility, and the surfaces that are most highly contaminated are those surfaces that you're not going to touch.
Because meth is metabolized quickly in the body and expelled within a few days, health risks largely relate to long-term, chronic exposures, said Dr. Paul Mayer, co-medical director of El Paso County Public Health.
The places the health risks are higher are generally private residences where meth has been manufactured or used over long periods of time, he said.
The most commonly reported symptom if encountering enough meth to cause a reaction is respiratory irritation, Van Dyke said. People with lung conditions, such as asthma, also are at higher risk of having problems, he said.
Infants and young children are most susceptible, Mayer said, along with the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.
Boulder Main Library, the first library to close in December because of meth contamination, found traces of the drug in seating areas and bathrooms, including on a baby changing table, the library reported.
The latter can be concerning, Van Dyke said.
Let's say you laid your baby on that changing table without any clothes on. You could get a significant portion of their skin contaminated with meth. I think that's the only realistic scenario that I see where you are at any risk of health effects," he said. Because in these spaces we go to the bathroom, we wash our hands before we leave, and we're only in there for a few minutes.
The large-scale remediation in Boulder involved replacing furniture and computers and sanitizing carpets, walls and HVAC systems, according to the library.
Several restrooms in two of three Pikes Peak Library District branches swabbed earlier this month in the 15-branch Pikes Peak system showed meth residue, officials announced Saturday afternoon.
As a result, the systems oldest branch, Penrose Library, 20 N. Cascade Ave., is closed for at least this week, as is its mobile book service.
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Results from initial testing by a state-certified, Denver-based environmental consultant necessitated further testing, including areas surrounding the bathrooms, Abbott said, to determine which surfaces are infected and the extent of remediation needed.
Under Colorado law for residential properties, a surface is considered contaminated enough to need cleanup when it tests at 0.5 micrograms per 100 square centimeters or higher. Many states, such as Utah, Hawaii and Kentucky, put that limit at 0.1 micrograms.
Colorado has no law for public spaces, so companies assisting libraries are using residential scales.
Samples taken from several bathrooms at Penrose Library in downtown Colorado Springs had elevated levels above the states maximum residential threshold, Abbott said.
Also, one restroom in the Special Collections area housed in the Carnegie Library, which was built in 1905 as the citys first library and now is connected to Penrose Library and one restroom at the East Library showed meth contamination above the states minimum residential threshold but below the maximum level.
That restroom at the East Library, 5550 N. Union Blvd., is closed, although the library is open.
Samples were collected in 25 of the systems 53 libraries, at its three highest-traffic branches, Abbott said. The 12 restrooms tested at districts newest site, Library 21c, showed absolutely nothing, she said.
Penrose and East libraries mark the fifth and sixth Colorado libraries to detect meth residue in the past two months.
Residential cleanup regulations from Colorado public health were set in 2005, with statutes adopted in 2014.
Van Dyke was involved with the team at National Jewish Health, an affiliate of the Colorado School of Public Health, in researching levels of safety, which helped create state regulations governing closing, cleaning and remediating meth labs at residential properties.
With public libraries in Boulder, Littleton, Englewood, Arvada and Colorado Springs voluntarily testing and finding meth residue, Van Dyke said he's relatively certain that hell get a call about whether new regulations specific to public spaces need to be enacted.
If that call does come, we'll be involved in some way, he said.
Unlike Boulder Main Library, which had received complaints about people smoking in its bathrooms, the Pikes Peak Library District had no complaints, Abbott said.
As the second-largest district in the state, we didnt do it because there were incidents of abuse but over cautionary safety for our staff and patrons, she said.
Over the past few days, the library system has been fielding emails from the public, Abbott said, ranging from how people cant believe this is happening in society to those wanting to know the risks and what can be done.
In addition to needed remediation, the local library district plans to install environmental sensors that alert employees about levels to prevent future contamination, Abbott said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has endorsed "the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United Arab Emirates on the Exchange of Government Practices".
Under the decree, the memorandum in question was signed in Baku on November 28, 2022.
Today, Azerbaijan's cooperation with Arab countries has entered a new stage of development. The UAE is one of Azerbaijan's main partners in the Arab world. Over the last 30 years after the diplomatic relations were established between the two countries, Azerbaijan and the UAE have been rapidly developing their cooperation in various fields and aspects.
The Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade, and Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United Arab Emirates serves to strengthen this cooperation. The final protocol signed at the end of the eighth meeting provides for strengthening cooperation in the fields of bilateral economic relations, investment, trade, green energy, agriculture, food safety, innovation, logistics, tourism, healthcare, science, and also provides for the expansion of business relations between the two countries and partnerships between small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the creation of Business Council and working groups on mutual investment promotion.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov at a meeting with visiting British Minister of State for Europe and North America Leo Docherty on February 22 discussed the current state of bilateral relations between the two countries, prospects for developing future cooperation sectors, as well as the current regional situation, Azernews reports, citing a press release of the ministry.
Moreover, views on cooperation in wide-ranging sectors, including oil, gas, investment, and the prospect of cooperation in green energy, trade, and education were exchanged.
Pointing out the special importance of relations in the field of energy between our countries, the minister gave detailed information about the large-scale energy projects implemented in the region with the initiative and participation of Azerbaijan, and noted their important role in ensuring Europe's energy security, the press release read.
Jeyhun Bayramov also spoke about British companies operating in Azerbaijan and appreciated their contribution to the demining, participation in the reconstruction, and restoration of the liberated territories.
The two men also discussed the current situation of the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the talks around a peace agreement with Armenia, and various aspects of the protests on the Lachin road, the press release added.
Besides the minister filled Leo Docherty in on measures Azerbaijan has undertaken towards the normalization of relations with Armenia, and the recent situation around the Lachin road.
The Azerbaijani foreign minister said that the protests were against the abuse of the Lachin road and illegal economic activity, and there is no basis for the allegations regarding the blockade and the humanitarian situation, and in this context, the legitimate demands and security interests of our country, the press release noted.
In addition, the Azerbaijani foreign minister informed the opposite side about Baku's readiness to sign a peace agreement as well as its efforts to this end.
"At the same time, the opposite side was informed about the initiative of our country to sign a peace agreement and its efforts in this direction. It was brought to attention that despite Armenia's refusal to participate in the negotiations on the peace agreement scheduled for December [2022] and the obstacles created by the process, our country adhered to the process and carried out the exchange of comments on the text of the peace agreement. It was emphasized that it is necessary for Armenia to avoid its destructive position and return to the negotiations table," the press release reads.
In turn, British Minister of State Leo Dockerty emphasized that the UK is interested in developing bilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan and that Azerbaijani-Britain relations are developing dynamically. He added that it is important to eliminate the difficulties that hinder peace in the region, and the United Kingdom is ready to provide support in this direction.
Nonktp wrote:
I would like an expert's explanations and approach to the answer of question 1 (assumption question)
Nonktp
BFR wrote:
The passage suggests that in the study mentioned for gathering information about security of land tenure reflects which of the following pairs of assumptions about Tawahka society?
suggest
inference
not
inference
keywords
security of land tenure
Tawahka society
BFR wrote:
A. The security of a household's land tenure depends on the strength of that household's kinship ties , and the duration of a household's residence in its village is an indication of the strength of that household's kinship ties .
Researchers also measured land-tenure security : in Tawahka society , kinship ties are a more important indicator of this than are legal property rights, so researchers measured it by a households duration of residence in its village .
measured [land-tenure security]
BFR wrote:
B. The ample availability of land makes security of land tenure unimportant , and the lack of a need for secure land tenure has made the concept of legal property rights unnecessary .
not
a more important indicator
legal property rights
More important
unimportant
BFR wrote:
C. The strength of a household's kinship ties is a more reliable indicator of that household's receptivity to new agricultural technologies than is its quantity of nonland wealth, and the duration of a household's residence in its village is a more reliable indicator of that household's security of land tenure than is the strength of its kinship ties .
anything
BFR wrote:
D. Security of land tenure based on kinship ties tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of improved plant varieties, and security of land tenure based on long duration of residence in a village tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of chemical herbicides .
[The researchers] found that longer residence correlated with more adoption of improved plant varieties but less adoption of chemical herbicides .
BFR wrote:
E. A household is more likely to be receptive to the concept of land tenure based on legal property rights if it has easy access to uncultivated land , and a household is more likely to uphold the tradition of land tenure based on kinship ties if it possesses a significant degree of nonland wealth .
only if
not
legal property rights
if p then q
inverse
if not p then not q
converse
if q then p
contrapositive
if not q then not p
Hello,. I would be happy to offer to offer some insights into my approach on this question. Before I jump into a passage, I typically scan the first question so that I can go into reading the passage with some sort of frame in mind, apart from main idea/authorial presence concerns. The question:First off, aorquestion doesgive you license to "read between the lines," as my students sometimes tell me. Although that interpretation may be accurate with other reading tasks, on the GMAT,means one of two things:1) What does the passage state, possibly in a slightly different manner (i.e. using synonyms for a few words)?2) What does the passage state, perhaps forcing you to cobble together information from one sentence or paragraph and information from another, when the two bits are not combined as such in the passage?Yeah, that is it. The closer you stick to the passage, the more questions you will answer correctly. Stick to theof the question stem, and match them to their counterparts in the passage, a simple yet highly effective strategy. Here, our keywords areand. Thus, we have to make sure our answer is accurate on both fronts. We cannot project any information from one key phrase onto the other. With that out of the way, on to our responses.Like just about anyone else, I hate long-winded answer choices. They present numerous opportunities to get sidetracked. But here, I cannot find anything to argue against. Why? Because the passage states in the penultimate sentence,In Tawahka Society, it is clear that kinship ties matter, in terms of land-tenure security. Furthermore, researchersby how long a household had established residence in its village. The answer choice and the line from the passage match, almost verbatim. What more could you want in an answer?Note the strong, judgmental language. Quite often, such answer choices take an idea too far, and this one is no different. The passage doesindicate that land-tenure security is unimportant. If it did, then what would be the point in the researchers studying land-tenure security? Rather, the passage tells us that another factor, namely kinship ties via duration of residence, isof land-tenure security than aredoes not suggest that the alternative isI will be honest and admit that I did not even untangle the first part before eliminating this answer choice based on the second part. The latter portion here is twisting words, and no such comparison between duration of residence and kinship ties is made in the passage. Again, the researchers used duration of residence and kinship ties in tandem to measure land-tenure security in Tawahka society. I like to say that if you can argue definitively againstin an answer choice, as long as you are keeping an eye on the passage, then that is enough to see off that answer. I will leave the former part for another time, perhaps. (The clock would have been ticking if I had not already eliminated the answer and moved on.)The last line of the passage presents information that flies in the face of this statement:If that does not seal the deal, then I am not sure how much more proof you need.These conditionals, which you can interpret as saying, are getting in the way here, not to mention that this is all pure speculation. The passage presents ways in which the Tawahka society operates, regarding the security of land tenure, byplacing an emphasis on. This answer kind of reminds me of the different cases in formal logic in which a statementcan be reinterpreted, sometimes with clearly incorrect conclusions, into the),), and). We do not need to waste our time sorting out what could be true when the passage tells us what is already going on.I hope that helps answer your question. Good luck with your studies.- Andrew_________________
Danville appears on track to set a record high temperature Thursday amid a stretch of unusual winter warmth.
For Thursday, the record stands at 74 degrees.
That is not going to be hard to beat at all, Robert Beasley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, told the Register & Bee on Wednesday afternoon.
Danvilles forecast high for Thursday is 80.
Theres a little concern about cloud cover and showers in the morning, Beasley said, but noted sunshine in the afternoon should help to heat up the temperatures.
A little fly in the ointment is that we may have some clouds and rain around in the morning, He said. But any sun in the afternoon is going to push it up into the 70s, enough to break the daily record.
The average daytime high for this time of year is about 54 degrees.
While setting a daily record is likely, itll take a little more to mark a new point in history for the all-time monthly high of 85 degrees set Feb. 27, 1977.
A summer-like pattern is causing the warm weather the Dan River Region has enjoyed this week.
Weve had an extremely strong upper level ridge, kinda of like we see in the summertime often, Beasley said. Its going to amplify.
Right now, the warm area of Florida and Georgia is something that normally is seen in July with highs in the 90s.
Were going to be in an unsettled weather pattern over the next week, Beasley said when asked whats in store for the weekend.
Basically, frontal boundaries will be dangling over the area.
Showers will return Saturday tapping into air over Canada to cool things off. However, the cooling will only bring temperature more in line with the normal for late February.
The chance for dreary weather extends into next week.
Its really hard to tell right now when all of those events will occur, Beasley said, they will come and go over several few days.
This winter season has been void of snowfall for Danville. In fact, other than long-range computer models that would show possible storms a week out only to pull back, snow hasnt popped into the forecast this year.
And right now, it doesnt appear likely.
Not in the forceable future, Beasley said. Well have to see about March.
Forty-seven years after the disappearance of Auburn student Kyle Clinkscales, authorities in Alabama say the missing 22-year olds remains have been positively identified.
The Troup County Sheriffs Office received the news from the county coroners office on Sunday.
On Dec. 7, 2021, Clinkscales car, a 1974 Ford Pinto Runabout, was found in a creek in Chambers County. The car was then transported to Troup County, Ga., where local investigators along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) processed the vehicle.
The Runabouts license plate and VIN number both matched with Clinkscales missing car. Additionally, Clinkscales wallet and 50 different skeletal remains, including a partial skull bone, had been found inside the vehicle.
Those remains were positively identified as that of Kyle Clinkscales, said a press release from the Troup County Sheriffs Office that was released on Sunday. The Coroners Office received this information from the GBI at which time they released it.
A DNA analysis of the remains was completed by an FBI lab at the request of the GBI.
According to the press release, an official report has not been completed or released by the GBI as relates to the manner of death.
Kyle Wade Clinkscales, originally from LaGrange, Ga., was a student at Auburn University. He disappeared on the night of Jan. 27, 1976. Clinkscales had reportedly left the Moose Club in LaGrange where he worked as a bar tender to drive back to school. However, neither Clinkscales nor his Ford Pinto Runabout ever made it back to Auburn.
While authorities believed the young man had been murdered, his disappearance remained a mystery for 45 years. During the mid-90s and early 2000s, tips alleged that two different men, Ray Hyde and Jimmy Jones, had possibly murdered Clinkscales. However, nothing definitive ever materialized in either of those cases.
Information lead Troup County authorities to search a junkyard on Hydes property, but nothing was found. Hyde, however, was arrested in connection to felony gun charges.
Two different lakes in Troup County were also drained in the search for Clinkscales. One lake was drained in 1996. The other was drained around 2005. Again, nothing definitive was ever found. Authorities believed the body of Clinkscales was hidden in one of the lakes and removed before they could find it.
Jones was sentenced to prison and incarcerated from September 2007 until January 2013 on charges of giving false and conflicting statements to police regarding Clinkscales murder.
Authorities finally got a break on Dec. 7, 2021 when the Runabout was found. Around 11:30 a.m., a trucker driving along Chambers County Road 83 spotted a vehicle partially submerged in a creek alongside the road. The trucker then notified the Chambers County Sheriffs Office.
That vehicle turned out to be a white two-door 1974 Pinto Runabout. Once the vehicle was pulled from the water, deputies saw it had a 1976 Troup County license tag. The car was later confirmed to belong to Clinkscales.
In 2021, former Troup County Sheriff Donny Turner, who originally worked the Clinkscales case, told AL.com, How he got into that creek (where he was found Tuesday), I have no explanation at all But we do have a person that told us the body was moved out of the lake, put in the car and the top of the car was smashed with a backhoe.
Photos of the Runabout as it was pulled from the creek indicate a crushed-in roof.
This case remains under investigation.
GREENSBORO A series of policy revisions being considered by the Guilford County Board of Education could pave the way for the establishment of school choice zones in the district.
Under the proposal, theres no automatic home school to which a student is assigned. Instead, all parents in a zone must choose their preferred school options through an application process. Students living in the zone get priority to attend nearby schools.
Its unclear when these zones might be established; a Guilford County Schools spokeswoman said the district doesnt have a timeline right now. These policies would lay the groundwork should the board later vote to create a choice zone or zones.
When district administrators and their consultants presented a facilities master plan to the school board several years ago, they shared recommendations for creating two such zones one in the Smith High School area in Greensboro and the other in the Andrews High School area in High Point.
Schools within these zones would all have unique themes, programs or educational approaches, which families could pick between.
Speaking in 2021, then-Superintendent Sharon Contreras said the Smith and Andrews High areas have the most requests for school choice among the high school feeder areas.
Those areas, she said, also have some of the highest concentrations of poverty and greatest degrees of racial isolation.
Part of our equity work is to make sure that does not happen, she said.
Her administration, she said then, had been researching, planning and talking with local parents and educators for years to figure out what choice programs would best serve students and be attractive to families across the district.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools has its own version of school choice zones that it uses districtwide, where families pick from among schools in their zone, though its not entirely clear how similar or different that system is to what might be enacted in Guilford County.
Brent Campbell, the spokesman for that district, said each student has a default residency-based home school that they would attend if their other choices werent available.
The Electronic Security Service under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan has got an acting director.
The deputy head of the service, Samir Rasulov, will lead it, the service reports.
The Electronic Security Center under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport was established pursuant to the 5th part of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan ? 708, dated September 26, 2012.
By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on additional measures to improve management in the transport, communications, and high technologies field, dated January 12, 2018, the center was included in the structure of the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and High Technologies as the Electronic Security Service.
The service coordinates the activity of entities of information infrastructure in the area of cyber security, collects and analyzes information about cyber-attacks, trespassing, malicious computer programs directed against the security of information systems and networks, computer equipment and their software, local and corporate information systems and resources from users, manufacturers of software and technical equipment, analogical structures in foreign countries and other sources.
Previously, Shahin Aliyev was the director of the service.
Florence Crittenton officials said Wednesday that their Feb. 11 "Paint the Town PINK!" annual fundraiser at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds was a record-breaking event, grossing $400,580.
The money raised represents 30% of the agencys annual fundraising goal. In 2020, Crittenton grossed the previous record-breaking amount of $290,000.
The event, celebrating its 20th year, provided the 500 attendees an opportunity to support Crittentons programs for families with young children.
The nonprofit agency provides trauma-informed care and residential, early childhood and community programs aimed at strengthening families in Helena and across Montana.
Officials said they were delighted to have the fundraiser in person after two years of COVID-19 limitations on large events.
It appears the public was too, with tickets and corporate sponsorships selling out in record time and our auction reaching record numbers, they said.
Guests enjoyed a gourmet dinner, cocktails, live and silent auctions, raffles, music and dancing with local band Ten Years Gone.
Past clients from Florence Crittenton also shared their stories about the effect the organization has had on their lives.
These funds come at a critical time for our organization, where rising costs across all aspects of our work are threatening our ability to serve families that so desperately need the support and services, Executive Director Carrie Krepps stated in a news release.
She said the community has again stepped up, as it has for over a century, to ensure families receive the services they deserve.
The Presenting Sponsor was Dick Anderson Construction, and Platinum Sponsors Montana Radio Co., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, Pinion Technology Core and Edge Marketing & Design.
For more information go to www.florencecrittenton.org.
Republican lawmakers this session are considering how to take more active role in maintaining the laws they pass, whether that means stepping into adverse court challenges or spurring the executive branch with litigation of its own.
Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, invoked instances as far back as 2003, when the Legislature passed a bill that required the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to develop outcome and performance measures. Despite agreement with the department at the time those provisions were needed, the department largely never met those requirements, Mercer said.
"If the Legislature puts things on the books and just ignores them, that's kind of a shame-on-us moment," Mercer said Tuesday. "But it strikes me as really problematic if something gets codified and it isn't implemented and it isn't enforced and there's no compliance with what it was the Legislature agreed on."
House Bill 518 would establish the Legislature's legal standing to file a lawsuit and compel the agency to comply with the laws it passes during the session. It would require notice to the agency prior to litigation, which would require a majority vote in the House and Senate to pursue.
Senate Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, is cosponsoring the bill.
The Legislature meets for just one 90-day session every two years. This schedule largely sidelines the Legislative branch's role in active government for 18 months at a time.
Last session lawmakers approved several measures to take a more active role during the interim in a bipartisan fashion, establishing interim budget committees to keep tabs on how agencies are spending money and funding staff to keep the ship on course between sessions.
"I think we're spending a lot of time talking about how do we increase the capacity of the branch," Mercer said in committee Tuesday. "The branch can't ultimately be powerless when there's just a reluctance to enforce what's on the books."
Mercer on Tuesday also presented House Bill 512, which would give lawmakers standing to enter an ongoing lawsuit if a bill they sponsored or cosponsored was challenged in court. The bill essentially would allow lawmakers to join that lawsuit to describe the plain language or legislative history of the bill.
The proposal is similar to that proposed by Fitzpatrick in the Senate, with Senate Bill 278.
Republicans have seen roughly two dozen pieces of legislation challenged in court since the 2021 Legislature. Fitzpatrick said he drafted and introduced the same bill 10 years ago but it had been vetoed by then-Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld a law in North Carolina that granted lawmakers there the same ability to leap into litigation against their legislation, Fitzpatrick said earlier this month.
"I think it would be nice from time to time to go in and explain why I brought the bill, why I thought it was good policy, why in my analysis I didn't feel it was unconstitutional," Fitzpatrick told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I think this would be another way of strengthening the legislative branch."
Fitzpatrick's bill advanced on a unanimous, bipartisan 11-0 vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday.
A right to work bill that sought to prohibit union membership or dues as a condition of employment in the private sector was tabled by a legislative committee Wednesday a major setback, but not necessarily the last time the issue will come before lawmakers this session.
House Bill 448 was backed by several conservative organizations during its hearing in the House Business and Labor Committee last week, but prompted scores of opponents from an array of labor groups to testify against it. A pro-labor rally on the Capitol steps later in the day drew about 400 participants.
Mario Martinez, the lead representative for Montana Carpenters Local 82, was one of the speakers at the Friday rally and sat in the committee room during the vote Tuesday. The committee voted 12-7 to table the proposal, with all Democrats and six Republicans on the committee voting the bill down.
I think its a good demonstration of the power of the working people in Montana, to come together to rise up in opposition, Martinez said, while also acknowledging a possibility that it might show up again.
Tabling a bill doesnt necessarily kill it. Legislation dies automatically if it fails to pass to the other chamber before the sessions transmittal deadline, but in the meantime, a blast motion on the House floor could pull it out of the committee.
A nearly identical bill during the 2021 session was decisively killed on the House floor, on a 38-62 vote after narrowly passing out of the same committee.
The committee held little discussion on the bill prior to voting it down. Bill sponsor Rep. James Bergstrom, R-Buffalo, suggested there had been misinformation aimed at his proposal, and suggested he'd been the subject of intimidation. In an interview later in the day, he said hed gotten a phone call making a personal threat against him, and that it was specifically in relation to his right-to-work legislation.
I reported it to who I needed to report it to, and its being taken care of, Bergstrom said. He declined to elaborate further on the threat.
Rep. Derek Harvey, a Butte Democrat and member of the local firefighters' union, said that right-to-work proposals go after the community that is built around unions.
We had very little proponents on the bill, we had lots of opposition, and these are the working-class Montanans that we came here to represent, Harvey said.
House Bill 405 proposes a substantial amendment to the Montana Constitution in an attempt to create something known as a citizens grand jury.
Apparently, the bill is meant to fulfill the objective of a "Platform Principle" adopted by the Montana Republican Party which states that: "We support reforming the Grand Jury laws to better root out corruption and support limiting the ability of the Montana Supreme Court to abuse its power to protect themselves."
If approved by the Montana Legislature, and then approved by the voters, a citizens grand jury of 11 people could be summoned in any county of Montana based only upon a petition alleging a criminal offense and accompanied by the verified signatures of one-half of 1% of the registered voters in the county. A judge must then summon a citizens grand jury.
The judge has no discretion to determine whether impaneling a citizens grand jury is "in the public interest, as is presently required by Montana law. Once the petition is filed, it automatically becomes the mandatory duty of the judge to summon the citizens grand jury.
In Cascade County in 2022, where there were 46,985 registered voters for the 2022 general election, the filing of a petition bearing 235 verified signatures would automatically initiate the impaneling of a citizens grand jury. In Petroleum County, where there were 381 registered voters in 2022, the petition would require only two verified signatures before triggering the mandatory grand jury impanelment.
Compulsory procedural rules are also specified in HB 405. The citizens grand jury is the sole judge of its duration, as well as the breadth and depth of its inquiry. As a result, the citizens grand jury can investigate, deliberate and indict for as long as it sees fit.
HB 405 also authorizes the citizens grand jury to seek court orders and to conduct open proceedings where the public may present information or ask questions, as well as other proceedings, open or closed, as the grand jury deems appropriate.
In addition to the dictates of HB 405, existing Montana grand jury law requires the appointment of a lead juror who has the power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas. It also provides that No person other than the jurors may be present while the grand jury is deliberating or voting, and that Unless advice is asked, the judge may not be present during the sessions of the grand jury.
But wait, theres more.
HB 405 explicitly requires that an indictment brought by a citizens grand jury must be prosecuted by the county attorney for the county in which an offense occurred, regardless of prosecutorial discretion. And, if that county attorney fails to prosecute within 90 days of an indictment, then he or she may be indicted for obstruction of justice and official misconduct.
Finally, HB 405 also provides that if the citizens grand jury is unable to obtain the prosecution of its indictment by the relevant county attorney, the grand jury may compel prosecutorial assistance from the attorney general or retain a private prosecutor whose fees shall be a lawful claim against the county where the alleged offense occurred.
It doesnt take long to visualize the inevitable chaos and spectacle that will attend the creation of a Byzantine citizens grand jury procedure; nor, but for a moment, to foresee the unlimited expense to the county within which the grand jury is impaneled.
Sadly, with the hateful and unforgiving culture wars we witness every day, its easy to envision special interest groups presenting multiple petitions for the impanelment of dueling grand juries in an effort to vindicate their opposing and singular interests through grand jury investigations and indictments. And all of this is underwritten with taxpayer resources.
Thats the desecration HB 405, if passed and approved, will enshrine into the Montana Constitution.
MORE COVERAGE:
DECATUR The shock shutdown and filing for bankruptcy without warning of Akorn Pharmaceuticals in Decatur and companywide on Wednesday has thrown hundreds of employees out of work and left angry city leaders scrambling to pick up the pieces.
The estimated Decatur workforce of more than 400 were summoned to a meeting at 8:30 a.m. and told the maker of specialty drugs and other products was closing and their jobs were over.
The Herald & Review obtained a recording of the announcement made to the employees by Douglas Boothe, the company's CEO and president, and a letter given to employees during those meetings. Attempts by the Herald & Review to obtain additional comment from the company have been unsuccessful.
In the video, Boothe said: "Yesterday we notified the FDA regarding our bankruptcy filing and the impact that this decision will have on all Akorn employees, our customers and patients in the U.S. healthcare system. I realize that this is a tremendous shock, and it will take time to absorb the news and what it means to you, your colleagues and your family.
"Be assured you'll be fully paid through Thursday, tomorrow, and as part of that pay you will receive all of your accrued and unused vacation time. Your health and welfare benefits will also continue through the end of this pay period, 2-28. The severance plan has been terminated in connection with the bankruptcy filing, and so we will not be able to pay severance or provide any extended COBRA coverage.
"...Please pack up your belongings, secure all files and documents in your workspace and return any company issued equipment. This week a package of information will be mailed to your home address. It will include benefits information to help you navigate through the distress and the uncertainty created by these very difficult (unclear)."
Akorns corporate offices and distribution center are located in Gurnee, Illinois, according to the companys website.
Its other manufacturing facilities are in Somerset, New Jersey; Amityville, New York; and Hettlingen, Switzerland. It maintains research and development facilities in Vernon Hills, Illinois, and Cranbury, New Jersey.
Companies with a workforce the size of Akorn are supposed to notify the state in advance of pending cutbacks but there appears to have been no notice given in this case.
'This is just wrong'
Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe told the Herald & Review she was both stunned and deeply angered by the way the jobs had been cut without any warning at all.
I am not happy about it; I am furious about it, she said.
This is just wrong; they should not be treating these people, these employees, these families, like this. To not give them any notice, to not give them a minute to try to reorganize their lives or to look for something else is not right. Somebody pretty high up in Akorn made this decision and knew this was coming and they didnt just wake up this morning and decide to do it.
The mayor said the task now was to work with the state, local employment and development organizations and others to support the laid off workers and find them new jobs and supportive benefits.
She said the only silver lining is that the Decatur employment landscape is a lot brighter than it used to be and more opportunities for displaced workers are out there.
I will say that if we can have a silver lining here, its that we are not like we were five or 10 years ago when we were scrambling for every job, she added.
We have a lot of job opportunities here right now and there are probably companies that are going to be searching out these displaced employees. We do have a lot of good jobs that are available right now.
Not what they expected
Rumors swirled among Akorn employees for a few days prior to Wednesday's announcement that the plant was closing and they were all out of a job, but most of them thought the business had been sold. It's been on the market for months.
Boothe visited the Decatur sites on Monday and gave no indication that anything was afoot, said a group of laid-off workers who gathered next door to the Wyckles Road plant at Pop's Place for lunch on Wednesday to talk things out. Though they spoke willingly to a Herald & Review reporter, none of the employees were willing to be quoted by name.
Some of the group had been told on Tuesday to pack up their personal belongings and not to come back, but most employees learned the news on Wednesday morning at the group meeting. Right up until that meeting, one of the two plants had continued to produce the pharmaceutical products they made and package them for shipping. The other plant had sent people home early on Tuesday.
The employees at Pop's Place said they had noticed that some of the managers looked upset after Boothe's visit, which is part of what started the rumors that maybe bad news was coming, but they expected a restructuring if a new owner had bought the company, and possibly some layoffs, not a total closure, they said.
Among the group were single moms with small children, who have not only lost their income, but will lose their medical coverage as of Feb. 28. All but one had recently been promoted, with no indication that their jobs were ending. The workers said the company had hired some new employees as recently as Monday.
Their payday is every two weeks, and their most recent payday was Feb. 17, but they were notified that they would get a final paycheck on Feb. 23.
Akorn employee Melody Schultz learned she was now unemployed while on vacation in Hawaii, getting up early to view the video announcement.
"We are devastated. Melody is in tears," said her husband, Larry Schultz. "We are celebrating our 20th anniversary in Hawaii and she didnt even get to say goodbye to her co-workers and friends. Someone else had to clean out her personal belongings from her desk and locker. The news of her losing her job was shocking and has totally destroyed our once in a lifetime trip/anniversary celebration."
History of financial troubles
The Akorn shutdown is company wide and closes out its Decatur manufacturing plant at 1222 W. Grand Ave. (expanded with a $25 million upgrade in 2018) and its packaging facility on Wyckles Road, which in recent years had undergone a 30,000-square-foot-expansion.
Signs of serious trouble emerged in 2020 when Akorn announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The situation had looked to stabilize later that year when the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the sale of the firm to its existing lenders.
Other signs of trouble dated back further, however, with the German healthcare company Fresenius Kabi backing out of a $4.75 billion deal with Akorn in 2018 amid allegations that Akorns claims of compliance with regulatory requirements were not true and correct.
Akorn had also been sent a warning letter by the U.S. Drug and Food Administration in January of 2019 following inspections of its Decatur facilities. The letter had reprimanded the company after a regulator had found contaminants on sterile gloves and had said proper procedures were not in place for stopping the contamination of drugs, according to a news report by Reuters.
Staff writers Valerie Wells and Taylor Vidmar contributed to this report.
Photos: Akorn Pharmaceuticals in Decatur
DECATUR A dog died in a Tuesday afternoon fire, despite attempts by Decatur fire crews to resuscitate it.
According to a press release from Battalion Chief Timothy May, crews responded to a fire at approximately 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at 337 N. 18th St.
"Fire companies arrived on scene to heavy smoke showing from multiple windows," May stated.
Multiple fire crews attacked the fire. A search of the home confirmed no one was in the residence. May completed an investigation and found a space heater too close to the bed was the cause of ignition.
The Red Cross was contacted to assist the occupants on the home.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: A look back at Decatur firefighters through the years
DECATUR Emily Gillespie grew up in a small town where there wasnt much for a kid to do except go to the library.
Now, as an Eisenhower High School senior, Gillespie is an intern through the InspirEd Futures program of Decatur Public Schools. Seniors spend three afternoons a week as interns in a business setting closely aligned to their career goals, as a way to learn what the job is like and to gain some job experience.
InspirEd Futures is in its ninth year, said Leslie Risby, innovative programs supervisor for Decatur Public Schools, and this year has 34 students and 26 business partners participating.
Counselors and business and careers teachers at each high school share information about the program with students and help identify students who may be interested, Risby said. In October of each year, we invite business partners to share with students a little about their company and what an internship opportunity would look like at their business. Students receive a listing of more than 50 business who partner with Innovative Programs. From there students are invited to complete an application and list their top three internship sites. If students have an interest in an internship with a business thats not on the list, they are encouraged to write that company name down and I will reach out to that business.
She started right after Martin Luther King Day, said Becky Damptz, head of archives and special collections for Decatur Public Library. She had an interest in library science and what were doing out here (in the local history room). I figured how best to start? Come on down, hang out, and work on some stuff for us.
Emilys job is to scan documents belonging to the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Half the collection is in Decatur and half in Springfield, and the Decatur library wants to make the items available online, so they have to be digitized.
It kind of gives her a glimpse into what archival work is, what it entails and how tedious it can be, Damptz said. When you go to college, youll have a grasp of do you really want to do this? Do you really want to focus on this track?
Gillespie agreed that yes, sometimes the work is tedious, but also fascinating, and she is still planning a degree in either library science or history, hoping to be a librarian as a career.
(The library) was just the place I went as a kid, she said. It didnt occur to me, as a kid, that you could work in a library. Its like how, when youre a really young kid, you think your teachers live at school, she added with a laugh.
When the InspirEd Futures program became an option, she said, she thought she should try working in Decaturs library to find out if that was really what she wanted to do, and even if it had turned out otherwise, she felt that working there would be payback, of a sort, for all the enjoyment shed had in libraries.
InspirEd Futures allows seniors in their second semester of high school to spend Mondays and Fridays in a careers class, learning soft skills such as the importance of being on time, doing what is expected to the best of their abilities, dressing professionally, creating resumes and other such skills. Tuesday through Thursday, the students spend the afternoons on the job, working with a mentor at one of the business partners. In some cases, like Gillespies, they actually serve the business and do necessary work. In others, they are more in the role of observer, job-shadowing and learning about a variety of roles at a given business.
At Mueller Co., MacArthur High School seniors Nishant Jhaveri and Ahmed Aldhufri, both interested in engineering, are learning about everything from mechanical engineering Jhaveris particular interest to information technology and manufacturing. Aldhufri knows he wants to be an engineer, but hasnt yet decided which field to specialize in.
Andrew Jordan, research and development lab supervisor, is making sure he exposes them to as many departments as possible, he said. Mueller hopes that community outreach like this will encourage students to consider coming to work for the company one day.
Close 25 highest-paying blue collar jobs Blue collar workers roll up their sleeves, get dirt under their fingernails and wipe sweat off their brow to get the job done. Here are the top 25 occupations with at least 10,000 full-time employees that suit those hard workers. Source: CareerTrends.com Biofuels Processing Technicians Total employees: 12,000 Average salary: $50,304 Railroad Conductors Total employees: 42,900
Average salary: $50,363 Robotics Technicians Total employees: 14,430 Average salary: $51,041 Locomotive Engineers Total employees: 38,470 Average salary: $52,041 Electrical & Electronics Drafters Total employees: 29,390 Average salary: $52,194 Production Supervisors Total employees: 592,830 Average salary: $52,271 Surveyors Total employees: 41,970 Average salary: $52,322 Avionics Technicians Total employees: 17,150 Average salary: $52,671 Electrical Engineering Technologists Total employees: 68,000 Average salary: $54,067 Subway Operators Total employees: 11,300 Average salary: $54,471 Petroleum Pump Operator Total employees: 41,700 Average salary: $54,492 Boilermakers Total employees: 17,210 Average salary: $54,942 Solar Energy Installation Managers Total employees: 496,370 Average salary: $55,598 Cartographers Total employees: 11,610 Average salary: $55,932 Mechanics Supervisors Total employees: 434,810 Average salary: $56,133 Aerospace Engineering Technicians Total employees: 11,230 Average salary: $58,961 Gas Plant Operators Landscape Architect Total employees: 18,110 Average salary: $60,696 Transportation Inspectors Total employees: 24,350
Average salary: $62,018 Power-Line Installer Total employees: 114,540 Average salary: $62,094 Power Plant Operator Total employees: 40,300 Average salary: $62,908 Water Vessel Captain Total employees: 30,690 Average salary: $63,032 Powerhouse Equipment Installers Total employees: 22,120 Average salary: $67,128 Elevator Installer Total employees: 20,590 Average salary: $68,792 Power Distributors Total employees: 11,180 Average salary: $73,446 25 highest-paying blue collar jobs Blue collar workers roll up their sleeves, get dirt under their fingernails and wipe sweat off their brow to get the job done. Here are the top 25 occupations with at least 10,000 full-time employees that suit those hard workers. Source: CareerTrends.com 25 highest-paying blue collar jobs Blue collar workers roll up their sleeves, get dirt under their fingernails and wipe sweat off their brow to get the job done. Here are the top 25 occupations with at least 10,000 full-time employees that suit those hard workers. Source: CareerTrends.com Biofuels Processing Technicians Total employees: 12,000 Average salary: $50,304 Railroad Conductors Total employees: 42,900
Average salary: $50,363 Robotics Technicians Total employees: 14,430 Average salary: $51,041 Locomotive Engineers Total employees: 38,470 Average salary: $52,041 Electrical & Electronics Drafters Total employees: 29,390 Average salary: $52,194 Production Supervisors Total employees: 592,830 Average salary: $52,271 Surveyors Total employees: 41,970 Average salary: $52,322 Avionics Technicians Total employees: 17,150 Average salary: $52,671 Electrical Engineering Technologists Total employees: 68,000 Average salary: $54,067 Subway Operators Total employees: 11,300 Average salary: $54,471 Petroleum Pump Operator Total employees: 41,700 Average salary: $54,492 Boilermakers Total employees: 17,210 Average salary: $54,942 Solar Energy Installation Managers Total employees: 496,370 Average salary: $55,598 Cartographers Total employees: 11,610 Average salary: $55,932 Mechanics Supervisors Total employees: 434,810 Average salary: $56,133 Aerospace Engineering Technicians Total employees: 11,230 Average salary: $58,961 Gas Plant Operators Landscape Architect Total employees: 18,110 Average salary: $60,696 Transportation Inspectors Total employees: 24,350
Average salary: $62,018 Power-Line Installer Total employees: 114,540 Average salary: $62,094 Power Plant Operator Total employees: 40,300 Average salary: $62,908 Water Vessel Captain Total employees: 30,690 Average salary: $63,032 Powerhouse Equipment Installers Total employees: 22,120 Average salary: $67,128 Elevator Installer Total employees: 20,590 Average salary: $68,792 Power Distributors Total employees: 11,180 Average salary: $73,446
"What happened to the Kyrgyz language in Kyrgyzstan bypassed the Azerbaijani language. Now, like the Kyrgyz language, Azerbaijani is not exposed to death," said great Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aytmatov with grief.
Although the Azerbaijani language is rich with an ancient history, it was condemned to assimilation like other colonial languages after the Russian occupation.
In 1878, in Europe where nationalist and pan-nationalist currents were raging, the state language was included in the Norwegian constitution for the first time in the world. These movements affected Azerbaijani intellectuals through Russia, and the debates about ethnic identity and national language circulated among them.
In the second half of the 19th century and the beginning 20th century, since the empires dominated the world, pan-nationalistic movements were more popular. However, after WWI national states began to replace empires and thus nationalistic movement won over pan-nationalism gradually.
Unfortunately, being short-sighted, Azerbaijani leaders named Turkic as a state language, when they founded Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) in 1918. The lifespan of the newly-founded state was short and it was invaded by Soviet Russia (SR) after two years. Azerbaijan became part of the United Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
The status of the state language in the USSR was vague. Actually, not declaring any language as an official language, the USSR continued the empire politics relating to languages, but at the same time tried to relate it with democracy and the left ideology. All left block countries and the union republics in the 20th century, including Soviet Russia, did not have an official language, except Soviet Georgia and Soviet Armenia. Russian cornered all languages and eliminated them one by one.
In the 1950s, a very sad situation arose for the Azerbaijani language. Russian forced out Azerbaijani of the state institutions, and even the post offices did not use to accept telegrams written in the Azerbaijani language and applications written in the Azerbaijani language used to be rejected.
After Stalins death, then-Azerbaijani leaders took initiative and included the article of the state language in the constitution in 1956. As per the requirement of time, not Turkic but Azerbaijani was called the state language of the Soviet Azerbaijan.
Moscow was not satisfied with this and after three years all initiatives in the direction of the Azerbaijani language were halted. The initiators, the First Secretary Imam Mustafayev and the Head of Supreme Soviet Mirza Ibrahimov fired from their positions, they were repressed and humiliated in front of the public. Russia started to dominate again. Fortunately, Moscow did not remove the Azerbaijani language from Soviet Azerbaijans constitution.
In 1969, fortune started to favor Azerbaijan, with Heydar Aliyev's becoming the first secretary of the Azerbaijan Soviet. In all spheres, including the official language commenced nationalization. However, in 1977, Moscow presented the draft of the new Soviet constitution and the article of official language was removed.
Heydar Aliyev, who was a far-sighted and skilled politician, considered it necessary to keep the article on the state language in the constitution and was very determined about it. He had foreseen this issue since the first day and had formed a public opinion about the Azerbaijani language.
During the discussion of the draft constitution, public opinion formation measures were further strengthened. All humanitarian-oriented organizations, creative unions, and newspaper-magazine editors are instructed to include the request of the state language in the minutes of the meetings (MoM). The commission drafting the new constitution soon received hundreds of such MoMs.
Thanks to the courage and leadership of Heydar Aliyev, Moscow took a step back and the state language was not removed from the new constitution. Azerbaijan was one of three republics among the former 15 soviet republics which in the constitution it was noted as the state language. In addition, Heydar Aliyev constantly monitored the use of the Azerbaijani language in all state circles when he was in power.
However, it should be noted with regret that no matter how contradictory it sounds, in the first years of Azerbaijans independence dark clouds arose over the Azerbaijani language once again. In 1992, after Azerbaijani National Front (ANF) usurping power, the name of the state language was illegally changed to Turkic again. In addition, ANF tried to form a public opinion on the removal of several sounds from the Azerbaijani language under the motto of creating a common Turkic. This meant the assimilation of Azerbaijani as a language in the near future. Fortunate ANF government, still stuck in the pan-nationalist concept of the end of the 19th century, could not stay in power for a long time.
Heydar Aliyev's return to power in 1993 played the role of a kind of new breath for the Azerbaijani language. When the first constitution of independent Azerbaijan was being prepared, the Great Leader gave a lot of space to the language issue and the State TV channel broadcast alive the state language discussion.
The discussion revealed that most Azerbaijani intelligentsia, more precisely linguists and historians, were out of date and were stuck in the 19th century. Despite not being a linguist, president Heydar Aliyev had more precise and detailed knowledge of linguistics than them. As a result of Heydar Aliyev's efforts and persuasiveness, the Azerbaijani language was able to maintain the status it deserves in the first constitution of independent Azerbaijan.
DECATUR Three properties, including a former schoolhouse that could be repurposed into affordable senior apartments, will soon be added to the Decatur-Macon County Enterprise Zone.
The Decatur City Council unanimously approved a resolution amending the zone's boundaries to add the 12.7-acre site at West Grand Avenue and North Oakland Avenue, which includes the building that formerly housed Garfield School and then Durfee Magnet School. Also being added is a 16.4-acre area centered around the former Garfield School building along the Jasper St. corridor.
The council in a separate resolution also unanimously approved the addition of a nearly four-acre property west of Illinois 121 near East Village Parkway in Mount Zion to the zone.
An enterprise zone is an economic development tool that exempts properties within from paying state sales tax on construction costs and the state utility tax for electricity and natural gas. Commercial and industrial developers are the most likely to seek its benefits.
The boundary change requires the support of all five governing bodies Decatur, Forsyth, Long Creek, Mount Zion and Macon County it encompasses.
The council's actions come less than a month after plans were unveiled to rehabilitate, expand and convert the old school building at 1077 W. Grand Ave. into 63 affordable apartments for people 55 and over who are living independently.
The $19.6 million project is contingent on the developer, St. Louis-based Bywater Development, receiving tax credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The status of that incentive won't be known until June.
The council unanimously voted earlier this month to allocate $375,000 in American Rescue Plan funds and $300,000 in federal affordable housing grant funds towards the project.
Deputy City Manager Jon Kindseth said that the incentives made available in the enterprise zone can shave an extra 5% to 10% off construction costs.
Long-sought investment
The two Decatur properties added have been long been eyed for redevelopment under the city's neighborhood revitalization initiative.
The proposed senior housing complex would be the centerpiece of a "catalyst" project that could eventually include 40 units of one-story affordable housing aimed at families and a new mixed-use development that would include additional apartments and retail.
The Jasper Street corridor has long been the target of revitalization initiatives that will likely include property repurposing, beautification, infill development and non-motorized transportation options.
Kindseth confirmed that the city is in talks to purchase the shuttered school property at North Jasper Street and E. Grand Ave.
"The city manager has been authorized by council to buy that," Kindseth said. "And I think (the owner) just wants more money than what we're willing to pay for it, but we're close. And so likely the city will end up buying that at some point in the near future."
Kindseth characterized the city as "the buyer of last resort" as the building itself is beyond saving. He said it would be demolished "to make way for some type of catalyst project that comes next."
Rent assistance funding
In other business, the council approved allocating an additional $250,000 to Dove Inc. for the administration of the city's rent, mortgage and utility assistance program.
The Decatur-based social service agency has administered the program on behalf of the city since August 2021. This latest tranche brings the total overseen by the agency to $1 million.
According to city staff, the additional allocation was needed "due to a spike in coronavirus-related activities."
The money will come from community development block grant funds leftover from the CARES Act, the first COVID-19 relief law signed by former President Donald Trump in 2020.
Class is in: These former Decatur school buildings are still in use Brush College School Durfee School Jones School Lakeview High School Roosevelt Jr. High Salem School Spencer School St. James School
A 14-year-old girl was found safe and a Marion man who Smyth County investigators say took off with her in the middle of the night is in custody after the pair were located in Georgia early Sunday morning.
Smyth County Sheriffs Lt. Tony McCormick said the teen is believed to have left her Atkins home around 2 a.m. on Saturday with 28-year-old Michael Anthony Blevins while the girls mother worked nightshift and her grandfather slept.
The girls mother reported her missing after she woke that afternoon and was unable to find her daughter. Amber Alerts were issued by both the Virginia State Police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation early Sunday morning.
McCormick said the FBI entered the information of the vehicle they were believed to have been traveling in into a system of license plate readers in surrounding states. The vehicle, a 2001 Ford Econoline Van, was detected twice by those readers in Tennessee, the second detection coming in from Chattanooga.
The van was later spotted by a police officer about 20 minutes away in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., where it was stopped, and Michael Buchanan was taken into custody.
McCormick said its unclear at this time what Buchanans endgame was or where theyd planned to go. He noted that Buchanan had taken all his belongings from the home of a friend with whom hed been staying.
He also was said to have taken with him his friends computer, which hed used to communicate with the teen.
The lieutenant said the sheriffs office is still investigating the relationship between Buchanan and the teen. He noted that Buchanan had been a family acquaintance. Computers used by both Buchanan and the girl to communicate will be turned over to Virginia State Police for examination, he said.
In Georgia, Buchanan faces multiple charges, including abduction, trafficking of a minor and others.
Once the Georgia charges are resolved, he will be brought back to Virginia, where he will face additional charges.
As the founder of one of North Carolinas largest companies, James Edgar Broyhill helped build high-quality, durable furniture. His son James Thomas Broyhill, who died February 18 at the age of 95, helped build something just as lasting: the North Carolina Republican Party.
For most of the elder Broyhills lifetime, the GOP was a minor player in state politics. Outside of a few counties, Republicans rarely posed any challenge to Democrats. North Carolina held highly competitive elections, mind you, but they were in the spring, the Democratic primaries.
Ed Broyhill, as the furniture magnate was called, never sought public office, though he served on the Republican National Committee for 28 years.
It was his son Jim Broyhill who, after many years in the family business, decided in 1962 to try his hand at a different profession: politician.
It was the first election cycle after the 1960 census, which revealed that North Carolinas slow growth had cost it one of its 12 U.S. House seats. The ruling Democrats resolved to sacrifice the only seat they didnt hold, the Charlotte-area 8th District represented by Republican Charlie Jonas.
So they drew an audacious gerrymander, swapping precincts with the neighboring 9th District of Democrat Hugh Quincy Alexander. The Democratic maneuver backfired, however, as such schemes often do. Charlie Jonas was a skilled campaigner with lots of crossover appeal. And the 1962 midterms proved to be a good cycle for Republicans, nationally and in North Carolina.
Moreover, the GOP nominee for the 9th District, Jim Broyhill, brought not only a familiar surname but his own impressive talents to the campaign. He was smart, personable, and disciplined. Even as Jonas clobbered his Democratic opponent with 56% of the vote, Broyhill edged out Alexander by a margin of 50.5% to 49.5%.
As a GOP freshman in what was still the overwhelmingly Democratic capital of Washington, Broyhill leaned heavily on advice from Jonas, North Carolinas Mr. Republican, as well as minority leader Charles Halleck of Indiana and future president Gerald Ford of Michigan. A decade later, it was Jim Broyhills turn to mentor the up-and-coming Republican whod replaced Jonas in the Charlotte-area House district, Jim Martin.
In my biography of the future governor, Catalyst: Jim Martin and the Rise of North Carolina Republicans, I relate a conversation between the two men after the disastrous 1976 elections in which Jimmy Carter defeated President Ford and Republicans lost 49 seats in the U.S. House, four in the U.S. Senate, four governorships, and hundreds of other offices. By this time Broyhill was assisting minority leader John Rhodes in assigning Republicans to committees. Martin wanted to serve on Appropriations, as Jonas had, but Broyhill wanted him on the tax-writing committee, Ways and Means.
Martin protested that he didnt know much about taxes. Broyhill suggested that his colleague, a former college professor, start studying up. He foresaw that tax policy would be a major issue in the coming years. Broyhill was right, of course. Martin became one of the earliest supply-siders, along with his friends Jack Kemp and Trent Lott though unlike them, Martin served on the relevant committee and thus could mark up tax bills.
In 1986, two years into Jim Martins first term as North Carolinas governor, it was his turn to tap Jim Broyhill, in this case to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Republican John Easts suicide. Both Congressman Broyhill and former Ambassador David Funderburk were seeking the GOP nomination (East had previously announced his retirement). By picking Broyhill for the open seat, Martin gave him an edge in the primary and provoked the wrath of the Jesse Helms-aligned Congressional Club, which backed Funderburk.
Broyhill won the primary but lost the general election to Terry Sanford. Broyhill then served in Martins cabinet as commerce secretary. Both men were effective diplomats, working to heal the breach with the Helms wing.
Jim Broyhill and his generation of Republicans built a lasting legacy in North Carolina and beyond. R.I.P.
Electricity its usually so plentiful that we take it for granted, not worrying about where its coming from or how it gets to us. For some dairies, though, it pays to take the power into their own hands.
Having 96 solar panels on top of their freestall barn has saved Reid Dairy Farm in Michigan about 15% to 20% of their annual electricity costs, said Jim Reid. They put up the project in 2010 when an incentive was available from their electric company to help defray the cost, and its been a system that works simply and easily for their farm, he stated. The power is always available (they put power on and can take power off the grid when needed), and maintenance is minimal.
Ive always been interested in renewable energy. As farmers, we all know the power of sunlight and wind and wonder how we can harness that power, said Reid.
Dave Daniels, a Wisconsin dairy farmer, has a similar mindset. His Mighty Grand Dairy was already using energy efficiency measures such as variable speed motors, timers on electricity use, and LED lighting when they determined solar power would be the best fit to take their efforts to the next level.
After doing their research, the dairy installed a 198-kilowatt solar array in what was previously a small, 1.25-acre field right at the front of the farm. They started the planning process right before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world and complicated supply chains, but they were able to complete the project later that year and started using the generated electricity in January 2021.
On warm days full of sunshine, the system produces more power than the 570-cow dairy needs, and they will receive a credit from the utility company at wholesale price to use at night. Daniels also noted that maintenance is minimal, only consisting of mowing under the panels.
If solar power sounds attractive, both Reid and Daniels advised doing thorough research to see if it will work for your farm and be profitable. Incentives and grants can be a useful option to look into to help fund a project, Reid noted. For Wisconsin farms, Daniels pointed to Focus on Energy, which helps businesses save energy, as a good partner.
To learn more about these solar projects, as well as two farms moving toward green energy with methane digesters, check out the February 2023 issue of Hoards Dairyman.
To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2023
February 16, 2023
A team of four Hope College students participated in the Michigan University Model Arab League Conference that was held on Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 16-18, at Grand Valley State University.
The purpose of the model is to introduce students to the Arab world, to highlight the important issues in the region, and to generate understanding about the patterns of cooperation and conflict within the Arab world and with the international community.
Students role-play members of the Arab League during the model. Each delegation writes papers outlining its nations stand on the various issues being discussed and writes resolutions that are presented to the committees for discussion and voting.
Hopes delegation represented Oman. Participating Hope students included: senior Kharis Fullington of Temecula, California/Bangkok, Thailand; sophomore Siah Gertz of Washington, D.C.; freshman Steven Awad of Germantown, Maryland; and sophomore Elias LaChonce of Oak Forest, Illinois/Amman, Jordan.
Habeeb G. Awad, international student advisor of the Center for Global Engagement at Hope, served as the group's advisor.
Michigan is one of several states that sponsor a state-wide, university-level model, held annually in late February. Model Arab League is a student leadership development program administered by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Participants learn about the politics and history of the Arab world and the arts of diplomacy and public speaking. It is also a gateway to exchange programs in the Arabic world.
The other Michigan schools participating are Aquinas College, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, Spring Arbor University, Anderson University, Saginaw Valley State University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Hope's Model Arab League, open to all of the colleges students no matter their major or field of interest, is looking to recruit for next year's team. Students who are interested are invited to email the team advisor, Habeeb G. Awad (hawad@hope.edu), for more information.
include_once "/home/jwreview/public_html/$theme/includes/sidebar.php"; ?> Which is more destructive to personal liberty, a government that engages in secret acts of war or a public and news media that are indifferent to it? In the current American toxic stew of anti-Russian hatred and beating the drums of war in President Joe Biden's America we have both.
Here is the backstory.
The war in Ukraine is now in its 12th month. It has become a slow, inexorable movement westward for Russian military forces and painful migrations of 5 million Ukrainians out of their country, to say nothing of the losses of between 130,000 and 150,000 Ukraine troops.
Congress has authorized the president to spend up to $100 billion in borrowed dollars in support of the doomed Ukraine forces. He has thus far wasted about half of that in donated military equipment and cash.
Much of the military equipment has come not from American surplus but from America's storehouses of equipment for self-defense. And much of the equipment the U.S. has furnished is so sophisticated that Ukraine troops are in Oklahoma learning to use, maintain and repair it. Some is so sophisticated that American troops are on the ground in Ukraine, out of uniform, instructing upon and maintaining the equipment. And some of the equipment requires American soldiers to target Russian troops and dispatch missiles at them.
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American troops out of uniform poses a double-edged sword for Biden. If they are unarmed and out of uniform, he can legally deny that the U.S. has "boots on the ground." Yet, because they are out of uniform and supporting hostilities, they can legally be shot at by Russian troops, captured and executed as spies working for Ukraine. This is the way the U.S. began its disastrous and criminal war in Vietnam.
What is Biden's goal? Is it the expulsion of Russian troops from Ukraine and even from Russian-speaking Crimea, or is it the expulsion of Russian President Vladimir Putin from office? The White House can't or won't be precise on this because neither goal is militarily attainable, moral or constitutional.
Congress cannot fund a war involving Americans that it has not declared, as the constitutional language is clear. Moreover, Russian ground forces are about to expand by somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000. Those troops will simply overwhelm the Ukraine forces and their American instructors, no matter what equipment the U.S. provides and operates.
But the use of troops out of uniform and the expenditure of $50 billion without a clear attainable goal is not the worst decision Biden has made in this conflict. All of that waste is well-known. What was not known until last week was the act of war the Biden administration waged against Germany and Russia. Against Germany? Yes.
German and Russian industry built a natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, called the Nord Stream Pipeline. The pipeline enabled the Russian government to sell and deliver cheap Russian natural gas to German utilities.
According to the famed investigative journalist Seymour Hersh he of My Lai Massacre, Watergate, CIA spying, American torture and Pulitzer Prize fame back in June 2022, Biden ordered a joint CIA/Navy operation to prepare the pipeline for detonation. Navy Seals dove down to the seabed and lined the pipeline with explosives.
In September 2022, Biden gave the order to the CIA to deploy the explosives, which it did, causing $10 billion in damage to the pipeline and much more to the German and Russian economies and to the Baltic.
This was an act of war on an ally, Germany, and on a putative adversary, but one with which the U.S. has never been at war, Russia.
Can the president legally deploy violence to another country, whether ally or adversary, without a clear military need? In a word: NO.
Under the Constitution, only Congress can declare war, and under the treaties to which the U.S. is a party, there must be a moral, legal basis a credible military threat from a foreign military for such a declaration. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the president to notify Congress of all violent military deployment. Not only was this violence without notice, it was not defensive, nor intended to save lives in immediate harm from a foreign military, and it was against an ally.
Stated differently, attacking Germany and Russia so as to weaken their economies, knowing there was no moral military purpose to it, has made this act of war a criminal act a war crime as well.
The use of the CIA was, of course, no accident. The War Powers Resolution only requires reporting and seeking congressional approval for military violence. By putting the CIA in charge, if he ever owns up to this, Biden can argue that this was an intelligence operation.
The CIA's lawless, amoral, Constitution-be-damned, murderous culture, and the willingness of every American president since Harry Truman to cover for it, has given post-World War II presidents a secret personal army, which all have used to destroy and kill.
But Biden is the first known American president to use the CIA and the Navy to attack an ally. Isn't it mysterious that German authorities have been silent about this attack? And where is the mainstream American media? My guess is Hersh embarrassed the Germans and the American media.
The press is the eyes and ears of the public. But if the press is cowed or is in bed with the government, who will expose the government when it fights secret wars? Where are members of Congress? Where is the public outrage?
Joe Biden really wants a war to fortify his weak presidential stewardship. Apparently, the public will stand for it because the elites in government, the media and the military/industrial/banking complex who buy and mold public opinion have no moral compass, no understanding of history, no fidelity to the Constitution and no qualms about the annihilation of innocents.
(COMMENT, PLEASE, BELOW)
Andrew P. Napolitano, a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, was the senior judicial analyst at Fox News Channel. Judge Napolitano has written seven books on the U.S. Constitution.
CHARLESTON Rescuing entrapped individuals from the suffocating forces inside grain elevators is a scenario that the MABAS 26 Technical Rescue Team regularly practices.
On Tuesday, the Charleston and Mattoon firefighters who comprise that team put their training into practice as they helped Clark County emergency responders free a worker engulfed by corn in a Little John Grain Inc. bin in Westfield.
"He was alert and talking the entire time, which was phenomenal," said Charleston Assistant Chief Tim Meister. Arch Air Medical Service subsequently airlifted him to an area hospital for treatment.
The incident happened to take place during Grain Bin Safety Week, Feb. 19-25, when the Illinois Department of Agriculture and Illinois State Fire Marshal Office's remind workers about the potentially fatal hazards of bins.
Purdue University research has shown that more than 900 cases of grain engulfment were reported nationwide during a 50-year time period ending in 2010, with a fatality rate of 62%. At least 26 workers were killed in engulfment accidents in 2010, the highest number on record.
Often times we become complacent when doing tasks we have done a thousand times, and for farmers that often means working in and around grain bins, said IDOA Director Jerry Costello II in a press release. Unfortunately, problems involving flowing grain can snowball quickly."
The safety week release that it only takes four seconds for a full grown adult to sink to their knees in flowing grain and 20 seconds to be completely buried. Suffocation from engulfment is the leading cause of death in bins.
Meister said the man in Westfield was entrapped approximately 15 feet up within the grain bin. He said individuals at the scene were able to keep in contact with him and call for help from emergency responders. Meister said immediately calling 911 is essential during an engulfment, when someone is partially or completely buried.
"There is so much force and pressure on them that they can't move," Meister said. Due to this danger, he said those working inside a grain bin should always wear a harness attached to a properly secured rope and have one-two people outside the bin who can help if they become entrapped.
Clark County responders were at work following grain bin protocols when the technical rescue team arrived. Meister said these protocols include ensuring the auger and other electric machinery are off before entering a bin, checking the air quality, and wearing a dust filter or filter respirator, measures that also apply to bin workers.
Meister said the rescuers placed a grain bin tube around the entrapped man to protect him from the pressure and then started vacuuming out the corn within the tube. He said they also cut holes on the bin wall to release corn onto the ground to further take pressure off the man and to reduce the height of a "shelf" of corn that had been towering threateningly over him and rescuers.
The worker was subsequently freed shortly after 3 p.m. and taken for medical treatment after being entrapped for approximately four hours. Meister said this is an average time for a grain bin rescue due to the logistics involved.
Acting Illinois State Fire Marshal Dale Simpson said in the release that fire departments statewide continually train for these types of responses and continue to apply for grants to receive special tools to help with rescues.
(Rural area) response times are increased due to the remote nature of these grain bins, which makes it extremely important that farmers follow proper safety measures and dont take any unnecessary risks," he said. Measures also include breaking up crusted grain from the outside of the bin with a long pole while avoiding electrical lines, and keeping children away from grain storage equipment.
The number of new COVID-19 cases in Forsyth County remained on a slight decline last week with one additional confirmed related death reported, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported Wednesday.
There were 428 cases listed for Forsyth, down from a revised 448 in the previous report.
The most recent time the weekly case count was lower was 417 for the week that ended Dec. 3.
About 24.8%, or 106, of the new cases were listed as reinfections by DHHS.
Altogether, Forsyth has had 125,166 confirmed cases and 964 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began in mid-March 2020.
Forsyth health director Joshua Swift and Novant Health Inc. infectious diseases expert Dr. David Priest have stressed that the DHHS weekly case totals include only laboratory confirmed cases, and dont include most people who determine they are positive with an at-home test.
People are taking fewer precautions against the virus, and theres waning immunity from natural infection and vaccination, Priest said.
Forsyth is listed in the medium category for COVID-19 community spread for a fifth consecutive week.
The latest update from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has Forsyths three key metrics still trending in a more positive direction.
The COVID-19 community level is determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions and the total number of new cases in an area.
For the 14-county Triad and Northwest N.C. region, Yadkin County dropped from the high to medium category. Alleghany, Davie, Stokes, Surry and Wilkes counties also are in the medium category.
Long-term care centers
The number of Forsyth long-term care facilities with current COVID-19 outbreaks decreased by two to 12 in the latest report.
Three outbreaks were declared as over by DHHS.
The outbreak at Forsyth County Detention Center involves 26 inmates, up one from the previous report.
The number of infected residents linked to current outbreaks is at 152, down 37 from the previous report, while infected staff members are at 73, down 33.
At least 14 long-term care residents have died since early April from a COVID-related illness, including at least two in the latest report.
An outbreak is considered over if there is no evidence of continued transmission within the facility, according to DHHS. If new positive COVID-19 cases occur after an outbreak is considered as ended, it is listed as a separate outbreak.
DHHS spokeswoman Bailey Pennington Allison has said it is important to remember that the number of cases associated with an ongoing outbreak are the cumulative total for that outbreak, not the number of people currently positive for COVID-19.
Current outbreaks of at least 20 COVID-19 cases in Forsyth long-term care centers include:
Trinity Glen, with 20 staff (up one from previous report) and 17 residents (unchanged).
Mill Creek Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, with 30 residents with one reported death, and three staff (both unchanged).
Willow Valley Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, with 23 residents (unchanged) and eight staff (up one).
Oak Forest Health and Rehabilitation, with 24 residents, including two deaths (unchanged), and six staff (up three).
Arbor Acres United Methodist Retirement Community Inc., with 19 staff (up one) and six residents (unchanged).
Silas Creek Rehabilitation Center, with 18 residents with one reported death (unchanged), and seven staff (up one).
The following long-term care facilities were removed from the dashboard: Trinity Elms with 28 staff and 24 residents; The Ivy at Clemmons with 13 residents and six staff; and Brookstone of Clemmons with five staff.
COVID-19 statewide
DHHS reported the statewide count for last week was 9,091, compared with a revised 11,224 in the previous report. The latest weekly count is the lowest since 6,903 for the week that ended Nov. 26.
Of those North Carolinians with a positive test result in the latest weekly report, 2,138, or 23.5%, were considered re-infected.
North Carolinas total confirmed case count since the onset of the pandemic is 3.46 million.
There were 18 COVID-related deaths reported statewide last week, along with another 34 confirmed from previous weeks, for a total of 28,346.
Last week, the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals in North Carolina was at 760, compared with 822 for the week that ended Feb. 11.
Hospitals in a 17-county version of the Triad region averaged 192 COVID-19 patients, up from 187 for the week that ended Feb. 11.
The current dominant omicron subvariants have proven to be more contagious, contributing to the surge in hospitalizations. DHHS lists 10 active subvariants.
The XBB 1.5 subvariant made up 59% of new cases from Jan. 29 to Feb. 11, along with 27.2% the BQ 1.1 subvariant and 4.1% the BQ.1 subvariant.
The recent kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico highlights a common practice for many people in the U.S.: traveling to other countries for medical care that either is not available at home or costs a lot less.
The N.C. Houses revival of a bill that would force sheriffs in the state to cooperate with ICE began Wednesday with a heated reminder of its controversial nature.
Republican-sponsored House Bill 10, with Rep. Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, as primary sponsor, is titled Require Sheriffs to Cooperate with ICE.
ICE stands for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The legislation requires all sheriffs to hold suspects in certain crimes for at least 48 hours when their immigration status is unknown or they are in the country illegally.
HB10 could be among the first if not the first tests of whether House Democrats are able and willing to uphold a Gov. Roy Coopers veto of a divisive Republican bill.
Following an expected veto as Cooper did with similar legislation in 2019 and 2022 it would take just one of the 49 House Democrats to vote for a veto override to allow HB10 to become law.
The bill was recommended Wednesday by the Judiciary 2 committee to the Rules and Operations committee, which is scheduled to address it at 4 p.m. Feb. 28.
Bill sponsors said HB10 and companion Senate Bill 50 contain language that they believe address Coopers concerns about the previous bills.
Instead of requiring a query of ICE on any infraction of anyone who is brought into a jail, it only requires an inquiry when someone is accused of the most heinous crimes, they said.
They would be held long enough for ICE to come in and do their job in a more controlled environment rather than in local communities in a much more dangerous environment, Hall said.
The second major difference reflects concerns expressed by Cooper about potential criminal penalties for sheriffs who decline to cooperate with ICE in detaining inmates.
Urban opposition
Although more than 90 sheriffs in North Carolina comply with ICE requests, several Democratic sheriffs, including Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough of Forsyth County, have limited their cooperation.
Those sheriffs also have stated their opposition to the previous ICE legislation.
The Forsyth Sheriffs Office issued a statement after Senate Bill 101 cleared the legislature on July 1, 2022, that included a quote from Kimbrough.
We will continue to do what is moral, what is legal and what is right, Kimbrough said. We have been and will continue to be a law-abiding law enforcement agency.
Other sheriffs have made similar statements.
Hall told the Judiciary 2 committee that the non-cooperating sheriffs are putting partisan politics ahead of public safety.
This bill would end that controversy because I believe they will follow the law if this (bill) is passed.
But if they wont, there are a number of remedies already in law, including potential removal from office, and a judge can require a sheriff to follow the law.
Opponents say voters in those counties elected Democratic sheriffs knowing their stance on ICE cooperation, and the bill is an attempt to usurp their authority.
Opposition perspective
Critics of the ICE legislation say the measure could increase jail time for suspects who have otherwise met the conditions for release.
They also point out it would force sheriffs offices to investigate the immigration status of anyone booked into the jail.
Rep. Marcia Morey, D-Durham, told the committee she is concerned that HB10 would expand the categories of individuals subject to the 48-hour hold, including for non-serious crime, to make time to check their immigration and potential criminal status.
Hall said HB10 would not allow that.
Sheriffs are not ICE agents, and we have seen too many examples of people with a minor traffic violation who are held for up to 48 hours, Morey said.
The bill is too much of an overreach, too much of a violation of due process, and those charged with a serious crime already will be held without bond or a high bond.
Being held for 48 hours for non-serious crimes can change someones life for good, Morey said, citing potential loss of job as an example.
Bill prospects
Republican-sponsored Senate Bill 50 contains the same language as HB10. That bill is expected to pass the Senate given the 30-20 GOP super-majority.
Meanwhile, HB10 will serve as the litmus test for the legislation.
Among sponsors are GOP Reps. Kyle Hall of Forsyth and Stokes counties and John Faircloth and Jon Hardister of Guilford County.
When Republicans had super-majorities in both chambers during the 2017-18 sessions, Cooper had 23 of 28 vetoes overridden.
By comparison, during the 2019-22 sessions, Cooper vetoed 47 bills with none overridden.
After being dormant since March 2021, SB101 was fast-tracked in the final week of the regular 2022 session. Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, was among the cosponsors.
The controversial bill cleared the House by a 65-49 vote on June 30 and the Senate by a 25-19 vote on July 1 both along partisan lines.
Cooper vetoed the bill on July 11. There was no veto override attempt the rest of the 2022 session.
This law is only about scoring political points and using fear to divide North Carolinians, Cooper said in his 2022 veto statement.
As the states former top law enforcement officer, I know that current law already allows the state to incarcerate and prosecute dangerous criminals regardless of immigration status.
This bill is unconstitutional and weakens law enforcement in North Carolina by mandating that sheriffs do the job of federal agents, using local resources that could hurt their ability to protect their counties.
HB10 is one of several bills where similar versions passed the General Assembly last session, but couldnt survive a gubernatorial veto, said John Dinan, a political science professor at Wake Forest University who is a national expert on state legislatures.
We dont yet have a sense of whether Governor Cooper will be able to keep the support of all House Democratic legislators on these and other bills in cases some Democratic legislators may feel cross-pressured to support the bill, but also to support the governors veto.
These bills open the possibility that one or several house Democratic legislators could support the bill, not only on its initial passage, but on an override vote, Dinan said.
Sabina Mammadli Read more
For 73 consecutive days now Azerbaijani eco-activists and representatives of non-governmental organizations have been picketing the Khankandi-Lachin road near Shusha, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent has been temporarily deployed, Azernews reports.
The continuous peaceful protests near Shusha is directed against the failure of the Russian peacekeepers in the region to provide unimpeded access to Azerbaijani experts to monitor the illicit exploitation of the country's mineral resources.
Many misconceptions have formed around the picket, such as the ones claiming that the protesters are blocking the road and about the "humanitarian crisis" in the region. However, daily videos and photos prove otherwise. This way, 21 vehicles of peacekeepers have driven along the road just since the morning.
The latest attempt at a bipartisan state Senate medical marijuana bill has advanced to the gatekeeper Senate Rules and Operations committee.
Senate Bill 3, titled NC Compassionate Care Act, received its second Senate committee recommendation Wednesday from Finance. The Rules and Operations committee will address the bill at 10 a.m. Thursday.
The bill cleared Judiciary on Tuesday after several significant changes were made to the legislation.
Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, is one of three primary sponsors, along with Republican Sens. Bill Rabon of Brunswick County and Michael Lee of New Hanover County.
Perhaps the foremost change was providing a qualified exemption for suppliers of medical marijuana products from potential criminal prosecution.
Bill sponsors said the amendment assures that suppliers would not be subject to arrest for possessing, producing, delivering or transporting cannabis, or aiding and abetting in those actions, if their conduct fits within the proposed laws parameters.
Eligible cardholders would be required to show their card to law enforcement upon request.
The exemption goes away if the cannabis is delivered to anyone who is not a patient eligible to use medical marijuana, or their caregiver.
A similar exemption was added for a planned registry that would identify individuals considered by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services as cardholders eligible to possess medical marijuana products.
Another amendment would require the 10 approved licensees of medical marijuana products to operate at least one of up to eight medical cannabis centers in a Tier 1 county considered as one of the 40 most economic-distressed counties in the state.
For 2023, those counties are Randolph, Rockingham, Surry and Wilkes counties in the Triad and Northwest N.C.
The bill would allow for up to 20 recommended applicants to fill the 10 licensees, with suppliers being given priority if they commit to placing a medical cannabis center into more than one Tier 1 county.
The amendment also would encourage preventing an overconcentration of medical cannabis centers in any one area.
A third amendment would require medical cannabis to be transported in a closed container and placed in a passenger compartment in a vehicle, or while the individual is on a public street or highway.
That amendment also provides a misdemeanor penalty for fraudulent use of identification to enter a medical cannabis center or to obtain medical cannabis.
The legislation is designed to help people who often cant help themselves, Rabon said.
Potential opposition from House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and House majority leader John Bell IV, R-Johnston, could derail the vote during the current session, said John Dinan, a Wake Forest University political science professor and national expert on state legislatures.
At this point, we have to rely on the comments of (Moore and Bell), who have cast significant doubt on plans to consider medical marijuana legalization, Dinan said.
12-year journey
SB3 is the latest in numerous attempts over the past 12 years to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.
The bill has been on an arduous path since being introduced during the 2021 session.
It requires the medical marijuana system to pay for itself following initial money to set up the system.
The funding would come mostly from license fees and a monthly fee equal to 10% of the gross revenue derived from the products sold at medical cannabis centers.
Opponents have expressed concern that the legislation would serve as a gateway to legalized marijuana in North Carolina by 2024; that the licensing fee for vendors is too low; that a license should not be sold; and that the potential profit levels need to be lowered.
Rabon called SB711 the tightest, best-written bill, seeing what other states did wrong and trying to omit those pitfalls.
We had to jump through a lot of hoops to do this, and we jumped through them the right way, Rabon said. We have been calculating, methodical, written and rewritten, taken things out, taken advice to come up with a final product that every person in the legislature can be proud of.
That included physicians being barred from advertising that they offer medical marijuana. It also addressed potential conflicts of interest between physicians, independent testing laboratories and suppliers.
It will be, from start to finish, traceable and trackable to every single supplier, grower, manufacturer , Rabon said.
An N.C. House bill cleared its first House committee step that would mandate the availability of muscadine grape juice in all public K-12 schools, colleges and universities.
House Bill 67, titled Encourage Healthy NC Food in Schools, has Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie, as primary sponsor.
The bill was recommended Wednesday by the Agriculture committee. It must clear the Education K-12 and Rules and Operations committees before qualifying for a floor vote.
A buyback proposal may be the spark needed for HB67s passage. Yet, the outstanding question remains can you get students to drink a sweet juice compared with the typical apple and orange juice offerings?
Both bills require the State Board of Education, local boards of education and charter schools to mandate that all public K-12 schools provide muscadine grape juice. Not only would the schools nutrition and lunch programs have to offer muscadine grape juice, but also school vending machines.
Davie is the home of Mighty Muscadine of Advance, which is affiliated with Le Bleu bottled water, and Vine Life Products of Bermuda Run, both of which promote muscadine grapes for food, health and wellness purposes.
Mighty Muscadine is owned by Jerry Smith. Smith provided Howard with a $2,700 political donation in 2016, according to opensecrets.org.
The N.C. House approved on Wednesday a bill that would allow six Triad school districts, including Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, to open the 2023-24 school year as early as Aug. 11.
House Bill 106, which has bipartisan support, passed the House by a 111-2 margin and will be sent to the Senate for consideration.
HB106 was filed Feb. 13, two weeks after the Winston-Salem/Forsyth Board of Education approved an Aug. 28 start date.
However, Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, has poured cold water on the prospects of HB116 in the Senate.
The online legislative media outlet The Insider reported that Berger told reporters Tuesday that I dont see where theres a need to change the calendar law, except maybe to beef up the enforcement mechanisms for local systems that ignore the law.
I dont know that theres a particular bill that would do that.
HB106 was originally filed for the benefit of WS/FCS and Stokes County Schools. It has Forsyths Republican representatives Donny Lambeth, Kyle Hall and Jeff Zenger as primary sponsors.
Lambeth has said he is not optimistic about the chances of any school calendar-flexibility bill because of expected opposition in the Senate.
The reality check is that in the 19 years since the law was passed, there have been at least 285 local and public-school calendar bills introduced.
None has cleared the legislature.
HB106 pathway
The bill was fast-tracked Tuesday, gaining recommendations from the Education K-12 and Rules and Operations committees after having eight districts added during the Education K-12 meeting.
The other Triad districts were Davidson County Schools, Guilford County Schools, Lexington City Schools and Thomasville City Schools.
Also added were Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Jackson, Swain and Transylvania county schools.
The bill is a local bill, which means it is not subject to a governors veto. Such bills involve up to 14 counties represented.
The two committees also moved House Bill 115 to the House floor. That bill includes Davie and Yadkin county schools among its 10 districts.
HB115 would allow local boards of education to determine the opening and closing dates for the 2023-24 school year.
That bill also cleared the House by a 111-2 vote Wednesday.
State law
State law passed in 2004 requires most school districts to start their school year on the Monday closest to Aug. 26.
The bill was filed primarily at the request of tourism advocacy groups to allow the summer vacation season to extend into late August.
There have been a few district exceptions permitted in the western part of the state because they tend to have more snow days.
Before that law was passed, some school districts opened as early as the second full week in August.
The Education K-12 committee also addressed bipartisan House Bill 86 in a discussion-only mode. That public bill would allow districts statewide to open as early as Aug. 10.
Given that HB86 has 66 sponsors, and 72 are required for a super-majority, its likely the bill will clear the House despite opposition from legislators representing coastal counties.
Meanwhile, House Bill 51 has not been addressed, which covers Randolph, Surry and Wilkes among the five counties in the legislation.
WS/FCS response
WS/FCS spokesman Brent Campbell said Feb. 13 that neither the board nor system administration had a role as a district in advocating for or against this.
The superintendent (Tricia McManus) did say in those meetings she would for sure have staff look at an earlier start date if that ever became an option for future years, Campbell said.
The 2023-24 calendar for WS/FCS sticks closely to the current calendar as permitted by state law. The final day of class for students is June 7, 2024.
It keeps a two-week winter break, aligns spring break with Easter and gives teachers days to work in their classrooms, without assigned professional development or students. The new calendar also has a three-day break for Thanksgiving.
McManus has said having more flexibility to come up with its own calendar is an issue that the states superintendents talk about regularly in their monthly meetings.
We definitely want to start earlier and get exams in before the break. But its very clear what the law says, McManus said. Superintendents are asking legislators to please seek policy changes.
When the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce started its strategic planning process last year, it used the words "economic vitality" as sort of a placeholder, said chamber President and CEO Jason Ball.
Ball said he wanted a phrase that was more expansive than just the tried-and-true "economic development," and he felt the use of the word "vitality" captured other important elements in the community, such as tourism and education.
As the process progressed, however, he said, "it really became clear to us we were going to be calling this plan 'vitality something.'"
The plan, now officially named Vitality Lincoln, was unveiled Wednesday during the chamber's annual meeting and luncheon at the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel.
"It really ended up, I thought, becoming a beautiful definition of what we're trying to plan forward with this process," Ball said in a Monday interview.
The plan has six strategies that officials see as key to Lincoln continuing to grow. They are:
* Attracting and retaining diverse talent.
* Providing distinctive destination assets.
* Pursuing targeted economic development.
* Creating vibrant and balanced growth.
* Providing dynamic entrepreneurial systems and support.
* Creating compelling image and awareness.
The strategies are the result of a monthslong process that began with more than 250 interviews with key stakeholders, a community assessment that garnered 3,300 online responses and a needs assessment performed by a 42-person steering committee.
Two consultants Broad Ripple Strategies and DMO ProZ worked with the steering committee to come up with the final strategies to focus on.
Presenting the economic vitality report to the public is technically the last phase of a four-phase plan, but there is still much work to do to implement the strategies.
Some of the elements contained in each strategy are fairly broad, but there are plenty of specific, targeted goals, including building a new downtown convention center and supporting the expansion of local child care options.
Those goals will take not just effort but also money, and Ball said the chamber knows it will need to count on a number of other organizations and individuals to help provide that money.
"It's a much bigger plan than just the chamber, Visit Lincoln or (Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development) can execute on. It's a bigger plan than the city can execute on," he said. "It's going to take a lot of partnerships to move the ball forward on these six areas."
One group that could be key is the state Legislature.
The chamber has already worked to put forward bills that would provide $60 million in one-time spending from the state's cash reserve to help pay for the convention center, grant $200 million in federal Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund dollars toward helping Lincoln develop a second water source, appropriate $25 million in general fund tax dollars to begin planning for the East Beltway and direct $10 million from the states cash reserve for grants to build affordable housing in Lincoln.
Ball said the chamber also will be looking to groups like the Lincoln Community Foundation for initiatives such as expanding child care.
And it will need to work with city officials on things like affordable housing and finding a way to accelerate infrastructure funding to help fuel growth, he said.
Not all of the planning is focused just on Lincoln.
Ball said the Lincoln Chamber has a formal memorandum of understanding with the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce to work toward trying to establish a "mega site" along Interstate 80 between the two cities that could attract a large employer.
"Right now, we're missing out on an opportunity to even put our name in the hat for billions of dollars of investment for projects that are coming to the state Department of Economic Development," he said.
Ball said next steps include working with partners to figure out "what specific groups are going to take the lead in what specific areas."
Much like the Angelou Economics report from 2003 helped move Lincoln forward on projects like the Pinnacle Bank Arena, he said he hopes this new report will provide new opportunities for officials to revisit which projects are the ones the community should be focused on now, which ones have the best chance of coming to fruition and also whether the political will is there to move them forward.
Of the chamber's role in that discussion, Ball had this to say: "We're going to be doors open (and) collaborative with partners that share this vision for our future economic growth and want to work with us on that."
The 10 tallest buildings in Lincoln 10. Wells Fargo Center 9. Terminal Building 8. Georgian Place 7. University Towers 6. Abel Hall 5. Sharp Building 4. Graduate Hotel 3. U.S. Bank building 2. Lied Place 1. State Capitol
A 64-year-old Lincoln woman was defrauded of $58,000 in an internet scam that started with an email alerting her of purported fraudulent transactions on her Amazon account, according to police.
The woman called police to her east Lincoln home just after 5 p.m. Tuesday and told officers she had received the email and called an attached phone number to clear up the supposed fraudulent charges on her account, Lincoln Police Sgt. Chris Vollmer said.
The call-taker who answered the woman's phone call directed her to drive to her bank and transfer $58,000 to an account in California, Vollmer said.
She transferred the funds and called the number back, Vollmer said. The suspected scammer told her to return to her bank and cancel the transaction, Vollmer said.
So the woman returned to the bank to cancel the transfer, but that effort apparently came too late, Vollmer said.
Bank employees advised the woman that she had likely been the victim of a scam, leading her to call police.
The Police Department declined to say where the 64-year-old banks.
Legislation authorizing issuance of up to $450 million in bonds to accelerate completion of Nebraska's long-delayed, four-lane expressway system would generate economic activity while better positioning the state to compete and grow, Gov. Jim Pillen said Wednesday.
"We've really missed the boat," the governor told the Legislature's Revenue Committee, by lagging behind in completing the four-lane expressway system envisioned in the Build Nebraska Act authored by state Sen. Deb Fischer and approved by the Legislature in 2011.
Fischer is now a U.S. senator.
In terms of safety, economic development and connecting Nebraska communities, "this is an incredibly important investment," Pillen said as he testified in support of the bill.
"It's important for the state to be able to compete," he said.
Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus, author of the highway bond bill (LB706) and the senator who hails from Pillen's own community, said the proposal would spur economic development in the state.
The bill provides for up to $450 million in bonding authority and $35 million in annual debt service payments, along with provisions that no bonds would be issued after 2029 and all bonds would be paid in full by June of 2042, when the program would sunset.
Bryan Slone of Omaha, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, spoke in support of the bill, telling the committee that "highways are the lifeblood of business critical to manufacturing, agriculture and transportation."
Bruce Bohrer, speaking for the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, said highway infrastructure promotes economic development and growth.
Lynn Rex, executive director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities, noted that the bill would "complete the long-promised expressway system."
The proposal also had the endorsement of the Nebraska Association of County Officials.
There was no opposition testimony.
Top Journal Star photos for February 2023
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.
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The emirate of Dubais Public Debt Management Office has redeemed $750 million worth of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, issued on Jan. 30, 2013, Dubai media office wrote on Twitter on Monday.
The government has also paid back early an additional $300 million of sukuk due to mature in November 2026, the media office said.
Did you know? with Rowe
Q: When is the best time to see the largest concentration of cranes?
A: There are a lot of variables influencing the best time to see them. What most people mean when they are asking this question is when will the most birds be there and the short answer is we do not know the peak viewing times until the number of cranes in the valley lowers. The largest concentration of Sandhill cranes typically occurs within the last two weeks of March. Dont let that limit your trip. A crane tour experience is much more than the number of cranes. Everyone will have a favorite time, but no one can predict exactly which dates to choose.
Q: When will the cranes be here?
A: We use the Sandhill crane historical uses data to predict crane arrivals and departures. Typically, the cranes arrive around Valentine's Day and leave on April 15, although there has been some variance from those dates in recent years. Early March will usually give a person more of a mix of waterfowl and cranes on the river, along with bald eagles which tend to follow the waterfowl migration. Early April is often overlooked, but this time can often provide some of the best viewing as the birds are fat and happy and it's often apparent in their behavior. Early to mid-April is also the best time to try and catch a glimpse of whooping cranes as they migrate through the state.
Q: Will I be sure to see the cranes?
A: We recommend using this information to decide the best time for a visit. And even with all this info, we cant control the weather, the cranes or the eagle that flushes all the birds at once. We dont know the exact location where cranes will roost for the night. Every crane viewing experience is unique and visitors should embrace the moment. They are in for a wild and unforgettable experience. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
More than 70,000 houses will be built in earthquake-affected areas in Turkiye, the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during his visit to the quake-struck Osmaniye province.
"Turkiye will breathe new life into its cities within a year. During this time, we plan to build over 70,000 houses with 200,000 apartments in them for our citizens," he said.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkiye on Feb. 6, 2023. The earthquake occurred at a depth of seven kilometers in the Pazarcik region of Kahramanmaras Province. The provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Malatya, Adiyaman, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, and Kahramanmaras were subjected to severe destruction.
As a result of the earthquake that hit Turkiye, strong tremors were also felt in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Cyprus.
A 75-year-old inmate at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln died Friday.
According to a news release, Johnny Hernandez died shortly after 5 p.m. Friday. The cause of death has not been determined, but officials say he was being treated for a medical condition.
Hernandez began serving a 25- to 50-year sentence on charges of first-degree sexual assault in 1999. He was projected to be released from prison in October.
As is the case whenever an inmate dies in custody, a grand jury will conduct an investigation.
Nebraska's 10 state prisons from least to most crowded 10. Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility 9. Nebraska Correctional Center for Women 8. Tecumseh State Correctional Institution 7. Community Corrections Center-Lincoln 6. Nebraska State Penitentiary 4. Work Ethic Camp 3. Community Corrections Center-Omaha 2. Omaha Correctional Center 1. Diagnostic and Evaluation Center
A Lincoln man was charged Thursday with a felony after Nebraska State Patrol investigators found files of child pornography on the 33-year-old's laptop, investigators alleged in court filings.
The State Patrol served a search warrant at Daniel Polyansky's north Lincoln apartment Wednesday after his IP address was used to download files of child pornography in September, investigators said in the affidavit for his arrest.
At least two of the files downloaded using Polyansky's IP address depicted sexually explicit conduct between adults and toddler-aged children, the State Patrol said.
When investigators searched Polyansky's apartment, near 46th Street and Huntington Avenue, they found additional files of child porn on his laptop, including one video that was playing when law enforcement first unlocked his computer Wednesday, according to the affidavit.
Troopers arrested Polyansky and took him to the Lancaster County Jail.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged him with possession of child pornography, a Class 2A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Judge Thomas Zimmerman set Polyansky's percentage bond at $150,000. He must pay $15,000 to be released.
Officials at Tomah Health say a redesign of the Wisconsin Hospital Associations PricePoint tool will enhance consumer price transparency.
The modern design of the WHAs PricePoint will further enable consumers, patients and others to easily access and compart pricing information of health care services across the state, Tomah Health chief financial officer Joe Zeps said of the recently announced PricePoint upgrade.
WHA officials said the cornerstone feature of the redesign is a new plain-language search function, made possible by WHAIC collaborating with Intelligent Medical Objects, known for capturing precise clinical data at the point of care and then standardizing it across settings and sources. The new search feature not only speeds up users research time but also allows apples-to-apples comparisons of health care costs across the state.
With roughly 15,000 page views per month, the Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Centers PricePoint tool is a resource that allows consumers to access and compare up-to-date information about the cost of care for various services across the state of Wisconsin. PricePoint is located at https://www.wipricepoint.org/.
Wisconsin has a long history of voluntary health care price transparency efforts by hospitals, with WHAs PricePoint serving as the cornerstone of these efforts, said Jennifer Mueller, vice-president, Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Center.
The application allows consumers and providers to search for generic terms, such as mammogram, or the CPT code, a standardized five-digit code assigned to each unique health care service. Searches for either term produce information about multiple facilities median charges, average length of stay, and more for that particular service.
This user experience redesign is intended to assist consumers as they work with their health care provider and, importantly, their insurance company or other third-party payers to determine the financial obligations for hospital services they receive, Mueller said.
Tomah Health quality/risk/compliance director Shelly Egstad, MA SL, RN, said the hospital has a long history of working with WHA on transparency.
Our philosophy at Tomah Health has always been to be transparent and thanks to technology, data is just a click away, Egstad said.
In addition to the newly announced features, PricePoint also delivers a variety of consumer-focused tools to assist patients in accessing necessary information from other entities besides hospitals, including:
Hospitals financial assistance policy and contact information: Patients can easily access hospitals financial assistance policy and contact information.
Quality data: Users can click the WHAIC CheckPoint tool logo when navigating each hospitals facility information page to gain direct access to information about that hospitals quality data.
Specific out-of-pocket costs: Consumers can input their specific health insurance provider and PricePoint will provide that insurers contact information so the consumer can contact them directly to solicit details about out-of-pocket costs specific to them and their circumstances.
Insurance information: Consumers who dont already have a coverage policy can find information and a menu of options to obtain insurance coverage.
Post-care services: PricePoint provides information about statewide averages for additional post-hospital services to help consumers know what to expect beyond the service they are searching for.
Since 2005, the Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Center has offered PricePoint as a tool to provide patients and families with important information about health care services and charges in Wisconsin. In 2017, WHAIC expanded the hospital-specific information in PricePoint to include services and charges that may be provided by non-hospital providers across the state providing a more complete picture of the charges associated with a particular procedure or treatment.
Plan now to attend the 13th annual Eagle Watching Day, Saturday, March 4, in Ferryville at the Village Community Center located on State Hwy. 35.
This program is sponsored by the Ferryville Tourism Council, co-sponsored by Friends of Pool 9, and is free to the public.
Event activities are from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (doors open at 9 a.m.). Returning to the program is the Decorah Raptor Resource Project Decorah, Iowa Eagle Cam organization presenting at 12:30 p.m. on Eagles of the Mississippi River. John Howe and Amy Reis of the Raptor Resource Project and their team tell about frisky eagle families and how they fly the Mississippi River Valley once again.
There will be free refreshments and childrens craft activities throughout the event. Ferryville, located right on Hwy. 35 along the Mississippi River, is an ideal place to host Eagle Day. There are many eagle nests in the area, including a new one just south of Ferryville and another new nest on Hwy. 82 to Lansing, Iowa. The Pool 9 section has more nests than in any other part of the Mississippi River.
Live eagle programs will be at 10:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m., featuring eagles from the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota. Learn how the bald eagles have returned to this area in increasing numbers and what you can do to support this effort to help our eagles flourish. The University of Minnesota Raptor Center is back for the 11th year with raptors and an eagle.
At 9:45 a.m. there will be bald eagle nest building. FOP9 & USFWL, with the help of children/youth from the audience will build a bald eagle nest. Learn how really big these nests are, how heavy they are and how they are constructed.
At 11:30 a.m. there is a hooting contest for folks of all ages. Practice up and see if you are one of the champions at hooting!
De Soto Middle School students, Seneca Middle School students, St. Charles Middle School and home-school students are participating in a display of art and science projects that educate about bald eagles. Students compete for awards which will be for the following: Category 1 Creativity, Category 2 Informative, Category 3 Judges Choice and Category 4 Most Artistic. Student teams will receive awards to recognize their scholastic achievements at the awards ceremony at 11:45 a.m.
Do you love treats, especially eagle cookies, hot chocolate, coffee and fresh apple slices from Sunset Orchards, Richland Center? Be sure to enjoy these on your visit to Ferryvilles Eagle Day festivities. Local restaurants are featuring special items just for Eagle Day. It is Bald is Beautiful Day at the Wooden Nickel, plus Swing Inn will have food/drink specials and Ferryville Cheese has free 12-ounce coffee with purchase of breakfast sandwich, so check out the specials. Other merchants have plans also.
For additional information, go to the Ferryville Tourism Council Website: www.visitferryville.com For Facebook, check go to www.facebook.com/ferryvillewi
Tobacco will be the subject of our next free public program. On Tuesday, March 7, regional historian Glenn Borreson will present a program about The Norwegian Crop: Tobacco Raising in Wisconsin. The event will begin at 7 p.m. at the museum.
Norwegian immigrants adopted the crop soon after arriving in Wisconsin, and made Vernon County a center of tobacco raising for many years. Glenn began researching his family history after retiring from his career as a Lutheran pastor, and today gives programs on different aspects of Norwegian-American heritage.
You can always learn more about tobacco raising in Vernon County by visiting the tobacco exhibit at the Vernon County Museum.
This permanent exhibit is located on the seconnd floor of the wheelchair-accessible building. Rhythm of Rural Life: Tobacco Talk explores the history of tobacco culture in Vernon County.
The exhibit covers the steps in growing tobacco, illustrated with historic and vintage photographs. It also looks at tobacco warehouses, with a focus on Martin Bekkedal of Westby and his many warehouses, and at tobacco cooperatives. Artifacts in the tobacco room include tobacco laths and a wooden spearhorse, and wooden boxes used to bale tobacco.
Vernon Countys Tobacco Expositions, held from 1954 to 1999, are also featured in the exhibit, and framed samples of winning tobacco from the Expos are on display. In the hallway outside the tobacco room is a related exhibit, Tobacco Vernon Countys Vanished Crop. Here a long glass case holds smaller objects, including a cigar mold, a tuck cutter for cigars, and a plug cutter.
You can also learn more about tobacco in the archives, where we have multiple boxes devoted to the subject.
The Tobacco A-Z box begins with cigar companies and ends with Vernon County Cooperative Tobacco Growers. The box about tobacco warehouses covers warehouses around the county, and includes a file focused on women working in the warehouses. And the Tobacco Planting box features files on all the steps involved in raising tobacco. Several albums of Northern Wisconsin Tobacco Pool photographs are also available.
Visit the archives and the museum exhibits during regular winter hours of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment. Contact us at 608-637-7396 to set up an appointment.
Tim Gaskell knows the law
Last fall I traveled from the Milwaukee area to represent my family in a sensitive court case in which Tim Gaskell was the prosecuting District Attorney. My experience in a courtroom had been very minimal and I learned quickly nothing is like what you see on TV.
I sat in the courtroom for 3-1/2 days listening, observing and learning. I admit the first day and a half more than once I asked myself why Mr. Gaskell wasnt objecting to things the defense attorney said or arguing with the judge?! By the second day, though, I realized he knew the law he was there to do his job and that didnt include arguing about things that would be a waste of his breath.
I also saw him as a very kind man toward my family members and who accepted me as someone my family had trusted to represent them and he went out of his way to ensure the judge realized that. I watched him wipe tears from his eyes at one point in the trial because the victim he was representing had come to mean that much to him. I was in the room when he presented facts to my family member and then let her decide what action she wanted to take without pushing his own opinion on her another example of Tim being able to set his own feelings aside and be impartial, something a judge must be able to do.
An officer, an assistant DA and a victim advocate talked to me about Tim, speaking very highly of him both as a person and as a district attorney.
If I had a chance to vote for Tim Gaskell for judge of Vernon County I would not hesitate.
Linda Warren, Milwaukee
Gaskells years of experience invaluable
I am Jayne Ballwahn, lifetime resident of Vernon County. I want to show my familys support of Tim Gaskell for Vernon County judge.
Having seen Tim in action in the courtroom and personally witnessing his compassion and understanding with victims going through difficult times in their lives while at the same time following the law, goes beyond expectation. Tims 32 years of experience with just about every type of situation is invaluable and a must in the courtroom. His integrity, impeccable character, knowledge of the law and organizational skills are the basis for my recommendation. I know Tim cares deeply about our community and our families and yet he is able to put his feelings aside while in the courtroom, knows and abides by the law, something essential in a judge. When comparing resumes, Tim outperforms his opponent by far. Tim is the best candidate for Vernon County Judge.
Please get out to the polls in April and vote for Tim Gaskell as our next judge for Vernon County!
Jayne Ballwahn, Victory
Support Gaskell for Vernon County judge
I am writing in support of Tim Gaskell for Vernon County judge in the April 4 election. I have worked as a court reporter in this district for over 20 years and spent countless hours in courtrooms across the state over the past four decades.
I worked with Tim on a nearly daily basis for six years in his role as the Vernon County District Attorney and before that when he was a defense attorney. Tim has decades of experience in criminal law, which is a very important factor to consider when selecting a judge because the vast majority of cases that come before the court are criminal cases. Experience matters. Tim possesses all the qualities required for the very serious task of managing Vernon Countys busy court docket. He is organized, patient, respectful, knowledgeable about the law and he gives careful consideration to each case he handles.
Most importantly, Tim is a person of integrity. He is passionate about his work and has been a tireless advocate for victims of crime in Vernon County over the past 20 years. I urge you to join me in supporting Tim Gaskell for Vernon County judge on April 4.
Sue Veres, Official Court Reporter, 7th Judicial District
The news that changes have been made to the works of best-selling children's author Roald Dahl has met with anger from leading writers, including Booker prizewinner Salman Rushdie, who branded the changes "absurd censorship."
Dahl, who died in 1990 at age 76, was the creator of characters such as Matilda, the BFG, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Willy Wonka and the Twits. His books have sold more than 300 million copies and have been translated into 63 languages, while there have been numerous adaptations of his work for both the big and small screens.
However, the author has long been regarded as controversial and in 2020 his estate officially apologized for antisemitic comments made during his lifetime.
It has now emerged that current editions of his books, published by Puffin, feature the following wording at the bottom of the copyright page: "Words matter. The wonderful words of Roald Dahl can transport you to different worlds and introduce you to the most marvelous characters. This book was written many years ago and so we regularly review the language to ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today."
These revisions have been worked on by "sensitivity readers" from an organization called Inclusive Minds, which describes itself as "a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children's literature, and are committed to changing the face of children's books."
In a lengthy report published on Saturday, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph revealed that it had found hundreds of changes across the author's many children's books. Close analysis by its journalists revealed that language relating to gender, race, weight, mental health and violence had been cut or rewritten. This included removing words such as "fat" and "ugly," as well as descriptions using the colors black and white.
Journalists working on the piece found 59 changes in "The Witches" alone, with hundreds more discovered in Dahl's other popular books, such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Matilda."
Rushdie took to Twitter Saturday to voice his opposition to the move by Puffin, in conjunction with the late author's estate.
"Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship. Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed," Rushdie tweeted.
Rushdie, 75, is no stranger to the debate around censorship. Following the release of his 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses," the then-Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the his death. The Indian-born author lost the sight in one eye after being attacked at a lecture in New York last year.
Even British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has now waded into the Dahl controversy, speaking out against the move to update the books.
When asked at a press briefing on Monday whether it is right to censor children's books, Sunak's spokesperson employed Dahl's own terminology, saying: "When it comes to our rich and varied literary heritage, the Prime Minister agrees with the BFG that you shouldn't 'gobblefunk around with words.'"
The spokesperson added that "it's important that works of literature and fiction are preserved and not airbrushed," and said: "We've always defended the right to free speech and expression."
In a statement sent to CNN, the author's estate, the Roald Dahl Story Company, explained that the current review with Puffin, and in partnership with Inclusive Minds, began in 2020 the year before Dahl's works were acquired by Netflix.
It said: "We want to ensure that Roald Dahl's wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today. When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it's not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a book's cover and page layout. Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text. Any changes made have been small and carefully considered."
Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, a network of writers protecting freedom of expression, responded angrily to news of the revisions on social media.
In a thread of 13 tweets, she said the organization was "alarmed" by the changes, which had been made in "a purported effort to scrub the books of that which might offend someone."
She wrote: "If we start down the path of trying to correct for perceived slights instead of allowing readers to receive and react to books as written, we risk distorting the work of great authors and clouding the essential lens that literature offers on society."
Philip Pullman, the acclaimed author of the "His Dark Materials" fantasy series, took a somewhat different approach to the news. While he did not express support for the changes, he told BBC Radio 4's "Today" show on Monday that Dahl's books should be left to "fade away."
He highlighted the fact that whatever changes might be made today, millions of older editions are circulating in schools, libraries, second-hand stores and elsewhere.
He said: "All those words are still there. Are you going to round up all the books and cross them out with a big black pen?"
Pullman acknowledged that language changes over time and said children should be encouraged to pick up alternative authors.
Of Dahl's books, he said: "Let them fade away read better writers."
___
50 classics from (almost) everyone's high school reading list 50 classics from (almost) everyone's high school reading list #50. Their Eyes Were Watching God #49. Mythology #48. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1) #47. Oedipus Rex (The Theban Plays, #1) #46. Moby-Dick or, the Whale #45. The Pearl #44. The Importance of Being Earnest #43. The Red Badge of Courage #42. The Taming of the Shrew #41. Slaughterhouse-Five #40. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer #39. Crime and Punishment #38. A Separate Peace #37. Death of a Salesman #36. The Little Prince #35. The Old Man and the Sea #34. The Canterbury Tales #33. Othello #32. Flowers for Algernon #31. Beowulf #30. A Tale of Two Cities #29. Wuthering Heights #28. The Hobbit (The Lord of the Rings, #0) #27. A Midsummer Night's Dream #26. The Grapes of Wrath #25. Great Expectations #24. Frankenstein: The 1818 Text #23. Julius Caesar #22. The Outsiders #21. Brave New World #20. Night (The Night Trilogy, #1) #19. The Crucible #18. The Giver (The Giver, #1) #17. Jane Eyre #16. Fahrenheit 451 #15. Pride and Prejudice #14. The Odyssey #13. The Diary of a Young Girl #12. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn #11. 1984 #10. The Scarlet Letter #9. Hamlet #8. The Catcher in the Rye #7. Of Mice and Men #6. Macbeth #5. Animal Farm #4. Lord of the Flies #3. The Great Gatsby #2. Romeo and Juliet #1. To Kill a Mockingbird
SEATTLE (AP) The Seattle City Council has added caste to the citys anti-discrimination laws, becoming the first U.S. city to specifically ban caste discrimination.
Calls to outlaw discrimination based on caste, a division of people based on birth or descent, have grown louder among South Asian diaspora communities in the United States. The movement is getting pushback from some Hindu Americans who argue that such legislation maligns a specific community.
Proponents of the ordinance approved by a 6-1 vote Tuesday say caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries and that without such laws, those facing caste discrimination in the U.S. will have no protections.
The ordinance is a contentious issue, especially among the nation's South Asian diaspora. Supporters argue it is needed because caste is not covered under existing civil rights protections. Groups opposing the measure say it will malign a community that is already the target of prejudice.
Council Member Kshama Sawant, a socialist and the only Indian American on the City Council, said the ordinance, which she proposed, does not single out one community, but it accounts for how caste discrimination crosses national and religious boundaries.
The origins of the caste system in India can be traced back 3,000 years as a social hierarchy based on ones occupation and birth. It is a system that has evolved over the centuries under Muslim and British rule. The suffering of those who are at the bottom of the caste pyramid known as Dalits has continued. Caste discrimination has been prohibited in India since 1948, a year after the nations independence from British rule.
Read more about it here:
South Africa: Govt invests in effective freight system
If South Africa is to have a reliable, cost-effective and safe freight system, port and rail infrastructure will require large-scale investment, National Treasury has warned.
Treasury fired the warning in the 2023 Budget Review report annexed in the Budget Speech Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented to Parliament at the Cape Town City Hall on Wednesday.
The report provided a status report of the countrys largely financially besieged State-owned companies (SOEs).
In the document, Treasury said following historical underinvestment, Transnet now plans to increase capital investment spending over the next five years to address a maintenance backlog and increase the capacity of existing infrastructure.
In the 2021/22 financial year, Treasury said the SOE reported a profit of R5 billion, after a loss of R8.7 billion.
This improvement was largely the result of higher revenue as the economy recovered, and a reduction in recognised third-party claims related to litigation or customer claims. Capital investment declined by 16.8% to R13.2 billion in 2021/22 due to lack of funding, Treasury said.
The document said some progress has been made to enable private-sector participation and access to the rail network.
This is part of a broader shift away from a divisional and modal service offering, to a more strategic collaborative approach. It will enable Transnet to participate in integrated commodity value chains, and work with the private sector to grow the investment portfolio in a financially sustainable manner, while unlocking new revenue streams.
In January 2023, it [Transnet] issued a request for quotations for private-sector participation in its container corridor between Johannesburg and Durban, Treasury said.
Concerns remain regarding the entitys ability to service the current demand for cargo transportation on the freight system and keep pace with tonnage growth, Treasury said.
The Adjustments Appropriation Act (2022) provided an additional R2.9 billion to Transnet to restore infrastructure damage caused during the April 2022 floods in KwaZulu-Natal, and this work is underway.
During 2023/24, Treasury says it will assess Transnets freight corridors and associated port operations to identify interventions that should be implemented to improve operations and ensure that freight infrastructure is used optimally.
Denel
Denel remains financially distressed and unable to fulfil its financial obligations, notes Treasury's report.
Treasury said the entity has not submitted annual financial statements for the year.
Funds amounting to R3.4 billion were allocated to the entity through the Special Appropriation Act (2022), with set conditions relating to the implementation of its turnaround plan and clarity on a sustainable business model.
These funds, Treasury said, can only be disbursed if Denel substantially meets the conditions before the end of March 2023. Government is closely monitoring this situation.
Eskom
Treasury said Eskom remains reliant on continued State support to operate and meet its financial commitments.
In 2021/22, revenues increased to R246.5 billion as a result of higher tariffs and a partial recovery in sales, it states.
Although savings of R20 billion were achieved during the year, these were offset by increases in primary energy and personnel costs. Eskom reduced its net loss position to R12.3 billion in 2021/22 from a loss of R25 billion in the prior year," said Treasury.
Despite higher revenues, Treasury said continued power cuts and operational inefficiencies have reduced sales volumes over the years, with customers increasingly choosing other energy generation options where they are available. SAnews.gov.za
This story has been published on: 2023-02-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The non-oil trade exchange between two of the major Gulf economies - UAE and Saudi Arabia - soared to AED136.09 billion ($37 billion), thus registering a 9% growth over the previous year's figures of AED124.6 billion, according to preliminary data from the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics.
Over the period of 2013-2022, non-oil trade between the two countries increased by 70%, with the total non-oil trade over the past ten years amounting to AED975.5 billion.
The volume of non-oil trade surpassed AED100 billion, with AED107.4 billion in 2018, approximately AED113 billion in 2019, and about AED104 billion in 2020, stated the report.
In 2022, non-oil trade between the UAE and Saudi Arabia consisted of AED34 billion worth of imports from Saudi Arabia to the UAE, while non-oil exports from the UAE to Saudi Arabia amounted to AED35.6 billion, and re-exports totaled AED66.4 billion.
The top five commodities imported from Saudi Arabia in 2022 were mineral oils valued at AED10.8 billion, followed by ethylene polymers worth AED3.6 billion, raw gold worth AED1.7 billion, insulated wires and cables for electricity worth AED1.1 billion, and laundry products worth AED811 million.
Raw gold topped the list of the top five commodities exported from the UAE to Saudi Arabia in 2022, valued at AED8.7 billion, followed by ornaments and jewelry worth approximately AED2.5 billion, copper wires worth AED2.4 billion, flat products of iron or steel worth AED891 million, and mineral oils worth AED829 million.
Communication devices and equipment ranked first on the list of top five commodities re-exported from the UAE to Saudi Arabia in 2022, valued at AED9.1 billion, followed by data processing machines worth AED6.6 billion, parts and accessories for vehicles worth AED2.2 billion, woven clothing worth AED2.3 billion, and jewellery worth AED1.9 billion.-TradeArabia News Service
Liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz handily won Tuesdays primary and will face conservative Dan Kelly in April in a race that promises to shape Wisconsins political and legal landscape for years to come.
Kelly, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, narrowly defeated fellow conservative candidate Jennifer Dorow for the second-place finish. The conservatives combined vote total was about the same as Protasiewiczs, who had led the pack in fundraising since entering the race.
Kelly received far more money from conservative outside groups than Dorow. But he also appeared to be the candidate liberals wanted to go up against in April, with liberal group A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund spending over $2 million to attack Dorow before the primary.
Voters can expect an avalanche of campaign ads and outside spending between now and April 4. The contest is on track to become the most expensive judicial election in Wisconsin and possibly anywhere in the country.
This is just the beginning, and our work is far from over, Protasiewicz (pronounced pro-tuh-SAY-witz) told supporters after her commanding win Tuesday.
Her liberal opponent, Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell, trailed the field.
Kelly said the campaign was now starting all over at ground zero and having a conversation with people all across the state.
I think they are going to be passionate about supporting their constitution and protecting it from being overturned by someone who is trying to put her thumb on the scales of justice, he said in a dig at Protasiewicz.
Liberals view the election as the surest means to restore abortion rights, which the U.S. Supreme Court threw back to the states after overturning the constitutional right to an abortion guaranteed under Roe v. Wade in June, and to redraw state legislative maps that favor Republicans. Conservatives need to hold onto the seat and the 4-3 majority theyve held on the high court for most of this century if they hope to block those liberal priorities.
The race has already been competitive, with donors on both sides spending millions on their preferred candidates and the conservative candidates clashing to win support from their partisan camp.
Before the primary election, Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County judge, received endorsements from two sitting liberal high court justices and outraised Mitchell 10-to-1 in two successive fundraising periods. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin endorsed Protasiewicz after The Associated Press called the race late Tuesday.
Focus on abortion
Protasiewicz has campaigned on her abortion rights views. She has called the states legislative maps rigged, questioned the states required use of photo IDs to vote and marched against former Gov. Scott Walkers Act 10 legislation, which largely eliminated collective bargaining for most public employees.
At the same time, she said, she is the best choice to reverse the extreme partisanship that has permeated the court for so many years.
Ill be running against someone who doesnt think women in Wisconsin should be able to make their own health care decisions, someone who could threaten our democracy, and someone who wont hesitate to put extreme, partisan beliefs ahead of the laws of our state, Protasiewicz said in speech excerpts Tuesday.
Anti-abortion groups have endorsed Kelly, though he has not talked about the issue nearly as much as Protasiewicz.
Kelly emerged as the second-place candidate Tuesday after receiving the help of Fair Courts America, a group funded by the Illinois-based Republican donor Richard Uihlein that has committed to spending $2.4 million to support him. Kelly also got some unexpected help from a liberal group, A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund, which committed to spending over $2 million to attack Dorow, a Waukesha County circuit judge.
Proven record
Kelly has largely campaigned on his experience as a state Supreme Court justice, where he consistently sided with the courts conservative bloc.
Kellys pitch to voters is that he has high court experience along with a long, public, proven record of constitutional conservativism and a body of scholarship that cant be matched by anyone in the race, he said.
The conservative candidates and their supporters clashed throughout the primary, but GOP leaders were already seeking to unite the party before the primary election.
Conservative candidates and their supporters need to come together after tomorrow night, Republican Party of Wisconsin chair Brian Schimming said on Twitter Monday. Like at 8:00 p.m.
About $9.2 million has already been spent on the race, with liberals and conservatives each spending half that amount, according to media tracking firm AdImpact Politics.
That includes about $2.8 million to boost Kelly, $2.3 million to boost Protasiewicz, $960,000 to support Dorow, $2.2 million to attack Dorow and $850,000 to attack Protasiewicz, according to AdImpact.
The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for portions of South Central and Southeast Wisconsin, including Kenosha and Racine, forcing closings, pre-emptive measures, from at least two local schools on Wednesday.
According to the weather service, the alert commences at 9 a.m. Wednesday and continues through noon on Thursday. Carthage College will be closed and "all in-person activities canceled," due to the storm warning according to the college's website. Students are being encouraged to check their campus e-mail for notifications from faculty on alternate remote class arrangements or assignments. St. Joseph Catholic Academy, upper and lower campuses, have no school on Wednesday, due to the weather warning. The schools issued the closings in automatic notifications to the Kenosha News late Tuesday. Burlington Area School District will also be closed due to adverse weather.
According to the weather warning, "significant icing" is expected with the forecast calling for ice accumulations of a quarter to a half inch and winds gusting to as high as 40 mph. The icy weather could result in power outages and tree damage and travel "could be nearly impossible," according the weather service.
"The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commutes," the warning states.
Weather service officials said they are discouraging travel during the ice warning, but that those who must should keep an extra flashlight along with food and water in the vehicle in case of emergency.
Meteorologist Aidan Kuroski said that while the ice storm warning is relatively unusual, residents should be prepared. As of early Wednesday, he said there was "uncertainty" with the amount of ice accumulation in Kenosha as the southeastern-most area of the state may be warmer and experience freezing rain, with the possibility of more rain than ice.
"But, the concerns are certainly there for accumulating ice," he said. "Typically, with freezing rain, there's not much you can do about it."
A gale warning will also be in effect from noon until 9 p.m. Wednesday with winds from the northeast 23 to 35 mph and gusts of more than 40 mph.
Falling tree limbs as a result of ice accumulation and possible power outages "will be a concern with this event, especially, since we're going to have upwards of 40 mph winds, as well," said Kuroski.
Photos: Remembering the Great Ice Storm of 1976 March 1976 ice storm March 1976 ice storm cleanup March 1976 ice storm fence March 1976 ice storm power pole March 1976 ice storm cars March 1976 ice storm fence March 1976 ice storm devastation March 1976 ice storm front page March 1976 ice storm page March 1976 ice storm front page March 1976 ice storm page
India's first and biggest metro rail company Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has announced that it has qualified for the pre-qualification tender process for an international consultancy project to construct Phase One Project of Bahrain Metro, which comprises two lines running 30-km-long and covering 20 stations.
In line with this, the Delhi Metro has signed a MoU with Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), an Indian public sector undertaking which manufactures a variety of heavy equipment, mainly those used for earth moving, railways, transport and mining.
Headquartered in South Indian city of Bengaluru, BEML is Asia's second-largest manufacturer of earth moving equipment.
As a part of the partnership deal, BEML will be responsible for manufacturing and supplying of rolling stock and the Delhi Metro will provide expertise in the fields of project development, budgeting and facilitating development of contractual obligations for the Bahrain Metro.
Earlier TradeArabia had reported that the mammoth Bahrain Metro project, which will extend across 109 km is being implemented in four phases - with the first one comprising two lines running 29-km-long covering 20 stations.
The MoU was signed by Saleem Ahmed, Executive Director (Last Mile Connectivity), Delhi Metro and DS Ganesh, General Manager (Marketing), BEML in the presence of Vikas Kumar, Managing Director, Delhi Metro and Amit Banerjee, Chairman & Managing Director, BEML.
The Delhi Metro said it is actively exploring opportunities to bag international projects for construction and operations of metros across the world.
Earlier, it had qualified in the pre-bid process for construction of Tel Aviv Metro Project in Israel.
In addition, the DMRC is also in the process of bidding for other international metro projects such as Alexandria in Egypt, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and Mauritius as well.
The DMRC is currently engaged in the construction of Dhaka Metro in Bangladesh as a consultant.-TradeArabia News Service
Putin Announces Russia Is Suspending Participation in New START Treaty
Feb. 21, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)In his annual Presidential Address to Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented an extensive review of the world strategic situation and Russias role in it, which began with the following stark formulation:
This Presidential Address comes, as we all know, at a difficult, watershed period for our country. This is a time of radical, irreversible change in the entire world, of crucial historical events that will determine the future of our country and our people, a time when every one of us bears a colossal responsibility.
In his nearly two-hour-long presentation, Putin reviewed the history leading up to Russias special military operation in Ukraine, which began one year ago on Feb. 24, 2022, and warned: The Western elite make no secret of their goal, which is, I quote, Russias strategic defeat. What does this mean to us? This means they plan to finish us once and for all. In other words, they plan to grow a local conflict into a global confrontation. This is how we understand it and we will respond accordingly, because this represents an existential threat to our country.
Putins formulation will be lost on no world capital. Russian strategic doctrine provides for the use of nuclear weapons only if Russia is attacked first with nuclear weapons, or under an attack which otherwise poses an existential threat to the country.
Putin went further. He announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START Treaty, and that one week ago he had signed a decree putting new ground-based strategic weapons systems on combat duty.
The Russian President stated:
They [the West] seek to inflict a strategic defeat on us and to creep onto our nuclear sites. In this connection, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the New START Treaty. I repeatnot exiting from the treaty, but suspending its participation. He added that, at the start of February, the North Atlantic Alliance made a statement factually demanding that Russia return to the implementation of the strategic offensive arms treaty, including the admission of inspections to our nuclear and defense facilities. I dont even know what to call thissome kind of theater of the absurd. We know that the West is involved directly in attempts of the Kiev regime to strike the bases of our strategic aviation,
Putin said, pointing to recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russias Engels Air Base.
The drones used in these attacks were equipped and modernized with the assistance of NATO specialists, Putin said. And now they want to inspect our defense facilities. In the current conditions and todays confrontation, this simply sounds like some kind of nonsense.
He then asserted: A week ago, I signed a decree putting new ground-based strategic weapons systems on combat duty. Are they going to stick their nose in there too?
The Russian President suggested that NATOs collective statement essentially amounted to an attempt by the bloc to apply to join the treaty, and said Moscow would only welcome such a move. We agree, please go ahead. Furthermore, we think that such a formulation of the issue is long overdue. After all, NATO contains not just one nuclear powerthe U.S.A. Britain and France also have nuclear arsenals, which are being developed and improved, and which are also directed against us, against Russia, Putin said.
While the Western media ignored the strategic significance of the attack on the Engels base, which hosts Russian strategic bombers, Swiss Col. Ralph Bosshard (ret.), in an article appearing in EIR, made the point that this was an attack on Russias nuclear deterrent and could have very well triggered a nuclear response. He called it a moment of dangerous insecurity.
Putins lengthy address also reported on the steps taken to defend Russias physical economy in the face of Western sanctions; his governments commitment to develop physical infrastructure projects such as the North-South International Transport Corridor, with friendly neighboring countries; the introduction of tax credits for business investment in advanced technologies; and a call for speeding up the de-offshorization of the economy.
Twenty-six words were included in what is known as Section 230 of the 1996 law setting telecommunication policies in the United States.
Those words have enabled companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giant technology companies they are today.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing challenges to the law on whether those companies are responsible for what users posted on their services.
In Gonzalez v. Google, the justices will decide whether the family of an American college student killed in a terror attack in Paris can sue Google, which owns YouTube. The family claims the video services algorithm helped extremists spread their message.
The second case, Twitter v. Taamneh, also centers on legal responsibility. It involves a Jordanian citizen killed in Istanbul, Turkiye.
The results of these cases could reshape the internet as we know it. Section 230 will not be easily changed. But if it is, online speech could be greatly changed.
What is section 230?
If a news organization or website falsely accuses you of harmful things, you can take legal action against the publisher for libel. Libel is a published false statement about someone and is a crime.
But if someone posts a libelous statement on Facebook, you cannot sue Facebook. You can only sue the person who posted it.
In this case, Facebook is protected under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. The law says that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.
That legal statement protects companies that can host trillions of messages from being sued by anyone who feels wronged by something someone else has posted.
Section 230 also permits social media services to moderate their services. They can remove posts that, for example, are obscene or violate the services standards.
The measures history dates to the 1950s. At the time, bookstore owners were being held legally responsible for selling books containing obscenity, which is not protected by the First Amendment. One case made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled that it created a chilling effect to hold someone responsible for someone elses content.
Now, lawmakers from both Republican and Democratic parties have argued that social media websites have misused that protection and should lose it. Some argue that the companies should have to meet requirements set by the government.
What happens if Section 230 goes away?
Eric Goldman is a professor at Santa Clara University specializing in internet law. He said the main thing people do on the internet is to communicate with each other. And a lot of that communication is made possible by Section 230. The law says that tech companies that permit people to communicate are not responsible for the discussions, he said.
Goldman said that if protections for services permitting people to communicate are removed they wont allow us to talk to each other anymore.
There are two possible results.
Services might be more careful with content. For example, in 2018, a law was passed that created an exception to Section 230 for material that helps with sex work. The advertising service Craigslist removed its personals area that was taken over by those who used it for sex work.
Another possibility is that Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others could stop moderating materials on their services altogether. However, the unmoderated services could easily end up with a lot of harmful content.
Any change to Section 230 is likely to have strong effects on online speech around the world.
Goldman noted that the rest of the world is taking measures against internet companies faster than the U.S. So were a step behind the rest of the world in terms of censoring the internet. And the question is whether we can even hold out on our own.
Im Jill Robbins.
Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press.
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Words in This Story
challenge v. to say or show that may not be true, correct, or legal
sue v. to use a legal process by which you try to get a court of law to force a person, company, or organization that has treated you unfairly or hurt you in some way to give you something or to do something
algorithm n. a set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process
libel n. the act of publishing a false statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone
interactive adj. designed to respond to the actions, commands, etc., of a user
obscene adj. very offensive in usually a shocking way
chilling adj. very disturbing or frightening
allow v. to permit
censor v. a person who examines books, movies, letters, etc., and removes things that are considered to be offensive, immoral, harmful to society, etc.
Many educators fear students will use the artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT to write their reports or cheat on homework. But other teachers are including it in the classroom.
Donnie Piercey is a teacher in Lexington, Kentucky. He told his 23 5th-grade students to try and outsmart the tool that was creating writing assignments. Piercey says his job is to prepare students for a world where knowledge of AI will be required.
He describes ChatGPT as just the newest technology in his 17 years of teaching that caused concern about the possibility of cheating. They include tools to help with math and spelling as well as Google, Wikipedia and YouTube.
As educators, we havent figured out the best way to use artificial intelligence yet, he added. But its coming, whether we want it to or not.
One lesson in his class was a writing game between students and the machine. Piercey asked students to Find the Bot. Each student wrote a short report about boxer Muhammad Ali. Then they tried to figure out which was written by ChatGPT.
Teaching a lower grade level, Piercey is less worried about cheating than high school teachers. His school system has blocked students from ChatGPT but permits teachers to use it.
Many educators around the country say schools need time to figure out the chatbot. But they also say a ban will be useless against students that are good at technology and can work around it.
ChatGPT quickly became popular after its November launch. Other companies like Google have since released their versions of AI-powered chatbots.
At the Future of Education Technology Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, last month, Texas math teacher Heather Brantley gave a talk on the Magic of Writing with AI for all Subjects.
Im using ChatGPT to enhance all my lessons, she told The Associated Press. The tool is blocked for students but opens to teachers at her school. She said she asked the chatbot to create real-world examples for her math class.
For a lesson about slope, or direction of a line in algebra, the chatbot suggested students build ramps out of cardboard. The students could then measure the slope. For teaching about surface area, the chatbot said students would see how the idea works in real life when wrapping gifts or building a cardboard box, said Brantley.
Students in Pierceys class said working with a chatbot makes learning fun.
After playing Find the Bot, Piercey asked his class what skills it helped them learn. How to properly summarize and correctly capitalize words and use commas, said one student. Another student felt that sentences written by students have a little more feeling More flavor
Students Olivia Laksi and Katherine McCormick, both 10, said they can see the good and bad parts of working with chatbots. They can help students who have trouble putting their thoughts into writing. And there is no limit to the creativity it can add to classwork.
McCormick said students can use it for suggestions, but should not use it to do all the work.
You shouldnt take advantage of it, McCormick said. Youre not learning anything if you type in what you want, and then it gives you the answer.
Im Dan Novak.
Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press.
Quiz- Some Teachers Want Students to Learn with AI Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz
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Words in This Story
grade n. a level of study that is completed by a student during one year
assignment n. a job or duty that is given to someone
figure v. to understand or find
enhance v. to increase or improve
ramp n. a usually sloping road that connects a road to a highway
wrapping n. a thin piece of paper, plastic, fabric, etc., that covers or surrounds something to protect it
summarize v. to tell again using fewer words
flavor n. the quality of something that you can taste
advantage n. something that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carters family recently announced that he is receiving special care and is preparing for the end of his life.
Carter is under hospice care. Hospice care means the former president is being looked after so he can live his remaining days comfortably. But he will not seek medical treatment to extend his life. In some cases, people under hospice care receive drugs so they can live their final days without pain.
Carter is 98 years old. He has lived longer than any president in American history.
Carter won his election in 1976 and took office in 1977. He lost the next election, however, in 1980 to President Ronald Reagan.
After his term in office, Carter continued to work in public and for charitable causes. In 1982, he started the Carter Center, which supports democracy, public health and human rights. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He also worked often with the charity organization Habitat for Humanity. The group, which was started by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1976, helps build homes for people who need a place to live.
VOA spoke with Suzanne Taylor of Buffalo, New York, who gave her time to Habitat for Humanity and worked with Carter. She helped build homes from 2006 to 2019.
Taylor said she cried when she heard the news that Carter was preparing for the end of his life.
"So many people really appreciate him," she said.
Jonathan Alter wrote a book about Carter called His Very Best. Alter said he led such an epic American life.
When talking about Carter, both as a politician and being married to his wife Rosalynn for almost 77 years, Alter said: He won at life.
Alter went on to say that Carter was born in a hospital, but he does not want to die in one. Instead, he will live his final days in the home he and his wife built in the small town of Plains, Georgia. After living a long life, Carter aims to die in the same place where he was born.
I think it is fitting, Alter said, that Jimmy Carter is ending his journey on his own terms.
Carter lost the 1980 presidential election but kept working in public. Alter said Carters popularity today is based on what he did after he was president. That included working to end diseases in poor countries through the Carter Center, his work with Habitat for Humanity and as an elder statesman in world and American politics.
Historiansneed to look at how a president changed the world, changed peoples livesand that takes longer and is not really directly connected to his popularity as president, Alter said.
Carter also wrote a number of books and traveled the U.S. speaking about them.
During a church service recently, Carters niece, Kim Fuller, talked about her uncle. She said: maybe it is time to pass the baton, when speaking about the former president. Who will pick it up, I have no clue, she added.
A baton is a short stick passed between runners in a race.
Taylor, the Habitat for Humanity volunteer, discussed a reason why Carter will be missed. She said people feel more connected to him than to other former presidents.
"I think his accessibility has created a bond with a lot of Americans that most presidents don't have, she said.
Im Dan Friedell.
Kane Farabaugh wrote this story for VOA. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English.
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Words in This Story
charitable adj. done to help the poor, sick and those who need help
appreciate v. to understand the value of a person, to be thankful for something or someone
epic adj. something long that tells of exciting events or adventures
journey n. a long trip
elder statesman n. a retired government leader who gives advice to current leaders
accessibility n. the quality of being easy to speak with or understand
bond n. a connection that is shared between people
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South Korea is now preparing a domestic rocket program to carve out a larger slice of the global space economy. Sam Kim reports on Bloomberg Television. Follow Bloomberg for business news & analysis, up-to-the-minute market data, features, profiles and more: http://www.bloomberg.com Conn
AESG, a specialist consultancy, engineering and advisory firm, has announced that it has secured a key certification under the Saudi National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC).
With this, AESG team of environmental scientists, engineers and experts will be able to guide developers in bringing the kingdom's impressive giga-projects to life, while actively preserving and protecting the environment.
AESG had established its dedicated operations hub in Riyadh in 2018, and over the last five years it has grown to become a leading consultancy firm in the kingdom.
It distinguishes itself through its unique, multidisciplinary approach that combines expertise in engineering, cost management, environment and sustainability and building commissioning, for the delivery of comprehensive value on large and complex projects, said the statement from AESG.
As a result, AESG now plays an integral role in some of the Kingdoms more iconic undertakings by working with developers and organisations that include Red Sea Global, the kingdom's futuristic city Neom, The Royal Commission of AlUla (RCU), SEVEN, Saudi Downtown Company, Qiddiya Investment Company, and Roshn, it added.
According to AESG, the team will continue to provide quality services that contribute to raising the level of compliance with environmental regulations and standards for the kingdom's big projects.
With COP28 set to take place in the GCC this year, sustainability has been a key theme for regional economies, and this is especially evident in Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve Net Zero by 2060. Under this government vision, sustainability is at the heart of the Kingdoms transformation projects such as Neom, the Red Sea, and Qiddiya.
In bid to spearhead its sustainable development vision, the company has appointed industry veteran Tom Burkitt as it KSA country director. In this role, he will also aid the kingdom's advancement of the National Transformation Plan.
"Saudi Arabia has demonstrated clear intention for its giga-projects to set new sustainability benchmarks aligned with its Vision 2030 agenda," remarked Saeed Al Abbar, CEO of AESG.
"In doing so, these projects are set to become showcases of innovative new construction and development paradigms and future-focused design concepts. Bringing this vision to life will call for the support of international engineering firms whose world-class expertise can ensure the incorporation of the highest industry standards," he added.
Chuck Lane has been working at Lanes Bakery, his familys 69-year-old business, for 40 years and figures nows a good time to sell it.
Im going to miss the community and our loyal customers, Lane said. Both my wife and I, we work 24 hours a day.
Chuck, 58, who owns the South Side Madison business with his wife, Becky Lane, 53, said their lease is up in December and they had to ask themselves whether they wanted to renew it.
Its been a very difficult decision, he said.
Becky, who does the books and works the counter, said the decision was about a year in the making. She appreciates the customers who come in and thank employees and tell them Lanes is a Madison staple.
Theyll tell stories. I got my wedding cake here 43 years ago, or things like that. And that just tears at my heart knowing Im gonna miss that, Becky said.
Thats why she said she hopes someone will buy the business and carry on its traditions, which include baking 27 types of kringle, the Danish pastry ring with fruit or nut fillings, and about the same number of doughnut varieties.
Chuck, who listed the bakery for sale last week, said the deal includes the recipes, the name and all the equipment. He said hes willing to spend six months training the new owner or owners.
The business, without the property, is listed for $490,000 on real estate websites.
Its a special place, Becky said Tuesday from the office above the bakery. I always consider it a happy place. Everybodys celebrating something.
Chuck, the third generation of his family to run the business, said he hopes that if someone buys it, the Lanes name remains. Its known city- and statewide, he said, and until they ran into staffing issues this fall, they were shipping bakery items across the country.
Lanes has been operating almost continuously since 1954. There was a short gap when Chuck closed Lanes Bakery and Gifts at 448 Park St. in 2012 and reopened it as Lanes Bakery & Coffee in 2013 at 2304 S. Park St. in the Villager Mall.
Chuck said his two children, who worked in the bakery while growing up, arent interested in running it. His son works at Epic Systems in Verona and his daughter is married to a police officer from McFarland and has three children and one on the way.
He said once he and Becky sell the business they plan to travel, but not retire. Well find something where we just work during the week. Well have weekends off, more normal hours versus coming in at 2 oclock in the morning and leaving at 2 oclock in the afternoon.
Becky does another three hours of paperwork at home each day, Chuck said.
Lanes began serving lunches two years after it opened in the current location, but the couple had to stop at the beginning of the pandemic.
The Lanes said lunches would be worth bringing back under new ownership.
Theres a lot of opportunity here, Becky said. Its just time to hang up the rolling pin.
Take a look at 'Immersive Van Gogh'
The Madison School District was one of dozens of Wisconsin districts to announce they would close Wednesday with forecasters calling for snow, sleet and icy conditions across the state.
The Madison area is under a winter storm warning from 6 a.m. Wednesday through noon Thursday, with 2 to 4 inches of snow and sleet and a tenth to a quarter of an inch of ice expected, accompanied by winds gusting as high as 40 miles per hour.
Madison and its recreational arm, Madison School and Community Recreation, announced the canceling of all classes and activities at around 8 p.m. Tuesday. District spokesperson Tim LeMonds said that depending on conditions, school could be called off again Thursday.
Wednesdays closure is the third this season for the Madison district after classes were canceled on Dec. 15 and Feb. 9. In order to make up for time lost to the closures, the district last week announced that it would add an instructional day on Friday, May 26, for 4K-12 students, and as of Monday began keeping middle schoolers in class for an extra five minutes each day.
Elsewhere in Dane County, the McFarland and Sun Prairie school districts said they would close on Wednesday, while the DeForest and Verona districts would hold classes virtually, with Verona canceling all after-school activities, according to a school-closing tracker kept by WMTV-TV (Ch. 15) in Madison. The Middleton-Cross Plains District will switch to virtual learning for high schoolers on Wednesday, while classes for all other grades are canceled. The Monona Grove School District as of about 10 p.m. Tuesday had not announced a decision.
The decision to close schools can be a fraught one for school administrators who know that canceling classes means many parents have to arrange child care for their students at the last minute.
In Madison, the district strives to make a decision on closing by 9 p.m. the day before schools are to be closed or 5 a.m. the day of a closing. District officials monitor weather conditions and consult with meteorologists, city of Madison officials, Madison police and transit providers before making a decision. Schools are typically closed if wind chills come in at or are forecast to be negative 25 or colder.
PIERRE, S.D. A brutal winter storm closed interstate highways from Arizona to Wyoming Wednesday, trapped drivers in cars, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people and prompted the first blizzard warning in Southern California in decades and the worst won't be over for several days.
Few places were untouched by the wild weather, including some at the opposite extreme: long-standing record highs were broken in cities in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
The wintry mix hit hard in the northern U.S., closing schools, offices, even shutting down the Minnesota Legislature.
Travel was difficult. Weather contributed to more than 1,600 U.S. flight cancellations, according to the tracking service FlightAware. More than 400 of those were due to arrive or depart from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Another 5,000-plus flights were delayed across the country.
The roads were just as bad.
In Wyoming, rescuers tried to reach people stranded in vehicles but high winds and drifting snow created a "near-impossible situation" for them, said Sgt. Jeremy Beck of the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
"They know their locations, it's just hard for them to get them," he said.
Wyoming's Transportation Department posted on social media that roads across much of the southern part of the state were impassable.
In the Pacific Northwest, high winds and heavy snow in the Cascade Mountains prevented search teams from reaching the bodies of three climbers killed in an avalanche on Washington's Colchuck Peak over the weekend. Two experts from the Northwest Avalanche Center were hiking to the scene Wednesday to determine if conditions might permit a recovery attempt later this week.
Powerful winds were the biggest problem in California, toppling trees and power lines. By Wednesday evening, more than 65,000 customers in the state were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us.
A 1-year-old child was critically injured Tuesday evening when a redwood crashed onto a home in Boulder Creek, a community in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, KTVU reported.
For the first time since 1989, a blizzard warning was issued for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, effective from 4 a.m. Thursday to 4 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
A more than 200-mile stretch of Interstate 40 from central Arizona to the New Mexico line closed due to snow, rain and wind gusts of up to 80 mph. More than 8,000 customers were without power in Arizona.
In the northern U.S. a region accustomed to heavy snow the snowfall could be significant. More than 18 inches may pile up in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said Wednesday evening. According to the weather service, the biggest snow event on record in the Twin Cities was 28.4 inches from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3, 1991.
Temperatures could plunge as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday and to minus 25 F on Friday in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wind chills may fall to minus 50 F, said Nathan Rick, a meteorologist in Grand Forks.
Wind gusts may reach 50 mph in western and central Minnesota, resulting in "significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions in open areas," the weather service said.
The weather even prompted about 90 churches in western Michigan to cancel Ash Wednesday services, WZZM-TV reported.
The storm will make its way toward the East Coast later this week. Places that don't get snow may get dangerous amounts of ice. Forecasters expect up to a half-inch of ice in parts of southern Michigan, northern Illinois and some eastern states.
The potential ice storm has power company officials on edge. Nearly 1,500 line workers are ready to be deployed if the ice causes outages, said Matt Paul, executive vice president of distribution operations for Detroit-based DTE Electric.
He said a half-inch of ice "is the equivalent of having a baby grand piano on that single span of wire, so the weight is significant," and that could cause hundreds of thousands of outages.
More than 192,000 customers in Michigan and nearly 89,000 in Illinois were without electricity Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us.
As the northern U.S. dealt with the winter blast, National Weather Service meteorologist Richard Bann said some mid-Atlantic and Southeastern cities set new high temperature marks by several degrees.
The high in Lexington, Kentucky, reached 76 F, shattering the Feb. 22 mark of 70 F set 101 years ago. Nashville, Tennessee, reached 78 F, topping the 1897 record by 4 degrees. Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Mobile, Alabama, were among many other places seeing record highs.
Medical advocates say 25 is the best minimum, but it will likely be 21 if cannabis is legalized in Minnesota this session.
Ask Minnesotas medical community what the minimum legal age for recreational marijuana use should be if state lawmakers approve it and the response is generally some version of this:
Ideally it would be 25, but thats not happening.
Their resignation reflects reality on several fronts. There is serious momentum at the Legislature to allow adults age 21 and up to use cannabis for nonmedical reasons. If passed, the measure would expand action taken last year at the Capitol to legalize adult use of edibles containing a low dose of THC, the cannabis compound responsible for its high.
Marijuana momentum is also happening, or has happened, elsewhere. Twenty-one states already have enacted measures to regulate cannabis for adult nonmedical use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. These states, with no apparent exceptions, have set the age at 21, creating a policy consensus that this is the appropriate age.
Twenty-one is also the minimum age to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol in Minnesota and most other locations. While there are advantages to setting the same threshold for cannabis, its important as the debate continues at the Capitol to understand why many in health care would prefer 25 as a minimum age. This knowledge should spur legislators to add or strengthen safeguards in the bill to protect young users.
Medical concerns generally involve research suggesting that brains arent fully mature until someone reaches their mid-20s. There are significant questions about the impact of cannabis or other substances on still-developing gray matter.
What is known, however, is sobering. A 2019 research review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association network concluded: Although individual-level risk remains moderate to low ... the high prevalence of adolescents consuming cannabis generates a large number of young people who could develop depression and suicidality attributable to cannabis.
A report from the National Institute on Drug Abuse also notes the link to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Recent research suggests that smoking high-potency marijuana every day could increase the chances of developing psychosis by nearly five times compared to people who have never used marijuana.
The growing body of research about potentially harmful impacts is a key reason why the Minnesota Medical Association said in a statement that the minimum age should be 25.
While the organization which represents more than 10,000 physicians, residents and students is officially neutral on cannabis legalization, it is calling for limits on where these products can be sold, as well as strong packaging and marketing requirements to protect children. It also supports increased funding for addiction treatment through taxes raised on marijuana sales.
The states Mental Health Legislative Network, which includes the National Alliance on Mental Illnesss state chapter (NAMI), as well as the Allina and Childrens Minnesota health systems, also sent legislators a letter this month stating that the minimum age should be 25.
Its reasoning: It is well established now that the adolescent brain continues to develop well into the early 20s and to the age of 25. Research has shown that cannabis use in young people can cause disproportionately adverse effects compared to a fully formed brain.
The network is pushing hard for stronger labeling requirements to warn users under 25 of the risks. It also has called for clear warnings for pregnant women about the potential impact on neonatal development. Another sensible measure its seeking: more robust funding for the states First Episode Psychosis program, which provides essential support and early intervention for those encountering this illness for the first time.
The Star Tribune Editorial Board agrees that raising the age to 25 would be ideal but also acknowledges the benefits of setting the age at 21. The same age requirement for tobacco, alcohol and marijuana would provide clarity for consumers and retailers. Raising the age to 25 also could create an illicit market for young users, increasing the risk of products that are adulterated or contain doses higher than indicated.
The adult-use marijuana bills lead author in the House is Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids. Stephenson has gracefully accepted a number of suggested improvements. This week, he told an editorial writer that he acknowledges the research about young users risks, but also said that society has decided in matters big and small that 21 is the age of majority. He also questioned how tenable it would be to have different standards for alcohol, tobacco and marijuana.
Stephenson, however, emphasized his respect for organizations such as NAMI and said considering suggestions from health care organizations is a priority.
Thats the right attitude. Medical advocates concerns should be taken seriously. There are risks inherent in legalizing this drug, and the goal should be to minimize harm.
With Saudi Arabia continuing to establish itself as a hub for startups and multinational corporations (MNCs), the future supply pipeline for 2023 is expected to be relatively healthy if built as planned, with 629,000 sq m of floor space set for completion in the capital and 78,000 sq m in Jeddah, according to leading real estate expert JLL.
With the future of work embedded in hybrid models, sustainability outcomes, and technology enforcement, offices are finding a new purpose, further necessitating a long-term transformation of the real estate portfolio of companies to succeed in a post-pandemic world.
Speaking at JLL's Future of Work event held today in Riyadh, Saud Alsulaimani, KSA Country Head, said: "Saudi Arabia is transforming at a rapid pace with the real estate sector playing a key role in driving Vision 2030. In the last decade, we have seen a significant shift in the demand in the kingdom, where traditional developments are losing their appeal and people now want smarter, more sustainable and greener workplaces."
"Trends such as the widespread adoption of dynamic and flexible working, the growth of workplace technologies to support corporate real estate functions in managing these new workstyles, and increased investment to bolster environmental sustainability goals identified in our Future of Work report have accelerated quickly over the last two years," he stated at the event.
"Today, corporate real estate is at a critical decision point, where strategies implemented now and over the next few years will determine the path to long-term success," he added.
At the event, top speakers including Ben Johnston, Director, Offices and Business Space Leasing, Wissam Ghoussaini, the Director, Offices and Business space; Alida Saleh, the Head of Sustainability Consulting, MEA; Lee Daniels, the Global Consulting Practice Leader (People Experience) and Hamzeh Magableh, the People Experience Co-Lead, MEAT, assessed the trends in sustainability certification attracting occupiers to spaces, as well as the impact and importance of the People Experience in real estate, organizations, and workplaces.
As the hybrid work model becomes the norm in the world of work, offices have taken on a new purpose, driving companies across Saudi Arabia to rethink their portfolio strategies, stated the top expert.
Demand for co-working and serviced offices is also growing in the kingdom, driven largely by start-ups and small companies. Historically, the segment has accounted for a relatively small proportion of overall office stock, but its share is increasing as international operators expand their footprint in the kingdom, it added.
According to JLLs Future of Work Survey, 77% of commercial real estate leaders agree that investing in quality office spaces will be a greater priority than expanding the total footprint of their developments.
Focused investments in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) solutions are gaining importance, owing to the urgent call for climate action by employees, communities, and governments. Nearly 8 out of 10 companies globally say their employees expect their workplace to have a positive impact on society.
When it comes to Saudi Arabia, on the heels of the governments increased focus on sustainable development, companies within the country are steadily building a greener portfolio.
In recent years, the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh has emerged as a leading hub for the office sector in the region, said JLL in its report.
The district is home to numerous multinational corporations and institutions that are at the forefront of developing sustainable office spaces. These offices are designed to provide an environment that promotes the well-being of employees, while also reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
FICTION: An insightful, improbably wry historical novel about a future dictator.
"Sell Us the Rope" by Stephen May; Bloomsbury (240 pages, $18)
Stephen May's new novel is about an aspiring politician who likes poetry and says that when he retires, he'll "run a small bookshop." He's solemn but wants to connect with colleagues, so when one suggests they see the sights in London, where they're attending a conference, he agrees. "An afternoon off," he says. "Fun. I can do fun."
The footloose bibliophile's name? Josef Stalin.
Fictional depictions of history's greatest villains needn't be safe and formulaic. At one end of the spectrum, there's the high comedy of Mel Brooks' "The Producers." At the other are disturbing narratives like Olivier Guez's "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele," an exceptional 2017 novel recently published in the U.S.
May charts a middle course, crafting an oft-sober, occasionally droll portrait of a monster-in-the-making. Impressively, he finds a flicker of humanity in a person who became a mass-murdering despot.
The setting is early 20th century London, where communists from all over are meeting to plot against Russian Czar Nicholas II. Amid heady talk of tactics and fundraising, Stalin is a gangster without portfolio.
In recent years, the 29-year-old protagonist has orchestrated bank robberies for the communist party. But now, in exchange for a shortened jail term, he must spy on fellow communists and share his findings with the Czar's henchmen. If he's exposed, he'll surely be executed by the radicals he's betrayed.
Exploring his protagonist's damaged psyche, May pens flashbacks that do the near-impossible, evoking sympathy for a young Stalin. He's forced to work in a factory when he's 9, burdened with a drunken father who beats the boy "for asking for a book to read." These scenes dovetail with those that focus on fleeting but important friendships Stalin forges in London. Together, they enable May to approach Stalin from multiple angles, illuminating his grim past and his destructive future.
One of his new friends is a factory worker whose stirring oration about workers' rights is undermined by fierce dogmatism; the relationship foreshadows Stalin's subsequent persecution of countless innocent Russians. His other new pal reminds Stalin of himself a clever youth whose father is an abusive alcoholic; the friendship, based on actual events recounted in the English press, yields a powerful story line, suggesting that even future despots can be kind.
The book's title paraphrases a pitch-black communist quip: Capitalism marches workers to the gallows, but not before making them buy the rope that will hang them. It's in this spirit that May melds coarse jokes one gives vulgar middle names to revered British writers and wry observations.
In one funny scene, self-righteous communists sit in a cozy cafe, planning "to take on the real enemies of the revolution" while "munching gingerbread." May's revolutionaries aren't terribly self-aware not unlike the real-life zealots trashing 21st century politics.
Kevin Canfield is a regular contributor to the Star Tribune's books coverage.
TWIN FALLS A false report of an active shooter shut down Canyon Ridge High School on Wednesday. It was one of several false reports of shootings made at schools around Idaho and possibly in other states.
At 9:30 a.m., a caller told the Twin Falls City Communication Center that shots had been fired at Canyon Ridge, Twin Falls Police Chief Craig Kingsbury said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
According to the caller, one person was injured and more people were in danger, Kingsbury said.
The school went into lockdown and up to 200 first responders arrived at the school, Twin Falls School District Superintendent Brady Dickinson said in an email. The Twin Falls Police Department, Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office, Idaho State Police and firefighters responded to the scene.
North College Road and several side streets near the school were shut down as a precaution. An incident command center was set up at the nearby Church of the Nazarene, where ambulances, fire trucks and a helicopter were staged and ready to respond if needed.
Kingsbury told parents gathered at the press conference that after two sweeps of the entire school, no injuries were found and no evidence of firearms was present.
Nobody nobody is injured, he said. Nobody nobody has a firearm other than law enforcement officers.
We believe this is a very sick, sick prank.
Nothing was found on the schools camera footage, Twin Falls School District spokesperson Eva Craner told the Times-News.
All district schools were put on soft lockdown as a precaution, but the district said there was no threat at any schools. The College of Southern Idaho also went into a lockdown for about 45 minutes as a precaution due to its proximity to Canyon Ridge, a school spokesperson told the Times-News.
Police gave the all-clear signal at 11 a.m. and students returned to their advisory classrooms before being cleared to depart the school at about noon.
This type of call is the type of call that we dread as peace officers, Kingsbury said. However, it is the type of call that we prepare for and train for on a regular basis.
Kingsbury credited Canyon Ridge staff and students for quickly following their lockdown procedure to secure the building.
Meanwhile, distraught parents began arriving at the field command center set up at the Church of the Nazarene, having heard from their children or on social media that there was an active shooter.
Kingsbury said that this hoax call is similar to other false reports made across Idaho and across the nation.
To my knowledge, as of right now, we are one of four cities or communities that were hit with such a hoax today, he said.
At least three states experienced this type of a call, including Colorado and New Mexico, Kingsbury said. He said his department would work with the Idaho State Police and the FBI to bring whoever was responsible to justice.
I think its important for the community to know just how quickly our police entered this building and secured it, Dickinson said. They did not wait. They immediately entered this facility and they took care to get the situation under control in a timely manner.
We were prepared, we responded, and we were ready to save lives, Kingsbury said. I just thank God that we didnt have to.
Residents along Idaho Highway 25 heard a series of explosions Wednesday after a propane truck caught fire after a two-vehicle crash near Rupert.
Shel Telleria said her home is about a quarter-mile from the crash scene at Baseline Road and 200 East.
The explosions rocked my house, Telleria said.
Telleria said emergency crews closed roads and evacuated houses near the scene.
Minidoka County Sheriff Dave Pinther said Idaho State Police was in charge of the scene.
There were no fatalities, Pinther said. Everybody made it out of there.
The crash occurred at 10:57 a.m. between a 1992 Ford Econoline van, driven by an 18-year-old female from Dryden, Washington, and a 2017 Kenworth propane truck, driven by a 42-year-old Burley man, according to an Idaho State Police release.
The van was northbound and failed to yield at a stop sign, crossing the path of the propane truck.
The crash caused the trucks fuel tanks and propane tank to rupture and burn.
Residents within a mile radius of the crash were evacuated as a precaution.
The road was blocked for three hours.
At 2:20 p.m. ISP staff said the fire was out and it was safe for everyone to return to their homes. Roads were open and personnel were cleaning up the scene.
The crash is under investigation by the ISP.
The U.S. Navy Concert Band is coming to Twin Falls, one of 15 cities across six states to host a performance during the bands 2023 national tour.
The concert, sponsored by the Times-News, will be at 7:30 p.m. March 12 at the College of Southern Idahos Fine Arts Auditorium, 315 Falls Ave. in Twin Falls.
For many years, Navy bands have been where it matters, when it matters, just like the rest of our Navy, said Capt. Kenneth Collins, U.S. Navy Band commanding officer. Today, we have sailors performing around the world, improving relations with our allies abroad as well as telling the Navy story here at home.
Military bands have regularly stopped in Magic Valley, said George Halsell, professor emeritus of music at the College of Southern Idaho.
We are very supportive of our veterans and proud of our country, Halsell said. Band members represent the very best musicians of their respective branches in the military.
And people attending the concert will feel extra pride to be Americans, he said.
I think they are going to be proud to be Americans even more so than before, he said.
The U.S. Navy Concert Band is the premier wind ensemble of the U.S. Navy. As the original ensemble of the Navy Band, the Concert Band has been performing public concerts and participating in high-profile events for 98 years.
In addition to the Concert Band, the Navy Band organization includes the Ceremonial Band, Sea Chanters chorus and the jazz-centric Commodores. All of the groups are comprised of full-time professional musicians, many with graduate degrees in music.
There are approximately 70 musicians in the Concert Band.
The band performs a wide array of marches, patriotic selections, orchestral transcriptions and modern wind ensemble repertoire.
It will be an enjoyable concert, Halsell said. With a wide variety of music, it is geared to a general audience even children will enjoy it, he added.
Veterans in the audience will be given special recognition, and 10 local high school musicians will be invited to join the band in playing John Philip Sousas Washington Post, a march composed in 1889 and among the most popular marches in the country.
It is a free concert but tickets are required. They are available (six tickets per family) at the Welcome Center in the Taylor Building at the College of Southern Idaho, or by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope with the number of tickets requested to Navy Band Tickets, Office of Marketing and Communication, College of Southern Idaho, P.O. Box 1238, Twin Falls, ID 83303-1238.
Doors at the Fine Arts Auditorium will open at 6:45 p.m. and everyone with a ticket is required to be seated by 7:20 p.m. People without tickets will be admitted at that time to fill any empty seats.
Heres what happened locally on Feb. 22 over the past century, as reported in this newspaper, which went from being called the Henry Bulletin to the Daily Bulletin to the Martinsville Bulletin:
1923: A distinct and welcome addition to Martinsvilles facilities and attractions of the better sort is the new Astor Cafe which opened for business Wednesday. The Astor is conveniently located at the corner of the Public Square and Bridge Street, opposite Kearfotts corner in the building formerly occupied by Salmons store.
Also 1923: Mr. Austin, of Roanoke, who has been with Beckner and Winter for two weeks, returned home Sunday. Mr. R.S. Brown is out again after an attack of influenza. Mrs. Jno. Shockley has returned from Roanoke, where she has been visiting the past week.
1948: Mrs. Thomas J. Burch, secretary of the Charity League, was notified today that the Foster Parents Plan for War Children, Inc. has assigned Odile Peltier, 5 1/2-year-old French girl, as one of the two children the Charity League has adopted for support during the year. The Peltier child replaces Nicole Chabaudi, 10-year-old French girl which the League has been assisting for the past two years. The Foster Parents Olan said the Chabaudi childs family has reached the point where outside assistance is no longer necessary for her subsistence.
1973: Stanley Furniture Co. has launched a $250,000 expansion program that will double production capacity of its Ferrum plant. The 80,000-square-foot building will include equipment for producing polyester furniture component parts.
1998: Martinsville City Council is set to consider approval of a six-year cable franchise with Adelphia Cable Communications at its Tuesday meeting. Under the six-year franchise with Adelphia, the cable company must install an improved, fiber optic cable network that would carry at least 78 channels. The franchise has a six-year renewal option if Adelphia meets the conditions of the franchise.
ROANOKE The sun has set on a proposal to allow customers of Appalachian Power Co. to purchase solar energy directly from a third-party provider, at least in this years General Assembly session.
A bill introduced by Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, failed to make it out of a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last Thursday. With lawmakers expected to head home this weekend, Senate Bill 1083 will die a quiet death.
Edwards had sought to add Appalachian customers to a shared solar program that the legislature created in 2020 for the states other large utility, Dominion Energy.
Shared solar allows people who are unable to install solar panels because they live in apartments or homes that dont get adequate sunlight or who cant afford such projects to purchase some of their electricity from an off-site facility operated by a private company.
The customers get a credit on their electricity bill for the cheaper renewable power they purchase, but must pay a monthly fee to their utility to cover its costs of maintaining the grid through which power is delivered.
We believe that Virginians all over the state should have the same rights, Edwards told the subcommittee in explaining why he wanted to add Appalachians 500,000-some customers to a program currently available only to Dominion ratepayers.
However, Appalachian has told lawmakers about its concerns that customers who dont sign up for shared solar will have to bear a greater share of the costs of providing electricity. That comes at a time when bills are already increasing because of the higher costs of traditional fuel and other expenses.
Our continued opposition to this is simply based upon trying to manage rate increases, especially for non-participating customers, Jon Amores, state government affairs manager for Appalachian, told the subcommittee.
When the General Assembly passed a law in 2020 that allowed shared solar programs, Appalachian was taken out of the original bill because its service area is much smaller, and faces more challenges, than Dominions.
Population loss, declining energy demands and lackluster economic development in many portions of the Western Virginia region served by Appalachian were cited as reasons why it was not suited for a program largely designed for Dominion.
A lower population density means the per-capita transmission costs are higher for Appalachian customers, who are already paying for other, utility-scale solar facilities that are required by the states Clean Economy Act, according to Amores.
In effect, they could be said to be paying double, he said.
Passed in 2020 in an effort to reduce climate change, the Clean Economy Act mandates that Appalachian provide all carbon-free electricity to its customers by 2050. The utility, which has long produced most of its power from coal and natural gas, is in the process of purchasing more solar energy. Those transactions are separate from any shared solar programs that might be created in the future.
Another issue cited by Appalachian and others who questioned shared solar programs is a provision that allows low-income customers to pay little or nothing of the monthly fee intended to compensate the utility further shifting costs to people who chose not to enroll in the program.
In the absence of a clear prohibition that a program like this does not create a cost shift, there will in fact be one, Amores said.
In joining a 4-2 vote to lay Edwards bill on the table legislative parlance for not killing it outright but allowing it to die Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County, said there are a number of issues that need to be ironed out.
I think were a couple of years away from coming up with something that we could all be proud of, he said.
LYNCHBURG A bill sponsored by Virginia Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, to strengthen the penalties of calling in a false threat to law enforcement aka swatting has passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly.
House Bill 1572 was approved 40-0 in the Senate on Tuesday; the House passed it 92-6 earlier this month.
HB 1572 updates language in the state code to say, Any person who knowingly reports, or causes another to report in reliance on intentionally false information provided by such person, a false emergency communication to any emergency personnel that results in an emergency response is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
A Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia is punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine up to $2,500.
The bill also states any person who makes such a threat that results in any person suffering serious bodily injury would be guilty of a Class 6 felony, and any threat resulting in death would be punishable as a Class 5 felony.
A Class 6 felony carries one to five years in prison and up to $2,500 in fines, while a Class 5 felony carries a prison time of one to 10 years and up to $2,500 in fines.
The bill, Walker said Tuesday in an interview with The News & Advance, sends a message that Richmond can come together on some matters of public safety.
You know there are things that we can agree on ... as far as legislators, and especially when it comes to harming students in school and public safety. We all agree on this, Walker said.
It doesnt matter whether its a Republican bill or Democrat bill. Its a public safety bill protecting our community.
Walker said he was happy to see the felony classification in the case of bodily harm or death and added under his bill, the individual calling in the threat would be financially responsible for first responder resources deployed on the call.
I dont think people understand the extent of what law enforcement has to do when these threats are called in, Walker said.
Swatting has become a bigger issue for law enforcement agencies in recent years, Lynchburg Police Chief Ryan Zuidema said in November.
Swatting is the act of making a hoax communication to 911, or even to a private citizen who then communicates the false information to 911, regarding a threat to human life with the intent to draw law enforcement response, which could potentially involve a SWAT team hence the name.
At the time, Zuidema said he and several law enforcement departments across the commonwealth were hoping to solidify this law a little bit more and give some additional options for prosecution in the event of a swatting attempt.
The item was among several priorities on the City of Lynchburgs 2023 legislative agenda.
Walker said he had conversations with Lynchburg police, in addition to several other nearby localities law enforcement offices prior to putting the bill in.
An example of swatting in Lynchburg was the September 2022 lockdown at E.C. Glass High School, where a threat was phoned in from outside of the state against the school, resulting in an hours long lockdown.
Similarly, students at E.C. Glass were held on lockdown for most of the school day on Jan. 25 for a threat made against the principal. A teenager was arrested the same day in Lynchburg and charged with using profane, threatening or indecent language over the telephone.
On that very same day, Walker was on the floor in Richmond presenting his bill to the House.
I said, You guys, you know Lynchburgs E.C. Glass High School is in lockdown while Im presenting this bill. So this is the exact reason Im down here, is to try to prevent any future disturbances at schools, Walker said Tuesday.
With the bill now only needing Gov. Glenn Youngkins signature, Walker said he is excited that word will go out to law enforcement and school divisions that were not going to tolerate any more young people calling in bomb threats ... or anything that would cause harm to students in schools.
Theyre not going to get off with a little slap on the hand, he added.
This Thursday, farmers and producers from across the region can learn about how they can provide food for the people of McDowell County and beyond.
The Foothills Food Hub will host a Farmers Meeting this Thursday to discuss the upcoming 2023 season, opportunities for local farmers and next steps. This meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Foothills Food Hub, which is located in a section of the Nebo Crossing building at 263 Barnes Road.
Heather Edwards, project developer of the Food Hub, said this meeting will provide information to local and regional farmers about how they can participate in the Food Hubs operations. Last year, the Hub paid farmers more than $100,000 for their food and produce. The Hubs staff bought produce, meat and eggs from local growers and used that to help feed the food insecure in our community and beyond.
We hope to exceed that number this year, said Edwards to The McDowell News. We are inviting farmers from all over the region to participate.
Edwards said she and her staff will discuss the upcoming programs that are grant funded that require local produce as well as the upcoming Historic Marion Tailgate Market. The Marion Business Association has asked the Foothills Food Hub to take on management of the Tailgate Market. During Thursdays meeting, farmers and producers can sign up to sell at the weekly market while they are at the meeting. There will be more meetings and sign ups before May, Edwards added.
Interested farmers and producers will need to know the process of working weekly with the Foothills Food Hub staff and the process for dropping off their produce after theyve confirmed that the Hub can purchase it. We will also discuss food safety plans and policies, said Edwards.
Another meeting will take place Thursday, March 23 at the Foothills Food Hub from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. as well.
For more information, farmers and producers can reach out to tim@foothillsfoodhub.org or Rebekah@foothillsfoodhub.org or call 1-828-748-8225. They can also reach out that way if they cant make the meeting and still want to sell their produce, eggs or meat this year to the Food Hub or at the tailgate market.
Equatorial Guinea denounced Tuesday a propaganda campaign of defamation by the European Parliament after a resolution accusing it of being responsible for the death of a political opponent in detention, according to a statement.
In mid-January, the Movement for the Liberation of the Third Republic of Equatorial Guinea (MLGE3R), exiled in Spain, announced in a statement the death in prison of one of its members, Julio Obama Mefuman, a 51-year-old Spanish citizen, who had been held since his alleged abduction in late 2019 in South Sudan.
The MLGE3R accused the power of torturing Julio Obama Mefuman and three other opponents arrested with him in late 2019. Two weeks earlier, the Spanish judiciary had opened an investigation for the kidnapping and torture of Julio Obama Mefuman and another opponent, also of Spanish nationality, Feliciano Efa Mangue.
This procedure targets three people close to Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, including one of his sons, Carmelo Ovono Obiang, head of the foreign intelligence service.
The European Parliament holds the dictatorial regime of Equatorial Guinea responsible for the death of Julio Obama Mefuman, and strongly condemns the regimes barbaric repression of human rights defenders, reads the February 16 resolution.
The MEPs called for the release of the three other MLGE3R members, an independent investigation into the death of Obama Mefuman, and the situation of political prisoners.
In response, Malabo denounced a propagandistic campaign of defamation and support for terrorist actions orchestrated by the European Parliament with the sole aim of destabilizing Equatorial Guinea.
A former Spanish colony, Equatorial Guinea has been ruled with an iron fist since 1979 by 80-year-old Teodoro Obiang, who holds the world record for longevity in power for a living head of state, excluding monarchies.
The eighth edition of Paper One Show opened on February 21 with over 160 exhibitors from 30 countries participating, a 60% increase compared to last year.
Chairman of SCCI and Chairman of ECS, Abdullah Sultan Al-Owais said: Hosting the Paper One Show event reflects the increasing quality and growth rates of exhibitions hosted by the Expo Centre Sharjah (ECS) in light of the pioneering efforts made by SCCI to support ECS as one of its vital affiliates and enable it to attract innovative events and exhibitions.
Al-Owais praised the wide participation and the presentation of modern global trends adopted in the paper industry especially in terms of providing technologies and products that drive markets to adopt sustainable work mechanisms which contribute to environmental conservation.
Event's importance
Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO of ECS, pointed out that Paper One Show's previous edition saw the participation of about 100 companies. In this edition we have over 160 exhibitors, which means an increase of 60% reflecting the ECS's reputation and the successes of all the exhibitions it hosts.
Al-Midfa highlighted the event's importance in giving the chance to decision makers in the paper industry to exchange expertise and experiences, conclude deals, build partnerships, and present live shows of cutting-edge machines and technologies.
The event, which is to be wrapped up on February 23, was inaugurated by Al-Owais. Waleed Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, Second Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, SCCI, Al Midfa, Sultan Shattaf, Director of Sales and Marketing Department at ECS and Eng Sami Al-Safran, President of the Arab Federation for Paper, Printing and Packaging Industries (AFPPPI), along with a host of government officials, members of SCCI's and ECS's members of BoDs, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of the event's organisers and sponsors attended the inauguration.
Novel technologies
The officials toured the exhibition, organised by Al-Furat Fair Organiser, and they were briefed on its pavilions and stands, in addition to the state-of-the-art paper and cardboard products, printing and packaging machines requirements, production lines, and raw materials used in the paper industry. They also listened to an explanation from the technicians and experts on the bespoke products and cutting-edge technologies in the exhibition.
Eng Tariq Fakkas, Executive Director of Al-Furat Fair Organiser, said: Paper One Show is one of the key events specialised in the paper industry locally and globally. Its importance lies in its success in attracting a large number of visitors and stakeholders and its fulfilment of the needs of suppliers and consumers in the market of paper trade, manufacturing, equipment and technology, not to mention that it coincides with the Mena Pulp Week conference, organised by Al-Furat too, which boosts the the event and its contribution to supporting the paper industry in the region.
Paper One Show witnesses a large presence of leading companies in the paper industry from several countries, most notably Italy, Turkey, China, India, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in addition to many national and foreign companies operating in the UAE, while Saudi Paper Group is the main sponsor for the event. The exhibition is open from 10 am to 6 pm. -- TradeArabia News Service
Tanzania on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for the construction of a $3.5 billion oil pipeline as part of a controversial mega-project to transport hydrocarbons from East Africa to international markets, despite recurrent criticism from environmental activists.
The pipeline, about 1,500 kilometers long, is to link the Lake Albert oil fields in western Uganda to the Tanzanian coast on the Indian Ocean.
The project requires the approval of both countries and in January Uganda issued a license to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Company Ltd (EACOP) consortium, 62% owned by the French giant TotalEnergies.
The Tanzanian governments approval marks another step forward for EACOP as it allows for the start of major construction activities in Tanzania, following the completion of the ongoing land access process, said EACOPs executive director in Tanzania, Wendy Brown, at a conference to receive the certificate in Dar es Salaam, Tanzanias economic capital.
The project will comply not only with the laws of Tanzania and Uganda, but also with the highest international standards, including human rights, Brown said.
The $10 billion project between Tanzania and Uganda, however, has been opposed by activists and environmental groups who say it threatens the regions fragile ecosystem and the people who live there. Some 13,000 households are affected by the pipeline route, according to Brown.
Six NGOs brought a lawsuit against TotalEnergies before the Paris judicial court in late 2022, demanding that the group comply with a law passed in 2017 that requires multinationals to have a duty of care over their activities around the world. Deliberation is expected on February 28.
Lake Albert, the natural border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, holds an estimated 6.5 billion barrels of crude oil, of which about 1.4 billion are currently considered recoverable.
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The novel CIIC model implemented in Chiang Mai, Thailand shows promise as a prevention-based, community-integrated model to promote healthy aging in low- and middle- income countries. The model prevents frailty in aging populations through group and individual exercises; provides healthcare-related capacity building for family caregivers; and offers community level support, respite services integrated funding resources to ensure inclusive care for the aging population. Credit: Juntendo University
In several poorer countries, aging populations and a lack of universal access to long-term care place the burden of care for older adults on their family. To mitigate this, researchers have successfully implemented a community-integrated intermediary care model in Thailand.
This care service has proven effective in reducing caregiver burden and improving the functional ability and independence of seniors. The multi-pronged model includes care prevention activities, capacity-building for family caregivers, and community respite services.
Rapidly aging populations are a problem that many low- and middle-income countries are currently facing. However, for several of these countries, inclusive health and social care is not a reality. Since older adults require constant attention and monitoring due to age-related morbidities and disabilities, the onus of caring for them usually falls on their families.
This often leads to caregiver stress, burnout, loss of working hours, or job loss. Given this increasing burden on family caregivers, it is essential to come up with new approaches to support and strengthen family-based care systems.
To this end, a multi-national group of researchers from Chiang Mai Rajabhat University, Thailand; Tokyo Ariake University of Medical and Health Sciences, Japan; Ministry of Public Health, Thailand; Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; and Juntendo University, Japan have collaboratively proposed a new prevention-based, community-integrated care model that is specially adapted for improving health and social care services in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.
The community-integrated intermediary care (CIIC) model is a novel approach for improving access to long-term care service for the aging population. It recruits community services to offer support to the older people, taking some load off of family caregivers. The model was implemented in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and its effectiveness was tested through a cluster-randomized controlled trial. The results of this trial are collated in a study that was published in Health Research Policy and Systems on 29 November 2022.
A total of 2,788 participants1,509 in CIIC intervention clusters and 1,279 in control clusters (that had traditional family-based care)were recruited for the trial. The study investigated the effectiveness of the CIIC model in reducing the burden on family caregivers and improving older people's functional ability and quality of life.
The CIIC model combines formal and informal care that can be implemented at a community, district, subdistrict, or city level. It is designed to improve the link between families and communities, and local formal health services and is funding by using a multi-tiered collaborative approach.
"The CIIC model includes older persons, their families, peer groups, volunteers, community stakeholders, local governments, primary health care centers, and public health departments and ministries in Thailand, for more streamlined resource mobilization and sustainable finance," explains Prof. Myo Nyein Aung from Juntendo University, Japan, the lead researcher of the trial.
The community-integrated intermediary care (CIIC) model is a combination of formal care and informal care that is offered primarily at a community level. Its services can help reduce the burden on family caregivers and minimize the need for long-term care. The model provides a comprehensive view of commuity based long-term care to the readers and professionals in gerontology and global health. The boxes within the model also provide the researchers with important areas to invest in the future studies. Credit: Myo Nyein Aung from Juntendo University
The CIIC intervention included three components. The first was encouraging community group exercises and home exercises to preserve the functional ability of the older persons and reduce their care needs and frailty; the second was the delivery of technical training and assistance for family caregivers to improve their care capacity; and the third component was the provision of formal care through a community-level, short-term respite care service center for dependent elders when their family caregivers are temporarily unavailable.
At a 6-month follow-up, it was found that more families showed reduced caregiver burden in the intervention clusters (mean = 39.4%) than control clusters (mean = 28.62%). Similarly, there were more participants in the intervention clusters (mean = 83% and 87.14%) than the control clusters (mean = 78% and 85.89%) without functional decline and depression, respectively.
These results clearly indicate the effectiveness of the CIIC model in preventing an increase in long-term care needs by improving the physical and mental capacities of elders and in reducing the burden of family caregivers through adequate support. Overall, the model enables healthy aging communities.
"CIIC is a cost-effective care model that can be scaled up to help actualize universal long-term care coverage, particularly for the aging populations across different countries in Asia, as well as globally. Furthermore, it could play a key role in bettering health and social welfare policies," says Prof. Aung.
The CIIC model offers a promising solution to an urgent problemsecuring access to health and social care for the older persons and providing the basic resources necessary for a life of meaning and dignity.
More information: Myo Nyein Aung et al, Effectiveness of a community-integrated intermediary care (CIIC) service model to enhance family-based long-term care for Thai older adults in Chiang Mai, Thailand: a cluster-randomized controlled trial TCTR20190412004, Health Research Policy and Systems (2022). DOI: 10.1186/s12961-022-00911-5
Provided by Juntendo University Research Promotion Center
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Keeping children alive will help curb population growth. Credit: (c) Corey Bradshaw, Flinders University
New research showing high infant mortality rates are contributing to an incessant rise of the global human population supports arguments for greater access to contraception and family planning in low- and middle-income nations.
In an article published in PLOS ONE, research led by Professor Corey Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology from Flinders University and Peter Le Souef, Professor of Pediatrics from The University of Western Australia has found that with higher baby death rates and larger household sizes (as an indicator of population density), fertility rates are higher.
In the first study of its kind, Professor Bradshaw, says it provides a compelling argument that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for reducing infant mortality can be accelerated by increasing access to family planning.
"Although it sounds counterintuitive, higher baby death rates are linked to higher population growth because the more babies a women loses, the more children she is likely to have. Family planning, including access to quality contraception, enables women to plan pregnancies better and therefore reduce infant mortality to curb the so-called 'replacement,' or 'insurance' effect," Professor Bradshaw says.
"We evaluated six conditions thought to influence a woman's fertilityavailability of family planning, quality of family planning, education, religion, mortality, and socio-economic conditions, across 64 low- to middle-income countries."
The research specifically tested whether
increasing the availability of family planning is associated with reduced fertility;
increasing the quality of family-planning services is associated with reduced fertility;
increasing years of female education is associated with reducing fertility;
increased fertility is observed in countries with a higher prevalence of adherents of Catholicism or Islam, two main religions that expressly dictate elements of fertility and/or family structure;
a larger mean household size is positively correlated with fertility, and lower socio-economic conditions; and
higher mortality (both infant and maternal) is associated with higher fertility.
Co-author Dr. Melinda Judge from The University of Western Australia's Medical School says, "Keeping babies alive actually reduced average fertility and helps put the brakes on population growth. Essentially, higher infant mortality and a larger household size increased fertility, whereas greater access to any form of contraception decreased fertility."
"Interestingly, female education, home visits by health workers, quality of family planning services, and religious adherence all had weak, if any, contribution at the scale of entire countries."
Factors contributing to fertility: comparison. Credit: (c) Corey Bradshaw, Flinders University
Professor Bradshaw says the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3 (good health and well-being) and 5 (gender equality) emphasize the basic right to exercise control over sexual and reproductive health through universal access to family planning.
The world is not on track to meet Goal 3 to reduce global maternal mortality to less than 70 per 100,000 live births and end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age by 2030.
"Our results show the best pathway toward reaching these targets is by providing readily available and high-quality family-planning services. These actions will not only to decrease fertility rates, they will also to lower the number of unintended pregnancies, infant deaths, and maternal deaths."
"These findings support the notion that to encourage continued declines in global fertility, both infant survival rates plus access to contraception need to be increased," explains Professor Bradshaw.
Co-author Chitra Saraswati also of The University of Western Australia's Medical School says, "Recommendations for measures to decrease infant mortality emphasize improving the quality of antenatal care, increasing the number of trained healthcare staff at births, and improving postnatal care for both infants and mothers. Given the evidence that large households can worsen child health, improving living conditions to ameliorate high-density living could also indirectly result in lower fertility."
"Allowing parents to choose family planning by providing readily available, modern methods of contraception can be expected to improve infant survival as well as reduce maternal mortality. This is because parents can plan and space their births, and being able to decide to have fewer children also has the potential to facilitate better investment in the overall health and well-being of families. It emphasizes the importance of providing access to contraception as a direct contribution to decreasing infant mortality."
"If we don't act now to achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, fertility will rise, more children will die, and more women will succumb to birth-related deaths," Professor Bradshaw concludes.
More information: Corey Bradshaw et al, Lower infant mortality, lower household size, and more access to contraception reduce fertility in low- and middle-income nations, PLoS ONE (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280260 Journal information: PLoS ONE
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New research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine has established a link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and mental health challenges, such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The research highlights the need for health professionals to evaluate and treat associated psychiatric co-morbidities in IBS patients to improve their overall health and quality of life.
IBS is a chronic disorder of the stomach and intestines affecting up to 15 percent of the population. It causes cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and diarrhea. This study looked at more than 1.2 million IBS patient hospitalizations from 4,000 U.S. hospitals over a three-year period and found that more than 38-percent had anxiety, and more than 27-percent had depression.
Both figures were double the rate of anxiety and depression found in those without IBS. The prevalence of psychiatric problems including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, suicidal attempt/ideation, and eating disorders was significantly higher in the IBS patient population when compared to the general adult population.
"One possible explanation is the so-called brain-gut axis," said lead researcher Zahid Ijaz Tarar, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine. "We've long suspected that dysfunction of the brain-gut axis is bidirectional, such that IBS symptoms influence anxiety and depression, and on the other hand, psychiatric factors cause IBS symptoms. Medical professionals need to treat both ends of the axis."
Untreated psychiatric disorders among IBS patients also puts additional strain on health care systems through increased frequency of hospital admissions and longer stays. Chronic diseases like IBS are also known to be associated with stress, work impairment, and associated economic burdens on patients and their families.
"I frequently tell my patients who have IBS, that if they have any type of psychologic stress, it will get expressed in some form or the other," said senior author Yezaz Ghouri, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine and gastroenterology.
"The mesentery membrane that holds the intestines together has one of the largest collections of nerve cells in the body. When those nerves start firing impulses, that can lead to the state of nervousness in and around the GI tract, resulting in IBS symptoms. The resulting decline in patient quality of life can lead to poor lifestyle choices, such as smoking. Early evaluation and treatment of both IBS and associated psychiatric conditions is essential."
The study is published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -).
More information: Zahid Ijaz Tarar et al, Burden of anxiety and depression among hospitalized patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a nationwide analysis, Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) (2023). DOI: 10.1007/s11845-022-03258-6
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Chrysotile-induced MMs present lower expression levels of Brca1. (A) Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining of total BRCA1 on MM samples (bar = 25 m; N 7). (B) Correlation between the expression of total BRCA1 and survival probability (N = 34; p = 0.0267, Pearson's rank correlation coefficient = 0.3799). (C) Correlation between BRCA1 expression and nuclear grade (N = 34; p = 0.0017, Pearson's rank correlation coefficient = 0.5169). (D, E) IHC staining of phospho-BRCA1 (Ser1423) and phospho-H2AX (Ser139) on MM samples (N 7). Credit: Cancer Science (2022). DOI: 10.1111/cas.15705
A group of researchers from Nagoya University in Japan used a rat model to show that the BRCA1 mutation, which affects 1 in 500 people, increases the risks of malignant mesothelioma (MM), a cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Their findings were reported in Cancer Science.
MM is an aggressive form of cancer most commonly caused by asbestos exposure. The tumor develops in the mesothelium, a thin layer of tissue that covers most internal organs. Although there are several treatments for MM, it is often fatal.
MM is particularly dangerous because it uses the body's normal defenses to create an environment conducive to its growth. One important defense against cancer is ferroptosis, which uses iron to cause cell death and is important for tumor suppression. However, MM can accumulate iron itself, which causes breaks in the body's DNA strands, causing genomic changes in the mesothelium that favor the tumor.
The body also has a defense mechanism against these strand breaks that uses a protein encoded by the gene BRCA1. However, in people with a BRCA1 mutation, an inherited condition, the defense against these strand breaks is limited. This makes such individuals particularly susceptible to MM.
A group led by Professor Shinya Toyokuni of Nagoya University's Graduate School of Medicine and Center for Low-temperature Plasma Sciences, in collaboration with the University of Tokyo and the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, studied MM caused by exposure to white asbestos in BRCA1 mutant rats.
They found that ferroptosis-related proteins were significantly reduced in BRCA1 mutant rats a few weeks after exposure to white asbestos. Similarly, MM of mutant rats had dysregulation of iron metabolism, such as decreased stable ferric iron and expression of ferritin, both of which are important in ferroptosis. At the genetic level, they also found that the tumor had upregulated two of its genes, Slc7A11 and Gpx4, which are known to lead to ferroptosis-resistance. Taken together, these findings suggest that BRCA1 deficiency leads to earlier ferroptosis-resistance, which creates a favorable environment for tumor growth.
Although the exact mechanism is unknown, Toyokuni has a hypothesis. "Our understanding is that the mitochondria, a key organelle of iron metabolism, are more susceptible to damage, which accumulates more iron intracellularly and in the extracellular environment nearby," he said.
Although these are still early days, Toyokuni believes that their experiment has important implications for people with BRCA1 mutations. "I would recommend people with BRCA1 mutations who are exposed to asbestos to monitor chest X-rays regularly and perform regular blood donation, which showed some prevention effects in animal models. We want to emphasize that avoiding exposure to white asbestos is especially important for people with BRCA1 mutations."
More information: Yaguang Luo et al, BRCA1 haploinsufficiency impairs iron metabolism to promote chrysotileinduced mesothelioma via ferroptosis resistance, Cancer Science (2022). DOI: 10.1111/cas.15705
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A computer-based intervention associated with reduced binge drinking episodes among high school students could yield a cost savings of eight thousand euros, according to a Spanish study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study found the computer-based intervention cost-effective, resulting in societal savings of 8,000 for each binge drinking episode averted. Computer and web-based interventions can potentially reach a far larger number of students than face-to-face screening and intervention.
The study analyzed the cost-effectiveness of Alerta Alcohol, a web-based, computer-tailored program adapted from Alcohol Alert, which was developed in the Netherlands to address cognitive and motivational factors related to alcohol use by adolescents. This study compared data from students who received the Alerta Alcohol intervention to those who received no intervention; data collected at baseline and at four-month follow-up from 400 15- to 19-year-old students at high schools in Spain were analyzed.
Students aged 17 and older in the intervention group had one less binge drinking episode per month than those without intervention. The group that received no intervention reported two hospitalizations due to binge drinking; the group reported no binge drinking-associated hospitalizations following the Alerta Alcohol program. Female students and students who received 1 to 20 weekly pocket money showed better follow-through with the program and had reduced binge drinking episodes. Lower apparent effectiveness of the intervention in certain subgroups may be related to their relatively low reported alcohol use at baseline.
The study examined costs associated with binge drinking episodes, including direct health care to the Spanish national health service, such as emergency room visits, medical transport, and hospitalization, and direct non-healthcare costs, such as traffic accidents and missed days at school. Total direct health care costs were lower at the four-month follow-up in the group using the Alerta Alcohol program than in the non-intervention group, 800 compared to 3,900 at the four-month follow-up point; the cost difference was largely attributable to hospital stay. Total direct non-healthcare costs were also lower in the intervention group, 9000 compared to 24,000, mainly related to the costs of traffic accidents. The cost of averting one binge drinking episode per month from the health system perspective was 17.
This analysis suggests that computer-based intervention is a cost-effective tool that could be used broadly. There is opportunity for programs to employ gamification, social media, and smartphone technology, and could be tailored for particularly vulnerable groups for a potentially more personalized, more effective intervention. The authors recommend additional studies with larger participant samples and longer-term interventions.
More information: Ana Magdalena VargasMartinez et al, Costeffectiveness and costutility analyses of a webbased computertailored intervention for prevention of binge drinking among Spanish adolescents, Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research (2023). DOI: 10.1111/acer.14990
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App usage. a The number of active app users across England and Wales, and the number of devices with Bluetooth contact tracing enabled. b App uptake per LTLA, estimated as the mean number of active users as a proportion of the total population. Credit: Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36495-z
A team of experts at the Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford and Department of Statistics at the University of Warwick estimate the NHS COVID-19 app prevented around 1 million cases, 44,000 hospitalizations and 9,600 deaths during its first year.
The new research, published in Nature Communications, is the most comprehensive evaluation of the NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app to date.
Researchers analyzed the NHS COVID-19 app in England and Wales in the first year of its useSeptember 2020 to September 2021. They found that the app played an important role in reducing transmission of COVID-19 in England and Wales. The app experienced high user engagement, identified infectious contacts well, and helped to prevent significant numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Professor Christophe Fraser, Principle Investigator at the Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Medicine and the paper's senior author said, "Many of us will remember being 'pinged' by the NHS COVID-19 app at the height of the pandemic, and the impact that self-isolating had on our daily lives."
"Our research shows that the NHS COVID-19 app worked, and it worked well. Through our analysis we estimate the app saved almost 10,000 lives in its first year alone."
"The app prevented people transmitting the virus by generating notifications that they had been exposed to confirmed cases. The app's effectiveness improved over time, particularly as rapid testing became more widely adopted, reducing the need for people to self-isolate following a 'ping."
"We find that digital contact tracing, a relatively low-cost and rapidly available intervention is a valuable public health measure for reducing transmission in any future epidemic waves of COVID-19 or similar viruses."
Dr. Michelle Kendall, Research Fellow in the Department of Statistics at the University of Warwick and the paper's first author said, "Due to the privacy-preserving design of the app, a user who entered their positive test result and agreed to anonymously notify their contacts cannot know the individual impact of their actions."
"Nevertheless, our research shows that the app was successful in quickly alerting people at high risk of having been infected. Collectively, the millions of users in England and Wales who engaged with the app and followed the guidance of its notifications helped to substantially reduce case numbers, reduced pressure on the NHS, and saved lives."
The NHS COVID-19 app was launched in England and Wales on 24 September 2020, with over 10 million people installing it in the first few days. Although app use varied over time and across the country, the app remained popular throughout its first year, with a high proportion of people using it compared to similar apps across Europe.
The app worked by using Google and Apple's Bluetooth contact tracing function to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The app quickly notified people at higher risk of having been infected, so that they could reduce their chances of passing on an infection. The research found that all times, an app notification meant you were at least twice as likely to be infected as a non-notified app user, and at peak times this was as high as 77 times more likely.
Dr. Isabel Oliver, Chief Scientific Officer at UK Health Security Agency said, "The NHS COVID-19 app is a really practical example of how modern technology can be used to protect the nation's health and the economy during a pandemic, by letting people know if they had been in contact with a positive case of COVID-19 and providing advice to help reduce the risk of passing the virus on to other people."
"These findings indicate that the app made a key contribution to breaking the chains of transmission with an estimated 1 million cases, 44,000 hospitalizations, and 9,600 deaths prevented in the first year."
"We've consolidated the skills, technology and lessons of NHS Test and Trace, such as the potential applications of a contract tracing mobile app, into the UK Health Security Agency to inform preparedness for future pandemic threats. Our learnings from the pandemic continue to shape how we, and our partners around the world, respond to future public health risks."
The study adds to the growing body of evidence that shows digital contact tracing apps have major potential for reducing transmission of COVID-19, when combined with strong user engagement.
More information: Michelle Kendall et al, Epidemiological impacts of the NHS COVID-19 app in England and Wales throughout its first year, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36495-z Journal information: Nature Communications
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
Chronic low back pain and other chronic back problems are the most common health problems in Austria: it is estimated that almost half of all Austrians suffer from chronic neck, low back or back pain, which is extremely burdensome in everyday life and reduces the quality of life.
Osteopathy, whose holistic approach aims to improve all aspects of health, couldaccording to the claim of osteopathsbe used as a supplement or alternative to conventional medical treatment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), osteopathic interventions are defined by special handgrip and mobilization techniques for diagnosis and treatment.
The AIHTA has now critically analyzed the evidence on osteopathic treatments for adults with musculoskeletal pain and examined the training and quality requirements of selected European countries. For this purpose, 15 randomized control trials on seven body regions were evaluated. The second part dealt with questions concerning the regulation, training and practice of osteopathy. In order to complete the data, experts from the countries studied were also interviewed.
"There are no uniform legal regulations for the practice and further training of osteopathy worldwide. In many countries, these are being discussed or have already been introduced. In Austria, however, neither the term osteopath is protected nor are there regulations on training, practice and continuing education," explains study leader Lucia Gassner from AIHTA.
Potential and side effects
In the process of the analysis, the effects were first divided into four follow-up periods (immediate, short-, medium-, long-term) and according to the body region. The results regarding the improvement of pain varied depending on the follow-up period: for example, osteopathic treatments for neck pain led to immediate and medium-term improvements, while for patients with osteoporosis, no immediate improvements in pain could be demonstrated after six treatment sessions.
Medium-term improvements were also seen for low back pain and possibly foot and shoulder pain. The results on other outcomes, such as functionality or quality of life, were too heterogeneous to show a trend. Side effects such as increased pain, dizziness or cramps were extremely rare.
"Osteopathy can be considered a safe form of treatment, as hardly any side effects were reported. There were short- and medium-term improvements for neck and low back pain, while the results in other regions were inconclusive. In addition, all studies had a high risk of biasfor example, due to a lack of blinding or deficiencies in concealed allocation," Gassner says.
Legal issues, training and quality standards
The second part of the report examined questions concerning the legal regulation of osteopathy: In addition to the WHO standard, which describes professional principles and training programs, there is also a European standard, which contains specifications for training, safe practice and clinical practice.
In detail, ten countries (Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, UK) were examined: In seven of these countries (Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Portugal, UK) there is a legal regulation, in addition the professional title osteopath in is fully protected (exception: Norway). Only in Denmark, Norway and Portugal the legal regulation is based on the two standardsin the other countries the implementation already took place before the publication of the documents.
The training opportunities and curricula differ from country to country. In all countries (except Austria, Germany and Italy), a minimum education for practicing the profession at Bachelor level is prescribed. In the UK, ongoing professional development is also mandatory.
Osteopathic treatments are only covered by private insurance in all countries surveyedin Germany and Austria, health insurance providers can cover or subsidize the costs in some cases. "A legal regulation and the protection of the professional title in Austria is of crucial importance before costs are reimbursed. This is the only way to ensure that only osteopaths with certified and quality-assured training and licensing practice and that uniform training and quality standards are adhered to," Gassner concludes.
Provided by Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment GmbH
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New research published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica found that in women with uncomplicated pregnancies, elective induction of labor at any point between 37 and 41 weeks was consistently associated with lower school performance in children at age 12.
The analysis included 266,684 children born between 37 and 42 weeks from uncomplicated pregnancies in white women in the Netherlands. School performance scores at age 12 years were lower in those from pregnancies with induced labor at 3741 weeks compared with those with uninduced labor. At 42 weeks, there was no significant difference in school performance between these groups.
The proportion of children who reached higher secondary school level was significantly lower after induction of labor at each gestational week from 3841 weeks. For example, at 38 weeks, rates were 48% versus 54% in induced versus uninduced. (In the Dutch education system, when children reach the end of primary school, around 12 years of age, they are divided over four different levels of secondary education according to their intellectual ability. All children in the last year of regular primary education take a test to guide the choice of level of secondary education.)
"Of course, if there is an indication to induce delivery before 41 weeks, there is little doubt we should do this. But if the reason is purely elective, it is reasonable to be cautious of these subtle adverse effects," said Wessel Ganzevoort, MD, Ph.D., senior investigator and maternal fetal medicine specialist at Amsterdam UMC.
More information: Offspring school performance at age 12 after induction of labor vs non-intervention at term: A linked cohort study, Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica (2023). DOI: 10.1111/aogs.14520 Journal information: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
Marson Group, a Bahraini business and project development company, has announced plans to launch Bahrain's first electric car factory.
A partnership has been formed between the group and a major American manufacturing corporation, 'Gauss Auto', to implement this project.
A special ceremony was held in Bahrain on Tuesday to sign the agreement in the presence of representatives from both parties.
With a timeline of 10 months for construction and operation, the new plant will be located in Salman Industrial City in the American Trade Zone, under the name Gauss Auto Bahrain.
The factory will produce a range of electric vehicles, including two-wheelers, three-wheel electric tricycles, and passenger vehicles. The producst will be marketed primarily in Bahrain, the US and other countries.
Construction and management will be handled by Marson Group, and Gauss Auto will provide technical know-how and practical knowledge based on its extensive experience in the worldwide electric vehicle sector.
"We are delighted to share this joyful news with our dear Kingdom, as well as our numerous partners and customers, and to open this high-quality and ambitious plant in Bahrain. Through this project, we strive to fulfil the directives of our wise leadership and esteemed government in strengthening the national economy, diversifying its sources of income, and providing more job opportunities for our national cadres, said Ali Al Mattar, a member of the Board of Directors of Marson Group.
Al Mattar, on the sidelines of the signing, stated that Marson Group, through its Gauss Auto Bahrain factory, is looking forward to establishing Bahrain as one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of electric vehicles and localising this advanced industry.
This project emphasises our leadership role and primacy in innovative project implementation. It will also be a conducive environment for building national expertise and will support Bahrain in achieving its ambitious goals outlined in its Industrial Strategy for the years 2022 to 2026 as well as the Kingdom's objective to having zero carbon emissions by the year 2060, he said.
Al Mattar extended his thanks and gratitude to all government and private entities that provided facilities for the launch of this project, including the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Economic Development Board.
During the signing of the agreement, which also took place in the presence of Yusuf Obaidli and Khalid Al Moosa, members of the Board of Directors of Marson Group, Feng Chen, CEO of Gauss Auto, said: The partnership with Marson Group came after long and in-depth discussions encompassing various responsibilities, tasks, work schedules, implementation mechanisms and feasibility studies, to ensure that Gauss Auto Bahrain is properly launched and operated and achieves its intended objectives.
Chen said the establishment of a factory for electric vehicles of the highest calibre will boost Bahrain's competitiveness as a leading destination for investments and innovation.
He added: "We will supply the local, regional, and international markets with our products of electric vehicles following the most recent international technologies used in this industry, and everyone will be proud that these vehicles bear the slogan Made in Bahrain. - TradeArabia News Service
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Ivermectin tablets. Credit: Bundesministerium fur Finanzen/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
High doses of the drug ivermectin, controversially recommended by some high-profile political and media figures during the COVID-19 pandemic, is ineffective at treating the COVID-19 virus, say University of Oxford- affiliated researchers in a study published today in eLife.
The study was conducted mainly in the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Bangkok. It is part of the ongoing PLATCOV triala phase 2 multi-center platform that requires a comparatively small sample size to assess the antiviral pharmacodynamics and effectiveness of medicines in treating early symptomatic COVID-19 infections.
The findings support claims that the drug has little antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2and help resolve the controversy about the effectiveness of ivermectin in treating COVID-19.
"Our study shows there is no support for the continued use of ivermectin in treating COVID-19," says senior author and PLATCOV co-PI Prof Sir Nicholas White, Professor of Tropical Medicine at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, and the Center for Tropical Medicine and Global Health (CTMGH), Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, U.K.
Several different drugs have been suggested for the early treatment of COVID-19. Monoclonal antibodies, a type of targeted drug therapy, have been shown to be effective in preventing and treating COVID-19. However, they are expensive and they require an intravenous injection to be administered. Similarly, the new drugs molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir have shown promise in clinical settings, but they are largely unavailable outside of high-income settings.
Repurposed drugs, such as ivermectin, have therefore been explored in treating COVID-19, as they are more affordable and generally available. However, trials of these drugs have often been flawed and/or underpowered. This has led to uncertainty and confusion over the effectiveness of these drugs, especially in the case of ivermectin.
"Even now, three years after the start of the pandemic, it remains uncertain whether any of the proposed repurposed antiviral treatments are effective at fighting COVID-19, highlighting the limitations of the tools currently used to assess these drugs," explains co-lead author Dr. William Schilling, Research Physician at MORU and CTMGH. Schilling contributed equally alongside fellow co-lead author Podjanee Jittamala, a lecturer in the Department of Tropical Hygiene, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University.
To quantify the effectiveness of ivermectin against COVID-19, the team used the PLATCOV trial to compare the rates at which different drugs reduced the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 from patients. The study participants were previously healthy adults between the ages of 1850 with early, symptomatic COVID-19.
Participants were randomized to one of six treatment schedules. There were 205 patients in total; 46 were given a high dose of oral ivermectin daily for a week; 40 were administered the monoclonal antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab (10 prespecified as unblinded for the analysis); 45 received no drugs and the remainder were randomized to other drugs. Swabs were taken serially from the participants' tonsils throughout the course of the study (20 in total per person), allowing the researchers to characterize the decline in the viral load of SARS-CoV-2.
In patients treated with ivermectin, the average estimated rate of SARS-CoV-2 viral clearance was 9.1% slower than in those treated with the non-study drugs. Those treated with casirivimab/imdevimab had a viral clearance rate that was 52.3% faster than in those treated with the non-study drugs, consistent with the proven clinical benefit of this medicine against susceptible viruses.
These results suggest that ivermectin does not have measurable antiviral activity in early symptomatic COVID-19. The positive preliminary results from casirivimab/imdevimab confirmed that PLATCOV is able to identify treatments with clinically relevant antiviral effects against COVID-19.
"PLATCOV is a relatively simple method of assessment, requiring only a small number of volunteer patients to quantify the effectiveness of a drug," explains Dr. Podjanee Jittamala. "The procedures are well toleratedthey have few adverse effectsand tonsil swabs are much better tolerated than swabs taken from deep inside the nose."
Further studies are warranted to confirm whether the daily sampling schedule used in the current work strikes the optimal balance between collecting as much information as possible while maintaining the tolerability of the trial for patients. There was substantial variability in the estimated viral loads, which may be reduced in further studies by accounting for the variable volumes absorbed by the swabs or by using a different sampling technique.
The PLATCOV methodology used in the study could become a standardized method of determining the effectiveness of drugs against COVID-19, and potentially other respiratory tract infectionsand so could become an important public health tool for policymakers and political leaders.
"The rapid and efficient characterization and comparison of potential antiviral therapeutics in COVID-19 is important for policy recommendations, particularly while cost and availability limit access. The method described in our study shows great promise for assessing antiviral effectiveness, not just in COVID-19, but potentially in other common or epidemic respiratory illnesses such as influenza," says Prof White.
More information: William HK Schilling et al, Pharmacometrics of high dose ivermectin in early COVID-19: an open label, randomized, controlled adaptive platform trial (PLATCOV), eLife (2023). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.83201 Journal information: eLife
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
In recent years, suicide has become one of the leading causes of death for adolescents and young adults nationally. Texas is no exception to this trend, with a significant increase in suicide deaths over the past decade. Depression, which affects millions of American adolescents, has long been associated with a higher risk for suicide. However, there are other factors that may be linked to suicidal thoughts and actions that could serve as predictors to alert caregivers, clinicians and others when an intervention might be needed.
A new study published in the journal Cogent Psychology attempts to identify factors that could be used as predictors of suicidal behavior in Texas high school students. The study conducted by the Center for Health Equity & Evaluation Research at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health used nationally representative data of high school students from 2017 and 2019 to explore potential predictors and factors associated with suicide in adolescents in Texas.
The dataset used in this study, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey, measures health-risk behaviors in a sample of students in grades 9-12. The survey includes data on race and ethnicity, gender and sexual identity, the presence of school-based violence or violence-related behavior, sexual practices, substance use, and mental health and well-being. The survey asked students whether they felt sad or hopeless enough to stop usual activities, whether they had seriously considered suicide, and whether they made a plan to attempt or attempted suicide in the past 12 months.
Health Behavior doctoral student Morgan J. Grant and Tamika Gilreath, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the School of Public Health, and colleagues from Texas A&M found that more than one-third of survey respondents reported feeling so sad or helpless for two or more weeks in a row that they stopped their usual activities. The vast majority of students in the sample stated they had not considered, planned or attempted suicide, with nearly 90 percent reporting no attempts over the previous 12 months. However, their analysis found notable differences among different groups of students.
The researchers found that female students were twice as likely to report suicidal thoughts or actions, and LGBTQ students and those unsure of their sexuality were almost twice as likely. They also found that carrying a weapon on school property, feeling unsafe at school or being in a fight increased the odds of suicidal thoughts or actions. Bullying at school or electronically or experiencing unwanted sexual interactions were also associated with higher risks. The analysis also found that substance use was associated with greater suicidality risk.
The findings of this study highlight the risk that LGBTQ students in Texas face and the need for suicide prevention and mental health interventions that are tailored for female and LGBTQ students. The study also points to a need for further research into adolescents experiencing bullying and violence and those engaging in substance use. Additional study would help develop tailored mental health interventions for these different vulnerable populations.
The researchers note a few limitations with their analysis, specifically the self-reported nature of the data and inability to further explore underlying causes of suicidal thoughts and actions. Future research should delve into the psychological and personality characteristics of adolescents in different at-risk groups.
This study sheds light on some of the factors involved in suicidal thoughts and actions among Texas adolescents. With these findings and knowledge from future research, public health practitioners will be able to design and implement mental health and suicide prevention efforts to counteract the growing risk adolescents are facing.
More information: Morgan James Grant et al, Predictors of suicide and associated factors in Texas high school adolescents, Cogent Psychology (2022). DOI: 10.1080/23311908.2022.2149291
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For individuals of African ancestry, the APOE 3 R145C missense variant is associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer disease (AD), according to a study published in the Feb. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Yann Le Guen, Ph.D., from Stanford University in California, and colleagues examined whether amino acid changes to APOE specific to individuals of African ancestry modulate the risk for AD. The study combined a case-control study using a sequenced discovery sample (stage 1; 2,888 cases and 4,957 controls) followed by two microarray imputed datasets (stage 2, internal replication [1,201 cases and 2,744 controls] and stage 3, external validation [733 cases and 19,406 controls]). Two APOE missense variants were assessed (R145C and R150H). Individuals included in the study were of African ancestry.
The researchers found that R145C was present in 4.8 and 1.5 percent of participants with AD and controls in stage 1 and was associated with an increased risk for AD (odds ratio, 3.01; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.87 to 4.85) and reported younger age at AD onset (, 5.87 years). In stage 2, the association with increased AD risk was replicated; R145C was present in 4.7 and 2.7 percent of those with AD and controls (odds ratio, 2.20; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.04 to 4.65), with concordant results observed in stage 3 (R145C present in 3.8 and 2.7 percent, respectively; odds ratio, 1.90; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.99 to 3.64). In stages 2 and 3, the association with earlier AD onset was also replicated (, 5.23 and 10.15 years, respectively).
"With additional external validation, the findings may inform AD genetic risk assessment in individuals of African ancestry," the authors write.
More information: Yann Le Guen et al, Association of African AncestrySpecific APOE Missense Variant R145C With Risk of Alzheimer Disease, JAMA (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.0268 Journal information: Journal of the American Medical Association
Copyright 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Graphical abstract. Credit: Cell Reports Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.100971
A new Australian study led by SAHMRI and Flinders University has uncovered fundamental differences in how the AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines impact the immune system.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Immune Responses Study (COVIRS), published in Cell Reports Medicine, tracked the immune responses of 102 adults of varying ages, all living in South Australia where there was no community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at the time.
Participants had their bloods taken immediately after each dose of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines to assess early immune response.
They were also tested 28 days after every immunization to evaluate B and T cell activity. Both are critical, as B cells produce antibodies and T cells kill infected cells.
The vaccines are alike in the sense that they induce the immune system to recognize and protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but they differ in how this is achieved.
The Pfizer vaccine uses mRNA technology to induce host cells to produce the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein, while the AstraZeneca vaccine uses a harmless virus (a chimpanzee adenovirus) to encode the Spike protein.
Head of SAHMRI's Systems Immunology Laboratory and Flinders University Professor David Lynn led the study, using a method of biological analysis known as 'multiomics' to examine immune responses in many different ways in thousands of blood samples.
Professor Lynn says this comprehensive analysis of immune responses to these different vaccines has revealed lots of new information that'll help inform future vaccine design.
"After the first dose, we were surprised to find the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine elicits an unexpected memorylike response in the immune system, recognizing the vaccine as if it's something it's seen before," says Professor Lynn, from the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University.
"This response is targeted against the adenovirus vector in the vaccine, not the Spike protein and the intensity of this response correlates with the expression of proteins that act as a pre-cursor to thrombosis, or blood clotting.
"While Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is an extremely rare side effect associated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine that none of the participants developed during the study, this research offers a potential explanation for the connection between the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the cases of VITT that've been reported."
The study also found those who'd only had two doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine generally produced lower amounts of antibodies and less of a specialized type of T-cell that helps with antibody production; compared to those who had two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
However, this was rectified once they had their third booster dose of an mRNA vaccine, illustrating the importance of booster doses.
The study added evidence to the notion that COVID-19 vaccines offer some people more effective protection than others.
The reasons for this variability are not well understood, but Professor Lynn says age is a factor, with older people generally having a lower immune response after two doses. Fortunately, a third booster dose was highly effective at overcoming this.
Immune responses induced immediately after vaccination predicted the subsequent B and T cell response to the vaccine measured a month later.
"One to two days after initial vaccination we measured gene expression responses in the blood which correlated with adaptive immune responses that mediate protection 28 days later," Professor Lynn says.
A further surprise to researchers was the finding that feeling unwell after a vaccine dose may in fact be linked to its effectiveness.
"People who showed symptoms of fatigue and fever immediately after the third dose were more likely to have better T-cell responses. T-cells play a vital role in vaccine efficacy as they can directly kill viral cells," Professor Lynn said.
The study was a major collaboration involving SAHMRI, Flinders University, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, The University of Adelaide, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, University of New South Wales, The Kirby Institute, Alfred Hospital, Monash University, AstraZeneca and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Overall, this project has provided important new insights into the early immune responses to these vaccines and offers a greater understanding of how they work to protect against COVID-19.
More information: Feargal J. Ryan et al, A systems immunology study comparing innate and adaptive immune responses in adults to COVID-19 mRNA and adenovirus vectored vaccines., Cell Reports Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.100971 Journal information: Cell Reports Medicine
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain
Researchers who studied more than 300 pediatric patients receiving heart transplants over the past 36 years at the University of Florida have documented how advances in technology, technique, and patient management have improved outcomes for younger patients with more serious heart disease, according to a study published this month in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
In what may be one of the largest series to date of pediatric heart transplants at a single institution, the research team led by Mark S. Bleiweis, MD, FACS, and Jeffrey P. Jacobs, MD, FACS, separated the 36-year study period into two distinct erasfrom 1986 to 2010, in which 149 pediatric patients had heart transplants, and from 2011 to 2022, in which 162 patients had heart transplants (some children had multiple transplants).
They also presented their findings at the Southern Surgical Association's 134th annual meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, in December 2022.
"We examined 311 children who had cardiac transplantation over 36 years, and we found that over the course of time, the patients are getting much more complicated for a variety of reasons. But despite this increased complexity, they continue to do better and better," Dr. Jacobs said. "This finding tells us that, after careful consideration and multidisciplinary input, we can offer heart transplantation to some of the highest-risk children and have the expectation of reasonably good outcomes."
Dr. Bleiweis and Dr. Jacobs are pediatric cardiac surgeons at the Congenital Heart Center, Departments of Surgery and Pediatrics, at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Key findings
The study found that in the more recent 2011-to-2022 period, patients were younger (6.6 versus 8.7 years, on average) and more than twice as many were infants (37.9% versus 17.5%).
Significantly higher percentages of patients in the latter era had serious congenital heart disease (53.8% versus 39%) or were on a ventricular assist device at the time of transplant (33.7% versus 9.1%), increasing the complexity of successful transplantation. A ventricular assist device, or VAD, is a mechanical device that assists in pumping blood from the ventricles in the lower part of the heart to the rest of the body or, less commonly, to the lungs.
Despite seeing patients in recent years with more serious congenital heart disease, survival was better at all points in time in the most recent era, with statistically significant better survival at both 1 and 5 years. For example, 1-year survival rates were 82.4% and 90.3% in the first and second eras, respectively. Five-year survival rates were 70.7% and 83%, respectively.
Though only at a single site and retrospectivewhich may limit whether these results are generalizable across other institutionsthe study highlights numerous advances in heart transplantation, particularly in children, in recent years.
These advances include improved immunosuppression therapies to prevent rejection of transplant tissue, advances in techniques and approaches to offer transplants to patients who have developed sensitization to donor transplant tissue, better approaches to manage patients with one ventricle, and improvements in preserving donor hearts.
However, the improvements in survival in children who have had heart transplants go beyond techniques and technology, Dr. Bleiweis explained.
"We assembled a multidisciplinary team of experts involved in decision-making before the transplant," he said. "We also have a team of focused individuals who perform the transplant. Furthermore, in the domain of postoperative care, we have learned a lot about how to take care of smaller babies and children across the entire spectrum of pediatric and congenital heart disease, and we extrapolate these lessons to caring for complex children after cardiac transplantation in the ICU."
Added Dr. Jacobs, "It's not possible to identify one single reason why outcomes are better now than they were 10 and 20 years ago, because there are multiple reasons driving these improved outcomes. However, we can really divide the advances into three areas: advances in preoperative management, intraoperative management, and postoperative management."
"The cumulative sum of these advances has made it so that the patients do better and that we can care for higher-risk patients who, 20 years ago, probably would not have been offered transplantation. All of these advances and improved outcomes are secondary to the knowledge and skills of the many members of our multidisciplinary team."
This research is unique among studies of pediatric heart transplantation because of the large number of pediatric patients undergoing cardiac transplantation at a single institution and the long duration of follow-up, according to Dr. Jacobs.
The subset of "highly challenging patients" in the study population adds to its uniqueness, he added. "At the University of Florida, a subset of children is now being offered cardiac transplantation who were not really offered transplantation in the past and is not currently being offered transplantation at many other hospitals that do pediatric transplants," he said.
"These are some of the smallest babies with some of the most complex diseases, babies that are born with one functional ventricle instead of two, or babies who are incapable of staying alive without a mechanical ventricular assist device prior to finding a donor heart."
"I think many of us now recognize that we can evaluate some of these extremely complicated types of patients and determine that they are indeed transplantable," Dr. Bleiweis added. "In certain cases, we can extend transplantation beyond the standard situation, and in the majority of patients, the risk of cardiac transplantation is not prohibitive."
More information: Mark S Bleiweis et al, Heart Transplantation in Patients Less Than 18 Years of Age: Comparison of 2 Eras Over 36 Years and 323 Transplants at a Single Institution, Journal of the American College of Surgeons (2023). DOI: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000000604 Journal information: Journal of the American College of Surgeons
The 20th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is a hybrid event. Screenings at the Wilma Theater, Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC), and Missoula Community Theater (MCT) run through Sunday, Feb. 26. Seating is limited; its highly recommended to purchase tickets in advance at bigskyfilmfest.org/festival/tickets. Door sales are not guaranteed to viewers who arrive without a ticket. All tickets are good for in-person or online screenings.
Virtual theater: All short films will be available online beginning Monday, Feb. 20 through Wednesday, March 1. Feature films are split into two groups, with half available online Feb. 20-25 and the other half Feb. 25-March 1. For a list of films by group go to bigskyfilmfest.org/festival/virtual_schedule.
Films
Competition Shorts 2 20 films vie for Best Short (under 40 minutes) and Best Mini-Doc (under 15 minutes). Winning films of each competition become eligible for Academy Award consideration. MCT, 3 p.m.
Schoolhouse Docs short films screened by local educators and deemed all-ages appropriate. ZACC, 4 p.m. $5.
"Crows Are White" After decades of living a secret life, a filmmaker travels to a strict Japanese monastery in search of guidance, but the only monk who will help him prefers ice cream and heavy metal over meditation. The film is an exploration of truth, faith and love, from the top of a mountain to the bottom of a sundae. Montana Premiere. Big Sky Centerpiece film, MCT, 8 p.m.
"The Hamlet Syndrome" This film follows a group of young Ukrainian actors struggling with traumas such as sexism, homophobia and the war in the Donbas. In order to process their emotions, they embark on an adaptation of Hamlet that grapples with the contemporary challenges of Ukraine. Filmed only a few months prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this film is a rare personal document of the transformative power of art. Montana Premiere. ZACC, 8:15 p.m.
"Carpenter" In the remote mountains of Iran, an old Kurdish carpenter scavenges wood to hand carve artificial limbs for people who have lost their legs in landmine explosions. World Premiere. Best Mini-Doc Nominee. "Joy" Ugandas Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is a forest paradise blanketed by a sea of clouds, and home to the Nyakagezi family of mountain gorillas. Ranger and mother of two, Joy dedicates her days to protecting the Park and the Nyakagezi family. U.S. Premiere, Best Short nominee. Competition Shorts 2, MCT, 3 p.m.
"The Dream of a Horse" Shahnaz, the oldest daughter of a nomad family, loves writing and her stories are inspired by her lifestyle. Her father wants to marry her off to better the familys condition, but Shahnaz wants to pursue bigger dreams. North American Premiere. Schoolhouse Docs 2, ZACC, 4 p.m.
"Art of Maintenance: Transcendence, Recovery & My Grandparents Goodness" delves into the transformative power of fixing broken things, including ourselves. Chronicling the filmmakers experience helping his grandparents maintain a family cabin, the film portrays a lifelong dedication to quality and religious conviction, while integrating perspectives on maintenance, artistry and self-care. World Premiere, Best Mini-Doc nominee. Shorts Block 11, ZACC, 6 p.m.
Filmmakers in attendance
(Q&A following film screening)
"Your Friend, Memphis" David Zucker, director; Luke Terrell, producer. Montana Premiere. MCT, 5:30 p.m.
"Parker" Jackson Montemayor, Director of Photography. Northwest Premiere. "Nina & Irena" Daniel Lombroso, director. World Premiere. Shorts Block 11, ZACC, 6 p.m.
"The Hamlet Syndrome" Piotr Rosolowski and Elwira Niewiera, co-directors. Montana Premiere. ZACC, 8:15 p.m.
Festival headquarters: ZACC, 216 W. Main St. Purchase tickets, passes, and merchandise, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Missoula Art Museum has opened a new exhibition, "For the Record: Photographing Montanas Historic Bridges, Powerhouses, and Missile Sites, Inside and Out," this week.
The show includes 28 photographs that Missoula artist Kristi Hager shot, according to a news release from MAM. Hager shot more than 600 images "to document utility and security infrastructure across Montana for the Historic American Buildings Survey and Historic American Engineering Record," the release says.
The archive is housed at the Library of Congress. Photographer Tom Ferris scanned negatives to convert and enlarge them for high-quality print.
Hager, in addition to photography, works in drawing, painting and other mediums. Last fall, she was a part of "Focus on the Figure: The Pattee Canyon Ladies' Salon, 1989-2022," a survey of the long-running Missoula artists group. She also had a solo exhibition of paintings, "Love Letters to Missoula," at Radius Gallery.
MAM organized this exhibition, which will travel around the state through the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association through 2025. Funding was provided by the Montana History Foundation.
A prescription drug that helps Lore Wilkinson walk and talk despite a rare muscle disease cost her so little for more than a decade that she didnt even use her insurance to pay for it. But now, her Medicare insurance is shelling out about $40,000 for a one-month supply of the drug, and she fears shell be slammed with a $9,000 copayment.
Who can afford that? said the 91-year-old, who lives in Rochester, Minnesota. (Her first name is pronounced LOR-ee.)
Wilkinson, like millions of other people with rare diseases nationwide, is caught up in an ongoing legal and political debate about how the U.S. supports pharmaceutical companies and their research. The FDA made its latest move in the tug of war in late January by saying it would largely ignore a U.S. court ruling involving Firdapse, the drug Wilkinson needs.
Firdapse was approved in 2018 by the FDA as an orphan drug, a designation that rewards drug companies for developing treatments for rare diseases. When a drugmaker wins approval for an orphan drug, the company is entitled to seven years of exclusive rights to the marketplace, which means the FDA wont approve another companys application for a competitive drug for the same use during that period.
But after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion in early 2022, the FDA stopped reviewing applications for certain drugs or handing out exclusivity, agency spokesperson April Grant said. The delay left drugmakers in limbo.
Often, drugs granted exclusivity are among the highest priced in the U.S. market. For example, Zolgensma, a one-time treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, carries a $2.25 million price tag. Mary Carmichael, a spokesperson for its manufacturer, Novartis, said Zolgensma has treated more than 3,000 patients globally and nearly all U.S. patients taking the drug as approved by the FDA are covered by commercial or government insurance.
The company also continues to invest in research and development as well as clinical studies for the drug to reach more patients, Carmichael said. Most drugs enter the U.S. market armed with a variety of patents and intellectual property protections that stave off competition and allow drugmakers to set prices as they see fit. For drugs that treat rare diseases, the seven years of market exclusivity is part of that armor.
A years supply of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Firdapse, which Wilkinson takes to treat her Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, or LEMS, sells for about $375,000 after discounts, said Catalyst spokesperson David Schull. He said the company has financial assistance programs and donates to charitable foundations to help those in need. The goal, Schull said, is that no LEMS patient is ever denied access to medication for financial reasons.
Catalyst was granted exclusive market rights for Firdapse in 2018, which meant that Wilkinson and other LEMS patients could no longer get a similar drug from another company free of charge.
In 2019, amid a patient uproar about the cost, which Sen. Bernie Sanders weighed in on, the FDA granted another company, Jacobus Pharmaceutical, the right to market a competitive product for a subset of pediatric patients.
Then Catalyst filed suit against the federal government, contending it had rights to be the exclusive provider for all LEMS patients, regardless of age. The case, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Becerra, had potentially far-reaching implications, wrote Grant, the FDA spokesperson, in an email to KHN. The courts decision also raised several novel questions, she said.
The 11th Circuit sided with Catalyst in September 2021. But the FDAs recent move to effectively disregard the courts decision is in the best interest of public health, rare disease patients and rare disease product development, Grant wrote.
Still, the multiyear saga highlights lingering questions about orphan drug exclusivity and how the FDAs policies may influence drug prices. At issue is the Orphan Drug Act, a 1980s-era law that incentivizes drug companies to research and develop rare-disease drugs. And its not the first time the orphan drug program has raised concerns.
For decades, the FDA has overseen a two-step process: A drug is first granted an orphan designation because it shows promise to treat a rare disease or condition. Then, once the pharmaceutical company studies and develops the rare-disease drug, the FDA approves its use and awards seven-year market exclusivity, preventing competition.
That final step, granting exclusivity, was in the spotlight in Catalysts lawsuit against the FDA. Since the Orphan Drug Act was created, the FDAs staff routinely handed out exclusivity to companies for orphan drugs that treat a subset of patients, such as pediatrics. The goal was to make sure pharmaceutical companies didnt get total market control for a drug after doing studies on only the smallest, easiest-to-study populations, the agency wrote on its website.
The Catalyst court decision could hurt children, agency officials wrote.
George OBrien, a partner at Mayer Brown who represents companies regarding the FDA and regulatory practices, said he agreed with the FDAs decision and its long-term strategy of parceling out exclusivity because a drugs sales should be limited to what you studied and got approved.
Most people think the way the FDA has done it for years is a very sensible way to do it, OBrien said. Good for patients, good for pharma, and good for the FDA.
The FDA said that it will comply with the courts decision regarding Catalyst but that it doesnt apply to other companies or drugs. In response to the FDAs January announcement, Catalyst said it would not be affected. In July 2022, Catalyst bought the rights to Ruzurgi, the Jacobus drug.
Now, there is no competitive drug on the market that treats Wilkinsons disease.
Jacobus had provided Wilkinson with the active ingredient of its drug free of charge from 2004 to 2018: The only thing I paid was shipping.
The FDAs move to largely rebuke the Catalyst case will likely mean another company will sue the agency again, OBrien said: They are in a really tough spot.
My worry is there is just another lawsuit coming. And its uncertainty. Uncertainty is ultimately bad for patients, OBrien said.
Drugmakers have taken the FDA to court before over how the agency administers the Orphan Drug Act. In 2014, Depomed won a suit against the agency demanding an exclusivity label on its drug Gralise, which treated nerve pain.
The FDA had given Gralise an orphan designation and approval but declined to give it exclusivity because it said it was not clinically superior to another drug already on the market. Then-federal district court judge Kentaji Brown Jackson, who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court last year, required the FDA to grant exclusivity, blocking a generic.
That case was focused on the clinical superiority of a drug, rather than the scope of exclusivity. After the Gralise decision, the FDA eventually persuaded Congress to amend the law, which may be needed now, OBrien said. Rachel Sher, a former director of policy at the National Organization for Rare Disorders who is now at Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips, said companies that would benefit from a broader award of exclusivity will sue to force the agency for the same reading of the Orphan Drug Act.
Congress will need to act at some point, said Sher, who also spent a decade on Capitol Hill as the FDA counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Congress almost passed an amendment last year when it reauthorized the user fees that help fund the FDA. Then-Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) argued to take the committee-added amendment out of the package, saying drugmakers would otherwise lack the incentives needed to develop drugs for rare diseases, according to Bloomberg Law.
Wilkinson, the patient advocate, has her own advice for Congress. The Orphan Drug Act itself not just the exclusivity provision needs to be fixed, she said.
They have to change the law, she said. Pharmaceutical companies should only win orphan drug status and be given exclusivity when they develop a really new medication, not just by changing one molecule.
Until then, Wilkinson said, she and others are still waiting: Im an old lady, and I dont know if it is going to get fixed.
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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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For individuals of African ancestry, the APOE 3 R145C missense variant is associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer disease (AD), according to a study published in the Feb. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Yann Le Guen, Ph.D., from Stanford University in California, and colleagues examined whether amino acid changes to APOE specific to individuals of African ancestry modulate the risk for AD. The study combined a case-control study using a sequenced discovery sample (stage 1; 2,888 cases and 4,957 controls) followed by two microarray imputed datasets (stage 2, internal replication [1,201 cases and 2,744 controls] and stage 3, external validation [733 cases and 19,406 controls]). Two APOE missense variants were assessed (R145C and R150H). Individuals included in the study were of African ancestry.
The researchers found that R145C was present in 4.8 and 1.5 percent of participants with AD and controls in stage 1 and was associated with an increased risk for AD (odds ratio, 3.01; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.87 to 4.85) and reported younger age at AD onset (, 5.87 years). In stage 2, the association with increased AD risk was replicated; R145C was present in 4.7 and 2.7 percent of those with AD and controls (odds ratio, 2.20; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.04 to 4.65), with concordant results observed in stage 3 (R145C present in 3.8 and 2.7 percent, respectively; odds ratio, 1.90; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.99 to 3.64). In stages 2 and 3, the association with earlier AD onset was also replicated (, 5.23 and 10.15 years, respectively).
"With additional external validation, the findings may inform AD genetic risk assessment in individuals of African ancestry," the authors write.
Life was upended for LaShonia Ingram over the past year, and a shadow still follows her around.
Search her name online, and the first result includes the words fraud and most wanted.
It was horrible. I couldnt get a job, said the 42-year-old mother from Memphis, Tennessee. All doors were being closed in my face.
Ingram resorted to selling purses out of her trunk to support her family. She said even DoorDash and Uber wouldnt allow her to work with a felony charge. Her alleged crime? Fraud.
The state of Tennessee accused Ingram of living in nearby Horn Lake, Mississippi, while still enrolled in the states Medicaid program, known as TennCare. It all turned out to be a mix-up, but the damage to her reputation and finances was done.
Every state has an office to investigate Medicaid fraud committed by doctors and other health care providers, since thats usually where the most money can be recovered. Few states crack down on patients as Tennessee does. Tennessee posts the names and photos of people arrested for alleged fraud on a government website and social media. Some even wind up on a most wanted list.
The list is maintained by Tennessees Office of Inspector General. The office was launched in 2005 when most of the cases involved drug diversion: People were accused of using TennCare benefits to acquire massive quantities of narcotics to sell on the street. But as federal rules have slowed the illegal prescription drug market, arrests related to Medicaid are instead sweeping up people accused of moving out of state often within the same community without canceling their benefits.
Ingram was one of 28 Medicaid beneficiaries in Tennessee charged in 2022, according to the Tennessee OIG; more than a third of them were accused of not being a Tennessee resident, with many cases originating in the Memphis area, where suburbs extend into Mississippi.
In Ingrams case, Tennessee announced her arrest in a press release, which said she eluded authorities for nearly a year. Ingram said she didnt have a clue about the charges until she got a ticket for not wearing her seat belt.
They pulled me over, and they said, You have a felony warrant. And I said, Quit lying,' she recalled. Ive never been in trouble a day in my life.
It took $2,000 to bond out of jail and even more to hire an attorney. Not until more than six months later did prosecutors show her the evidence so she could refute the charges and clear her name.
The explanation ended up being pretty straightforward. During the time she was on Tennessees Medicaid program and living in Memphis, she filed for divorce from her husband who lived nearby in Mississippi. Ingram said they had been separated for years, but her drivers license still had the outdated Mississippi address.
After her arrest, Ingram showed her Tennessee lease and electric bills, and the Shelby County district attorney dropped the felony charges.
We try to apply the law compassionately, Chad Holman, who leads the TennCare OIG, told KHN.
Other states have fraud investigation units focused on patients, but they dont necessarily name the accused publicly, which happens in Tennessee. For example, South Carolina keeps the accused anonymous even after theyve agreed to reimburse the state.
Holman defends Tennessees practice of posting a most wanted list for its Medicaid program. He said its supposed to be a deterrent: Its not to blast anyone or defame anyone. Its to simply take care of the business thats at hand, hold people accountable, and do what were here to do, he said.
As drug-related cases have diminished, enforcement has increasingly focused on ensuring that people enrolled in TennCare live in the state. In Memphis, 20 of the 27 Medicaid fraud cases since 2019 involved questions of state residency, according to the Shelby County district attorney. And prosecutors have dropped at least a half-dozen of those cases because the evidence was so weak.
Holman said his office wont overlook low-level offenses.
This is not murder, he said. But the legislature classified it as a felony, and thats the law that Im here to enforce.
Holman acknowledged it costs far more to run the TennCare fraud unit than the office will ever recoup from people on Medicaid, who are usually low-income. Even if the state recovered every dollar from charges brought against beneficiaries in 2022, the total would amount to less than $900,000. The office has a budget of $6.4 million a year. Since its creation in 2005, the OIG has brought in less than $10 million and charged nearly 3,200 people with fraud, according to its press releases.
The rate of arrests has slowed dramatically. It now arrests fewer people in a year than it previously did in a single month.
About 1 in 4 Americans are on Medicaid or CHIP the Childrens Health Insurance Program. The number of people enrolled increased by more than 20 million since early 2020. And for the first time since the start of the pandemic, states will resume verifying income and addresses over the next year. Millions of Americans could lose their Medicaid coverage as a result. Its up to each state to determine who is eligible and how to deal with potential fraud in the program.
Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, said policing fraud among TennCare beneficiaries takes time and money that otherwise could be spent on something more helpful.
Itd be great if our leaders would get out of the gotcha game and get into the getting people healthy game, she said.
As Medicaid programs restart checks on eligibility, Johnson said, recipients shouldnt have to worry that a mistake could eventually get them arrested.
Despite her ordeal, Ingram is bouncing back. Still, she has legal bills to pay and has grown more frustrated at being ensnared by the states Medicaid dragnet.
They made a big mistake, she said.
This story is part of a partnership that includes WPLN, NPR, and KHN.
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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Saudi-based Tanmiah Food Company and US-based Tyson Foods met this week in Jeddah to recognise their strategic partnership made in 2022 including the potential growth opportunities across the kingdom and the broader Middle East.
Senior leaders from each company were joined at the event by Saudi government guests including Vice Minister, Eng Mansour bin Hilal Al Mushaiti, of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and Deputy Eng Albader bin Adil Foudah of Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, in addition to US Consul General in Jeddah, Faris Asad and Commercial Counsul, Julie LeBlanc.
The partnership is well positioned to help sustainably meet the growing demand for poultry in the kingdom, while also supporting the kingdom's food security goals and economic growth. As one of the world's leading food companies, Tyson Foods is committed to providing protein to a growing population across the Middle East.
Halal food market
The companies discussed the growing Halal food market and the opportunities it presents to unlock future growth for the partnership. Both companies also discussed future expansion plans to increase the processing capacity of the Supreme Foods Processing Company.
As per the partnership agreement, Tyson Foods and Tanmiah will be jointly investing in the expansion of further processing capacity. The expansion is anticipated to increase the total production capacity of Supreme Foods Processing to nearly 100,000 metric tonnes annually.
Zulifqar Hamadani, CEO, Tanmiah Food Company, said: "It was an honour to welcome our partners at Tyson Foods to the kingdom as we build momentum following the recent signing of our strategic partnership that will unlock growth across the kingdom and improve access to high-quality processed poultry products. We also believe the partnership strengthens our commitment to supporting the kingdom's food security and self-sufficiency goals."
Food security
Ahmed Osilan, Executive Board Member & Managing Director, said: "This partnership will contribute to food security goals and bring global expertise, standards and technology to the Saudi poultry market, supporting the kingdom's non-oil economy while also generating hundreds of jobs in the Makkah region."
Amy Tu, President, International and Chief Administrative Officer, Tyson Foods, said: "Tyson Foods is pleased to be partnering with Tanmiah in the kingdom to address the importance of food security. A key part of our strategic plan is to meet the growing global demand for protein and to serve customers and consumers with products tailored to the local market and region. Our partnership with Tanmiah Food will allow us to address that plan, especially the growing demand for Halal food. We are excited to build a long-term partnership and drive future economic activity in the kingdom."
TAN Sun, President, Tyson Foods Asia Pacific, said: "We are committed to working together to drive operational excellence and deliver high-quality poultry products across the region. We are aligned on the need for future expansion across the value chain and improvements to production processes. We look forward to further collaboration."-- TradeArabia News Service
As outdoor recreation and tourism on public land skyrocket, a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate aims to increase collaboration between national parks and the communities around them.
The Gateway Community and Recreation Enhancement Act would mandate that the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture coordinate with so-called gateway communities to national parks and other high-use federal recreation lands to better understand and address the challenges the communities face due to increased tourism and recreation. The bill would also create a pilot program for providing visitors with real-time data on park crowds and alternative recreation sites that may be less busy.
The Department of the Interior oversees the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The Department of Agriculture oversees the U.S. Forest Service.
The bill, S. 390, was introduced by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, in the Senate Feb. 13. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, is the bills co-sponsor. As of Monday, the bill had been assigned to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee but hadnt yet received further action. King is the chairman of that committees National Parks Subcommittee; Daines is the subcommittees ranking member.
Montanas national parks and public lands are the crown jewels of the United States, and our Montana gateway communities know firsthand the benefits and the challenges they bring, Daines said in a statement. Just as we protect our great outdoors, we also must take care of the communities supporting our national parks, especially as they face record visitation that has put a strain on their businesses, employees and housing.
Daines introduced a similar bill under the same name in the 2022 Congress. That bill, also co-sponsored by King, was later bundled into the Americas Outdoor Recreation Act of 2022, a larger package introduced by Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, and Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso. The Manchin bill collected an additional 17 co-sponsors eight Republicans, seven Democrats and two Independents including Daines and King. But the bill never made it to the Senate floor.
The revived Gateway Community and Recreation Enhancement Act grew from six pages last year to 11 pages in this iteration. The bill defines a gateway community as a community that serves as an entry point or is adjacent to a recreation destination on federal recreational lands and waters or non-federal land at which there is consistently high, in the determination of the secretaries (of the Interior and Agriculture), seasonal or year-round visitation.
In an interview Tuesday, Glacier National Park Superintendent Dave Roemer said he had a tough time finding housing when he moved to the park for the job last summer: "It wasn't easy for me, and I'm the superintendent." The park brings on upward of 400 seasonal staff for the summer, in addition to about 100 year-round employees, he said.
"Not all of them are in housing; our housing stock is not that great," he said, noting that a portion of seasonal staff must find their own housing. The park received additional funding to rent enough local apartments to house 30 more seasonal workers, he said. But that's if the park can actually secure the units. "Everyones hiring seasonal help for all the hotels, restaurants, the park concessions. Its a lot of people looking for housing."
Kevin Gartland of the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that increased visitation exacerbates our communitys infrastructure woes, specifically with regard to traffic congestion, parking shortages and public transit. Racene Friede, president and CEO of the Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission, said in a statement that at different times of the year, many of our communities are at a breaking point housing shortages, unsustainable demands on infrastructure, negative impact on natural resources and the positive economic impact of tourism is being negated by the toll on the communities.
The bill would aid communities by encouraging the dispersal of recreation and tourism to more places, supporters said. It would also garner more federal support for gateway communities.
Specifically, the bill would direct Interior and Agriculture to collaborate with state and local governments, tribal nations, housing authorities, nonprofits and other stakeholders in gateway communities to better understand housing shortages, demands on municipal infrastructure, visitor accommodations, and other tourism and recreation sites nearby. The departments could address those needs by providing money or technical assistance through existing programs, or by issuing special-use permits, leases or rights-of-way.
The bill would also direct the departments to aid gateway communities through the use of existing, or the establishment of new, entrepreneur and vocational training programs, technical assistance programs, low-interest business loan programs, and loan guarantee programs. The departments may partner with a gateway community or local business in a gateway community to achieve those goals.
The bill would also require the departments to compile an annual report tracking visitation in a consistent manner for every unit of federal recreation land and water in the U.S. The departments would have to track participation in a variety of recreation activities across the units.
And, the bill would create the Real-Time Data Pilot Program, aimed at offering the public real-time or predictive visitor data for federal recreation land. The departments would have to debut the program within two years in 15 national parks and five national forest sites. Within five years, the program would be expanded to more than 100 sites.
In addition to offering real-time data on how busy a park or other recreation site is, the program would recommend lesser-known recreation sites nearby, including those managed by other federal agencies, or a state or local agency.
The bill would also require a digital version, available on mobile devices, of the America The Beautiful Pass for national parks and other federal lands.
A woman who sent millions of dollars overseas and opened over 50 bank accounts was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly five years of prison time.
Theresa A. Chabot, 58, pleaded guilty in September 2022 to running unlicensed money transmitting businesses, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen imposed a 57-month sentence in Chabots case and ordered she pay $2,043,340 in restitution. Her time in custody will be followed by three years of supervised release.
Chabot also has to forfeit a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe.
As a money mule, Chabot laundered millions of dollars collected through various fraud schemes across the country and sent proceeds overseas while keeping a share of the money for her own benefit, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said in the press release. Chabot exploited and harmed numerous trusting victims and now rightfully faces the consequences of her criminal conduct. As this case shows, our office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who criminally exploit others.
From May 2017 to February 2021, the press release stated Chabot used her business, Avalanche Creek LLC, to collect money from multiple wire fraud schemes. That money landed in her bank accounts, and Chabot funneled it to various other countries, including the United Arab Emirates.
Chabot received 10% of the funds into her accounts. According to the press release, she preyed on the elderly, fantasies of love, friendships, purported oil investments, advance-pay schemes and gold and silver.
Chabot opened over 50 bank accounts, the press release stated. Banks closed many of those accounts when they flagged fraudulent activity and misuse. In 2018, the U.S. Secret Service informed Chabot she was acting as a money mule, but the government alleged she ignored the warning and continued illegally transmitting money. During a 2020 interview with authorities, Chabot reportedly admitted that in one instance, she received $10,000 in cash hidden in a stuffed animal that she deposited into her account.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan G. Weldon prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation.
Montana authorities are giving limited information on a lethal force and hostage situation reported at the Clinton Market over the weekend, but confirmed the suspect was the individual killed.
Deputies responded to what the Missoula County Sheriffs Office described as a suicidal man holding his wife hostage at the Clinton Market at about 11:19 a.m. on Saturday.
"The situation unfortunately evolved to the point where deputies were forced to use lethal force," a press release from the Missoula County Sheriffs Office on Saturday said. The release didnt spell out what kind of lethal force was employed or if deputies used non-lethal options first.
On Tuesday, Montana Department of Justice Spokesperson Emilee Cantrell said in an email to the Missoulian that there was only one suspect in the incident, and he was the only person upon which lethal force was used. She said the suspect was armed when deputies arrived.
On the day of the incident, the sheriffs office said that the Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation would handle the investigation.
Cantrell said that was the limit of information she had because of the ongoing investigation, and didnt answer questions about whether mental health professionals responded to the scene, if non-lethal force methods were used, how long deputies were on scene for, if the woman reportedly being held hostage was harmed, or what kind of lethal force was used.
The Ravalli County Sheriffs Office is acting as the coroner in the case. The name of the person who died hasnt been released yet.
Sen. Jon Tester visited with Montana leaders in higher education and technology to discuss how the state could best secure federal funding that would transform it into an innovation hub.
Those invited to participate in the roundtable event at Missoula College on Tuesday afternoon made their case about how creating a technology and innovation hub in Montana will benefit the state.
I look around the room and I see a lot of people whove been working with me to get us to this point, Tester said. Youve put Montana research institutions on the map, youve grown and created businesses in Montana. Youve laid the foundation for the next step that if done properly, will be a step that we all take together.
Tester served on a committee that helped draft the final version of the bill, known as the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, with the acronym representing Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors. The bill seeks to strengthen the countrys manufacturing supply chains and global position by investing in new research and development opportunities in the United States.
The bill created nearly $100 billion to be used for the development of semiconductors (also known as integrated circuit chips used as computer processors) and other research and workforce development opportunities. Within that funding, $10 billion will go toward the creation of Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs, which could be located in rural areas like Montana.
At least 20 hubs will be established with at least one-third of those hubs providing significant benefit to small and rural areas. At least one of the hubs must be headquartered in a low-population site.
Let me be clear, I am going to be working very, very hard over the next few months, as I have the last few months, to make sure Montana is home to one of these tech hubs, Tester said. The truth is, I cant do it alone. Thats where you come in.
Leaders with the Montana University System and representatives from the University of Montana, Montana State University, Montana Tech and Salish Kootenai College spoke about how their research and workforce training opportunities could be utilized in a regional tech hub.
UM President Seth Bodnar expressed his excitement about the possibility and how it could continue to expand research efforts at the university, which recently achieved R1 research status. He noted that Montana would be a competitive candidate for a tech hub due to its strong research output by campuses across the university system.
Its about more than just our university system, Bodnar said. Its about the employers and Im very grateful to be on this panel with employers whose research spawns new companies.
Sandra Boham, president of Salish Kootenai College, spoke about how creating higher paying jobs in Montana will benefit her graduates, who generally would prefer to stay in their home communities to work.
Montana is so positioned because we have incredibly bright minds, we have incredibly talented people who want to contribute to our state and stay in our state, Boham said. We have an entrepreneurial mindset because not everywhere you go is going to have a job there and you might have to create your job.
While many of the panelists on Tuesday came from the states main population centers, Tester is hopeful that if Montana is selected for a regional tech hub, it will stretch across the state into rural communities through a framework already constructed through four-year, two-year and tribal colleges.
It could also help revitalize industry in rural communities, he said. For example, communities like Sidney where the sugar beet processing plant is set to close in April could harness development opportunities with water use and water management, which could also come to benefit local agriculture producers in the area.
Theres going to be plenty of opportunities, Tester said. Where the challenge is going to be is just realizing that there is opportunity and going out and getting it because its not going to come to you.
GREAT FALLS A 15-year-old boy was shot while walking to school Tuesday morning and suffered potentially life-threatening injuries, police in Great Falls said.
A 14-year-old boy is in custody on suspicion of assault with a weapon, police said.
Area residents heard gunshots just before 8 a.m. and then heard the victim yelling that he had been shot. Students and staff at Great Falls High School were asked to shelter-in-place while officers searched for the suspects, who reportedly ran away after the shooting.
A 16-year-old and a 15-year-old were initially questioned before the 14-year-old was taken into custody and the gun was located. The boy is a homebound middle school student, who can take classes online, but is not allowed on school property, officers said.
The shooting was a result of ongoing disagreements, police said. The victim was out of surgery by Tuesday afternoon and police said he was hospitalized in stable condition.
The state Senate on Tuesday gave initial approval to a bill that would prohibit physician aid in dying in Montana.
The issue has been a murky one in the state since the 2009 Baxter v. State decision from the Montana Supreme Court, which found that physician aid in dying was not against the public policy established in state code that says consent of the victim is a defense to a criminal offense.
The court did not say, however, if physician aid in dying is protected under the state Constitution. Thats left things unclear for the last nearly 15 years, as legislators in each session since they have tried and failed to bring bills on both sides of the issue, but mostly to outlaw the practice.
This sessions version is Senate Bill 210 from Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila. It cleared a second reading in the Senate on a 26-24 vote, a tally that could shift when senators take a final vote on the bill expected Wednesday. Eight Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.
The Legislature in the state of Montana needs to step up to the plate and be clear about whether physician-assisted suicide is going to be legal in the state of Montana or not, Glimm said on the Senate floor.
His bill would state that physician aid in dying is against public policy and that consent cannot be used as a defense to the charge of homicide. It was amended in a committee to say that the term "physician aid in dying" does not include the act of withholding or withdrawing a life-sustaining treatment or the provision of comfort care medication or treatment. That change was meant to protect access to palliative care.
Glimms main opposition to physician aid in dying is the slippery slope argument.
No matter how many rules you put around it, it's a slippery slope and you don't know how far you will go before we're having this be rampant and common, Glimm said.
He used Canada, which since 2016 has allowed for aid in dying, as an example. In 2021, there were 10,064 deaths reported under that provision, which made up 3.3% of all deaths in Canada.
To be eligible, a person must have a serious and incurable illness, have enduring and intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated under conditions the person considers acceptable, be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capacity, among several other provisions, according to Canadian government documents.
The most current version of Canada's law allows for a person solely suffering from a mental illness who meets all eligibility criteria and other safeguard mechanisms to be eligible for aid in dying starting this March. However, the government is seeking to delay that implementation from this March until next year.
Glimm argued that Montana, which repeatedly and for decades has had the highest or almost highest rate of suicide completions in the country, needs to be sending a strong anti-suicide message in all scenarios.
I don't think that we can be consistent in that message saying that if you're old enough, if you're sick enough, it's OK, but if you're young or whatever ailment that you have, that's not OK. I think it needs to be the policy of the state of Montana that suicide is not the answer, Glimm said.
But state Sen. Jen Gross, a Democrat from Billings, spoke against the bill and called into question the slippery slope argument.
I have never seen any evidence that this freedom that we have as Montanans is being abused. Fortunately, we're not Canada. We're Americans, we're Montanans and we're not going down any slippery slopes toward endorsing suicidality, Gross said.
She also said it was important to not conflate the issue of suicide completions and physician aid in dying.
Gross also read testimony from a man who testified on the bill in committee and spoke about his wife, who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs disease.
To be clear, she wants to live but she wants peace of mind knowing that she has some level of control over the disease and the ability to decide when the quality of her life is gone, Gross read from the testimony. That decision will be hers.
Gross asked senators to reject the bill.
I dont think we should be taking away this freedom from Montanans who are terminally ill and who are suffering. I believe that terminally ill Montanans deserve some glimmer of hope, control and dignity as they approach the end of their lives, Gross said.
The House Appropriations Committee on Monday tabled a proposal to put $72 million of the state's surplus into its school facilities trust fund, despite overwhelming bipartisan support on an earlier House vote.
House Bill 321, sponsored by Rep. Linda Reksten, R-Polson, would have also temporarily shifted the majority of new coal tax trust revenue to a new conservation district trust fund.
That fund would be capped at $100 million, and as proposed, was projected to fill up within several years. The measure won support from Gov. Greg Gianforte, as well as groups representing school boards and conservation districts in the state.
The committee vote saw hard-line Republican lawmakers team up with four Democrats to defeat the proposal, 14-9.
Committee Chairman Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, didn't say Tuesday whether negotiations were ongoing to revive the bill, but suggested Democrats could vote in unison to pass it out of committee.
It previously drew unanimous support from the House Taxation Committee and earned an initial 83-17 vote on the House floor before it was re-referred to the budget committee.
The Senate gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill that would add some rules to how Montana would select delegates if a conventions of states is called to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Senate Bill 211 is sponsored by Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings. It follows McGillvray's failed effort earlier in the session to pass a resolution calling for a "convention of states" under Article V of the Constitution. After initially passing 51-49, that resolution failed on a tie vote.
On Tuesday, McGillvray cast his latest proposal as one that should ease the concerns of some lawmakers who voted against the resolution. Several opponents to that measure had cited a lack of specifics when it comes to how delegates will be chosen for such a convention, if it happens.
Calling a convention of states requires the say-so of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states in country.
The Senate voted largely on party lines to pass the bill, with a 31-19 vote. One Democrat voted to support it, while four Republicans voted against it.
A bill introduced Tuesday in the House Judiciary Committee would amp up criminal penalties for therapists who abuse the power dynamic with their clients.
If passed, Rep. Amy Regier's House Bill 525 would subject psychotherapists who sexually abuse their clients to a specific felony charge, with a potential life sentence in prison. The bill would also require those therapists to register as a sex offender, so the conviction would be out in view for potential patients and employers.
Mercedes Oxford Kemp is a disabled veteran who testified in support of the bill Tuesday. Last year the Veterans Crisis Line connected her with a therapist for her suicidality.
In September, after a suicide attempt, her therapist sexually assaulted her. She reported the therapist to law enforcement and secured a conviction, albeit a misdemeanor.
"I needed help," she said. " The licensing board was notified of this conviction. Despite this conviction, they still have a license to practice as a professional counselor."
Along with a placement in the sex offender registry, Regier's bill would require therapists convicted under this law to complete sex offender treatment, as is the case when sexual assault crime rises to a felony level.
"These changes in the law will allow other Montanans the opportunity to make informed decisions on which counselor they want to see and in what capacity," Oxford Kemp testified Tuesday.
The committee did not immediately vote on the bill.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester announced Wednesday he will run for re-election in 2024.
Nearing the end of last year, Tester said he would decide soon on if hed run again. After taking time and talking with his wife, they decided it was important to try to keep a rural voice in the Senate.
There needs to be a more rural perspective in Washington, D.C., dealing with everything from the Farm Bill to making sure that family farm operations continue to feed the world to our veterans, in a state where we're proud to serve in the military and 10% of our people are veterans, to the work that I do in national security on the Defense Appropriations Committee and the fact that weve got one of the biggest deterrents to war sitting right here in our state with 150 ICBMs, Tester said in an interview Wednesday. I thought it was the right thing to do for Montana.
Tester's race is expected to be one of the hardest-fought in the country as Democrats aim to hold a narrow majority in the U.S. Senate.
In 2018 Tester won re-election to his third term by defeating now-U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale by 3.5 percentage points. Two years later, Republicans swept every statewide office in Montana by large margins, leaving Tester the lone Democrat holding a statewide elected office. Rosendale is expected to run in the GOP Senate primary in 2024, along with newly elected U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, the former Secretary of the Interior.
The 2018 Senate race was the most expensive in Montana history, and held that title until the 2020 match between Republican Sen. Steve Daines, who beat former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. Late last year Daines was elected chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, putting him squarely in charge of the effort to turn Montana's other Senate seat red.
GOP playbook
The NRSC was quick to release a statement following Tester's announcement Wednesday.
The Tester-Biden agenda has given Montanans rising crime, higher taxes, and an open southern border that is flooding communities with deadly fentanyl. Montanans are going to send Joe Bidens favorite Senator packing in 2024, spokesperson Maggie Abboud said in a press release.
In an address to the state Legislature on Monday, Tester called for a more secure southern border while dinging the Biden administration's actions. And in the Wednesday interview, he said it's not surprising to see Republicans already working to tie him to national Democrats.
We know what the other side is going to do. The other side's gonna try to make me into something I'm not and trying to run against that person. That's what they've done every single time I've run. But the bottom line is this is about Montana. It's about how we keep this place the last best place. And that's how you win the elections, Tester said.
Lee Banville, a political analyst and director of the University of Montana School of Journalism, said Montana voters can expect to hear the names of other elected national Democrats frequently in the Senate race.
I expect that whoever runs against him is going to be running as much against Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer as they are Jon Tester, Banville said Wednesday.
Tester himself said he doesn't object to the characterization that D.C. has its problems.
There's not a lot of debate here. All you have to do is look at the speakership race and you know how screwed up Washington, D.C., is but the bottom line is Montana has got to be above that, Tester said. The representatives back there need to be above that. I need to be above that."
Tester spent Wednesday morning at a VA roundtable, so he hadnt seen the early digs at him, but said he knew what to expect and how he'd counter it.
Im going to combat it by talking about Montana, Tester said. ... This is about Montana, and this is about who best to take that rural message and drive it home back in Washington, D.C., when there's damn few people that know rural America back there."
Previous races
Tester first won the Senate seat in 2006 against incumbent Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, who was under fire for earmarks tied to lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He won his re-election bid against former U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg in 2012, in a close race where Libertarian Dan Cox snagged a meaningful percentage of the vote. The 2018 victory was the first in which he captured more than 50% of the vote.
Since his last race, Montana Democrats faced a trouncing in the 2020 election, and didn't fare well in the 2022 midterm.
While politics have only become more nationalized, something statewide Democrats cited as an insurmountable challenge in the last two cycles, Banville said Tester faced the mother of all nationalization from four visits to Montana from then-President Donald Trump to rally against Tester and for Rosendale in 2018 and Tester still overcame it.
(Rosendale) had a very popular national figure (in Trump) throwing the kitchen sink at Tester and it didnt work, Banville said.
A question lingers about the electorate in Montana, however, Banville said, and if theyve remained voters who buck the national trend of straight-ticket voting or are beginning to look more like other states. Theres little question whomever the Republican presidential candidate is in 2024, he or she will win the state. The last time a Democrat running for president won here was 1992, though former Democratic President Barack Obama came within 2 percentage points in 2008. Otherwise, a Republican hasn't gotten less than 55% of the vote in two decades.
Presidential races draw more voters, and in the past that was thought to benefit Democrats, but anyone who paid attention to the 2020 election in Montana would question that logic now.
Even so, Banville said, this race may be so significant its the thing that drives voter turnout more than the presidential race.
Its been a long time since Montana Democrats had a good cycle, Banville said.
They've had moderately bad cycles and really bad cycles and theyve not had a lot of electoral traction since really, I would argue yes there was the Tester win in '18 but before that its really 10 years theyve been in the doldrums, Banville said. Since 2012, that really was their last kind of solid performance.
But Banville described Tester as a force in Montana politics thats kind of unique it seems that he gets people excited and interested.
Tester on the ballot, along with new legislative districts and the still-fresh western U.S. House seat, could mean a strong year for Democrats showing up at the polls, Banville said, but its still far too early to tell. The 2024 ballot will feature the Senate race, in addition to both of the state's U.S. House seats and the five statewide elected offices including governor. Legislative races will be the first held with new districts that Republicans have argued tilt too much toward Democrats. Currently the GOP holds a supermajority in both chambers.
Its going to be a very hard-fought, probably brutal race, and so it will fire up just as many Republicans as it will Democrats, Banville said.
The Montana Democratic Party also released a statement Wednesday.
Unlike people in Washington, Jon understands the challenges working families are facing, and hell take on anyone in order to defend our great Montana values," said Montana Democratic Party Chair Robyn Driscoll " Jon is going to continue to focus on fighting for our veterans, lowering costs for Montana workers and families, and holding Washington accountable and thats exactly why voters will re-elect the Senates only working farmer in 2024.
GOP primary
Given the incredibly slim majority Democrats hold in the Senate and Montanas electoral hue, its obvious why Republicans are targeting the race.
This is one of the top targets for Republicans to carve at the narrow majority Democrats have, Banville said.
If both Zinke and Rosendale join the GOP primary, it could be a bloody battle and that could benefit Tester, Banville said.
Republicans could have a very damaging primary. That could be a key for Tester, Banville said.
The ideal scenario for a candidate trying to unseat an incumbent is to face a token primary challenger that allows you to raise and spend money thats less about your primary race and more about your general election bid. Thats not likely for whoever ends up facing Tester, Banville said.
Youll have to slug it out to get to the starting line to run against what will be a well-funded, well-organized and, if history has any indication, well-run campaign by Jon Tester, Banville said. The more that primary fight sucks up time, energy and money and drags dirt and bad feelings between Republicans up, the more it might help Tester in the general election. Republicans spending several months taking pot shots at each other is helpful (for Tester).
Tester's campaign donations heading into the 2024 election cycle total $4.5 million, including $1.2 million in donations from political action committees. He has been raising money for re-election since January 2019.
Rural focus
Tester said he aims to focus on elevating rural and veterans issues. Tester is the chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and has made veterans issues one of the main focuses of his time in office.
I just don't think there's a full understanding of what it's like when you need a prescription and you have to drive 40, 50 miles one way to get it because TRICARE takes a pharmacy off of their list," Tester said. It's not like you run out of milk, you walk around the corner and pick up a carton of milk at the corner store. It's a different world in rural America, Tester said.
Tester pointed to broadband as an issue that illustrates the challenges, where houses are spread far apart, which makes delivery of service more difficult, but that doesnt mean that those homes need fast internet any less than those in urban areas.
If you dont have folks like me back there saying we need the tech hub in rural America because quite frankly, it's Silicon Valley and the Northeast that gets all this tech attention when were doing some pretty damn good work our university system and in the private sector here in Montana, then we get forgotten about and so that's why that voice is so really, really important, Tester said.
He'll also try to stay above the fray of political knockout fights in the race.
"We're going to respect people's opinions. Compromise is not a bad thing. We're going to move this country forward, keep it the leading economic power and leading military power in the world, (which) is something that, by the way, is very much at risk. If we don't have people back there that understand that and understand you can't play politics with every damn thing that comes down the pipe, then we're in trouble. And I think Montanan's are smarter than that," Tester said.
It's got to be about Montana. It's got to be about common sense. It's got to be about effectiveness. It's got to be about rural traditions, it's got to be about all those things."
Like many teachers, Salma cares for children that aren't biologically hers.
As co-director of the Salam Cafe in Kabul, Salma was able to provide a refuge for some of Afghanistan's poorest children -- tens of thousands of whom have been forced onto the streets, according to UNICEF estimates, where they often have to beg for money to help pay for food for their families.
Salam Cafe, a nonprofit that focuses on children in poverty, has been a safe place just for kids, where they can rest during the day, get a hot meal and have access to books.
The organization has also helped educate children as well as give their families tools to farm and provide for themselves.
And then the Taliban tore Salma away from her work. (ABC News agreed not to use Salma's last name because of safety concerns.)
MORE: 9-year-old Kabul street peddler finds temporary safe haven in kids cafe
The Taliban, which took over Afghanistan's national government after a major offensive in 2021, announced in late December that women can no longer work with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which encompass many key aid groups. Without their support, women and children are left hungry, cut off from employment and education.
Taliban officials cited "serious complaints" that some of the women working with the NGOs weren't wearing the proper head coverings, according to the Associated Press.
The Taliban has also forbidden formal education for all girls after sixth grade, reversing a previous promise after seizing the national government.
Together, those restrictions effectively keep women and girls away from Salam Cafe. It is now run only by male staff.
"That day, when we closed the cafe for girl kids, all of them cried a lot. All the girls [were] so sad," Salma said.
PHOTO: Salam Cafe can no longer help educate girls over the age of 12 and women can no longer be a teacher or help feed impoverished children. (Courtesy of Salam Cafe)
NGOs in Afghanistan provide most of the employment opportunities for women, according to Save the Children. Large organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross provide medical care while other organizations like Salam Cafe focus on the needs of specific children and families.
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Without women working for NGOs, aid groups can't help those who may be intimidated by male workers, advocates say.
The president and CEO of Save the Children, Janti Soeripto, said that when she's visited Afghanistan, she focused on severe malnutrition in children and saw hospitals where Afghan women would only let other women examine them.
"It's simply not possible to do our work effectively and safely if we can't do that with women," Soeripto said. She has said that about 16,000 Afghan women were working for NGOs. While there are some exceptions for the women to keep working, related to health care and education, according to the U.N., other concerns remain.
Soeripto said she recently spoke to Taliban leaders to push for more access to women for NGOs. Salam Cafe's sponsor, Canadian-American Jasmin Mouflatd, said that this combination of restrictions on women is forcing them into poverty because there are hardly any kinds of jobs the Taliban will approve.
Salma no longer being able to educate girls with the cafe has been difficult, too, Mouflatd said.
"Salma is the glue that holds everything together. She is the one that will send invoices at 2 to 1 a.m. her time," Mouflatd said, adding, "If she was somewhere like in America ... she would be an asset to any company."
MORE: Thousands of Afghan allies resettled in the US face uncertain future
Afghanistan is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with 28 million people in need of aid out of a population of around 40 million, according to Save the Children. But Soeripto said her organization can now do less than half of all of their work in the country, compared to before Christmas, in light of the Taliban's ban.
More broadly, Soeripto also pointed to concerning signs that even when exemptions are granted for women, "they don't always get followed through at a local provincial level."
The same appears to be true of girls who want to keep pursuing schooling, the U.N. found, with about 200,000 still in secondary classes around the country despite restrictions handed down from the central government.
Salma remembered one incident in which a member of the Taliban harassed her for leaving her house without a man. She said he threatened her, telling her to wear a burqa, which is a full body covering.
"They take all our rights," Salma said. Afghan women, she said, are being erased -- from tinfoil and bags covering female mannequins' faces to the removal or banning of female teachers and role models.
Still, Salma described the resilience of women who are opening bakeries in their kitchens and hiring other women to help them make money.
"There are some women which fight against the Taliban and their behavior. They will not stop. Never they will. They will not stop their works," she said.
PHOTO: The Taliban banned women from working with international nonprofits, putting livelihoods of many women in question in a country with 97% of the population at risk of poverty. (Courtesy of Salam Cafe)
Mouflatd said that widows or female head of households are struggling to make rent. Her organization, Instant Aid, is helping these women by giving them chickens so they can sell eggs or teaching them crafts like embroidery to sell internationally.
Around a quarter of households in Afghanistan are women-led, according to the U.N.
"Decades of conflict resulted in a significant amount of women being widowed," Soeripto said.
She believes the Taliban will continue to try to push women out of public life.
"For us to just stand by and just pretend that that doesn't happen, I think [is] unconscionable," she said.
In a statement, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it has also been meeting with "relevant authorities, to ensure that we will be able to continue carrying on our life-saving humanitarian operations, to the benefit of the Afghan population."
"The international community needs sustained and increased engagement with the de facto authorities of Afghanistan, because there has to be a dialogue going as to how we can understand what the challenges are, what the issues are, and then how we can respond to that," Soeripto said.
"I'm worried that edicts ... make it easy for people to say, 'We cannot work in an environment like this so let's put it to work somewhere else,' and that will be incredibly short-sighted," Soeripto said.
For Salma, her biggest hope is for the return of peaceful stability to Afghanistan's government while women get their "human being rights, our women rights." She asked for the international community to "help us."
"My biggest fear is that if I raise my voice, the Taliban will kill me," she said. "If I fight against, that the Taliban will kill me. The Taliban will use violence against me. Maybe they use violence against my husband again, my brother? They will always use violence."
Afghans and advocates speak out after Taliban bans women from working with aid groups originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
EDGE announced today that it signed a contract valued at AED4 billion ($1.089 billion) to provide tactical communications and data-link solutions to the UAE Armed Forces.
As one of the worlds leading advanced technology and defence groups, EDGE will provide reliable and secure communications in the air, at sea, and on land. Announced at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2023), the contract will be executed over a period of four years.
Waleid Al Mesmari, Senior Vice President Electronic Warfare & Cyber Technologies, EDGE, said: We feel immense pride in signing this AED4 billion contract with the UAE Armed Forces, which is testament to the reliability of our technologies as well as the trust that our customers place in our solutions. Designed to meet future standards, our comprehensive and interoperable solutions will fortify the UAEs current capability with improved network communication that increases voice and data services linked into a broader range of UAE Armed Forces for both domestic and international operations while also ensuring national tactical data-link sovereignty in line with the UAE Leaderships mandate.
In another deal, EDGE Group entity, Halcon, a regional leader in the design and production of guided weapons systems and beyond, announced it has secured a contract worth AED1 billion with the UAE Armed Forces to supply Al Tariq-LR (long-range) precision-guided munitions (PGMs).
The new contract will enhance the UAE Armed Forces air strike capabilities through increasing standoff ranges with advanced AL TARIQ-LR PGMs. Additional features from a recent Block II upgrade will also be included. - TradeArabia News Service
Natural Resources Board members and the public listen to speeches during the meeting Wednesday in Madison.
MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers' newly appointed secretary of the Department of Natural Resources delivered a message Wednesday that the Legislature needs to "step up" to help protect the state's waters and to catch up to progress being made in other states.
Adam Payne made his first public appearance Wednesday before the Natural Resources Board, which sets policy for the agency.
DNR Secretary Adam N. Payne participates in the state Natural Resources Board meeting Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at the State Natural Resources Building located at 101 S. Webster, St.
In a lengthy speech, he highlighted his priorities for conservation and clean water across the state and encouraged the board to work without political influence to make decisions regarding the state's natural resources.
Payne said Wisconsin should be leading on clean water issues, not lagging behind other nearby states like it is with PFAS management and mitigation.
"We're going to need the Legislature to step up and work with us to make sure we are equipped to help local governments, individuals and families," he said. "And if they don't, how do we do the testing, how we do the monitoring?"
He highlighted the importance of safe drinking water and highlighted the governor's State of the State address Tuesday night in which he set PFAS as one of the top priorities to address and pledged more than $100 million in funding.
"I do not see water quality for natural resources protection as a partisan issue. I don't think it should be partisan. I think every single person in this state should expect to be able to turn on the faucet and have clean safe water. It's a public health matter," he said.
"We want people to move to Wisconsin and raise their families here, start their businesses here, expand their business here, expand their farm operations here, whatever it may be. We have to have clean water, that should not be partisan."
More:Smith: New make-up gives Wisconsin Natural Resources Board chance to prove it can operate without partisanship
More:'This is not a partisan issue': Lawmakers consider using historic state budget surplus to address 'forever chemicals'
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He also seemed to address the tension between the board and staff members over the past several years, which ultimately resulted in the cancellation of a meeting in September 2021, an action that hadn't occurred for the board in 21 years. The board also dealt with controversy over member Frederick Prehn's refusal to step down for nearly two years following the expiration of his term.
"We have different roles. We have similar goals," he said. "It's important work, communicating effectively and collaborating, making sure you get the information you need to make well-informed decisions. It doesn't mean you can't challenge the staff or ask for more information. But we've got to be working together."
Former board chair: 'We're accountable to the public, not the environment'
The board elected a new slate of officers. Member Bill Smith was elected chair, Marcy West was elected vice-chair and Sharon Adams was elected secretary. The elections were held at the end of the meeting without fanfare or tension as there has been in previous years.
Greg Kazmierski, the outgoing chair whose term ends later this year, had advice for the newly elected leaders and newly seated members. He said that members shouldn't be influenced by lobbyists or dependent on the outcomes of elections.
More:Text messages show Frederick Prehn sought to stay on DNR board to ensure conservative control
He said that though everyone wants clean water, the board has to find the balance in its decisions regarding water and make sure that solutions are affordable.
"I think it's really important for this board to understand that we are accountable to the public, not to the environment, not to natural resources, we are accountable to the public," he said. "So the public needs to weigh in and decide what direction we're supposed to go for this."
New board members Sandra Dee Naas and Paul Buhr took their seats on the board, participating in voting and asking questions of staff on a number of issues, including deer hunting and the Safe Water Drinking Loan program.
Wednesday's meeting was the first for the board since Prehn stepped down at the end of December. Prehn held over in his seat for nearly two years, denying Naas a chance to take her seat as a voting member.
The two years Prehn retained his seat, a decision that was upheld last year by the state Supreme Court, the board was fraught with political divisions between appointees of Evers and those appointed by former Gov. Scott Walker including Prehn.
Naas said she gained valuable knowledge over the past several years, observing from the audience, but is ready to get to work on the board.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how I can help move forward Wisconsin natural resources for the people in the state," she said in an interview. "I appreciate the opportunity to be able to serve."
Naas said she has not yet heard from members of the Senate about a confirmation hearing, which she has been waiting on since May 2021.
More:A year after being appointed to the DNR Board, Evers' selection Sandra Naas keeps waiting as Frederick Prehn still refuses to step down
Buhr, a dairy farmer from Viroqua, also took his seat for the first time Wednesday, after being appointed to fill the seat formerly held by William Bruins, who resigned from the board in December, before his term ended.
Bruins did not indicate in his messages to the Department of Natural Resources why he stepped down before his term ended.
"Every farmer wants clean water and the ability to farm and I want to represent that," he said in an interview. "I'm excited to do it."
Buhr has worked with dairy cattle since he was a child, graduated with an animal science degree from UW - Platteville and then owned his own farm for 45 years. The last of his herd was dispersed about two years ago, and he now tends fields of corn, soy beans and hay.
More:DNR board member Frederick Prehn's fight to extend term cost taxpayers $76K
He said he's hoping to translate his experience as a farmer into informed decisions on issues like managing nutrients stemming from farms that can get into drinking water and cause issues for residents, such as phosphorous and nitrates. He also helps to raise awareness of the Driftless Area, and to champion preservation of the unique area.
"I'll be more than happy to encourage more development of parks and recreation, of trails in this part of the state," he said.
Buhr also hopes to see the board return its status as a non-political entity, focused on protecting the state's land, air and water.
"I hope to base all my decisions on facts and reasonable deduction from those facts and I hope that we can work with all the groups that come before us in a fair manner and win their respect," he said. "Politics will not enter into my decisions. Everyone that lives in the state wants clean water and air."
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New DNR Secretary calls on lawmakers to 'step up' in protecting waters
Passengers on a plane Johan Marengrd / EyeEm / Getty Images
A Russian plane caught fire while taking off from an airport in Thailand, according to reports.
A top Russian official said it has "not become more dangerous to fly" in Russia after sanctions on the country's airlines.
Passengers reported hearing "the sound of crackling" before the plane caught fire.
Passengers captured video of a Russian passenger plane that caught fire as it was preparing to depart from the Phuket International Airport in Thailand.
Cellphone video obtained by The Sun shows the plane's wing smoking while the plane drives across the airport's tarmac.
Azur Air, the Russian airline that owns the plane, did not immediately return Insider's request for comment on Sunday. The company told The Sun in a statement that "airline technical specialists have already started work to eliminate the malfunctions."
The plane's passengers will be provided with a hotel, meals, and drinks while waiting for a new flight to Moscow, the company said in the statement. The aircraft could carry up to 321 passengers, The Sun reported.
Passengers reported hearing a loud "bang" and one said they "heard the sound of crackling" before the plane caught fire, The Daily Mail reported.
On Wednesday, the head of Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, Alexander Neradko, said he is confident that sanctions imposed on the supply of spare plane parts in Russia have not affected flight safety in the country, according to Simple Flying.
"Everyone who is responsible for aviation in our country made timely and correct decisions in response to the actions of those who joined the sanctions," Neradko said according to the outlet.
Neradko insisted that airlines "rearranging" spare parts to be used on different planes is a normal practice and said he expects Russian airlines to continue operating foreign-produced aircraft safely for the next seven years, Simple Flying reported.
It's unclear if the Azur Air flight underwent maintenance before departure and what caused it to malfunction.
"I am confident that it has not become more dangerous to fly - and it has nothing to do with the presence or absence of original spare parts," said Neradko said according to The Sun.
Read the original article on Insider
Starbucks has launched a range of olive oil-infused coffee drinks
Coffee chain giant Starbucks has announced that it is launching a line of olive oil-infused coffee drinks across its Italy stores.
The company will be using Partanna extra virgin olive oil in its drinks, which apparently offers a velvety smooth coffee experience.
Chief executive Howard Schultz has said that the new recipe unexpected, velvety, buttery flavour... enhanced the coffee and lingers beautifully on the palate.
US-owned comapany Starbucks has around 20 stores in Italy. The country is known for its independent and family-run cafes, and the chains presence is somewhat controversial for coffee fanatics in the region.
Now, theres going to be people who say, olive oil in coffee? But the proof is in the cup, Schultz wrote on the companys website.
The company will introduce the range, titled Oleato, to a selection of hot and iced drinks on its menus. After its Italy debut on Wednesday (22 February), it will be sold in stores in Southern California in the US this spring, before being released in the UK, Middle East and Japan, later this year.
The name is a play on the Latin word for olive and Italian word meaning with oil.
The drinks will be infused with Partanna extra virgin olive oil (Starbucks)
The range will be available in an iced shaken espresso, a latte and a bold brew coffee.
Starbucks said the cold brew is a silky infusion of Partanna extra virgin oil with vanilla sweet cream foam... slowly cascades through the beverage.
Starbucks new range is expected to spark controversy in Italy. Already, social media users arent convinced by the new recipe.
Is this a desperate diversification to target proper coffee-drinking Italians, wrote one person on Twitter.
I thought Starbucks couldnt do worse than that god awful battery acid pineapple drink or the pistachio drinks but now theyre making olive oil coffee apparently, added another.
One person wrote: Im really not convinced that putting olive oil in coffee is going to help Starbucks win over Italian coffee drinkers.
In 2018, some Italians called for a boycott of Starbucks when it announced plans to open its first Italian store in Milan.
At the time, Mr Schultz said: We are not coming to teach Italians how to make coffee. Were coming here with humility and respect, to show what weve learned.
Burke County Board of Education members are weighing whether or not to revisit the school calear issue after a state bill that would allow for an early start passed the House on Wednesday.
House Bill 115, is a local bill that would allow 10 districts across western and central North Carolina, including Burke, the flexibility to start next school year before Aug. 28. Currently, state law says school can start no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26. The bill passed the House 111-2 Wednesday, but still has to pass the Senate and be signed into law by Gov. Cooper.
Attempts to amend the calendar law in previous years had passed the House but stalled in the Senate. However, since the current bill only impacts 10 districts, it is unclear how this one will fare.
Earlier this month, after several weeks of debate, the Burke County Board ultimately approved a calendar complying with the current state law.
Board Chair Wendi Craven told The News Herald on Wednesday it is still too early to tell whether passage of the bill would send Burke County back to the drawing board on the 2023-24 school calendar.
In addition to Burke County, the bill, if passed, would impact:
Catawba County Schools
Cleveland County Schools
Cumberland County Schools
Davie County Public Schools
Hickory Public Schools
Newton-Conover City Schools
Rutherford County Schools
Wake County Public Schools
Yadkin County Schools
As bison move north out of Yellowstone National Park this winter in one of the largest migrations in a decade, a Montana legislative committee considered a bill on Tuesday that would set aside a portion of state hunting licenses for some landowners to kill the shaggy bovines.
House Bill 522, sponsored by Rep. Marty Malone, R-Pray, would allot 15% of the states bison hunting licenses to landowners and corporations owning a minimum of 20 acres whose property is used by bison.
Malone said a lot of the landowners next to the park are getting hammered by these very large critters and he thinks it is important to take action.
A calculation by Fish, Wildlife & Parks License Bureau chief Emily Cooper estimated almost 90 landowners would qualify under the guidelines outlined in the bill, 51 in Hunting District 385 north of the park and 36 in HD 395 west of the park.
Edwin Johnson, a Park County hunting outfitter who has access to the Royal Teton Ranch, was the lone proponent of the bill.
We need to do something about this bison situation, its really getting out of hand, he told the committee. Im in favor of anything that will get the ball moving to resolving this issue created by the park inside the park.
The Montana American Indian Caucus was the first of several opponents to the bill, noting the group holds the buffalo as sacred and at the center of Native spiritual life.
Ben Lamb, representing the Montana Wildlife Federation, said the states bison hunting licenses are the most difficult to draw in the state. Cooper said this past season saw 12,995 applicants for 85 licenses. The state has issued only 85 bison licenses for the past five years, she added.
Lamb said his group doesnt oppose landowner preference licenses, calling it a good program that rewards landowners for habitat they provide. But he questioned whether 20 acres was a suitable amount of land since its not enough to sustain a bison. Based on this and other concerns, MWF opposed the bill.
Katjana Stutzer, representing the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said there was nothing offered in the bill to the public in return for giving the landowners a license, such as access to hunt. She also said making the license transferable goes against state practices, especially for a corporation to transfer the license to a shareholder.
As written, the 15% would come from the existing quota of 85 state licenses, Cooper noted. That prompted a question from Rep. Jedediah Hinkle, R-Belgrade, about whether the bill could be modified so the 15% would be in addition to the existing quota of 85. Cooper agreed that could probably be done.
Rep. Marilyn Marler, D-Missoula, questioned how many of the landowners within the hunting districts were nonresidents, information Cooper did not have at hand.
Im afraid were just setting up an amenity for out-of-state, small-acreage landowners, Marler said.
When last updated on Feb. 17, Yellowstone National Parks record keeping showed Montana hunters had killed 74 Yellowstone bison this season. Tribal hunters, under federal treaty rights, regulate their own hunts.
Eight tribes had reported killing more than 500 bison. Another 88 were shipped to slaughter with the meat going to tribes. Eighteen bison were wounded by hunters and killed by wildlife officials. Another 40 bison were listed as unknown deaths, and about 100 have been removed for possible entry into the parks bison transfer program that sends disease-free live bison to tribes. Two-hundred-fourteen bison are being held in the parks capture facility for release or possible shipment to slaughter.
Altogether, with the hunt and removals, the bison population estimated at about 6,000 this fall has seen a loss of more than 1,000 animals, or about 17%.
According to Mike Mease, of the conservation group Buffalo Field Campaign, these numbers dont account for how many bison may die or lose their calves to the harsh winter conditions.
Darrell Geist, habitat coordinator for BFC, told the committee, Our primary objection is Montana does not provide for its self-sustaining population of wild buffalo. The statutory framework manages for the elimination of buffalo as they migrate into Montana ... Its our position Montana must stop taking and start giving back to buffalo.
As working mamas, we are emblematic of many Mountain Mamas across our state. Just last week as we teamed up to plan an important public lands rally at the capitol, Whitney was also taking care of her sick kiddo at home, on top of all of her other duties as Executive Director. Just three days later, it was Beckys turn with kids home sniffling with fevers.
Our laptops are still open and our calendars remain available as we plan everything from testimony for the next hearing at our states capitol, a lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., and the Rally for Public Lands in Helena next weekall amid the daily demands of being working moms.
To the mamas reading this, its nothing new. We know that life is full of hard things, and that when it comes to what matters to us most, distractions just make things worse. What we do is balance the work, tackle the hard problems and never let the small stuff distract us from our core values.
We get the important stuff done, because thats what women do. But what has become glaringly obvious is that this is not what is happening during the 68th Montana Legislature.
Instead of dealing with important issues like climate change or protecting critical habitat in the face of booming development, our elected representatives are avoiding the hard work by focusing on divisive cultural distractions.
Why? So they can amend Montanas constitution to take away our right to a clean and healthy environment. Because they think we wont notice when they steal over $30 million of voter-approved marijuana revenue from Habitat Montana, one of our states best tools to protect and access public lands.
While our middle schoolers are taught about the importance and foresight of Montanas constitution, our representatives are working to dismantle it. Theyre proposing bills limiting our right to privacy and our kids and everyone else's constitutionally guaranteed right to a clean and healthful environment.
Were mamas with jobs, needy kids and messy houses, but we will not be distracted by our representatives' attempts to co-opt what Montana voters have already approved.
Mamas know we are stronger together, our voices carry further and it's up to us to make a bright future for our kids. Thats why for the rest of this legislative session, Mountain Mamas and Montana Conservation Voters are partnering to advocate for the protection of the Montana Constitution, for our right to a clean and healthful environment, and for the right for our kids to grow up dipping their toes in cold, clear rivers and taking their rst deer on our public lands.
Were raising our families in Montana because of the rich outdoor quality of life, the vibrant communities we call home, and the neighbors who will give us that extra cup of sugar for Sundays pie. We refuse to buy into the culture war meant to pit us against each other, while our Montana way of life is attacked by angry, rear-facing, (usually male) representatives.
Were telling our elected officials not to ignore our votes and remember Montanans voted for recreational marijuana knowing a sizable chunk of the tax revenue would go to conservation. With population growth, we need more money for conservation not less. They better not think about stealing the funds we voted for and should kill HB 462.
Were rallying for our public lands in Helena on Feb. 23, letting our kids miss school to see democracy in action. We will show up to testify when needed; send out action alerts; and do it all whether or not we have noses to wipe, dinner to x, or a grant to write. We will do it because its what Mamas do. We are the mamas of Montanas conservation movement and we will not be distracted.
DES MOINES Former President Donald Trump announced key Iowa 2024 campaign staff today, bringing 2020 state director Eric Branstad and state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann on as senior advisors.
Marshall Moreua, who managed Iowa Attorney General Brenna Birds 2022 campaign that ousted longtime Democrat Tom Miller, will be Trumps Iowa state director.
Moreau will lead an unrivaled caucus organization throughout Iowas 99 counties, a news release from Trumps campaign said. Moreau has led national, state, and local political operations and has extensive experience in grassroots organizing.
Branstad, Trumps 2016 and 2020 Iowa state director and the son of former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, will join the campaign as a senior advisor. Branstad was senior advisor to the Department of Commerce during Trumps presidency.
Kaufmann, a Republican state representative from Wilton, will also join as a senior advisor.
Alex Latcham will serve as the early states director for the campaign, overseeing operations in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Latcham is a former deputy political director in Trumps White House and worked on the 2016 caucuses for the Iowa GOP.
Iowa will host the first-in-the-nation Republican caucuses during the 2024 presidential primary, making the state a key stop for candidates seeking the White House. National Democrats voted earlier this month to reshape the 2024 presidential nominating calendar, stripping Iowa of its first-in-the-nation status on the partys calendar.
In his news release, Trump said, We must always protect the Iowa caucuses.
With this incredible team of skilled professionals and their deep ties to Iowa, we will earn a dominant victory in the caucuses next year, the former president said.
WAPELLO After being found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in a Louisa County court for the death of Megan Reid, Derrick Maynard, 37, of Fairfield, is appealing the conviction, court records say.
On Oct. 27, 2022, Maynard filed a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court of the State of Iowa. No hearing date has been set, but the transcripts of the trial have been subpoenaed. A jury note from the original conviction said that eight of the jurors wanted to convict Maynard of second-degree murder and the other three did not believe it was intentional.
Maynard was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, A Class C felony, on Aug. 24, 2022, and on Sept. 30, 2022, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a fine of $10,000, and restitution of $150,000 to be paid to the estate of the heirs of the victims.
Maynard was convicted of intentionally colliding a U-Haul with a car, and killing Reid and injuring passenger Steve Scotton. The court narrative says Scotton reported Maynard and Reid had been arguing on the phone right before the crash, and Maynard allegedly said he had insurance on the vehicle. The investigation also determined Maynard intensely disliked Scotton.
At about 7:55 p.m. May 18, 2020, Maynard was driving a 2019 Ford F-650 U-Haul. Reid, 29, of Fairfield, Maynards girlfriend, was following in a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt with Scotton as a passenger. A crash report from the Iowa State Patrol shows the truck was traveling southbound on Third Street in Columbus Junction and made a U-turn, striking the car.
At the time of the collision, Reids vehicle was turning in the roadway perpendicular to the direction the U-Haul was traveling, the report said. It also says data recovered from the U-Hauls ancillary translator module revealed the U-Haul trucks accelerator pedal was fully depressed immediately before impact and no manual braking was applied. The U-Haul struck the car in the driver-side door at approximately 30 mph.
Louisa County Sheriffs Office, Louisa County Ambulance and the Columbus Junction Fire Department responded. Reid and Scotton were taken by Louisa County EMS to the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City where Reid died from her injuries.
EDITORS NOTE: Many years ago I attended a Mauck-Stouffer journalist training in Muscatine. The training was held in the conference room that is now right across the hall from my office. The Keynote speaker at that training was Bill Wundram, the legendary columnist from the Quad City Times. He was all smiles as he addressed the room full of young journalists with the words, We have to keep our bosses from knowing we have the best jobs in the world or they wont want to pay us. His enthusiasm and love of the craft was contagious. Last week, the Quad Cities lost its story teller. In honor of Mr. Wundram, we are rerunning his last column I found, dated May 6, 2018. Rest in Peace Mr. Wundram.
Ill take this cabinet, I told the young salesperson at the Quad-City store. It would hold most of our CDs, and had shelves and a door so they wouldnt fall all over the place. Besides, it was a dandy price, $99.95, marked down from $125.95.
I was disappointed when the salesperson said, Sorry, you cant have it. Youll have to take the one in the box and assemble it yourself.
I couldnt even lift the box without getting a hernia and asked if it might be delivered.
Thatll be $25, the clerk said.
Worried, I asked if it could be assembled for me.
That will be another $35, she said.
Already, it would be more than half the purchase price just to get this cabinet put together and into my den. I opted for delivery, and figured that even my monkey mind could assemble anything so simple as a bookcase.
Thus began the nightmare that all of us have faced, one time or another, in these post-holiday days: Assembly required.
What shocked me down to the socks was the eight-page instruction folio, with a warning on the very front, Do not contact store for parts or assembly assistance. It was suggested that I call a toll-free number if I had problems.
No question, there would be problems. In the carton was a plastic sack with about 5 pounds of screws and bolts and brackets. The mystic hardware included such names as hex head screws, Phillips head screws, mending plates, cam studs, plastic l-brackets, cam housings, wooden dowels, locking shelf pins and simple nails.
Also frightening was the notice: For reasons of manufacturing efficiencies, you may find extra hardware and unused holes in the parts. Come on, now. What kind of talk is that?
Still, I was assured by Step No. 1: This furniture is easy to assemble. Just follow these step-by-step instructions. Only screwdrivers and a hex wrench (whats that?) would be needed.
What a joke. If I could assemble this mess, I could build a space station.
The whole thing gave me the shakes. Every now and then my wife would check. She would find me clutching a handful of hex screws and moaning piteously. As you can imagine, the instructions were not meant for boneheads like me. Make sure all the housings are in their open position by pointing the arrow of the cam housings toward the holes in the edge.
Huh?
Well, my cabinet is assembled. It is handsome, with the CDs neatly in place inside and a small philodendron plant on the top. But dont give me any credit for this feat. By midnight I gave up. Next day, I called in a professional carpenter. It only took him two hours, but he admitted, It was a little tricky.
It made me feel good when he said, It was a little tricky.
Handshaking hazards, Part II
As you may have read in this daily repository of truth, I am concerned about germs going wild when people shake hands. A few responses:
THANKS for the column on handshaking and its consequences. I, too, am leery of shaking hands at the height of the flu season. Handshaking has always seemed more of an American thing to me. I prefer the Japanese greeting of bowing at a comfortable distance, says Becky Brown of East Moline.
Hey, maybe we should bow to one another. It works for the Asians, says Mary Thompson, chiming agreement with Becky Brown.
And from Msgr. Robert Schmidt, pastor of St. Anthonys Church in friendly downtown Davenport: With 2,500 worshippers every Sunday, we have recommended that there be no more handshaking in the Exchange of Peace until further notice.
Bowing, nodding, smiling is healthy but no handshaking.
Amen.
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the federal response to the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as a "betrayal" during a visit to the village where residents and local leaders are increasingly frustrated more than two weeks after the disaster.
Trump, wearing his trademark red "Make America Great Again" cap and an overcoat, said the community needs "answers and results," not excuses. He spoke at a firehouse roughly half a mile from where more than three dozen freight cars including 11 carrying hazardous materials came off the tracks near the Pennsylvania state line on Feb. 3.
"In too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal," Trump said. He appeared with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Mayor Trent Conaway and other state and local leaders, giving the visit the look of an official trip.
The former president and other Republicans have intensified criticism of the Biden administration's handling of the derailment, which led to evacuations and fears of air and water contamination after a controlled burning of toxic chemicals aboard the rail cars. The Biden administration, meanwhile, blasted Trump and other Republicans for loosening rail safety measures and environmental protections when Republicans were in charge in Washington though there is no evidence that having them in place would have prevented what happened in East Palestine.
The trip offered Trump, who is running for the White House in 2024, an opportunity to reprise the role he often held as president, when he surveyed disaster damage and met with impacted residents following tragic events. He said he would donate cleaning supplies along with pallets of what he said was Trump-branded bottled water to residents who remain concerned about the quality of their drinking water.
Trump seized on Biden's decision to make a surprise visit to Ukraine this week, saying he hoped Biden "got some money left over" for the residents of East Palestine when he returns. Biden, who has yet to come to the Ohio town, was traveling back from Poland on Wednesday after marking the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Biden White House defended its response to the derailment, saying officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies were at the rural site within hours of the derailment. The White House says it also offered federal assistance and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been coordinating with the state emergency operations center and other partners.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited the site last week and tried to reassure skeptical residents that the water was fit for drinking and the air safe to breathe.
"I'm asking they trust the government," Regan said. "I know that's hard. We know there's a lack of trust." Officials are "testing for everything that was on that train," he said.
Shortly before Trump arrived in Ohio, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced he would visit Thursday after also facing criticism for not coming earlier. He also urged Congress to raise the $225,455 limit on railroad safety fines at least tenfold.
Biden administration officials also called out a decision by the Trump administration to repeal an Obama-era Department of Transportation rule that would have requiring "high-hazard" cargo trains hauling large amounts of flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol to be equipped with more sophisticated, electronically controlled brakes by 2023.
Buttigieg said this week that the Federal Railroad Administration will look at reviving that brake rule, but the head of the National Transportation Safety Board pointed out that the brake rule couldn't have helped in this derailment because the train wasn't considered a "high hazardous flammable train." Regulators may now look at expanding which trains are covered by the "high hazardous" rules.
Before Trump's arrival, excavators picked up charred chunks of the rail cars that have been piled alongside the tracks and scooped up contaminated soil. Trucks were hauling contaminated water to a makeshift "tank farm," where it is being stored in metal containers before being taken to a hazardous waste site.
The village of just under 5,000 residents is near the Pennsylvania state line in Columbiana County, which grew increasingly Republican in recent years. Trump won nearly 72% of the vote in the 2020 election, and signs of his popularity remain clear.
Since the derailment, residents have complained about headaches, irritated eyes and other ailments. Thousands of fish have been found dead, and residents have talked about finding dying or sick pets and wildlife. Residents also are frustrated by what they say is incomplete and vague information about the lasting effects from the disaster and have demanded more transparency from rail operator Norfolk Southern. Some residents close to the tracks say there's still an odor inside their homes.
The gas that spilled and burned after the train derailment vinyl chloride is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers.
AD Gaming, the entity driving Abu Dhabis fast-growing gaming industry, has signed a partnership with Sawa Group, a leading game publishing and esports company, to facilitate expansion of publishers in the Mena region.
Sawa Group is a pioneer in the localisation of global video games, largely developed in China, and esports content, making Sawas established game library more accessible to Arabic speakers across the Mena region. In relocating to Abu Dhabi, Sawa group will be positioned in the heart of the regions largest community of game developers. With Sawa Groups game development expertise and access to content from the Asian continent, the local industry will continue to see unprecedented growth in the coming years.
The partnership agreement will bring together two leaders of industry in the gaming world, helping to facilitate the international expansion of Chinese gaming and esports companies through Abu Dhabi and providing the local industry with access to reach new content hungry audiences. Simultaneously, Sawa Group will benefit from being part of the largest cluster of gaming companies in the region, with opportunities to work alongside the ever-growing AD Gaming community on new and exciting projects.
Sultan Al Riyami, Head of Gaming & Esports at AD Gaming, said: Demand for high-quality gaming content across the Arabic-speaking world has never been higher. The opportunity to tap into this market from Abu Dhabi is substantial, and Sawas expertise in the localisation of gaming esports content addresses this head on. Since its inception, AD Gaming has succeeded in building an ecosystem that supports all segments of the gaming and esports sector. Bringing Sawa into the fold both diversifies and expands our community as we continue to advance Abu Dhabis gaming industry.
Jing Wang, CEO of Sawa Group, said: Aligned with AD Gaming, Sawa Group is dedicated to enhancing the gaming and esports ecosystem in the UAE, creating more opportunities for the countrys passionate gamers to experience global content in their native language. By supporting its thriving community, we are confident that Abu Dhabi will become a premier global destination for gaming and esports.
Through the collaboration and partnership with AD Gaming, Sawa Group hopes to balance game publishing and esport exposure to make Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE one of the worlds top centres for the gaming industry.
Sawa Group newly published the deep localised SLG game, Infinity Kingdom, which has been downloaded millions times across different app stores. Along with its own multi-channel network, Sawa Group also has partnerships with top tier TV channels in the Mena region, including MBC Group, through which Sawa try to build up the deep connection of game developer globally and the core of Arabic culture and all ages players and users in Mena area. TradeArabia News Service
WATERLOO A Waterloo woman has been arrested after her 1-year-old son was injured with drain cleaner.
The child also tested positive for methamphetamine and THC, according to court records.
Police arrested Kayla Lynn Tiefel, 23, on Friday on charges of child endangerment by meth exposure and neglect of a dependent person. Bond was set at $20,000.
A judge has issued a restraining order in the case.
Paramedics were called to her home at 1222 Lincoln St. on Jan. 5 for a report of a child with chemical burns.
Tiefel told investigators that she had just stepped out of the shower when she noticed the child had drain cleaner down the front of his onesie, records state.
Officers found an open bottle of Drano near where the son and another child had been. They determined the cleaner had been kept in an unlocked cabinet under the sink and didnt have a child safety cap.
The child suffered burns to the chest and esophagus and was transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City for an operation to remove and repair damaged tissue, records state. He was placed in a medically induced coma, records state.
While in the hospital, doctors tested a hair sample from the child and found traces of meth and THC, records state.
Police also found meth on top of a small refrigerator in Tiefels bedroom that would have been accessible to the child.
Tiefel is also awaiting sentencing in connection with a December 2021 home robbery on South Street.
Photos: Missing children in Iowa Alexandra Storm Hailey Coleman Jamira Debose Osbourne Breasia Terrell Julian Murray Daniela Salinas-mejia Jade Colvin Fredrick Workman Benjamin Roseland Erin Pospisil Marc Allen Eugene Martin John Gosch Kimberly Doss Colleen Simpson Caleb Williams Xavior Harrelson Alyssa Dluzak Fatima Conteh Daniela Vera-Ortega Xerxes Blaesing Jorge Peneda Castillo Anya Pritchard Desirae Gifford Daquan Nelson Diomarix Crespo
Cities and counties would lose authority to set up traffic cameras and collect revenue under a pair of bills Iowa lawmakers advanced on Wednesday.
One bill would require local governments to receive approval from the state Department of Transportation before placing a traffic camera on an interstate or state highway.
Local governments could only put traffic cameras in high-crash or high-risk locations and would have to exhaust all other traffic enforcement options before installing them.
The proposal, House Study Bill 161, mirrors regulations set by the DOT before they were struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2018, which found the department could not regulate city traffic cameras. There have been several attempts since then to rein in the use of the devices, which some lawmakers see as an infringement of privacy and argue cities are abusing the systems to bring in revenue.
We do believe some kind of statewide regulatory framework is necessary, said Rep. Phil Thompson of Boone, who chairs the Public Safety Committee. ...this is essentially just codifying what [the DOT] tried to do in 2018.
The bill passed the subcommittee with only Republican support.
Cities and counties also would be required to submit a yearly report to the Iowa DOT on the effectiveness of the cameras, which the DOT would use to determine whether to keep them in place.
Representatives for cities and law enforcement agencies argued the bill would remove the control cities have to regulate traffic. There are at least 10 cities that use enforcement cameras. Three cities LeClaire, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines have cameras on interstate highways.
If the Legislature is looking to provide a regulatory framework, I think we can work toward that, but adding state government into this would be difficult, David Adelman, a lobbyist for the Metropolitan Coalition told lawmakers. The Metropolitan Coalition represents Iowas 10 largest cities.
Lobbyists also said the cameras reduce crashes and keep police out of high-risk areas. Doug Struyk, a lobbyist for the city of Des Moines, said the traffic camera on Interstate 235 keeps police from pulling drivers over in a dangerous area of the road.
Theres no place to be, and youre going to end up injuring and killing officers, and youre going to injure the public by trying to pull people over and enforce traffic there, he said.
Traffic revenues would go to state fund
Another bill, House File 313, would direct the revenues gathered from traffic cameras to the state Road Use Tax Fund, a fund that pays for state and local road improvements. Vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes are currently directed to the fund.
Cities again opposed the bill, saying it would take away significant money that cities use to fund police positions and ease property taxes.
What this bill is doing is removing dollars that have gone to public safety, to police, to EMS, to fire, and removing those dollars from local law enforcement, Adelman said.
Larry Murphy, a lobbyist for the Iowa Police Chiefs Association and Cedar Rapids, said the city of Cedar Rapids uses its traffic camera revenues to fund 11 police positions, which would lose that funding source if the state redirects the money.
The bill passed the subcommittee with only Republican support.
Lawmakers advanced a bill earlier this month that would restrict cities to placing traffic cameras on city roads, counties on county roads, and allow the DOT to place traffic cameras on state roads.
The bills would need to advance through a committee before next Friday, the first funnel date, to remain viable, and Thompson said he isnt ruling any of them out.
Im going to give all these bills a subcommittee hearing and try to gather as much feedback and try to put together some kind of framework, Thompson said.
PHOTOS: Nikki Haley in Iowa Election 2024 Haley APTOPIX Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley
I have a lot to cover this week so lets get right down to brass tacks, to use a rather odd cliche. (Why brass?)
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The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new City Hall at the Napa Valley College Upper Valley Campus at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27. Go see the city staffs new home, and the future home of the St. Helena Police Department. My primary questions: Who shall be chosen to wield the comically humongous scissors? And how does one acquire such scissors?
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Supporters of local schools should head over to Brasswood Bar and Bakery from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday or Saturday, Feb. 24-25. Ten percent of your bill will be donated to Give Big!/St. Helena Public Schools Foundation. (This is the bakery next to the main Brasswood restaurant.)
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Lolos is getting in on the charity too. Visit the shop from noon to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 3-4 or noon to 4 on Sunday, March 5, and look for specially marked racks with $2-$10 items. All proceeds from those items will go to Give Big.
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Pacific Union College is presenting live performances of Jericho Road Feb. 23-25, and suffice to say this isnt your typical musical. Written and composed by Associate Academic Dean Lindsay Morton and starring Leila Beltran and Tyler Wilensky, Jericho Road is about the relationship between Jacob Carver and his wife, Leila. When life doesnt meet his expectations, Jacob leaves Leila and has an affair. As Morton puts it, Leila is left wondering how to be faithful to a man who has been unfaithful to her and to a God who seems to be absent. The twist is that each performance will have a different ending, reflecting the theme of choice. If youre as intrigued as I am, grab some tickets ($20 regular/$15 student) at Eventbrite.com and prepare for a thought-provoking evening.
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In other performing arts news, three St. Helena High School students were named among the 20 Napa County Students of the Month by the Arts Council Napa Valley Education Alliance for excellence in the visual and performing arts. First up is senior Gabriel DuBois in the Theater-Acting category. Says St. Helena Dramas Patti Coyle: Gabriel DuBois is an exemplary theater and choir student. He took on the extremely challenging role of Hercule Poirot in our fall production of Murder on the Orient Express and was also performing as Lumiere in the Napa Valley College Production of Beauty and the Beast. Last year Gabe also brought the house down as Gomez in our production of The Addams Family. Gabe has been an integral member of our Drama program all four years at SHHS.
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In the Theater Directing category is senior April Shaw. April has been a member of the drama family at SHHS since her freshman year, Coyle says. She has completed the CTE Drama pathway twice and is my teaching assistant for Drama 1 this year. This year, she co-directed our fall play, Murder on the Orient Express. At the same time, April played Belle in the Napa Valley College production of Beauty and the Beast. Finally, for her last show at SHHS, April has been cast as Laurie in 'Oklahoma!'
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And in the Visual Art category is senior Karley Martin. Karley shows dedication to work outside of class as well as in class, teacher Silvia Seyve says. Karleys strong work ethic allowed her to advance in her passion to capture the figure in movement and expression. She made a goal and applied herself. Karley is knowledgeable in studio art becoming a mentor artist in the classroom.
One of the most glamorous stars of St. Helena Dramas upcoming production of Oklahoma! doesnt have any lines. Its only job is to sit on stage, look pretty, and link the show to St. Helenas own pioneer past.
The McCormick Ranch buggy was carefully loaded onto a flatbed trailer on Feb. 15 and hauled to the St. Helena Performing Arts Center. Once Oklahoma! ends its March 10-19 run, it will return home to the St. Helena Historical Societys Heritage Center at the corner of Oak Avenue and Tainter Street.
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The buggy belonged to the McCormick Ranch at the top of Spring Mountain, founded around 1870 by William McCormick and Nancy York McCormick. Their descendants, Edna McCormick Learned and Sandra Learned Perry, donated it to the historical society.
Members of the society hope the buggys starring role will draw attention to the fledgling Heritage Center, which opened at the end of 2021 but has struggled to draw foot traffic despite being packed with the treasures of St. Helenas past.
We want people to know were here, Bonnie Thoreen, the historical societys board president, told the Star earlier this month.
That story the Heritage Center tells doesn't start in the pioneer days. A portion of the museum is devoted to the indigenous people who populated what is now St. Helena for thousands of years.
Along with arrowheads, mortars and pestles, theres a historic photogravure print of a Pomo woman photographed by Edward Curtis, who spent a decade documenting what was left of the Wests vanishing Native American culture. Arader Galleries donated the piece to the historical society.
The front of the museum features a rotating exhibit space thats currently occupied by Hilos Visibles (Visible Threads), a cultural project featuring quilt squares designed by Latino residents.
Like the Native American display in the permanent collection, Hilos Visibles is a way to recognize "all the various cultures that influenced this valley, said Kathy Carrick, a member of the historical societys board of directors.
Carrick noted that Spanish and Mexican settlers played important roles in developing the valley as we know it today, before the Italians and Germans started to arrive. For example, the widowed Maria Soberanes Bale, whose portrait hangs in the Heritage Center, significantly upgraded the Bale Grist Mill built by her late husband, Edward Turner Bale, and built the 36-foot waterwheel that turned the mill into an economic powerhouse.
She was an incredible woman, Carrick said.
Historic farming implements highlight St. Helenas agricultural heritage, hearkening back to the days when prunes, not grapes, were the predominant crop.
Yet even in the late 19th century visionary, grape growers were seeing St. Helenas potential as a wine region. A few Heritage Society mementos mark the establishment of the St. Helena Viticultural Club in 1875 by Charles Krug, Henry Pellet and Seneca Ewer.
In another corner are architectural remnants of the old Vineland School, one of the oldest poured-concrete buildings in Napa County, which stood on property now owned by Hall Wines.
Along one wall is a 10-foot segment of the bar from Gee Gees Tavern on Hunt Avenue, which opened shortly after Prohibition ended in 1933. Salvaged signs are all that remain of businesses like Caioccas Grocery Store.
I love the pieces that tell the stories of people, characters like Gee-Gee, said historical society board member Stephen Taplin, referring to Gee Gees founder Felix Freilone, an Italian immigrant.
Not far away is the St. Helena Stars 400-pound safe, along with a cash register that was capable of processing transactions as large as $7.90 (the Star used it well into the 2010s).
The Heritage Centers future is unclear. A nostalgic talk by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson and a lecture on the valleys Chinese laborers drew scores of people, but the Heritage Center has struggled to attract visitors during its open hours, which were reduced last June from four days per month to one.
Its frustrating that we cant get visitors on Main Street to step one block to the west and come see what weve got, Carrick said.
Rent on the space eats up most of the historical societys lean budget, and the Diocese of Santa Rosa, which owns the building, announced last November that it plans to file for bankruptcy. That could result in a new landlord for the museum, which is on a month-to-month lease.
The historical societys hopes for a permanent home on the citys Adams Street site have dimmed somewhat as the propertys status remains in limbo. The Carnegie isnt well-suited to a museum, according to Carrick, who worked there when she was the citys parks and recreation director. A historical center has been floated as an option for a redeveloped City Hall property, but it could be years before a project breaks ground.
For now the historical society is applying for city grants, but those are only available for programs, not operating costs like rent.
I think its natural that the city (government) would want to support something like this because of what we bring to the community, Thoreen said. Weve been looking for a home for the last 20 years.
The Heritage Center is open from noon to 4 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month at 1255 Oak Ave., at the former St. Helena Catholic School.
Historic photos tell the story of St. Helena High School St. Helena Saints St. Helena's Vintage Hall Electric car line to high school Students in classroom Drama Club, 1965 Basketball champs Tennis champs, 1920 1968 track team 1918 Firefly Girls Clown Boys, 1918 Vintage Festival Queen, 1918 SHHS Marching Band, 1967 Majorettes, 1947 High School Stock Judging Contest, 1917 Newspaper articles about high school dedication
As St. Helenas only full-fledged tire shop, it would be easy for OK Tire Store to slack off and take advantage of a captive audience.
But Sean Wilson, who bought the business in 2001 and recently moved it to a new custom-built shop, says thats not in my blood.
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This community has supported us, and I want to give them the best service I can, Wilson told the Star during a typically busy day, his hands still dirty from helping out in the service bay.
Theres also a practical downside of doing shoddy or overpriced work in a small town. As a St. Helena native, hed be letting down people hes known since kindergarten.
We grew up here and we face these people every day, said his wife, Carice Fellion Wilson. Were committed to this town.
The feeling is mutual, judging from the almost unanimously positive reviews on Google and Yelp and the number of satisfied customers whove urged the Star to feature the business. (One of those customers was the Stars editor, who got a screw in his tire during the recent storms and got it patched on five minutes' notice for a minimal fee.)
In December the store moved one block west to 1025 Dowdell Lane, in a new shop Wilson designed and built. Now he can finally live out his childhood dream of working on cars in his own custom-built shop.
My biggest dream was to drive a race car, but the next biggest dream after that was working on cars, Wilson said. From a young age I was always taking things apart and trying to figure out how to put them back together.
He has the backing of his family, including daughter Morgan who handles front counter duties, and son Gannon who works on cars.
Carice used to be a regular presence too, but these days she devotes more time to child care, which says is her passion.
She recalled the early days after she and Sean bought the business, when they were living with her parents and surviving off the income she earned at Cherrystone Child Care Center.
Weve worked for everything we have, said Fellion, who was also a reading specialist in the St. Helena Unified School District.
Wilson doesnt keep track, but he estimates that his staff he, Morgan, Gannon and two mechanics work on at least 25 or 30 cars per day. Tires account for about 75% of the work, but OK also does oil changes, alignment, brakes, shocks, struts and tune-ups. It restores old cars too Land Cruisers are Wilsons favorite.
Were busy all the time. Having Morgan at the front counter is a big help because it frees me up to help the guys out there, he said, pointing to the service bay. Its a juggling act, and it takes a team to do it all.
High commercial rent, online shopping and the rise of second-home ownership have challenged St. Helena businesses that cater primarily to locals.
But everybody needs tires, and Wilson said he hasnt seen business fluctuate too much. Customers who live out of town and commute to St. Helena for winery and vineyard management jobs have made up for any decrease in the number of full-time St. Helenans, he said.
Rent isnt a factor anymore either now that Wilson is his own landlord, although Fellion admitted that they had to mortgage their house to pay for the project.
Wilson hopes people take the new shop as a sign that OK is here to stay.
If it wasnt for the community we wouldnt be here, owning our own place that we built from scratch, Wilson said. We owe everything to them.
5 common auto collision repairs and how much they cost How much common auto collision repairs cost Bumper damage Car door damage Scratched paint Cracked windshield Dented panels
Napa High School will be the second school in California to mount the musical sensation, "Be More Chill," for 10 performances at the NVUSD District Auditorium, March 2 through March 12.
Its truly so much fun, said Duncan Cooper, the Napa High teacher, who is responsible for mounting a full musical production at Napa High every other year. Cooper is music director and producer for the show.
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Its a satirical look at the high school experience," he said. "Its laugh-out-loud funny and youll be weeping in the middle of the show, and then the resolution is so positive it will bring you right back up.
"Be More Chill" is the PG-13 story of high schooler Jeremy Heere, who swallows a tiny supercomputer to gain popularity and win the girl of his dreams. The computer, which appears as an anthropomorphized character in the show, called the Squip, helps Jeremy make choices that quickly change his image from that of social misfit to cool kid. However, whenever there is a shortcut, there are consequences.
The coming-of-age musical, which features a score by Joe Iconis and a book by Joe Tracz, is based on the young adult novel by Ned Vizzini, who is celebrated for his honest yet funny look at adolescence. The musical premiered off-Broadway in 2018. A Broadway production opened on March 10, 2019.
The Napa High production is double cast (the Cool Cast and the Chill Cast), and altogether 55 students are involved in the production.
Featured in the Cool Cast are:
Jeremy - Noah Goldman
Michael - Daniel Winters
S.Q.U.I.P - Micah Eisenberg
Christine - Isabella Christman
Rich - Cam Freeland
Jenna - Helene Hoke
Chloe - Josie Taylor (Understudy: Bridget Richardson)
Brooke - Nico Lopez Magro (Understudy: Wren Pinter)
Dad - Matthew Corrigan
Jake - Jacob Freeland
Mr. Reyes - Cayla Ferroni
Store Clerk - Bridget Richardson
The Chill cast includes:
Jeremy - Shelby Page
Michael - Olivia Bui
S.Q.U.I.P - Yadhira Torres Gonzalez
Christine - Olivia Hall
Rich - Aidan Chavez
Jenna - Bailey OCallahan
Chloe - Naty Gutierrez (Understudy: Bridget Richardson)
Brooke - Mia Hernandez (Understudy: Wren Pinter)
Dad - Christian Satterfield
Jake - Jean Christophe Perez
Mr. Reyes - Micah Eisenberg
Store Clerk - Bridget Richardson
According to Cooper, the entire cast and crew is enthusiastic about the show because its so relatable. He says that young people are drawn to the frank discussions about teen mental health. Cooper said he knew that area teens and tweens were super fans of the show. Many discovered the music as it went viral on social media.
The musical elaborates on the nuances of social life in high school, said senior Dan Winters, who plays Michael, a loveable loner in the show (Cool Cast). Winters said that the character felt incredibly authentic and he is enjoying the experience. He will have a chance to sing one of the most iconic and viral songs in the show, "Michael in the Bathroom," about the trials of finding refuge in the bathroom during a party.
Junior Olivia Hall, who plays Christine (Chill Cast), said that she loves playing the dorky sweet nerd. I can relate to her character, her songs, her vibes, said Hall.
Junior Jean-Christophe Perez said that although hes very different from his character, Jake (Chill Cast), he found parts of the confident jock that resonated with him. Hes riddled by pressures, some of which I well understand, he said.
Jeremy is trying to do anything not to be a loser, to be popular, said Noah Goldman, who plays Jeremy in the Cool Cast. I watched a lot of 1980s high school movies to step into the character. He said teen films by Director John Hughes really helped him get into the spirit of the show.
Cooper said the show resonates with audiences because its about finding your true self and not listening to outside voices.
The songs are high energy, fun and memorable, Cooper said, describing the sound as electronic rock with a tiny bit of reggae thrown in. The first time I heard the music I was swept right into it, said Cooper, who then immediately put the album on repeat. Its super catchy music.
And it came as no surprise to Cooper when he learned that the music was nominated for best original score on Broadway.
The music will be performed live by a pit orchestra made up of Napa High School students and conducted by Mike Riendeau, the director of Napa Highs instrumental music program.
Its an opportunity to showcase our high school instrumental program, said Cooper, adding that most schools use professional players.
Almost all aspects of the production are managed by students, including sound, lightning, costumes, make-up, sets and props.
We have almost 100 props in the show, ranging from stethoscopes to a Hot Pocket, said prop master Micah Eisenberg, who also plays the Squip in the Cool Cast and Mr. Reyes in the Chill Cast.
Sound director Diego Vasquez Nava, a senior, said he loves the sound design of the show but its demanding. Theres a lot of moving around and balancing a lot of voices, he said. Sonically, he describes it as sci fi and futuristic and describes it like an Atari video game, which also applies to the lighting design as well.
Lighting director Matthew Corrigan, a junior at Napa High, says that audiences can expect lots of lasers, flashing lights and black light effects. The overall feel will be a bit like a live concert, albeit with a sci fi twist, he said.
According to Cooper, the production is tech heavy. While the sets are not elaborate, the lighting definitely is. We will be using the entire auditorium as a lighting scape, he said.
The audience can expect to see lighting effects as the characters dance around on stage since theres quite a bit of choreographed movement in the show. Cooper says that the choreography was realized by dance students at Napa High under Dramatic Director Freddy Lamberts expert guidance.
He (Lambert) is a high energy guy, said Cooper. He blocked the entire show. He worked with students on helping them to find their motivation.
Lambert is a fan of the show and enjoyed working with the students to deepen their portrayals. There are these portraits of high school coming to life in such a beautiful way, said Lambert. And even if its fantastical its centered in real teen feelings and experiences.
Cooper describes "Be More Chill" as "'10 Things I Hate About You' meets 'Tron.'" Blending a contemporary rock feel with retro sci fi makes the show feel familiar yet different, he said.
Its the mix between the familiar and the unknow, as well as being both funny and poignant that captured the attention of junior Shelby Page, who is playing the lead role of Jeremy in the show (Chill Cast). Ive been a fan since the sixth grade, she said as she happily stumbled onto the show on YouTube. The show is super special to me. How many people can say that they are playing their favorite character in their favorite musical?
"Be More Chill" will be performed at the NVUSD Evans Auditorium, 2425 Jefferson St. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. Purchase tickets at aftontickets.com/bemorechill.
Bestselling album from the year you graduated high school Bestselling album from the year you graduated high school 1956: Calypso by Harry Belafonte 1957: My Fair Lady soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1958: My Fair Lady soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1959: Music from Peter Gunn by Henry Mancini 1960: The Sound of Music soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1961: Camelot soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1962: West Side Story soundtrack by various artists 1963: West Side Story soundtrack by various artists 1964: Hello, Dolly! soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1965: Mary Poppins soundtrack by various artists 1966: Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass 1967: More of The Monkees by The Monkees 1968: "Are You Experienced?" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1969: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly 1970: Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel 1971: Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack by various artists 1972: Harvest by Neil Young 1973: The World Is a Ghetto by War 1974: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John 1975: Elton John's Greatest Hits by Elton John 1976: Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton 1977: Rumours by Fleetwood Mac 1978: Saturday Night Fever soundtrack by the Bee Gees 1979: 52nd Street by Billy Joel 1980: The Wall by Pink Floyd 1981: Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon 1982: Asia by Asia 1983: Thriller by Michael Jackson 1984: Thriller by Michael Jackson 1985: Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen 1986: Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston 1987: Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi 1988: Faith by George Michael 1989: Don't Be Cruel by Bobby Brown 1990: Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson 1991: Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey 1992: Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus 1993: The Bodyguard soundtrack by Whitney Houston 1994: The Lion King soundtrack by Elton John 1995: Cracked Rear View by Hootie and the Blowfish 1996: Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette 1997: Spice by Spice Girls 1998: Titanic soundtrack by James Horner 1999: Millennium by Backstreet Boys 2000: No Strings Attached by NSYNC 2001: Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park 2002: The Eminem Show by Eminem 2003: Get Rich or Die Tryin' by 50 Cent 2004: Confessions by Usher 2005: The Emancipation of Mimi by Mariah Carey 2006: High School Musical soundtrack by various artists 2007: Noel by Josh Groban 2008: Tha Carter III by Lil Wayne 2009: Fearless by Taylor Swift 2010: Recovery by Eminem 2011: 21 by Adele 2012: 21 by Adele 2013: The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake 2014: 1989 by Taylor Swift 2015: 25 by Adele 2016: Views by Drake 2017: by Ed Sheeran 2018: Scorpion by Drake 2019: Hollywood's Bleeding by Post Malone 2020: My Turn by Lil Baby Bestselling album from the year you graduated high school 1956: 'Calypso' by Harry Belafonte 1957: 'My Fair Lady' soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1958: 'My Fair Lady' soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1959: 'Music from Peter Gunn' by Henry Mancini 1960: 'The Sound of Music' soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1961: 'Camelot' soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1962: 'West Side Story' soundtrack by various artists 1963: 'West Side Story' soundtrack by various artists 1964: 'Hello, Dolly!' soundtrack by the original Broadway cast 1965: 'Mary Poppins' soundtrack by various artists 1966: 'Whipped Cream & Other Delights' by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass 1967: 'More of The Monkees' by The Monkees 1968: "Are You Experienced?" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1969: 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida' by Iron Butterfly 1970: 'Bridge over Troubled Water' by Simon and Garfunkel 1971: 'Jesus Christ Superstar' soundtrack by various artists 1972: 'Harvest' by Neil Young 1973: 'The World Is a Ghetto' by War 1974: 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' by Elton John 1975: 'Elton John's Greatest Hits' by Elton John 1976: 'Frampton Comes Alive' by Peter Frampton 1977: 'Rumours' by Fleetwood Mac 1978: 'Saturday Night Fever' soundtrack by the Bee Gees 1979: '52nd Street' by Billy Joel 1980: 'The Wall' by Pink Floyd 1981: 'Hi Infidelity' by REO Speedwagon 1982: 'Asia' by Asia 1983: 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson 1984: 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson 1985: 'Born in the U.S.A.' by Bruce Springsteen 1986:' Whitney Houston' by Whitney Houston 1987: 'Slippery When Wet' by Bon Jovi 1988: 'Faith' by George Michael 1989: 'Don't Be Cruel' by Bobby Brown 1990: 'Rhythm Nation 1814' by Janet Jackson 1991: 'Mariah Carey' by Mariah Carey 1992: 'Some Gave All' by Billy Ray Cyrus 1993: 'The Bodyguard' soundtrack by Whitney Houston 1994: 'The Lion King' soundtrack by Elton John 1995: 'Cracked Rear View' by Hootie and the Blowfish 1996: 'Jagged Little Pill' by Alanis Morissette 1997: 'Spice' by Spice Girls 1998: 'Titanic' soundtrack by James Horner 1999: 'Millennium' by Backstreet Boys 2000: 'No Strings Attached' by NSYNC 2001: 'Hybrid Theory" by Linkin Park 2002: 'The Eminem Show' by Eminem 2003: 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'' by 50 Cent 2004: 'Confessions' by Usher 2005: 'The Emancipation of Mimi' by Mariah Carey 2006: 'High School Musical' soundtrack by various artists 2007: 'Noel' by Josh Groban 2008: 'Tha Carter III' by Lil Wayne 2009: 'Fearless' by Taylor Swift 2010: 'Recovery' by Eminem 2011: '21' by Adele 2012: '21' by Adele 2013: 'The 20/20 Experience' by Justin Timberlake 2014: '1989' by Taylor Swift 2015: '25' by Adele 2016: 'Views' by Drake 2017: '' by Ed Sheeran 2018: 'Scorpion' by Drake 2019: 'Hollywood's Bleeding' by Post Malone 2020: 'My Turn' by Lil Baby 2021: 'Dangerous: The Double Album' by Morgan Wallen
American Canyon Police are investigating an identity theft case after the arrest of a Vallejo man Monday afternoon, the department announced.
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Pelesi Save Tuitele, 46, was detained during a traffic stop at Broadway and Cartagena Way, according to a police news release. Tuitele, who police said was a passenger in a vehicle that ran a stop sign, was booked into the Napa County jail on a felony allegation of identity theft, as well as misdemeanor counts of drug possession and giving a false name to police.
During the arrest, officers found a backpack filled with stolen mail belonging to at least 10 people, including Department of Motor Vehicles records, utility bills and other personal information, according to police.
The department said it is attempting to contact and notify possible victims of identity theft in the case.
Photos: "Prolific" Napa business burglar caught in the act Suspected Napa commercial burglar caught Napa Valley Vacuum & Sewing on Jefferson Street. Suspected Napa commercial burglar caught Suspected Napa commercial burglar caught Suspected Napa commercial burglar caught Suspected Napa commercial burglar caught Suspected Napa commercial burglar caught Napa Valley Vacuum & Sewing on Jefferson Street. David Mitchell, owner of Napa Valley Vacuum & Sewing on Jefferson Street. David Mitchell, owner of Napa Valley Vacuum & Sewing on Jefferson Street. David Mitchell, owner of Napa Valley Vacuum & Sewing on Jefferson Street.
Several U.S. Supreme Court justices said Tuesday they were wary of allowing lawsuits against YouTube and other social media firms over algorithms they use to direct users to related content even if that encourages terrorists or promotes illegal conduct.
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The justices had agreed for the first time to hear a challenge to Section 230, the federal law that shields websites from being sued over content posted by others. That set off alarms at Big Tech firms.
But during Tuesday's arguments, Justices Elena Kagan and Brett M. Kavanaugh said Congress, not the court, should decide whether to change the law.
"These are not the nine greatest experts on the internet," Kagan said to laughter, referring to the nine justices.
She said it was very difficult to draw a line between ordinary algorithms that tell users they may be interested in similar videos and those involving illegal content that would justify a lawsuit against YouTube.
Isn't drawing that line "something for Congress, not the court?" she asked.
Kavanaugh said some feared it "would crash the digital economy" if websites were suddenly subject to all manner of lawsuits. He said social media firms have developed based on the 1996 legal shield written by Congress that protected them from lawsuits for posting content provided by others.
"Are we really the right body to draw back from that understanding?" he asked, strongly suggesting he thought the answer was no.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said he too was wary of opening the door to lawsuits. While the case before the court concerned terrorism, he said it could lead to a wave of lawsuits based on personal or business complaints.
Other justices admitted they were confused and uncertain about the arguments before them.
It did not sound as if a majority were ready to rule for the California parents suing Google and YouTube over the death of their daughter in a 2015 terrorist attack in Paris.
The case, Gonzalez vs. Google, asked whether YouTube could be held liable for using computerized programs that "recommended" ISIS videos to potential recruits.
A federal judge and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out that claim on the grounds that Section 230 shielded online sites from being sued over content posted by others.
A lawyer for the family of Nohemi Gonzalez argued Tuesday that Google, which owns YouTube, should be subject to a lawsuit because of its own actions. It was "encouraging people to look at ISIS videos," said Eric Schnapper, a University of Washington law professor.
He was joined by Malcolm Stewart, a deputy U.S. solicitor general, who stressed that social media sites could not be sued over ISIS videos appearing on their platforms, but should be liable for "targeted recommendations" that encourage potential recruits to view similar videos.
However, both ran into mostly skeptical questions from the justices.
The outcome may become clearer on Wednesday, when the justices hear a related case involving a 2016 law that allowed victims of international terrorism to sue those who knowingly aided or abetted the terrorists. That in turn led to several lawsuits against YouTube, Facebook and Twitter that arose from ISIS-sponsored terrorist incidents.
The plaintiffs in that case said the social media sites helped ISIS by posting videos that encouraged new recruits.
Infrastructure sectors hit hardest by ransomware Infrastructure sectors hit hardest by ransomware #10. Communications #9. Energy #8. Transportation #7. Food and agriculture #6. Commercial facilities #5. Government facilities #4. Critical manufacturing #3. Information technology #2. Financial services #1. Health care and public health
Country music star Chris Janson is on a mission to help keep Tennessee beautiful for generations to come. In addition to earning a reputation as one of country musics most energetic live performers, Janson is also known for using that same energy offstage to advance conservation efforts. His latest effort is a partnership with the Tennessee Department of Transportations (TDOT) litter prevention campaign, Nobody Trashes Tennessee.
Janson fell in love with Tennessees outdoors after moving to Nashville in 2004 and spends a lot of time exploring the states waterways and woods with his family.
Since moving to Tennessee, Ive been struck by its natural beauty and all the outdoor activities it offers hunters, fishermen, and everyone who loves to be outside, said Janson. In addition to giving back through conservation-related partnerships in Tennessee, one of my greatest conservation goals is getting kids out of their houses, off their devices, and into the great outdoors. Litter on our roads, waterways, and woods affects their ability to enjoy nature. It affects all Tennesseans and endangers wildlife. I want to do my part to ensure our states natural resources are thriving for future generations and I am excited to partner with Nobody Trashes Tennessee and work together towards a litter-free state.
As part of the partnership, Janson will help educate Tennesseans about the health and safety impacts of litter on our roadways and waterways through public service announcements, outdoor advertising, and social media channels. Preventing litter is critical to maintaining the scenic beauty of Tennessee, keeping roadways and waterways safe and clean, and maintaining vibrant communities, said Denise Baker, TDOT Highway Beautification Office. Chris passion for our state and his commitment to conservation makes him a great Nobody Trashes Tennessee ambassador as we continue educating citizens about the myriad impacts of litter.
All Tennesseans are encouraged to take personal responsibility for the litter in their communities. This may be through the simple act of picking up litter when you see it; taking a litter bag with you when walking, hiking, hunting, or fishing; by learning what constitutes litter; taking steps to avoid unintentional litter by securing trash in pickups; or knowing that food waste, such as apple cores, is harmful to wildlife. Citizens may also participate in local cleanups or the no-cost Adopt-A-Highway program. Littering incidents may be reported through the Tennessee Litter Hotline (1-877-8LITTER). Learn more at NobodyTrashesTennessee.com and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Dubais Museum of the Future has received more than one million visitors from 163 countries in the year since its official opening on February 22, 2022, said Mohammad Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Museum.
"We pledged that the museum of the Future would host one million visitors in its first year, and today we celebrate the achievement of this target and the launch of a new year for the museum, during which we will continue to design the future for a better world for all in the coming years and decades, he added.
Since opening, the museum an initiative by the Dubai Future Foundation has hosted more than 180 local, regional and global activations, events, conferences and forums that cover technology, entrepreneurship, economy, space, tourism, culture and varied futurist-specific sectors, all while receiving more than 200 media delegations from around the world.
More than 1,000 international dignitaries, ministers, officials and experts visited the museum throughout the past year, including around 20 heads of government and official delegations from South Korea, Estonia, Luxembourg, China, Greece, Hong Kong, Thailand and Rwanda and Mauritius, among others.
Since its inauguration, the Museum of the Future has won ten international awards from global institutions and specialized industry magazines for its museum content quality, future sciences, and architectural design, in addition to attaining the LEED Platinum status certification the ultimate certificate of recognition a building can obtain for sustainable and environmentally friendly design, construction, and operation.
The museum also led global discussions through the Future Talks series, with each session highlighting, discussing and exploring humanitys latest discoveries as well as those yet to come.
The Museum of the Future is now recognised as centre for futurists across various sectors in the region and the world, becoming a comprehensive testbed for testing and developing emerging technologies and ideas. During the past year, the museum has established its keenness to invest in the creative minds of the Arab region embracing ideas, projects, initiatives, research and studies that bring added value to products and services of the future. The aim is for these creative energies to accelerate Arab scientific development and create a better future for the people of the region.
Future experience
In its first year, the Museum of the Future gave visitors from across the world the unique opportunity to witness fundamental experiences that show potential future scenarios for humanity. Across its several floors, the museum uses advanced technologies to depict the future. A distinguishing feature, the museums elevator, is a crucial part of the museums journey-based narrative, with a simulation of OSS Hope the museums very own spaceship to help guests learn about potential life aboard a space station.
The experience introduces visitors to the exciting concept of visiting space in the near future, as well as a reimagined landscape of Dubai and the world in the year 2071 through efforts made in restoring the natural ecosystem and sustainability of the planet's resources. The journey then continues to unravel an array of different scenarios and adventures that encourages visitors to take charge of their own future.
Future technologies
The museum employs the latest technologies of the future, such as artificial intelligence, and interaction between humans and machines, to launch meaningful dialogues that motivate visitors to draw their own perceptions about the future.
The museum, standing at 77 metres high and extending over an area of 30,000 sq m was designed to be an engineering marvel that connects the past to the future, with an architectural style that differs entirely from the concept of traditional museums to appeal to innovative thinkers and future-curious visitors from around the world. TradeArabia News Service
The United States could ban tens of thousands of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border from seeking asylum, according to a proposal unveiled Tuesday. The forthcoming measures would be the Joe Biden administration's most sweeping attempt to stem the flow of people crossing the U.S. border illegally.
Under the new rules, migrants who do not use existing legal routes to enter the United States or do not seek protection in the countries they pass through on their way to the United States are automatically deemed ineligible for asylum unless they fall under certain exceptions.
Reuters first reported details of the proposal, which was published Tuesday and is subject to a 30-day public comment period before being considered for final publication.
Biden initially promised to restore access to asylum, which was limited under his predecessor, Donald Trump. But migrant rights advocates and some Democratic colleagues have criticized him for increasingly adhering to Trump-style restrictions as his administration struggles to cope with record numbers of migrant arrivals.
Biden's plan to ban asylum applications by certain categories of migrants mirrors similar measures taken by the Trump administration and subsequently blocked by federal courts.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has vowed to fight the Biden administration's proposal in court, comparing it to a restriction imposed by Trump, which activists call a transit ban.
"We will sue if this administration goes through with its proposed asylum ban, just as we successfully sued over the Trump asylum bans," said Lee Gelernt, an ACLU spokesman.
Families and single adults will be mostly affected by the restrictions, while unaccompanied minors will be exempt from the new requirements, according to the text of the rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. The measure would be temporary and limited in time to a two-year period.
The Biden administration began discussing the ban and other Trump-style measures last year as a way to reduce illegal border crossings if COVID-19-era restrictions allowing many migrants to be sent back to Mexico are lifted. The administration continues to tighten asylum rules as the restrictions, known as Title 42, will likely end on May 11, when the public health emergency associated with the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Without meaningful policy changes, the number of border crossings could potentially increase dramatically after the repeal of Title 42, the text of the rule states. The government estimates that the number of border crossings could reach as many as 13,000 per day without restrictions due to Section 42, up from about 5,000 crossings per day in January.
A Biden administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters during a phone call Tuesday that the rule is intended to fill the void Congress left by failing to act" on meaningful immigration reform.
The Albanian police, together with other law enforcement agencies of the country, stopped in the port of Durres a ship that left Azerbaijan on February 21 and was carrying Russian oil, haqqin.az reported.
"As a result of the operation 22 crew members were arrested. It is reported that the volume of oil seized on the vessel was 22,500 tons. Its market value is equal to 40 million euros.
The ship was flying the flag of Liberia, but which shipping company it belonged to was not specified. The crew members claimed that the oil on board was loaded from another ship in the Greek port of Kalamat. However, this was not enough to convince the Albanian authorities. Albania has joined the EU sanctions against Moscow, which prohibit the transportation of Russian oil by tankers to European ports," the source writes. Albania's police, together with other law enforcement agencies in the country, stopped a ship that left Azerbaijan on February 21 and was carrying Russian oil on board in the port of Durres, haqqin.az reported.
"As a result of the operation 22 crew members were arrested. It is reported that the volume of oil seized on the vessel was 22,500 tons. Its market value is equal to 40 million euros.
The ship was flying the flag of Liberia, but which shipping company it belonged to was not specified. The crew members claimed that the oil on board was loaded from another ship in the Greek port of Kalamat. However, this was not enough to convince the Albanian authorities. Albania joined the EU sanctions against Moscow, which prohibit the transportation of Russian oil by tankers to European ports," the source writes.